Verità Camminatore

by Mr Foster

Diffidenza

Let’s just say I was a mess. Fire Fly and I made it to Ponyville, and we went back to the Sanctuary. I then fell into paranoia and became psychotic. I would spend days on end crying into my pillow. I’d curl up in the corner of my shower, and weep there. I became sickly, not only due to my lack of fresh air and nutrition, but due to the aging spell. I had to face it; I was on my last length of life here.

Sure, ponies who felt sorry for me dropped off food and such, but besides that, I was completely alone. Two years I lived like that, hiding inside my sanctuary, keeping away from the world.

Until that fateful day, when I heard that knocking.

It was the late summer, and I had just celebrated my thirty-second birthday. If you could say sitting at my desk, writing books was celebrating. I was a mess. I was contemplating suicide, and more reports of Assassins slain by their own came in. I knew that this was my entire fault. I should have never made Coco light the fuse, otherwise she might still be here, and Artiglio wouldn’t have turned to killing his own.

That’s when I heard it.

Knock Knock

I turned towards the door, my thin shape slowly adjusting to the movement. I got out of my sitting position, and walked over slowly, my hoofs slowly reaching for the handle. I then pulled away.

What if its Tempests?

I grabbed a knife from the table, curling my hoof around it. I opened the door slightly, letting the chain-bolt catch the door.
“Who is it?” I asked quietly, my voice coming out hoarse. It had been months since I had talked, and it felt weird to speak.

“An acquaintance,” said the voice, and I immediately closed the door.

“Go away! I don’t want anyone here!” I shouted, my hoarse voice cracking as I spoke.

“Verità, I need somewhere to reside for a short period of time. You know who I am,” said the voice, and I growled.

“I don’t care who you are, go away! This is my home, and I don’t want anypony else here!” I shouted.

“Verità, open the door,” the voice said firmly, and I screamed at the top of my lungs, which wasn’t very loud.

“Guards! Somepony is trying to break and enter!” I shouted.

The sad thing was, at the time I actually believed what I was saying. That somepony was trying to enter my house to kill me. I was that paranoid.

The door broke down, and an angry Ombra stood there, his golden, empty eyes staring directly at me.

“Come to your senses, Verità! It is Ombra! Do you not remember me?” he half asked and half shouted at me.

I was too paranoid to remember him, and I immediately grabbed my knife, lunging at him. He easily caught me, kicking me down. I jumped back up, and he slammed his hoof into my face, knocking out a tooth, sending blood flying. I then threw my knife, and it landed square in his chest plate. It didn’t penetrate, but I could tell it did some damage. The mental kind.
Ombra quickly flicked it off his chest plate, angrily staring at me. I reached for the letter opener upon my desk, but was stopped by a powerful hoof into the chest. I felt the rib break, which was extremely rare for a Pegasus. If I was a regular pony, that would have smashed my rib cage into bits. I fell backwards, and Ombra came upon me, smashing his hoof into my face.

“Stop!” I screamed, and sure enough, I didn’t feel another blow. I looked up at Ombra, and saw him staring down at me, my blood splashed across his face.

“Have you come to your senses?” he asked, and I sighed, nodding my head.

“For now,” I said, standing up.

Then I burst into tears.

“Control yourself mare,” shouted Ombra angrily, but I continued to cry.

“It’s my entire fault! I killed her, turning Artiglio into that monster! It’s all mine! I should have known that Dawn was a tempest! Why couldn’t it have been me? Why did it have to be her! IT’S ALL MY FAU-.” I was cut off by a hoof across my face, and I was flung across the room.

Ombra walked over to me, and leaned down, his cold face meeting mine.

“Be quiet,” he said, harshness boiling over in his words.

“Wha-what?” I stammered, looking into his harsh gaze.

“I said, be quiet. I do not care what ails you or what you are crying about. I do not care about your sadness about whoever died, because I frankly do not care about them. I just care that you are making it extremely hard for me to find a place to sleep for a fort night or two. You are an Assassin, not a child. Face your problem, and conquer it,” he shouted into my face. I could feel his hot breath on my face, and I realized what he meant.

I wasn’t supposed to give up on life just because of the death of a comrade. I wasn’t supposed to just leave all that I had lived for behind for a mistake. While it was a BIG mistake, I couldn’t just leave what I had lived for behind. Ponies died, it’s a fate shared by all of us. Some of us just experienced it sooner than others, and that was a fact about life. I should have understood that a long time ago, but I guess I was blinded by trickery and a hate for the Tempests.
I looked solemnly into Ombra’s eyes, my own drying up, and I stood up.

“Well?” he asked, scowl still apparent on his face.

“I’m fine. I’ll fix up the guest bedroom.” I said, walking off.

“You know, I do not understand why you were so saddened by that event. Death is something that all of us share in common,” said Ombra, sipping his tea. I rolled my eyes, looking into my own cup.

It had been a month since he had started staying at the sanctuary. In that whole month, I had returned to my sanity, for the most part. I had lost my feelings for happiness and other such things. I was as hollow as Ombra at this point.

“Ah, well, not all of us are monsters, like you,” I said quietly, sipping my tea.

I looked out the window watching the townsponies going about their business, happily frolicking around.
If only they knew the powers working behind the scenes.

I then turned my attention to Ombra, watching him closely. He was obviously older, yet still young at the same time. The years of killing had taken a toll on him, leaving him hollow, but he still maintained a young figure. Old state of mind, young state of body.

I on the other hand, had not tasted as much death as him obviously. I spent much more time incognito then he had, but I was still as screwed up as he was. My insides were torn apart by the anti-aging spell that had been put on me, not to mention my sudden increase in consummation of proteins. I was very nearly crippled. I was definitely not fit for any type of exercise yet, but I was slowly on my way to recovery.

“So, there were other guilds spread throughout Equestria?” asked Ombra, who then took a sip of his tea.

“Pretty much everywhere. While some of them are abandoned-like Las Pegasus, and Bearsalona- but otherwise most of the towns and cities still have active sanctuaries and guilds, though I heard that the headquarters is not in good shape.” I said quietly, staring out the window. A young earth pony with apples on her flank, was sitting at a stand near the sanctuary, staring into the window. I gave her a little wave, and she waved back, smiling.

“The ponies around here have obviously been relinquished of their Tempest overseers. I suppose that was your doing?” asked Ombra, and I nodded silently.

“You should be proud.”

“I’m most certainly not. Killing is not something you should be proud of, Ombra. It is the ending of a pony’s life. Taking away all of their being, their purpose, their destiny, and turning it into a lifeless soul. There is nothing about killing that should be celebrated, except that it is better for some to die.” I said, and Ombra nodded.

“You have become wiser, Verità. I still pictured you as a boasting apprentice. However, even if you are not proud of your actions you can still feel pride in the results,” said Ombra, who went for another sip, but then realized he had no more left in his cup.

I quietly poured him another cup, looking out the window. I saw a couple hooded ponies walking around. They didn’t look like Assassins, but they looked similar, like they were copying us. They were talking to some of the townsponies, and they were always directed towards the sanctuary.

“They are unknown to me,” said Ombra, and I nodded.

I looked the cloaked ponies once more, and realized they had gauntlets just like the hidden blade, except it was not an armored wrist cover. It seemed like it was modified, like it was a larger blade or something, and it flipped out the side.

“I am guessing they are Tempests. Perhaps an Assassin mock, of a sort,” said Ombra, who sipped his tea as if nothing was wrong.

“Perhaps. They seem to be seeking the Sanctuary out, as if looking for us,” I said, standing up quickly.

I walked over to my robes, running my hoof down the side of the soft white cloth. It had been a while since I had put them on. I was in no position to go into combat, but I had decided to add a small wrist mounted crossbow to the hidden blade. It would help me fight, even if I didn’t have too.

A knock on the door let me know they were here. I slipped on the hidden blade gauntlet, and quietly walked over to the door. I opened it, the chainbolt catching it.

“Hello…” said a raspy voice.

“Good afternoon, sir. How may I help you?” I asked, keeping my left hoof behind the door.

“May I come in?” asked the voice, and I shook my head.

“No,” I said, closing the door.

Suddenly, a thick blade mounted to the wrist of the stranger cut through the chain. I immediately backed up, and raised my wrist. The stranger kicked through the door, and I launched an arrow into his chest plate. He flew back, and hit the wall, blood spattering across the stone. His two accomplices jumped in, and I launched another arrow into another’s stomach. He doubled over, but the other mare lunged at me, knocking me over.

I was sprawled across the floor, my broken rib throbbing. The mare on top of me flicked her wrist to the left, and the thick blade swiveled out of her gauntlet.

“Time to die, Assassino,” hissed the mare, who lowered the blade to my throat.

I reacted quickly, sliding my hidden blade from its gauntlet. I jammed it into the mare’s chest plate, barely piercing the skin. The mare growled in pain, and then tried to stab me. I dodged my head out of the way, and pulled the blade out of the mare, when I heard her gurgle in pain. I saw a blade flash through her chest, and she threw up blood all over my chest. Ombra let go of the blade, and the mare slumped to the side, and I stood up, looking agonizingly down at my bloody chest.

“Are you okay, Verità?” asked Ombra, who then retrieved his sword.

“Yeah. I-I think I am,” I said, shakily standing up.

I looked at the bodies, and walked over to the one that I had hit in the stomach. He was still alive, and was slowly crawling towards the open door. The arrow had probably severed his spine, so he had lost all ability to move in the lower portion of his body.

“Who do you work for?” I asked solemnly, staring into the dying pony’s eyes.
He lowered his head, and flipped over. He then pulled his robes away from his chest, and I saw a crest. I knew I had seen it before, but I wasn’t sure where.

Canterlot.

Then it hit me. The crest was the Solar Empire’s crest. THE Solar Empire.

Celestia was out to kill the Assassin order.

I immediately raised my hoof, and fired an already loaded arrow into the other pony’s eye, and then tore off his chain. Ombra stood there, obviously taking in the situation.

“Pack up. We’re leaving,” I said, walking over to my room.

Ombra just nodded, and went to pack his things. I immediately grabbed my robes, and put them on.

I’m going to need them.

I had no idea where we were going, or how we were going to get there, but I just knew that I wasn’t going to let Celestia kill us. She had sent inexperienced mock-Assassins after us, expecting that they would do the trick, but now the stakes have been raised. I had just killed servants of the glorious Solar Empire, and now Celestia would really have it out for us.

The guild.

I sighed, and pulled on my hood.

“Time to go home, Verità.”

Author's Note:

Wow, the only reason this chapter was even remotely good was because of Vedavyasa's editing