Blade of Silence

by owlet57

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Adventure
Length: 5999

When anarchy begins to threaten Equestria, the blade of Silence is on call to deal with the problem.

Silence Dogood was a pretty average mare, until a group of anarchists attacked the capital of Equestria, and killed her parents. That night, she discovered her life's calling: to be an assassin. Now, when anarchy begins to threaten Equestria again, Silence finds herself called into action, and sees a possibility for some personally motivated revenge.

NOTE: Only the prologue is in first person. The rest of the story will be in third person.

Rated T for Violence, Blood, and Mild Language.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2011-11-07 01:16:32 UTC

Prologue

The attack on Canterlot five years ago is not something that I, Silence Dogood, enjoy remembering.  It's not something that anypony who survived enjoys remembering. It was a horrifying event, filled with many deaths. The flames that scorched the city will remain forever burned into my mind, along with the events that lead to my parent's deaths.

The morning of the attack was bright and sunny, albeit slightly chilly.  The residents of Canterlot milled about as they did every day. Ponies were in the market, purchasing supplies; the usual chatter filled the town square. Everything just seemed normal.  As a matter of fact, I don't remember anything terribly interesting happening at all during the day.  That may be because the memories of the night overshadow all.

It was a mostly clear evening, and the air was crisp and cool.  By this time, many of the ponies of Canterlot had retreated into their homes and my family was no different.  I had gotten back from the school a few hours before and my father had just arrived from the castle, exhausted after a long and frustrating day at work.  Mother called us down into the kitchen for dinner and I bounded down the stairs with my usual enthusiasm.  My mom was a great cook; the meal she had prepared for us, rose salad and grass, with a side of carrot and cucumber slices, was expertly prepared, as always.  As I dug into the meal, my parents quietly chatted across the table. I sat down and gazed across the table at my father. He seemed distressed about something but I couldn’t figure out what.  When the three sharp knocks came at the door, he even appeared to jump out of his seat a little.  I remained at the table, and he went to go answer the door.  The door swung open, and the panicked looking eyes of a pale brown earth pony greeted him.

"You've got to hide!" the pony at the door shouted. "They're coming, and faster than you would think!  They're burning all of the houses!  Get out while you st-" he was cut off by an arrow to the throat, spilling his blood on the ground and killing him instantly.  The body quickly became limp, and he fell over at the door.  My father quickly peeked outside, observing the smoke billowing from the houses. Ponies in deep red bandannas were running towards our house, and a look of confusion and panic set in.  He slammed the door shut, locking it tight and running over towards us at the table, now looking more panicked than the pony that was at the door.  He was quick to embrace me and mom, as well as utter three words.

"I love you." His gentle voice was so calm in the moment.  Chaos was coming closer to us now and the cries of the ponies outside had become louder.

"Dad, what's going on?" I asked him, fearing what might happen next.

"Bad ponies have come here, burning everything in their wake.  I think that they are going after the castle.  I don't know why though." he said, trying his best to hide the pure fear he was feeling.  "I have no intent of finding out if they want anything from you though.  Get down into the basement, Silence.  You'll be safe there.  I'll do my best to hold them off if they come in."

I nodded, holding back the tears that were welling up in my eyes.  I could see them in his eyes too.  Something had him seriously concerned.  I proceeded to go towards the basement, but something had caught my eye.  Mom was staying with him.  Being the curious filly that I was, I was quick to hide in the corner, out of sight and out of mind.  A swift pound came to the door, which cracked it at the hinges.  Another kick, and another still arrived at our door, each bringing more force than the last.  With a final, mighty kick, the door came crashing onto the ground.  The noise was enough to shock me quite a bit, but I managed to restrain myself from screaming, or anything that would let anypony know that I was there.  Five masked ponies entered the home, quickly moving to surround my parents.  A final pony entered, this one wearing a blue mask.

"Well well, what have we here?" the blue masked pony asked menacingly.  I looked at him very carefully, and could make out the shape of a knife attached to his leg.  It was then that I became very scared about what would happen next.  The pony in blue spoke up again.

"You're the princess' prized assistant, aren't you?"

"No." My father responded. His response was met by a sharp smack from the masked pony's hoof.  The sound echoed in the room, and I could see my father was in a lot of pain in that moment.  My mother raced forward to try and defend him as the blue masked pony went for another swipe at him.  Instead of another smack though, I heard the horrifying sound of a knife being driven into flesh and bone.  My mother fell limp on the floor, as blood began pooling around her body and the life drained out of her.  She was breathing, for now.  But I knew she wouldn't be for much longer.

"BASTARDS!" My father shouted.  I had never heard him use such language before.  I could see tears in his eyes as I became insanely angry at these ponies, wanting to extract some form of revenge on them.  But what could I do?  I was a young mare, and one without a cutie mark at that.  I continued to hid in the shadows as the scene unfolded in front of me.  It was time for Blue Mask, as I had now nicknamed him, to start talking again.

"So, Mr. Dogood, you want to answer us truthfully this time?  Or will we have deal with you in a less pleasant manner?" Blue Mask gestured towards the limp body of my mother, who let out a series of small coughs.  The pool of blood was still becoming larger, and my mom was getting weaker and weaker by the second.  It was a hopeless scenario at this stage; there would be no saving her.  The mere thought of this pained me greatly, but I remained silent as ever in the corner.

"Yes. I am in fact Celestia's number one assistant."  Blue Mask nodded at one of the red masked ponies behind him before speaking up again.  Father's face was filled with pure fear and concern.

"Anything else we should know?  Got a kid or anything?" Blue Mask asked. I froze and began to panic.  What would he say?  One of the red masked ponies was now directly behind father.

"No.  My wife was pregnant, until you did..." he paused briefly, tears welling up in his eyes as he looked upon the pony he had loved who now lay bleeding on the floor, "this to her.  You sick bastards."

"Mr. Dogood, as an assistant to Celestia the tyrant, I would like to assure you that  you are in fact the sick bastard.  Assisting the tyrannical ruler, being ever unquestioning of her actions, no matter what she does."

"It's my job! I never said I liked it."

"The fact that you stayed says that you do." Blue Mask said. With a final nod, I heard another horrifying sound.  It was that of blood falling to the ground, painting the floor a crimson red with the spatters.  The pony behind father had slit his throat, and he fell to the ground lifeless.  I wanted to scream, to cry out in pain and anguish, but I knew I could not.  If I had done that, they would have killed me too.  But, I knew one thing I could do.  I could take revenge.  The ponies started to leave the house, but not before Blue Mask said something to them.

"Three of you stay here and deal with the house.  You know the drill."

"Burn it to the ground." One of the red masked ponies said.

"You know it."

I quietly slipped out of the corner where I had been hiding, and went into the kitchen.  Grabbing one of the sharpest knives I could find, I prepared to go back into the room and exact my revenge on them.  I would have to be quick, especially if they were going  to burn the house down.  It was then that one of the ponies spoke up, saying exactly what I needed to hear.

"Damn, I'm out of oil." Perfect.  They wouldn't be able to burn this place down yet.   "Dude, you wanna wait here while I get some more oil to burn this place down?"

"You got it."  Two ponies left.  This would make my job a lot easier.  Now, brandishing the knife in my mouth, I snuck up behind another pony.  To be honest, I was afraid I would screw up, and not take this guy down.  I thought briefly about retreating back, and letting them get away with all of this.  But, I shook those thoughts aside, and stabbed him, clean through the neck.  I withdrew my blood soaked weapon, and the other pony looked over towards me.  Thinking quickly, I threw the knife in my mouth towards his face.  It impacted with great force, and he screamed in pain, before falling flat and dying.

"Must've hit something important." I thought aloud.  I approached my parents, laying there presumably dead.  I saw my father was still breathing, albeit weakly.  I guessed that my mother had passed a few minutes before, having succumbed to the brutal wounds she had acquired.  The mere sight of them there, dead and dying, brought great pain into my life.  It was something that, no matter hard I would try, could get out of my head.  I stepped closer, bending down to look my father in the eyes. My hooves had gone into the pool of both his and mother’s blood, and they began to stain my navy blue coat.

"Dad, what do I do now?" I could see the weakness in his eyes.

"Run." He sputtered out, before coughing out a large amount blood. "Celestia." That was his final word.  Celestia.  Without thinking, I ran away from the house, blatantly ignoring the events that had transpired in my home.  I went straight for Canterlot Castle, but as I got closer, I noticed that the gates were surrounded by more of the masked ponies.  The gates were doing their job though, keeping them all out.  Now, it was time to employ a skill that I had taught myself a while back.  I made a turn into one of the back alleys, which was very close to the Castle.  Using various bricks, I was able to make my way onto the roof.  It was a skill I had never told anypony about, for fear I would get in trouble.  Hell, I knew I would get in trouble for this.  However, I focused on the task at hand, noting the castle walls in front of me.  I ran towards it, maintaining great footing on the roof and trotting at top speed, I made it to the edge of the roof.  And I jumped.  It was a feeling of pure exhilaration, jumping off a two story building to a wall 10 feet away.  I knew that if I missed this jump, I would die.  Simple as that.  Concrete is not exactly a soft surface.

But, in the air, you know that it's too late for any of that sort of thinking.  I managed to sail through the air, and get a grip on the wall in front of me.  Only barely, but a grip nonetheless.  Using my front hooves, I clawed my way up the wall, before making my way over, and landing on my haunches, feeling the soft grass of the castle courtyard on my backside.  I picked myself off the ground though, and ran towards the main castle door.  As I got close, a couple of the guards had noticed me running towards them.  They must have assumed I was one of the attackers, as they raised their weapons at me, before issuing a commanding "HALT!" at me.

I stopped in my tracks, obedient to the guards.

"Who goes there?"

"Silence Dogood.  My father told me to run here."

"Where is your father?"

"These ponies... They killed him." Tears began to stream down my face, and I began to cry uncontrollably.  I tried to fight through the tears and tell them what had happened. "They slit his throat and killed him!  And my mother too!" I was a heap of sadness and anger as I talked to them.  "He told me to run to Celestia.  I have nothing else left now!"

The guards nodded at one another, lowering their weapons and opening the door.

"Hurry and get inside.  Celestia should be in the throne room.  Let the guards there know that we sent you."

I wiped a tear away, trying to control my all consuming sadness; I silently entered the main castle.  I observed the beautiful architecture and took in my surroundings.  I had never been in the castle before, and it certainly was something to marvel at.  I proceeded up the stairs and to the throne room; of course, being stopped by Celestia's personal guards.  I explained to them that the guards at the front door had sent me, and they obliged and let me in.  The throne room was something to behold.  Banners hung everywhere, and stained glass windows told the stories of the two princesses, one side telling the tale of Celestia, and the other side told of the dramatic rise of Luna.  Celestia and Luna were both present at the end of the throne room, with a guard on either side.  Celestia appeared to be talking with Luna at the moment.

As I got closer to them, they stopped talking with one another, and turned their focus to me.

"Who are you?" Celestia asked.

"My name is Silence Dogood, daughter of your assistant." I said, trying my best to remain calm and orderly while addressing the princess.

"What has happened to him that he could not come here?"

"He's dead, your highness." Celestia was shocked by this news, but certainly not more shocked than me.

"Guards, leave us be for a while."  Both guards nodded, and proceeded to leave the room.  Now, the three ponies were alone.

"Tell us what happened."

I recounted the events of the night to the two princesses, telling them every detail I could remember between fits of sadness and crying.  The princesses stood in shock, not uttering a single word as I told the dramatic story.  After I had finished telling them about everything, Celestia was the first to speak up.

"This news greatly saddens me.  Your father was an excellent assistant, and a great friend to me." Celestia's shock had in fact turned to sadness, but she hid it very well, as far as I could tell.  "However, despite the chaotic nature of these events, it seems that somepony has discovered their special talent."

I turned around, and looked at my flank.  Turns out that I had gotten my cutie mark.  A knife, with a halo above it.  I could only assume one thing about that.  My talent was killing. I was an assassin, a master of the kill.

Celestia spoke up again.

"We may very well have a need for your special talent in the years to come."

Chapter 1

It was long past midnight.  Fall leaves sat upon the trees, unable to show their true colors under the light of the moon.  In Trottingham, the night was peaceful; not many ponies were wandering the streets at this time.  However, there were a few ponies running along the rooftops.  An orange maned, navy blue earth pony wearing a black vest, raced along the the rooftops, being actively pursued by two pegasus in a green uniform of some sort.  The blue pony in front of them also had a couple of small gadgets on her front hooves; 1 near the base of each hoof, and another about midway up her front right leg.   She also bore a strange looking cutie mark; a knife with a halo above it.

Sweat was pouring down the blue earth pony's face as she ran along the rooftops.  Since the ponies giving chase were pegasi, no matter what gap she would jump across, they would make it with ease.  It was starting to frustrate her as she struggled to get them off her tail.  She would need to make quick maneuvers if she was to have any hope of escaping.  Observing another house to the left within jumping distance, she changed direction suddenly, and raced towards it.  The pegasi were mildly confused by this, but followed shortly after the blue pony.

'Damn. Not good.' Silence thought to herself as she continued running away.  She landed on the roof, continuing to run without a hitch.  The pegasus chasing her were starting to gain on her now, and she was running out of options.  It was then that she elected on a sudden stop, in hopes that the ponies would fly right past her.  It almost worked, but the pegasi had stopped in time, just a couple of feet away.

"So," One of the pegasi asked, "what're you gonna do now?  You got nowhere else to run, girl. You can't just keep going on the rooftops forever, and eventually, you'll run out of city."

Both pegasi began to advance on her as they drew their weapons from the holders on their sides.  If it wasn't for those, the pegasi would have been flying this entire time. The second pegasi asked.

"You look pretty good! Shame you probably won't look half as good with a ton of cuts all over you."

Silence was ready for their advances.  Withdrawing a sword of her own and placing it on the custom mount she wore on her right leg, she prepared to defend herself against these ponies.  Both clumsily wielded swords in their mouths, which made their attacks awkward to perform, and they were already difficult to do as is.  Silence defended against the attacks of these ponies with ease and grace, while not making any strikes herself.  Small sparks were created as metal clashed against metal.  Silence, after defending agaist a considerable number of attacks, was now teetering dangerously close to the edge of the building.

'Looks like I'm getting careless. Silence thought. 'I should probably end this quickly!'  With that, Silence used her blade as a launchpad and boosted herself high into the air, performing a flawless flip clear over the landed pegasi and landing behind them.  In the same, swift motion, she placed her hooves directly against their necks, uttering the last three words they would ever hear.

"Rest in peace." Silence said as she triggered a pair of knives which plunged directly into their throats.  The two ponies fell limp as Silence retracted the now bloody knives from their flesh. "Not that you deserve any peace, ya freaks."  Silence looked upon her work with a smile.  She had killed in so many ways before, but flipping over the ponies to a perfect execution was something that she had never managed to pull off before.  The blood of the pegasi started to seep down the roof.

'Ugh.  Whoever lives here is in for a nasty surprise when they wake up.' Silence withdrew her sword from the roof of the house, where it had stuck when she used it as a launchpad.  She placed it with extreme care back into the sheath where she kept it.  She stopped to think for a second, and remember that she needed to get back to Canterlot.  Her mission was a success, and there was nothing else to it.  She had been sent by Celestia to take down a Trottingham resident who had been inciting violence and saying that Luna should not be allowed to rule again after the Nightmare Moon incident.  Apparently, he had been concerned enough to hire a pair of bodyguards.  Silence didn't like getting innocents hurt, but it became a necessity for her survival in this case.  Now that he was finally dead and gone, Silence hoped that this could be quelled now, with nopony else to preach his message; something in the back of her mind told her this wasn't going to happen though.  Still, she had left no trace of her presence, and only the body remained in the home.  Suddenly, Silence found herself immersed in reality and she returned to the task at hand.

'I'd better get out of here, before someone notices.  It's a long haul to Canterlot.' With that though, Silence Dogood slipped into the night, appearing to exist as only a shadow in the darkness.

Silence had almost forgotten about how long the walk from Trottingham to Canterlot actually was.  She had been walking at a consistent pace since her kills in Trottingham; soon the sun would be appearing over the horizon, piercing the darkness with it's overall cheeriness.  The birds would sing, and the weather team would being in today's conditions.  From what she remembered, there was a storm scheduled in Canterlot; not exactly the weather she would want to make her way to Canterlot Castle in.  That was enough motivation for her to pick up the pace now.

As she finally neared the city on a cliff, she noticed the sun's shining rays beginning to creep over the hills in the distance.  Looking at the sky above, she saw no signs of the weather team; just a cloud or two were present, and stars were still visible.  The other thing she was starting to notice was the pain in her leg muscles.  This much walking had begun to bring down her speed.  In her mind, that was all the more reason to push herself to go faster now.

'The sooner I can get there, the sooner I can go into my room at the castle and fall asleep.' After the attacks on Canterlot those years ago, Celestia had given her a spare room in the castle.  Upon further training, and a couple of successful assassinations, Celestia had made Silence a member of the castle staff, albeit unlisted to keep her safe.  The room was her own now, and she had customized it with arrays of shelves displaying various forms of weaponry, most of which she had modifed or created from scratch.  She just wanted to get home, and relax after a long day.

The sun had risen now, and Silence had finally arrived at Canterlot Castle.  She was let in instantly by the guards, who knew full well what she was capable of.  She smiled kindly at them, and they closed the gates after she had gone in.  Upon gaining entry to the castle, it was a few turns up to the throne room, where Celestia would be eagerly awaiting a report from Silence.  The guards in front of the prestigious throne room let Silence pass without issue and when Silence had gotten closer to Celestia, the guards beside her had left.  That was protocol when discussing the results of Silence's missions.  Nopony else was to know of these results, for fear of gossip.  It could be a real problem around there.  After the doors had closed, Silence took a deep breath.  Now that it was just the two of them; she felt like she could relax, even though Celestia was royalty and all.

"How did everything go?" Celestia inquired.

"About the usual.  You didn't warn me about the bodyguards though." Silence replied.

"I had no idea." Celestia's tone shifted from the regal princess, to a slightly more devious tone.  "Were they any trouble?"

"I'm Silence Dogood.  Do you think they were any trouble?" she replied sarcastically. Celestia smiled and laughed a little.

"Did you make a mess?"

"A little blood on the rooftops.  No trace of my presense though."

"I should expect nothing less of you, Silence." Celestia's voice shifted again, now to a more caring and compassionate tone. "Everything going okay with you?"

"Meh.  I've been struggling with the memories of the attacks, but other than that, I think I'm doing pretty good. I mean, I'm super happy here.  I've got my own room, tons of stuff to fiddle with and experiment on, and a sick arsenal of weaponry to play with."

"I don't see how you couldn't be happy with all of that!"

"Yeah, me neither." Silence replied.  There was silence for a couple of seconds before Silence asked Celestia,

"How've you been doing?" The princess was quiet for a few seconds, after which  a quiet sigh left her lips.

"Busy with the usual government crap." Celestia said.  Silence was mildly shocked.  Celestia never used this kind of language, at least not around anypony. "All of these uprisings in the towns aren't helping with the stress levels."

"There's something else wrong, isn't there?  I mean, you practically swore just a few seconds ago! you never do that!"

"Trust me, I've said worse. Not in public though."  Celestia replied, cheeky looking smile on her face.  From there, her expression and tone became much more somber and serious as she began to pace in front of the throne.  "I'm in a situation much like you.  I've been thinking about the Canterlot attacks 5 years ago, and I think we may very well be entering a dangerous time to be in government."

"What do you mean by that, Celestia?"

"Several governments like ours have recently collapsed. Canterda's leader has been killed by rebel forces, not to mention the other countries to the east who have had their governments removed from power."

"What do you mean, 'like ours'?"

"Where one or two central figures make all of the desicions in the government.  It's called autocracy." Celestia replied. "Canterda had an autocratic government, but a week or two ago, rebellious forces took the capital by force, much like the attackers of 5 years ago had tried. However, I fear that their numbers are starting to grow.  Soon enough, they could have as many ponies as they would need to overthrow our entire military force, and then they would come for me."

"Right, so what you're saying is that we could be screwed in the next couple of years?"

"I fear that it could happen much sooner than that." Celestia turned her gaze towards Silence. "That is why your services could see a lot more use.  There will be a lot more danger involved though, and the stakes would be much higher."

"I should expect that my pay will increase accordingly."

"You should expect no less." Celestia said.  "On the topic of danger, how's that new weapon you are working on?"

"Just fine and dandy!" Silence replied.  The weapon in question was a hoof mounted miniature cannon.  It was designed custom by Silence to fit her own hoof, and used the same trigger system as her mounted knives, which relied on tilting her hoof backwards and hitting a button. But when the new system would be triggered, it would strike a flint and steel, creating sparks, and setting off a highly flammable and explosive powder that she had also managed to create.  A small shell of copper, or occasionally lead, would be ejected at extreme speed, flying with extreme speed and precision towards the target.

"Yeah, everything's going good with it so far." Silence said.  "Just need some final tweaks on the firing mechanisms, and a way to fire multiple rounds without having to reload the powder."

"Hop to it," Celestia said in a commanding tone, "and remember that if you need any help, the castle staff is at your disposal."

"Thank you very much Celestia. Pleasure doing business with you, as always." Silence said as she turned tail, retreating from the room.  As she left, the guards, who had been present earlier, went to Celestia's sides at the throne.  Silence made her way through the halls of the castle, and into her room.  As she opened the door, the light from the hallway shone upon with various weapons that she had on her shelves.  She threw off her hoof mounted weapons at the door to the room, and took care to place them on the shelves where they belonged.

As she opened the thick green curtains, the rest of the room was revealed in all of its glory.  Each wall was painted a shade of light grey, and several shelves in the room were simply loaded with various forms of weaponry.  As a matter of fact, she had crafted a significant number of these weapons herself, having been educated by one of Canterlot's most respected blacksmiths.  The weaponry itself was all something that she had taught herself and because of her unique talents, Celestia had even ordered the repurposing of an old section of the castle into an area where she and the guards could do proper combat and weapons training.  Also present in the room were a small bed with light blue sheets, and a desk where Silence could often be found, writing furiously into a journal that she kept, detailing her exploits in assassination.

Silence approached the desk, opening it's sole drawer to reveal that very journal.  She withdrew it, and began to write.

Danger.  That is the word that rings through my mind today.  Sure, in this line of work, there always has been, and always will be, danger.  A significant amount of it for that matter.  It's part of what makes the kill so exciting, so wonderful to do.

But now, Celestia is saying that the danger is going to increase.  Having almost been killed today after my assassination didn't go exactly as planned, I'm not sure if I can handle that.  Putting my lite on the line is tough enough for me to do as it is.  But, if I'm going to be expected to put it on the line for my government and leader, things could become a lot more interesting.

I never asked for any of this.  I never asked to be an assassin, never asked to work for Celestia, never asked for any of it!  I just wanted revenge, and I still want it.  Working for Celestia is making this very difficult though.  She doesn't want me to make myself known to them.  As far as they know, I still don't exist; hell, as far a lot of people know, I don't exist.  She doesn't want me doing an unsanctioned mission, especially not one that's personally motivated or that I don't have enough information about.  All I remember is that they are from Manehattan, and if I kill them, my life will be complete.  I just want that accursed Blue Mask dead.

Is that too much to ask for?

Her quill remained on the paper, and she sat there, trying hard to fight back tears as she remembered her parents and their deaths for what seemed to be the billionth time.  She remembered how she could never see them again, hear their voices, embrace them.  But, that thought was a double edged sword, as she remembered why she fought.  She was fighting to avenge them, and that was exactly what she intended to do.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp series of knocks on the door.  Silence turned her head to see a greyish-green unicorn standing at her door, envelope at his hooves.

"Can I help you?" She asked him.

"I need this message sent, special delivery.  Needs to be there in 20 minutes, at the most."

Silence's thoughts now drifted to those of her other job.  Being agile and able to navigate the rooftops like no other pony, she was often tasked with delivering various things across town; more often than not letters.  She kind of enjoyed it; it was something that she had taken on herself, to keep herself from being bored at all times of day.  Plus, a run would make her feel good about things, and maybe clear her mind a little.

"Who's it going to?"

"Miss Vinyl Scratch."

"What do you want with her? Gonna have her host a party or something?"

"What I require is none of your business."

"Fair enough." Silence moved to her bed, and grabbed a small saddlebag underneath it.  Moving towards the pony at the door, she grabbed the letter from the ground.

"20 minutes." he said, walking away from the doorway.  "I'll wait for you in the kitchen." Silence stuffed the letter into her bag, and began a dash in the opposite direction of the unicorn, racing through the halls and beginning to get her adrenaline pumping.  This was going to be a good run.

The activity in the town was at an incredible level, even for the normally busy mid-day.  Everypony seemed to be moving on the streets; one could scarcely be seen standing still as the chaos of life moved around them.  Above everything, along the rooftops, a single pony could be seen, orange mane flowing freely in the wind as she sped along.  Coming to a gap between roofs, she made a massive jump, clearing the gap with ease and maintaining speed.

Silence's running was flawless, as always, moving fluidly between the rooftops and remaining largely unnoticed by the general populace.  She kept her focus, running towards a small apartment complex in the distance, where Vinyl Scratch could be found whenever she didn't have a gig in one of the local bars.  The letter shifted only slightly in Silence's bag, even as she ran at top speed.  Getting bored with the standard running and jumping between the roofs, Silence decided to try something new as she came close to the next gap.  Shifting her weight forwards slightly, she ran towards the edge before leaping into the air and performing a perfect front flip, landing flawlessly on her hooves.  The feeling of pure exhilaration that Silence was experiencing only increased at the mere thought that she had executed a perfect flip.

In front of her now, she could see the complex where Vinyl resided, a mere 300 meters out.  Now, she would shift into the crowd which milled about beneath her.  It was just a matter of getting down.  The next gap approached, but instead of clearing it, Silence stopped.

She observed the ground, and more specifically the lack of ponies on said ground.  Noting this detail, she lept towards the ground.  As she landed,  she kept her leg muscles relaxed, allowing her knees to act as shock absorbers and reducing the impact on her body.  After the jump, she continued to run along on the ground, catching strange looks as she ran towards the apartment complex.  Regardless of these looks, she remained focused on the goal that was set for her.  She had 5 minutes remaining, if her calcuations were correct.  Whatever was in this letter must have been super urgent to warrant such a speedy delivery.  Silence made a turn, pulling into the the complex, and looking at the directory nearby the door.

"Vinyl Scratch.  Floor 3, room 307." She observed, and ran for the stairs.

"Excuse me, miss!" The concierge shouted at Silence as she blazed past him and on to the stairs.  Silence paid him no mind, and raced up to the third floor. "Damn hooligans..." the concierge muttered, not even bothering to give chase. He knew that there was only one way out of this building, and that was by using the door; he would get a chance to talk to her.

Silence had made her way to room 307, and began pounding on the door.  A rather tired looking Vinyl Scratch answered the door after a few seconds.

"Geez! Those knocks on the door must've been louder than half the bass drops in my set!"

"Delivery for you, miss." Silence replied, ignoring the previous comments.

"Umm, okay.  Thanks?"

"No problem." With that, Silence turned away from her, and went towards the balcony at the end of the hall.  Vinyl had poked her head around the corner just in time to see Silence climbing up onto the railings on the balcony.

"Whoa, what the hell are you doing?!" She shouted, as Silence jumped off of the balcony and into the streets below.  She sailed through the air, mane flying behind her as she approached the grounds at a crazy speed.  All of her legs were spread apart, causing more wind resistance as she fell to the earth.  Within a couple of seconds, she adjusted her body to be tilted more towards the ground, and finally made her impact.  But when Vinyl looked over the edge of the platform, Silence was nowhere to be seen.

She was just well hidden in the hay cart she had landed in.  She had always been proud of her ability to suddenly disappear.  Poking her head outside of the hay, she could see Vinyl looking worriedly for her, desparately trying to figure out what had just happened.  She left the balcony, certainly concerned for the pony who she had just witnessed jumping off a third floor balcony.  This was Silence's chance to really mess with her.  She quickly picked herself up out of the hay, and dashed away from the scene, and back onto the rooftops.  Vinyl had recieved the message in time, and that was all that mattered.  Now, it was full speed ahead; time to return to Canterlot Castle.