//------------------------------//
// Chapter 48: Rain and Fire 
// Story: Harmony's Creed 
// by Gapeagle 
//------------------------------//

"Get your arse moving! We can't let them escape!"

Rainbow and I swam to the ship as the gangway was destroyed. We had to fight every rising wave as the hurricane blew the seas around us. Even though the waters were shallow, I felt like I could drown if I stopped moving. I was relieved when I felt the wet wood of the ship in my grasp and we hastily climbed onto the main deck.

We were met with scrambling crew members, many of them bleeding on the arms or leg. Several members of whom I was acquainted with were not present and I could only assume they were dead in the water below. Rainbow took no time to reach the wheel and send us off the island. I checked one last time that I still had Valor in its box before looking for ways to help.

A cry uttered from the beach. I glanced over there by reaction and saw that Celestia was still on the island as we floated away. She saw my and began to wave fanatically to get my attention. As we were already off the island, I could only shrug at her in apology, much to her annoyance. 

"You can't leave me here!" She called out through the rain.

Rainbow took no heed of the Empress and we sailed on. Well, we didn't sail because all the sails were drawn up due to the powerful wind. Neo ran up to her and stood by her as first-mate.

"Why you up here?" Rainbow asked Neo. "Where's Zecora?"

"Knocking on Tartarus' door like the others!" He replied.

"Damn them! Guess the old coot lived her life well. But there's no time for mourning, we need to catch these sons of bitches!"

"Maud's ship is in pursuit as we speak, Captain! Spitfire's ship is an Equestrian frigate named The Maiden. Me thinks it was a cargo ship transformed into a war machine."

"Maud's never gonna catch them then." Rainbow grumbled. "What about the Thunderlane and Mac?"

"We lost sight of them when the storm broke. They's probably riding it out." Neo gestured at the chaotic sea.

"And the Royal escort?"

"They let those bastards to us! Didn't even fire a shot when they attacked us! No doubt they wanted us to sink."

"Bloody Royals!"

Rainbow began a string of curses as she madly steered the vessel. Each wave crashed on the ship's bow and made it lurch into the air. Lightning engulfed the sky in an awesome display of nature's wrath. Water hurled itself over the deck every other second, keeping every crew member soaked from head to toe. 

We were ordered to tie ourselves to the main mast. I quickly made my way to it with a long piece of hope, making a bowline with only one hand and testing its security before moving on. The rope around my waist prevented me from falling off the ship, but it did not prevent me from tumbling about uncontrollably. 

A thunderclap erupted right above us, sending a deafening wave through the already noisy air. The captain turned the ship to meet a rogue wave head on. We rose and rose. Hundreds of feet we went to travel up the massive pile of water. The crew took a collective gasp as we fell over it, going straight down into a valley. 

"The Maiden is in sight!" Neo screamed.

"Prepare the cannons! They sink or we do!" Rainbow ordered.

"Aye aye!" The crew shouted in unison.

I took my station by the mortar. Since half of the crew was now deceased, I had to do it alone. I took a shell and rammed it down the large barrel. Salt stung my eyes and I could only peer at my actions with barely opened eyes. 

"Hey Tavi! Need help?"

"Vinyl!" I called. "Where have you been?"

"I was down below."

"Why?" I demanded.

"Ummm....Nothing."

"Bloody Hell, Vinyl, what were you doing?"

"I was uhh..."

I noticed she had no wounds on her unlike every single other crew member. Even though her mask was on, I could see redness in her pale cheeks. I could only assume the worst.

"You were hiding?" I shouted. 

"Why ya say that?" She yelped.

"Vinyl, why were you hiding? You have faced Spitfire before."

"And almost died! C'mon, ya gotta feel for me!"

"Ugh! We fought her after that!"

"But that was with you!" She defended herself. "I didn't want to risk it."

I growled. "Fine! We need to get this mortar operating!"

"Alright!"

Together we turned and angled the mortar to face the fleeing ship in the distance. The ship jumped over another wave, splashing us. Rainbow steered us away from an island and guided the ship through the maze of islands. The Maiden was still visible in the distance.

"We need to stop that ship!" Neo yelled.

"Wait!" Rainbow interrupted. "Where's Maud?"

"They must of lost course. I'm sure they're alight. Her frigate is the most seaworthy vessel I've ever seen." Neo stated reassuringly.

"Then it's up to us." Vinyl breathed.

We finished prepping the mortar and made the final adjustment to its aim. Vinyl lit the fuse and I turned away from the weapon. It fired, creating more thunder to the already thunder filled sky. We could see the fiery shell splash about 20 meters away from our target.

"Damn it! Fire again!" Rainbow commanded. "Get the chain shot ready!"

"Barrels in the water!" A crew member shouted.

It was too late. A flaming barrel brushed the bow of the ship, creating a large explosion that sent Vinyl and I onto the deck. I landed on my upper back first. The box that was at my hip flew off and cracked on the deck. Valor flew out and slid across the wet wood.

"No!" I screamed and chased after it.

I got to my feet and ran at the shard. In my madness, I threw myself at it, only for the ship to crash against a wave that made her lean the other way, sending the shard and I both tumbling over the deck. 

"Tavi!"

I rolled head over heels until I smacked the railing. Valor followed me and flew over the railing. I reached out and caught it just in time before it would be lost to the depths. 

"Haha!" I laughed proudly.

Then I realized what I had just done. A shearing pain was felt in the palm that held the shard. A pain like none I had ever felt. I brought my hand back on the right side of the railing, inspecting what was happening. It was worse once I saw that the shard was splitting my palm in half. It burrowed itself into my hand while I screamed and desperately tried to take it out with my other hand. It was too late. Before I could accept it, the shard had disappeared in my hand, giving me a tingling sensation through my now corrupted veins.

"No! No!" I yelled hopelessly.

"This one is Valor."

"Curse you!" I yelled at the new voice in my head. "Curse you!"

It said nothing else. Instead my hand started to shake violently. A blue aura warped itself around my whole arm. I started to notice that the aura was taking the shape of a hand very similar to mine. The aura arose from my other hand, and then my feet and it soon enveloped my whole person.

"Tavi! What's happening?" Vinyl ran after me.

She was about to reach me when the aura shot out and tackled my friend. The force drove Vinyl to the deck and the aura's movement made a gust of wind that blew in every direction. I tried to stand up, but the ship rocked again, sending me back down. 

"Let go of her!" I yelled.

The aura suddenly jumped off Vinyl and looked at me. The rain deformed the aura with every drop that fell through it. It reminded me of smoke that stayed in a constant shape no matter how much one blew it around. The aura cocked its head at me. It was like looking at a blue clone of myself, every lock of hair and item of clothing were the same. 

"Valor is never alone." It said in my voice.

"Wow!" Vinyl gasped. "Tavi, did you just take a shard?"

"Vinyl, this is no time to awe!" I told her before facing the aura. "What are you?"

"This one is Valor." It repeated with a humble bow to me. "Valor is never alone."

The aura spoke in choppy sentences as if it was struggling to pronounce the words. I took another look at my palm before successfully standing up. The spirit assisted me in getting up. The touch felt like a cold and moist wind. When I had reached my feet, it silently floated into my body and disappeared. My hand tingled again before calming down. 

"Hey! We need some firepower!" Rainbow shouted.

This order brought the storm and chaos back instantly. Vinyl and I raced to the mortar. I tried my best to stay focused on the task at hand, but the very word "hand" reminded me of what I was now: a shard user. I cursed under my breath and loaded a shell into the mortar. We then checked our target again, using the light from all the lightning to see her, and then we fired.

The shell soared into the air before heading down to the waters. It scrapped the side of the Templar's ship, making it turn unexpectedly. The crew cheered at our successful hit.

"They's in range!" A member called out. "We can get 'em with chain!"

The cannons below us roared, sending chain-shot out at the enemy's masts. Since The Maiden was a frigate, we were much faster than her and she required her sails down in order to flee from us. The chains hit their respective targets, sending one of the masts down into the churning sea.

With the Templar ship partly crippled, we rode right over to them. I write this as though the short trip was easy, but every single wave made the journey a minute longer at least. 

"Water devils!" Neo warned.

In the distance was a large water sprout that the hurricane summoned. A monster that literally was as tall as the heavens. It ran parallel to us, following the current of wind for the time being. The crew forced the beast of nature out of their minds and worked on. As the lightning made the storm as bright as daylight, we loaded the weapons and prepared to fire upon the ship.

More chain-shot was fired upon them, smacking the back of the ship. Splinters whirled in the wind past us, forcing us to shield our faces. Vinyl fired the mortar, sending another shell at Spitfire. This one hit the bow of the ship, taking out one of their own mortars in a horrific explosion. 

"Keep it up!" Rainbow encouraged.

The ship took another turn and rounded The Maiden. The right side fired the Ragnarok's broadside cannons right into their left back corner. Chunks of wood flew in every direction as the cannonballs dug into the frigate. A cheer erupted from the crew.

Unexpectedly, they fired back. I first saw the fast flashes as their cannons fired at us. Vinyl and I fell to the deck and covered our heads. I heard some cannonballs whiz by us. It was an odd angle of attack from the Templar and thus most of their cannonballs missed the Ragnarok.

"Return fire! I want these bastards dead in the water!"

The Ragnarok crept up to the frigate's side. As we came closer, the size difference became evident. We were much smaller than the Equestrian frigate and had fewer guns, but that did not deter the Bearer of Loyalty.

Since my mortar was no longer useful in such close quarters, Vinyl and I ran to one of the broadside cannons. From there I could see Templar soldiers running about on The Maiden. Their red uniforms were hard to see in the rain, but their moving shadows were clear even in the dark environment. This was unlike their captain. Spitfire's bright blue and yellow robes were visible as she steered the ship. Her bright hair was like a beacon of fire in all of the darkness. 

"Get out of my waters!" The Bearer shouted.

She then turned the ship into The Maiden, causing both ships to collide in a glancing blow. I thought the action was careless in terms of caring for one's prized vessel, but the action did give us time to fire the cannons safely into their side at point blank range.

It was a dreadful blow to their frigate. How boards of the ship flew out in random directions, as did the Templar soldiers unfortunate enough to be on that side. One soldier hit the Ragnarok's railing right in front of me before falling hopelessly to the black waters. 

"Dammit!" Vinyl shouted as she picked splinters out from her arm.

"Board her!"

"But captain!" Neo objected. "They outnumber us! They'll swarm us with their numbers!"

"Not with me here!"

Rainbow let go of the wheel and drew her blazing swords. The crew gathered their boarding hooks and sailed them over to The Maiden. The hooks connected and dragged the frigate close to us. I could hear Spitfire cursing at this. 

"Kill 'em all!" Rainbow ordered.

"Show them no mercy!" Spitfire commanded.

Rainbow grabbed a rope and swung herself over the side and onto the frigate, followed by her brave crew members. Steam rose from her blades as the rain evaporated on its hot metal. I drew my sword and, since the ship was close enough to jump to, I ran and threw myself to its side, then proceeded to climb up with Vinyl behind me.

When I was about to climb over the railing, the blue aura appeared again on the deck and stretched its ethereal hand down to me. I took the hand with anxiety, but the aura lifted me up all the way before disappearing again into my person.

The deck was anything but sane. Rainbow's swords whirled around on their chain as she burned her way through the Templar ranks. Spitfire threw one of the Ragnarok's crew overboard with her usual ferocity. However, I knew there were two other Wonderbolts present.

"Octy! I'm back!"

Fleetfoot pounced at me with her swords. I lifted my sword in defense, but it was not needed as the aura of Valor sprung out of me and knocked the attacker to the ground before returning to me.

"What was that?" She asked incredulously.

I ignored her question and swung my blade at her. She flipped herself backwards to avoid it. The ship rocked back with a wave and we all paused to get our footing back. I took the time to plan my next move. I felt the shard take hold of my wrist and I threw my hand out like Twilight when she performed magic. The aura shot out and slammed itself into Fleetfoot with its shoulder before dissipating. The action was so fast she could not react to it and was knocked to the deck again.

"Valor is never alone."

She recovered quickly and came at me again. I deflected her sword and kicked her bad leg, making her scream in pain. Another wave splashed over the side and knocked me off balance. I swung my arms about and prevented myself from falling. The Wonderbolt dashed at me, only to be blocked by Valor again.

"That's not fair!" Fleetfoot complained. 

It was clear I had the advantage in this engagement. I felt the power in my hand, always tingling with increased aggression as the fight went on. I sent Valor out again, making the spirit sweep Fleetfoot's legs out from under her. I followed up with a downward strike of my sword. She expertly moved her legs out of the way and retaliated with a strong kick to my stomach.

The Wonderbolt came after me again. I took a step back and sent Valor out, but this time, the aura appeared from behind Fleetfoot and grabbed her. It wrapped its ethereal arms under her armpits and took hold of the back of her head. She tried to kick the spirit, but all of her attacks went through the blue aura like it didn't exist. I kept Valor there, which seemed to be strain on my person. I walked over to Fleetfoot, with my sword in hand, and stabbed her underneath the ribcage and up into the heart.

"Not like this..." She muttered weakly.

I withdrew my blade. Its sharp metal was crimson with the Wonderbolt's blood. Fleetfoot's eye twitched involuntarily, her gaze absent, and her lips quivered in fear. Valor dissipated, making the dying traitor slump down to the deck. Finally, a Wonderbolt tasted the death they had brought so many. I flicked my blade, letting the traitorous blood wash off in the rain. 

"Fleets!"

I turned to see Spitfire racing at me with a fury that only she could muster. Her scimitar was in her clutched hand as she jumped around the Templar and pirates fighting on the deck. A fire brighter than her hair was in her tearing eyes. Her face completely contorted in unrestrained rage.

"You bastard! You killed my friend!" She yelled in sobbing anger.

I could not reply as the Ragnarok broke off from The Maiden. The water devil had returned and it was traveling straight to us. I saw that the Ragnarok escaped its path when it leveled the side of the frigate. The ship was turned on its side, sending everyone on board into the waters. I did not remember much during that time. My body was going any way the water wanted it to. I did remember bashing into several rocks on the bottom of the sea before being lurched back onto the surface. I ended up finding myself clinging to a palm tree on the side of an island.

I was on land, but so was Spitfire. I saw her washed up on the small beach next to the tree that saved me. She was coughing up water and dragging herself to higher ground. The water spout had dissipated and The Maiden was still floating on the sea as a deformed mass of wood. 

I carefully removed myself from the tree and sought higher ground myself. I kept my eyes on the Wonderbolt, making sure she did not see me. I had lost my sword in the sea, but she did not. She held her scimitar with an iron grip that I could not comprehend. 

"That bitch! She took her away! She took her away!" Spitfire screeched to herself.

The Wonderbolt captain seemed deranged. When she reached solid land, she proceeded to beat the earth repeatedly, saying a curse each time. I kept my distance from her as I entered the small wood. She did not notice me until I ruffled some vines in my movement.

"I'm not alone." She shot up. "The Canterlotian.....The Canterlotian is here."

Her eyes darted in every direction. She was shivering and twitching madly. I climbed the trees to hide from her. The Wonderbolt started to walk about cautiously with a rock in her hand.

"What keeps you going, Assassin? What motivation can you possibly have to keep doing this?" She demanded loudly.

"You are a fiend!" She continued. "You are a marauder that preys on the weak! You have no Honor! I extinguished your kind in Cloudsdale! Rid it of corruption! I have dealt with your kind for too long."

I shrunk away and held myself close to a tree as she wandered below me. Every one of her words sounded like they required a mountain's worth of effort to produce. I could tell she was not injured and that it was only her raw emotions that were doing it.

"You don't even know the corruption that plagues your Brotherhood, do you? How can you stay loyal to them and know what they do? I had to kill innocents! I had to become a monster to have any recognition in the Brotherhood. Call me a traitor all you want, but it is you who has betrayed. You've betrayed yourself when you cast lot with them."

She suddenly turned around and threw the rock right at me. It struck me and knocked me off the tree and onto the hard dirt. I had expected her to attack me immediately, but she stood there breathing heavily, her scowl as evident as ever.

"Get up." She ordered harshly.

I stood up and raised my hands up in position to fight. She cocked her head before performing a long sigh. The wind howled above us and the lightning lit every crack in the woods. She gazed absently at her sword before stabbing it into the ground.

"You have no weapon. So I will not have one either." She said simply.

I awaited her first move. Her eyes glared straight at mine, not for a moment looking elsewhere on my body. She took one step forward, as if trying to get me to react prematurely. She took another. I saw her swallow and then she dashed at me with her arms in front of her. I rolled to the side and dodged her. She expected this and followed up with a swift kick that hit my side when I was in the middle of my roll.

It was not a tough blow and I stood up afterward. Spitfire kept the pressure on me by giving out a fury of punches and kicks that I had to block or dodge. She was breathing hard already, but I could tell she was not close to tired. 

"All the trouble you've given me! All because you can't see the errors of the Assassins!" She yelled.

I jumped back. "I know very well of the Assassins' lies, Spitfire. I understand why you left them."

"Then you are worse because of it! You know what's right and won't do it!"

She grabbed my arm and swung me into a tree. She then took my face and began slamming it into the tree repeatedly with the intent to bust my head open. My arm tingled and Valor appeared behind the Wonderbolt, taking her by the back and tossing her off me.

"What?" Spitfire gasped. "You are a shard user?"

I wiped the blood from my cheek. "Just received it not long ago. It was an accident."

"And now you use it against me? I thought you were unarmed!"

Spitfire got up and ran for her sword. I guided Valor to her and made the aura kick her back to me. It was truly effortless. The Wonderbolt tried again and Valor halted her progress. I walked over to the traitor.

"You are outmatched." I told her.

"Outmatched?" She growled. "You cheater! You corrupted woman. These shards were what caused all this. No person deserves the power they wield. It drives them insane. The Bearers of Harmony are clear evidence of this. Now you join them in that insanity."

I tried to reply to her, but she came out at me so fast that I was taken completely by surprise. Her hands wrapped themselves around my throat and she brought me to the ground. She had cut off are air to my lungs as she straggled me. The lightning from above shrouded her face into a silhouette.

"This is for my friend! This is for all the trouble you've given me! This is for Cloudsdale's protection and my Honor!"

Valor tackled her off me. The spirit began to punch the Wonderbolt repeatedly. Spitfire could not retaliate as her fists flew harmlessly through the aura. She then grabbed a rock and struck me with it, making the spirit dissipate before I wanted it to.

"Spitfire, stop this. I know what evil is in the Brotherhood, and I too want to cleanse it. But we can reform the Brotherhood. We don't need to destroy it."

"How can we reform something so lost?" She muttered as she tried to stand up.

"It's not lost!"

"Not lost? They kill innocents, their leaders are corrupted and foolish, they play with toys not meant for them, and their whole purpose is a lie! There is no Harmony in this world and there's no way you can make Harmony. The Creed is useless since the Brotherhood doesn't follow it."

"Then we'll set it right!"

"We? You can't be referring to me and you? We'll never be allies. I could never see myself working with the killer of my dear friend."

In truth, I did not even realize that I was saying "we." I knew she would never rejoin the Brotherhood. My speech was being altered by the shard. I shook my head in an attempt to free my conscience.

During this slight mental distraction, Spitfire pushed herself up. She threw herself at me again in her rage. When she came close, I made Valor backhand her across the cheek. There was an attempt at a dodge from the Wonderbolt, but the action was far faster than her mind could react. 

This did not stop her. After she spat some blood from her mouth she dived at my legs. She took hold of me above my knees and ran until I was pushed into the ground. 

"You won't use your shard to knock me off now!"

She grabbed my left hand and twisted it until it broke. I yelped in pain and use my other hand to grab her. Fortunately, my left did not have the shard as my right did. The blue aura whirled around my fingers, emitting a flying fist into the Wonderbolt. 

I got up quickly as Valor attacked Spitfire. My left hand was deformed and dislocated. I took hold of it and popped it back into place. After the pain of the shard accepting me, all that followed seemed disappointing. However, my hand was still broken in the palm up and thus it was ruined for the time being. 

Valor disappeared and Spitfire sprung to her feet. I sent Valor out again and Spitfire finally dodged the spirit. I sent it out again with similar results. She had clearly adapted to the battle. It was time I did as well. I lifted my hand up and made Valor appear above her and slammed the spirit down with a heavy kick straight on her. Her knees buckled awkwardly and her back popped out. She fell face first into the mud with her knees broken and her back out of line. The blow was much more destructive than I had anticipated.

I walked over to her. She breathed heavily and did not move. The only part that did was the twitching of her bloodied fingers. I dropped on one knee and inspected her. Her fiery eyes glanced at me defiantly, but it was clear she knew she had lost. 

"Do you expect me to beg?" She whispered hoarsely.

"No. I'm not sure what I expect from you." I replied.

"I can't move." She uttered. "You've paralyzed my body.  I'm done with my life."

"It is a shame it had to come to this. You were a great Assassin." I told her sincerely.

"No I wasn't. I was a fool. I'm still a fool. I had the dumb idea of attempting to change the world. It was too big, even for me and my mad dreams. I wish I could say I had no regrets....But it's not true."

"I should have stayed out of the war when I left the Brotherhood." She continued. "I never should have listened to Lady Shimmer. I let my anger guide my path, and it led to the deaths of my friends. All of them."

"That's the dangers of the Templar." I nodded.

"I was never a Templar!" She spat. "Never in heart. I could never see Sunset's vision...It was too blurry for me. Her and her Father of Understanding...It was just the same forgotten morals like the Brotherhood. After all these years, they were just words as the actions were all forgotten."

"Then why did you attack us?"

"Because it was the only way to bring peace. If this secret war never existed....we would have peace. I just wanted safety for my home. I should have kept my purpose that simple."

She grimaced as she finally felt the pain. Her eyes were close to tearing and her hands twitched violently. I took a step back in fright.

"I....never regained....my Honor. I doubt now it was even possible. Once tainted, always tainted. Please, Octavia, take my sword and finish me. I care not about that scimitar anymore. It was just the symbol of my past mistakes and I never moved past them. It is only fitting that it should end me completely."

I did as she asked. I walked over to her sword and pulled it out of the ground. Its gleaming edge glistened in the first ray of sunlight that broke through the subsiding hurricane. I returned to her. Her eyes watched me carefully and with a gleam of hope as well. With my good hand I turned her over on her back, letting her eyes stare at the greyish sky. I then placed the sword in her hands and lifted her arms up with the blade pointing at her chest. With a fluid motion, I pushed the blade down into her heart; her hands still limp of its handle. The Wonderbolt's eyes rolled up in her head and with a relieved sigh, she rested for eternity.

I bowed to her in the Assassin manner. I swiped my hands over her still eyes, closing them in peace. My eyes then turned to the clearing horizon. Wood and bodies floated to the shore slowly and with almost a sense of tranquility. The storm was finished, but all the horrors of it remained. 


~