Introns

In the blackness of the cavern, something moved.

Something cold and hard-skinned, ancient and slick, slithered along the floor of the dank crevice. Its many thin, needle like feet clicked nearly inaudibly as its antennae flicked about, searching. Mandibles chattering, it seemed to glide between the stones, around the pools of frigid water, and over the mold that had made the moist cavern their home.

The creature was immune to the heavy rank of rot that seemed to seep from every pore of the cave. Decomposing cadavers of who-knows-what throve with its brethren, making the stifling odor reassuring. However, the ancient creature did not know happiness, or comfort. It knew only hunger, pain, and survival. It knew only that the mouse cleaning its whiskers with droplets of water trickling from a stalactite was unaware of its presence, and that made it prey.

The creature suddenly tensed like a taught steel cable, and it clamped its sharp mandibles on the mammal. The mouse panicked, instinctively squealing as the nightmarish creature wrapped around its body. But its fear meant nothing to the creature, and it simply held to the mouse’s throat, tightening its vise-like grasp until, finally, its throat ruptured. As the prey became limp, the creature paused, its sensitive antennae checking for a pulse of life. Satisfied, it began to feed.

Tearing into the soft flesh, its body lashed from side to side as it burrowed into the folded innards. The creature’s teeth and chitinous fangs shredded the red meat and greedily flicked it into its waiting maw. So busy was it in its meal, it didn’t notice the vibrations of a pair of hooves clicking against the moldy cave floor. Jerking upright, sending a spray of blood into the air, the creature’s antennae wavered at the scent of a familiar breath. Chittering, it abandoned its prize.

A pony held out a hoof, and the centipede wound itself up his arm, resting on his shoulder. In the blackness of the cavern, the figure smiled sadly as the insect tickled his ear with its spindly feelers.

“Benjamin, my poor Benjamin,” sighed the pony as the centipede wove between his ears and mane, “Is this what we’ve come to? Starved to picking upon the rats and vermin?”

Benjamin flicked its antennae to and fro, nestling its thin head in the crook of the pony’s jaw. Its feelers stroked his fur apologetically. “Yes, yes, I’m hungry, too...” said the pony with another dismal sigh. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this either, Benjamin. Perhaps the time has come. This land has dried up, the prey gone. I think it’s time we--”

The pony suddenly jolted and scurried backwards, sending Benjamin into a frenzy, winding along the length of the pony’s abdomen and resting nervously on his haunch. It watched with beady black eyes as the pony’s ears bent to an unheard voice.

“King...?” whimpered the pony, lowering his head. Benjamin became completely still, antennae once more flickering in panic. The pony’s pupils shrank, and it swallowed hard. “But we’ve been waiting for so long... We’re hungry, and so are you. We can’t stay here, we must move--”

The pony jolted upright once more, and screamed, hooves frantically grasping at his stomach. His cries shattered the stillness of the cave, the haunting echoes of his screams throbbing in the darkness. Benjamin, terrified, fled from the writhing pony, coiling itself upon the safety of a nearby stalagmite. As soon as the pain came, it subsided, and the pony lay still on the floor, tears pouring from his eyes. Panting, he nodded slowly.

“Yes, King. I’m.... I’m sorry...”

The pony gingerly rose to his hooves, as if expecting another wave of pain at any instant. Sensing the pony’s distress, Benjamin tenderly wound its way up his hind leg and wrapped itself around his ear. The pony looked up thankfully at the centipede.

“We wait.”

***

“My goodness! It’s... perfect!” gushed Rarity, batting her eyes in admiration. Twilight Sparkle smiled with pride, levitating a neatly-woven picnic basket beside her. Trotting up from behind them, Applejack whistled appreciatively as they admired the view.

“Ah gotta hand it to ya Twilight, this sure is something,” she said with a nod as their three other friends came up behind her, “Sure as sugar worth the walk. We shoulda had you organize these picnics more often.”

The six ponies oohed and aahed in wonder. They stood in the middle of a sprawling, overgrown field. Rolling hills of deep, green grass seemed to sway as a cool breeze wove between them. Brilliant flowers dotted the immaculate plain with vibrant splotches of blue, red, and yellow. The entire picturesque scene was completed by a warm spring sun gleaming in the sky. Just barely after high noon, the heat of the sun and the cooling breath of the northern wind created the perfect temperature.

“It’s simply magnificent,” breathed Rarity. “The perfect place for a picnic! How come I’ve never heard of this place before?”

“I’m not really sure,” said Twilight Sparkle, with a slight shrug. “I guess it’s just because it’s so far away from Ponyville that no one really sees the point in coming all the way out here.”

“Oh, man,” whistled Rainbow Dash as she glided above them, “It’s grass for miles! I should totally come here to train more often. I could test some serious tricks!”

Applejack knickered from below. “And without any collateral damage,” she mumbled under her breath. Her complaint was easily drowned out as Pinkie Pie squealed with excitement, her frazzled pink mane bouncing messily.

“Can you believe we have this entire place to ourselves?” she gasped eagerly, bounding alongside her friends as they walked through the tall grass. “We can shout and scream and play and tell stories without any grumpy old ponies telling us to ‘turn down that racket’ or ‘get away from their priceless heirlooms’. I mean really, who needs some dusty jar anyways? Or is it a vase? What’s the difference, really, they’re both pots. And is it even breaking and entering if you don’t actually--”

“Pinkie...” said Twilight testily, shooting her friend a sideways look. Pinkie Pie returned the glare with a quizzical blink.

“What? It’s a serious question.”

Twilight didn’t even try to follow up the statement. Applejack and Rainbow Dash exchanged unimpressed glances, but Rarity seemed too engrossed in the scenery to take note of Pinkie’s rather typical antics. Twilight Sparkle looked over her shoulder. A dozen or so paces behind them, Fluttershy was lagging behind. Dragging her hooves through the thick grass, she walked carefully and uncomfortably, as if she feared somepony had dropped something important and that she might step on it.

“Fluttershy, come on already!” complained Rainbow Dash, crossing her hooves in front of her chest and reclining in the air. “You’ve been lagging behind the entire way.”

“I’m sorry,” came Fluttershy’s hushed apology as she swept her wide blue eyes over the plain, “I just don’t... feel right.”

“What do ya mean, sugar cube?” said Applejack in confusion, stopping.

“I don’t know. Something just doesn’t feel right about this place. Like something’s going to go wrong.”

The six mares looked expectantly towards Pinkie Pie, who did a quick inventory of her knees, tail, and ears. Her critical expression turned once more into a beaming smile. “No twitcha-twitch here, Fluttershy. Maybe you’re just imagining things.”

“Yeah, come on!” reasserted Rainbow Dash, “There’s nothing here but grass and flowers. Now quit your whining, and let’s go. I’m starving!”

With a slight nod, Fluttershy trotted towards them, wings shivering anxiously. “Alright... if you say so. I just don’t know if we--”

This last word turned into a shriek of terror as Fluttershy dropped into the grass and vanished with a wail.

“Fluttershy!”

Horrified, the five ponies galloped over to where their friend had only been a moment before. Brushing aside the tangled grass, they found blackness. A thin, gaping hole, just wide enough to fit a pony, was dug into the dirt. Tunneling downwards, the slick surface glistened in the sunlight until the depths of the hole became too dark to see into.

“Fluttershy?” called Twilight Sparkle nervously down the hole. Her voice echoed and returned to her with no answer. “Fluttershy, are you alright?” she called again, panic creeping into her voice. She pulled away from the hole, looking to her friends in hysteria. “What do we do? What do we do!?”

“I’ll tell you what we do!” snorted Rainbow Dash angrily. “We go after her!” Before anypony can stop her, Rainbow Dash hopped upwards and slipped down the hole. The remaining ponies stared in shock ar her wail of surprise at the length of the pit. Looking nervously at each other, they idled there for a moment. When nothing came from the hole, they nodded to each other. First Twilight Sparkle, then Pinkie Pie, and finally Applejack, dragging a protesting Rarity by her tail. One by one they vanished down the pit, and the darkness swallowed them whole.

***

Applejack had to do all she could to keep herself from yelling as the seemingly endless chute took her on its turbulent course. Dipping and weaving, she plunged through darkness, her heart in her throat as she blindly slipped through the dank rock walls. When the slide turned into a sharp drop, she couldn’t stop a yelp from slipping from her throat. Hooves tucked to her chest, she plummeted downwards before the tunnel sharply turned upwards, and spat her into the air. Flailing her hind legs, she soared, airborne, before finally finding water.

The rushing of the air turned into the muted crash of water, and with a gulp, Applejack swam upwards. Breaking the surface, she gasped for air and fumbled for a firm grip. She struggled in the pitch blackness, panicking. Where was she? Before she could open her mouth to cry for help, there was a pop, a fizzle, and a burst of light. A strong purple glow chased away the thick blackness.

With a heaving gasp, Applejack threw herself onto the now-visible land and dragged herself to safety. Rolling onto her back, she coughed out the water in her lungs and let her breath return. Sighing slowly, she rose to her hooves, mane and fur matted and dripping. Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy looked at her, concerned, as she shook herself dry. A magical light radiated from Twilight Sparkles horn.

“Is everypony alright?” asked Applejack, panting slightly. An indignant huff came from behind her as Rarity dragged herself out of the water as well.

“Oh, I’m just fine, thank you for asking!” she seethed, her styled mane now hanging in a sopping mess. “No, really, no one mind me at all. I just adore being dragged into a muddy hole in the ground against my will.” With a downward glance at herself, she whimpered at her matted fur.

Applejack rolled her eyes and trotted over to her friends, placing a hoof on an unnerved Fluttershy. “Y’alright, sugarcube?” she asked sympathetically. The jittery pegasi gave a rapid nod, tears in her eyes.

“I’m so sorry... I didn’t mean to...” she started, before her voice trailed off in a mortified squeak. Rainbow Dash gave her a slight nudge of her elbow.

“Don’t worry about it, Fluttershy. What’s done is done. Nopony’s hurt, that’s all that’s important, right?”

“Exactly,” said Twilight Sparkle with a motherly nod as Applejack fetched her soggy Stenson from the pool they had fallen in. “For now, we just need to worry about finding a way out of here.”

Having accepted her state as currently hopeless, Rarity abandoned attempting to dry herself and instead looked around. “Speaking of which... where is here?”

The six ponies cast a concerned look about them, taking in the slick, craggy walls and the low ceiling dotted with dripping stalactites. Cold, dank air hung around them, clinging to their already wet coats. Beyond the light cast by Twilight Sparkle’s horn, there was nothing but inky shadow.

“Some sort of cave,” Twilight Sparkle guessed. “We must have fallen down some sort of natural chute that leads to--”

“Echo!” trilled Pinkie Pie, making her friends jump slightly in surprise. Her voice echoed off the walls of the cave, much to Pinkie’s satisfacted giggle. Her friends gave her a glare before Rarity cleared her throat.

“Well, how are we going to get out of here?” she asked, an hint of worry creeping into her voice. Twilight Sparkle looked upwards at the hole from where they had fallen.

“I’m guessing there’s no going back up that way, huh?” questioned Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash shook her head.

“Hole’s too small, and the sides are really slippery. We’ll need to look around for another way.”

With Twilight Sparkle at the head, the six ponies went forth in the dark abyss, the beams of purple light bouncing off the slick surface of the damp cave. As she walked, Twilight Sparkle couldn’t shake off the most peculiar sensation of being watched. It clung to her the same as the chilling air of the cavern. Despite her light bathing the cave, the glow only got so far before shadows overtook it again, and crevices in the rock could be hiding anything. Then there was the smell. It was faint at first, reeking of mold and dust. But as they walked through the tunnels, it grew gradually stronger, the dank perfume creeping into their nostrils with the odor of rot and death. It did nothing to alleviate the eerie stillness of the cave.

She could tell she wasn’t the only one who felt nervous. Rainbow Dash flapped her wings quietly, as if afraid to wake something. Applejack kept looking over her shoulder, whistling with false cheeriness. In the middle of the group, instead of usually lagging behind, Fluttershy was trembling furiously. Beads of sweat were pouring down her brow, and her feathers were twitching incessantly. Her breath coming in short gasps, she looked about her every step of the way.

The narrow walls of the tunnel gradually gave way and expanded upwards. Murmering in awe, the six ponies found themselves in a sprawling natural chamber. Steppes of stone etched from eons of flowing rivers crawled with thick lichen and slime. The horrid smell of decomposition was unbearable now, and Twilight Sparkle brought a hoof to her muzzle in protest.

“What... is that?” she complained, twisting her head about and focusing her light to find the source of the stench. There was nothing but the glistening of water and rock. It was as if the odor was seeping from every pore of the cavern.

“Ah think we’ve got a bigger problem than the smell, Twi,” said Applejack morosely with a point of her hoof. “Look!”

They had been going down a straight shot up until now. Here, the cave diverged into different directions. Tunnels, ridged from the course of water, went in several differing directions. The six friends looked at each other in confusion.

“Which way do we go?” polled Rainbow Dash, swooping upwards.

“Mmm. Nowhere,” came the unearthly reply.

With a jolt, the ponies instinctively came together at the sound of the foreign voice. For a moment, they were too stunned to speak, until Rainbow Dash alighted and leered into the darkness. “Who said that?” she demanded. There was a rasping, wheezing laugh in response.

“Ponies. Ponies in my cave. It’s been long. Too long, hasn’t it, Benjamin? We’ve waited. Oh, yes, we’ve waited.”

Rainbow Dash flared her wings indignantly, but before she could raise her voice to berate the unseen speaker, Applejack shouldered past her and took over.

“Listen, mister, we don’t mean no trouble. My friends n’ Ah accidentally fell down down this here cave. We’re just lookin’ for a way out,” she said neutrally, eyes sweeping the shadows. Twilight Sparkle closed her eyes and perked her ears. The voice laughed again, its chilling tone reverberating in the cave.

“I can’t help. Because you can’t leave. Not yet, no, not yet,” it said teasingly. Twilight’s brow furrowed, and her ears angled. There was the strange voice but... something else. As the voice continued to speak, strange sounds joined it. At first it was distant, sporadic. But as she concentrated, it became louder and more constant. Like the clicking of metal on stone.

“Listen here, pal,” hissed Rainbow Dash, snorting, “there’s no way that we’re staying in here, so tell us how to get out, or else!”

“No, no. Can’t leave,” droned the voice, as the chittering grew closer and more insistent. “He doesn’t want you to--”

Twilight’s eyes shot open. There! With a huff, she craned her neck, and shifted the magical energies in her horn from a glow to a concentrated beam. Like a violet blade, the light sliced through the shadows and illuminated a lone figure not too far from them, which yelped and covered its eyes in pain. Almost at the same time, the strange noises stopped.

“Ah!” cried out the figure, stumbling backwards at the sudden light. “P-please, don’t do that! My eyes...!”

“Who are you?” demanding Rainbow Dash flaring her wings and launching herself towards the figure. Before she got far, she was pulled back as a strong set of teeth grabbed her tail.

“Eavy vere, fugarcube,” Applejack warned, pulling her back with her mouth. Unwillingly, Rainbow Dash struggled, before begrudgingly landing with on her haunches with her hooves crossed. Looking between her friends, Twilight Sparkle lowered her beam, lighting up only the pony’s hooves.

He was a pathetic, dismal figure. His fur might have been navy blue once, or maybe it was a dark green. It was impossible to tell through the accumulated filth and grime that matted the emaciated pony’s fur. His frail hooves lowered from his face, and thin, bloodshot eyes still smarting from the light looked over them. Rimmed with dark bags, it and caked with crusted salt and dust, his eyes seemed almost painted on they were so sullen. Cautiously, Twilight repeated Rainbow Dash’s question.

“Who are you?”

The skeletal stallion sniffed, slowly coming to his hooves. “Don’t know. Doesn’t matter. What matters is you. Here. With me.” The same dismal monotone hung in his voice, but his ears were laid flat against his head and every hoofstep was cautious. His strange eyes flicked between each of them, resting for a moment longer on Twilight’s horn, as well as the terrified Fluttershy. Twilight’s eyes narrowed at the pony. She didn’t like the way he was looking at them. It was... unsettling.

As he turned, she caught a glimpse of his flank, and his cutie mark. At least, where there would have been a cutie mark. The fur on his flank was sparse and frayed, and splotched with a thick-caked crust.

“Twilight... please, can we leave?” whispered Fluttershy, her voice trembling. It sounded as if she was fighting as hard as she could to suppress bursting into tears. “He isn’t...” She fumbled with her words, before whispering hurriedly, “Right. He isn’t right, this place isn’t right. We need to leave.”

The pony stopped again. And he grinned longingly with crooked, bent teeth. “Mmm. Yes. You’ll do. You’ll do.”