//------------------------------// // Assassination:Arc 1, Chapter 4 // Story: New Reign // by Dream Seeker //------------------------------// A pony walked forward, a large cloak billowing behind him. As he entered the throne room, he took a look around, until he saw his target: Princess Twilight. His target was sitting on the throne, smiling benevolently. His lips curled into a sneer as he watched. He was going to enjoy this job. He shook his hood off, pointed his horn and released the already charged disintegration spell. As he lifted his head back up, he saw Twilight gasp in horror as it came straight at her. To his surprise, Twilight's assistant jumped into the path of the spell an instant before it hit his target. Pity, he thought to himself. It would take him time to recharge the spell. Twilight smiled as a pony walked into the throne room. She was ready to do what she could to help him, with whatever he needed. Suddenly, the pony shook off his hood and showed his horn already lit with a spell. Twilight gasped in horror as it came closer to her, too fast to block. An instant before it hit her, Alexandria jumped into the path of the spell. A moment later, her body crumbled into dust. Enraged, Twilight snared the Assassin and trapped him in a bubble. She snarled and reshaped the bubble to press specific painful but nonlethal pressure points on the Assassin's body. The Assassin screamed in pain, but the bubble blocked the sounds. Twilight grinned at his pain, glad that he felt pain. She wished pain. Pain on him, pain on the nobles, pain on- she caught her self. This wasn't her. Frightened, she expanded the bubble to a more comfortable position for the Assassin. She trembled in fear and shock as she realized that she had almost given in to the Nightmare. She told herself to ask Luna what the Nightmare really was, so she could better fight it off if it came again. Guards burst into the room a second later. "Princess Twilight. Are you okay? What happened?" asked one guard. "I am fine, now. Is Princess Luna available? I must talk to her." Twilight spoke, her voice trembling. "This is an Assassin. He attempted to kill me, and succeeded in killing Alexandria. Learn what you can about his motives. Find out why he wanted to do this." She looked at him one last time, and saw him mouthing a one word reply to the question he had read off her lips and expression: Money. "After the interrogation, hold him in trial for treason. Make sure he understands that if he cooperates, we will be more lenient." "Yes, Your Highness." the guard replied, escorting the Assassin away. Twilight sat in her room, sobbing. She couldn't understand why anypony could want her dead. Had she done anything that bad? She resolved herself to destroy the coup. She would make them suffer for their- no, she told herself. Resist. Capture, yes. Suffer, no. At that moment, Luna walked in and saw Twilight crying. Twilight looked up and saw an angry expression on Luna's face. "Thou art a fine Princess, Twilight." Luna spoke, lapsing into old Equestrian. "Thy rule is just, thy spirit pure. The Assassin has committed a crime most foul." "I-I-What is the Nightmare?" Twilight asked, still crying slightly. "Thou speekest of my Nightmare, Nightmare Moon? Each pony has a Nightmare, what they fear to be. Hast thou encountered thy Nightmare?" "Y-Yes. I-I wanted to make him suffer. I wanted to k-kill them all!" "The first time is always hard. Thou shalt encounter thy Nightmare again. Only by the strength of thy will shalt thou protect thyself." "I-Is there anything I can do in particular?" "Yes. Thou cannst think of thy friends in thy time of need. Thy friends shall guide thy thoughts, their wisdom shall rule thy mind. If I had friends when my Nightmare struck, I may have managed to avoid it. Take care, for the Nightmare shall try to work itself into thy every thought. Life is a hard path to tread, once burdened by a Nightmare. Thou shalt prevail, Twilight Sparkle. I believe in thee." Twilight smiled and sniffled once more. "T-Thank you." in the morning----------in the morning----------in the morning---------in the morning---------- Twilight smiled upon her throne. With very few pointless debates thrown her way, she was beginning to find her job a lot more interesting. Her smile faded slightly as she remembered that Alexandria was no longer available to help her, and she could feel the tug of the Nightmare. She shuddered, then forced the smile back on her face as she prepared for the next consultation. Suddenly, a Royal Guard burst into the room. "Your Highness!" he declared. "The prisoner wishes to speak with you! He says he will tell you everything, on one condition: You must let him go." "Take me to him. I will speak with him." Twilight replied coldly. a few minutes later----------a few minutes later----------a few minutes later---------- "I will only tell you if you agree to release me." said the Assassin with a smirk. Twilight thought for a moment. "Tell me where the ponies who hired you are first, and I'll agree." "I'm afraid I can't help you there. They found me, not the other way around. However, I can tell you how much they paid me, and all three of their descriptions." the Assassin smiled unnervingly. "And the other targets." "I agree to your terms. Tell me." "They paid me 1,000,000 bits. A Princess's ransom... For a Princess's head!" the Assassin laughed. "For the rest, free me first." "Fine!" Twilight grit her teeth. "Guards, free him but escort us outside the castle, where he will give me the rest of the information. Make sure he keeps his end of the deal." "Are you su-nevermind, your Highness." said the guard, stopped by a harsh look. He dipped his head, and gathered some other guards to be escorts. a few minutes later----------a few minutes later----------a few minutes later---------- "Thanks!" the Assassin said with a grin. "I thought I was done for this time! They were all wearing cloaks. One was black with a dark blue mane and a skull and crossbones cutie mark, another was light blue with a grey mane and a dark crystal cutie mark, and the third was... strange. He... it? had a shadowy body, almost like he wasn't a pony at all..." he shuddered. "Even creeps me out... Anyway, as for other targets..." he grinned. "You, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity Belle, Fluttershy, and Applejack." "Did you hear that!" shouted Twilight. "Guards, set everypony on the lookout for ponies of these descriptions. We need to find them, fast. They intend on killing everypony capable of protecting ponykind!" The Assassin chuckled ominously. "Oh, I doubt they feel that way. I'd bet my last bit, they intend on killing everypony capable of subjugating ponykind. They're scared of you. Goodbye." He was still chuckling to himself as he galloped away as fast as he could. "Should we go after him, your Highness?" asked one guard. "No... As much as I hate to admit it, he fulfilled his end of the bargain, so we should fulfill ours. Just find the ponies he described." Twilight sighed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In a dark room, ponies conversed. They sat around a table, arguing about their next course of action. "I say we come out and hire as many assassins as we can!" roared a pony with a black coat and a dark blue mane. "You've messed it all up!" replied a pony with a light blue coat and a grey mane. "Now they know about us!" "Certainly. When she comes, we need to set up an ambush. A trail of false clues, with a trap at the end." a shadowy being calmly stated. "Prepare. The first clue should be..."