Vando walked slowly down the hall, not bothering to hustle along. What was the point? The Rector must’ve already decided on a verdict by now. As he walked, bitterness crept out from his heart, and made him cringe. Suddenly, the whole idea of the order and the war they fought just seemed so stupid. Why did they have to fight? If it was truly a battle in secrecy, then why had so many innocents die? All of these doubts began to pile in his conscience.
If all of these thoughts were true, then what was he fighting for?
“Halt.”
Vando looked up, surprised to see a spear at his chest, and the doors to the Hall of Judgement. All of his thinking made the distance fly by. He looked up, and saw words that chilled him.
Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.
Vando shivered, then looked up at the guard. “I am here to face judgement.”
Snicker. “Pray that she has mercy on your soul, Vando. You’ve betrayed us.”
“What do you mean?” Vando asked, returning the other Assassin’s smug look with a cold glare. “I simply did my duty and tried to save an innocent.”
The guard gave a hearty laugh. “You think I am still as stupid as a newborn, don’t you? What of the two brothers you killed?” He laughed, before taking the spear away from Vando’s chest and opening the door. “Never mind. Enter, and face the Rector.”
As Vando passed through the doorway, the words continually played through his mind. Nothing is true. Everything is permitted. Nothing is true. Everything is permitted. Nothing is true. Everything is--
“Vando Elias Stacatto.” A regal voice rang out, stopping Vando’s flow of thoughts. It was Her.
As was custom, Vando bowed. “Rector...I am here as you called.”
“Good. Now get up, we don’t have much time to discuss.” The Rector stepped down from her seat and walked towards a window., gazing out onto the sparkling city of Canterlot.
Confusion took hold in Vando’s mind. “But....what of my judgement? Was my calling here not for my crimes?”
The Rector turned and smiled. “Crimes? Nay, it is not so. While you have guilt for slaying members of the Brotherhood, there is much more at stake here.” She nodded towards her assistant, who’s horn began to glow. She pulled out a small box, with ornate designs and strange inscriptions. It levitated over the Rector’s desk, and sank till it reached the surface.
Vando stiffened. “Get that thing away from me.”
“For what reason? This box is your legacy now.” The Rector said, a twinkle in her eyes. She motioned towards her assistant, dismissing her. She bowed, and left. “Reyna would have died for nothing if you do not take care of it.”
“But why? You were the one that said it needed to stay with you!”
The Rector pursed her lips, and her cyan fur bristled. “I have my reasons, Vando.”
“Answer me!” Vando yelled. “If I am to keep this box, I demand an explanation!”
The head Assassin’s face suddenly grew dark. “Do not forget, Vando, that while you have done great things in your service, I am the one who forged this Brotherhood. Leader you may be, but I am your superior and you will treat me as such.”
Vando’s jaws tightened. “Very well, ma’am.”
“Good, now there is a reason why I, as well as anypony else here, can’t keep this box.” The Rector stretched her hoof out to touch the box, only to have a sudden golden aura stop her. Vando’s eyes grew wide. The aura was gold....just like her magic.
Seeing his reaction, the Rector smiled. “I see you understand why now. That spell is made so that nopony may touch it.”
“But...when? When did she do this?” Vando muttered. “Reyna was asleep with me in her bed that night. When did she perform the spell?”
“Our mages tell me it was set to cast at the time of her death.” The Rector explained. She pushed her mane out her her eyes. “Whoever this Reyna was, she was skilled unicorn. To have an automatic trigger is difficult enough, but to make death that trigger...not many can accomplish such a thing.
Vando stared at the box when a thought came to him. Perhaps...it might just work. He reached out, and slowly his hoof moved towards the box. It crept closer and closer....and soon was mere inches away.
Contact.
The Rector’s eyes widened. “Impossible! How are you able to break through the barrier?!”
Vando retracted his hoof, examining it. “I remember something that Reyna told me before she gave the box to me. She said that she would trust it to nopony other than myself and my kin.” He reached out and grabbed the box, pulling it close to him. “The spell must be designed to allow only me and my kin to be able to gain access to it.”
The Rector walked back to her desk and sat down, rubbing her hoof on her temple. Vando simply stood there, becoming more impatient by the second. Why was this such an important matter? Was it not more important that he had killed two of his comrades in an attempt to escape house arrest and make it to Reyna?
Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. “With all due respect, Rector, where do your loyalties lie?!”
She looked up, alarmed by his outburst. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“I betrayed the order, the two I killed, and you!” Vando bellowed, spit flying from his mouth. “The punishment for that is death. Why, then, are you just sitting there, doing nothing about it?!”
Raising an eyebrow, the Rector chuckled at him. “So you wish to die?”
“If that is the price I must pay for betraying our order, then yes.”
“Good.” The Rector said, smiling. “Then that alone proves your loyalty.”
Vando took a step back, surprised. He hadn’t expected that. “What do you mean?”
“Simple. Most in your place would be begging for mercy, asking that I let them live,” the pegasus explained coolly. “And yet, here you are, demanding punishment for you crimes, as is required by the laws of our order.” Smiling again, she reached over her desk and put her hoof on Vando’s shoulder. “I know you are loyal to the Brotherhood. Nothing could make me doubt that, Vando. You will not die today.”
“However, I agree with you on one thing. You must be punished.”
Frowning now, Vando looked at the Rector with confusion. “I do not understand. How can I be punished, but not punished at the same time?”
A smile glowed in the evening light. “I simply said punished. Death is not taking you tonight Vando.”
“So what are you going to do to me?” Vando asked, still confused.
“You are going into exile.”
Octavia snapped awake, breathing heavily. She looked around, glancing at her surroundings. At first she couldn’t remember where she was, what she was doing there, or even who she was, but soon it all came back to her.
“Octavia, my friend, I pray that you are alright?”
The gray mare turned to see a concerned face, with a flowing night blue mane and cerulean eyes. Princess Luna’s horn glowed, and a wet towel came up and wiped Octavia’s forehead.
“I apologize for any discomfort that this spell causes you.” Luna said, still dabbing the gray mare. “However, this is both the only way to discover the box’s secrets and the quickest way to train you.”
Octavia took a few breaths. “How will going through my dreams help me train?”
Luna gave an amused look. “These are not normal dreams, dear Octavia. These are dreams that are the history of your blood, the memories of your ancestors. As I am able to control dreams and manipulate them, it was a simple matter of calling upon those memories.” The Rector laid her hoof on the younger’s shoulder. “Add to that a spell known as the ‘bleeding effect’ spell and you are able to soak in any experience that your ancestor goes through, including combat. Vando was a prestigious Assassin, so I can think of nopony better to help you develop your own skills, Octavia. That does not, however, mean you will not recieve training outside the dream sessions.”
Her mind still was full of questions. Octavia got off of the bed she was lying in, and began to pace around. Finally, she decided to speak up. “So, Vando was my ancestor? He seems to carry an influence here. What did he do?”
Luna purse her lips. “Not many know what happened to him. He was originally the Pater of the Canterlot sect, and he single-hoofedly brought Canterlot under Assassin control. For that alone, his name is in the Archives as one of the greatest Assassins. Beyond that and what we’ve learned from your dream, we don’t know much. After this apparent betrayal, he was excommunicated and exiled.”
So I’m the descendant of a traitor. Octavia thought. That’s just great. A thought suddenly occurred to her, and suddenly the hairs on her neck began to stand up.
“Rector, I thought that, according to the dream, only Vando and his kin could touch the box?”
“Aye, indeed. That is what was confirmed.”
Octavia felt a cold shiver. “Then how come Vinyl could touch it the other night? She and I are not related.”
Luna suddenly got tense, and cursed. “Damn! I should have noticed.”
“It means what I think it means, doesn’t it?”
The princess of the night nodded. “Aye. The box’s magic is weakening. We must send somepony in to retrieve it.”
Immediately, Octavia stood up. “I will go.”
“No!” Luna said, pacing back in forth, deep in thought. “You do not have the necessary skills. I will send somepony else instead.”
“But, the spell--”
Luna stopped pacing and pulled out a sheet of parchment and a quill. “For now, the spell will hold against the Templars. I know that much.” Luna said, her horn glowing as she wrote a letter. “Besides, you gave me the idea of sending somepony who could touch the box.” With that, she made the last stroke with her quill, and the letter disappeared with a small pop.
Octavia was confused for a bit, before it finally came to her. “You don’t mean--”
Suddenly, a pink burst of light filled the room. When it faded away, a white robed unicorn with a frazzled blue mane stood in their presence, cladded in light armor and armed to the teeth.
Vinyl Scratch gave her trademark goofy grin. “Somepony call a DJ?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Octavia stood as her friend packed her bags and prepared for her mission.
“Are you sure about doing this, Vinyl?” Octavia said, unable to keep the worry out of her voice.
Vinyl stopped shoving things into her ransack, and turned towards Octavia. She put her hoof on her shoulder. “Look Tavi...I kind of owe it to the Princess. After failing to protect you from those twins, I need to redeem myself. Getting this intel is the only way.” The DJ smiled, and then moved back to her bags. “Besides, it’s not like I’m useless. I am an Assassin, after all.”
Octavia rushed over and hugged Vinyl from behind. “But they’ll recognize you! Looking like that what with the armor and all, it will be too obvious!”
The white mare turned and pushed Octavia gently away, rolling her eyes. “Jeez Tavi, have some faith! I am a unicorn, too!” With that, her horn glowed, and before Octavia no longer stood Vinyl Scratch, but a black unicorn with a white mane. “See? This is my disguise. It’ll keep me alive.”
“And if they discover you’re a spy?”
Vinyl’s face grew dark. “Let’s just hope they won’t.”
With that, the famous DJ-Pon3 slung her saddle bags over her back and walked out of the room. Octavia watched as her closest friend disappeared around the corner...maybe for good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Far away, a hooded pony rushed through the streets of Ponyville, determined to reach his destination. He’d had no trouble thus far. Ponyville was a peaceful town, one with no guards whatsoever, just a small police force. Even if they caught him, he would look like a simple traveler to the naked eye.
Rain poured down, dripping from his face. His breathing was quick and paced, and the sound of his hooves splashing through puddles send echoes through the empty town streets. Underneath his cloak, a small silver cross pendant bounced off his chest.
He smiled as he felt the symbol hit him over and over. It brought him warmth in this cold dreary rain; the knowledge that their victory was at hoof made him feel happiness all over. Soon, all would experience peace and tranquility, and those troublemakers, the Assassins, would be no more. But...first things first. He had to make it to his destination. He ran and ran, finally stopping before the desired place.
Ponyville Library, workplace and residence of Twilight Sparkle.
His lips curled up as he saw her silhouette through the window, writing a letter. It would be over soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Octavia sat in her room, crying. It just wasn’t fair. First she loses her mother, and somehow she created a career out of that loss. Then, she has that all stripped away by Templars, all for her stupid box. Soon after that, her best friend--one she considered a sister--goes off on a mission that she could never come back from.
“It’s just not fair...” Octavie sniffled softly, tears running down her cheek.
“Hey, life rarely is. You learn that after a while.”
Octavia jumped and twirled around to see a cyan mare leaning against the door frame, her fore legs crossed at her chest and standing on her hind legs. Rainbow Dash gave Octavia a cocky smirk, before getting back on all fours and cantering towards her. Octavia, unsure of her intentions, sat back down on her bed. Rainbow sat next to her, and put an arm around her shoulder. She smiled at her, a reassuring look on her face that somehow calmed Octavia’s nerves.
“Look, something’s bothering you.” Said the young Assassin, her violet eyes full of concern. “Tell me what’s up. Jackle always says opening up helps.”
Octavia looked down at the floor. “Well, perhaps he’s wrong.”
“Nah. He’s never been wrong.”
“There’s a first for everything.”
Rainbow smiled again, this time a little more cockily. “Well, we won’t know till we’ve tried will we? Tell me what’s got you so down.”
Octavia stood up, fury etched onto her face. “Really? You’ve tailed me for how long, and you don’t know?”
Rainbow was startled by her sudden outburst, and brought her hooves up. “Hey, I’m just--”
“Just what, Rainbow Dash? Just being a selfish prick as usual?” Octavia screamed. “I know why you really brought me here. You just wanted another recruit here to make you look good!”
“Hey, that’s not true!” Rainbow Dash yelled back, now standing up.
“Oh then, what’s the reason?” Octavia said sarcastically. “Please, do entertain me. Celestia knows I need entertainment after going through hell.”
Rainbow grew even more furious. She tried to calm down, and spoke in a quiet voice. “Hell? You think you know hell?” Look here, sister, I’ve been through hell and back, so don’t try me!”
“Oh yeah? Well my mother’s dead, and my best friend just went on a suicide mission!”
“MY MOM’S DEAD TOO, YOU KNOW!”
Octavia fell silent, shocked into speechlessness by Rainbow Dash’s sudden shout.
Rainbow looked at the musician, anger written across her face. “You aren’t the only one who’s lost friends and family to the Templars. I’ve lost countless to them. My parents? Both killed by a Templar. Friends? Most died fighting them with me, and the only one’s I’ve got that are still alive are safe, secure, and incredibly bucking naive of the danger they’re in!” Dash got right into Octavia’s face, pushing her against the wall. “Try putting things into perspective, you little wench. Most of us have lost everything, and the Assassin Brotherhood is all we have. It’s only just started for you. You think you’ve gone to hell?” Violet eyes glared into wide purple ones. “You’ve only just stepped in.”
Rainbow released her recruit who slid to the floor, speechless. Rainbow glared at her one last time before heading towards the door.
“W-wait.”
The cyan pegasus turned around to see a pair of teary eyes looking at her. “I-i’m sorry. I really am. It’s just...the stress and everything...” Octavia broke down, and brought her hooves to her face.
Rainbow Dash just stood there, not sure how to react. She was still angry, no doubt about that, but seeing Octavia on the floor crying reminded her of herself when she was a filly. Slowly, her anger dissipated, and she walked over to the crying pony, and knelt down. Putting a hoof under her chin, Rainbow Dash brought Octavia’s face up to hers.
“Look, Octavia...I’m sorry too, okay?” Her face winced like it hurt to say those words. “There, I said it. I don’t say if often, so don’t get used to it, okay?” Octavia chuckled a bit through her tears. “And don’t tell anyone either, because I’ve got an image to maintain. But you’ve got to understand that I brought you here because this is the only place you’d be safe.”
Octavia looked up at Rainbow Dash. “Really? After the fiasco with those twins?”
Rainbow winced again before continuing. “Well...more safe. But trust me, had you not been here and those two attacked, you’d be dead for sure. You had to be trained in order to defend both yourself and those you love. That’s how you’ll survive.”
“You mean...I have to kill?”
“Every Assassin kills somepony at least once.” Rainbow Dash said, traces of sympathy in her voice. “It’s unavoidable. Being an Assassin tends to draw unwanted eyes onto you.”
Octavia shook a little, but managed to calm herself. “I should have known that...but I guess a part of me is still hoping for a chance at my old life.” She smiled sadly and laughed weakly. “Is that wrong? Am I weak for that?”
Shaking her head, Rainbow responded almost immediately. “No. If anything, you’re right. We all hope for that. That desire? It’s what keeps us going, because once we win this fight, we can return to our old lives...at least, for that most part.
“Also, by no means does being an Assassin mean you can’t have some normalcy.” Rainbow continued. “I mean, look at me and Scratch. I’m an Element of Harmony and the leader of the Ponyville Weather Squad. I have friends and socialize a lot. Vinyl...well, she’s not exactly normal, what with being the famous ‘DJ-Pon3’, but it’s more normal than this.
“What I’m saying is, you can still lead your life, Octavia.” Rainbow finished, with a smile.
Octavia fell quiet for a bit, before starting to cry again. She reached out her arms, asking for a hug. Rainbow Dash moved forward and embraced her new rectruit.
“Shhh, it’s alright. I got you.” Rainbow said. She smiled while Octavia cried into her shoulder. “It’s alright, let it out. You’ll be fine. I promise.”
Suddenly, Octavia tensed, and her grip became like iron.
“Uh, Tavi? You alright?”
The gray mare let go and pushed the Assassin away, screaming. She fell to her floor, and clawed at her head.
“Octavia!” Rainbow Dash screamed, dashing to where the mare fell.
Octavia opened her eyes, and they were no longer purple. Instead, they were completely filled with golden light.
“IT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT.”
“What will happen tonight?!” Dash said, shielding her eyes from the golden glow. “Who are you? What are you doing to my friend?”
Octavia wheezed and gasped, before speaking again. “TONIGHT THE ONE BORN OF THE STARS, THE MISTRESS OF THE ARCANE, WILL DIE.” Her voice seemed amplified, with three different pitches speaking. She turned towards Rainbow Dash, and looked at her with her baleful eyes. “YOU KNOW WHO I SPEAK OF, ASSASSIN. YOU WILL TRY TO SAVE HER, BUT YOU CANNOT PREVENT FATE. THEY ARE ALREADY THERE.”
Rainbow immediately felt dread in her stomach. “No...you can’t mean?”
Octavia smiled, a sickly looking thing. “YES, THAT IS WHOM I SPEAK OF. YOU WILL TRY TO SAVE HER, BUT YOU WILL FAIL. ONCE IT HAS COME TO PASS, TAKE THIS ONE AND SEEK OUT THE TIME TRAVELLER. HE WILL PROVIDE THE ANSWERS.
“REMEMBER...TONIGHT...TONIGHT...TONIght...tonight...” With that, Octavia collapsed upon the floor, her eyes steaming, her forehead brimmed with sweat.
“Repeat to me what happened. Again.”
Luna was pacing in her office, more serious than she’d ever been.
“I told you five times already.” Rainbow Dash said, getting impatient. “I was talking with Octavia when some weird voice took over her and said some strange things.” Rainbow wavered at those last bits, unable to repeat what the Voice had said.
Luna noticed this break in flow, and confronted the mare immediately. “What exactly did they say?”
“I...I can’t say it.”
“Rainbow Dash, that voice was one of Them!” Luna said, her voice escalating. “Anytime They contact us, we need to take immediate action! Now tell me what it said!”
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, then closed it, shaking her head.
Luna’s face turned stone-like. “Tell me. That is an order.”
Another shake.
“You dare defy your leader?!” Luna said, the shadows beginning to shroud her, her eyes glowing white. “Tell me what happened!”
“Rector, if you don’t mind, I could tell you.”
Light entered the room once more as the shadows faded, and both the Rector and her cyan comrade looked to the door. There stood a gray mare, clad in a complete set of Assassin’s robes, with hidden blades strapped to her forelegs. Her purple eyes shone with determination, and her voice rang through the room.
Rainbow flew over to her. “Octavia! You should be in the hospital wing recovering!”
Octavia made a face. “What, with the stench of blood in there? No thanks. Besides, I feel fine.” She brushed past her mater and advanced to a grim looking Luna. “Recor, I ask permission to tell you my side of the story.”
Luna bit her lip, before nodding and replying. “Permission granted.”
“What had happened was strange; I don’t quite understand it.” Octavia began. “I was hugging Rainbow Dash for comfort, when suddenly I wasn’t there anymore. I was in some strange white space, and a voice rang through the place.
“It said that something will happen tonight to the one born of the stars, the mistress of the arcane.” Octavia turned to Dash, who was looking off to the side, holding in tears. “You know her, don’t you, Dash?”
Rainbow took a deep breath and nodded. “I do.”
“Who is it?” Luna said, immediately jumping on the Assassin.
“The voice said that Twilight Sparkle will die. Tonight.”