When Twilight opened her eyes, she found Ombra in the same position he had been in when she had fallen asleep. The only difference was a hoof motioning her to be silent and the throwing knife held in his teeth. Twilight obligingly remained still, tracking the room with her eyes only. She noticed shadows moving in the entrance, and her breath constricted in her throat. A single mercenari stepped through into her shelter, and he quickly opened his mouth to call for aid.
He was silenced by Ombra’s knife piercing his throat with such ferocity as to tear through his spinal column. The lone earth pony fell limp without making a sound. Ombra grabbed the corpse’s shoulder with his teeth and almost casually dragged the body to sit as far away from Twilight as possible.
“Can you kill?” the Assassin asked quietly.
Twilight’s eyes widened as she shook her head.
“Merda” he swore quietly, “there are at least two dozen of them. If you cannot kill, we must run before we are discovered. Follow, quietly and as quickly as you-”
Ombra quickly turned, and faster than Twilight could blink another throwing knife found another enemies throat.
“Fleeing is no longer an option,” Ombra said, entirely too calm for Twilight’s liking. “Get behind me.”
Twilight quickly rose and trotted over to cower behind her protector. “Can you really fight that many?” she asked in a low whisper.
Ombra shook his head once. “No. These are trained stallions, not the brutes used as guards. When they come, I will delay them as long as I may. You must flee by teleportation, and run to the heart of the Everfree. There you will find an old manor. Ask the ponies inside for shelter. They are my brothers, they will protect you. Tell them what has happened to me, so that they may recover my body.”
Ombra’s voice was steady, cold, calm. He fully believed that this was his place to die, and he wasted no effort denying that. It struck a chord in Twilight, a chord that rang loud and clear.
“I won’t leave you,” she said. “I can help. You’ve helped me enough; I think I owe you a little by now.”
Ombra turned to stare at her as the sound of hooves began to ring down the entrance to the cavern, his eyes betraying no thoughts. “You will kill or die if you remain. You may survive with your innocence intact if you flee, if not your conscience. I leave the decision to you. Prepare yourself.”
Twilight did just that, casting a powerful shield spell over the entrance to the cavern. Seconds later, the first mercenari impacted her shield and stopped short with a surprised cry.
“That’ll give us a few minutes,” she said, her horn ablaze with brilliant purple energy as she fuelled the barrier. “I suggest you make with the thunder and lightning.”
Ombra looked at her with a newfound respect. “Impressive.”
With that, he dove into the pool of water.
Ten seconds passed.
Twenty.
Thirty. Twilight began to panic, wondering if the Assassin had struck his head and knocked himself unconscious.
Forty seconds.
Fifty.
One minute. The pool began to turn a milky white, and a small grey cloud formed just above the surface.
Seventy seconds.
Eighty.
Ninety. The grey cloud was larger now, filling most of the cavern and beginning to turn a darker shade.
One hundred seconds.
One hundred ten.
Two minutes. There was a tremendous crack, and the cloud faded to reveal Ombra hovering above the now empty pool. Twilight nearly dropped the shield in surprise at his appearance.
His mane and coat stood stiff, lifting the hood of his robe above his head. Arcs of electricity danced and snapped along the tips of his wing feathers, searching for something grounded to channel through. Even his golden eyes danced with sparks as he stared at the now hesitant mercenari.
“Let them come.”
Twilight dropped the barrier.
Ombra taught her what it was to harness the very power of the storm.
His hoof lashed out, hidden blade extended, and a flash of lightning shot through the air to kill the leader of the mercenari. Before the others could react, he was among them. As his feathers brushed them, they stood stock still as every muscle in their body tensed. As his hidden blade and throwing knives danced out, they dropped with pained shouts and curses. In only twenty seconds, Ombra reduced the enemy forced from two dozen to three nervous looking pegasi.
Ombra finally allowed his hooves to touch ground, and as he did the remaining charge slipped from his body into the blood soaked stone. He kept his wings extended, and raised himself up on his rear hooves.
All three pegasi charged him at once. Ombra lashed out with his hidden blade, flinging himself between his foes in a blur of deathly white.
Twilight’s breath caught in her throat when she saw one of the pegasi lash out with a spear at his unprotected back. As fast as Ombra was, she knew he couldn’t move away in time. Fuelled by a protective instinct, she levelled her horn and let loose a powerful blast of concentrated magic at the offending pegasi.
The pony in question simple disintegrated, leaving nothing behind but fine dust. Twilight sat down abruptly, horrified at what she had done. She didn’t notice Ombra dispatch the remaining two pegasi. She hardly reacted to his gentle questions as to her well being. When he pushed her to move, she simply sat down again.
Cursing softly in frustration, Ombra drew his hoof back and slapped Twilight across the face. With a weak cry of pain, Twilight struck the floor before carefully drawing herself to stand again.
“I... I killed him.”
“You did.”
“I took another ponies life. I’m a murderer.”
“You did what you felt necessary. You also saved my life. Your debts are repaid.“
“I didn’t have to kill him. I could have put him to sleep. I could have teleported him away. I could have teleported you away. I could have shielded you.”
“I would have killed him regardless. He knew our location; he could not be allowed to survive to pass on that knowledge. You have done nothing wrong.”
“I killed him!” Twilight shouted, “I ended his life! I had other options, but I chose to kill!”
“As I have many times, for the good of all ponies. Your only mistake is to judge yourself so harshly.”
“I’m not a monster like you are Ombra. I can’t just not care.”
The Assassin slapped her across the face, harder this time.
“Control yourself Twilight. We will debate the morality of your actions later. We must survive if that is ever to happen. If I must incapacitate you and carry you to safety, I will. Will you walk, or will you be carried?”
Twilight stood stiffly, bristling with anger at how Ombra was treating her. “I’ll walk,” she said harshly, “and I intend to hold you to that debate.”
“That is fair. Shall I continue my story?”
Twilight nodded, and as the pair left the cavern he began to speak of his time as a king of the Northern Wastes.
Author's Notes and Translations
Vedova Nera = Black Widow
Merda = shit
Mercenari = mercenary/mercenaries
An ethical dilemma for Twilight. Every story needs one!