Equestrian Legends: The Mercenary of Magic and Steel [Book-3]

That 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