//------------------------------// // The Escape // Story: Banished Shadows // by Intercollision //------------------------------// Chapter Six: The Escape The constant beeping of the medical equipment kept time with Applejack's pacing. She walked back and forth before the bed where her friend lay, mumbling worriedly to herself. Rarity stood off the side looking back over her shoulder at the door through which Twilight had just left. Rarity wasn’t entirely comfortable with Twilight leaving, but she couldn’t see any other options. Somepony had to stay with Rainbow Dash, and somepony had to go back to Ponyville, she just hoped Twilight would be okay in those dreadful tunnels. Rarity turned her attention to the two jumpsuit-clad ponies standing alert in the corner. Rarity opened her mouth, nothing came out, so she closed it. After a moment she tried again, addressing what she thought looked like the friendlier pony, “That’s a very chic outfit...Slingshot, was it?” “Private Slingshot,” the chestnut pony said in a husky voice, “and thank you ma’am.” “Yes, Private Slingshot, of course. You know, with the right color and proper stitching I’m sure the whole ensemble would be just radiant. I’d be happy to make some alterations for you.” The pony turned to face her squarely, the barest hint of a smile tugging at the edge of his mouth. “Thank you for the offer ma’am, but I fear radiant colors might not make the best camouflage.” “Ah, yes, I see what you mean.” Rarity sighed, So much for making friends. She made no further attempts at conversation, and once again the only sounds in the room were those of the equipment and Applejack’s pacing. The machines beeped, Applejack paced, the machines beeped, Applejack paced, the machines beeped— “I can’t take it anymore!” Applejack burst out. “All this waiting, I’m going stir-crazy, and why hasn’t Rainbow Dash woke yet like you said she would?” Private Slingshot glanced at Private Recoil who stepped forward. “I know it must be frustrating,” she said in a light voice that sounded as wispy as her mane looked, but had a distinctly refined quality to it nonetheless. Applejack opened her mouth to say something but Slingshot spoke smoothly over her, “I also know that you're worried, but pacing won’t help your friend. Perhaps you would prefer to get something to eat, or some rest. The med-techs are doing everything they can and they’ll  have more information in a few hours. Wearing yourself out with worry won’t help anypony.” Applejack scowled for a moment before her expression softened to one of exhaustion. She nodded slowly. “Yeah, yeah I s’ppose you’re right. I didn’t mean to snap, I’m all wound up and tired at the same time. I am awful hungry.” “That’s perfectly understandable,” Recoil said and turned to face Rarity. “Would you also care for something to eat?” Rarity hesitated, glancing back at Rainbow Dash and the various tubes and wires connected to her. “Don’t worry,” Recoil continued, “Private Slingshot will stay and look after her. He will let you know if there’s any change.” Rarity paused a moment longer, she knew there was nothing more she could do to help Rainbow Dash, but she couldn’t help but feel anxious. Still, she was hungry as well, and it was probably a good idea for her to be fed and rested when Rainbow Dash awoke, as she would probably need a lot more help then. “Alright,” Rarity said at last, “lead the way.” She followed Private Recoil and Applejack out to the room, casting a glance back at Rainbow Dash before the door swung shut, blocking her view. *     *     * The intercom on the desk buzzed and a steel hoof reached out and pushed the button. “Yes?” Shandly's voice crackled over the speaker, “You asked to be informed when the pony with the wing implants was alone, general.” “So I did. I take it she is now alone?” “Yes, sir.” “Excellent, tell the med-techs to examine her wing implants as quickly as they can. If possible they should only use non-invasive means, but if necessary they have my authorization to perform exploratory surgery or even remove the implants.” “Yes sir, I’ll tell them right away.” And with that, the intercom clicked off. General Ironlegs sat back in his chair, his brow furrowing. Examining the wing implants was a risk. Strictly speaking, he should have reported to the council on first encountering the strange ponies, and the possible fatal medical examination of a prisoner was something that, technically, only the council could sanction. If the implants were damaged, or the pony died during examination, the council would have his hide. However, the implants themselves raised too many questions.Wing implants just didn’t make sense, but once the council found out about them there would be so much red tape that the general would be long dead before such questions could even be asked. Sure, the council was likely to react poorly when they learned he’d unilaterally decided to examine the implants, but if could present some convincing data about how they worked, and more importantly why, he would probably receive no more than a perfunctory slap on the haunch. Combine that with the information Major Tyrrsan would hopefully provide, and he might even be able to persuade the council to give him permission for a new campaign. The constant attacks and increasing casualties were having a demoralizing effect on his troops. A new offensive campaign with a clear goal would be just the thing to reinvigorate them. Even if the outsider pony died on the table he had three others, so all in all the general  felt that the potential rewards were well worth the risks. *     *     * Private Recoil chatted amiably with Applejack as Rarity followed them down the corridor. They had just finished their meal—if that gruel could be considered a meal—and Recoil was showing them to rooms where they could get some sleep. Rarity hadn’t been able to eat much, her stomach was still churning with anxiety. Although Recoil had been nothing but polite and talkative while they ate, Rarity noticed that she deftly steered the conversation away from anything related to the tunnels, instead encouraging Applejack to go into great detail about her life on the farm. In fact, Applejack was just now rambling on about  the differences between red and green apples, but Rarity could hardly listen. This whole place felt wrong, and it wasn’t just the decor. Everypony she passed seemed happy enough, although the various metal pieces that some had covering, or in place of, parts of their bodies made her shudder. Beneath the smiles there seemed to be an undercurrent of tension that made her nerves twitch; it was impossible to relax for even a second in this place, and she was not looking forward to attempting sleep. The sooner there were all back above ground, the better. “Here we are,” Recoil’s light voice chimed, “your rooms for the remainder of your stay.” “Excuse me, Private Recoil,” Rarity broke in a little tentatively, “would you be so kind as to show me to the little fillies’ room?” Recoil looked back at Rarity with a smile, but the reflective glass in the place of her eyes robbed it of any warmth. “I would be happy to. Applejack, if you’d wait here, we’ll return shortly. This way.” Rarity walked briskly beside Recoil down the empty corridor until she stopped a few dozen meters from where Applejack could still be seen standing. Recoil gestured to a door. “Here we are.” “Thank you, won’t be a moment,” Rarity said, closing the door behind her. The room was cramped but functional, and she quickly moved to the sink and splashed water on her face. Feeling marginally better, Rarity took a moment to lament that lake of a proper grooming facility; her hair would be a wreck before too long. Rarity shut off the faucet, and in the new silence she heard  a mumble of voices from the corridor outside. Carefully, Rarity pressed her ear to the door and listened intently. “—waiting over there, the other is in the latrine here.” Recoli’s voice was muffled by the door, but still intelligible. “Excellent,” a deep, bass rumble answered, “the general has just given the med-techs the go-ahead to examine the other’s wing implants. Our other two guests are to be put in rooms with exterior access only, understood?” “Yes, sergeant.” “After you finish your task you may turn in. That is all.” “Sir!” Rarity heard the receding thumping of hoofbeats, and backed quickly away from the door, almost colliding with the sink. Her mind raced, she wanted to bolt out of this place and just keep running until she found sunlight again. Get ahold of yourself! she chided, Rainbow Dash was clearly in trouble. The first thing she needed to do was make sure Recoil didn’t suspect she knew anything. Composing herself she stepped back into the corridor. Recoil looked up and gave her a flat smile. “Feeling better?” Rarity smiled back as genuinely as she could, “Much, thank you,” and strode with Recoil back down the corridor towards what was to be her prison. Rarity focused on keeping a tight rein on her panic, trying desperately to think of a plan. And then they were there, with Recoil gesturing Applejack through an open door. Rarity wasn’t sure how they’d managed to arrive so quickly, but she was forced to abandon any pretense at a plan. Time seemed to slow, Applejack appearing to move at a snail’s pace towards the room. Without thinking, Rarity leapt forward and slammed into Recoil, sending her sprawling into the empty room. Rarity spun and kicked the door shut with an echoing crash. “What in tarnation is wrong with you!” Applejack yelled as a pounding began on the other side of the now closed door. Rarity turned, wide-eyed, to face Applejack. “It’s Rainbow Dash, she’s in trouble.” Applejack’s expression hardened, “Why didn’t you say so?” and she bolted off down the corridor, Rarity close behind. They dashed through the corridors, Applejack bowling over anypony who got in the way, cries of surprise and anger trailing after them. Rarity hoped Applejack knew where she was going, because she couldn't keep track of where anything was in this place. A few twists and turns later and there they were, standing before Rainbow Dash’s door. Applejack fung  the door open and saw four ponies in white masks and coats hunched around Rainbow Dash’s bed. The ponies turned in unison at the commotion, one began to yell angrily. A pale glow surrounded Rarity’s horn and the four ponies found themselves pinned against the far wall by an invisible force and an ethereal glow. Applejack walked cautiously to Rainbow Dash’s bedside, “I ain’t quite sure if it’s safe to unhook her from all this—” A klaxon howled to life, echoing harshly in the tight passageway. Applejack glanced up worriedly for a second. “Aw, to heck with it!” and with that, she lifted Rainbow Dash out of the bed and slung her onto her back. When Rainbow Dash was secure—a few snapped wires still dangling from her temples—Applejack hollered over the din of the alarm, “Let’s get out of here!” Rarity nodded curtly, released the white-clad ponies, and darted back into the corridor. The two ponies and the unconscious Rainbow Dash ran back through the labyrinthine passageways towards where they had first entered; Rarity knew where that was, at least. They rounded a corner and there before them, practically filling the entire corridor, was the massive crimson pony, his metal teeth glinting as he grinned wickedly. “Where do you think you’re going?” he drawled in a deep, bass voice which Rarity instantly recognized. Without breaking stride, the glow surrounded Rarity’s horn again—while she may not be the prodigy Twilight was, she could certainly take care of herself. With a startled cry, Sergeant Sawtooth floated in front of Rarity, acting as a living battering ram as they ran, sending anypony that got in their way bouncing off his broad shoulders. They made their way in this fashion to the entrance corridor where Rarity launched Sawtooth towards the guards at the door. The lot of them tumbled off down the passageway in a groaning heap. The glow that had surrounded Sawtooth now focused on the door as Rarity tried desperately to work the locking mechanism. With a screech of grinding metal, the heavy steel bars which anchored the door shut retracted from the wall towards the center of the door until Rarity could push it open. Back in the funnel shaped corridor, Rarity galloped full-tilt away from the door and then turned off into one of the dark side-tunnels, Applejack right on her tail and the sounds of pursuit not much further behind. Navigating solely by the light of her horn, Rarity continued turning randomly down dilapidated, trash-strewn corridors until the sounds of their pursuers were lost behind her. Rarity slowed to a walk, and then collapsed, too exhausted to heed the filth in the passage. Applejack set Rainbow Dash down gently on the floor before flopping down next to Rarity, panting hard. When her panting slowed Applejack turned to Rarity asking, “Well, now what?” For the second time that day, Rarity didn’t have an answer.