Leap of Faith

by A bag of plums

With a Capital 'A'

“I brought the snacks!” Pinkie Pie yelled and tossed at least a dozen bags of chips up into the air.

“Pinkie!” Applejack flinched as one bag hit her square in the face.

“Oopsie,” the pink girl held back a laugh. “So where’s Velvet? Is she hiding? Is she going to surprise us?”

“Velvet’s upstairs, resting.” Sunset joined the girls around the door, as they removed their snow boots and scarves. The weather was still getting colder. Having the front door open already chilled Sunset down to her bones. “Come on in, everyone. It’s really freezing out there.”

“You c-can s-say that again,” Rarity shivered as she tossed back her red scarf. “I’m glad your p-place is heated, Applejack.”

“Aren’t all our places?” the cowgirl scratched her chin, but waved the thought off. “Doesn’t matter. What matters here is that we make Velvet Breeze feel welcomed. Y’all think ya can handle that?”

“Absoooooolutely, ma’am!” Pinkie stood at attention and gave Applejack a snappy salute. “Should I bring all the food up? I totally should! If Velvet’s resting, then we should bring the party right to her!”

“She does have a point,” Rainbow Dash pointed a finger to the ceiling. “That way, Velvet can just lie in bed and stuff.”

Everyone else seemed to be in agreement, so one short trip upstairs later, Sunset and the rest of the Rainbooms found themselves outside Velvet’s room. Applejack and Rainbow had carried up one of the farm’s foldable tables to place all their food items, while the other girls helped to carry everything Pinkie had brought.

Sunset was the first through the door, opening it with one hand while she cradled three bags of chips in her arms. “Velvet? We’re back.”

The blue-skinned girl lay in bed, quickly shifting her hidden blade under her sheets before widening her mouth into a forced smile. “Right. Hello, girls.”

“Velvet, you remember my friends from CHS, right? Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie,” Sunset pointed to each respective girl. “They came by to see how you’re doing.”

“Sunset told us about how you saved her from that ghastly Mr. Wolfgang,” Rarity said. “Very noble of you to do so.”

Velvet wore a thoughtful face. “She told you all that, huh?” She looked to Sunset, silently asking how much she had told her friends.

The fiery haired girl nodded her assurance to Velvet. “Yeah. Just when I thought it was over, in you came, jumping in between me and that crazy man.”

“Sounds pretty heroic,” Rainbow said, clapping Velvet on the back and making her wince. “Wish I’d been there to give that guy a piece of my mind.”

“Trust me,” Sunset muttered. “You don’t.”

“Yeah, I do,” Rainbow pounded her fists together.

“Really, you don’t.”

Rainbow took a moment to think. “Maybe not,” she conceded. “But I still wish I could have been there to see him fight you, Velvet. You must have thrashed him if he ran away with his tail between his legs.”

“Don’t forget she had plenty of injuries of her own, Rainbow,” Rarity pointed out. “I’m glad Fluttershy and Granny Smith could patch you back up. I was almost afraid you wouldn’t make it, dear.”

“Fluttershy?” Velvet turned her almost bewildered face to the girl hiding her face behind her pink hair. “Well, you have my thanks, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, you don’t have to thank me,” the girl said softly, blushing slightly. “I couldn’t just let you stay hurt. A-After all, I have some practice at the pet shelter.”

“Animal shelter, huh?” Velvet shifted herself to sit up straighter. “Well, however you learned it, I’m grateful for your help, Fluttershy. And your grandmother’s too, Applejack.” She angled a nod to the farm girl.

“Well, it’s nice and all, but…” Rainbow yawned and kicked back to a chair behind her. “When’re we starting this party?”

“Ah thought it’s already started,” Applejack directed a hand to Velvet. “Guest of honor here and all.”

“Today’s all about you, Velvet,” Rainbow Dash reached a hand to clap her on the back again, but remembered and stopped herself. “We wanna be friends. Good friends.”

“Oh.” Velvet gave Rainbow a crooked smile, as if she was unsure of something. She looked to Sunset, as if to ask for help.

Sunset smiled back, remembering that she, too, was relatively new to the whole friendship thing.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sunset said, patting Velvet on the arm as Pinkie began pouring out cups of soda. “We just want to get to know you better, that’s all.” Sensing Velvet’s hesitation, she continued, “Have you… had friends before now?”

“Not really, no,” she admitted. “I’m… well, I wasn’t ever in one place long enough to make good friends.”

“Well, that’s a real shame,” Applejack whistled. “How ‘bout them other people. Uh, the ones you’re with now? Any friends among them?”

“Friends?” Velvet repeated. “I don’t know if you girls consider them friends, but… I think they’re more than that. They’re more like family.”

Rarity waved a hand to get their attention. “Sorry for interrupting, but… who are these people that are like family to you? Do we know them?”

Velvet looked to Sunset again, but the blue eyed girl simply nodded. Velvet understood. Sunset was telling her that she could trust the other girls, but also wanted to let her know that in the end, it was her choice whether to tell them or not.

“Well...” Velvet accepted a cup of soda from Rainbow Dash. “The thing is, I’m… not who I said I was...” she finished rather lamely.

“Kiiiinda figured that part out already,” Rainbow said impishly. “What with you rescuing Sunset and all. Not stuff a normal transfer student does. So spill it, Velvet. Are you on the secret service or something?”

Velvet darted her eyes around the room, trying to avoid the stares the other girls were giving her. “Well, you see… Does the word ‘Assassin’ mean anything to you?”

“‘A person who murders an important person for political or religious reasons’,” Pinkie read off her phone.

“Umm… you could say that…” Velvet lowered her voice.

“You? Velvet Breeze, a killer?” Rarity took a single step back. “But… But why? Why be an assassin?”

“That’s assassin with a lowercase ‘A’,” Velvet explained patiently. “I’m an Assassin with a capital ‘A’. Totally different.”

“And… what makes your Assassin with a capital ‘A’ different, dear?”

Velvet pulled herself straighter up. “Well, the Assassins that I’m a part of don’t just kill people, we only kill Templars. They’re a group who-”

“Are trying to take over the world in secret?” Pinkie interjected with a wide grin.

“Yes…” Velvet blinked a few times, bewildered. “H-How did you know?”

The poofy haired girl shrugged. “Meh, just a hunch.”

“So umm… you kill people?” Fluttershy asked, trying not to sound too frightened about the fact.

Velvet shook her head. “Not yet.”

“Well that’s a relief!” Pinkie slung an arm around the blue-skinned girl.

“You’re not a bad person, Velvet,” Applejack added in. “Ah mean, ya saved Sunset, riskin’ your own life.”

Rarity adjusted her hairpin before stepping next to Applejack. “What I’d like to know is why you’re with such… such people, dear. Why would you associate yourself with Assassins?”

“They’re not as bad as you put them to be,” Velvet answered. “A lot of them are really nice, once you get to know them.”

The other girls were looking to question Velvet more about her mysterious organization, but Sunset had other plans. “You know, girls, we’re here to welcome Velvet as one of our friends, not question whether these Assassins are just or not.”

“Yeah, c’mon y’all.” Applejack grabbed a bag of chips and slapped it into Pinkie’s arms. “Party time, right?”

“Yoooooou betcha!” Pinkie popped open the bag and dug out a handful of salty chips. “We’re gonna make you feel really welcomed, Velvet!”

“Y-Yeah,” Velvet said, giving Sunset a look of grateful relief. “Thanks, everyone.”

---

High Noon crept through the dark hallways of the Trottingham bureau’s second floor, moving as quietly as he could towards the staircase leading to the roof. It wasn’t helping that his boots had spurs on them. Thankfully, he had disabled the spinning mechanisms when he became an Assassin, seeing as they would cause more harm than good, but the shiny pieces of metal were still metal; metal was noisy and clunky.

The cowboy was about to cross over a doorway, when it suddenly opened, forcing him back; he hid himself against the wall and stopped breathing. Dr. Patch, the head medic for the Assassins, walked out of the room, scratching at her messy pink hair. From the looks of it, she hadn’t been getting enough sleep for the last week or so, likely still trying to find a cure for that poison Mirror Match used.

Poison.

High Noon remembered each of Mirror’s victims, slowly dying from the dreadful poison inflicted upon them from that blade of hers. That girl had really had done a number on the Assassin Brotherhood and all singlehandedly. She had wounded everyone, not just physically, but mentally as well, including the cowboy himself.

Luckily for Noon, the good doctor simply shuffled out and headed across the hall, likely going back to the medic wing. The brown haired Assassin sighed and wiped his forehead, which had already begun to weep droplets of sweat. Normally, there wasn’t anything wrong with walking around the bureau at night, but what the Assassin was planning was definitely going against what Frigid Night had told him.

High Noon didn’t want to just sit around the bureau all day, while Dewdrop was in some hospital in Chicoltgo. If the Templars were to learn of her location, if Mirror Match were to tell her superiors, he couldn’t forgive himself for letting the blue haired Assassin leave on her own.

After another two minutes of sneaking around in the dark, High Noon arrived at the stairs going up. He sighed with relief and began his climb, heading all the way up to the roof. He pushed the doors open as silently as he could. Every night, the Assassins posted two guards down in the lobby, and two on the roof.

The cowboy squeezed his head out, checking out his surroundings before widening the doorway. Before he could even take one step out into the open winter air, something grabbed him roughly by the hood and yanked him back into the stairway. High Noon struggled to keep his balance on the steps, managing to steady himself after grabbing the railing. A figure swooped past him and shut the door, standing between him and the rooftop; her raggedy brown cape stopped fluttering once the door was closed.

“Keila? How did you...” High Noon hissed. He had forgotten that Saddle Arabian Assassins had a special way of sneaking around in the shadows. “Nevermind. Wh-What brings you here this fine n-night?”

Keila didn’t seem to be in the mood for jokes. She simply folded her arms and frowned. “Where do you think you’re going tonight?”

High Noon pulled at his beard. “Uh, nowhere. Just the roof. I wa-wanted to get some cool f-fresh air.”

“You’re going out there, aren’t you? To look for Dewdrop?” Keila smiled when it showed all over High Noon’s face. The man was never any good at hiding secrets.

“I-I don’t want to just leave her defenseless like that. She’s vulnerable. The Templars could find her any minute.”

“The lieutenant gave his orders, Noon.” Keila seemed to have trouble getting the next set of words out. “I think it’s best that we do what he says. At least for now. What’s Dewdrop to you anyway? She’s always picking on you.”

“It’s not because she dislikes me,” High Noon said, twisting the coiled rope at his side nervously. “I understand her. This is her way of getting over her loss, and I’m more than happy to help her.”

“Really?” Keila wasn’t convinced.

“Yes,” High Noon said adamantly. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have tried to stop her that night; I hurt her feelings. Hay, I should’ve gone with her. I need to get out there now and bring her home. Please, Keila. Surely you understand?”

The Saddle Arabian Assassin relaxed her face a little. “I get it, I get it. You want to correct that mistake by making sure she’s fine, but what happens when Lieutenant Frigid finds out that you left? He’s already not right in the head. You don’t want to make it worse.”

“I’m willing to do it for Dewdrop’s safety.”

Keila moved forward and placed a hand on the cowboy’s arm. “Please, Noon. Just stay. It’s for your own good. Dewdrop will recover. Once she heals up, she’ll be back, no problem. She’s been in hospitals before.” Mostly for drinking too much. Keila added mentally.

High Noon wanted to protest some more, but he couldn’t come up with anything else for his case. He scratched the back of his head. “Well… Fine. Four days. Four more days until Frigid said I could go get her. I hope she’ll still be alright in these four days.”

“That’s assuming she doesn’t contact us before then,” Keila reminded him. “This is still her mission, and we shouldn’t butt in unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

High Noon was so concerned for his friend’s safety that he had forgotten all about her mission. For all he knew, Dewdrop was already back out there, finishing her job. “Right. Thanks, Keila… For talking me out of this.”

Keila shrugged. “I’m only doing this because I gave the lieutenant my word that I’d wait it out. Otherwise I’d be getting in the car with you.”

Author's Note:

Requested by you guys, Morning Blade.

Comments

[Jaxxon Markus Citadel]

Yet more evidence that Frigid isn't well received by the rest of the Assassins. And it's nice to see Velvet making friends?

[badninja]

I get the feeling that there is another traitor in the Brotherhood. So I wonder how this will all shake down?

[chrisharte97]

Awesome chapter.

[Sonata Eternal]

Gee, some people sure are riled up. Push all that aside, I think its nice that Velvet's opening up to Sunset and the group. Now what I'm waiting for is for them to finally meet the Assassins and Templars!

[Mellow]

7027042 I think saying that all the crossovers 'suck' is a bit extreme. As long as the writing and characters are captivating enough, I (personally) can hold some of my suspension of disbelief and enjoy an overall 'fun' experience (something doesn't have to make sense to be fun or be well-written). Even when I can't do such a thing, I wouldn't go saying a story 'sucked' regardless of whether I liked it or disliked it. The majority of the fics on this site all carry some merit, even the ones I dislike. The most civil and helpful thing to do in my opinion is to point out why specifically you didn't enjoy a particular story (which you did perfectly well with your statement's first two paragraphs, I just think that the final part of your commentary was a bit ... erm, strong and didn't really add much to the point you were trying to make.

[Sonata Eternal]

7026006 I'dlike to hear more of your other traitor if its ok with you?

Who might it be?

Sorry, just finding ways to pass the time....

[EpicShadowz]

Ah, good ole pinkie with her hunches. Also, with season six on air, hopefully we can see new potential templar or assassin affiliates, along with more setting development.

[Sonata Eternal]

Assassins and Templaaaaaaars?? When are they showing up? Sorry I've been waiting for the confrontation... I just really want to know what's going to happennnn. Please post soon ~~!

[ConfettiColored]

I wonder if Ezio is some kind of legendary Assassin that they all talk about in hushed voices in this universe.