Doctor Whooves Episode 17: Angie the Great

by Doctor Perseus

The Poisoned Arrow

Chapter 2: The Poisoned Arrow

Outer Wall, Canterlot, Equestria, Gaia, Summer, 56 C.E.

Twilight and Angie watched in silence as the sky began to turn into a mix of violet and orange. Twilight unintentionally found herself staring at Angie and it didn't take long for Angie to notice this.

"Why are you staring at me?" questioned the earth mare. Twilight shook her head and blushed a bit.

"I'm sorry," she said. "You just really look like a friend of mine."

"I remember you saying that when we first met. Who is this friend of yours?"

"Her name's Applejack. She runs a farm back in the town I live in, Ponyville."

"She runs a farm?!" Twilight found herself to be a bit surprised by Angie's statement. She had expected Angie to question more about Ponyville, for the town didn't exist yet.

"Yeah. It's quite successful...for the most part. They've had the occasional struggle."

"Still...it must be wonderful."

"You must really want a farm."

"I do. I have ever since I was a little filly."

"Have you tried to start one before?"

"No. I never had the chance. My family's seen a lot of bad times and the war with the changelings started just as I was beginning to make a living. These past few years have been miserable in Equestria due to those changelings. The main reason I went to work for the army's chef was to get a little bit more pay. But, even then, it wasn't enough and, just to put the nails in the coffin, I had to put up with sexual harassment as well." Twilight thought back to the soldiers that had attacked Angie and felt sorry for the earth mare.

"I bet you'll get your farm one day."

"I want to believe that, Twilight...but now...maybe all I'm meant to be is an unimportant mare." Twilight wanted to say something but found herself cut off by the Doctor's sudden return.

"Girls!" he said as he ran up to them.

"So, what did the generals want to talk to you about?" Angie asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Celestia's just selected me to be in charge of the entire Equestrian army until she heals from her injuries."

"Is that all?" asked Twilight.

"Yes. Which means that you're my second-in-command, Ms. Sparkle."

"Me?!"

"Yes, you. Now, I've instructed the soldiers to prepare themselves and to cast as many protective enchantments around the city as possible." Suddenly, a series of magical beams shot up into the sky and began forming a massive, protective dome around the city.

"I can help with that," said Twilight.

"Are you talking about the spell you used during the Ponyville invasion?" the Doctor asked.

"The very same."

"But you're still healing from your wounds and this spell will weaken you greatly!"

"I've been practicing the use of this spell in my free time. Sure, it takes up a lot of magical energy but it shouldn't weaken me as much." Before the Doctor could argue anymore, Twilight aimed her horn up towards the forming dome. A beam of purple, magical energy shot out of her horn and began merging with the dome. Within seconds, the city of Canterlot was completely shielded by the magical barrier. Twilight let out an relieving gasp as the casting of the spell completed. The lavender unicorn stumbled around for a couple seconds before taking a few, quick breathes and shaking her head.

"There!" she exclaimed. "Everything's fine!"

"Are you sure?" the Doctor asked.

"I won't be able to cast incredibly powerful spells for a bit but I'll be fine."

"Excellent."

"So what do we do now?" Angie asked.

"We wait," the Doctor replied. "We wait and stay prepared. Esmeralda and the changelings will be on their way shortly. I can feel it."

"And when they do come, we'll be ready," said Twilight. The three ponies then turned to face the countryside of Equestria that seemed to stretch into infinity.

Winding Road, Gustus Amoris, the Changeling Empire, Gaia, Summer, 56 C.E.

Bass led Donna down the road at a quick and silent pace. The Sun had just begun to raise its head over the horizon and Bass had wasted no time in taking Donna towards the castle. Derpy, Flarewing, and the others had been forced to wait back in the hideout. The less attention they were to draw from normal civilians, the better.

It surprised Donna that anything still lived in Gustus Amoris. For the most part, the changeling capital felt like a ghost town. The only living creatures in the city appeared to be either the occasional soldier, bird, insect, pest, or comatose civilian. It reminded Donna not only of medieval England but also of the pictures of Jewish ghettos that Donna had seen in textbooks during her school years.

The road that Bass led Donna down was a narrow and dirty street that felt more like a downtown alleyway that went on forever. It felt as if they had been sneaking their way through the alleyway for hours. Eventually, they found themselves at their destination.

"There it is, the entrance," Bass whispered. Winding Road fed into a massive plaza that was home to nothing more than a few soldiers and a fountain. Bass swore under his breath as he and Donna noticed the group of guards blocking the entrance pathway that led through the magical barrier and into the castle. The soldiers, however, looked quite bored and uncaring of their current situation. "You're going to need a distraction."

Bass turned to Donna and placed a series of objects in her hands. "What are these?" she asked.

"Knives, lockpicks, a bit of healing solution, rope, just various objects required for breaking into a castle," Bass replied. Donna stashed the objects into her pockets before turning her attention back towards the guards. Bass pulled a bottle out of one of his pockets that Donna identified as an alcoholic substance. "Here's the plan. I'm going to run out into the plaza and pretend to be an angry drunk. This should give the guards some entertainment and distract them long enough for you to sneak through the shield and into the castle."

"What if they see me?"

"Just focus on getting through the shield. Once you're through there, nothing can follow you except for Queen Esmeralda herself, and she's a few hundred miles north of here." Bass turned away from Donna and turned towards the plaza. "You ready?"

"Honestly...no."

"Me neither. That means it's time. Let's go."

Central Plaza, Gustus Amoris, the Changeling Empire, Gaia, Summer, 56 C.E.

The soldiers standing guard duty were getting tired. They had already been there for five hours and were ready to head home and get some sleep.

"I still don't understand why we have to guard an impenetrable shield," hissed one of the changeling soldiers.

"It's the Queen's orders and I'm going to follow her to the grave!" announced another one of the soldiers.

"I just want something to eat. It's been far too long since we've had any love to feed on," groaned another one of the soldiers.

"Yeah," sighed the first soldier. The changeling soldiers stopped their whining as Bass stumbled into the plaza with his cloak partially off and an alcoholic beverage in his hoof.

"I bet I could wrastle a bear with three hooves tied!" Bass called in a drunken voice. The soldiers laughed as they took notice of the believed drunkard.

"Finally, some entertainment!" exclaimed one of the soldiers as he began approaching Bass. The others shrugged their shoulders and followed suit, leaving the pathway completely open.

Donna couldn't help but chuckle a bit at Bass's drunk act. But now wasn't the time to laugh. Once the soldiers had moved away from the entrance, and were now focusing on teasing and messing with the fake drunkard, Donna began making her way over towards the castle. At first, she moved in slow and quiet steps. She allowed her pace to quicken with each step. Her heart was racing. She couldn't help but keep glancing over at the soldiers every five seconds to make sure that none of them had spotted her yet.

Bass, meanwhile, was trying his best to keep the soldiers entertained. He had to keep them looking at him long enough so that Donna could sneak her way through the shield. However, this was easier said than done for he could tell that some of them were beginning to get the urge to turn back to look at their abandoned post.

Keep them entertained. Come on, just a few more seconds, Bass thought to himself. He let out a few more drunk phrases and even allowed the soldiers to push him around a bit. He wished to punch them back but he had to hold back for Donna.

Suddenly, before Bass could do anything, one of the soldiers turned back towards the entrance just in time to see Donna sneaking her way towards it. "What in the name of Esmeralda is that thing?!" asked the soldier as he pointed at Donna. Donna realized that she had been spotted and found herself freezing in place.

"I don't know," stated one of the soldiers as he unsheathed his sword. "But it's sneaking its way towards the castle and the Queen told us to kill anything that tries to break into the-" The soldier found himself cut short as Bass lunged forward and knocked him out with the handle of a sword he had kept hidden in his cloak until now.

"It's a trick!" exclaimed one of the guards. A couple of the guards surrounded Bass while a few began running towards Donna. Bass jumped over one of the soldiers and stepped in front of the soldiers heading for Donna.

Bass stunned one of the soldiers with his sword before turning back to Donna and yelling, "Run, Donna! You're almost there! I've got these idiots!" Bass then turned back towards the soldiers and swung his sword madly at them. The soldiers fought back vigorously. Donna managed to snap herself out of her fear-induced shock and continue her way towards the castle, this time as fast as her legs could carry her. One of the changeling soldiers pulled out a bow and fired a few poisoned arrows at Donna. Donna dodged the projectiles. She was only a couple seconds of running away from the entrance but this short distance seemed like a mile to Donna. Her heart pounded, her muscles screamed, and her breaths were hoarse and quick. The changeling with the bow flapped his wings and took into the air. Bass tried to go after the flying changeling but found himself surrounded once again. This time, however, he couldn't jump his way out in time to save Donna. Donna was on her own.

Donna pushed her muscles to the limit and ran as fast as she could. The changeling pulled out an arrow that emanated green and purple colors. Donna wasn't keen on finding out what effects the arrow had on its victims. The changeling took aim and fired. The arrow seemed to fly at almost the speed of a bullet and was catching up to Donna fast. The border of the green shield was only a couple feet ahead of Donna. Donna took a leap of faith and dived for the magical barrier. As she flew through that small space of air, time seemed to slow down. An endless stream of thoughts flowed through Donna's head.

What if this doesn't work? What if I don't get through? What if I fail and die here at the hands of these changelings! What if I fail the Doctor? Donna thought. A wave of cold rushed over her body as she passed through the boundary. Just as her legs phased through, Donna felt a stinging pain in her lower right leg. Donna hit the stone pathway hard. The impact gave her a few bruises but nothing too major. Donna instantly located the source of the pain in her leg. A small puncture wound was in her leg and a little stream of blood was flowing out of it. The wound was no bigger than the head of a pen. Donna then found herself looking at the barrier. On the other side of the barrier, the changeling's arrow had fallen to the ground. A small blotch of blood now covered its tip. Donna could feel her heart race as she realized that the arrow had just managed to hit her as she had passed through the barrier. She could tell that the arrow was poisoned and she began to grow afraid at the possibility that there was now poison in her body, even with the cut being incredibly small.

Donna looked passed the arrow and the changeling archer, who was now kicking himself for allowing Donna to get through the shield, and saw that Bass was still fighting the soldiers. She didn't want to abandon the kind changeling, but she had to get into the castle. Donna picked herself off the ground and made her way towards the castle. She gulped as she approached the massive, black structure. It didn't look any less intimidating in the morning light than it had during the night. Donna watched as the torches in the castle all seemed to magically turn off as the Sun finally pulled its entire body over the horizon. Donna felt another sting of pain in her leg and a quick wave of nausea washed over her.

"Oh God, please don't tell me that I'm poisoned," Donna pleaded out loud as a couple tears of panic rolled down her face. Her mind then quickly flashed back to Derpy, the Doctor, and Twilight. She had to help her friends. Donna then took a deep breath as she opened the door before her and entered the Changeling Castle.

Comments

[MariusIoannesP]

Oh the suspense kills me! Why does it always end just as interesting things begin to happen? How did Donna know the arrow was poisoned anyway? Oh well.

[Doctor Perseus]

2613034
Donna could tell that the arrow was poisoned due to the fact that it emitted a series of green and purple colors as well as the fact that she felt slightly nauseous soon after the arrow nicked her.

[Pax]

2614695 THat's sadistic. Also, why do you appear to be doing this in short chapters?

[Doctor Perseus]

2621140
I'm not trying to be sadistic. I'm just adding tension to the story. In terms of chapter length, that usually just depends on what I want to happen in a chapter and such.

[Pax]

2621236 Sorry about that. I'm not really in, say, the right frame of mind? You see, absolutely everything about me is going bug fuck. I had to go into burn out mode multiple times to beat my ninth grade counter-part, Henry. I'm in 7th grade, so it is critical for me to beat him at every twist and turn.

[Doctor Perseus]

2621256
No problem. Everybody gets stressed out every now and then, especially if it involves school or work. Here's a Derpy and a mustache to wish you the best of luck.

[raqelita123]

ok haven't read this page but u guys r giving me spoilers to them!!, yay!!!

[Hekate Sketch]

2621256 hey, if it makes you feel better, your not the only one who has someone to beat in terms of school, i am going to be a senior this year, and my cousin is going to be graduating with me...a year early! so i am going to force myself to do at minimum 230% during the school year. i will not half-ass things or screw around with video games during the day. heh, my dual credit class was Russian one of the hardest languages to learn, and i passed the class with an 82. oh, and my 12 year old brother is better than me at high school math, and he's going into 6th grade. i am very competitive so i need to show my true smarts now that i wont have to deal with an abusive father. (verbal, emotional, mental)

[IamShadowDash]

hmmm poisoned arrow! Bloody Hell, what the buck?
what is it this time?
she remembers when I was poisoned by Docs sword. During the battle of Fort Everfree? WHICH IS STILL A DUMB NAME.
that's a running joke, btw... Ever since Max and her friends were forced to retreat into Fort Everfree after being beaten by the enemies, Max has always said that Fort Everfree is a stupid name every time someone says it.
thank you for the explanation, Dr. Obvious.
well other peop- ponies don't know about it.
ever think they MIGHT NOT CARE?!
GUYS CUT IT OUT!! Yes, fort Everfree is a dumb name and maybe they don't care that it's a running joke, but if we put up with you, MM, you have to put up with us. So shut the buck up.
--MM/J