Contracted

by Slywolf930

Karma

Marx gripped his crossbow, forcing himself not to shake. He was nervous now, knowing that any mistake would be seen by his employers. He calmed himself as he continued waiting. He'd done things like this many times before; he was a professional after all.

Marx heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Then, he waited until the footsteps stopped. They were right around the corner, and he could see the small shadow on the floor.

"What's this doing here?" Marx heard the male voice say. "It must be my lucky day," He continued.

Marx stepped out from the alley he was waiting in onto the street. There, in front of him, was the little purple dragon he wanted. He was bending down to grab the sapphire, and Marx stepped forward, the sheath for his sword raised.

"Sorry," Marx said, bringing the sheath down on Spike's head. There was a hard thump before Spike fell forward, still clutching the sapphire. Marx grabbed him before anypony could walk by and see him.

Now, Marx headed towards town square, dragging Spike behind him. A distraction would need to get everypony's attention. What he had in mind would suffice. As Marx made it to the town square, he climbed on one of the trash bins and jumped on to the rooftops. Leaning over the edge that faced the town square, Marx put Spike in a bag, careful to leave his head poking out. Then, he hung the bag from the ledge.

If he was lucky, nopony would see him until he woke up. That would be soon, though. So, he had to hurry if he was going to continue with his plan. As he turned to leave, he saw a shadow go behind a chimney. Narrowing his eyes, he walked in that direction, and faced the chimney.

Marx looked behind the chimney, to find nothing there. Somehow, they'd disappeared. Shrugging it off, Marx jumped down onto a crate and back into the alleys. Then, he went away from the town square. What he didn't hear, was the sound of Spike snoring.

Marx took out the map and found the library. Noticing it was on the other side of town, he quickly made his way over. As he neared, he could hear something on the streets. Fast hoofsteps? Somepony was in a hurry. Then, when Marx could see the tree that held the library, he saw the rushing orange figure enter.

Marx stopped. From what he read, Twilight, his next target, was purple. If he waited for the other pony to leave, Spike would wake up and she'd know something was up for sure. Marx took the risk and stepped out of the shadows. He raced to the door, ready to bust in and put the two of them to sleep with the sleep darts.

As he reached for the door handle, the door opened quickly. Marx backed up as the door opened completely to reveal the three standing ponies in front of him. The one opening the door, was an earth pony, the same orange coat that entered. The one behind her, was a pegasus, cyan colored and flying. The one in the back, was his current target.

Marx immediately realized who the other two were. The Elements of Loyalty and Honesty. Now, Marx raised the crossbow, aiming at the pegasus before she could fly away. The sleep dart was already loaded, as well as a second dart sticking out of his bag for quick access.

Marx shot the arrow as she halted midair. The bolt sailed toward her, aimed at her chest. Just before it hit, a purple aura covered the bolt, stopping its momentum completely. Marx cursed the unicorn as he face turned into a scowl. Marx backed up, quickly strapping the crossbow back on his belt.

"What in the hay was that?" Rainbow asked, still shocked.

"Who are you?" Twilight asked.

Marx pulled out the sheathed sword as his response. Sensing a fight, Applejack bent low and pounced forward. Marx didn't have time to unsheath before she was in front of him. Swinging forward, he hit her in the leg, but felt a lot of resistance. Applejack was throwing a punch, Marx blocked with the sword, only to find it no use as the punch made contact on the hilt. Marx felt pain shoot up through his hooves.

"Well if he's here for a fight, he's going to get one," Rainbow said.

Marx had to duck low to avoid the charging pegasus. He rolled to the side to avoid another swing from Applejack. Knowing he couldn't win without going lethal, Marx turned towards the alley. Making a sprint for it, he made it before they could see he was retreating. Now, Marx continued running, taking random turns, hoping he could lose them.

Three on one is hard enough, but the fact they had the earth pony endurance, the pegasus speed, and the unicorn magic, he wouldn't stand a chance. He could do one thing, though. Turning back, Marx saw Rainbow Dash in lead, flying above the rooftops. Applejack was second, and he saw a purple form behind her. Marx took out the crossbow, loaded the arrow and aimed back, all the while still heading straight.

Marx fired the arrow at Applejack, and watched in satisfaction as she dodged the arrow. It instead hit Twilight's hoof, and she went down.

"No, Twi!" Applejack said, both her and Rainbow Dash stopping to see if she was okay.

Marx rummaged through the bag and he stopped as well. He pulled out another sleep dart, loading into the crossbow automatically. He pointed and shot Applejack as she sat there and didn't see it coming until it was in her side. Rainbow Dash turned away from her friends as she went to get vengeance. Rainbow Dash grew angry as she flew faster than before towards him.

Marx continued running, this time heading straight for the forest. In the city, she had the advantage of altitude, but she'd need to land if she couldn't see him through the trees. Marx wasn't running fast enough, he could tell. The forest was nearing, but she was gaining yards by the second.

Marx crashed through the bushes as she slowed down to land. He sprinted towards the camp. If he could shoot her, then he'd just have to collect the bodies and he'd be done with all of this. Marx went behind a tree, the camp site barely in view from his position. It was maybe twenty meters away.

Marx rummaged through the bag, looking for another sleep dart. He found it and pulled it out, just in time to load it as Rainbow fell in from above. She looked at him, obvious hate in her eyes.

"Now you're going to give me some answers," Rainbow Dash said, lifting up, getting ready to fly towards him.

Marx pointed the crossbow. He heard a click and his heart dropped. Suddenly time passed by slowly. As he tried to move in the slowed time, he couldn't help keeping an eye on the grass. Rainbow was moving just as slow, and the dirt in the center of the grass area dislodged from the rest of the soil.

Marx knew what would happen before it did, but he couldn't move fast enough. The spear headed bolts discharged, hitting five trees in the enclosed area. Marx had set them up perfectly. Maybe a little too perfectly. The sixth spear instead found its mark in something else. Rainbow was tangled up in the loose wires due to the sixth not hitting its mark, and grounded herself. Marx grinned to himself.

"So much for... luck..." Marx whispered before coughing up blood. The tree he had used to take refuge with was one of the trees that he'd set up to hit. Now, the spear headed bolt stuck out of his chest as he crumbled to the floor, his vision starting to faulter.

Marx could see the last of his chances leaving him. The pegasus that would eventually untangle herself, looked at him like she was fighting with herself over to help or not. Marx's vision blackened, but his hearing remained. The last thing he heard, was the sound of his name.
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Marx felt a sharp pain in his chest. Waking up, he started in a coughing fit. Forcing himself to take slow breaths, he looked around his surroundings. Everything was so different. The walls had books on them and the area actually looked... homey. Then, it returned to him, he'd almost died. Almost.

"Girls, he's awake!" Twilight said, from a nearby table Marx wasn't facing.

Marx could feel the bandages on his chest and the ropes restraining his movements. He wasn't tied to anything. Then, he knew what was going to happen before they went into the room. He was kept alive for a reason.

The five others entered the room, and after them came Spike, holding his head. Marx didn't know what was going to happen, but he hoped it was fast.

"Now, we want answers, and you're going to give them to us," Twilight siad, stepping in his vision.

"I have answers, but I don't know the questions," Marx spoke, before his coughing fit began again.

"Is he okay?" Fluttershy asked from behind him.

"Don't worry about him, he's not going to be fine if he doesn't talk," Rainbow Dash said.

"First question, who are you?" Twilight asked.

"Truth or lie?" Marx asked, softly so he wouldn't cough.

"The truth," Twilight said.

"I'm Marx," he said.

"Who sent you?" Twilight asked.

"I can't tell you that," Marx said.

"Too bad, that's not an answer," Twilight said.

"Let's just say I don't work for them personally. If you didn't know," Marx had to stop the coughing before he could continue. "Shadow is a mercenary," Marx said.

"Wait, I thought you were Shadow?" Pinkie said.

"I am," Marx said.

"but then... now I'm confused," Rainbow Dash said.

"So, your Shadow, and Marx. But Shadow is a Mercenary. I think I get it," Applejack said.

"Enough of that, I already told the Princess about what happened, so you better talk before the Canterlot guards come to get you," Twilight said.

"I'm not going to tell you anything, it's against the con-... confidentiality agreement," Marx said.

"Hold on a moment, you were going to say something different, weren't you?" Rarity asked.

Marx shook his head.

"Con.... contract?" Fluttershy asked, remembering he'd mentioned it before.

Marx felt his spirits fall. Now, sooner or later, he'd be dead. Whether a royal execution, or the alternative. He guessed that he'd only have it one way.

"Okay, you got me... the contract," Marx said. "I had a contract to capture you six... dead or alive," Marx said.

"Where is this contract?" Twilight asked.

Marx said nothing as he looked her in the eye.

"Found it!" Pinkie said, pulling the contract from Marx's bag.

Marx twisted his head to look, and hurt his neck in the process. Pinkie handed Twilight the contract and she skimmed it.

"The RCG? Who are they?" Twilight demanded.

Marx sighed. "I don't know..." Marx said.

"He's telling the truth," Applejack said. "I can tell."

"We should find these punks and teach 'em a lesson," Rainbow Dash suggested.

Marx tuned out the rest of the conversation as he accepted his fate. Twilight sent a letter to Celestia asking about the RCG and explaining what she'd found on Marx.

Twilight went upstairs to get a book she thought would help, while the others went to the kitchen to eat. Spike punched Marx on the way to the kitchen when the others weren't looking.

"That's for hitting me on the head," Spike said.

"Next time, I'll kill you," Marx suggested.

Spike went to the kitchen without responding, Twilight following after, and Marx was left alone.
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“Alright girls, we just need to wait for the Canterlot guards to come, and then we’ll be okay. Right now, I think we should get all the information we have together so we can tell the authorities what happened. Fluttershy, you first,”

“Um, well... it was two days ago. There was this rabbit, he was hurt. So I was trying to heal him up, when that pony showed up. He told me not to scream... and then he took me to that hill. After that, Rarity came, and then Pinkie.

“Oh yeah, I was taking my cupcakes outside to add my special ingredient, when all of a sudden, he shows up. I thought he was lost, but he tells me this riddle. After I win, he takes me to that hill so I could talk with you guys. He’s a great guy, huh?” Pinkie said.

“How could you say that? He did some awful things while we were held captive,” Rarity said.

“What kind of things?” Rainbow asked, raising her eyebrow.

“No, no. Nothing like that,” Rarity said, blushing. “He was quite rude and ruined my coat. I’ll need to visit the salon before the day is done.

“Well, we know what his intent was, sort of. He wanted to capture us and take us to the CRG. I think they were the ones behind all of this. We need to send a letter to the princess and tell her that something isn’t right and we’ve been targets of something. But question is, of what?” Twilight asked herself.

There was the sound of something being ripped, and they turned their heads in the direction where Marx was. Rarity stood up, fearing the worst. The others came after, following her lead. She entered the front where Marx was, and his stuff was gone.

“Oh my, he’s escaped!” Rarity said.

“Let’s go after him,” Rainbow Dash said, flying out the door.

“She’s not going to make it, Spike, send a letter to the princess to send troops immediately. We have an escaped criminal,” Twilight said, grabbing a quill for Spike.
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Marx felt like he was trapped. Now that they were gone, maybe he could find a way to escape. Marx looked around and only found the bolt Twilight had stopped earlier before. Marx fell onto the floor, and squirmed his way to the bolt. He made some progress, and made one more push forward.

Marx gripped the bolt in his teeth, careful not to touch any of the sleep solution. Marx used the toxicated tip with his teeth to slice at the rope on his hooves. It barely reached, and he made a small mark. Marx tried again, and again. He felt like any moment they'd finish eating.

Marx felt the pressure boost him as he worked faster. Another small cut, and then another. He turned the small cuts into a bigger cut, and now he had a halfway cut through the rope. Marx stopped cutting and pulled as hard as he could. He felt the rope give way, and his hoof was freed. Using it to hold the bolt in place, he made quick work of the other ropes.

Marx finished the last rope on his back hoof and stretched his legs. Then, before anypony could react to the noises of him escaping, he grabbed his bag, his sword, his crossbow, and the contract on the ground before opening the door and rushing out.

"Oh my, he's escaped!" Rarity said.

"Let's go after him!" Rainbow Dash said, flying out the door.

Marx was already hiding in an alley. He only stopped because he could see them approaching. The Canterlot guards were flying into town, a cage already prepared for Marx. Marx, smiling at his escape, ran towards the Everfree. He made it there without a problem. He made sure nopony saw him heading in that direction. Now, Marx frowned.

"Time to give my employers the bad news..." Marx said to himself, checking his map for directions to Canterlot. Nearby, a silent figure was already heading in that direction.

Author's Note:

Think it's almost over? Too bad! Think he's failed? Well, yeah. But we have yet to see the rest of his past, and the rest of what the contract has to offer. Stay tuned as Marx faces the consequences of failure!
(Chapter name might be pretty obvious, so I won't explain it)

Next Time: The Fine Print, as bold as death.

Comments

[Anyne]

"He's telling the truth," Applejack said. "I can tell."

No, she can't.