Templar's Honor

"Haha! Great dodge Spits, but I'll get you!" Soarin yelled.

I ducked behind a well. Snowballs flew through the air as Cloudsdalians fought in the streets. It all started with a few boys throwing snowballs at random folk, but then grew into a seemingly district wide battle. Soarin and Fleetfoot couldn't pass such an opportunity and joined in the merry fight. I found myself on the other team, fighting two Assassins. This was an unfair advantage that I called them out on, but my words did not reach them. A snowball flew right over my head and struck a young boy squarely in the chest. The force knocked him over. That had to be one of Soarin's snowballs, I thought. Two boys ducked behind the well next to me. One was much older than the other. The older had light blue hair and the younger had dark gray hair.

"I don't think we can make it." The older said.

"C'mon Brotha! We can't let them win!" The younger urged.

The older brother looked at me. "Any ideas?"

I peeked over the well. The battle had settled into two sides simply chucking snowballs at each other. There was a no-man's-land between the fighters. I inspected the area to see all the points of cover. There was a group of barrels to the right and ahead of that was merchant's stand. I ducked my head again and faced the two boys.

"Alright, here's the plan. Gather up as much ammo as you can. We'll head over to the barrels. We'll flank 'em."

"Sounds good." The brothers said in unison.

I made my way to the barrels. My allies were falling under the cold and slushy assault. I soon reached the barrels. I saw Soarin and Fleetfoot making more snowballs. Good, they hadn't noticed me. The two boys followed. We then headed over to the stand and took cover again.

"What're you doin' Spits?" A voice uttered from above me.

I looked up to see an Assassin woman perched on a beam and looking down at me. Her hood was down, so her wild light blue hair instantly gave her away. It was Flitter's twin sister, Cloud Chaser. I lifted a finger to my lips, telling her to be silent. She rolled her eyes and hopped down.

"Are you really in a snowball fight?" She asked.

"Yeah. Soarin and Fleetfoot wanted one. I'm trying to flank 'em."

"Pfft. Well then, I better get on the winning side."

"Thanks Chaser, well get them good."

"What? I didn't mean you. I'm goin' to Soarin's team."

"Damno! Fine, get over there before I pelt you."

Cloud Chaser ran off. I looked at the boys. They had a pile of snowballs waiting to be launched at the supposed enemy. I peeked around the stand and found my targets. All three Assassins were close to each other, pelting their foes with anything they could throw.

"Alright boys, here's our chance." I told them.

"Uhh, m'lady, you don't need to call us boys." The older responded. "I'm Thunderlane and this is my brother, Rumble."

"Nice to meet ya. I'm Spitfire. Now let's do this."

We grabbed some snowballs and ambushed the other Wonderbolts. I hit Soarin in the face, causing him to fall over. The brothers pelted Fleetfoot until she ran for cover. Cloud Chaser began to run away. A strong urge built up in me. I jumped from my cover and chased after her.

Cloud Chaser kept running. I was nimble enough to get through the crowds of snowball fighters. Chaser took to the roofs and I followed. She looked over her shoulder. I could see her confused expression. Chaser shrugged and ran faster. I increased my speed as well.

Over that! Swing on that! Go get her! I chased her with all my might. Chaser was one of the best at parkour. She easily outran me. I had to try my next trick. I had to predict where she was going to go. I saw her turn and run to the south. Up ahead was a plaza. She couldn't jump over such an area. I swung down onto the street. I was going to meet on in the plaza.

She continued to run on the roofs while I made my way through Cloudsdalians. She was headed my way. I jumped over a merchant's stand and readied myself. Chaser hopped down and sprinted to the other side. I ran at her in an angle. I soon collided with her. She fell as I tackled her. I extended my wrist blade and held it to her as she lay in the snow. Her eyes widened.

"Alright, alright. Ya got me. Take it easy will ya?"

"Oh, sorry Chaser."

I retracted my blade and stood up. I then offered her a hand. She accepted and I pulled her up. People stood around us watching uneasily. I patted Chaser on the shoulder.

"Ha, that's what you get when you pick the losing team." I told her.

"Ha, maybe. I didn't think you could catch me though."

"Me neither."

We laughed heartily at this. Chaser then stretched and departed in the fog. I was left alone. I looked down at my hands. What caused them to extend my blade? The Assassin felt like prey to me, like a Templar. I must have been just angry. Yeah, she rejected my team and that made me angry. I had to work on controlling my emotions then. I could have hurt her.

I turned to the north. In front of me was the entrance to the Cloudsdale Palace. Lady Shimmer was in there. The images of the Templar woman filled my mind. I then slapped myself. Was I really thinking about accepting her offer? It probably was a trap. She would have Lightning Dust gut me when I reached her. The place was right there. It wouldn't hurt to visit. Maybe she could tell me more on Commander Hurricane? I tried to resist the temptation, but fell to it. I sighed and walked over to a wall. I was not going to enter through the front door. I had to climb.

"A blizzard? Now? Damno, just my luck." I complained.

The wind raged around me as I scaled the Palace. I was about halfway to the top. I looked up. Above me was a large balcony that extended itself out of the wall. That was where I was heading. I thought the place would be a good shelter to wait out the storm. I pulled myself up. It was still far off. My hands were getting cold. I had to reach it quickly.

This made me climb harder and faster. My arms began to ache with the strain. I finally reached the bottom of the balcony. I pulled my legs up and began to climb out of the Palace at an odd angle. The wind blew my hood off and the icy air reached my cheeks. After some painful reaches and pulls, I threw myself over the balcony's railing.

"I guess you accepted my invitation."

"What?"

I looked up to see Sunset Shimmer standing by the balcony's door. She was dressed in a warm fur coat. She gestured me to some inside. I scrambled to my feet and walked over to her. She opened the door and I walked in.

My body was relieved as it felt the warm fire in the hearth. The Templar woman removed her coat and threw it on a small table. She then picked up a cup of hot tea, walked over to a chair, and sat down. I looked around the room. The room was spacious and well decorated. The bed had four tall posts in every corner. The posts had carvings of flying pegasi swirling through the wood. Beside her large bed was a massive mirror. On the sides of the mirror were elaborate wings the stretched to the ceiling. It was just as one would imagine of the Cloudsdale Palace. After I awed at this, I sat down in a chair beside the Templar.

"Good to see you again, Spitfire."

"Uhh...Yeah."

"Not accustomed to speaking with a Templar yet? Well, nil admirari."

"You speak latin?" I asked.

"I'm still learning. I find the Cloudsdalian scholars much more fascinating than those of Canterlot. So I study this city's language."

"Hmph. Most prefer Canterlot's fineness and etiquette over Cloudsdale's simplicity."

Sunset shook her head. "Cloudsdale is anything but simplistic. The architecture, the people, the history, it all fills this city with a complexity like no other."

"I can tell you are enjoying your visit here"

"Oh yes. Empress Celestia offered me to come with her. It was my dream to visit Cloudsdale. I could not refuse."

"Ha, it's good to see a Templar and Assassin agreeing on Cloudsdale." I said this with jest but Sunset cocked her head at me.

"Then it's also a shame that the city is in its current state. It deserves better."

"Hmph. What would you do with the city?"

"Me? Well, the Templar would first establish Order among the streets. Remove any threats to the common people. Set up a police force, instead of the usual mercenaries.  Then we would lessen the influence of the Olden Families. We do not trust them to make the right decisions. Through that, we will finally give this city the peace it deserves. What would the Assassins do?"

I hesitated. "Well....We would take out the Templar and...and establish Harmony among the people. We would give them the needs to rule themselves and not under the Olden Families' thumbs. Peace through Harmony. Peace through Freedom."

Lady Shimmer raised a brow. "Is that what you are trained to say?"

"What? No."

"Is that what your Brotherhood would do or is it what you will do?

"The Brotherhood and I have the same end goals."

"I don't believe that. Your Creed is that of freewill, it would seem normal for different endgames. What is your endgame, Spitfire?"

I gulped and looked away. I was not sure how I would answer her question. What was it that drove me? It was Honor and it was my city, I knew that. But would she understand? I sighed and faced her again. She gave me a warm smile as she drank her tea. I turned my gaze to the fire in front of me. Its flames danced about in the hearth.

"Honor. That's my endgame. I want to lead my home to glory, like the old days. When this city was the great capital of Equestria. It has fallen so deeply since; I cannot let it go deeper into the pit. The only way I sustain my Honor is to accomplish this. That's why I became an Assassin. I wanted to save my city."

She nodded. "Very noble. But I must ask, what have you and Brotherhood done for this city?"

"We have prevented you from taking it."

She started to raise her voice. "And your point? The Templar want the same for this city. All that you Assassins have done is kept Cloudsdale from rising again. Killing in the streets, destroying facilities, bankrupting the Olden Families that sustain this place. Cloudsdale does not deserve that."

"They don't deserve you!" I snapped back.

She stood up. "Really? The Templar only want peace. Is that so wrong? Mock my words, Spitfire, if you have any wisdom, you will see the damage your kind has brought on this place."

"The same can be said for you. The Olden Families are rich thugs that only care about money. The Assassins care about the people."

"The Olden Families can change. The Templar do everything for the people. We would not let the Olden Families walk over them. That's not Order. Not in my eyes."

I jumped out of my chair. Sunset Shimmer glared at me. I had not seen her angry before. I could feel the fire's warmth. It seemed like it grew hotter like our conversation. I turned to leave. Through the window, I could see that the blizzard subsided. As I walked away, Shimmer yelled at me.

"You believe in Honor, yet you hide under a hood and slaughter in the name of your Brotherhood. Hypocrite! You Assassins believe that you are better than the rest of us, but in reality, you're no better than the rebellious thugs on the streets. Cloudsdale would benefit with your Brotherhood's extinction!"

I opened the door and exited the warm Palace. Her last words rung in my ear as with she had smacked me with them. I leaned on the balcony's railing. I looked back at the window. Sunset Shimmer watched me with crossed arms. I snarled back at her and then swung myself over. I cursed loudly as I descended.

It was late afternoon. I slowly walked north to my Den. After the climbing, I had no urge to run on the rooftops. My weapons jingled as I shuffled through crowds. The people were still celebrating the merry holiday, though not as much as earlier. They seemed to have calmed down from the morning snowball fight. Some folk were exchanging Hearth's Warming gifts. It was pleasant to see them smile and laugh. The city deserved more of that.

Suddenly, a man ran right in front of me. I almost collided with him and stepped back. The raggedy man continued to run at full speed, sometimes pleading for help. I heard more footsteps behind me. I felt someone push me out of the way.

"Outta the way, Sister!"

An Assassin ran by me and chased after the man. His white robes blended in with the surrounding snow. I did not know what was going on. I yelled at the Assassin and then followed. The Brother was pushing people out of the way as he pursued the man. The man did not look like a Templar or anyone rich. This made me even more confused. The man turned and ran into an alley. The Assassin followed. I ran after them.

Once I reached the alley, I saw the Assassin holding the man up on the wall. The man squirmed and tried to escape the Brother's grip, but it was in vain. As I slowly walked up to them, I could hear the Assassin. He was chuckling at the man.

"Ya regrettin' stealing from me, ain't ya? Next time, pick someone who can't chase ya."

"Please, take the money and go. I'm sorry! I just needed to feed my family." The man wailed.

"Too late for apologies mate. Man like you don't deserve to live. Robbin' from others? How petty."

"No, I won't do it again...I swear! Just let me go."

"Your family will be better off without ya."

"Brother..." I began.

The Assassin extended his hidden blade and stabbed the man in the neck. The action splattered blood on the Brother's white robes. The Assassin released the dead man and his corpse slumped on the icy stone. The Assassin chuckled and wiped the blade on the man's trousers. He then retracted it and turned to face me.

"Thieves, always hurtin' this city." He said.

I was appalled. My hand gestured at the corpse. He raised a brow at me. He did not even care about what he had just done. I stammered, trying to make sense of it all.

"You....You k...killed him."

"Yeah, your point?"

"He wasn't a Templar. He was just a petty thief."

"A thief that stole from me. He had it coming."

I walked up to the Assassin. He still held his confused look. I couldn't comprehend such a thing. The man was trying to feed his family. The man said he wouldn't steal anymore. This was the Arabian all over again. My confusion started to turn into anger. The Arabian was a mistake, but this? This was murder. The most he should have done was give the man to the authorities. No, this would not stand. The Brother started to back up as I marched up to him. My anger was reaching its boundaries. I grabbed the Assassin and threw him into the wall.

"Sister? What was that for?"

I extended my hidden blade. My thoughts were replaced with instinct and rage. I stabbed him in the chest. He screamed in pain and tried to fight back. I pulled my blade and stabbed him again, and again. His blood was spilling all over the alley. His blood mingled with the blood of the thief. My heart raced as I butchered him. Stab after stab. His eyes finally rolled up into his head and he slumped over. My senses returned.

"What did I just do?"

I looked down at my hands. They were covered in blood, in the Brother's blood. I had just killed one of my own. I started to choke as I took shallow breaths. I removed my gaze from the Assassin. I could not look at him anymore. My legs started to move on their own. I ran out of the alley. I ran to I did not know where. I had to leave that place. My eyes kept focusing on my red hands. The blood was everywhere. On my hands, on my blade, on my robes. I ran behind a small tavern. The voices of people could be heard from all around. I sat down in the snow and stared at my hands. A voice sounded in my head. The voice of Lady Shimmer.

"Killing in the streets!"

"You will see the damage your kind has brought on this place."

"Cloudsdale will benefit with your Brotherhood's extinction!"

My head began to ache with such thoughts. Tears froze on my cheeks as I sat behind the tavern. The blood, the killing, where was the peace? Why wasn't there peace? I shook my head violently as I knew the answer. I did not want to accept it. I couldn't. I began to slap the snow in anger. I was acting like a small child on a tantrum. Where was the Honor in that? My home didn't deserve this. None of this. On even the brightest of holidays, my city was overshadowed by the secret war. A war that needed to end, somehow, someway. I needed my Honor, and I would only get it when my city was the capital again. When my city had peace.

~