Equestrian Legends: The Mercenary of Magic and Steel [Book-3]by Joseph_TannerChaptersChapter 1: Enter PonyvilleChapter 2: HistoryChapter 3: Twilight eclipsedChapter 4: Altamir 1.2Chapter 5: C.I.HPrologueChapter 6: Moving like JagerChapter 1: Enter PonyvilleThe next morning, I woke up to screaming, and crying… Not to mention the sound of crumbling buildings… I quickly left my bed and home to see what happened… The fortress was in ruins. We must have been attacked… But by who, and why? I thought to myself while trotting towards the training ground, only to find most of who I called friend dead… I didn’t even bother making sure, there was no chance left for them… Soon, I ran into Swiftsteel, Starlight’s sister. “This couldn’t be any worse…” She exclaimed, looking at my fellow youth lying slain on the fields… I walked up to her, since she had her back to me… “Indeed… But how, and why would anypony do such thing?” I inquired. “I wish I knew… I really do.” She replied, when I heard a familiar voice calling from the ruins.. *Cough* “Tami! Over here!” *Cough* It was Blood… His hind legs and haunches buried under stones and wooden beams… We rushed over to him, trying to help, but I was the only Unicorn nearby. Swiftsteel tried to use her head to lift one of the beams, she did her best, while I tried to use my telekinesis to do the same… But I couldn’t do it… “No! No no no no! There has to be a way to get you out of there!” I muttered in blind panic… “Don’t bother with it…” He replied. “Are you crazy? Of course I will!” “Worthless effort…” *Cough* “My time is over…” He replied, I did NOT like his faint tone… “Don’t be ridiculous! You have plenty left!” I replied, not willing to lose the only friend I had left… “Oh Tami… You just won’t give up, will you? Let’s face it, I won’t live much longer…” “Why? Your haunches and hind legs are broken, but no vital organ damage!” I replied. “You think? Look…” He replied, doing his best to point into the small opening he was in… His limbs weren’t crushed, but torn off, bleeding profusely. I dropped to my knees in disbelief… “Don’t blame yourself.” *Cough* “You did your best…” *Grunt* “I’ll be waiting on the flip side…” He exclaimed, and went limp… Forever… It was just too much for me… I couldn’t hold back, I looked up and screamed as loud as my lungs and throat would allow, then cried like never before, but not for long, as I had made a decision… “I’m sorry…” Swiftsteel exclaimed. “Don’t be… Not for him… But for who’s responsible for this…” “Are you all right?” “Luna and the stars be my witness, I will not rest, or die, until I find retribution for their souls…” I swore on that fateful dawn… And remained true both to that promise, and the beliefs of The Lunar Eclipse… “If that is what you desire, then I shall allow you to leave, on your own risk..” She replied. “Thank you… I will do my best to restore the clan to it’s full pride, power, and honor…” I assured her, she, in response, gave me a silver cloak and hood, and a dagger… When her siblings arrived. “Swiftsteel, Altamir, good to see you’re unharmed...Because, you are, right?” Starlight inquired. “Indeed, Tamir was just about to set off on his adventure, seeking revenge, actually…” She replied. “Heh, courage makes a good Mercenary… Take care of yourself out there, kid!” Starryshield exclaimed. “Any more words of wisdom I need to know?” I replied, they shook their heads. “Very well then, I will begin my search in Ponyville…” “Good luck, Altamir…” Starlight exclaimed, and I left the crumbling ruins and remains… Those who I left behind immediately began to clean up the tragedy… It didn’t take me too long to enter the Everfree Forest… The memories of Sarah made it difficult to enter at first, but I went through anyway… As I walked down the seemingly, and temporarily safe forest, I saw a Zebra sitting on her haunches, in front of a pile of wood, mud, and other materials… “Forgive my intrusion, Zebra… But what hurts your heart this much?” I inquired after seeing her cry… “Oh, hello there my friend… I’m sure you didn’t mean to offend… I went to Ponyville to see the store, and when I returned, my home was no more…” “I see. Here, let me help you…” I replied, and spread the ruins, allowing her to salvage anything she found worth from her old home… She only kept a book from the ruins. “I believe I owe you a thank you, I’m glad I happened to meet you… Now I need somewhere to go, is there a place that you know?” “In fact… Yes…” I quickly looked at the ruins, trying to guess her profession. “If you go that way, you will find a fortress… Those inside could use your help.” “If my potions and brew could be what you need, then it will be the way it’s meant to be…” She replied, and trotted off with the book in her mouth. Whooptie fucking do… I might have just sent her off towards her death… I realized, and looked the way she went, but she was gone… Then again, we don’t kill innocents passing by, unless the mean harm or threaten Luna. The later thought assured me she’ll be fine… So I walked on, until I was stopped by, to my surprise, Humans.. “Hold it there pal, identify yourself…” One of the guards exclaimed. “Altamir De Marz.” I replied. “Hmm… What do you guys say? Should we let Altamir in?” He asked the others. “Well, he reminds me of the guy they called Altaïr…” One of them replied, and took aim. “Such a pity… I came here in peace, but I will have to crush you all into a pile of metal and flesh…” I replied, trying to intimidate them. “Oooh, we have a tough guy here…” *Sigh* “I warned you… Let me through…” I replied. “Or what?” “Or else I’ll feed you your teeth…” Ezio replied from behind. “Shove off, old man…” He replied and pushed him away… Ezio knocked 2 of them out in response. One of the remaining guards reached for their radios. “Dispatch! We have a 10-” *Splat* *Splat* Suddenly a blade punctured their throats, and dropped dead. “It was a lot easier in my youth… Are you hurt?” He asked. “No, I’m fine… Thanks for the help, Ezio.” “What you know my name?” “Should I have forgotten instead?” I replied. “Wait… No, Tamir, is that really you?” “The one and only… Thanks to Starlight, I got older.” “Ah, and what brings you back?” “The Lunar Eclipse was attacked recently, and I’m looking for the one responsible…” “And how is your search so far?” “I’m going to see what can I uncover among these ponies…” “I see… If I were you, I would look around the pub first… The bottom feeders know more than you would think.” “They’re just a waste of time… If there’s anything that would make them talk, then it would be a few bits, or a dagger…” “Do as you wish… You know where to find me…” He replied and left, while I searched the bodies, and found about 100 bits… They probably get more for what happened… I thought to myself and pocketed it… Soon a hawk landed in front of me, a scroll in it’s beak. I took the letter to see what it was. “Dear Altamir… You just left hours ago, yet you already found a Zebra who could help us, and who we could help in return… You stood in line twice when they dispensed luck, didn’t you? Zecora did her best to help us out, you have no idea how exhausting it is to drag dead bodies you knew all day, so her brews were useful… If you happen to go to Ponyville, do me a favor, and get some cyder, so we can celebrate when you return to us, even for a short while… While you were away, we managed to calculate the casualties… Around 50% of the population… Including our tool. armor, and weaponsmiths, the arrow fletcher, and basically anypony vital in order for us to attack… If you have the chance, send some of the mentioned above our way, you did us a great favor already… Stay safe, and best of luck. ~Swift Steel.” Apparently, we were lucky to wake up… I petted the bird, and told it to follow me until I get a chance to write a letter, not having any paper, ink, pen, pencil or quill at the time, and walked on, until I found a store called Quills and Sofas… I went in, and asked for some in and quill, but I was told they’re out of stock… “What do you mean you’re out of stock? This place is full of sofas! No wonder you don’t have any ink and quill! There’s barely any room to breathe in here!” I replied to the clerk. “Is everything all right, sir?” One of the guards asked from behind. “Yes, yes thank you, we’re just simply out of stock…” He replied. “Your call.” The guard replied and left. We argued with the clerk for a while, until, to my surprise, a lavender Alicorn entered the store. I took off my hood, since it wasn’t raining outside, and bowed down as she walked by, so did the clerk. “Good morning sir, do you have ink and quills in stock?” She asked, I was about to inform her, when the clerk nodded and hoofed a vial of ink and a quill over to her. “Thank you, how much?” “25 bits.” He replied. When she was about to pay, I stepped in and placed the price on the counter. “Please, be my guest…” I exclaimed. “Thats very nice of you, but I can pay…” She replied. “I know, but I insist…” She agreed to let me pay. “If you insist so much, thank you…” I nodded in response, and she left. As soon as the door closed shut, I looked back at the clerk with an unpleased face to say the least. “Out of stock my ass…” “Didn’t you notice? She’s a special customer!” “Oh… Is that so? Have I introduced you to my friend yet?” I inquired while pulling out the dagger. “Sir, put that away, or I’ll call the guards…” “Why should you? All I want is some damn ink and quill!” “Because you’re trying to rob me! That’s why!” “When have I ever said I won’t pay?” I inquired, and he gave me an upset face. “Well played… Well played… Here you go.” He replied, and finally gave me what I wanted. I paid for it, left, and never returned… Now for a sheet of paper… I looked around, no stores selling such, but what I DID see, was a grey mare carrying the mail… She was a Pegasus, so she had less trouble with the crowd, unfortunately, every now and then, a few letters escaped her bag, and were scattered by the wind… *Sigh* Why not? I asked myself, and decided to get them for her… It took me a few hours, but I got as many as I could… Collecting letters all day made me hungry, so I decided to look for a place to eat… And I found it, Sugarcube Corner… I walked in and made my way to the counter, and was welcomed by a cerulean coated Earthpony mare. “Hello, what can I get you?” She inquired. “A bread please.” I replied. She took some sort of spoon into her mouth, and with that, a bread into a paper bag, and put it onto the counter. “That’s 20 bits.” I levitated the said amount onto the counter and took the bag. “Thank you, please come again.” She replied. “Thanks, I’ll try.” I replied, and headed for the exit, when I noticed the same mare from before, sitting at one of the desks, eating muffins. Finally… I walked up to the desk and asked if she would mind me taking a seat. “No, go ahead…” I sat down, and began eating my bread… “So…” *Crunch* *Crunch* “Why are you so sad, if I may know?” I knew it all along… I just wanted to see if she would admit it… “As if it matters anymore… I’m the mailmare in town… But today half of the letters disappeared…” “Oh… You mean these ones?” I inquired while levitating the letters onto the table… Her crooked eyes filled with relief and happiness, she nodded in response, and pulled me in to a bear hug, nearly breaking a few of my ribs… “You’re…” *Cough* “Welcome…” *Squee* *Thump* *Cough* “My bad… Is there a way I could return the favor?” She asked. “Well, a sheet of paper and an envelope would do.” I replied. “I have a letter to write, the bird is waiting outside… She actually helped me gather these letters…” I added. “If that’s all you need…” She replied, and gave me the paper and envelope. In the end, I thanked her, and she thanked me, and we both left, since the Moon was about to rise… I went into one of the alleyways, and found myself a corner. I detached the hood, and used it as a pillow, while the cloak was the blanket… “May the only one, and true Princess of the night honor us by her presence in our dreams, and guide us through our lives, protecting us as we rest through her glorious night, which may last forever, so all can witness it’s eternal beauty.” I muttered as usual, for some reason I muttered that every time before going to sleep… End of Chapter 1 Chapter 2: HistoryThat night was short, and peaceful… When I woke up, I was covered by an actual blanket, and had a saddlebag as a pillow. I got up, put the cloak and hood on, and checked the Gifts… When I looked down I saw a small note stick out from under my left forehoof… Two, actually… *Yawn* “Let’s see…” I muttered. “I see you found no place to rest… I managed to gather some supplies to aid you in the future, which can be found in the saddlebag. ~Ezio” I looked into the bag and put it on under the cloak… It was filled with medicine, throwing knives, smoke bombs, and various goods, including a bag of 250 bits… Great, 55+250=305 That’s nice. Then, I couldn’t believe the other note… “It seems your kind still exists and believes in me… I have heard of the events in The Lunar Eclipse, and I am aware of your goal… I have as much faith in your success, as you have in me… This is the least I can help you with. ~P. Luna” I folded the blanket up, and put it away into one of the bags… Now for a place to write the letter… Before I could’ve moves a hoof, the bird landed in front of me. “Good morning girl, soon you can take the letter…” I muttered while petting it. Let’s see… I walked around town twice, but I couldn’t find one table to which I could just sit down and write, without buying or selling anything… It was around noon, but I couldn’t even write a damn letter, so I was moderately frustrated to say the least… “Okay, fuck this, fuck that, fuck everything!” I muttered and simply used my kinesis to hold the paper… The reason I didn’t want to do it that way, was the paper simply not being kept still very well, and smudges may happen… At last, the letter was finished. “Here you go, give this to Swift Steel…” I exclaimed, and she took the envelope. “Go!” She took flight, and disappeared. I spent the rest of the day trying to shake my prior frustration off, until I walked down the main street, and noticed 4 gravestones… Gravestones, outside of the graveyard… I decided to examine them, which I regret now… I checked the first one… Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad Assassin Mentor, Great hero. Cause of death unknown. Lived ~1003 Years, served 980. Altair… Altair, Altair, Altair, ALTAIR! Why do I feel like I knew him!? Why does it hurt to see these stones?! I asked myself, while my head was about to burst from the pain… I decided to take it until I look at the other three, so I moved on to the next one… John Miller First Commander of the ground defenses. Good friend, Loving father, Loyal soldier. Execution by the Griffon Kingdom. Lived ~40 Years. After reading that, my heart began to hurt as much as my head did… But I moved on to the third one. Sarah Miller Second in command, Master Assassin. Example leader, Great fighter, Loyal soldier. Self-Sacrifice in defense of Ponyville. Lived ~25 Years. That moment… That moment changed everything… I remembered when she put her hand onto my forehead, and a flood of knowledge and memories rushed my mind… The explosion just months ago… It all happened right there, the very place I stood… I couldn’t handle the sinking feeling, of losing everybody I knew… I was about to leave, but there was one more stone… The one, which hurt the most for me to see… Moonlight Comet Royal researcher. Birth complications. Lived ~ 995 Years. Thinking back now, I could’ve went back and read it later… It wasn’t going to disappear… Because the next thing I can remember was waking up in the hospital with a terrible headache still. Oh, how nice of you to stay with me… I thought to myself, when the door opened and a doctor walked in. “Hello sir, feeling better?” “Just a headache… A terrible one…” I replied. “That should go away very soon… At least according to the drugs we gave you…” “When can I leave?” “You should stay a day or two… A guard patrol found you at the monuments… You had a stroke.” “I don’t have time for that…” “I don’t advise it, but you can leave on your own responsibility…” “Then I’m leaving…” I replied. “I’ll bring the papers you need to sign…” He replied and left, only to return with a few pieces of paper, which I signed faster than I ever did. When I left, all of my belongings were returned, even the dagger. If only I knew where to begin my search… GRRR I’m a Mercenary! Not a detective! Then, I decided to look up why I feel so attached to those under the stones, so I tried to find a library… Hours later I came to a conclusion: There aren’t any… I guess I was lucky, because the lavender Alicorn walked by once again and recognized me. “Greetings sir, thank you for yesterday, is there a way I could help?” She inquired. “Hello, I need to do some research, but there’s not one library in town…” I replied, she began to ponder… She seemed rather unsure about something. “Well… There is one, but it’s not quite a public one… What do you need research on?” “A few names…” “That are?” “On those tombstones.” I replied, pointing at them. She seemed very surprised. “Why do want to know them?” “I feel like I knew them personally… I can’t get rid of the pain I get from seeing those stones…” “Oh, well then, come this way.” She exclaimed, and I followed her out of town to some weird tree looking crystal caste. “Here we are… I’ll show you to the library, and help you find books…” “Thanks.” I replied. The place was a lot larger on the inside… Strangely, there were absolutely no guards at all… “Uhm, may I have a question?” “Sure, go ahead.” “You’re a Princess, right?” “Yes, why?” “How come there are no guards here?” “I doubt they would be necessary.” “They could be…” I replied, and she stopped to look back at me. “What do you mean?” *Sigh* “It’s a long story, I’ll tell you all about it in the library…” “Suure…” She replied while giving me a suspicious look. When we arrived, she put one book onto the table in between us. “Here you go… Who would you start with?” “Altair.” “Oh, it’s a long story…” “Please tell me briefly, we have 3 more, and I have an important task left…” I replied. “Long story short…” She cleared her throat and continued. “Altair Ibn-La’Ahad was an Assassin, who the royal sisters met when the Alicorn Amulet was stolen by Queen Chrysalis, the Queen of the Changelings… He helped them retrieve the Amulet back, and in return they offered to help him go home… Unfortunately, there was no such way, so he swore to serve Equestria with everything he could, one morning, the sisters prepared to attack the Changeling hives, but Altair volunteered to do it alone instead… In a few days, he returned with a student, named Darkwing, the two of them found a traitor in the Everfree on their way back, and brought him with them. At the time they arrived, Princess Luna was poisoned with deathroot extract, and the traitor’s life was sacrificed to save hers… The next day Altair died from a cardiac arrest, bu-” “Wait.” “Yes?” “The gravestone said cause of death unknown…” “There’s more to the story, this all happened a millenia ago…” “Oh… Sorry, go on.” I replied. “But Queen Chrysalis managed to resurrect him… Unfortunately, or fortunately, nopony knows, her spell succeeded, but Altair turned into a half Human half Changeling hybrid… His power grew much, but he was unable to use his prior weapons anymore… A longsword and a wrist mounted blade mechanism he referred to as a hidden blade. One fateful day, the Griffon Empire, now only a Kingdom, managed to take Princess Celestia hostage, and demanded our surrender, but Altair knew a better plan… He and Darkwing took the Griffon Empress and Princess prisoner in return, and offered an exchange… The Emperor accepted it, but not after torturing Princess Celestia badly… When the exchange ended, one of his own guards killed the Emperor, and pledged to serve Equestria. He later became Altair’s second student, Quietblade… His students were transformed into Humans using a spell… A spell,long forgotten…” “Interesting… Is there more?” “Not much… Years later, in the Crystal Empire King Sombra turned Princess Amore into a black crystal statue, after shattering it he hid the shards all over the world, and claimed to rule the Empire… The remaining soldiers managed to push back his attacks, and requested the help of the sisters while Altair left for unknown reasons… The sisters agreed to help and went to help the Empire get rid of Sombra… What they didn’t know, is that Sombra’s army of Shadow ponies was summoned using a spell, and the sisters soon found themselves being helped by the Changelings, Chrysalis in the lead, and another army about which we know nothing… Altair claimed they came from The Lunar Eclipse… When Sombra was defeated, he escaped by teleporting away, while Altair, his students, and his friends from The Lunar Eclipse, named Starry Shield, Swift Steel an-” “Starlight…” I continued. “Yes, but… How do you know?” “I know them personally… I really do…” “How could you? They died!” “No, they didn’t… I saw them just days ago!” “Nonsense… Anyway… Now who’s next?” “I’ll prove you wrong, oh yes I will… Tell me about John.” “John Miller, first Commander of the Equestrian forces of defense… I knew him well, he saved the life of my brother… He established the Human forces, and when the Griffons returned, they took hostages once more… That time taking both Princesses, and John’s family, his wife and daughter… The Emperor told him he can pick 2 who survive… He chose the sisters, and gave his life for his daughter…” “That was short… So he’s the reason they march around all day?” “It seems so…” “Now for Sarah…” “Sarah Miller, daughter of John… She was just as good as her father was, she listened to every problem her subordinates had, and even gave them leave for a few days… Later she met one of John’s personal recruits, Mike Schmidt, who became good friends with her. She was the one to develop a spell only she knew… It was meant to transfer knowledge from one to another… Just a month or two ago, the Griffons and Sombra returned, and she… Well… Gave her life to push them back…” “And she turned me into who I am…” “Let me guess, you knew her too?” “Yes, she was the one who conducted my birth…” “Oh, and who’s the fourth name again?” “Moonlight Comet…” I replied, nearly losing composure. She began flipping the pages like crazy, then stopped. “I’m sorry, I can’t find anything about her…” “Oh… Thank you very much for the information…” “You’re welcome… I wish I knew something about the last name…” “I can tell you one thing…” “Yes?” “She was my mother.” “Sincere condolences… Anything else you would like to know? Since we’re here.” “Not much… But I WILL prove you that Starlight and her siblings still live…” “How could you? You can’t possible be from The Lunar Eclipse…” “Where do you think I came from? Why do you think you never saw me here before?” I replied, she seemed to be losing our argument. “Good point… Good point… Only Princess Luna knows where exactly they are.” “And us… How much do you want to bet?” Suddenly a few mares trotted in. “Hey Twilight, do you want to co- Oh, I see you have a guest...” One of them exclaimed. “Oh yes, I’m just returning a favor… What were you saying, AppleJack?” She replied. “Oh, nothing really, we’ll come back later… Right, girls?” She inquired, and they left… But not before the cyan coated mare gave me an even more suspicious look. “Forgive Rainbow, she’s like that…” “No worries, I should take this off inside…” I replied, taking my hood off. “Twilight it is then…” *Grunt* Suddenly my head hurt like before, but only for a second while I flinched. “Are you all right?” She inquired. “I’m fine… But I think I know why I feel like I knew John and Altair…” “Hmm?” “When I was small, she put her hand onto my forehead, and she probably used that spell you spoke of…” “That means you know everything she did?” “Probably…” “Then do you know my name?” She wondered. “Twilight… Sparkle?” “Interesting indeed… What is your name again?” “Altamir De Marz.” “What do you mean when you were small?” “A month or two ago…” “How old are you?” “20.” “So you’re telling me, that you aged 20 years under 2 months?” “Starlight and Sarah used an aging spell on me, I don’t know why Sarah did, but Starlight did it because I asked her to...” “Why?” “Because half of the population was killed by the morning yesterday… Including my friends, heck, one of them died in front of me… I will not rest until I avenge them...” “Is that why you’re here? In Ponyville I mean.” “Yes, I just don’t know where to begin… The attack happened overnight, and we don’t know who it was…” “And what did you mean that I might need guards?” “I’m a Mercenary of said location…” “Oh, well, as one of the Princesses, I’ll be glad to help, should you need it… Not to mention the Elements of Harmony…” “Who?” “The girls who just came in a minute ago.” Suddenly, we heard knocking on one of the windows. “Would you mind?” I inquired while enveloping the window in my aura. “Go ahead.” She replied, and the hawk flew in, with another scroll in her beak. I sat onto my haunches and extended my left hoof for her to land, and took the letter. “Altamir I said it before, but I do it now… You are not forced to do anything about our dead, you also have a life to live… I’m also glad to inform you, that all the dead were given a proper burial, including your late friend. Zecora had told me that she wishes to talk to you next time you return, she has a few new recipes for brews that you may want to look at… She told me she was thinking about going to Ponyville to turn some of her products into bits, perhaps you will meet there… I will do my best to keep you updated while you’re away, and wish you success. ~Starlight.” “Ha! See?!” I inquired, pointing at the signature. “Can I?” She asked, pointing at the rest of the text. “Go ahead, I don’t mind.” I replied, allowing her to read it. “Hmm… Convincing… How did you meet Zecora?” “I met her when her hut was destroyed, and helped her get a book from the ruins… I told her that her brews could be useful in T.L.E, and she needed a place to go anyway.” “I see… And what will you do next?” “I might go back and see how they’re doing… Care to come along?” “I’m not sure, one of Altair’s notes say that Only followers of Luna, and Assassins are allowed entry.” “You’re telling me? You’re an ally to my cause, therefor, theirs, you would be welcome…” I replied. “Besides, from Sarah’s memories, I know you love doing research, and you said Not much is known about them… Here’s a chance for you to be the first.” “Altamir.” “Yes?” “Lead the way.” She exclaimed while putting on her saddlebag, and putting a few vials of ink, papers and quills into them. “So… How do the saddlebags and your wings fit with each other? You should pack some food too…” “Had to ask Rarity to modify the bags, but they’re fine. Are we ready to go?” She replied, eager to do her research. “Well, I promised one of my teachers to bring some cyder when I return next time…” “Cyder? Applejack is the mare you’re looking for, let’s get her.” We looked around the castle, and found the mares from before sitting around a round table, I let her go in front. “Hey girls! Guess where I’ll be going to do some research!” She exclaimed with excitement. “Uhm, if we would know, we would’ve told you by now… Where?” Applejack replied. “I’m going to The Lunar Eclipse do take notes on how they live!” Twilight replied. “To where?” Rainbow inquired. “You really should read a few books, you know…” She replied. “If you’re going to do research on it, then there probably any books about it…” Rainbow threw back. “Good point. It’s a place only Princess Luna knows the way to, and those who live there, for all we know so far is that they worship Princess Luna instead of Celestia.” “And… Uh, how will you go there then?” Fluttershy wondered. “My new friend Altamir offered me a chance!” “Oooh! Oooh! That sounds sooo exciting! Is it in the Everfree?” Pinkie pondered. “Riiight, and just where is this friend of yours?” Rainbow inquired. “Right here, Dash.” I replied. “And just how do you know my name? Are you a spy or something?” “Rainbow, the last time you asked that we became the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.” Applejack reminded her. I walked up to her and whispered to her ear. “I know everything Sarah did, including Brian… I can help you get him back…” She immediately became friendlier, no surprise, her father’s death was tragic… “I’ll keep my eyes on you…” She replied. “I can’t say otherwise, Sunlover.” That’s what we call the enemy in general… “Hey! I’m not making a difference between a the Sun or Moon! I serve both sisters all right!” She replied, trying to change subject from what I whispered. At this point we were basically pushing our foreheads against each other, I was careful though, not to make her half blind, when Applejack decided to intervene. “Hey now you two, this isn’t what ya came for friend, or is it?” She inquired. “Yeah! We don’t even know your name!” Rainbow played it well, we both knew she wants him back… “It’s Altamir, okay? Altamir De Marz…” I assured them. “Sounds like a Changeling to me…” “Rainbow… I have a feeling we won’t come along for a while…” I replied. “Hey now sugarcube, I bet the two of you can work it out later.” Applejack assured me. “I hope so.” I replied. “That’s the spirit, now, something you need for the travel, Twilight?” “Well Tamir promised to bring some cyder when he returns…” She replied. “Say no more, let’s see how much we got at home!” Applejack exclaimed, and we followed her to Sweet Apple Acres, where she led us to a barn. “Here we are! Home sweet home! Now, how much do you need?” “How much for a barrel?” I inquired. “About a 100 bits, but you can get one or 75.” She replied. “Deal.” I exclaimed, and levitated the amount into her hat. “Pleasure doing business with you.” Applejack replied. “Oh, I bet.” I said with a grin. “Right, now that you got the cyder, we’re ready to go, right?” Twilight inquired, still as excited. “I’ll lead the way…” I replied and lifted the barrel with my kinesis. “Get ready, it’s a long way ahead…” End of Chapter 2 Chapter 3: Twilight eclipsedWe left town, and reached the edge of the forest, when I stopped. “Why did we stop?” She inquired. “Before we go any further, I must ask you to keep the path a secret, and never, ever, ever, go there without me… Believe me, it’s for your own good, you may also want to ask me about doing anything once we’re there…” “Is it necessary?” “Twilight, half of the population died just days ago, they’re grieving, even I am, though not showing it… Just listen to me, okay?” She nodded in response, and we continued… Until a Timberwolf crossed our path. “Fuck…” I muttered. “What now? You’re a Mercenary, right? You can take care of it…” “I wish I could…” “What?!” “Only Blood mongers, Master Assassins, and Nobles are allowed to fight them…” I informed her. “What?” “Those are all the fifth ranks of the three branches…” “Where’s the problem?” “I’m only the fourth rank…” I whispered. “You have got to be kidding me!” She replied. “What do we do then?” “I drop the barrel, you catch it, and run… I’ll distract it…” “Are you crazy? It’s gonna eat you alive!” “What else do you have in mind?” “You’re right, let me know when you’re ready.” “Three… Two… One… CATCH!” I yelled, and threw the barrel over the beast, and whistled. “HEY FUCKER! THIS WAY!” I yelled, attracting it’s full attention while Twilight ran past it. The creature started to run towards me, when I slowly took out a smoke bomb and the dagger from my bag. When it lunged I threw the smoke bomb at it. After Altamir threw the barrel over the Timberwolf I ran past it and caught the barrel… When I looked back, the Timberwolf was staring right at him. “HEY FUCKER! THIS WAY!” He yelled, and the beast lunged at him… Suddenly they both disappeared in a body of smoke, I was worried about both him, and my research… “RUN!” I heard from the smoke, and that’s what I did… I ran as far as I could, before noticing a fortress like structure in the distance. It’s The Lunar Eclipse! I thought to myself, and stopped, unsure about how Altamir was doing… I stood there for a minute or two, before he suddenly teleported right next to me and started coughing, which made a lot of smoke and sawdust leave his mouth. *Cough* “Timberwolves these days, they have no chance against a smoke bomb and a dagger.” He exclaimed and took the barrel over while dusting himself off. “Wh- What happened?” I inquired, confused about the sawdust. “Don’t ask what you don’t want answers for.” He replied. “Oh, we’re very close… Come on, let’s go…” He exclaimed, and trotted away. Sure looks like Pinkie isn’t the only one, who’s not to be questioned… I followed up behind, and soon caught up with him, when we stopped again. “Why did we stop again?” I wondered. I remembered where the scouts were, so we stopped in time to be heard before passing by them… “Why did we stop again?” She asked. “Wait.” I whispered, then whistled. Two of my brethren walked out of the bushes on the sides. “Quae causa inducat te necesse fuit concipere?” The Assassin inquired. (What brings you this way? “The stellarum et lunae pertineret ne nos hic.”I replied. (The stars and the Moon lead us here.) “Sit bringer de tenebris vos gratiam.” The Soldier exclaimed next to him. (May the bringer of dusk favor you.) “Et quidnam hic agis?” Asked a third voice, a Mercenary from behind. (And what is SHE doing here?) “Illa mihi illa nostris incolumibus omnibus.” I replied, and they moved aside. (She’s with me, she’s on our side.) “Ite ergo, sed calcare opere haec est enim sanctificatur terram.” The Assassin exclaimed. (You may go then, but tread carefully, for this is hallowed land.) I nodded in response, and we walked on, as they returned to their cover. “What was that about?” She inquired. “They were the scouts.” I replied. “What did they say?” “They asked why we were here, and what were you doing here…” “Oh, are they always there?” “Not them individually, but yes.” “Isn’t only 3 of them a little few?” “They are tougher than they look, they were all of the sixth rank… There are only seven.” “Oh, isn’t that risky to send the elite to scout?” She wondered. “The population was around 800,000 before the attack, now there’s 400,000 of us, 80% of us trained in at least one branch.” I informed her. “Wait, you can train in multiple branches?” “It’s up to you to take on the challenge… The highest rank in each branch is Eclipsed… For example, Starlight is Eclipsed in both Assassin and Mercenary branches. Good thing she listens to good reasoning.” “Well, she must be really good then.” She replied. “No doubt, nopony ever even dared to fight her one on one… Let alone win against her, or live to tell the tale anyway.” I replied. “No wonder I’ll need to ask you about almost everything…” She wondered. “Oh, I forgot to tell you something.” “Hmm?” “Don’t expect anypony to bow down for you... In T.L.E, all is equal… The only one we bow down is the one you know already…” “Then why did you bow down in the quill store?” “Let me know when you do, because I sure don’t.” I replied, and we arrived. “Qui venit? Amico et inimico noli?” A Soldier asked on the other side of the gate. (Who comes there? Friend or foe?) “If we were your foes, we would’ve teleported through already, disckwad.” I replied. “Yep, it sure is the Altamir I knew… Come on in.” She replied, and soon the gates opened. “It’s been like… What? A day or two?” She inquired, and greeted me with a hoof bump. “Seems so, where’s Swift Steel? I got her the cyder, and a guest too…” I replied. “Tamir, don’t you know how Starlight goes about Visitors?” “She’s on our side, I’m sure…” I replied. “Your call… Remember the conditions, right?” “Yes- yes, I know… Her mistake, my death, I know... “ I assured her. “Wait! What!?” Twilight inquired. “I didn’t tell you because you really wanted to come… But it’s true… The slightest mistake or offense you make may result in my death, being the one taking you here in the first place.” I explained. “Right now Starry Shield is with the younger ones on the training grounds, I bet he’d be glad to see you back tho.” Salutem exclaimed. “Then that’s where we’re headed.” I replied and walked on, but she stopped Twilight for a second, and whispered something I couldn’t hear, so I slowed down to let her catch up. “Ready?” “I hope so.” “I’ll introduce you to Starry Shield, Starlight’s elder brother, and my trainer as a Mercenary, he too is of the Eclipsed rank.” She nodded in response, and we walked on, until we got to a certain house, one, which brought back bad memories… I couldn’t help but stop. “Could I… Have a second?” I asked. “Of course.” She replied, and I walked in… Even tho he was dead, I could clearly feel Cold Blood’s presence in the room, in the room, in the house, which he had died under... I took a deep breath, and left. “Okay, I’m done…” I informed her and we moved on… “Uhm… Altamir?” “Yes?” “That house…” “What of it?” “Was that where he…” “Yes.” I replied briefly with a dull tone. We heard the clanking of swords, so we knew we were close, until I heard a familiar voice. “Carefully kid! It’s just practice! Don’t kill the opponent!” Yes, it was him… We turned about on the corner and looked at them, he immediately noticed us and told the recruits to disperse, the training being over for the day. “Let’s hope my eyes aren’t deceiving me… You really are back, aren’t you, kid?” He asked with a grin. “Sure am… And brought a visitor… She’s Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, and the Element of Magic…” I replied. He looked at her and greeted her with a nod. “Well met, Princess… I hope Altamir told you about what treatment you can expect from us.” “Yes sir, he did… He told me what he was needed to.” She replied. “May I ask what would bring you to a place like this?” He asked from her. “Oh, I’m here to do some research about your community… As much as you’re willing to share anyway…” “Well then, why do you need it?” “Ponies in Equestria mostly know nothing about the history of this place… Or even about it’s existence… With my research, the youth would know about the well dedicated, loyal, and fierce fighters of the Everfree forest, serving under Princess Luna herself… Finally all of Equestria would know of the significant part you all played in history…” “Hmm… You’re a fancy speaker for sure, I bet Starlight herself would approve too…” He replied. “Oh, and son.” He called to me. “Hmm?” “Good job sending Zecora our way…” “Did what I saw best.” I replied. “And you did well, I admit… Perhaps you have more than what it takes…” I nodded with a grin, and we left to find Swift Steel. “Where now?” Twilight inquired. “We’ll find Swift Steel, Starlight’s younger sister, and pass the barrel to her…” I replied, and we went on, and met Zecora. “Altamir and Twilight, seeing you both, is a pleasant sight.” She greeted us. “Good to see you again, listen, I gotta go, and give this to Swift Steel.” I replied. “That barrel is heavy I assume, will I get to see you soon?” “Sure you will.” I said with a grin, and trotted on, soon finding her room. *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* “Who’s there?” “The douchenozzle with the cyder…” I replied, and the door opened. “Seems like we’ll be having fun under Luna’s brilliance tonight…” She exclaimed. “Yeah, actually, I brought a visitor too…” “You know how the rules go about those, but if my sis approves, she can join us tonight… At least I wouldn’t mind meeting a few ponies… Sadly, I almost know literally everypony here… Something new would be nice anyway…” “Yeah, truth be told, that’s partially why I wanted to leave for a while too.” I replied. “So, when and where tonight?” “You’ll know.” “Good, I left our visitor to talk with Zecora, turns out they’re friends to begin with…” “See you tonight then.” She replied, and I left with a nod, and returned to the mares downstairs. “Hey Zecora… Uhm… Where’s Twilight?” I asked with a nervous tone. “Hello Altamir, I wanted to talk to you… About Twilight, she told me she has research to do…” “Son of a… I knew I shouldn’t leave her alone… Listen, I have to find her, can you wait until tomorrow?” She replied with a nod and a grin, and I left. I ran through the whole place twice, while thinking where she could be… Then I realized. THE LIBRARY! If I was right, she was in danger, being caught among confidential informations alone… When I got there, I saw her just trot it casually, while two of the guards, who were hiding, were about to follow her. *Whistle* “Prohibere! Illa loquebatur mecum!” (Stop! She’s with me!) I yelled, attracting enough attention. They stopped, and I walked up to them. “Cautiores esse postero tempore Lapidus. Nosti quid faciemus transgressoribus” (Be more careful next time, Altamir. You know what we do to trespassers.) One of them replied. While she did so, Twilight came up to us. “There you are!” “Yeah, and I just saved you, by the way…” I threw back a little stressed. “What do you mean?” “These two almost killed you for trespassing, since I wasn’t with you…” I informed her while the other two nodded. “I’m sorry, I should’ve waited… But I’m so excited!” She replied. “Too bad… As a guest, you have no entrance to the library what so ever…” “Oh… Then how am I going to do it?!” “I’m not sure, but you can hear the word of mouth… That is, if Starlight approves of your presence.” “And, when will we talk to her?” “That’s where I was about to take you, but since It took me a while to find you, I’ll show you to your room…” I replied. “Didn’t you say…” “I said MOVE IT…” I threw back. “Okay.” She replied and did as I requested, feeling guilty about getting me into some trouble. We got to my room with a bed in it, I opened the door, and we walked in. “Is this adequate enough? Princess?” I asked with a grin… She returned it with a nod. “Make yourself at home… For tonight at least… It’s actually my room, but we don’t have guest rooms… And…” “Thanks, but… Where will YOU be sleeping then?” “Haven’t you seen the Shadow and Bat ponies around? Those guys don’t need much sleep, actually, Shadow ponies need none to begin with…” “That’s interesting… But… You don’t look like one.” “Oh Twilight, name one thing that can’t be learned…” “Uhm, flight?” She replied. “To a Unicorn…” I added. *Sigh* “Put your bags down, and sit, we need to talk…” I continued. She did so on the floor on her haunches, I sat down in front of her while closing the door behind. “Yes?” She wondered. “Swift Steel told me she’s planning some Fun for tonight… I told her about a Visitor, and she said she’d love to meet it… I’m sure you want to meet her too, right?” She nodded in response. “Please, respond verbally.” “Okay, and yes.” “I’m not sure why she wants it, perhaps it’s a welcoming to you or Zecora, or just to remember those who didn’t get to wake up today… Anyway, as you could’ve guess, Starlight and Starry Shield will be there too, and Zecora as well… Do you know what that means?” “Maybe, but I’m not sure.” “That means you get to make an impression on them… Because if Swift Steel allows you to be there tonight, Starlight won’t disagree with her sister… And if you make a good impression, that means you can…” “Do my research… I get it.” “After this one mistake, I’m not sure if I SHOULD take you there, however…” “I already apologized.” She exclaimed. “That’s one thing, Twilight… Those guards will remember… They will remember me carelessly letting an outsider roam around freely in here! It’s like you letting somepony, anypony, roam freely in the Canterlot castle!” “Is it that bad?” “Twilight… If I were late, they would’ve killed you before you could read anything. And if you would’ve read a word, we both would’ve been killed.” “Gosh, why?” “Because it would’ve been MY mistake, which lead to our knowledge being leaked.” I replied. “I want to help you with the research, but you must ALWAYS be by my side, as long as you are among these walls…” “I’ll do my best.” “Good, now… Get some rest, Swift Steel will visit when we can go.” I exclaimed. “I’ll be outside, should you need me or wish to talk.” I added, and she lied down to rest. End of Chapter 3 Chapter 4: Altamir 1.2I have no idea how much I could’ve slept, but when I woke up, it felt like every morning. “Rise and shine Princess, I was about to wake you…” Altamir exclaimed, startling me from the side. “Do you enjoy watching ponies sleep?” I asked. “It’s my room, I’m welcome to it at all times.” He replied, and he was right. “Ready to go? Had a good rest?” “Good to go.” I replied and got out of bed. “Lead the way.” I exclaimed. “Remember what we agreed on.” He replied and started off. We left his house, and entered the dimly lit streets. “Why is it so dark?” “Let your eyes adjust.” He replied. “Okay.” He was right once again, a few seconds later things were brighter, and soon we saw the light of a campfire nearby. “There they are.” He muttered, and we approached them. “Altamir! Twilight! Come on closer! I feared you have forgot already!” Starry Shield greeted us. “Well, you know I stay true to my words…” Altamir replied as we walked closer. “I see you brought the visitor too, afterall…” Starlight replied. “As far as I knew, she was allowed…” He replied, trying to protect me. “With all respect, if I’m not welcome, I can leave anytime…” I exclaimed. “For now, you will be allowed stay and visit, but don’t expect us to share anything with you… Our food perhaps, but not knowledge…” She replied. “Starlight! Come on! You know what she came for!” Altamir replied. “Fine… If you want us to share our knowledge, you must earn it… If you can prove yourself worthy of it, or useful enough for us…” She replied. “I’m sorry Twilight, that’s all I can do for you… She has a good point, you know.” Altamir whispered to me. “It’s all right, really, I’m glad I can stay to begin with…” I assured them. “Twilight.” Starlight exclaimed. “Yes?” I replied. “Please, walk with me, we have to talk.” I nodded in response, and she walked up to me. “Wait, you’ll be back soon, right?” Swift Steel wondered. “Hopefully.” Replied the mare next to me, and we walked off… I was in a little panicked, since Altamir wasn’t with us, so I trotted along, responding briefly. “Twilight Sparkle, is it?” “Yes.” “Princess of friendship, and element of magic…” “Yes.” “And prized student of…” She swallowed, and her tone changed. “Princess Celestia…” She said her with so much venom, I swear she could have poisoned me if she wanted to. I knew that fact right there was a minus point, and prepared for harsh treatment. “Yes.” I replied. “Why are you here, once again?” “Well, Altamir offered me a chance to do some research about this place and it’s history.” “Did you expect this place to be empty? In ruins?” “I wasn’t sure what to expect.” “How much do you know so far?” “The way here, and that you exist… Also the fact that you serve Princess Luna.” “Very well… How about our history?” “Way back when, before the Nightmare Moon incident, Altair came to you for help, and you, united with the royal sisters, and the Changelings, defeated King Sombra…” “So you know about him… Well… Why do you care so much?” She had me right there… I couldn’t just say curiosity, yet, that was the truth… “Because I wanted to prove to those in Canterlot that it wasn’t all Celestia who did the hard work.” I replied. “Well then… Have you noticed our Verba arbitrium?” (Words of choice.) “Your… What?” “Good, then it still fulfills it’s purpose…” She muttered. “Now, be honest… Have you tried to get information from Altamir?” “Not really.” “It would’ve been a vain effort anyway… He only knows as much as he learnt from my brother, under a month, about fighting as a Mercenary… Do you know how old he is?” “Your brother, or Altamir?” “Altamir.” “He told me he’s 20 years.” “Barely, if I say 6 months, I exaggerate...” “He told me about the spells.” “Then know what to expect from him… Truth be told, he has a heart of gold, yet… He’s still so young, and perhaps, just as naive...” “On our way here he handled the Timberwolf very well…” I replied. “If only I knew what the sawdust was.” I muttered. “Say again… What do you mean handled it well?” “He threw the barrel over it’s head, and told me to run… I did, and he caught up by telep-” “Shhh.” She replied, and her ears perked up. “What?” I whispered. “Listen.” She replied, and we heard howling in the distance. “Timberwolves… Are we safe here?” I asked. “Follow me…” She replied, and started making her way upwards to the sky. Levitation spell… Clever. I thought to myself, and took flight after her. We didn’t go far above, when we stopped. “What do I need to see?” She pointed a hoof downwards, at the path we had followed on our way here, it was bright. “Just as I thought… You were followed…” She repled, and began to fall full speed back down… I dropped just as fast, and we both landed safely. “I-” Had no time say a word, before having a blade shoved against my throat. “Research my flank… You let the Humans get here… Do you know what this means?” “No… You don’t understand…” I replied. “Ugh! You idiot! Now whatever we do, we’ll be discovered! So far only we, and Luna knew where we are, and that we exist!” “What do you mean?” “If we let them in, they will tell their precious Commander. If we kill them, they’ll just dispatch another team to investigate!” “You’re Assassins and Mercenaries… You can handle a few Humans...” “Just because we could kill them, it doesn’t mean we must… Twilight, they are guards from Ponyville, they did nothing bad… We can’t just kill them until they run out!” “I know.. But we made sure we weren’t followed! I swear!” Meanwhile, at the campfire... “All right, that’s it… I’ll go find them… What could take so long anyway?” I told the others. “Starlight won’t be pleased…” Swift Steel warned me. “Fuck that then, Twilight has no idea what she could, should, or must say…” I replied, and began galloping around, until I realized the obvious: I knew I should’ve went with them. “Starlight, would you mind telling me what the fuck you’re doing?” “Do you know who you’re talking to?” She replied. “The only thing I care about is what the fuck you’re doing.” I threw back. “I should’ve known… I knew we shouldn’t have let you stay that day…” “What are you talking about?” “The Humans are after us, they followed you!” She answered. “Uh, you mean the 10 Changelings at the gates?” I replied. “What?” “I came past them… They said they needed a disguise, so the Ponyville guards won’t bother them…” She immediately sheathed the blade, and apologized to Twilight.... When she was done, we went to the gates to see our newer visitors, Salutem still there, standing guard. “Here you are… What of them?” She wondered. “Changelings… What are you doing here?” Starlight inquired. “Ah… The light of stars… I, am General Thorn Wings… Mother wishes to see if you’re well… She… Heard… Of what happened.” Their leader replied. “So?” Salutem inquired. “Altamir… Please write what I’m going to say…” She replied, and he summoned a quill and a sheet of paper. “Regina Chrysalis, lunaris eclipsis est super communicatione vestra cura. Sed vereor ne tibi videndum ... Expectamus responsuros et sequentibus diebus adventu ... O si missurus existimabatur Ignavum fucos pecus vel milites, ne quid exspectet remittunt. Cognoscere volumus, si solus ad ostendendum quod habuisti fiduciam nobis.” “Anything else?” “That’s all… Altamir, Twilight, you have a task…” “Hmm?” We replied. “Go back to the hive with these ones, and deliver the message…” “WHAT?!” Twilight inquired. “Yes?” Starlight wondered “You want me to go there!?” She asked.. “Do you want that research, or not?” “Fine…” She muttered. “Can we go now?” I inquired, having returned from my house with our bags while they talked. “Ah, the lavender Princess herself… Believe this one… We do not like the company of… Yours either…” The General replied. “Says the one leeching on others…” Twilight replied. “HEY!” I yelled. “We’re not here to watch you argue… Salutem, open the gates, and let us go…” I exclaimed, and we left, before things got out of control. We wandered through the Everfree, and met with the scouts. “Lapidus ubi illae venis et quo vadis ad eum?.” The Soldier inquired. (Altamir, where did those come from, and where are you going with them?) “Simplex, diplomacy.” I replied. (Simple, diplomacy.) “Bene ergo …” (Well then…) He replied, and allowed us pass, and soon we reached the edge of town, so we stopped. “Is there a problem?” The General inquired. “You can go ahead, we’ll catch up…” “Ah, this one is worried… Will the Princess and Mercenary know the way?” He replied. “Yes, we will, when you arrive, tell your Queen we’ll be there in a day or two.” I informed him. “As the Mercenary’s kind would say… May the stars guide you…” He exclaimed before leaving with his kind. “Altamir, are you sure you know the way?” Twilight wondered. “Weren’t you the one complaining about their presence?” “Well, yes, but…” “Do you have anything against us staying at your castle for tonight? Tomorrow we’ll move on.” “No, of course not.” She replied. We were on our way there, when we were stopped by a guard patrol. “Hold it there…” One of them exclaimed. “Yes?” Twilight inquired. “Princess, may I ask why are you still out this late?” The guard asked. “I’ve been at a friend’s house, why?” “I see… And… Is he with you?” “Should he not be?” She threw back, doing her best to make him uncomfortable. “Well… He could be…” “You mean I don’t know how to look out for myself?” “Well, I…” “Just who are you to question royalty? How dare you to begin with? Who’s your commanding officer?! You know what? I don’t care! Get out of my sight! All of you!” She replied, and they got out of there faster than I could keep track of them… “Good going.” I commended her. “Geez, I usually don’t do anything like this…” She replied, and we moved on. Eventually we got there, and quietly entered, trying not to wake the other 5 mares, and the dragon inside… “This way.” She whispered, and took me to her room. “Wait, there’s only one bed.” I noted. “Well, you welcomed me to your room, it’s only right of me to return the favor.” “Not happening… Not as long as I’m here… I can go for a week without rest…” “Don’t be ridiculous, you need rest as well…” “Twilight, look… It’s kind of you to offer, I’m grateful as well, but no, you just go on and sleep… The floor will do for me.” “Fine, but promise you’ll get some rest too, okay?” “Sure will.” I replied, and we went to sleep… As usual, I muttered my own before doing it… The morning which followed changed my life… Forever… During the night, I dreamt of nothing, but a blank, black void… Nopony or nobody else, but I alone… Only 5 minutes before I woke up, did I see Luna herself...And even then, the only thing that happened was simple… She looked at me and spoke. “I’m sorry, but it has to be this way… I wish I could’ve stopped him.” I woke up on the cold, crystal looking floor on which I went to sleep all right, but also in a world of pain… I could feel every bone and muscle in my body shifting places and turning… Before I would wake anyone with my screams of agony, I cast a silencing spell on myself… When it stopped I stood up and looked at the floor, perfectly reflecting me. No… This can’t be… Why me of all?! Why must I endure such? My worst fear and nightmare came true… I became something, which’s existence I despised the most… I was one of those filthy Humans… I heard gently knocking on the door, so I answered it… “Are you allright?” Luna inquired while calling me outside with a gesture. “W- Wha- Your highness? What are you doing here?” I wondered. “I’m here to ease your situation as much as I can… Is the pain over?” I nodded in response. “Glad to hear… I wish I could say I’m going to transform you back, but I can’t… I know what I’m going to say will hurt, however… For the benefit of Equestria, I must agree with Discord… It is for the best if you remain what you are now…” “But… You said you’re here to help…” I replied, somewhat depressed. “Yes… As you can see… Humans need to wear clothing at all times, unlike Ponies…” She pointed a hoof at my lower body while looking away. “Oh… Ow… Shit…” “Let’s get that fixed, shall we?” With a flash of magic, I was wearing brown steel capped boots, blue pants, the materials of which I have no idea about, a shirt, a trenchcoat, and a baseball cap. “If you don’t like the colors, Rarity would help… Oh, and also...” Out of nowhere, there was a scarf looking piece of fabric around my neck. “You have my gratitude… But, what is around my neck?” She used her telekinesis to tighten it in the back, and put it onto my face, covering it while allowing me to still see. “And to what end do I need it?” “Once, Humans served only my sister and I… But now, their General is independent from us… In fact, these soldiers were recalled just an hour ago, and tomorrow, the replacement will arrive… And believe me when I tell you, I know that it is unavoidable for you to have conflicts with them…” “And you gave this to me so they won’t recognize me… I see…” “Do you understand now?” “I will do what I must… In order to restore balance and peace...” I replied. “Before you would wonder, Twilight, the other Elements, and your friends at T.L.E already know of your… Change…” “You have my gratitude once again… I will never be able to repay this…” “You will… By doing what you must, you will make my efforts be rewarded…” “May I ask something?” “Of course.” “What about my saddlebag? It’s too small for me now…” “Oh, right… I nearly forgot.” She used her magic once more… “I used this spell on John’s bag the last time… It served them well…” “Which one?” “John’s bag was every soldier’s dream… No matter what he desired, he could’ve just reached into the bag, and withdraw the desired item, no matter of it’s size, or ever being placed inside or not…” “And how does that help me?” “Same thing goes for your sleeves, if you focus enough, the desired item will fall into your hands from the sleeves… Go ahead, try it!” I tried to scavenge around Sarah’s memories, and found a pistol to try… A second later it fell out of my right sleeve, into my hand. “A Colt 1911, small clip size, but good from a medium range…” I muttered. “I knew you could do it… Now try to make it disappear by throwing it away and imagining your hands empty.” I threw the pistol as far as I could, and thought of my empty hands, and I watched as the pistol evaporated into nothing but thin air. “Excellent! Remember: Things only disappear if you want them to, if you just throw them away, others may simply pick them up to use against you… Now that you know everything, I must go.” “Thank you once again for everything…” I replied before she left, and I returned to the room. I sat down with my back against Twilight’s bed, and produced a knife, and simply had in sitting in my hand until I would need it… I’m not going to lie, I actually fell asleep again, so it was up to Twilight to wake me… When I woke up, I heard snoring from ahead the bed… It was Altamir, just like Luna said… “Altamir?” “Hnngnngmm…” *Snoring* “Altamir!” “Uhhhmmmngnmm” *Snore* “Wake up already!” I yelled, no effect… Perhaps Pinkie could help… [Five Minutes Later.] “Okay Twilight, tell me when…” Pinkie whispered. “This will surely work…” I muttered. End of Chapter 4 Chapter 5: C.I.H“This won’t be fun tho, you know that, right?” She wondered. “Now!” I replied, and she fired the Party Cannon… Altamir, as expected, jumped, and threw the knife by reflex… It ended up stuck in one of the furnitures without hurting anypony… “Geez, don’t startle me like that…” He exclaimed. “We didn’t mean to, but Twilight said there was no way you would wake up!” Pinkie replied. “Thanks Pinkie… That was all I needed…” I informed her right after. “Up to you Twilight, but I’m not going to clean all this confetti up for sure!” She replied while pushing the Party Cannon out of the room. “Well, if anything, Rarity certainly won’t leave all of it just lying around…” Altamir replied. “Leave what, my dear?” Inquired said mare. “Altamir… I think it’s best we leave right now…” I suggested. “Uh, good idea…” He replied, and we got out of there before things went down… We were walking down the streets, when I stopped to think. “Altamir?” “Yes?” “Are you sure know the way?” “Yes… Why?” “Just made sure…” We walked on for a while, when we saw some commotion going on, crowd gathering in a circle, didn’t look like it will end well… As we approached the ponies allowed us pass, because of my authority and Altamir being a Human… “Wait… Who is that? That’s not a guard!” I exclaimed louder than intended. “Yes, it is… Didn’t Luna tell you about that too?” He inquired. “Come on! Pay up already!” The said guard exclaimed, holding a sword at a stallion on the ground. “I already paid the taxes this month!” He replied. “Not to me! Pay or die!” He replied while putting his sword away, and producing a much primitive looking firearm… “Go ahead… Kill me… And you’re soon to follow…” The stallion replied, unable to do anything because of his wounds… “We will see…” The guard replied while taking aim. He put his finger onto the trigger and prepared. “Say goodbye…” I had no idea what to do, nowadays Human soldiers or guards simply deny our authorities… There was nothing I could do… I looked away, when we heard a filly yell. “Daad!” *Bang* I looked back, expecting to see a mourning foal, but instead saw Altamir, who took the bullet into his left shoulder instead, with a piece of fabric covering half his face.. “Valiant effort…” The guard exclaimed. “Bet your ass it was…” He replied, and shoved him back. “Very well then, you’ll die too.” The guard exclaimed, and swung his sword at Altamir… He hit the guard’s lower arm with his to block the attack. “Don’t you wish.” He replied, and grabbed the guard’s sword at the hilt, ducked, and got behind him, ripping it out of his hands. “Now what? Tough guy…” “I can make you kaputt!” (Broken) He replied, and produced another pistol. “Just how many of those do you have?!” Altamir inquired, rather tired of it, and swung his sword at him, trying to break his focus… He ended up swinging so hard, the the guard parried it with his pistol, but the blade was stuck in it, and both weapons became unusable. “Hand to hand then, come on, show your wo-” *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* “Hand my ass, I’m tired of your shit already…” Altamir replied after shooting him in the chest three times with a pistol he withdrew from somewhere. *Cough* “Cowa-” *Bang* *Bang* “Die already!” He yelled after shooting him in the forehead twice, and put the pistol away. “Tough son of a bitch.” He muttered, and made his way to the stallion. “Are you all right?” “Thank you my friend, I’m gonna live, surely… But it wouldn’t be this way if you didn’t act…” He replied. Altamir crouched down and literally tore the bullet out of his own arm, and healed it with his right one, then, so did he heal the stallion. “Try to avoid them in the future...I’ll do my best to keep them away.” He exclaimed. “Thank you my friend, you saved my life today… I will not forget this…” “It was what I had to, now go, your daughter is worried…” “And I shall…” The stallion replied, and the crowd cheered, but not for long. *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* “Enough!” Altamir yelled, and the crowd gasped. “You would’ve just sat there and rather watched him die instead! I refuse to be applauded by such lazy ponies!” Unfortunately, the crowd was not the only to hear him… So did another one of those guards… “You’ll die he-” *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* “Now go and behave yourselves!” He continued, and the crowd dispersed while he got back to me. “Holy… Altamir! That was impressive! Where did you learn that?” I wondered. “From Sarah, we should go to the train station…” He replied. “Why? Why would we need to be there?” “We’re going to the Crystal Imperial Hive, Twilight…” “Wait, what?!” “After Chrysalis left Celestia’s school as a teacher, she returned to her original form and made a deal with your brother and Cadence.” “H- How do you know that?” “Luna nobis providet.” He replied (The moon provides for us.) “If you say so…” I replied and followed behind. I get Celestia as my mentor and I become a princess after years… He chooses Luna and gets all that after a month or two? Unfair… So unfair… My arm was still burning from that bullet, but it was down on an acceptable level… “Twilight, are you coming?” I wondered, seeing as she was a bit behind… Eventually she caught up, and before we entered we stopped again. “Look, if you don’t want to come, you can stay here…” I exclaimed. “No, I’m coming with you… I haven’t seen my brother in a while anyways.” She replied. “Up to you then.” I muttered, and we got our tickets… For free actually, it was her royalty bonus, and I was her guest, so it was a neat surprise. We got on the train, and it soon departed… During the train ride Twilight and I talked about many things, so many things… When we got close to the C.I.H, the train stopped, and Changeling guards, shaped like Humans with spears and swords got on the train as an examination. When they got to our cart they stopped, their hands on their swords. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, am I correct?” One of them inquired. “Yes.” She replied. “Welcome to the Crystal Imperial Hive… Allow me to lead you to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Prince Shining Armor, and Queen Chrysalis…” The other continued. “That would be nice, thank you.” She exclaimed while standing up from her seat. I did the same, and had a sword pointed at my throat. “Leave him be, he’s a friend of mine.” “Humans are not welcome…” “Have you looked at yourself through a mirror at least once? You dipshit.” He grabbed me by the throat and forced me against the wall. “I’ll keep my eye on you… Act weird in the slightest, and we shall have your head.” He tried to threaten me. “Twilight, would you tell him what happened to the last person who threatened me?” I inquired, not willing to make a scene like I did in Ponyville. The two looked at her in response, waiting for her answer. “Believe me when I say it, it did not end well for them.”She exclaimed, and he let me go. “Threaten me once again, and I myself will drive your kind extinct… Do you understand me?” I threatened him in response. He stood out of my way and allowed me to leave. “I knew we can make an agreement…” I taunted him as I passed by, and we followed the other guard. It didn’t take long until we saw the huge buildings, made of pure crystal… We walked up to the entrance of the Crystal Palace, and the guard stopped. “From here, you know the way, right?” We nodded in response, and thanked him before he went back to his duties. “Twilight, if you want to, you can go, be with your brother while I deliver the message..” “Oh, we’ll have plenty of time here… I’ll go with you still.” She assured me. “Do you still have it?” I inquired. “Well… No… I left it on my drawer…” “Good thing I remember it word by word…” I replied, and we made our way to the throne room, where both Changeling and Crystal Pony guards stopped us for a second. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, under what name can I introduce your friend?” One of them wondered. “He’s Altamir, Altamir De Marz…” She replied, and the guard opened the door to let us in. “Your majesties… Allow me to announce the arrival of Princess Twilight Sparkle, and her friend, Altamir De Marz…” The guard exclaimed, attracting the attention of the present royalty, then left. “Hey there lil’ sis! What brought you here?” The Prince inquired. “I’m merely here to accompany my friend here… We came to deliver a message to Queen Chrysalis…” As soon as Twilight said her name, the Changeling Queen’s ears perked up and got out of her throne, and made her way toward us, disguising herself as a Human while doing so. “Very well then, I believe you must be from… There…” She replied, while holding out a hand towards me for a handshake. We shook hands, I nodded while doing so. “Well then, where is it?” I tapped my head with my index finger in response. “Right here.” “Let me wait no further…” She replied. “Regina Chrysalis, lunaris eclipsis est super communicatione vestra cura. Sed vereor ne tibi videndum ... Expectamus responsuros et sequentibus diebus adventu ... O si missurus existimabatur Ignavum fucos pecus vel milites, ne quid exspectet remittunt. Cognoscere volumus, si solus ad ostendendum quod habuisti fiduciam nobis.” (Queen Chrysalis, The Lunar Eclipse is thankful for your concern… We expect your arrival in the days to follow, so you can see with your own eyes… Oh, and should you send more troops our way, we advise you not to expect their return… Should you come to us yourself, we would highly evaluate if you would come alone, as it would be a display of trust to us…) “Ah… I see… I’m glad you’re even responding to me, given my history with the sisters themselves…” She replied, and put one of her hands onto my shoulders. “Sincere condolences for your friend, Altamir… Tell me, is there a way I could help your search? If so, let me know any time...” “Thank you… I was thinking of one thing…” I replied. “Yes?” “Could we discuss it in private?” “If the others excuse us, yes…” “It’s okay Altamir, we have a lot to talk about with my B.B.B.F.F here…” Twilight exclaimed, so we left. Altamir and I left the other behind, and headed for a more secluded area… This weakling won’t last long… I thought to myself, when he broke the silence. “So… Queen Chrysalis?” “Yes?” “You knew Altair and John, right?” “Yes… But how do you know that?” I wondered. “When I was small, Sarah gave me all of her memories through a spell she developed… Most of them still make little, if near no sense to me however…” He replied. So he knew her? “Ah… May I ask your mother’s name?” “Moonlight Comet.” He replied. No way! That’s the researcher I saw Altair with when I tried to take his place! That happened hundreds of years ago! “I see… How is her health serving nowadays?” I inquired. “She died when I was born…” “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” “Of course you didn’t, you weren’t meant to…” He replied. “So, what did you wish to talk about? Now that we’re here…” “If my information is correct, you turned Altair into a half Changeling half Human creature.” “I do not like where this is going…” I warned him. “Could you do the same to me?” “What do you mean exactly?” “Shapeshifting, magic, regeneration…” He replied. “If that is all you desire, then I must warn you beforehand… Even Altair himself barely survived his transformation…” I lied, of course, but it was in his favor.... “Altair or not, do it…” He replied, determined as Altair was way back when. “All it will take is a bite… I can, however, not guarantee your survival.” “I’m ready.” He replied. I took my original form and prepared my teeth. “You have been warned… Good luck…” I replied, and sunk my teeth deep into his flesh… His left arm to be exact… It tasted terrible, and it was not the way I did it to Altair, but in the end, the result was similar. He rolled around in the ground in pain, while I tried to ease his suffering with my magic… At last, the pain disappeared, and he stood up, grasping his lower arm tightly, as his veins and nerves turned green under his skin, and slowly began to spread to the rest of his body. “Chrysalis? What’s happening to me?” He inquired… His tone sounded scared, however. “Congratulations, Altamir… From now, you’re one with the hive… From now, you, I, and other Changelings can commune without verbal expressions, no matter how far we are…” I informed him. End of Chapter 5 PrologueSoon after I was born and named, my mother passed away to birth complications… The commanding officer, who conducted my birth, took me in, and raised me for a while… She taught me to write and read, helped me learn to control my magic, and several spells, which’s purpose I haven’t understood yet… I can’t remember much from back then, but I’m sure she used an aging spell on me to grow a few years, for which, I don’t blame her… I wouldn’t make even half a good father as good a stepmother she was… When I was about a month or two old, chronologically speaking, that is, I was playing in my room, or reading a book, I’m not sure anymore… What I DO know, is that I was with Ezio, when we started hearing crashing and gunfire… I still don’t know why Humans need those… And Sarah rushed into the room. “Ezio! Here’s a map, take him there right now!” She exclaimed while giving him a piece of paper, then came over to me and knelt down to eye level, and put her hand onto my forehead, right under my horn… Oh, Celestia the headache that followed… Suddenly I felt like I lived at least a century, tho I was only a few years old… I remembered things, which happened before my birth… Memories stormed my mind… Memories, of a man in white robes named Altaïr, and those of another, called John… And many, many more things… “Sarah! What’s happening out there?” Ezio inquired… “The Griffons, Ezio… Please, do as I asked you… You must get him to safety…” She replied. “Bene (Fine) I’ll hurry back, and do what I can…” She only nodded in response, when a soldier opened the door. “Commander!” *Cough* “We need to evacuate!” He yelled… She bolted off toward the exit along with the soldier, while Ezio followed close behind, with me in his arms… Right as we left the building it collapsed, and we saw the massive army of Griffons, most being mowed down by the machineguns… “Ezio! Go!” “What about you?! You won’t stand a chance!” “I must stay, you know when duty calls…” She replied, and loaded her rifle. I looked at Ezio, who seemed to completely understand what she meant… He turned around, and ran as fast as he could… At his age, I would not have expected him to be as fast as he was… Meanwhile, back in town… “Come on guys! Show them where they belong!” I yelled, trying to encourage the remaining troops, when Darkwing and Quietblade finally returned, and joined us. “Sarah! What the fuck! These assholes again?” Quietblade inquired. “Moron! Aren’t you one of them?” Darkwing replied while impaling one. “Not the point! Come on!” He exclaimed while slitting 2 throats, followed by a headshot. “What do they want?” “I don’t know! They came out of nowhere!” I informed them… When the remaining Griffons seemed to retreat… “What the?” One of the troops wondered. “Give them hell boys! Keep shooting!” I ordered them… Moments after pure abominations rushed at us, killing most of the troops, some stomped, some eaten, some crushed, or torn in half, if they were lucky, a stray bullet hit them from behind… We did our best to push them back, while the Elements of Harmony did their best to help… Luna, Celestia, where the fuck are you when we need you!? I thought to myself, only to hear dad respond. I wish I knew… Celestia should know about the attack by now… Suddenly, the abominations stopped, or dropped dead… And the King himself stepped forward… “Commander… Can we agree, that this was an unnecessary bloodshed?” I spat him in the face, knowing the guys didn’t sign up for dying to entertain him…”You piece of shit… Do you have absolutely no remorse for the lives you wasted?!” I replied. He slowly swept the generous amount off his face, and held one of his claws into the air. “I tried to avoid this…” He exclaimed, before clenching his claw into a fist… *Bang* *Bang* *Splat* *Grunt* Out of nowhere, two bullets hit Darkwing and Quietblade in their chest, dropping them to the ground… “You sick fuck! Fire!” The rest of the troops started shooting at them until they could, and only the King was left, when the last bullet was about to hit him, an aura protected him. What the… Oh… It’s him… “Well well well, looks like your life long friends… Or… Should I say pets? Finally won’t cause me more trouble… Would you not agree, Sombra?” He inquired, and King Sombra slowly materialized next to him, and summoned a tendril, which grabbed me, and pulled me close to them… “Yes… Quite a shame they won’t see the end…” He exclaimed… I reached for my pocket and replied with a chuckle. “Huh… You only think… Girls! Run!” I yelled, trying to get them to safety… They knew my nature, and without a question did so... *Click* While they were having a struggle, Ezio and I entered the forest… As soon as we entered the well known, and dreaded Everfree Forest, we heard an explosion… A huge one… We turned around to look, and saw a giant cloud of dust and smoke where the base was just moments ago… “Requiescat in Pacem” Ezio muttered, and we continued on, back then, I didn’t understand why things happened, but when I realized what the explosion was, caused me to cry from emotions for the first time in my life… When it was time for the Moon to rise, and Sun to hide, Princess Luna visited our camp. “Ezio…” “Princess Luna? What brings you here, into the middle of nowhere?” “We heard what happened a few hours ago… I know Sarah and you were close friends too…” “And where have you been when it happened?!” “What do you mean?” “Isn’t your sister meant to see everything under the Sun?” “Yes, but.” “Then why didn’t you act? Did you not see those unfortunate souls fighting for the town’s freedom?” “We didn’t know about it, she didn’t see anything either…” “Oh?” “Where are you heading now?” “She asked me to take him here…” He replied while pointing at the map. “Oh, that place could be your end, if I’m not with you when you arrive…” “Cazzo (Fuck) I assume you will accompany us then?” “Indeed, but only in the morning will we go on…” As a foal, I myself simply didn’t know what to do in the presence of royalty, so I pretended to sleep… In vain I must add… She looked down at me… “Valiant effort, my friend, but I know you’re not sleeping…” She exclaimed, I pretended to snore just to make sure… “Just give up, I know you’re awake… What’s your name?” That’s where the trouble was… I was taught to read and write, but never to talk… And with the aging spell, I was 3 years old, unable to say a single word… “You know, Sarah used an aging spell on him, so he got older, and taught him to read and write…” Ezio tried to explain. “But not to talk… I see…” She replied… Soon her horn began glowing, and put it to mine… “How about now? What is your name?” “Altamir De Marz, your highness.” I replied, those being my first words… “Well met, Altamir… Where you’re going, you will be safe but… Not so happy… What I can guarantee, is that you will be hearing my name very often, but that won’t make such a brave foal as you angry at me, right?” She asked with a grin. “No!” I replied… She only chuckled in response. “Well, we should sleep then… Tomorrow is a long road ahead…” And we did just that… The next morning we moved on, deeper into the seemingly endless forest… Until we saw a fortress… “It feels like a thousand years since I last set hoof here…” “Is that not the truth?” Ezio inquired, thinking about her banishment. “Let’s just move on…” She replied, and we entered… “Open the gates!” A guard yelled, and soon the massive piece of metal moved, to let us pass… I can’t remember much more from that day, I was taken in, and taken care of… Ezio and Luna told me that they need to leave, and I remain there… They did leave soon after. Days later, I started to miss them, so I found the Leader… Starlight and her siblings, Swiftsteel and Starryshield, who were Eclipsed warriors, mercenaries, and assassins… *Knock* *Knock* “Come in!” She replied, so I walked in. “Greetings Altamir, why are you still awake this late into Luna’s brilliant night?” “Greetings to you as well… I have come with an odd request…” “I must say, you talk quite like an adult… And what would it be?” “I was wondering if you could make me older... “ “Just how much older?” “Enough to train with the others… I want to fight for myself, for all of us, and ultimately, for Luna.” “I see… Are you sure willing to give up on your childhood for such cause?” “At any cost.” “These are rather heavy words, coming from a foal your age… But if that is what you desire, then you shall have it…” She replied, and cast a spell… “By the time the blinding sunlight reaches us, you will be much older.” “Thank you..” I replied, and left to my room to sleep… That night I dreamed of what could’ve happened to my mother, who my father could be, and why would the Griffons have attacked, when I was awoken by my friend, Coldblood… We were the same age, I met him just days before it happened… “Woah! Woah! Tami, what happened to you? You got bigger and probably older!” *Yawn* “What is it, Blood? It’s waayy too early…” I replied. “Come oon! Starlight told me you can train with us from now on!” His plan worked, and I threw the blankets off faster than ever before in my short life, and followed him to the training grounds… “Accursed morning, everypony… Are you prepared for today’s training?” Inquired our instructor… Teacher… Master… Mentor… You get the point… We all nodded in response. “I’m sure you all know who I am by now, but for the new ones, I’m Starryshield, Starlight’s elder brother, and a Mercenary of the Eclipsed rank, so I can assure you I’m fit for this morning routine...” He exclaimed proudly, then pointed a sword at me. “What’s your name, son? It’s the first time I see you here…” “I’m Altamir De Marz.” I replied. “Quite a fancy name… And which branch will you practice? Soldier, Mercenary, or Assassin? That is, if you can even qualify for one…” “He’ll go with all of them at once!” Blood replied in my behalf… At that moment, not even Luna could’ve saved him… If I would’ve hit him… “WHAT?!” I replied along the crowd… Starryshield only grinned. “Very well son, if you succeed, your parents will be made proud… Perhaps, maybe even we will be just that…” He exclaimed, doubting I could achieve such high ranks… “Blood…” I exclaimed calmy. “What?” “Run… Fucking run…” I replied. “Hmm… Yesterday you said you want to fight for yourself and for us… You don’t seem so eager now…” Starlight replied from behind. We all showed respect and looked back at our teacher. “You haven’t told me you’ll be visiting today…” He exclaimed. “Do you mind me walking by?” She replied, and left. “Where were we? Oh yes, buckle up boy, you will be in for a hard time…” He warned me. “Challenge accepted!” Blood replied. “If you say one more damn word, Luna have mercy on your soul, I’ll beat it out of you…” I warned him. “Huh, personality of a Mercenary… That’s a good start…” The teacher exclaimed. “Can we just get over it?” I inquired… And under a month, I managed to achieve the following ranks… Mercenary: Merc (4) Soldier: Apprentice (1) Assassin: Apprentice (1) … I also received a few kind words from Starlight… “I must say, you improved a lot… But what about the other two branches?” “Your words are most kind, and I haven’t bothered with them… I see it fit to fully master one, before beginning another…” I replied... End of Prologue. Chapter 6: Moving like JagerI was once again in a world of pain… By the time it happened, I began feeling like a handful of clay… First turned into a Human, then given the ability to shapeshift, yeah, I felt unstable… “I owe you one… What do you want in return?” I inquired before it pulsed once again to spread through my body. “Nothing… For now… Nothing, but some help when I require it…” She replied. “With all respect, I doubt it… There’s got to be a reason you just did this.” I exclaimed. “You’re right, but you must agree… I have to look after my own as well…” She replied while looking out the window at one of her guards. “If so, then I got my answer.” “Anything else you would like to know?” “If I may… I have scraps of memories about certain names…” “Oh?” “Have you heard of Darkwing or Quietblade?” “Why, yes… Darkwing was my… Son, like these guards are… He left the hive, in order to help Altair as much as he could… I haven’t heard of him ever since…” She replied, unaware of the gravestones in Ponyville. “Oh… Well… You should visit Ponyville someday…” I replied. “And I shall, in the near future for sure…” She exclaimed, and we rejoined the others. Of course it was expected, they noticed my arm… “So… What’s with your arm, Altamir?” Twilight inquired. “Nothing.” *Grunt* “Really.” I replied. “Riiight…” She noted. “Message delivered, we can go now.” I informed her. “Leaving so soon? You just arrived! Stay awhile, look around!” Cadence exclaimed. “We would love to, but we’re short on time…” Twilight replied, probably hoping for some progress in the research as a reward… “Well, if you must, we won’t hold you back, right?” The pink Alicorn replied with a grin, looking at the Changeling Queen. “Not by the least…” She noted, and we said our farewells, and returned to the train station… On our way, a Pegasus guard greeted Twilight, and they began a small conversation. “Hey Flash, haven’t noticed you were around, how are things?” She inquired. “Hey Twilight, I can’t complain, but what brought you here?” He wondered. “Oh, my friend here and I were just visiting.” She replied. “You mean this… filth?” He asked. “Nice to meet you too, asshat.” I exclaimed. “Step back tough guy, or else I’ll have you flying through the window.” “You want to hurt me? You can’t even hit puberty, son.” Twilight began to laugh, while standing in between the two of us. “Easy boys! This isn’t why we’re here!” “Fine. I’ll leave your friend be…” I assured her. “We’ll discuss this later, friend.” He replied. “I’m looking forward to it already.” I exclaimed, and we left for the train station. “Well, what do we have here?” The guard inquired from before, noticing my arm shortly after. “How was that about extinction?” He asked with an arrogant tone. “This changes nothing, you dickwad…” I replied while passing by. “You act tough with royalty by your side… But are you so tough without her?” He threw back. “Come, see for yourself.” I replied. “Altamir! Don’t… Come on, let’s just go.” Twilight tried to turn me down. “Gladly…” The guard replied. “But not today…” I just spat at the ground in response. “Ignavus…” (Coward) I muttered, and we got onto the train home, and were there by dusk… Of course, the town was still crawling with those bastards… It wasn’t too late, so we decided to pay the heroes a visit… I’m glad we did, because some of the guards (3) decided to show how tough they are by dishonoring the graves… “You son of a bitch…” I whispered, and produced a Ballester-Molina pistol from my sleeves, and told Twilight to wait there and watch. “Good idea… This is unacceptable behavior.” She replied, and I disguised myself as one of them, at last, I wore the clothes they did…Man are these uncomfortable. I hid the pistol behind me while approaching them. “Evening gents, are we clear?” I wondered. “Aye, they’ll know better not to mess with us next ti-” *Bang* Not on my mother’s grave you cunt. I noted to myself while shooting him. Of course my cover was quickly blown, and another one of them took aim at me. 3… 2… 1… When he was about to fire, I pulled his comrade into front of me, using him as a living shield… *Bang* “Scheiße!” (Fuck) He threw his pistol at me, but he missed, while I threw the corpse at him as a distraction. He dodged it, and immediately unsheathed his saber and striked. *Bang* In vein… I shot him in the guts, rendering him incapacitated, while not killing him instantly. “Who are you working for?!” I asked him while dropping the disguise. “Rot in hell!” He replied, so I headbutted him. “Speak!” “Never!” He replied, so I began to ponder… How could I make him talk? Wait… Suddenly I had an effective, yet, brutal ida… My sleeves weren’t only capable of producing items and objects, but also housing them… For example, I could have them extrude from my sleeves, while not being visible attached to anything… So while I had the original idea of spinning chainsaw blades, I thought better of it and used a Lupara shotgun instead. “Speak, and your death will be quick!” I exclaimed. “Give up!” He replied, so I blew off his arm with the shotgun… I was aware how painful it will be, and that Twilight was watching me, but I didn’t care… As I pulled the trigger his shoulders disappeared into nothing, in the company of a slapper of blood, and a loud scream. “Speak already!” “NEVER!” I stomped him in between the thighs, and he died… I shot him in the chest with the pistol a few times to make sure, then closed his eyes and returned to Twilight… “I’m sorry for making you watch it…” “Did he at least say anything?” She inquired. “Nothing of value to us.” I replied, and we walked on… I felt guilty for putting her through it, and that guard didn’t deserve a pain that slow… But there was no going back, to them, I was nothing but a murderer from there on… “Twilight…” “Yes?” “Do you want to come back right away to T.L.E? Or maybe later?” “If you’re going there next, yes…” She replied, so that’s where we headed… We walked down the cold and dark streets… I put on the Jager disguise, so they wouldn’t bother me… And if the would bother Twilight, well, need I say what I did? I doubt so… We were about to leave town, when two of them halted our way. “Princess Twilight?” One of them asked. “Can I be of help sir?” She replied. “May I ask why are you heading towards the Everfree Forest this late?” “That’s none of your concerns…” She threw back. “Thousand apologies, but it’s dangerous…” “That’s why I’m going with her! Idiot!” I replied, and they allowed us pass, without watching their backs… I produced a pair of throwing knives, and looked back to see if they were looking. “Altamir…” Twilight exclaimed with some scolding in her tone. “What? Just practice…” “You know that not all of them necessarily need to die, right?” *Sigh* “Fine…” I dropped the knives, and we walked on… Good thing I make everything I produce disappear right after becoming useless… It didn’t take long until we reached the scouts once again, who halted our way as usual. “Quid te adducit necesse fuit concipere? Humanae?” (What leads you this way? Human?) The Assassin inquired. “Est mihi, Lapidus …” (It’s me, Altamir.) I replied. “Proba.” (Prove it.) “Gero cutis carnis nihil aliud est quam voluntas humana a Luna.” (I bear the flesh and skin of mankind by the will of no other than Luna.) I informed them. “Non credo vos.” (I don’t believe you.) The Assassin replied, and they prepared to attack… “Surge et loquitur veritatem, qui fecit illum ... Ego autem humana ex hoc ..., si opus fuerit, ferro.” (Stand down, he speaks the truth... It was I who made him human... And from now on, he will be my sword if needed…) A familiar voice called from above… When I realized who it was I knelt down, while the scouts bowed, and Twilight waved hi. “Angelus tenebrarum mortifer crepusculo noctis reginae reginae Luna tua nos honore.” (Angel of darkness, bringer of dusk, princess of the night, Princess Luna, your presence honors us.) They replied in unison. “Disputatio satis! Duo specialiter magis quam vos tantum tres simul adferendo fidem abrogarem mihi; Dic Starlight si unquam audeat dubitare, quae censebat fore dubium quin tam me.” (Enough talk! These two have more faith in me individually than the three of you all together! Tell Starlight if she ever dares doubt them, she will doubt me as well.) She exclaimed, and they allowed us pass… We walked for a while, before she turned to me and asked. “Altamir? May I ask what is that costume on you?” I dropped my disguise in response. “It’s a gift from Chrysalis.” I replied. “That was quite… Generous… Of her…” She noted, and soon we arrived. “Open the gates!” Salutem yelled right after seeing us. “Welcome back.” She greeted us when we entered. Of course, once again, I was reminded that Luna told none in T.L.E about my new body… “Damnas quae non intelligunt. Ego sum tibi, ut te non solum viderem.” (You condemn what you do not understand. I am one of you, it is only her will that I look like this.) I exclaimed while feeling their hatred for my body… “With all respect, to what end are we honored by your presence?” One of them asked Luna. “Me presence is nothing, but mere evidence of his identity.” She replied. “Luna, we’re going to see Starlight, will you come along?” Twilight inquired. “I would love to, but I fear I must return to Canterlot, for my absence may raise suspicion in my sister…” She replied, and teleported away. We wasted no time in finding said Unicorn. *Knock* *Knock* “Come in.” She exclaimed through the door, so we made our way in. “Ah, Twilight, Altamir, welcome back… I suspect the message has been delivered.” “Indeed it has… She decided not to respond right away.” I replied. “I see… Altamir, I see you got used to your new body… I believe it is only fit, that I pass the rank of Deathless Mercenary upon you…” “Thank you.” I replied with a nod. “As for you Twilight, you may browse freely among our class-9 documents tonight, or at last, until the scorching sun looks down at us.” She continued. “Thank you!” Twilight replied enthusiastically. “Altamir, you way want to accompany her in case her curiosity gets the best of her…” “Of course I will…” I assured them both. “I have a feeling you haven’t made any progress in your search… How long do you two plan on staying?” “I’ll stay for tonight with Twilight, then head back to Ponyville… The guards have been replaced with new ones, believe me, they can’t behave themselves.” I informed her. “Yes, I heard about their replacement… But I truly hope you don’t plan on staying there to protect the citizens…” “I would, but my search is more important.” I replied. “Uhm, Starlight?” Twilight inquired. “Yes?” “Have you seen Zecora lately?” She wondered. “You should find her in her new home, if she’s not there, she’s probably out looking for ingredients… Forgive me, but I’m running low on time, as I have a few things to do, could we continue this conversation later?” We nodded in response, and headed for the library. “Claudos, ubi tua introitu permiserit?” (Halt, where’s your entry permit?) One of the guards asked. “Mine is the rank of Deathless, and the word of Luna herself.” I replied. “And what’s hers?” I produced a slip of paper with Starlight’s signature, allowing her inside. “Right here.” I exclaimed while showing him the paper. “You may go then.” He exclaimed, and we walked in. “Woah… This place is massive! I don’t even know where to begin!” Twilight exclaimed, excited as never before. “How about there?” I inquired, pointing at a sign saying Class-9. “Ahem, right.” *Awkward chuckle* We walked over to said segment and looked around. “Where should I start? Soo many books, soo little time…” “Little? Twilight, come on, you have at least 8 hours…” I replied with a surprised tone while walking up a ladder, and grabbing a book from the top of the shelf. “Probably this one.” I added while throwing said book onto a nearby desk. She trotted over to it and flipped the book open. “Would you like me to read it loud, so you’ll get to know something too?” She offered. “Docet omnia necessaria ad vitam…” “Uh…” “Life teaches everything you need to know… Sorry, I got used to it.” “I hope I’ll get to learn that speak at some point on…” She muttered. “You know I could teach you in no time, but only if approved to do so…” I replied… She kept reading that book, while I dozed off to sleep from time to time… Every time I woke up she just sat there, calm, collective, reading that book… When I woke up for the 23th time, I saw her slumped over the table, the book closed. Oh Twi, you read the whole book, haven’t you? I wondered in myself while putting the book back to its place and picking her up from the table. As I got closer to the exit, I realized it was midnight. She read the whole thing in 4 hours? Damn… I took her back to my house. and put her to sleep, while I spent some time talking to Salutem at the gates… Good thing she was a Shadow pony and needed no rest… “Hey Altamir, where’s Twilight?” She wondered. “She fell asleep in the library, I put her to sleep in my bed.” “You’re not leaving then, are you?” “No, should I be?” “No, I was just wondering.” She replied. “Listen, uhh… How do I put this…” “Hm?” “Uh, are you clear with my exact age?” “You’re 20.” “Yes, but I was born less than 6 months ago…” “Or so I heard from Starlight…” She replied. “You know then?” “Of course I do… Why?” “Well, I haven’t been around for long, bu-” Suddenly a Phoenix began circling above me, until I extended my left arm and she landed on it, dropping a scroll into my hand. “What is it?” Salutem wondered. Dear Altamir De Marz I have recently been informed of a tragedy, which you prevented from happening. While the Humans serve as law enforcement in Equestria, I would like to remind you, that they deny our authorities, and only accept the command of their General. Though this letter I wish to thank you for saving one, if not many more, of my subject(s) from the misbehaving soldiers, and kindly ask you to present yourself to me and my sister in Canterlot in the following days to come. While I despise violence the most, I know sometimes it’s necessary for a greater good, therefore, should you witness similar events or conflicts, I authorize you to act as you see it best, in order to defend the citizens. By this, I am by no means authorizing you to kill whoever you desire to, but to execute members of law enforcements if required, should they be Human or Pony. You may wish to keep this letter, so should you come, the guards will allow you pass if you show them the signature below. ~Princess Celestia. “It’s… It’s from… Her…” “Huh? You mean Luna?” “Worse, much worse….” Back then, I had nothing against her sister, but I had to pretend, otherwise I would’ve been suspicious… “You mean…” “Yes, Her…” I replied. “Well, what does she want?” “A few days ago the Human guards in Ponyville were replaced with new ones… I saved a stallion from one of their… Tax collectors…” “What does she want?” “She wants me to go to Canterlot in the following days…” “Will you go?” “I have to, or else I would show defiance towards Luna’s family.” “True words, well, I’m sure it will be fine…” “Eh, I guess I’ll bring Twilight too, since she was, maybe even still is, her student… She wouldn’t want to set a bad example, right?” She only nodded with a grin, and the Phoenix took off towards Canterlot. We continued to talk until sunset, when Zecora was about to go out for ingredients. “Oh, Altamir! I’m glad to see you, I have a few brews which I wish to show you.” She exclaimed. “Zecora? How did you know it was me?” “You’re the only one they allowed to leave, and they wouldn’t allow any other Human here to be.” “I see, well, lead the way.” I replied, leaving Salutem with a nod. End of Chapter 6
Chapter 1: Enter PonyvilleThe next morning, I woke up to screaming, and crying… Not to mention the sound of crumbling buildings… I quickly left my bed and home to see what happened… The fortress was in ruins. We must have been attacked… But by who, and why? I thought to myself while trotting towards the training ground, only to find most of who I called friend dead… I didn’t even bother making sure, there was no chance left for them… Soon, I ran into Swiftsteel, Starlight’s sister. “This couldn’t be any worse…” She exclaimed, looking at my fellow youth lying slain on the fields… I walked up to her, since she had her back to me… “Indeed… But how, and why would anypony do such thing?” I inquired. “I wish I knew… I really do.” She replied, when I heard a familiar voice calling from the ruins.. *Cough* “Tami! Over here!” *Cough* It was Blood… His hind legs and haunches buried under stones and wooden beams… We rushed over to him, trying to help, but I was the only Unicorn nearby. Swiftsteel tried to use her head to lift one of the beams, she did her best, while I tried to use my telekinesis to do the same… But I couldn’t do it… “No! No no no no! There has to be a way to get you out of there!” I muttered in blind panic… “Don’t bother with it…” He replied. “Are you crazy? Of course I will!” “Worthless effort…” *Cough* “My time is over…” He replied, I did NOT like his faint tone… “Don’t be ridiculous! You have plenty left!” I replied, not willing to lose the only friend I had left… “Oh Tami… You just won’t give up, will you? Let’s face it, I won’t live much longer…” “Why? Your haunches and hind legs are broken, but no vital organ damage!” I replied. “You think? Look…” He replied, doing his best to point into the small opening he was in… His limbs weren’t crushed, but torn off, bleeding profusely. I dropped to my knees in disbelief… “Don’t blame yourself.” *Cough* “You did your best…” *Grunt* “I’ll be waiting on the flip side…” He exclaimed, and went limp… Forever… It was just too much for me… I couldn’t hold back, I looked up and screamed as loud as my lungs and throat would allow, then cried like never before, but not for long, as I had made a decision… “I’m sorry…” Swiftsteel exclaimed. “Don’t be… Not for him… But for who’s responsible for this…” “Are you all right?” “Luna and the stars be my witness, I will not rest, or die, until I find retribution for their souls…” I swore on that fateful dawn… And remained true both to that promise, and the beliefs of The Lunar Eclipse… “If that is what you desire, then I shall allow you to leave, on your own risk..” She replied. “Thank you… I will do my best to restore the clan to it’s full pride, power, and honor…” I assured her, she, in response, gave me a silver cloak and hood, and a dagger… When her siblings arrived. “Swiftsteel, Altamir, good to see you’re unharmed...Because, you are, right?” Starlight inquired. “Indeed, Tamir was just about to set off on his adventure, seeking revenge, actually…” She replied. “Heh, courage makes a good Mercenary… Take care of yourself out there, kid!” Starryshield exclaimed. “Any more words of wisdom I need to know?” I replied, they shook their heads. “Very well then, I will begin my search in Ponyville…” “Good luck, Altamir…” Starlight exclaimed, and I left the crumbling ruins and remains… Those who I left behind immediately began to clean up the tragedy… It didn’t take me too long to enter the Everfree Forest… The memories of Sarah made it difficult to enter at first, but I went through anyway… As I walked down the seemingly, and temporarily safe forest, I saw a Zebra sitting on her haunches, in front of a pile of wood, mud, and other materials… “Forgive my intrusion, Zebra… But what hurts your heart this much?” I inquired after seeing her cry… “Oh, hello there my friend… I’m sure you didn’t mean to offend… I went to Ponyville to see the store, and when I returned, my home was no more…” “I see. Here, let me help you…” I replied, and spread the ruins, allowing her to salvage anything she found worth from her old home… She only kept a book from the ruins. “I believe I owe you a thank you, I’m glad I happened to meet you… Now I need somewhere to go, is there a place that you know?” “In fact… Yes…” I quickly looked at the ruins, trying to guess her profession. “If you go that way, you will find a fortress… Those inside could use your help.” “If my potions and brew could be what you need, then it will be the way it’s meant to be…” She replied, and trotted off with the book in her mouth. Whooptie fucking do… I might have just sent her off towards her death… I realized, and looked the way she went, but she was gone… Then again, we don’t kill innocents passing by, unless the mean harm or threaten Luna. The later thought assured me she’ll be fine… So I walked on, until I was stopped by, to my surprise, Humans.. “Hold it there pal, identify yourself…” One of the guards exclaimed. “Altamir De Marz.” I replied. “Hmm… What do you guys say? Should we let Altamir in?” He asked the others. “Well, he reminds me of the guy they called Altaïr…” One of them replied, and took aim. “Such a pity… I came here in peace, but I will have to crush you all into a pile of metal and flesh…” I replied, trying to intimidate them. “Oooh, we have a tough guy here…” *Sigh* “I warned you… Let me through…” I replied. “Or what?” “Or else I’ll feed you your teeth…” Ezio replied from behind. “Shove off, old man…” He replied and pushed him away… Ezio knocked 2 of them out in response. One of the remaining guards reached for their radios. “Dispatch! We have a 10-” *Splat* *Splat* Suddenly a blade punctured their throats, and dropped dead. “It was a lot easier in my youth… Are you hurt?” He asked. “No, I’m fine… Thanks for the help, Ezio.” “What you know my name?” “Should I have forgotten instead?” I replied. “Wait… No, Tamir, is that really you?” “The one and only… Thanks to Starlight, I got older.” “Ah, and what brings you back?” “The Lunar Eclipse was attacked recently, and I’m looking for the one responsible…” “And how is your search so far?” “I’m going to see what can I uncover among these ponies…” “I see… If I were you, I would look around the pub first… The bottom feeders know more than you would think.” “They’re just a waste of time… If there’s anything that would make them talk, then it would be a few bits, or a dagger…” “Do as you wish… You know where to find me…” He replied and left, while I searched the bodies, and found about 100 bits… They probably get more for what happened… I thought to myself and pocketed it… Soon a hawk landed in front of me, a scroll in it’s beak. I took the letter to see what it was. “Dear Altamir… You just left hours ago, yet you already found a Zebra who could help us, and who we could help in return… You stood in line twice when they dispensed luck, didn’t you? Zecora did her best to help us out, you have no idea how exhausting it is to drag dead bodies you knew all day, so her brews were useful… If you happen to go to Ponyville, do me a favor, and get some cyder, so we can celebrate when you return to us, even for a short while… While you were away, we managed to calculate the casualties… Around 50% of the population… Including our tool. armor, and weaponsmiths, the arrow fletcher, and basically anypony vital in order for us to attack… If you have the chance, send some of the mentioned above our way, you did us a great favor already… Stay safe, and best of luck. ~Swift Steel.” Apparently, we were lucky to wake up… I petted the bird, and told it to follow me until I get a chance to write a letter, not having any paper, ink, pen, pencil or quill at the time, and walked on, until I found a store called Quills and Sofas… I went in, and asked for some in and quill, but I was told they’re out of stock… “What do you mean you’re out of stock? This place is full of sofas! No wonder you don’t have any ink and quill! There’s barely any room to breathe in here!” I replied to the clerk. “Is everything all right, sir?” One of the guards asked from behind. “Yes, yes thank you, we’re just simply out of stock…” He replied. “Your call.” The guard replied and left. We argued with the clerk for a while, until, to my surprise, a lavender Alicorn entered the store. I took off my hood, since it wasn’t raining outside, and bowed down as she walked by, so did the clerk. “Good morning sir, do you have ink and quills in stock?” She asked, I was about to inform her, when the clerk nodded and hoofed a vial of ink and a quill over to her. “Thank you, how much?” “25 bits.” He replied. When she was about to pay, I stepped in and placed the price on the counter. “Please, be my guest…” I exclaimed. “Thats very nice of you, but I can pay…” She replied. “I know, but I insist…” She agreed to let me pay. “If you insist so much, thank you…” I nodded in response, and she left. As soon as the door closed shut, I looked back at the clerk with an unpleased face to say the least. “Out of stock my ass…” “Didn’t you notice? She’s a special customer!” “Oh… Is that so? Have I introduced you to my friend yet?” I inquired while pulling out the dagger. “Sir, put that away, or I’ll call the guards…” “Why should you? All I want is some damn ink and quill!” “Because you’re trying to rob me! That’s why!” “When have I ever said I won’t pay?” I inquired, and he gave me an upset face. “Well played… Well played… Here you go.” He replied, and finally gave me what I wanted. I paid for it, left, and never returned… Now for a sheet of paper… I looked around, no stores selling such, but what I DID see, was a grey mare carrying the mail… She was a Pegasus, so she had less trouble with the crowd, unfortunately, every now and then, a few letters escaped her bag, and were scattered by the wind… *Sigh* Why not? I asked myself, and decided to get them for her… It took me a few hours, but I got as many as I could… Collecting letters all day made me hungry, so I decided to look for a place to eat… And I found it, Sugarcube Corner… I walked in and made my way to the counter, and was welcomed by a cerulean coated Earthpony mare. “Hello, what can I get you?” She inquired. “A bread please.” I replied. She took some sort of spoon into her mouth, and with that, a bread into a paper bag, and put it onto the counter. “That’s 20 bits.” I levitated the said amount onto the counter and took the bag. “Thank you, please come again.” She replied. “Thanks, I’ll try.” I replied, and headed for the exit, when I noticed the same mare from before, sitting at one of the desks, eating muffins. Finally… I walked up to the desk and asked if she would mind me taking a seat. “No, go ahead…” I sat down, and began eating my bread… “So…” *Crunch* *Crunch* “Why are you so sad, if I may know?” I knew it all along… I just wanted to see if she would admit it… “As if it matters anymore… I’m the mailmare in town… But today half of the letters disappeared…” “Oh… You mean these ones?” I inquired while levitating the letters onto the table… Her crooked eyes filled with relief and happiness, she nodded in response, and pulled me in to a bear hug, nearly breaking a few of my ribs… “You’re…” *Cough* “Welcome…” *Squee* *Thump* *Cough* “My bad… Is there a way I could return the favor?” She asked. “Well, a sheet of paper and an envelope would do.” I replied. “I have a letter to write, the bird is waiting outside… She actually helped me gather these letters…” I added. “If that’s all you need…” She replied, and gave me the paper and envelope. In the end, I thanked her, and she thanked me, and we both left, since the Moon was about to rise… I went into one of the alleyways, and found myself a corner. I detached the hood, and used it as a pillow, while the cloak was the blanket… “May the only one, and true Princess of the night honor us by her presence in our dreams, and guide us through our lives, protecting us as we rest through her glorious night, which may last forever, so all can witness it’s eternal beauty.” I muttered as usual, for some reason I muttered that every time before going to sleep… End of Chapter 1
Chapter 2: HistoryThat night was short, and peaceful… When I woke up, I was covered by an actual blanket, and had a saddlebag as a pillow. I got up, put the cloak and hood on, and checked the Gifts… When I looked down I saw a small note stick out from under my left forehoof… Two, actually… *Yawn* “Let’s see…” I muttered. “I see you found no place to rest… I managed to gather some supplies to aid you in the future, which can be found in the saddlebag. ~Ezio” I looked into the bag and put it on under the cloak… It was filled with medicine, throwing knives, smoke bombs, and various goods, including a bag of 250 bits… Great, 55+250=305 That’s nice. Then, I couldn’t believe the other note… “It seems your kind still exists and believes in me… I have heard of the events in The Lunar Eclipse, and I am aware of your goal… I have as much faith in your success, as you have in me… This is the least I can help you with. ~P. Luna” I folded the blanket up, and put it away into one of the bags… Now for a place to write the letter… Before I could’ve moves a hoof, the bird landed in front of me. “Good morning girl, soon you can take the letter…” I muttered while petting it. Let’s see… I walked around town twice, but I couldn’t find one table to which I could just sit down and write, without buying or selling anything… It was around noon, but I couldn’t even write a damn letter, so I was moderately frustrated to say the least… “Okay, fuck this, fuck that, fuck everything!” I muttered and simply used my kinesis to hold the paper… The reason I didn’t want to do it that way, was the paper simply not being kept still very well, and smudges may happen… At last, the letter was finished. “Here you go, give this to Swift Steel…” I exclaimed, and she took the envelope. “Go!” She took flight, and disappeared. I spent the rest of the day trying to shake my prior frustration off, until I walked down the main street, and noticed 4 gravestones… Gravestones, outside of the graveyard… I decided to examine them, which I regret now… I checked the first one… Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad Assassin Mentor, Great hero. Cause of death unknown. Lived ~1003 Years, served 980. Altair… Altair, Altair, Altair, ALTAIR! Why do I feel like I knew him!? Why does it hurt to see these stones?! I asked myself, while my head was about to burst from the pain… I decided to take it until I look at the other three, so I moved on to the next one… John Miller First Commander of the ground defenses. Good friend, Loving father, Loyal soldier. Execution by the Griffon Kingdom. Lived ~40 Years. After reading that, my heart began to hurt as much as my head did… But I moved on to the third one. Sarah Miller Second in command, Master Assassin. Example leader, Great fighter, Loyal soldier. Self-Sacrifice in defense of Ponyville. Lived ~25 Years. That moment… That moment changed everything… I remembered when she put her hand onto my forehead, and a flood of knowledge and memories rushed my mind… The explosion just months ago… It all happened right there, the very place I stood… I couldn’t handle the sinking feeling, of losing everybody I knew… I was about to leave, but there was one more stone… The one, which hurt the most for me to see… Moonlight Comet Royal researcher. Birth complications. Lived ~ 995 Years. Thinking back now, I could’ve went back and read it later… It wasn’t going to disappear… Because the next thing I can remember was waking up in the hospital with a terrible headache still. Oh, how nice of you to stay with me… I thought to myself, when the door opened and a doctor walked in. “Hello sir, feeling better?” “Just a headache… A terrible one…” I replied. “That should go away very soon… At least according to the drugs we gave you…” “When can I leave?” “You should stay a day or two… A guard patrol found you at the monuments… You had a stroke.” “I don’t have time for that…” “I don’t advise it, but you can leave on your own responsibility…” “Then I’m leaving…” I replied. “I’ll bring the papers you need to sign…” He replied and left, only to return with a few pieces of paper, which I signed faster than I ever did. When I left, all of my belongings were returned, even the dagger. If only I knew where to begin my search… GRRR I’m a Mercenary! Not a detective! Then, I decided to look up why I feel so attached to those under the stones, so I tried to find a library… Hours later I came to a conclusion: There aren’t any… I guess I was lucky, because the lavender Alicorn walked by once again and recognized me. “Greetings sir, thank you for yesterday, is there a way I could help?” She inquired. “Hello, I need to do some research, but there’s not one library in town…” I replied, she began to ponder… She seemed rather unsure about something. “Well… There is one, but it’s not quite a public one… What do you need research on?” “A few names…” “That are?” “On those tombstones.” I replied, pointing at them. She seemed very surprised. “Why do want to know them?” “I feel like I knew them personally… I can’t get rid of the pain I get from seeing those stones…” “Oh, well then, come this way.” She exclaimed, and I followed her out of town to some weird tree looking crystal caste. “Here we are… I’ll show you to the library, and help you find books…” “Thanks.” I replied. The place was a lot larger on the inside… Strangely, there were absolutely no guards at all… “Uhm, may I have a question?” “Sure, go ahead.” “You’re a Princess, right?” “Yes, why?” “How come there are no guards here?” “I doubt they would be necessary.” “They could be…” I replied, and she stopped to look back at me. “What do you mean?” *Sigh* “It’s a long story, I’ll tell you all about it in the library…” “Suure…” She replied while giving me a suspicious look. When we arrived, she put one book onto the table in between us. “Here you go… Who would you start with?” “Altair.” “Oh, it’s a long story…” “Please tell me briefly, we have 3 more, and I have an important task left…” I replied. “Long story short…” She cleared her throat and continued. “Altair Ibn-La’Ahad was an Assassin, who the royal sisters met when the Alicorn Amulet was stolen by Queen Chrysalis, the Queen of the Changelings… He helped them retrieve the Amulet back, and in return they offered to help him go home… Unfortunately, there was no such way, so he swore to serve Equestria with everything he could, one morning, the sisters prepared to attack the Changeling hives, but Altair volunteered to do it alone instead… In a few days, he returned with a student, named Darkwing, the two of them found a traitor in the Everfree on their way back, and brought him with them. At the time they arrived, Princess Luna was poisoned with deathroot extract, and the traitor’s life was sacrificed to save hers… The next day Altair died from a cardiac arrest, bu-” “Wait.” “Yes?” “The gravestone said cause of death unknown…” “There’s more to the story, this all happened a millenia ago…” “Oh… Sorry, go on.” I replied. “But Queen Chrysalis managed to resurrect him… Unfortunately, or fortunately, nopony knows, her spell succeeded, but Altair turned into a half Human half Changeling hybrid… His power grew much, but he was unable to use his prior weapons anymore… A longsword and a wrist mounted blade mechanism he referred to as a hidden blade. One fateful day, the Griffon Empire, now only a Kingdom, managed to take Princess Celestia hostage, and demanded our surrender, but Altair knew a better plan… He and Darkwing took the Griffon Empress and Princess prisoner in return, and offered an exchange… The Emperor accepted it, but not after torturing Princess Celestia badly… When the exchange ended, one of his own guards killed the Emperor, and pledged to serve Equestria. He later became Altair’s second student, Quietblade… His students were transformed into Humans using a spell… A spell,long forgotten…” “Interesting… Is there more?” “Not much… Years later, in the Crystal Empire King Sombra turned Princess Amore into a black crystal statue, after shattering it he hid the shards all over the world, and claimed to rule the Empire… The remaining soldiers managed to push back his attacks, and requested the help of the sisters while Altair left for unknown reasons… The sisters agreed to help and went to help the Empire get rid of Sombra… What they didn’t know, is that Sombra’s army of Shadow ponies was summoned using a spell, and the sisters soon found themselves being helped by the Changelings, Chrysalis in the lead, and another army about which we know nothing… Altair claimed they came from The Lunar Eclipse… When Sombra was defeated, he escaped by teleporting away, while Altair, his students, and his friends from The Lunar Eclipse, named Starry Shield, Swift Steel an-” “Starlight…” I continued. “Yes, but… How do you know?” “I know them personally… I really do…” “How could you? They died!” “No, they didn’t… I saw them just days ago!” “Nonsense… Anyway… Now who’s next?” “I’ll prove you wrong, oh yes I will… Tell me about John.” “John Miller, first Commander of the Equestrian forces of defense… I knew him well, he saved the life of my brother… He established the Human forces, and when the Griffons returned, they took hostages once more… That time taking both Princesses, and John’s family, his wife and daughter… The Emperor told him he can pick 2 who survive… He chose the sisters, and gave his life for his daughter…” “That was short… So he’s the reason they march around all day?” “It seems so…” “Now for Sarah…” “Sarah Miller, daughter of John… She was just as good as her father was, she listened to every problem her subordinates had, and even gave them leave for a few days… Later she met one of John’s personal recruits, Mike Schmidt, who became good friends with her. She was the one to develop a spell only she knew… It was meant to transfer knowledge from one to another… Just a month or two ago, the Griffons and Sombra returned, and she… Well… Gave her life to push them back…” “And she turned me into who I am…” “Let me guess, you knew her too?” “Yes, she was the one who conducted my birth…” “Oh, and who’s the fourth name again?” “Moonlight Comet…” I replied, nearly losing composure. She began flipping the pages like crazy, then stopped. “I’m sorry, I can’t find anything about her…” “Oh… Thank you very much for the information…” “You’re welcome… I wish I knew something about the last name…” “I can tell you one thing…” “Yes?” “She was my mother.” “Sincere condolences… Anything else you would like to know? Since we’re here.” “Not much… But I WILL prove you that Starlight and her siblings still live…” “How could you? You can’t possible be from The Lunar Eclipse…” “Where do you think I came from? Why do you think you never saw me here before?” I replied, she seemed to be losing our argument. “Good point… Good point… Only Princess Luna knows where exactly they are.” “And us… How much do you want to bet?” Suddenly a few mares trotted in. “Hey Twilight, do you want to co- Oh, I see you have a guest...” One of them exclaimed. “Oh yes, I’m just returning a favor… What were you saying, AppleJack?” She replied. “Oh, nothing really, we’ll come back later… Right, girls?” She inquired, and they left… But not before the cyan coated mare gave me an even more suspicious look. “Forgive Rainbow, she’s like that…” “No worries, I should take this off inside…” I replied, taking my hood off. “Twilight it is then…” *Grunt* Suddenly my head hurt like before, but only for a second while I flinched. “Are you all right?” She inquired. “I’m fine… But I think I know why I feel like I knew John and Altair…” “Hmm?” “When I was small, she put her hand onto my forehead, and she probably used that spell you spoke of…” “That means you know everything she did?” “Probably…” “Then do you know my name?” She wondered. “Twilight… Sparkle?” “Interesting indeed… What is your name again?” “Altamir De Marz.” “What do you mean when you were small?” “A month or two ago…” “How old are you?” “20.” “So you’re telling me, that you aged 20 years under 2 months?” “Starlight and Sarah used an aging spell on me, I don’t know why Sarah did, but Starlight did it because I asked her to...” “Why?” “Because half of the population was killed by the morning yesterday… Including my friends, heck, one of them died in front of me… I will not rest until I avenge them...” “Is that why you’re here? In Ponyville I mean.” “Yes, I just don’t know where to begin… The attack happened overnight, and we don’t know who it was…” “And what did you mean that I might need guards?” “I’m a Mercenary of said location…” “Oh, well, as one of the Princesses, I’ll be glad to help, should you need it… Not to mention the Elements of Harmony…” “Who?” “The girls who just came in a minute ago.” Suddenly, we heard knocking on one of the windows. “Would you mind?” I inquired while enveloping the window in my aura. “Go ahead.” She replied, and the hawk flew in, with another scroll in her beak. I sat onto my haunches and extended my left hoof for her to land, and took the letter. “Altamir I said it before, but I do it now… You are not forced to do anything about our dead, you also have a life to live… I’m also glad to inform you, that all the dead were given a proper burial, including your late friend. Zecora had told me that she wishes to talk to you next time you return, she has a few new recipes for brews that you may want to look at… She told me she was thinking about going to Ponyville to turn some of her products into bits, perhaps you will meet there… I will do my best to keep you updated while you’re away, and wish you success. ~Starlight.” “Ha! See?!” I inquired, pointing at the signature. “Can I?” She asked, pointing at the rest of the text. “Go ahead, I don’t mind.” I replied, allowing her to read it. “Hmm… Convincing… How did you meet Zecora?” “I met her when her hut was destroyed, and helped her get a book from the ruins… I told her that her brews could be useful in T.L.E, and she needed a place to go anyway.” “I see… And what will you do next?” “I might go back and see how they’re doing… Care to come along?” “I’m not sure, one of Altair’s notes say that Only followers of Luna, and Assassins are allowed entry.” “You’re telling me? You’re an ally to my cause, therefor, theirs, you would be welcome…” I replied. “Besides, from Sarah’s memories, I know you love doing research, and you said Not much is known about them… Here’s a chance for you to be the first.” “Altamir.” “Yes?” “Lead the way.” She exclaimed while putting on her saddlebag, and putting a few vials of ink, papers and quills into them. “So… How do the saddlebags and your wings fit with each other? You should pack some food too…” “Had to ask Rarity to modify the bags, but they’re fine. Are we ready to go?” She replied, eager to do her research. “Well, I promised one of my teachers to bring some cyder when I return next time…” “Cyder? Applejack is the mare you’re looking for, let’s get her.” We looked around the castle, and found the mares from before sitting around a round table, I let her go in front. “Hey girls! Guess where I’ll be going to do some research!” She exclaimed with excitement. “Uhm, if we would know, we would’ve told you by now… Where?” Applejack replied. “I’m going to The Lunar Eclipse do take notes on how they live!” Twilight replied. “To where?” Rainbow inquired. “You really should read a few books, you know…” She replied. “If you’re going to do research on it, then there probably any books about it…” Rainbow threw back. “Good point. It’s a place only Princess Luna knows the way to, and those who live there, for all we know so far is that they worship Princess Luna instead of Celestia.” “And… Uh, how will you go there then?” Fluttershy wondered. “My new friend Altamir offered me a chance!” “Oooh! Oooh! That sounds sooo exciting! Is it in the Everfree?” Pinkie pondered. “Riiight, and just where is this friend of yours?” Rainbow inquired. “Right here, Dash.” I replied. “And just how do you know my name? Are you a spy or something?” “Rainbow, the last time you asked that we became the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.” Applejack reminded her. I walked up to her and whispered to her ear. “I know everything Sarah did, including Brian… I can help you get him back…” She immediately became friendlier, no surprise, her father’s death was tragic… “I’ll keep my eyes on you…” She replied. “I can’t say otherwise, Sunlover.” That’s what we call the enemy in general… “Hey! I’m not making a difference between a the Sun or Moon! I serve both sisters all right!” She replied, trying to change subject from what I whispered. At this point we were basically pushing our foreheads against each other, I was careful though, not to make her half blind, when Applejack decided to intervene. “Hey now you two, this isn’t what ya came for friend, or is it?” She inquired. “Yeah! We don’t even know your name!” Rainbow played it well, we both knew she wants him back… “It’s Altamir, okay? Altamir De Marz…” I assured them. “Sounds like a Changeling to me…” “Rainbow… I have a feeling we won’t come along for a while…” I replied. “Hey now sugarcube, I bet the two of you can work it out later.” Applejack assured me. “I hope so.” I replied. “That’s the spirit, now, something you need for the travel, Twilight?” “Well Tamir promised to bring some cyder when he returns…” She replied. “Say no more, let’s see how much we got at home!” Applejack exclaimed, and we followed her to Sweet Apple Acres, where she led us to a barn. “Here we are! Home sweet home! Now, how much do you need?” “How much for a barrel?” I inquired. “About a 100 bits, but you can get one or 75.” She replied. “Deal.” I exclaimed, and levitated the amount into her hat. “Pleasure doing business with you.” Applejack replied. “Oh, I bet.” I said with a grin. “Right, now that you got the cyder, we’re ready to go, right?” Twilight inquired, still as excited. “I’ll lead the way…” I replied and lifted the barrel with my kinesis. “Get ready, it’s a long way ahead…” End of Chapter 2
Chapter 3: Twilight eclipsedWe left town, and reached the edge of the forest, when I stopped. “Why did we stop?” She inquired. “Before we go any further, I must ask you to keep the path a secret, and never, ever, ever, go there without me… Believe me, it’s for your own good, you may also want to ask me about doing anything once we’re there…” “Is it necessary?” “Twilight, half of the population died just days ago, they’re grieving, even I am, though not showing it… Just listen to me, okay?” She nodded in response, and we continued… Until a Timberwolf crossed our path. “Fuck…” I muttered. “What now? You’re a Mercenary, right? You can take care of it…” “I wish I could…” “What?!” “Only Blood mongers, Master Assassins, and Nobles are allowed to fight them…” I informed her. “What?” “Those are all the fifth ranks of the three branches…” “Where’s the problem?” “I’m only the fourth rank…” I whispered. “You have got to be kidding me!” She replied. “What do we do then?” “I drop the barrel, you catch it, and run… I’ll distract it…” “Are you crazy? It’s gonna eat you alive!” “What else do you have in mind?” “You’re right, let me know when you’re ready.” “Three… Two… One… CATCH!” I yelled, and threw the barrel over the beast, and whistled. “HEY FUCKER! THIS WAY!” I yelled, attracting it’s full attention while Twilight ran past it. The creature started to run towards me, when I slowly took out a smoke bomb and the dagger from my bag. When it lunged I threw the smoke bomb at it. After Altamir threw the barrel over the Timberwolf I ran past it and caught the barrel… When I looked back, the Timberwolf was staring right at him. “HEY FUCKER! THIS WAY!” He yelled, and the beast lunged at him… Suddenly they both disappeared in a body of smoke, I was worried about both him, and my research… “RUN!” I heard from the smoke, and that’s what I did… I ran as far as I could, before noticing a fortress like structure in the distance. It’s The Lunar Eclipse! I thought to myself, and stopped, unsure about how Altamir was doing… I stood there for a minute or two, before he suddenly teleported right next to me and started coughing, which made a lot of smoke and sawdust leave his mouth. *Cough* “Timberwolves these days, they have no chance against a smoke bomb and a dagger.” He exclaimed and took the barrel over while dusting himself off. “Wh- What happened?” I inquired, confused about the sawdust. “Don’t ask what you don’t want answers for.” He replied. “Oh, we’re very close… Come on, let’s go…” He exclaimed, and trotted away. Sure looks like Pinkie isn’t the only one, who’s not to be questioned… I followed up behind, and soon caught up with him, when we stopped again. “Why did we stop again?” I wondered. I remembered where the scouts were, so we stopped in time to be heard before passing by them… “Why did we stop again?” She asked. “Wait.” I whispered, then whistled. Two of my brethren walked out of the bushes on the sides. “Quae causa inducat te necesse fuit concipere?” The Assassin inquired. (What brings you this way? “The stellarum et lunae pertineret ne nos hic.”I replied. (The stars and the Moon lead us here.) “Sit bringer de tenebris vos gratiam.” The Soldier exclaimed next to him. (May the bringer of dusk favor you.) “Et quidnam hic agis?” Asked a third voice, a Mercenary from behind. (And what is SHE doing here?) “Illa mihi illa nostris incolumibus omnibus.” I replied, and they moved aside. (She’s with me, she’s on our side.) “Ite ergo, sed calcare opere haec est enim sanctificatur terram.” The Assassin exclaimed. (You may go then, but tread carefully, for this is hallowed land.) I nodded in response, and we walked on, as they returned to their cover. “What was that about?” She inquired. “They were the scouts.” I replied. “What did they say?” “They asked why we were here, and what were you doing here…” “Oh, are they always there?” “Not them individually, but yes.” “Isn’t only 3 of them a little few?” “They are tougher than they look, they were all of the sixth rank… There are only seven.” “Oh, isn’t that risky to send the elite to scout?” She wondered. “The population was around 800,000 before the attack, now there’s 400,000 of us, 80% of us trained in at least one branch.” I informed her. “Wait, you can train in multiple branches?” “It’s up to you to take on the challenge… The highest rank in each branch is Eclipsed… For example, Starlight is Eclipsed in both Assassin and Mercenary branches. Good thing she listens to good reasoning.” “Well, she must be really good then.” She replied. “No doubt, nopony ever even dared to fight her one on one… Let alone win against her, or live to tell the tale anyway.” I replied. “No wonder I’ll need to ask you about almost everything…” She wondered. “Oh, I forgot to tell you something.” “Hmm?” “Don’t expect anypony to bow down for you... In T.L.E, all is equal… The only one we bow down is the one you know already…” “Then why did you bow down in the quill store?” “Let me know when you do, because I sure don’t.” I replied, and we arrived. “Qui venit? Amico et inimico noli?” A Soldier asked on the other side of the gate. (Who comes there? Friend or foe?) “If we were your foes, we would’ve teleported through already, disckwad.” I replied. “Yep, it sure is the Altamir I knew… Come on in.” She replied, and soon the gates opened. “It’s been like… What? A day or two?” She inquired, and greeted me with a hoof bump. “Seems so, where’s Swift Steel? I got her the cyder, and a guest too…” I replied. “Tamir, don’t you know how Starlight goes about Visitors?” “She’s on our side, I’m sure…” I replied. “Your call… Remember the conditions, right?” “Yes- yes, I know… Her mistake, my death, I know... “ I assured her. “Wait! What!?” Twilight inquired. “I didn’t tell you because you really wanted to come… But it’s true… The slightest mistake or offense you make may result in my death, being the one taking you here in the first place.” I explained. “Right now Starry Shield is with the younger ones on the training grounds, I bet he’d be glad to see you back tho.” Salutem exclaimed. “Then that’s where we’re headed.” I replied and walked on, but she stopped Twilight for a second, and whispered something I couldn’t hear, so I slowed down to let her catch up. “Ready?” “I hope so.” “I’ll introduce you to Starry Shield, Starlight’s elder brother, and my trainer as a Mercenary, he too is of the Eclipsed rank.” She nodded in response, and we walked on, until we got to a certain house, one, which brought back bad memories… I couldn’t help but stop. “Could I… Have a second?” I asked. “Of course.” She replied, and I walked in… Even tho he was dead, I could clearly feel Cold Blood’s presence in the room, in the room, in the house, which he had died under... I took a deep breath, and left. “Okay, I’m done…” I informed her and we moved on… “Uhm… Altamir?” “Yes?” “That house…” “What of it?” “Was that where he…” “Yes.” I replied briefly with a dull tone. We heard the clanking of swords, so we knew we were close, until I heard a familiar voice. “Carefully kid! It’s just practice! Don’t kill the opponent!” Yes, it was him… We turned about on the corner and looked at them, he immediately noticed us and told the recruits to disperse, the training being over for the day. “Let’s hope my eyes aren’t deceiving me… You really are back, aren’t you, kid?” He asked with a grin. “Sure am… And brought a visitor… She’s Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, and the Element of Magic…” I replied. He looked at her and greeted her with a nod. “Well met, Princess… I hope Altamir told you about what treatment you can expect from us.” “Yes sir, he did… He told me what he was needed to.” She replied. “May I ask what would bring you to a place like this?” He asked from her. “Oh, I’m here to do some research about your community… As much as you’re willing to share anyway…” “Well then, why do you need it?” “Ponies in Equestria mostly know nothing about the history of this place… Or even about it’s existence… With my research, the youth would know about the well dedicated, loyal, and fierce fighters of the Everfree forest, serving under Princess Luna herself… Finally all of Equestria would know of the significant part you all played in history…” “Hmm… You’re a fancy speaker for sure, I bet Starlight herself would approve too…” He replied. “Oh, and son.” He called to me. “Hmm?” “Good job sending Zecora our way…” “Did what I saw best.” I replied. “And you did well, I admit… Perhaps you have more than what it takes…” I nodded with a grin, and we left to find Swift Steel. “Where now?” Twilight inquired. “We’ll find Swift Steel, Starlight’s younger sister, and pass the barrel to her…” I replied, and we went on, and met Zecora. “Altamir and Twilight, seeing you both, is a pleasant sight.” She greeted us. “Good to see you again, listen, I gotta go, and give this to Swift Steel.” I replied. “That barrel is heavy I assume, will I get to see you soon?” “Sure you will.” I said with a grin, and trotted on, soon finding her room. *Knock* *Knock* *Knock* “Who’s there?” “The douchenozzle with the cyder…” I replied, and the door opened. “Seems like we’ll be having fun under Luna’s brilliance tonight…” She exclaimed. “Yeah, actually, I brought a visitor too…” “You know how the rules go about those, but if my sis approves, she can join us tonight… At least I wouldn’t mind meeting a few ponies… Sadly, I almost know literally everypony here… Something new would be nice anyway…” “Yeah, truth be told, that’s partially why I wanted to leave for a while too.” I replied. “So, when and where tonight?” “You’ll know.” “Good, I left our visitor to talk with Zecora, turns out they’re friends to begin with…” “See you tonight then.” She replied, and I left with a nod, and returned to the mares downstairs. “Hey Zecora… Uhm… Where’s Twilight?” I asked with a nervous tone. “Hello Altamir, I wanted to talk to you… About Twilight, she told me she has research to do…” “Son of a… I knew I shouldn’t leave her alone… Listen, I have to find her, can you wait until tomorrow?” She replied with a nod and a grin, and I left. I ran through the whole place twice, while thinking where she could be… Then I realized. THE LIBRARY! If I was right, she was in danger, being caught among confidential informations alone… When I got there, I saw her just trot it casually, while two of the guards, who were hiding, were about to follow her. *Whistle* “Prohibere! Illa loquebatur mecum!” (Stop! She’s with me!) I yelled, attracting enough attention. They stopped, and I walked up to them. “Cautiores esse postero tempore Lapidus. Nosti quid faciemus transgressoribus” (Be more careful next time, Altamir. You know what we do to trespassers.) One of them replied. While she did so, Twilight came up to us. “There you are!” “Yeah, and I just saved you, by the way…” I threw back a little stressed. “What do you mean?” “These two almost killed you for trespassing, since I wasn’t with you…” I informed her while the other two nodded. “I’m sorry, I should’ve waited… But I’m so excited!” She replied. “Too bad… As a guest, you have no entrance to the library what so ever…” “Oh… Then how am I going to do it?!” “I’m not sure, but you can hear the word of mouth… That is, if Starlight approves of your presence.” “And, when will we talk to her?” “That’s where I was about to take you, but since It took me a while to find you, I’ll show you to your room…” I replied. “Didn’t you say…” “I said MOVE IT…” I threw back. “Okay.” She replied and did as I requested, feeling guilty about getting me into some trouble. We got to my room with a bed in it, I opened the door, and we walked in. “Is this adequate enough? Princess?” I asked with a grin… She returned it with a nod. “Make yourself at home… For tonight at least… It’s actually my room, but we don’t have guest rooms… And…” “Thanks, but… Where will YOU be sleeping then?” “Haven’t you seen the Shadow and Bat ponies around? Those guys don’t need much sleep, actually, Shadow ponies need none to begin with…” “That’s interesting… But… You don’t look like one.” “Oh Twilight, name one thing that can’t be learned…” “Uhm, flight?” She replied. “To a Unicorn…” I added. *Sigh* “Put your bags down, and sit, we need to talk…” I continued. She did so on the floor on her haunches, I sat down in front of her while closing the door behind. “Yes?” She wondered. “Swift Steel told me she’s planning some Fun for tonight… I told her about a Visitor, and she said she’d love to meet it… I’m sure you want to meet her too, right?” She nodded in response. “Please, respond verbally.” “Okay, and yes.” “I’m not sure why she wants it, perhaps it’s a welcoming to you or Zecora, or just to remember those who didn’t get to wake up today… Anyway, as you could’ve guess, Starlight and Starry Shield will be there too, and Zecora as well… Do you know what that means?” “Maybe, but I’m not sure.” “That means you get to make an impression on them… Because if Swift Steel allows you to be there tonight, Starlight won’t disagree with her sister… And if you make a good impression, that means you can…” “Do my research… I get it.” “After this one mistake, I’m not sure if I SHOULD take you there, however…” “I already apologized.” She exclaimed. “That’s one thing, Twilight… Those guards will remember… They will remember me carelessly letting an outsider roam around freely in here! It’s like you letting somepony, anypony, roam freely in the Canterlot castle!” “Is it that bad?” “Twilight… If I were late, they would’ve killed you before you could read anything. And if you would’ve read a word, we both would’ve been killed.” “Gosh, why?” “Because it would’ve been MY mistake, which lead to our knowledge being leaked.” I replied. “I want to help you with the research, but you must ALWAYS be by my side, as long as you are among these walls…” “I’ll do my best.” “Good, now… Get some rest, Swift Steel will visit when we can go.” I exclaimed. “I’ll be outside, should you need me or wish to talk.” I added, and she lied down to rest. End of Chapter 3
Chapter 4: Altamir 1.2I have no idea how much I could’ve slept, but when I woke up, it felt like every morning. “Rise and shine Princess, I was about to wake you…” Altamir exclaimed, startling me from the side. “Do you enjoy watching ponies sleep?” I asked. “It’s my room, I’m welcome to it at all times.” He replied, and he was right. “Ready to go? Had a good rest?” “Good to go.” I replied and got out of bed. “Lead the way.” I exclaimed. “Remember what we agreed on.” He replied and started off. We left his house, and entered the dimly lit streets. “Why is it so dark?” “Let your eyes adjust.” He replied. “Okay.” He was right once again, a few seconds later things were brighter, and soon we saw the light of a campfire nearby. “There they are.” He muttered, and we approached them. “Altamir! Twilight! Come on closer! I feared you have forgot already!” Starry Shield greeted us. “Well, you know I stay true to my words…” Altamir replied as we walked closer. “I see you brought the visitor too, afterall…” Starlight replied. “As far as I knew, she was allowed…” He replied, trying to protect me. “With all respect, if I’m not welcome, I can leave anytime…” I exclaimed. “For now, you will be allowed stay and visit, but don’t expect us to share anything with you… Our food perhaps, but not knowledge…” She replied. “Starlight! Come on! You know what she came for!” Altamir replied. “Fine… If you want us to share our knowledge, you must earn it… If you can prove yourself worthy of it, or useful enough for us…” She replied. “I’m sorry Twilight, that’s all I can do for you… She has a good point, you know.” Altamir whispered to me. “It’s all right, really, I’m glad I can stay to begin with…” I assured them. “Twilight.” Starlight exclaimed. “Yes?” I replied. “Please, walk with me, we have to talk.” I nodded in response, and she walked up to me. “Wait, you’ll be back soon, right?” Swift Steel wondered. “Hopefully.” Replied the mare next to me, and we walked off… I was in a little panicked, since Altamir wasn’t with us, so I trotted along, responding briefly. “Twilight Sparkle, is it?” “Yes.” “Princess of friendship, and element of magic…” “Yes.” “And prized student of…” She swallowed, and her tone changed. “Princess Celestia…” She said her with so much venom, I swear she could have poisoned me if she wanted to. I knew that fact right there was a minus point, and prepared for harsh treatment. “Yes.” I replied. “Why are you here, once again?” “Well, Altamir offered me a chance to do some research about this place and it’s history.” “Did you expect this place to be empty? In ruins?” “I wasn’t sure what to expect.” “How much do you know so far?” “The way here, and that you exist… Also the fact that you serve Princess Luna.” “Very well… How about our history?” “Way back when, before the Nightmare Moon incident, Altair came to you for help, and you, united with the royal sisters, and the Changelings, defeated King Sombra…” “So you know about him… Well… Why do you care so much?” She had me right there… I couldn’t just say curiosity, yet, that was the truth… “Because I wanted to prove to those in Canterlot that it wasn’t all Celestia who did the hard work.” I replied. “Well then… Have you noticed our Verba arbitrium?” (Words of choice.) “Your… What?” “Good, then it still fulfills it’s purpose…” She muttered. “Now, be honest… Have you tried to get information from Altamir?” “Not really.” “It would’ve been a vain effort anyway… He only knows as much as he learnt from my brother, under a month, about fighting as a Mercenary… Do you know how old he is?” “Your brother, or Altamir?” “Altamir.” “He told me he’s 20 years.” “Barely, if I say 6 months, I exaggerate...” “He told me about the spells.” “Then know what to expect from him… Truth be told, he has a heart of gold, yet… He’s still so young, and perhaps, just as naive...” “On our way here he handled the Timberwolf very well…” I replied. “If only I knew what the sawdust was.” I muttered. “Say again… What do you mean handled it well?” “He threw the barrel over it’s head, and told me to run… I did, and he caught up by telep-” “Shhh.” She replied, and her ears perked up. “What?” I whispered. “Listen.” She replied, and we heard howling in the distance. “Timberwolves… Are we safe here?” I asked. “Follow me…” She replied, and started making her way upwards to the sky. Levitation spell… Clever. I thought to myself, and took flight after her. We didn’t go far above, when we stopped. “What do I need to see?” She pointed a hoof downwards, at the path we had followed on our way here, it was bright. “Just as I thought… You were followed…” She repled, and began to fall full speed back down… I dropped just as fast, and we both landed safely. “I-” Had no time say a word, before having a blade shoved against my throat. “Research my flank… You let the Humans get here… Do you know what this means?” “No… You don’t understand…” I replied. “Ugh! You idiot! Now whatever we do, we’ll be discovered! So far only we, and Luna knew where we are, and that we exist!” “What do you mean?” “If we let them in, they will tell their precious Commander. If we kill them, they’ll just dispatch another team to investigate!” “You’re Assassins and Mercenaries… You can handle a few Humans...” “Just because we could kill them, it doesn’t mean we must… Twilight, they are guards from Ponyville, they did nothing bad… We can’t just kill them until they run out!” “I know.. But we made sure we weren’t followed! I swear!” Meanwhile, at the campfire... “All right, that’s it… I’ll go find them… What could take so long anyway?” I told the others. “Starlight won’t be pleased…” Swift Steel warned me. “Fuck that then, Twilight has no idea what she could, should, or must say…” I replied, and began galloping around, until I realized the obvious: I knew I should’ve went with them. “Starlight, would you mind telling me what the fuck you’re doing?” “Do you know who you’re talking to?” She replied. “The only thing I care about is what the fuck you’re doing.” I threw back. “I should’ve known… I knew we shouldn’t have let you stay that day…” “What are you talking about?” “The Humans are after us, they followed you!” She answered. “Uh, you mean the 10 Changelings at the gates?” I replied. “What?” “I came past them… They said they needed a disguise, so the Ponyville guards won’t bother them…” She immediately sheathed the blade, and apologized to Twilight.... When she was done, we went to the gates to see our newer visitors, Salutem still there, standing guard. “Here you are… What of them?” She wondered. “Changelings… What are you doing here?” Starlight inquired. “Ah… The light of stars… I, am General Thorn Wings… Mother wishes to see if you’re well… She… Heard… Of what happened.” Their leader replied. “So?” Salutem inquired. “Altamir… Please write what I’m going to say…” She replied, and he summoned a quill and a sheet of paper. “Regina Chrysalis, lunaris eclipsis est super communicatione vestra cura. Sed vereor ne tibi videndum ... Expectamus responsuros et sequentibus diebus adventu ... O si missurus existimabatur Ignavum fucos pecus vel milites, ne quid exspectet remittunt. Cognoscere volumus, si solus ad ostendendum quod habuisti fiduciam nobis.” “Anything else?” “That’s all… Altamir, Twilight, you have a task…” “Hmm?” We replied. “Go back to the hive with these ones, and deliver the message…” “WHAT?!” Twilight inquired. “Yes?” Starlight wondered “You want me to go there!?” She asked.. “Do you want that research, or not?” “Fine…” She muttered. “Can we go now?” I inquired, having returned from my house with our bags while they talked. “Ah, the lavender Princess herself… Believe this one… We do not like the company of… Yours either…” The General replied. “Says the one leeching on others…” Twilight replied. “HEY!” I yelled. “We’re not here to watch you argue… Salutem, open the gates, and let us go…” I exclaimed, and we left, before things got out of control. We wandered through the Everfree, and met with the scouts. “Lapidus ubi illae venis et quo vadis ad eum?.” The Soldier inquired. (Altamir, where did those come from, and where are you going with them?) “Simplex, diplomacy.” I replied. (Simple, diplomacy.) “Bene ergo …” (Well then…) He replied, and allowed us pass, and soon we reached the edge of town, so we stopped. “Is there a problem?” The General inquired. “You can go ahead, we’ll catch up…” “Ah, this one is worried… Will the Princess and Mercenary know the way?” He replied. “Yes, we will, when you arrive, tell your Queen we’ll be there in a day or two.” I informed him. “As the Mercenary’s kind would say… May the stars guide you…” He exclaimed before leaving with his kind. “Altamir, are you sure you know the way?” Twilight wondered. “Weren’t you the one complaining about their presence?” “Well, yes, but…” “Do you have anything against us staying at your castle for tonight? Tomorrow we’ll move on.” “No, of course not.” She replied. We were on our way there, when we were stopped by a guard patrol. “Hold it there…” One of them exclaimed. “Yes?” Twilight inquired. “Princess, may I ask why are you still out this late?” The guard asked. “I’ve been at a friend’s house, why?” “I see… And… Is he with you?” “Should he not be?” She threw back, doing her best to make him uncomfortable. “Well… He could be…” “You mean I don’t know how to look out for myself?” “Well, I…” “Just who are you to question royalty? How dare you to begin with? Who’s your commanding officer?! You know what? I don’t care! Get out of my sight! All of you!” She replied, and they got out of there faster than I could keep track of them… “Good going.” I commended her. “Geez, I usually don’t do anything like this…” She replied, and we moved on. Eventually we got there, and quietly entered, trying not to wake the other 5 mares, and the dragon inside… “This way.” She whispered, and took me to her room. “Wait, there’s only one bed.” I noted. “Well, you welcomed me to your room, it’s only right of me to return the favor.” “Not happening… Not as long as I’m here… I can go for a week without rest…” “Don’t be ridiculous, you need rest as well…” “Twilight, look… It’s kind of you to offer, I’m grateful as well, but no, you just go on and sleep… The floor will do for me.” “Fine, but promise you’ll get some rest too, okay?” “Sure will.” I replied, and we went to sleep… As usual, I muttered my own before doing it… The morning which followed changed my life… Forever… During the night, I dreamt of nothing, but a blank, black void… Nopony or nobody else, but I alone… Only 5 minutes before I woke up, did I see Luna herself...And even then, the only thing that happened was simple… She looked at me and spoke. “I’m sorry, but it has to be this way… I wish I could’ve stopped him.” I woke up on the cold, crystal looking floor on which I went to sleep all right, but also in a world of pain… I could feel every bone and muscle in my body shifting places and turning… Before I would wake anyone with my screams of agony, I cast a silencing spell on myself… When it stopped I stood up and looked at the floor, perfectly reflecting me. No… This can’t be… Why me of all?! Why must I endure such? My worst fear and nightmare came true… I became something, which’s existence I despised the most… I was one of those filthy Humans… I heard gently knocking on the door, so I answered it… “Are you allright?” Luna inquired while calling me outside with a gesture. “W- Wha- Your highness? What are you doing here?” I wondered. “I’m here to ease your situation as much as I can… Is the pain over?” I nodded in response. “Glad to hear… I wish I could say I’m going to transform you back, but I can’t… I know what I’m going to say will hurt, however… For the benefit of Equestria, I must agree with Discord… It is for the best if you remain what you are now…” “But… You said you’re here to help…” I replied, somewhat depressed. “Yes… As you can see… Humans need to wear clothing at all times, unlike Ponies…” She pointed a hoof at my lower body while looking away. “Oh… Ow… Shit…” “Let’s get that fixed, shall we?” With a flash of magic, I was wearing brown steel capped boots, blue pants, the materials of which I have no idea about, a shirt, a trenchcoat, and a baseball cap. “If you don’t like the colors, Rarity would help… Oh, and also...” Out of nowhere, there was a scarf looking piece of fabric around my neck. “You have my gratitude… But, what is around my neck?” She used her telekinesis to tighten it in the back, and put it onto my face, covering it while allowing me to still see. “And to what end do I need it?” “Once, Humans served only my sister and I… But now, their General is independent from us… In fact, these soldiers were recalled just an hour ago, and tomorrow, the replacement will arrive… And believe me when I tell you, I know that it is unavoidable for you to have conflicts with them…” “And you gave this to me so they won’t recognize me… I see…” “Do you understand now?” “I will do what I must… In order to restore balance and peace...” I replied. “Before you would wonder, Twilight, the other Elements, and your friends at T.L.E already know of your… Change…” “You have my gratitude once again… I will never be able to repay this…” “You will… By doing what you must, you will make my efforts be rewarded…” “May I ask something?” “Of course.” “What about my saddlebag? It’s too small for me now…” “Oh, right… I nearly forgot.” She used her magic once more… “I used this spell on John’s bag the last time… It served them well…” “Which one?” “John’s bag was every soldier’s dream… No matter what he desired, he could’ve just reached into the bag, and withdraw the desired item, no matter of it’s size, or ever being placed inside or not…” “And how does that help me?” “Same thing goes for your sleeves, if you focus enough, the desired item will fall into your hands from the sleeves… Go ahead, try it!” I tried to scavenge around Sarah’s memories, and found a pistol to try… A second later it fell out of my right sleeve, into my hand. “A Colt 1911, small clip size, but good from a medium range…” I muttered. “I knew you could do it… Now try to make it disappear by throwing it away and imagining your hands empty.” I threw the pistol as far as I could, and thought of my empty hands, and I watched as the pistol evaporated into nothing but thin air. “Excellent! Remember: Things only disappear if you want them to, if you just throw them away, others may simply pick them up to use against you… Now that you know everything, I must go.” “Thank you once again for everything…” I replied before she left, and I returned to the room. I sat down with my back against Twilight’s bed, and produced a knife, and simply had in sitting in my hand until I would need it… I’m not going to lie, I actually fell asleep again, so it was up to Twilight to wake me… When I woke up, I heard snoring from ahead the bed… It was Altamir, just like Luna said… “Altamir?” “Hnngnngmm…” *Snoring* “Altamir!” “Uhhhmmmngnmm” *Snore* “Wake up already!” I yelled, no effect… Perhaps Pinkie could help… [Five Minutes Later.] “Okay Twilight, tell me when…” Pinkie whispered. “This will surely work…” I muttered. End of Chapter 4
Chapter 5: C.I.H“This won’t be fun tho, you know that, right?” She wondered. “Now!” I replied, and she fired the Party Cannon… Altamir, as expected, jumped, and threw the knife by reflex… It ended up stuck in one of the furnitures without hurting anypony… “Geez, don’t startle me like that…” He exclaimed. “We didn’t mean to, but Twilight said there was no way you would wake up!” Pinkie replied. “Thanks Pinkie… That was all I needed…” I informed her right after. “Up to you Twilight, but I’m not going to clean all this confetti up for sure!” She replied while pushing the Party Cannon out of the room. “Well, if anything, Rarity certainly won’t leave all of it just lying around…” Altamir replied. “Leave what, my dear?” Inquired said mare. “Altamir… I think it’s best we leave right now…” I suggested. “Uh, good idea…” He replied, and we got out of there before things went down… We were walking down the streets, when I stopped to think. “Altamir?” “Yes?” “Are you sure know the way?” “Yes… Why?” “Just made sure…” We walked on for a while, when we saw some commotion going on, crowd gathering in a circle, didn’t look like it will end well… As we approached the ponies allowed us pass, because of my authority and Altamir being a Human… “Wait… Who is that? That’s not a guard!” I exclaimed louder than intended. “Yes, it is… Didn’t Luna tell you about that too?” He inquired. “Come on! Pay up already!” The said guard exclaimed, holding a sword at a stallion on the ground. “I already paid the taxes this month!” He replied. “Not to me! Pay or die!” He replied while putting his sword away, and producing a much primitive looking firearm… “Go ahead… Kill me… And you’re soon to follow…” The stallion replied, unable to do anything because of his wounds… “We will see…” The guard replied while taking aim. He put his finger onto the trigger and prepared. “Say goodbye…” I had no idea what to do, nowadays Human soldiers or guards simply deny our authorities… There was nothing I could do… I looked away, when we heard a filly yell. “Daad!” *Bang* I looked back, expecting to see a mourning foal, but instead saw Altamir, who took the bullet into his left shoulder instead, with a piece of fabric covering half his face.. “Valiant effort…” The guard exclaimed. “Bet your ass it was…” He replied, and shoved him back. “Very well then, you’ll die too.” The guard exclaimed, and swung his sword at Altamir… He hit the guard’s lower arm with his to block the attack. “Don’t you wish.” He replied, and grabbed the guard’s sword at the hilt, ducked, and got behind him, ripping it out of his hands. “Now what? Tough guy…” “I can make you kaputt!” (Broken) He replied, and produced another pistol. “Just how many of those do you have?!” Altamir inquired, rather tired of it, and swung his sword at him, trying to break his focus… He ended up swinging so hard, the the guard parried it with his pistol, but the blade was stuck in it, and both weapons became unusable. “Hand to hand then, come on, show your wo-” *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* “Hand my ass, I’m tired of your shit already…” Altamir replied after shooting him in the chest three times with a pistol he withdrew from somewhere. *Cough* “Cowa-” *Bang* *Bang* “Die already!” He yelled after shooting him in the forehead twice, and put the pistol away. “Tough son of a bitch.” He muttered, and made his way to the stallion. “Are you all right?” “Thank you my friend, I’m gonna live, surely… But it wouldn’t be this way if you didn’t act…” He replied. Altamir crouched down and literally tore the bullet out of his own arm, and healed it with his right one, then, so did he heal the stallion. “Try to avoid them in the future...I’ll do my best to keep them away.” He exclaimed. “Thank you my friend, you saved my life today… I will not forget this…” “It was what I had to, now go, your daughter is worried…” “And I shall…” The stallion replied, and the crowd cheered, but not for long. *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* “Enough!” Altamir yelled, and the crowd gasped. “You would’ve just sat there and rather watched him die instead! I refuse to be applauded by such lazy ponies!” Unfortunately, the crowd was not the only to hear him… So did another one of those guards… “You’ll die he-” *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* “Now go and behave yourselves!” He continued, and the crowd dispersed while he got back to me. “Holy… Altamir! That was impressive! Where did you learn that?” I wondered. “From Sarah, we should go to the train station…” He replied. “Why? Why would we need to be there?” “We’re going to the Crystal Imperial Hive, Twilight…” “Wait, what?!” “After Chrysalis left Celestia’s school as a teacher, she returned to her original form and made a deal with your brother and Cadence.” “H- How do you know that?” “Luna nobis providet.” He replied (The moon provides for us.) “If you say so…” I replied and followed behind. I get Celestia as my mentor and I become a princess after years… He chooses Luna and gets all that after a month or two? Unfair… So unfair… My arm was still burning from that bullet, but it was down on an acceptable level… “Twilight, are you coming?” I wondered, seeing as she was a bit behind… Eventually she caught up, and before we entered we stopped again. “Look, if you don’t want to come, you can stay here…” I exclaimed. “No, I’m coming with you… I haven’t seen my brother in a while anyways.” She replied. “Up to you then.” I muttered, and we got our tickets… For free actually, it was her royalty bonus, and I was her guest, so it was a neat surprise. We got on the train, and it soon departed… During the train ride Twilight and I talked about many things, so many things… When we got close to the C.I.H, the train stopped, and Changeling guards, shaped like Humans with spears and swords got on the train as an examination. When they got to our cart they stopped, their hands on their swords. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, am I correct?” One of them inquired. “Yes.” She replied. “Welcome to the Crystal Imperial Hive… Allow me to lead you to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Prince Shining Armor, and Queen Chrysalis…” The other continued. “That would be nice, thank you.” She exclaimed while standing up from her seat. I did the same, and had a sword pointed at my throat. “Leave him be, he’s a friend of mine.” “Humans are not welcome…” “Have you looked at yourself through a mirror at least once? You dipshit.” He grabbed me by the throat and forced me against the wall. “I’ll keep my eye on you… Act weird in the slightest, and we shall have your head.” He tried to threaten me. “Twilight, would you tell him what happened to the last person who threatened me?” I inquired, not willing to make a scene like I did in Ponyville. The two looked at her in response, waiting for her answer. “Believe me when I say it, it did not end well for them.”She exclaimed, and he let me go. “Threaten me once again, and I myself will drive your kind extinct… Do you understand me?” I threatened him in response. He stood out of my way and allowed me to leave. “I knew we can make an agreement…” I taunted him as I passed by, and we followed the other guard. It didn’t take long until we saw the huge buildings, made of pure crystal… We walked up to the entrance of the Crystal Palace, and the guard stopped. “From here, you know the way, right?” We nodded in response, and thanked him before he went back to his duties. “Twilight, if you want to, you can go, be with your brother while I deliver the message..” “Oh, we’ll have plenty of time here… I’ll go with you still.” She assured me. “Do you still have it?” I inquired. “Well… No… I left it on my drawer…” “Good thing I remember it word by word…” I replied, and we made our way to the throne room, where both Changeling and Crystal Pony guards stopped us for a second. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, under what name can I introduce your friend?” One of them wondered. “He’s Altamir, Altamir De Marz…” She replied, and the guard opened the door to let us in. “Your majesties… Allow me to announce the arrival of Princess Twilight Sparkle, and her friend, Altamir De Marz…” The guard exclaimed, attracting the attention of the present royalty, then left. “Hey there lil’ sis! What brought you here?” The Prince inquired. “I’m merely here to accompany my friend here… We came to deliver a message to Queen Chrysalis…” As soon as Twilight said her name, the Changeling Queen’s ears perked up and got out of her throne, and made her way toward us, disguising herself as a Human while doing so. “Very well then, I believe you must be from… There…” She replied, while holding out a hand towards me for a handshake. We shook hands, I nodded while doing so. “Well then, where is it?” I tapped my head with my index finger in response. “Right here.” “Let me wait no further…” She replied. “Regina Chrysalis, lunaris eclipsis est super communicatione vestra cura. Sed vereor ne tibi videndum ... Expectamus responsuros et sequentibus diebus adventu ... O si missurus existimabatur Ignavum fucos pecus vel milites, ne quid exspectet remittunt. Cognoscere volumus, si solus ad ostendendum quod habuisti fiduciam nobis.” (Queen Chrysalis, The Lunar Eclipse is thankful for your concern… We expect your arrival in the days to follow, so you can see with your own eyes… Oh, and should you send more troops our way, we advise you not to expect their return… Should you come to us yourself, we would highly evaluate if you would come alone, as it would be a display of trust to us…) “Ah… I see… I’m glad you’re even responding to me, given my history with the sisters themselves…” She replied, and put one of her hands onto my shoulders. “Sincere condolences for your friend, Altamir… Tell me, is there a way I could help your search? If so, let me know any time...” “Thank you… I was thinking of one thing…” I replied. “Yes?” “Could we discuss it in private?” “If the others excuse us, yes…” “It’s okay Altamir, we have a lot to talk about with my B.B.B.F.F here…” Twilight exclaimed, so we left. Altamir and I left the other behind, and headed for a more secluded area… This weakling won’t last long… I thought to myself, when he broke the silence. “So… Queen Chrysalis?” “Yes?” “You knew Altair and John, right?” “Yes… But how do you know that?” I wondered. “When I was small, Sarah gave me all of her memories through a spell she developed… Most of them still make little, if near no sense to me however…” He replied. So he knew her? “Ah… May I ask your mother’s name?” “Moonlight Comet.” He replied. No way! That’s the researcher I saw Altair with when I tried to take his place! That happened hundreds of years ago! “I see… How is her health serving nowadays?” I inquired. “She died when I was born…” “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” “Of course you didn’t, you weren’t meant to…” He replied. “So, what did you wish to talk about? Now that we’re here…” “If my information is correct, you turned Altair into a half Changeling half Human creature.” “I do not like where this is going…” I warned him. “Could you do the same to me?” “What do you mean exactly?” “Shapeshifting, magic, regeneration…” He replied. “If that is all you desire, then I must warn you beforehand… Even Altair himself barely survived his transformation…” I lied, of course, but it was in his favor.... “Altair or not, do it…” He replied, determined as Altair was way back when. “All it will take is a bite… I can, however, not guarantee your survival.” “I’m ready.” He replied. I took my original form and prepared my teeth. “You have been warned… Good luck…” I replied, and sunk my teeth deep into his flesh… His left arm to be exact… It tasted terrible, and it was not the way I did it to Altair, but in the end, the result was similar. He rolled around in the ground in pain, while I tried to ease his suffering with my magic… At last, the pain disappeared, and he stood up, grasping his lower arm tightly, as his veins and nerves turned green under his skin, and slowly began to spread to the rest of his body. “Chrysalis? What’s happening to me?” He inquired… His tone sounded scared, however. “Congratulations, Altamir… From now, you’re one with the hive… From now, you, I, and other Changelings can commune without verbal expressions, no matter how far we are…” I informed him. End of Chapter 5
PrologueSoon after I was born and named, my mother passed away to birth complications… The commanding officer, who conducted my birth, took me in, and raised me for a while… She taught me to write and read, helped me learn to control my magic, and several spells, which’s purpose I haven’t understood yet… I can’t remember much from back then, but I’m sure she used an aging spell on me to grow a few years, for which, I don’t blame her… I wouldn’t make even half a good father as good a stepmother she was… When I was about a month or two old, chronologically speaking, that is, I was playing in my room, or reading a book, I’m not sure anymore… What I DO know, is that I was with Ezio, when we started hearing crashing and gunfire… I still don’t know why Humans need those… And Sarah rushed into the room. “Ezio! Here’s a map, take him there right now!” She exclaimed while giving him a piece of paper, then came over to me and knelt down to eye level, and put her hand onto my forehead, right under my horn… Oh, Celestia the headache that followed… Suddenly I felt like I lived at least a century, tho I was only a few years old… I remembered things, which happened before my birth… Memories stormed my mind… Memories, of a man in white robes named Altaïr, and those of another, called John… And many, many more things… “Sarah! What’s happening out there?” Ezio inquired… “The Griffons, Ezio… Please, do as I asked you… You must get him to safety…” She replied. “Bene (Fine) I’ll hurry back, and do what I can…” She only nodded in response, when a soldier opened the door. “Commander!” *Cough* “We need to evacuate!” He yelled… She bolted off toward the exit along with the soldier, while Ezio followed close behind, with me in his arms… Right as we left the building it collapsed, and we saw the massive army of Griffons, most being mowed down by the machineguns… “Ezio! Go!” “What about you?! You won’t stand a chance!” “I must stay, you know when duty calls…” She replied, and loaded her rifle. I looked at Ezio, who seemed to completely understand what she meant… He turned around, and ran as fast as he could… At his age, I would not have expected him to be as fast as he was… Meanwhile, back in town… “Come on guys! Show them where they belong!” I yelled, trying to encourage the remaining troops, when Darkwing and Quietblade finally returned, and joined us. “Sarah! What the fuck! These assholes again?” Quietblade inquired. “Moron! Aren’t you one of them?” Darkwing replied while impaling one. “Not the point! Come on!” He exclaimed while slitting 2 throats, followed by a headshot. “What do they want?” “I don’t know! They came out of nowhere!” I informed them… When the remaining Griffons seemed to retreat… “What the?” One of the troops wondered. “Give them hell boys! Keep shooting!” I ordered them… Moments after pure abominations rushed at us, killing most of the troops, some stomped, some eaten, some crushed, or torn in half, if they were lucky, a stray bullet hit them from behind… We did our best to push them back, while the Elements of Harmony did their best to help… Luna, Celestia, where the fuck are you when we need you!? I thought to myself, only to hear dad respond. I wish I knew… Celestia should know about the attack by now… Suddenly, the abominations stopped, or dropped dead… And the King himself stepped forward… “Commander… Can we agree, that this was an unnecessary bloodshed?” I spat him in the face, knowing the guys didn’t sign up for dying to entertain him…”You piece of shit… Do you have absolutely no remorse for the lives you wasted?!” I replied. He slowly swept the generous amount off his face, and held one of his claws into the air. “I tried to avoid this…” He exclaimed, before clenching his claw into a fist… *Bang* *Bang* *Splat* *Grunt* Out of nowhere, two bullets hit Darkwing and Quietblade in their chest, dropping them to the ground… “You sick fuck! Fire!” The rest of the troops started shooting at them until they could, and only the King was left, when the last bullet was about to hit him, an aura protected him. What the… Oh… It’s him… “Well well well, looks like your life long friends… Or… Should I say pets? Finally won’t cause me more trouble… Would you not agree, Sombra?” He inquired, and King Sombra slowly materialized next to him, and summoned a tendril, which grabbed me, and pulled me close to them… “Yes… Quite a shame they won’t see the end…” He exclaimed… I reached for my pocket and replied with a chuckle. “Huh… You only think… Girls! Run!” I yelled, trying to get them to safety… They knew my nature, and without a question did so... *Click* While they were having a struggle, Ezio and I entered the forest… As soon as we entered the well known, and dreaded Everfree Forest, we heard an explosion… A huge one… We turned around to look, and saw a giant cloud of dust and smoke where the base was just moments ago… “Requiescat in Pacem” Ezio muttered, and we continued on, back then, I didn’t understand why things happened, but when I realized what the explosion was, caused me to cry from emotions for the first time in my life… When it was time for the Moon to rise, and Sun to hide, Princess Luna visited our camp. “Ezio…” “Princess Luna? What brings you here, into the middle of nowhere?” “We heard what happened a few hours ago… I know Sarah and you were close friends too…” “And where have you been when it happened?!” “What do you mean?” “Isn’t your sister meant to see everything under the Sun?” “Yes, but.” “Then why didn’t you act? Did you not see those unfortunate souls fighting for the town’s freedom?” “We didn’t know about it, she didn’t see anything either…” “Oh?” “Where are you heading now?” “She asked me to take him here…” He replied while pointing at the map. “Oh, that place could be your end, if I’m not with you when you arrive…” “Cazzo (Fuck) I assume you will accompany us then?” “Indeed, but only in the morning will we go on…” As a foal, I myself simply didn’t know what to do in the presence of royalty, so I pretended to sleep… In vain I must add… She looked down at me… “Valiant effort, my friend, but I know you’re not sleeping…” She exclaimed, I pretended to snore just to make sure… “Just give up, I know you’re awake… What’s your name?” That’s where the trouble was… I was taught to read and write, but never to talk… And with the aging spell, I was 3 years old, unable to say a single word… “You know, Sarah used an aging spell on him, so he got older, and taught him to read and write…” Ezio tried to explain. “But not to talk… I see…” She replied… Soon her horn began glowing, and put it to mine… “How about now? What is your name?” “Altamir De Marz, your highness.” I replied, those being my first words… “Well met, Altamir… Where you’re going, you will be safe but… Not so happy… What I can guarantee, is that you will be hearing my name very often, but that won’t make such a brave foal as you angry at me, right?” She asked with a grin. “No!” I replied… She only chuckled in response. “Well, we should sleep then… Tomorrow is a long road ahead…” And we did just that… The next morning we moved on, deeper into the seemingly endless forest… Until we saw a fortress… “It feels like a thousand years since I last set hoof here…” “Is that not the truth?” Ezio inquired, thinking about her banishment. “Let’s just move on…” She replied, and we entered… “Open the gates!” A guard yelled, and soon the massive piece of metal moved, to let us pass… I can’t remember much more from that day, I was taken in, and taken care of… Ezio and Luna told me that they need to leave, and I remain there… They did leave soon after. Days later, I started to miss them, so I found the Leader… Starlight and her siblings, Swiftsteel and Starryshield, who were Eclipsed warriors, mercenaries, and assassins… *Knock* *Knock* “Come in!” She replied, so I walked in. “Greetings Altamir, why are you still awake this late into Luna’s brilliant night?” “Greetings to you as well… I have come with an odd request…” “I must say, you talk quite like an adult… And what would it be?” “I was wondering if you could make me older... “ “Just how much older?” “Enough to train with the others… I want to fight for myself, for all of us, and ultimately, for Luna.” “I see… Are you sure willing to give up on your childhood for such cause?” “At any cost.” “These are rather heavy words, coming from a foal your age… But if that is what you desire, then you shall have it…” She replied, and cast a spell… “By the time the blinding sunlight reaches us, you will be much older.” “Thank you..” I replied, and left to my room to sleep… That night I dreamed of what could’ve happened to my mother, who my father could be, and why would the Griffons have attacked, when I was awoken by my friend, Coldblood… We were the same age, I met him just days before it happened… “Woah! Woah! Tami, what happened to you? You got bigger and probably older!” *Yawn* “What is it, Blood? It’s waayy too early…” I replied. “Come oon! Starlight told me you can train with us from now on!” His plan worked, and I threw the blankets off faster than ever before in my short life, and followed him to the training grounds… “Accursed morning, everypony… Are you prepared for today’s training?” Inquired our instructor… Teacher… Master… Mentor… You get the point… We all nodded in response. “I’m sure you all know who I am by now, but for the new ones, I’m Starryshield, Starlight’s elder brother, and a Mercenary of the Eclipsed rank, so I can assure you I’m fit for this morning routine...” He exclaimed proudly, then pointed a sword at me. “What’s your name, son? It’s the first time I see you here…” “I’m Altamir De Marz.” I replied. “Quite a fancy name… And which branch will you practice? Soldier, Mercenary, or Assassin? That is, if you can even qualify for one…” “He’ll go with all of them at once!” Blood replied in my behalf… At that moment, not even Luna could’ve saved him… If I would’ve hit him… “WHAT?!” I replied along the crowd… Starryshield only grinned. “Very well son, if you succeed, your parents will be made proud… Perhaps, maybe even we will be just that…” He exclaimed, doubting I could achieve such high ranks… “Blood…” I exclaimed calmy. “What?” “Run… Fucking run…” I replied. “Hmm… Yesterday you said you want to fight for yourself and for us… You don’t seem so eager now…” Starlight replied from behind. We all showed respect and looked back at our teacher. “You haven’t told me you’ll be visiting today…” He exclaimed. “Do you mind me walking by?” She replied, and left. “Where were we? Oh yes, buckle up boy, you will be in for a hard time…” He warned me. “Challenge accepted!” Blood replied. “If you say one more damn word, Luna have mercy on your soul, I’ll beat it out of you…” I warned him. “Huh, personality of a Mercenary… That’s a good start…” The teacher exclaimed. “Can we just get over it?” I inquired… And under a month, I managed to achieve the following ranks… Mercenary: Merc (4) Soldier: Apprentice (1) Assassin: Apprentice (1) … I also received a few kind words from Starlight… “I must say, you improved a lot… But what about the other two branches?” “Your words are most kind, and I haven’t bothered with them… I see it fit to fully master one, before beginning another…” I replied... End of Prologue.
Chapter 6: Moving like JagerI was once again in a world of pain… By the time it happened, I began feeling like a handful of clay… First turned into a Human, then given the ability to shapeshift, yeah, I felt unstable… “I owe you one… What do you want in return?” I inquired before it pulsed once again to spread through my body. “Nothing… For now… Nothing, but some help when I require it…” She replied. “With all respect, I doubt it… There’s got to be a reason you just did this.” I exclaimed. “You’re right, but you must agree… I have to look after my own as well…” She replied while looking out the window at one of her guards. “If so, then I got my answer.” “Anything else you would like to know?” “If I may… I have scraps of memories about certain names…” “Oh?” “Have you heard of Darkwing or Quietblade?” “Why, yes… Darkwing was my… Son, like these guards are… He left the hive, in order to help Altair as much as he could… I haven’t heard of him ever since…” She replied, unaware of the gravestones in Ponyville. “Oh… Well… You should visit Ponyville someday…” I replied. “And I shall, in the near future for sure…” She exclaimed, and we rejoined the others. Of course it was expected, they noticed my arm… “So… What’s with your arm, Altamir?” Twilight inquired. “Nothing.” *Grunt* “Really.” I replied. “Riiight…” She noted. “Message delivered, we can go now.” I informed her. “Leaving so soon? You just arrived! Stay awhile, look around!” Cadence exclaimed. “We would love to, but we’re short on time…” Twilight replied, probably hoping for some progress in the research as a reward… “Well, if you must, we won’t hold you back, right?” The pink Alicorn replied with a grin, looking at the Changeling Queen. “Not by the least…” She noted, and we said our farewells, and returned to the train station… On our way, a Pegasus guard greeted Twilight, and they began a small conversation. “Hey Flash, haven’t noticed you were around, how are things?” She inquired. “Hey Twilight, I can’t complain, but what brought you here?” He wondered. “Oh, my friend here and I were just visiting.” She replied. “You mean this… filth?” He asked. “Nice to meet you too, asshat.” I exclaimed. “Step back tough guy, or else I’ll have you flying through the window.” “You want to hurt me? You can’t even hit puberty, son.” Twilight began to laugh, while standing in between the two of us. “Easy boys! This isn’t why we’re here!” “Fine. I’ll leave your friend be…” I assured her. “We’ll discuss this later, friend.” He replied. “I’m looking forward to it already.” I exclaimed, and we left for the train station. “Well, what do we have here?” The guard inquired from before, noticing my arm shortly after. “How was that about extinction?” He asked with an arrogant tone. “This changes nothing, you dickwad…” I replied while passing by. “You act tough with royalty by your side… But are you so tough without her?” He threw back. “Come, see for yourself.” I replied. “Altamir! Don’t… Come on, let’s just go.” Twilight tried to turn me down. “Gladly…” The guard replied. “But not today…” I just spat at the ground in response. “Ignavus…” (Coward) I muttered, and we got onto the train home, and were there by dusk… Of course, the town was still crawling with those bastards… It wasn’t too late, so we decided to pay the heroes a visit… I’m glad we did, because some of the guards (3) decided to show how tough they are by dishonoring the graves… “You son of a bitch…” I whispered, and produced a Ballester-Molina pistol from my sleeves, and told Twilight to wait there and watch. “Good idea… This is unacceptable behavior.” She replied, and I disguised myself as one of them, at last, I wore the clothes they did…Man are these uncomfortable. I hid the pistol behind me while approaching them. “Evening gents, are we clear?” I wondered. “Aye, they’ll know better not to mess with us next ti-” *Bang* Not on my mother’s grave you cunt. I noted to myself while shooting him. Of course my cover was quickly blown, and another one of them took aim at me. 3… 2… 1… When he was about to fire, I pulled his comrade into front of me, using him as a living shield… *Bang* “Scheiße!” (Fuck) He threw his pistol at me, but he missed, while I threw the corpse at him as a distraction. He dodged it, and immediately unsheathed his saber and striked. *Bang* In vein… I shot him in the guts, rendering him incapacitated, while not killing him instantly. “Who are you working for?!” I asked him while dropping the disguise. “Rot in hell!” He replied, so I headbutted him. “Speak!” “Never!” He replied, so I began to ponder… How could I make him talk? Wait… Suddenly I had an effective, yet, brutal ida… My sleeves weren’t only capable of producing items and objects, but also housing them… For example, I could have them extrude from my sleeves, while not being visible attached to anything… So while I had the original idea of spinning chainsaw blades, I thought better of it and used a Lupara shotgun instead. “Speak, and your death will be quick!” I exclaimed. “Give up!” He replied, so I blew off his arm with the shotgun… I was aware how painful it will be, and that Twilight was watching me, but I didn’t care… As I pulled the trigger his shoulders disappeared into nothing, in the company of a slapper of blood, and a loud scream. “Speak already!” “NEVER!” I stomped him in between the thighs, and he died… I shot him in the chest with the pistol a few times to make sure, then closed his eyes and returned to Twilight… “I’m sorry for making you watch it…” “Did he at least say anything?” She inquired. “Nothing of value to us.” I replied, and we walked on… I felt guilty for putting her through it, and that guard didn’t deserve a pain that slow… But there was no going back, to them, I was nothing but a murderer from there on… “Twilight…” “Yes?” “Do you want to come back right away to T.L.E? Or maybe later?” “If you’re going there next, yes…” She replied, so that’s where we headed… We walked down the cold and dark streets… I put on the Jager disguise, so they wouldn’t bother me… And if the would bother Twilight, well, need I say what I did? I doubt so… We were about to leave town, when two of them halted our way. “Princess Twilight?” One of them asked. “Can I be of help sir?” She replied. “May I ask why are you heading towards the Everfree Forest this late?” “That’s none of your concerns…” She threw back. “Thousand apologies, but it’s dangerous…” “That’s why I’m going with her! Idiot!” I replied, and they allowed us pass, without watching their backs… I produced a pair of throwing knives, and looked back to see if they were looking. “Altamir…” Twilight exclaimed with some scolding in her tone. “What? Just practice…” “You know that not all of them necessarily need to die, right?” *Sigh* “Fine…” I dropped the knives, and we walked on… Good thing I make everything I produce disappear right after becoming useless… It didn’t take long until we reached the scouts once again, who halted our way as usual. “Quid te adducit necesse fuit concipere? Humanae?” (What leads you this way? Human?) The Assassin inquired. “Est mihi, Lapidus …” (It’s me, Altamir.) I replied. “Proba.” (Prove it.) “Gero cutis carnis nihil aliud est quam voluntas humana a Luna.” (I bear the flesh and skin of mankind by the will of no other than Luna.) I informed them. “Non credo vos.” (I don’t believe you.) The Assassin replied, and they prepared to attack… “Surge et loquitur veritatem, qui fecit illum ... Ego autem humana ex hoc ..., si opus fuerit, ferro.” (Stand down, he speaks the truth... It was I who made him human... And from now on, he will be my sword if needed…) A familiar voice called from above… When I realized who it was I knelt down, while the scouts bowed, and Twilight waved hi. “Angelus tenebrarum mortifer crepusculo noctis reginae reginae Luna tua nos honore.” (Angel of darkness, bringer of dusk, princess of the night, Princess Luna, your presence honors us.) They replied in unison. “Disputatio satis! Duo specialiter magis quam vos tantum tres simul adferendo fidem abrogarem mihi; Dic Starlight si unquam audeat dubitare, quae censebat fore dubium quin tam me.” (Enough talk! These two have more faith in me individually than the three of you all together! Tell Starlight if she ever dares doubt them, she will doubt me as well.) She exclaimed, and they allowed us pass… We walked for a while, before she turned to me and asked. “Altamir? May I ask what is that costume on you?” I dropped my disguise in response. “It’s a gift from Chrysalis.” I replied. “That was quite… Generous… Of her…” She noted, and soon we arrived. “Open the gates!” Salutem yelled right after seeing us. “Welcome back.” She greeted us when we entered. Of course, once again, I was reminded that Luna told none in T.L.E about my new body… “Damnas quae non intelligunt. Ego sum tibi, ut te non solum viderem.” (You condemn what you do not understand. I am one of you, it is only her will that I look like this.) I exclaimed while feeling their hatred for my body… “With all respect, to what end are we honored by your presence?” One of them asked Luna. “Me presence is nothing, but mere evidence of his identity.” She replied. “Luna, we’re going to see Starlight, will you come along?” Twilight inquired. “I would love to, but I fear I must return to Canterlot, for my absence may raise suspicion in my sister…” She replied, and teleported away. We wasted no time in finding said Unicorn. *Knock* *Knock* “Come in.” She exclaimed through the door, so we made our way in. “Ah, Twilight, Altamir, welcome back… I suspect the message has been delivered.” “Indeed it has… She decided not to respond right away.” I replied. “I see… Altamir, I see you got used to your new body… I believe it is only fit, that I pass the rank of Deathless Mercenary upon you…” “Thank you.” I replied with a nod. “As for you Twilight, you may browse freely among our class-9 documents tonight, or at last, until the scorching sun looks down at us.” She continued. “Thank you!” Twilight replied enthusiastically. “Altamir, you way want to accompany her in case her curiosity gets the best of her…” “Of course I will…” I assured them both. “I have a feeling you haven’t made any progress in your search… How long do you two plan on staying?” “I’ll stay for tonight with Twilight, then head back to Ponyville… The guards have been replaced with new ones, believe me, they can’t behave themselves.” I informed her. “Yes, I heard about their replacement… But I truly hope you don’t plan on staying there to protect the citizens…” “I would, but my search is more important.” I replied. “Uhm, Starlight?” Twilight inquired. “Yes?” “Have you seen Zecora lately?” She wondered. “You should find her in her new home, if she’s not there, she’s probably out looking for ingredients… Forgive me, but I’m running low on time, as I have a few things to do, could we continue this conversation later?” We nodded in response, and headed for the library. “Claudos, ubi tua introitu permiserit?” (Halt, where’s your entry permit?) One of the guards asked. “Mine is the rank of Deathless, and the word of Luna herself.” I replied. “And what’s hers?” I produced a slip of paper with Starlight’s signature, allowing her inside. “Right here.” I exclaimed while showing him the paper. “You may go then.” He exclaimed, and we walked in. “Woah… This place is massive! I don’t even know where to begin!” Twilight exclaimed, excited as never before. “How about there?” I inquired, pointing at a sign saying Class-9. “Ahem, right.” *Awkward chuckle* We walked over to said segment and looked around. “Where should I start? Soo many books, soo little time…” “Little? Twilight, come on, you have at least 8 hours…” I replied with a surprised tone while walking up a ladder, and grabbing a book from the top of the shelf. “Probably this one.” I added while throwing said book onto a nearby desk. She trotted over to it and flipped the book open. “Would you like me to read it loud, so you’ll get to know something too?” She offered. “Docet omnia necessaria ad vitam…” “Uh…” “Life teaches everything you need to know… Sorry, I got used to it.” “I hope I’ll get to learn that speak at some point on…” She muttered. “You know I could teach you in no time, but only if approved to do so…” I replied… She kept reading that book, while I dozed off to sleep from time to time… Every time I woke up she just sat there, calm, collective, reading that book… When I woke up for the 23th time, I saw her slumped over the table, the book closed. Oh Twi, you read the whole book, haven’t you? I wondered in myself while putting the book back to its place and picking her up from the table. As I got closer to the exit, I realized it was midnight. She read the whole thing in 4 hours? Damn… I took her back to my house. and put her to sleep, while I spent some time talking to Salutem at the gates… Good thing she was a Shadow pony and needed no rest… “Hey Altamir, where’s Twilight?” She wondered. “She fell asleep in the library, I put her to sleep in my bed.” “You’re not leaving then, are you?” “No, should I be?” “No, I was just wondering.” She replied. “Listen, uhh… How do I put this…” “Hm?” “Uh, are you clear with my exact age?” “You’re 20.” “Yes, but I was born less than 6 months ago…” “Or so I heard from Starlight…” She replied. “You know then?” “Of course I do… Why?” “Well, I haven’t been around for long, bu-” Suddenly a Phoenix began circling above me, until I extended my left arm and she landed on it, dropping a scroll into my hand. “What is it?” Salutem wondered. Dear Altamir De Marz I have recently been informed of a tragedy, which you prevented from happening. While the Humans serve as law enforcement in Equestria, I would like to remind you, that they deny our authorities, and only accept the command of their General. Though this letter I wish to thank you for saving one, if not many more, of my subject(s) from the misbehaving soldiers, and kindly ask you to present yourself to me and my sister in Canterlot in the following days to come. While I despise violence the most, I know sometimes it’s necessary for a greater good, therefore, should you witness similar events or conflicts, I authorize you to act as you see it best, in order to defend the citizens. By this, I am by no means authorizing you to kill whoever you desire to, but to execute members of law enforcements if required, should they be Human or Pony. You may wish to keep this letter, so should you come, the guards will allow you pass if you show them the signature below. ~Princess Celestia. “It’s… It’s from… Her…” “Huh? You mean Luna?” “Worse, much worse….” Back then, I had nothing against her sister, but I had to pretend, otherwise I would’ve been suspicious… “You mean…” “Yes, Her…” I replied. “Well, what does she want?” “A few days ago the Human guards in Ponyville were replaced with new ones… I saved a stallion from one of their… Tax collectors…” “What does she want?” “She wants me to go to Canterlot in the following days…” “Will you go?” “I have to, or else I would show defiance towards Luna’s family.” “True words, well, I’m sure it will be fine…” “Eh, I guess I’ll bring Twilight too, since she was, maybe even still is, her student… She wouldn’t want to set a bad example, right?” She only nodded with a grin, and the Phoenix took off towards Canterlot. We continued to talk until sunset, when Zecora was about to go out for ingredients. “Oh, Altamir! I’m glad to see you, I have a few brews which I wish to show you.” She exclaimed. “Zecora? How did you know it was me?” “You’re the only one they allowed to leave, and they wouldn’t allow any other Human here to be.” “I see, well, lead the way.” I replied, leaving Salutem with a nod. End of Chapter 6
