Fair Flight

by Baryski

Chapter 4: Old Bonds (Faith)

The familiar jingle of the bell signalled the opening of the shop door and, likely, another customer. Rose sauntered her way out of the back room to personally greet the new arrival. She could have easily afforded to hire staff to do these sort of duties for her, but customer interaction was one of the things that had convinced her to keep the shop open all these years. Rose Wares was a shop filled with curiosities, unique wares, and rare items and Rose, herself, treasured every minute she could discuss them with potential customers. Not to mention, it was especially hard to find help that would be able to handle some of her more demanding clientele.

As she came out from behind a rack of traditional Zebra items all composure the pony had dropped as she dashed to the pony in the doorway, “Justy!” The hug was immediate and barely gave the brown mare a moment to prepare. Still, it wasn’t entirely unexpected, “It’s been far too long.”

“You know that isn’t my name,” Faith tried to pry herself out of the steeled pony’s grip, but was more likely to gain the upper hand on a dragon. Even in the past years it seemed nothing had changed between them. Somehow that was comforting.

“Fine,” The older mare finally released her grip, still beaming with pride, “Justice Ann Faith, then.”

“I prefer Faith.”

“You prefer a lot of things,” The sobering conversation. It was the reason why Faith had put off coming to Rose for so long. But, this was the one pony who could get the kind of things Faith needed without betrayal, “But, Herb always was proud of that name he gave you. I’d sooner honor his memory than your silly notions.”

“Then, you already knew?” It was a silly question, of course she already knew. Rose Breaker was not the type of pony to not have that kind of information. Her knowledge often rivalled that of the Creed information network, though how she got it was a closely guarded secret.

“Yes, it was a horrible shame what happened,” Rose hovered closely as Faith shifted from rack to rack, inspecting wares. None of it was what the mare was here for, but looking at the objects helped distance the pain, “I thought I would never see you again either.”

“I got lucky, I was on a deep cover mission,” It was probably the first time since it all happened that Faith had recounted her own story. Why she was alive hardly mattered when everypony else was dead, “I was the enforcer trainer for Poni prevoskhodstvo. I never would have thought they would be the ones to intercept the Creed Hooftail sent for me.”

They both shared a good strong laugh about it. The idea that her cover had actually served to save her was an interesting notion. In truth, even after finding out who she really was, the higher ups in Poni prevoskhodstvo had asked her to stay in her position. “A pony without a family left, that is truly sad. Why not stay, be our family?” Nicoli wasn’t as elegant as father, but he seemed to care. Though, revenge was the only thing Faith could think of at the time.

“Then, the mess in Fair-feather, that was you as well, right?” Faith set down a woolen cloak, obviously designed for ponies venturing into Griffon lands. Rose wasn’t asking because she wanted to know, she already knew and wanted to give Faith an option to come clean about everything. She was rather annoying like that, almost like how Faith imagined a mother should be.

“Yes, though it wasn’t just me,” Faith carefully recounted much of the details of what happened, purposefully omitting every detail about her accomplice and the fight that had ensued after the elimination.

“You’re aware that wasn’t the actual master of Hooftail?” Faith had considered the possibility. It had only grown more likely considering the fact that she wasn’t dead already. It was okay, she already knew her job wasn’t done, she just needed to do more.

“Yes.”

Silence, there wasn’t much left to be said actually. Faith stopped the uninterested browsing and started going through some of the plants lining a couple of shelves. Rose had the best selection of rare plants and herbs short of Canterlot or a Creed storehouse. Everything Faith could need for the next phases was sitting right on these shelves.

“I’m going to need everything to stock a safe...” She was instantly cut off. Rose had something different in mind for the direction of their conversation.

“So, what’s his name?”

“W..What?” Faith stumbled around and the older rose coloured mare peered boundlessly into the depths of Faith’s soul. She had been supplying Creed for decades, longer than Faith could imagine.

“I know you Justice. I’ve known you since you were this high,” The mare made a considerable effort to place a height barely above the ground. Honestly, it was doubtful any filly was ever that small, but the point was plain, “And, I know that kind of look. You have a special somepony.”

Faith purposefully avoided silly words like ‘special somepony’. Those kinds of words served no purpose. Even now, they only served to anger her, “No, it’s nothing like that. She,” The pause spoke volumes about what happened. It would be surprising if Rose didn’t get everything she needed from just that pause, “It was an accident. Nothing more.”

“There are no accidents...” Rose did, for the first time in her life, a double take. It actually looked hilarious on a refined and concerned mare like her, “Wait, did you say SHE?”

It took a few seconds of uncomfortable silence while Rose recomposed herself, but she was finally ready to continue her line of questioning, “You know, I never took you for the mare type. Always thought you’d end up falling for some colt. But, I guess even Rose Breaker can be wrong sometimes.”

“I’m a Creed. We don’t fall for anypony.” Arguing against Rose was almost always useless, she always held all the cards. Still, Faith didn’t want to concede this point.

“Okay then, but you do like this mare. So, what is her name?” Rose insisted, she didn’t plead, she manipulated.

“Look, it doesn’t matter,” Faith tried to protest, but was cut short by a hoof from Rose. A single gesture managed to bring her back into line, all information easily accessible, “Scarlet, okay? Not like it matters.”

“Much better, now I imagine we have a lot to talk about. Why don’t we take care of your shopping list at the same time? You’re going to need a fully stocked safehouse, obviously in Fair-feather. Anything else?”

“A new bracer blade,” Faith mumbled lowly enough she hoped to avoid the shame of needing one, but the shame was completely cast over. Instead the magenta glow of Rose’s magic quickly brought over a few mirrors and her absolutely pristine measuring tape. A fitting from Rose was, thorough, to say the least.

“Well, of course you do, look at how much you’ve grown since the last time,” Rose started measuring each hoof, back lengths, inseams, undersides, everything was dutifully recorded, “I dare say we’re going to need to redo all your equipment. This is what you get for not coming for years.”

“Are you sure? Won’t you draw some attention commissioning so much from the Creed weaponsmiths?”

“Oh sweetie, I wouldn’t trust those bunglers with something of this quality. No, this has to be the finest quality for you Justy. I’ll even make sure to do the runes myself. The charge should last at least a couple of years, but after that any half-decent unicorn should be able to charge them for you.”

“But, you won’t get in...”

“Trouble? Sweetie, I’ve been supplying Creed since Herb was just a young apprentice. I think I know a thing or two about covering my tracks. Besides, I choose who I work for, and I always liked Lore best. You especially,” There Rose went, reading minds again, “Now, we have plenty of measurements ahead. Tell me everything about your Scarlet. I’m dieing to know”

The next hour was spent in deep explanation. Every time Faith didn’t explain something perfectly Rose demanded she stop and provide more detail. Not just the events were forced out, but appearances, and even some feelings despite how Faith tried to keep them away.

“It’s not like it matters, a Creed is a Creed is a Creed,” Faith had finally reached the end of her story. Only excuses were left, “And, she has more than enough reason to hate Creed.”

Rose finally let Faith relax, most of the measurements and designs completed. Instead, she levitated out a couple of cups of tea to soothe the parched throat and tired mind, “A Creed is a Creed is a Creed. You have no idea how right you are about that Justy. And, you are the closest to a real Creed I have ever seen. I know Herb saw it as well.”

She left Faith to her tea and memories while she went and grabbed an old musty book from one of the back shelves. It was rather plain, contained no title, or even noticeable marks anywhere. It seemed almost like it should be entirely empty. As she returned the hostess shoved the book into Faith’s face.

“What is it?”

“Creed. Just do old Rose Breaker a favour and read it one day soon. You’re going to have a few days before everything is ready anyway. Any idea what you’re going to do?” More tea was poured as the book was placed in Faith’s saddlebags.

“I need to get back to Fair-feather. Convince them to pull out before, or even just as, I take out Hooftail and Shadowbrand,” Faith had thought about this part in detail. She had no idea how she was going to convince an organization that hated her to do this, but she knew she had to. She was going to give the mare one last favour, one last act of sparing.

“So, you have figured it out then,” Rose gently sipped her tea as it levitated in front of her. She seemed solemn, but the act being proposed probably would have made any mother figure feel that way.

“Reaper,” Faith had long since stopped drinking. She didn’t much care for pleasantries at this point, “If a division gets taken out, let alone two, headquarters will definitely dispatch a cleanup crew. Least I can do, I suppose, is get them out of there. I always planned to be the one to take the responsibility anyway.”

“You could always try to unite them, raise an army, destroy Reaper.”

“Reaper isn’t like that. It’s like nothing they’ve ever fought before. A division of murderers who are happy to kill indiscriminately. A large army would just be a playground.”

The hug again. This time it was far softer than anything Rose had ever given before, “Justice Ann Faith, you always make me more and more proud and sad every time I see you.” Was it her imagination, or was Rose actually crying in the hug? Did Rose actually have the ability to cry? All of a sudden, the image of Rose crying as she received the news about father became a very real possibility, “Just promise me you’ll tell her first.”

“What?”

“Tell that mare how you feel at least. Sometimes things don’t always have to be as black and white. And, you, you are exactly what Herb had hoped you might be.” Rose kept talking like father had wanted something different. But, Faith was exactly what he had taught her to be, an assassin and killer. Romanticizing it would just leave her thinking she wasn’t worthy of the hate she had directed at her.

Still, Rose was all Faith had left, and so she would obey the old mare. It felt almost like fulfilling an old wish of her father, “I promise.”

“Good, now everything will be ready in a few days in Fair-feather. I’ll make sure to send word of the location via the usual courrier method. Be safe, Justy.”