//------------------------------// // Escape // Story: The Weeping Pegasus // by ihaveofficiallyretired //------------------------------// “Alive?! This cave is alive?” Colgate couldn’t believe it. “Oh yes!” replied The Doctor. “Now this is when we run.” The three ponies took off toward the entrance. The time lock on the Weeping Pegasus would hold, for a few minutes anyway. They were running through the tunnel when The Doctor once again noticed something unsettling. “The tunnel is moving. It’s trying to keep us in here. We have to keep moving.” There was no reason to do anything else. Desperately the trio ran at full gallop, the tunnel constantly changing. If they did not hurry, they would die. That much was clear. It was when they made it back to the large, open cavern that they truly saw what they were up against. The cave was dripping fluid from the ceiling. Not everywhere and not necessarily a lot, but whatever it was dissolved the rocks it touched. “Doctor, what is that?” “Stomach acid. We are about to reenter its first stomach. Remember all the oddly shaped stones coming out of the floor?” The two mares nodded in agreement. “Well, those are its previous victims. What’s left of them, anyway.” The deadly acid only brought another challenge to deal with. “Doctor,” Colgate began, “we have to hurry. I don’t know how much longer I can sustain this time lock.” “I have an idea. A dangerous one, sure. But an idea.” The Doctor and his friends had not moved into the stomach for a lack of safety. Not that anything was safe in this beast. “Well, what is it?” Colgate and Ditzy looked at The Doctor (Colgate more so than Ditzy, but she did try), trying to decipher his complex mind. “I suggest we run straight through to the other side. More or less.” “But Doctor, what about the acid?” “When I say to, release the time lock on the Pegasus and put a force field around us. The Pegasus will almost certainly follow us, and will probably get destroyed by the acid.” “It’s worth a shot. Colgate, can you do it?” “Probably. Ready when you are, Doctor.” “And…NOW!” Colgate’s horn flashed with magic, and a slight force field presented itself around the three ponies. Sure, it may not withstand against much physical force, but the acid wouldn’t be too much trouble. Better yet, it pushed away any acid on the floor of the beast’s stomach that was in their way. Just as The Doctor had suspected, the Pegasus appeared at the entrance of the stomach. However, their number one priority was to escape. The Pegasus stayed at that point, but eventually the group had to break eye contact. The light from the sonic screwdriver only traveled so far. They kept running, making their way around the dissolving stone remains of ponies. In the darkness it was difficult to truly know how long they had to go. The biggest problem they had was actually finding the first tunnel. Trusting in the sonic screwdriver, The Doctor, Ditzy, and Colgate eventually made it back to the esophagus. The esophagus, thought The Doctor, that’s what this is, isn’t it. They travelled up the esophagus, carefully making sure that the creature would not swallow them again. It probably knew they were coming back up, yet it made no motion to keep them trapped. “Doctor, how much longer do you think we have to go?” asked Ditzy Doo. “I really don’t know. This beast is constantly stretching out its internal organs, so what may have taken ten minutes may now take an hour. It all depends on what it is doing.” “Oh, okay. Hey Colgate, when we get out of here, you need to make some muffins. I’m hungry.” Colgate looked at the pegasus with slight confusion. “There’s a kitchen on the TARDIS, right? Can’t you do it? No offence.” The Doctor spoke up. “This isn't exactly the time or place to be having this conversation. Besides, the last time she made muffins on the TARDIS, the whole thing went up in flames. It took months to get the scorch marks off the console.” “But more importantly, the muffins got burnt…” It took all of Colgate’s self-control to not burst out in hysterical laughter. “Okay, Ditzy. I’ll make – Doctor, look! The exit!” Sure enough, the exit could be seen. It was night outside. Of course, they were in the mouth. Saliva of a sort was spilled across the floor. “Let’s not waste any more time in here then.” The three of them began to run toward the entrance when the whole thing started shaking, much more violently than before. The group ran faster, making it through the exit only a moment before the great beast shut its maw. “Well that was certainly close, eh Doc?” The Doctor laughed. “No surprises there Colgate. Let’s go.” The Doctor, Ditzy Doo, and Colgate walked the mile to the TARDIS. As they entered, none of them noticed that for just a second, the TARDIS door did not close. “So Doctor, what was that thing?” “It was..well, I don't exactly know what they are called. I know what they do though. Anyway, they are massive predators who appear to be a large cavern, completely stone. Once the opportunity has arisen, it will reanimate itself and devour anything inside. We got out just in time.” “But what about all those other victims?” "Ah. When the prey gets digested, it gets absorbed into the stomach wall. The worm hadn't gotten a chance to fully reanimate itself by the time we got out, otherwise it would have been like stepping on the actual insides of a being: fleshy and disturbingly wet." "You said it could reanimate itself?" "Yep. It's kind of like a Weeping Pegasus in that way, it can turn to stone and back. However, the worm can do it at will and it takes a significantly longer amount of time." "But how'd it get here?" “Who knows? It probably fell through a rift in space. They can live just about anywhere there is life. I’ve seen them before, but not here. Curious.” “But Doctor, how did it block my magic?” “You see, as species evolved, the worm’s prey found ways of escaping, often times through means of teleportation. As a defense, the cave worms developed a kind of anti-teleportation field. It counteracts any kind of teleportation or distance travel. It stopped the TARDIS a mile out of the cave. He pressed some buttons and they departed. Off through time and space flew the three ponies. Colgate made muffins, much to the delight of Ditzy. To the delight of The Doctor, there was no massive, all-destroying blaze from the process. Shortly afterwards, Colgate collapsed from exhaustion, the adrenaline finally running out. The Doctor put her in one of many bedrooms to rest. “So Ditzy, where do you want to go next?” Ditzy didn’t hear him, distracted by the power of muffins. He repeated the question. “Oh, I don’t know. Wherever.” “All right then. Let’s go…home. Just for a bit. We should probably make sure Berry Punch is okay, after what happened.” “Okay then. I wonder if she remembers anything” “I highly doubt it. She was drunk, remember? Before Ditzy could answer, the console of the TARDIS lit up. Buttons were flashing and screens were lighting up, showing things only The Doctor understood. “Doctor, what’s going on? “Oh, nothing. It’s just being…” The Doctor slammed his hoof onto one of the panels. “…the TARDIS. It does that from time to time. Not entirely sure why, though. Oh well.” “You’re sure?” “Yeah. Nothing to worry about.” Soon, the TARDIS landed in present day Ponyville. The Doctor, Ditzy, and (a recently awaken) Colgate went to check up on Berry Punch. Sure enough, she was normal again. Normal being drunk yet again, that is. She remembered nothing of nearly killing the princesses. This was probably a good thing, because there was less to have to explain to her. “So Doctor,” Colgate started as they began the trek away from Berry Punch’s house, “What are you going to do?” “Oh, the usual. Take Ditzy across space and time doing Celestia knows what.” Ditzy smiled at the idea. “What about you Colgate? It was luck we got there when we did.” “I really don’t know. I may just take a bit of time and relax.” “Ooh! Ooh! You can make me some more muffins!” The Doctor and Colgate looked at Ditzy, not really sure of what to say. “What? I think it’s a good idea.” “That it is, my assistant. That it…” The Doctor stopped what he was saying. They had arrived back at the TARDIS. “What’s wrong?” Colgate and Ditzy asked in unison. “The TARDIS door,” started the Doctor, “it’s open. It’s impossible that something got inside.” “So, what does that mean?” inquired Colgate. “It means that something got out.” The Doctor knew of nopony else other than himself, Ditzy, and Colgate that were on the TARDIS. But there was one thing that he did not know the fate of. Something that, in the back of his mind, he knew was now loose in Ponyville: the Weeping Pegasus.