The Stalliongrad Assassin

by XIIIKeys

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Tragedy, Slice of Life, Crossover, Sad
Length: 5952

A colt's life is changed forever by a war waged between two ancient groups of ponies.

[Temporary hiatus because I'm stuck on combat scenes.]

The Templars and the Assassins. They have waged war longer than any history book can keep track, and they still wage war to this day, despite with more secrecy.

That is, until the Templars decided to step up their game, with the capture of the great city of Stalliongrad. The Assassins defended the city with their lives, and that still wasn't enough. Within days, the city fell, and what few Assassins survived fled to the far corners of Equestria.

This story will follow one of those surviving Assassins. Introduced to the Brotherhood at a young age, he trained under the guidance of his family throughout most of his adolescence and early adulthood to be an Assassin. Now that his family has been torn away from him, he flees home in search of an answer to the Templar issue. Where they wage war once more in the name of pure rivalry, one Assassin will fight for a different cause. He will fight, in hopes that he can bring peace to the conflict that is now sweeping Equestria's southern hemisphere.

His name is Lighthoof. And this is his story.

DISCLAIMER: My Little Pony and Assassin's Creed copyrighted by their respectful owners.

Published 2014-01-13 21:50:08 UTC
Last updated 2014-01-27 22:29:43 UTC

Ch. 1: A New Life

“Lighthoof! Wake up, little brother! Breakfast is ready!"

The little colt named Lighthoof yawned and stretched his young body, throwing off the covers and getting out of bed. There to greet him was his older sister, Wind Breaker. "Get out of bed, sleepyhead! You don't want to miss breakfast! Today's a big day for the family."

"What're we doing today...?" he asked softly, still not fully awake. Wind Breaker gave him a big, warm smile and motioned for him to follow her down the stairs. "Well, today mom and dad are going to see the high chancellor, and they want us to accompany them!"

"But Wiind! I wanted to play with Sunny Dash and Quick Draw today!" Lighthoof whined. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, his sister turned around and whispered to him. "Light, I know you don't enjoy trotting down to the Garden, but if you can make the trip, I promise I'll make it up to you, okay?" The ponies in town called it the Garden, short for Gallows Garden. It didn't take much speculation to think of a reason for that name.

When he let out another, quieter whimper, Wind patted his cheek gently and turned to lead him into the kitchen. Waiting for them was another colt, about the same age as Wind Breaker, and an older-looking stallion flipping through a newspaper. A mare about the same age as the stallion was laying out what could only be described as breakfast fit for royalty.

"Finally! We thought you'd been snatched up by Luna, right in our own bedroom!" The other colt said, a faint smile accenting his features letting them know he was simply joking. The older male, however, did not pick up on that, and the magical glow that held up the newspaper slowly disappeared as the literature folded itself up and flew over to land nice and neat on top of a tall stack of newspapers. "Gear Grinder, I thought we went over this before. Don't go scaring Lighthoof with that 'Children of the Night' fairytale."

Wind Breaker and Lighthoof took their respective seats next to their sibling, and their mother sat across from them, next to her husband. "Besides, Princess Luna would never take our child away from us," she added, looking to the father of her children.

For what reason, nopony said, and it wouldn't be until much later that Lighthoof would get an answer. At this age, he was told by his best friends Sunny Dash and Quick Draw that he was too awesome to be taken away in the moonlight. They all shared a good laugh about it, but Light took that answer to heart.

They all knew what would be waiting for them later in the day, so without further adieu, they began eating. The mother of the family, Gold Shine, and her husband Swift Messenger (most refer to him as Swift) sometimes had a hard time raising their three children, but they were happy to have raised them well, for on days like these they would have to be on their best behavior.

After finishing breakfast, Gold Shine sent the kids up to the washroom to get cleaned up before they went out. The tub was large enough to fit all three of them and still have room leftover, so they bathed together to save on hot water.

"What kind of business do you think they have in the Garden?" asked Gear Grinder, quietly and full of seriousness. Wind Breaker shrugged and started to rub some shampoo and conditioner into her mane. "Beats me, but father had his gauntlets on."

Gear's eyes widened and he leaned in closer to Wind, talking even lower. "But we aren't supposed to bring Lighthoof to that kind of business!"

Their younger sibling, in the meantime, occupied his own corner of the bathtub, making sure that he was completely clean. It distracted him from the conversation that he so desperately wanted to get in on. Usually on days where the rest of the family went to the Garden, Lighthoof would stay behind with his best friends until they returned. He also noticed the strange gauntlets his father was wearing this morning. Sometimes he wore them, sometimes he didn't, and he noticed that days where he wore them would be days spent with his friends.

The rest of the family had no idea that little Lighthoof had quickly begun to put the pieces together. Sometimes when they came back, they would be sporting unexplained wounds and mystery red stains, and whenever Light would ask about them, they would tell him to go up to his room until they said it was alright for him to come out.

The colt's thoughts were cut by his sister's voice. "Hurry up, Light! It's a long trip down to the Garden! Of we can get out the door early enough, maybe mom and dad will let us stop by that milkshake place you love so much!" Gold Shine did an amazing job mothering her children, but Wind Breaker was there to pick up the pieces she would seldom let fell. She even had a motherly tone she used on Lighthoof from time to time, such as this time. "Okay!" was Light's quick reply as he began to pick up the pace.

After they had showered, dried off, and brushed their teeth, Wind Breaker and Gear Grinder went into the bedroom shared by the three siblings to get dressed. Lighthoof, as usual, waited outside, softly humming a tune to himself to remain occupied. However, what didn't go as per usual was his siblings calling him in.

"Yes?" Light answered, as he poked his head in through the doorframe, and he noticed that they were both fully dressed. And on Light's bed was an outfit, similar to the ones they wore. After all these years of being jealous of his siblings and their awesome outfits, he finally got one for his own.

"Go ahead, lil' bro. Try it on!" his sister encouraged him with words that need not be repeated. In less than a minute, he had slipped easily into the costume. And then, he pulled up the hood, which came down slightly over his eyes. It was his favorite accessory of their clothes; the way the hood cast a shadow over part of their faces just looked cool to him.

"This is the greatest thing ever!" he half-squealed, and his siblings couldn't help but share a short laugh. "I'm glad you like it, Lighty," Wind said, slowly trotting around him and giving a sigh of relief. "I'm also glad I cut the wing-breathers right and measured the hood length correctly."

"Yeah yeah, I'm sure Light isn't interested in hearing all that nonsense," Gear butted in, ushering them towards the door. "Lets get out there and let him show off his new outfit, eh?"

—————————————————————————————————————

The feelings that were going through Lighthoof's head were impossible to pin down, but the look on his face screamed joy. When they arrived downstairs, their parents had dressed in their outfits as well. So now, they all had matching outfits; Gold Shine's colored gold and white to match her coat and mane, Swift's deep blue and black. Gear Grinder's and Wind Breaker's were gold and black and blue and white, respectively. Lighthoof's, however, was special; his outfit shared the colors of his sister, but his came with red accents along the collar and the edge of his hood and collar. The reason why is this: where his parents both had dark blue eyes, and his siblings inherited them, his eyes are a striking red, akin to the color of the finest rubies in Equestria. His family, instead of being afraid that this was the result of a disorder, were delighted that the youngest member of the family had a unique eye color. For they were already connected by blood, why should they all have a uniform eye color?

As they trotted down the street, the other families on the street nearly gawked at seeing the family in all the same state of dress. They all trotted on air that day, Lighthoof most of all, who was happy he could finally partake in the rest of his family's activities. The other foals he knew from school gawked at him with eyes wide and jaws dropped, and he couldn't help but grin ear to ear. In short: man, does he feel like a badass.

It wasn't long before they made it to the Garden. Easily recognized was the home of the high chancellor, the Stalliongrad State, for it was the tallest building in this hemisphere of Equestria. And standing by the gigantic double-door entrance to the castle was the dictator himself-- Steel Gaze, a stallion whose knowledge preceded his old age by centuries. For those who were on his bad side, life was hell. For those close enough to him to call him friend, life was easier. Thankfully, Lighthoof's family has been friends with Steel Gaze's family as far back as either family's record can say.

When the ruler of Stalliongrad caught wind of the family, he first looked at them with a frown and furrowed eyes, but recognizing them it quickly changed to a warm gaze and bright smile. "Swift, my greatest comrade! I'm so glad you and your family could make it!" The great dictator turned to greet the family in turn, and then looked down at Lighthoof, his smile growing even wider. Truth be told, he always intimidated and even scared him a bit, but he knew the aged ruler wouldn't hurt him. "And here he is! I heard you're turning twelve tomorrow! How does it feel to be on the verge of adolescence, young man?"

"P-Pretty cool, Mister Steel Gaze!" Lighthoof replied enthusiastically, putting on his biggest smile. The dictator patted the colt's shoulder and nodded. "It is a good thing you are energetic. Come, bring your family inside. We will talk." The family of five followed the ruler of Stalliongrad into the crown jewel of the country.

Lighthoof heard bits and pieces of the older ponies' conversation. Stuff about the castle being huge, the decor being dark enough to imply a castle-like setting but bright enough to ward off the feeling of being trapped, and more than likely his sister implying that the standard-issue guard's armor could use a redesign. Mostly, though, he was preoccupied with something else: his vision had started to highlight certain points of interest. His family and the guards were highlighted blue, Steel Gaze gold, and seemingly-random sections of wall were painted white. It would fade in and out, but he decided to try and make something of it himself before telling the others about it.

"Here we are!" The three words derailed his train of thought, and shut off his vision. The rest of his traveling companions looked at him expectantly, and he got a sudden feeling of dread. "I-I'm sorry! I might've b-been a little distracted. What do I do?" Steel Gaze gave a hearty laugh and gestured around the room, which was basically a big, stone box, except for the doorway they came in through. "Use your talent, Lighthoof, and look around."

What talent, he had to wonder? Lighthoof was probably the best pony in the country at scaling walls and doing general parkour— which was how he earned his name— but these walls were completely flat. He was also good at a bunch of other things, some of them inappropriate for his young age, but again, nothing in the room to host his talents. Then, he realized; the vision! He squeezed his eyes shut, focused as hard as he could, and then slowly opened them.

"I knew you had it in you, lil' bro!" Wind Breaker complimented. To them, they saw bright beams coming out of Lighthoof's eyes. To Lighthoof himself, the whole room lit up in drawings of ancient history, much like hieroglyphs, except the occasional bit of language was something he could actually read. The drawings depicted war; ponies starting off with what looks like negotiations, then going to war with swords, bows and arrows, sticks, whatever could be weaponized. At the end of the sequence, it showed two groups of ponies, both with different icons above their heads. The group on the left had a cross above their heads, and the group on the left had some odd triangle-shaped icon above theirs.

And below these groups were two names: the group with the cross Templars, the group with the strange icon Assassins. The right group's icon seemed familiar, and then it hit him: all around the house, and on each of their outfits, was the same icon. A paragraph to his left caught his attention, and he trotted over to read it more closely. It read like this: 'Where others would cloud your judgement with lies— NOTHING IS TRUE. Where others are restricted by rules— EVERYTHING IS PERMITTED.' Nothing is true, and everything is permitted... Lighthoof had heard the phrase once, uttered by his brother Gear Grinder. When he asked about it, his question was ignored.

Beneath that was another phrase, which would change everything. 'We work in the dark, to serve the light. We are Assassins.'

...What? Assassins? Why were they showing him this? Why show him this now? He had heard about the Assassins and Templars, and knew that they were enemies throughout history, but what does any of that have to do with him? Unless....

"Lighthoof, your parents, with the additional judgement of your older siblings, have deemed you ready to learn about your heritage," the dictator of Stalliongrad started off easily. "If you catch on as fast as your family says you do, I'll cut right to the chase." The colt's head started to spin, and he started to lose his balance, so he sat on his haunches, nearly falling over in the process. He could never think of his family as anything else than just that, and hardly could he think of them as... as—

"Lighthoof. Your family and I have a secret, and we believe you're now old enough to understand what it means. We are Assassins."

The statement hit him like a freight train. How could they be Assassins? Wind Breaker worked at a nursery, Gear Grinder worked at a metals factory, Gold Shine was a stay-at-home mother and Swift Messenger was, well, a messenger. So many questions swirled around in his head, leaving him unable to speak but able to listen.

"Son, the reason we kept your heritage from you is because we didn't know you were ready for it," his father began to explain. "Like you, we waited until we were old enough to learn enough about our heritage to accept it. We thought about waiting another few years, but dark times are upon us."

Wind Breaker helped her little brother to his hooves as their dad went on. "The Templars are getting bold with their actions. We swore to secrecy with our presence in Stalliongrad, but now they are announcing their return, taking over districts, and displaying their crosses with pride. We are being forced to respond in turn with our own return. Our numbers are... worn thin, with many Assassin families unwilling to fight for our cause."

Lighthoof began to find his voice once more, so he started to ask questions, leaning on his sister for support. "So... S-So you need me to help fight Templars? What can I do? I'm just a colt. I don't have any training, I wouldn't know what to-" Gold Shine gently put a hoof over his lips. "Shh. We will teach you how to be one of us, Lighthoof. It will take time, and you have a lot of things to learn, but we will make an Assassin out of you."

He was scared, admittedly. Scared, and nervous, and afraid. But if what if they told him was true, than they needed him for the cause. He would have to endure years of training for a cause he had only just learned of, and to be honest, he didn't much care for an ancient grudge match between two groups he barely knew existed: but his family would still be there to guide him, just as they had been for the past twelve years.

"Okay... Okay, I'll do it. Where do I begin?"

—————————————————————————————————————

"I'm glad you decided to side with us, Lighty," Wind Breaker commented, sitting with her little brother on the roof of a bazaar. The noises and other voices below were loud enough to ensure that they could have a conversation to themselves. It had been a few hours since Lighthoof had accepted his place as an Assassin, and as a small celebration, Wind Breaker had decided to take him to his favorite ice cream stand to pick up some of his favorite treats.

"And I'm glad for the existence of sea salt ice cream," he responded in a joking tone. They shared a laugh together, the kind that only close siblings could share. It was a nice moment, something that contrasted the stark seriousness of the past hours of the day. It helped ease the stress of today.

"You know, I thought it would've taken more than that to convince you to join us," Wind added, looking at the busy city below. "I must've been thinking of a hundred different ways to get you to side with us."

"From what mister Steel Gaze told me, these Templars are bad news," Lighthoof replied, his eyes resting on Stalliongrad State, which was about a mile or two out. "After hearing about what they've been doing, I'm ready, willing, and able to do what it takes to stop them." It was a startlingly-serious statement, and even he wondered if it was really him who just said that. Maybe he was starting to grow out of his foalhood at last.

"Thank you, Lighthoof." Wind smiled at him and wrapped a hoof around his shoulders, holding him close. "With a heart and mind like yours, we can win this war and restore peace to Stalliongrad. Home will still be home, little brother, as long as we still stand for it."

They stayed together like that for a while, finishing their frozen treats and watching the sun slowly set. "Come on, then," she said, standing up and stretching her wings. "We should get a better view of the horizon! Say, top of that church tower?" Lighthoof followed suit, looking up to the top of the tower. A grin stretched across his muzzle; Rooftop races were his specialty. "You're on, sis. Go!"

Their hooves thundered across the rooftop, manes and tails billowing behind them as they raced towards the church. As they scaled the belltower, they couldn't help but laugh, knowing that the younger sibling would win, as he always did. Once Lighthoof got to the top, he leaned over the edge to help his sister up.

Standing on the highest point in the town, they leaned against each other and looked out across the town. The sun now blanketed the city in a red-orange, and the two pegasi basked in the warmth that would soon be replaced with moonlight.

"We have a good life, don't we, Wind?" Lighthoof questioned softly, slinking down into a more comfortable position and bringing his sister with him. She nodded and laid back, relaxing on the tile roof with her little brother at her side.

"The best, Light. I hope it never changes." She turned her head, and blue irises met ruby ones. Just as they had shared their laughter, they both put on a warm smile, and turned back to the sunset.

"And may it never change us."

Author's Note

This is my first venture into writing an actual story, not scripting. Don't hold back on the reviews, I want to know what you all think! I'd also like to know what you want to see in future chapters.

And yes, each chapter will have a small, vague-like homage to the Assassin's Creed games. See if you can find them.

Ch. 2: Maturo

It has been years since Lighthoof's whole world was changed. Years since he was inducted into the Assassin brotherhood and taken under his family's wing for training. Now he was celebrating his eighteenth birthday with his family. However, his parents and siblings were acting strange, as if the day were something to dread. It started to make him angry, the way they acted, so he went to his father for answers.

He knocked on the door to Swift Messenger's study. "Hey, it's me. May I come in for a moment?" He poked his head in and saw his dad buried in a newspaper with his reading glasses on, reclining in his favorite chair. The father figure folded the paper up and nodded, replying in what seemed to be a concerned tone. "Come on in, son. What do you need?"

After being granted permission to enter, Lighthoof opened the door, trotted in and closed the door shut behind him, then going up to his father and bowing briefly. A few months ago, Swift was promoted to head of the Stalliongrad chapter, with the approval of Steel Gaze. "Welcome to leadership, Swift," the dictator would say with a hearty laugh.

"You don't have to bow to your father," he added, looking at Light with slight disapproval. The son straightened up immediately and nodded. "Right. Sorry. Are you busy? I come seeking answers."

"Answers about what?" Swift replied in turn, giving his child the look. He grew to be wary of that look; It was a look his father developed after he began training him in the ways of the Assassin. Light had asked him so many questions during his training, but instead of faltering, he answered every single question he could throw at him. It was a remarkable strength, one Light admired about his dad. "Well, I've been noticing strange behavior among the family and some of the others in the brotherhood. When I tried to convince my brother and sister to help me celebrate, they shook it off and went away. I want to know why."

Swift looked at his son curiously, his reading glasses now hovering over the desk before dropping with a quiet clink. "Have you forgotten about the pickup you were supposed to carry out today, son? If I'm right, you have... Fifteen minutes, and it's about a twenty-minute flight to Sandy Shores." Lighthoof's eyes widened in shock. How could he have been so stupid as to forget?

"Take your weapons with you, there have been reports of Templar scouts in the woods on the border. And an overcoat, it's cold outside," Swift added, waving a hoof to dismiss Light to his duties. "May the wind flow in your favor, Lighthoof."

When Light turned to say goodbye to his dad, he caught a glimpse of sadness etched into his facial features. He would've stopped and asked why that was so, if it weren't for the fact that he was running late. "I'll be back soon, father." He waited for a response. Maybe a call for him to stay home, let another Assassin carry out the job?

Unfortunately, it would not be so. Swift responded in such a quiet manner that his son could barely hear him. "I hope so, son. I hope so..." Light finally let the door shut behind him, and those words swirled in his head as he darted for his room. What did he mean when he said that? Surely he knew that his son would be back as fast as he could. Something wasn't right in the household, but Lighthoof held off his suspicions until after he had done his job.

He found Wind Breaker in a suspicious position in their shared bedroom; looking right at the door, amazingly-transparent inconspicuous smile on her face, with her hooves behind her back. He leaned against the doorway, meeting her fake-casual stance with one of his own, and grinned. "Windy," Lighthoof greeted with a hint of mirth in his voice, before adding in a sing-song voice, "How're you tonight?"

"Juust fine, Lighty," she replied, letting out that silent giggle that Lighthoof loved about his sister. Then she cut right to the chase. "You weren't thinking we forgot about your birthday, were you? Just the opposite, in fact! We've been saving up bits for a while to get you your gift, which just happens to be..."

Her hooves shot out from behind her back, and Lighthoof was met with a comic book. The cover depicted a young mare locked in battle with a pack of large, pitch-black wolves. The mare wore a red cloak with a silver rose emblem on the back, and her hooves were gripping a large metal scythe, the blade and hilt a striking red that matched her outfit and stood out against the barren winter forest behind her. The title above it all, shrouded by rose petals and the comic's protective plastic, read, 'RED LIKE ROSES 1'.

Lighthoof stared at the cover with wide eyes, his mouth slightly agape. Red Like Roses has been his favorite comic book series since before he was inducted into the Assassin Brotherhood, and he had never even seen any covers from before issue 13, they were so rare. But here he was, being given the very first issue that started it all. He gingerly took the literature in his hooves, left speechless. "B-But... H-how did..."

Wind Breaker beamed wide, obviously proud of the gift she had managed to acquire for her little brother. "Gear Grinder and I put our money together to buy it. Remember the pickup mission we went on a couple months ago? Weell, that's where this baby came from! And also..."

Lighthoof heard a quiet thump from under his bed, and he turned to investigate when his big brother rolled out from underneath, sprung up, and brandished a large metal scythe, near-identical to the one on the comic book cover. "Ta-daa! What do you think, lil bro?"

If it weren't for the fact that he was holding onto it life his life depended on it, Lighthoof might've dropped the comic book in his hooves. After slipping it underneath his chestplate, he went over and admired the weapon closely, realizing that it was made with astonishing detail– and the blade was carefully sharpened. It even included a hook-like grip at the end to keep the wielder's hooves from slipping off, and another grip halfway up the hilt.

"Go ahead, Lighthoof. Take it. It's yours." His brother offered the weapon to him, and he took it into his hooves with great care. Stepping away from his siblings, he gave it a few slow swings to test its balance. It didn't feel too heavy or too light, but it didn't feel perfectly weighted, either, and his hooves gripped the metal well enough to ensure its dependency on the battlefield. A collectible comic book and a brand-new scythe, and Lighthoof couldn't be any happier.

The younger sibling embraced his older siblings in a tight grip, hugging them in a near-chokehold. They both laughed at their brother's expression of gratitude and hugged him back, with Gear Grinder adding, "Watch where you swing that thing, okay? I also added some basic hinges and lock mechanisms so you can fold it up and put it in your scythe scabbard." After they released one another, he continued with, "There should also be an automatic folder button on the bottom of the rear grip. Go ahead and try it out! I want to see if it works."

Light trotted over to his little corner of the bedroom: a simple bed with white sheets and two pillows, a half-cape that can attach to his right shoulder pad hanging off of one of the bed's support poles, and a large scythe with a wooden grip leaning against the other side of the bed, the previously-mentioned scythe scabbard hanging off of it. Setting his new scythe and comic on the bed, he reached over and took the sheath off, hooking it to the back of his belt. Once more slowly picking up his new weapon, he searched for a button– a small, black button, to distinguish against the red metal– and pressed it. First the tip of the blade folded down, followed by the base of the blade, and then it folded into three neat sections, with just the rear grip sticking out for an easy draw. He brought it behind him, lined it up with his scabbard, and it slid right in. A perfect fit– Gear Grinder really did his homework creating this magnificent piece of work.

Lighthoof was left speechless, and he didn't know what to feel, or what to say. On one hand, he wanted to express his gratitude with a well-placed "thank you" and another hug, this one a little less back-breaking. Another part of him wanted to scream with delight and show off his birthday gifts to everypony around. But another voice in his head came up: the quiet but strong-willed voice that wanted to test the blade's true strength in one way only: against the flesh and steel of a Templar. That voice wanted to see blood and bone ripped apart in the blink of an eye. The thought of it made Lighthoof flinch, as he never heard that voice often. It was a violent spirit that would shock anypony to learn that such a consciousness existed within him. He, a stallion whom everypony thought wouldn't harm a fly.

The words "thank you" escaped his lips, cutting off his thoughts as he snapped back to reality. He found himself gently embracing his siblings. Apparently, his mind decided to listen to Voice Number One, as it usually did. That was what made his public image as the nice colt of the city. "Hey, we had to make your eighteenth special, didn't we?" Wind asked after breaking off from the embrace. "Now go on, get outta here. You'll get the rest of your present after you get back from your mission~"

The way she said that, followed up by a flirtatious wink, made him wonder about what she could mean. His first thought went immediately to incest, curse his evil mind– just as soon as the thought entered his mind, common sense cast it away. How did a kind soul like his develop such a dirty mind, anyway? His next thought was that they were going to try hooking him up on a blind date. They had done it repeatedly in the past, always saying something along the lines of 'you deserve a nice mare, we know the perfect match for you', etc. etc. He always appreciated what his siblings did for him, but he didn't see the point. He had never been able to keep a stable relationship, a fact he was painfully aware of.

And again his train of thought went off the rails as his brother ushered him out the door. "Hurry up and get back soon so we can celebrate, да?" Gear Grinder encouraged as his hooves pressed against his brother's back. "The sooner you get back, the more cider will be left for you!" Gear laughed before pushing Lighthoof out the door and shutting it behind him.

Light trotted down the stairs and went into the kitchen, where his mother Gold Shine was busy preparing dinner. "Hey, ma," her son greeted, going up to her and giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm off to do this one last job. Be back soon!" She turned and smiled, hugging him and replying, "Come back soon, okay, hun? Dinner's almost done." He nodded and quickly left the house, making a mental checklist: weapons, check. Overcoat, check. He was always wearing his overcoat, though. Off to the ice-cold woods on a retrieval mission? Double-check.

—————————————————————————————————————

"Hey, Lighthoof!"

The pony in question turned around to see his two best friends, Sunny Dash and Quick Draw, trotting towards him. Their arrival at this moment, of all times, only served to frustrate him further. He was already late, and that was something he didn't take well. He figured he would smooth-talk his way out of whatever they were going to try and rope him into.

"Hey, comrades!" Light replied, smiling and bumping hooves with them. Then, he mentally kicked himself, because he remembered he was wearing his hidden blade gauntlets; Long story short, Lighthoof might've accidentally impaled Quick Draw's hoof in a hoof bump when he first got his hidden blades.

"Hey, you didn't stab me this time!" was Quick's first words, followed by a short laugh. Both his friends groaned, but they smiled anyways. "When are you gonna let that go?" Light replied, shaking his head.

"Well well well, look at you! All dressed up and somewhere to go?" Sunny asked, her hoof patting down his collar, which was sticking up a little. Light sighed quietly and nodded. "Yeah, I gotta go and pick something up for my dad, okay? When I get back, we're going to party our flanks off." Light always had to avoid telling others about his place as an Assassin. If he told anypony– even his best friends– what he was, they would be connected to him, and that was something he wouldn't wish on anypony. When you're connected to an Assassin, the Templars have ways of finding out, and those connected to an Assassin will be used against them, and that was always a weakness ponies like the Templars would be willing to exploit.

Then they stepped back and scanned him carefully, something Lighthoof hated. His nostrils flared and he turned, trotting away. "Hey!" they shouted in protest, as Light's wings opened up. "Sorry I'll be back soon don't be angry!" he called back at them as he took off, soaring into the air. He didn't want to abandon them– especially since he had a mild crush on Sunny and he had been friends with Quick since foalhood– but he was on the clock.

Lighthoof waved briefly to the guards on patrol around the front gates as he flew overhead, then turned to focus his attention on the skies ahead of him. He finally found himself able to take in a deep breath of fresh air, and it was like cleaning his system.

His body felt refreshed by the rush of the winter air, and he began to pick up speed as he approached the Frozen Woods, which got its namesake because all the trees were enchanted. Their branches never bore leaves, and no matter what season it was, their bark felt like ice, and so did the air around them. Despite the barren trees, there were alot of them, and it provided good cover for Templar Scouts and their ambushes– despite the occasional clearing. Lighthoof didn't savor the idea of going in there, but he had a bit of comfort knowing that other Assassins would be waiting for him within.

It wasn't going into the Frozen Woods that gave him a sense of impending doom, though. It was small, but it was nagging at him enough to make him think. It also wasn't often that he had feelings like this on mission, either; Something's amiss, but again, Lighthoof reminded himself, he was on the clock. He had to focus on the task at hand.

He probably should've paid attention to the sense of dread in his gut.

Author's Note

Finally got this chapter done after a few days on sick leave. Next chapter, fight scenes! The kinds with blood and violence and stuff.