//------------------------------//
// Murder 
// Story: Fixing Flashlight 
// by Neroson40 
//------------------------------//

	The first thing I realized when Kayen stopped attacking was that my sword was stuck in something. Then I felt something warm and wet covering my face. I touched my face, like I did to learn I was crying while I had amnesia, but this time it came back bloody. Then I heard a clang, as Kayen’s weapon fell out of his hands. I looked up and saw a face of terror on Kayen.
“What… have… I-I… done?” he slumped over me and I pushed him to my left. I was horrified at the picture there, a limp and lifeless Kayen, eyes and mouth open in fear with my sword sticking out of his chest. I stabbed him… I killed him… it didn’t matter that he was family (Which only added to the finality); I had taken somepony’s life. With all that on my shoulders, I screamed.
“Flash,” Tenebrae said. “I’m so sorry this had to happen.”
“Did it have to happen!?” I yelled bitterly at him.
“No it didn’t, but if it didn’t it would’ve been you lying there dead!” he yelled back. He was right of course, but it didn’t help. If this was the nature of war, I didn’t want to be a soldier.
“I’m done,” I announced. “I can’t do this.”
“You have to,” Tenebrae said. “No one else is capable of leading the Guardians. The Elements of Chaos always choose their perfect match.”
“Well this time, you chose wrong. How do I go back to my pony body?”

I figured out the transformation thing and rushed out of the cave and the forest. I thought about going back to Ponyville and seek comfort from my sister, but decided not to. After all, she never really killed anypony or watched as they died. It was then that I remembered the promise I made in Shining’s office, to find my aunt, uncle and brother. So I boarded a train to Canterlot to find out what I could from the Princesses. I couldn’t sleep. Not since what happened in the cave. I started thinking about the justice system we had in Equestria. If you killed somepony and for whatever reason you didn’t care about the consequences, you‘d plead “Guilty”. If you didn’t kill anypony, or you wanted to get away with it you’d plead “Not Guilty.” But if you killed somepony who attacked you with the intent to kill, you’d plead “Justified Self Defense.” I wondered if I would ever feel like I could plead anything but Guilty to killing Kayen.
I got off at my stop and went up to the castle, greeting the guards by name as I went to the audience chamber.
“Flash!” Celestia said. “What a surprise! What can we do for you?”
“I’m… looking for somepony,” I said. “My Uncle Play Maker… and my Aunt Blujay. They took custody of my Brother… and I want to see him, at least once.”
“Do they have any reason for you not to see him?” Luna asked.
“If they do, I can’t remember it.” I said. “They wiped my memory of them, my cousin Sunny (you remember her right Princess Celestia?), and First Base. Second to seeing Base, I want to know why.” They looked at each other and nodded. They called one guard, one I didn’t know very well, and told him to look for them in the Census Room.
“Flash,” Luna said. “We heard about what happened during your mission.”
“Please,” I said. “I don’t want to talk about that!”
“Too bad,” Celestia said. “You have to.” I knew Celestia enough to know that there was no way to avoid it. “Knighted Nightmare was the most ruthless soldier in the guard. His superiors gave him an order to capture a criminal alive; he’d kill the target no questions asked. Giving him an Honorable Discharge was the most merciful thing we ever did to him. All evidence pointed to the idea that he shouldn’t be a Guard anymore. According to Shining Armor, he attacked you after you stopped fighting, but he wouldn’t say why you started.”
“I thought he would’ve told you,” I said.
“He said it’d be your place in the letter,” Luna said. “If there’s anything that Kayen said that led you to believe that our country was not a just one-”
“It was a little more personal than that. And because of what he said… I don’t have to forgive my sister.” At their confused faces I told them what Kayen told me, word for word at the part about my dad’s face looking satisfying as he died. The look on Princess Celestia’s face was one that nopony ever saw before. Not me, not Luna, not even Twilight. Horror.
“Flash… I’m sorry, we should’ve dealt with him in a harsher manner,” Luna said. “Maybe if we did you could’ve…” Celestia said nothing.
“It’s fine,” I said. “Nothing we can do now…” Celestia said nothing.
The guard who went to the Census chamber returned with a slip of paper. Luna told him to give it to me.
“Thank you.”
“Aye, sir,” He nodded and left.
“Princess,” I asked not able to stand the fact that Celestia wasn’t saying anything anymore. “Is everything alright?” She looked down, and started shaking.
“I never thought that somepony could take my ideals to heart so strongly that they’d commit murder for them…” I didn’t understand. And I wouldn’t for a while.