4: The Pink Mare
Twilight was completely engrossed in the book before her. She was in the middle of an in-depth description of the Assassins' history. Going as far back as the early 12th century, they’ve worked behind the scenes of some of Equestria’s most significant historical events, from the Dragon Wars to the liberation of Cloudsdale from the griffons.
Through deceptively subtle tactics and carefully planned attacks, they practically determined how history would play out, all without making themselves known to the public. It left Twilight wondering what Equestria would've been like if the Assassins hadn't become involved. She shuddered at the mere thought.
But despite being cold-blooded killers, it sounded like they had a strong belief that they killed for the greater good, assassinating one target in order to save thousands of lives. It still seemed like a sick motive, but Twilight had to admit that it had some merit. The organization eventually died out a few centuries after Celestia became ruler, which made sense. Considering the way that she led things, there really wasn't a need for them anymore.
However, as detailed as their history was, Twilight was unable to find anything on its specific members. Instead, she found a section in the book describing the various abilities that the Assassins possessed. After years of intense training, the Assassins would not only develop increased reflexes and strength, but they would also gain control over all five of their senses, being able to heighten or lower them as they pleased. This allowed them to track a target through thick crowds, hear a conversation among other loud noises, or catch the faintest of scents in the air. They struck like lightning, yet disappeared like ghosts. They were the ultimate predators.
A chill went up Twilight’s spine as she thought back to Rainbow, and the candle’s effects on her. Certain abilities carried over from the memory and lingered in the subject. If that was actually true, then was Rainbow subconsciously ‘learning’ their methods? However, the candle was created to only respond to Rainbow’s family bloodline, and was only meant to activate the memories of those ‘Assassins’. Wouldn’t that mean that anypony put through its effects would walk away with the abilities of their ancestors? Something like that, couldn’t it be used as some type of… training program? There must’ve been more to it than Twilight was seeing.
Unfortunately, she didn’t get much more time to ponder on that before her ears picked up the tell-tale noise of the library door opening.
“Twilight?” the newcomer called, one that the unicorn knew all too well.
Twilight hopped back up to her hooves, whipping around to face Celestia. “Princess Celestia! Shouldn’t you still be with Rainbow?”
The alicorn walked further into the library, taking a seat next to Twilight. “Rainbow’s session is over. It was short, allowing her mind to grow used to the sensation. She’s back in Ponyville now, safe and sound.”
Twilight breathed a quiet sigh of relief. “That’s good. So she’s starting to take this better than before.”
Celestia nodded. “Yes. I feel that at this rate, we should be able to make considerable progress soon without any serious consequences.” She looked around Twilight’s workspace, taking note of the books piled up next to the mare, as well as the one floating in her magic. “How goes your progress here?”
“It went off to a pretty slow start at first,” Twilight sheepishly admitted. “However, I did manage to find something that I think will help us understand what Rainbow’s seeing.” Twilight showed the book to Celestia. She failed to notice her mentor’s eyes widen ever so slightly. Twilight simply continued with her questions. “This book talks about some kind of organization called the Assassins of the Eclipse. I don’t think I’d have thought much of it at first, but this insignia on the cover… It’s the same one that I found on the box containing the candles. Do you know who they are, these Assassins?”
When Twilight looked up at Celestia, she would’ve been hard-pressed not to notice the somber expression the princess’ face wore. Her eyes were shut, and her mouth curled into a soft frown. Something about her almost seemed disappointed in a way. In what, Twilight didn’t have a clue, though a small pang of worry did shoot through her chest when she thought that she was the cause.
“Is something wrong?” the unicorn asked.
Celestia opened her eyes, staring into Twilight’s own. The unicorn couldn’t help but feel a chill in her spine as those eyes stared into her hers. “Twilight, you know that I would never hide anything from you without a good reason, yes?”
Twilight found her breath caught in her throat at the sudden question. “Well, I don’t… I-I mean… o-of course I do. But… why would you need to hide something from me?” Celestia didn’t immediately answer. After looking from the princess back to the strange book floating before her, it didn’t take long before Twilight connected the dots. “You do know who they are,” she finally said. “You just don’t want me to.”
A strained, almost pained expression became clear on Celestia’s face. “I cannot lie to you, my faithful student. However, there are just certain things that are better left unknown.”
“But I don’t understand. I’ve done studies on things considered taboo in Equestria, and not only did you allow me to do that, you pointed me in the right directions. What’s so different about this, especially when it could help me help Rainbow Dash?”
Celestia breathed a tired sigh. Her student’s dedication was something to admire, but it would be the death of her if she wasn’t careful. “I’ve allowed those studies because I knew that you would never use that knowledge for nefarious purposes, nor would you allow them to affect you in any way. However, with this, it isn’t what you’ll do that has me worried. It’s what others will do to you should you learn too much.”
Twilight felt her heart skip a beat as that chill down her spine scattered throughout the rest of her body. With that one sentence, the tone of the entire room seemed to take a much darker turn. “What do you mean? Who would care about how much I know about this?” After a few seconds of contemplation, a startling, chilling possibility made itself clear in Twilight’s mind. “Wait. These ‘Assassins’ aren’t still around, are they?”
Celestia breathed another sigh. Trying to convince Twilight to drop her study of something was a fruitless effort. The most that she could do was ensure that she didn’t get herself into any danger. “Twilight, please just promise me this,” Celestia said. “If you do choose to continue your studies of this, tread carefully and hide your discoveries from public attention. Can you do that?”
“Oh, yes. Yes, of course.”
A small smile graced Celestia’s face. “Good, good. Thank you, Twilight. I’ll… I’ll leave you to your studies. Good luck.”
As Celestia walked back out of the library, Twilight couldn’t ignore the sense of foreboding rumbling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn’t often that the princess seemed so bothered. Twilight could hardly believe it herself, but Celestia seemed afraid of something. What that was, she couldn’t say for sure, but she knew that it had something to do with those Pieces and, perhaps, the book floating in Twilight’s grip.
She debated whether or not if she should continue her studies. Celestia’s warning still rang in her mind, and it still just didn’t make sense. She just couldn’t think of anypony caring enough about what she learned from this to hurt her. Still, even if delving in that book carried a risk, if Rainbow was willing to put her sanity on the line, then Twilight could read a few words if it meant better understanding whatever they found themselves in.
Slowly and carefully, Twilight reopened the book. She was going to need every scrap of information that she could find.
----
Back at the library, Spike still busied himself with tidying up the library in Twilight’s absence. It was all he could do to keep himself distracted. He could’ve just taken a nap like he always would during times of boredom, but he was simply too worried about what Twilight could’ve been doing to fall asleep. Besides, she left him more than enough a mess to keep him busy for a nice stretch of time, a mess that Rainbow’s temper tantrum only added to.
As Spike swept up the remnants of the pegasus’ letter, he couldn’t help but worry for her as well. It wasn’t every day when he saw any of his friends just explode like that. He couldn’t even begin to wonder what that letter even said to get such a reaction out of her. He even considered talking to her about it if he ever got the chance.
As Spike dumped the shredded remains of Rainbow’s letter in the trash, he was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the front door open once again. He whipped around, hoping that it’d be a friend, only to droop over when he saw that it was just another random customer. A bright pink mare with a dull white mane slowly stepped into the library, scanning her eyes across the many books that the place had to offer.
Spike set his broom aside and approached the newcomer. As was custom, whenever Twilight was out of the library, it was Spike’s job to greet and help customers with whatever they needed. “Hey, there!” he greeted. “What can I—”
“That won’t be necessary,” the mare quickly cut in, not even looking down at the dragon.
Spike stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide with confusion. “Uh, what won’t be necessary?”
“Help, assistance, or aid of any kind,” the mare answered, her eyes still scanning the books around her. “I know exactly what I’m looking for.”
Spike could only stand by as the mare walked right past him. He didn’t know about Twilight, but he never had to deal with anything like that before. Every other pony that came in under his watch was more than happy for help. First time for everything, he supposed. That didn’t meant that he was about to give up, however. “Um, what are you looking for? Maybe I can point you to it.”
The mare still didn’t even glance at the young dragon, but still breathed a sigh. If Spike didn’t know better, he’d think that she was getting annoyed. “As appreciated as your… eagerness to help is, I’ve already stated that I don’t…” The mare trailed off as her eyes slowed to a stop on Twilight’s desk. Specifically, an open journal on Twilight’s desk. “Aha! There you are!”
The mare’s sudden enthusiasm only added to Spike’s confusion. It almost reminded him of another pink mare that he knew, only less fun. “Uh, hang on. Found what?” Spike didn’t even get the question out before the mare darted towards the desk, her eyes glued to the object of her search.
“I could recognize these insane ramblings from a mile away,” she muttered, eyes tearing across the pages. A huge, dumb grin cracked onto her face as she continued. “Oh, and it’s translated! Dear me, Hearths’ Warming has come early.”
Spike didn’t know what to make of the mare as she read that journal with a foal-like glee that rivaled Twilight’s but her blatant disregard for personal space definitely didn’t bode well with him. “Hey, hey!” He rushed up to the desk and snatched the journal right from under the mare’s muzzle.
Just like that, the mare’s smile disappeared in an instant. For the first time since she arrived, she not only looked at Spike, but stared him right in the eyes.
As the dragon stood there, staring back into that mare’s cold, unmoving eyes, he couldn’t help but feel that things weren’t going well. Still, he wasn’t just going to stand by and let some random pony do what they wished with Twilight’s things. Aside from just being plain rude, Twilight would kill him if she found out that he just let that happen.
“Y-you just can’t come in her and go through another pony’s stuff!” Spike snapped, holding the journal behind his back.
The mare’s expression didn’t falter for a second. She just let out a single, bored snort. “As proud as I’m sure your friend will be that you stood up for her, I really don’t have time for such games, so I’ll ask you flatout. Are you going to give me the journal?”
Spike tentatively took a step back, practically shaking in his scales. “N-no.”
The mare’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Finally, she just sighed before stepping away from the dragon. “I don’t believe you, but very well. As I’ve said, I found what I’m looking for.”
Spike would be lying if he said that he wasn’t scared of the mare before him; her unpredictability was just too… unpredictable. She’d only been in the library for a few minutes, and he felt that that was more than enough. “So… are you gonna leave now?” he slowly asked, hoping that he hadn’t made things worse.
The mare tapped a hoof to her chin, pondering on it as though she didn’t even know the answer herself. “I don’t know,” she said. “Is there anything else here that I want to find?”
Spike raised a cautious eyebrow. “How am I supposed to know?”
The mare quickly shook her head. “Ah, ah, ah. The correct answer is ‘yes’.” Before Spike could voice his immense confusion, the mare pointed him towards a nearby photo with a jerk of her head. It was a group photo of himself along with Twilight and the others. “Do you know Rainbow Dash?”
Spike just blinked as the sudden question took him off guard. He may not have been the greatest judge of character, but he had the niggling suspicion that the mare couldn’t be trusted. As such, he didn’t feel that he should let her in on such personal information. Unfortunately, lying wasn’t exactly his strong suit. “Um, er… Well…”
“Since you’re in other photos with her, I’m going to assume yes,” the mare said, leaving Spike slack-jawed. He wasn’t able to even try and lie about that, he was so dumbstruck. As he picked his jaw up off of the floor, the strange mare looked around the library again, searching for something else. “Now, did she get a letter recently? Any at all?”
“Well… I-I don’t think I should tell you,” Spike sputtered out, hoping that would get the mare to back off.
“So she did, then?” she assumed.
“Okay, how do you do that?!” Spike blurted out.
The mare just chuckled at his little outburst. She was getting more enjoyment out of him than she probably had any right to. “Do what? Read you like an open book?” she teasingly asked. “It isn’t very difficult once you know what to look out for. Certain phrases and body language can make a lie stand out like a dirty shirt. Now, back to business. Where is this letter of hers?”
Spike scratched his head as his eyes drifted over to the nearby trashcan. The mare followed his gaze, laying her eyes on the trashcan as well. Her face curled into an annoyed frown as she deduced what that meant.
“Oh, brilliant.” She trotted over to the trashcan, her horn glowing in its blue aura.
Spike may have already correctly assumed that mare was a few apples short of a bushel, but he still didn’t think that she was rummage-through-trash crazy. As she lifted all of the garbage out of the trashcan, however, she quickly refuted that assumption. “H-hey! What’re you doing?”
With the bundle of trash wrapped in her magical grip, she quickly sifted through it for the errant letter. Unfortunately for her, bad news only devolved into worse news. “She ripped it up as well? Oh, for goodness’ sake!”
One by one, the mare separated the ripped bits of letter from the rest of the trash, suspending them in two separate bubbles. “Yes, so we want you, and you, and you,” she muttered. “Goodness, Rainbow, did you run this through a shredder?” Once she finished, she dropped the useless garbage back into the trashcan, the pieces of Rainbow’s letter still floating in her telekinetic grasp.
Finally, after ten long minutes of dealing with his craziest visitor yet, the pink mare turned towards the exit. “Thank you for your cooperation, young one,” she called back.
“Wait!” Spike called. “I never even learned your name!”
The odd mare stopped right at the door, already holding it open. “I see little reason in telling you my name since we will likely never see each other again. But in the off-chance that we do… Star Light.” With that, the mare stepped out of library, shutting the door behind her.
Spike just stood there, both relieved and dumbfounded by what just happened. He likely would’ve kept standing there if he hadn’t slapped some sense back into himself. Once he was sure that he had his composure back in place, he put Twilight’s journal back on its desk before picking up his broom again and getting back to work.
“Geez, why do I always get the weird ones?”
----
Back and forth. To and fro. Here and there. Rainbow paced all about her cloud house, still fuming, still venting, and still hopelessly confused. She didn’t want to be angry. She wanted to enjoy spending time with her parents for the first time in years. She wanted to, but the rage simply refused to subside. There were still too many questions racing throughout her head for her to even consider thinking straight.
Where were they all of this time? What were they doing? The letter mentioned that they didn’t want to get Rainbow wrapped up in whatever it was that they were dealing with. What in Equestria could that had possibly been and why did it take so long to get it resolved?
With an angry shout, Rainbow threw herself onto her bed, burying her face in the pillow.
She had less than a day to make up her mind about what she wanted to do when she saw, if she decided to see them at all. Part of her wanted to just suck it up and try to have a good time, but the other wanted to unleash the half decade’s worth of confusion and worry that had built up. The war raging in her head didn’t give in either direction, and that was to say nothing of the stress already built up from recent events.
It was just typical. It wasn’t enough to get a huge weight thrown onto her shoulders by Celestia. No, now she had old family issues to deal with. The lingering headache from those ‘side effects’ weren’t making concentration any easier, either.
“Great. Just great!” Rainbow shouted into the pillow. She flipped over onto her back, staring up into her white, fluffy ceiling.
It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t. And Rainbow didn’t care about all of that ‘life isn’t fair’ nonsense ponies were always so quick to feed her. None of them had to deal with anything that she was going through now. She just wanted to become a member of the most prestigious stunt-flying group in Equestria. Was that really so much to ask?
She didn’t ask to be related to some ancient, robe-wearing, stab-happy nutjob, nor did she ask to get thrown into the middle of some ancient treasure hunt for a piece of metallic fruit. She didn’t even ask for her parents to get in touch with her after so long. It had been so long that Rainbow just stopped caring about that. But that left one question ringing in her head.
Why didn’t she just ignore all of that? She could’ve just declined Celestia’s request to rummage around her head like a toy box. She could’ve just ignored her parents’ letter. She could’ve just ignored all of that and focus on the here and now. Her one life goal. So why didn’t she?
Because she was… loyal, Rainbow had to assume, and not just because that was her Element. Rainbow had always been loyal throughout her life, and that hadn’t changed even after having that fancy necklace put around her neck. She didn’t decline Celestia’s offer because she just couldn’t turn her back on all of Equestria because she was a bit afraid, and she couldn’t just ignore her parents because her family was the most important to her, the only thing more important to her than her friends. After all, she drew her loyalty from the lessons and morals that her family had taught her throughout her foalhood.
Perhaps that was why it hurt her so much to have her parents leave her high and dry. One would think that the ponies that taught them the life morals that they followed to a T would also be the prime upholders of such morals. Perhaps they really did have a good reason, one that would flip Rainbow’s perspective on its head. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t. Rainbow wouldn’t know until she heard it out of their mouths.
The pegasus sat up in her bed. She didn’t even notice the tears trailing down her cheeks until she felt a faint breeze through her window. She was quick to wipe the tears from her eyes, grumbling to herself. She was way too cool to cry over stuff like that, and she wasn’t about to change that. Regardless, she had made up her mind. She was going to see her parents and, in spite of herself, was going to try very hard to have a good time with them.
Rainbow was torn from her thoughts when she heard somepony land outside of her door. Her face scrunched up in confusion as that thought sank in. Clouds were soft. Like, really soft. The noise from walking on them was practically nonexistent. A pegasus would really have to try in order to make an audible hoofbeat while walking on one. Rainbow didn’t let it bother her much, though. It might’ve just been a really big pegasus.
Rainbow found herself already walking towards the door, taking note of how quiet her hoofbeats were. Again, weird. She swung her front door open, much to the surprise of the considerably scrawny mailpony on the other side, whose hoof was still in the air, poised to knock.
“Yeah?” Rainbow asked.
The mailpony quickly regained his composure, clearing his throat. He reached inside his mailbag and took out a single envelope. “For you,” he said, handing it to Rainbow.
Rainbow just rolled her eyes, letting an annoyed sigh pass through her muzzle. The last thing she needed was another letter. Still, she took it from the stallion. “Thanks,” was the last thing that he heard before finding the door slammed in his face.
As Rainbow glided back to her bed, she didn’t even bother with the theatrics this time. She just ripped the envelope open and dumped the awaiting letter out onto her free hoof. Unfolding it, she tore her eyes across the page.
It was from Rarity. The unicorn was asking her—her of all ponies—if she could stop by and try on some dresses for her. Apparently, the others were unavailable for various reasons. Rainbow, in all honesty, wanted to just toss the letter in the trash. Rarity knew how much she hated posing in her fancy-pantsy dresses. The way they always restricted her wings was just annoying, and that was to say nothing of the glitter that always found its way into the worst possible places.
Still, maybe it wasn’t all bad. Rainbow was going to see her parents for the first time in a long time. She knew that that was a big deal because, as much as she wanted to gag at the prospect, she actually felt the compulsion to dress nice for the occasion, and Rarity was just the pony to see for such a thing. Besides, it could at least put her mind at ease for a few hours. After what she’d just been through, anything sounded like an improvement to her.
After releasing her lingering stress in a final sigh, Rainbow took off from her house, making a beeline for the Carousel Boutique.
----
There are three essential elements that one must have in order to be an efficient gatherer of information: know where to look, know who to ask, and above all, know how to blend in to one’s surroundings. Of course, the first two were a must, but the third was of questionable reliance. Admittedly, there were times when it was of use, but as far as Star Light was concerned, it only wasted time if it wasn’t a necessity.
Yes, she may have scared a young dragon out of his wits, but her take made it all worth it. Her efforts yielded the journal’s general location as well as a pile of shredded paper that used to be an important letter. To most, said pile of paper would seem virtually useless. In fact, it would be virtually useless, and they’d think that they were right. Then again, most ponies were idiots. The shredded bits of paper before the pink mare were no different than the many pieces of a jigsaw puzzle; she just needed to put them back together in order to reveal the clear picture.
In the safety and silence of her personal chambers, she kept the pieces floating aloft in an aura of blue magic. She studied each individual scrap with immense scrutiny, noting the torn ends, already figuring out which piece went to what. It was a careful, time-consuming process, one that had next to no room for mistakes. She needed complete concentration, and as such, complete silence.
“Starly! Come eat your supper before it gets cold!”
The pink mare cringed at the harsh, hoarse voice. To some, it may have sounded like their inner demons finally finding a voice, but to ‘Starly’, it was something a tad worse than that. If silence was something that she wanted, then perhaps she should’ve reconsidered using her grandmother’s basement as her base of operations.
“Gran-Gran, I’ve already eaten,” Star Light said, excessive pleasantness behind her voice. “You were there with me. It was ten minutes ago.”
“Then why is there still a plate on the table?”
The pink mare could only roll her eyes. “That would be your plate, Gran-Gran. You never finished your food, remember?”
“Oh. Never mind then, dearie. Carry on.”
A quiet sigh passed through Star Light’s lips. Some ponies possessed enough initiative to know when their friends and family didn’t want to be bothered. Gran-Gran was not one of those ponies. She was such a nice mare with nothing but good intentions, and Star Light loved her to death, but she could be such a chore to deal with at times. It certainly didn’t help that she was a senile, old bat with the attention span of a brick. Only Star’s steadfast patience allowed her to tolerate it for so long.
With that particular disturbance temporarily laid to rest, Star switched her attention back to what mattered. As she tinkered with the bits of paper, other thoughts made their way into her head. She didn’t know why, but she felt that things were just looking far too easy.
“Why make this your first move, hmm?” she muttered. “If this is honestly the extent of your plan, then you may as well have left a trail of breadcrumbs for me to follow.” As the first of the letter’s pieces slid into place, Star’s face curled into a small frown. She placed the rest of pieces back onto her desk. Something wasn’t right. “No, no. This is too easy. Far too simple of a plan, even for idiots like them. Unless…” As she considered the possibilities, her worried frown quickly turned into an eager smile. “Unless—”
“Starly! You have a visitor!”
Star Light turned towards the stairway leading out of the basement, a smile still plastered on her face. Perfect timing. “Send him down!” she shouted, giddy with excitement. She couldn’t even stand still for the few short seconds it’d take for her surprise guest to come down those steps and opted to pace all about the basement.
Soon enough, her ears perked up as she heard hoofbeats slowly descend the basement stairs.
“Clever, clever, clever,” Star muttered to herself, not even noticing the red stallion as he reached the bottom of the steps.
The stallion simply stood by, observing the mare with amused interest, but still impatient as he tapped a hoof on the ground. He knew how Star Light loved to get at times, and he learned that it was best to just let her wear herself out. However, time wasn’t something that he had much of. “Perhaps I should come back at another time.”
Star Light immediately turned her gaze towards the stallion. “Oh, no, no, no! Please, by all means, stay. Pull up a seat. Make yourself at home. Do you like tea?”
“Not—”
“Excellent! I dislike it myself, to be honest.”
The stallion could only sigh, rubbing his head as the beginnings of a headache threatened to rear its ugly head. He was more familiar with his young student’s… interesting behavior than anypony else and it still gave him trouble. “Have you made any considerable observations within the last month?” he asked. Monthly status reports, while a nice idea at first, seemed rather tedious in the long run. Despite having eyes in several parts of Equestria, nothing of any real interest had popped up in nearly a year. For a while, it seemed that even Star Light was growing tired of figuring out new ways to say that nothing had happened.
However, the pink unicorn seemed particularly giddy today. Unusual behavior, even for her. “Oh, absolutely!” she beamed. “I’ve made a considerable observation within the last twenty-four hours!” Before her master could voice his concern, Star leaned in closer. “They’ve finally made their move.”
That managed to get a reaction out of the stallion. He arched a single, interested eyebrow. “Is that so?”
Star nodded, still shaking with excitement. She practically skipped back to her desk, bringing the stallion’s attention down to the scraps of paper on top of it. “Do you know what this is?”
A suspicious glance found its way up to the mare. “The shredded remains of a letter?”
Star’s smile disappeared for all of a few seconds at her master’s obvious answer. “Well… yes. But! But, but, but… it isn’t just the shredded remains of a letter. It’s the shredded remains of a letter from Rainbow Dash’s parents.”
Silence overtook the room as a slight chill went through the air. The stallion took in a deep breath, allowing the new information to sink in. “And you think that it’s fake?”
Star shook her head. “I don’t think that it’s fake. I know that it is. They wouldn’t be able to send a letter without us knowing. No, this is meant to lure Rainbow into a trap.”
The stallion nodded in understanding. “So, we simply locate this trap and eliminate it. The letter tells us exactly where to go, yes?”
Another wide smile broke out onto Star’s face as she clapped her hooves together. “Ah, but that’s the clever part! This is far too amateurish of a blunder, even for them. No, they were hoping that we would find this particular letter. It’s meant to deceive us. We’d be walking right into our own trap. There’s another letter, one that I’ve yet to find. That one will point Rainbow in a different direction, towards her true destination, and that is where her trap lies. If we find the other letter, then we will know where that truly is.” Star couldn’t keep an amused cackle from leaving her lips. “Oh, goodness. This is pre-school levels of planning!”
As confident as his apprentice seemed, the stallion still couldn’t help but have his suspicions. “And what makes you so certain that this is their real plan?”
“As I’ve said, Master, they are idiots,” Star calmly answered. “This time, though, they just happen to be clever idiots.”
The stallion sighed once again. It was an admittedly ling stretch, but Star Light had scarcely been wrong before, even in her more outrageous assumptions. Something about her intuition just seemed unmatched, though it did seem to have an impact on her mentally. Still, it was their best lead, one that he wasn’t about to ignore. “Very well. Where is this other letter?”
That question gave Star Light pause as she tapped a hoof to her chin. “Let’s see. It would be in a place where she would no doubt see it at one point in the day. Somewhere where she couldn’t miss it.” As she pondered, a light bulb went off in her head. “Excuse me, Master,” she said, walking past the stallion and towards the stairs.
“And where are you going?”
“To Rainbow’s home. It must be somewhere in there.”
As smart as Star Light could be at times, there were occasions where she said things that just made the stallion smack himself with his own hoof. This was no exception. “Oh, for goodness’ sake. Star Light! Just how do you plan on getting inside of Rainbow’s house?”
The unicorn merely rolled her eyes at the question. “By walking through the front door.”
“And where is her house located?”
“Somewhere in the sky above Ponyvi—” Star stopped dead in her tracks as the realization finally hit her. She could do nothing else except bring a hoof up to her face. “Oh, stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”
Another tired sigh passed through the stallion’s lips. Sometimes, he could wonder about that mare. “Shall I send one of our pegasi?”
Star shook her head. “No. No, I can still handle this by myself.”
Her persistence was something that could be considered admirable, but it was also one of her greatest flaws. She’d break down a brick wall with the sturdier parts of her face if she had to. “For Equestria’s sake, Star Light! We’ve been over this. Learn when to accept help.”
At that moment, all of the pink unicorn’s energy seemed to drain out of her as she slumped over. “The last time that I accepted somepony’s help was just that. The last time.”
“Star Light, that was ten years ago.”
She turned towards her master, the hints of a glare glinting in her eyes. “Then why stop now?”
The stallion could only sigh as he shook his head. “Fine. Do this on your own and deal with the consequences if you wish. However, you still won’t be able to even get into Rainbow’s home without assistance. At least let us fly you up there.”
A hint of a smile appeared her face. “That, I would like.”
----
“Alright, and you go right… here. Whew! Done.”
Spike couldn’t help but beam with pride as he shelved the last of the many books Twilight left lying around after her sudden departure. From atop his ladder, he observed the hard-earned fruits of his labor below.
The library was swept, dusted, and mopped to a near sheen. All of Twilight’s writing supplies were neatly placed and organized in their respective drawers, and her books were properly shelved. He may have had his lazy moments every so often, but he could really buckle down and work when he wanted to. After all, he wasn’t Twilight’s number one assistant for nothing.
With his work done for the day, Spike glanced up at the nearby clock. As he observed the time, a worried frown found its way onto his face. He had been busy cleaning the library for two hours, but Twilight wasn’t back yet. Rainbow had shown up just a few minutes after he had begun cleaning, but he didn’t see Twilight return with her. Although he couldn’t help but worry, he didn’t fear the worst. More than likely, the unicorn was just discussing something important with Celestia. He knew more than anyone that once Twilight got going, she was in it for the long haul.
Still, he couldn’t help but wonder what exactly she could’ve been talking about. With her, it could’ve been any number of things, and once the princess got involved, that number only got larger. During his cleaning, he noticed that those weird candles from the basement were gone, as was that dusty journal. Maybe it had something to do with that. It was good guess, he supposed, but he wouldn’t know for sure until she heard it from Twilight herself.
As though to answer his wishes, as he stood there, lost in his thoughts, Twilight reappeared in a blinding flash of light. Thankfully, Spike’s reaction wasn’t as… jump as it was with Rainbow, but that still didn’t change the fact that the sudden appearance startled him out of wits. Unfortunately for the young dragon, being startled while balanced precariously on a ladder rarely ended well. This was no exception.
“This isn’t looking good,” Twilight muttered. “Why is Celestia acting so—” Whatever tirade of questions Twilight was about to assault herself with was promptly interrupted by a loud thud. Whipping around, she darted her head about for the source of the noise, only bring her sights down to the dazed dragon lying at her hooves. “Spike! Are you okay? What happened?”
Clutching his aching head, Spike got back on his feet before looking back up at his oblivious friend. “You happened.”
At first, Twilight scrunched her face in confusion at the odd answer. “Huh? What do you—” Her eyes shot up in realization as she stared up at the ladder right in front of her. It didn’t take long for her to make the connection. When she looked back down at her young assistant, her face cracked into a sheepish grin. “Oh, uh… sorry.”
Spike waved a dismissive hand. “It’s no big deal. Anyway, where were you? You’ve been gone for, like, two hours.”
Twilight heaved a tired sigh as she went through her talk with Celestia once again. “I know. Sorry. I didn’t think I’d be gone for so long. I was just… discussing something with Celestia. Something important.”
It was virtually impossible for Spike to keep a proud smile from cracking onto his face. “Ha! Knew it!”
Twilight jerked her head back up at the sudden outburst. “What?”
Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Spike jammed his hands into his mouth, as though that would somehow take the words back with them. As Twilight raised an eyebrow, Spike quickly calmed himself down. “Nothing, nothing,” he casually answered, trying to play it off. “So, uh, what were you and the princess talking about?”
A small frown appeared on Twilight’s face. She didn’t like lying to anyone, Spike, least of all. However, for someone as young and as innocent as him, it wouldn’t do any good to tell him about something so… dark. “I don’t think it’d be a good idea to tell you about it.”
Unsurprisingly, Spike drooped down, dejected. There were few things he hated more than being kept in the dark, especially when it involved Twilight. “But it’s got something to do with those candles, right?”
Twilight nodded.
“And what about Rainbow?”
A jolt of shock rushed through Twilight’s body as her body tensed up. “What do you mean?”
“She came back way earlier than you did. What was she doing over there in the first place?”
“Celestia had a few questions that she wanted to ask her,” Twilight quickly answered. It wasn’t entirely a lie, but it wasn’t entirely the truth, either.
Unfortunately, for her, Spike had grown to recognize when Twilight was dancing around a question and this was no different, if his furrowed brow and annoyed frown were any indicator. “You really don’t wanna let me in on this, do you?”
Twilight shook her head as she let out another sigh. “I’m sorry, Spike, but this is for your own good. Really.”
The look in Spike’s eyes said it all. He was suspicious, and had good reason to be. He knew that Twilight was on edge about something, and whenever that happened, it rarely ever ended well. Still, he knew when to give Twilight her space; she may have attracted trouble like a walking disaster magnet, but he knew that she’d be able to handle whatever came of it. “Alright,” he finally said with a shrug. “If you say so.”
Twilight gave him a graceful nod before walking back over to her desk. She couldn’t help but wince a bit when she saw her journal still lying on it, left wide open. She had departed with Celestia so quickly that she didn’t even have time to put it somewhere safe. Though the actual chances of anything catastrophic happening to that journal were practically insignificant, as far as Twilight was concerned, she got lucky. She could still find some use out of it, if only to try and better understand Rainbow’s plight.
She sat down in front of her desk, looking down at her journal, ready to go through it one more time. However, before she got started, she noticed something off about her journal. She remembered that she left the journal on a specific page, one discussing certain experiments. It wasn’t on that page anymore.
“Spike,” Twilight called. “Were you going through my things again?”
Spike was busy sliding the ladder back into the corner of the library when he heard his name. “What? No. Why?”
“It looks like somepony’s been looking through this. It’s not on the same page that I left it on.” Twilight glanced at the library’s front door. “Did we get any visitors while I was gone?”
Spike tapped a claw to his chin as he tried to remember all that had happened within the last few hours. Besides a bunch of cleaning, not much came to mind, save for one thing. That one very, very annoying thing. “Oh, right! There was one weird pony here. Pink coat, white mane. She was way too nosy, if you ask me.”
An annoyed grunt left Twilight’s muzzle as she shut the journal. “Ugh, I need to stop leaving my things out if ponies can’t keep their hooves to themselves.” She stood back up and trotted towards the basement.
As she did, Spike suddenly perked up as he remembered something. “Oh, yeah! Twilight, hold up!”
Twilight stopped at the door and turned back towards the dragon. “What is it?”
“There was another pony that showed up, he said that she was looking for Rainbow. He had a letter for her. I already gave it to her, but… she didn’t seem to like it.”
In a few short seconds, Twilight’s curiosity overrode her desire to hide her journal. She backed away from the basement door and faced Spike. “That doesn’t sound good. Do you know who the letter was from?”
“The pony that delivered it said it was from her parents.”
Twilight brought a hoof up to her mouth to stifle a small gasp. She knew that Rainbow didn’t like talking about her parents; they were a very sensitive topic for her. Judging by her less-than-positive reaction, there was a very good reason for that. As though she already didn’t have enough to worry about. Why did things like this always seem to happen at the worst possible times?
Twilight rubbed her temple as she tried to figure out how to deal with the new developments. If Rainbow’s parents were the only problem, then Twilight might’ve let the pegasus handle it herself. While she didn’t like leaving friends to deal with things on their own, it was a very sensitive subject, one that Twilight didn’t want to stick her nose in.
However, after being tossed into the middle of this whole ‘Pieces of Equestria’ business, Rainbow must’ve already been under an immense amount of stress. With her parents added into the equation, it only served to create a plethora of problems, and Twilight couldn’t just sit by and let that happen.
Sighing, Twilight set her journal back down on her desk. “Spike, do you know where Rainbow went?”
Spike just shrugged. “No idea. She just tore outta here. Maybe you could check out her house.”
Twilight rubbed her chin as she considered the idea. Rainbow was rarely ever at her house during the day; if she wasn’t busy training in some unmarked area of the sky, she usually opted for one of Ponyville’s numerous trees. Still, Twilight wasn’t the sort to ignore the possibility as long as it existed. Besides, if she wasn’t there, one of her friends had to have seen her at least. She really wasn’t a hard pony to spot.
“Okay, I’m going to go find her,” Twilight said. “Watch the library while I’m gone.”
Spike gave the unicorn a quick salute. “Can do.”
“Oh, and one more thing.” Twilight brought her journal over to the dragon. “Put this somewhere safe where nopony will find it. I really can’t afford to lose this.”
Spike took the journal out of Twilight’s telekinetic grip, tucking it under his arm. “You got it.”
As Spike headed over to the basement, Twilight channeled magic into her horn. She may not have been in as large of a rush as the last time when she needed to get to Rainbow’s home, but when one of her friends needed help, she didn’t want to waste any time if she didn’t have to.
In a magnificent flash of light, Twilight disappeared from the library.
----
Sometimes, Rarity wondered if any of her clients truly appreciated the time and effort that she put into each and every one of her orders. No matter how large the order, the fashionista never went through with the intention to ‘get it over with’. Every snip, every stitch, every thread, was careful, calculated, and deliberate. Yes, it sometimes took time, especially with the larger orders, but the end result was always worth it.
However, some of her customers seemed to misunderstand the time that Rarity needs to turn their wardrobes into works of art. Time and time again, she’d receive requests for weddings, birthdays, and other such special occasions with as little as a day to complete the order. The inconvenience was, admittedly, rather annoying, but the life of an entrepreneur was rarely one full of glamour.
Thankfully, the dress before her was not part of such an order. It was a wedding dress, a very common request, but it was for a space-themed wedding, which was a nice change of pace. The mare in question was a fan of Neighptune in particular, so that was the theme of her dress.
While Rarity may not have been as much of an astronomy buff as Twilight, she knew that many admired the planet for its beautiful shade of blue. It was certainly one of Luna’s greatest strokes of creative genius. That being the case, that gorgeous blue was the dress’ dominant color. As an added touch, she arranged the fabric in a way that mimicked the planet’s swirling surface. Such ideas may have seemed ingenious to most other ponies, but for Rarity, it was a simple matter of going the extra distance.
Now, she was only a few more stitches away from a complete order. In all honesty, Rarity didn’t know why she wasn’t done with the dress sooner. It was nothing too complicated, and even if she took her time, she’d still have a few days of freedom to spare. What was it that kept distracting her?
“Cutie Mark Crusaders Base Jumpers! Yay!”
Oh, dear. Not again. Yes, Rarity remembered what kept distracting her. With a sigh more out of fatigue than annoyance, Rarity put down her sewing materials and headed outside. Being the owner of a fairly popular business may not have been easy, but that responsibility paled in comparison to the one she held as an elder sister, and that paled in comparison to the responsibility she held as a foal sitter for three fillies bubblier than Pinkie Pie on a good day.
Stepping outside, it took Rarity all of two seconds to find the three ecstatic fillies. Normally, the sight of three young fillies atop a building would be cause for panic in any pony’s heart. However, Sweetie Belle and her friends have proven to be anything but normal. These were the same fillies who, at one point, had plans to earn their cutie marks in manticore taming. As such, their being on the roof of her boutique was not the most dangerous thing they’ve ever done. Unfortunately for them, that didn’t mean that Rarity was any more tolerant of their antics.
“Sweetie Belle!” she shouted, putting on her sternest face. “You and your friends get down here this instant!”
Groans of disappointment left the muzzles of all three fillies. “Aww, but Rarity…” Sweetie whined.
Rarity wasn’t having any of it. “No buts, young lady. I will not stand by and allow you three to take part in something so— Wait a moment. Is… is that my fabric you’re using?”
Sweetie looked down at the red fabric wrapped around her waist. Granted, she expected Rarity to be a teensy bit angry at her for using her fabric as a bungee cord. Still, at least she was taking safety precautions. Rarity couldn’t possibly fault her for that.
The young unicorn looked up at the yellow filly gripping the end of the fabric in her teeth, eyes pleading for some form of assistance. All she got was a casual shrug. After shooting Apple Bloom a quick glare, Sweetie switched her attention over to the orange pegasus standing by.
“Hey, don’t look at me. She’s your sister,” Scootaloo said. Just like Apple Bloom, her less-than-helpful answer earned her a quick glare from Sweetie.
“Sweetie Belle, I’m waiting,” Rarity called again, tapping her hoof on the ground.
Sweetie winced at the tone behind Rarity’s voice. It was the same tone their parents used when they were annoyed. Things weren’t going well, and her friends weren’t going to be of much help. She didn’t have much other choice than to face the music. “Um, yes?” she finally answered. “But I was going to put it back once we were finished!” she quickly added.
Rarity’s hoof found its way to its owner’s forehead as the mare heaved a heavy sigh, this one out of annoyance. “I don’t care about the fabric, Sweetie. Just get down here before you hurt yourself. Please?”
As much as Sweetie wanted to comply with her sister’s wishes, there was an itty-bitty problem with that. “Um, we… don’t really know how to get back down.”
Before, Rarity only rubbed a hoof down her face. This time, her hoof made full-frontal impact with the middle of her forehead. Honestly, where would Sweetie be without her? Rarity honestly didn’t want to think about that too much. “Oh, for goodness’ sake. Don’t move. I’ll go fetch a ladder.” As Rarity approached her boutique’s door, the tell-tale sign of an approaching multi-colored visitor caught her ears.
“Hey, Rarity!”
The unicorn turned around to find Rainbow Dash speeding straight towards her. While Rarity couldn’t say that she was expecting such a visit, it certainly could save her a bit of trouble. “Hello, Rainbow,” she greeted as the pegasus fluttered to a landing in front of her. “I’m actually rather happy that you’re here.”
Rainbow brushed some dust off of her shoulder. “Yeah, I’d imagine. So, where are they?” She didn’t do a very good job of concealing the irritation behind her voice, something that Rarity didn’t fail to notice.
At first, Rarity was only confused by Rainbow’s standoffish behavior, but her confusion only increased as it seemed Rainbow already knew about the fillies’ plight. “Er, well, since you asked, they’re up there. Don’t ask me how they managed it, because I scarcely know myself.”
Rainbow only raised a single eyebrow as Rarity pointed up towards the roof of her boutique. Why in Equestria would anypony put dresses on the roof? “What? But what would they be doing—” When Rainbow actually looked up at the roof, she discovered very quickly that the things in question weren’t dresses.
She only saw three fillies staring right back down at her, one of them feverishly waving a hoof at her. “Hey, Rainbow!” Scootaloo cried. “How ya doin’?”
“As I said, I’ve not the slightest clue how they managed it in the first place,” Rarity said, looking back down at the perplexed pegasus. “But now they can’t get down. Could you be a dear and retrieve them, please?”
Rainbow’s gaze switched between Rarity and the fillies, her face confusion incarnate. “I… but you… I-I thought…” As much as Rainbow wanted to clear the air, she had to admit, the girls’ safety did come first. “Never mind. I’ll get on it.” With a single flap of her wings, Rainbow flew up to the boutique’s roof.
“Thank you, dearie,” Rarity said as Rainbow came back down with Sweetie Belle in tow.
Once all three were safely back on the ground, Rarity sent them back inside, where they awaited a stern talking to. Meanwhile, she felt it only appropriate to thank Rainbow again. However, when she faced the pegasus to do just that, she was met with a rather seething glare.
The unicorn raised a single eyebrow, taken aback by the brash behavior. Considering it was Rainbow of all ponies, it was certainly something that Rarity didn’t expect. “Is there something wrong, Rainbow?”
The pegasus snorted in response, her glare not letting up. “You tell me. You know that I hate wearing dresses.”
If Rarity was only slightly taken aback before, then she was hopelessly confused now. “I don’t what you could possibly be referring to, Rainbow, but I know that it certainly isn’t me. After all of the trouble it took to keep you still the last time, I think we all agreed that you weren’t fit for the modeling business.”
Now it was Rainbow’s turn to feel confused. “What? But you… you sent me a letter asking me to pose in your dresses.”
Rarity could only shake her head. “No, I didn’t.”
At first, Rainbow could only sputter incoherent nonsense as her eyes darted back and forth between her house high up in the sky and the unicorn standing in front of her. She wasn’t crazy; she knew what she saw. “No, I saw your name on the letter. Who else could’ve sent it?”
After a few seconds of contemplation, Rarity merely shrugged. “Perhaps it was somepony’s idea of a prank. It’s no secret that we’re friends, nor is it a secret how much you dislike the… fancier things in life.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes, kicking a bit of dirt up off of the ground. “Well, great. Like I don’t already have enough to deal with.”
That little comment of Rainbow’s didn’t manage to slip by Rarity unnoticed. “Hmm? Is something else bothering you?”
Rainbow’s relatively short attention span was something to be admired. She went to Rarity’s to discuss this very thing with the unicorn, yet was still surprised when she found herself having to explain it to her. “Oh, yeah. See… about that,” Rainbow began, scratching the back of her head. “Earlier today, I kinda, maybe, sorta got a letter from… from my parents.”
Rarity brought a hoof up to her mouth just in time to stifle a gasp. She knew how sensitive that topic was for her. The last time that she brought them up, the poor dear was in tears by the end of it all. This was a major development, and to have it happen so suddenly had to be an incredible shock for the pegasus. “Oh, goodness. What did it say?”
Rainbow heaved a heavy sigh to calm her nerves. Her mind thought back to what it said. To the anger that she felt as she read it. Some of that anger still lingered inside, but she kept it suppressed. She had to. “They wanna see me again. In fact, they’re showing up tomorrow for dinner.”
As much as Rarity wanted to interject her own advice, she wanted to know what Rainbow’s plans were first. It was only common courtesy. “Are you going to go?”
Rainbow nodded. “That’s why I’m here.” Her face twisted into a slight grimace as the question she needed to ask was practically forcing its way up her throat as her dignity tried to force it back down. “Could… could you… make me something… nice… to wear?” Each word had to be strained out through gritted teeth and shut eyes. When she cracked one open to look at her friend, she immediately wished that she could take those words back.
Rarity’s eyes were absolutely gleaming with excitement like a filly on her birthday. Her entire body was quivering with anticipation. It was as though she was waiting for this day for a long, long time. “Oh, you didn’t even have to ask, Rainbow! Anything for a friend in need.”
Rainbow slowly backed away before she could get roped into things any further. “Uh, yeah, whatever you say. Like I said, something nice. Doesn’t matter what. Go crazy! I’ll be seeing ya—” Unfortunately, Rainbow didn’t get very far before she found Rarity pushing her into her boutique.
“Oh, no, no, no. For such a special occasion, this needs to be what you want, and I can’t accomplish that without your input on every, single detail.”
A nervous chuckle passed through Rainbow’s muzzle as she entered the building. “Uh, no, seriously, I trust you. I know that whatever you make will be perfect for me!” she said, trying and failing to convince the excited unicorn.
As Rarity sat Rainbow down in the middle of the store, she looked the pegasus dead in the eye with a creepily pleasant gaze. “Rainbow, darling, you aren’t talking your way out of this.”
Rainbow’s nervous eyes darted all about the store, spotting everything from fancy frills, to exotic perfumes. There were even a few bundles of feathers arranged about the place. Just imagining all of that crud adorning her body made her skin crawl, and that was to say nothing of Rarity’s ideas when she wanted to be ‘creative’.
Somehow, she didn’t think that she was going to enjoy her time there.
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Cant say I am a fan of Assassins Creed, but this is interesting.
Ah, I need to do some research...
Sees update
Oh well, research can wait!
...Well this isn't going to end well.. hopefully Rainbow's Skills will come in handy when it comes to deali g with this new threat. Using Assassins Creed logic, if Shadow was able to interact with the piece of Equestria, won't Rainbow be resistant to the piece of Equestria's influence? But, as of now, Equestria may be screwed. Also, great job! And also, a question. Why didn't Celestia try and protect the pieces more? I mean, a protective ward that some pony can evaporate? Celestia must really think Everypony loves her. I still think that Celestia may be evil though, so I hope the Mysterious pony is an Assassin
Huh...
So, before we had an stealthy assassin in BRIGHT WHITE CLOTHING, and now we have one in BRIGHT WHITE CLOTHING, BRIGHT BLUE AND A RAINBOW TAIL.
If her enemies are as dumb as they are in the games, she should have no problem.
Will read this one later.
So the plot thickens... Looking forward to seeing when and how everything starts going downhill. I will say that I'm liking Shadow Streak's character and wondering just how similar Grey Mane is to Al Mualim. Keep up the good work!
i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/293/590/6f6.gif
Yup this going along quite swimmingly
To the author: You have to understand how good it is to see a story like this. Assassin's Creed 2 is, without any doubt, one of the best games to be created in the past 10 years. FiM is, without a doubt, one of the best cartoons to be created in the past 10 years.
One writer to another, I recommend that you keep pacing in mind- The "memory" portions of the story seem somewhat rushed in some places. I have no other criticism other than that; it's beautifully written and very engaging.
1198777
Celestia is What, What, What?
Pink coat, yellow mane and butterfly cutie mark. originality ftw
Was it just me or that thief look similar to
.
I frankly just LOVE IT when someone makes an AC crossover. It's always like a present whenever I read one, not to mention that this story is beautifully written and well done, it shows that there has been a lot of thinking and planning behind this.
I am writing an AC fic myself (though it's slightly unique persay) so i can relate somewhat more as I find this to be so fonomminal and such a great concept to work with. I can tell that you have the "writer's initative" wanting to get out as much chapters as you can because of how good this story is being developed, but I did notice a bit of a rush in some parts, I'm thinking that's just the initative thing I said before so not a big deal for now.
I am certainly looking forward to enjoy the future chapters that are to come
'Nothing is Permitted and Everything is True!' ....... wait, that came out wrong
finishes chapter 3, man this story is awesome shame there's only 3 chapters out, goes to browse favorites, this is at the top, chapter 4... what sorcery is this?
1189177 Now... Go check my account...
Yeah.
Guess you weren't expecting that too.
Synchronization complete.
1209041
Wait... I've seen this before...
'Brotherhood of the Moon'?
Well I haven't read that story, it didin't hooked me, maybe this one will, I don't know, I'll add this one to my read later list
1208519
Someone didn't bother to look at the cover picture. What makes you think Rainbow would be wearing the white outfit?
1209331
Oh. I was thinking of the original image where I believe she was wearing white.
Anyway, she still has a rainbow tail.
An intriguing take on Assassin's Creed in Equestrian stuff. I like it, and will be waiting for more.
This story is great! I have only one concern.
I just hope it doesn't pull the same twist ending that Assassin's Creed 1 pulled.
Specifically...
SPOILER ALERT FOR ASSASSINS CREED
...if Grey Mane turns out to be evil, and is trying to get The Apple for his own purposes that would be a little disappointing.
END SPOILERS
This story has so much potential it hurts.
I still think Celestia is evil........ I just don't trust her......... Yet........
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
Hmm this would explain those "ponies" Leonardo keeps talking about....
1208584 Booga booga booga!
1207093
No! I mean like when splinter cell was awesome and everyone played it
Sees chapter 4 is up.
1. Pupils Constrict.
2. Heart explodes.
3. Brain shuts down.
4. Legs and arms twitch.
5. Have a very violent orgasm...
Barely able to move, I read the chapter. Repeat 1 - 5....
notnikuman.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/sweetjesusface.png
Do continue.
Whoops! Looks like Celestia is about to be undone by her arrogance (again) and that innocent are going to suffer as a result (again).
1210437
I can see your going through your reading cycle, yes? Rather violently this time though.
1209106 At chapter 3... Enjoying it so far.
please please please no discord as main antagonist
Why is that last part made me think about toboscus's "Assassins Creed Literal" song?
I just hope Discord doesn't get involved with this at all.
It's way too predictable to use the most chaotic entity of Equestria as the antagonist at any given point.
(Ironic, right? Predictable chaos.)
Alright... I'm finished shooting myself in the foot here.
I really like this new twist for the assassin's pony fanfic
LOL nice one ezio. And great story line keep it going and SPOILER ALERT cant wait till celestia turns evil
Can't wait to see if there's more of what is obviously, Fluttershy's ancestor in the story?
This is very well planned and thought out. Amazing! More! More! MOAAAR!
This is pretty damn interesting
I'll be honest, I haven't heard of anything referenced in this crossover.
But sweet Celestia in a china shop is it a good tale so far.
I'm looking forward to where you take this.
If Celestia wants those pieces... I think that there is a assassin's creed reference in Pieces of equestria. Hold on. I'll be back in a flash of unholy light.
I really just hope this develops its own plot rather than mimicking the original except with ponies. Gets to be a long read when you already know the general story.
Other than that, good so far.
i have a feeling the brotherhood is coming back WOOT
cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/8813393.jpg
wowhwowhwowhwowh...
1209106 Alright I have to ask: Who was Fluttershy's ancestor? I mean it could still be revealed later, but nobody has asked from what I can tell.
I dunno... It's too early to say whether Celestia is a Templar or not. I advise everyone calm down and keep reading.
OH GOD THAT PICTURE IS SO AWESOME.
1208480 That, or its a Templar. Besides, who knows how long its been hidden? It could have lost a lot of power over the years.
Awesomeness level is five out of five
I am going to venture a guess that the pony in that past scene is an assasin. And celestia is the templar.
wait a pink pegasus with a yellow mane and butterflies on her flank was the bait for the thieves but fluttershy is a yellow pegasus with pink mane and butterflies on her flank with both of them seen as scared ponies... do I see a connection
lol fluttershy's ancestor was a thief. That would explain why she was so horrified.