The next morning found Scarlet lying on the floor, next to her couch. It was quite an unpleasant process coming back after such a night. She remembered some of the talk with Conflux, but it was still hazy in her memory. Her hooves wouldn’t listen as she tried to get up, as she stumbled and fell, hitting her head on an empty bottle.
That hurt… Water first, piece memories together later. As she was headed for the bathroom, an unusual thing happened. Somepony rang at her door. She had no friends, family, nopony whom she knew or cared about. Perhaps it was just a door-to-door salespony. “Go away!” Scarlet shouted from her bathroom, as she poked her head inside a cold shower.
The salespony was persistent. With a desperate sigh, Scarlet gathered all her strength to get out of the shower. Water, swear at salespony, then piece last night together… With aher wet mane dripping, she slowly headed for the door, half asleep, half hungover. The cold water was getting to her, as the chilling wind only made her even more alert as the annoying blaring of the alarm went off. Flinging open the door, Scarlet pointed a toy gun at what she supposed was an annoying bidder, hoping to scare him away “I said go…”
And there she was. The same, brown, pegasus wearing the same hood marking her trade was at her doorstep raising her hooves at a toy gun. Scarlet immediately looked for any weapons, but she had none. It was strange for an assassin to be unarmed, especially since the two were now number 1 on the Hooftail blacklist. “Hello.” Scarlet was confused, sleepy and… She could swear she saw the mare blushing. What the hell is wrong with Fair-feather these days???
She tried to exercise all her rage on the mare in front of her. Yet, all she could do was pull of a resigned sigh. She wasn’t upset on her, why should she act like that. The mare deserved a chance. However, the Creed member did not. “If you want to come in, leave the cape outside.” Without any addition, she let the door open, walking inside the house. “And close the door behind you.”
Walking down the hallway, she listened for the door. There was quite a moment’s hesitation before the mare decided on coming in. As she closed the door, the techie took a quick glance behind. Her short tail matched the mane in style and color. Her battle scars on her body curiously complemented her slender curves, making her look… attractive? No, it wasn’t that, but Scarlet looked a while longer than she should have at her flank… tail. She wasn’t sure which of the two statements was true.
As the assassin turned towards her, Scarlet looked back, hiding the fact that she had been shamelessly staring at her. She wondered if her blush was visible in her light orange coat. Only one pony had been able to distinguish it in her entire existence. A serious voice came from down the corridor. “Listen, I came here to discuss something with you.”
Discussions could wait. Scarlet had a question she had going for far too long, and she wanted an answer. At least she wanted to know who she was talking to before a serious “discussion” took place. Entering her living room, she lied on Bubbles, her mane dripping on the water-filled pillows of the couch. Looking back on the assassin, she noticed her face was red. You have no idea how close I am to laying you on the floor, nameless pony. Please don’t give me a reason to. “Name.”
She doubted the assassin would say anything at all. Their identities were to remain secrets until death. Yet, the red faced Pegasus managed to peep “I’m…” She hesitated. It was only natural, but this gave Scarlet the impression she was actually going to say the truth. “Just Faith.” She saw no reason for such a name to be made up. Yet again, it might have been her alter-ego.
The techie took another look at Faith’s flank. Her cutie mark resembled the sigil of the Pegasus Creed interlocked with that of the Lore division. The chevron symbolic to the Creed, colored bright silver, was posed under the black form of an owl sitting upon a scroll. To her surprise, she wasn’t much different herself. Her mark was the TWOS brand of elemental balance, upon which Sora Division’s blood red falcon stood with its wings spread and talons arched, as if ready to attack. The lightning above also suggested a thunderstorm, the wrath of the sky.
It disappointed her to know that. It almost seemed as two destinies cut out to be in an endless fight had been drawn together. But what for? Such callings were so different from one another, and yet they were bound closer and closer. Scarlet wanted to be near her more. To learn her dance of death and teach her every tiny detail she slipped from her technology classes. It almost seemed the two fitted perfectly, both in harmony and in antagonism. In the back of the mind, a question started forming “What does the future hold?”
She is so sexy without that cape that I… Am I… checking her flank again? Scarlet looked back into Faith’s eyes and noticed she was doing the same. The moment of embarrassment following afterwards somehow managed to cover all her clean and dirty thoughts alike. She tried to come back on subject with the only thing she could. “Just Faith? Why just Faith? Don’t you have another name, like most ponies do?” Scarlet, you’re a smooth idiot.
The awkwardness in the air was rising, and they both knew it. Come on Scarlet, just admit you’re sexually attracted to a mare, do it on the floor, in the kitchen, on the couch, by the fridge, and in bed, then you can ask her to help you with the mission. She couldn’t do any of those, for the mare spoke “No, that is my name. Just Faith. Good enough?”
The arousal and hangover were getting to her. She understood the first time, there was no need to say it again. “Okay, okay. I’ll just call you Faith. You don’t need to be that specific about it. If you don’t want to tell me, I understand.”
Scarlet almost wanted to tell the assassin to go get her cape back on. The staring was getting annoying and she felt as if the mare didn’t like it either. Or she could just start touching, instead of looking. Mentally slapping herself, the mare tried to focus on Faith’s answer. “No. It really is Just Faith. First name Just. Last name... Would you please put on a bucking towel already?!”
Scarlet spent the next minute trying to figure out what had happened. She was not one for relationships or sexual stuff, but that was the reaction of someone who had been staring at her for about the same duration she had been staring back. “Okay, if that is your wish.” The craziest of thoughts ran through her mind. It is a good idea to taunt her. Let her want me more! Getting off the couch, she made a move with her hooves and hips as to give Faith a good, first seat view of all her backside: flank, tail and marehood. Going for the bathroom, she thought: If that doesn’t set her off, nothing will.
Returning to the living room with a towel around her waist, she tossed one to Faith as well. “There, better?” The posture she chose to sat in, however, was one from which everything could be seen as clear as broad daylight. Scarlet was going to give Faith a hard time admitting it.
The brown mare rapidly took the towel and tried to wrap it up around her. It was hilarious to see how she would go through so much effort to keep a large amount of her absolutely delicious body covered. The scars only made it better: the icing on the cake. In the end, she ended up putting it around her waist, successfully managing to cover all of Scarlet’s points of interest. “Not really.”
Another moment of silence enlisted between the two, only this time it felt far less awkward and far more tension building in between. They both wanted each other, Scarlet was sure of it. This mare looked and behaved so much like Spark… She would never admit her true desires, even if it meant taking them to the grave with her. Scarlet was not going to let the mistake happen twice in her lifetime. She arched her hooves in anticipation. Her eyes were glimmering with the desperation of an unknown situation, trying to find a way out. There is no way out, Faith. Embrace it!
As if reading her thoughts, the chocolate mare licked her lips with what Scarlet thought was the most sensual flick of a tongue she had ever seen. Her voice supported the rest of her body, asking her in an untypical, squeaky voice “So, any other questions? Or, can we get down to it?”
That was all the mare had been waiting for. Spreading her wings, Scarlet lunged towards Faith and pinned her down, holding her hooves tightly against the floor. “I’m glad you finally came clean. It would have been pointless to try to take it out of you.” And then… She kissed Faith. The kiss that only one day ago made Scarlet break down crying now seemed all too natural. As their lips met, the orange pegasus left no room for Faith back up, sliding her tongue deep inside her mouth.
She held the kiss for a good several seconds, wrapping her tongue around Faith’s. She was responsive as well, since as Scarlet left her mouth to look at her, the mare only squeaked in dismay. Her hooves behind left no doubt. She wanted it just as much. Scarlet saw no reason to keep her waiting. Her roof running down Faith’s chest, she asked a rhetorical “Well?” before sliding the hoof all the way downward.
It stopped in exactly the right place. Not too low, as to not make her submit to the pleasure but yet not very high, for her to be able to enjoy the moment as well. Faith, first class Lore division assassin, was now rubbing her in the same manner. She had read about the Creed’s seduction techniques, yet nothing seemed more vivid then the image at hand. The other pegasus seemed uncertain, almost timid about her next move. She wanted to say something. “But…”
This was not a time for words, as they both knew. Scarlet wanted, needed more right now. There was no turning back. Her instincts took hold, as her hoof slid closer and closer to Faith’s underside, feeling the heat, the sweat in her coat. The brown mare was panting heavily, her lower lips becoming more and more receptive to Scarlet’s hoof. “Please…” Faith whispered. She wants it so badly, she’s actually pleading for it. Steadily reaching, Faith pulled Scarlet closer, and again into the kiss they both enjoyed so much. It was her turn to curiously roam inside Scarlet, exploring her taste. The orange pegasus only lightly pushed back with her own tongue, letting Faith enjoy her time as well.
As the kiss ended, Scarlet let out a murmur of pleasure, looking in her partner’s eyes. She now knew it: that mare was special. After this morning, she would have a hard time letting go of her. Deciding to push that thought away, she pushed her hoof for the first time inside Faith, teasing her lightly “Do you have anything in mind, or does the floor work for you as well?” Her hoof continued sliding in tenderly, trying not to force it too much inside. The moans of pleasure following signaled what she hoped for.
Her partner was enjoying it, even more than she was. Faith’s panting in her ear turned her on even more, feeling her own wetness below as the brown mare rolled her over. Scarlet was now on the bottom, her hoof still sticking inside Faith, who was now displaying one of the most perverted smiles she had ever seen. “I don’t think I could actually make it anywhere else.” Her hips started grinding on the hoof, making Faith moan in pleasure with every slide, making Scarlet crave it more second by second. The brown mare started kissing her neck, at first slowly, moving on towards a flurry of small, quick kisses heading straight for her chest.
As Faith lingered with the kisses, Scarlet tried positioning her hoof better, while holding onto Faith’s flank tightly with the other. She needed to be satisfied, and the endless moans and kisses planted by the pegasus were not helping her case. “Would you please be so kind as to… you know, rut me as well? Please?”
She did manage to get a reaction. Her partner looked up at her, looking determined to tease her a bit more. Scarlet tried looking at her as pleadingly as possible, making it clear that she wanted all the attention she could give her. The heat built up inside her was too much, feeling as Faith got closer and closer to her lower side. The mare slowly removed Scarlet’s hoof from herself, letting out a whimper, somewhat displeased of the fact she no longer felt her warmth down below. Faith tried pinning her down weakly, but there was no need for that, Scarlet was at her whim.
Scarlet was completely taken by surprise as of what came next. The pegasus was staring at her lower parts, licking her lips in anticipation. She’s gonna… She’s gonna lick inside there? I hope by all… “You know, I’ve never done this kind of thing with a mare before,” she spoke in her exposed slit, the vibrations of the air shooting scarlet like jolts of electricity throughout the body. Slow breaths invaded the space between her legs, making her tighten her back hooves around Faith’s neck. “But, I’ve been wanting to taste this since you first waved it at me.” She didn’t care what would come next; she wanted her in, now.
A light, long, lick followed, slurping all of her wetness off the surface. Scarlet was on cloud nine, not being able to talk anymore. The first was followed by another, and another. The licking intensified as Faith gently spread her folds with the tongue, sending wave after wave of pleasure inside her. She was reaching for one of Scarlet’s most sensitive spots. She wanted to tell her to stop, trying to gesture as she put her teeth gently around the nub at the upper side of her lips. Buy it was too later.
Faith started sucking on it, intensely, leaving Scarlet to scream out in pleasure. Both pain and pleasure coursed from below, letting the mare lie on the ground, dried out of any other reactions. It was more than she could take. Continuous moans of pleasure were showing Faith she was doing her best job down there, letting the orange pegasus arch her back outwards, exposing herself even more.
She didn’t need to ask more, spreading her hooves was invitation enough for Faith. Releasing the gentle bite, she thrusted her mouth deeply inside Scarlet’s slit, forcing in and digging deeply. If Scarlet had any strength left, she would have probably begged. Her stamina was quickly draining and with each lick Faith gave her deeper and deeper inside another moan escaped her mouth. By the time she was fully inside, Scarlet couldn’t bear it anymore.
It was then when Faith struck gold. As her tongue rested onto Scarlet’s sweet spot, even for just a fraction of a second, the mare let herself go. All of her juices released into Faith’s mouth and onto her face, covering it in a clear, sticky liquid. Her moans and pants fully covered any sound Faith might have made in the meantime. Scarlet almost hated herself for lasting so little. She would have enjoyed more of the mare’s act, but now it was her turn to help Faith out. And she had no idea how to do that. Timidly panting, she managed to ask in a frail, squeaky voice “Um... Would you fancy anything… special?”
Her partner took a short break. She wanted it badly, as Scarlet could tell from her eyes. But the request never came. Only their heavy breathing remained, for a good minute. Scarlet found the strength to look up into Faith’s sad eyes, as her response finally broke the painful silence “No.” Her shaky voice betrayed everything that came with that word: regret, remorse and a hidden desire to say the contrary. However, she seemed more than convinced to get to a point. “That’s okay. I’m glad you enjoyed it, though.”
Faith stood up, not looking into Scarlet’s eyes. The orange pegasus was hit by a torrent of confusion and fear: Faith was going to leave. Determined to do everything in her strength to make her say what was on her mind, Scarlet shot up to her feet instantly and walked besides her troubled friend “Faith? What’s wrong? Did I do something bad?” She almost felt like crying, but maintaining a strong attitude was going to be the key in making her stay. For her, another abandon was unconceivable.
The brown pegasus seemed almost confident in her words. Backing off a few more steps sent Scarlet a shiver down her spine. She was just going to pick up and leave like that? There had to be something she could do. “No, yes, no,” Faith was trying to pick her words, so unlikely for an assassin who usually had everything planned. There was something on her mind, something she wanted to share. All she needed was a little impulse. “Listen. You need to leave. Get your entire organization to leave. Gather up anypony who means anything to you and leave.”
“If that were that simple, perhaps I would. There are some things you don’t understand, Faith.”
“There are a lot of things you don’t understand,” Even after this, she was going to try to get all the work on her beautifully thin shoulders, trying to look like the ruthless, cold blooded killer she was trained to be. But that wasn’t the point. Faith was missing everything Scarlet was trying to say, and she somehow figured it out. With something between a resigned sigh and a reserved groan, Faith asked “Just. Say what you have to say.”
If it were that simple, Faith… “I’m not going to leave. My duty is here. Conflux sent Ogon to compete against me and I won’t rest until the Hooftails and the Shadowbrands are dead…” Then she hesitated. Some unknown force lead her to the one place on the drawer that she dreaded. The small box, containing a game she once, long ago cherished. “Also, I don’t have anypony to mean something to me.”
She turned towards the shelf, touching the cardboard box. That moment was so far away, yet she could relive it every day, every single moment of existence. That game was there to stand proof of why she was there. She never asked for someone to be there for her. She just wanted to take down as many Creed before… “Can’t you see I’m trying to save your life here?!” Okay, totally unexpected. Turning back towards the mare, something struck her.
Faith, fully fledged Creed assassin of the Lore division was crying. Then, there, she finally understood. That brown mare actually cared for her. Her death would’ve meant something… If only… Faith took a minute to calm down before speaking again. “If you have to, stick around till their dead, claim whatever credit you want to. But, leave, then and there.” She is simply magnificent. The simplicity with which she sees me is striking.
No second thoughts, Scarlet turned towards Faith and gave her a big hug. She had no idea why, but for a second, it made her feel warm and fuzzy inside, like her life finally had a meaning once more. “You really don’ get it. It’s not the credit I’m after. I think we’re both after the same thing. I finally understand now… Liberation.”
Scarlet was not sure if Faith’s silence was mocking or just meditating upon her words. She was still sad, sniffing in her mane. The pleasant feeling was getting more and more diminished by Faith’s worry. “I don’t want, deserve, liberation. I deserve whatever comes.” We are, after all hunting for the same purpose. It is the Reaper division she is after. Maybe we could make our last stand together. As if reading her thoughts, the brown mare embraced Scarlet even harder. “What I want is you not to die. I want you to live, for my own selfish reasons,” Another pause followed, in which Faith actually choked on her words. “…Because I actually like you.”
Scarlet appreciated her honesty. She knew how hard it was for Creed members to get attached. However, she was in the same situation. How could she not tell Faith that she was not as important as she claimed? Sora command… She knew she’d never get into Conflux, even by eliminating two Creed divisions it was impossible. She knew what most didn’t even dream about. Yet that was all she was ever going to be: a field agent.
Her objective, however, needed to remain that. Appearances were what mattered in this world, and aiming high was what everyone expected of her. Appearances didn’t have their place in a talk with somepony she had grown to like “You’re afraid of the Reapers. Death itself is liberation enough for what I’ve done. If there’s someone who should leave when the job is done, it’s you. I’m not made for a commander’s life. It’s always been my destiny to die fighting my bitter enemy.”
She could barely feel the tears in her eyes. Every regret she ever had would be cleansed in the fires of her final battle. In the end, they would all be together again. As a team. “Going out whilst taking at least 20 Reapers by myself would be, as an ultimatum, my form of liberation.”
“Death is never liberation” Faith fired back, with her former coldness in her voice. “Corpses are just that, corpses. There isn’t anything grand about it.” She turned away, her tears dripping on the floor. Scarlet would never understand her reasons. Faith was still in between worlds, her two sides both talking at the same time. One was the calculated assassin and the other…. The other was the mare she liked. “You can die and become a martyr, but all that earns you is a shinier coffin and a few more ponies at the procession. I’m not doing this because I’m afraid, or because I want to be liberated and see everypony they killed again.”
Scarlet wanted to go hug her again, explain everything she meant. But now it was Faith the assassin talking. “I’m doing it because I’ve already committed the most horrible taboo possible. I’ll do it again, and not regret it.” Scarlet could feel nothing in those words. Empty; that was it. However, Faith the pony would not let those hollow words go out without her own. “If you have something worth being liberated for, then live. Live, because dying won’t accomplish anything.”
Scarlet knew what had to be done. Taking a slow walk to the kitchen, she took one of the smaller bottles of rum out of her fridge, along with two glasses. Setting them on the table, she pointed towards a chair nearby her couch for Faith. “I think we need to get to know each other a little better before talking about this.” She sat on the couch, opening the bottle and pouring a glass for each of them. “Unless the warning is the only thing you came for.”
Faith sat on the chair, looking defeated. She was clearly displeased with the fact that she had to talk, moreover of herself. “I don’t…” the sentence remained cut in the middle as Faith downed her drink in one go. Apparently the concentration was much bigger than she anticipated, for she started coughing right away. Scarlet followed, trying not to choke on the strong liquid.
“Well then, tell me more about yourself.”