Canary frowned at the stalactites before her. These aren't my stalactites. She looked right, but the sudden motion spurred a flash of pain, making her grit her teeth. Images of the fight flitted through her mind. It hurt nearly as much as her head. The last thing she remembered seeing was Echo fighting one-on-three, fighting for her life.
Canary stared at the door behind her and bit her lip. What happened to him‽ She could almost see him, shackled to the floor like her. It's all my fault. Whatever changeling voodoo he was doing would have saved us! We could have been free! Her gaze fell to the ground.
Those rays of light kept dancing in her mind's eye. She had never been so close to freedom, yet now it felt impossibly far away. I can't believe I messed it up. He's probably locked up as well now, or worse. If only I could have one more chance~
The door clicked.
Canary smiled, turning around. “Echo!”
The shadow spoke with a shaky voice. “No; he's been taken care of.”
Canary's body twitched in recognition. Iris stepped into the mossglow, revealing puffy red eyes. Though it looked like she had been crying, Canary knew Iris was incapable of such feelings.
“Don't worry, we haven't killed him. Since you wanted to be together so badly, we obliged. He's in the deepest corner of this dungeon under maximum security. He'll stay with you forever.”
Iris paced around Canary in a tight circle. “Your try at freedom makes me laugh. You thought you'd outsmart leatherwings by throwing a rock?” Her head jerked back as she let out a laugh. “Ha! We have the ears of a bat—we see with sound! Your distraction betrayed your position exactly!” Iris smirked at Canary's surprise.
“Since you're so hell-bent of flying, we've decided there's no other choice.” Iris unlocked Canary's wing restraint, letting it clatter to the floor.
Canary looked up at Iris in suspicion.
“You have one last chance to stretch your wings—as we remove them.” Only then did Canary notice the metal attachment on Iris's front hooves. The noctal guard stomped her hoof, springing the twin blades.
“No,” Canary whispered. “No, Please! You've tortured us enough! Let us be!”
Iris shook her head, frowning. “I'm afraid it's our only choice.”
Canary pulled in her left wing with all her strength, but Iris pinned it open, stretching it wide. She rested her blades on Canary's featherless nub and added, “Unless, of course, you can convince me of your loyalty to the Cloud.”
Canary winced as she felt the cold blade touch the skin of her left wing. Am I really going to give in to this? After all my resistance— Her breathing picked up pace. Feathers may grow back. But wings never will. “Please,” Canary begged.
Iris drew the blade over Canary's wing softly, just barely cutting through the skin. Through clenched teeth, Iris whispered her command.
“Beg.”
Canary clamped her eyes shut. “PLEASE!”
“BEG!”
Iris pulled the blade hard and Canary screamed at the severing sinews.
“I'LL DO ANYTHING! LET ME KEEP MY WINGS!”
After two heartbeats, Canary realized the blades had left her wings. She cracked opened her eyes.
Iris lay sideways on the ground with a large stone near her head. Canary squinted at the scene. How in the world—
In a flash of emerald flames, the rock on top of Iris turned into a familiar bug. “Anything?” Echo stepped off of the unconscious Iris and embraced Canary.
“Echo!” Canary sobbed into his shoulder as he held her close. “I'm so sorry! I should have listened to you!”
“I'm sorry I couldn't get here any faster.” Echo patted Canary's back. “You're fine. I'm here. Don't worry.”
Canary dared a look back at her wing. It was still attached, but it hung limp at her side. She tried to lift it, but her wing refused to move. “Echo… My wing.” Canary couldn't hold back her tears. “I—I can't move it!”
Echo gently lifted her her left wing, which twitched at his touch.
“Good. Your nerves are still attached. We should be able to heal it.”
Canary snorted in disbelief.
“No, really! The hive can—” Echo cut himself short and began prying off Canary's restraints for the second time. “Listen. We don't have time to quibble about this. You need to get going.”
“You mean 'we', right?”
Echo smiled and shook his head. “We'll need her though,” he said, gesturing towards Iris.
Canary's eyes narrowed and she began limping towards Iris. “You.” Without her restraints, she was finally free to get back at this nightmare incarnate. She aimed a kick straight at her head, but found herself on her back, staring into Echo's green eyes.
“Canary! What are you doing!”
“Get off me!” Canary struggled to push the changeling off of her, but her legs were far too weak.
“There's enough pain in this world already—don't be the cause of more.”
Canary glared at the changeling and struggled to escape from under him. “She's hurting people! Killing her won't make more pain—it will make less.”
Echo brought his nose up to Canary's. “Do not hurt her. Hurting others does not fix problems.”
“And ignoring problems makes them worse!”
Echo stared at Iris for a moment, then nodded to himself. “Okay. I've got a plan that should keep everyone alive and still get you out.”
Canary tilted her head. “Which is?”
Echo grinned. “Hysteria.”
« ~ »
Disguised as Iris, Echo banged on the dark wooden door and yelled: “Prisoners have escaped! Call for reinforcements!”
Right as the door slot opened, Canary pounced on Echo with a yell, throwing him out of the guard's view. From the other side of the door, they heard shouting and echoing hoofsteps. In a flash, Echo turned into a green beetle and squeezed through the door slot. A thud and a click later, the door opened, revealing Echo with a smug smile standing over an unconscious guard. “Right this way, miss.”
Canary stepped quickly over the fallen guard and into the maze. “You do realize I don't know the way out here, right?”
Echo frowned for a moment. “I forget how easily pegasi forget things.” His horn started to glow green. “While we do eat emotions, our true talent lies in redirecting them. I'm going to imprint my memories on you so you know where to go.” His horn now had tendrils of green magic snaking around it.
“But directions aren't an emotion.”
Echo shrugged. “Everything is an emotion, in one way or another. It's all the same for us.” A small frown crept onto his face. “I've never tried this with a non-changeling though…”
She opened her mouth to protest, but the light from Echo's horn was too bright: even when she squeezed her eyes shut green light flooded her vision.
Canary clenched her jaw. It felt like she'd been hit over the head with an atlas, and all its contents were being crammed into her mind at once. Images of the cave system attacked her mind like insects searching for a place to burrow.
“When you're going through the caves, you'll need to pay very close attention to the ideas that pass through your mind—you need to follow even the slightest push. Whenever you come to intersections close your eyes and try to visualize which path to go down. If you start feeling uneasy, backtrack and take the other route.”
Canary shook her head. “This is absolutely crazy.”
Echo gave a grim smile and pushed her on. “Come on, go! You need to be long gone before the reinforcements come.”
“But what are you going to do?”
Green flames engulfed Echo, changing him into an exact copy of Canary. “I've got this covered. Now go!”
Canary gave Echo a quick hug, then galloped into the caves.
Her head still throbbed from the information overload—she kept seeing flashes of Korporis, of its different guards, and of a mountain filled with holes. It was like a talent show with everyone on stage at once.
The first split approached, drawing her attention. Okay, she thought. Which way?
She tried to imagine herself going down a path and had a mental image of herself going down the left one.
Canary shook her head and went down the path. Absolutely crazy.
Not crazy, just aware.
Canary figured those were Echo's thoughts. What, is this telepathy?
Not telepathy—just emotions.
Canary frowned and picked up speed. She didn't like competing for the stage in her own mind.
At the next turn a similar image came to mind, this time with her going right. Canary frowned. This feels completely random. How can I know it's not just me making it up?
You know my voice.
The response sounded like her own voice, but was in Echo's cadence of speech. How is he going to escape? Canary searched her memories, but Echo had left out his escape plan, if he ever had one. She sighed.
After a few more turns, following the mental promptings became easier—Canary ran through the tunnels like a river taking its course.
Right! Left! Left! Sharp right! Straight!
« ~ »
As she approached her hundredth turn, a left turn came to mind. She started to head down the path, but she kept seeing herself slow down in her mind. Canary came to a halt and started backpedaling to reverse her choice. The same sinking feeling from before came to her heart, making her freeze in her tracks—she knew that feeling all too well.
So what do I do? She tried to imagine herself moving this way or that, but her mental self wouldn't budge—she practically had to push it to get it to move. Her frown deepened the longer it took for the image to solidify. Come on! Show me the way! She imagined herself moving forward, but each time she lifted her hoof, the sinking feeling returned.
It was then, at a full stop, that her ears perked up.
The sound was distant, but unmistakable: hoofsteps, directly ahead. Canary started to turn back when a crystal clear thought ran through her mind.
Keep going forwards.
The voice made her pause—it felt softer than her own voice, and it didn't feel quite like Echo's.
Are you crazy‽ she responded. That's where the noise is coming from!
Again, the voice urged her forwards.
Canary shook her head. I'm going insane.
Not insane, just aware.
She grimaced and moved forwards hesitantly, listening to the hoofsteps growing louder and louder. Another image came to mind when she saw something to her right: a small hole, barely larger than herself. Seriously‽ You want me to go up that‽
The third voice responded. Quickly!
Canary shook her head, pulled in her wings as tight as she could and wormed her way upwards. She gritted her teeth as her left wing brushed against the wall, biting down a scream—it still wasn't responding. As she climbed, the moss grew more and more sparse, leading into darkness.
After she had climbed what felt like the height of the previous cave, she felt the tunnel widen. She ran her left hoof against the wall, circling the larger cave. It was just short enough to demand she ducked her head to move around.
The hoofsteps grew louder, but no commands were coming to mind. She searched the room desperately, looking for any hint of an exit. Oh please be a way out, Canary thought to herself. She could already feel her heart rate picking up from being in the cramped space. Echo! Where are you when I need you‽
You're safe up here, said the third voice. Just a few more seconds.
The pounding hooves reached a climax. Canary felt a second exit to the room, and after three heartbeats felt her heart leap. I'll take that as a 'go'.
Canary wormed her way down the vent, pressing as much as she could to the right. Light appeared ahead, opening into a new hallway. The hoofsteps were now faded into the distance.
Right.
Canary didn't care where the instructions came from—they'd led her here and they'd lead her out. She pressed upwards through the caves until she noticed the cave getting damp. Her ears perked up at a new noise.
Is that… rain?