The Price of Harmony

by Maverickthepony

The Assassination of Talon

Chapter 8: The Assassination of Talon

Rainbow Dash walked at the back of the group she was lost in thought about what had happened with Talon. He had changed the war drastically through her and she knew it. She then decided that she wouldn't let it affect her attitude towards her job.

They were heading towards a town that supposedly was the last stop they could make before heading to the military base. Brandy had told them that she had a friend there who could help them. She told them that she had already sent a letter to him telling him about them and their situation. She said that he should be ready for them with food.

They slowly made their way to the town so that they didn't stress Rainbow's body. Even though she tried to put on a brave face they were certain that she was scared of having to confront Talon a third time. They made more frequent stops which seemed to agitate Rainbow Dash even further as she complained about the slow pace telling them that she was just fine and that they should stop worrying about her so much. This scared them for their friend even more. They were scared that Talon had damaged her psychologically more than anything. They wanted revenge for what he had done to her more than ever now and quickened their pace.

They reached the town after a few hours of walking. They had a little trouble finding the pony they were looking for. It turned out that this town did not have a bar; however it did have a store for alcohol. The six decided that this would be where they would start looking. They walked in and were shocked by what they saw. It was a unicorn stallion. "Hello there." said the stallion, "I'm Whiskey, my friend told me about you six."

"You're-You're a unicorn!" exclaimed Fluttershy.

"Why yes I am, one of the few here in Forshan, but I rarely use magic anyway. Come in we need to talk."

The six entered the shop and he went over to the door and changed the sign to closed. "Now I heard about what happened to your multi-colored friend here."

"Hey!" shouted Rainbow Dash in an almost threatening way, "I have a name you know! It's Rainbow Dash!"

"Ok, my friend Brandy told me about what happened to Rainbow Dash and I figured that you all would want revenge. I did some digging in the local library and I found some plans to the specific military base that you're interested in." Whiskey unrolled a blueprint on the table.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Twilight

"Because I hate the military. They just come in here and take drinks for free saying that since this country is run by the military they don't have to pay. If anything happened to the commander however we could appoint a government. Even though we would win the war that they are trying to start with Equestria, what's the point in oppressing a helpless people? Just more to worry about if you ask me."

"I guess we can trust you then." responded Applejack

"Of course you can, just don't place your trust that easily though and don't judge anybody around here. Everyone's got their own agenda. Now this is the main entrance if you want to get yourself killed than this is the way to go. There is no way that you would be able to get in there by going in a visible way. You're going to have to use stealth." six confused faces looked at him. "You're going to have to sneak in and kill Talon quietly. There's an old sewage system that runs into the-"

"Sewage! Disgusting! I am a lady and I refuse to get my hooves that dir-" Rarity was interrupted

"If you want to turn yourselves in and die then go ahead and use another way but I'm telling you that this is the only way that will work!" Rarity shut her mouth even though she was uncomfortable with this. "Now this system actually leads right next to Talon's room. Get in there slit his throat and get out. Be as quiet as you can and you just might make it. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I have one! How do we get out!" yelled Rainbow Dash

"The exact same way you got in." replied Whiskey, "I suggest that you do it tomorrow. I'll let you use this building to sleep in. There's some food in the fridge and my bed is in the back. I have to go visit a friend in another town. Lock the store up when you leave tomorrow." With that Whiskey walked out and headed out of town. The six ponies gathered around the map and examined it. They decided that they would have to survive even if they had to summon the powers of the elements. Pinkie Pie's eyes widened.

"Girls, I just realized something. One of us is going to have to kill a pony in his sleep." the other's eyes widened in horror. They each began to realize that tomorrow; one of them would be a killer.

"I think we should get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow and if we aren't fully rested then we can't work in the early morning." said Applejack. They all nodded and set up their sleeping bags.

Talon didn't sleep that night. Instead he read an old worn out book. It had a red cover. It wasn't a book, it was a journal. His mother had written it before dying. It described his entire past. How he got his claw, how he got where he was. One page was missing though, the last one. It was this page that he felt was more important than the entire journal and he had never found it. He put the journal back into his bags and lit a cigar, he always smoked before going to sleep, it calmed him. He looked at his map; those six ponies should be arriving in a day or two according to his calculations. He just hoped that his plan would work. He laid the lit cigar on the table next to him. Without using them the flame could go until the next morning. He then turned over and went to sleep.

It was maybe one o' clock when the six left the building. They made sure to lock it before setting off towards the military base. They were so worried about the plan that they forgot their armor. They moved towards the base quickly. There were two things this plan needed, speed and silence. They arrived at the base at what they assumed was four o' clock. They found the sewage system and crawled into it. Rarity hesitated in silent protest until Applejack forced her in. They made their way through the pipes until they came out on the other side. They looked to their left and sure enough there was a door. They considered themselves lucky because it was open. They quickly entered the room and silently shut the door behind them. Then Twilight realized that they had forgotten to bring a knife with them. They were already here and could not abort the mission now. Twilight quickly looked around the room and saw a knife on the table next to a lit cigar. She used her magic to pick up the knife and she walked over to Talon's body. She could smell the cigar and it disgusted her. She wanted to kill this pony but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She looked at Rainbow and saw the pony that couldn't fly because Talon had done something to her. She saw the cut that ran along her side. She remembered that Rainbow Dash had been angry about something. This angered Twilight and she lifted the knife and drove it into Talon's neck.

"For Rainbow." Twilight muttered.

*Click*

Twilight spun around to see a pony standing in the corner of the room.

"Very impressive." said a voice. "I didn't think any of you would have the guts to kill someone in their sleep, but now, let me show you the flaw in your plan."

Talon stepped out into the light. Twilight grew scared and not thinking she threw the knife at Talon. It was headed right for his neck when it stopped in mid-air.

Talon smiled, "As I was saying allow me to show you the flaw in your plan." Whiskey stepped out into the light.

"You! You sold us out! You said that you hated the military!" yelled Rarity.

"I did, I also told you not to place your trust so easily." responded Whiskey.

"I guess you're going to kill us right now then." said Applejack.

"Nope." responded Talon, "Commander Iron Foot likes to oversee the prisoner's tortures and executions. Normally I would disobey this order and kill you, but he has allowed me and Whiskey access to his safe house which contains only him and one of his bodyguards. So we're leaving now and going to go there. Now move"

The eight ponies marched towards the safe house. At one point Talon dropped back and began talking to Whiskey. He told the six ponies that they could talk and any escape attempts would be useless. So they talked.

"I-I killed an innocent pony." said Twilight.

"No you didn't." said Talon hearing the conversation, "He was dead already."

"What?" asked Twilight.

"Mmm-hmm," responded Talon, "I use dead bodies all the time. They've helped me out of tough spots sometimes. I love 'em for three reasons. One they don't talk, two if I manage it right I can make them look alive. And three if you stab them it doesn't matter because they're dead already. The particular pony I used is one that I killed shortly before I started working for Iron Foot."

They didn't say another word for the rest of the trip.

Talon was talking with Whiskey when they arrived. A pony with a knife in his mouth came out to greet them. He told them that Iron Foot would be away for two more days. Talon cursed, "To think that I thought I could finally get straight to the fun part. Well, I guess there's not much risk in this case so we'll just wait for him."

The six went into the complex and Whiskey stopped Talon before he went in. "Are you sure that you want to wait for Iron Foot? We could do it today."

Talon lit a cigar, "I think that in this case we can wait. Besides we need him to be here."

The two walked into the building.