Assassin's Trot

"Have a good day at work muffin!" Ditzy Doo chimed happily, smooching a blushing Whooves on his cheek as he adjusted his saddlebags. They were standing on the front porch of their house, the shimmering sun beginning its decent over the western horizon of Canterlot. The Doctor smiled as he returned her tiny kiss, pressing his lips against hers and holding himself there for several moments. She returned the moment in kind, her wings fluttering slightly as she felt her heart thump with excitement and joy.

From above, Whoover tried his best not to gag on the lump in the back of his throat as he watched his parents embrace. "Ugh...gross..." he grumbled to himself, leaning back into the second story window and looking back towards his door. It was locked up tight, the usual sign to his parents that he was to be left COMPLETELY and UTTERLY alone. As long as he didn't have another mare over (unlikely and pointless according to him anyway...), Whoover could keep his room locked up tight as a sign that he was doing some intense study and was not to be disturbed except in supreme emergencies.

Giving an affirmative nod to himself, ensuring all his bases were covered, Whoover leaned back out of the window and watched as his mother waved his father off, the grey Pegasus giving one of her best smiles and turning to head back inside the house. Whoover shifted his eyes upwards, moving along the street until he saw his father's flank bouncing away. With one more nod to himself and a deep breath, Whoover leapt from his window and towards the ground floor. Quickly fanning his wings outward, the young colt quickly glided to the ground and galloped forward with his hooves as the forward momentum carried him forward.

Without breaking his stride or his speed, Whoover turned to his left and quickly moved up the street, tailing his father from afar. He kept his eyes narrowed and his hooves quiet as he slipped quietly up the street, hugging one of the walls of the houses to his left. His father didn't break his stride, smiling and humming as he trotted along, oblivious to the stalker watching him from the shadows of a nearby trash can.

The young Whoover continued his silent hunt for a good twenty minutes, dipping back behind corners and small dumpsters whenever his father's ears perked, swearing quietly to himself about narrowly being caught. Fortunately for Whoover, his father remained none the wiser. The older colt continued his merry tune as he stepped out of the small alley-like street and onto one of the heavier trafficked streets of Canterlot. Ponies and chariots rushed this way and that, with Whooves sticking more over to one of the sides as to avoid being run over.

Whoover weaved in and out of the crowd quickly, ducking and diving to avoid collision with the ruckus rushing too and fro in the streets. He was bumped slightly by an aging stallion with a simple black suit and top hat who in turn shouted towards the young colt "Watch where you're going you little runt!" The ears of Whooves suddenly perked, causing Whoover to take in a sharp intake of breath and duck his head into the swarm of the crowd.

Whooves took a casual look behind him as he moved forward, his nose twitching and his eyes narrowing slightly. He continued his gaze for another three seconds before an annoyed expression passed over his face and he gave a slightly aggravated sigh. He turned back around quickly and doubled his pace, trotting towards a large, white tower in the distance. It was a fairly large tower, a giant yellow bulb resting at the top and a large winding staircase spiraling down the exterior.

Whoover, finally pulling his head back up and releasing his held in breath, watched his father begin his ascent up the winding staircase. The pegasus frowned, looking towards the large tower and thinking quietly to himself 'Haven't I...seen this tower before?'. He cocked his head slightly at it as he pushed his way out of the crowd, quickly trotting towards the base of the tower. 'I could have sworn...this tower feels familiar to me...' He quickly fanned out his wings, launching himself upwards and towards the top of the staircase, aiming for the area underneath the floor.

Whoover quickly turned over in the air with his back to the ground, his hooves gently pushing up against ceiling of the under area of the staircase. He flapped his wings as quietly as he could, listening as his father knocked several times on a door and cleared his throat. After a few tense moments, the sounds of a door opening were heard and a young mare's voice added to the air.

"Doctor!" the unknown mare exclaimed "You're here!" Whoover felt his right eye twitch as the voice registered quickly in his head...a voice he knew all too well.

"Of course Mrs.Sparkle, I did remind you that I make house calls correct?" his father replied with a humorous tone. 'Twilight Sparkle...' Whoover thought with a grimace 'What's that fool doing here...?'

Twilight laughed as she opened the door up further, gestering him to come him "Of course Doctor, silly me...I do thank you for coming though, Spike does have a rather bad tendency to eat things he shouldn't." The sounds of hooves on marble were heard as Twilight went on "I would have just given him some painkillers but he was complaining about itchy eyes and his scales hurting...usually I would have read up on the symptoms and see if I couldn't treat him myself...but then again you and I haven't talked in-"

The sound of her voice was muffled and tuned out as she shut the door behind her father, signalling to Whoover that his trail had ended. With a grimace still plastered on his face, Whoover let himself fall from underneath the staircase towards the ground below. He landed with a light thud, quietly walking towards a bench across the street. He sat quickly, running a hoof under his chin and sighing as he said aloud "What am I doing...? Why am I even following him?" He sighed as he looked up, watching the furious traffic move through the streets "A war...what war? Where did he get that wound from...?" Whoover muttered to himself, eying the top of the tower carefully.

"What are you up to...?"

Around half an hour passed as Whoover continued to stare out at the crowd, pondering and thinking over what his mother could have meant when she said 'War'. Was it a literal war...figurative war against something...or what? The pegasus sighed as he felt a small ache starting to form in his head, causing the young colt to press a hoof to his forehead and sigh. When he lowered his hoof and opened his eyes, he felt a solid lump form in his throat when he beheld his father quickly trotting down the stairs of the tower, heading right back out towards the street.

Whoover sprung into action, quickly pushing his way back into the crowd behind his father who turned in an easterly direction and began his casual trot. This was in the direction of his office, Whoover knew...perhaps answers awaited him there. As the son continued to stalk the father, the crowd began to swell and get larger, indicating they were reaching the more industrial side of the city. It was here that most of the hard physical work was carried out in the city: carters, runners, merchant traders and constructional work.

Whoover tried his best to keep up and caught a quick glimpse of his father only for a second before a tall stallion passed between him and Whoover. When the stallion passed...his father had disappeared. "What the..?!" Whoover exclaimed, looking around in all directions. Whoover's ears flattened as he looked all around, swearing as he found no trace of his father.

The pegasus was completely caught off guard as he felt something get pushed between the feathers of his right wing, the nerves of his appendage firing off and causing him to jump in alarm. He snapped his head towards his wing, his eyes widening and his breath coming up short as he beheld a small, folded up piece of paper pressed between his wings. With a ginger pull of his teeth, Whoover quickly grasped the note and unfolded it with a quick hoof. His eyes scanned the words for only a moment before he felt a cold chill seep through his body, making him look around nervously as though he was being watched...

He looked back down on the words, uncertain if they were actually real or not. How could he have known...? How was it even possible?! With a quick turn of his body, Whoover folded the note back up and pressed it under his wing, beginning a quick trot back towards his house. This move...it was clever indeed according to the pegasus...but it was only one clever move.

Like a bishop attacking a pawn, Whoover would wait until the Rooks or Queen were exposed, and then...he'd strike. This thinking didn't relieve him of the fear however...the chill that had swept through him when he read the words on the note...the only words that read:

"Stop following me and go home. Now."