After the trial was over and Carrot Top paid, both for her produce and cart reparations, I changed to the caution stripe athletic outfit and went out for a run to get some stress out. “First, I get called out because of an attack in town. Then I get summoned, abducted, break out of a cell, chase down an evil lust happy Lyra, and meet a death god or something like that. Then I get back here, get dropped in the middle of the attack, kill nearly two dozen diamond dogs in self defense, break four of a dragon’s limbs. . . Three limbs and his tail, find out it really was an assassination attempt, and see what’s probably the start of some big political reform. God, this nuts.”

I stopped during my fifth lap through Sweet Apple Acres when an object that looked like part of a spear flew in front of me and stuck itself in a tree trunk. After staring at it for a bit, I pulled it out and heard, “I am Bayek, Servant of Anubis. Should you need the aid of the Assassin Brotherhood, the Armies of Anubis, or just need someone to talk to, summon me. Call for Anubis’s Servant. And if I come with a passenger, it means that fate requires him to come.”

“Ah, the sandman.” I thought for a bit about heading back home before trying anything. “Nah, I’m doing it now.” I held the spear upwards and dramatically said, “Oh servant of Anubis! Hear my call, so that you may come forth to visit me!”

The wind slowly began to pick up, with sand particles flowing to a central spot. When the sand started swirling about a meter or two away, the wind suddenly became fast and the sand swirled in a tornado fashion. The spear then suddenly flew out of my hands into the sand storm. A few seconds later, the wind slowed down, dissipating the sandstorm, revealing Bayek with a hole in his chest and the spear pinning a hooded pony to a tree trunk.

“Breathe, Bayek,” he muttered loud enough for me to hear. “It wasn’t Granny shooting you with a blunderbuss, it was just a minor issue with the token.”

“Hello again,” I greeted Bayek. “By the way, there’s a pony stuck to a tree behind you.”

“Is there?” He asked as he turned around to see. “I’ll get him...or her...unstuck then.” He walked to the pony and grabbed the spear, but he seemed to freeze for a moment, before he pulled a similar spear from his back and stabbed the pony through his mouth, killing him instantly. “Requiescet in pace,” he said as he removed both spears.

“Woah, woah, woah, what was that for? He didn’t do anything!” As I approached, I saw a knife with a glowing blade on the ground. “Wait a minute. . .”

“Yes, he was hired by someone to kill you,” Bayek said. “Greed was his motivation, and he was truly diehard about not revealing his employer.” He reached into the pony’s cloak and pulled out a bag of bits and a small scroll. “You get the rest upon job completion. -DI” Bayek read.

Even though I tried to keep my cool, some fire started leaking out from my hair and eyes. “And I just got through with a trial on another attempt on my life,” I said through gritted teeth. “I swear, if there’s another one today, I’m going to get those nobles in a room with me and burn all of them. Starting with their horns as candles!”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down!” Bayek said, attempting to smother the flames with his hands, to no effect. “Just breathe and-” The sound of a spell discharging came from somewhere nearby and Bayek suddenly pushed me aside. Then, I heard an eagle cry and felt two somethings hitting my back, causing me to fall face first into the dirt.

I activated the empty Ember Celica as I got up, my eyes turning red and the fire spreading along my arms, thankfully avoiding the athletic clothes. “Wrong. Move.” I saw a cloaked bright pink unicorn with a neon green and blue mane trying to hide herself amongst the foliage. I did not hesitate to rush in and start pummeling her, fury fueling my fire. After a number of punches, I dealt one final uppercut, I sent her flying up through the trees.

“Pixies, unicorns, and eagle feathers,” Bayek drunkenly said when I turned around. He was laying on the ground beside a stunned eagle with brown and white feathers.

I managed to collect myself and turn off the flames as I approached him. “Well, you’ve got two out of three, so I guess that’s not bad.” The mare crash landed next to him a moment later, small flames licking at her cloak. “Excuse me.” I extinguished the flames and approached her. “So, who hired you to try and kill me?”

“Sir. . . Denaro. . . Insanguinato,” the mare croaked out. “So many bits. . . Enough for a lifetime, and he called it pocket money. How could I have refused?”

“Greed. Why are they still after me? WHY?”

“Beats me. Hurk! Blegh.” And like that, she died.

I closed her eyes and said, “Rest in peace,” before sitting down next to Bayek and the bird, who was standing on his chest. “Well, I guess I need to get an official over here somehow.” An idea quickly came to mind and I lay down on the grass, pointed a finger to the sky, and made a tall geyser of flames appear, keeping it up for nearly a minute before I got tired and cut the flames, dropping my arm once it was done. “That should do it. How are you holding up?” A surprised squak came from the eagle, it hopping onto my arm as Bayek was muttering something about chapped lips. “Hey, don’t fall apart on me, okay? In fact, if you’re going to fall apart, just. . . stay right there.”

Twilight teleported over a moment later. “Yang, what. . . not again. What happened?”

“Two ponies sent to kill me. Sandman here got one, I got the other. They were hired by Sir Dena. . . Denarosa. . .”

“Sir Denaro Insanguinato?”

“Yeah, him. The crispy one gave the name, skewered one has a note, both were paid by him.” I sighed before continuing. “Twilight, am I going to have to hire full time bodyguards like Celestia and Luna?”

“I hope not. This is probably just a coincidence on the timing. So, who’s your friend?”

“His name’s Bayek.”

“Error 404: Data not found,” Bayek said drunkenly. “Restarting simulation.” He then somehow got his shield off of his back and slammed it on his own face, leaving it there for a few seconds before pulling it off and straightening his nose with a spurt of sand. “Why do my lips feel like I just kissed a bird’s beak?” The eagle hid its head under a wing and turned away from me.

“Let’s just say I glassed you for a bit by accident.” I turned back to Twilight as I stood up. “He’s made of sand. Anyways, what can you do about these two?” I pointed to the bodies of the ponies sent after me.

Two flashes of magic later, and the bodies were gone. “They’re in the morgue now. I’ll take a look at them later. Just go on with your day.”

“Thanks.”

“What about me?” Bayek said, as he stood up. “It was night...unless...wibbly wobbly, timey wimey?” He looked at me with a questioning look.

“That’s at the post office. I think.”

“You’re good to go, too, Bayek,” Twilight said. “I’m going to go talk with Applejack now. See you around.”

“Alright.” I got up as Twilight teleported off. “Bayek, I have one question for you now,” I said in a serious tone of voice.

“Shoot...not a bullet, but...you get what I mean,” he said.

“I left my ammo at home.” I retracted the Ember Celica as I got to the question. “You hungry?”

“Yeah, I’m up for something to eat,” he answered. He then picked up one of the spears and offered it to me handle first. “And I believe this belongs to you.”

I accepted the spear and started walking back towards home. “Yep. So, what do you want?”

As soon as we entered, I recited the order to Bayek. “A bacon wrapped steak and a salad, right?”

“Yep,” he confirmed while handing me the bit pouch he got from the assassin. “And maybe consider having fish added to the menu.”

“I’ve asked my provider about that, but it would be extremely expensive. The way things are now, it looks like chicken, beef, and pork are the only meats I’ll be able to get reliably. Anyways, you’re not the only special guest of mine today.” I lead Bayek to a table. “Bayek, this is Garble.” I turned to the bandaged dragon with a double take. “I didn’t expect you here this early. . . How did you even get in here? We’re not even open yet.”

“The bear let me in,” Garble answered. “And some weird. . . thing named Discord teleported me to the front door.”

“Ah. So, any specific tastes, Garble?”

“Just get me something with gems in it.”

“We. . . don’t have anything like that.”

Garble grumbled at my answer. “Just something, then.”

“Alright.” I left Garble, Bayek, and the bird that was stuck with him to go to the kitchen and prepare some food for them.

A few minutes later, I came out with two bacon wrapped steaks, well done, two salads with burnt ends on them, and another small bowl of burnt ends, seasoned with a bit of bacon grease. Just before I reached the table, I saw Bayek and Garble arm wrestling while the bird stood on another chair, watching the match. “Winner gets their food first.” A few seconds after I started watching, Bayek lost the match. He also lost his whole arm, and some of the sand landed on one of the salads and one of the steaks. “Those are his.”

“Ha! Five in a row!” Garble pronounced as Bayek pulled his arm away from Garble’s grip and placed it back in its place.

“And here’s to the winner,” I said, placing the clean steak and salad in front of Garble. “Here’s to the bird.” I placed the bowl of burnt ends in front of the bird, who smelled it and gave a happy trill. “And here’s to a good effort.” I placed Bayek’s food down in front of him, then distributed the silverware. He sighed at his sandy food and placed his hand over it, sucking up most of, if not all of the sand.

“Serves me right for being so fragile,” Bayek muttered. “Being made of sand isn’t exactly something I like, but I have to deal with it.”

“Such is life,” I added.

Garble skipped on the silverware and just picked up his steak before taking a bite out of it. “Hmmm. . . It’s not sapphire, but it’s alright.”

Bayek, despite using the provided silverware, ate just as messily as Garble. “Fish is my thing, but I’ll admit that this was cooked to perfection. It’s hard to find someone who can cook certain meats and not get it dry.”

“Well, I have had lots of experience cooking here,” I admitted. “It also helps that some of my griffon employees gave me some tips on cooking it.”

The bird pecked and ate up some of the burnt ends I had served it. When it squawked in appreciation, Bayek looked at the bird in slight confusion. “Well, the bird’s happy, I think. I swear it sounded like it said, ‘Delicious.’”

“It did sound happy. I mean, I did use bacon grease with her burnt ends. . . Is the bird a girl?” The eagle nodded at my question. “Okay.”

“So, just wanting to know, why were you being targeted earlier?” Bayek asked.

I put the tray down and got another chair from a nearby table, sitting down at the end of the table. “So, over a year ago, I was put in charge of a legislative meeting and I shot down 28 of the 30 nobles’ bills, partly on the grounds of cost, partly on impracticality, partly on other grounds as well. Ever since then, and after a similar event that happened here, they’ve been coming after me in some form or another. The attack that Garble lead and the attempts today are the most direct efforts they’ve tried. The closest they actually got was when they made my shower water freezing cold. I came really close to getting a bad case of hypothermia from the shock.”

“So, a bunch of spoiled brats that aren’t getting what they want,” Bayek summarized. “And from what evidence we obtained today, the proverbial pot has reached its boiling point. All it takes is one wrong word for it to explode.”

“Yeah. Hopefully, yesterday’s trial and today’s events will send them scurrying back to the drawing board. As long as they stay there, things are good.” I sighed before continuing. “Why they haven’t just gotten over it and tried their legislative stuff again, I don’t know. At least Fancy and Fleur are good nobles.”

“Maybe because they feel like they lost their power from your interference and want to get rid of you so that it doesn’t happen from you and teaches others to not get involved,” Bayek thought out loud.

Garble finished off his steak before picking up the salad bowl, looking at it, then opening his mouth and tossing the whole thing in.

“No, I think it’s just straight up revenge,” I said. “Otherwise, they would have stopped after the cold shower incident flopped against one of them.”

“Well, either way, they don’t want threats to their ‘power,’ of which you are one of them,” Bayek said. “I’m sure those brats would be willing to target any of the Element Bearers if they became a threat to their power.”

“Let them start and end with Pinkie, then.”

Garble stood up and started walking off, a distinctive limp in his gait thanks to the cast. “The food was good.” Soon, he was out of the building.

“He’s not one for politics, is he?” Bayek asked.

“Probably not. Honestly, I don’t blame him either. Revenge over politics he had no part of got him hurt, so it makes sense he’d want to avoid it. I just hope he tells the dragons good things about me.”

“I’m not sure what dragons would think about ponies though,” Bayek said. “One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch.” He then looked to the door. “And I’m not sure, but either you have early customers or a VIP guest concerning today’s events so far.”

“Hm?” I looked over to the door and saw Celestia standing there. I was already up and on my way over to her when she started knocking on the door. “Coming, coming.” I opened the door and let Celestia in. “Hi, Celestia. Mind if I guess why you’re here?”

“I’d rather get straight to the matter,” Celestia said as she and a small group of guards filed in. As I lead them back towards the table Bayek was at, she continued. “Based on what Twilight told me, you and an acquaintance were at Sweet Apple Acres and two ponies, apparently assassins, were out to get you.”

“Yeah, they were.” I gestured to Bayek as we approached. “This is Bayek. He got the first one, partly by accident. I got the second one. The second one gave us the name, Denaro Insanguinato.” Bayek presented the scroll and I put the bag of bits on the table. “These were on the first one.”

Celestia didn’t have to look long at them before coming to a conclusion. “Those are definitely from him. All I need is the scroll, the bag, and a note of how much is in it. You may keep the bits, Yang.” As I emptied the bag to start counting the bits, she turned to Bayek. “Mister, Bayek, was it?” At Bayek’s nod, she continued. “You have saved a national hero today. What can I do to thank you?”

“No offence, but what you can do is never believe the lie that says, ‘all is well,’ because all will never be well,” Bayek responded. “And I’m sorry if I sound harsh, I was told by a former member of a secret organization in my world that the Celestia there believes that lie to the point of not believing anything else, even if evidence points the other direction.”

“Don’t believe it when someone says all is well. . . Truthfully, I already do that. That being said, I had no idea either of these attacks on Yang were planned. I will have to start being more proactive with the nobles going forward. I have no doubt they will keep trying to get Yang one way or another.”

“Maybe pulling the titles of ⅔ of the Nobles and giving those titles to certain Pegasi and Earth ponies will teach them something,” Bayek suggested.

“I suppose you’re imagining an even spread of the three types of ponies on the council?”

“Yes,” Bayek said simply. “There is a phrase that I like. ‘No taxation without representation.’ Why should the many Pegasi and Earth ponies abide by the laws and taxation of this land if they have no representatives in the government?”

Celestia softly chuckled at his idea. “Oh, dear Bayek, you’ve got it wrong. It’s not a matter of species that’s the problem, but a matter of policy. I’ve seen unicorns craft excellent farming laws, pegasi with magic laws, and earth ponies with weather laws. If there are ten spots for pegasi, but only seven that meet the requirements, what do you do then?”

“Thestrals? Jackals? Sheep? Hyenas?” Bayek said, adding a little joking to his answer.

Celestia continued, a brief smile on her face from the jest. “Promoting somepony to a position of power because of their species is a very risky gamble. The nobles that are after Yang all had their positions given to them by previous members, who were also unicorns. The two that aren’t after her worked their way up, and even though they too are unicorns, they are shunned by their peers on the council.”

“I stand corrected then. It’s less an over and under representation thing and more of a power thing,” Bayek said. “With the recent incidents, it would require harsh punishments, loss of titles and/or power and enstating someone who is worthy, not necessarily someone who isn’t a unicorn.”

“And now you understand. That being said, the transition will not be smooth. I started looking into ways to find new ponies to put on the council last night, without using a royal decree.” The princess turned to me. “Do you have any ideas, Yang?”

I looked up from the bits, all 555 worth of them. “Honestly, I don’t right now. Can I just stay out of this?”

“As long as the nobles are after you, I’m afraid it’s not likely to go that way. You can limit your involvement, though, but don’t be surprised if I come to you for assistance on occasion.”

“Or a twelve ounce steak.”

“I’m sure you would prefer I came for one of those again.”

Bayek chose that moment to chime in. “Scientifically speaking, equines can eat and digest meat...they just don’t need it to live. It’s more of a survival trait. Just random trivia.”

“All of that is true, though it seems that the ones that eat meat more often have a bit more muscle mass. Or so a study I read last week about Ponyville said.” Celestia turned to leave. “I’m afraid I must take my leave now. I need to start sorting out the noble issue more thoroughly. Farewell.” Celestia and her guards left on that note, taking the bit pouch and note, leaving me, Bayek, and the bird.

“Well, that was a thing that happened,” I idly noted before turning to my guests. “So, lack of fish aside, what do you think of the Carne Den?”

“Interesting place, I’ll admit,” he said. The bird then let out a few happy squawks, causing Bayek to look at the bird with confusion again. “Okay, I think we need to talk to Miss Magic and see if I’m either hallucinating hearing a professional critique from an eagle or I actually am hearing it.”

“Alright, I’m curious: what did the eagle say?”

“Five and one quarter stars, and the burnt ends should come in different meats, as it could give customers some variety with the appetizer,” Bayek ‘translated.’

“Hmm. . . Duly noted. I’ll see what I can do.”

After Bayek and the eagle finished their meal and I quickly washed all the dishes, we left to go see Twilight. The walk was a quiet one, and the wait to see Twilight was non-existent. I spoke first, deciding to make it simple. “Twilight, Bayek thinks he might be hallucinating hearing the eagle that seems to have adopted him talking.”

“Really?” Twilight looked at Bayek and the eagle on his shoulder. “Not that I don’t appreciate this break in the lull, but why did you come to me?”

“Primarily because you could have a better chance at knowing why I can understand her and not Yang,” Bayek explained, “I mean, I couldn’t have come up with that review on your burnt ends. I can’t make up stuff on the fly like that to save my life...not that I have life in me to save.”

“Hmm. . . Do you have any idea what might have caused this?”

“Either I’m still a little loopy from getting hit by that spell that was aimed at Yang, or when the spell pierced me, it changed a little, and some of the sand of my body fused with her when she did the same, connecting us in some way?” Bayek said. “Those are my guesses.”

Twilight came down to Bayek, lit up her horn, and started looking at Bayek and the Eagle. “No sign of any kind of magical fusion, and no sign of any mental impediments, though I admittedly don’t have a baseline for you. . . Ah, here’s something. There’s a very strong empathic connection there, magically reinforced. That’s probably how you can understand the eagle.”

Bayek had a brief contemplative look before he transferred the eagle to his arm and walked over to one of the windows. “If what you say is true, then what I’m going to do should work.” He then opened the window and beckoned for the eagle to fly out. When he turned back to Twilight and I, his eyes were glowing white and his face seemed blank. “Huh, this is interesting. Never thought that I would get a literal bird’s eye view of the world.”

“That is a very strong connection if you can see through the eagle.”

“Senu, her name is Senu,” Bayek said. “And out of curiosity, why does your castle have a lack of guards or soldiers?”

“I haven’t gotten around to it,” Twilight admitted. “That being said, it’s a low priority. It wouldn’t be much of a castle that embodies friendship if you see guards everywhere. Plus, with the kinds of things I’ve had to face, they would get in the way more than anything.”

“Then maybe you could have them be the kind of guards to try to protect and/or evacuate those under your rule, rather than as a means of keeping them from you or vice versa,” Bayek suggested. “And the castle would have the least number of guards, and their barracks or whatever would be elsewhere.”

“Your phrasing suggests a heavier guard presence elsewhere, likely throughout town. What effect do you think armed ponies patrolling the town would have on the populace? Aside from that, Ponyville was prone to many weird things happening, even before I came here. The citizens here can handle themselves quite well against things that would send bigger cities into a panic. Analyzing the cost and effects of 24/7 guard presence, at least here, it would be an overall negative effect.”

“Alright, fine,” Bayek said. “I won’t complain, but I’ll make two points. One, if the citizens of this town are used to danger like what is experienced, what would happen if a bigger threat than what they’ve faced shows up and you and your friends aren’t there to keep it at bay? Point two, ‘it’s better to have it and not need it, rather than need it and not have it.’”

“We’re done here.” I walked up to Bayek, glassed him solid, and picked him up. “Thank you, Twilight.”

As I walked back home, Senu gently perched herself on my shoulder. With Bayek quiet, I didn’t make any conversation. “Two arguments with royalty in one day. I hope that doesn’t become a habit of his.” After I got home, I dropped Bayek and found the spear, which I had left in the kitchen.

With a crack, Bayek somehow shattered himself and quickly returned to his sandy form. After his head reformed, he looked up at me and Senu. “I overstepped in my conversation with Twilight. For that, I apologize.”

“Apology accepted. But for now, we’re done.” I pointed the spear at Bayek. “You’re done here. Go back to whence you came.”

As the pile of sand that was Bayek and his head started to funnel into a silent portal under him, the eagle flew over and dove into the mess, vanishing into the sand. Once the portal closed, there was no sign of either the sand or the eagle.

With them gone, I went about getting ready for the workday, starting with a relaxing shower that I really needed.

Author's Notes:

Yeah, things just aren't going Yang's way. Fortunately, that will change soon, as something is in the air. At least, it will be once it arrives.

This is the real last part of Yang's time with the Assassins.