Ezio vs Harmony

There was little time to think. Ezio watched as his work paid off, watching as a nearby wall disappeared. It revealed a pathway.

Ezio saw it. Rodrigo saw it.

They both dashed to the opening.

"NO! THIS IS MY DESTINY! I AM THE PROPHET!" roared Rodrigo.

Ezio stopped in his tracks, right in front of the opening. "You really believe that, don't you?"

"OF COURSE!" he shouted. "I am the Pope. I had the staff, the power... this is my purpose! This is my destiny!!!"

"If you think that, then let's fight and see if your 'destiny' is really yours. No weapons..." Ezio threw his sword aside. "No special powers..." He took off the hidden blade gauntlet. "No ancient relics..." He threw away his knife belt. "Just you and me... pony to pony. Show me what your made of, old colt."

"Very well."

Ezio held all the cards here. Hoof-to-hoof combat was one of his specialties, just like a lot of other things... which probably shouldn't be mentioned at the moment. Fighting Rodrigo would be simple. Rodrigo swung out with his left, but Ezio saw it coming from a mile away. He blocked it easily and punched Rodrigo in the nose. This punch-block-punch session lasted longer than Ezio anticipated. Rodrigo hadn't even scored a hit yet. Ezio decided to speed this up a bit. He saw Rodrigo swing and miss with his right, for Ezio had ducked under the attack. He swiftly turned around, shifted his weight to his front legs, and kicked Rodrigo in the side of his head with his back legs. The damage done was enough to render the colt unconscious.

"So much for being the Prophet." said Ezio. "Couldn't even put up a fight against me."

"What's that pathway?" asked Twilight, walking up to it.

"I knew it." said Celestia. "This is the place."

"The place for what exactly?" asked Ezio.

"The pathway is open... for you, Ezio. It is for you and you alone."

"Very well." he said. "I'm going now. Don't miss me if I do not return soon."

He slowly made his way down the new pathway. It was lit by strange lights on the floor, walls, and ceiling. Ezio reached the back of the room, only to find a dead end, with seemingly nothing there.

He heard a female voice..."You've come a long way, Ezio. Gone through so much... yet you didn't do enough."

He could've sworn that he had heard it before... wait a minute...

The Forest! How could he forget? This was the voice!... Well, sort of. It seemed to be the same... perhaps it was a trick, an illusion to make him trust this new entity.

"Who are you? I demand you show yourself!"

"I have watched you and your travels... everything you ever cared about, destroyed... dreams crushed, hopes lost... but you rise up from the ashes to take revenge on those who caused it. You had much success... you killed many ponies... and you did it all with your pent-up rage you have."

"I fight for the justice of the people, not for myself."

"That's what you say... but you are lying to yourself. You have to know, this isn't about you."

"What do you mean?" asked Ezio, interested in what this other topic had to be.

That's when a pony made of light appeared before him.

"You should know that I am the one that you call 'Minerva'."

"Minerva... as in, the god?

"The world is in great danger. The scorching heat of fires and destructive forces will be the downfall of humanity. We, who tried to stop it ourselves, are gone. We, the ones who came before, are trying to warn you of this great disaster, so that it may never happen again. Your ancient scriptures of Gods and other great deities... it is true, we are those things. You may not understand now, perhaps you never will, but hear this warning: the end is coming."

"What can I do? Tell me what is required." Ezio said, believing what he was told. How could he argue against it?

"You? Hahaha! Ezio... like I said, this is not about you."

"What do you mean?" he asked, very confused. He thought she had already covered this.

"Your time has long since passed, Ezio... It's your turn now, Desmond."

The pony started to disappear.

"Wait! WAIT!!!" shouted Ezio, but it was all in vain. The figure was gone, and Ezio stood staring at the wall.

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"Ezio! There you are! We were getting worried!" exclaimed Luna. Ezio pulled his hood over his head and walked by them. He collected his belongings, which were on the ground next to Rodrigo. Nopony seemed to notice the wall reappearing, covering the path Ezio walked into.

"Ezio?" asked Twilight. "I-Is something wrong?"

"No... no, nothing at all. We have to leave before the guards find out what happened here."

"I don't think there's time..." said Twilight, looking at the stairs. The four could hear the galloping hooves getting closer.

"Can't you just teleport us out?" Ezio asked Celestia.

"No. This place holds a magic that blocks my entrance or exit."

Hm, Ezio thought, should've known Rodrigo wouldn't let just anypony in here, even with magic.

"Then we'll fight our way out. I'll get the staff and Apple--"

He was cut short at the sound of gears grinding together. The staff, with the Apple, started to sink into the floor. Ezio rushed over and tried to pull them up, but it was no use. In seconds, both the relics had disappeared into a hole in the ground, which was then was sealed over by a metal cover.

"No... we needed those!"

"Ezio, they are not important right now!"

Priorities... what funny things they are. Ezio hated when things went wrong... but he hated the Templars even more. They were going to pay... that was his goal from the beginning: to rid of the Templars, every last one of them. Ezio dashed up the stairs to see the first guards of the bunch approaching. He sliced through their throats with one swing of his hidden blade. He threw some knives at the next few that came running into the room, and when he ran out of those, he unsheathed his sword.

He sliced all over the place in an expert fashion, cutting his way through the seemingly endless amount of guards. The princesses followed close behind him, aiding him with their magic. When they reached the entrance, Celestia teleported them out.

When they returned, they found themselves back in the castle.

"Ezio... what happened in the Vault? Tell us." demanded Twilight. "Your manner is very different than from when we saw you earlier."

"It. Is. Nothing. Understand?"

Ezio stomped off. The three exchanged glances.

"I think it is time, Luna." said Celestia plainly.

"I agree." she responded. "Are we ready to start our siege?"

"Siege? What siege?" asked Twilight quizzically.

"We've been waiting for Rodrigo's defenses to drop. Ezio seems to have done his job in both reducing their power, their moral, and their numbers. It's time we get these ponies off the map."

"Clestia, you can't be serio--"

"I assure you, my faithful student, I am serious. The Templars are a threat, and when there is something threatening my kingdom, I destroy it. That is that."

"But Princess--"

"HOLD IT!"

The sound of the voice echoed through the room. They turned to see Phoenix standing next to the doors.

"Mr. Wright? What are you--"

"I said HOLD IT! You can't attack the Templars! Ever!"

"What?? Speak, Wright! Explain yourself!" demanded Luna.

"The Templars, they are EVERYWHERE! If we attack Rodrigo, then his forces from Espania will flank us! There is another leader of the Templars! THOMAS TORQUEMADA!"

"What?! That cannot be!"

"Think about it, Princess! No single colt can lead an huge group like that on his own! He has others... others that threaten us!"

"He has a point." added Twilight. "If this is true, we can't just attack and win. The only thing we can do and should now..."

"... is keep them from invading Equestria. They lost their one chance to take over, as I've heard. You took out their defenses! You dwindled their numbers! They won't attack us anytime in the future if they've learned their lesson!"

"... I see. Very well, Wright, we will not attack." responded Celestia.

"Good. Now, may I say what I was going to say?" asked Phoenix.

"You had something to say?" asked Twilight.

"Of course! I don't just show up at convenient times to stop your arguing! I have independent thoughts and actions, too!"

"Oh, right, that. I forgot. Hehe." Twilight said nervously.

Phoenix shook his head. "Forgot... how can you...? Never mind! I have to tell you something important!"

"Just spit it out already!" shouted Luna.

"The Judge wants us to reconvene at the court. Due to some... investigations... they are starting to question the verdict of Ezio vs. Harmony. We need solid proof that Ezio didn't kill those ponies, and we need it now!"

The room was silent for several seconds.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

"No... it's just that... he did kill those ponies, Phoenix." spoke Twilight. "I kinda gave you... false... evidence..."

"... you... gave me... false... evidence...?"

"Uh... yeah... a little..."

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!?!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't think he would make it out of that in one piece if I didn't do anything!"

"Princess! He may have been responsible before, but you've only made the situation worse!"

"How?!"

"Ugh... see, if you had just pardoned him before, he'd be off the hook! Now that you have given false evidence, you can no longer pardon him if we lose!"

"Oh, no..."

"Also, why didn't you say he was guilty! I can't defend that kind of criminal!"

"Look, I knew if I didn't say he was innocent, you wouldn't take the case!"

"That is no excuse!"

"Phoenix, c'mon! You have to help him!"

"Even though he's guilty?"

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but closed it slowly, as there was nothing left to say. Phoenix wasn't going to take the case. She knew it.

"Fine. Just give up on him. As if I care!" her rage shouted. It certainly wasn't her own thoughts being spoken there.

She stomped off. Phoenix felt bad on the inside, but did not show it on the outside. He walked out the door, closing it silently behind him. Things were going to be harsh in the courtroom tomorrow, especially if Ezio didn't get a defense attorney to lighten the consequences of his actions... and the worst part...

Trixie was prosecuting again... probably as a counterattack against him. Part of him wanted to save Ezio from his certain doom, in any way he could, but... another part wanted him to pay for his crimes.

He'd have to think it all over tonight, and decide in the morning. Right now, he din't want to think about anything...

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Ezio pondered what Minerva meant by what she said that day.

Your time has long since passed, Ezio... It's your turn now, Desmond.

Who was this Desmond, and why was he important? I there a reason Ezio had never heard of him? And what did she mean by "your time has passed"? He figured he had at least another few decades before his time was up... that couldn't be what she meant...

It made no sense, not one bit of it. That's when he started to sort it out in his head. Perhaps it was not a message for him. She talked to this Desmond pony as if he was watching or something... maybe, just maybe, he was the one to receive the message.

Maybe I was just the way to get the message to him, Desmond... yes, that must be it! he thought. I don't know why or how, but it must've been the reason for what he saw: to pass the message on!

It really wasn't about him... it wasn't even about Desmond. It was about the message, and that was all. Ezio found comfort in this fact.

He looked out the window to see it was pitch black outside. He got ready for bed, and when he finally rested his head down, he immediately fell asleep.

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"How many did we lose?"

Rodrigo asked the question, looking at all the dead bodies being dragged across the floor. A unicorn stood next to him, levitating a list in front of him.

"Quite a bit, sir. The Assassin took out a third of our defenses in one go."

"Then let's bring them back." said Rodrigo, pulling out the fake Apple. "Apple! Revive them!"

... Nothing happened.

"What's going on here? The Apple is powerless?"

He noticed that the Apple lost its glow.

"Get the Head of the Unicorn Core. I want answers!"

"I'm actually him, sir."

"Great! Now tell me, what is wrong with this Apple?"

"...It seems its power is depleted."

"What?!"

"Sir, have you ever heard the phrase 'a candle that burns twice as bright lasts half as long'?"

"You're not saying--"

"The power of the Apple was far beyond that of the regular one. But it seems its power is gone after all that use of it. That's that."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"I'm sorry sir, there's no fixing it either."

"You... you shall be hanged!"

"W-Whaaaat?!"

"If you can't fix it, it will cost you your life!"

"Hold on, hold on! Maybe there's a way... uh... I'll find a way!"

"That's better. Now GET TO WORK!"

"YES, SIR!"

The unicorn dashed away as fast as he could. Rodrigo looked at the bodies again.

"Get rid of these corpses! They serve no purpose to me anymore! Besides, the smell of something rotten."

He left the remaining guards to their work. He didn't care for the dead, anyway.

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Nopony understands. They don't understand the hate, the fighting, all the problems... they brought it all on themselves. It's their own fault everything is happening this way, that the world turned out to be so cruel... yet there was nothing that could be done to save it, to redeem it...

In the end, all will end in the fires of destruction, and none of it would've mattered anyway...