//------------------------------// // The Plan // Story: Assassin’s Creed: Friendship is Magic // by MyLittleBronyDude //------------------------------// Ezio sat in the main area of the bunker, one hoof propped against his chin. At one point Twilight joined him at the table, however he didn’t register her presence until the sound of her clearing her throat snapped him from his revelry. “O-oh! Sorry Twi. I was just… thinking…” he said as Twilight rolled her eyes with an amused expression on her face. “I noticed.” she replied, and fell silent again. The silence continued for a few moments before she spoke up. “So… Fluttershy told me about your little run in with Rainbow.” she stated as Ezio’s ears perked up. “Mind telling me how that went?” She prompted as Ezio shifted himself in his chair and got comfortable. “Well, uh... not much to tell, really...” he admitted before continuing, “From her account, I was led to believe that Rarity manipulated her in order to sway her trust away from the Assassins and over to the Templars.” “And do you think that’s true?,” Twilight inquired, with an interested gleam in her eyes. Ezio looked thoughtful as he thought his answer over. “Well, yes. I may have threatened her a lot, but hey, threats work. Do you think that it’s true?” Now it was Twilight’s turn to look thoughtful. “You know, you never can tell with Rainbow unless you use a..” Twilight stomped her hooves on the table with barely restrained excitement and a smile on her face. “That’s it! A truth spell! That way we can instantly tell whether or not what she says is true!” After thinking for several seconds about the new side of Twilight that he just saw, he realised that she had a point. “Yeah, I guess that could work. What do you need?” Twilight cracked a grin that wouldn’t have looked out of place on the Grinch. “Not a lot. I’ve been preparing for this for a while…” “Major Dash! Where are you?” “Major Dash! Are you in here?” As the guards of Rainbow’s patrol gathered back at the fountain in the Main Square, they realised that she was nowhere to be found. Seeing as how this wasn’t normal, they fanned out to search. One pony, who went by the name of Flash Sentry, went looking down an alleyway that branched off of the main square. He began searching through the alleyway, looking with sharp eyes for anything that would tell him where to look next. “Major Dash! Are you there? Respond! You are due back at your - huh?” Flash leant down after spotting something half hidden by dirt. It was a strand of rainbow hair. As he slowly moved down the alleyway, looking for any other clues, he was joined by Caramel, a higher ranking officer than Flash. Caramel spoke first, in a low voice. “Corporal Sentry, what have you found?” Flash saluted, something that he had to do a lot. “Sergeant Caramel! I have found a strand of rainbow hair, sir!” Caramel looked shocked. “She never loses hair. Never. Even when she does, she cleans it up. She doesn’t like leaving a trace. Something must have happened to her. Notify Princess Celestia at once. She has to know about this.” Flash saluted again as Caramel left. As soon as he was gone, he burst into a gallop towards Twilight’s castle. After forming a detailed plan, Twilight and Ezio were joined by Fluttershy and Pinkie so that they could all hear the information. As they walked, Twilight filled them in on the details. “Now, I will be using a truth spell, not a lie detector spell. A truth spell makes the subject speak the whole truth.” Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded. Well, Fluttershy nodded, but Pinkie bounced, as she always did. Twilight ignored this and continued to trot down the hall and speak at the same time, but Ezio stopped for a few seconds to remind himself that ponies can’t bounce. “So, as soon as we reach Rainbow’s cell, we can use the spell and - “ *BONG* “ - that’s the door. Everyone, follow me, but stay hidden. We don’t know who it could be.” Flash, after running for about half an hour, through the shadows and ducking through alleys, finally made it to Twilight’s Castle. As soon as he made it to the door, he rang the doorbell. After waiting for what seemed like forever, someone opened the door a smidge. The pony spoke in a low voice. “Who is it? I shall not grant you entry unless you can tell me who you are.” Flash stood proudly and said, “Flash Sentry. Double agent.” The pony spoke again, in the same low voice. “Codename?” Flash groaned and facehooved. “L….r...oy.” The pony smirked as they spoke again. “What was that?” Flash, now staring at the ground, said again, “Loverboy. There, I said it. Now can I come in? I’m too conspicuous out here.” The door swung open just enough to allow Flash to squeeze through, but no more. Once he got inside, Twilight walked up to Pinkie, who seemed to be the source of the voice. “I thought I told you to stop doing that! It’s annoying!” "Whoopsie! Sorry Twilight, I'll never ever do that again." Pinkie said while still looking perky. Twilight rolled her eyes, yet she smiled at Pinkie before she turned to Flash. "Flash, report. What did you find out?" Twilight said as Flash paced back and forth in the foyer. "I don't know what you did, but you're not going to like what I'm about to say." he began as Twilight raised an eyebrow. "One of the Templars found a strand of rainbow hair lying in an alleyway. Whoever did the job decided not to clean up after themselves. Now, I'm forced to report this to her. You know what that means, right?" Twilight sighed, “Yes, I do. Stall for as long as you can. We’ll need it to prepare for what’s to come.” she remarked as a hoof rubbed the back of her head. “I’m sorry for putting you in the middle of this, Flash. However, you’re the only one I can trust to do this. Just… don’t rush with this part, alright?” “Understood. I don’t know how long I can stall this, though. Kidnapping an officer is bound to make waves, Twilight. Rather big ones, too. Look… I have to get back to my patrol before they notice I’m missing. Good luck, alright? We’ll make it through this crisis like all the other ones before it, just have faith.” he said before he slipped back out of the front door and disappeared into the streets of Ponyville. Twilight was at the window, watching him leave. “I think I need to have a word with those two. If we survive the coming storm, that is.”