//------------------------------// // The Changeling Queen // Story: Metroid: A Hunter in Equestria // by Cusi //------------------------------// Disclaimer: Samus and Metroid elements belong to Nintendo. My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro/the Hub. I own nothing but the plot (as in story). _____________________________________________________________________________________ Chapter 8: The Changeling Queen Samus was walking. Samus was walking while tuning out a voice. Samus was walking while tuning out a voice belonging to an extremely annoying lieutenant ranting about strategy and plans. Samus lost interest rather quickly, thus the reason the voice was tuned out. Had the pony guard not repeated the same idea for the Nth time, Samus would probably still be paying attention to said pony guard. But alas, such was not the case. On the bright side, nothing that could hinder progress happened. They were even faster than expected, picking up Cloud Zapper's statue (which Samus was ordered to carry) and reaching Canterlot Castle around midnight. Samus had to give it to Land Scout, the guy was good with maps and routes. It was extremely rare for Samus to have things actually go better than expected. Of course, it'd be nice if Samus didn't have a bomb ready to explode on her back, but she'd take what she got. Samus and the guards arrived at the throne room. Being a little past midnight, they were greeted by Princess Luna. The Night Princess sat on the throne while Celestia was nowhere in sight; probably sleeping. Upon seeing the bomb in Samus's back and a statue resembling Cloud Zapper, Luna's welcoming smile turned into a frown. "What happened?" "Your majesty, Samus has sabotaged our expedition and Cloud Zapper got turned into stone." Spearhead responded with a neutrality and force expected from any military agent. "And a shocking discovery was made: Samus is a magic leech." "That's news to me too." interrupted Samus. "I'm planning to do a little investigation about this." Luna had mixed feelings with this revelation. Before she could decide on anything, however, she would need to hear both sides of the story first. With a long, tired sigh, she began talking."I would like it if both were to tell me the event of what has transpired the last couple of days. Keep in mind, Samus, that we do not tolerate treason, so choose your words very carefully. Now, if you please, lieutenant." she finished motioning for Spearhead to talk. "*ahem* Of course, your majesty." Spearhead began "We were doing fine in our trek, until we got attacked by a cockatrice. As you can see, Cloud Zapper fell victim to its gaze. Afterwards, we were attacked by a group of changelings, though they were taken care of. That night, when we were preparing camp, we found another changeling. This changeling, however, turned out to be compliant and avoided trouble. The plan was to bring it here and let you interrogate it for further information about our missing ponies. But as you may have already guessed, Samus went against my orders and freed the changeling. We also discovered she has the ability to drain magic, although according to Boomer, it is when in contact with it and only in small amounts. We have brought her here so you could deal with her." Luna regarded the earth pony for a while, before nodding her understanding. "I see. Let us hear Samus's version of the story before we make our decision." She then turned to Samus with a glance both disappointed and curious. Taking Luna's glance as her cue to talk, Samus began. "The reason I'm a bounty hunter and not part of the military is because I have more freedom. They hire us is because some issues can't be solved 'legally'. My mission was to find and rescue the missing ponies or inform you of their deaths. I'll do whatever it takes to complete my mission, even going against your guard's orders." "But freeing the changeling was a step back, not forward, in your objective." interrupted Luna. "Mind explaining that?" "Of course." Samus sighed "I placed a tracker in the changeling. Right now, he must heading toward the hive, where your ponies are most like being held. By letting him go, I made him show us its location. I'll monitor his movement for a few days, and when I determine their position I'll intrude on the hive and free the ponies." "Hmm..." Luna seemed to consider this option. "It looks like a good plan. But why wait a few days? The sooner we end this operation the better." "It's a common tactic to send squadrons away from the base of operations to misguide spies. The changelings we encountered in the Everfree were probably there to cause a diversion and focus attention in the forest, not the hive's location. By having an accurate position, I can launch an attack without them expecting me." "But what about the ponies?" asked Spearhead this time "What you suggest is to leave them in their grasp. That's too dangerous to even consider!" "From what you've told me, they went missing several days ago and not a single message was sent from the changelings requesting anything in exchange." Samus countered "By my experience, your ponies are either dead, or the changelings need them for something, meaning they won't kill them. Either way, a few days won't change a thing for them, but will give me enough time to pinpoint their location, plan a sneak attack and rescue the ponies." "Give you enough time?" asked Luna with a raised eyebrow. "Surely, you don't mean..." "I'm going alone." Samus said with finality. "I've had experience with shape-shifters. Besides, I work alone." True, Samus loathed having to keep others on her watch beside herself. "I can't allow such a risky tactic. Please, let me..." Luna was cut off yet again by Samus. "Look, I've done this before; I know how this works." Samus looked at Luna and saw concern. "I don't want to risk friendly fire. Prepare a rescue squad; if I clear the place, the guards can come and help escort the ponies. I'll let you know when it is safe." Luna looked pensive for a moment, and then made her decision with a knowing smile. "I concede. BUT, once you leave for the hive, you have 24 hours to return. If your time runs out, I'm sending the Royal Guards. 24 hours, no more." Her tone left no room for arguing. "But your highness, she can't be trusted!" Interjected Spearhead. "I am sure we can come with something else." "Lieutenant..." Luna spoke with a strong but gentle tone "As of right now, Samus has proposed the best course of action. Her experience and equipment also make her the best option. Celestia trusts her, and so do I." Spearhead recoiled a little at the statement, while Samus grinned behind her helmet. "You may leave for your ship, Samus. Prepare for your mission, and please find out about this magic-draining power of yours." Samus didn't move, however. A quick glance was all it took for Princess Luna to see why, then her gaze turned to Boomer. It took the demolition pony a few seconds to understand what the princess wanted of him. "Oh, right! Sorry." With a quick red glow from his horn, the bomb on Samus's back was gone. Free from her hazard, Samus gave a swift wave of her hand with two fingers outstretched, signaling her depart, and began to walk away. Before she could entirely exit the room, though, Luna stopped Samus one last time. "Oh, and Samus? Please tell Twilight to contact Zecora; we may need her help with Cloud Zapper's situation." Samus simply nodded before disappearing from sight. Once the bounty hunter was gone, Luna released a heavy sigh. "Lieutenant, contact Iron Shield and tell him to report everything about Samus's actions. Trust is important, but a little extra precaution wouldn't be a bad idea." "At once, your majesty." Spearhead bowed. "Good. You may all leave and take the day off. Thank you for your services." Luna said. Land Scout, Boomer and Spearhead all expressed their gratitude and left. Luna stood still for a few moments, before a knock came from the same door from which the guards left the room. "Come in." was Luna's simple command. The doors opened and Land Scout emerged from them. "How is thy majesty faring?" Land Scout exaggeratedly bowed with a smile on his face. "Dost thy highness find this night full of beauty and peace?" The Night Princess giggled a bit before answering. "Oh stop it you! I no longer talk ancient Equestrian ...Mostly." Luna giggled again before continuing talking. "You always know what to say to make me feel better." "Well, that's because that's my second special talent." Land Scout responded by making another mock-bow. He straightened himself before his face turned serious at seeing the sad-looking blue alicorn. "Is something on your mind, Luna?" Princess Luna gave a loud sigh and looked at his present friend in the eye. "Land Scout, what is your opinion of Samus? What can you tell me about her?" The question didn't surprise Land Scout. Ever since the mistress of the night had her first contact the alien bounty hunter, she had been frequently spacing out. The pony scout figured Samus must be the reason behind it. Still, he was going to be honest. "She's hard to read, and her suit doesn't help with that. She has a lot of experience with military affairs, as far as I can see; and very efficient at dealing with ambushes. Likes to do thing her way, and-" "No." Luna interrupted "I mean what do you think of her as a sentient being? If she were a pony, what kind of pony would she be?" "I don't know. She didn't say much during our expedition. She avoided all personal questions and didn't even tell how or why she crashed here. Whatever happened to her in the past, I can only assume is a touchy subject. I'd guess she's the type that prefers to be alone and rejects social interaction. Almost like..." his eyes opened in realization "Almost like you, when you finally returned to us." "I thank you for your honest opinion." Luna said with a slightly happier tone. "Anything interesting on your trip to the forest?" "Oh, right! I forgot to mention, but we found a dead Ursa Major in the forest." "Major? Are you certain it was not Minor?" "I'm sure. It was way too big to be a Minor; besides, the skull had well-developed teeth and fangs, so it was a mature specimen. And judging by the discarded water tower, I'd say it was the mother of the Ursa that attacked Ponyville a while back." The news made Luna's eyes widen and her ears stand in anticipation. "Do you think that...?" "A stalactite imbedded in its skull suggests that it was killed by a magic user; probably a powerful unicorn. I'm not really sure; I'm no expert in magic" Land Scout answered, knowing well what Luna was asking. "The Ursa seems to have died some time ago. I suspect that whoever killed it is a long way from it. It's very unlikely, but it's possible it was our elusive mare's work." "That doesn't help our case much. Anything else on that matter?" "I just read today's paper. It say she was last spotted in Marelin; says she chased some teen dragons out of town. Not a lot of details." "Thank you, Land Scout. Why don't you go get some sleep? The day after tomorrow I'll send you to assist Samus in any way you can. After that, I'd like you to continue looking for Silvermane. For now, go get some sleep." "Of course. Good night, Luna" he said before he exited the room and left the princess alone. Luna watched him go and gave another tired sigh. OXOXO Samus exited the castle grounds, escorted by two pegasus stallions on Spearhead's orders. They walked in silence until they reached the Canterlot outskirts, where they separated. The guards returned to the castle, while Samus took the scenic route to Ponyville, which meant she walked. Samus decided to deactivate her Power Suit and enjoy the fresh night air. During her stroll toward her ship, Samus pondered about her newly-discovered magic draining power. The Power Suit seemed to be the likely cause, so a little investigation was in order. Of course, it would have to wait until she reached her gunship; right now, she was replaying the events of the last few days in her head. They have been weird, even by her standards. As of right now, Samus had no idea what the future would bring for her; and she wasn't really bothered by that. On one hand, if she could repair her ship and leave, she'd be returning to her usual life. It wasn't an easy life, but it that's what she knew. On the other hand, if she were to stay in this land, well... Who knows? Maybe she could adapt to Equestria and spend the rest of her life here; no more hunting, no more space pirates, no more Ridley. Maybe, just maybe, her past wouldn't catch up with her. Samus continued her walk toward Ponyville. Judging by the maps she saw, and her ship's locator, she'd arrive at around midday. It was a long walk, but right now Samus was enjoying her moments of peace. The trek back home was uneventful, to which Samus wondered if that was going to be the case during the rest of her stay in Equestria. OXOXO As Samus approached her beloved gunship, she noticed Spike in the distance. It looked like he was heading for her ship in a hurry, which promptly piqued her curiosity. A few seconds later, both met just in front of the ship. Spike quickly hugged Samus's leg. "Oh, sweet Celestia! You're back! You're finally back!" Samus flinched at the sudden show of affection, but before she could ask what the hell was happening, Spike spoke again. "Quick! You have to hide me! Anywhere is fine, just hurry! Just don't let them see me!" "You owe me." was all Samus said before grabbing the little dragon's tail and flinging him toward her ship hatch. The hatch retracted into the ship as soon as Spike landed on it. Not three seconds later, the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived at the scene. They were wearing kitchenware as an armor of sorts, and all three fillies had toy swords in their mouths. After a few moments of looking around, the three crusaders took notice of Samus looking at them with a raised eyebrow. "Hawr yoo shin shpak?" Scootaloo asked. Seeing Samus's expression unchanged, she spit her sword and asked again. "Have you seen Spike? We need his help with something." "I may have." answered Samus. "Great! We need him to help us get our cutie marks." "CUTIE MARKS CRUSADERS DRAGON FIGHTERS. YEAH!" all three fillies yelled in unison, making Samus cringe at the sudden outburst. "So, where is he?" "He went back to Ponyville." The three fillies looked at each other, then at Samus, then at each other again. Without any warning, Scootaloo picked her sword and they all bolted back to the village while shouting a 'Thank you!' on their way. Samus just stood there, watching the fillies get smaller in the distance, before turning around and entering her ship via elevator hatch. Inside, Samus saw Spike curiously looking and inspecting all the button and levers in the cockpit, thankfully not touching anything. The sound of the hatch retracting alerted Spike of Samus's arrival, and he turned to her with hopeful eyes. "Are they gone?" "Yeah. May I ask why you are not with Twilight?" inquired Samus. "I thought you two always stuck together." "Nah. I stay in the library cleaning Twilight's messes whenever she stays up late studying, which is almost every night. She was going to practice a spell today, and she's going to a picnic with her friends later, so she gave me the day off." said Spike nonchalantly. "I was on my way to Rarity's, but a certain trio of fillies thought fighting dragons was going to earn them a cutie mark." Samus nodded in understanding. "Stupid newspaper with stupid mare fighting stupid teenage dragons giving stupid ideas..." He muttered under his breath. An idea came to Samus, and she wasted no time in voicing it. "You know, I just saved your skin, so you kind of owe me. Do you know any place where I can get something good to eat?" "Well, I know a place, but I was going to make my special emerald pasta today. Why don't you come eat with me?" "Emerald pasta? As in..." "Pasta with emerald pieces in it. Not to brag, but you won't find a better emerald pasta than mine." he voiced in pride. "Emeralds... I think I'll pass." "Oh, come on! I'll make you some without emeralds, if you want." Spike encouraged the human to accept. His eyes were big with eagerness. Samus pondered for a moment, but ultimately gave in. Maybe it was Spike's adorably expectant face or maybe it was hunger; either way, she had accepted the dragon's invitation. "I accept your invitation." She then remembered something. "I also need to get some maps of the land. Do you have any?" "I think so. Just meet me in the library in one hour. I'll have the food done and the maps ready." happily answered Spike. Their plans for the day set, Spike returned to Ponyville and Samus entered her ship. She equipped her Power Suit for a routine check-up. Once energy tanks and ammo capacity were checked and confirmed (both almost at full capacity), she unequipped her armor and made a damage report on her ship. As expected, it was mostly fine, but she noticed the gunship was running on reserve power; she'd need to recharge the energy cell of her ship for it to function properly and avoid any problems later. But that could wait for a while. For now, she smiled at the amusing thought that passed through her mind: she had a date with a baby dragon. OXOXO "...so I said 'Not likely, but possible!'. She later explained why zombies couldn't possibly invade Equestria and eat brains." laughed Spike, holding a fork with spaghetti and small emeralds. He was eating at the library's table, and across the table sat Samus, who also had a plate of pasta. She was wearing the same clothes she wore on her first (and only) day in school: orange tank top and blue shorts. Samus chuckled a little at the dragon's anecdote. "I get you. Fighting zombies is a little unnerving at first. But then you get used to it and start blasting them like everything else." "W-W-What? You mean zombies are real?!" Spike almost choked on his bite. "Oh, yes. I had encounters with zombies before." Samus commented. Upon seeing the building fear on the dragon's face, she continued. "But don't worry, the parasites responsible for that are extinct." "Oh, that's good to hear." Spike sighed in relief. He then ate the last mouthful of pasta from his plate. Samus did the same with her emerald-free dish. Once both finished their food, Spike picked the plates and took them to the kitchen and Samus helped him with the glasses. After depositing the silverware in the sink, Spike and Samus went to the living room, where Spike had left some maps. Samus took a look at them while Spike began picking and organizing books that were on the floor. Spike continued his work until he noticed Samus looking at him with a smile while resting her chin in her hand, elbow in the table. He tried to ignore the awkward feeling he was getting and got back to work. His plan worked for about six seconds, before he looked again and saw Samus in the exact same way. "Um... May I help you?" "Don't mind me; I was just thinking on our little date. Thank you for inviting me, now I have something to brag to Rarity about." Samus said in a playful tone. "W-what? N-n-no! You got it all wrong! I just invited you because I had nothing better to do. Rarity will think... But, I'm not really... You just..." Spike panicked. What would the mare of his dreams say if she saw him having dinner with Samus? Of all the things that could have happened. This was the WORST. POSSI- Samus laughed at the flustered baby dragon. "Aww! The baby got nervous." She said while ruffled Spike's spines. "Don't worry; I'm just messing with you. It's hard not to notice how you go all lovey-dovey when you think of her." "Uh... huh?" "Anyway, I have to go. Thanks again for everything. I'll come back tomorrow to return the maps. Tell Twilight I need to talk with her." Samus fetched the scrolls with the maps and headed towards the door. Before she exited, though, she turned to the baby dragon again. "And sorry for hitting you in the head the other day." She ruffled his spines again and exited the library. "Bye." "Bye!" waved Spike before closing the door. It was still early in the night when Samus left the baby dragon's company, but she decided to go to sleep as soon as she got to her ship. It had been a nice time with Spike, relaxing and quite welcome after her little quest to the forest. Who knew messing with the little dragon could be so much fun? Given that she was going to stay in Equestria for a while, Samus was glad she found a new little hobby to pass the time. OXOXO The morning sunlight filtered through a hunter-class gunship's green windows, waking the owner of that gunship. Samus awoke with a low groan and stood up. Today was going to be busy: planning an infiltration, investigating her new magic-leeching abilities, making some repairs, and finding a way to recharge an energy cell. Samus picked the maps given to her by Spike and unfurled them. She equipped her Power Suit and began scanning, making sure to digitalize the maps and uploading the information to her ship's computer. She then proceeded to pinpoint the location of the changeling she was tracking on the ship's screen and her visor. Sure enough, a signal was coming from northwest, not too far from Ponyville or Canterlot. The dot on her map seemed to move, indicating the changeling had yet to reach the swarm. Once the maps had been scanned, Samus unequipped her armor, picked the maps, and exited her ship. Next on her schedule was visiting Twilight and return the maps, so she headed towards the library. The walk there was uneventful, and Samus reached her destination in 20 minutes. Samus knocked once and Spike opened the door to let her in. "Thank you for the maps. As promised..." Samus handed the maps to the baby dragon, who put them away. As Samus looked around, she noticed a lavender unicorn mare asleep on a table full of books. She gave Spike a questioning look, to which he just shrugged. Apparently, it was common for the studious mare to fall asleep reading. Sadly for Twilight, Samus needed her awake, and being the master of tactful approaches, she flicked her finger on Twilight's horn. The maneuver worked and Twilight awoke with a yelp. "Wha- How- Huh?" Twilight looked around for her sudden awakening. Upon noticing the huntress, her confusion turned to anger. "What the hay is wrong with you?!" "I need your help with something." Samus said unfazed "I was also told to ask for a zebra named Zecora. We need her help too." "What? Zecora? What for?" asked Twilight, now a little calmer "Hold on, let me get a mug of coffee first." She went to the kitchen and returned some minutes later with a steaming mug on her magical grasp. "A guard was turned to stone by a cockatrice. They mentioned she may be able to help with that." "What?! How did that happen?" Twilight began worrying. "Is everypony else ok? How many more-" "Just him." interrupted Samus "It happened in a reconnaissance mission in the forest." The news seemed to calm the studious mare a little, but she was still distressed. "Well, I don't know about Zecora, but you can ask Fluttershy to tell the cockatrice turning him back." said Twilight as she took a sip of coffee. However, Samus's response almost made her spit it. "Yeah... I blew its head up with a missile." Twilight almost choked on her coffee. "Oh... I guess I'll go ask her later. Where's the guard?" "Back in Canterlot; though I wouldn't be surprised to see a chariot bringing the statue here." Samus shrugged, and then remembered something else. "I also need your help investigating a certain development." This piqued Twilight's interest. "It seems I'm a magic leech. I want to find out how or why. I ask you because you're the expert on magic." "Hmm... Interesting...You wouldn't mind coming down to the lab to run some tests, would you?" Twilight asked as her eyes sparkled with eagerness and excitement. "Maybe later. I still have things to do. But you may come to my ship later today. " Samus said. She got up and left the library, leaving a disappointed Twilight behind. "Later." Samus walked until she reached her ship and entered. Picking up some tools and materials, she put herself to dismantle part of the ship. Equipping her armor again, she proceeded to check on the fission reactor. Upon running a more throughout scan, she saw what had happened with it. She unplugged all wires and tubes connected to the reactor, and let it cool for a bit. She returned to the ship's computer and ran an energy distribution analysis to check her theory. Surely enough, the reason the reactor was busted was because it overloaded when giving the kinetic shock absorbers for the ship enough energy to withstand the 'landing'; the crash was far more violent than she initially thought. The energy cell almost drained just keeping the reactor from exploding. It was no wonder her ship suffered a lot less than it should have. However, the boosters were still damaged, as was the Medical Bay. With so little power left in the energy cell, it was only a matter of time before the Ammunition Factory became unusable too. Things weren't looking too good for the hunter-class gunship. And yet here she was, picking tools and material to try to repair the main boosters of her ship. After disassembling both boosters, she began to weld the damaged parts that were still usable. She was surprised to see so little to be useless; enough scrap metal would work wonders in repairing the missing parts of the boosters. As Samus worked on her ship, she occasionally checked the target in her visor's map to see if the changeling stopped moving or not. A few hours later, Land Scout, Iron Shield and Cloud Zapper arrived at the crash site. Land Scout walked with normalcy, while Cloud Zapper had an expression of embarrassment plastered on his face. Samus, just finished with boosters repairs, unequipped her Power Suit and jumped from her perch to greet the guards. "Hello, Samus. Are you busy?" asked Land Scout. "No, I just finished for today." "Good. I went to town and talked with Twilight. As you can see, Cloud Zapper is fine, and we got the recipe to cure petrification from Zecora." "Man, I can't believe I got bested by a chicken." Cloud Zapper said with his hoof over his eyes "A chicken!" "We all have our moments." Iron Shield said, trying to cheer his fellow pegasus "At least you didn't get bested by a turtle." this earned him a glare from Samus. "Anyway, we just came to inform Samus about your wellbeing, so let's go back to Canterlot, kid." "Yeah..." both pegasus took off, leaving the earth pony and the human alone. "Lt. Iron Shield was informed of our mission. He has faith in you, but would still like to get you some assistance." Land Scout said after a moment of awkward silence. "I was also ordered to assist you in any way I can. I brought some of my maps, if it is any help." Land Scout took out several furled maps from his saddlebag and offered them to Samus. Samus equipped her armor again, and took the maps to scan them. Since the maps had a better detailing of the land, as well as some notes written on them by Land Scout, they proved to be a lot better than the ones at the library. She updated her information, now with the names of the places she would travel. "Thanks. These will help a lot." said Samus as she returned the maps. "Glad to help. You'll need all the help you can get if you are going to infiltrate the changelings hive. At the very least-" "WHAT?!" a blue blur landed just on front of Samus. It was Rainbow Dash. "You're going to fight the changelings?" "Not exactly, she's-" Land Scout tried to explain, but was interrupted again. "WHAT?!" this time it was Twilight, who was just arriving at the scene and had heard Rainbow's outburst. Spike was just behind her. "Why would you do that?" "As I was trying to-" "Yeah, that's what he said." Rainbow Dash pointed at Land Scout. Twilight turned to the accused stallion. "Why didn't you tell me?" "Silence!" yelled Samus. Everyone complied. "I'm on a rescue mission. I'll be avoiding fights." "Ooh! Ooh! Are you going to use your spark shooter?" asked an excited Rainbow Dash "You said it was to paralyze enemies, right? I mean, I don't think you have anything tame in that suit, do you?" Samus opened her mouth to answer, but realized the pegasus tomboy was right. "Hmm..." She then began fidgeting with the cannon's buttons. Four small rods came from the cannon and ignited an orange flame. After a bit more tinkering, the flame died and gave place to a purple ball of electricity. Samus then approached Rainbow Dash and gave her a little jab with the ball in her cannon's muzzle. The mare fell to the ground and convulsed for a couple of seconds before losing consciousness, twitching every now and then. She scanned for life signs, and was unsurprised to see Dash was fine. "Wave Taser is a success." The other two ponies and dragon just looked at her with incredulity. "What the hay did you just did?" asked an increasingly angry Twilight. "Just trying out her suggestion. This suit does lack any immobilizing tools. Be sure to give her my thanks when she wakes up." Upon seeing Twilight still seething with anger, she added. "She'll be fine. It's just a little electricity; human police forces use that all the time!" Knowing her friends was going to be okay, Twilight calmed a little. "You could still have asked first. That could've been dangerous!" "It wasn't. And consider us even; her turtle dropped a rock on me." Twilight was about to argue, but ultimately decided against it. "Ugh, fine!" Land Scout cleared his throat to remind everyone present of his presence. "Good to see you having some semblance of restraint. As I was saying, I came to assist you in any way possible. As you may have noticed, I'm not entirely comfortable letting you go to the changeling swarm alone. I can provide additional information about your surroundings, you know." "Let's say you go with me. We find a changeling and it charges at you. During the struggle, it transforms into you. I have no way of telling who is who. How do you suggest we proceed?" "I wou-" "I risk shooting you, and I fail. You're dead. I could leave you to your luck, but then the changeling alerts the others if it escapes. Or if you defeat it and follow me, how would I know it's the real you?" "..." "That's why I insist on going alone. But don't fret, I'll be coming to you later. There is something I'll need your help with." "...I understand." Land Scout said dejectedly "But don't hesitate to ask for any more help. I'll be hanging around Ponyville for a while with Iron Shield, once he comes back." Samus nodded in understanding. Land Scout turned around and began walking away. "Later, Samus. Later Twilight. Later, Spike." "Bye." both dragon and mare said at the guard. Once he was gone, Twilight turned to Samus. "Now, you said something about magic leeching?" "Yes. I seemed to absorb magic whenever they use it on me. Could you try levitating me? Tell me whenever you feel something." "Well, okay." Twilight's horn began glowing, and that same glow surrounded Samus. A few seconds later, Twilight gasped. "There! I can feel how you start absorbing my magic!" Indeed, the moment Twilight noticed her energy being leeched, Samus's energy tanks began filling slowly. The magical grasp ended and Samus landed on the ground. She then unequipped the Power Suit and told Twilight to repeat the process. After a few seconds, Twilight felt another tug on her magic. This time, however, she got different results. "Hmm... I felt the same tug on my magic, but it lasted less than a second. It seems you need your suit to keep leeching magic." Twilight informed. She put a hoof on her chin and began thinking. "So... you're like a magic vampire? You suck magic?" asked a confused Spike. "Looks like it." answered the huntress "Just like a met..." Samus's eyes went wide with realization. "Just like a metroid..." she whispered. Twilight and Spike looked at each other, then at Samus. "A what?" "Nothing. I'll tell you after I've confirmed my theory." Twilight was about to speak, but Samus beat her to it. "I need to borrow your books for a bit." Samus rushed towards the library, leaving Twilight and Spike behind. "What's up with her?" Spike asked. Twilight simply shrugged. "Anyway, what are we going to do with her?" said Spike while pointing at the unconscious Rainbow Dash. OXOXO Twilight and Spike reached the library, a knocked out blue pegasus mare in the former's back. The sight that welcomed them was that of a studious armored woman reading with several books piled on the library table. Upon closer inspection, they could see all books were about magic. "Twilight." Samus said, catching the attention of both unicorn and dragon. "Am I correct in assuming the magic you use is your own life force?" "Oh! Yes, my magic comes from within me. It's part of who I am. All creatures posses magic, but it is unicorns, with the aid of their horn, the ones that can directly manipulate it. Basically, we control our own energy just like we would another appendage." explained Twilight in her 'lecture' tone. "That's what I thought." Samus said while nodding. "Um... I have a question, if you don't mind." Spike began "You said you were going to a rescue mission, right?" Samus nodded. "Who are you rescuing?" "A group of ponies. We think it's the changeling's doing. We were sent to investigate the forest and were attacked by them. My mission is to go to their hive and rescue the prisoners." "Changelings?" worried Twilight "And you have to rescue several ponies? How do you plan to do that?" "Easy. I clear the coast, and the guards escort the prisoners. I was going to ask Applejack to help with the escort. Herding skills and all that." "I see you have this all planned." "Of course." A groan brought the attention of all conscious beings; Rainbow Dash was coming around. She took a seating position and rubbed her head. "What happened? Why do I feel so numb?" Twilight gave Samus a disapproving glare. "I zapped you." Samus answered. She couldn't avoid smirking at that comment; maybe she did have some hard feelings for the turtle thing. Good thing she had her helmet on. "Huh?" was Rainbow Dash's intellectual reply. OXOXO Samus found herself walking around Ponyville, looking for Land Scout. The walk would've been a pleasant one if her tag-along wasn't a hyperactive stunt flyer. Rainbow Dash couldn't be still for more than a few seconds, and it was starting to grate the huntress's already low patience. Why, oh why did Twilight have to mention her mission? Now the hero-wannabe wouldn't stop pestering her. As if to counter her companion's annoying presence, Samus found Land Scout buying some apples from Applejack's stand in the market, the two ponies she was looking for. "Oh, hello, Samus" greeted Land Scout "How may I help you?" "I'd like to sit down and talk with you. And you, too." Samus said, pointing at Applejack "I think I'll take on your offer of help." "Of course, sugarcube. Just let me close an' ah'll be with you in a jiffy." replied the farm pony, moving to close her stand for the day. Once finished, she followed Samus, Rainbow Dash and Land Scout to a small café, where they could talk. "Now, what you need help with?" "We believe a group of ponies has been foalnapped by changelings." answered Land Scout. This brought a serious expression to the farmer's face. "Right." commented Samus "Here's the plan: I'll go check if my information is correct. In case it is and there are captive ponies, I'll go and clear the coast from any dangers. Once I consider the place to be safe, I'll send a signal. That's the cue for you to go and round the ponies and return them to safety. I ask you because Land Scout is an excellent guide, and Applejack has a lot of experience with herding large groups. Those skills will come in handy." Applejack nodded twice, as if processing the information she just received. "That's a mighty good plan, I reckon. I'll ask Big Mac to cover for me. One question, though. Why is Rainbow Dash here?" Samus gave a defeated sigh. "She heard about the mission and wants to tag along. She'll be your problem during the mission." She turned to the blue mare. "Listen well. I will go alone. You just wait for the signal and help with the escort." "But-" "Numbers are dangerous when dealing with shape-shifters. If I see you, I'll blast you to pieces." Rainbow Dash gulped. "Good to see you understand." "So I take it you're ready, then?" asked the guard. "Yes. The tracker indicates the changeling has stopped near Whitetail Woods, according to Land Scout's map. I've yet to determine if the swarm is there or he's just taking a rest. Either way, we depart tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. to follow his trail. There is a small town called Marelin nearby. That's where you'll wait for my signal." explained Samus. "Hoo wee! It's been a while since I last visited Marelin." commented Applejack. "We can settle in my cousin Golden Delicious's home for the time. Ah'm sure he won't mind." "Excellent. Now, Land Scout, I need you to send a message to Luna and Celestia. Tell them to send a small squad of guards to Marelin and stand by. As Celestia said, we need to keep this mission from public ears, so the squad will have to avoid attention." Land Scout nodded at the huntress's orders. "Good. Meet me at my ship tomorrow at 6:45 a.m. Until then..." Samus waved two fingers and left the group. OXOXO Samus was sitting in a lotus position with her chin resting in her palm, pondering about the dilemma in front of her. A broken fission reactor and an almost empty energy cell rested in front of her. The fission reactor was still extremely hot, and it would take a lot more time just for it to cool down. On the plus side, losing temperature meant it no longer risked blowing up, taking half of Ponyville with it. The issue was the energy cell. Was it better to compromise her suit's energy to charge it up and let the generator do the rest, leaving her suit with very little energy for the mission? Or should she opt for conserving energy and risk emptying the cell completely, making it useless? The obvious choice for her the former, but just how much energy would the cell require? Her ship had an interesting way of functioning. It had an energy cell that powered her ship and all electronic systems and appliances within it, a generator used to keep the cell from depleting, and a fission reactor for when she needed extra power. The generator required a lot of energy, almost a full energy cell, to start working, but once it did it could refill the energy cell whenever it started to deplete. The generator/energy cell combo was enough to power her ship and keeping it working forever, if need be; they used the energy recycle principle. The problem came when the ship needed extra energy for auto-repairs and shielding. If they took too much energy, the cell would deplete faster than the generator would fill it, leaving it empty; and without the required energy input, the generator would eventually stop working too. This is the problem she now faced: the generator was offline and the energy cell lacked enough energy to power the generator. The reason ships carried a fission reactor, which were powered and sustained with afloraltite, was for the energy spikes that would, normally, instantly deplete the energy cell for when the hyperdrive was initiated. It also provided back-up power for shielding and repairing. They were essentially useless if one didn't plan in space travel and if the ship didn't suffer colossal damage. Sadly, those were both Samus's cases. The ship used a lot more energy than the cell could have provided in the crash, and so it switched the power incomes; and she would also eventually need to activate hyperdrive if she were to reach any planet before she died of old-age in her travels. To summarize her situation, she needed to give the energy cell enough energy to power the generator, then repair the reactor once it was cold enough, and finally find enough afloraltite (or a good-enough substitute) to start it up. Repairing the reactor was easy; she'd done so before numerous times before. The problem was the energy cell. She was sure her suit had enough energy to charge the cell to meet the generator's demand; her ship would start working properly as long as she didn't use too much energy. If she did that, however, she didn't know how much energy would remain on her suit; by tomorrow morning the ship would still not have enough power to recharge her suit. After a long meditation, she decided to go with it. Solve a problem before it becomes unsolvable, the Chozo used to say. The cons could be ignored if she put extra attention to her surroundings and avoid any unnecessary damage. Besides, she had ammo to spare, and she hasn't yet encountered anything that could deal extensive damage. Acting on her decision, Samus stood up and activated her Power Suit. From the round jewel on her left hand, a whip composed of purple electromagnetic energy was swung toward the energy cell and latched onto it. Using the Grapple Voltage feature in her Grapple Beam, Samus began draining her own energy tanks and began energizing her ship's energy cell. After a few minutes, Samus retracted the beam. She opted to give the energy cell a bit more than necessary to start the generator. This had cost her more energy than she initially thought, leaving her with little less than one tank and a half worth of energy left. She picked the cell and took it to the hatch. Since the ship had no power because the cell was not in place, the elevator/hatch was going to be used manually. Samus unequipped her suit and grabbed the top of the hatch. With all her strength, she pulled herself, along with the hatch inside the ship. Once inside, she proceeded to plug the energy cell and start the generator. If her calculations were correct, it would require a little more than two days for her ship to start functioning properly and be able to start the auto-repair functions. Done for today, Samus decided to do some more repairs to the Medical Bay. She grabbed her tools and began working. She had nothing better to do, so why not accelerate the process a bit? She worked until sundown, when she decided it was enough and went to sleep. OXOXO 6:38 a.m. Samus was making some flexes, awaiting the arrival of the ponies in charge of escorting rescued ponies to safety. She had checked her tracker twice, and both times gave the same result. It appeared the changeling had reached the swarm. When she felt she was ready, she equipped her Power Suit for one last check-up. 148 energy units, 204 missiles, and 224 ammo; she'd need to be careful, that couldn't be stressed enough. A few minutes later, two earth ponies, one wearing a Stetson and the other full-body royal armor, arrived at the meeting point. After exchanging greetings, the huntress asked for the rainbow-maned pegasus. "If ah know her well enough, she'll be late and will come rushing at us." answered the cowpony. "I said 'meet me at my ship at 6:45 a.m.', if she doesn't arrive by 6:55, we leave without her." sternly said the huntress "Are you two ready and prepared?" "Of course!" Applejack answered by taking out a rope and swing it rodeo style. "I am." answered Land Scout, also making some last-minute check-up on his armor, maps, saddlebags, and dagger. "Excellent. We are all ready. Now, I'll be showing you what the signal will look like." Samus aimed her cannon at a nearby tree and fired an ice missile. Upon impact the missile exploded, but instead of a wrecked tree, there stood a frozen one. "This is an ice missile. When they are charged with the diffusion missiles, they create a large explosion of ice. Once I have secured the prisoners, I'll fire one of these at the sky. Wherever you see the blast, that's where we'll be. Be on the lookout for the explosion." "So you clear the place and fire when ready. We take the squad waiting for us in Marelin to where the blast was seen. Got it." confirmed Land Scout. "Good. We'll leave in three minutes; if Rainbow Dash doesn't arrive, she's out." Both ponies nodded in understanding, though Applejack looked a bit worried. And so the three minutes passed. Seeing no sign of the pegasus, Samus began walking west, where Whitetail Woods awaited. With one last glance back, both earth ponies followed. They began their trek through the fields. Several minutes later, a yell could be heard. "Waaaaaaait!" Rainbow Dash, just like Applejack said, rushed towards them. "Phew! I made it. Ready, everypony?" "You're late." was Samus's harsh reply. "Yeah, sorry about that. I had stuff to do." "Yeah, like sleeping." Applejack snickered. Rainbow Dash just gave her a menacing look. "Whatever. Now that you're here, we might as well continue." Samus turned back to her intended destination, always keeping an eye at the tracker signal. OXOXO Several hours later, the group arrived at the entrance of Marelin, welcoming new travelers with a colorful sign. Or at least it would be welcoming if two stallions weren't currently washing some ugly graffiti off it. Not wanting to draw any more attention than necessary, Samus decided to leave the group here and continue on her way. She was about to tell the ponies to stay here when a loud cheering was heard. All four rescuers turned their attention to a somewhat large group of ponies, all cheering for the blue mare bowing on a makeshift stage. Among the crowd, four armored ponies could be seen enjoying the show. The mare in the stage was wearing a black top hat and magician's vest, along with a red bowtie. She had a strand of bluish silver hair coming from beneath the hat. Her cutie mark, which was also drawn on the two pole flags on each side of the stage, was that of a wand leaving a trail of magic dust. "Thank you! Thank you, my beautiful audience! You are too kind. But save your energy for the grand finale! Wanda's Magic Show is sure to knock you off your hooves!" The mare said in a stage-voice with a wide grin, apparently oblivious to the four newcomers. "Wanda's magic Show?" Rainbow Dash questioned when she took a better look at the magician. "Hey, isn't that-?" Applejack was about to ask. "It's Trixie!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash "What's she doing here?" "You know her?" asked Samus. "Yup. She showed up in town a while back, boasting and causing trouble. She was eventually showed up by Twilight." answered Applejack. "I see." "I think I'll leave you two for now. I have spotted the guards and will proceed to inform them of the plan. Excuse me." Land Scout said while he walked toward the other guards. "Two?" both Samus and Applejack asked and looked around. Indeed, the rainbow pegasus was not with them. "Where the hell is Rainbow Dash?" asked an increasingly annoyed Samus. Applejack eyes went wide, and she pointed a hoof at the stage. Samus turned to look and saw Rainbow Dash pushing a small storm cloud over the stage. "Now, if any volunteers would like to come to stage to grace Wanda's Magic Show with their presence, it would be-" 'Wanda' stopped speaking when she noticed the shadow of a cloud on the floor. When she looked up to see what was happening, a small lightning struck her flank, making her yelp and jump in shock. As soon as her hooves touched the ground, the cloud unleashed a downpour just on her. All the ponies in the audience went silent. "How's that for payback?" mocked Rainbow Dash. "Ponyville says 'hi', oh 'Great and Powerful Trixie'." She then proceeded to lie on the cloud in a fit of laughter. Trixie just stood there and began hyperventilating for a moment, before her breaths started to steady to deep, tranquilizing breaths. After a few moments, she calmed herself, though a few ticks were visible in her forelegs. She did her best to ignore the mocking laughter of the pegasus and addressed her beloved audience. With a slightly shaky voice, Trixie began speaking. "I-I'm really sorry, everypony. Please forgive my weakness, because I'm unable to perform when some ponies are intent on ruining my show. I apologize to those who were eager to see the grand finale." That said, she used her magic to start picking the parts of the stage and putting them in some boxes in a small pulling wagon. The crowd started to protest, but she ignored them. Once everything was stored and packed, Trixie pulled the small wagon and began walking toward the village proper. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, almost doubled her laughter. She stopped laughing when a pebble hit her in the head. She turned to see that the crowd was not booing at Trixie, but at her! In fact, she could see some foals trying, and failing, to convince 'Wanda' to resume her show. "What a jerk!/What's her problem?/Get out of Marelin, you bully!/How could you be so cruel?" Rainbow Dash heard all types of negative comments directed at her. The worst part of all was not once did Trixie acknowledged her. She just packed and left, leaving her with an angry mob of ponies. With nothing left to do, she went back to Samus and Applejack. Since all the angry ponies were following her, she practically led them to where Samus was. The villagers, at the sight of the huntress, began to panic. "It's one of them! They're back!" yelled one of the villagers. "Protect the foals!/Why are they back?/You won't harm this village any more, you fiend!" "CALM YOURSELVES, PONIES OF MARELIN" ordered one of the royal guards present. It was a unicorn, and he was apparently using magic to enhance his voice. The villagers all stopped their panic at sight and voice of the royal guard. "Thank you." Samus recognized Land Scout as the speaker this time. "Please, there is no reason to be afraid. Samus..." he pointed at the person in question "...is not here to cause any harm. Now, may I ask what got you all so riled up?" "It was a group of teenage dragons." A tan colored earth pony stallion spoke up. His mane was black and his cutie mark was three yellow apples. "They came and began vandalizing the town. Fortunately some mare called 'Silvermane' drove them away. We are still recovering from the damage they made." Land Scout nodded in understanding. "Cousin Golden!" exclaimed Applejack. "Howdy!" The stallion turned to see the new speaker, and instantly lit his features. "Cousin Applejack! What a surprise!" While the two cousins talked, Land Scout and the rest of the guards sorted thing with the villagers. Once order was restored, each pony returned to their business and Applejack returned to Samus. As soon as they were left alone, Samus forcefully brought her fist down on Rainbow Dash's head. "OW! What gives?" "You idiot!" fumed the huntress "What did I tell you about avoiding attention?" "But it was Trixie, and she-" "I couldn't possibly care less about your history with that mare. Your reckless actions could have cost us the mission. We are very lucky to have Land Scout and the guards intervene for me, because I wasn't planning on blasting my way through a mob of angry villagers. Your mere presence is a danger here, thanks to that little stunt of yours, so I want you... No, I order you to go back to Ponyville. You will only hinder progress if you stay. " "What? You can't do that!" argued Rainbow Dash. "Don't even think of disobeying, because if you do, I swear losing a wing will be the least of your worries. That recklessness will get you or someone else killed someday." threatened a furious Samus. Rainbow Dash turned to Applejack for support, but got nothing. "Sorry, sugarcube, but I hafta agree with Samus here. That act you made was just plain rude. As much as I hate to admit, Trixie's little show was bringing a bright smile to a lot of ponies. After what the town has been through, taking away their cheerful entertainment will only get you scowls from these townsfolk." "Go. NOW!" barked Samus. Rainbow Dash just looked at the two of them, before letting out an angry growl and dashing away back to Ponyville. "Mighty sorry about that. Dash can be a little reckless at times." The apple farmer apologized. After a few deep breaths, Samus responded. "Make sure this to help this town however you can, but keep an eye on the skies for my signal. I'm leaving. Be sure to report to Land Scout every now and then. Later." Samus waved two fingers and left for the woods. "You can count on me!" OXOXO An hour had passed since Samus left Marelin. Had she more energy in her tanks, she would have opted for the less bulky Fusion Suit to aid her sneakiness, but that was not the case. Her progress was slower than usual, as her low energy levels made Samus take more precautions than usual. Since the tracker signal hadn't moved much, that didn't present a problem. In fact, she was about to reach the point that her map indicated the changeling was. With another extensive look around her surroundings, Samus carefully made her way through some trees, putting extra attention to her stealth. After a few more steps, she started hearing voices. She hid behind a tree and cautiously took a glance towards the direction of the voices. Samus cursed silently when she saw the changeling she was tracking, identified thanks to the blue gemstone in its silver necklace, talking to 3 other changelings. Specifically, he was talking to two changelings similar to him and one changeling twice his size. The bigger one had more developed wings and a long twisted black horn, as well as a long flowing teal hair. Its most distinctive features were its eyes; whether other changelings had insect-like blue eyes, this one had green eyes with big pupils. What looked like a small black crown with blue orbs rested on its head, though it was hard to tell if it really was a crown or it was just part of its anatomy. "...a foolish ideal!" Samus heard the big one speaking and assumed it was female, most likely a queen. "I can't risk the swarm trying to negotiate. Our species is almost gone as it is." "But my queen, I've been shown compassion and kindness from their kind. Not all will accept us as quickly as they did with me, but they will eventually." Darkly responded. "I believe that a peaceful coexistence is possible. Many changelings have found a happy life living with the ponies." "You mean hiding among the ponies. How many of them can walk freely without a disguise?" "But I walked along them without any disguise! They will learn to accept us!" The Queen then gave a defeated sigh. "Please understand that I'm doing this with the hive's well-being in mind. Ponies are not as understanding as you think." "I know, my queen. But I beg you, please reconsider. Think about the princess!" "Keep her out of this. She shares your innocent hopes, but that's it. Maybe in the future..." She gave another sigh. "It seems you won't understand. Fine, then. You will be locked with the ponies and see if any of them gives you a chance." The queen motioned for her two escorts to lock the rebel changeling, who didn't look afraid. This piqued the huntress's interest; it seemed the missing ponies were nearby. The queen whispered something to the other two changelings, but Samus was unable to her what. That done, the queen turned to leave, and the smaller changelings walked toward a small mountain that was nearby. Needless to say, Samus followed the trio. The walk was not a long one, though Samus had to keep hidden from the bug ponies. They eventually arrived at a relatively large cave, which entrance had bars locking the ponies inside. Again, Samus could see half were male and half were female, and they all had a pony embraced. By her observations, it could be assumed the changeling only abducted couples. While one changeling charged its horn with green fire to keep the ponies from escaping, the other one opened the cell's door, pushed Darkly inside and quickly closed it. Their new prisoner secured, one changeling flew away, probably towards the swarm, while the other simply walked away from the locked ponies' sight. It didn't walk too far, as if to be able to reach the cell quickly if any trouble arises. Her first target was identified. Still, Samus decided to observe the situation a little more thoroughly. The situation was an interesting one, to say the least. She watched as all ponies gave the changeling dirty looks and hateful gazes. Darkly simply walked, albeit nervously, to one side of the cell. Some ponies took comfort in their loved ones, while others looked ready to attack the changeling. It was only a matter of time before an attempt was made on Darkly. Samus could hear how Darkly was attempting to calm the ponies with civility and how he only wanted peace for both species. She didn't count on the ponies listening to him, though, and she really didn't care. With her target on sight, and she out of her target's sight, Samus made her move. She cautiously approached the unsuspected changeling making guard. Her arm cannon produces four tiny rods and activated her newly developed Wave Taser. Once she was close enough, she leapt at the changeling guards and zapped it to unconsciousness. After making sure the guard was out, she took the keys it had and proceeded to the cage. As she expected, some ponies were about to leap at the poor bug pony. Everyone stopped in their tracks when they spotted her. All ponies and changeling looked at her with a mix of fear and confusion. Finally, it was Darkly who spoke first. "What are you doing here?" "I have come to rescue the missing ponies. I was sent by Celestia." She answered. All the ponies' faces instantly lit up with the news of their rescue. Samus unlocked the cell and was about to open it when instinct took over and she leapt to her side. A fraction of a second later, a green bolt impacted on the place she was just on. Samus turned to see the changeling queen, horn glowing, hovering a few feet from the ground. Dozens of smaller changeling were flying along with her. "I hope this little time was enlightening, my young changeling." The queen said to the locked Darkly. "Took Celestia long enough to find us. I see she couldn't trust her own guards with a rescue mission." The queen lowered herself and landed on the ground. "I wonder what kind of creature you are. Darkly mentioned something about a 'human'. Is that what you are?" Samus remained silent. "Fine, then. Changelings! Prepare to attack!" The queen ordered. All around her, changelings briefly burst into green flames and took the huntress's form. Or at least they tried. Just like the one before them, the copies lacked the orange bulk of her suit, as well as the helmet and the arm cannon. All the fakes, and the queen, looked panicked at their sudden failure. Whatever that orange thing was, part of it was not alive. The queen was the first to recover and told her troops to be wary. That was all the time Samus needed to switch from Wave Beam to Battlehammer. She let loose a barrage of heavy-duty exploding shells from her cannon. A few changelings that were hit fell to the ground and stopped moving. The ponies inside the cage, as well as the changelings on the queen's side, all looked in horror and awe at the sheer firepower the human possessed. The queen looked in despair around her, seeing her beloved changelings drop one-by-one. She erected a magic shield around her drones and ordered them to stop the attack and retreat. Most conscious changelings obeyed and retreated, leaving only the queen and the human to face each other. There were some that lingered to see the fight and take any chance to help their queen or fallen comrades. The queen's horn began glowing green again. The several changelings lying on the floor were levitated toward the rest. "Take them away and treat the injured." She turned to Samus. "If it's a fight you want, a fight you'll get." Samus responded by aiming her arm cannon at her opponent. "I have no quarrel with you. Just let me take the ponies and no one else gets hurt." Samus offered. "Those ponies are our source of nourishment. I'm afraid I can't let them go, for what would we feed on?" countered the queen as she fired another bolt. "Farming love, I see. Can't say it's a bad idea. You even seem to keep them in good-enough conditions." remarked Samus while dodging the bolt and firing her own weapon. "Enough!" yelled the queen after barely avoiding the blasts. She took to the air and fired again. "My first priority is to keep my young ones from starving. The ponies' well-being is a distant second." Samus leapt to the side and said nothing; she was done talking. Focusing on the queen, the Hunter let loose a volley of missiles, all homing in on the insectoid ruler. Said ruler's eyes widen when she saw the projectiles following her. Five blasts hit the queen and she fell to the ground, smoking from the explosions. Samus kept her weapon aimed at the downed changeling. The queen slowly stood up. Her horn was glowing with an almost blinding green. With murderous intent, she unleashed a bolt of green fire at Samus, who attempted to dodge the attack. She was somewhat successful, for she avoided the blast, but not the double kick with flaming hooves the queen delivered following her shot. Samus was sent flying to a nearby tree with enough force to crack the wood and making splinters fly. As the huntress began to stand up, another concentrated beam from the queen's horn struck her. The attack was a lot stronger than it looked, making Samus fly through the damaged tree. Her energy levels were dangerously low now; she wouldn't survive another attack, physical or otherwise. The queen fired one last bolt at the human, who instead of standing up as she expected, turned into a ball and rolled out of harm's way. The sudden tactic threw the queen long enough for said ball to glow orange and slam on her side with dangerous velocity and force. On the exact place where the ball impacted on her, a blue glowing orb was left. Before the queen could question what t was, it detonated with a small but powerful explosion. Samus was already out of Morph Ball mode and switching weapons again. She needed to end this fight quickly, so she switched to one of her most powerful beam weapons: the Annihilator. Her arm cannon elongated and its linings were colored gray. A matter-antimatter black ball with a white glow began forming in the barrel of the cannon, ready to shoot. Using 5 missiles and 60 ammo, Samus unleashed the Sonic Boom. The queen didn't have time to react; the instant Samus released the shot it struck home. The queen was surrounded with what could only be described as a distortion in the fabric of time and space; the air looked like a cracked glass pane, ripples in reality were visible, and high pitched sound was heard. All this lasted for about three seconds. Once the reality-distorting energy subsided, the queen became visible once again. She stood, immobile, for what seemed like an eternity to every being watching. Locked ponies, hiding changeling, and battle-ready human all waited for any signal or movement from the changeling ruler. After what seemed like hours, the queen's body fell limp on the ground. "Queen Chrysalis..." whispered Darkly to himself, as if not believing what he was seeing. Silence ruled all around. Samus won the fight. She was about to turn to the cage and free the ponies, when she heard the sound of something that would haunt her for a long time: a youngling crying in despair for its mother. "MOMMY! NOOOOOO!!!"