The Dulling of a Blade

The gentle clicking and zipping sounds coming from Dusk’s room were the only ones audible.

She made her suit tight. She kept her weapons close. Her tail blade had not changed a bit, still clipping the same way onto the base of the spade. Its sharpened edges stuck out of the sides of her tail, the ideal weapon for a Dracony to fight with.

Her wing blades, she felt, weren’t needed. She spent a few minutes out in the training yard, getting herself used to the feel of moving in her suit. The grappling hook on her right hoof added a bit of extra weight, but not a lot – and it would be helpful, she was fairly sure.

A few minutes turned into an hour. She was ready, she knew that. She had done assassinations against nobles like Tempest dozens of times, but this one carried such heavier connotations. She knew she had to make it look like Tempest had disappeared or been kidnapped, not outright assassinated. If the assassination was obvious, ponies would begin to suspect.

To ensure his body wouldn’t be found, Dusk had decided not to eat dinner tonight.

Night was falling. She could see the sun slowly sinking below the horizon, and the moon already making its way to take its place. She stopped and stared up at the towers that Celestia and Luna respectively stood on. Normally, Celestia would be going to bed now. Tonight however, she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to sleep.

Dusk flapped her wings and took off, heading for Celestia’s balcony. She gently alighted on it, a friendly but also professional smile on her face. Think of it as another contract, Dusk. She thought to herself.

Both Celestia and Luna were standing there with neutral expressions.

“Have you prepared?” Celestia spoke first.

“Yes.” Dusk bowed her head in a solemn nod.

“And you are ready to go?” Luna asked.

“I am.”

Luna nodded, and Celestia bowed her head. Luna’s horn lit up gently, levitating over a small pin that she clasped to Dusk’s suit. It had no real markings, just a solid golden circle. “If something goes wrong, smash this on the ground.”

“…what?” Dusk looked down at the pin.

“It’s a distress beacon of sorts. If it is absolutely necessary, use it. But hopefully it will not be necessary.”

Dusk took a moment to run her hoof along the small surface, then nodded. “Trust me. It won’t be.”

“Good.” Luna allowed herself to bow slightly. “We wish you luck, Dusk.”

“Indeed.” Celestia dipped her head. “Return safely.”

Dusk nodded, and turned her back to them both. Her wings stretched out, before she leapt off the edge of the balcony and took flight. After nearly three months of being unable to soar like she used to, it felt heavenly to have the wind whipping past her.

“And be careful…” Luna muttered.

Tempest’s manor was heavily guarded. Dusk hesitated to say it was the most secure place she had ever infiltrated, but she wasn’t quite sure she could give it that distinction.

From the outside, it was a manor. It really didn’t look like anything overly special, rather plain and extravagant at the same time. On all sides, the estate was enclosed by a long fence that crackled with magic supplied by generators that ran off of arcane energy.

Of course, the advantage for Dusk was that Tempest provided the security details of his estate to the Equestrian government, which let her know where everything was and how it worked. While she didn’t usually do this much research into a target, she felt it was necessary.

Along the fence, guards slowly patrolled back and forth. Tempest would never trust Draconies with guarding…she thought to herself. It would have been better if they were Draconies, but that was a tall and nearly impossible order.

Dusk found herself standing in the trees at the far side of the fence, near the back of the actual manor itself. The estate sprawled across a 10 acre plot of land, mainly comprised of grass and gardens, but with a whopping manor near the back. It was almost an oversight to put the actual building near the fence, but Tempest probably thought himself to be safe.

She didn’t see any guards yet. They mainly patrolled around the house itself, not the whole perimeter of the fence. Another minor oversight, but one she could exploit easily. She dashed forward, watching electricity arc from the fence onto her suit. “…this had better work.” She slowly raised her hooves, pressing both of her front ones into the fence.

Dusk felt a surge go through her body, but no pain. She breathed deeply, her muscles tense as she gripped the fence tightly and began to climb. Flying was too much of a risk – it made more noise, and the movement combined with the bright colours of her wings wasn’t worth it. Plus, many nobles and important places had special enchantments to keep pegasi and flying ponies from entering. She continued to climb until she reached the top, then gently swung herself over and landed with a light thump on the other side.

Right…this was the hard part. She knew the layout of the manor, at least the general gist of it, but she didn’t know where he would be. He had sitting rooms, game rooms, leisure rooms that were somehow different from sitting rooms – but she couldn’t just go in and start searching. She knew that he only had one bedroom that he used, and if he wasn’t there now, he would be. The best she could do was to search the windows, but she had a plan in case that failed.

She tilted her right hoof up, and flicked it to the side with a harsh motion. A quiet bang sounded out, and a grappling hook fired from her wrist, fibre wire trailing behind it as it extended outwards, soaring through the air and clanking down onto the ledge of the roof. She gave it a tug to make sure it was secure, then yanked her hoof back. The controls were rudimentary and she knew she couldn’t rely on them, but they worked nicely. The reel attached to her hoof dragged her upwards, her hind legs colliding with the solid wall in front of her and her powerful muscles absorbing most of the impact. She allowed the machine to do the hard work, until she reached the roof and climbed up.

Of course, for some reason she hadn’t considered the possibility that there would be guards on the roof. She was lucky it was only one, but already he had seen her. A sword was drawn from its sheath…only to clatter to the ground. The stallion backed up slightly. “You…”

“Me?” Dusk put a hoof to her chest and glanced around.

“Y-you’re…”

“I’m.”

Dusk dashed forward, utilizing the guard’s shock to her advantage. She slid underneath him, locking her tail around his neck and pulling him with her. She flipped him onto his back, then flipped herself backwards and landed both of her hind hooves right in the middle of his stomach. Not only was the breath knocked out of him, but his armour was dented. She lifted a front hoof and brought it down on his face, knocking him out.

If all of the guards were this incompetent, it would be a cakewalk. Still, she wasn’t going to bank on it. She paused where she stood, ears flicking and twitching from side to side to listen for anypony who might have heard. When no one came, she dragged the guard off to the side and hid him behind one of the small buildings that housed the staircase that led below.

Dusk knew that Tempest’s bedroom was on the top floor. That made it easy. She gently slid her tail into the slot between the door and the wall, jerking it downwards and slicing clean through the bolt. The blade, although it was made of Draconian diamond, was still fragile for cutting through metal. She’d need to be careful with that.

The door slowly swung open and Dusk crept down the stairs. The good thing about Tempest was that he was fairly careless. Guards all over the outside, but almost none on the inside. There were some in the lobby downstairs and a couple on each floor, but Dusk would have to get unlucky to run into one on the way to the bedroom.

As she stepped out into the hallway, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of anger welling up as she saw how lavish it was. Bright, velvet rugs, gorgeous décor and extravagant furnishings were something that Tempest clearly relished in, all at the expense of Draconies who struggled and starved.

Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath to calm herself. You’ve got something to do, you’re not here to get angry at him. You can get angry once you…she bit her mental tongue and started to quietly trot through the hall. Guards, even on carpets like these, were very obvious. Their movements were given away by the armour. She would hear them long before they knew she was around.

However, she didn’t expect any servants to be walking around. She heard a gasp from behind her.

She turned her head slowly, her tail already raised, but what she saw made her drop it almost immediately. Her ears flattened against her head and her jaw dropped, at least a bit.

Standing in front of (or rather, behind) her was a filly. At least, that’s what she looked like to Dusk. She couldn’t have been older than fifteen, and she was wearing a maid outfit with a set of towels gently balanced on her tail, which was raised over her back.

Dusk was shocked. She knew that Tempest used primarily Dracony servants – she knew that he abused those servants, but she never thought that he would use children for his labour.

The filly didn’t speak. Her gentle green eyes matched the two-tone green colours in her mane, and she was staring with a look that mixed fear and awe. “Are…a-are you…” The filly tried to say, but her words caught in her throat. Her voice is so sweet…Dusk thought to herself. She hadn’t heard another Dracony speak in years.

The filly worked up the courage to speak properly. “A-Are you…Dusk Rider…?”

Dusk visibly swallowed. Her eyes must have been as wide as pie plates. “I…” She cleared her throat. “Yeah, I am.” She spoke softly. She didn’t want to frighten the filly, or alert anypony else. She let herself turn around to fully face her.

The reaction of the filly was instant. She dropped the towels she had been carrying, dashed forward…and wrapped her forehooves around Dusk’s chest. Her face pressed into the tough fabric of her suit, and Dusk found her own hoof gently stroking the filly’s mane.

“I-I knew you were okay…my mom said so…”

…sweet Faust, do Draconies know me? Was the first thing Dusk thought.

A million thoughts zoomed through her mind. Did all the Draconies know her? Was she an idol or a demon? Based on this filly’s reaction she assumed the former, but what did the adults really think about her? A criminal, the only Dracony in the public eye, a delinquent who gives all Draconies a bad name.

Then the filly asked a question.

“Are…y-you here to…kill somepony?”

Dusk couldn’t lie to her. She simply nodded. “Yeah. Um…yeah, I am.”

“…is it…master Tempest?”

“…yeah.”

The filly paused, not really sure what to say at first. She looked up at Dusk with eyes that showed admiration, but they were also welling with tears. “P-please, get rid of him…”

Dusk felt a whole range of emotions welling up. Anger was the most prominent. How cruel does a pony have to be, in order to not only enslave ponies, but make foals their servants? It made Dusk feel physically sick. And this filly…she had been robbed of any semblance of a foalhood. She wouldn’t be able to get it back. Dusk’s mind pushed all other emotions away except anger and pity.

“I’m going to get rid of him.” Her voice was low, but as soothing as she could make it. “Don’t worry.” She leaned down and gently nuzzled the filly’s mane. “But I need you to do something…I need you to tell me where he is.”

The filly gulped. “H-he’s in his bedroom. He’s sleeping.”

“Thanks.” Dusk started to walk away, then paused and turned back to the filly. “Hey.” She smiled softly. “What’s your name?”

“I-it’s…” The filly had to think, almost like she hadn’t remembered. “A-Aqua.”

“That’s a great name.” She gently patted the filly’s head, giving her mane a playful ruffle. “Don’t worry Aqua. I’ll make sure he can’t hurt any pony.” She turned and began to speedily walk down the hallway. “Not ever again…”

She was on a mission. Not just for the princesses, not just for herself, but for the Draconies as a whole. She didn’t care if this looked accidental. She didn’t care if there was a whole crew waiting in the bedroom to capture every moment of Tempest’s death. She wanted it to be painful, long, and something really deserving of a stallion like him – and she knew exactly how to make it happen.

A guard appeared out of one of the doors as Dusk turned a corner. He jerked upright as he saw her approaching, drawing his sword from its sheath at his hip and opening his mouth to yell.

Dusk’s movements were quick. She ran forward, jumping up and slamming one of her hind hooves into the guard’s jaw. A loud CRACK reverberated through the hall as she snapped his jaw, but she didn’t stop. Her tail wrapped around is neck, her wings flaring out to keep her in the air as she rolled forward, swinging the guard over her head and crashing him into the ground. He landed head-first, another loud snapping noise echoing with a painful yelp as the stallion’s neck was broken.

She unwrapped her tail, stepping past the guard. She could hear faint, painful breathing, but she didn’t care in the slightest. These guards weren’t innocent. They had been privy to the death and abuse of her species their entire time here, so they deserved none of her mercy.

Finally, she reached the bedroom door. It was fairly obvious – large, ornate wooden doors with golden accents and horribly complex patterns carved into them – patterns she desecrated with the lashings of her tail before pushing on the doors so hard that they both swung into the walls on the inside.

Tempest wasn’t asleep.

She was glad he wasn’t.

The prim and proper stallion was lying in his bed, the blankets pulled up to his waist. In his light green magical grip was a book, his glasses tilted down on his nose so he could recline against his wall of pillows and enjoy his reading. As the doors were thrown open, he rolled his eyes and put the book aside. “Please, guards, I’ve told you countless times to-…”

His expression fell, his glasses nearly dropping off of his face before his hoof caught them. “Who…who in Equestria are-…wait a minute.”

“I’m not waiting for shit.” Dusk kicked one door closed behind her, using her tail to slam the other. “You know who I am. I’m probably the only Dracony who ever made you scared.”

Tempest’s white fur stood on end, his somewhat plump form scrambling off the bed and backing away as Dusk advanced. “You’re…but…you’re dead! You were hanged!”

“Funny, I feel pretty good right now.” Dusk’s words sounded comical, but her face was blank and her eyes bore holes into Tempest’s skull. “Maybe you’re dreaming. Or maybe my execution was a dream…”

“Wh-who sent you?! Who paid you?! I’ll pay you double! Triple!”

“You’re fucking pathetic.” Dusk ran forward, her front hoof pinning Tempest up against the wall. “Big stallion, more than happy to use his power against Draconies who can’t fight back.” She slammed that same hoof into the side of his face, knocking his glasses off and shattering them against the wall. He fell to the ground, where Dusk pinned him under another hoof.

“If I was chained up, you’d be gloating. You’d be talking about how a Dracony can’t do half the things a pony can.” Dusk’s tail gently dragged along Tempest’s leg, drawing blood at the smallest prick. “You think you’re better, and when somepony proves you wrong, you want to make them go away. Right?”

“P-please, whatever they paid you, I’ll raise it! However high you want!”

“No.” Dusk’s answer was final, her tone carrying a level of seriousness that made Tempest clam up. She felt him shaking.

Dusk backed up, lifting off of him. “You know what? I want to hear you talk.” As he staggered to his hooves, she shoved him again. “Talk. Tell me what you’re thinking. Tell me who you think sent me. I know you’re not a weak-willed little shit like you’re acting, so drop it.”

Tempest cleared his throat, picking up his shattered glasses with magic and gently placing them on the table beside his bed. “Alright then.” He straightened up, now backed against the wall again. “I don’t know why I tried it with you. I know that you at least understand some things beyond basic commands.”

“Cut your bullshit.”

“But your language doesn’t exactly fare much better…” He heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Alright. Let me take my best guess. You went to the princesses, pleaded to them, told them your tragic past and won them over with tears as genuine as the act I just put on, and once they believed you, they sent you here to get rid of me because Celestia’s power has been given away so much that she can barely do anything to stop me.” He leaned forward, as if inclining Dusk to respond.

“You got about seventy percent of that right.”

“Mmm. Right, of course. To you, your history is truly tragic. Don’t think I don’t know exactly who you are. I may not care very much about you as individuals, but my clerks are meticulous in their bookkeeping…”

“You know you’re going to die, right?”

“Well, I don’t see what else I can do to stop it besides remind you where your place is, but…” He idly gazed down at his hoof, admiring the polish on it. “Yes.”

“So what’s stopping me from killing you right now?”

“Well, you haven’t done it yet, and it already perplexes me. Why don’t you ask yourself?”

Dusk wasn’t falling for it. She stepped forward, pressing the blade of her tail to his neck. “Anything else, then?”

“Only one thing.” Tempest smirked. “Do you really think your life is going to change?” He winced as the blade pressed in slightly harder. “You’re an assassin, Dusk. Even I can admit that you’re the best at what you do. Everypony knows it…or, well, knew it. It’s true, if you stay in hiding for a few months ponies will forget about you. You might even be able to live a normal life. But the princesses are using you…”

“Shut up.”

“You agree. I know you do. The princesses don’t care about you. They don’t care about your life. They might put you somewhere safe, somewhere you can live comfortably, but one day when they want something done, they want somepony dead, they’ll come back to you. And when they do, and you try to tell them you don’t do that anymore, they’ll remind you that you still never were properly punished for the hundreds of crimes you’ve committed…”

Dusk snarled, pressing the blade in hard enough to draw blood. “It’s not working, buddy. They care about me. And even if they don’t, doing one assassination every little while is way better than this.”

“Your life won’t get any better. Hell, knowing Celestia, she probably plans to execute you for real as soon as you prove this job is done.” Tempest grinned down at Dusk, who momentarily looked like she was seriously considering what he said…but she shook her head.

“You know what?” She looked him right in the eyes. “I don’t give a damn. I couldn’t care even a bit if I was executed tomorrow. You know why?” She forced Tempest up on his hind legs, her front hooves pushing into his shoulders and her tail blade dragging along his neck. “Because I’m not afraid of dying if you’re gone too. As long as I can look back and say that I did something worth doing, I don’t give a fuck.”

Tempest grimaced. “They still don’t care about you.”

“And I don’t care about that.” Dusk’s eyes narrowed slightly. It’s either I let you live and let you torment the Draconies till your sorry ass gets too old to raise a hoof, or I kill you, let the Draconies live in some semblance of peace and security while the two of us rot.”

“…well that’s an eloquent way to put it.”

“You probably think you can scare me with telling me about how I may die. But you can’t scare me.” Dusk’s lip curled into a snarl. “As long as you’re gone, I don’t care if I get struck dead the second I fly near Canterlot. So if you have anything else to say, try me. You’ve got nothing to say that would ever make me even think about letting you live.”

The unicorn started to look a bit more panicked. “You won’t kill me. You would have done it already.”

“Yeah?” Dusk grabbed him by the chest and spun around, throwing him to the ground. “Maybe I don’t want you dead just yet. I want you to suffer at least a fraction of what I felt. Of what we all felt.”

“You won’t!” Tempest growled, his horn lighting up with its bright green light and firing a bolt of energy towards Dusk. The Dracony easily brought her tail up and deflected it, the bolt leaving a scorch mark on the wall.

“I will.” She slammed a hoof down on his chest. The sound of bones cracking was almost as loud as the scream that followed. “But I’m not doing it here. Can’t let ponies know I’m still around, and all.”

Tempest wheezed, clutching his chest with his hooves. “You…you vile mutant! You can’t get out of this manor without alerting the guards!”

“I can do a lot of things without alerting the guards.” Dusk lifted her front hoof, slamming it down on his face. She felt his nose snap under the force.

“Oops. That should’ve knocked you out. Let me try again.” She backed up, bringing both hooves up and slamming them down on Tempest’s groin. The stallion howled in agony, both of his hooves trying to cover his genitals, but she didn’t let him. She swung the flat end of her tail forward, crashing it into Tempest’s already bruised ribs, making him wheeze and choke.

“You know, a lot of my targets I feel bad for.” Dusk remarked, her tail idly sliding behind her as she walked in circles around him. She lifted it up, jamming the sharp, flesh-rending blade through Tempest’s horn, twisting it painfully so the crackling object dislodged itself.

“N-no, please!” Tempest started screaming, his horn crackling and sparking as Dusk started to painfully twist it loose. “S-stop! L-LET GO!” He wailed, his pathetic whining only cementing what Dusk was doing. With an explosion of sparks that barely fazed Dusk, all that was left was a jagged mess. She then smacked him across the face with the flat part of the blade. “Most of them just pissed off the wrong pony. But you, Tempest…” She forcefully stabbed her tail into the unicorn’s shoulder, using it to drag him upright and pin him to the wall. At this point his screams were practically silent, his throat having gone hoarse. “You pissed off the wrong dracony.”

She paused, then shook her head. “Nah. Actually, you didn’t piss me off. You just annoyed me.” She pressed her forehead against his, her eyes drilling into his. “And you know what? I'd probably turn you over to the princesses just to see you rot in jail...but that's too good for you."

“N-no…p-please…” Tempest whimpered, the pain he was feeling making it impossible to do much besides plead. As Dusk’s tail raised, the sight of the sharp blade glinting in the dim light of his bedroom made him scream, but hardly any sound came out.

Dusk didn’t return to the castle until dawn was nearly breaking. For almost three hours she refused to say a word about her mission, only stating that it had been completed, and offering Tempest’s shattered horn as proof. The princesses saw it fit to let her rest, and explain everything later.