Blueblood carefully tread on the slippery cobblestone streets of Canterlot, holding the hood of his cloak tightly to his head to protect his tidy mane from the unrelenting evening downpour. He stopped to get a good look at himself in one of the storefront windows. He was content that his mane remained perfectly combed and not a hair was out of place. Sadly he couldn’t say the same for the clothes he wore, a simple attire really, nothing to make him stand out from any common Equestrian that walked the streets. He sighed disgruntledly, but he knew he couldn’t risk be made out for somepony of wealth in this part of town. He savored one last look before making his way further into Canterlot’s questionable underbelly.

Amid the gleam of the ivory towers and ponies of class and renown, there were the shanty shacks and bottom feeders; ponies that simply couldn’t make it in the civilized world all gather here to drown their sorrows in drink or commit acts of petty thievery just to make it another day. Blueblood cringed as he passed by several of these vagrants, all reeking of piss, cheap booze and other unpleasant odors. He could feel his stomach jumping into his throat, ready to evacuate his dinner all over the roadway.  He managed to keep it down and continued on his journey, determined to find a suitable solution to his current problem, a child sized problem. He scanned every dark corner, weary of any ne'er do wells that might dare lay a hand upon his royal person. As he passed another dim litted alleyway, a faintly lit sign caught his eye in the distance. There in bright neon colors, he could make out the image of a mare in burlesque mimicking the can can. Underneath her glowed the word The Prancing Pony. His eyes lit up as he hurriedly made his way to the front door, knocking on it's hard wooden surface.

A small window slid open and he was greeted with a pair of menacing ice blue eyes. “Yeah, what do you want?” The stallion behind the door asked in a gravelly voice. His eyes locked onto Blueblood’s face, narrowing as if to get a better look before disappearing behind the little door. Blueblood could hear the clicks of four...five locks being opened before the door swung inside, revealing the tall, muscular Adonis of a stallion behind the door. “Please, come on in, your grace.” Blueblood didn’t hesitate and practically leapt inside the Prancing Pony. Immediately assaulting his royal nostrils was the mixing stench of booze, cigar smoke, and a few other odors. The partons and a few mechanical serving droids turned their gazes upon them, all of them a nasty scowl that gleamed of an almost hostile aura. Blueblood kept his head down, not bothering to make an eye contact as he slowly and carefully made his way to the bar, tensely breathing as though he could feel the patrons and their ill intentions were closing in on him. He managed to safely make it to the bar, pulling out one of the stools and taking a minute to rest upon it.

“What’ll it be?” the bartender asked as he slid a drink down the bar to another patron.

“A..a uhm…” Blueblood nervously spoke as beads of sweat trickled down his face. “Jus...just a glass of water.” He nervously looked around to see if any of the barflies had heard him. Luckily for him the had their own businesses to attend to and didn’t bother look at his direction. “A glass of water please.”

The bartender slid him a glass with an arched eyebrow. “So what brings you around these parts?”

Blueblood once more turned to see if any of the stallions would notice or even care what he was there for. Once he felt comfortable that he was just another fly on the wall, he turned his attention back to the barkeep. “Listen I got this...problem I need...taken care of. I hear that there’s a stallion who specializes in that around here. Goes by the name of...Iblis.”

The bartender looked around for several moments before sliding a room key across the bar to Blueblood. “Top floor, last room on the left. Good luck. You’ll need it.”

Blueblood silently nodded in reply as he left and made his way upstairs, key in hand. Once he reached the top floor, he carefully moved down the hallway. The sounds of drunken singing and a few minor altercations creeping out from some of the rooms as he reached his destination. He stared at the door for a brief moment before knocking upon the door first, hoping to see if his quarry was indeed behind it. Hearing nothing, he soon slid the key into the lock, twisting it once and opening the door little by little until he could completely see inside the room. It wasn’t much to look at, though he really didn’t expect it to be a Marritrot suite. He could see a figure sitting placidly on the bed, staring back at him with a wide smile across his face.

“Hey what’s up?” the figure cheerfully greeted. “Whatcha need, friend?”

“Iblis, I presume?” Blueblood asked as he entered the small room and closed the door behind him, a hint of surprise and doubt in his voice.

“Sure am,” Iblis answered. “I’m an assassin. You want somebody dead?”

“Yes.” Blueblood calmly replied as he crossed to the other side of the room, leaning against the dresser for support. “You see I have this little...problem and I can’t physically harm him, lest I be caught and exiled or worse. So the only course of action is to get rid of him.”

“Who is he?” Iblis asked. “I’m very discreet, I have no code of ethics, I will kill anyone, anywhere. Kids, animals, old people, doesn’t matter. I just love killin’!”

“Good.” Blueblood replied as he slipped his hand into his pocket, revealing a couple of folded pieces of paper. He began to unfurl the first one, carefully uncreassing it before handing it over to Iblis. “This is your target. Loki Starfallen. Heir to the Equestrian Throne, though not if I have anything to say about it.”

Iblis looked at the picture. “Ooh. I remember him. Sure made waves when Princess Luna adopted him.”

“Yes.” Blueblood replied, his tone turning cold as ice. “And some of those waves are threatening my rightful position.” He unfurled the second parchment and passed it over to his hired assassin. “A list of the patrol schedules and a map of the fastest route to Loki’s room. One thing to keep an eye out for is his wind up tin plated bodyguard. You’ll have to disable it before you can kill him.”

“Know how to take the droid out best?” Iblis asked. “Don’t see any as guards just yet. Give it time.”

“Disable it however you like.” Blueblood snipped. “Just as long as it’s out of your way and you get rid of that little urchin.”

“So what’d this kid do to make you hate him so much?” Iblis asked as he looked over the provided schedules and floor plans.

“Should it really matter to you?” Blueblood inquired as he untied a medium sized sack from his belt and let it drop to the floor with a metallic thud.

“Nah. Just curious,” Iblis said as he picked up the bag and opened it. “Lots of money to burn.”

“No price is too great if it means Loki is out of my life.” Blueblood replied with a smug smirk, his eyes sparkling at the wondrous Loki free future that awaited him. “I want this done tonight if possible. Do whatever you like to the runt. Poison him, drown him, bash him on the head, I don’t care.”

“Can do!” Iblis answered with a grin. “Haven’t killed royalty in a long time.”

“This can in no way be traced back to me.” Blueblood sternly replied. “If you get caught, tell them nothing., understand?” He grasped at his own throat, cringing at the mere thought of losing more than his wealth.

“Sure thing!” Iblis answered. “I’ll just get ready and be on my way.”

Iblis perched on a wall of the palace, unseen and preparing himself for his run. “Oh boy! Here I go killin’ again!” he muttered in excitement before leaping down to a lower level, snapping a guard’s neck as he landed in silence and continuing on his way. Through a courtyard where another guard and an unfortunate gardener met their ends via neck snap Iblis made his way into the palace, hiding and snapping necks as he went. Drawing closer and closer to his sleeping target.

As he drew closer to Loki’s bedroom, he found himself blindsided by the droid bodyguard that Blueblood had mentioned. Without a word spoken, he began grappling with C1-X1, revelling in the challenge of a tireless opponent. Finally, he tore off a panel at the droid’s neck and found a switch. Flipping it, he chuckled as the droid went limp.

After hiding the droid, he slipped into his target’s bedroom and crept toward the sleeping prince.

Luna gazed into her opalescent vanity mirror, taking a moment to admire the lacey purple and gold negligee that one of her bridesmares got for her as a birthday present. She couldn’t help but smile as she tried various poses, taking note of how the negligee accentuated and flattered her curvaceous figure. “Soldier boy better be ready to mount up tonight.” She muttered to herself, letting out a little chuckle before she made her way back into the bedroom.

Mikoda smiled at his wife as she stepped into the room, drinking in her beauty and how lucky he was to have her. “Coming to bed, my beautiful princess of the night?” he asked with a grin from their bed.

Luna answered him with a glistening, almost predatory grin, giggling as she slipped onto the bed, straddling her husband and placing her hands on his bare shoulders. “Like what you see, my faithful soldier?”

“Yes I do, my princess,” Mikoda answered as he ran his hands over her thighs before drawing her into a tender kiss, his fingers curling into her luxurious mane.

Luna moaned into him as they deeply embraced each other, her fingers gripping tightly on his broad shoulders. As the spark of their love was about to roar into a raging fire of passion, Luna broke the connection, turning her gaze towards the bedroom door. She could feel a strange feeling wash over her, every nerve in her body tingled and not in a pleasant way. “Something’s wrong.” She finally spoke, her tone afflicted with worry.

“Wrong?” Mikoda asked before he felt a chill down his spine. Deep down, he just knew what the source was. “Our son!”

“LOKI!” She screamed, practically leaping off the bed and racing out of the bedroom with almost lightning speed.

Mikoda was right behind Luna as they burst into Loki’s bedroom. The sight that greeted him filled him with terror and rage. A pony sat on Loki’s bed smothering the struggling boy with his own bedsheets. Loki’s muffled cries of terror spurred him even more. With a roar of rage, he tackled the assassin to the floor and started beating him furiously.

Loki finally broke free of sheets, gasping for air as he fell out of the bed and onto the floor, coughing furiously. Before he had much time to react, he felt the familiar vice like grip of Luna’s arms wrapping tight around him.

“Oh my little starchild!” Luna bawled as she buried Loki into her chest, smothering him once more. She loosened her grip and began to inspect him, carefully looking over almost every inch for any lasting marks or bruises.

“Mommy!” Loki sobbed as he tightly hugged Luna, terrified by the attempt on his life. “I was so scared, mommy!”

Luna wrapped him in her grip once more and gently stroked the back of his head. “It’s ok sweetie, I promise it’s ok now. He can’t hurt you anymore. I’ll make sure of that.” Her tone shifted into a more enraged one as she glared at the twitching, but otherwise unconscious would be assassin on the floor.

“My lady!” A voice called out from the hallway. The familiar sounds of armored shoes clanging against the title floor echoed. Quickly entering through the doorway, Aysel and another Lunar guard filed in, weapons drawn. “We heard screaming! Is everything ok?” Aysel asked as he took in the whole sight before turning his attention to Mikoda, standing over his beaten adversary, his knuckles dusted with a bit of blood. “Captain?”

Mikoda stood up and turned to Aysel. “Lock him up! Put him under the tightest security possible.”

“Yes, sir.” Aysel replied, motioning for the other guard to follow him to their prisoner.

“Where is C1-X1?” Luna asked, her voice still inflected with anger.

“We found him incapacitated just down the hall.” Aysel replied as he and the other guard managed to each grab a hold of the unconscious assassin.

“I want him brought to Lyra for immediate repairs!” Luna barked as she rested her hands on Loki’s shoulders.

Loki looked up at Luna, still crying after his near death experience. “Mommy. Can I sleep with you and daddy tonight?”

“Of course sweetheart.” Luna replied as she cradled him in her arms, trying her best to calm him down. “Come on, let’s get you into bed then. We’ve all had a long night. Coming, dear?”

“Yeah. I’ll be right along, honey,” Mikoda answered as he looked at his knuckles. “Just need to get cleaned up. We’ll interrogate that assassin tomorrow.”

Luna silently replied with a nod as she carried the now much calmer Loki to her chamber, feeling physically and emotionally exhausted.

“So, what do we have on our assassin here?” Mikoda asked as he glared at the would be killer from behind the one way mirror of the interrogation cell.

“He hasn’t said a word,” Aysel answered. “No identification, no record. Nothing in his pockets but knives and lint.”

“There must be some kind of trace of him on an international scale.” Mikoda replied as thoughts of pure rage churned in his mind. “Have some of our guys double check with any foreign agencies, see what they can dig up.” He turned to lock his gaze with Aysel’s. “In the meantime, I’ll see if I can loosen his tongue a bit.”

“Good luck, sir,” Aysel said. “I’ll see what I can dig up. Let’s hope he gives up whoever wanted my nephew dead.”

“Oh I wager a certain blue blooded prince had a hand in this.” Mikoda snarled as he swung open the door and calmly walked into the room. He passed the eerily quiet and smiling assassin, pulling out the other chair and taking his seat, his expression of pure anger never once changing. “Ok, bub, let’s cut to the chase. I know somepony must have paid you quite a small fortune to sneak your way in here and try and kill my son. My son! And the way things are looking for you right now, you’re looking at life, if you’re lucky. So, why don’t you make it easy on yourself and come clean. Give me the name of the pony that hired you, and I can maybe make the case that you should rot in Canterlot Correctional for the rest of your miserable life.”

“I gotta say. This is the first time I’ve ever been caught,” Iblis replied, still wearing that cheerful smile. “But you’re not getting anything on my client. Bad for business to sell out the people that hire me.”

“And it’s bad for business that you get caught.” Mikoda pointed out, his tone cold and aggressive. “Ruins your reputation and thusly any chance at potential new customers. Most in your position would have taken a cyanide pill or slit their throats in the holding cell rather than give their clients up. Now perhaps the reason you didn’t do either is because I knocked you unconscious the previous evening, but you had every chance to try it when you stirred this morning.”

“Suicide is for hitponies, or as we in the business prefer to call them, amateurs,” Iblis answered. “Professionals like me don’t need to kill ourselves on the rare occasions that we get caught. I’ll be out and about by nightfall.”

“If you were perhaps in some corrupt third world court system, you’d be right.” Mikoda replied smugly. “But see, here in Equestria we don’t have such a loose system of justice. Not to mention you broke the golden rule of the assassins: you left witnesses. So, by my reasoning, with the testimony of our witnesses, plus the undeniable evidence you left at the scene and with no reasonable doubt in the minds of a jury, you’ll be convicted of attempted regicide. You may not give me the identity of your employer, but it won’t wholly matter as long as I see you rot in a six by eight cell for the rest of your natural life.”

Iblis laughed as though he’d just been told a hilarious joke. “Oh I won’t be getting out because of a corrupt court system. I’ll be getting out by nightfall because I’m going to bust out.”

Mikoda replied by simply standing up and snapping his fingers. The door swung out as a heavily armed squad of five Solar guards entered the room, standing behind the assassin. One of them lifted him up by the collar of his shirt as two others slapped handcuffs on his hands and feet. A third clasped a metallic collar around his neck. Small green lights flashed as the collar clicked together. Mikoda smiled smugly as the guards made sure the assassin was shackled tightly. “Well, Mr. Assassin. I’d love to see you try and get out of this. Specially designed hand and ankle cuffs crafted from Varangar steel and reinforced with a dash of titanium for good measure. But that’s not the best part of this package. That fancy collar around your neck is a special kind of shock collar. Monitors your heart rate. Anytime it drops or goes over one hundred and twenty over ninety, it’ll send fifty thousand volts of electricity coursing into your skull. And don’t even think about tampering with it. Only specialized codes can remove it, but the codes are changed every three minutes. Try to force it apart, and it’ll shock you. Try to tamper with it without the codes, the voltage goes up from fifty thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand.” He turned his gaze to the guards. “Take our guest to his special accommodations.”

“Ooh yeah. This looks deadly,” Iblis commented as he was led out of the interrogation cell down the hall and into an elevator. He was in the center of a formation with his guards in a circle around him. “So… Before we get started,” he spoke up as the elevator doors began closing. “Anypony want to get off?” The doors closed as that question was raised.

“He escaped?!” Mikoda shouted as he grabbed one of the Solar guards by the collar of his cuirass, lifting him high into the air. The inside of the elevator was a bloodbath. The guards escorting the assassin all had their throats slit open by one of their own number’s knives, which was buried in its owner’s throat, and the shock collar lay disabled on the floor along with the cuffs that had been on his wrists and ankles. “How could this have possibly happened?!”

“Based on what we’ve gathered from the camera before it went dead, he chomped on something in his tooth that unleashed an electromagnetic pulse that disabled the collar. Then it looks like he went to town on the guards and once the doors opened, he bolted and snapped the neck of anypony that got in his way. Even the cleaning lady got her neck snapped.”

He dropped the guard back onto the floor, veins practically protruding from his forehead as he clenched his fist and smashed it into the wall next to him. “I want him found!” He screamed as he removed his fist from the wall. “Send out search teams! Put out an all points bulletin to every city within one hundred miles of here, now!”

The poor scared guard bolted to relay Mikoda’s orders, not wanting to be in the angry father’s presence any longer than he had to be.

Mikoda stormed off, his blood boiling and teeth clenching. Just before he turned the corner of the hallway, he took out what remained of his rage upon a vending machine, starting by beating the flexiglass until it completely broke. He continued pummeling the rest of it, leaving large dents in it metal body before he finally grabbed it and pushed it down onto the ground. After satisfying his rage for the moment, he regained his composure and continued on. “Luna’s not going to be happy about this.”

Loki hugged Luna tightly in fear. The news that his would be killer was at large had the boy in a state of constant panic. Every shadow made him nervous, and he was scared to be alone. “Mommy I don’t want to go to school. I’m scared that pony will get me.”

Luna gently rested her hand on Loki’s shoulder as she met his gaze. “Alright Loki, you stay home today.” Her tone was soothing and calm. “But just for today only. You need to go back eventually.”

“But what if that pony gets me?!” Loki asked in fear. “Daddy’s best men couldn’t stop him! C1-X1 couldn’t stop him! If I go to school, he’ll get me!”

Luna sighed despairingly as she removed her hand from Loki. Her wits were at the end of their rope. She nervously paced around for a while, desperately trying to come up with some possible solution to alleviate her son’s worry. Twenty-four hour guard protection? No, that won’t work. They’d have to follow him everywhere and they’d have to do security checks in everyplace and on everypony that even casually waves to him. Sometimes I think they’re trained a bit too well. Before she even faintly wore a track into the floor, she turned to catch eye of her sister in the same hall. 

“Perhaps I can offer a suggestion, Luna?” Celestia asked as she sipped a calming cup of tea. “Why not have him stay with the Varangar for a while?”

“You mean...send my little starchild away?” Luna replied, her voice squeaking with a hint of sadness as she turned her gaze back to Loki.

“None are more skilled in the ways of war than the Varangar,” Celestia pointed out. “Loki will be safe among them.”

“But I don’t wanna go!” Loki objected, clinging to Luna’s leg. “I’ve never been far from mommy before!”

Luna could only stand silent, the weight of this decision practically crushing her heart. On the one hand, he would be kept safe and nothing mattered to her more than his well being. But the thought of being away from him, even if it meant his protection, brought a solitary tear to her eye. She took in a breath, calming her mind before she fixed her gaze on Loki once more, kneeling to meet him eye to eye. “Loki, I know this will be hard for both of us to accept...but this is the only way you can stay safe.”

“But mommy…” Loki weakly protested, tears coming to his eyes. “I wanna stay with you.”

“I promise it’s only temporary.” Luna calmly, if somewhat sadly replied as she lifted his chin up, wiping away his tears. “And I’ll come visit whenever I can, ok sweetie?”

“Will you write to me too?” Loki asked as he looked into Luna’s eyes.

“Everyday.” Luna assured, her voice once more cracking from sadness.

Loki hugged Luna tightly. “I love you, mommy.”

Luna reciprocated his hug, a slight smile formed on her lips. “I love you too, my star child.”