//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: The Fantastic Adventures of Dr. Whooves: The Changeling Princess // by The-Pony-Librarian //------------------------------// "No wonder you're so skinny!" Twilight chuckled as they rounded a corner "I've only known you for a couple of hours and we've spent nearly a quarter of that time running!" "Yeah it's kind of an occupationa- Hey! I'm not that skinny!" "You have less body mass than Fluttershy" Twilight said "You are skinny. This is not a debatable point" The Doctor huffed, and opened his mouth to reply, when the purple unicorn skidded to a halt. "Wait." She said, holding out a hoof in front of him "What did I do that this time?" the Doctor protested, but her hoof quickly clapped over his mouth, muffling the words. "See that slight ripple in the air there? Right around the corner?" Twilight said in a hushed tone A nod. "That's a magical detection barrier" She continued "If any spell or pony breaches it, it will sound an alarm, alerting anypony nearby" She crept forward slowly, pressing herself to the hedge. As Twilight peered cautiously around the corner, just shy of the barrier, her face broke into a giant grin. "They're in there" Twilight whispered "They're trapped in a force-field, and I can see the Changeling who is casting it, and probably the detector too. He's just beyond the barrier." She wrinkled her brows "I can't break the barrier, otherwise the alarm will sound and we'll be surrounded. That rules out any physical or magical assault" she said, more to herself than anypony "Doctor, can your Sonic screwdriver do anything?" "I don't think so" The Doctor said "It's a tool,not a weapon, and I have no idea how it affects magic as of yet" Twilight sighed, then her ears perked up "Wait." She said "These barriers work by detecting traces of magic, all ponies have inherent magic so they are detected, and most ponymade objects have been made with magic or had at least one spell cast on them, so they have traces as well...Doctor. Hand me your Sonic Screwdriver" She held out a hoof, and after a pointed just-do-what-I-say-OK? look, the tool was placed in it "Because this was made in your universe, which doesn't operate on magic, am I right? It won't have been made with magic...And since I haven't cast any spells on it" She grinned "It won't have any trace magic and will be able to pass through the barrier without a hitch" "Alright then Sparkle." The Doctor said slowly "You know more about magic than I do...But how will it-" "Shh!" Twilight silenced "Alright. Shh-ing" "Shhh!" Twilight carefully passed the Sonic Screwdriver through the barrier, being careful not to brush it herself, as she glanced to her friends for a split second, she saw a pair of aquamarine eyes meet hers. A small smile crossed her face. "Pressure points?" She mouthed to the butter pegasus, motioning the sonic screwdriver slightly, where it was inches away from the changeling's neck Fluttershy narrowed her eyes, looking closely, then twitched her head ever so slightly to the right. Twilight adjusted the Sonic. A tiny nod Twilight jabbed the screwdriver into the changeling guard's neck, and it slumped to the ground unconscious, spell fizzling out. "Did you just?" the Doctor said "Use your Sonic Screwdriver to pressure point a guard?" She finished " Anatomy was a large part of my last exam....Although Fluttershy knows a hair more than me.... " She handed to Sonic back to him. Pinkie Pie engulfed both of then in a bear hug, squealing happily. The group hug was quickly joined by all her other friends, as they babbled how they had been ponynapped, but how they were okay, and they were so thankful Twilight was alright as well. As they broke apart, all wearing relieved smiles, Pinkie pie chirped "I told them that you would come to find us Twilight, I told them!" "I never doubted you would come find us darling" Rarity said, using her magic to re-curl her bangs "Although the new friend is....unexpected. Would you mind introducing us?" Rarity's blue eyes asked all the questions she had refrain from phrasing out loud "Why don't we get somewhere safe first" Twilight said.... she bit her lip, hopefully she had recovered enough to teleport them all.... She closed her eyes and focused her magic and and after a shaky start, seven ponies tumbled to the ground in cold, cave, shining with crystals. "These are the old Canterlot Caverns" she said, panting slightly "After the changeling attack at the wedding they were completely sealed off, nopony should search for us here" "So" Applejack said warmly "How 'bout y'all n'troduce us to y'er friend" "This is Time Turner" Twilight said "I don't think any of you know him" she looked straight at Pinkie trying to silently convey the message. Her friend first gave her a look of confusion, before understanding dawned and she leaped into the air, gasping loudly "He was visiting Ponyville from....Hoofdon." Twilight said slowly "We both...um.....saw Pinkie get kidnapped! and...." "Wanted to help!" The Doctor interjected "Couldn't just let somepony be kidnapped without a fight now could I?" "So we went to Canterlot to....Alert the princesses." "But Celestia was actually a changer-" "Changeling" "Changeling princess. But we escaped, and came here" Twilight nodded vigorously "Well, it's certainly nice to meet you Mr.Turner" Fluttershy said softly "Nice to meet you as well Miss...." the Doctor replied "Mynameisfluttershythankyouforhelpingtwilightfindus" Fluttershy squeaked in a rush, voice barely raising above a whisper as she hid behind her mane. "Fluttershy" the Doctor chuckled "suits you" before muttering under his breath "I am not that skinny" "Howdy" Applejack said, stepping in and firmly shaking the Doctor's hand "Names Applejack. 'ts a pleasure t' meet y'a. Any friend a' Twilight's is a friend a' mine" A cyan pegasus squeezed in between them "And I'm Rainbow Dash" Her magenta eyes squinted "So do you like Twilight or what?" "Rainbow!" Rarity cut in, aghast "That was very rude!" "It's not like you didn't want to know the same thing" Dash shot back at the white unicorn, who just huffed and said "My name is Rarity, charmed to make your acquaintance" "And I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie said "And I'm Superdeduperty happy to be your new friend!" The Doctor smiled at each of them "Brilliant!" He said "It's great to finally meet you all, I can already see why Twilight is so fond of you" The purple unicorn smiled, touched. "But" The Doctor broke in, in a more serious tone "We still have to deal with the changeling impersonating Celestia. Now, Twilight, could you tell me about the Elements of Harmony?” All of Twilight's friends looked at the mare in question, who was already launching into what was most assuredly going to be a detailed, long winded, and highly historical explanation of the Elements of Harmony. Applejack gave the purple unicorn a nudge, "Maybe the c'ndensed version d'be best, sugarcube" Twilight sighed, but relented "The Elements of Harmony are six supernatural artifacts which are arguably the most powerful force in Equestria. Each artifact represents an element of friendship and can only work if wielded by one who possesses the corresponding trait, and only if all are used together. As the bearers of the Elements, we each represent one of the traits, Magic, Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, Laughter, and Loyalty....Unfortunately, we can only wield the Elements if we have them with is.....which we don't." "And where are these Elements?" the Doctor continued "They're in Canterlot tower" Twilight said "Thankfully, after Discord stole them, Celestia cast a spell on them that protected them from being stolen or moved again by anypony but us. I have enough magic that I can probably teleport myself and one other pony over there, but that still doesn't eliminate the fact that, after our escape, it's probably being heavily guarded" "I'll go" Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and the Doctor said simultaniously "Actually, I was thinking of taking Spike" Twilight said "After all, Changelings are very averse to fire, and the won't be expecting a dra.....Where is Spike?" The Elements of Harmony all looked around, first with confusion, then frantic concern. "Rarity!" Twilight said, "you were the last one with him, right?" "Yes, Darling" Rarity said "We were shopping in the Fashion District when we were accosted by those monsters, I assumed he was trapped along with us... but we were all so confused. We might have overlooked him" Twilight paced back and forth "Oh dear Celestia....Did we leave him in the Maze? Or... or" Suddenly the whole room reverberated, sound being amplified off of every crystalline surface. "Elements of Harmony" Celestia's voice rang throughout the cavers, echoing eerily. Twilight's blood ran cold. Princess Thornwing knew where they were! The voice continued though. No Changelings stormed in to capture them, no maniacal laughter of victory filled their ears. The purple unicorn's pulse slowed, it was just the Canterlot Royal announcement system, like the Celestia impostor had used earlier. It probably reverberated all over the caverns. She listened closer. "You are wanted for treason against the Royal Pony Sisters and the fair land of Equestria, if you come quietly, you will be spared. It brings me great sadness to have my own pupils betray me, but I have been given no choice. Please turn yourself in, and I will deal with you with mercy and dignity, if you choose to attempt to flee or fight instead, I will be forced to you my powers to dispose of you. For the good of Equestria" The voice became pained, and Twilight's lip curled in disgust as the monster disguised as her princess faked sorrowful emotion. Then there was a hushed but harsh whispering between two voices, probably inaudible to the public, but in the amplification of the crystal caverns, remarkably clear "Do it!" "B-but I don't want to say that!" "Do it or I'll roast your scaly hide!" Then a new voice rang out, a childish male one, that made Twilight's heart stop "T-twilight. Twilight, please don't do this. C-celestia only wants to help you, j-just turn....just turn yourself in Twilight....Please, f-for your......for your number one assistant" Fluttershy and Rarity both gasped, Rainbow Dash made a noise like an angry cat, Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing with a jolt, eyes going wide and sad, and Applejack laid a hoof on Twilight's shoulder saying softly "Twilight, ah....ah'm so sorry" "That's it." Twilight said, seething "That's it. Come on Doc- I mean Turner....and on second thought you too Pinkie. I think I can manage it. We are getting the Elements of Harmony, and by Celestia when I get my hooves on that Daughter-Of-A-Diamond dog she is going to wish she had never slithered out of the dark pit's of Tartarus she came from..." She turned to the others "You guys, stay here. I don't think I can teleport more than three, and I want you to stay safe. Applejack, you're in charge, if they somehow do get it here, run to the deepest part of the caves you can find. They won't just capture you this time. When we get the Elements of Harmony, I'll teleport directly too you guys" Twilight but her lip "oohh...I hate splitting up. But I don't want to risk overexerting my magic again" "That's fine" Fluttershy said softly "I understand" "I'd rather be going with you guys" Dash grumbled "But I understand" That didn't keep her from shooting the Doctor a dirty look however. "That's perfectly alright darling" Rarity said "I'm not big on getting my hooves dirty" "Good luck, sugarcube" Applejack said "And, Mr.Turner?" "Yes?" The Doctor said "Keep them safe" "Wouldn't dream of doing otherwise" Twilight lit up her horn, there was a flash of light, and the trio disappeared.