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Description
The first thing Swift noticed when she arrived in Cloudsdale was the amount of security. There seemed to be guards around every street corner. Though they mainly wore dark jackets instead of gleaming armor, they still looked as threatening as any guard in Canterlot. It was a direct contrast to the Assassin-influenced town of Ponyville. Swift pulled her hood over her face a little more.

"Hey! Excuse me!" called a mare's voice. Swift flinched a little, even though the voice sounded friendly. She cautiously turned to find the source of the voice. It didn't take her long to see a blue pegasus with a rainbow-patterned mane gliding towards her. "Yes?" said Swift as the mare came up to her.

"Are you Swift Wing by any chance?" asked the mare. Swift nodded. "Yes. And you are?" The blue mare shook her hoof. "Name's Rainbow Dash," she said. "Twilight sent a letter telling us to meet with you." Swift relaxed at hearing this.

"Wait. 'Us'?" asked Swift. Rainbow looked around at the crowds. She seemed a bit confused. "Um, yeah. I had a friend with me. I'm not sure where she wandered off to." Suddenly, a yellow mare with a pink mane rushed up to them, apologizing to anypony she accidentally brushed up against. She looked at Rainbow once she finally caught up to her and Swift. "So sorry, Rainbow," she said with a calm, quiet voice. "I saw a baby bird fall out of its nest and I just had to stop and help the poor dear." Rainbow shrugged.

"Ah, don't worry. It's cool," she said. The two turned to Swift. "Oh! Are you Swift Wing?" asked the quiet mare. Swift nodded. The two shook hooves. "I'm Fluttershy," said Swift's new ally.

"Good to meet you both. How'd you guys find me so fast?" Rainbow looked at her. "Twilight said to look for a pony in a white hood. No offense, but you're hard to miss."

It's enough to fool Templars, thought Swift. "None taken," she said with a smile. The two friends returned the smile. "So," said Rainbow. "What can we help you out with?" Swift thought for a moment. She needed to find these new weapons that the Templars are apparently testing. She remembered Jubilee's conversation with the two Wonderbolts. "You guys wouldn't happen to know where the Wonderbolts work, would you?" said Swift. "I have... important business with them."

Rainbow's face suddenly lit up. "Really? Awesome!" she said. "Yeah, we can help you out." Rainbow motioned for her friends to follow, and then they were off. Rainbow started a conversation as they flew through the city. "So, what're you gonna be doing with the Wonderbolts?" she asked Swift excitedly.

"I can't really say. It's kinda secret," said Swift.

"Aw, come on. Just a hint?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?" Swift sighed. She knew she had to say something. "Alright," she said. "Just a hint. The Wonderbolts are training with something new, and I'm going to be there to... supervise." She hated lying to her allies, but she knew she had to keep her true intentions a secret for now. "Oh! How exciting!" said Fluttershy. "So are you close with the Wonderbolts?"

"You could say that."

"Awesome!" said Rainbow. "You and I are gonna have to hang out sometime when you're done with your thing!"

"Yeah, sure. We'll do that," said Swift with a smile. That is if I don't get caught, she thought. Soon, the three arrived at their destination. They landed in front of a large building. It was several stories high, and the outer walls were lined with pillars. "Welp, here we are," said Rainbow. "This is the Wonderbolts' main training building. You should be able to find them in here." Swift nodded. Fluttershy looked at her. "Is there anything else we can help out with before you go?" she asked.

Swift shook her head. "No, I think I can take it from here," she said. "But thank you. You two have been a great help." Rainbow and Fluttershy nodded. The three said their goodbyes, and then the two left Swift to attend to her 'business'. Swift stared at the building. It was heavily guarded, so she knew she would have to climb around. She quickly turned on her eagle vision to find an easy way up. Once she did, she switched off her sixth sense and got to work.

She fluttered up onto a nearby building. After making sure that nopony could see her, she jumped onto a ledge on the Wonderbolts' building's side. She hulled herself up. She began to hop from ledge to ledge, sticking as close to the wall as possible. Eventually, she landed on a balcony a few stories up. She trotted over to a door that led into the facility. She pressed her ear against it to listen for any nearby threat. She heard nothing. Satisfied, she flicked out her hidden blade and rammed it into the lock. After shattering the lock's mechanism, she entered.

She quickly ducked around a corner and checked for guards. When she felt she was safe, she cautiously began to wander the halls. Occasionally using her eagle vision as a guide, she listened for any useful information. She rounded a corner and immediately ducked back behind it. At the other end of the hall, she saw Spitfire and Fleetfoot. She sat quietly and listened to their conversation. "How is testing going on the new weapons?" asked Spitfire. "Are they fully functional?"

"Not quite," said Fleetfoot. "The few weapons we've been able to craft are still a bit glitchy. We still need to make a few adjustments."

"I'd like to see a few of the finished weapons." Fleetfoot nodded, and the two began to walk down another hall. Swift followed as closely as she dared. She saw Fleetfoot pull a sheet of paper out of her jacket pocket. She passed it to Spitfire. "What's this?" asked the fiery mare.

"Something that I feel you should hold on to. It's one of the manuscripts that our agents recovered on their oversea expedition. It has a design for a weapon that we can't figure out how to properly craft. But if we do, it could give the Templars a huge advantage."

"Or give it to our enemies."

"Exactly. That's why I'm giving this to you. We absolutely cannot let the Assassins get their hooves on this." Spitfire nodded, and placed the paper in her own pocket. Swift now had yet another thing to worry about. Soon, the two Templars stopped at a set of double doors. They walked in. Swift waited for a few minutes around a corner. Eventually the two walked out again. The two exchanged looks, nodded, and walked off in different directions. After waiting a bit longer, Swift darted into the room.

After shutting the door behind her, she took in her surroundings. The room was relatively small. There was a desk against a wall that had papers all over it. Three large crates sat by another wall. Swift walked over to one, broke the lid open with her hidden blade, and took a glimpse at these mysterious weapons.

There appeared to be six in the crate. Each one was long and cylindrical. They looked like cannons, but about a third the size. They were thinner than most cannons that Swift had seen. On one end, there seemed to be a place for a stand. A crank was attached to the side. Swift stared. She tried picking one up, but it was just a bit too heavy. Swift closed the lid and trotted over to the desk. She looked at the various papers which, as she suspected, described the small cannons. At the top of one page was the words 'swivel gun'. Swift assumed that this was what the Templars were calling these.

The papers had both writings and drawings on them. They depicted the cannons on a supportive stand. A pony stood on one end with his hoof on the crank. As the gear was turned, the Cannon fired. Though, based on what Swift could tell, the cranking mechanism was extremely slow. Another page detailed how the cannons spun on the axis of their stands. The guns didn't seem that threatening as of now, but Swift knew that with a little adjustment, they would prove deadly.

Swift looked around. She found a nearby candle that was burning brightly. She smiled, grabbed it, and tossed it onto the documents. Suddenly, she heard the door open. She froze for a moment before turning. There, in the doorway, was Fleetfoot, and she was clearly angered. After staring at each other for a moment, they attacked. Swift flicked out her blades and Fleetfoot pulled out a knife. The two slashed at each other. Fleetfoot swung hard and cut a small gash in Swift's shoulder. Swift winced, but kept fighting back.

Swift jabbed at Fleetfoot with her blade, but the blow was dodged. Their blades clashed a few more times. They broke apart from each other, both of them out of breath. With a growl of rage, Fleetfoot darted at Swift, swinging her dagger. Swift proved to fast, though, as she dodged the blow, causing Fleetfoot to lose her balance. Swift took advantage of this, and quickly rammed her blade into her enemy's neck.

Soon, Swift felt the tingling in her skull, and reality was replaced by the white void. She glanced down at her victim, who glanced up at her. "You can't stop our plans, Assassin," said Fleetfoot with dying breaths. "Once we've improved our guns, we'll have the power to wipe your kind out for good."

"Then I'll make sure that doesn't happen," said Swift. Fleetfoot painfully chuckled. "What? By yourself? We have an army at our disposal. We have dozens of guards in this place. You won't make it within fifty feet of those guns."

"I've made it this far. I'm not quitting now."

"Your persistence... will be the end of you." Soon, the Wonderbolt was dead. Swift closed the body's eyes. "I'll do whatever it takes to ensure freedom prevails, even if it seems like an impossible task. Rest in peace." Reality soon replaced the void. Swift turned to the desk, which was up in flames. The fire was starting to spread. Swift Wing darted out of the room before she got trapped within it. She used her eagle vision to quickly find a safe route away from the area.

Once she finally had a moment to stop and rest, she thought about her next course of action. She destroyed the blueprints for the guns, as well as a few of the guns, themselves. She knew there was more, though, and she knew she had to destroy them, too. There was also the matter of that mystery document that Spitfire now had. Swift decided that destroying the guns should be the first thing on her list. After formulating a plan, she nodded to herself, and got to work.

Description
The first thing Swift noticed when she arrived in Cloudsdale was the amount of security. There seemed to be guards around every street corner. Though they mainly wore dark jackets instead of gleaming armor, they still looked as threatening as any guard in Canterlot. It was a direct contrast to the Assassin-influenced town of Ponyville. Swift pulled her hood over her face a little more.

"Hey! Excuse me!" called a mare's voice. Swift flinched a little, even though the voice sounded friendly. She cautiously turned to find the source of the voice. It didn't take her long to see a blue pegasus with a rainbow-patterned mane gliding towards her. "Yes?" said Swift as the mare came up to her.

"Are you Swift Wing by any chance?" asked the mare. Swift nodded. "Yes. And you are?" The blue mare shook her hoof. "Name's Rainbow Dash," she said. "Twilight sent a letter telling us to meet with you." Swift relaxed at hearing this.

"Wait. 'Us'?" asked Swift. Rainbow looked around at the crowds. She seemed a bit confused. "Um, yeah. I had a friend with me. I'm not sure where she wandered off to." Suddenly, a yellow mare with a pink mane rushed up to them, apologizing to anypony she accidentally brushed up against. She looked at Rainbow once she finally caught up to her and Swift. "So sorry, Rainbow," she said with a calm, quiet voice. "I saw a baby bird fall out of its nest and I just had to stop and help the poor dear." Rainbow shrugged.

"Ah, don't worry. It's cool," she said. The two turned to Swift. "Oh! Are you Swift Wing?" asked the quiet mare. Swift nodded. The two shook hooves. "I'm Fluttershy," said Swift's new ally.

"Good to meet you both. How'd you guys find me so fast?" Rainbow looked at her. "Twilight said to look for a pony in a white hood. No offense, but you're hard to miss."

It's enough to fool Templars, thought Swift. "None taken," she said with a smile. The two friends returned the smile. "So," said Rainbow. "What can we help you out with?" Swift thought for a moment. She needed to find these new weapons that the Templars are apparently testing. She remembered Jubilee's conversation with the two Wonderbolts. "You guys wouldn't happen to know where the Wonderbolts work, would you?" said Swift. "I have... important business with them."

Rainbow's face suddenly lit up. "Really? Awesome!" she said. "Yeah, we can help you out." Rainbow motioned for her friends to follow, and then they were off. Rainbow started a conversation as they flew through the city. "So, what're you gonna be doing with the Wonderbolts?" she asked Swift excitedly.

"I can't really say. It's kinda secret," said Swift.

"Aw, come on. Just a hint?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?" Swift sighed. She knew she had to say something. "Alright," she said. "Just a hint. The Wonderbolts are training with something new, and I'm going to be there to... supervise." She hated lying to her allies, but she knew she had to keep her true intentions a secret for now. "Oh! How exciting!" said Fluttershy. "So are you close with the Wonderbolts?"

"You could say that."

"Awesome!" said Rainbow. "You and I are gonna have to hang out sometime when you're done with your thing!"

"Yeah, sure. We'll do that," said Swift with a smile. That is if I don't get caught, she thought. Soon, the three arrived at their destination. They landed in front of a large building. It was several stories high, and the outer walls were lined with pillars. "Welp, here we are," said Rainbow. "This is the Wonderbolts' main training building. You should be able to find them in here." Swift nodded. Fluttershy looked at her. "Is there anything else we can help out with before you go?" she asked.

Swift shook her head. "No, I think I can take it from here," she said. "But thank you. You two have been a great help." Rainbow and Fluttershy nodded. The three said their goodbyes, and then the two left Swift to attend to her 'business'. Swift stared at the building. It was heavily guarded, so she knew she would have to climb around. She quickly turned on her eagle vision to find an easy way up. Once she did, she switched off her sixth sense and got to work.

She fluttered up onto a nearby building. After making sure that nopony could see her, she jumped onto a ledge on the Wonderbolts' building's side. She hulled herself up. She began to hop from ledge to ledge, sticking as close to the wall as possible. Eventually, she landed on a balcony a few stories up. She trotted over to a door that led into the facility. She pressed her ear against it to listen for any nearby threat. She heard nothing. Satisfied, she flicked out her hidden blade and rammed it into the lock. After shattering the lock's mechanism, she entered.

She quickly ducked around a corner and checked for guards. When she felt she was safe, she cautiously began to wander the halls. Occasionally using her eagle vision as a guide, she listened for any useful information. She rounded a corner and immediately ducked back behind it. At the other end of the hall, she saw Spitfire and Fleetfoot. She sat quietly and listened to their conversation. "How is testing going on the new weapons?" asked Spitfire. "Are they fully functional?"

"Not quite," said Fleetfoot. "The few weapons we've been able to craft are still a bit glitchy. We still need to make a few adjustments."

"I'd like to see a few of the finished weapons." Fleetfoot nodded, and the two began to walk down another hall. Swift followed as closely as she dared. She saw Fleetfoot pull a sheet of paper out of her jacket pocket. She passed it to Spitfire. "What's this?" asked the fiery mare.

"Something that I feel you should hold on to. It's one of the manuscripts that our agents recovered on their oversea expedition. It has a design for a weapon that we can't figure out how to properly craft. But if we do, it could give the Templars a huge advantage."

"Or give it to our enemies."

"Exactly. That's why I'm giving this to you. We absolutely cannot let the Assassins get their hooves on this." Spitfire nodded, and placed the paper in her own pocket. Swift now had yet another thing to worry about. Soon, the two Templars stopped at a set of double doors. They walked in. Swift waited for a few minutes around a corner. Eventually the two walked out again. The two exchanged looks, nodded, and walked off in different directions. After waiting a bit longer, Swift darted into the room.

After shutting the door behind her, she took in her surroundings. The room was relatively small. There was a desk against a wall that had papers all over it. Three large crates sat by another wall. Swift walked over to one, broke the lid open with her hidden blade, and took a glimpse at these mysterious weapons.

There appeared to be six in the crate. Each one was long and cylindrical. They looked like cannons, but about a third the size. They were thinner than most cannons that Swift had seen. On one end, there seemed to be a place for a stand. A crank was attached to the side. Swift stared. She tried picking one up, but it was just a bit too heavy. Swift closed the lid and trotted over to the desk. She looked at the various papers which, as she suspected, described the small cannons. At the top of one page was the words 'swivel gun'. Swift assumed that this was what the Templars were calling these.

The papers had both writings and drawings on them. They depicted the cannons on a supportive stand. A pony stood on one end with his hoof on the crank. As the gear was turned, the Cannon fired. Though, based on what Swift could tell, the cranking mechanism was extremely slow. Another page detailed how the cannons spun on the axis of their stands. The guns didn't seem that threatening as of now, but Swift knew that with a little adjustment, they would prove deadly.

Swift looked around. She found a nearby candle that was burning brightly. She smiled, grabbed it, and tossed it onto the documents. Suddenly, she heard the door open. She froze for a moment before turning. There, in the doorway, was Fleetfoot, and she was clearly angered. After staring at each other for a moment, they attacked. Swift flicked out her blades and Fleetfoot pulled out a knife. The two slashed at each other. Fleetfoot swung hard and cut a small gash in Swift's shoulder. Swift winced, but kept fighting back.

Swift jabbed at Fleetfoot with her blade, but the blow was dodged. Their blades clashed a few more times. They broke apart from each other, both of them out of breath. With a growl of rage, Fleetfoot darted at Swift, swinging her dagger. Swift proved to fast, though, as she dodged the blow, causing Fleetfoot to lose her balance. Swift took advantage of this, and quickly rammed her blade into her enemy's neck.

Soon, Swift felt the tingling in her skull, and reality was replaced by the white void. She glanced down at her victim, who glanced up at her. "You can't stop our plans, Assassin," said Fleetfoot with dying breaths. "Once we've improved our guns, we'll have the power to wipe your kind out for good."

"Then I'll make sure that doesn't happen," said Swift. Fleetfoot painfully chuckled. "What? By yourself? We have an army at our disposal. We have dozens of guards in this place. You won't make it within fifty feet of those guns."

"I've made it this far. I'm not quitting now."

"Your persistence... will be the end of you." Soon, the Wonderbolt was dead. Swift closed the body's eyes. "I'll do whatever it takes to ensure freedom prevails, even if it seems like an impossible task. Rest in peace." Reality soon replaced the void. Swift turned to the desk, which was up in flames. The fire was starting to spread. Swift Wing darted out of the room before she got trapped within it. She used her eagle vision to quickly find a safe route away from the area.

Once she finally had a moment to stop and rest, she thought about her next course of action. She destroyed the blueprints for the guns, as well as a few of the guns, themselves. She knew there was more, though, and she knew she had to destroy them, too. There was also the matter of that mystery document that Spitfire now had. Swift decided that destroying the guns should be the first thing on her list. After formulating a plan, she nodded to herself, and got to work.