Part 9 – Children
After seeing the pale ponies' arrival in Pony Land, Dazzleglow, Starglow and Sparkler all hurried back to the glowing pony's home. Starglow came in last, locking the door behind her. The house was in darkness, the candles having long gone out, Happyglow and Brightglow both asleep for hours by this point. If they had not been, Dazzleglow had no doubt she would've been accosted by Happyglow the moment she returned.
Starglow headed to the kitchen, the sound of a kettle being filled a few moments later. Dazzleglow flopped down onto her chair, her book toppling off the chair arm. Sparkler was by her side.
"Are you all right?" Sparkler asked, resting her head on the arm of the chair. Her hoof covered Dazzleglow's.
Dazzleglow shook her head. "There were so many of them…"
Starglow returned with a tray. Littered upon it were cups, a teapot, milk and sugar. She handed out the cups, filled each one and added milk and sugar to each pony's liking. Dazzleglow held her between her hooves, watching the steam rise up from it.
"No one would think less of you if you stayed here."
Once more Dazzleglow shook her head.
"When you finish that, head to bed," Starglow told her. When Dazzleglow opened her mouth to protest, Starglow held up her hoof. "No. Even if you don't sleep, you'll perhaps be a bit more relaxed."
Sparkler nodded in agreement.
Dazzleglow sighed and drank her tea. She picked up her book from the floor, headed to her room and switched on the lamp. She settled down into bed, listening to the quiet voices of Starglow and Sparkler. No doubt they were speaking of her, though she knew they were worried for her. She lay in bed, reading her book before the book slipped from her hooves, and sleep claimed her.
To her horror and dismay, the noise of something outside woke her. Dazzleglow opened her eyes, and turned over in bed. She heard the sound of hooves pacing back and forth, then scraping against the wall. She pulled the blankets up to her chin, her breathing quickening. She looked out the window, and despite the light from the house, it was pitch blackness outside.
Dazzleglow gathered her courage, got out of bed and went over to the window. She looked out into the darkness.
Nothing was there, no pale ponies, no monsters.
Until she looked away from the window to return to bed. Her stomach dropped, a cold pit forming. She gathered what remained of her bravery, turned back and looked back out the window.
A howl resounded from the distance; a wail followed. The sound of hooves returned and Dazzleglow was horrified to see a black shape walk past the window. It turned its head to look at her, and that was when he courage failed.
Dazzleglow dashed from the room, heading to the guest bedroom. She knocked on the door, waited, then leaned against the wall. She felt like crying.
The door opened, Sparkler standing at the room's entrance, hair sticking out in all directions. Any other time the image would've been comical, but in her panic, Dazzleglow was simply glad to see her.
Sparkler rubbed her eyes, blinked a few times then yawned. "Dazzleglow? What's the matter?"
"There's something outside," Dazzleglow answered.
This seemed to work in terms of waking Sparkler up. She moved out of the way to let Dazzleglow in, then shut the door. She went to the bed, grabbed the blankets then wrapped Dazzleglow in them.
Sparkler went to the window, looked out to check and frowned at what she saw. Dazzleglow, blankets and all, went to the window too. She checked both ways, her eyes widening when she saw the black shape still at her own window.
"Is that...What is it?" Sparkler whispered.
"I don't know. It's different than Applejack," Dazzleglow told her.
The black shape's head snapped around, as if it knew they were there. The two unicorns watched as it moved away from Dazzleglow's window. It took a few steps back, contorting into odd positions. It moved away entirely, so painfully slowly then disappeared around the side of the building.
Sparkler breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned against the wall next to the window, then sat down on the floor. Dazzleglow joined her.
"These things…They're far bolder than what Applejack was," Sparkler said.
Dazzleglow nodded. "She hid herself from me at first, made her presence known with noises. Crying, voices, that sort of thing. I half think now that was the lucid part of her trying to ask for help."
"Then she outright attacked the baby ponies and Starglow."
Dazzleglow opened her mouth to say something, then stopped.
Something was moving back around the building. Hooves against the stones, scraping against the bricks of the house. Then it stopped, though a cracking sound resonated from the window.
Dazzleglow swallowed hard. She moved to stand up, Sparkler joining her. They each took a side of the window, then both looked out at the same time. Straight into the face of the dark shape. It opened its eyes, bright and glowing, pure white with no iris nor pupil.
Sparkler was frozen in place. Dazzleglow cried out and stumbled backwards. This shook Sparkler from her stupor and she joined Dazzleglow as she made her way out of the room.
The noise and commotion had awoken the rest of the house. Happyglow was the first out of her room, galloping towards the guest room. She threw open the door, saw the creature at the window and grabbed both Dazzleglow and Sparkler, dragging them out of the room. She slammed the door shut again and locked it.
"What was that thing?" she demanded.
Starglow helped both Dazzleglow and Sparkler up from the floor. "We saw something, a group of ponies like Applejack."
Happyglow turned to her. "Applejack? Where? When?"
Starglow sighed. "Earlier this evening. We went for a fly and saw them come into Pony Land. It's partly why Sparkler is visiting."
Happyglow looked between them, a frown on her face. "No. You are not getting involved again, Dazzleglow."
Dazzleglow frowned too. "My magic worked before."
"It didn't work there! Your wards should've kept that thing well away from here, and yet I wake up to find a shadow creature!"
Dazzleglow's face fell, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. Starglow scowled at Happyglow, while Sparkler went to Dazzleglow and nuzzled her neck, letting the other unicorn lean into her.
Happyglow seemed to realise how unkind she'd been and also went to Dazzleglow. She stroked Dazzleglow's mane, while Dazzleglow wiped her eyes and let out an undignified sniff.
"I'm sorry, Dazzleglow. I shouldn't have shouted at you," she said.
Dazzleglow shook her head. "No, you have a point. My wards have always kept us safe from anything that happened in Dream Valley of the magical nature."
"This means we need to find out more about it, if this is it just getting here or if it's been around Pony Land for a while."
Starglow nodded in agreement. "We'll head out in the morning then, go into town. Perhaps others have met the pale ponies."
Sparkler accompanied Dazzleglow to her room and stayed there for the night, though neither could even think of sleeping.
The next morning, all five ponies were up and getting ready to go into the town. Happyglow eyed Dazzleglow and Sparkler, both aware how tired they looked. The eldest of the magical ponies said nothing however, she had said enough the night before.
They left the house, Dazzleglow cast her magic to cloak it from view. Seldom did all of the glowing ponies leave the house at once, however, the few and far between times they did, Dazzleglow used her magic to protect it.
They went down the road, into the town, passing ponies as they went. Brightglow nodded in greeting to them, flashing them a smile as bright as her name.
They reached the town centre soon after. Immediately, they noticed Mr Berrytown in the streets, looking around somewhat frantically. Starglow was the first to approach.
"Mr Berrytown is everything all right?" she asked.
The white pony turned, startled by her appearance. "Oh! Starglow! I didn't hear you." The rest of the ponies approached, while Mr Berrytown sighed, and shook his head. "You haven't seen my daughter, have you? She left this morning without a word."
Sparkler's face fell, though she tried to hide it. Unfortunately, Mr Berrytown noticed.
"That's how it happened with Pearly, she just disappeared one morning," she told them quietly.
Mr Berrytown's eyes widened, then he frowned. "Do you know what happened to her?"
Starglow glanced around. "Perhaps we should find somewhere quieter to talk, hm?"
Mr Berrytown nodded. "Yes, I think that might be a good idea. I have a feeling I won't like this."
The ponies took Mr Berrytown to Bon Bon's mother's café, though Bon Bon was at school. On seeing Dazzleglow, she would immediately ask for Raspberry Jam's cake recipe. Happyglow guided them to a table and chairs, then went to the counter to order treats and cakes for them.
Mr Berrytown looked over to Sparkler. "I don't think I've seen you around," he said.
Sparkler shook her head. "I'm from Dream Valley. I was here visiting Dazzleglow," she answered, throwing a smile to her friend.
Mr Berrytown nodded. "Dream Valley is lovely this time of year. My wife and I took a trip to Flutter Valley a few years ago."
Happyglow returned to the table and distributed the tea, coffee, cakes and biscuits. Throughout the course of the coffee and tea, Sparkler, Dazzleglow and Starglow filled Mr Berrytown in on the events of Dream Valley, and the pale ponies. Mr Berrytown's face grew paler and paler, and he rested his head on his hoof on the table.
"So you think these ponies have something to do with my daughter going missing?" he said, once they had finished.
Dazzleglow nodded. "I know so." She took his hoof in her own. "Don't worry though, we'll find out what's going on and get her back."
"Yes. Yes, you will, as I'm going with you. Help as much as I can."
Happyglow shook her head. "No, Mr Berrytown. It's far too dangerous. It only just took Dazzleglow's magic in combination with the Princess Pony's to get rid of the magic from Applejack."
Mr Berrytown frowned. "She's my daughter. If these ponies are as dangerous as you say, then I couldn't, in good conscience, leave you to deal with them alone."
Dazzleglow sighed. "There's no convincing you otherwise, is there?"
"No, there's not."
Happyglow glanced between them. "Then, I suppose we'd better come up with some idea on how to get more information about them."