The Gray Assassin

Silver was sitting on a window sill with her hind-legs dangling beneath her, and staring at the mid-morning sun with a celery sandwich enveloped in her magenta-colored magic. A bird chirped nearby, flying right past her muzzle and landing next to her. "What do you want?" she asked it, shifting her eyes towards the yellow-and-brown colored bird and glaring at it.

It chirped in response and hopped closer to her as if looking for some food. Beady eyes looked over at her sandwich and she growled, taking a bite out of her sandwich as the bird happily jumped into her lap, chirping loudly. Luna, give me strength! her mind screamed. The bird's endless chirping made her sensitive ears twitch repeatedly as she glared down at it with an immense amount of hate. "Would you die? Please, just die," she told it bitterly as she took yet another bite, the crumbs falling into her lap. The small, yellow bird began eating the crumbs off her lap, pecking her hard and sometimes drawing blood. Her ears and eye twitched in rage, staring at the bird before enveloping it in her magic.

"I said die," she growled, snapping its neck as a blank expression fell upon her face once she allowed gravity to take hold of the bird, the critters limp body plummeting four stories to the ground below her. A few horrified gasps were heard beneath her and a smile of content made its way onto her muzzle. At last, some peace and-

"Silver!" A stallions voice happily said as the door swung open from behind her.

"Celestia damnit, Fyre!" she yelled angrily, glaring at him as her cheeks bulged with food.

He let out a chuckle. "Am I interrupting anything?" he asked with a straight-face.

She growled before swallowing her food. "Shut up. What did you need anyway that's so important that you must bug me?" she grunted, staring at him as she shifted her position to have her back against the window sill and her back left hoof dangling below her as she placed her right hoof firmly on the window sill.

"Well," he began, sitting in front of her and mimicking her position. "I have to ask you something."

Silver rolled her eyes, looking outside. "Go on then."

"I-I don't think I should," the white Pegasus stuttered, looking away.

"You're a damn assassin for Celestia's sake!" she yelled at him, impatient and waiting for him to get to the point as to why he interrupted her lunch-time.

"Okay, okay, calm down," he muttered, looking back up to see her ocean blue eyes boring into his flesh. "I was wondering if you'd really go through with killing everypony in this alliance."

Turning her head, her gaze dropped to the ground below them. "Do you think I'm capable of that, Fyre?" she asked solemnly.

"Physically, I believe you can one-hundred-percent. Emotionally though," he stopped himself as she glanced at him through the corner of her eye. "I don't think you could."

She sighed heavily. "You're right on the emotional part," she told him as she turned her head back to face him. "I could never kill anypony close to me. In fact, this entire alliance is close to me altogether." She took a long look around her, the streets below were quiet as a few passerby's cast a glance up at the two. "We're theoretically a family here inside the Assassination Alliance, if you think about it," she murmured, looking deep into the fire-colored eyes of her friend's.

He stared at her for a while, questioning himself on what exactly he should say. "Misty," he began.

"Shut up," she told him, a flash of pain flashing through her eyes, though it disappeared as quickly as it came. "I hate that name. How many times have I told all of you that?"

"Silver, I'm sorry," he apologized. What he was sorry for, he didn't even know for himself, but he just knew he was sorry for all the hardships the mare had gone through her life.

"Don't be, there's absolutely no reason to be sorry for me or for our victims," she bluntly told him. "Besides, there's nothing we can do about the past, so we might as well let go of it and move the fuck on." Once the harsh words left her muzzle, she lifted herself off the ledge with her wings and dove out the window, extending her wings once more before she hit the ground and flew high into the sky, leaving the stallion alone in the attic with her half-eaten sandwich basking in Celestia's warm sunlight.

Sighing softly, he lifted himself off the ledge with his hooves and dropped back down into the attic, looking up at where she went. "Sometimes, Silver Mist, you are as reckless and indecisive as my father was," he said to himself, shaking his head for a few moments. "At other times, you're the nicest and happiest mare I've ever seen, even if that was two years ago. I just wish that your heart wasn't tainted and cursed with all the lives and unhappy souls of all the ponies you have killed with your time here," the muscular stallion finished before walking back to the door, pulling it open to see his sister.

"Where'd Mist go?" Tyde asked. He pushed past her in response, their coats brushing. "Brother, are you okay?" she asked in a more caring and concerned tone as she craned her neck to look at him.

"I honestly don't know, sis," he breathed, looking over his shoulder to briefly glance at his sibling. "At times, I just wish our Misty would be how she used to be before any of this happened." He dismissed himself, trotting away from his younger sister. A single tear rolled down his cheek, the pain in his heart causing his stomach to flip. "I wish I was okay," the stallion whispered to himself as he felt his shoulders slump once he rounded the corner, his sister's eyes no longer felt on his skin.

The water-colored-mane of Tyde's fell over her darker colored eyes in contrast to it as she watched her own brother leave. "As do I, Fyre," she breathed as she trotted into the attic and to the window, staring at the ground below. "We both know that's never going to happen unless she forgets her memory," she continued as her eyes watched the multicolored ponies below trot along the small path, turning to avoid each other.

~   ~   ~

It was mid-day, around three pm when a black blur whizzed past the gray Alicorn, her eyes following after the Unicorn with fire-colored hair much like Fyre's. She turned her head and stared at Silver, a broad grin appearing on her muzzle as a bag of bits came into view, the beige-colored bag enveloped high in her orange-colored magic. She hopped up onto a wall, saluting to the other mare with a wink before teleporting somewhere else, a dozen guards a second too late to catch the crook.

Shaking her head, she trotted out and onto the streets of Manehattan, looking around with a cautious gaze. Then, a brilliant flash of light engulfed her and she was teleported elsewhere. "Where in Tartarus am I?" she asked herself, looking around.

Somepony's horn emitted a soft orange glow, acting as a flashlight in the dark room. "Oh, Silver, it's nice to see you," the voice casually said.

"Blaze," she grunted with little to no enthusiasm in her voice.

"Damnit," the Unicorn mare grunted. "Really though, hey."

"Mmph," she replied. "Where are we exactly?" she asked, looking around the still darkened room.

A light switch was lifted, the lights coming on to reveal Blaze's apartment. "My home," she told her, trotting to the kitchen.

"I wouldn't have guessed." Silver stated in a flat tone as she realized she was sitting in the middle of what appeared to be the living room. Piles of garbage lay in a corner and in another, endless bags of bits were residing under a large blanket. "Why are we here?" she asked again, noticing the black mare avoided her question the first time.

"I had to ask a favor of you," she began, enveloping two ciders from the fridge in her magic and trotting back to the Alicorn, putting one down in front of her.

"That is?" Silver replied, looking down at the beverage.

"I need you to kill somepony," she began, showing a folder to the mare that was hidden behind a couch cushion. She passed it to the mare, the file withholding the name Lightning Slash in bold letters.

Silver read the name over quite a few times, looking up from the file to lock eyes with Blaze. "What does he have to do with you?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Well," she began before pulling out a photo album. Celestia fucking damnit, I didn't want to know your life story with him! Silver's thoughts screamed in anger before the other mare began speaking. "He broke up with me once he found out I was a robber, even though he's in some alliance that is involved with more professional thievery."

Mother of shit, I thought she was talking about the AA. "Go on then," Mist rushed her considering the fact she already has another official assignment from her own alliance.

"I mean, I'm pretty good with my job. I get in, get out. Killing anypony just makes the job ten times harder," she tilted her head to the side before showing the Alicorn a picture of Lightning and Blaze, the two standing back-to-back with hoof-blades. "We had one mission together and I was injured. He left me there," her voice began to become a tad more sadder as she spoke on. Silver was already impatient enough and she did not have any time in all of Equestria to lose if she wanted her now two assignments to blow up in her face. "I was arrested and after I was released, he broke it off with me. He called me a slow, unreliable nuisance."

"Okay, look sweetie, I don't care. Where does he live and where does this alliance of his stay?" the impatient mare pushed on, staring at the other with a blank expression. She enveloped the cider in her magic and took a swig, not taking her eyes off the robber.

Blaze picked up her cider in her magic as well, taking a gulp of the liquor before putting it down in front of her. "Okay, he lives east of Mane Street, somewhere near Sunny Lane. I know that's not much to go by, but his house looks kind of run down. He's a white Pegasus with a black and yellow mane. His cutie mark consists of a dark storm cloud with a single lightning bolt in front of it."

"Oh, I see," Silver murmured in thought. "I need to be paid though."

"Well, of course." The mare enveloped two bags of bits, each holding a good five-hundred or so. "Will this do?" she asked as she put them near her.

She looked at her and then the bags of bits. "You got yourself a deal," she told her with a grin. With that, they shook hooves, sealing the deal.

"When you've successfully disposed of him, you can come back and get your bits," she told her as Silver trotted towards the door. "I'll be here until nine, so take your time."

"Great," she said as she stepped out the door. "See you then," she waved her hoof and spread her wings, flying up into the sky as she began her search for the stallion Blaze was talking about.

~   ~   ~

The mare once again perched herself on a roof. I seem to have taken a liking to roofs, she thought to herself as she saw a white Pegasus fly through the sky. Pulling out the file, she looked the Pegasus over as he flew past her, looking behind him and staring at her for a moment. In response, she deviously smirked, allowing herself to shift into a comfortable position. As if on cue, he turned around, his voice deeper than she expected. "Hello, miss," he stated as he landed next to her, a sly smile on his face.

"Do I know you?" she asked, tucking away the file slowly.

He smirked, moving in closer. There was a heavy scent of both cologne and different types of liquor on his fur and she turned her head, trying to get rid of the awful reek the stallion had. "Well, you could get to know me," he purred.

Damn hormone-crazed demon, she thought bitterly as she looked at him once more, a weak smile on her muzzle. "I'd prefer not," she told him with a firm voice before raising herself up on her haunches and spreading her wings. "I'll be going then," she murmured as she began flying away, only to feel a hard tug at her tail.

Turning her head around, she saw the stallion's eyes. They were yellow, like lightning, and staring at her with a mixture of anger and lust. "You're not going anywhere, princess," he said to her out the side of his mouth.

She looked forward again, a smile of success plastered on her muzzle. "Very well then," she whispered before flying upside-down over him, hitting him hard in the muzzle to release his grip on her tail. He stumbled backwards, landing on his plot and rubbing his nose. Silver landed on the roof, taking a defiant stance and glaring at him.

Lightning looked up at her, growling his next sentence. "You'll pay for that you little bitch!" he charged at her, tackling her with a slight stumble and pinning her down.

Her reaction time was quick compared to his as she slipped out from under him, reeling around to kick him hard with her back hooves in the chest, causing him to fall back as she knocked the wind out of him. "Hello, Lightning," she said to him as she sat on his stomach. "I do believe I know you..." her voice trailed off as she pulled out the file with her magic, showing him it. "Y'know, when your ex is a robber and she has friends that can kill, it isn't very smart to break up with her when you both were robbers."

He sat up and she slammed her hoof again into his muzzle, the blood running down. "Did I tell you that you could get up?"

"I want to get-"

"I don't care what you want to get. Tell me, did I say you can get up?" she asked again.

He shook his head and tried again to get up, the alcoholic stallion too slow to react when her hooves came down on his face too fast for him to protect himself. "Let me go!" he sputtered, spitting blood in her face.

She let back some, staring down at him after she wiped her eyes. Her voice was not how it used to be. Instead, it sounded more demonic with every word she spoke. "You're gonna pay for that," she snarled as she got off him and enveloped him in her magic, teleporting the two high above the ground.

On instinct, his wings jutted out from his sides, flapping furiously. "What the-" he was cut off as Silver looked dead in his eyes, slamming her hoof into his stomach. His wings stopped for a moment and his hooves wrapped around his torso in pain as he fell from the sky, only to have the mare envelope him in her magic and bring him back to eye-level.

"You know," she murmured in her normal tone, "I usually have a lot more fun when the victim fights back." She looked at him as she tapped her chin, the stallion spitting blood at her barrier. "Then there's time when the damn victim wants to be a dumbass and spit in my eyes to try and escape. You wanna know what I call that?"

He shook his head before slamming his hooves repeatedly against the barrier in an attempt to break it. "What the fuck is this made of?" he yelled out.

"No wonder Blaze told me to kill you. You're a complete dickhead," she told him. "Also, why don't you taste it and find out," she sarcastically said before allowing her magic to stop, the stallion plummeting below her. She dove down, slamming her two back hooves into his chest as they fell downwards at an incredibly fast speed.

Grabbing her hooves weakly, he turned them over so he was on top, slamming his front hooves repeatedly into her face. She took the blows before flipping them around again with a hard blow to his stallionhood. He crippled and jumped off of her, cupping his penis in his hooves as he let out a yelp of pain. Silver took this as an opportunity and flapped her wings furiously as she placed her hooves on his shoulders, forcing them to accelerate and approach the ground at a far quicker rate. "Get the fuck off me!" he growled after his dick had felt just slightly better, slamming his hoof hard into her side.

She grunted and flew faster as he repeatedly punched her side, his much stronger hooves doing more damage than she expected. She felt her rib crack inside her and her wings buckled, making them both plummet towards the ground below. She cupped her side in her hoof, air-swimming away from the stallion. He grabbed her tail in his mouth again as they came closer and closer to the ground, making the pain in her side hurt more. "Let go!" she barked, smashing her hind hooves into his muzzle simultaneously.

Lightning let go as they neared the concrete below, going fast enough to break major bones within their bodies. His wings finally jutted out and, just before he flew passed the mare, she grabbed hold of his left wing with her fore-hooves and kicked his wing with her back ones, shattering the fragile bones inside. "Ow!" he cried out in pain, wincing and falling below her. She used this to her opportunity, teleporting to a nearby rooftop as she watching him fall through the midnight sky. There was a loud scream from behind her as she limped weakly away, holding her side in her hoof still as she heard the familiar sound of a body making contact with the concrete.

She looked up at the rising moon, her eyelids heavy. "Damnit," she muttered, flapping her wings unsteadily before collapsing on the roof, her rib taking a toll on her flying ability. "It's eight-thirty almost and she's gonna leave without paying me." She teleported onto various rooftops, leaving Lightning's body in the street for the clean-up ponies in her alliance to take care of. It was nearing her deadline as she dropped down from the rooftops and stuck to the streets, getting closer to Blaze's home.

The black mare was leaving, sliding on a mask to conceal her mane when she spotted Silver limping down the street. On instinct, she galloped towards her, looking her over. "He hurt you," she managed with a horrified gasp.

"Don't you worry about it," the Alicorn responded. "I'll be fine." Her sentence wasn't true as she collapsed on the ground, laying there heaving.

"Do you want me to call the hospital?" Blaze asked in a panicked-tone.

Silver shook her head. "No, just give me my," she coughed, spitting out blood. "Celestia damnit, I wish I could kill him again!" she half-yelled. "Get the bits and I'll just teleport to my home."

Blaze nodded and she disappeared, only to reappear moments later as she dropped the bags in front of Silver. "Thank you," she told her with a smile and a wink. "Just tell me how I can repay you."

"I'll think of a way," she told her as another cough came out of her. She heaved herself up with all the strength she had left, sparking her magic. "Tata, Blaze," she muttered as her and the two bags of bits had vanished.

"Mist, you are by far the most difficult pony I've ever met," she said to herself as she shook her head. "No wonder everypony depends on you." She galloped away from the spot, blending in with the darkness of the night.

~   ~   ~

Silver was now in her room, laying very still as Fyre and Tyde sat at her bedside with the nurse helping the Alicorn. "Silver, did you seriously almost get yourself killed again?" Fyre asked in a serious tone.

"At least I wasn't," Silver replied, rolling her eyes.

"Shut up," the nurse said. "You keep blabbering, you're gonna puncture your lung."

"Oh, shut it Blair," she replied with a grunt.

Blair rolled her eyes. "Don't die tonight," she said in a flat tone as she exited the room.

"Sweet Luna's flank, she is the grumpiest mare I've ever had the displeasure to meet!" Kamos said as he entered the room. "Silver, are you okay?" he asked as he quickly trotted over to her bedside, the twins retreating to their own side.

She weakly waved her hoof. "It's nothing too serious. Just a black eye, slightly torn left ear, and a broken rib," she told him with a quick breath. "It's not that big of a deal."

His expression was pure bewilderment that shifted to horror as he took her hoof in his. "Mist, I'm so sorry, why didn't you-"

"Shut yo bitch ass up," she ordered. "I'll be fine, nothing a few stitches take care of and a day or two for this thing to heal," she told him, pointing to her side.

"Mist, you could have died!" Tyde broke in, looking at her with a concerned expression.

"Look, drama queens," she muttered, rolling her eyes again. "Once my magic is strong enough, I'll cast a healing spell. It'll be fine after a good night's rest. Stop worrying."

The three in the room sighed. "Silver, why do you always say you'll be fine?" Kamos inquired.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"I mean, since day one, you've always said you'd be okay or get better. I've never heard you once say, 'I don't think I'll be okay', or anything else along those lines," Kamos told her. "In fact, half the time you say you're okay, I tend to not believe you. I just want you safe."

Silver smiled warmly. "That's really nice to hear. Thank you."

He smiled back, trotting away from her bed. "You should get some rest. You still owe me that assignment," he winked and disappeared behind the doorway.

"Silver," Tyde began, staring at her. "Fyre and I have something to ask of you."

Her attention span had increased, staring at the twins. "What would that be?" she asked. I feel so vulnerable just laying here... she thought, her hooves shaking as she placed them calmly on her stomach.

"We miss you," Tyde said, looking down.

"How can you miss me if I'm right here?" Silver asked cautiously.

Fyre looked from his sister to Mist, looking her over. "Silvy, look at yourself. Remember everything we did as young foals and up, every mud-ball fight, every time I would mess up your mane and you'd chase Tyde and I around our backyard?"

"Yes, of course I remember, why would you think I wouldn't? Do you think I'd forget that easily?" she asked, sitting up slowly.

Tyde looked up, her eyes slightly watery. "You were nothing like you are now. You used to be open with us, and now," she looked away. "You're just the way you said you'd never be."

Celestia, help me... "What are you talking about? I'm still Silver Mist, just mature."

"You're not mature," Fyre said. "You've grown apart from us and let your assignments take over your life. You can slaughter anypony you please with no remorse, you can do anything you wanted and Kamos would do nothing to stop you. Want to know why?"

She sat there silent now, just staring at the two ponies she has done everything with. Nodding her head, he continued, not even slowing his words or speech. "He's afraid of you. He knows what you're capable of and it's not even because you're an Alicorn. It's because you're one rank below him. One spot from becoming the leader of this alliance and having so many more jobs and responsibilities on your shoulders to make you even more distant."

"That's not true," she bluntly told him. "I could never kill Kamos; I've known him since I was just a foal. Why would I even want to be the leader?"

"Ask yourself that," Tyde interrupted, looking up at the gray mare with an unreadable expression. "You could kill anypony you want if you tried or were driven to it. You could even kill Fyre and I."

"Are you nuts?" she accused. glaring at the mare. "I would never in a thousand years kill you two. Where did this even come from?" Mist asked, looking at the two ponies.

Fyre shook his head. "See? You've changed. I want my Silver back the way she used to be before her heart was tainted and cursed with all the souls of the ponies she has killed."

Silver looked at them in disbelief. "I haven't changed. I've gotten older!"

"Older, schmolder, you're different. That means you're not our Silver anymore and we all know the old you is never coming back home, so why try?" Fyre stated, trotting away and standing in the doorway. "C'mon Tyde, let's get on with our missions before she takes them for herself."

Tyde trotted away, looking back at the gray Alicorn laying in the bed. She mouthed an apology before Mist began screaming out to them. "No, please! Don't go! I need you! I can't lose you!" she yelled as the door closed. She swung her hind-legs over the bed and heaved herself out, trotting over to the door with a very bad limp. She looked back and saw a stilt on her left hind-leg. Spreading her wings, she noticed a few cuts along them and she let out a gasp, flapping her wings hard but not even lifting and inch up off the ground. Next, she tried her magic. No power surged inside her when she tried, not even a soft glow was present within the shiny tile floor below her. There was a scar around her muzzle, her ear had a bite taken out of it, and she looked like a completely different pony.

The reflection came out at her, baring its sharp fangs. "You like what you see, Silvy?" it growled as Silver plopped down on the cold tile. "I like it."

"W-who are you?" she asked it in a shaky tone.

"I'm you. Aren't you lovely? Kind, caring, helpful little Silver Mist gone rogue," the monster told her as it sat down in front of her, black smoke coming from around its body. "It's a cute story really. Went from a simple mare becoming a assassin and killing everypony close to her. I'd tell you all of it," it started, standing up and trotting towards her, "but I think your inner self would rather try ripping me apart, no?"

She growled back but whimpered when it poked her rib. "G-go away," she told it, laying down and cowering. "J-just go away, p-please."

"That sounds like something one of your unsuspecting victims would say, don't you think?" the twisted figure of her own self asked as it got up and began to pace around her. "Help me, help me, a murderer is gonna' kill me, help me, yada yada, blah blah. You know the words they say by heart, don't you?"

Silver nodded her head slowly as she brought her hooves to hide her face. "Please, just go away!" she yelled as tears streamed down her face.

"I am you, Silver, I cannot go away. I am inside of you. I reside in your soul, your body, your mind. I can't simply pack my bags and leave!" It laughed evilly, smirking with contentment as it stared down at her with amusement gleaming in those wicked eyes. "Seeing you cower like this makes me laugh, really. You're so brave and courageous on the outside, but on the inside? You cave in so quickly and plea for help, it makes me sick! You're weak!" The copy of Silver roared with laughter, doubling over.

"S-shut up," Silver told it, stuttering her words in between sobs. "Sh-shut up a-and go away."

It looked at her as it wiped tears of mirth from its beady, stone-cold eyes. "I cannot go away, didn't I just tell you this?"

Silver rose slowly, her body visibly shaking everywhere as the tears stopped. "I said, shut up and go away!" she yelled at herself, growling fiercely.

"What are you gonna do if I don't?" the copy asked with a devious and mischievous grin.

Silver launched herself at it, slamming it hard on the tile as she repeatedly slammed her hooves into its face, crushing various bones. "Yes! Be angry!" the voice encouraged. "One day, you're going to be just like me and kill everypony you love!"

"Shut up!" she barked. Her blood boiled and her face flushed, turning red with anger as she hit the monstrous copy of herself. "I will never be you!" she told it as she wrapped her hooves around its neck, strangling it. Her hold weakened after a few minutes and she felt light-headed now, dizzy even as she stumbled backwards, landing on the floor next to her beaten-and-bruised copy.

"Great job, Silver," it congratulated her as it turned its head weakly to face her. "You're choking yourself out." With those words, everything went blurry. Silver's head spun as she felt a headache coming on, making it hard for her to breathe. She coughed hard, spitting droplets of blood all over the tile, and then, everything went black and her surroundings ceased to exist.