One year ago….
It was late as a restaurant owner was preparing to close up for the night with only one lone patron still sitting at the bar. The owner counted his take for the day as the last pony in the bar blissfully finished his drink. "Hey Blue jaw," The owner called to the pony at the bar. "you need me to call you a cab?" He asked.
"Naw, didn't you hear," He replied taking another sip of his drink. "I'm a made pony now, I can walk home drunk and nopony's going to touch me" He gleefully added spilling some of his drink on himself. Nopony heard the door ease open and four ponies slip into the restaurant.
A waitress tried to tell them to leave but one of them grabbed hold of her. "Easy sweetie, you should take off early, you won't want to see this." He whispered pushing her out the door and pulling down the shades. The owner saw them coming up behind Blue jaw but he knew the score and silently left the room.
The leader of the pack was a unicorn, who levitated a long piece of wire out of his coat pocket. Once the four were upon their unsuspecting pray the unicorn wrapped the wire around Blue jaws neck. "What you got to say now, huh?" He said as he yanked Blue jaw out of his seat.
He dragged him across the ground as the three other ponies beat him. Blue jaw felt his eyes about to pop out of his head from the strangulation and tried to curl up in a ball to protect himself but that was out of the question as a large earth pony broke one of his hind legs. "That's it get his legs." A Pegasus pony yelled as they all began to stomp on his legs.
With his legs, ribs, and anything else broken they dragged him outside. "Go back inside and grab as many table cloths as possible." The lead pony said to the others. The others did as told leaving the unicorn alone with Blue jaw.
The unicorn looked down at the bleeding mass shaking on the cold asphalt who looked back up at him. "Silvermane," Blue jaw groaned out of a mouth full of blood. "Silver, please don't do this to me, please." Silvermane dragged him over to the curb and placed him with his body in the street and his head on the curb.
"Wait Silver, I'm a made pony you do this and you'll end up in the Manehatten river, think about it." He pleaded hoping to appeal to his sense of reason. "Sorry Blue jaw but everypony's tired of you and your mouth." He proclaimed, placing his hoof on Blue jaws head. He stomped on his head until he heard a cracking sound.
The others came back out and laid out the table cloths next to Blue jaw and rolled him onto them. They put him in the back of a cart and covered him up. They pull the cart to the outskirts of Manehatten, deep into the woods where few dared to go.
When they uncovered Blue jaw he began wheezing and coughing blood. "I'm a made pony, you can't touch me!" He proclaimed to deaf ears. "Calestia, he's still alive?" the other unicorn in the bunch ask pulling out a knife he took from the restaurant. He stepped up and readied the blade, "No, no, no." Blue jaw rasped as the unicorn Stabbed him five times.
"Wow, he's a tough one." The unicorn said observing the near dead but still breathing and making gurgling noises Blue jaw. "We'll see how long that last." Silvermane interjected, lifting the mass of bloody rags with Blue jaw wrapped up in them. He dropped the body in a pre-dug grave and covered it up.
He turned to his compatriots, "Burn the cart and never speak of this again, anypony who does will be sharing space with him." Silvermane ordered and they all agreed as they went about covering their tracks.
Now…
A unicorn with a bloody mouth was hanging from the ceiling of an ice-cream freezer as two earth ponies worked him over. The unicorn groaned and his eyes began to close, "Not yet you don't." A bolt of magic hit him, sending volts of electricity through his body. He screamed at the top of his lungs earning a laugh from his captors.
"You don't die till the boss says you can." The bloody unicorn laughed this time. "You, you think I'm afraid?" He spat blood and some of his teeth on the floor. "Come on kilo volt is that the best you can do?"
Kilo volt charged his horn and advanced on him. "Oh Spats my old friend, if the boss didn't want you alive, oh the things I would do to you." Volt went up on his back hooves and grabbed ahold of Spats head; he touched their horns together sending a strong current through him.
Spats kicked and convulsed, foaming at the mouth, "Yeah, how do you like that smart guy, huh?" Kilo volt yelled over the sound of arching electricity surging from his horn into Spats body.
"Hey Volt." Somepony called. "What?" He yelled angry that somepony was interrupting his fun, he turn to be face to face with Don Dapper hoof. "Boss, I was just…." "Out of the way mega jolt." The godpony commanded.
"Ah it's Kilo volt sir." The dons body guard gave volt a deadly stare. "Or mega jolt, which ever one you prefer." Volt quickly got out of the boss' way so he could address Spats. "Hello Spats," He said in a slow cool baritone. "how have you been keeping, good I hope."
His body guard slid a case over to him, which he opened with his magic and produced a hammer with a solid gold head. Spats smiled and spit right in the Dons eye, "Go to tartarus fatty."
The Don wiped the blood away, "You were always so loyal to my son but where is he now, he and his friends took off, leaving you to take the fall." He released Spats, who was so beaten he couldn't crawl much less stand.
He brought the hammer up over his head, "But don't worry you'll see him again soon enough." The hammer came down, smashing through Spats skull, splattering bits of him over the floor.
He passed the hammer to one of his men, who cleaned it and placed it back in its case. "Kilo volt get over here." He called. Volt walked out of the corner he was standing in, "Yes boss?" "I want you to get us tickets to Ponyville, two of murder, Inc. have failed so we're going to handle Silvermanes crew ourselves." He said as he pushed his way pass Kilo volt. "Right away sir."
In ponyville…
Silvermane paced franticly about the waiting room of the doctors office. "Silvermane please have a seat." Rarity said trying to calm him down. "Sorry Rarity, I'm just worried about Lucky, this is all my fault." He said hanging his head in shame.
Rarity trotted over to him and placed a hoof on him, "Don't be silly, you're not the one who did this to him." She said trying to ease his mind. He pulled away from her and turned to look her in the eye. "No, this is on me, I'm the one who wanted to ghost blue jaw, all this is a result of my actions." he lameted.
"I couldn't agree more." Came the voice of Star dust, sitting on the opposite side of the room. "If you where doing your job and leading the gang instead of running after some broad," He gestured to Rarity as he made his way to where they were standing. "then maybe you could have been there to back Lucky up."
He got right up in Silvermanes face, "If you want to play house fine but we shouldn't have to pay for it." Silvermane charged his horn ready for a fight, "This you making a power play, we're already in a hospital so you wont have to go far after I get through with you."
Star dust flared out his wings and went up on his hind legs, the universal Pegasus sign for a fight. Silvermane crouched down with his horn pointed directly at Stars heart, the universal unicorn sign for a fight.
"Stop it now both of you!" Rarity yelled using her magic to pull the two apart. "You two are supposed to be friends, is this how you act with one of your own in such bad shape?!" She released the two and they each straightened themselves up.
"Whatever lady all I know is the old Silvermane would never have let this happen." Star dust pushed his way pass them and made his way for the door. "Hey, Star dust." Silvermane called. Star dust stopped and turned to his boss. "Don't forget who brought you into this or who put you through law school." He warned as Star dust walked out.
Silvermane turned back to Rarity and started nuzzling her. "Thanks sweetie, you been supportive and standing by me, anypony ever tell you that you'd make a great mob wife?" She made a disgusted sound and turned her nose up.
"As if I would ever be one of those poorly dressed mares, with their tacky manes and too much make-up and don't get me started on their clothes, a lot of single knits." Silvermane smiled a she continued to rant, he loved listening to her ramble on about nothing.
Star dust however, was on his way to get some cider to calm himself. He was so beside himself that he didn't pay any attention the many angry ponies that he was bumping into and pushing out the way; But something did make him stop, the strumming of a guitar caught his attention.
He looked over to see an auburn colored Pegasus siting on a bench. "Slip stream." Star dust said under his breath, making eye contact with him. The pony smiled and continued to play his instrument, playing out a steady tune.
He opened his mouth and began to sing, "I can hear what you're thinking, all your doubts and fears, if you look in my eye in time you'll find the reason I'm here, in time all things shall pass away, in time you may come back someday, to live once more or die once more, but in time your time will be no more."
Slip stream placed his guitar down and stood up; he flared out his wings to show the razor sharp blades attached to them. The blades hinge squeaked as his wings flexed and folded back down. "Like my song Star dust, it's sad really, the ponies that hear it never live to tell others about it." He said with a sad sigh as he cracked his joints.
Star dusts throat went dry; he wanted to fly away but was to scared to move. Slip stream was the last and most dangerous member of murder, Inc. and here he was right in front of him. Slip stream opened his wings again, "Fly." He said in a calm manner and Star found it in him to get airborne.
He took off as fast as he could only to have slip stream hot on his heels. He felt a gust of wind and a fire in his stomach. A trail of blood flowed from one of Slip streams blades making his com-trail change color. Another gust, this time just under his left wing, causing him to become unstable. Star pulled up, "If it's a dog fight you want then that's what you'll get."
he caught up with Slip stream and rammed him in his ribs at full speed, knocking him into a spiral. Slip stream regained his composer and at Mach speed made another pass from under Star dust slicing into his belly again.
Every cut cost Star dust more and more of his speed. Star began climbing trying to gain altitude, "Need to get the sun to my back." He thought as he felt his blood level dropping the faster he tried to go.
Once he went as far as he could go he spread his wings and dived back down. When he was just feet away from Slip stream he flipped in mid-air and his back hooves collided with Slip streams face. Slip stream fell back down to the ground with a stream of blood flowing from his face.
Star thought he had won when he saw Slip stream regain his composer and pull up at the last minute. "Damn it, why wont this guy go down." He thought as fast as he could, then his face lit up. "Alright, let's see how well you maneuver with those blades of yours."
He had to act fast, he could already fell himself losing consciousness, this had to work. He dive bombed Slip stream and kicked him one good time in the head. "That the best you got Slippy, no wonder the rest of your crew got wacked." Star dust taunted. "I'm going to make your blood and guts rain down on everypony." Slip stream shouted as he charged Star dust at mach speed.
Star took off as fast as he could luring him into a complex vertical rolling scissors maneuver. As the two climbed at a speed that threatened to break the sound barrier Star dust com-trail turned red from his several bleeding wounds. The G force was tearing his wounds open wider but he had to push himself, it was the only way this would work.
Once at the apex of their climb the two fell back to where the maneuver started to go right back into it but as they fell a cone formed around them and the color spectrum became visible. A sonic rainboom, just what Star dust was hoping for; however, That was the easy part, the hard part was not blacking out before time.
"Keep it together Star just a little longer, you've got this." He thought hoping than Calestia would have mercy on him. "Please, Calestia, Luna, Cadence, hell Twilight even, whoever's listening; let me make it through this and I'll never disrespect another mare as long as I live." He begged as he felt himself slowing down and saw the world around him going black.
The ground got closer and closer and Star looked over just long enough to see Slip stream was also struggling with to hold himself together. "Good here comes boom loser." Just mere feet from the ground he pulled up with all his might just in time to create a near perfect sonic rainboom and go crashing head first through a window.
Slip stream however wasn't so lucky; he tried to pull up but one of his blade hinges was bent from the G force and refused to move. "No, no, no!" He screamed as he crashed head first into the ground. Ponies gathered around the crater he had created. "Oh no somepony get a doctor." "Don't bother, a crash like that, he's dead."
Star dust was laid out on Derpys kitchen table looking up a her, he had heard the commotion outside and knew his plan had worked. He began to laugh, "Sorry about the table sweet heart, I'll get you a new one as soon as I'm conscious again." He said to the surprised mare as he blacked out.