Target acquired

Some people say that wounds heal, that they can be forgotten, that they will vanish some day. Well, those who say that ain't' got enough of them. Some things just won't go away, memories will haunt you for the rest of your life and beyond. That's just how it works; you will take decisions, and then, you will have to bear the consequences, no matter what they are. You have to make sure you can live with your choices...

I was born in a forgotten place called Naquir. Located on the edge of Equestria, just at the limit between the world of ponies and the unknown. It was fifteen years ago, when there was still so much to be explored, when the unknown lands around Equestria still frightened its inhabitants, where people use to believe that creatures of the dark roamed these forbidden territories. Of course, those were nothing but superstitions, as I lived there and the only thing scary about this place was the smell coming out from the dump next door.

My name is Shadoww. This is not my real name, but a code that was given to me once I entered the organization O.R.A.C.L.E., its an interesting acronym, it stands for : Order of the Restless Alpha Clan charged of Liquidation and Extermination... I wasn't the one who came up with that idea, no, it was Tremor, our leader.

I never knew somepony so selfless, so devoted to killing, so filled with rage. He was the king of this mercenary organization and ruled over it with strength and power. But how did it came to this, you ask? Well, it all started when Princess Luna was banished to the moon by her sister. After that, Princess Celestia was overflowed with more and more responsibilities. First, she had to rise the moon in addition to the sun, she also had to rule over her subjects at the same time, she even had to give the responsibility of creating the rainbows to the pegasi, and you do not want to know how that turned out...

  It was during this period of chaos that this organization was created, first by ponies lost in a world where only chaos ruled, others just because they hated somepony else. Killing isn't that hard, and after a few years of training and brainwashing, we could turn anyone into a brainless killer, that was half true for me... Over the years the organization grew bigger and bigger, accumulating more and more devoted people, establishing more and more hiding spots all around Equestria. After ten years it had already become a massive mercenary network. Either the operations would consist of people outside of the organization asking us to get rid of somepony, or we would start our own missions for our benefits. For people that weren't part of the group, the prices were astronomically high, the more money given, the more experienced the killer employed for the job would be.

We had the best killers, the best of the best, and opposite to what you might think, we didn't kidnap people and force them to enter, no, our ways were a lot more, hmm... what is the word... oh, yes, underhanded. The ponies, they came by themselves, just like I said: some were adult filled with rage and wanted to show to the world what they were worth, others were young ponies that didn't have any future or ambitions, that was my case...

When I was born, I was left behind by selfish parents, their actions finally costing them their life. After this tragic event, I was given to some other pony I didn't even know, he was supposed to raise me... hehe, he never could do anything right, I hope that this fucker is dead now. At the age of twelve, I ran away and searched for a purpose in my life; I would spend nights in the cold, hungry, desperate. In my journey, I traveled towards the center of Equestria, in the hope of finding a job, but whenever I told anypony that I was from the 'forbidden lands' I was thrown right back on the streets... And that is how, one of these nights, I encountered a pony in a dark alley, he came to talk to me and proposed me a 'job'. He told me it would be hard but that I would be trained, he told me I would be with other ponies and that I wouldn't have to worry about food, money or where to sleep. He told me I would be happy... You can say what you want, but no one in my situation would have refused such proposition. And without knowing it, I had gotten myself a one-way ticket to hell...

All those thoughts were rushing through my head while I was still sitting on the floor. I couldn't have imagined the most secured, anti-magic prison in Canterlot better: cold, hard, unwelcoming and... rotten. But that was the last of my worries. This was no first time for me; I was used to that kind of situation. All I had to do was wait for that one letter that would get me out of here. But not this time. I knew what I had done, and there was no turning back. Today had been... a long day. Tears were dripping off my eyes, and I would still sob uncontrollably for a few seconds before I could breathe correctly again. I had never felt such pain, far greater than anything I've ever experienced before, and I was a killer! Hmm... You want to know what happened to me so badly? How things took such a tragic turn? How did I break? Well... to the point where I am, I think I hit rock bottom, so... why not. This is the story of how I slowly turned into a merciless killer and how I was charged with destroying friendship itself.