Escape from Arora Ridge Quarry

Sometime the following day.

Inside her icy prison, Sugar had lost all track of time.

All she could hear was a continual echoing sound that amplified her breathing. She couldn’t see either, having closed her eyes against the winds as they buffeted her.

Her entire body was stuck fast, she couldn’t even wiggle and had long since given up trying. At least having had the experience previously, she’d held her breath when Allura froze her. It meant she at least had room within which to breathe.

Initially, she’d been scared, however, the ice was nowhere near as cold as she expected. It was not even as cold as the grey ice Allura had used before. Eventually, Allura had added a second tube to her rear and that had alleviated another major worry.

Therefore, a strange sense of calm slowly overcame her. With nothing else to do, her mind had begun to wander. Would Sunny sink into another depression now she was alone? Did Allura think Giselle was the Griffon she was looking for? Was Giselle even okay in her icy prison? Would Allura ever leave her alone or would she be forced to reveal all?

Suddenly, she thought about Lily and Rosedust. Where were they? How were they doing? She started thinking about their friendship, had it really all been a lie?

Memory after memory of the good times they’d all shared flashed in her mind’s eye. They were laughing whilst enjoying milkshakes. Posing for selfies as they grew their social media following. They were going to see movies together.

Then, Lily appeared before her and the last words she’d said filled her mind. “But you’ve been a great friend, Sugar. I honestly really like you and I’m sorry I can’t help you. If our friendship ends here, I’ll understand.”

She couldn’t help wondering, that maybe their friendship wasn’t completely dead after all.

Deep inside her, a spark of hope suddenly ignited. If she could reconnect and reconcile with Sunny after all this time, she surely should be able to reconnect with Lily. Maybe even Rosedust if she really tried.

Despite a small part of her mind trying to say it was silly, she ignored it as she tried to work out how to rekindle her lost friendships.

Elsewhere, another pony was also lost inside their mind.

However, Misty was lost because her mind was filled with inky black darkness. Suddenly, there was a flash, and the darkness slowly began to move and shift as though it was fog. A fog that slowly receded to let in the light.

She groaned as feeling and sensation started to return. She could barely breathe, her windpipe and chest felt tight and restricted.

As the brain fog continued to clear, she noticed there was a smell tickling her nostrils. It was strange, it sort of stung and soothed them at the same time.

She took a deep wheezing breath and instantly regretted it. The stinging sensation shot up her nose and down her windpipe into her lungs. However, the soothing sensation quickly followed. Numbing the pain and somehow making it easier to breathe.

From that point, each breath she took was followed by the same. A stinging, quickly followed up by a soothing sensation. Slowly, she found that breathing got easier and easier.

Eventually, the black brain fog cleared, and she groaned as she slowly tried opening her eyes. However, once again, she immediately regretted her actions. Her eyes were filled with bright light, making them sting, forcing her to close them again.

She coughed and wheezed, shifting slightly and finally realised she was lying in a bed with a set of soft covers pulled over her. A feeling of confusion rushed through her; she couldn’t remember going to bed.

Suddenly, she remembered the watchtower and the fire, and a raft of desperate questions filled her mind. Where was she? Was she hurt? Did her friends know where she was? Did they know what had happened?

Grunting, she tentatively tried opening her eyes again, only to find the light still stung them. However, she was desperate to know where she was and began blinking it away.

As her surroundings finally came into focus, a feeling of relief washed over her. She was in the cockpit of the Marestream, lying on her camp bed just in front of the main console.

All around her were saucers, cups, pots, pans, anything that wouldn’t burn easily. From all of them, there were trails of fine grey smoke which wafted lazily upwards and filled the room.

Wheezing, she looked to one side and spotted Feather Breeze. She was sat with her hind legs crossed and her forehoofs pressed together in a praying position. Her eyes were closed as she breathed deeply whilst her horn was glowing.

From her horn, a magical aura rose and mixed with the fine smoke. Swirling it around and around the cockpit.

Misty gasped in awe at how peaceful it looked and instantly regretted it. She coughed and coughed as her lungs began to burn, sitting up as she struggled to breathe.

Hearing her, Feather Breeze’s eyes shot open. Seeing Misty was awake she began redirecting the smoke with her magic. “Breathe the aromatic smoke, Misty. It will help.”

Misty gasped again as the aromatic smoke wrapped around her head. She couldn’t stop coughing and, despite Feather Breeze’s assurance, her eyes widened as she inhaled a concentrated dose.

However, the burning sensation in her lungs lessened as it was soothed by the magical smoke. Almost immediately she finally stopped coughing and breathing got a lot easier.

“That’s it, Misty,” Feather Breeze soothed. “Breathe it in deeply. It will help.”

Misty nodded as she sat in the bed, doing as Feather Breeze instructed. She closed her eyes as she alternated between breathing deeply in through her nose and mouth.

Slowly, she found breathing got easier and easier. Eventually, she picked up the courage to try speaking.

“W...Wh...What...” she croaked hoarsely before another coughing fit overcame her.

“It’s okay. It’s okay, Misty,” Feather Breeze reassured as she made the aromatic smoke gather thicker again. “You’ll likely have many questions but try not to talk now. Lay down and let the healing process continue. Trust me, I’ve been where you are. You have to take it slowly.”

Misty grunted as she lay back in the bed. She trusted Feather Breeze but her mind was racing, what had happened? All she could remember last was the burning watchtower and being trapped inside it.

She breathed deeply again, letting the aromatic smoke do its work. Then, she looked over to one side and spotted her phone resting on the console.

Grunting, she reached out and grabbed it. Unlocking it, she felt some relief that she hadn’t cracked the screen again. Surprisingly it had plenty of battery, so she opened an app and started tapping away.

Feather Breeze frowned with confusion. She had no idea what Misty was doing.

She gasped as Misty held up the phone and a robotic voice started speaking. “Feather Breeze, thank you. Please, what happened? How did I get back here?”

Feather Breeze blinked with confusion. She looked at Misty quizzically as Misty waved her phone and pointed at herself.

“T...That’s you making that voice somehow?”

Misty nodded and pointed to her phone.

Feather Breeze sighed as she shook her head. “I’m not used to these phone things of yours. Okay, the first most of us knew was when Hitch came struggling into camp with you on his back.

“He said sometime after you left with Izzy the tower caught on fire. You suddenly appeared in the hide, covered in black soot and barely breathing.”

Misty blinked before frowning. She closed her eyes and grimaced before tapping into her phone again.

After a few moments, the robotic voice said, “I remember appearing inside the tower and finding it on fire. I can’t remember escaping though. Does Hitch know how?”

Feather Breeze shook her head. “He said there was a flash behind him and when he turned around you were lying on the floor.

He couldn’t wake you, so struggled all the way back with you laid on his back. I realised what had happened as soon as he mentioned the tower being on fire. So, I started my treatment right away for you.”

Misty gave a small smile and began tapping again, “And that’s what all this smoke is?”

Feather Breeze smiled. “Yes, this is a treatment for smoke inhalation that my kind has been developing for generations. When you turn into fiery monsters when you get angry, you soon learn how to deal with the after-effects of fires.

“Since we arrived, I’ve been foraging for the required ingredients, just in case.” She gestured around the cockpit with a chuckle. “We had to improvise with the burning holders though. Now, don’t forget to keep breathing deeply for me.”

Misty nodded and took another deep breath through her nose. Then with a look of concern, she began tapping away on her phone again, “I assume our cover is blown now. I’ve messed up enough times. I’m such a screw-up.”

Feather Breeze shook her head. “No, you are not a screw-up, Misty. None of this is your fault. You had no way of knowing the tower was on fire.”

Misty frowned as she tapped away again. “But I should have gone to the hide to check before going to the tower.”

“Probably,” Feather Breeze sighed. “But you made the decision based on the information you had. Zipp was quite insistent about the urgency. Many would have done the same.”

Misty nodded before taking another deep breath through her mouth. However, her eyes widened as her throat stung and she began coughing. Then, her lungs felt like they were on fire as the coughs got more and more forceful.

Despite Misty’s violent coughing, Feather Breeze didn’t look at all concerned. She helped her rise into a seating position before holding a pan under Misty’s mouth with her magic.

Misty closed her eyes as the coughing got increasingly violent. Suddenly she began coughing up a watery black liquid which Feather Breeze caught in the pan.

As quickly as it had started, the coughing stopped, and Misty sat panting with her eyes closed. Before she could see the contents of the pan, Feather Breeze removed it and set it well out of the way.

Eventually, Misty took a deep breath and sighed, suddenly feeling a whole lot better. She opened her eyes and looked at Feather Breeze who smiled back at her. “So, how do you feel, Misty?”

Misty reached for her phone which lay on the covers. However, Feather Breeze held a hoof out to stop her. “No, no. With your own voice now.”

Misty took a few deep breaths, as though she were checking before she couldn’t help grinning. “A whole lot better. Breathing doesn’t sting anymore.”

Feather Breeze smiled. “Then this stage of your recovery is complete. However, your lungs are still nowhere near healed. Don’t push yourself or you’ll undo it all. Trust me.”

“I do still feel a bit breathless,” Misty frowned thoughtfully before a look of concern spread across her face. “You said you’ve been where I am, does that mean you got hurt?"

Feather Breeze nodded. “Yes, Spring Flare and I, we both did.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “When we were young, we built ourselves a hide. We found the biggest tree we could and then hollowed out the inside. We loved that hide so much, we spent hours and hours there. Then, one morning we were playing at the hide when we got into an argument.”

Misty gasped. “And you turned into Nirik!”

Feather Breeze let out a deep regretful sigh and nodded slowly. “We did, it was one of the first times our parents weren’t nearby. So, we didn’t know how to control our flames.” She paused as she sighed again. “Before we knew what was happening the tree was on fire. Our anger quickly vanished and so with it did our Nirik forms. We managed to escape the flames but were overcome by the smoke and if it hadn’t been for Summer Bloom, we would have perished. When I woke up, Winters Breath was tending to us both like I have you.”

“And the tree?”

“Became ash. For every young Kirin, learning how to control our flames is important. Also learning how to hold back our Nirik form when needed.”

“But why not stop yourselves from turning into Nirik altogether?” Misty frowned. “There must be a way.”

“That is easier said than done,” Feather Breeze chuckled. “We’ve found that learning to live with our Nirik forms is the best way. In our village, there are specific areas for us to use when we need some time as Nirik. We hold it back until we’re in one of those areas.” She chuckled again shaking her head. “Of course, the resulting release of anger and emotions is often far bigger than it would have otherwise been. You’ve witnessed that.”

Misty nodded understandingly before smiling gratefully. “Thank You, Feather Breeze. Thank you for caring for me.”

“It’s not a problem. Just remember, you need to take it nice and easy for now.”

“No more Sneaky Misty then,” Misty sighed before her eyes widened. “Wait! How long has it been?”

“It’s been a couple of days.” Feather Breeze answered before thinking.

Misty’s eyes widened in horror, and she immediately started trying to get up. Feather Breeze gasped and quickly moved to block Misty’s progression. “Please, Misty, no,” she said worriedly. “You’re in no condition. You have to rest.”

“B...But I’ve held everypony up,” Misty gasped desperately as she panted for air. “Zipp could be back in Equestria by now! But she’s not because I’ve been lying here in her cockpit.”

Calmly, Feather Breeze took Misty’s hoofs in her own. She held them comfortingly as she looked Misty in the eye. “You needed to be in here so my aromatherapy magic would work. Zipp’s more concerned about you, just like everypony else.”

Misty sighed as she settled back into the bed.

“Thank you, Misty. Take deep breaths again,” Feather Breeze instructed as she got back into her meditation position.

Misty nodded, taking deep breaths of the aromatic smoke whilst Feather Breeze's horn glowed. Her magic mixed with the smoke again and directed it towards Misty.

However, as she continued to take deep breaths, Misty sat scowling downwards clearly not at all happy.

After a while, Feather Breeze couldn’t help sighing. She knew there was only one way that she would cheer Misty up. “Okay, Misty, come on. Let’s go and see what everypony is up to. Then you’ll see they’re more worried about you than anything else.”

Misty’s mood perked up immediately. “O...Okay,” she smiled gratefully as started carefully getting up.

Outside the Marestream, Pipp, Hitch and Izzy were busy pitching large brown tents. However, it seemed Izzy’s definition of pitching a tent was adding her creative touch to the two that were already up.

Her cutie mark was glowing brightly as seemingly hundreds of leaves, twigs and various other items from the forest floated around in her levitation. She was singing to herself as she attached them to the tents.

🎶“This goes here, and that goes there.
But now they’re all upside down!
So they'll all come off and turn around.
Now Misty’s smile won’t be a frown!”🎶

Meanwhile, Pipp and Hitch were struggling to pitch the third tent. Pipp grunted as she held a guy line between her teeth. Pulling as hard as she could whilst Hitch tried desperately to hammer the tent peg in.

“Remind me, why didn’t we do this before?” Pipp grunted through her clenched teeth. “Then I'd not be doing it now!”

“I dunno,” Hitch smirked. “You set up the camp.”

“Oh, yeah,” Pipp mumbled as she scowled. “Well, hurry up already! My teeth are going to pop out and I need them to sing… and to smile… and to talk… oh, and to eat!”

Hitch couldn’t help chuckling. “Interesting it’s in that order.”

“IZ!” Pipp groaned. “Come help, please!”

“In a minute,” Izzy sang absently as she waived a hoof.

“It’s okay, Pipp,” Hitch smiled as he kept hammering. “I'm glad we managed to get Izzy out of her funk, let her be creative. I’ve got this.”

However, he suddenly let out a howl of pain as the hammer missed the tent peg and hit his hoof, bending the peg over in the process.

“Oh, that smarts!” he gasped as he waved his hoof up and down.

“Urm, could we maybe not have another invalid to go along with me?” a voice said.

“MISTY!” Izzy squealed happily as she spotted her standing by the door with Feather Breeze.

Misty squeaked as Izzy suddenly dropped everything she’d been holding in her magic and started galloping towards her. However, Feather Breeze was ready and grabbed Izzy in her levitation, lifting her from the floor before she could hit Misty with a full-force hug.

Izzy squeaked in surprise, her legs flailing as she reached out desperately to hug Misty.

“Not so fast,” Feather Breeze frowned. “Misty is at a very delicate stage of her recovery. You can hug her, Izzy, but please be gentle.”

Immediately, Izzy froze and smiled happily. “Oh, okay. A soft hug it is!”

With a nod from Misty, Feather Breeze returned Izzy’s hoofs to the ground. In response, Izzy was as good as her word. She beamed as she carefully put her hoofs around Misty and hugged her gratefully. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I was so worried, and it wasn’t even your fault.”

Misty sighed carefully, “Are you sure? I just feel like such a screw-up.”

Misty turned and found Hitch was next in line to hug her, having quickly forgotten his smarting hoof and the tent. “We’re sure and you’re no screw-up, Misty,” he reassured. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks for helping me back here, Hitch.” Misty sighed as she returned his hug. “But I am a screw-up. I’ve put everything in jeopardy so many times now.” She sighed again as they broke off the hug and looked down forlornly. “I should have gone back to the hide before going to the tower.”

"Somepony? Anypony? HELP!”

Hearing Pipp's voice, they all gasped as they looked towards the tent. She was still holding onto the guy line, her eyes closed as she strained with effort. However, her hoofs kept slipping as she desperately tried to keep the tent from falling. “P…Please, somepony!” she wailed again through her clenched teeth as she desperately flapped her wings. “HITCH! IZ! ANYPONY!”

Hitch gasped in shock and dismay, “Oh shoot, Pipp! I completely forgot!”

He was about to hurry back to her, but Izzy skipped forward and intervened. Her horn glowed and the bent tent peg was wrenched from the ground. A replacement floated out of a nearby pile and jammed itself in the ground before the guy line finally tied itself off around it.

“You can let go now, Pipp,” Izzy beamed. “Izzy to the rescue!”

Gasping with relief, Pipp let go of the guy line carefully and eyed it suspiciously as she stepped away from it. It was clear she had been on the receiving end of others that had given way that day. “Th...Thanks, Iz,” she gasped. “Could you maybe help with putting up the last tent before you decorate this one? I am so going to need a hooficure after this!”

“Oh, I thought they were all done already,” Izzy blinked before looking towards the last tent and smiling broadly. “Sorry, I’ll totally help with the last one.”

As Izzy happily trotted towards the last tent, Pipp couldn’t help sighing and shaking her head. She fluttered over to Misty and ensured she was third in line to carefully hug her. “Aww, Misty. I’m so glad you’re up and about already. I was so worried it would take weeks. Well done, Feather Breeze.”

“It’s nothing really,” Feather Breeze smiled. “Every Kirin learns how to treat the effects of fire. Like I said to Misty, it’s a treatment that has been developed by generations of Kirin. Some say they even see visions of those giving the treatment before they wake up.”

Misty couldn’t help sighing. “I...I just feel like a complete screw-up.”

“Misty, you’re not,” Pipp gasped as she rubbed Misty’s back reassuringly.

“I told you, you were just unlucky,” Feather Breeze added.

“Yeah, there’s no reason why you’d have done anything differently,” Hitch smiled reassuringly.

Misty looked down sadly as she broke off the hug, clearly not feeling the same way.

“Hey, don’t do that to yourself,” Pipp gasped. “What would Sunny say?”

Misty sighed knowingly. “The same as you?”

“Exactly,” Pipp smiled reassuringly. “So please stop beating yourself up and concentrate on getting better.”

“We’ve listened to the recording from Sunny by the way,” Hitch smiled.

“Ooh! Yas!” Pipp grinned. “She sounds way more upbeat than I would be locked up like that.”

Hitch couldn’t help groaning. “With what’s going on, I don’t know how upbeat she’ll be now.”

“Wait, what?” Misty blinked.

“Oh,” Hitch gasped. “Err... It…It doesn’t matter. Like Pipp said, you need to get better.”

Misty said nothing, but she frowned pointedly at Hitch as her breathing slowly got more laboured.

“Hitch, please, fill both of us in,” Feather Breeze requested. “It’ll only make Misty worry if you don’t.”

Pipp shook her head, “Yeah, you’ve put your hoof in it there.”

Hitch sighed. "Yeah, okay. Well, it all kicked off yesterday morning..."

Hitch reluctantly explained how Allura had gathered all the creatures and set about searching for a Hippogriff and Griffon. That she'd reduced the creature’s food and water supplies until she’d found them. Then, he mentioned how Giselle had shouted out and Allura had blamed Sugar before freezing both of them in ice.

When he’d finished, Misty groaned and shook her head. “Poor Giselle and Sugar, we have to get them out of there, all of them,” she said resolutely. “I…I need to get better.”

“Then you need to rest,” Feather Breeze recommended.

“Y…Yeah,” Misty panted. “I…I just remembered something though.”

Pipp frowned as Misty waved her closer before whispering in her ear. She couldn’t help beaming and clapping her hoofs in excitement. “Oooh! Yas, we can totally do something like that!”

“Wait, what?” Hitch blinked.

“Shush you,” Pipp frowned waving a hoof. “This is between me and Sunny via Misty. Besides, you left me hanging on a guy line!”

“Sorry, Pipp,” Hitch sighed. “Let’s give Izzy a hoof and get the last one done together.”

“Yeah,” Misty wheezed as she pointed with a hoof. “You…You won’t need to.”

They all looked in surprise at where Misty was pointing. Izzy stood beaming in front of the tent she’d just put up all on her own. “Finished!” she beamed. “Now to make this place sparkle!”

Pipp and Hitch could only blink in shock and dismay.

“It took us five times as long to just put one up,” Hitch gasped.

Misty couldn’t help chuckling, but the chuckles quickly gave way to wheezing coughs.

“Okay, Misty. You need to go and lay down and rest,” Feather Breeze instructed firmly as she held her steady and rubbed her back. “I told you; you need to take it carefully.”

Misty nodded as the coughing subsided, continuing to wheeze. “O…Okay,” she rasped. “H…How…”

“How long?” Feather Breeze guessed. “That will depend on you. You must take it carefully and keep resting. Today you need to stay within the smoke but tomorrow you’ll be fine to sit or lay anywhere.”

“Wait, so you won’t need the Marestream tomorrow?” Hitch gasped.

“As long as she rests,” Feather Breeze nodded.

“O…Okay,” Misty coughed. “G…Going to rest now... P…Possibly even a nap. Z...Zipp needs the Marestream. I...I can’t keep everycreature w...waiting a...anymore.”

“Well, I’m going to start preparing a stew,” Feather Breeze winked. “So don’t sleep too long. I’ll make sure you get some.”

Misty smiled and nodded before heading back to the cockpit.

“Feather Breeze,” Izzy smiled as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Feather Breeze shook her head and waved a hoof, “It’s nothing.”

“No. No, it’s not nothing,” Izzy insisted. “I lost my parents in a fire. I couldn’t bear losing Misty to one too. Thank you. Thank you for saving her.”

Feather Breeze gasped as Izzy pulled her into a grateful hug. She couldn’t help smiling as she returned it.

As they eventually broke off the hug, Feather Breeze smiled knowingly. “You’re welcome, Izzy. Now, I’d better get started on that stew.”

“And whilst you do that, I’m going to go and let Zipp know,” Hitch smiled. “She’ll want to make arrangements if she’s going to leave tomorrow.”