Just remember; this is a parody of Wizard of Oz. Anyway, Enjoy.

Ch.16: Prisoners and Victims

Meanwhile, Niddler and his flock had brought Spike and the girls to Wuya. They are now in her large room with the crystal ball, and she is stroking a struggling Spike in her grips.

"Such a darling little dragon, isn't he?" she purred.

"Let me go, you old hag!" he growled. She only chuckled coldly before handing her over to Niddler, who placed Spike into a lidded basket.

"Spike!" Apple Bloom cried as the girls rushed over to the basket. But Wuya stood in front of them to stop them, making them look up at her with fear in their tearing eyes.

"Please!" Scootaloo begged. "Let Spike go!"

"All in good time, my little Ponies," she purred. "You can have him back…in exchange for the Gem-Bands."

"But Wuya told us not to take them off," Sweetie Belle protested, placing her hoof on her Gem-Band and making Wuya frown angrily.

"Fine…" She then turned to Niddler. "Throw that basket into the moat and drown that runt!" The red Monkey-Bird blinked with shock.

"B-But Mistress Wuya—"

"No!" Sweetie Belle cried with tears. "Please! You can have them; just don't hurt him."

"I figured you'd see things my way," Wuya purred as she knelt down before the little Unicorn who just held still. She then reached down to remove the Gem-Band…only for white sparks to shoot out of it and shock her fingers.

"AUGH!" Wuya pulled away with pain, making the little Ponies gasp with shock.

"I…I'm sorry," Sweetie Belle said, fearing the witch is going to hurt Spike now. "It wasn't me, I swear."

"Curse it," Wuya growled, ignoring her pleas. "I should've known better. Those Gem-Bands will never come off…" She then turned to the Ponies with a glare that filled them with fear. "As long as you're still alive." They held each other as their fear increased. They tried to protest, but she only went on.

"It's not a matter of when, of course; it's how to do it. These things must be done delicately; otherwise, the spell will have no effect." As Wuya pondered this, Niddler figured enough is enough and lifted the lid of the basket, much to Spike's surprise.

"Run," he whispered. Deciding to not ask questions right now, Spike hopped out of the basket and ran out the door as fast as he could. The good news is he figured out which way to go by following the path Niddler and his Monkey-Birds took when bringing him and the girls here. The bad news is Wuya found out about his escape when the girls cried out to him.

"Run, Spike! Run for it!"

"You dingbat! Stop him!"

Spike just kept running for the drawbridge, even though it's starting to go up. With his increased speed, he ran up the drawbridge and grabbed onto the end to hoist his body up. Then he hopped off and landed safely onto the ground on the outer side of the moat.

But Spike knows he has to keep running to get to complete safety. He already saw a bunch of small, round, and red soldiers with really long spears running up the castle walls and trying to throw their spears at him with their stubby little arms. Leading them are two taller knights. One is has blue armor and a pinkish-purple mask with light green shoulder pads, and his companion has a turquoise mask and shoulder pads and brown armor. Despite all the spears landing around him, Spike got away without a scratch and disappeared through the rocks.

"He got away," Sweetie Belle said, watching the escape from the window. Wuya only snarled in reply.

"Which is more than I can say the same for you," she said before bringing forth a giant hourglass filled with red sand and showing it to the frightened Ponies. "You see this sand? That's how long you got left to live, which won't be for long." To their dismay, she snapped her fingers to make the hourglass turn over, making the sand seep down into the empty bottom half. "I can't wait to get those Gem-Bands forever." She then rushed out of the room and slammed the door behind her. With the three of them alone, Sweetie Belle collapsed besides the crystal ball crying.

"I'm scared…I'm scared, Rarity! I'm scared…" Seeing their friend upset and missing their sisters as well, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo went up to their friend and tried to comfort her.

"Sweetie Belle, can you hear me, darling?"

"Apple Bloom, we're tryin' to find ya."

"Scoots, where are ya!" Hearing the voices, they looked up at the crystal ball, which is showing them an image of their older sisters looking around to search for them.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle cried, placing her front hooves on the ball. "We're right here, trapped in the witch's castle. We're trying to get back home to you!" The images then began to fade, much to the girls' dismay. "No, don't leave us! Please, Rarity! Come back! Come back!" Just then, an image of Wuya appeared on the ball, scaring the girls as she mockingly called out to Rarity.

"Rarity! Rarity! I'll give you Rarity, my little pretties!" she then cackled before fading away. In reply, Sweetie Belle fell into her friends' embrace sobbing while Apple Bloom and Scootaloo turned to the hourglass ticking away towards their fate.