Where was I in my story? Let’s see... flight injury, attempted rape, killed the guy, hid the knife, got knocked unconscious... ah. Here we are.

I woke up slowly, but even though my eyes were open, my vision swam. I strained to right my eyes, and when I did, I found that I was in a small and very dimly-lit room, sitting at a table. That was the first thing I noticed. The second thing I noticed was that I was tied to the chair I was sitting at. I struggled to escape my bonds, but it was no good. The ropes around me wouldn’t budge.

My struggling did seem to make a bit of noise, however. The only real reason I noted this was the fact that I heard a Germaneian-accented voice say “Ah, good. You’re awake.” I turned to the source of the voice to see a cloaked pony walking towards the other side of the table. Without wasting a second, he took a seat across from me. “And here I was starting to fear that I hit you too hard.”

“So that was you!” I shouted, starting to struggle harder against the ropes that bound me.

“Don’t waste your breath,” he said to me. “Those ropes are enchanted.” His hood started to glow a dark purple and was pulled back slightly. Not enough to reveal his face with the way the light was angled behind him, but enough to reveal a grey horn with a dark purple aura to it. “And even then, if you were to escape, where would you plan on going afterwards? You have blood on your hooves, after all.”

I instantly froze. “How do you know about that?” I asked.

“You didn’t really think you and that stallion were the only ones out earlier, did you? Plus, you were making quite a bit of noise.”

I was quiet for a moment. “Why am I here?” I finally asked, deciding that it was a better idea to cut to the chase rather than beat around the bush.

“Well I couldn’t leave you out there and let the authorities apprehend you, could I?” the stallion replied. Yeah, this guy was starting to get on my nerves.

“The real reason,” I said, trying to make my voice as stern as possible. “I can tell that you didn’t knock me unconscious and tie me to a chair out of the kindness of your heart.”

The stallion chuckled before taking a seat across from me. “What I just said was true,” he said. “I didn’t want to let the authorities apprehend you. But I believe what you’re looking for are my reasons, so I suppose the least I can do is indulge you.” He was silent for an uncomfortable amount of time before continuing. “You’re a good pony, Rainbow Dash. You’d do almost anything to protect those in need. Almost. There are limits to how far a good pony will go. But you... you’ve just crossed the line that defines those limits. You took the life of another pony.”

“He deserved it!” I abruptly shouted, startling both him and me. “He tried to rape me, and even if I managed to get away from him, there was a good chance he’d just move on to the next unsuspecting mare, and-”

“Try to control your outbursts, Miss Dash,” the stallion interrupted. “At least until I’m finished speaking. You didn’t just take the life of a pony, you took the life of a criminal.” For some reason, I could feel him smiling under his hood. “That’s something even the so-called ‘Equestria’s finest’ doesn’t even have the courage to do.”

After he didn’t speak for a little while, I decided to speak up. “What’s your point?”

“My point, Rainbow Dash, is that Equestria needs somepony like you,” he continued. “Somepony who isn’t afraid to get her hooves bloody to ensure the safety of innocent lives.”

“Am I being offered a job?” I asked.” A job that involves killing ponies?”

“Criminals, Miss Dash,” he corrected. “I’m offering you a job killing criminals. The scum of Equestria who are doing nothing but bringing innocent lives down with them on a daily basis.”

I honestly couldn’t believe this guy. He was talking about killing ponies like it was nothing. True, he did have a valid argument with how the ponies he wanted dead were criminals and that he was trying to ensure the safety of other ponies just trying to go about their lives in a normal manner, but still, murder is murder... right?

“The answer is no,” I said flatly. “I killed that guy out of self-defence. I’m never going to do it again.”

“Are you sure about that?” the stallion asked. “Tell me, what did you feel as you drove that knife through your assailant’s chest?”

“I felt...” I started, quickly realizing that I had begun to sweat. “I felt anger. Nothing but anger towards that guy. He wanted to do horrible things to me, and I was angry about that. Angry enough to kill him... I wanted him dead more than anything else in the world right then. I felt that way for a moment, and then... and then I felt remorse. I couldn’t believe what I’d just done. I... I felt dizzy after all was said and done, and...” It took me until I said that last sentence to realize that I was starting to hyperventilate. “I didn’t want to kill him, but... but I had to.”

“And why did you have to kill him?” the stallion asked. “What could have possibly made you out of all ponies want to take the life of another?”

“I already told you, he tried to rape me,” I replied.

“Is that the only reason, though?” he asked.

I was quick to try to reply “yes,” but my thoughts were quicker. I stopped myself before the word could escape as I began to think about his question. Was that the only reason? “Yes” felt like the obvious choice, but something kept me from saying it.

“I take it that’s a no,” he continued. He then got up and walked around the table to where I was sitting. “You aren’t like other ponies, Rainbow Dash. You aren’t normal. You have, in medical terms, a sick and twisted mind. Deep down, you have the desire to bring harm, even death, upon your fellow ponies. You’ve managed to keep it subdued your whole life up to this point, but now that you’ve finally acted on that desire, there’s no more subduing it.” He paused for a moment for a reason I didn’t know, though it likely could have been simply dramatic effect. He then leaned in close to my ear and whispered, “You’re a murderer, Rainbow Dash.”

“No… no I… I just did in self-defense. I-I didn’t enjoy it!” I tried to explain but the stallion just chuckled at this.

“I get it. This is something you’ve never done before and honestly I can understand why. A member of the Wonderbolts, Element of Loyalty, and now a member of the Council of…. please tell me this wasn’t your idea to call it this, the Council of Friendship?”

If there was one thing he and I could agree on at this point, it was that “Council of Friendship” was an incredibly stupid name. It didn’t make me feel better about the whole situation, but at least there was something... not murder-ey in the conversation now. “Just make your point so I can bust out of here already, will ya?” I finally said.

“My point is that you are going to kill again!” he suddenly shouted, stomping his hoof on the ground. “You’ve tasted blood, and now you’re going to want more! If this desire of yours isn’t aimed in the right direction, you’re going to start murder innocent ponies!”

“I would never do that!” I shouted back.

“And are you willing to take that chance?” he replied. This actually shut me up for a moment. “I know you’ve seen enough primetime crime dramas to have a general idea of how a criminal’s mind works. You know that they have no remorse, no sympathy, they just keep killing and they can’t stop. Do you want to wind up like one of them?”

“I... I won’t wind up like them,” I replied, but my reply sounded much weaker out loud than it did in my head.

“You’re still not understanding, Rainbow Dash,” he said while shaking his head and turning away from me. “Let me guess, at this very moment, you wish you could break out of your bonds, tackle me to the ground, and silence me so that you don’t have to hear any more of my warnings.”

“I’m honestly considering it,” I replied, only after the fact realizing what I said.

I heard him chuckling to himself softly before turning around to face me again. “Then you see what I’m trying to tell you,” he said. “You see that you still want to kill and there’s no way for you to stop yourself. I could easily untie you, let you kill me so you wouldn’t have to put up with me anymore, and then let you be on your merry way. But what happens after that? You've killed two ponies now. The third could just be minding her own business before you happen upon her sometime tomorrow. She never did anything wrong, she just crossed your path at the wrong time. Her blood would be on your hooves... and you have nopony to blame but yourself.”

I was silent as I processed everything he had just said. Could what he was saying be true? Am I really a murderer? I’m going to kill again? And keep killing? No, that couldn't be. But what if he was right? Back to one of his previous questions, was I really willing to take that chance? After another moment of tossing these questions around in my head, I finally looked up at him with a serious expression and replied.

“I’ll do it,” I said firmly. After I said that, I once more could feel him smiling. Did his smile give off some sort of detectable energy? Either way, it was an unsettling feeling.

“Good,” he replied. “I’m glad you were able to see things my way.” I then felt his magic undoing my binds. “Countless lives will be saved by your decision.”
“Yeah yeah I get it. So when do we start um… whoever you are?” I asked the stallion who just chuckled.

“Why, I believe we already have. My name is Silhouette, and allow me to welcome you to the beginning of a better tomorrow for Equestria.”

Author's Note

Silhouette... isn't there just something about that guy you don't like?
By the way, yes, Rainbow Dash IS the kind of pony who would watch L&W and such.