//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: The Boys are Back in Town // Story: The Descendants // by Gherkin //------------------------------// The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions. - Leonardo da Vinci Canterlot Castle, Equestria 22nd May 1002 C.R. 6:04PM The cooler temperature and climate in the mountain city of Canterlot proved a welcome relief for Cole MacGrath as he, along with Nathan, John, and Ezio, stepped off the sweltering train from Appleloosa. The ride had taken up most of the day, however they were expected back at the castle. Good thing too, he thought to himself, I think we need to have a little talk with the princesses. The terrible business in the San Palomino Desert had brought into question just how prepared they, along with the rest of Equestria, were going to be in the upcoming battles. Cole silently wished there was some sort of set date that the invaders were going to, well, invade. It was hard sleeping at night knowing that, at any moment, they could come down and blow them all to kingdom come. He glanced around at the crowded street as the four of them made their way towards the castle. The city’s ponies were out in force, either dining with friends or shopping for things they likely didn’t need. Either way, it didn’t matter to Cole. The crowds were just getting in the way anyway. Luckily though, the street they were on lead almost directly to the main steps at the castle gates, so they didn’t have far to walk. “So, what are we gonna do?” Nate appeared beside the conduit, trying to keep the same pace despite the force of the crowd. “Well,” Cole began. “We’re going to walk in and ask her how much she really knows about all this shit.” “Nice and subtle. I like it." Drake chuckled slightly, before clearing his throat. "Were you suspicious the first time around too?” MacGrath nodded. “I had my doubts about her. She did seem like she was hiding something.” Ezio trotted in between them. “Sì, but that begs the question: why? Why would she hide things from us if we’re supposed to be helping them?” Nathan sighed. “I don’t know, pal. I don’t know.” The crowd was beginning to swell. It seemed that half of Canterlot was out in force, taking advantage of sales in the stores or eating dinner with friends. The four of them could barely push through the masses of ponies without getting bogged down. In the midst of it all, a hooded mare clumsily bumped into Drake, almost sending him tumbling to the floor. “Hey!” he called out. “Watch it!” When the mare didn’t respond and kept walking, Nathan grew suspicious. Feeling inside his saddlebag, he noticed his coin sack was missing. “Son of a... I’ll be right back,” he hastily told his friends before quickly setting off after her. “Stop!” The cloaked mare ignored him, galloping away at full speed through the crowded street. Blocking out the confused cries of his friends, Nate unfurled his wings and took to the sky, smirking as he gained the advantage. The mare noticed his move and quickly darted into a back alley. Drake banked sharply and almost crashed into the wall, his forward momentum betraying him. “Ah, shit,” he cursed, noticing the abundance of signs, washing lines and other obstacles that stood in his way high above the ground. With no other choice, he dropped to the ground and set off after the mare again. After she had pulled that little move, he had lost his ground, and now he fought to keep up with the unusually fast mare. I think she was a unicorn. Maybe some sort of speed enchantment spell? he wondered. God knows. Nate could feel beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead as he sprinted after the thief. She was always one step ahead of him, ducking into small alleyways cutting through busy streets. Drake could feel himself becoming increasingly fatigued as he fought to keep his pace. Losing focus, he toppled through a pile of trash cans,going sprawling to the floor. The mare noticed this and, with a smug grin on her face, gave him a cocky wink before setting off again. Groaning, Nate hauled himself to his hooves. “You’re not getting away that easily!” The two of them soon reached a solid brick wall, with two paths leading to either side. Without hesitating, the unicorn mare ducked into the path leading to the right. Drake smiled, noticing a sign that read ‘dead end’. Gotcha now, you thieving bitch. He turned the corner to be met by a dark blue hoof, smashing into his face. The painfully large force of the blow knocked Nate off his feet and sent him crashing onto his back. The fortune hunter could barely register what had happened before he fell unconscious. Smirking, Nathan’s assailant charged up a communication spell. The magic was not too complex, which was good, because it was no secret that she wasn’t too good at spell-casting. Well, it was no secret anymore, at least. The mare heard a soft male voice enter her head as the unicorn she was contacting cast the same spell. Is it done? the voice asked simply. “Yes,” she answered. “I’ve got him.” *** An hour later... Nathan Drake slowly awoke to the painful sound of his ears ringing. Instinctively, they folded back against his head as he opened his eyes. He was in a small, cramped room, from what he could make out. The only source of light came from a single lightbulb hanging above his head. It produced a dull glow that made seeing anything beyond a few feet next to impossible. The only sound came from a corner of the room, where a water pipe was leaking drops onto the floor. The repeated sound alone was enough to drive anyone crazy. Worried, he tried to stand up, but found he was tied to the chair in which he sat. Oh, crap, he thought. This can’t be good. Starting to panic, he strained on the ropes that bound him, desperately trying to break free, but it was no use. He was utterly trapped. “Shit,” he muttered to himself. “What now?” Even in a completely new world, Drake still seemed to find himself stumbling from one catastrophe to the other. He shouldn’t have felt surprised about it anymore. Schäfer was right. Everything I touch does turn to shit. His thoughts were cut short as a door on the far side of the room flung open, revealing a suited unicorn stallion. He smiled and chuckled for a second, before stepping through the threshold and kicking the door shut behind him. “Good evening, Mr. Drake,” he said politely, with a soft accent. “I hope you’ve been comfortable.” “Get the hell away from me,” Nate growled. “Before I strangle you with that tie of yours.” The stallion chuckled again slightly, raising a hoof to straighten the maroon tie that complimented his jet black suit. “Now, Mr. Drake, I don’t think you’re in any position to start making threats.” Nate rolled his eyes. Here we go. “Fine. Let’s start again. Who the hell are you?” The unicorn circled around Drake slowly in an effort to make himself as intimidating as possible. “That’s not important. What is important though, is what I need from you.” “Really?” Nate scoffed. “You need something from me, so naturally the best course of action is to kidnap me? Yeah, that’s a great way to get me on your good side.” The unicorn turned to face the pegasus, bearing a sinister smile the likes of which Nate had seen too many times before. “Oh, we won’t be needing your consent for this, Mr. Drake. The wonders of magic are more than enough, am I right?” His horn lit up, illuminating the room with a shade of light blue, to emphasize his statement. Drake sighed. “Of course. Magic, magic, magic. It’s all I ever hear about these days.” He paused as something in his head clicked. “Wait a minute, how the hell do you know my name?” The stallion brushed dust off of his suit nonchalantly. “Well, let’s just say that you know a lot of confidential things when you’re in the position I am, Mr. Drake.” His horn lit up again, and he started to advance towards the fortune hunter. Crap. There’s no way out of this. “What about the girl?” he asked, in an effort to distract his kidnapper. Nate’s attempt to buy himself some time did not pay off,as the stallion continued to bear down on him. “Oh, her?” he said dismissively. “Some mare we pulled off the street. Used to be a showpony, or something. It doesn’t matter. We paid what we owed her, and now she’s on her way. None of us will likely ever see her again.” Drake struggled in his binds as the unicorn’s spell continued to charge. By that point, the light coming from the tip of the kidnapper’s horn was near-blinding. Nate squinted and looked away, desperately trying to break free somehow, but it was no use. There was an even larger flash of light, and, all of a sudden, the pegasus felt calm, as if all of his worries had just flown away. He sat there, motionless and speechless, for a few moments, before the suited unicorn finally spoke. “How do you feel, Drake?” “I feel completely normal,” Nate said in an eerily monotone voice, bearing no emotion whatsoever. “What I am going to do?” The unicorn chuckled darkly. “Well, it’s quite simple, my friend.” He stepped back away from the fortune hunter, satisfied that his spell was successful. “You’re going to kill the princesses of Equestria.” “I am going to kill the princesses of Equestria,” Drake repeated flatly. The stallion smiled. “Perfect.” In an instant, Nathan was free of the ropes that bound him to the chair. “You’d best be off then. Remember though, you must only do the deed when the time is right.” “How will I know?” “You needn’t worry about the details,” the unicorn told him. “Now hurry along.” Drake went to leave, but stopped when the unicorn cleared his throat. “Oh yes, I almost forgot.” He pulled a sack of coins from his suit pocket and chucked them towards the chestnut-coloured stallion. “Here’s you money back.” *** Canterlot Castle Two hours later... “Well, ain’t this just grand?” Ezio and Cole looked up at Marston, glaring. “Yeah, we get it John,” the conduit said. “He’s been missing for an hour now. He’ll show up soon, I bet.” “You said the same thing half an hour ago.” Ezio sighed. “Will you both shut up? He’s probably just... lost, or something.” MacGrath rolled his eyes. “Of course, because it’s so hard to miss the giant castle that towers above the whole city.” Groaning, he slouched over onto a bench and started to generate electricity from his hooves to entertain himself. It wasn’t very successful, though. Soon enough, their boredom was soon interrupted by an approaching Royal Guard. "Good evening, gentlecolts," he said to them. "Princess Celestia wishes to inform you that you are perfectly welcome to come in and return to your rooms." "It is fine, my friend," Ezio told him. "We're just waiting for Drake." "Very well. However, should you change your minds, just head on in. Also, the kitchen will be staffed until midnight, should you get hungry." "Yeah, yeah, thanks," MacGrath grunted impatiently as the guard trotted away. All he really wanted to do now was sleep, but a dirty old bench in the middle of the city didn't seem to be an ideal location. Instead, he attempted to start conversation with his friends. "So, Ezio, how many sessions of therapy do you think ol' Shiny needed after what you did to him?" he asked, smirking. "Very funny," the assassin replied. "Like I said before, I never actually held a sword to his throat." Looking over to the conduit, he started to grin. "Besides, I bet you weren't exactly happy when you woke up with four legs either." Cole nodded. "True. Luckily for the guards, though, there were no sharp objects in my room." "Not like you would have needed any," Marston spoke up. "No, I bet he wouldn't." The three of them looked up, recognizing the new voice. Sure enough, there was Nate, standing there as if nothing had happened at all. "Miss me, fellas?" "Something like that," Ezio commented. "What took you so long?" Drake shrugged. "I don't know. Got sidetracked I guess. Canterlot's a very beautiful city. Better still..." He pulled out his sack of bits proudly. "I got my money back." "Well, good for you," John told him, not entirely impressed. "You catch whoever did it?" The pegasus shook his head. "No. Doesn't really matter though. She just dropped them and kept on running, I think. I can't really remember." Cole eyed Nathan suspiciously. There was something off about his explanation, but he couldn't put his hoof on it. Either way, by now all of them were too tired to care. "Come on then," the conduit announced. "I think we could all use some shut-eye." "What are we gonna do about Princess Celestia?" Nate asked as they made their way into the castle foyer. "Screw it. We'll talk to her tomorrow after breakfast," MacGrath told him. "It's not like she's going anywhere." Drake nodded and yawned. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." "Better to face the task feeling awake and refreshed, right?" Ezio spoke as they neared their rooms. "Goodnight, everyone." The four of them soon parted ways, after wishing each other goodnight. Nathan, in particular, felt exhausted, barely finding the strength to pull himself into his room and into bed. It's been a long day, he thought to himself. God knows what tomorrow's gonna be like. *** "You must hurry, there isn't much time!" Nate and his friends heeded the guard's advice, quickly gathering their weapons and sprinting after him. This was it. Judgement day. The Ones Who Came Before were finally here, and Princess Celestia had called an emergency meeting. There was no time to lose. The myriad of hallways and corridors beneath and inside the castle seemed to go on forever, and the four of them couldn’t shake the feeling that they were quickly running out of time. Increasing their pace, they rounded the last few corners into the main hall, where the two regal sisters of Equestria stood, grave looks upon both of their faces. “Finally,” Luna, the night princess, exclaimed. “You’re here. Time is short, and we haven’t got much of it to waste explaining.” “What do we have to do?” Cole asked. “There’s a carriage waiting outside,” the older sister, Celestia, explained. “It will take you all to Ponyville. We fear that there is where they shall strike first.” She turned away, staring outside at the rapidly approaching star in the sky, before gazing down upon the small town at the bottom of the mountain. “You all know how important Ponyville is, especially what, or, more appropriately, who, is there.” “The Elements of Harmony,” Ezio breathed, realizing. “They’re going after them.” Celestia nodded solemnly. “Yes. We have every reason to believe that they will try to attack our most valuable assets first. You must guard them at any and all cost.” “Don’t worry,” Marston reassured them. “You have our word.” “Then go,” Princess Celestia told them. “And above all, be safe, my little ponies.” They all turned to leave, except for Nathan. He stood there for a second, clutching his head. After the princess had finished speaking, something had clicked inside his mind. MacGrath noticed this, and turned to face him. “Nate, you alright? Come on, we have to go.” Nate couldn’t hear him. There was an intense and excruciating ringing in his ears that he couldn’t dispel. He struggled for a second, before becoming suddenly calm. The ringing in his ears was gone, replaced with a solitary voice. “You are going to kill the princesses of Equestria.” Silently but quickly, Nate whipped his handgun out of its holster and aimed it squarely at Celestia’s head. She didn’t move, or respond in any way. She only stared him down. “Ah,” she murmured. “I see what has happened here.” Drake hesitated for a second, trying with all his might to resist the magic that had programmed his brain, but to no avail. A lone gunshot echoed through Canterlot Castle. *** Nathan Drake jerked awake. He glanced around, breathing deeply, trying to calm himself down. He was tucked into his bed in Canterlot Castle, safe and sound. Shit, he thought to himself. Another nightmare? Must be going crazy. He looked outside. The sun was rising above the valley below the city, signalling the start of a new day. Glad to know Celestia doesn’t slack off, at least, the pegasus thought, clambering out of bed. Breakfast’s probably going on right about now. I’d best get down there. Wiping sleep from his eyes, Drake threw on his clothes and scarf, before staring at his ring. Or, rather, Sir Francis’ ring. He remembered the day he got it vividly. That night in Cartagena, the same night he met his best friend, all those years ago. Smiling fondly at the memory, he read the inscription aloud. “Sic Parvis Magna. Greatness from small beginnings.” He chuckled and slipped the lanyard around his neck. “Look how great I’ve become now.” Focusing his mind on the day ahead, he stepped out of his room into the corridor beyond, before trotting towards the stairs to the dining hall. As he made his way there, he took time to admire the interior decorations of the centuries old castle. Many paintings and photos adorned the walls, each detailing the two princesses at some point in their lives. He stopped to inspect one in particular, which depicted Princess Celestia talking to a group of pilgrims, motioning to the empty valley below them. Must be the founding of Ponyville, Nate concluded. Drawing himself away from the image, he continued to make his way downstairs. It didn’t take too long, as he didn’t stop to admire any of the decorations again. He reached the large doors to the dining hall and, taking a deep breath, threw them open. A heated discussion was already taking place over breakfast as the pegasus made his way inside. I must be late to the party, he thought jokingly. Smiling, he sat down near the head of the table, popping a slice of toast in his mouth as the spectacle unfolded. “All I’m saying,” Cole was telling the princesses, frustration clear in his voice, “is that we should have more freedom with our abilities. Those things back in Appleloosa damn nearly killed us.” “We understand your concerns, Mr. MacGrath,” Luna said soothingly, “but it just wouldn’t do to bear openly worn weapons when walking around town. It is likely to make ponies nervous.” ‘Isn’t it a small price to pay?” the conduit protested. “What if one of those things comes back down again and we can’t stop it.” “I’m sorry Cole, I thought you could generate electricity from your hooves,” Princess Celestia said in a slightly condescending tone, not taking her eyes from the morning’s newspaper. MacGrath seemed fit to burst in rage. “You can’t expect to drop everything on my shoulders!” Nate looked over to Ezio as they continued to argue. The hooded stallion was looking through some papers, but he couldn’t make out what they said. Judging by his suspicious reaction, however, he could deduce that it wasn’t good. “I think we have more concerning matters right now, mi amici,” the assassin spoke up, dropping the files onto the table. “Specifically, why they have been spying on us for most of our lives!” The rest of them stopped what they were doing to look over at the angered stallion. Princess Celestia's demeanor quickly changed from bored to anxious, while her sister merely shook her head. “How did you get those?” Celestia asked quietly. “I’m an assassin, I’m fairly sure sneaking around is part of my job description.” Ezio glared at them both. “The better question, however, is how did you get these? This information? These pictures?” He held one up of him cradling a dying woman in his arms. “Mio amore, Christina. I was the only one there when she died.” “It was the same spell that brought you all here,” Luna answered softly. “We are able to view your memories. That’s how we knew when you were going to be in the Vault, with Minerva.” The Master Assassin’s scowl didn’t falter. “It doesn’t feel right, knowing that beings like you can just view my memories whenever you please. Curse this confounded magic,” he muttered under his breath. Princess Celestia smirked. “Oh, I think you’ll find magic isn’t entirely necessary when viewing an ancestor’s memories. How do you think Minerva was talking to Desmond?” Ezio froze up. He stared at her for a second, before sighing. “Sì, you are right, I suppose. Still, I little privacy would be nice.” The two sisters chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry, your secrets are safe with us.” They giggled harder as a blush broke out across Ezio’s face. Drake, who had been silent for the whole encounter, crossed his front legs and smiled, chewing on a piece of fruit. While he wasn’t exactly overjoyed at the prospect of the princesses being able to view his memories, he had to accept that it was out of his control. Besides, it wasn’t like they were the type to misuse their power. Anyway, they had to focus on the day ahead. Their train to Ponyville was leaving soon, and there was much to be done.