Ferkó, Starlight, and the others hurriedly moved as far away from the cell as possible. The corridors were dark, with empty torch holders and cell doors lining the walls. Ferkó, with his magical eyes, could see quite well, while Starlight used her horn to illuminate the way. However, Smolder and Ocelus had to rely on following Starlight's horn. Suddenly, the group came to a halt when they heard crying from the cell next to them. The cell was pitch-black, with two shadows inside, a unicorn and another pegacorn. Starlight cast light into the cell, and their breaths caught. Ocelus and Smolder were also startled, and Ferkó immediately tried to open the door. The whitish-green unicorn and the brown pegacorn were from Starlight's memory.
After a few minutes, Starlight finally managed to speak. "Sweetie Belle, Phinix Eyes, what happened to you?" she asked, tears in her eyes, defying the cuts and the searingly hot horn cuffs.
"H-help," they said weakly, their voices barely audible.
Ferkó immediately began using his powers and summoned a creature made entirely of water and ice. It slowly started to cool down the iron cuffs. Meanwhile, Smolder disintegrated the iron door that separated them. Starlight rushed over and started using healing magic on the two foals, murmuring incantations until some of their wounds were healed. The two foals almost immediately collapsed to the ground as the magic no longer supported them, and their eyes slowly closed.
Suddenly, two guards appeared, a rainbow-maned blue pegasus and a black-maned blue unicorn. Starlight conjured a large shield to hide them, preventing them from being discovered.
"What is this?" Ferkó asked as he removed the still-hot horn cuffs from their horns.
Starlight sighed heavily. "These are mind-breakers. When a unicorn resists a spell, they can be broken with this, thanks to the dark magic within. As soon as they give up the fight, it rewrites the unicorn's mind based on the magic inside them. The heat only intensifies the suffering that comes with it. Falling asleep with one of these on your head is like a death sentence to free will. They're almost cold compared to what Celestia used. Fortunately, we made it in time."
Ferkó was shocked but didn't question Starlight. He took out his knife again and went towards the foals while holding his largest knife.
"Wait, what are you planning?" Starlight asked, visibly irritated.
"Calm down, Starlight. If something burns too much, the best thing you can do is cool the area being burned. Since the golem would melt quickly if I did that, I'm going to use my knife to cool them down unless you have a handkerchief and cold water with you," Ferkó explained nervously.
Starlight and Ocellus kept watch while Smolder and Ferkó were occupied with the two unfortunate foals.
"Well, let's look on the bright side; if we manage to save them from brainwashing, we'll have six instead of four," Smolder said proudly.
"Seven," Ferkó corrected.
"Seven? How?" the others asked unanimously.
"Well, there's a young-looking pegasus nearby, and..." Ferkó suddenly felt a pressure as if someone were pushing him or trying to shut him up, like a bad cart.
"Scootaloo, give me back the coin," came the voice from the white unicorn's mouth, sounding quiet but clear.
The unicorn struggled and kicked. Starlight quickly went over and comforted the young unicorn.
"Hehehe, Sweetie Belle, everything's fine, shhh," she soothed the young unicorn.
The sun was descending from the sky, and the moon was rising again, making the prison even darker than it had been. Starlight quickly extinguished the magical torch she had used, and soon, only Ferkó could see in the pitch-black labyrinthine prison.
"I suggest you get some sleep, and I'll keep watch," Ferkó said while giving an anxious glance to Starlight, who appeared to be quite hungry.
"No, if we fall asleep... Ocellus started, shivering.
"Look, Ferkó, this is very kind of you, but all three of us have curses on us. If we fall asleep, the nightmares will be worse than the worst things we've ever dreamt of. Starlight said kindly but sadly.
At that moment, Ferkó had an idea. "Dusu, open my wings," he said, and soon, he was in his peacock-like outfit, with a feather he conjured into a lamp-like being.
"What is this?" Ocellus asked. "This is Drowse, a sleep-eater. If it detects sleep, it will devour it immediately. So, you can sleep peacefully."
"Wow, that's an interesting approach," Ocellus said and, using some textbooks as pillows from Ferkó's bag, soon went to rest. Soon, the others also made similar beds, except for Ferkó, who finally had time to think and eat.
The story continues...