//------------------------------//
// The Painted Ponies (part 2) 
// Story: Split Second: An Eternity Divided 
// by wille179 
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	Slim Chance was a rational business pony, or at least, that's what she told herself. Such an assertion was questionable, considering that she had already paid the first half of an assassin's commission fee. Regardless of her mental state, she considered herself sound of mind.
That rational part of her brain, which might or might not exist, was telling her to run. Abandon the crazy scheme, and cut her losses. It was a foolish idea, her rational mind might or might not have thought...
But her greed and jealousy were definitely real, and very much committed to her current plan, which involved the sensual red dress that clung to her body, and the young stallion in a suit sitting next to her in the coach. "Do you remember the plan?"
"Of course," he replied. "What do you take me for? An amateur?" He scoffed. "I am your date for the evening, and I am to get close to your ex-husband and current business partner. You want me to corner him, remove a specific part of his anatomy, then kill him and dispose of his body over the edge of the upper city. I am to return to you, give you your trophy, and then receive payment from the driver."
"Correct."
Cobalt gave her a disappointed look. "I really wish you had considered my advice a little more thoroughly, Slim Chance. The chance of this going in your favor as-is, is - pardon the pun - slim."
"I don't care. Even if he lives, this will make a statement," she replied resolutely.
Cobalt sighed deeply, very much intending for her to hear it. That wasn't at all what he meant; Slim had confused herself; she seemed to believe that her ex's survival (or lack thereof) outweighed getting away with the crime. Cobalt wasn't a suicide killer; if he thought things were going south, he'd bail.
The coach arrived at a large mansion at the edge of Upper Canterlot. Having used a specter of his own creation - weaker than his mistress's own - plus having done his own research, Cobalt had a good idea of what the building was like, inside and out.
Cobalt hopped out of the coach and then assisted his client. As they walked together towards the mansion, Cobalt's eyes scanned the surroundings with a precision only acquired by years of training, as they searched for every possible exit and threat. And while he always had teleportation and his mistresses pocket dimension as an escape route, his earth pony instincts and years of training encouraged him to keep an eye out for a land escape.
Upon entering, Cobalt took stock of the numerous partygoers, more than he had anticipated. The halls and rooms were packed with guests, and while it didn't obstruct anypony moving at a leisurely walk, running was almost out of the question. His false smile wavered a bit, but quickly reasserted itself.
Soon enough, Cobalt spotted his target, a black stallion named Chess. He tapped his client's shoulder, and then trotted over to his target's general vicinity. Chess was talking to another partygoer at the moment, meaning that Cobalt couldn't yet discreetly pull him aside.
But as he watched Chess socialize, Cobalt noticed another stallion standing nearby who seemed to be quietly following Chess around. Cobalt recognized a bodyguard when he saw one.
Cobalt frowned. Taking a closer look at the guard, Cobalt spotted a lapel pin in the shape of a jagged star affixed to the guard's collar. 'Great, a Paladin,' the assassin bemoaned.
The presence of a paladin changed things; not only was he a skilled fighter, but Cobalt couldn't use any of his dark magic without raising the alarm. Realizing that his plans needed a change, Cobalt trotted back to his "date," only stopping at the bar setup to get her them drink.
"Ms. Chance, we need to talk," he said as he passed her the drink.
"What is it? Is something wrong?"
Cobalt nodded. "Yes, the stallion you seek has somepony else by his side. I am afraid that he does not wish to dance," the assassin explained in hushed tones. Quickly, he took a deep drink of his cocktail and set it on a nearby table. Then, offering a hoof, he asked, "How about we dance instead?"
Slim Chance took a drink from her own glass and set it alongside Cobalt's. "Why not?" Accepting his hoof, she let him lead her to the dance floor, where a quartet of musicians was leading the dancers through a silky smooth waltz.
Cobalt leaned his head against her neck as they danced; she stiffened, while he ignored the intimacy of the gesture in favor of getting his mouth closer to her ear so that he did not have to speak as loudly. "Chess is guarded," Cobalt whispered. "I doubt that I can get him alone enough."
"Are you saying that you can't rid me of that cheating bastard for good?"
Cobalt hesitated, but only slightly. "No, he will die tonight if you truly wish it, I can promise you that. I can also assure you that I will not be caught, nor will I be killed. I just wish to know what your opinion is."
"Kill him," she commanded.
"I was planning on it anyway. No, what I wanted to know was how you wanted it done. Should it be discreet, or should it, as you put it, 'make a statement'?" Cobalt inquired.
She scoffed, as if offended at the notion. "Make a statement, if you please."
Cobalt rolled his eyes, but seeing as he was still nuzzling her neck, she couldn't see his eyes. He knew that this sort of thing would end badly for her, and that he was likely to not get the second half of his fee because of it. Still, he had a reputation to uphold. "As you wish."
He pulled his head back, though he kept swaying to the music. "Tell me, do you two have any common enemies, ones who might want you two out of the picture?"
She thought about it. Finally, she answered, "Yes."
"Who?"
"Crackerjack." The name was spat as if it were a poison.
"Good; I can hear real emotion there. That makes things easier." Cobalt motioned towards the door to his left. "Come, let's go find Chess."
"What are you planning?" Slim Chance inquired.
"We're going to make a scene. How well can you act?"
"Fair enough. Why?"
Cobalt smiled. Unnoticed by all, his shadow stretched out as Dye, aware of his plan, left his body in pursuit of Chess. "Just trust me. Now, I need you to get mad. Pretend I'm working for this 'Crackerjack' individual, and I was only getting closer to you so that I could exploit you or your resources for Crackerjack's gain. And if you need a little more anger, channel the anger that made you want Chess dead. Got it?"
She nodded. "This will help you?"
"Undoubtedly." Cobalt looked around. "We're close enough. Let's make a scene."
She promptly slapped him in the face.
"HOW DARE YOU! I can't believe you used me like that!"
Cobalt regained his bearings quickly, and though he was surprised by the sudden action, he immediately rolled with it. Faking more dizziness than he actually felt, Cobalt "struggled" to regain his balance.
"You traitorous little worm! Working for Crackerjack! Playing with my fragile heart! What in Celestia's name is wrong with you?"
"I... I can explain!" Cobalt squeaked out, intentionally pathetically. He raised his hoof in a placating manner, but another pony's hoof grabbed it as well.
"I sure hope so," Chess said, having been lured closer by the noise (and a little mental suggestions, courtesy of Dye). When Cobalt didn't immediately answer, Chess said, "Well? Start talking."
"I only wanted to know..."
"Know what?"
*Splitch*
*Splat*
"What kind of pony you were on the inside," Cobalt deadpanned, telekinetically flicking the blood off the blade. The necromancer's apprentice looked at Chess, who seemingly hadn't yet caught onto the fact that he had been vivisected, or that his intestines were spilling out.
In that tiny instant where everypony was either frozen in shock, or otherwise unaware of the situation, Cobalt felt Dye return to him, confirming that Chess's soul was now among the dead, and out of the paladin's reach. With nary a moment's thought, Cobalt exploded forth in a burst of extreme speed and fled the now ruined party.
He wove an illusion around himself, hiding himself from the sight of all but one: the coach driver that brought him here. Zipping up to the stallion, he snatched the case that had his payment, and then fled around the corner before teleporting away.
After a series of jumps and on-hoof sprints, Cobalt finally jumped to a hotel room that he had booked under one of his many false names. Opening the case, he verified that the money was there, and that it was not cursed of bugged in any way. Satisfied, he closed it up and vanished once more.
Finally, he returned to his apartment. Only then did he relax. His job was done, his target was dead, and his client's life was about to be in ruins. Why? Because he'd made sure that ponies had seen him come into the mansion with Slim Chance, he'd made sure that they were together at the end, and he'd dropped her name to the bartender. When the Canterlot Police Department came to investigate, she'd get dragged into the mess.
Cobalt smiled. Assassins were scum, yes, but so were the ponies that hired them. Having one less of their kind made Cobalt feel good. He smiled wider. "O' Goddess of the End, I have devoted my life to You. I pray that I have read Your signs right, and that You are who I have come to believe. I beg of You, satiate Your hunger on my meager offering..."



"AAACHOOO!" Sparkle rubbed her nose, which had been irritated by the powder. "Why did we have to use powder. Why not wet paints?" She paused. "Scratch that; why not illusions? I already cast time-delayed illusions on Diamond Tiara."
Applebloom, with her fake cutie mark already painted, groaned. "That woulda been much easier."
Scootaloo nodded in agreement. "Well, we've got them all done now. All that's left is going to class."
"Right, race you there!" Sweetie Belle said as she bolted out of the crusader clubhouse.
"Wait for me!" Scootaloo shouted as she too bolted.
Applebloom sighed, looking at the mess of paints and powders that they had left behind. Sparkle put a hoof over Applebloom's shoulder. "Don't worry," the false filly said, "I'll help you clean it up later. Come on!"
Quickly, the Crusader quartet galloped to the schoolyard, laughing all the way. With smiles on their faces, they charged into the classroom and took their seats.
Just as the bell was ringing, Diamond Tiara came in wearing a dress. Scootaloo frowned upon seeing her. Thinking quickly, she asked loudly, "Hey, Diamond, what's with the dress?"
Diamond Tiara recoiled. "It's none of your business!" She snapped. "But for your information, I just wanted to wear it today."
"Oh, good," Scootaloo said. "For a second there, I thought you might have caught jumping cutie mark disease."
"What?"
Scootaloo snickered. "Yeah, I heard Rainbow Dash and Trixie talking about it. Apparently, it makes your cutie mark vanish and reappear on somepony you know. I'm glad you're not sick."
Of course, Scootaloo then stood up to go sharpen her pencil, proudly showing off Diamond Tiara's cutie mark on her flanks. Snails, more observant than most gave him credit for, was the first to spot the mark. "HAHA! Scoots has got your cutie mark!"
The whole class looked at them. Diamond Tiara squirmed under their gaze, for once very uncomfortable with the attention. "G-give it back!"
"Why? So I can go back to being a Blank-Flank, Blank-Flank? No way!" Scootaloo retorted.
Sparkle stood up. "Come on, Scoots, don't be mean to her. We're better than that. Besides, she was nice enough to lend her cutie mark to all of us."
At that, Sweetie and Applebloom also stood up and joined them. Upon seeing the formerly blank flanks of the Crusaders, there was a smattering of giggles among their fellow students.
"And besides, all she has to do to get her cutie mark back is to kiss our a-butts, right on the mark," Sparkle said.
"What? No way!" Diamond Tiara screeched. "I'm not kissing your butts!"
Sparkle lifted her tail and pointed her rear at Diamond. Thankfully, Cheerilee was running late, otherwise, the lewd gesture would have gotten her a detention. "Come on, kiss it."
Applebloom jabbed her in the ribs with her hoof. "Rody!"
Sparkle lowered her tail sheepishly. "Sorry."
The rest of the day went well. Diamond Tiara never did take off her dress, so Sparkle let the illusion underneath shatter. It didn't matter anyway; Diamond's reaction was enough to let everypony in the class know exactly what was wrong, and yet when an adult eventually checked on them, the combination of her clean bill of health and the Crusader's ink-covered flanks got everything written off as the simple prank it was.
And thus ended a perfect good day. Scootaloo and Sparkle returned to the orphanage, Applebloom returned to the orchard, and Sweetie Belle was picked up by her sister. And on that night, they all had sweet dreams. 
But they were the lucky ones, for the mistress of dreams suddenly found herself otherwise occupied...



It was the next day.
It was morning.
It was in another timeline, one unknown to its slightly askew neighbors.
It was in that very specific time that a very specific mare started to sing. 

"Morning in Ponyville shimmers,


Morning in Ponyville shines!


And I know for absolute certain,


That everything is certainly fine!"

And while that future morning in that alternate timeline might have been just fine, such was not the case in these two timelines. Why?
Because a set of black seeds under the Everfree forest had sprouted early.