’For more information on advanced uses of ice magic, see chapter 35, or see chapter 36 for co-’

*BANG!*

I didn't even think, the moment I heard a gunshot, I teleported straight to the forge, fearing that Ribbon had accidentally shot herself.

The lack of blood didn't do much to soothe my fears, considering Ribbon was nowhere to be found. “Ribbon!? Are you alright!?”

I heard a moan coming from behind the anvil, and saw ribbon curled up behind it, clutching her ears.

-Ribbon? you're not wounded, are you?-

'I'm fine, ahhh, but my ears hurt. Don't touch the crystals, I used the wrong enchantment.'

looking at what was on top of the anvil, I several silvery white crystals, pulsing an ominous red.

'I don't know how to make the primers from you world, so I'm trying to use enchanted crystals.'

-What enchantment did you use?-

'I used an explosive enchantment, I didn't think such a small piece would be so strong.'

-I can see that...- I helped her get back to her hooves, were she leveled a fierce glare at the crystals that harmed her.

'It sounded like the right enchantment, back when my ears worked. I'll have to try a different one.'

"Any idea what went wrong?"

"Wrong enchantment and the wrong size crystal. Luckily I made several. I'll try a shockwave next time."

"Judging from the size, I'd say you were making a 50.cal round... isn't that a little excessive for a general purpose firearm?"

I was hoping to skip using black powder and just use crystals but, I can't control what direction the crystal explosion happens in. I'll need to use powder."

"that is probably a good idea..."

"Mhmm. Want to see the rifle?”

I immediately grinned like a five year old on Christmas morning. "ohhh yessss..."

Ribbon walked over to the weapon rack, takes something covered in cloth down, and placed it on the anvil for me to look at. She threw the explosive crystals away, with a sour look on her face. She then picked up the bundle of cloth, and slowly unwrapped it, revealing what looked like a modified 1873 Springfield rifle…

"Here it is, the R-1 model. Still a prototype but it's in working order, hopefully. I still need to make the ammunition to test it. It has a door on breach to load it and an internal trigger so only a unicorn could use it.”

I felt myself shed a single tear in awe at her crafting skills. "Its... its beautiful..."

"It's good to know that you like it. I'm putting a lot of work into this, as a lot of it I had to do manually with magic. I'd ask Celestia about getting her universities Matter Manipulator, but I'd have to tell her what I'm using it for."

"I for one, firmly support the right to bear arms..."

"You also lived in a more violent world, this world is relatively peaceful."

"correction, EQUESTRIA is relatively peaceful…”

"More so now than ever. But I see you point... I see if we can steal that matter manipulator and get a few changelings working on this with me."

"Sounds risky..."

"I have confidence in them, they can do it."

"Don't tempt murphys law..."

"Who?"

"Murphy's law states that anything that can go wrong, WILL go wrong..."

"Oh, don't worry. We've managed just fine on our own for a long time. Now out, I have more crystals to work with.”

“Awww... “ I put on the best pout I could muster, trying to use the power of cuteness against her…

“Nah hah, I don’t want your icy shadow magic killing my forge. And those eyes only work when you’re tiny.”

Tiny… Aha! like that time we first met Scootaloo, and she hid from us… You want tiny and cute, you’ll get tiny and cute!

I soon felt myself shrinking, until I was the same size as a filly…

“Pwetty pwease?” Dammit brain…

“Hnnng… Fine, you can stay. Just stop with the eyes!”

...Its super effective!

“Yaaay!” I quickly hugged Ribbons leg, a huge smile on my face.

“You do know I can do that too, right? I’ll will get you back for this.”

Worth it! *squee*

…

Wait, did I just make that squeaking noise Fluttershy usually makes?

I did… I must look adorable right about now… Without warning, I was swept off the floor as Ribbon began squeezing the life out of me. My cheeks bulged out from me trying to keep the air in my lungs so she couldn't crush my ribs, but there was no holding it in. All at once, the air in my lungs was squeezed out, but instead of the sick crunching sound I was expecting, I squeaked like a rubber duck. How embarrassing.

Ribbon loosened her hold on me, allowing sweet, sweet air to return to my lungs, but didn’t let go. “What was that?”

“That was me… and no, I don’t have any clue how I did it either…” Man, I forget how soft chitin really is because it’s, well, chitin. Like snuggling against a blanket fresh out of the dryer, except she’s always warm.

“Hmm? You like being tiny, don’t you?”

“...maybe…” Great, I’m blushing, aren't I?

…

Oh screw it, I could get used to this… I felt myself curling up against Ribbons chest, trying to get as close to the warmth as I could… “And the next round of crystals are ready.” I looked back over to the anvil, and sure enough there sat three new very small crystals with an alternating orange red glow. “Hooray for multi-tasking! Now to test them...”

A hammer, coated in Ribbon’s green magic, floated over the crystals. And then she dropped it on top of them, making the hammer jump and setting the the top of the anvil on fire. “Cool...”

“Mhmm, that should work.”

“What did you do, anyway?” Seeing as I was still a filly sized lump of cute, that sounded much more adorable than curious…

“Instead of an explosive enchantment I used a shockwave and a fire enchantment.”

“Seems legit…” I abruptly yawned, the combination of my late night reading binge and the excitement from the misfire, catching up with me...

“If you’re tired, take a nap. I’m just going to load these new primers into the casings I’ve made.”

“Mhmm… you do that…” Who knew this room was so cozy and warm!? I could feel myself drifting off to sleep in Ribbons forelegs, a smile on my face…

“Chi, Chi wake up! I’ve made almost 30 rounds for testing.”

I was up faster than she could blink, before I realized something… Why is everything so big? “Ribbon? when did I shrink?”

“A few hours ago you turned into a filly, remember?”

“Oh… Just gimmie a sec so I can turn back.” Quickly rolling onto my hooves, I felt myself shift as I returned to my normal size. “You said something about testing?”

“Yes, I’ve made about 30 rounds. I figured from your memories that was a pretty good number to stop at.”

“Yeah, I’d say thats a good point to stop for now.”

“Good. We’ll test these at the hive, away from prying eyes. This is illegal after all.”

“Anything you want to do before we head back to the hive?”

“I think Scootaloo’s with her friends, Chrysalis should be fine for now. Nope, not really.”

“Should I teleport us there?”

“Do you want to test the gun now, or later?”

“Right, stupid question…” Taking a few deep breaths, I felt my magic gathering, our destination already in mind, as it wrapped around me and Ribbon. When the light cleared, we were in Ribbons bedroom, the familiar buzzing of the hive music to my ears. “So, we testing it outside?”

“Obviously. I’d rather not blow out the ear drums of every changeling here.”

Soon… “Lead the way, I can’t wait to try this out!” Ribbon lead the two of us up through the hive and past a few new rooms being dug out. What confused me was there was a pretty strong light coming from two of them. Maybe they dug too far?

Anyway, once we reached the main entrance, we flew down to the bottom of the mountain. Where to my surprise, there was a changeling waiting for us. “This is Cloak, she’s interested in turning the griffons own weapons against them.”

Oh… oh joy… Deep breaths Chi, deep breaths… I felt my mind slowly shift gears, not wanting to make a fool of myself in front of a potential unknown...

“H-hello.” The momentary stutter in her voice, combined with the slightly panicked look in her eyes, told me everything I needed to know… She was scared of us… And I don’t mean the ‘unexpected visit from a superior officer’ kind of scared, She looked like she was fearing for her life...

“Is something troubling you?”

-Do I really look that terrifying?-

’Do you want the truth, or a lie to make you feel better?’

-Truth please.-

’Even I’m having trouble looking you in the eyes when you’re like this.’

Jeez… I really am driving ponies away from me, aren't I?

Perhaps a few minor alterations would make me appear less intimidating…

I closed my eyes, as I focused on what I wanted to happen, and felt an itching sensation begin to build, as my fangs receded. Opening my eyes, I noticed the light had become somewhat brighter. I no longer had the eyes of a predator, instead, they looked like anypony elses.

“There is no need to be afraid, little one.”

My sudden changes at least caused the changeling to stop staring at me like I was going to rip her throat out, and actually look me in the eyes. “T-thank you… Ma’am.”

-Perhaps I should try to keeps these changes, no?-

’Maybe. Just keep in mind that they aren’t permanente and you might need a break. Extended transformations can be bothersome.’

“We came here to test our new weapon, did we not?”

“We did, Cloak, can you go set up the targets, please?”

“Y-yes my Queen.”

I was a bit surprised at hearing that. “Queen?”

“Despite my protests, they still call me by title and I am very much a queen to them, even though I gave the crown to the Princess.”

“It means they look up to you.”

“I guess, we did defeat Chrysalis.”

“...Yeah.” after I effectively mind raped her for hurting you. I still feel ashamed for doing that… I was pulled from my thought by Cloak, who finished putting up all targets.

“Targets are ready. Now we can see just how well your new weapon performs.”

“Here you go.” She stated as she levitated the weapon over to me, still wrapped in its cloth followed by a box I hadn’t noticed before.

I slowly unwrapped the rifle, struggling not to fangasm at the sight of it. Popping open the breech, I checked to make sure it was empty, before using my magic to feel for the trigger.

“Ah! there it is.”

Opening the box, I was greeted to little over two dozen rounds, each one slightly glowing with a magical change from the primer. Pulling one out to inspect it, I noticed the light blue tip hinting at the use of miasma. To say I’m interested in what this will do would be an understatement.

“Alright, we’re using live rounds here Cloak, so stay behind me, and brace yourself for some very loud noises.”

I deposited a round into the breach, before closing it and pulled back the hammer. Slowly lowering myself to the floor, I took aim at the first target, a clay pot? I took a deep breath, waiting for the rifle to stop trembling in my grip, and tuned out everything but the target…

Careful…

Steady…

…

*BANG* *SHATTER*

“AHHHH! MY EARS!” That would be Cloak, who was now hunched over clutching her head. Ribbon seemed to be expecting it. Of course, I was running on autopilot, and quickly chambered another round, before taking aim and breathing out…

*BANG* *SHATTER*

Reload.

*BANG* *SHATTER*

Reload.

*BANG* *SHATTER*

Reload.

I had gone into sniper mode, waiting for something to pop out from behind an outcropping of rock, and was minimizing my movements, breathing only when absolutely necessary, and remaining still enough to look like I had been chiseled from the surrounding stone…

“M-my Queen, does she normally do that?” I had tuned out the constant buzzing of the hive, as well as the rhythmic breaths of Ribbon and Cloak, and was listening intently for something else...

“No…” Ribbon walked over to investigate my stillness, and begun waving a hoof in front of my face.

quickly making a slashing motion with my hoof, I spoke to Ribbon through or link. -Be quiet, we are not alone…- Judging from Cloaks gasp not five seconds after I said that, Ribbon had passed it on to her via the hivemind.

After listening for several minutes, I pinpointed the source of our uninvited guest, and took aim at the top of a particularly large outcropping of rock, and fired, blowing the very tip of it off, and causing two someones behind it to yelp.

I tried to shout at them, but no sound came from my lips, even as I attempted to use what the Royal voice, until Ribbon poked me.

“Chi, you’re forgetting to inhale and its kinda freaking me out…”

So I was… Huh, I did not feel the burning sensation in my lungs typically associated with oxygen deprivation. Sharply inhaling, I tried again. “Alright, whatever you are! Come out with your forelimbs in the air!”

“Mother Plucker, shes onto us Cainus!”

“Hawkeye, you said changelings were dumb, and yet, here I see them using GRIFFON firearms, and ontop of that, they caught us.”

Hearing that name filled me with unbridled rage, as I reached behind the outcropping with my magic, and yanked the offenders out from behind it, revealing that same damned griffon, and a large diamond dog, who looked to be a cross between a Rottweiler, and a German Shepherd… Yeah… Even though I was an alicorn, I was NOT getting near him without a sleeping spell ready… Dude was as big as ME, and his muscles looked dense enough that he would stand a decent chance if he went toe to toe with a Hive Guard not to mention he looked strong enough to dig through bedrock like it was styrofoam, which explained how they got into the hive in the first place.

-Ribbon, we may need to do a full sweep of the hive, make sure no other entrances have been created… And we may need the Hive Guard on hand in case El Bruto here decides to make a break for it, mutt looks strong enough to take on a manticore!-

“Oh pluck, oh pluck, oh pluck! I don’t wanna be strangled with my intestines!”

’I’ll have several groups search the mountain.’

“Pardon my griffon, but this turned into a total clusterflock.” Oh, a smartass are we?

“Buddy, theres an acronyms for your situation where I come from… F.U.B.A.R… Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition/Recovery.”

“Please! have mercy! Don’t give me to that mutant Changeling!”

”Oh, you mean me? -Ribbon, make sure Cloak knows that what I’m about to do is only an act.-

“Oh Sweet Ziz! That monster is actually the freaking spawn of Nightmare Moon herself!?” hawkeyes words caused me to grit my teeth in frustration, as I let my minor transformation drop, my true eyes, as well as fangs, now showing.

“Do not compare me to that plebian… I am much, much worse…”

“And if you think we’re just going to hoof you over to Princess Luna again, you’d be mistaken.” Ribbon pitched in. “It’s clear I can’t rely on Princess Celestia for everything. This hive is about to become a lot more dangerous.”

“Now then… What to do with you…” The malice in my voice surprised even me, as I could feel my features slowly shifting into a snarl, my anger quite visible.

“We could always stuff them in a pod and feed off them, what’s the saying? two birds, one stone?”

“I doubt he has much love in him…” The fear coming off the griffon was intoxicating, and left me wanting more. I gave him a large, fanged grin. “all it would take is a single bite, and a quick yank, and it would be over. But that would be too good for you…” That was enough to cause his partner to start sweating nervously, as the implications of what I said sunk in.

“Hmmm, I didn’t say I would the only one feeding off them, and from the looks of it, you’re enjoying yourself.”

“Ohhh yesss.” I was getting far too into this, as I could feel my magic shifting around on its own. “Escape is futile. I could be lurking in any shadow, waiting for you…” by now, the griffon looked like he was going to have a heart attack, and his diamond dog accomplice was sweating bullets.

“And my changelings and I could be anypony you love, and you would never know until the knife was six inches deep.” ’Oh, the love is just pouring off of you.’

“Now, if you tell us everything, you might just come out of this alive…”

-He’s all yours Ribbon.-

“Chi, hold the dog down.” I quickly applied more pressure with my magic, curious as to what Ribbon had in mind. She swiftly bit him on the shoulder, causing the mutt to whimper a few times, before becoming limp. I watched, satisfied, as the griffon begun struggling with renewed effort, fearing he was next. Ribbon saddled right up to the griffon. “What are changelings to you?”

What an odd question to ask right now, unle- Clever girl… throwing him for a loop, are you? It worked, the griffon… Hawkeye, right? Whatever, he stopped struggling and just sort of stared at Ribbon for a moment before answering her. “You’re parasites, monstrous parasites.”

He didn’t… He did not just call Ribbon a parasite! A faint rumble rose from my throat, my displeasure quite audible and visible as it caught his attention. “Don’t look at her, look at me. I’m the one that holds your life in her hooves right now. Now, why do you dislike us? You could have just left, we wouldn’t have chased you.”

The look in the griffons eyes shifted from one of terror, to an almost religious zeal, as he begun smirking. “You fool, griffons are the ones truly meant to rule all!”

“What?” all three of us said in unison. apparently, Griffons have the same ‘master race’ shit going on as germany did in WW2… this is a time bomb waiting to explode, and when it does…

“Oh, this is bad… very, very bad…” How did Celestia not know about this!? First we have whatever the hell caused that explosion, and now we have a bloody war brewing!? The hells next, something crawling out of the pits of hell!? but, why did he suddenly become so confident... unless…

-Ribbon? I think they have a whole freaking army right under the hive…-

’You know we’re moving the hive again after this, to Canterlot.’

Then, it started. The entire hive begun rumbling as the sound of dogs and griffons could be heard. the bastards were literally coming out of the walls! I immediately grabbed Ribbon and Cloak in my magic, and pulled them close to me before erecting a barrier spell, trying to come up with a plan to get us to safety.

“The boss knew it would work!”

by the time other changelings had gotten to the scene of the disturbance, we had been surrounded by dozens of dogs and griffons, and I didn’t know if the barrier spell would hold them off long enough for us to be rescued…

To my horror, this nightmare was far from over. One of the diamond dogs came forward with a sack slung over his shoulder, before he dropped its contents onto the floor, revealing Mirage, tied up and chirping in panic. Hawkeye picked her up, and begun examining his talons, a truly diabolical look in his eyes. “Now are you going to come peacefully, or are we going to have to take more drastic measures?”

I slowly looked into Ribbons eyes, and we both understood that we had no out this time…

With a nod from Ribbon, I dropped the shield, and slumped to the floor, trying not to cry, as I curled up into a ball, unable to bear how similar this was to Maria's death… those were my last thoughts before I felt something being jabbed into my shoulder, and everything begun feeling fuzzy...

Ugh… what the hell happened.

as every slowly came into focus, I felt a rising sense of panic. I was in some kind of cage, surrounded by griffons and diamond dogs, being taken to god knows where, and Ribbon, Cloak, and Mirage were no where in sight.

“So, the Princess finally wakes up.” that voice!

“HAWKEYE YOU MOTHERFUCKER!” I whirled towards the source, and launched a blast of magic, only for it to fizzle out before it even got between the bars. I call hax.

“Hehe, so glad we found out adamantium has anti magical properties, as well as being nigh indestructible. You aren't going anywhere anytime soon.”

“I swear, if you hurt them, not even divine intervention would be able to stop me from destroying you!”

“So long as you cooperate, that won’t have to happen now, will it?”

“What do you want with me, anyway?”

“Boss’s orders. Said ‘the unknowns must be taken care of.’”

Checking under my wing, I confirmed that they had in fact, taken Akumu, meaning I really was defenseless right now.

-Ribbon? can you hear me?-... Nothing, I hope she’s alright…

How did they know where the hive was? we made sure the griffons were knocked out when we brought them there, and yet they found the place!

I closed my eyes, focusing on trying to find Ribbon, an inexplicable sense of fear slowly building in me, threatening to turn into full blown panic. Please be okay… There, I can at sense it. She’s alive at least. I diverted all my attention towards that sensation, blocking out the waking world as I tried to reach out to her.

-Ribbon…?-

’Please don’t be hurt.’

-Ribbon! I’m fine, how are you?-

’I can’t see or use my magic.’

-Are Cloak and Mirage okay?-

I can hear her chirping, but I don’t know about Cloak.’

a wave of relief washed over me, knowing they were unharmed. -Can you contact the hive?-

’I’ve done one better, the princesses are going to be angry about this, but I had a changeling they didn’t know about in the guard and had him tell them what happened.’

-How long until help arrives?-

’I don’t know where I am, so no. But I can still tell them where you are, do you know?’

-I have no clue… wait, remember when you ‘borrowed’ my body after that attack by that dark magic wielding unicorn?-

’Sombra? yeah’

-You could see what I was seeing, right? maybe you know where I am? cus all I know is that it looks like an orchard or a forest...-

’Ok, hold on.’ My eye snapped open of their own accord and I looked around. The griffons were cutting down a few maple trees and there was a river near by. ’Whitetail woods maybe. That place is supposed to be protected, ponies can’t go there without good reason. I’ll let Princess Celestia know.’

As the griffons traveled deeper into the forest, the sounds of wildlife faded leaving an eerie silence.

“We’re here, set it down, he should be here shortly.”

The sudden drop caused Ribbon to fumble a bit with my body, before she managed to regain balance.

I picked up the sound of hoofsteps, and we turned to see a red centaur emerging from the depths of the forest.

-Who the hell is that guy?-

’I have no idea.’

“So, the fourth alicorn princess…”

“Who are you?” Ribbon spoke for me, making her anger quite clear.

“I am Tirek, soon to be ruler of Equestria! and now, your magic is mine!”

A ball of boiling energy gathered in between his horns, and I felt my magic trying to escape me, as it flowed towards him, causing me unimaginable pain as it did so. I struggled, trying to hold on to the smallest bit of magic I could, but it’s no use, I’m not skilled enough with my magic to even try and keep it. As I felt the last of it leave me, my connection with Ribbon petered out, before I felt myself being lifted, and saw some kind of portal being opened in front of me, revealing an island in a lake of fire, several specks dotting it, before I was tossed into it.