Harmony's Creed: Brotherhood

by Gapeagle


Templar Chapter IV: Taking Advantage

Sunset Shimmer crossed her armored legs daintily as she sat at a round wooden table, a mug of cider resting in her right hand. The left had impatiently tapped the side of her mug, showing that she had been waiting here for some time. Her eyes wandered about the round edge of the table, her thoughts far from where she was at. Her red and yellow curls bounced with every movement of her head.

Her eyes went to the window, but the tavern's glass was too foggy to look through, thus only a gray light entered from it. Templar soldiers were also present in the tavern. With guns on their backs, they chatted in low whispers and remained generally quiet. The owner of the tavern was behind a bar and speaking with a smiling Templar woman. Sunset watched all of this without much interest.

With a sigh, she leaned back in her chair, leaving the full cider mug on the table. "Waiting and waiting, that's all we do now. I thought these carriages would come in faster." She ran a hand through her hair. "If we don't start up again soon-"

She stopped to look up at a hooded figure. The figure's arms were crossed and a smile was on her lips, showing white teeth in the shadows of her face. The robes she wore were blue and yellow, the clothes being well-designed for a specific purpose. The figure said nothing and took a seat across from Sunset.

"Been expecting me?" the figure asked.

"No," was the answer. "Captain Spitfire, why are you here? I thought you would be still defending Cloudsdale."

Spitfire removed her hood to show bright fiery hair. Her eyes shared the same fiery color. "Grandmaster Glimmer ordered me to come here. Fleetfoot and Soarin are also in town, but they are with her at the moment."

"Starlight is here?" Sunset muttered with shock. "Why? Does she not know what I plan to do..."

"We've located the South Canterlot Den," Spitfire cut her off.

"I've been here for some time, Captain. How could you find something I've been looking for all this time?"

"The Staff of Order. This place is crawling with Assassins. It's an infestation. So, we Wonderbolts know how to catch Assassins. Soarin and I captured one not far from here and brought him to the Grandmaster. She took the information right out of him and his head boils like an egg. Poor sod, but that's war. He was a member of the South Canterlot Den and now we know its exact location. It's time to smoke them out."

"And that's not all," Spitfire continued. "There are other Dens we have located. Fleetfoot actually went to one of these when she was still an Assassin. It's not a big Den at all, but we can still destroy it. I thought the Brotherhood would have abandoned that Den, but they didn't. We also brought in more bomb carriages. Three for each Den."

"You've done all this?" Sunset asked.

"Yes."

Sunset stood up from her chair and adjusted her armor. "Then I need to speak with Starlight myself."


Starlight Glimmer stood on the road, two Templar soldiers on either side of her. There was a two-horse drawn carriage next to her, elegant and ready for use. She had not traveled by carriage, but instead rode her own horse. She did not like carriages as they seemed too extravagant for her taste. The Wonderbolts did not mind riding in it in her place.

The soldiers were speaking of subjects that she did not care for. However, due to her white mask, they could not tell she had a disapproving look on her face, so they went on. She watched them with curious eyes, but said nothing. The Templar treated her as an equal more so than their Grandmaster, and that was perfectly fine with her.

"Starlight!" Sunset shouted as she stomped over to her. "Why are you here? You are supposed to remain in Cloudsdale."

"Ah, Sunset!" Starlight gleamed under the white mask. "Good to see this afternoon. You see, I have come to make sure that this plan of yours works. I'd hate to let you do it by yourself. We both know that it is better to work in unison than separated. Besides, what leader would I be if I remained in a palace far behind the first sight of danger? It's more honorable to be with those who follow me. I do this to show them my infinite gratitude."

"Did you not trust me to succeed?" Sunset stopped and placed a hand on her hip.

Starlight chuckled and shook her head. "I must admit, I don't think your plan will work. That was because you never told me your plan. I had to find it out myself by asking one of your fine men. However, it is not a bad plan to simply destroy the Brotherhood's operations in one clean sweep. After a week or so thinking about it, I think your plan can work if you had more help. That's all. You are still running the operation, I shall simply aid you when you need it. People should always be willing to help their equals."

"That is why you brought the Wonderbolts with you as well?"

"Exactly," Starlight placed a gently hand on Sunset's shoulder. "What better Templars to bring than those who have the most experience in hunting? Spitfire is a fine warrior and she shall hunt any survivors of our attacks. Don't look at me like that, you know there will be survivors. Even if we blow up ten blocks around the Dens, there will still be those who make it out alive. They are resourceful and cunning. History tells that they've risen from even their worst times. We also know that Canterlot is not the only city to host this many Assassins. They are everywhere, we shall only be clearing one nest out of several."

"Then how do you think you're going to help?"

"By simply giving aid like I said. I have the Staff of Order. I believe I can help in more ways than one. Carry on, Sunset."

Sunset Shimmer crossed her arms. Starlight remained standing there, seemingly innocent enough. After a moment, Starlight's smile began to falter and she sighed. With her wrists on her hips, she frowned at the Templar.

"I know we are not on the best of terms yet, but please, we cannot stand here forever."

Sunset turned around and began to walk away. "Fine. Just try to keep up. I was doing just fine without you, so don't get in my way. It's great that we have the locations of the Dens, but we now need a time to strike. That could take some time to coordinate."

Starlight followed her. "Of course. We are not in an absolute rush. Remember that you have Suri's troops as well. We should outnumber the Assassins. If we time the men right, they will not have a chance to fight back."

"Numbers aren't everything, Starlight. I know the Brotherhood better than you, so I would suggest staying in the back."

Starlight folded her arms. "I can't believe how stubborn you are, I mean really."

Sunset stopped and sighed. "Alright, we'll do it together. I guess it's not too bad to have the Staff around. Just please don't have any Equalists go about and ruin the surprise. We need to make this clean and precise. The only way we'll succeed is if we attack every Den at the same time."

"I'm glad of you choice. Please lead the way. When the Assassins are done, we'll have an easier time establishing equality and dismissing the Two Sisters."

"Remember that we are only taking out the Assassins here, Starlight. There are still four other Bearers," Sunset cautioned.

"Hm, it is usually I who warns others. Do not worry, to be formidable, we must be intelligent. This war is not going to win in with us in a fist fight with the Bearers. We shall win this war by having a world of Equality that will not support the Assassins' Harmony. They will be the regressive in this era. No one likes the regressive."

"Starlight, we have taken it easy these past years. It is time to strike. One after the other. If we work our asses off now, then it will be easier later."

"Indeed. Let us begin."

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