//------------------------------//
// Bearer Chapter: Honesty 
// Story: Harmony's Creed 
// by Gapeagle 
//------------------------------//

"Now 'Bloom, ya better get along now. I think Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are waitin' for ya by Rarity's place."

Apple Bloom nodded. "Yup. See ya later Sis!"

Applejack waved goodbye to her fleeing sister with a relieved sigh. She returned her attention to the Assassins and common folk who were still rebuilding after the fake Republican army attacked them. The town hall was fully restored, as well as the walls, but there were still homes in disrepair. It was not an easy task, but it brought the village closer together.

"Bearer, we are almost done with the library. The books will be placed back inside shortly."

Applejack turned her head at the voice. "Ah, That's mighty fine to hear, Cheerilee. How's the Disciples?"

"Mostly good." Cheerilee nodded. "Some are still recovering from the attack." She paused. "That was not the only reason I've come to you, Bearer. There is a new Assassin that arrived from Canterlot."

Applejack raised a brow. "What's his name?"

Cheerilee shrugged. "That's the thing, she said it was 'Minerva' but I don't know any by that name. She also wears a blue mask of a dragon's grin. She hasn't taken it off. It's suspicious, you know."

"Mhm. I guess I'll go see her. Bring me to her." Applejack gestured for the mentor to lead.

"Of course." Cheerilee bowed and walked away.

Applejack followed the mentor closely. Despite not wearing her usual armored robes, the Bearer trudged through the moist ground ungracefully. Her mind was curious about this new Assassin showing up. Twilight did not mention anyone coming down the mountain in her letters. This made Applejack rub her chin thoughtfully. 

The walk was short and quiet. Neither Assassin said a word until they halted near the Ponyville gate. There was a group of six Assassins chatting in a relatively close circle. Five of them were in the usual Ponyville white robes and one was in blue elaborate Canterlotian robes. They quickly took notice of the Bearer and mentor and gave a group bow in Brotherhood fashion.

"I'm guessin' ya the one from Canterlot?" Applejack nodded at the blue robed Assassin.

"Yes I am." The one in question answered happily. "I am Minerva of the South Canterlot Den."

Applejack took a step closer. "Ya recently put there? Cause we have the Den's roster. I ain't never seen no 'Minerva' there."

"Oh, I was stationed there after the West Den was taken. The roster may need updating."

Applejack fell silent. Minerva's grinning mask made her uncomfortable. Its pale white, sharp, and pointy teeth could frighten young ones easily. The blackish eyes had holes that allowed the wearer to see, and allow Applejack to see the dark blue eyes beneath. 

"Can ya remove your mask? Ya can't be that ugly." Applejack remarked jokingly.

The other Assassins chuckled at the joke. Minerva did not laugh and simply shook her head. "I am sorry Bearer, but I don't want to do that. I am not one for showing my face around....strangers. Just a personal choice."

"That's alright." Applejack said. "So why did Twi send ya down here? We got the place doing well."

"She sent me to check up on the progress." Minerva said with a gesture to the village. "Could you show me around?"

"Sure thing, sugarcube. I'll show you myself."

"I'll come with." Cheerilee spoke quickly.





"So here's the town hall. It got leveled by the tanks, but we got her up now. Better than ever."

Minerva gazed up at the gazebo-like building as Applejack introduced it. The mentor stood by the side with a confused expression that she had been carrying throughout the whole tour. The Bearer smiled before placing a firm hand on the masked Assassin's shoulder.

"So, Minerva, why are ya here?" She asked politely.

"Why? I said I was here to ch..."

"I asked you a question. Think about it." Applejack told her coldly.

"I don't understand."

"Do ya really think ya could lie to me? The Bearer of Honesty herself? C'mon. Maybe we can help ya get out of whatever you've been put to do. Ya seem like a sweet girl out of her element."

A sudden coolness swept over the trio. Applejack felt the warmness leave her body as the temperature dropped immensely. A sly chuckle rose from the grinning mask. The dark blue eyes squinted with delight.

"Sweet girl? Bearer, I am anything but sweet. I knew I would never trick you. It's not my style. But I got what I wanted. I'm next to the town hall, have you and the mentor next to me, and a whole lot of witnesses. I think it's high time I bring this village to a cold version of Hell."

Applejack chuckled. "Oh yeah? How ya gonna accomplish that?"

"I'll show you!"

Minerva grabbed Cheerilee, causing a wave of thin ice to engulf the mentor in seconds. She then lifted the mentor and through her right into Applejack, knocking the Bearer to the ground. The air around them began to swirl with snow and sleet. Applejack felt her breath be taken away by the sheer coldness. She threw the frozen Cheerilee off her and jumped to her feet.

"What are ya?" She asked the masked cryomancer.

"I can come up with plenty of comebacks, but I won't go there. I'm just here to ruin a village, that's all."

Applejack jumped at the assailant with a flying fist. Minerva formed a block of ice that stopped the Bearer's punch. Applejack punched it again and destroyed the block with ease. The cryomancer was taken aback by the Bearer's strength, but stood her ground.

"You're the brute of the bunch." She commented. "But I'll bring you to your knees!"

Minerva created two ice swords and then swung at the Bearer. Applejack slapped one of the swords, shattering it, while the other met her unarmored shoulder.

"Gah!" She screamed.

The Bearer kicked the opponent firmly in the gut, making her fly away and hit the ground with a roll. She quickly recovered and formed an icicle in her palm. The Bearer's eyes widened as the icicle flew passed her, grazing her cheek and ear. The cold sting made her winch in pain. With a yell, she charged at the cryomancer.

Minerva threw herself out of the Bearer's away. Applejack ran into a house with her shoulder first, making the wall collapse. She recoiled from the impact with her head spinning. She located Minerva and prepared to charge again, but she felt a new wave of coldness sweep over her. She looked down to see that her feet were frozen to the ground and the ice crept up her body rapidly. She struggled to get free, but in no time her face was covered by the ice and she was stuck.

"Wooh! You gave me a heart attack with that charge." Minerva laughed as she tapped the ice over Applejack's nose. "Now you can watch as I ruin this place. Oh, and give the Bearers my regards. I'm doing this for them."

Minerva giggled under her mask and turned away. The blizzard she created became stronger with every second. The biting wind whirled angrily and the thatched roofs flew off. Assassins ran around in panic. Some, however, ran at Minerva with their swords.

"I just took down your Bearer; you really think you can take me?"

The cryomancer froze them all in place without any effort. She started to dance around happily as the storm raged on. The devilish grin on her mask portrayed its wearer perfectly.

"Aw shit, I froze you guys with such unhappy faces!" She gasped as she inspected her latest victims. "I always liked happy smiles. You know, with bright and happy teeth. It's why I chose this mask. The teeth are pearly white, as they should be. Hmm, I can see that such teeth aren't some of your strong points. Guess you have to live with that."

Applejack flexed her muscles. The ice prevented her from moving enough to break it. She flexed again with similar luck. Her Element pulsed and she felt its power surging.

"Let me handle this."

"Ya sure?" Applejack replied mentally. "This ice is thick."

"Yes, but my power should overcome it. Let me have control. I'll give it back when I'm out. I promise that."

"Go ahead."

The eyes of the Bearer glowed bright white. Her limbs vibrated against the ice, slowly creating room. In a few seconds she made enough room to wiggle her arms back and forth. With a yell, she cracked the ice and freed herself.

Applejack's sight returned to normal and her eyes honed in on Minerva. The cryomancer noticed the Bearer's escape and sent another ice spike at her. Applejack knocked the spike away and picked up a piece of wood from the broken house and chucked it with tremendous speed.

The wood collided with the attacker and sent her to the ground. Applejack bounded over to her and grabbed the back of her head, stuffing it in the still moist ground.

"Yield!" She screamed.

No response came and she shoved Minerva's face in the ground with even more force. The cyromancer reached back and took hold of Applejack's arm, freezing it. The cold made Applejack grunt loudly.

"That's it!"

The Bearer lifted the Assassin up in the air and threw her down again, making her bounce off the dirt. She then punched her in the face, knocking the mask cleanly off.

"And I pull my punches. Huh?!"

The cryomancer breathed heavily as she gazed helpless up at the Bearer. The girl beneath the mask was young and quite pale. It was like the sun was her enemy. A massive bruise covered half of her face, but the rest was still recognizable. Applejack stood agape as she inspected the girl.

"Den Master Minuette?"

"That's right..." Minuette moaned.

"But you're dead! I...Ya Den was destroyed and you was hanged!"

"Nice fake out, huh? None of you ever checked to see if that gal who died was actually me. It was easy."

"Then...Why are ya here? Why are ya attacking us? You're an Assassin!"

"Quit your talking!" Minuette snapped back.

Applejack slammed a foot on the traitor's gut, making her hurl. The Bearer then leaned over her and took hold of her face, making Minuette look at directly at her.

"Don't talk like that to me. I want to know everything. Don't ya lie to me cause I know when ya are. Why are you here? How'd ya get a shard? Where have ya been this past year? Tell me now!"

"You know...I tried to help this world. Put my body and soul into it all. It was all for naught you see. After my 'death' I realized that all my work went to shit. I was a Den Master of a great Brotherhood. But what did I achieve? Nothing of course. The world's the same with me or without me. I got no purpose, no destiny, no part in some grand scheme. You know Bearer, all this Assassin stuff isn't gonna help anyone. I've learned this the hard way. Why put so much care, emotion, and thought into your life and others? Whatever we do will be forgotten in a couple years at best. After my death, I realized that the world has no care for you. You can be forgotten in days as I was. I had no Den to go back to. No welcome committee. Nothing. After all my work and knowing that none of it mattered, all that's left is Apathy. That's my shard. A gift I needed. The bliss of knowing that death and horror can't affect you emotionally is overwhelming. I don't care what you do to me, Applejack, I really don't. You can put me through so much hurt, I'll shrug it off. No matter what, we will go to the same place after death. And all that happens in between will be meaningless. I just want to have fun until then. Some nice white smiles 'til the end. That's why I'm here. Now tell me if that was a lie."

Applejack remained silent. Minuette was not lying. This was not the Den Master she knew those years ago. The Bearer sighed through her nose. The frozen Assassins started to move about as the air warmed up. Minuette's breathing slowed down and she gave a bloodied smile to them.

"Minuette, there's more than that." Applejack said. "Please tell me."

"Why should I? It's more interesting if you don't know. But...It could be interesting if you do." She sounded absent.

"Someone sent you. Who?"

"Wait, I need to decide if telling you would be fun."

"Do I have to bribe ya?" Applejack asked in a annoyed tone.

"What's your offering?" Minuette smiled.

"What do ya want? Money? Freedom? I can let ya go with ya want."

"How about fixing her mind." Cheerilee rudely suggested through chattering teeth.

"What? You gonna remove my shard? She's kind of my best friend." Minuette stated casually.

"We won't remove your shard." Applejack said. "But only if ya tell us who sent you."

Minuette's eyes darted to her left hand. "Alright, I'll tell you. But you gotta let me go afterwards."

"Cheerilee?" Applejack wanted the mentor's input.

"I guess we can let her go." Cheerilee grumbled.

"Good!" Minuette beamed. "The Bearer of Magic sent me."

The Assassins laughed at the traitor's words. All except Applejack, who twitched uncontrollably. The laughter died down when they saw the Bearer's motionless face. Her eyes dropped to the ground.

"She's tellin' the truth." Applejack croaked.

"Hehe. Yeah I am. Her and Sunset Shimmer! They've been pals this whole time. I'm just one of her soldiers. When you're a princess, shards are in good supply. I won't be the last shard user you'll meet."

"And I knew it too..." The Bearer faltered, ignoring Minuette. "I just thought it was how she was. I never wanted to believe it was real. My senses...They were right. Twilight sent ya to destroy us? Why?"

"She never told me nor did I ever care."

"Our leader...How?" Cheerilee gasped.

"By the other Bearers being incompetent." Applejack answered as tears began to flow down her face. "We never questioned her. We never wanted to. She's our friend; she couldn't do something like this!"

"And it all comes full circle." Minuette giggled. "But hey, I didn't think she was Templar either when I was a Den Master."

"She's no Templar." Applejack shook her head. "I'd a known it. She's no Templar, she's something else."

"Well, I told you what you wanted. Can I go now?"

"Shut your mouth!" Applejack punched the cryomancer, knocking her out cold.

Cheerilee recoiled from the outburst. "But...you said we had to let her go."

"You did, not me. I can't lie, but ya can. Chain her up and keep her under watch. We can't let vermin like her out there where they can hurt people."

"And what about you? What about the Bearer of Magic?"

Applejack rose as slowly as her speech. "I'mma go and show her that she can't trick us no more. And....if need be.....Take the Element of Magic away from her. Forcibly."


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