"...And that's how Keith wound up with third degree burns over 90% of his body, a broken leg, and three fractured ribs."

Rainbow and Pine were rolling on the floor, laughing, while Applejack, Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Ribbon were all giving me WTF looks.

"Ahm confused, how in tarnation did he do that, with a beer, a handgun- whatever that is, a lighter, and a wooden 2x4?"

"Applejack, I have no idea, and that was only the SECOND most stupid thing he's done, and no Pinkie, we do not talk about trying to weaponize bread and a homemade teleporter." Everyone here but me, Rainbow, and Fluttershy were wearing scarves, and Ribbon was decked out in a coat and boots because as she put it 'Changelings do not like cold' "So Twilight, are we there yet?"

"How am I supp- WHAA!" The train stopped and tossed everypony out of their seats, while I face planted HARD.

"What the bloody deuce gives?" I get up, ready to go and see what the hell happened. Upon opening the door, I was greeted to a wall of cold. Exiting the car, I realize the train had plowed into a deep bank of snow, and wouldn't be getting out anytime soon. Returning to the car, I announce our run of bad luck. "Bad news everyone, trains stuck pretty good, we got no choice but to hoof it!" My announcement was met with unanimous groans.

Ribbon was already shivering from the cold. "Th-this is why I stay ind-doors." What? Its just frozen water...

"The sooner we get there, the sooner you ponies can get some hot chocolate!" That was met by total agreement.

Leading the group, we follow the tracks after finding them on the other side of the snow drift, and set off towards the Empire. I keep getting this ominous feeling though, like somethings stalking us... "Do any of you feel like you're being watched?" ...and everyone ignores me... how nice.

"Twily!" Oh, Shinings here. We both give each other a quick salute. "I was wondering why you hadn't arrived at the station yet!"

"Well as you can see, we hit the mother of all snow drifts, and had to start hoofing it." Suddenly, that ominous feeling intensifies, and I hear Shining gasp. Whirling around, I saw a black cloud beelining towards us. "DOUBLE TIME IT, PONIES!" They didn't need to be told twice.

As we approached the Empire, me and Shining realized that we weren't going to make it. "GO! I'll hold it of-" only for me to step in front of him, Akumu drawn, with a vicious snarl on my face.

"Like hell you will... FOR EQUESTRIA!" Whatever that cloud was, it was not expecting me to charge it head on, and stopped for a moment, during which Shining fled towards the Empire, trying to get behind it's barrier.

Charging into the cloud, I started firing blasts of magic and swinging my blade like a maniac, only for a sinister chuckle to echo somewhere in the cloud. Quickly shifting to my albino changeling form, which I had dubbed Inago, I heard a voice echo.

"Another dark magic user? This is... unexpected. I cannot allow you to interfere with my plans... Begone." a bolt of magic struck me from somewhere, and the next thing I know, I'm watching my body topple to the snow, unable to control a single muscle... I could already feel the cold due to my change of form, and knew that if I didn't get up soon, I would sucumb to hypothermia.

-Ribbon!!! Why can't I move anything!?!?-

'I'm coming. Hold on!' I feel Ribbon's magic lifting me into the air, before hurling me towards the barrier, but undershot slightly, so my body rolls inside.

-I felt that! Why am I not able to move?!?!-

Twilight ran up to me. "Chitsuki!"

Her brother showed equal concern. "What happened?"

Ribbon began searching over my body, looking for something out of the norm. "I don't know!" The panic in her voice was palpable.

-all I know is that cloud thingie spoke, before hitting me with some kind of magic beam.-

'I'm going to have to tell them about, this, aren't I?'

-Yup.-

'Shining's not going to be happy if he didn't already know about me' She takes a deep breath. "Ok where do I start? Uhh. You all know about me being a changeling, yes?" Cue several affirmative responses, and an uncomfortable look from Shining.

"And this is relevant how?" He glared at her, warily.

"When is something not relevant? Few months ago before I was connected to the main hive again Chi went poking around in my head, she did this by accident, but she ended up 'touching' the hivemind. Now she has a connection to me, just me. She may not look it, but she is awake right now."

-Twilight is going to ask for proof, so tell her about Rainbow giving her a bunch of reason's why she couldn't be her 'pet'-

"Prove it." Prediciatable Twilight is predictable.

"When Rainbow wanted a pet, she gave you a bunch of reasons why you could never be her 'pet'." Twilight immediately squeaked in fright, as a massive lush formed on her face, while Shining glared at Rainbow, who busy laughing. Everypony else was staring at me in horror, more than likely frightened by the fact that if I couldn't talk to Ribbon, I would be unable to interact with the outside world.

"Yeah, I believe you now..." Twilight was resisting the urge to pull a Fluttershy and hide behind her mane.

"Ok, uh. How do I say this? If a changeling is sick. No thats not right. If a changeling is to low on energy to move, or if they pass out, the Queen can take control of their body and more move them" She gives me a look. "but I need consent to do it now."

-My body is ready.-

'That sounded kinda creepy.' I feel a weird tingling sensation run through my body, before I watch as it somewhat jerkily, stood up, and reverted to my alicorn form, as everypony watched in shock. Then I noticed my eyes had a green glow to them. Wait, why the hell can I see myself?

-that tickled, and why am I seeing things from two viewpoints? Its creepy.-

'I don't know how to sort through all your senses and your body is confusing to move. the longer I have control the better I'll get and the more I can sort through.'

-This is weirder than that time I woke up and thought I was an octopus.-

Of course, I just get Ignored, and my body drunkenly follows Ribbon and the girls towards the large castle made of crystal. Luckily, the stumbling slowly subsided, as Ribbon figured out how to walk like a sober pony.

When we finally got to the throne room, my body was actually walking normally. Of course, then I had to watch Twilight and Cadences little 'greeting' when she looked at me however, her eyes widened and she backed into a corner, hyperventilating. "No, please Faust no! No! NOOOOO!" She was flipping out at the sight of- oh, the eye glow, like when that bitch mind controlled Shining.

-Ribbon, I think she's having a flashback.-

"Oh, Right. We should leave until she calms down." Ribbon walks out of the room, my body following her.

Overhearing something about a tyrant named Sombra, and how he hid away his only weakness, I started thinking. Now if I were a genre savvy villain, where would I hide my only weakness? Wait, idea!

-Ribbon, they said that Crystal Heart thingie is powered by love, right? Shouldn't you be able to determine the location of such a large concentration of love?-

"This whole place feels like an ocean of love to me, except the ponies that live here. If the Crystal Heart is still here, I'm not close enough to feel it in this place."

The doors swing open and Twilight and co walk out. "Chi, Ribbon, you two help me look for the Crystal Heart, the rest of you girls try and show them how to hold a fairly, Ponyville style."

We both follow Twilight, when Ribbon voices our concerns. "Was Cadence alright?"

Twilight shakes her head, sadly. "no, apparently Chrysalis affected her worse then we all thought, just seeing Chi like that caused her to have a flashback, and nearly pass out from fright." Shit... what the hell did that monster do to her?

"Knowing I'm in the city probably isn't going to help either." No, really?! The barrier started to flicker, each pause between going down and back up ever so slowly increasing.

-Ohhhh this is bad...-

'Very bad.' "We should hurry!" We rushed out of the castle, only to see that cloud from earlier waiting just outside of the barrier, somehow having formed a face, and was grinning wickedly. That cloud was Sombra?! He managed to slip a beam in between the flickers, and it was headed straight for Ribbon! Shit, and she can't dodge it without letting Twilight get hit! I watch in horror as it impacts with Ribbon, who was sent into Twilight knocking them for a loop and causing Ribbon to lose control of me. I immediately toppled to the ground, when I realized, THAT MOTHERF****ER HURT RIBBON!

I felt something in my head snap, and my limbs began moving under my own will again. "HEY SOMBRERO! YOUR FIGHT IS WITH ME!" I slowly marched up to the cloud, shadow magic at the ready. I didn't care at this point if ponies got scared, I was the goddamn nuclear option! "WHATS THE MATTER, TOO SCARED TO FACE A MARE ONE ON ONE?!" That had the desired result, as it slowly took the form of a black stallion, with a curved red horn, armor, and fangs. He was literally frothing at the mouth in fury, guess I pissed him off real good. His eyes pretty much said he been corrupted by dark magic, and when his horn took on the same color and caused pillars of black crystal to erupt from the snow around us, I just smirked.

-Ribbon, take Twilight and go, I'll hold him off!-

Not even bothering to draw Akumu, I instead summon a pillar of blood red crystal about the size of a pony, and tore it from the ground, brandishing it like a club, while Sombra's eyes widen at my casual use of such magic. "Ya'll bout to have a real bad day..." I use the club to block his preemptive strike, grinning like psychopath, only to fall for the follow up, and get flung to the snow, while Sombra begins cackling.

I pull myself back up, ignoring the swelling of my face, and glare at him. Creating a shockwave of crystal pillars, I wait for the smoke to clear, only to see him reforming from his cloud from, atop one of them. I teleport above him, and try to bring my mace crashing down on him, only for him to look up and leap out of the way. Crystal met crystal, and I was at the epicenter of the shrapnel storm. Rising from the dust, I continue to glare at him, and finally draw Akumu. Channeling earth pony magic, I kick the ground, and launch a bolder into the air, before blasting it with magic right before it hits the ground, turning it into a makeshift shotgun blast, which is blocked by a wall of black crystal. Not even considering if it would work, I charge and swing Akumu at the wall, cutting about a quarter into it, despite it being made of CRYSTAL. When I try to wrench the blade free, a pillar of crystal erupts below me, and clips me as I try to dodge it. Unfortunately, it slices into my left wing, momentary crippling me with pain, before another blast of magic sends me flying into one of my own crystal spikes, the pain from the impact sending lances of hellfire through my body. With me temporarily immobilized by pain, Sombra walks up to me, before ripping Akumu free, and gazing at it. His gaze eventually turns to me.

"You, you are quite resilient, aren't you..." he swings Akumu through the air a few times, before grinning wickedly. He suddenly stabs it into my uninjured wing, piercing the membrane and causing me to finally cry out in pain. "But even you have limits..." He rears back to try and crush my head, but dodge to the side, even as Akumu shreds my right wing, before biting down on one of his forehooves, and pull back, ripping a chunk of flesh free, before spitting it out.

"..ain't dead yet, you Ganondorf wannabe..." he gives me a slightly confused look for a fraction of a second, before his face set back into the grim snarl from moments ago.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" He ripped Akumu free from my wing, and stabbed it into my leg, thankfully missing any major arteries. He removed it again, when something caught his attention.

"...it triggered! I have no time for you..." he stabbed Akumu into my abdomen, before conjuring a massive spire of crystal underneath himself, and rode it towards the peak of the castle... RIBBON!

Fighting though the pain, I try to remove Akumu, even as every motion sends pure agony through me, before with a sickening squelch, the blade comes free. I shakily raise from the ground, and began limping towards the castle. "Won't... let you... hurt... Ribbon..." I refuse to give up, we still have Scootaloo to look after... "I won't... let you... experience... that... heartbreak... again..." I stumble and collapse to the ground, the murmurs of several crystal ponies barely audible to me. Forcing myself back to my feet, I feel something wet dripping from my eyes, and realize its not blood. "I... won't... fail... you... again... Maria..." losing feeling in my left rear leg, I collapse again. This time I'm unable to get up... is this... the end..?

...

...

...

"Don't stop." I feel something nudging me, and open one of my eyes, discovering that what was nudging me was a small crystal filly, with tears in her eyes. "Don't let him hurt her like so many others..." she was trying to push me back onto my feet, with minimal success. Several other crystal ponies began coming out of hiding, when one of them draped my foreleg over his shoulder, and pulled me to my feet.

"Your time has not yet come, Jack." Maria...? I watch as a wave of energy radiates from the spire of the castle, Sombras form falling and shattering, before everything goes black.