"Hey, get back here!"

Twilight half-turned to peer over her shoulder, an uprooted weed still dangling from her mouth. She raised an eyebrow, watching Rainbow Dash dance between the trees, chasing a bright blue blur between the branches.

"You're gonna take this medicine whether you like it or not!" Rainbow Dash increased her speed, Twilight looking on incredulously as the two shapes blurred into a stream of color encircling a pair of trees at the edge of the garden.

Taking a brief moment to spit out the dead plant in her mouth—it was a daffodil, though it tasted oddly of onion—Twilight sat back on her haunches and watched the two shapes increase their speed, the trees rustling in their wake, before the second one slammed right into the trunk of a wide, old oak.

Twilight winced, a phantom pain flashing across her spine as she watched Dash slowly slide to the ground. Dash's hooves were outstretched, and her torso stuck against the trunk. With a final, punctuated grunt, she dropped to the floor of the garden, inconveniently crushing a whole crop of plants beneath her.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight said, frowning and standing back up. "You're not supposed to damage Fluttershy's carrot crop!"

Dash didn't appear to hear, though. Instead, she tapped a hoof against her ear, her eyes swirling, before refocusing her vision and snarling up at the other blue shape perched high in the treetops. Above her, a bright, cerulean-feathered toucan gave a whooping cry that may have been a laugh; Dash snarled in return.

"Ow..." she moaned. "My head..." A small vial plopped to the ground beside her, tumbling from the grasp of her wing. Twilight watched the amber liquid within swirl gently as the container rolled across the ground.

"I guess he didn't want to take his medicine?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Ugh—no." Dash scowled up at the toucan, who was strutting back and forth while flapping his wings. She growled, and he jumped up and down on the branch, letting a cloud of walnuts crash onto her head. She let out a high-pitched yelp and toppled back onto the ground.  

"Mr. Toucan!" Twilight trotted up to the tree and frowned up at the bird. "Fluttershy told us to give you your medicine while she ran her errands, and we're going to make sure that you take it!"

The bird shook his head, ruffling his colorful plumage at her.

"But you need to take it! It's good for you!"

If Twilight didn't know better, she would have sworn that the toucan had just stuck his tongue out and blown her a wet-looking raspberry. She huffed. Time to bring out the big guns.

"Well, if you don't take it, then Fluttershy will be hearing about this!"

The garden went quiet. Songbirds that had been chirping in the canopy stopped singing. A strike team of bunnies that had been sneaking toward the carrot patch froze in place, their beady eyes held wide open. Behind the garden shed, a hulking bear poked his head out, an expression of pure dismay and horror on his face.

In no time at all, a bright blue blur had manifested itself by Twilight's front hooves. She looked down at the toucan with an evil smirk. It flapped its wings agitatedly, fidgeting on the ground. "There we go."

With a bright purple aura surrounding her horn, Twilight levitated the small vial toward her, the amber liquid within sloshing gently as it moved through the air. She split her telekinetic spell into two parts and gave a short, sharp, tug.

With a yelp, Rainbow Dash came tumbling down from the trees. She landed face-first, in an impressive faceplant that would have earned her a golden medal at the Equestrian Games. Stars swirled in Dash's eyes as she teetered back and forth. As Twilight uncorked the vial and tilted its contents forward into the terrified toucan's open mouth, Dash did her best to struggle back to her hooves.

"Ugh." She glared at the toucan, who was now swilling the medicine around in his beak whilst giving her the most innocent look his avian face could manage. "I hate that thing."

"What—do you need medicine, too?" Twilight quirked an eyebrow at her friend.

"Hump." Dash stuck out her tongue. Twilight did her best to avoid the splatter of the following raspberry. "I think it doesn't like me either."

The toucan would have returned the gesture, had it not been to busy doing its best to ignore the—assumedly foul—taste of the medicine still held within its beak. Raising the other eyebrow—by now, the first was straining far above her forehead—Twilight gave the bird a meaningful glare until it swallowed. Its beady eyes went cross-eyed at the undoubtedly bitter taste, its bright blue plumage flashing a bright red, purple, and yellow before finally settling onto a sickly green.

As the toucan flapped weakly off to relieve its stomach in some corner of the garden—a task that would be likely impossible, as the medicine had been intended to stop the many stomach issues that the avian population had been suffering—Dash flew up to Twilight's side, the former's wings keeping her afloat as she did her best to clear her head. At least, that's what Twilight assumed the repeated smacks to her forehead were for, though with Dash's many "athletic training courses," one could never be sure that it wasn't merely an exercise to increase the stamina of that much-abused noggin.

"Take that, ya dumb bird!" Dash stuck out her tongue, and this time, Twilight wasn't quite as lucky in avoiding the warm spittle that sprayed forth. She grimaced, looking down at her legs and squinting.

Ugh...darn it, Dash.

She was about to open her mouth to administer a rather stern admonishment on the perils of unwanted salivary contact when her ears twitched up into the air. She paused, her mind suddenly switching to autopilot as her ear swiveled from side to side.

There.

"Hey, Twi, I—"

Twilight's hoof flew up into Dash's mouth before the latter even had the chance to react. As such, the pegasus reacted much as if Applejack had planted an apple between her gums (as she was wont to do), giving an exaggerated choke before spitting the hoof away. She glared down at Twilight. "Hey! What's the big—"

"Ssh." Twilight held a hoof up to her own mouth, giving Dash a meaningful look that clearly expected to be obeyed. Reluctantly, Dash settled back onto the ground, zipping her mouth closed and screwing up her face in an apparent effort to see what Twilight was listening for.

For another moment, all was silent. The bear turned back from behind the garden shed, the sound of crinkling paper echoing in the vegetable garden as it settled back into the outhouse. The birds looked around in confusion, wondering why the strange purple pony had suddenly insisted on silence. The bunny strike team took another step toward the carrot crop and then stopped, their fuzzy white feet stepping in the dirt as they wondered whether another, larger predator had its eyes on the same goal.

The wind whistled through the tree branches. The rustling was all that Twilight needed to hear.

"There," she hissed. In a single, fluid motion, she had flung her foreleg around Dash's neck and forced her to the ground in a bizarre, amateurish rendition of a martial choke hold. Dash sputtered blindly, pushing away as a purple aura held her to the ground and forced her mouth shut.

"Mmph! Mm-mmph! Mm—"

"Ssssshhh." This time, Twilight held her hoof to her lips for an even longer period of time, watching Dash's eyes until she was sure that her friend would either stop questioning her, stop resisting, or—preferably—both. After a moment, the rapid darting of Dash's pupils ceased, and Twilight felt secure enough to turn her attention back to the trees again.

There. Her ears twitched at the sound: the crunch. It had come from the woods. Nopony else is supposed to be out here.

The wind whispered through the trees, their bright green leaves fluttering in the shadows of the higher canopy. Twilight's eyes drifted up into the tops of the branches, the darkness flittering beneath the watchful eye of the late afternoon sun. Something shifted—she narrowed her eyes—and vanished.

There.

Her ears stood straight up as the call of a bird sounded throughout the trees. Beads of sweat streamed down Twilight's face and into the loamy soil crushed beneath her chin as she attempted to recall the birdcalls that Fluttershy had taught her.

Bluejay? No.

Cardinal? No.

Flamingo?

She listened, and sure enough, there it was again. Flamingo, she realized, nodding her head in recognition of the shrill, piercing sound. Her lips pursed, and she turned away from Rainbow Dash's struggling form—still surrounded by purple magic; Twilight would have to refresh the spell if she wanted to keep this quiet—as the thoughts coalesced in her mind.

Fluttershy's flamingo left Ponyville three weeks ago—

There came a reply from the deeper shadows of the brush.

—and the real flamingo cry is lower than that—

The blueberry bushes shifted, their berries rustling.

—and there's more than one.

A cacophony of flamingo cries answered the second. They seemed to echo through the entirety of the clearing. This close to the edge of the Whitetail Woods, Fluttershy's cottage was brighter than most areas near and by the trees, but the shadows seemed to dance across the potato and cabbage patch with each blink of Twilight's eyes.

"What is it?" Twilight whirled to the side to see Rainbow Dash. Dash's mouth was evidently free from the spell, her legs wriggling madly against the purple magic that still contained them. Twilight's eyes widened in horror, and she opened her mouth—to give a warning. "What's going on? The hay is wrong with you, Twi?" Dash thrashed from side to side, unintentionally getting a mouthful of dirt in the process. "What is it?"

Twilight's mouth went dry. With her throat full of sawdust and sand, she managed to let out a single, choked word.

"Ninjas."

As if summoned by the very word, a dozen shadows blurred forth from the brush. Twilight flinched back, her hooves trembling beneath her as the dark shapes coalesced around the garden. The bunny team gave a loud cry and vanished into their hutch. The birds had long since flown off, spooked by the mysterious watchers. Far away, on the other side of the garden shed, the bear was very clearly having indigestion.

"Mmph! Mmph mmph!"

Twilight whirled, expecting to see a dagger already against her throat. Instead, she saw only Rainbow Dash lying prone on the ground, flopping weakly under the force of the reapplied bind and gag spells. With a flash of her horn, Twilight released her magic.

"Gah!" Dash was on her hooves in an instant, her eyes wide and her mane completely frazzled. "Who are these guys?"

"I'd only read about them in my books." Twilight's voice was hushed, her mane drawn over her eyes. Her pupils darted from side to side, straining to keep the circling shadows in her field of view. "They're shinobi: warriors trained in the ancient arts. Their powers are said to be mystical—supernaturally powerful." She swallowed. "I-I'd never before thought that they were real, but..."

The next sound that she heard was that of a hoof pounding against another. Beside her, Rainbow Dash was grinning, a smug look on her face.

"So these freaks want a fight? I'll be the first to give it to 'em!"

Twilight reached out. "No—Dash! You can't win!" But for whatever reason, Dash couldn't hear her; before Twilight knew it, the pegasus was already more than halfway to the closest of the darting shadows.

With a crash and a loud grunt, Dash was sent flying back. She landed on the ground in a crumpled heap. Twilight watched with horror as the shadows flared around them, the garden suddenly filled with harsh, unforgiving laughter.

"You..." She grit her teeth, glaring at the shadows, and lowered her horn. "I won't let you get away with this! I won't let you hurt my friends!"

She grimaced as she felt power building at the tip of her horn. Sweat beaded on her forehead as the sense of heat and pressure grew, the magic mounting just behind her forehead. For a single, terrifying moment, she wondered if Rainbow Dash was conscious—if she was even still alive—if she would still want to go to their Daring Do fanfic writing session later—but crushed all of her doubts in a single wave of her head as she leapt forward and released.

The spell flared out, speeding across the garden. Back in their hutch, the bunnies cowered beneath the straw, watching with wide eyes as what looked to be a comet of Celestia's power flashed through the air. Twilight grinned weakly, shivering as the  power left her body—

And then the shadows laughed and disappeared. The beam of magic passed through them harmlessly, exploding against a group of nearby trees—setting loose a sound like a thunderclap and a very angry squirrel—before the ninjas reformed right where they had previously been standing.

Twilight felt each beat of the palpitating heart within her chest. She felt her adrenaline turn cold as she watched the shadows throw back their heads and laugh. Her hooves wobbled precariously, her legs shaking as she struggled for her spent energy. But it was no use; that was one of the most energy-intensive spells that she knew.

She nearly collapsed right then and there out of despair. Somehow, though, she managed to stay on her hooves, Rainbow Dash's body lying on the ground beside her. Twilight's horn sputtered, sparks flying from its tip into the air. The shadows around them drew closer, low laughter echoing in the garden as a weak, thin shield of purple magic flickered into existence around the pair. As the first of the shadows drew closer, the unmistakable sound of metal sliding against metal filled the air.

Twilight closed her eyes, waiting for the end.

"The mission is a success," intoned a low, dead-sounding voice. "Those that resist shall be eradicated." A shadow fell across Twilight's face, and she whimpered slightly. She could feel her magic flickering, the shield buzzing weakly before finally disappearing.

Rainbow Dash...I'm sorry.

"Die."

But the end never came.

"Hi-ya!"

Twilight opened her eyes with a start as the high-pitched, anger-filled battle cry rang through her ears. She started, her hair standing on end. Beside her, Rainbow Dash stirred.

"Wusgoinon..."

"Yee-yah! Hungh!"

A bright yellow blur flitted through the garden where only shadows had stood once before. The ninjas had withdrawn from their place around the downed duo, leaving Twilight to watch the newcomer with wide eyes and a protesting bladder.

"Take this! And that!"

Glints of metal shone through the clearing as the yellow blur flashed across a collection of grey, black merging with bright butter in a deadly dance of smashing metal and whirling dust. A huge cloud of dirt erupted from the ground right beside the cabbage patch, and Twilight watched the muddy, darkened shapes within with even wider eyes.

When the dust finally cleared, Twilight eyes bulged out and widened to the size of veritable dinner plate. The exertion may have hurt—especially considering the sheer change in ocular surface area—but that was nowhere near as shocking as the sight in the middle of the potato patch.

Eleven shapes stood in a circle, their backs against the wooden fencing. With a start, Twilight realized that these weren't dim, inethereal shapes any longer; instead, they were ponies, with dark black hoods pulled over their heads. Scarves and masks as black as the rest of their gear held tight against their faces, letting only the whites of their eyes show forth. Each pony had a bundle strapped to its back that Twilight quickly realized was a scabbard. A small bag hung from each's hip, letting free the soft jangle of shifting metal with each movement they made.

And in the middle stood Fluttershy.

She stood on her two hind legs, her hooves covered in dirt and dust. A bright red sash was tied against her forehead, keeping her mane out of her eyes, and a white cloth had been wrapped around her abdomen. What she held, though, was the most surprising part: strapped to each of her forehooves was a long, curved sword. Their wicked blades glinted in the sunlight.

Fluttershy shifted her weight ever so slightly, and Twilight would later swear that the blades had sung as they cut through the air. With a start, she realized that Fluttershy held not two swords, but three. The final blade was held in her mouth, the hilt grasped firmly in between her teeth. It was this blade that was pressed firmly against another, the other two straining in the air as Fluttershy glared into the eyes of the twelfth, and final ninja.

"You dare resist us?" The ninja's voice was gravelly and dark; its undertones seemed to make the air itself throb in pain. "We will have what we came for, and your pathetic attempt at resistance will not stop us." He shifted the position of his blade, somehow managing to speak around both the cloth in his mouth and the hilt held between his teeth.

"I dare." Fluttershy's usually trembling voice was now darker: more self-assured. She narrowed her eyes, glaring into the face of her opponent. "I'll never give it to you."

"Then come." All around them, the ninjas were beginning to unsheath their swords. Metal flashed in the light as each pony—whether pegasus, unicorn, or earth pony, Twilight couldn't be sure—removed their weapon and held it at the ready. The leader's voice was flat: emotionless. "We will destroy you."

At first, Fluttershy made no reply; instead, only the sound of her each, ragged breath was audible in the silent garden. Then, she drew her head up, and her eyes flashed crimson. The words that came from her mouth, though, were anything but: all that Twilight could hear was a long, drawn-out cry of rage and bloodthirst. All around them, the trees shook, birds fleeing into the skies.

Fluttershy was the first to move, flipping over her hind legs and throwing herself up into the air. By the time that the ninjas around had the time to react, she had whirled upside-down, all three swords held tightly against her chest. Before Twilight could even process the movement—it was so fast, so sudden, that the air around her seemed to shimmer in disbelief—the tip of Fluttershy's right-hoof sword had pierced the skull of one unlucky ninja. Fluttershy withdrew it in a single clean motion and landed on the dirt. With a flick of her hoof, she twisted the sword to the side, letting the drops of blood fly through the air and onto the garden soil.

The pony hit the ground with a thump. A small, ghostly smile crossed Fluttershy's face.

"One."

Immediately, the others flung themselves into action.

It was like watching a dance: a ballet, except with twelve actors and fourteen very sharp stabbing implements. Two of the ninja came at Fluttershy from the sides, their hooves galloping across the tilled soil. Their swords flashed—one of the ponies leapt into the air, and the other slid to the ground, forming a dual guillotine that no pony could hope to escape.

With a twist of her neck and a twirl of her hooves, Fluttershy ducked low to the ground. She jerked her head back, deflecting the strike above her so that the attacking pony was flung off to the side. At the same time, her other two hooves bent back behind her torso, twisting so far that it looked like she was made of putty. The two hoof-swords spun about in a circle, their curved, silver surface forming a fan that both protected Fluttershy's back and drove the ninja into the dirt. He hit with a loud grunt and then a whimper, blood leaking from beneath his black cloak and into the earth. The carrots, Fluttershy's prized crop, seemed to lap it up, absorbing the pony lifeblood with carnivorous abandon. For a moment, Twilight thought she heard the sound of smacking lips back in the rabbit hutch.

"Two."

The leader—one of ten left—narrowed his eyes. Fluttershy was once again surrounded, the pony she'd shoved into the air already back on his hooves, though dirt had scuffed at the edges of his clothes.

"You fight well, for an untrained pegasus," the leader rumbled. Through his shadowed mask, Twilight thought she could see him gritting his teeth "You will pay for the deaths of my brethren."

"They fought well," Fluttershy murmured. For a moment, it seemed that she had lost all focus, her eyes lazily drawing across the blade of her swords. Somehow, she was still balancing on her hind legs, her three curved swords—katanas, Twilight realized, the word coming to her in a flash—flashing dangerously in the sunlight. "But not well enough. They died with honor."

"No more will die." The leader's eyes narrowed, and he drew himself back. "The Flamingo Clan shall reclaim what was once lost to them, and we shall reclaim our former glory!"

"Your goal is a foalish one!" Fluttershy retorted, her eyes flashing. "You will never restore your Clan, and I will not give you the tools to do so!"

"Then so be it," the leader intoned. "We will seize the Ancient Ruby Berry ourselves, and use its powers for the restoration."

A growl came from Fluttershy's throat. "Then come. The souls of my three blades will sing with the blood of your mistakes."

They came.

All ten ran at her at once, their swords held high and their hooves galloping across the soil. Fluttershy seemed to not even notice at first, her eyes closed, and her swords held close to her chest. Twilight opened her mouth, a weak fizzle of magic flickering to the tip of her horn as she tried to scream—Get out! Please! You can't survive!

She watched the ten ninjas closing in. She watched, refusing to turn away, as they turned their heads back, their blades ready to cut through the air and into Fluttershy's hide—

And then Fluttershy's eyes snapped open, and her head jerked to the side.

A low note came from her throat as she began to spin, her blades flashing through the air. The note increased in pitch and intensity, lasting for an infinity even though it built only over a fraction of a second. The blades spun and weaved, each of her hooves bobbing and dancing with the sword held in her teeth. The ninjas kept coming, though, seemingly ignorant of the storm of steel and light now forming around their target.

The note continued to increase in pitch, scratching against Twilight's eardrums and slicing through the air. The blades coalesced into a sphere of flashing silver. hHer eyes widening in shock and awe, Twilight realized that the note was the song of the katanas as they cut through the atmosphere.

Tiny flashes of light appeared in an aura that covered Fluttershy's coat as the sphere glowed brighter and brighter, her assailants inching closer as the moment seemed to stretch on into an eternity. Sparks of purple, red, and blue flashed in the air, and suddenly, with a cry louder and deeper than that of her swords, Fluttershy pulled them in even closer—and exploded.

The ten other ponies went flying back in the air. Twilight watched as they twisted and writhed, cuts appearing across their bodies from a series of invisible blades. Blood dripped from their squirming forms as they were violently thrown back, the light intensifying until it hurt to watch. Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and looked away; all that she could hear around her were the slices of a thousand, invisible blades and a series of thumps as each ninja, presumably, hit the ground.

Finally, she opened her eyes. Each body had numerous burns and scorch marks along its sides, the cuts crisscrossing flesh at so many intervals that it was hard to tell where they ended and the pony's coat began. Twilight's breath came in shallow, shuddering gasps as she watched Fluttershy standing alone in the middle. Her swords were still held frozen in the air, her eyes closed in an unfathomable serenity.

"You—" The voice was a hoarse, shuddering wheeze. Twilight turned; it was the leader of the ninjas, his black bodysuit ripped and torn until it showed the brown coat underneath. "You've mastered it? The technique of the Pony Sage?"

"A Thousand Silver Needles." Fluttershy's voice was like a whisper, and Twilight had to strain to hear it. "I have tamed it, yes. But I do not need to master it to defeat the likes of you."

"Nnngh..." The other pony grunted before vomiting up a thick glob of blood and sick. He coughed, and then coughed again, blood running down his sides.

"Look behind you."

The stallion—for now, it was clear that it was a stallion—turned his head, just as much as he could manage. His face went white, even paler than it had already been from the blood loss. "My sword...no..."

"Your sword has been broken," Fluttershy murmured, her eyes flickering to where the broken pieces of steel lay scattered on the blood-gorged dirt. "And with it, your clan has been shattered. Your friends died with honor, but you..."

Fluttershy's voice was darker than before, and Twilight felt a shiver run up her spine just from watching her. Beside her, Rainbow Dash shifted, waking up from her conveniently long coma.

"You trespassed upon my property." Fluttershy's voice was little more than a deep, predatory growl. "You nearly harmed my pets. You attacked my friends—and for that, you have lost all honor.

"Let it be known that the Flamingo Clan is without honor," she said, louder this time. "And with this defeat, your clan is broken."

"We—we will never give up." The fallen ninja grunted, refusing to look around at his defeated comrades. "The Flamingo Clan will stand strong once more, and the whole world will bow before us! It is our birthright—our destiny!"

Fluttershy's mouth quirked to the side, and she flicked her blades a single time. The blood flew off of their silver lengths, landing on the grass and dirt below. She herself was untouched: unscathed, and without a speck of blood, sweat, or dirt covering her body. "Destiny is a lie," she intoned, keeping eye contact with her former assailant. “And so is the honor—and future of your clan.

"It is rare that an opponent can survive the full power of A Thousand Silver Needles. Yet if I'm not mistaken, you will succumb to your injuries entirely in a matter of seconds. Perhaps right about..."

The stallion collapsed, his blood-speckled tongue lolling out into the dirt.

"Now."

A small smile curved Fluttershy's mouth upwards.

"Twelve.”

Twilight held her breath. Her heart was beating like a madpony, as if an escapee from the Ponyville asylum had taken an oversized mallet to the ribs in her chest. Beside her, Rainbow Dash moaned, her eyes flickering open.

"What the...?"

In a single, fluidic motion, Fluttershy sheathed her swords into a bundle beneath her stomach. She dropped to all four hooves, and as a shadow passed over her face, turned back to face Twilight and an awakening Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, my goodness. Are you okay?"

"Fluttershy?" Twilight stared, as if seeing her friend for the first time. "How did you—why—"

"Oh, my." Fluttershy drew her tail closer to her, her—undirtied—mane falling back over her face. She took a step closer. "I'm so very sorry; this is simply going to be terrible to explain—"

The corpse of the lead ninja behind her stirred, and for a single, terrifying second, Twilight wanted to scream, wanted to run, wanted to get away from this place. But instead of a new army of ninjas appearing from the trees, the body spoke five, simple words.

"The Clan will never die."

It fell silent once more.

Twilight's eyes widened, and she made eye contact with Dash, who was still lying prone at her side. "What does that mean?" she asked, panic seeping into her voice. "Fluttershy, what's going on here? Who is this clan? Why do you have those swords? And how did—"

In a blur faster than Twilight's conscious brain could comprehend, Fluttershy's swords were freed again from their sheathes. A white blur, its color purer than morning snow, leapt across the garden, driving the yellow mare into the ground with the force of its attack.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight cried. Her heart caught in her throat, switching to a jackhammer as she took in the full appearance of their new foe.

A clean, silver kimono lay clinched around the waist of the new arrival. It was simply decorated: small, ornate flowers covered its sides, and a pink patch in the shape of a flamingo clinched the belt around the waist. The mare—for it was a mare—looked deep into Fluttershy's eyes, purple mane drawn up behind her head in a traditional bun.

Fluttershy's eyes narrowed, and she grunted, her three swords straining around the trio of daggers that had her pinned to the ground. "R-rarity."

Twilight's jaw dropped. "Rarity?"

The white mare's eyes flashed. In the blink an eye, Rarity was atop Fluttershy, her chest pressing against the other mare's, and her lips curled back. "You didn't really think that you could defeat the Flamingo Clan, could you?" Rarity purred. Her daggers hovered in midair. Fluttershy could barely manage to keep them away as she trembled on the ground.

"So it was you." A shadow passed over Fluttershy's face. "You were the power behind the Clan all along."

Rarity threw her head back and laughed. "Why, yes, my dear. Really—how could you ever have missed it?" Her grin spread from ear to ear, though none of it touched her eyes. "It was a pity that you disposed of my henchmen before they could push you to your full capacity."

Her mouth twisted. "I'd always thought that knowing one's opponent before a fight would make things more...interesting."

"Nnggh..." Fluttershy grunted, squinting up into the sunlight. "You...you threw away your ponies, just like that? Without even caring about their lives?"

"Hmph." Rarity raised an eyebrow. "They were tools to be disposed of. Like a needle and thread, I took them, shaped them, and used them in my own fashion. After their purpose was fulfilled..." She shrugged. "Their use was complete. To be honest, darling, had you not done the job for me, I would have taken care of them myself?"

"You..." Fluttershy's mouth twisted, and she spat to the side. "You monster. Throwing away your own ponies lives like that..."

"And what are you going to do about it, hm?" Rarity's laugh sounded like the tinkling of shattered glass. "I've got you right where I want you, and there's nothing that you can do about it."

It took Rarity a moment to realize that Fluttershy was laughing.

"What?" Rarity asked, sounding cross. "What is so funny?"

"Oh, nothing," Fluttershy said, and for a moment, her quiet, innocent voice had returned. Then a wicked smile crossed her face. "But it seems you've forgotten the most important lesson of all.

"Never reveal yourself to a target."

Rarity's eyes widened, and in a flash, all three of her daggers had glanced to the side. They sped toward Fluttershy's unexposed throat. Twilight let out a wordless cry, reaching her hoof forward, magic building at the tip of her horn—

—and the daggers made contact with a heavy thunk.

"Rarity!" Dash was back on her feet, her eyes filled with fire and rage. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I swear, if you've hurt Fluttershy in any way, I will end you!"

Rarity made no reply; in fact, there seemed to be nothing in her expression. Certainly not joy or relief, as Twilight would expect; if anything, anger flickered behind those deep blue eyes.

With a poof of smoke, Fluttershy's corpse vanished—leaving a stabbed tree branch in its place.

"It would seem I've been overconfident," Rarity mused. An ugly scowl crossed her face. "You can't hide for long, though. I will find you, and recover the Ruby Berry for myself."

"What is this 'berry'? What are you doing?" Twilight shook her head and began her spell anew. "Rarity, I don't know what's going on, but I'm going to make sure that you can't get away—ack!"

With no more warning than a flicker of light around the mare standing before them, Twilight felt a cold, heavy presence beside her, and then a quick slash against the back of her hooves. She tumbled. Beside her, she heard Rainbow Dash hit the ground as well. The air burst from her lungs with a loud, painful grunt. Still standing in the same place, as if she'd never moved, Rarity's smile turned into a smug-looking smirk.

"Hi-ya!"

Out of nowhere, a yellow blur appeared in the skies. Fluttershy fell, her wings held out on either side of her, and each of her three swords held in the pattern of a three-bladed cross.

"Aaaaaaaggghhhh!"

Rarity's eyes widened.

With an explosion that shook the ground and trees for half a mile around, Fluttershy threw herself over Rarity's body. Twilight watched through bleary eyes as the resultant boom threw dirt and debris high into the air.

When the dust cleared, Fluttershy and Rarity stood on their hind legs on opposite sides of the garden. Rarity was breathing heavily, though she appeared untouched. Fluttershy's chest was still, and her eyes were narrowed as the pair stood off in a tense silence.

"So," Rarity murmured, casting her gaze to the side. "You have learned more of the Ancient Techniques than I expected."

"I'll not need them to defeat you," Fluttershy growled.

Rarity looked up, meeting her opponent's eyes. "So we settle this the only way we can?" She shifted on her hooves, the trio of daggers before her hovering into the air.

Fluttershy gave a single nod.

The clearing fell silent. The only movement was that of a leaf floating down, twirling through the air and crackling in the warm breeze until its tip...just...gently...touched...the floor.

The two sprang into action.

"Heurgh!" Fluttershy whirled on her back right hoof, her swords flashing through the air as she flung herself off of the ground. "Ya!"

Rarity responded in kind. Her daggers blurred into a silver cloud of steel, and clangs rang out with each time the blades made contact. She turned on her hoof, her legs and magical aura dancing as she pirouetted the daggers like a trio of marionettes.

Fluttershy spun, her swords forming a protective shell around her as the knives came darting and biting. Their tips were like mosquitos, yearning to draw blood. Each strike was deflected, and as her shadow fell across Rarity's, the sound of steel cutting through the air intensified to a high-pitched squeal.

With a shout, the tip of Rarity's horn blazed an even brighter blue than before, and Fluttershy's strike was deflected to the side. Her swords still spun, though, gouging out deep grooves in the ground.

Fluttershy fell to her hooves behind her foe, her eyes closed. Her daggers encircling her head like a metal halo, Rarity turned and grinned evilly. "Your attack did nothing."

A small smirk was the only hint of emotion on Fluttershy's face. "Think again."

It was only a beat after Fluttershy's last word that Rarity's eyes widened. A crimson red slash, just barely a cut, appeared on Rarity's upper cheek. At the same time, a curl of her purple mane that had been hanging free of her bun fell through the air, freed of its roots. Each strand was perfectly cut, sliced straight through the middle.

"You..." Rarity's voice was a low, dangerous growl that promised nothing less than absolute pain and suffering. Twilight took the moment of distraction to peer back at her hooves; they were covered in blood, and as she tried to summon her magic to her horn, she felt the flow pinched off. Her magical font had been stopped. Whatever Rarity had done to her, it had cut off both her movement and her supply of magic; she was truly helpless. "You dare touch my beautiful person?"

Rarity turned around, her daggers held upright and blazing with bright, cerulean magic. "You have harmed my coiffure! For this, you shall die the agony of a thousand deaths!"

Fluttershy chuckled. “I’d like to see you try.”

In a blur of white and yellow, the two mares vanished from their place. Swords and daggers glinted in the light, cold steel flashing and biting through the air. Neither pony would give an inch, swirling in an entrancing, deadly dance.

Rarity twitched her hooves to the side and flipped over to Fluttershy’s exposed back. Two of the daggers stayed where they were, while the third followed her into the air. They came from all three directions, Rarity’s magic lapping at their sides as they sped toward Fluttershy’s belly, sides, and wings—

—and were deflected as Fluttershy became once more a miniature cyclone, her blades flashing in a protective sphere around her as the daggers whistled back through the air. Rarity landed on the ground, her eyes flashing dangerously.

“You can’t keep doing that, you know,” she murmured. One knife played across her upheld hoof, twirling around her leg. “I know the toll that the Thousand Silver Needles takes on its user. Sooner or later, you’ll be unable to pull it off.”

“Curse you...” Fluttershy glowered; Twilight noted, with some alarm, a thin scratch running down the length of Fluttershy's torso. “Your blades...how are they still in one piece?”

“Oh? These little darlings?” Rarity’s face blossomed into a smile. “They’re trinkets, really: just a group of toys that I picked up from that red dragon’s hoard. You remember him, I see,” she said, her words like a teasing song. “After all, dragonsteel is strong, sleek, and above all"—the blades flashed in front of her face—“indestructible.”

“A warrior is measured by more than the weapons she carries,” Fluttershy barked. Rarity’s smile turned to a subtler smirk.

“True...but what need have I for greater skill if these three are all I need to defeat you? Just look at yourself; you’re already starting to break.” A drop of crimson blood beaded at the tip of Fluttershy’s cut; she refused to flinch as it fell to the ground.

“I’ll never break, and never before the cruel mistress of the Flamingo Clan,” she spat. “Now—come at me.”

“Gladly, dear.” Rarity’s teeth flashed a pure, pearly white. With that, she spun into action, her three blades whirling in a deadly, hypnotic dance as they spiraled toward Fluttershy’s chest.

Fluttershy weaved from side to side, her blades slicing through the air as they fended off each attack from Rarity’s knives. She grunted as one managed to poke through her defense; a thin red cut appeared on her face. With a powerful blast of air, she whirled once more into her protective shield, her swords moving through the air at unimaginable speeds—

—before she came to a complete and utter stop, her eyes wide, and her swords frozen in the air.

“Ah, yes,” Rarity murmured as Fluttershy twitched, impaled on the tip of one of her knives. The other two bobbed up and down before her. “A classic trick; it’s a shame you fell for it.”

With a pained grunt, Fluttershy dropped to the ground. Twilight’s breath caught in her chest as she recognized the mare standing behind her friend.

It was a second Rarity, a trio of daggers swirling around her own head. With a smirk, she gave the original—real; she has to be the real one—Rarity a playful wink and a toss of her mane.

“You...” Fluttershy trembled on the ground. Even now, she still held her sword in her mouth, though she grasped it very weakly indeed. “You’ve stolen the secrets of the True Clone Technique?”

Rarity threw back her head and laughed. “I wouldn’t say stolen, my dear,” she purred. “Not when any others that might have disputed my claim are...well, unavailable for contact.”

“You killed them.” Fluttershy’s voice was weak, though it dripped with hatred.

“Oh, perhaps.” Rarity fluttered her eyelashes. “Perhaps you can ask the coroner of Tartarus when you meet him.” Fluttershy grit her teeth, but couldn’t keep herself from cringing in pain, the dagger still stuck in her back.

With a hacking, violent cough, she vomited blood up onto the ground. It mixed with the soil, tinged a deep, crimson red and a sickly yellow. Her body shook with each cough, her eyes shut tight in apparent agony.

With a nod, the clone of Rarity vanished in a puff of smoke. The dagger in Fluttershy’s back disappeared with her, and blood began to pour out in earnest. She groaned, struggling to push herself to her hooves and failing. Her sword lay mere hoofsteps away, but it might have been lightyears. Twilight watched in horror and terrible, petrified fear as Rarity took a step closer to her prey. Another step.

Two of Fluttershy’s swords lifted up into the air. They spun away before impaling themselves in a nearby tree. “See?” Rarity’s smile twitched in a sickly, wicked grin. “I am too strong for you to defeat. Too...fabulous, you might say.”

Fluttershy gave no response. Twilight moaned.

Two of Rarity’s daggers flew up around the sword that had once lain in Fluttershy’s mouth. They lifted it into the air, and Fluttershy struggled in vain to stop them.

Rarity tilted her head, and the sound of shattered steel filled the garden.

“See?” she said, gloating as shards of Fluttershy’s sword fell to the ground like silver petals. Horror filled Twilight’s eyes, and she tried once again, helplessly, to reach her magic. Yet her magical font may have been on the Moon for all the good that did her. “Weak.”

Rarity’s voice was harsh: unforgiving. “You are weak.”

Fluttershy spat a glob of blood onto the ground.

With a swish of her tail and a flick of her blades to rid them of blood, Rarity turned her back on her downed foe. She sniffed, taking her first steps toward the rabbit hutch.

“I know that you have it here,” she said. The bunnies cowered in fear as she approached, her every step like thunder on the tilled soil. “The Berry. You’ve hidden it long enough, and now, I shall receive my ultimate reward.”

“No.”

She stopped in place. “Sorry, dear. I didn’t hear you. What was that?”

Fluttershy struggled to her hooves. Her every movement looked like agony, her every twitch bringing another grimace to her face. Blood poured down her sides. “I won’t...I won’t let you.”

Rarity gave her a long, disbelieving stare before throwing her head back and giving a hearty chuckle. “And just how do you plan to do that?”

“I...I realized something.” Fluttershy grit her teeth. Bloodstreaks covered her forehead, but she glared straight into Rarity’s eyes. “My power...it’s about more than just my own strength. It’s about the strength of my friends.”

“Yes, yes.” Rarity—somehow—mimed a chatting mouth with her hoof. “Blah, blah, blah. I’ve not heard this feel-good pile of ponyfeathers before.”

“The strength of my spirit! The strength of my friends’ spirits!” Fluttershy bellowed. Her eyes flickered like flame; Rarity appeared not to notice. “And with our three spirits united, here, on this day, I shall draw forth that strength to defeat you!”

With a thunderous crack and the smell of burning ozone, a flame burst into existence around Fluttershy’s body. It flickered and danced, its pure white tongues licking at the air. Rarity’s eyes widened in dismay.

“No—it can’t be!”

“Yes,” Fluttershy said. “It can.” She held up a hoof, trying—and failing—to make a fist (she settled for curling the hoof instead). The flames licked her sides, but left no marks or burns. Rarity paled to an even dimmer shade of white, if such a thing was even possible. The grass, even, was unsinged from the heat of the flames.

“Impossible,” Rarity breathed. “You unlocked the secret technique of—”

“A Trinity of Burning Souls.” Fluttershy nodded. “Yes.”

“Impossible,” Rarity repeated. Her eyes were wide, the reflected flames dancing within her irises. “Impossible.”

The flames redoubled around Fluttershy, and she spread her wings wide. “I think you’ll find out just how impossible this really is!” she shouted, and leapt into the air. Rarity watched, entranced, and seemingly unable to run.

With a flash of blinding, golden light, three swords appeared in Fluttershy’s grasp. One, in her left hoof, was pure black; the one in her right was a purer white than clean-falled snow. Finally, the one in her mouth was a mix of streaked yellow and pink, the two colors mixing down the length of the blade until they met at the hilt.

“With the souls of these three blades,” Fluttershy bellowed, “I shall pierce the heavens!”

Rarity shook. “No—please—I beg you—”

“Trinity!” Fluttershy’s form lifted into the air until she eclipsed the Sun, its blazing corona surrounding her like a halo. “Purify!

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Beams of silver, white, and gold collected on the tips of the three blades. Light played across their surfaces, dancing across metal and burning ozone as sparks danced over Fluttershy’s fur. With a final scream that shook the earth for miles around, she held the swords high, speeding through the air like a bullet, and slammed them right into Rarity’s unprotected face.

In a thunderclap, Rarity’s protest was silenced, the blinding flash of light searing through the landscape and instantly baking several of the potatoes still growing in the garden. The bunnies in the rabbit hutch watched peeked through the wired mesh in awe and fear; the bear peered out from behind the outhouse, the sheer heat and action loosening his bowels more than any pharmaceutical laxative ever could.

And then, Rarity was gone. Disintegrated. Obliterated, leaving not a thing behind save for a deep purple sash and a single, singed, dragonsteel dagger.

The dagger clattered to the ground. Fluttershy collapsed.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight somehow managed to struggle to her hooves. Thankfully, her tendons weren’t cut—whatever Rarity had done to them hadn’t been intended to be permanent. She limped over to her fallen friend; she could already feel her magical font loosening up once again. “Fluttershy!”

Rainbow got there first. “Flutters!” she hollered, swooping down and taking the other pegasus in her hooves. “That was—that was awesome.”

A weak smile flickered across Fluttershy’s face. “Th-thank you, Rainbow Dash.” Her voice was quiet again, straining to be heard. A light bouncing sound registered in Twilight’s ears until she realized that it came from a small white bunny, hopping across the garden toward them.

“Oh,” Fluttershy murmured. She squinted, trying to avoid letting any of the blood into her eye. Her smile never wavered. “Hello, Angel Bunny. Are you alright?”

The little rabbit bobbed his head eagerly.

“Good.” Fluttershy swallowed, pausing before giving a harsh, wracking cough. Twilight thought she saw blood.

“Fluttershy!” A purple aura sprang up around Twilight's horn and she winced; it looked like she was still recovering. “We need to get you to the hospital right away!”

“Oh, no. I’ll be fine.” Fluttershy flinched. “I wouldn’t want to be any trouble.” She offered them a sheepish grin, her blood-matted mane falling halfway over her face. “Besides, my first wound was healed by the power of Trinity. I’m just recovering from using the swords, now. I’ll be better in no time.”

“They come with a price?”

She nodded.

Twilight sighed. “Well, in any case, we need to get you back into your cottage.” She paused. “Are you sure that you’ll be okay?”

“Oh, yes.” Fluttershy nodded again, her cheeks dimpling as she smiled up at her friends. Dash snorted.

“I just need...” Fluttershy yawned.

“A nap?”

“That sounds wonderful,” she murmured. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she took a deep, calming breath. “And perhaps a nice bowl of ramen.”

Twilight blinked. “Ramen?”

“It’s an acquired taste.”

She shrugged. “Alright, then.” With a soft smile of her own, she and Rainbow Dash lifted Fluttershy up, and began the arduous task of moving her back to her cottage.

“Thank you, Fluttershy,” Twilight murmured. “For saving us.”

“Oh, thank you,” Fluttershy replied. Her eyes were closed, now, and she yawned again. “Without you, I never would have unlocked the secret technique.”

Dash took a look around, her wings flapping behind her. “Hey, where’d the swords go, anyway?”

The smile on Fluttershy’s face was a small one: a little, secretive grin. “They don’t like to stay in one place. They’ll come when they’re needed, I’m sure.”

“Whatever you say.”

Finally, they reached the door of the cottage. Twilight took the opportunity to pause in her step and to wipe the mix of blood, sweat, and mud that had accumulated on her forehead. “We’re here.”

“Tsumatte iru toire.”

Twilight blinked, turning to face Fluttershy again. “Sorry,” she said, uncertainly. “What was that?”

But Fluttershy was already asleep.