A young mare finds her destiny as an Assassin, and try's to bring peace to equestria.
My name is Verità, and I am an Assassin. The blade in the crowd. Death in plain sight. I have served under Luna for my entire life, and now my story is coming to a close. I shall share you the story of my life, and the death, hate, and violence that came with it.
This is my story.
*Note* This story is a side fiction to go with "Ombra della Lama" by Vedavyasa. A whole lot of credit goes to him. It takes place around 40 years before the first season starts, and few things you have to also know.
This is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE, meaning some things will not be canon. If you want the full idea of how this universe is, go and visit Vedavyasa's blog. You'll find everything there. Link will be in all the chapters.
So here I was, standing in front of the powerful princess Celestia, shackled up by her guards, with a sword to my throat
You know, it’s times like these I like to reminisce about happier times. That is, if there were happier times. I had never had a happier moment in my life that right now. Finally, somepony was going to end my wretched life. It was my lucky day.
I had grown up in poverty. After my brother had died on Cloudsdale, my parents fell into a deep despair. My father stopped working, my mother killed herself. So instead of sulking in my own despair, I took the path of the killer of my brother. He had left to live in Canterlot with the Princess, so I decided to follow him.
Trying to get off cloudsdale was challenging for a wingless Pegasus. It took about a month to pickpocket enough coins to get enough money for a chariot ride. But it was worth it. I left to Canterlot, hoping I could get an immediate audience with the Princess. How arrogant I was back then. I demanded an audience, and was just laughed at. I probably looked really stupid, a small, wingless Pegasus, screaming at humongous guards to let me see the princess.
Then, I did something I would really regret.
I lunged at the largest of the guards. And hit him in the eye. Sure, I knew it would hurt him. But I didn’t realize It would break open, and give my hoof a straight shot to his brain.
Well, that’s how it went down. I tore his eye open, and then turned his brain to mush.
And I regretted that too.
The Guards immediately reacted, hitting me with their hooves, slashing me with their swords. In a matter of seconds, I was a broken filly. The guards, assuming I was dead, picked me up, took me to the edge of the canterlot, which was a cliff overlooking the Everfree forest, and dropped me. I fell to what I thought was my imminent death, but instead landed in a lake. Sure, it was still a hard landing, but Pegasi are known to have stronger bones than other pony species, so I was pretty much no more damaged then I already was.
In the end, I pulled myself out of the lake, realizing all my hopes and dreams of becoming one of the Princess’ apprentices, were crushed. I walked- or limped, whichever you prefer- into the forest, intent on finding a place to curl up and die.
Instead, after about an hour of walking, I found a massive castle. It was gutted out, just ruins, but there were still parts of it that were intact. Lights pushed through the dusty glass in the mess hall; the tower was lit up with a bluish-green glow. There were ponies there, so I thought I might play my hand with them.
I walked up to the massive double doors that opened to the castle, and knocked on them. I put on my best pathetic face, and waited. I heard the sounds of conversation of stop, and quiet whispers replaced them.
“Who goes there!” I heard a booming, colt voice yell through the doors.
“Please, sir, help me. I’m lost, and hurt.” I said meekly.
“I asked, WHO GOES THERE?!” Said the booming voice, and I whimpered.
“Angel, of Cloudsdale… I’m just a filly, sir, please!” I said, and I heard gasps.
“A filly? Come in, come in!” Said the voice, as he opened the door. The mess hall was magnificent, the carpet lined with gold, tables of hot food, and tons of ponies.
“Sweet Celestia! You’re wounded!” Said the Colt who had let me in. He was very large, and a shade of light blue. He was wearing a blood red cloak, which was lined with belts and buckles. On the belts were many different weapons. Swords, throwing knives, axes, and on his wrist, a weird looking gauntlet.
“Doctor! We need immediate attention on this poor filly!” Shouted the Colt. I looked around, and I saw all the other ponies were dressed in similar fasions, just different colors.
“Where am I?” I asked, looking around.
“We’ll answer that later. You need some medical attention, now!” Said the Colt, as a small griffon rushed over with a stretcher. The colt picked me up, and put me on the stretcher, and patted the griffon on the back. The griffon put the stretcher on his back, and hoisted me off to the infirmary. I didn’t realize how badly I was wounded, until I started to pass out from blood loss.
I woke up three days later, all sewn up, and feeling much better.
“Feeling better, I hope?” Said a voice. I turned in my bed, looking around the stone room. There was a small window in the corner, which illuminated the small area, making it easy to spot everything in the room. In the corner, sat an old looking Unicorn, dressed in dark, black robes. He had the same gauntlet as the rest of them did, but besides that, he looked totally different.
“Yes. Much better. Where am I?” I asked once again, and the Unicorn stood up.
“You are at the House of Libertà. Deep in the Everfree.” Said the Unicorn, walking up to me.
“Who are you, and who are those people who greeted me?” I asked. I was certainly dumbfounded that they just didn’t let me die, instead of wasting medical supplies. I had probably come across some type of nightmare moon cult or something, but a name for their worship ground like House of Libertà? It didn’t seem likely.
“I am Veglia Cuore, and I am the leader of this cell of the creed.” He said, and I tilted my head in confusion. He sighed.
“You have probably never heard of us. Don’t worry, young one, you will learn in all good time, that is, if you choose to stay with us.” He said, looking into my eyes. He was very elderly, his coat a vibrant white, and his mane a sad looking gray. His eyes were cloudy yellow, and he had many scars across his nose.
“What do you mean? I’m welcome here?” I asked, and Vegilia nodded, giving me a gentle smile.
“This place is welcome to anyone with an open mind, and a free spirit. A place where ponies come to, for refuge from the evil world. I sense that you have come looking for refuge, have you not?” asked Vegilia, and I nodded.
“Well then, young one, if you wish to say, just say so. You are welcome with open hooves into the brotherhood, if you wish.” He said. I thought about it for a second.
What about padre? He will miss me.
I shook the feeling off. I would return to him soon, someday.
“I-I will give it a try.” I said, and Vegilia smiled.
“Molto bene! Very good. I will notify Rosso Aquila to start your training immediately. We also might want to get your wings replaced, shouldn’t we?” he asked, and I opened my mouth in awe.
“Really?” I asked, and her nodded.
“The brotherhood takes care of its members. And the way I see it, you are part of it, apprendista.” He said, and I smiled.
I finally had a home. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Translations: Per trovare un luogo di pace: To find a place of peace Libertà: Liberty Veglia Cuore: Sleep heart (Play on words here.) padre: Father Molto bene: Very well. apprendista: Apprentice.
“Merda! Come on, Angel! You have to learn to parry, not just to dodge! I might hurt you!” Shouted Rosso, angrily kicking the ground. It had been a mere 10 years since I had joined the brotherhood. Rosso, the giant blue colt who was my first contact of the brotherhood, was my master, though I was coming close to outclassing him. He was growing old, and I was just growing. I was fifteen at this point, going on sixteen, and he was near the big five-oh.
“Face it old man, I’m faster than you.” I said, flexing my metal wings. He sighed, and took hold of his sword in his teeth once again.
“Alright, once more.” He said, his voice slightly muffled by the sword. I chuckled, and lunged at him, my rapier in my teeth. I attacked him with a flurry of quick attacks, and jumped back quickly. He wiped his brow with his hoof, and took to the sky. I did the same, chasing after him.
Air combat was much harder to do than ground combat. It was never my strong suite, but hey, you can’t choose you battles, can you?
I slammed into his left side, making him spin out of control. He landed carefully on one of the towers, and I followed him down.
“Maledizione! I am getting too old to be facing a young mare like you!” He shouted at me, and I laughed. I tackled him, and held my Rapier at his throat.
“You have bested me, my apprendista.” He said, and I let him up. He brushed the dirt off his blood red robes, and looked at me.
“I believe it is time.” He said, and my eyes widened.
“Really? You mean really, really?” I asked, excited. It had been my dream to get accepted into the circle. The circle was the group of elite assassins, but in order to join, you must get the blood of the worst criminal at the time. I had collected the blood of petty thieves before, but not a known criminal.
“We must consent the counsil.” He said, and I nodded.
“I’ll get cleaned up.” I said, sheathing my rapier. Rosso nodded, and I jumped off the tower. I flew back to the window of my quarters, and carefully adjusted my flight so that I didn’t clip the edges of the window.
I made a perfect landing, and stripped off my training clothes. I would finally get my assassins robes, and my very own hidden blade if this went right.
If this went right.
I shook my head, and walked into my showering room. I pumped the water, and let the cool liquid flow over my light grey coat. I looked into the mirror; half fogged, and saw my much more matured face. I had grown mature in the past 7 years, scars scattered my face, my baby blue eyes grown darker. My once platinum mane had turned a charcoal black, with a blood red stripe.
I got out of the shower, and pulled on my best clothes. Appearing before the council was like appearing before Celestia. I knew assassins that were in their late 50’s, and had never even seen the council in person. I attached my wrist bracers, which still didn’t have their blades inside, and walked out. Rosso was waiting for me outside, his face unnerved.
“So?” I asked, and he nodded.
“They will see you now.” He said, and we started down the hall.
“Do you know?” I asked, and he nodded his head.
“I believe he’s somewhere in canterlot. Merchant. He likes to sell things to the poor, and then when they owe him enough, he takes everything away from them. Sometimes even their children, and then he sells them as sex slaves.” Said Rosso, and I sighed.
“Sickening.” I said, and Rosso nodded. We approached the door to the council room, and we both took deep breathes.
“Be respectful.” He said, and I nodded. I pushed open the door, and walked up the pedestal. The council room was a massive, circular room, with a circular balcony that all the council members stood on. Torches lit the room, and it just made it that much uneasing.
“Angel! It has been too long!” Said one of the council members. I looked up to the highest chair, and I saw the old colt that had given me my first formal greeting.
“Padré Veglia! It is good to see you!” I said, and he gave me a warm smile.
“Now, about this little mission of yours.” Said one of the council members. He was a unicorn, middle aged, with an amazing beard.
“Yes. This merchant, I believe his name is Stronzo. Charges massive prices, when enough debt piles up, takes belongings away, yada yada, blah blah.” Said one of the younger council members. All the other members nodded their heads in approval.
“Bring us his blood. When you return, you will be an honorary member of the circle.” Said Veglia, and I bowed.
“Thank you.” I said, walking out.
“Okay, remember what I told you. Discreet, not blowing everything up.” Said Rosso, as I pulled on my midnight black robes. They were beautiful, covered in silver belts and buckles. While it was exactly like the rest of the assassins robes, the midnight black ones were kept for either ceremonial purposes, or the circle assassins.
“Yeah. I’ll make sure I don’t make a huge mess.” I said, and we both laughed. I pulled the black mask and hood over my face, only showing my eyes.
“I’ll be back soon, papà.” I said, patting him on the shoulder. He blushed. I had been calling him that since he became my master, seeing as how he was the closest thing I had to a father at this point.
I walked over to the chariot that was waiting for me, and jumped in. It was the dead of night, and I could easily see the glowing city of canterlot in the distance. The chariot pulled away, and took to the skies.
We were in the sky for about an hour, when we passed over the city. I touched the two chariot drivers on the back, and they nodded. I jumped out of the back of the chariot, letting my wings unfurl. As soon I was about 100 meters over the city, I spread my wings, and flew over to the target’s home.
I landed outside, and quickly found a way up to his window. It seemed too easy. No guards, open window, and a quick free running path to the window. I quickly scaled the wall, trying not to use my wings, so I wouldn’t make any noise. I climbed in quickly, looking around the dark room.
Merda.
There lay his body, in a pool of blood. It was fresh, the blood still running, still pooling. Judging from the wound, he was killed by none other than the hidden blade. I crouched, when I saw a single feather.
Another Assassin killed my prey.
I stood up, walking away from the scene. There was no way I was going to fake the killing of my target. It would take my honor away from me. I jumped out of the window, and flew off into the Everfree. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Credit: Vedavyasa
Translations: Merda: Shit Maledizione: Damn apprendista: Apprentice Padré Veglia: Father Sleep. papà: You should know. You don't have to be full Italian to know this one. Stronzo: Ass hole La strada per l'inferno e ritorno: The road to hell and back.
“I failed, Padré,” I said, trying not to show the tears in my eyes.
“How could you fail? It was an easy kill!” shouted another council member.
“Another Assassin got to him before I did,” I said, as tears steadily streamed down my face.
“You poor excuse for an Assassin!” shouted another one. They were testing me, I knew it.
“I’ve had cats with more power than you!”
“Why did we take you in again?”
“You worthless pezzo di merda!”
“You know, I could have just taken my feather, and bathed it in his blood, make it look like I did it. I could have just faked the kill, and made you all proud. But instead, I chose the path of honour, I chose to not lie. I wanted to continue to be honourable, to show you that I was ready to put my honour, and the brotherhoods, before anything else. I expected ponies like you to understand, seeing as how you are some of the most honourable I’ve met. But sadly, you just judge me like everypony else would,” I said, and the council room fell silent.
Murmurs filled the air, as they tried to figure out what they would do.
“Well, I’m proud of you,” I heard Rosso say.
I turned, my face covered in awe. He gave me a gentle smile, and I heard some of the council members murmur in agreement.
“I am as well. I’m sorry for my outburst. I think you do deserve to be part of the circle,” said Veligia, and I bowed gratefully. I suddenly felt a weird prick on my skin, near my hind leg. I realized that my cutie mark appeared. I guess I was destined to be an assassin, after all. All of the other assassins had the symbol as their cutie mark, so that’s what I expected when mine came out.
I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of the actual symbol, a modified version was imprinted.
Other members of the guild gasped in surprise, and one of the elderly ones clutched his chest.
“Truth walker…” said Velgia, who stood up, “I must talk to Luna. I will be back.”
I stood there, keeping my stiff, upright state, waiting for Velgia to come back. In a matter of minutes he came back, a smile on his face.
“Angel, welcome to the Creed. Or should I say… Verità Camminatore, truth walker.”
It had been years since anypony had called me that. The axepony had just now walked in, and was now sharpening his axe. I gave out a deep breath. I remembered that morning, when I saw the other Assassin. Just like me, except serving under the Princess. I closed my eyes, and fell into my memories once more.
“Now look, Verità, don’t cause any commotion. Remember, blade in the crowd. You are silent death, a master of cloak and dagger stuff,” said Rosso as he puffed thoughtfully on his pipe. My next assignment was to check on Princess Celestia. No killing, no fighting, just a quick check up. I hadn’t seen the princess in person, so I was quite excited.
“I know, Rosso. But we’re equals now. You don’t have to give me advice,” I said, and Rosso just chuckled.
“But, I am wiser than you,” he said, and I nodded. I pulled my hood over my head, and spread my metal wings.
“I’ll see you soon, my friend,” said Rosso, and I smiled.
“See you.”
I landed on the top of Celestia’s castle, quietly planting my hooves on the roof. There was a stained glass window on the side, which I could easily access, and would give my good oversight of the meeting. I jumped from post to post, edge to edge, occasionally using my wings as stabilizers.
Finally, I had made it over to the window, and had full view to the meeting. On the outside, it looked like it was going over fine. But through my eagle vision, I saw that it was a mess. Two of the ponies, Celestia and a colt, looked perfectly calm, even relaxed. Everypony else was glowing with fear, one even had a slight hue of anger on him. My eyes scanned back over to where the two calm ponies were standing. On Celestia’s right hand, there was the young colt, not much older than me, standing there.
Celestia’s guild
I had been taught about how there was once one group of Assassins, but when one day, a great Assassin, named Altair, angry with Luna, branched the creed into different guilds, one for each Princess. Later, some of the more evil assassins branched off, and formed another guild, which then absorbed enemies of the other two guilds. While they never had enough balls to actually attack us, they had come severely close on several occasions. The Tempests
He just stood there, looking over the fearful crowd with a smug look on his face. I smiled to myself, and jumped away, unfurling my wings in midflight. I flew back to the Guilds headquarters.
“So? How did it go?” asked Veglia, and I smiled kindly.
“Bene. It was fine. Nothing to report,” I said, and Velgia sighed.
“She never does anything interesting, does she?” he asked, and I shrugged.
“I have another assignment for you. Ever heard of Maneherald?” asked Velgia, and I nodded.
“He is part of the Tempests, and he needs to be taught a lesson,” He said, and I nodded.
“Have you told the others yet?” I asked, and Velgia shook his head.
“This is just for you. Do not return until it’s finished,” he said, handing me a small feather. I nodded, and went to my room to get ready.
“I’ll see in a couple… weeks, months, years? I don’t know, kiddo, but you better get back here soon. You know how I am when I’m lonely,” said Rosso when I returned, and I chuckled.
“I’ll be back soon enough, papa,” I said, smiling.
He nodded to me, and I turned to the chariot. I took a big breath, and stepped on.
“To Fillydelphia,” I said, and the Pegasi whinnied. As we launched off, I heard the horns blowing back at the guild. Then, I heard the screaming that chills my bones to this day.
Fillydelphia. Ah, such a wonderful place. I remember all the fun times I had there. When I wasn’t killing, interrogating, or wooing Tempest agents over, I spent my time at plays, dancing in carnivals, and just having fun. Ahh, those were the happiest of my days. I had almost forgotten that Velgia has been slain as I left the Guild. The Axe pony had finished sharpening his axe, and was now lumbering over to the executioners block. I closed my eyes once again, thinking back on my time in Fillydelphia.
“Verità! Wake up!” I heard a voice say, and I sat up.
I rubbed my eyes, and looked around. In front of me was the Sanctuary master, who was angrily staring at me.
“Get out of bed, and get going! Your informant is trying to leave the city!” I heard him yell, and my senses immediately returned.
I shoved a pillow in his face, and stripped off my nightgown, and jumped into my black assassins robes, pulling my hood onto my face. I grabbed my sword, my knives, my hidden blades, and last but not least, my new weapon. A gun, as the vendor called it. It shot a large ball from my hidden blade, and had helped me in several occasions, shooting darts at unwanted drunks, or guards.
I ran out the front door, still trying to wake up. I clumsily stumbled into a few ponies going about their duties, and then finally got to my senses.
Think Verità! He lives in the west district of the city, so he must be using the west exit.
I looked around for a way up to the rooftops. I was most comfortable being able to see the city as a whole, not being ensnared on the streets. I found an easy looking path, using boxes and some lantern posts, to get onto the top of the local restaurant. I immediately took it, getting to the top of the building in a matter of seconds. While ponies gawked at me, I just looked onward. I located the small gates that were my contacts salvation.
Not today.
I ran quickly across the rooftops, using swinging posts and wires to my advantage. In the past three years I had been here, my free-running had become amazingly skilled. I knew this place like the back of my hand. I knew all the right people, as well. Mercenaries, thieves, soldiers, guards… they would all look the other way if I committed crimes, out of fear, out of respect, out of the fact that I was doing it for the greater good.
After about ten minutes of running/gliding across the city, I had reached the western entrance. Also there was my contact, hurrying through the crowds with his trophy wife and his foals. I immediately swooped down, and walked over to the guards.
“Block the entrance,” I said, and the guards nodded.
“As you wish, Verità,” said the leader of them, and they quickly walked in front of the door.
I stood in the middle, masking my eyes, and giving a devilish grin to my contact. It wasn’t until it was too late he realized I was blocking the way.
“Ah! Verità! I didn’t expect to see you here!” he said nervously, and I sighed.
“Cut the merda, bugiardo. I suggest you tell the truth, or your family is going to have to see their father cut down in the street,” I said, brandishing my hidden blade.
“You would never!” screamed his trophy wife, and I sighed again.
“I would,” I replied in a voice lathered with fake sympathy.
I stuck my lower lip out, and she was taken back.
“Ah, you see, Verità, I have brought some of my own men with me,” he said.
Almost as if on cue, a large group of mercenario appeared from behind him. They were armed to the teeth, and looked pretty vicious. None of them I knew, so there was no way I was going to get out of this using my charm and such.
“You know, there is always a way to win fights these large,” I said, and the contact just chuckled.
“How is that, Verità?” he asked, and I smiled sweetly.
“By not fighting fair,” I replied with a chuckle.
And with that, I raised my forehoof, aimed it at one of the mercenaries heads, and fired a shot from my gun. His head exploded, sending shards of brain and skull everywhere. Ponies screamed in fear, and then ran away. Even the Mercenaries ran for their lives.
“So, you want me to give you information, right?” asked the contact, and I nodded my head slowly.
“Okay, Heraldmane is having a party at his house tonight. I was invited, but, as you may know, I’m trying to leave, so I, uh, don’t get killed. Here, take it! You should get in with such nice clothes you have on!” he said, pulling out his invitation.
“Don’t flatter me,” I shot back, taking the invitation.
It didn’t have his name on it, so it must have been anonymous invitations.
“You’re lucky. I might actually not hunt you down after this is done,” I said, and I motioned for the guards to move out of the way.
The family ran out, and I chuckled.
Well, if I don’t get him, The Tempests will.
I walked through the city, talking to a number of mercenaries I had made friends with over the years. They had told me that if I was going to do a full-fledged battle, then they would be there to back me up. We were sitting at a small café on the eastern side, where I could keep a good eye on the mansion that overlooked Fillydelphia
“Thanks guys, but I’m going to do this discreetly. I don’t want to attract too much attention now, do I?” I asked, and the Mercenaries laughed.
“Oh, Verità. You can never do anything discreetly. Half the town knows you blew off a colts head today. I think he might be expecting you,” said one of the Mercenaries.
“I doubt it. I’m sure his guards will, though,” I replied, sipping my cup of black tea.
It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and I was about to kill some unlucky cazzo who had pushed his luck too far.
“Well, we’ll be there. Just remember, we can be killed, unlike you,” they chided, and they started to chuckle.
“Okay guys, that was two years ago. My luck has probably worn off by now. Just because I took on a full patrol of Tempest guards does not mean I’m invincible. It just means I’m skilled,” I said smugly, and they all did weird moans of discovery.
“Oh, so she’s not invincible, she’s just skilled,” one said dramatically.
I rolled my eyes, and punched the one who had said that in the shoulder.
“You guys! Anyway, any new news about Canterlot?” I asked, and they all shook their head.
“Just the same old crap. Pony eating Griffons. I heard they have somepony like you dealing with it,” said one of the Mercenaries, and I just sighed.
So he is working for the Princess I guess.
I didn’t show any resentment about the assassin. Even though he was part of another guild, a hostile one towards mine at that, he was just like me. I knew who he was, the small foal who had killed my brother, and sent me on this wonderful journey. I would have to thank him later for that.
“Ah, I can see the nobles are starting to arrive,” said one of the waiter ponies, who had come over to refill my cup of tea.
I watched as the chariots drove by, leaving behind trails of dust. I drank the last of my tea, and stood up.
“Well, it has been good talking with you, gentiluomo. But I must take my leave. I will hopefully see you in the near future, my friends. Addio!” I shouted back, as I walked behind one of the carriages.
“Addio!” “Goodbye, Verità! Good luck.” “Farewell!”
My memory was cut off by the feeling of a boot on my back. I was pushed over, my neck exposed on the rock I was laying my head in. I heard the guard laugh a little bit, as I grunted.
“I’m sorry, assassino. Did that hurt?” he asked and I sighed through my gag.
I closed my eyes once again, thinking back to my stay in Fillydelphia.
It was sunset by the time I had made it up to the castle, and I fit right in. Everypony was dressed in dark, formal clothes, and it made me blend right in.
“Your invitation, la mia signora,” I heard someone say.
I realized I was at the front gates, and this young colt was taking invitations.
“Here you go,” I said, handing him the invitation.
He was a young boy, no older than sixteen, and this was about to be his worst day ever. I felt bad for him.
“Ah, I think I may have some spare coin for you,” I said, pulling my coin purse over my head.
I carefully opened it, and handed him 50 gold pieces.
“Grazie signora!” he said thankfully, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the coins.
I smiled at him as I walked in, looking around the small stairs that led up to the beautiful garden courtyard. Inside, couples were dancing to beautiful music, eating, and having small talk with the stallion of the night, Heraldmane. He wore his tempest cross proudly on his vest, and made no sign to show that he knew I was here.
I walked over to the snack bar, trying different cheeses and such. Heraldmane may be a bad guy, but damn, he sure had some good taste.
“You know, that cheese has been aged finely at my cellar down in the southern area of the city,” I heard a formal voice remark.
I looked over and saw Heraldmane standing there, looking like the most important person in the world.
“Well, it taste’s delicious, sir,” I said, and he smiled.
“I don’t think I’ve met you, signora. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Heraldmane,” he said, bowing.
“I am Mi Amore Fabiana. It is very nice to meet you, my lord,” I said, bowing.
I had taken my hood off, as well as my belt that showed I was an assassin, so I only looked like a mare that could defend herself at this point. I guess I had taken liberties with the alias.
“Ah, such a beautiful name. Well, I must go and entertain my other party guests, but I will speak with you soon, Fabiana,” he said.
I smiled at him, and then waited until he left, still watching him as he moved through the crowd. I then slipped away from the party, into the mansion.
“Hey, you can’t be here!” said one of the guards, and I smiled innocently.
“I’m sorry, but I have lost my way. Can you lead me back to the party?” I asked, and the guard came up to me.
“Right this was, signora,” he said. I wasted no time dealing with him. I unsheathed my hidden blade, and killed him right there, letting his blood slide down the shaft of the weapon.
I wiped my blade on his shirt, and continued on to the roof access. I dispatched two more guards swiftly, making sure they didn’t attract any other ones, and then finally found the roof access.
I climbed up onto the top of the building, looking around. The sun had set a purple glow to the night, and it made the party look so much more beautiful. Couples were dancing to fast paced music downstairs, and Heraldmane was right below me.
“Too easy, I’ve spent three years preparing for what, an easy jump ‘n go?” I asked myself, and then sighed.
I jumped off the roof, my hidden blade poised downwards. It wasn’t until it was too late Heraldmane realized what was happening. I plunged the knife through his throat, and slammed him into the ground.
“What… the…” he gargled, and I pulled my feather from my pack.
I rubbed it across his neck and then put it back. Guards were circling me now, but I didn’t need to deal with them. I spread my wings, and flew into the sky.
That is, until two Pegasus guards flanked me.
“Submit yourself, assassino!” shouted one of the guards, and I shook my head.
I bled speed, and hit both of them in the face with my metal wings. They tumbled towards the ground, and I saw them create their own little dust craters.
“Pfft, amateurs,” I muttered to myself.
I landed on a rooftop, and ran to the Fillydelphia sanctuary, quickly making sure I could lose my heat.
“So, did you get him?” asked the Sanctuary keeper and I nodded.
“He isn’t getting back up,” I said, raising the bloody feather.
“I guess you’re going home now.”
“I hope.”
That hope would come true, but not in the way I wanted it to. I felt the cold touch of the axe blade against the back of my neck, as the executioner was taking his final practice swing. I thought back on my recent events.
Translations: Merda: Shit Buigardo: Liar Mercanario: Mercenaries Cazzo: Prick Addio: Goodbye La mia signora: My lady. Mi Amore Fabiana: My love fabiana
Okay, so, now that I have most of the near story finished, I will be posting these daily.
I took the journey by foot to get back to the guild headquarters. It was a long journey, taking me a year to make it back. I was 20 by the time I returned, and I realized much had changed in the time I left.
I knocked on the door, and I was immediately greeted with spears protruding out the crack in the door.
“Who goes there?!” I heard Rosso shout, his voice covered in edge.
“Verità.” I said, and I heard him sigh with relief.
“Verita! Sweet Luna, where have you been? It’s been four years since you left! A year since you killed Heraldmane! We all thought you were dead!” He exclaimed, and gave me a big hug. I returned it, and I looked inside the mess hall. It was a mess, things strewn everywhere, the banners torn, and everyone looked solemn.
“What the happened?” I asked, and Rosso shook his head.
“Ever since Velgia’s death, everything has spun out of control. He wasn’t killed by a weapon like a sword, or a axe. But a hidden blade.” He said, and my eyes grew wide.
“We have a traitor among our ranks?” I asked quietly, and he nodded his head.
“Traitors, to be exact. We’ve had many of the council members killed. The circle is doing its best to find out who it is. Which, on another hand, we are having another meeting with Luna today, I suggest you attend.” He said, looking around.
“Alright, I will do that. But who do I give the feather to?” I asked, pulling the bloody feather from my teeth.
“Me. I’m guild leader now.” Said a voice. I looked over, and I saw a youngish colt walking towards me. He had a midnight blue coat, and a silver mane.
“Ah, Grande Protettore. It is good to see you.” Said Rosso. Grande looked at me, and sighed.
“New apprentice?” He asked, and Rosso shook his head.
“This is one of the best Assassins here. She’s the one who killed Heraldmane just over a year ago.” Said Rosso, and I handed the feather to Grande.
“Well, a job well done. Congratulazioni on your first Tempest kill.” Said Grande, who then promptly walked off.
“Weird one, he is.” Said Rosso, and we both chuckled.
“I’ll go and get cleaned up. I will see you at the meeting.” I said, walking to my room.
“Today, we celebrate the death of the Assassin who took both Heraldmane, and The Captain of the guard’s death!” I heard Celestia shout out across the courtyard. She was sitting in her throne, and everypony was celebrating.
“Any last request, assassino?” asked the headsman, and I just laughed.
“I would like a sip of black tea, if I may.” I asked, and the guards looked at eachother in confusion.
“Well, if you say so. Get her a cup of tea, cameriere.” Said the headsman, and I heard the slave trot away.
Way to buy time, Verità. I closed my eyes once more, and thought back to my first and final meeting with the Assassins circle.
“I would like to welcome our new member, Verità, to her first circle meeting.” Said Luna, who was smiling gently at all of us. I blushed a bit, as they all murmured greetings to me.
“Now, let’s get this meeting up to speed, shall we?” asked Rosso, and everypony nodded.
“First and foremost. Heraldmane is dead. The Tempests no longer have a steady supplier of healthy foods and such.” I said, and they all murmured congratulations.
“We have uncovered an extremely dire threat. Tempests have been found somewhat working with high nobles inside Canterlot. We cannot let this happen. While Celestia may have her own Assassin, he will not stand a chance against several, well-armed Tempests.” Said Luna, and everypony got wide eyed.
“She has an Assassin?” “We must kill him!” “That threat is more major than the Tempests!”
While everypony else was bickering about how they should deal with the problem, I just sighed.
“He’s an Assassin, just like us. We don’t kill other Assassins, due to the fact that we were once all a brotherhood, binded by blood.” I said, and they all looked at me weird. While Luna, Rosso, and a couple others nodded in approval, Grande spoke up.
“We were once. No longer. I must say, you do have a twisted sight on things. He is our enemy. We are Luna’s guild, and they are Celestia’s guild. There shall be no more discussion on this!” He said loudly. He watched everyone sink back into their seats, except me.
“Do you view me as a threat, Verità?” He asked, calmly putting his hoof on the table.
“No, my lord. I just find it odd that you so forcefully push your opinions on us, and make it seem likes it the most important one. I would think you would take the example from Veglia, seeing as how he was always open to opinions” I said. The circle stared at me in awe, and I could see Luna holding back a laugh.
“You dare question my authority? I will see you and Rosso after the meeting. Tonight.” He said, and I sighed.
“fine.” I added, and sat back down for the rest of the time.
“Your tea, signora.” Said the slave, and I took a long sip. It was the tastiest tea I had ever had. I always thought imperial drinks were terrible, but this one was wonderful. I finished off the last drop, and laid my head back onto the rock. I heard the sound of Tempest nobles squealing in happiness. Another Assassin, falling to their blade. I thought back to after the meeting, and how it changed my life forever.
“You know, Rosso, I thought you taught your apprentice better.” Said Grande, who we were alone with now. There was an assassin on each side of side of him, dressed in blood red.
“I taught her to speak her mind. She was in no way questioning your authority, my lord.” Said Rosso, and Grande chuckled.
“You know, Verità, I hated you since the day I saw you. I knew you were a threat. You were such an over achiever, joining the circle before you even became a known assassin. I made sure to tell Celestia about your deeds.” He said, and my eyes got wide.
“What?” I said, and Grande pulled a cross from his robes.
“I thought you would have seen it by now. Pity. Well, nopony will ever know that there is a bunch of Tempest’s inside their guild, killing them off one by one. Soon, I will have all the Assassins killed here. And there won’t be anything you can do, because you will be dead.” He said, and his guards lunged for us.
I was quick to react, jumping out of the way of the guard that lunged for me. Rosso wasn’t so lucky. He was knocked to the ground, and stabbed twice before he bucked the assailant off, and got into the fray of things. I drew my sword, swiveling it in my teeth.
“You are weak, Verità, face it!” Shouted Grande, and I just mumbled some not so nice words. His guard lunged at me, his sword tip down.
Bad move.
I dodged out of the way, and put the tip of my sword through his mid-section, piercing his heart. He dropped dead, and I turned to see something I never saw coming.
Rosso, blood pooling around his body, with a steaming hole in his head. Next to him, I saw Grande and the other Assassin, each with a gun in their mouth.
“No…” I muttered to myself. Grande just grinned, and I raised my for hoof. I pulled back the action, letting the massive lead ball smash into Grande’s second guard. He flew at the wall, guts spewn everywere, and Grande was dumbfounded.
“What, wait, huh?” He stumbled over his words, and I lunged at him. He got his sense back, and fired a shot from his pistol. I smashed into the side of my gauntlet, hitting my own gun, and destroying it.
I’m going to have to go back to that vendor and thank him for making that gun able to block bullets.
I slammed into Grande, and he just stared up at me in fear. I poised my blade over his neck, and I looked at him sternly.
“Mercy? Please!” He shouted, trying to fiddle his way out of this one.
“Mercy doesn’t come for traitors.” I said, and with that, I plunged my blade into his throat, twisting it so that it would do more damage.
I went over to Rosso, said a small prayer, took a feather from his wing, and bathed it into Grande’s blood.
“I’m-I’m sorry master. I should have acted sooner.” I said, looking at Rosso’s body. A small tear filled my eye, and I opened the window, and took flight, vowing to never return to that corrupt place.
It had been 2 years since I left the guild. I had no idea how things were going on back there, but I heard bits and pieces of news that surrounded them. More nobles were dying, here and there, more patrols found dead, and Celestia was getting pretty pissed off. She had made several speeches in the past couple months stating how she was going to wipe this murdering scum off the streets, by using the brute force of her guards.
Yeah, like the aren’t already brutal.
In the past few months, I’ve seen royal guards come into my bar, buy a couple drinks, and beat my waitresses. I couldn’t do anything about it, though, because I vowed to put the blade down.
Nothing is true, everything is permitted.
I shook those words out of my head, as I filled up some mercenaries’ cups.
“You know, Angel, you really shouldn’t be giving us these discounts, you know.” Said one of the mercenaries, and I just smiled.
“Oh come on now, you and your boys are my best costumers. You even helped me keep this thing open!” I exclaimed, and they all nodded their heads.
“I remember that.” Said one of them, and they all went to their table.
I had started up a business as soon as I got to canterlot. I bought out an old restaurant, hired some of the employees that were fired from the said restaurant, and opened a bar. It was the new place for all the mercenaries, thieves, and even some royal guards. Once in a while, I would see Celestia’s assassin stop in, buy a drink, and then leave. But this evening, he stayed to have a chat with his mercenary friends.
Then, the Captain of the guard busted in.
“Hey! Where’s all the ladies?” he shouted across the room, and I heard an audible groan from the mercenaries.
“Look, tank, we get it. You love the ladies, now go somewhere else.” Said one of the thieves, and Tank just laughed.
“I could arrest you, but that would take away drinking time. Angel, give me a glass of your finest Apple whiskey!” He shouted, and I sighed. I poured a glass, and gave it to the waiter. She brought it to Tank’s table, and as she set it down, he put a leg around her neck.
“Hey, baby, why don’t you and I rent a room, and get it on!” He shouted, and I heard some facehoofs.
“Um, no sir. I don’t want to, and I’m still on duty.” She said. He took his other hoof, and slapped her.
“That wasn’t a question, now c’mon!” He said, tugging at her blouse. I looked at the Assassin, and he just shrugged.
“Stop!” I shouted, and Tank continued to hit her. I ran over, knife in my teeth, and I held it at his neck. I heard a couple of the guards stand up, and unsheathe their swords. The mercenaries did the same, I think even the assassin pulled his sword.
It was a stand off.
“You are not welcome here, anymore.” I said, and tank just chuckled. Then, he did something I will never forget.
He took his sword, and stabbed the waitress.
“No!” I screamed, catching the waitress in my hooves. Tank just laughed, and sheathed his sword.
“And I won’t catch a single bit of hell for this. Addio!” He said, and then walked out the door. My jaw dropped, and the guards followed him, laughing. I watched at the waitress died in my hooves.
“Amy. Hold down the bar. I have work to do.” I said. I looked at the mercenaries, and they just nodded.
“We’ll deal with the body, you do what you have to do, signora.” They said, and I nodded. I walked to the cellar room, and jumped down.
It had been 2 years since I had donned the robes. They were robes of an exile, a pony that had deserted her cause because she lost ones she loved in betrayals. I looked over the white cloth, running my hoof down the side. I easily slipped it on, and then went over to my weapons bench. I pulled on my hidden blade, unsheathed my rapier, attached my throwing knife belt, and walked out of the cellar.
The mercenaries were surprised. So were my employees. The Assassin just looked at me, his eyes slightly widened,not making any emotion. I just walked out, making no sign of any type of emotion.
It wasn’t hard to find the captain of the guard. He was just wreaking havoc all around Canterlot, making a fool of himself. I quietly followed him, using the night as cover. It was a new moon, so there was next to no moonlight. By the time all of his guards had went home, the street lights were off, giving me total cover.
I jumped down into an alley in front of him, and waited until he passed by to make my move.
“You know, you really should know not to piss me off, Tank.” I said, and he looked into the alley, drunkenly pulling his sword. I walked out, my rapier glowing silver.
“Oh, hello Verità, I didn’t realize it was just you. I won’t have to work hard to deal with you.” He said, looking at me with a steely stare. I lunged at him, blocking every move he made, and vice versa.
It wasn’t until I was dead tired to realize that he was using his armor. His blade had not touched mine, and I had been aiming for his mid-section the whole time. I gripped the sword in my teeth, raised my hoof, and tackled him. As soon as we had settled, I was on top of him, my hidden blade embedded in his throat.
“Assassino! Assassino!” Shouted some onlooker, and almost immediately, guards came rushing over. I sheathed my sword, and let the guards arrest me.
“Now, no more interruptions! Start the execution!” Shouted Celestia, and I just gritted my teeth.
So here I was, laying in front of the great Princess Celestia, and Axe to my neck, about to end my existence. When I look back on it, I had a pretty crappy one. I sighed, and turned my head so that I could look at the heads pony.
“Let’s get this over with, shall we? I want my trip to hell to be quick.” I said, and the heads pony nodded. He grabbed the axe in his teeth, spun it with his tongue, and lined my neck up with his axe.
I couldn't deny the fact that this was it for me. That this was when the fat pony sang. When the curtains closed. My final bow. I closed my eyes, for what seemed like the final time. I waited for the final blow.
It never came.
Finally I opened my eyes, and I watched the Assassin I had seen in my bar burst through a window and begin to fight the guards. With powerful blows of his hooves, he easily knocked out the two guards that had held me down. With his sabre, I watched him nearly decapitate the headspony that charged him. With a small crossbow connected to his right foreleg, I watched him easily shoot down the three archers there to guard the Princess.
He stood in front of Celestia, in a upright position.
A/N: Okay, so here we go. 2 chapters because you guys have been so patient. Also, there is a huge slew of chapters coming next week or so, so sit tight, and you will be rewarded.
“Ombra! What is the meaning of this!” shouted Celestia, and Ombra didn’t budge.
"Celestia, I vowed to serve you as long as you have this vial."
The Assassin raised a small vial filled with blood.
"There was a time when I would have allowed you to execute this mare because of that vow. When my old master died, however, he taught me something. 'Nothing is true, everything is permitted’. It is only now I have come to understand these words."
He dropped the vial, and crushed it under his hoof.
"My oath is broken. Che tu possa marcire all'inferno."
I could see the fear in Celestia’s eyes. I stood up, my legs still bound. He walked over to me, not saying a word as he opened the locks with his hidden blade. We both looked at Celestia defiantly, and then promptly walked out the double doors.
“Thanks,” I said quietly.
He just nodded, turning his head to slightly face mine. He had a small scar on his upper lip, and had eyes that looked like he had seen some terrible things, and done even worse. Hollow eyes that never wavered. He looked almost the same as he did when he was just a foal, that fateful day when he started both of our spiraling journeys.
“So, uh, thanks,” I said, and he looked at me odd.
“You already said that,” he said, his emotion returning to normal.
We walked out the front doors of the palace, and I could hear the hoof steps of guards.
“Not for killing my brother,” I said, and he looked at me with a look of pure confusion.
“Mi scusi?” he asked, spreading his wings.
I did the same, and we took off, side by side.
“You killed my brother in Cloudsdale, which made my mother and my father just sort of... give up. That made me leave Cloudsdale to follow you, then let me get brutalized by guards, make them throw me into the Everfree, and let me find my path as an Assassin,” I said, and he just looked at me.
“You are that cazzo’s sister? Will this be a problem?” he asked, and I shook my head.
“No. If I was going to kill you, why wouldn’t I have done it at the bar the many times you came in?” I asked, and he nodded.
“True,” he said.
We flew off over the Everfree, trying to find a place to land. Canterlot was on full alert, their sirens blaring behind us. Ombra paid no attention to them, and then I noticed Ponyville in the distance.
“There. My guild has a sanctuary in there,” I said, and Ombra looked at me again in confusion.
“I’ll explain when we get there. Let’s go,” I said, and Ombra just nodded.
We landed there after about an hour of flying, and I was exhausted. Ombra acted like it was no big deal, but then again, he hadn’t ditched the robes for two years. We looked around the small town, trying not to attract any type of attention to ourselves. It was quiet hard, seeing as how nopony was wearing clothes, like they do in Trottingham or Canterlot.
“I… have no idea where it is,” I said, and Ombra sighed.
“So you brought me here to hide in a sanctuary you cannot find?” he asked.
I ignored his comment, and I just looked around. I saw a pony who had a cake as his cutie mark, and I walked over to him.
“Excuse me, could you tell me if there is a suspicious looking building on the outskirts of town, doesn’t look like it has been used in years?” I asked, and I heard Ombra mutter some unpleasant words.
“Actually, there is one! On the west end of the town! Been abandoned for about a year now. The pony who left it said ‘there’s trouble on the homestead,’ then he just up and disappeared,” he said, and I nodded gratefully.
“Grazie.” I replied promptly, and turned to Ombra.
He stared at me in mild amusement, and we walked across the town.
We stopped in front of the house, which had Assassin symbol banners spread around the outside, all torn. I grimaced at the sight of my old guilds sanctuary, once their pride and joy, now tattered remnants of what we once were.
“Let us enter, I would like to hear your story,” said Ombra, and I nodded.
We walked over to the door, and easily pushed it open. Everything was just like it had been when I had traveled here for my first Summer-Sun celebration with Rosso.
Rosso.
The only thing that made the place look bad was the despicable amount of dust on everything, but that could be sorted out.
“Find a seat,” I said, and Ombra carefully swiped the dust off a felt couch before sitting down.
I rolled my eyes, and spread my wings. I flapped them powerfully, sending pillows and dust everywhere. I knocked back Ombra backwards, and he sat back up, his hood resting on his nose. He blew it out of the way, and I stifled a laugh.
“Okay, what do you want to know?” I asked, and he sighed.
“Who are you? What is this other guild of Assassins?” He asked, and I sighed.
“Okay. Here’s the whole story. My name is Verità. After you killed my brother in Cloudsdale, I wanted to follow in you path. So, I got a ride to Canterlot and demanded an audience with the Princess. That didn’t go over too well. I ended up killing one of the guards, and I got thrown off a cliff,” I started, and Ombra leaned on his hoof in thought.
“There was mention of a guard being murdered not long after I arrived,” he said, and I shrugged.
“Well, after that, I stumbled over a small gutted castle in the Everfree. It happened to be the headquarters of Luna’s Assassins,” I said, and Ombra immediately stood up.
“Luna’s Assassins? Luna was banished to the moon nearly one thousand years ago,” he exclaimed, and I rolled my eyes.
“Cover up. Luna gave Celestia power over both day and night in return for Luna having her own little group of ponies to… use. This formed the brotherhood. It was short lived, though. An Assassin by the name of Altair defected to Celestia, and so did a number of other assassins. This formed the two guilds. While they weren’t enemies, some saw each other as such. When these ponies were brought to light, they were exiled. These exiles teamed up, and began a third guild, known as the Tempests,” I continued, and Ombra’s eyes got wide.
“Red and white armour? Crosses?” he asked, and I nodded.
“Ever had run ins with them?” I asked, and he shook his head.
“I have noticed them, but never had reason to kill them,” he said, and I nodded.
“Anyway, the Tempests took the Assassins enemies under their wings, making their group stronger than the Assassins at the time. They never attacked though, they just picked off Assassins that were too cocky and pushed their luck too far. They kinda disappeared about two hundred years after Luna’s so called disappearance. They popped back up about a hundred years ago, but have just been lingering around weakly,” I said, and Ombra sighed.
“All right, and your guild?” he asked, and I closed my eyes.
“When I first came to the guild, I was welcomed. It was like any other type of military-ish group. Ranks, small groups, the leaders. As the years progressed, I was accepted into the family of Assassins. I had started killing at the age of fourteen, killing off petty criminals, teaching them lessons. At the age of fifteen, I joined the circle, which is the elite killing group. The way to get in was to kill a well-known criminal. Mine was to be a merchant in Canterlot who had been ruining lives for many, except somepony else got to him first,” I said, staring at Ombra.
“Me?” he asked, and I nodded.
“Then how did you join the circle?” he asked, and I gave him a sly smile.
“Instead of faking his death, making it look like I did it, I told the truth, took the honorary way out. While it may have not been the best for me, it earned me my cutie mark.” I pulled up my robes to show him my slightly modified Assassins symbol. He nodded in thought before muttering something I couldn’t hear to himself, and nodded at me to continue.
“After that, I killed my first Tempest. I was sent to Fillydelphia to kill Sir Heraldmane. It was a three year ordeal, and it took me another year to get back home. It was a mess at home. Tempest’s had invaded our ranks, and were slowly picking us off. Even the leader of the guild, Grande Protettore, was one. He and his goons killed my master, Rosso Aquila. I left the guild after that happened, vowing to leave the path of Assassin behind forever. I survived that way for two years, up until last night. You were there, you should know,” I finished. He motioned me to continue.
“And that’s all she wrote.” I said.
“Ah. I suppose you expect my story in return?” he asked, and I nodded.
“Very well. You know of my beginnings in Cloudsdale, so I will not repeat them. When I was brought to Canterlot, the Princess enrolled me in a private school. I did not adapt well to the change in lifestyle, and I was expelled for crippling a fellow student.”
It was all I could do not to shudder. He sounded so cold when he spoke, like crippling a young colt meant nothing.
“The Princess was furious with me, but I did not think I had done anything wrong. Eventually, she agreed to allow me to remain out of school, as long as I trained in some skill or art. In time, my old master found me and began to teach me the ways of the Assassin. He trained me in art, sciences, philosophy, and combat. When I was twelve years old, we began to travel. My master took me to the Northern tundra’s, the savannas of Punda Milia, even the jungles in the land of the rising sun. He taught me how to survive in these lands, and how to kill there as well.”
“Wow, you’ve been to place’s, haven’t you?” I asked, and he waved the question away
“When I turned fifteen, we returned to Canterlot and the Princess mandated that the final year of my training was to be completed there. That was when I received my hidden blade, and when I was taught how to use it. At the end of that year, I was given a merchants name and told to kill him. I completed my assignment, and was made a full Assassin. I swore my service to Celestia, began to work under her. The only real assignment I had during that time was to eradicate the Cult of Artemis, which took me three years. I finished that assignment a few days ago, there are only a few young gryphons left to starve in the tunnels now.”
I thought about how cruel that was, but I had heard about the cult of artemis. Gryphon eating ponies. I couldn’t help but feel bad for them, but I guess you get what you pay for.
“During that assignment, my master died. He was stabbed by a member of the Cult, and they use poisoned bone daggers. As he died, he taught me the fourth tenant of the Assassins Creed, ‘nothing is true, everything is permitted.’ It took me much time to understand these words, but I have come to respect them now.” _________________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N Translations: Un Nuovo Alleato: A new ally Che tu possa marcire all'inferno: May you rot in hell Mi scusi: Excuse me? Grazie: Thanks.
I nodded my head silently, staring at the floor. The sanctuary was a mess. It would need some cleaning up.
And so would this town.
I remember how many Tempest’s there were in this place. While they were always too stupid to find the sanctuaries, they must have seen us fly in. I had even seen two on the way to the safe-house. There was no way in Luna’s name that they hadn’t seen us.
“What will you do now?” asked Ombra, and I walked over to a window.
“I guess I’ll put on the robes once again. Clean out the Tempest’s from every major settlement, starting with Ponyville,” I said.
“Such is the work of a lifetime. The Tempests will repopulate as you kill them,” said Ombra, and I nodded.
“Abbiate fede, Ombra. I’m no child, I can understand they will re-populate, but they will lose morale when they see their highest ranks killed before their eyes. They will slowly dwindle away, just like they did eight hundred years ago,” I said as I watched the townsfolk go about their business.
“This is true, if you have the patience” he replied, and I smiled a bit.
I saw a couple Tempest guards, dressed in massive chain mail armor, and a full head helmet, walk slowly over to a couple of the towns people. They asked them something, and the townspeople pointed towards the sanctuary.
“Merda. They are coming for us,” I said, and Ombra stood up.
Immediately, we heard a knocking on the door.
“Open up! By order of the law!” shouted one of the guards angrily.
“What shall we do, Verità? These are your enemies,” said Ombra, and I just turned towards him, giving him a sly smile.
I cracked open the door and the Tempests busted through it, stumbling over each other. They made quick recoveries, grabbing their spears and axes with their mouths, protruding out of their helmets
I kicked one in the face, smashing his faceplate into his mouth. He made a muffled scream, and fell on the floor. I then swung around the second Tempest, and bucked him at the wall. The Tempest smashed into the drywall, and made a gurgling sound. He had landed on a wall spike, and it had pierced through his armor. I looked back over to the Tempest whose faceplate I had kicked in, still writhing in pain, and walked over to him.
“Bruciare all'inferno, Tempesta,” I said quietly, plunging my hidden blade into his throat. He stopped writhing and laid still.
“Impressive,” said Ombra with a measure of sarcasm.
“I’m not an apprentice, you know.” I said with an edge in my voice.
“I realize that, but you act like one,” he said, and I looked at him sternly.
“An apprentice would not have faced death in the palace so bravely, mind you,” I said, and he didn’t look impressed.
“You boast like a novice would as well,” he said, and I rolled my eyes.
“I’m going to get this place in tip-top shape. I’ll be here for a while. Not sure about you, if you have your own agenda,” I said, and Ombra shook his head.
“There is nothing for me to accomplish,” he said, and I just turned to the bodies.
They hadn't started to bleed everywhere yet, so now was the best time to burn them.
“If you could light the fire?” I asked, and Ombra went over to the fireplace.
He took one of the matches from the small box on the top of the fireplace, and lit it. He then dropped the match into the pile of wood, and it immediately lit up in flames. He stared at it, the fire reflecting off his eyes.
I pulled the body into the fiery pit, and it was immediately engulfed in flames. I quickly pulled the other body into the fire, and closed the metal door, making sure all the smoke went into the air.
“Alright, now that we’ve got that over with, I’m hungry.” I said, and Ombra actually cracked a smile for once.
“As am I. How many Tempests are in this area?” he asked, and I shook my head.
“Ponyville is sick with them. They’re everywhere. Which is why I’m going to start cleaning house here,” I said.
Ombra gave me a suspicious look, and I just sighed.
“The Tempest’s won’t try anything in public. They are always afraid of more of our kind popping out of Luna-knows-where and taking them out. They are afraid of us, so they are very cautious. Besides, they are enemies of the royal guard and if the make a scene, they’re off to the moon,” I said, and Ombra nodded.
“Then let us go eat,” He said.
“The apples here are quite good,” said Ombra, who was sitting across from me.
We had visited one of the most accomplished restaurants in Ponyville, which was run by Tempest’s. It was called “The Good Eats Factory.”
Sweet Celestia, this place has no formal ponies! Most of them don’t even wear clothes!
“Is that all y’all need today?” asked our waitress.
“May I ask where these apples are from?” asked Ombra, and the waitress tapped her chin in thought.
“I think from the Apple family farm up in the northern part of town,” answered the waitress, and Ombra nodded.
“Grazie. Check please,” I said, and the waitress rushed over to the kitchen.
“Do you think the Apple family is part of the Tempest Order?” Ombra asked me, and I shook my head.
“I met them the first time I was here, for a Summer Sun Celebration. They are far from Tempest like. They run their own farm, using the profits they get to keep it going. A couple members of the family were Tempests in the past, but after they left Appleoosa that tradition died out,” I answered, and Ombra nodded.
Ombra simply nodded as the Waitress brought over our check.
“I’ll pay,” I said, and Ombra just shrugged.
I opened the check, and dropped some coins in there, leaving a small tip. We both stood up from the table, and walked out of the restaurant. We slowly walked back to the sanctuary, when I realized we were being trailed.
“Don’t look now, but we have somepony trailing us,” I said, and Ombra nodded.
“She has been behind us since we left the restaurant,” said Ombra, and I turned my head slightly.
It was just a small foal, barely able to keep her balance.
“I think she’s harmless,” I said, and Ombra sighed.
“One must always consider their enemies to be equals or superiors. There are magical means of disguise, she could be a Tempest. More realistically, she could have been sent by a Tempest to track us,” he said, and I sighed.
“What made you this cautious?” I asked.
“None of your concern,” he said, and I was taken back at the harshness in his words.
“Excuse me!” I heard the pony shout at us from behind. It was definitely a filly.
She was small, smaller than I was at her age, from the looks. She had big, blue eyes, and a beautiful, purple mane. Her coat was sparkling white, which made me cautious.
One must always consider their enemies to be equals or superiors.
“Hi! There was a strange colt who told me to give this to you,” said the little filly. She had a small envelope in her teeth, and I grabbed it.
“Thank you,” I said, and the small filly ran off.
“No problem! Bye!” she shouted back, prancing off.
I smiled slightly, and dropped the envelope into my hoof, so I could see it better.
“It’s for you,” I said, and Ombra took it from my hoof.
He used his hidden blade to cut it open, and I noticed something on it. It was engraved with words, but words I had seen before, on the walls of my old guild.
Niente è vero, tutto è permesso, Nothing is true, everything is permitted.
I did all that I could not to get goose bumps when I saw the words. I watched as he opened the envelope, and dropped the letter onto his hoof. His eyes widened every line he saw, and then finished. He carefully put the letter in his saddle bag, and sighed.
“Dovere chiamate, Signora Verità. I must leave to the north. Perhaps one day we will meet once again,” said Ombra, who had spread his wings.
“Addio, Ombra,” I said, and Ombra took to the sky. I watched as he disappeared into the horizon, and then continued back to the sanctuary.
It was night by the time I made it back to the sanctuary. I opened the door, pulled off my robes, and fell onto a comfortable couch. I sighed, staring out the sunroof, the bright white moon lighting up the sanctuary.
“Spring cleaning starts tomorrow.” I said quietly, closing my eyes
A/N
Translation: Un Nemico Degno di Battalgia: A enemy worthy of battle. Abbiate fede: Have Faith Merda: Shit Grazie: Thank you. Dovere chiamate: Duty Calls
You guys have been very patient (Once again) So here comes 3 chapters. Another three will be posted next week.
I woke up, my eyes slowly adjusting to the morning light. I pushed myself upwards, stretching both my forhooves and my wings at the same time. I looked at the clock on the wall.
9:18? Have I really been asleep that long?
I walked into the basement, and pumped some water into the bath, which was still surprisingly clean. I just scrubbed the sides and then got in. The hot water soaked into my fur, making my almost pass out, due to sheer pleasure. I took a 15 minute bath, and then got out. It had been a while since I had a warm bath like that, so I tried to make it last as long as I could. Afterwards, I brushed my teeth, and then my mane.
The brotherhood takes care of its members.
The words of Veglia echoed in my head, as I finished brushing my tail. It had been so long since I had the luxuries of the brotherhood at my demand. It was a good break from being a bar maid.
After I had finished grooming myself, I went back upstairs, and donned my robes once more. I fully armed myself, and looked in the mirror.
Same robes, different reason.
I walked out of the sanctuary, letting the sunlight bathe me. I had traded my once black robes the night I had left the sanctuary for the white robes, before I went to the circle meeting. It made me a whole lot harder to notice, but it wouldn’t make much of a difference with a bunch of naked ponies. I walked through the streets, devising a plan that would allow me to cut off the head of the Tempest Nemesis in this town.
“Ponies of PonyVille! Please gather around in the town square for an important meeting!” I heard the guards shout.
“Perfect. Now I can pick out friend and foe.” I said quietly, looking around. All the ponies were heading towards the town square, and I decided to blend in. I nudged my way into a small group of ponies, were they made no notice. They all had fillies with them.
“Momma, this mare is walking behind us.” Said one of the fillies. I smiled at the filly, which was a sea-foam green unicorn, with golden eyes. Her mother didn’t hear her, so I raised my hoof to my mouth, and made the shush sign. The filly nodded, and kept on walking behind her mother.
I reached the town square within minutes. There, on the pedestal, stood an elderly colt, with a green coat, and brown hair. He had a tempest cross for his cutie mark, so I knew who was at the head. Among him were three nobles.
Four quick, clean jobs. Shouldn’t take me more than 2 years.
“Welcome all! As you may know, the summer sun festival is being held here once more, in two years! Celestia and all her nobles will be attending, so we need to start preparing as soon as winter wrap up is over!” Said the mayor (at least that’s what I thought he was.) Everyone cheered, and somepony started squealing.
“But that is not the reason I have gathered you all here. Princess Celestia just sent me a letter about an “Assassin,” heading this way. She said that she had escaped yesterday, so she is here by now. Report any type of suspicious activity to any of the guards. We do not know what she looks like, so keep a eye out for new mares.” Said the mayor, and then he stepped back.
A hunky looking noble took his place, as the others withdrew to the mayor’s manor.
“As for the rest of you, your taxes are due! Those who have not paid them will be executed.” He shouted out. I looked beside me, and saw that the mother of the young filly who I had talked to earlier was shaking.
Merda. I guess today will be my first Assassination.
“These ponies come up to the stand. Harpy heartstrings! Soil top! Spiked Punch!” I heard him yell. The mare next to me kissed her filly on the head, and her father held her back. The small filly started crying, and then I heard other fillies starting to cry.
The 3 ponies went up to the stands, and put their heads in the guillotine. The cries were joined by the husbands and wives of the executee’s, and then the families. I started to push my way through the crowd, slowly at first, but then more intensely as I got closer to the stage. I unsheathed my hidden blade, as I made it to the front of the crowd.
“Hey, stop right there!” Shouted one of the Tempest guards. I jumped, and planted my hoof on his chest, using him as a spring. I jumped once more, and I was soaring above the noble. He just stared at me, as I tackled him. I then jammed my blade into his throat, and pulled one of the feathers off my wing. I laid it across his throat, and let him die.
I jumped up, grabbing my rapier in my mouth, and circling around.
“Assassino!” “Assassin! Sound the Alarm!” “RUN! IT’S THE ASSASSIN!”
The guards reactions were everything to calm and collected, to down right hysterical.
“Do you guys really want to die today? You all know I’m more skilled than you.” I said, and a couple of them backed off.
“Don’t falter boys! We have th-.” The Tempest was cut off by the blade of my rapier piercing his eyehole. He dropped, and all the tempests backed off. I sheathed my rapier, and threw a throwing knife at the actions on the Guillotines, jamming them. The ponies then ran into the crowd, re-joining their families. I jumped away into the crowd, a smile of grim satisfaction on my face.
It had been two years. The summer sun celebration was coming up, and one of the four tempest nobles remained. The assassinations of the other two were hard. They were in the same place, at the same time, and were always covering eachothers backs. I took me just a year to devise even a simple plan to kill them, which was a failure. I had made several attempts on their lives, only for them to slip through my grasp. Finally, I just stopped playing fair and gave a full on assault one of their house’s when they were together. In the end, the house was a massive bloodbath, littered with bodies in every room.
Now, only the highest of the Tempests remained.
The mayor.
I had become a friend of the public, and uncovered most of the heresy behind their actions. The Tempests who owned public businesses resigned from their order, leaving their old, anti-assassin life behind. There was only the guards, and the Mayor left.
I had even taken a young colt as my apprentice.
“Maestro, posso venire alla celebrazione sole estivo?” asked Artiglio dell'aquila. I made him speak my native tongue around me, until he finally earned his blade. He was a 14 year old unicorn colt, the color of the ocean. I had learned that he was the brother of the filly I had met the second day I was in Ponyville. His real name was Ocean, but his assassin name meant Eagles’s claw.
“No, ho degli affari oggi.” I said, and he lowered his head.
“Il permesso di parlare in inglese?” He asked quietly, and I nodded.
“Master, why can’t I go?” asked Artiglio, silently sagging his head.
“I must assassinate somepony today. To make a point to the princess. If anything goes wrong, I do not want you to be there.” I said, and Artiglio nodded his head.
“Now, I must get ready.” I said. I stood up from my dusty chair inside the vastly expanded sanctuary. It was the same except that I had made Artiglio have his own training room
I walked down the stairs, and stripped off my casual robes. I stepped into the shower, and turned on the hot water. I looked at myself in the mirror.
You’ve changed, Angel. You’ve changed a lot.
My wings had finally healed fully; skin and feathers had grown around the metal frame. My eyes had turned dark like Ombra’s, filled with the hate of Tempests, filled with the pain of 24 years all held up.
I washed up, and stepped out of the shower. I then brushed my mane and my tail. Even though I was going to be covered in robes today, my girly side still wanted me to look my best. I pulled on my newly washed robes, and pulled the hood over my face.
“Time to finally finish spring cleaning.” I said, my eyes narrowed.
Here I was, standing in front of the great Princess Celestia, again. Yet this time, she didn’t have any idea that I was here. I was tempted to lunge at her right there. End her wretched life. But now was not the time. I stood on top of the mayor’s manor, watching Celestia rise the sun into the sky. I smiled as the sunlight touched my coat. The mayor was right below me, walking out of his house, about to give his massive speech. I pulled a feather off of my now fully healed wings, and held it in my mouth. I watched as he walked out to the pedestal. Princess Celestia finished raising the sun, and now joined her nobles, watching the mayor.
The stage was set. Nopony had a clue about what was going to happen next.
“Citizens of equestria, near and far! Welcome to PonyVille! I hope you enjoy the summer sun celebration as much as we enjoy hosting it!” Started the mayor. I smiled, and dropped the feather, the gentle breeze carrying it over to the mayors face.
“We shall start the feast in a few moments, but fir- Oh, no….” He said silently, the feather falling onto his pedestal. As he uttered those words, I had jumped off the top of the mayors manor, my blade poised downwards.
A series of gasps confirmed the mayor’s fears. He turned around, screaming, as I planted my blade into his chest. He gargled for a moment, and I pulled the blade out. I looked up, staring at the nobles from Manehatten.
“You’re next.” I said, just loud enough so they could hear me. I then jumped off the dead body of the mayor, and ran to the sanctuary.
“Artiglio, Dobbiamo lasciare, in fretta.” I said as soon as I made it home.
“Ho avuto la sensazione che sarebbe il caso.” Said Artiglio, who had his suitcase right next to him.
“Se sei già imballato, poi lascia andare!” I shouted at him, and he quickly picked up his suitcase. I kicked open the front door and we ran off into the woods.
Spring cleaning? Check.
A/N: Translations Pulizie di Primavera: Spring Cleaning Merda: Shit Maestro, posso venire alla celebrazione sole estivo: Teacher, may I come to the celebration of the summer sun? No, ho degli affari oggi: No, I have business today. Il permesso di parlare in inglese: Permission to speak english? Artiglio Della'Morte: The Eagles claw Artiglio, Dobbiamo lasciare, in fretta: Claw, we must leave in a hurry Ho avuto la sensazione che sarebbe il caso: I felt that would be the case. Se sei già imballato, poi lascia andare: If you are packed already, then lets go.
Lotsa Italian in this one, guys. Make sure to read the translations.
It took us a year to get to Manehatten. While it was a very far journey, longer than from the Everfree to Fillydelphia, we had help from carriages all around. While we still needed to maintain a low profile, it wasn’t hard after the first half of the trip. Tempest influence was scarce in this rainy, cold area of Equestria. We even had to cross through the Horse-shoe straight to get there, which was mostly frozen at this time. It was deep winter by the time we had made it even slightly close to Manehatten, and by the time we actually made it there, it was the summer sun celebration back in Canterlot.
“Maestro, dove si trova il santuario?” asked Artiglio.
“Destra più Avanti.” I said quietly. It was a Sunday afternoon, and it was pouring down rain. All the other ponies, dressed in suits and coats, top hats and monocles, had umbrella’s and such. They looked at us like we were the scum of the street, but one flash of my cold, hard stare, made them think otherwise.
It was much different here than anywhere else. Towering buildings, statues of great Equestrian leaders, a couple of which were Tempests, a couple of which were Assassins. They had a massive clock tower in the middle, which was once a Tempest meeting area. We would have to leave sightseeing for later, because we had work to do.
“Here we are. You may speak in English now; ponies will think it’s weird if you speak a different language here.” I said, and Artiglio nodded. I looked up at the sanctuary. It was like many of the living building in the area, except on the top, it had the Assassin’s symbol, glowing silver chrome.
I opened the door quickly, ushering Artiglio into the house. It wasn’t safe anymore outside, seeing as how I saw a couple tempests slowly approaching our area.
“Hey! We have tresspassers!” Shouted a voice, and the lights in the building came on. Multiple Assassins surrounded us, blades at our throats. I raised my hooves slowly, balancing on my hind legs, and Artiglio did the same.
“Guild?” asked one of the Assassins.
“Luna.” I said, and the Assassins relaxed.
“You scared us! What are you even doing here? We didn’t get any notifications from the guild that we were going to have visitors.” Said one of the Assassins. She was a pretty black mare, with a glowing golden mane. She was obviously the leader of the Assassins at this sanctuary.
“The guild is still up and running?” I asked, and the mare nodded her head.
“Things are a bit shaky over there, but it’s still operational. Now that most of the Tempest scum have been cleared out, we can go back to what we do best.” Said the mare. She stuck out her hoof, and smiled.
“I’m Lama Bianco. Welcome to the Manehatten sanctuary.” She said. I curved my hoof around hers, and shook it.
“Well, Bianco, we have much business to do here.” I said, grinning devilishly.
“So, you’re telling me, that you plan on killing every Tempest in those four cities? E 'un buon piano, for an army of Assassins. This will take a lifetime and a half, Verità.” Said Bianco.
I had told her my story, my plans of clearing out the four cities, starting with PonyVille, and ending with Appleoosa. While I knew it was a far off dream, with a little help, this could be much easier.
“Well, like I said, after I cut off the heads in PonyVille, the bodies died as well. The Tempests either resigned, left, or ended up dead defending their masters.” I said, brushing my mane.
“I see that, but most of Manehatten’s government is Tempest. It would take YEARS for a single pony to kill all of them.” Said Bianco, who was sitting in the soft sofa across from Artiglio and I. We were in a small room, like the one at the PonyVille sanctuary, except that it was quainter. It had a small stone fireplace on the left wall, plus a large amount of candle’s and wood furnishings.
“Well, I could use some help.” I said, I saw some of the Assassins ears perk up.
“A mission? It’s been years, Verità. Most of us are out of shape, rusty. I’m not sure if we can pull this off.” Said Bianco. I waved the thought off.
“Think of this as a comeback run. Think, the Tempests will fear us once again! We won’t be a dwindling enemy anymore. We will prove that we will not tolerate them anymore. We will prove that we can, and will kill them. This will be our return to glory!” I said, and a couple of the Assassins stood up.
“I’m going to have to go with Verità on this one, Bianco. We’ve been suffering under the shadow of the Tempests too long. This will be our retaliation.” Said a purple earthpony colt.
“I’m all for it.” Said another pony, a unicorn mare the color of flames.
“As am I.” said another.
“Well, I guess I’ll tell the rest of the guild. I guess we better start training now.” Said Bianco, who promptly stood up. She walked out of the room, and the rest of the Assassins looked at me.
“So, do you actually think this is going to work?” I asked them, and I got many different reactions.
“Personally, I think it will be a great comeback.” Said the Unicorn Mare.
“Suicide mission. But hell, if I’m going to go out, I’m going to go out like a leggenda.” Said the Purple Unicorn colt.
“I think that we will have a fair chance at killing them. I’m sure a couple of us will fall to the blades of the Tempests, but they will be honored after this is finished.” Said the final Assassin. She was a young Pegasus, the color of chocolate, and was obviously taught by a very respectable tutor.
“Well, hopefully, we can pull this off.” I said, and Artiglio just smiled.
“Do you think I’ll get my cutie mark during this trip?” Asked Artiglio, and I nodded.
“Hopefully. You never know if you will become an Assassin, my dear, but I put my money on it.” I said, and he beamed.
“But before we start, I must know your names.” I said to the three assassins before me.
“I’m Dawn.” Said the Purple colt
“Fire Fly.” Said the fiery colored mare.
“My name is Coco. Pleasure to meet you, Signora Verità.” Said the Chocolate colored Pegasi.
“Alright then, È ora di metterci al lavoro.” I said, and all the Assassins nodded.
“Verità, wake up.” I heard Coco say. I looked up, and saw the chocolate colored Pegasus nudging me
“Is it time?” I asked, and the mare nodded.
“Where’s Fire fly? And for that matter, Dawn?” I asked, looking around.
“They’re with Bianco, on the ball room floor. They got through security like pros.” Said Coco.
It was at the grand Manehatten ball, 6 months after I had arrived in the massive city. Marvelous music played downstairs, and I was surprised that I had even fallen asleep.
“When did you get here?” I asked, and Coco blushed.
“My date with Artiglio didn’t last that long.” Said Coco.
I looked down the other side of the roof, and saw Artiglio staring off the edge of the ledge. I stood up, and walked over to the glass dome.
“Artiglio! It’s almost time. Arm yourself!” I shouted to him, and he walked over slowly.
He had a short handled axe in his teeth, the Assassin symbol as the head of the Axe. It glowed chrome in the moonlight, giving him a menacing look in his white robes.
“Molto Bene. I look forward to this.” He said staring down into the ballroom.
The Tempest we were here to kill was a very high officer in the Manehatten Military. I had given the honors to Artiglio, to see if he was truly meant to be a straight forwards assassin, or to be some type of special one.
“As soon as Fire fly gives the signal, you know what to do.” I said, and both Coco and Artiglio nodded.
I looked down into the ballroom, watching Fire fly and Dawn dance around.
Dawn. What a funny thing to name a Colt.
I watched as Bianco walked up to the officer, a Sir “Candle Light” and talk to him, making small talk.
“She’s extracting information. Don’t worry. It’s better to get something out of a kill then just the blood of your enemies.” Explained Coco to Artiglio.
He nodded casually, carefully surveying the area.
Then I saw it. Fire Fly was shining her makeup mirror in our direction. The light flashed across my eyes, and I knew that it was time.
“Alright, Facciamo così.” I said, pulling my hodd over my face.
Artiglio did the same, and so did Coco.
I slammed my hoof down upon the glass, using my horseshoe to smash the glass. I spread my wings and flew down, my rapier in my mouth. Dozens of Assassins burst in from the windows, and the 3 assassins on the ballroom floor quickly pulled their costumes off, pulling their hoods over their faces.
“This is a stickup, femmine!” Shouted Dawn, who was holding a sabre in his levitation grasp.
Of course, the Tempests being the idioti they are, they charged is, spears and axes in mouth.
“Assassins, attack!” Scream Bianco, who was now charging herself.
I waited until a Tempest got close enough, when I stepped out of the way. He lunged at me, only to fall over. I firmly stomped on his neck, making his spine explode out of his armor. Two more double teamed me, using longswords.
“Face it, assassin, you’re screwed!” Shouted one of them, and I just smiled.
One of them swung his long sword, and I ducked, letting it embed in his partners chest. I then slammed my hidden blade into the first Tempest’s mouth, making his long sword jammed into his mouth.
“Erg!” He shouted.
I started to wiggle the sword, until it tore open the second tempest’s chest, spilling his organs everywhere. I then stabbed the other Templar through the eye, and dropped him.
Through the bloodshed, I saw Artiglio battling 5 Tempest’s at one time. He had his short handled axe in his mouth, and was covered in the blood of three fallen Tempest’s at his feet. I had no idea how he was surviving the attack, but then I saw his idea.
He didn’t stay in one area. He used his small size and speed to his advantage, swinging around them, cutting at their armor quickly, not wasting time with power blows. Using a mixture of his hidden blade and axe, he dispatched the rest of the tempests with ease. Suddenly, several were charging at me.
Merda.
I grabbed a mouthful of throwing knives, and threw them all at the group of Tempests. A couple fell to the knives, but 5 still charged at me. I grabbed my sword, and Artiglio jumped to my aid.
“Pronti?” Asked Artiglio, and I smiled.
“Sempre.” I replied, and we engaged in combat.
I made quick and easy work of the guards with short swords. My rapier slid easily through their chain mail, and pierced their vitals even easier. Artiglio did his volley of brutal attacks, cutting and stabbing away at the Tempests. In a matter of seconds, the Tempests were dead at our hooves.
“He’s getting away!” Screamed Bianco from the crowd, and we saw Candle Light sprinting through the crowd, making his Tempests keep the Assassins from killing him.
“I got this.” Said Artiglio, who then unfolded his bow which he had on his back.
I went onto all fours, giving him something to jump off, and he did what I expected. He knocked back an arrow in his teeth, and jumped off my back. He then pulled the bow taught, and let the arrow fly, right into Candle lights shouder.
“Dispatch the rest of the Tempests! Then we’ll deal with Candle!” I shouted, and all the Assassins went back to destroying the Tempests.
After about 5 more minutes of fighting, the ballroom was slick with blood. at least 50 tempest bodies scattered the floor, bleeding. None of the civilians that we couldn’t prove that were tempests were killed, but if any of them were tempests at one point, they weren’t now. Artiglio walked over to Candle Light, who lay bleeding on the floor.
“You-you’ll never win, Assassino. The Tempest’s will regain control, and you will FALL!” Screamed Candle Light, hysterical with blood loss.
“Save it for the morgue.” Said Artiglio quietly, who then levitated his axe into the air, and brought it down onto his head. A satisfying CRACK let us know that the last tempest in the ballroom was dead.
“Well, we’ve done our work here. Assassins! Bug out and re-assemble at the sanctuary!” Shouted Bianco, and within seconds, the Assassins disappeared.
A/N: Translations: Maestro, dove si trova il santuario: Master, where is the sanctuary? Destra più Avanti: A little bit more Lama Bianco: Black Blade E 'un buon piano: It's a good plan. È ora di metterci al lavoro: Time to get down to work. Facciamo così: Let's do this Femmine: Bitches Merda: Shit Pronti: Ready? Sempre: Always.
Wooh. Now that I got that over with, I can get back to writing the story. Addio!
That’s how long I’ve been in this shit-hole of a city. Manehatten was deteriorating without their Tempest leadership, and we all knew it. It might have been better off if we tried to negotiate with the leaders of the City, but Bianco said otherwise.
They deserve no mercy!
We had made several other raids in the years, but our first one was the most infamous. We had a body count of 73 Tempests, not including the several officers and nobles we executed. It was a blood bath, literally. By the time the REAL authorities got there, the blood had formed a 3 inch pool of blood had formed on the central ball room floor.
In the 3 years, we had nearly crumbled the Tempest hierarchy to dust, leaving only the Mayor of Manehatten left, who we knew was not only a Tempest, but one of the several leaders. Most of the leaders were in different regions of the world, but I guess the mayor was the leader in Equestria.
But that wasn’t our only problem. Bianco was becoming what I saw from the beginning.
A power sick Tempest.
She told me her dreams of taking of Equestria, of overthrowing the queen. She was becoming a tempest. She said the she’ll rule Manehatten with an iron hoof, and then move onto other towns.
Not on my watch.
It was a rainy spring day (Go figure, huh?) and All the Assassins were gathered on the top of the clock tower, still as the gargoyles next to us.
“Verità, where is your team?” asked Bianco, and I pointed to Coco, Dawn, Fire fly, and Artiglio, who were slowly scanning the horizon.
“Okay, you are going to lead the frontal assault on the parade.” Said Bianco.
It was the hayday parade, and the mayor was on the largest float. He wasn’t hard to miss; he was just hard to get to. After he realized he was our final target, he now goes everywhere in an armored carriage. Since he couldn’t be in an armored anything today, he’s just surrounded my Tempest elitists.
“How are we going to pull this off?” I asked Bianco.
“Here, take this. It’ll help getting in quick attacks. Quick and speedy, that’s our only chance against the Elitists” Said Bianco, handing me another Hidden blade. It looked exactly like mine, except it had a glove attached to it.
“There! Here is his float!” said Artiglio, staring down at the parade.
Sure enough, there he was, slowly waving nervously to the crowd. I looked at Fire fly, and she nodded. She pulled out a small gun from her robes, and pointed it towards the heavens. She pulled the trigger with her tounge, and a massive flair fired from the barrel, signaling the Assassins on the ground to attack.
“Let’s go! This is the final surge!” Shouted Bianco, and we all jumped off the top of the tower. The unicorns softened their landing with magic, and the Pegasi spread our wings.
I would have survived the fall anyways.
I landed in front of a grand group of young, unexperienced tempests, and smiled devilishly at them. It’s safe to say that they ran away, never to return. I ran quickly up to the parade float, which the surrounding area was littered with the bodies of Assassins and novice Tempests.
Assassins? This wasn’t how it was supposed to end.
I saw Artiglio triple wielding weapons. Both hidden blades out, his Axe in his teeth, destroying the lines of Tempest’s. Even the Elitists knew enough that they would be overpowered by the quick unicorn.
Elitists.
I pulled out my sword, and charged the heavily armed foes. They never saw me coming, as I got an immediate kill. He dropped dead at my hooves, his throat spewing blood.
“She killed the captain! Get her!” Shouted another one, and immediately an Axe was brought down upon me. I quickly raise my hoof, using the armored gauntlet as a block for the attack. I then used my other hoof, stabbing the assailant in the throat. He gargled in pain, and I immediately went on my hind hooves, triple wielding just as Artiglio was doing. I slashed, stabbed, and gutted the Elitists, dodging and parrying quickly. In a matter of minutes, the six Elitists were dead or dying, bleeding out at my feet.
I was covered in their blood, spattered across my armor, robes, weapons, and face as well. The battle was over. All that remained was the mayor, who was cowering under the blade of Bianco.
“Today, a new leader ship will take over! This is our land now, our ways. You will all bow before the Assassins, the true leaders of this world!” Shouted Bianco.
None of the Citizens bowed.
“Do you need initiative? Well, here’s some!” She shouted harshly. And with that, she shoved her hidden blade through the throat of the mayor, killing him. She then went overkill, firing her hidden gun into his head, blowing it clean off.
The crowd screamed, and the Assassins looked at each other in confusion.
“What are you doing, Bianco?” I asked, and she just chuckled.
“This land is ours now, Verità. We own it, and nopony will stop us!” She shouted.
“Now, everypony bow! Even the Assassins!” She shouted.
As she asked, most of us bowed. But in the end, only 5 ponies were left standing.
Dawn, Fire Fly, Coco, Artiglio, and myself.
“You dare question my authority? Bow!” she shouted at us. Dawn just chuckled.
“Bianco, you do realize you are just setting back all our hard work in these past three years? You are just replacing one corrupt leader with another.” Said Dawn, and Bianco growled angrily.
“How dare you say that!” She shouted. And with that, she raised her other hoof, and shot Dawn in the chest.
“No!” Shouted Fire fly, rushing over to Dawn. He was still alive, barely.
“Now, do any of you have any questions about my power? No? Good!” Shouted Bianco, and I started to run at her.
I’m not sure if it was blind luck, but as I was starting to run at her, so was Artiglio. She turned her attention to me, pulling another gun from her robes, aiming it at me, giving Artiglio an open shot. He jumped off of another Assassin, his Axe levitating above him. As Bianco fired the shot, which hit me in the chest plate, he plunged his axe into her skull. Then it was silent.
Bianco was dead. I had a hole in my chest, and so did Dawn. The crowd slowly stood up, looking around. The Assassins ran out to their wounded, picking them up and bringing them back to the sanctuary.
“Master! Are you okay?” Shouter Artiglio, who was standing on the parade float. I nodded and tried to stand up. To no avail. My shoulder had been broken from the shot. Nothing some TLC couldn’t solve, but it would put me back a few months. I spread my wings, and used my other three legs to get me over to Dawn, who was lying in a puddle of his own blood.
“Dawn!” I shouted, running over to his side. He looked over to me, and just chuckled.
“It isnt as bad as it looks. It penetrated me a little bit, hitting a vein, but that’s the extent of the damage.” He said, and I sighed with relief.
“Okay. We need to get you back to the sanctuary now, to patch that up.” I said, slightly off balance.
“Looks like you could use some recovery yourself.” He said, still grinning.
“Let’s just go. I hear the royal guards coming.” I said, and I looked back over to Artiglio. He was walking over, smiling.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, and he just smiled again.
“I’ll tell you later. Let’s get you home.” He said.
I had a pretty good idea of what he was jazzed about. He was 18 now, still without a cutie mark. Sure, he was made fun of on the street, but when he flashed his axe, ponies would go out of their way to avoid him. There was a good chance that he got his cutie mark, now that he did a kill of great significance.
I helped Dawn up, and we made a slow pace all the way back to the sanctuary, which was miles away.
-----
“You got your cutie mark?” I asked, and Artiglio nodded.
It was the day after the attack, and I was well rested. While I was most definitely not 100%, my bones had already started healing. Another perk of being a Pegasus.
“Yeah. You want to see?” He asked, and the whole group of Assassins nodded eagerly.
Artiglio pulled his robes up, and sure enough, he had an Assassin mark there. But, unlike most Assassins, it had a massive, blue star inside the blood red marking. I had read about this marking while I was at the guild, and it was known as the “Liberty Mark.” It showed the owner of the marking’s destiny was to stop corruption. Just like mine was to uncover the truth, his was for Liberty.
“Wow. Both Master and Apprentice have modified cutie marks.” Said Dawn, who had his chest bandaged. “Sounds like we have repetition going on here.”
“Can it, Dawn.” Said Artiglio, and Dawn chuckled.
“Yes Sir.” Dawn sneered.
“Can it, both of you. Artiglio, we’re going to have to leave the city as soon as I’m fully healed. We’re heading to Cloudsdale.” I said, and his jaw dropped.
“What about them? We’ve forged not only a powerful mold here, but the actual thing of a new guild! I’m not leaving without them.” Said Artiglio.
“That’s up to them to decide.” I said, and the group of assassins looked at eachother.
“I will stand by your side until the end, signora.” Said Dawn, giving me his little illusive smile.
“As will I.” Said Fire Fly.
“I gave my entire childhood to this cause. I don’t see why I shouldn’t continue to do so.” Said Coco, and I smiled.
“There we have it. We leave at Dusk, tomorrow.” I said, and they all nodded.
Verità took a moment to compose herself. She looked around at the ponies around her. Among them were the now older Fire Fly and Artiglio.
“What happened to Coco, and Dawn?” Asked Rainbow Dash.
“I will get to that, my dear. It is hard enough to remember them, much less to talk about them.” Said Verità, and Rainbow Dash fell back into her chair.
“Verità, take a moment. Compose yourself.” Said Ombra, who was sitting across from her. They had all grown old. Verità was now 46, as was Ombra. Fire Fly was every bit of 35, and Artiglio was at least 36.
Artiglio on the other hand, was still at his full glory. An Assassin to be reckoned with. More ponies had fallen to his axe blade than any other assassin of his age.
Lyra admired her big brother, and Octavia had a massive crush on him, even though there was at least 14 years age difference between them. His ocean colored coat rippled with muscles and bone. He was massive, and everypony could see that.
“Master, I think we should continue the story before the Tempests show up. Cadence won’t waste any time trying to find us.” Said Octavia, who was carving a treble clef sign into the wooden table.
“Trixie should have thrown them off. She’s extremely resourceful.” Said Artiglio, and I nodded.
“Trixie was once a Tempest, mind you.” Said Twilight, and Artiglio shook his head.
“Correction. She was a Tempest at one point, but that’s because we sent her to become one. She was a spy for us, and she still is. You shouldn’t hold a grudge like so, Twilight.” Said Artiglio, who hadn’t moved since he had sat down.
The six ponies of harmony sat at the massive table inside the Ponyville sanctuary, along with several assassins. It was a time of great unease. Mercenaries had been hired to kill the ponies of harmony by the Tempests, and the Assassins were all that stood in the way of them. A group of rag-tag ones at that. Apprentices were the main fighting force, with 4 actual masters, ranked Assassino. While we did have contacts, it was a terrible time.
“What was that?” Asked Lyra quickly, looking up at the ceiling. Dust slowly swirled off the ceiling, and the slamming of hooves on the weak cement made it apparent that a large fighting force was coming.
Verità whistled, and Octavia, Artiglio, Fire Fly, and a bunch of other apprentices took different hiding spots. The door flew open, and Trixie walked out, her smug smile ever apparent on her face. She had a bunch of Great Mild west soldiers with her, and she walked in, smiling smugly. Twilight growled.
“Not only have I thrown the Tempest’s off completely, but I have also gathered up a large amount of our allies.” Said Trixie, and Twilight uttered some nasty words.
A large group of Conquistadores walked into the room, covered in full body armor, except for their mouths.
“It is good to finally see a friendly face.” Said Artiglio, and the guards stood at ready.
“Bloquee la puerta!” shouted Trixie in their native language, and the guards immediately closed, and locked the door, standing in front of it.
“Thank you, Trixie.” Said Verità, who now sat down.
I looked over the four Assassins before me with genuine approval. All of them were full Assassins, covered in armor, their white robes bright in the sunlight.
It had been a month, and they were already nearly at Cloudsdale. Air travel was always faster. They had done their research on cloudsdale, and it was possibly the easiest to clean out. There were 2 low nobles part of the Tempest order. Even though they were low, they completely controlled all of the money. One was a banker, and the other was the client of the latter pony.
“We’re here, Verità.” Said Artiglio, who hadn’t moved an inch since we got onto the chariot. He had developed a calm and cool sensibility, making it look like he doesn’t care.
“Alright, I suggest you guys use that cloud walker spell.” I said, pointing towards the three unicorns. Their horns glowed, and a weird aura surrounded them.
“Alright, let’s go.” I said. I tossed five pieces to the driver, and he saluted to us, as we jumped out of the carriage, into the cloud city.
We landed softly on a cushy looking cloud. It seemed that no one was out at the dead of night. The moon was the only thing illuminating our path, and it did well enough.
“Were is the sanctuary?” Asked Dawn, and I sighed.
“Did I not already explain to you that there is no sanctuary?” I asked, and he lowered his head.
“Were are we going then?” Asked Coco, and I smiled.
“Home.” I said, walking carefully across the clouds.
We walked for about half an hour, until we came across a massive mansion, where my cottage had previously been. Perhaps somepony tore it down, and built over it?
“I’m going to go and check it out. You stay here, watch out for any cloudsdale guards. They have a knack for picking on cloud-walkers.” I said, then immediately took off towards the house.
I looked around, not daring to flap my wings, for fear of making noise. I found an easy path up the side of the building, and immediately climbed it, spreading my wings like stabilizers. I made it up to the top, where there was thankfully a glass dome to look down upon the house. I looked in, my eyes scanning the area, when I saw them.
My step-mother and my father.
They were in their mid-50’s by now, their mane and tail grey, their faces wrinkled. They were eating dinner, and obviously had set out a place for myself and my brother. I shook my head, and ran back over the edge, diving into the clouds.
“It’s them. Though I’m not sure of the welcome we will get.” I said, and the Assassins nodded, their faces hidden by their hoods.
“Then let’s go.” Said Artiglio, smiling a bit.
We walked over to the massive mansion door, and I quickly knocked on it.
“Coming!” I heard my mother say, and I took in a deep breathe.
The door opened, and my mother looked at us, her face growing with happiness.
“My dear Angel!” shouted my mother, who put her forelegs around me. I heard my father get up quickly, and rush over to the door.
“Angel!” He shouted, as he hugged me as well.
I heard sobbing noises from them, and I looked back at the group of assassins, who were just smiling mischievously.
“Father, it is good to see you again.” I said quietly, and their faces lit up.
“We thought you were dead! What has happened to you, and who are these ponies?” asked my father, and I sighed.
“Well, we better prepare a larger dinner, because it seems like it’s going to be a long story.” Said my mother, smiling.
“So, you’re saying that you have joined an group of Assassins that are over a thousand years old, that you’ve been killing corrupt nobles for most of your life, that you’ve been trotting around the world for 8 years now, and all this because a foal killed your big brother?” Asked my father. I nodded silently, and my parents looked at each other.
“You would have never thought that your little girl would have grown up to be a trained killer.” Said my mother.
“A good one at that.” Said Artiglio, who was doing his silent-but-deadly demeanor.
“Are you her colt friend or something?” Asked my father.
Artiglio chuckled silently, raising his head just enough so that you could see his eyes.
“Apprentice.” He said, and my mother and father just nodded.
“Well, we’ll have the servants lay out beds for you. Amazing how wealthy you can come off of striking cloud oil these days.” Said my father, who then whistled. Servants popped out of seemingly now where, and ran into the rooms, makings beds and such.
“I’m going to bed, my parents. We have a big day tomorrow.” I said, and the other assassins nodded.
“We’ll see you in the morning, darling.” Said my mother, as I walked off to the bedroom.
------
I perched on the top of a tower, looking down upon all of the Pegasi below me. It had been 2 months since I had come to Cloudsdale, and it was apparent that I wasn’t going to be staying long. The banker and his client made no attempt at trying to hide themselves. We had been watching them for the whole time, and it wasn’t getting any harder. It was almost like they wanted us to find them.
Then I saw them. Two nobles, covered in red and white clothing, pranced through the town, surrounded by Cloudsdale guards. The citizens of cloudsdale kneeled, and I just smiled. I stood on my hind legs, and made a move forward signal with my hoof. I then jumped down, onto the soft cloud padding, into a group of playing foals.
They looked about eight or nine, and they all had their cutie marks. It seemed that the age to get them moved back around 7 or 6 years now to get their cutie marks. They all stared at me in awe, and I just walked through them. I heard a couple other assassins join me, all of us walking in different patterns. The banker and his client walked slowly into the large, domed building, and their guards waited outside. I raised each of my hooves, signaling to either side, and then slowly moved forwards toward the guards.
“Oh Merda.” I heard one of the younger guards say as I walked up. The others lowered their spears, and I just sighed.
“Move aside.” I saw, making my voice silky and smooth. The guards looked at eachother, and they nodded, moving out of the way.
“I’d rather not die today, for somepony who isn’t even paying me.” Said one of the heavily armed guards, and the others nodded.
I walked in, and immediately I heard the clacking of guns, as the Templar guards who were waiting there lowered their weapons, aiming at me. Obviously these were no ordinary guards. They had weird grip magic on their hooves, covered in metallic armor that not even a well place gunshot could pierce through. Their eyeholes glowed red and the barrels of their weapons were covered in elaborate carvings.
“Ah, Verità! I knew that you would be coming. It was only a matter of time!” Said the Banker, his Manehatten accent showing.
“Hello, Samuel. Got your goons to come and try to kill me?” I asked, and he laughed silently.
“No Verità. We’re going to make cloud oil out of you.” Said The Banker, and I sighed.
“You’re going to take me to the Weather Factory, and throw me into a vat of Rainbows? How delightful.” I said.
“Well, you might as well enjoy it.” Said the Banker. I noticed that his client had not said anything yet. I looked around the room, and saw that there was a body hanging from one of the pegs.
“You killed him?” I asked, and he nodded.
“Such a burden. He wasn’t even a Tempest. Just a poor soul who got caught in my plans.” Said the Banker.
I felt the barrel of the gun pushed up to my head, and I was then forced out of the domed building. I looked around, and saw my four Assassins. I just shook my head, and they disappeared into the crowd.
It was nightfall by the time I had reached the Weather Factory, and I was exhausted. I knew that my Assassins had trailed us, but by Celestia, was it a long walk.
“Assassino!” Shouted one of the guards. I opened my eyes, looking around wildly.
I must have dozed off while were walking through the factory. I couldn’t help it, the aroma or the Rainbows had always put my to sleep.
“Well now. Here ends your little chapter of life, Verità. You will be shot multiple times, and then falls backwards into the vat of hot Rainbow mix. You will then disentagrate, and the Assassin order will perish, losing its final assassin.” Said the Banker. I looked around, seeing 3 of my Assassins hanging from different areas on the ceiling.
3?
I looked again, this time my eyes passing over the guards. I saw that one of them had a slight mischievous smile on his face, and I immediately knew who it was.
Dawn, you crazy bastardo.
“Well? Go to the edge.” Said the banker, who waved his hoof forward at the same time. I backed up towards the edge, and sighed.
“Alright. Guards! Ready your weapons!” Shouted the banker, and all the guards immediately lowered their weapons at me. I gritted my teeth, and watched as the actions of the guns slammed downwards. The explosion of fire hit me in the chest, tearing me apart. I fell backwards, my wings spreading. It wouldn’t have matter. I was already dead.
But was I?
I fell into the hot vat of Rainbows, expecting my life to be over.
It wasn’t until about a couple minutes until I had realized that I was still alive.
Merda.
I swam to the surface. But something felt wrong. The wounds in my chest had healed up, and I was now at full strength. I breached the surface, greeted by a blood bath. The Banker was holding his own against my four Assassins, but he wasn’t going to last long. I sighed, rolling my eyes, and quickly aimed my hidden gun at the Bankers back legs. I fired it quickly, and his leg tore off. He screamed in pain, and fell down, putting his hoofs around his stump.
“Well, I see the healing mix actually worked.” Said Dawn, smiling.
“Yeah, it did. I think you over enchanted it too much.” I said, looking around.
“Why do you say that?” Asked Artiglio, who was standing over the banker, his Axe poised in a position so that at the slightest movement he could kill him.
“I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel right. We’re going to have to visit a doctor afterwards.” I said. The banker groaned in pain, and I sighed.
“Someone just kill him, for Celestia’s sake!” I shouted, and Artiglio slammed the axe down on his head."
“Alright. Let’s get off this damn cloud.” I said, and the others nodded in agreement.
“I don’t know what to make of it. It seems the healing enchantment was so powerful, that it has stopped your aging, at least for a little while.” Said the Doctor, his voice slightly muffled by the bird beak mask he wore.
“What? So I’m going to live forever, watching my friends die, and I just stay alive?” I asked, my mouth agape.
“I didn’t say forever. You aren’t immortal either. You’ll take damage like the rest of us. But for a couple years, I think the max being 10, you’ll look like you’re thirty, and you’ll move on from there. After a while, the progressive aging will bring you back up to speed with your actual age.” Said the Doctor, his accent showing.
“It will cause you health problems in your later years, my dear. But not to worry, my traditional remedies will solve that! I even have a lead based cure for syphilis!”
“Thank you, medico. Che successo della tua azienda.” I said, and he sighed. “I have no idea what you just said. I told you, I’m Great-Mild western! I’m not inner-equestrian!” He shouted. His mind was going obviously. Too many times trying out his lead-based cure of syphilis.
“Until next time, doctor.” Said Artiglio.
I looked around, and admired the sheer amazingness of the Mild west. I had always wanted to visit this place. While places like Stalliongrad, and even Germaney were regal everywhere, this place was untamed. While it’s beautiful town of Apploosa was amazing, my job would be out in the surrounding area, places like Trottowa and the small, coliseum town of Bearsalona
(The natives to this area named it after a bear demon. Weird.)
“Were to get started…” I said to myself silently.
“Let’s find a sanctuary first. It was a long trip, and I need a buckin’ bath.” Said Dawn, and I frowned distastefully at his language.
“I as well need a bath. It’s been almost 4 months, Verità. I think we all need a bath.” Said Coco.
“I guess. The Sanctuary is in Bearsalona, so lets get a move on.” I said, and the Assassins nodded.
This is the last length of my journey.
“So, this guild is empty, eh?” Asked Artiglio, as we entered the Sanctuary.
“I guess. The Mild West was deserted by the guild years ago.” I said.
“Well, lets get settled in, shall we? I’m starving, anypony up for spaghetti?” Asked Fire fly, and we all nodded.
“At any rate, lets get washed up. We have things to do, places to see, ponies to kill.” Said Dawn, and Artiglio laughed at his joke.
“That we do my friend. That we do.”
--------
“So, you’re telling me that the WHOLE damn royal family is Tempests?” I asked Dawn, who was quietly eating his Spaghetti.
“Yes. How can your ponies stand this merda? It’s terrible.” Said Dawn, quickly getting to the point.
“Might just be Fire Fly’s cooking.” Said Artiglio, grinning mischievously.
“Hey! I heard that!” Shouted Fire Fly. Dawn and Artiglio laughed, but Coco stayed silent.
“Well, dinner was lovely.” Said Artiglio, mockery in his tone.
“Yes, it was.” Said Coco silently.
“You didn’t even take a bite, darling. Is something troubling you?” Asked Fire Fly, and Coco shook her head.
“Alright, I’m off to bed.” Said Dawn, who yawned.
“As am I.” Said Fire Fly.
All that was left was Coco and I. We sat on separate ends of the tables, regarding eachother, when I immediately knew what was happening.
“So, when is it due?” I asked, and Coco sighed.
“8 months. Verità, I’m sorry, but this is our last mission together. Artiglio and I want to settle down, have a normal life.” Said Coco, her eyes lowering.
“I understand that. This is my last mission anyways. Hopefully, you and Artiglio can live a long and prosperous life.” I said, but then I pondered something else.
“Where will you stay?”
“Artiglio has family back in PonyVille. His little sister plays the harp, you know.” Added Coco, and I sighed.
“Well, let this be our final battles together.” I said, smiling.
------
“Mentiroso grueso, and his family are our targets, as I’ve said before. They will be at the coliseum tonight to watch the wrestling match. Now, we all know the drill. Get in, kill them, and get out.” I said, standing over the table. It had been three months since we were in the Mild west, and we already had our target ready to kill. I had to make it quick, so that Coco could have her final adventure with us, before she had her child.
“Alright. Who’s delivering the death blow?” Asked Dawn, who now had his serious scowl on.
“All of us. We’re using an experimental weapon, known as a “Satchel Charge” filled with explosive jelly and gun powder, it can be used at long ranges for a powerful detonation.” I said, and they all nodded their head.
“Whos planting it, then?” Asked Fire Fly, and I pointed to myself.
“Okay, well, let’s do this then.” Said Coco, who was smiling gently.
I had slipped my way under the bleachers. The place was filled with popcorn and fallen wine bottles, so it was quiet hard to navigate. The crowd was going insane at the sight of the two bulls trying to destroy each other, which meant more popcorn flinging around.
“Dolce Celestia, is there no end to their madness?” I asked myself quietly as I walked underneath the bench where the Grueso family was sitting. I could hear them rambling on about their Tempest plans for the city and such, and I sighed. Dreams that will never come true.
I slammed the block of explosive jelly and gunpowder to the bottom of the bench, and attached the long string to it. I quickly finished the process of fusing it, and then kicked out the small, weak stack of bricks that served as a wall to the mesas and deserts outside. I then dropped the fuse down, were Coco grabbed it. I then sprinted away, going out a different entrance. Sure, I was hassled by a couple drunks looking for a tail lifting puttana, but I got off easy otherwise.
I ran around the coliseum, all the way to the vantage point which was about 500 yards away.
“Where is Coco?” asked Artiglio, who was laying on the side of the red sand dune.
“She isn’t here yet?” I asked, looking around.
“Nah. We thought she was with you.” Said Fire Fly. I looked around, realizing there was another one of us missing.
“Where is Dawn?” I asked, looking around.
Artiglio must have put the two and two together, and he stood up.
“Merda! We must go!” He shouted, running over the dune. I followed him, running towards the coliseum at top speed. The fuse was left there, along with a few specks of blood. Artiglio looked at the blood, and silently sighed. Then, we heard screaming.
“Everypony get away!” I heard Coco shout, and I immediately took action.
I lit the fuse, letting it burn away quickly. It exploded, and gave me a clear entrance to the coliseum. Artiglio and I scaled the wall, and then climbed into the bleachers. Dawn was standing there, a gun to Coco’s head.
“Dawn! What the hell are you doing?” Shouted Artiglio, rage boiling inside of him.
Dawn just laughed manically.
“I can’t believe you never saw it! In Manehatten, I was the one who tipped the mayor off at the parade, making him bring extra security! I shot Verità, thinking she wouldn’t have the healing rainbow mix behind her. And now, I kill Coco.” Said Dawn, his head cocking to the side.
“Dawn! Don’t do it!” I shouted, and he just smiled.
“Artiglio! I-I love you!” Shouted Coco and Dawn laughed.
“And with that, the princess dies.” Said Dawn, the action on his levitating gun pulling back.
“NO!” Shouted Artiglio, who then ran down the bleachers, jumping at Dawn.
“Too late,” Said Dawn, as he pulled the trigger.
Time slowed down. Artiglio was lunging at Dawns neck, as the barrel of the gun lit up. I saw the bullet fly out, and slowly pierce Coco’s skull. Artiglio landed on Dawn, and proceeded to stab him until he looked like sausage. (Don’t ask me how I know that. Pegasi eat some crazy stuff up in cloudsdale.)
Coco fell down, her head blown open. Artiglio walked over to her, tears streaming down his face. “My child… my love,” He said through tears, stroking Coco’s bloody mane.
I walked over tears forming inside my eyes as well. It hurt to see both of those assassins go out like that. One a traitor, one a mother. I walked over to Artiglio, and put my hoof on his shoulder, as he cradled his dead love.
“Don’t. Touch. Me.” Said Artiglio quietly, and I raised my hoof. He turned around, rage burning in his eyes.
“This is your fault, Verità. YOURS! You let him into our ranks! This is your fault! You killed her! You killed her! YOU KILLED HER! I HATE YOU!” He shouted into my face, and then punched me. I fell to the ground, holding my nose, as he jumped on top of me, continuing to punch me.
“I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL MURDER YOU! I HATE YOU! I WILL DESTROY YOU!” He screamed into my face, as he brought I his hoofs down upon my head. I felt the pitter patter of tears dropping down upon my face.
I’m sorry.
He got up, tears still streaming down his face, and walked out of the coliseum. I still lay there, tears streaming down my face, mixing with the blood of the multiple cuts on my face. I heard somepony walk over, and I looked up, to see Fire Fly standing over me.
“C’mon, let’s get you somewhere safe.” She said, lowering her hoof to me. I took it and we walked out of the coliseum. With that, he stood up, and teleported off, never to be seen again.
I realized we had been betrayed by our own. What if Fire Fly was one too? Was Artiglio on it the whole time? Thoughts spun through my head like a tornado, and I sighed.
Fire Fly stood behind me, looking at me in deep thought.
“What will you do now?” she asked, and I turned to her.
“Return to the only place I know I’ll fit in.” I said, and with that, I spread my wings, and flew away.
“Was it hard?” Asked Fluttershy, looking extremely sympathetic for Artiglio.
“Yes, it was. I miss both of them so, even though Dawn killed Coco. They were my friends, my family. They are ponies I will never get back.” He said, looking down.
“So is that why you turned to killing both Assassins and Tempests?” Asked Fire Fly, and he nodded.
Verità silently sighed. While Artiglio went on a killing spree, she went back to Ponyville, falling into psychotic paranoia and other such things. If it wasn’t for Ombra, she would still be in that terrible state. For 2 years, she lived in like that. Curled up in a ball in the corner of her shower, hair mopped over her eyes. Sitting in the middle of the sanctuary, her eyes mindlessly wandering around. She would get scared at the slightest movement or sound, and she would spend days on end, crying in bed. She became sickly, partly due to her lack of fresh air, and partly due to the age stop spell. Then, Ombra came back.
“Well, what happened to you, Verità?” asked Rarity, her eyes glinting with concern. Just then, the door blasted open, and a Conquistador walked in, eyes full of fear.
“What is it?” Asked Trixie, who was leaning on her hoof in disinterest.
“Cadence’s and her army are here! They tracked us!” He said quickly. Both Ombra and Verità stood up quickly, looking at each other.
“Cadence…” Said Verità, and edge entering her voice.
“We will hold them off. Stay here until further notice.” Said Trixie, who put on her mages cap. She slammed her hoof down, and a spout of smoke appeared. She then ran out into the open, to fight Cadence.
“Well, I guess I might as well continue my story.” I said, and everypony nodded.
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.
