Vendetta

by SonicRainboom1

Chapter Three: Someone I can Trust

The next morning I'm feeling a little bit better than I was the night before, so I swing my legs over the side of the bed and wobble to a standing position. I grab my stuff from the chair beside the bed and start walking to my normal bed to stash it.

The Sanctuary is abuzz with talk, although most of it is in harsh, tentative whispers. Something big must have happened while I was asleep. I was going to have to ask Bon Bon about it, as she would probably want to see me. It's then I remember the violet eyes that haunted my dreams last night.

Inhaling a quick gasp, I make to pick up my pace, but I'm stopped by a flash of lightning hot pain in my side. I had forgotten that I had been stabbed last night. So, however painfully slow I was, I stashed my gear in my chest and made my way over to Bon Bon's room. However, upon arriving, I was stopped by a distressed -looking Lyra, giving me some not-so-unexpected news.

"Dash... you don't want to go in there." Covering her face with her hoof, she muffled a choked sob. "Bon Bon is gone."

"Lyra... I'm so sorry." Putting my arm around her shoulder, I lead her over to a bench, where she gladly sat down in the peculiar way she always did. Bon Bon had frequently teased her about it.

Wiping her eyes, she looks up at me. "You know?"

"I know who the undercover assassin is, but I got put under before I could tell you. I don't know about Scratch though. I saw her right before I... slept last night, and upon waking I put two and two together and got here as fast as I could." I shrug. "I'm sorry," I say again.

"It's not your fault, Dash. And about Scratch, she was under a lot of emotional stress once she got here, so she went through an experience similar to yours. But... I'd like to know. Who was it?"

"Octavia. She was the one working with the assassin."

Lyra rose to a standing position. "I figured as much. She left early this morning, unannounced. She got out before we could lock down the Sanctuary, before... before anyone knew."

Standing up, I ask her, "Do you mind if I take a look inside?" She gives me a nod of consent, and I give her one last compassionate look and a nod. Walking through the threshold of the door, I see a few of our assassins in the process of preparing Bon Bon's body for moving. A knife is buried in her chest, and I notice a note pinned to it.

"Do you mind if I look at that note really quick?" I ask one of the ponies.

"Oh. Sure, I guess. I didn't see that before."

Walking over to the body, I slide the knife out, averting my eyes from the wound. Slipping the bloody but now dry note off of the knife, I bring it up to my eyes and start reading.

Expect me.

-Your living hell

I had a bad feeling about the next few weeks. Sighing, I give the knife to one of the ponies and put the note in my pocket. I had to talk to Vinyl.

***
I sit with Vinyl on the roof of the Sanctuary, looking over the blinking lights of Canterlot. The stars twinkle above us, casting a pale aura over the surrounding unlit streets. I can see the towering spires of the grand castle in the distance - sentinels, watching over the sleeping city.

After a couple quiet moments, Vinyl looks over at me. "What did you want to talk about, Dash?"

I look down slightly. "I just wanted to know... what was your life before the assassins like?"

Sighing, she leans back against a chimney. "Settle in. This is going to be a pretty long story." I shuffle over and take a seat beside her.

"When I was a filly, I took a passion to music. I tried all the instruments I could get my hands on, but there was nothing I was good at. My parents through all of this were very supportive of me, and worked with me to try and find that one instrument I was good at. But the years passed, and I came out of school. My parents couldn't keep me in the house any more due to lack of money, so I had to move out. I ended up in a single bedroom apartment on the edge of town.

"With no money of my own, I was already in debt from the apartment rent. In a fit of depression, I went to a club, planning on drowning my sorrows, if you know what I mean. Sitting at the bar, the thumping of the bass started to get to me. I started tapping my hooves, and ended up on the dance floor at some point. The night whisked past in a blur.

"In the morning, I awoke pleasantly surprised to find myself sober and not in bed with another pony. I thought for a while after that. Later in the day, I ran out and bought my first soundboard. I spent the next few days at home playing with the thing, and I loved it. I went back to the club and applied for a job, and I got accepted. Everything was going fantastically.

"After a few weeks, I caught up in my rent and was able to start buying some things of my own. One day, I took a trip to my parent's house to tell them about my success. I came through the door, only to find them dead on the floor.
"I fell in to depression for a few weeks after that. My music was mediocre. Ponies stopped coming back to the club. My boss considered firing me. Then one night, after I was done my set, I was taken in to an alleyway by some dark robed ponies. They explained to me that my parents had been killed by the same assassin that I think... killed yours.

"And the rest is simple. I got recruited in to assassins. I continued my job at the club, and I still work there. If you want, you can drop by sometime. It's a great way to let off steam."

I sat there, stunned. Her story was just as bad as mine. And she was still ready to better the lives of others, as I have never done. I shook my head in amazement.

Vinyl looked at me, confused. "No? Aw, that's a shame. It would have been really fun to-"

"I'll go. I'm just amazed at how kind you're being." I give her a hug. "Thank you."

She returns the hug, a smile on her face. "Anything I can do to help, Dash."

After a few moments, I lift my head up. "Hey Vinyl?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you... have a special somepony? Just so I'm not surprised by a lack of attention when we're at the club."

She laughed nervously. "Hehe... no. I don't see anything in relationships that will eventually just lead to depression. I want companionship. No drama, just somebody who... I don't know, 'gets' me. Is there beside me."

"I know what you mean. I feel the same way."

We both shared a few peaceful minutes of silence, staring at the stars.

***
Scratch and I went to the club frequently for the next few weeks, and once even tried to show me how to use the soundboard. We abandoned that idea after I almost set the thing on fire. On the first few nights, I felt pretty awkward, and just sat along the walls. As time passed though, Vinyl urged me on to the dance floor. Most nights after that, I was parading around the dance floor, doing my imitation of dancing. Tonight though, Vinyl let me up in the booth with her. I don't think I had ever had so much fun in my life.

"Ooh, play that one!" I point my hoof at one of the tracks in the pile of records on the booth.

"That's a tough one." Vinyl rubbed her hooves together and flipped the record on to the player. Giving it a spin, she started turning knobs and pressing unlabeled buttons, flicking switches and pressing even more buttons. My vision swayed. I transcended in to a trance like state, and I started bobbing to the music unconsciously. I shook myself.

"Wow. How do you do that?"

She looked up from the board, still working. "Do what? All this? I guess it just... comes to me."

The night passed by, and Vinyl's shift ended. We filed out with the drunk dancers, and raced down one of the roads to get away from them, laughing all the way. We started making our way back to the Sanctuary, talking about little things, bits of our old life.

A smoke bomb smashes down on the ground in front of me, cutting off my laugh and leaving me gasping for breath. I'm on the ground, getting what little air I can, when the smoke clears, leaving me alone on the sidewalk.

How could it have happened so fast! I smash my hoof on the ground, cracking a pavement stone, and I see a note. This can only be good...

Meet me in the warehouse tomorrow night, and we will negotiate her release.

-A friend

A friend. Hah. That was a laugh. Take the best pony that has ever come in to my life away from me. A friend. This is a new concept to me. Calming myself, I sprint towards the Sanctuary. I have to tell Lyra. I think. And then: Damn, assassins have a thing for notes.

Comments

[Baree]

Ok, so... this assassins guild "recruits" new members by killing their parents and then "adopting" them? Am I in the right ballpark here?

[SonicRainboom1]

It's written to make you think that another assassin killed them, one outside of the organized group. It mentions it more later if you're confused.

[DJ-Otakon]

I must say that I was quite surprised by this. At first I was leery about the story, but it is turning into something really good. I'm gonna track this. It looks good with only a couple of noticeable grammar errors. While its not the best I think this could go somewhere. The base of the plot is decent and is a nice change of pace. And your character choice is pretty awesome
Overall so far I give you a 4/5

-DJ-Otakon

[SonicRainboom1]

Thanks for the feedback. This is my first attempt ever at writing a story, so expect a few bumps from roughed out plot development. I've learned a lot while I wrote this, and will be releasing more stories after I'm done this one. :D

[SonicRainboom1]

Alright, I'm sorry.
My story has run in to many problem in planning, as I wrote out most of it as I went along so far. No excuse.
Tomorrow I shall be completely redoing chapters 1 and 2.
This is just to patch up any confusion that might be introduced when I introduce new elements in chapter four and onward.
Thanks for the support I have gotten so far. :D

[Bobby Jay]

good work, but there were some small errors, like in chapter 3 were you said "Raised her arm". If you need a pre-reader or editor I could do it for you.

[DJ-Otakon]

'Tis fine, after all this is your own story you can edit it to your liking.
It is only mostly small errors, but I must agree the story would probably benefit from some pre-planning.
You are doing a good job definitely for a first write. I'm still running into issues with my own project at the moment, but I'm sure that It'll eventually come along. Like I said in my previous comment, I'm tracking this 'cus I like where it is going. If you need a prereader or a proofreader shoot me a pm or an email. I'd be glad to help out.

-DJ-Otakon

[SonicRainboom1]

Not really. I'm just doing what I feel. I've pretty much abandoned this project until further notice, so don't expect any updates. XD

[Rainbow87dash]

And Twilight has a thing for books