Prince Ezio: The Changeling Assassin

by Outlaw the Changeling

Surprise Attack

Ezio was awakened by the sounds of cannon fire and magic blasting. He shot up out of the bed, and rushes over to his dresser. He grabs his hidden blade and launches the door open. He looked to his left, and to his right. Much to his confusion, no guards were rushing out of the castle. No screams of panic, no war cries, not even the destruction of debris. He looks to his left to see Chrysalis walking toward him.

"Mother, what's going on?" Ezio asked.

"Training exercises. Celestia suggested it last night before she lowered the sun. I'm sorry for not telling you last night. You needed the sleep." Chrysalis said. Ezio sighs in relief.

"For a second, I thought the kingdom was under attack." Ezio replied.

"Don't worry, the guards are just preparing for a potential attack. We don't wanna be caught unprepared." Chrysalis said.

"What about the tunnels?" Ezio asked.

"Flash Sentry and his squadron have secured it." Chrysalis replied.

"Flash is leading a squadron? Since when?" Ezio asked in confusion.

"No idea. Celestia thinks he's competent, her guess is as good as mine." Chrysalis answered. Ezio looks out of the window and admires the view.

"So... I heard that you ran into your old friend Octavia yesterday." Chrysalis said. Ezio went wide eyed.

"How did you hear about that?" Ezio asked.

"Midnight Hunter gave me a report. I'm surprised she remembered the nickname she gave you on your tenth birthday. Ezzy." Chrysalis teased. Ezio gritted his teeth and blushed as he heard that name.

"I'm gonna kill him for that." Ezio gritted out.

"Please don't. I made sure that he didn't tell anyone else." Chrysalis chuckles out. Ezio sighs and looks back out the window. Chrysalis walks up behind him.

"You know, you've been working hard for the last few days. Why don't you take a little break?" Queen Chrysalis suggested. Ezio looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?" Ezio asked.

"Take a few hours off, or the whole day if you'd like. Relax a little. You've been over working yourself with the whole assassin's thing. It's starting to make sense as to why you've started to come home with bruises on your legs." Chrysalis pointed out.

"How did you-"

"I'm your mother sweetheart. Act tough all you want, but I can see the smallest limp in your walk."

"Damn." Ezio muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Chrysalis asked.

"I said Darn." Ezio said, hoping his mother took the lie. Chrysalis shot him a suspicious look.

"So about that break." Ezio said making an attempt to change the subject, to which he succeeds. "What suggestions do you have?"

"Hmm, well, there's the spa. Great place to relax, the masseuses there do wonders for back pain. And they work so good on the shoulders."

"Nah, spas aren't really my type." Ezio said. Chrysalis rolled her eyes. Before she could make another suggestion, Ezio spoke up again. "You know, I think I'll stop by Doctor Whooves's laboratory; see if he's got anything new."

"Suit yourself. Just try to stay safe okay?"

"I always am." Ezio said giving his mother a hug. He then walks to his room. As he was in his room he looks on his lap dresser beside his bed. On his dresser was a picture of him as a nymph with his foalhood friends. He had gotten letters from his friends in the past. Thunderlane had made it into the Wonderbolts and Ditzy Doo was a mailmare for ponyville. And he would always write back, no matter how busy he was with everything else.

He then opens the drawer, revealing his red bandanna with the black lightning bolt. He smiles upon seeing it and picks it up. He ties it around his neck and observes himself in the mirror.

"Still looks good on me." Ezio said. He walks out of his room and bumps in to a white mare with a yellow mane wearing a maid's outfit. This was one of the castle maids, Feather Petal.

"Oh, so sorry monsieur. I didn't see you there." She said. She spoke in a thick french accent. Sure, most of the stallions found it cute, or even sexy. But for her it was very difficult to speak English. One of the various reasons Ezio took French in the first place.

"C'est bien Mme Petal. J'aurais dû faire attention.." Ezio said.

"Devrais-tu vraiment parler en français? Nous pouvons parler en anglais si vous le souhaitez." Feather Petal asked.

"Je n'ai pas appris cela pour impressionner les juments ....... Généralement." Ezio said scratching his head in embarrassment. Feather Petal giggles at the comment.

"J'étais sur le chemin de nettoyer votre chambre. Si vous voulez que je le fasse, c'est." Feather Petal said. Ezio had always liked to do things himself and Petal know that. And Ezio had his trunk in there with his Assassin's robes in it, so he doesn't like someone in his room while he wasn't there.

"Désolé, peut-être la prochaine fois." Ezio said. At least she could have more time to herself.

"ça va. Je vous remercie plus vite." Feather Petal thanked. Ezio smiles as Feather Petal walks off. She was apparently having the same idea as Ezio. Ezio just walked toward the mess hall and saw Midnight Hunter in the middle of a group of laughing guards. Ezio knew that if he was gonna go into the kingdom, Shining Armor wouldn't let him leave without a personal guard. Despite how much he wanted to go out on his own.

"Midnight!" Ezio called. The diurnal bat pony makes his way toward the Prince and salutes.

"I'm headed out again, so let's go." Ezio said.

"Yes sir!" Midnight said. He and Ezio made their way to the castle doors and walk out. Ezio inhales the fresh air and continues to walk into town.

"So, what's the plan today?" He asked. Ezio shot him a raised eyebrow look.

"You mean besides filing papers for you to be demoted." Ezio said. Midnight choked on his own spit upon hearing that.

"What?!" He asked.

"I'm gonna be filing papers to have you demoted. Disobeying an order from a Prince, along with breaking bro code rule #76 quote 'a bro always has his bros back' unquote, you'll be lucky if you don the rank recruit." Ezio said. Of course Ezio was kidding, although he has the power to demote a guard, he wouldn't do it unless said guard really deserved it. But Midnight Hunter didn't know that and began to panic.

"S-s-sir, I don't know what I did, b-but I'm so sor-"

"You told my mother the nickname Octavia gave me when I was ten." Ezio said.

"*gulp* Sh-she asked for a full report and-and-and it slipped from my tongue. I didn't mean to tell her. Honest." Midnight stuttered out. Ezio was doing his absolute best not to laugh or even crack a smile. Possibly the hardest challenge the changeling prince had to face.

"What were you and the other guards laughing about in the mess hall? Did you tell them that name too?" Ezio asked.

"No no no, I didn't. We were laughing at the prank we pulled on Flash Sentry and the other day." Midnight explained. "We filled his jelly doughnut with mayonnaise." That did it for Ezio. Ezio covered his mouth with his hooves as he laughed, trying not to draw a crowd. Once he finally stopped and caught his breath he looks at Ezio.

"I'm sorry. I was trying not to laugh from the start but that mayonnaise prank got me." Ezio said. Midnight was confused as to what he meant by, 'from the start'. Noticing this, Ezio decided to explain.

"I wasn't gonna demote you, I was just teaching you to keep your mouth shut." Ezio explained. Midnight gave a sigh of relief. "But in all seriousness, don't do that again, or I will demote you. Got it?"

"Ye-yes sir." Midnight stuttered. Ezio smirked at that. The two began to make his way through town. Ezio began to think of ways to get rid of Midnight Hunter as soon as he made it to Doctor Whooves lab. Doctor Whooves was the only one Ezio willingly told his Assassin's Lingsona to, so it would be wise if Midnight wasn't there.

Upon making it to Doctor Whooves's laboratory Ezio had thought of a way to get rid of Midnight.

"Midnight. I have an assignment for you." Ezio said.

"What is it sir?" Midnight asked. Ezio pulls out a bag of bits and gives it to Midnight.

"I'm out of Black Cherry soda. Head to the market and get some more. 3 six packs to be precise." Ezio said. Midnight nodded and grabs the bits. He walks off into the Kingdom and Ezio gets a smile on his face.

"He has no idea how hard those are to find. He's gonna be gone for a while." Ezio said to himself and walks into the lab.

---

Octavia wakes up from her bed and stretches. She had slept for an additional thirty minutes because the cannon training exercise woke her up in a panic. She yawns as she got out of the bed and looked in the mirror. Her mane was an absolute mess.

"The guards should really warn citizens before they do loud training exercises like that." She said. She then goes into the bathroom and proceeds to fix herself up.

After around fifteen minutes, Octavia walks out of the bathroom looking a lot better than she was while she was bed. She felt her stomach growl, loudly.

"Wow, I've worked up an appetite." Octavia said. She walks down stairs (She lived in a two story house), and into the kitchen. Upon walking into the kitchen she sees a note on the refrigerator by her roommate, Vinyl Scratch.

Dear Octy

We ran out of food last night so I'm at the store getting some more. By the time you're reading this, I've probably bumped into an old friend, fellow raver, or some random pony from one of the parties I hosted before that won't shut his or her mouth, or I won't shut mine. Regardless, I'm going to take a while.

~Love Vinyl.

Octavia read the note and groans, cursing Vinyl's laziness. As if it would make a difference, she looks into the refrigerator, and, like the note said, they were out of food. She slams the door shut.

"Ugh. Why does she always wait till the last second when it's her turn to buy food." She asked. It was times like this that made Octavia resent her friend. But they've been friends for ten years, so something like this wasn't enough to end their friendship. But it was very annoying to deal with.

Instead of complaining, Octavia just grabs a bag of bits and walks out of the house.

---

"So, what do you think?" Doctor Whooves asked. Ezio observed the mechanism that was currently worn around his right hoof. It shared the same design as his hidden blade but was still a bit different. First off, the bottom of the blade was a little thicker than his normal blade. Secondly, the part where the blade comes out of had two slots, indicating that two blades would come out upon activation. And lastly, the leather was thicker.

"What exactly does this do?" Ezio asked.

"The top of your blade works as an arrow. Allowing you to shoot targets at a distance. The bottom of the blade will activate two pronged blades, increasing the bleeding of your target. And the extra leather, it'll work as extra armor." Doctor Whooves explained.

"Extra armor?" Ezio asked.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Doctor Whooves turned around and ran into the back room and comes back with a box on his back. He places it in front of Ezio.

"What's this?" Ezio asked as he opened the box. He sees a red hood on top of some kind of fur and grey metal armor. From how it was placed in the box, Ezio could tell it was folded.

"Well, ever since you had me make you that robe and dubbed me as your personal armorer, I've been fascinated with the history of Assassins. One Assassin in particular caught my eye. An Assassin named Specter Lance." Doctor Whooves said.

"Specter Lance? The Changeling Assassin who fought in the Changeling-Hippogriff war?" Ezio asked.

"Precisely. And one thing that was notable about him was-"

"His trademark armor that went missing after his death." Ezio finished.

"Exactly, and thanks to science. I was able to replicate the design." Doctor Whooves said.

"Really?" Ezio asked.

"Yep, but since I won't be able to mimic it's exact design, it won't be indestructible. Strong enough forces of bullets can go clean through your armor. Not to mention your head is always vulnerable." Doctor Whooves explained.

"Good thing I'm already hard to hit." Ezio said while chuckling. Doctor Whooves chuckles as well.

"So, you taking it home today, or tonight?" Doctor Whooves asked.

"I'll take the new blade home now, but I'll come back tonight for the robes." Ezio said. Doctor Whooves nodded at the answer. Then a thought popped into his head.

"Oh, before you leave I've got something else to show you. Something caught my eye while I was doing some Assassin research that I'd like you to see. Allons y." Doctor Whooves said trotting into another part of his lab. Ezio walks in after him.

"What'd you find out?" Ezio asked. Doctor Whooves walks toward a book of some type and opens it revealing a group of creatures wearing the Assassin's robes. One of which had a Raven on his or her shoulder. That was the first thing Ezio noticed.

"What's with the Raven?" Ezio asked.

"Ravens are one of few birds that play a part in the Assassin's Brotherhood. Others are Owls, Eagles, and Phoenixes." Doctor Whooves explained. Ezio immediately thought of Celestia's pet Phoenix, Philomena.

"What important part did they play?" Ezio asked.

"Communication, Navigation, and in rare cases, Combat." Doctor Whooves said. Ezio nods at the information.

"Thanks, I'll be sure to keep that in mind. I'll see you later on tonight." Ezio said making his way to the door. "Au Revoir." Ezio said.

"Au Revoir." Doctor Whooves said.

---

Octavia walks out of a market place with bags in her mouth. She turns around and waves at the cashier.

"Thank you." She said to the cashier and began to walk. As she walked she made sure to observe her surroundings for any stallions with bright ideas. It was a pretty cloudy day. The grey clouds gave her paranoia that it was gonna rain. She was hoping it didn't.

Please don't rain. Please don't rain. Please don't rain. She repeatedly thought in her head. Octavia didn't mind a little rain every now and then, but no one likes to be caught in the rain when carrying groceries. A mini heart attack came to Octavia when she felt a drop of water hit her snout.

"Are you kidding me?" She asked looking up to see more drops of rain coming down.

"Oh great." She said in disbelief. She continued to walk home, which felt like a long way because of the extra weight.

"You need an extra hoof?" Asked a familiar sounding metallic echo. Octavia turns around to see Ezio walking up behind her.

"Don't worry, I've got it." Octavia said.

"Not anymore." Ezio said glowing his horn. It forms an umbrella like force field over the two of them. Allowing them both to stay dry. He also takes the bags from Octavia. Ezio walks along side Octavia.

"You know you could've just used a satchel." Ezio pointed out. "Or do ladies prefer the fancy hoofbags?"

"Ha ha, very funny."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Does that sound like a thank you?" Ezio asked. Octavia giggles and rolls her eyes.

"Thank you." Octavia said. Ezio just nods with a smile.

"After you." Ezio said. The two began to walk to Octavia's house.

"Oh Ezio, why must you always be such a gentlestallion?" Octavia asked in a tease.

"My mother raised me like this. But I'll admit, a lot better than how Prince Blueblood treats mares. Or Ponies in general." Ezio commented.

"You have a point there. I don't understand why he's invited to every Grand Galloping Gala event." Octavia said.

"That's why I never go. He's the distant nephew of Celestia and Luna, and he's narcissistic as Tartarus " Ezio explained. Octavia thought about it for a moment.

"How does being a distant nephew make him a prince?" Octavia asked. Ezio was gonna answer, but as he opened his mouth, he closed it because he didn't know himself.

"I have no idea. I'll ask Celestia to explain that to me when I get back to the castle." Ezio said. The two made it to Octavia and Vinyl's house and Ezio helps her open the door. The two walk inside just as the rain began to get heavier.

"Ugh, I hate it when it rains." Octavia said. Ezio walks into the kitchen and places the bags there.

"How do you thing I feel? These wings are not built to fly in the rain." Ezio said flapping his wings as an example. Octavia heard the buzzing from his wings as he walked back into the living room. "It's a good thing I prefer to walk."

"I'm gonna kill Vinyl when she gets back."

"What'd she do?"

"It was her turn to buy food for us, but, like always, she waited until the last minute to do so." Octavia said. Ezio raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"Like always? So, the second or third time she did it, you didn't think to not put her in charge of that?" Ezio asked.

"I'm guessing you and other creatures of royalty have a three strike system." Octavia asked.

"Depending on the occupation, yes." Ezio answered.

"That makes sense. Some jobs you can't afford to make any mistakes." Octavia said.

"No, some jobs allow more mistakes then others. I mean we're still prone to make mistakes, no one's perfect after all." Ezio explained. "Well... as long as said mistake doesn't counts someone's life."

"Understandable." Octavia said. She sits down on the living room couch, Ezio looks at her with a smile.

"What?" Octavia asked, confused as to why Ezio was smiling at her like that.

"(English accent) Miss Octavia, a pleasure to be in your presence. Permission to take a seat next to the lady?" He asked as he bowed, making Octavia laugh. She clears her throat and plays along.

"Oh Prince Ezio, it would be my pleasure for you to sit next to me." She said. Ezio chuckled and takes a seat on the couch. As he sat there, he took a look around.

"Wonderful place you got here." Ezio said.

"Thank you, but I'm sure it's nothing compared to the castle." Octavia replied.

"Well, yeah. It's a castle, but this comes close. Who picked out this place?"

"Vinyl." Octavia said. That caught Ezio off guard. He didn't expect Vinyl to pick a house that wasn't party related.

"Really? Wait... what's her room look like?"

"As messy as it always has been."

"There's the Vinyl I know. Had me worried a rogue replaced her." Ezio said. The two share a laugh once more. They then remained silent; having run out of things to talk about. This made things.... Awkward. They look around in order to find to bring up in conversation. Luckily, Ezio managed to find a topic

"So, how have your three weeks here been so far?" Ezio asked.

"It's been simply wonderful, the creatures here are surprisingly nice. Especially the griffons, I'll admit I wasn't expecting that." Octavia explained.

"The griffons here aren't like the ones you'll meet at griffonstone. The ones here have a reason to be nice... most of the time."

"The dragons were a big surprise though. No one told me that dragons were allied with us as well."

"That's because it happened recently. I don't know why their Lord, Ember decided to side with us, but I will not complain. The dragons are resourceful, and that's extra power. Not to mention their cool creatures once you get to know them."

"I believe you." Octavia said with a smile. Another silence fell between them. Octavia looks around for something to talk about. She looks at Ezio's hooves and gets curious.

"What are those things on your hooves?" She asked. Ezio looks at the hidden blades on his hooves.

"Oh these?" Of course those you idiot Ezio thought after asking the question. Octavia nods.

"These are my blades." Ezio said, he activates his left blade as an example.

"I don't leave into town unless I have one at my disposal. The time I didn't, I ended up with these scars." Ezio said pointing to the scars on the left side of his face. Octavia flinched. She had not noticed that before.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I decided to go one on one with a manticore. My sword shattered in the middle of the fight." Ezio explained.

"Was it worth the fight?"

"I got the thing's head on my wall, some cool battle scars, and a tough reputation." Ezio said.

"Tough reputation? What the guards are fans of manticore slaying?" Octavia asked.

"Oh no, the manticore didn't give me the tough reputation, my mother's beating did. She wasn't to happy about my recklessness, and let me tell you, I'd rather be stuck in a room with Blueblood than go through that again." Ezio said. Octavia giggles at the comment.

"Well the battle scars do give you a rather handsome look." She said. Ezio gave a faint blush at the complement.

"You're not much of a bad sight yourself." Ezio complemented back causing Octavia to get red faced.

"Th-thank you." She said. Ezio deactivates his blade. Upon doing this, Octavia remembered why she asked in the first place.

"You know, that kind of reminds me of the hidden blades used by the Assassins." Octavia said. This surprised Ezio.

"You know about the Assassins?"

"A little something I took research on back when I was in Ponyville." Octavia said. She looks back at Ezio's leathered hooves. " The Order of Assassins believe in a strong set of values that strictly govern their way of life, referred to as "the Creed". This Creed consists of three tenets:

'Stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent.'
'Hide in plain sight, be one with the crowd.'
'Never compromise the Brotherhood.'

These tenets permeated every aspect of the Assassins' daily life, as well as their fight for 'peace in all things'. The Assassins carry out their duties through political, strategic assassination, in the hope that killing one individual will lead to the salvation of thousands. They also believe that they fight on the behalf of those who do not possess the abilities, resources, or knowledge to speak out against those who abuse their power." Octavia explained. Ezio was impressed.

"Now if only other ponies knew about the Assassins." Ezio said. Octavia smiled.

"You know, there's been a rumor of a hooded creature going around the city. Some kill him a murderer, others a vigilante." Octavia started. Ezio know where this was going and went wide eyed. Noticing that Ezio was slowly being wrapped around her hoof, she smirked and continued.

"I may not have been here long, buuuuut, I'm pretty sure I know a particular Changeling that may be the said 'hooded creature'. Care to comment on that your majesty?" She asked. Ezio gave a sigh and came clean.

"Okay, I'll admit it. I'm the 'hooded creature'." Ezio admitted. He then sighs. "You've always been good at solving things quickly Octy. But exactly how did you figure it out so fast?" He asked.

"Well, the ones who called him a vigilante talked about the criminals showing up dead all over the place. You never did like bullies or anyone who intentionally harmed others. So I kinda put two and two together." She said.

"Well, looks like you're the fifth to know I'm an assassin." Ezio said. Octavia raised an eyebrow.

"Fifth?" Octavia asked.

"My mother, Chief Sentinel Gideon, Luna, and Doctor Whooves are the others. Doctor Whooves was the only one I intentionally told though." Ezio explained. Octavia little giggle. Ezio rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry. I'll keep your secret safe." Octavia said.

"Thank you." Ezio said with a smile. Another silence came across them. This time Octavia was the one who found something to talk about.

"So, what was the cannon fire about this morning?" She asked.

"It woke you too huh?" Ezio asked, Octavia nodded.

"I caught some Crystal Templars in an underground tunnel that leads to the kingdom. They were apparently trying to sneak their way in here, and from how they reacted towards me, they didn't have peaceful intentions. I managed to take the down and reported it to my mother. Now there's a squadron watching the tunnel, just in case more try to sneak in. The reason you heard the cannon fire; that was because they were practicing as a just in case the Crystal Empire decides to debunk the sneaking into the city and pull off a full frontal attack." Ezio explained. Octavia was a bit shocked upon hearing this.

"What's the deal Crystal Empire?" Octavia said.

"The same deal it is with the Minotaur Union, Sphinx Nation, and the Centaur Syndicate. They want power. The only way they know to get it is through fear and enslavement."

"I really hope it doesn't come to that." Octavia said a bit worried.

"Worry not, I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure it doesn't." Ezio said. Octavia looked at him with a smile. This smile was different because a blush on her cheeks was added. Ezio noticed this and got concerned.

"Um, Octy, are you alright?" Ezio asked. Snapping Octavia after her initial daze.

"Huh? um, what?" She asked.

"You kind of dozed off for a second there. Are you okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine. I just..." Ezio stopped her with a 'Shh' as his ear suddenly twitched. " What's wro-" Octavia was silenced by Ezio tackling her to the ground. A cannon ball came in through the second floor, which came in through the roof and was gonna land on the couch where Octavia was sitting. Luckily, Ezio acted quickly. Ezio looks up to see the smoke coming from the outside. Ezio opens the doors and look over towards the wall to see smoke omitting from the other side. Another cannon ball flies over it and landed in one of the buildings. Seeing debris fly into the air, Ezio glows his horn and blasts a ball of magic into the air. Upon exploding, an alarm riddled the entire kingdom.

"Octavia!" Ezio called. He looked back to see Octavia running down the stairs with some kind of box in her hoof.

"Get to evacuation tunnel in the far north!" Ezio said. Octavia nodded and ran off. Ezio ran towards the kingdom walls and up the stairs. Upon reaching the top, a cannon ball flew over his head. Ezio saw the other side of the wall. There were at least around 400 of them from each faction and they all kept coming.

Ezio looks to his left to see a spare cannon. He runs over and slides behind it. He preps it ready to fire.

Author's Note:

Sooo sorry for the hiatus. I was addicted to Fallout 4 and its mods for a long time and forgot about the Assassin's creed games so I had to replay them. See you next time.

Comments

[Outlaw the Changeling]

8157049
Finally someone who notices!

[Longfang_1]

This was an awesome chapter and I was joyed to come back and see another

[Outlaw the Changeling]

8182397
I was joyed to finally see a comment. I was trying to do some character development for the two. I think I screwed that up though. Sorry for the long wait. Still glad you enjoyed it.

[Marauder15]

[MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]::

[Outlaw the Changeling]

8307115
I take it you're enjoying the story so far?

[Marauder15]

8307302
Yes, yes I am.

[Outlaw the Changeling]

8307469
What made it so likable? I've gotta ask so I keep said likable feature(s)