Harmony's Creed

by Gapeagle

Chapter 54: Brief Recollection

The only thing that guided my hand across these pages was habit. Writing was now just part of me. I couldn't live without recording my actions for some faceless future reader. I must admit, when I write these words, I feel like burning the parchment. I don't wish to recount what transpired after Rainbow's death. I simply don't.

By the time I wrote this, two weeks since her death had passed. We could only hold a short ceremony before Neo, the new captain, took the battered ship and sailed back to the Labyrinth Isles where the late Bearer would join Caramel's tombstone. Speaking of the old sea dog, we (Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Vinyl, Coco Pommel, and I) were on the long road to Canterlot. I hardly remembered the road since I traveled on it last, but I did remember how Caramel's homestead looked.

When we reached the homestead, I was the first to recognize it. Rarity (who was in charge of carrying the Element of Loyalty in her satchel) did not know of Caramel's living. I had to explain to her what had happened when I was here last. Recalling my wrath and almost insane desire to kill Spitfire felt so foreign now. I no longer viewed her as the devil, but as a victim. I saw her intentions, and even to me they felt sincere. I remembered how...how I dreamed of killing her in the worst of ways.

After I told her that Caramel's death was a lie, I boldly knocked on the former captain's door. The young wife, Sassaflash, opened the door with a bright smile. She recognized me instantly even though over three months were between our last meeting. I tried to smile back to her, but my heart trembled when I thought of giving Caramel the bad news.

"Come on in." She said cheerfully. "Caramel just got back from taking care of the pigs. Just in time for supper too."

"Thank you." I said and we all walked inside to her home.

The place was just as I remembered. Paintings of the sea and the Ragnarok. I now understood those paintings. The sea was beautiful, the feeling of adventure on the brig was exhilarating. I, a city girl from the mountain, was able to sail on a sea with rogue privateers. Just thinking that told me of my ingratitude. What I had experienced was one very few could ever tell.

"Ah, ya finally back." Caramel called from the kitchen. "Been an aging while, lass." He paused. "Ya got somethin' in ya eye that wasn't there before. You've tasted the life of a pirate. Ya changed."

"Indeed." I replied. "I sailed under Captain Rainbow Dash."

"And on my ship!" He cackled. "Ah! Rarity! The young lady hath returned from the high society."

Rarity stepped forward. "Nice to meet you again, Captain Caramel. It is nice to be on friendly terms for once."

Caramel laughed. "Oh, I'm with ya on that. Ya gave me such heartache those years ago. So many times I jus' wanted to strangle ya!"

They shared an awkward laugh once more. Then an eerie silence followed as Rarity and I both knew about the painful message we held. I tried to speak, but my throat was dry and sticky. I saw Rarity's eyes advert to the floor instead of looking the old sea dog in the eye. Caramel knew something was up and held himself close to his wife.

The Bearer of Generosity quietly withdrew the glowing red crystal of the Element of Loyalty. I was not sure if Caramel knew what this meant. The Bearer cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Rainbow didn't make it. She gave her life to save her friend." She stammered.

Caramel did not say anything at first. He nodded his head like he already knew it. "That's how I thought she would go. An honorable death is lot more than we pirates deserve. She's lucky."

" Are you not upset?" Rarity started to tear up. "She was practically your daughter."

"Naw, she was never that. She was a friend." Caramel said. "I can't say I am upset. I've heard these tales of death so many times, they don't affect me anymore. I'm glad actually. She didn't end up like me. I died out there, risking my crew for something I didn't believe in. She had a hero's death. Cheers for that action. Cheers for devotion. Like I always said, she was like a dog protecting her owner. She didn't understand the threat, but she knew that putting herself before others was always the right thing."

Sassaflash took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for your loss. Travel no more today, we have enough beds for you all. Please rest here."

We took her offer up and spent the night there. It was a long evening. Caramel told us stories about him and Rainbow. They had daring feats of glory together and Rarity often pitched in the story from her own perspective. Some of the stories were serious and dark, but most had a humorous twist placed on them that made us laugh.

The next morning came swiftly after we retired. Before sunrise, the horses were readied and we said goodbye to the couple. Part of me wanted to stay there, isolated from the terrible world. However, I knew what was ahead of me, what waited for me in my home city. It was something I could not avoid.

---

Our arrival at Ponyville was a dismal one. Half of it was destroyed and the Assassins there were demoralized. They told us about the shard user Minuette. She had escaped them two nights before our arrival and none of them could find her icy trail. This was startling news to all of us. Twilight and Sunset were distributing shards? It was unheard of, but sound with evidence.

"The Bearer of Honesty has been in Canterlot since the attack." A Brother told us.

"She's not come back?" Vinyl asked.

"No, last we heard, she got in a fight with the Bearer of Magic. Her lung's collapsed because of it."

This information made us decide not to spend a night in Ponyville and instead ascend the great mountain. Coco and Fluttershy wished to stay behind and help clean up the village. We allowed Coco to stay, but Fluttershy was forced to continue. Her being a Bearer was too valuable to leave behind. We also tried to bring as many Assassins with us, but only a couple joined us. Many who lived in the town had moved on or refused to leave. They no longer adhered to the Bearer's commands, they said. They said that Twilight's betrayal showed them that Bearers were faulty and could not be trusted. However, some believed that Twilight never betrayed the Brotherhood and that Applejack was the one lying. They were split on opinions, but never took action on them.

We spent half the night climbing the mountain's trail. It was long and hard. I spent some of the journey asleep in my saddle, letting only the beast carry me. Our words were few. Even Rarity barely spoke. We all knew what was waiting for us. "Bloodshed," I kept whispering. I was to the point that my thoughts were said aloud, to no one but myself. The others no doubt listened to my soft ramblings, but they never commented on them.

"Death waits for us." I would say. "Can the Brotherhood survive this?"

With no answers to my questions, it made it clear that everyone was not sure about the answer. We did not have confidence or even a desire to go forward. It was all out of cruel necessity. Twilight and Sunset had to die. I had spent the last twelve years of my life working for Twilight. The woman who taught me how to read and write. The woman who inspired me and gave me priceless life advice. All that, even now, did not feel like a facade. There was more to this than meets the ear or eye.

---

I write these words on a cheap parchment. The ink will probably be faded by tomorrow. All of us sit in front of the Canterlot gate with many other migrants who did not arrive in time to get in. We already had a plan. We were going to go straight to the South Den and find Applejack. From there, we hunt Twilight and any of her allies. Simple, but complex. Finding an Assassin would not be easy, even for an Assassin.

I look now to Vinyl and to Fluttershy. The former's mask was gleaming slightly in the fire light. The latter was humming a tune I often heard her hum before. One was often silent, the other was hardly ever silent. Here, they were both equally silent. Vinyl hummed along with the Bearer of Kindness. I was surprised the both knew the song.

"What do you think is going to happen?" I ventured in speaking.

Vinyl looked at me but said nothing. Fluttershy lowered her eyes and her fingers ran through her long hair nervously. She parted her lips a moment before speaking.

"Whatever happens, I can only hope that we'll still be together."

"Twilight's gonna die." Vinyl spoke. "Though I hope it's a quick one."

Rarity sighed behind me. "Darling, I pray for reasoning. In my eyes, Twilight is still my friend. It's Sunset who is the monster. We just need to bring her back to the Creed."

Pinkie leaned on her arm. "Maybe we can find some random portal that will reset all of this and so we can start anew. You know, like time travel!"

It was my turn. "I think we shall see more bloodshed than we deserve. I can only hope that bloodshed is not ours."

"You know what?" Vinyl said. "We shouldn't think of it. How about some sleep? Sleep's good before a battle."

We all nodded in agreement. Vinyl threw herself over on her sleeping mat and Pinkie jumped into her tent. I wrote these final words before retiring to my own tent.

-Octavia Melody

P.S.

Twilight, we are here and we are coming for you.

~

Author's Note:

-Cheers for That!

Comments

[badninja]

Well that was a breather. I feel sad that there will be so much death in the coming chapters and that when it is all done that nobody will be the winner. Why do I feel that only Trixie and Octavia will be the only survivors of this story? Great chapter and looking forward to the climax!

[79snowbell]

Short, but interesting

[Amethyst Blade]

All I can say is please don't let it ends like Assassin's Creed III.
...
...
...
Both the Templar and the Assassin are old, obsolete. It is time for something new to take its root.

We're the Dark Templar.
For all the good we have done, it does not make us right.
But, those of us who hide in the darkness see a different kind of light.

[Gapeagle]

6723923 Well, at least someone got the reference. Also, I laughed out loud at this. I assure you, this is not going AC3's route.

6724366 I assure you too.

[Gapeagle]

6724119 "There are losers and there are winners. Sometimes it's hard to distinguish between the two."

"Spike, what are you doing here?"

"Just speaking my mind. Just speaking my mind."

"Whatever you say."

6724183 "It had to be, darling. Octavia had such a lack of parchment to write on. You should of seen how mad she was about this. Never had I seen such a woman curse so loudy when she could not get enough ink to make her words."

"Actually, Twilight often did that. However, that was due to her not finding any new books to read."

[Gapeagle]

6728046 "Honesty is best policy."

"Yet you're the best liar."