//------------------------------// // Chapter IX: S Rank // Story: The Fable of the Zealot // by Silentpegasus //------------------------------// Chapter IX S Rank Many years ago Rosario, Orion and Silver stood in the courtyard across from the raven haired mage. A woman with dark brown hair stood in between them. Crow kept his hand on the handle of his rapier and cracked his neck. Rosario pulled her saber out of it’s sheath, Orion summoned his hammer and Streak was sporting two trench knives on each hand. It had been three months since Crow had been reassigned to Rosario’s team and things had not been going smoothly. More than twice had the team fumbled on a job and their standings were starting to drop on the leader board. They were easily in the bottom percent out of the Academy. Rather than letting wounds fester the four had decided to handle things in a more direct way. “Alright, are you four ready?” The woman yelled. “Yup.” Rose said as she cracked her neck. “Lets get this over with.” Crow said with a sigh. The four students got into their positions and waited. “Begin!” Silver was the first to charge forward. Crow blinked and jumped back just as the man’s fist grazed his cheek. Crow spun on his heel and slammed his elbow into the boy’s jaw. Orion then spun his hammer and was aiming to flatten the raven haired mage. Crow charged forward and dodged the hammer and delivered a swift uppercut. He felt Silver charging his magic behind him and shot a silver colored fire ball from his mouth. Crow grabbed Orion and threw him at the large fireball. Streak saw an object come through the flames and felt Orion’s head, guided by Crow’s hand, slam into his face. The two teenage boys landed in heap and he heard groans of pain. Crow’s green eyes then picked up a red flash and quickly threw up his blade in defense. “Why did you just use him a shield?” Rose said in a venomous tone. “The rules say to complete the mission, one must be forced to make sacrifices.” Crow said in a flat tone. He and Rose were locked in a struggle of strength and skill as the air seemed to be filled with the sounds of clashing steel. Rosario saw an opening and slashed the teenager across his chest. Her eyes shrank as something black spilled out from the wound and his body vanished. The woman was then surrounded by dozens of black birds made of shadow, pecking at her exposed skin. The more she tried to shake them off the more they seemed to replicate. The two teenage boys regained their senses and rushed to help their captain. Streak focused his magic into his hands and shot small fire balls out like a machine gun. The birds soon flew off and fused back into the raven haired man who was now panting heavily. Orion helped rose to her feet and her emerald colored eyes cut like knives as she looked at the boy. Crow’s eyes were stagnant, devoid of any emotion or remorse as he sheathed his blade. He pressed both of his hands together and a massive spell circle formed on the floor in front of him. The three mages felt the floor rumble and saw a massive bird fly out of the circle and land in front of them. The bird had bright red eyes and it’s feathers were ruffled, a scar was over it’s right eye and it’s powerful wings sent hurricane force winds at the mages who were barely holding their ground. Orion shot off several bolts of magic at the large bird and Rose did the same. The black bird spread it’s massive wings and let loose a barrage of black feathers. The quill part of the feathers were like massive spiked that could impale a manticore. Luckily, the young dragon slayer had gathered up whatever magic he had left and let loose a massive fireball that took the form of a dragon and engulfed the feathers and the bird. The large raven then vanished and Crow was nowhere to be seen. “Idiots.” The three then felt their bodies freeze. An invisible force was holding them in place. The three turned their heads to see three shadow like hands coming from the boy’s shadow and wrapping around their bodies. As the boy drew closer the three felt the squeezing increase. As he got into range Rosario focused her magic and managed to break one arm free and slam it into the boy’s face. Crow saw stars as he was sent careening back into the ground and his hold on the three broke. Crow had now run out of magic and was on the ground. Rose limped over to the boy who was motionless. She tapped him with her foot and he grunted. He slowly stood up and sighed. “A bargain is a bargain. I won’t second guess you on your decisions, even if they’re the wrong ones.” The man stated as he picked up his blade and sheathed it. “Good.” Rose said with a pant. The boy then turned into a flock of crows and zoomed away. Rose then hurried over to Streak and Orion as the medical team arrived. The two boys sat up and saw the flock of crows fly off. “Man what is with that guy?” Streak asked. “Why don’t we just kick him off the team?” Orion asked as a medic approached him and examined his wounds. Rose shrugged and saw the headmaster approach them. “Good point.” Rose said as she looked at the older man. “When you get cleared by the medics, come see me in my office. There’s something you should know about Crow.” The older man said as he vanished in a flash of light. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Present. The cane wielding man sighed as he made his way into the meeting room where eight other images were sitting. Each member of the council had their own school to run and communicated through a psychic network. Crow took his seat and withdrew a bright green crystal. “Everyone here?” He asked. “Yes.” The other eight answered. “So what’s this meeting about?” “We’ve received reports of increased bandit activity around Trottingham.” Clay answered. “Several of our attempts to infiltrate and get close to the bandit King have proved ineffective.” Sparrow stated. “This must be dealt with.” Deus said. “I agree, but who to send?” The man said as he folded his hands. “Artemis is still on a mission over in Draconia.” Crow said as he sat back.The door burst open and a small raven was carrying a letter in it’s beak. “Edgar? That a message?” The bird landed and squawked as it dropped the letter. Crow sat that there was a magic seal on the back and tapped it once with his finger. A seal opened up an image of Sunny appeared. “Hello Headmaster Crow, I’m just writing to tell you that everything in the guild is running smoothly.” The image Changeling said with a warm smile. Crow smiled at the news. “In fact we’ve just recently gotten a new addition to our guild.” The other members of the council raised an eyebrow. “Ivory and the rest of team Saint have just officially joined the guild.” Crow’s smile shattered and the other Council members either chuckled or gulped. “I’m not one to boast or anything but I think that Fable is now the strongest guild in the system. That’s all for now I’ll update you if anything changes.” The image vanished and all eyes were on the raven haired man. As the letter dropped from his hands the man’s chair fell back and his head collided with the hard stone. “Crow?” Clay asked as the image looked over the table. Dear creator. With those two working together they really could destroy a town, no a city in no time at all. The man shook his head and sat back up. Even though they were only transmitting their images he could feel Deus’s glare on him. “Now where we?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the sleepy town of Ponyville Crimson was leading Spike towards the guild. The teenager saw a serious look on the man’s face and kept quiet. A day ago Spike had discretely asked Crimson to teach him magic, but refused. Perhaps he reconsidered? Will he learn from one of the strongest mages he’d ever seen? Will he possibly win Rarity over with his new found powers? All these thought and more buzzed around in the child’s head like bees in a hive that had just been hit with a rock. Soon the two came upon the guild and Crimson opened the door to show the gunslinger, blue winged swords-man and green dragon slayer sitting at one of the tables. Ivy saw the red haired mage and waved him over. “Hey dude.” Ivy said with a smile. “What’s up?” Crimson looked at the flyer and thought about how to say what he had to say. “Ivy say hello to your new trainee.” He gestured towards Spike. “Say what?” The girl said. “Spike here wants to learn how to use his magic and you’re the best one to teach him.” “Why can’t you?” “C’mon Ivy, you of all people should know how unpredictable dragon magic is.” “Back up, this kid is a dragon slayer?” Bandit said as he looked at the boy. “No, I’m a dragon that got zapped by a spell and now I’m half human half dragon.” Spike said as he crossed his arms. “Spike this is Bandit, our number one gunslinger. Bandit this is Spike. He’s Twilight’s little brother.” The man tipped his hat to the teenager. “So your girlfriend is making me do this?” Ivy asked. “No, Spike asked me himself and we both agreed that Twilight best be kept out of this little arrangement.” Ivy bit her lip and looked at the child with skepticism in her eyes. “I should let you know that Spike here burned a Forest King to a crisp when we went through the Smog.” Cobalt and the other two felt their jaws hit the floor. “He took down a Forest King?” Ivy said in surprise. “Yes, and just a reminder to you that I still have pictures from that night.” The flyer’s face went dark red and then to marble white in a flash. “You said there was no film in that camera!” She yelled with a growl. “I lied.” He chuckled. Ivy searched her mind for something she could use against the man. Her eyes widened and a smile spread across her face. “Okay Crimson, I’ll train Spike,” Spike smiled at the words as Crimson sighed. “if you do something for me.” Her tone was like honey covered barbs. “What?” “The one thing you swore you’d never do again.” Crimson raised an eyebrow at the words in confusion. Ivy then made it as though she was playing an air guitar. The man’s eyes shrank and he blushed profusely. “Absolutely not!” He yelled. “No way in the nine circles of hell am I ever doing that again!” He yelled. “That’s my price.” “Isn’t there anything else you want?” He asked in a pleading tone. “Nope.” Crimson stood silently cursing the green mage. “Ya know, maybe I should just go tell Twilight about out little conversation.” The flyer got to her feet and made her way towards the door. Crimson was clenching his fists hard enough for his nails to draw blood. He looked down at Spike who had a disappointed look on his face. “Wait.” He said in a raspy voice. Ivy grinned and turned around. Crimson’s face was red with anger and she could see the vein in the middle of his forehead pressing against his skin. “I’ll.” He gritted his teeth and it looked like the man was fighting his own body to say the words. “I’ll do it.” He looked as though he had just swallowed a mouthful of troll droppings. “Now was that so-” “Don’t push me Evergreen.” He hissed. “Fine, I’ll train Spike after you hold up your end of the deal which will be fulfilled upon my return from my mission.” She said as she summoned her bag and chuckled. “I’ll be back in a week. See you then Crimy~” The man’s right eye twitched and he calmed down. Crimson sat down and started banging his head against the wooden table. “What just happened?” Spike asked. “Crimson just agreed to do the one thing he hates more than anything.” Cobalt chuckled. “Which is?” “We’re getting the band back together.” “Band?” “The Academy didn’t just teach us how to kick ass and take names. Everyone had to pass a music class.” Bandit said. “I can play the guitar, harmonica and banjo.” “Bass guitar for me, piano for Rouge, and drums for Ivy along with vocals.” Cobalt said. “What about Crimson?” “Electric guitar and vocals.” The red haired man groaned. “Is he bad?” “Bad? You kidding me? Crimson is awesome at it!” Cobalt chuckled. “On another note, did you really take down a Forest King on your own?” “Yup along with some crazy bandit girl.” “Who?” Cobalt asked. “Some crazy chick in a mask that jumped us and gave Spike that scar.” Crimson said as he pointed to the boy’s eyelid. “Yeah and she had some crazy design on the mask.” Spike said. “Some sort of wolf.” Cobalt looked at the boy with stern blue eyes. “A silver wolf?” Cobalt asked. “Yeah, I think so.” Cobalt grabbed the child by his collar and bore holes through his eyes. “And you just let her get away?” He yelled. Spike gulped and felt a wave of fear creep up his spine. Spike didn’t know Cobalt that well and came to the conclusion that he was the laid back comic relief of the team. His once calm blue eyes now looked more like two deep pools of anger. Spike then felt the back of his collar being grabbed and was ripped from the man’s grip. “Cobalt!” Crimson said as he set Spike down on his feet. “She got away before we could do anything. So chill!” The flyer grunted and stormed upstairs. “What was that about?” Spike asked. “Cobalt has a history with the bandit group that woman belonged to.” Crimson sighed. “What group?” Bandit asked. “Silver Fang Marauders. Why?” Bandit scratched his chin and bit his lip. Crimson saw the man’s eyes sharpen like knives. “Spike, I’m sure Twi is looking for you. Might wanna head back.” “Good idea and thanks for getting Ivy to agree to the training thing.” The boy said as he walked out of the guild. Crimson looked at the gunslinger and raised an eyebrow. “I heard a rumor on my last mission.” “What kind of rumor?” “The kind that could possibly get us in a heap of trouble.” He grinned. The two men walked up to the blue winged man’s room and knocked on the door. “What?” They heard the flyer yell. “We gotta talk about something.” Crimson stated. “Not in the mood.” “Even if it includes the Silver Fang Marauders?” The hat wearing man said. The two waited and heard the lock to the door unlock to see the flyer with a scowl on his face. “This had better be good.” The two men walked inside and Cobalt closed the door. “If this is a joke then so help me-” “It’s no joke so calm down.” Bandit said with a sigh. “On my last job I heard a rumor The Silver Fang Marauders looking for recruits.” Cobalt snarled at the name. “I just so happened to overhear them and they have a recruitment station set up in Dodge Junction.” “How long ago did you hear this?” “Two days ago.” Bandit said as he crossed his arms. “If we leave today then-” He was cut off as Cobalt grabbed a bag and started packing. Crimson sighed and went off to pack his bag. He soon headed back downstairs and saw Sunny looking at the job board. “New mission Sunny?” “Yeah see for yourself.” The girl said as she went back into the kitchen. Crimson saw the post and a massive grin spread across his face. He quickly took it form the job board and stuffed it in his coat pocket. Crimson then saw Bandit and Cobalt each with their bags. “You two ready?” “Been ready for years.” The flyer said as he made his way towards the armory. He grabbed a standard long sword and hitched it to his belt. Bandit checked the ammo in his guns and put them in their holsters. The three men made their way out of the guild and headed straight for the train station. As the trio made their way down the busy street and spied the CMC. The young flyer ran up to Cobalt and she smiled. “Hey coach. I managed to add up twenty pounds on the suit.” “Keep up the good work.” The man said as he walked past her. His voice was like a sharp knife that cut through the air. Scootaloo saw that the man had a stern look on his face and felt a small bit of fear stir up within her. Crimson took a knee next to the girl. “Don’t mind him. We’re just about to go on a serious mission so he’s preparing himself.” The man said as he stood back up. “He’ll be in a better mood when we get back.” Scootaloo nodded and the three girls ran off. The three were then approached by Twilight and Applejack. “Hey Twi.” Crimson said with a smile. “Hey boys. Off on another mission?” “Something like that.” Cobalt said as he took flight. “I’ll see you two at the train station.” The man then flapped his wings and rocketed towards the train station. “What’s his problem?” AJ asked. “He’s just anxious about the mission we’re going on.” Crimson said with a sigh. “What about you two?” “Ah was just taking a break from the working. Now ah’m heading back.” “I’m gonna finish a report from the Princess.” The girl smiled. “What are you guys gonna do on your mission?” “Gonna go wipe out a bandit group and kick enough ass to make our quota for the next few years.” The gunslinger chuckled. “Well, here’s something for good luck.” The indigo haired girl then gave Crimson a quick kiss on the lips. “Hey what about me?” Bandit said as he crossed his arms.. “Get your own.” The scythe user said. The two then regrouped with Cobalt just as the train pulled into the station. The three got on and waited to arrive in the old western town. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The blue haired flyer soon nodded off and Bandit motioned Crimson to follow him. The two went to the last car. The car was empty and was well furnished. “Why Cobalt is so testy?” Crimson bit his lip at the words. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this.” Crimson sat back and let out a sigh. “Look, it’s not my story to tell. All I can say is that Cobalt has damn good reasons for hating bandits and highwaymen. Especially the Silver Fang Marauders.” “C’mon man I need something to go on.” The gunslinger said in an agitated tone. “Keep in mind we’re dealing with my informant.” Crimson frowned and let out a sigh. “Ever heard of Mist Villiage?” The name buzzed in the gunslinger’s mind and rolled it around in his head. A few minutes went by and the man’s eyes shrank and his face went pale. “You mean he-” “Yup and don’t let him know that you know.” Crimson said as he stood up and made his way back to their seats. The two heard a small chime and saw the man holding a locket. Cobalt closed the lid and looked at the two men. “We should be there in an hour.” Crimson said as he sat down. Cobalt gave a nod and went back to sleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was around three as Rouge made her way back into the small town with a tired look on her face. The girl had just taken care of a pack of timber wolves that were threatening a farm outside of Trottingham. As the girl walked through town she immediately felt glares on her. Rouge ignored them and continued to make her way down the road. Rouge then saw Twilight leaving with Spike from the quill and sofa shop. The Changeling walked up to them and saw Spike carrying several bags of quills and parchment. “Hey guys.” Twilight gave her a smile. “Afternoon Rouge. How did things go on your mission?” “Good, got a few nicks, but can’t really complain.” The girl then walked alongside them as they headed towards the library. “Mind if I ask something?” Spike asked. “Shoot.” “Cobalt said something about you all being in a band.” The girl’s face then flushed red and she gulped. “Why?” “Um...Crimson lost a bet with Ivy and now you all have to perform.” Spike lied with a grin. Rouge’s eye twitched and she growled. “Remind me to kick his ass later on.” “Crimson can play an instrument?” Twilight asked. “Yup, electric guitar.” “Why didn’t he tell me?” “Cause he hates when he has to perform as do I.” Rouge grumbled. “Why would he bet that?” Spike gave a shrug and felt a little bit guilty. “Anything else?” “Oh yeah, Cobalt freaked out earlier.” Both girls looked at the teenager in surprise. “Cobalt freaked out?” Twilight said in disbelief. “Over what?” “All I said was what happened on when Crimson and I tangled with that bandit chick.” Spike shrugged. “Sounded like Cobalt knew her by the silver wolf emblem on her mask.” Rouge thought back and she never did get a good look at their attacker. “Some sort of bandit group call the Silver Fang....can’t really remember the rest.” The Changeling froze as she pictured the emblem. “Silver Fang Marauders?” “Yeah that’s it.” The girl’s face went pail and she had a frightened look on her face. “You okay Rouge? You look sick.” “Where is he now?” “I saw him, Crimson and Bandit heading for the train station.” “They say where they were going?” “No, why are you so freaked out?” “Look that is a very sensitive topic to Cobalt.” She said with a sigh. The Changeling dropped her illusion and flapped her butterfly like wings. The girl flew towards the guild with Twilight and Spike following in hot pursuit. Rouge arrived at the guild and rushed in to see Sunny examining the job board. The golden haired girl looked back to see the other Changeling. “Oh thank the creator you’re here Rouge. I need your help.” “Sorry Sunny, but I need to know where Cobalt went.” “That’s what I mean!” Twilight and Spike caught up to her and looked at the girl in confusion. “The new mission that was posted here this morning is gone! I think Crimson, Cobalt and Bandit took it.” She said in a worried tone. “So what? I need to know where they went.” “It was an S rank mission.” The words hit the Changeling like a ton of bricks and she sat down. “I didn’t think that they would be that stupid.” The purple haired Changeling said as she face palmed. “S rank?” Twilight asked. “Every mission gets ranked by difficulty, pay and location from E to A; E being the lowest and A being the highest.” Sunny explained. “In order to accept missions you have to have an Academy agent that is the smae rank or higher on your team.” “So what ranks are they?” Spike asked. “Cobalt, Bandit and I are C rank Agents. Ace, Crater and Ivy are all B class but, close to A class which is Crimson’s category.” Rouge said. “What about Ivory?” “She is what’s known as an S class Agent.” Sunny said. “S class agents are considered the elite among the elite. There are currently only a few S rank agents in the entire Academy.” Twilight gulped. “It’s almost a requirement to become S class if you plan on joining the council.” Rouge added. “So only Ivory was allowed to take on that mission?” Twilight concurred. “Exactly. Those three idiots just broke a huge rule in the Academy system.” Rouge face palmed. “I don’t see the problem.” Spike said. “I mean Crimson and Cobalt are strong. Not really sure what Bandit can do, but I’m sure they’ll be fine.” “I wouldn’t say that.” The group froze and slowly turned around to see Ivory, Ace and Crusher standing in the doorway. “D-did you hear all that?” Sunny asked with a gulp. “I knew Crimson was dumb, but not that stupid!” She yelled. “Hey!” Twilight said. Ivory only casted a stern glare at the scholar who immediately shrank back in her seat like a frightened turtle. “Where did they go?” “I think the poster said Dodge Junction.” Sunny said. “Next train won’t come till tomorrow.” Ace sighed. “Want us to come with you?” “No, I’ll handle this personally.” The woman said as she cracked her neck. “Sunny, get Crow on the horn. I’ll be down in a minute.” Sunny gave the woman a nod as she made her way upstairs. Twilight gulped and looked at the card user and black winged flyer. “What was the mission anyway?” Crusher asked. “To take out some big time bandit leaders.” Sunny said. “Well, better Ivory handle them then the Shadow-” Crusher clasped his hand’s over Ace’s mouth. “The what?” Twilight asked. “Nothing. He’s tired doesn’t know what he’s saying.” Crusher said as the two men stood up and made their way upstairs. Twilight had a confused look on her face as she and Spike stood up and exited the guild. Sunny and Ivory walked into the meeting room with the large table in the center. Sunny pulled out a green crystal shard and levitated it in the center of the table. The gem glowed and an image of the cane wielding man appeared. “Ah Ivory, nice to see you again.” “You too sir.” She said with a nod. “I can’t say I’m calling for pleasantries.” “Somehow I have a feeling it involves Crimson.” “He took the new S rank mission.” If the man had not been wearing his glasses he would have face palmed hard enough to break his nose. “That idiot.” He said with a sigh. “Not just him, but Cobalt and Bandit went with him.” Sunny added. The man groaned as he rubbed his temples. “Permission to pursue.” Ivory stated. “Granted, just be sure to keep them in one piece.” “Can’t promise anything. Just try to keep them at bay until I get back.” The woman said as she turned to leave. “Um Crow there is something you should know.” “What?” “Cobalt seemed very determined to go.” “Why’s that?” “I believe they mentioned a bandit group named The Silver Fang Marauders.” Crow’s face turned grim and he scratched his chin. The man sighed. “Sunny, bring Ivory back in here.”