Chapter 4: Escape

I quickly outlined my idea to Rainpetal and she agreed it sounded plausible. But she still had some doubts.

“What if we can’t get enough pegasi to join in? What if it’s too small a distraction? What if it doesn’t work? What if…”

“WHOA! Hold on there, friend! You can’t dwell on the what ifs for two reasons. One, you get stuck on what could happen, instead of working to fix the things that secure victory. And two, sometimes you have to forge ahead on a plan, relying on nothing more than your skills, intellect, and a good dose of luck. Not to mention it’s a severe waste of time”

“I suppose you’re right. I’ll start pulling pegasi.”

I nodded and she began trotting up to the captives, whispering into their ears. I couldn’t hear what was being said, but knew it was going to plan.

How I missed pulling off my genius schemes. There was one time, I was still a weanling, but I decided I wanted to fly. Now, according to Herd rules, weanlings can’t fly higher than the trees. The call of the sky was too strong for me to resist. So, I ventured into a pasture that was seemingly empty and flew. But one of the other mares caught me. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy and neither were my parents.

Next day, I devised a plot. I asked Sandwing to give the whole herd a demonstration on food foraging. Especially the younger foals. This wouldn’t have worked in any other situation, if it weren’t for the fact that there were quite a large amount of pegasi born this season. And quite a few were similar in my looks.

So he agreed, and while everyone was busy, I snuck out and practiced flying. It was just as amazing as I had dreamed! I was eventually found out by my dam, who had wondered where I was, but it had sparked something in me.

Anyway, right now, I have a job to do. I found some sizable rocks, and picked out various pressure points in the cave entrance. I also surveyed the back. Somebody had already escaped out from here. I could tell from the pegasus size rock guarding the back. All I had to do was move it.

Rainpetal returned several minutes later. “Everyone’s ready. I also found some of the biggest pegasi who are strong enough to move the rock.”

“Alright then. Everyone knows their part?”

“That’s what I just said, isn’t it?” “Well, not technically. But nevermind. When the entrance collapses, they start pushing.”

She nodded, but looked slightly annoyed. I had just repeated everyone’s part, which she just said they already knew. She’ll live. Anyway, for the sake of those reading who have not figured it out yet, here’s my plan:

I’ll throw all of the rocks at the cave pressure points. I had noticed that there are areas where the ice and snow is getting too heavy to stay over the cave mouth. So, why not hurry it along? This will cause a collapse, hopefully pulling all guards to dig us out.

They aren’t very smart, more brawn than brain, so this shouldn’t be a problem. The only thing left to chance is if Rockwing gives orders. He’s smart. Though hopefully, this will all pan out perfectly.

While the guards are freezing their wingtips, (good riddance, I say) the strongest pegasi will be moving the large boulder I found. Behind the rock is a hole through which we will all escape from.

Now that you see my genius plan, we can get back to the real action. I throw the rocks at the ice and it breaks with a satisfying *crack*. All of the snow cascades over the entrance, forming a magnificent white barrier. I couldn’t be happier.

As soon as we were safely hidden, the other pegasi started shoving. Outside, there was an excited hum from the Mountain Herd guards. “Hurry!” I encouraged the sweating captives. It only took about 30 seconds for them to move the boulder, but it felt like ages. So many things could have gone wrong in that time, and we still had to fly away.

“You can’t get stuck on the what ifs” I reminded myself. Rainpetal shifted beside me, leaving a few variegated feathers, a mix of blue and purple.

“One final shove!” Someone called from the crowd. I tensed, and Rainpetal did the same. This was the final moment. The turning point. If anyone was standing outside when the hole was open, it could be the end of our escape. We might be able to overpower him, but not necessarily before they sounded the alarm.

“It’s open!” The leader of the team said. I held my breath, but it was for nothing. No one was waiting. “GO, GO, GO!” Everyone clamored for the opening. Eventually everyone was out, and in record time. Once we were sure they were all gone, Rainpetal and I followed.

A rush of wind flew through my mane as I lifted off. The thrill of flying never left. Cool breezes tousled my forelock. I sped away from my prison, free as the proverbial bird, never looking back.