Frigid Night arrived at the lobby with Morning Blade just as their Mentor stomped one of her greaves, quieting the crowd of Assassins below the balcony.
“What do you think she wants to talk to us about?” Morning Blade asked her mentor.
“Templars,” Frigid simply said.
Their Mentor cleared her throat before beginning her speech. “Assassins. I’ve gathered you all here today because we’ve had news in Saddle Arabia. Troubling news. The Templars have snuck their way in from the seas, already having a portion of Masyaf under their control. I will be taking a few of you with me to Saddle Arabia to help out. This is going to be an important day for the Brotherhood all over the world. If the Templars succeed here… Let’s just say there will be nothing we can do to stop them.
“We’re also calling in Assassins from all the bureaus. All Mentors will be sending a portion of their people to Saddle Arabia to stop this threat. Now, those of you willing to go, please come see me and Star Lance in the meeting room. That will be all.”
The Mentor concluded her speech by disappearing out of sight, along with her lieutenant. Murmurs began spreading across the Assassins present; Frigid could hear decisions being made and questions being asked.
“Frigid, are you gonna go?” Morning Blade asked, pulling her braid in front of her. “This sounds pretty important.”
“We should,” Frigid nodded. “And I doubt Mentor’s going to let me stay here without one of them being around.”
“Is it because of that incident again?” Morning asked. “It doesn’t matter. They should know that people deserve second chances.”
“It’s fine, Morning. I’m used to it. That’s just the way life is now. If people can’t trust me, then that’s the way it is.”
“Oh…” Frigid’s apprentice sounded disappointed, but there was nothing he could do about it. If she didn’t like it that he had trust issues, then she didn’t like it. Simple as that.
“Come on. Let’s go,” he said and began heading for the stairs. “Might as well get this over with.”
“Dewdrop,” Velvet Breeze asked as sweetly as she could. “Do you think the Mentor’ll let me-”
“No,” was Dewdrop’s immediate answer. “I’m not letting you go to Saddle Arabia.”
“But-”
“No buts, Velvet,” Dewdrop patted the young girl’s head. “It’s dangerous. Mentor said so herself. It’s better if you stay here. Besides, you still have to train. Speaking of that… How has training been for you?”
“It’s been great!” Velvet bounced in her chair.
“I know Pierce can be a total bore sometimes- Wait, what did you say?”
“I said it’s been great!”
“Bu-but… It’s Pierce Network!”
Velvet tilted her head to the side. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Isn’t the man like, super boring and drags on and on about irrelevant things?”
“Yeah, he does, but sometimes he talks about some pretty interesting stuff. Did you know he used to be a vigilante in Chicoltgo in his earlier days? He had taken apart an entire conspiracy all by himself! He even took down the people that had killed his niece! I think that’s very cool, and he tells me all sorts of funny jokes!”
“Seriously? Jokes?”
“Yeah! I can’t quite remember what they are, but they’re funny.”
“Wow,” was all Dewdrop could say. “Just… Wow. I never knew.”
“How much time have you spent talking to him?” Velvet asked. “I mean, the more time you spend, the more you really get to know someone.”
“Well…” Dewdrop flipped her hair back. “Yeah. Only a little… But, he’s been teaching you? Like, properly?”
Velvet nodded vigorously. “Yeah! In a few years, I should be a master at it! Just one thing.”
Dewdrop raised an eyebrow. “Yes? What is it?”
“I don’t think a baton’s going to do well in a real fight,” Velvet kicked her legs back and forth under the chair. “Do you think you could teach me how to use a knife, Dewdrop? Or at least, something more… sharp?”
“Velvet, you know that’s a bad idea…” Dewdrop put her arms on her hips. “Mentor’ll have my head if she finds out.”
“Well, do it secretly then!” Velvet put a finger to her mouth and smiled.
“Satin wouldn’t have wanted this, Velvet.” The mention of Satin’s name pained Dewdrop, but she didn’t want Velvet ending up like her big sister. She had to keep Velvet safe no matter the cost. “She never wanted you here.”
The girl also looked like she was hit with a sudden wave of sadness, looking down at her feet which stopped swinging. “Satin wants me safe, Dewdrop… That’s what she would want. If I can’t protect myself… What happens if you’re not around?”
“I’ll be around, Velvet,” Dewdrop said and gave the middle-schooler a hug. “I’m going to be here for you.”
“But with all this Saddle Arabia stuff going on, what if the Mentor wants you to go?” Velvet looked at Dewdrop with big eyes. “Please, teach me how to use a real weapon, Dewdrop! At least then I’ll be able to protect myself properly.”
Dewdrop sighed but formed a small, thin smile on her face. “Alright, you win, kid. But remember, not a word to anyone.”
“Of course!” Velvet hopped off the chair and jumped excitedly. “So when do we start?”
"I guess someone got the word out, huh?" Twilight Sparkle laughed, then remembered they were in a public place today and lowered her voice. "Since you have that part in your book."
"Oh, ha, yeah, Velvet was the one who told me..." Morning Blade grinned, reminiscing on a time before Sombra attacked the bureaus. Even if things had been bad when she joined the Assassins, there were still her good moments of being part of the Brotherhood. Velvet was one of them. She was always a fun girl to be around with. "Have you seen her in the last couple of days, Twilight? How has she been doing?"
"Oh, I just went to visit her yesterday after I left you." Twilight fiddled with the pen in her hands. "She's still mostly bedridden, but she's getting better, that much I can tell. Our unicorns are working some good progress on her as we speak."
"Unicorns, huh..." Morning looked up at the sky, where there was a cloud that coincidentally looked like a horse. "But that's good that Velvet's doing better. She went through so much to get us where we are today. The end of the long war."
Twilight nodded. "Sombra was delayed because of Velvet and Sunset. Equestria owes them. It's our duty to make sure Velvet gets back all well and good."
"And for that, you have my thanks, Twilight." Morning put a hand on the princess' shoulder. "Thank you so much for taking care of Velvet."
"Like I said, we owe her too. Now, back to the story?" Twilight's grin widened.
"Right, sure. Let's see..." Morning flipped the page.
“You? Volunteering?” Star Lance folded his arms as he looked at Frigid Night. “I’d thought you’d want to stay here.”
“Well, you’re probably going to bring me along anyway, right?”
Star Lance nodded and almost smiled. “That’s right. Mentor’s orders. You’re going regardless. Glad to see that you’ll be there because of your own volition.”
Frigid Night, Morning Blade, Trueshot, Rose Petal, and even High Noon had gathered in the meeting room, volunteering themselves to go on the Saddle Arabia mission with the Mentor and Star Lance.
“From the reports of the Saddle Arabia Mentor, things are looking bleak,” Steel Shine began. “Their new Grand Master, going by the name, Sombra, has full control of the artifact. If we don’t do something, he could overtake Masyaf in a day or two.”
“Then why hasn’t he?” Morning Blade asked. “And by Sombra, do you mean…”
“Yes. The name of the old king of Masyaf,” Star Lance answered her question. “But that was a thousand years ago.”
“But the history books said he died long ago and was buried in his city,” Morning continued. “Unless this is a different person, but with the same name. But, how is that possible?”
“We don’t know,” Steel Shine shook her head. “That’s one of the things we have to find out when we get there. And as for why he hasn’t taken all of Masyaf, I personally think he’s still getting used to the artifact. These weapons,” Steel Shine put a hand on her sword. “Take some breaking in.”
Frigid nodded in approval at his apprentice’s understanding of history. He hadn’t taught her anything about the Brotherhood’s history, yet she knew about this king. She must have studied a lot of that while she was in school.
High Noon raised his hand, sitting in his corner. “Yeah, uh, why do I have to go? Why can’t I just stay here?”
Guess High Noon didn’t volunteer, Frigid thought to himself.
“We’d thought the change in scenery would do you some good, Noon,” Star Lance told him, his voice more relaxed than usual. “We just want to get you back to top shape. I know it’s hard to let go, but this is the life of an Assassin. Losing friends is inevitable.”
“Yeah…” High Noon sighed at looked away. “Thanks.”
Frigid almost felt sorry for his old friend, but things have changed. He wasn’t as close to the cowboy ever since Windy Sails had died. High Noon really missed her. Frigid didn’t blame him. He still missed Mirror Match, though he had gotten over the fact that she had only used him and didn’t care for him at all.
A few of the other Assassins began asking the Mentor questions. She carefully answered each one, making sure those going to Saddle Arabia had every shred of knowledge they needed before throwing themselves in battle.
“How do you feel about all this, Frigid?” his apprentice nudged. “It doesn’t sound or feel right.”
True, Frigid felt that there were just about to step off the diving board into the deep end, but he didn’t show it on his face.
“Don’t know, Morning, but whatever it is, we’ll be ready.”
“Has there ever been anything… you weren’t ready for?” Morning decided to ask, though she tried to pick the best words for it. “I mean, something that no matter how much you prepared yourself, it still posed a problem?”
Frigid knew the answer to her question, but he simply shrugged and shook his head at the same time. “We’re Assassins. It’s our job to be prepared for anything.”
“Oh, well… Okay then…” Morning Blade sighed. It was tough to get a straight answer out of her teacher.
“If that’s everything,” the Mentor said after getting up. “Then we leave at nightfall. Thank you for agreeing to doing this.”