Tales of Foxtor

Chapters

Beginnings
Prologue
Sun and Jolt
Pins and Needlehorns

Beginnings

Have you ever thought about how you would tell your life story if someone asked you? Would you leave out certain details that might put you in a bad light, omit things you might be ashamed for others to know? Or would you spill everything? Every. Last. Detail. No matter the consequences, no matter what they might think of you afterward, would you reveal your secrets? I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I suppose I’ll have to decide as I go along...

I reached out magically, grabbing the fire poker and twirling it dramatically before stoking the fire back to life. I lost myself in the flames for a moment, old memories threatening to overwhelm me. Stubbornly, I pushed down the rising tide of emotions these young ponies had evoked with their questions. Was I doing the right thing? They were so young, surely too young to hear all that I had experienced. I turned back to Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo with a resigned grimace. They were NOT gonna like this.

Squaring my shoulders, I shook my head firmly, "Girls, I've changed my mind. You fillies are much too young to hear about some of the things I’ve gone through". Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle groaned in protest and I heard a loud exclamation of "Awesome!" from Scootaloo before she processed my statement and groaned loudly like the other two. Giving the three fillies my best stern look, I began moving them towards the door. "If you three knew how much crap I'd gone through in the last thousand years," I shook my head slowly "I'm not entirely sure your families would be okay with me telling you."

“But!” Sweetie Belle protested. “No buts.” I said firmly. “You three run along now, I have plenty of chores around here that need doing, and no time for distractions” Closing the door firmly behind me I gave a sigh of relief. That was a close one.

I trotted quickly to the bookshelf on the right side of the fire and pulled out one of the books titled Histories of Equestria. The shelf moved inward on oiled hinges and I stepped confidently through the dark opening. The doorway became a stairway that immediately turned right and spiraled down into the earth. I trotted down the stairs, lighting the candles on the outside of the spiral staircase as I passed them.

After descending deep into the earth the stairway ended and opened into a huge antechamber, the air was stale as if the room hadn't had fresh air in ages. I cast my flame spell on a stone trench, filled with a thick oily substance, about a hoof wide that extended far into the darkness. Upon casting my spell, flames spread from the point of ignition and quickly ran down the trench and all around the large chamber illuminating it with a warm yellow light.

The area right next to the stairway was a library of sorts, it had two stories. The bottom story had shelves all around the outside in a tight crisscross pattern. They held anything from scrolls and bottles of wine to assorted daggers and other weapons. On one side there was a couple of shelves filled with old tomes and a few small chests sitting on the floor in front. The rest of the room was dominated by small tables and comfy armchairs, most of which were covered in dust, and miscellaneous scrolls and books, all surrounding a huge table with a map of Equestria and the surrounding lands carved into it. The top floor was open in the middle and looked down upon the map table, the floor space taken up mainly by bookshelves crammed full of books and old parchment. One side of the library opened into a large training area, big enough that a dozen ponies could practice combat with room to spare. There were doors on either side of the training room leading off to other rooms. The back wall had a row of mannequins behind metal bars, each dressed in robes from a different age of Equestria and even some robes that seemed to come from different lands altogether.

Hearing a soft noise behind me, I whirled and glared as I laid eyes upon the three fillies. "What are you three doing down here?" I snapped as I removed my winter robes and tossed them onto an armchair, kicking up a large cloud of dust. “I thought I told you ponies to run along home! In fact, how did you three even find your way down here in the first place?”

All three had a looks of absolute awe on their faces and obviously hadn’t heard a word I said. Their eyes wandered all over the room for a few moments before resting upon my face and the irritated look on it.

Sweetie Belle, at least, had the good grace to blush and look ashamed. Scootaloo stammered nervously, “We watched you through the window.... We just wanted you to tell us the story!” Apple Bloom, completely unphased, tilted her head to the side "What is this place?" she asked, waving her hoof around at the room.

I stared at her flatly "This is the headquarters of my Order, my Order of Assassins. It’s supposed to be a secret" I walked over to the map table and looked down at a small model of a sailing ship with blue sails. Using a hoof, I pushed it slowly across a section of ocean with a small smile. "I sincerely hope you three can keep a secret." I intoned with as much gravity as I could muster. “This place is not meant for the average pony’s eyes”.

They all nodded and did a silent Pinkie promise getting a smile and an eye-roll out of me as I walked around the map, looking it over. There were markers all over the country with different sigils overlaying the same delta formation that the Assassins had adopted so long ago. I frowned as I removed one from the southern side of the country and paced it gently in a small box on one corner of the table. It was filled with dozens of others. I frowned a little before closing it up and noticed the fillies were all standing and looking at the table. Scootaloo was looking at me as I put the piece away and closed the chest.

Scootlaloo flapped her wings hard out of excitement, practically jumping onto the table. "What are those?!" she said pointing at one of the sigils, the sigil for my order.

I smiled at her "Those symbols show the locations of the other Assassin orders all across the nation," I pointed at the same one she pointed at "This one is mine". I motioned at the room around me "This place, I built it from the ground up..." I trailed off as I thought about how long ago that had been. As I looked around the room, shadows and snatches of memory floated before me making the room come alive again, the way it used to be.. When dozens of ponies called this place home... I turned back to the three fillies.

Apple Bloom is related to me by blood but the exact degree to which we are related escapes me. Am I her six-times-removed great-uncle? Or grandfather? Or does being removed that many times make me just a cousin? In the end, I suppose the only thing that matters is, we're family.

Sweetie Belle is Rarity's sister. I met Rarity the day she set up shop in Ponyville. The very first thing she ever said to me was a snide remark about my attire. It struck me as funny that a strange pony would be so forward and honest about another pony’s clothing. Her attitude impressed me and we became fast friends after that.

Scootaloo is a mystery to me. As far as I know she has no siblings, and I've never met her parents. It has never really bothered me badly enough to investigate her home life, and for all I know she’s an orphan living goddess knows where.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts a little. I didn’t think Big Mac or Apple Jack would have a problem with me telling my story to Apple Bloom. Rarity might get a little cross with me telling Sweetie Belle but she'd get over it, and if Scootaloo's parents were upset and sought me out to chastise me it would answer a lot of questions. I smirked as Apple Bloom spoke up.

"Uncle Fox, please tell us your story. Its not fair to act like you're gonna tell us and then change your mind!" Her raised voice showing the annoyance she was experiencing. She huffed angrily and stared me down, waiting for my response.

I turned and stared at her stonily in return for a few seconds before breaking out in a big toothy smile. "You three have really got me backed into a corner," I said turning and flopping, back first, onto one of our old armchairs and kicking up a cloud of dust. "I'll tell you, but only if you three promise to not tell another living soul what I tell you while we’re down here" I made eye contact with all three fillies, showing them just how serious I was about this.
All three of them stood at attention and swore not to tell anypony, before making a pinkie promise again, making an X over their chest and covering one of their eyes with a hoof.

I sat up and rubbed my chin "Well I suppose the easiest place to start would be..."

My blue hide rippled in the flickering light provided by the torches hanging up at intervals along the walls of the cave. Purposefully ignoring the rising noise levels, I rolled my shoulders, loosening them up as I took in the scene laid out before me. I was standing in one corner of a makeshift fighting ring. Raw-cut logs formed the perimeter that separated myself and my opponent from the rest of the crowd. Judging by the noise in the cave, there were dozens of ponies in here. I looked up to count, but gave up after only a few moments, stopping at around 40. I turned toward the center of the ring gazing at the pony in the other corner. This pony had definitely seen better days. He was a large, yellow earth-pony with a greasy brown mane cut very short. He was missing an eye, definitely a blind spot, but he was also massive. I'd have to outmaneuver him to win, be fast; if he got too close it'd be all over.

The pony stomped his hooves heavily, making the stone floor of the cave shake "I'm about to turn you into jelly ya sparky horned pussy!" he shouted, slinging insults at me because I was a unicorn. You obviously don't know much about unicorns pal, if you think I’m gonna go down that easy.

The insult fell short and I just rolled my eyes and continued to analyze the yellow pony for weaknesses. My observations were cut short by a black coated unicorn pony with a white mane and a cutie mark of a megaphone who stepped between us. His horn glowed and he spoke; it was nearly deafening in close proximity, but I did my best not to shy away from it.

"IN THIS CORNER, WEIGHING IN AT 300 POUNDS, AND TOWERING AT A WHOPPING 18 HOOVES, IT'S CYYYYYYCLOPS!" He pointed at the yellow earth-pony who was acting as if he’d lost his mind, pointing at the crowd and dancing around like an idiot before pointing a hoof at me and running his hoof over his throat slowly while sticking his mottled tongue out.

I rolled my eyes and glanced into the crowd looking for a familiar face. I found him in moments, the gray robed zebra smiled gently and gave me a nod. His name was Artogus. The old Zebra had been my mentor, and basically my father since the day my mother passed away and my father abandoned me to die. He taught me not only how to survive, but how to thrive in a world ruled by the definition of chaos, The draconequess, Discord. He was the reason this fight was underground, not because he didn't relish in the chaos of a fight, but because he would hate the idea of it being organized and not spur of the moment.

I was taken out of my thoughts by the deafening sound of the megaphone pony turning to me and speaking in the booming voice, "AND IN THIS CORNER, AT A HEIGHT OF 12 HOOVES AND ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY POUNDS, IT'S FOOOOOOOX THE LIGHTNING FLASH!"

I hopped lightly on my hooves, loosening up my shoulders as I stood on my back legs and made a couple swipes at the air with a smug grin. I was so gonna beat this hothead into the dirt. The bell rang and to my surprise the massive pony came at me like a Pegasus, almost slamming me into the ropes. Luckily I was able to sidestep his charge and clip him on the jaw as he rebounded off the ropes. This knocked him back a few inches before he charged again, catching me in the ribs and throwing me across the ring, knocking the air right out of me.

I looked over at Artogus and he tapped one hoof against his forehead as if saying "use your mind, not your body" before he smiled and swept his other hoof forward as if egging me on.

I stood up, turned towards the yellow stallion, and took a deep breath; time slowed to a crawl as I forced myself to focus. I was able to analyze my opponent with careful detail along with my surroundings. This was a glorified street fight so nothing was forbidden except magic. Being raised by a zebra, I was taught how to fight like an earth-pony despite having the more frail body of a unicorn.

One: my opponent's head is turned to the right, his left side is a major blind spot : first point of attack. Two: throat, a pony this massive needs all the air he can get. Three: knees, I may be lacking in muscle but even a little unicorn can handle breaking those. Four: ribs, obviously weakened from years of fighting, possibly broken before and set improperly. Summary prognosis: knockout in 90 seconds, full recovery unlikely.

I let my focus fade and time sped back up. The pony charged at me and I grabbed one of the ring posts and dislodged it from the ropes before stepping to the side and bashing him on the head, followed by a crushing blow (for a unicorn) to his windpipe. He staggered a moment trying to catch his breath before I brought the stick down on his front knees. I then jumped up, bringing a rear hoof down on his ribs. They broke with a loud crunching noise and I sighed with relief dropping the post on his limp form. It rolled off of him as I stood over my defeated opponent, breathing heavily. I turned and looked at the crowd and for Artogus, who seemed to be gone now. He must have snuck away as I finished the yellow pony off.

The crowd gaped at me for a few moments, looking from me to the yellow pony bleeding out onto the stone floor of the cave for a few moments before cheering loudly enough to make me wince. I shook it off and plastered on a winners smile, putting my front legs in the air and waving.

I decided not to stick around to watch any more fights. I was headed for home, walking slowly through a narrow path in the evergreen forest. Occasionally, the wet grass, covered in the dew of the night, would brush my leg, sending goosebumps through me and keeping me alert. I could still hear the cheers from the cave far off in the distance but they were quiet in comparison to the sound of the frogs and crickets, hiding in the darkness of the heavily leaved trees. An occasional drop of water would fall on me, but I was shielded by the makeshift cloak that I made months ago, held tight to me by a leather belt.

I heard a sound behind me and stopped, listening closer for a few seconds before breaking into a run. My hooves made light clipping noises on the well traveled path as I flew past the trees. I was sure that I was being stalked by a group of rogues, or even bandits, out to steal the bits I had earned in the fight with Cyclops. I quickly turned and climbed a tree and started jumping from branch to branch.

After a few minutes I stopped and listened closely, trying to tell if I had lost the tail. I heard nothing but a lone cricket chirping in the grass below. I dropped back to the ground and ran swiftly towards the hut that was mine and Artogus's home. As I approached the clearing I took in the sight with a smile. The hut itself was made from a hollow rock that a tree had grown through and then died, leaving a hollow husk that was used for a second floor. Smoke leaked lazily from a crack on one side of the stone. In the clearing around it there was a large garden filled with dozens of different fruits and vegetables, most of which were familiar, others, strange to the lands of Equestria. There were a couple practice dummies and a wagon in the yard, once used to take the produce made by the garden to market for trade in safer times.

As I entered the yard a caught a blur of orange out of the corner of my eye right before I was knocked over and my horn hit something hard. Then, everything went dark.

Author's Note

Hey everypony! Fox here, thanks for reading the first chapter of my Story! I'm gonna try to get these out on a monthly basis but can't promise that(life happens sometimes!^^) any feedback you've got is appreciated.
Find art of Fox on my deviantart http://foxtorwho.deviantart.com

Prologue

Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria… well it is a magical place, but it isn't always sunshine and rainbows. My life is a testament to that, but I suppose the easiest way to tell my story, would be to take you to the first time I told it to anyone.....

I awoke to the sound of a distant rooster crowing to greet the morning. Looking around the old stone house I reveled in the cozy feeling exuded by the worn stone. Maybe it had something to do with all the clutter accumulated from years gone by scattered about, or the tapestries of factions from bygone ages hanging from wall sconces, colors still shining brightly in the early morning sun, or even the multitude of bookshelves filled with old scrolls, tomes and books.

Sitting up with a stretch, I dropped down to the floor, my hooves making a light clop sound. I turned to the mirror and gazed at the image of a light grey and orange fox pony, I ran a hoof through my shaggy mane and smiled a bit.

Today will be a good day I thought to myself as I turned towards the center of the room.

Surveying the mess that had taken up nearly all of my available space, old blades, small tinkering projects, and other miscellaneous items, I reached out through my magic to grab the poker and stoke the fire a bit before making my way outside. The sun was just coming up over the horizon, lighting up the fall colors of the trees in the orchard of Sweet Apple Acres.

I’d built my home on the edge of the orchard, the front facing the mountainside with Canterlot sharply outlined by the rising sun. I trotted softly over to the stream running alongside my home and splashed some of the cold water on my face with a hoof.

I glanced around, years of adventuring gave me a suspicious nature that was hard to put aside, even in this idillic setting. I galloped through the trees toward the farmhouse, hoping to catch Applejack before she headed to town for The Running of the Leaves today.

Upon my arrival at the farmhouse I placed my hooves on the bottom half of the door, “Hey AJ, you home?!” I shouted, getting a prompt 'Anope' from Big Mac, looking a bit annoyed at my volume for the time of morning it was.

I put on a devilish grin, feeling no remorse for it as Applebloom walked in, still blinking the sleep out of her eyes.

“Ya just missed her, if ya leave now ya might catch her” she said as she looked for something to eat. I nodded and kicked away from the door, breaking into a gallop toward the road for Ponyville.

After a few minutes I caught up with her “Hey AJ! Want to race to town as a warmup?” I asked with a smug smile.

She looked at me and slowly smiled “Is that even a question?” she said as she took off with a short “YEEHAAW!”.

I laughed and took off after her, catching up in seconds. After a few minutes Ponyville came into view and I gave her a glance before I stopped holding back and I pulled way ahead of her.

I arrived far ahead of her and waited by the bridge for her to get there.

“How’re you so fast?” she asked, out of breath.

I just shrugged, “Probably the fox in me” I said as I started into town, headed towards the restaurant for some food. “See you later” I said, getting a tired wave from her in return.

Most of Ponyville seemed to still be asleep. I sat at a table outside the restaurant and looked around, waiting to be served. Sometimes I was surprised by how much the town had grown over the years. I ordered a muffin from the waiter and ate quietly some of the more recent changes. When I finished I made my way to The Running of the Leaves starting location at the edge of Ponyville.

By the time I arrived, most of town was there. I started tostretch, and out of the corner of my eye I noticed a familiar white pony with a purple mane approaching me.

“Foxtor, even though these robes are dreadfully out of style, I managed to finish fixing them for you”, her tone a little disgusted even as she floated them over to me. As they floated before me, suspended in my magic, I looked them over with a smile.

They were a dark navy color with fur lining the hood, constructed of heavier material: winter robes. They had obviously been patched and restitched multiple times over the years.

I smiled at Rarity “you know me Rarity, function over fashion, though if you ever wanted to design me something more modern I wouldn't protest” i said as i put them on and got into a fighting stance, checking my range of motion.

She seemed to perk up at this “I’d love to”, her tone now polite.

I relaxed my stance “ how much do I owe you?”.

She shook her head “If you promise to let me make you something more stylish then this is on me” she said, batting her eyelashes.

I laughed a little, immune to her charms “if you really want to make them that bad then yes, I promise”.

She smiled “Good!, come by my shop tomorrow so I can measure you out then” she said, walking away before I could protest, I sighed a little and went to the starting line.

After the running I made my way home, taking the scenic route.

I soon saw my house in the distance, The looming stone structure standing tall next to the apple trees. One side of it was covered in vines, but beneath the vines the stone was smooth like glass, as if a great blast of heat had melted the surface of the stone. There was a short stone wall around the yard, a small blacksmiths workshop was in one corner, the forge dark and cold as I hadn't had any need of it lately. Across from the forge there was a half dozen pony shaped target dummies and a pile of firewood stacked next to them.

As I drew closer I noticed my door was open. Immediately I went on guard. Silently approaching, I grabbed a handmade dagger from the forge. Peaking cautiously through the door, I saw a fire burning in the fireplace and three familiar fillies sitting around it looking through a stack of journals.

I slung the dagger, embedding it into the mantle, “You three! What do you think you're doing?!”. They all jumped and one of the journals flew towards the fire, Catching it in a web of power, I placed the journal gently back on the stack.

I walked closer and looked down at the three miscreants, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. “You two I can understand” I exclaimed, pointing at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo with my hoof, “but I know you know better Apple Bloom. Snooping through my things! How could you?” I scolded.

Apple Bloom looked at the floor “Ah’m sorry uncle Fox” she said before she was interrupted by Sweetie Belle.

“It wasn't her idea, it was mine!” I glared down at Sweetie Bell, the force of my stark green gaze compelling her to avert her eyes.

Scootaloo piped up “did you really do all the things in these journals?” she asked, pointing at the stack of journals.

My glare softened a bit “Yeah I did.” The room grew quiet for a moment as memories flooded through me.
All three of them continued to stare at me.

“Uncle Fox, could we please read more? There's so many neat adventures in there” Apple Bloom said.

I thought for a moment before floating the stack of journals back to their proper shelf with a smile. “No” I said waiting gleefully for their shreiks of outrage. They didn't come. Instead, all three fillies hung their heads as one and began walking sadly to the door of my house. “Where do you all think you’re going?” I asked, a mischevious smile creasing my face.

They all turned their heads toward me looking confused.

“ We're gonna go home” Applebloom said.

I cocked my head to the side for a moment. “ Oh. Well I figured you’d want to hear the stories straight from me, but if you want to go home, that's fine” I said, putting the hood of my robes down and turning away from them.

They all perked up and started to whine and protest. I chuckled a little “ I thought so.”

I sat down in one of the chairs in front of the fire. They all trotted over and laid down on the rug in front of me.

I put a hoof up to my chin “ now...where to begin... ah, my story begins a little over a thousand years ago,” I started before Scootaloo suddenly interrupted my words.

“How can your story start a thousand years ago? You're not a princess so you couldn't be that old..” she trailed off as she noticed me raising an eyebrow at her.

“Do you want to hear this or not?” I said, the other two gave Scootaloo a nudge and she grew quiet.

“Alright. So, over a thousand years ago...”

Sun and Jolt

It was dark and warm, then suddenly it wasn't anymore, it was cold and bright, the light hurt my eyes and I cried out and shook my legs, trying to find the warmth before I was picked up in a gentle and tingling magic field before getting wrapped in a soft blanket.

“It's a little colt,” said a husky but still feminine voice “you have a son Mrs. Volpe” she said as she wrapped me in her magic and floated me gently into the embrace of a white unicorn mare with brown patches on her face and body. She held me close as my vision cleared.

The mare cooed in a gentle voice as she looked toward a hooded figure in the corner of the room “We have a son Taven, come closer” she said and the hooded figure came to the bedside and put his hood down, revealing a bold blue coat and a silver mane just like my own, the only thing that differed between him and I was our eye color which came from the mare holding me, my mother, a bright emerald green.

My father, Taven picked me up gently with his hooves and held me close with a gentle smile before letting out a soft chuckle. “He has your eyes Isolde.” he said poking the end of my muzzle softly with the end of his hoof. “What should we name him darling?”

She smiled and blushed softly, brushing her icy white mane out of her eyes “I was thinking we name him after your grandfather Fuchs.”

Taven flinched a little “Fuchs? My grandfather was a great pony, but not worthy of having his name reused..” he rubbed his chin as he held me form close with his other hoof, leaning against the bed “what about Foxtor?”

Isolde smiled brightly and nodded “it's perfect dear” she said looking at me and my father with a tired smile.

He held me high into the air “you, Foxtor Volpe, my son are going to make waves that the entire world will feel..” he brought me back down to his face and he smiled wide “and I’m already so proud.”

I awoke with a start and sat up, being immediately greeted by a blinding pain in my horn as it struck a stone ceiling. Sparks danced in my vision and I rolled sideways and found myself falling and after a few airborne moments, hit the floor with enough force to knock the air out of my lungs for what seemed like a lifetime. Once my vision cleared I saw the grizzled face of Atrogus shaking his head over me.

“What am i going to do with you boy?” he said in an exasperated tone while he went back to his old ratty armchair. It was a chair he frequented and if any but him touched it they were destined for a beating. The feet on it were in the shape of griffons claws and the cloth covering on it was a frayed and faded red with an old wolfskin draped over the back. He picked up his book and got back to reading, shaking his head for a few moments.

I slowly stood up and looked up to where I fell from, my bed, two stories up from the base floor.

My home was with my master Artogus, an old Zebra and the closest one to a father I’d ever had. We lived with two other ponies, Sovent Sun; a bright cheery earth pony mare who always had a positive outlook on everything even in the darkest of days, and Fidget Jolt; a Hyper pegasus with a knack for getting in trouble, both were also apprentice assassins under Artogus.

I, despite being older than both of them had still yet to receive the apprentice title from Artogus and be accepted into the order, much to my frustration.
Our home was called Hightower, an assassin outpost based in the valley of Canterhorn, it was once a watchtower for a kingdom in a long forgotten age, hundreds of years of resting on the swampy ground had buried it until only the roof was exposed, making its name pretty ironic. The inside was dressed with banners holding the insignia of Artogus’ chapter of the assassin order and shelves with a few tomes and scrolls upon them and a half dozen armchairs in front of a small fireplace. It wasn't much but it was home for the four of us.
I walked over to Artogus in his armchair prepared to voice my frustrations, “when will I get initiated master Argo, I’ve been around longer than both Sovent and Fidget and I still haven't received my blades yet, its..”
I was interrupted by him slamming his book “I told you that you would be initiated when you're ready..” he said, getting up out of his chair “you get closer by the day but you still aren't prepared yet, Sovent knocking your ass out cold is testament to that, outside our own home of all places!” Arto said, getting close to my face like he would always do when upset.
I took a deep breath “So that's who got me..” I said looking up and seeing Sovent sticking her head over the edge, her orange coat looked dull in the faint glow of the fire, she stuck her tongue out and shook her bright yellow mane around.
Arto nodded and pursed his lips “And if your senses aren't keen enough to see a mare with the colors of the summer sun flying at you then you sure as hell aren't ready to receive your blades” he said, sighing and sitting back in his chair “Foxtor, patience is also one of the greatest virtues of our order, practice it and you'll have your blades before you know it”.
I sighed and smiled softly before trotting lightly up the stairway that encircled the inside of the tower until I reached the top and walked through the hole in the stone roof.
I stepped out into the fighting yard and appreciated the colors of dawn being painted upon the horizon by the sun, coloring the clouds with bright orange and leaving the tops a royal purple, the fog upon the forest clearing swirled with the first touch of breeze and a flash of orange out of the corner of my eye?
Sovent tackled me but with me being ready this time I kicked her off and pinned her instead. I held her for a moment before she twisted out of my hold and pinned me against the roof of Hightower with a single hoof, holding me with ease with her earth pony strength. Upon seeing a sparring blade in the grass I grabbed it in my magic and clipped the back of her knees with it and broke her chokehold, reversing it onto her. She struggled for a few seconds, then tapped my hoof and I released her with a grin.
“You're learning,” she said rubbing her neck and smiling brightly “Arto’s right, you'll have your blades before you know it.” she gave me a light nuzzle and nipped at my ear.
I smirked and whipped her hindquarters with the end of my tail “you know as well as I that you don't win that ga-” I was cut short as i was plowed into the dirt getting Sovent to giggle.
The cause of my plowing into the dirt was none other than Fidget, who shook back the hood of his black handmade robes, freeing his green mane and grinning wildly “you're still letting yourself get too distracted I see” he reached out and poked my nose with a hoof before I grabbed his leg and flipped him over the top of me. “yeah but I’ll still kick your arse” I grabbed his hood with my magic and pulled it down over his face, blinding him for a few moments before he made an attempt to tackle me, plowing headfirst into the roof of Hightower. He untangled his head from his hood and snorted angrily before taking flight and diving into the fog in the clearing. I squinted and tried to pick him out in the thick fog before receiving a hard kick to the back of my skull, sending me tumbling and triggering a dull ache in my horn from the rock earlier.
Fidget grinned and bowed “You're too easy to sneak up on fox” he landed and danced in place for a second, sticking his tongue out and closing his eyes, a mistake hed regret the second my hoof uppercutted his jaw and make him bite down hard on his tongue. He staggered back a few feet and spat out a mouthful of blood before putting his head down to charge me, I readied myself to counter it before Sovent’s voice rang out sharply over the sound of our scuffle.
“BOYS STOP!” she was staring intently out into the fog with a worried look on her face.
Both Fidget and I stopped to look where she was looking, Fidget punched me in the shoulder with a hoof getting a glare from me as I walked closer to the clearing, hoping to be able to see what Sun was seeing better.
“What are you seeing?” I squinted at the fog, not seeing a thing but swirling mist. I tried to remember a method Arto mentioned for seeing things without my eyes but the memory was rather fuzzy to remember it well enough to use.
She shook her head and glanced over at me for a split second. “I didn't see anything, I heard a groan.” she pursed her lips and closed her eyes before stepping into the dense fog, the mist so dense that even her with her bright coat disappeared in a second.
I gave a worried look to Fidget before he took to the sky and started flying in a loop around the clearing, lifting the mist and revealing both Sovent and a strange pony dressed in red.
Upon looking closer the pony appeared to be wearing assassin robes of a style not local to our chapter. The robes were made from a heavy yet breathable looking material meant for long journeys and versatility and after seeing the first drops fall I realized that the robes weren't made from red cloth, but were stained with blood. I wondered whose blood it was until the he turned to look straight at me, his bright blue eyes seemed to pierce my soul before he coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed into the wet dirt.

I sat on the roof of Hightower watching the night fade as the sun rose, the stars getting fainter by the second before the first rays of light broke the horizon, giving shape to the land and setting the lake ablaze with a thousand suns. Next to the lake was a small town with chimneys smoking lightly from fires that died during the night before. The town was all but invisible to any who didn't know it was there, it's only giveaway was hightowers roof just peeking above the tops of the trees, making us the town's last line of defense against any ruffians and occasional wild creatures that came from what would come to be known as everfree.
Canterhorn mountain was silhouetted next, the ruins of an ancient and now near abandoned fortress clung tightly to the side of its tall spire, a waterfall falling hundreds of fathoms down into the mouth of what most of the locals called the Everfree River, flowing all the way out to the southern sea it formed a natural border keeping most threats to the south away, that's probably what Hightowers original purpose was, to keep an eye on the north or perhaps just a general watch tower, it's hard to say decades after the fall of its founding kingdom.
I heard a soft sound just behind me and glanced back to see Fidget, he sighed and sat next to me, shortly followed by Sovent who looked at the two of us and herself before starting to laugh. Fidget and I looked at each other for a moment before I broke the silence “What's so hilarious?”
She laid back on the roof “we’re all covered in blood.” she attempted to wipe it out of her coat and onto the roof, not getting very good results.
I blinked for a few seconds at her “How is that funny?” I said as I looked at my own blood covered hooves. The last hour had been rather stress filled as we had to help Arto how we could to patch up the wounded pony. In the hour of scrambling to get him down into Hightower and get him patched up enough that he wouldn't bleed out, we hadn't even got his name, though Artogus seemed to know who he was. Upon asking the old zebra we merely got a stern glare and were all ordered to get out as he got to work on applying bandages and ointment to the near uncountable number of punctures in the strangers hide.
“Well he's stabilized and he's not gonna die, and we’re all covered in blood that we didn't spill for the order.” she looked over to see Fidget glaring at her. “Isn't it just a little bit funny?”
She received an immediate “NO!” from both Fidget and I in unison
She flinched a little and stared at the sun rise, thoughtfully staring at the ruins hanging off the side of Canterhorn whose name now escapes me. As the sun rose to its prime height a large flock of birds escaped the ancient city and swirled around in the air before gliding down to rest in the lake that formed at the bottom of the steep spire before the water ran west. The birds turned the small fire of the small ripples in the lake into a large blaze.
Just then we heard a shout from down below and a loud clattering of things hitting the floor. The three of us looked at each other for a second before rushing back into Hightower. I jumped from the entrance, hitting the wall on the other side and pushing off hard enough to do the same on the other side before landing gracefully and kicking up a cloud of dust from the ancient floor. When I landed I realized what I had accomplished and looked up to see every eye in Hightower locked on me with a look of disbelief on their face.
Sovent was the first to say anything, “How did you do that?” she said wistfully as if she still thought her mind had made the whole thing up.
“I-I don't really know, I just sorta did it and it worked out..” I looked to Arto to see if he had any idea.
He frowned “that should be out of your paygrade Fox but you somehow did it, impressive!” his frown shifted to one of the biggest grins I’d ever seen on him before he turned to the stranger in the room who was also staring in awe, covered in his own dried blood, cracks showing his silver coat through. Artogus stared at him intently, “Who are you brother? You wear the robes of the Crystal City order of Assassins but I don't know you” he turned and picked up a prepacked pipe full of tobacco, tilting it slightly to light the leaves with a candle on the table next to his armchair. “Though it could really be cause you're covered in your own blood” he chuckled softly before taking a pull off the pipe and blowing a small smoke ring and sitting down in his chair.
The stranger looked at all of us warily for a few seconds before relaxing a little bit upon realizing he was truly among allies. He spoke in a very articulate way for someone in our profession “I am Seraph Silver, an elder from the Crystal City order, I came because you sent a raven to us saying you needed a guide for your three initiates to undergo their rites of passage.”
Sovent, Fidget and I all looked at each other in disbelief for a moment before staring at Arto who sat there grinning widely. “Well I didn't expect anypony to show up this fast!” he exhaled, letting out a cloud of smoke. “But you're going to have to wait anyway because Seraph isn't going to be fit to travel for a week or so, doctors orders”
Our excitement wasn't dampered by that news, but from Seraph gasping, we all turned to him with looks of concern and Arto almost dropped his pipe.
“Did you remember something that cha-” Arto started looking a little irritated
“THE FOLLOWERS OF DISCORD ARE NEAR!” he shouted
The room went dead quiet and Arto dropped his pipe.

The next hour was spent in organized chaos as Arto gathered the ingredients for a healing potion from his alchemy garden and gathered us a few essentials of his while the rest of us prepared for the long journey.
As I packed my bed I shouted down to Arto “So what kept you from making the healing potion in the first place?!”
Arto growled “Because the ingredients are expensive and hard to come by” a pounding noise came from below “Plus if the followers of discord are near then time is of the essence and the village needs to be warned as well”
“Shouldn't we be staying to protect the village if the followers are coming?” Fidget piped from his bunk hole
“Well judging how an elder assassin was poked so full of holes it took an hour to patch him up enough that he wouldn't bleed out, I'm not sure we have the combat capability to take them” a loud crash resounded from below “at least without your initiate equipment anyway”.
As I finished packing I went down to the lower level to see how I could help Arto and found both Sovent and Fidget there as well. Arto was in his robes, a rare sight for us as the old assassin almost never wore them, they were made from a heavy gray linen with a red sash and trim that matched, there were eagles embroidered onto the trim in bright silver that seemed to shimmer even in the low lighting. He was putting on pieces of armor as he brewed the healing potion and seemed to be struggling with his pauldrons.

I reached out and buckled the straps for him, getting an appreciative smile out of him as he poured the contents of the cauldron into a dozen glass bottles, the liquid a bright cherry red. He tossed one to Seraph who somehow had managed to take a seat in Artos armchair without getting fresh holes in him.

Seraph drank the potion and sighed in relief as his cuts and scrapes healed before our eyes. “Well shall we be underway?” he said as he packed the bottles into his saddlebags and looked us over with a slight smile.

We all nodded and didn't say a word, merely went to grab our things and headed up to the yard outside the old tower. The afternoon sun was high in the sky, looking to the north I could swear I could almost see a faint shimmer of the crystal city, similar to the shimmer gleaming through the dried blood on the coat of the elder we’d be taking the long journey with. I looked at Arto and he noticed the look, giving me a reassuring smile.

“You'll see me again before you know it kiddo, you all will” he said, looking toward where I had looked only moments prior.

At that we all set out on our journey and I took one last look back at home before the trees blocked it from sight. The open road was ahead...

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait everyone! I'm living back at my parents house at the moment and balancing a 60 hour work week with my responsibilities as a monarch in the LARP group I'm in:Amtgard, I've had little to no time to work on my work. Enjoy chapter two and hopefully the next chapter will be out soon!

Pins and Needlehorns

The long road was ahead and I was already feeling homesick, despite having half of what made home home travelling alongside me. I turned to Sovent and Fidget to see if they maybe felt the same but from their looks of excitement I decided that it was unlikely.

“So Seraph,” I trotted lightly forward til I was alongside him“what's it like in the crystal city?”

He turned his head to look me over for a second before looking ahead, there was an old stone bridge in an arch just before the road turned slightly into town. Instead of taking the bridge he jumped lightly into the river, the dried blood on his hide and robes billowed around him before being swept away by the current. He climbed up the bank before engulfing himself in magic and spraying the three of us with ice cold water. He laughed “Apart from it being unbearable cold outside the capital city there's not much to tell” he glanced down at his robes with a sigh, noticing all the stab holes in them “Shimmer Stitch is gonna kill me” he said as he walked into a beam of sunlight and cast a shimmer across the tree trunks around him.

I shivered a bit as the cold water struck me and my jaw couldn't help but drop at the sight of the crystal ponies coat in the sunlight.
After a few seconds he stepped back into the shade and put his hood up, he turned and his golden eyes glowed softly as he looked us over with a smirk. “Before you ask, yes we all do that” he said with a soft chuckle before crossing the bridge into town.
The town was called Needlehorn due to an old natural rock formation that looked like a long unicorn horn in the center of town. The houses were a mixture of single story and two story built out of logs and other bits of scrap wood mostly shaded by the trees that were quite a bit taller than any structure in the town other than Needle. Artogus had somehow beat us into town and was on top of the tallest building delegating an evacuation of the town.
“Grab only the essentials! The followers of Discord have no want for any of your valuables” He stood proudly upon his rooftop, pointing at individuals with a hoof as he spoke to them, though none of them seemed to be cooperating with his directions. They all looked up at him in confusion. Who was this strange zebra to tell them what to do? How do they know that they could trust said zebra? Most of the townsfolk just started to ignore him and went back to their daily routine, which at this point in the day was sleeping.
We all looked up at him with concern before he dropped lightly to the street. “I’ll keep working on them later” he said, looking our party over slowly “you all need to get going though if you want to have any chance of helping an old zebra do his job” he said with a wink as he pulled out his pipe, lighting it on a nearby torch and walking towards where we came from.
Seraph trotted briskly past Needle “he's right you know, this town will need more fighters if he can't convince them to go and by the looks of it they're not going to budge.”
Sovent snorted “If they're not gonna leave then we shouldn't be leaving Arto by himself to fight.” Fidget nodded in approval while I stayed quiet, not needing to say anything, both of them knew me well enough to know my answer.
Seraph sighed and glared gently at us “if you three decide to stay you'll be making the journey to the crystal city alone, without a guide” he sat down at the foot of a huge oak tree whose roots formed a natural bench in the middle of the street and stared at us “I shouldn't have to explain why I don't want to encounter tham again…” he trailed off before shuddering slightly before regaining his cool composure.
Putting a hoof to my chin I tried to think of a way to make this work for everyone which proved difficult seeing as I had yet to see anything farther than half a day's trot of Hightower. “How likely is it that they'll even find Needlehorn?”
He shrugged “they're not exactly known for being great navigators, they're basically just mobs of insane ponies with a hyper-insane leader” he dug in a chest pocket and pulled out a map which he laid down on the ground in front of us all.
We all gathered close around the old map in awe, having never seen a full map of what would someday be known as Equestria. The map showed that the south was dry, swampy, and hot while the north was cold and barren. The center of the map was green from coast to coast with Canterhorns tall spire drawn in the dead center.
I put a hoof on the map where Needlehorn was...it was wet. I sighed, “this is us, where did you encounter your attackers?” I wiped my hoof on my cloak before looking up at Seraph.
He pointed to a spot to the Northwest where a bunch of half circles of different greens were drawn “I encountered them in the Roiling Plains, didn't even see them til I was right on top of them”
“Weren't we going to be travelling that way anyway? Why don't we just be ready for a fight and make ‘em hurt along the way to the crystal city?” Fidget said running a wingtip from Needlepoint to the frozen north.
Seraph shook his head “I’d rather not encounter them with a group of 3 novices. You don't even have your blades yet, it'd be a slaughter” He pointed at the map farther west “ this region was where the followers first were documented, it's taken almost 20 years for them to travel this far east. I don't think they'll reach the village until long after you've returned”
I looked at the distance between Needlehorn and the point Seraph made out west and nodded “I think I'm comfortable with the distance then.” I looked to Jolt and Sovent and got a silent nod from them both “But what of the Roiling Plains? Shouldn't we be avoiding them if we know they're being watched?”
He seemed to ignore my question and instead scooped the map up in the white aura of his magic and neatly folded it, putting it back in the pouch it came from. “Shall we go?” He took a few steps toward the road north before looking back at us.
I took a long look back at Needlehorn before turning and following Seraph.

I stopped speaking when I noticed a beam of light shining down into the center of the training area, silhouetting the stained glass dome onto the floor, two crescent moons opening to either side of the sigil of my order. I blinked my focus away before looking at the girls who had fallen asleep on the dusty old couch. After a second of thinking about the day I realized that the three of them were late for school. “Hey! You’re late for school fillies!” I woke the three of them with a start and I never saw a pony who climbed the stairs out of the sanctuary that fast before or since.

I tapped a gemstone near the stairs and the flames illuminating the sanctuary died quickly before I climbed the stairs in darkness up to my home where I was greeted by a soft ringing coming from near my bed. Looking to it I saw my homemade device to let me know my mail had arrived was active and was accompanied by the presence of my pet phoenix, Lapis. Both Celestia and I had acquired our phoenixes at the same time, mine a lovely deep blue color and hers a rich red that she named Philomena. I greeted Lapis with a light scratch under her chin, causing her to coo softly. “Good morning beautiful, did you find me some mail?” She nodded enthusiastically as I floated the letters from the hanging basket. One from Zecora, one Rarity and one from Trixie. “Huh. Haven't heard from Trixie in a long while. I wonder how she is” I said as I opened her letter first.

Foxtor, I took your advice and decided to try being a magician

it's worked out wonderfully and I’ve made enough to buy a house

on the north side of the lake Ponyville is next to… I forget its name.

I was hoping to have you over so we could catch up soon and let me thank

you for the advice.

Write back soon, The Great and Powerful Trixie!

I laughed and set her letter aside to respond later and went to open Rarity’s letter pausing a moment to admire the purple wax seal she used to close it before cracking it and opening it wide.

Don't forget our appointment Foxtor, meet me at the boutique at noon.

,Rarity

Her writing was a beautiful flowing calligraphy that had to be more work to write in than it was worth, but I had to admire her quest to make everything in her day as beautiful as possible. Zecora’s letter was a plain scroll tied shut with a blade of grass from the Everfree forest. The message itself was written in the zebra alphabet made up of swirling angular glyphs, which my grasp on was a little rusty, so it took a few minutes to read.

Foxtor I’ve cooked your requested brew

Come see me tonight when the dew is new

Then the future you seek will come into view

I tossed the other two letters onto my desk with Trixie’s letter, tossing Lapis a treat as I trotted out the door and towards town.

My walk to Ponyville seemed shorter than normal due to the immense amount of thoughts that were running through my head. Why were things so quiet across Equestria? I hadn't heard word from any of the individual orders of the assassin brotherhood apart from them disbanding in over a year. News that I would normally be happy to hear, but after all my years as an assassin I knew better than to not be suspicious about the lack of problems, hence my request from Zecora.

My train of thought was interrupted by the stone arch bridge into Ponyville, the same one Seraph took a dip next to to wash all the blood off himself. The river that it crossed was dammed and diverted into the river that passed by my house long ago, leaving a shallow creek that gave off a gentle babble of water. I leaned over the rail of the bridge and looked down, watching a small fish lazily swim against the current for a few moments.

Ponyville was strangely empty today, the usually busy streets were nearly barren save a few lone ponies who were wearing warm clothing to stave off the fall chill in the air. One turned and stared at me for a few moments, looking me over with a perplexed look. It was uncommon for me to go to town without my robes on so most of Ponyville didn't realize I was part fox, my coat threw most ponies off guard. The mare waved at me once she saw me notice me staring at her, I waved back to be polite and shook my head a little some ponies I tell you I thought to myself.

I arrived at the boutique right as the town clock hit 12, knocking once before entering and being greeted by the gentle scent of fabric and a slight hint of a familiar mares perfume “Good afternoon Rarity” I said, coaxing her head out from behind her sewing machine.

“Ah! Is it that time already? Time truly flies when busy doesn't it?” she said as she floated her red rimmed glasses off and onto the desk. “Please pardon my mess darling, I’m in the midst of crafting my spring line while my inspiration is still fresh in my memory”

I smiled and shook my head “Consider it pardoned” I chuckled.

She smiled and floated a measuring tape out of her desk drawer and as fast as I could blink she measured everything she needed to make me the robes she promised.

“That's all I need” she said floating a drawing to me “Sweetie Belle dropped by on her way to class today and said she saw this in one of your journals. Is this something you wear often?”

I looked at the drawing and smiled softly. It was a highly detailed drawing of familiar armor with swirling designs laid into its surface with a slightly lighter metal. “your sister is quite the artist, I’m surprised she was able to draw this from memory so accurately” I nodded “I do wear it quite often too, not as often as I used to but still..”

Rarity smiled and floated another drawing over “Lovely! I had this drawn up in preparation” the drawing was of a faceless pony wearing a long coat with buttons from the belly up to it neck, using a white and black sash as an accent under the belt in addition to the armor Sweetie Belle drew. “As tacky as I find it I plan to make the robes themselves out of a nice leather and will color match the dye to match your favorite princesses coat” she said the last part with a wink, getting a bit of a blush out of me.

I nodded, Sweetie Belle had obviously took in a lot of information when she was looking through my journals with Scootaloo and Applebloom. “I excited to see them finished” I said grinning at her.

“Well if you don't have anything going on today you're welcome to stay here and relax while I work on them. Sweetie Belle and the others were planning on spending the evening here and I’m sure they'd love to hear more of your story..” she looked at me amusedly.
I rolled my eyes and flopped onto a red velvet chaise in the middle of the room. “ They enjoy my story that much huh?”
She swapped out the thread from her sewing machine and proceeded to draw out a pattern onto a sheet of leather “The girls seem to love it, it seems like a dreadfully dark tale to me but if you tell it while I’m in the room I’ll have no choice but to listen won't I?”
I glared at her for a moment before she glanced up and giggled “I’m sorry darling, it just doesn't seem like the kind of story I’d enjoy, being a mare who looks ahead and plans for it as a job” she put a hood to her chin “But looking ahead sometimes means looking back as well so maybe it would be good for me to hear after all”
I was about to respond when the door to the boutique swung wide and Sweetie, Scootaloo and Applebloom walked in dripping wet, it must've started raining not long after I arrived and the three of them had got out of school in a downpour. I laughed at the three “did you swim here?” I asked. My answer came in the form of Applebloom shaking like a dog and spraying water all over me as well as the room around her, causing me to scowl and blow a airy raspberry to attempt to get droplets off my muzzle as well as a shriek of annoyance from Rarity.
“Applebloom!” She said in her dramatically exasperated tone she so often used
“Heh sorry Rarity” she said as she watched her fling water droplets off a full sheet of blue hide she was planning out the cuts on before grabbing a stack of towels with her magic, tossing them onto the fillies.
“Dry yourselves off, you're ruining the couverture” she said before getting back to work on the sheet.
One of the many things I had to admire about the mare was her near seamless transitions from French to Ponish, I’d yet to see another who had the skill. I looked down at the three fillies sitting on the floor in front of me, towels draped over their backs staring at me.
“I suppose you want me to keep the story going” I said with a slight eye roll and the three of them nodded in unison. Chuckling and opening my mouth to start I was interrupted by the front door of the boutique slamming open again and a familiar purple pony trot in and get ready to shake off like the fillies before I grabbed Scootaloo’s towel in my magic and threw it at her. “Careful Twilight, you don't want to cause a storm in here too.” Rarity raised an eyebrow at me and frowned.
Twilight giggled and dried herself off, sitting down next to the fillies “Sorry! I’m just so excited. Princess Celestia said you were old but I didn't realize you were a thousand years kind of old. When I heard you were telling tales of the pre-princess days I just had to come here and hear for myself, and take lots of notes!” she pulled out a stack of thick notebooks, a quill and a inkwell before looking at me with a manic grin.
I sighed softly before smiling “I suppose you can…” I leaned back and adjusted the pillows on the chaise while I thought about where I had left off, getting slightly distracted by the designs carved into the ceiling for a split second before catching my train of thought again. “So we traveled north from Needlehorn…”