Striker nodded as Foxtrot started giving instructions. He was glad that he had met someone with experience fighting to help him make it through the attack. "To defend myself... Nothing besides my magic, I suppose," Striker replied to Foxtrot. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to actually use a weapon effectively right now, but he'd probably have to learn how in order to make it to the castle. The stun gun sounded like it would be more useful than a guitar - Striker would rather keep the changelings from getting close enough to him that he could hit them with a guitar, and aiming a gun couldn't be that different from aiming magic, could it? "I'll take the stun gun," he said.

Giving his hammer a twirl within it's magical grip, Ironfire held a grin, "indeed. The faster we are, the faster we can do something about all of this," he stated, starting his walk towards the castle proper

Striker caught the stun gun with a levitation spell and kept it in front of him as the group began moving. He looked around anxiously at Foxtrot's warning. Canterlot looked completely different without the usual passersby filling the streets, almost like another town altogether. He could see other ponies moving around in the distance father down the streets, but he had no idea if they were changelings or not. The air all around them was filled with an infernal buzzing sound, seemingly created by the changelings themselves.

When yet another changeling plummeted to the ground behind them, Striker turned around and took the opportunity to test his new weapon. He took aim at the changeling and pulled the trigger with his magic. A ray of energy shot out towards the creature, which ducked and avoided the blast. Before Striker could take aim again, it scampered out of sight. "Missed that one," Striker muttered, but he turned back around to continue following the group. If they chased down every changeling they saw, they would never make it to the castle.

Friends or family? Golden looked back at the direction of the pawnshop, then to almost opposite direction for a moment before saying. "I think i've burned all those bridges for good... Got no one i need to check on here." Golden couldn't really hear the distant noises of combat. She kept her wrench ready, while scanning the area for possible threats. Golden turned to look back when something landed behind them, but Striker already took a shot at it with his borrowed stun gun. The changeling dodged the shot and ran away. Seeing that there was no intention to catch and "silence" the escaped runaway changeling, Golden raised her eyebrow and said. "Let's hope that thing won't return here with reinforcements... I doubt it's alone here..."

"My family's already at the castle. They were attending the wedding," Striker began explaining to Ironfire, but was cut off by Foxtrot's shouted warning. He felt a shockwave reverberate through his chest when the blast sent the guard flying back. Striker barely had enough time to realize that another green bolt was heading directly for him and move out of the way. His dodge allowed him to avoid the full force of the attack, but the magic clipped his shoulder and knocked him to the ground. Striker could feel a fire catch on the fur of his coat, but he doused it quickly with a fire-quenching spell he had learned at the university. He wasn't even able to fully catch his breath before another shower of blasts hurled down at them. Striker dashed into a nearby side street, placing a wall between himself and tower where the attack had come from. When he turned back to look at the now-charred street he was unable to locate Foxtrot, but hopefully that meant the unicorn had made it to safety as well. The burn on his shoulder throbbed, but he ignored it, watching to see if he find the other ponies in his group.

Golden didn't immediately realize what had happend. She looked back at the direction Foxtrot flew, before seeing others to move into covers. Golden wasn't fast enough to react and a green blast hit her on the side of her head, shattering her goggles and thankfully, it ricocheted away to the ground. The blast caused her head to rang loudly, blur her vision and lose her magical grip on her weapon. Golden managed get herself to cover behind stone stairs, but she coulnd't see clearly or hear anything besides the loud ringing noise.

Striker heard his name and nearly stuck his head out from behind his cover to locate where the voice was coming from. Fortunately, he was prevented from making this disastrous mistake when a loud hiss and thick cloud of smoke filled the street. Striker briefly recoiled, and a bolt of green magic based right in front of his nose, just where his he had been about to move his head. He needed to be more careful. "Foxtrot? Golden? Ironfire?" Striker called. He could hear ponies moving somewhere farther down the street, but he wasn't sure where. Taking advantage of the cover the smoke provided, he dashed back into the street. He saw a few magical blasts go by, lighting up the smoke with an eeire green glow, but none hit anywhere near him. The enemy must have been shooting in the dark. Striker checked the alleys that he passed, but they were all empty. The cover began to dissipate, and Striker's efforts grew more frantic. He would have to get to cover soon, whether or not he found the others. When Striker could begin to make out the clock tower through the fog, he gave up the search and dashed back into a side street, flattening himself against the wall to avoid being seen. As the smoke cleared further, Striker could make out two ponies on the other side of the street, huddled behind a staircase. Foxtrot and Golden looked to have taken much more direct hits than him. "Hey! Are you two okay?" Striker called across the street as loud as he dared.