• Published 6th Jan 2017
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A Long Way to Fall - Cinders of War



Morning Blade recounts the story of Frigid Night to Twilight Sparkle. The story of how he became the man he was. The story of his fall.

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Chapter 47: The Sword of Equestria

Bullets flew all around in the courtyard, but Steel Shine paid them no heed. Every single shot that neared her was deflected aside by the blade of her sword. Its diamond sharp edge sheared through the rain and through a man’s chest, neither the bulletproof vest or his bones providing the slightest resistance as he died in a spray of blood.

She followed through and ended the lives of three more before leaping up into the sky, a pair of spectral golden wings sprouting from her back. She hung there like a phoenix burning bright in the sky, a shaft of light in the storm.

“Kill her!” she heard Bullseye shriek, hysteria in his voice.

Following the sound of his shout, Steel Shine plunged down, sword extended. The tip stabbed into the ground next to the man, missing his foot by mere inches. He raised his gun. The Mentor wrapped her hand around the firearm and squeezed, smiling as the submachine gun crumpled in her grip. Bullseye pulled a pistol from his belt but the Mentor seized his hand and broke his arm in three places faster than blinking before taking off again, the sword a blur of motion as she flashed from soldier to soldier, spraying blood and gore with every stroke.

She was relentless. Body parts and discarded guns rained from the balconies as Steel Shine sheared through flesh and steel with equal impunity.

A Templar enforcer screamed in terror and tried to run into the same room as Frigid Night and Star Lance, almost making it to the door before Steel Shine cleaved him from shoulder to hip. Frigid gave an involuntary cry as his face was lightly peppered with blood.

It wasn’t long before the courtyard ran red with rainwater mixed with blood and the screaming died down. Only Bullseye was left, the mercenary kneeling in the rain, clutching his arm and moaning in pain.

Like a comet, the Mentor soared down from the roof and landed on her feet in front of Bullseye, her entire body drenched with the fluids and entrails of his men.

“C’mon, kid,” Star Lance vaulted over the window sill and out into the rain. “It’s over.” Frigid followed, not trusting himself to speak.

As they approached, Frigid was able to see his Mentor clearly for the first time since the fight began. She was covered in a faint golden aura, and a magnificent pair of ghostly wings extended from her back, making her look like an angel. Her already glamorous hair had grown to her knees, almost like a tail, and strangest of all, a pair of what looked like a pony’s ears protruded up from her head.

She’s not human. Frigid gulped, his mind reeling from the revelation. While he had once joked about it to his friends, he had no idea that he had actually been right all along.

The Mentor stood in front of Bullseye, eyes shining pure gold. She pointed her sword under his chin, flicking off his helmet and revealing his sweat-drenched and stricken face. She remained silent, but angled her weapon’s tip up, forcing him to stand.

The mercenary could take it no longer. His nerve breaking, Bullseye made as if to run, spinning on his heel pushing Steel Shine away. He had only run three paces before a golden sword blade plunged into his back, embedding itself up to the hilt.

Bullseye gasped. Blood ran from his mouth. Steel Shine pulled her sword out smoothly, and as Bullseye’s body fell she sliced at it in a frenzied fury before finally turning her back. The mercenary’s body trembled, then fell apart before Frigid’s eyes, collapsing into tiny chunks of meat and bone.

“Hmph.” The Assassin Mentor swiped her sword to the side to remove the blood, then resheathed it. As she did so, the golden aura faded, taking with it all the inhuman features. She sagged on her feet and would have fallen had Star Lance not hurried forward to catch her.

“What… what just happened?” Frigid whispered in wonder and shock. It had all been over so quick.

“Not now, kid.” Star Lance picked up the Mentor bridal style and gestured to Frigid to follow. “We need to get her home, and away from here.”


Mirror Match watched from her hiding spot above the courtyard. A nostalgic smile remained on her face after watching the Mentor dissipate her shiny form. “Nice to know you’re still around, old friend.”

Star Lance quickly picked the woman up before he and Frigid left the compound. It seems that they had forgotten all about her. Mirror shrugged. That just left her the option to get back to Manehattan easily. It was too bad for Bullseye and the other Templars though, but it didn’t matter to Mirror.

She got up and leapt over to the next roof before hopping across the rest of the city. She had gotten what she had come for, and now, her plans were going to go about just the way she wanted.


High Noon swept the remaining cinders away as he whistled. After waking up, the group of them had gone to find the person of highest rank. In the end, he was tasked with cleaning the bureau. Mirror Match had caused all kinds of damage to the place.

"Is this it?" Windy Sails asked as she dumped a pile of debris into the large trash bag.

"Looks like it. Guess we're done here," Noon replied.

They left their equipment by the door before taking the trash bag with them, heading down to the fire disposal to dispose of it.

"A-are you alright?" his apprentice asked him. "You were knocked out earlier."

"Yeah don't worry about it," High Noon smiled and waved a hand. "I'm all good now."

"Oh. Well... that's good."

"Yeah."

The two Assassins quickly dumped their bags into the furnace before heading for the door. There was still much to be done, but at least this was a start.

High Noon looked around at all the remaining broken objects from the aftermath. Some Assassins needed medical attention, but the medic wing still needed to air out from the released chloroform. Dr. Patch was handling the wounded in a different room, but there was only so much she and her medics could do without the right equipment.

"Yourself, Windy?" he decided to ask his younger friend. "You doing alright? This must've been a new experience."

"I'm still a little shaken," she admitted as they arrived back at the lobby. Spectral Rim, Fire Frenzy, and even Pierce Network were still sweeping up some broken glass from the ground. "But... well, thank you for being here with me, High Noon. I f-feel safer with you a-around..." her cheeks lit up to a light reddish colour.

High Noon smiled, but couldn't stop himself from blushing as well, but luckily, he had his hat. "Shucks. Well, that means a lot, Windy. I'm glad to be useful here."

They found a spot by two potted plants; one pot had a few missing corners, but still seemed to hold the plant alright. High Noon leaned his back against the wall and slid to his rear, sighing as he watched the front doors.

Windy Sails joined him, sitting next to him on the ground. "Is Frigid going to be okay? Must be hard. Losing the trust of your friends..."

High Noon nodded and closed his eyes. He had heard what some of the other Assassins thought about his friend. How he was a traitor and such.

In their position, he might've felt the same, but he knew Frigid. He knew the sadness the grey haired Assassin had gone through. He was still trying to return things to the good days, but it just didn't seem to have any effect.

"I know Frigid. He's not going to let a few insults affect him. What I'm worried about is how he's going to be blaming himself for all this."

High Noon didn't know if his friend was going to recover well from this, but he held on to the hope. Frigid Night was a strong Assassin. When it comes down to the final decision, High Noon knew he would make the right choice. At least, that's what he thought.



"The power of an artifact of Equestria..." Twilight Sparkle drew a very badly drawn sword in her notebook, though her handwriting wasn't faring any better. "Sunset Shimmer had told me some stories, but this one... Wow. A human, well, mostly human managed to conjure up the powers of the artifact."

"Mentor Steel Shine was the descendant of the First Assassin," Morning Blade reminded. "Technically, she still had some Equestrian blood in herself... uh, right?"

Morning Blade was a historian, not much of a biologist.

"I wouldn't know myself, Morning. I would have to study the body, but... I don't want to bother her. She died trying to protect you and my friends. She's a hero."

"She was, wasn't she." Morning pulled at her braid, remembering the night at the bureau where Mentor Steel Shine had fought Sombra. There, she had witnessed the powers of the artifacts for herself and it even left her a souvenir."

She touched her eyepatch through her white hair. It had been a while before she got used to having just one eye and she had to come up with a really good excuse of why she had lost it when she returned home to her family. Thankfully, the questioning hadn't gone on for long.

"So..." Twilight swung her feet under her chair. "What happens next, Morning Blade?"

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