Assassin's Creed IV: Black Wing

The rain was pouring now. The water chilled me to the bone and I could barely keep myself still. My jaw was chattering like a woodpecker and my hooves had gone completely numb. I was hiding but I never felt safe. I knew she would find me. She always found me. Even up in this tree I felt exposed and vulnerable.

This mare wanted to kill me. This mare wanted me dead. A real pony wanted me dead. Hours had passed since I woke up on the beach and for hours the hooded mare stalked me though the jungle. She was like some kind of predator. I tiger stalking their pray relentlessly.

I never thought anypony would actually be like this. How could anypony be so... cruel? It was so savage and strange and scary. It was beyond me. I was so innocent and naive, always sheltered from the world. I just... didn't know what to think.

The rainwater stung as it trickled over my open wound. I clenched my teeth together to hold back the small squeal. I tried my best to clean it, but I how could I dress the wound here? Judging by the awkward way it hung on my side I could tell the bullet had broken, if not completely shattered, the bone running up my wing. The pain was only just beginning to numb.

I prayed for healing. Dear Celestia, I hoped that it would heal. If it got any worse I… I could lose my wing. I’d never fly again. It seems like such a small thing, but being a grounded pegasus is just wrong. My wings make me who I am as a pony, even if I don’t use them often. Could you imagine a unicorn without their horn or an Earth Pony without their… legs?

I couldn't live like that. It was just wrong.

Alright, all I needed to do was wait till morning. Hopefully the storm will clear and the hooded mare will give up the search. I can properly clean my wound, dress it, and fashion a splint. After that all I had to do was go back to the beach and I’d be okay. Somepony will find me. Keeping this in mind gave me some confidence.

Until I heard her again. She was so close, I could see her. The hooded mare, now soaked from head to hoof, was still trudging through the jungle with a scowl that could kill a pony. My entire body froze instantly. She still had her gun strapped to her side causing me to gulp. She was still calling after me, hoping that I would just give myself up. Part of me wanted to give up, to just beg for mercy and pity. Was I really that weak?

I could hear my heart racing. My wing throbbed with every beat and blood poured from the wound faster than ever. I could feel the warm liquid trail down my wing and clot in my feathers. The hooded mare wandered bellow the tree I was perched in, sniffing at the air like some kind of animal.

The hooded mare felt some warm and wet fall on her nose. She stuck out her tongue and licked at it. The bitter metallic taste of blood tainted her mouth. She slowly craned her head upwards as another drop of crimson fell on her face. She looked right at me… and grinned.

“Gotcha.”

I didn’t wait another second. Before I could even register what was happening I’d already leaped from the tree towards the ground. I landed with a thud and a groan as my wing bent is a cruel position. Without time to even think about it I was galloping off deeper into the jungle.

The hooded mare gave quick chase and I could hear her wings begin to pound at the air. Rain stung at my face and tore at my eyes. I could barely see what was in front of me, let alone what direction I was heading in.

I was cursed. My hoof caught on a vine and I suddenly felt myself tumbling head over heels into a small clearing. My face skidded into the mud giving me a number of small scratches. I felt tears well up when I felt the pain surge back into my wing. It was agony.

Dragging my filthy body from the ground I tried to regain my stance and get a grip on my surroundings. The clearing was on the edge of some kind of cliff, a river running down the mountainside and falling into a small lake. I could risk the fall but I would almost certainly get hurt and lose my wing.

The hooded mare landed in the middle of the clearing, dripping with water and licking her lips in anticipation. “No runnin’ now.” Her breathing was heavy and erratic. “Now I’m gonna fuckin’ enjoy this.”

No no no, there had to be some way out of this! This wasn’t happening, I couldn’t die here! I began to back up towards the edge with eyes wide open in shock. "M-maybe we could come to some sort of understanding? I-I-I'm very sorry for... whatever it is I did."

The hooded mare looked rather amused with this. "Ha, you've caused me enough trouble, now I think I deserve some kind of reward. They want your head? I'm gonna give it to 'em on a silver platter." She drew her sword with her mouth, a curved iron talon that glistened in the rain. She raced to a gallop and charged towards me with blade outstretched.

I panicked. In one sudden movement I turned away from my attacker and raised my rear hooves in defence. I closed my eyes and bucked as hard as I could. My hooves made contact and there was a slickly cracking sound. The hooded mare went tumbling and her sword landed a few feet away from me.

I dared open my eyes to look at her. A large gash ran down the mare’s collar and stained her white and blue robes a deep red. Her gun was nowhere to be seen, but I guessed it had fallen off the cliff when she fell backwards.

The hooded mare’s eyes lit up like a fire. She stumbled back to her hooves and pulled out a jagged knife. She wasn’t giving up. She was pissed. "You fuckin'- I'll cut you open and rip your guts out!" She grasped the blade tightly in her mouth, preparing to strike again.

This time I wasn’t going to just sit there. My eyes darted around the clearing till they fell on the mare’s fallen sword just a few feet away. I didn’t need to look back; I could already hear her galloping towards me. I tried to grab it but it was just out of my reach. Without a seconds hesitation I threw myself towards it, grasping the handle in my teeth along with a mouthful of mud and dirt.

I spun back to face my attacker, but she was already on me, her knife aimed straight for my neck. The sword swung as I turned my head to face her and nearly fell from my mouth as I gaped with sheer terror. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the pain.

But it never came…

I felt the full weight of the hooded mare come down on me, but she was limp and ragged. I tried to shift her over but something seemed to stick. I opened my eyes only to be greeted by the bloody expression of the mare on top of me. I screamed. The sword had pierced through her throat, her body now hung lifeless and bleeding.

I released the sword and let the body fall to the ground. I… I couldn’t take my eyes of her. She was covered in blood… I was covered in her blood. My hooves were soaked a sickly red.

I killed her…

I was a murderer…

I couldn’t hold back the tears, and even as the rain continued to pour and the thunder roared louder than ever, I just sat there sobbing. I had killed another pony in cold blood.

And I’d never felt more alone in my life.

There was a cave nearby. Cold and miserable, I decided to take shelter for the rest if the night. But I couldn’t leave her here, even after what she tried to do. I dragged her corpse through the mud and into the opening. I tried to make her seem… comfortable. I propped her up against a rock as if she were still alive and needed the back support. It felt stupid, but I didn’t want to be disrespectful. She was still a pony after all, or was.

There was no use trying to start a fire, not when all the wood around here is damp and rotted, but I was still shivering from the bitter cold. My eyes wandered over to the body of the hooded mare and I looked at her bloodied robes.

“I guess s-she wont r-really need these an-anymore…” I stuttered in reassurance. I trotted over to her resting corpse and began to undress her. It all seemed wrong, but necessity outweighed these concerns. I did noticed a small white saddlebag buckled to her waist, too small for any provisions. Slipping a hoof in and had a small rummage through her belongings.

A letter, and it had the royal seal. The red wax had the imprint of the royal trinity proudly over the words Potenia de Equestria. What did seem strange was a strange symbol, a cross, covering the mark of the sisters. I broke the seal and carefully slid out the letter within. The hoofwriting was smooth and elegant, clearly done by a unicorn, and the paper was a pure white with gold trimmings. Even in the dark I was just able to make out what it said.

Miss Wallpole

I was pleased to receive your letter a week ago. Rest assured that your decision to aid us was a wise one and will be well rewarded in future. I'm also glad to hear that you have information concerning our common enemy; I would much like to have this information.

Come to Hoovana and we shall talk more about your future with our brotherhood and, of course, to receive your reward. We also have received word concerning the Elements of Harmony that may interest you.

With regards,

Governor Swift Torrent

Information on the Elements? They had information on my friends? If anypony seemed to know something it was this pony. Slipping my hoof back into the bag I pulled out a small glass cube of some kind. It seemed so fragile and delicate and… beautiful in a way. It must have been part of the bargain. Whatever this cube was, Governor Torrent wanted it. I tucked the cube back into the bag along with the carefully folded letter.

Returning to the task at hoof, I undid the last of the straps on her waist and slid the weathered robes from her body. They were still splotched with blood in places, but it was better than sitting here freezing to death. I just remembered how cold I was.

Strapped tightly on her forelegs was some kind of hoof decoration or tool. I’d never seen anything like them before, but they looked rather complicated. I took these off and set them aside for now; they didn't really seem that important right now.

After a few more minutes of delicately undressing the deceased mare and slipping into her robes, I was done. It was a surprisingly good fit, even leaving a place for my wings to fit through. It was a painful struggle to pull the robes over my injured wing, but I managed with only few tears.

Tightening the last of the buckles and straps I started to feel a small amount of comfort, pushing any thoughts of the dead mare aside for this brief second. I reached back a hoof and slid the white hood over my head and shielding my eyes. I was going to get out of this, and if no pony was going to save me… then I would save myself.

I was pulled out of the moment by a loud yawn. I realized suddenly how weak I was feeling and that my legs were barely supporting my own weight. The rush of adrenalin had truly worn of by this point. Gracefully, I let myself fall to the hard ground.

It didn't take long before I was fast asleep, but all night long I could see her,

Not Twilight or Rainbow Dash, not even the mare I had just murdered…

I saw myself, covered in blood and clutching a sword.

I looked right at me… and I was terrifying.