//------------------------------// // 2-Living the Dream // Story: Deadly Love // by ShadowblazeCR //------------------------------// Today was going to be a long day. Okay, so technically it won’t be a longer day than the previous twenty four hour day, but it’ll definitely feel like it. It had only started about eight hours ago and I already had a feeling that it was going to be as long as a lecture from my mother on how I should try different job paths. No mom, I do not want to be a coconut farmer, keeping up the family business is not on the top of my list of priorities. My actual list of priorities were infinitely more important, which were not actually typed or anything fancy (they sat on a table napkin I’d grabbed from the coffee shop I got my morning coffee from after a healthy breakfast). I still sat in the said coffee shop, contemplating what I should do and in which order. But hey, at least I had coffee. With Octavia still recovering in the medical wing of the Academy I had a few days till she was going to be handed over to me. I was fine with that, ‘cause it gave me plenty of time to get everything set up for when she came to train. On the long list of things to get done today, getting the paperwork done for that in Dashie’s office was one of them. But it would be nice to catch up with her nonetheless, plus it would give me an opportunity to get in with one of the more important assassins of the Academy, something that I assumed would be useful for later. I was pretty sure that she liked me already, but it never hurt to cozy up to your boss (now that I think of it, who is my boss in this situation? Twilight? Dash?), though I would rather be cozying up with someone else. Next I would have to reserve (or really just grab one) myself a room in the dorms. Which would probably just be covered by Rainbow Dash when I talked to her, but I still needed one. It wasn’t that I needed one for actually sleeping, though that would come in handy for said sleeping, I needed it for moving my set up of weapons and the like. If Octavia was going to be moving in with me, I probably should be moving the sharp and questionable objects (and my porn stache most importantly) to another location, plus having it close to the academy would allow for easy access to weapons that they didn’t have and the like. Then I would have to report in to Princess Twilight. I never really understood why they were called that. I guess it was just a title to impose awe and all that, but it just struck me as pretentious. Sure, you’re the leader, you get to decide what is what, but still. Same with all the princesses, even King Sombra. I figured “Great and Powerful” was taken and that’s why they stuck with Princess/King. Lastly (hopefully), I would just have to grab a few favors and find a few people in the time remaining to help train Octavia in some specifics that I thought she would need. Though I could probably put that on the agenda for tomorrow or just gradually, Octavia wasn’t getting better overnight, I still easily had another week or so before she would be ready to train. Actually, the last thing on my agenda was sleeping, preferably next to a certain someone, but I could suffice with just visiting the important factor in my newfound energy. I checked my watch (sure there’s phones nowadays, but you can always rely on a watch, and duct tape, you can always count on duct tape), when I saw that it was fifteen after eight I sighed. My day would be starting soon, but not too soon, I had to finish my coffee. Once I finished up the coffee I made my way out of the shop, mindlessly taking turns here and there while I thought about the new life I had been thrown into. I definitely was liking it so far, honestly I had been itching to get back into my action-packed life I’d been living before and so far it was shaping up to be quite the life. Eventually I arrived at the gates to Wonderbolts Academy, the grand buildings in front of me stood strong with architecture that seemed to have aged quite well over the years. To my left a pathway to the dorms meandered throughout the grassy area in front of the gate and fence that accompanied it. The pathway ran along the fence to the left, while a building to the right had a sign out in the front of it labeled Training Wing. Two more buildings followed to the right of the previous one, labeled Main and Dorms respectively. There seemed to be more buildings to the campus in the background, even more buildings too, but I was focused on the Main Building. I had to admire the flowing grass that surrounded the premise, along with the trees that dotted various places among the buildings and pathways. What was the most impressive feature of it was the humongous tree in the middle of the three buildings. It was easily as tall as the buildings, picnic tables surrounded the grassy area around it and a few people were sitting under the tree and hanging out around the tables. Unsurprisingly I spotted a couple in the tree, one of them was against the trunk while the other slept in between their arms on top of a random branch. I shook my head at that, having students climb trees and not even bat an eye was just another thing in an academy for assassins. As I passed the tree I noticed a few of the passerby looking at me, not really with suspicion, just curiosity or something of the sort. I mean, I know I look good (my V-neck probably helped, and you can make almost anyone look better in cargo pants), but still, no need to stare. I caught one girl that looked like they had just come out of high school staring me in the eyes, probably wondering how someone could get the magenta-colored ones I had. “Hey! My boobs are down here!” I pointed to my chest, causing the girl to blush and look away in embarrassment. I meandered up the stretch of stairs leading up to the main building, stopping to glance at the list of Shadowbolts on the wall behind the front desk. They had replaced my picture with Gilda, obviously moving fast in that department. I figured that the bigwigs hadn’t wanted the deal with Gilda to gain any roomers, same with having a ex-assassin in their ranks. It was probably best to get any confusion out of the way before it got messy, especially with me. The front desk lady (who had some nice...uh, nice smooth suit-like clothing, yeah, that’s what I was looking at) was still looking a bit nervous, but I was fine with it, I liked the attention. “Hey, I’m here to go talk to Dashie.” I said, leaning my arm on the front desk thing. Honestly I’ve never figured out what they were actually called, the ‘front desk’ is too big to be a desk, so why call it one? Why not ‘reporting station of the bored and lost’? Way more catchy. “D-Dashie?” The lady stuttered. “Rainbowcrash? The Dash and the Furious? Rain and Dine?” I said, listing off the nicknames I’d heard over the years. Then I noticed the look the lady was giving me. “What?” “You mean Commander Dash?” “Yeah, that’s what I said.” “S-Sure,” The nametag on her breast flashed a glare at me, drawing attention to the name on it; Lily Light. Hm, not a bad name. Her pink hair stood out too, tied in a short, neat pony tail. While she called up Dash and did whatever front desk people do I looked around, my eyes resting yet again on the list. I knew why I'd been number six, at least now that I had thought about it. I assumed that I was there based off laziness and not the crazy intent to kill, that's what the top three were for. I wasn't surprised at all with whom they were, the best of the best (obviously). Third was Starlight, someone who I figured would be there, most people think that the brawn is more dangerous than the brain, but I beg to differ. Starlight had destroyed and taken over plenty of territory and no one had even known it was her until much, much later. Since she was one of the few Shadowbolts that actually planned and had a destruction sweet tooth, along with being the left hand woman of Princess Luna, Starlight was placed at the third most dangerous Shadowbolt. Starlight as the real star of the show. I chuckled at my own joke, waving off Lily when she gave me a curious look. Second on the wall was Lighting Dust, who (in terms of raw strength and brawn) left almost everyone in the dust, pun intended. She was someone that the recruits were told horror stories of, in both the Shadowbolts and Wonderbolts. Lightning was also the right hand women of Princess Luna, anything she asked Lightning did, no matter what. I personally never liked how that creepy woman acted, she gave me the hibbie jibbies. Lightning on the other hand was almost a carbon copy of Rainbow Dash. There was a few differences here and there, but the largest difference between the two was Lighting’s sense of moral, or lack thereof. The first picture (and one of the most dangerous assassins in all of Equus) was Princess Luna. Sadly, it was only a portrait and I wasn’t able to take a peek at her glorious cleavage, I’d only seen her once or twice and boy did she pay attention in class. It was a blurry moment the first time I saw her (and her amazing bosoms), but when she walked by you couldn’t look her directly in the eyes, it just didn’t feel possible. I looked at the closest thing I could, but I knew that there was a reason she was the leader at that moment, there were no doubts after that. With just a look I thought she could kill me. Sure, it seems like a cliche one at that, but even so, I had a feeling there was a reason for her scanty attire, there always was, no matter who was wearing it. I doubted that she wore the clothing out on missions or in the open, but it didn’t matter, there was no one that would dare attack her, and only about four people could even have a chance at killing her. She operated everything with a glance, if she wanted you to do something, you’d do it, or you wouldn’t (because you’d be dead). It was probably just some silly rumors from my recruit days, but I wasn’t going to deny them until something and/or someone proved me wrong. I had a few ideas of how or what she did to get a reputation like that, for example one of them involved a jar of peanut butter, a cardboard cutout, and a lot of booze. It goes like this, first you start wi- “Commander Dash should be ready for you within the next ten or so minutes.” “Hmm?” Lily raised a questioning eyebrow in response, “Oh, yeah, yeah, sure. I’m not in a rush.” There was an awkward silence that I couldn’t take after, “So, how do you even get a job like this?” Lily stopped the typing she’d been occupied with, “Well, it’s just something you get when there’s no one else to do it. They needed a pretty face, not that I’m saying that I have one (there’s plenty of those around here), and I didn’t want to go out in the field. At least, not nearly as often as everyone else.” I nodded, “Really? There’s nothin’ you’ve gotta get through to get in here, at least the academy?” “What do you mean?” Lily Light questioned. “Okay,” I shifted my arm positioning, getting ready to lay down some juicy Shadowbolt knowledge. “Back in the Shadowbolts you had to go through some test; beat this guy, kill this leader, take this job. You didn’t get in there by applying, they applied to you. All the students there are sons and daughters of some of the most dangerous people on the planet, others got in there from the streets, finding jobs to do from mercenary buildings and the like. There’s plenty more to it, but you get the gist, yeah?” “Mhmm.” Lily had leant back in her chair, on a self-appointed break. “So, what I’m tryin’ to say, or really ask, is how did you get in here if you don’t have to conquer town or two?” Lily chuckled, “Y-You’re not serious right? I don’t se-” She saw my face, “You are serious. Hold on, you conquered a town?” “Yeah, Vinylville is doing great right now, I heard they just opened up a cake shop recently.” I grinned. “Okay, well, that might’ve been a bit stretched. I had to grab a mission where some mayor was being a little too rambunctious in our territory, Command wanted him gone for me to get in, and next week ‘poof’, he was gone...and the cake shop too, unfortunately.” Lily Light sighed, “Yeah, I’d say the reason you don’t see as many people like me around is that too many people are turned off by the idea of mercenaries, guns for hire, and assassins walking around you and for some civies it’s not a promising job opportunity. Sure, that’s what’s up for grabs here and what someone trains for, but it’s not the point of the Academy. At least I hope.” I pushed her on, “And the point of this place is…” Lily tapped her chin, contemplating, “I’d have to say that the point of the Wonderbolts Academy is to act as security and protect, or something of the sort I guess.” Her fingernails clicked against the table (she had leant forward while she talked), “Like, they don’t just take any job they feel like, or rather, the one that pays the most. The Wonderbolts are there for the ones that need it, for the people that we think are the ‘good guys’ per say.” I nodded, “The opposite of the Shadowbolts Academy, really.” “Yeah,” Lily chuckled, “exactly, I’d say the Shadowbolts have us beat in the ‘bang for your buck’ aspect of this stuff.” “So, have you gone on any missions? I figure they want you to have at least a bit of field experience just in case.” I asked, still curious about the ways of the Wonderbolts (and I just wanted to know a bit more about Lily, but she didn’t need to know that, shh). Lily smiled, “Just a few, the minimal amount required really. I don’t know about the Shadowbolts, but when someone picks a mission, it’s mostly off the board out in the common area, off a list online, or assigned.” “That’s about the same over there, but probably more fights over who gets what. Survival of the fittest and all that.” “I chose some of the easy ones, or at least the ones that I liked.” Lily shifted back again in her chair, getting to a more comfortable position. “I took a mission to go save some scripts, something I had dreamt of doing when I was little. I fought a few people here and there, then grabbed the stuff from the temple and made my way back here, delivering them straight to Princess Twilight.” This was actually kinda interesting, “Really? Why not just keep doing that? If you enjoy all that all that adventure and book stuff, why don’t you just keep doing it? I mean, the book stuff it pretty questionable, I wouldn’t want to be labeled an egghead personally.” Lily smiled, a bit of sadness seemed to creep in, “I think I would love to. But I doubt that I would be the most qualified for the job. I don’t even have a partner, and I’ve only done a few of those kind of missions.” I scoffed, “What, you don’t think you can do a few more missions and get on the Princess’ good side? Just take a few ones that seem like they’re interesting, get some extra books that the Princess may like, and you’re good. Simple...ish. I guess there would be a ton of near-death experiences, rabid tourists, and a few hiccups, but I’m sure you’d be fine.” I grinned in encouragement. Lily giggled, “I’ll be sure to consider it. Is that all?” I tapped my chin, “Oh yeah, I’ve got something. What’s this thing about partners?” “You didn’t have partners, over in the Shadowbolts?” Lily asked, obviously curious. I shrugged, “It was really just whoever you could trust to at least tell you before they stab you in the back. Sure, you would occasionally get a group of people who would actually work together, and it worked really well. There was just one problem,” I tapped the desk with my index finger for emphasis, “no one really trusted each other. So, you have a possibility of getting things done multiple times faster, having way more loot, and becoming well known, but that problem would arise in everyone’s mind. ‘Who can I trust?’” “Oh...well, it’s not like that here.” I laughed, “I can see that.” Lily waved away my comment, “Anyway, you’re pretty much required to have a partner on higher level missions and for the other, lower ranked ones, it’s optional. The duos are usually an Instructor and Student, a couple, best friends, and so on. By having someone to watch your back and vise versa it creates a bond that is hard to find and build out of the missions and this Academy.” “And you don’t have one?” Lily looked down, abashed, “No...no one ever wanted to. I was too much of an introvert to gain any friends, which really was one of the reasons I enjoy being here. I get to have short and sweet interactions, not having to worry about anything that I'd have to in a real friendship.” I smiled in encouragement, “I'm sure you'll be fine, you seem like you can grab one if you try hard enough.” “Yes, well, I guess I'll just have to see. I'll definitely take your advice to heart Miss Scratch.” I waved my arms around wildly, “Woah, woah, woah! Miss Scratch!? Please, I'm not nearly that old or stuck up like a aristocrat on a Thursday, jeez! Just call me Vinyl.” “A-Alright...Vinyl.” Lily glanced at her computer, “It looks like you're good to go. Head over to Commander Dash, her office should be-” I cut her off, “I'll be fine.” “Surely you'll need at least some guidance, right?” Lily Light replied. “Don't call me Shirley, and like I said, I'll be fine.” I began my way toward Dash’s office. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Yup, I made a mistake. Three hallways, two rights, and a stairwell later and I was lost. I would've asked someone, but no one wants to talk to me. It was like super scary assassin or just a creepy solicitor was walking around. It was probably that one janitor with the name tag ‘Larry’. I mean, who has a name like that? I continued my journey, content with living my last days in the maze of hallways and random breaks that lead to lounge areas and the like. I had to find a layout of the building, or at least someone that could direct me toward the office. But once the third lounge area popped up (I'm pretty sure it was the same one, I'd just passed it multiple times), I plopped down on one of the chairs, sighing as I propped my feet up. This wasn't good, I doubt I could even consider myself fashionably late anymore. I closed my eyes, accepting my fate… “Hey lady! Lady! Hellooo!” I kept my eyes closed, maybe the scratchy voice would go away. They sounded young, if I stayed still long enough, maybe they would get bored and leave. Whoever it was sounded like a mini-Dash. “Lady, are you dead?” I sighed, still keeping my eyes closed, “I don't know who you're talking about, but I'm sure that I'm not considered a lady. A girl, woman, all that, but definitely not a lady, I don't have enough class for that.” I felt a finger poke me in the side, they were still here, “Well, you should probably stop layin’ around. No one likes lazy people, at least that's what I heard. Commander Dash isn't lazy and she's awesome!” I laughed, “Now that's not something I thought I'd ever hear about Dashie!” I chuckled a bit more, “She's even lazier than me, there's no way she actually got past that.” “Ow!” They slugged me in the arm, that brat! I reached out and grabbed the arm, pulling them to the side of the chair. I opened my eyes to give them the stair down, and I was greeted to a young girl with short and unruly purple hair, a jacket and some cargo shorts were her clothing of choice, along with some normal sneakers. I wasn’t too surprised at her age, I just would never had expected the Wonderbolts to take them that young. But hey, I was being trained around her age (most likely even younger), so I can’t say anything. I let go of her arm, “No punching, I’m trying to live out my last days in peace.” The girl gasped, “You’re dying?” “Figuratively, I’m dyin’ to meet Dash.” I laughed at my pun. The girl was not amused, “You got lost?” “Yupper.” “On the way to Commander Dash’s office?” “I also lost my dignity and broke my motivation, but yeah.” The girl’s face brightened, “So, if I show you to her office, maybe she’ll let me train with her! I’ll get so much credit!” She began to pull on my arm, “Let’s go lady!” I sighed and pushed myself up from the chair with a grunt, “Sure, kid.” The girl led the way, her hand grasping mine and pulling me in whatever direction she saw fit. I looked around, glancing at the passing pictures in the hallways. Some were black and white, some recent, but all shared a similar theme; a picture of the assassins themselves, whether it was a group picture, duo, or just them by some impressive vehicle, weapon, or the like. Yet again, it was a reminder of just how different the Wonderbolts were to the Shadowbolts. The walls over there were filled with profile shots of all the previous commanders, higher ups, and the like, along with a few serious explosion ones or something like that. Transitioning from there to a place like this was going to be interesting. I turned my attention back toward the girl, giving it to her straight. “So, who are you?” The girl held her head high, “I’m Scootaloo, up and coming awesome assassin, number one fan of Commander Dash, and daughter of one of the best assassins ever!” I laughed, “You’re not biased or anything huh?” Scootaloo’s face scrunched up in confusion, “Biased? What’s that mean?” “Your opinion is, like, influenced by your like for your parent.” Scootaloo huffed, “But mom is awesome!” She kept her head held high, mumbling a bit, “Even after Dad died, she didn’t give up.” “Mmm, I’m sorry, he seemed to have raised quite the kid, though.” I patted Scootaloo on the back, “You’ll have to let me meet your mom sometime, yeah?” Scootaloo skipped along, “Oh that’d be so cool! I’ll tell her once she gets back from her mission!” “What’s she doing?” “I don’t know, Commander Dash said I wasn’t allowed to know.” She replied, hanging her head. “Ah, well, I’ll be sure to see if I can get some inside info.” Scootaloo’s eyes lit up, “You will?” “Sure, and in payment you’ve gotta introduce your mom to me.” I though a bit, “Oh, and get me to Rainbow Dash.” I received possibly the most adorable salute, though I couldn’t tell her that, “Yes, ma’am!” We fell silent for the rest of the way, letting me think just a bit more about what to do. It was probably going time for more food after I talked with Dash, or maybe I could convince her to grab food with me and talk. Yup, new plan! “Here you go…yeah, I don’t know your name, lady. But here we are.” We stood outside the door to Dash’s office, “It’s Vinyl Scratch, Vinyl works fine, makes it a bit easier to say.” Scootaloo gasped, “You’re the one that took out Gilda, right?” “That would be me, yeah. Problem?” A few seconds passed, I really didn’t want there to be, “Problem? Why would there be a problem? That was awesome! Not as awesome as Rainbow Dash, but still pretty awesome!” I knocked on the door, “Sweet, well, it was great meeting you Scootaloo. Don’t forget about our deal, ‘aight?” “Sur-” The door opened to reveal Rainbow Dash, who’s face fell when she saw Scootaloo, but she quickly changed it to a happy one. “Hey Scoots, what’re you doing here?” And there go my eyes. Wow, Scootaloo is just shinning like nothing else, I can’t see. I think every time she blinks the hallway goes back to normal lighting. Yup, those eyeballs are like spotlights right now. Scootaloo squeed, “H-Hi Commander Dash, I was, uh, showing, um…” “Instructor Scratch.” I whispered. “Instructor Scratch, yeah.” Scootaloo nodded in affirmation, more to herself than anyone. Dash ruffled Scootaloo’s hair, “Well thanks a bunch Scoots, I’m sure Vinyl would’ve been very sad if she hadn’t been in your care. Now, go back to Miss Cherilee and tell her what you did, yeah?” Scootaloo nodded, “I’m sure she’ll be very proud. I’ve gotta deal with this stranger that’s been wondering around, I’ll see you later Scootaloo, alright?” We made our way inside, Scootaloo skipping of shortly after in excitement. The room had a desk in the middle of it, a window right behind showcasing the pond behind it and the pathways that hugged it. The pathways lead to more buildings, something that I mentally noted to explore. The surrounding walls held bookcases, most of the space on said shelves were filled with different trinkets and souvenirs from around the world, but a shelf here and there was filled with Daring Do books. Daring Do was a great fiction book for all assassins really. A story about an adventuring Master Assassin, fighting villains like Dr. Caballeron and Ahuizotl, something that a lot of assassins dreamt of doing when they first started. The thing was that only a select few knew that she was an actual Master Assassin, one of the few solo ones, the title was really just a polite thing as she wasn’t affiliated with any specific Academy or the like. Though in a few a certain rainbow haired side character was featured, leading to some assuming that Rainbow Dash was in some way partnered or knew the author J.K. Yearling, which was true, in a way. Dash had actually been on a few adventures, obviously, each time calling me up to give the exaggerated tale of the books that would come out in the proceeding months. Rainbow Dash gestured to the seat in front of the desk while she got into her own chair (one that sadly was more swively than mine). “Go ahead and grab a seat Scratch.” I watched as she put a folder back into a drawer in the desk, somberly at that, “You good Dash? You're looking a little down, and I doubt that's because you don't get to nap as much nowadays.” The Commander of the Wonderbolts sighed, “Well, Scootaloo over there has a mother working for me. Everybody works for me in some way, but she works for me, she does a few special missions here and there, you get the gist.” “Yeah.” “Anyway, I sent her on an undercover mission, to check out the Mafia over in Canterlot, few days later, today actually, I find out that she's MIA.” Dash rubbed her head, “I don't know what to do Vinyl.” “You sure you should be giving that info away to an ex-Shadowbolt?” Rainbow Dash smiled for the first time I'd seen her that day, which admittedly wasn't that much of an achievement, but I had a feeling it had been the first time today, “Emphasis on the ‘ex’ part. You're going to be an Instructor for a very promising student here, along with your upcoming job with Twi, plus you're one of my best friends. I laughed, “Good to know.” Dash continued, “I'll have to notify who's in on this mission, you would've found out eventually, so it's good that everything happened like it did. Just don't tell Octavia okay? I don't want this getting out.” I gave a loud sigh, “I guess so…” “Anyway, you're here for all the technical stuff, right?” I nodded, “Yeah, I need that room too. I’m thinking of grabbing Octavia to train her over at my place, so I need someplace to store some weapons and the like, and to crash when I can’t go back, for when she’s over here. Figured I wouldn't want Twilight yelling at me for loitering around the property or somethin’.” Rainbow Dash chuckled, “I wouldn't be surprise if that happened.” She paused as she thought about what I had said, “Did you already seduce one of our students?” I smiled nervously, “Yes? Is that against the rules? Please don’t tell me it’s against the rules, leaving that amazing person alone would be a crime unto itself.” Dash shrugged, “Nah, you’re good. One of the benefits of us being a private academy of sorts is that we make our own rules, and honestly I think it’s just because too many people here get too close from partnering up for missions. Especially Instructors and Students, just don’t let it get in the way of everything, alright?” I nodded as Rainbow Dash handed me the paperwork for becoming an Instructor, getting a room, and probably a ton of other things that would help me out, “Yeah.” The flippity sound of ruffling papers signified the beginning of a lot of wrist work, nothing I couldn’t handle. Obvious questions ensued. Do you mind violent actions toward other people? No, unless they’re hot or give me a reason not to, hot being one of those reasons. If you had to choose between a million dollars and giving away secrets of the Wonderbolts, what would you choose? Both, a million dollars for not giving away secrets. Dogs or Cats? Dogs. As I signed and went through all the papers, legal junk, trash, and recycling, I talked more with Rainbow Dash. “So, how you been Dashie?” I asked, checking off another box. Dash tsked, “Ugh, I’ll never outlive that nickname, will I?” “I’m sure you’ll have have it for five-ever, that’s longer than for-” “You’ve hung out with Pinkie too much.” Dash sighed, “Or she rubs off on everyone else, literally everyone else. I don’t know who isn’t affected by her antics.” Pinkie Pie was one of the few solo assassins in the world (those few included the aforementioned Daring Do, Zecora, Fox Heart, and a few others). It wasn’t surprising to close friends of her, but when you’re sitting alone at home and all the sudden a sword is sticking out in your throat, your pie is gone, and a sticky note with the message: “Sorry!” written on it, word tends to lean toward the unimaginable abilities of solo assassins. I laughed, “True, she still holding the record for no failed missions?” “And the largest amount of missions ever done by anyone. Ever.” Rainbow Dash added dryly. “You would’ve held that title of least amount of missions failed if it wasn’t for the Christmas Incident.” I glared at Dash, “Oh fight me, I thought we agreed to never talk about that.” Rainbow Dash grinned, “Officially? Yes. Unofficially, and as friends? Nope.” She leaned back in her chair and propped her feet on the desk, shifting papers and various other thing out of the way, “Anyway, last I heard about Pinkie was that she was somewhere in the East.” “Around Griffonstone?” Dash flicked her pointer finger in the air, “The one and only. Said she was going to go have some tea with some god thing, something about s'mores too. And this is right after she single handedly made a revolution stop by, get this,” Rainbow paused for effect, “throwing a party. Sure, the balloons let out toxic gas, but still.” “Glad she’s not a fan of the Shadowbolts.” I remarked. “I wouldn’t say that exactly.” I raised an eyebrow, stopping my already mentally taxing job (way too much work for the morning) of filling out a way too erratic and detailed packet, “Really? Pinkie Pie can’t stand their ideology or whatever.” “She doesn’t mind Princess Luna, it seems.” “No way!” I said, a little surprised I’d never heard of this. “Oh yeah, she has tea with Princess Luna every Saturday, no matter what.” Dash shook her head, obviously not believing it herself. “She's got dedication, I'll give her that.” Rainbow Dash chuckled, “I'd say, she should be back soon, are you up for hanging out with me and the girls whenever we do actually do something?” There's half of the plan over with, “Sure! That'd be fun.” I had a good amount of the packet done, “How's the desk job going?” “It's about as boring as waiting in a DMV, moves as slow as a granny on a treadmill, and is equal to the amount of fun you'd have watching a plastic cup decompose.” That got a laugh out of me, “Not able to grab a mission or two every once in awhile?” Dash waved around a dismissive hand, “A few here and there, not nearly as many as I'd like.” “Ever consider finding a partner to do it with? Or whatever you guys do here?” I asked, genuinely curious about it. “I have one actually. But he's off finding some ancient texts or whatever, and I have to deal with all this stuff that's been happening.” “He?” “He, him, man, that would be right.” Dash said, deadpan. “You like ‘em? What's his name? How long have you two been partners? Anyone made a move?” I pestered her with the questions, excited that my friend (someone who had stuck with the motto of ‘love is for squares!’) had a partner, and maybe something more. “I-I do think he is pretty cool, which is something someone has to be to be a proper candidate for me. His name is Quibble Pants, and we've been partners for about a year or so. No one’s made a move, but if I ever get the time,” Dash sighed in defeat, “I guess I would make one.” “So,” I held back a laugh, “You'll get in his pants?” Rainbow blushed, but still laughed, “You know it.” I was happy for her. Out of all the people that I'd met, Rainbow Dash was one of the assassins that deserved a happy life. I wouldn't suggest a content life, as she wouldn't be able to sit still, but I knew that with everything she had gone through to get in her position, she deserved the chance to have someone share a bit of the weight. Dash had spent a good amount of her time mission-wise in the Middle East, Saddle Arabia was a place that took up most of her time there. Though she hopped around the world for different missions, Saddle Arabia always brought her back. She held true to her old code name “Loyalty”, coming back to work with Twilight and the now disbanded Main Six. Though the rest of the Main Six were usually just doing their own thing unless they were super needed. The Main Six were possibly the most successful and terrifyingly efficient team of assassins ever assembled. After tensions rose and war broke out over in the Middle East, the Wonderbolts knew they had to do something, or rather Twilight knew they had to help. While Crystal and Canterlot Academy sat on the sidelines it was a battle of wits, brawn, and everything else over in Saddle Arabia and the surrounding places. While the Wonderbolts saw it as an opportunity to help out a country in need, not just a country actually, a whole region, the Shadowbolts saw profit. I had taken any missions that seemed like they'd help, take out a dictator here, eliminate an extremist group head there. All were things that I hoped would improve the situation, but not have the Shadowbolts find out I was indirectly helping the Wonderbolts. I had actually met the Main Six throughout the missions, and all of them held up to their code names, though I suppose at that time they weren't the Main Six yet. I'd met Princess Twilight “Magic” Sparkle in Damarescus, right at the start of the problems over there. She'd been scoping out the different countries that looked like they were going to cause some trouble, little rebel faction here, a few shifty officials there, the usual kind of thing that pops up every so often. At just seventeen years old she was the head of one the Wonderbolts Academy, already seeing how she could spread protection and friendship. I was there looking for some easy jobs, the Shadowbolts didn’t care too much if I came back with something that would benefit them. She’d asserted leadership that I only saw every once in awhile, she had a knack for it. Not only was she there for the Wonderbolts, she was there for herself. Twilight was there to assess the situation, not do so from a sheet of paper with statistics and words thrown together. She was going into a high-risk zone for people she didn’t know, to make their lives different, hopefully for the better. Though those two reasons were viable ones, she had another reason in mind; find five of the best assassins for the Main Six, the Elements, the Girls, and whatever other nickname they gathered over the years. A few months later I met Applejack in a old bar somewhere in the Saddle Arabian desert. She was there as a hardened mercenary, but humble. She did what she had to, but did what she thought was right, what was acceptable for her moral compass. “Honesty” as a codename fit her well, as when I sat down she immediately told me she wasn’t interested. I had laughed, then curious about the blond that looked like a tough cowgirl. She was there to earn some money for her family farm, by any means necessary. Twilight had picked her up after she had ambushed a convoy of slave traders, obviously illegal, and highly appreciated by the princess. A few days later she grabbed Applejack for her super secretive, though it wasn’t so secretive later, (side harem) squad. Applejack eventually became the weapons expert of them, quickly growing into one of the deadliest assassins of our generation, along with the next person I met. Someone who hadn’t seemed too particularly fit for the assassin life. Fluttershy, codename “Kindness”, treated me in a local hospital (well, it wasn’t too much of a local hospital, just something the locals set up for her, hence ‘local’). I’d been assisting some local rebels in Iraq, they’d give me some moola, I give them some help (though I probably would’ve done it anyway). Stray RPG, unlucky me, let’s just say I was blown away by how powerful one of those things were. Next thing I knew two ginormous breasts are in my field of vision, all the sudden I felt better. She had been holed up in the makeshift hospitable helping out any locals caught in the crossfire. After her peace convoy had been hit by the city military she had been left on her own, eventually getting picked up by Twilight. She then became their resident medic, though rumors surfaced later about her being the interrogator of the group, something that her skill with sharp objects backed up. I’d run into Rarity over in Yakistan, a sniper of a different caliber no doubt. She’d been over there to “rid the world of horrible fashion choices forced by horrible dictators”, which I wasn’t about to complain about. She took the fleshy, seductive look of a video game sniper, making me think that she was on of those secret agent ladies who seduced their target then sniped them while drinking some cocoa. Turned out I was spot on, she’s still doing the job she loves to this day. I think she likes the submissive part that the thrill of the kill gives her. Funny thing is that she actually got recruited by Twilight after she tried to kill her. A few days later, “Generosity” was working for the Wonderbolts, enjoying the time with her new cohorts. The Main Six became so much more deadly after she joined. The ability to hit an apple off someone’s head from a mile away tended to get around, though not enough for her targets to ever find out. After all, “it’s just a rumor”, but boy did they regret thinking so. Pinkie "Laughter" Pie had to have been the most dangerous of all of the Main Six. She was an army in her own right, able to complete the mission in some of the most unorthodox ways. You're gonna fire an RPG, plus you're her target? Well, now all the sudden your RPG is a casing filled with ice cream, napalm flavored, yum. She'd been wandering around Iran when I saw her, we talked over a cake and I have to say that I would definitely not want to get on her bad side. Twilight found her after she had showed up at one of the (at the time) Main Four’s top secret meetings. It didn't take too much convincing on Pinkie’s part to get them to let her join, which turned out to be the right decision. Later on she became their explosives expert, something I honestly wasn't too surprised about. I'd heard that she could make cupcakes into hand grenades, in a bakery, without any actual explosive material. I try not to think about the amount of scientific laws she breaks just by existing. The last “Element” of the Main Six I'd actually known since my childhood. Rainbow “Loyalty” Dash had been set on joining the Wonderbolts for as long as I'd known her, while I was training with the Headmaster of the Shadowbolts, Rainbow Dash was at the Academy. Over the years we parted ways, focused on our own taste at hand, but a beer (root beer before we were of age) here and there kept us in touch. Though it wasn't in touch enough that I knew a ton about what had been going on, sadly. My stomach grumbling interrupted my thoughts. Dash noticed, “Wanna go grab some lunch, figure it's my break.” She got up and made a passing comment, “Though I guess I make them, so it doesn't matter.” “What's the place we’re goin’?” I asked. Rainbow Dash shrugged, “Someplace with chicken.” :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Half an hour later we sat in a fast food joint a short walk away, sitting and eating chicken. Nothing much, and honestly it was quite funny. Two highly trained assassins sitting around eating some fast food, not something I would assume that most people would think we do. Probably think we’re ravaging villages, throwing pie at small children, or something. I sighed and leant back against my chair, “So Dashie, what have you been up to these past few years?” Dash did the same, “Years, huh? It’s been that long?” I nodded in confirmation, “Sure has.” Rainbow Dash sighed, “Anyway, stuff you’ve missed over the years, let’s see...After we stopped talking, when was that? When we were sixteen?” I thought a bit, “I’d say that’s about right. ‘Round when that quarter-life crisis kicked in.” Dash laughed, “Oh yes, you’ve gotta tell me about that.” I waved my hand around in dismissal, “You first.” Rainbow gave an exaggerated sigh, “Fine. Well, after you so rudely stormed off after I confessed my undying love to you.” I threw a hand to my forehead, “‘Tis tragic, I know, but it had to be done.” We chuckled and Dash continued, “I kept working toward climbing the metaphorical ladder of the Wonderbolts. It was pretty enjoyable actually, the only problem is that I haven’t really gotten to go on a solid mission in five-ever...” I chuckled, remembering the reason for five-ever. “After I graduated from the Academy I made my way over to Saddle Arabia with Twilight, eventually we got together with the rest of the Main Six.” She sighed at the memory, but continued. “Went on our little convenient Saturday escapades up until we felt that we'd changed the land.” “Seems to have been a bit fruitless, hmm?” I commented. “Was it though?” Rainbow Dash said in rebuttal, “We took out the bad guys, helped out the civilians, and kept all the terrorism away from Equestria. It may not look like it now, especially with how the papers spin it these days, but we changed it.” I leant back into my chair, complacent with her reasoning. For me, I don't think enough was done. After the initial skirmishes and the like had died down, all the academies had left, the Main Six had disbanded last I heard, and all the bad stuff had slowly become worse again. Sure the impact done by all the academies was still there, just now it was back to being bad. Sounded like someplace needed some TLC again. “True, true.” I admitted. I thought of something to continue the conversation, “So, when did you meet this Quibble person?” Rainbow Dash blushed, seemingly a bit shy about talking about her (in my hopes and dreams and wishbone wishes) possible new boyfriend. “Well, I met him at a convention believe it or not.” I laughed, “You actually go to those things? I never expected you to do something like that, too cool for a congregation of nerds.” Dash had a warm smile, “And he definitely fit into that category, let me tell you. A.K. Yearling was there, and I had to grab an autograph.” I nodded, still following along, “The only author you really like, yeah?” Rainbow Dash looked around the restaurant, “Can I tell you a secret?” I shrugged, “Sure.” “A.K. Yearling is actually Daring Do.” I gave an exaggerated gasp, “No!” Rainbow nodded excitedly, probably happy about being able to share her (hopefully) well-kept secret, “Yeah, yeah, I was actually there to meet her as a friend, but Quibble and I had this big argument on the validity of the series she writes.” “That’s one heck of a big girl word.” I commented, chuckling slightly. Dash chuckled along with me, “Sure, sure. Anyway, stuff happened, we got kidnapped by some supposed ‘Master Assassin’,” She added air quotes to show her displeasure with the villain, apparently they didn’t meet their villain standards. If that was even a thing. “A few complications later and all three of us, myself and Quibble included were running from some monster thing and the villain guy. After that, I went to go hang out with Quibble some more.” “Oh? Did you show him your bunk beds?” I waggled my eyebrows. Dash laughed, her cheeks tinged red, “N-No!” She leaned in, whispering a bit, “Eventually, though.” I gave a hearty laugh, “You gotta make sure who likes top bunk, yeah?” Rainbow Dash gave an exaggerated wink. “‘Course.” Sighing, I finished up the rest of my scrumptious lunch, “Well, when are you planning to woo this stallion of a man? I’ve gotta meet him before you do though, gonna judge the pants right off this guy.” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, “Are you trying to help me or sate some fantasy?” I shrugged, “Hey, win, win, am I right?” I noticed her expression, “I’m messin’ with ya, Dashie. I just want the best for a friend, alright?” “Yeah, yeah.” Dash got up to throw her food away, I followed her to do the same, “You know, I bet you could grab him to teach Octavia a few things.” I cocked my head, “Oh? Like what?” Rainbow Dash turned to face me, “He’s a logistical genius. He’ll be able to teach Octavia what she needs to do in hairy situations, how to go about a mission, what to do in general, and every other mentality related thing she would need to learn. I may have only met him a bit ago, but I think I’m right on this one Vee.” I checked my phone for the time, “Alright, I’ll trust you Dashie, just set me up with him whenever you can. I’ve got a meeting with Twi, so I’ll see you later, yeah?” “Yeah, I’ll text you the time or somethin’. See you later, Scratch!” And with that I was on my way to the castle of Ponyville. I was hoping to get some spice in the day, since it had been mostly average and pretty boring for the most part. Boy, did I get what I wanted. I didn’t get some spice, I didn’t get a spice bottle, I got a mix of Isaiah Mustang’s sweat and a truckload of some third world country’s spice market. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: I had to note the full on sparkle of the castle. Sure, the amount of sheer glare and sparkle from this place was like a drunk unicorn threw up on it...and then that throw up threw up, but hey, I’m not here to judge. Though I won’t deny that I wasn’t in full agreement with the choice of flare for the castle. I swear it was made purely out of gemstones, or just bedazzled really well, it didn’t matter too much, I was just impressed with the thing as a whole. As I meandered through the first hallway, I peeked around. With the twenty foot high ceilings, perfect decor, and soft carpets (I felt them, eight out of ten) I could see why someone would want a castle. The first guards at the entrance had let me through without any problems, but I doubted that it would stay like that. Too many bad stories had probably been told as nightmare fuel or something of the sort to the cadets when they had been training, building a mountain of dislike toward me, now providing what would most likely be a slight annoyance to say the least. I was glad that it hadn’t been evident yet, though I wouldn’t put it past a guard to voice their distaste. The attendance desk came into view after I took a turn, a pink haired, blue streaked woman sat behind it. Their name tag gave their name; Clear Haven. I walked up to them, giving a small wave as they noticed me. “Yes?” I grinned, “Hey, I’m here to talk with Twi. Could you see if she’s good and not doing, certain, private things?” I watched as Clear Haven tried to hide a smile, “Of course, please give me a few seconds.” I nodded, watching as she called Twilight. A pair of guards passed by me, one of them definitely pushing that armour code. Not that I minded that it only covered the important parts (though not the actual important parts, like legs, belly, arms, most of their kahoots). The guard next to them (a man that had like a gazillion abs) had a bit more armour on, though it seemed to be of the same theme that the other guard had. Twilight definitely had some good taste, I’d have to ask her about what her standards were for guards. I was brought out of my admiration, yeah, admiration by Clear Haven, “Miss?” I turned to look at her, “Ah, yeah?” “Princess Twilight will now take you. She is open for an appointment.” She pointed to the hallway that was on my left, “Her room is down that way, you’ll know it when you see it.” I began my journey to Twilight’s room, waving goodbye to the Clear Haven, “Alright, thanks a bunch.” Eventually I made it to the room. The large, crystal doors guarded by two super buff, male guards was an easy tell. I went to open the door, but their spears crossed each other in front of me. Soon after I heard a cocking sound, almost like they had a gun too. “Halt,” Said the guard to my right. “State your business.” I looked at the tip of the spear (a barrel seemed to be poking out) and then he middle (which had a magazine sticking out), “Is that a spear gun!?” The guards didn’t move, “State your business.” I tore my gaze away from the sticks of awesomeness, “Oh right. Uh, hanging out with Twi? Getting mission information? Reporting in?” The guards glanced at each other, somehow communicating without actually talking, “Very well,” Said the guard that had been talking for the whole time, as they retracted the spear guns. “Sweet.” I said, walking toward the entrance. They opened the doors, letting me see a large room with some impressive styling. At the center of the room there was a circle with multiple seats surrounding it, a 3D holographic map took up the surface area of said table. An impressive chandelier hung from the ceiling, centered over the middle of the table. Twilight sat at one of the chairs, a purple star symbol was over her head, most likely paying homage to her old codename; “Magic”. I whistled, drawing the attention of Twilight and the guard next to her, “Nice setup you’ve got here.” The guard next to her drew his sword, advancing on me, “Princess! Get back, I’ll deal with this Shadowbolt.” I began to walk around the table, both him and I walking across from each other, “I’m flattered, at least someone recognizes I’m deadly!” Twilight had stayed in her chair, “I tried to put you at number five Scratch, but some people didn’t think you were scary enough. Too many times you’ve done good things, it just doesn’t work in tandem when you try to convince them so.” She paused, taking a moment to think while her guard inched menacingly toward me, “The Christmas Incident really didn’t help.” “That was one time!” I pointed at her, “Now, can you tell off this guy? I’d really not want to mess up his shiny armour.” Twilight sighed, “Flash? You can stop now, I’d rather not dirty the carpet with your blood. Red really isn’t my color.” “Princess, I can’t do that now, this is a highly dangerous assassin. There’s no way I can let you be in the presence of this low-life plebeian!” I stopped next to the chair with Dash’s symbol, “Well that’s just not nice.” With the speed that this Flash guy was coming at me, I only had a few seconds to take in my surroundings. There was a few things I could use to stun him, a vase here, a bottle there, but I needed a way to disarm him along with a sufficient weapon. Something like a leg from the nearby table that held the previously mentioned vase and bottle should work, as the sword should hopefully catch of it. Hopefully. The rug was also loose enough that I could pull it and have him disoriented. I also had something up my sleeve, or rather, my pocket. I took a glance at the guard himself. The armour was looking like it wasn’t going to be an asset to me in the fight, though it should be something to slow him down. As he got closer I noticed the latches on his armour, chinks really, all of them holding it together. My plan came together then and there, at least what I hoped was at least a base for one. I climbed on top of the chair, thankfully it was bolted to the ground and could withstand my weight. Then I jumped up hanging onto the chandelier, hanging onto the metal that held the probably super expensive, dense, but thin crystals. I snapped off a handful. I flipped off, landing on the holo-table. I noticed I was facing Twilight, who had an eyebrow cocked, obviously a bit curious about why I had vandalized her chandelier. I gave a bow. She gave a golf clap. And then I found myself on the floor. Well, Flash had tackled me. Looks like I’d have to get a little rough before I continued. His arms had wrapped around my waist, I still had my crystals and put them in my cargo pants’ pocket. I elbowed him in the head, which became a very bad choice, very fast. Helmets were there for a reason, and now my funny bone was crying. His hands retracted from around my waist, and I crawled out, rolling as his sword stuck into the ground next to me. I grabbed a crystal out of my pocket, waiting until he pulled the sword out to throw it into one of the chinks in the armor. Gold was glossed over in red as the crystal hit him, I received a grunt in return. He broke off part of the crystal, smart. If he’d just taken out it, the blood would’ve just kept flowing and he’d be dead before he could do any real damage. I readied myself for his attack, waiting until he swung to push myself back, letting the sword nick my nose to give him a bit of confidence. I needed to get the helmet off though, I think I had an idea on how to. With Flash off balance from the swing I swept my leg under him, grabbing the helmet as he fell onto the carpet. I ran over to the nearby table with the vase and bottle on it, grabbing both, but pouring out the contents first. Flash had gotten up by now, looking at his helmet in the distance, then me. I shook my head, but he scrambled for the protection, earning a bottle to the head and a slight concussion from the impact. A line of blood was dripping down his forehead as I rushed him, cocking back my arm to throw the vase. As I threw the vase, he caught it and threw it back, which did not do much good to my face. I was a bit disoriented, but not too much to not notice the sharp, pointy object coming toward me. I rolled back, but not before my arm was sliced. After a quick assessment, while I ran to snap the table leg off, I deduced that it wouldn’t limit motor skills, yet. The table leg was off and I readied myself for Flash’s next attack. A swipe to finish the job that he’d started, I dodged, slamming the leg into his side. Though that didn’t do really anything, armor and all that. Great. Now I had to keep trying to get the armor off. I continued the endeavor, dodging the sword and trying to hit him in the head. I gained a few cuts, but I was wearing him down, hopefully. A certain sword arc gave me the chance to do something I’d been hoping I would be able to do; have his sword catch on the table leg. I swung the leg toward the ground, taking the sword out of the grasp, then I threw it to the other side of the room. Now we were both unarmed. Ignoring the fact that we both had arms, he and I were down to hand to hand combat, sadly (for me) one of us had more protection. I glanced down, the rug was situated underneath both of us. Looking up back at Flash I grinned, but my smile soon disappeared as he charged at me. I panicked and dug into my pants, yelling: “Pocket sand!” The said pocket sand blinded him long enough for me to get off the rug and fling it out from under him. Concussion and Co: 2, Flash: 0. Flash got back up, wavering a bit before he got back into a fighting stance. I shrugged, if he wanted to keep going, fine by me, I still had some crystals with his name on it. His armor clanked to the ground as the other link was broken. Tough it was just his chest piece and he still had armored legs and braces for his arms, so I wasn’t totally in the clear. But now it was hand to hand, something I could work with. I clenched my fists and brought them up to my face, a cliche stance, but it worked. I moved closer to Flash, letting him have the first go. A right hook later my elbow was in his face, I kept from using my fists to punch, as I didn’t want to break them. I hadn’t had enough time to at least tape them up to keep the fingers aligned, therefore sturdy and able to withstand way more force than they would’ve been able to. Flash threw another punch, but this one was quite quick and hit my cheek. My vision was a bit blurry (he still had his armor around his arms and hands so every punch was twice as, if not more, hard) and I backed up, trying to regain my senses. I needed to end this fast, or I would be the one that was worn out and down for the count, no more playing around. I brought my fists up again, it was time to get a bit more reckless. I threw a right hook, hit. I threw a left hook, miss. I was close enough that I initiated the next part of my plan, I grabbed his head and brought it to my knee. Flash stumbled backwards and I delivered a dangerous, for him, roundhouse kick. He was now splayed out on the ground, I walked over to him as he got to his knees, almost bowing to me in a way. I drove my elbow down, striking his head and watched as he slumped to the ground. After I was sure that he was down (a quick kick to the side made sure of that) I made my way back to Twilight. I was welcomed back with clapping, “See, this is why I wanted you. No one believed you would be a good fit for the Wonderbolts because of your, lets say, unsavory background. Yet, here you are, almost unscathed compared to my useless Captain over there.” I chuckled and plopped down into the chair with Rainbow Dash’s symbol, she probably wouldn’t have minded. Unless she had been there, but that wasn’t the matter, “Yeah, it’s been awhile since I’ve had a good fight. So, he’s not too bad, just needs some spiffing up in the judgement department.” Twilight giggled at my comment, “Don’t worry Miss Scratch, I’ll give him a stern talking to after our talk.” “Just call me Vinyl, please.” “Certainly,” Twilight replied, “So, Vinyl, may I ask why you’re here?” “I figured I should report in and all that,” I sighed, “See if you had any missions of protection for you or somethin’.” Twilight laughed, “No, I don’t think I have anything immediate that needs attention, I’m quite the hermit to be honest. I knew that you would be a good addition to the Wonderbolts and grabbed you the first chance I had, so really, your mission currently would be to train the cute student of yours.” “Oh, alright. She’s still stuck in the medical wing over at the Academy, yeah?” I asked, just to make sure I was gonna go to the right place. Twilight nodded, “Last time I checked. I recommend waiting until she’s done recovering to do anything too straining with her, alright?” I grinned, blushing just a bit, “Will do.” “Good,” She tapped her chin in thought, “I do think I’ll have something for you soon, though.” “Oh?” “We had a member of the Wonderbolts go MIA today, I’m still looking into it, but you may have your first mission on your hands.” She took a moment before continuing, “If you train Octavia up to a good standard enough, I might even let it be you two’s first mission together.” “Sweet, anything else?” Twilight shook her head, “Nothing I can think of, I’ll call you if I have anything for you. Dismissed.” I gave a sloppy salute, “Yes ma’am!” :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Ten minutes later I was walking back on the campus, ready to meet the person I’d been looking forward to checking up on for the whole day. I had glanced at the medical wing on the way to the main building so I easily got there, but now I had to find Octavia. I had gotten a pretty good streak with the front desk people so far, so I stopped at the desk when I entered the wing. The lady at the desk looked up, her nametag “Blueheart” was positioned atop her peaks, I mean breasts. Why do nurses always have the biggest breasts? Maybe I should become one, I could finally move up a cup. I waved as I walked up to the desk, “Hey, could you direct me to where Octavia Philharmonica is?” Blueheart raised an eyebrow, “Only close family is able to visit right now, who would you be.” I sighed, “I’m her Instructor, can’t you just let me go over there?” Blueheart matched my sigh, “I’m sorry ma’am, if we let everyone in that would negate the rule, and that wouldn’t make the princess to happy would it?” I leant over the counter, “I’ll be back.” A minute later I stood outside, I sat on a bench outside, calling Twilight on my phone. A few seconds later I heard Twilight, “Hello? Vinyl?” “Hey, Twi, do you think you could tell this front desk lady to let me see Octavia?” “Nurse Blueheart?” I could hear her confusion over the phone. “Yeah.” “I-I guess, could you hand the phone over to her.” I grinned, “Yup” Blueheart looked up from her computer as I came back in the building, “Oh, it’s you again.” “Yeah, it’s me, and someone else too.” I handed the phone to her. “Here.” Her face showed great confusion, then realization as to who she was talking to, “H-Hello?” I heard a muffled response on the other side, then a lengthy continuation. A minute later, Blueheart handed the phone back to me. I smiled, knowing what was next, “So?” “She’s in room 102, take this pass.” I grabbed the said pass, “Thanks.” Soon after I was wondering the pristine halls of the medical wing, glancing at each glass window for each room as I passed it. For the most part, it looked like they were empty. I assumed that there wasn’t too many injuries, because, well, the Students, Instructors, and Members were just that well trained. I grimaced, which meant that a certain Student needed to be trained a bit better, as they were stuck in the medical wing because of lack of actual training. With how the whole set up for the assassination of myself had been, it was obvious that something had gone wrong with the rules and assessments to have Octavia cleared to go alone and try to assassinate me. The easiest explanation was that Gilda had just earned too much trust and influence in the Wonderbolts, letting her slack off on training Octavia and also get the mission approved. I wasn’t going to say it was too bad of a thing for the Wonderbolts, after all, the situation had let me meet Octavia. But it had also left Octavia in the (basically) hospital, which I definitely had to make up, or hopefully make out, heh. She still had a few days left in the wing, giving me ample time to grab a few people to buff out the kinks that she had training wise. While she was still recovering I would have to go around and contact Quibble Pants, call up Pinkie Pie to see if I could talk to her sister (a weapons and explosive expert) about teaching Octavia a few things, and lastly I would have to call up my old teacher to give her a lesson or two on the finer points in an assassin’s arsenal. I stopped at the door labeled 102; Octavia's room. Opening it silently I looked into the room, which was a typical medical set up. Medical that I had no clue about was set up around Octavia, bandages were wrapped tightly on her shoulders, probably stitched up a ton too. I grabbed a chair that was against one of the walls and sat to her right, looking at her peaceful face, and thin, very thin, gown that (though it was very tacky) accented her assets very nicely. Her black hair was splayed out across the pillow, somehow making her look a solid twenty percent more cute, while drool traveled down out of her mouth and onto the bed. I giggled and wiped the drool off with my sleeve, awaking Octavia in the process. She sat up and rubbed her eyes (grimacing just a bit, probably still sore from getting patched up), her messed up hair gave a great aesthetic to her bed head, ”Vinyl?” I grinned, just plain happy to see her awake, “Hey beautiful.” Octavia smiled, “Hey Scratch, what are you doing here? I thought only family was allowed.” I nodded, “Ah yeah, I pulled a string or two and got them to let me in here. Figured someone needed some company, and it was totally not me, nope.” “Sure, sure,” Octavia patted the space next to her, “Why don’t you tell me what you’ve been up to, love?” I grunted as I got up from the chair and hefted myself into the allotted space, “Scooch over a bit, I’m not that skinny ya know.” Octavia gave me some space, “So, mind telling me about these here cuts and why no one, especially you, have done nothing about them?” I shrugged, “A certain guard of a certain princess wasn’t too fond of me being in the vicinity of the princess, so I had to teach him a thing or two.” Octavia looked over the wounds, “Yes, well, who was this guard.” “Some guy named Flash.” “Flash Sentry?” “I guess, never heard the other part of his name.” “Ah, nobody likes him.” I shrugged again, “Well, enough about that, how have you been holding up?” “Good enough,” Octavia sighed, “My parents haven’t visited me, they’re quite ashamed of me to be honest. Though I am happy to admit that my brother is not, he was kind enough to stop by yesterday.” I smiled, wrapping my arm around her and yawning, “That’s great, you’ll have to let me meet this brother of yours.” Octavia nodded, “I’m sure I can arrange something.” She giggled, “I have plenty of time.” I chuckled, “Well you need to get better soon, I’ve got a sick training regiment set up for you when you get back.” “Joy.” I inspected her gown a bit more closely, “I like this new style you’ve got going here, by the way.” Octavia blushed, “I-I’ll be sure to take that into account,” She looked me up and down, “Though I would’ve expected you to have the more...risky clothes of us two.” I shrugged, “Usually, yeah. But I had to be presentable and all that because of this cumbersome job stuff. Don’t worry though,” I grinned, poking booping her on the nose. “I’ll be back to wearing those clothes soon enough.” Octavia smiled, obviously happy about the statement, “Good.” I sighed, pretty content with the situation so far, “So, I know that you know everything about me, but I don’t think you’ve really given me some fun facts or anything about yourself other than what? Cup size and a few other things?” Octavia tapped her chin in thought, “Let’s see, I was born in Canterlot, to Heart Melody and True Tempo. I was born two years after my brother, Forte, who works as a musician right now.” She took a moment to let it sink in, “He used to be, how do I put this? A…mercenary of sorts. His stories as I was growing up just a bit behind him fueled my interest in the academy.” I rubbed her back absentmindedly, “Well, I'll have to thank him, I wouldn't have been able to meet ya without those awesome stories.” I tapped my chin, “Unless they were those “hold my beer” kind of stories, because that would probably have been a different kind of awesome.” Octavia laughed, “I can assure you they were very endearing and engaging, something that I hope he will take time to write out someday.” I hummed in affirmation, “I've always wanted to be an author.” “You never went to pursue that career?” Octavia mumbled, melting a bit from my back rub. These hands know no bounds on the frontier of cuddling. I shrugged, “I tried once or twice when I was training, attempting a few ideas here and there. But then I got more into EDM and that stuff, combined with my assassin things I just didn't have the time to write.” I sighed, “Maybe I'll pick it up again, I don't know, it just doesn't really seem my thing anymore. I don't have the personality for a writer anyway.” Octavia snuggled deeper into my embrace, obviously content with our situation, “I think you should try it, just write what you would like to. Maybe about your days before the Wonderbolts Academy, I'd love to read about your past experiences.” Another shrug came her way, “Eh, I’ll have to think about it. I can give you some first hand experiences though.” I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively. Octavia giggled, “I have to get better, then we can discuss some more strenuous activities.” “That we do,” I slid my hand just a bit more down her back, enjoying the feel of her naked skin. “I’ll be looking forward to that conversation.” We layed on the bed in silence, our conversation and thoughts trailing off after no common ground was found to continue it. But that didn’t stop us enjoying each other’s embrace, which let us speak to each other without words per say. A hum of happiness, a squeak of surprise, or even a giggle or two told Octavia and I what we wanted to hear; each other’s enjoyment of the moment. I nuzzled my face into Octavia’s hair, “I could get used to this.” The nice smelling (and comfortable) mass of hair moved, revealing Octavia’s warm smile to me, “Well, I’m sure that is being arranged, yes?” I took a minute to think about what Octavia was insinuating, “Oh right, yeah, I got that all sorted out today. Once your better, and good enough to lift some stuff, we can start moving your stuff into my house. I’ll be able to move some things to here so you can come in, it’ll probably take a good day or two, so…” I checked the day on my phone, taking a moment to dig it out of my pocket, “we can start it the day after tomorrow, Saturday. I still have to contact some, well, contacts tomorrow for training next week.” Octavia smiled, “That sounds delightful.” I smiled back, “You know what else sounds delightful?” I slid my hand all the way down her back, leaving it just above her bottom. I received an “eep” from Octavia who took my hand and put it back up to it’s previous spot. I wasn’t about to lose the battle, the stakes, no, the awards were too great to ignore. I slid my hand right back down, set on achieving ultimate victory. But Octavia still had some fight in her, and she slid it right back up, ignoring my attempts at keeping it in valhalla. I still had something up my sleeve though, something learned over years and years of careful practice and training day and night. I waited a bit, letting Octavia think she had the upper hand, once I felt her relax, I knew. It was time to strike, it was my moment. I slid my hand back down, I just need to do it one more time, just enough to trick her into thinking I was back at it again with my persistence. I moved my hand right back to it’s original spot, waiting for Octavia to reach for it. She did. I let Octavia do the work as she moved my hand from the middle of her back...right onto heaven. I gave a squeeze and received yet another “Eep!” I grinned, looking at her with the utmost joy, “How ‘bout them apples?” Octavia raised an eyebrow, admitting defeat, “I would ask you the same thing, Scratch. How do you like those apples?” I laughed, “I wouldn’t mind taking a bite out of them some time.” Octavia blushed, “I’m sure they would be ripe and ready for the picking, or well, eating, but I recommend taking them to dinner first.” I chuckled, “Good to know, good to know. Just out of curiosity, where would these apples like to go for said dinner. You know, hypothetically.” Octavia tapped her chin, “I think that they would love being taken to a nice restaurant over in Canterlot, say tomorrow, when the moon is up and the night looks amazing.” I could tell she was beginning to daydream, the space around her was pretty much sparkling. “The stars above would provide a romantic backdrop to the play of life. While the moonlight would give a natural light to their table through the window, shining into their faces as they kissed in said moonlight.” “I feel like you’ve read too many romance novels, Octy. You’re making me feel like we’re in your personal fanfiction or somethin’.” “I-I don’t see why I would have the time to read such atrocities,” Octavia said, blushing, “I’ve been too busy recovering, and before this, training.” I shrugged, “Sure, sure. I don’t think those fanfiction story things, are that bad, you’ve gotta give them some credit for trying at least.” “I suppose.” I layed my head against Octavia’s, “So, where would you like to go tomorrow? After I get that stuff I was talking about, I’m free.” Octavia yawned, “I would like to go to the Canterlot Cafe, I’ve always wanted to go there.” She perked up, just for a few seconds. “You know, I’ve heard that there’s so many places to go in Canterlot, that you could pick a different place to eat for dinner every day, and still have places to go in a year.” “Oh, cool.” I never knew that, honestly it’d been awhile since I’ve been there, or it was where Twilight had seen me DJ, I couldn’t recall. I yawned, causing Octavia to yawn too. The sleepiness was probably causing my forgetfulness, or it was just Octavia herself. I watched as Octavia blinked rapidly, trying to stay awake after her sudden wave of tiredness. Her head bobbed every few seconds, I didn’t say anything, wanting to watch the cuteness unfold. Her eyes shot open and she mumbled a bit, but went back to her previous state of falling asleep. I felt Octavia’s body go into a lighter amount of breathing, her chest was rising and falling a lot slower. It had only taken a moment for her to fall asleep, but the battle of staying awake and trying to stop herself from falling asleep had been very cute. I took out my phone (I’d slipped it back into my pocket after checking the date) and took a shot of us, saving it as a new home page, replacing my older one from a week or so ago. I didn’t dare move my arm, even though it would probably be dead by the morning, I wouldn’t dare risk waking up Octavia. This was turning out to be quite the life. I had expected to live the rest of my days living some boring normal life in my house, working at the grocery store, and then die alone. Looking at Octavia, I knew that those thoughts were out the window. These past few weeks had lit the fire back, making me excited for whatever would come next. I didn’t care if it was filling out some more paperwork, dealing with some snotty teenager, or going on missions. As long as I got to come back to Octavia, I would be happy. I knew Octavia was definitely special to me, I just wasn’t sure what to call her. We hadn’t gone on dates, I hadn’t asked her out, she was the one that had taken the lead, which I was totally fine with what I thought of us, letting sleep overtake me.