A large rock slammed into the ground right in front of Echo.
"Gah!"
She dodged to the left and continued forward, an entrance to a tunnel straight ahead of her. Melon-sized rocks rained down all around, smashing into pieces as they hit the tiled floor.
"Echo!" yelled a voice to her right. A silver-clad pony was running alongside her.
"Speck—"
Echo was cut off as Speck leaped ahead of her, pushing her back and to the ground. She watched as Speck held the Keel Regalia upwards, flinching when a pony-sized boulder collided with her. The shield flashed a bright purple before repelling the rock away, eliciting a grunt from its holder.
Speck turned to Echo, offering a hoof.
"Let's go!" she ordered, helping her up and taking off for the exit. They were close to it now, but the falling ceiling seemed to approach them too quickly.
"Go, go!" Echo cried.
Only a meter away from the entrance, she dove forwards, colliding with Speck and sending them rolling into the tunnel. Mere inches behind them, a giant wall of rock slammed hard into the floor, blocking off access to the room.
The collision rung through the stone walls around them, echoing far down the tunnel, way out of their light's reach. For a few moments, the world spun, and the only sounds were the heavy panting from two bat ponies.
"Are... are you alright?" Speck groaned, slowly standing up. Echo shook her head and her head rung, reminding her of her first moments in the Trials.
"Yeah... I'm alright," she answered, opening her eyes. They were safe and in the tunnels, just in the nick of time. However, after the reverberating of her voice had faded, a little breath escaped her. The tunnels suddenly felt a little empty.
It was just her and Speck.
"No... no...!" She spun around and faced the imposing rock that blocked the way back.
"Echo..."
"Kah... no! This—" She weakly slammed an armoured hoof into the stone. "No! Aaah!"
She screamed, took a deep breath, and screamed harder, her vocal cords almost ripping. Her voice cracked and she thrashed her head in disbelief. It wasn't long until she was seething through her teeth.
Repeatedly, she hammered the rock with her hooves, trying to find a way back. She scurried the wall, hopeful to find a weak point but to no avail. The rocks, impossibly heavy, didn't budge.
"Mosina... Gloomie!" Sobs escaped her. "Night Watch!"
Her eyes reddened and tears streamed down her face. Her strikes turned into erratic flailing, until she slowly slumped to the floor in a crying heap.
All the while, Speck stepped back and gave her space, her head held low and laden with tears of her own.