I sat silently in the train car, with only my brothers and those that volunteered to take us to Salt Lick City being on the train. Supplies for the soldiers were loaded onto the train as well. Anxiety was present on the faces of my brothers, though some did a better job of hiding it than others. Spear had immediately gone to a car of his own, and I decided not to follow. He probably just needed time to think. The train was devoid of any noise, save for the rhythmic chugging of the engine at the front of the train. I fared little better, too lost within my own musings to care, or even acknowledge my surroundings.
Why did it have to be now? I found myself thinking this over many times. My mind drifted to the safety of my scanty brotherhood. Have I just sent us all to our deaths? I was so deep in my own thoughts that I barely noticed when Dash tapped me on the shoulder.
"You're nervous, aren't you mentor?" She sat down across from me. I slowly raised my head up to face her, and nodded. She sighed. "I guess we all are. Heh, at least I know that even the mentor can get anxious..." she looked out the window sullenly.
"It seems so peaceful, doesn't it? It's almost hard to believe that somewhere out there, ponies are dying to protect Equestria. You know, last time, they didn't try this." She smiled, despite her emotional distress.
"What do you mean by that?" I inquired. She let out a half-hearted laugh.
"That's right, nopony ever told you. This isn't the first time the changelings have tried to take over Equestria." Now she had peaked my interest. I shifted slightly, and she took that as a cue to continue. "Their queen, Chrysalis, sneaked into Canterlot, disguised as Twi's- er, Twilight's, old foalsitter, Princess Cadence. She ended up capturing me and my friends with her invasion force, and it ended up being Shining Armor and the real Cadence who sent her running, or, flying, I guess..." She genuinely laughed, which made me smile. And not a small one either. A full on grin. To say that Dash was shocked would be an understatement.
"Wow... I thought I'd never see you smile." She said, bewildered.
"Is that a bad thing?" I asked her, my smile still present. She quickly shook her head, and, eventually, a smile formed on her face as well. Soon after, though, my smile disappeared, and her smile faded as well.
"But, what I was trying to say was, even though it was an invasion, the changelings never killed a single pony. They took ponies captive, but we got them all back after the changelings were blasted away... I just never thought that they would be capable of something like this... that anything could be capable of full-on war..."
I could sympathize with that. Many of the initiates that weren't born in to the brotherhood back at my home barely believed us when we told them of our struggle with the Templars. As I began thinking more and more into my past, a thought I had never considered began to form.
"Is something wrong, Altaïr?" She asked me. Her eyes widened, and she quickly attempted to amend her question. "Uh, I-I meant-" I cut her off with a hoof.
"Don't worry, it's alright. You're more than just a member now, anyway. You're a fellow Assassin, my sister. And you are my friend as well." At these words, she leaped forward, and pulled me into a hug. She held that for a second or two, before hastily pulling away.
"Eh... um... I'm sorry, I don't know what-"
"Dash, please. It's fine." She smiled gratefully, and I smiled again, letting my mask fade away. After a few moments, I returned to my original, stoic expression. I thought for a few moments, before making a decision.
"Dash?" Her smile dropped, and she looked at me quizzically. "There's something I want to show you, in case something happens to me." She was taken aback by that statement.
"W-What do you mean 'if something happens to you'?!" She whisper-shouted at me, suddenly terrified. I let my head drop slightly.
"You will be leading the other Assassins into battle. Piercing Spear and I will go alone." She jumped out of her seat.
"That's suicide! You- I can't--"
"Do not let emotion get in the way of what must be done, Dash!" I cut her off. The other occupants of the car quickly turned to face us, before hastily filing out, leaving us alone. They knew better than to be around me if I raised my voice. "If I'm correct, there is some form of commander or captain in charge of this attack. If we can take out that leader, They will fall into disarray. Then, we can rally the soldiers and destroy them. However, I need you and the rest of the Assassins to occupy their main force. Do you understand?" She nodded hesitantly. "Good. Now, on the off-chance that something go awry, I want you to see this." Then, I did something I never thought I'd do again.
I pulled my hood back.
To say that she was awestruck would be an understatement. She was in total shock. She started sputtering out nonsense in a rather comical fashion, but eventually she formed a single word.
"G-gold..." I nodded.
"I'm told that it is an enigma as to how they are this way. However, the reaction to them became too much for me to deal with. That is why I always keep my hood on, even in private areas." Dash nodded, still slightly shocked.
"Dash, promise me that you will be brave. Do not falter, even when the situation is bleak." Her confidence returned, and she nodded again, a look of determination dominating her features. I stood to leave, and pulled my hood back over my head. "Safety and peace, Rainbow Dash." As I walked away, I heard her say; "On you as well."
I walked back through the train for a little while, eventually finding Piercing Spear sitting alone in a car, a blank expression on his face. He appeared to be thinking about something.
"Spear." I said to him as I approached. he sat bolt upright.
"Mentor!" He practically screamed, and he jumped to his hooves. Well, it's obvious something's on his mind...
"I was wondering why you're back here by yourself. You're becoming more and more distant as well, almost constantly lost in thought." I stared him down, and he shrunk himself down a little.
"W-well, I'm nervous. I mean, we've only been training for, what, two months at best? There's no way we'll be able to take down an offensive, let alone the whole invasion force!" He spoke timidly, and he looked terrified. I stared harder.
"Never say that to me again. Remind me, what was the foundation of the Assassins' Beliefs?" I spoke calmly, keeping my emotions contained.
"Nothing is true, Everything is permitted, mentor..." He trailed off. I nodded.
"That is why you must not doubt yourself, or your brothers, for nothing is true. Assumptions will bring nothing but fear. They are mere speculation, and you must cast them aside." He nodded shakily. "We will be going alone into the battle. Dash will take the other Assassins and group with the soldiers." His eyes widened. "When we arrive, which should be soon, we need to find the changeling in charge and kill it. We will use stealth. Even with our skill, we won't be able to take on half of the offensive ourselves. Understood?"
"Y-yes... mentor." He replied shakily. I nodded to him and left the car, leaving him alone once again.
Salt Lick City
I had explained the situation to the other Assassins. Some were opposed to the idea, but with a little persuasion, they complied. We stepped off off of the train, only to be greeted by the sight of wounded and dead soldiers, weary medics, and a single officer standing among them. He caught sight of us, and rushed over. Smoke rose up from various locations, though they were concentrated to a single side of the city. I could only assume that was where the changelings were.
"Thank the sun, I thought you'd never get here! Major Red Star, at your service!" He had a hoarse, slightly deep voice, as if he hadn't had anything to drink in days. He was reddish-brown in color, with a black mane and tail. His eyes were a deep green color, and a golden, leaf-like object adorned his flank. He saluted me before continuing. "We've been holding out the best we could, but it's no good. There's just too many of 'em. From what the princess told us in her message, though, you all got the skills to help us out, right?" I nodded, a little confused at his spontaneous nature. "Great! Follow me!" He started to walk away, but he came back when he noticed we didn't follow.
"Somethin' wrong?" he asked me, puzzled. I shook my head.
"This one and I will be going alone." I said, motioning to Spear. "We're going to go look for the one in charge of this attack." His face contorted into a mix of shock, awe and horror.
"That's way to dangerous, sir!" He said this to me with the utmost concern.
"Trust me, Major. Stealth is what the Brotherhood was created to do." With that, me and Spear took off up a nearby building. The Major stared for a couple seconds, before shaking his head and leading the other Assassins to the front line.
As to be expected, the city was deserted. We ran across the rooftops, watching for any changelings that could be flying above. We managed to slip by the main battle with relative ease, although there was one close call.
We were sneaking by the main battle through the alleyways. A stray magic blast flew right in front of Spear's muzzle and collided with a wall, where it exploded rather spectacularly for a blast so small, causing the wall to crumble. I had to slam a hoof in from of Spear's mouth to keep him from crying out.
As we went further and further into disputed territory, the ground below us started to become densely populated with bodies. Blood covered the streets of the city, running like a river into drainage pipes along the sides of the road. The vast majority of the bodies were ponies. Soldiers that had lost their lives defending the city.
"Arqad fi salam." I spoke in a whisper as I ran by. I jumped from one building to the next, Spear close behind me. Soon, we saw the changeling encampment.
It was massive. Thousands of changelings, possibly tens of thousands, dwarfed the Equestrians' mere two thousand troops. Changelings rushed to and from the front almost systematically. In the center of it all stood what we could only assume was the bug in charge It stood out from the rest, for its wings were blue, as opposed to the green color of those it commanded. It was barking out orders to the changelings, all of them obeying without question. I looked to Spear, and pointed out our target. The air was thick with smoke, obscuring our vision slightly, but hiding us from the changelings. If the air was clear, we would've surely been detected.
We waited for the officer to split from the camp's main area, retreating into a large, pod-like structure that looked like it was made of some sort of green, translucent chitin. We silently climbed down from the building we were perched on, and crept our way into the chitinous structure. The changeling officer was alone, with its back to us. It was looking at some sort of map. I silently walked up behind him.
The hidden blade entered cleanly into its throat.
Surprise and pain overtook the expression of the officer then. It slowly turned to face me, before collapsing backwards. I knelt down beside it.
"Impressive, Assassin..." It coughed.
"How do you know of me?" I asked. It let out a weak half laugh-half cough, before answering.
"We've known about you... for a long time, Altaïr..." It was smiling, blood trickling from its mouth. "We have eyes and ears everywhere." I grit my teeth, and it spoke one more time, an evil grin spread across its face, "You've done well, but..."
"But what?!" I was losing my temper.
"Just know this. Deception is a powerful weapon." With that, the changeling died, the bone-chilling smile permanently plastered onto its features. I stood, contemplating what it had told me. I turned around.
The blade pierced my chest.
I cried out in pain, and stumbled backwards in shock. Before me was a blue-winged changeling, with Piercing Spear's weapons strapped to its body. Blood dripped from one of the hidden blades. I supported myself on the map table, staring with hate-filled eyes at the changeling that had stabbed me.
"I suppose I should explain." The voice was eerily similar to that of a familiar Assassin.
"Spear?!" I exclaimed. The changeling let out a laugh that would set fear into the heart of any man.
"I suppose I should reintroduce myself. My name is Deception, right hoof to Queen Chrysalis herself!" My eyes widened at the revelation. All this time... I've been aiding my enemy...
"I should kill you," Deception continued, "but the queen has other plans. She wants you to suffer. To watch, while the nation you swore to protect crumbles beneath our might. And there is nothing that you can do to stop us now." He laughed again as two changelings walked in and picked me up. Deception waled over to me.
"I'll take that." He swapped his hidden blade for mine, as well as my sword. There was a flash of blue flame, and when it died down, I was staring at an exact copy of myself. "I think I'll pay a visit to our friends back at the front. Have fun rotting, Mentor!" He laughed as he walked out of sight. The changelings started to drag me outside.
I blacked out.