Part 10 – Movement
Once again, Pearly was in the mines, though this time, the rest of the baby ponies were returned to their rooms. She couldn't quite figure out why she was being sent down alone, however, she knew an opportunity when she saw it.
She wandered through the tunnels, knocking over buckets, baskets and whatever else she came into contact with. All of them revealed the same, chips of rock, dust, dirt, little of note. It made her wonder just what exactly they were digging for, why they were sent down to these tunnels for hours on end. She kept walking, her horn glowing in the darkness, illuminating the walls around her.
The tunnel narrowed to a small crevice, a split in the wall in front of her. Pearly approached it and put her eye to the gap. Through it, she could see orange light. She frowned, it looked like a fire burning, or a furnace of some sort. She stepped away from the crevice and looked around.
"Aha!" she muttered. She picked up the pickaxe nearby, then carefully chipped at the gap, opening it further, widening it. She looked again through the gap. There didn't seem to be anything on the other side, no signs of life, just the orange glow. She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one had followed her, then continued to chip away at the gap. Soon it was big enough for her to squeeze through.
She moved through the gap, wriggling her way to the other side. She fell to the floor with a quiet "oomph", before picking herself up. There was indeed a fire on the other side. It was a pit, flames leaping and dancing, their light causing shadows to jump from wall to wall. Pearly looked over the edge of the pit, then stumbled backwards. She was sure a pair of eyes looked back at her. She moved toward the pit again, then poked her head over the edge.
Eyes.
Black, soulless eyes, staring at her from the fire pit.
Her heart thumped against her chest and she tried to control her breathing.
"Pearly."
Pearly clamped her hooves over her mouth, trying in vain to stifle the cry she involuntarily let out.
"Pearly."
She ducked down behind the edge.
"Come…" It paused. "HERE!"
To her horror, Pearly felt something pull her away from the edge and almost over the top. She screamed, uncaring who or what heard her. She scrambled away, across the floor and back to the gap.
"Pearly."
She squeezed herself back through the gap, looking back at the room long enough to see something scuttle in from the other side. She scrambled through the gap, ran back through the tunnels and back to the entrance. Once there, she was met by the leader.
The elder pony caught her and stopped her from running. "Pearly, what happened down there?" she asked. The note of concern in her voice was as fake as the smile.
"There's something down there," Pearly managed between breaths.
"I'm sure there's nothing there. Perhaps it was your imagination?"
Pearly took a deep breath, then composed herself. "Maybe it was, it was dark after all."
The leader nodded, and moved out of the way to let Pearly past to return to the buildings.
Baby Rainribbon found her later, sitting alone at one of the tables in the dining area. She pushed the food around her plate, lifting it on the fork then let it fall again with a splat.
"The food that bad?" Baby Rainribbon said. She put her plate down on the table and sat across from Pearly. "What happened in the mine?"
Pearly glanced around her. "I'll tell you once we're back in our room."
Baby Rainribbon nodded.
Pearly let Baby Rainribbon talk, mainly about her friends at the Rainbow Nursery. Soon, Baby Bouncy joined them, and she also spoke of her friends. For the most part, Pearly stayed quiet, something that did not go unnoticed.
Baby Rainribbon stood up, as did Pearly. Baby Rainribbon took both plates, then left them on the counters at the back of the room. Pearly waited for her, Baby Bouncy also stood with her.
"Wait a few minutes then come to our room," Pearly whispered to Baby Bouncy.
Baby Bouncy nodded and sat down at the table again. She took her plate, playing with the food as she waited for Pearly and Baby Rainribbon to leave.
The two unicorns walked back to their room, where Pearly flung herself face first onto the bed. She buried her face into the pillow, scrunching her eyes shut, while she tried desperately to banish the image of those black eyes staring at her from the fire pit. She took a few deep breaths, then sat up.
A few moments later, there was a knock on the door and Baby Bouncy came into the room. She sat down on the floor of the room.
"We're all here," Baby Bouncy said. "What did you see down there?"
Pearly sighed. "There's something down there. It's powerful and it called to me, tried to pull me down into a pit of flames." She covered her face with her hooves. "I don't know what it is."
Baby Rainribbon rushed to her side and sat on the edge of the bed with her.
"Do you think it's anything to do with that room we found?" Baby Bouncy asked.
Pearly shook her head. "Maybe? There has to be a reason for those mirrors."
Baby Bouncy nodded. She opened her mouth to say something else, then stopped. She raised her hoof, bade for silence, and went to the door. She pressed her ear against it and listened.
Baby Rainribbon moved closer to Pearly. Pearly reached out and pulled her close.
"There's something out there," Baby Bouncy whispered.
Pearly rubbed Baby Rainribbon's shoulder, then got off the bed and joined Baby Bouncy at the door. They both stood quietly, listening for anything out of the ordinary. Hooves were heard beyond the door.
A door opened, closed. Hooves walked down the hall, slowly, deliberately. They stopped at the door and didn't move.
After a few moments, Baby Bouncy opened the door, and looked out of it. Pearly was there in seconds, quick enough to catch a glimpse of white cloth, dragging itself down a corridor. She pushed past Baby Bouncy and followed where the white cloth had gone.
She marched down the hall, to where they'd last seen the cloth, Baby Bouncy and Baby Rainribbon not far behind.
Something dragged along the floor, slow and deliberate. It had to be whatever was leading them. Pearly ran onwards, ignoring Baby Rainribbon's calls. She rounded the next corner and finally found what they were following. A bundle of cloth sat in the corner of the dead end, its back to them. Baby Bouncy and Baby Rainribbon caught up with Pearly, though both stopped when they saw the cloth. Pearly and Baby Bouncy exchanged a glance, then Pearly moved toward it.
She reached out and pulled the cloth, only to find nothing there.
She turned to face her friends and paused. Behind them, dragging itself down the hall, was another shadowy shape. Pearly went to go after it when she was stopped by Baby Rainribbon. The three baby ponies watched it leave before they too followed it.
The sounds of something being dragged across the floor continued, leading them further and further into what felt like a maze of corridors. When they rounded the last turn, they found the cloth lying in the middle of the floor.
Baby Bouncy approached it, picking it up. She shook her head, then scrambled to her feet. Wails and screams echoed, sounding as if they came from all around. Pearly gathered them together and moved away from the sounds. They made their way back to the room Pearly shared with Baby Rainribbon, and Baby Bouncy came too.
There they stayed, listening to the wails and the howls, none of them even trying to get any sleep.