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Description
"Surprise!"

Swift Wing and Twilight jumped back as they entered the castle's kitchen. The shout greeted them as soon as Twilight turned a light on. Confetti rained from the ceiling as balloons floated towards it.

"Pinkie!" Twilight yelled at the mare that shook their nerves. Swift recognized the pink mare from earlier. She remembered the bizarre greeting she gave her before darting away. The pink mare smiled, clearly unaware of what had just happened upstairs.

"Eesh, Twilight!" she said happily. "You look like you've seen a ghost! Did you? I don't remember inviting any. I hope they like cake! Then again who doesn't like cake?"

"Pinkie!" Twilight cut her off before she could continue. "What are you doing?"

"Throwing a party!"

"Obviously. But what for?" Swift looked around the kitchen to see a few more ponies. She saw Rarity and an orange earth pony with a stetson. She also noticed a small, purple dragon. Pinkie continued to smile. "It's a 'welcome to Ponyville' party!" she said. "I see you've already met the special guest!" She looked at Swift. "What's your name?" After a second of silence, Swift uncomfortably responded, "Swift Wing. And you are?"

"I'm Pinkie Pie! It's great to meet you! Welcome to town! The second I saw you I knew I had to throw a party! Problem was, I didn't know where to throw it. So, I ran off to find somepony with any ideas. Eventually I found Rarity and she said that you were talking about the castle. So, I came straight here and started setting up. And here we are!"

Swift could barely keep up with the speed of Pinkie's words. She glanced at Twilight, who returned the look. The princess turned to her friend. "Did you guys not hear anything that happened upstairs?" she asked. Her other friends came up to join the group. "We didn't hear anything, darling," said Rarity.

"Did you see Cherry Jubilee running past, by any chance?" Swift asked them group. Pinkie turned to her. "Yeah we did!" she said. "I tried to offer her some cake, but she just ignored me! Oh well. It was nice seeing her again!"

"It wasn't for me," said Twilight, a hint of sadness in her voice. The earth pony raised an eyebrow. "What do ya mean, sugarcube?" she asked.

"She tried to kill me, Applejack!" There was a moment of stunned silence. "You... You're joking, right Twilight?" asked the mare, a concerned tone in her voice. Twilight sadly shook her head. The dragon looked horrified. "Oh my gosh! Are you okay, Twilight?" he yelled. Twilight gave him a comforting look. "Yes, Spike. I'm fine. I'm just a little shaken up."

"What about the guards?" asked Rarity. Twilight looked at her. "They were in on it, too." There was a moment of silence. Even Pinkie had become still. "Thankfully, I survived," continued Twilight. "Thanks to Swift Wing here. She arrived in the nick of time and took care of the attackers."

"What do you mean 'took care of'?" asked Applejack. Twilight's expression grew uncomfortable. Swift looked at Applejack. "Let's just say, you might not want to go into the meeting hall anytime soon," she said. The group was silent. Twilight spoke to break the tension. "Well, there's no use in letting this party go to waste. Let's celebrate the fact that we're all okay after that."

Pinkie instantly regained her energy. "Okay! We can do that! Let's make it a 'surviving an assassination attempt' party! I've never thrown one of those before! Let's have some fun with this!" Within moments, she was off again. She ran all around, reorganizing different decorations in the room. "I'm just thankful you're alive, sugarcube," Applejack said the Twilight.

"So am I."

"Do you need anything, dear?" asked Rarity. Twilight looked at Swift. "Swift and I would like to talk in private," she said. "Would you guys mind giving us some space?" Her friends smiled and nodded. Soon, Swift and Twilight were alone. The two sat at a table by a bookshelf. "So," said Twilight. "Should I worried about any future attacks?" Swift shook her head. "No. I don't think so," she said. "Now that you're on high alert and my allies are on high alert, I don't think our enemies will try anything again anytime soon." Twilight nodded.

"Thank you again, Swift," she said. "Is there anything that I can give in return?" Swift seemed to ponder. "Would you be able to tell me anything about the Tree of Harmony?" she asked, remembering Celestia's secret meeting. "Well, I know that it prevents dark magic from consuming Equestria," said Twilight. "It needs the Elements of Harmony to do that, though."

"Have you read anything that mentions an apple along with the Tree?"

"Hm. I remember something from one of my books. Something along the lines of 'When the apple and staff are brought to the tree, its gates will unlock and reveal the garden'. What that means, though, I have no clue. Is it important?"

"No. Not really. I was kind of looking into something else as well, but it's not top priority." Twilight nodded. "So what are you going to do next?" she asked. Swift thought about it for a moment. "I'm going after Jubilee," she said.

"I thought you said she wasn't a threat."

"For now, she's not. But she has powerful friends, and if we don't do something soon, she'll come back and hit even harder." There was a pause. Twilight looked down, then at Swift. "You're sure there isn't another way to handle this?" she asked. Swift shook her head. Twilight sadly nodded. "Well, I guess I shouldn't keep you waiting for too long, then," she said. Swift nodded. The two rose from their seats, said their goodbyes, and went their separate ways.

------------

It was well past midnight. It took a few hours, but Swift had finally found her target. Cherry Jubilee stood in a wide alleyway on the very edge of town. She tapped her hoof impatiently, seemingly waiting for something. Swift stood hidden on a nearby rooftop, watching and waiting to see what was going to happen. Suddenly, there was a slight scraping from around the corner. Jubilee looked up to see two pegasus mares emerge from the shadows. One had a golden coat with a fiery mane. The other had a blue-green coat with a snow-white mane. Swift instantly recognized the two. She'd seen them on millions of posters. The two lead members of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire and Fleetfoot.

The two had on dark jackets and sunglasses. Jubilee gave them an angered glare. "What took you so long?" she half-whispered. "If you had made me wait any longer, the Assassins might have caught up and killed me!" The two pegasi ignored her. "We caught word about how your mission went," said Spitfire. "About how badly you failed."

"It wasn't my fault! The Assassins-"

"Should have been taken care of before you did anything," Fleetfoot interrupted. "We trusted you with an extremely important mission to our order. And, even with everything given to you to succeed, you still managed to screw up because of one lone Assassin." Jubilee seemed at a loss for words. "Just give me another chance," she begged. "You lot in Cloudsdale are working on new weapons, right? Just lend some to me and we'll-"

"No," interrupted Spitfire. "You've clearly shown that you aren't capable of handling this. We'll speak with our superiors, and plan something for a later date. But now, you'll get no help from us." The two pegasi turned to leave. Jubilee just stared in shock. "So this is what I get?" she called at them. "After all I've done to serve the Templars? This is what you do?" But the two had already took to the skies. Pretty soon, they were no longer in sight. Jubilee stood alone in the alleyway. She kicked her hoof angrily.

Above her, Swift shifted her weight a small bit. She accidentally kicked a few pebbles off of the roof. The sound they made when they hit the ground sounded like thunder to Swift. Jubilee flinched, and looked up in Swift's direction. Swift tried to duck from view, but it was too late. Jubilee yelped and had begun to gallop away. Swift, with her wing now fully healed, darted towards her target and caught up in seconds. Swift lunged onto the Templar, flicked out her hidden blade, and drove it into her target's back.

As both mares hit the ground, the white void once again seemed to consume Swift's reality. She stood from her victim's bleeding body. "New weapons, eh?" she asked. "What do you mean by that?" Jubilee looked up at her. After pondering whether or not to answer, she spoke. "We've found a few manuscripts on an oversea exposition. They have blueprints for some unknown new weaponry. We've managed to build a few, and we're testing them now."

Swift nodded. "If those weapons are going to give the Templars the upper hoof, then I'm going to stop them from being used." There was a pause. "Why do you try so hard to end our plans?" said Jubilee through ragged breaths. "We both want the same thing." Swift kept her unfazed expression. "And what's that?" she asked.

"Peace."

"You'd have everypony corralled into a corner, all under your complete control."

"Exactly! Under our guidance, there wouldn't be crime, or sadness. Everything would have a peaceful order to it."

"Ponies aren't just puppets whose strings you can pull. They have a will, and must use it to decide their own fate." There was a pause. Jubilee was on death's door. "And when their decisions cause the world to burn, you'll see what freedom truly brings." Moments later, the Templar was dead. Swift closed the body's eyes. "There's a responsibility in freedom, and those that don't uphold it are the ones that fall. Rest in peace."

The void disappeared and reality returned. Swift quickly put the body in a hiding spot, and then galloped back to the Assassins' hideout.

------------

As Swift entered Pen Quill's room, she was surprised to see Twilight having a conversation with him. Pen Quill looked over and waved for Swift to join them. "So," he said. "Did you succeed in ridding the town of Templars." Swift nodded. "I did. Both of my targets are dead," she said. She couldn't help but notice the slight trace of sadness in Twilight's expression. Pen Quill turned to the princess. "Well, Ms. Sparkle, it seems you're safe for now. Though, I assure you, the Assassins will keep on guard."

Twilight nodded. "So will my friends and I. We won't let those monsters achieve their goals."

"Excellent. Glad to here we can work together to stop the Templars." He turned to Swift. "So," he said. "It seems your work is done here. I assume you'll be returning to Canterlot?" Swift shook her head. "No, actually," she said. "I eavesdropped on a conversation that a few Templars were having. It turns out that their agents in Cloudsdale managed to get hold of designs for new weapons. Ones that, if functional, could be really bad news for the Assassins."

The three ponies looked at each other. "So you're heading for Cloudsdale, then?" asked Twilight. Swift nodded. "I'm going there and I'm going to make sure that they don't use whatever these new weapons are." Pen Quill nodded. "Very well, then," he said. "I'll send a letter to Feather Duster telling her about your plan." Twilight turned to Swift. "And I'll send a letter to my two friends that are visiting the city," she said. "If you need any help, they'll be happy to lend a hoof."

"What are their names?"

"Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy." Swift nodded. "I'd better be off," she said. "The less time I take to get there, the better." Twilight and Pen Quill nodded. They thanked Swift again for her aid, said their goodbyes, and then Swift set off, ready to make the flight to Cloudsdale.

Description
"Surprise!"

Swift Wing and Twilight jumped back as they entered the castle's kitchen. The shout greeted them as soon as Twilight turned a light on. Confetti rained from the ceiling as balloons floated towards it.

"Pinkie!" Twilight yelled at the mare that shook their nerves. Swift recognized the pink mare from earlier. She remembered the bizarre greeting she gave her before darting away. The pink mare smiled, clearly unaware of what had just happened upstairs.

"Eesh, Twilight!" she said happily. "You look like you've seen a ghost! Did you? I don't remember inviting any. I hope they like cake! Then again who doesn't like cake?"

"Pinkie!" Twilight cut her off before she could continue. "What are you doing?"

"Throwing a party!"

"Obviously. But what for?" Swift looked around the kitchen to see a few more ponies. She saw Rarity and an orange earth pony with a stetson. She also noticed a small, purple dragon. Pinkie continued to smile. "It's a 'welcome to Ponyville' party!" she said. "I see you've already met the special guest!" She looked at Swift. "What's your name?" After a second of silence, Swift uncomfortably responded, "Swift Wing. And you are?"

"I'm Pinkie Pie! It's great to meet you! Welcome to town! The second I saw you I knew I had to throw a party! Problem was, I didn't know where to throw it. So, I ran off to find somepony with any ideas. Eventually I found Rarity and she said that you were talking about the castle. So, I came straight here and started setting up. And here we are!"

Swift could barely keep up with the speed of Pinkie's words. She glanced at Twilight, who returned the look. The princess turned to her friend. "Did you guys not hear anything that happened upstairs?" she asked. Her other friends came up to join the group. "We didn't hear anything, darling," said Rarity.

"Did you see Cherry Jubilee running past, by any chance?" Swift asked them group. Pinkie turned to her. "Yeah we did!" she said. "I tried to offer her some cake, but she just ignored me! Oh well. It was nice seeing her again!"

"It wasn't for me," said Twilight, a hint of sadness in her voice. The earth pony raised an eyebrow. "What do ya mean, sugarcube?" she asked.

"She tried to kill me, Applejack!" There was a moment of stunned silence. "You... You're joking, right Twilight?" asked the mare, a concerned tone in her voice. Twilight sadly shook her head. The dragon looked horrified. "Oh my gosh! Are you okay, Twilight?" he yelled. Twilight gave him a comforting look. "Yes, Spike. I'm fine. I'm just a little shaken up."

"What about the guards?" asked Rarity. Twilight looked at her. "They were in on it, too." There was a moment of silence. Even Pinkie had become still. "Thankfully, I survived," continued Twilight. "Thanks to Swift Wing here. She arrived in the nick of time and took care of the attackers."

"What do you mean 'took care of'?" asked Applejack. Twilight's expression grew uncomfortable. Swift looked at Applejack. "Let's just say, you might not want to go into the meeting hall anytime soon," she said. The group was silent. Twilight spoke to break the tension. "Well, there's no use in letting this party go to waste. Let's celebrate the fact that we're all okay after that."

Pinkie instantly regained her energy. "Okay! We can do that! Let's make it a 'surviving an assassination attempt' party! I've never thrown one of those before! Let's have some fun with this!" Within moments, she was off again. She ran all around, reorganizing different decorations in the room. "I'm just thankful you're alive, sugarcube," Applejack said the Twilight.

"So am I."

"Do you need anything, dear?" asked Rarity. Twilight looked at Swift. "Swift and I would like to talk in private," she said. "Would you guys mind giving us some space?" Her friends smiled and nodded. Soon, Swift and Twilight were alone. The two sat at a table by a bookshelf. "So," said Twilight. "Should I worried about any future attacks?" Swift shook her head. "No. I don't think so," she said. "Now that you're on high alert and my allies are on high alert, I don't think our enemies will try anything again anytime soon." Twilight nodded.

"Thank you again, Swift," she said. "Is there anything that I can give in return?" Swift seemed to ponder. "Would you be able to tell me anything about the Tree of Harmony?" she asked, remembering Celestia's secret meeting. "Well, I know that it prevents dark magic from consuming Equestria," said Twilight. "It needs the Elements of Harmony to do that, though."

"Have you read anything that mentions an apple along with the Tree?"

"Hm. I remember something from one of my books. Something along the lines of 'When the apple and staff are brought to the tree, its gates will unlock and reveal the garden'. What that means, though, I have no clue. Is it important?"

"No. Not really. I was kind of looking into something else as well, but it's not top priority." Twilight nodded. "So what are you going to do next?" she asked. Swift thought about it for a moment. "I'm going after Jubilee," she said.

"I thought you said she wasn't a threat."

"For now, she's not. But she has powerful friends, and if we don't do something soon, she'll come back and hit even harder." There was a pause. Twilight looked down, then at Swift. "You're sure there isn't another way to handle this?" she asked. Swift shook her head. Twilight sadly nodded. "Well, I guess I shouldn't keep you waiting for too long, then," she said. Swift nodded. The two rose from their seats, said their goodbyes, and went their separate ways.

------------

It was well past midnight. It took a few hours, but Swift had finally found her target. Cherry Jubilee stood in a wide alleyway on the very edge of town. She tapped her hoof impatiently, seemingly waiting for something. Swift stood hidden on a nearby rooftop, watching and waiting to see what was going to happen. Suddenly, there was a slight scraping from around the corner. Jubilee looked up to see two pegasus mares emerge from the shadows. One had a golden coat with a fiery mane. The other had a blue-green coat with a snow-white mane. Swift instantly recognized the two. She'd seen them on millions of posters. The two lead members of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire and Fleetfoot.

The two had on dark jackets and sunglasses. Jubilee gave them an angered glare. "What took you so long?" she half-whispered. "If you had made me wait any longer, the Assassins might have caught up and killed me!" The two pegasi ignored her. "We caught word about how your mission went," said Spitfire. "About how badly you failed."

"It wasn't my fault! The Assassins-"

"Should have been taken care of before you did anything," Fleetfoot interrupted. "We trusted you with an extremely important mission to our order. And, even with everything given to you to succeed, you still managed to screw up because of one lone Assassin." Jubilee seemed at a loss for words. "Just give me another chance," she begged. "You lot in Cloudsdale are working on new weapons, right? Just lend some to me and we'll-"

"No," interrupted Spitfire. "You've clearly shown that you aren't capable of handling this. We'll speak with our superiors, and plan something for a later date. But now, you'll get no help from us." The two pegasi turned to leave. Jubilee just stared in shock. "So this is what I get?" she called at them. "After all I've done to serve the Templars? This is what you do?" But the two had already took to the skies. Pretty soon, they were no longer in sight. Jubilee stood alone in the alleyway. She kicked her hoof angrily.

Above her, Swift shifted her weight a small bit. She accidentally kicked a few pebbles off of the roof. The sound they made when they hit the ground sounded like thunder to Swift. Jubilee flinched, and looked up in Swift's direction. Swift tried to duck from view, but it was too late. Jubilee yelped and had begun to gallop away. Swift, with her wing now fully healed, darted towards her target and caught up in seconds. Swift lunged onto the Templar, flicked out her hidden blade, and drove it into her target's back.

As both mares hit the ground, the white void once again seemed to consume Swift's reality. She stood from her victim's bleeding body. "New weapons, eh?" she asked. "What do you mean by that?" Jubilee looked up at her. After pondering whether or not to answer, she spoke. "We've found a few manuscripts on an oversea exposition. They have blueprints for some unknown new weaponry. We've managed to build a few, and we're testing them now."

Swift nodded. "If those weapons are going to give the Templars the upper hoof, then I'm going to stop them from being used." There was a pause. "Why do you try so hard to end our plans?" said Jubilee through ragged breaths. "We both want the same thing." Swift kept her unfazed expression. "And what's that?" she asked.

"Peace."

"You'd have everypony corralled into a corner, all under your complete control."

"Exactly! Under our guidance, there wouldn't be crime, or sadness. Everything would have a peaceful order to it."

"Ponies aren't just puppets whose strings you can pull. They have a will, and must use it to decide their own fate." There was a pause. Jubilee was on death's door. "And when their decisions cause the world to burn, you'll see what freedom truly brings." Moments later, the Templar was dead. Swift closed the body's eyes. "There's a responsibility in freedom, and those that don't uphold it are the ones that fall. Rest in peace."

The void disappeared and reality returned. Swift quickly put the body in a hiding spot, and then galloped back to the Assassins' hideout.

------------

As Swift entered Pen Quill's room, she was surprised to see Twilight having a conversation with him. Pen Quill looked over and waved for Swift to join them. "So," he said. "Did you succeed in ridding the town of Templars." Swift nodded. "I did. Both of my targets are dead," she said. She couldn't help but notice the slight trace of sadness in Twilight's expression. Pen Quill turned to the princess. "Well, Ms. Sparkle, it seems you're safe for now. Though, I assure you, the Assassins will keep on guard."

Twilight nodded. "So will my friends and I. We won't let those monsters achieve their goals."

"Excellent. Glad to here we can work together to stop the Templars." He turned to Swift. "So," he said. "It seems your work is done here. I assume you'll be returning to Canterlot?" Swift shook her head. "No, actually," she said. "I eavesdropped on a conversation that a few Templars were having. It turns out that their agents in Cloudsdale managed to get hold of designs for new weapons. Ones that, if functional, could be really bad news for the Assassins."

The three ponies looked at each other. "So you're heading for Cloudsdale, then?" asked Twilight. Swift nodded. "I'm going there and I'm going to make sure that they don't use whatever these new weapons are." Pen Quill nodded. "Very well, then," he said. "I'll send a letter to Feather Duster telling her about your plan." Twilight turned to Swift. "And I'll send a letter to my two friends that are visiting the city," she said. "If you need any help, they'll be happy to lend a hoof."

"What are their names?"

"Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy." Swift nodded. "I'd better be off," she said. "The less time I take to get there, the better." Twilight and Pen Quill nodded. They thanked Swift again for her aid, said their goodbyes, and then Swift set off, ready to make the flight to Cloudsdale.