Assassin's Creed: Resurgence

Chapters

Arrival
New Creature in Ponyville
Introductions
Memory

Arrival

It was a barely lit and cold hallway, filled with nothing but hard stones and small torches mounted on the wall. An old and frail man walked, determined to the destination at the end of the miserable hallway, contemplating his long life. He knew it was coming to an end. If there is an afterlife, my only hope is that she will be there.

Altair walked, troubled by the memories of his life. The first being one of the many things that his previous mentor, Al Mualim, was actually truthful about.

In much wisdom is much grief. And he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow.
These words ring in Altair’s mind, but not as much as more painful memories, the ones of his late wife, Maria Thorpe.

Her words echo in Altair’s mind worse than he could imagine, however he was able to block them out. Focused on the most important task, hiding his cargo.

Altair was delivering the best and worst artifact into the heart of the hidden vault he had built in secret. He reached the end of the hall and entered a giant room with nothing but empty bookcases and cobwebs gathered for years.

This did not bother Altair. He knew this was not just a vault, but also his tomb. He continued on his quest until he reached the open shaft in the wall with a pedestal in it. Altair carefully set the apple on the pedestal and pressed a protruded block. The walls started to close onto the apple until it was no longer in sight. Just a wall with a symbol on it. The same symbol Altair had seen for his entire life.

Finally feeling satisfied, Altair walked away from the hidden door. He began walking, almost limping toward a chair, as he began feeling his strength fading. Altair sat down, he knew his time was ending. As Altair was finally settled, he removed a grey disc, glowing with yellow light.

The disc glowed more and more brightly as Altair concentrated on the last few minutes that had passed. Eventually his eyes grew dim, and his vision started to fade.

At last my time has come. I am ready for the end.

It was Altair Ibn-La’Ahad’s last thought in this world, then silence overtook him. However, it was not how he expected it. Altair began to feel an unknown source of heat covering his body. The sensation continued until his whole being was consumed with the warmth. This lasted for a moment until a voice pierced the ambient silence.

“Do not fear, for path you walk is not yet over.”

This caused Altair to snap open his eyes, revealing that he was not where he was originally. The area was nothingness. No structure, no land, no floor, just nothingness. This alone was terrifying for the late assassin. Everything seem to be just white with a hint of blue in the distance.

Altair began to search the new environment for the origins of the voice, but it proved fruitless. There was simply nothing there. This confused Altair to no end.

“Who are you? Where am I?”

“So many questions left unanswered.” The voice replied. It had a feminine tone to it this time, suggesting it was a woman.

“I don’t understand, why am I here?” The assassin questioned.

Then out of nowhere, a silhouette appeared, taking form until a face emerged. The face that the figure took shook Altair to his very core.

“Maria? Is that you?”

“No, I am merely a projection from your mind. This human form was chosen to make it easier for you to understand.”

“Understand what? None of this makes any sense.” Altair replied with the look of confusion on his face.

“You have questioned the existence of the afterlife. More than once you have made it clear of your concerns. This is your answer.”

Altair stroked his long, grey beard and observed the area around the two. Unimpressed, the assassin gave the ghost a stare. He began walking around, trying to think of what was going on, but his thoughts keep circling around the idea of just listening to her.

“What is it you mean? Is this heaven that so many have spoke of?” Altair was hoping for the question to be answered clearly, but it wasn’t, much to his dismay.

“This is just a pathway to the life you are about to lead.” The ghost then vanished from sight.

“Wait, I have so many questions!” It was pointless. No answer came. This left Altair even more confused. He had no idea what to do or what to say. A feeling of sadness began to emerge in his heart . Altair hadn’t seen Maria in over twenty nine years. The last time he had seen her was when she died in his arms in the Masyaf courtyard. Now an image of her appears and tells him he is going live another life, only to disappear from him, again.

An intense yellowish light began to slice through the dullness of Altair’s surroundings. Everything except the light began to fade to black. With curiosity and determination, the elder assassin began taking steps toward the source of the glow. Little by little, Altair began to pick up speed until he was at a brisk pace, now that the strength in his legs had returned.

As Altair began to close in on the light, the same sensation that he had felt was present again. The light started to intensify as the assassin came even closer. It wasn’t until he had finally reached the source of the light Altair could actually see what was the center of this. It was a sphere emitting all the light.

Another Apple? No, this is different.

Altair grasped the sphere with both hands, only to have what felt like prue power surge through his arms and spread throughout his body. The only thing Altair could feel then was pain. It was excruciating, nothing he had ever felt before. His vision blackened and he lost all control of himself as he collapsed on the ground.

*****************************************************************

Sunlight shined on Altair as he began regaining consciousness. With a minor headache, the confused assassin sat up, unable to recall the events after touching the artifact. Realizing that he was not in the same place as he was, Altair checked himself to make sure that everything was in order. He checked his robes, hood, even his blades. Everything was in order except for one thing. Something he had lost decades ago. His left ring finger was on his hand again.

Stunned at this revelation, Altair began playing with it, making sure that it wasn’t an illusion. He flicked it, moved it, even poked it with his right wrist blade, it even bled. His finger was returned to him. This alone was even more of a mystery than anything else. The finger itself was taken as a promise of dedication and for a reward after death. A tradition he ended after the death of his mentor.

Altair didn’t ponder it for too long as he was looking around his environment. Dense bushes and thick trees surrounded the area as far as the eye could see. He hadn’t seen something like this before. The whole forest was colorful, and yet he felt unwelcome. The assassin made it a point to leave the area at once.

Looking at the sun, he decided to head north and hoped for a settlement as he set off. The further Altair traveled, the more dense the forest became. Vines were covering everything, trees were more warped than ever, and the ground was littered with broken branches.

After much time had passed, Altair finally come to the end of the forest and discovered civilization. He noticed that the town looked much like Masyaf. Simple building for housing. Continuing on the journey, he saw horses in the distance. It wasn’t until he became closer did Altair saw that they were not horses, but colorful ponies. He didn’t think much of it until he spotted something odd.

A pink pony spotted him and bounced toward him.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! I don’t remember seeing you here before, and I always remember everypony that comes through here!”

Shock overtook Altair as he processed what just happened.

Did a pink animal just talk to me? Oh no, where am I?

Author's Note

Okay, In case you didn't get my blog, I decided to rewrite my first chapter with some changes.
The changes I made were done with the help of my editor and proofreader: mber7560
So there you go.

New Creature in Ponyville

Somewhere deep in the Everfree forest, a hooded figure, cloaked in black robes, pushed through thick branches and tall grass. It continued its course until stopping randomly in the middle of the forest. The figure stuck up one hoof and leaned forward until something made contact with it. After several taps, the hood was pushed off, revealing a charcoal colored stallion.

With a silver mane, the stallion was a unicorn, but his skin was extremely thin. His cheekbones were protruding and his jawline prominent. Clearly, he didn’t care for himself.

The unicorn’s horn began to glow with a greyish aura and suddenly, a small circle began to form and and continue to grow until it was large enough for a normal sized pony could fit though. The pony stepped through with the hole sealing behind him.

Before him was a magnificent but terrifying castle shrouded in black smoke. This castle was decorated with large statues of bipedal creatures with horns protruding out of their heads and giant bat-like wings on their back. The castle was surrounded with a ring of flames rising taller than any pony.

This was a sight the pony had seen plenty of times, and yet he still had a sense of fear swell inside himself. He pushed onward toward the rising fire. The flames simply moved completely out of his path as he approached them. The unicorn continued until he arrived at a giant metal gate. With just a nod of his head, his horn was enveloped in his personal grey aura, the gate was swallowed by the same glow and began to rise off the ground.

The pony began to trot into the castle and entered it. Through the main gate, he arrived at the royal chambers. The entire room had very little lighting, barely anything was visible.

“What is it, Shadow?” said the shady figure sitting on the throne.

“Sir, I have returned from my route to inform you that a new energy source has appeared in Equestria. One like I have never sensed before. During my investigation, I discovered a creature not known to pony kind.”

“Hmmm, describe the creature.” the figure whispered.

“This creature walked on two legs. It’s body was covered in strange clothes that covered almost it’s entire body. The most striking aspect of it’s clothes was the hood. It seemed to have a sharp point at the tip, like an eagle’s beak.”

“And this is the energy source you sensed?”

“Yes, My Lord.”

The one in the throne looked down at the marble floor for a moment, thinking about what his next move will be until he came to a decision. He stared back at Shadow.

“You will keep a watchful eye of this being. I want you to report all of his activities personally to me. Begone with you!”

That sudden aggressive outburst caused that fear Shadow was feeling to arise higher.

“Oh, um Of course, Lord Sombra”.

The terrified pony left with haste, leaving the former king to his chamber in silence.

Altair had suddenly become alert. He had never encountered a new race before, never even considered the existence of sapient ponies more colorful than a rainbow. But Altair knew he had to control his fear, for fear led to aggression. Man always fears what he does not understand. The aged assassin knew he had to watch his actions and not cause any problems.

If he was going to figure out where he was, he only had one option: ask the locals. Unfortunately, one of them was bouncing around him, asking him questions before he could even think on how to answer.

The pink pony bouncing around him in circle, calling herself Pinkie Pie, was finally in front of him. Altair stuck out his aged hand as Pinkie’s head bounced into it, causing her to stop in place.

“Forgive me, but I do not understand where I am. I am in need of assistance” He gritted his teeth as he finished his sentence. Altair hated asking for assistance due to his self confidence. Elderly years were an inconvenience to him.

“Why silly, you are in Ponyville! The greatest little town you’ll ever see. Come on, I always show new ponies the town.” Pinkie responded with such enthusiasm as she bounced off. Altair took it as a sign to follow the pony until he could get some answers. What puzzled the wise man was how he was able to understand the pony at all.

Do we speak the same language? Has my exposure to The Apple granted this knowledge? Or is the dying man’s dream, and I am still in the chair under Masyaf?

Through out the “tour”, while Pinkie was chatting about anything her mind came up with, Altair was able to examine the town more closely. The entire place was graced in beautiful colors he thought unimaginable. He looked at himself, he noticed that his coloring was normal, as if his colors transferred with him. This brought up some questions, but he chose not to focus on them.

Most of the other ponies vanished into their homes to avoid the the new monster that now lurked in their town. This did not surprised him, for he had similar reactions in several towns that were under siege by Genghis Khan years ago.

“Oh, don’t worry. They are just not used to new creatures coming into our town.” Pinkie popped right next to Altair without him even noticing.

How did she know what I was thinking? Or rather, How did she appear right next to me without me noticing? Is my age catching up to me? Are my skills deteriorating?

The assassin silently wondered about that until he saw something odd to the left. A tree with light emerging out of it. After a hard look, Altair saw that it wasn’t a normal tree, but a house carved into the tree itself!

“Excuse me, but what is that over there?” He pointed to the tree.

“Oh, that is Golden Oaks Library! My friend, Twilight lives there. She is kinda funny, she likes to spend all day reading or doing smart stuff, kinda reminds me of that time she was trying to learn about my Pinkie sense…”

Altair left her talking while he walked slowly up the tree house. The assassin was surprised that the VERY large tree was still standing, even after being apparently hollowed out.

A library. I might get some answers of how I arrived here. Pinkie said another pony lived here. She maybe able to help me if what Pinkie says is true about her intellect. Since this is someone’s home, I’d better knock.

He raised his right hand and firmly knocked on the door, which the top frame barely cleared the top of his head. After a few minutes of silence from the inside, he repeated the action, only this time he heard something coming from the other side of the door.

“...real tired of everypony knocking, this is a public library. You are all allowed…”

The door swung opened, revealing a lavender pony. This one has a horn sticking out of her head and had wings on her side. Her mane was a darker shade of her body but with a lighter, almost pink, streak in it. At this point however, her eyes widened and her mouth opened. Her face displayed all the signs of fear. A face Altair had seen too many time from the lives he had taken throughout his life.

Altair lowered himself to one knee, a process that usually was so strenuous now suddenly so easy again. He didn’t pay no attention to it. The scared pony started to back up in fear.

“Please, do not be afraid. I have no wish to harm you.” Altair said, trying to be as gentle as he could. The pony simply closed her mouth and took baby steps toward him, trembling in doing so.

“W… wh...What are ...you?” The pony asked with hesitation.

A memory that was not his own surfaced to Altair. The scientific name of his species. A give from the Apple of Eden.

“My kind is call Homo Sapiens. Another name is Human beings.”

“Wait, are you saying humans exist?”

Altair found this interesting. Humans might be in this place.

“Please tell me, what is your name?”

Altair had to stay friendly with this timid creature, or it could run away in fear and take his chance of understanding with it.

The pony stood there for a minute, trembling before finally answering.

“M… My name is Twilight. Princess Twilight Sparkles.” Her words were shaky, still in fear.

“Hello, Your highness, I am Altair Ibn-La’ Ahad.” Altair stuck out his right arm for a simple shake. Twilight’s eyes centered on the mechanism strapped to his forearm and immediately jumped backwards. Altair saw that he still had his hidden blades attach and removed them from both of his arms and set them on the ground. He again offered his friendly shake.

Twilight only looked at him to start and gently trotted toward him again, this time returning the shake offered. Altair was surprised that he actually felt like someone was shaking his hand, someone with fingers and a palm.

“Uh, come in and have a seat.” Twilight did her best to sound friendly.

Altair simply smiled and grasped his blade, but didn’t reattach them. He instead simply stood up and entered, placing the blades on a table next to the door.

The inside of the tree was remarkable. The entire walls were covered in bookcases filled with all sorts of text. In the far back of the room, there were some stairs leading upward.

Must be her home upstairs.

Altair looked over to the princess and saw that she was writing on a parchment, only that the quill was floating in the air. A purplish glow surrounded both the the quill and her horn. After all that Altair had seen throughout his life, this wasn’t really a surprise to him.

“Forgive me. I have to send letters to my friends and the other princesses about your arrival.”

“I understand. This is new to me as it apparently is to you. I hope that we may understand my purpose for my presence here.”

“You mean you don’t know? I thought you came here on your own.” Twilight stopped writing for a second and gave him a confused look.

“No, I do not understand why I am here. I found myself in a forest after I woke up, and when I arrived I was greeted by a… very “interesting” pony. She called herself Pinkie Pie.”

Twilight set the quill down and trotted over to him.

“Yeah, she is extremely friendly to strangers. Always have to have everypony as her friend.” Twilight seemed more friendly with her voice, but her eyes still spoke with caution.

The door swung open and in walked a small two legged creature smaller than Twilight. He seemed focused on the parchment in his hand with a quill in another.

“Hey Twilight, I got the quills you wanted and I also made sure to check on the…”

The creature’s face was the exact replica of Twilight when she saw Altair. The newly arrival dropped all that he was holding.

“Hey Spike. Kinda got something to tell you.” Twilight said with a guilty smile on her face.

Is that a dragon? Altair thought.

Author's Note

Here it is! Chapter 2!
Sorry everyone, between technical and family issues, I've been distracted but here it is.
I really want to send out my gratitude to mber 7560 for editing my story. Thanks man!
Please don't be afraid to tell me what you think.

Introductions

“TWILIGHT! GET AWAY FROM THAT THING!” The little dragon barked as he raced between Twilight and the assassin. Altair stood there, silent and alert with the situation. He began to stare at the him with curiosity. This is the only creature that he had seen that was not based off the equis design.

Altair dropped to one knee seamlessly and held out his right hand.

“Do not be afraid, little one. I do not intend to inflict harm to you or your friend.” He had held out his hand as a gesture of peace.

“Don’t mind him. Spike is still just a baby dragon.” Twilight cut in to break the tension.

“Twilight! How many times do I have to tell you? I am not a baby anymore!” Spike now faced Twilight with disgruntled expression on his face.

“Fine. A young dragon.” Twilight simply rolled her eyes.

Altair forced a cough to get Spike’s attention.

“Forgive me. I am Altair. I don’t mean any harm. I have just arrived in this new land and I am lost.”

“Where exactly are you from?” Twilight brushed Spike aside and gestured Altair to sit down on the couch that was behind him. The elder assassin stood back up and sat down on the couch, thinking to himself.

How is it that I am able to move more easily now? Back in my world, I would have issues of doing anything physical. Now it is like I am a few years younger.

“Um, excuse me?” Twilight’s words snapped Altair out of his thoughts, causing him to face Twilight quickly.

“I am sorry, I was lost in thought. You asked a question?”

“Yes, I was wondering where you originated from.” Twilight looked him in the eyes as she hopped on the couch herself.

“Well there are many ways I could answer that. City, country, planet…”

“Hold that thought… Spike, there are some letters on the table over there. Could you send them to the princesses and my friends?”

Spike gave her a confused look but still did as she asked. Altair watched as the little dragon grab the letters and gentle blow on them, causing them to disintegrate into a green flame. One by one Spike did this until all were sent to their designated destinations. Altair wasn’t surprised by this. He had heard of ancient stories dragons in his world, some varying differently depending on who told them, but the idea was similar.

“Sorry, have to make sure that the important ponies know you are here.” Twilight said with another guilty smile.

Not soon after she spoke, the front door slammed open and a bluish blur zoomed in until it stopped right in front of the couch. Once the definition of the blur sharpened, it revealed that it was a cyan pony hovering in the air. This pony was different. It had a rainbow mane and tail, and the most notable feature was that it had wings.

This pony had an aggressive look on it’s face, like it was ready to attack.

“Hello, Rainbow Dash. Good that you got my message.” Twilight spoke with a hint of surprise in her voice.

“So, this is the creature thats invading Ponyville? Ha! It doesn’t even look that tough.” Rainbow boasted.

Altair simply looked at the pony hovering only a few inches from his face. She, from what he could tell by the sound of her voice, was obviously the athletic one, due to her muscle tone. Most of her body was defined and evenly shaped. Judging by the mane style and the way she spoke, she seemed like she would fit in with the Assassin recruits he had helped train. Altair didn’t concern himself on her origins or rather her actions.

Rainbow flew a few feet away and raised her front hooves in front of herself with them curled backwards, suggesting that she wanted to fight.

“Come on then! I can take ya!” Rainbow said with a devilish grin.

Suddenly, a flash of light emerged from behind the pony. Altair took the opportunity to ensure that “nopony” was doing anything. Both Twilight and Rainbow were looking at the source of this light, while Spike was by the door picking up the quills he had dropped when he entered the library earlier. The assassin diverted his attention to the light as well, revealing two more ponies in the room.

These ponies were completely different from he had encountered earlier. These were twice as tall as the other ponies, and a most notable feature, they had horns as well as wings. The taller of the two was white as snow. Her mane was wavy with different colors, adding a shine to it. Her flanks bore a golden sun on both sides. The other pony was the complete opposite. Her coloring was a dark shade of blue with a hint of black on her flanks. This one’s markings were crescent moons instead.

The tallest one approached Altair as he stood up from the couch. He was about eye level with her.

“So this is the visitor that Twilight told me about.” She said with such grace in her voice. Her facial features never revealed any animosity toward the assassin.

“Please.” as she held out a hoof, “I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria and bearer of the sun.” Altair shook her hoof, giving a glance to the other pony. Celestia caught this and spoke.

“Forgive me, this is my sister, Princess Luna. She is also co-ruler and bearer of the moon.” Luna simply bowed her head downward.

Altair was surprised that this land had different rulers. His customs were that of a single ruler, mentor or dictator. He had never thought a nation could flourish with different rulers.

“If I may ask, what exactly are you? You appear to be both unicorn and pegasus.”

“We are what you would call, ‘Alicorns’. A special breed of ponies that are extremely powerful. Our kind usually become rulers of a specific territory.” Celestia informed the assassin.

Altair sat back down on the couch gently, not to seem rude.

Where did I end up? Am I on a separate planet? Universe? What did the Apple do to me? Why has it taken me here?

These questions plagued Altair’s mind until there was a knock on the door. Twilight’s horn begin to glow as did the door until it swung open. In came four more ponies, one Altair could recognize as Pinkie Pie. He didn’t know the other three.

“Well butter ma flank and call me a biscuit. You weren’t kiddin’ when ya said there’s a new creature walking around.” The orange pony spoke with a strange accent, one Altair didn’t recognize.

“Thank you for showing up, everypony.” Twilight spoke to the new ponies.

“This is Alte…uh….Allti…”

“Altair.” He corrected with a smile. He knew to foreigners his name was difficult to pronounce.

“Thank you.” Twilight trotted up to the other ponies with Rainbow following her. The two princesses simply watched what was transpiring.

“These are my friends Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy.” Twilight had pointed to each of the ponies he had not know.

Applejack trotted up to Altair and stuck out her hoof. The assassin stood once more and lowered himself to one knee, shaking the hoof as the pony.

“Nice to meet ya, Altair. I am Applejack, Element of Honesty and producer of some of the best apples around in Equestria.” Altair noticed that her flank had three red apples on it. The next pony was completely white except her mane and tail which was a purple curl. She had approached him in an affluent fashion he had seen many times from his world.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Altair. I am Rarity, the most fabulous fashion designer in Ponyville and the Element of Generosity.” Altair gave a quick glance at her flank and saw that it held three blue diamonds on her.

Each pony has a mark on their flanks. From what I can tell, they represent a talent they have. More than likely their primary talent. I’m going to have to ask what they mean by Element of Honesty or Generosity.

Another hoof shake, another pony, however this one didn’t approach at all. She simply hid behind the other ponies until Altair stood up and walked over to her. While the others moved out of the way, the only one he didn’t know was laying on the ground with her hooves over her head. Obviously she was scared of him.

“Miss Fluttershy is it?” Altair asked trying to sound gentle.

The yellow pegasus opened her eyes and saw his in front of her. In a barely audible tone she answered.

“Um… yes, th...that’s me.”

“I am Altair. Please do not be afraid. I promise that I will not hurt you.” His words sounded very reassuring, to where she uncovered her head and actually looked him in the eyes. Altair held out his hand to Fluttershy while she gave him a blank stare.

“Let me help you up.” Fluttershy took his hand and he gradually helped her to her hooves. After that, the shy pegasus hid behind her long, pink mane.

Altair walked over to the other pegasus hovering in the air, giving him a stare.

“I take it you are Rainbow Dash?” Again, trying to be nice.

“Listen buddy, I don’t know you and quite honestly, I don’t like you. So do me a favor and don’t pretend that we are friends.”

“Rainbow!” Twilight said sternly.

“It’s alright. I appreciate her honesty.” Altair looked at Rainbow with a saddened expression.

Rainbow looked around and was immediately attacked with different glares, one even coming from Princess Luna. Rainbow hovered down to the ground, staring at it with a guilty expression.

“It’s not OK! She has no right to show disdain to you! You haven’t done anything wrong.” Twilight spoke then took a quick glance to Celestia. Altair took the same glance but was surprised of what he saw. There was no emotion in her face. He saw that she wasn’t watching the situation, she was actually analyzing it. The look on her face was very similar to how he absorbed the details of a situation.

What is going through her mind? Altair stared at her for a moment then returned his gaze to Rainbow, who was still looking embarrassed by her previous comment.

“Now that the rest of us have dealt with the introduction on our part, it is your turn.” Altair looked over to see that Princess Luna was the one who spoke.

“You spoke your name, but we want to know more about you.” Celestia said.

“As you wish. I am Altair Ibn-La’Ahad. Men... well now former mentor of…” Altair couldn’t just reveal that he was an assassin outright, they would be terrified and suspicious of his existence. However he wasn’t willing to lie to them.

“...an organization with the sole purpose of protecting our species. We have, for centuries, protected the rights of our people and their free wills.” Altair ended his speech only to meet by expressions of confusion. Twilight looked at him.

“Against whom?”

She’s a smart one. I will have to remember that.

“An organization called The Templar Order, whose ultimate goal is to unify the entire world under their rule, robbing everyone of their will.” Altair was surprised to see that all of the ponies gathered around him in awe of his speech. Celestia nodded and spoke up.

“With such noble intentions such as that, you should have been well recognized by your people as heroes.” Celestia had spoken with pride in her voice.

The irony baffled Altair. He had always worked in the shadows, striking those that had threatened his clan without being seen. The only time he was praised for his work was when he took over the order as Mentor. The people of Masyaf were safe and secure and they knew it.

“My life’s work did not need to be rewarded. Some had called us ‘Heretics’ for the things that we had done.”

“Hera-what now?” Applejack questioned

“It means I do things that I believe in rather what others believe in.” Altair answered.

“So if you were fighting The Templar Order, what were you called?” Twilight asked.

Altair was hoping to avoid saying his creed’s name directly. The name alone inspired fear and, from what he had seen of this world, they would panic.

“I do not wish to say. I don’t want to scare you off.” Altair said.

Most likely best not to ask. Altair thought.

“Please continue. I would like to know myself.” Celestia spoke trying to break the tension.

Altair knew he couldn’t avoid this forever. He decided that he better tell them now, instead of them finding out later.

Hopefully they will trust me if I tell them myself.

“Very well.” Altair closed his eyes.

“I was Mentor of the Levantine Assassin Order.”

As soon as he finished his sentence, he expected to hear some gasps or scream. Strangely enough, he heard neither. Curiosity piqued his interest as he opened his eyes slowly. He observed the room to see that some of the ponies had wide eyes and jaws ajar, but some like Twilight, Celestia, and, oddly enough, Rainbow Dash gave him a more serious look.

“So you are a hired killer?” The question originated from Rainbow Dash.

“We are not that kind of assassin. We are the ones who fought to protect the people, not to rule them.”

“But ya have killed before, right?” Applejack questioned.

I knew I was going to be asked about this.

“Yes. I have taken lives before. To be honest, I am surprised that you are taking this news as well as you are.” Altair took another glance around. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie were all huddled up together, having their own conversation. He chose not to listen in. Rainbow was hovering again, and Twilight stood next to the Princesses. He had noticed that Spike had disappeared upstairs, probably to hide from the assassin.

“Do not misinterpret our peaceful ways as ignorance of war. We too have had troubles obtaining the peace you see here.” This came from Luna.

Altair went to stroke his beard. He always did that to think. However, when he had brought his hand to his face, he caught that his hand’s wrinkles were thinning out.

“What is going on?” Altair spoke aloud. He had a worried expression and all the ponies could see this.

“Is something wrong?” Celestia trotted to him.

Altair was still focusing on his hand.

“I have been noticing subtle changes to myself since I had arrived. In my age, I wasn’t able to do many things I used to do when I was young, but now these things come easily again. Could any of you bring me a looking glass?”

“Um... okay.” Twilight trotted upstairs and returned a few moments later. Altair grabbed the mirror out of her magical aura and stared at himself.

“Is something wrong?” Celestia trotted right next to him.

“I think I am getting younger.”

Author's Note

Alrighty Chapter 3 is here! Sorry that it took so long. Got a little distracted through out the week. But, better late then never!

Huge thanks to my Editor mber7560. You are AWESOME!

Memory

Minutes had passed since Altair discovered his supposed regeneration. Twilight had taken it upon herself to examine the human to help him with his condition as well to study humans in general as she has mentioned. Most of the other ponies had left, leaving Princess Celestia and Twilight alone with the assassin. Twilight had led Altair down to her basement where she kept most of her scientific equipment.

“Now if you would please, lay down on the table.” Twilight pointed to a silver table sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by what Twilight had earlier called, ‘computers’.

“Excuse me, but I do not think that it is big enough for me.” Altair commented.

Twilight looked at the table and had a puzzled look on her face, from what Altair saw. The lavender alicorn seem to have developed an idea. Her horn started to glow immediately as the table started to warp. Altair took a quick glance at the top of the stairs, where he saw Princess Celestia perched up there like an eagle eyeing it’s prey.

He dismissed it and looked back at the table, still warping until its size was more toward Altair’s shape.

“How did you do that, if I may ask.” Altair asked curiously.

“Magic, of course.” Twilight answered cheerfully.

“Ah, magic. A superstitious term given to that which is not understood.” Twilight was now staring at Altair.

“Magic is NOT superstition. I have spent my entire life studying it, I am even the Element of Magic!” Twilight was starting to get a little overprotective with the subject from what Altair could guess. She began rambling on to the point where the assassin couldn’t understand her.

“Twilight.” Celestia called, stopping her student from continuing any further. The Princess trotted down the stairs and stood in front of Twilight.

“I understand your feelings, but you must understand, maybe he is from a place where magic holds little to no place.” Celestia tried to ease her student’s mind. She had spoken like a mother speaking to her child. Something Altair had seen many times, but haven’t had the chance to experience.

“But Princess, Magic is the source of all that happens. It is what you use to move the sun!”

Move the sun? What in the world? The sun only appears to move because the planet itself is moving.

Altair felt he shouldn’t even speak while Celestia was talking.

“Different realities may follow different set of rules. Look at him, his coloring isn’t the same as this reality.” Twilight took a good long look at Altair before she spoke up.

“You’re right, Princess. I’m sorry. I just got a little defensive.” Twilight drooped her ears and hung her head down.

“It’s alright. I know how you feel.” Altair said as he thought about his previous mentor and the events that followed after his death. He walked over to the table and sat on it, then laid down on it. He caught something out of the corner of his eye. After looking at it, he spoke up with some volume in his voice.

“You know, I’m sure Twilight would let you watch if you asked her, Rainbow.”

The two Princesses looked at Altair with confusion until they saw who he was talking to. Rainbow Dash was staring at Altair through a window that was towards the ceiling. She was eyeing Altair with a suspicious look. Twilight wasn’t amused.

“Really Rainbow? How long have you been there?” No answer came. Celestia giggled at the commotion.

“I will let her in.” Celestia said while trotting up the stairs. Twilight looked at the floor, shaking her head.

“Urgh I can’t believe she can’t trust me enough to handle this. It’s not like I’m a little filly.”

“Maybe it’s not the lack of faith in you. Perhaps she perceives me as an unknown threat.” Altair was trying to calm Twilight down.

“I just don’t get it. What threat could an old stal… I mean, human pose? No offence.”

“I understand her concern as well as yours. Rainbow’s is born of fear for her friends. Yours is of ignorance.”

Twilight gave him an offensive look until she stopped, likely thinking that she deserved that. Rainbow flew right into the room until she was next to Twilight, hovering again.

Ether Pegasi like being in the air, or she does that when she thinks.

“Now that everypony who wants to be here is present, let’s begin.” Twilight said with an annoyed expression. Altair looked toward the stairs again and noticed Celestia was there again.

“Okay, now if your aging issue is due to magic, I will need a sample of your blood, skin and fur follicles.”

Twilight had levitated a needle and slightly stabbed the assassin in the center of his first finger. Altair didn’t even flinch. After all the times he was cut or stabbed, he didn’t mind the slight pinch. A small bubble of blood formed on the surface on his first finger, in the center. Twilight then used a thin paper to absorb the loose blood. The puncture point was covered by a piece of cloth that Twilight had prepared. Altair looked at the wound when the cover was removed, only to see that the there wasn’t a tiny hole like he had expected. He looked up at Twilight, hoping she would explain.

“A formula for healing small incisions.” Twilight replied to his expression.

Twilight levitated a small white stick, tweezers, and some scissors along with the cloth earlier. Altair noticed that his right sleeve was raised up to about half way up his arm, causing Altair to tense up for a moment. He became calm when he saw that it was just Twilight using magic to roll up his sleeve. A small area on Altair’s arm began to glow the same as Twilight’s horn. She inserted the stick into his arm and lightly twisted in a circular motion. She ended that step and pulled out the sample skin with the tweezers, cutting the end of the sample with the scissors. With another light tap from the cloth, the hole closed shut and the glow disappeared from his arm. Twilight had placed the sample on a glass circle.

“Impressive, Twilight. I had no idea you had medical knowledge.” Celestia said.

“After some of the quests you had sent us on, I figured it was best to get some basic medical know how.” Twilight was smiling when she spoke.

“Uh Twilight, I hate to break it to you, but that wasn’t basic.” Rainbow said.

“Wow Rainbow, I completely forgot you were here.”

Altair took noticed that Rainbow was rather quiet. Through out the entire procedure, Rainbow barely made a sound.

Hmm. She would have had a decent assassin. She can be hidden when she wants to be.

“Ok, so you got your blood and skin. What about the fur?” Rainbow asked.

Altair felt a slight tug on his head until he saw a strand of his hair float to Twilight. All of the samples were put on different pieces of glass and put into one of the slots on in the computer. After a few minutes, it began to beep and light up with paper pouring out of it. Altair rolled his sleeve back down when Twilight approached him. He couldn’t read her, her expressions were neutral.

“Your theory is correct. Your cellular structure is being rejuvenated by a magical force I don’t understand.”

“Uh, could you say that again but in NORMAL pony talk?” Rainbow was annoyed.

Twilight rolled her eyes.

“He is becoming younger. Some kind of magic; I don’t recognize what the cause of this is.”

I wonder if the same thing that put me in here is also the cause of my condition. I don’t know why that thing had to take Maria’s form. There were many choices, Malak, Al Mualin, or even Sef, but why her? Altair laid on the table for a minute, thinking about this until he forced himself to return to the world around him.

He then rose up off his back and hopped off the table, stretching his arms and legs. He began to notice that his uniform was a little tighter on his chest then when he laid down. He tried to pull on his chest to stretch out the fabric until this was loose.

“Is there a way you can find a ratio between the number of years I am reverting to hours?”

“I can try.” Twilight replied with a little confusion in her voice. She began to adjust some knobs on the device. Celestia had approached Altair until she was right in front of her.

“I am curious to know more about you assassins. If I may, I would like to try something.” Celestia stared into Altair’s eyes, making him feel uncomfortable.

“What do you have in mind?”

“I know this may sound bizarre, but I want to view some of your memories so I can better understand your work as an Assassin. Don’t worry, other memories will be private.”

Instantly, Altair had become concerned with these ponies’ natural abilities, of what they were actually capable of.

If they have the power to read minds, control the movement of the sun and morph any object into any shape they so desire, then I am truly powerless to stop them if they decide to fight me.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea. Your world is peaceful, however mine is not. I have lived a life of violence and it would only frighten you.” Altair spoke with a serious tone, hoping to dissuade the princess from seeing the horror of his life.

“I understand your concern, but I feel that I should witness this. I too have seen war and violence. Brothers and friends turned against each other for personal desires.” Altair knew Celestia wasn’t lying. The way she spoke, the posture she had when saying that, she did experience war.

“Alright. I will allow it, but only you have that permission.” Altair looked over to Twilight, who was too busy working with mathematical equations to notice what the elder princess had asked. Rainbow, on the other hand, was curiously watching Altair.

Alright, I am getting really uncomfortable with her constantly watching me like a hawk. I feel like she is going to launch an attack.

“Don’t worry, nopony will see what I am about to see.” Celestia looked over to Rainbow, who had given the princess a slight nod. Altair guessed that meant that Rainbow trusted the Princess’s judgement.

“Alright, this won’t hurt.” Celestia’s horn began to glow with a cyan aura and she slowly lowered it to Altair, giving him a moment to remove his hood. When he had done it, she pressed the horn to his forehead.

Instantly, Altair lost all of his external senses. Everything was nothing but a pure white light, until several images started to flash in his mind. These images were so fast, Altair couldn’t comprehend what they were.

The images finally settled onto one image: a city filled with buildings made of stone and wood, blanketed by a light fog and a settlement that was separated from the open sea by a giant wall. Acre. One of the cities involved with the long and secret crusade Altair had fought.

Inside the city was a crowd of citizens huddled around stage that held a scaffold with four people hung by the neck off of it. Three knights were on the platform. They wore black and grey clothing and armor except for the white cross in the middle of their chest. Two of them stood on different ends of the platform, the third was walking back in forth between the two, howling at the whining crowd.

“See what become to those who betray our God!” The knight spoke with such pride. The crowd was so loud that hardly anyone heard a golden eagle’s cry. It took flight up toward to a church. There he stood, observing the environment and his targets. Altair knew that this was his time to strike, out in the open and under guarded.

Altair was a different person in his youth. His entire attitude was more arrogant, impatient and demanding. He blindly followed the Assassin’s Creed without question. Even his appearance was different. Altair’s outfit was a white robe with a leather sash with a red streak underneath it. He only had the one hidden blade this time, due to the fact that he hadn’t invented the technique yet, and he was ready for his kill.

He had made his equipment check before he entered the area. The latest weapon in Altair’s arsenal was a crossbow, positioned to where his short blade was usually. In this case, he placed his blade under his sash, slightly restricting his movement. He didn’t care, all he knew was that it was time to see these men die for the harm they brought to others.

The bell took its toll and Altair had made his move. He descended off the church in a discreet fashion. He didn’t want to attract attention, yet. Altair blended with the crowd, slightly moving forward by gently pushing people out of the way. Inch by inch, he made his way up until he decided that now his presence could be known. He picked up his pace, grasping the attentions of the knight up front. The middle one ordered an attack on the oncoming assailant.

The guard on Altair’s left was the first to approach the assassin, followed closely by the knight on the right. Altair anticipated this useless attempt. He grasped his crossbow and took his shot on the left knight. The one on the right tried to attack the assassin with his sword, but failed as Altair dodged to the left and brought down the assailant with his crossbow.

With a burst of speed, Altair used the wounded knight as a ledge to make a jump. He flicked his left wrist and his blade sprang to life. The assassin drove it into the neck of the final knight, bringing him down to the ground. After the final blow, Altair used his right hand to close the eyes of his fallen enemy, showing some respect. The raging crowd was then silent.

Altair heard a noise coming from his rear and looked, seeing a city guard coming on his right back side. He began to run off to his left, avoiding any patrols that were present. Altair became instinctually aware of his surrounding environment and did everything he could to avoid disturbing it, including dodging civilians, not knocking over a jar or running into extra guard patrols, even the dust was undisturbed.

He made his way to an alley, where a single guard rushed to him dead on. Altair jumped onto a cart and quickly ascended to the wall, barely avoiding the sword attack. He climbed up to the roof, where there was no resistance. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, Altair tried to escape the guards, but had no success. They kept their eyes on him the whole time. He had to do something to get them to lose sight of him. Altair had an idea.

The assassin had jumped off the last rooftop and onto a city guard, bringing him down. He took off only to notice a thug trying to grasp him. Altair barely dodged it until he came to a complete stop in front of a set of doors. He looked back to see what kind of situation he was in. As he turned around, the doors behind him opened, releasing a large number of people all dressed in white and spreading out in their own directions. Scholars. Thanks to the church, this group of people were untouchable by anyone. Due to their similar clothing, Altair took the opportunity to hide in the crowd and lose the guard. Once he had made his way around, the entire setting was fading away.

The only thing Altair could do was collapse on the ground, completely disoriented. It took him a minute to regain his senses and look around the room he was in. He was back in the library’s basement, in a land inhabited by ponies. The elder assassin blinked rapidly to rid himself of his blurry vision.

“Forgive me. The experience can be disorienting to those who are not used to the process.” Celestia spoke. Her eyes were closed and had her head leveled to the ground.

“What was that? It felt like I relived that moment in time.” Altair asked before he started to cough.

“Memory spell. It allows ponies to view certain memories. The drawback is, it forces the owner to relive the memory whether they want to or not.” Celetia had finally opened her eyes and looked at Altair, who had just finished coughing. There was something different in her eyes though. It wasn’t horror or grief Altair had expected. Instead, it was something he swore he was mistaken. It seemed to be relief.

Celestia took a quick glance to her left and Altair follow to see Rainbow Dash standing right next to him with concern in her eyes. He was actually surprised to see her like this. As soon as she noticed her expression, she quickly changed it to aggression.

Shaking his head, Altair stood up to his full height and took a deep breath, trying his best to fight his fatigue.

“I’m assuming that the process can also cause tiredness?” Altair asked Celestia.

“Sometimes it can. Depending on the species does it have different effects.”

Altair looked around the area to see that Twilight was still working on the machine, and Rainbow was still next to him. Celestia looked to the window outside to see that she needed to lower the sun for the night.

“I understand that you have no place to sleep?” Celestia asked.

“You are correct. I haven’t been able to hunt for anything to ensure my survival.”

“I have a spare bed you can use. It’s in the guest room above.” Twilight interjected. Altair looked over to her.

“You have my gratitude.” Altair said.

“One question though, are you a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore?” Twilight had finally looked at him, only to be met by a confused look from the assassin.

“Do you eat plants, meat or both?” Twilight was wearing her annoyance on her face.

“Both.” He had replied.

“Then it is settled. Twilight will provide shelter until Altair can find his own, however, Rainbow will be the one to watch over our guest.” Celestia spoke, clearly giving an order.

“WHAT!?!” Rainbow screamed. “Why do I have to watch him?”

“Since you have proven your interest in him, I want you to be the one to help into our society.”

“But I don’t have any interest in him. I’m just worried out everypony.” Rainbow replied.

“Thus, to ease your mind over this concern, you get to help him adjust to our ways.” Celestia gave Rainbow a stare that made her shut down, not making another comment. Celestia looked at Altair.

“Now, I must depart, I have my responsibilities to attend to.” And with that said, she disappeared into a flash, leaving small little glints of light.

“It’s going to take a while for the computer to analyze the data and put together a ratio. We best head upstairs and make something to eat.” Twilight began trotting upstairs and opened the door, gesturing Altair to follow. He looked over to Rainbow, who was still sitting on the ground, silent.

“Are you coming?” Altair held out his hand to her. She simply responded with a sigh.

“Yeah, I’m coming. Listen, no offence but I’m not happy about having to keep an eye on you.” Rainbow said.

“I don’t understand you.”

“And what do you mean by that?” Rainbow said with a snippy attitude.

“For the first few minutes you have known me, you have treated me with distrust and hostility. I understand that. However, after the princess looked through my mind, your attitude toward me has changed to a degree.”

“Well, since the Princess didn’t attack you after running through your head, I’m guessing that you’re not that bad.”

True, except you were checking on me immediately after Celestia and I severed the connection.

“Well, I guess that is as good a reason as I can take.” Altair walked up the stairs with Rainbow directly behind him. As they exited the basement, Altair was greeted by the smell of cooked vegetables. After all that had happened to him today, he didn’t feel the need to eat. The only thing he felt was fatigue.

Altair followed the scent, wondering what it was, to an area that was packed with different kinds of plant based food, neatly placed all over the counters. Inside was Twilight and Spike. As the assassin entered the kitchen, he could feel the tension in the air. Someone, Somepony, Altair corrected, was extremely nervous.

“So… is the Princess dining with us?” Spike asked with hesitation in his voice.

“No Spike. She had important things to do and had to leave.” Twilight answered.

Spike immediately let out a sigh and wiped his forehead.

“Okay, sorry. Was trying my best to make a good impression.”

“You still can.” Twilight pointed one of forehoof over toward Altair.

“So I take it he is staying with us?” Spike sounded unhappy about that.

“Only for a while. Twilight, if you could show me to my quarters, I would be thankful.” Altair asked.

“Oh, sure. Follow me.” Twilight led him out of the kitchen and up the stair in main library, to a room with nothing more than a small bed and a window. Altair walked over to the bed, looking at it with displeasure. He knew it was too small for the likes of him. The assassin turned to Twilight with the intention of thanking her for her hospitality, but saw that Twilight was doing something.

Her horn was lit up and an aura of magic surrounded the bed. After a few seconds of nothing, the bed began to enlarge in size, eventually the point where Altair thought it was a little large. When the aura receded, Altair turned his sights to Twilight, who was now panting and covered in sweat.

“Transfiguration magic is quite powerful, and unfortunately I’m not that skilled with it. Well, now that is done, I wish a good night sleep.”

“On you as well.” Altair said.

Twilight shut the door behind her as she left the room, leaving the old man alone. He laid on his back on the newly enlarged bed, and started to think about the events of the day. No matter how many times he tried to focus, his mind centered around his late wife and the events in the white area before his arrival. His eyes grew heavy and his sight grew dim, and finally, he fell asleep.

Author's Note

Hey everyone! Me again. Well here is chapter four. Sorry for the long wait, kinda lost motivation and was distracted. However, I'm back.
Sorry, I will try not to do that again to you all.

Thanks to mber7560 for editing and proofreading this.

Also I'd like to thank KMIECIKDEVIL proofreading as well as hounding me to keep working on this.

(Alright, I made some grammatical errors I didn't pick up, but now that is fixed. Thanks for picking up on that!)