The solitary figure stood alone on the rooftops, watching the city below. Despite the pony's pure white attire, the darkness hid him well. Away from the eyes of those below. Blazing Fire searched for his target, just as his mentor taught him two years ago. To be alert was one trait of an assassin. To hide in the darkness and wait for the prey to come out.
Then he spotted his target, an earth pony. He was a corrupted official, one that needs his punishment. The official had been into illegal activities within the city, stealing money from the treasury and leaving goons to run free in Manehatten. Many things had changed in the last two years ever since Ezio left, leaving his apprentice to take the mantle of Master Assassin. Blazing Fire had also shared what was taught to him. Octavia was a quick learner, now she joined her mentor in missions issued to them by contacts.
Blazing Fire leaped off of the rooftop, he landed within an alley, and went into the depths of the crowd. Blending in with the crowd was important, so it would not alert the target that he/she was being followed. The assassin followed the plump official, keeping a safe distance until the time to strike was near. More crowds merged, making the killing easier.
Blazing Fire reached his target, and tapped the official's shoulder. The pony turned, only to see a sleek blade plunge into his chest, leaving him to die slowly. The crowds parted, screaming in fear at the sight of blood. The killer was nowhere to be found.
Above them, Blazing Fire smiled. Another successful kill...
Octavia sat alone in the hideout, waiting for Blazing Fire. Like him, she had been taught the ways of the assassin. Working in the shadows to serve the light. Her life as a musician was long gone, she had decided it was a dull life, and she had wanted to become part of something worthwhile. Helping the innocent was an idea, so she joined Blazing Fire. Life as an assassin was difficult, everyday, she had to train and improve her skills.
Her deep thinking was interrupted by the door opening. Her mentor, Blazing Fire entered, he had just returned after a mission to assassinate a corrupted official.
“How did it go?” Octavia asked. Blazing Fire just grinned, giving her the answer she needed. After she had joined him in his quest as an assassin two years ago, she had enjoyed the adventure. Loving the thrill of jumping from rooftop to rooftop. She had also made many kills, proving her skill to Blazing Fire, impressing him.
The next day, the two assassins were sent a letter from Princess Celestia herself, telling them that she needed to see them as soon as possible. The two were surprised to receive as letter from her after so long. They went mobile right away. They packed up all of their belongings and left the hideout. The next train out of Manehatten was due to leave in 20 minutes.
The rooftops provided a good shortcut.
The two assassins sat on the train. They had taken off their assassin robes, making them look like a normal couple leaving the city for some reason others knew nothing about. Blazing Fire looked out the window, taking in the scenery of the beautiful land of Equestria as the train went along, running towards Canterlot. He wondered why the princess would summon them. There was a reason behind everything, some bring good, while others, hide an ugly truth. He hoped is was nothing bad. But then again, being an assassin always brings bad things to them.
Blazing Fire saw the imposing skyline of Canterlot on the horizon. Much had changed, new towering buildings had been built. Their spires seemingly touched the sky. But above them all, standing proud in its grandeur was Canterlot Castle. Home of Princesses Celestia and Luna. The two bearers of Day and Night. Rulers of Equestria.
Canterlot Castle stood proudly before them. The assassins approached the guard posted at the main gate.
“We are here under Princess Celestia's orders.” Blazing Fire said.
“Identify yourselves.” the guard replied in a monotone voice.
“I am Blazing Fire and this is Octavia.” Blazing Fire replied.
The guard let them in upon hearing the names. He had been informed that these two would arrive soon.
The assassins entered the castle. Upon entering, they were greeted by none other than Princess Celestia herself.
“Hello, Blazing Fire. It has been a long time.” the princess said. The two bowed, showing respect to the alicorn in front of them. The princess led them to the throne room, hoping to talk to them in private.
“I summoned you here to give you an offer,” Celestia said, “I see there are only two of you. Blazing Fire, why not expand this brotherhood of yours?” the princess said. The number of assassins had to grow. They needed allies. Two cannot simply match enemies with enormous influence.
“I know, it's been an obligation I seem to be always forgetting.” Blazing Fire replied. He knew Ezio was counting on him to extend the reaches of this Brotherhood, an important task given to him. More ponies had to join.
“There is one stallion who would join you,” Celestia continued, “though you must watch out, he is just as stealthy as you are.” the princess warned.
“How could that be?” Octavia asked, wondering what sort of pony this could be.
“Nopony knows, all they see is a dark figure flying in the sky.” the princess replied. It seemed that this mysterious pony was a pegasus. If he was going around killing the innocent, Blazing Fire would have to put a stop to that.
Everything else was given to them. Apparently, there seemed to be a group of ponies trying to hunt them down. They were led by an unknown figure who goes by the name: Hunter. Blazing Fire was not sure if this was the pony's real name or not, but he knew he had just made new enemies. Relentless ones who would kill just to get what they wanted.
They left Canterlot Castle, knowing what they needed to know. It was time to recruit new members.
“Octavia, we have to part ways for now. Look for those who will join us, I will look for this pegasus Celestia spoke of, and I will meet you in Ponyville.” Blazing Fire ordered. The gray mare nodded and went into the depths of Canterlot's busy crowds. Blazing Fire had work to do.
First, he went into a tavern, as there were plenty of rumors there. Some of those rumors might give him leads as to who this mysterious pegasus is. He sat down on the bar and talked to the barpony.
“Hey, I've heard rumors of a dark figure flying in the sky.” Blazing Fire said, hoping to get the information he needed.
“Ah. That one's been around for a year friend,” the barpony replied, “he's usually seen flying around the Everfree forest, they say he's tryin' to hide or somethin'” Blazing Fire nodded, he now had information that could lead to the discovery of this pegasus. After a few more minutes of searching for information, he finally left the bar. The sources said that this pegasus had suffered a freak accident, leaving him to be severely damaged. Others argued that he was an experiment gone wrong.
Blazing Fire knew that he had to go to one destination: Ponyville. There might be leads on how to find the pegasus there. Also, it was gonna make things a whole lot easier for the assassin. It was time to go hunting...
The darkness welcomed him. Blazing Fire stood before the great Everfree Forest. Even from here, he could hear the sounds of the creatures that lurked within. He took a deep breath, and entered the endless darkness of the Everfree.
Time passed and he still searched. The assassin was determined to find this strange pegasus. Then he noticed a dark silhouette watching him on top of a cliff. The moon shone behind it, giving it a strange metallic glint.
Blazing Fire started climbing up the trees, trying to approach the figure. Upon seeing the assassin move towards it, the figure slowly moved away. Blazing Fire quickened his movements, trying to reach the watcher as fast as he could.
He leaped from the branch and landed neatly at the edge of the cliff. He looked around and saw the figure meters away from him, silently watching. The assassin's hidden blade shot out. Blazing Fire prepared a ready stance, cautious of any danger that may present itself.
“Who are you?” he asked.
The figure silently watched him, waiting for something to happen. The two stared at each other, waiting for a move. Watching their surroundings and wary of the presence of the stranger in front of the other.
Then, the figure did something unexpected. It pointed at something behind Blazing Fire. The assassin turned around, only to be met by a creature he knew all too well. The manticore. The creature had been silently standing there, waiting. It roared and slashed at the assassin with its paw.
Blazing Fire dodged, the manticore's claws missing him by an inch.
The fight took only minutes. The manticore lay on the ground, unmoving. Blazing Fire looked around, sure enough, the figure was still there, watching him.
“You are quite the fighter.” it said. Then it moved forward, the moon illuminated it fully. Revealing the pony's true appearance.
“Stars above....” Blazing Fire said.
He had never seen anything like it.
The pegasus was not entirely flesh. Parts of him were of metal. Yet despite him being made almost entirely of metal, he moved silently. Like the ideal assassin. The pony had a black coat, his mane and tail were white with gray streaks on the side. The most noticeable part of his face was a scar that started from the top of his right eye to the top lip on the left side of his face. And his cutie mark was that of a gray silhouette.
“W-what are you?” Blazing Fire asked, baffled by what stood before him.
“Who I am, you mean. I am ShadowRunner.” the pegasus replied.
“I have heard many rumors of you assassins, but to truly see how one fights...” he continued, “I suspect you came here to enlist me in your group?” ShadowRunner asked.
“Yes. But I now have my doubts.” Blazing Fire said.
ShadowRunner nodded, understanding. Everypony would notice a half metallic, half flesh assassin. It would've been impossible to be stealthy in the day.
“This is why I'm here. To stay out of sight.” ShadowRunner said.
“But perhaps you could still be of help,” Blazing Fire said, “I need information about somepony called Hunter. I was told he was hunting us down.”
“Ah. So you need my help trying to find an enemy with great influence?” ShadowRunner said, “Fine, I will search and tell you what I know. But know this: I am not a part of your Brotherhood just yet.” and with that, he spread his wings, which gave off a blackish glow as they spread apart, and he flew off. Leaving the master assassin in the darkness. Blazing Fire turned, and headed back to the quiet town of Ponyville.
He had arrived just in time. Octavia was waiting for him near the edge of the forest.
“Anything?” she asked. Quickly, he told her of his encounter with the strange pegasus.
“Stars above...” she muttered.
“Exactly.” was the reply.
“Did you find any new members?” Blazing Fire asked, hopeful.
“No, but there is a certain pony they speak of. They say she can craft things of complexity similar to our hidden blades.” she replied.
“Any leads on where this mare is?”
“Yes. She is in Fillydelphia.” Octavia replied.
Blazing Fire flinched, hearing that name brought back painful memories. Fillydelphia was the city where a love of his had been murdered in cold-blood. The city where his life as an assassin had started.
“What's wrong?” Octavia asked, taking notice of his expression.
“Guess I'm gonna have a little trip back home...” he replied.
“But first, we must stay here. We need to rest before we continue our journey.” Octavia said. Blazing Fire nodded, smiling. One thing he admired about her was her intelligence.
They stayed in Ponyville for a day, and in doing so, they had met an old “friend” of Ezio's. Twilight Sparkle was kind enough to allow them into her library to rest.
“I had heard about what happened back in Canterlot two years ago.” she said.
“Yes. We had quite an adventure.” Blazing Fire had replied, a smile forming across his face.
The next day, the duo waited for their train out of Ponyville and into Fillydelphia. It would be a three day trip. And Twilight had generously given them supplies to last the trip.
“Of all the place, why there?” Blazing Fire muttered.
“Why? What's wrong with your hometown?” Octavia asked.
Blazing Fire told her of what had happened then.
“Oh. I'm sorry for your loss.” she said.
“It's alright.”
The train had just arrived. Once it had come to a complete halt, ponies started pouring out, and others started entering, eager to take a seat and enjoy the view from the windows.
The assassins were given a room to themselves and they took off their robes, taking the appearance of a normal couple once more. They stayed inside the room, resting. Blazing Fire was both excited and resentful of visiting his hometown again. But if they were to find out who this pony was, he would have to face it despite all of the painful memories it brought.
He had also wondered how ShadowRunner would find him. He just let the thought rest for a moment.
The next mission was about to start.
This time, the Brotherhood will grow.
Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait and the fact that this may seem short. But I tried all that I could to finish this chapter. Also, a thought crossed my mind, some of you may like it and some of you may not, but do you think it would be a good idea to have Blazing Fire and Octavia have some kind of relationship? Let me know what you think of the chapter and the question down in the comments section.
Peace off!
