Chapter 1-A Templar Welcome
The moor stretched around the Scottish landscape for miles. Fog filled the air. Many crows cawed in the distance. Perfect weather for Assassins on the hunt. A human male, clad in a white and black hooded coat and jacket, black boots and leather gauntlets, equipped with some black leather armor in a few places, watched Castle Greybury from atop a hill. He furrowed his brow in impatience. A hand tapped him lightly three times on the shoulder. The Assassin looked behind him at the large African man, clad in gear similar to the first's, only without the armor and more tribal-like, knelled next to him and looked him in the eye.
"Roshi? You all ready?" The African said.
"Yes, Abi. I am prepared." Roshi replied.
"Good. Mason and Emily should be starting the distraction about now..."
A large explosion erupted in the courtyard, and the resulting fireball illuminated the faces of the two Assassins. Roshi had a worn, but battle-hardened face, with a stubble black beard and worn eyes. Abi had a kind but hardened grin, with a large scar over his right eye.
"Now is the time, Abi." Roshi said, sprinting down the hill. Abi followed closely. As the two Assassins reached the outer moat, they grabbed grappling hooks from their belts and threw them. The hooks flew straight, anchoring securely to the wall. Abi and Roshi swung over the moat and landed like spiders on the wall. Climbing swiftly, the two of them leaped over the Crenel and onto the walkway. They surveyed the scene unfolding beneath them. Fires were erupting everywhere, and the light illuminated two more Assassins, one male, one female, battling the Templar guardsmen. Abi smiled and motioned to Roshi, and the two of them leaped off the wall and landed on the ground, each burying one of their hidden blades into a guard's neck. Roshi charged a guard, and he swung the guard's feet out from under him and planted his hidden blade in his neck, spraying blood. Abi tackled a guard and threw a knife into another's throat. The guard collapsed to the ground, clutching his severed neck. Three guards then approached from the front, all bearing rifles or swords. Roshi drew his katana and slashed one across the chest, then he swiftly impaled another, before ending the life of the first with a slash to the face. Abi took a throwing knife and hurled it into the chest of the final guard. As they regained their bearings, the other Assassins ran up to them. Mason Speris and Emily Vance, of America and England, stopped in front of them, and Mason smiled.
"Cleared the guards. Let's get the artifact back from these Templar bastards." Emily said, motioning towards the keep.
"Agreed, my friend." Abi said.
At that moment, ten guards swarmed out. Abi and the Assassins readied themselves. As the Guards charged, Roshi threw a smokebomb, blinding them. As the guards frantically looked around, Emily pulled out her revolver and shot two of them, before hurling a throwing knife. Abi grabbed another and backhanded him with his axe, killing the guard instantly. Roshi slashed the legs of two guards before stabbing them in the heart with his hidden blades. Mason kicked the last one into the castle wall and punched him straight in the face. As the smoke cleared, the guards lay dead or heavily wounded, and the Assassins roughed up. As they ran into the keep, the Assassins shut and barred the doors to the courtyard. Abi scowled slightly.
"Where's the artifact? It should be here."
"Maybe the intelligence was wrong?" Mason suggested.
"We got it straight from the source. There's no way it was wrong." Emily said, scouting around the room for a secret entrance. Roshi looked around and saw one of the torches was extinguished. He pulled on the torch, and the bookcase on the far side of the hall swung open. As the Assassins looked down into the black abyss beyond the door, Roshi pulled a torch off the wall and lit it. In the flame's light, a large set of stone stairs awaited them.
"Ladies first." Mason said to Emily, who scoffed.
"Quiet. We need to get moving." Roshi said, walking down the stairs. As they descended, the torch's dancing flames cast eerie shadows along the walls. After a five-minute descent, they arrived at a solid oak door. Abi ran his hands along the wood.
"New wood. Fresh. This was put here recently." Abi said.
"Ready yourselves." Roshi said as Abi pushed the doors open. They were greeted by a brilliantly lit room. Templar banners covered the walls. At the end was a mannequin. On the neck of the mannequin was a pendant. The pendant was made of pure silver, with a purple gem, shaped like a cross, set in the middle. Ornate engravings finished the design. Emily gasped slightly at the beauty of the jewel. Roshi placed his hands on his head in a thoughtful fashion, and he gently took the pendant off the mannequin. Then, there was a loud rushing noise, and a massive purple vortex appeared beneath the feet of the four Assassins.
"FUCK!" Mason swore.
As the Assassins struggled to escape, the portal completely enveloped them and the pendant. The vortex grew bigger for a second, and then it closed, leaving no trace of the Assassins behind. The stone floor lay clean and shiny. Then, a man clad in the armor of a Templar leader walked up and smiled evilly.
"Fools." He said, cackling.
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Roshi groaned and got up slowly. He looked around the dark room to see his fellow Assassins collapsed on the ground. Roshi got up slowly, and he noticed they were in some sort of lattice-floored room, with a large skylight in the middle. Roshi crawled over to the skylight and looked down. He then swore in Japanese. What seemed to be a ball or gala was in full swing below. The stranger thing was that the inhabitants were not human, but equine, all more colorful than an assorted bouquet of flowers. Roshi scowled. Three light taps on the shoulder alerted him to Abi's presence.
"This is interesting." Abi said.
"It is. Where did that pendant take us?" Roshi replied.
"What the hell..." Mason said, getting up and helping Emily to her feet. As Roshi ushered them over to the Skylight, Emily swore.
"Shit." Mason said. "There's no way we'll be able to sneak out with that many horses there."
"Ponies, Mason. Too small to be horses." Emily said. Mason gave her an odd look, then he turned to Abi.
"What now?"
"We need to move. We can't stay here."
Roshi nodded, and he took out a pocket telescope. Scanning the room below, he saw some had wings, others horns, some neither, but four, at the head of the room, had both. One was white, one a deep blue, one lavender, one pink. All were immersed in deep conversation. Roshi looked around further, and his eyes fixed on a group of equines wearing cloaks bearing a red cross.
"Templars..." Roshi scowled.
"What about them?" Mason asked.
"They're here. Take a look."
Mason took the telescope, and peeked through. After a few seconds, he sighed.
"Well, shit."
Abi scowled and began to open the skylight.
"What are you doing?" Emily asked.
"Heading down. There's a secondary lattice supporting that chandelier. If we can get there, we might be able to dispatch those Templars quicker."
Seeing his point, Roshi nodded and helped the bulky african heave the skylight open. As they dropped the few feet to the lattice, Mason and Emily followed. Walking over to the four beings with wings and horns, they could hear the conversation.
"It does look nice, Twilight. What concerns me is who could have sent it." The white one said.
"Thou aren't wrong, Sister. It is most disturbing."
The one called "Twilight" sighed.
"You do have a point. I mean, a strange package containing a strange pendant just before the gala? And how it was addressed to me? It does seem weird." She said.
"I agree. Maybe you should get rid of it." The pink one said, putting her hood on "Twilight" in a reassuring manner. As the conversation continued, the ponies wearing the Templar cloaks came closer and closer to the four beings. Roshi motioned, and the Assassins lined up, each picking a target. Then, Roshi held up his hand.
"Listen."
"Princess? I have a message for you."
The white one turned to the lead pony.
"And what is it?"
"Death to tyrants." the pony said simply, and he drew a sword and lunged. Roshi scowled and dropped down, planting his hidden blade in the pony's neck, spraying blood. The four beings recoiled at the sight. Roshi stood up to see the other ponies, numbering seven, walk up with drawn swords. Roshi scowled beneath his hood and set himself into a fighting stance.
"Get behind me." he said to the four, who nervously heeded his advice. As the seven others charged, Roshi smiled.
"NOW!"
Emily, Mason, and Abi jumped down from their positions and killed three of the ponies. The other three charged the Assassins, intending to kill.
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Twilight watched as the four beings readied themselves for combat. Three were muscular and tall, while one was slimmer and shorter. They all wore white robes, bedecked with weapons. The slim one pulled an L-shaped metal object from a holder. As the killer charged, she sidestepped and smiled. There was a crack like thunder, a spray of blood, and the pony collapsed. He was dead before he hit the floor. Tiwlight recoiled in shock. The second one, bulkier than the others, swung a large blade towards its adversary. The pony blocked with a rapier, but the being swung its lower legs under the pony's legs, sending it toppling to the floor. He then slammed his upper leg into the pony's head, and blood foamed out. Twilight could see a small wound where the being hit, yet there was no blade visible in the being's hand. The final one was taking his time, dodging vicious sword swipes and parrying with a blade similar to that of the large one. Then, he kicked the pony to the ground and slammed his upper leg into the pony's chest. Twilight briefly saw a small blade plunge into the pony's heart.
"A hidden sword..." she whispered. As the beings stood up, ten more ponies, wearing similar cloaks, black, with a red cross, charged. The beings slashed, cut, and pummeled in an almost beautiful way. It seemed that whenever they swung a sword, a pony died. As the carnage finally ended, a total of seventeen bodies lay around them. The beings turned to the ponies, and Twilight saw faces of flesh. Two had whitish pale skin, one a dark brown, the last one a pale yellow. The yellow one had a black mustache, thin and covering his chin. They walked up, and then pulled down their hoods, revealing their genders. Three seemed male, one female. The female had a kind expression, but it seemed hardened, tempered. The brown one had a tough but lean face. The second pale one had a kind smile and a light beard. The final one had a stern face, with slit eyelids. Celestia cleared her throat, and spoke apprehensively.
"Hello?"
"Hello there. Sorry 'bout the mess." One of the males said.
"I am Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria. And you are?"
"My name is Mason Speris. That's Abiola Abe', Roshi Nakamoto, and Emily Vance."
"Why did you kill them!?" Twilight said, shocked.
Mason turned to her and pointed to the cloaks.
"They're Templars. That's why."
"Templars?" Cadance asked, confused.
"Long story. But as for us, we are Assassins. Before you attack, we are not here to hurt you. We serve the Assassin Order. We work in the dark to serve the light." Abi said.
Celestia sighed.
"We need to talk."
"I heartily agree, Princess." Emily said. "Lead the way. Anywhere private?"
"The conference room. Guards? Take care of the bodies. I'll deal with this."
As the Assassins followed Celestia out of the ballroom, Cadance turned to Luna and Twilight.
"I think those "Assassins" know more than what they told us."
Twilight sighed.
"Let's go. We should hear what they have to say for ourselves."
As the three Alicorns followed Celestia and the Assassins, they eventually arrived at a conference room. As they sat down, Celestia leaned forward.
"Let's talk, shall we?"
"We shall. Let's begin." Roshi said.
