Part 18 - Leader
Baby Rainribbon was worried, Pearly could tell. The leader of the pale ponies had asked to see Pearly, and Baby Rainribbon was reluctant to let her go.
It had been days since Baby Sunribbon was stowed away in Baby Bouncy's room, though still no one came looking for her. Baby Rainribbon spent most of her time there, leaving Pearly alone with her thoughts. It wasn't the first time she was convinced she heard something above her head, blankets folding, unfolding then being dragged from the top bunk. Without thinking she'd ask the empty room if it couldn't sleep, only to remember a moment later, Baby Rainribbon wasn't there.
The four baby ponies were camped in Baby Bouncy's room, Baby Rainribbon and Baby Sunribbon sitting close together. Baby Bouncy however paced, up and down, left and right, until Pearly caught her.
"Will you calm down? You're making me dizzy," Pearly complained.
"They must know we broke Baby Sunribbon out," Baby Bouncy insisted.
"And you think I'm about to tell them?"
Baby Bouncy shook her head. "No, of course not. But she might not be safe here."
Baby Rainribbon nodded in agreement.
"Let's not jump to conclusions."
"What other conclusion is there? She's been missing for days, and now you're getting called in to see the head pony."
Pearly sighed. "They'll start to wonder where I am."
Baby Bouncy nodded, then moved over to the bag she'd brought back from her last meeting. She fished through it and brought out a familiar bear. Baby Bouncy trotted over to her, holding out Mr Stuffings, reverently, almost.
Pearly took him, held him close, and took a few seconds to simply hold the teddy.
"Who's he?" Baby Sunribbon asked in a small voice. Pearly had to strain to hear her.
"This is Mr Stuffings," Pearly told her. "He's kept my cousin safe from so many monsters in her closets, under her bed, and the worst one, Applejack. He's very brave."
"Not as brave as you," Baby Sunribbon said.
Pearly's cheeks flushed. She approached Baby Sunribbon and handed Mr Stuffings to her. "Look after him till I get back."
Pearly turned and left the room. She wandered down the corridors, flanked by two pale ponies. They didn't look at her, only looked ahead of them. They kept pace, Pearly pausing every so often to glance into the other rooms. They said nothing, waited for her to catch up. She wondered if they were under orders not to engage with her.
The two ponies stopped walking, standing on either side of a door. Pearly opened it, despite her every instinct screaming at her otherwise.
The room was ornately decorated. Long curtains from ceiling to floor, a writing desk placed in the middle of the room atop a thick rug. Bookshelves lined the walls; more books than Pearly had ever seen in her life. Several comfortable armchairs were dotted around, and the head pony spun around in her chair, standing up from it.
"I was beginning to wonder if you'd got lost," she said. Though her tone suggested lightness, the expression on her face did not.
Pearly said nothing.
"Come, sit." She gestured to one of the armchairs. "You've done very well so far with what you've found."
Pearly frowned. "And what have I found?"
The pony smiled. "It spoke to you, didn't it?"
"I don't know what you mean."
The pony said nothing, walking over to the bookshelves. She pulled a book, a door opened behind it. The passageway led to the mine, though now in darkness. Seeing it made sense to Pearly, it explained how the crack in the wall was opened.
"Pearly…"
Her breath caught in her throat.
"PEARLY!"
She scrambled to the ground, crashing into the other chair.
"It wants you, dear," the head pony whispered, now right next to her ear. "You think your Dazzleglow is powerful? Accept him. Accept the power he offers and Dazzleglow's abilities are but a fleeting dream."
"Pearly…"
Pearly looked at the door, then turned and ran for it. She threw it open, dashed down the corridor away from the terrible pony and its plans for her.
Baby Rainribbon found Pearly in their room, a lump under the blankets. In the short time she'd known the other unicorn, Baby Rainribbon knew she'd get little. Instead, she lifted the blankets and put Mr Stuffings within reach.
Pearly felt around, found Mr Stuffings and pulled him close. She lay on the bed, under the blankets, holding the teddy. She took a few moments to gather herself, threw the blankets back and sat up from the bed. She still held Mr Stuffings.
"What happened in there?" Baby Rainribbon asked.
Pearly shook her head. "They haven't mentioned your friend, but I think we should get her out of here soon."
Baby Rainribbon nodded.
"…They want me."
Her friend frowned at her, then hopped onto the bed. "What do you mean?"
"The thing…the one I heard before. It wants me and she's going to let it."
Baby Rainribbon frowned, then blinked slowly. "But you're not going to let it, right?"
She nodded. "Right now your friend is our concern. We'll deal with this after she's safe."
Pearly hopped off the bed, heading for the door. She opened it, nodded to Baby Rainribbon, then headed out of the room and down the corridor. She stopped at Baby Bouncy's room, knocked on the door and when it opened, pushed her way in.
"Excuse you," Baby Bouncy muttered.
Baby Rainribbon came into the room a few seconds later.
"How soon can you meet with your friends?" Pearly asked.
"A couple of days at most," Baby Bouncy replied. "Why?"
"We're going to get Baby Sunribbon out for then."
"What's happened?"
"There's something in the mines, that we're being made to dig for. And it's powerful. I think it's worse than what came with Applejack at Paradise Estate."
The room fell silent, none of them knew what to say or how to make Pearly feel better. It was obvious she was determined and that nothing could change her mind. Baby Sunribbon nodded once, headed for the door and stopped to hug Pearly. She left without another word.
"What are you going to do?" Baby Bouncy asked.
"I'm going for another look at the mines," she told her.
"I'm coming too," Baby Rainribbon said. "I'm not letting you go alone."
Baby Bouncy nodded, then waited in her room for Baby Sunribbon to return.
Baby Rainribbon followed Pearly closely, trying in vain not to look at the shadows in the mine. Pearly was focussed, she stared straight ahead, ignoring the dancing shadows, ignoring the movement and noise around them.
Down and down they went until they came to the crack in the wall. It was wider than it had been. Pearly squeezed through, her horn still lit up. Baby Rainribbon squeezed through also, almost falling. Pearly caught her, steadied her.
She led the way once more. Baby Rainribbon couldn't help but look around, sure she heard noises, scampering, scuttling. Pearly stopped at a pit. She poked her head over the edge of it.
Baby Rainribbon looked over too. There was nothing but fire. Flames leapt and danced, leaping further and further up. She scowled, sure for a moment, she saw a shadow. Pearly noticed her hesitance.
"What did you see?" Pearly said.
Baby Rainribbon squinted into the flames. "A shadow. I'm sure of it."
"Move away."
Baby Rainribbon obeyed. Her head snapped around, Pearly following the movement. Both were sure they heard laughter.
Pearly went to the hall, waited for Baby Rainribbon then lit up her horn further. The light bounced between the walls, the maze of corridors making them both dizzy. At the end of the corridor, a pony shape appeared then disappeared again. Pearly quickened her pace and they arrived at a room of ponies.
"You came back," said the lead baby pony. Its hair dangled down over its face.
Pearly nodded. "They want the thing, the shadow to possess me. Says it'll give me power."
The marionette nodded. "That's what happened to us. It didn't give us power though. Just control."
Pearly clenched her jaw. "What do I do?"
The marionette looked at her, then at Baby Rainribbon. "Your friends. Avoid the mirrors. Avoid her."
"The lead pony?"
The marionette nodded. "Sit down. Stay. They cannot harm you here."
Despite this reassurance, noises resounded from the corridors and other rooms. The marionette ponies gave them food, water and what little else they had to offer. Pearly felt bad taking it at all, however the marionette insisted. They sat, talked, avoided the subject of what exactly the shadow was, until Pearly could stand it no longer.
"Why does it want me?" she said.
The marionette looked at her. "You have been around another, yes?"
Pearly nodded.
"Then that is why. You showed promise, and these ponies want promise. Power. They want the shadow to take you, and lead them to power. To Pony Land."
Pearly's jaw dropped. "There must be something I can do. Something I can do to stop it."
The marionette stared at her, through her. "Avoid it. The mirror room is where it converges. Where they can summon the most, weak or strong."
Pearly said nothing. There was nothing she could say. She knew their plans, knew what they wanted to do with Baby Sunribbon. They wanted an army, to succeed where Applejack failed. She had to pass this on, the rest of Paradise Estate needed to know. They needed to know, and Pearly wasn't quite sure how to tell them.