Ponies lived in a utopia built from their own ignorance and apathy. Sure, they had a good life doing the things that they thought were important, but giving no thought to anything outside their own little circle of awareness. In a world where there was a guarantee of zero conflict and no crime, it would be the perfect life. A utopia.
But, that ignorance was still a dangerous problem. Equestria wasn’t the only country in their world, and ponies didn’t get along with every other species. What if something happened? What if ponies were forced to wake up from the dream they called life? She wasn’t sure they could deal with it.
At least, that was Octavia’s opinion.
There were a few ponies here and there, like herself, that saw the world through different eyes. She wasn’t sure it was better, living with the knowledge that she could lie, steal or even kill to get what she wanted. Sure, she might be able to live a much more successful life, if she was careful. But she wasn’t happy, not by a long shot. In fact, she spent most of her days stressed and constantly worrying about one thing or another.
Octavia stood on the busy Canterlot street outside the office building which housed the guild hall she had become acquainted with. She spared a scornful glance at the city ponies around her, but the look was lost among the throng which lived and breathed an aura of superiority. Those who noticed her gaze returned it with no less vigor.
It was like they said: ‘Ignorance is bliss.’ Up until you find a knife in your gut, was Octavia’s addendum to the maxim. Was it better to live an enjoyable life with no worries, but be susceptible to the machinations of those around you, or live a knowledgeable and safe life at the cost of happiness? Was ignorance worth the cost of falling off the cliff with only enough time to realize that it happened, but not why?
Regardless of the answer, Octavia was pretty sure she wasn’t ever going to find out. Her life already was filled with all of the dirty things ponies were capable of doing. Underhoof business ploys, brutality and other unmentionables were only some of the things she’d seen with her own eyes. She was usually able to discern if somepony was screwing her over and was always watching over her shoulder in case somepony tried to swipe something out of her saddlebags.
Shaking her head, Octavia scanned the area for anypony that looked like a threat. But, to her relief, it didn’t seem like her presence had been noticed yet. Getting in was never a problem. A building with no guards attracted little attention here. Yet it never hurt to be cautious.
In Canterlot, she’d had no incidents outside of protecting Vinyl. Indeed, most of Equestria was grand and safe to live in; filled with ponies who wanted nothing more than to be a part of a community and to build a world for themselves. But back at home, and even in the seedier parts of Manehattan when she’d been there as a student, there was always somepony waiting for just the right moment to get at you or your things.
She glanced back at Vinyl. The mare’s features had calmed and showed none of the horror of the brutal fight that had occurred less than an hour before. Maybe she would be able to go back to her life once this was over. The DJ had been on the cusp of becoming one of the biggest ponies in the city before this, it shouldn’t take much effort to tip things over the edge and leave this grisly business in the past.
Octavia began to cross the street, the white unicorn at her heels. Once this was over, she hoped to remain here. Vinyl had relit a tiny flame of music in her soul and she wanted nothing more than to help it grow, but she had to get through this first.
As she pushed open the door to the office building, Octavia purged her philosophical musings out of mind. Now was the time for action, not fantasizing. There were things to be done, and she wasn’t about to be caught unawares.
She didn’t even think, automatically checking the corners around the door as she stepped inside. Her eyes took in the lobby, searching for potential threats or any telltale signs of traps or ambushes.
The assessment was over quickly, however, as the room looked the same as it always had. The two chairs and small coffee table with magazines on it were spaced out to the right of the door. A large, fake plant stood to her left, looking extremely out of place by itself. Then, at the back of the lobby near the large hallway leading to the rest of the building sat the large, ugly reception desk. The mare that was always sitting there looked as sluggish as the clock behind her.
It was almost like the environment exuded a sense of apathy and calm, instantly lulling anypony foolish enough to step inside into a dulled, comfortable state that begged for them to slump into one of the chairs for a nap. Octavia could feel it affecting her already. If only things weren’t just so darn calm!
She glanced at the receptionist slumped over the desk, completely oblivious to their entrance. Octavia trotted forward, her hooves clacking on the flat marble. As she approached the mare looked up, a glazed look of disinterest on her features. Her eyes slid around Octavia like water and settled on the white unicorn trotting slightly behind.
Octavia continued to trot right up and around the desk as the receptionist’s eyes widened and she pointed at Vinyl. “Octavia!” she accused. “What is that mare doing here? This is a huge violation of— Wh-what are you doing?”
The mare finally noticed Octavia hadn’t stopped and was now around the desk. She leaned back in her chair as the gray mare reached out and trapped her against it. She pushed against Octavia’s foreleg, but to no avail.
“None of that,” Octavia said harshly, lifting her other hoof threateningly.
The mare dropped both her legs she was trying to use to pry Octavia off with. Her eyes were wide and her breaths were starting to come short and fast. “What’s g-going on? What do you want?”
Octavia didn’t respond, instead looking at the mare’s face as she compiled what she knew about the mare. She’d seen the receptionist a few times in Spardis’ office, so she knew about the whole secret base thing. But, she’d never been deeper, and based on her reaction she wasn’t a member of the Order.
Unless she was a really good actor, she had no combat training. It seemed that she didn’t know what Spardis was up to and was merely a buffer to turn away curious ponies. Octavia wondered how much she got paid to sit there day in and day out.
A mare cleared her throat. “Uh, is that really necessary, Octavia? I get being careful and all, but she looks as terrified as me.”
Octavia glanced at Vinyl, then back to the mare, who seemed even more frightened now. She let go of the mare and stepped back. “I apologize, miss...” Octavia blinked, realizing the entire time she’d been here she hadn’t asked the receptionist’s name even though she came through nearly every day. She stood awkwardly for a moment, then soldiered on. “There seem to be a few loyalty issues within the guild right now. We’re not sure who to trust.”
“I-I wouldn’t know about that, I just sit here—”
“I know,” Octavia interrupted. “And I suggest you keep doing that. If anypony comes in don’t tell them you saw us.” She turned and nodded for Vinyl to follow her into the building. “Also,” she called back, “you had better be there when I come back out, got it?”
The mare nodded, but Octavia’s eyes were focused down the hallway. She trotted forward, digging her sword out of her saddlebags and seeing Vinyl following a couple steps back.
They passed a number of rooms, some filled with tables and chairs. Others were set up for a single occupant and yet more filled with cubicles having barely enough room to squeeze a chair into. Octavia had seen a few of the meeting rooms being used, but not with any regularity. She wondered if hiding Vinyl in one of them would be a smart choice.
She’d be out of the way and nopony would possibly think to look in all of them for her. After all, they probably weren’t expecting to see Octavia show up right now anyway, let alone her pulling Vinyl along with her. Still, luck had not been with her and it had almost cost Vinyl her life. Somehow they knew, had eyes on her that she hadn’t noticed.
Octavia glanced back at Vinyl again. It took her barely a second to decide. Vinyl would come with her; she’d promised to look after her. She’d made her bed, now she was going to lay in it and damn the consequences.
Punching in the door code to the farce janitor closet, Octavia revealed the stairs down to the main guild hall. As they descended she pulled out her sword, gripping it in her mouth. There wasn’t much sense in trying to be quiet on the echoey stairwell, but Octavia wasn’t going to be caught unawares.
Fortunately, there was nopony in the lounge, as per usual for this time of day. The unused couches almost seemed out of place. If they had voices Octavia imagined they’d be rather indignant at the lack of use they got. Their only company was the flicker of florescent lights and a faint hum coming from the ventilation ducts.
“Yeesh, so this is where ninjas live, huh?” Vinyl scoffed. “Not that impressed; could this get any more cliché?” Octavia could almost feel the bravado oozing off her words. “I mean, secret doors, underground lair, what else? Where’s the torture chamber?”
“We’re not a bunch of psychopaths, Vinyl. It’s really not that much different than any other job a pony has.” Octavia frowned. “At least, not all of us are crazy. And I don’t live here, my apartment is just a block away from yours, remember?”
Vinyl chuckled nervously. “Oh, heh, right. I knew that.”
“Hush now,” Octavia ordered as they approached the next set of stairs. “Stay close, and when we get to the office just wait outside. If somepony comes... Well...”
“I got it,” Vinyl interjected into her lull, “don’t worry about me. Just do whatever it is you need and let’s get out of here.”
Octavia nodded and they descended the stairs. When they reached the bottom she peeked around the stairwell into an empty hallway. It was what she expected, but it still made her nervous not having eyes on anypony. She knew Spardis kept most of them on strict work regimens and it was unlikely they’d find somepony wandering the office halls, but she still wanted to know where ponies were.
The hallway seemed to lengthen as she moved along. Vinyl’s presence was making her nervous. There were so many things that could go wrong here. Too many opportunities to be caught unawares and be sliced in two before you knew it.
That always irked Octavia when it came to ninja stories. They were always made out to be long and dramatic with lots of fancy moves and too much flair. The actual life of a ninja couldn’t be any further from that. When a pony was trained to slip past defenses and get the kill, and trained to do that well, then there’s not much that can stop them.
Even if that target was another ninja, which made her nervous. It all came down to who chose the right moves. It was more about mind games than actual physical prowess. Sure, she’d had some spectacular sparring matches, but usually they were over in just a few seconds. Even then her opponent was ready and waiting to fight. Getting the drop on somepony else gave an unbelievably large advantage.
Octavia shook her head. There was no way anypony got here before her, but if there was somepony keeping an eye on things, they’d be close behind. She needed to end this now. His office door was just ahead and it was slightly ajar. It was always like that when he was in.
She tiptoed up and pointed a hoof at the floor next to the door, indicating for Vinyl to wait. Not waiting to see what the DJ did, Octavia aligned herself with the door. She charged, throwing her forelegs forward and slamming the door open.
Her eyes took in the small office. A desk sat near the back in the center with a wooden chair on her side for guests. A bookshelf to the left contained a number of titles as well as a few odds and ends. Behind the desk on the wall was a typical landscape picture.
Instantly her eyes snapped to the only other pony in the room. The stallion in question sat behind his desk in a high backed office chair. At her intrusion his head jerked up. When his eyes landed on her they widened. However, he recovered quickly as Octavia charged across the small office. Shoving backwards, he picked up a blade that seemed to have been leaning against the desk as Octavia took a flying leap at him.
It might not have been the best move, but she needed to get in close and there was a desk in the way. She was reasonably sure he wouldn’t have enough time to counter her aggressiveness, and she was right. Still, he was able to dodge in time, which leveled the playing field as she was forced to recover from the dive.
She closed again. Never give a unicorn a chance to use their magic. It was especially worrying that he was using his hooves to wield his sword. Sooner or later he would be able to put that horn to use and that could easily turn any fight in his favor.
“You’re supposed to be dead!” Spardis yelled, meeting Octavia head on.
Octavia parried smoothly, still feeling jarred as she directed the force of his blow away as she slid around it. He swung hard, but predictably and slow. She wasn’t sure if he was working himself into a frenzy or if this was just how he fought. Whatever the case, she wanted this over quickly.
He staggered as Octavia’s evade threw him off balance. In a flash she moved forward and brought her own blade in against his flank. Spardis was quick, though, and managed to shy away. It was not enough to keep her from drawing blood. He hissed in pain and spun back around to face her. This time he didn’t attack, but instead watched her warily.
“You look tired, Octavia,” Spardis said suddenly, smirking a little. “Been on your toes quite a bit recently, I imagine.”
“No more than usual.” Octavia paused, a dig of her own springing to mind. “It has been much easier here than back at the fortress. This city has turned you into a sluggard.”
“It sets in quickly, too,” Spardis countered smoothly. “You almost died on your first day here!”
Octavia pursed her lips and said nothing. The comment stung her pride and she wasn’t about to engage Spardis in a battle of words. She was here to kill him, not be delayed or distracted. It seemed the stallion had other ideas as he chose that moment to move, putting the desk between them.
“It’s a shame, really, that it took you this long to figure things out.” Spardis paused and smirked. “You’re fitting in quite well around here.”
“Even if I tried I’ll never be a scumbag like you!” Octavia scoffed, feeling her hackles rise.
She began to skirt the desk, but Spardis rotated to keep it between them. Snorting, Octavia moved back until she was next to the bookshelf. Immediately standing on her rear legs she heaved on it, tipping the case over. It spilled books and a few baubles before landing with a loud bang on the desk, effectively walling off the stalemate circle.
As Octavia skirted back around the desk to trap Spardis in the office, the stallion’s smirk faded. “Thought you could screw the guild, and me in the process, huh?” she taunted.
Spardis chuckled. “The guild? This had nothing to do with the guild you mule.”
“Hell if it didn’t!” Octavia snorted.
She charged and Spardis met her head. He parried her blow and smashed their swords between them as he tried to grapple her. They went down in a heap, each trying to wrestle the other into submission. Soon, the air was filled only with their grunts and panting.
The stallion was large for a unicorn, and he had the benefit of testosterone on his side. However, Octavia was as fit as an earth pony could be. Spardis was able to pull Octavia into a headlock, but she bodily lifted him on her back and crashed back into the desk to dislodge him.
He jabbed at her with a hoof, but she turned it away as she spun around and bucked him across the room. Spardis flipped over the desk and crashed into the wooden chair, breaking it into pieces.
Octavia lept over the desk as Spardis backpedaled sluggishly. “You really think killing me is going to solve your problems?” he yelled frantically. “I wasn’t even after that bucking disk jockey!”
Octavia kept moving, giving Spardis no time to get to his hooves as she bucked him again.
“Ponyfeathers! You’re a lying murderer who brutalizes the ponies under him,” Octavia shot at him heatedly. “I witnessed your ponies trying to kill Vinyl! I’ve got all the evidence I need to convict your sorry flank!”
Spardis didn’t move from where he had been thrown against the wall. Octavia’s last kick had connected with his face, cutting it open where the edge of her hoof had connected. A nasty U shaped bruise was forming under the flesh that hadn’t broken. He chuckled weakly. “You naive... Bitch. I wasn’t after that... That marshmallow.” Octavia stepped forward but he met her eyes and continued. “I’ve been after you.”
She stopped dead, but then grabbed him. “What do you mean?” she demanded, shaking him.
The stallion laughed, but it turned into a cough. Octavia dropped him and went to retrieve her sword. Spardis continued, his words slurring. “I won’t lie, the file the guild sent me was damn impressive. I imagine they were looking to replace me with you. I’m not going to let that happen.”
Octavia paused, then began striding back towards him stoically. Spardis began scrambling back along the wall, his movements jerky as he continued to talk frantically. “Killing me isn’t going to fix this! You think I didn’t anticipate you coming? I sent an entire report back to the guild about how you’ve gone rogue and taken the DJ with you!”
It took him a moment to finish and by then Octavia was standing over him, but she hesitated in her swing. “You lying scumbag. Your bluffing won’t save you. I can, and will, kill you and then you won’t be around to hide what you’ve done!”
“That doesn’t matter you ass!” Spardis slurred, blood dripping down his cheek. “Stick around, fool. See what happens. I was quite thorough with the report.” He laughed, but it turned into a wheezing cough. “I even labeled that annoying disk jockey as a partner in crime.”
He never finished. Octavia ran her blade into his open mouth, shoving it through his skull until it thunked into the wall behind him. No more sound came out of his mouth, but his body twitched violently for a moment, then was still.
Octavia stood for a moment longer, then pulled her weapon out with a heave and wiped it shakily on the stallion’s leg. Taking a deep breath, she put her blade away and stepped out of the office.
Vinyl’s eyes suddenly widened and shot past Octavia. She whirled instantly, mentally cursing herself for putting away her sword. Then her eyes landed on a pony standing at the bottom of the stairs. It was Stormy Skies.
The colt stood silently, a forehoof frozen in midair as his eyes darted over Octavia then to Vinyl behind her. Octavia swallowed and turned to Vinyl. “We must go.”
They trotted up to Stormy, who backed up a few paces. Octavia paused at the bottom of the stairs while Vinyl began taking them two at a time.
“I’m sorry,” she said finally. “I hope someday you understand what happened here, but I am sorry you had to be a part of this.” She turned to go up the stairs. “Keep up those drills I taught you, and find a pegasus to teach you about your wings.”
With that she hurried after Vinyl. They ran out of the guild hall and through the reception area. The receptionist cringed as they stormed past, but Octavia ignored her. Then they were outside, the open sky above them and the bustling streets of Canterlot before them.
Octavia grabbed Vinyl’s hoof and drug her down the street. Soon, they were lost in the sea of ponies. Another anonymous pair of Equestrians hurrying about their personal business.