There were only three guards, as Crimson had said. One was flying above in a seemingly erratic pattern, watching the skies above and loopholes around the perimeter. The second was sitting upon a rooftop, observing the whole area they were going to assault. He was a bit frigid, Scarlet could tell from the readings of her heat vision goggles. The third was perched directly in front of the door. She couldn’t tell if he was there for intimidation or decoy.
Faith comes in, kills the rooftop pony without much trouble. The flying one might be a challenge, even with flawless aim. Having no flying pattern is sure to raise a few problems. The doorman should be easy for any of us to take down. Then, we’re in. After that, the master is within our reach.
The clock was ticking. 3:02. The shift would change in 28 minutes. Faith was already closing in on the rooftop pony from behind. Seconds later, his throat was split open by her blade in one clean slice. In less than a minute, the dead pony looked as if nothing ever happened.
My turn. Three bullets were loaded into her rifle, trying to lock herself onto the flying pony. The shots had to be fired successively, to prevent the pony from raising the alarm in case of a miss. Wait for it… She positioned her target, taking a deep breath. The entire mission depended on these three shots. The colt turned just as her first bullet exited the weapon. The two shots that followed, however embedded themselves in the pegasus’ skull and left wing, making him fall limply on a side street. It will be three days until somebody finds that corpse. Now that’s what I call sharpshooting. Her watch vibrated a bit. Twenty five minutes to go.
The timer had accelerated for now. The flying pony’s absence would be noticeable in a matter of seconds. It was Faith’s turn to roll. Scarlet could see her graceful descent down the buildings; through the goggles, this representation of skill and balance looked simply amazing. Scarlet had never seen a show pony before, but imagined Faith would make a great one.
Upon hitting the ground silently, Faith pointed her bracer blade at the remaining guard. Everything was going as expected. The assassin put a hoof to the place Faith’s poisoned dart hit, falling incapacitated only seconds later. Scarlet’s trip down was a bit less problematic. Stairs were commonly used in that part of town.
Reaching the door, where Faith awaited, the orange mare checked for any improvised explosives or traps. Her surprise was that even though she used all of the door disabling techniques she had learned, none seemed to spring or defuse a booby trap. Are the Creed really so ill prepared for an assault? This is too easy. She didn’t want to disturb Faith with that thought. If it seemed natural for her, then that’s the way it was “Clear. We’re good to go.” She opened the door silently, only using a basic improvised lockpick. “Now let’s go end this.”
Creed outposts seemed very impractical. Tight corridors made bottlenecks at every turn where the two would’ve been able to hold off at least fifty intruders, should they have been discovered. The brown mare was first to go in, looking somehow reluctant to advance. The two never knew what would await inside the master’s chambers, but Scarlet was ready. Their objective got closer and closer with every passing hoofstep. The feeling of unease intensified. If killing a Creed master before, why has nobody attempted it before?
Finally, the two were facing their final challenge. A staircase blocked by a door, leading downstairs, further inside the complex. “Into the belly of the beast?” Faith asked. The same feeling Scarlet had beforehand was present in her voice as well. Something was awfully wrong. It was not too late to abort the mission. If this gets us both killed… I’m coming back from the dead to haunt Crimson for the rest of his earthly life.
“Well. It’s now or never. Would you rather go back?” Scarlet looked back at the dark corridor. Faith was in charge of this operation, but she wouldn’t want to waste such a chance, now that it would never arise again. “It’s your choice, Faith.”
The brown pegasus turned towards the door, opening it with a shallow creak. She began descending and Scarlet followed quietly behind, admiring the outpost. Those were the assassin’s quarters, something nobody outside of the Creed had seen. It appeared as if the higher-ups were situated lower down in the complex, as the rooms got more and more luxurious, whilst maintaining the simplest look to it.
Upon reaching the third floor, her companion turned towards her and asked “No matter what happens, if things go bad, you turn and get out, okay?” Scarlet opened her mouth to counteract Faith’s amend but was quickly sealed shut by Faith’s pressed lips. She wasn’t going to argue on something she’d never to. The corridors had a ragged aspect, as if ready to collapse at any time, caving in the whole complex above them.
The look on Faith’s face was of genuine concern and… was it fear? There were only less than thrity feet towards the Hooftail master’s chambers. Her own legs were shaking. If an ambush was to come now, they’d both be dead in a matter of seconds. Scarlet instinctively reached out for Faith’s hoof, grasping it tightly. Words were not in order now. The time for their final showdown was coming.
The door opened slowly under Faith’s hoof. Inside, what seemed like a gallery of armors and disguises was present. Scarlet tried recounting every one of them: The Royal Guard emblem, Luna’s Chosen, one of every TWOS division, including a Conflux Power Armor. Scarlet approached every one of them to examine them closer. Each were maintained in perfect shape… Then there was…
“So, what do you think?” Faith broke the silence with a whisper. The ponyslaughter… All the murders done in his name… Scarlet looked at the bed on the far side of the room. Inside, just as Crimson had told them, was what appeared to be the master of the forsaken Hooftail division. He was sleeping lightly, unaware of the doom that he was about to encounter. Her calm dwindled with every passing second. The thought of Faith being unmoved by this gruesome collection saddened her.
“What do I think?” Her whisper was a bit louder than Faith, rage barely contained. “I think that it is time to put an end to all this.” She gestured theatrically towards all the suits of armor in the room. “If those are what he kept… Faith, imagine how many have died for that slime.” She moved closer to an assassin cape. It looked slightly different than a master’s usually black robes.
Scarlet inspected the sigil closer. It was indeed a master’s cloak, indeed, but it was not of the Hooftail. With her doubts confirmed, she flashed Lore’s emblem imprinted on the cloak towards Faith. “Who do you think this belonged to? Ask yourself that. I don’t think anything about this. I feel it’s time for him to pay for his crimes.”
Faith drew in closer, giving the stallion a quick look. She muttered something to herself, as Scarlet came closer as well. Her partner nudged the sleeping colt as Scarlet drew the bracer blade out of its bracer. In case the old stallion attempted something, she’d be ready to slice his throat before he even drew a hidden blade. “Wake up,” Faith nudged him again. “It’s judgment day and we’re all out of golden tickets.”
As the pony woke up, his face reflected what Scarlet had hoped for: confusion and a sense of insecurity as he glanced over at her. Being measured by the master sickened her, but she had to live with this thought only several more minutes. “You aren’t a part of Hooftail, especially not an elite. Who are you? Did you think you would get in just because you made yourself…”
Faith’s bracer blade cut his last words off. As the stallion grew silent, Scarlet got to see a darker Faith. “You know, it isn’t good to ignore a pony. It’s almost as bad as, say, leaving one member of a division alive.” She was enjoying it. The threats, the horrified expression as the realization finally hit the colt gave Faith a grim smile.
The expression quickly changed, as the old pegasus finally accepted his fate. Two mares, armed to the teeth were determined to kill him in his own chamber. The smile on his face was barely visible, but a cackle escaped him briefly, betraying his state of spirit. “Then you must be Faith. Tell me, how fares your noble “father”?”
This was probably the most Scarlet was going to let any of the two take on this night. She dug her bracer blade in one of the colt’s hooves. A muffled groan escaped the master as blood sprung out of his fresh wound. On second thought, I’m going to enjoy causing him every ounce of suffering one can take. “I’m certain you can go ask him, if you’re really that concerned of his well-being, can’t you?”
The master didn’t even wince, as he apparently blocked out the pain in his bleeding hoof. He maintained his calm even under the shooting plane of her bracer blade “It’s rather funny to think about it.”
“What is?” Faith obviously did not look amused.
“A once great Creed elite, being reduced to this. To taking a pet.” If it weren’t for Faith to have the honor of killing him, Scarlet would have run him through at that exact moment. “Or, are you the pet now?” The master’s calm suddenly sent a shiver down Scarlet’s spine. He knew there was no longer any hope of escape for him. But what about them?
“Once a killer, always a killer,” Faith’s devise was simple and to the point. If it weren’t for Scarlet to know her better, to know she wanted something more, she might have actually believed what her companion had said.
“You’ve renounced your origins. I see you’re now working with the TWOS.” The colt pierced Scarlet with his eyes, drilling her into the very core of her being. “Thought I wouldn’t notice? Her posture, the way she wields the blade. She’s never even had one before. Being in love with the enemy... Your father would be disappointed.”
“I’m working for myself,” the anger in Faith’s eyes was notable, and so was Scarlet’s concern. Any second now, the guards could find their dead mates and sound the alarm. “It’s hard to want to stay a Creed when you realize what’s wrong with the organization. I think father would have been proud of me, of everything, but I guess I won’t be able to discuss it with him for a long time.” Something is wrong… Wrong, wrong, wrong. The unsettling feeling came from the creeping shadows behind them, as if they were being watched by somepony invisible.
“Do you want me to tell him how much you miss him? Maybe you could do that yourself. I doubt any of you will be getting out alive. One question, though. Before you end me, you must have broken in during the guard shift. How can two ponies single hoofedly defeat ten guards?” That was the cue. Ten guards missing from their post. Everything screamed set-up. But why would the Hooftail trade their own master for a couple of operatives? Something just didn’t add up.
“Ten? Sorry to tell you this. There wasn’t a single guard inside. Maybe somepony wanted you dead.” Escape routes… there are no escape routes! Come on Faith, you must’ve figured it out by now. Finish him and let’s run! The dialogue between the two proceeded as Scarlet carefully counted each second of their lives.
“Of all the ways I thought I’d die, an inside job was probably one of the bottom ten I thought would happen. Do what you have to do, girls. You’ll be joining me soon enough.”
“Perhaps… But, it seems fitting, doesn’t it? If anypony would know about killing comrades, it would be you.”
“What seems fitting is an assassin trying to play house,” the master hissed, his malefic grin turning again towards Scarlet. “If you do survive, however unlikely that chance is, how long will it be before you grow bored of your game? How long before she realizes how much blood on your hooves? You are what you will always be, a Creed can never be anything different. Two hundred sixty-five, was it?”
Two hundred and sixty what? An involuntary gasp left her mouth as she tried to cover it with her hooves. She knew the mare besides her was an assassin, but never imagined that her kill count would be so large. She wondered how many of those could’ve been her friends. How many of the two hundred and sixty five could’ve been her? A sole tear left her eyes, while Faith drew her blade away from the master. “This is never going to be just a game that I play, no matter what happens next. I wouldn’t expect you to understand that. though.”
Suddenly Scarlet heard a sound coming from behind. The door was still open, and several pairs of hoofsteps were approaching the master’s room rapidly. “Faith! They’re here!” This was no longer a whisper. She took a quick glimpse at her pistol and pointed it towards the door. “Oh my god, they’re here…”
Suddenly Scarlet heard a sound coming from behind. The door was still open, and several pairs of hoofsteps were approaching the master’s room rapidly. “Faith! They’re here!” This was no longer a whisper. Their cover was blown, and their time running out.
“Yes, Faith, they’re here. What happens next?” The master was living his last moments enjoying the show that had been set. It appeared as if the two had no chance of escape now. She knew it, and by all means, he knew it as well.
“Save me a seat in the lowest level of Tartarus reserved for monsters like us,”
***
Even though my attention was fully focused onto the door, I could hear the sound of Faith’s blade slice through the husk of the master. Gurgling blood sounded his end, and perhaps what appeared to be our final battle. Our captors were sitting behind the door, awaiting a coordinated strike. I could kill a few before they came close, but after that, I had no idea what was going to happen “Oh my god, they’re here…”
The door opened; a powerful voice from behind echoed across the empty armor suits: “They killed the master, bring them down for the glory of Hooftail!” Everything was dark, but my thermal vision depicted them perfectly. An entire detachment, at least forty. Three of them took point and charged towards the door. False move. I guess they tell us in training about the Creed’s accuracy using a blade. But the Creed somehow omits bullet accuracy when instructing their newcomers. All of the initial wave fell shortly to my sharpshooting.
And then, there was Faith again. That beautiful, damned, mare... She rushed forward to meet the advancing onslaught of reinforcements. My mind was a blur; I tend to lose my thoughts during battle. But I recall her turning towards me and saying “If I clear an opening, you run. No buts.” I didn’t know, back then, if she really meant the “love” thing. I know I did. She seemed so keenly set on protecting me, I was almost about to abide by her plan.
But I just wouldn’t listen. The image of another comrade dying for me was excruciating. As Faith dove in the mass of assassins, slicing in every direction, making half a dozen fall under her first swipe, I followed her. Even though my blade expertise was… well, not that expert, I managed to dual wield it along with my pistol band. I never thought this would turn out efficient.
In the heat of the battle, as more and more were joining in the combat, Faith called out again “Scarlet, what are you doing? Get out of here!” That’s probably the last thing I remember, when it hit me. No, not an idea on how to magically escape the complex, though magic would’ve been a solution. One of those damned Creed darts had struck my wing. I must’ve had a death wish, but at least that managed to save Faith’s side. I figure this is what got her out alive.
The poison was quick. In several seconds, half my body was numb. The spread was painful, but quick. The numbness was comforting, shielding me from the battle outside. My conscience dripped into the void, with a storm of daggers raining around me. What was my last thought, you ask?
Have Faith.