//------------------------------// // The Creature // Story: The Weeping Pegasus // by ihaveofficiallyretired //------------------------------// The entrance of the cave was quite misleading. The immediate inside of the cave was unbelievably large. Stalactites and stalagmites lined the edges of the floor and ceiling. Ditzy decided it would be better if she stayed on the floor so as not to fly into anything. There was something not natural about the cave, and that much was obvious to The Doctor. “Ditzy, do you notice anything peculiar about the cave entrance?” spoke The Doctor in the light of his sonic screwdriver. The light from the cave entrance was not enough to provide any decent amount of visibility. “Why do you ask?” The only thing Ditzy noticed was that it was dark. “I’m beginning to think a Weeping Pegasus is the least of our problems. Look at the stalactites and stalagmites. Normally they would be throughout the cavern, but in here…they’re only along the edges of the cave.” They approached far edge of the cave only to confirm The Doctor’s suspicions. The back edge of the cave was bare, with only a single, large tunnel leading further in. “C’mon. We have to hurry.” The Doctor’s assistant was just not exactly…bright. She was intelligent enough, just a bit slow on the uptake. “I’m sorry… I just don’t get it…” The Doctor sighed lightly. “Let’s just hurry up and find Colgate. Now time is even more important.” The two ponies proceeded down the only tunnel in the mouth of the cave. Here, the rock was relatively smooth. Both The Doctor and Ditzy made extra sure to be focused on whatever was ahead of them. They did not want to come across the Weeping Pegasus caught unprepared. Beep. Beep. Beep. “Doctor, what’s that noise coming from the screwdriver mean?” “Well, it seems to have picked up Colgate’s magical signature. Every unicorn’s magical residue is different, and the sonic seemed to have targeted Colgate’s.” “So…What are we gonna do?” The Doctor looked at his assistant with slight disappointment. “We’re gonna follow it of course. I highly doubt that there are any other passages throughout the cavern, but if I happen to be wrong we need to be able to track down Colgate, remember?” “Oh yeah…” Sometimes…She just isn’t the brightest…anything. Ever. Oh well, thought The Doctor. He cared about his assistant much more than he allowed her to see. They walked through the tunnel, winding around corners and curves to perfect to be natural, but not perfect enough to have been created by someone. The entirety of the tunnel was pretty much the same. The Doctor noted that there were not any stones or pebbles in the tunnel. His suspicions were seeming all the more true, but he decided not to say anything. Suddenly the tunnel opened back up. Much larger than the entrance. The two ponies looked around for a moment, still unable to see much more than a few feet in front of them. Where the next tunnel was, neither of them knew for sure. That’s what the sonic screwdriver was for. They were able to follow the signal, albeit with a few large rocks they occasionally bumped into. These rocks…are vaguely pony shaped…Not statues, but not Weeping Pegasi either... it's something altogether different, thought The Doctor. “Ditzy, stop for just a moment. I need to check something real quick.” The grey mare stopped moving. Forward anyway. She bounced around a little while The Doctor did his work. He pointed the sonic screwdriver at the statues and pressed the button. There’s only that one button, right? How does it do all those things? Maybe that’s something I should ask him later… pondered Ditzy, almost in her own little world. “Oh, that’s fantastic!” exclaimed The Doctor. “Look!” He put the sonic screwdriver where Ditzy could see it, but only The Doctor knew what it meant. “Isn’t this just brilliant?” “Uh….Yeah.” “You’re confused again, aren’t you?” The mare hung her head in shame. “Yes, Doctor…” “Well, these rocks aren’t just rocks. Look at them.” It was then that Ditzy noticed what The Doctor was talking about. Her eyes widened. “You don’t mean…” “Oh yes.” “Are they –“ “No, not that.” “But still.” “Exactly.” “So is that why –“ “Yep, I believe so.” “That’s not good. “That’s why we have to hurry.” “Oh. Okay.” There was no way to know if they were truly having the same conversation. The duo continued to follow the sonic screwdriver. To be specific, The Doctor followed the screwdriver and Ditzy followed The Doctor. Suspicions confirmed, they hurried through the open part of the cavern, careful to avoid the suspiciously shaped stones. Time was of the essence. More so than before. Faster than anticipated, they made it to the next tunnel. The beeping from the screwdriver got more intense, meaning that Colgate was close. At least, her residual energy was close. They knew not if they would be able to find her alive, or at all. They could only hope. It seemed like they had spent hours in the dark tunnel. It was nearly impossible to tell the time, with only the light of the sonic screwdriver illuminating the shadows. It was no way to keep time, though. The Doctor seemed focused and perfectly fine, but Ditzy Doo seemed a bit more distracted. Perhaps it was the disturbing revelation she had made earlier. Perhaps it was the thought of a good friend dying. Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep “She’s near.” The Doctor began running, with Ditzy following close behind. As they rounded the corner, they found the blue unicorn backed against a wall. The Weeping Pegasus was standing right in front of her. “Doctor!” she exclaimed. “Colgate, good to see you.” The Doctor made his way around to the stone pegasus barely a foot from Colgate. “Yep, that’s a Weeping Pegasus all right.” “So how do we kill it? If we can do that, then all the disappearances will stop,” responded Colgate. Her horn faded and she got away from the wall. She no longer had to fret about seeing behind her. Thankfully the sonic screwdriver was still active. They could still see the fearsome creature. “Oh my friend, if only it were that simple.” “What do you mean?” It was Ditzy who responded, true terror resonating in her voice. “Please Colgate, we need to leave now.” Her eyes (sort of) remained fixated on the statue. She could see it, anyway. “Doctor, what is she talking about?” “Trust me. If we stay any longer we will certainly find out, and that would be most unfavorable.” “But what about the Pegasus? Certainly we cannot leave it here. It will kill again.” The Doctor looked at his friend. She could see, even in the dimly lit stone passage, the fear in his eyes. Perhaps a normal person wouldn’t have noticed, but Colgate had known The Doctor long enough. “Colgate,” The Doctor started, “this is much more dangerous than a Weeping Pegasus. Not to say that we can forget about it, but it is no longer on our priority list.” “Doctor, why? I don’t understand.” “Colgate, did you notice the entrance of the cave? The formation of the stalagmites and stalactites?” “It was a bit odd, but…Wait.” “Doctor…Doctor!” It was Ditzy’s desperate cries that brought The Doctor’s attention to something slightly more terrifying than a Weeping Pegasus: the tunnel was vibrating. “No. No! NO!” For the first time in both Ditzy and Colgate could remember, The Doctor was truly panicking. “Colgate, put the most powerful time lock you can on the Pegasus. We have to go!” Colgate did as she was asked, mustering up all remaining power she had at the moment. “That should hold for about ten minutes. Hopefully. I’ve been using time locks for a few seconds at a time so I could blink. A decent amount of my strength has returned.” “Good, good.” “Doctor, what’s going on?” Ditzy was trying to remain composed, but the fear was getting to her. She was almost in tears. “It’s waking up.” The cavern was vibrating even stronger. The thing was, it wasn’t a cavern. Ever. The beast who’s bowels the three of them had been exploring was beginning to wake up. There were four living beings already inside the beast, and all it needed to do was digest them.