A/N: Before reading this next chapter, I recommend being familiar with the song "You'll Bring Honor To Us All" from Mulan.

101. The Land of Getting Your Drag On

LESHOU, CHINA, THE LAND OF DRAGONS

When Mulan next woke up, it was to the sounds of roosters crowing, not kitchen implements banging together. She had to admit that was an improvement.

There was little time to lose. She threw off the bedcovers, moving to scrounge up a beige tunic and leggings and carrying them behind a folding screen to change. As she did so, Mushu stirred from where he'd been curled up snoring on the nightstand.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Mulan greeted when her guardian lifted his head.

"Time to get this show on the road?" Mushu asked.

Mulan emerged from behind the screen, grabbing a comb to run through her hair. "Just about."

"How do you expect your little friends to get to camp, anyway?" Mushu asked.

"I was actually going to offer them a ride," Mulan answered.

...

"IIIIIIIIT'S SHOWTIME!"

Pinkie Pie's cry in her new, deeper voice served as the alarm clock for the rest of those aboard the Starlight. As she ran down the hall, her armor clattered, adding to the noise level.

One by one, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash joined her in the hallway, similarly outfitted, carrying with them their new broadswords. Rarity ambled out in her gown from the previous day, meeting up with the others in the kitchen long enough for Applejack to deal out a muffin to each for breakfast. Spike was the last to join the group.

"Well, are we ready to do this?" Twilight asked.

"You betcha!" Rainbow Dash confirmed, and Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie nodded assent.

The five prepared to move up abovedeck. Rarity cleared her throat rather ostentatiously, prompting them all to look back at her and Spike.

"Erm…I just wanted to say I wish you the utmost luck," Rarity said sheepishly. "I'll catch up with you all soon, I can promise you that."

Twilight gave her a smile in return. "We'll keep you posted. Have some fun back here for us, okay?"

"I can assure you I shall," Rarity said with a nod. "After work is done, of course."

"Which shouldn't take too long with both of us on the job!" Spike boasted.

"Then we'll see you soon," Twilight concluded, and the five newly armored soldiers parted ways from Rarity and Spike.

Though it wasn't too long before Spike had caught up with them partway down the hall. "Twilight!"

"What is it, Spike?" Twilight asked, not breaking her pace as she ascended a stairway.

"I just wanted to say that you don't have to worry about Rarity," Spike told her. "I'm going to do the best I can to protect her from everything. Cross my heart and hope to fly!"

Twilight was more than confident that Rarity could take care of herself, but still, she appreciated the sentiment. "I'm glad to hear it."

"So, uh, I'm just gonna get back to that," Spike announced before turning on a heel and racing back to the kitchen.

Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy arrived on the deck just as on the shore below, a horse-drawn wagon pulled to a halt. Mulan waved up at the five Equestrians from astride Khan, who had the honor and chore of pulling the empty wooden cart. Mushu, as ever, perched on Mulan's shoulder.

"Need a ride?" Mulan called up.

"Thanks!" Rainbow Dash called down to her. "Great timing!"

Within a few minutes, the five had disembarked from the ship and loaded up into the wagon. At a command, Khan began trotting toward the main road, and the journey to the camp began.

...

THE ROADS OF CHINA, THE LAND OF DRAGONS

Though the trip was one that was due to end in preparation for battle, it was still a pleasant one. The countryside of China was a sight to behold, with rolling plains and hills set beneath perfectly clear weather.

"I still can't believe Rarity," Rainbow Dash grumbled. "You'd think she'd at least wanna try this as a fashion experiment or something."

"I'm not real happy with how lightly she's takin' this either – " Applejack began.

"I don't think she's taking it lightly," Twilight interrupted. "She just wouldn't. Not something like this. There's something else going on here. I don't know what it is, but there's something she's not telling us. I think she's worried."

"Worried about WHAT?" Rainbow Dash cried.

"I have no idea," Twilight admitted. "But the way she got all defensive…it didn't sound like she was just being petty or arguing for the sake of arguing. It sounded more like what anyone would say if they had a really important reason to argue…and just couldn't say what it was."

"What couldn't Rarity tell us?" Rainbow Dash pressed. "We're best friends! We share everything!"

"I bet we all have secrets from each other we haven't told to this day," Twilight theorized. "Everyone does. I mean…it took Celestia this long to tell us that I was supposed to be the Chosen One, and even then, she told us by directing us to a JOURNAL instead of saying it out loud or even in a letter!"

Twilight hadn't realized she'd been shouting.

"Uh…Twilight?" Fluttershy asked. "I know what you said back in the library when we all read that journal, but are you sure you're as okay with all of this as you said?"

Twilight inhaled, then exhaled, deeply. "I'm fine. Besides, what's even the use of getting mad at Celestia? I'd just be carrying around all that anger when I didn't need to be, and we don't exactly have time to talk to her about it face-to-face, which is what we really would need if there WAS a problem. And if I DID talk to her face-to-face, then I'm not sure what I would even say, because I can see her reasoning and I know she didn't mean any harm. I probably would have done the same thing if I were her! We all make mistakes, right? So what if I wish she could have told me this just a LITTLE bit before sending me off to Ponyville? There's nothing to even say! It happened, and here we are. And being mad would just be unproductive."

"Okay," Fluttershy replied meekly. The others couldn't think of anything to say other than acceptance of Twilight's statement; anything else might fan the flames that Twilight was obviously trying to douse.

"Let's change the subject," Twilight suggested. "So…Mulan!" She felt bad for the young woman to yet again have to be privy to their drama. "What's it going to be like at the camp?"

"It's going to be different from when I was there," Mulan began. "If I'm right, we'll be moving out right away instead of staying there to train. When we ride in, though, you might want to be careful. Chi Fu will be around, and I know you have new voices and helmets to hide your hair, but…"

"We still stand out in a crowd," Twilight finished. "So we have to make sure he won't see us."

"Will you have friends there?" Fluttershy asked.

"I got to know a couple of the guys pretty well," Mulan answered. "Maybe we'll get assigned to the same troop. Most of the other soldiers weren't the friendliest guys…"

"Or the most hygienic," Mushu offered.

"But there were three who you all actually kind of remind me of," Mulan went on. "Loud, a little crazy, and some of the best friends you could ask for. And then there's Captain Li Shang. He's going to be the one you're going to want to get to know most of all."

"He's the one you fancied, right?" Applejack recalled.

"Yes." Mulan felt a blush coming on thinking about him. "He's a great captain…and an even better person. He always tries so hard to succeed and do what's best for his troops and his country. I'm looking forward to seeing him again, but the two of us might turn into a bit of an issue. Part of the fear of allowing women into the army is that it would…distract the men. I don't intend on being a distraction to Shang, but that's how other people might see me."

"So you won't be able to be romantic with him at all?" Pinkie Pie said mournfully.

"Not so long as it's wartime," Mulan confirmed solemnly. "But at least we can be professional allies."

"Yeah, like the two of you could go ten minutes without one of you bein' all mushy-gushy," Mushu quipped.

"If they let us be in the same unit, we'll have to be," Mulan asserted. "They'll have to see this as a special case, right? After all, I am the first woman they let fight."

"Besides," Twilight pointed out, "that rule completely doesn't account for men distracting other men."

"I'm…sorry?" Mulan was confused.

"You know, romantically," Twilight clarified.

"I…still don't know what you mean," Mulan admitted.

"The men who would fall in love with other men," Twilight reiterated. "Or was there a rule against that too?"

"Nobody ever expects men to feel that way about other men," Mulan informed her. "Is that something that's…common where you come from?"

There was a stunned silence from the back of the wagon. Then, at last, Twilight said, "No one EVER?"

"Back home," Fluttershy explained, figuring out where the gap was in Mulan's thinking, "some stallions fall in love with mares, and some with stallions. Some mares fall in love with mares, too. I think it's more common for stallions and mares to pair up, but anything is possible."

"Hm." Mulan thought it over. "I wonder if that's just a pony thing."

"Try again, sister," Mushu retorted. "Trust me. Spirits've seen all kinds of things on all kinds of worlds, and it ain't just a 'pony thing.' Only reason it don't get talked about here is 'cause of high-and-mighties like Chi Fu makin' sure it don't get talked about. You of all people should know! Didn't Shang start fallin' for Ping first?"

Realization struck Mulan hard then. "He did," she realized. "We started getting close when he thought I was a man. His feelings didn't change when he found out who I was. I guess I never thought about it too much."

"If Rarity were here," Twilight pointed out, "she'd probably say you two had a true love story, since Shang stood by you when you wore two different identities and saw you for who you were on the inside both times."

"I don't know if it's love yet," Mulan confessed, heating up all over on the inside. "I mean, I want it to be, but right now, we're still just sending letters and visiting each other for lunches and dinners…we haven't talked about a future or anything. We're more than friends, but…it hasn't been that long since we became that at all. I don't even know if we have the kind of lives that will let us work out together. I hope we can. He makes me really happy."

"I've got a good feeling it's gonna work out between you two from what you've said," Twilight commented.

"Trust me," Mushu added, "the day after Mulan came home, the ancestors all took bets on how many days before those two got married. Nuan already lost twenty wuzhus on that."

"Really?" Mulan sighed. "Is this what our ancestors do when they're not helping us out? Gossip about me?"

"Pretty much."

There was a silence for a moment before Twilight spoke up. "Um, Mulan…there's probably something we should warn you about."

"What?" Mulan asked.

"You know how I said we have a lot of enemies, like Discord?" Twilight reminded her. "Well…he kiiiiiind of has the ability to bring people back from the dead. Evil people. It's happened everywhere else we went. I hate to say it, but there's a pretty good chance that if somebody gave this world a hard time and then died, that person might be back."

"Like that Shan-Yu fella," Applejack supplied.

"That sounds a little hard to believe," Mulan admitted.

"Harder to believe than your dead ancestors takin' bets on your future?" Mushu pointed out.

"I'm not saying that's exactly what happened," Twilight clarified, "but it's something we have to watch out for."

"Well…thank you," Mulan replied. "I'm not exactly sure what to do about it, but it's good to know."

As a matter of fact, the possibility of Shan-Yu somehow being back from the dead was something she absolutely didn't want to think about unless it was completely necessary. It still didn't sound credible, and so she stowed the thought away.

...

THE TRAINING CAMP, CHINA, THE LAND OF DRAGONS

The wagon pulled into the gates of the training camp in the early afternoon, rolling down a thoroughfare set up between row upon row of tents. Various men dressed either in tunics and leggings or in Imperial armor were seen moving about between the tents: gathering lunch from a cauldron of rice, practicing swordplay, chatting with each other. Mulan kept the cart on a direct course for the largest tent in the center of the camp. Mushu decided to relocate to the inside of a saddlebag for the time being, thinking it best not to get directly involved in mortal-to-mortal contact just yet.

Inside that large tent was the place where once, General Li Cheng had sat amongst his peers, namely his son and Chi Fu, mapping out his strategy for heading off the Hun attack by moving tiny icons across a diagram. Li Cheng had met his untimely end during a confrontation against the Huns, leaving his seat empty, and now, it was a much younger man who filled it: a man with dark hair tied up in a short bun and a muscular figure wrapped up in black-and-gray armor, with a red cape billowing behind. This man was Cheng's son, Li Shang, now general of the troop Cheng had commanded. It was he who sat over a map of China, placing upon it symbolic figurines as three other captains watched from their seats around the table and Chi Fu hovered, standing, nearby, taking notes.

"The naval force started in the northeast," Shang explained, moving a figure of a boat down the shoreline of the map. "Attacks have followed a consistent pattern of moving southwest. Given what we know, the next likely target will be Tong'an. That's where I'd like to focus the bulk of our troops." He removed a miniature bearing the Imperial flag out of the location of the camp and placed it on the named port. "All the same, it would do to have backup forces in the other ports." Shang placed more miniatures on other locations to the southeast. "In the meantime…I want scouts posted at the ports that were already hit. If the enemy figures out that we're trying to cut them off, they might double back. I want to know as soon as this happens if it does."

"Has there yet been any word on who the enemy is?" one of the captains asked.

"There have been scattered reports," Shang replied. "Only one boat is ever mentioned, and the enemy always makes off with whatever resources the attacked city has. If I didn't know better…I'd say this was the work of pirates."

"Absurd!" Chi Fu scoffed. "Mere pirates couldn't do this much damage!"

"I know," Shang replied. "The black fire. No one's been able to explain it or come up with a weapon that could produce it."

"Should we not be going on the offensive?" the second captain asked. "Striking out at the nation this naval force hails from?"

"That's the Emperor's decision to make," Shang reminded him. "Not mine. Though if it were me, I would hesitate until we knew exactly where this force came from. We can't risk initiating a war with any power that we're currently at peace with based on guesswork." While he was fully aware that the idea of a pirate ship being responsible was ridiculous, there was a thought settling into the foreground of his mind: the thought that if this were the work of pirates, they may very well belong to no nation at all.

"What do you want done with the reserves?" the third captain asked.

"Nothing in the field yet," Shang told him. "But train them hard. Get them battle ready as soon as possible. Your position is where I was before this, and it was thanks to the reserves that we were able to secure our last victory. Send word as soon as you think they're fit to fight, and be ready in case I call for them before you do."

"As you order." The captain nodded respectfully.

"I will have troop divisions worked out by the end of the day, once all available soldiers have checked in," Shang explained.

"A suggestion?" Chi Fu broke in.

Shang sighed. He really didn't want to hear whatever Chi Fu had to say, but he was obligated to. "Yes?"

"When that woman arrives," Chi Fu spat, "I'd better not see you and her in the same division. You're shaping up to be a decent general, Li. It would be most unfitting to see you slip up on the field due to distractions."

"Are these orders from the Emperor," Shang asked, "or your own?"
"They…well, they are not orders!" Chi Fu admitted. "But it stands to reason – "

"That the decision rests with me," Shang interrupted. "Fa Mulan is a talented warrior, and I will assign her where I believe those talents belong the best."

"Are you trying to say you do not have feelings for her?" Chi Fu pressed.

"What I'm saying," Shang clarified, "is that she and I both know the difference between our personal lives and what's best for our country. I trust her, Chi Fu, and so does the Emperor."

In truth, he was already planning to assign her and himself to Tong'an. It didn't even feel right in the first place that he had to assign her anywhere. The entire situation reeked of the possibility of sending her to her potential death. On one hand, Shang wanted to be able to keep an eye on her, to protect her from that fate if it came along. On the other, he was well aware that last time, she'd been the one to protect him every time. She probably wouldn't need him at all. At the end of the day, when it came down to it, he felt the two of them would make an invaluable team.

He did feel for her. His heartbeat quickened at the thought that she would be arriving at some point that day. But he'd never been the sort of man to burn with lust. Others had speculated about their personal girls worth fighting for, but he'd always kept his eyes on the road ahead. Perhaps, he theorized, as time went on, there might be a risk of passion overtaking him to the point where he would be unable to work professionally with her. But it was not this time, and he knew her well enough to safely conclude that she felt the same.

"You are aware that your actions will be noted," Chi Fu reminded Shang.

And sent to the Emperor, whose only stipulation was that Mulan would not be denied the right to fight, Shang mentally concluded. Chi Fu couldn't scare him with that threat. "You won't be seeing me in action anyway," he reminded the advisor. "You have to report on the trainees. Here."

Chi Fu had no retort to that. It was the truth. So he just steamed in the corner.

"That's all I have to cover for now," Shang informed his associates. "I would suggest taking this time to get to know the men." He rose, and the other three captains did the same. All five men exited the tent.

Chi Fu immediately followed the captain of the reserves into the depths of the camp to scout out the new recruits and document what Shang was sure would be their failures in his eyes. It was a miracle of timing that he went his way then, for the wagon arrived at the tent shortly after, and Chi Fu never saw any of the people inside.

When Shang beheld the rider at the wagon front, he broke into a smile. Mulan pulled Khan to a halt, leaping down onto the ground and approaching him. Meanwhile, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack exited the wagon themselves.

"Reporting for duty, General," Mulan announced proudly.

"I'm glad to see you here," Shang replied. "Not…that I'm glad we're at war. But…"

"Me too," Mulan interrupted, nervously tucking a lock of black hair behind an ear. "I know what you're probably thinking, but I know we have to be soldiers here."

Shang nodded. "We do. Though…if you have the time, I wouldn't mind speaking with you alone later this evening, after I've made assignments. It wouldn't have to be about the war."

Hearing that brought a smile to Mulan's face. "Is that professional?"

"It's…not completely unprofessional," Shang replied, rather nervously.

"Then I'm looking forward to it. Oh!" She stepped aside, gesturing to the five Equestrians. "I hope you don't mind. I gave some of the new recruits a ride."

"New recruits," Shang repeated, looking over the five armored figures.

Twilight took the opportunity to step forward, presenting her papers. "Reporting for duty!"

Shang took the scroll cautiously, unrolling it. "Dusk Shine," he read out loud. He hadn't heard of the Dusk family, but he didn't have the experience or familiarity with the land's inhabitants that his father had, so he wrote it off. As he took the papers of the other four, he read the names one by one, all unfamiliar. Something struck him as odd about the five just from appearance, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what.

Rolling up the last scroll, the one proclaiming the conscription of "Butterscotch," Shang looked over the five. "Welcome," he said. "Your training will begin – "

"About that," Mulan interrupted. "We were all talking on the way here, and I kind of got the impression that they were already pretty skilled."
"How skilled?" Shang asked, rather suspicious.

"Maybe…skilled enough to move out with the troops tomorrow?" Mulan suggested, her voice faltering a bit.

If it hadn't come from her, the suggestion would have sounded completely incredible: for five new recruits who Shang had never even heard of the families of before to join seasoned veterans on the frontlines. However, Shang knew Mulan wouldn't make a claim like that unless she had a good reason. "I'll consider it," he answered, "but only if I see these skills for myself."

"So let's do it!" Rainbow Dash cried. "We'll prove to you that we're the best warriors you could ask for! Test us on anything! Swordfighting! Archery! You name it!"

Shang already liked this soldier's enthusiasm. "Very well. I have several tests I want to name, and combat and archery happen to be among them. You'll have until the end of the day to show me whether you're frontline material or you need more training. Oh, and you'll need to do one more thing."

He disappeared momentarily into the tent, and when he re-emerged, it was with a quiver slung over his back and a bow in his hand. "This is a challenge I issued to my trainees the first time around," he explained. "They had the duration of their training to complete it. You have a day."

"Bring it on!" Rainbow Dash cried.

Shang nocked the arrow, aiming it upward. The five Equestrians' eyes followed its planned trajectory to the top of a wooden pole, just over two stories tall and over a foot thick in diameter, set nearby. Shang let the arrow fly; it sailed true and thudded into the wood at the topmost reaches of the pole.

"You will have to deliver that arrow back to me," Shang announced.

"No problem!" Rainbow Dash strode toward the pole.

"Not so fast. There's one more thing you need to know." Shang had to admit he perhaps had too much fun issuing this particular challenge. "Every warrior has to bear with them strength and discipline, and those can be heavy burdens." He retrieved two more items from the tent: a pair of golden discs, each several pounds in weight, looped on ribbons. "This will be your strength." He handed the first disc to Rainbow Dash; she took it by the ribbon, faltering a little when she felt its weight. "And this your discipline." He handed the other over, and Rainbow Dash visibly stumbled in order to keep her balance. "You will need both to reach the arrow."

"Uhhhh…" Rainbow Dash looked back at the pole. Climbing it, even while armored, had seemed like a challenge, but still not terribly difficult. Flying to the arrow would of course be out of the question under the circumstances. Now that she had the discs, Rainbow Dash wasn't exactly sure how to compensate for the extra weight. "Okay…" She let one disc dangle from each arm, grabbing onto the pole.

"Rainbow Blitz, wait!" Twilight ran toward her. "I don't think this is just a test of brute strength. There's some sort of trick to this. This is to see if we can figure out how to think our way around a problem."

"Oh yeah?" Rainbow Dash stepped back from the pole, letting down the discs to the ground. She could practically feel pure relief seeping into her muscles from doing that. "So what's the answer?"

"I need a minute to think about it," Twilight informed her. "Mind if I take a look?"

"Go ahead." Rainbow Dash stepped away, leaving Twilight to survey the discs and the arrow.

"Did your group ever figure out how to get that arrow down?" Fluttershy asked Mulan.

"We did," Mulan answered.

"Mulan was actually the one who did it," Shang clarified. "She was the only one who was able to think of a way besides using brute strength."

"So how'd ya do it?" Applejack asked.

"I can't say," Mulan responded. "You have to figure this one out for yourself."

Twilight weighed options. Using magic to get the arrow down would have been easy enough, but she didn't dare reveal that she had such powers in this setting. There was no telling what sort of chain of events that would set off. Besides, that removed the discs from the equation, and she knew she needed to use them somehow. Experimentally, she picked one up by its ribbon, testing its weight. An idea occurred to her, and she picked the other up, straining and sweating to do so. Theoretically, the two weights should be able to counter each other. And as the obvious solution to the problem was to get to the arrow, it only stood to reason that the actual solution was to bring the arrow down to Twilight. If the weights could get airborne, tied together and rotating around a centerpoint, they could offset each other and keep each other moving in flight. Then, if the bound ribbons could wrap around the shaft of the arrow, that would at worst break it – which was still a retrieval of half the arrow, better than none at all – and at best dislodge it, carrying it along with the discs until they eventually came back down. It all laid itself out so clearly in Twilight's mind; all she needed was to make one good throw.

She hastily tied the two ribbons together, making sure the knot would hold both discs in conjunction. Then, grasping the central knot in both hands, Twilight backed up, bringing her arms back to make the throw.

The discs plopped to the grass a foot and a half in front of her.

"Uh…so I have the basic concept down," she announced, turning back to the others. "I just…don't quite have the muscle to get it off the ground."

"I like your approach," Shang told her. "But I am going to need that arrow if you want to go anywhere."

Twilight nodded, her expression stern. She turned back to look up at the arrow. "And I'm going to get it," she grumbled. "After all, I am the team strategist."

"While Dusk Shine works on that," Rainbow Dash asked, "can the rest of us show off our skills? I think he's gonna be a while."

"All right." Shang surveyed Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy with a grin. When next he opened his mouth, his words came out in song: "This is what you give me to work with? Well, frankly, I've seen worse."

"We're gonna give you soldiers," Rainbow Dash promised, "by the last verse!"

...

On a green, empty field, Applejack walked out in front of an observing audience. She'd shed her armor and was instead dressed in a tunic and leggings much like Mulan's, though the outfit was padded and cut to hide her feminine figure. The others had equipped themselves with similar ensembles.

"You will fight one of our veteran soldiers in hand-to-hand combat," Shang explained. He turned to his left, nodding at a much shorter, thickset man. This soldier's left eye was blackened, and while he sported no beard, thick, dark sideburns ran down either side of his face. His clothing was embroidered in red.

"Yao," Shang commanded. "Test Applejack with everything you know."

"Breaking in the fresh meat, huh?" Yao's voice was low and gravelly. "This guy doesn't stand a chance."

He walked casually toward Applejack, then, without warning, threw a punch. As Applejack dodged it, Yao sang out boastfully: "I'll have you black and blue! Crying mommy when this fight is through!"

"Trust me, that ain't what yer gonna do!" Applejack sang back as she leapt over Yao's blows, delivering a kick to his chest that sent him staggering. "I'll bring victory to us all!"

Shang watched in disbelief as Applejack and Yao met their matches in each other; the new recruit anticipated all of Yao's moves in advance, which wasn't hard to do, as his strategy was simply to hit whatever he could reach. Once Yao figured out her game, however, he was just as quick to dodge her kicks, and after they'd danced around each other long enough to tire both, Shang called the match a draw.

If Applejack was any indication, the others would all be incredible assets to the troop.

...

At the opposite end of the camp, just inside the borders of a forest, Fluttershy watched as a man who seemed a mountain of a soldier – incredibly tall, quite rotund, and with no hair to speak of – calmly surveyed the setup before him: a tiny wooden plank levered over a fulcrum to act as a see-saw, its far edge weighed down by three fruit; a bow and three arrows laid next to it; and a tree ahead painted with three circular white targets.

"Observe Chien-Po," Shang commanded Fluttershy, "and do as he does."

Chien-Po picked up the bow and nocked all three arrows, keeping the points equidistant from each other in a vertical line, taking aim almost as religiously as Rarity had done with her arrows back at the training camp on Chryse. When he was satisfied, he made one quick movement, stamping on the plank as he released the arrows. The arrows pierced the three fruit, pinning them exactly in the white targets.

It would have been a challenge much more suited to Rarity, Fluttershy reflected, but she was still confident she could make the shot. After all, she still remembered when the Galifems had taught her to wield a bow and shoot arrows of magic.

As she stepped out to another plank and Chien-Po walked back to his place beside Shang, the latter sincerely told Fluttershy, "Good luck."

"Oh, thank you!" Fluttershy replied, glad that he'd made the gesture. She settled herself before the adjacent plank, already loaded down with fruit, and picked up the bow next to it.

As Fluttershy took aim, she crooned, "Wait and see! When we're through, you'll be glad we went to war with you! With concentration, aim, and a great follow-through – "

She stamped on the plank, letting the arrows fly. Three more fruit were pinned to three more targets.

Fluttershy turned back to Shang, putting her hands and her bow behind her back and smiling innocently. "I'll bring safety to you all!"

...

As Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash passed each other in the center of the camp, their unison song reflected upon their shared vision:

"We all can bring the friends we meet

Our help in many ways!

This land needs us to fight!

We'll prove ourselves today!"

...

The training camp was situated some distance from the ocean shore. A tall stone cliff loomed above. Down below, as the cliff dropped off steeply into unruly waters, wooden posts had been installed so that they sprang up from the sea, several feet high, forming a path as though of stepping stones from one rocky precipice to the other. Many of the veterans were using this course for practice, leaping from pole to pole and balancing each time until they reached the other side.

"This is nothin'!" a tall, wispy man with a clean-shaven face and a green-edged tunic bragged to the others around him. "Watch and learn from the master!"

He sprang onto one pole confidently. When he landed the second, it was with a wild flail of arms to keep his balance. He slipped clean off the third pole, hitting the waters below with a splash. The other soldiers peered over the edge to see him surface and call out, sheepishly, "I'm okay!"

"Is that one of the new recruits too?" Pinkie Pie asked Shang as the pair waited for an opening.

Shang sighed. "No…Ling is an experienced soldier who's going to be on the frontline. You'll understand if I think it fair that you do a bit better than him on this course."

"No sweat!" Pinkie Pie proclaimed.

"In that case…" Shang approached the group. "Move aside. I want to see Bubble Berry's ability to keep his balance under pressure."

The others did as they were bid, and Shang gestured toward the path of poles. Pinkie Pie sprang eagerly onto the first, balancing on only one foot, then the next, then the next. Her leaps kept perfect time to the beat as she sang out, "This is just like a dance! I could do this even in a trance! If this means you'll give us all a chance…" She landed firmly on terra firma on the other side. "I'll bring protection to you all!"

...

At the center of the camp, the four met again, joining in song once more:

"We all must help this land we found

And guard it from attack!

We'll team up with the rest

And help them watch their backs!"

...

High atop the cliff, hearing the waves below, Rainbow Dash had been outfitted with the greatest challenge yet. A bucket of water was balanced upon her head (yet another task that would obviously have been better pulled off by Rarity), and a blindfold tied around her eyes. A long wooden pole was placed in Rainbow Dash's hands.

She saw only darkness as Shang's voice cut through the distant sound of breaking waves: "Stones will be thrown at you. You will have to deflect them without relying on your eyes. In the heat of battle, things move fast, and eyes can lie."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Rainbow Dash sighed. While the bucket was a new element, she could easily hear things on the wind if she focused in on it. It was part and parcel of working in the weather trade. As for the staff, she was already versed in many weapons.

Several soldiers had been gathered to assist in this exercise; Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po were among them, all bearing rocks to sling. Shang did not give a verbal command, but instead raised a hand, then lowered it to signal that the stones should be thrown. On that signal, everyone present lobbed a rock: most at the same time, but some staggering the throws a little bit to give more of a challenge to the soldier on trial.

Rainbow Dash heard the small stones whistling on the wind, just like hailstones. She remembered once being caught in a hailstorm and having to dodge all of the falling chunks of ice. This was little different. Spinning the staff, she knocked most of the rocks out of the way, singing all the while: "You should know! I won't fail! This is easy, just like dodging hail! It takes more than this to kick my tail! I'll bring victory to you all!"

Then one rock she hadn't detected smacked into her stomach. Rainbow Dash stumbled; the bucket spilled, and she was drenched in water. The barrage of rocks stopped as Rainbow Dash whipped off her blindfold.

"No way!" she grumbled. "I can't believe I MISSED that! Can I have a do-over?"
"That won't be necessary," Shang told her.

"BUT – " Rainbow Dash cried in horror.

"You already passed this test," Shang explained.

Rainbow Dash stared at him in stunned silence before bursting out into an "ALL RIGHT!" and taking off running to tell the others.

Shang hadn't expected her to deflect all of the stones. It was a challenge meant for the most advanced warriors. He'd given it to her because he'd noticed her fervor, energy, and even arrogance; he wanted to see if she could live up to the image she was creating for herself as a warrior. She'd exceeded his expectations.

However, he had also noticed a few other things about "Rainbow Blitz": things that made him suspect. The way this soldier moved…and all of "his" friends, too, working with seemingly a different center of gravity than any other soldier. The way all five seemed to have effeminate facial features. And yet again, the fact that Shang knew none of their family names. It could have been just coincidence. But he had the strong feeling it wasn't, and he was at least relieved that none of the other soldiers had observed anything out of the ordinary.

...

"How's Dusk Shine coming?" Rainbow Dash asked when she met back up with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack in the middle of the camp.

"Still workin' on it," Applejack informed her. "I swear she's been just starin' at that arrow and occasionally throwin' those gold things at it for hours now."

"The good news is, once she figures it out, WE PASS!" Pinkie Pie cried.

"Then we shouldn't waste our down time," Rainbow Dash suggested, taking her wooden pole in hand. "So, Applejack. Wanna spar?"

"You know it!" Applejack picked up a spare staff and charged, clashing with Rainbow Dash.

"I wonder if there are any cannons around here to practice with?" Pinkie Pie mused out loud.

Fluttershy, in the meantime, had decided to hone her battle stance. She struck a pose, clenching her fists.

"You call THAT a battle stance?" Rainbow Dash called over to her, looking past her and Applejack's clashing staffs.

"Um…I guess not if you say that," Fluttershy said softly.

In the meantime, Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po had been passing by; they noticed the four recruits at work in their space.

"Y'know, for new guys, they're REALLY good," Ling pointed out.

"So…whaddaya think?" Yao asked mischievously. "Should we break 'em in? Put a bug down the back of Applejack's shirt and see how tough he is then?"
Chien-Po shook his head. "We have grown past doing such immature things. The only way we were able to become a true army was by working together. We should not sabotage them. If anything, we should share wisdom with them."

"Chien-Po's right," Ling agreed. "Besides, they're new to this. We've got a ton we can teach 'em."

"And ya gotta feel bad for that one," Yao sighed, pointing at Fluttershy. "He might be good with a bow and arrow, but nobody's gonna take THAT face seriously. He's gonna be the first one they stab."

"Rainbow Blitz was almost perfectly able to overcome one of the toughest challenges," Chien-Po reminded the others. "He seems to rush at everything he does. Slowing down might help him see and hear the things he could not."

"All right," Yao decided. "Let's do it."

"They'll need these!" Ling spotted several wooden broadswords placed in a barrel for convenience, drawing four. Once he'd done that, he led the trio toward Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. "Hey, guys!" he called out.

"Oh, hey!" Rainbow Dash greeted; she and Applejack ceased their battle. "I remember you guys! Y'know, from when I totally blocked all that stuff you threw at me? Heh!"

"It's Yao, right?" Applejack recalled.

"And Chien-Po?" Fluttershy added.

"And Ling!" Pinkie Pie remembered.

"That's us!" Ling confirmed. "You probably heard our names in the epic ballads that were written about our heroics in the war against the Huns."

"Actually, I just remember it from when you fell in the ocean!" Pinkie Pie broke into a giggle fit.

Ling didn't appreciate it when Yao joined right in with her laughing.

"Nice to meet ya!" Rainbow Dash greeted. "I'm Rainbow Blitz, and these are my friends Applejack, Bubble Berry, and Butterscotch. We have another friend around here, but he's kinda busy trying to figure out that weird arrow thing."

"Yeah?" Yao replied. "Well, did he try tying the things together and – "

Ling smacked him in the arm before he could retell how Mulan had retrieved her arrow. "You're not supposed to tell them how we did it last time! That's cheating!"

"So what brings y'all over here?" Applejack asked.

"Well, since you're the new guys and all, we kinda just wanted to pass on a little advice," Ling explained.

"Okay!" Rainbow Dash nodded eagerly. "Let's hear it!"

"First of all, you never actually use staffs in the field." Ling dropped the wooden swords on the floor. "Try these out instead."

Yao moved next to Fluttershy, demonstrating a solid battle stance: fists out, one foot forward, and a nasty scowl upon his face. He was the first to break into song: "You're really fierce at fighting! Your face should proudly show it!"

"And meditation will help you focus," Chien-Po sang to Rainbow Dash.

"Now you guys CAN'T blow it!" Ling cried victoriously.

...

The sun was lowering in the sky, and Twilight was growing desperate as she stared up at the arrow planted in the top of the pole.

"Brain, don't fail!" she sang forlornly. "Hear my plea! Don't let this challenge make a fool of me! I've just gotta get that arrow free! Reach it at its height so tall!"

She tried throwing the discs again, yet to no avail. She supposed she could take advantage of the fact that no one was watching her and simply levitate the arrow down, but that would defeat the principle. She knew she had to prove her skill at problem-solving, not at cutting through problems with magic.

Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack passed by, noticing Twilight still staring up at the arrow forlornly. One look back at each other and they knew: "Before the day turns into night, we gotta get the arrow to Twilight!"

An idea suddenly struck Rainbow Dash, and she charged up next to Twilight, eagerly singing: "Twilight, wait! I think I know! Your plan works to get us that arrow! You just need all of us to make that throw! We can make the arrow fall!"

Twilight, realizing what Rainbow Dash was saying, picked up the discs once more, holding out the knot that bound them in both hands.

Rainbow Dash put a hand onto the conjoined ribbons, singing, "There'll be victory from us – "

Applejack put her own hand down on top of Rainbow Dash's. "Stay protected by us – "

Fluttershy was next. "Can't do this without us – "

And Pinkie Pie: "It's just best when it's us – "

All five drew their arms back, launching the discs into the air with one final proclamation if, "THERE'LL BE VICTORY FROM US AAAAALL!"

The discs sailed upward into the air, spinning round and round, one over the other, until the ribbon caught the arrow shaft, wrapping both discs round and round it. The weight of the discs dragged downward; the arrow's point dislodged from the wood and arrow and discs together came crashing to the ground.

Twilight eagerly grabbed onto the arrow, hoisting it into the air and turning around to see Shang and Mulan looking at her with a great degree of satisfaction.

"Congratulations," Shang announced. "You've all exceeded my expectations. I wasn't sure at first, but you're all definitely tough enough to go on the frontlines. I'll be sending you with the troop to Tong'an to try and head off the enemy tomorrow."

"YEAH!" the five cried.

"For men who have only joined the army today," Shang remarked, "you certainly are skilled."

"We practice a LOT back at home," Rainbow Dash covered. "We don't wanna be unprepared in case war breaks out, y'know!"

"I see." Shang suspected there was more to it than that, but he wasn't about to dig, at least not in front of them. "You may select your base within camp for the night."

"Within…?" Twilight looked around. All of the tents in sight that weren't used for official business belonged to actual men. On the off chance that someone accidentally wandered into one of the Equestrians' tents during their down time, wihle they were changing or sleeping, she worried they would be found out.

"They're sort of shy," Mulan said, stepping in. "You don't mind if they set up tents more on the outskirts, do you?"
Shang raised an eyebrow, looking to her. "You mean where you had your tent when you joined."

"That wouldn't be a bad place," Mulan responded, beginning to realize he was catching on.

"There's no reason why not," Shang relented. "Just be ready to move out in the morning."

"We will," Twilight promised.

"But first," Applejack brought up, "mind tellin' us how we can get a message sent? We got somebody waitin' to hear how we did and where we're goin'."

"A messenger is posted at the east gate to collect and deliver letters," Shang explained. "He'll make his first run within the hour after he has everything the other soldiers want him to deliver."

"Then we better hurry!" Pinkie Pie insisted. "Write first, pitch tent later!"

The five fled the scene in order to pen the report to Rarity that revealed the location of where they would be found.

"So…" Mulan suggested, rather nervously. "Is…now a good time to talk?"
"It is," Shang confirmed. "And I think we have a lot to talk about. Come with me."

He re-entered the tent where he'd held his earlier strategy conference; Mulan followed. It was empty but for the two of them: private enough for delicate conversation.

"So…you're doing a great job so far," Mulan began.

"Thank you," Shang replied. "While I was evaluating the others, I saw you honing your sparring. You haven't lost a step."

"Thanks – "

"Mulan."

"What?"

"Do you think I don't see what you're doing?" Shang said plainly.

"You mean…"

"The five new recruits you brought in," Shang explained. "They have everyone else fooled, but I can see that they don't look like men, and they don't look like men. I haven't heard any of their family names before." He made sure his tone was as quiet as possible: "I know they're all women. And I know you know it."

"They wanted to help," Mulan retorted, her tone equally subdued. "I thought they'd be able to, after everything that happened with me, but they were turned down. They decided to do this on their own. I'm just…helping them."

"What happens when they get caught?" Shang challenged. "They'll go under fire. And if anyone finds out you had anything to do with this, then so will you. I can't let that happen."

"So we won't be caught," Mulan insisted. "I know they have it in them to make the difference for us. And if you'll just let me tell them the things you noticed that were giveaways, we can work on making it more convincing. But you saw how they were in the field."

Shang nodded. "I did. I just have one more question."

"What is it?"

"Is it really just about protecting China?"
"I…was just so surprised that it seemed like what I did hardly mattered," Mulan admitted sheepishly. "That they'd still get told 'no' after everything. I was hoping that maybe…just maybe…if we could pull this off, then the Emperor would REALLY see."

Shang nodded in understanding. "The last time you tried something like this, you ended up making the difference that saved us all. I'll trust that you know what you're doing."

"Thank you." The words came out on a sigh of relief.

"And their secret will be safe with me," Shang continued.

"I am REALLY glad you understand," Mulan emphasized.

"That being said," Shang continued, "I'd like you to move out to Tong'an as well. That's the troop I'll be taking charge of, and I think you might be interested in the fact that it's where I'm assigning Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po."

"You must really think that's the place to go," Mulan remarked.

"It fits the pattern," Shang explained, showing her the map. "I want to dispatch soldiers farther north and south, but something's telling me that I'm right about Tong'an."

"And Chi Fu was all right with you and me being in the same division?"

"No. But it wasn't his call. If you have a better idea, on the other hand, I can change plans." Shang sighed. "I don't like having to choose what danger to put you in."

"It's dangerous no matter what," Mulan insisted. "I accepted the conscription papers. If anyone's putting me in danger, it's me."

"You could stay back and look after the training of the new recruits," Shang offered. "That would keep you out of the line of fire."

"And away from the problem," Mulan argued. "If Tong'an is where you believe the enemy is going to strike, then I want to be there."

Shang nodded. "Then that's where we'll go."

"Besides…I kind of want to be able to keep an eye on them," Mulan added.

"I think that covers all the business," Shang concluded. "I was hoping we could also…just…talk for a while."

"Me too." Mulan nodded. "I got your letter. Does your life ever slow down?"
"Once in a while. There's eventually time to just watch the sun rise with a cup of tea. What about you? I know there's hardly a dull moment on the farm."

"Some days are busier than others." Mulan shrugged. "Though lately, it's not my living family so much that's been on my mind. Do YOUR ancestors gossip about your love life behind your back?"

Shang let out a subtle laugh. "My grandfather always said both of his parents could talk a mile a minute. I don't doubt it."

Their conversation continued for perhaps an hour, a little more, before they split up for the night: Mulan to rest for the upcoming day and Shang to finalize the troop assignments.

Briefly, Shang lamented the lack of a shrine in which to speak to his own ancestors and guardians. He was quite afraid of what might happen if the identities of the five crossdressing recruits were found out. He reflected upon when he'd first enlisted in the forces, when he hadn't thought twice about having to enact the proper punishment upon someone caught committing that level of "treason." He was repulsed by the thought. He was no longer sure what the punishment was for that crime anymore, but he knew that these five, unfamiliar as they were, did not deserve to be punished for it, especially if the sentence was death.

...

Chapter 101:

· That chapter title has been planned for a WHILE. I am not sorry.

· I did a little housecleaning on my world-building lately. I'm no longer running on a universal understanding that pretty much everyone is bi. Though, don't get me wrong, there are still going to be a lot of bi characters running around because I ship both ways like a maniac. But one of the things I wanted to start doing was establishing that different worlds have different views on sexuality (like…y'know…they should have from the start, considering real-world cultural influences that go with each setting). The Land of Dragons is not really progressive about this. Equestria, on the other hand…since I already established Lyra/Bon Bon as a married couple, I wanted to go with an Equestria that has never seen sexuality as an issue. Equestria deals more with racial tension – the past conflicts between unicorns/earth ponies/pegasi and the current conflicts between ponies/zebras/bison/yaks. But Fourth Equestrian culture, at least in this fic, has never really seen why stallion/stallion and mare/mare relationships couldn't work out. Spirits like Mushu have seen everything and don't really give a crap about it, unless it's to inform people that variations on sexuality exist in every world.

· General Li had no canon given name. So I picked "Cheng" out of my big ol' box of random names I had lying around. They all laughed at me for keeping a box of names. They thought I was crazy. Well, who's crazy now? Still me!

· I'm pretty sure what I did with the discs is actual physics. I really needed a variant way to reach the arrow with the discs, and that method worked for me for several reasons.

· The idea of putting "You'll Bring Honor To Us All" over a montage that parallels "I'll Make a Man Out of You" came to me a while back. I really wanted to do it for symbolism purposes. It's the song that in canon goes with all the trappings of being feminine being put here to displays of "masculinity." In canon, the two songs actually make beautiful foils in the way they spell out gender roles. Doing the musical number also allowed me to intro the soldier trio and other important things in montage fashion.