Are you certain this is what you want? After you do this, there will be no going back.
…I’m certain.
Very well, take up your blades, and don your mask.
The cold steel of the hidden blades sent a shiver up and down her legs as they slid into place, holstered and ready for use. She reached out, clasping the thick metal mask in her hooves, a sliver of trepidation slid into her expression as she held the menacing thing in her grasp; slowly she reached upwards, sliding it over her face, the clasps in the back locking shut with a click. A chill danced up and down her spine as the mechanical eye sputtered to life, focusing in and out, enhancing her vision.
The pony you once were is dead now Fluttershy…you have sacrificed her so you may walk this path, never again will you be the Element of Kindness, never again shall you be known as a caretaker to the wild things of this forest, after tonight, the citizens of Equestria will know you as one thing and one thing only.
…Assassin…
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Betrayal//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The moon hung high in the sky, casting a pale grey glow down upon the desolate streets of Manehattan. The filthy muck covered roads and shadowy black alleyways provided her with plenty of room to move throughout the city unseen. With the numerous guards and downtrodden civilians none the wiser, she flew, ran, and climbed. Her every movement laden with the caution and skill of a true parkour master, her months of brutal training and rigorous teaching coming to fruition…if only Rainbow could see her now.
Her heartbeat thumped in her head like the pounding of a distant drum as she darted across a low city block rooftop, a surge of adrenaline pumped through her veins as she flung herself off that same roof. Her large yellow wings unfurling as she slowly glided across the shadowy night sky, her thin black jacket unfolding at the end and whipping in the wind.
In the distance her target slowly slid into view, Manehattan Tower...A shiver ran up and down her spine as she gazed upon it, the tall black spire stood high over every other building in the district, dwarfing the structures surrounding it. The building was sharp in design, each end of the structure culminating in a large pointed shape, giving it a distinct and menacing look that made it stand out from the stubby and square design of the buildings and shops surrounding it.
Each side of the menacing construct was adorned with an elaborate purple and black flag, emblazoned upon the middle of said flag was a symbol the assassin knew all too well. A large pink star surrounded by five smaller white stars…the ‘Queen’s’ symbol. The sight was enough to quell any premeditated feelings of fear she may have felt, replacing those feelings of doubt and pain with rage.
“Twilight…” She whispered, a touch of menacing malice to her voice. “I’ll make you pay for what you did…”
A single powerful beat of her wings propelled her downwards, veering off and landing atop a nearby building across the street of the tower. It appeared to be an abandoned sweet shop…cleared out months ago and left to decay like so many relics of a day gone by.
A bright white light pierced the sky, and the assassin crouched low, her cloak helping her blend into the shadows as she slipped into a dark corner of the roof. She forced the air out of her lungs as she threw herself up against cold cobblestone of the rooftop, trying to lay as flat as she possibly could. The spotlight lingered for a moment, dancing over the dusty building in search of an intruder, eventually it veered off, and she sucked in a much needed breath of fresh air. That had been close, somepony must have caught sight of her when she landed…she’d need to be more careful in the future.
Cautiously she got to her hooves, though she kept her knees bent and her steps silent, there would be no more room for mistakes...Her eyes were drawn towards the tower as a flash of bright crimson light flashed in the top room window, before quickly fizzling out. She knew what that flash meant, that must have been the Head Researcher’s workroom, the place where he ran his experiments.
She’d heard talk in the street earlier today of these so called experiments. Apparently The Head Researcher was working on a way to turn magic into a sort of projectile ammunition. She’d caught a glimpse or two of his work back in Canterlot, a select few of the higher ranking officers had been allowed prototypes of these inventions, rumors were that these new weapons were capable of firing small magical bursts of energy at speeds high enough to punch holes clean through a royal guard’s armor. If weapons like that were to become commonplace for Twilight’s soldiers…well, it’d make her job a hell of a lot harder.
She shook herself out of her own thoughts, refocusing her attention back on the building; the room she’d seen the flash in had been on the top floor…
“I could fly up there…” She mumbled to herself, a habit she’d developed during her imprisonment in Canterlot. “But then again, if that spotlight gets ahold of me I’ll have a fight on my hooves…” Her hidden blade sprang to life, her soft emerald eye ran over the shiny black edge, and she had to resist the urge to run a hoof along it. It was sharp enough to kill, this she knew for a fact, but she wasn’t skilled enough to take on a whole troop of guards. No, this situation called for a stealthier approach.
The mechanical eye in her mask sprang to life, emitting a faint blue glow as she scanned the courtyard surrounding the tower. She traced the line of light back to its original source, the light was built in atop a watchtower in the courtyard, held up on stilts in the backyard…she bit back a curse, there’d be no disabling it, not from where she was sitting.
Instead she looked for other options, slowly craning her neck around in the hopes of finding another means of entry.
“There!” She exclaimed, her expression registering something akin to excitement as she took sight of a passing carriage, slowly making its way towards the front gates. Supplies for the tower she assumed, after all, guards needed to eat.
She wasted no time clambering down the building, instead opting to jump off, using her wings to soften her landing, they weren’t the best for flying anymore, but she could still use them to glide. She lurked in the shadows cast from the empty black sky, keeping her body pressed up against the cold stone of the sweet shop, waiting for her chance. When the carriage passed she quickly snuck inside, pushing aside the flap and hiding amongst the packages of foodstuffs and blankets, deftly arranging each one so that they provided her the perfect source of cover, all the while the driver appeared none the wiser, haggard and downtrodden, tired after a long day of work. A train could crash into his cart at this point and he probably wouldn’t so much as bat an eyelid.
The air in the back of the cart was stifling, musty and dank; she repressed the urge to sneeze, having kicked up some dust on the way in. She idly wondered when the cart had been cleaned last, she ran a bright yellow hoof over the floor, the appendage now covered in at least an inch of dust.
Rarity would be throwing a fit right now…she thought, a small somber smile gracing her lips for the first time in what felt like forever. Her thoughts filled with idle memories of the prissy white unicorn.
*Squuueeeaaaak*
The cart jostled a little as it slid to a halt outside the main gate. One of her carefully stacked boxes toppled over with a thump, and she had to force back a cough as a cloud of dust was thrown up into the air, she was too close now…she couldn’t blow her cover.
She could hear several loud thumps as one of the gate guards approached, his heavy plate armor jingling loudly with each step.
“State your business.” The guard commanded his voice gruff and tempered with steel resolve.
“Ah got supplies for ya’ll.” The driver stated, his thick southern accent colored with fatigue. This was followed by the sound of crinkling paper. “Here’s a list of everythin’ ah got.”
“Leave it with the captain after you drop off the goods.” She crouched down low behind the boxes and prepped her hidden blade, outside she could see the guard’s silhouette bleed through the light tan coloring of the tarp and hear the clip clopping of his hooves as he made his way towards the entrance. “I need to take a look inside.”
There was a gentle fwip as he pushed open the back flap, his unicorn horn ablaze as he scanned the inside of the cart. For a few, long, painful moments he searched the interior, only giving up after he made a good three or four passes. She eased up a little after he left, letting her tight muscles relax and retracting her blade.
She could hear the heavy iron bars of the main gate being opened as the cart jolted forward, nearly knocking her off balance, she steadied herself on a nearby box of provisions, cursing herself for being so clumsy. After she made it inside she took it upon herself to peek out through the opening in the back, using her mask’s mechanical eye to scope out the area. She could see several guards sitting about, idly chatting with one another or pretending to work, none of them seemed to pay the cart of provisions any real mind. This sight helped to ease her troubled thoughts; none of them were alert, which turned the odds in her favor.
So long as I’m careful…she thought idly to herself, brushing aside a stray strand of her silky pink mane, tucking it underneath her shadowy black cowl. I should be able to get in and out with no real problems.
Eventually the gentle rocking of the cart came to a halt, and she could hear the earth pony pulling it mumble something irritable underneath his breath as he undid the harness tying him to the cart. Marching off to find the guard captain, she assumed.
She took a moment or two to gather her thoughts, and to quell the rapid beating of her heart. A single mistake could end in her untimely demise, she couldn’t let that happen…she wouldn’t let that happen. Slowly…ever so slowly she peered out of the cart, gently brushing the leather flap aside with a stray hoof.
When the coast appeared clear she slipped out, keeping her body low to the ground as she took in her surroundings. The soft green grass beneath her hooves and the line of apple trees nearby told her that she was in the backyard, like she’d expected. A cursory glance around revealed that, while there were indeed guards patrolling the area, they remained more or less confined to the entrances and exits leading into and out of the garden.
Her gaze wandered up towards the spotlight tower only a few yards away. A large metal platform built on hard steel stilts resided at the top of the structure, where a guard sat in an old metal chair, his unicorn horn ablaze as he toyed with the numerous flips and switches on the hunk of magical machinery. A cursory glance around revealed that approaching the tower from here would be easy enough, and odds were she’d be glad to have neutralized said spotlight if things got hairy.
She wasted no time in scaling the heavy metal construct. Taking as much care as she possibly could to avoid making noise, the rusty steel hinges beneath her limbs had a terrible tendency to creak and groan beneath her weight if she moved too sporadically, it only took one curious glance downwards from the guard above to let her know she needed to be more careful.
When she finally reached the top she repressed the urge to release a sigh of relief, the ascent had been perilous and she was rather proud of herself for being able to brave it. But this wasn’t the time for personal pats on the back.
“Ugh, why is it that I get stuck with guard duty while my cousin goes off to sack villages?” The guard mumbled irritably to himself, completely unaware of the rapidly approaching killer. “Seriously, I signed on to stab shit. Not to operate a fuckin’ oversized lighbu-ACK!”
The guard’s miniature tirade was cut off mid-sentence as the assassin forced her shining black blade into the base of his skull, a crimson river flowing out over her hoof as she slithered a leg around his neck, holding him in place with one leg while releasing her second blade and dragging it across his throat, ending his life with two well-placed attacks.
The guard let out a single pitiful sputter as blood spilled from his now open throat, his eyes glossed over as she released the second knife from the base of his skull. The strength leaving his limbs as he slumped over in his chair, a crimson river squirting out and over his fancifully decorated purple armor.
The assassin took a couple steps back, looking over her work. This wasn’t the first time she’d taken a life. But that didn’t mean it had become any easier to do, there was no satisfaction in this, even if he was a bastard he was still a pony…but it was necessary, that’s what she kept telling herself, all this violence was necessary.
She sighed as her hidden blades slid backwards and locked back into place. He wouldn’t draw any attention like this, slumped over like he was; he still appeared to be doing his job. Nopony would notice so long as they didn’t actively investigate or stare for too long. She reasoned that she’d be long gone by the time anypony realized he was dead.
“Now, it’s your turn Mister Head Researcher.” She whispered, spreading her wings and jumping from the spotlight’s roost, landing on one the tower’s many terraces. She craned her neck upwards, eying the tower from where she stood, tugging her hood a little tighter as the chilly wind picked up.
It’d be safer to climb, she realized. The tower was likely to have guards stationed inside, and she’d already killed more of them than she would have liked. No, it was safer to scale the building, even if it was the more physically taxing of the two decisions.
“But I can’t reach the research room window from this side of the tower.” She reasoned with herself. “I’ll have to climb up as high as I can, then sneak inside.” Not a perfect plan she knew, but it was the only one she had.
Off in the distance thunder roared, and she could taste moisture in the air. She’d need to climb fast, before the storm hit and made the already arduous climb more so.
//////////////////////////////////////////////power/////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Wesson smiled, the pistol in his hoof still smoking from the shot he’d just fired. His research room smelt like a sickening cocktail of death, decay, and smoke. He finished loading the weapon, holding it steady and firing again, there was a thwack sound and a crash as his target fell to the floor. A young mare, no more than fifteen years old, lay dead upon the ground, the cause? A still smoking hole had been punched clean through her head.
The aged brown stallion set the pistol aside, smiling in satisfaction as his horn lit up with a pale yellow glow. The crimson crystal on his desk responded with a shimmer, clicking to life, a Record Crystal that allowed him to keep his thoughts on hoof at all times without the need to write them down. Record Crystals were rather new inventions, magical stones capable of storing information spoken directly to it when activated. Only recently had they become commonplace, discovered along with so many other wonderful things after the return of the Crystal Empire, this one in particular had many of his own thoughts and notes buried inside. It had proved invaluable in speeding along his research, it was so much easier to listen to yesterday’s findings rather than being forced to reread them.
He cleared his throat before speaking. “I’ve done it, after months of rigorous work and experimentation I have perfected my newest creation. The pistol, as I’ve taken to calling it, is capable of firing three rounds of magical bursts at a higher rate than the rifle ever could. By sacrificing range for mobility, this new weapon is ideal for the general foot soldier. I’ve already sent along blueprints for the Queen to see, I have no doubt she’ll approve, she always does. We should be able to mass produce these new weapons in a matter of months. I believe that, with my ingenuity, and with the Queen’s limitless resources, I should be able to craft even more deadly creations. With enough time and with enough investment…her army will become unstoppable.”
He curled up his nose; the fresh corpse across the room had started to stink.
“And…note to self, have one of the hoofmaidens wash out the carpets. This place is really starting to smell.”
His horn flickered to life as the crystal’s magic ebbed away, storing away all of what he’d just said. Outside there was the crash of thunder, and he could hear the pitter patter of rain against his window. He repressed the urge to smile, satisfied that his long months of inventing had finally born fruit.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////corruption//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The rain ran off of her shoulders and legs, sinking through her cloak and chilling her to the bone. She yanked herself up to the railing, grunting with the effort as her legs screamed for her to take a break. She’d undergone rigorous amounts of endurance training, but never before had she been forced to scale so great a height. But now it was over, she’d reached the uppermost terrace; she stood outside, peering in through the glass door. The lights were on inside, the long hallway leading to her target’s location ablaze with a soft warm glow.
It was a false warmth; no place in Manehattan could possibly be colder…She was always in tune with the more natural side of the world. And right now she was standing outside a place where no innocent soul would willingly tread. Happiness brought true warmth…and there was no happiness to be found here, only a cold, oppressive, empty feeling of dread.
Inside resided three guards, all of whom were standing outside the door leading to where her target resided. She repressed the urge to sigh in frustration. She was so close…there was no way around it; these ponies would die tonight, by her hoof.
Her muscles tightened as she popped her neck, preparing for the battle to come. She wasted no time with entrances; kicking open the thin glass door and rushing inside. One of the guards fell before he could even make a sound, her lightning quick reflexes allowing her to slit his throat with ease.
Without so much as batting an eyelid she turned to the other two, who were stunned by her sudden felling of their comrade. This provided her another perfect opportunity to strike, as she jabbed another in the throat before he could react, splitting his windpipe with her bloodstained black blade.
The third had managed to regain his senses by the time she’d dispatched his second comrade, readying his spear and charging forward. The assassin was unimpressed, lazily sidestepping and jamming both her blades into his legpit, one of the places his thick plate armor did not cover, her second blade slid in-between the leather knots holding the two pieces of his purple armor together, puncturing his lung.
He too fell to the ground with nary a sound, too stunned to move as he bled out upon the fine purple rug below. The assassin released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding her emerald eye going wide in realization as she looked upon the death she’d wrought.
Assassin…if this didn’t prove she deserved the title…
“What in the name of Twilight is going on out there!?” She heard a bewildered stallion shout from behind the oak door.
The assassin raised her hind legs, the tail end of her cloak sliding upwards around her flanks, revealing a trio of crimson butterflies on her flank. When her hooves collided with the door it flew off its hinges, splintered wood and chunks of frame coming off with it. The door itself had flown off just in time to collide with Wesson, who now lay on the floor of his room, sputtering and spitting as blood filled his mouth.
“Wha-what in Tartarus!?” He exclaimed, his dark hazel eyes now lying squarely upon the menacing pony standing over him, daggers drawn and poised to strike. Fear took over, and his self-preservation instinct kicked in. “Wha-what do you want!? Money!? I-I can get you that!”
The masked figure seemed nonplussed, curling her lip in disgust as a lock of her bright pink mane fell over her face.
Wesson scrambled backwards, trying to get away, a quick stomp on his tail with her free leg ensured that he’d be going nowhere.
“No I don’t want money…” She took a step forward, pressing the knife against his chest, holding it directly over his heart.
Wesson swallowed hard. “Wha-what then!? I’ll help you get it, I swear I will!”
The assassin scowled, sinking her blade into his chest, blood poured out over her hoof in a crimson torrent, and he fell dead to the floor. She leaned in, her limbs trembling with anger as a scream built up in her throat.
“I. Want. REVENGE!”
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Vengeance/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Author's Note
So this is just the little thing I cooked up to try and get my creative groove back. I had fun with it, it's a little grimdarky I guess, and kinda...angsty I suppose. Which I know has a tendency to be frowned upon for some reason. But it's something I want to write, so I'm gonna, if you liked it feel free to let me know, if you didn't let me know.
I…I can’t go any farther.
No please! You have to keep running, we can’t stay here!
Darling please… it’s over for me.
NO! Don’t say that… please don’t say that…
You can still escape.
The snow white unicorn placed a delicate hoof to her face, the tears running freely from her eyes as she smiled, the blood poured freely from the wound in her chest, Fluttershy looked on in horror.
No…no, no, no…
It happened… during the volley… such a shame too, if only I’d been shot a few weeks earlier, back when red was all the rage.
W-we can get you to a doctor! W-we can… we can.
No honey… no we can’t.
Angered shouts and thumping hooves could be heard off in the distance, quickly closing in on them, the Pegasus paid it no mind, still staring down at her injured friend in shock.
They’ll be here any minute, y-you have to go now… you can get away, I know you can.
The tears ran freely from the unicorn’s eyes, her beautiful blue irises wide and pleading.
I-I can’t…
Yes you can, I know you can.
Not alone… I can’t do it alone Rarity… please just… please.
Shh… there’s no time for this sweetheart. You have to go…
But I’m meek… and helpless… I need you.
I’ll have none of that; you’re strong Fluttershy, stronger than you know.
Rarity…
Over here! I heard voices this way!
You have to go darling… now, or our friends will have died for nothing. You… you’re the only element left…
The light began to fade from those sparkling blue eyes, Fluttershy couldn’t stop crying.
…You have to stop her… f-find a way, Fluttershy… go.
The unicorn pushed her away, the shouting was louder than ever and she could feel the vibrations in the earth from dozens of pounding hooves. With one last tear streaked look, she turned, running as fast as her weakened legs allowed.
///////////////////////////////////////////////Blood///////////////////////////////////////////////////
The assassin awoke with a start, yanked from her nightmare as the cart she’d been travelling in came to an abrupt halt. She lay there in silence for a moment, the sound of plodding hooves approaching the rear of the cart prompting her to stay hidden in the back. The guards were looking for her now, and she didn’t want to chance attracting any attention to herself while a guard conducted an impromptu searching of her cart.
She lay completely still against the itchy wool blanket she’d been sleeping on, reaching up and pulling the heavy metal mask she wore back over her face, hiding the majority of her features from view. Her hidden blades sprang to life with a flick of her hooves, she was grateful she’d decided against removing them while she slept. Her mentor had advised to wear them as much as possible, and she’d heeded his advice.
She could hear the whistling of the wind outside and hear the thunder crackling in the distance, and if she strained her ears she could pick up on the distant sound of falling rain. It was raining again…it was always raining these days.
The flap at the end of the cart was pushed aside, a ray of pale grey moonlight filtering in through the opening, shining on her face, the silvery cold steel of her mask glinting in response.
“Um… miss.” She heard the feeble voice of the young stallion she’d hired to pull the cart mumble, his voice cracking just slightly. She let herself relax, no guard sounded that young. “We’re here.”
The assassin rose from her place in the back, steadying herself on a shaky leg and nodding an affirmative to him as she pulled up her black hood, hiding the majority of her bright pink mane from view and covering the rest of her face in shadows.
With a barely audible grunt she rose from her seat, her muscles aching from both a combination of her sleeping surface and the strenuous physical activity she’d undergone only a few short hours ago. It wasn’t pleasant, but along with the aches came another sensation, a twisted sense of satisfaction. Last night she’d succeeded in slaying her first target, the researcher Wesson was dead, by her hoof… and now she was one step closer to getting the retribution she so ravenously craved.
The colt moved aside as she slipped out the back, keeping his eyes averted as she looked him over. He was young, couldn’t be more than fifteen, maybe sixteen. Normally a colt this old wouldn’t be ferrying strangers for cash, but Twilight’s new taxes and economic meddling was making it difficult for hard working ponies to hold their own. Poverty levels had risen, families were forced out of homes by soldiers, and pretty much any bits they could bring in went directly to the crown. It wasn’t really surprising to find a colt as young as this working as hard as he could to bring in bits for his family.
“We’re uh, right outside of town, just like you wanted.” He mumbled, gesturing with a point of his hat down the old road the cart had been trundling down only a few short moments ago, now slick and muddy thanks to the constant pelting rain, it’d be difficult to walk on, but it was safer than heading into town with a cart and risking undue suspicion.
She didn’t say anything in response, reaching inside her coat pocket and handing him a hooful of bits. She wasn’t going to thank him, the extra fifty or so coins she’d given him would do that for her.
He looked down at the tiny mountain of gold in his hoof, his youthful green eyes widening in shock. “Mi-miss are you sure you wan-” He looked up, but she was already gone.
//////////////////////////////////////////////Tyranny//////////////////////////////////////////////////
The rain was falling hard, sinking through her coat and chilling her to the bone. The wind wasn’t helping matters, powerful gusts tore at her body and threatened to bowl her over, probably would if she wasn’t stronger than she used to be. The dirt trail she walked was covered in puddles and every step she took splashed her with muddy water, for a moment she worried that the mud may damage her blades, but they were of durable make, and nothing short of dismantling them piece by piece would ever get them to stop working.
In the distance she could see Ponyville start to slide into view, the rain blurring her vision and making it difficult to see. She longed to enter the town, to sit down at Sugarcube Corner and have a delicious cup of hot chocolate while Rarity fussed with her mane and Pinkie talked her ear off about... whatever it was Pinkie liked to talk about.
But that would never happen again... Never again would she feel Rarity’s silky hooves play with her luscious mane, or listen to Pinkie’s cheery voice...
Still, she would have liked to enter the town, to walk its streets if only to see a familiar sight for once. But she couldn’t, not today at least, probably not ever again, after the stunt she’d pulled earlier tonight she’d be spotted in an instant, Twilight more than likely already had guards scouring every inch of Manehattan in order to find Wesson’s killer, when they return with nothing to report, it’s likely that she’ll send out patrols all across the countryside. Twilight needed to keep her authority asserted, and this act of rebellion couldn’t go unpunished... lest the ponies she abuses see that she and her ilk aren’t nearly as untouchable as the good queen would like them to think.
“Welcome to Ponyville...” The assassin read aloud, her voice barely audible over the sound of rolling thunder and pounding rain. She stood before the welcome sign into town, her emerald eye scanning the beat down sign with a sad sort of remembrance, it was as if the entirety of the world had changed and shaped itself to match that of Twilight’s wicked rule.
The trees held no color, the sky was always dark, the sun never shined, the moon never sparkled, the animals, the poor sweet animals, they cowered and scampered away to the dark corners of the wild. Fluttershy... as she used to be, always held a direct connection with nature and its beauty, to see it perverted by Twilght’s magic... it made her sick.
She sighed and shook herself out of her thoughts, it was getting colder by the minute, and she had to find a place to bunker down for the night. Trudging through the Everfree is a dangerous thing to do in the dark, even more so when it is raining, the pegasi’s eyes were sharper than most, and still she’d make easy prey for any animal or monstrosity willing to pounce. At least in the daylight she’d have a better chance of seeing them coming.
She’d have to circle around the town, stay away from it altogether to avoid arousing any suspicion. Her outfit helped her blend into the shadows, not crowds, and, nighttime or not, curfew was no longer in effect, ponies would be waking up any minute now to go to work to try and earn enough bits to stay afloat in the tumbling economy.
Luckily, there was a little path she knew about that few others did on the outskirts of town. She used to use it to ferry skittish animals around to different wild places nearby, it kept them from causing any trouble, and kept her from having to deal with all the stares.
Following the path from here would dump her out in the middle of Sweet Apple Acres. Maybe then she could sneak into a barn to catch a few extra hours of sleep, she was still woefully tired, the trip to Manehattan and back filled with worries and self doubt, the strenuous physical activity she’d undergone during the assassination itself had taken more out of her than she’d thought it would, and the fact that her sleep as of late was filled with nothing but nightmares and tense unease didn’t help matters.
With a goal in mind she set out down the road, reaching up with a yellow hoof and tugging her hood down low.
It was going to be a long, cold, walk.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Betrayal////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
“Are ya’ll goin’ ta work already?” The sweet sound of his little sister’s voice stopped Big Macintosh in his tracks, his head drooping a little as he let his hoof fall from the door. He heard the sheets slide away as the little filly sat up in the bed they shared.
He turned back to her, walking over and bending down, smiling at her. “Ah gotta get ta work early ta make sure we get enough harvested.” He reached out with a hoof and gently pushed her back down on the bed, she giggled a little in response to his gentle touch. “Ya’ll just go right back ta sleep, ah’ll be back in time ta make ya breakfast, promise.”
Applebloom snuggled into her warm covers. “Will ya make those apple pancakes Granny used ta make?” She asked innocently, unable to see her older brother frown at the memory of his lost relative.
“Sure Applebloom, ah will.” He bent down and planted a soft kiss on her forehead, brushing a stray strand of her colorful red mane out of her face... just like her older sister used to do. “Now ya’ll get some sleep.”
Before he could even turn around Applebloom was squirming again. “Uh... big brother?”
The stallion repressed the urge to sigh. “Yeah AB?”
“Ah...” She curled up a little underneath the covers, and her sweet little smile morphed into an upset frown as she did. “Never mind.”
Big Macintosh, eager to see his little sister happy, pressed on. “Go ahead and tell me what it is AB, ah’ll listen to whatever ya’ll have got ta say.”
“Ah... Ah’m gonna be awful lonely all alone in the house.” She squirmed a little. “C-can ah go into town to see Scootaloo? Or Sweetie Belle? It’s been an awfully long time since we done any crusadin’.”
Big Mac frowned, it wasn’t the first time he’d heard the request. It was true, Applebloom hadn’t had a chance to see her friends in an upsettingly long amount of time, he knew how close they were, and it hurt him to have to keep her at home. But the town was a dangerous place as of late, with armed guards patrolling the streets, and crime increasing with every passing day as the ponies got more and more desperate. He’d already lost two relatives... he wasn’t about to lose a third.
“Ah think it’d be best if ya’ll stayed in today Bloom.” He spoke, trying to keep his voice upbeat, despite the look of utter disappointment on his sister’s face.
The filly deflated, the blankets falling a little lower as she let out a sigh of defeat. “Alright...”
He offered her a tiny smile. “Hey now...” He walked over to her, her orange eyes half lidded, from a mix of both exhaustion and disappointment. “Don’t mope AB.” The filly’s eyes widened a bit as her brother bent down, and she could feel a few bumps and rattles as he fumbled about for something beneath the bed. “Aha! There she is.”
Applebloom giggled as her brother held up a familiar looking patched doll. “Smarty Pants?” She questioned, giggling as his face turned a slightly darker shade of red.
“Hey, jus’ cus ah’m a boy don’t mean ah can’t play with dolls too.” He playfully chides, holding out the filly’s toy for her to take. “Here, Smarty’ll keep ya company while ah work.”
Applebloom sheepishly reached out and took the toy from her brother’s hooves. She liked to consider herself too old for little kid toys, she was, after all, a big pony. But... she’d snuggle with the doll, for a bit at least, she needed some sort of companionship right now.
“Thanks Bi-Big...” Her sentence was cut off by an earth shattering yawn, and the little filly felt her eyelids grow incredibly heavy. And before she could even finish her sentence... she fell asleep.
The big red stallion smiled at her, reaching down and planting an affectionate kiss on her forehead, pulling up her blanket, and shutting the blinds.
He sat there for a minute, staring down at his sister with a sad sort of affection in his eyes. Things were bad... real bad. The loss of his sister and granny had been a terribly traumatic ordeal for the siblings, but along with their departure from this world came another infinitely more practical problem. The farm was in trouble, with the economy plummeting he was making a fraction of the bits he used to come harvest season, he could barely meet the demand necessary to keep the two of them fed, let alone pay off the new taxes that had gone into effect recently.
Those damn taxes... he swore, they cropped up like weeds, deal with one, and seven more rise to take its place, it had gotten to the point that he could barely keep them straight anymore. And he’d always miss one or two come collection time. Something the new guard force was swift to remind him of during every available opportunity.
But he had to pull through, he had to do AJ and Granny proud... he’d do it for their memory, and for his little sister. Whenever the work seemed to much or the taxes too heavy he thought of his dear little Applebloom, and how much she must be suffering with the loss of her big sister and Grandmother.
He’d pull through... he’d pull through for her.
No matter what it took.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Vengeance///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
She was hungry.
The realization had hit her like a full speed punch to the gut. She’d been so wracked by anxiety and caught up in the planning of her first kill that she’d neglected to actually eat anything before, during, or after the job was completed. That meant it had been what? Three days since she’d actually eaten anything?
She wondered why her body hadn’t been alerting her to the problem earlier. It was, after all, important to keep her strength up, she never knew when she’d need to perform intense physical activity after all, and it’s difficult to run across a rooftop or swing a blade when your body is weakened from hunger.
She figured it was because her mind had been too busy wracking itself with planning and coordination to send her warning flags concerning her hunger. And after the assassination had been completed, she’d been too worried about avoiding capture to consider her need for sustenance, but now that she’d found herself in a relatively safe place, a place she recognized and thought of as a sanctuary of sorts, she had freed her mind of those plaguing worries long enough to concern herself with baser needs.
She’d been steadily making her way through the orchard for a good ten minutes, and the sight of several large and fairly ripe apples had certainly done nothing to help alleviate her ravenous appetite. And, since she knew it’d be another night at least before she was able to appease her hunger, she’d picked out a luscious looking tree or two and had plucked herself a few apples.
She now sat with her back against the wet trunk of a tree, letting a tiny sigh slide past her lips as she allowed her weary hooves a moment to rest. Trudging through the mud, rain, and wind was turning out to be about as easy of a task as she’d expected.
That is, it wasn’t easy at all.
The mud clung to her legs and hooves like a thick coat of paint, and she was grateful for the fact that her cloak’s sleeves were made of magical thread, therefore, it couldn’t stain. The mud itself, no matter how dry, would dissipate soon enough, even faster if she were to give the jacket a good scrubbing. Which was nice, it meant she wouldn’t have to replace it or fuss over it any more than was necessary.
She shivered a little as a powerful gust of moist, cold, air blew past. She’d been dealing with that since she’d left the cart carrying her from Manehattan. Thankfully, the tree was wide enough to block out the majority of the stabbing wind. Offering her the slightest of reprieves. She wiped off her muddy hooves on the front of her coat and brushed a strand of her rain soaked pink mane aside.
She reached out and clasped a hoof around one of her freshly picked apples, her mouth salivating at the thought of finally getting some food into her system. But, as she held the fruit, she found her heart somewhat plagued by guilt. This was stealing... wasn’t it? Granted, it seemed like a silly thing to be upset about, after all, just last night she’d committed a considerably worse act.
But... well, this was Sweet Apple Acres. A farm owned by ponies she kn-, used to know... Was it right to take this from them? Deep down it felt like she was insulting Applejack’s memory with this petty crime...
But what could she really do? She needed food, lest she be too weak to travel into the Everfree, and she knew no other way to attain it without causing trouble or exposing herself. Perhaps... perhaps she would leave some bits in the house before she left after the storm. As compensation for the theft, she knew not how much was appropriate, after all... she hadn’t been able to actually shop and see how prices had fluctuated as of late. She’d leave as much as she could, at least then she wouldn’t have to worry about it, and she wouldn’t have to deal with the guilt of dishonoring her lost friend’s orchard with the theft.
And so she ate, and it was rather... unpleasant. The fruit didn’t taste the same... it was like the orchard had lost part of its own luster after Applejack’s death... perhaps it mourned for her as well...
She shook her head, her heartfelt sigh caught by the wind and swept away. There was no use dwelling on them... her friends, they were gone and nothing would change that. Slowly she got to her achy and sore hooves, though she had the smallest of comforts in the feeling of a full stomach. She unfurled her jacket and stretched her legs, readying herself for more... what was that?.
*Pat*
*Pat*
*Pat*
Her wings unfurled she had t-
*Thwump!*
Too late! It was like she’d been hit by a freight train, the impact had knocked the wind out of her lungs and thrown her to the ground, and she now lay face first in mud, breathing in dirty water and grass as she tried desperately to fill her body with air. Her mind was in a haze, her head throbbed with pain and her sore limbs ached, screeching at her to cease her movement, less they threaten to give out.
Again she heard the pounding of hooves, and she could feel the ground shake as her assailant came barreling towards her. But she was prepared this time, her body acting more on reflex than anything else as she bent down low and rolled to the right. She felt the displacement of the air as her attacker barreled past, and her assailant, having realized he’d missed his target, attempted to skid to a halt.
Fluttershy’s eyes were blinded by a searing hot whiteness as lightning tore through the sky, and they refocused just in time for her to see her attacker fall forward, slipping in the mud, crashing face first into the wet dirt below.
She wasted no time, leaping forward and pouncing upon his back, he let out a single low cry of disdain as she pressed her weight down atop him, she was stronger than the average mare, and with the right placement of her legs and weight, managed to restrain him. .
“Ya damn thief!” He blubbered, face full of mud and water. “Le’ me go!”
The mare’s hidden blade slid free, and she pressed the cold steel against his throat. “Stop.” Her voice was quiet, as it often was, but the stallion could tell the threat was far from hollow.
Her assailant immediately stopped his futile attempts to throw her off, his body loosening up.
“Sh... Shy?” The name shot through the assassin’s head like a bullet, she blinked once, as if in disbelief.
“Big Macintosh?”
The stallion managed a tiny nod, then flinched as the mare retracted her blade, she felt an apology dance on the end of her tongue after noticing his reaction, but didn’t say it. She quickly removed herself from his back, and helped him to his hooves, his legs wobbled and shook just a bit, adrenaline was probably still pumping through his system.
“Ah... Ah can’t believe it’s you.” His words came out as a breathy whisper, and the assassin could plainly see the look of utter disbelief on his face. “A-Ah thought, everypony thought!”
“That I was dead?” She asked, her voice catching the stallion off guard.
“Yeah...” He looked her up and down, Fluttershy nearly flinched under his gaze, but managed to hold her ground. She could see the scrutinizing glint behind his eyes, and knew what he was about to say, before he even said it. “Ya look a lil’ different.”
Fluttershy felt a smile play at the edge of her lips, but didn’t let it slide through. That wasn’t all that surprising to hear, she did indeed look different, though Big Macintosh was likely being generous when he used the word ‘little’. She was a far cry from the shy, demure, cowardly little pegasus she used to be. Now she was strong, deadly, powerful...
It was frightening in a way, how much she’d changed over so little a time.
“I suppose I do.” The mare’s eyes darted downwards as she reached up with a hoof and tugged at her billowing black jacket.
Big Mac was at a loss for words. A strange mixture of feelings danced through his head, he and Fluttershy had grown... close up until the time of her disappearance. Nothing romantic, at least, it had yet to become romantic. He didn’t know what love was, at least, he wasn’t sure if the feelings he’d felt had been love.
He’d hoped that one day, with enough time, and with enough coercing, their relationship could maybe blossom into something more.
Then, he’d lost her... losing Shy had been almost as bad as losing his sister. But now here she was, the mare he’d... cared for, standing before him, clad in black, bearing weapons, and stealing his produce. He wasn’t sure what to feel. Surprised? Frightened? Glad? He was torn between wanting to hug her close and kick her off the farm.
“I, um, apologize about the apples.” The stallion snapped out of his thoughts as the mare opened her mouth, forced to strain his ears to hear her voice over the pelting rain and howling wind. “I intended to pay but, um...”
“I-it’s fahne!” He spoke up, cutting her off. He took a few steps closer, and forced himself to give her a reassuring smile. “Ah’m the one who should be sorry, ah attacked ya out of the blue like that. If ah’d known it had been you ah would’ve... well, not done that.”
The mare nodded, a lock of her long pink mane falling free, drenched in rain water and flecked with speckles of mud. “It’s okay, I understand your reaction. Things have been hard around here, haven’t they?”
The stallion offered her a single, somber, nod of his head.
Fluttershy frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that.” The mare felt an ounce of her previous bashfulness return, scuffing a hoof against the ground as she opened and shut her mouth a couple times, trying to find the best way to word the request in her mind.
“Is there somethin’ ya need Shy?” The mare snapped back to attention, a smile breaking across her face.
That was one of the reasons she liked Big Macintosh, he’d always been able to tell when she needed something. When she’d choke up others would just brush her off as being, well, Fluttershy, but he was different, he could tell.
“I’m really... tired.” The mare looked him in the eyes, letting her shoulders droop a tad, his face softened as he picked up on her obvious sign of fatigue. “Can I stay in the barn for a few hours? At least until the rain stops?”
“A’course ya can Shy, come on, ah’ll walk ya there.”
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////Tyranny////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The walk had been quiet, both Fluttershy’s fatigue and Big Mac’s soft spoken nature keeping their chatting to a minimum.
The assassin managed to keep her mind preoccupied with idle thoughts and cursory glances around the farm, drinking in the familiar sights, however disheartening they may be, with a sort of glee. She’d spent months cooped up in the Everfree Forest after her escape from Canterlot. And she was happy to see Big Mac as well, the stallion had become one of her closest friends up until Twilight’s betrayal. And she’d spent so much time alone since then, having him here, somepony she knew, somepony she trusted, it was comforting. Even if their reunion was to be short lived, she’d savor it.
Big Mac on the other hoof, was wrestling with a desire to sit Fluttershy down and interrogate her. She was alive. Which could mean... Applejack had been buried in Canterlot along with the rest of her friends, and he’d attended the funeral, he’d seen the body himself. No, she wasn’t alive... even Fluttershy’s miraculous survival wouldn’t be enough to convince him otherwise, he could tell she knew, just from the way she walked, the way she looked. There was a sadness in her heart, and a steel resolve behind her eyes...
Applejack was dead, there was no hope for that. But he didn’t know the details, the official statement had been that the Elements of Harmony, save the Queen herself, had attempted to seize control of the crown for themselves. When the plot was uncovered, Twilight had sentenced them all to be arrested, of course, pleading for a peaceful solution.
She’d claimed that they all resisted, and that she’d had no choice but to defend herself and the queendom.
It was a lie, of course. Nopony actually believed it. Least of all Big Macintosh, but he was no warrior, no revolutionary, he’d had no way to argue for his sister’s innocence. So he’d bit the bullet and gone back to his farm. But now he had a way to get those answers he so ravenously craved... maybe, just maybe she’d be willing to share.
“Are ya sure ya don’t want ta come inside the house Shy?” The red stallion asked, shattering the silent atmosphere that had built around them. He craned his head backwards to look at her. “It’ll be a lot nicer than this dusty ol’ barn.”
The mare met the farmpony’s gaze, casting a weary look up towards the barn, then shook her head. “No, it’ll be better for everypony if I stay as far away from your home as possible.”
“But Shy...” The red stallion began.
“But nothing.” Fluttershy gently cut him off. “Trust me, I’ve slept in worse places.” She looked back up at the barn, her lips curving upwards into a tiny smile. “This could probably be considered an improvement, now that I think about it.”
The stallion, besides himself, managed to chuckle at that. With a shrug he undid the latch on the barn door and gave it a hard push, struggling a bit due to the mud below, which made it difficult to keep his footing. The door swung inwards, and he stepped aside.
“Thank you.” She mumbled, which made the stallion smile. The pegasus marched forward, and had to repress the urge to sigh as she stepped into the barn, the chill brought on from outside fading away as she basked in the warmth of the barn. “...Dry at last.”
She reached up with a hoof and tugged her hood back, letting it slide down over her neck and freeing her mane, the likes of which she’d been keeping tied into a tight knot beneath the hood. She shook her head from side to side, letting the long pink locks slide free, she could hear the gentle dripping of the water off of her soaked body as it struck the hay strewn floor below. She wasn’t technically dry, but it was still an improvement.
Her ear twitched as the door behind her slid closed, followed by a gruff throat clearing from Big Macintosh. She turned to look at him, she’d noticed him casting her sideways glances the entire walk, which she was readily willing to admit wasn’t all that surprising considering everything he must be going through. But she could ]tell when something was on his mind, and right now it was obvious that he was practically dying to get something off of his chest.
She was pretty confident she knew what it was already.
“You want to know. Don’t you?” Her gaze softened a little as the stallion’s expression registered surprise, then quickly morphed into one of tense unease.
A beat of silence passed between them as Fluttershy’s shining green eye bored into him, studying him. Would it be a good idea to tell him? Or would it put what was left of his family at risk? In all honesty it was probably best he know next to nothing about her, if she was smart she’d have knocked him unconscious and left without so much as a word. She didn’t want to add to his suffering any more than was necessary, and just her very presence in his barn was already heaping extreme amounts of danger upon him. Twilight would scour the earth to track her down.
She sighed. “Big Mac I don’t thin-”
“Please...” The word was quiet, barely audible over the sound of the pounding rain and howling wind outside. Fluttershy’s gaze softened, and he looked up to meet it, his green eyes round and pleading. “She was mah sis’ Shy... Ah... Ah gotta know.”
Again, silence... Big Mac stared at the mare, her expression blank as she focused on a spot on the ground. As if she was lost in contemplation. For the longest time she was silent, so silent that Big Mac was afraid he wouldn’t be getting the answer he so desperately needed.
“Very well...” The assassin watched as the stallion’s eyes widened in surprise. “I’ll tell you what you want to know Mac.” She reached up with a hoof and undid the clasp to her mask, the mechanism came undone with a click. This was going to take a long time... and there was no real point in keeping her face covered.
The mask slid off with ease, and she felt her vision blur and darken as the magical enhancements it provided faded away. She set the cold facewear aside, and, once her eye refocused, she looked at the stallion.
A shadowy scowl fell over her face, she reached up with a hoof, adjusting the eyepatch that lay over her right eye.
“I’ll tell you everything.”
Author's Note
I know, I know, you guys want backstory! I'm getting to it, I promise I am, but writing is a time consuming process, and I'm running short on free time and creativity as of late, the pains of having a job in addition to school ya know. I promise, next update, PURE backstory and lore, we'll see just what Twilight did to earn Fluttershy's ire, how her friends have died, and how Fluttershy became the hidden blade wielding badass she is in this alternate timeline.
Until then, Adios Amigos.
