Standing on a pier in West Equestria, I watched the many guards move in preparation for the arrival of the very special guests.
Looking over the waves, I could spot the long wooden ship flying the flag of Yakyakistan heading our way.
"Get the carts ready," I tell a nearby guard, who nods his head before dashing off to fulfill my order.
Who could have guessed that a simple act of gift-giving on Christmas could have led to this?
I'm not complaining, With Cadance in charge of greeting the VIP from Caninia, I can easily hit two birds with one stone for the BBF's future.
"They said they're bringing gifts," Starlight stood beside me, feeling the cool late winter breeze, A very familiar coat covering her work clothes, "What do you think they'll be?"
"Hookers and blow," I answered blankly, smirking at the choking sound that left Starlight's throat at that as she started coughing at my response.
"Just kidding, I don't know what they'll bring, and until we bring them to Canterlot, I don't need to worry," I stretched my stiff neck, rubbing a bite mark on my shoulder that was hidden under my suit-of-the-day.
"And besides, It's not like they're bringing something that could harm anyone, This isn't the medieval-" I stopped my sentence and widened my eyes as I watched a certain Yak stand on the bow of the ship, Horns decorated in gold with a black crown on his head.
"Starlight, Quick! Roll out the red carpet!" I turn to her in alarm, before I turn to more guards and start yelling orders.
We were told a high-ranking Yak Diplomat named Jorgen would be arriving together with a team of archeologists, not that HE was coming as well!
"FRIEND BLUEBLOOD!" Prince Rutherford yelled from the bow of his ship, his voice reaching all the way here.
Oh, I am so getting drunk tonight.
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Looking at the expensive walls of the large train cart, Prince Rutherford let out a whistle of appreciation.
"So this is train? Will take us to Canterlot, Yes?"
"Indeed," Prince Blueblood nodded to the Yak ruler, "This here is one of the crown's very own private trains, the very best our nation could bring with the short time we had," He led him to a private booth, allowing the Yak to set down his belongings before a pair of Yak guards moved to guard the booth.
"Now! Let us work through the gift-giving!" Rutherford said loudly as he took a seat at a large table outside the booth, Blueblood taking a seat facing him.
"I think we should both wait until we reach Canterlot for such actions, Prince Rutherford, It would only be proper," Blueblood smiled at the Yak who slowly nodded his head in understanding.
"Yes, Of course! Gift giving in Equestria happens with whole family, It only proper, Haha!" The Yak agreed with the Unicorn, Letting go of his bag as the two royals started talking about their plans.
Twenty minutes after the train left the station, a Pegasus wearing a butler's outfit walked into the room, dragging with him a platter containing boxed food.
"Your Lunch, Your Highness's," The butler bowed to the two royals as he placed the boxes of food on the table between the royals, bowing his head to them as he turned to leave.
Only to stop once he felt a leg wrap around his shoulder.
"We didn't order any food," Prince Blueblood whispered as he pulled the Pegasus back.
"Ho? Someone brought us food, We must be thankful and finish the meal!" Rutherford exclaimed happily as he opened the boxed lunch, only to widen his eyes in surprise as the Pegasus butler who brought the food to them smashed into the table, throwing the food onto the window of the booth the two royals were sitting in.
"Who hired you?!" Blueblood yelled at the butler as he held him down on the table.
"Prince Blueblood?! What is the meaning here!" Rutherford yelled as he stood up, towering over his fellow Royal with a glare on his face, angered at the ruined food.
"This ride has no boxed lunches, and we have no Servants on this train," Blueblood Explained calmly as if weathered the glare from the Yak Prince.
"Other than your group, my guards, Starlight, and the Operator of the train, nobody else is supposed to be here," Blueblood squeezed the Pegasus's neck, "So who is he?"
The Pegasus glared at the prince before rolling his body on the table, throwing more food into the air as Prince Blueblood let go of him, before diving out of the window of the fast-moving train, flying away.
"Shit!" Blueblood exclaimed as he wiped the food off his fur before quickly moving out of the booth, "That food could be poisoned, don't eat it!" He ran to the door where the Pegasus came in from, his horn glowing as the door slid open for him.
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"Fuck!" I cursed as I looked at the downed Ponies and Yaks in the cart, A quick check of their necks gave me a bit of relaxation as they were only unconscious, but this was still horrible.
"Prince Rutherford, Watch your guard, We have an unknown number of assassins," I spoke as years of drilled in military practice kicked in, With a flick of my magic a Sword from one of the downed guards started levitating in a telekinetic grip
"Horrible! Must stop this! Now!" Rutherford exclaimed from behind me as he followed into the next cart, Throwing me my bag as he picked up his own. The two of us walked further into the train, pausing as the door to the next cart opened before we could reach it.
In walked a calm-looking Pegasus, also wearing a butler's outfit.
Before the disguised assassin could realize the situation he was in, The sword I picked up flew through the air and stabbed into his eye, killing him instantly.
I quickly caught the body before it could land on the ground, stepping over it and into the next cart.
"Crud, They're on to us!"
There stood four more Pegasi, all with the same colors and outfits as the last two.
"Who hired you?" I yelled at them, making sure to move a bit to the side so they could see the corpse of their associate behind me.
They all looked at each other, a silent conversation passing through their minds before they all turned back to me, and then ran in the opposite direction.
"No you don't!" Rutherford yelled as he tore one of the tables out of the floor before he threw it at the Pegasi, shattering their backs as they tumbled back to the floor, screaming in pain.
But before we could question them further, A Unicorn with the same outfit walked in, and with a green glow of his magic telekinetically threw all the Pegasi off the train before he jumped after them, ignoring their pained screams.
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Starlight Glimmer huffed in anger as another Pony was thrown off the train, his body turning into a mangled heap as he hit the ground outside, bones breaking and tendons snapping.
She left to go to the toilet for five minutes, that's it! Only five minutes and now the train was overrun by whoever these ponies were!
"Damnit!" She turned her head to the door leading to the next cart, her eyes relaxing once she saw Prince Blueblood step through, a scowl on his face, followed by Prince Rutherford, a similar frown on his own.
"Great, You're okay," She sighed before straightening her back, "Who would have thought my first actual Bodyguarding job would start off like this," She chuckled, before pausing once she saw the serious look on the Prince's Face.
"All the guards are knocked out and an attempt on our lives was made," Blueblood said, not stopping to catch up with her as he moved onto the next cart, beams of blue magic flying out of his horn before two more Butler's found themselves knocked out.
Without stopping, The Prince kept moving, each cart was followed by a quick and efficient fight.
No, It wasn't even a fight.
The moment one of them even entered his field of vision, a beam of blue magic was already inbound, hitting them in the head, rattling the brain, and throwing them against the wall, knocking them out.
"Why didn't he do that against Luna?" Starlight whispered to herself as she watched silently as her Boss walked down the train, shooting Assassins as casually as mowing the lawn.
But the thing that bothered Starlight the most wasn't the way he was taking out these threats, but the look on his face.
"This is the first time I think I've ever seen him fight without a smile on his face," She thought to herself.
Was this the difference? This brutal efficiency?
Is this Blueblood when he's fighting seriously? It made no sense to Starlight, almost every real fight he was in could have spelled his end, But he always had a wide smile on his face as he laughed in the face of death.
"The thrill! Where one wrong move could end everything you ever did, It's like a Gambler putting all his chips on black and having the ball fall in the right spot, If it landed on red he would have been over, but when it landed on black- The sense of euphoria he must have felt at that moment~ I can only imagine this is similar," He would say something along those lines, But talking about how having his life in danger was exhilarating, a fight between himself and fate itself.
"How is this different?" Starlight tried to think of a reason, "These ponies pose a real credible threat to his life, So why is he taking them seriously, unlike the doppelganger from Caninia? What's the difference here?"
Starlight tried racking her brain to find the answer before it all clicked together once her eyes landed on Prince Rutherford.
This isn't just an attempt on Blueblood's life, It's an attempt on everypony on this train! He's taking this seriously because if he fails it will mean more than just his death, It's also the Yaks, the Guards, and even the Operator!
Starlight's eyes widened, "The Operator!" She quickly ran after the two royals, "If he's also out, who's driving the train?!"
Blueblood looked at her with wide eyes, Several bolts of blue magic left his horn at once, piercing through the door and hitting the targets in the next cart over.
"Starlight, I want you to start teleporting everyone off this train, start with the Yaks, then the guards, then Rutherford, and then me. I want everyone off this train, Now." Starlight nodded her head seriously before disappearing in a flash of Aquamarine light.
"Leave train? This must be serious," Rutherford spoke up as the Royal duo entered the next cart, ignoring the corpses on the floor from when Blueblood's magic shot them.
"As serious as can be, If the Operator is out, then it's only a matter of time before the train crashes." Blueblood flung the final door open, A Scowl on his face as he saw the missing window on the front of the train, a trail of bloody glass shards from where the pony must have been thrown out.
"Not good then?" Rutherford glares at the empty control car.
"Bad," Blueblood shook his head, "This is very, Bad." He heard a flash of magic behind him as Starlight reappeared, gasping for air before she disappeared once again, Prince Rutherford with her.
"I'm out of juice!" Blueblood's frown started to disappear as Starlight's voice sounded around him, "You need to get off the train yourself!"
"Heh," He chuckled, reaching up to loosen his tie, "Always have to do the hard part myself," He said out loud, stretching his legs as he stared at the rails ahead of the train, only for his eyes to widen as a figure stood in the middle of the train tracks, a bright green glow emanating from their head.
"Shit!" Blueblood shouted as his magic started working overtime in order to create a makeshift shield around his body.
But he wasn't fast enough.
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In the middle of the tracks, staring at the Locomotive moving in their direction, A Hooded figure stood at the ready. Most of their body was hidden under a bright green cloak made out of countless tendrils resembling the stingers of a jellyfish.
Gelatinous in form, The cloak stretched and moved as if it were a living creature, covering almost its entire body, leaving only the eyes and horn visible.
Like a wraith made of green shadows, The figure's bright green eyes glared hatefully at the train, the green light emanating from their horn building in power as it slowly formed into a sharp pillar of magical energy.
And like a headsman swinging the axe, The pillar of green magic fell onto the train, cutting through it like a blade of bright green magic.
"Aaargh!" The figure yelled in effort as they raised their head back up, the pillar of magic following their movements like a sword stroke, splitting the Train down the middle, the crunching sound of metal and wood splintering echoed around them as they stood in place, the train crashing to the sides without harming them.
Almost like Moses parting the Red Sea, the cloaked watched their display of power with a smirk underneath their hooded gelatinous cloak.
Turning around, ready to return where they came from, the figure stopped as a flash of blue light appeared behind them.
Turning their neck to look back at the train, their eyes widened as they saw Prince Blueblood breathing heavily, yet unharmed.
"So you're the one in charge of these Assassins I presume," The prince spoke, his Ice-Blue eyes meeting the figures Emerald Green.
"..." They did not respond, merely lowering their body into a combative stance.
"I see," The prince lowered his body into a similar stance, "Now that I don't have to worry about others getting hurt," A feral smirk crossed his face as he glared daggers into the Assassin's eyes, "I can enjoy this to the fullest,"
The two combatants started preparing magic in their horns. Green and Blue light escaped them like two pillars of energy, fighting to see which could shine the brightest.
"And once I'm done beating you for what you're doing," The Prince's smile seemed to turn almost sadistic as he spoke, "I'll start beating you for fun,"
And with no more words to say, the magical pillars the two created fell upon each other like clashing swords.
The fight has begun.