A Long Way to Fall

by Cinders of War

Chapter 61: Welcome to the Brotherhood

“Dewdrop, what is the meaning of this?” Star Lance bellowed. “You can’t just bring kids here to the bureau.”

“I couldn’t just leave her alone!” Dewdrop tried to convince the lieutenant. “She can’t just live by herself!”

A few other Assassins had gathered in the waiting room Dewdrop had brought Velvet to, including Star Lance and the Mentor.

“We understand, Dewdrop, but bringing a kid here…” Trueshot put a few fingers to his head.

“I’m not sure if children understand what we do,” Rose Petal put a hand on Dewdrop’s shoulder. Then she looked to the Mentor and her lieutenant. “Perhaps unless they grew up in the Brotherhood.”

Dewdrop stood protectively in front of Velvet Breeze, who watched the adults argue with glassy eyes.

“Look, I’m not going to leave a kid out by herself. Especially Satin’s little sister. She’s all I’ve got left of her.”

Star Lance said nothing and turned to the Mentor. Steel Shine closed the book she was holding with a snap and stepped forward to look at young Velvet Breeze.

“She can stay,” she said. “She has nowhere else to go. It would be wrong to just let her fend for herself after such events. She doesn’t even know what happened yet.”

“Yes, I do,” Velvet spoke up. She instinctively liked the Mentor, and Dewdrop had always been a friendly face around her home. ‘You’re assassins, right?”

“You already tell her everything?” Star Lance asked the blue haired Assassin.

N-No! I just brought her here after… Satin passed on.”

“A vampire told me everything,” Velvet said, taking everyone’s attention.

There was a full minute of dumbfounded silence at each and every Assassin in the room stared at Velvet.

“A… A what?” Windy Sails cowered behind High Noon. “V-vampire?”

“Vampires don’t exist!” Trueshot scoffed. “Kid, are you really sure it was a vampire?”

“Yes,” Velvet confirmed. “She told me so.”

“She told you so?” the Stalliongrad Assassin laughed, much to Dewdrop’s annoyance. “What, did she have a silly Trotsylvanian accent, white skin, black clothes, fangs, and a pack of bats following her?”

“How did you know?” Velvet asked.

“She’s serious?”

“Trueshot, stop bullying the kid!” Rose Petal pulled him back.

“I can prove it!” Velvet said hotly. “She gave me big sister’s scarf and hairpin! Look!”

Velvet took out Satin’s tattered scarf and Assassin hairpin.

“Those do belong to Satin,” Dewdrop added on. “I should know. She was my partner…”

“Kid.” It was Pierce Network. Disinterested in the conversation until now, he stepped forward with his phone and turned it around for Velvet to see. It was a picture of Mirror Match. “Did this… ‘vampire’ look like this?”

Velvet tilted her head. “Isn’t that the lady from TV? The millionaire philanthropist in Manehattan?”

Pierce nodded. “Yes, that’s the one. She receives a lot of money from the Templars, the people we fight against. They pay her well to take down Assassins like us. She thinks she can play it all nice for the people out there and on the media, giving money to all kinds of people, pretending to be a nice person. Well, she isn’t.”

“Pierce, please,” Rose shot him an eye. “Don’t bore the kid with your long speeches.”

The Chicoltgo Assassin rolled his eyes and returned his attention to his handheld device.

“Well, no,” Velvet told the others. “She didn’t look like that. She had white skin, red hair, red eyes, and she dressed in all black. Oh, and she had wings.”

“Are any of you taking this seriously?” Trueshot poured himself a shot of vodka from his flask. “Vampires? Really?”

“Well, after seeing what Mirror Match can do,” Dewdrop pointed out. “Yeah, why not? And besides, I trust Velvet. If she says she met a vampire, then she met a vampire.”

“Me too,” High Noon raised a hand. “She’s Satin’s sister. If she’s anything like her sister, then I believe her too.”

Rose Petal joined in. “I… don’t believe her, to be honest, but we would be worse than the Templars if we didn’t give Satin’s sister a place to stay. It’s the least we can do to honor her memory.”

“Mentor?” Star Lance asked for her approval.

Steel Shine looked hesitant, but nodded too.

“She can stay,” she said. “You can unpack in Dewdrop’s room, but we’ll come up with a schedule for you tomorrow. I’m not getting you involved in this any more than I can help it. It isn’t right to ask you to fight for us.”

Dewdrop sighed and hugged Velvet close.

“You hear that, Velvet? Welcome to the Brotherhood.”

---

---

By the time Morning Blade finished this segment of the story, the sun had already set over Canterlot, bringing about the night sky and the stars that lit it up. It was a nice night, but it made it much colder.

Even with her training, Morning shivered under her coat and zipped it up, only now wishing she hadn't worn just her skirt. She made a reminder to wear a pair of leggings tomorrow, or at least pack a pair of leggings just in case.

She had seen Twilight Sparkle off to the portal to Equestria earlier and seeing the princess pass right through the reflective surface still send confusion through her mind. This wasn't something someone could normally just do, walking through it mirror. It was strange, definitely, even if she saw it with her own eyes.

"What a time, huh?" she said to herself, blowing out a puff of mist.

Things were just about back to normal again. She was an Assassin no more, though the memories still lingered. All the friends she had made over the last few years, they were all gone now. It was a hard life, being an Assassin. They faced death on a regular basis, usually escaping, but this time, death had claimed just about everyone.

Morning had moped about it for days before finally leaving the house to meet up with Twilight. Sitting around and feeling sorry for herself wouldn't change anything, nor would it bring her friends back. All she could hope to do now was continue living, making the most of what she had. She could've died just like one of the others, but she lived. She had to go on, if not for herself, then for her friends.

"Friends..."

Sunset Shimmer and the other girls were now her friends. She wasn't alone. She still had others to confide in, others to talk to about past events.

And of course, there was still her family. And they were waiting back at home for her right now, she guessed.

Smiling, Morning Blade thumbed in a message to Sunset Shimmer to ask how she was doing, then started into a light jog, ready to go home for a good rest tonight. Tomorrow, there was much more to talk about.

Author's Note:

Yes, Morning Blade went home, but nope, it's not the next act yet! Haha. Stay tuned, folks! Cheers!

Comments

[Jaxxon Markus Citadel]

Sorry if this is a spoiler, but when does Sombra make an appearance? We're in rather deep in the story but there's still no sign of him. Will he be in the next act?

[Marcthelightspark2004]

8868159
Most possibly.

And the Vampires. I'm eager to see more, maybe even an EQG Dracula.

[MoonlightRift]

🤔