Harmony's Creed: Brotherhood

by Gapeagle

Chapter 1: Life Without Music

Octavia stared at the stone wall in silence. On it was a wanted poster with her name, face, and price. They had drawn her face almost perfectly, and her price was at the average of 300 bitpieces. She was too disheartened to be shocked by the poster. In reality, she was expecting one to pop up any day.

It had been five days since she escaped the prison. Her home was being watched at all times and she had not slept in a bed since the night before her arrest. Now she had no money or means of living.

The rumors of a murdering cellist was all over Canterlot now. Her name was not as popular as the word "cellist" but she had heard her name spoken in several conversations on the streets. There was no redeeming herself of this. Not even Celestia calls for me anymore.

A growl left her throat and she ripped the poster off the wall in anger. She cursed loudly and ripped the parchment into several pieces before throwing them onto the wet cobblestone. The pieces began to soak in the recent rainfall and become more filth upon the ground.

"Why?" she asked the air. "What did I do? I just wanted to live in peace!"

She lowered herself against the wall and slid her butt to the ground. With a violent brush of her hand, she threw her mangled black hair out of her face. A string of curses followed and she slammed a fist into the stone wall.

"The damn Assassins! They caused all of this. If they weren't so idiotic, I could be still living a life now. I always thought I lived a poor life, but now I see how blessed I was before...Oh...How can I get that life back?"

She brought her legs up close to her and wrapped her dirty arms around them. Her eyes lifted to the gray skyline of the city. Everything had changed for her, but the spires still stood erect. People still wandered through the streets, merry or grumpy. It was still beautiful, yet seemed so evil. A city filled with riches, and yet none shared it.

"Starlight was right. This city is simply unfair."

She stood up. "But I cannot simply sit here. I have lost everything, which means I can only gain, right?"

She tried to encourage herself, but her usual boldness was waning. Her arms went limp and she sighed once more. To make matters worse, her stomach growled, displaying just how hungry she was.

"Perhaps my fight shall commence after I get something to eat..."

---

Canterlot seemed much larger when traveled alone. The towers watched her, the buildings judged her, and the streets reluctantly gave way to her crossing. A thousand faces inspected her at every split-second. A city loomed over her with every step.

Octavia, usually with her head high and walking down the middle of the street, was meekly moving along the edges. No one to trust; no one to ask. Royal Guards were stationed at street corners, asking about her or some other criminal. The amount of mercenaries in the city appeared to have increased as they stood outside bars and taverns.

"It's just me," Octavia told herself. "I'm just noticing them more often, that's all."

For the fourth time that day, she checked her purse for coins and for the fourth time, remembered that it was empty. Her stomach growled once more, demanding sustenance.

"Maybe I should turn myself in?" she said aloud, much to the confusion of some bystanders. "It's the law to serve prisoners meals daily."

She then stopped. "But of course, I'll be executed as a murderer...and die as a disappointment to Celestia."

No, she could not imagine returning to the Empresses with the same friendliness as before. Her eye twitched as she mentally pictured the disappointment in their royal eyes. The humiliation of being framed twice for murder, both of which were performed by agents of a secret organization and certainly would not be found as the true killers. No, going back would be death.

After passing through a tight street full of Canterlotians, she reached a plaza full of fruit, meat, and vegetable stands. The sight of the delicious foods brought a craving desire to her. Her hands tightened excitedly and a smile formed on her countenance.

She silently approached one of the fruit stands. Bright oranges were laid across the stand in an orderly fashion, showing the fruit off to the rest of the plaza. The farmer that operated the stand was broad and not so handsome. his well-kept hair matched the color of the oranges and his bluish eyes were tiny spots in his large, thick face. In some sense, he looked like what he was selling.

Octavia was about to march up to him, but she realized the only way to get an orange from him was by either begging or stealing. Either way I lose my dignity. She paused a moment. Stealing could not be that hard, right? Her conscious was making her gut tight with guilt at the very thought, but she suppressed it the best she could.

"Consider it a loan," she said.

A group of people walked by her and she decided to blend in with them. The last thing she needed was to be caught. She took the time to see a basket of oranges behind the man's stand, right for the taking. In her mind she was deciding to take only two oranges, just to be safe and quick.

Her eyes shifted from side to side. The man was now speaking with an older woman about his products. It was the perfect time to sneak in. She left the crowd and casually strode over to the stand.

She gulped and made sure the orange seller was still distracted. This was not the first time she was going to steal something, but the last time she successfully did was when she was a mere child. It was much harder to conceal her full-grown body.

It can't be that hard. She lowered herself as she walked by the man. With a shift of her eyes, she made sure no one else was watching and sneaked behind the stand. Without a noise, she reached the basket full of the precious fruit.

Her greed started to set in. Her hands sorted the good oranges from the best oranges. Her thinking of only taking two was gone now. Her stomach wanted more and more. Soon she had six fumbling around her arms and a twitch of glee in her eye.

"Oi! Filthy thief!"

Octavia jumped back as a stiletto was swung at her and stabbed right into an orange, sending the stinging juice everywhere. The orange seller knocked the gutted fruit off his dagger before lunging at her again.

In a blind reaction, Octavia threw the oranges at him and ran, toppling his basket in the process. The seller cursed and took chase with a slight limp in his step.

"Get that thief!" he screamed horridly.

Octavia did not need to see that all eyes were on her. The people cleared out of her way as she screamed through the plaza. In her haste, she bumped right into a squad of Royal Guards.

"It's the murderer!" one announced.

"All I wanted was an orange!" Octavia complained before running in the other direction.

The Guards drew their weapons and chased after her. Being in heavy armor, they were by far not the fastest chasers, but their speed was impressive nonetheless.

The crowds cheered their soldiers on. Sayings like "get her!" or "teach her a lesson!" could be heard from multiple lips. All Octavia could think of was leaving the crowds and trying to lose her followers.

She swiftly grabbed a pole and took a tight turn down a street, away from the people. The quick move was not fast enough as the Guards chased her down the street with ease.

Her eyes saw a pile of baskets in front of her. As she passed them, she kicked them over, making an obstacle for the Guards. Some of them heroically leaped over the baskets, while one tripped over and splashed in a puddle. Octavia couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

"Well, I got one..."

The remaining Royal Guards kept shouting for her to stop, but like anyone being chased by the law, she ignored them. In her desperation, she now threw pedestrians to the ground as obstacles and throwing some right at the Guards as distractions. It was not that successful as the Guards would simply bat the victims out of the way like they were nothing.

Running out of both room and ideas, Octavia turned and ran down another path. she was heading into a much darker part of the city where the puddles grew in size and the buildings lost their white shine. The roads were becoming tighter and her options were diminishing.

"Keep going, lass!" a Guard mocked. "Once ya hit a dead end, I'll put my fist through your damn skull!"

"So much for being a peacekeeper..." Octavia rolled her eyes.

Suddenly a loud "bang" rang through the street behind her. She instantly thought of a pistol being set off and wondered if she had been hit, but the grunts of shock from the Guards made her stop in place. She turned to see them all fumbling along the ground, cursing loudly. They were in a pile of caltrops, stabbing their feet every time they placed them on the ground.

"How did tha-"

"I'll kill you for this!" A Guard shouted when he escaped the horrid spikes.

Before the Guards could regroup, a small ball was thrown at them from a roof, spraying a thick smoke in their face. More shrieks came from within the smoke and even more vulgar curses echoed off the buildings.

Octavia only stood there in confusion as the Royal Guards were being tormented by an invisible foe. Suddenly she looked off to her right to see a flash of a figure grab her and take her up on the shoulder. Before she knew it, the figure was taking her swiftly up a building.

"Put me down!" she yelled.

The figure ignored her until they reached the top of a building. Octavia looked down to see the height and her heart leaped. In a panic, she freed herself from the figure and crawled toward the middle of the roof.

"Haha! Ya should jus' see your face," the figure laughed.

"You!"

Octavia stood up and stared at her kidnapper. It was the masked Assassin, holding her sides in mocking laughter. Octavia's eye twitched in anger.

"You did all this to me!"

The Assassin paused to look at her. The black mask shared no emotion whatsoever. Without the sounds and the awkward hand movements, Octavia would not know what the woman was thinking.

"Yeah, I know," the Assassin began. "When the Grandbearer and I heard, we felt pretty guilty."

"Oh, I'm sure!" Octavia said sarcastically. "You have ruined my life! I have no music to play, no money, and the worst of all, no one to trust! How can you apologize for that?"

"Hey, I jus' saved ya life, Tavi. Listen-"

"It's Octavia!"

Octavia let out a violent scream and rushed at the Assassin. With no weapon, she was imaging how she would tear the woman before her apart. The very thought was satisfying.

However, her thought was just fantasy as the Assassin stepped to the side, grabbed her arm, and leaned her over the edge of the roof. Her sweat fell off her cheeks and down to the cobblestone far below. The only foot on the roof tried to pull her back to safety, but she was still held there.

The Assassin sighed before throwing the former musician back away from the edge. "Will ya calm down?"

Octavia lost balance and fell on the rooftop with a curse. She then scooted away from the Assassin who was slowly walking towards her.

"Get away from me! Come any closer and I'll kill you!" Octavia warned.

"Scratch," the Assassin uttered.

Octavia lost her aggression and blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Vinyl Scratch. That's my name."

"Why give me your name now?"

Vinyl stopped right before and sat down to be even with Octavia's level. Seeing that the Assassin was not hostile, Octavia sat up and crossed her legs in a more relaxing position.

"Ya remember when I told you we stop being strangers?" Vinyl asked.

"Yes."

"Well, I meant it, Tavi....Octavia."

"Good, well, you certainly know how to make friends," Octavia mocked.

"Forget what happened, alright? I disobeyed the Grandbearer's orders by pressin' on ya so hard. It was not the Assassin way."

"What are you saying?"

Vinyl shuffled nervously. "I'm sayin' that I messed up. Don't blame the Brotherhood, blame me. The Brotherhood wants the best for people, and yet I made ya like this. I'm young and dumb, ya know?"

"Perhaps..." Octavia whispered skeptically.

Vinyl rubbed the back of her head. "What would ya want from me? Ya not Templar, so I know ya innocent. I know ya didn't kill that Templar that ya was framed for, a Bearer did that. And who cares about the Royal Guard anyway."

"I didn't kill the Guard either," Octavia said. "It was done by an evil woman named Suri."

Vinyl looked up. "Suri? Like Suri Poloman?"

"Never heard the name."

"Well, she's a bloody Templar! Vicious woman she is."

"I've learned."

"Octavia, that's what the Assassins face. The Brotherhood is trying to stop people like Suri from ruling the city. We aren't some bullies like ya may think. We're tryin' to protect the world."

"Sounds ridiculous if you ask me," Octavia crossed her arms.

"But it's not, ugh."

Vinyl grunted in annoyance. Her arms went up in exasperation. She then finished her antics by shaking her head at Octavia. It was clear she did not know what to say or do, so she resorted to pulling her hood down and removing her mask.

"I know ya have no reasons to trust me, but ya gotta. I only speak the truth."

"Secret organization wars are still loony to me."

"If ya get stuck there, then ya don't want to know about the real world."

Vinyl stood up and stretched her back. She then offered a hand to Octavia, but the former cellist ignored it. The Assassin then shrugged and took a few hops in the air.

"Well, what ya plans?" she asked.

Octavia folded her arms again. "Plans? Why, I have no life now! Maybe I'll just sit here and die."

Vinyl rolled her eyes. "Sure. Ya know, I need to tell ya something. You've lost it all, money, home and all. What can ya lose now?"

"Nothing I guess."

"Exactly," Vinyl pointed at her. "So what ya do now is try and make the rest of ya life mean something. Ya know, change the world."

"How would I do that?"

"Well, first ya need to get off ya ass. You can't settle for being wanted for 300 bits and pilfering oranges. Ya past is destroyed, but your future is ready to be built."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm sayin' that ya need to become something ya weren't before. Yeah, ya was a student, a cello player, and a professional complainer, but not anymore. Time to become something more. It's time to be an Assassin."

"Why would I join you?" Octavia stood up with a snarl.

"Because ya lost everything," Vinyl stepped closer. "Join the Brotherhood, you'll make something of yourself and help the world. Give back to the world even when it takes everything from ya."

"The world didn't take everything, you Assassins did!"

"No, I took it! Now I'm offering ya the only thing I can. Being an Assassin is hard work, but it keeps ya going in life. You'll learn more than whatever the Empresses will teach ya. You pride yourself in having some knowledge on fighting, well, you're be unstoppable after Assassin training. Best of all, you're be proud of yourself knowing you're helping people."

"How do you know all of this?"

"Because I was on my ass once too. I may not look it, but I was an indentured servant to a smith. When you're indentured, you're property. I ran away and cried the whole way. I was picking apples off the streets and mugging orphans for some bread. Then I found the Assassins. Ever since then, I turned my life into a goal. Work in the shadows to serve the Light!"

"And you think you can simply convince me?"

Vinyl shrugged. "Of course not, but if you won't try, you'll stuck on this roof."

Octavia looked over the side. "I can climb down."

"No ya can't," the Assassin corrected. "I saw the look in your eyes. Heights scare ya pretty good. I'm the only way you're gettin' back to the ground."

"Then I could never be an Assassin anyway. You can't be scared of heights and climb on rooftops."

"Don't worry, before I became an Assassin, I'd vomit from even looking at the ground from up here. That'll be knocked right outta ya."

Octavia hesitated. "So, if I at least see what the Brotherhood is, you'll take me down?"

"Promise."

Vinyl extended her arm out. Octavia was about to shake the hand, but the Assassin grabbed her forearm and shook it quickly. A look of satisfaction took over Vinyl's face.

"Now to bring ya back to the ground."

The Assassin forcefully took hold of Octavia's collar and began to lead her to the edge of the roof. Octavia had to peddle backwards to keep balanced.

"What are you doing!"

Vinyl whistled a tune and brought her to the edge. Octavia's heels dangled over the side and her back faced out to the streets. Panic took over her and she took hold of the Assassin, but Vinyl did not react.

"That'll work," Vinyl said simply.

"Are you trying to kill me?" Octavia panicked. "You promised to carry me down."

"Nothing about 'carrying' you. But a promise is a promise and you'll going back down."

Octavia squirmed, making Vinyl tighten her grip.

"Calm down. Now, stop flailing your arms. This needs precision and if ya mess up, oh it'll be bad. So stop squirming and listen to me."

"You're insane!"

"No, I'm not. If ya stop moving, I'll tell ya something."

Octavia breathed and tried to relax. Since her back was to the edge, she did not know how far the way down was. The wind and lack of street noise indicated that she was very high up. Her heart beat loudly, but she calmed down.

"Alright, no moving of the arms and keep ya body straight," Vinyl told her. "Move a little to the right, there! Alright, I'm gonna let you go and you're gonna fall."

"Vinyl!"

"Don't worry. Just trust me, alright?"

"How can I?"

"After this, you definitely will trust me."

"Please, I've had enough of this cruel joke!"

"Octavia, before I let go..."

Octavia shook her head. "No, please no!"

"Please have faith."

The Assassin released her and she fell off the roof. The world seemed to freeze at that frightening moment. She could see her arm outstretched at the watching Assassin. Her own screams were drowned by the wind and air. The rustling of her hair surrounded her face. The ground slowly closer. Her stomach was now in her throat. Above the watching Assassin was a hawk, calling out to the world. She could not hear her own voice, but the hawk's triumphant call rung in the ears.

She closed her eyes and did as Vinyl told her. She placed her arms close to her body and kept her legs straight. The ground grew closer and closer. One last breath left her before feeling the impact.

"Haha!" Vinyl cried from above.

Octavia opened her eyes to see nothing but hay. Her hands, feet, and hair were all covered by it. Am I dead? In a instant, she sat up and threw the hay off her.

She was in a hay cart right below where she fell from. Vinyl was giving a large fist pump in the air way above her. Octavia then frantically searched to see any broken bones on her, but she was not harmed in the slightest. Her mouth twitched with unbelief.

"Way to go, Tavi!"

Her heart started to calm down. The fall did nothing to her and she was absolutely fine. Without a word, she stood up and jumped out of the cart.

"Wait for me!"

Octavia looked up to see Vinyl standing at the edge. Without a moment's hesitation, she leaped out like an eagle and tumbled into the cart. Octavia did not worry about the Assassin at all for Vinyl popped out of the cart unharmed like her.

"How about that?" Vinyl boasted.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed," Octavia uttered weakly.

"Come along, Tavi....I mean Octavia," Vinyl patted her on the shoulder.

"Tavi is fine," Octavia whispered.

~

Comments

[EpicShadowz]

So the tale of Octavia the Assassin begins........

[DuDisms]

Nice.

[badninja]

Well that is not bad for a first Leap of Faith. Hopefully Octavia will remember to mention ol'Starlight to them shortly.

[Gapeagle]

6653794 "Went better than my first leap..."

"That's what happens when you have no faith."

[Amethyst Blade]

So, it begins.