And moving on

[zervziel]

With the aid of Primeval's newly glowing eyes designating who was who as she followed Riptide, the going was much easier. What changelings that hadn't attacked her had slowly been knocked out of the fight between Primeval's enhanced attacks, the Torchwhoof ponies and whatever it was Sharp Wit was doing.

So it was remarkably easy to get closer to Sharp Wit as he wrestled with the changeling Riptide recognized as the one that had shot her. As she approached them, the changeling launched the inspector off himself. The move turned out to be costly as the weapon they had been wrestling over tumbled to the ground, sliding away from them.

As both pegasus and changeling launched themselves towards it, Riptide swept the weapon off the ground. The weapon out both of their reaches, the two fighters resumed their battled weaponless as the kelpie stood to the side. Upon inspecting the device it was obvious even to her eyes the weapon was damaged as the elaborate striking mechanism on the side had snapped off sometime in the fight. Probably when it fell to the stone street.

Curious, though wary of the weapon's barrel, the kelpie wrapped her tentacle around the tiny lever and squeezed. Nothing. Apparently that tiny part breaking off was enough to render the weapon useless. Shame that. Riptide had hoped she could have turned it against the changeling in return for shooting her in the tentacle earlier.

Eventually she tossed the weapon in the vague direction of it's owner, unknowingly beaning the pony Black Ops in the back of the head.

Favoring her wounded wing and tentacle, Riptide sat down heavily to watch Sharp Wit and the changeling fight. She could intervene, but she felt she'd be interrupting. Plus the Inspector's stunt of getting all the changelings to transform was still fresh in her mind. Idly she wondered if either of the combats would give her a turn with their opponent.

Yes, it was a flintlock. I've always wondered why it's been assumed that ponies would have semi-automatic firearms. Having firearms is enough of a stretch, having multi-shot semi-auto weapons is bordering on preposterous