Lonely Among Us

I woke up lying on the floor, facing the ceiling. My whole body hurt like hell, especially the head.

“Ah, I see you're finally awake,” somebody said, with a deep voice.

I sat up, only to realize I was in some kind of a holding cell. The small area above me was flashing directly at my body, creating a sphere of light around me. Outside that light, I was surrounded by pitch black darkness. “Ugh, damn head - let me guess... Shadowdancer?” I said calmly.

“I see you know about me.”

“Of course ‘your Highness’ - although judging by your actions, perhaps I should say ‘your anus?” I responded with irritation.

My head felt like it was about to explode, what’s worse, I was feeling… uneasy - I just couldn’t explain it, but something was not right. “What actions, would that be?” Shadowdancer's voice snapped me out of my daydream.

“Hmm… let me see: enslaving people, killing the innocent, taking the life force from everybody who you find ‘unworthy’ - should I continue?”

Shadowdancer slowly approached my cell - looking into my eyes with a smile. His stare was cold and intimidating, by all accounts - he looked like one mean SOB. “Captain… all I do is for the good of my people.”

“Oh… you have no idea how many times I heard that before, and it always ended the same way - with death and destruction.”

As I spoke, another headache hit me - but this one was worse than anything I ever felt. I clenched my head and closed my eyes. “APE, somebody - make… it… stop…” I said to myself. But there was no response, instead - I could hear whispers…

“Embrace the clarity… see the truth…”

“I realize many said similar words, but in my… or should I say - in our - case, they are sincere. All the Clan ever wanted was to make ponies strong,” Shadowdancer spoke in his calm, dreadful voice. “The question is - what part do you want to be in all this?”

Fighting the pain, I barely noticed his question. “Uh… what do you mean?” I asked with a breaking voice, as the whispers were getting louder - each one piercing through my mind like a hot needle. Whatever battle was going inside my head, it was obvious I was on the losing site - still, I tried to hold my composure.

“I see potential in you," Shadowdancer's reply brought me back to reality again, "potential I hadn't witnessed in anyone since Luna a thousand years ago - the Clan could use someone like you.”

That was unexpected, to say the least. This bastard wanted me to become one of them? I shook my hurting head in disbelief - only to be interrupted, by more damn whispers...

“...he is too dangerous…”
“...cannot allow ... To disrupt the balance...”
“...no other choice…”
“...forever…”

Only this time, I could recognize the voices - Celestia and... Twilight? “Yes... See the truth,” Shadowdancer’s words snapped me from my pondering once again.

“You... You are messing with my head.”

“No. I’m just using my magic to show you THEIR memories.” As he said those words, darkness disappeared revealing the alicorn princesses just a few meters away from me, each of them chained to the wall.

Twilight was there too - her bruised body lay on the floor, covered with cuts and lacerations, she was unconscious and breathing slowly. “What have you done to my friend?!” I shouted angrily.

“Nothing - you did all this.”

“W-what?!”

Shadowdancer sighed and responded calmly, “Don’t you remember? Your lack of control made the tower collapse on both of you, it took my guards a few hours to dig you out, she was barely alive when they found her. She is slowly recovering.”

When the memory got back to me, I quickly took my eyes of shattered Twilight's body - watching her in this state, was hurting too much. The rest of the alicorns were in bad shape as well, with bruises and lacerations covering their bodies.

“And the rest of them? They look like they went through hell.”

“That’s what you get for trying to leave my hospitable care. Neither Tia nor Luna knows when to quit so, after their failed escape attempt, I had to teach them a lesson,” Shadowdancer smiled. “A painful one.”

As I looked at the other alicorns, I could see sadness and despair on their faces, I was sorry for them… that is - until my eyes reached Princess of the Sun. I was still angry at her for what she did to me, the sudden rush of adrenaline I felt - was the proof of that. To see her like this: helpless, apathetic, heartbroken - felt surprisingly… good. As I watched her, my anger grew.

Suddenly, another headache struck me again - this time the pain was so intense I fell onto my knees - my head was full of alien sound and images, all jumbled up together - one second I could hear laughter, and the next screams of terror - my mind just couldn't comprehend what was happening. “What are you doing to me…” I asked with a weak voice, as the pain and confusion overwhelmed me.

“I told you - with my magic I can read and transfer memories of others. I’m trying to show you the truth.”

“Which is what exactly?”

“That they are not your friends," Shadowdancer pointed at the princesses, "they never have been, and they never will! For them, you are the same as me, and countless others - you simply don’t fit in their perfect little world!" he shouted with an angry voice.

“You think Celestia sent you to the moon because of your power control issues? Or that she believed you killed those ponies? Please… she could have helped you control your magic herself, and she is experienced enough, not to jump to conclusions based on one piece of paper," Shadowdancer shook his head in irritation, turning in the direction of Celestia. "But you would have been, a force she could never fully control. A force as strong as her, yet different in every way - she couldn’t bear that. Our little Princess never liked sharing power.”

At this point something was boiling inside of me - he was obviously lying… or was he? He was right at least in one thing - Celestia could have never hoped to fully control me, and with the skill she has, she could have probably helped me manage my power surges… Fluttershy and Rarity also mentioned they couldn’t understand why she didn’t want to bring me back, even after I was cleared of the charges.

“No… Twilight would have said something-”

“She is the same as the rest of them! They are all using you… trying to reshape you into their own image, just like they did with Discord," Shadowdancer interrupted me, with an angry voice. "True, they allowed him to stay in Equestria… but only after they broke him! Those, they could not break - were all killed or banished.”

“No… I… this is impossible, impossible… impossible…” I mumbled to myself.

In reality, I was terrified - with every passing moment he was making more, and more sense. Celestia’s reaction I could understand, but then there was Twilight and our chat on the train - was she worried about me… or was she worried that they may not be able to control me after this is over? My mind was overwhelmed, but slowly the emotional part of my brain was starting to win, over the rational one.

“You are still struggling… I’m sorry, but you have to see more,” Shadowdancer said calmly, as his horn began to glow.

FLASH!

This time I could actually see images… conversation recorded by the eyes of one of the ponies, Twilight I think. She was trying to convince Celestia to bring me back, but her request was denied.

“He is too dangerous Twilight, I sense dark powers inside of him. I am responsible for the good of this country - I cannot allow one individual to disrupt the balance that took ages to build. I have no other choice but to banish him forever,” Celestia said with calm, emotionless voice, “I know this is not easy, but I need your support on this matter, it’s for the good of Equestria.”

“I… understand, your Highness,” Twilight responded with a sad voice.

FLASH!

The images I saw were the final straw. She knew… they all knew! They never intended to bring me back... That small voice inside my head that whispered "They are guilty..." all this time, suddenly become loud like a scream - no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't fight it anymore - I cracked.

“Argh! Damn you, Celestia! Damn you all! WHY?!" I shouted with a frustrated voice, but they didn’t react - Shadowdancer’s magic must have shielded them from our little conversation. "What did I ever do to deserve this...” I was on my knees again as tears of despair began flowing from my eyes.

“Now you understand that things are not what they seem to be - our little princesses here are, actually, little tyrants - hiding under the masks, they have blood all over their hooves,” Shadowdancer said as he dropped the bubble of silence revealing our presence to the rest of the alicorns. "They deserve to DIE!"

***

"...kill them... Kill them..."

The words kept ringing in my mind, as my crying eyes glanced at the princesses again. My sanity screamed to keep on fighting, not to give in... But as my anger grew, that voice was quickly fading away. When I looked at Celestia - all I could see, were months I spent on the moon - loneliness, pain, insanity... And now, I knew she wanted to keep me there forever. There was no denying it - I hated her! I hated them all for making me suffer!

Gradually, I began to regain my composure. “How…? They are immortal, are they not?” I responded with a chilling voice.

Shadowdancer responded with a smile, “Alicorn immortality is a bit overrated - we age slowly, and heal wounds quickly - but we can still die. And now with the power of the Tree of Harmony, under our control - the princesses are as mortal as anypony.”

Time passed slowly, I was just sitting there - staring at the pool of my own tears on the floor, thinking… I glanced at the princesses, one last time, and they glanced back at me - except for Twilight who was still unconscious. In their eyes, I could see something I haven’t seen before - fear. I'm not sure if this was the fear of death, of me, or of the fate of Equestria but it was there - consuming their souls.

Finally, something snapped inside of me, and my mind was set. I got up and approached Celestia slowly, looking into her amethyst eyes. I tried to draw out wrist blade, embedded into my right arm, but it didn’t budge - probably damaged by the falling tower's roof, earlier. I quickly switched to my other side - this time there was no problem. As the blade slipped out of my left arm, I - unknowingly - put a grin on my face.

“NO! He is manipulating you! Don’t give in, whatever he said ‘tis all a lie!” Luna tried to reason with me, as she struggled with her restraints.

I stood next to Celestia, looking into her eyes. “Is it true? Did you really want to leave me there forever?” I asked calmly, trying to give her last chance to explain herself, to deny the accusations. But to my surprise, she only nodded - confirming everything and then closed her eyes, waiting for inevitable.

Time stood still - I hesitated for a moment, but then, the memories came back - the pain, the loneliness, the madness... "ARGH!" I shouted as I punched my left arm at her chest, piercing her heart. As she passed away, all I could see was a single tear coming from her eye onto the floor, followed by some blood from her wound.

Luna and Cadance both stared in shock. “Sister…? SISTER! NO!” Princess of the Night screamed and struggled with her chains frantically - as I approached her.

“WE SHALL KILL YOU! YOU SHALL BE CURSED FOR ETERNITY! HOW COU-” her screams were interrupted when my blade hit her angered heart. "TRAITOR..." was her last word before she died. Even after she passed away, her cyan eyes were staring at me, with hatred.

Cadance was next - she didn’t scream, she didn’t beg, she just sat quietly, waiting for death. I didn’t waste any time. Before she knew what hit her, my blade was inside her chest. To my surprise - she clung to her life the longest, looking into my eyes all the time. Her expression was just asking ‘Why...?’. However, as her life faded away - so did any residues of guilt that were left in me.

Finally, it was Twilight’s turn. She was still unconscious, her body damaged and bruised, she was barely holding to life as it was. For a moment I hesitated, after all - it was the same alicorn that held my head on her shoulder when I cried and fought by my side in battles. But then I realized she was also a traitor, she knew all along that I was to be sacrificed - and she didn’t say a word - her betrayal hurt the most. I quickly did what I had to - she didn’t even wake up, she was just lying there in peace…

It was done.

***

“Congratulations captain, I know it hurts you now, but trust me - you did this country a favor,” Shadowdancer spoke as he opened my cell.

For a few more seconds I just stood there, looking at the corpse of the alicorns. I expected to feel some guilt - but to my surprise, there was nothing - no emotions whatsoever. “Now, I’m offering you the chance to join us,” somehow, Shadowdancer’s voice was no longer as scary as before.

“Assuming I want to - then what? What are your plans for Equestria now, when they are gone?” I asked calmly.

Before answering the question, he led me to the nearby table. The familiar teapot and cups were waiting for us - apparently, Celestia was not the only one fond of tea. We sat down and - as he poured some of the liquid into the cups - he started talking.

“Equestria… everyone out there thinks we want to rule it. Simple logic, I guess, but the truth is - we don’t," Shadowdancer said calmly while sipping his tea. "You see, my followers and I believe, that only the strong can survive. I think we both agree, Equestria is currently full of weak ponies - years of Celestia’s rule made sure of that. All this, peace and tolerance for imperfection… this has got to stop!”

“How?” I asked, intrigued.

Shadowdancer responded with a smile on his face, “Simple - aside from Canterlot, we are going to leave this country alone, in its current - 'without magic' - state, and wait.”

“For what?” I asked confused, as he took a sip from his cup.

“For the others, to clean it for us. Equestria had made a lot of enemies - changelings, minotaurs, diamond dogs - they were all forced to either adapt or leave - now… they will have their revenge!”

I was shocked by what I just heard - was he serious? “Do I get this right? You want this country torn apart? What will that accomplish?”

“It will filter the strong from the weak - the strong will always survive, and only they will be allowed in our new society. In the end - our enemies will accomplish in months, what would take the Clan, years.”

As I took a sip from my tea cup, I realized I was no longer shocked, moreover - his plan actually made sense. During the WWIII, some nations did similar things - letting the enemies do their dirty work... But this was morally wrong... Or was it? I wasn't sure anymore… “You do realize you will lose most of your lands, right?”

“Yes, but sacrifices have to be made… and we will retake everything back in the following years.” he finished his tea and responded calmly, “let me show you my vision of the world,” moments later, his horn started to glow, and suddenly everything went dark again.

Then images started - he has shown me a vision, of the great country. The society of the strong, able to protect itself from changelings, griffons, minotaurs and even dragons. There was no hunger, no poverty - even the slaves were treated fairly. Only those who opposed the state were punished severely. After what I have been through on Earth, after witnessing the fall of democracy and all the atrocities of war - I must say, I could understand his point of view… It wasn’t perfect, but what is? I couldn’t believe I felt that way, but, I could live with it. Perhaps years of fighting, had changed my view…

My daydream was abruptly interrupted when extreme pain shot through my mind again - for a moment everything went black...

...stand by…

...stand by…

I could hear a hushed voice talking to me. “Huh? Stand by, for what?”

A few seconds later, my vision started to come back - it was a blur at first. All I could see was a jumble of colors. When my vision cleared, I realize I was standing on sandy land, with a lot of recently dug pits - the air was filled with an awful stench.

"What do we have here..." I said to myself as I approached one of the craters.

The stink was getting stronger, the closer I got - when I finally arrived... I almost puked at the sight - I saw mutilated pony bodies, lying in - what appeared to be - a massive grave. It was large enough to accommodate at least one hundred cadavers.

"Dear God... Those pits - can it...?" I asked myself, as I quickly sprint to the next crater. It was also full of rotting corpses - mares, stallions, foals - everyone mixed together. Wherever I went, the situation was the same - there were hundreds of those pits and thousands of bodies. The view reminded me of prison camps we liberated back on Earth - of the graves we always found nearby. It still scared me - no matter how many times I've seen it.

Suddenly, a flash of light blinded me momentarily, and then a faceless figure appeared before my eyes. White aura was emanating from its body. When the light faded, I realized it was carrying the beaten body of a familiar yellow pegasus. "No... Get away from me! I don't want to see this!" I shouted with a terrified voice, but my mind refused to listen - forcing me to stare at the broken body of my friend. She was still alive - but barely.

Seeing her like this, caused something inside of me to break - this image was like a hot needle stuck inside my brain - deep enough, to push the 'reset' button on my moral compass. Suddenly, the faceless figure transformed into Shadowdancer. “The weak must perish!” he said coldly, as he took out one of his swords…

***

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“NO!” I shouted as my vision was abruptly interrupted. I was back in the throne room. Shadowdancer was holding his head in pain while I was panting heavily, covered in cold sweat, and shaking uncontrollably.

“How the hell could you even consider his ‘offer’?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" I shouted inside my head as I curled up to the ball.

Rocking back and forth I mumbled to myself, "You are not a murderer you idiot! What were you thinking! Don't understand... No sense... You're not like this... Not like this..." I was confused and tired, my mind was on the verge of collapse. "SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

I don't know if this was one of those God's interventions - or just pure luck, but somehow, somebody must have actually heard my screams for help - because a few seconds later, a beautiful sound filled my head. “Systems rerouted, ready to proceed," it felt like hearing the voice of a long forgotten friend, or Pachelbel's Canon for the first time.

As soon as my HUD got back online - it was finally revealed why my head was hurting so badly. “DANGER! Brain hormones levels at 500%, filtering program engaged!” That bastard was literally messing with my brain - with so much chemical imbalance, he could have convinced me to kill my own mother. Other than that, my HUD was showing me certain other health bars - all glowing red, my blood pressure was 5 times above normal, power levels critical, aside from my melee weapons, I was defenseless.

It took me a while, but I finally came back to my senses. “You really are a persistent little thing,” Shadowdancer said with an irritated voice.

“You have no idea - and now that I know your plans, nothing will stop me,” I responded angrily. “GENOCIDE! Plain and simple - you are planning GENOCIDE, you sick fuck!”

“So what if I am?! Weak contamination must be cleansed! And it will!”

“Here is the problem - one of the friends I got here is one of those, you would call ‘weak’" I said calmly, as I got up, "and the hell will freeze over before I allow you to touch her!”

I was mad with anger, adrenaline was flowing in my veins, my body glowing red. As I looked at the Shadowdancer, all I could think of was Fluttershy - I was not going to let that bastard hurt her.

“… friend? Do you think she will still be your friend after she finds out, what you did to her princesses?” Shadowdancer asked with a mocking voice.

His words pierced my soul like a hot dagger. I glanced at my hands, my left blade was still extended and bloody - no matter how hard I tried to deny it - he was absolutely right. Fluttershy would never forgive me, I could see her sad face, crying and asking ‘How could you...’ - the million dollar question I didn't have the answer to.

Before I responded, I tried again to draw my right blade - this time it worked without a problem. “You know - you are probably right,” looking at my blades again I smiled weakly. “But… if you think that changes anything, then you are an idiot. Even if she doesn't consider me a friend - I will protect her, and others like her, from the likes of you - she deserves it.”

“The weak deserve nothing! You are just a fool with a death wish,” Shadowdancer growled, as he drew his swords. “It’s time to put you out of your misery.”

“I may be a miserable, misplaced, suicidal bastard, but I’m not an idiot. I saw one world burn because of people like you, and I will NOT let the same thing happen to another. You’re a disease… and I’m the cure. BRING IT ON BITCH!” I shouted as I jumped into the fight.

***

SMASH!

BOOM!

BANG!

And other sounds of fighting soon filled the room. I quickly realized this guy was not a pushover - he was fast, smart and experienced, both his katana-like swords were flying with tremendous speed. My nano-tech might have given me similar precision and speed, but it was obvious I lacked experience.

“Hrmph!” he shouted, as he used his magic to send one of the swords behind me. That was something I didn't expect, I managed to block both sides for a few moments, but then...

“Argh... Damn it,” I felt the deep cut on my right thigh, SMASH!then the left, SMASH! SMASH! SMASH! then I fell on my back, as multiple locations on my body started to shot pain. After that, I was just protecting myself desperately - but to no avail.

“ARGH!" I shouted as his first sword pinned me to the ground, “...son of a… ARGH!” followed by another. The second one pierced my chest.

Looking at his handiwork, Shadowdancer asked with a surprised voice, “How can you still be alive?”

“...I’m a combat machine you idiot - I got backup systems…” I responded, drowning in my own blood.

He pulled one of the swords out of my body, and standing above me with a grin said, “Let see if you have a backup for your head!”

There was nothing I could do, but watch - of course, I had known from experience that this won’t really kill me - but before I would have regenerated, Equestria would be gone. “So where are those friends of yours now, eh? Who is going to save you? We could have ruled this world together! But I guess it's too late for that now.”

As I heard some movement in the distance - I put a smile on my face and responded, “You guess wrong dead wrong.”

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Three shots hit Shadowdancer, sending him directly at one of the big pillars - breaking it in the process. “Took you long enough,” I said with a weak voice and a small smile.

Shadowdancer slowly got up. “Ugh… wha…? You?!” he shouted with a confused voice, as he saw what hit him.

For a moment time stood still, Shadowdancer was puzzled and shocked. “Your magic - that’s-”

“Impossible…? Hardly," I said, interrupting his speech. "Twilight and I anticipated, you may try messing with my brain - so I was prepared. My right blade was disabled for a reason..."

"What are you saying?!"

"Let's just say that my body was designed to kill or heal at the same time - I’m THAT GOOD!”

Shadowdancer asked with anger, “You did this?! You restored their magic?!”

“And that was with my left hand!” I responded, with a grin on my face.

“ARGH! DIE!” he aimed his horn at me, but before he could fire...

BAAAAM!

Another shot hit him - this time, concentrated energy threw him out of the room - through the window.