//------------------------------//
// Target Acquired 
// Story: Contracted 
// by Slywolf930 
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(Before the chapter starts, I want to say something. Or, rather, tell the audience what to expect. The description might make the story sound like Marx is set on killing the main six, but as mentioned before, Marx wants them alive, at least that's his intent. My editor mentioned that I didn't make that clear last chapter, so I wanted to do it now. Enjoy the Chapter!)

A rustle of leaves to his left brought Marx's attention. Slowly, he detached the crossbow from his side strap and slid the crossbow strap on his hoof. He looked down the sight at the bush and held his breath. A small figure jumped out of the brush and Marx pulled the trigger. The bolt sailed for ten meters before hitting the white figure in the foot.
Marx lowered the crossbow and strapped it back. He trotted over to his target and pulled the bolt from its foot. He looked into the eyes of the squirming rabbit before putting him in his bag, leaving the head enough room to breathe. Marx took out his list and settled down into the cool soft grass.
Mouse- Check
Phoenix Feather-
Rabbit-Check
Sapphire- Check
Marx looked at the last needed item on the list. He'd spent the past three days collecting, and he decided to make without. Phoenixes weren't nesting near the Everfree, and he'd need at least a week to go to their nearest breeding grounds. Marx looked up at the sky. The sun was starting its descent down, and Marx knew he'd start the job today.
Marx made his way to the hill located on the outskirts of the city. He'd found it to be a good vantage point, as well as a base. On the way, he passed a cabbage patch and grabbed a few leaves for the rabbit. Marx set his bags on the hill behind a tree and out of sight. He put his copy of the contract in a small pouch to keep it safe. The rabbit made little noise as he enjoyed his meal, although he did still feel pain from the bolt wound.
Marx prepared a disinfectant for the rabbit as he waited for the sun to drop. He made sure the rabbit would feel little pain, but be unable to leave. He was important for the first part of the mission. Marx planned to find the rabbit last, but was surprised at the amounts of rabbits around the town. Ponyville must be an animal breeding ground at the rate he found them.
When the sun was hitting the horizon, Marx set out. The direction he traveled would take him to one of the furthest houses from the city. He had it all planned out, but it sounded almost too easy for the 750,000 bits he would get. The first target of six, named Fluttershy. From what he gathered, she had a fondness for animals and represented Kindness. One of the Elements of Harmony.
Marx's employers were paying big money for all six, but even having one out of commission would do plenty of damage to the country. He needed to make sure he got all six before they were declared missing. Ten nights, that's the most he'll be given before he'd need to evacuate. The first day will start tomorrow, but the plan starts now.
Marx stood in the shadows as he pulled out the rabbit. Taking the leash off, Marx waited for the light to dim even more. When it seemed dark enough, he stepped out of the shade and toward the path that led to the cottage.
Marx set the rabbit down on the path and stealthed his way to the bushes on the side of the entrance. Marx gave the rabbit a look that could have meant death or salvation, and the rabbit responded with a complying whelp. Marx heard a rustle inside the cottage and hoof steps sounded close.
The door opened and a yellow mare stepped out. She squinted in the near darkness until she saw the rabbit, limping towards the cottage. Her expression was easily seen from where Marx sat, with confusion as well as compassion in her voice.
"Oh my, what happened little guy?" Fluttershy asked the rabbit. She then walked forward toward the rabbit. The door was left open. Marx gave the rabbit one more look before slipping into the house. Fluttershy picked up the rabbit and turned back to her house.
"Let me do something about that leg," Fluttershy said to the rabbit, before entering the house and closing the door behind her. Just like she did at night, she locked the door. Now, she put the rabbit on the couch and walked to her kitchen.
Marx wasn't ruthless, he was in the corner of the room opposite the stairs, and he watched from the shadows. He knew he didn't have need to kill the rabbit that would get him so far, but if the rabbit tried to rat him out, he would fire in a heartbeat.
"It's a good thing you came when you did; I've only got a few more bandages left. Now let's get this on you," Fluttershy said walking back. She was too preoccupied to notice Marx was barely visible in the corner. Like a true assassin, he held perfectly still as he waited for the right time. His eyes were squinted, to show less visible white areas.
Fluttershy was stepping away from the couch to see how the bandage looked, and Marx saw the opportunity. Lowering his head and squatting slightly, he inched his way to Fluttershy without making any noise. Suddenly, he felt the floorboard give way and a creak escape the old wood. Marx pulled out Rogue's sword before she could turn around.
Instead of unsheathing the sword, he used the sheath to knock her front hooves away. She tipped from the change in gravity and fell forward with a startled scream. Marx put his hoof on her mouth before she hit the ground. Putting the sheath away, Marx pulled out a cloth. He held it in front of Fluttershy's eyes.
"Don't scream, or I'll have to knock you out," Marx said, motioning to the cloth.
Fluttershy was shaking and had little to say anyways. She was trying to nod, but at the same time she tried to shake her head. Now, Marx had to get her out quietly and quickly. He'd messed up the sneaking, and would probably hear the worst from Rogue later. But dealing with a conscious pony could have its benefits.
Marx motioned for her to stand, and Fluttershy complied. Marx gestured to the rabbit who was watching with some degree of difficulty. Fluttershy grabbed the rabbit and Marx pointed at the door. Fluttershy unlocked it and they left the cottage. Marx took her up to where his hill was located. The whole while, he could hear her quivering and she didn't stop shaking.
Marx made it to the base, and lit the firewood he had prepared earlier. Keeping his eye on the target, he grew the fire as high as it would go. Marx took out the rope he had in his extra bags, and a blanket he kept on winter days. Fluttershy was settled near the fire, talking nervously to the rabbit. Marx draped the blanket on her and showed her the rope.
Fluttershy gulped, but did not resist as Marx started to tie her front hooves together and her back hoof to a nearby tree. He kept it fairly lengthy and not to tight, but not enough for her to move more than two feet. Marx put the leash back on the rabbit and gave him the last of the leaves. Marx was satisfied that he’d done enough, and thought about gagging or incapacitating Fluttershy so she’d stay quiet, but so far, she'd been the most cooperating target... well, the second most.
Marx sat on the other side of the fire and gave a sigh as he remembered her face... her scream.Suddenly, a flash back of that moment came back. 
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The moon was casting a glow on her coat, as she closed her eyes for the inevitable. Marx took out two bolts, which was the deal. His newest recruit partner at the time, Mercy, was watching as he hesitated.
“Just do it. It should be second nature to you by now,” Mercy said, impatient.
“I know... but this is different,” Marx said, clenching his teeth.
The little filly opened her mouth and gave him a smile. “It’s fine,” She said. Marx felt his heart stop as he pulled the trigger. Her scream bounced around the woods as the blood poured from her chest. Marx loaded the second bolt, ready to end it.
“Bye Marx,” The filly said painfully, through clenched teeth. Her smile returned for a second. Marx didn’t feel his hoof as it pulled the trigger. The screams ended, and Mercy went to go clean up. Marx held the crossbow in his hooves, in deep thought. Then, like the credits to a movie, he looked up at the face of the watching mare.
“What?” Marx asked, lowering his gaze. He could feel the tears wanting to enter his eyes. He pushed them back before they could materialize.
“N-nothing...” Fluttershy said, looking away as well.
“Just stay there... I’ve got a job to do,” Marx said, taking his crossbow to his extra supplies bag.
Marx rummaged through the bag’s side pockets and found the attachment he wanted. Taking out the small scope, he attached it to the top of the crossbow. Marx walked to the crest of the hill and lay down. Looking down the scope, he used the night vision setting to look at the town. Only a handful of residents were walking around, but it didn’t look like Fluttershy’s disappearance was noticed. All according to plan.
Marx then moved the scope to the buildings. He located one of the tallest buildings. Looking into the windows, he saw the silhouette of his soon to be second target. He heard a sound behind him, and looked away from the scope. Fluttershy was shaking, but not from the cold. She was talking with the rabbit again.
“What is it?” Marx asked.
“I, um... need to... you know... n-nevermind,” Fluttershy said, still shaking.
“Bathroom?” Marx asked casually.
“Yes... please,” Fluttershy said.
Marx left his crossbow as he went to untie her. When he finished, he sat next to the rabbit and took out his sheathed blade. He laid it on the ground and motioned for her to go.
“If I found out this was a trick, the rabbit won’t get his cereal, so I’d hurry if I were you,” Marx said.
Fluttershy nodded quickly before galloping in the direction away from the town. Marx counted the seconds, going down from 120. He was accurate in his counting, no matter how boring it was. Sometime around the sixty second mark, he thought he heard a squirrel climbing the trees.
“Ten,”
“Nine,”
“Eight,”
“Well, it looks like today isn’t your lucky day,” Marx said, unsheathing the sword. He held it in front of the rabbit as he continued.
“Three,”
“Two,”
Marx heard a rustle of leaves and pointed the sword at the rabbit. Fluttershy came out, looking relieved, but shaking again.
“Th-thank you,” Fluttershy said, putting the blanket back around her and sitting back down. Marx sheathed the sword and gave the rabbit an apologetic look.
“It’s getting late,” Marx said, looking at the moon, already high in the sky. “You shouldn’t be up this late,” he said.
“W-what about you?” Fluttershy asked. Marx was surprised, the targets didn’t usually talk to him casually. Although he had to admit, her voice was wavering and she shook as she spoke.
“Sleeping gives you a weakness... I don’t need too many of those,” Marx said leaning his head against the tree she was tied to.
“Sleep is good for you,” Fluttershy said just loud enough for him to hear.
“Whatever you say, sweetheart,” Marx said, looking into the dark forest around the campfire.
For a few minutes, he heard nothing except the crackle of fire. Thinking of random thoughts, he was broken from his concentration when a low growl erupted from the darkness. A pair of yellow eyes looked at him, and Marx lifted his hoof.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Marx said, not in the mood to fight.
The Timberwolf didn’t seem to hear him, because he should have realized that Marx was telling the truth. When the Timberwolf pounced at him, Marx grabbed the sheathed sword and swung it into the attacker’s face. Then, before he could recover, he unsheathed the sword and held it pointed at the Timber wolf’s face. Giving his own low growl, he showed his dominance and the Timberwolf lowered his tail before running back into the forest.
Sheathing his sword, Marx lay down next to the tree and realized that he was more tired than he thought. Now that he had time, he was going to get some much needed rest. He knew the fire would last the night, so he let his eyes close and his body relax. Near him, stealthy hoof steps could not be heard approaching as a small chuckle escaped their lips.
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Marx was watching himself, his movements and his emotions. The setting was in the base. The situation, he just received the worst news of his life. He had a new target. The problem... it was his little sister.
“Why me?” Marx asked O.L.
“You’re the most qualified, and you can get the closest. Think of it as an opportunity to show your parents what you’ve become,” O.L. said, not taking no for an answer.
“Only three ponies know about my past, and you’re one of them. Why are you doing this to me?” Marx asked.
“I don’t have to explain myself, but take Mercy with you. He needs the field experience and he’ll be a good partner. But you have 24 hours to do it, so I’d get out if I were you,” O.L. said getting impatient.
The scene skipped to when Marx and Mercy had made it to Canterlot. Marx saw his sister as she was exiting her school. Getting up his courage, he stood from his seat and trotted over with a smile on his face.
“Hey Cat, how’s school been?” Marx asked.
“Marx! I haven’t seen you in a long time. Where were you?” Cat asked.
“I’ve been busy, but I was wondering if I could show you this project I’ve been working on...” Marx said.
The scene skipped once again to Cat and the crossbow. Marx felt pain deep. Deep in his heart he felt more pain than he felt during training. This pain hurt more than any cut or wound. It was the pain of betrayal. His sister trusted him, and he’d used that trust to get her here. Besides his sister, he only had one other sibling, a brother who he hadn’t seen before. But his sister was someone he’d gotten to know close. Looking into her eyes, he couldn’t take it.
Marx did something he didn’t think was possible. He’d had this dream many times before, but this time he put down the crossbow. Mercy turned to him, and Marx swung the crossbow into his face, knocking him down. He then ran to Cat and untied her.
Marx went over and pushed her into the woods, whispering directions to town. He heard Mercy yelling behind him as they ran. Marx splitting up from Cat in case Mercy gave chase.
“You know what this means, don’t you? You couldn’t just fire the bolt?” Mercy said as Marx looked behind where Cat had run. Suddenly a picture of the contract with the failed insignia in red branded on it made its way into his head.
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Marx’s eyes shot open. The sun was barely rising and he could see little. It felt warm, but not too warm. Then, something in the environment caught his attention. There was a sleeping mare right next to him. Marx was confused, but he didn’t move. He also felt something covering him and he couldn’t tell what it was. The sun wasn’t fully risen, so it was early in the morning. Then, after a few minutes of boredom, he stood up slowly and was surprised when she didn’t stir.
What surprised Marx more was that the blanket had been the thing covering him. Then, he heard Fluttershy as she woke up, stretching silently before looking at Marx. The rabbit was next to her, also awake.
“Care to explain?” Marx asked, pointing at the blanket.
“Um well... it was cold last night... a-and the fire went out. You looked really cold, and I-I... I didn’t want you to freeze so... I’m sorry,” Fluttershy said, lowering her head.
Marx turned to the fire that should have lasted all night. He opened his mouth to respond, but was at a loss of words. He’d depended on the fire to last all night, and without it, he could have easily frozen. She might have actually saved his life, and that’s what brought him to a loss of words. Why?
“Thanks... really,” Marx said, trying to get her to not feel discouraged. It was the least he could do.
“Y-your welcome...” Fluttershy said, raising her head slightly.
“C’mon, let’s go get breakfast,” Marx said, untying the rope off Fluttershy and the rabbit.
“And then we can go get the rest of your friends...” Marx said, chuckling. Fluttershy didn’t laugh.