Luna once more sits before Slender. Slender once again sits before Luna. The silence has been only interupted by soft 'sips' from Slender as he enjoys what Luna assumes to be a glass of what he calls "Whiskey". One day, when this is all over, she'll ask what the significance of drinking alcohol is to humans. For now though, she had a pressing question to ask.

"Slender, are you a soldier?"

"I thought that much was obvious, but surety is a quality many lack." Slender replies, punctuating his sentence with a sip of his liquor.

"How many have you killed."

"How many what? I've killed many animals in the interest of self preservation."

"How many... Thinking beings have you killed..."

"All creatures think."

"Sentient creatures."

"Sentience is only the ability to know one's surroundings and to act upon that information. That does not narrow the question down."

Luna slams her hooves onto the table "You know what I am asking, Slender! Answer the question!"

"I have" He replies, once more taking a sip of his drink. "'I've killed many animals in the interest of self preservation.'" It suddenly clicks for Luna what Slender means by that, as she slowly sits back down. He's far more dangerous than she thought if every life he's taken he's never seen as anything more than an animal that threatens him.

"If you mean how many sapient lives I've taken. I would have to say one. The day my hubris finally caught up to me and my invincible facade came crumbling down." He leans forwards, looking Luna in the eye. "But I've done my time for that death. Several centuries over have I done my time." He leans back, taking an actual swig of his drink, as if the alcohol would affect him this time and let him forget.

"He was a private, doing his job. Probably had never fired his gun at a live target. I was scared, cornered, trapped. My other eye was gone, my hand was barely on by a thread, and my cover was blown sky high. He never once shot at me, but he was dead before the door was closed behind me. The first human life I'd ever taken, but the only innocent one. I've argued with myself day in and day out about weather that private deserved to die that day or not. Maybe he kicked puppies during his childhood, maybe the mere fact he was in the military meant his life was already forfeit."

Slender looks up from his glass and at Luna "My one regret in life. I do not regret my mistakes leading up to my capture, I do not regret any of the lives I've taken after that point. I don't regret taking in a little girl to turn her into a monster like myself." He looks right up at the ceiling. "But that one death, that one killing. It's the thing I will never let anyone forgive me for. Even if God himself came down and told me 'you are forgiven, come home my son', I would call him a liar to his face." He looks back to Luna "I will burn in hell for that one atrocity, I've served my earthly time for the crime, and I will serve my eternal time for it once I am dead."

Luna by this point, looks at Slender with almost pity. In the back of her mind, she knows this man probably has killed many more innocents in his time, but she can't help but resonate with him somewhat. She knows there's more to his story, that he wasn't always the man she sees her. He wasn't always the killer or monster he claims to be.

Ultimately, she sees herself in him. A poor filly left alone in a world after her parents died, a filly who was shunned because of her birthright, a filly who was outshone by her sister, a filly who would've brought death to the world just to be recognized. She doesn't know his past, and this shows at least some ponanity left in him. This leaves her with much to think about, but she has one more question.

"What lead you to kill 'Private'?"

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note

Ponanity- Pony pun of 'Humanity'

By the way, please point out any times Luna doesn't use pony puns. That includes in the narative text. This is supposed to be told from her perspective.

Along with pony puns, point out any perspective shifts. I might've done those on accident and would like to rectify them.