//------------------------------//
// Linked Paths 
// Story: Doctor Whooves Episode 4: Young Armor 
// by Doctor Perseus 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 3: Linked Paths


The Trinity Apartment Complex, Canterlot, Equestria, Gaia, Summer, 987 C.E.

Opal hit the ground hard as the world seemed to catch fire around her. An incredible force smashed into her backside and she felt herself flying across the floor until she slammed into a wall at the far end of the hallway. She grabbed onto a nearby door handle and pulled herself up to see that half of the third floor had been blown apart. Parts of the upper floors had begun to collapse but, luckily, emergency magical supports had kicked in to prevent any further damage. A good chunk of the two bottom floors had also collapsed, leaving several holes and cracks in the floor. Small patches of fire were scattered throughout the building and the screams of injured and trapped ponies began to reverberate through the surrounding area. Opal coughed loudly as deep black smoke began filling up the hallway. She fell to the floor and proceeded to crawl to the exit.
"What...what happened?!" she asked herself as she arrived at the top of a somewhat damaged stairwell. She picked herself up and ran down the stairwell, towards the ground floor. 

Underneath the Trinity Apartment Complex, Canterlot, Equestria, Gaia, Summer, 987 C.E.

The Doctor didn't open his eyes until the world around him fell silent again. He had expected to feel his body being torn apart, burned, and crushed but he instead found his body to be completely intact. His arms were wrapped around Twilight's neck and it wasn't until he saw her glowing horn that he realized what had happened. 
In the last second, Twilight had created a magical force field around herself and the Doctor. The Doctor looked at the force field and smiled.
"Brilliant!" he exclaimed as the force field dissolved. 
"You alright?" Twilight asked.
"I've been better but I could have been a lot worse."
"That's good. Now can you please let go of my neck?"
The Doctor released his grip of the unicorn's neck and examined the area around them. It was clear that the ground beneath them had collapsed and that they were now several feet below ground. A massive opening above them gave them a clear view of the damaged side of the Trinity Apartment Complex. 
"What happened?" Twilight coughed as they looked up through the opening.
"A bomb. That pony set off a bomb!" stated the Doctor. "But why? What was the purpose for doing such a thing?"
"I'm confused too. Even for her, that's a strange stunt to pull."
"Who was that pony? You seemed to recognize her."
"It's somepony that I recently dealt with back in my time."
"Who was she?"
"Her name's Chrysalis. She's a Changeling."
"A Changeling? What's that?"
"Changelings are beings that can transform into anypony they wish. They prefer to transform into ponies that are greatly loved by other ponies so that they can feed off of the positive energy and grow stronger."
"Interesting. So you've dealt with her before?"
"Yes. During my brother's wedding, she kidnapped his bride, Princess Cadance, and took her place. She grew extremely powerful from the love that my brother had for Cadance. I was the only one who was able to see through her guise and, even though she managed to imprison Princess Celestia and overrun Canterlot with Changelings, my brother and the real Cadance were able to stop her."
"I guess she was causing trouble even before you met her in 1002."
"Yeah. At first, I thought that she had traveled back in time herself but, now that I think about it, she looks different now than how she did when I first met her. Her horn's straight, her hair's not so strewn, and there aren't any holes in her body."
"And, I will admit, she definitely was a sight for sore eyes."
"Please tell me that you're not falling head over hooves for her!"
"Don't worry. I lost my interest in her when she tried to blow me up."
"Good!"
"We better find her quickly. I have a feeling that this plan of hers, whatever it may be, is not something I want her to go through with."
"At least I know that she'll fail."
"How can you be so certain?"
"It's the past! The past is set! I'm sure that Chrysalis's plan involves her taking over Canterlot. Well, I can tell you that hasn't taken over Canterlot in my time."
"This may be the past, Twilight, but this point in time is in flux."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Time Lords, such as myself, have a sixth sense when it comes to time. We can tell what points in time are fixed, which means that they cannot be changed no matter what you do, and what points in time are in flux, which means that they can be changed. This point in time is in flux. Which means-"
"There's a chance that Chrysalis could succeed!"
Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and the Doctor and Twilight were now standing across from the ruined Trinity Apartment Complex. 
"We need to find her, Doctor!" Twilight stated. "Now!"
The Doctor took in a deep breath and smiled.
"We're in luck," he said. "She's still giving off raw energy. That means that we can still follow her!"
"Excellent!"
The Doctor and Twilight focused on the trail created within their minds and, without giving it a second thought, they took off.

Outside the Trinity Apartment Complex, Canterlot, Equestria, Gaia, Summer, 987 C.E.

The street outside the Trinity Apartment Complex had turned into a scene of chaos. Injured ponies pulled themselves from the burning building as guard ponies arrived to help save the trapped civilians. Opal was one of the first ponies to make it out. She had a few bruises and cuts but, for the most part, she was okay. She was still confused about what had happened but what she was sure of was that she needed to find this Shining Armor. She needed to. She looked over at a nearby pony couple and shrugged her shoulders. She had to start somewhere.
"Excuse me," she said as she approached them. "By any chance, do either of you know a pony by the name of Shining Armor?"
The two ponies shook their heads. Opal let out a loud cough. 
"Are you okay?" asked the stallion.
"Don't worry. I'm fine."
She turned away from the couple and approached another small group of ponies. 
"Do any of you know a pony by the name of Shining Armor?" she asked. All of the ponies shook their heads. 
"I do!" said a young filly who emerged from behind the group. She was a pinkish eight-year-old alicorn with a pink, white, and purple mane and a cutie mark in the form of a sapphire heart with two gold markings. 
"You do?"
"Yeah! We're in the same class."
"Thank Celestia! Do you know where I can find him?"
"Why are you looking for him?"
"I think he's in trouble. Somepony's trying to hurt him."
"Oh no!"
"Please! Where can I find him?"
"I see him playing at Quinn Park a lot with his little sister."
"Quinn Park."
Opal suddenly remembered the countless summer days she used to spend playing at the park with her friends.
"I know the place."
Opal began to make her way to the park but, after taking a couple steps, she stopped and looked back at the little filly. 
"What's your name?" she asked out of a sudden moment of curiosity.
"Cadance," the filly replied.
"Thank you, Cadance!"
"No problem!"
Opal turned away from Cadance and ran down the street, towards Quinn Park. Her mind was so focused on finding the endangered pony that she didn't notice the young alicorn following close behind her. 

Quinn Park, Canterlot, Equestria, Gaia, Summer, 987 C.E.

"You can take your hoof out of my face now," said Twilight the filly. Shining Armor slowly pulled his hoof away from his sister's face. The pillar of smoke was still billowing over the city. "What...what happened?"
"I have no idea, Twiley," Shining replied. "But I think we need to get home, right now!"
Shining and Twilight began making their way to the park exit when, suddenly, a cloaked figure stepped into their path.
"Not so fast," said the cloaked pony in a somewhat motherly manner. "Now where are you two fillies heading off to?"
"That's none of your concern," replied Shining sternly.
"Come now. I mean you no harm."
"Then what's with the disguise?"
The pony pulled her hood off and revealed her face to the young ponies.
"My name's Chrysalis. I was just passing through and I wanted to say hello," she cooed.
"Well you have. Now I'm afraid that we must say goodbye," Shining replied. He tried to find a way around the cloaked pony but she seemed to block their exit from the park completely.
"Where are you off to in such a rush? Has the giant smoke cloud scared you?"
"It hasn't scared me. I just think that it's time that I brought my younger sister to safety."
Chrysalis looked down at Twilight and smiled.
"Ah, yes. It is always good to make sure that our siblings are...safe."
"Excuse me, but we should really be going."
"I can bring you two to a safe place!"
"Huh?"
"I can bring you two to a world of no worries! A world without fear or danger! Who needs this place? Canterlot. Ugh! It's just another crime-ridden city. I know a place where you two can be happy...forever."
"Liar!" Twilight snapped.
"Do you really expect us to fall for stupid tricks like that?! Come on, Twiley. There's another exit over there," said Shining. The two siblings turned away from Chrysalis and began making their way to the other side of the park. 
"Don't turn away from me, Shining Armor!" Chrysalis snapped. The two ponies stopped.
"How...how do you know my name?"
Chrysalis's eyes widened. She blew her cover, even more so that she had already done. 
"Run, Twiley!" 
Shining and Twilight broke into a run. Chrysalis charged after them. They were nearly at the exit when Chrysalis grabbed a hold of Shining's tale.
"Shining Armor!" Twilight cried as Chrysalis picked Shining off of the ground. 
"Run, Twiley!" Shining called. "Run and don't look back!"
Twilight couldn't move. She was frozen in fear. Chrysalis laughed calmly as a mysterious light began forming around Shining's body. 
"Time to feast," she said as she began to absorb the light into her body through her horn. 
"What's...going...on?" asked Shining. Shining looked into Chrysalis's smiling face as he slowly lost consciousness.