I was having an existential crisis.

Well, I had been having one since I learned I was the last human on our earth, and although it may not be as shocking now, it really wasn't the most pleasant of feelings. Everyone asks themselves 'Why am I here?', and everyone has their own answers. Back before the bombs fell, I had a purpose in life. I was a sniper. I was an assassin. I was a killer. But I'm also a very spiritual man. If God didn't think what I was doing was what He wanted me to... would I be doing it? But regardless, every shot I made, every head I blew apart, every young life I cut short... I wasn't a monster. But that never stopped me. I had a duty, and I lived to fulfill that duty.

Now, I'm not of any specific religion or faith. I choose what I want to believe and I believe what feels right. I knew that my actions were for the greater good. 'Kill the few to save the many' and all that. But also, every shot I took was still ending a life. Although it was simply the killing of a body and the release of the soul, the body is what we know is there. Each kill... They hurt me more than the target. But I can sleep every night because I believe that the body is merely the 'clothes' of the soul, and the soul sheds these bodies like we do clothes. But what I've done... I can only hope I will be forgiven. If not... I will take any punishment that is given; my kill count... I remember every single shot, every scream, every plume of red, grey, and white, and I remember every single face.

Tears began to pool at the corners of my eyes.

But that all is one side of me. I'm... I was more than that. I wasn't just a soldier or assassin at one point. I was a person. I wasn't just a mechanical reaper of bodies and collector of souls. I was a man.

I was kneeling in front of the cell door, meditating on myself, reaching for my inner peace, my center.

I was more than just a tool to eliminate targets...people. I had a life outside my job. I was a man.

My eyes opened, and I reached into one of my armor's pockets. My fingers found what they were looking for, and they brought the folded piece of paper up. I reached my other hand up to it, and I unfolded it.

I looked at the faded picture of my most valuable loss... and the first tear rolled down my cheek.

The sound of clopping hooves broke my concentration. I sat up, replaced the picture where it was, and waited.

The sound grew louder, and I could make out two distinct sets of hooves. Moments later, two ponies appeared in front of my still-unlocked cell. They were both stark-white pegasi in gold-trimmed armor. There was no possible way these were the same two soldiers as the other pairs.

"You will follow us, and you will not make any aggressive moves. Understand?" The one on the left spoke.

I nodded, and stood up off the ground. The guard opened the door with a wing, and I stepped out. So they were finally doing something with me, eh? About time...

I followed the two guards mindlessly as I returned to my introspection. 'Why was I here?' As of now, I had a legacy to live. I am human. We don't give up. Ever. If nothing else... I would leave my history and my race's in the legacies of these creatures, so that we could serve as examples to these all-too-human ponies. My race... we were the greatest. There is no denying it. But that greatness destroyed us. We focused so much on advancement of ourselves, we forgot to help our neighbor up the slope too. And then we turned on each other. No surprise there.

We had walked for a while, and I wasn't keeping track of where we were going... but my AR was. It was probably analyzing the routes and alternative routes I could take to get from point A to B, C, D, E, or F. We passed by everything from janitorial closets to giant, ornate stained-glass windows.

Soon enough, we came across a crossroads. To the right was a huge set of opulent doors, made of what seemed to be solid gold, engraved with a stylized sun and moon. To the left... a pair of doors, just like those, double the size of the right side's.

Really? These doors were probably worth in the billions of credits melted down... and probably trillions if one were to count their origin and engravings... each.

I sighed to myself as we turned right, and the doors opened into a large room. Or, more like a giant freaking gorgeous throne room for a god-princess. The floors nearly shined with polish, and the checkerboard pattern had perfect shades of white and black. I had never seen such a bright white or dark black before in my life. A red velvet carpet led up to a set of stairs, and on top, were a pair of thrones. One seemed to be made of pure marble, as stark-white as the floors, and the other was a jet-black onyx. They were both adorned with jewels and engravings of the opposite color. The black throne had white gems, probably diamonds and opals, and the white had black gems, probably obsidian or something. The sides of the halls, nearing up to the throne, had sets of bleachers, what I would assume were for some sort of Parliament or council. There was room for around a hundred ponies on each bleacher.

There were two things, however, that drew my wandering gaze from the throne room's decorations. There was the purple unicorn, the one I shot, sitting next to the white throne, and on the white throne, there sat a taller pony, with both wings and a horn, glaring at me. For a moment, I could actually feel the heat radiating in that stare, and I decided that this pony's looks could kill. I followed the pair of guards up to the throne, but I did ensure my mag-rifle was easily accessible from my back.

The pegasi guards walked me up to the throne, and they began to speak to the large pony, probably a ruler of some sort. The second throne indicated either a monarchy, with the king being absent, or a diarchy.

My eyes wandered their way over to the purple unicorn, and I realized that she had been staring at me the entire time. I looked at her for a moment and then smiled. She looked slightly... well, very nervous, but the presence of the white pony seemed to calm her down.

This was going to be a long day.

Author's Note

He still has his rifle because SA did NOT go and tell the Princess what he had done. And nopony knows exactly what it is...

Yours truly is starting to go into Writers' Block. This is not good. I'm probably going to release another chapter of my Epics of Equestria thing first, and then probably work on one from the Barrows crossover, and then maybe even put out an anti-chapter for Infamous.

If you have ever role-played the Princess and/or know how her personality works, PM me, cuz I don't.