The assassins nodded as they watched him head for the steps, following him up soon after; as they approached the top, Brick looked back and stood from his seat. He watched them advance the door he guarded slowly, his head watching Blood Moon in specific; it wasn't every day Blood Moon set out on a contract with other assassins of the order, mainly because of his fearsome independence when it came to work, but to actually see him in the Shadow Weaver's infamous gasmasks was an altogether different matter; that meant he was going to kill under their name, rather than his own, and that he was paranoid about his face being made by guards or civilians. That was another oddity about this picture.

Brick silently opened the door for them, releasing the chains, padlocks, deadbolts, tripwires, second door, dispelling the magical barrier, opening the third door, playing the maddeningly specific riff on the guitar, sacrificing the lamb, drawing the devil's summoning seal and finally unchaining and opened the last door, he raised his hoof and granted them exit.

"Good luck" he said after them when the last assassin had crossed the threshold into the outside world. Blood Moon looked back and nodded his thanks without speaking. Brick closed the door and left them to it.

Blood Moon took a breath, muffled and given a metallic ring by the mask, and looked around himself; Celestia's golden sun had turned bronze in the late evening hours, long shadows cast by her low sun as Luna's moon prepared to climb the horizon and take its place in the night sky amongst the stars. But down here, in Liar's Retreat, the beautiful bronze light did nothing to help the scenery; the long shadows simply helped crime to operate more easily, the bronze glow made the black slime across the ground a sickly orange colour while all the ponies milling about in the wasteland were quickly deterred from their own little slice of Tartarus by the late hours.

With an unseen order, the assassins moved; they cantered for a fire-escape, Blood leaping up and grabbing one of the railings and hauling himself up. He turned and gripped Ember's hoof, pulling her up, Leaf, Candle and Red following. They climbed the rickety metal stairs, leaping to the railing and moving up the wall briefly until they grabbed the next metal sill on the third level, where the stairs were out. They continued to the roof, the dark stallion heaving up Ember after him, Leaf needing no help while the nimble Candle helped up Red's heavier earth pony body.

Blood Moon took a second to admire Canterlot's skyline; the dim, bronze sun cast a truly stunning silhouette of even the most rundown of buildings, creating a spectacle that would prompt a smile from even the most cold-hearted of ponies. Canterlot may be home to almost all of the corruption in Equestria, but it was a truly beautiful place to call home. The stallion felt Ember next to him, turning his masked head to her and grinning. Though they couldn't see each other through the masks, they both felt the other's smile.

At another unseen command, Blood Moon and his fellows turned and galloped down the rooftops, hopping over the lips between each house, some making a better show than others. A combination of a billboard and a few smokestacks created a small obstacle for the free-gallopers. Blood dropped to his side and slid beneath a billboard; Ember leap-fogged a chimney stack, likely enjoying herself a little too much; Leaf grabbed a washing line and swung around and over until he came around again, letting go and letting his momentum take him over the billboard; Candle leapt through the thin gap between the chimney and advert; while Red took the same line Leaf had and leapt off the side of the building, the line coming loose and letting him swing around the outside.

They galloped on, leaping, hopping and dancing around other obstacles until they came to wide street between two blocks. Blood Moon leapt to a street lamp, to another one on the other side and to the building opposite, Red following him while Ember, Leaf and Candle balanced across a long-ass washing line, spanning the street below. They followed the building around a corner, taking a right, and dropped a story to smaller homes. The rooftops here were slanted down, chimneys in greater abundance, as they leapt across them as black shapes against the gold sun. They galloped for more buildings, taller than the ones they were currently on, and leapt at the walls; Blood, Ember and Leaf scaled the walls easily, picking out loose bricks and hoof-holds while Candle just flew up, Red making use of the construction going on around the tall townhouse and slashed a rope holding up some loose bricks and shot up. There was another gap, this one a simple alleyway, and they all leapt across with ease, making a gasp-inspiring display for the foals playing in the alley below.

Blood Moon led his company over more rooftops, hopping over a fallen chimney and sliding into a small gap in the side of the roof, ending up inside a home. He leapt from a wall, grabbed the chandler, swung across the ceiling and threw an open window, landing next to Ember on another lower down rooftop. They set off in a gallop again together, the other three right behind them, and took another gap, leaping like a cat through the air and clutching the balcony on the high-rise apartment opposite; they shimmied around the corner and took a side wall-eject, clutching the balcony on the lower level, across from the other apartment, and throwing themselves at the building next to the apartment block like a pair of lunatic acrobats. They came up in a roll, Ember just behind Moon, and set off again with the others on the other side of the building.

Before them lay the last challenge of their journey; another apartment block, six stories high, and another street between them. Blood and Ember increased their galloping speed, their hooves thundering across the roofs, and waited until the last possible second to jump. They paused for a second, letting themselves drop over the side until their hind-hooves were against the side of the building, and pushed out as hard as they could. The pair altered their postures mid-air, flying like a cat would pounce on its prey. They flew gracefully through the air, making another stunning image for the ponies below who wouldn't look up, despite their children's instance. Both met the balconies on the building heavily, Blood gripping with his fore-hooves over the lip and his hind-legs against the brick work, giving himself a little more leverage. Ember met the building in the same way, in the same posture, but lost her grip with her left hoof; the dark stallion reached down and caught her quickly, hauling her back up to safety before they looked at the progress of the other assassins; Leaf had copied their tactics of making a leap, his powerful earth pony muscles making it easier on him; Candle had dropped down with Red and landed on another washing line between each building, crossing it gracefully and silently before they met the apartment and clambered up until they met the others.

All five of them resumed climbing the building, launching themselves up, off the balcony and catching the one above before repeating the process again, and again until they came to the top of the tower. They cantered to the other side and crouched down, watching the guards mill about. Blood Moon looked to the horizon; there was still light.

There was method to his madness; if the Goldhooves had organized the watch in such a way nopony's station or patrol rout was unattended, then the next best thing was to catch the current shift at the end of their hours. They'd be tired, looking for their relief rather than intruders and less likely to investigate disturbances. The dark stallion looked to the other assassins in a 'you know the plan' kind of way. They nodded and drew their bows, flicking them out before looking back at their targets; they were aiming for the wall due east of the estate, the main building blocking the light and making need for artificial light and sconces.
They all looked for their targets; as Ember had said, there were six guards and six flames, twelve in all and they needed to take them all out at once, between the five of them. They all drew arrows; most of them drew a broad head and water casket each, enough to extinguish three guards and three fires. Blood Moon pulled out two broad heads and a casket, Ember a single broad head and a two caskets. Enough between the five assassins to do the job quietly and create a gaping hole in the Goldhooves estate's defenses. Blood Moon narrowed his right eye, closed his left and took a deep breath, holding it in.

Across the street, a merc was watching the streets below him nonchalantly until the light beside him went out with a piercing 'hiss.' He jumped half a pace away but didn't yelp, the other guards wouldn't let that go for weeks, and took a look at the brazier. He scrunched his face in annoyance as he went to relight it.

"Damn winds" he muttered to himself as he went to cast the simple fire spell. He paused and frowned when he saw something poking out of the embers; it looked like an arro-

Thunk

The guard suddenly grew an arrow in his neck as he gurgled for a second before he fell. In the next two seconds, all the fires atop the wall went out, one after another, the guards attending them grumbling similar things to the guard to have died first before an arrow impaled them through the neck, throat or head. It happened like clockwork; the guards below waited a second for the flames to reignite themselves before they looked up at the guards and started to shout a few things up to them. Meanwhile, the five assassins they were unawares to made their move; they snapped the bows shut and placed them on their backs, leaping for the wall; Blood and Ember dropped down into a fire escape. Ember went past the guard rail, grabbing Blood's outstretched hoof, and swung him over to the 'scape below them, him pulling her down after. The mare landed on the side of the metal outcrop and pushed of, leaping to the wall while Blood Moon loaded another arrow into his bow; he loosed the arrow and watched the thin, reinforced fishing wire unravel across the gap before his arrow stabbed into the wall, creating an improvised bridge for a quick-escape. As they were doing so, Leaf, Candle and Red just jumped the gap and landed on the other side, moving quickly as they tore the arrows out of them and stood the guards up on dead legs. Ember and Blood soon joined them, propping up the guards and relighting the fires as they dropped off the side. Blood Moon lingered for a second as Ember dropped from the wall, a lit match in his hoof, before he tossed it back and hopped off the building into a thick bush of soft flowers, a bird or eagle calling somewhere as he dropped.

Blood Moon crouched in tall grass, the thick greenery covering him and his comrades well. For such an allegedly paranoid family, so Tartarus-bent on security, they had a rather foolish concept of a 'secure garden.' The bushes and grass easily obscured anypony sneaking through, the guards patrolling having to actively search through the shrubs and flowers to make sure they were empty, because for all they knew they weren't. I mean, the one meandering towards a seemingly normal bush right now didn't know that it might have an armored, armed, silent assassin inside, waiting for him to get close so they could-

The blade slipped between the metal plates easily, cutting through the leather like a hot knife through hot butter. The guard slumped against Blood Moon, his hidden blade stabbing into the side of his neck, through the jugular and protruding out the other side. He pulled his kill into the bushes and pulled the blade out again, the satisfying 'shink' whispering as it retracted into his wrist; the dark stallion wasn't bothering with trying to refrain from killing now, the first tenant of his code taking the back seat to his third tenant. He dropped the corpse to the ground and looked up, joining the other assassins as they crawled forwards slowly, their hoof-steps silent in the shrubbery, grass and delicate flowers brushing past them as they sneaked through. Blood Moon and Ember Spark used their hidden blades repeatedly, getting a feel for the weapons, as they came across guard after guard. They may have secured a way in and out with some effort, but just moving through the gardens was what was really difficult; there must have been a guard not every three paces, another guard right next to him. Blood Moon leapt into a large bush of some unnameable flower to allow himself a moment to look around.

He spotted Leaf burst from the grass with a small whisper of sound as the grass moved around him, grabbing the guard before him and snapping his neck with brutal efficiency before he dragged him down, back into the growth. Candle and Red were moving slowest, the pair sticking together after forming an unofficial partnership, and cut down only the guards who got too close and who would spot them cutting down said guards. Their shorter blades, the wakizashi, got progressively bloodier as they progressed slowly towards the main house. Ember was furthest along, the small blade on her hoof barely having a moment to rest in its sheath before it slipped out again, into the neck of another guard unawares to her presence.

The assassin looked up at their current destination. It dwarfed Fancy Pant's home, and that was no easy feat; it must have been at least a hundred meters wide and a hundred and fifty deep, easily a hundred tall, not including the towers and spires atop the towers at each corner. The walls were made of pure white stone, pure marble pillars along the front of the house and sides of the house, framing the main door and great stained glass windows. The main door was dark lilac, black iron outlining it, thick oak wood making up the door itself while the hinges seemed to be made of gold, at least they were coloured that way. Either side of the door were two guards, clad in simple black iron, swords on their backs and spears in their grips. Basic mercs. There were an abundance of windows up all sides of the building, well-made stained glass window stretching up to the second story. There were generic patterns, simple abstract colours not making up a real picture. On the second story there were arch-shaped windows reaching up to the third level, where there were smaller windows, Prench-windows if he remembered correctly. He didn't know for sure, but if he had to guess, around nine of the…he took a quick count, fifteen rooms on the upper floor were occupied. Looking up, Blood Moon could make out more guards stood atop the roof, watching the grounds below, though he needn't worry about them; the shadows and vegetation down here was too thick for the mercs on the ground down here to be able to see through them easily, never mind those guys.

Blood Moon looked back to the lower side of the house. Over the door was a small balcony, another pair of guards perched inside, watching however would go in and out by reading a newspaper and sipping from a cup of coffee. There were more balconies around the building, a bunch more mercs milling around upon them. The terrace at the top, however, was void of any guards, likely the family's personal porch, though he couldn't see anypony up there.

Blood Moon skulked out of his bush and re-joined Ember as she opened a guard's throat with her blade, stabbing it into her foe's neck as she eased him down. They nodded their respective greetings before they moved again; it had been maybe five minutes now, and they'd only covered a third of the garden. Granted, they were moving slowly and were stalled every time they came across a guard, but Blood Moon still felt the needed to move faster than they were. They needed a distraction. He held his hoof up, just slightly above the tip of the grass, and every assassin stopped moving. He reached back and took hold of the blow-pipe. He loaded it with a berserker dart and scanned the garden for a viable target; he knew he only had five of these darts, mainly because the concoction was so complex, so he had to conserve ammo.

He raised the pipe to his maw, his training days giving his the knowledge to use this weapon effectively, and took aim at one of the small groups of guards who thought it was a better idea to stand and talk instead of doing their jobs. A quick blast of air, and the small projectile lodged itself in one of the guard's neck. He twitched slightly, his hoof going to his neck like he'd just been bit, the other guards asking him what was wrong as he looked around the shaded shrubbery in confusion and annoyance. Then his neck twitched badly as the poison took hold of his adrenalin flow and pumped it harder than it was ever supposed to go; his aggression shot up as his muscles flexed and his head whipped to the nearest guard and slammed his hoof into his face before he lunged onto him with a roar of anger and started beating the crap out of him. Blood heard another small 'fhit' and glanced to his left to see Ember in a similar stance to his, her pipe to her maw and taking a quiet breath as she watched her dart strike her target, watching Blood Moon's in confusion as he scraped with four other guards. He had a similar reaction to the venom as the first guard, his neck twitching before he roared in anger and lunged for the tussle going on between five other guards.

Blood Moon made motions for the other assassins to move again, the five of them darting forwards and advancing on a nearby window. Leaf came up behind a guard chuckling slightly at the rumble, the brown clad assassin leaping up, wrapping his fore-hooves around his foe's neck and snapping his neck, rolling gracefully out of his kill, the dead guard following him into dense vegetation. Blood Moon and Ember took out a pair of guards watching the proceeding battle between adrenalin drunk guards and other guards trying to calm them, sticking their blades into their necks and pulling them back into the grass. Candle stuck his blade between another guard's ribs, ripped it out and sliced his throat, pulling him into the bush as Redwave scrambled up a relatively tall tree and dropped onto a pair of guards, both of his swords draw as he rammed his weapons into the backs of their skulls.

They met again at the lowest window, Red quickly approaching the guard stood next to it, the merc absently turning his gaze to the assassins; his eyes shot open and he took a breath to shout out before Redwave slammed his head into the wall, once, twice, thrice until he dragged his limp body away and dropped him into the grass. They gathered around the window as Blood Moon slipped a set of lock picks from the six and lowest pouch on his belt, working them inside the annoyingly complex lock. It took him fifteen tense seconds before he could open the lock, putting the picks away as the other assassins kept quiet watch. Ember opened the window slowly, finding a merc on the other side; Candle stabbed his small blade into his neck, pulled him out and passed him to Leaf who tossed him into the grass. Redwave leapt through first, blades still drawn, and scanned their surroundings from the shadows. He gave them a silent 'all-clear' and they slid through the window one by one. Blood closed the window, leaving it open a crack so they would have a way out. They sunk into the shadows when they heard a voice yelling.

"What in Tartarus is going on" a stallion exclaimed from one of the upper levels. The peered up and found a dark tan furred and gold mane and tailed stallion looking down from the second level.

"Nothing Lord Loaded" one of the grunts shouted back "just a few of the guards getting a bit…boisterous" he answered. Loaded snarled.

"Well tell him he can act a bit 'boisterous' down at the job office. My wife is trying to have a relaxing, bucking, bath and I'm trying to work here" he shouted back, turning back to what Blood Moon could only guess was his office. He'd hated the stallion already, but now he just plain didn't like him on a much more personal level; somepony who fired a guard instead of conducting an investigation, or even asking a single question, was the kind of pony he just couldn't tolerate. A rich fool, in other words.

The dark stallion looked at the other assassins, finding them looking at him, and nodded his head. They got the message as Leaf stole away, hunting for whoever he was after, Candle and Red moving for one of the many bathrooms while Ember waited for Blood Moon. The stallion nodded to the mare and she moved with him.

They stuck to the shadows, moving for one of the staff stairwells; they moved for the corner at the other end of the building, watching a maid exit a well hidden door there. It wasn't lost on the assassins that the Goldhooves had created another flaw in their security by trying to keep up appearances, keeping their staff low-key while they traverse grand staircases. They found the door cracked open, and pushed it open a slither more as they slipped through. They returned it to its previous state and climbed the stairs, sticking to the dark corners of the small, square-shaped staircase. They reached the second floor quickly, opening it to reveal a maid about to push through the same door.

All three ponies tensed, only Ember having the sense to draw her hidden blade and aim it at the maid; she wore a classic Prench-maid outfit, her fur peach and her green mane dyed black, her natural coloured peeking through the roots. She took a sharp gasp, taking a single step back as she covered her mouth. But she didn't scream, didn't shout, didn't do anything to give away their position or presence. At first, Blood Moon thought they'd scared her into fainting, but then he noticed the dried tears on her face, the bruise on her eye. He took a second to look into said emerald-green eyes; pain, betrayal, hatred. She'd just been slapped in the face by her boss, likely Loaded's wife. She blinked once as she gulped before she nodded to them wordlessly, passing them by without fuss.

"Good luck" she said quietly as she descended into darkness. The assassins gave her a nod in return. One disaster averted, they continued on. Blood Moon and Ember continued to hug the shadows, their silhouettes merging with the shade coating them in shadow. They crept to Loaded's office, finding a pair of guards either side of the door; Blood Moon drew his wakizashi slowly, without noise, and leapt with graceful silenced into the air; the guard closest had his neck run through with the small-blade, the stallion clambering over him and stabbing his hidden blade into the other's jugular, the dark stallion rolling out of it with unnatural grace. They dropped, Ember's horn quickly flaring as she cast a spell on the bodies, watching them float upwards. Gravity inversion. A difficult but massively useful spell in this line of work.

They stood either side of the door and nodded at each other; Blood Moon looked through the lock. Nopony could be seen. He hummed in thought, hoping they hadn't missed him. Ember put her hoof to the doorknob, the lock open, and pushed it open with a small creak. They both grunted quietly in frustration; he wasn't here. They gave the office a quick look over but there was nothing interesting in here, nothing but a pair of supporting beams. Blood Moon grinned lightly; he trotted over to them and put his right hoof to his horn. The Alicorn light up as his hoof ran up, sparks flying up it, and he pressed it to the oak wood beam and turned it ninety degrees. There was a small sizzling and the brief scent of burnt wood before it dissipated into the air. He went to the other beam and repeated the process before returning to Ember.

"Explosive seal" she asked quietly, her eyebrow undoubtedly raised. He nodded.

"Yeah. They'll only blow when I want them to, so don't worry" he reassured. She nodded her understanding.

"Whatever. Where do you think Loaded'll be" she asked. Blood Moon's gloved hoof went to his masked face and rubbed his chin.

"Depends. The fire's still alight, so he may have just gone to the bathroom, or he may have turned in for the night. Thoughts?" Ember's head looked down in thought before she looked again.

"Let's take a look upstairs first, if he's not there he can't be far. The closest bathroom from here is upstairs" she told him. Blood Moon nodded and held his hoof to bid her lead. She nodded and peeked her head out of the door and peered left and right, motioning for him to follow with her hoof as she trotted out. Blood Moon let Ember guide him, the mare having a better idea of the layout than him, and took to following in her wake as she skulked before him. He glanced over his shoulder every now and then, looking for incoming threats, but only saw distant blobs of shadow that posed no threat. They climbed the stairs again, just as careful as before, and looked through the keyhole for anypony approaching, not willing to put their chips on bumping into another disgruntled worker. There was nopony coming, thankfully, and they stepped out and returned the door to its previous position to cover their tracks. There was light coming from the door, another pair of guards at the door, and they figured that was where Loaded was. They moved in again, Blood Moon throwing a knife at the closest guard as Ember leapt into the air, the other guard hearing his comrade fall and turning to him, and pounced on him, ramming her blade into his jugular. Blood Moon used the spell Ember had on the guards, watching them float to the ceiling, and turned to the door. This one was locked, Ember taking up her picks this time as Blood Moon kept watch. She worked the door quickly, pushing it open, quietly and stepping inside, Blood Moon following after her.

He closed the door behind him and looked up to see Loaded sat on a big leather chair in a corner, a table besides it, an open window behind it, purple drapes fluttering in the cool evening breeze. The sun had set completely now, Luna's moon illuminating the night, and lights and candles light around the room offered bright illumination to the room. He was facing them, his eyes focused on the documents in his grip; he was wearing a thick smoking coat, red and dark orange patterns criss-crossing along it. He had a cigar in his maw, a steady flow of smoke rising from it, and a glass of brandy next to him. He didn't look up from the papers he was looking down at as his horn sparked to life and his cigar floated from his maw.

"Prosperous, could you close the window for me dear? It's a little chilly tonight" the pair of assassins rolled their eyes at once; all's he'd have to do was roll his S's and he'd sound just like a snake. The pair of assassins remained silent as they approached him, Loaded frowning at the silence before he looked up and found a pair of gasmask and leather clad ponies trotting towards him. His eyes widened and he went to shout for his guards, Ember cutting him off when one of her throwing knives stabbed into the cushion between his hind-legs, barely an inch away from his stallionhood. The breath of wind on his most precious jewels was all the encouragement Loaded needed to shut up. The pony in black leather trotted straight up to him, ripping the pages from his hoof, batting away the cigar and resting atop of him, a blade growing from beneath his hoof.

"Alright Loaded, time to answer a few questions…"

Candle Light followed in Redwave's wake, the pair of them splitting from Ember and Blood, while Leaf had melted into the shade in ways that were way too effective for an Enforcer. The Chapter Leader and Reaper had gone their own way, along the wall a little before he'd lost sight of them in the deep shade at the other end of the hall.

Meanwhile, him and Red had scaled the wall they'd stuck to, climbing up it quietly, using the pillar built into the wall and other outcrops there to look good. Picturesque and epic beasts and animals, hawks and roaring lions, protruded from the heads of the columns, to which they clung before they hopped back and grabbed onto the marble railing protecting anypony walking above them from a perilous fall. They peeked through the gaps between the small stands holding up the railing, finding their rout unguarded. They hoisted themselves up and rolled into the shadows again. They looked left and right down the balcony, finding guards at either end approaching them. They moved quickly, slipping through the darkness together, until they found their way to a door, just beyond the glow of one of the guard's illumination charms, and slipped inside.

It was an eerily dark smoking room, expensive looking books above them in expensive looking shelves. Stuffed animals were around the room, roaring bears and soaring birds of the hunt, diving down for their prey. Candle didn't like the mounted kills, dreading the fact that the Goldhooves had an actual trophy room filled with more of these. Besides the animals, there were thick rugs, into which their hooves sunk, an abundance of chairs and round tables upon clean glasses and glass decanters sat upon silver trays, ashtrays, liquor and Tobacco cabinets, paintings upon the walls, undoubtedly valuable ornaments scattered around and a phonograph in one corner, a record ready to spin.

While Candle had been looking around the empty room, Red had his masked eye to the keyhole, watching the guards pass them by. He waited until the guards had passed them before he pushed the door open again, Candle following him out. They moved again, following the guard heading towards the front of the house. The guard they were shadowing was completely unawares to their silent presence, despite the fact that Candle, who was behind Red, was barely six paces away from him. Redwave stopped suddenly and held his hoof up, Candle doing them same, minus the hoof, and pointed to his left; a door, the light on, and steam rising from beneath the door. Candle quickly got the idea and put his eye to said door's keyhole; there was nothing interesting inside, except the naked mare showering, the curtain remaining neglected at one side, her shimmering body in full view of any peeping toms. In Candle's opinion, she was doing it deliberately. All and all, it wasn't Prosperous, not unless she'd dyed her mane amber and her fur silver. Candle looked back at Redwave and shook his head, the pair of them following after the guard continuing along the balcony, Candle willing away the slight tightening in his leather.

The guard came to the end of the balcony and sighed in boredom before he turned, trotting on his way. Candle and Red dropped from the ceiling they clung to, landing silently on the marble tiles, and watching him go for a second before they jumped at the wall.

There were a great abundance of decorative patterns engraved into the wall, more protruding from it. Primarily, there was a wide, circular stained glass window above the main door, letting silver moon light seep into the room in purples, blues, gold, yellows and reds, casting a round piece of light art on the hall below. Around said window were more of the fearsome creatures that had sat at the top of the marble columns on the ground floor, the heads of roaring lions and tigers and bears, dragons and manticores and serpents and other great beasts, all perfectly carved from the white stone. The pair of assassins weren't interested in artwork at the moment, however, and simply leapt to the nearest hoof-holds and clambered along the wall.

It was a tense silence under which they worked their way across the wall; neither could afford to lose their concentration, because they might lose their grip, and they might fall. Falling from this height wouldn't kill either assassins, specifically the Pegasus of the two, but the guards below probably would. Their breathing stopped when Red did just that; his hind hoof slipped off his hold, a dragon head, and his other leg followed, his left fore-leg falling with them. His whole body weight was hanging precariously from on one hoof, swinging slightly with the momentum of almost falling. Candle tried to make his way back, but Red waved his hoof and stopped him, not wishing to jeopardize both their lives with his blunder. He felt his hoof slip as he waved his other hoof to stop Candle, and his other soon shot up to join it. He pulled himself up again to a crouching position, his weight on the lion-head below him instead of the dragon head. After recovering, he took a much needed breath and looked up to find Candle waiting for him.

They resumed the climbing, Red taking much greater care now, and made their way to the circular window in the middle of the wall, shimmying along the lower edge until they heard a voice from below.

"Hey!" They froze, their nerves on end and their breaths caught in their throats. "Hey, Warblood, have you seen Axe Head and his lot." The pair of assassins gave a sigh of relief, but didn't dare move in case they attracted attention to themselves.

"No, not since the sun went down. Why?"

"Well, the night shift just took up their posts and couldn't find them." There was a pause.

"Boss ain't gonna like that" Warblood mumbled. They heard hoof steps from below, moving away from their positions and resumed climbing across the wall. They soon found their way to the other side, dropping down onto tired but still strong legs and quickly darting for the shadows again.

"Why didn't you just fly" Red hissed as they stole along the wall to the nearest bathroom. Or at least, the nearest by their memories of the plans.

"I'd have stood out too much, blocked the light" Candle hissed back “c’mon, that’s Initiate stuff.” Red just shook his head. Their remaining trip went on silently, until they came across a door they seemed to recall as belonging to a bathroom. The pushed through, finding it dark, and grumbled in defeat. Empty again. They snuck out of the bathroom and continued along the walkway, sticking to the shade at the walls. Strangely, there were no guards on this side, not any more anyway, and their progress went unhindered. They reached the other end of the indoor terrace and found a staircase built into the corner, probably used by the staff and guards instead of the marble stairs the reached up from below the balconies and connected the two floors, another identical set of steps above leading to the top floor, the steps on this side mirrored by the ones on the other side. There was plenty of light on these stairs, thanks to the skylights, so the assassins avoided them but these staff stairs and the just barely shaded walls provided exactly what they needed to traverse this place. The pair of them took the stairs silently, knocking out a guard to have come down at the wrong time and hiding the body in a shadowed corner. When they reached the top floor, the found it guarded not quite as heavily as it should have been, the doors to what they guessed to be Loaded's chambers unattended, while the walkway on the other side were only guarded by one stallion. They trotted along their balcony, slashing the guard's neck when he looked around at the wrong time, hiding the body in a well-placed broom closet, and continued to the bathroom on this side. Before long, they came across another lit door. With there were no guards around for the time being, and they took the opportunity to look inside. Just another guard thoroughly regretting his last meal. Feeling slightly queasy, they made their to the other side, though despite the lack of guards, they remained quiet; they didn't want to get caught off-guard and they didn't know if there were any in the other rooms.

Before long, they found the last bathroom on the upper floors. Silently, the pair hoped with all their hearts that they hadn't wasted their time up here, when it turned out that Prosperous was on one of the lower levels. There was light coming from inside, so that was a plus, but would this be their mark, or another guard with stomach problems? Candle put his eye to the keyhole while Red took watch; inside was a bathtub, filled with water, bubbles and a mare; she was facing away from them and the three maids inside, but Candle could tell who it was from the distinct mane being washed by one of the maids. He looked at Red and nodded a victorious nod, the Cutthroat nodding back his understanding, and they pushed through the unlocked door.

The maid nearest the door heard it click open and nonchalantly turned her head back to look who had entered; when she saw the gasmasks, leather coats and armour, the weapons covering them and her reflection in their eye pieces, she nearly crapped herself. But before she could scream, or give her fellow maids warning, the wine-red leather clad pony put a hoof to her maw and shook his head. She swallowed almost audibly and nodded her head, terrified.

The pony withdrew his hoof and put it to his mask; she watched in confusion as he pulled it off, finding a handsome yet young stallion's face hidden beneath it. He had tiger orange fur and a cream mane and tail poking through the back of his hood and through the rear end of his coat respectively. He mouthed words to her.

"Friend. We won't hurt you. After her." He nodded at the mare currently soaking in the bathtub. "Leave. Nopony will hurt you. Trust me." The mare nodded, the fear to have gripped her body having loosened. She looked back at the other maids and tapped their shoulders; she had them prepare for a shock, which they got but took admirably well, and quickly got the message. When the other maids had gone, the one washing Prosperous's mane making an excuse of 'let me get something to rinse that out with ma'am', the one Candle had had his silent conversation with lingered for a second before she leaned into his ear.

"Make that bitch suffer" she whispered. Candle just shot her a wink to which she apparently liked as she trotted out, after her friends. Red shook his head amusedly at Candle for a second before their minds returned to the job. Candle replaced his mask and watched silently as Redwave approached Prosperous.

"How long does it take you to find a-HHHMMFF!" Red clamped his hoof around her maw to silence her screams as he leaned in.

"Do you know who I am" he demanded, his voice, normally a little horse from barking orders at sea, was the sound of grating metal now, disguised by the air filters in his mask. The mare shook her head in fear. "I'm an assassin. An assassin you have wronged" he told her. He moved his hoof away from her maw.

"What in Tartarus did I do to you" she demanded. He growled and glared at her from behind his mask, leaning his head towards her ear.

"You. Sunk. My. Ship" he told her. Apparently, Prosperous recognised him.

"You're the sea captain, the one who's been blocking the Feathered Lake with you supply transports" she concluded. Redwave nodded. Suddenly, Prosperous smirked. "Well, what did you expect me to do" she chuckled "we needed those trading routes empty for our dealings with the Griffin Kingdom. I couldn't have my husband's good threatened by the likes of you now, could I?" Red snarled.

"You couldn't risk one boat? We were transporting supplies, not pirating the coast" he hissed. Prosperous gave a gorgeous laugh, a laugh too pure and beautiful for a mare like her.

"No. I couldn't. You captained a brig of assassins. What, did you think I'd just let you live and hope you didn't try and take our goods? Hope you wouldn't attack us?" Redwave growled again.

"You'd have lived longer" he told her. Prosperous laughed that laugh again.

"Oh, my dear stallion, no" she told him before she saw his slightly cocked head. "Yes, you're a stallion. You're not quite as…" her eyes strayed down "disciplined, as the others to have tried to kill me" she told him with a smouldering wink. "Anyway" she continued "no, I couldn't let you and your access to those seas at all, because we want them. Full control of them. So I couldn't let one ship that didn't sail under our name float. Same way that I can't let an assassin who doesn't work with us live." Prosperous's hoof flashed and a knife swung at Red. From behind, there were the sounds of a scuffle as Candle Light was attacked.

Red wave dodged the first swipe of the mare's butterfly knife, which had apparently been attached to her in a black, curve-hugging, strap on her hind leg. The assassin ducked beneath the second and tried to draw his blades, but Prosperous cut him off when she stabbed at him; he turned his body to the side and slipped past her stab, standing on his hind-legs, and grabbed her outstretched hoof. He wrenched the knife from her grip and turned to help Candle, who was facing off five guards. Their bodies limp on the floor while he held their severed heads, that is. Red looked back at Prosperous with a look on his face so smug he almost bent the mask into an arrogant grin.

"What was that? Some kind of attack? Please, I was trained to dodge that sort of thing while you were still sucking cocks for two bits an hour" he said in a cocky tone. Prosperous's smile had left her face, the mare gulping lightly, before she just shrugged and relaxed into her bath again.

"Low rent, useless brutes anyway" she muttered. "No matter. If you were going to kill me, you'd have done it already" she told him. She tensed slightly when she heard him laugh slowly, dryly almost. She looked up to see his bowed head bobbing with each laugh.

"You really think I'm gonna kill you? No…death's too good for a piece of scum like you" he told her. Prosperous took a breath as he put a hoof to her face delicately. "No…I'm gonna do something that's gonna send me right to hell when I done with you. But you know what? Somepony's gotta do it, because it's exactly what you deserve" he told her as he unbuckled his belt. Prosperous's eye widened.

"W-what are you doing" she demanded in a small voice as he pulled the chest of his coat open, releasing the buckles along the leather across his body until his chest, lower body and groin were revealed. "What are you doing" she demanded again in a slightly stronger but more fearful voice "put that away" she told him as his erect stallionhood bounced out of his coat. Her eyes widened in fear once more as he stepped into the bathtub, standing on his hind-legs as he pinned her against the wall.

"Just how many of these have you ordered, eh? How many times have you paid off some lowlife to attack and violate some poor mare? Or how many lives you've ruined by having them abducted and raped in the street, huh? How many wives, daughters, mothers, aunts, nieces, marefriends and fillyfriends have you got whoresing for you after you've had your thugs fuck 'em in an alley against their will?" He leaned in until the cold metal of his gasmask was pressed against her face and his warm stallionhood was pressed against her groin. "How many times have you laughed at them while you watched it happen?" He angled himself until his tip was against her lips. "Have you ever had it happen to you?" The mare gave him a soul-burning glare.

"I'll give you one more chance to get away from me before I scream for the guards" she told him. Red laughed again.

"Oh, you'll scream. Trust me, you will." He took her by the waist and spun her around, bending her over the side of the bath, spreading her hind-legs with his own before he held his tip against the lips of her clenched marehood. He looked over at a horrified Candle Light. "Kid, you may wanna look away" he said as he thrust in.

Prosperous writhed and kicked out, the water splashing around below them as Redwave thrust into her. She tried to turn and strike him, but Red would just push her back down and get back to violating her. Her time in the bathtub had left her slick and wet, both on her fur and skin and around her marehood and rosebud, but the struggling she gave cancelled it out. She growled and screeched as she tried to turn and rip his eyes out through that mask of his, but a hard, a very hard, slap to her flank and the stallion leaning over her back soon stopped her.

"Behave" he growled in a voice that would haunt her nightmares until the day she died. She gasped and panted as the stallion straightened up again, putting his fore-hooves on her upper back to hold her down as he resumed his fucking. She'd stopped trying to resist now, just gave up and resigned to her fate as she sobbed and whimpered. From above, Red cocked his head at her sudden calmness; if she was going to try and ride this out with dignity, she had another thing coming: she'd violated and humiliated countless mares before he'd even gotten his sea legs, and now it was her turn.

Prosperous gasped slightly when she felt him pull out suddenly, looking back to see if he'd given-

Her eye widened and her pupils shrunk to the size of a speck of dust, as he plunged back in, in a very different spot, not originally made for a stallionhood, but where he fucked her all the same. But it was her scream, her pained, humiliated, terrified scream that told everypony, everypony on the estate, what had just happened to her as her rosebud was stretched to almost breaking point, a drop of blood dripping from her virgin ass. And it was at that point, she'd never be able to look at any stallion the same way again.

Falling Leaf, despite his rank in the Shadow Weaver, was better accustomed to stealth than many knew. This fat was made obvious when he effortlessly melted into the shadows around the sides of the main hall, his coat of deep brown melting into the black that obscured him perfectly. He may have been an Enforcer, but he was a brute strike nopony saw coming.

Admittedly, this was a good thing, as he'd indirectly given himself the hardest time between himself and the other four assassins to have accompanied him, though for all the wrong reasons; Candle Light and Redwave weren't as experience as him and the others, specifically Candle, who only days before Blood Moon had showed up had he been on his first contract; Blood Moon and Ember had a hard time of it because of their goal, Loaded, who was an unpredictable stallion at best, and would be difficult for them to pin down, not to mention, he'd be the most heavily guarded; Leaf, however, was bringing this on himself with what he had set out to accomplish here. He had to find, and kill, any lingering Goldhooves family members that weren't been killed by the others.

So, with silence in his step and darkness on his back, he made his way to the nearest point of interest; the living room. There were windows with creases in the glass, obscuring details of the next room but allowing light to pass through. Between these glass panels was the main door, a brown oak door with more of the obscured glass panes letting light through. From inside, Leaf could make out the orange glow of a fire burning, and the silhouettes of ponies moving around inside. He stared at the door from his piece of the shade, watching the brightly lit entrance with an eagle's eye, waiting for some kind of opening he could exploit, or a distraction-

"Hey!" He froze, his eyes darting to a spot just inside the main door. "Hey Warblood, have you seen Axe head and his lot?" He relaxed again, but not before he took his chance to move; he looked up at the upper level balconies, finding no guards peering over, and the guards down here were all focused on the crumb of excitement going on during their watch. He darted along his shadow, taking the same route as Ember and Blood had earlier, and paused at the wall. The guards were still having their conversation, and he probably only had three seconds to get through the doors.

He darted forwards into the silver moon light; no doubt one of the guards glanced at him as he moved as quickly as he could, and pulled the door open as quickly and as quietly as he could before stepping inside and closing it behind him. Such a simple task had never been so nerve racking for the experienced Enforcer, but he'd apparently gotten it done without a hitch. He turned around and looked inside to find three ponies, a main and two well-dressed ponies, sitting before a fire. It was an eyebrow raiser, to say the least, that the maid was so close to the stallion resting with what looked to be a young colt. The stallion's head turned to the maid and they kissed for a second, leaning their heads together. Now things made perfect sense.

'Seems we have a cheat in the family, eh? Well, the decent thing to do would be to leave them to it and let them enjoy their evening. Pity I'm not a decent pony.'

Candle looked left and right before he found what he was after, a reasonably sized piece of paper that could easily hold this image. He held it to eye level and concentrated on the paper between his eye and the scene he wanted to capture. For a brief moment, the picturesque image of a mare, her stallion and son was captured on the piece of paper in full colour, in striking detail, before it faded and was reduced to a picture that would normally have taken hours to perfect. The image clearly captured the stallion who, if Leaf's information was correct, was known as Entitled, sat with a mare who was not his wife, Quillrunner. To make matters worse for them, he was sat with his son, who didn't look the least bit surprised by his father's dealings, suggesting he done so before.

With a smile on his face, Leaf tucked the image under one of the straps across his chest and turned back to the door; he peeked out of a small crack between the door and the frame and found nopony around, the assassin only capable of hoping the balconies were bare. He crept out slowly, his eyes scanning his surroundings, and dashed for the safety of the shadows again, coming to a stop outside the library. With a shrug, he went inside, not expecting to find anypony, but instead saw a mare, at the end of the corridor created by the numerous shelves of books, sat at a table, hunched over a book with a small lamp illuminating the words. He moved further into the library, intent on figuring out who this mare was and, if need be, kill her. He froze to the spot and quickly dashed for cover when a guard turned the corner, almost trotting straight into him. Leaf crouched down and watched as the black iron clad merc continued on his way. Leaf looked up the bookshelves and found that they reached the ceiling, removing the possibility of him climbing over them. Falling Leaf peeked around the corner of the bookshelf, finding more guards milling around, some in the aisles of books, some sat exhausted on chairs, others finding the energy to do their jobs while some seemed to have just lay on the ground and passed out.
This was going to cause some problems.

Leaf darted out of his hidey-hole, into another dark space between bookshelves. He trotted on until he made it to the other end of the shelf, where there was less light, and poked his head around; nopony was there but he could hear the sound of a guard coming up from behind. He stole around, slipping past one shelf and into the next isle. There was a guard kipping on the floor here, though he didn't seem to have hit R.E.M yet, so it would be easy to wake him up. Leaf to care in stepped over him, his constant shuffling only making it harder, and almost tripped when the guard took a hold of his leg. Leaf's head snapped back, prepared to slaughter his way out of here, when he noticed the guard had grabbed his leg in his sleep.

With an annoyed and relieved sigh, he pulled his leg away, only for the guard to tighten his grip with a small 'no, don't leave me again momma.' Clearly, a stallion with parental issues. As it was, these parental issues were getting in the way of a highly risky contract, so Leaf opted to put this sleeping stallion to sleep, pressing on a few nerves and knocking him out cold.

Leaf stood again and continued on his way, darting between shelves unnoticed, and came to a stop on the other side of the room; the guard going up and down this side had already passed by, giving Leaf a chance to move up again, darting into the bookshelves again when he felt eyes on him. There were now three shelves between him and his target, and twice as many guards. Leaf moved along his current shelf until he came to its end, poking him head out and finding it clear to move; he did, and he heard a small gasp from the end of the room. He froze again, his blood pumping faster than had when he'd been free-galloping his way here, as he waited for whatever was going to happen to happen. He looked to the ground, finding the shadow of a slender, well-shaped mare trotting slowly for his hiding spot. He held his breath and focused his mind, feeling the sharp tingling in his forehead. A dark, forest green glow took hold of his body as he shimmered slightly.

The mare looked around the corner and found nopony there; shrugging it off as a trick of the light, she turned back to her reading spot and sat down again. Falling Leaf released his breath as he shimmered back to visibility; an invisibility spell. A useful but highly straining incantation; he knew he'd have a headache in the morning. Leaf looked around the corner again and found that his mark had sat down again, he looked in the opposite direction and found that the coast was clear. He darted forwards, lunged for the mare and wrapped his hoof around her mouth, silencing her, before he dragged her kicking and muffled screaming body into a specifically dark corner.

He shoved her into the crook and blocked her in with his body, holding his fore-hooves either side of her head to hold her gaze to his.

"You know, for such a paranoid family, your guards are very undisciplined" he told the mare below him. She was a pretty mare, as all Goldhooves mares were, of blond fur, slight freckling around her muzzle and a bronze mane that reached down to her back in her sitting posture, a black streak in it, her tail following suit, only much shorter. Her eyes were gold and her cutie mark was a golden quill, drawing an ornate G. If Leaf was correct, she was called Goldquill, one guess as to how she got her cutie mark, and was the youngest sister of the Goldhooves family. Goldquill looked up in terror at the stallion clad in leather and gasmask before her, feeling her heart sink a little in fear.
"P-please-please don't kill me. I'm not like the others" she begged, her eyes tearing up a little. Leaf grunted.

"That's what they all say" he told her, gripping his katana with his right hoof, sliding it out intimately and setting it against her throat. She gulped slightly as she tried to squirm away.

"Please, please believe me. I'm not like my sister, like my brothers, my parents. They're bad ponies, but I'm not like them. I'm just my sister's assistant for Luna's sake" she almost sobbed. Leaf was unfazed.

"Give me one reason why I should believe you" he said in a dark tone, pushing the blade of the weapon further into her neck.

"I-I can help you" she told him, her voice cracking.

"I doubt it. I trained for fourteen years before I was even allowed to pick up a real blade, never mind open somepony's throat." She shook her head as much as she could.

"No, I-I can tell you where my sister is, her husband too" she told him.

"I already know where to find her cheating husband. I'm gonna let the press rip him apart instead" he answered.

"M-my sister then" she pleaded as tears ran down her face.

"Why should I believe you? For all I know you're setting me up." She shook her head again.

"I'm not, please, I'm not. I just don't wanna die. My sister is a bad pony, I've tried to reason with her, but mom and dad have just…corrupted her" she said. Leaf decided to play with her a little.

"And you feel there's no way back for her" he asked, his head cocked. She shook her head again, her slight confidence growing.

"No, I've tried time and time again to get her to stop what she does" she answered.

"And what does she do?"

"She-" she sniffled again "she's just a younger version of mother; she's had mares she felt looked better than her raped, she runs her own whorse house, she bribed and seduces officials and governors. She was lined up to become the mayor of Ponyville so she could run it into the ground, then the family would swoop in and save it at the last second, making themselves look like heroes so my mom and dad could get voted into Celestia's council of advisers. Please, I'm nothing like them. I don't wanna die, I'm scared" she told him. Leaf leaned in.

"I used to be afraid of the dark too, you know? 'Till I was told by a great stallion, a stallion who could take a shit on your family from such a height, Loaded would think Father Time himself had crapped on him, a stallion who explained to me, that the darkness isn't necessarily full of demons and monsters. That, since we don't know what's in there, it might not be so bad." He heard a small, long winded tap on the ground and looked down to find that Goldquill had peed herself.

"Please, don't kill me" she begged between near silent sobs, her fore-hooves covering her eyes as she turned away from the assassin, trying to hide away from him. Leaf suddenly couldn't do it, not because he suddenly believed her, but because he simply couldn't kill such a pathetic creature. He got off of her and settled back onto four hooves.

"Alright, fine" he grumbled, hating being cheated out of his kill by his damned pride and confusing morals. "Where is your sister. And let me remind you, I found and got to you undetected once. I can do it again." She nodded a few times. Leaf could tell by her expression and body language that if she'd been acting scared before, she certainly wasn't now.

"S-she's on the third level, above the smoking room, in her bedroom" she told him shakily. He nodded and stepped back, opened a window and held his hoof out. She looked between him and the window in confusion.

"Leave. Now. You're not going to go to the guards, you're not going to go to anypony. You're just gonna find the nearest hotel, rent a room and cry yourself to sleep. Got it?" She nodded silently as she passed him by, more tears streaming down her face in both terror and gratitude as she clambered clumsily out of the window and cantered into the night, Tartarus bent on finding somewhere to lie down so she could have a little cry. Or probably a big one.

'That's two down. Now, let's see who else is around.'

He hopped out of the open window and looked up along the wall; there were some indentations and outcrops for his to grab onto as he climbed up, enough shadow to keep him obscured and another open window on the second level. He frowned in displeasure when he noticed there wasn't one open on the upper level, but he'd have to make do. The guards in the library had just noticed Goldquill was missing.

He stood on the window sill and leapt up, grabbing the top of the window and pulling himself up. His hind-legs disappeared just as a guard glanced absently at the open window before shutting it. Leaf scaled the wall like a master, building climbing being one of the areas he was an expert in, and soon found his way to the open window. He peeked through, finding this and the other side of the hall guarded up here, but that the door leading to Loaded's office was unprotected. He hopped through the window, and though Leaf didn't much care, he assumed the dead bodies on the ceiling may have something to do with the hole in security outside Loaded's office. He turned and made his way up a set of well-hidden stairs, climbing up them with haste until he came to the top of them, slipping out and back into the comfort of the shadows. There was one guard up here, on Leaf's side, and he hadn't noticed, or didn't care about, the lack of his comrades. Leaf didn't waste time on subtlety, instead he just shot him through the heart with a broad head and hid the body in a broom closet. He trotted for the only room with a light on, and pushed through.

There she was: Quillrunner. She had dark purple fur and a sparkling black mane, flowing down her neck like a waterfall, the tips ruby red, reminiscent of her mother. Her tail followed suit, clinging to her flank and hind legs. She had a perfect body, curvy, hard muscles comprising her legs, a plump, round flank, probably a good mount for all the stallion's she'd 'persuaded' over her life and perfectly mixed body of hard and soft, her fur clinging to every line and contour. Her face was pretty, a soft curving jaw, alluring pink eyes and lashes so thick and full the seemed to comprise one (think Maud Pie). The cutie mark on her soft rump was a quill, similar to her sister, only this one was a black feather and facing the opposite direction, though it drew the same ornate G. She was drying her hair with a soft towel, apparently having just gotten out of the shower, and had a pair of cute, rimless glasses perched on her muzzle. She was, simply put, a perfect specimen of female beauty. And she made Leaf sick to his stomach.

There was a dull 'thunk' as one of Leaf's throwing knives stabbed into the wall an inch from her head, Quillrunner giving off a small shriek as she snapped her head to Falling Leaf. She was enraged for a second before her eyes widened; she recognised the gasmask, the infamous mask of the Shadow Weaver, she recognised the coat, their signature armour and clothing, albeit, it seemed to have been upgraded, and she recognised the oak brown colour to his leather. But, most of all, she recognised his stance, the way he held himself, and how she could feel his stare through his mask.

"Ahh, you again" she greeted, a knowing smirk on her face. She felt his glare in her bones.

"And you again" he returned, taking a few steps towards her. She even recognised the way her trotted. "Quillrunner, the one black mark on my record, the one blot on my reputation."

"The one that got away" she finished, still wearing her slightly smug smirk "come back for me then, have you?" He said nothing as he continued to approach, drawing his blade when there were a few steps between them. "What? Not even going to humour me in my final hours? Oh, woe is me that I can't have an engaging conversation with a dull, mostly silent assassin" she sighed sarcastically.

"I'm not an Assassin. I'm an Enforcer" he corrected. Quill simply shrugged her perfect, slender shoulder.

"Be that as it may, you're still a Shadow Weaver, and, now you'll correct me if I'm wrong won't you, the Shadow Weavers are a very proud band of assassins, who pride themselves on killing their targets, no matter what. Am I right?" Leaf just growled as Quill continued to smirk.
"Am I also right in saying that, when you had to return the fee, twice fold, and declare the contract a failure, you were demoted and made an Enforcer once more?" He grit his teeth.
"And all because of little old me?" He cracked his neck.

"Yes, all because of the manipulative, cowardly, corrupt little slut stood before me, I was demoted from Master back down to Mercenary, because she went galloping like a filly to her daddy, whining that somepony was out to get her, rather than standing up for herself" he growled as he thrust the sword at her in an accusing manner. "Let me tell you mare, you have no claim to fame for out-galloping me! You are not untouchable, for escaping me! You hid away, like a foal afraid of the Headless Horse, and you quivered and coward for months on end before you remerged, treated like a princess for escaping me! Not anymore Quillrunner, now you di-" He was cut off by the huge crash from behind him.

Redwave pulled out of her marehood and let Prosperous slump to the floor, her fore-hooves incapable of holding her up after five forced orgasms. She took heavy breaths, tears dried to her face as she rolled to her side to see the assassin tucking his stallionhood away and
buckling up his armour again. He looked down at her, and she could feel his smirk.

"Was it as good for you?" She almost broke down again, more tempted than ever to just curl up into a ball and cry for a few days as she relived the horror of the last half-hour or so.

"You're a monster" she told him. He chuckled dryly, his tone dark.

"How many other mares do you think have said that to the rapists you sent after them when they'd been violated? No, I'm not the monster here, you are. I'm just the assassin who put you in your place" he told her. She sniffled a few times.

"What gives you the right" she demanded as the tears came back "what gives you the right to just…do this?" He snarled at her as he leaned down.

"What gave you the right to watch those mares, those innocent mares lose their virginity to stallions who took the in the street against their will, while you sat next to them getting off over it? Oh yes, I've heard the stories. Everypony has." He stood up again. "And I'll be sure to make sure everypony hears this one" he said as he started to turn.

"Why" she croaked "why like this? Why couldn't you just kill me? You think this is justice for everything I've done?" The assassin laughed, throwing his head back in genuine laughter, finding real hilarity in her words.

"You think this is justice? Ha, only somepony like you would define this as justice. No, this isn't justice. This is just what's right." She tried to get up, her efforts to stand reduced to just holding herself up on her fore-legs, her hinds too weak after his violation of her.

"You call this right? This isn't right, this isn't good." He looked back at her, watching her from the corner of his eye.

"All things right, aren't necessarily good" he told her as he left the room with the other assassin, who'd remained silent throughout the whole event. Prosperous just sniffled a few times before she broke down, bawling into her hooves as quietly as she could. She didn't know what was worse; that she'd been raped in heat, or that because of the sensitivity said heat brought, she'd cum with him three times. She'd need an abortion soon.

Outside, Redwave stood with Candle Light, who was unnaturally quiet, even for an assassin. Red watched him for a while.

"Candle-" He'd gone to put a hoof on his shoulder before the young assassin batted it away.

"Don't Red…just…don't" he said quietly. Redwave nodded as he took a step away. Candle wasn't sure what to do; he'd come to terms with murder a little after his first contract. Leaf had taken him aside when he'd noticed him being so quiet and had a few quiet, kind and much needed words with him. He'd slept a little easier that night. But…what he'd just seen, what he'd just witnessed…he couldn't comprehend it, he didn't want to comprehend it, Redwave had just forced himself onto a mare, right in front of him. Yes, Prosperous was an evil mare, through and through, but the point was that they were assassins, not rapists. And that, despite being only a little less evil than Nightmare Moon, she was still a mare. He didn't think he'd be able to look at Redwave the same way again. He gulped and shuddered a little as the memories came back before he beat them down with a big mental stick. He heard Red talking through the haze of thought.

"Hey, look, there's Ember and Blood Moon. We should go-" He was cut off when one of the black blobs that were Ember or Blood Moon was yanked from the spot they were standing on as the great chandelier hanging from the centre of the roof fell to the ground with an explosive 'CRASH' the pony who'd been yanked away from the balcony strung up by the huge weight and hung limply.

Loaded glared at Blood Moon, glancing at Ember now and then before returning his concentration to the assassin holding him down; he was dressed in thick black and red leather, the other in midnight-blue and smoke-grey. He took heavy, ragged breaths, his lungs filling and emptying rapidly as he tried to get his breathing under control.

"Who are you, how did you get in here, do you have any idea who I am!" Blood Moon tapped his throat with the flat of his blade.

"We're assassins, we killed and sneaked our way up here and you're a corrupt aristocrat we've been contracted to kill" the dark stallion listed in return. At that moment, a light seemed to ignite in Loaded's head and he chuckled lightly.

"Oh, please" he said at length, a light laugh in his voice. He raised his hoof, lightly pushing Blood from atop of him; the dark stallion let him. The kill was all the more satisfying when the target thought they were in control. Loaded continued chuckling lightly as he trotted for the liquor cabinet in one corner. "I've seen many would-be assassins in my day, all of them like you; confident, dark, threatening. All of them have fallen" he told them. Ember held back the snort, but not the comment.

"You've met nopony like us" she told him. Loaded laughed again, his magic holding up a shot of scotch.

"Admittedly, nopony has gotten into my personal chambers before, but records are made to be broken. Now, and I know this is a little unorthodox, but would be so kind as to tell me who sent you after me? I'll need to have them slaughtered in the streets like a dog once I'm done burning you at the stake" he told them, his voice casual. Blood Moon didn't hold back the snort.

"What kind of assassin gives up his client?"

"What kind of assassin reveals himself to his target?" Loaded had looked out of one of the windows, turning his back to the assassins. Blood Moon took note of the fact that there were no windows directly behind the bed, on the back wall, but that there was a slightly suspicious bust of Loaded. Classy. Done with observations, Blood Moon tore his wakizashi from its sheath and watched it impale into the plaster beside Loaded's head.

"An assassin with questions" he exclaimed, marching towards Loaded. He jabbed him in the snout and held the tip of his katana a hair's breadth away from the stallion's eye. Loaded laughed again.

"My dear assassin, whether you have questions or not, I'll be giving you no answers. You see, ever since you've been in here, my guards have been gathering outside the door, awaiting my word to-"

"I see no guards" Ember said from across the room, the door held open to reveal said lack of guards. Loaded growled a little. Blood Moon chuckled.

"Trying for a bluff, eh? Care if I join in? You're gonna survive this encounter. That's my bluff. As in I'm lying." Loaded snarled.

"You're not going to kill me assassin, my life is not yours to take" he spat. The assassin gave a chuckled again.

"I'm an assassin Loaded. All lives are mine to take. Now" he pulled him to his hind-legs and held him against the wall, slamming his head against it and putting the blade to his neck "are you going to play nice, and answer my question? Or am I gonna have to torture you to death like I did your son." Loaded frowned suddenly.

"What do you mean" he demanded. The assassin grunted in amusement.

"Didn't you know? Your son's been dead for about a week now. Rotting in the Everfree, food for the Timbers. I'd put good money on that he's nothing but a pile of maggots and rotting flesh by now" he growled "and unless you want to end up the same way, you'll do as you're told and answer my questions" he ordered. Loaded looked fit to burst; his body shook violently in rage, his face contorted in anger, his neck muscles clenching and a vein on his head looking a little too close to popping to be funny. Loaded suddenly lunged for the assassin pinning him to the wall, despite the blade to his throat, and managed to knock him off his hooves. In response, Blood Moon stuck him between the ribs with his hidden blade.

Loaded fell off him, gasping slightly, holding his wound as he tried to crawl away. Blood Moon picked himself up and stalked over to the aristocrat. Now he was angry.

"You're upset about your son dying? You're angry over you loss?" Blood Moon picked up Loaded's head by his mane and slammed him to the ground. "Tell that to the fathers and mothers whose lives you ruined through your manipulation and greed. Tell that to the assassins who came here with the right idea, but not enough skill to take you down." Blood Moon picked Loaded up and flung him at a leather chair, putting a hoof to the noble's stab wound and pushing him down hard, making Loaded tense in pain. "There are three other assassins here with us. Two are going after your wife and the other is going around slaughtering the rest of you, I suggest you make this easy on yourself before I get really pissed and take out my really bad week on you" he snarled. "Now" he wound his hoof back and clobbered Loaded around the skull "are you going to play nice, or am I gonna have to show you what your entrails look like?" Loaded gulped slightly. This one was different.

"What do you want to know" he asked, partly in submission and partly in curiosity as to what he had to ask. Blood Moon grinned a deadly grin.

"One thing: why did you send Hardhoof after the Elements of Harmony?" Loaded frowned.

"What?" Blood Moon growled and slammed him against the back of the chair, resting his sword on Loaded's neck.

"Why. Did. You. Send. Hardhoof. After. The. Elements. Of. Harmony?" Loaded frowned again.

"What do you mean? I never order him to attack anypony" Loaded replied.

"A likely story" Ember said from behind Blood "we know, hay you said it yourself, Hardhoof his your son. He takes orders from the Goldhooves, not Shining Armour, and that means he takes orders from you" she told him "why did you send him after them?" Loaded had looked at the female assassin.

"I didn't! My last orders to Hardhoof were to await his sister's appointment of mayor, nothing more." Blood Moon leaned in close.

"Are you sure? I know many ways of…shaking up, somepony's memory." Loaded sneered, and Blood Moon desperately wanted to rip it off.

"If I'd sent my son after the Elements of Harmony, I think I'd remember for Luna's sake" he barked.

"Then who did send him after them" Ember demanded.

"The buck should I know? The colt may have been my son but he was ambitious and arrogant. Too arrogant, too ambitious, I always said it would be his downfall. He'd had his eyes on guard Captain for a long while, so I can only guess that's why" he told them snidely.

"And you really think an idiot like Hardhoof could think up a plan like that" Blood Moon demanded harshly.

"Yes of cour-… Well, I… He could have, I mean…he's not smart but he's not dumb…" Loaded frowned as he looked up at the gasmask on Blood's face. "There was somepony else behind this, a hidden benefactor, manipulating my son!"

"Bullshit. Boss, cut him, he's spinning tales" Ember said, weary of trying to pry answers from this noble. Blood Moon was silent. "Boss?" Blood Moon didn't move.

"He's telling the truth." His voice was empty, dead. It wasn't the void of anger when he'd first showed up, but of silent frustration, angry with the situation rather than a specific pony. Ember frowned.

"What? Boss, what do you mean he's telling the truth?"

"I mean he's not lying" Blood Moon exclaimed as he hopped off of Loaded and trotted away, past Ember and towards the door. The mare was stunned.

"So…so we're just giving up, we're letting him go? Boss, we're the only assassins to have ever come this close to him, and now you're just…trotting away?" Blood Moon didn't stop.

"Yes" he called back. Ember growled and chased after him, Loaded too stunned to move.

"Blood Moon” she hissed “just because he'd innocent of the crime we thought him guilty of, doesn't absolve him the other atrocities he's committed" she persuaded. The stallion was unmoved.

"No, it doesn't, but he's innocent of the crime I'm here for. That means, on principle alone, I won't kill him" he answered. Ember went to talk before Blood Moon suddenly turned. "But make no mistake" he told Loaded, his hoof pointed at him "it won't be today, but I will get you. I'll find you, strap you to a wooden board and make you beg for something as sweet as death. I'll have you eating your own entrails before I'm done with you. You'll be begging for the devil's judgment instead of mine. Remember this day, Loaded Goldhooves, for it will be the last when you can sleep easy" he growled, his voice stabbing through the noble's eardrums and into his soul. Loaded just gulped.

Blood Moon and Ember stepped out of the room and slammed the door behind them. Ember soon turned on Blood Moon.

"I can't believe you did that! We had him" she told him, tapping his chest. The stallion seemed distracted by something.

"Yes, I know, but I have my reasons. But for now, we should gather the others and-HUH!" The stallion couldn't finish his sentence before something lashed around his neck and yanked him up as the huge chandelier that had hung from the ceiling fell, intent on lynching him. Blood Moon felt himself get dragged up, ripping his katana from its sheath with his hoof as he went. He took a hold of the wire wrapped around his neck and pulled himself up, creating slack around his neck with the short time he had. He felt his armoured hoof his the anchor of the pulley system and let himself hang for a second swinging wildly in the open air. Flipping himself, he planted his hooves against the roof and yanked down, lifting the chandelier and slashed through the steel wire, feeling the wire give around his neck as he dropped. As graceful as a Pegasus, he flipped himself to his hooves midair and landed in a crouch, the dust kicking up around him, and slowly raised his head.

Another figure dropped from above, a pony, a pony in all pale white and darkest black. His armour was bulky and thick, but unnaturally silent. He raised his masked head, his eye meeting Blood Moon's. The dark stallion narrowed his eyes.

"Cadaver" he greeted at length, his eyes narrowed as he felt the scar on his face tingle a little "to what do I owe the pleasure this fine night?" Cadaver grunted.

"Blood Moon" Cadaver returned, his body completely still. "It's been a while." Blood Moon gave a tight smile from beneath his mask.

"It has…not long enough, apparently" he replied in a wry, weary tone. They remained silent for a while, Blood Moon unsheathing his katana while Cadaver's magic gripped his bow-staff and pulled it from its holster, the retractable staves each side of the grip extending. They could both feel the impending battle approach, these old foes; as they stood, regarding each other, a bunch of guards surrounded them.

"Place your weapons on the ground" one of the six of them called.

"Freeze, don't move" another shouted.

"Lay on the ground, and don't even think about going for your weapons" yelled one more.

"Put your hooves, on your head!" Further conflicting orders were all cut off when four black blobs dropped from above, the slender one firing a bolt into another's throat while the brown one flung a throwing knife into the last's jugular.

"I see you've brought company" Cadaver noted, like nothing had happened.

"I thought we'd make this a full on rave" Blood Moon answered with a shrug "get some music pumping, some booze flowing." Cadaver snorted in disgust.

"So juvenile, so foalish. You don't deserve the title 'assassin'" he told the stallion. Blood Moon shrugged again.

"And you don't deserve such badass armour" he retorted. With that, Cadaver struck.
His bow-staff was intercepted by Blood Moon's katana, a loud, reverberating 'clang' echoing through the marble hall, the sound reaching every room of every floor; both assassins remained still, Cadaver wielding his weapon in his magical grip, while Blood Moon held his blade beneath his hoof, against his fore-leg. They heard more weapons unsheathe around them, the Hunter sparing a glance at his allies to see that they held their weapons, ready to fight.

"Stand down" he ordered, his eyes going back to Cadaver. He heard a startled breath.

"What, boss, he-"

"I said 'stand down.' He's mine" Blood Moon growled.

"Boss-"

"Reaper! As your superior, I ORDER you to stand down" he bellowed "this stallion is way beyond your capabilities, none of you are a match for him" he told them sharply. "All of you, I order you to leave this place and go back to the hideout." There was a pause before they finally compiled, sheathing their weapons and fading into the darkness.

"Good luck" Ember said as she faded away. Blood Moon grunted.

'I'll need it.'

Blood Moon looked back at his foe and their eyes met for a second. After that, they erupted into a flurry of movement; Blood pushed his sword against his foe's staff, Cadaver stepping back with the pressure, the dark stallion stepping away too, whipping his blade to an over-hoof grip and slashing it along Cadaver's armour; the white iron stopped the blade easily, sparks between the metals, and the two stepped in again. Cadaver brought his staff down and Blood raised his sword in defence, the pair locking once more.

Above, their raised voices and the sounds of clashing metals had attracted an audience; staff, guards and Goldhooves stood on the balconies, watching their dual like some sick spectator sport. Loaded pushed his way to the front, still holding his wound, and demanded to know what was going one. He looked down at the pair of assassins and smirked slightly.

"You kill that bastard, I'll double whatever you're being paid" he told Cadaver. The iron-clad stallion turned his gaze up slightly.

"I doubt somepony like you could afford my fees" he said back. Loaded just snarled before he doubled over in pain.

Cadaver and Blood Moon went at it again; Blood slipped under Cadaver's guard and slammed his hoof into his chest, lifting Cadaver from his hooves before he threw him. The armoured stallion crashed into one of the huge, marble pillars holding up the balconies, the ponies atop it shaking slightly as the structural integrity was weakened. Cadaver pulled himself out of the rubble, brushing himself off like being thrown into a tower of marble was a mild inconvenience.

He pounced again, bringing his staff down on Blood Moon, who took it on his sword and slipped past the strike, bringing his sword down on the back of Cadaver's neck. The stallion raised his hoof and caught it on the back of his gauntlet, pushing the blade away before spinning and beating his staff into Blood's face. One of the eye pieces cracked, Cadaver piling on the pressure by driving his staff into the same eyepiece until it shattered; Blood hopped back, the staff still lodged in his mask, and whipped his head away, throwing Cadaver off-balance. Blind in one eye, Blood took the staff in his face and pulled it free, the glass in the mask cutting around his eye, though thankfully not the eye itself. Shaking the sense back into his head, Blood failed to notice Cadaver had recovered his balance and reached back into his hidden pouches; the dark stallion looked up in time to spot six shrunken flying towards him. He raised his sword and deflected the lot of them, all six flying away in different directions and stabbing into the wall. The Hunter already smelt a trap, and soon found it when he felt something wrap around his fore-legs and restrain them, a set of bolas. He looked up to find Cadaver stood over him; Blood raised his sword in his magical grip and parried the first killing blow, dodged out of the way of the second and rolled away from the third. He slipped his hooves from the bolas and reached back to his own pouches, grabbing a smoke bomb and throwing it to the ground. Blood immediately dived away while Cadaver pushed away the thick smog with his magic and looked around the dark hall. He knew Blood hadn't escaped. He was just planning his next offence.

And planning he was. Blood Moon sat in the shadows, stringing up a trap with his blow-pipe, bow and the pillar he was behind. He twisted his hoof against the marble and stepped away, putting his pipe to his maw and puffing hard. The steel dart was caught from the air by Cadaver, who immediately fired one of the bows along his chest in return, electing to stay away from the darkened corner he'd been attacked from. In response, another dart was fired at him, this one from above. He caught it out of the air again. Then, as he scanned the ceiling, he was struck in the side by an arrow; he looked down to find it had a strange canister at the head, a green gas inside pouring out. He wasn't worried, the air filter on his mask would- Another arrow shot into his side, this one on fire. His eyes widened for a second before the fire ignited the gas. The resulting explosion fired him into the second pillar holding up the balcony outside the library; the ponies atop screamed and panicked as they fled from the terrace, either into the library behind or onto the perch that remained standing.
There was stillness for a second, Blood Moon watching the white rubble before an equally white hoof broke through the rubble, the rest of the pony it belonged to clambering out. Cadaver pulled himself out of the rubble and stood atop it, his armour dusty and his mane and tail stuck with more chunks of marble here and there. He shook the unwanted weight from his body and stepped from the small hill of stones and rock, standing across from Blood.

"As much honour as before, Hunter" he goaded. Blood shrugged.

"Some fight for honour, I fight to win." Cadaver grunted and lunged again. Blood Moon dodged out of the way of the first swing of his staff, and the second, but the third caught him in his shoulder while the fourth hit him in the face. He was thrown to his back, Cadaver standing over him before long.

"Tell me; you've pursued you're demise for a long time now. Now that you face it, do you fear it? Do you fear death?" Blood grinned.

"Do you?" His hoof met the floor and he twisted it ninety degrees, the air around the pillar he'd hid behind pulsing and getting forced out from the spot Blood Moon's seal had sat on, the pillar tumbling down. It fell from the base, the few tonnes of marble aimed right for them. More screams came from above as the whole manner shook, the walls and foundations incapable of holding up the weight of the balconies and upper floors. Blood slid beneath Cadaver, holding him down over him to take the brunt of the weight. Cadaver grunted in surprise when he felt Blood grip him, glancing down in shock, before he looked up at the pillar a meter above his head. He gulped a second before it hit.

An earth shattering crash echoed throughout the hall, dust flying and foundations rocking as the estate tried to come down around them. Blood Moon crawled from under Cadaver and the mountain of rubble, standing victorious over his fallen foe. That is, until Cadaver stood with him. He leapt up, his hind-leg spinning along the floor, his momentum taking him around and throwing the same legs into the air as he performed his rising kick. Blood leapt over the sweep and leant back from the kick, Cadaver landing on his hooves and bringing his staff down once more.

"You're mad" he rumbled as he struck. Blood lifted his own blade, the pair met in a lock, for the third time.

"Well that's good, because if I wasn't that probably wouldn't have worked." Blood didn't hesitate to step beneath their lock as Cadaver gave an aggravated growl at Blood's ridiculous comments; he brought his hoof up and struck Cadaver from below, taking him off his fore-hooves, and assaulted him with a rapid flurry of strikes; there was a dull metallic 'clunk' whenever his hoof met the stallion's helmet, his head thrown side to side, up and down, with every hoof to meet his obscured face. After fifty consecutive blows, Cadaver caught Blood's hoof from the air and pulled him into his own strike, slamming his hoof into his gut and pushing the air from him. Blood returned the favour by planting a heavy strike across Cadaver's temple. The armoured stallion shook it off and threw Blood Moon away.

The Hunter landed on his hooves, twisted his right hoof against the floor and watched as the air around Cadaver's head suddenly expanded, throwing him to the side. Cadaver was thrown to the side by the sudden explosion on his helm, crashing into a pillar holding up one of the remaining balconies. Blood Moon charged and leapt, bringing his blade down execution style; Cadaver looked up and caught Blood out of the air on his hind-hooves, holding him up and beating a fore-hoof across the dark stallion's face, balancing himself on his fore-hooves and taking Blood's neck in his hind-legs, intent on slamming his head into the marble rubble; Blood landed on his fore-hooves and things were a blur for a second, the ponies watching on blinking before they appeared again with Blood Moon wrapping his hinds around foe's his neck and flipping him over, reversing the throw; Cadaver's head met the ground, rolled to his hooves and threw Blood Moon off of him, holding his fore-leg up and sparking his horn to life; his staff flew into his hoof as Blood galloped for him again, grabbing his blade as he passed it, and brought it up.

Cadaver slid the blade up his staff and flicked it off the tip; he spun and jabbed Blood in the gut with the rear-end of the staff, stepping in a roundhouse and clubbing him across the jaw; Blood recovered and brought his sword across, bringing it down on Cadaver's head. It bounced off with a few sparks flying, the pair of them spinning away from each other before lunging again. They met each other's strikes with their own, Blood swinging his blade fast and hard, aiming for the spots unprotected by the metal all over his foe, Cadaver moving his staff with just as much ferocity as he met Blood's strikes in a shower of sparks and noise, looking for an opening in his flurry of strikes. They stepped back and forth as they struck at each other, neither miss stepping or missing a beat as their weapons danced together, trying to get around, past or through one another.

The dark stallion swung his blade, Cadaver catching it against his staff before he flicked it off, spinning and aiming his counter at an assassin who was no longer there. Blood Moon beat the pommel of his weapon into the back of Cadaver's skull and dropped from his foe's back, bringing the knee of his fore-leg into his opponent's spine. Cadaver grunted and spun, Blood catching the hoof against his fore-leg and spinning past, beating his right into Cadaver's temple. The armoured stallion stepped away and rolled to his hooves after he stumbled. Blood advanced, Cadaver leapt and ploughed his hind-hooves into Blood's chest before he dropped onto the back of his neck and pushed himself to his hooves again with his fore-legs. Blood rolled back and onto his hooves to spot his foe's advance, stepping out of the way of his thrust and slashing his blade along his chest, following it up with a pommel to the fore-head. Blood Moon swiped his blade at Cadaver's horn, the armoured stallion catching it against his armoured hoof and wrenching Blood's sword away.

Undeterred, Blood kept up his assault with a flurry of strikes; he jabbed his foe twice in the head, gave him a round house to the skull with his hind, brought his skull to his helmet, rammed his hoof into his chest and leapt around his neck, burying his hoof into the back of his foe's head. He swiped his sword back and took it in two hooves, aiming it at Cadaver's exposed neck. The armoured stallion spun, leaping from his hooves, catching Blood's head with his fore-hoof and bringing his head to the ground with a 'thwack.' Blood rolled to his hooves, lunging for Cadaver with his sword thrust. Cadaver leapt back and beat his staff over Blood's head, the Hunter dodging out of the way and countering with a swipe of his blade across Cadaver's face, sparks flying as he left a grove in the metal.

Blood followed through with a second strike, across the helm once more, and finished with a stab to Cadaver's chest. The armoured stallion then turned the tables; his hoof met the back of Blood's blade and pushed it up and away from any vital points; he heaved the Hunter away and flicked his bow-staff to the side. Four razor blades extended from the weapon, two at the tip, a small gap between them, and another outside them, another small gap between them and the inmost blades.

The pair lunged again, Cadaver leading with the bladed end of his spear and slicing numerous cuts into Blood's leather before he could get his blade in the way of each strike. They clashed, stepped back and clashed again, their weapons meeting between them as they did, their faces barely an inch away from each other as they stepped and met, ever moving in their dance of death. Blood swiped his hoof against Cadaver's own, knocking his balance from beneath him, and quick-stepping around his guard, bringing his blade against the back of his foe's skull. Another dull metallic 'clunk' sounded as Cadaver was thrown forwards and the Hunter followed through with a roundhouse that met the back of his skull, forging similar results. Blood leapt up and took his sword in hoof, aiming the tip at his foe's neck; Cadaver spun and knocked the dark stallion's blade off course, Blood Moon stepping too far and losing his balance as he stepped past the armoured stallion. Cadaver swung his spear once more, Blood ducking beneath it, and returning with a slash of his blade. The Hunter followed through, landing a strike on Cadaver's face and hopped back; he reached back for his pouches and-

His eyes widened slightly when he found nothing back there. He looked up to find Cadaver, holding a belt with many pouches in his hoof, letting it dangle for a second before he threw it to the balcony and out of the assassin's reach. Blood Moon narrowed his eyes and cracked his neck left and right. Cadaver charged once more, in response, Blood sheathed his sword in his bandolier, reached back again and drew his bow; he leapt to the side to avoid Cadaver's incoming strike, notched an arrow and shot it into Cadaver's side. The saw-tooth arrowhead penetrated deep into the armour, electing a growl of pain from Cadaver, before he turned and lunged again, knocking the bow from Blood's hoof before the dark stallion reached for his blade. Their dual re-engaged, sparks flying between their weapons as they struck, counted, over-countered, slipped out of said over counter and returned with another strike, the pattern repeating itself again and again.

Blood thrust his blade, Cadaver stepping to the side and ramming his weapon up. Blood dodged, rising to his hind-legs and beat his hoof across his foe's head, taking him by the mane and stabbing his blade at his foe's face; Cadaver moved his face to the side and let the blade slide past his mask, digging another groove into his mask. Cadaver beat his fore-knee into Blood's stomach and heaved him away, Blood returning with blade in hoof; Cadaver moved his spear up to intercept. He caught the strike between the blades and twisted it; there was resistance, Blood taking his blade in both hooves while Cadaver did the same with his spear. It devolved into a battle of strength until Cadaver shoulder barged Blood and wrenched his balance away from him with his spear. Cadaver struck Blood across the head and twisted his spear savagely.

The metallic 'snap' echoed across the hall as the broken piece of metal fell to the floor. Cadaver moved in again, not giving Blood Moon a chance to think; he beat his staff over the dark stallion's head and followed through with a jab to the guts with the blades. Blood leapt back, out of the way, and landed on his flank, rolling to his hooves. Cadaver was already before him; he spun and bucked Blood in the face, sending him rocketing back into the remaining pillar. The dark stallion lifted himself up, holding himself up against the pillar. He looked down at the broken sword in his hoof before he tossed it away and went for his other weapon. His eye narrowed. His belt was still missing, even if it wasn't, he'd left his wakizashi in Loaded's chambers, like a fool. He growled and advanced, pushing himself off the pillar and returning Cadaver's advance. The armoured stallion broke into a gallop, Blood Moon returning it as they charged. Blood leapt into the air, reaching back with his fore-hoof and grabbing the blow-pipe there. With a sharp blast of breath, he fired the steel dart into Cadaver's armour, hitting leather by sheer luck. The armoured stallion grunted, faltering in his charge as Blood came down and beat the blow-pipe across Cadaver's head. He followed through with four more strikes with the pipe until Cadaver caught it between his blades, like he had the katana, and twisted the blades. Blood let him, turning his weapon against Cadaver's; they each felt the pressure build in the weapons and awaited the inevitable break. There it was, an earth shattering splinter as the metal of Cadaver's spear broke.

The armoured stallion backed up in shock, looking down at the broken blades of his spear in astonishment. Then anger. He lunged for Blood Moon once more, striking him across the face and wrenching the blow-pipe from his hoof and tossing it away, bringing his staff down on Blood Moon's skull; the dark stallion caught it in his cross-hoof guard, wrapping his hooves around it and wrenching it away; he held it at both sides and bent it at the middle, a metallic 'creak' groaning out as he did. Cadaver narrowed his eye as his old, silver glow gripped his sword and slipped the blade from its sheath as he sunk into stance, Blood watching his foe's blade in envy and wishing for his own to fight with. The dark stallion tossed away Cadaver's now bent staff and rolled his neck.

Cadaver lunged for Blood, bringing his blade down on the assassin; the strikes were fast, furious and fearsome, his blade never staying still for a second as he danced around Blood Moon, looking for an opening. Blood blocked and parried each strike on his bracers, small sparks flying as the hardened leather and well-tempered metal met time and time again; Cadaver swung his blade around his head, Blood taking it on his bracer, Cadaver spun off the attack and retaliated with a second strike with his blade, which Blood caught on his bracer again. Cadaver leapt, his hind-leg firing at Blood Moon, who dodged and countered; his hoof met the flat of Cadaver's blade in defence, who stepped past him and swung his blade around again, Blood ducking under and retaliating with his own roundhouse kick with his hind leg, his hoof catching Cadaver across his helm before he came down again and thrust both fore-hooves at his foe; Cadaver took the heavy strike on his face, Blood Moon denting the mask slightly, and was pushed off balance, the leather-clad stallion taking advantage of his stumble; his right fore-hoof slammed into the eyepiece, the fore-knee following it in as he dropped low and swept his hooves from beneath him. Cadaver landed on his front, quickly rolling away as Blood's hoof came down to finish him, rising with his sword swinging hard and fast, leaving a groove in the marble floor as his upper-cut slashed through the air, Blood dodging left and catching the sneaky rip stab on his bracer and stepping past the strike to return with his own, his hoof meeting the flat of Cadaver's blade once more. They stepped back once more and resumed their attacks, Cadaver taking the lead with more strikes aimed at Blood's neck and other vital points, the assassin returning to his defensive maneuvers, stepping back and to the side, taking each strike on his bracers and avoiding his foe's kicks and other strikes. The armoured stallion gave a hard swing, Blood meeting metal with leather and stepping past, slamming his hoof into his foe's face; Cadaver shook off the blow and continued his onslaught, lashing out with strike after strike with his sword, sparks flying off of the dark stallion's bracers until Cadaver went low and sliced at Blood's gut. Blood Moon took the strike.

The dark stallion growled in pain as Cadaver's sword opened his stomach, blood seeping through his leather and skin as the assassin bucked him to his back and pinned him down with his sword to his throat.

"I'll admit, I was hoping for more of a challenge" he admitted. Blood grinned from behind his mask.

"I'm not done yet" he answered.

"Oh, but you are. I can finally add your name to my list" he goaded. Blood Moon grunted.

"Hate to burst your bubble and everything, but I can't die" he chuckled. Cadaver chuckled with him. He leaned his head in and spoke directly into the dark stallion's ear.

"I don't have to kill you to get rid of you" he whispered as he pressed the blade to his neck.
"Of course, Celestia probably won't be happy with finding out you're alive, but I think she'll be at least...appeased with what I've thought up." Blood Moon narrowed his eyes.

"Celestia?" He could feel Cadaver's grin.

"Yes. She charged me with murdering you. I thought it'd be harder than this, waiting here for you to turn up" he laughed a little "guess I'm gonna have to pay those mercs I hired to ruff up those mares after all" he said with a grunt. Blood Moon's blood pressure suddenly shot up.

"What!" Cadaver laughed once more.

"Oh, yes. To be honest, I didn't think you'd fall for the bait at first; I knew you were going to go after the Goldhooves when you killed Loaded's son, I just didn't know when. So, while I waited here, I had a few goons go kill the mares you've been holding out with the past week. Thought it might…draw you out" he smirked. "Now, say goodnight, Hunter." Blood Moon put his hoof against Cadaver's shoulder to hold him back for the single second he needed.

"My time will come Cadaver" Blood Moon growled "just not today." He flexed his left leg and the blade extended, the assassin stabbing the armoured stallion in the spot between his armoured shoulder and neck. Cadaver growled in pain and rolled off, holding his wounded shoulder. He looked up to find Blood Moon stood up and charged, but another explosion rocked the whole estate. He looked back to find Loaded's office crumbling into the living room, the main bedroom following it. The rest of the house caved in at the back, the only thing holding up the bulk of the house being the last marble pillar. He suddenly spotted a faint circle on the remaining pillar, and knew what was going to happen. He whipped his head back to Blood Moon.

"You're insane" he roared "you'll bring the whole place down!" Blood Moon laughed before the pain of his wound hit him.

"Have I ever told you…the definition…of insanity?" With that, he turned his hoof ninety degrees and let the explosion rock the whole estate as he disappeared in a cloud of dust as the marble hall collapsed around them.

The roof caved in first, the guards atop falling into the house as it collapsed; the walls came down with the roof, pulled down as the stone roof hit the balconies and ripped them down, the walls breaking at the mortar and crashing to the ground. The staff and guards all screamed, the Pegasi amongst their numbers taking to the sky and carrying their co-workers, while the Unicorns that were capable teleported away from the danger zone. The earth ponies leapt from the windows, thudding to the ground with a few broken legs between them, but all together better than what would have happened had they stayed in the house. Cadaver stayed in his spot, the building crumbling around him as he remained stoic and still.

When the dust had settled, Cadaver looked around himself. Blood Moon was gone, nought but a destroyed estate and his slightly chipped pride in his place. He heard the sound of the approaching guards and took his leave, vanishing into the night. The only small spark of satisfaction he got from this was that he knew Blood Moon wouldn't be happy to find the Elements of Harmony in the state he would. He'd made sure of that.

Blood Moon had teleported a block away from Goldhooves estate; the contract had been a disaster, the job in ruins, but as of right now, that wasn't on his list of cares. All's he cared about
now, was getting back to Ponyville.

"Boss, what happened?" Blood Moon very nearly sliced Candle in half nothing but his hoof. He whipped his head around to find the four of them, Ember, Leaf, Candle and Red, all stood behind him on the roof he was stood upon. He struck Candle in the face, beat Leaf around the head with the Enforcer's blow-pipe, head-butted Redwave and slapped Ember.

"I GAVE YOU A DIRECT ORDER TO RETURN TO BASE" he roared. He barged past them. "You do not disobey a direct order like that" he growled "but right now, I don't care. We've gotta get back to Ponyville. The Elements of Harmony are in trouble" he told them. To say they were confused was an understatement.

"Ponyville? Blood Moon, we've gotta get back to base, avoid the guards" Ember argued. Blood Moon rounded on her.

"Listen, I know you're right, I know you are, but I won't let those mares die. And I'll need your help" he told them. Ember raised an eyebrow; he sounded almost…desperate?

"Moon…I-" She was cut off when Blood Moon doubled over in pain; he held his gut and Ember looked down at the spot that seemed to be causing him . Her eyes widened as the air left her lungs in shock as her eyes met the deep cut in his stomach. Blood Moon looked up to find her concerned gaze and shook it away.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll live. But we've gotta get back to Ponyville. I…I can't make it by myself; I'm too tired, I'm in too much pain. Ember, please, I need your help." Ember swallowed. Never once had he asked for assistance like this before. She nodded as she put her neck under his fore-leg, holding him up.

"Yeah, sure Moon, c'mon" she answered. Ember looked up at the other assassins, taking charge for the second, and nodded. They nodded back and disappeared in a spiral of leaves for Red and Leaf and feathers for Candle. She looked down at Blood Moon, hearing him growl in pain, and readied him. She teleported, feeling the strength sap from her system after the massive jump. She swayed unsteadily, her mind numbing and her strength leaving her; she wasn't used to such big teleportation's.

When she looked up again, she spotted a rather colourful battlefield; there were fifteen thugs, all grey, brown and black, any colour dulled by years of war and espionage. Some were armed, some weren't, some were unicorns, some Pegasi and others earth ponies. Besides them, however, were some of the unusual combatants she'd ever seen; one was a Pegasus, notably older than the others, who wore an eye patch, a beanie and wielded a scimitar in his hoof, holding off a trio of mercs. The other was a pink mare; her mane and tail were completely straight and her eyes and smile… They'd haunt her dreams until the day she died. Other than that, she held a freshly bloodied knife in her hoof, her face, mane and body covered in equally fresh blood as she cut down a few mercs. The other three were a purple unicorn holding back a few other unicorns firing spells at her, while the other two were an orange earth pony she swore looked familiar and a cyan Pegasus who was currently brawling with another two mercs. Candle, Leaf and Redwave had joined the fray as soon as they'd arrived, Leaf killing one and moving to another, while Candle and Redwave took another each. Ember herself went to join the fun when she noticed that Blood Moon was missing.

Applejack held back the stallion she was brawling with, beating her hoof across his head whenever she could, the stallion getting a few hits in too. She threw her foe to the side, hoping to get some distance so she could buck him, but he dragged her with her.

"Ju's who are yew" she demanded as they exchanged blows. The stallion grinned a slightly bloody grin.

"The stallion who's gonna kill yo- AHG!" The farm-hoof watched in confusion as his back arched and his face contorted in pain, his hoof going back before he was thrown to the ground from behind by one of the ponies wearing the gas masks that had shown up out of nowhere and his face was broken to a pulp by the same pony a he was curb-stomped.

Rainbowdash growled and spat and grunted as her and her Pegasus enemies darted around the air, striking out at each other; she was faster than the two of them, capable of getting in more hits, but they were much stronger than her, and had combat experience; more than twice she been countered and thrown to the other, who'd grab her before he hit her across the head. She landed, panting, and the other two came down with her, both grinning at her with deadly intentions. There was a sharp 'snap' and one of the merc's hooves went to his neck, holding it as blood spat from it as he fell. The other looked to his ally and was taken down by a stallion who appeared from a black blur, holding up the merc by his throat before he twisted his grip on his neck and snapped his neck. The masked stallion in black leather looked at her for a second before he moved again.

Pinkamena was having fun. Only she wasn't having fun. She was smiling, only she was smiling for the wrong reasons. But all smiles were good, right? If she smiled, other ponies smiled with her. That was the way it had normally been, anyway. But the stallions before her didn't look to happy; she'd tried cutting smiles into their faces, and that hadn't worked too well; she'd tried drawing smiles on their bodies with her cake-cutter, and they didn't seem to like that; then she'd noticed they didn't want to smile, and Pinkamena knew they was only one thing to do with that kind of pony. MAKE THEM BLEED.

She'd stabbed and cut them both already, but they didn't seem to want to die. She didn't get that. They were very content with making her die though, but that was a laughable notion; you couldn't kill laughter. No matter if it was laughing at a funny joke, or your mutilated corpse. Her knife sung through the air like her 'Smile' song, and bit into their flesh like a Manticore ripped apart a filly. She pranced happily to the side as she dodged about, and opened their flesh and grew aroused at their entrails. She ducked under their slices like she was playing limbo, and cut out their eyes and ate them. Her fun was stopped suddenly, however, when a black blob cut across her view and took her new friends off their hooves, both choking to death as their bruised throats swelled and closed. She looked up at the mean pony who'd killed her friends, and had factices about ripping out his intestines and making a cupcake with them.

Twilight was not enjoying herself. When these thugs had turned up, she hadn't known what to think, but now that she was trying to fight two of them off, she really wished she'd had more time to practice her fighting with Blood Moon; at the moment, she could do nought but try and remember what he'd said, about always moving and stepping properly, and so far it had saved her life more times than she'd like to count. It wouldn't save her though; already, more than one spell had cut it too close, and her mane and facial fur were both badly singed and blackened. She gotten a few good hits on the ponies fighting her, but she couldn't spare the time to charge up a powerful spell to do some real damage to them.

The magenta mare suddenly miss-stepped, stumbling slightly, and she knew she was done for; even with her moving, she'd almost been hit at least five times, so still, falling over no less, she was a goner. But it never came; as she stumbled, she looked up to see a unicorn stallion in black leather leap over her right-most foe, snap his horn off and jam it into the lefts eye, while his left hoof shot towards the right as a small, metallic 'shink' rang out as the unicorn dropped, a blade having gone through his eye and into his brain.

Leaf, Redwave and Candle Light all dropped their foes with quick strikes to their torsos and necks, Leaf opening his enemy's jugular, fast and neat, as Candle stuck his blade through his merc's neck. Redwave went for something more 'seaworthy' as his cutlass opened his foe's stomach before he stabbed it up through his skull, lifting him from his hooves for a second before he dropped him. The three assassins looked to the other three mercs, facing a single stallion with an elderly grey mane wielding a scimitar. He made short work of his enemies as he slashed a cross onto the first's chest and stomach, blood and gore pouring from the deep cuts, killing the second by cutting off the hoof holding his weapon and dragging him onto his sword. He turned to the last and struck him across the face so hard he spun, his back exposed; the old stallion stabbing his blade through the back of his head and wrenching it with a brutal strength to the side, letting it spin until it had gone around once and his dead face was looking at the Pegasus warrior, who trotted past him and wrenched the blade free with graceful and badassed nonchalance.

In the short silence of the aftermath, there was a scream. Everypony looked to the direction it had come from; it was Blood Moon, his mask laying a little behind him, straddling the last merc as he dug the merc's broken off horn slowly into his chest, above his heart.

"Where are they" he growled in a low voice, just loud enough for everypony to hear. The guard spat blood at him. Blood Moon was unimpressed. "I don't have time for games" he growled. He pulled back the horn before he stabbed it down into the merc's shoulder, letting him try and pull it out again as he kept his hoof atop of it and held it in. "I'm gonna ask you again" he struck the merc across the face with tooth shattering strength. Even Ember flinched when she heard the bones crunching under the Hunter's hoof as they met the stallion's face.
"Where are they" he asked in an overly calm voice. He didn't wait a second before he struck the merc again. "Where are they?" Another crunch. "Where are they?" Another gut wrenching crunch.

Twilight gulped as she watched the stallion beat information out of the merc; it was obvious what he was after: when the mercs had first arrived, they'd found Fluttershy and Rarity outside, tending to the critters. They, for the second time in a month, had been kidnapped by a bunch of hired killers. But what really made her pity the stallions who'd gone off with them was that they'd made off with the Cutie mark crusaders too. She found the strength and resolve to slowly approach the stallion beating one of her and her friend's attackers
senseless, gulping slightly when she heard the sharp contact between hoof and face.

"Blood Moon" she said quietly, standing a little behind him. He didn't do anything to acknowledge her. "Blood Moon" she repeated. He faltered in his strike.

"They took them Twilight" he said. The purple unicorn gulped slightly; the growl in his voice, the darkness, the murderous intent...the almost casual, monotone tone.

"I-I know they did Blood Moon" she answered unsteadily.

"I'm going to find out where they took them" he turned his full attention back to the merc at his mercy "it's up to him how many pieces he'll be in when he does." The merc gulped. Twilight didn't say anything; maybe something of Blood Moon had rubbed off on her, but she didn't much care about what happened to this merc.

"I suggest you tell him" she offered the broken merc. He took a few shallow breaths as he looked between them.

"B-buck you" he spat. Blood Moon struck him across the face once more.

"If you don't tell me, I'm going to give you an extensive lesson in the torture techniques I'm very well versed in" he hissed. The merc remained silent. Blood Moon took him by the hind-leg. "First, we start off by doing as much non-lethal damage as possible; this generally consists of removing the legs in some form or another-"

"The Everfree Palace" the merc barked suddenly "they were taken to the Everfree Place" he said as his nerve broke. Blood Moon grinned as he took him by the mane and chin.

"Was that so hard" he asked. Blood Moon felt a hoof on his shoulder.

"Blood Moon…don't. He's not worth it" Twilight said quietly. Blood Moon looked back at her, finding her pleading eyes. He sighed as he looked at her for a second; she didn't want to see anymore death today. He wrenched the merc's neck upside down. Unfortunately, it wasn't her choice.

"No, he wasn't" he answered as he stood. He looked to the ponies that had showed up.

"Ember, Leaf, Candle, Red! You're all staying here. Make sure no more of these mercs show up" he ordered. The pony, a mare apparently, in midnight blue spoke up.

"No way Moon, you're wounded and-"

"EMBER! That's an order" he reminded her. The mare shut up and held her ground as she audibly snarled at him. Blood Moon disappeared in a flash.

He reappeared inside the Everfree Palace. Before him were five more mercenaries.

'How many's this now Cadaver, twenty mercs? A little overkill.'

Blood Moon trotted towards them, taking his time, and the ponies turned to face him. They advanced on him, four stallions and a mare, three earth ponies, a Pegasus and a unicorn. The Pegasus attacked first, Blood Moon slipping past his lunge with a small spin and opening his foe's throat with his hidden blade, the dark stallion's trot never once stopping; the second and third, a unicorn and an earth pony, attacked next. The earth charged and Blood Moon's horn flared as the shadows cast by the silver moon around the broken walls burst into flames that lashed out at the stallion, quickly engulfing him and burning him to nothing. The unicorn fell when Blood caught his magical bolt and threw it back, blinding him for a second before he was impaled on Blood Moon's horn. Finally, the earth swung his hoof; Blood Moon caught it out of the air, put his spare fore-hoof against his foe's chest and ripped his leg clean off before he kicked him onto his back and throttled him to death. When the last breath of life had spluttered from the merc, his gaze ever-so-slowly turned up to the last merc, a mare, stood at the end of the hall, holding a struggling filly hostage. Scootaloo.

Rarity and Fluttershy, both weeping in fear and relief, held Sweetie-Belle and Applebloom respectably, Scootaloo having been wrenched away from Fluttershy by the desperate mare. The two innocent mares held their respective fillies to their chests, covering their eyes from Blood Moon's wrath.

"Stay back" the mare called over, holding a knife to Scoot's throat. Blood Moon didn't stop trotting towards her. She pressed the knife into the orange filly's neck further, prompting Blood Moon to pause. She smirked with a sudden confidence. "That's better. Y'know, you really live up to your stories. I wish I could be there to watch the boss cut your balls off and feed them to you" she hissed. Blood Moon cocked his head.

"Tenebrarum" was all he said. The mare frowned for a second. "Let it embrace you" he continued. The mare suddenly noticed something wrong with the shadows in the room; for one, his was reaching over to the shade cast by the wall, a strand of shade reaching over to her own light spot. Then she felt a sudden warmth that tingled her whole body. A scream ripped from her throat as she suddenly burst into black flames. Blood Moon continued to the fillies and mares, picking up Scootaloo and carrying her to the others, stepping lightly over the ashes of the former mare. "How are you" he asked simply, looking over them all. They seemed alright, the mares and fillies attesting to this as they nodded. "Any wounded?" Rarity spoke, albeit a little shakily.

"Y-yes, that awful mare cut Scootaloo" she said, nodding at the filly on Blood Moon's back. She gurgled something. Blood turned his head back slightly.

"What?"

"I-I don't…feel too good" she answered in obvious pain. Blood Moon didn't say anything; instead, he held his hoof out, Fluttershy and Rarity hesitating a second before they took it. There was another flash, and they landed outside Fluttershy's cottage. Scootaloo groaned and fell from Blood Moon's back. The dark stallion quickly turned to her.

"Scootaloo? Are you awake?" She gurgled again. Blood Moon looked at the cut on her; it went across her stomach, it was deep, it would probably scare too, but she wasn't bleeding so badly anymore. He heard the sounds of hooves approaching.

"What's going on, what's up with Scootaloo" Rainbowdash asked.

"I don't know" Blood Moon answered quietly as he looked over her. He put his lips to the opening on her side and sucked for a second before he pulled back so fast he almost gave himself whiplash and spat out the toxin. "Oh no" he said in a dead voice "Dead tree root extract" he said quietly. Rainbowdash was looking over Scootaloo too now.

"What? Dead tree root extract? What's that" she asked in a panicked voice. Twilight gasped.
"What? What's up? Twilight, what's going on" she asked, nay, demanded, her voice and expression showing panic and dread. Blood Moon mumbled something. RD looked at him. "What? What did you say" she asked, her voice still scared as she wheeled around, looking for answers.

"It means, it's incurable, Dash" Sand Stalker was the one to say quietly. The cyan mare whipped her head to him.

"What? What do you mean there's no cure?"

"It means there's nothing I can do" Blood Moon whispered. RD turned to him.

"What!?"

"It means there's nothing I can do" Blood Moon growled as he grit his teeth in anger. Not at Dash, not Scootaloo, himself. But Cadaver. It was for precisely this reason, Rainbowdash's frantic search for a way out, a way to let her little sister live, that he never killed an innocent. Dash was speechless for a second.

"B-but-you-I" she stuttered. She suddenly turned on Blood. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT" she roared as she lunged at him, the pair rolling over as they shed tears, beating the crap out of each other. "EVER SINCE YOU GOT HERE, IT'S JUST BEEN ONE TREK THROUGH TARTARUS AFTER ANOTHER" Blood Moon hit her in the teeth, chipping a few. "THE GUYS IN THE MARKET!" She struck Blood across the skull and broke her hoof, but she didn't care. "THE CHANGELINGS!" Blood Moon took her by the shoulders and head-butted her. "PINKAMENA!" She hit him in the muzzle, blood spurting as she broke it. "THE DAY WE WERE KIDNAPPED!" Blood Moon struck her in the gut, pushing the wind out of her. "THE DAYS ALL OF US WORRIED SICK OVER YOU!" Rainbowdash bit into the hoof keeping her back, biting through the leather and into the flesh in her adrenalin fuelled rampage. "THEN YOU THREATENING TO KILL US ALL!" Blood Moon hit her across the face, leaving a black eye. "AND NOW THIS! SCOOTALOO'S DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!" Blood Moon managed to throw her off of him and stand up on shaky hooves. Rainbow glared back at him, breathing heavily, snarling and snorting.

The rest of the Elements of Harmony watched as their friend and Blood Moon fought like dogs, snarling and growling as they lashed out in anger and desperation. They both looked bad for it, blood pouring from them in spots, bruises developing in others. Rainbow spat out some blood gathering in her maw, and snarled again, Blood Moon cracking his neck as he prepared for another bout. There was a small cough from besides them, Blood and Rainbow looking over at the teary-eyed Elements of Harmony, their little sister and the hard faced Sand Stalker. None of them had moved, not even Pinkamena, who seemed to have gone away for the time being. Blood Moon looked down at Scootaloo. He quickly forgot about Rainbowdash and cantered over to the filly. Rainbow lunged for him, but Blood Moon just turned, gripped her by her mane and swung her down to Scoots. If she was going to die, she was going to die surrounded by friends and loved ones. The near-dead filly looked up at everypony, her small breaths strained and laced with pain.

"B-Blood…Moon" she managed to whisper out. The stallion leaned in closer.

"Yeah" he answered quietly. Scootaloo couldn't finish before she passed from this world.

Scootaloo woke up. She could feel herself laying on something, like hard ground, but she couldn't find the energy to open her eyes. Where was she? Was she alive? Had Blood Moon heard what she'd had to say? She didn't know. She hoped he had.

After lying on the ground for far too long, she found the strength to open her eyes. She looked around. It was a void. Nothingness. Total whiteness for as far as she could see, and in this flat and open landscape, that was forever. She was alone, but she didn't feel alone. This place of emptiness didn't feel so…empty. She took a step, and recoiled; her hoof-step was a small explosion, right next to her ear. It echoed continually around her, the sound bouncing off of the emptiness around her. She placed her hoof down again, carefully this time, and looked around. When she looked up, she yelped in fight.

It was a mare, but like no other mare she'd seen before; her fur was pure white, only her faint outline distinguishing her from the whiteness of the void. Her features were plain but pretty, her fur unscathed by scar or blot. Her eyes were as white as he fur, kind and soothing in a strange, almost unnatural, way. She was built like a lady, muscled and thin but by no means athletic. Yet, this mare seemed weirdly powerful in her atmosphere, like she could snap the world in half with the blink of an eye. But it was her mane and tail, as dark as the purest darkness, that really caught the filly's attention; they flowed over her back, past her flank, draping over her shoulders and below her hooves. And it kept going. Her mane and tail passed through whatever it was Scootaloo and the mare were standing on, cascading into the nothingness at the bottom of the void, or at least the darkness at its edge. She smiled kindly at the filly.

"Hello Scootaloo" she greeted. The filly felt a small comfort in her heart. She could listen to that voice all day. She suddenly remembered what had happened.

"E-excuse me, b-but, where am I? Where's Blood Moon, Rainbowdash, my friends? What happened? Who are you?" The mare's face suddenly went sad.

"Oh my" she said quietly. The mare approached the filly, and Scootaloo felt no inclination to back away. She bent down to her, meeting her at eye level and gave her a kind but sad look. "I'm afraid, young one, you stand in purgatory, the space between existence and inexistence. I am death. And you, my dear, are dead" she said gently.

At that, Scootaloo broke down and cried.