It was difficult. Difficult to relive her family and what had happened. Difficult to not want to jump out that door and slaughter Hooftail all over again. But, she had kept her cool and listened. Everything was different and somehow similar with Scarlet. Her words held an entrancing quality, not the same as Nicoli or father, but a quality that could only be garnered from a completely different perspective.
She spoke of love like it was a commonplace thing, like it was something that could be garnered and understood. Love wasn’t something Faith could play with. If happiness was a box killers kept locked up then love was held behind impenetrable steel walls. More than once during Scalet’s closing words Faith felt herself imagining what it might be like. She imagined it might be nice, to have a pony that loved you and actually feel the same way, to receive a gift and actually have it mean something more. It was nice to imagine love was an emotion killers were afforded. Of course, Faith didn’t much relish the position it put Scarlet in either.
They had both been through many similar things. Faith understood all too well the feeling of being responsible. She still felt guilty, like there should have been some way she could have protected her own family. But, she kept that feeling blocked off with the desire for revenge. Scarlet didn’t have any revenge left, all the ponies she could get revenge on were already dead. All she had left were tears.
There were a million responses. The cold, killer instinct wanted to push out the harsher realities she used on herself; The dead don’t come back, It doesn’t matter whose fault it is, and her personal favourite We leave behind the only ponies who create a gravestone for us. None of those seemed appropriate, none of those could help the hysterical mare. She wanted to be more comforting than that, like how Nicoli had tried to be for her. But, she wasn’t good with words like he was. All she could do was imitate the one thing she could imitate. She wrapped her hooves around the mare just like Nicoli had done for her. Of course, he had also taken her out of the room at the time, but that seemed less necessary in this situation.
There were many, countless really, better ways to try and do this. Faith was devoid of words, unable to think of even a single sentence that could be in the slightest bit useful. She imagined all she was doing was annoying the mare. For a second she contemplated letting go and apologizing, then it happened. It was innocent enough, maybe even a mistake, but Scarlet’s lips brushed up against her own. It was just a momentary kiss, right? Nothing horribly amazing.
At the same time, that little brush was completely different. For the first time it felt kind of like what she had been imagining during the story. Nice, that is, that nice feeling of having even the slightest bit of feeling that could be returned. The normally troublesome mind Faith possessed was simply quiet for a time, nice was simply enough. There didn’t have to be meaning or intent, worry or anger, killing or sorrow, nice was simply enough. Then it was done, and Faith was back in a reality where she had her hooves wrapped around another mare. This was an awkward silence, wasn’t it?
“That was,” She tried to break the silence, unsure if she could, or even should, let go of the mare. The entire time she could feel that fire burning in her cheeks. It definitely would have been easier to just leave earlier. She definitely wasn’t good with this sort of thing, “Nice.” Stupid, because there is a point in saying something like that.
Scarlet seemingly burst into tears again the second Faith had spoken. The pressure to find a solution to the situation mounted. There was something driving her, something felt like it physically hurt. Three words, three bucking words, and you break into tears again? I will never, never, never, never understand mares. Of course, words like that hardly helped her think clearer.
She uttered a string of nonsensical words, trying to get back onto topic. Each one just felt like an excuse, the hurting driving more and more. No thought ever got more than two words out before being redacted and a new thought replacing them. Crying, Faith could handle crying, crying because it was somehow her fault was unbearable.
Maybe nice wasn’t right. I mean, what do I mean? I could have, what could I have done? ARGH! Buck it, just buck it! There might very well have been little pillars of black smoke pouring out of her ears, even the scarred one, as her brain went into destruction overdrive. She did the only thing she had left, short of uttering strings of syllables without any actual words. Faith pried the hooves away from the mares face and planted a kiss onto her. It was a little more forceful than the previous innocent one, mostly out of mental desperation, but it was also infused with just about everything Faith couldn’t bring herself to say. It was amazing, something I’ve never had before, something I don’t even deserve. It hurts to see you cry, let alone to see you hurt. Gah, these are things I’m not supposed to be thinking.
The kiss wasn’t something Faith had planned, nor was it something she truly understood. She didn’t know how long it was supposed to last, only that it felt better, nice. Nice, even if it was a word Scarlet didn’t like, it was a word that spoke volumes to the mare. Before long Faith felt a pair of hooves around her as well, pulling her into the kiss. There was no fear from the grip, only that overwhelming feeling of nice. And so, the mares continued into the kiss letting it last until they finally broke apart.
“Nice? That was amazing. You are amazing.” Scarlet might have been the first one to speak, but words were slowly returning to Faith as well. They weren’t easy, maybe they never would be easy, but it was still something. Something was better than nothing.
“It really was amazing. You have no idea idea what even that first one meant to me. I’m,” She paused, letting the full weight of what she wanted to say sink into her, “I’m sorry if what I had said wasn’t enough. I’m sorry, I’m not enough.”
There was more, there was always more to say. Only, Scarlet seemed to understand Faith better and better with each second. Before the droning on about dying and revenge could begin there was a hoof to her mouth, silencing her. Words filled into her head, but at least they didn’t have to escape, “Shhh… Listen. I’m not leaving you. You’re the only thing I have left on this world. I know it’s crazy, that one week ago I would have killed you on sight. But it seems we share more than a common goal.”
The words were still piling up, but it was difficult. What happens when you don’t find your happiness at the bottom of a barrell of blood? This, this could be happiness, right? Happiness could be right here. She had come here to get the mare out of the city. That had failed, true, but she wasn’t just going to resign her life either.
Her hoof tugged, pulling her back to reality. Scarlet was motioning to her, the silencing hoof long since relocated to hold her own, “I want to help you with Fair Feather, even if it kills me,” Slowly the mare opened the window, once again leaving no room for those horrid thoughts. Faith could contemplate her death, Scarlet’s death, everypony’s death, but she would do it later. Now, now she had something else entrancing her, “Come on, fly with me.”
Neither mare needed much more prodding than that. Scarlet took off first, clearing the window in one go. It was her window, after all, and Faith needed a slower take off to clear it properly. Still, the view from behind wasn’t bad either. The wind in her wings, the sunlight on her mane, oh sweet hay, she was still naked! No, that didn’t matter, it was more freeing this way. And, there was only one pony watching her anyway.
Her mind wandered in mid flight. For the first time she understood why Raintail had always loved flying so much. It really felt completely different when you didn’t have twenty pounds of gear weighing down her wings. Having a pony to watch didn’t hurt it much either. Scarlet was, she was magnificent in flight. Maybe it was just the fresh rush from the boldness of her kiss, but Faith had no words other than magnificent for the image in front of her. Well, in front of her briefly. If twenty pounds of assassins gear was good for anything, it certainly built up flight speed.
Faith played around in the air, corkscrewing around the magnificent mare until she was just barely ahead. She would never admit it herself, but she twirled around like that to get the full view. It was never meant to be a challenge, but the pegasus at her side seemed to take it as one. Scarlet’s wingbeats quickened until the two were neck and neck, an amazing feeling to fly in tune with another.
“Quite impressive, I must say,” The words from the mare actually elicited the tiniest of blushes from Faith. She hadn’t been meaning to do anything great, but the praise somehow felt almost as good as the wind rushing past the two. That was, until Scarlet folded her wings into the dive. One second the mare was right beside her, the next she was dodging into one of the side streets.
Faith watched from above, landings and corners alike were expertly handled with little to no effort. Forget speed, tight corners like that were hard to bank at a stand still. More than once she felt herself worry about the potential of the mare crashing, but the orange blur never even came close. Eventually, with a bit of a slowdown, her face turned up to meet Faith’s, a cocky grin exploding from the middle, “Well?”
The words weren’t audible in the distance, but the challenge was obvious, not that she actually felt much like competing. It was the thrill, the complete opposite of anything she had ever been taught that got her going. To do something like this for no other reason than to show off, it felt good. And, the next trick was planned to completely floor the mare.
Faith’s right wing flared, breaking her speed almost immediately and sending her into a tumble. Within seconds she was hurtling, rolling, at the ground. It was a trick she loved to play on pursuers when needed, act like you get hit, tumble to the ground and completely turn the tides. She almost wished she could see Scarlet’s face during the fall, but her eyes were tightly closed instinctively moving her body from the image of the streets she kept. Left, left, right. She dodged wires, clotheslines, and even a balcony while continuing her faux tumble.
A few dozen feet from the ground she finally opened her eyes, wings kicking in full force taking the spins out of her tumble and angling her at the ground. Even a seconds hesitation at this point and she would impact, but her wings instinctively angled again parallel to the. A wing length, that was how much room she left between her and the deadly street as she turned that downward spiral into forward momentum. Pony, pony, clothesline, fruit stand, fruit, another pony. It was a problem with flying that low to the ground, she had a lot of angry ponies to dodge. It didn’t matter, she arced around some, banked others, jumped off one or two, and zoomed along the sidestreet.
Faith’s breathing slowed, letting the rushing heartbeat fill her ears. She glanced around, looking for some sign of the mare, desperately hoping she hadn’t gone too far with that trick. Her head whipped to and fro until she felt the force of hooves on her. In real combat that kind of distraction would have earned her death, here it gave her the best view in the city. It was a split second, but she enjoyed every moment as Scarlet pushed off her and pulled up and away.
Faith’s wings slowed her speed till she landed on the ground at a trot, watching the orange blur aim for the clouds. She counted wing beats and speed, guessing Scarlet’s maximum altitude as best she could. A lot of her assumptions were based on tricks she’d seen other ponies do. The idea was Scarlet would go up and come back down in a straight line, probably for some showy trick. Going on those assumptions Faith trotted around to the square off the side street, assuming that would be the landing zone. Of course, it could have just as easily been a field on the other side of the city.
A few seconds later, she got her response. The clouds roared to life with a loud thunderclap preceding the sounds of rain falling to the ground. Grumbles could be heard from all around Faith, “Stupid weather department, it wasn’t supposed to rain today.” But, Faith’s attention was solely captured by the prismatic orange blur falling down with the water. Water, it just always had to be water. Of course, it looked damn good falling like that, hues of orange vibrating against the refractive qualities of the droplets she fell with, right up until the second she slowed and landed gracefully on the ground.
“Making it rain is fun. You should try some day as well.” Faith would never admit it, but weather manipulation was not exactly a skill on her list. She was expected to know a great many things in case they were needed for a cover, but weather manipulation had never been on that list. It took a place very near cooking on the list of things that were more likely to explode rather than go right. She was not a good excuse for a mare.
“Yeah, maybe,” Her words flowed easier this time. Something about having had her head between Scarlet’s legs made it easier to ogle a wet mare and maintain a little composure. Okay, she was definitely still feeling awkward about being naked, but ogling helped, “I think I might just watch you. At least you look good doing it.”
“I suppose that’s it for now. We don’t want the Creed finding us during our “alone time”, do we?”
“Alone time?” Faith flustered, trying to think of a different way to think of it. They had just spent hours technically alone with no implications. Well, there were implications, but they seemed different. Still, why was it that those words seemed to carry such a dangerous connotation?
“Oh, you know… Never mind, I guess. It was fun though… Do you want to go back to my place and discuss the approach on our problem?” It wasn’t supposed to be that difficult, was it? Wasn’t she just thinking about pushing all those worries aside for the time being? Were all these feelings supposed to be this difficult? No, no, and no. Faith wasn’t about to let herself fall into some pathetic habit. Not right now. Worries later, when she actually had the gear she needed.
“Yeah, that would probably be a good thing,” This rain was not doing wonders for her resolve to be less bothered. Being naked wasn’t helping that either, but she pressed on anyway. Maybe some honesty would help, “It might be nice to be somewhere everypony can’t look at. Well, me.” She probably figured it out already anyway.
A small, elegant laugh escaped Scarlet’s lips before she turned and began their little treck back. It was difficult; Faith was slowly coming to terms with a very obvious conflict. Like, like was okay, but what happened when it was more than just liking the mare? She wasn’t yet ready to deal with what the consequences of that and what it would mean for her killer’s aura. For now, she wanted like to be enough. For now.
*************
“You’re really planning to go through with this?” Concern wrang through Faith’s voice. They had both long since arrived back, Scarlet had at least allowed her to dry off before the sombre topic had been broached again. Taking out an entire Creed division, let alone two, was bordering on the crazy. The first plan had been possible, or so Faith thought, only because Creed shouldn’t have been expecting it. That wasn’t the case anymore, they knew she was still alive and gunning for them by now.
She sat down, this time more comfortably than ever before and this time the drink that faced her was actually water. It wasn’t as if they didn’t have any advantages. The board contained a few things in their favour. Faith knew how Creed liked to operate, especially in dangerous situations. Scarlet was incredibly ingenious, from what she had seen, and likely had access to a decent supply of equipment of her own. There were obviously options, but, as she glanced over the mare opposite her, Faith didn’t have the ability to make any plans at the moment. She lacked the intel and, more importantly, she didn’t even know what tools she would have to work with when they came in. That left listening, and maybe helping for now.
“I’m carrying through with this, whether you like it or not,” The words were a little harsher than Faith would have liked, but it was to be expected. She let the issue fall by the wayside, for now. It would be easier to not argue and simply let that pony have her way, “Plus, we’re going to need TWOS funding for our next step. I know you will hate this, but we must cut a deal with the Trade Guild.”
Hate was an understatement. Faith took a drink, and then another, and then another, trying to drown out the anger before she responded. Water was good for that, unlike the Trade Guild. Really, any guild that would do something for money was bad news. Information could never be trusted, moles were prevalent, even the members could not trust each other. Whether Scarlet realized it or not, there was a good possibility that her trade guild had supplied the information that had kept the master of Hooftail alive.
“You’re right, I don’t like it,” She tried being calmer. For now Scarlet had the reins, she would hear out the plan and make revisions when she understood everything, “What exactly do you expect out of them?”
“Everything, and nothing. Traders would sell their own mothers to the highest bidder. And they don’t hold too much love for the Creed, since they “short changed” them on a few deals. With the proper money, they will help us take the Creed down. All we have to do is obtain equipment and money to carry out the job.”
“I’ll trust you,” That wasn’t her at all. Trusting the guild would be foolish and Faith knew it, but she wanted to believe in her plan, “Besides, my stuff probably won’t be delivered for a couple of days.”
“Just, be careful who you deal with. Even if the guild isn’t on the best terms with Creed doesn’t mean some of the members aren’t. It’s cheaper to pay off three members than an entire guild.” She was sidestepping a few more important pieces. But, despite how much she trusted Scarlet, there were a few things she wasn’t quite ready to reveal yet. At least she had a way to check any information they did get.
“Don’t worry, I have it covered. Speaking of which, I’ve been waiting for some time to put my hooves on some Creed poisons. I think I can make some good vapor bombs out of them. Think you can help me out with that?” At least they were getting off the uncomfortable topic. The idea of seeing what Scarlet could do with a few of her creations was intriguing to say the least.
“I make most of it myself. Depending on what I get in the shipment, maybe we could whip something up for you.” Faith imagined a fully stocked safe house in Rose’s mind would probably have had the kinds of plants she could only dream of. Who knew what she might have the opportunity to concoct.
While Faith dreamt of poisons and curalls, tinctures and tonics, salves and hallucinogens, Scarlet was moving over to a shelf. Something, Faith didn’t quite know what was removed and she strode back over producing what had once been her bracer, “Thanks, I guess. I think I can give this thing another tweak before we do our next move,” Faith let out a tiny whimper looking at the thing. Rose had been completely right, three years had been too long and it had been inadequate. That didn’t mean, however, that Faith didn’t still hold the device in high regard, “It has room for another mod, but it’s going to be a bit more bulky. I’d rather have your opinion first before I go tampering with it again. After all, it was yours before it ended up on my hooves.”
Faith tried to recompose herself. The once elegant bracer had lost any of its original grace. Elegance in simplicity, the tool had stood for hundreds of years with only minor tweaks primarily because it was entirely effective in what it did. What sat in front of her was a conglomeration; the end results of ponies trying to get one device to do everything. Jack of all trades, master of none. The words danced into her mind, that was exactly what she thought of when she saw this deformed creation. Still, those kinds of words were unnecessary here. Scarlet didn’t share the same vision about those kinds of things.
She snatched up the bracer in one hoof, testing it and turning it around and around, “The weight balance is off,” Faith indicated to a small point on the underside of the bracer, “It will probably need more weight around there. Even so, I’m not sure how much use the blade will be. It would be pretty awkward with all this extra weight and a few well placed strikes might actually just snap it off.”
She wasn’t lying either, as Faith played with the extending mechanism being careful to avoid the modifications she didn’t understand. All the extra weight added to the base of a normally small and flexible blade made it more of a shield than a sword, but the blade was designed to parry, not to block. Without the damage protection wards that elite bracers often had charged on them, it probably wouldn’t stand up as an actual blade. She couldn’t really say much about its other functions though, “Although, I can’t really say much about the other stuff you’ve put on here. Sorry.”
“I… I’m sorry, Faith,” The words stung a little. Faith had tried her best to hide the bits of anger she held over the device, but had apparently failed. She didn’t exactly hate the reaction, an apology seeming almost fitting, but at the same time she could understand what Scarlet had done as well. There was nothing wrong with modifying a dead enemy’s gear, “I never meant to hurt you. When I thought you dead I figured,” Dead enemy, that’s all Faith had been at the time, right, “You wouldn’t need it anymore. But thanks for the advice. I’ll make sure to put it to good use while I’m at it.”
Scarlet couldn’t even bring herself to look at either Faith or the device anymore. The noticeable guilt hurt. It felt appropriate and wrong all in the same breath. Losing the bracer was her own choice at the time, one that couldn’t be taken back, but let her move forward. Now, she needed to properly move forward, without excuses this time.
She gently got up off her seat and circled around to the distraught mare. First, taking one of her hooves in her own, then placing the bracer into the grasped hoof, “Listen, I didn’t mean it to come out like that,” She tried smiling as best she could, “This thing went through alot with me. It’s kind of a reminder of who I am. I gave it up for a decoy, but this time I’d rather give it right. I can’t think of anypony who should have a piece of my past, except one.”
She smiled, she desperately hoped she didn’t need to explain who that pony was as she removed her hoof leaving the device in Scarlet’s hoof. It was obviously that mare, “Besides, I’ve been needing a new one for a long time now. Guess I just needed a kick in the flank to get it done.”
“Thanks, Faith,” It was amazing how great those two simple words could make a mare feel. The pride of cheering up the orange pegasus mixed with the relief of moving forward and the gentle blush that accompanied a kiss on the cheek. It was, nice. Yes, that word kept creeping into her vocabulary, but nice was the best thing in the world for her, “It means a lot to me. I wish I could give you something back… To remind you of me while you’re away. I wonder...”
The two took up their respective chairs again, Faith watching intently as Scarlet got lost in thought. It was more than a little cute, watching a mare put as much brainpower into this as she would into overthrowing two divisions. Or, maybe only Faith found that sort of thing cute. Still, she wasn’t really expecting it when one of the sloshy pillows from that perilous couch came flying at her head.
“I know it’s not much, but you might find it comfy at your place. I know it doesn’t match with yours but… Hey, at least it’s something.” It was a horrid gesture really. Faith had contemplated destroying that couch on more than one occasion and still didn’t understand Scarlet’s attachment to it. So, why was it that the gesture brought a tear to her eye? It did more than that, really.
Faith pulled the pillow off her head and tried it out, laying her head lightly on it. Just as she thought, it was rather difficult to get used to and felt almost like being on a boat. Still, she already knew she would use it, even if it meant getting seasick every night, “Thank you, it means alot. You really didn’t have to, but thank you anyways.” It helped matters that most safehouses she had ever had prepared for her lacked furniture, or any amenities. Then again, she really never knew what was in store for her when she asked a favour.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Bubbles agrees too, and it would be nice for you to have a bit of decent sleep once in awhile,” A named couch, that was something she was never going to get used to. No matter how many nice things happened, no matter how much she enjoyed the mare, she would never call a couch Bubbles, “If you have no place to go now, you can take the couch. I can manage on the floor for one night. We’ve got days of planning ahead of us, you know?”
The light was slowly waning. Scarlet was too intuitive for her own good, she had already figured out Faith had no place to stay right now. Faith wouldn’t take the couch, but a floor was a good idea, wasn’t it? The image of herself curling up next to Scarlet, hoof wrapped around the sleeping orange mare, appeared like a ton of bricks.
I don’t. That wouldn’t happen, we aren’t like that. But, what are we? The words didn’t answer anything. Faith wasn’t sure what the answer was right now. Things seemed to move too fast, then reset with the two of them. For a mare who thought Nice was still something special, she just didn’t know where to place anything. She didn’t know what to accept, not yet, and sleeping might have been too much to ask yet.
“That’s okay, I’ve got a place to stay,” An obvious lie, but she wasn’t sure what her next move really was. She got to her legs again, making an obvious effort of a smile, “Thank you, though. I’ll see you in the morning?”
“The morning it is then. I guess,” Faith could imagine by now what Scarlet was thinking. Lies and excuses, was she even capable of the truth anymore? Then again, nothing was easy at this point. She considered kissing the mare, she considered what popped into her mind, she considered a lot of things. The only thing she actually did was turn for the door, “Sleep well, Faith.”
Outside the door, her heavy cloak still waited for her. It was welcoming and easy, simple and it understood her. None of this would have happened if she had never taken it off. But, she had. She could only hide behind it for so much longer. At least for tonight it would be something warm for her, no match for a warm body, but good enough.
Of course, the outside weather proved her wrong. Even in the waning light the cold already dug into her. Lying about having a place to stay seemed like a bad idea all of a sudden. Smart, Faith. This is going to be a long night. Next time you think about something stupid like that, just imagine a giant boulder. And, she did, for about two seconds. Then, the giant boulder gained the mare on top of it, splayed out again. Scarlet’s nethers seemed to have a rather hallucinogenic effect. It would have almost been worth studying, if the idea of studying it didn’t turn into more similar images. She blushed, and vowed to start bashing her head into walls more often. Surely walls would solve the mental image problem more effectively than...She blushed again. This was going to be a long night.