Chapter 6: Of Spells, Clichés, Apples, and Bakeries
Canterlot Castle, Canterlot, Equestria, Gaia, Summer, 56 C.E.
"Here we go!" cheered one of the changeling soldiers as they passed through the dying shield and flew towards the Equestrian capital below. The first changelings to enter the city were met with an instant barrage of spells, arrows, and a variety of other weapons and objects.
"SHOW NO MERCY!" shouted one of the generals as a series of fireballs were shot into the air. The Doctor and Twilight stood their ground as a group of changelings flew towards them. Twilight pointed her horn at them and fired a simple blast of magical energy. The Doctor then pointed the Sonic Screwdriver at the magical attack which caused it to split into a stream of magical bullets. The changeling soldiers screamed as the magical bullets smashed into their bodies and burned their skin. A few of the weaker soldiers fell towards the ground below while the stronger soldiers recovered and continued with the attack.
"Don't back down!" ordered the Doctor.
"Not planning on it," said Twilight. "I think this would be a good time to try a spell I've been working on!" Suddenly, a blue ball of magic shot out of Twilight's horn. The blue ball expanded into what looked like a transparent shield made of jello. The magical shield smashed into the changelings and wrapped around them like a web of taffy. The changelings screamed as a wave of electricity surged through the shield and into their bodies. After the electric pulses had stopped, the shield disappeared and the unconscious changelings followed their fellow fallen soldiers to the ground below.
"Wow. That was impressive," the Doctor complimented.
"Thank you," said Twilight with a wide smirk. The Doctor's eyes widened as a flash of green abruptly appeared behind Twilight.
"GET DOWN!" The Doctor grabbed onto Twilight and pulled her away just as an explosion of green fire erupted behind her. Rock, metal, and dust flew into the air and the cheers of changelings could be heard as a few sections of the battlements fell apart. Twilight coughed as she and the Doctor stood up.
"Thanks for that," she said.
"Don't mention it," the Doctor replied. They turned towards the sky to see more changelings flying towards them.
"This is going to be a long day."
"No doubt about that, Ms. Sparkle."
The Changeling Castle, Gustus Amoris, the Changeling Empire, Gaia, Summer, 56 C.E.
Donna and Thorne carefully made their way up the staircase. The scent of must and rot returned to the air and Donna let out a few coughs in response.
"Has the castle really fallen into this much disrepair already?" Thorne asked as she examined the area around her.
"Trust me, this isn't the worst of it," said Donna. Donna could feel her heart race as she began to think back to the fiery creature. "So, tell me, what exactly is that fire monster that's lurking around here?"
"It's not a monster. It's a curse."
"What do you mean by that?"
"The fire monster is just a magical guardian created by the dark unicorn that helped Esmeralda place this shield around the castle. It's not alive. It's just a spell."
"Well it's a damn effective spell at that."
Thorne chuckled in response to Donna's comment. "Yes."
"So how exactly are you going to take care of this monster?"
"You'll see." Donna couldn't help but feel uneasy as she and Thorne reached the top of the stairs. The stairway opened into a small room filled with a few old bookcases. Donna looked for any way out of the room but there were no exits. The only way out that Donna could identify was a nearby window but it was covered with thick, iron bars on both the inside and the outside. Cloak gave a cute yawn and Donna patted his head.
"Please tell me you know a way out of here," said Donna as she turned to Thorne. Thorne smiled at Donna and gave a quick nod. Donna watched as Thorne made her way over to a nearby bookcase. She moved her hoof along the line of books until she came across a fairly thin, blue book. She then gave the book a slight pull and the bookcase moved aside to show a thin tunnel. "A secret passage behind a bookcase? I guess clichés stay the same no matter which universe you find yourself in." Thorne entered the secret passage and Donna followed.
Abandoned Bakery, Gustus Amoris, the Changeling Empire, Gaia, Summer, 56 C.E.
Flarewing pulled the door open and everypony slipped inside as quickly as they could. Flarewing made sure to shut the door tightly and quietly before following the others into the depths of the old pastry shop. Derpy didn't take kindly to their new hideout but she figured that something was better than nothing. The air was filled with clouds of dust and the corpses of starved vermin and insects littered the floor. The dust and dirt on the floor was thick and Derpy had the urge to go into a coughing fit several times over as she walked through the main eating area.
"Lovely place," said Bass sarcastically.
"Yeah, just lovely," Derpy sighed. Derpy walked over to a nearby window and stared outside towards the empty street that ran past the bakery. She could see a few run-down homes and a rotted tavern across the street. Derpy suddenly thought back to her friends and worried for their safety. She wondered of the Doctor's and Twilight's current situations and thought about what Donna was doing in the Changeling Castle.
"You okay?" asked a tired voice. Derpy jumped a bit and turned around. Flarewing was standing there. "Sorry. Did I startle you?"
"A bit," Derpy replied.
"Worrying about your friends?"
Derpy gave a deep sigh. "Yeah. I wish I could know if they were okay or not. Not knowing anything is just...aggravating."
"I know how that feels, trust me on that one." Just then, a large shadow was cast over the window. Flarewing grabbed Derpy and pulled her to the floor.
"Everypony down!" hissed Bass. Everypony did as they were told. Derpy looked up at the shadow in the window. She could hear voices and hoofsteps outside.
"Keep searching!" ordered a grunt voice. "They're around here somewhere!" Derpy and the others remained silent as the shadow slowly disappeared and the voices and hoofsteps faded away.
Flarewing stood up and glanced out the window. "I think it's safe now," he said. Everybody exhaled deeply as they stood up and sat down in the chairs scattered throughout the old bakery. Derpy's heart was pounding a bit and her breathing had become quick and hoarse. "I knew they'd be searching for us."
"Do you think they'll find us?" Derpy asked.
"Eventually, yes. Let's just hope that Donna's able to get out of the castle before they end up coming across us."
"Wait a second. Donna doesn't know about the old hideout being burned down! How is she going to get back to us?"
"I have a feeling that we'll know when Donna gets out of the castle; and when that happens just leave everything to me."
Canterlot Castle Gates, Canterlot, Equestria, Gaia, Summer, 56 C.E.
Angie took cover as the changelings began their attack. She lost sight of General Alec but didn't care. The line of civilians had either disappeared into the depths of the castle or dispersed into the surrounding buildings. Angie ended up finding a hiding place within a cluster of thick, tall bushes. As the sounds of the battle raged around her, she began to think of how cowardly she was acting. She was hiding away in a bunch of bushes and not doing a damn thing to help anypony else. But, what could she do? She wasn't a soldier, she wasn't particularly good with a weapon, she couldn't perform magic like a unicorn, she couldn't fly like a pegasus. She was just an ordinary farmmare. Suddenly, Angie heard a loud scream that seemed to come from just a few feet away from where she was hiding. She then heard something large hit the ground and several objects bounce around. Angie tilted her head in curiosity as a group of apples rolled through the leaves of the bushes and into the area in which she was hiding.
"Apples?" Angie asked in a whisper.
"Leave me alone!" pleaded a weak voice. Angie peered through the leaves of the bushes and saw a group of changelings bearing down on a young filly who didn't even have her cutie mark yet. "Mommy!"
"Mommy's not here," cackled one of the changelings as he pulled out a large knife and licked it.
"What shall we do with this one?" asked another one of the soldiers.
"Children are worthless. It's best to just kill her." A rage began to build up inside Angie as the changelings bore down on the filly. She wanted to attack them, but she had no weapons. It was then that her attention was drawn to a nearby object: a toppled apple cart. Angie figured that was what she had heard fall a few seconds earlier. A large mound of apples had spilled out of the cart. Angie looked at the mound of apples and an idea formed in her head. She snuck out of the bushes and over towards the cart. She then quickly took a load of apples in her hooves and turned towards the changeling soldiers. Without any last hesitations, she threw three apples as the soldiers. One apple smacked a changeling in the back of the head and rendered him unconscious, one apple hit a changeling in the face, and another apple hit a changeling in the gut.
The apparent leader of the group of changelings turned in Angie's direction. "What the-" He was met with two apples to the face.
"Get that pony!" ordered another one of the soldiers. The remaining changelings charged at Angie. For some reason, Angie didn't feel afraid. A newfound bravery was coursing through every inch of her body. Suddenly, all that mattered to Angie was keeping those changelings from hurting anypony else. The next few seconds were like a blur to Angie as she threw the apples at the changelings and got successful hits almost every time she attacked. Several of the changelings were rendered unconscious while a few gave up and flew off to find anypony else to attack. By the end of it all, Angie was standing by the Canterlot Castle gates with apples in her forelegs and a group of unconscious changelings around her.
"You...saved me," said the filly who had previously been terrorized by the changelings. Angie turned towards the filly.
"Get inside before others come back!" Angie ordered.
A wide smile appeared on the filly's face that caused Angie's heart to melt. "Thank you." The filly then turned around and ran through the castle doors. When the filly was gone, Angie turned her attention back to the mound of apples.
"Of all the things I thought I'd use as a weapon, a collection of apples was not one of my first choices," Angie said with a chuckle. "But I guess they'll do for now." Angie's ears shot up as several more screams rang out around her. "And it looks like I might still need some."