Turns out the dragon was too big to fit in the dogs den, and had gotten stuck at the entrance, so we didn’t need to really worry about him while we’re in the den. As soon as we broke through the dirt, there was a jet of flame behind us. Ribbon peeked around the corner to see the trapped dragon cursing the diamond dogs.

Now we were running down the halls. Ribbon and I went one way, Rushdown went another, and the rest of the changelings split up evenly. The hivemind was actually somewhat useful when we were in shade form, as it somehow allowed the changelings to still see and remember us. That’s two ways we can be seen, changelings via the hivemind, and those that see our transformation happen.

We raided several rooms, Ribbon depatching the diamond dogs in a non-lethal manner before breaking the chains on any prisoners. Mostly our changelings, but there were a few that were different. They had a gold carapace and yellow eyes, and their fangs weren’t as pronounced as Ribbon’s hive. They weren’t able to see Ribbon and me either. The few we encountered seemed quite startled by having his binds just break off for seemingly no reason, but followed the others out. Couldn’t be helped, they’d just forget anyway.

One of the dogs however, didn't go down quietly, and we soon had several pointing spears at us, the perception filter broken, and Ribbon not really a fighter. -Just great.- Ribbon ran back down the tunnel we came from. Being in a cramped space, Ribbon wasn’t able to fly and the dogs were keeping pace. Clearly the other groups agroed the dogs as most of the tunnels are collapsed, no doubt trying to slow us down.

A lot of collapsed tunnels and a few turns later, the diamond dogs still right behind us. Until a jet of fire told me what was up ahead. Ribbon skidded to a halt and faced the dogs, I think we attracted even more attention. The dogs, turned wall of spears were threatening to skew if Ribbon didn’t keep moving and were slowly forcing us back.

The spears forced Ribbon into the tunnel the dragon was stuck in. ”Worthless mutts, if you want me out of your den you need to dig me out.” Maybe he doesn't see us? so it’s only the dogs.

“We brought shadow creature that attack us.”

”What creature?” Cool, he really can’t see us yet.

“Shadow creature in front of us.” The dog that spoke poked Ribbon in the flank with a spear, while she was busy staring at the dragon in fear, causing her to yelp, before the dragons eyes narrowed. So much for that.

“Oh buck.”

”Interesting. Consider your debt paid in full, now dig me out!”

”Please, no.”

-Ribbon, calm down we’ll be alright.-

“We dig you out and you leave?”

“I don’t want to go back.”

She’s not listening to me. -Ribbon, it’s okay. As soon as they dig him out, he’ll turn around and forget while we run away, alright?- I could feel something being drawn from me, for what purpose, I had no clue, but it might have something to do with Ribbons freakout.

”Yes I’ll leave, and I’ll take the creature too. Now dig-”

”I don’t want to go back!” Holy schnapps. Ribbon turned on the dogs and impaled them with crimson crystal spikes, killing and pinning them all to the ceiling as she ran! Leaving behind the stuck and now confused dragon behind.

Ribbon ran down the tunnels, the dogs we past didn’t even notice. When she finally slowed down, she leaned on the wall, breathing heavily. -Ribbon, what in the name of god happened back there?!-

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I just freaked out! I just… I just can’t deal with dragons.”

-This has to do with what you mentioned earlier, doesn't it. About ‘not wanting to go back’-

“It was humiliating and demeaning, what he made me do. I don’t want to talk about it.”

-Ribbon, this is serious, what the hell are you going to do if a dragon comes after the hive? freezing up like that is not an option.-

“We’re moving the hive to Canterlot, Princess Celestia can deal with it.”

-And if she fails?-

“If the sun goddess can’t take down a dragon what makes you think I could?”

-Ribbon. What did that dragon do to you!?-

“He had me in his hoard for over two years! It was torture, he dripped iron on me when he was bored and made me… do things, to him and in front of him. Please don’t make me talk about it!”

-HE DID WHAT!?- I felt a fury stronger than any I had experienced course through me. I felt Ribbon flinch at my sudden anger. Taking a few deep breaths to calm myself, wait, was it me or Ribbon breathing? Whatever, bigger issue first. -Ribbon, from what I’ve just heard from you, such experiences would break a lesser mare. You’re stronger now, and not alone, either. And either way, a bit of fear is good, but not on the levels that you’re showing. You’re scaring me, Ribbon, it’s like I’m the only thing keeping you from having a complete breakdown right now.-

“Can we just save the others and leave, please?”

-We’ll continue this someplace private.-

Ribbon made sure to take down ever dog this time, with a lot more force than before. Though, not as much as when she was faced with the dragon, but still a lot. Once we got all of our changelings we headed topside. As soon as we were out of the den, our changelings swarmed around us, to the confusion and bafflement of the changelings belonging to other hives. -How badly do you think they'll react to us seeming to appear out of thin air when I separate from you?-

“My queen, we felt that you were distressed. Are you alright?”

’Probably not well.’ “Don’t worry, I’m fine.” Really Ribbon? You can't just say 'I'm fine' after having something damn close to a PTSD flashback. Oh, great, they're all staring at us now.

-Uhhh... You do realize the others have noticed you now that you spoke.-

’You should probably reform youself.’

-Good idea, one sec...- I slowly peeled myself away from Ribbon, before I settled into my natural form, only to notice that the foreign changelings were all huddled together in fear of this new queen and an alicorn. I hate it when people are afraid of me for no reason, I mean, sure I look downright terrifying, but I'm actually pretty nice so long as my friends aren't in danger.

Ribbon walked up to the yellow changelings and stop a good distance away. “Do you all know where your hive is?” They all nodded vigorously. “Then go back to your home, and let your Queen know that the Equestrian hive is not here for your territory. I just want my changelings back, the ones that the griffons kidnapped, and any help would be much appreciated.” They just stood there. “Well go on. Shoo.” Ribbon made a motion with her hoof and all the yellow changelings scrambled to leave.

-Hey, is Cloak amongst the changeling we got out of there?-

’No, and I’m not surprised. We have a lot more to go.’

-We might need to set up some kind of outpost, somewhere the changelings we free can rest before resuming their journey to the hive.-

’We’ll also need to make sure we have a supply line for love and anything else we might need.’

-sounds good.-

The rest of the trip was pretty mundane. After crossing into griffon territory, we needed to find somewhere to bunk for the night, where we wouldn't be seen by any griffons.

We were passing through some kind of canyon, several waterfalls dotting the sides of it, connecting to a large river at the bottom. The constant spray from the waterfalls made the plantlife grow all over the canyon walls, and I had no doubt that if the sun was a little higher, there would be a rainbow from waterfall to waterfall. The area felt... saturated, for lack of a better term, and not with water.

As soon as we had entered the canyon, Ribbon sent everyone out to find a place to stay for the night.

"Quite the breathtaking view, isn't it Ribbon?"

“It sure is. What I would give to have the hive in a place like this.”

"So, any luck on finding somewhere to hunker down for the night?"

“Not yet, their still looking.”

"So, what happened with the dragon? You freaked out and rather brutally killed quite a few diamond dogs, before running away."

Ribbon sighed hesitantly and was quiet for a moment. “It was maybe my third or fourth mission. I was supposed to go to an outpost near baltimare and get something... That didn’t happen. instead I got caught by a dragon and instead of just eating me like you’d think he’d do, he took me with him, added me to his hoard since I was the first changeling he ever caught. Naturally I tried to escape the first night, all he did was chain me to the floor, instead I taught him I could use magic, and he punched a hole in the wall. Actually he punched the wall several time and made an alcove and put me in it before he blocked it with a massive boulder.” she paused to take a breath “The next day when he moved the boulder, I ran and immediately he breathed fire on me and singed my wings so I couldn’t fly, along with the rest of me. The second time he let me out, I found out what he was going to use me for… They found a cave, it’s behind one of the waterfalls. Should we go have a look?” I could tell Ribbon was trying to desperately change the subject, so I let it drop for now.

"A cave behind a waterfall? Sounds like the perfect place for our outpost, and just an outright nice place to rest." I followed Ribbon, who headed towards one of the larger waterfalls, before swinging around the cascade of water. The changeling that found it was standing proud outside, while we went to have a look.

The sight that greeted me was stunning. The cave was deep, and full of moss... glowing moss, and several geodes of a nearly transparent crystal spotted its interior, and the place held an aura of tranquility about it. I could swear the moss was slowly pulsing between a emerald green and sapphire blue glow. "This... This is... Words fail to describe this place..."

“Amazing.” Ribbon seemed quite taken by the moss, while I explored further into the cavern. Taking a good look at the crystals embedded in the walls, I hummed in thought.

"Just, what are these? I've never seen anything like them before." Grabbing one in my magic, I was shocked when it quickly begun glowing the same eerie greenish blue as my magic. "Ribbon? Do you have any clue what this stuff is?" When she didn't reply, I turned to see her with a mouth full of the moss. "Ribbon?"

“I couldn’t help it.” She quickly spat it out and smiled at me and made a squee noise as she blushed from embarrassment. Urge. To glomp. Rising.

I chuckled at that, and decided to humor her. "Well, does it taste any good?"

“It’s, uh, Better than the mushrooms at the hive.”

"And it glows as well, kinda like this piece of crystal I picked up." I held the still glowing chunk of crystal in front of me for Ribbon to see. Ribbon took the crystal in her own magic and was surprised by the color change.

“It looks a little like Twilight’s crystals, but these are a good bit weaker than hers. Come on, let us see what this place has to offer.” She put the crystal on the ground and we went deeper into the cave, the occasional geode becoming more frequent veins, as we delved into the depths of the cave. When the cave eventually opened up into a massive chamber, we were awestruck at the hidden beauty. The glowing moss had grown all over the floor, the low parts of walls and even on the stalagmites, with mushrooms growing here and there. Above us, geodes speckled the ceiling and gave a starry look to it. And in the center of the chamber was a large body of water with steam rising off of its surface.

"Amazing... never in my life have I seen something like this."

“Yeah, I sure wish I could rebuild the hive here, if it wasn’t so close to the griffons, I would… Want to go for a swim?”

"Do you even need to ask?"