//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: Sandworms, Assault Rifles, and the Merits of Extraneous Princesess 
// by GaPJaxie 
//------------------------------//

"Princess!" one of the servants called. "Your starship just touched down on the landing pad outside. Will you be greeting your servants in person?"

"Oh, horseapples." Twilight looked up quickly from her book. "Time to go. Rainbow?"

"Right!" Rainbow Dash quickly pulled off her uniform, tossing it away to the nearest servant. "There you go. Have fun. Give the real Prince my regards."

"Indeed." Rarity sighed, rising from her own couch. "Let's hurry! Fluttershy is just down the main stairs, then on the left to grab Pinkie Pie. We can-"

Before she could finish her thought, the door to the spa burst open, and another Rarity strode in. Snow white, lithe and proud, she was surprisingly physically distinct from their own seamstress. While they were clearly the same pony, this Rarity was notably physically fit, a hair taller, and accessorized with more knives than fabric. She had a fancy leather strap on each of her hind legs, like a form-fitting set of saddle bags. She had a knife on each side, a variety of pouches, and two grand firearms -- a revolver on one side, and an exotic tripple-barreled shotgun on the other.

"Impostors!" she shouted, her horn shining as she whipped the shotgun from it's holster. The weapon fired with a powerful retort, and Twilight staggered back, having taken the hit square in her face.

"Gliiiitttteeer!" she screamed, tumbling to the ground and pawing at her face. "It's full of glitter! It's in my eyes! It's in my eyes!"

"Really, Twilight?" Rainbow snorted, rolling her eyes. "Getting taken down by a blast of glitter? What are you, six? It-" The weapon fired again, and another cloud of flying glitter hit Rainbow right on the muzzle. "AAAAH! Oh god, the edges are sharp! It stings! It stings!"

The weapon turned on Rarity, who let out a contemptuous snort. The weapon barked yet again, but this time, Rarity's horn shone as well. Instead of exploding outwards into her face, the packet of glitter swirled around her in elegant lines and constructions. It adorned her hair, it graced her as a halo, and when she flicked her main just so, she sparkled like the dew on the morning grass. "Ahem," she snorted at her counterpart. "You, ma'am, are no lady."

"Impressive!" the other Rarity said, sounding positively delighted. "You really made that look like I did it. Oh, goodness, I haven't used magic like that in years. That was a pleasure to witness." She sighed, and both of them laughed. "Well, anyway."

Then she drew her revolver and shot Rarity in the leg.

"AAH!" Rarity screamed, tumbling to the ground. "Aaah! Oh, goodness? Am I bleeding? Did you shoot me? With bullets?" She colapsed to the ground, holding her leg tight against her. "What kind of a pony are you!?"

"An effective guard?" The other Rarity rolled her eyes. "You're right, what a terrible accusation."

"Barbarian!" Rarity shouted, cradling her leg as bright red blood stood out against her white coat. "I'm dying!"

"It's a flesh wound," the copy insisted. "I was ordered to take you all alive. I would never do more than the minimum amount of damage required to subdue you." She lifted her shotgun, and with her horn shining blue, loaded in three new glitter shells.

"You've wounded a Princess! And a Princesses best friend!" Rarity insisted. "Get me medical care right now, or I swear when Celestia hears about-"

The other Rarity lowered her shotgun, and fired a full blast of glitter directly into Rarity's face. "WHY!?" Rarity screamed.

"You know why," the copy insisted. She got a good chuckle out of that, then looked to the cowering servants, and the other guards out in the hall. "Oh well. Tie them up."