Braveheart: The Untold Stories

The date is July 28, three days after Pinkie Pie's resurrection from her death at my hooves five years ago. The incident has left me scarred for life. I never say a single damned word about it, but my friends and I all have the memory in our mind, permanently branded there by my own actions. Even after I had resurrected Pinkie, I still felt a black hole in my heart. I wasn't innocent. I was guilty of murder, though nopony else knew about it. Princess Twilight and the remaining bearers of the Elements of Harmony had kept it a secret for five whole years. How they managed to do so was beyond me. I could never have done it. The guilt would have eaten me away before a single week got by. I was also surprised that they didn't need to use the Elements once. My conscience was still black and broken. Broken like the rest of me. Both my wings and my right front hoof were mechanical, a permanent staple of how shattered my life had become. I was forever, in my mind, a killer.

I walked out of Sugarcube Corner after visiting the Cake Twins. They loved to mess with my mechanical leg, climbing on it, and stuffing their toys into the hydraulics. I tried to keep them off of it, but their unpredictable abilities as a Pegasus and a Unicorn had proved too much. I walked into Twilight's library and looked through the shelves upon shelves of books. Twilight came down the stairs.

“Oh, hi Braveheart,” she cheerfully said. “Everything all right?”

“I guess,” I mumbled.

“Are you still butt hurt about that incident five years ago?” Twilight asked.

“I thought we agreed never to speak of that again,” I grumbled, glaring at her. “And to answer your question, yes. I am.” I turned back to the books.

“Sorry,” Twilight apologized. “But we've moved past that now. You should too. You and Pinkie are back, and that's all that matters.”

“You weren't the least bit pissed off that I had killed the bearer of the Element of Laughter?” I asked, not turning away from the books.

“Of course I was,” Twilight replied. “We all were. I don't know what had compelled you to do such a thing.”

“She tried to kill me, OK?!” I raged. “What the hell else would I have done?!” I breathed heavily. Twilight put her hoof on my shoulder. I looked toward her, some tears in my eyes.

“It's OK,” Twilight assured. “Just try to calm down.” I managed a nod, trying not to cry. “Do you need some time alone?” Twilight asked.

“Sure,” I whispered. Twilight nodded and left the library. I took some deep breaths to chill out. When I had relaxed, I took another look through the books Twilight had. One of them didn't look normal. I felt the binding compared to the other books. This one seemed harder and shinier. I slid the book off the shelf, but it only came partway. I felt a slight vibration and jumped up. I hovered in the air as the bookshelf slid away, revealing a hidden passage. It was a stone passage lined with vines and torches, similar to a castle's secret passage in those old Medieval stories Twilight owned. The torches weren't lit, seemingly so for ages. I powered up a fire spell and lit the first torch, revealing more. As I lit more torches, the shelf slid shut behind me. I continued on. The hall seemed to go on forever. I lit another torch, and the torches beyond it began to light themselves. The light revealed a circular room, that seemed to be a library. But the lined shelves held nothing. No books, no scrolls, nothing. The only thing that was there was a circle of chairs. The one directly across from me had a skeleton dressed in white robes and a beaked hood. The skeleton had rusted armor and weapons. In its hooves were a book. One book that seemed close to falling apart. I was surprised it hadn't decomposed or eaten away. It had a symbol of some kind on it. The symbol looked like an arrowhead. On the skeleton's left hoof was a bracer and a mechanism I didn't recognize. I carefully took the book from the bones and blew off the dust. It floated into my face and I coughed. I opened up the book. As soon as I opened up the first page, I knew this book was worthless. Why? I couldn't read the language on the pages. I looked through the book further. Same language, same problem on every page. I didn't want to throw it away. Maybe Twilight could translate it. I looked on the book's front inside cover. The message on it was written in every known language. I was amazed. I searched and found the Equestrian text. I read it over.

“To whomever finds this chamber, listen well. You must reassemble the sisterhood. I have seen things that should not be seen. The end of the world, not by the hooves of ponies, but by other means. Take the hidden blade on my hoof, and the bracer with it. Inside Canterlot lies another chamber, one filled with the knowledge of our order, as well as the weapons and clothing of the sisterhood. The chamber lies below the castle. Use the contents of the chamber to once again strike fear into the hearts of the Templars. Where other ponies blindly follow the truth, remember, nothing is true. Where other ponies are limited by morality or law, remember, everything is permitted. We work in the dark to serve the light. We are Assassins. Nothing is true. Everything is permitted. -Altair”

I closed the book and put it in my saddlebag. I took the blade and bracer off of Altair's remains and put it on my own hoof. I wasn't left-hooved, but I could make it work. It wouldn't be able to fit on my Terminator hoof. I wasn't sure what all this 'Assassin's Creed' business was, let alone who these 'Templars' were. Maybe the book Altair had left would tell me. Once Twilight translated it, of course, if she could. I left the bare library and into the long hall. I put out each torch as I passed them. I opened up the shelf back to Twilight's library and stepped inside. Twilight wasn't inside. I walked out of the tree. I suddenly felt that Twilight wasn't the best pony to go to for help. I felt Zecora might be a better choice. I walked into the Everfree Forest and searched for Zecora's hut. I had never actually been to her hut, so I had no idea where it could be. After about an hour of searching, I finally found Zecora's hut. I knocked on the door, and Applebloom opened it. She had grown up into a young mare.

“Oh, hey Braveheart,” she said. “What're you doin' here?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” I replied.

“Zecora's been teachin' me how she does her brewin',” Applebloom said. “Ah figured it might be a good way for me to find a hobby. I got mah cutie mark by the way. My special talent's carpentry.”

“Cool,” I commented. “So why aren't Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo with you?”

“They had other things ta do,” Applebloom said. “They just went and left me, so Ah thought Ah'd come here.”

“I see,” I said. “Is Zecora here?”

“Yeah,” Applebloom replied. “One moment. ZECORA!! BRAVEHEART NEEDS TA SEE YOU!!” Applebloom walked out of the doorway and Zecora walked in.

“Ah, hello, my friend,” Zecora said. “I do hope your troubles are at an end.”

“What troubles?” I denied.

“Do not hide your past from me,” Zecora said. “Come, sit. Explain over a cup of camomile tea.” I walked in and sat down. Applebloom gave us each a cup of tea.

“Thanks,” I quietly said.

“Now, tell me about your issue with Pinkie Pie,” Zecora said. “I know that it's true that from your hooves she did die.” Knowing I couldn't worm my way out of this, I told Zecora everything. The cupcake that put me to sleep, the horrific decorations in the basement, and my uncontrolled rage that led to me shooting Pinkie point blank with my pistol. When I had finished, I was nearly crying. I had to take a few breaths to control myself. Zecora listened intently.

“I revived her five years later,” I finished. “But I still feel like I haven't cleared my name.”

“It seems you have done the right thing,” Zecora said. “Reviving your friend surly relieved your mental sting.”

“Not completely,” I confessed. “I still feel guilty. Enough. I actually need some help with something.”

“And what might that be, that you would come all the way to me?” Zecora asked. I pulled the book out of my saddlebag and showed it to Zecora.

“I found this book in a strange chamber hidden away in Twilight's library,” I explained. “I can't read it. I was hoping you could translate it for me.” Zecora took a look at the pages. After a moment, she handed the book back to me.

“It appears that I am unfamiliar with this text,” Zecora confessed. “I'm not sure who you could turn to next.” She gave me back the book.

“Let me see it,” Applebloom said. “Maybe I might know.” I gave Applebloom a confused look, then gave the book to her. Applebloom opened up the first page.

“La Storia del Credo, translating to, The History of the Creed,” she flawlessly read.

“What the?!” I gasped. “How did you do that?!”

“After the cutie pox mistake, Ah found that Ah could speak fluent Italian,” Applebloom explained. “Not sure how that works...”

“How good is your handwriting?” I asked.

“Good enough,” Applebloom replied. “Why?”

“I need you to translate this onto another book,” I requested. “Could you do that?”

“Sure,” Applebloom agreed. “But it's gonna cost ya. Ah can't just make the materials for a book. Ah have ta buy them. Ink, paper, bindin', which is more expensive if Ah'm gonna use hardcover. I'll get the cost to ya as soon as Ah can.”

“Thank you,” I said. I turned to leave, but was stopped.

“Hold up, Braveheart,” Applebloom called.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Two things,” Applebloom said. “One, here's a map that didn't need translatin'. It slid out'a the book.”

“Thanks,” I said as I took the map.

“And two, what's this all about? What 'Creed'? What's goin' on?”

“I don't know,” I said. “But I do know one thing. You'll understand before even I do.” I left Zecora's hut and flew to the train station, map in my saddlebag. I hopped onto the train to Canterlot. The train pulled out of the station shortly after. On the way to Canterlot, I pulled out the map and looked it over. Applebloom was right. It didn't need translating. It was nameless. It didn't need any names. All it showed were directions through a maze underneath Canterlot Castle. The next thing I felt was the train stop. I put the map away, stood up, and got off the train. I walked to Canterlot Castle. As I reached the entry, I saw a ghost of a pony run off from where I stood. I followed it. It flew up to the top of the castle and balanced itself on a spire. I did the same. I saw the figure jump and land in a pile of hay. Against my better judgment, I did so myself. I landed in the pile and suddenly found myself in water. The hay pile had a trap door beneath it. I climbed out of the pool, attempted to dry off, and looked at my map. The air was extremely moist. I couldn't see. I tried using a light spell, but the dense fog in the maze made that effort useless. My map was useless. I suddenly saw the ghostly figure again, clear as day. I followed it through the maze. The figure kept just within my walking pace. Many twists and turns later, I stepped into a room without fog. I looked down and behind me. The fog was coming from a stone vent in the ground, and into the maze. I looked back into the room. The ghostly figure had disappeared. The room was huge. On the furthest wall, there was a glass case with a glowing sphere inside. On another wall held a rack of robes and armor, similar to Altair's, but looking brand new, to my shock. On another wall was a rack of weapons. Swords, daggers, crossbows, hidden blades, and much more. I walked throughout the room, marveling at the armory. This place must be where Altair's book had told me to go. In each corner of the armory sat a shelf of books, with a label on each. The labels read 'Combat', 'Tenants', 'History,' and 'The Pieces of Eden'. In the center of the room stood a ladder leading to a hatch. I opened the hatch and climbed up. I found myself in a dusty, abandoned Canterlot house. It reeked. If I fixed this place up, it could make for a decent home. I closed the hatch and tried to open the door. It was locked from the outside. I saw a hole in the roof. I flew out and landed in front of the house. I found a notice on the door. I read it.

“Due to unsanitary conditions, this building is placed as condemned. Authorized personnel with licensed Hazmat equipment only. -Canterlot Health Inspector”

Licensed Hazmat equipment my ass. Most of the contaminated gasses had all escaped through a hole in the ceiling. I could breathe in there just fine. I tore off the notice and flew to Rainbow Dash's place.

I landed in front of Rainbow Dash's door. I stepped inside. Rainbow was reading a Daring Do book on the couch. She looked up.

“Oh, hey,” Rainbow said. “What have you been up to?”

“Just got back from Canterlot,” I said. “Listen, I need my things.”

“Why?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You're not moving out, are you?” I looked away. “You are,” Rainbow Dash realized. She stood up and put down her book. “How could you leave me?”

“Rainbow Dash, look,” I reasoned. “I'm a full grown stallion now. I'm too old to live with my...*ahem*...mother anymore. It's nothing personal. Trust me, I love it here. I don't want to go. But it's that time in my life, and in yours, where we just have to let go. Can you understand?” Rainbow Dash nodded, close to crying, and trying so hard not to. I walked up to her and gave her a hug. Rainbow Dash returned the embrace with a near bone crushing hug and broke down on my shoulder. We embraced for a good five minutes before Rainbow Dash calmed down. She and I flew upstairs to get my belongings. I packed a trunk I had as a colt with everything I owned. My foalhood drawings, my machine repair kit, and the jar with the Cupcakes memory inside. I laid that inside the trunk with bubble wrap, to keep it from breaking. Once everything had been packed, I flew downstairs to the door.

“Wait,” Rainbow Dash stopped. “Before you go, I want you to have this.” Rainbow Dash gave me a small knife. It was a curved, stainless steel blade with a rainbow colored handle. It was sheathed.

“Did you make this?” I asked.

“No,” Rainbow Dash confessed. “I've had it for quite some time, and I thought you might like it.”

“Thanks,” I said. I put the blade in my saddlebag. “Do you want to see the place?” I asked.

“Sure,” Rainbow Dash replied. We left her mansion and flew down to my found house. Rainbow Dash cringed at the sight of it.

“You're moving into this junker?” she asked, surprised.

“It won't look nearly this bad once I've fixed it up,” I said. “Let me just...” I charged up a small blast and shot the lock off. I opened up the door, and the foul stench met our noses. Flies flew out of the place as I covered my nose. Rainbow Dash did so as well.

“Sweet Celestia, Braveheart!” she cried. “It's like you're moving into a morgue.” I looked in a corner and saw a decomposing body.

“Speak of the devil,” I muttered. I opened up every boarded window and door, letting the stink out. I peeked out the front door to make sure nopony else was around, then picked up the rotting corpse and threw it into a passing garbage truck. I opened up my saddlebag and pulled out a large bag of bits.

“Where in Equestria did you get that many bits?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Pip had put them in my saddlebag back when she was still alive,” I said. “I've kept that bag with me ever since she died.”

“Well, I guess I'll leave you to it,” Rainbow Dash said. “Good luck.” She flew off, leaving me alone. I looked back to the house. After I fixed up this place, It would be my home, as well as the easy entrance to the Assassin's Guild. I needed to recruit other ponies to help with my cause. Once I had enough recruits, the Assassin Order would be reestablished, fulfilling Altair's wish. The Assassin's Creed would live again. Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.