Escape from Arora Ridge Quarry

Sugar felt much better after a full night's rest, which was fortunate because the next day, she joined Sunny, pulling a cart of stone waste along Level One. However, a surprise awaited her when she returned to the hut.

Giselle sat in her cage scowling as, for the hundredth time, she inspected the rigid shackles that were locked tightly around her claws. She grunted as she turned them this way and that, trying to get a good look at them from all angles.

However, this was easier said than done. She could rotate her claws within them, but independent movement in all other directions was impossible. Her right claw was forced to follow her left, permanently separated by the same amount by the rigid bar between the shackles.

Eventually, she gave up, letting out a grunt as she slammed her claws into the ground before her, just missing her conjoined hind paws. She snarled in annoyance and frustration. Spending so much time alone each day was starting to get to her.

She hadn't realised how late it was, and the sound of the hut door unlocking made her grunt in surprise. She glanced worriedly towards Sugar's cage before attempting to stand.

However, the rigid shackles made every movement difficult, and she growled in annoyance as she struggled to get up. Desperately, she tried to reach the cage door. But she had to hop, first with her claws and then her hind paws.

Just as she reached the door, Nirik entered with Sugar. With wide eyes, Giselle grunted urgently through her muzzle at her and tried to gesture with her claws.

It was clear that Giselle was trying to communicate something, but Sugar couldn't understand what. Confused, she could only stare at Giselle questioningly as she was led toward her cage.

Desperately, Giselle continued to gesture at Sunny as she was escorted by. However, if anything, Sunny looked even more confused than Sugar had.

Giselle scowled at her conjoined claws, clenching them into fists and pulling against the shackles in frustration. Even when Sunny and Sugar were there, the muzzle locked around her beak prevented her from talking to them. She realized it was why she was in the same hut as them; it was another way for Allura to get into her head.

Sunny and Sugar could both see Giselle was frustrated, but they could do little until the Nirik left. They offered no resistance as the Nirik performed their usual routine, both hoping they’d be gone soon.

They stood obediently as the cage doors began sliding down into position. However, as Sugar’s cage door slammed shut, a white rune suddenly appeared below it and glowed brightly.

Sugar's eyes widened as a spark of white energy suddenly shot from the rune and travelled through the floor toward her, leaving a trail behind it. Her instinct was to step back, but the escort chains still attached to the cage held her in place.

As the spark approached her hooves, another rune appeared, glowing brightly as the spark struck it, resulting in a bright flash.

Two sparks of energy shot out from the rune, forming a circle around Sugar and activating five more runes. Each glowed brightly before emitting another bright flash.

A sheet of white ice suddenly formed from the runes. Sugar gasped, but she had no time to react before it had grown up and around her hoofs, instantly freezing them to the floor up to her fetlocks.

She looked down in dismay before giving an experimental tug and confirmed her hoofs were completely stuck. Desperately, she looked up at the Nirik, but they didn’t react. They removed the escort chains before leaving as if nothing had happened.

As the door to the hut closed, Sugar grunted and started struggling, pulling this way and that as she tried to wrench her hoofs free of the ice.

Giselle let out a frustrated growl as Sunny gasped and hurried to the bars separating her from Sugar.

“Sugar?!” she gasped worriedly. "What happened?"

“My hoofs are frozen. I…I can’t… I can’t move!” Sugar wailed in panic, continuing her struggles. “Sunny, I’m stuck. Gaha! I’m completely stuck!”

Sunny looked down at Sugar’s trapped hoofs in dismay. “Why?” she blinked. “Why do this? What does it do differently to freezing you completely?”

Sugar grunted again as she continued to pull and twist in desperation. Eventually, she gave up, panting and looking down in dismay before frowning as she realised something. “Wait, I'm stuck, but I've also got more movement. How will I sleep like this?!”

Sunny was about to respond when there was a loud clanging sound from Giselle’s cage. They both turned and watched in dismay as Giselle repeatedly slammed her muzzle into the bars.

Sunny gasped and hurried across her cage. “Giselle! Stop it!” she cried anxiously. “Doing that’s not going to help!”

“Giselle! Listen to Sunny!” Sugar cried desperately. “Please, don’t hurt yourself.”

Giselle pulled her head back and froze. She stood, panting for a moment before letting her hind legs collapse from under her. She fell to the floor and rolled onto her side, moaning into the muzzle in despair.

“Giselle,” Sunny gasped as she placed her hoofs up against the bars. “Allura was here, wasn’t she?”

Giselle closed her eyes and slowly nodded.

Sunny sighed. “You knew she’d done something but couldn’t tell us.”

Giselle opened her eyes before looking at Sunny sorrowfully and nodding again. Wiggling her claws in the shackles and moaning into the muzzle.

Sugar shook her head, “It doesn’t matter.”

Sunny blinked as she looked back at her. “What doesn’t?”

“It doesn’t matter if Giselle is wearing a muzzle,” Sugar scowled. “You wouldn’t have been able to tell me anyway, Giselle. The Nirik would have stopped you.”

“She’s right,” Sunny nodded as she looked reassuringly at Giselle. “As soon as you started speaking. The Nirik would have fired their magic at you.”

Giselle sighed into the muzzle and slowly struggled to stand.

Looking at her calmly, Sunny pushed her hoofs through the bars. “Take my hoofs.”

Giselle blinked with confusion.

“Giselle, take my hoofs,” Sunny nodded.

Giselle nodded slowly, struggling closer before sitting so she could raise her conjoined claws and take Sunny’s hoofs.

“This wasn’t your fault,” Sunny said as she looked Giselle in the eye. “Muzzle or no, there was no way you could have warned Sugar.”

Giselle took a deep breath as she closed her eyes before slowly nodding.

Sunny gave a small smile. “I know it’s hard, but my friends are still out there. They’re still going to save us and everycreature. We just need to give them time.”

Sugar sighed as she pulled against the ice. “Yeah, I just hope I have enough time to give them.”

Fortunately for Sugar, the white ice eventually melted. However, by the time she was able to sleep, the majority of the night had passed.

Each night when her cage door closed, the same thing happened. The runes appeared and created ice that trapped her in place. She tried all sorts of things. However, even if her hoofs didn’t get frozen the chains from her shackles did.

As the days went by, the lack of sleep started catching up with her in a big way. She tried everything she could think of to rest more, but nothing worked. She was still exhausted the next morning.

It was around midday and Sunny and Sugar were waiting for their cart to be loaded. The sun was at its highest, beating down on them with all its might.

Sunny sighed as she looked out over the lake in the middle of the Quarry. It was insanely hot, but she could see dark clouds gathering on the horizon, just above the trees of the distant mountains.

She scowled, feeling conflicted, rain would be a relief from the heat and the dust. But she wasn’t relishing the thought of being drenched and trudging through mud.

Meanwhile, Sugar leaned into the harness that attached her to the cart, using it for support. She felt exhausted from so many consecutive nights of little sleep, and the heat wasn't helping. Before long, she was struggling to keep her eyes open.

Sunny’s ear twitched as she suddenly heard somepony snoring. She glanced around in confusion before gasping as she realised it was coming from Sugar.

Desperately, Sunny looked around and spotted a Nirik standing nearby, keeping watch as the team of Diamond Dogs loaded the cart. Grimacing, she shook Sugar violently, knowing it was only a matter of time before the Nirik noticed.

However, Sugar had fallen into a deep sleep and Sunny’s desperate attempts to wake her weren’t working. Suddenly, she let out an extra loud snorting snore that made Sunny wince.

Hearing her, the Nirik’s eyes narrowed as it turned to investigate. Spotting Sugar was asleep, it scowled and snarled before firing a beam of magic at her.

Sugar was violently awoken by the beam. She cried out in pain as sparks of magical energy rippled through her coat, her body trembling and convulsing.

Sunny’s eyes widened in dismay, feeling entirely responsible for what was happening.

After a few seconds, the Nirik cut the beam and, seeing Sugar was awake, grunted with satisfaction. It turned back towards the Diamond Dogs as they loaded the cart and spotted one leaning up against the pile before hurrying away to deal with it.

Sugar gritted her teeth, panting as she recovered from the onslaught before sighing with resignation. She smiled weekly at Sunny before gasping as they were given the signal to leave.

Sugar was running on adrenaline as they left the loading area. However, this soon started to fade, and before they even made it halfway, she let out a groan of exhaustion. “S...Sunny, I...I’m sorry. I…I can’t...” she groaned softly.

“It’s okay,” Sunny hissed reassuringly. “I’ve got it.”

“B…But…”

“It’s okay, leave it to me,” Sunny whispered determinedly. “I’ll get us to where we can stop.”

Sugar let out another groan as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Before long, her hoofs began to drag along the ground as she strived to keep moving.

Alongside her, Sunny grunted as she felt the weight of the cart increase. Soon, she was pulling the loaded cart unaided, but her eyes narrowed with the determination to ensure Sugar wasn’t punished again.

However, it seemed everything was against her. The cart was heavy, and the heat was oppressive. Beads of sweat glistened in Sunny’s coat and the dust they were kicking up from the trail stuck to it, making her more and more uncomfortable.

Then, the trail started to climb.

She gritted her teeth as she struggled to heave the heavy cart up the gradient unaided. Suppressing another grunt of exertion, she desperately tried to hide she was struggling from Sugar.

Suddenly, Sugar’s head drooped forward, and she began to snore as her hooves gave out beneath her. Feeling Sugar’s weight pull her sideways, Sunny gasped before grunting as she leaned in the opposite direction to prevent Sugar from collapsing completely.

“N…No. Can’t stop here,” Sunny grunted. “T…The Nirik will come. C…Come on.”

However, Sugar was a deadweight strapped to Sunny’s side as her hooves dragged along the ground. Sunny knew if Sugar's body hit the ground too, she'd become an anchor and stop the cart completely. Determined to ensure that didn't happen, Sunny leaned the other way as hard as she could but each step of her hoofs became increasingly more difficult.

“C...Can’t stop here,” Sunny grunted as her legs began to burn. “G...Got to get... get to the top. We…We can s…stop then.”

Sunny struggled on for a while but before she could reach the top, her legs gave out from under her. She gasped as she collapsed to her knees, Sugar’s inert form hitting the ground with a soft thud.

Sunny puffed and panted as she stared at the ground, a feeling of defeat washing over her. However, she scowled and shook her head. “No. I won’t...” she grunted softly. “I won’t let Sugar get hurt again.”

She attempted to stand but gasped when she realized she couldn’t. Sugar lay on the ground, and despite her efforts, Sunny couldn’t lift her using the cart harness alone.

Grunting, she tried reaching out with a hoof. But the chains between her shackles went taught and she couldn’t reach, not if she wanted to stand up as well. Panting, she looked back where they’d come and groaned as she spotted two Nirik were already galloping towards them.

Sunny reached out with both hoofs and started shaking Sugar. Lightly to start with but then with increasing violence. “Sugar,” she said as loud as she dared. “Sugar, you have to wake up.”

However, Sugar’s snores continued as the Nirik galloped ever closer.

“Sugar!” Sunny winced as she shook her violently.

Finally, Sugar let out a snort as she awoke with a start. “W...Wh...What?”

“You have to get up,” Sunny hissed. “Quickly.”

Sugar looked around in confusion for a moment before realising what was happening. Grunting, she nodded and both of them struggled to their hoofs. Then, without a word between them, they resumed walking.

Seconds later, the two Nirik arrived. They overshot, skidding to a halt, snarling and eyeing the pair suspiciously before walking alongside them.

Sunny and Sugar shared a worried glance. Seemingly they weren’t off the hook yet and suddenly it felt like they were in for a long afternoon.

Their fears were realised when the Nirik stopped them at the next watchtower. One of the Nirik went inside and reappeared with two escort chains, keeping one and passing the other to its partner.

Sunny and Sugar gulped as the two Nirik connected the chains to their bridles under their chins, at the point the chains from their shackles connected.

Grunting, the two Nirik started walking, pulling the chains roughly. Sunny and Sugar both gasped as their heads were pulled upwards by the escort chains attached to their chins. As a result, the chains to their shackles went taut and made it harder to walk.

Sunny grunted as she pulled her head downwards against the escort chain. However, feeling her pulling, the Nirik escorting her looked back over its shoulder and snarled warningly.

When the Nirik escorting Sugar also looked back and snarled, Sunny reluctantly raised her head again. Snorting, both Nirik finally calmed down and turned to look where they were going.

Sunny and Sugar eyed each other worriedly, it really was going to be a long afternoon.

The two Nirik escorted Sunny and Sugar for the rest of the afternoon, ensuring they couldn’t slow down or stop anywhere.

Therefore, by the time they were taken back to their hut, Sugar was exhausted, and everything had become a blur. She didn’t even realise she was in her cage until she heard the door slam closed.

She shook her head and gasped, then looked down, expecting to see the white ice frozen around her hoofs. However, she blinked in confusion; there was no ice in sight. As the Nirik removed the escort chains and began to leave, she lifted her hooves one at a time, confirming that they were free.

As the door closed, Sugar could barely contain her excitement at the possibility of finally being able to sleep. She turned towards Sunny with a huge grin on her face. “Sunny! I’m free! The ice it…”

However, she trailed off as her excitement evaporated and she stared in surprise at what she saw.

Sunny stood in her cage with thick, blue-tinted ice encasing her legs up to just below her knees. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was agape as she panted in shock.

“No, nonono,” Sugar blinked in shock and dismay. “This is… No… How?”

Sunny didn’t respond, she shook her head before gritting her teeth and grunting as she began struggling, thrashing her body this way and that as she tried in vain to free herself.

Sugar gasped and hurried towards the bars, shaking her head as she tried to stay awake. “Sunny! Sunny stop. It won’t work!”

Sunny didn’t listen, she gritted her teeth and grunted as she continued desperately thrashing around. Concentrating on her forelegs, she swung her head and barrel left and right as she pulled as hard as she could.

“Sunny! SUNNY, STOP!” Sugar cried urgently, closing her eyes and panting with exhaustion. “Please!” she gasped. “You’ll just hurt yourself if you carry on like that!”

Sunny closed her eyes and let out a final bellowing cry of anguish. Finally stopping her futile escape attempts she lowered her head and stood puffing and panting with exhaustion.

Eventually, she licked her lips. “Sugar, I…I’m sorry…. I’m stuck too,” she panted before opening her eyes and looking sorrowfully at Sugar. “I can’t…”

She trailed off as her eyes widened in surprise. “Wait, your…”

“Yeah, I’m free,” Sugar sighed. “There wasn’t any ice this time, Allura must have changed it. Were there runes under your cage door?”

“I…I’m not sure,” Sunny puffed as she shook her head. “I didn’t pay attention until a big one appeared right underneath me. Before I knew what was happening, the ice had caught me.” She looked towards Giselle’s cage. “Giselle, did…”

They both let out a gasp as they finally realised, Giselle wasn’t there…

Elsewhere, Skysurf grunted as she lifted herself from the tunnel. Picking herself up she looked around. Noticing Thymus had already arrived, she nodded in approval.

“It’s not getting any easier, is it?” Thymus groaned.

Skysurf shook her head. “No, it’s not. Is there news?”

Minty sighed with disappointment, “If you're having to ask then there’s been nothing.”

“How long is it going to take?” Sprout grunted. “It’s been days since Zipp got to Equestria.”

Thymus let out a sigh as he sat down and panted. “It will be as long as it takes, I suspect. Did you see the clouds building?”

“Yeah, it won’t be long until the rain comes,” Skysurf grimaced. “I’m not looking forward to my wings being waterlogged. I can’t spread them with them strapped up like this.” She sighed. “I suppose it will be better than the heat though. Did you see the Airship land?”

The others all looked at each other with confusion.

“I’ll take that as a no. It was getting dark when I saw it, I was being escorted back to our hut from one of the higher levels. They will likely wait till tomorrow to offload.”

“Yay, more prisoners,” Minty groaned. “I hope Princess Zipp hurries up.”

Suddenly, there was a flash from the corner. Gasping, the creatures all looked, hoping it meant Misty was joining them.

However, what appeared wasn’t Misty. It was a box. A wooden box that had been decorated with leaves, twigs and other forest items in a repeating pattern around its entire exterior.

They all looked at each other with confusion, surprise and bewilderment. Finally, Sprout walked forward towards it and reached out a hoof.

“W…What are you doing?” Minty gasped, her eyes wide with surprise.

Sprout scowled, “Well we know where it’s come from.” He pointed at the box. “This is Izzy’s hoof work.”

“Who?” Skysurf blinked.

“One of Sunny’s other friends,” Sprout said rolling his eyes. “She made Sunny’s fake cutie mark, remember?”

Without another word, he opened the box and gasped.

“W…What is it?” Minty blinked.

“What’s inside?” Skysurf scowled as she moved forward.

Sprout reached inside and withdrew something. Turning as Skysurf reached him, he passed her a piece of paper and held up a binder for the others to see.

“That’s the binder they found in the tower!” Thymus blinked.

“But….But how’s it here?” Minty stammered in shock.

Skysurf smiled as her eyes darted back and forth, reading the letter. “It’s not the one you think it is,” she beamed. “It’s a copy, one of three that Misty made. It’s for you to study, Minty.”

Sprout blinked as he reached inside the box again and withdrew a pile of blank paper. “And this?”

“It’s for us to use to communicate with them,” Skysurf explained. “Misty says here that whilst she’s too weak to teleport herself. She’s enchanted this box so she can retrieve anything inside it. Each morning, when she’s at her strongest, she’ll take anything left inside.”

“Excellent,” Thymus smiled. “We have our channel of communication back again.”

Minty snorted. “Which would be fine if we had something to say.”

Skysurf grinned brightly. “We can work on that, we’ve got an assignment. Plus, there's even more good news..."