> Assassin's Creed: Musical Overture
>  by SaxPon3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Arrival
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

     
A shadowy figure hopped across the rooftops of Canterlot, his eyes fixed on his destination. His head darted to and fro, but all was quiet. The only sound was the soft gallop of his hooves on the roof. 

Suddenly, a building rose out of the gloom, a huge mansion with terraces and vines hanging from the walls. He was here. But, he couldn’t just knock on the front door. This had to be secret.

Time slowed as he reached the last rooftop. He could hear his own heartbeat, a bass drum amongst the violinists of the wind. The cymbals of his mind began a roll, and the increasing sound thundered in his head. The symphony was blasting all they had until he reached the end of the terrace. He tensed and jumped. The music stopped, save for one lonely string holding out a high note. 

His eyes grew small, his breathing slowed. His body flew through the air, as gracefully as a harpist’s string pluck. He closed in on the wall, and his pupils dilated.
        
        Barely a few feet from the stone, he extended his right hoof and out from beneath his wrist came a twelve inch blade, sharp as a timberwolf’s fang. Halfway down the blade, there was a sudden hook, which caught on the vines. 
        
        As he hung from the walls, a sly smile could be seen underneath his dark hood. The music had finally stopped.

        A window was open above, and that room was his destination. He raised his left hoof and an identical hook-blade extended out, and he slowly made his way up the stone wall. 
        
        When he finally reached the window, he pulled himself up to see the pony he was waiting for standing before him. He smiled, then took off his hood. He was no longer an Assassin. He was now Vando Stacatto, a simple pianist in love with the mare before him: Reyna Legato. 

        “Reyna,” He whispered, before rushing to her. He embraced her and brought his lips to hers, holding the kiss for as long as he could. When Vando broke away, he saw tears his his beloved’s eyes.

        He frowned, and brought a hoof up to wipe away the tears. “My love, what bothers you so? Are you not happy to see me?”

        “Oh Vando, I am happier than you could imagine!” Reyna cried. “But it is why you’re here that I am sad.”
        He brought his hoof down to her mouth, silencing her. “Forget about why I am here. Tonight is for you and me to celebrate.”
        
        “But I will never see you again!”

        “Nay, I say; you will see me once more, dear Reyna.” Vando said softly. “Perhaps not in this lifetime or the next, but I swear by Celestia’s golden sun that you and I will meet again.”

        Taking his words in, Reyna finally smiled. “Perhaps you are right, Vando. Now, come, lay with me.” She gestured to her bed, and immediately he followed her to her resting place.

        And on that night, the two star-crossed lovers set forth a series of chain-events that would decide the fate of Equestria.





Octavia woke up, rubbing her eyes with her hooves. What was that dream about? It just seemed so.....real. A twinkling rang through her head, and Octavia craned her neck to see what it was. When she found the source, she smiled. 
        
It was the music box, which had been in her in her family for years. Which reminded her of that dream....
        
What exactly was it? Octavia hadn’t the slightest idea. All she knew was the music box played soothing notes that helped her fall asleep. Either way, it wasn’t her main worry.  She reached over and closed the box, stopping the music immediately. Today was a big day for her.
        
Octavia was going to perform for the delegates from the Griffon Kingdom, alongside her giffon counterpart Soft Claw, as an anniversary of the peace and harmony between the two kingdoms brought many years ago. It was a very important performance, and Octavia would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous. Still, she and Soft had been practicing with each other for weeks, and they had it all down. All that was left was the actual performance.

The black-maned musician was pulled out of her thoughts by an earth-shattering boom from below her room, in the kitchen. This boom repeated several times, signifying that Vinyl Scratch was doing the dishes.....again.

Not that it was a bad thing. It was great to have a friend that did the dishes as you slept. But did she really have to invent a dubstep dishwasher? What was wrong with the last one? Sure, this one might clean “on a microscopic level” as Vinyl had put it, but it disturbed half of Ponyville as it wubbed along.

Her door bursted open to reveal the infamous DJ herself. “Yo, Tavi! You should get up soon, girl! Don’t you have that performance thing to do in Canterlot?”

Octavia rolled her eyes. “Yes, I do, but what have I told you about calling me that name? I hate it.”

“Really? ‘Cuz I absolutely love it!”

“Of course you do! You love anything I hate!”

“Do not!”

Octavia reclined on the frame of her bed, hooves crossed. “Oh really? Name one thing that I like that you like as well.”

“Well....um.....”

“Exactly.” Octavia said, a smug look on her face. 

“Wait!” Vinyl replied, a bright smile on her face. “I’ll be right back!” She raced away to the kitchen once more, and reappeared wearing an apron that said “Kiss the DJ” on it. “You know you love Scratch’s famous scrambled eggs!”

Her mouth now watering, Octavia realized that her friend was right......and that she was starving. “Ok, so you win this one. Speaking of those eggs, would you mind making some while I get ready?”

“No problem Tavi!” Vinyl yelled, racing away before Octavia could strangle her for the caller her that name again.

As soon as Vinyl Scratch was downstairs, Octavia got out of bed and made her way to her bathroom, pausing only to yawn a bit. She turned on the shower, and started brushing her teeth while the water warmed up. While she brushed away, her thoughts wandered, often thinking about the performance, which led to music, which led to her life’s career.

Eventually, her music box came to mind once more. It was a strange piece, for when opened it held but a small painting of a group of colonial ponies, who had founded Equestria. The painting was the most unusual thing about the box, because while the polished wood was fading, the paint looked like it had faced the test of time and spat in it’s face. Then there was the music itself.

She spat, and brought a cup up to rinse her mouth.

Something about the soft twinkling always lulled Octavia into her deepest slumbers, which is why she used it nightly. Many times the sounds would have her in its trance in a matter of minutes, bringing her to the wonderful world of her dreams. 

Octavia spat again, leaving her mouth clean and refreshed.

That thought immediately pulled back that dream. Who were those two ponies? Why had the mare been so sad? What in the world was an Assassin, and just who were Vando Stacatto and Reyna Legato? Their names alone were strange, being complete opposite musical terms. Legato, long and connected. Stacatto, short and lifted. Octavia thought herself to be more like Legato if their names had anything to do with personality. Perhaps it was something to look into.........

A banging on her bathroom door snapped her out of her thoughts. “Hey, Octavia! You done with that shower yet? The eggs are just about done.”

Flushed, Octavia realized that she’d been staring at her now misty reflection in the mirror for the past ten minutes. She rushed into the shower, yelping at the scalding touch of the water. She reached for the knob and tilted it a bit more to the cold side, turning it from an unbearable liquid inferno into a pleasant burning sensation. “Um, just a minute Vinyl! I’ll be out soon.” With that, she began furiously scrubbing, trying to clean her body quickly so she could go eat a warm breakfast.

Having now finished her shower, Octavia stepped out, feeling refreshed and new. She walked over to her window and opened. The musician breathed in the wonderful fresh air of Ponyville, and took in the sights of the morning bustle.

Applejack was already out at her apple stand, yelling out the prices for each bit of the red deliciousness. The mayor was talking with somepony at town hall entrance, somepony obviously annoyed with something. Twilight was out with Spike, who held a checklist that was as long as the Ponyville Express. Off to her left, Rose was tending to her wonderful collage of flowers.

Octavia smiled. It was going to be a good day. She could just feel it.










A figure watched in a dark alleyway as the two ponies, Octavia and Vinyl Scratch got into a carriage that would take them to Canterlot. The performance was in an hour. She needed to follow them to make sure they would be okay. Sure, Vinyl was with her, but there wasn't much she could do without revealing herself. She had to go with them, as a precautionary measure. She spread her wings, and prepared to take off.

Right before she could get off the ground, however, movement caught her eye. There was another figure that was entering the house. This couldn't be good. Instead of flying upward, she dashed over to the door, making it inside just before it closed.

I can follow Scratch and Tavi later. She thought. I need to take care of this guy first.

The house was eerily quiet, which was what she expected. If her suspicions were correct, then the person that snuck in wasn’t anypony normal.

It was a Templar.

She kept her sense on high alert, and headed up the stairs, for that was where Tavi kept it. She turned the corner, and saw that Octavia’s bedroom door was wide open, and movement could be heard inside. Shuffling and clicking could be heard. She crept towards the doorway, and peeked inside. She smiled to herself under her hood, and began to enter the room, when she hit a creaking floorboard.

The other figure turned around to the doorway to see--nothing.

He frowned. He could’ve sworn he heard the floor creak. Either way, it didn’t matter. He had gotten what he came for.

Stuffing the music box in his saddlebag, he began walking out of the room. He failed to notice, however, the pony hanging from the ceiling above.

She smiled once more under her hood, before letting go of the walls.

Time slowed. The pony underneath her turned his head slowly, and when he saw her, his eyes grew wide in fear. All she did was give him her trademark slight grin, before extending her hoof to reveal a twelve inch blade that was hidden under her sleeve. His cry came out slowly, but was stopped when she tumbled onto him and pinned him to the ground. She brought her blade up and swished downwards. Everything happened so slowly, until her blade met his throat--and stopped.

Time seemed to resume and both were breathing hard. Finally, she spoke up.

“Just where do you think you’re going, eh?”

He swallowed, and relied in a shaky voice. “I-I’m not afraid of you!”

She rolled her eyes. “Really. Could’ve fooled me.” She pressed her blade harder against his throat, silencing him again. “Now, answer my question. Where were you going to go with that music box?”

His eyes suddenly hardened, and he spat in her face, causing her to recoil. “The father of understanding guides many, but foals like you ignore the truth, Assassin.”

“You really had to spit at me?” She said, her voice now steely and cold as ice. “You idiots just don’t know when to do certain things, do you?” She brought her blade back to his neck, this time piercing it ever so slightly, drawing a bead of blood. He winced in pain, and his eyes once more met hers. “I’m going to ask one more time. Where were you going to take this music box?”

He sneered. “Go to Tartarus, wench.” With that, he grabbed her wrists and forced the blade into his neck, causing his eyes to go wide. His hooves shook a bit, but then went slack.

When the pony had finally stopped convulsing, she sighed and pulled her blade out of his neck. It was a pity that they did that sometimes. Still, she had to admire his loyalty to his order. 

She turned him over and reached for his saddlebags. She dug through them, and in one found a music box, one she was sworn to protect. She smiled. It was safe for the time being. She went through the other bag, and found a letter. She opened it, and when she read it, her eyes flew wide open. 

She had to get to the Canterlot Performing Arts Hall. Now.





Octavia was in the moment, letting the music flow through her body and control her. The CPA Hall was full of ponies and griffons alike, including very special guests. In the top box, she spotted Princess Celestia and the Griffon King Valnor. To her left stood her partner, Soft Claw, who glanced at her. She smiled at him, and continued her bow’s strokes on her cello. The ballad was almost over.

Feeling the notes in the air, Octavia simply let the music take full control. That was the key to her success. She didn’t think that music was just sound. It was almost like a living entity that lived in the air, flowing through the ears of all species alike, not just ponies. Perhaps that is why music was always one of the things that all cultures shared. 

Octavia smiled, and stroked her instrument, bringing out soft low notes that caressed the hall with the beautiful sounds of the strings. 

The performance was going perfectly.









        Vinyl Scratch sat in a seat near the top row, close to the entrance. She loved the sound of her friend’s music. It was angelic, but it didn’t hide the sounds of the pony approaching to her right. She sat down next to her, and for a while there was silence. Then, the pony spoke.

“You know, I never knew you liked this kind of music, being a DJ and all.”

Vinyl simply smiled. “Well, who doesn’t enjoy something soothing every now and then? It can’t always be just loud bass and techno synths. It’s a hidden pleasure for me” She looked over the the pony, whose face and mane was hidden by a black hood. “Speaking of hidden, do you have to go around dressed like that? It’s not like we’re in danger or anything.”

The pony bit her lip, before replying. “That, Scratch, is where you’re very wrong.” She turned towards the DJ, and spoke softly. “Shortly after you two left, one of them broke into your house. He almost made away with the music box, but I managed to kill him before he could get away.”

Vinyl Scratch thought for a while, before speaking again. “Did he tell you anything before he died?”

“No. The usual crap. Called me a wench and spat in my face.”

Vinyl laughed. “Well, that’s all fine and dandy, but if there’s nothing else--”

“There is.” The pony pointed into the crowd, aiming her arm at a griffon and a stallion down below. “See those two guys in tuxes on the far right side of the hall?”

Vinyl looked where she was pointing. “Yeah, I see them. What about them?”

“I found a letter in the other guy’s saddlebags that had a set of orders. He was supposed to meet those two after they assassinate Octavia and Soft Claw after the show.”

Suddenly, Vinyl’s relaxing nature was gone, in it’s place a dead seriousness. “Alright. Wait here while I suit up. The performance isn’t done for at least another ten minutes. Don’t do anything stupid till then.”

After she left, there was a small silence, save for the music filling the hall. 

“Yeesh. I’m her boss, and she talks to me like that?”





Eight minutes have passed. The performance was almost complete. 

Octavia stroked her cello in earnest, the song now reaching its climax. She and Soft Claw were lost in the moment, and those in the hall were going through the same experience. Many were in tears because of their beautiful song, which told the story of peace and harmony in Equestria.

When the final note was played, it rang throughout the auditorium, silence in it’s wake. Then, cheers erupted from the crowd, coming from griffons and ponies alike. Octavia looked over to her griffon counterpart, who had a wide grin on his face. He apparently thought the performance went as well as she did. Walking over, Octavia extended a hoof in congratulations to Soft, who in turn took it in her claw and shook.

“Stunning performance, I must say!” Soft shouted over the noise. “That part in the third movement almost had me, though!”

Octavia smiled back, knowing her friend was being modest. “Nonsense. You played through the thing perfectly!”

“I’d wouldn’t say that. I’m sure I made a slew of mistakes.”

Octavia turned to the crowd. “Come on, Soft. This cheering crowd, and you say you made a ton of mistakes? You and I are both professional musicians. I can hear wrong notes just as well as you.”

The two took a final bow, before heading offstage to their right, towards the dressing rooms. They chatted away, cheerful about the performance.

Neither of them noticed, however, the two shadowy figures following them.







        Octavia walked into her home, exhausted from the day’s ordeals. The performance had gone perfectly, but it sure had been tiring. It’d taken a lot out of her, and all that stress just wasn’t good for her. That, and one thing still bothered her.

        Where had  Vinyl gone after the performance? She just disappeared during the show, and Octavia never saw her after that. She was a little put off by her friend’s inconsiderate action, but she decided not to hold it against her. Scratch was a busy pony, and often had to leave abruptly to DJ at a party somewhere, or perhaps help some new pony with a music track. Either way, it didn’t matter much to Octavia. She was just said that Vinyl couldn’t stay for the whole performance.

Octavia walked over to the kitchen, where the dubstep dishwasher was now humming softly, signalling that it’s cycle was almost complete. 

“Thank Celestia,” Octavia muttered. “I don’t think I could handle all that noise tonight.”

The Royal Cellist then walked to her fridge, and dug out the sandwich she had made last night. It was all she and Vinyl really ate: leftovers. For having such a high end job, they never really got much good food to eat. It didn’t really bother Octavia though. She was content with her life. So, with that thought in mind, she stuck the sandwich in the microwave and set it to heat for two minutes.

As she stood by the machine, Octavia’s mind began to wander back to that dream she had this morning. Why did the name Vando Stacatto seem so familiar? She only really knew that the two ponies in that dream were obviously lovers, and that their relationship must’ve been a secret. Judging from the architectural design of the building that Vando had climbed, it must’ve been the Renaissance-era Canterlot, when magic and the like fluorished. There was one thing that shocked her no matter how hard she thought about it, though.

He was an earth pony. No magic, no wings. 

So how in the world did he move across the rooftops like that? So nimble, so fast, and that leap through the air.....any normal earth pony would’ve perished. It almost seemed like Vando had flown, but Octavia knew that he couldn’t have. He was missing the needed appendages. 

Then there was the mistress of this mysterious stallion, the mare by the name of Reyna Legato. Her last name meant long and connected in the music world, the opposite of her lover’s, which meant short and lifted. Their names weren’t the only stark differences they had, though. She was something that really puzzled Octavia.

Reyna was a Unicorn.

Now, today in modern-day Equestria, it would be perfectly acceptable for an earth pony to marry a unicorn or a pegasus. It would be fine for a unicorn and a pegasus as well. Back then, however, the earth ponies were considered as inferior ponies, and the pegasi and unicorns were very strict about preserving their blood statuses. It’s obvious that the two had met in such a secret fasion because nopony would ever approve of their relationship. A forbidden love. It reminded her much of Shakesmare’s classical tale of Romeo and Juliet, two lovers from rival unicorn families. Although, in the case of Vando, there wasn’t even a chance for him to enter Reyna’s family. At least with Shakesmare’s characters, there was a chance at family peace.

A sudden beeping snapped Octavia out of her thoughts. The microwave was done heating her food. She took the sandwich, sat down at the table, and immediately began munching on the sandwhich. She didn’t realize just how hungry she was. 

        As she ate, Octavia’s mind once again began to drift, this time onto the music box. She had always wondered why the box’s musical cantor would have such deep effects on her. Whenever the thing played, her eyes would get extremely heavy, no matter how much coffee she had from StarBucks. It was a strange phenomenon. She had always just put it off as just her love for the music. Well, that, and her extremely soft bed. But, that aside.......

        Octavia took another bite and swallowed. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was something else. The box had such a unique quality to it, yet she couldn’t place. In fact, the thing itself was so strange. It had been in her family for generations, and yet not once did Octavia ever hear of having to take it in for repairs. It must’ve existed since even before the Renaissance, given the art style of the painting inside of it. Add it’ near-indestructibility and it’s strange musical ability to put you to sleep......

        Perhaps it was magi--

        Octavia immediately pushed that thought out of her head. There was no way in Equestria that she owned a magical music box. Most likely the family heirloom was always under extreme care, which would explain the condition.

        As for the sleeping effect it had...well, perhaps it was time for her to test it out again. Octavia was pretty tired, and her sandwich was gone, now lost in the recesses of her belly. The combination of her full stomach and tiring day definitely was a combination for a good night’s sleep. Octavia walked up her stairs, and to her room, which was wide open.

Octavia frowned. She was sure she closed the door before she left. She always did. The gray pony cautiously walked inside, prepared to meet anypony that might be on the other side of those walls. She stepped in.....

Nopony was there. The only thing there was an open window, with the cool night breeze flowing throughout the room. That was stranger still. Octavia was also pretty sure that she closed her window after her morning gaze of Ponyville. It didn’t bother her too much, though, as she walked over and pushed it down. She might’ve just forgotten to shut it. Pushing her worries aside, she slipped into her bed, and opened the music box to turn it on, and as the soft song twinkled away, Octavia once more slipped into a deep slumber.







        Vando woke up the next morning, refreshed as ever. His love was laying on the bed next to him, her beauty forever stunning him. Reyna was one of the few things that he saw worth fighting for in this world, his loyalty to her only surpassed by that to the Brotherhood. And coincidentally, it was because of that Brotherhood that last night was a reality. He had been sent on a mission here to retrieve something of great value, and while Vando had been told to get his hoofs on it through any means possible, he wanted to try the peaceful route first. The sandy-maned earth pony looked over Reyna’s body, over to the closed music box that had long on her bedside table. 

        His eyes hardened. That box was the key to everything. It could save the world or destroy it in a matter of seconds. By the decree of his order, he had to retrieve it. But first......

        “Reyna, wake up.” Vando said, softly. “There is something we must discuss.”

        The rosy haired unicorn slowly stirred and sat up. Vando’s breath was taken from him when he saw her. Even with a messy mane in the morning, she was still more beautiful than any other pony he’d seen. 
        
        “Good morning, Vando,” Reyna said, a bright twinkle in her eyes. “It’s fine morning, is it not?”

        Vando looked out the window, seeing birds flying gracefully through the air, and the merchants out and about setting up their shops for the day in the town square. He smiled. “Aye, it is my love. But, in the wake of this breathtaking day, I hope you haven’t forgotten why I’m here?”

        Reyna’s eyes suddenly lost their twinkle, and became saddened. “I....yes. I remember. The box.”

        “I’m sorry, Reyna, but I must take it away from here.” Vando said, now standing and getting dressed in his Assasin’s robes. “If it remains here, you and your family are forever in danger.”
        
        “But Vando,” She replied, now standing on the opposite side of the bed. “Is there no other way? What danger is there? I come from a noble family, and thus we have guards with us everyday.”

        Vando’s eyes hardened. “These guards would not fare well against the enemies I fight everyday....that I kill everyday.”

        Reyna shuddered, remembering her love’s occupation. “But....Vando. It’s been safe with us for generations. Surely, it will be safe with my family!”

        “Reyna, I’m not willing to take that risk!” Vando said, his voice more stern than before. “My foes are if anything resourceful, and they may not find that box today, or tomorrow, or maybe in a hundred years, but if they do, the world would be in peril!”
        “I don’t understand what you’re saying, Vando. It is but a simple music box.”
        
        “My love, if only you knew. It is much more than a music box.”  Vando said, his eyes now glazed over and gazing outside. “That ‘simple’ music box has the power to decide the fate of all of Equestria.”

        Reyna looked at her lover, a sad look in her eyes. “You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?”

        “Nay. I have my orders.”

        Sighing sadly, the rose maned unicorn picked up the box with her magic and placed it in Vando’s saddlebags. “Just make me one promise, Vando. One promise and the box is yours.”

        Vando sighed in content, knowing that Reyna had given in. “Anything my love. Anything.”

        “If I give this to you, you must promise me to always keep it within your family, nopony else’s.” Reyna said, her eyes filled with tears as she departed with the heirloom. “I will trust it to nopony other than you and your kin.”

        Vando was shocked by her request. Did she not just hear what the box was? It was safest in the hooves of the Brotherhood, not just one of it’s members! But.....if this will get the box.....

        “Aye. I promise.”







        Weeks went by. Vando did as he was ordered, and kept his distance from the Legato Manor. It pained him so, but his loyalty to the order was greater than his yearning for his love. Vando was now on literal house-arrest because of the conditions upon which Reyna gave him the box. The Brotherhood wouldn’t allow him to leave his residence, as it threatened his life, and with it, the box. 

        Vando awoke, feeling the same tension that coursed through his body for the past two months. He hadn’t left the house for two horseflipping months. He was itching to get out into the world once more, to go on another mission, to stretch his legs, feel the rush of the kill--anything other than the monotony that was his house. The whole time he kept his uniform and weapons locked in his office, as to make sure the temptation to sneak out would be resisted. If he did, the Rector of the Brotherhood would most likely have his head on a silver platter by nightfall. Or, so she said. Vando knew that not many in the Order could match his skill. There were few, the Rector being one of them, but she rarely did things on her own anymore. Besides, Vando was one of the Heads in the Order. He lead the Assasins here in Canterlot. The Rector couldn’t possibly have him killed for going out.

Yet, while he thought that, a festering fear kept him from doing so. The Rector could stop him if she wanted to. She was the leader of the Assasin Order. Her story was a legend amongst them. 

Still, that gave her no right to place him on house-arrest! 

“Your life is now tied to the box,” her letter said. “You must be kept safe, and as such, will be kept under our protection. You may not leave your home, lest you endanger yourself and those around you.”

When he read the letter, Vando scoffed at first. Him, need protection? Him, who single hoofedly took down the legendary Pater of the Canterolot-sect Templars? He thought it was a joke, until he saw the guards arriving on his propert.

And here I am, two months later. Vando thought bitterly. Away from the fight, from aiding my compatriots, and most importantly, away from my Reyna.

He looked out his window, expecting to see the same view of Canterlot: the bustling markets, the pompous nobles, the smiling fillies roaming around, playing. Instead, he saw one stark difference in the distance: a rising column of smoke. 
        More specifically, a column of smoke coming from Reyna’s house.

        Vando leapt to his hooves, and rushed to his cupboard. He threw on his uniform and ran out of the room. He had made it down the stairs where the two Assassin guards stood at the door.

        “Vando, we may not permit you to leave.” The guard on the left said, pulling out his sword.

        “Get out,” Vando said, his pent up rage now pouring out. “Get out of my way!”

        With that, he leapt forth, the symphony in his head beginning to play once more. The heavy echo of the drums beat throughout the hall of his mind as he flew threw the air, pulling out his blades from beneath his sleeve. Before the guard could react, the percussion section let out a crack, and the blade sunk into his chest. The other guard, a unicorn, prepared a lightning spell, the fastest spell a unicorn could muster. Vando quickly swung around and sliced off the unicorn’s horn, causing him to open his mouth to let out a scream. The violinists were now playing frantically, as Vando pulled up, jumped up into the air, and brought both blades down into the guards neck. His eyes flew wide open, and his mouth sputtered out blood before he let out his final breath of life.

        Vando stood up, breathing heavily, and ran out the door, towards Reyna’s house. He didn’t stop to think that he had just killed two members of the Brotherhood, or that he would be put on trial for betrayal, or court martialed for disobeying a direct order from the Rector herself. All he could think about was the image of his love, cowering from the licking flames of the scourging fire. 

        Please, oh Celestia, please let me make it there on time! Vando thought as he raced through the streets of Canterlot. He finally reached the Legato Manor, and saw that flames were consuming the house. 

        “REYNA!” Vando cried, fearing the worst. “REYNA! Where are you?!”

        A voice suddenly cried out from inside. “Here, Vando! Please help me, I can’t move!”

        Vando’s heart skipped a beat, and he rushed to the door. Without thinking, he threw it open.

        Through the flames that erupted through the door, the last thing he saw was his Reyna, trapped underneath a burning piece of debris, her eyes begging him for help. Then, the flames consumed him, and he lost consciousness.







        Octavia bolted up, sure that the flames were swallowing her. Her breathing was heavy, and her eyes darted to and fro, making sure no sparks were flying everywhere. 

        “It was just a dream,” Octavia whispered to herself. “Just a dream.....”

        Suddenly, Octavia noticed something strange. There was no sound in the room. She looked to her right, and her heart took a plunge.

        The music box was gone. 

        Then, she noticed one other thing. There was a choking scent in the air, one that now seemed all too familiar after the dream.

        Smoke.

        Octavia jumped off of her bed, and threw her bedroom door open. The hall was drowning in a sea of flames, and she had no way to escape. The stairs, the hallway--everything was burning. 

        The royal cellist began to cry, when she noticed somepony was crouched on the windowsill. It was a stallion, whose face was hidden by a hood, though his eyes shined through the darkness. 

        “Oh thank Celestia!” Octavia cried. “You must help me get out!”

        He slowly got off of the window, and walked calmly towards her. Her heart was racing now. Hope bloomed from within. He was going to help her! She was going to live!

        His hoof connected with her cheek, and she flew onto the bed.

        Octavia looked up, the world around her a blur. She saw the figure above her, a smug look on his face. 

        “W-why?” Octavia stuttered, as she looked at him in fear.

        “Simple.” He said. He took off the hood, revealing a dark brown mane and piercing gold eyes. “You have something that we want.”

        Octavia just stared at him. “W-well, what is it? I haven’t got much money on me, if that’s what it is!”

        He whinnied, apparently annoyed at her comment. “No, you stupid mare! The box! Where is the music box?!”

        “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about!” 
        
        He glanced at the door, which was beginning to smolder. He looked back at the window, then smiled sinisterly. 

        “Look,” The pony said. “Neither of us have much time. Soon, the flames I started will break through the door, and the room will be engulfed in red.” Octavia’s eyes widened. So he had sparked the fire. “You have two choices, seeing as you’re unable to get out of here yourself. You can withhold the location of the artifact, and perish here in the fire as I fly away.” To mock her, he wiggled his tan wings. “Or, you can tell me where it is and we can both live to see another day. So I ask you again: Where is the box?”

        “You mean this one?”

        The stallion was kicked away from Octavia, and slammed into the wall next to the window. Octavia looked up at her savior, only to see yet another hooded pony holding her precious music box, this one obviously a mare by her voice. Underneath the hood was a very familiar pair of stark magenta eyes, which flicked to her direction before pulling away, facing the stallion. He got up, and seeing the other pony in the strange robes, he recoiled in--what was it? Fear?

        The pony in the strange robes chuckled. “You guys ain’t too bright, are you? I live here!”

        Octavia suddenly gasped. Surely this pony couldn’t be her?!

        “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore,” The stallion said, his body tensing up to spring forward. “Because you’re going to die here!” He lunged at the mare, bringing his dagger down towards her head. It soared down but she didn’t move, only standing there, still as stone. Then right before the blade would pierce her skull, she dropped the box and shifted to the left, causing the stallion to stumble forward and fall. He attempted to recover, but the mare let loose a burst of magic, causing his dagger to fly out of his hoof. He growled and threw a punch at her, which instead of blocking, the mare let connect with her shoulder, before using that as a chance to grab his arm. She lifted him up and threw him at the wall, knocking the wind out of him. He laid on the ground, gasping in pain. The mare, now standing over him, extended her arm, bringing out a blade from under her sleeve. 
        
        “Any last words, Templar?”
        
        The stallion chuckled, and wheezed, “Go to Tartarus, you bitch.” The mare then brought her hoof down, and the blade pierced his neck, causing blood to spurt everywhere. She pulled her arm back, withdrawing her weapon, and walked over to Octavia. Octavia, still shocked at having witnessed another pony get killed, only gawked at her savior.

        She gulped as the strangely robed pony walked towards her. “Wh-who are you?”

        The mare bit her lips underneath the hood. “Look, Octavia, I’d like to explain, but we need to get out of here. The house--” 

        Suddenly, the door soared open, and bursts of flames flew into the room, turning it a crimson color. Everything in the room caught on fire, including Octavia’s bed.The pony ran over and grabbed Octavia from the burning bed, and snatched up the music box with her magic. She ran over to the window, Octavia on her back.

        “Wait!” Octavia said, fearing what was going to happen. “You’re not really going to--”

        The pony leapt out of window, right as the room exploded, sending the two flying through the air, and towards the hard earth. Octavia blacked out from the force of the explosion, and the last thing she saw was a pair of magenta eyes, and a familiar voice crying out her name.




> Chapter 2: Truths
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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?”        
        



        



> Updates + Requests
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

So I just submitted my story to EqD! Hopefully it makes it through moderation and gets posted and stuff. So I'm excited and scared. A bit for your thoughts, my readers? Advice? Anything y'all would like to have in the next few chapters? I'm open to any requests, as I'm just letting the story take me where it goes. 

One thing though. Nothing too darn ridiculous like magic turnips or something. Requests must be within reason. Comment below or PM me any ideas you have.

Oh, and Melvin? If you're reading this, I may bar you against any requests, as you kind of already put one in. Sorry, mate. 
> Chapter 3: Tragedy and Hope
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3! :D And we have a special guest here in this chapter. You guys asked for a griffon, so I gave y’all a griffon. But not just any griffon. Read and find out who it is!

                
Octavia was silent as Vinyl Scratch worked on the portal to Canterlot. “What....what is that supposed to mean?”

Dash bit her lip, then said, “It’s a little hard to explain. The Rector is.....well.....”

“Crazy?” Vinyl suggested.

Rainbow gave her a look, and she went back to working on the portal silently. She then turned back to Octavia. “Crazy isn’t the best word to use here....she’s more behind the times, I guess you could say.”

“Who is she?”

“I can’t exactly tell you, at least not until you’ve joined.” The cyan Assassin said, sitting down on a chair. “She’s somepony that never lets anypony else, other than those under her, know that she’s a part of the Brotherhood. Heck, not even her sister knows who she really is.”

Octavia sat in the chair next to Dash’s. “So what you’re telling me that I’m going to meet a mare who could possibly drive me insane, and is about as mysterious as—as—”

                “The dark side of the moon?” Vinyl piped in, earning her another glare from her leader. Rainbow rolled her eyes, and gave Octavia a sympathetic look.

                “Octavia, I know that this hasn’t been the best week.” Rainbow Dash said, her voice low and quiet. “First you almost get killed, then you wake up with two random mares dressed in strange clothes barging into the room, and now you’re being inducted into an order that has existed for over a thousand years in secrecy.” She looked up, and Octavia could sense that she was going to say something really philosophical, something meaningful and thought-provoking.

                “Your life really sucks right now.”

                Octavia fell out of her chair, not expecting that. She got back up, and glared at the rainbow adorned pegasus, who was now laughing herself to tears. “You don’t say, do you?!”

                Wiping away a tear, Rainbow Dash simply gave her her signature cocky smirk. “What can I say? I’ve got a way with words.” She got down and helped Octavia back into her chair.

                Once she was situated and calmed down, Octavia looked at Rainbow Dash. The events of the past few days seemed to suddenly weigh down on her, and her shoulders sagged.

                “Dash....why me?”

                “Eh?”

                “I’m just a normal pony, who led a normal life!” Octavia said, now getting tears in her eyes. “I had a good home, a great job, friends....why did those ponies have to get in and take it all away?”

                Rainbow thought for a second before replying. She closed her eyes and thought for a little. Finally, Rainbow Dash looked back at Octavia. “You really don’t know your heritage, do you? That box—” She pointed over to the music box, which was placed on the dresser, “—is no normal box. Did you ever notice anything strange about it?”

                “Well.....now that you mention it, it is really old, and yet that painting in there looks brand new.”

                “That’s one thing,” Rainbow said, “but that isn’t the strangest. Whenever you listen to it, you get really sleepy, right?”

                Octavia nodded, not sure where they were going with this. “Yes, I do. What does that have to do with anything? Music helps me sleep.”

                “Maybe, but normally that takes longer than a few minutes. I’m assuming with this box you fell asleep within that time.”

                The grey mare was quiet. Was what Rainbow trying to say was that—

                “The music box is magic.”

                Her heart fell. “So....it’s true. I thought that might’ve been it, but it just seemed so absurd.”

                “It’s not nearly as crazy as it sounds,” Dash replied, shrugging. “The thing is from an ancient line of magical items, all linked to Them.” Dash’s eyes suddenly popped open. “Whoops. I’ve said a little too much. It ain’t my job to tell you that bit. Here’s what I will tell you though.

                “The Templars want that box. Bad. We don’t really know for what reason, but no doubt it has to do with its strange ability to make you fall asleep fast.” Rainbow muttered, deep in thought. “We’ve sent agents in to infiltrate their bases, but no matter what they come back empty-hoofed. Not to mention the head honcho always seems to be one step ahead of us.”

                Vinyl turned and looked at the pair. “Portal’s almost done. Get ready to go.” With that, there was a big flash, and a purple pink gate was before her, glowing bright with energy. The DJ Pony beckoned Octavia, who cautiously stepped forward.

                “So um,” Octavia stuttered. “Do I just walk through?”

                “Yup! Simple as can be!” Vinyl said cheerfully. “Just make sure you mind your manners when you meet the Rector. She can be a little....overbearing.”

                Rainbow Dash sniggered. “Got that right. Remember the time I  renamed her diamond sword ‘To The Moon With You!’? She was pissed!”

                Not wanting to hear anymore, Octavia hurriedly stepped through the portal.





                As soon as she did so, Octavia fell down fifteen feet and landed on a desk in a dark room dimly lit by torches. She grimaced in pain as she checked for injuries, and then noticed what she was sitting on. It was a dark mahogany study, and ink was spilled all over the papers...some of which looked important.

                Great, Octavia muttered to herself. Just joined this group and already somepony’s going to be angry with me.

                Knowing that the other two would follow soon, Octavia hopped off the desk and took a look around the study. It was made from some kind of brick, which was dark as night and shiny as a clear pool. Obsidian, perhaps? Octavia never was into gemstones and the like, so it could’ve been just random bits of rock for all she knew. There were rows of bookshelves built into the walls, full of strange texts like “Eden: Legends of the Ancients”, “The Secret History of Equestria”, and a weird looking book with a pick ax on the cover titled “Minecraft: The Ultimate Compendium”. Some strange magazine titled “GameInformer” was on a book stand. The cover had some art for what appeared to be an upcoming video game called “Battlefield 4” or something. Strange thing to have in a study, but who was Octavia to judge? She had her own oddities in her study.....or at least she used to, before it burned down with the rest of her house.

                She set the magazine back onto its stand, and was about to grab another book when there was a loud crash on the desk. The complaining voice that ensued made it apparent that Rainbow Dash had arrived. Another thump indicated that Vinyl had as well, though she surrounded herself in magical aura before she crashed, softening her fall. Of course, landing on a pegasus helped too.

                “Sweet Celestia, Scratch!” Rainbow bellowed. “Why do you keep doing that?!”

                Vinyl put her arms up defensively. “Hey, I’m still new to portal making. If we had gotten your friend Twilight to do it instead—”

                “We can’t do that, idiot! She’d have to know where to go first!” Rainbow replied, rolling her eyes. “I can’t bring any of them into this.”

                “And yet you bring my best friend into it?”

                “She’s different!”

                A loud cough came from the doorway. Octavia turned her head to see a very miffed looking pony, whose fur matched the dark blue of the night sky. Her luminescent mane flowed freely, out of which stuck a long dark horn. Her black robes matched the crimson Assassin’s pendant around her neck. On her head was a crown of obsidian. Large wings came out from the side of her robes, which had a similar design to Rainbow Dash’s and Vinyl’s. Her cerulean blue eyes gave a steely glare at the two ponies on her desk, as well as the one standing next to her bookshelf.

                “Excuse me,” said Princess Luna. “But what in the name of the ancients are you three doing here?”




                
                Octavia gaped at the ruler of the night, stunned that the princess was in her presence. She immediately dropped to her knees and bowed to her, as was custom.

                “Princess.....it’s an honor to meet you.” Octavia said, her eyes looking up at her.

                Luna looked amused. She walked over and beckoned Octavia up. “None of that formality here, young mare. Among fellow Assassin’s, a little respect is nice. But we have no need for extremities.” Her eyes hardened once more. “However, I’d like to know how and why I have three random ponies in my study.”

                Vinyl gulped and leaped off of the desk, papers stuck to her robes. “Um, you see Rector, um—”

                “Wait, Luna’s the Rector?!” Octavia shouted. “But...how?!”

             Luna immediately took a step back, a little offended. “Dost thou perhaps think that thy skills are superior to our own?! Thou darest say--" She shook her head. “Sorry, I go back to that whenever I’m flustered. Do you perhap think that I am weak?”  Her eyes narrowed at Octavia, who shrunk away.

                “N-not at all....I was just surprised.” Octavia stuttered. “I mean, you are one of the rulers of Equestria. I’m sure that if you were an Assassin, everypony would know.”

                Luna laughed. “My dear sister doesn’t even know. Nay, this is an organization shrouded in secrecy. Why? Because the only way to fight stealth is with stealth. I learned that all those years ago when I started the Brotherhood.”

                Octavia’s head was spinning. She simply sat down and said, “I don’t get it.”

                Princess Luna gave the other two a hard look, causing them to squirm uncomfortably. “I thought you two were going to recruit her. Why didn’t you tell her our history?”

                Rainbow Dash stepped off the desk, and stood at attention. “Well Princess, the truth is, we’ve had some troubles with Templars, weird visions, and......Octavia’s been having dreams.”

                The mood suddenly shifted from cool and relaxed to dead serious. Luna immediately started to pace around, before looking at Octavia. “These dreams you’ve been having.....do they perhaps pertain to a certain pony?”

                “Well, they do have this one stallion constantly in there.” Octavia said, trying to remember. “His name is rather strange, too. I’m sure he was an Assassin though.”

                “What was his name?”

                “Vando....Vando Stacatto.”

                When she heard this, Princess Luna’s eyes immediately became like those of a caged animals. She began to pace around, not aware of the three watching her.

                “Impossible....how can he have a descendant?” Luna muttered. “He was banished from the order, and from Canterlot by one of my successors...” She looked over at the three, and stopped pacing. “I must ask you three to leave. I need some time to think. Take her and tell her the history of the Assassin’s Creed.”

                Rainbow Dash and Vinyl Scratch snapped to a stout salute, and grabbed Octavia, pulling her out of the study, which Luna shut with a wave of her horn.

                “Huh. Alright then.” Rainbow Dash said, beginning to walk off. “C’mon you two, let’s head off to chow.”





                As her two friends sat down and began to eat, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but notice how calm Octavia was about the whole thing. Vinyl was telling her all about the history of the Brotherhood, and she just sat there and nodded while chewing on some bread.  It was strange, really. She’d almost been killed, and so soon afterwards agreed to become an Assassin.

                Of course, not all get inducted like I did.

                She glared at Vinyl, whom she knew carried a photo of her family back in Canterlot at all times. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn’t help feeling jealous. No longer could she remember the soft voice of her mother singing her to sleep, or the deep bellowing laughter of her father. Dash had no one in this world.

                That’s a load of hay. You have your friends, you dolt.

                Friends were great, there was no denying that. Twilight and the girls were the best thing that ever happened to her. It helped cover up the scar that was in her heart. But, no matter how amazing they were, they’d never be able to heal that scar. Only her family could do that, and they were dead.

                She held back tears, knowing that if she let it out, the entire mess hall would only snicker more at her. Dash was renowned as a failure throughout the Brotherhood. She had gotten the position of Mater of Ponyville mainly off of sympathy from the past Rector, and had only one other Assassin in her sect. In short....she hasn’t done much. Still, Rainbow could not show fear, no matter how few followed her.

                “A leader must never show weakness, for if they do, those following them will lose hope.”

                Thus spoke the previous Rector, before Luna returned to them. He had been a good one, a stallion of noble heart. Still, it was nice having the Princess in charge. It gave Rainbow a clean slate, as far as failures were concerned.

                Her thoughts were interrupted by Octavia’s laugh, and Rainbow Dash’s anger subsided a little. There had been a reason why she’d cried after her story. Rainbow Dash could relate; her mother too had been killed by the Templars. But, Octavia still had relatives that took care of her. Rainbow....she had absolutely no one. Above all, Rainbow missed her dad, who had the same mane as her. Whenever she was scared, she would go to him for comfort, to have a warm body to cuddle with. Spirit Wings was his name. Just the name alone brought back so many memories.....something Rainbow wished would stop happening.

                Why, out of all the Assassins, did Rainbow Dash have to have the most tragic past? She began to think of the day it all began.

                As the memories started to return, Rainbow felt her eyes get heavier, and heavier, and heavier.......





                Rainbow Dash could hardly wait for the day at flight school to end. She had aced her latest test, and was once again the top of her class for the grading period. Many ponies said her dreams were literally in reach once she graduated; she’d become a professional flyer for sure. But that wasn’t why she was excited. Dash was hovering in glee for something of greater value: Family Day.
                
This year, her parents were going to take her to a real Wonderbolts show! It’s what she’d always dreamed of…to see her heroes zooming through the air and performing mind-blowing tricks. But, it wasn’t really that that got her excited. It was the thought of spending time with her beloved mother and father.
                
Rainbow Dash and her parents had always been very close. Since her early years, the young filly had spent every possible spare hour flying with her father, Spirit Wings, a member of the Equestrian Guard, or performing aerial dances with her graceful mother, Aurora Luminara, the most beautiful mare Rainbow Dash ever knew. The three were in a world of their own whenever they were together, and nothing ever separated them. Nothing, and she meant nothing, could come between them.
                
Rainbow Dash hummed along to a common tune as she stuffed the last book into her saddlebags. She smiled as she headed out the door, ready for a day of thrills and amazement. She walked out of the school, and was about to head out to the pick-up point when she saw her teacher, Ms. Tillow Feathers, having a hushed conversation with a stallion dressed in golden armor. He was an Equestrian Guard, just like her father.
                
Rainbow Dash flew over, a huge grin plastered on her face. “Hiya Ms. Tillow! Hey, Mr. Guard. Seen my dad lately? He’s supposed to pick me up later to take me and my mother to a Wonderbolts show, and after that we’re going to go eat dinner. I really like that one joint next to the Cloudiseum with those delicious hay fries, and—”
                
“Rainbow Dash.”
                
Dash immediately stopped chatting, confused by her normally bubbly teacher’s unusually grave tone. The look on her face too…..it was something Rainbow had never seen before. It wasn’t the usual looks she had gotten from Ms. Tillow; instead of being full of pride and awe, her eyes were teary and full of something else….sympathy.
                
The guard cleared his throat. “Shall I tell her?”
                
“No.” Ms. Tillow said shakily. “Perhaps it’s best that I do it.”
                
More scared now than confused, Rainbow Dash began to have horrible thoughts in her head. Had she done something wrong? Had she failed a test? Did her last flight maneuver not get recorded correctly? Questions ran through her mind, each prospect worse than the last. Ms. Tillow steered the young filly back to the classroom, where she gave Dash a slight push into the room. Ms. Tillow turned and closed the door behind them, and locked it.
                
Immediately after her teacher faced her, Rainbow Dash began to barrage her with questions.
                
“Ms. Tillow, what’s wrong? Did I do something wrong—“
                
“Rainbow—“
                
“—cause if I did I’m sorry—”
                
“Rainbow—”
                
“—or is it a test that I did bad on—”
                
“Rainbow Fulmenala Dash!”
                            
The use of her full name(which she hated) brought the filly’s mouth to a close. Anytime somepony had used her full name, Rainbow Dash knew she was in trouble.
                
Rainbow Dash looked at the ground, tears coming from her eyes. “I-I’m sorry Ms. Tillow. I don’t know what I did. Please…”
                
A sigh of sympathy escaped her teacher’s mouth. Then, she spoke softly. “Rainbow Dash, you didn’t do anything wrong.”
                
Upon hearing those words, Rainbow Dash immediately perked up and hovered towards the door. “Oh in that case, I’d better get going. My dad’s coming to pick me up, and I don’t want to be late.” She struggled with the door, and then remembered it was locked. She turned towards her teacher, who still had that strange look on her face. “Um, Ms. Tillow? Would you mind unlocking this door, please?”
                
The teacher continued to give Rainbow Dash a look of sympathy.
                
Rainbow was beginning to feel a little freaked out. “Uh, Ms. Tillow, I really need to get going. Daddy should be here any minute now, and he doesn’t like it when I’m late.”
                
Finally, Ms. Tillow sighed. “Rainbow Dash….your father isn’t coming.”
                
The filly stood still, a little confused at her teacher’s words. “What do you mean? Is my Mommy coming to get me?”
                
“No…..neither of them are.”
                
Rainbow Dash laughed. “Oh, this is a joke you three are playing on me, isn’t it? I see.” She flew over to the closet, and knocked on the door. “Alright Mom, Dad, you can come out now!” No answer. Thinking that they were just trying to keep quiet, Rainbow opened the door.
                
It was empty. Nopony was in there.
                
Rainbow Dash began to feel a little panicked. “Ms. Tillow…..where are my parents?”
                
“I told you already. They’re not coming to get you.”
                
“That doesn’t tell me anything!” Rainbow Dash cried, tears now forming. “Why aren’t they coming? Did something happen?”
                
Silence. Then, she spoke. “Rainbow Dash…..your father was out on a mission for the princess, and your mother was allowed to accompany him. They were simply delivering a message, and were traveling along a road near Appleloosa.”
                
“Oh, so they’re just on some business?” Rainbow Dash said, calming down. “Ok. I can wait here till—”
                
A stern look from her teacher halted her words. “I’m not finished yet. While on the road…they were attacked by some bandits, and…well…..they didn’t make it.”
                
Rainbow frowned. “Like, to Appleloosa?”
                
“Sweet Celestia!” Ms. Tillow cursed, crying. “No, Rainbow Dash….they’re dead.”
                
Silence. Then the filly gave a weak smile.
                
“Th-there’s no way they’d be d-dead.” Rainbow Dash said shakily. “They’re my parents….there supposed to always be there for me…” Tears began to form. “To kiss me goodnight…..” Her lips started to quiver. “….To be with me when I’m sad….” Suddenly, she stopped speaking, only soft cries coming from her mouth.
                
Then, she spoke again. “Ms. Tillow…..Is this true?”
                
Ms. Tillow sighed, and told her as softly as she could. “I’m afraid so, Dashie…”
                
More tears, more sniffles. Then heavy breathing took its place. Dash looked up at her teacher, anger in her eyes.
                
“I DON’T BELIEVE YOU!” She cried, her emotions swirling about. “THEY’RE OUT THERE, I KNOW THEY ARE!” Dash lifted up, flew over to the window, and began to smash at it.
                
“Rainbow Dash!” Her teacher cried. “Please, stop! Your parents aren’t—”
                
Rainbow turned around once more and glared at her teacher, eyes full of denial and pain, before smashing through the window completely. The broken glass cut her little body, but Dash didn’t care. It was nothing to the sorrow of losing her parents….which she couldn’t accept. They were out there. She knew it. The cyan filly ignored the cries of her teacher and instead flew as fast as she could back to her home.

                She arrived at her home, noticing that the light was still on in the kitchen. Hope budded in her heart, for she knew her mother liked to cook dinner early.

                Rainbow Dash raced through the door, ready to embrace her mom and cry her eyes out. When she reached the kitchen doorway, she stopped.

                The pony in there wasn’t her mother. It was a strangely cloaked stallion.

                “Rainbow Fulmenala Dash?”

                “Y-yes, that’s me.”

                The stallion took off his hood, revealing a unicorn with a hardened face that had a scar over his right eye. “My name is Wither Blade. I am a friend of your father’s.”

                “Do you know where he is?” Rainbow Dash squeaked, running up to the pony. “Is he alive? I was told that—”

                “That he was dead?”

                Rainbow looked up at Wither Blade, fear present in her face, and nodded.

                Wither looked down at her, guilt in his eyes. “I’m afraid so, my child. Your parents have left this world.”

                The words rang through her head. Rainbow Dash bit her lip, and shook her head.

                “I’m sorry, Rainbow, but it’s true.” Wither whispered. He reached out to touch the filly, but she recoiled and snarled at him.

                “You’re lying!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

                “I am not. There is no reason for me to do so.”

                The little cyan filly shook with rage, grief dominating her mind. “But they can’t be dead....I need them. Mommy.....Daddy.....”

                Wither Blade reached out to the crying foal, and this time she didn’t move away. He stroked her beautiful rainbow mane softly. “Rainbow, your parents died in my service. They did me many favors, and fulfilled their duties. I am forever in their debt.”

                “What d-does that m-mean?”

                “Come with me and I will show you. Do you know what an Assassin is?”





                “Hey! Rainbow!”

                Dash was snapped out of her memories to see a familiar face looking at her in concern. One of the few she would consider family left in this world.

                “Hey, Jackle App. How you been?” Rainbow asked, wiping away tears.

                Jackle rolled his eyes. “Same old same old. No real Templar threats in the Griffon Kingdom.” He reached a claw up to brush away a small tear that was left on the cyan pony’s face. “How about you? Had a tough time?”

                Immediately a brave front came up. “Heh, yeah, what’d you expect? Nothing bothers me.”

                Jackle raised an eyebrow, his emerald eyes piercing through the thin facade. “Rainbow, I raised you like you were my own child. You can’t hide anything from me.”

                Dash sighed. He was right. Rainbow looked over to her companions, who were still eating and drinking away. Well, she had time to talk. She might as well do it.

                As she explained her situation, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but feel glad to have someone like Jackle App who was constantly at her side. He loved her like his own daughter, which meant he was the closest thing that Dash had to a father. The previous Rector, Wither Blade, put her in Jackle’s care after her parents died. He raised her, taught her the value of life, and trained her in the ways of the Assassins. In short, he created the mare she was today.

                After Rainbow finished explaining, Jackle immediately delved into the lecture she’d heard hundreds of times. This wasn’t the first time that this problem came up, and every time she’d hear the same answer.

                “Now, before I go on let me remind you about something, Rainbow.” He started. “The answer you need isn’t always the one you want.”

                At this point, Rainbow Dash would completely zone him out. She examined his figure. He was a bit thin for a griffon, with pure white feathers that was the complete opposite of his pitch black cloak. His powerful wings were tucked into his side, and in this poise, Jackle always carried an air of seriousness. But she knew better.

                Back in the real world, everypony and every griffon knew the name JackleApp. That was the stage name he created, putting his first and last names together. He was much like Vinyl, or “the DJ Pon3” as she was known. They were independent musicians, and their songs gained great popularity. Whenever he was out and about, Jackle would always be followed by a small crowd of avid fans.

                “Hello? Are you listening to me?!”

                Dash was snapped back to the present. “Sorry. Got thinking about....other things.”

                “You mean the real world, eh?”

                “In a way, yes.”

                Jackle App laughed, a deep bellowing sound. “Let me take a guess. Were you thinking once again about me and my little following?”

                Her wings flared up, and Rainbow Dash hovered slightly above the smirking griffon. “Little?! You’re like a rock star, Jackle! It’s a pretty big deal.”

                The griffon shrugged, and simply smiled back. “If anything it’s just a cover. What we do here is much more important than my next album. Although, making music is an added bonus.”

                “Still so dang modest about things, ain’tcha?” Dash said, rolling her eyes. “Come on. Give yourself some credit. You’re a talented guy. I thought griffons were supposed to have pride.”

                Jackle sighed, as if this was a repeated subject. “Pride is one thing. Bragging is completely different.” He pointed to Octavia, who was following Vinyl towards the Infirmary. “Take that cellist, for example. What she’s accomplished is incredible. She was an orphan, who had almost no possibility for a great future. What did she do? She stood up and showed the world her music, not afraid of what anypony thought of her. Look at who she is now: an esteemed musician of Equestria.”

                Dash raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying I’m a failure because I didn’t do something like that after my parents died?” There was a joking tone in her voice, but Jackle immediately took a grave face.

                “My daughter, you are anything but a failure.” He said, bringing her in for a hug. “You’ve done more for the world than anypony will ever realize.” He laughed, and messed up her mane. “After all, who returned the Rector to us?”

                “That was a team effort with my friends...”

                “Who defeated the Spirit of Chaos?”

                “It wasn’t just me!”

                “Who saved the Chrystal Empire?”

                “Actually, that was Spike.....”

                Jackle gave up. “The point is, Rainbow, that you’ve done things in your life that can’t be measured by ordinary success. You’ve literally saved the world multiple times. As an Assassin, my daughter, and more importantly as a pony, you’ve done more than you know.” With that, he brought her in for another hug.

                Warmth spread over her body. Rainbow Dash smiled, and felt a tear slide down her face. “Thanks, Jackle. You really know how to cheer a girl up.”

                “No problem.....although, you know you can call me dad, right?”

                “In your dreams, bird brain.”





                Luna looked out the magical window behind her desk. The Assassin’s headquarters were underneath Canterlot, but these windows gave her a peek of what was going on above. Normally, they were hidden behind black curtains, but now they were open. The Princess of the Night gazed at her subjects walking about, basking in her sister’s sun.

                ‘Tis sad that they do not know the dangers that threaten them every day, Luna thought. These innocent ponies lived a life of complete naivety, full of happiness and love. That innocence was constantly protected by those who followed her.

                When she returned from her banishment from the moon, Luna feared the worst, that the Brotherhood had dissolved and that the Templars won the war. However, she was surprised to find that it was still the same, that the Assassin’s had continued to keep the Templars at a stalemate. She was proud that others took her place after she fell, that they continued to fight the fight that nopony else could.
                
                And now, even after one thousand years, that fight is still going on. Luna shook her head. What a depressing though. It didn’t help that this new pony that Rainbow Dash brought with her....Octavia, was it? In any case, she only further complicated things. Luna turned around and once more examined the box that was sitting on her desk.

                To any normal passerby, it would seem like an ordinary music box. But, with her training and knowledge, the shadowy mare knew otherwise. This was what was meant to be a gift from Them. She hadn’t met with Them in a long time, not since before her banishment. It was a matter of shame for her.

                “Why in Equestria would they want to see me anyway?” Luna muttered bitterly. “It was the very responsibility they gave me that caused my corruption.” They’d given her a precious artifact to guard, before leaving this world. For many years, she and her order kept it safe, along with the help of her sister and the Elements. It was hard, keeping the Brotherhood secret from Tia, but a necessity nonetheless. She had enough on her mind as is.
 
                This included the stallion Vando Stacatto. That colt was a mystery to her. She’d read up on every fact about him, from his great successes to his fall from grace. She cringed in particular whenever she remembered that his beloved had perished in flames. This caused him to spiral out of control, to the point that the appointed Rector at the time was forced to banish him.
                
                However, as soon as she did so, the box had disappeared along with him. Luna knew it was his mission to protect it, but for what reason did it disappear? Did he perhaps taken his duty to extremes and stolen the music box after his banishment? Nopony knew….or at least, nopony except the Rector who banished him. All Luna knew was that he had somehow had another relationship with another mare, and thus had a descendant. More specifically, a descendant named Octavia.
 
                How did she know that Octavia was the descendant of the famed Vando Stacatto? It was a simple matter really. When she’d fallen from the portal, the grey mare had a small cut that left some blood on her desk. After hearing that Octavia had dreams about Vando, Luna took the blood and performed a spell that traced her lineage through the DNA contained within it. It confirmed her suspicions. Octavia was indeed the descendant of the infamous rogue Assassin.
 
                Strange that the child of traitor’s blood would join our ranks, Luna thought, amused.

                Luna turned her thoughts back to the artifact before her. It had that same magical hum as the other one did, a power that was beyond even the understanding of an alicorn. When Luna reached a hoof forward to open it, a golden aura suddenly surrounded the box, preventing her from touching it. The dark coated princess slammed her hoof down in frustration. Why did this keep happening? Did somepony put some kind of spell on it? Even if this was true, why couldn’t she unbind it?

                Falling back into her chair, Luna let out a tremendous sigh. It was such a confusing charade. What was He trying to do? He already possessed the other piece, and if her suspicions were correct and this was the second, then it had to be hidden away. It was her sworn duty both as Princess of the Night and as the Rector. Besides, it had been her fault that the other had fallen into His hooves. She had to somehow either kill him, or get it back.

                As she sat brooding, a sudden boom echoed throughout the headquarters. It was faint, but Luna could sense traces of magic in the air. She immediately stood up, now on high alert. Lifting up the music box with her magic, Luna placed it in a safe near her desk. Nopony else knew of this place....except for maybe the Templars. Their leader....he was a crafty pony, so he might’ve figured out the location of the headquarters. He was coming for the box, and she had to do whatever she could to stop them. Luna concentrated, and lit up her horn, connecting to the first Assassin she thought of in the building.

                “Hello? Can anypony hear me?” Luna asked, transmitting the message through the link. “Somepony give me a sitrep.”

                Ma’am! This is Rainbow...*cough cough!*....Rainbow Dash speaking. They blew a hole from the surface above the mess hall, and are heading towards the Infirmary!

                “Why would they do that?”

                I don’t know. The box isn’t in there. There are other Assassins there, but.....oh no.

                Luna began to feel dread in her heart. “What is it, Rainbow Dash?”

                Princess, they’re not going for the box. They want Octavia. Jackle, get up! We need to head to the infirmary!

                Immediately, Princess Luna felt her heart fall. She’d been a fool. The Templars originally targeted the young mare in the first place; it was obvious she had some part to play and they wanted her out of the game. Cursing, Luna clasped her sword to her belt and ran out of her office.

                However, as she did so, she failed to notice that a shadowy figure crept in as soon as she left.





                By the time Rainbow Dash got there, there was already dead ponies left and right behind her. Whoever the Templars sent to get Octavia....they were pretty skilled. Some of the Brotherhood’s best had been among the slain. The smell of their blood chilled her spine, but burned fury into her heart. Dash picked up the pace, eyes aglow with vengeance. She had taken to flying through the halls in order to get there faster, hoping that at least Vinyl was ok.

                “Rainbow! Slow down, you’re in too deep!”

                Jackle App wasn’t far behind, flying now to keep up with the angered mare. What he saw sickened him as well, but he also knew that in order to fight the Templars with the skill to slaughter so many, a level head was required. While Dash had ten years of experience on her side, her mental state was far from stable. Jackle knew his adopted daughter; when those who were even remotely considered an acquaintance were in danger, she would rush to their side. It was no wonder why she was the Element of Loyalty.

Still, that didn’t mean she was invincible.

“Rainbow Dash!” Jackle screamed, now desperately trying to get through to her. “If you don’t calm down, none of your friends will make it out of this alive!

Rainbow Dash turned and glared at him. “Well, they won’t make it either if we don’t get there fast enough!” With that, she threw out her foot and kicked down the door to the infirmary, sending it flying. Inside, it looked like hell had been brought to the earth..

The entire room had blood splattered everywhere. Fallen Assassins laid across the floor, some dead, others barely breathing. To her right Rainbow Dash could see a zebra who was breathing heavily on the tile, the knife in his chest going up and down with every breath.

She rushed to his side. “What is your name?”

He gazed back at her. “C-cyrus, Mater Rainbow. They...they were so fast.”

“I understand. How many of them were there?”

“Two, Mater. Th-they surprised all of us here, and killed so many.”

Rainbow’s jaws dropped. “Just two? Two Templars did this?”

Behind her, an audible gasp came from Jackle’s beak. “Gods forbid.....please let it not be them.” He pushed Rainbow aside and looked into Cyrus’s eyes as he began to tend to his wound. “Tell me....these two....what did they look like?”

Cyrus closed his eyes, his eyebrows scrunched in thought. “They were two unicorns.....one with white fur and a black mane, the other with black fur and a white mane. They were dressed in light, sturdy armor, with a strange clock symbol on the chest plate.”

Jackle’s heart fell. “So it is them. I knew it.” He turned to his daughter, and told her who these two were. “These two ponies are known as the Clockwork Twins. They are some of the most skilled killers in the Templar’s arsenal, and would kill anypony simply for money, even if it meant another Templar. Their specialty is—”

Rainbow Dash interrupted him and grabbed Cyrus’s hoof. “Never mind who they are. Where did they go?”

“They followed two mares. They were heading towards the courtyard, about five minutes ago.”

Dash looked up, fear gripping her. “Damnn....they could be dead already. Jackle, we need to go after them.” With that, she stood up and flew off, desperate to find Vinyl and Octavia.

Reluctantly, Jackle stood up. He looked down at his fallen comrade. “Will you be alright, Cyrus.”

He smiled back in return. “Aye, I believe so sir. Thank you for what you’ve done. Go and make sure those two are okay.”
        
Nodding at him, Jackle soared away to follow his daughter. He just hope she knew what he was about to tell her.
Their specialty was illusionary magic.





Octavia walked silently as the two Templars marched her along. It seemed hard to believe what had transpired, but she kept her mouth shut. She only hoped that the trail she left would be followed.

        Vinyl had pulled her away from the Infirmary as soon as the explosions echoed through the halls. She ordered every Assassin to stay on high alert and to stop the intruders. After that, the DJ grabbed Octavia and rushed out to the courtyard. However, when screams were heard from the area they’d just left, Vinyl cursed. These Templars, whoever they were, were strong.

        As soon as they made it to the courtyard, a sudden voice halted them.

“Just where do you think you’re going?”

They turned around to see two unicorns, covered in blood. In their hooves they each held two knives, standing on their hind legs. One was black as night, the other white as snow. The grins on their faces sent chills down Octavia’s spine; they had enjoyed the cull.

        “Like I’m actually going to tell you!” Vinyl yelled back, unsheathing her hidden blades.

        The black one frowned. “Now really, is there any need for a fight?”

“Indeed, my brother,” said the white. “I’m sure this can be settled in a more....civilized way.”

Vinyl Scratch snorted. “Liars. You killed those others for fun.” Her eyes flashed. “Now you’re going to pay for it.” With that, she leapt at the two, fast as a lightning bolt. The unicorns simply stood there, letting the blue maned mare to approach.

Suddenly, a flash of light went through the room, and Vinyl was reappeared behind them. Quickly, she thrusted her blades into the backs of her enemies, causing them to cough out blood.

“Try reasoning with that!” Vinyl growled, twisting the blades. The two of them gasped in pain, before suddenly laughing insanely.

The black stallion turned his head back towards the Assassin, still cackling away. “Really, did you think that you would be able to kill us so quickly?” With that a puff of smoke went up, and instead of being impaled into a black fur, Vinyl’s blade was imbedded in something gray. When she realized what it was, her eyes widened in horror.

He blades had pierced Octavia’s chest.

Vinyl’s world began to whirl, and soon she was unconcious.

Octavia still wasn’t sure what had really transpired. All she knew that Vinyl had teleported behind them, and then shortly afterwards collapsed. Curiosity burned through her mind.

“Wondering what happened to your friend, eh?”

Octavia jumped in surprise, looking up at the black stallion. She slowly nodded.

He laughed. “Relax. We aren’t going to hurt you. We’ve been told to capture you alive.” His eyes, while full of true passion, seemed like a lie. Octavia felt a strange feeling wash over her, and she began to relax. The black unicorn nodded in approval. “Much better. As for what happened to her, we simply put her to sleep for a bit. She might’ve done something drastic to keep us from getting you, so we gave her a nice little dream to occupy her. Now, let’s introduce ourselves, eh?” He nodded towards his sister.

“We are, if you haven’t figured it out yet, siblings.” She said, her voice oily and soothing. “Twins, actually. I am Clock Strike, and he is Clock Stroke.”

“And....you’re Templars?”

“Aye, you could say that.” Clock Stroke said, before chuckling. “However, we’re more out for personal gain, mind you. Bits are hard to come by nowadays. A pony’s got to do what a pony’s got to do.”

A bitter taste suddenly filled Octavia’s mouth. “You’re mercenaries. You killed all of those ponies and others for a sack of bits?” Suddenly, she felt that relaxing feeling begin to break. “You two are monsters. Those were good ponies back there, and you slaughtered them for what? Fun? A bit of money?”

Clock Strike began to back away, her horn glowing. “Brother, your mind spell....it’s unravelling!”

“What?! Impossible. There’s no way any pony could break that.”

“Not unless their mind is strong enough to resist.”

Suddenly, the black stallion was kicked away by a cyan hoof, and his sister was about to use a fire spell when she too was knocked back by a black wing. Octavia crumpled to the ground, the spell now completely broken. She looked up to see Rainbow Dash and a griffon that she recognized from Vinyl’s social circle.

Octavia’s jaw dropped. “Jackle App?!”

Jackle turned his head back and winked at the cellist. “Ta, Octavia. Just hold on a sec. This shouldn’t take long.” With that, he rushed forward at his opponent, the devious Clock Strike. He swung his sword down at neck. However, before the blade could make contact with her flesh, a flash filled the room and now she was above the griffon. Strike fell down, two knives in her front hooves, poised to stab through Jackle’s back. He reacted quickly and rolled out of the way, flaring his wings to send dust into the air. Strike covered brought a hoof up to shield her eys from the particles, leaving her momentarily vulnerable. Jackle took advantage of this opportunity and brought his blade up, sending it straight at the mare’s chest. The point of the sword met it’s mark, and the blade went through Clock Strike’s chest, causing her to cough up blood. After twisting the blade for good measure, Jackle App pulled his sword out and wiped it on his cloak. Strike fell to the ground, coughing up blood. The griffon then turned to help Dash, but as he headed over, the cyan mare rebuked him.

“Stop!” Rainbow Dash said, narrowly dodging the Templar’s knife. Swish. Another narrow brush with death as the other knife came up and followed its twin, almost slicing through the mare’s throat. “This bastard’s mine!”

“What, afraid I’ll hurt your friends, like I did your mother?” Stroke taunted, laughing maniacally. This confused Jackle greatly, as the stallion couldn’t possibly be the one that killed Dash’s mother.

“SHUT UP!” Rainbow Dash screamed, sending a flurry of stabs at him, recklessly and furiously. Something was with this stallion, and it seemed that the more enraged Rainbow Dash became, the faster her got.

That’s impossible, Jackle thought, feeling helpless. Nopony’s faster than Dash. Then he noticed something.

The unicorn’s horn was glowing a sickly green, not at all the same color as it normally would. His image as well shifted, sometimes being a black stallion, and other times a strange pegasus with blood-stained hooves. The damn bastard was using an illusion spell to bring out Dash’s anger by making himself look like the stallion that killed her mother. Not only that, but he had casted a very complex combat magic, one that fed on his opponent’s emotions. It drained the other of their energy while the user got stronger. With Rainbow Dash in such a state, Clock Stroke had the upper hoof. If this continued, there was no way she could get out of this alive.

        Cursing, Jackle drew his sword and charged at the pair, only to be stopped by a translucent green barrier that suddenly appeared.

        Clock Stroke laughed at the helpless griffon. “Na-ah-ah! No cheating allowed. This is her game. Only she alone can play it.” A cyan hoof swung at his head, hidden blade almost cutting his cheek, but Stroke dodged at the last minute. Suddenly, his image changed back to that of the pegasus.

        “Come now, Dash. Your father put up a much better fight than this!”

        Rainbow flared her wings, and soared into the air. “Stop bucking talking about him!” She dove at him, hooves extended, the blades’ intended target being the stallion’s neck. He once again simply shifted his position before replying.

        “Why? Afraid of the truth?” Clock Stroke taunted.

        Rainbow landed on the ground, snarling. “I have no idea what you’re talking about buddy, but if you want to keep that voice of yours, you better shut up.”

        Stroke laughed his maniacal laugh again, his eye full of insane glee. “You really have no idea? Well, let me tell you then.” He punched the side of her face, sending the pegasus flying. His image once again became that of the unknown stallion. He slowly advanced towards the stunned Rainbow, leisurely going step by step. “The truth is that you are a failure. A nobody. All of your dreams fell apart because you were too weak to keep them together.”
        
Rainbow’s eyes began to water, her one weakness having been opened up.
 
“Shut up.” She whispered. Tears streamed down her face. Jackle knew that if she stayed like this, she would be dead no matter what.

“Dash! Don’t listen to him!” Jackle hollered, desperate to reach his daughter’s ears. “He’s wrong!”

“You are worth nothing.” Clock said, his voice cold and bitter. “You’re not even worth the sacrifice that your father made for you.” Rainbow only laid on the ground, ears drooped and tears running down her face.

Jackle began to panic. With the barrier in the way, he couldn’t come to her side. “Rainbow Dash, please listen to me! You’re worth more than you know! Your father would be proud of you, believe me!”

However, Rainbow only closed her eyes and sighed. Any fight that was in her seemed to have left. Jackle’s heart fell. She’d given up. Crying, she spoke words that sent a chill down his spine.

“Just make it quick.”

Jackle’s eyes widened as Clock Stroke’s eyes widened with glee, and could only watch as the tip of his knife soared down towards the Rainbow Dash’s head.

“Die.”

“I think not.”

        A blast of dark blue magic knocked the stallion back, breaking both his barrier and his illusion. Rainbow suddenly snapped back to herself, and got to her hooves. She stared at her downed opponent, then looked for the source of the magic blast. Jackle followed suit, and was relieved to see Princess Luna, cloaked in shadowy tendrils.

        “Rector!” Jackle gasped. “Thank the gods you’re here!”

“Indeed. It appears that I have made it just in time.” Luna said. Though her voice was calm, her eyes told a completely different story. They were full of cold malice, and unmerciful and baleful look that made the black stallion on the ground freeze up in fear. She walked towards him, the black tendrils following her. The shadows almost seemed to reach out towards her as she walked by them.
        
When she reached Clock Stroke, the princess of the night glared down at him. “Templar, do you know who I am?” He only replied with a terrified look, his pupils now small and his body shaking. “I am the terror of the night, the mare who created the stars and the moon. I am the queen of the shadows, the ruler of night in Equestria.” Her eyes suddenly filled with a white light. “Above all, I am the one chosen by the ancients for the duty of leading this Brotherhood.” She took one step closer to him, the shadows moving with her. They started to form tentacles, smoky tendrils made of pure darkness. Luna gazed once more at him, before speaking again. “You have brought one under my wing much distress, and killed many others. It is time that you receive the ultimate punishment.”

Clock Stroke gibbered and stammered before saying, “P-please don’t kill me! I’m sorry!”

Luna paused before steeling herself. “Nay, I won’t. But, tell that to the tortured souls of those you slaughtered, Templar.” With that, she swung her hoof, sending the shadows cloaking her at him. They descended upon the terrified screaming stallion, who scurried to get away. The shadows overtook him, and before long he was letting out cries of pure terror.

Princess Luna sighed and let the dark mantle over her fall. She was once more back to her normal state. Ignoring the screams of the Templar behind her, she turned towards Rainbow Dash.

“Dear Rainbow, are you alright?” The Rector asked, extending a hoof onto her soldier.

Silence. Then a soft shivering voice spoke.

“I could’ve finished him.”

Laughing slightly, Luna replied. “Aye, of that I had no doubt. But in that state of mind, you were almost killed.” She then turned her caring gaze into a stern one. “You and Vinyl have much to learn. Do you not know the difference between reality and an illusion?”

Rainbow hung her head in sorrow, before suddenly leaping to her hooves. “Vinyl! Where is she?”

“Out in the courtyard—” Before the princess could finish, Rainbow Dash took off, leaving the three in the dust.

Octavia, having been silent throughout the whole affair, stared at the screaming wretch that was Clock Stroke. His eyes bulged in terror, and he begged for mercy from unseen torturers. “Princess....what did you do to him?”

Luna grimaced, before proceeding. “I sent his mind into a realm of nightmares. Everypony and everybody he’s killed are torturing him. Having the ability to manipulate the dream world does have combat applications.” Luna then sighed. “Of course, I learned this skill when I was....under the influence of another.” A small cough and a weak laugh interrupted her.

“Y-you....are a bunch of foals.”

Luna looked down to see the dying Clock Strike, who was staring at the ceiling. “What do you mean, vermin?” Silence. “Speak before I deal you the same fate as your brother!”

Another weak laugh. “You don’t get it do you? We’ve won today. We got what we came for.”

Frowning, Octavia walked over to the bloody white mare. “What are you talking about? You’re about to die, and your brother’s as good as dead. You didn’t get me, and nopony else is here.”

“You were a side objective.” Clock Strike muttered, her voice now raspy. “The real purpose of us kidnapping you was as a diversion.”

“What are you talk—” Suddenly, Luna gasped. “The box!”

Strike laughed at the horrified look on the princess’s face. “We played you all for foals. While you were busy finding us, our leader snuck into your little study and stole away with the music box in tow. Soon....soon, this world will be ours.” She started to laugh softly, then louder, then even louder, until it was a maniacal sound echoing throughout the hall. “You’ve failed, Rector! You’ve not only failed the petty Assassins, not only your kingdom, but the world! You—”

Jackle reached down and placed his claw upon her neck, shutting her up. He looked down at her, a blank look upon his face. Then, he spoke.

“Verrecken.”

With that, he pushed his claw down, crushing her throat, bone, flesh and all. The Templar let out a choking sound before finally falling silent forever.

Wiping his claw on his cloak, Jackle turned to the Rector. “So, what now? They have the box. What should we do?”

Luna gazed off at the screaming wretch of a stallion tortured in a nightmarish dream, then at Octavia. Her eyes suddenly flashed, now full of fiery determination. “We follow her dreams.”





The door opened, briefly shedding light into his office. He quickly cantered over to his desk, and placed his prize upon the desk. His breathing became erratic as he gazed at its beauty. Finally, after all this time, the box was theirs. Soon, the plan would be executed and all of Equestria…..no, all of the world, would be at his whim. A sickly yellow hoof reached out to touch the box’s surface, only to be stopped by a golden aura. He silently cursed, but quickly calmed down. Sitting down on his dark chair, he dimmed the lights in his office until the room was only lit by the glow of the artifact on his desk.

He smiled. The plan was going smoothly. Sure, the Clockwork Twins had failed to bring back the musician, but that was a minor setback. They had what they needed, for now at least. All that was left was to find a way to open the box, and unleash its magic upon the world. In the darkness, his neon red eye gleamed and his cat-like pupil glowed. A smile formed on his face.

All was going according to plan.









                


                


                
 


> Chapter 4: Desperation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        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.”
        







        

> Chapter 5: Twilight Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Octavia ran through the halls of headquarters, closely followed by Rainbow Dash and Jackle App. They were all shocked by the Voice’s revelation, but none more so than Octavia herself. It was strange, what she had experienced. No, beyond strange. It was just downright impossible. Her mind, the mental aspect of her being, had been taken over by some other force. While it was talking through her body, another voice spoke to her mind. Octavia still couldn’t get that voice out of her head; that sentient, ancient, echoing voice was just so powerful.

        OCTAVIA. YOU ARE THE ONE WHO WILL BRING BALANCE TO EQUESTRIA.

        The voices echoed again in her head, causing her to wince slightly as she ran. She remembered that she was suddenly in a pure white world, surrounded by blinding light. The only thing she could see was light, and the only thing she could hear was its voice.

        “Who are you? What do you want from me?”

        Again, Octavia winced. She tried to suppress the memory. Right now, she had a mission to carry out. What little training she had would have to do for now. She ran and ran, knowing that they had to get back to Ponyville as soon as possible. Still, something nagged at her, an almost desperate feeling that made her want to just stop.

        YOU WILL TRY TO SAVE HER, BUT CANNOT PREVENT FATE. 

        Was it fate that Twilight was destined to die? If so, who were they to deny that? Octavia shook her head as the trio ran, wanting to clear the negative thoughts. They had to save her. She was the Element of Magic, something that made her more important than any normal pony. Should she die, the other Elements wouldn’t work, and Equestria would lose one of its greatest defenses. 

        No, Twilight Sparkle will not die. Octavia was sure of this. No matter what some sentient being says, Octavia would do whatever was in her power to prevent her death.

        “Here!” Jackle said, stopping in front of a stone archway. “This is the Gateway. I’ll start it up.”

        Octavia looked up at the ancient looking artifact, worry in her eyes. “Will this take us to Ponyville?”

        Rainbow Dash bit her lip. “I think it will. I’ve never been one to trust magic portals like these, but we don’t have a choice. Not even I could fly back to Ponyville fast enough.”

        The gray Assassin turned and looked at Rainbow Dash. Worry was etched all over her face, and that look in her eyes...it said that she was close to giving up hope. Octavia put a hoof on her shoulder, startling the young pegasus. She smiled reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow.” Octavia said, putting some effort into calming her. “We’ll make it there in time.”

“Speak of the devil!” Jackle shouted as the portal flared to life. “It’s ready!” He turned to his compatriots, and checked them over. “Do you all have your weapons?” They both nodded, each putting a hoof on a sword or extending out a hidden blade. “Armor up to par?” Again, both nodded. Jackle’s beak went up for a grim smile. “Then let’s go save a unicorn.” With that, he jumped through the portal and disappeared, followed by two mares, both ready to kill.



	

As soon as she came out of the other end, Octavia was shocked to see how peaceful things were. Everypony was going about their business. From their dark alley, she could see Applejack selling her apples, Colgate opening her dentistry office, and Berry Punch stumbling drunkenly back to her home. She stepped out, but was immediately pulled back by a cyan hoof.

Rainbow gave her a stern look. “We can’t be detected, especially with all those ponies out there. They know us. If they acknowledged us, our cover is blown.” Suddenly, her face became even grimmer. “Or worse, they might be the Templar we’re looking for, and we’ll lose the chance to kill the bastard.”

Octavia was about to protest, but Jackle held up a claw to his beak, ushering her to remain silent. He then pointed out in front of her, and Octavia turned to look at what he saw. 

Walking past her was Twilight Sparkle and Spike, going through their daily shopping list. They were accompanied by a stallion with his mane oiled back. He had a smug look on his face, one that constantly said, “I am much better than you.” Octavia turned to Rainbow, giving her a questioning look.

Rainbow cursed. “That’s Filthy Rich. He’s just a snob, but he’s going to make our job harder.”

“How so?”

“He’s just another chance to blow our cover. That bastard’s been frequenting the library a lot, recently.” Rainbow said. She pulled up a disgusted face. “Filthy may be married, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t try to bed any other mare he finds attractive.”

Octavia’s jaw dropped. “You mean he’s trying to get Twilight to sleep with him?!”

Jackle choked back a gag, and Rainbow stuck her tongue out. “Yeah. He’s tried that on most of my friends. Even me.” Her lips tugged into a smirk. “I think he still has scars from the whooping I gave him.”

Octavia still felt disturbed, but she shook away her feelings. She peeked out once more, to see that Twilight had stopped and was talking to Applejack. Spike constantly watching Filthy to make sure his eyes weren’t looking anywhere they shouldn’t be. The two were appeared to be having a curt conversation, while the mares were chatting along as if Filthy wasn’t there.

“So, what’s our next move?” Rainbow whispered to Jackle. 

Jackle ran his claw over his head. “Don’t ask me. Octavia is the one leading this operation.”

Octavia turned towards her two friends, and thought for a while. Octavia had often woken up to Twilight going through her list of things to buy, which was always very long. If her observations were correct, then Twilight would stay in the market for a while. She was the kind of mare that wouldn’t ever deviate from a set schedule, which meant that she would follow that shopping list to the tee. If that was true, and everything on that list was as they usually were, then she’d be in that market for a long time. So, she drew up a plan in her head.

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do.” Octavia said, picking up a small stick. She drew up a small map in the dirt, depicting the market. She drew an a small delta in an alley. “This is where we are.” She drew an x on a building to their right. “Jackle, I want you to get up high to that roof. Stay hidden, and keep a visual on Filthy. Should he make any move, I want you to report to me using the communication spell the princess casted on us.” Jackle nodded, and checked his weapons. Octavia drew a small cloud in the center of the market, and put another x on it. “Rainbow, want you to provide overhead surveillance from that cloud. Observe everything that is going on in this market. Should Twilight move, follow her from above. Again, stay hidden.” She drew an x over the the side on a bench near Applejack’s stand. “I will be over here. Should anypony try to move in on Twilight, I’ll be there to intercept them. If I mess up and Twilight is in danger, Rainbow Dash will swoop down and carry her to safety. Agreed?” The other two nodded. Octavia smiled. “Alright. Let’s move.”

Immediately, Rainbow soared up, and got on the cloud overlooking the market. Jackle climbed onto the roofs and moved to his position. Octavia couldn’t help but grin in anticipation. This was her first mission, and already it was an important one. She got up, trotted through the crowd of ponies, and sat down on the bench.

About five minutes had past, and nothing important had happened. Twilight was perusing through Roseluck’s flowers, bending over to smell them. Filthy was being...well, filthy.

Ugh. Can I please fly down a clock that pervert?

Negative, Octavia thought. If you do that, we might spook the Templar.

Octavia, Jackle said. We don’t even know that he or she is here.

That thought had occured to her, but she had dismissed it already. Don’t worry. That Templar is here. I know it. 

How so?

I’ve seen him. Twelve o’clock, your three, Jackle. He’s wearing a green bowler hat, and has a star as his cutie mark. Octavia said, her eyes on him. He’s the one.

Rainbow tutted in her thoughts. Octavia, you can’t assume that just because he looks shady that he’s a hostile.

It’s not just that. He’s wearing the Templar cross around his neck.

The gray mare smirked as both of her compatriots cursed. You’re right, Rainbow said. I could just jump from here and assassinate him.

Octavia was about to deny her, but Jackle cut in. Don’t do it. There’s too many ponies around, and they all know you. If you didn’t have that damn desire to show off all the time, I might've said otherwise; you'd just be some random pony.

The cyan mare grumbled about how her friend was such a spoilsport. Octavia chose to ignore these comments, and instead keep her eyes on the stallion in the bowler hat. He was chatting away with some other mare, but his eyes kept flicking back to Twilight. He was definitely the one. Suddenly, he cut his conversation short and waved at the mare goodbye, before walking away.

Shit, Rainbow thought. You guys seeing this?

Aye, I do. Jackle said grimly. What should we do?

Octavia thought for a moment, before responding. I’m moving closer. You two, get ready in case he spots me and makes a dash for it.

With that, she cut off communications for a short bit, and got up off the bench. Strangely enough, nopony appeared to look twice at her strange attire, but that didn’t matter to her. The ponies of Ponyville often saw unusual things, and her uniform was one of the lesser things they’ve experienced. Octavia thanked Celestia for their ignorance; it kept her alive.

She pushed out those thoughts as she drew closer to the stallion. His eyes were boring into Twilight’s head. Octavia now knew that soon he was going to strike. Now only about fifteen yards away, he reached into his saddlebags and pulled out a small knife, which he strapped to his left hoof. That was it. Octavia dashed forward and grabbed the stallion, pulling him into another dark alley. She pinned him to the ground and unsheathed her hidden blade, which she held to his neck.

Nice job Tavi! Rainbow whooped.

Again, Octavia ignored her enthusiastic partner. Instead, she focused on the stallion beneath her.

“I am going to ask a question, and you are going to answer it.” Octavia said, her eyes steely. “Am I clear?”

The stallion gulped. “Well, not like I have a choice, do I?” Then, he smiled arrogantly. ?Of course, my friends here would disagree.”

Suddenly, and arrow whizzed by Octavia’s head and planted itself into the wall behind her. She looked up to see two other ponies, each holding a crossbow. They were both heavily built earth ponies, almost as big as Big Mac. They smiled cruelly and drew up on their hind legs, pulling out their swords. Octavia glanced down at her smirking captive, and immediately decided what to do. She pulled out two knives and plunged them through both of the stallion’s front hooves, pinning him to the ground. He yelped in pain, but the noise of the market drowned it out.

She spat at him. “You stay there. I’ll deal with these two.” Octavia sent out a message. Can either of you assist me? I’ve got two big Templars here.

The sound of a blade echoed through her mind. Rainbow’s voice suddenly came through. No can do, Tavi! I’ve got two pegasi here to deal with. More clashed echoed before the transmission ended. 

Jackle?

The griffon answered immediately, though his breathing was heavy. I’ve got a similar problem, Octavia. I got jumped by three ponies, and can’t come right now. I’ll be over as soon as I can!

With that, the connection fell, as did Octavia’s heart. Great. Now, she had to face these two on her own. Her training started to kick in, and her mind began to strategize. The two rushed forward at her, swinging their blades. One slashed at her head, which she dodged by sliding underneath him and coming up behind the pair. They stumbled as they tried to stop and turn, causing confusion.

Okay, so these guys are huge. Octavia thought. But, all that means is that they’re much slower than I am. That’s my advantage: speed. Now that Octavia knew what she had going for her, she decided that she would make the most of it. Drums began to play in her mind, giving her a tense feeling.

Octavia charged forward, surprising the two stallions. They quickly recovered and rushed forth as well, blades held high. However, just as they were about to clash, Octavia sidestepped and jumped onto the wall, using it to push her once more behind the two. Brass instruments blared in her head, giving her adrenaline that stopped her from thinking too much. The two learned from their mistakes however, and instead of attempting to turn around, they got back on all fours and bucked their hind legs at her. 

Now, the symphony going through her mind was playing in full earnest. The strings were moving frantically, while the wind instruments kept that steady intense melody. Octavia knew that this was her chance, that the sound of the music in her head was what gave her an advantage. It communicated with her, telling when to strike. Suddenly, the strings held a high note again, and the winds fell quiet. The bass drum beated along with her heart, and her breath echoed throughout the hall. Time slowed as the stallions’ legs moved towards her. Octavia waited, and waited, until the moment was just right. The symphony suddenly stopped, and that was when she moved. She maneuvered between the right and left leg of her opposition, and reached down and grabbed the two limbs. She then leaned back, pulling on them, causing the two Templars to fall on their face. Then, before they could get up, Octavia jumped in the air, and came down hard on them. Her blades flashed, and her eyes became steely.

        Octavia fell, and with her body, so did her two blades. They plunged through the backs of each pony, causing them to gasp in pain before laying still. Octavia stayed there for a moment, taking some time to catch her breath. Then she got up, and saw the blood covering her hooves. That’s when it hit her.

        She had just killed two ponies. 

Strangely enough...she didn’t feel too bad about it. However, just that fact that she had ended two lives was enough to render her speechless. She sat down for a moment, before turning over the bodies of the Templars. She saw that they each had a strangely peaceful look on their faces, but something was missing. Immediately, Octavia knew what she should do. She reached over to each body, and brushed a hoof over their faces, closing their eyes.

“Dormi ora, il mio nemico.” Octavia said softly. She got up and put a hoof to her forehead, reconnecting with the other two Assassins. Jackle? Rainbow? Are you both alright?

Yeah, I’m fine. Rainbow said. Those two pegasi couldn’t handle how awesome my moves were.

Jackle scoffed. Hardly. You almost got killed three separate times. Had those two pegasi not been arguing who gets to kill “the” Rainbow Dash, we might not even be having this conversation.

Just more proof to show how great I am!

Chuckling a bit, Octavia cut the connection again. At least her two friends were fine. Now, she moved over to the other Templar, who was struggling to get free of her knives. She got down on one knee and put a hoof on his chest stopping his movements. He looked up at her, fear filling his eyes. 

“Now, I am going to ask you a question.” Octavia said, her voice once more cold as ice. “Why are you going after Twilight Sparkle?”

The pony bit his lip, and his eyes flicked around. “T-tartarus if I know! I was just ordered to come here!”

Octavia thought for a bit, before smiling at him. “You know what?”

“Wh-what?” The stallion replied, his breathing erratic.

“I don’t believe you.” With that, she grabbed one of the knives and twisted it, causing her captive to cry out in agony. Octavia once more looked him in the eyes, boring through his head. “I’ll ask you one more time. Why are you after Twilight Sparkle?”

“O-okay, I’ll tell you!” The Templar gasped. “Just stop moving that knife!” 

She smiled sweetly, and let go of her torture tool. “Be glad I’m so nice. Now, answer my question.”

“It’s all part of our plan!” Cried the stallion.

Her purple eyes flashed. “What plan? Tell me!”

“So, Twilight Sparkle is an Element of Harmony, right?” Jabbered the Templar. “In order to make the box we stole work, she has to--” Suddenly, and arrow sprouted from his neck, and the rest of his words were lost in bloody choking.

Octavia sprang up, her blades at the ready. She heard chuckling behind her, and saw a silhouette in sun, standing on the roof behind her. A neon red eye flashed at her, and his smile seemed to glow.

“You know, I never liked him. He never was the most trustworthy of my minions.” Said the mysterious stallion. He laid down in a relaxed position, took out an apple, and began to munch on it.

Octavia glared at her mysterious visitor. “Just who are you?”

“Oh? You don’t know who I am?” The stallion’s voice sounded surprised. He got up and jumped down to the ground, letting Octavia get a full view of him. He had a strange mustard green coat, with a brown and blue mane. One of his eyes had a catlike pupil, and he wore a purple pinstriped vest. On each hoof he wore a purple cufflink.

He smiled sweetly at her. “I’m only the one who killed your mother.”

Memories flashed in Octavia’s head...a bloody alley...her mother’s blank, dead stare...the tears and anger...

Without thinking, she unsheathed her blades and rushed at the pony, determined to tear him to pieces. Before she could even lay a hoof on him, however, he disappeared.

“You know, emotions are fickle things.” Said a voice behind her. “They cloud us from what is really important.”

Octavia turned around to see the stallion leaning against the wall, once more munching at his apple. “What is that supposed to mean?”

He swallowed. “Well, for starters...weren’t you supposed to protect Twilight Sparkle?”

Octavia gasped. She had let her feelings get the better of her, and now it could’ve jeopardized the success of the mission. She put her hoof to her forehead, initiating the link to her friends once more. Guys...please tell me you have a visual on Twilight.

Jackle reporting in. No sign of her.

Dammit! I only turned my back for one moment, and she’s gone!

Rainbow, calm down.

Calm down?! This is my friend we’re talking about! A sudden swish could be heard from her end of the link, signalling that Rainbow had flown off to find her friend.

Jackle, follow her!

On it. If we find Twilight, we’ll be sure to take her into protective custody.

Alright. Just be ca--

Suddenly, Octavia felt pain erupting from the back of her head. She crumpled to the ground, looking up to see the mysterious stallion standing over her.

He sighed, as if dissapointed. “You know, I thought that you’d have more sense than that. A mental link conversation with one of your greatest enemies right in front of you?” He shook his head. “How silly of you, Octavia.” Then, his lips turned up into that same sickly sweet smile. “But don’t worry. I won’t kill you. Just sleep for now.”

The last thing she saw was a hoof coming down on her face.


 

> Chapter 6: Twilight Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Vando was unsure as to what the Rector meant. Exile? How was that any better than death?

            “Curiosity is in your eyes, Vando.” She said, smiling. She flew up, grabbed a small map, and tossed it down to the stallion. “Take this. It will show you the way.”

            Vando analyzed the map. “But this...this is a map of the Everfree Forest.” His eyes steeled. “Why are you sending me there?”

            The Rector sank back down to her desk, and pursed her lips. “Well, I again have my reasons. You see, that is the one place in Equestria remained untouched by all of ponykind’s magic. It is a strange place; all dare not go near it.” Suddenly, her lips curled into a smirk. “Not even the Templars.

            “However! This is but a temporary fix.” She got up once more, and stared off at the setting sun. “This is not the end of your tale, Vando. ‘Tis only the beginning.”

            “Why?”

            A sigh echoed throughout the study. “You know the origin of our order, yes?”

            Vando was taken by surprise. “Of course I do. Our founder was one of the two princesses who ruled our land, Luna. She was to be eternal Rector until...”

            "Until the Templars corrupted her, using the Apple of Eden.” The Rector nodded, turning her head to Vando. “They had stolen it from us, and she went to retrieve it. When she returned with it...something inside her was not right. She turned against her own kingdom and attempted to bring upon Nighttime Eternal.”

             "In response, her sister Celestia, our current sole ruler, took hold of the Elements, and used them to seal her in the moon.” Vando said, muttered. “What does that have to do with anything?”

              The Rector turned back towards the setting sun, which was now giving way to the moon and the stars. She stared up, seeing the Mare in the Moon, the seal that trapped their corrupted leader. “Vando, it has everything to do with this. In 500 years’ time, Princess Luna will break free. Whether or not she’ll be her normal self once more, nopony knows. However, it is said that at that time, new bearers of the Elements shall surface.” She once more turned back to Vando, a worried look on her face. “That is when your tale will end. A descendant of yours will use the box’s power to bring balance to Equestria. Soon after our leader returns to us, it will happen.”

              Vando simply stood there, unsure of what the Rector had just said. “I do not understand. How do you know all of this will happen?”

              “The Canterlot Archives are full of prophecies, none more enlightening than the rhymes of the sage Foresight the Diviner.” The Rector said softly. “One of our scribes working there found a prophecy describing exactly what I just told you.”

              “Even if this is true, why would we want Princess Luna as our leader again?” Vando asked, still confused. “If she betrayed us before, then why will she be our leader once more?”

              The Rector smiled. “You do not understand, do you? It is more than simple morals and ethics. Luna must be the Rector. Without her at our head, we are nowhere near the strength we could be at.” She sat down in a chair, and beckoned for Vando to do the same. He sat across from her, staring and waiting for answers.

              The Rector sighed. “Questions still fill your mind. Very well. It is time.”

              “Time for what, ma’am?”

              “For you to learn the history of our order. All of it.”





                Octavia’s head hurt. A lot. It was raining, there was a faint voice yelling at her, and the sound of blades clashed in the distance. She opened her eyes slightly to see a pair of sharp emerald green eyes boring down at her.

                “Thank Celestia!” Bellowed Jackle. “You’re alive!”

                Octavia winced. “Aye, but if you yell like that once more I may not be.”

                Jackle frowned. “That is no laughing matter. You were out for most of the day; it’s night time now. We need to get moving. Rainbow has done her best, but I am sure that she hasn’t held up all of them.”

                Suddenly, it all came back to her. She bolted up. “Twilight! Where’s Twilight?!”

                “She’s fine, she’s in the Library. Filthy has gone away, and the dragon is at the residence of a mare named Rarity.” Jackle said. “However, Twilight was followed by a small band of Templars.” More clashes and defiant yells were heard above. Jackle glanced nervously upwards. “Rainbow’s engaged the majority of them in the air. The ones on the ground, well....” He moved aside and Octavia saw numerous bodies on the ground, bleeding into the mud. “I took care of them.”

                She stood up, groaning and massaging her head where the mysterious pony had hit her. “Jackle, why is she fighting up there? She could be detected.”

                “Negative. We knew there were reinforcements coming, so some of our friends in the Cloudsdale Weather Factory ordered a sudden fog and rain storm.” Jackle said softly. “Now, we need you to get back into the fight.”

                Though her head and body ached very much, Octavia stood up and looked the griffon in the eye. “What do you need me to do?”

                Jackle nodded in approval, and then scanned the area. “Octavia, you know this place the best out of the two of us, correct?”

                “Yes I do. What is it?”

                A high pitched scream echoed above.

                Jackle cursed. “I need to get up there and help Rainbow Dash. You can hold your own here, yes? What you need to do is make your way to the library and secure Twilight Sparkle.” Another scream rang out, and Jackle began to get anxious. “Please, tell me you can do that?”

                Octavia smiled, and put a hoof on Jackle’s shoulder. “Aye, I can. Now, go help your daughter.”

                A relaxed expression flashed on the griffon’s face, before turning into a cold one. He pulled up his hood and took off, hidden blades at the ready.

                Octavia looked up until he disappeared into the clouds, and then set about doing her part. She peeked out of the alley, and saw that she was in the same alleyway as before. That meant that the library was only just to the right, maybe a fifty yards away.

                Alright, Octavia, she said to herself, calming her nerves. You can do this. Now, get a move on.

                She dashed out, blades at the ready in case of an enemy. When she found none, she got back onto all fours and ran as fast as she could towards the tree house. The lantern was swinging back and forth in front of the library, giving only a dim light through the fog. There were several other ponies outside, creeping towards the door quietly. Octavia ran as fast as her hooves would take her. Once she was within reach, she jumped and flipped in the air, grabbing one of the ponies by the head and twisted his neck. There was a snap, and he fell the ground, motionless as rain fell onto his lifeless body.
 
                The hooded figure to her left hissed. “Assassin. I thought the Maestro took care of you.”
 
                “Evidently not,” Octavia spat back. She got on her hind legs and pulled out her sword, holding it front of her. “Now, get away from this library. Its inhabitant is under my protection.”
 
                The pony to her right laughed. “As if that would matter!” He then pulled out an axe and rushed at her. “Especially if you are dead!”
 
                Around her, time seemed to slow. The symphony once more started to play as all four of the ponies rushed at her. She looked at the one at the far left, and a triangle rang as she noticed that he had a scar over his left eye. A blind spot, Octavia thought. She turned to the Templar at the center left, and once more a ring came as she noticed that he had claw marks on his hind flank. Jackle must’ve missed that one, she said to herself. The other two to her right were dressed similarly, with similar weapons and armor. A duo. Those two fight together.

                The brass and strings began to blare. Let’s do this.

                Time resumed, and Octavia rushed at the one at her far left first, jumping between him and his companion. She maneuvered to his left, and thrusted her sword into his chest, causing him to freeze. She pulled the blade out of his dying body, and heard the rush of a knife soaring down at her head. The musician twirled around immediately and caught the blade with hers, stopping the Templar’s attack. The other two stallions went to her right and left, attempting to flank and surround her. Knowing that, Octavia smirked and held the struggling knife until the two attacked at the same time. Then, she gripped the Templar’s arm between her hooves and leapt into the air, causing them to collide into each other. With a yell, she forced the Templar’s hoof down, stabbing the blade into the heap of bodies, killing the two below. Octavia then got on her forelegs and bucked the last Templar in the face, causing his nose to spurt blood as he fell back. He stumbled, wincing from both his broken nose and his injured flank.
 
                The musician sheathed her blade and held her hooves out. “You are now alone, your compatriots dead. Leave now, and no harm will come to you.”
 
                “I can’t and you know that,” He replied, wheezing. “Our fight will never end. Just kill me now.”
 
                Octavia’s heart fell. “Very well. As you wish.” Her left hoof extended, and a blade came out from her sleave, shining from the light of the lamppost. Water droplets hit the metal, making slight pinging noises that reminded Octavia of the dings of the chimes of the Canterlot Symphony. With that sound in her ears, she rushed forward, plunging the blade into the chest of her foe. He cried out a bit, before slumping. Octavia set him down, and pulled her hidden blade out. He looked at her, his face ashen and his chest rising and falling slowly. His eyes widen when he saw her face under her hood.
 
                “You…you’re that mare.”
 
                Octavia frowned. “What? What do you mean?”
 
                He laughed a bit. “I met you once before…you were performing at a social event.” His expression softened. “Your music…it was quite beautiful.”
 
                Unsure of what to say, Octavia simply stared at him. “Um, thank you, I suppose.”
 
                He laughed some more, before falling silent. “You do not understand. Your music...it symbolizes our goal. We want peace for Equestria. We want everypony to rest easily.”
 
                “You know that the way you go about that is wrong.” Octavia replied, putting force in her words. “You Templars want to control everything. Everyone acting the way you want them to, no differences.” She paused, before the right words came to her. “It’s your idea of a utopia.”
 
                The Templar shook his head. “No…you still do not understand. We want them to rest…we want them to…” His voice began to fail, and Octavia began to panic. He was about to tell her something important!
 
                “What?! What do you want?”
 
                He beckoned her closer, and she leaned her ear towards his mouth to hear his dying words. “We want them to sleep.”
 
                With that, his head turned and fell. Octavia could no longer hear the steady beat of his heart. The stallion was dead. She set him down, and brushed a hoof over his face, closing his eyes.
 
                Octavia sighed. “Dormi ora, il mio nemico.”
 
                With that, she stood up and looked at the library. There was a light inside, and the shadows inside told her that the inhabitants were most likely either eating or organizing books. Knowing Twilight, it was probably the latter of the two. Breathing in deeply, Octavia stepped forward and pushed the door open, causing a little bell to ring. Immediately, a cheerful voice rang out to welcome her.
 
                “Hello! Welcome to the Ponyville Library,” Twilight said from some distance away. “I’ll be right with you.”
 
                Octavia smiled slightly at her naivety. She pulled her hood off, and shook on the mat to get the water off her. Twilight walked in at that moment, and her mouth dropped when she saw who it was.
 
                “O-Octavia?” She gasped, her eyes wide. The lavender mare backed up a few paces, apparently shocked to see the pony before her.
 
                Octavia frowned. “Yes, it’s me. Is something wrong?”
 
                “Well, yes!” Twilight rushed forward, and grabbed Octavia in embrace. “Your house burned down! Afterwards, you and Vinyl were nowhere to be found.” She looked up and smiled at her. “We were all worried, but at least you’re safe now.” Then she frowned. “Wait, something isn’t right here.”
  
                Octavia tilted her head slightly, confused. “What’s wrong?”
 
                “Well, for starters, what were you doing out in the rain?” Twilight said, levitating a towel over to dry the soaking wet mare. “Here, sit down in the kitchen; I’ll make you some tea.”   

        Octavia chuckled at the innocence that Twilight radiated. Her life was in danger and she didn’t even know...if only she could be so lucky. Octavia checked her mental link, but could sense that the others were still engaging hostiles. For now, all she could do was make sure Twilight was ok. Her eyes drifted over to the lavender unicorn, who was busy making two cups of tea. 

        “So, Twilight...” Octavia said, trying to break the silence. “I see that you’re seeing Filthy Rich?”

        Twilight levitated the two cups over and sat down, rolling her eyes. “Hardly. That pervert just won’t leave me alone. I won’t give him what he wants, though.” Twilight smiled, and took a sip from her cup. “He’s harmless enough though, so long as you stay firm. That’s what all of the others did.”

        “Others?”

        Pulling a face, Twilight tried not to recoil from her thoughts. “Yes, the others. My friends. So far, Filthy’s tried to get Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack.” A smirk appeared on her face. “He would try Pinkie, but she made it clear that if he tried anything on her, there’d be a load of military grade confetti being shot his way.”

        “Did any of them give in?” Octavia asked, taking a sip of tea. Her eyes darted to the window. No Templars here yet. It’s strangely peaceful right now.

        Twilight frowned. “Well, no. Fluttershy almost did, but then Rainbow Dash and Applejack arrived on the scene...things were taken care of.”

        “I hope they were.” Octavia said, still probing around for signs of danger. “A stallion like him is about the worst it gets.”

        “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. He can be quite useful at times.” Twilight remarked. “If his desire is strong enough, he’ll do just about anything for you.”

        “Like helping you out with your morning shopping?”

        “Well, yes...” Twilight suddenly stopped and frowned. “Wait, how did you know about that?”

        Crap. Me and my big mouth. Octavia thought. “Uh, well, I was just in the market at the time and I saw you two walking together.” Twilight seemed to believe her, and her suspicion disappeared. 

        “In that case, yes, things like that.” Said the librarian. “I am just glad Spike was there to keep him in line.”

        Octavia laughed a bit. “Well, it’s a good thing too. I noticed he was looking at--”

        OCTAVIA! INCOMING!

        Immediately, Octavia leapt over the table and grabbed Twilight, pulling her under the table. Soon after, a body flew through the window, crashing into the stove. When it got up, the cyan fur and collage of colors in its mane indicated that it was Rainbow Dash.

        “Oh my gosh!” Twilight said, rushing towards her friend. “Rainbow! Are you okay?”

        Rainbow groaned, wincing from the cuts on her face. “Dang, Twilight. That glass really stings.”

        “Stay here, I’ll grab the first aid kit--”

        “No!” Rainbow said, her eyes flaring open. “You stay under the table with Octavia!”

        “Why? What’s going on?”

        Octavia reached over and grabbed the lavender unicorn. “Just stay here with me, and remain calm.” She whispered these words in her ears, attempting to ease her mind. “Everything will be okay.”

        “But Rainbow’s hurt!” Twilight said, crying as her friend struggled to get up.

        The cyan Assassin turned towards her panicked companion. “What, this? ‘Tis but a flesh wound!”

        Right then, a second body flew in, aiming a kick at Rainbow Dash’s stomach. As it impacted, Rainbow coughed up blood, her eyes shut in pain. A second later, the leg retracted, bending for another go.

        Rainbow glared at her attacker. “Oh no you don’t!” As the hoof came soaring towards her, she grabbed it with two hooves and twisted. Her adversary yelped in pain and fell to the floor. Rainbow took this opportunity to leap into the air, wings flared. She soared down, her blades extended.

        Metal flashed, blood spurted. 

        Rainbow sat over her now dead enemy, breathing heavily. Her hidden blade was still buried in the neck of the Templar, and all was quiet. Twilight was staring at Rainbow Dash in shock, not believing what had just happened. Then--

        “Oh my gosh, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight shouted. “You just killed somepony!”

        Rainbow winced as she retracted her blade, standing up. “I know, I know. But it had to be done. That guy was trying to hurt you.”

        “But you didn’t have to kill him!” Twilight screeched, now breathing heavily herself. “You could’ve done something else, like--”
        
        Octavia reached over and put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Look, it may seem bad, but let us explain.”

        “Explain what? Why you just ended another life?!” Her yelling was starting to deafen out the thunderous rain, and it was only increasing in volume. “Yes, because that definitely has a good explanation.

        “Twilight.”

        “I mean, you two are acting like it’s a normal thing--”

        “Twilight.”

        “Not like that was another pony or anything--”

        “Twilight.”

        “There had to have been another reason for--”

        “TWILIGHT!” Rainbow screamed, cutting off her friend.

        “What is it?!” Twilight yelled back. “Some horseapple expla--” She stopped and gasped as Rainbow flew forward and punched her in the gut, knocking her out cold.

        “I’m really sorry about this, Twi.” Rainbow said, wincing as her friend slumped to the floor. She looked over at Octavia, whose mouth was agape. Frowning, Rainbow pointed over at the living room. “Don’t just stand there. Get her over to the couch or something.”

        Octavia snapped out of her surprise. “You just hit one of your best friends!” She walked quickly over to Twilight’s motionless body, and checked her vitals. “She’s stable...”

        Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Well of course she is. What, did you think I’d kill one of my friends?” The rainbow adorned pegasus knelt down, and brushed aside a stray piece of Twilight’s mane from her face. “I love her and my friends more than anypony. They’re the only family I’ve got left.” With that, she picked her up and carried her over to the living room, setting her down gingerly on the couch.

        Pulling up a chair next to the unconscious unicorn, Rainbow Dash sighed deeply. “We couldn’t explain to her right then and there what happened. It’s probably best that she think it was all a dream or something.” A sigh escaped Rainbows mouth, and she continued to stare sadly at her unconscious friend. “It’s always hard, doing these things without them knowing. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to do this.”

        Octavia stood uncomfortably to the side, not knowing what to say as her teacher brooded. She wanted to say that she knew how she felt, but did she? The only real friend she had was Vinyl Scratch, and she had been an Assassin all along. Rainbow Dash had said that all she had were her five friends here in Ponyville. Octavia had read her dosier; she had a tendency to be overly confident, all as a front to hide a weak interior. And yet, despite all of that, she had an unwavering sense of loyalty to those she loved and cared for. Especially her friends. If anypony threatened her friends, Rainbow was sure to deal with them. 

        Suddenly, it came to her. Octavia moved over and put a hoof on her comrade’s shaking shoulder.

        “Rainbow...” Octavia said softly. “They may not know, but doesn’t it help that you protect them from the very dangers they are naive of?”

        Rainbow looked over at her, eyebrows raised. “What does that mean? It doesn't mean a thing to me.”

        “Why not?”

        Rainbow sighed. “Me and the girls...every time we learned something about friendship, we would write a letter to the Princess, saying what we learned.” Her eyes drifted back to the sleeping Twilight. She was breathing softly, unaware that two mares were even talking about her. “One time, we learned to never keep a secret from each other, no matter how big.” Dash chuckled bitterly. “You can imagine the irony of the situation as we wrote that letter.”

        “But Rainbow Dash, don’t you remember what you told me?” Octavia said, smiling.

        Confusion filled those violet irises. “What?”

        “You told me that we Assassins do these things so that others don’t have too.” Octavia said gently. “You are fighting to protect your friends, no? In my mind, that is a most noble and loyal cause.”

        Rainbow Dash looked at Octavia in surprise before smiling. “Yeah, you’re right. That is why I fight.” Then, she punched Octavia in the arm, causing the gray mare to yelp.

        “What was that for?!”

        “For using my own words against me. Not. Cool.” Rainbow said. “Anyway, let’s get changed out of these clothes. Twi’ll ask questions when she wakes up.” She walked over to the kitchen, opened the door, and paused. “Oh. We may want to move that body too.”





        Jackle surveyed the outside of the library from his perch. All was quiet, save the downpour of the rain. He shivered, but knew he couldn’t get out of the monsoon. Someone had to provide overwatch. Through a window, he could see Octavia and Rainbow Dash out of their uniforms, talking casually next to an unconscious Twilight Sparkle. Jackle had seen everything from here; Dash had done the right thing. They couldn’t explain anything to Sparkle, and nor could they let their existence be known. It was safer this way.

        Deep in thought, Jackle continued to watch his daughter and her apprentice chat away. Octavia had learned so much in so little time. In the space of just a few weeks, the bleeding effect spell mixed with live training sessions had turned her into a deadly weapon. Yet, she still had so much to learn. One thing that disturbed Jackle was the lack of horror Octavia displayed when she made her first kills. It wasn’t normal. 

        Why, I remember vomiting the first time I killed someone. Jackle thought. It just wasn’t right, especially since Octavia was from the high society. Sure, she’d seen her mother in a morbid state, but shouldn’t that have only increased her desire not to kill? The griffon’s eyes drifted to Rainbow Dash, and that’s when the answer hit him. She was exactly like Rainbow. They fought for the same thing.

        Vengeance. That’s what drove her, and that’s what blinded her from horror of taking another life. Octavia wanted nothing more than to kill the stallion who had taken her mother from her. 

        Jackle sat there, worried for the well-being of his two companions. While it was a good driving force, revenge often led people to bad places. Jackle remembered another Assassin he had worked with. He had been one of the greatest, and had brought many Templar sects to their knees, all in the search for one stallion who had killed his wife. His search however turned into an insane obsession, to the point where he’d stay in his office muttering to himself and his dead wife, only going out to search for the killer. When he found out that some of his apprentices were tailing him to make sure he was safe, he massacred them all, believing they were trying to stop him.

        That had been the final straw for the Order. The Rector at the time ordered Jackle to kill him. So, with great reluctance, Jackle App killed his best friend.

        I just hope this doesn’t end this same way. Jackle thought sadly. If I was ordered to kill Dashie, I don’t think I could. Nor could I kill Octavia.

        Movement inside the library took him away from his thoughts. Twilight Sparkle had awoken, and was beginning to rise.

        Alright time to mo--

Pain suddenly flared on the back of Jackle’s head, and his vision darkened into nothingness.





        Octavia watched as the lavender unicorn stirred from her sleep. She and Dash had been talking for a good twenty minutes, and were beginning to worry about her. Luckily, it seemed that they wouldn’t be needing to perform CPR of any kind.

        “Oooh, my head...” Twilight groaned as she sat up. “What...what happened?”

        Rainbow laughed. “You collapsed after drinking that tea, Twi. I think you put some weird stuff in there.”

        More groans. “That would explain why my stomach hurts too...”

        “Easy there, easy...” Octavia said as she helped Twilight up. “You took quite a fall; you even banged your head against the window.”

        “What?”

        Her cyan friend chuckled, and pointed at the kitchen. “Yeah, you might want to use some magic to fix up the mess in there. The rain’s been pouring in since you broke the window.”

        “Wait...broken window...” Twilight’s eyes shot open, and she began to pace around. “I remember now! You crashed through the window, and there was another stallion that followed you.” Rainbow looked nervously at Octavia, who nodded. The librarian frowned, thinking. “You two fought and...” Twilight suddenly stopped pacing. “And you killed him, Rainbow.”

        The two could only stare at her when she finished her sentence. Then, Rainbow Dash bursted out laughing.

        “Me, kill somepony?” Rainbow said through tears. “Twi, I may be tough, but I ain’t that tough.” Her eyes flicked over to Octavia, giving her her que. 

        Octavia nodded slightly and rushed over to press a hoof to Twilight’s forehead. “Twilight, I think you might have had an unusual dream that’s all.”

        “But I saw it! There was a dead stallion, and...” Twilight frowned again. “Wait a minute, where are your cloaks?”

        “Huh?”

        “You two were wearing some strange uniforms, with cloaks and symbols.”

        Octavia chuckled. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

        Twilight glared at the two. “I’m not crazy!” She pointed a hoof over at the kitchen door. “Look, I’m sure that if we go in there, there will be a body on the floor.”

        Rainbow’s eyes flicked towards Octavia, who nodded once more. “Alright, if you say so.” The rainbow adorned pony turned and started to make her way towards the kitchen.

        “Wha-what are you doing?” Twilight said cautiously. 

        Rainbow rolled her eyes and looked back at Twilight. “I’m about to prove you wrong, that’s what.” She opened the door to the kitchen, and inside there was...

        “Nothing. As we said, nothing is in there,” Octavia remarked. “Save for the broken window and lots of water.

        Twilight shook her head, not wanting to believe her eyes. “But...I saw it happen! Rainbow--”

        “Okay Twi, I’m getting really annoyed by this.” Rainbow said, pulling an irritated face. “You do know what you’re saying, right?

        Twilight blinked. “That’s not what I meant.”

        “Oh really? Because it sounds like you’re accusing me,” Rainbow said, her voice rising. “Like you’re accusing me of murder.”

        Twilight blinked again, and shook her head. “No, you’re right Rainbow, I’m sorry. I think that fall must’ve done something to my head.”

        Smiling, Rainbow took her friend in her hooves and guided her away from the kitchen. “It’s okay. Don’t be getting all sappy on me, now. You know how I like that stuff.”

        Twilight’s mouth turned up as she rolled her eyes at her eccentric friend. “Yeah yeah. I get it. You’re too cool for these kind of things, huh?”

        “Now you get it.”

        Octavia couldn’t help but take delight in the exchange. It reminded her often of how she and Vinyl had petty little arguments back when everything was normal.

        “Well? Octavia, you coming?”

        The musician blinked and saw that Rainbow and Twilight were in the doorway, waiting for her to join them. Octavia smirked at how rushed Rainbow seemed to get out of there.

        “Hold your horses, I’m coming.” Octavia said. “Just let me check something.” She closed her eyes and tried to contact Jackle.

        Jackle, is everything outside clear?

        No response.

        Octavia frowned. Jackle, report. Can you give us the all clear?

        More silence. The hairs on the back of Octavia’s neck suddenly stood on end. Something wasn’t right.

        “Rainbow, Twilight!” Octavia yelled, rushing over to the pair. “GET AWAY FROM THAT DOORWAY!”

        “Wait, wh--” Twilight suddenly let out a choking noise, and fell to the ground, clawing at her neck. Rainbow yelped and fell next to her friend, an arrow sprouting on her hind flank. Octavia reached the two and pulled them to safety inside, kicking the door closed. Immediately, she was over Twilight, attempting to stabilize her. The arrow had gone clear through her throat, and she was beginning to choke on her own blood. Rainbow Dash pulled the arrow out from her leg and limped over to Twilight.

        “Twilight, no!” Rainbow shouted, tears pouring from her eyes. “TWILIGHT! Stay with us, COME ON!”

        Twilight’s mouth suddenly turned up to a smile. She tried to speak, but all that came out was gurgling.

        Rainbow put a hoof over her mouth. “Don’t talk. We’ll get you out of here, you’ll be fine.” She picked up her dying friend and attempted to limp over to the door. Blood gushed from her wound, and she fell to the floor. “OCTAVIA! Help me, please!” She was sobbing now, literally dragging herself towards the door.

        Octavia, however, knew better. She looked at the blood on her hooves--the sheer amount of blood--and put her hoof down. “Stop, Rainbow.”

        “N-No, you’ve got to help me!” Rainbow sobbed. “T-Twilight needs help, w-we have to get to the hospital!”

        Octavia shook her head, tears now forming in her eyes. “You don’t understand, Rainbow. She’s already dead.”

        “YOU’RE LYING!” 

        Octavia trotted over and put a hoof on her shoulder. “Put her down, Rainbow. She’s not moving anymore.” Rainbow looked at her, eyes wide. Her whole body started to shake, until she collapsed, Twilight’s lifeless body following soon after. She let out an ear shattering scream of anguish, a cry that stemmed from a wound far deeper than any arrow, a cry that came from the thought of failing to protect one she loved.

        Octavia too sat down and began to cry as well. She’d failed. Her one objective--to protect Twilight Sparkle--and she failed. It was her fault. She should’ve checked to see if everything was alright outside first. As she sobbed, she noticed that to her left was the arrow that had been shot at Rainbow Dash. She sniffed, and frowned. Something wasn’t right. There was more to that arrow, she was sure of it. If the killer had such accuracy as to shoot Twilight in the throat, he could’ve killed Rainbow on the spot, but had instead shot her flank. Strange. Choking back her tears, Octavia reached over to the arrow, picking it up. Immediately, a letter unfurled from it, falling to the wooden floor. Octavia picked it up and read it. As her watery eyes scanned the parchment, the flood of sorrow within her soon began to be replaced with anger, then rage.

Couldn’t stop me then, couldn’t stop me now. Ta-ta, Octavia!

                                        Sincerely,
                                                G.S.B

        Through Rainbow’s crying, and her rage, Octavia made a solemn promise. She would hunt down this bastard, and no matter what, he would pay. First he had taken her mother, and now a pony she had been sworn to protect. Enough was enough. 

        He. Will. Die.                
 


> Author's Note: Important Notice!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, I'll make this as short as possible. Don't click back; This is extremely important.

You all probably hate me for posting this as a chapter, but I seem to have no other way of getting through to you guys. Here's my problem:

I've hit a snag in this story. It's right after Twilight dies, and I need ideas on what to do now. Specifically, sad scenes (like the funeral) and what to do afterwards. Give me something you guys want for the funeral, anything. Comment or PM a suggestion. I want to give you guys what y'all want, but in order for that to happen, I need communication.

That leads to my second point. The last time I did something like this, someone said, "Just do it in a blog so then we don't get fooled into thinking it's another chapter." I can't do that, and here's why. No one seems to read my blogs when I post them. I've posted several blogs, asking for OC's to add into the story, because I needed some characters to fill some spots. Example: I need at least four OC's to play head Templar guys along side the Maestro. I can't do that unless you give me something. I would create completely new characters, but I for one am afraid that I've done that too much. That, and I again want to give you guys what you want.

So, here are spots that can be filled:

A) Four Templar Leaders
B) Three to five Assassins
C) A Weapons Designer (Kind of like what da Vinci was in AC 2)
D) A mare to be Vando's new love interest

That's what I need at this point. I hope that you guys will give me that much.

Till next time, 

~Q. Words
> Chapter 7: Farewells and New Beginnings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The forest seemed to hold its breath as a manticore weaved through the trees. It had its glowing eyes fixed on a moving shape a short distance away--a pony in ragged clothing, making her way through the forest on a worn path. The beast licked its lips. It hadn’t eaten for a few weeks now, and that meant that this mare was lunch. It readied its wings to give it the boost it needed to crash through and surprise the unsuspecting equine.

A small rustle above made it pause. The manticore looked up. A squirrel perhaps? Then it noticed two glowing beads shining back from the darkness. An owl, more likely. It turned its head back towards what was to be its feast.

Muscles tensed, and wings flexed. Air rushed by, and the manticore pounced through the trees, surprising the pony. She gasped, dropping the small cake she was carrying. How fitting. Main course and dessert. 

The eyes in the tree were joined by a shining white smile. The beast had made its first and last mistake. The eyes closed, and the mouth breathed in air slowly. Time slowed down around. He could sense the world around him--the wind in the trees, the sound of a cricket’s song, the bones of the mare creaking. He could hear the heartbeat of the manticore itself, racing in excitement as it came closer to its prey. Right before it’s paws could touch the mare, the eyes opened once more. 

The scream of a terrified pony filled the air, mixing with the delighted roars of a monster.

But it wasn’t the manticore.

A blur came out of the trees, and it howling as it fell upon the beast below. A silver blade flashed, and blood flew through the air, painting the two innocents crimson.

The blur got up, pulling its blade out of the manticore’s neck. It stood up to reveal a stallion, whose fur was covered in filth, mud, and twigs. His cloak was torn, the once angelic white now tainted with a mix of fresh and dried blood. The black leather was worn and had torn patches all over. Golden eyes shone out of a stormy grey coat that was accompanied by a black cloud that was his mane. His eyes radiated mixed emotions, intriguing the mare as he got up.

Seeing his kill, Vando Staccato smiled slightly. Flawlessly executed, as usual. He began to walk away, leaving the pony he just saved.

The mare behind him cleared her throat. “Excuse me sir, but I just want to--”

“What, thank me?” Vando spat back, sudden anger in his voice. “Don’t. I was just making sure my blade was sharp.”

She huffed. “‘I don’t believe that one bit. You saved me and that’s that.”

Vando stopped, surprised. Most ponies he’d “saved” would’ve taken offense to that and left. This mare seemed different. 

Turning around, he got his first good look at her. She was an earth pony, one who obviously worked in the lower class; her clothing was ragged and covered in dirt. Yet, despite her messy clothing, her attitude shone quite differently. Her attire suggested a despondent mind, whereas her stature and frowning face gave off an obvious feeling of pride. She had stark green eyes that seemed to pierce through his anger, searching for a shred of happiness. Her beige coat was covered in flecks of mud and bark, telling Vando that she did outside labor. The mane atop her head was a mix of caramel and toffee. Her genuine smile seemed to stir something inside Vando, something he hadn’t felt in so long...

        Shaking his head, Vando stopped analyzing the mare. “What did you just say to me?”

        “‘Ah said you saved me.” She rolled her eyes. Her voice had a slight country accent to it, something Vando wasn’t used to, having lived in Canterlot. “Sweet Celestia, does that gangly mane ‘o yours mess with your hearin’?”

        Again, he was shocked. Nopony had ever talked to him in his long years in the Forest, much less with sarcasm. It was new to Vando, and he wasn’t quite sure how to respond.

        “I--uh, well--” Vando shook his head again. “It matters not. What are you trying to say now?”

        Suddenly, her face turned from a sarcastic look to a sweet smile. “‘I just want to say thanks, that’s all.” 

Once more, confusion. Thanks? That was it? So simple, and yet…Vando had saved countless ponies from the horrors of the Everfree, and not one of them had stopped to give him their thanks. He felt strange inside, different from the usual dead bloodlust that had filled him since Reyna died. What was this? Was it...happiness?

        Grumbling, Vando muttered his appreciation then turned around, heading back to his hut.

        “Wait, what are ya doin?”

        He stopped and sighed. “Going home.” Turning, he saw her confused look. “What, is that a crime?”

        “No, course not.” The mare said giggling. “I was just wonderin’ why you didn’t even ask my name. That was a nice joke though.”

        Vando was genuinely surprised now. Nopony he’d ever saved had gone to these lengths to know their savior. One glare from him, and they’d usually run. It was just odd. Everypony in the nearby settlement knew him as the Hermit of the Everfree. Foals were warned to stay away from his wayward abode. Yet, despite that, here was this mare he’d just met, making sure he’d get her name.

        Sighing, Vando turned and looked her right in the eye. “Very well...what is your name?”

        “The name’s Apple Strudely.” Strudely replied, smiling. “What’s yours?” She stuck out her hoof, inviting him to come closer.

        At first, Vando’s instinct was to run. He’d been an outcast for so long, and most everypony knew him as the strange stallion who lived in the Everfree Forest. His head told him to sprint in the opposite direction, to continue hiding away from society, from the fight, from the Assassins, and more importantly, from himself.

        But his heart told him something else. It told him to make a decision that would change the course of not just his future, but that of all of Equestria. His heart told him to embrace the world again, to rejoin society, and to finally face the pony he’d become. It told him to move on from his life, from his past, and from Reyna.

        Shaking, Vando inhaled deeply, and made his decision.

        He took a step forward. 





Octavia’s mind came back, having finished her latest memory session. She’d been persuing through more of Vando’s memories for training, but this one seemed important. It seemed to be the moment where Vando broke his exile. Opening her eyes, she saw the forest that she’d been meditating in, and sighed. She’d spent enough time here. The gray Assassin stood up.

A snapped branch behind her brought Octavia out of her thoughts. She twirled around, hidden blades unsheathed to see...Luna.

“Princess?” Octavia said, sheathing her blades. “What are you doing here?”

Luna smiled, giving a mysterious aura. “Well, it is my duty to watch over the dreams of my subjects. That includes those under my command.”

“This is a dream?” Octavia looked around, and noticed that the scenery around her rippled slightly.

“Aye, it is, Octavia. The dreamscape is made of magic that flows through the minds of every pony in this world.” Luna said. “I alone can manipulate it. I have come to check up on you and the others.”

Upon hearing that, Octavia sat down on the grass, and sighed.

Luna frowned. “What is wrong, dear Octavia?”

“I failed, your Highness...” Octavia said, sounding defeated. “I couldn’t save Twilight Sparkle. I’ve failed you, Rainbow Dash, and Equestria.” Octavia curled up into a ball, tears beginning to fall. She stopped when she felt a presence join her on the ground, and opened an eye to see the Princess sitting next to her.

Luna stared up at the dream sky, and sighed. “You should know something. You of all the ponies involved should not grieve.”

“Why is that, Princess?”

Luna smiled sadly. “You did not know Twilight Sparkle as well as others. Rainbow Dash...she and Twilight were close friends. You were but acquaintances with her.”

Octavia shook her head furiously. “It’s not that. The things that could happen because of this...the things that will happen because of this...they weigh my heart down.”

“Twilight Sparkle once thought like that.” Luna said, an amused expression upon her face. “She thought that some disaster was to occur, and did all she could to stop it. She fortified all of Ponyville’s defences, went all the way to Tartarus to return Cerberus to her post, and even broke into a section of the Canterlot Archives that she was allowed access to 24/7, all to find a spell to prevent the disaster from coming to pass.”

Octavia sniffed “What happened?”

“Nothing. There was no disaster. All those signs she saw, she caused herself when trying to prevent a non-existent disaster. She caused herself more pain by trying to stop something that might have happened rather than thinking rationally and keeping calm.” Luna chuckled lightly, then looked somber. “She learned a valuable lesson that day...to simply think of the present and the task at hoof.

“That is something I want you to do now. Whatever may happen in the future, in the present you can do nothing to stop it. You still have a duty to me, the brotherhood, your friends, and to all of Equestria--to safeguard the peace. As an Assassin, you have do what must be done.”

“I...I know. You're right.” The gray mare looked into the eyes of her mentor, and saw that they were full of not only wisdom, but incredible pain and guilt. “Rector, if I may ask...who was Twilight Sparkle to you?”

The princess of the night raised an eyebrow. “And of what importance is this?”

“Your highness, you may be our ruler and leader, but you are not emotionless.”  Octavia said, looking into the eyes of her master. Those eyes...so bright and yet so dark, so young but so old.  “What was she to you?”

For a moment, all she did was stare back at Octavia. Her eyes showed images, images of war and peace, happiness and sorrow, defeat and triumph. Octavia saw the age in her eyes, though her body might not have shown it. Then, Luna sighed.

“‘Tis none of your business, dear Octavia.” She said, turning around. “You have more important matters to tend to.”

Octavia reluctantly pushed the subject aside. “Like what, Rector? Twilight is gone. I’ve failed.”

“Yet didn’t They predict that would happen?” 

Octavia didn’t know how to respond. The Voice had said that Twilight would die...but what had it said afterwards?

Luna shook her head, and her horn glowed. An image of of the moment where Octavia was possessed by Them appeared, and the Voice echoed throughout the dreamscape.

“ONCE IT HAS COME TO PASS, TAKE THIS ONE AND SEEK OUT THE TIME TRAVELLER. HE WILL PROVIDE THE ANSWERS.”

Octavia stood there, watching herself continually repeat the cryptic message. Time traveller? Time travel magic was still in it’s experimental stage, so this was impossible! What could this mean? 

Luna’s horn stopped glowing, and the image faded away. “I sense that you have much confusion clouding your mind.”

“A-aye. I do, Rector.” The gray mare said, her mind racing. “Time travel was only done once before, by Twilight herself.”

        The Rector chuckled again. “Officially, that was the only time. But there is another who has done it.” Her attitude became serious. “Seek out the one you call Derpy Hooves. She will take you to the stallion whom you seek.”

        “I don’t understand! Please, tell me more!” Octavia pleaded. She looked into her leader’s eyes, desperate for an answer.

        Luna simply stared back, before closing her eyes and shaking her head. “Nay, I may not. Only he can give you answers.” Her horn began to glow again, and the dreamscape started to disappear as she flew backwards into a void. “Now, it is time to wake up! Find the time traveller, and you will know what to do! Avenge Twilight Sparkle!”

        Before she faded away, Octavia heard a faint voice. “Avenge my only friend!”



               

        Octavia awoke, a chill surrounding her body. She opened her eyes to see the ceiling of an overhanging thatched roof of the inn they were staying in. The gray mare shivered; looking to her right, she saw that somepony had left the window open of. The chill of the morning air seeped in freely, and it sunk into Octavia’s body. She suddenly scrunched up her face.

        “A-ah-ah, ACHOO!”

        “Bless you.”

        Octavia bolted up, a knife in her hoof, ready to fight to the death. She looked towards the source of her intruder to see Jackle sitting in a chair to her left reading a book. Immediately she put down her weapon, closing her eyes and sighing.

        “Jackle, don’t do that. I don’t like being startled.” Octavia said, massaging her head. She opened an eye and looked out the window. She started; it was snowing now. “How long was I asleep?”

        Jackle checked the clock. “About twelve hours, give or take. It’s one in the afternoon now.”

        “Twelve hours?!” Octavia yelped. “I had set the alarm for nine! What happened?”

        “You had a tiring night, so naturally Rainbow Dash took it upon herself to allow you rest.” The griffon grunted, putting his head in his claws. “She however, didn’t allow herself any.”

        “What do you mean?”

        Jackle stared at the window. “She got up just a few hours after we went to bed and left. That’s why the window’s open.”

        Octavia slapped her forehead. “That mare...always so brash. Where did she go? After the killer?”

        “Nay, I think not.” Jackle said, shaking his head. “She said something about watching something.”

        The mare sat in her bed, thinking. Where could Rainbow Dash have gone? Suddenly, the morning cold and the snowy winds were broken by a soft tune--a funeral dirge.

        “Of course...” Octavia muttered, getting out of bed. “Jackle, stay here. I’ll be back.”

        The griffon nodded, and waved his claws at her. Knowing that their temporary base would be safe, she leapt out of the window.





        Snow fluttered down from above as Octavia made her way through the streets of Ponyville. The atmosphere was somber, and the whole town seemed tense, as if it was holding its breath. Octavia ignored her urge to cry and walked along the empty stores. 

        After what had seemed like an eternity of walking, Octavia finally made it to town square. The funeral for the beloved Twilight Sparkle was going on at the base of Town Hall, with each of her friends got up to depart their final words to their fallen friend. Rarity was off to the side comforting a sobbing Fluttershy, while PInkie Pie gave a saddened speech about the first time she met Twilight in Ponyville. Applejack was off to the side, her stetson covering her eyes. The snow had stopped, but the chill remained in the air. Up at the front of the crowd behind Twilight’s friends, stood Princess Celestia, who was staring forlornly at her student’s casket. Everypony that was close to the unicorn was here.

        There was just one problem. One pony was absent from the crowd: Rainbow Dash.

        The black-maned Assassin pushed through the crowd and looked around, trying to locate the missing mare. She looked all around the cloud, but couldn’t see any trace of her.

        Use your senses, young one.

        Octavia paused. What was that voice? 

        Close your eyes, and feel the world around you.

        Octavia looked around, but found nopony around looking at her. Everypony was focused on the funeral ahead, and was either staring up front or at the ground. Still, that voice...it sounded familiar. It echoed in her mind, almost giving her a headache. But what had it said again?

        “Close your eyes…” She whispered. Her eyelids shut slowly. “...and feel the world around you.” Octavia breathed in and out deeply, but for a moment, nothing seemed to have happened. Then, she noticed something.

        There was a sound that was particular to her in the air. Something she’d heard hundreds of times before, but never really took notice until now. It was the sound of the wind, but it seemed almost slowed and muffled. Through that, she could feel everything around her. She could smell the scent of the lilacs left on Twilight’s coffin, she could hear the creak of the bones of the pony next to her. Behind her, there was a dank smell...somepony hadn’t bathed in a while. Far off, about twenty paces to her right, she heard the sobs of Twilight’s parents.

        All of this, all of these sensations, came to her in under a second, and with that, she was able to paint a picture of what it looked like in her head. There was a group of roughly seventy ponies here, and each seemed to give off an aura. She could feel this aura, and thought back to something Princess Luna had taught her not long ago.

        All ponies have magic inside them. It reflects who they are, and if you focus on things you are looking for, you can find those things in a crowd of a thousand.

        Of course. Luna had tried to train her in this ability, but had failed at the time. Now...it seemed different. Knowing that, Octavia focused on two things...a citrus scent, and a courageous yet broken spirit. Again for a few moments, there was nothing. Then an aura flared behind her, and she turned her attention back. Up on a roof was a figure surrounded by a golden glow--the aura. Opening her eyes, Octavia faced the direction of the figure, and saw a lone cyan robed pegasus atop a building. Finally, she’d found Rainbow Dash.

        Octavia exited the crowd and ran to the building. She began her ascent, using every ledge as a step to get up the wall. When she’d made it to the top, Rainbow Dash still hadn’t moved. Knowing that no words could console her friend, Octavia simply moved over next to her and sat down. For a while, nopony spoke. Then--

        “I’m worthless.”

        Octavia frowned. “What makes you say that?”

        “I joined the Assassin’s for two reasons.” Rainbow Dash said, her face covered by her hood. “To avenge my parents, and to protect my friends.” She spat bitterly. “Some protector I was.”

        “Rainbow, you can’t feel like that.” Octavia said softly. “There was nothing you could’ve done.”

        Turning towards Octavia, Rainbow Dash glared at her with bloodshot eyes. “You think I don’t know that? That’s precisely why I’m worthless! I couldn't do anything to save her.” Her hoof slammed down, punching a dent in the roof. “I can’t live with myself right now.”

        “Then how about you just die?”

        Both Assassin’s whirled around to see a heavily built Pegasus smirking at the two of them. He was wearing armor akin to that of the royal guard, with metal also covering his wings. But one thing stood out on the chestplate: a blood red cross. He was a Templar. Octavia unsheathed her hidden blades, as did her partner.

        “Who are you?” Rainbow snarled. “I am in the mood to slice up some Templar flank, so you better answer my question.”

        To the surprise of the two, the stallion laughed. “Oh please, you can’t be serious. Idle threats don’t scare me.” He walked closer to the two Assassins, and with each step they got even more tense. Seeing this, he chuckled. “Relax, I’m here to talk. Why don’t we sit down and listen to that wonderful music?” He pointed down to the funeral, where Fluttershy’s song birds were singing a song dedicated to the fallen unicorn.

        “You bastard!” Rainbow hissed, rushing forward to gouge his eyes out. “How could you say something like--”

        Octavia held her friend back. “Rainbow Dash, calm down! He’s obviously got something to tell us.” Noticing his built body and twin swords at his side, she added, “And I’ve got a feeling he can handle the two of us.”

        The pegasus smirked. “Smart choice, young Octavia. Smarter than the one your mother made.”

        Her blood chilled. “It was you? You killed her?”

        “Maybe, maybe not.” He shrugged. “Let’s sit down, thought. I flew here all the way from Canterlot, so I’d like a rest.” He plopped down, and extended a hoof to the two. “The name’s Gladius. Gladius Strongwings.” Octavia and Rainbow Dash sat down cautiously, but ignored the offer of a hoofshake. Shrugging, Gladius sighed. “Whatever. I guess they don’t teach manners in the Assassins. Anyways, I have a message from the Maestro.”

        “What is it?” Rainbow spat, trying her best to remain calm.

“The Maestro sends his deepest condolences.” The brown pegasus said, sighing. “You forced our hoof, Ms. Dash. Had you not, Twilight Sparkle would still be alive right now.”

Octavia stood up, furious. “What do you mean we forced your hoof?! We did nothing!”

“Oh, don’t play innocent with me!” Gladius said, snapping. “All the head honchos know you’ve sent spies to our headquarters. We just need to figure out who it is.”

Rainbow and Octavia glanced at each other. Vinyl was close to being discovered; they had to warn her somehow. Seeing the two of them converse silently, Gladius grinned sadistically. “I’m right, then? Then my work here is done.” He closed his eyes. “Confirmed. We have a spy at base. Suggest interrogating new recruits.”

Rainbow rushed forward, hidden blade ready to kill. As the blade was about to pierce his chest, his wing suddenly came between it and his body. The metal deflected the blade, and then slammed into the mare, knocking her aside onto her back. Octavia moved to help her friend, but Gladius then pulled out his two swords, putting one on Rainbow Dash’s neck and one pointed at Octavia’s chest.

“Move, I dare you.” Gladius said, snarling. “Move, and I’ll cut her throat before you can say Idahoof. You Assassin’s are fast, I’ll give you that, but I am faster.”

Octavia gritted her teeth, unsure of what to do. Should she try and move to save her friend? Or should she lower her blades?

The pegasus laughed. “Quite the bind you’re in here. How about this: I’ll make it easier for the both of you and simply kill you!” He started to swing his blades but was stopped when a gray blur knocked him aside, surprising him. Then a brown pony wearing a suit jacket appeared between him and the two Assassins, face dead serious. He held a strange device in his mouth, which buzzed with a high pitched noise. The swords shook then shattered sending shards of metal into their owner’s hooves. Gladius screamed, and fell. The pony put the device into a pocket inside his suit jacket. The blur landed by his side, turning out to be a gray pegasus mare with a blond mane.

“I’m sorry, but you won’t be doing anymore killing today.” The brown earth pony said, tone grave and sad. “You helped kill one of my friends. If you have any hope of living, then please...just stop.” The words seemed to wash over Gladius, who immediately stood down, albeit glaring at him all the same.

The pegasus growled. “Just who the hell are you?!”

The spiky maned stallion simply sighed. “Who am I? Who am I indeed. I get that question a lot. I have many names...the Oncoming Storm, the Navvie, the mad pony with a box.

“You Templars know me as the Doctor.”

Gladius’s eyes widened, and then narrowed. “I see. Well then…” His wings flared, and he gave Octavia and Rainbow a murderous look. “You got lucky this time, Assassin’s. The Doctor won’t always be there to save you. I give you warning now: stay out of our way, or you’ll be meeting Twilight Sparkle than you think.” With that, he took off, flying into the cold morning air. The one who called himself “Doctor” sighed, and turned to face Octavia and Rainbow Dash.

“You two...I assume you’re friends of Twilight?” He said, sadness twinkling in his eyes.

Rainbow only gave him a stony look. “Yeah. What’s it to you?”

The Doctor stared off into the snowy landscape. “The world, the universe...maybe even more.” He glanced at Rainbow Dash before letting out another sigh. “For you...I am so, so sorry. Twilight was a great friend of mine as well.” Derpy put a hoof on the Doctor’s shoulder, trying to comfort him.

“Anyways, Gladius is gone now. I suppose…” The Doctor held back a sob. “...I suppose I’ll just leave then.”

Octavia looked at him, surprised. “You’re not going to stay for the funeral? I thought Twilight was a good friend of yours.”

Derpy smiled sadly and spoke up. “He doesn’t like goodbyes. He just keeps moving on.”

“Derpy, that’s enough. We need to get moving.” He turned around, and started walking away.

Suddenly, a memory came to Octavia. “Wait, Doctor!” The brown pony halted. “I...we need your help.”

The Doctor turned and gave Octavia a bitter look. “I’ve fought one war. I will not be joining yours.”

Rainbow Dash flew over, knocking the Doctor over causing Derpy to yelp. In a flash, her hidden blade was at his throat. “Friend of Twilight’s or not, if you don’t help us then you’re helping them?”

He only gazed up at Rainbow calmly. “I’m sorry. I can’t fight with you.”

Octavia forced the cyan mare off of him. “Look, we don’t want you to fight with us. We need information.” She helped the Doctor to his hooves, and he brushed his suit jacket. “Please tell me you can at least give us that.”

The Doctor stared back at her. “Swear to me that no harm will come to Derpy. Swear it.”

“I swear.”

“Very well. Follow me.” The Doctor whirled around. “Alright, Derpy. Let’s go.” The gray pegasus picked him up and flew him back down to the ground, while the the two Assassin’s made their own way, Octavia scaling the building while Rainbow Dash flew.

Upon reaching the bottom, the Doctor suddenly turned around, smiling. “Now then! If you want to know who you’re facing, you’ll have to come with me. To the TARDIS we go!”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow coldly as the earth pony dashed off. “You’d think that Twilight never died.”

Derpy hovered a moment, smiling at Rainbow. “It’s like I said...he doesn’t like goodbyes. So, he just keeps moving.” The pegasus flew after the Doctor, into an alley off to the left. Rainbow Dash only shook her head, while Octavia had a bemused look upon her face. Shaking off their confusion, the pair rushed after the Doctor and Derpy, turning in the alley to see that they had...disappeared? Octavia walked forward, searching the entire alley. All there was was a strange blue box at the end, but it was nowhere near big enough to fit two ponies. She dismissed it and opened a trash can lid...until a head popped out from the blue box.

“Oi! What are doing poking around the trash cans for, eh?” The Doctor said, frowning. “Get in here!”

         Rainbow Dash and Octavia could only stare at the pony, mouths gaping. Rolling his eyes, the Doctor walked out and pulled the two shell-shocked mares into the TARDIS. Once inside, their shock only increased. The box was not a box at all.  The interior was nowhere near the blue that it was on the outside. Instead, it had a golden orange glow to it, with towering spires rising in a curve to meet in the center of a dome. in the center was a strange control panel, covered in switches and buttons. In the middle of the control panel was a cylinder filled with pipes. But, the most striking thing was that...

“I-it’s...it’s…” Octavia stammered, eyes wide as she looked around. 

“Bigger on the inside, yeah I know.” The Doctor said, rushing around the control panel. “I’ve heard that a lot. But look, we don’t have all day.” Shaking herself and her partner out of their shock, the two Assassin’s trotted over to the panel, where the Doctor had pulled over a screen. He messed about with buttons, all while directing Derpy to go get him his special something out of the storeroom. After flipping a switch, the screen flared to life and the Templar symbol popped up on it.

The Doctor turned towards the two. “Now, what is it that you need?”

Rainbow took control. “We need to know what Gladius meant earlier by ‘head honchos.’ Those are probably the Templar leaders that we’ve been looking for for the past 20 years. Knowing their names would help.” 

“Alright, that’s easy enough.” The Doctor replied, pressing another few buttons. “Just a moment...press that to activate the cerebral complex...flip that to access the memory banks…” The screen was suddenly covered in strange circular symbols, before clearing up to reveal pictures of five ponies; Gladius was among them.

“So these guys are the leaders of the Templars?” Octavia said, putting a hoof to her chin.

The Doctor turned the screen towards himself. “Yup. These, dear Assassin’s, are the targets you seek.”

Analyzing the list, Octavia felt drawn to an elderly unicorn at the top. “Who is that?”

“That is Timeless Wonder, an old unicorn stallion who’s been with the Templars for several decades now. He was also the one behind the death of several paters in Manehattan. Probably also financed last night’s attack.” The Doctor frowned. “Not much of a fighter, however. Tends to get others to do his dirty work. He officially makes a living off of teaching history the Trottingham University, but there’s definitely something off about him.”

Turning towards Octavia, the Doctor gave a warning. “I’d watch out for him. He appears to have some strange connection with your family.”

“What kind of connection?”

The Doctor pursed his lips. “Can’t tell you. I’d be meddling too much. What I can say is that he may be connected to your mother and the true motive for her death.”

Sudden anger bloomed up inside Octavia. She turned to Rainbow Dash to see her studying the list of ponies on the screen.

“Madam Mater,” Octavia said, calling Rainbow Dash by her proper title. “Permission to hunt down this Templar leader.”

Rainbow Dash glanced over at her companion. “Yeah, you go ahead. Meanwhile…” She turned towards the Doctor. “I have other things I need to do. Doctor, can you print this list out for me?”

“Certainly.” The brown earth pony moved to the other side of the control panel and started pushing more buttons.

“Then please do it.” Rainbow Dash then turned towards Octavia. “I want you to look for this Timeless Wonder guy and take him out. I’ll take the list of these leaders back to headquarters. Report there when you’ve completed your task.

“You’re also to do this one on your own. I’ve seen you in action, Octavia.” Rainbow Dash said. “You can handle yourself now.”

Octavia nodded. “Alright. What will you do after you’ve delivered the list? Take out that Gladius guy? He seemed to have a major part in the death of Twilight Sparkle.”

The mater’s eyes went stony. “I would, but I have more important priorities. After delivering these, I need to make sure Vinyl’s okay.” 

"What about Jackle?"

"I'll take him with me. He's still at base, right?" Octavia nodded. "Then I'll go there before heading back to Canterlot."

“And here is the list!” The Doctor exclaimed, thrusting a piece of paper at Rainbow Dash. “Take that to Princess Luna, and tell her I sent my regards.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “What sort of regards?”

“Oh nothing. Just tell her the old meddler says hello.”

Derpy finally returned from the storeroom, carrying two small envelopes. “Doctor, I found what you’re looking for!”

“Ah yes, there they are!” He said, snatching them from his companion. “Thank you, Derpy.” The brown pony turned towards the Assassins. “Here, take these. They’re plans for something that could help you.” The Doctor’s eyes filled with fire. “I would not normally give these away, but Luna handed them to me a long time ago. I feel it is time it returned to the Assassins.” Looking pointedly at the two cloaked ponies, he gave them a warning. “Use them to protect, not to avenge. There’s a fine line, and many do not know where it is drawn. That is what created the Templars in the first place. Make sure you know when you’ve gone too far.”

Rainbow Dash took the envelopes, handing one to Octavia. “These hold plans? What kind?”

“Blueprints for an extension for the hidden blade. You can get yours made once you get to your headquarters.” The Doctor glanced at Octavia. “You, on the other hoof, will probably have to get it made elsewhere. There aren’t many blacksmiths around anymore, but I know somepony that can help you, both with these plans and finding Timeless Wonder. Seek out Photo Finish in Las Pegasus. She’ll help you.

“Now, that’s all the help I can give.”: The Doctor said, walking over to the TARDIS door and opening it. “Anymore, and I’ll be endangering not only Derpy but the world.”

Rainbow studied the list of ponies one last time before stuffing it into her robes and walking out. “Thanks, Doctor. What you did here was pretty cool. I’ll make sure Derpy is safe.”

Octavia followed her leader. “Likewise, Doctor. Thank you for your help.”

“It was my pleasure.” The Doctor closed the door, and a few seconds later, the box disappeared with a groaning noise.

Rainbow and Octavia stood there for a moment, staring at the place the blue box had once stood. Snapping herself out of her shock, Octavia turned towards Rainbow Dash.

“Well...I guess this is farewell then, Rainbow Dash.” Octavia said, extending a hoof at her.

Rainbow stared at Octavia’s hoof, before bumping it with hers. “Nah, it’s not. We’ll see each other again.” She pulled Octavia in for a hug, and whispered into her ear. “Find that bastard Timeless Wonder and make him pay for what happened last night.”

Octavia drew away. “I will. You make sure Vinyl’s alright.” 

“You can count on me.” Rainbow Dash said, spreading her wings. She breathed in the cool air, feeling the chill fill her lungs. “Looks like it’ll be a while before I can see Twilight again. Time to fly.” With that, she took off, flying farther and farther into the sky until she was a speck in the sky.

Octavia stared in the direction that the pegasus flew off into, before turning around and walking out of the alley. Once out, she threw up her hood and began walking down the empty street. Feeling the snow crunch beneath her hooves and the frozen wind blow against her fur, Octavia was filled with the same feeling that her ancestor Vando had when he was stalking the manticore. She smiled a smile barely visible from underneath her hood.

It was time to hunt.