Ugh, what did I do last night… oh… yeah. last night came rushing back, and the first thing I remembered was Pinkie somehow figuring out how to get me drunk, despite having a super liver. I think it involved fire, and a potato. I was not happy when the sun decided to make itself known by shining in my eyes. “Curse you Celestiaaaaa.”

*Whump* I rolled out of bed, trying to escape the sheets, and impacted the floor. Goddammit all.
Standing up with a groan, I knew the way to get rid of this was tons of water and food. After hauling myself to the stairs, I cringed, knowing my luck, this was going to be painful. Three steps down, I felt my weight shift. “FUUUUUU-”

*slam!*

*Crash!*

*Crack!*

“Owwwwwwch.”

“Are you alright?” I turned my head and glared at her, standing in the doorway to the kitchen

“I’m hungover, I just got out of bed, and fell down the goddamn stairs. So no, I am not alright.”

“I made pancakes if it makes you feel better.”

“Fooooood.” Already I could smell it. Fluffy pancakes, butter, and lots of serup. Picking myself up off the floor, I dragged myself into the kitchen and plopped my head on the table, awaiting the food.

“Wow Ribbon, you're right. Chi did get wasted.” Really Scoots? really?

“Just try and talk quietly for her.”

“Feeeed meeee.”

“Alright, alright... Here.”

The moment she set the pancakes down in front of me, I attacked them. it was sift, it was brutal, and there were no survivors. “Soooo gooood.”

“Chi, I think you got more on your face then in your mouth.”

“If you want help with that hangover, I could take care of that?”

“Yes please.”

Ribbon walked around the table and sat next to me. “Ok, close your eyes.” I did as she asked, expecting it to feel weird.

“Hit me.” A sudden feeling of falling hit me and made me lose my balance, I felt dizzy and nauseous like I was going to throw up. And then it just stopped.

“Feel better?”

“Much.”

“Good. Now I have to take Mirage over to Fluttershy’s, then I’ll make preparations for your avoidance training.”

“Yes, and I can take the time to think up a better armor design. Because what armor I do have doesn't cover much more than the critical areas.” Dude could probably liquify my bones if he hit me with that one attack… he freaking destroyed an island with it! his two most deadly attacks, the Kongou-kokuretsu zan, and the Raging Demon. The latter is the one I’m truly scared of. If I get hit by that attack, its game over.

“Will you be alright?”

“I… I don’t actually know. But I’ll be damned if I don't go down swinging.”

“Alright. I’m going to go grab Mirage.”

And if he shows up in the middle of the battlefield, the collateral will be unimaginable… no, I will not let it come to that!

“If you need me Scoots, I’ll be upstairs.”

“O.K!”

Slowly trudging back up the stairs, Several thoughts raced through my mind. The untold destruction Akuma could cause if I fell to him. How Ribbon would be devastated if I did, the fact that I would have failed Ribbon, just like I did Maria… and what monster I might become, the carnage I might reap until I faded away, If Ribbon fell… Just the mere thought of that filled me with unbridled fury. I had to resist punching a hole in the wall right then and there.

As I walked into the bedroom, I slowly formed my armor, before looking at my reflection in a window, my draconic eyes showing both sadness, and rage. It was the sudden sensation of a familiar weight at my side that confused me. Lifting my wing, I blinked several times in shock. there was Akumu, sitting snugly in its sheath.

“But, I thought I lost this after being captured by the griffons…” unless… despite being partially made of Ribbons shed chitin, it could be formed from my miasma at will! No wonder Nobody ever notices it! It was never there unless I needed it! Ribbon was going to shit bricks when she hears about this!

Annnnd I’m getting distracted. focus on the armor Chi, focus on the armor. I needed something that would not impede my mobility -Do not want to get hit by the Raging Demon.- but would still offer me excellent protection.

’Isn't that why I’m going to show you how to dodge properly?’

-Ribbon, if that attack connects once, its all over, I can’t take any chances.-

’That’s why we’re going to play a very intense game… of tag. I just dropped off Mirage, start running.’

“...fuck.” I teleported myself outside, and bolted. -Please be gentle…-

’I’ll be as gentle as’ “ my own instructor was!”

“OHSHI-” I ducked just as Ribbon whizzed over my head. Full contact dodgeball, much? I could already feel my heart pounding, adrenaline beginning to flow, and the world around me seemed to slightly slow. I spun around, but Ribbon was no where to be found… that left… ABOVE! I quickly leapt back, and in the nick of time, too. Ribbon hit the ground hard enough to leave dents in the ground. I panicked for a moment, but then remembered how the changelings did something similar in Canterlot. She was fine, and OHSHITGOTDISTRACT- I slid under Ribbon as she pounced at me, quickly getting back onto my hooves as I tried to conserve my momentum.

“Never think a trick to cheap to use. If you can’t find an opening. Make one!” Ribbon went right at me, trying to ram into me with her shoulder, only for me to realize I was standing in the house’s shadow. I let myself drop back, and sink into it momentarily, as Ribbon passed over me, before getting back out, and running for it. Too close!

*BRRZT*

“Ah HELL nah!” I dodged, ducked, dipped, dived, and dodged every spell Ribbon shot at me. Several of them just barely missing. If this was her ‘not good’ at magic then I must really suck. I ran past several buildings, took several turns before Ribbon changed tactics on me. The next turn I took I was blocked by a green barrier.

“...I call hax!”

“I call fair game!” Ribbon was going for close-quarters again, only for me to dissolve into miasma and reform behind her. She turned to face me and spat gel in my direction, but a flap of my wings got me airborn. I can probably out speed her, but her wings are designed for much more maneuverability than mine, meaning I had to get out in the open, which I doubt she was going to let happen. an idea occurred to me, and I released an undirected flash of magic, before using my shapeshifting, not change form, bit change color, so that I perfectly blended in with the sky.

-Never underestimate human ingenuity- Ribbon finished rubbing the spots out of her eyes and looked around for me, but became confused at my disappearance. how did I not think of this sooner? Heh, she looks kinda funny bobbing her head around like that.

*BRRZT*

“Woah! How did you see me, that’s not fair!”

“Try watching an owl hunt mice, or any other predator hunt. You might just learn something.” Time to put a twist on an old classic.

“Dammit, your go- what. the. fuck. is. that.” Of course Ribbon fell for it. The moment she looked away, I teleported into the leaves of Twilights treebrary, and once again abusing my shapeshifting, matched the color and texture of the leaves, even taking the time to try and mimic their swaying in the wind, and stilled my breathing until it was non existent. Empty my mind, she can sense fear… Thank you Metal Gear, cardboard boxes weren't the only trick I picked up from playing that series.

I watched as Ribbon approached, coming within a few feet of me, allowing me to hear her muttering. “She’s sloppy, but learns quickly.” An unusually strong gust of wind blew past, blowing Ribbons tail away and giving me a clear view… HOT DAMN!

…

Aw crap. Ribbon spun around, a evil grin on her face. “What did I say about being Sloppy!” Ribbon dove right at me, giving me time to properly react.

I went to fly up and out of her way but my hoof got caught in a branch. “Shi- AH!” With me stuck, Ribbon hit me like a battering ram, sending us both down into the tree and through one of the windows in Twi’s house, where we landed on the floor with Ribbon pinning me down.

“Uhhhhh… what happens now?”

“Now we start over until you’re exhausted or I’m bored.”

“Rainbow! how many times do I have to tell you, there’s a door for a reas- oh.” Twilight had walked in, intent on berating a certain polychromatic pegasus, only to find me and Ribbon instead. “Do I even want to know?”

“Intense game of tag?”

“What Ribbon said.”

Twilight slowly begun blushing. “Thats… not what it looked like to me.”

Yeah, Ribbon does kinda have me pinned to the floor… And now I can’t get the image of me and Ribbon doing it out of my head. Ribbon glanced down at me for a moment before her face turned green with blush too. Ribbon jumped off of me. “We’ll be on our way. K, thanks, bye!” And like that she was gone, leaving me to deal with Twilight.

-Why the sudden hurry?-

’Nothing. I’ll be in the basement, come get me when you’re done talking to Twilight.’ What would she be doing in the basement, the only things we do down there is rehabilitate chrysalis, and well… bang.

“Something on your mind, Chi?”

“Yes, I’ve been trying to figure out how to improve my armor, without restricting my mobility.”

“Oh yeah. Because you have to fight that demon at some point, right?”

“Bingo.”

“I think I might have the desing your looking for…” She begun rapidly scanning through books, until she stopped on an old, tattered, red one, that lacked any title.”You probably didn’t know this, but there were actually a few ponies who supported Nightmare Moon. The book I have here, is a notebook of one of those ponies, a blacksmith to be precise. It was his job to to make all the armor that the cult wore. Ah, here’s the entry I was looking for.” She turned the book around so I could see it.

“That, is a damn fine piece of art, and it looks perfect as well.” A sudden idea popped into my head, a rather cheesy idea. “Now I must go, my Ribbon needs me.” With a quick teleport, I arrived in the basement of our house. “Oh. My…”