When All Hope Was Lost...
"There are seven things that can destroy ourselves and that is politics without principle, wealth without work, happiness without control, knowledge without good deeds, business without morality, belief without sacrifice and science without humanity."-Mahatmas Gandhi.
"WAR"
Spike sighed deeply and awfully upon saying the word and slowly closed his eyes in sorrow. Because anyone could already tell, Nopony liked war, neither do anyone need it at all, including him. Everyone sane enough knew well that war has brought nothing good but pain, suffering, loss, unexplainable torture, agonizing abuse to stallions and mares alike, ruthlessness, calamity, destruction, obliteration, humiliation and unnecessary millions of death and heartless murder, especially the death of the innocent.
Some say these would be the cost of fighting for what they think was right, but in truth... does it matter anymore to the victims? Many lives were claimed in the process for the usual things we fight for: freedom, conquer, defense and much more than that. Yet they believe that in order to achieve them they had no choice but had to sacrifice and situations like these could potentially turn violent, opposing one another. Thus, starting a war was what they think was the only way to earn it. Some knew for those like them who thought the war would be a bad idea.
Unfortunately, it had happened before. It had occurred more than twice. War exist and had been transpired in Equestria since the dawn of time. Even royalty had been the victims of this. It had been crumbling civilization down to earth, crushed poniality into pieces and has spilled liters of blood of the victims. Spike will not like it, nor he ever will in his life. Because it has once already separated from his caretaker, friends and acquaintances he once knew and come to love, he was sure that he will never see them again. It has brought him misery, heart break and made him do life-staking choices that could either make or break him or someone else involved with it.
Some ponies who were out of their mind did quote war had brought some good in the world. In some cases, that would be true but it still doesn't change the fact between the balance of the outcome of it. It was clear the bad side outnumbered the opposite and rather ponies saw war as a genesis to pestilence, and declared no more than that conclusion.
He hung his head down gently. He's trying to remember how another war began during his childhood life. Although true, it was more of a raid and instant capture but it was just as bloody as was its father. He shuddered and also wished not to remember how that tragic event ever happened, but it lingered in his mind painfully and he couldn't stand the agony anymore. So he might as well let it slide than force it in, hoping that this would end quickly.
He closed his eyes and slowly, the events was starting to be clearer and was now fully remembered. The same that had happen earlier before. It was during Twilight's Coronation Day...
The sun was exceptionally hot and bright, the sky was clear as day and the residents cheered and applaud at the coronation hall. Confetti was rained and scattered everywhere like doves flying about with the cool air and wind entered the hall from the windows and open entrances supported their flight cooled the room, the roars of cheer filled the hall and happiness was cultivated in everypony's hearts.
Twilight Sparkle, a star student of the Sun Goddess, Princess Celestia, was finally crowned Princess. Everypony, especially her family and friends were very proud of her, especially her brother who ended up nearly bawling his eyes a bit in a closet because of this glorious event. But to put it altogether, most of their feelings are unexplainable as far as anyone knew. She was the most amazing heroine who has ever saved Equestria from destructive chaos and who have ever lived. She also have stood up tall and brave with the aid of her friends and the Elements Of Harmony when they have fought with many villains such as Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra against calamity and pestilence. She has done more than enough just for her magnificent world. It is something that she and her friends shall treasure forever in their whole life.
However, all of this celebration and happiness has been able to disguise something hidden, something bad. Something terribly devastating and evil. And it will wipe away their delightful faces and break a lot of love, once and for all.
Blending in the noisy crowd, somepony wearing a cap with the shadow veiling his eyes is a professional disguised soldier of an evil army that will ambush the parade just by giving his simple signal. The pony turned to another group of crowd and eyed another pony between them, instantly recognized as his comrades. With both of them managed to smirk, they nodded at each other simultaneously and then they unleashed their attack. They removed their daggers under the sights of the others and began making their way towards their target, pushing a bit here and there. When they got close enough, they reacted and assaulted and stabbed two royal guards that were escorting the Princesses from behind at the back of the neck, killing them instantly as they forcefully let out their final breath and collapsed onto the floor.
Everything was quiet for a few seconds, all shocked at what just happened. Soon enough, a fire out of nowhere came and encircled the two murderers. To their surprise, the flame was green, a colour they all are too familiar with. Thee two were done uncloaking themselves and revealed themselves.
They were the Changelings.
The once happy environment in the hall has quickly turned into unexplainable chaos. An army of Changelings has swarmed the hall that were hiding in the pillars and entrances. The guards raised the alarm, calling for back up immediately. But unfortunately many other soldiers were already taken out. Hoof soldiers had been stabbed and hacked to death; archers above were already exterminated before the attack to prevent any unexpected defense from high ground; pegasus soldiers were already shot down during their mid-air flight to the castle, shutting down any possibility for air rescue. The Changelings had succeeded on making the ponies defenseless. Many ponies panicked, everypony began to attempt to flee but since panic filled their hearts, it was every pony for themselves. Some tripped down and for those who were unlucky, got trampled by the crowd. Children were segregated from their parents in the massive horde and most would never be seen again, these had made the situation a lot more worse. The two Princesses and The Elements Of Harmony were taken back by this sudden assault and confused of what was going on. They huddled up in one big group to protect themselves from shattering disorder. Sadly, Many unfortunate civilians that were trying to escape had been killed and slaughtered by the Changelings as they drew closer to their target, The Princesses.
The room was starting to fall apart. From the bodies of pegasi falling to the floor very hard and the splattered blood that was coldly horrified the white marble floor of the massacred ponies to the smoke emerged from the burning banners, the erupted part of the castle and other flammable ornaments and green-coloured explosions happening outside the hall like it was fatal, dangerous fireworks painting the sky orange and the clouds dark . The atmosphere was enough to feel anyone with fear and hopelessness. A feeling that anyone would never forget and it filled their minds with terrible thoughts.
Spike, who was there during the assault, was breathing rapidly and grasping tightly onto Twilight Sparkle's leg. His trembling eyes that had witnessed the horror of manslaughter of ponies started to form tears. His ears was filled with what once was roaring laughter was devastatingly replaced with screams of help and cries of pain. The presence of smoke and choking dust began to fill the room, the vibration on the floor began to subside. He couldn't believe any of this was happening right now and he's practically scared out of his mind. He's started to feel terribly uncomfortable and turning stone cold as his shaking feet has like glued on the marble floor he's standing on.
Out of all the disorder and confusion, A familiar female Changeling with her soldiers emerged out from the smoke with an evil grin implanted on her face and walked casually towards the Princesses. The Princesses saw the face of someone they wouldn't want to see again. The face that was all too familiar with to hate. They started to frown as anger filled in their hearts.
"It's you, Chrysalis..." they gritted their teeth and prepared a fighting stance and their magic at arms.
"Oh, it's so nice that you remember me after all this time," she sneered.
"Why are you doing this?" Twilight furiously asked while she readied her magic.
"Don't you remember?" she rubbed her hoof on the bloodstained red carpet for a while before she continued on.
"During the wedding, I always hoped that I would have Equestria one day when I've succeeded on marrying your brother, Twilight." she looked down on Twilight and lowered her head until she's eye to eye on her.
"Until you defeated me, that is," her voice suddenly added a tone of anger, flinched Twilight inside but didn't show her fear.
"But as you can apparently see, I may be once defeated but I didn't give up. So when I heard about your coronation, I knew for sure that is my chance to strike."Her voice suddenly changed back to mockingly normal.
"And that chance have finally brought you tumbling down, how cliché." Her words already started to intense the Princesses into unexplainable fury.
"Give us one good reason why we should spare you this time." angered Princess Luna until to the core.
"Oh sorry, I don't think I've any reason to say it. Because you can already see it yourself, you had to," Chrysalis let out an evil chuckle.
The princesses had tried to unleash their power but somehow their magic was lost suddenly as something was draining them. They could feel their powers and themselves getting weaker. With every cringe and cry they tried to fight it off, but it was already tampered useless. They're now toppled and helpless.
Chrysalis just had the nerve to insult them,
"Oh, I see that you are in pain. Don't worry, the agony won't last... fortunately for you, that is. It's something that I have learned from someone generous enough to give me the knowledge of the Spell of Deprivation."
Chrysalis then ordered her soldiers beside her to apprehend them. She could already imagined how her life is going to change drastically. With the Elements Of Harmony condemned and in her hoofs, nothing shall stop her, now and forever.
Spike, who hid behind the group throughout the whole time and had said nothing throughout the entire conversation amongst the destruction and cruelty around them, did something that he's not proud of. As the Changelings drew closer to the group, he took the opportunity to escape through a nearby window and jump off into a lake. Apparently, Twilight or either anyone wasn't paying attention to him and wasn't able to catch him escaping through the window.
"I'm sorry, Twilight..." he whispered to himself in shame before he began to dive into the murky water.
" Spike, NO!"Twilight screamed, but it was too late. He already jumped off yelling in fear into the lake.
"Don't! Let him go." Celestia stopped her.
Celestia knew he did the right thing. Even if he has ditched them all unexpectedly, she knew that later he will save them to make it up. Besides, he could do more than just saving them. She'll just need more time to herself figuring it out what and how. And by the looks of it, she was going to get more than enough solving it...
Spike opened his baggy eyes slowly as he was warped back into reality. Despite the reasonable light emitting from the candle he took from somewhere in the ancient castle where the princesses once lived a long time ago and it's where he had accompanied Twilight to help her, he can only see darkness and pain. His throat felt dry and even the mild jungle smell around him didn't soothe his nerves either. All he could hear is the heavy downpour outside and the sound reflected what he currently felt, guilt.
He felt guilty of what he had done because what he did was a selfish act to save his own sorry ass. He always thought he could've at least dragged some pony with him, but no. It's too late for that, it's too late to make amends. He could only wish that his heart would fail to operate and just put an end to his misery so he wouldn't have the unpleasant guilt sitting on his shoulders, once and for all.
Spike shuffled uncomfortably against the library's bookshelf. He sat there an hour ago and hasn't moved at all aside a few shifting here and there. He hasn't the mood to get up anyway. That memory hanged sorely in his mind. Terribly riddled with lost hope and self-anguish.
After a few more hours of Spike starring disappointingly at the flame of the candle, he finally got up standing. He needed something to do to get his mind off of that terrible event. He turned around gloomily and started browsing at least a book to read or anything. Eventually, he found one that seemed interesting.
But when he tried removing the book from the shelf, he heard a loud clunk as if he'd unlocked something. Spike startled when he turned and found the source of the mysterious sound.
He saw the whole fireplace seemed to be mechanically ascending. At first he had no idea that the book he pulled revealed another secret entrance, but he didn't find this surprising when he sarcastically said,
"Well, this castle has an endless amount of secrets. I'm very sure I've just revealed another one," as if he's not interested to know.
Yet, something inside him wanted to delve deeper into the castle's secrets. Curiosity was one of them but it must be something else as if a voice beckoned him towards the tunnel that caught his attention. Finally, he decided to explore it, since he didn't have a choice when it was cold outside and rain would make him sick.
He lifted his candle up slowly, not wanting to douse the flames and began walking towards the entrance. Once entered, he was definitely glad he brought his candle with him because the arched hallway was evidently covered with nothing but darkness. Addition with the presence of sound of rainwater dripping, rats scuffling back into their holes occasionally spooked him and creepy, entangled roots that has managed to penetrate the bricks of the walls around him had made themselves home in them. Yet, he must keep going as if there's no turning back now. He felt like he was worthy enough to explore this unknown hallway and he couldn't give up moving.
While walking, he did a quick observation of the bricks that surrounded him. The bricks felt ancient, no surprises there. But the color seemed to contrast of what the outside looks like. It was much more rougher than the others. He could only assume that these would probably be sandstones; something ponies would use as construction material back in the old days he supposed.
He finally arrived at the end of the dark hallway for what he felt was like an hour and into what it seems to be a big, dark and empty room. He scanned the room around him and couldn't see anything in detail considering darkness has fogged his visions. Luckily, he found a large fireplace to lit up the area around him. He tossed his candle into the fireplace with somehow filled with charcoal that was still able to light up and it suddenly burst into flames, giving light to the room.
Spike shielded his eyes casually and waited for them to readjust his vision to the new light. Once recovered, he was surprised to find more things than he expected.
The room he's currently in seems to be a hideout of an organization of some sort. The objects around him already is enough as a clue to what this room was. On his right stood a brown, rotting table with a lone chair. The table had a stack of parchments already starting disintegrated by termites and on top of it contains possibly an already dried out ink bottle and a slightly used quill inserted into it and a candle which was partially used. He could only assume that was the table to write letters for all he knew.
Spike also noticed a golden chest that sat on a cushion in a dust-covered glass located in the middle of the room, all placed on a stone altar. He thought whatever it was, it must be really important to refrain anyone touching it. But he could already tell, no one is here to stop anyone from doing it. He's pretty sure the guardians of the chest was already deceased by now. So, he might as well have his chance to have a look inside.
So he came closer to the glass-protected chest and didn't hesitate to shatter the case by using his elbow as a hammer. He lifted the lock up and with a rapid click, lifted the lid open with a creaking sound as the rusty hinges grind on itself.
Inside it was enough to open his mouth in amazement. He saw a couple of dangerous weapons and firearms he had never seen before and underneath them is an unidentified-looking robe of some sorts.
His head was filled with surprised and confused thoughts. What were these doing in here? Were these the weapons belong to someone as a killer? Was this organization belong to assassins? His head was fogged with boggling theories.
Still, curiosity got the better of him and if he wanted to prove his theory right, he had to know he needed to examine the weapons in detail. One by one, He carefully lifted the weapons in case he was afraid he might damage it some more and could lose certain information, and set them down in order on the table beside him, depending on there obvious look.
The first one he took a closer look was the rusted and blunted scimitar with the blade made of bronze. The blade appeared to be losing its sharpness, probably used many times. He also eventually and shockingly found out the wooden handle was loose and on the verge of breaking it off from the blade. Before he could investigate any further on the weapon, he lay the sword down before the handle could snap. He decided it's best he shouldn't meddle with it any longer, or else he could render the sword completely useless to him. Weapon or not.
The second one was the infamous silent crossbow. He was surprised that this weapon was never seen or used in Ponyville, or Equestria before for that matter. Of course he had seen an archery bow before and some diagrams and blueprints in papyrus of early prototypes of it inside history books, but finding and holding the actual finished version of it was just astounding as he would find crystals in his pocket that he never once knew he had it before for a long time.
Yet somehow he's glad that although the rope required a little mending, it was still in good enough condition to be used again. All he needed now was a few cross bolts to make it usable, that is if he could find anyone synthesize those. He later placed it back down on the table.
The last one he checked was the unknown object complete with leather straps and belts onto some kind of wrist-guard. At first he couldn't figure out what it was, and it didn't help when there's no type of instruction or guide or even at least a title inside the chest for him to use as identification. For a moment it took a while for him to decipher it by measuring and testing it out but he managed to reveal it was supposed to be worn on the wrist. He figure that would be the answer because he tested measuring and wearing it around his limbs and almost all of them didn't seem logical or too large to fit there except for the wrist.
At that moment he also found a rectangular bulge partially sticking out of the armor and was also connected to a small hole in the bracer. He now had to figure out if the hole did have any functionality, and if it did he needed to figure out how it operates and why was it connected to the armor in the first place.
He tried examining it much more carefully for the first few times and even tried pressing certain parts of the leather belts that seemed to be a button at the very least but to no avail, his search of any buttons or anything that was related to the mysterious hole was merely fruitless. He was about to give up and just declare it as a simple armor and nothing more until he had a thought that came into his mind.
Maybe it wasn't supposed to have a button or something like that. I think my hand or wrist somehow plays a role in this thing.
He played around with his hand for a bit to see if it worked and sure enough, it did. When he tried flicking his wrist, it suddenly unsheathed a sharp blade, shiny and still in the best condition. He jumped a bit when it instantly withdrew the dagger, because he never anticipated it to be a weapon in the first place. What he saw at first was just a thick, leather bracelet either for an ancient, simple decoration for the wrist or even an early-version of an ordinary armor for it in the past, but since he unintentionally withdrew the blade, he finally thought otherwise.
He hesitantly took it off and lightly chuck it onto the table, watching it roll ever so slightly forward before turning completely stationary. He just couldn't bear to see anyone who would use that,or more correctly anyone who would use those . And why would they created this for anyway? Murdering or self-defense protection? The least he could do is preferred the latter would be the answer than the former.
Then, he examined the second bracelet and wore it on his other wrist and did the same thing as he did with the other bracelet to see if it worked as well, but he thought otherwise when it didn't seem to unsheathe the blade when he tried it out a few times.
Too rusty or probably broken I think. Weird the other one was working fine, though.
But he couldn't just leave it there as garbage, he could feel something told him that these weapons could be used for his aid and in the end decided he rather keep it with him, just in case. Who knows anyone or anything out there can restore the other half of the broken weapon back to being functional again. He placed the defected arsenal back onto the table for now until he could figure out how he could store it with him later.
He did realize he was missing another thing still in the chest that he hadn't extracted it out yet. He then walked over to the chest and tilt his head forward to have a better look. An attire of some sorts still folded was just lying there. He then groped on what he believed was the shoulder part of the outfit and lifted it up to examine in much further detail. He then lay it down on the same table he set down the weapons, only he placed the robe on the free space.
He took a moment to scan the robe further. It seems that it has the proportion and the shape of a bipedal creature or a living thing like that might wear, with an exception there's no at the back of the bottom of the robe, which to him felt kind of strange. Considering he knew no one would wear something like this. But only one look at the symbol on the belt, he finally knew what organization this room was.
It's a symbol of the Assassin Order. Spike read a theory somewhere where Equestria was once ruled by dragons before they were overthrown by the pony race, and there was an organization of assassins that time. He also read that the mentor who was behind the organization was a young dragon and a Master Assassin that went by the name, Altair Ibn La-Ahad, who had saved the city from the power-thirsty order called Templars.
This hideout that Spike was in was another refuge for assassins to plan eradicate the order in the town and whatnot in Ponyville, or at least once previously known as Fiery CapeTown since most of the citizens lived there were dragons and most believed in a fire-breathing god. It seemed the theory was proven right but it became a theory because no one at that era could write down their history and when the ponies took over the land and nearly found next to no traces or evidence dragons once lived there.
Spike suddenly had an idea. Although the Assassin order may have been eradicated once, there's still a chance that it could be re birthed for his convenience. He could use it to take Equestria back to its natural state as it should be, he could stop that Chrysalis from ruling it once and for all and most importantly, he could rescue Twilight from imprisonment and live together again as it was before.
But Spike knew that task won't be easy. And in his current condition where he was once traumatized and incapable to live alone, was proof enough he didn't have the qualification to do this alone and was too young to do it anyway.
But then he remembered someone could help him. He just past her house when he ran for safety and took refuge in the castle here. She appeared to be a skillful fighter, well it isn't surprising since the area she lives in wasn't exactly friendly to her and had to obtain a skill like that to survive.
It may seem unlikely for her to take care of him even if he asked for it, but if she's willing to do so she could train him to be a perfect warrior. An assassin.
But first he needed to get there. Unfortunately the roads weren't memorable to him and with the shade of night in the sky, it didn't made him any easier to find them either. Moreover, the forest is never a safe place to be at any time especially when the moon is out in the sky and highly nocturnal, wild, dangerous and specifically desperately hungry beast are usually hiding for their prey to come and on the prowl for food. And Spike wasn't being enthusiastic to become one either. He rather have his life still with him than having his body stolen and used as a small snack.
He searched the examination table (that's what he called the table he have placed the robe and weapons recently) for anything he could use as protection. So far he picked up the 'hidden blade' and finally wore it again as it seems the only capable option he had. Although he didn't like the idea of using it to harm something or someone with it but he didn't have much of a choice either, others just seem useless or they're in a condition that had rendered them ineffective and would only slow him down or make unnecessary noise anyway and that would attract unwanted animals to him, especially for those who have a strong sense of hearing.
He later went back the way he came in before while he wiped the sweat off his forehead. To be honest, he never felt too hot inside the room until he started to take his leave. But the heat was short-lived and when he came out of the entrance, and the shivering cold that reminded him when he was feeling regretful to himself bombarded him. Although the downpour has ceased, the atmosphere's temperature remained a bit low and anything the rainwater was able to reach had turned stone and trees slippery and roads and dirt muddy. Still, he was also glad to get some fresh air as he was just now mostly breathing mostly carbon dioxide and that would be a bad case for his respiratory systems.
But he needn't worry about that, anyway. He must get to her friend's hut, Zecora or die trying. He tested the blade on his left wrist once more for reassurance it still functions properly, and set off into the wilderness.
The vines around were soaked earlier water dripped onto the wet grass. Many insects made deafening noises that amplified the quiet forest. The sound of footsteps crunching on the dirt could be heard as Spike was walking casually but still high on alert. The darkness shortened his line of sight critically but that didn't stop him from moving into it, he had other plans than being scared in the dark.
After walking a few minutes, he heard the bushes suddenly rustling that turned him high-profile. He unsheathed his blade and was ready for whatever is out there. He just needed to wait and be brave.
Something emerged from the bush and upon closer inspection it turned out to be a figure of a lone pony. Of course anyone could tell that figure could be anypony, but the figure had other characteristics that differ otherwise. And Spike was quick to notice them and could already tell who it is. He turned low-profile, let his guard down and slip the blade back in since the pony wouldn't hurt anyone. Which was his first mistake that would nearly killed him.
"Zecora!' he called out.
The zebra was apparently surprised. Too surprised. Spike's cry made her withdrew her spear and threw blindly towards the direction of the yell and immediately took off. Luckily, the throw made the spear to stick itself onto a nearby tree and missed her unintentional target. Spike, who recovered from the shock of nearly getting man slaughtered by somepony who's the least likely to harm a fly for spooking her, give chase to Zecora before she could get away.
Spike hate to admit it, but Zecora was faster than him and already went too far for Spike to catch up. Back then he tried calling out to her but he guess either she couldn't hear him or panic made her ears deaf. It made Spike a lot difficult when he also made sure he would avoid whatever Zecora tried to slow him down, but that didn't alter the fact that Zecora outran him and he lost sight of her.
He gave up running by the time Zecora was out of his vision. He could only pant heavily and could only think of another way to solve the problem he was in at that moment. Considering he ran out of other ideas that could work.
He turned his head and was getting ready to head back to the ruined castle until he realized that Zecora had led him some unknown part of the forest where the roads weren't present and a place where trees overtook his height and blocked most of his field of vision. To put it simply, he was lost somewhere in a location he had no memory of being there before.
The atmosphere felt tense. It was mostly dark and he couldn't see anything in front of him except for some light from the moon seeping through the holes of the trees illuminating the area from little to none at all.
The feeling of being alone and helpless was beginning to get into him. His wits were starting to shatter, his sanity began to lower. This was made more noticeable as he started to breath rapidly, his heart pounding at a faster rate and his contracted pupils began to tremble in fear of being alone in the dark once again. To tell the truth he wasn't actually scared of the darkness considering he experienced this way before and was able to lose of the fear, the thing that frightened him was he was alone and very, very vulnerable. Nopony else was around to accompany with or protect him. He was on his own and the only thing that could be with him at that moment are unwanted animals or anything even illogical that could kill him in a blink of an eye.
Suddenly, he remembered something, as if something reminded him about it. Besides breathing out fire or mostly coughing up scrolls of letters, he had a skill which he discovered a few weeks back. A skill so extraordinary he thought it was one of a kind. He had eagle vision.
To most ponies that was ridiculous, who could possess a visual perception of an eagle? But that was finally proven factual when Spike finally had it. He happened to to have such an ability when he had a blackout at his house and was all alone. He was beginning to whine until his vision suddenly dimly brightened with a dark-blueish colour. He was surprised by this but also saw it as an advantage to find any candles around the premises. He had no problem finding them when he tried searching for them because his eyes were able interpret them by giving them a radial glow, making it much more easier to find them.
He began to hone that skill some more from time to time when he needed it necessarily. Although the information was very hazy and most of the interpretation was only glowing at some things like ponies, items and for some reason high tipped locations and these are classified into four colours. Spike didn't know why but it seems to be a useful asset as well.
He could recall that the colours are like simple yet blurry identity separator. The last time he wrote an explanation based on his own findings he puzzled out that the colours represent their social connection to himself.
First, he saw blue glows around his friends and good known mates he met before so he assumed the colour represented them as allies or associates.
Sometimes he saw red glows on ponies that had bad blood with him and on dangerous predators, so he could only guess the colour symbolizes them as foes and rivals.
Continuing on, he sometimes saw golden glows on some objects and ponies of what he was searching for so he could only predict the colour stood for his designated target or an objective marker.
Lastly he saw mundane white glows that only covered ponies who he had no connection at all with him, he could obviously tell the colour convey them as civilians or strangers. As if nothing out of the ordinary that glow would be.
Now that he remembered he had eagle vision, he thought he could use it to his convenience at the moment. All he needed to do was think nothing, the mind clear and relax steadily.
He slowly closed his eyes and steadily, his mind beginning to blank. And then with a full jolt open of his eyelids, he could finally see all that he could see had turned blue and enhanced his vision much further than he could do in the dark with normal eyes alone.
He took a look around him and he finally could let his guard down for the moment when no red glow is imminent in the premises. However, something else intriguing happened. There was a golden glow on top of a barren tree. Wondering why in all places it would be glowing over there, he was tempted to investigate further by walking there.
Much to his frustration, he had to walk there or else he will accidentally deactivate the vision by losing focus on it. This is a problem for a few reasons if he's in the dark. Firstly, if he panics his eagle vision will diminish and would give the enemy more of an advantage during a fight. Secondly he had to escape a chase only by walking, giving the rival more time to catch up to him. Lastly, the vision will disappear when he's climbing, making him blind when trying to find handhelds to grab.
But at last he managed to get to the dead tree. He could see the glow getting shinier, tempting him to keep going by climbing up there.
Spike wasn't enthusiastic about that idea but he doesn't have much of a choice. He briefly examined the tree and was at least glad there were conveniently placed branches for him to grab onto and to get up easily since it placed like a spiral ladder. He took a hugest leap he can muster and his right hand clenched the branch mid-air. He placed his other hand on it and swung hard, placing his right calf over and on top of the branch for more stabilization. Finally finally got his body above the branch and panted hard.
Wow, just one branch and you're already exhausted? C'mon Spike you could do better than that.
That was in his mind until he examine back the amount of branches he needed left to climb, and it isn't a small amount he needed to do considering he needed climb more than ten branches to get up to the peak of the tree. Spike could only groaned in frustration and wiped his face that was covered in sweat.
This is going to take a while.
At last he finally got to the pointy top of the barren tree, although it took him about half an hour to get up there but he finally made it. Then the next question came to his mind, why did the vision led him here? It must be something related about where he was standing.
Right, now why did it glow here for? There's nothing here so far but a phoenix's nest.
Suddenly, a phoenix nearby squawked loudly where it was circling around him, as if he was taking a look around the area.
Wait, that's it! What the phoenix is doing observing his surroundings, and maybe I should too.
He slowly rose up and took a scan around the area that his eyes are capable to see. He could see behind the trees that overtook his height when he was on the ground as if they have shrank down. From below the thickness of the trees leaves covering the surface seemed indescribable and made vision almost useless, from above it's nearly the complete opposite. He could see the floor almost clearly. He was surprised from this, it's like the leaves act as a one-way mirror where you could only see anything when your above the leaves' level.
he could see the mountain on his west-side where the magnificent city of Canterlot was placed on the left side, by afar not much seems to have changed by appearances so far but he did noticed a few of city's parts were missing, no lights or anything that could emit something like that can be seen and the sudden absence of a waterfall made it partially unidentifiable as the same city he used to know. There's no smoke emitting from those missing parts, signalling him the place had probably turned calm again and the fire extinguished. Although it seems quiet and peaceful from afar, he feared the Changelings already have infiltrated the city and made it their new headquarters. The fear seemed to grow by the thought his friends and the princesses were in there. Condemned,hungry and cold. Spike hoped they don't have any of those conditions, those would be the last thing he wanted them to be.
To get rid of or at the very least distract himself from that bitter scenery that visualized in his mind, he decided to keep examining the forest on knowing whereabouts Zecora's home. With a few carefully observing around he located the house with the light emitting from it although it isn't bright, it's still pretty noticeable from where Spike was balancing on. He's also glad the house was not that far because he only needed to walk northeast for about ten minutes and then he would be there.
With great assurance where the house was, he was determined to get there, but there was only a problem, he needed to get down first. Spike wasn't much used to heights although he experienced it a few times, but he did try jumping off from a half-metre bridge into a very deep river. Maybe, just maybe, it probably would feel the same if he were to jump off from the top of a five metre tree onto the ground, only much more higher and feel like falling off from that could mean life or death.
On the other hand, it wouldn't be so bad. He got this new sense of self encouragement from his friend Rainbow Dash that one day, if he were to have wings and able to fly like a normal dragon, she gave a bit of advice when he was flying on her back.
At that moment he was grasping very tightly to Rainbow's hair so hard that she was holding back tears from the pain.
She tried reassuring him by instructing him what he should do if he were to fall off, all he needed to do was relax and be cool as panic only brings other problems than solutions. Then, he needed to spread his body out to slow the speed of his fall. Next, he have to position his body in a way a paper would when it gracefully falls and slowly glide his body towards somewhere he would get a soft landing that could comfortably cushion the fall like anything filled with air and soft of anything or at the very least a deep water if he was lucky to find one. If he also had no choice but using the water as the landing place, she told him that he must make sure he does a diving position into it or else he will have the same damages and impact as he would get landing flat on concrete floor.
He took her advice seriously if he was ever needed to fall off of something where he couldn't just jump off and land his feet first safely. Although when he was scanning the environment around him and couldn't find anything that looks soft to land on like that, even he used eagle vision for reassurance he still couldn't find anything glowing turquoise. So he had to take another route down and that is swinging down from branches to branches. He also had to make a few minor adjustments to the instructions so the route would see fit as the situation depended on it.
In this case he only needed a little precision check and and properly do a little leap in the correct direction and either fall into the ground face planted or grabbing the branches on the right time and swing down one by one until it's safe to land on the ground unscathed.
He finally decided to do the latter and just get swinging already. He slowly yet carefully bent down and check if any of the branches was sturdy enough to hold him when he was about to fall. This was a problem when heights are not his friend, this was easily noticed when a trickle of sweat was sliding down from his forehead and his rapid breathing. But he mustered all his wits to take the fall.
And with a gentle leap, he descended down quickly towards his designated target and swiftly grope the branches just in time before he could miss. Although the momentum quickly pulling him down hurt his arms and his stomach probably turned for a while, he was glad enough to stay alive at the moment.
He then needed to get to the other branch in below him. He first positioned his feet so he would land on the branch without slipping off. With him lightly letting go, he landed perfectly. The branch was able to hold his weight just fine, well... for the moment.
*crack*
A sudden jolt to the surface rang to him.
"Oh dear god...!"
He had to act fast before he could fall to his death. Without thinking the risk since he didn't have the time for that, he jumped to the first branch he saw and he hoped mid-air that he would be able to grab it, considering the distance was undeniably long. But luckily he manged to catch it before the branch before could give in and it fell down; colliding with another branch before hitting the earth hard.
"Phew... that was close." Spike wiped his forehead away from sweat.
At that moment he was the same level as the canopy of leaves were. The branches on other more alive trees were tougher and to his convenience, amongst all the branches, one was grown in such a way for him to use to descend down without a problem.
He smiled at the luck he got today. Without hesitation, he quickly took the much easier route he saw and finally landing back on actual ground. With a small pride, he wiped the dust away from his hands.
"Right, now where was Zecora's hut again?"
He recalled that he saw it on top of the tree he was balancing on. Somewhere northeast he was suppose to go. Thankfully with the help of his eagle vision, the darkness that he had experienced before was not going to be the problem.
The problem was he needed to be cautious all the time while remembering the direction he was going to. It looked like he needed to multitask this. Although he had done something like that before, he still couldn't get used to it and trying to train himself by doing it on his own could be difficult, but he decided he could try if he could do it now.
Alright Spike, you can do this.
With high hopes he set off into the pitch black darkness.
It had been a few minutes he had been walking and he was beginning to doubt the direction he picked for this was correct. This was making him tired with the fact he was on high alert and using eagle vision at the same time. It was starting to put pressure on him as he couldn't handle killing two birds with one stone all that well. However one thing's for sure, he was not going to stop. He had gone this far already and being lost was not going to prevent from urging forward or wherever direction he's actually going. Turning back wasn't a choice either, he had spent most of his energy already and going back would just deplete it. So, it's best if he keep moving forward and hope for the best the hut wouldn't be far by now.
At last all that walking was worth it, he had finally reached the house without getting killed. Thankfully, the lights are on inside which told him the owner was still up and going inside. He could also see the shadowy, unclear figure doing a few motions here and there through the windows from where he was looking from. From what he could tell, Zecora was probably inside doing whatever stuff she always do most of the days.
Spike began to step out of the wilderness and placed his foot back on proper dirt paths which was something he was relieved to feel it again. He made his way to the door and did a few knocks on it. The reply was postponed until Zecora came to the door and opened slightly. From the outside, her mouth was the only thing visible but from her view she could see the person standing outside waiting for her, and it was definitely someone she'd expect to see.
"Spike, is that you?" she swung the door opened more so she could have a better look. Yet she still couldn't believe who's at the door. Her eyes were not lying to her, it was undoubtedly Spike The Dragon standing in front of her, probably weary and definitely dirty.
He could only smirk to her and suddenly went to her and gave a hug so quick that even she didn't assume he was going to do that, but she let him do it, he's probably so afraid of being alone that he was happy to find at least someone he could have to interact with.
"It's alright Spike, it is all over now." she smiled and gently stroke his back to comfort him, although she didn't knew what was going on.
"Thank Celestia I found you, Zecora..." he started to tear up a bit and when he let go of the hug he had the time to wipe his tears away.
"I'm sorry if this isn't the time to ask but, what are you doing here, Spike?" although her expression slightly changed to questionable, she still remained calm about it.
"Oh, it's a long story Zecora..."he looked away and rubbed his temple for a second before looking back to her. "Besides, you wouldn't understand anyway,"
"Oh no please, I have the rest of the day to listen." she motioned her hoof to the sofa for him to take a seat.
Spike took a look at the sofa. He didn't expect her to be naive about what's happening outside the forest, but she wasn't the type to go outside her territory often unless she necessarily had to, because although where she lives was a hostile environment, it was somehow enough to make her feel at home and nopony could argue with that. So, he wished he wasn't surprised if he thought that one through.
Anyway, he made his way to the couch and sat down, making himself comfortable. He then noticed Zecora was missing, but he assumed she went away to get or do something. So he could spend some time observing the room around him.
The first thing he noticed was the room was dark, but thankfully not enough to make it eerie. He would say it was more towards a calm yet moody feel to it. Decorations on the walls like masks, self-made bottles and he also could see a few more ornaments which was evident she had a bit of handcrafting experience. Bottles of potions and other unidentified objects and liquid that Zecora could use as ingredients and constituents for her brewing and stuff. Maybe it would be useful for him to know if she had some poison he could have, just in case he would need it.
His attention was turned to the rattling sound of a wooden cup on a tray that Zecora placed when she entered through the doorway. He took a second to examine it carefully from what he could get from where he was sitting. Steam coming out of the cup and it smelled like tea. Zecora made her way to the table in front of her and set the tray down. She took the cup and handed it over to Spike. Spike gladly took it and have a peek at the content. From what he could see, the 'tea' inside was dilute, much like any other tea, but the colour was quite different to the usual he sometimes drink.
He took the next step and had a reasonably well sip on it. The 'tea' was somewhat different in taste as well. Although it wasn't bitter, it's not sweet either. It more tasted like normal ginger-ish type to it.
"So Spike, weren't you going to tell me your long story?" she took a sip of her own.
"Okay then... it started this morning when..."
Spike took almost everything he knew and put them into words so he could tell Zecora what happened. It wasn't easy to explain to her, since some of the elements could not be understood by words as they need to be experienced to understand. Although he was truthful to most of the words, he did left out the part where he found the organization and the bit where he equipped the hidden blade and the portion where he could do eagle vision and things like those. He didn't think it would be important to her anyway. He never did feel Zecora as untrustworthy or anything, she was plenty reliable and a zebra who could keep secrets, as she had some of hers herself. He just didn't feel like talking about it as it seemed absurd to a normal pony or zebra.
"... and to top it all off, here I am." he then took another sip of the tea, feeling sorrow.
The moment he finished his story, Zecora was beginning to feel sympathetic towards him. She definitely understood he had to overcome a lot of obstacles more than she had to endure. And the surprising part was he had done this just moments ago and he was still the small dragon she always knew. Zecora didn't know how to take it all in but expressing it out instead.
However, something was else lingered in her mind. Something in that story didn't seem right, something extraordinary. She could feel it was something to do with that bracer he was wearing where she noticed it during Spike's explanation. Yet she didn't ask about it as she was more interested in what happened to the world around her. Anyway, the bracer also had a sense of familiarity to her, as if she had seen it before. Although the memory wasn't clear, she did remember of seeing that bracer before, and in fact even wearing it.
She had some thought about it for a while, maybe it would be enough to just ask him. It wouldn't be a problem if Spike would lie to her about it, because she had experience a few acquaintances who did this and she had a lot of practice of spotting one which would help her too.
"Spike, may I ask you a question?" she turned to her, still feeling unsure if she needed to ask.
"Yeah, what is it?"
"I've seen you around here with that little bracer around your wrist, where did you get it?"
Spike baulked at this question. If he was going to lie, it would be no use since Zecora was good at perceiving those and it would be a waste of time to make one up either. So, he chose to come clean.
"Well Zecora, I'll have you know this, this isn't a bracer..." he got off the couch and showed it some more to her.
Zecora was more intrigued to find out what.
"It is a-... well, it would be best if I could demonstrate what it does." he readied his arm.
He took a few moments to adjust his arm to prepare the release, and with a single flick, the blade quickly slid out of the sheathe with a sound of the dagger scraping out.
Zecora was shocked to see it could do that, and the other surprising part was she had the similar thing stored somewhere in her house. She did try to search the house if it still ther but to no avail, she confirmed herself that it was lost forever.
"Spike, where did you get that?"
Spike went silent for a while until he finally let it out.
"I found it under the old castle where it was in a room there,"
She began to recollect a few reminiscence about this room Spike told her. She then thought that the room could be a place of an organization she may have entered in as well.
"Is this room you say had any relations to an organization?" she pushed it further until she could get the truth, hoping what she remembered was correct.
Spike did not hesitate to reply."Yes, I think it belongs to something what I think it was called, the Assassins..."
Zecora just stood there, stunned. When the answer came out, it felt like a big wave of shock overpowered her. She was speechless. All of this must be too surprising to be true, but her instinct already said that Spike was being truthfully honest. She couldn't cope much. She had to gasp lightly for that. Her memory was perfectly clear now, it was so surreal, yet it actually did happened. It was all coming back now, she could feel it.
"Spike, take me to that room at once." she suddenly ordered him, and suddenly went back into the dark room to get ready.
Spike finally realized that what he said must have given her a sudden realization. It just changed her. She wasn't the calm zebra he remembered her to be, her face already told him that something must've perked her up. And when she told him to show her the place he mentioned to her, it made him surprised and had a thought that she could have been involved with this Assassin thing somehow. Sooner or later, he was about to find out.
Zecora came back out wearing back the slightly tattered coat she had been wearing when she was outside before, also armed herself with a spear. Probably a spare Spike thought, because she left the first one impaling a tree somewhere. She was the type who was willing to g prepared.
She reminded him what she just told him to do and then a few moments later, they were outside the door and already making their way towards the castle.
The smell of rotting cobblestone in the castle already re-memorized Spike of how he felt in there. While they're walking, he looked around to see if anything changed, hoping it wasn't tampered or else he will figure out someone else had been here before him. His eyes directed and focused back to the place where he was sitting for hours before. The reminiscence was a bit painful to remember.
"Spike, where is it?"
Spike looked to the fireplace where he first entered in the place, but it to Spike's surprise it returned to its original, usual state. It wasn't like this during the time he went out. In Spike's head they concluded two possibilities: Changelings might have arrived, found it, took everything and closed it back somehow; or the entrance would close automatically after a few hours to avoid detection. Although it may not come to this, but Spike had to ready his weapon when he was would be reopening the door back, just in case if the former was correct.
"Zecora, can you wait for a second?" he asked to her without turning to her. Behind him, she simply obliged by sitting down for a minute.
He turned to the bookshelf, the same one which Spike leaned on it. He did decided that he needed to check if any of these books would open the door, but the problem it would take ages to check one by one to see if it worked. There's tons of books stacked neatly together, it stretched about four metres and none of them seemed out of the ordinary. So finding it alone would not work in this case.
However, he did remember that he had eagle vision. Like before in his life, eagle vision could separate the objects or ponies he was looking for from the ones he wasn't just by automatically glowing the right colours. He was glad he had it so he can use to his convenience.
He took a breath, then he shot open his eyes. The world around him turn dark blue, and something glowed in the corner of his eye. Yes, that's it. That's the one! He walked towards the book and pulled it out, just like he did before. The familiar clunk of something opening was a sweet sound to his ears, but prepared for the worst by unsheathing his blade again. As he releases the book, his head turned to the place where he knew it was going to open.
The sudden sound of something clicking perked Zecora up. And then, right before her eyes, the fireplace was ascending slowly, revealing a hidden hallway Spike had told her about. She didn't believe that Spike was lying but she was convinced it was true anyway.
As the fireplace slowed down to a halt, Spike let go of the altered book and waited for a while. Zecora, who was behind him saw the stance he put up and she thought something was wrong, so she extracted her spear for her own protection. After a few moments of silence, nothing happened. They both put back their weapons and Spike began to make his way into the passage, forcing Zecora to snap out of it and beckon her to come with him as he go.
The hallway was the same as Spike remembered, it stretched what seemed like hours and hours of claustrophobic tight hallways again and again. Now, the rats that scuttled noisily with squeaks of horror didn't flinch him this time. Unlike Zecora, who was on-guard the whole time. It was not like she didn't trust Spike but she wasn't taking any chances.
Spike noticed that she was on edge the entire time and it didn't seem like she was going to calm down anytime until he does something. "Don't worry Zecora, there's nothing that could attack you here. I promise," he comforted her, which did calmed her down a bit.
At last once again they finally reached the room they wanted to reach. The light that still illuminated the room did bring back Zecora's sanity. The hallway was definitely not for claustrophobic ponies like her. During that time, she was holding the urge to panic in there but thankfully that was over.
The room was already going a bit dim due to the charcoal running out in the fireplace, unlike the last time Spike went in the first time. Yet it was bright enough to make sure the whole room was still given enough light to be seen. To Spike's relief, nothing seem to be different so it would mean nopony else had came in here and tampered anything when Spike was going out to get Zecora here.
He turned to the weapons he placed there for examination but then ignored it and went to the chest still sitting on the altar. It was open by the time he left so it was good it remained that way.
Zecora on the other hand, went to the sorted weapons and took her time observing it, just like Spike did. She was surprised and astounded at some of them. Spike chuckled dryly from her astonished expression, he felt a little nostalgia kicked in. Each weapon she felt had a mysterious familiarity she had just like the time Spike told her about the existence of the Assassins earlier.
Spike was planning to check inside the chest if it had anything else related, hoping that this would be a good enough clue if Zecora remembered anything about the Assassins. What he saw was a giant book, not that thick by any chance but was rather wide since of what little space left inside of the edges of the chest. The gold that were studded on the book's corners glimmered by the dimly-lit fireplace.
He was surprised he didn't find this earlier during his first visit in, he would've seen it when he took out the robe earlier. But he assumed he was so endorsed on examining the robe he just didn't realized it was there in the first place. He put his claws in the chest and slid through the side of the cushion felt inside to grab the book from the side, his fingers were rather tiny and was suitable to fit in that tight space.
He continued to lift the book and was able to take it out flawlessly. Somehow it was somewhat dusty despite being in an airtight glass container for what seemed like decades. He guessed the dust finally managed to bypass the glass through its loophole and was able to reside on top of the book, whatnot with stuff piled on top of it being the factor.
He wiped the thick dust off the book. He saw the title encrypted on the book in a big sized font, but was unreadable sincerely it was written with another language or it was written in codes or something he didn't know. He frowned in disappointment. It looked like he wasn't going to continue on with this obstacle in the way.
"Hey Zecora!" he turned to her, she was still observing the weapons he had laid out on the table by the time his gaze was directed to her. The call later snapped out from her focus and directed her attention to him. "Yes?"
"No offense if you can't but, can you read this title? I think you're able to recognize the language." he walked over to her and presented the book to her.
To be honest, he wasn't sure if Zecora understood the language. He was just making a guess at this point and it wouldn't hurt to ask if she did.
Zecora observed the title, then something sparked in her. Again, it was definitely in familiar ground. The title was in a language that probably nopony speak of anymore, but it still existed and she was one of the few out there who could translate it.
"Ad'dusstur..." she read the word aloud before it hit her. "Ad'dusstur, that's it. The codex!" Spike was happy to hear that. The mystery can be solved after all. He never heard what is a codex but at least it was something.
Spike cautiously opened randomly around the center of the book. They were both met with many transcribes, pages and images of certain things inside. All of whch were written not surprisingly from a quill. Yet, nothing Spike could understand but Zecora had a better hoof on this. The most notable part of the page was the beautiful illustration of the hidden blade, which the page told the components to create and explained it's mechanics. Zecora proceeded to continue translating the written words inside her head and was shocked to find a certain sentence that opposed in reality.
"Spike?" she pointed her hoof to one sentence that intrigued her. "It says here that for the hidden blade to be functional, it must require a removal of a finger," she read aloud.
"Wait, what?" Spike was now confused, and for the most part starting to panic. She didn't mean he have to do that, does she?
"But for you, Spike. You are wearing one and it still work with all of your fingers still there," she turned her eyes towards the arm that the hidden blade resided, stunned by the ability to equip it as usable but without the sacrifice it needed.
Spike was surprised to hear that. There must be something wrong with what she said. It couldn't be true. "Are you sure, Zecora? Try reading the book a little more," he somewhat started to feel uneasy.
She obliged and continue reading the whole page. Spike was starting to feel unsettled when he saw her still checking the page and when she didn't find what he wanted, she turned the front and the back of the page to see if she missed anything.
"No Spike. There's no statement here that says the hidden blade was altered or changed in any way." she turned to him, just as surprised as he was.
Spike felt different. he lifted the wrist that was wrapped by the bracer. He tested the mechanism again and to his amazement it still worked just as he would expected. Something felt strange to him. This bracer must had been different. It was impossible it could be the same one the Assassins' had for a millennium ago. However too many evidence were constraining the idea for instance, the second one he kept with him was identical yet was in a worse type of condition, rusting and slow. It didn't seem like Spike's theory was winning at this point.
"Spike, it must be that you're different from those other dragons before you. You are special in a way." Spike hoped she didn't say that, because this was much to take.
"Spike, We're probably the last remaining Assassin there is. Your the only descendant left,"
The reveal hit him hard, very hard. He stood frozen. Speechless. The only sound coming was the flickering fire from the fireplace and if anything that seemed to move was the moving blaze of light that danced all around the room.
His mouth was trying speak a word, anything at all, yet all he could do was left it hanging. What is there to say? There was no word that could describe this type of feeling. But to put it roughly, it was a mixture of disbelief yet amazement, he was impressed yet simultaneously horrified. He was one of the last surviving generation that was brought down for many years, but being the fact he was the descendant of a killer was what made him shiver.
However, there was a word in the sentence that Zecora spoke out begged his notice. A word that most likely don't make much sense on its own. Wait a minute, did she just said we?
"Zecora," she turned to his call. " Are you also an Assassin?"
Zecora realized her own secret that she forgot so long ago finally had been exposed. The question was true, she was an Assassin. A very skillful one, she was pretty much their combat specialist, in fact. During the olden days, she probably trained a lot of soldiers in his life. The history was beginning to be even more clearer than ever before. Every day, every hour, every minute, every second, her time was devoted to training and shaping up her students to become a fighter, a martial arts master. Almost all of her hard work was not wasted on those determined stallions and mares alike. They had become what she taught her students to be.
But there was a memory of her leaving the order for some reason she can't quite remember. Additionally, there was a part of the story in her head that said she was beginning to join the enemy's side. Did she betrayed the organization and began fighting for the enemy? Did she lost her way? She hope none of that were true.
Truth be told, these hazy memories were nothing less than questions for the time being, and answers don't seem to be present around her. Maybe or maybe not, she'll find out one day, but she shouldn't expect it to come though. All good things should come as a surprise, that way she can appreciate it better.
A question was still lingering in Spike's mind and the answer should be simple to give. " Yes Spike, I was..."
He froze again, one of the descendants of the organization was right beside him, alive and well. A few glances back into the previous days of their lives when they first met her, treating her as an outcast into someone we call a friend.
There was no doubt she was unique, but due to very strong circumstances, most ponies would understand why she had to be so different. Th way she was raised as a foal, how she managed to interact with world around her in her own way and where she lived was forcing her to change into someone we all come to know and love. Of course, nopony could deny how she got herself to adapt into such a harsh environment and ponies once treated her like a monster. On the merciless conditions around her part though, she made up for it by learning the ins and outs of its domain. Using these information to her advantage, she was able to survive and thrive throughout her normal routine. Additionally, her former experiences before was a headstart for her to continue living her life there. A place what others called a deathtrap, was also the place where she called home.
But her past was mostly a mystery for a long time. And nopony in the world wanted to ask. As if they thought they knew the whole story already. But of course, there's more to a living being than meets the eye. Before she retired her unknown work to the Everfree Forest, she enlisted herself as one of the few initiates of the Assassins. Back then, Fiery CapeTown was at it's last legs and whatnot with the war against the Templar order. Due to her sympathy for the thousands of innocent dragons in the city, she decided to become the defenders of the city. She didn't stand out when it comes to being a foreign soldier, all Assassins have their own religious faiths and beliefs just like her, but what made them all so similar was they lived by this one creed.
Stay Your Blade Away From the Flesh of the Innocent
Hide in Plain Sight
Never Compromise the Brotherhood
These were the creed that motivated the Assassins to do good, to support the idea of freedom, to encourage the life of peace. The Assassins were nearing that goal when they managed to free Fiery CapeTown from its unknown tyrant. And Zecora wasn't excluded in the process. She was one of the valuable assets they ever had and it seemed that former students of hers said that she deserved to be a mentor of the Assassin guild after all.
But as stated before, she was still different. Her mindset was unlike most of the Assassins in the group. She wasn't selfish or arrogant but at certain times when things fell apart and it was her fault, she was a stubborn zebra. She felt like if nopony else can fix this problem, she would go in and try to do it. It's either her way or nothing.
There was more to this side of the story here but Spike didn't think it would help him if he did. His objective to save his friends and reclaim the city back to what it was. And to do that, he must find a reliable way of preforming the task. The Assassins are a group of killers who murdered ponies, but was doing so all because of the name of freedom and equality. Their objective was on the same path as Spike's. So, although the order may have extincted, their descendants didn't and if they had the choice to continue the ways of their ancestors, Spike would if it meant taking back Equestria and saving his friends.
"Zecora, I want to ask you something. Something big," this was it. The moment of truth began.
"Yes, what is it?"
"I was suggesting of reincarnating this organization back to life again. And ...uh if won't mind, you would help me try to get Equestria back." He finished his big suggestion. The next few moments were passed in silence until she spoke again.
"Yes Spike, I would." she said with no hesitation.
He was surprised to see her coming in and just help him out for this. "But Zecora, are you sure? I mean, what I'm suggesting is a very big responsibility. " he scratched his head.
Zecora just gave a normal smile to him before saying, "I've handled something as big as this before. I've already thought this through. All I need was your assurance..." she placed her right hoof on his soldier.
"Spike, are you sure you want to sacrifice your energy, time, emotion and your life; all in the name of freedom and justice?"
Spike stayed silent for a while. It was true, if he was willing to throw away those luxuries in the name of saving Equestria and rescuing his friends. Then-
"-Yes, I must..."
"You are now... my student, Spike the Dragon." she pulled him in for a hug. Although short, it was full of emotion and warmhearted. Both shed tears as they felt their embrace. He was so happy to do good in this world. It was something they have to treasure, forever.
They soon let go of the hug. Both stared at each other, both had pathetic smiles, but they didn't care. This was the best moments in their lives they ever had.
"Now that I'm your student, what should I do, Mentor?"
Zecora blushed as he mentioned him what her previous students called her before. "Oh Spike, you have a lot to learn,"
They took a moment to gaze each other in the eyes, then both proceed to exit the room. Leaving only the everburning fireplace and the memories they had in here...
