The Darkness in our Souls

by Black Light

Chapter 74

Chapter 74

I stood in the hallway the girls in front of me. Skies had come over and was laying on my back. "...So...I suppose you have questions." I said breaking the silence.

"You could say that." Twilight told me.

I sighed. "Come on, let's go someplace more private." I said as I walked away. We managed to find our way to the top of the castle. I took a seat on the edge overlooking the city. Rainbow and Skies each sat on one side of me while the others stood around us. "Well, ask away." I said to them.

"...Do you really think that everypony can't just live in peace?" Twilight asked.

"Considering that there will always be ponies like Sombra, I do think that. You're all lucky though, Equestria is better than everywhere else. Griffin kingdom, Minitour lands, Zebra tribes. They have to deal with many more and much worse hardships." I told her.

"Like what?" Rainbow asked.

"An ever changing leadership, civil wars, assassins, raiders." The girls were staring at me. "All that and worse."

The girls were silent. "Alright fine so we're lucky, but why does that mean that you need to be able to do the hard things, isn't that why we have guards?" Twilight asked.

"Guards are there to protect the peace, but they don't fight for it. If the peace is taken away there's nothing they can really do to get it back." I told them. "A guard's job is to keep ponies alive, not take lives."

"Well it's not your job either." Rainbow told me.

"Maybe not, but if I don't who will?" I responded. "I'm one of the few ponies who can kill with little to no remorse, and sometimes I'm needed to."

"You shouldn't ever need to." Twilight scolded.

"Nopony should, but then reality kicks in. You remember the Crimson Hoof gang, or the Shadow Servers?" I asked, no doubt they did. The girls cringed slightly confirming my thoughts. "Life can be cruel, it can be kind, it can be nothing. That's what life is, an everchanging chaos that is impossible to predict."

The girls were silent.

I turned around and looked out at the kingdom below me. "Those ponies down there don't show it, but inside their hearts are hurting. They smile not because they are truly happy, but so that others will see it and just maybe forget the fear for a little bit. It's easy for them now, but soon the world will catch up and smiling will become harder and harder for them." I told the girls. "In one maybe two more generations the fear will pass though. The children will grow up not knowing the true feeling of fear that those before them knew. To them, it will probably just be another history lesson to sleep through, but to those that were here it will be all too real."

"That's terrible, how can you just say things like that?" Twilight asked.

"Because I'm all to familar with it. For example, the tale of Nightmare Moon. To you all it was nothing but a story, but to Celestia it's a different story entirely. I've felt the sadness that she feels from it. To somepony who was there, history means very different things." I told her.

There was a silence and then I heard a small sigh from behind me. I turned and saw Celestia and Luna standing there behind the girls. The girls bowed and I turned back towards the city.

"Um, Is-is that true?" Twilight asked her mentor.

"Yes my student, to many now the tale of Nightmare Moon is a happy tale, of the day a great evil was banished, but to me it is the day I was forced to banish my sister. What Shadowmere said is true, though I would've prefered if he had refrained from talking about it." Celestia said. I wasn't looking, but I'm sure she had a small glare aimed at me.

"My appologies." I said still looking away.

I heard a sigh and hoof steps towards me. Both Rainbow and Skies backed away from me as the Celestia came and stood next to me. "You have a very cynical outlook on life don't you?" She asked.

"In my position can you blame me?" I responded.

"I suppose I can't, but you can try to keep it to yourself." She told me.

"I did for the longest time. I tried to seem as normal and happy as I could before, but now it just seems like everywhere I look there's something reminding me of how hopeless this world seems." I told her.

Celestia sighed. "The world isn't hopeless. As long as we have friends and family we can always find happiness and hope somewhere." She countered.

"Friends and family was never really my strong point." I told her.

"Maybe previously, but now you have friends, you have your sister, you're even having a casual conversation with a princess right now." She said.

I felt a soft smile come across my mouth. "That I do, but the past can be hard to forget." I responded.

"Yes, it can be, but that doesn't mean you can't try." Celestia said. "If you can continue to smile through dark times eventually good things will come, you just need to wait for them."

I closed my eyes. Many memories flashed through my mind. Discovering my ability, getting disowned, run out of towns. However, then there was Skies, Rainbow, and the girls there too. I put on a small smile. "Well I just hope they don't decide to take their time." I said to Celestia.

She gave me a smile in return. "Just focus on the positive and I'm sure they won't." She told me.

I gave a small nod, then my smile wavered. "and... how are they?" I asked.

Celestia sighed. "They've calmed down for the time being. I think in time, as long as they are able to share their thoughts with, they should be fine...I think Spike would probably be bettter confiding in Twilight." She added as an after thought.

"No argument there." I agreed. "I can be rather blunt."

The roof was silent for some time. I couldn't say if it was a content silence or an akward silence. Whatever it was I decided to break it.

"So any plans on when we'll be leaveing the empire?" I asked. "I'm not necessary the most fond of this place."

The princesses gave a small chuckle. "The two of us plan to leave tomorrow. If you wish to leave then, you could accompany us." Luna said.

I looked to the girls. "I don't know about you, but I'll be taking that offer, I'd like to get back to my own bed." I told them.

They smiled. "As much as I would like to stay with my brother for a bit longer, I do need to get back to some of my research. We have been away for a little while." She said.

"Yeah, and the clouds here are nowhere near as comfortable as a Ponyville cloud." Rainbow said.

The rest of us rolled our eyes. "So no objections to taking the morning train back home." I said. The word home was still slightly foreign to me. After the years of constant travel it was a strange feeling havin a permanent house to go back to. The girls shook their heads though. "Then I suggest we pack up tonight. Don't want to be tardy tomorrow." I said with a smirk casting a quick glance towards Twilight who was now glaring at me. The rest of my company however was snickering, including the princesses.

"I'm right here you know." Twilight said.

"What are you talking about? Did I say anything about you?" I asked innocently. Twilight's eye twitched slightly. I just chuckled. "Seriously if you don't want me to tease you don't react so hilariously." I told her.

Twilight just rolled her eyes and looked away. "When you decide to be serious I'll talk to you again." She said.

The silent treatment...wow... that's really foalish. Well then, I can play this game. I smirked. "But aren't you talking to me again right now?" I asked her with a smirk.

"Well, no- I mean-" She started.

"You're doing it again now." I interrupted causing the others around us to chuckle.

Twilight just kept her mouth shut.

"See, you just keep talking to me."

"What? When?

"Right now." I answered smiling.

The girls around us began to laugh, while Twilight's eye started twitching again. Why is that so satisfying? Eventually Twilight just sighed, taking a few deep breaths.

"...Why did I fall for that?" She asked herself.

I just smiled and walked over to her. I patted her one the head. "Because you lack my amazing social skills." I told her.

"Your amazing social skills?" She asked amused.

"Hey, you try convincing entire towns that your not a monster for over seventeen years. It makes you a pretty good public speaker." I told her with a smile as I walked off, Skies close behind me. Behind me was silence. Once again I am victorious through my illogical logic.

Comments

[Amethyst Blade]

That was...illogical. So much so it's become as logical as Vulcan.

[Alicon Glactistar]

4140819 I have that feel that you are putting in the slow and dull chapters just to get them out of the way and saving the juicy chapters for later.

So how many till the good stuff comes?

Also nice chapter.

[Black Light]

4141864
I will never say.
and thank you.
~Black Light

[Alicon Glactistar]

4145776

[Black Light]

4148185
...
?
~Black Light

[Alicon Glactistar]

4161366

[Black Light]

4164257

~Black Light

[Phys]

Shadow in the beginning makes me feel like he's going to become the one who started WWII