It was nighttime in Canterlot, and the city was silent. Two nights ago, Equestria's newest princess had been murdered in her sleep. Her funeral was only two hours ago. The remaining Traditionalists had refused to attend, and those who had participated in the murder were imprisoned. In a northern part of the gardens, lay the glass casket of Twilight Sparkle. Her still form was peaceful, cleaned of blood. Her gown was untouched, and her face was benign of life. Then, something strange began to happen.

Golden light began to form in front of the casket, and it kneeled to read the inscription plaque on the coffin.

The golden mist vanished, revealing a bipedal figure that could only be described as an angel of mercy. At the wave of her hand, the casket lid opened, and the figure touched Twilight's unbeating heart. Then, there was a whisper.

"Heroes...never...die…" the angel said. Twilight was illuminated in a sheath of golden energy, and as it faded, the angel smiled. Then, Twilight's chest began to rise and fall. Acting quickly, the angel tapped a device on her wrist and a blue ring appeared. Scooping up the now-revived princess, the angel walked into the portal, vanishing from sight.

=============

Twilight's eyes flicked to a persistent beeping sound coming from her right. Her body felt numb, and she couldn't move, she could only hear.

"Athena, how is our guest?" said a deep, rough voice.

"She is recovering, Winston. No neural trauma detected. Vital signs indicate subject was successful. Further rest and recovery is needed for full motor function." said an artificial-sounding female voice.

"Thank you, Athena." said a second voice. This one was pure and tinged with happiness. "I see she is waking up."

Twilight forced her eyes open to reveal herself in a room similar to a high-tech medical laboratory. She was lying on a pallet, her dress gone and replaced with IV stickers and some kind of device on her chest. She groaned and turned to her side to see she was hooked up to an heartbeat monitor, and was receiving IV fluids.

"Good, she made it. Winston, please leave us for the moment."

Twilight looked to her left to see a being clad in white and orange armor with yellow glowing wings. A golden halo rested above her head, and her white hair was tied back in a tail. She kneeled next to Twilight, and took her hoof in her limb.

"I am surprised at your resilience, miss." she said. "It took a lot to bring you back."

"Where...am I?" Twilight spoke, her voice hoarse.

"Overwatch Operations Base Epsilon, in Crete, on planet Earth." the being spoke. "My name is Dr. Angela Ziegler, but most here call me Mercy."

"Twilight Sparkle." she said. "Princess of…"

"I know who you are." Mercy said. "Apart from reading the plaque on your casket, I was the one who brought you back from the dead."

"What?" Twilight murmured. "The daggers....the Orichalum…"

"Whatever killed you did leave trace amounts of a poisonous element in your system, but it degraded over time to the point where resurrecting you was not a problem." Mercy said, showing her an image of a chemical formula. "There were large amounts of it in your body, but like I said, it was flushed clean when I revived you."

"How...did you?" Twilight groaned.

"My resurrection ability works by sending a massive surge of neural activity to the brain, restarting all bodily systems in a matter of seconds. You were lucky. A few hours more, I wouldn't have been able to bring you back."

"Why?" Twilight asked. "Why me?"

"Because you were hope for your world." Mercy said. "When we discovered your dimension, we were watching in order to learn more about it. I saw the funeral, and I heard the speeches given in your name. I knew you did not deserve to die as you did. You are more than a Princess, Miss Twilight. You were a hero. And heroes never die."

"I'm not a hero…" Twilight said. "They hated me. They murdered me in my sleep…"

"I know." Mercy said. "But do you not remember that there were those you loved you? Those who cared for you? You were a hero to them, and that's what counts, miss. However, I cannot send you home again."

"I need to…" Twilight said weakly.

"You cannot." Mercy said. "You are weak, and in no condition to fight. Furthermore, I have seen the faces of those who you left behind. They are already burdened. To come back so soon after death is a burden they cannot bear. I must ask you to remain here while you recover from the resurrection process. I will return shortly, with much-needed nourishment for your body and mind. I would advise getting some rest."

Twilight nodded, thanked Mercy in a weak tone, and dozed off.

=============

Twilight woke up to Mercy sitting down next to her, with a tray of veggies and some bread.

"Eat. It will restore your energy." she said. Twilight ate, and soon, felt needed relief flush through her.

"Mercy...you said we're on Earth. Does that mean you're...human?" she asked.

"Yes." Mercy said. "I am human."

Twilight nodded.

"We've always thought humans were myth."

"To us, alicorns and the beings of your world were the same." Mercy said. "I want to know what led to your death, Twilight."

Twilight sighed and told Mercy of her planned reforms for Equestria and how the Traditionalists opposed them and her royal status, and her eventual death at their hands. By the end, Mercy was troubled and angry.

"I see." she said, taking Twilight's hood. "You have been through so much, Princess. I am sorry."

"Thank you." Twilight replied. "But...what about you? What is this place?"

"This is an operations base for Overwatch. Epsilon Crete, to be exact." she said.

"Overwatch?" Twilight said.

"Yes, a force dedicated to protecting peace and the world." Mercy said. "We are made of heroes from all nations and all walks of life. Soldiers, pilots, musicians, machines...We all represent hope for the future."

"Why?" Twilight asked.

"I shall tell you." Mercy said. "Many years ago, the Omnica Corporation developed the Omniums and their machines capable of bolstering manufacturing and economic equality. When Omnica was shut down, the Omniums were disabled and left in the dark, only to rise in rebellion against their human creators. The Omniums sent legion upon legion of weaponized omnics, from Bastions to Titans, against humanity. We do not know why this happened, only that it happened. Nations were destroyed, cities burned, thus was the Omnic Crisis. The Crisis ravaged the world, and we were powerless against them. Then, there was hope. Overwatch was formed to end the crisis and restore peace, which we succeeded in doing. The war was over, and a generation has passed. But...Overwatch did not last. We were brought down from within, and forgotten. But new threats have arisen, and we are needed more than ever. We were once scattered, but now we are united. I need to ask you something, Twilight."

"What?" Twilight asked.

"Will you join us?" Mercy asked. "Judging from what we heard, you are more than capable of handling yourself in a fight. Furthermore, many of our agents are scattered. Currently here, we have seven, including myself. This world needs heroes, Princess. We believe you can be one, regardless of your own perception."

Twilight thought to herself.

"I want to go home, but Mercy's right. I can't. It's too soon."

"Alright. I'll join you." Twilight said. "But promise me something. Whenever I feel the time is right, I will go home."

"Accepted." Mercy said, pulling her up. "Let's go see Winston, shall we?"

"Winston?" Twilight asked as they walked down the hall towards the command center.

"Our new commander of Overwatch." Mercy replied "Our former commander is here too, but he has long given up that role."

"I see." Twilight said. Upon entering the Command Center, Twilight's eyes raised. A gorilla wearing some kind of white armor was eating a banana smothered in peanut butter, while watching a news broadcast of some sort.

"...the worldwide vigilante streak attributed to the person known only to the world as Northstar has presumably been brought to Italy, where a Null Sector cell was found dismantled underneath the Colosseum. The trademark two stars, the vigilante's logo were found on a body of an Omnic soldier. All Null Sector forces were destroyed before Italian forces could arrive on the site. The Italian president has expressed his thanks to the vigilante, but warns Italians to be careful. In other news, the Second Omnic Crisis has turned for the worse. Katya Volskaya reportedly survived an assassination attempt by unknown forces. The survivors report that a man clad in black and a skull-like mask armed with ,multiple shotguns breached the facility and destroyed Volskaya's prototype mecha…"

The gorilla turned off the display and sighed.

"Did she agree?" the gorilla asked.

"She did, Winston. I thought you should be the one to explain." Mercy said.

"You're Winston?" Twilight asked, surprised. "I thought…"

"That I'd be human?" Winston replied. "Well, it's a long story. I have an IQ of well over 400, far surpassing that of a human. Anyway, Twilight, I wanted to welcome you to Overwatch, seeing as you've joined us."

Twilight nodded.

"However, I need to ask you something. Is there any way you can change your appearance using your magic? The Omnic Crisis made us...rather nervous."

"I see. It's no problem." Twilight said, using a shape-shifting spell to morph into her human body. "Is this better?"

"Much better." Winston said. "You'll need to start training immediately, along with other subjects. There's something I need to attend to. Torbjorn apparently found a working Bastion unit with partial memory damage near Eichenwalde, and he's bringing it here. I need to get ready for its arrival."

"Bastion?" Twilight asked.

"Bastion units were the bulk of the Omnic forces during the crisis." Winston said, pulling up an image Torbjorn had sent him. "They were all supposedly destroyed after the Crisis."

"I see." Twilight said. "What do you plan to do with it?"

"I plan to see if I can restore it." Winston said. "It would allow us a possible insight into the old Omnic network. In the meantime, Mercy, take Twilight and have Soldier give her a shakedown. She'll need to start training immediately. I'll radio the other agents and see who I can get."

Mercy and Twilight nodded and walked out, and soon arrived at a training ground, where a man wearing a blue jacket emblazoned with "76" was shooting at targets with lethal effectiveness.

"John." Mercy said. The man turned around, his face obscured by a black mask with a glowing red visor.

"Mercy." Soldier-76 replied. "Our newest agent?"

"Yes. Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said, offering her hand, which Soldier shook.

"Morrison. John Morrison, former leader of Overwatch." Soldier said. "I'll be your combat instructor for now. First, we need a designation for you. Just to make sure your identity remains secret for now."

"Right." Twilight said. "I'm not sure I can come up with one, though."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Mercy said. "For now, I'll leave you with John so you can learn how to fight and defend yourself. I'll see if I can make you a weapon you can use."

Twilight thanked Mercy, and she departed. John set his Heavy Pulse Rifle down and assumed a combat stance.

====================

Three hours had passed, and Twilight was panting on the training room floor, sweating heavily. Soldier had put her through her paces multiple times, from running laps to learning strikes from martial arts. As he looked down at her, he shrugged.

"That's enough for now." Soldier said. "Get some rest. I'll show you to the barracks."

Twilight nodded and stood up wearily. As they walked, Twilight inquired about why Soldier was the former leader of Overwatch.

"Well, after the Crisis, Overwatch was dismantled from within and from the outside. We were charged with crimes from human rights abuse to weapons dealing, and the people called for my head. Almost got it, too. Our headquarters in Geneva was destroyed, and myself and another were presumed dead with it."

"Who was this "another"?"" Twilight asked.

"His name was Gabriel Reyes." Soldier said. "He was a good friend of mine, as he led the Blackwatch section. He eventually turned against me and we fought as our HQ exploded. I know he's alive. I've seen him. But…he's not the man he used to be. Reyes...became the Talon agent known as Reaper. He's a heartless, remorseless killer now, far from what he used to be. Worse, he's still out there."

Twilight murmured an "I'm sorry" as she entered the barracks to her new bunk.

"Breakfast is at 0800 Hours in the common room, down the hall to the left." Soldier said. "Get some rest."

Twilight nodded, and collapsed on the bed. She was soon sound asleep.

============

Back in Equestria, Princess Celestia stood in disbelief before the empty casket. She examined the lock and found it had not been forced, nor was there any footprints in the freshly planted grass. She sighed, and summoned an illusionary copy of Twilight in the casket. She closed the lid and departed, her eyes filled with tears.

"Twilight…" she thought. "If you're out there, alive, please....come back. We need you."

Author's Notes:

New assassinverse story, why not?

Do you like it?