Pearl's Travels 2: Canterlot

A few of the fourteen Changelings from the first cell joined us to tackle the next group, and those who didn't want to bother sat off to the side within view of us just so they could show they weren't going to jeopardize the plan.

The plan, such as it was, was starting to look like it might work out if only we could find as many Changelings to agree with us in the next groups as this first one.

There were a few more doubters in the second group, which had come up to thirteen Changelings total, but the first group helped us to get them to see reason.

With twenty-seven of them now out in the hallway with the original six of us, we moved on to the next cell.

Most of this second group joined in the effort to tackle the third, but another three or four sat off to the side to talk among themselves and the others already there.

"We should particularly keep an eye on those," Glottis pointed out, and I nodded to him.

Burst had the bright idea of letting Forsythia handle the next cell with a small group of those who had decided to tag along with her, while Burst herself moved back with her own little group and took up position near the T-junction made from the main hallway connecting to this third section.

This meant there was now a defensive barrier against any of the small groups of Changelings sitting off to the side potentially braving it to rush the jail's exit regardless of what they were told, and I silently thanked her for the foresight.

Burst's worrying nature did come in handy when she came up with solutions for things which might potentially become an issue otherwise.

We quickly added another fifteen Changelings to our number, now counting up to fourty-two of our family members freed, with me repeating most of the speech I had given twice now.

I was starting to feel like my throat was getting quite the workout from all this talking.

I felt it while speaking to the fourth group; another fourteen in total. Some of the words I tried to put emphasis on were followed by a need to scrape my throat afterwards.

Glottis noticed but waited until I had convinced this group to the validity of our cause, greatly helped by the larger number of Changelings now filling out the hallway we were in.

He took me aside after this new group dispersed.

"Sister, you're pushing yourself too much. I could speak to the next group if you want me to, I have memorized what you want to tell them," he suggested.

I remembered how visceral Burst had responded to Glottis' different look, and had spotted a few of the, now a full hundred of our family taken from their cells, having cast wary glances in his direction while I had orated.

"I can't yet," I suggested to my brother. "I have the feeling I need to be the one to bring this part of the plan to a close. Crook already said he could help lead us all out of the city, and he has found a number of others among those we freed so far who can do the same."

"Burst is thinking of any eventualities and is trying to keep them from becoming problems, and Forsythia is there to keep the peace," I continued, then had a bit of sputum go down the wrong path down my throat and ended up coughing.

"And Cubitus' role has been taken over by Burst," Glottis finished my explanation. "Why not ask him to tackle the next two groups on this side so you can give your throat some rest? You could try again with the last two on the other side of the hall? He may be more direct than you, but demands a certain respect due to his age alone."

I considered how reasonable this sounded.

"I really just need some water to drink or something," I half-protested. "But I'll go ask him. If I'm supposedly good with words, then how good must a published author be?"

I walked through the small crowd until I got to Cubitus, noting he had amassed a small group of five ponies around him.

"Cubitus, may I borrow you a moment?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure," he replied, excusing himself from the group a moment after.

We both walked back to where Glottis was still standing, and I waited until we were in earshot before turning to face Cubitus.

"I don't want to put this on you, but my voice is feeling these speeches," I started. "Glottis is worried I might not get the point across to the next group if I continue this way."

"She tried to convince me it's just a dry throat, but I feel like she has spoken far more than either of us has knowledge of. Her vocal chords are straining," Glottis revealed to Cubitus.

"Ah," Cubitus realised. "And you think I could take over, then?"

"If you would, please? I wouldn't normally ask this, but they might take your words more seriously than they would mine, given I'm a Hatchling," I pointed out. "Some just won't take me seriously until my holes grow in, I think."

"Don't sell yourself short, now," Cubitus decided. "If you haven't figured out yet that we're all following along with this plan of yours because we wouldn't have been able to come up with it on our own, you're missing some very important cues."

I blinked and peered up at him.

"Your plan makes sense, and I will try to make that clear to the others. Just start planning for the next step and we'll get you the support you need to make it happen," Cubitus offered with a smile. "Follow the leader and all that."

"Ah, no, I'm not a leader..." I protested.

"Sure you're not," Cubitus chuckled, turning away from me immediately after.

I watched him as he walked on over to Crook and motioned for the next cell, flabberghasted at this revelation.

"Now that's a gorgeous colour on you," Glottis chuckled from beside me. "Your aura is turning all shades there, but you really should accept what he said to you."

"I don't consider myself to be a leader?" I tried, turning to face him now.

"Yet, you have somehow managed to get this group here to follow you and your silly plan, Pearl," he pointed out. "It's hard to see you as anything other than the driving force behind this."

"I didn't even come up with it," I deflected. "I'm pretty sure it was Oval. No, wait, was it Camellia? Now I don't know anymore, I'm all confused."

"Think it over for a bit, sister of mine, but do so with your mouth shut so your voice gets a bit of rest," Glottis spoke with a wink. "I'll follow after Cubitus to do the task assigned by our Hatchling leader."

I opened my mouth to say something, but he put his right hoof on my muzzle.

"Shush. You're going to lose the ability to speak if you don't give it a rest," he warned. "Don't overstress those vocal chords. Trust us; we can get the rest of our family on board with your plan."

I closed my mouth again and sat down, puffing my cheeks out.

Glottis wandered off to join Cubitus, the entire group of Changelings responsible for opening the cells moving on to the next one to coax another group out.

I felt like I was being sidelined thanks to my vocal chords and the large amount of talking I had done in the past day or two.

I reached up with my left hoof to touch the pearl still dangling from my neck and considered how I had come here, to this point.

It was just a few short months since I had been lifted from my bed and taken to court. A few short months since I was hoisted over to another world.

Just a few months since I had been transformed from a human into this Changeling I was now.

Just a few months since I had learned to live as a Changeling, fight as a Changeling, use magic as a Changeling...

I looked over at Burst and thought back to our first meeting. I thought back to Blaze, Breeze, Matron, and the brother who had sprained my leg while we fought.

I didn't even get his name. I didn't know if I could recognize him if I saw him again.

I lowered my left hoof and looked up at the smooth ceiling.

Canterlot was built up against this big mountain which was now above my head. Thousands of tonnes of mountain consisting of rocks, crystals, soil, and what-have-you.

I pondered whether that amount of weight matched up to the feeling I was feeling now. This feeling that others depended on me to make decisions for them.

It was emotionally a heavier feeling than those thousands of tonnes of mountain above me, I was sure of it.

It felt stifling, it was daunting, it scared me, in a way. What they thought was leadership was just me trying to wriggle my way out from between a rock and a hard place with as few casualties as possible.

Was this what other leaders did as well?

I looked back down in Oval's direction and noticed her staring at me, her right eyebrow raised as if she was wondering whether I was okay.

I forced a smile on my lips and gave her a little wave as if to reassure her that I was doing okay, even as Cubitus started orating to the next group further down the hallway.

Oval motioned past me at the other group and shrugged.

I motioned toward my throat with my right hoof and shook my head, and it looked like she understood.

I shrugged as if to suggest there was little I could do about it, and Oval made a motion as if to suggest I should drink something.

I looked around myself, then to her again and brought both my forelegs up in a display of not knowing where to get a drink from.

This took Oval by surprise as if she hadn't thought of that yet, and she also looked around for a water source.

I shook my head at her and chuckled.

Doing a quick headcount, including the new group, we came up to seventy-one freed Changelings, making our group here seventy-seven Changelings. Three more cells to go, which made my original count of a rough hundred and thirty Changelings earlier a little on the high side.

Seventy-seven, add another ten to fifteen per cell, for three more cells total, would get us to a maximum of a hundred and sixteen if those three cells each held fifteen Changelings.

Then there were the three near the exit, so a hundred and nineteen of us Changelings.

How in Celestia's name would we be able to get that number out without raising the alarm, I wondered.

Some of my brothers and sisters walked by me as they dispersed from the fifth group, but I sat deep in thought.

Cubitus moved on to the sixth and last cell on this side of the third section while I considered our options.

I could barely hear his voice due to the magic permeating the area.

This soundproofing magic which kept the jail quiet.

This pony magic which kept sound from spreading out too far.

I looked up again with a sudden start. The magic! If we could replicate this spell, we could hide our hooffalls and wingbuzzing!

No, wait, it was pony magic. We would need to ask a pony who knew about pony magic.

Camellia.

I looked back at where Cubitus was handling the next group, saw he was doing well, then rushed over to Burst.

"Let me through, sister; I have to talk with Camellia and Deadbolt about something," I croaked, my voice hardly having rested enough yet.

"What? What about?" she responded, worried about my sudden rushed state and raspy voice.

"Pony magic," I told her, "and how we may be able to hide us all with it while we make our escape."