The faint sounds of rumbling filled the darkness. It had come from somewhere above, accompanied by a slight tremor. After a few minutes, the tremors subsided. The rumbling ceased, only to be replaced by the sounds of screaming, occasionally broken by a dull, slapping sound, all of which grew steadily louder. Eventually, a prolonged scream could be heard, rapidly growing in volume as something made its descent into the darkness. The scream was cut short by the sound of something crashing into the water. Several seconds later, the silence was broken again by the sounds of something emerging from the water, followed by the sounds of flailing and gasping.
After several seconds, a spark of magic was briefly seen, followed by a small, floating orb of light. The orb hovered over its caster, a light green unicorn who looked this way and that to find out where she was. It appeared to be some kind of lake. She couldn’t see the top of the chamber where she had just fallen in, nor could she discern its dimensions. There was one thing she could discern. The water was freezing cold, and she had to get out before she went into shock. Looking around, she managed to spot land off to one side and swam towards it.
Soon, Lyra Heartstrings pulled herself onto the rocky shore and collapsed, struggling to catch her breath and calm herself down. A moment later, Lyra began to wonder about her injuries; she had taken several bumps during her fall, and she wondered just how serious her condition was. The right side of her head was throbbing due to one of the impacts she suffered. She rotated each of her hooves; nothing seemed wrong. She rotated each of her legs. She winced as she felt a dull pain shoot up from her left hind leg. She sat up to inspect it, and was greeted by more aches racking her torso. Managing to sit up, Lyra felt around her hind leg. Her upper leg, just below her flank, was where it hurt most, but luckily it didn’t seem broken. She felt along the rest of her body. She was bruised badly around her torso, and her back was terribly sore, but again (thank Celestia) nothing seemed broken. For that, Lyra was grateful.
She turned her attention to her surroundings. She poured more illumination into the orb hovering over her and maneuvered it this way and that around the chamber. It was massive, with giant stalactites hanging down from the ceiling. It looked like it could hold half of Ponyville inside it. The lake she had landed in was also massive. It seemed to take up most of the chamber. The ground she sat on was very long and very wide, large enough to accommodate most of Sweet Apple Acres. Lyra guided the orb to the ceiling and saw a hole large enough for her to fit in.
‘That must be where I fell through,’ she thought, ‘but how did I get here?’ She gasped as she suddenly remembered.
What started out as a simple camping trip had turned into yet another quest for the Cutie Mark Crusaders to earn their cutie marks. Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Sea Swirl were accompanying them as chaperones, as well as fellow adventurers. Rarity was busy filling a major order at the boutique, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash were out of town on a friendship mission. The group had found a cave to spend the night in. It was one they had never seen before, so naturally they were all excited to explore it. While the others were setting up camp, Scootaloo wanted to venture further inside, so Lyra went with her. Lyra was never sure how the cave-in started, but she remembered the tremors, the dust falling, and of levitating Scootaloo to safety before the ceiling collapsed, separating her from the others, and the ground beneath her giving way. She remembered falling for quite some time, occasionally hitting a rocky outcrop on her way down. And finally, she remembered the long drop ending with her crashing into the frigid waters.
“Bon-Bon! Sea Swirl!” she cried out towards the hole in the ceiling. “Can you hear me?!” Nothing, but her slightly echoing voice. “Hello?! Is anypony there?!” Still, nothing. After a moment, she stood up (in spite of her sore leg) and shook off as much water as she could, leaving her mane and tail disheveled.
“Great”, she bemoaned. “Now what am I going to do?” She paced about the shore, considering her options. “I could levitate out”, she said hopefully, but then exhaled with frustration. “But then, I don’t know where I am. I don’t know how far down I am.” She shuddered with realization. “I….I don’t know if I can get out that way, or….or….”
She suddenly remembered her friends. They were in the cave as well. What about her friends? Did they escape? Were they looking for her? Did they even survive the cave-in?
This last thought caused Lyra to collapse on the ground and to quietly sob. She was afraid for her friends, but she was also afraid for herself. How was she going to get out? Would she see her friends again? Would anypony see her again? Was she going to….die here?
Before she could further ponder her situation, she suddenly became aware of some faint sounds reverberating off the walls near her. She sprang to her hooves (the pain in her leg notwithstanding) and turned around, throwing her orb of light in the direction of the sounds. It was then that she saw a tunnel in the wall several meters away, and the sounds were coming from it.
Lyra could hear the sound of hoof-falls in a slow, but steady pace. Maybe it was another pony? Was she going to be rescued? She was ready to call out for help, but then she heard another sound that made her stop. It was a low, raspy, almost menacing breath. Whatever it was, it was getting closer, and Lyra was now certain she did not want to meet this….whatever it was. She looked around her and found there was nowhere she could hide. She could hide in the water, she thought, but decided against it, not wanting to risk freezing to death. She crouched down against the wall and doused the orb. Her fear was instantly increased when she saw no light coming from the tunnel, and that the thing was still getting closer.
------
“Is everypony alright?! Is anypony hurt?!” Sea Swirl said as the five ponies found themselves at the mouth of the cave’s collapsed entrance. They were all covered in dust and exhausted. She and Bon-Bon did their best to keep the Crusaders calm, and for the most part, they were successful. Scootaloo, however, was sobbing bitterly as she looked back at the cave.
“I shouldn’t have gone in”, she lamented. “I should’ve stayed with you guys.”
“But Scootaloo. You didn’t know that would happen,” Sweetie Belle replied.
“Yeah, Scoots,” offered Apple Bloom. “It’s not your fault.”
“It IS my fault!!” Scootaloo cried out. “If I hadn’t gone in, Lyra wouldn’t be trapped in there! She’d be here with us and not….not….” Her train of thought was broken by a fresh wave of tears, and she began crying again.
“Scootaloo, no!!” insisted Bon-Bon. “We can’t think like that. We….we have to hope that maybe she’s okay.” She tried to sound strong and stalwart, but the possibility of losing her dear friend made it difficult as tears formed in her own eyes.
“Bon-Bon’s right,” Sea Swirl said, considering the cave. “Until we know for sure, we have to believe she’s alive. We just….we just need to get help in clearing the cave.” Turning towards the Crusaders, she said “But for right now, we need to get you three back home.”
“I want to help.” Scootaloo stated matter-of-factly. “I owe Lyra that much.”
Bon-Bon shook her head. “We’re getting you home first, then we’ll talk about help. C’mon Swirl.” Sea Swirl nodded as the two of them began escorting the Crusaders back to Ponyville.
------
Lyra lay shivering on the ground, pressed into the wall as much as she could. Whether her shivering was more from the frigid waters she had pulled herself out of, or from the fear of what was heading her way, she couldn’t tell. In any case, the raspy breaths and hoof-falls were getting louder.
She then became aware of a new sensation, something she had never experienced before. She felt….waves?...hitting her. They were hitting her at a moderate pace, but were light enough that she could just feel them.
‘What is this?’ she wondered. She tried to think about what it could be. Her mind turned to Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom. She remembered how it was essentially a rainbow-hued shockwave. Is that what these are, little shockwaves? Then she remembered how bats use sonar to track their prey.
‘Sonar,’ she realized. ‘That has to be it….Wait….oh no.’ If this really was some kind of sonar, she realized, then whatever that thing was would find her for sure.
It didn’t take long for the thing to enter the chamber. Lyra heard as something heavy dropped onto the floor. At first, she thought the thing had fallen, but then she heard as it took a few more steps and its breathing slowed a little.
‘It must’ve been carrying something.’ Lyra pondered. ‘But, what?’ Her answer came in the sound of something being ripped. It sounded like some kind of heavy fabric. It reminded her of the sacks Pinkie Pie used for storing flour. The ripping went on for a few seconds, and was replaced by sounds that made Lyra’s stomach turn.
She heard a sharp intake of breath, followed by more ripping sounds, followed by occasional grunts. She froze in fear. Those sounds she did recognize. It was the tearing of flesh as a predator tore into its prey. Lyra was all too familiar with it. She had stumbled across a timber wolf devouring its latest prey about a year ago, and she had barely avoided being its next meal.
Lyra stayed as motionless as possible to avoid being detected by this monster. But at the same time, it meant she had to endure listening to its feast, the tearing of flesh, the crunching and snapping of bones, and the almost inaudible dribbling of (what had to be) blood onto the ground. She trembled where she lay, wishing that the monster would just go away and leave her alone.
After some time, she could hear it finish its feast. She heard as it took a few steps in one direction, stop, then to seemingly turn around. Before she could wonder what it was doing, she heard a new sound emanating from it. It sounded like….grinding, or some object being dragged across sand. A second later, a fiery light lit up, and Lyra could now see the thing that so frightened her. It was a pony; a unicorn, to be precise. It was gaunt, practically emaciated in appearance, and completely white; its coat, its mane, its tail, all white. Well, not all white, for Lyra could see that its muzzle was drenched in red fluids, which made her tremble even more.
Lyra had but a moment to register all of this when the light above its head burst forward in a stream of fire, incinerating what she could only assume was the remnants of its meal. It was during this moment of light that she observed more of the creature. Its coat, mane, and tail were all disheveled, like it hadn’t groomed itself in, like, forever. She looked to its flank and saw that it had no cutie mark. Or, maybe it did but it was as white as the rest of it.
The unicorn ceased its activity, leaving the fiery remains the only source of light. Lyra watched as it turned around, and noticed that its eyes, while open, never moved. It turned and walked towards the lake, its sonar slightly increasing its pace. Suddenly, it stopped. It stood still as if waiting. Lyra felt her blood chill.
‘What is it doing?’ she wondered. As if on cue, she felt its sonar increasing even more and saw its head tilt in her direction. She shuddered. Had it found her? Did it know she was here? What would it do to her? Would she become its next meal? It took all of her determination and willpower to keep from bolting.
The unicorn set its head upright after a moment and moved on to the lake. Lyra could barely see the sonar creating waves in the water, which increased in frequency as the unicorn got closer. She watched as it stopped at the water’s edge, dipped its muzzle into the lake, and began to drink.
‘It is using sonar,’ Lyra realized. ‘It uses it to see and move around.’ Then it hit her. ‘Then, it does know I’m here.’ She looked closely at it and saw that, as if to confirm her suspicion, its ear was pointing in her direction.
That was it. She couldn’t stay. She had to get away, far away, from this….thing. She slowly tried to stand up, but at her first movement, the unicorn’s head snapped up and turned in her direction. She leaped to her hooves, intending to make a break for the tunnel the unicorn had come out of. But before she could take two steps, she heard the grinding sound from earlier as she was scooped up in a magical grip; the unicorn had caught her. Desperate to get away, she tried to teleport out of its grip. But no magic emanated from her horn. She tried again, but to no avail. The unicorn’s magic must be suppressing hers, she thought. And now, it was walking towards her with its dead eyes cast at her. She fought with all she had to break free, feeling the panic welling up within her. Closer, it was getting closer. Was this it? Was she going to die here?
------
“It’s right here”, Sea Swirl said, pointing out the cave’s location on the cutie map. Starlight Glimmer racked her brain as she pondered the location. She wasn’t all that familiar with the cave’s location, and she had never heard any of her friends mention it before. She only knew it was in a largely unexplored area of the Everfree Forest.
“How far in was she when it happened?” Starlight asked.
“Eighty meters, maybe ninety”, Bon-Bon answered.
“Alright,” Starlight replied, hoping to calm the two mares down. “So, the Crusaders are fine.” Sea Swirl and Bon-Bon nodded. “You said they’re staying with Carrot Top, right?” Again, they nodded. “Good, good,” she said more to herself than to the others. “Okay,” she continued. “Sea Swirl, go find Amethyst Star. Tell her we need to organize a search and rescue team.” Sea Swirl saluted. “Bon-Bon, find as many pickaxes and shovels as you can find. I’ll send word to Twilight at Canterlot. Maybe she can send us more help. Let’s meet outside the castle in half an hour.”
Sea Swirl and Bon-Bon both nodded as they turned to leave. Starlight noticed a few tears streaming down Bon-Bon’s face. She sighed sympathetically, knowing how close she and Lyra were. She hoped Lyra was alright, if only for Bon-Bon’s sake. With a burst from her horn, she summoned a pen and paper as she sat down to write her letter.
------
“Who are you?” came the deep, raspy voice of the monster that now held her captive. Lyra screamed in panic, trying futilely to free herself. It had come within hoof’s length of her, and was staring at her with its sightless eyes, its maw covered in a mixture of water and blood.
“Let me go!” Lyra cried out, still struggling. “P….Please don’t hurt me!” Her voice nearly broke from the panic that was overtaking her. Silence and stillness were its only reaction. Lyra continued to thrash about in the unicorn’s grip for a moment longer before she became fully aware of its inaction.
When another moment had passed, and Lyra had calmed down somewhat, the voice spoke again.
“Who are you?”, this time slowly enunciating each word. Not sure what else to do, she slowly answered.
“M….m….my name….is….L….Lyra.”
The unicorn paused a moment before it spoke again. “What are you doing here, in my domain?”
“D….domain?” Lyra queried shakily.
The unicorn gestured widely with a hoof. “This is my domain, my home,” it said. “And you,” it pointed its hoof at her, “have dared to intrude into my home. Explain yourself.” It stepped closer to Lyra, so close their muzzles almost touched. Lyra winced, suddenly overwhelmed by the smell of uncleaned fur and the copper smell of the blood on its muzzle.
“I…I’m very sorry, sir,” Lyra managed. “I fell during a cave-in, I….I don’t how far I fell, but I landed in the water through a hole in the ceiling.”
It tilted its head slightly, as if pondering her answer. She felt its sonar increase its pace for a minute before it slowed down again. “Ah,” it answered. “That hole. That explains it.” It turned its head upright. “You’re a surface dweller, then.” Its eyes narrowed. “You’re also….a unicorn.”
Lyra was taken aback by this statement. What did it (he, she now realized, it sounds like a stallion) mean by that? “Y….Yes….Yes, sir,” was the only response she could muster.
The unicorn didn’t answer right away, but simply stood there. Lyra closed her eyes and shivered, not wanting to look at his silent, unchanging visage. She didn’t want to be here. She just wanted to go home, to be with her friends, to be with Bon-Bon, to be away from here and forget about this nightmare.
She suddenly felt herself being jerked about as the unicorn, still holding her in his grasp, turned and walked towards the giant, still burning, lump, and unceremoniously dropped her onto the ground near it.
“Warm yourself,” he said, “before you catch cold.”
Unsure of what to say, Lyra scooted closer to the fire, grateful for the warmth it emitted. It wouldn’t have been too bad, she mused, except for the unicorn standing near her. It was then that she got her first real look at his eyes. His irises were as white as the rest of his body, and they showed no signs of dilation in the light of the fire. His pupils were light baby-blue, almost indistinguishable from the rest of his eyes. Her attention was drawn to the sonar which, she realized, had been pulsing since the moment she first detected it, never once stopping.
‘How long has he been down here,’ she wondered, ‘to have turned into….this?’
A couple of minutes passed before Lyra could feel she was no longer shivering. She also felt herself calming down considerably, despite her captor standing merely inches away. As her thoughts became more rational and ordered, she found herself pondering more questions about him. Who is he? What is his name? Where did he come from? Could he help her get back to the surface? Would he help her? If he was hostile, how could she defend herself before being caught again in his magic?
“Do you take pleasure in gazing upon monstrosities such as I?” he queried. It was then that Lyra realized she had been staring at him this whole time. She whipped her head back towards the fire.
“I’m sorry,” she pleaded. “I’m so sorry. I….I didn’t mean to.” She focused her eyes in front of her, looking instead at the fire, suddenly worried about how he might react. This was a mistake, for she now remembered that whatever was in the fire had also been his recent meal, a meal that had stained his muzzle red.
She clenched her eyes shut and tried, to no avail, to force down the sobs welling up in her throat. She didn’t want to be here. She didn’t want to die here. She wanted to go home. She just wanted to go home.
------
Starlight was relieved when Twilight’s response came so soon. She unrolled the parchment and read.
“Dear Starlight Glimmer, I’ve received your letter. It sounds like you already have things under control, and I commend you for it. I’ve shown your letter to Princess Celestia, hoping to provide you with additional help, and she has agreed to send a detachment of Royal Guards to assist you. I too will be on my way to help very soon. In the meantime, do your best to find Lyra. I also recommend you talk to Pinkie Pie. Not many ponies know this, but she has a small stockpile of military-grade munitions for her party cannon. I’m sure she’ll help. I’ll see you when I arrive. Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle.”
Starlight sighed in relief. Having this additional help should make her task easier. ‘Wait a minute,’ she wondered. ‘Munitions? As in weapons and explosives? Pinkie, do I even want to know?’ She shuddered. Pinkie Pie was already erratic and unpredictable, but this took it to a whole new level. “Alright, that’s enough pondering,” she said to herself. “I’ve got a rescue to lead.”
------
A few minutes had passed before Lyra was finally able to stop shivering. The fire had sufficiently warmed her, and the unicorn had stood nearby without moving or speaking, which helped to ease her troubled mind. Turning only her eyes, she pondered him, but this time with different questions, her fear now being (mostly) replaced with curiosity. She cleared her throat.
“Um….sir?” she managed. A grunt was his only response. Lyra continued. “Have you,” she gestured toward the chamber, “been here long?” His eyes narrowed slightly as he let out a sigh.
“What does it matter to you?” he said gruffly.
“I….I’m sorry,” Lyra responded. “It’s just that,” she paused to consider her next words. “Well, it’s just that I’ve never seen you before, certainly no pony who can do some of the things you can do, and I---“
“It doesn’t matter,” the unicorn interrupted, startling Lyra. “Nothing about me matters, not who I am, not where we are, nor how long I’ve been here.” He turned and faced her directly. Lyra could feel her heart racing as she gazed into his dead eyes.
“You surface dwellers have no business being down here. You have brought nothing but pain and misery to us. You have hunted us down wherever we went, wherever we were.” Lyra’s heart rate increased as he slowly approached her until he was within hoof’s length of her.
“As it is, my business is none of your business,” he stated with a menacing tone. “Understand?”
Unable to find her voice, Lyra slightly nodded, her wide eyes fixed on his angry face. Apparently, her nod was detectable by the sonar, for the unicorn’s features relaxed somewhat as he walked back to his original position.
“You have no business here,” he said, the tone of his voice also relaxed, “and I don’t want you here.”
Also relaxing, Lyra saw the opportunity. “Could you, maybe, help me get out of here then, back to the surface?” she asked. “I could get home, and you wouldn’t have to deal with me anymore.”
The unicorn grunted again. “Wouldn’t I?” he said.
Lyra was puzzled by his response. “What do you mean?” she asked. He turned and faced her again.
“Even if I did help you escape, you would simply return with more ponies to hunt me down.” Lyra started to protest before she was interrupted. “It has happened to us many times before.”
Lyra’s brow furrowed in confusion. Did he just say…? “Um….us?” Wait. Did that mean….there were more ponies….like him here, more ponies living underground, eating….meat? She froze at the implication.
“Yes, I said ‘us,’” he answered.
Before she could stop herself, Lyra shakily asked “There are more of you? Are they also here?” She slammed a hoof over her muzzle, stopping anymore words from escaping. She glanced up at the unicorn, who merely grunted.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said flatly.
“I’m sorry,” Lyra blurted out. “Sir, I’m so sorry. I don’t mean to pry. I just….I just want to get out of here, to go home. Please, sir, won’t you help me?”
For a while, the only sounds were the crackling of the slowly dying fire. Lyra watched as the unicorn simply stood there. She could see that he was thinking, pondering. He was fidgeting as well. Whatever he was thinking about, Lyra thought, it must be serious if he’s reacting like this. After a while, he stopped fidgeting as his lowered his head and gave out a long sigh. Lyra started to wonder what this meant, especially for her, when her thoughts were interrupted by the unicorn turning and facing her with an unreadable look in his eyes.
------
The work was slow and tedious, but the rescue team’s efforts didn’t let up for a moment. Volunteers from Ponyville and Canterlot worked tirelessly to clear the rubble as Twilight and Starlight supervised the operation.
Starlight was thoroughly impressed. She had heard that Amethyst Star was an excellent organizer, but what she was seeing exceeded her expectations. Staff from Ponyville Hospital had donated emergency cots for volunteers to rest, as well as volunteer staff to treat any injuries. Pinkie Pie and the Cakes, Rarity (who put her work order on hold), Big Mac, and Carrot Top (with help from the CMC) all set up refreshment stands and made sure everypony had something to eat and drink. Starlight made a mental note to recommend Amethyst for a commendation for her work.
She walked over to a cot and sat down next to it, considering its occupant.
“How are you feeling?” she asked. Bon-Bon, who appeared to be staring off into space, turned her head towards her visitor.
“Oh, hi Starlight,” she answered in a low voice. “I’m okay, I guess.”
Starlight paused before she continued. “You know we’ll find her, right?” She tried to sound cheerful, hoping to raise Bon-Bon’s spirits.
Without smiling back, Bon-Bon looked away dejectedly, tears again forming in her eyes. “I hope so.”
Not sure what else to say, Starlight put a reassuring hoof on Bon-Bon’s shoulder for a moment. She turned around and saw Twilight motioning her over.
When she was close enough, Twilight asked “Hey, Starlight? I just now realized something,” Twilight said. “Where are we dumping all this rubble?”
Starlight thought about it for a moment before she replied. “Oh, yeah. Maud and Limestone Pie have charge of that. Maud said that they’re dumping it down an old gorge nearby.”
“Did they make sure nopony was down there first?” Twilight asked.
“Yes,” Starlight said. “The guards have cordoned off the area and are watching over it.”
------
She was lost; absolutely lost. Despite the illuminating orb hovering over her head, Lyra had no clue where she was, how far underground she was, or how long she had been walking. She could only hope the unicorn ahead of her knew the way out. He had surprised her when he finally agreed to help her. Many times, they had come to an intersection of tunnels, yet he always seemed to know where to go. He slowed down when approaching one, sure, but he carried himself with absolute certainty.
Lyra only wished he would talk to her sometimes. Despite believing she was on her way home, she was troubled by many things. The tunnels they walked through were short and narrow. She was not claustrophobic, but she was afraid she would develop such a fear, and she wanted something, anything, to distract her. The unicorn, however, was no help in alleviating her tension. Anytime she tried to get him to talk, he would simply say “It doesn’t matter” and press on.
During their travels, Lyra became increasingly aware of a new development. She had always been uneasy about the unicorn’s raspy breath, but she realized that, the further they progressed, the more labored his breathing became. She didn’t know what this meant, but she was afraid of whether or not, or how, it would affect her way home.
“Sir?” she hesitantly asked. “Are you okay? You don’t sound good.” This time, the unicorn didn’t answer her. “Sir?”
He stopped and growled at her. “Be…silent….and let me….focus.”
She could detect the labored effort to speak. She wanted to pursue the issue, but his tone of voice convinced her otherwise. She was starting to worry about him. Is he alright? Is he sick? Maybe they should stop and rest for a while. She wanted to bring this up too, but his latest response convinced her otherwise.
She saw him turn a corner and stop. She stopped right behind him and felt his sonar increasing its pace. His head moved back and forth, tilted up and down as if trying to get his bearings.
“What is this?” he growled as he moved forward more slowly. Lyra’s brows furrowed. ‘What’s going on?’ she wondered. Nevertheless, she continued to follow him.
Several meters ahead, the unicorn stopped. “What in Tartarus happened here?” he scowled.
“What’s wrong?” Lyra asked.
He responded with a sigh. “That is the exit to the surface,” he pointed out. “But something has blocked off the entrance.” She floated her orb to where he was pointing, but she could only see a dead end. His sonar increased even more for a minute before it gave out altogether. “Dammit,” he cursed under his weak breath. “It’s going to take a major blast to clear this out.”
Lyra was about to ask what he meant when she felt his sonar resume. He turned around. “This way,” he instructed. She followed him to where the tunnel turned and they both sat down. His sonar died out again.
“So, what now?” she asked.
His response came out weakly a minute later, his breath more raspy and labored. “I…”, he began. “I’m going to focus my pulses into a single blast. It’ll be enough to clear the blockage. I just need to rest awhile.”
Lyra’s spirits were raised at the prospect of finally getting out of here, but her jubilance was quickly dispelled when she looked at her guide. His head was hanging low, his breathing was very heavy. His eyes, she noticed, seemed to have sunk somewhat into his skull and were barely open. Something was wrong.
“Sir, are you okay?” Lyra asked. He turned his head away in response. “Please, sir. Are you okay? And don’t tell me it doesn’t matter. Because if…”
Her sentence was cut short by a low, feral snarl coming from the unicorn’s snarling maw. She yelped and scooted back a bit. She sat looking wide-eyed at him, waiting to see what he would do. When nothing happened, Lyra settled down and slowed her breathing. No words came from either of them for what felt like an eternity for the unicorn finally spoke.
“No,” he said weakly. “I am not okay.”
“Wh….What’s wrong?” Lyra asked.
He appeared to ponder or debate something for some time before he simply said “I’m dying.”
Lyra was not prepared for that answer. She knew something was wrong with him from the beginning. His gaunt frame, his slow gait, his labored breathing made worse by this trip, all this told her as much.
“That’s right,” he said after a pause. “I’m dying, have been for some time now.”
Lyra looked at him in shock. “But…” she stammered. “If you’re dying, why don’t you seek help, or go to the hospital? There’s one in Ponyville that can help you.”
His eyes briefly narrowed in confusion for a moment before he shook his head. “It is too late for me. I am too far gone to be helped. What you witnessed at the lake was my last meal.” Lyra remembered it; the ripping, the tearing, the crunching and snapping. The mere thought of it made her shudder.
“But what about family?” she asked. “Don’t you have any family around? Other ponies you could be with, ponies like you?”
“No,” he said. “My family is dead and, when I die, my race will be dead.” “Your race?” Lyra asked. “But you’re a pony like me.”
“No,” he said sternly. “Not like you.” He sighed in frustration. “You know nothing about me, about my race, my kind.”
“Your….kind?” Lyra asked, thoroughly confused. “I don’t understand.”
The unicorn turned to face her and uttered two words. Lyra was even more confused. “I’ve never heard of them.”
“Like I said,” he responded. “It doesn’t matter.”
He struggled to his hooves and turned to face the sealed off entrance. “Now,” he said. “Be silent. This will take the last remnant of my strength to pull off, and I must concentrate.”
Lyra stood up to watch with mixed emotions. On one hoof, she was glad that she was finally going to get out of these caves, which meant she would soon be reunited with her friends. On the other hoof, she couldn’t help but feel sad for the unicorn who was risking his health for her. She couldn’t say she liked him, in a small way she was still afraid of him, but the thought of somepony, anypony, dying alone was a fate she wouldn’t wish on even her worst enemies.
Her thoughts were cut off by the realization that the cave walls were rumbling. She moved her orb over to the unicorn, only to lose it when it was violently thrust forward out of her magical grip and towards the wall. In that moment, she knew what was coming and hit the ground.
------
It had been rough going for the rescue team. The rubble had been cleared away and unicorns stepped inside the cave, illumination spells actively pushing back the darkness. They were searching every inch of the cave, yet they couldn’t find a trace of Lyra. They were fortunate to have lit up the cave, or else they would’ve failed to notice, and fallen into, the large hole in the ground.
“I’m sorry, Twilight” Amethyst Star reported. “The hole is a long way down, and we run the risk of casualties if we try lowering anypony down on a rope.”
Twilight snorted in frustration. They had not run hit any serious snags all this time, and now this. She took a deep breath, held it, and let it slowly.
“Okay,” she said to Amethyst and Starlight. “Any ideas?” The three of them sat in thought for a while.
Amethyst opened her mouth to speak, only to be quickly silenced by a massive explosion that rocked the ground under them all. Cots and refreshment stands were overturned, spilling their contents onto the ground. Ponies stumbled every which way to find purchase with varying success. Several seconds later, the tremors stopped as quickly as they came. Medical staff quickly went about, checking for anypony that had been injured. Refreshment stand owners worked to reset their stands and gather together what they could of their inventories. Twilight, Starlight, and Amethyst stood up, surveying the damage.
“What was that?!” demanded Twilight.
Starlight lit up her horn and looked around. “The epicenter seems to be over that way,” she reported, pointing away from the rescue site.
“But that’s the direction of the gorge,” Amethyst said. “There’s nothing over there that would’ve caused….whatever that was.”
At that moment, a Pegasus Royal Guard swooped down and landed in front of the trio. “Your highness,” he reported. “The explosion came from the gorge. The debris we dumped down there looks like it was forcefully expelled away from the gorge’s wall.”
Twilight nodded and turned to the unicorns. “Starlight, let’s check it out. Amethyst, do your best to restore order and have the medical staff compile a casualty list if necessary.” Amethyst nodded and scurried off. “Guard, you’re with us,” she said. The Pegasus nodded and followed.
The trio flew off into the gorge, Starlight levitating herself, to where the explosion had occurred. Finding a safe place to land, they turned attention to the gorge’s wall. A massive hole had been created, but something was odd about it.
“Look , Twilight,” Starlight said. “It looks like the explosion came from….inside.”
Twilight opened her mouth to reply when a sound emanated from the hole. It was a voice, she realized. But this voice sounded like it was….weeping.
“Hello,” she called out. “Is anypony in there?”
Amidst the dust pouring out of the entrance, the trio could see something light up inside. Hoof-steps were then heard and grew more audible (along with the weeping) as whoever it was made their way out of the entrance.
The trio stared in disbelief as they saw the object of their rescue mission step into the light. It was Lyra. At first, Twilight was so overjoyed to see her friend that she started to run towards her. But a second look made her stop in her tracks. Lyra was crying as she walked towards the trio. She was carrying something on her back. It was white, frail, and unmoving. It was a pony, Twilight realized. She caught sight of its horn, identifying it as a unicorn.
Twilight looked back up at Lyra’s face. Tears were streaming down her face. She looked at Twilight in desperation.
“Twilight,” she said pleadingly, her voice racked with sobs. “Please….please help.”
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“Dear Princess Celestia,
I am pleased to report that the rescue mission for our friend, Lyra Heartstrings, was a success. Lyra is alive and well, and she is now safe at home. I am also pleased to report that injuries incurred were few and relatively minor. You will find a list of names of everypony who helped in this endeavor attached to this letter, and I am thankful for the help they provided.
However, I regret to inform you of an unexpected, and tragic, turn of events. While we were searching for Lyra, Lyra had stumbled upon the last member of a long-lost race of ponies that had disappeared from history nearly 3,600 years ago. According to Lyra, they were called “snow ponies”.
I did some research, and this is what I found. The Snow Ponies itinerantly lived in the distant north for many generations. For unknown reasons, they had incurred the wrath of the yak and griffin kingdoms who sought to destroy them. The Snow Ponies sought sanctuary at the Crystal Empire, and were welcomed there at first (my research shows that this was well before the rise of King Sombra). The rulers there tried to negotiate a peaceful understanding, but the yaks and griffins were more keen on seeing the Snow Ponies destroyed. History does not record the precipitating events, but the breakdown of negotiations would result in what is known as The Second Tri-Kingdom War. The yaks and griffins were bloodily repulsed, but the Snow Ponies simply vanished from history.
Having heard Lyra’s testimony about her ordeal underground (which I have also attached to this letter), I believe it’s fair to say that the Snow Ponies may have been pursued by the yaks and griffins long after the war. I believe they may have found shelter underground, where they lived for many generations, so long that they had adapted to living with no light; the use of sonar to see, for example. While I am eager to learn more about the Snow Ponies, I regret that I can only do so through future research. Whatever we could’ve learned about them, through them, is now forever lost.
I will write more on this when I have time. Right now, my friends and I are helping Lyra arrange the funeral of Equestria’s last Snow Pony, whom Lyra has posthumously named Blind Sight.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
The End