A/N: I know I hardly ever do this, but I feel this might be necessary. This chapter contains content that echoes a certain type of real-life tragedy, so I'm going to say there's a general trigger warning here. I won't say what for spoilers, but if it sounds like that might affect you and you need to know more, scroll down to the end A/Ns and the first one will contain the nature of the trigger.

...

103. Tong'an

TONG'AN, CHINA, THE LAND OF DRAGONS

After miles and miles of marching, the self-proclaimed thundering herd that was the Imperial Army was finally upon their destination…

"And not a moment too soon," Chien-Po breathed in relief.

"It's always on foot!" Ling complained. "Makes you feel like some kind of horse. Am I right, Butterscotch?"

"Um…" Fluttershy wasn't sure how to respond. "That's not a bad thing, is it?"

"Much more of this and I'm gonna get blisters," Ling sighed.

"Ehhhh, shut up," Yao snapped. "We walk a few miles, and this entire troop turns into a bunch of girls." Realizing what he'd said, he quickly turned to Mulan. "Uh…no offense."

"None taken," Mulan replied, though she gave him a teasing wink. "But wasn't it you last time who brought up that all this marching made you feel like cattle?"

"Well, last time, Mr. Sunshine and Rainbows here was too distracted thinkin' about girls," Yao reminded her.

Ling hadn't been thinking about his ideal mate this time around. Since gaining Mulan as a friend, her words from the time they were recalling had ended up lodged in the back of his head: "How 'bout a girl who's got a brain; who always speaks her mind?" It hadn't changed into his number one priority, but now it felt ever so wrong just to think about that pale woman with starry eyes he'd imagined…since he'd also daydreamed her as submissive and willing to feed his ego. If he called this imaginary woman to mind, suddenly he saw Mulan there to the side, doing as she did, coming up with life-saving strategies on the fly, kicking Yao's behind at hand-to-hand sparring. All that time he'd been dreaming of his hollowed-out fantasy, he realized what a friend he might have missed out on if he'd seen Mulan as a woman in the beginning. And he knew what she thought of the men's talk about the women they wanted for wives.

Thus he cut the complication and instead joined in on the complaints of sore feet.

"You wanna see a real man?" Yao went on. "Look at Dusk Shine and the other new guys. They haven't complained once."

Twilight shrugged. "We do a lot of walking. We are travelers, after all."

Shang had been quiet for much of the trip, his mind on the city ahead. He was already running plans in his mind. The enemy naval force could really only attack from one direction: the sea. If this was in fact their next target, all the Imperial army had to do was beat them there and they would easily be able to head them off. The trouble was knowing what to look for. The way the other generals made it out, the enemy had a fleet hundreds of ships thick, but Shang still had his doubts. Reports only ever clearly described one. And it was clearly described as incredibly average. Ships came in and out of the Tong'an harbor every day in droves. They couldn't simply attack every ship that –

"You okay?"

Mulan's query broke through Shang's reverie. She walked alongside him. From the outset, Shang had decided not to ride on horseback to the battlefield (presuming there would be a battle) but instead to walk. The only horse – incidentally, Khan, as he was handy – was employed in pulling the wagon with the heavy artillery: cannons, gunpowder, spare broadswords. Shang realized protocol would dictate that he should ride above his army, but despite his rank definitely being above Mulan's, he felt uncomfortable riding while she walked. It was better, he thought, for a general to be able to walk in step with his troops anyway. It made him part of the army rather than distant from it. Though admittedly, he'd been rather mentally distant, lost in his calculations.

"I'm all right," Shang replied. "I'm just trying to figure out what we're up against. Starting with figuring out what we're looking for."

Mulan shrugged. "It can't be that hard to spot an enemy fleet…right?"

"I don't know." Shang shook his head. "The reports on the entire thing are vague. If you just look at the facts…there isn't really proof that we're looking for a fleet."

"You…think it's just one boat?" Mulan was perplexed.

"Or two or three," Shang suggested. "That would be a little more plausible. But even then, if they were smart, they'd stagger their entry into the port. They'd only come one boat at a time and hide themselves in the regular traffic of Tong'an. That would explain how they'd taken the other ports by surprise."

Mulan thought it over. "Shang…why wouldn't it make sense for it to only be one boat?"

"The level of destruction," Shang answered without missing a beat.

"Right," Mulan recalled. "You mentioned the black fire the night I showed up at the camp. But that sounds like something you could make with gunpowder. It could just be one boat loaded up with it."

"True," Shang conceded, "but the entire situation…why would only one boat go to all that trouble? It has to be the work of an enemy nation with vast resources."

"Is that what you think?" Mulan asked delicately. "Or is that what the other captains told you?"

"I…did bring up the possibility it was piracy," Shang admitted. "Every port was looted. Chi Fu didn't believe…" He stopped, giving a small smile and a slight laugh. "Far be it from me to criticize the counselors of the Emperor, but I think I figured out the hole in my own logic."

"We'll need to be on the lookout for anything suspicious," Mulan said decidedly.

"That means more possibilities that need to be planned for," Shang replied.

"Or we come up with the plan as we go," Mulan suggested. "That seems to work for me. Somehow."

"Maybe I am overthinking it," Shang admitted.

Mulan shrugged. "Can't account for everything."

A few paces behind, Fluttershy began to tremble in her armor. "I'm nervous," she admitted with a squeak.

"Why?" Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief. "Whatever's out there, we've faced worse. We've fought doom. If I remember right, Dusk Shine literally fought a guy named Doom."

"But we don't know what IS ahead," Fluttershy reminded her. "And I just have a really bad feeling!"

"If I may?" Chien-Po broke in.

"Y-yes?" Fluttershy responded.

"Entering a battlefield brings up all sorts of fears," Chien-Po explained. "It's only natural. That's why it's always been important to me to figure out how to fight that fear. Not the things that cause it, but the fear itself."

"You do seem…weirdly calm about this," Rainbow Dash observed.

"If you simply focus on breathing in and out," Chien-Po explained, "you can slowly forget about other things, like what might be ahead. Breathe slowly and think about only that. Do not worry about losing your way. The rest of the troop will guide your walking."

"All right." Fluttershy slowly inhaled, the cool intake of air becoming the core of her observation, followed by the rush of letting all of it back out only to start over.

"If only there was some way to make this fun," Pinkie Pie mused.

"War's not supposed to be fun!" Yao grunted. "It's war!"

"There must be a way we can make a game out of it," Pinkie continued, ignoring him. "Hmmmmm…"

"Hey!" Ling perked up. "I've got it!"

"Oh, NOW you've got the sunshine and rainbows," Yao groaned.

"There is a game!" Ling suggested. "When the enemy attacks, there'll probably be hundreds of 'em, with weapons! How about whoever collects the most enemy weapons wins?"

"You don't mean…!" Fluttershy's eyes widened in horror at the thought that he was suggesting mass slaughter.

"What did you think we came here to do?" Yao groaned. "Don't tell me you're a bunch of softies!"

"Actually, it takes a truly skilled warrior to disarm his enemy without killing him," Chien-Po pointed out. "Quick footwork and nimble hands can take a sword from the hands of another warrior before he even realizes what he's lost."

"I don't care how you get 'em," Ling clarified. "Just bring back as many of the bad guys' weapons as you can!"

"You're on!" Rainbow Dash cried. "I betcha I can bring back twenty swords!"

"I'm gonna have to raise that, then," Applejack laughed. "I'll bring back twenty-one!"

"Twenty-five!" Rainbow Dash amended.

Applejack was quick to follow with "Twenty-seven!"

"Thirty!" Ling chimed in.

"How are you going to carry thirty swords across the battlefield?" Chien-Po was confused.

"I'll find someplace to stash 'em!" Ling explained. "That's a rule, too. No picking them up off the ground or taking them from another guy's stash!"

"Deal!" Rainbow Dash and Applejack affirmed.

"Then I'm gonna pile up fifty of 'em," Yao announced.

"That's assuming there even will be a battle," Twilight pointed out. "This is kind of us playing a hunch. I agree this was the right place to start based on logic, but this might not even be where the enemy docks at all. We might just end up sitting around waiting for an army that won't come."

"What do you think?" Chien-Po asked Twilight.

"I just said," Twilight repeated. "Based on logic – "

"But do you feel as though we are in the right place?" Chien-Po clarified. "Butterscotch said he feels as if something bad is ahead. I have to admit there is a strange instinct bothering me as well. What about you?"
Twilight looked ahead to where the army was entering the city limits. "It's just a feeling," she answered, "but I think we're in for something big, all right."

...

Bao's horse and cart pulled in toward Tong'an from a southern road. "We're here," Bao announced unenthusiastically.

Min had fallen asleep during the journey, leaning in on Lim and using her shoulder as a pillow. "Hey!" Lim barked, shrugging that shoulder to jerk Min's head. "We're at the place, and Rarity's probably gonna leave!"

"WHA!" Min was startled awake. It took her a few seconds to get her bearings and remember why she was waking up in a horse-drawn cart instead of her bed. When she'd fully become aware of her surroundings, she cleared her throat and used her fingers to smooth out her hair. "Sorry. So…this is where you get off?"

Rarity scanned the horizon, taking in the sight of the well-structured town, the shining sea next to it, and the crowd of people approaching from the west: an orderly group, marching almost in step, with great red and gold banners displaying the Imperial standard. Somewhere in that group, Rarity knew, were Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Mulan. "Yes," she confirmed. "This is my stop."

Once the wagon had reached the inside of the town limits, Rarity looked first to Spike, then to Min and Lim, then to Bao. "What will you do after this?" she asked.

"Don't know, don't care," Bao replied.

"…You know, one of my friends has a joke about that," Rarity remarked. "Something to do with words."

"Ignorance and apathy?" Spike offered. "That's all I remember."

"We just know what we're looking for," Lim reminded her. "Not where we're gonna find it."

"Well…if I may make a suggestion," Rarity brought up, "you're all quite good with bows. The reason I came here today…well…it's to help out the Imperial army."

"The ARMY?" Lim was flabbergasted. "Are you nuts? They'll stab you!"

"They let Mulan back in…" Min recalled. "They didn't stab her…"

"You can't just…be women and waltz up to the Imperial army!" Lim continued to gush.

"Well, it's what I plan to do…in a roundabout way," Rarity clarified. "I plan to go in from the shadows. So as not to get thrown out at first sight, of course. Whatever this threat is that's attacking the ports, I simply MUST give my all to stop it."

Min nodded. "I understand. I think if I were just a bit braver…I might feel the same."

Lim just continued to stare at Rarity with her face frozen in an expression of shock. Bao contributed an unreadable, blank expression.

"I realize this is asking a lot," Rarity went on, "but as you all are skilled with your weaponry to at least a degree – "

"Well, Min and I are," Bao interrupted.

"SHUT it!" Lim snapped.

"Would you want to help me?" Rarity asked.

There was silence at first. Then Lim cried, "Are you CRAZY? NO! Didn't you hear what I said?"

"I'm not a fan of the idea either," Bao added.

"I…" Min sheepishly looked to the wagon floor. "I know you have to do this, but it's…war. It's too much for me. I think I can say it's too much for all three of us. It's a big risk. We're okay with bows…but not great. I don't think I could really help you until I got a lot better. And braver."

"We're kind of interested in SURVIVING this journey," Lim insisted.

Rarity nodded. "I understand. I figured it was rather a long shot, but still, I felt there was no harm in asking. I suppose this is where we all say goodbye, then."

"So you're just gonna run into a war zone and hope you don't die," Lim recapitulated.

"She's not gonna die!" Spike insisted. "Rarity's really good at standing up against bad guys! And besides." He grinned proudly. "She's got me for her guardian! I'm not gonna let her down!"

"Good luck," Min told Rarity. "I don't know if my ancestors or guardians will even listen to me anymore…but I'll pray to them for you."

"Thanks, by the way," Lim added. "For helping us out back in town."

"No, it's all of you that I need to thank," Rarity insisted. "For getting me out this far."

"I kinda hate that you have to leave." Bao shrugged. "But you've got to do what you've got to do, I guess."

"In that case…goodbye," Rarity said, standing to get out of the cart. "I hope you all find what you're looking for."

"We'll miss you!" Min replied.

"Yeah!" Lim added. "And so will Bao, even though she's not gonna say it."

Bao just gave a grunt.

Rarity and Spike touched ground. "Well, Spike?" Rarity asked. "Shall we?"
"Let's go for it!" Spike cried, pumping a fist.

The two took off running, and once Rarity figured they were a safe distance away from the cart, she let her bow materialize in her hand.

Min, Lim, and Bao watched the duo go. "How in the WORLD does she think she's gonna hold up in a fight?" Lim asked in exasperation.

Rarity's timing was ever so slightly off. All three of them glimpsed the magnificent weapon suddenly appearing out of nowhere before Rarity turned the corner out of sight, Spike in tow.

"Did…anyone else see that?" Bao blinked rapidly and tilted her head in confusion.

"Did she have that with her the whole time?" Min wondered out loud. "It looked a lot fancier than our bows. You know…I'm wondering if there's some bigger story about Rarity and her travels that we didn't suspect."

"I dunno," Lim replied. "I think that was as weird as you two do, but if there really is gonna be a face-off here, we'd better get out of dodge as fast as possible."

"Right." Bao steered the horse around. "Next stop…not here."

The wagon rolled away from the town, toward a web of new roads and new possibilities.

...

Seaborne traffic was heavy going in and out of Tong'an that day, as it was many days. Since the other ports' docks had been wrecked, those remaining now saw extra business and crowding. As the Riptide neared the shore, it was clear to all aboard that sneaking in would be child's play. One vessel would hardly be noticed among the imports and exports.

The crew gathered on deck to await Shan-Yu's orders. "I want you to disperse in the town," the captain demanded. "Don't let them know you're here until it's too late. As for Qiang, Masaru, and Trai, I want you to take the little project we've been working on and bring it to the heart of the city. You know what to do when you get there."

"Captain Shan-Yu…sir!" Trai responded. "Qiang, Masaru, and I have a concern."

Shan-Yu's voice immediately filled with contempt as he parroted, "A concern?"
"Will there be enough time for the three of us to get back to the Riptide alive?" Trai asked.

"You don't have enough faith in my magic," Shan-Yu told him. "It almost hurts to hear that, Trai. I've built in a failsafe. You will have more than enough time."

As the ship drew closer, a view into one of the town squares through the streets showed the banners of the Imperial standard held up high. That only amused Shan-Yu. "So the Emperor finally sent a welcoming party," he remarked. "That should make things interesting."

...

The Imperial army's arrival in town was not an incident that went without notice. Civilians crowded in from every street and alley, surrounding the soldiers as they halted in the largest square in the center of town. This crowd made it easy for Rarity and Spike to slip in on the sidelines and watch.

When he'd taken his place and was sure he had the attention of all watching, Shang began his proclamation, hoping that the brave face he put on would sufficiently hide the rapidly beating heart in his chest. Bearing bad news was a burden; at least unlike in Tung Shao, the city was still standing. "People of Tong'an!" he called out. "We've come as a protective measure in response to the attacks that have been made on the other port cities. No threat has been made on Tong'an, but we have reason to believe it is a target."

To the people, this was hardly news. Tong'an had conducted business as usual as best it could, especially given the influx from the ships that couldn't dock at the attacked ports, but there was fear in the hearts of everyone. Many had even moved, believing there was no safety at a port. To hear Shang say that an attack was highly probable was a confirmation of a fear that could otherwise have been washed away, but in the majority opinion, it was actually far more comforting to know that the military was stepping in.

Shang's next statement was issued both to the civilians and to the soldiers. "We'll disperse throughout the town. Any disturbance we cause will be as minimal as possible. We're not looking to disrupt Tong'an: just to intercept any enemy forces."

In the crowd, one man turned to another. "Now?" he asked.

Itsuki grinned. "Now."

They leaped down from rooftops; they surged in from streets. All gave their battle cries, weapons drawn – swords and axes, bludgeons and bladed fans. Though they wore no uniform, it was easy to see they belonged to the same group, for they were clad in clothing that might have been finery, the fruits of their looting. However, the expensive embroidered fabrics were torn and smudged from the use they'd seen in battle.

"AMBUSH!" Rainbow Dash cried in horror.

The crew of the Riptide charged right for the soldiers, hoping to catch them off guard. The civilians present ran in the opposite direction, screaming and shoving so as not to be caught in the crossfire. Almost in synchrony, the blades of the Imperial soldiers were unsheathed in order to clash with the weaponry of the invaders.

Shang's sword clanged against a sword of almost equal make, and as he stared down his opponent, he noted the odd dress. Either this army was in a very strange disguise or it was no true army at all.

He hardly had time to contemplate it. Another surge of screams was heard from closer to the sea, as was a loud BOOM. Caught off guard, Shang faltered, letting his blade slip to the wrong spot, leaving his shoulder unprotected. His opponent went in for a blow.

Before the enemy blade's metal could kiss flesh, the pirate was suddenly stunned by a projectile. A few more hit him, and then he slumped to the ground, knocked out. Shang, taken aback, had thought the man was punctured by arrows, but upon closer inspection, there was no evidence that any weapon of that sort had hit his body. No arrows lay about, either on the ground or embedded in him, and he suffered no wounds. Had he taken longer to examine, he would also have noticed that the man was not dead, but merely unconscious.

Hidden in her vantage point in the alley, Rarity aimed her next round of arrows at the man dueling Mulan, taking him out as well. Another set of crystalline arrows felled Rainbow Dash's opponent.

When the twin-hook-bearing pirate Rainbow Dash had been engaged in a lively duel with suddenly collapsed, she had a feeling she knew what had happened. Either Fluttershy had somehow activated her Mahou Shoujo powers in the span of a split second, or Rarity had arrived and was watching from somewhere. However, she had little time to seek Rarity out. Having heard the disturbance from the coast, she wanted to get a closer look at it.

Running for the main street as fast as she could, she found herself flanked by Mulan and Shang. "You two had the same idea?" she called out to them.

"That ambush had to be a diversion," Shang replied, somewhat breathlessly. "They're keeping us away from whatever's at the docks!"

"I don't know what's over there," Mulan added, "but it's…" A flicker caught her eye. "Oh."

At the end of the street, all three glimpsed it. Mushu, when he wriggled into sight and settled in on Mulan's shoulder, had the fourth pair of eyes to see it. Jet black flame.

"The black fire!" Shang identified.

"Let's go check it out!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

None had any concern that those they left behind in the square would have any trouble dealing with the ambush. They knew all to be capable fighters.

Seeing Rainbow Dash, Mulan, and Shang take off for the docks made Rarity rethink her strategy. She lowered her bow.

"What's wrong?" Spike asked in a panic. "Why aren't you HELPING them?"

"Because my help might be needed even more somewhere else!" Rarity replied, somewhat flustered, as she turned on a heel and ran down an alternate route to the docks.

"HEY!" Spike scurried to catch up. "Where are we going?"

"To whatever's causing such a panic over there!" Rarity told him. "What if that ambush was to distract our friends from the REAL threat? Besides, Rainbow Dash would only charge headfirst at THE most dangerous thing on the field, and I get the impression Mulan is the same way. Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Applejack can handle those others without us. But we've GOT to know what we're up against!"

The twisting side streets opened up to a vista of the docks; from there, Rarity halted, keeping between the tall buildings to once again have a hidden vantage point. From there, she had a clear view of Rainbow Dash, Mulan, and Shang bursting from the city line over a clear expanse leading down to the docks, all three halting as soon as they beheld the scene. Rainbow Dash looked taken aback, but Mulan, Shang, and Mushu looked downright horrified. Black flame roared up from the docks and most of the ships moored at them; the crews and captains were jumping ship, trying to land safely in the water while their vessels burned. Piles of crates and barrels were also aflame. It was loot the pirates would never see, but it had been done to prove a point.

And at the center of it all was a man. He stood with his back to the ocean, the flames framing him. Rarity, Spike, and Rainbow Dash already knew he was responsible for the fires, and that somehow, he was of a higher caliber than the pirates in the square. Mulan, Shang, and Mushu, however, knew even more, and the sight of this man hit them like a brick wall.

"No…" Shang muttered. "It can't be…"

"He was dead," Mulan added. "I made sure…he was blown up by a hundred fireworks. He was dead!"

"He was WHAT?" Rainbow Dash cried, now beginning to feel the horror.

"Somebody musta pulled a resurrection on us!" Mushu realized. "Oh, this is NOT GOOD!"

Shan-Yu flinched momentarily at the sight of who had come to greet him. Then, once it sank in, he laughed. Of all the soldiers the Emperor had ever recruited, these two, along with their invasive little guardian dragon, seemed to be his fate. He threw back his head, his guffaw reaching the heavens, before he calmed himself. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" he greeted. "I suppose you don't know what you put me through. Dying is painful, and what comes afterward might even be worse. There's no way you can really imagine it. But since we have such a history together, I'll be more than happy to show you how it feels for yourselves."

...

Rarity had taken a southern set of roads in order to reach the docks. During all the commotion, Qiang, Masaru, and Trai passed by unnoticed on a northern route, winding through narrow streets and back alleys. Between the three of them, they rolled an enormous sphere, as tall as any of them, with a skin of paper. As it rolled, it thudded ominously on the ground, betraying that its contents were not a unified mass.

It was destined for the depths of Tong'an, and that was where the trio dutifully took it.

...

Fluttershy's teeth were clenched hard together as her sword clashed with that of her opponent. Too many times already, she'd nearly slipped. It was only barely that she was able to parry all of the blows fired at her.

She realized that in an emergency, she could bring out magic. Better cover blown than dead, and if she were seen, she would say that it was something exclusive to her that the others didn't know about. However, she was determined to hold out as long as she could without switching her weapon out for the katana.

Maybe what it required was focus. Not on her breath but on the swords. By keeping her eye trained on the enemy blade, she was able to predict its trajectory. But stopping it wouldn't be enough. She needed this man legitimately disarmed.

So when next the blades clashed, Fluttershy pressed her blade against her opponent's, taking the offensive. He knew that if he removed his blade from the fight she was putting up, her own sword would be on a direct path toward him, and unlike her, he didn't have any armor whatsoever.

Running out of ideas, Fluttershy ran on impulse and stomped on the man's toe.

That caused him to flinch, and his sword hand went wild. The sword was out of the way, and Fluttershy's blade was then pointed directly at him.

This was her chance. She dealt him the coldest stare she had. "Drop your weapon," she ordered. "NOW!"

His blood ran cold at the sight of her gaze. Her eyes had transformed from shining, soft, and vulnerable to steely and intimidating. His hand opened; the sword crashed to the stones of the street.

Fluttershy quickly ducked to pick it up. Her opponent beat her to the punch, grabbing her around the waist. She pulled him fully into a roll, throwing all her weight into it. As they rolled, she directed them so that he crashed right into a barrel. His grip loosened; Fluttershy stood, ready for battle again, only to find that the blow to the barrel had fully knocked the man out.

"And I'm NOT sorry," she huffed.

Another crewman of the Riptide, his hands outfitted with bagh naka, slashed the claws outward at Ling repeatedly. The Imperial soldier thought nothing of it until the pirate's quick handiwork dislocated the breastplate of his armor, leaving only a layer of fabric between his skin and open air. To avoid having his flesh rent, Ling danced backward in a panic, giving a squeak every time he dodged a blow from the bagh naka. Eventually, he was backed up against a barrel of his own, falling backward over it and hitting the ground hard.

The pirate hoisted the bagh naka, his most prized theft from one of the further away coasts the Riptide had plundered, high above his head, intending to bring both hands down at once for the killing blow.

Ling jammed both feet into the side of the barrel, and the barrel knocked hard into his enemy, sending that man to the ground. Quicker than lightning, Ling was on his feet again, swiping both of the bagh naka off the pirate's hands.

"You're gonna give those BACK!" the man seethed.

Ling fitted the tiger claws over his own fingers. "Oh…AM I?" he challenged, striking several poses that were more dramatic than actually useful in combat.

Gritting his teeth, the weapon's previous owner decided to cut his losses and run. A few more minutes and they'd all be dispersing anyway. Armed or not, he needed these soldiers to chase him.

Ling opted not to for the moment. "And that's one," he tallied, admiring the bagh naka.

Pinkie Pie's foe rushed her with a curved shortsword. The shortsword-bearer was almost immediately confused by this "Bubble Berry." When he thought he'd found an opening to jam the sword into Pinkie Pie's body, she almost seemed to contort just out of the way. The pirate was fast, but somehow, she was able to sense his every move; he'd put her Pinkie Sense into overdrive.

"You wouldn't be interested in letting me borrow that weapon so I could win a game, would you?" she asked outright.

"Wha – NO!" her opponent cried, slashing again with the sword.

She blocked it with her own blade. "Didn't think so," she remarked.

She took a step toward him as the swords connected again; he backed off slightly. He rushed; she sidestepped. "You know," Pinkie observed after a few more rounds of this, "you seem like a really good dancer."

"This is not DANCING!" Her opponent stamped a foot in frustration. Once more the sword was thrust at her.

And once more she parried it. "I know that, silly!" she laughed.

"What kind of warrior ARE YOU?" her opponent cried in frustration. His moment of disbelief was just enough for him to miss one critical swipe of his blade.

With a screech of "EEEEEEE-YAAAAAAH!", Pinkie Pie dealt a swift kick to his stomach that sent him falling over backward. He lost his grip on the shortsword, which went flying into the air; Pinkie caught it in her free hand. "Apparently I'm the kind who dual wields now!" she laughed, readying both her official sword and her newly acquired weapon.

Her enemy, like Ling's, got up and ran upon seeing this.

"Maybe I can wield even MORE!" Pinkie cried happily.

If Chien-Po had any doubts about going up against his own opponent, a man brandishing a bladed fan, he didn't let them show. His face displayed its usual serenity as he smacked the fan blade with that of his sword. His foe, however, was caught completely off guard when Chien-Po suddenly brought forth his bare hand instead of his weapon. The edge of the Imperial soldier's hand hit up against the pirate's wrist just so, and the latter's fingers suddenly lost control of the fan, which was dropped.

Chien-Po then sheathed his sword. The act nearly made his foe laugh until Chien-Po's foot connected with each of his knees in turn in such a way that the pirate lost balance, dropping to his knees in the street. The edge of Chien-Po's hand struck one more time, at the back of the pirate's neck, sending the man sprawling across the street as Chien-Po thoughtfully picked up his weapon, wondering if he should participate in the enemy weapons collection game.

Applejack found herself up against a dual wielder of swords, having to engage in a dance of her own to avoid being sliced by the whirling blades. She stumbled, brought to her knees.

The man who'd engaged her in combat mistook the action, thinking he'd hit her in some way. "You're FINISHED!" he yelled, twirling both swords to bring them down.

Applejack's hands quickly snapped upward; she let her own sword fall while she grabbed the wrists of her opponent. Her bare strength alone was such that she was able to shakily hold his hands and therefore weapons away from her body.

In a sudden panic, the man tried to back off, but Applejack held tight to his wrists. He leapt backward; she skidded along with him. Finally, he let go of the swords, dropping them. "I give up!" he cried, running off into the depths of the town.

"Double points!" Applejack cried happily, looking at the two weapons that had fallen before her. "That was easy!"

Doubt began to creep in as she watched the man run away from her. She could see him drawing yet another blade, a shorter sword, from his belt as he charged out of the fray. "Or was it…too easy?" she wondered out loud.

Yao wasn't finding much use for his sword either. An axe-wielding pirate came running at him; he deftly dodged the first blow and slammed his meaty fist into the man's face. Down went the Riptide crewman; his axe was thrown into a nearby barrel that was already accumulating a fair collection of weapons from Yao's wins. "Nothin' to it," Yao muttered proudly.

Twilight and Itsuki were locked in the most fast-paced fight of them all, one sword against one sword. Every blow Itsuki made was easily countered, but any attack Twilight tried to deal back to him was stymied in return.

"You're no ordinary soldier, are you?" Itsuki taunted.

"What are you getting at?" Twilight asked without losing a beat.

"You're skilled," he commented. "I suppose you aren't giving up until you win."

"I'm not giving up until Tong'an is safe from you," Twilight replied.

"Then you won't want me wantonly running through the streets, grabbing what valuables I can and attacking innocents, do you?" Itsuki challenged.

"What are you TALKING about?" Twilight cried in confusion.

"You want me?" Itsuki taunted. "Come and FIND ME!"

He turned tail and ran: a move Twilight wasn't expecting. A quick glance around the battlefield revealed to her that many of the ambushers were taking the same route: running away either after a simple victory from the opposing side or ditching a battle at its height. They were dispersing into the town; Twilight surmised it was to do as much damage as they could unimpeded and grab the valuables within reach.

With Shang so far away, she realized, orders fell to the team strategist. There was no second in command, so someone would have to step up and become one.

"AFTER THEM!" she commanded.

Fluttershy, Ling, Pinkie, Chien-Po, Applejack, Yao, Twilight, and the other soldiers gave chase after the retreating Riptide crew.

...

Shan-Yu thrust his hand outward, point blank, at Mulan. A jet of pure Darkness burst from his palm, rocketing toward her.

Mulan was taken off guard by this. She leapt in desperation; she was aware of a strange sensation – not a heat at all, but this sense of an emptiness that pulled – passing just behind her back. The Dark magic collided with the nearest wall, which then burst into flame.

"The black fire," Shang realized in awe.

Shan-Yu had broken out into a grin.

Shang charged, sword drawn. Shan-Yu raised his own blade, and the two clashed. However, Shan-Yu was continually gaining a visible aura of Darkness, one that radiated from the outline of his body as though he, too, were on fire. His sword hand was focused on blocking every blow Shang could deal him. His other hand, however, was crackling with the black energy, and as soon as there was an opening, he dealt a punch to Shang's side.

Shang was thrown to the ground, curling up as a reflex. It felt as though he'd been struck by a cannonball.

Mulan was quick to pick up the slack. Though she fretted upon seeing Shang fall, she knew that to leave Shan-Yu unattended would be foolish. She slashed out at her enemy once, twice, both times blocked by his sword; then she sidestepped, expecting his eventual punch.

"So you learn fast," he remarked. "Though not enough to actually prove why you'll succeed where he failed."

All Mulan knew was that she had to try, at least.

Shan-Yu waited patiently, matching her blow for blow, seeking an opening. Then a sensation like a massive electric jolt hit him from behind, causing him to roar in pain. Mulan struck out at him during his moment of weakness; he regained his wits just long enough to grab her by the upper arms and toss her aside so that he could turn and look at who had electrocuted him.

While Mulan had kept Shan-Yu busy, Rainbow Dash had snuck around behind him, getting between him and the waters. Her standard broadsword was sheathed, and in her hand was the massive sword Kyubey had granted her. "You wanna bring magic into this?" she called out. "Then we're bringin' magic into this!"

"Blitz!" Mulan cried, stunned that Rainbow Dash had brought out her otherworldly weapon.

"Take care of Shang!" Rainbow Dash ordered her. "I got this!"

Mulan immediately ran to Shang, kneeling over him. "Are you okay?" she asked in a panic.

Shang forced himself to uncurl, to prop himself up and look at the battlefield. "I'm fine," he answered. "But what…" His gaze turned to where Rainbow Dash had taken the field, and he had a lot of difficulty reconciling what he was seeing.

Rainbow Dash struck out with her sword, and a rainbow wave swept off the blade's edge, washing over Shan-Yu. She repeated the action twice more.

Three times Shan-Yu stumbled, but he did not fall. "Energy depletion," he remarked. "It might have worked on someone less powerful." He threw another ball of Darkness at Rainbow Dash.

She was surrounded by a whirling cyclone that caught the Dark energy up in its winds and dispersed it into the air. "That was almost too close," she breathed. "Okay…now try THIS on for size!" The next swing of the sword brought with it a thread of lightning that crackled through the air toward Rainbow Dash's opponent.

Shan-Yu sidestepped it, running full speed at Rainbow Dash. "Full speed" while brimming with darkness was faster than she expected. It seemed he was swinging his sword faster than any human being or pony should be able to. Rainbow Dash was barely able to keep up, blocking his strikes again and again.

"He…was just playing with us," Shang realized as he shakily got to his feet.

"We have to help her!" Mulan cried, getting ready to charge at Shan-Yu's undefended back.

The arrow struck him first.

A well-placed kick sent Rainbow Dash flying backward with a yell of surprise until she hit the shallows of the ocean with a splash. Another arrow came sailing toward Shan-Yu, and he spun and caught it in midair, fingers curling around it. It dissipated into sparks in his hand. Another energy draining attack. It still had a minimal effect, but dealing with two magic users who had that ability was potentially problematic.

Mulan and Shang set up to rush him in unison; Shan-Yu slammed the edge of his sword into the ground, causing a shockwave of Darkness to cleave between the pair and throw them to either side. His eyes were fully focused on the alley from where he was certain the arrow had been fired.

"Rarity," Spike said in a panic, "I think he sees us!"

"Oh dear," Rarity squeaked.

She let loose arrow after arrow as Shan-Yu came toward her, blade angled to slash her diagonally. With horror, she realized that it had little to no effect. She had to play the most powerful card in her deck in order to survive. In a twinkle, her clothing was replaced by the pink of the Mahou Shoujo; she drew the bowstring back, and a hundred arrows came with it in the air.

Shan-Yu recognized a powerful magical attack at once. Rather than keep charging directly into it, he halted, focusing all his energy on forming the Darkness into a sphere that enclosed him.

The Diamond Rain pelted the sphere, projectile after projectile bursting against the dark wall. In the midst of it, Spike, overtaken by confidence, felt the need to add a finishing blow of his own. As the arrows finally subsided, Spike jumped out in front of the large ball of Darkness and breathed a substantial jet of green flame at it.

When Spike next drew breath, the sphere came down, revealing Shan-Yu to be unharmed, protected by the strength of his own magic and bearing a wolfish grin.

"But…but that's impossible," Rarity babbled as her clothing reverted to black and white. "That attack's power – "

"Was nothing." Shan-Yu felt the Darkness surging within him stronger than before; it seemed as though the more he used it, the more potent it became.

Rainbow Dash was back on her feet that time and sorely wishing she'd studied more of the light magic spells that Twilight had been so fascinated with. A good dose of Verdimillious or Holy might put Shan-Yu in his place, but at best, what Rainbow Dash had in that field was Lumos, and a night-light was hardly the weapon to wield. She briefly considered unleashing her own final attack. After all, Shan-Yu at the least was rendered unable to move while focusing on his defenses. But it would also have about as much chance of success as Rarity's arrows…and if Rainbow Dash wasn't sure it would do any good, she ran the risk of her armor suddenly melting into a very effeminate outfit that would give away her identity for certain. Was that one of the catches Kyubey had known about and written into the Mahou Shoujo contract? Rainbow Dash was concerned with getting as far as she could without her identity being known.

She was also concerned with not letting Shan-Yu get to Rarity.

So she jumped on his back out of desperation.

Shan-Yu threw Rainbow Dash off, and Rarity took the opportunity to kick him in the stomach. He grasped her ankle, throwing her aside, hard against the wall; she felt the air leave her lungs momentarily. Soon after, Shang made a leap, sword held high, in hopes of skewering Shan-Yu with it; his opponent first dodged the attack, then kicked Shang aside. Shan-Yu spun so that his blade met with Mulan's; he had expected she would try something. Their swords crashed together long enough for Rarity to regain her bearings and breath. When Mulan lost her footing and was punched aside, Rarity was ready to run at their common enemy again, swinging a fist. The fist was caught and clenched in Shan-Yu's palm, and he was fairly certain he could crush Rarity's hand simply by squeezing his fingers, but a blast of lightning from Rainbow Dash caught him off guard, and he stumbled forward, letting go of Rarity.

Shan-Yu allowed himself one intentional moment of vulnerability. As he raised his sword high into the air, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Mulan, Shang, Spike, and Mushu were all baffled as to what he was doing. From the sword, ten blasts of Darkness rocketed upward into the sky in succession: a signal flare.

Not one to take opportunity for granted, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Mulan and Shang all ran toward Shan-Yu at once to strike while he was vulnerable.

The moment his flare was done, they were upon him, and he had to rely on quick reflexes, augmented by darkness, in order to parry three simultaneous blades and a striking pair of fists.

...

Spread throughout Tong'an, the fights continued.

Yao tossed another enemy sword into a barrel.

Pinkie Pie snuck up on one of the pirates from behind, which he didn't fully understand, as she'd been right in front of his eyes two seconds ago. Then she knocked him out.

Applejack caught one of them emptying the wares of a jewelry shop into his bag. After besting him in a duel, she dumped the stolen pearls back on the counter.

Chien-Po gently rested another unconscious enemy on the side of the road so he wouldn't be trampled by anyone who came along next.

Ling was arguably having too much fun wielding bagh naka.

Fluttershy kicked her next opponent in the face.

Twilight and Itsuki faced off once more, each trying desperately to get the upper hand over the other.

Then the sound of the signal flare echoed throughout the city: BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. Anyone with eyes toward the coast would have seen the bursts of Darkness rocketing into the air like fireworks.

At the signal, any of the Riptide crew still conscious and not named "Qiang," "Masaru," or "Trai" turned on a heel and charged toward the coast, much to the surprise of their opponents.

"You're RETREATING?" Twilight called after the running Itsuki.

He didn't reply in words. Instead, when he turned back to look at her briefly, the grin on his face unsettled her deeply. She gave chase, and a ball of negative energy began to wind up in her gut. Something was wrong.

...

"That's the signal," Trai noted.

"All right." Masaru took a deep breath. "On sixty. One…two…three…"

...

Shan-Yu had been able to fend off Mulan, Shang, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity with some difficulty. His blade quickly rocketed from opponent to opponent, slamming into the ground to produce another shockwave of Darkness that knocked them all back.

As the quartet readied for another round, they were suddenly aware of the rest of the crew charging up behind them with swords drawn.

...

"You're sure we're gonna be all right?" Qiang asked skeptically.

"The captain said we'd have enough time to run," Trai reminded him. "We have to trust him."

"Twenty-nine," Masaru counted. "Thirty. Thirty-one…"

...

Itsuki attempted a stab at Mulan, who blocked it easily. While he was disappointed that he didn't get to make a final kill on the way, he remembered his priority. He and the others ran on past their opponents, toward the ship.

Hot on their heels came Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Yao, Ling, Chien-Po, and several other members of the Imperial army.

...

"Forty five…"

...

Shan-Yu then turned tail and ran as well. All of the Riptide's crew was soon aboard the ship, and said ship was launching out to sea.

"I never figured Shan-Yu for a coward!" Shang remarked.

...

"Fifty-nine…sixty."

Masaru struck a flint next to a length of rope that trailed from the papery sphere. This rope connected to the interior, which had been packed full of fireworks and gunpowder collected during various raids. All was glued together with a helping of Darkness.

Once the fuse was lit, Masaru, Qiang, and Trai figured they had until it burned out to get out of the premises. And even then, they'd been promised that the Darkness inside would have a delayed reaction, allowing them to run to safety.

They'd been lied to.

The fuse burned down immediately, and when the bomb went off, Tong'an was rocked.

The bodies of Qiang, Masaru, and Trai crumbled, incinerated and cracked until they were little more than fragments on the ground.

...

"AFTER THEM!" Twilight yelled, pointing out to the ship.

The shockwave caught her in the back, knocking her to the sand of the beach. Her last conscious thought was to wonder what in the world had just happened.

From the viewpoint of the Riptide, the shockwave was visible as an aura of Darkness that boomed out toward the coast. Those on the beach had just caught the edge of it; it had sent them flying and tumbling, knocking them out.

The wave was powerful enough to push the Riptide the rest of the way out to sea. Shan-Yu looked back upon Tong'an, where he could already see flames both light and dark erupting from the heart of the city.

He really had Mulan to thank for the idea, he reflected. If she hadn't chosen fireworks as her method of killing him, he might not have realized how much damage they could do when stacked atop each other outside a safe area like the Emperor's tower.

Looking back at the port, he snapped his fingers. "Boom."

...

Chapter 103:

· The trigger warning is for bombing.

· That being said, to address the elephant in the room: my rationale for going that direction was exactly as I had Shan-Yu spell it out. I didn't just want to eliminate fireworks as a method of killing him again; I wanted him to actually turn it around and use it back on the people who offed him.

· As usual, my OCs die. Anyone with a name who wasn't my OC survived. We'll go over the casualty toll next chapter.

· Itsuki is strangely growing on me, though. He developed a bit of a sassy mouth when I put him against Twilight. And as I'm coming to realize just how much Twilight out of all of them means to me on several levels, I recognize that pitting an adversary behind her is a big deal (that's how she got her primary love interest, after all), so Itsuki is thereby a big deal. I'm trying to decide if I want to bring him back next time we see this world. Originally, the Riptide was going to be left behind after this, but Itsuki is stickin' with me.

· The entire beginning of this chapter was callbacks to "A Girl Worth Fighting For." I was originally going to try and do that song again and have Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, AJ, and RD sing about traits they want in their lovers, which would be hints at the endgames I currently have planned for them all. The song was cut because first of all, I already USED two of them, and second of all, I wanted to demonstrate that Mulan changed the perspectives of the guys who sang it the first time.

· I still have to figure out an exact plan for Lim, Min, and Bao.

· My fetish with premodern weaponry knows no bounds. Bagh naka are actually Indian weapons, and I didn't imagine anyone on the Riptide as coming from India (though that's not to say there COULDN'T be anyone Indian – I just picked the names based on nations around the East China Sea, but plenty more go unnamed). I would think that the Riptide probably hit up the Indian coast for robbery once upon a time, though.

· Writing a four on one duel is really hard when the four are supposed to lose and two of the four have magical augments. However, take this as yet another sign of just exactly what it means for your power level to be associated with Maleficent.

· Shan-Yu's final word of "Boom" is blatantly stolen from that scene of Sylar in Heroes. I haven't even seen Heroes; I just have friends who watch it and have taught me the basics of Sylar (shout-outs to Manwhoooo and GAvillain). I tried for a bit to figure out something more original for him to say, but in the end, it was just what he would SAY.