Part 29 - Harpy
Mrs Berrytown made tea and handed it out to the glowing ponies, and the very shaken up Meadowsweet family. Logan took Corny up to his room to let their parents speak, though not before Corny tried to hide on the stairs to listen. Logan grabbed him, and dragged him up the stairs.
Dazzleglow held the cup between her hooves, watching the steam rise from the top. The small creature that now resided in the Meadowsweet home bothered her, the magic that produced it was now widespread. She felt a nudge to her side that shook her from her reverie. She looked around the table to see the rest of the ponies looking at her.
"I'm sorry, my mind was elsewhere," she said.
Sparkler reached across and patted her hoof. "We were saying about your encounters with the pale Applejack."
"Oh, yes. I had several at Paradise Estate in Dream Valley. Not just me either, Baby Moondancer was also targeted by the magic too."
Mrs Meadowsweet's eyebrows raised. "A baby pony?"
Dazzleglow nodded. "I think it was to get to her cousin, Pearly. She sneaked into the group of ponies who took your daughter."
Mr Meadowsweet put his hoof on his wife's shoulder. "Then you too lost someone to this horrible group."
"I told Pearly's aunt I'd get her back," Sparkler added. "Still waiting for that one to happen."
Happyglow cleared her throat, drinking her tea in one go. "We should go, let you get settled for the night. If we hear anything else, or manage to get either of your children back, we'll bring them straight here."
Mr Berrytown nodded. "Thank you. I'll walk you out."
Dazzleglow kept her eyes fixed on the ground ahead of her. Her mind swirled with possibilities of what the creatures invading Pony Land could be, what the magic was or where its source could be found. It seemed a far cry from Applejack in Paradise Estate. Applejack was tame compared to this. Dark figures, shadowed ponies, pale ponies, shadows in general lurking around the outskirts. Her magic wasn't enough, not to combat all of that she was sure. One at a time perhaps, perhaps she might've had a chance.
She glanced to Sparkler beside her, the blue unicorn also saying little as they trailed behind Happyglow and Brightglow. Starglow flew above their heads, keeping a lookout for anything untoward.
Dazzleglow returned her gaze to the ground and kept walking.
Without realising, Brightglow and Happyglow had come to a halt, both watching Starglow. Dazzleglow crashed into Happyglow's back, both falling to the ground.
Sparkler went to Dazzleglow's side, Brightglow to Happyglow's. Dazzleglow looked up, a frown on her face. Something wasn't right.
"Starglow needs to come down," she said.
The three ponies turned to her. "Why? What's up there?" Brightglow asked. Happyglow was already running to catch up with Starglow and get her attention.
"I don't know what it is," Dazzleglow replied with a shake of her head. "It's something though, something conjured by strong magic."
Starglow landed, joining Happyglow then both stood with Dazzleglow. The ponies looked up into the sky, Dazzleglow's horn lighting up. She turned her head from side to side, looking for the source of the magic. Nothing appeared, and the feeling passed.
The ponies returned to their home, Dazzleglow immediately going to the wards she had set up. They still held, the boost from Peach Blossom's Utter Flutter giving them more than enough power to hold. Still, Dazzleglow worried, and she went round them again, checking each one, then lit up her horn to top it up.
She went into the house, the smell of muffins greeting her. The muffins were Sparkler's specialty, one that she made for Dazzleglow often and the baby ponies when she babysat them at the nursery.
Happyglow was on tea duty, brewing up the hot water and carefully spooned the tea leaves from the jar. She placed the kettle on the stove, then sat down at the table. She noticed Dazzleglow lingering at the doorway and waved her over.
"Sit down," Happyglow told her. "Sparkler's muffins are almost ready."
"Why is she making them now?" Dazzleglow asked, sitting at the table with her friends.
"You've had a hard few days, we hoped this would cheer you up a bit."
Dazzleglow smiled. "I'm lucky to have you."
Sparkler lifted the muffin tray out of the oven, then set them out near the window to cool. Once ready, she handed them out to the glowing ponies. From there they spent the rest of the night trying to lift Dazzleglow's spirits and relieve her worry. When night came, they went to Happyglow's room once more, the blankets, duvets and pillows all still set up from the previous nights.
Dazzleglow awoke during the night to the sound of wings flapping outside the window. She frowned, threw off the blanket and went to investigate. She opened the shutters, poked her head out, only to find nothing there.
She shrugged and went back in.
When she lay down on the makeshift bed once more, another noise came from outside the window. She put the pillow over her head. The noises continued, flapping wings, scratches on the ground then scraping against the walls.
Still Dazzleglow did not get up.
It wasn't until the knocking at the door began, did she throw the blanket off. She followed the knocking, going to the front door. She opened it, and there stood a white pegasus pony, wearing a tall hat.
"Oh! Thank goodness I've found you," the pegasus said, going past Dazzleglow and into the house.
"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Dazzleglow said.
"My apologies, I'm Princess Pearl." The pegasus pony, Princess Pearl, continued down the hall and into one of the empty rooms. "I'm given to understand you were in contact with Princess Aquamarine."
Dazzleglow nodded. "Yes, she sent me letters and helped us before."
"Good. She sent us correspondence from Dream Castle."
Dazzleglow tilted her head. "Dream Castle? Why is she there?"
Princess Pearl turned back to her. "The pale ponies and the magic making them so, have spread. Almost everywhere is affected."
As Dazzleglow was about to answer, the flap of wings resounded once more. Princess Pearl took her wand from a bag Dazzleglow hadn't notice her carrying, then went to the source of the sound. She poked her head out of the window then jumped back.
There was a screech, then more wings.
"Get away from the window!" Princess Pearl yelled. She aimed her wand at the window, a burst of snow coming flying out of it.
"What is that?" Dazzleglow answered.
"It's a Wind Harpy." Princess Pearl moved back and stood at Dazzleglow's side. "They are, were, creatures of legend, only able to appear when summoned. We had an encounter at Royal Paradise." She sighed. "Things are so much worse than I imagined."
Dazzleglow gathered Princess Pearl together and led her to the kitchen. From there, she made tea, handed her a muffin and sat down. "It seems to have gone for now," she said. "What's been happening in Dream Valley?"
Princess Pearl recounted the events and problems the other part of Pony Land suffered. The darkness, the dark unicorn, the Wind Harpy attacking Royal Paradise and the cold weather that neither of the Princess Ponies could combat. It made Dazzleglow's stomach lurch that her friends were dealing with this while she had been so preoccupied with Pony Land's troubles.
"I've set up wards around the house," Dazzleglow told Princess Pearl. "But we've had shadows manage to get past them, coming into the house."
Princess Pearl nodded. "I could sense them when I was outside." She gave Dazzleglow a smile. "You're very talented that you can not only set them up, but maintain them too."
Dazzleglow opened her mouth to answer when a crash and the shattering of glass resounded from down the corridor. The rest of the ponies of the house galloped out of Happyglow's room.
Sparkler was the first to arrive in the kitchen, her eyebrows raised when she saw Princess Pearl sitting at the table. "Highness, what are you doing here?" she asked, dipping her head.
"I'll explain later," Princess Pearl replied.
There was another screech before there was a thud against the front door. Something scratched and scraped it, trying desperately to get in.
"Is there a back way out?" Princess Pearl said.
Dazzleglow nodded. She got to her feet, Sparkler following, as they galloped through the house and outside. Princess Pearl lit up her wand, while Dazzleglow lit up her horn. They rounded the perimeter of the house to find the harpy throwing itself against the door. It turned its head and let out a wail.
"Oh no you don't!" Dazzleglow said. She chased at it then skidded to a halt. She lowered her head, the glow around her horn growing larger and larger. She aimed it at the Harpy then threw her head back and thrust the ball at the creature.
The glowing ball hit the Harpy's body, sending it staggering back. It shook its head, trying to regain itself then took to the air. Its legs turned to sharp talons, the head growing a horn, wings spread wide. It swooped down at Dazzleglow, the talons catching her back, cutting into her.
Dazzleglow cried out, however swung her body around to face it again. She threw another ball of magic at it, this time missing. She galloped to the outside of the house, standing between two of her wards.
Princess Pearl was also in the air and she chased after the Harpy. She flew ahead of it, arcing around to get in front of it. She aimed her wand, hit it with a gust of wind then pointed her wand upwards. The clouds gathered, grey, black, all of them threatening. There was a rumble of thunder, then lightning.
The Harpy hovered over the house. A burst of lightning caught it, sending it tumbling to the ground. It landed outside the house, groaning.
Dazzleglow moved quickly. She lit up the wards around it, these forming bars and a cage around it.
Princess Pearl landed next to her. She waved her wand once more and the clouds dispersed. "Well done Dazzleglow," she said. She heaved a sigh before approaching the creature.
Sparkler went to Dazzleglow's side, checking her over. "Oh, your poor back!" she said.
"I'm fine," Dazzleglow told her. She looked over to Princess Pearl. "Wind Harpies were a baby pony story. How can they exist?"
"The balance of magic has been disturbed," Princess Pearl replied, circling the creature. "With this new type these ponies have access to, it's allowed them to bring them forth." She looked to Dazzleglow once more. "There are more like these, I'm afraid. All of them are linked to their own element, fire, water, earth. When one appears, the others are not far behind."
Sparkler nudged Dazzleglow. "Come on, we can discuss what to do in the house."
With that, Princess Pearl followed the others into the house.