Chapter 28: Jailbreak
~ April 20th, 1020 ME ~
‘2:22am‘
When Cadance arrived in Ponyville with emergency medical response teams, Luna had only found a few ponies still alive and in need of attention. Big McIntosh, Bon Bon, and Lucky Clover were among them. Good ponies had died tonight. Ponyville locals like Thunderlane and Dr. Hooves were gone. Sunshower and Clear Skies from Cloudsdale were gone. More than half of Luna's guard was gone, while another portion was unaccounted for.
The scene that surrounded the first responders was difficult to handle. Luna had already moved her citizens that had perished in combat to a place where they could be given to their families for a proper burial and helped treat some of the more life-threatening injuries of the remaining survivors. Cadance didn't hesitate to approach Luna with her concerns, a stone-faced expression currently hiding all her emotions. "Luna, I stopped feeling my connection with Shining on our way here... Where is my husband!"
"We can't access the dreams of a single missing pony either. I've already tried contacting them. I'm still as much in the dark as you are, other than he was taken by changelings and diamond dogs through underground tunnels. That's all I know."
"Well then let's go after them! Why are we still here? We have to get them back!"
"We have a changeling following them as we speak. We-"
"You're trusting the same creatures that stole my love to save his life?!"
"Second Chance if you would explain please." A forest green earth pony mare that Cadance hadn't noticed stepped up beside Luna.
"Certainly Your Majesty! Celestia sent one of my siblings to every major town in the country. My brother Dust was in Ponyville. He managed to slip into the changeling ranks as they retreated and is keeping us all updated on his findings. Currently he is deep below the everfree forest. Tirek drained the magic of every captured pony, and your husband is among them. The next several hours will be used to find an easy escape route and gather information, all while hopefully remaining discreet enough to avoid being found out."
"I'm Sorry Cadance... I know this is especially hard on you but rushing in would not end well. The best thing you could do for Shining now is call in the Crystal guard. I know they don't often leave the empire but given the circumstances it might be wise. If Equestria falls, you know as well as I that the crystal empire would be forced into hiding again.
Location: Unknown
Time: Unknown
While a majority of the prisoners were spending their time trying to find comfortable enough positions to remain asleep for more than a few minutes, Chase was preparing to start one of the largest games of telephone ever. What could possibly go wrong in communicating his plan? Using a game designed to leave a message scrambled by the time the last person or pony heard it was great! Specifically, because part of the game would keep suspicion down from the guards that there was an escape plan in the works, and the other part would create a little intended chaos among the captured ponies. If everypony remained calm, it would actually work against what he needed to do.
Before the fun could begin, Chase needed to collect a few things and get the conversations rolling. Standing up from where he had been seated by Spike, Chase made his way over to a group of young mares that had been in captivity since before he had arrived. The three he was walking towards started to whisper amongst each other as they saw him approach. Perfect! "Excuse me ladies, how would you like to help everypony get out of here?" The three friends looked at Chase a little funny. The most confident of the group, a pony with a vermilion coat decided to be the first to respond.
"Sorry for my rudeness but... what are you?" She spoke with what reminded Chase of a New York accent. It was a little weird to hear on a pony, but he quickly recovered.
"I'm a human, and a friend to the princesses. I have a way for us all to escape. All I would need from you is one of your hairpins, and for you to start passing on some messages while I get a few other things. Can you do that?"
"We could do that. Anything to get out! We've been here for 3 days already with nothing but water. The Changeling's come to feed every morning... at least I think they come in the morning, it's hard to say. They will probably be around in a few hours.
"Well, we will just have to leave before then, won't we? The first thing I want you guys to start spreading around is simply this: We're getting out tonight. Don't leave anypony behind. Help those that can't help themselves. I know ponies have a herd mentality so it shouldn't be a problem, but I really need everypony to stick together if we're all going to make it through this."
The three girls all looked between each other again, silently communicating. This time it was a sapphire blue unicorn that responded. "We are pretty desperate to get out of here, and this is the first conversation we've heard about an actual plan, so I guess what I'm saying is... We're in. What do you need the pin for?"
"To pick the lock? Haven't you ever heard of picking a lock with a hairpin? It happens in Harry Potter for crying out loud!" All Chase got were blank confused looks. "Which of course you haven't heard of. Silly me..."
"Picking a lock without magic?" The blue one asked.
"Yeah, I had a lot of free time growing up to learn strange skills like lockpicking and Rubik's cubes. Hands are pretty good for tasks that take fine movement like that."
"Here you are." Chase received the needed item.
"You ladies wouldn't happen to know anypony here who is good with directions and navigation do you?"
"We barely know anypony, besides a few recognizable faces from Manehattan. We’ll keep our eyes open for you though."
"Alright, thanks again! I'll be back." Chase moved on to obtaining the second item on his priority list. Walking back over to Spike he crouched down and shook the young dragon awake.
"Five more minutes."
"Sorry Spike, this can't wait. I've started planning our escape. I have an important role for you. How sharp are those claws of yours?"
"Strong enough to cut through some pretty solid stuff if that's what you're asking. I've used them on numerous occasions to dig gems up for... Rarity." Spike said the name of the fashionista with a little longing in his voice.
"Great! I need you to get me a couple of the sharpest crystals you can dig out of these cave walls and a long blunt one, preferably without drawing too much attention to yourself. Do it as far from the entrance as you can."
"Is there anything else?"
"Nope, that will do it. Just ignore whatever sounds you hear from ponies, and when you've got them, leave them over there by that wall." Chase pointed to a craggy wall adjacent to the door of the cavern. Spike, now having been given a task, walked briskly towards the far wall. He was a dragon on a mission, leaving Chase by himself again with the unconscious form of Shining Armor close by.
His plan was divided into three parts: extraction, navigation and security. Currently he felt good about everything excluding navigation. If they were lost underground, they would be easily recaptured, and the efforts would be all for not. The only solution he could come up with was to rely on a pony that had been good at navigation before losing their cutie mark. It wasn't a great bet, but somepony had to have been conscious when they were dragged in and therefore recall some idea of where they went along the way. Chase went from pony to pony finding almost all of them either wouldn't talk with him, couldn't recall much, or had been knocked out.
For the most part, most of the ponies were acting rather helpless without their cutie marks. It was hard to imagine there was a time in their childhood before they discovered them due to how attached they were to it. Having talked to at least a hundred ponies with no success there was no reason to believe the red pegasus he approached next would have any useful information or skills.
"Hey, my name is Chase. I have a means for us to break out of here. You wouldn't happen to remember how you were brought down here, or a way back to the surface would you?"
"If I did, would you tell me your plan?" Chase perked up at this answer in the form of a question. It wasn't exactly what he was looking for, but he had already felt like this was better progress than with most of the others he had talked to.
"Absolutely, but I need you to give me more confirmation before I share. Changelings are going to be taking more love in less than an hour if some of the others are to be believed. Ponies are losing willpower by the second. We can't afford to waste time if you can't help."
"I was brought in after being 'beaten' in the battle in Ponyville several hours ago. I walked here willfully after giving myself up to the changeling army. My name is Dust Bowl."
"You have an incredible poker face, I'll give you that much... but you're lying. Every pony I have talked to from the latest battle was brought in unconscious. There hasn't been a single exception to that."
"Impressive observation... Fine if you want the truth, you must swear on Celestia that you won't share my identity."
"I'll do you one better... I'll make you a pinkie promise! I was told all about it by Pinkamena Pie at my welcome to Ponyville party and if you don't know the consequences of breaking one, she says that "losing a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend-""
"FOREVER!" Chase jumped a little at the surprising sound of the party pony. He couldn't see Pinkie Pie anywhere, but her voice still echoed through the room he was in.
"HEY, KEEP IT DOWN IN THERE!" The changelings posted out front of the cell were not really paying attention to what was going on inside, but they still reacted to the noise. Chase was happy to hear the guard was paying attention.
"Well yes... forever. Now I promise to not share your identity. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Alright now do you want to get out of here or not?"
"I've been trying to figure out the best steps moving forward since I got here. I want out, but I'm the only one that's actually supposed to be here. I didn't lie about how I got in. I'm a changeling. I walked in here on my own free will when I followed the group carrying the latest prisoners in. I knew if I followed the drones after that, they would head straight to Chrysalis. She would recognize me as an impostor instantly and would've had me executed. I was supposed to be collecting information on the enemies' plans, but instead I played the coward and saved myself by sneaking to a dark corner of this room and transforming into a blank flank pony. I have the ear of the princesses right now, but I can't bring myself to tell them that I'm trapped like the rest of you."
"Hold up... You're a changeling... You work for the Princesses... You still have your magic... And you know how to get out?"
"Yeah, that's about right." Dust looked rather depressed sharing this news, evidently embarrassed to be failing his mission, but to Chase this was incredible news.
"Now it's my turn. I'm a human that can crack the lock to this cell in less than a minute, my hands are well suited for both fine work and fighting, and I'm good friends with Princess Twilight as well as other major figures in Equestria. I also have been told by Discord that I may very well be the key to ending this crisis. So, what do you say... Want to help get these ponies home?"
"What?"
"I said-"
"No, I know what you said. I just wasn't privy to that information. Never heard of a hue-man before. I know the way back to Ponyville, but we wouldn't make it halfway with this group before they catch up to us."
"That's hardly surprising, but considering you can transform, that will be even easier to deal with now."
"Here's what I want you to do..." Chase began explaining the entire escape plan to the changeling spy and picked up the crystal chunks from Spike. Then returning to the three friends from before, he prepared his next piece of gossip for the game of telephone to spread.
"In a few minutes I want you to start telling everypony this: You can help us escape by making some noise. Stomp your hooves, yell at the walls, yell at the guards, whatever you think will make a scene."
Chase and Dust waited up against the wall on either side of the door opposite the guards, but out of sight from the entryway. There were two posted by the door and one on the wall farthest from it. Spike now waited beside Chase, and they had brought Shining to lay nearby again. His heart was still beating, but he still had not awoken from the battle. From a distance, Chase saw the mares he had talked to stand up and spread out. After each one had talked with their first individual, one of the three they spoke with started throwing rocks at a wall and yelling random insults. The others seemed less receptive, choosing not to react wildly, but one of them stomped around a little. This was perfectly ok with Chase. He didn't plan on everypony getting involved and if they did it would look too organized anyway.
The three friends continued on, but some ponies followed the yelling ponies lead and let out their frustrations without being told to. Rioting was spurring more chaos, and the door guards began to react. "Quiet Down!" A few ponies backed off, but the energy didn't falter as a few more joined in. "Calm down or we will get the queen to make you all wish you had!" It was certainly a good threat, but Chase knew they would fall into his trap any minute. Guards always felt superior and overconfident when dealing with prisoners they viewed as helpless. From what he had learned, a pony without a cutie mark would always be viewed as helpless.
"Alright that's it! Time to make you shut up." The two changelings closest to the door opened it, stepped inside, and closed it behind them. Both of their horns were glowing green, and the third changeling now stood in front of the door on the outside, watching the proceedings. Chase had been hoping all three would come in, but they had still prepared for this.
Springing up from his hiding place, Chase brought the blunt crystal Spike had provided down like a club on the changeling's head. At the same time Dust's hooves collided with the back of the other changeling. They were both out cold. Next, the red unicorn swung around to face the guard that had just begun moving away from the door and fired a stun spell at him. Chase had requested that he take the form of a unicorn, arguing the tactical advantage of unicorn magic was too much to pass up. Dust had agreed with little resistance.
The ponies that had been creating an uproar quickly quieted down upon seeing the action by the door. Some looked slightly afraid from seeing the violence, but a new sense of resolve entered the prisoners now that they had seen the first stages of the plan succeed. Having little idea what would happen next the ponies with the strength to do so started moving over towards the doorway, much to Chase's annoyance. He was trying to focus his attention entirely on adjusting the pin in the lock and wasn't in a good place to lead the ponies that had assembled around him. They were all crowding too close trying to see what was going on. Fortunately, Dust stepped in to help at the right time.
"ALRIGHT EVERYPONY LISTEN UP! THE DOOR WILL BE OPEN IN THIRTY SECONDS AND IT WON'T BE MORE THAN THREE MINUTES BEFORE CHRYSALIS ARRIVES. SHE WILL HAVE FELT THE DISTURBANCE FROM HER GUARDS. IF YOU'RE ABLE, GRAB AN INJURED PONY AND FOLLOW ME. THERE WILL BE NO TIME FOR SLOWING DOWN OR QUESTIONS! THAT MEANS WHATEVER I OR HE SAYS GOES." (Dust pointed at Chase). "IF I SAY STOP YOU STOP!" Dust mentally went through his memory of the directions one last time and stood at the front of the gathered ponies. 25% of the prisoners were now on the backs of other ponies, with a lot of the lifting being done by earth ponies. Although they didn't have their magic, they still tended to have the most naturally built-up muscles out of the tribes.
Just then the lock clicked, and the door was pushed open. "GOT IT! GO DUST! I'LL TAKE UP THE BACK! YOU KNOW THE PLAN!" Chase stepped to the side as ponies began galloping through. He grabbed the limp Shining Armor grunting a little at the weight, but not changing his mind about personally taking the responsibility of protecting Twilights brother. It took over a minute for everypony to get through the door which was only wide enough for two ponies to go through at a time, but soon Chase was running out himself with Spike still staying beside him and the captain slung over his shoulder.
The tunnel shook with all the sets of hooves making their way through it. The escapees were all dead quiet now besides the sounds of their running and breathing. Up ahead Chase heard Dust give the command for everypony to stop. When he reached the first fork in the tunnel where they had congregated, there was a diamond dog blocking the way. Except he wasn't actually blocking the way, he was directing everypony into the left tunnel like a traffic marshal. Chase moved to the left tunnel and watched as Dust used the claws he had acquired to loosen the rocks above this intersection. Just like they had planned Chase gave the command for everypony to keep moving and Dust returned to being a unicorn. Dust blasted a shot of magic at the cracks in the ceiling and ran away as soon as the mana left his horn. Rocks began to fall, one after another in the spot where the damage had been done. Without looking back, Dust slowly worked his way back up to the front of the group, the entire intersection caving in behind him.
One of the details he had purposefully kept secret from even Chase was that they had several miles left of underground travel. Chances were good that the one cave-in wouldn't hold pursuers off for long. Chase had made sure Dust communicated with the princesses that they were coming, but unless they could somehow meet in the middle, some ponies wouldn't make it. Dust made it back up to the front and they continued their pace for a good while, everypony just following the one in front of them to avoid falling behind.
Being in the back and having been known for being a cross country runner, Chase could feel when the pace of the ponies in front of him began to slow down. While he was trying to keep up the pace, the weight of Shining Armor was starting to take its toll on both his shoulder and his legs. One blessing that doubled as a curse was that the clothes he was wearing before teleporting to Equestria returned when Tirek stole his magic, except he hadn't been wearing shoes, so his feet were getting battered on the rough stones. He also felt like he could hear more steps coming from behind him then in front. Although he hadn't seen anyone behind him, he kept feeling at any moment now they would be chased down and overrun. The changelings were the wolves, and they were the prey.
Chase was pretty sure they were a few miles into running now. Along the way Spike had started to fall behind on his tiny legs, so he was currently riding the pony just in front of Chase. Chase glanced behind him on a straight stretch and saw light glowing around the previous bend. Picking up his pace was doable, but to risk leaving another behind in the process didn't feel right. Forcing a confrontation also seemed like a bad idea. The weapons he had Spike make him could be swung like daggers, but not against a swarm of changelings and whatever else was closing in. Shining began to stir a little on Chase's shoulder eliciting a groan. Not the best timing but at least it meant he wasn't in a comatose state.
Every fifty meters or so Chase glanced back. The light was getting brighter. A choice would have to be made... maybe he could stay behind and buy time for the others, but he wouldn't escape with his life, and he couldn't risk the life of Shining Armor either. Looking back again to get a sense for how much time they had left, he was met with a surprise. The light he had seen previously completely winked out. Chase stumbled a little bit at the drop in lighting, but he continued ahead. Dust was now the only source of light, and the sounds that were trailing him were no longer present. The cause was a mystery. Chase could only wonder if he would ever figure out what happened.
Twenty minutes passed with Chase glancing back every so often out of fear. He kept waiting to see the cave light up behind him, but it didn't. Barely a word had been spoken by anypony since they left the cell, but Dust once again broke the silence. "We just left the everfree. Congratulations everypony! Welcome to Ponyville!" Dust had a lot more energy than the rest of the lot, but the gathered ponies still found enough for a little cheer in celebration. They finally stopped running when they saw a dead end up ahead. Dust transformed into a diamond dog for a second time and began digging through the wall finding it to be very thinly filled in. His claw breached the surface and exposed the outside world. The first signs of morning light shone into the cave.
Dust carved out enough earth for the ponies to get through and worked his way out of the cave taking a big breath of the fresh air filled with morning dew. The greeting committee that awaited him wasn't very welcoming, however. He was staring at two angry alicorns that thought he was a diamond dog. He quickly did away with his disguise returning to his default state, before the next pony behind him even made it above ground. "Dust Bowl at your service your majesty. Every prisoner has escaped without a single loss." At the same time as Dust was trying to keep his cool and identify himself, ponies started streaming out of the tunnel. Cadance had her eyes fixed on the changeling, but Luna noticed the exhausted ponies stepping out from the hole the changeling had just made.
"Cadance stand down." Luna couldn't believe it. Dust had said that he was helping the captives escape, but she had doubted his ability to get them out without being caught. "Should we be expecting a fight?"
"No Princess. We were followed, but they dropped off mysteriously. There's been no sign of them for a while."
"Thank you, Dust. I await a full report on your espionage and prison break. You will be recognized and rewarded for your services. I hope ponies begin to see that it is possible for us to live together, when changelings aren't following a corrupt dictator."
Cadance looked at every pony that surfaced, continuing to await the sign of her husband. Ponies kept streaming through, but not a single one to this point was a white stallion with a blue mane. First responders had wasted no time in hurrying over to check on every pony that had been rescued. It was no surprise as to why. Every single one of them had lost their cutie mark, and had their colors begin to fade. A good number were also being carried, with clear signs of battle injuries. Cadance was feeling more anxious then ever waiting for her love. She felt incomplete without him. She did notice Spike coming through on the back of an earth pony, but where was Shining Armor?!
Suddenly she saw a creature with the strangest proportions make its way out of the hole. On its shoulder was the stallion she had been waiting for. She flew right at the tall figure ready to save her husband from its clutches. It turned its head and locked eye with her, opening its mouth to speak. "He's all yours." She knew that voice. She had heard it recently too...
"Blazing?" She said, confused. She slowed up and glided down right in front of him, the biped setting her husband down gently before her. "He needs medical attention immediately. The changelings brought him in with what appears to be a broken rib and leg. He may not be out of the woods yet if there's any internal bleeding going on. He hasn't spoken but I think he's awake. m' sorry."
"Sorry? You carried my husband back to me! Thank you Blazing! I owe you more than I can ever repay!" She expected him to respond, but he instead collapsed to a sitting position. Chase hadn't realized how exhausted he was until he had set Shining Armor down. He had known his body ached, but he wasn't prepared to practically fall over. Cadance already looked incredibly concerned about her husband's injuries, but now she looked even more so. "Are you alright?"
"m' fine, just haven't slept in 24 hours. Don't worry bout me, just take care of Shiny." Chase felt himself laying back right in the middle of the street with his eyes closing against his will. Any other day and place this would have been weird, but 'when in Ponyville' as they say. Chase's eyes completely closed, and he was out like a light.
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Good chapter!
good chapter.
looking forward to Twilight seeing him as a human