His eyes never laughed when he laughed. It is either the sign of an evil nature or of a profound and lasting sorrow.

                                                                                                         - "A Hero of Our Time" by Mikhail Lermontov

***

The Hero Of A Whole Generation

The blinding light penetrated into Silver Dawn's eyes through his eyelids, making him grunt discontentedly and roll over. Alas, he had already woken up and, no matter how hard he tried to snooze a little, he failed to fall asleep again. The black earth pony opened his eyes, adjusting to the brightness of the hospital. The hospital? Again? Silver experienced a severe feeling of deja vu: the bulb, the wooden bed, white walls, dark red curtains... He recollected the recent events. Lancy, the librarian, the Sphere, Stealth...

Stealth!

Silver quickly jumped up, shaking his whole body, standing on four hooves. He felt anxiety crawling through his insides: from the gut to the very heart. He had to act swiftly, before anypony could find him. He had to run - run very, very far away. He had no time to bide.

After making his mind run through a few dozens of various plans of escape - from most unpractical and idiotic ones to the brilliant schemes worth a genuine mastermind - he decided to escape through the window, breaking it. That way, the noise would attract the guards to the room, giving him a few priceless minutes.

Just as the black pony strained every nerve and muscle, the door opened and a familiar red unicorn entered the room. His face carried the usual shiny grin, as if nothing had ever happened between the two ponies: no excursion around Stealth, no revelation of the shocking truth, no sleep spell.

Lancy approached the black pony self-dependently, with the feeling of his undoubtful importance. He put a hoof on the frozen pony's shoulder, slightly patting it in an almost-friendly manner.

"Silver, pal, how's it going?" He asked excitedly, holding the black adventurer in place by the shoulder.

Silver Dawn quickly analysed the situation. At first sight, Golden Lance seemed either friendly, as though he had suddenly forgotten about every single event since Silver's arrival, or ignorant. But the experienced black pony knew the red unicorn wasn't forgetful and was by no means ignorant. In that case, what game was he playing? What scheme was he developing? What sinister plan was being born in the depths of the red his mind?

The black earth pony slowly took the red hoof from his shoulder and made a step back, facing the unicorn, keeping his back to the wall - a classical stance of defence. From the experience, Silver knew the golden rule of survival: Strike from behind, keep your back to the wall. So he did now, automatically, his body acting without consulting the mind, rejecting its leading role for a moment.

"No need to be so harsh, Silver, paaaal," Lancy sweetly cooed, taking a step forth. "We're pals, aren't we?" He asked, slowly moving towards the tense earth pony, who gritted his teeth, ready for whatever would happen. Silver was ready for torture, for pain, for death. But he would express his attitude towards the confounded unicorn first. Oh yes, he would tell that insane fanatic everything he deserved!

However, the very instant the black pony opened his mouth, he failed to emit any kind of imputable speech. He suddenly felt embarrassed and confused, unable to form his phrases properly. And, as it usually happens in such cases, he quietly mumbled:

"But you... enchanted me..."

The red unicorn chuckled.

"Well, I've just provided you with a few hours of sleep, Silver, pal! What's wrong with that?" He asked, raising a brow and smiling.

Although Lancy's reasoning was quite assuring (He really knows a thing or two about hypnosis... Silver thought), the horrible fact that the unicorn was a supporter of a merciless carnivore - the Sphere - immediately came to Silver Dawn's mind, giving him a weighty argument against Lancy's persuasive chatter.

"You worship an object that devours ponies!" Silver yelled at the top of his lungs, breathing heavily, ready to change his defensive stance into an offensive one any second.

Lancy widened his eyes in surprise and, as it seemed to the black pony, not a fake one.

"Silver, pal!" He exclaimed, shortening the distance between the two ponies. "I don't worship the Sphere! It's just the foundation of our economy. Without it, we wouldn't be able to survive - and with it, we not only survive but also let our citizens live in happiness and prosperity!" Lancy's voice was firm, articulate, his grin was assuring and confident.

Silver Dawn hesitated for a moment. So, Lancy wasn't a fanatic. But of course he wasn't! If he were, he would have acted differently, expressing fundamentalist views, not creating tirades about free-thinking and freedom of choice, as he did... yesterday? Two days ago? How long have I been asleep? Silver thought, but quickly perished the thought. He had some business to discuss.

"It's inequine, Lancy," the black pony emphasised the last word, savouring it, almost mocking the unicorn, who, as it could be clearly seen, either didn't notice the change of tone or decided not to notice it. "You are spending souls for energy. You imprison ponies in this place. And you still think you dare think of freedom?" Silver roared, stomping his hoof, perturbed by an overwhelming feeling of disdain towards the red unicorn. "You may torture me, you may kill me, but do believe me, the vengeance will come! Sooner or later, the ponies of Stealth will overthrow your dictatorship!" He finished his speech on a high note, glaring daggers at Lancy, ready to fight for his life and freedom.

That was it. Freedom. Freedom was the reason why he kept carrying on on his pointless journey. Freedom was his reason to live. Throughout his life, he had mistaken his feelings. He wasn't proud to be alone. He was proud to be free. And only now, before the inevitable death, he realised it. It made him feel warm and content. It made his undying fury flow in the direction of Golden Lance. It gifted the earth pony new powers that he felt deep inside, that were ready to break free.

However, Lancy's reaction quite differed from what Silver was expecting. The unicorn shook his head, looking offended, his grin faded. He sighed and shook his head once more.

"Silver, pal... Do I look like a dictator?" He raised his head, looking into Silver's eyes. Lancy's eyes were teary, staring into the black pony's soul. "I don't rule the town. I just found the Sphere and founded Stealth - I'm a mere... coordinator, if I may say," Lancy spoke in a tranquil voice, making the lavender-coated adventurer gradually calm down. "Next, you're accusing me of being inequine. Silver, pal, if you were a realist, you would see that the nature of the Sphere is not yet explained; thus, it takes ponies' lives without our help - it just happens... But it does provide the town with free energy. We cannot stop using such a powerful source of energy - we're no philanthropists. Think about it from a different perspective - sacrificing the lives of those over twenty-five, we grant protection to those under twenty-five. Were it not for the Sphere, much more ponies would have died," he continued, his words reaching Silver's ears, crawling to his mind, making him succumb to the unicorn's logic. "Last but not the least, you're accusing me of repressing equines' rights, right? But I assure you, Silver, pal, that those ponies are free. They have all possible freedoms and rights you can imagine. Freedom of speech, freedom of expression..."

"Freedom of dying at twenty-five," Silver interjected, almost defeated by Golden Lance's logical conclusions, but still somewhat biased towards the unicorn.

Lancy exhaled wearily. He tried to put a hoof on the Silvers shoulder, but the black pony prevented the action by stepping back, now leaning against the wall.

"Silver, pal, it may be hard to believe, but ponies do it freely. Most of them understand the importance of self-sacrifice, you see. They are happy with their lives and they don't want to live or, what is even more absurd, overthrow my non-existent tyranny," Golden Lance finished wearily - Silver could clearly see the unicorn was exhausted. But he also noticed Lancy was talking honestly. Either he was telling the truth (the black pony had already considered it as a possible option) or he really did believe in his lie.

There was only one way to find out, and the suggestion, to Silver's surprise, came from Lancy himself.

"Hay, Silver, pal, if you don't believe me, maybe you will believe them? Let's go in the streets and ask common ponies about how they are truly feeling and, I assure you, you will be very surprised," the red unicorn said, turning away from the black pony, slowly making his way to the door.

Why am I always the one who's following and not the one who's leading? Silver Dawn silently wondered before agreeing to test Lancy's theory and going outside after the self-proclaimed 'coordinator'.

***

The town of Stealth welcomed the two ponies with its usual bustle and business. Everypony seemed hectic, were they simply trotting along the road or actually galloping somewhere, towards their phantasmal destination. The sun was bathing in its own warmness high in the sky, though ready to descend, and the buildings were casting quite long shadows, letting weary citizens hide from the intense heat of the celestial body. Young ponies were everywhere, excitedly looking around, chatting or admiring the perfect town - the town of bliss, the town of action, the town of youth, the town of death.

Silver Dawn didn't share their vigour. He stood erect, looking around, waiting for Lancy to offer him at least a piece of proof to his weird, yet seemingly honest words.

Lancy huffed at the black pony's stiffness and, upon noticing an adolescent pegasus wandering aimlessly about the town, waved his hoof, gesturing for the young citizen to come up to him.

The pegasus noticed the two ponies and, smiling innocently, approached them. His coat was cyan, his mane was dark green. His eyes were shining with such hope and faith that Silver had to look aside, unable to see any more happiness.

The black pony couldn't say he was offended by seeing content ponies all around the place. Yet, somewhere deep inside, he envied them. He had wasted his life by trying to survive, whilst these greenhorns looked satisfied and glossy, unaware of the dangers of the rotten outside world. They were happy in their cage, in this heavenly prison. Silver envied them, true, but he never wanted to be similar to them. He knew the torments of the real word, real life, real challenge to sustain the weak dying fire of existence burning inside every creature. He was stringer. He was sturdier. He was hardened by the reality. They weren't. And that was Silver's superiority.

The lavender-maned adventurer managed to look straight into the young pegasus' eyes, then directed his gaze towards Golden Lance.

The white-maned unicorn shook the pegasus' hoof, grinning in the usual way.

"Hi, pal!" He said unconstrainedly, smiling first at the pegasus, then at Silver. The colt returned the smile. The earth pony frowned.

"Hey, Lancy! 'Sup?" The cyan pegasus smiled, looking at the red unicorn with anticipation. He was longing to hear from Lancy. He was yearning for the answer, not unlike a young colt desired a long-awaited autograph from a celebrity.

"You see, pal, this lad here..." Lacy pointed at Silver, making the earth pony shrug in displeasure. "...thinks I'm kinda evil dictator suppressing ponies' freedom," he finished, smiling indulgently. The smile was oriented at Silver, though the unicorn was addressing the pegasus.

The cyan colt chuckled, then snickered, holding a fit of laughter inside his gut. Alas, he couldn't help it and, in a moment, he burst out into laughter, wiping a tear off his eye. Silver noticed that the pegasus' laugh was natural, contrary to Lancy's. It seemed as though the whole statement seemed extremely funny to the colt, and he didn't hesitate to express his attitude.

"Good one, pal," the green-maned pony chuckled and patted Silver on the back, much to the black pony's astonishment. "Lancy - a dictator? Heh, hilarious," he finished, facing the black pony, admiring Silver's wit.

The black adventurer groaned and facehoofed, embarrassed by the colt's reaction.

"No, no, no!" Silver exclaimed, trying to reach the core of the pegasus' mind to explain himself clearly, so that the colt would realise the importance and gravity of the matter.  "I'm serious, um... pal," he continued, still not used to the form of addressing in Stealth. which, to him, seemed not only unusual but rather meaningless. "Can't you see you're locked in this place?" He exclaimed, fortifying his question with a stomp of a hoof.

The pegasus looked at him in lack of understanding, raising his brow a little.

"Pal, what's wrong with that? You really sure you wanna live in the outside world?" He said, putting as much disdain in the last two words as Lancy did. Those ponies obviously had some serious issues with the outside world, Silver noticed. "What's more, it's dangerous as hay there and safe here. I'd like to see somepony trade living in Stealth to living there!" The colt exclaimed, concluding his unpretentious speculation.

The black earth pony couldn't decide whether the colt before him were mentally blind or plainly stupid.

"You will die when you're twenty-five, pal," he said, amazed by the locals' logic.

The colt shrugged, shaking his head, as if he were explaining the simplicity itself, and Silver were an ignorant student unable to understand the simplest fundamental points of life.

"Pal, that's life. You either live happily for twenty-five years here, or you live there and die in pain in a few years, or even months!" The pegasus still tried to make his point clear to the stubborn earth pony, who refused to learn.

"But I survived! I've lived for twenty-four years, twenty of which I've spent alone in the wilderness, trying to survive! And I managed to do it, and managed well, if I may say!" Silver tried to be gentle but he was beginning to lose his composure, almost shouting at the colt, who honestly couldn't understand the black stranger's point of view.

The pegasus shrugged again.

"Well, you're lucky, pal, what can I say? But most ponies want peace, not your deadly 'freedom'," he told Silver, when a pair of unicorns passing by hailed the pegasus by name: "Dusty, going to the cinema or what?"

Dusty. The name didn't suit him even a little bit, Silver speculated. Something like 'Shiny' would fit - the whole figure of the pegasus was shining with faith in the future and hope - feelings that the black pony had destroyed by his own device long ago.

The cyan colt gifted Lancy with a warm, almost loving, smile and even grinned a bit at Silver.

"Sorry, pals, my friends are calling me! Gotta go now!" He said and trotted towards the unicorns upon receiving an approving nod from Lancy and a confusing glance from Silver.

As the three youngsters walked down the road, Silver overheard a part of their conversation:

"And then he said Lancy's an evil dictator!" Dusty laughed, and so did the two unicorns. One of them said, chuckling and letting out a sigh:

"Oh, newbies can be so amusing! Lancy - a dictator? Heh, he's waaaay too awesome to be a dictator!"

The other unicorn shook his head approvingly.

"Yeah, he's like, the hero of a whole generation!" He exclaimed, receiving approving nods from his friends. As the ponies proceeded on their way, their silhouettes became illegible, their voices became quieter and quieter, up to the point when Silver couldn't hear a word they were saying.

The hero of a whole generation. That's what Lancy was for them. A hero. The hero of their generation, the only generation in Stealth. The hero of fake happiness. The hero of artificial bliss. The hero of voluntary, yet inevitable, death. Silver felt his face fade, his legs trembling, his mood collapsing into misery.

"They're just brainwashed... Simply zombified..." He mumbled, still not believing what he had heard. His ears could perceive the information but his brain could not. He wanted all of this to be a bad dream - one of those nightmares he was having from time to time. But it felt real and, as a matter of fact, it was.

The hero of a whole generation, however, felt as content as he had felt before. He patted the black pony on the back and, much to Lancy's surprise that could be noticed by his raised brows, Silver didn't hesitate this time.

"Silver, pal, you can believe in whatever makes you happy but we don't have brainwashing technologies here," Golden Lance said cautiously, stepping back from the black earth pony. "Besides, the overwhelming majority of Stealth citizens really enjoy their lives. They are happy because we provide them with all the opportunities to live happily!" Lancy exclaimed, once again in his element. "We give them free education, free entertainment, free food, free homes!" He talked like a native orator, his voice majestic, his gestures influential, his arguments weighty.

Suddenly, Lancy brought his speech to a halt, hitting his forehead with a hoof.

"Oh, I've totally forgotten! While you were sleeping..." Lancy said nonchalantly, as if it weren't him who put Silver to sleep in the first place. "...I found you a nice flat near the centre of the town. We simply must visit it!" He exclaimed, beginning to walk down the road steadily, but not fast, letting Silver make up his mind.

Silver Dawn was confused. He was utterly perturbed. The most awful discovery was that ponies actually liked Stealth and, to Silver's horror, not without a reason. They were leading happy lives for free - but they were living on credit, for they had to pay later - with their lives. Well, I haven't much of a choice, have I? The lavender-maned earth pony asked himself and sighed in misery.

He looked at Lancy. The red unicorn was slowly moving down the road. Step by step. Like he, Silver Dawn, was moving through the desert when his life was saved by this terrifying hero. The hero of a whole generation... Silver thought, looking at Lancy's back, inhaling deeply.

Embarrassed and disconcerted, he followed the unicorn with calm humility, dragging his hooves, his head hanging low, worse than the time he was struggling to cross the ghastly desert.

***

As Silver Dawn was following Lancy, his brain was trying to overcome the feeling that something was definitely amiss. Lancy was clear about their intentions: he never hushed up that they killed ponies - maybe without their will, but killed them nevertheless. He spoke about freedom - and he was right. As they were walking down the road, the earth pony saw placards reading 'We shall overcome the Sphere's tyranny!' and 'Down with Lancy!' The red unicorn only chuckled when he saw those posters. There were rebels, he said, but the local police weren't persecuting them, for the freedom of expression was a fundamental rule of Stealth. Silver couldn't help noticing that even those dissidents who were against Golden Lance still called him by his endearing nickname.

There was freedom, there was legal opposition, there was crystal transparency between the 'coordinator team' and the citizens of Stealth... But why was Silver in misery? Was it because he didn't approve of the way they maintained the place or... because he wouldn't have the opportunity to live there for more than a year? Such thoughts were contributing to the severe state of confusion the black pony had been experiencing for some time now.

His thinking process swiftly ceased at the sight of a magnificent four-storey building that appeared before his eyes. Silver raised his head, admiring the polished stone walls of the house, its wonderful window panes and luring curtains behind the windows that were creating a peaceful and calm atmosphere of being home.

Lancy stopped in his tracks, levitating a shiny object towards Silver. The earth pony took it in his mouth. It was a key. And Silver knew what it would open. As in corroboration of his thoughts, Lancy said:

"Fourth floor, flat number fifteen. Hope you like your new home, Silver, pal. I won't hinder you."

Silver Dawn tucked away his defiance and simply nodded, stupefied by the pleasant feeling of holding a key to his own flat. Since the Cataclysm destroyed his kin in its blind wave of destruction, the poor colt never had even his own room, not to mention a house or a flat. He felt warmness in his chest and even wanted to express his gratitude to the unicorn but Lancy had already left.

This place is strange as hay... I really do need to think about it later, Silver thought, brushing aside his speculations about the strange snag that inhabited the town. Now, they could wait. Now, he was on his way to his flat. His own flat.

It is sometimes so entertaining to see how one's sophisticated philosophy and convictions are outshone by something as simple as a new item - or place - or feeling. It envelops one whole, and all the fundamental beliefs remain outside for that period, while the rapture from something new still remains. Silver was no exception to this rule of life.

He opened the front door, only to see a simple staircase in front of him and a corridor on the left, leading to a small area circumscribed with four doors - undoubtfully, the doors to the flats. Well, what were you expecting - an elevator? Silver chuckled and ascended the stairs.

He reached the fourth floor, taking a turn to the left, where he saw a tiny area similar to the one he had seen before, on the first floor - four doors with numbers on them. Silver came up to the door that had number '15' on it. He reached it with a hoof and gently and lovingly stroked the wooden rectangle, feeling the coldness of the metal number and the door handle.

He had a strange feeling in his stomach. He was getting very excited and, without further hesitation, he opened the door and entered the flat.

A single room rose before his eyes. There was a simple wooden bed - a twin of the bed from the hospital, no less - and a cupboard made of the same material. The curtains were dark red. A single bulb was hanging from the ceiling. In the distance, Silver could see the switch. He approached it and turned on the light. The room looked slightly brighter, allowing Silver to realise the actual colour of the curtains was deep purple, not dark red. He saw another door, a smaller one, on the opposite wall. He came up to it, turning the door knob. It was a bathroom and, as it seemed to the black pony, a good one. There was a steel shower cubicle and a porcelain lavatory pan - not a rich interior, but functional enough.

Looking around, Silver noticed (not without a hint of delight) that the studio was extraordinarily cosy. He had never felt so attached to a place before, and he was savouring the wonderful feeling of warmness in his chest. He wandered around the room, stroking the soft sheets on the bed, opening and closing the cupboard for no discernible reason. At last, he resolved to put the key in the cupboard and go outdoors. First of all, the weather promised to be fine and, moreover, he still had to ask Lancy a couple of questions. And examine how well this place is guarded... He made a mental note.

After leaving the flat and closing the door behind him, Silver Dawn suddenly paled and looked at the shut door. The key! The key was inside, peacefully lying in the cupboard. Silver groaned and swore under his breath. Now he had another good reason to meet Lancy. The black pony silently wondered if the red unicorn had a spare key.

As Silver descended the staircase, he noticed an opened door on the first floor. Part of him told him to keep the urge to investigate, but another part was egging on him, persuading him to go explore. Giving himself up to his natural impetuous curiosity, the lavender-maned pony trotted in the direction of the opened door, standing next to it. There was no sign of action inside. Maybe somepony just forgot to close the door? Nothing special. None of your business, Silver, he thought. Such an idea was soothing enough and Silver walked towards the exit of the building, glancing at the door for the last time before leaving the building.

He stood in front of the house for some time. He was considering what to do next. The idea of checking the defence of the town looked pretty appealing; however, he still had to find a spare key somewhere. After a minute of mental discourse, Silver resolved to find Lancy first. Moreover, if the unicorn were really honest, he would simply tell the inquisitive newcomer whether the defence were weak or insurmountable.

As SIlver Dawn trotted up the stone-paved road, he couldn't get rid of the thoughts about that door. He could swear that it wasn't a mere coincidence - throughout his life, he had developed an impressive intuition that made him experience tangible premonitions each time something was amiss. And he had such a premonition now.

Cursing his light-heartedness, the black adventurer galloped back to his new house (his stream of consciousness caught hold of the word 'his' subconsciously) and swung the front door open, swearing he would kick himself if the door would be locked.

But it was still open. Upon letting out a relieved sigh, he approached it, trying to look through the hole.

He immediately felt something heavy hit him on the head, making him faint momentarily.