Part 15 – Demons
It was another long day in the mines.
After her discovery of the creature in the fire pit, Pearly was then asked to show where it was. Reluctantly, she did so. When she returned to it again, she found the crack in the wall to be not only wider, but permanent too.
She checked over her shoulder, ensured no one was following her, this included Baby Rainribbon and Baby Bouncy, and went through the gap.
She poked her head over the opening of the fire pit, her stomach stumbling over itself when she did so. To her immense relief, there were no eyes looking back at her, no voice calling to her. Nothing there to drag her down to the depths.
The room, however, was wider than she remembered, another corridor leading somewhere else. She threw another glance over her shoulder and found the way was empty. She lit up her horn, then stepped through the corridor into the darkness.
The corridor was long and narrow, barely enough space for her to walk through it. She squeezed her way through, shuffling carefully, a few times having to pull herself along when she was almost stuck. Around her, Pearly heard noises, skittering footfalls crawling up and down the walls. They moved along with her, following her, before they stopped briefly. Pearly tried to ignore them, and she quickened her pace when she saw a light at the end of the corridor.
The way out glowed a dim orange, and Pearly scrambled out from the corridor into another room. A fire burned in the corner, smoke billowing upwards and out of a small hole in the ceiling. The noises returned, climbing up the walls, scampering across the ceiling.
Pearly heard footsteps from somewhere and she dimmed the glow from her horn, then hid herself. She held her breath, watched as a creature stalked into the room. It poked at the fire, throwing more logs onto it then waited till it grew brighter and brighter. The fire lit up the whole room, the only shadows left being the rocks Pearly hid behind. The creature grunted, and looked around the room. It had the same blank eyes she saw before. It snorted then left the room.
Pearly came out from behind the rocks, heading over to the fire. She watched the flames dance and leap across the logs. Her head snapped around when she heard footsteps, and she hid herself behind the rocks once more. A smaller shape came into the room. It looked around, looked at the flames too and sat next to the fire. Pearly poked her head out to get a better look.
The creature was pony shaped, though Pearly could swear it was a baby pony. Her mind raced with the possibility of the thing from the fire pit having taken another baby pony from the mine. It seemed to sense her presence and looked over its shoulder.
Its eyes were blank and black, its skin a dull grey. It ignored her then turned back to the fire.
Eventually, it got up and walked away.
Pearly crept out of her hiding place, scampering across the room and after the pony. Its movements were slow, deliberate almost, as it wandered down the corridor, staggering at some points. She kept low to the ground, staying in the shadows, despite the pony either not noticing or not caring that she was there. The pony kept walking, eventually reaching the end of the corridor. It turned the corner, staggered, then fell. Pearly resisted the urge to rush to help it.
The pony picked itself up, leaned against the wall to right itself, then continued. Pearly followed, feeling her way along using the wall to guide her. The corridors seemed to continue forever, winding around left and right. It made Pearly dizzy after a while. The pony reached its destination, a room at the end of another corridor, behind a rock. Pearly moved to follow, hid behind the rock and peered around it. The room was filled with other ponies like the one she'd been following. Pale skin, black eyes, movement that was stilted. She watched them wander around the room, leaning against walls, sitting next to a fire, stretching their limbs out as if they were trying out the movement.
"We know you're there," the first pony said, not looking at Pearly. "You're not very subtle."
Pearly felt a shiver run through her. She stepped out from behind the rock and stood at the entrance.
"Now you know what you're mining." It looked at Pearly this time. "Us."
"But why?"
It turned to face her entirely. "Power."
"What about the other baby ponies?"
"If they succeed, they'll become like us. Marionettes."
She looked at the pony in dismay. "Like the mannequins we found, in the mirror room."
The pony nodded.
Pearly felt her breath quicken.
"Warn your friends. Warn them to be careful, not to become like us."
Pearly nodded.
"Come. I will lead you back out."
Pearly stepped back, then waited for the pony she'd followed to get to its feet, and wander out of the room. It led her through the myriad of corridors back to the entrance she'd found. It nodded once, then left without another word.
Pearly returned to her room, and found Baby Rainribbon pacing up and down. She closed the door behind her, then immediately found herself accosted by Baby Rainribbon as she engulfed Pearly in a tight hug.
"Where've you been? I was worried!" Baby Rainribbon said, holding Pearly by her shoulders.
"I found something in the mines," Pearly answered. "The ponies that have us dig, they're after power. Power to possess us and use us for something."
Baby Rainribbon went pale. "Use us for what?"
Pearly shook her head. "I don't know." She glanced to the door. "You said there was things in the mirrors?"
Baby Rainribbon nodded.
"Let's go get Baby Bouncy and check it out."
She didn't wait for an answer. She was already at the door when Baby Rainribbon galloped over to her and stayed close. Pearly opened the door, went along the corridor and knocked on Baby Bouncy's door. The yellow Pegasus opened it, then stepped out of the way to let them in. She closed the door behind them, and trotted to the middle of the room.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Baby Rainribbon glanced to Pearly and stepped forward. "Pearly found something, and she thinks it's related to the weird mirror room we found."
Baby Bouncy nodded. "Let's go then. They've long since left."
"Did you hear anything else from it?" Pearly asked. "Baby ponies, moaning, howling. Anything like that."
Once more, Baby Bouncy nodded. "I heard the whimpering again, then a shout. I don't know what they did, or who they did it to."
Pearly was already at the door. "Well. No time like the present." She opened the door and strode out, heading along the corridor to the room with the mirrors. Baby Rainribbon and Baby Bouncy were quick to follow, appearing at her back in seconds.
Pearly tried the door, found it open, then wandered through. The mirrors were covered once more, something the two baby ponies had forgotten to do before they left. It made them uneasy.
Baby Rainribbon stayed in the middle of the room, glancing between Pearly and Baby Bouncy. By this point, both baby ponies were over at mirrors, hauling the white cloth from them. As before, varying creatures were at the mirrors., some further away, others pressed against it. Both Baby Rainribbon and Baby Bouncy heard Pearly gasp when she saw them, though she tried to hide it from them. Neither mentioned it.
Pearly put a hoof against the mirror where the closest creature was. Its eyes followed her every movement.
Their eyes were the same as the baby pony she'd encountered, black, darkness. Her breath caught in her throat, and all she could think about was what the pony said. The thing on the other side of the mirror stared at her, never moving, never blinking.
Pearly looked around the room. "Is there anything we can use to break the mirrors?"
Baby Bouncy and Baby Rainribbon stared at her.
"It can't go any worse than what's already been happening. Either it gets rid of them or it'll let them free."
Baby Bouncy scurried off to the corners of the room, returning moments later with a plank of wood. She handed it to Pearly, who got ready to heave it at the mirrors. With an almighty smash, the mirror was broken to pieces when Pearly threw it at the first mirror. There was a screech, and the other creatures from the other mirrors hissed and disappeared entirely.
"There. We'll see what that does."
Pearly threw the plank of wood to the floor and went to the middle of the room. She watched the other mirrors, though they remained empty. She stayed there, until Baby Bouncy dragged her out. Both heard the hooves on the other side of the door, and none of them wanted to be found there.
They headed to the mannequin room, huddling close together. The cloth had been returned, the mannequin stationary once more. Pearly pulled the cloth off of the shape, to find it had returned to its original place. She backed away toward Baby Bouncy and Baby Rainribbon.
They waited, listening to the hooves in the other room. A door opened and closed, and they took this chance to leave. Pearly paused briefly to look back at the mannequin. She swallowed hard when she saw it move. Pearly slammed the door shut, hurrying after her friends, and they holed up in Baby Bouncy's room.