This Strange New World

by GhostQuill

Hooves and Wing-things

Bluebell awoke but didn’t open her eyes. She didn’t want to get up, that meant having to go to school. She tossed in her bed as even the most ridiculous positions were comfortable in her dozing state. She yawned and turned onto her stomach, as she did, part of her hair went over her ear and was poking the inside of it. So on instinct, she flicked her ear. The motion felt peculiar as she thought about it, but her half asleep mind was more focused on keeping the sunlight out of her eyes. As she pulled her legs up into a more comfortable position, she felt an odd thing brush against her leg, like some bug was crawling on it. Her mind screamed get it off as she suddenly threw the blanket off and jolted further up her bed. What she saw then when she looked down at the bed made her pause, suddenly everything from last night came rushing back to her as she tried to put the pieces together. She was a pony! With hooves and long ears, even a tail which had wrapped itself around her leg. From head to hoof she was covered in light blue fur. She screamed as she waved her leg around wildly trying to throw the dark blue tail off her leg. She pushed her hooves over each other trying to pry them off her arms and pulled at her ears. She twisted in her bed going onto her side trying to shove the image of a cupcake from her favourite dress off her side and caught sight of something attached to her back. She screeched as she saw the blue feathery wings on her back. She tried to leap away from them and collapsed off the bed. The racket she was causing caught the attention of the guard who was stationed outside her room. It was Rubinstein from last night who had volunteered to watch her and her frightful screaming had made him worried. He wasn’t supposed to enter the room until Shining Armour arrived but she was worrying him. With a glance down the hallway he poked his head into the room and gasped at the sight. The mare from last night was collapsed on the floor with the blanket half on top of her and feathers strewn across the room. She was clutching her wing in her mouth and was attempting to pull it off. Rubinstein bolted through the door for her and started pushing her head away from her wing.

“Don’t do that! What do you think you’re doing?!” He yelled. She released her grip on her wing and screamed. Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she kicked her legs out at him.

“GET THEM OFF GET THEM OFF GET THEM OFF!!!” She bawled. He let go of her as she covered her face and sobbed once more. Rubinstein didn’t know what to do, he was never a very social pony so having to deal with other ponies emotions wasn’t something he knew how to do well, especially when it came to distraught young mares. Rubbing the back of his neck nervously he put a hoof on her shoulder hopefully in a comfortingly way. Obviously not because Bluebell flinched away from his hoof, took one look up at his huge frame, and ran under the bed. Sort of, it was like she was running on frozen ice because she kept tripping and wound up just pushing her stomach across the ground. Rubinstein watched awkwardly as she hid under the bed and clutched up into a ball. He walked over to the side of the bed and leaned down asking her quietly.

“Are you okay?” She turned an angry and tear stained face on the pony at the side of her bed, Bluebell yelled at him,

“NO I’M NOT O-KAY! WHAT KIND OF STUPID QUESTION IS THAT?!” Rubin was taken aback, he stepped away from the bed unsure what to do. They didn’t train guards how to deal with this. It was all fighting and standing still for long times with a stoic expression. Public relations was more the Princess’s job. He cleared his throat and leaned down again,

“Um Bluebell? Can you come out please? Just tell me what’s wrong.” Her name caught her attention. She scooted around to poke her head out at him, she looked up at his smiling face and tilted her head in thought. He was somehow familiar…

“You’re the pony from last night… Rube-an-stan?” He chuckled as he lowered his head down closer to her level.

“Almost got it, it’s Rubinstein. Can you come out from there please?” Deciding it was better than staying under this dusty and cramped bed, Bluebell shifted out into the room. “Now are you alright? Why were you, um.. chewing on your wing?” Her ears flopped downwards and she looked away from him, her eyes catching sight of all the loose feathers around the floor.

“I.. I was trying to get them off of me…” Her eyes welled up. “I’m not supposed to have them! I’m not supposed to have these!” She exclaimed holding up her hooves. “I don’t know where I am or how I got here! I just want to go home!” She laid on the ground again and buried her eyes in her arms. Rubin had pulled back at the sudden onslaught of words but looked down at the mare again. She was so scared and he wasn’t sure what to do to stop it. He gently put his hoof on her head to pet her trying to comfort her but that only resulted in Bluebell whacking his arm away. Sheepishly he rubbed the sore area and decided against doing that again.

“Um, Miss Bluebell it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to know what you were doing last night. Can you tell me?”

“I don’t know!” She yelled from under her arms.

“But… Then how did you get in the mirror room?”

“I. DON’T. KNOW! All I remember was being at my school in front of the mascot’s statue, and somehow I wound up here!!! Looking like this!!!” She had stood up and was right in front of Rubin, almost pressing her face against his. With bared teeth and her wings instinctually spread out, Rubin wasn’t going to admit it, but he felt pretty intimidated right now. Then it sort of started to click in his head. That mirror was a portal to another world, if they could enter it from this side, couldn’t the other side do it as well. Without realising, he said;

“Ohhh..” Bluebell stared at him quizzically. Then changed to anger.

“What do you mean; ‘Ohhh’?!?!! Do you know what did this to me?!?!” She reared up and had her hooves on Rubin’s shoulders for support while she looked down at him angrily. Rubin was tensing up and could feel sweat gathering on his forehead, he’d never been this close to a mare before and was nervous about talking to her seeing how angry she was.

“Uhh.. It’s just that, well, the room you were in, it has a mirror in it… And well its, the mirror is a magic mirror, and…” This wasn’t helping, she was still angry and he needed to get to the point. “I think you came from the mirror!” He said suddenly cowering away from her burning eyes that seared his soul. She looked at him confused and sat down in front of him.

“I… I don’t understand? Are you saying that I’m just some non-existent reflection, and that I got out of a mirror?” She was going to have a break-down if that was true, finding out that you’re nothing but a reflection, that you’re not even real, wasn’t something she thought she could deal with. Luckily Rubin cut into her thoughts.

“No no no no no no!” He blurted out while shaking his arms in front of him, “The mirror is a portal! You must’ve just stepped through it from you’re world!” Bluebell heaved a sigh of relief, her ear’s perked up at that and there was even a hopeful smile on her face.

“Does that mean I can go home?!”

“I guess so.” At that Bluebell’s smile widened to impossible standards across her face. Suddenly Rubin was pulled into a hug as Bluebell squealed in his ear happily.

“Thank you thank you thank you thank you!” Rubinstein had momentarily lost hearing in one of his ears just as the door to the room opened.

“Rubinstein? Are you in here—” Shining Armour stopped what he was saying when he saw the odd display of one of his guards being hugged by the overly happy pony from last night. Bluntly and unamused Shining asked; “What are you doing…” Bluebell was spooked at the sound of another stranger and hid behind Rubin. She had her hooves over his back and her head poked just over the top to watch the new pony. Rubin anxiously stood there unsure what to do.

“Ah! Captain! Yes what is it?” He was trying to act calm but couldn’t shake the embarrassment of having his superior see him be HUGGED by this strange pony.

“What are you doing? You’re supposed to be stationed outside the room until I came to see the visitor.”

“I was outside the room, it’s just that I heard her yell a couple times so I opened the door to check on her and… she was… well. Attempting to hurt herself.”

“Hey!” Bluebell did not like it when other people or ponies talked about her without her consent. Shining raised his eyebrow at them and asked,

“How so?” His eyes glanced down at the random feathers on the floor.

“Well she was—AH!” Rubin’s neck was throbbing with pain from the punch Bluebell just gave it. He turned to look at her and she gave back an irritated glare that told him to keep his mouth shut. Returning his attention back to Shining he said, “Sorry Captain, it’s not really my place to say.”

***
“Will you stop fidgeting Rubin, it’s getting really irritating.”

“I am not fidgeting.” Rubinstein was standing outside the room with Bronze Shield while Shining Armour talked to Bluebell by himself. Bronze had appeared a few minutes ago looking for Shining, now he was forced to endure Rubin’s “casual” stepping from one leg to another while they waited.

“That, what you’re doing right now, is fidgeting. And it’s really annoying. What’s Shining even doing in there anyway that’s got you so tense?”

“Nothing, he’s just talking to that pegasus that we found last night.” Sly-fully Bronze leaned towards Rubin with a smug grin plastered on his face.

“You like her don’t you Rubin?” His eyes turned to pinpricks as Rubin turned on Bronze and exclaimed,

“No I don’t!” Sadly he wasn’t able to hide his cheeks turning red.

“HA! You do!”

“No I don’t! Besides why would I be interested in her, all she does is cry and scream. And hit me...” He said while he massaged the mark on his neck. Hooves could be painful.

“Think she might be the one???” Bronze added playfully. “Your new fillyfriend?” Rubin instead ignored what he said and pushed him away.

“Enough Bronze, what do you even want with Shining anyway?”

“Sorry can’t tell you, it’s of national importance.” His smile was just a bit too wide for him to be being serious. Rubin looked at him unamused while Bronze’s eyes rolled around his head.

“Fine, it’s not national importance, just the names of all the competitors for the jousting competition so far and the times for each jousting event. You thinking of partaking in it this year?”

“I’m not sure, been sort of busy here lately what with trying to get the Crystal Empire up to standards with the modern world. Sort of weird to think we’re all over a thousand years old sort of.” Rubin’s eyes glazed over with sadness as he thought about the time before Princess Cadence’s rule.

“Uh hey! There’s no need to think about that, forget about it, it’s all in the past. Nothing to worry about anymore. Um getting back on topic, you really should sign up though, you were a pretty good jouster back in the day.” Bronze’s unconvincing smile was not helping the situation any better.

“Hmm… yeah.” They both stood in awkward silence as they waited.

Comments

[Breaking News]

I like the use of dramatic irony, they've easily found her way home but she's delayed and won't make it. Fate is just messing with her now.

[Tennis Match Fan]

Love her