Assassinverse: Shadows In The Moonlight

A purple anthro Alicorn with a dark blue mane and tail, both of which had a magenta stripe in them, entered one of the vast guest bedrooms within Canterlot Castle, a thoroughly depressed look on her face. She wore an elegant lavender dress, a pink diamond necklace, and brown sandals with heels. Upon her head was a golden tiara. This was Twilight Sparkle, recently-crowned Princess of Equestria… although, at the moment, she was wishing she was still an ordinary Unicorn, getting ready for bed in her old treehouse/library home, back before Tirek had smashed it to splinters… back before she had to put up with all of this hatred and anger towards her and her politics.

I just don’t understand it… why do they hate me so much? thought Twilight as she striped down to her black bra and panties. It’s not like I’ve done anything horrible to them… I’m just trying to make sure that Equestria isn’t left behind in this ever-evolving world we live in now. I mean, right now Equestria is laughably out gunned, lovers of two different species can’t get married, no matter how much they want to, and the Council is made up of royals and nobles who only have interest in themselves rather than the common good.

As Twilight snuggled into the blankets and bedsheets, she felt a wave of hopelessness wash over her. Maybe I’m not meant to be a Princess of Equestria is this is how ponies are going to treat me… maybe I should just step down…

No, Twilight. You can’t step down now. Do you really think all of this hatred will just go away because you’re not a Princess anymore? a stronger voice told Twilight deep in her subconscious

Immediately, Twilight reached into a bedside dresser drawer and pulled out three pictures. One of them was of her and her friends, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. The second was of her and the other three Princesses, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, all of them looking very formal and elegant in their dresses. The third was a picture of a pegasus stallion with orange fur and a blue mane and tail wearing a Royal Guard dress uniform. This was Flash Sentry, Twilight’s secret coltfriend… although, she was starting to suspect that he was getting ready to propose to her.

Twilight thought for a moment about what this might mean for them, given all the hate she’d received. Flash must truly and deeply love her if he was willing to risk going through all of the same minotaur shit she’d been through… and if he wanted to start a family with her.

Twilight smiled. As long as she had this group of ponies by her side, she could take anything those nay-sayers and Traditionalists threw at her.

And with that, Twilight returned the pictures to the drawer, and closed her eyes… completely unaware of what was going on right under her muzzle.

…

“Well? Are we going to do this thing or what?” grumbled a voice in the shadows to one of its four fellows.

“Are you really sure about this? I mean, we’re about to MURDER A PRINCESS-”

“Shut up! Do you want to get us arrested? Besides, we’ve got the one thing that can make our troubles that much easier.”

As the voice said this, a faint gleam of light from a shining blade appeared. A gasp was heard.

“Is that… is that really-”

“Orichalum. The boss stallion had this thing forged just for this sole purpose… something about getting some mare drunk enough not to stand on her own two hooves or something like that. Anyways, this is our room.”

As the five shadowy figures reached the bedroom, they silently opened the door. There, sleeping soundly on the bed, was Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Well? Who wants the honors?” asked one of the voices.

“I’ll do it.”

“She’s all yours, Gallant.”

As the single figure crept silently into the room, the orichalum blade in his hand, they felt as though a huge weight was resting upon their shoulders. Finally, the figure clamped his hand down over Twilight’s nose and mouth, causing her to awaken.

“Get on her! Keep her down!”

As the other four figures held Twilight down, the princess tried to muster up some magic. However, before the princess could muster the magic to fend off her assassin, the orichalam blade slashed across her throat, cutting deep into her flesh. As blood gushed out of the wound in her throat, Twilight stared in horror at her attacker, unable to scream or even breathe as they continued to stab her. Finally, after a moment of fruitless struggling, Twilight went limp and cold, and her eyes turned glassy. She was dead.

“Good job, now let’s get the buck out of here!”

And with that, the five killers ran for it, leaving their handy work behind.
…
Princess Celestia, an anthro alicorn mare with alabaster fur and a mane that resembled the lush green fields, the open blue sky, and the pink of love and compassion, yawned and stretched as she woke up and climbed out of her vast four-poster bed and made her way over to the balcony on the other side. Stepping onto the cold white marble, Celestia channeled her energies and focused them at the blazing golden sunset. With seemingly no effort at all, Celestia raised the sun to such a position that gravity would be able to take care of the rest until sundown, where Luna would take over and raise her moon.

Celestia smiled. Looks like it’s gonna be a beautiful day… considering, she thought to herself, thinking back to all of her prized pupil’s troubles as of late. I don’t understand it. If these Traditionalists can’t bring themselves to trust Twilight, then why can’t they trust me? It’s not like I’m in any danger. If Twilight really wanted to seize control of Equestria, she would’ve done it by now, and considering how strong she already was as a unicorn, I don’t think Luna and I could handle her now as an alico-

Celestia’s inner dialogue was interrupted by a member of her guard bursting into her room, a mingled look of panic and embarrassment at seeing his leader in her nightclothes. “P-Princess C-C-C-Celestia… f-f-f-forgive m-m-m-me,” stammered the guard as he started to turn beet red.

Celestia frowned. What could’ve possibly happened to get this guard all worked up like this. “It’s all right, just tell me what’s wrong,” she said.

“I-I-I-I-It’s P-P-P-P-Princess T-Twilight… sh-she’s b-b-been… m-m-m-m-m-murdered!”

Celestia could almost hear the glass in her mind breaking into a million pieces. Part of her wanted to dismiss and demote the guard because of his lies… and yet, the look on his face and the way he was acting was very, very hard to fake.

“T-Take me to her,” said Celestia, doing her best to sound dignified.

The guard was taken aback. “Your Majesty, are you-” he began to say, only to be drowned out by Celestia’s anguished voice.

“TAKE ME TO HER, I NEED TO SEE HER!” wailed Celestia.

Nodding to show he understood, the guard led Princess Celestia out of her room and through the halls to Twilight’s room, where a small crowd had gathered, mostly consisting of royal guardsponies.

“Let me through! Let me through!” yelled Celestia.

The crowd made way for her. And then Celestia saw her. Her worst fears had been confirmed.

Princess Twilight Sparkle lay on her bed as a couple of guardsponies moved around her, examining the crime scene, while a third, who had orange fur and a dark blue mane and tail, sobbed uncontrollably and stroked Celestia’s pupil’s mane. Blood was splattered all over the bedsheets, and there was a dark slash across Twilight’s throat.

Princess Celestia couldn’t believe it. She closed her eyes and called upon a healing spell. Twilight’s injuries were repaired but the alicorn did not awaken. Celestia tried a shock spell. Twilight’s body shook and vibrated as though it’d received and electrical shock, but still she did not awaken.

No matter what the tear-soaked Princess Celestia tried, she could not get any response from her beloved student. Finally, she was forced to face the truth.

Twilight Sparkle had been slain in her sleep.

“Twilight… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” wailed Celestia as she fell to her knees and wept.

…
At the request of Princess Celestia, the Pegasi Weather Patrol had made the sky almost completely hidden under a shroud of dark gray clouds that poured rain upon those adorned in black who’d arrived for the state funeral for Princess Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia watched on as more and more ponies filed past the glass coffin that contained the purple princess, who looked so at peace, wearing her coronation gown, her hands forever holding a bouquet of enchanted flowers that wouldn’t wilt for a hundred years… and she couldn’t stop herself from weeping. She blamed herself for bringing this fate upon her most faithful student. If she hadn’t made her a Princess, none of this would have happened.

Finally, once everyone was seated before the large podium that had been set up, it was time for the eulogies.

"Fillies and gentlecolts... today, we are here to celebrate the life of one very special unicorn, who ascended to become an alicorn princess... only to be taken from us in such a cruel fashion," said Celestia, a glistening tear on her cheek as she began her speech, pausing a moment before she could find her voice. "Twilight Sparkle was... like a daughter to me. I remember the day I met her, the day of her entrance examination... she seemed so happy, so full of life, so eager to learn new things… I could use so many words but they would never be able to truly convey how wonderful she is…. except maybe stubborn. Once she was sure of something she set to it…. and perhaps loyal as well….. I-I’m sorry… forgive me.” Celestia said as she ran off the stage, tears falling behind her, along with Pinkie Pie and Luna.

Fluttershy, a butter yellow Anthro pegasus with a pink mand tail clad in a black dress with matching heels, swallowed her pride and, with as much courage as she could muster, took the stage.

"H-Hi... I'm Fluttershy," murmured Fluttershy, her knees shaking from both fear and sadness. "T-Twilight... was... one of my... best... friends... and... I MISS HER SO MUCH!" she wailed at the top of her lungs, causing several ponies attending the funeral to jump. Mere moments later, Fluttershy passed out from both her stage fright and sadness. The rest of the funeral, compared to the beginning, however, was really quite uneventful.

Finally, it was time for Shining Armor to do his part… something that, no matter how many times he had to it, never got any easier: honor guard. Today, however, he wasn’t just saying good-bye to one of his comrades… he was saying goodbye to the baby sister he’d watched grow up from the day she was born.

“H-honor guard!” he barked, his voice choked up. As one, the guard ponies who stood in their black dress uniforms snapped to attention, their horns glowing. “Ready… aim… FIRE!” barked Shining Armor.

As one, the soldiers fired off colorful blasts of magic, which exploded into fireworks with a loud Boom!

“Ready… aim… FIRE!”

Boom!

“Ready… aim… FIRE!”

Boom!

“Ready… aim… FIRE!”

With the last Boom! Everypony began to depart the funeral and return home. Not among them was Spike Sparkle, who was a well-built purple and green dragon as tall as a full-grown stallion, despite still being a teenager. He was clad in a black suit and tie as he approached his mother’s glass coffin and sank to his knees beside it, weeping.

“I promise you, Mom. I will get stronger and I will avenge you,” Spike whispered once his tears had been reduced to dry sobs.

Finally pulling himself together, Spike stood up and placed a kiss on his mother’s coffin, before making his way back to the castle to join the others, only to see something out of the corner of his eye. Turning around, Spike saw a mysterious figure dressed in white standing beside his mother’s grave with his hand placed on it. But, before Spike could investigate, he heard Princess Cadence’s voice calling from inside the castle.

“Spike! Come in! You’ll catch cold out there!”

Hesitating for a moment, Spike heeded his aunt’s call and entered the castle, but not before looking over his shoulder, only to find that the figure had vanished into thin air.

…

A hooded figure clad in a white armored robe that had a black leather cape with a red underside, a belt containing multiple throwing knives a sword with an eagle-shaped hilt, and a gun, brown leather boots with greaves made out of the same material as the rest of his armor, and metal gauntlets with vambraces. Concealed underneath the sleeves of his robe were two hidden blades, one of which had a concealed poison needle in it approached Twilight’s coffin and lowered his hood, revealing himself to be a young human man in his early twenties with black hair that was tied back in a ponytail. This was Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a new comer to Equestria. As a matter of fact, he was a newcomer to this entire world, with only vague recollection of where he’d come from.

As Ezio gazed down at Twilight’s body, he was taken aback at how young she looked. And judging from the things that everyone had said about her during the service, she must’ve been a kind and good-hearted soul who only had the greater good in mind. And yet, someone had seen fit to take her from this world. And that would not do. He would hunt down these killers and saw to it that they met fitting ends for their crimes.

”Sappi che cercherò coloro che ti hanno preso da questo mondo e vedere che la giustizia è servita,” Ezio said, placing an armored hand onto Twilight’s coffin. ”Resquiescat in pace.”

With that, Ezio turned on his heel, and left the gardens, pulling his hood back up as he walked away. He now had a mission to attend to.

…

As the rain continued to pour down from the skies and lightning flashed across it, Ezio made his way through Canterlot via the rooftops, searching for anything that could give him a clue as to where his targets, who he’d identified by the various wanted posters he’d seen around the city, could be hiding.

Come out, come out, wherever you are, thought Ezio as he scoured the city, searching for his targets. It wasn’t long, however, before he noticed that there were a couple of men who seemed to be making an awful lot of effort to keep their faces hidden.

Bingo, thought Ezio, calling upon his Eagle Vision, a talent that allowed him to see past tricks and discover secrets. Sure enough, the outline of the two men was a bright golden color, indicating that they were his targets as he began to follow them from the shadows, listening in on their conversation as the made their way through the city.

”Killing that 'Princess’ was easier than I thought it would be. Guess it goes to show you that she should have never tried to change anything.”

“Yeah… but, all the same, I sure hope it was worth it to Blueblood. He’d do anything to get his father’s love, and this proves it,” the second stallion said.

“Can’t help but agree with you there, man. Hard not to show your son at least some form of respect after saving everything they’ve ever known,” the first stallion said as he and his cohort arrived at a run-down building and entered.

Ezio climbed his way to the top of said building and looked down upon them through a skylight in the roof. Inside the room below were two more targets, who were soon joined by the two targets that Ezio had been following.

...

“Did anyone see you?” Gallant Heart asked one of the guards who’d just entered.

“No, Gallant, no one saw us,” said one of the guards who’d just arrived.

“Good,” said Gallant, letting out a sigh of relief.

“How long do we have to stay here, Heart?”

“We wait until the shift changes, then we make a run for it out of the city and hole up some place safe until we can find the means to get away from Equestria,” said Gallant. I never should’ve agreed to this… but, he threatened my baby brother, what else was I supposed to do? thought Gallant before something crashed behind him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Standing underneath the now smashed skylight stood a mysterious figure in a white hooded armored robe with an assortment of knives and a sword on his belt. The rogue soldiers each pulled out their owns swords and took up their starting stances, ready for a fight.

“Flashy entrance. Tell me, have you by any chance heard of a door, or do you just like pulling glass out of your shorts?” one of the guards asked the hooded figure.

“I have not come to play games,” said the hooded figure, drawing his own sword. with what seemed to be a thick Haytalian accent. “I have come here to make you pay for murdering that Princess, what was her name… Twilight Sparkle. But, if you tell me who hired you to kill her, I promise to spare your lives.”

“Like Tartarus that’s gonna happen,” said a different guard.

“Very well, then. Shall we dance?” asked the hooded figure as the four rogue guards surrounded him.

One of the guards made the first move, an attack that the hooded figure was easily able to counter, thus ending the stallion’s life with a deep slash across his throat.

The three remaining guards seemed to lose their nerve a little was they held back their next strike.

“Ugh, I hate these awkward moments. Hurry up, I have to meet a lady friend,” taunted the hooded figure, causing another guard to strike at him.

“That’s enough out of you!” the guard yelled as he swung at the hooded figure, only to meet a similar fate as his comrade, leaving only two of them.

“Buck this! I’m outta here!” said the third guard as he sheathed his sword and attempted to run for it, only to be silenced by a well-timed throwing knife through the back of his throat. Unfortunately, that left the hooded figure wide open to an attack from Gallant.

“Argh!” the figure cried as Gallant’s blade struck him. Thankfully, his armor had taken most of the blow. “Well, well… not bad,” the hooded figure said to Gallant as the two began to circle each other.

“You don’t understand why we had to kill Twilight,” said Gallant. “You don’t understand why I had to kill her.”

“It doesn’t matter why you had to do it. All that matters is that you did it,” said the hooded figure. “And therefore you must pay for your crimes!”

With that, the figure struck at Gallant, who parried the blow and attempted on of his own. Back and forth the two warriors battled until, finally, the hooded figure managed to disarm Gallant and run his blade through his chest. The hooded figure pulled his blade out of Gallant and made his way over to the dying soldier’s side.

“You… don’t understand. I had to do this… to save my little… brother… I was trying to stop this madness, but… they made me choose between Gladius and Twilight…” choked Gallant.

“‘They?’ Who are ‘they?’” asked the hooded figure.

“Lord Cosmo… start with… with…” Gallant tried to say before he released his last breath.

The hooded figure let out a sigh. ”Non ho dubbi che hai fatto quello che pensi fosse giusto per salvare quello che più importa a te,” he said in what sounded like Haytalian as he closed Gallant’s eyes. ”Resquiescat in pace.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the door was kicked down and several stallion wearing armor not dissimilar to the men the hooded figure had just slain. Upon catching sight of the hooded figure, the soldiers turned their attention to him. “Don’t move! Hands on your head! Freeze!” they barked.

Acting quickly. the hooded figure reached into one of the pouches on his belt and threw some kind of smoke bomb that filled the room with thick grey smoke and caused the guards to start coughing and gagging.

Once the smoke cleared, the figure in the white hood had vanished into thin air, like a ghost.