//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 
// Story: Doctor Whooves Stories: Episode 4: The Silver Army 
// by puropogo 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 4

July 20, 1518 CE, 10:10 am, Equestrian Base Camp.

A laser beam was shot from the entry. Everypony gasped as they saw the entry guard walking with a cybermen squad at his side.

“Silence! Anyone who moves will be killed instantly!”
“What are you doing, Private Snow?” The Colonel yelled at him, not moving from her position.
“I am half upgraded, but my superiors send me and these cybermen to give you ponies and griffons an offer. You’ll surrender and become part of the cybermen, refuse and you’ll be killed instantly.” Private Snow said to them.
“We are not going anywhere until you gave us back our soldiers.”
“Here they are. At my left this cyberman used to be Lance Corporal Archie Snafu, right there is Private Fubar Bundy, Anchor Clanker it’s behind me and Queep Figmo is the last one.” Snow pointed to the cybermen while he was speaking. “And those are just few. The other ones have been upgraded as well.”

Samus whispered to the Doctor’s ear, “What should we do now?”
The Doctor whispered back to her, “Follow me.” The Doctor faced then the cybermen, “What do we gain with this?”
“Cybermen are immune to all known diseases, we never got hurt and we are always getting more powerful.”
“Yes, and you get rid out of our emotions.”
“Emotions? Emotions are useless.”
“The emotions are the only reason why life is worth living. What was the last time you enjoy a good song, a warm sunlight, a fresh muffin?”
“Those things are not relevant.”
“You can guess what is our answer.” The Cybermen raised their hooves.
“Delete Rejected Subjects.”

“Delete this.” Colonel Samus was lighting, and then she threw a magic blast to one of the cybermen, knocking him out.
“DELETE!” A battle between the soldiers and the cybermen begun, with some soldiers being killed in the process. The battle was over when someone shot the rocket launcher, killing the cybermen and Private Snow.
“Who shot that?” Lt. Mist screamed.
“I did it.” Gerrard said. “You’re welcome.”
“Did i said ‘thanks’? You destroyed the entry and the communication system.”
“Plus the cybermen.”
“Wonderful, there is no way out of here and that’s thanks to you. No wait. Not just you, it’s also, your fault.” Mist pointed to Derpy. “If you didn’t save this griffon we would be safe.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault.”
“No, you’re right. It’s his fault.” He pointed to the Doctor. “Now, we are trapped in this hole, without communication, food and the cybermen know where we are!”
“Silence.” Samus said to him.
“No, I’m tired of this shit, I’m tired of him, I’m tired of her, I’m tired of… those things,” he pointed to Sharp Tooth and Gerrard, “but mostly… I’m tired of you. We won’t have this situation unless there was a male colonel.”

Nate Samus remained calm for a moment. She slowly moved to Sparkling Mist, and spoke to him softly: “Is that what you think?”
“Honestly… yes.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you?”
“Of course mare!” Then she throw him to the ground and push his arm against his back. “Ouch!”
“Excuse me, what did you say? I didn’t hear.”
“Ouch! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, you deserve the position, you are a great colonel.”
“Don’t dare to forget that.” She released him. “Like I was trying to say, there is another exit.”
“Really?” Derpy asked.
“Yes. This base is connected to the Changeling Castle. I was informed of that when I became the colonel of this place.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Sparkling Mist said. “You don’t even know where is connected.”
“There is a fake wall behind the truth room.”
“Nice plan, Colonel.” Sparkling Mist said sarcastically. “Just one tiny little thing: there are cybermen outside and we don’t have any ways to fight them or communicate with the Equestria Army.”
“Yes, we have.” The Doctor said. “We can use the arms of the dead cybermen as guns. I can help you adapt their arms. Plus, both me and Derpy arrived here from the TARDIS.”
“Good idea, Doctor.” Samus said. “People, grab the cybermen front legs and gave them to the Doctor, now. We are leaving this place.”

July 20, 1518 CE, 10:40 am, Below the Changeling Castle.

The Doctor, Derpy, the remaining soldiers and Gerrard were walking in a tunnel below the Changeling castle. The soldiers and Gerrard were carrying the improved guns the Doctor made for them. Derpy was walking close to the Doctor, thinking about everything she experienced on that day.

“What are you thinking?” The Doctor asked to his friend.
“What? No, nothing, it’s just… I didn’t thought I would be in a war.”
“Me, neither. I’m sorry for that. If you want to, I’ll drop you in Ponyville as soon as we stop the cybermen.”
“Are you kidding? Look, yes, I didn’t like when the explosions hurt my wings, but I saved someone’s life, and I’m having the greatest time of my life. I don’t want to stop now.”
“Ok, if that’s what you want.” The Doctor smiled. “I don’t think that’s the only thing you have in your mind.”
“No.” Derpy said. “I was mean to Sharp Tooth. I know and I experienced the changelings before but, I should have been more nice to him. Like you said, there are good changelings, like Princess Honeydew.”
“Yes. Go and talk to him, I don’t have to listen that, but he does.”

Derpy ran next to Sharp Tooth, and she begun to talk to him.
“Hi, I want to say… I’m sorry the way I treated you.”
“It’s ok. I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have said nothing about your eye.” Sharp Tooth apologised.
“Did you born here in the Changeling Kingdom?” The Doctor asked.
“No, nopony lives in the Changeling Kingdom, not even the changelings. I am from Ponyville”
“Hey, as we!” Derpy said. “Why nobody lives here?”
“I don’t know. When I was a foal, I was told a story about the fall of this kingdom. Supposedly two evil lords released their army to this kingdom, only the magic of the ponies and the changelings stop the army. After that, the changelings went to live in Equestria.”
“Why you didn’t say anything of that before?” Mist asked.
“Because he thought it was just a nursery tale.” Gerrard said.
“Thanks, but I don’t need to you to defend me.” Tooth said.
“It’s ok. I just like to mess with ponies like him.” Gerrard smiled.
“Do you know what kind of monster attack this place?” Derpy asked.
“I think they were the cybermen.” The Doctor said.
“Why do you say that?”
“Look at the walls.” Everypony else looked to the walls and saw pictures of changeling fighting cybermen, but most of them showed the cybermen defeating the changelings. “We must be careful.”

“Great.” Samus exclaimed. “There is a locked door.”
“Don’t worry.” The Doctor galloped close to Samus and used his sonic screwdriver to open the door.

July 20, 1518 CE, 11:00 am, Changeling Castle.

The castle showed signs of neglect from centuries before. The Doctor and his party were walking in the debris, trying to avoid the dusty and old weapons, the shattered windows and the old changeling skeletons. They found an open section of the castle, and walked there, trying to not be spotted by the cybermen or the griffons.

“I don’t hear gunshots. It’s the first day since I came here without gunshots.” Samus said.

The Doctor pulled out a couple of binoculars from his jacket and started to watch the landscape.
“The Cybermen usually don’t work at plain sight. But they must know that we left the base. They must be searching for us.”
“What about the griffons?” Gerrard asked.
“I can’t see any. Probably they are in their base camp.” The Doctor pointed to some place in the kingdom. “There!” He passed the binoculars to the Colonel. “We need to get there.”
“To that tiny place?”
“It’s bigger than you think, plus, we can’t stay here.”
“Ok, we should cross to that door. It connects with the main hall of the castle.”

When they opened the door, they saw a new, modern workshop. They saw a lot of plastic cocoons in the walls, as big as a pony. In the throne were the Changeling Queen or King used to stand, there was a bigger cocoon laying there.

“What are those things?” Samus asked to the Doctor.
“Cybermen. We must keep quiet until we left the hall.”

They begun to walk quietly and slowly, but when they were close to the other exit, an alarm was triggered and the cocoons begun to break, releasing the cybermen.

“What was that?” Samus exclaimed.
“Run. Run everyone!” The Doctor screamed.
“Stop there!” Mist shot to the direction where the Doctor and the others were running.
“Mist? What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry, Colonel Nate Samus. You could have been one of the greatest heroes of Equestria.”
“This is because I’m a mare?”
“No, actually I was planning it from before the war.”
“Why?”
“They offered me money, and power. They said to me that I could have anything I want if I helped them.”
“Are you nuts?” The Doctor screamed at him. “Why do you think the cybermen would keep their word?”
“Ask them. They are free now.”

The cybermen closed the Doctor and company. Before anyone would do something, the bigger cocoon opened, releasing a big, black cyberhorse.

“What’s that?” Derpy asked.
“It’s their leader, it’s the cyberleader.”

The cyberleader walked to the group, where the other cybermen bowed at him. He then proceeded to look the soldiers, Derpy and finally the Doctor.

“Who brought them here?” The cyberleader said with a deeper voice than of the regular cybermen.
“I did it. Now, nopony would interrupt your plans.” The cyberleader walk to the pegasus. “I did it for you.”
“Then, you’ll have your reward.” The cyberleader touched the pegasus arm, shocking him with electricity.
“Wh- wh- why?” the electrified pony asked.
“The biggest reward the cybermen can offer is to turn you into a new cyberman. Take him to the cyber conversion room.”
“No, no, no, no.” Sparkling Mist begged to the cybermen who were carrying him to stop, with no avail. He was taken to the other exit of the room.

“My memory bank has a lot of information about you, Doctor.” The Cyberleader said. “But I have more information in my personal hard drive.”
“What?” The Doctor asked.
“We have met before Doctor. I would say it’s a pleasure to see you again, Doctor.”