The Assassin's Quandary

I have killed eleven ponies. I have stolen their life, usually without a good reason. But I never thought about their deaths in the way that I thought about Twilight’s death. If I killed her, I wouldn’t just be ending her life; I would be taking a large part of the lives of those around her. Her friends were bound to her in ways that I could only dream of; in ways I had always hoped for. But more than just killing her and her friendship, I would be killing any hope of having the life I always dreamed of. Killing Twilight would mean abandoning any hope of discovering friendship.

But the contract I had received would pay enough for me to abandon this career if I were able to complete the job. I could finally live a normal life, or, at least as normal as I could at this point. After all, I have killed eleven ponies. I can’t abandon that part of me.

She’s getting away. You’re going to kill her, now, before it is too late.

I watched as my knife descended towards her back. Time seemed to slow as the blade shimmered in the dim light. I urged it to stop, hoping with all my being that I could overpower my instinctive decision before it was too late. My eyes closed and I envisioned the knife stopping just in time as student and teacher left the room, unaware of the titanic mental battle I had engaged myself in.

Sadly, as I opened my eyes, I realized that I had done nothing to avert the lethal strike. My heart dropped, but I couldn’t stop looking at the soon to be contact point. What I saw next made me think I had closed my eyes and started imagining a happier alternative again.

A bright yellow transparent shield appeared centimeters away from Twilights skin, colliding with the knife in a bright explosion that wrenched the knife from my magical grasp and knocked me to the ground. The room became blurry and dark. A ringing in my ears deafened me.

Stay on your feet.

I struggled to remain upright, but soon the darkness invaded me completely and I slumped to the floor.

The manner in which I awoke was somewhat reversed from the way I blacked out. The blackness seeped out of my vision and made way for color. My hearing gradually returned and soon shapes took form. I became aware of a strong magical grasp around me.

“...Caught this one skulking around in the library. I don’t think you need me to tell you what he was trying to do.”

“Thank you, Shining Armor. You may leave us now. Go tend to your sister.”

“Yes, your Highness. And please, be careful.”

At first I was confused. What had happened to me? I tried to piece together what had happened. Castle, library, Twilight...and the explosion. What had happened?

The Princess responded as if she had heard my thoughts. “You are in the castle dungeons of Canterlot. I know you were trying to kill Twilight Sparkle. I know she would be dead if not for the shield I placed on her. What I do not know is why. My spies told me of a plot to assassinate Twilight. You are obviously the result.” She pinned me against the wall of my cell. “So I suggest, should you want your stay to be comfortable, that you tell me exactly who sent you and why.” I stared at her cluelessly and felt tears rising in my eyes.

“So be it, whelp.” She released me and I slid to the floor, still staring at the Princess. She walked out of my cell without another word. My eyes loosed the dam that had been holding back tears, and now they flowed freely but silently.

It took me several hours (by my best estimate) to recover my senses. I was in a dark stone cell. The walls were damp, the the floors were dusty, and the room was completely bare save a small window which would have provided light if it were day. It was essentially a box.

Feel the room. Try to find some weakness.

I probed around the room blindly. All solid stone, save the steel door. The room was totally secure except for one crusty corner. The stone would chip away slightly if I struck it with enough force. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

What are you waiting for? Start chipping.

I busied myself until morning digging away at the small corner. I had barely formed a dent, and my hoof was bloody and raw.

Hide the hole. Clean the blood. They’ll know what you’re doing if you don’t cover your tracks.

I cleaned my hoof with my cloak as best I could, then bundled it up and set it down near the dent in the wall. It would do for now.

Occasionally a guard would come down to the cell and give me a tray of food- usually plain bread and water- but otherwise I was left alone. I was no stranger to solitude, but the boredom was unbearable. If not for my digging project I would have gone mad within days. My dull life continued for a week or so before the Princess returned. She stepped into my cell and gazed at me intently.

“Well? Have you come to your senses?”

Unlike last time, I was fully collected. During my week of monotony I had gone through this conversation a thousand times in my head. I swallowed hard and looked her in the eye.

“Princess Celestia, I would like nothing more than to give you the names of my employers and the reason they hired me.” I paused to make it clear that I was waiting for her response.

“Well? If you want nothing more than this, why not tell me?” All was going as I thought it would. The questions were being asked and answered as I imagined.

“Princess, were I to tell you the truth, you would think me either crazy or a liar, and neither one would serve to improve my position here.”

“Well,” She said. “I prefer a madpony or a liar to a stubborn thug. Tell me the ‘truth.’”

I sighed deeply and looked her in the eyes with a strength I didn’t know I had. It was firm, but not defiant. “I do not know who hired me, or why they did it. All I know is that I was supposed to kill her.”

Celestia responded with silence, this time urging me to continue.

“You see,” I said. “My occupation is one of necessity, not choice. Killing is not easy for me, as hard as you may find that to believe. I would not last long if I knew all about my...” I searched my head for a better term, but couldn’t find one. “About my targets. Even knowing their name makes it difficult for me to do what must be done, so you can see why I would also have to avoid details such as people who would want them dead, and why.”

Celestia snorted, but was nice enough to humor me. “So how do you acquire jobs? Surely you must have some interaction with your employer?”

“I do, but not in any meaningful way. I recieve a location, a description, and a small portion of my pay. Nothing else.”

Ask, answer, ask, answer.  Ask.

“So you have no idea who could want Twilight dead? Not even a description?”

Answer.

“I do have one piece of evidence- The contract describing Twilight and her location. However, I obviously don’t have it on me, and...” I choked up a little. Continue. “And I’m afraid I can’t reveal its location to you.”

Ugh. Helping her would end this so much faster, but without a bargaining chip I would no doubt spend my life in this stone box, chipping away at a hole in the corner.

This was the part I was unsure of. How would she react? I could handle anger, sadness, even violence- but what happened next was worse than any of them. Celestia wordlessly stepped out of the cell. A voice came from outside, but it did not belong to Celestia. It was a voice I had known my whole life but had only recently discovered, but I couldn’t quite remember who it belonged to.

“Please...You have to help me...” The purple unicorn herself limped through the doorway, heavily bandaged and disheveled. One eye was covered by an eyepatch, but as I looked into the other, all of my strength dissipated.

“You have to tell me...who wants me dead?”

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Geez, this is taking a lot longer than I thought it would! As always, tell me what you think!