Assassin's Creed: Beyond

by Tryhard McFatface

Arc 2, Chapter 4: The Mission

"...Rebellion?" I asked, turning to the changeling.

"Yeah. I know we may look bad, but not all changelings agree with Chrysalis' ideals." He began. "Everyone you see here despises Chrysalis, both her attitude and her methods." I nodded, gesturing for him to continue. "We tried to convince her that a hostile takeover would cause Equestria's supply of love to rapidly empty, but she wouldn't listen. After Equestria's defeat, she began believing herself to be a goddess, more powerful than all of the world's forces combined."

I wasn't entirely surprised by this. It was evident in our meeting she felt that she was the obvious superior.

"That's not all, either. She started preaching about changelings being the "master race," that all others should bow down to us." That shocked me. She was far more delusional than I had anticipated. "Surprised?" I stared at him. "Oh, right. You don't know, do you?"

"What don't I know?" I inquired. He smirked.

"Changelings can sense emotion. Of course, it's only within close proximity, or large amounts. That's how we know where to find food, and what places to avoid."

"Avoid? What would you need to avoid?" I pressed him for information. His serious expression returned.

"Changelings feed on positive emotion in general. Happiness, excitement, all that. Love is just the most powerful (and best tasting) emotion we feed on. Negative emotions, such as depression and fear, weaken and sicken us. Of the emotions we must avoid, the most hazardous is hatred. Hatred is a potent poison. If we consume too much of it, our bodies begin to shut down, and we die... rather painfully." he added that last part with a grimace.

"Fascinating..." I put a hoof to my chin. "But why are you trusting me with this information?" He paused, probably thinking about what I had asked.

"You've earned quite the reputation. There are plenty of rumors circulating about you, both here and in Equestria." I was about to speak up, but he continued before I was able to. "I'm honestly surprised you've kept such a low profile." he chuckled.

"...What have they been saying about me?" I was concerned about the effect these rumors would have on me once I was back in Equestria.

"You have nothing to worry about. Everything I've heard has been positive." Relief washed over me.

"I'm going to have to get used to your 'sensing emotion' ability." He laughed again. I smiled a little as well.

"By the way," he said as we turned to enter. I stopped, and turned to him. "My name's Motley. Co-leader of the Rebellion." I opened my mouth to respond, but no words were formed. He chuckled. "Well then... shall we?" he gestured towards the crowd of changelings before us. I nodded, and he led me inside, being sure to close the door behind us. There were numerous conversations occurring around the room, so not many noticed us enter. However, as we traversed the area, I felt the stares of some, and heard them whispering. We stopped at an elevated slab of stone, which he climbed on to.

"May I have your attention, please?" he announced from the rock, his voice traveling across the room and silencing all voices, leaving behind a tense silence. "Thank you." He paused for a second. "As you know, I've been delaying our action for some time now. It's about time I told you why." He turned to me. "Altaïr, could you come up here?" I did, and the congregation was instantly alive with whispers.

"Everyone, please." Slowly but surely, the silence returned. "This-" he gestured to me, "is Altaïr. He's the reason I've been postponing our plan. His aid will be invaluable in our task."

"Task?" I asked, turning to face him.

"I'm about to explain that." I nodded, turning back to the crowd before us. "Now, before we can do anything on the scale of the coup we have planned, we'll need all the help we can get. We're not a small force, but Chrysalis still has the numbers advantage. Thankfully, I have a solution." He paused again. "All we need to do is free the Elements of Harmony." A murmur swept through the crowd once again.

That statement in particular caused mixed feelings within me. I was relieved that they were alive, but there was an overwhelming sense of guilt as well, knowing their situation was ultimately my fault. These conflicting thoughts assaulted my mind, until a voice brought me back to reality.

"Altaïr, would you be willing to take on this task?" It was Motley's voice.

"It would be my honor," I responded quickly. He gave me a warm smile before turning back to the Rebellion army.

"Of course, I will not ask him to go alone. I need a small group of volunteers to accompany Altaïr. If you are willing, step forward now." At first, nothing. Then, one changeling stepped out of the crowd.

"I will."

A moment passed. Another changeling emerged.

"I'll go too."

Then, more stepped forth.

"If it means saving the world, I'll join you."

"If you'll have me, I will come."

"Let's get 'em back!"

Five. Five changelings came forward in total.

"...Is that everyone?" Nothing. "Alright." Motley turned to me. "Altaïr, are you willing to take them along with you?" I nodded. He game me a warm smile in response. "Thank you. We already have information that one of them is being held in Appleloosa. Going off of the spy's information, it's relatively low security. Well, as low as you can get with such a high-risk prisoner... Nonetheless, I'd advise you start there."

"Then that's where we'll begin. Thank you, Motley." I extended a hoof, and he returned the gesture. I turned to join my new team, but Motley stopped me.

"Hold on." He rushed over to a corner, and I saw him rearrange some stones and retrieve an object from under them. As he walked back over, I realized it was my sword. "I believe this belongs to you." He offered the blade to me.

"Yes, it does..." I took the sword and put it where it belongs: at my side. "How did you get it?" He flashed a wry smile.

"That's a secret." I returned his smile with a smirk of my own. I think he's starting to grow on me. "When you're ready, take your team and meet me at the far wall over there." He pointed to the wall opposite us. I nodded, and he jumped down from the rock, and set off towards our rendezvous point. I jumped down after him. The team of changelings approached me. They were more or less identical, with slight variations in height and build. The only major difference was their chitin; three were green, as the majority of the crowd was, but one of them had purple chitin, and the last was blue. I resolved to discuss this once we were on our way.

"I'd rather converse once we are outside. Is that alright with all of you?" They nodded. "Thank you." I started towards where Motley had gone, my party in tow. A path was cleared for us as we advanced. Eventually, I was facing the Rebellion co-leader again. He pushed in a section of the wall, revealing another tunnel.

"This is our alternate entrance and exit. It's lit by crystals, so getting through shouldn't be an issue. Just remember to close the door." He gave us a warm smile. "One more thing. I'll need you to report back to me every once in a while, just so we know you're alive. Don't want the army getting restless." I nodded in understanding. "Well... good luck."

"Thank you." My team and I walked through the doorway, being sure to close the door behind us.

Resistance Base

"So in order to defeat them, we need to free these Elements of Harmony?" The rest of the resistance heads had dispersed by now, leaving only me, Dash, and a tangerine pegasus named Wild Ace, sporting a flaming red mane and tail, contrasted by sky blue eyes. His cutie mark (by then Dash had explained what they were) was a speeding fireball, with a playing card (bearing what appeared to be a French suit) within it. They had just finished explaining their plan of action to me.

"That's right." Dash confirmed.

"In qualche modo questo è familiare..." I muttered to myself. "Do we know where any of them are?"

"Well... not all of them." Wild Ace said. "However, we have the locations of two. One of them is in Salt Lick City, and the other in Appleloosa. Salt Lick is closer, so we had decided to go there first." I nodded in understanding.

"Well then... who will be coming along?" I asked him.

"A few ponies. Myself, the commander," he gestured to Dash, "Lunar Glow..."

"Lunar Glow?" I inquired.

"Present." A feminine voice sounded behind me, causing me to whirl around. An indigo-coated unicorn mare with a beautifully contrasted light gray mane and tail returned my gaze with piercing emerald eyes. She began to walk past me towards Dash, and I caught a glimpse of her cutie mark: a crescent moon with a sword hilt attached to it. As to why, it was easy to make the connection. At her hip rested a crescent-shaped sword in its scabbard, similar to a Saracen scimitar in terms of size and shape.

"That's her." Ace said. "Lunar, this is Ezio. He'll be going with us." She stared at me, appraising me. Finally, she nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright then. Welcome aboard." She stated somewhat coldly.

"Right... and, uh... oh yeah, Ironhoof!" Ace said after a second.

"And who is that?" I asked him.

"Did I hear my name?!" A deep, gruff voice resounded from the basement.

"Yeah!" Dash called back. "How about you get up here and introduce yourself to our new companion?"

"On my way!" A large, light-gray pony emerged from the basement, an anvil and hammer adorning his flank. Upon seeing me, he began examining me. His gaze was cold, but it quickly warmed up as he smiled and stuck out his hoof. We shook hooves, and he took a step back.

"And who are you?" He asked me in a friendly manner.

"Ezio. Ezio Auditore." He nodded in approval.

"Well then," he turned to Dash. "Are we going?" Dash nodded in response.

"If we're all ready, then yes. Let's get going." Dash and the others started towards the door.

"Cominciamo." I followed them outside, prepared to begin our mission.

Author's Note:

Alright, I've about put a head-shaped hole in my wall. Anyways, I appreciate you guys putting up with my bullshit delays. Winter Break has rolled around, so I should be able to get some work done here. Thanks for sticking around, and I hope you continue to enjoy my train wreck of a fic.

Comments

[Norwegian boy]

I will.

[Marauder15]

Damn shame there aren't any better stories out there for Assassins creed.

[Amethyst Blade]

It's Alive!

[Tryhard McFatface]

7836838
Yeah. Sorry about the wait...

7836572
...Meaning that this one is good and it's a shame there aren't more good ones out there, or that there aren't any good ones and that this will have to do?

[Marauder15]

7841087
The first one. Definetly the first one.

[Tryhard McFatface]

7841221
Okay. If it were the second one, I'd ask what was the biggest factor that made it less-than-enjoyable. I'm still going to ask for any flaws, though. I want this to be as good as possible.

[Marauder15]

7845915
The only other good one here is Leap of Faith, that I found. And it's still not even close to this one.
You melded not only the first game but the second one as well into a flow with no breaks it VERY impressive.
The Only one that tops this one, in my opinion, is Brony117's story of AS III.
Again in my opinion.

[Tryhard McFatface]

7846037
I'm glad you enjoy it!

[Tryhard McFatface]

8003338
A hit-man is a subtype of assassin (the real kind, not the game) that is paid high amounts of money to take out specified targets, often charging more for high-profile targets.

Also I'M ALIVE

[Tanta]

7841087 This story is good, all there needs to be is at least two more assassins that would fit the stories scenery. The first most fitting assassin could be Edward Kenway from assassins creed black flag since he lost his wife and his comrade/mentor Blackbeard they both were killed and since Edward couldn't save them in time maybe he could restart his life in equestria. And the other assassin could be Arno Victor Dorian from assassins creed unity because he had his father killed right in front of him so he would have the most hatred of the changelings.

[Mr Jell-O]

Dont beat your self up, this isnt a train wreck, far from it, its one of the best fics ive found

[Tryhard McFatface]

8198958
I... really don't know how to respond to that... I'm legitimately giddy to see that kind of reaction.

8244353
I appreciate the compliments and reactions!

On a side note, I'm happy to say I can finally resume writing the fic! This has been on hiatus for far too long, in my opinion.

[Tryhard McFatface]

8178292
An interesting concept. It would take some serious story revisions to include it, though, so I'm not sure I can follow through with it. I'll certainly give it thought.

[Tanta]

8258928
Nice, thx for responding

[Gamer_Luna]

Oh hey, a fic that isnt devoid of later chapters. Since it looks like youre planning to continue the story after your busy life gets out of the way, I think ill read it.

[Tryhard McFatface]

8493344
It may have been a poor decision for my efficiency to take the advanced track in all four of the core classes. How does one balance the weight of a single book with four lead bars? Even so, I haven't given up on this thing. It'll take more than that to kill a commitment.

[Sanguine Blade]

This story looked great. Bring it back if you van plz