Part 14 – The Next Trip
Bright Eyes lay in bed, cozied up in the blankets after being shown to a room. Raspberry Jam made sure all were plied with plenty of tea, cake, and sweets, before ushering them to rooms. Genie however, stayed awake, opting to explore Paradise Estate.
She sighed and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep. The sleep did not last long, and she was awoken by the sound of furniture being scraped across the floor in the rooms above. She cried out when a knock came to her own door, then Genie poked her head around it.
"Did you hear those noises?" she said, trotting into the room. She stood in the middle of it, waiting for Bright Eyes.
Bright Eyes nodded and got up.
"Want to go check it out?"
Bright Eyes swallowed hard, feeling her stomach flip-flop over itself. Genie noticed her hesitation, approached her, and rubbed her neck.
"Don't worry, I'll be right there," she told Bright Eyes with a smile.
Bright Eyes said nothing, though she let Genie lead the way from the room. The noises continued, scraping across the floor. The unicorn wandered up the stairs, then went between rooms, pressing her ear against the door. When she found the room she was looking for, the sounds stopped.
Genie opened the door, lit up her horn and gestured for Bright Eyes. The twinkle eyed pony stood with Genie, looking over her shoulder into the room. The furniture was in a state of disarray. Chest of drawers were pulled away from the wall, the bed sat in the middle of the room and the various chairs were piled into a tower. In the corner was the worst of it, a shape, with a horn and glowing white eyes.
As Genie went to enter the room, seemingly unaware of the shadow's presence, Bright Eyes stopped her, pointing to the corner.
"I don't see anything," she whispered. Regardless, she took Bright Eyes at her word and conjured a small, glowing cloud. It floated into the room, illuminating it. It dissipated when it hit the shadowed shape.
"We need to tell the others, they have to know it's happening again," Bright Eyes said.
Genie nodded and closed the door.
They returned down to Genie's room, where they sat, waiting, listening for any sounds of movement. The shadow did not disappoint them.
The door of the room it resided in opened and closed, hooves walking along the hall, ever so slowly. Bright Eyes couldn't stop the whimper that escaped her, while Genie moved closer to her. They listened to it walk up and down the hall upstairs before it made its way down. It wandered the halls, going from room to room, with no clear objective or reason.
It stood outside Genie's room.
Both ponies held their breath. The shadow knocked on the door.
Neither Genie nor Bright Eyes moved.
Something else in the room moved instead.
Behind them, blankets shuffled, pulling across the bed. They flapped and folded, before something caused the springs of the mattress to compress and squeak.
Bright Eyes risked a look behind her. The blankets now stood on the bed, in the shape of a pony. Genie looked over too, her jaw dropped when she saw it. She grabbed Bright Eyes, ran to the door and threw it open. The shadow was gone, and the two ponies galloped down the hall back into the living area.
When the rest of the ponies awoke, they found the two asleep on couches, Genie with a pillow under her head and Bright Eyes with a blanket over her.
After explaining the previous night's events, the rest of the ponies grew concerned that something had made its way into Paradise Estate. The building was supposed to be their one safe haven; however it seemed the magic that caused it to be encased in darkness, was far stronger than what they'd expected.
Raspberry Jam once more handed out tea, then sat with Streaky. Streaky held the cup between her hooves, watching the steam billow into the air.
"It's worse than before," Moondancer said. "Sparkler hasn't come back and we could do with Dazzleglow or Princess Aquamarine's help. Even advice from Peach Blossom would be welcome at this point."
Genie's ears twitched. "Dazzleglow? As in the glowing unicorn?"
Raspberry Jam nodded. "Indeed. Do you know her?"
Genie shook her head. "I wish I did. Patch talks about her magic all the time, and I'd heard all the rumours of their existence. It was such a wonderful day when they came to visit for the first time." She dipped her head, her cheeks flushing to a bright red. "Apologies, I was a bit of a bookworm when it came to magical elements and other such topics."
Raspberry Jam smiled. "No need for apologies. You are right though; they did hide away for a long time."
"Pearly hasn't come back either," Moondancer added. "There's only so long I can fob her mother off with stories."
Bright Eyes cleared her throat. "If Pearly has indeed got in, Baby Bouncy will know about it. My suggestion is this. I go back and speak to Baby Bouncy, offer to get her out if need be and find out if Pearly is indeed there."
Genie stepped forward. "Not alone you won't."
Bright Eyes frowned.
"I won't let you go alone to get your friends. If I can help, I will."
Raspberry Jam smiled at Genie. "That's very brave of you."
Once more, Genie's cheeks went red, and she offered a small smile in return.
Within the hour, the two ponies were ready to go, and carried supplies for Baby Bouncy to take back with her. On the off chance she had indeed met with Pearly, Baby Moondancer took Bright Eyes to the side and gave her Mr Stuffings to take with her. Bright Eyes agreed, and insisted Baby Moondancer give Mr Stuffings a hug so he could pass it on to Pearly.
She gathered everything else together then met Genie by the door. Genie gave her a warm smile, pushed some of her mane out of the way, then they were off.
At the very least, the noises that plagued them on the way to Paradise Estate, had subsided enough to make the journey uneventful. The whispering and howling was kept at bay as Genie travelled with her horn lit up, ready to aim it at anything that dared to get in their way. She was determined nothing would happen to Bright Eyes on the way to their meeting spot.
Bright Eyes returned to their spot, removed her bag and sat it on the ground waiting for Baby Bouncy. The first tooth emerged some time later, pressed close to the ground as if to avoid being seen.
Bright Eyes and Genie moved toward her immediately, Bright Eyes already retrieving the supplies and Mr Stuffings from her bag.
Baby Bouncy took the teddy bear, held it out in front of her, then nodded. "Pearly will be grateful for this."
Genie spoke up first. "Pearly is there with you?"
Baby Bouncy nodded. "We've found a weird mirror room, and Pearly keeps getting called by the head pony."
Bright Eyes frowned. "The head pony? What do they want with Pearly?"
Baby Bouncy shook her head. "I don't know. She said she found something, in the mines. That it spoke to her."
"And what about you? Are you all right?" Genie asked.
Baby Bouncy nodded. "Pearly's made sure of that." She let a small smile creep across her face. "She thinks she's the guardian of us, and keeps trying to protect us from everything."
"Who's us?" Genie said.
Baby Bouncy turned to look at her this time. "Me, and Baby Rainribbon."
"Do you need out yet? Or Pearly?"
Baby Bouncy shook her head. "Not when Baby Rainribbon's friend is still missing. She thinks she's been taken against her will, and is now determined to find her. Pearly is equally as determined."
Bright Eyes sighed. "Is there anything you need then?"
Once more, Baby Bouncy shook her head. "Just to let any of the Rainbow Curl ponies know that Baby Rainribbon is all right."
The First Tooth looked over her shoulder and started to back away.
Genie nodded. "All right, we'll let you go. Know that we are here for you and we'll help wherever we can."
Bright Eyes nodded in agreement.
Baby Bouncy said nothing more, grabbing the bag, and backed away. In seconds she was back within the bushes, and she turned, rushing back the way she'd come. Genie let out a sigh, then sat down.
"She'll be all right," Bright Eyes assured her.
"I hope so," Genie answered.
They sat for a few moments longer before they got up and left from the meeting spot.