Escape from Arora Ridge Quarry

It was morning and Sunny couldn’t help but feel happy. Her dreams the previous night had been filled by her friends, but they hadn’t been nightmares. The first time since being in Confinement that she’d not had one.

After seeing the LED turn green, Sunny pushed her muzzle into the port and couldn’t help grinning as she pulled her face free. “Sugar, Sugar, you’ll never guess what happened last night. Misty messaged me!”

Sugar looked excited as she also pulled her face from her muzzle. “She did? Are they here?”

“Yeah, they are,” Sunny beamed. “Even better. Misty, she was so brave, she’s visited the hut!”

Sugar’s eyes widened as she gasped. “W...What? With Sprout and the others?”

“Yes,” Sunny giggled. “You need to know, Giselle and Skysurf, they were successful.”

Sugar’s eyes widened with excitement. She grinned and bounded up to the bars, ignoring the food and water that were being dispensed into her bowls. “You mean they got the collars!?”

“Yeah, and it was thanks to you,” Sunny beamed. “Thanks to your sacrifice.”

Sugar blinked and looked down as her ears drooped. “T...That’s what I don’t get,” she confessed. “I sacrificed myself, and I don’t know why. I don’t understand why I did it.”

“Because you saw two friends in trouble,” Sunny replied knowingly as she came closer.

Sugar blinked, looking very confused. “B...But they’re not my friends.”

“You’re more like friends than you realise.” Sunny smiled. “Not best friends, but the shoots of friendship are still there. They may wilt and die, but they could easily grow big and strong too.”

Sugar frowned, looking quite unsure. “I...I don’t know.”

Sunny smiled as she pushed a hoof through the bars and placed it on top of one of Sugars reassuringly. “Just wait and let whatever happens happen.”

Sugar’s frown softened, she lifted her hoof and held onto Sunny’s gratefully. “O…Okay, I will.”

After a moment or two, they moved back towards their bowls, both knowing they had little time to eat and drink. However, Sunny knew she didn’t need to say anymore as Sugar's unsure expression continued to soften as she thought things through.

Elsewhere, Izzy was keeping herself busy around the camp, cleaning up after breakfast. Suddenly, she heard shouting from the Marestream and frowned towards her puppet friend, Senor Butterscotch, who was sitting on a chair. “They’d better not be fighting.”

Just as Izzy was going to investigate, the door to the Marestream opened and Pipp came tumbling out. Landing indignantly on her bottom with an ‘oof’.

“And stay out!” Zipp shouted from inside as the door closed.

Pipp growled in annoyance as she picked herself up and rubbed her aching bottom.

Izzy couldn’t help smirking as she trotted over. “What did you do?”

“Nothing!” Pipp exclaimed. “I was only trying to help.”

“So… hindering then,” Izzy grinned as she cocked her head to one side.

“No, no, definitely helping,” Pipp gasped as she frantically waved her hoofs toward Izzy. “Or trying to.”

Izzy narrowed her eyes and smirked, clearly not at all convinced.

Pipp groaned and looked down. “Okay, maybe I was being more of a hindrance. But she wasn’t giving me anything to do!” She sat on one of the chairs and groaned. “Ugh, it’s so boring just hanging around here. There’s no signal!”

“You could go to the hide,” Izzy suggested.

“But there’s already three of them there,” Pipp grumbled.

Izzy blinked before putting a hoof on her chin. “Oh yeah, maybe I should have made the hide bigger?”

Suddenly, the door to the Marestream opened and Zipp appeared. “IZ!” she shouted. “Could you come give me a hoof?”

“Oh, okay,” Izzy said brightly and skipped towards the door.

“W…Wait?” Pipp gasped. “You want Izzy’s help but not mine!”

“Yeah, she's more careful than you!” Zipp growled as Izzy entered the Marestream. "You stay out!

Pipp groaned as the door closed. The others were at the hide, so now she was completely alone with no phone signal.

However, she wasn’t alone for long, there was a flash as Misty and Feather Breeze appeared.

Pipp gasped, Feather Breeze’s eyes were completely white, her teeth sharp and pointed, and her mane was on fire. She was trembling as she struggled to stop herself transforming further.

To one side of the campsite, in an open area of the clearing, there was a patch of burned grass. Quickly, Feather Breeze ran and stood on it.

Closing her eyes, she roared in anger and anguish, letting out the cartload of bottled-up feelings she’d been holding onto. As a result, she erupted in a burst of flames which streaked upwards and into the sky.

Misty and Pipp couldn’t help looking at each other worriedly.

“W...What happened?” Pipp gasped.

“We… Well… Sort of saw Spring Flare,” Misty sighed.

Pipp’s eyes widened. “Her best friend? But...”

Pipp trailed off as the flames around Feather Breeze dissipated revealing her full Nirik form, puffing and panting as she growled in anger. Taking a deep breath, she thrust her head skywards and screamed in anger. “I have to save her!”

She started to gallop towards the Quarry. However, Misty was too fast, her horn glowed, and wisps of magical energy appeared around Feather Breeze’s hoofs that rooted them to the spot. She growled and began violently struggling, pulling this way and that, but finding no way to free herself.

“NO! Let. Me! GO!” Feather Breeze roared. “I can’t leave her like that! I...I need to, HELP HER!”

“No, we won’t let you go and get yourself captured,” Misty said resolutely.

With a look of concern, Pipp hurried to Feather Breeze and placed her hoofs on either side of her head. She held it still so that she could look her straight in the eye.

“Feather Breeze, look at me,” Pipp said calmly as her cutie mark started glowing. “It’ll be okay. I’m confident everything will be okay. We’ll save Spring Flare. We’ll save Winters Breath. We’ll save everypony. I know we will. I’m confident we will by working together.”

Feather Breeze panted for breath as she looked into Pipp’s calming eyes. Slowly, her struggles started to lessen.

“We’ll save them,” Misty reassured. “But we’ll only do it by working together. By coming up with a plan and implementing it, together.”

“Not by recklessly running into the Quarry in a blind rage,” Pipp added as she lowered her hoofs. “Take your time, Feather Breeze. We’re here for you.”

“We’ve got you,” Misty smiled. “Hoof to heart.”

Misty’s cutie mark began to glow as she raised a hoof and placed it on Feather Breeze’s chest, over her heart.

Feather Breeze gasped as she suddenly felt a whole lot calmer. She continued panting for a while before finally erupting in flames again and returning to her Kirin form. “I...I’m so sorry.”

Misty smiled as her horn glowed again, the wisps of magic disappeared, freeing Feather Breeze’s hoofs.

Feather Breeze gasped as she sat down, she closed her eyes tightly, tears welling in them. “I...I’m sorry... I could... I couldn’t...”

Pipp said nothing, she moved forward and pulled Feather Breeze into a hug. One that Feather Breeze gratefully received and returned as she cried.

“It’s okay. You have nothing to be sorry for,” Pipp consoled.

“B...But...” Feather Breeze stammered as she cried into Pipp’s shoulder.

“Pretty sure I got you out before you burned the hide,” Misty smiled. “It wouldn’t matter anyway. Izzy would fix it.”

“It’s more important that we don’t lose you,” Pipp sighed, ignoring how wet her shoulder felt. “As Misty said, we’ve got you. You can count on us.”

Feather Breeze sniffed. “T...Thank You, I...I don’t...”

“We know, you wouldn’t know what you’d do without us,” Pipp smiled. “But, I thought you’d seen Spring Flare at the Airship. Has something else happened that’s upset you?”

Feather Breeze said nothing, she continued crying into Pipp’s shoulder as she nodded.

“Want to talk about it?” Pipp ventured.

This time, Feather Breeze shook her head.

“Can I talk about it?” Misty asked as she rubbed Feather Breeze’s back.

Feather Breeze took a deep breath, looking over her shoulder at Misty, she nodded.

Misty sighed. “Spring Flare isn’t in her Nirik form anymore, she’s a Kirin again. We saw Allura escort her from one of the buildings. She’s all chained up though, so much she can barely walk.”

Feather Breeze grunted as she finally pulled back from Pipp’s embrace and wiped her eyes. “I...I know what’s happening. Allura is using Spring Flare as more leverage against Winters Breath.”

Misty frowned with confusion. “But Allura had all the Nirik filing past her, what was that for?”

Feather Breeze shook her head sadly. “Allura’s using her to look for Summer Bloom.”

“Her sister,” Pipp remembered.

Feather Breeze nodded as she sniffed. “I know Nirik all look the same to you. But, being a Kirin, I can tell who’s who and so can Spring Flare.”

“But why would Spring Flare identify her sister?” Pipp gasped as she looked towards the Marestream. “If it was me, I wouldn’t. I’d say none of them were Zipp.”

Feather Breeze let out a deep sigh. “Allura will be using her purr, forcing Spring Flare to answer truthfully.”

Pipp and Misty looked at each other worriedly whilst Feather Breeze frowned and looked down thoughtfully. “A...Actually, maybe this is for the best.”

“What do you mean?” Pipp said worriedly as she put a hoof around Feather Breeze’s shoulders comfortingly.

“Spring Flare is free from Allura’s control. If she finds Summer Bloom then she’s likely to be freed too. Sure, their physical freedom will be reduced. But...But I think I’d prefer that over being a prisoner in my own mind.”

“It doesn’t matter what Allura does,” Misty frowned. “We’ll save them.”

Feather Breeze wiped her eyes again and nodded. “We will, I...I just keep needing to be reminded.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll keep reminding you,” Pipp smiled. “You can count on us.”

Suddenly, there was a loud bang which made everypony jump in surprise. Gasping, they turned and looked in horror as smoke began pouring from the Marestream's open windows.

“ZIPPPP!” Pipp cried in dismay.

Before any of them could react further. The door opened and Zipp and Izzy came running out. Their eyes were streaming and they were coughing violently.

“Izzy?!” Misty gasped.

“Zipp!” Pipp cried desperately as she ran towards her sister.

Zipp held up a hoof as she continued coughing. “I...It’s okay... W....We’re...okay.”

Despite her reassurances, Pipp flung her hoofs around Zipp and squeezed tightly. Zipp’s eyes bulged as she felt the air being forced from her lungs.

“Are you sure?!” Pipp exclaimed as tears welled in her eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay? I...I thought...”

Meanwhile, Izzy sat down, her eyes were streaming and she continued to cough as Misty and Feather Breeze ran towards her worriedly.

“Izzy? Are you okay?” Misty gasped.

“I...I will be,” Izzy grunted as she blinked rapidly. “Gosh, that stings. Not like getting an eyeball full of glitter though. Now THAT stings!”

Misty couldn’t help chuckling as she gave Izzy a grateful hug.

“I’ll check her over,” Feather Breeze reassured. “I know how to deal with fire related injuries.”

“O...Okay, I’ll go and check the Marestream then,” Misty nodded as she broke off the hug.

Meanwhile, Pipp was still hugging Zipp tightly. “P....P...Pipp!” Zipp gasped as she frantically hit her sister on the back with a hoof. “C...Can’t breathe. L...Let go!”

Pipp gasped as she finally loosened her grip on her sister. She stepped back worriedly as Zipp coughed and gasped for air violently.

“I...I’m fine,” Zipp said at last. “It’s only a bit of smoke.”

Pipp looked towards the Marestream and gasped worriedly as Misty hurried inside.

However, the smoke was already lessening and Misty soon reappeared in the doorway. She smiled as she came out holding a smoking component in her magic. “It’s all fine inside,” she confirmed. “I mean, there’s no fire so it’s all good.”

She headed towards the patch of burned grass and placed the component on it. Meanwhile, Feather Breeze had finished checking Izzy over.

“Izzy will be completely fine,” Feather Breeze reassured.

“Oh thank hoofness,” Pipp gasped. “Could you check Zipp next?”

“I’m fine,” Zipp grumbled.

“Zipp, please,” Pipp said worriedly. “I want to know that you’re okay. Do it for me, please?”

“It’s just a precaution,” Feather Breeze smiled.

“Fine,” Zipp groaned before letting Feather Breeze check her over.

It wasn’t long before Feather Breeze looked at Pipp reassuringly. “She’s fine, Pipp,” she smiled. “They both got lungful’s of smoke and their eyes will sting for a bit but they’ll be fine.”

“So, what happened?” Misty asked.

Zipp couldn’t help chuckling. “We kind of made a breakthrough.”

“It just blew up in our faces,” Izzy laughed before thrusting her hoofs out wide. “Poof!”

“And you’re sure you’re okay?” Pipp asked worriedly. “Zipp, I’m sorry for being a pest earlier. I...”

“Pipp, we’re fine,” Zipp reassured. “I’m sorry for throwing you out before. I know you’re going mad with nothing to do here. Let me explain this breakthrough...”

That evening, Thymus and Bingo were the last to arrive in the Ponies hut.

Giselle couldn’t help crossing her forelegs and smirking good naturedly. “You’re late.”

“We’ve been speaking to the Yak,” Thymus revealed. “They’re not wanting to participate in the planning process. However, they say that if there is a role for them to play then they will do it.”

“Their collars are restrictive,” Bingo sighed. “More so than mine.”

“It seems they stop them straying from the official paths,” Thymus explained. “The speed they walk at is also kept under control.”

“They do anything that could help, they’ll get shocked,” Bingo added.

“We need to tell Misty,” Skysurf frowned.

“I’ve written it all down,” Thymus explained. “I’ve identified everything that the collars stop them from doing.”

“He’s done same for Diamond Dogs,” Bingo added. “And his own.”

Thymus held up three pieces of paper which all contained writing. He passed them to Minty who looked surprised. “This is in common ponish!”

“Of course,” Thymus smiled. “We used to have close ties with Equestria. Common Ponish has long been taught to young Changelings.”

Giselle laughed. “It would be no use to Misty and her friends if they couldn’t read it.”

“This is really comprehensive,” Minty commented. “I wish I could see inside these collars. See what made them tick.”

“You’re really into electronics then,” Sprout commented.

Minty couldn’t help smiling. “Yeah, I did electronics at college so I have a pretty good understanding. But I know Princess Zipp does too.”

“How?” Sprout frowned.

Minty sighed. “I worked as a cook in the castle. Sometimes, Princess Zipp would be working on some project and I'd bring meals to her. I even helped her a few times.”

“Oh, cool,” Sprout grinned.

Suddenly, there was a flash from the corner of the hut. They all looked around to see Misty had appeared.

“Yay, that worked perfectly,” Misty beamed as she got the recorder out. “That was so much easier than last night!”

“Welcome, Misty Brightdawn,” Thymus smiled. “We have some information about the collars for you.”

Minty held out the papers and Misty smiled gratefully as she took them. She gave the first one a scan before her eyes widened. “Oh, yeah. I’m sure Zipp will be really grateful for this. She’s already stripped one of the Nirik collars down.”

“She has?” Giselle gasped.

“Yeah, and this should help her try and identify some of the components she’s found,” Misty said as she rummaged in her saddlebag. “Ah, here it is.”

She pulled out a notebook and held it out to Minty. “Zipp told me to give this to you, Minty. She wants you to give these a once over and note down any observations you have.”

Minty blinked with surprise as she took the notebook and flipped to the first page.

Misty couldn’t help smiling. “So, the first thing you’ll see is they do have a battery.”

“Okay, so how do they charge?” Minty frowned as she continued looking through the notes. “I bet they don’t plug them in each night.”

“Well, they don’t do that to yours,” Sprout frowned.

Minty gasped, holding a hoof to the back of her head and feeling the small box on the back of her bridle. One she had forgotten was there.

“They don’t take them off,” Bingo added. “Had the same one since I got here.”

“Same,” Thymus nodded. “I’ve worn the same one since I woke up on the airship.”

Minty frowned as she continued looking at the notes. “Princess Zipp says it's wireless charging. I agree that the components she’s found are consistent with that. But, I don’t see any evidence of charging mats anywhere.”

“Zipp has a theory,” Misty answered. “That it's long-range charging.”

“Long-range wireless charging!” Minty gasped as she flicked through the notebook. “No way, that’s not possible.”

“Well, that’s what she said,” Misty shrugged. “I can go get her if you’d like.”

“NO!” Skysurf exclaimed. “You are not putting your Princess in danger like that.”

“It’s okay, Skysurf,” Giselle soothed.

Misty’s eyes widened as she gasped in dismay. “Oh, yeah, Coral Cloud!”

“You didn’t message,” Skysurf said worriedly. “I…I assume that means you didn’t see her.”

Misty sighed. “I...I’m sorry, something else happened so I wasn’t watching all day. I saw two Hippogriffs pulling a cart on Level One, but they didn’t match your description. Hitch didn’t mention seeing her but... I’m sorry, I forgot to ask.”

“T...That’s okay,” Skysurf sighed. “No news is good news.”

Misty frowned as her insides started to churn. “I’ll keep looking for her,” she said at last. “I’ll make up for making you wait.”

“It’s fine,” Skysurf reassured. “Like I said, no news is good news. I can still hope that she’s not here.”

Misty sighed, and an uneasy silence fell between them all. However, it wasn’t long before Bingo grunted with annoyance. “So, is there any other news? Can we do anything?”

Misty gasped and nodded. “Tomorrow, keep an eye out for anything that could be an emitter. Something that could be charging the collars. Zipp’s experimenting but having one would help her massively.”

“That’s still not going to be it,” Minty scowled as she continued looking through the notes. “But, I agree with what Princess...”

“Just Zipp,” Misty interrupted. “Just call her Zipp.”

“...With what Zipp is saying,” Minty nodded. “If the collars could be overloaded somehow so that they fail. Then everycreature will be free.”

“Sounds dangerous,” Bingo gasped as she put a paw to the collar around her neck.”

“She did tell me to make it clear she needs to carry out more experiments,” Misty reassured. “That’s why she needs an emitter.”

“Well, the equipment inside the watchtowers was quite large,” Skysurf pondered. “It would make sense if it was doing more than broadcasting the purr.”

Minty scowled and grunted. “Any emitter will be on the outside of the towers,” she advised. “Not that it’s going to be possible.”

“We’ll take another look at the towers tomorrow,” Sprout nodded. “I’m not going to understand what anything is. But I can still see what’s there.”

“Many eyes make light work, we should all check every watchtower we see,” Skysurf advised. “We already know they have speakers.”

“Misty, you mention bringing somecreature else with you,” Thymus remembered. “I wonder, could Feather Breeze accompany you? I am curious to meet a Kirin.”

Misty took a deep breath and shook her head. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. Feather Breeze struggles with her anger every time she looks at the Quarry. She slowly starts her Nirik transformation. Our hide is a long way from the Quarry but she still feels the purr pulling at her.”

“So, if she transformed whilst here, she’d be under its spell again,” Skysurf sighed.

“Seems I’ll have to wait to satisfy my curiosity then,” Thymus nodded. “I certainly wouldn’t want to jeopardise her safety.”

“Yeah, we’re all looking out for her,” Misty smiled. “I’d take you to our camp for a little bit but... Zipp worries there’s tracking circuits in your collars. She’s taking one of those apart next.”

“Makes sense with what they do,” Bingo groaned. “Evil collars shock Yak if they stray from the path.”

“That might not be tracking,” Minty frowned. “There could be something buried in the side of the path that the collars detect.” She flipped through the notebook again. “I do agree with Zipp though. One of the components in the Nirik collars looks very suspicious. It could be either emitting or receiving.”

“Any ideas what yours does, Minty?” Thymus said suddenly. “I just realised, I haven’t got anything for Pegasus Ponies on my notes.”

Minty blinked with confusion. “I...I don’t know. I mean, I can’t fly anyway because of these straps. I...I’ve certainly not been shocked by it.”

She looked over to her three fellow Pegasi who all shook their heads.

“Well, you couldn’t fly before magic returned,” Sprout pondered.

Skysurf brought a claw to her chin in thought. “It could be a failsafe then. Prevent you accessing your magic if you manage to get the straps off.” She frowned. “But that makes little sense. You won’t get the straps off, it’s not possible.”

“Well, we were always taught that Pegasus Ponies could control the weather,” Thymus said thoughtfully. “Maybe that could be what they are worried about? Twitch and Allura I mean.”

Misty shook her head. “Zipp tried that. She can’t do anything with clouds. She just goes through them.”

“Wait! You mean she can’t walk on them,” Giselle gasped.

Misty shook her head.

“Darn,” Giselle groaned. “I always wanted to see that.”

Suddenly, Sprout’s eyes widened as he gasped. “Wait! I just remembered. Sunny said something about the straps. That they’re done up with magic or something.”

“Well, that could be it then,” Thymus nodded. “Minty’s bridle is to make sure her magic is isolated, and she can’t inadvertently remove the straps.”

“Then why even bother with straps?” Minty frowned sourly.

“Because your wings could be used as weapons,” Skysurf responded. “I’m trained to use mine as such if needed.”

“Surprising they don’t have shock collars on us then,” Giselle commented as she stretched her wings.

“It will be a mental thing too,” Thymus theorised. “You are certainly upset your wings have been restrained, Minty Cloudstrike.”

Minty sighed and nodded. “Y...Yeah, I don’t actually care that I can’t fly, I’m no good at it anyway. I just always used my wings to express myself. There’s so many things I can’t do without them.”

“You’ve become an Earth Pony,” Bingo said suddenly. “Sprout doesn’t have wings to express himself.”

Minty’s eyes widened in shock. She looked at Sprout who only shrugged.

“Well, we know what to do,” Thymus said. “Misty Brightdawn, thank you for coming. Thank you to your friends too. Also, Feather Breeze, she should know I hold nothing against her and her fellow Kirin.”

Skysurf nodded. “Agreed, we hold nothing against the Kirin. I hope to meet her at some point. She is brave if being close to the Quarry is risking her safety.”

“Hear! Hear!” Giselle grinned.

“What they said,” Bingo nodded.

“I’ll make sure she knows,” Misty beamed. “I...I think that’s all I need to tell you. Zipp will need her notes back though, Minty.”

“Of course,” Minty nodded. “If you could hold on a moment though. I just want to review a few bits here and make some notes that might help.”

“Sure, I can hold on for a bit,” Misty smiled.

“Well, the rest of us should probably take our leave if there’s nothing more for Misty?” Thymus suggested.

Misty looked around expectantly but only saw shaking heads.

“Okay, I’ll sort the food supply then,” Sprout smiled. “Bingo, one banana plant coming up.”

Whilst she waited for Minty, Misty watched as Sprout provided the creatures with their food before they left. She couldn’t help chuckling, he’d clearly improved his control of his magic.

She had just packed the recorder away when Skysurf came over, clearly about to leave.

“Thank You, Misty,” Skysurf smiled. “You are brave coming here each night.”

Misty nodded before sighing. “I’m sorry about Coral Cloud. I’ll try and do better tomorrow, I promise.”

“I know you feel bad but it's okay,” Skysurf reassured. "I couldn't exactly do anything if she was here anyway. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Skysurf,” Misty sighed.

As she watched Skysurf disappear down the tunnel, Misty couldn’t help frowning as an idea formed in her mind. She looked over towards Giselle as she received her supply of Apples and started walking towards her.

“Laters,” Giselle waved as she turned towards the tunnel.

“G...Giselle, wait, could I have a word?” Misty asked.

“Sure,” Giselle smiled. “What’s up?”

“I...I know this may sound really, really stupid,” Misty sighed. “But... If I wanted to get into the Confinement area. What do you know about it that will help?”

Giselle’s eyes widened but she grinned enthusiastically. “Better get your notebook out...”

Sunny and Sugar were both sat looking at each other on either side of the bars. Their hut was filled with the sounds of hoofs clapping as they once again played their game.

However, Sugar grunted as Sunny suddenly missed one of the claps. Her eyes widened as she realised Sunny had completely frozen.

Sunny’s eyes were wide as she heard a voice in her head.

“Hi, Sunny. I hope you are doing okay. Zipp has one of the Nirik collars stripped to its components. She’s hoping to find a way to overload them. So the creatures are going to look out for anything that could be an emitter that charges them.

“I’m sorry, there’s nothing more I can update you on. Don’t worry though, its going to take some time but we won’t give up. We’re going to save you! Hoof to heart!”

Sugar sighed with relief as Sunny finally started moving again. She gasped as he saw Sunny's sparkling eyes, once again full of hope and optimism.

Sunny placed a hoof on her heart before holding the other out to Sugar.

Sugar blinked with confusion. Once again, the muzzles prevented them from communicating, she hated charades.

However, she copied Sunny. Placing a hoof over her heart and the other on Sunny’s.

Sunny beamed behind her muzzle. We’re going to be okay, Sugar. I know it will take time but we’re going to get out of here. Hoof to heart!