Destiny Book 2: Time Traveling Foal Sitters

by SirScribe

The Changeling King

The battle was over before it even began.

Once the trio burst into the throne room, they were all overwhelmed by green lights. Sea Crest tried to throw up a magic shield, however it was unsuccessful as he conjured the shield too late. Within a second, the three heroes were boxed, tagged and ready for shipping. The chest containing the Cataclysm was then captured by the bug-like creatures.

Applejack was the first to wake up. Her vision was blurred as the room she was in felt like it was spinning. A loud ringing in her ears couldn't help her focus on what was going on, but she knew there were voices in the room. Her vision cleared as she caught sight of the room.

The throne room where they first met Queen Solaris had changed dramatically. The walls were littered with green chrysalises filled with alicorns. They didn't kill all of them during the initial invasion, which was both good and bad. The ceiling housed a black canvas. The canvas turned out to be Changelings waiting for orders. The windows had flags depicting a glowing Changeling in a chrysalis as the symbol.

Where Solaris's throne was, a tall and male Changeling lounged. He wore black armor with green boots for his hooves. On a pedestal next to him sat two crowns: the golden crown of the Sun and the Obsidian crown of the Moon. Neither the king nor queen were wearing those specific crowns, meaning they were there to intimidate them.

Applejack felt somepony shift next to her. The Doctor was just beginning to regain consciousness. It was then when she realized that she was tied up on the floor. "Oww, 900 years and that still doesn't feel good," he mumbled.

"Doctor? Are ya alrigh'?"

A large shadow loomed over the two. "Yes, dear physician, are you alright?" a low voice echoed.

The Doctor and Applejack looked up. The lead Changeling flashed a toothy grin. "Welcome to the new Changeling Empire, equines," he growled.

Next to Applejack, Sea Crest began to stir. He opened his eyes and glared at the Changeling. "King Wolfsbane, how dare you show your face," he growled.

The king boomed in laughter. "Would you prefer a different face?" With a flash of green, his body shrunk and bulked up. In the matter of a second, Wolfsbane's black armor turned blue, turning into the shape of the late King Cosmos. As the Changeling King shifted his new weight around, the changelings around him started laughing.

Sea Crest began screaming in rage as he attempted to rip through the rope he was in. His horn was already coated with a green gelatin blocking his magic. Wolfsbane winked at the trio as he transformed back into himself. "I can see you prefer something else. Don't worry, Crest, the alicorn race will be reunited with its king and queen soon enough," he said as he licked his lips.

The Doctor wiggled in his prison. "You would commit genocide? For what purpose?" he asked.

The king shrugged. "Do I need a reason? Well, if I were, it'd be this: the war between the alicorns and the Draconiqui have raged for far too long. Lives have been lost, powers have surged into the hooves who do not deserve it, and love and harmony are now a thing of the past. This world has been burning by their damn race, and I'll see to it that it is purged," he spoke.

"So you're going to slaughter millions? For the sake of peace, you'll destroy modern civilization just to end a war?!" Sea Crest roared.

The Doctor's eyes grew heavy. He once thought that during the Time War. "I've watched your beloved king dance around the idea of peace! Your race has continued the pursuit of peace through destruction!" Wolfsbane argued.

"Much like what you're doing now? You killed the king and queen with their daughters watching! You spared no alicorn trying to defend themselves because you wanted peace?!" the Doctor spoke. "That isn't the pursuit of peace, that's starting a whole new war!"

The Changeling King flashed a grin. "Earth ponies cannot possibly have the mental capacity to retain that much knowledge. Tell me, why would you spare them when they started the war?"

"YA VARMIT!" Applejack shouted. "How about y'all say that in mah face?!"

The king's eyes glowed green as he approached the apple farmer. "You dare address me as such, filthy equine? Once I'm done with the alicorns, I'll gladly take care of you," he growled.

"Why wait? Ya ain't afraid to go an do it now, ain't ya? Y'all mighty Changelings, but y'all look like green chickens," Applejack said.

The Changelings in the room all began to murmur. The king's face now turned red with rage as he raised a hoof up into the air, poised to come down onto the Earth pony's face. Wolfsbane's horn charged, but one look in Applejack's eyes confirmed his suspicion: she was winding him up to do something reckless.

The king laughed as he lowered his hoof. His horn began to dim, sending worrying message through the Doctor and Sea Crest. As the king laughed, the other Changelings began to follow suit. The walls began to shake due to their laughter before the king had enough. With a few loud stomps onto the ground, the doors of the throne room burst open.

Two Changelings marched into the room with two familiar equines in tow. Applejack turned her head to meet the worrying eyes of Celestia and Luna, both instantly traumatized upon seeing a stranger on their parents' thrones. The two guards broke off to either side, knocking the two alicorns off balance, forcing them to stumble onto the ground in front of them.

Sea Crest struggled to turn his head, but upon facing the royal sisters, his blood began to boil. "You damn soul! They're innocent fillies!" he growled.

"They're a liability. Every day that they're alive, there is a chance they'll repeat their parents' sins. I will not allow that to happen, no matter who they are or how old they are. In my eyes, they're dangerous today!" Wolfsbane roared. "This is peace! This is order!"

Celestia rose up, her mane ruffled up and overshadowing her bloodshot eyes. "Yo-you're the one who-"

Wolfsbane raised an eyebrow. Luna looked up and recognized the Changeling. "Yo-you're on daddy's 10 Most Wanted thing! You're a bad guy!" she continued.

The king flashed a smile. "You want a bad guy? He posed to be your father for about 400 years. Dear young filly, your father orchestrated this war against the Draconiqui just to show the equine population that his power is great and should be feared! Your father is a bad guy, not me!" he roared.

The Doctor weighed the argument. True that King Cosmos was a bit of a mad pony, especially with new ways to end the war, however he ended each day wishing for a better life for his daughters. He knew Cosmos and Solaris enough to know that they wanted peace as well, not just for their country but for the daughters who were born during the war.

He was a stallion who loved his fillies.

The Doctor wiggled in his place. "You know, king Wolfinheimer or whatever you're called."

The king did a double-take. "I, uh what? I don't..."

"You see, you talk about war and peace and how Cosmos wanted to prolong the war, but you're missing one crucial piece of information. He loved his daughters more than anything else in this world, and even swore that if it meant giving his crown, he would bring peace for them. That's a stallion who would give the world just to see his daughters happy.

I have known Changelings all throughout my lives, and let me tell you, so many kings and queens sought the same thing he did. They all wanted peace and prosperity for those they loved, and for Changelings, love being a food source must be difficult to come by." The Doctor scanned the room to see the Changelings agreeing with him. The king also noticed this and felt his anger rising. "You want peace, don't you? I want something that doesn't end in bloodshed. Let us go, return to your kingdom, and I can provide for you a way to obtain a great source of love for all of you to feast on. Nopony will be hurt, we can end this long war and no drama has to unfold," he said.

The deal took both equines and Changelings in the room by surprise. Another explosion rocked the room, but the king hardly took it as anything serious. He was on the verge of coming to a conclusion with an idea sparked inside his head. A very cruel idea.

"You know, I care for my subjects, as they care about myself. For years, Changelings were labeled as predators and criminals. Nopony came to help us in out time of need, and I'll be damned if that injustice continues through today," Wolfsbane began.

The hairs on the Doctor's neck stood up. "So how about I make a counteroffer: you let me kill and replace little old Celestia and Luna so my Changelings rule in the future, and I'll ensure they reunite with their parents again? Sound good?"

The three equines gasped in horror. "Y'all ain't layin' one of yer filthy hooves on Tia and Luna!" Applejack cried out.

Sea Crest peered over. "'Tia'?"

Applejack chuckled nervously. "Got caught up ah guess," she explained.

Sea Crest rolled his eyes. Without waiting for an answer, Wolfsbane stomped the ground, summoning his two Changelings. They flew from the ceiling and landed next to the two fillies. Without a moment's hesitation, they transformed into the exact copies of Celestia and Luna. The two alicorns looked upon their exact copies in horror.

The Doctor's hearts began to race. Their future was at stake at this point. If nothing was done, Celestia and Luna wouldn't be who they were in Applejack's lifetime. He almost began to panic had he not thought ahead. His rear hooves were still free as well as his secret weapon.

"Say, I have one question before you incinerate the princesses and, later us: who exactly is keeping my colleague here restricted from using his horn?" he asked. "The science behind restricting one's magical properties is something I've been looking for."

Wolfsbane's laugh echoed throughout the entire castle. Seated next to him was the chest containing the Cataclysm. "I take the honor of sealing away his magical properties. Why would you ask, little Earth stallion?"

The Doctor smiled. "No particular reason." He began shaking his head violently, shaking loose his Sonic Screwdriver from his mane. Once it hit the floor, the Doctor slid forward and reached out using his rear hooves. Pressing the button on his Screwdriver, the Doctor released a small supersonic sound burst, disrupting the spell the Changeling had on Sea Crest.

With his horn freed, Sea Crest incinerated the ropes that kept them tied together. Utilizing the rope to make a lasso, Applejack wrapped two Changelings together to make a hammer.

King Wolfsbane shook the effects of the sonic burst off of him, and realizing his prisoners were freed, he let out a roar of anger. "DESTROY THEM!"

Applejack swung the Changelings toward the king, knocking him from the thrones. The Changelings were sent flying out of her grasp, enabling her to lasso the chest next to the golden chair.

The Doctor ducked as he dashed for the doors. He dove to the floor as two Changelings came crashing overhead. Using his Sonic Screwdriver, the two horns melted into one big one, capturing the Changelings. He smiled at he Screwdriver as he kissed it before replacing it into his mane. He burst through the doors, and pressed against the wall with a Changeling's spear wedged behind it was the TARDIS. The Doctor smiled as he burst through the doors.

Sea Crest blasted a Changeling, sending it into Applejack's line of fire. She bucked the Changeling into another as it was about to fire a spell at her. "Your Doctor friend better be right!" he shouted as he ducked a green magic bolt.

"Ah hope so too," Applejack muttered.

The Changeling King growled as he surveyed the court room. Sea Crest, seeing it is the perfect time, fired a red magic bolt into the sky and out of the throne room. The red blast burst through the roof and exploded high in the air, alerting the alicorns outside.

Solar Shine immediately threw her helmet down. "FULL RETREAT! I REPEAT: FULL RETREAT!"

Alicorns dropped their spears as they all flew back toward their airships. The Changelings all laughed as they regrouped around the castle, eager to share their victory to their king.

They weren't going to get that chance.

Applejack had slid the chest to Sea Crest. Without a second to think, he burst through the lock on the chest and opened it. Inside, Applejack expected to see like a magic staff or something like the Alicorn Amulet.

It was a book.

The book was bound in a red leather cover with golden brackets. The cover depicted an alicorn's silhouette poised to conjure a new spell with its hoof raised on a pedestal. The cover read: ALICORNIA BIBLE OF THE ARCANE fifth edition. Sea Crest took in a deep breath, said a quick prayer to the Creator and flipped through the book.

"This here is the Cataclysm? A book?" Applejack asked.

Sea Crest nodded. "The Alicornia Bible of the Arcane is a reference text containing powerful and dangerous spells. The Cataclysm is one of the more forbidden chapters, but I can still access it," he explained.

He began flipping through the pages of the book. He scanned so many spells, like Time Travel and Transfiguration. Applejack peaked over Sea Crest's shoulder, catching a glimpse of something called the Draconican Death Spell before he exclaimed in amazement. "Found it!"

Sea Crest began muttering the spell. Already the room began to glow green with the magic spell. Wolfsbane made the connection and fired a magic bolt at the alicorn. The blast impacted his chest, breaking his concentration as the book was sent flying into the hallway.

The two alicorn fillies, who were ducked in the shadows that Luna used to shield them, screeched. "SEA CREST!"

Wolfsbane's attention shifted to where Celestia and Luna were hiding. "Come on out little ones," he called.

The fillies had done just that, running toward their fallen friend. Aside from the singe mark on his silver fur, he was fine. Applejack sighed in relief to see him still breathing.

"Crest? C'mon ya knucklehead an get up," Applejack cooed.

Sea Crest's eyes rolled in his head as he tried to sit up. "Armor. Always wear armor, even when you don't think you need it. Gotta remember that," he muttered.

The alicorn soldier attempted to picked himself up, only to cry out in pain. Celestia's eyes watered while Luna began shaking. Her elder sister shut her eyes to hold back tears, and once they opened, there was nothing but rage. Luna raised her head to Wolfsbane and growled.

The two sisters eyed each other and gave a simple nod. With their horns charged up, they began their approach toward the king. Wolfsbane began barking with laughter, accompanied with his Changeling army. The king wiped a tear from his eyes. "You two are just adorable, you know that?"

The cold glares of Celestia and Luna silenced all the Changelings in the room. Suddenly they didn't feel so mighty. "Yo-you hurt Sea Crest," Celestia said.

"You hurt our parents!" Luna called out.

"And you just don't care, do you?" Celestia finished.

The Changelings shifted their attention toward their king. Wolfsbane only laughed as he stomped the ground. "You paint me a criminal and a killer, but do not forget, little fillies, that your father is responsible for hundreds of years of war and destruction! He has more blood on his hooves than I do," he argued.

"He didn't have a choice!" Celestia boomed. "He didn't start the war! Everyday my daddy has worked around the clock to bring peace! He cries when more lives are lost!"

"He may have a connection," Luna continued, "But he is not a killer! He isn't a criminal, and he is not a bad guy!"

"You, Mr. Wolfsbane, are exactly what you claim you're not: a criminal, a killer and a horrible excuse of a king! You have no right to tarnish our daddy's good name!" Celestia cried out.

Those words echoed throughout the castle walls. Sea Crest and Applejack were left stunned as they watched the two little fillies raise their voices and defend their father's honor. King Wolfsbane, however, simply laughed. With a stomp of his hoof, all the Changelings in the room surrounded the two princesses with their horns charged.

Celestia and Luna surveyed the ring of enemies. As their impatience and anger toward the Changeling king grew, so did their magic auras. The Changelings were itching for a fight at this point, and somewhere deep within himself, King Wolfsbane knew the outcome. With his own horn charged up, he stomped the floor again. "DESTROY THEM!"

The Changelings let loose magical missiles at the two fillies. With their magic auras still in play, the two fillies created a shield over themselves. As each magic missile impacted the shield, their auras began to take a certain shape. Growing to the point that they overshadowed the princesses, the auras began to grow bodies.

Sea Crest began to panic. "We have to get out of here," he advised.

"Bu-but, the girls-"

"Are better off without us at the moment. Together, there is nothing two alicorns cannot accomplish," he said.

And he was right. The Changelings continued their barrage of magic missiles, and as they continued to impact the shield, their auras continued to take shape. Desperate to claim victory, King Wolfsbane began using forbidden spells to pierce the shield, however each hit only hastened their growing auras. Soon, their auras began to take the shape of two alicorns, more specifically, the two alicorns they would later grow into.

Applejack had to agree with Sea Crest; it really was time to go. Picking up the alicorn soldier, Applejack dashed for the door and the TARDIS.

As their auras completed their transformation, Changelings recognized their situation and attempted to flee the scene. King Wolfsbane roared in outrage as he continued his barrage, not facing off against two fillies with godlike power. The two auras began to move by their masters' commands as their horns began to literally glow.

Having enough of short burst magic power, King Wolfsbane switched to a magic laser. The two auras copied his attack, and soon, the two energies collided in the middle of the room. The room began to shake as the ceiling began to crumble. The Changeling flag that hung on the window burst into flames as it fell from its perch and onto the ground.

Changelings outside the castle felt the presence of great magic, and instead of aiding their king, fled for the hills. Abandoning their king was one thing, but living to fight another day was another.

On her way out, Applejack swept up the Alicornia Bible. Behind her, the two energies continued to clash, but now the energy was in Celestia and Luna's favor. Their strength proved too great for Wolfsbane as he screamed bloody murder. With a final surge of magic, Wolfsbane attempted to gain the upper hoof.

Applejack and Sea Crest crashed into the doors of the TARDIS as the doors sealed shut. As they hit the floor, the entire ship shook violently as a large explosion took place outside. The lights inside the console room began to flicker and short circuit.

And then everything was still.