Chapter 13: The Game
In a small apartment, located in the east corner of Ponyville, an orange mare with a dirty brown mane was sitting on a dingy couch. She had a thin wooden shaft between her hooves, and was tying a sharp metal spike onto one end. When she had finished, she picked it up in her mouth and deposited it in a specially designed saddlebag, which she could easily reach into while she was wearing it. Her target had slipped away this time, and was likely on the run in Ponyville. This had gone from a standard assassination to a game of cat-and-mouse.
She grinned. She liked games. Especially ones with a payout this big.
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In a quaint house in the north corner of Ponyville, two mares were plotting. One of them was Fanta Shock, the grumpiest mare to ever beat a cow-demon to a pulp with a fairly inexpensive frying pan.
Then again, she was probably the only mare to ever do that.
Right now, she was conversing with another mare, Snuggle Feather, a Pegasus with a ridiculous name, a love of cats, and possible ties to the criminal feline underworld. That last one is just a rumour, though.
They were discussing their situation. Fanta could feel something big rushing towards them head on, and Feather was talking about cats.
Fanta was not too fond of cats.
"Anyway, my fourteenth favourite cat species is the- mmmmph!"
"Feather, shush. There is a murderous, bloodthirsty mercenary out there, and I don't care about cats right now."
Feather's eyes welled up with tears. Fanta mentally facehoofed.
"Listen, we know that this Sharpened Pencil has a crossbow, so they can hit us from a distance. Now, crossbows are less and less accurate the further away you get, so they must have been pretty close when they shot at me, but still far away enough to give me a second's warning from the crossbow's bolt whistle, yes?"
Feather nodded.
"Okay, so if they were a unicorn, I would've heard that low note magic auras make at that distance, right? So they can't be a unicorn, which means they won't blast us with magic or anything if it comes to crossbowless combat. It's also important to note that they must have an ammunition limit. They can't carry an infinite number of bolts."
Feather raised her hoof, and Fanta pulled her hoof out of Feather's mouth.
"S-so how are we going to stop them? Like, we can't let them get away, or they'll just make more bolts, right?"
"Right. So we need a way to take them out when they run out of ammo."
"Like, take them out on a date?"
"What? No! They're trying to kill us!"
"Aaaactually, they're only trying to kill you. They don't seem to have any quarrel with me."
Fanta pondered this, and nodded.
"Yup, you're right. You don't have to help if you don't want to."
This was very uncharacteristic of Fanta, and she wasn't sure why she was giving Feather a way out. If it had been anyone else, she would've made them help.
"Nah, you're my friend! Of course I'll help!" Feather smiled happily.
Fanta raised an eyebrow. Friend? What was she, an element of harmony? She shook her head and continued talking.
"Okay, fine. So we're going to need a plan. One that'll stop her in her tracks."
"She's a train?"
"I swear, I will use you as live bait!"
"Eeek!"
A hectic chase around the room ensued, several cats joining in just to enjoy the fun, everyone eventually collapsing in a fuzz heap against the wall.
Feather and all the cats were asleep.
Fanta was pinned under a Pegasus and several cats.
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The following morning was a Saturday. It was still very early. A fog had been scheduled for today, and had promptly been delivered. Almost no one in Ponyville was even awake yet.
Almost.
A shadowy mare, face hidden by the thick fog, strolled through the streets.
She walked quickly, but not quickly enough to arouse suspicion from anypony who saw her.
On the other side of town, a mare was speeding through the streets, clearly not caring whether she was seen or not.
Neither mare knew where the other was.
The game had begun.
Fanta ran through Ponyville. She had a plan, but it had to be executed carefully. She reached town square, and dove behind an empty apple cart. Looking around, she could make out some empty crates, the scent of the fresh fruit still clinging to them.
Looking around first, she started breaking it apart, holding up the base of the crate in her magic. It was good quality wood, but not too heavy. She strained slightly, not used to using her magic for anything more than the odd menial task. It was a solid piece of wood, no holes for stray bolts to fly through. Satisfied with her makeshift shield, she stalked her way around the unopened stalls, looking for her stealthy enemy.
She was hoping that Pencil had heard her breaking apart the crate. Then, at least, she would know where her opponent was.
Fanta breathed through her mouth, her sensitive ears flicking to and fro, listening for the dreaded whistle of a bolt. Her ears registered a solid click some distance to her left and she brought up her shield. The bolt buried itself in the apple cart a few feet away from her with a thwack.
The unicorn grinned. She knew where her opponent was, but they didn't know where she was. Another bolt sailed dangerously close to her head, and she silent cursed. Her magic aura must be giving her away. She would have to dispose of it. Gripping the base with her hooves, she tossed it like a frisbee towards her assailant before slipping behind a stack of empty crates.
She heard a smashing noise in the distance, indicating that she had missed her target. Another bolt dug into the ground where Fanta had been. Pencil was a good shot, she'd give her that.
Making her way quietly back onto the streets, Fanta ducked around a corner as another bolt sailed past her. Taking off, Fanta ran down the street. She had to test a theory. Dodging another bolt and running into an alleyway, Fanta waited on the other side, concealed by a barrel. She picked up a small pebble and threw it at another barrel on the other side of the street, the contact resonating with a hollow thump. A muffled complaint came from the barrel, and another pony, blueish in hue, crawled out.
At that moment, Fanta's attacker rushed through the alleyway, and upon spotting the other mare (who was Feather, acting as live bait), sat down on her haunches and brought up her crossbow. Feather squealed and took off flying.
The armed mare (presumably Pencil) watched Feather go up and shrugged, placing her weapon in her mouth and slinking down the street.
Fanta grinned. Pencil didn't have magic, and just as Fanta had suspected, she didn't have wings (Fanta had checked as the mercenary ran past her barrel). Which means she was an earth pony. An earth pony that had a hoof-operated crossbow, meaning that she couldn't fire while moving. She had to sit down to aim and fire.
Fanta followed Pencil, mulling over this new Information and hoping Feather remembered the rest of the plan.
Feather, on the other hand, was still shaking from almost dying by crossbow. She hated this plan, but she'd promised Fanta she would do her best and Feather did not break a promise. She flew back into the middle of town. The fog had cleared a little, but not much. Making a forty five degree turn towards the sky, she eventually bumped into the most important part of the plan that she and Fanta had stolen last night, hovering above the market square.
Down below, Fanta was choosing a nice, sturdy crate. She started tearing it apart, making as much noise as she could. Hearing a click, she brought up the remains of the crate to block the crossbow bolt that angrily buried itself into the wood. Peering into the grey fog, Fanta could make out the distinct shape of Pencil, walking confidently through the grounded cloud. Pencil stopped about 30 metres away from Fanta, sat on her haunches, and raised her crossbow.
"Any last words, Miss Shock?" Pencil grinned.
"Yes, actually. FEATHER, NOW!!"
Pencil fired, Fanta bringing up the crate to block the bolts. Seconds later, there was an almighty crash, along with a honking noise reminiscent of a piano's keys being pounded by a steamroller.
Fanta looked round the makeshift shield, and sighed in relief.
"Alright Feather, phase three!" She called up to Feather, who yelled an acknowledgment and drove the air van back to the mail depot.
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Pencil opened her eyes. She then immediately closed them to block out the brightness of the white ceiling. She could hear a sharp beeping now, but she was having trouble smelling anything, like there was something over her muzzle. Hearing another sound, like a muffled singing, she opened her eyes slowly. Her eyesight adjusted, and she could see the stallion in a lab coat looming over her with a warm smile.
"Hello Miss Pencil, you gave us quite a scare!"
Pencil muffled a response, the doctor picking up on the confused tone in her voice, though he could not understand the words.
"Miss Pencil, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you were involved in a terrible accident. Some hooligans stole a mail van - you know, the one the Pegasi use to deliver heavy packages? They flew over town market and dropped a grand piano on you. If two mares hasn't found you and brought you here, you'd be in even worse shape." He gestured to somepony in the room. A white unicorn and a blue pegasus stepped forward, their faces painted with worry.
"Will she be alright, doctor?" The unicorn asked, her voice gravelly and stricken with concern.
"She will be fine - she's broken a lot of her bones, so she'll need to stay in hospital for a few months, I reckon. She will, however, make a full recovery." The doctor smiled. "Would you three like some time alone?"
The unicorn and pegasus nodded, the earth pony tried to shake her head, but to no avail. The doctor left.
Fanta and Feather stood either side of Pencil. Fanta removed the bandages covering Pencil's mouth, allowing her to talk.
"Who sent you to hit my friend?" Feather asked, a bit more aggressive than usual.
"I-I don't know! I just got a letter, offering me 400 bits for your assassination, along with a document that said you are an enemy of the state! I don't know any more than that!" Pencil knew there was no point hiding anything, now that she was at their mercy.
Fanta tapped her chin, and nodded.
"Mm, well we would prefer if you didn't come shooting after us again - showing my superiority as a combatant is tiring." She turned to leave. "Come on, Feather."
Feather trotted after Fanta, and Pencil was eventually left alone.
She growled angrily through her bandages. No one had ever humiliated her like these two had. She had the advantage in almost every regard, those numbskulls weren't even armed! And yet they'd sentenced her to months of imprisonment in a nice, clean hospital!
"I'll get you for this, Fanta. Mark my words." She muttered under her breath, as the doctor came back in.