Warning you now, this one won’t be as action-packed as the last one. It’s more of a plot developer if anything. There will be some interesting bits though.
Fire. That was all he could see; burning seas of flames, rushing over him, and taking his love away. Vando tried to scream, but the flames only went down his throat and filled his lungs, like some sick form of air. He began to choke on the flames that were suffocating him. He would die, and he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise to Reyna.....
Vando bolted up, breathing hard. His eyes darted to and fro, sure to see a wall of red around him. Instead, he was met by pure white marble, and clean silk blankets. The sun’s light poured in, and the floor was made of something whiter than snow--clouds.
His heart sunk. He was in her house.
The door opened, and Vando instinctively tried to unsheath his blade, only to find that it wasn’t here, but on the counter next to him. An Assassin guard walked over and gave him a steely glare, which Vando returned with a defiant one.
“Get up,” the guard grunted. “The Rector wishes to see you.” He then left, but not before spitting in his face. If that wasn’t a sign that he was in trouble, then Vando wasn’t sure of anything anymore. Sighing in self-pity, Vando got out of the bed tenderly, as his fur was still burnt and wrapped in bandages. He looked to the robes that were folded on the nightstand, the shining triangular symbol glowing with a defiant spirit. Vando smirked. He was not going to present himself before the Rector naked like this. No, if he was going to die today, he would die proud--as an Assassin.
Robes now on, he slipped on his blades and headed towards the door. Before he left, Vando looked up at the sun, and said, “I’m sorry Reyna.”
The last thing that was heard in the hall was the soft hoofsteps of a shattered stallion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Look, I just don’t think it’s a good idea to start that right now, right after her house got blown up.”
“Hey, it was your house too, and you don’t seem too cut up about it.”
“Yeah, but that’s because I’m one of us, and she’s just a normal pony.”
Somepony laughed. “Oh, really? I wouldn’t call a pony who survived a Templar attack ‘normal’.”
Octavia sat up, groaning. Her head was hurting, and her body was aching everywhere. She looked around, hoping to see the familiar brightness of her room. Instead, she was met by the soft whiteness of clouds. She listened for the voices that were conversing earlier, but could only hear the soft sound of the cool breeze outside. She was about to get out of her bed and investigate when she realized what the room was made of: clouds.
How in the wide world of Equestria did she end up in a cloud house?!
Trying to keep from panicking, Octavia struggled to remember the events of...how long ago was it? A day? Maybe more? Still, memories began to fill her head; the burning house, the stallion that tried to kill her, the mysterious mare that saved her, the explosion. Why had it all happened? It seemed like it would be just another peaceful night after a performance, but the events that took place just seemed unreal. Now she had woken up in a cloud house. How was she supposed to move around?! Everything, from the walls to the floor, was made of clouds. She’d heard of some spell that allowed earth ponies and unicorns to walk on them, but there was nopony around to cast the spell for her.
Not knowing what to do, Octavia cried out. “Help! Somepony?”
Immediately, the door came crashing down, and the same pony from the previous night followed it, blade drawn, on high alert, causing Octavia to jump and freeze in fear. Octavia noticed that the stance she took was rather strange. The mare was standing on her hind legs, her front limbs up in the air. It almost seemed like a pose of one of those Xiaolin monk human warriors Lyra ranted about every so often. Another mare came in, walking calmly through the doorway. She was dressed similarly to the other, but in a grey cloak with strange designs etched upon it. On her front hooves were the same hidden blades that the other pony had, but this time with a strange symbol on it.
The grey cloaked pony sighed. “Look what you did now. She’s scared out of her wits.”
The white robed pony got back on all fours, turned to the other and huffed. “Well, considering almost two nights ago she was almost murdered, I didn’t want to take any chances.”
Wait. Two nights?! “Um, excuse me, if I’m being rude,” Octavia said shakily, “But who the buck are you two and where in Equestria am I?!”
The pony in white seemed surprised. “You mean, you don’t recognize me?”
The grey cloaked mare’s head seemed to move in a fashion that suggested she was rolling her eyes. “You’re wearing a hood, you idiot.”
Underneath, the white robed pony blushed. “Oh. Right.” With that, she lifted her hoof up and slipped the hood off. It came down onto her back to reveal a snow white coat, frazzled blue mane, and piercing magenta eyes.
“Heya Tavi,” Vinyl Scratch said, in her usual nonchalant voice. “What’s up?”
Octavia could only gape at her best friend, the pony who saved her last night. “B-but, you’re a DJ!”
Vinyl frowned. “Yeah. So what?”
“So what?! You saved my life last night, took an explosion to the face like it was a hot breeze,” Octavia wheezed, “crushed down a door in a matter of seconds, and most of all, killed another pony like it was nothing! DJ’s don’t do that!”
The grey-clad pony to Vinyl’s right laughed. “Wow, you sure know how to let off steam, girl!”
Vinyl Scratch simply moved closer to Octavia and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Look, Tavi.....as bad as it looked, I had to kill that guy. He was a Templar.”
“What the buck’s a Templar?! More importantly, who are you two really?!”
The other pony reached forward and pulled Vinyl back. “Maybe we should give her a full on explanation before we do anything else.”
Octavia looked shocked. “Well, of course! What were you planning on doing anyway?!”
Scratch simply whined in reply. “Do we have to? That always takes so long....”
“Well, I see no other way to get her to join.” The other pony said, shrugging.
“Join what? And what takes so long? I’m still here, you know!”
Vinyl huffed and pouted, before giving the other a loathing look. “Fine, whatever you say, mater. Not like I can deny your orders.”
The other pony grimaced at the word mater. “You know, as awesome as the job is, the title is so uncool!”
Vinyl once more rolled her eyes at her boss’s immaturity, before turning back towards Octavia. “Okay, Tavi, ready for some answers?”
Octavia sniffed, and sat down on the bed, pulling on the blankets. “About time.”
The other pony smiled under her hood. “I like your attitude, girl. A lot like mine.” She reached up and pulled off her hood, revealing a cyan blue coat and rainbow mane.
Rainbow Dash gave her trademark dare devil’s grin, before saying, “Now, where should we start?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rainbow Dash sat down on the chair next to the window, looking at the puzzled Octavia. If only she knew what she’d just survived, and just how important that box was.....
Dash shook her head. They’d get to that eventually. For now, they owed her a really long explanation.
“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said shifting in her seat. “Get comfortable you two. This might just take a while.” She then looked at Octavia. “So. What do you want to know?”
Octavia seemed a little shocked at her question. “Didn’t I already tell you? Who are you guys--” She shot a glance at Vinyl who was about to speak up “--really, what happened that night, and what are the Templars?” She then fell silent, before speaking again. “And what do you want with me?”
Rainbow Dash leaned back and brushed her mane out of her face. “Fair enough. Why don’t we start with who we are?” Dash stared pointedly at Vinyl, who simply stared back.
“Wait.” Vinyl said, a little taken aback. “You want me to tell her about the Assassins? You’re the Mater! That’s your job!”
Dash rolled her eyes. “No, you idiot. Introduce yourself. The real you.”
Vinyl seemed to blush a bit at her reaction, and turned to Octavia. “Well, as you already know, my name is Vinyl Scratch. I really am a DJ, and I am your friend and roommate.” She paused, reached underneath her robe, and pulled out a pendent with the Brotherhood’s symbol on it. “However, what you don’t know is that I am an Assassin.”
Octavia’s eyes seemed to grow distant. “So.....you kill ponies for money?”
Rainbow Dash laughed. “Nah, those are mercenaries. We’re Assassins. We’re more like....guardians of order. As for me...well, I’d be surprised if you didn’t know me.” Dash smirked. “I’m the one and only, Rainbow Dash!”
Vinyl rolled her eyes. “You’re sooo big-headed.”
“Hey!” Rainbow cried back. “It’s not my fault that I’m so awesome.
Octavia shifted uncomfortably, not used to hearing such a one-sided conversation. “Um, could we get back to the topic at hand?”
“What? Oh yeah, of course.” Vinyl said, shaking her head. “As for what happened that night....well, I followed you home after the concert, because that guy had orders to kill you and steal the box. I had orders to stop him. Simple as that.”
Octavia gawked at her friend. “But did you have to kill him?!”
Rainbow’s eyes suddenly got steely. “That pony....you don’t understand. He’s a Templar.”
“There’s that term again!” Octavia exclaimed, exasperated. “What is a Templar?”
“A Templar,” Vinyl said, a disgusted look on her face, “Is a murderous bastard willing to do anything to gain power.”
“There’s got to be more to it than that.”
“Actually Octavia,” Rainbow Dash said, giving her a blank look. “That’s a pretty accurate description. Templars are control freaks. They want nothing more than to have all of Equestria under their hoof.” She thought some more, and then spoke up again. “Assassin’s in turn are kind of like highly-trained rebels. We fight to keep the Templar’s influence from spreading too far, to exterminate them.”
Octavia gazed cautiously at her. “So you’re an Assassin too, Rainbow?”
“Well, yeah.” Then Rainbow gave a smug smile. “But, I am a higher rank than the Scratch. In fact, I’m her boss.”
Vinyl rolled her eyes, and then turned towards Octavia. “What feather head here is trying to say is that she’s the leader of the Ponyville sect of Assassins, which would be more impressive if there were more than just three of us.”
Dash looked hurt. “Hey. It ain’t my fault the rector wouldn’t let me get my friends involved. We would’ve had nine of us.”
“Wait a minute,” Octavia said, a confused look on her face. “There’s only two of you here. Where’s the third one?”
The two of them looked away sheepishly, before Dash spoke up. “Well....we were kind of hoping it’d be you.”
The gray mare simply stared back at Rainbow, before laughing. “Ha ha ha, very funny you two...” She trailed off when she noticed the serious looks on their faces. “Wait, you’re serious? You want me to become an Assassin?!”
Vinyl shrugged. “Well, yeah. It’s not that hard to become one, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
“No! That’s not it!” Octavia said, now yelling hysterically. “I’ve never killed anypony, and I won’t ever kill anypony!” She looked at the mare that she had always thought of as a best friend, and imagined her covered in blood. “You’re a killer! You both are!”
Dash put her hoof to her forehead. “Vinyl, I told you she would react this way.” She turned to Octavia, who was now fanning herself and breathing deeply. “Look, Octavia....I’m not going to hide the fact that I’ve killed other ponies. All Assassins have. But that is something we do so that others don’t have to. I wield a blade so that those I love--like my friends--can live their innocent lives.” She shifted and gazed out the window, towards Celestia’s shining sun. “It’s a hard, lonely life. Nopony can know who you really are, even those closest to you. Heck, not even Celestia knows we exist.” Rainbow laughed and turned back to Octavia, her face now peeking out from beneath a hoof.
“So....you’re saying that along with the pain and loneliness,” Octavia muttered, “There is also the sacrifice of abandoning the life you had to protect everypony you love?”
“Well.....yeah.”
Octavia thought long and hard. The harsh lifestyle, the bloody work....could she really get used to it all? Was that even the question, Octavia mused. Perhaps it was something else that bothered her. What that was....well, she didn’t know. But perhaps traveling down this path would give her answers.....maybe even ones to her strange dreams of Vando Stacatto.
Octavia sighed, her eyes closed and shoulders slumped. “Well.....I don’t know why, but I feel like it’s my job to do what you two do. I won’t like it--I doubt I ever will--but if it keeps the others safe, then I’ll do what I can.” The other two were hoof-bumping, but Octavia interrupted their celebration, making them sit back down. “Okay, well....now that the decision’s made, I think I’d better go get ready for the day.” She opened her eyes to see that her two companions were simply sitting in their chairs, frozen in place. The world around also seemed to have become hazy, and had a slight blue tint.
“Um.....Viny?l” Octavia said, reaching out for her friend. She yelped when her hoof went right through her head.
She immediately pulled her hoof back, not believing what had just happened. She looked down to see her body was the same color as the room.
Octavia gulped and glanced around. “What’s going on?”
Well, well, well. A steely cold voice said. So this is the supposed heroine. How pitiful.
Frozen in place, Octavia searched around for the source of the voice. “Who are you? How do you know me?”
Oh, I know many things about you, Octavia. The real question is, what do you know about you?
“What the buck is that supposed to mean?” Octavia shouted. “Who are you?”
Icy laughter filled her ears. That is something you will find out someday, my little pony.....that is, if you live that long.
“What did you do to my friends?”
Friends? Ah yes, these two nitwits. The voice mused. Oh, nothing really. I’ve just frozen time. Another laugh rang out. That’ll explain why everything is blue! Strange how freezing time does that, eh?
Octavia sat for a moment, digesting what he’d said. “So....wait a minute. How’d you do this?”
Well, with help from very skilled mages, I can do almost anything, my dear.
Octavia grimaced. “Don’t call me that. It’s weird being called ‘my dear’ by somepony I can’t see.”
Another laugh. Cynical as ever.....just like your mother.
Octavia suddenly froze, her head full of fear now. “What....what do you know about my mother?”
Oh nothing much, really. The voice said, full of malevolence. I’m only the one who killed her.
Her head started spinning, and flashes of a bloodstained alley and dozens of policeponies about in Canterlot filled Octavia’s mind. Her heart immediately filled with fury.
“Who the buck are you, you bastard?!” Octavia screamed. “I’ll kill you!”
Oh, good luck with that, Tavi. Celestia knows I’ll enjoy watching you try. Suddenly, there was a snap, and the room turned back to it’s normal color.
“Well, that’s great Ta--”
“DAMN IT YOU!” Octavia screamed, not realizing that time had resumed. “I WILL FIND YOU, YOU MONSTER, AND YOU’LL BUCKING WISH I HADN’T!” She jumped up on the bed, and began to yell at the sky.
Both Assassins rose up and pulled her back onto the bed, ushering her to calm down. They finally got her to sit on the mattress once more, and the two immediately fell back into their chairs, wheezing.
“Horse apples, Octavia,” Vinyl said, clutching her chest. “You almost gave me a heart attack!” She glanced nervously at Dash, who was having the same chest problems. “First you gave this real inspirational speech, then the next thing I know, you’re on the bed screaming!” She looked at her friend, who was still fuming. “What the buck was that about?”
Octavia simply looked down at her lap, misery written across her face. “It doesn’t matter.”
Rainbow Dash suddenly got serious. “Oh, it does matter. When an Assassin under my command has some kind of nervous breakdown, it becomes top priority on my list of things to take care of.” She put a hoof on Octavia’s shoulder. “Now, I want you to tell me what’s been bothering you.”
Octavia looked into Rainbow Dash’s eyes, and saw true concern filling those violet pools. Tears filled her own purple ones, and she let everything out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little gray filly was walking down the street of Canterlot, a small violin strapped to her back. She couldn’t be any happier as another pony walked out of the store she’d just left. This pony had the same color coat as her, but her mane was a dark brown instead of jet black like hers.
“Now, Octavia,” the older mare said. “That violin costs 1500 bits. I expect you to love and cherish it like it is your own child.”
The young filly beamed at her mother. “Of course I will mommy! I promise I’ll practice it everyday! I promise I’ll become a great musician!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“That was my mother.” Octavia said softly. A sad smile crept onto her face. “Her name was Zephyria Lockheart. She was a very important pony, being the head of the Canterlot Foreign Affairs committee.” A warm feeling filled Octavia, and her smiled widened. “But to me, she was more than that. She was my world.”
Octavia’s face turned wistful, as she remembered what’d happened. “That day, she bought me my first violin. The thing was beautiful, and obviously in the hooves of the novice I was, only made torturous shrieks instead of flowing melodies.” She gave a little bit of a laugh. “Now, like every filly at that age, I made a promise--and didn’t keep it in the slightest. My mother had to remind me to practice everyday.”
A sad sigh escaped her mouth. “Well, she used to remind me everyday.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Octavia walked down the streets of Canterlot, humming a nameless tune that she was learning on her violin. Perhaps Mother was right, and the violin was becoming her passion. She looked at her hind flank, which was still a bare silvery gray color.
She sighed. When was she ever going to get her cutie mark?
Octavia shook her head, clearing it of even the slightest depressing thought. No, today was going to be a good day. Simple things like that weren’t going to keep her from having fun. She was going to meet her Mother on the way home from work and go to a concert with her.
The gray filly saw the corner up ahead where she was to turn. Beyond that was the cafe that the two of them always met at after Mother was done with work. Octavia smiled excitedly as she made the turn, knowing soon she was going to hear one of her biggest idols, Yo-Yo Mare perform at a live concert!
As she walked on, she noticed the streets were more packed than usual. Policeponies were everywhere, keeping the others away from a small alley next to the cafe. Curious, Octavia decided to investigate what got everypony excited.
“Officer Brandstean!” Octavia cried out, recognizing her school’s SRO. “What’s going on?” Upon seeing her, Brandstean’s face paled.
He cleared his throat before walking over to her. “H-hey kiddo. Why....why don’t I talk to you for a sec, eh?” Confused though she was, Octavia decided to follow the officer to a nearby table, where the two sat down. Silence ensued, one that made her nervous. What was it that was bothering him?
“Octavia....” He started. “I’m not sure how to say this....” Octavia looked up at him with curious little eyes, and Officer Brandstean’s own began to tear up. “Your mom....she won’t be meeting you today.”
Octavia looked relieved. “Oh, that’s it? I thought something really bad had happened....” Suddenly, she looked really disappointed. “Wait, but that means we’re not going to that concert! Did something come up at work?”
“Well....no. It’s someting worse.”
“What is it?” Octavia said, pleading in her voice. “I want to know where my mom is.” She saw his eyes glance at the bloodstained cobblestone in front of the alley. Understanding began to creep into the little filly’s heart. “No..that can’t be....?”
Brandstean looked away from the poor little foal. “I....I’m sorry, Octavia. Somepony killed her.”
Octavia suddenly jumped from her seat and raced into the alley, weaving between policeponies and reporters. Many tried to stop the filly, but she was too small and agile. When she reached her mother, she was hardly able to breathe for the sight before her.
There was blood everywhere, sickly crimson pools of it covering the walls. Octavia lifted up her hoof to see the lifeblood of her mother sticking to her hooves. The smell....it forever stained her mind. That sick, coppery smell of a life taken away by a cruel hoof. It reached it’s way into Octavia’s brain, and laid a seed of hatred that would lay dormant for a long time. She then collapsed over her mother’s mutilated body, and began to weep.
Before long, she fell asleep in the pool of her mother’s blood, and the policeponies had to come and carry her away. She was taken back to the station, washed up, and dropped off back at her house where the maid took care of her.
The events may have been in the past, but no matter how many years went by, Octavia never forgot the smell of blood.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“That was the day my mom died. “ Octavia croaked, her voice now covered by soft sobs. “It was the worst thing ever, to know that the one mare who loved me had been taken away from me.” Suddenly, her sobs stopped. “But, that was also the night I discovered who I was.” She smiled through tears. “My mom never left me. Not on that night.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sleep was something Octavia dreaded. After today’s events, how in the world could she slip into that state of ease? No more bedtime stories, no more tucking into bed, not more kisses goodnight.....so she just sat there in her bed, staring at the silver moon above the city.
As she looked up at the glowing orb, Octavia was reminded of the Mare in the Moon, who according to legend attempted to bring about nighttime eternal. Now with her mom dead, was it really worth waking up in the morning? Perhaps it might be better for NIghtmare Moon to come and take her away.......
“No,” Octavia said, suddenly. “she wouldn’t want that.” Something sparked inside of her as the moon’s light fell down upon her, something that pulled her heartstrings away from her sorrow, her misery. It took her away from the window and towards the closet. A feeling of pure anger and determination moved her hoof to open the door, and pull out a black case. She opened it, and pulled out the thing she was looking for.
It was her violin, the one her mother had bought her just a few weeks ago. Only now did she realize the true beauty of the instrument. The engravings upon the wooden casing were in the shape of the two pony sisters, who brought harmony to Equestria. The eldest was on the left, her wings caressing the strings, while the the youngest was on the right, performing the same action. They were both painted gold, shining in the pale light of the moon. At the bottom, there was a strange symbol, which looked almost like a Greek delta, except for the bottom which was curved like a hatchet blade. It didn’t mean much to her, but it seemed to amplify her raging spirit. Octavia picked up the bow, and placed the violin to her neck.
As soon as the bow touched the strings, beautiful songs flowed from the instrument. Octavia let the music take control of her, playing to her heart’s content. A song that she never heard before filled the room, giving her solace in the dark. Sure somepony might wake up, but as of now, she didn’t care. It was just her, the violin, and.....
Octavia opened her eyes, sure that there was another presence in the room. It was a warm feeling, behind her that seemed to play with her mane as she played. She felt the presence move down to her flank, and suddenly a bright light filled the room. Octavia kept on playing however, allowing the notes to become her very soul. This song....somehow she knew it was even more important than that cutie mark. Soon, however, the gray filly put the violin back in it’s case, and looked in the mirror, seeing a purple treble clef on her hind flank.
Smiling, Octavia whispered, “I did it Mom. I kept my promise.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silence filled the room as Octavia finished her story. Vinyl was sitting in her chair, a sympathetic look on her face, while Rainbow Dash fought tears. The latter brought her hoof up to her nose and wiped, sniffling.
“Darn it....” Dash said, grumbling. “I’m the leader here, but you got my heart melting.....” She suddenly bursted into tears and pulled Octavia into a hug.
Octavia laughed a little as she pat the rainbow pony on the back. “Well, that may have not been the purpose of my story, but I’m glad you two seemed to enjoy it.”
“How’d you do it though?”
Looking over at Vinyl Scratch, the black-maned mare tilted her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“How did you grow up without your mother?” Vinyl said softly. “I remember growing up always having Mom with me, attending to my every need.”
“Well,” Octavia whispered, “it wasn’t easy. But, the violin helped, as well as my cello. Music became my refuge.”
Rainbow Dash finally relinquished her hold on her, her tears no longer flowing. “One thing's for sure though, girl. You’re a strong mare. You’ve got guts.” A sly grin crept onto her face. “Perfect for an Assassin. Let’s see: tragic past? Check. Strong will? Check. Almost gotten killed by mysterious pony? Check. You pass the requirements.” A pale white hoof made contact with her shoulder. “Ow! What was that for?!”
Vinyl rolled her eyes. “You’re so insensitive, Dash.” She turned back towards Octavia. “Alright, anymore questions?”
Well, not really.” A pause ensued, before she spoke up again. “Actually, there is one thing.”
Rainbow Dash leaned back into her chair. “Alright. What is it?”
“I’ve been having these weird dreams.” Octavia started. “In it, there’s this strange stallion....an Assassin.”
Suddenly, Dash snapped to attention, seriousness adorning her eyes. “An Assassin? What was his name?”
“He had a strange name....very musical.” Dash’s eyes got wider. “It was Vando Stacatto. He had the same music box that I do. Wonder how he go--”
Rainbow Dash stood up, flaring her wings to cut Octavia off. She looked at Vinyl Scratch, who had a similarly grave look upon her. “Open up a portal to Canterlot, Scratch.”
Octavia looked at her, bewildered. “Wait, what? Why do we need to go there?”
Rainbow looked out the window, worry etched across her face. “We’re going to see the Rector.”
“Is that bad?”
“Depends. Does being driven insane sound bad?”