Chapters Assassin's Creed: Afterlife
Memory 1: As Good As New Again
Florence, 30 November, 1524
Ezio Auditore and his family walk through a busy street of Florence. Ezio clenches his chest as he coughs violently, his wife, Sofia, helps him sit down a bench.
"You should have stayed home." Sofia said, carefully putting the old man to sit on the bench.
"I am home." Ezio smiled as he looks forward to the cathedral where he and his brother climbed up as young men many years ago.
Sofia bends over his shoulder and gave him a passionate kiss on the cheek, "We will be right over here.", she then stands up as their daughter, Flavia, held her hand playfully as they walk towards the market stall.
Ezio smiles as he looks at Flavia waving at him. He waves back, but is interrupted by a smug young man with a scar on his left cheek. The young man took a sit next to Ezio and starts to complain about the women of Florence.
"Il diavolo! I hate this damn city! I wish I was in Roma, I hear the women there are like currants in wine, you know?" The young man smiles at him tauntingly "Not like here, Firenze... Blah!"
Ezio looks at him angrily, however, his chest started hurting again, causing him to wheeze, "I don't think... Firenze is your problem.", his wheezing got worse as he starts to lean away from the man in pain.
"...Prego?" The young man held Ezio's arm "Coraggio vecchio."
Ezio looks back at the young man, he realizes something about him. He seems to be like him when he was young and charismatic, always chasing women. The young man nodded to him as he puts his hand onto Ezio's shoulder. "Get some rest." The young man smiles, standing up to leave Ezio's company . Ezio looks at the man angrily as he walks away.
Ezio calms himself down and turns his attention back to his family who are gathering groceries. Ezio smiles as he realizes his time is now over, his vision starts to get very blurry as he carefully rest his head on the bench and close his eyes. Instead of happines, Flavia looks back at her father with shock, this happens to her mother as well. They ran to Ezio's aid as they drop their groceries down to the ground. Ezio's consciousness slowly fade away like a weakened fire on top of a candle being extinguised by calm wind. He starts to remember every single event in his life.
"We live a good life, brother."
"His face is his only asset!
"The Auditore are not dead!"
"Afraid to handle things yourself?"
"We don't need anyone to tell us what to do; not Savonarola, not the Medici."
"No books... No Wisdom... Just you..."
He hears many voices in his head, both from himself and friends. They all slowly disappear one by one, until he hears one final voice of himself saying "Requiescat in pace."
Ezio experiences peaceful nothingness for a few seconds until he is yet again able to open his eyes. As the black mist disappears from his vision, the first thing he sees is a ceiling. The first thing he hears are birds chirping. The first thing he smells is fresh air. The first thing he feels is a very soft, comfy bed.
"My hands are numb..." Ezio whispered. "Looks like my time hasn't come yet."
He tries to move his body and notice he is covered in bandages on top of open wounds. He looks around his environment for a while. He seems to be inside a cottage with a few bird houses hanging on the walls, the bed is decorated with hearts, and live birds freely entering in and out of the window. He tries to stand up and try to bear the pain as best as he could, hearing the sounds of squirting and crackling caused by his motion. He tries to reach for a nearby desk, only to fall off his bed as he seemingly isn't able to control his fingers at all. He yet again tries to do his balancing act, only this time what he saw suprised him. He stares at the stumps on his arms with a mixture of shock and terror on his face.
"Quello che è successo?" He said. "My arms..."
He pauses for a moment, "Wait a minute...", Ezio notices his voice seems to sound young again. "What is going on?!" He also notices everything else doesn't seem so... realistic... Everything seems like it all came from a drawing of some sort.
"Is this what comes after death?" Ezio asked himself, looking at his strange new animal-like body. "What happened to me?"
He seems to have a light brown coat, black mane with similar hairstyle from his young adulthood complete with the ponytail, with a tattoo resembling the flag of Florence on his flank. The body seems young too, unlike his previous one.
Ezio grabs onto the bed and tries to push himself back on his feet. Yet again, he notices another thing: he seems to be lacking his legs. He made his way towards the stairs by attempting to walk on both of his stumped legs, stumbling all over the place, destroying all the breakable and glass objects on top of cabinets and tables, dropping lots of books from the bookshelves, and accidentally pulling down a bird house. He continues to spin around from lack of balance like a drunken ballerina, grabbing on anything he could get his 'arms' on to regain balance for a few more seconds until he eventually made it to the stairs.
"Merda..." Ezio grunted.
He wraps his 'arms' around the handrail as he reaches his stumped left 'foot' down to the first step. Very slowly, he tries again with his right 'foot.' With both of his 'legs' on the first step, it's time for the second step. Ezio once again does the same action, left 'foot' slowly comes first. However, he steps on a white ball of fur which moved upon contact, causing him to end his circus act-like balancing routine and fall down the stairs like a bouncy ball, destroying a few furnitures as he lands and roll across the wooden floor.
"Cazzo..." Ezio angrily groaned as he feel the pain worsen on his already soar body.
He once again attempt to slowly stand up, grabbing on the edge of the handrail. He looks back at what he had stepped on, and saw it is a white rabbit. It seems to be frowning at him before hopping upstairs as it shows disgust towards him. Ezio shakes his head, shrugging it off and made his way towards the door. Like a strong hurricane, Ezio made a real mess on his path across the living room, causing a few birds to fly away from their homes. After a few seconds of painful balancing, he reaches the couch and leans on it to take a breather and to gain some momentum for a few seconds. Ezio pushes himself from the couch with what's left of his strength to do a quick dash towards the door. He is able to hold on to the handle of the door before he could slip and fall down on his poor nose.
"Finally... Now if I could just-"
The door suddenly opens with great speed, hitting Ezio in the face, giving an open wound on the right side of his lips. Emerging from the door is a butter yellow horse-like creature with light pink mane covering her left eye, tattoo of what appears to be butterflies on her flank, and a basket on her back.
"O-Oh! I'm sorry... I didn't know you would be awake by now..." The creature said with a very timid and quite voice.
"I'm fine. Could you tell me where I am?" Ezio looks at the creature before him, he pauses every movement on his body in suprise.
"L-Looks like you've hurt your lip..." It said in a very low voice.
"What are you? Are you one of those who came before?" Ezio asked. He already encountered many strange things involving the pieces of Eden, but nothing like this. Ezio doesn't feel any danger coming from the creature, he knew she couldn't even hurt a fly.
"Uhhh...Those who came before...?" It responded in confusion.
Using what is dubbed "Eagle Sense", formely "Eagle Vision." The creature is highlighted as blue. This gave slight relief to Ezio.
"Looks like I still have my enhanced senses. Bene." Ezio said to himself.
Again, he grabs on to a furniture and attempts to stand on both his so-called 'legs'. It looks at him, her face wondering what she's seeing.
"Why are you standing like that?" It asked.
"Standing like what?"
"You're standing on your hind legs... I've never seen anypony do that other than Lyra..."
"Hind legs? And who is Lyra?" Ezio got more questions than answers from this creature. "What is THIS place? HOW did I get here?"
"You're in my cottage... I saw you were flying towards Cloudsdale until a stray Eagle crashed onto you... You fell down and got cut by tree branches." It explained.
"Flying?"
"Uh huh..."
"I believe the words you have said are not true. The last time I flew was with Leonardo's flying machine a few years ago, and an eagle certainly never hit me in the face during those times." Ezio declared, still confused of what really happened. "This is the very first time I have been on this place."
Ezio looks at the basket it is carrying. "What is that for?"
"Oh, these are for you." It uses its mouth to grasp on the basket's handle and set it on the ground. Inside it seems to be vegetables. "You can eat those if you're hungry."
"Va bene. I'm not hungry." Ezio looks around for a moment before turning his attention to his own body. "How do I deal with this?"
"Try putting both your front legs down on the ground?" It suggested.
"Okay...?" Ezio slowly put his body on all fours, suprisingly, he felt more comfortable. "So... Where are my clothes?"
"Clothes? We... normally don't wear clothes..." It said.
"Really? That makes sense. Any idea how to send me back home?"
"If you mean Cloudsdale, then you could just use your wings."
"Wings?"
"Oh... They're injured. You could ask Twilight Sparkle. She's a good friend of mine, she might be able to assist you... She has wings too, but she won't be able to carry you. I guess she'll be using her balloon. I wonder if she still has it..." It said. "Well... If you want clothing, you can find some on my closet just over there..."
"I don't live in 'Cloudsdale', I live in Firenze. Do you have somekind of map I could use to find my way back there?" Ezio asked.
"Firenze? Uhhh... What's that?"
"Non importa. I'll just find my way home by myself."
"Twilight can help you. She's a Princess and really good with magic..."
"Magic? Like the Apple?"
"I... I didn't know apples have magic... Well... I'm sure she might be able to bring you home."
"Grazie." Ezio tries to walk to the closet on all fours. Still not used to his new body, he keeps losing balance again. "I'm gonna pay this friend of yours a visit."
"Let me help you. It's not too hard, you know." It helps Ezio walk towards the closet, holding him over his shoulder. Reminding him of Sofia on his final moments back in Florence.
"I never did catch your name." Ezio said.
"I... I-I'm Fluttershy..." It said.
"Sounds very feminine, are you a girl?"
"Yeah... I... I thought that would be obvious from my voice..."
"I know. I only wanted to make sure." Ezio smiles "I appreciate your help, signora."
Fluttershy opens the closet for Ezio, letting him choose the clothing he wants. The closet contains Fluttershy's gala dress and a few other rarely used feminine clothing. Ezio sighs in disappointment.
"Found anything you like?" Fluttershy asked.
"No." Ezio continued looking.
Ezio's expression changes from disappointment to satisfaction as soon as he saw a pair of clothing that would fit him. It was a white Assassin-esque robe, two red lapels, a red-striped scarf, a few golden buttons on the chest, a hood, and the equestrian flag is imprinted on one of the pockets. It slightly resembles his Father's Assassin outfit, but of course, it lacks the Assassin insignia.
"You own this?" Ezio asked.
"No..."
"From who is this from, then?"
"I don't wanna talk about it..."
"Va bene. I'll have this one. Thank you, signora." Ezio bowed at Fluttershy.
"I'm not Sinora. I'm Fluttershy..."
"Thank you then, Fluttershy."
Ezio puts on the robes. He slips his hooves into the sleeves, bites and pulls on the straps to tighten them, and covered his flank with the robes' trims. He didn't bother to close the buttons. He stretches his body to adjust to the new clothing, finding it perfectly comfortable. It is a bit loose, but that isn't noticeable.
"Vi ringrazio di tutto quello che avete fatto per me." Ezio puts on the hood and clumsily makes his way towards the door. "Farewell, Fluttershy. I'll find a way to return the favor."
"Oh... Umm... Sure... Whatever that means..." Fluttershy responded. "Do you want me to take you to where Twilight lives?"
"No need. I'm sure I can find her by myself. Again, Grazie."
"What about your wounds?"
"I'll deal with it." Ezio headed out of the door.
Outside, he sees that Fluttershy's cottage is surrounded by friendly animals. Ezio is amazed of the beautiful scenery despite not it looking very realistic. The very clean air makes it easier for him to breath compared to when he was in Florence, Rome, and Constantinople. He carefully moves himself away from Fluttershy's door as he tries to get use to his new way of walking. The friendly animals surrounding Fluttershy's home seem to impress Ezio as well. They didn't run away from him or even attack him, just staring with a cheerful smile.
"I didn't expect heaven to be like this." Ezio whispered to himself. "I need to familiarize myself with this land."
Ezio looks around the surrounding environment around him for a few moments, before eventually seeing the highest tree nearby. "Perfect."
He walks towards the tree's bark, looking up to its top. The tree branches seem stronge enough to support his weight. He lifts a hoof up and holds on to one, moving it a few times to test it. He smirks.
"I've never climbed up a tree before. I guess this is the perfect time for me to try."
Ezio lifts himself up the tree branch, grabbing on to another one. He then stands up on the bigger branch next to the other, he then looks up on the remaining tree branches he has to climb up.
"I think I can do this." Ezio made a jump towards the higher branch, grabbing onto it, causing a few leaves to fall down softly. Ezio smiles while he continues to climb the tall tree as he can finally do again what he can't for many years in retirement. His feeling of being young again also makes him remember his time with his brother as they climbed up a church in Florence.
He starts to hear his brother's words in his imagination.
"Baby brother still has much to learn! Come on, tartaruga!"
"I almost feel bad about this! No shame in failure, brother!"
"Heh. Federico, you imbecille..." Ezio jokingly said.
Ezio finally made it to the very top of the tree, seeing the amazing view of the strange new paradise he ended up in. The weather is beautiful, birds chirping happily, and in the distance, Ezio sees a lively and colorful town beneath the beautiful shine of the morning sun.
Assassin's Creed: Afterlife
Memory 2: Another Warm Welcome
Ezio looks down at the bottom of the tree to look for safe spot to land on. Scanning his eyes across the view, he locks his sight on a small bed of flowers. Without hesitation, Ezio dives off from the tree top as a nearby eagle screeches, performing a head-over-heels roll while falling, and lands on his back safely on the flowers. Ezio swiftly comes out of the flowers, petals falling off his clothing as he walks away unharmed. Ezio winces slightly as he feels sharp pain on his lip as it finally starts to bleed. He puts his hoof over the sliced wound and looks at it to see blood.
"I wonder if they have doctors here."
He follows the dirt road that leads directly to the town. Ezio turns his head left and right, admiring the different behaviour and intelligence of the animals. The sunshine is on him directly, but it isn't too hot. Leaves are falling off from the trees slowly as if it were spring. Ezio can finally see some parts of the town from the distance as he comes closer to it.
"I've never been in such a paradise before." Ezio said to himself.
As the trees are left behind him after half an hour of walking, views of tall oddly shaped snow-capped mountains come into view along with a strange formation of clouds. The houses looks strange as well, they are timber-framed with distinct thatched roofs and overhanging upper floors. Ezio crosses a small pink bridge, while beneath the bridge is a river that separates different areas of the town. Finally, he's able to see many of Fluttershy's kind, though, some of them has wings, some has horns, and some has neither. They have a startled expression as they saw Ezio due to his strange wardrobe. They can only see his bloody, wounded lip as his upper face is shrouded in shadows as he is wearing a hood.
Ezio pauses as he turns his head towards one of them, a mare. He starts to walk towards her as the mare shakingly take a few steps back.
"Excuse me, sconosciuto, but can you tell me where I could find a doctor?"
The mare gulps and raises her hoof and point it towards the larger area of the town, shaking.
"Grazie."
Some of them drop the items they were carrying as they rush back inside their houses, others simply stare at him unmovingly as Ezio continues to calmly walk past them towards the main area of the town.
Later on, a lavender colored mare with both a horn and a pair of wings exits out of a train, accompanied by a lizard-like creature with big eyes. The train leaves, leaving them on the station.
"I could use some rest right now, Twilight." The lizard thing said.
"Me too, Spike. I'm glade that we're able to help Princess Cadance." The lavender mare answered.
"So... Any new letters from Sunset Shimmer?" Spike asked.
"Not yet."
The pair make their way back to the town. Twilight looks at the sky to admire the beautiful weather.
"Wow, what a gorgeous day!"
"Rainbow must have gotten up early for once... Huh, deja vu."
Twilight pauses as soon as she notices nopony is on the streets, it is completely deserted. Not a single sound of breathing other than their own is heard. It is completely silent. Spike raises an eyebrow, knowing this had already happened before.
"...Double deja vu..." Spike scratches his head.
"Where's everypony?"
"I certainly hope it's NOT zombies this time!" Spike gulps.
The two of them continue to search the deserted town, until one of their friends calls their attention, a pink mare who is hiding inside a bakery that looks like a gingerbread house. Twilight rolls her eyes as she comes closer to her friend. The pink one is clearly terrified of something.
"Twilight! Spike! Come here! Hurry! Get in here before HE gets you!"
Twilight calmly walks over to the pink mare, confusion on her face.
"Pinkie, what is this about? We already know who Zecora is..."
"It's not Zecora, silly! HIM!" Pinkie points at the mysterious hooded pony in the distance who is taking a moment to look around the area.
They see Ezio looking around, wondering himself where the others have gone off too. He looks at every windows he walks past by.
Twilight shrugs and walks after the hooded pony instead, but Pinkie pulls her and Spike inside the hiding place before she could get to him. Pinkie peeks outside for a few seconds before slamming the door shut. Ezio hears the loud banging, he then walks towards the source of the sound.
"He doesn't seem hostile, Pinkie. I mean, Zecora looked more sinister when we first saw her!" Twilight said.
3 more mares comes out of hiding, including a small filly wearing a ribbon. They're all terrified.
"Ya haven't seen what's so terrifying about him, Twilight!" The pony with the southern accent said. "He has blood on his mouth!"
"Blood? It's probably lipstick..." Twilight answered.
"Lipstick? C'mon, Twilight. He's a stallion! Stallions don't wear lipstick." The cyan colored pony said.
"What if he's a zombie?!" Spike looks around, noticing Fluttershy isn't present. "What if Fluttershy..."
"Spike, don't say that! Fluttershy's fine! I've told you many times already, there are no zombie ponies."
Suddenly, knocking from the other end of the door scares most of them. Pinkie pushes a huge bookshelf unusually fast and uses it to block the door. Ezio's knocking starts to sound louder and violent that it seems like he's trying to break the door down. The books on the shelves starts to fall down from their place including a framed photo.
"He found us!" Pinkie said.
Outside, Ezio continues knocking on the door. He tries kicking it down, but to no avail.
"What's going on in there? Are you in trouble?" Ezio asks.
He then looks around the exterior of the house, searching for a way in. Ezio examines the pink glass window just right next to the main door, tapping it to see if he could break through it. The color of the window makes it difficult for him to see inside. Ezio nods and takes a few steps backwards for momentum.
"I'm coming in!" Ezio shouted.
Ezio gallops and leaps towards the window, the loud sound of the window crashing with the glass hitting the hard floor destroys the silence as Ezio makes his entrance. The mares scream in terror as they see Ezio break through the window, rolling on his back to break the fall. He lands on his front legs and walks towards the mares as if it was nothing. He simply adjusts his hood.
"What's scaring you?" Ezio asks.
"Do-Don't eat us M-Mr. Zombie sir..." Spike begs.
"Eat you?"
"Y-You have bl-blood on your mouth"
"This?" Ezio touches his wounded lip.
"Darling, this is the first time I've seen blood my entire life." The white pony said, she is too disgusted to even go near Ezio.
"I'm sorry for the misconceptions I have caused you, signora, but can you at least tell me where I can find a doctor?" Ezio asked, removing his hood.
Ezio finds a mirror on his left, moving his head to look at every angle of his new face as he walks closer to it to see his reflection up close. He raises a hoof and waves at his reflection with a sign of disbelief on his face. He looks nothing like his previous self, but at the same time, he does. This confuses Ezio as his new body somehow makes him think its been his own for a long time now.
"Is that how I look like now?"
The mares continue to look at his strange behaviour. Twilight gathers up her courage as she walks next to Ezio and take a look at his wound. She raises his chin upwards.
"Ouch. That... looks deep..." Twilight said.
"I've had something similar before."
A weak faint knock comes from outside. The visitor notices the broken window, so she instead flew inside gently and slowly. It is a familiar face to Ezio. Fluttershy looks around the glass on the ground, slowly walking through it while being cautious not to hurt herself.
"O-Oh dear... What happened to the window?"
"Fluttershy!" The cyan colored pony exclaimed. "Where have you been? We thought that stallion ate you or something!"
Fluttershy's eyes widen as soon as she heard those words "A m-mare eating s-stallion?!"
"Rainbow means this stallion, Fluttershy." Twilight said, referring to Ezio.
Fluttershy quickly calms down as soon as she sees her new friend again, she comes closer to Ezio to see how he is doing.
"What did this to you?" Fluttershy asked, looking at Ezio's lip.
"Your door."
Rainbow flies between Ezio and Fluttershy, tilting her head with curiousity. "You know him?" Rainbow asked.
"I just met him. He... He never told me his name..."
"Scusate, Fluttershy. My name is Ezio." Ezio pauses. "Ezio Auditore da Firenze."
"Eshio Autori da...?" Rainbow attempted to pronounce his name, but failed.
"Just call me Ezio."
"Ettsio?"
"Close enough."
"So... Uhhh... Ezio, where are you from?" Twilight asked.
"I'm from Firenze. I remember dying peacefully when my family went out to go get groceries. I also never looked like this before." Ezio explained.
"You never looked like that? Then how did you use to like?"
"I'm a human... or perhaps, WAS a human. I used to to stand on two legs and have 10 fingers on my hands."
"No... You don't mean you came from..." Twilight gasped.
"Came from what?! You know where I live?"
"Pr-Probably! You may be in luck, Ezio. I might be able to bring you home!" Twilight smiled. "But first, let's take you to a doctor first to get your lip stitched up."
"Va bene. I like that."
A few hours later, Ezio comes out of the hospital and finds Twilight waiting for him with Spike. Twilight smiles as soon as she sees her new friend come out with stitches on his lip. Twilight walks next to Ezio and they start walking through the town. The ponies are more comfortable around Ezio, seeing one of their own walking with him and that he has his hood down.
"You feeling better, Ezio?" Twilight asked.
"I'm fine." Ezio looks at Spike. "What's that thing?"
"I'm not a thing! I'm a baby dragon!" Spike answered. "I'm Spike!"
"Do you want me to give you a tour around Ponyville?" Twilight offered.
"No, let's focus on getting me home."
"Okay, then." Twilight answered.
"Your friends. They don't seem to be interested in introducing themselves to me."
"The sight of blood up close probably just shocked them. They didn't mean that" Twilight explained.
"How come you're not shocked?"
"I was, but I realized everypony has blood inside their bodies, so there's no reason to be afraid of it."
"And I thought you were a zombie!" Spike added.
Ponyville reminds Ezio of Florence in a way. The houses look like they were from the renaissance era. They were similar to his own homeworld with all of its market stalls, community, laws, and guards standing on various spots of the town. There are some stuff he never saw before, though. He can already imagine himself freerunning across the rooftops, and climbing the building on the town hall. However, there are no conveniently placed haystacks to be seen.
"This is a very nice place. Reminds me very much of home." Ezio praised the renaissance-esque design of the town.
"That's right. Earth ponies founded Ponyville when it was simply an empty land. Since Earth ponies doesn't have magic, they would climb up the roof to get the snow off." Twilight said.
"That's sounds like my thing." Ezio said. "Do they still do it? I see lots of flying ones all over the place."
"Yup. We call it Winter Wrap-Up."
After a few minutes of walking, they eventually arrive on a landmark that resembles both a tree and a castle. It is made out of crystal that seem to be holding a few structures of the building like a root. It has a few branches, which includes a great balcony, two spires, and a tower along with a banner with Twilight's cutie mark on it. Five string-like objects are seen hanging on the sides of the structures. At the bottom is a great golden stair for the two-leaved golden entrance into the tree's body. Two open lancet windows flank the door. This is Twilight's Kingdom.
"What is this place?" Ezio asked as they enter the tree-like crystal kingdom.
"Oh, it's my home after my previous one got destroyed by Lord Tirek..." Twilight answered.
"No doubt he is a Templar."
"A what?"
"Nevermind..."
They walk through one of the kingdom's hallways. On the floor is a really long carpet. They walk past many doors leading to different rooms. Crystals that seems to have emerged from the ground are all over the place as well, near the walls. It is a new interesting sight for Ezio.
"This is a nice castello you have here." Ezio said.
"Thanks... But what's a castello?"
"Castle."
"Oh."
They reach a room where a mirror is on the middle, surrounded by shelves filled with books. The mirror is attached to what seems to be advanced technology powered by magic.
"Is that suppose to take me home? Like a portal?" Ezio asked.
"Exactly!"
Twilight walks to the magic mirror to turn it on, however, she notices something missing as her expression changes to shock...
"Oh no..." Twilight said.
"What's wrong?"
"The book! The book's gone!" Twilight stands up, looking at every corner. "Without the book, we can't open the portal and send you home!"
Ezio looks around the room. "There are plenty of books in here."
"No, Ezio! That one book is special! It acts like a battery to the portal to make it work!"
"There must be somekind of alternative." Ezio said.
"Well, we have to wait every thirty moons for it to open automatically..." Twilight said sadly.
"Thirty moons... That would mean two years, am I correct?"
"Yeah..." Twilight looks at Ezio apologitically. "Sorry."
Spike looks around the room, but a curious sight took his attention very quickly.
"Uhhh... Guys...?" Spike nudges Twilight while looking at a cloaked figure stealthily making an escape through the door.
"What is it, Spike?" Twilight's eyes widen as soon as she sees the cloaked figure. It is carrying the book as it ran off.
"Hey! Stop!" Twilight yelled. "That pony stole the book!"
Without a word, Ezio puts on his hood and gallops after the cloaked figure. The cloak-clad pony is as fast as Ezio, jumping over obstacles in his way with barely any effort. The mysterious pony busts down a door leading to the balcony with Ezio close behind him. The thief jumps off the balcony and lands on top of a roof, followed by Ezio who also did the same. Ponies, all dumbfounded, look up the houses as they see two hooded individuals jumping from rooftops to rooftops and perform acrobatics.
"Get back here!" Ezio yelled as the chase goes on.
The thief is able to break Ezio's line of sight by holding on to a lantern and swinging through a corner of the house. The lantern breaks as soon as the thief lets go of it, unabling Ezio to follow him further as neighboring houses are blocking the view of the thief's escape route.
"Cazzo..." Ezio groaned as he looks around.
Luckily, Ezio saw a series of cross beams and a wooden wall. Behind that wall could be a path of the thief's escape route.
"This will do." Ezio said as he listens to the thief's hoofsteps, measuring the perfect timing to execute his plan.
After 3 seconds of listening, Ezio hops on all the cross beams with incredible speed and stamina, going towards the weak wooden wall. Ezio is able to break through the wall like a cannonball, tackling the thief who is just running past that particular wall. Both the ponies fall off the rooftops and down the streets below, landing on a cart filled with soft hay that is being pulled by a red male pony. The force of the landing causes the cart to lose its wheels.
"Nope!" The red pony angrily said.
Ezio comes out of the stack of hay, pulling out the thief afterwards. Holding him by the neck.
"Give me the book before I regret sparing your life." Ezio grimly said.
Guards armed with spears surrounds Ezio and his captive, pointing their weapons at them both.
"Both of you are coming with us." Said the captain.
"I'm not the one you want. This man is a thief!" Ezio declared.
The cloaked thief smirks and tosses something onto the ground. That object upon impact causes smoke to burst out of it, blinding Ezio, the guards, and everypony else nearby.
"Cazzo!" Ezio shouted.
Ezio uses his Eagle Sense to see through the smoke bomb, but even so, he lost track of the thief. This frustrates Ezio very much. Ezio notices something else: the guards are highlighted in red. One of the guards hits Ezio's hindleg, forcing him to kneel down. They put his front legs behind him and binded them together with a strong rope, tight enough until his circulation stops.
"Argh..." Ezio groaned.
Twilight pushes her way through the huge crowd of ponies, all are watching the event as if it were a scene in a play.
"Excuse me... Pardon me..."
Twilight eventually made it out of the crowd only to see Ezio forcibly put inside a carriage.
"No! Wait! He's innocent!" Twilight shouted.
However, Twilight is too late as the carriage containing Ezio leaves with fast speed.
Assassin's Creed: Afterlife
Memory 3: Assassin Heirloom
"Ezio... Ezio... Wake up..."
Hearing these words, Ezio opens his eyes. He finds himself laying down on a bed, back in his old regular human form. He looks to his right to see his wife and kids. Ezio scratches both of his eyes, reality not hitting him yet that he's back home. As he lowers his hand, they still see them there. Standing with expressions of relief on their faces. It is a peaceful night.
"You've passed out when we went to buy groceries. We were very worried, Ezio." Sofia said. "We had to carry you back here."
"I... Am I home...?" Ezio said looking at the familiar room.
Sofia puts her hand on Ezio's shoulder, giving him a compassionate and loving smile. "Of course you are, il mio amore. The doctor said you should be fine."
Ezio pushes himself upwards and gave Sofia a warm embrace filled with love. Ezio breaks the hug and looks at Sofia closely on the eye.
"I thought I would never see you again, mio caro..." Ezio smiled.
"Well... Here we are." Sofia answered. "Please wait. I'm bringing your dinner up here."
Sofia goes downstairs, while at the same time, Flavia, who were just waiting for her turn, playfully sits on her father's side.
"I thought you were gone, Papa!" Flavia said.
"You, Marcello, and your mother is what keeps me going, il mio bambino."
"I know." Flavia giggled.
"Go downstairs and help your mother prepare dinner. I'll be fine." Ezio commanded.
Flavia giggles and runs out the door, waving at her father. Ezio waves back as he lay his back on the bed. He closes his eyes as he repositions himself to find some more comfort on the bed. He experiences silence for a few minutes, accompanied by sounds of crickets. His sickness wasn't cured as he continues to cough, clenching his painful chest, but it doesn't seem to be as worse as before.
"Good to be home..." Ezio whispered.
As Ezio goes deeper in his sleep, this gentle rest is then interrupted by a sudden noise of screaming. Ezio quickly opens his eyes, stand up as fast as he could, and run for the door. Ezio looks down the lower level of the house to see his wife being attacked by an imperial soldier, similiar to the one Ezio had encountered before with Shao Jun. The solider ruthlessly impales Sofia through the chest with a long sword, killing her instantly. After then, he turns his attention nonchalantly to a terrified, defenseless Flavia and Marcello.
"Bastardo!" Ezio furiously shouted.
Enraged, Ezio jumps off from the upper floor directly towards the imperial soldier. This however proved ineffective as the soldier simply elbows Ezio while in mid-air, causing the weak old man to crash through the wall and into the next room, leaving a huge gaping hole, also destroying Sofia's portrait. Ezio watches the imperial brute as he turns his head on him. A knife is sticking out of his right eye.
"Leave them alone!" Ezio shouted.
Ezio tries to stand up, but experiences intense horror as he notices his limbs are amputated. Nothing more but bleeding stumps. Helpless, Ezio watches his two kids murdered brutally. Another imperial soldier walks in front of Ezio's view, raising his axe high up, ready to drop the heavy blade down Ezio's head. This one imperial soldier is terrifying as he looks like a horse-like demon creature, the last thing Ezio will see. Ezio simply closes his eyes, not bothering to fight back.
"Agh!" Ezio yelled as something hard make impact with his head. He opens his eyes to see that a pony royal guard has hit his head with the wooden end of a spear.
"Wake up." One of the royal guards who have captured him after his chase with the thief said.
Ezio finds himself sitting down inside a carriage, back in his despised pony form.
"I wish you should've just killed me." Ezio said, frowning at the guard.
"We will, but not now."
The guards mercilessly pulls him out of the carriage. Ezio doesn't see anypony watching since it is in the middle of the night. Not a crowd, not a sound. He can only hear hoofsteps and his hind legs being dragged across the ground. They go inside a glamorous castle. It is white with strangely designed spires, while more are built in the mountainside. There is a nice tall waterfall next to it, below that waterfall is a river that runs in front of the castle, leading to another waterfall. Ezio and the guards cross that particular river with a drawbridge leading to the entrance of the castle. They walk past what appears to be a throne room. A carpet is on the throne's seat down to the floor and across the room towards the door where Ezio and the guards entered.
Ezio once again starts to lose his consciousness due to being tired. His sight once again dim into darkness...
A few hours passes as Ezio once again regains his consciousness. He finds himself imprisoned. However, he doesn't move as soon as he did as he could hear guards talking outside his cell. Ezio uses his skills to eavesdrop.
"Princess Celestia will be here soon. What should we do with him?" The guard said.
"As soon as the Princess arrives, we tell her this pony had murdered the father and the two brothers of a young colt." The other guard answered.
"Oh, I see. That pathetic Princess will then banish him." The guard smiles grimly. "That way, he couldn't interfer with our leader's plans."
"...And the Princess and her sister dies." The guard added.
Ezio frowns, moving his head slightly behind him to see the two guards' backs who are just right outside the bars of his cell.
"A pair of Hidden Blades would be a welcome sight right about now." Ezio whispered.
Ezio uses his Eagle Sense. The guard on the right is highlighted gold, meaning he has the keys on him that would free Ezio from his imprisonment, the other guard is red. Another guard, however, joins in the two. This guard is highlighted as blue, as opposed to the other guard who is highlighted red.
"Strange." Ezio said.
"What are you two saying?!" The guard highlighted in blue said.
"We were just talking about... Uhhh... How pretty the Princesses are!" The guard highlighted in gold answered.
"No! I heard you! You said you would kill Princess Celestia and Luna!" The blue guard argued.
The guard in blue looks at Ezio who quickly lowers his head.
"Who's he? Why is he here?! Princess Celestia has decommissioned the use of this dungeon!" The blue guard scolded. "The Princess will hear about this."
As soon as the blue guard turn his back on the two hostiles, they quickly draw their knife and slit his throat with a dagger. Ezio hears the blue guard's gurgles as he chokes in his own blood. The guard crawls away from his two murderers, holding the huge deep wound across his throat as it squirts blood all over the floor. The guard's life eventually dies out as he falls down on his back, his dead eyes staring blankly directly at Ezio's cell.
"Cazzo... Looks like this world isn't so perfect after all." Ezio whispered.
"What will we do with the body? I don't wanna be banished!" The hostile guard asked.
"I'll Hide it. We couldn't let him tell the Princess about our intentions. I'll go upstairs to take his place."
"Of course!"
The guard leaves as he carries the body, leaving the other guard with the keys alone. Ezio saw this as his opportunity to pickpocket. He slowly crawls behind the guard, reaching his hoof out of the cell. The keys just happens to be hanging down from the guard's belt.
"This would be easier with fingers..." Ezio said.
Ezio carefully put his hoof into the ring of the keys, slowly lifting it up from the guard's belt.
"Hey! Get over here. I need you to help me with this." The other guard said, away from Ezio's view.
"Coming!" The guard Ezio is pickpocketing on replied.
The guard carelessly trots towards the right, causing Ezio to drop the keys. The clanging sound it makes as soon as it makes impact with the ground is loud enough to get one of the guard's attention. Fortunately, the keys lands close to Ezio's reach.
"What was that?!" The guard said, startled.
"Probably just a rat. Come on, help me lift his hoof up so nopony can find him."
Ezio smirks, dragging the keys into the cell with ease. Carefully, he inserts the key into the keyhole, turning it slowly until he hears faint clicking sound. After this, Ezio very carefully opens his cell, making the noise of the rusty metal's rotation as it opens as quiet as possible. Free, Ezio sneaks his way behind the guards and up the stairs.
"Ventosa" Ezio whispered as he makes his way upstairs, putting his hood back up.
Upstairs of the castle, Ezio ends up in a hallway. He uses his Eagle Sense to find the perfect escape route. Ezio nods as he sees a gold path on the floor leading to the end of the hallway and into the right. He makes his steps subtle as much as possible as he follows the golden path. The hallways of the castle feels more natural in physical appearance than Twilight's, but its strange path design of the interior makes it difficult for Ezio to navigate. He spends half an hour turning left, right, twist, and turns. Eventually, he sees the open doors of the balcony, below it is a body of water. As Ezio prepares to jump off to escape, an elegant voice interrupts him.
"Greetings" A white tall pony with both wings and a horn calmly spoke behind him. This one's much larger than any pony Ezio had met.
Ezio remains silent as he saw the majestic horse's goddess-like appearance. Her rainbow-colored tail and mane flows as if it were being blown by a breeze of wind. She also has a sun tattoo on her flank.
"Uhhh... Who are you?" Ezio asked, looking up as Celestia's height towers above him.
"I am Princess Celestia. I rule this land along with my sister, Luna."
"Principessa I must tell you this: one or more of your guards in this castello are planning to kill you." Ezio said. "Watch yourself during your sleep."
As Ezio is about to walk away from the Princess to escape, the Princess spoke to him one more time with a request.
"Walk with me." Princess Celestia said.
"Cosa?" Ezio didn't expect this from somepony he just met.
"We have much to discuss, Ezio."
"How did you know my name?!"
"I will explain along the way."
"Twilight Sparkle has reported to me that a stallion had stolen my book. She thinks you're very capable of finding that thief." Princess Celestia explained as she walks with Ezio through the long hallway.
Ezio stays silent, still looking at Celestia.
"Something the matter?" Princess Celestia asked.
"Sorry. It's just that I've never seen anyone like you." Ezio answered.
"That's funny. Twilight told me you didn't even seem to react much when you first came here." Princess Celestia responded. "You just quickly accepted that your body have changed and that you are in a completely different world."
"Everything just felt so... natural. I didn't even know why I wasn't that much suprised." Ezio said. "Strange..."
"Strange indeed." Princess Celestia added.
"Lo so. Now what was it you were trying to tell me." Ezio asked.
"Twilight had told me that you said you came from the other world. Yet, Fluttershy witnessed you crash into a stray eagle before you started acting unusually." Princess Celestia explained. "Can you explain to me which one is true?"
"The only evidence of me being from a different world are my memories." Ezio said. "The evidence for the other are my mysterious cuts and bruises."
The two enter Princess Celestia's room. On the center is a large cushion, fashioned for Princess Celestia's height. Next to it is a small fireplace. It contains a banner of what appears to be the nightsky. A pot of flowers next to the door, the walls are dark blue in color with cloud designs.
Princess Celestia sits on her cushion, asking Ezio to sit right in front of her.
"Very well then, Ezio." Princess Celestia said. "Can you explain your life before you came to this world?"
"That is not important." Ezio said. "I only care about getting back."
"Telling me your story could give me clues of how you came to be here, Ezio..."
"That won't do us any progress, Principessa."
"We'll see."
Ezio's expression goes from sombre to sadness, closing his eyes. Ezio pulls down his hood, sitting down on the floor. He lowers his head for a few seconds before gathering up all his thoughts. His eyes slowly open, lifting his head up towards Princess Celestia. The former Assassin begins talking about his life back in Florence. He told Princess Celestia of the murder of his father and brothers and his quest for revenge, the time he spent in Rome to bring down the Borgia family, his travels to Masyaf to find out Altaïr's secret and how he held the Assassins together, his time with Shao Jun, and finally his death. Ezio takes half an hour telling the whole story to Princess Celestia.
"There. I have told you everything." Ezio said. "Did it tell anything to you?"
"Alright."
"...Just alright?"
"Star Swirl the Bearded told me that you somepony that matches your story shall one day come to Equestria."
"Who?"
"Now for the other claim. I have a theory for this one. You are possessing the body of your counterpart." Princess Celestia said.
"My counterpart?"
"You mentioned before that eagles play an important role in these so-called Assassins. The fact that an eagle crashed into yo-... I mean that other pony is too much to be a coincidence." Princess Celestia explained. "My theory is that you were sent here with a purpose."
"What kind of purpose?"
"I don't know"
Ezio scratches his head "...And what of the previous owner of this body?"
"You did not react much when you first came here, you were more amazed to see me rather than the other strange wonders of this world. That is because that body already got used to seeing ponies and living as one of them, however, it has not seen me nor my sister in person yet. If I'm correct, visiting various places and encountering ponies that is connected in any way to the previous owner of that body could give you access to his memories one by one, allowing you to know his story." Princess Celestia pauses for a moment. "That crash with the eagle probably represents your soul entering his body."
"Really?" Ezio asked.
"No... Maybe... It is just a theory, Ezio."
"Looks like you just gave me more questions than answers." Ezio said. "That's the opposite of the result I was expecting."
"Don't worry, Ezio. I believe you did make progress." Princess Celestia's stands up as her horn glow brightly with magic as she levitates her cushion up from the floor, revealing a hidden storage unit beneath it. She then cuts a hole on the cushion with her magic, causing feathers to come out as she pulls a key out of it. The Princess inserts the key into the hidden storage unit's lock, fitting into it smoothly. Turning the key, the lock makes a really loud clicking sound. Princess Celestia pulls out a small chest out of it, handing it over to Ezio as if it were a gift.
"What's this?" Ezio asked.
"Star Swirl had hidden that chest for centuries. I was told not to give it to anypony unless they match your story." Princess Celestia said.
The chest is very dusty. The design is very generic, however it is lacking a lock.
Ezio opens the dusty wooden chest , making a creaking sound. Inside it is what appears to be a dust-covered scroll with spider web all over it due to its age. Lacking fingers and still not knowing how to even grab things with hooves, Ezio turns the chest upside down to drop the item inside on to the floor to take a look on what's written on it. The dust blown away as it makes impact with the floor causes him to cough for a few times, but as soon as he opens his eyes as the dust clears away from the air, he is surprised to see that it isn't even a scroll at all. It is a page taken from a codex. Written on it is a blueprint for a Hidden Blade designed exclusively for hooves. The hand-writting matches neither Altaïr's nor Star Swirl's.
"It's a Hidden Blade! Where did it come from?!" Ezio asked.
"It is up to you to uncover the mysteries, Ezio."
They hear hoofsteps rushing towards the bedroom...
"I think they've noticed you escape. You should get out of here. That page is water-proof."
"What about you?"
"I am aware of their plans of killing me. Go. I can handle them myself."
Ezio puts his hood back on, opening the window, letting the cold breeze of the night get in the room.
"Grazie per la vostra gentilezza , la principessa" Ezio said.
"A voi pure" Princess Celestia smiled.
"You speak Italian?"
"Just go!"
Ezio takes the codex page with him and escapes the castle by jumping off the Princess' window, landing into the body of water below.
Assassin's Creed: Afterlife
Memory 4: You Should See the Other Ponies
Ezio lands safely on his back into the waters down below the castle. Ezio holds the codex page tightly as bubbles surround him as he goes deeper into the water due to the speed of his fall. He quickly swings his hooves downwards as fast as he could, swimming up to the surface. He gasps for air as soon as his head emerges from the water, seeing the pale shine of the moon in the nightsky. Ezio swims his way to the shore which is not very far away. He pulls himself up from the cold water, galloping away from the castle with his wet robes dropping water on the grassy ground.
Ezio eventually made it to the larger parts of Canterlot, filled with huge buildings compared to Ponyville. Since it is in the middle of the night, the area is secluded. The city features ivory towers with golden spires, and many waterfalls and rivers running through it.
"There he is!" A voice yelled, echoing through the empty location.
"Damn." Ezio said.
Ezio quickly runs into an alley between two short fancy buildings. The passage way is dark and eerie as the moonlight couldn't reach it due to the tall structure of the buildings. Ezio hears the sound of hoofsteps stomping on the ground as it gets louder and closer to him. Unfortunately, there are no haystacks in sight, so Ezio puts the codex on his mouth as he grabs on to a window sill and pulls himself up, climbing up the building. A group of royal guards being led by a captain arrive at the alley way, turning their heads back and forth, not seeing Ezio in plain sight. However, a droplet of water falls from Ezio's wet robe, landing on the nose of the captain. The captain looks up and spots Ezio desperately holding on to a ledge.
"Bring him down!" The captain commanded.
The royal guards open up their wings and fly towards Ezio with fast speed.
Ezio quickly pulls himself up on to the roof of the building, running away from the guards. His escape attempt is thwarted, however, as two guards lands in front of him, folding their wings as they confront Ezio. Another two behind him.
As Ezio suspected, these royal guards are corrupt and had something to do with the plans of assassinating Princess Celestia and Luna for a yet unknown reason. They could also be connected to the thief. Instead of escaping, Ezio chooses instead to get answers from them. Four of them shouldn't be too hard to deal with.
Two of the guards are armed with spears. The other two are armed with swords.
The first guard behind Ezio attempts to slash him with his spear, but Ezio, with the codex page still on his mouth, is able to duck as he turns quickly behind him, delivering a blow to the guard's abdomen, dropping the spear. Ezio grabs the spear and knocks down the guard by hitting him with the wooden end of the spear with much force through the jaw, breaking it. Ezio then thrusts the spikey metal sharp tip of it behind him, impaling the second guard through the mouth. Ezio leaves the spear through the guard's mouth as his lifeless body falls down, sliding off the roof, landing right in front of the captain who could barely see the fight below.
The third guard horizontally swings his sword at Ezio, but he is able to disarm the guard by pressing his hoof upwards, completely snapping the bone like toothpick, causing him to drop the sword. As the fourth guard charges towards Ezio from behind, Ezio quickly swings his weapon behind him as swift as strong wind, the sword slicing across the guard's neck cleanly. The guard merely stops on his tracks as blood starts to leak out of his slit wound, his head slowly sliding off his neck. The two remaining surviving guards watch in terror as they see their comrade's head fall off from his body, squirting out a fountain of blood from where his head used to be. Ezio then throws the sword, impaling the one of the surviving guards. This one isn't an instant death as the guard screams in pain, his already broken jaw locking into place as he yells to the top of his lungs, taking a few step backwards, the guard falls off. They hear the guard screaming as he fall, being silenced after a huge thud.
The final guard begs for mercy, holding his broken hoof. Ezio removes the codex page from his mouth to enable himself to talk.
"P-Please! I'm sorry! I was just taking orders!" The guard cried.
"I will only if you tell me who you are working for." Ezio said.
"Now!"
"I... I..." The guard backs away from Ezio, a misstep causes him to slip off the roof, falling down to the streets head first, crushing his skull, resulting in instant death.
"Cazzo"
Looking down, Ezio sees the captain escape. Ezio quickly jumps to the next rooftop to the other tirelessly like a furious cheetah to catch up with the captain.
"No! No! No!" The captain panicked as he gallops with Ezio right above him on the rooftops.
The captain runs across the streets of Canterlot, pushing every single obstacle in his way. He shoves a single bystander pony out of his way and then jumps over a table. He kept going for miles until eventually stopping out of exhaustion. He looks behind him, thinking he lost Ezio. He laughs as he starts to walk on his way. Unbeknownst to the captain, above him is Ezio who puts the codex on one of his pockets before jumping down from the rooftops, landing right in front of the captain. The captain falls down on the ground after being startled, cowering away from Ezio as if he were just a single helpless child.
"Don't come any closer!" The captain pulls out a dagger with his nervous shaking hoof, knowing it isn't enough to defend himself as Ezio continues to walk slowly towards him like death itself about claim his life.
"Who do you work for?" Ezio asked.
"Princess Celestia!" The captain answered nervously.
"No. I do not think you work for Princess Celestia. You were planning her assassination." Ezio replied. "Do you have anything to do with the thief who stole the book?"
"What book?!"
Ezio grabs the captain, slamming his face againts a wall. A crackling sound is heard as the captain's teeth get crushed against the hard concrete.
"I won't ask again." Ezio said.
Behind them is the same hooded thief from Twilight's kingdom. The pony reaches his hoof forward, a small crossbow-like weapon unfolds from a bracer, firing a sharp arrow towards Ezio. The arrow hits Ezio directly on his back, exiting out of his stomach. Ezio lets go of the captain as he falls down to the ground in agony, blood pouring out of his mouth.
"Arrggh..." Ezio groaned.
"T-Thank you so much!" The captain said as he trots towards the hooded pony.
"The sisters are still alive. Princess Celestia just single-handedly made two of our members disappear." The hooded thief responded.
"I'm so sorry! That pony interrupted with our plans!"
"Then I am afraid you have to die." The hooded thief aims his weapon directly on the captain's head.
"No! All is not lost. We will start with Princess Luna. She'll be visiting Ponyville tomorrow night for Nightmare Night. We will strike when she has her guard down." The captain explained.
"Very well. Thank you for your information." The hooded thief said, shooting an arrow through the captain's head. He falls down, dead with a huge hole on his eye socket. The captain's body twitches a few times.
The thief looks at Ezio who is lying down on a puddle of his own blood, unconscious. The thief walks away, leaving Ezio alone to bleed to death.
"Mom...? Where am I?" A young voice with an italian accent asked weakly.
"Sorry... Mommy isn't here." Another voice answered.
A young light brown colt opens his eyes, brown mane with a ponytail, and speaks in an italian accent. He is on a hospital bed with a very young nurse checking up on him. His parents aren't with him at all. This seems to be the nurse's first day on the job. The nurse is holding a bowl of soup, she uses the spoon to take some of the soap and feed it to the colt. The colt opens his tiny mouth wide enough for the spoon to fit, swallowing the warm liquid soup.
"Where's mom and dad?" The young colt asked.
"I don't know. They told me to take care of you until they come back. They sent you here at Canterlot as they're aren't any hospitals at cloudsdale as of now." The nurse said. "They told me that you fell off your house's roof when you attempted to climb it."
"I just wanted to see how everything else look from high above."
"Wait until you can finally fly." The nurse said. "What's your name?"
"My name is... "
The sentence is cut short as everything starts to fade away as if it were just a dream.
"What was that?" Ezio said.
Waking up after being impaled by an arrow, Ezio finds himself on a hospital bed, something he saw in that strange dream. The dream was so vivid and realistic that in a way, he felt like he was controlling the young colt. His current location where he is being kept seems to be the same exact location as in the dream. Ezio's stomach is wrapped around with a bandage, blood on the center. The other bandages that were there before were removed as his wounds had already healed. His robes are hanged right next to him.
"Twilight, his awake." A familiar voice said.
"I've been here before." Ezio said.
"You have?" Twilight asked.
"Probably."
Ezio looks at his back, he finds he has a pair of wings, they were covered by the previous bandages all these time. Twilight Sparkle along with her two of her friends are watching over Ezio. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash isn't present.
"Where's Fluttershy?" Ezio asked.
"She... She couldn't handle what she saw nearby when we found you." Twilight said. "She's at her home. Rainbow Dash is with her, so there's nothing to worry about."
"Bene. How's the Princess? Is she okay?"
"Yeah... She just banished two guards who tried to ki-... HURT her." Twilight said. "I never saw anypony try to take another pony's life before..."
"We would've lost ya if it weren't for Twilight's magic, partner." Applejack said.
"Then bringing me into this hospital is a bit pointless." Ezio said.
"Well, the doctors had to pull that arrow out of your body! Woo-wee! That sure was painful to watch." Applejack explained.
"It really was, darling. I even fainted!" Rarity said.
"You should see what happened to the other guard ponies." Ezio responded.
Rarity then sees Ezio's robes which is partially soaked in blood. "Oh dear! Your delightful robes are completely ruined! Mind if I take this over at my boutique and give it some nice adjustments? I've seen you in them. They're a bit loose!"
"Gracie. Those trims made running a bit difficult."
"Oh, we'll make it look even better, darling. It'll smell nice as well!"
Ezio gets up from the bed, his stomach in suprisingly little pain. He pushes himself up, stretching his body. He finds himself noticing the whole room felt even more familiar. He could even remember memories that didn't even happen to him.
"You okay?" Twilight asked.
"Si... I just had this dream about-"
Pinkie Pie just busts into the door, breaking the silent conversation between the ponies. Pinkie Pie carelessly hops towards Ezio like a rabbit and gave him a big friendly embrace. She also brought a really huge cake with her that she's carrying on her back, defying the laws of physics as it still seems to stand veritcally without falling apart. Pinkie Pie is wearing a chicken outfit. Thanks to this, the dream completely slips out of Ezio's mind, forgetting it for now.
"You're okay! I thought you were gone!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"I think Ezio needs some rest, Sugarcube." Applejack said.
"What's with the strange wardrobe?" Ezio asked.
"It's Nightmare Night, you silly-filly! What kind of costume are you gonna wear tonight?" Pinkie asked.
"Nightmare Night?" Ezio is confused.
"Oh... It's an annual event we celebrate. The young ones would ask for candy from other ponies so they could offer them to Princess Luna." Twilight explained.
"Eating lots of sweets isn't exactly good for your health." Ezio said.
"It's not?"
"...I guess that only goes for my previous life."
Ezio lifts his head slightly up as he remembers something, the codex page. He pulls the codex page out from the pockets of his robes and shows it to Twilight. She opens the folden page with her magic, showing an expression of astonishment as her eyes scan through the letters. Twilight turns the page to its back, and then turns it again to its front. Ezio wonders why the thief didn't take it away while he was out as he watches Twilight read it.
"Do you think you can build it?" Ezio asked.
"No." Twilight said, her eyes kept scanning through the written words. "You must be the one Star Swirl spoke about!"
"That's not the first time I've heard that name." Ezio said.
"It is said in the books that you would know what this is! This particular page has been hidden from anypony for many many centuries until it is given to a chosen one!" Twilight excitedly said. "Do you know what it is?!"
"Si. It's a Hidden Blade." Ezio said. "It is the iconic traditional weapon of the Assassins. They used to remove the ring finger for the blade to extend properly and to show the commitment of whoever wields it."
"So, what's a ring finger?" Applejack asked.
"Non importa. I don't have one anymore." Ezio said, looking at his hooves.
"Does it have some kind of magic?" Twilight asked.
"No. It's simply a knife on the wrist." Ezio said
Rarity takes a look at the codex herself, she is impressed by the design of the bracer written on the codex. "Ooohhh! This hoof accessory looks really impressive!"
"It's not an ordinary accessory. Please stop asking questions that makes no sense."
"Does it have a super mega superpower that you can use where you can think of an object and it automatically projects it so you can capture bad guys with it?!" Pinkie asked, saying that long sentence in a single breath. She then takes a gasp for air and then finally lets out another barrage of words. "And you can use it to fly into space and run really really really fast?!"
Twilight walks next to Pinkie, putting her hoof on her back. "Pinkie, just stop asking too many questions, okay? Ezio won't be able to answer that."
"Gracie." Ezio thanked.
"It is... come faccio a mettere questo... used to kill those who have done someone else harm." Ezio finally explained.
"K-Kill...?" Twilight's amazement quickly transforms into shock.
Ezio sighs as he lowers his head, scratching his mane.
"Can I just know if someone could build it for me?"
"I can do it for you, darling. I'm really good when it comes to this!" Rarity said. "We just need to head back over to my boutique."
"Gracie, la mia signora. Where is this boutique of yours?"
"Back at Ponyville." Rarity answered. "Just come with me and I'll take us there."
"Pinkie and I will come with you back to Ponyville. I need to check if my brother needs help with building his new hay cart after ya destroyed his old one.." Applejack said.
"Here... Take it..." Twilight hands the codex page over to Ezio.
"Aren't you coming with us?" Ezio asked.
"I have to stay here and help the royal guards investigate..."
As Ezio and the three of Twilight's friends are about to walk out of the hospital room. Twilight quickly trots after Ezio and asks him a favor. Her eyes show an expression of being worried.
"Ezio... I'm worried about Princess Celestia... I've heard news about ponies disguising as guards are planning to take her away from us." Twilight said. "After what I've seen you do when you chased the thief, can you protect her?"
"I will." Ezio answered.
"This land would be lost without the Princess, you know." Rarity added. "I don't think Twilight herself is ready to rule this whole town!"
"...I'll try." Ezio responded.
"Ya ready to go?"
"Si." Ezio looks at the other two ponies.
Ezio isn't even sure if the ponies are aware that he himself is perfectly capable of claiming a life without hesitation. If any of the ponies witness him kill a specie that is one of their own, it would prove ruinous. The two ponies leave the hospital, discussing about what happened to the other pony that happens to be nearby Ezio. They stop at Canterlot's train station. They wait for the train to arrive while Rarity examines Ezio's robes closely while trying to not touch Ezio's dried blood. Pinkie carries the cake on her back, she makes lots of sudden movements and the cake just seems to never fall off. They wait and wait until their conversations stop.
"You never introduced yourself properly to me, signora." Ezio decides he should break the silence.
"Oh, right. My name's Applejack. I'm the Element of Honesty. Nice to meet ya!" Applejack introduced. "That one's Rarity, the Element of Generosity, and that one's Pinkie, the Element of Laughter."
"I expected her to be the element of annoyance." Ezio whispered sarcastically, commenting about Pinkie Pie's behaviour.
"She's very funny if you get to know her better."
"And Twilight?"
"Her element is Magic." Applejack said.
"I'm guessing my element is charisma." Ezio joked. "I used to spend many florins on women and wine."
"Uhhh... Okay...?" Applejack responded.
"I do not hear your accent that often. Where are you from?" Ezio commented on Applejack's southern accent.
"Ponyville. Sweet Apple Acres." Applejack answered.
"No... I meant which region." Ezio remembered something: places that existed in his world doesn't exist in this one. "Nevermind that."
Never having encountered trains before, Ezio wonders why they are simply standing on one spot. They've been there for half an hour already. Suddenly, they hear a round chugging sound from the distance along with the ground shaking. A male pony with bluish gray coat comes out of the station's door. The pony is wearing a hat along with facial hair, looking at his pocket watch. The pony then asks Ezio and his new friends to stay away from the railings. A few seconds later, the train finally comes into view. Ezio has never seen something like this before.
"What is that?" Ezio asked.
"It's the Friendship Express train. We use it to get here to Ponyville in no time." Applejack answered.
"All aboard!" The conductor pony said.
The trains open its doors for the ponies to enter. They step inside it. Inside, Ezio looks at his surroundings. There are windows lined up across the railroad car, allowing passengers to view the outside, seats are on every spot where the windows are, and a green path design on the floor. Not much ponies are aboard the train, but those who are present move even just an inch away from Rarity who is holding Ezio's bloody robes as she walks past them.
"Ooohhh! This makes me really nostalgic about that cake!" Pinkie said.
"The cake?" Ezio wondered.
"Pinkie once tried to investigate who ate a piece of a cake, darling. It happened a long time ago." Rarity explained, still admiring Ezio's robes, again, avoiding the blood.
"Looks like you used to have very 'interesting' misadventures."
"Of course. You should have been here when this book made me turn everything more fabulous." Rarity added. "But my dearest Spike saved me by telling me his true thoughts!"
"Right..." Ezio shrugs.
The train leaves towards Ponyville... Ezio has no knowledge of the upcoming assassination attempt of Princess Luna later this night...
Assassin's Creed: Afterlife
Memory 5: Sweet Apple Acres
Steams whistle as the train halts to a full stop, the valves locking the wheels. The doors of the train opens, a small crowd of ponies emerge from the train, among them is Ezio and company. Ezio has never been on this particular part of Ponyville where it is very lively. Ponies were avoiding him during his first visit, but they seem to accept him now. He sees so many cheerful ponies, all greeting each other and friendly to one other. The morning sunlight feels great on Ezio's coat, now that he's not wearing anything at all but a bandage wrapped around his abdomen.
"I'll be over at my boutique, dear. I'll try to create this wonderful hoof accessory for you!" Rarity said, reading the codex in a matter of seconds before putting it on top of the robes. "And make your robes shine with delightfulness once again!"
"How long will it take?" Ezio asked.
"Just come over in a few hours!" Rarity said, turning the other direction and walking away. "Ta-ta!"
"Wait!" Ezio said. "Do you even know how it works?"
"I'll handle it, darling."
Ezio sighs, putting his hoof over his face. He then looks around the lively town, hundreds of ponies minding their own business. He doesn't know where to stay nor how to even start adapting to their culture.
"Where do I stay?" Ezio asked.
"Well... Ya look like you're capable of bringing down apples from trees." Applejack said, examining Ezio. "Mind if I tell ya to stay at Sweet Apple Acres for the time being?"
"Si. That will do, I guess."
"Follow me."
Ezio follows Applejack who's ahead of him through the busy streets of Ponyville. Ponies who walk past Ezio greet him with 'Hi' and 'Hello' instead of calling him a 'drunken wager' or a 'capering crusader'. This brings a calm feeling to Ezio, knowing he can finally put his guard down for the moment. The ground is mostly grass, but a few stone paths are on some certain areas as well, most of the houses look the same, and the ponies seem to be very caring for the surrounding environment of nature. Some of the little ones are wearing costumes, preparing for the Nightmare Night event.
"I see this whole Nightmare Night gimmick is such a big deal to the children." Ezio said.
"Not only foals, Ezio, but also full-grown mares and stallions." Applejack responded.
"You're going to wear an outfit as well?"
"Yup! I'll wear my scarecrow costume and run the apple bob attraction." Applejack answered.
On the distance, they see a red barn surrounded by apple crops. As they approach it, they're exiting Ponyville, walking down on a dirt road towards it. Nearby to the barn is a corn crop, a few barn animals, a dog, a hay cart filled with hay just right in front of the barn, and an elderly light green pony sitting on a wheelchair, snoring loudly. As they arrive the huge colorful barn, passing a wooden sign with an apple carved onto it, hanging on an arbor, Ezio looks up the barn's apple-shaped weather vane, he then looks down at the haystack that happens to be right below it. The barn also seems to be on top of a high hill.
"Wait here." Ezio said, walking past Applejack.
"Ezio, what are you doin'?" Applejack asked, slightly increasing the speed of her walk to catch up with Ezio.
Ezio grabs the barn's window sill, lifting himself up to it. "I need to know around this place better."
"How can ya do that?"
"Watch."
Ezio grabs the ledge and pulls himself up by throwing his left hoof upwards using his strong shoulders, grabbing onto the barn's roof. Ezio scales the barn in less than a minute like a spider, climbing up the barn's cupola in a few seconds flat. Applejack watches from below, worrying for Ezio's safety.
"I think ya need to come down now, Ezio. What you're doing ain't safe!" Applejack shouted, making sure Ezio could hear her from high above the barn.
"Trust me, Applejack. I've been doing this for a lifetime." Ezio carefully lifts himself up the weather vane, balancing on top of the very tip of the heart design. Ezio sees the beautiful entirety of Ponyville and all of its landmarks in such a better view than before. Moving his head from right to left, Ezio scans his sharp eyes across the town, quickly memorizing Ponyville's layout. In the distance, a few strange formation of mountains and hills are also in sight. He could barely see the castle from Canterlot amongst the distant fog.
After doing this stunt, Ezio leaps off the weather vane without hesitation as a nearby passing through eagle screeches. Doing a roll in mid-air, he lands safely on his back into the haystacks. The impact causes straws of hay to fly all over the wind. The light green elderly pony still sleeping soundly in the background.
"What in the hay?!" Applejack trots to the hay cart, checking if Ezio is okay. "Ya okay in there, partner?"
Ezio emerges out of the haystack, carrying three fillies. One of them is an earth pony filly with pale, light grayish olive colored coat with a ribbon on her mane, one is a unicorn filly with a light gray coat with elegant stylish mane, and another with a light brilliant gamboge coat.
"Apple Bloom? Why are you hiding in that hay?!" Applejack asked.
"I lost my wig, Applejack! I figured it might be in there somewhere." Apple Bloom said, still on Ezio's hooves. The little filly also has a southern accent.
"I'm sure it's unlikely to be inside that haycart." Ezio said, putting Apple Bloom and her friends down. "I'll try to find it for you."
"Really, mister? You'll do that?" The light gray filly asked.
"Si. Call me Ezio." Ezio answered. "Can you tell me how the wig looks like?"
"It's kinda tall and it has wavey black and white stripes." The light brilliant gamboge filly explained.
"Can you tell me where you lost it?"
"We were just playing nearby on the trees. Apple Bloom must have dropped it at some point." The light brilliant gamboge filly said. "I'm Scootaloo."
"I'm Sweetie Belle!" The light gray introduced.
"Va bene. Stay with Applejack and grandma over there. I'll find your wig for you." Ezio said.
Ezio walks towards the nearby apple crop, leaving the three with Applejack. Ezio arrives at the Sweet Apple Acres' large apple crop garden. It is huge enough for a little filly to get lost. Looking around, Ezio uses his Eagle Sense, his sight turns bright blue in a flash of white, glowing golden auras appearing on the ground. Ghostly apparitions of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo's previous doings are seen, playfully running deeper into the crops. It's literally seeing the past with ALMOST perfect accuracy. Keeping up with the speed of the running apparitions, Ezio trots as he watches a golden vision of Apple Bloom wearing the wig. The apparition trips on a stray pebble, causing the wig to fall off her head without her noticing. The wig rolls into the nearby bushes.
Ezio walks to that particular bush and pushes them aside. He sees the wig completely tattered. He reaches his hoof forward and takes the wig to return it to its rightful owner. As Ezio prepares to leave, he hears a nearby conversation behind one of the trees. Ezio sneaks through the bushes, covering behind one of the trees to eavesdrop on the strangers.
"You sure he's here?"
"He is! I just saw him come to this pathetic farm with another pony!"
"How can you really be sure it's him?"
"I know his face, alright?! Just follow my lead!"
"Fine. What do we do?"
"We'll ambush the barn. Just blow on this whistle to signal the others."
"After he's been dealt with, We'll finish our business with Luna. She'll be here in Ponyville later this midnight. Find a spot that's very difficult to spot by the naked eye, from there, use the crossbow to execute her."
Hearing these words, Ezio frowns. He comes out of hiding and directly confront the two unarmed ponies. They aren't dressed as royal guards at all, but both are wearing a red scarf. They also seem to lack cutie marks.
"I seek after those who plan to murder the Princesses." Ezio said, facing the thugs with bravery.
"It's him! Blow the whistle!" The thug panicked.
Ezio wouldn't allow that on his watch. He makes a quick dash, delivering a huge blow with his bare hooves to the thug's jaw who was just about to blow the whistle. The blow is so immense, his tooth fly out of their sockets, leaving small blood trails as they soar through the air. It was a heck of a shot. The stallion falling over to the dirt in agony. The other thug swings his hoof over at Ezio, untrained on unarmed combat. Ezio deploys an elbow block, launching a straight jab to the thug's noise. Crunching can be heard as blood spews out of the thug's nostrils as a result of Ezio's severe punch.
Painfully losing a pair of teeth wasn't enough to put the stubborn thug who just got his teeth smashed to the verge of surrender as he pounces at Ezio's back, wrapping his hooves around his torso tightly. Ezio quickly launches his head backwards, headbutting the stallion, further damaging his teeth, shattering his jaw bone.
"I will not let you accomplish your plans." Ezio said, looking at the two wounded stallions. One desperately trying to breath through broken nose, other unable to move his shattered jaw. "Go run away and tell your friends never to come back to this barn ever again."
The two thugs run away from Ezio like two babies running away from a monster, holding on their bleeding faces. However, this victory doesn't last long as another stallion arrives, blowing on a whistle. The sound of the whistle reached miles, making a few birds to fly away from their nests. Thousands of hoofsteps running towards the barn can be heard from a distance away, figures of a large group of stallion thugs, all wearing similar scarfs running quickly. Some are unicorns, some are Earth ponies, some are pegasi.
"Damn!" Ezio shouted, fleeing back to the barn.
The pegasi throw spears, the unicorns fire magic, the Earth ponies use blowpipes loaded with poisonous darts. All the projectile narrowly miss Ezio as he continues to trot towards the barn, panting in and out, jumping over bushes and dodging trees. More thugs attempt to suprise Ezio by leaping out of trees, but Ezio's young atheletic body and training allows him slide down to avoid their grasp.
Back at the barn, Applejack and the small young foals wait for Ezio. Applejack scratches her mane, wondering what's taking Ezio so long, adjusting her hat a few inches.
"Where the hay is that darn stallion?" Applejack said. "He's been there for quite a while now."
"Hurry! Get inside the barn! NOW!" Ezio shouted, getting closer to the outside of the huge apple crops.
"Why?!"
"Just go!"
Applejack is confused. That is until she sees the army of thugs coming towards their barn, spears landing right in front of them as some gets embedded into the barn's roof. Ezio tackles Applejack as a spear is falling towards her, just missing her in a few inches. Her hat flies off her head, gliding across the air until a spear impales right through it. Ezio holds Applejack's hoof, escorting her into the barn. The elder green pony and the three fillies follow inside quickly. 20 thugs are making their way towards the barn, fast approaching.
"All of you, go under the haystacks. Whatever you do DO NOT make a sound in case one of them gets in." Ezio commanded. "When I go outside, I want you to block all the doors and windows."
"What are you going to do?" Applejack asked.
"Take them all down."
"Wh-Wha? What is going on?" The elder pony said weakly due to age.
"Don't worry, vecchia signora." Ezio said, facing the barn's exit. "I'll handle this on my own."
Ezio trots outside, leaving his company inside the barn. As he sets his hoof to the outside ground, thugs quickly surround him. The doors of the barn slamming shut with a loud bang.
"He's outnumbered. This is gonna be easy." One of the thugs said.
"We're gonna have fun with your dead lifeless corpse."
The first thug swings his sword for first blood. Ezio dodges it, the shiny tip of the sword merely glancing through his muzzle. Jabbing his hoof upwards, Ezio punches the thug's ribcage as his hooves recover from the swing. The first thug spits blood, falling down the floor and rolling around, desperately trying to breath through punctured lungs. Groaning and moaning painfully like a dying dog he is. Ezio finishes him off with a single power hoof stomp to the throat, destroying his windpipe. The second thug tries the same attempt, however the attack is too sluggish as Ezio catches the thug's hoof, grabbing onto the sword with his left hoof and pushing on the thug's face with his right hoof.
With a bit of pushing and tugging, Ezio frees the sword from the thug's grip (Hooves... how do they work?) then uses it to deflect another attack behind him with literally lightning fast reflexes. Ezio does a deadly sidewise sword blow directly to the thug's face, causing his flesh to peel off like paper, his body turning to the back from the force of the sword's impact, showing his partially skinned face to the other thugs behind him. The thug's left eye slowly slide off its sockets, parts of his muzzle slowly slide off his face and parts of his skeleton can be seen from the straight slash wound across the face before falling forward to the ground. Spinning his sword for momentum, Ezio rolls to dodge an attack of yet another foolish thug, after then he gets up and piercing the sword through the thug's neck. This violent one-pony-vs-army fight goes on for several minutes as Ezio tirelessly fights them all off, killing them one by one like a monster feeding on weak victims.
After several minutes of fighting, with most thugs ending up with either holes on their bodies or dismembered limbs, only one thug remains. Ezio is weakened by fatique
"You... killed..." The thug said, taking a step backwards while saying each words, staring blankly into the morbid redecoration of the barn's beautiful land.
Ezio notices the barn is open, this can't be good news as somepony inside never expected to see something like this. Under the barn's roof stands Applejack, watching on with no expression visible on her face. Her eyes are constricted, her body frozen from severe shock, not allowing her to turn her head away from the unpleasant sight of disfigured corpses and green grass repainted blood red.
Seeing this, Ezio simply has his poker face on while staring back at Applejack.
The final thug flees, hopping over the fence of Sweet Apple Acres.
"Hey!" Ezio shouted.
Ezio runs after the fleeing thug. The thug is an adept freerunner, jumping over large chunks of rocks and rolling over ponies. His skills at freerunning are effecient, but doesn't match up to Ezio. The two play cat-and-mouse until they reach the edge of Ponyville in such a few minutes, jumping over stalls, dodging poles, shoving ponies and scaling houses. Ezio does his best to keep running, but exhaustion got the best of him, forcing him to stop and take a breather by a stall. He finds the thug still running, ruining everypony's day on his path by breaking anything they were carrying.
"Damn!" Ezio shouted, pushing a fruit off the stall.
"I'll get him!" A cyan colored pegasus zooms past him like a speeding bullet, leaving a rainbow trail. The passing velocity causes Ezio to lose his footing, also causing the fruits on the stall to fly everywhere. This pony is none other than Rainbow Dash. Obviously.
Tackling the thug, they crash through a wooden stall as Rainbow Dash holds him tightly, making sure he couldn't escape her hooves. Ezio walks next to her, panting and sweating all over.
"Gracie." Ezio said. "Now let me ask him a few questions."
Ezio kneels next to the thug's head, putting his hoof on his throat. Just a slight pressure, then pop goes his spine.
"Who do you work for?" Ezio asked. "I interrogated one of your friends and they met an unfortunate fate."
"I-I don't know, I swear!" The thug begged. "I only take orders from our commander. I don't know anything about our mission! He just gives us commands and we do them without question!"
"Va bene. Who is your commander?"
"He's name is Ronan the Smart. He's the main strategist for Princess Luna's assassination. He knows exactly where Luna would be standing later this night!" The thug explained. "I don't know why the Great Leader wants the Princesses dead!"
"Who is this leader of yours?" Ezio asked, choking the thug further.
"I... I..." The thug suddenly punches Ezio off him, running away, getting lost into the spectating crowd.
"Hey! He's getting away!" Rainbow Dash said, preparing to re-capture the thug.
"No. Let him go." Ezio said. "Can you do me a favor?"
"Yeah?"
"Teach me how to fly." Ezio said, looking at his folded wings.
Assassin's Creed: Afterlife
Ezio and Rainbow Dash arrive at an empty grassy training field. It is all plain grass surrounded by trees just a distances away. The sun shines at the ground, clear skies all above, birds chirping. Peaceful. Ezio looks around the surrounding environments, noticing one of the trees has a pony-shaped hole on it, he tilts his head, wondering. Rainbow Dash is looking up the sky, knowing this is a perfect day for Ezio to start his flight training due to the cloudless sky. She turns her head down back at Ezio.
"You ready?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Si." Ezio looks back at Rainbow. "What's with that tree?"
"Fluttershy trained here to fly in front of a crowd a few years ago." Rainbow Dash answered. "We pegasi needed to create a tornado strong enough to gather water towards Cloudsdale."
"What's the water for?"
"It's required for the rainy season! What else?"
"Even ponies decide when it will rain instead of nature?"
"Sort of."
Ezio looks up the beautiful sunny sky, skeptical about Rainbow Dash's claim. How can ponies control nature? Ezio never even knew that Princess Celestia raises the sun herself instead of Earth's rotation. He turns his head to Rainbow Dash who is just hovering a few inches from the ground, waiting for the training to happen.
"Make it rain."
"Why?"
"I'd like to know what you can do."
"Hah! You'll see how awesome I am!"
Rainbow Dash disappears in a split-second with a loud boom, leaving behind a trail of colorful bright rainbow that leads up to the skies above. Ezio puts his hoof over his eyes to prevent the sun's shine from disrupting his view, spinning around, looking for Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus is no longer in sight, everything falls silent.
"Rainbow?" Ezio asked.
Ezio notices the brightly lit warm surroundings suddenly become dim and cold. Ezio, confused, looks above. On his sight is something that is blocking the warm glow of the sun. It is a cloud hovering calmly just right above his head. Above that cloud is a playfully smirking Rainbow Dash, standing on it as if the cloud is solid instead of gas. With a single stomp of a hoof, the cloud releases a shower of water down on Ezio's head.
"What are you doing?!" Ezio covering his head with his hooves, getting wet by the stream of water.
"I thought you needed a shower!" Rainbow Dash giggled. "You smell bad!"
"Cut that out!" Ezio said, spreading his wings without him noticing. The wings start to flap slowly, getting faster and faster over time as Ezio's hind legs gets pulled up from the grassy ground, blocking the stream of water on his way up at the same time. He comes closer to the cloud and more far from the ground, shoving the water back inside it with his bare hooves as soon as he reached it.
Rainbow Dash watches him fly like a normal pegasus would. She scratches her mane, slightly dumbfounded.
"You can fly, Ezio. I don't think I need to teach you anythin at all."
Hearing these words, Ezio realizes what his subconscious is doing for him. His wings halts its flapping immediately, enabling gravity to takes its toll. Ezio notices he starts to decrease altitude. Ezio bites into the cloud by instinct, his body hanging and swinging back and forth, flailing his hooves instead of his wings in an attempt to fly, making him look like a mad pony. He doesn't levitate even just an inch, his teeth slowly slipping off the cloud's cotton candy-ish texture as his weight betray him for the time being. He keeps trying and trying, his jaws starting to tire. Rainbow Dash falls down on his back, holding on her belly, laughing soundly at Ezio's helpless form.
"Muat are yo doing?!" Ezio said, unable to talk properly since he's still biting on the cloud to prevent falling.
Ezio finally gets his hoof to grab on to the cloud. Relieved, he unburies his teeth from the cloud's surface, wiping off sweat from his forehead. With lots of effort and energy, he pulls himself upward, panting due to fatigue, falling down on his chin next to Rainbow Dash as soon as he got his upper body on top of the cloud. He feels the cloud's soft texture, not falling through the visible mass of liquid droplets. Again, he doesn't feel suprised or shocked due to his body having already experienced standing on a cloud. The human part of him, however, is still amazed that he still haven't turned into a gravity-made pancake.
"I must say. This is very comfortable." Ezio said, looking at cloud beneath him. "This would come in handy if I have to stalk my prey without detection."
"Prey? You eat bad ponies or something?" Rainbow Dash asked, still recovering from her hysterical laughter. The sentence is interrupted by giggles.
"No." Ezio answered. "Best not to talk about that."
"How's your stay with Applejack. You've been there for only like... A few minutes?"
After what happened back at Sweet Apple Acres, Ezio didn't answer. Instead he gives Rainbow Dash a sympathic look. Applejack experienced a very traumatic event that could never happen in Equestria, even in its darkest times. If Applejack had been traumatized that severely, what about the three fillies? Ezio taught that it would be bad for him to show his face in front of the Apple Family, knowing that they would never want to see him again. What should he do? Should he stop killing? The habit of murdering someone is suppose to be a thing of the past. He's tired. He already knew his purpose, a conduit for a message for someone named Desmond. He should be inside a coffin by now...
"Anything wrong?" Rainbow Dash asked the silent Ezio.
"N-No... I..."
"Well... I guess she's busy." Rainbow Dash said.
"...Si..." Ezio said. "Let's just start with the training already."
"You just flew by yourself! You don't need any training."
"It was my subconscious, the previous stallion who once owned this body." Ezio said. "I know a part of him still exist inside me."
All Ezio had ever done is to bring the ugly face of death into this world. What if his arrival will do nothing but ruin this world's beautiful glory? Look at him, risking his own life for a Princess he barely knew using a body he stole when he's suppose to be food for bacteria now. What is this all about? All these Ezio thought inside his head. So many questions, no answers for any of them. Could this be a punishment bestowed upon Ezio by those who came before? Ezio's life has never been so mysterious.
"Let's begin, Rainbow Dash."
Assassin's Creed: Afterlife
It is now nighttime, the time after Princess Luna had raised the moon with her powerful alicorn magic. Ponies, both children and adult, are wearing horror-themed outfits as they go around asking for candy. Ezio finds himself to be the only one not wearing an outfit for this matter. He takes a stroll around the place, viewing the many different attractions for ponies to play. With him is Rainbow Dash, who is wearing a dark purple outfit with black shoes and a mask that are outlined by a yellow lightning pattern. The outfit seems to be poorly made as stitches are visible throughout the fabric. The goggles are simply cloth sewed on to the mask.
" Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!" The fillies sang, their faces light up with excitement as they see lots of sweets fall on their bag.
"What is this all about?" Ezio asked his brash companion
"Seriously? You don't know anything about Nightmare Moon?"
"You know my story, Dash." Ezio said. "I know nothing about your people's religion."
"Religion?" Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.
"Nevermind." Ezio sighed.
Rainbow Dash puts her hoof on her forehead, she then tries to find the perfect explanation of Nightmare Night. She tells him the story of Nightmare Moon, though, she doesn't seem to know that much about it. Rainbow Dash also told him her encounter with her during one of her first adventures with her friends. All of it, Ezio gets. Though, there is one thing Ezio doesn't understand...
"So, what does candy have to do with it?" Ezio asked.
"Uhh... I... Umm... I don't know! Just enjoy it! Geez..." Rainbow Dash groaned.
Her annoyed expression changes as soon as she sees her unicorn friend, Twilight Sparkle. She's not wearing her Star Swirl outfit as she originally intended and she seems to be in a depressed mood. Rainbow Dash attempted to prank Twilight during the previous Nightmare Night, but was thwarted by Luna herself. With the thought of trying to prank her pensive friend again, Rainbow Dash looks around for any signs of Luna. Fortunately, she's not anywhere in sight.
"Hold on. I'm gonna do something" Rainbow Dash smirked, hovering away from Ezio.
"Do what?" Ezio asked, but those words fell into deaf ears.
Left alone and surrounded by countless of costumed horse creatures, Ezio wanders around the festive area. Some of the attractions are familiar to him, but most are out of the ordinary. Ezio sits down on a nearby bench, his head upwards, his forelegs on the ground. In the not-so-far distance, another sitting pony wearing a mummy outfit waves at him. Ezio doesn't know why. He's very detached from his surroundings, yet it all feels so natural and... familiar.
Nearby, a few air bubbles form from the waters of the apple-bobbing tub. Foals are small enough to fall inside one and drown after all. With that in mind, Ezio gets off his seat as fast as he could, not feeling the back ache he used to suffer from old age. The water in the tub seems to be light green for some reason, though Ezio didn't really put much attention to it as it is probably for decorative purposes. He looks down on the water-filled tub to see if anypony might be needing CPR, but the coloring of the liquid makes it difficult to see what's submerged inside it. Though, he could see a faint dark blue color.
Suddenly, a tall winged pony with a horn springs up from the water, screaming at Ezio in an attempt to playfully scare him with her loud voice. The wanted results of the prank are not gained, however, as Ezio just stands there, droopy eyed, already used to surprises due to his dark previous life. Though, this one doesn't involve blood squirting out of flesh.
"Dost that scareth thou at all?" The dark blue coated alicorn mare asked.
"No." Ezio said. "But your voice might leave my ears into permanent disability."
"I am sorry for that inconvenience. I do this for fun!" The alicorn giggled.
"What happened? I thought you speak in Old English." Ezio asked.
"English? What is that?"
"A language."
"Your language?"
"No. I speak Italian." Ezio pauses for a moment after realizing something. "Wait... I'm not speaking in Italian..."
"Don't you remember me? I saved you from drowning remember?" Luna said.
Something inside Ezio's mind opens up as he heard those words and receives a very huge sense of familiarity towards the alicorn, quickly recognizing her as Princess Luna herself. As soon as he faces Luna again, time seems to slow down to the point a second becomes a minute as white lines, both vertical and horizontal, appear everywhere on his surroundings. The houses along with the ground surrounding him appear to melt away into a white void from a distance, slowly closing in on him alone, getting faster as it approaches him. Ponies don't seem aware of this as they are moving very slowly with happy expressions as they get engulfed by the melting scenery. As the white void gets closer to Ezio, it swallowed Luna and the tub she's on, and with a bright flash of light, Ezio finds himself seeing nothing but pure white and countless of intersecting lines.
"What's going on?" Ezio asked, his voice echoes.
No answer, all he hears are strange buzzing noises. He wanders around this strange mysterious area. There are no other sounds heard but his own voice, his breathing, and his heartbeat. Even his hoofsteps don't make a single noise.
"Dash? Luna? Twilight?! Anyone?!" Ezio shouted. His voice still continue to echo.
Another flash of bright light silenced Ezio, completely losing his consciousness this time. Another scenery constructs itself out of nothing and it seems to be the exact same place as before. In place of Ezio, a younger colt is standing in front of the same tub, attempting to try and get one of the apples. The colts tiny hoof slips and he fell into the colored water.
"Ah!" The colt shouted, making small splash on the tub.
After a few seconds of flailing in the water, an older pony, also submerged in the water, helps him get back up to the surface, gently placing him on the dry surface. His costume is all ruined, but he didn't care. He saw his most idolized Princess, Luna.
"That is not the first time I have saved somepony from almost drowning. Where are your parents, young one?" Luna asked the colt.
"They... They..." The colt cried.
"Oh... I have heard of the news. I did not realize you are their child" Luna apologized.
"I wasn't able to..."
"Come." Luna holds the colt gently on his shoulder. "I shall watch over you for now. Shall we get candies together?"
The scene is then interrupted by another bright flash of light and Ezio finds himself back to his previous location as his surroundings re-materialize so quickly, he barely noticed it. Luna is no longer in front of him as she already left for the town square for more treats. Rainbow Dash is next to him, she seems to be wondering about Ezio.
"What just happened?" Ezio asked, holding his head as if he had a huge headache.
"Nothing, really... You were just standing there..." Rainbow Dash said. "Princess Luna tried screaming at your face to get you to move."
"Explains the smell." Ezio joked, Rainbow Dash giggled in response.
"It was strange. Everything froze and the buildings started to twist into impossible angles." Ezio explained. "And then... I was a young colt... from my previous dream."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's that-"
Ezio is interrupted by the sudden screaming of ponies. Guards start running past them towards the crowd surrounding the town square.
"What's going on?!"
"Let's get into the crowd. That's the only way to find out, Dash."
"Duh."
They approach the crowd, cutting through it with curiosity on their faces. After a few bumps and shoves, Ezio and his companion find themselves halted by two guards. Both seems uneasy, sweat streaming down their faces as well as tears.
"S-Stop! Don't come any closer!" The guard said.
"Why not?" Ezio asked.
"J-Just don't!" The second guard replied.
Rainbow Dash's face changes from curiosity to nervousness, feeling butterflies inside her stomach. Ezio glares at the guards, just staring at them. The silent nervous-induced staring of the guards is then broken by a newly arrived rookie behind them by shouting loud a sentence that sums up everything what has happened.
"P-Princess Luna! She's murdered!"
Hearing these, Ezio pushes aside the guards that are blocking his path, and behind those guards are more guards standing over Luna's dead lifeless body, her lifeless eyes staring blankly into nothingness with a huge hole where her horn used to be. Unlike other ponies, Ezio feels rage instead of fear. He does something not even a single pony in existence could do, approach a dead body. Examining Luna's forehead, Ezio concludes that it was a damage inflicted by some form of firearm that is too advanced for normal Equestrian technology standards. Using his eagle vision, he looks around his surroundings, everypony are blue except one hiding inside a nearby house.
"You!" Ezio shouted.
The gold marked target drops his weapon, somehow escaping Ezio's eagle vision by vanishing via a bright light. Ezio kicks the door of the house with no effort like a huge hurricane powered by fury, heading up the stairs as quickly as he could tirelessly. Weirdly, there is no sign of the target's escape route. Not a door, not a hoofprint, and nothing the eagle vision can find. All what's left is a firearm that seems to be like a sniper rifle tailored for hooves. He holds it with his own hooves, examining it to investigate who the killer might be. No fingerprints are found due to ponies lacking fingers, much to Ezio's frustration. The door behind him suddenly burst open with a loud bang due to powerful magic. Ezio quickly turns around him and shoots a guard directly on the head by instinct, partially decapitating him. That guard happens to be right next to a teary-eyed Princess Celestia, filled with anger and guilt that she has not felt before in her entire life.
"You just had to kill her, don't you? Is this what an Assassin is?" Princess Celestia asked, her voice cracking due to her throat being clogged from crying upon hearing the news of her sister's death. "Are these what Assassins do?"
"No, Princess! I didn't kill your sister!" Ezio tried to explain, but Princess Celestia's mind was too clouded by anger.
"You have killed a group of my guards, you killed a large group of stallions at Sweet Apple Acres, and now you killed... MY SISTER!" Princess Celestia shouted, dark purple flame-like magic emits from her horn as her eyes turn green. "You shall be punished for what you have done."
Princess Celestia fires a beam directly beneath Ezio and the floor he's standing on starts to shake violently. Black crystals starts sprouting out of the wooden floor, one narrowly misses his hoof, slicing a small portion of his skin.
"Cazzo..." Ezio grunted, jumping off the window to dodge the largest black crystal that bursts out of the floor that was intended to impale him. He lands into an apple-bobbing tub below.
This could prove to be a very very very busy night for Ezio...
Assassin's Creed: Afterlife
It is a good school day for Sunset Shimmer at Canterlot High. She comes out of her classroom along with many students after a long subject of Math. Sunset is different from what she was before. Instead of bullying others for pleasure, she now helps them and make friends of them, learning true friendship from her first encounter with Twilight Sparkle just a few years ago. She makes her way through the hallway filled with students to the school cafeteria, ready to fill her hungry stomach. On her arm is a book that she recieved from a long time ago when she was still Princess Celestia's student. She holds on to it firmly, not wanting it to get lost.
Sunset keeps a happy face as she walks past all the students who began appreciating her after that incident with the Dazzlings, waving back at them if they do so as well. After walking through a long hallway surrounded by lockers and students, she makes it to the entrance of the cafeteria, pushing the glass doors open to reveal other students conversing on dining tables as they eat while others fall on line for their food. She scans her head back and forth, looking for her friends. It is too difficult for her to see through all these students who are cheerfully communicating with each other.
"SUNSET SHIIIMMMEEEERRRR!" A loud high pitched voice shouted from somewhere among the crowded cafeteria.
Hearing this voice, Sunset rotates her head to her left to see the human counterpart of Pinkie waving at her erratically. At the same table sits Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, all eating vegetables. Sunset smiles as soon as she finds her friends, walking fast towards them with the book still on her arms. Sunset pulls blue the chair next to Applejack so she could sit on it, putting the book on the table in front of her.
"So... How was the Math class?" Applejack asked, taking a sip from her apple juice.
"It was great. It's actually kinda difficult." Sunset giggled.
"Ya wrote a letter to Twilight yet?"
"Yup!" Sunset answered happily. "She must be real busy right now. I still haven't gotten any replies from her for days."
Applejack takes another sip from her apple juice before reaching it towards Sunset. "Ya want some?"
"Nah. I'm not thirsty." Sunset giggled.
"I wonder where the Dazzlings are now." Rainbow Dash wondered, her hand carrying her head from boredom, playing with her food. "They never showed their faces after we kicked their butts."
"It doesn't matter, Rainbow. They learned their lesson." Sunset said, opening her book from the first page. "...It's been a long time since I've wrote these letters to the Princess."
"I hope you don't mind if I ask, darling, but where is..." Rarity thinks about her words for a moment. "The YOU of this... world?"
"What do you mean?"
"Everyone in Equestria has their counterparts here, right? You must have one too! Where is she?"
"I... I..."
Sunset's answer is then suddenly interrupted by the book which started to flick through the pages by itself. Startled, they lean backwards a bit from the desk as the book levitates and shines. It stops on a blank page and slowly, writings starts appearing on that page.
"Outside. Search for something nearby the mirror. Urgent."
These words appear with a glow of gold instead of rainbow. Symbols appear around their table, surrounding the book for a split-second.
It isn't Twilight's hand writing nor is it Celestia's. The writing is a very elegant cursive with an ink blot on the end.
"Outside...? As in... Outside this school?" Sunset asked.
"M-Maybe..." Fluttershy said.
"Well... It's urgent, so maybe we really need to go." Sunset Shimmer stands up, closing the book and carrying it on her arms. "Come along, girls."
The other girls stand up from their seats, pushing the chair back to its place as they leave. The other students didn't pay much attention to them as they near the exit of the cafeteria, but one student gets on their way by standing in front of them. This student wears a white t-shirt, black jacket with a red and white stripe, and a blue spikey hair.
"Hey. I saw that book open up. Is it a message from Twilight?"
"No, Flash. It's from someone else we don't know yet." Sunset answered, scratching her hair.
"Oh! I thought she'd come back and visit... Tell her she could do that anytime she wants." Flash Sentry smiled awkwardly, walking out of the girls' way. From that, the girls continue on their way.
"Don't you think that having a relationship with someone who isn't human is kinda... not right?" Rainbow Dash asked. "... Right?"
"Anything doesn't matter when it comes to love, Darling!" Rarity said to Rainbow Dash.
"And what if Twilight settled down with the OTHER Flash Sentry?"
"I... I guess Flash Sentry would settle down with the Twilight of our world?"
"So... Where is the Twilight of our world?"
"Ooooohhh... I've met our Twilight before!" Pinkie giggled. "She lives in the city!"
"Girls." Sunset Shimmer opens the main entrance of Canterlot High, the same entrance she destroyed a few years ago. "We're outside. Now, we have to look for it. It should be close to the portal."
The girls scatter around the front lawn of the school, over the huge horse statue that serves as a portal that opens originally every 30 moons. Sunset Shimmer looks under the bushes, Rarity searches next to the statue, Rainbow Dash looks by the street, Pinkie Pie searches by removing another student's hat, and Fluttershy asking other students about it.
They seem to can't find anything at all.
"What are we looking for exactly?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I don't know!" Sunset Shimmer said. "The message never said anything else."
A few minutes of searching later, they take a rest. Sitting on the portal on their backs. Fluttershy tames a few ladybugs, while the rest just enjoy resting their bodies. Pinkie turns her head to the Canterlot High horseshoe sign, something getting her attention.
"Oh! Is that it right there?!" Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly, pointing at the horseshoe statue with what appears to be a strange glowing white orb just below it. "I think it is! Whoa! Look at it! It's so pretty! How can we not notice that?!"
Pinkie Pie runs towards it, picking it up and holding it high up the air. The glow starts to fade away and takes the form of a transparent crystal ball.
"What is it?" Sunset asked her friends and even herself as they walk closer to Pinkie, who is holding the crystal ball.
"Is it Equestrian?" Applejack asked.
"No. I don't think so. I've never seen anything like it."
"No, silly! It's clearly a crystal ball that allows us to talk to some kind of inter-galatic beings and see people from the past or future!"
"H-How..."
"Just... Just a hunch?" Pinkie smiled with a squee.
"So... H-How does it work?" Fluttershy asked, clearly nervous.
"I... I don't know" Sunset Shimmer said, grabbing the Crystal Ball from Pinkie's hands. "It's... so strange. It's covered in lining and... It's... is that BLOOD?!"
The taint of blood causes Sunset Shimmer to drop the Crystal Ball towards grassy grounds below their feet. And, with a huge bang of light as it made hard impact with the ground, they find the environment has darkened with golden lines floating around, emitting from the Crystal Ball. All the other students other than theirselves have disappeared into thin air.
"Wh-What's happening?!" Fluttershy asked.
They stumble around, confused and wondering and scared, not knowing what happened. This is then interrupted by the sudden appearance of a woman with a long white dress who materialises just in front of them with a godly glow. The woman looks nothing like them. She's not pink nor white. Her skin is tan and her hair is brown. Sunset and her friends stare at her, dumb-founded, yet afraid.
"I-Is that P-Princess C-Celestia?" Fluttershy asked.
"No!" Sunset Shimmer answered. "Can you tell us where we are, lady?"
"You have never left your location." The woman said. "If you meant what this is you are now seeing with your eyes, then it is called the Nexus."
"Are we the first ones here?" Rainbow Dash said just before Sunset opens her mouth to release another question.
"Indeed not. You are not the first one to see the Nexus." An illusion of a young man who also looks different from Sunset and her friends appears right next to the woman. "There are many others who have seen the Nexus. This man is the most notable one."
The young man is sitting on the floor, holding a similar Crystal Ball. The young man has a fair skin tone and a long black hair, wearing ragged native outfit.
"Who is he?" Sunset asked.
"Is he an alien?!" Pinkie gasped.
"He is not from this world. He is from another. A world that has a different laws of physics and time. Different from this one in every way."
The illusion starts to talk with an echo, asking questions to an unseen entity.
"Are you... a spirit?" The illusion asked, and then pausing for a moment. "...Where am I?"
"Is he talking to us?" Applejack asked, walking closer to the illusion, waving her hand in front of it.
"...What path?" The illusion seems to have responded to an unheard sentence.
"No. He is nothing more but a projection of the past." The woman said. "I have brought you here to help someone in need."
"Is it Twilight?" Sunset, clearly still afraid of this experience. "Is she in danger?"
"No." The woman answered. "She is actually one of the individuals who brings the danger."
"WHAT?!" Sunset Shimmer shouted, shocked. "You're lying! How can she be any danger to anyone or anypony?"
The woman summons yet another illusion. This time, that of Ezio Auditore's original human body. His face is showing the expression of pain and vengeance.
"I AM STILL HERE! ME! EZIO! EZIO AUDITORE!" The illusion shouted, echoing throughout the Nexus.
"This man is Ezio. His family was killed after being falsely accused for treason." The woman said. "He had lived a life filled with pain and blood."
The girls are speechless as they watch Ezio's past. From him screaming at Vieri's limp corpse, hanging Francesco's half naked corpse from the Signoria, killing countless of guards, pushing Cesare off the walls of the Viana Castle, and countless other moments of Ezio murdering someone. All in the span of minutes.
"He's... a terrible person..." Sunset Shimmer said.
Fluttershy couldn't handle it. She falls on her knees and cries as much as she could, not handling the gruesome lifestyle of Ezio. Pinkie's once puffy hair now reduced down to a straight long hair that goes down to her back. Her smile completely transformed to terror.
"Perhaps he is." The woman said. "But he does things for the right of peace."
The illusion changes to yet another moment in Ezio's life.
"Requiescat in Pace" The illusion whispered to a dead body.
The woman focuses her attention to Sunset.
"This man is not evil and right now he needs your assistance." The woman said, changing the illusion to when Ezio is now a stallion. "His death has sent him to your world and for now, he is stuck there. All if not most of your friends are againts him after he is falsely accused for the assassination of your Princess of the night."
The illusion shows the time when Ezio is examining Luna's body. This very sight almost made Sunset faint. Black mist appear around the edges of her sight, her legs wobbling.
"You need to get everyone in your world to trust this man, for if you fail to do so, your world will be taken over by something big. An organization bigger than your monarchy." The woman pauses. "This man is the only one that can save your world."
"I... I understand..." Sunset breathes heavily, gathering her courage. She turns around to her friends who are all terrified. "Girls, we have to do this. If not for him, then for my world and Twilight. You'll... help me with this, right?"
"That man's a murderer, Sunset!" Rarity shouted at her. "There is no possible way I'll lay my finger on that man!"
"Rarity... I..."
"Rarity's right. We don't wanna help him. He's too..." Rainbow Dash tries to hold back her tears and trauma. "...Murderous."
Applejack doesn't say a single word, nor did Fluttershy who continues to sob loudly.
"I don't know if I still want to live." Pinkie whispered, looking down.
"Pinkie... What are you saying?" Sunset asked.
"I don't know if I could do this!" Sunset turns her back to the woman. "I mean... Princess Luna... She's dead and..."
"I am afraid you will have to accept this quest if you wish to save your land. Deny it at its peril."
After a series of sad and painful words from the illusion that repeats random moments of Ezio's life, the illusion suddenly changes to the elderly Ezio and his family during their day together before his death. In the distance, a faint speech is heard. This sudden change of scenery caught Sunset and her friends' attention.
"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it. And I had love, but I did not feel it. Many decades would pass before I understood the meaning of all three. And now, the twilight of my life, this understanding has passed into contentment.
Love, liberty, and time: once so disposable, are the fuels that drive me forward. And love, most especially, mio caro. For you, our children, our brothers and sisters. And for the vast and wonderful world that gave us life, and keeps us guessing. Endless affection, mia Sofia.
Forever yours,
Ezio Auditore"
"He...He has a family..." Fluttershy whispered. "He actually cares for someone."
"Now, it is time for you to make your decision. Shall you help him?" The woman asked. "Those who accept shall be put to sleep and awaken on Sunset's world, those who deny shall be left here and have their memory of this encounter erased."
This is a tough choice. If not for Sunset, then for her friends.
Assassin's Creed: Afterlife
Memory 7: Assassination Plans
"Let's begin, Rainbow Dash." Ezio said, whispering in a depressing manner.
"Okay then..." Rainbow Dash replied. "First, open your wings."
Ezio does Rainbow Dash's instruction, spreading his wings open from his torso.
"And then... flap!"
Ezio throws his wings down too suddenly and quickly, causing him to fly off the cloud with astonishing speed. The force of wind causes him to spin around in the air uncontrollably, getting dizzy as he glides aimlessly around the air.
"Move them up and down!" Rainbow Dash shouted, her mouth between her hooves.
Ezio tries to do so, but instead of the result of gaining control of his flight, he throws himself towards the hard ground. Air starts to push Ezio's face as he gains velocity, the fall resulting in a huge THUD . Rainbow Dash flies off the cloud, landing slowly on the ground next to her friend who now has his face mashed up againts the grassy ground, his head is cartoonishly smeared across it like pancake.
"Rrrggghhh..." Ezio groaned, lifting his twitching hoof up towards Rainbow Dash's laughing face.
"Come on! I know you can do better than that, tough guy." Rainbow Dash giggled.
Ezio pulls his face from the ground, sticking into it like a sunction cup, stretching like rubber. With a sound of a pop , Ezio frees his head, shaking it to fend off his dizzy state, his eyes rolling in a circular manner, much like in a derp-ish way.
"Fluttershy's door had caused me to bleed, but smashing my head againts the ground didn't even kill me?" Ezio asked.
"I've fallen from higher heights than that, trust me."
"Well then, Rainbow Dash. How can we start this... effectively?" Ezio asked.
A grey stallion wearing formal tuxedo, a monocole, and a top hat arrives at what seems to be a meeting place in a crowded area of Canterlot. He sits down on a chair in front of a round table with a fancy umbrella attached on the center. Sitting on the other end of the table is his boss, the mysterious hooded figure that had harassed Ezio twice in a row.
"So... Let's hear that plan..." The hooded mystery pony said.
"Let's see... We have predicted that Princess Luna will be standing on this exact location." The grey stallion places a map on the table, putting his hoof on a certain location.
"The town square?"
"Yes. Our assassin shall be on top of this building." The grey stallion said, moving his hoof across the map towards the drawing of the town hall. "This projectile launcher I've invented should be able to kill the Princess at a very long distance."
"Very good. Does that trouble maker know about this plan?" The hooded pony asked, glaring at the grey stallion.
"Wh-Who?" The grey stallion asked quickly, choking on his own saliva.
"Him."
"Oh!" The grey stallion raised his voice, realizing who his accomplice is referring to. "He killed... 20 of my men... But, he doesn't know anything about the plan!"
"You better make sure he kills you if he ever finds out." The hooded pony suddenly leans forward and grabs the grey stallion by his collar, pulling him closer to his face for him to see his furious eyes underneath the hood. "Because if you survive your encounter with him... I'm gonna make you wish you never existed... Got that, Ronan?"
"Y-Yes, sir..."
"Good." The hooded pony pushes the poor tuxedo-clad grey stallion back on his chair, causing him to fall over, breaking the chair with a loud crunch. The passing by ponies stop upon witnessing the violent action.
The grey stallion stands up slowly, patting his tuxedo to clear off the dirt from his formal clothing. He nervously returns to the table and slowly reach his shivering hoof towards the map. As his hoof makes contact with the object, he trots away with it, holding onto his hat to prevent it from falling from his head.
"Remember... The father of understanding guides us..."
Hours have passed since Ezio began his training with Rainbow Dash. The sun is already set. Ezio finds himself covered in sweat and doing push-ups with his wings while wearing a workout headband and hoofbands. His wings are wobbling softly from fatigue, his sweats are falling off his face and down to the grassy ground.
"...50! ...51! ...52!" Rainbow Dash said, counting Ezio's push-ups while looking at a stopwatch. "Come on, Ezio! Fluttershy did more push-ups than you!"
"Urgh... I can't do everything, you know." Ezio said, barely lifting himself up from the ground. "Not with these... wings..."
"You've climbed up Applejack's barn, climbed up a tree, climbed up a building with bare hooves, and you can't even lift yourself?"
"I never had a pair of wings before, Rainbow Dash."
Losing his strength, Ezio couldn't handle it anymore. He falls flat on his chin on the ground with a small thud. His wings are cramped, it's very painful for Ezio to move them even an inch.
"I think a rest would be great for now..." Ezio said, wiping off his sweat. "I better check on Rarity and see if she's done with my equipment."
"Yeah, that's if you even know where she lives." Rainbow Dash said. "
"I don't."
"I could get there in 10 seconds flat! Keep up!"
"Yeah... But you see-"
Before Ezio could finish his sentence, Rainbow Dash disappears in a loud bright boom in a shining light of rainbows.
"Damn..."
Later at the boutique, Rainbow Dash lands softly in front of the building's door. She knocks on the door to call Rarity's attention. Normally, Rarity would answer anypony knocking on her door quickly, but this time, the door didn't even move and stayed shut. Rainbow Dash hears a nervous panicking voice mumbling something inside as well as sounds of objects being moved and scattered.
"Rarity? Are you okay in there?" Rainbow Dash shouted, pressing her head againts the door.
"No... No! This can't be happening!" Rarity shouted from behind the door.
Rainbow Dash hears loud panting behind her, she turns her head to find an exhausted Ezio who just ran after her. Ezio gets the headband off his sweaty head, tossing it aside as if it were just trash as he approaches the door. Hearing the same loud noise inside, Ezio looks at Rainbow Dash, who simply shrugs. Anxious, Ezio begins knocking on the door loudly, yanking on the door handle in an attempt to bust the locks.
"Rarity! Is everything okay?!" Ezio asked.
Ezio hears the loud cries of sadness and panic instead of response from Rarity's elegant lady voice. By his heroic instinct, Ezio destroys the door's lock with a simple jab of his strong hooves. The door slowly creak open to reveal the messy scenery of Rarity's boutique with the white unicorn herself on the center, her eyes filled with tears that stream down her cheek like waterfall.
"Rarity! Has someone broken in here?!" Ezio asked.
"No! Much worse!" Rarity cried.
"What?! Did they take your sister?!"
"No! M-My dress for Nightmare Night is... is... RUINED!" Rarity slams her head on the floor layered by a puddle of tears.
"...That's it?" Ezio said, putting his hoof on his face. "What about my Hidden Blade?"
"Th-The what...?" Rarity responded, sniffing.
"The thing you created by using the codex... Also, my outfit."
"Oh! Right!" Rarity said, springing back to life with cheerfulness as she trots to her desk.
Rarity pulls out a fancy shiny metal bracer with the flag of Equestria carved on the forearm. Ezio is astonished that such a mare was able to re-create the Assassin's most treasured item with little help and materials. Using her magic, Rarity hovers the bracers over to Ezio, slipping it right into his left hoof carefully. The newly created Hidden Blade resembles Ezio's previous one from his time in Rome.
"Gracie... This is incredible." Ezio smirked.
"Whoa..." Rainbow Dash is amazed as well. "What does it do?! Can it shoot powerful laser beams?!"
Ezio couldn't wait to see how sharp the weapon is, so he activates his new Hidden Blade. A compartment extends from the bracer's wrist. The compartment is not a blade at all as it sprays liquid directly into Ezio's huge pony eyes.
"My eyes!" Ezio screamed, feeling the painful burning sensation in his eyes as he stumbles backwards in pain.
Rainbow Dash laughs at Ezio's suffering.
"Oh! You must be careful with the perfume, darling!" Rarity said.
"P-Perfume?!" Ezio asked, scratching his bloodshot eyes.
"Yes! You need to smell good, dear. You smell like you haven't taken a bath for centuries!" Rarity explained.
"Yes... Quite literally..." Ezio grunted. "Well then... What shall we do now?"
"I hear Princess Luna will be at the town square. Perhaps you would like to meet her?" Rarity suggested.
"Fine... But, do you mind if I return these...?"
Assassin's Creed: Afterlife
Applejack finds herself sitting alone inside her house. Her Granny Smith has been sent to the hospital after seeing that awful gruesome scene of brains sliding out of stallions' ears, her sister is completely traumatized, and her older brother hasn't returned. Applejack continues to stare torwards her window silently like a statue, sitting on her grandmother's rocking chair. It is silent inside. The only sound that can be heard is the gentle creaking of the wooden floor. This moment of silence is then however interrupted by a series of knocks from the door.
"Who is it?" Applejack questioned.
"Uhhh... Mail from... some guys from a secret club who... wanted you to join or something..." A female voice answered from behind the door.
Applejack slowly lifts herself up from the old dusty rocking chair, the creaking noise invades the silent nature of the empty house. Applejack opens the door to reveal a light sapphire bluish gray coated mare with a pale, light grayish apple green mane. Her eyes are strange. The left eye is looking downwards and the right looking upwards. She's holding the mail from her mouth and proceeds to hand it over to Applejack.
Applejack expects it came from Ezio who wanted to apologise to her what her family had seen. However, that is not the case. Instead, it is a letter from some sort of organization.
"We are sincerely sorry for your family for what they have experienced. As part of our condolences, we are inviting you to join us as one of the first few members of a newly formed organization. This organization brings pure safety and order to Equestria to ensure that such events shall never ever happen again. We will give you and your family and friends comfort, support and peace with the cost of none. If you have decided to join us, meet us near Everfree Forest tomorrow morning. You will see a newly built cabin. You shall not miss it. We will give you certain tests to see if you are worthy to join our Order. The Father of Understanding had guided you to us, child. Do not turn down this opportunity of a lifetime."
What could this mean? Applejack had no idea. For what it promised, Applejack agreed to join this perculiar group. She wants her family, friends and overall everypony in Equestria to not experience what she saw.
Perhaps she does not know the future that awaits her? She goes on to meet that organization nonetheless.