Hey, name's Josh. Or at least, it was. These days, not so much.
See, I was just a normal guy until a few centuries ago. Then some shit went down, and next thing I know I'm stuck in magical horse land. It didn't help that I may have murdered some of them. Okay, a lot of them.
It's a long story.
1,001 years ago
Oh man, there was some sweet stuff at this convention. Some buddies and I had decided that we were going to all go in themed costumes, and I couldn't be happier with what we'd picked. See, we were all pretty big Assassin's Creed fans, and since there were four of us, we'd decided that we'd each go as a different assassin from the games.
Leading the pack was Dave, cosplaying Ezio Auditore. He'd always been the ladies man of the bunch, so it made perfect sense for him to be the flamboyant Italian playboy. He didn't really have anything other than his costume by the way of merch, though, but we planned to fix that at some of the booths.
Behind him, Rob made a pretty imposing Connor Kenway. He was a big guy, standing around six foot ten. He towered over the rest of us, and was therefore the natural choice for Connor, the bulkiest Assassin. His costume was pretty detailed, and he even had the trademark tomahawk.
Trailing behind with me at the back was my best friend Edward, or rather... Edward, I guess. He'd always been the biggest fan of Black Flag when it came out. He'd already cosplayed Edward once or twice, and it showed in his costume. Four replica pistols, two real cutlasses, even a blowpipe. He'd come prepared.
And then there was me.
Walking slightly behind everyone else, head bent down and hands clasped in front of me in the the classic Blend pose, I was the spitting image of Altair Ibn La'Ahad. Ed turned to look at me.
"Hey, man, how's the hand?" He said, grinning. A few months back, when we had decided on our costumes, he'd said that I wouldn't be able to really pull it off. When I'd asked him why, he pointed out that Altair was missing his left ring finger. I'd shrugged it off as no big deal, but later that night the four of us had gotten drunk, and, well...
I have a habit of making bad decisions.
I flexed my hand, showing the stump where my finger used to be.
"I kinda like it, to be honest." I said. "Not like I needed that finger, and it fits the character better. Besides, means that this wasn't a waste." At that, I pushed the button on my wrist, causing my hidden blade to extend. It fit perfectly into the space where my finger used to be. I was the only one who had managed to score a working replica, although it didn't work quite like in the games. Button to extend, but I had to push it back in. I also had a sword at my hip, but I was missing the dagger and throwing knives.
Edward shook his head. "Whatever, dude. I still think you're crazy for actually doing that."
"Best five hundred dollars I ever won." Ed made to retort, but we were interrupted by Dave shouting at us from ahead.
"Guys, check this out!" We hurried over, and found that Dave had found a stall selling nothing but Assassin's Creed merch. The vendor had swords for Connor and Dave, and hidden blades for everyone but me. He even had the missing dagger I needed to complete my costume. I reached out to take it when he stopped me.
"I see you're truly dedicated to your character. I like that." He said, pointing at my finger stump. "I have a little something especially for you that I think you'll appreciate." I fixed my dagger in its sheath to my back as he ducked behind his table, and came back up with a glass box that contained something that made all four of us whistle in appreciation.
Inside, on a velvet cushion, was the most perfect replica of the Apple of Eden I had ever seen. A sphere of pure gold, marred only by intersecting lines running along it's surface. I knew I had to have it.
"How much?" I heard Ed say.
"Oh, no, I'm not selling it to you." He said. "Only to your friend Altair there. And two-hundred fifty, by the way."
"Sold!" I said. I couldn't get out my wallet fast enough. We exchanged the Apple for the cash, and I proceeded to wave it in Ed's face.
"I knew that money I won off of you would be good for something!" I said, taunting him with the apple.
He groaned in desperation. "Oh, come on! That's so not fair!"
"Yeah, well maybe when you cut off one of your fingers I'll let you hold it for a bit." It was just after I'd said that that the Apple started to glow. I didn't notice, however, as I was too busy revelling in Edward's misery. I only noticed it when it flashed, and everything drained of colour. Time seemed to slow down as I found myself unable to move, stuck staring at Ed. I screamed mentally.
The last thing I saw on Earth was a blinding flash of golden light, and then nothingness.
Canterlot, 1,001 years ago
When I materialised, I stumbled into a bunch of colourful ponies. They weren't ponies in the traditional sense, though. While they were still pony-shaped in the face, and had hooves instead of feet, and some had horns or wings, they were otherwise mostly humanoid. They didn't even have fur, just coloured skin.
I bumped into one of them, and he turned around and saw beneath my hood. He gazed at me for a second, before saying "What's wrong with your face?"
I took exception to that.
It was just supposed to be a punch. But when I'd hit him, my hidden blade extended through my fist and stabbed him in the head. He dropped to the floor, stone dead. Oh man, what the fuck. That wasn't a real blade! I didn't even press the button! After that, his friends had started to panic, and I soon had the guard on my ass. I did what came naturally: Ran like fuck.
Behind me, the guards chased me, and they were gaining by the second. I dashed into an alley, hoping to lose them, but was met with a dead end. I turned around to face my doom, and it was at this point I realised I still had the Apple. I noticed this because it sent a sensation like an electric shock up my arm and into my head. I looked up at the guards again, but this time my vision had shifted.
Everything was blue. Everything except for the guards, that is, who glowed red. Eagle Vision? What the fuck? I thought. I had no time for further contemplation, however, as one of the guards sprang forward with his spear outstretched. My body seemed to move on its own as I unsheathed my dagger from behind my back, dropping the Apple. I parried the guards thrust to the side and slammed my hidden blade into his abdomen. He keeled over.
The guard behind him came at me with a sword next. I ducked under his swing and stabbed my dagger into his hoof, before swinging it upward and slashing his throat, and he too fell. The final guard looked almost ready to crap himself as I stood before him covered in his comrades blood.
He turned to run. I ran up behind him and leapt onto his back, tackling him to the floor and jammed my hidden blade into his neck, severing his spine. I heard a weak mumbling from behind me, and turned to see that the first guard wasn't quite dead yet. I stalked back over to him, flicking some blood off of my hidden blade onto him. I bent to pick up the Apple when I heard him speak.
"Who... who are you?" He gasped. I smiled a little.
"Call me Altair." I said, before I ended his life too.