“Well that was quick.” I whispered quietly to Le Duck receiving a small smile in return as we stood in a crowd of anxious ponies. Their heads poked out trying to get a better view of the newcomers to this small village.

“I told you Dave works fast,” Le Duck whispered back with a grim look on his face. “I don’t know whether to be joyful or scared for predicting this. But still, it’s quite interesting don’t you think?”

It’s true.

No later than when I had fallen unconscious the night before and the sun rose to greet a new day, had brought forth more than just light to the quiet village.
Guards, all bearing the colour scheme of Balthazar’s army, and if you definitely wanted to let everypony know “Hey! I’m a Templar!” then giving them a blaring white Purifier Industries logo on their uniform sleeve was a dead giveaway.

In my head, I counted twenty guards plus their captain. He looked more refined and disciplined than the grunts as he sports a radiant crimson cape and metallic armor engraved with artistic art. Whether it was a symbol of a dragon, giant cat, or a pony riding a unicycle, I didn’t care.
The stab wound left in my chest from Dave still burned and I was forced by will to rest upon my uncle’s shoulder as we watched the captain of the guards trot forward from his subordinates on an elevated wooden stage overlooking the audience.

“Citizens of Ponyville-“

Wow, I hate this guy already.

“Do not fear our presence! We have been sent by her mighty majesty of Equestria to investigate this village for a convict that has recently escaped from the Canterlot dungeons.” A few murmurs came from the audience from the mention of the Princess. “Once we do find this pony we will be on our way, until then we will search every possible location within your village. Only once we find this cold criminal from the depths of Tartarus would you and your families be once again safe,” the captain ended his speech in an eloquent tone. His words were mixed in with lies and false promises and though some ponies nodded their heads to these, some looked unsure.

“Alright, any general questions from the audience before we begin the sear-” the captain began to speak but was quickly interrupted with a ‘Boo!’ from a certain cerulean Pegasus. He ignored it and beckoned a pony with a hoof raised.

“How will this affect our everyday lives? You aren’t part of some kind of secret conspiracy plot wanting to turn this town into your own base of operations with no rent, BECAUSE I WILL NOT GO BELOW MY AVERAGE RATES FOR MY HOTEL!”

The crowd was silent for a brief second before a small pain shot into my chest and I coughed lightly which prompted the captain to answer.

“We’ll you see, we aren’t going to occupy anypo-”

“BOO!” Rainbow Dash shouted through the crowd.

The captain’s eye twitched a bit, “Furthermore we-”

“BOO!!”

“-are going to- *BOO* try to get- *BOO* this- *BOO* thing- *BOO*…….”

“………. and-”

Rainbow let out the most audible and loudest distain for the speaker up on the stage from her mouth.

“OH THAT’S IT!” The captain seethed with rage and barred his teeth. His eyes went with pure intent to murder this rainbow-manned foe. He took a step forward upon the platform and gripped the handle for the sword attached securely on his left side. The crowd tensed for a moment but Rainbow didn’t budge, instead she did what I would expect her to do in the face of a dangerous semi-political speaker.

Stick her tongue out at the Templar and degrade him further.

The Templar took another step forward but then a strange smile crept against his face, sinisterly he took his hold off the sword and pointed a hoof at her.

“Guards! Arrest her.”

“What!?” Rainbow was in shock as well as the entire crowd, me and Le Duck included. A group of guards ran over to her place in the crowd and despite a short scuffle managed to restrain her. “You can’t do this!” she yelped at the captain who merely gave a dark laugh. Once Rainbow was completely clear from the crowd’s view his gaze returned to the crowd before him, a grin plastered on his muzzle.

“Any more questions?”

----------------------------------------------------------

“Well that was quick,” Le Duck mocked me childishly and making me roll my eyes while facehoofing before we left the crowd and the vicinity of the captain. The guards disbanded soon after and are now combing the town for… well- me.

But seriously, he said all of that and not once did he mention who they’re looking for and what they look like. Are the Templars dumb these days or did Dave personally make sure the captain was an incompetent leader with no chance in a military system?

Either way, Rainbow is in trouble and we need to do something about all these Templars before they learn anything.

“I suggest Uncle, that we try to find the rest and group up,” I said with struggling breaths and taking a seat on a bench.

“Preferably here. Also by we I mean you,” my troll smile was the greatest in all the land in that split second. My body nearly passed out on the bench but my ears perked up when I heard my uncle was going to find them and that I’m a lazy sissy who can’t handle a stab wound.

“Bah, you can call me what you want but I know first and foremost that I’m the molto bene of Ass-”

I stopped, because I noticed that my uncle was no longer here and I was talking to empty space. My pain throbbed within me and I recoiled in anguish. I don’t want to panic or it would be much worse. My hoof made contact to my face waking me up from my half-conscious state and into better thinking.

The pain again, this time it was worse.
The only thing I could do was some breathing techniques until Le Duck came back with the others.

Alright Shadow, in and out. You can do this; you are not going to die on some bench.
At least on one that isn’t made of a better wood.

In.

Out.

The minutes dragged on, but it felt like hours. My lungs tugged but the constant breathing made them relax and loosen after the first minute. I clutched my chest and looked up towards the sky. At this angle my windpipe received more air and the intense pain dulled to a small lingering residence within my nerves.

My eyes catch a great bird circling far up in the clouds above me. My eyes dart down to ground level and I see my orange robed Uncle along with the other Assassins trotting up the lane.

Oh, thank Celestia. For a moment I thought I was going to die knowing that I still haven’t killed that cazzo of a Templar captain.

Or Balthazar….

Or Dave….

Or all those Templars at that party…..

I need a new list soon.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

With everypony gathered around my bench area I began to relay what happened and what the plan was going to be.

“Well bad news, Dave sent a platoon of guards to take us down. Good news is that just like most guards, they are incredibly easy to be singled out and taken down quickly, without any suspicion. The bad news of that is there’s a Templar captain leading them who might actually know what he’s doing, but the good news is that Rainbow embarrassed him in public.”

“The worst news is that they’ve taken Rainbow and we need to somehow save her as well as Ponyville from the Templar threat. So… any suggestions?” I clapped my hooves in anticipation.

“Wait a moment! Rainbow Dash got taken by them!?” Rarity said with shock and my nod make her mouth hang even more lower.

“Well, what are we waitin for? Let’s first get her then figure out how we’re going to deal with these ponies,” Applejack with impatience. The group agreed and with some help from Twilight lifting me from the bench and Dr. Mareio giving me a strength shroom (seriously that was the second worst thing I tasted in my life and I will never mention what the first was), we set out to free Rainbow from her Templar captors.

“But how would we find her? They could have her anywhere within the town by now,” Fluttershy’s worried voice reminded us about this possible setback.

“Excuse me, but even though I have been here for only a short while I did manage to learn about some queues all of have,” Le Duck said with an embarrassed clearing of his throat. “Sorry, force of habit. But if Rainbow Dash is being held somewhere where she doesn’t want to be-”

“Then her rebellious outbursts would lead us to her! Le Duck that’s brilliant!” Twilight exclaimed.

“So if we all listen then we will know she is located over-”

In a flash Pinkie popped up in front of Le Duck and shouted with an uncontrollable urge to get her points across, “THERE! I FOUND HER! SHE’S BEHIND THAT ROW OF BUILDINGS WITH 6 GUARDS ALL COMPLAINING OF HOW LOUD SHE IS AND WHY THEY HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO BUT NOW THEY’RE WONDERING WHAT THIS NEW LOUDER VOICE IS COMING FROM BUT THEY DON’T REALLY CARE! WHY DO THEY NOT LIKE TO LISTEN TO ANYPONY!?”

Le Duck’s face was stricken with shock as well as everypony else, even Dr. Mareio dropped a mushroom he was eating from the volume of Pinkie’s voice.

Pinkie put her front hooves together and did a small giggle, “I uh- learned that from Princess Luna. Hehe….”

It was up to me to take leadership once again, “Argh, never mind. Enough wasting time, everypony move out!”

-------------------------------------------------

Instead of running straight over to Rainbow Dash’s holding cell, rescuing her and taking down the guards like a storm, we had to walk. My pains prevented me from going any faster than a meager limp to my trot. At least we had some time to discuss what we would do with the other Templar guards roaming around Ponyville.

“Well, we could always just go with the usual sneak and stab technique,” I said casually with my head turning back to the group.

“What!? Are you crazy Shadow? None of us have any weapons minus you and y’er Uncle. You nearly got imprisoned for life from ONE captain, and there’s more than twenty of these ponies, of course Ponyville’s gonna notice them! Do you want to wake up tomorrow knowing that you killed them and we’ll ALL end up somewhere worse than prison!?” Applejack spat with distaste of my plan. It was harsh to kill all of those ponies; some of them might only just be following orders and have no clue on what’s going on. "We're Assassin's Shadow... not cold-hearted murderers."
There was tension within the group now that Applejack said how many would have been killed.

Definitely within my life, my totals are much higher. I never realized it until now. A feeling fell into my stomach that wasn’t the same pain from my wound as before.

“Are there any alternatives?” Le Duck asked us.

The yellow Pegasus flew in front of us, “Um… if I may, excuse me..” Her mane shielded her eyes as her gaze went towards the ground. Her hoof made a few small circles within the dirt and Fluttershy then said with a stutter of nervousness, “We could um… not k-kill them?”

We thought for a moment from her idea and little by little my head turned into a nod.

“Yes…. Yes we can do that! We can still use our skills but instead they would be used for non-lethal knockouts. But what of the bodies?” I placed a hoof on my head to help concentrate, “How to hide how to hide….. No, a haystack wouldn’t work-”

“The Transportation System!” Mareio blurted out interrupting my trail of thought. Strange enough, there was sense to his idea.

“Okay, since you suggested it you can do it,” I said receiving a ‘yahoo!’ and a jump of delight from the doctor. My attention shifted back to the group and I pushed us on to move faster now that this plan was almost under wraps. Another question escaped my mouth, “If we took them stealthily how would Dr. Mareio know where to look for them?”

This time my question was answered by Twilight, “Oh! After we save Rainbow I can get Spike to use the telescope I have and work with Ace to locate them, Spike’s great with birds.”

-----At the Tree house----------

“Hey? Helloooooooo? Anypony?” Spike’s voice echoed through the lifeless library. “Strange, maybe there’s something interesting going on toda-”

A hoot was heard and this nearly made Spike jump, apparently he wasn’t the only one still at the library.

“Hey Owlwicious,” Spike turned his head to see the owl perched on top of a pedestal. “Do you know where Twilight’s gone?”

“Who?”

“Twilight you know, the purple unicorn that lives here and feeds you?”

“Who?”

“….. by Celestia there better be something better than this for me today.”

--------------------------------------------------------

With our plan of the day ready I stopped short of a building and ushered the others to be quiet. I peeked around the corner and my sight takes in the layout of six guards keeping Rainbow inside a wooden-barred cage.

“Lemme out!”

“Oooh looks like we have a feisty one here huh?” mocked a guard as he gave a laugh and this made Rainbow’s face glow red with rage.

A guard whispered to another one, “Why can’t we just let her go? She’s more trouble than she’s worth.”

“Are you stupid? The captain would murder us on the spot or put you in the cage with her.”

The guard looked towards the rainbow-manned pony trying to rip apart the wooden holds and his face gave a small sheepish smile, “I certainly wouldn’t mind being in a cage with her, he he…”

I stopped looking and made a tally of us and them. We got seven ponies minus Dr. Mareio who doesn’t fight (at least from what I have seen so far) and Ace who would help more with coordination.

“I’ll be sticking this one out nipote. You’re skills as a group need to be honed without my assistance, but later I’ll take down a few. Can’t have all the fun now then,” Le Duck chuckled.

A simple nod came from my head and my attention shifted back to the five that would help me now, “Alright, so Twilight and Rarity can use their magic to long-range them. I’m assuming there’s a spell that can make a target unconscious?”

“Of course,” replied both Twilight and Rarity.

“Then that leaves Applejack, Pinkie, and Fluttershy to come in for an aerial leap assault.”

“You… you mean from the air?” Fluttershy stuttered with fear.

“It’ll be alrighty Fluttershy!” Pinkie came in and gave a friendly hug to the timid Pegasus. “We will do it together!”

“Because we’re a team,” Applejack placed a hoof out and this made all of us join a hoof within that circle.

Fluttershy was still scared but gave a sigh as her hoof went in, “I just don’t know if I can do it.”

“It’s now or never. I will make the distraction and the first take down. Once I do I want all of you to act.” Their heads nodded in agreement as we all made our separate paths: the five took to the rooftops surrounding the guards, I went to the corner edge of a building and Le Duck and the rest relaxed on a park bench.

Mareio offered my uncle a mushroom which he took and took a bite from, “This is going to be good.”

-----------------------------------------------

My hood peaked through the corner yet none of the guards could see. They were too busy trying to contain the blue Pegasus they held captive who was giving unpleasant outbursts to them and their occupation. My gaze went to the rooftops and the shadows of my friends were visible.

Taking a breath to relax my nerves my hoofs stepped away from the building and I advanced towards Rainbow’s cage. She noticed me and her eyes grew wide with hope. A guard turned his neck back and noticed me, a lone figure clad in a hooded robe, walking slowly. He could tell I wasn’t in my best of shape.

“Excuse me sir, this area is off limits. I suggest you turn the way you came, or else things might get unple- more unpleasant,” the guard trotted over to me as his allies were also fixated on me, none of them noticed the ponies lying in wait above.

“The good news is… you get easier treatment today than you would normally from me! PRECISION!”

My hoof collided with his face as he went close enough. He fell to the side from my blow and I slammed his head into the dust-trodden dirt to knock him out before he could even stand. The guards were shocked but before they could take out their weapons and retaliate, two were hit by glowing electric sparks which fired them enough to send smoke through their uniforms. A pink and orange blur landed on two others while a yellow one gently floated down and landed on the guard’s back.

“Are you unconscious yet?” Fluttershy asked the guard underneath her hoofs.

“No.”

“Oh- I’m so sorry.”

Fluttershy got up from him and he quickly scrambled up to his hoofs. He pulled out flimsily his steel sword to slash her. Applejack ran fast enough and bucked him with her back-hooves, sending him flying for the wall on impact leaving a small imprint in the bricks and an unconscious guard. Fluttershy was petrified from nearly getting attacked and quietly wept on Applejack’s shoulder.
Twilight soon teleported with Rarity by her side to the ground level thus giving the chance for Rairty to head for Rainbow’s cage.

“Let me get this for you darling.”

“You guys are so… AWESOME!” Rainbow squeed as Rarity finished fumbling with the cage lock and released her.

“It was indeed,” we heard my uncle’s voice coming from behind us. “Even you Fluttershy, I know you were trying your best not to hurt him. But for the future at least make it a painless effective blow.” This gave a smile from Fluttershy as she wiped the tears away from her cerulean eyes.

“Great, now that the reunion’s done with we can split up and take down these Templars around town. Somepony fill Rainbow in with our plan, I don’t want any reports that we were seen murdering a Blathazar minion. We should be ghosts and make these ponies disappear seemingly without any trace.”

“Ooooh a ghost! Now I can go haunt them, sneak up behind them and… BOO!” Pinkie did a small imitation of what she was going to do and giggled after.

“We’re going after the rest of the guards right? I would love to leave that nasty captain with a few bruises, and maybe a broken hoof, and maybe throwing him off a cliff-”

“Rainbow!” Twilight exclaimed, resulting Rainbow to get a sheepish blush.

“Alright he won’t fall off a cliff……”

“Bene,” my gaze went to Mareio who was already busy moving a guard body into his mobile hiding spot, his mushroom cart stocked up with hay.

I guess hay never fails.

“If Dave wants to test us or whatever he’s doing, we will show him what it means to be true Assassins. Remember with finesse and no . Let’s get this done.”

I was the first to trot away; my hoof grasped my chest still in pain, as I realized this would have been harder on my part to do.

Slow and steady Shadow, you’ve got all day. These Templars aren't going anywhere.

To be honest, the thought that kept me moving was the inevitable end of the Templar captain. That smug bastard, only he would have any idea of what’s going on. Perhaps there was something that would connect and better yet lead to Dave’s involvement. But for now it’s time for a few non-lethal takedowns.

Ponyville and Ponitalian styles.