Phil crept through the shadows, his heart pounding. One wrong move and the guards would spot him. He couldn?t fail - too many lives depended on him.
He peered around the corner and spotted two troll guards lounging against the wall, their faces obscured by their helmets. Both carried spears, though they were the only signs of any obstruction to pony passage. "I think this is it," he whispered, backing slowly around the corner. His wings flared involuntarily. At least they weren't trying to restrain him anymore. But with stone and metal ceilings overhead, Phil had nowhere to fly.
Moire emerged beside him; her pale wings folded closed. "That?s them. Ready to perform?"
He nodded. They only had one shot at this.
He dropped his head low, slouching and submissive. He couldn?t put on the effect of someone starved by their many years of deprivation here in the prison, but he could at least stop from acting too proud. Just as in so many things, the key was acting like he belonged.
They moved forward together, towards the checkpoint. As they rounded the corner, both guards straightened, now towering over him. Of course they would use their size against him, with their stupid extra height and hands.
Just as they got close, both guards crossed their spears, blocking passage. "High security," said one. "Where do you think you?re going?"
Moire glanced back at Phil. She said nothing, but those slitted bat eyes might as well have been shouting, ``You better be sure about this!"
"Warden told us to get our asses down to confinement," the bat said. "Overheard us talking about that hot-air imposter who can?t even control the weather without stealing magic. Can?t remember his name...called himself a king?"
The result was instantaneous. The guards surged forward, turning their spears aside - not to spare them, but to strike with the shafts, battering against Moire and Phil?s shoulders in a swift, brutal beating.
Moire screamed in exaggerated pain, higher pitched than any of the ponies Phil had met so far. But during her blood-curdling screams of agony, she also rolled along the ground, past both guards and onto the ramp leading down.
He didn?t have the same acting skill, but Phil could still take a fall. He dropped down, turning his shoulders towards the attack while protecting his more delicate wings.
The guards weren?t energetic in their attack. After only a few seconds, they straightened, returning to their comfortable spots on the wall. One called down after them, smugly satisfied. "Get worse next time! No one dares to question our king!"
Phil kept low to the ground, following a feeble crawl behind the bat. The guards weren?t particularly smart either. Starlight was right - they didn?t care about anyone trying to get in. But going the other way...
"Whatever ponies got stuck down here, I hope they?re worth it..." Moire whispered. They were almost around the corner, twisting with the ramp down under the ground. It was already far enough to avoid being overheard. "Because that won?t work going the other direction. They already closed the way I used to escape last time."
As soon as they were around the corner, Moire rose to her hooves. He couldn?t help but notice the slight limp to her steps and the fresh bruises along her back. Getting in was an act, but the beating was real. For his own part, a life of getting beaten meant he was more than prepared for guards who weren?t trying to do real damage. "How deep is High Security?"
The thestral didn?t answer with words, just gestured for him to join her. He did, following her around and around the ramp. Soon it was only lit by the glow of torches and lanterns, no trace of real sunlight or stars reaching from the distant windows.
The ramp opened into a large cavern, which appeared to be much larger than most caves he?d seen on Earth. Its crystal walls might be beautiful, if they weren?t entirely covered by dirt and muck. Ponies huddled in makeshift shelters or slumped against the walls, their hollow eyes peering out from tangled manes. Most weren?t even looking in their direction, but watched the metal troth in the center of the room. It stank worse than the rest of the space - that must be where food was delivered.
"Who are we looking for again?" Moire whispered, directly into his ear. "What do they look like?"
"Names are Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie," he answered, just as quietly. "The resistance needs them back, don?t exactly know why." Unfortunately, he also didn?t see any obvious signs of the ponies he had come for. But most down here were so filthy that he might not recognize them.
Moire whistled, high and energetic through bat teeth. "Buck me, the Elements of Harmony? We better pull this off - no telling what the Storm King will do if he catches us with them."
They wandered along the cavern, past a large pool of water collecting where it dripped down from overhead, where the prisoners occasionally slunk over to drink. Finally, they found more open tunnels stretching further into the dark, broken only by the occasional lit torch beside many that were dark and lifeless.
They walked in relative silence along the halls, occasionally passing into stone rooms with ponies. There was very little sign of typical prison activities inside, more just grim corners where ponies tried not to get noticed.
The tunnel took them in a circle around the central chamber. It had very nearly delivered them back to where they started, when Phil caught a glimpse of stark white fur and a purple mane emerging from a hallway. They hurried through the entrance together, and there at last were the targets of his mission.
They?d turned the tiny room into a makeshift living area, with three cots, a table made from rubble, and a few old books and random bits of garbage repurposed into whatever tools they could. These three were the subjects of his mission, no better off than the other mistreated masses: a white unicorn with a purple mane, a yellow Pegasus hiding behind another pony, and a pink earth pony without any of the laughter or energy Starlight?s photo had captured.
Phil grinned. They?d found them. Now to get them out of this miserable place - before the Storm King decided to move them someplace even more secure. "That?s them," he whispered. "Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie."
Moire kept watch as Phil approached the three ponies. Rarity eyed him suspiciously, while Fluttershy trembled behind Pinkie Pie.
"Who are you?" Rarity demanded, her voice cracking slightly. "What do you want with us? We?re still making all the regular...work duty contributions. If the warden sent you - "
Phil held up a hoof. "It?s okay. I?m here to help you escape. Starlight Glimmer sent me, from the rebellion."
Rarity?s eyes widened at the name. But before she could answer, the yellow Pegasus cut her off.
"C-careful," she whispered. "Remember last time."
"Right." Rarity straightened, putting on an air of dignity. She managed to make a decent impression of it, surprisingly clean despite their surroundings. "My friends and I are behaving as prisoners ought, under these dreadful conditions. You can whisper that back to whatever creature offered you an extra ration to report on our schemes."
"We?re all schemed out from last time," said the pink one, not even looking up at Phil. "You win. Just leave us alone."
"Geeze," Moire called, peeking behind her. "Better hope that?s an act. If these ponies are the Elements of Harmony, it?s no wonder we lost so badly."
Phil ignored them both. "Rainbow?s been teaching me to fly." He spread both wings, working subconsciously through one of the practice exercises Rainbow had taught him. After days of walking with both wings restrained, he needed all the extra strength he could get. "Listen, I don?t know who you three are - but I?m supposed to get you out with me. Do you want to escape or not?"
The three mares shared a nervous look. Phil sensed more than just suspicion and fear this time. Good! If they were starting to hope, maybe they would trust next.
"Starlight and the rebellion," Rarity continued. "Sent you in here? That doesn?t seem like her. With her history, Starlight Glimmer is somewhat loathe to expose other ponies to danger."
"She would never send you here unless she had a way to get you out again." Pinkie stood, shaking out her straight, lifeless mane. It was dirty enough that a few curls returned.
"She did." He held up his foreleg, twisting the hoof in their direction. With some careful pressure, he dislodged the crystal sliver wedged there, letting it clatter to the floor.
Or it would have, if Rarity hadn?t caught it in her magic. She held it up, inspecting it with one eye open. "I feel her hoofprints on it. This is Starlight?s magic."
"Really?" The creamy yellow Pegasus opened both wings, shrugging them down onto the rocky floor at either side. "Thank goodness. I thought we would never see the sun again."
Rarity offered it back, levitating the crystal in his direction. "This is a beacon spell. I?ve seen their like before. But how do we use this to escape? If Starlight is free, I assume she must know where this prison is located. Finding it was never the challenge."
"I?m meant to break it when I find you. Stand close, and we can be out of here. Moire, you too. I?m sure Starlight can find the magic for one extra pony..."
"Wait!" Rarity yanked the sliver of crystal out of his reach, holding it just above him. "We?re too far underground. For these spells to function, they need to be under the sky. There?s too much rock."
"The ramp," Moire said. "There are windows before the checkpoint. Is that close enough?"
Fluttershy stretched, then lifted into the air in a low hover. Broken yellow feathers scattered from her, tumbling over the cave. This pony hadn?t been airborne in a long time. She landed seconds later, a faint smile on her face. "I?m brave enough to try. What about you ponies?"
Phil returned the crystal to where he?d been hiding it before, painful though it was. None of their group would be able to escape scrutiny, but at least he wasn?t an "Element of Harmony."
They left moments later.
Phil and the ponies made their way down the dimly lit corridor, slinking along as quietly as possible. Moire took the lead, her bat wings spread wide to obstruct the view of the ponies behind them. Suddenly she halted, holding up a hoof. In the distance, heavy footsteps echoed through the stone tunnels.
"Guards coming this way," Moire whispered. "We need to hide, now!"
Phil?s pulse quickened. He scanned their surroundings, spotting a small alcove along the wall. "There!" he said, ushering the ponies inside. It was a tight squeeze, but they managed to conceal themselves just as two brutish guards rounded the corner.
The guards paused, sniffing the air. "Thought I smelled something down here."
Inside the alcove, the escapees held their breath. Fluttershy trembled against Phil, her soft whimpers muffled by Rarity?s hoof.
After a few agonizing moments, the guards moved on, continuing their slow circuit. "Must?ve been a rat," one of them grumbled. Their footsteps faded around the corner.
Phil exhaled sharply. He stumbled out of the alcove, stretching again. As they emerged from the alcove, Phil gave Fluttershy?s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "We?re going to make it," he whispered.
The yellow Pegasus managed a small, brave smile in return.
With adrenaline pumping through his veins, Phil pressed onward. He rounded the corner so fast that he didn?t see the pony waiting on its other side. Instead, he smacked into her, rattling off her metal armor. She was larger than any of his companions, but even in the armor only about the same size as he was.
She stumbled backward, splashing up to her forelegs in a stream of something that was definitely not water.
"Warden!" Moire squealed, so high he could barely understand her. But the intention was clear enough, along with her terror. He didn?t need telling twice, just broke into a gallop, leading the others along beside him.
The guards they had fooled waited only a few steps further, their spears already pointed in their direction. He glanced between them, considering his odds. No armor, no weapons, and those stone tips glittered deadly.
"Not only did we find our intruder," said a voice from behind him, crackling with angry energy. Or maybe that was the broken stump where her horn had been. "He attacked me. Guards, send these others back. I will have words with this one."
tf-sential
