//------------------------------// // Why? Just... Why? // Story: Bringing Out The Worst In Others // by Murder Knight //------------------------------// Hey, wake up. Go ‘way. There’s someone in front of you. With a groan, I pushed myself up and glared at the unflinching batpony watching me sleep. The pony’s response was to levitate a scroll out of his saddlebags and present it to me. Too fucking early for this. I snatched the scroll out of his grip and rolled it out. To whom it may concern, We, Princess Luna, have entrusted Our most worthy soldier to delivereth unto thou a proposition. Our Sister is blinded by her own light. She desires to clash against the Khanate and end their siege on the grand city of Canterlot with the Everfree’s levies. We told her what We felt about this most foalish plan. We suggested to her that We use Canterlot as a distraction while We gather our forces from all around Equestria. We knew that this paltry force she gathered would not defeat Our foes, even if We were in the fray Ourselves. Instead of accepting, she fostered wroth and rebuked Us, saying that she will not let innocent blood be spilled when it can be prevented. Now, We know thou art only a commoner mercenary. To the eyes of the nobles, thou wouldst be nothing. And because thou walkest on two limbs, most pony nobles would think even less of thy being. Those same attributes can also help Us win the war. The Dogs would not suspect anything of another two-leg as their main priorities lie with griffons and ponies. You are to blend in and strike at the heart. If thou wishest to knoweth more, thou wouldst have to report to Captain Blunt Hoof. The fate of Equestria rests in your hands. Sincerely, Princess Luna of Equestria She sure laid it on thick. I looked up and saw that the bastard who delivered the letter was nowhere in sight. After a few choice words, I got to my feet and sprinted to the barracks. Fortunately for me, dawn hadn’t arrived yet, so there wasn’t any traffic on the way. Unfortunately for me, it’s still too fucking early for this crap. You’re talking to yourself again. I arrived at the crossroads and went right. To make sure everybody was as pissed as I was, I barged in and banged the door to the barracks. And then shit hit the fan. “WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!” I do not know who said that, but I will pat him on the back if I ever find out. Everybody got to their hooves as fast as they could and scrambled to get to their equipment. A groggy earth pony charged at me with a spear which I easily deflected with a shield I saw on the ground nearby. I backhanded him and leapt to the side to dodge a mass pegasi charge. The rest of the soldiers had already gotten over the initial confusion and were now just glaring at me. I grinned, “’Sup ponies? Have a good night’s sleep?” Even that sounded annoying to me. The sheer murder in their eyes almost made me crack up. Blunt Hoof slowly trotted over to me, the scowl on his face becoming less pronounced, “Let’s talk outside. Now.” I almost tripped on a hoof on the way out. Fortunately for me, I saw it coming and hopped over the outstretched limb while shooting the offender a smug grin. You’re an asshole. Just can’t help but point that out. So what if I am? What are they gonna do about it? Blunt Hoof turned to me, his normally blank expression somehow even blanker than before, “I assume you’re here on Princess Luna’s orders?” I gestured for him to go on, “Hmph. Your lack of professionalism disturbs me. No wonder why she chose you.” I gave him a blank look. His ears twitched, “Let’s skip the formalities then. In the east, tensions are high among the dogs and the native griffons. A rebellion in the homeland would cause their forces to be withdrawn to protect their lands, and freeing Canterlot from their grasp as well. To ignite the fires of rebellion, you must provide a spark. You are to assassinate the Great Khan. Doing so will show the locals that they are not invincible. The time needed to elect a new Great Khan would also give you a chance to eliminate their other military assets and cause chaos. A griffon smuggler has agreed to move you across the border. Accomplish the mission within the week. Any longer and Canterlot might be lost.” Time to drop the bomb. “What makes you think I’ll actually agree to this plan of yours? My survival chances are low enough as is. And now you expect me to waltz right in their capitol after I took down one of their Noyans?” He gave me a smug grin. I never realized how annoying those things were if you’re on the receiving end. “Don’t play word games with me. I’ve seen that look in your eyes. You’re bored. I’ve seen how you act. You spoke casually of the clash between your search party and the Noyan’s raiding party. Almost as if you didn’t really care about the lives of your enemies. The mischievous smile on your face when you woke up my men has shown me that you were bored and willing to cause trouble with the military to alleviate it. Now, you’re just trying to make your decision dramatic. You were going to accept anyway.” I was stunned, though the only hint of emotion on my face was a half-smile, “You got me. Where’s the smuggler?” “He will meet you near the western outskirts of Whitetail Woods at sundown. So you best be off now.” I chuckled, “Oh, what would you do without me?” “Stage a guerrilla war.” “… Are you serious?” He dropped the grin, “Of course I am. An alicorn may be worth a thousand unicorns, but we only have two and one is better off behind a desk than on the field. Shouldn’t you be somewhere right now?” I took the hint and walked away. As usual, my mind whirred on and I was able to silence my subconscious once again by starting a mental conversation. Thousand unicorns. Might need to note that. I calculated the magic fields and found out that if you used conventional magic, you would equal eight hundred and fifty six unicorns. Of course, if you used that much power Corruption would take over and the power skyrockets into seven thousand and six hundred unicorns. Are you sure it isn’t over nine thousand? Nope. That level goes to Corruption’s original host. Goddamnit. IT’S OVER NINE THOUSAND!!! “FUCK! YOU!” A young stallion whose direction I was facing turned tail and fled. Dude. Altaïr doesn’t shout. He just doesn’t. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Eagle Vision is a very nice thing to have. Especially if it’s almost sunset and your ride is ready to leave without you and you have no clue where the hell it is aside from a vague direction. Thankfully, I spotted the trademark golden hue in the corner of my eye. Sparing no energy, I sprinted up to it. If it wasn’t surrounded by a golden aura, I could have mistaken it for a small merchant caravan. There were three wagons, each pulled by a pair of slave ponies. Or at least I thought they were slave ponies until I saw a certain pony with a golden mane and white fur. Having caught my eye, Blueblood nodded in acknowledgement. I scrutinized the other ponies and recognized the rest of my squad, Tempered Steel, and a few other ponies who I remembered seeing at the Search and Destroy debriefing. Well played, Blunt Hoof. From the lead wagon, a griffin stepped out of the driver’s place, a smile on his beak. Wait, a smile on his beak? That’s not right. How the hell does that even work? So what if they can smile? What are you gonna do about it? Fuck. You. The slightly creepy smiling griffon sauntered over to me and held out a claw. After a moment’s consideration, I shook it. The serene smile on his face was creepy as hell. “Shall we be off?” The polite tone grated on me slightly. It clearly wasn’t a request. All of the wagons seemed to be stuffed, so I grudgingly sat over beside the griffin in the driver’s area. The griffin cracked his whip in the air and the guards started carrying the wagon forward. I settled down and made myself as comfortable as I could. Which was pretty difficult as we were travelling via pony-drawn wagon. “I don’t know how, well actually I do know, but still, you’re in big business now. Years and years of service, and I never got anything this big. And you, you were just a wanderer in the Everfree a few days ago. And now you’re an assassin, and your first contract is against the Great Khan himself. Some beings are just luckier I guess.” I heard Tempered drone on some more in front of me even after I tuned him out. Old people are very talkative. “-eaking of which, I don’t think you’re properly introduced to our driver yet. You don’t even know his name.” Some of his words slipped past my mental ward. I looked up and contemplated holding a conversation with the driver. I glanced over at him, his annoying smile still on his face. “What’s your name?” Basic conversation starter has been used. He didn’t even look at me, “I am Gandalf the Griffin.” “…” “…” “…” “So what’s your name?” “… Altaïr.” The resulting silence felt strange. Almost hostile. His smile seemed to falter a little. Let’s review the situation. I am in a caravan owned by a smuggler named Gandalf the Griffin, said caravan being pulled by my comrades disguised as slaves to get across the border into the territory of the Canine Khanate so that I could assassinate the Great Khan while dressed like one of the guards in Masyaf in a covert operation sanctioned by an envious immortal who controls heavenly bodies who will most likely stab me in the back when said operation is finished because I have limited control over the powers of an entity called Corruption and said powers are looked at negatively because the signature it gives off resembles dark magic, and this entire mess was instigated by a kleptomaniac who just couldn’t help himself. Yeah, I’m going to ignore what I just thought and go to sleep now. I’ve seen stranger. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “Has he boarded the caravan, Silhouette?” “Yes, Your Majesty.” It was not a good day for Luna. The first half consisted of bickering with the local militia leaders about various issues, like the fact that the Everfree milita consisted of only six hundred and seventy two ponies and that they were going up against Deigo Noyan’s army of three thousand and Kadan Noyan’s army of five thousand. With Deigo in their grasp, his army was sure to try and come over here to rescue him. Kadan’s forces would stay behind and keep up the siege as best as they can. They’re probably marching over right now. Right after that, there was not much else to do but review her plan. She couldn’t just expose him then and there. If he was even half as powerful as he seemed, the battle would level half the city and tire out the alicorns for a few days. Time which they do not have. Then the most ingenious idea popped into her head. Ponies are scrutinized and looked at with disdain by both dogs and griffins alike, making it hard to spy on them. Even the slaves are not exempt, with guards monitoring every nook and cranny. Once a pony enters, they don’t return. In comes Altaïr. With his bipedal stance and canines, he’ll probably be passed over as some kind of hairless dog by most. Judging by the ease in the way he moves in what looks like reinforced combat robes and the way his hand subconsciously inches towards the hilt of his sword whenever anypony got close, he would be labeled as a mercenary. Luna did not have the political prowess of her sister, but she knew how to read body language. Altaïr simply looked bored and restrained. Like an actual mercenary during times of peace. All she had to do was put some bait in front of him. “Excellent. Now assault the raider camp in Whitetail with the ponies available at the outpost. Dismissed.” Phase two is now in motion.