Strange New World

by Boopy Doopy

Crush

Lake might as well have been told he shouldn’t breathe anymore while he played poker with Tory. It was impossible to not think about their circumstances. How could he not, when the reality of their situation pressed on them at every second?

He wondered if other people would show up here with them at some point and have the same problems he and his friends had. Would they appear in that old mare’s house and be arrested? Maybe that would give them a chance to look it over again. Not that there was anything there anymore. She showed them. The portal was already gone.

Or maybe people would show up in some other part of this city and they’d never meet their rescuers. Or in another part of the world, like a desert, or a mountain-top, and Lake would never know. What would he do then? What would he do if he had to stay here forever?

“Lake,” Tory instructed, making his ears prick up as he turned to face him. “Take a breath, man. We’re fine right now. I promise.”

It was a good thing Tory was here, too. Roxanne, too. Lake would probably have already been a curled up mess of himself without them and have gotten absolutely nothing done. Not that they had done much yet, but even talking to Sapphire Glow was more than he would do. Lake was kind of the dead weight of the group.

He followed his instructions and took a breath to relieve his nerves before going back to the game. Roxanne came back from the bathroom about half an hour after she left, and then Tory finished his shower a little while after that. They played poker and blackjack for most of the morning before Sapphire Glow got up to make them lunch. The cucumber sandwiches and pasta salad they were served wasn’t half bad, nor was the chocolate cake they ate. The new fourth member of their group talked to them while they chowed down, sitting at the table to eat with them.

“Ideally, we’d be able to make a portal home right here in my house,” she told them. “I don’t think that’s very likely though. But don’t worry! I already sent a letter to Princess Twilight Sparkle, so she should be able to help me with this. She’s the smartest pony in all of Equestria.”

To Lake, that sounded no different than if he tried to send a letter to the president of the United States to help them. She probably wouldn’t be getting a response anytime soon, if ever. Who knew how many things someone had to do to run an entire country? Sapphire was insistent though that this princess would message her back.

“I was her student in her school for gifted unicorns,” she told them. “She’ll reply soon. Trust me.”

“Okay, but what do we do in the meantime?” Tory asked. Lake was thinking the same thing, and he was sure Roxanne was, too. “Is there anything we can do besides hang out?”

“I mean, if you can figure out a way to get us into Lilac Beauty’s house without getting caught, that would be pretty good. Other than that, nope, not really.

“I mean… we could always ask her to see her closet, right?” Lake suggested.

Sapphire Glow scoffed at that idea. “Yeah, right. Like she’d say yes after we broke into her house. I’m sure that’ll go swimmingly.”

“We didn’t break in though. We just showed up there. I’m sure if we can explain it–”

“I have high doubts she’d do anything but call the police on us again,” the mare finished. “Why else would she give us a restraining order if she was gonna be okay with talking to us? Unless I feel another burst of magical energy coming from there or there’s a way to get in without being seen, there’s not really that much use to going back.”

Lake wasn’t sure he agreed with that, but he put the point aside for now. Instead, he kept the idea in the back of his mind as he let his friends do more talking with her.

“What about that guy you said went to Earth from here?” Roxanne asked. “How the heck was he able to go there? It'd also probably be good to meet someone like him.”

“He's gonna be over as soon as he can,” Sapphire explained. “And I think he said he found a way to Earth when he–”

The mare was interrupted by the sound of a knob twisting and the front door creaking open. When it did, it revealed another mare behind it, this one clearly older than Sunset. Lake didn't know horse ages, but he guessed she was in her fifties by the bags and wrinkles under her eyes and the way she carried herself slightly limply. She had a blue coat, similar to Sapphire's, and a mane that was colored equally blue with streaks of white running through it. She was larger than Sapphire, looking slightly paunchy and a bit overweight compared to her, and had hooves that were unshorn. Her appearance was complete with green eyes and a bag around her neck she carried that was quickly set down as she stepped into the home.

“More guests. Great.” She spoke flatly, almost sarcastically, like she'd seen this a hundred times before. She stepped forward through the living room and into the dining room, only offering a glance or two their way. “How long are you three gonna be staying? Because the less time, the better, since I didn't buy enough food for five ponies. As usual, Sapphire didn't tell me about you.”

“This is my mom, guys, Shimmering Diamond!” Sapphire introduced, her tone the opposite of the mare’s.”Mom, this is Lake, Tory, and Roxie! They’re the humans from Earth I’ve been telling you I was gonna find!”

“Yeah, just like the last ones, right?” she replied with a roll of her eyes as she grabbed a drink from out of the fridge. A beer, one that she opened with the light up of her own horn. It seemed as though all unicorns could do that. Lake had a feeling that if Roxanne learned how to do that, she’d find a way to tease him.

“I’m sure they’re not just grifting off of you again, honey,” she continued just as sarcastically. Then she turned to the three of them and said, “Listen, just don’t steal anything, got it? And you better be okay with beans, rice, and oats for dinner, cause that’s all I have.”

“Oh, you don’t have to… get us…” Lake trailed off as the mare, Shimmering Diamond, promptly ignored him and headed back through the living room to take space in the bedroom on the ground floor. He and his other two friends all turned to Sapphire Glow with raised eyebrows, waiting for an explanation.

The unicorn rubbed a hoof behind her head. “Uh, this might not be the first time I’ve had ponies over,” she admitted sheepishly. “But hey! I told you she wouldn’t mind! Did I lie?”

“You know what? Let’s just move past it for now,” Lake said as he shook his still wet hair. His mane. “How did your friend find a way to Earth? And you said he was there for a few minutes before?”

“A few seconds, actually,” she clarified. “And he went to Earth when he was in the mysterious south! Actually, I helped him get to Earth! I didn’t get to go though because I was charged with larceny for getting him that book from the Canterlot Archives. Turns out, even the Princess of Friendship herself isn’t very happy when you take things without asking.”

More like stealing, he thought. And from a government official, no less. The monarch of this world. He had a strong feeling that Sapphire Glow wouldn’t be getting a message back from her, no matter how many years she spent in whatever school with the queen of the equines.

“And we’re not gonna be able to go to the mysterious south because it’ll take weeks or months to travel there, right?” Roxanne asked. “Which means we’re better off waiting for you to make a portal.”

“Uh, yeah, but how did you know that?” Sapphire Glow tilted her head. “I thought you said none of you have been here before. Have you?”

“No, I can just tell what you’re thinking and feeling,” she explained. “It’s like I’m reading your mind. And everyone else's, too. At all times.”

Lake blinked at that. That was news to him. Sapphire blinked, too, and tilted her head further, her eyebrows going up in confusion. Tory didn’t seem that surprised, but he was still looking Roxanne’s way with interest. “You’re not a changeling, are you?” Sapphire asked.

“I have no idea what that is.”

“Well, basically,” Sapphire Glow, “changelings are creatures who can read other creatures’ emotions and shapeshift. They have holes in their legs and no visible pupils and look kind of like insects? Although you shouldn’t tell a changeling they look like a bug, as a good piece of advice. But did you look anything like that when you got here? Or did you shapeshift to be a unicorn?”

“No… but can I do those things?” she asked. Roxanne had a sly grin on her face, and Lake rested his face in one of his hooves. She was gonna use this new power to mess around, wasn’t she?

“If you’re a changeling, sure,” she shrugged. “I wouldn’t know how to do it though because I’m not one. You’d have to figure it out on your own.” Then she said, “Either way, I’d be able to teach you some spells if you want. Changelings functionally can do all the same things unicorns can do, even though unicorns can’t do everything changelings can.”

“If Roxie can do magic like you and shapeshift,” Tory said, “then Lake should be able to fly, right? He has wings, after all.”

“Of course! I can’t teach him how to do that either, though, since I don’t have wings.”

“I’m perfectly content to stay on the ground,” Lake said firmly as he crossed his arms. Although he had to admit, the thought of flying around did give him a small sense of intrigue and curiosity. Not much though.

“I guess the universe should have given me the wings,” Tory chuckled. “Or anyone but Lake. What can I do?”

“Earth ponies? They have above average strength and are good farmers. To be honest, they're kind of lame. But like changelings, I wouldn't say that to their face. I wouldn't ever wanna be one though.”

Was she being racist? Lake couldn't tell, but that sounded vaguely like the pony version of racism. Roxanne held back her snickers while Tory looked down at his hooves with disappointment. He wasn't sure why. It wasn't like they were gonna be here forever. Hopefully.

“Oh. Well… why are they called ‘earth ponies’ then?” he asked. “You said this world was named Equus.”

“Because they work with earth all day, and apparently ‘dirt pony’ and ‘mud pony’ are derogatory things to call them. Just like you wouldn't call a unicorn ‘rhino’ or a bat pony ‘rat-bird’.”

Good to know. Lake wasn't gonna do that either way, but better to know how not to piss off the locals.

The disappointment he saw in Tory though was more than he thought it would be. He seemed almost genuinely upset to not have special powers according to Sapphire Glow. It almost gave Lake an idea about what he could do to wipe that disappointment off his face, but he stopped the thought in his tracks once he realized it. Absolutely no way. Especially not if Roxanne could read his mind.

Like she was right now. It was easy to tell with how her smile grew into a toothy, teasing grin as she stared at him. Lake let out a long breath of frustration. It made her laugh.

Tory and Sapphire Glow thankfully didn’t seem to pick up on what was going on. “Anyway,” the unicorn said, pushing herself out of the chair, “it’s time for me to get back to it, I think. I have some books on the basics of unicorn magic you can read, Roxie, if you want. The same concepts should work if you really are a changeling, and it shouldn’t take that long to get telekinesis and a few basic spells down. Don’t have any books on flying though, Lake. You’re on your own there. But like I said, you can read or do whatever you want in my house. I don’t mind.”

“Do you mind if I talk to you while you read?” Tory asked. “Like, as questions about this place and stuff?”

“Sure. You can get all those answers from the books laying around, but I don’t mind. I’m gonna be back at my desk though, so you’ll have to pull up a chair from the table if you wanna sit.”

Tory did, and Lake forced himself back into the living room to chill out. Roxanne rummaged through the books on the shelf, stacking them haphazardly in a pile like it was her own house while he flopped onto the couch. Sitting with Tory just to be next to him and pining for him would’ve been sad.

He let out another breath and flexed his wings as he wiggled where he lay. How was he able to move foreign appendages with ease? Did the structure of his brain change when he came here? His mind somehow transferred into a horse—a pony? Or was he a copy of himself, the original killed the second he stepped through that portal? He had no idea, but he hated the thought of it. He tapped a hoof against the ground anxiously.

He wished there was something he could actually do besides sit around. Having his fate in someone else's hands—or rather, their hooves—was bad enough. In the hands or hooves of someone as eccentric as Sapphire Glow was torture!

“You can help by not stressing out and stopping the panic attack you’re about to have in its tracks,” Roxanne suddenly called from across the room. Lake jumped in surprise and turned to face her. “Seriously, it’s starting to stress me out.” Not in any way that was annoying either, it seemed. Her blue eyes looked like they were showing fear and anxiety like he felt.

“Take a breath and calm down, Lake,” she said forcefully. “It’s gonna be fine.”

“Yeah. Sorry. I’ll stop.” Like it was that easy.

It wasn’t as hard as he thought it would be. He took a nap on his back where he lay for a few hours, and went back to playing poker with Roxanne and Tory once he woke up again. He still felt his heart beating hard, but tried to relax some and control his breathing as he listened to Tory talk about what Sapphire Glow told him. It wasn’t like there was anything else he could do.

She apparently was insistent about showing the three off to her humans club, even if they looked like ponies at that particular moment, and said that it might be longer than a few days before she got something put together.

“How long is longer than a few days?” Lake asked. “Because we’ve already been here long enough. I don’t wanna be here for longer than necessary.”

“She said it might be a few weeks,” Tory explained. “But it’s gonna be fine, trust me,” he said before Lake could argue. “We’ll hang around here for a while until she comes up with something, and do our own research in the meantime.”

Lake nodded and stayed quiet, pretending to be focused on his cards. Things just seemed to be getting worse and worse. How was he supposed to stay here for weeks? What was gonna happen back on Earth? Did anyone even know they were gone?

“Hey, Lake?” Tory interrupted his thoughts. “It’s probably the magic in the air. The tension, Sapphire said? It’s gonna be fine.”

He let out a breath. “Yeah,” he nodded. “Probably.” He closed his eyes for a long moment, then said, “So we stay here and research stuff in the meantime. What else?”

“I say we leave and try searching that house we showed up in,” Roxanne said flatly. “What was her name? Lilac Beauty? A few weeks is a few weeks too long in my opinion. I raise.”

“Let’s not do something like that yet,” Tory told her. Lake didn’t have to say how he felt about that idea, his relaxing shoulders speaking for him. “We’re not in the worst spot here as it is. The best idea I think is to just hold tight and hope Sapphire can help us for now. If it looks like it’s gonna take a long time, then we can think about that. Raise.”

“Fold.” Lake put his cards down and looked around the house. How much of this could really be a coincidence? It was all exactly like he’d expect from Earth—well, mostly anyway—except they were horses and magic existed. That was the only difference. And they just so happened to stumble into someone who could help them, who spoke English, who happened to have a poker set in her house. The same game existed across universes? Lake wanted to doubt it. His senses must have been betraying him somehow.

He flexed his wings and rolled his shoulders, and Roxanne did the same. Then she stood up and set her cards down to stretch her legs, too. “I’m gonna walk around outside,” she decided abruptly.

“What? Where are you going? We should be sticking together, Roxie,” Tory told her.

“I'm not going anywhere,” she said quickly. “Just around the block. I need to walk around.” Lake watched her leave through the door without another word. Tory didn't stop her. What was he gonna do? She was an adult.

“My fault,” Lake apologized immediately. “She's stressing out because of me, I think.”

“How?” his friend asked with a raised eyebrow. “None of us have been even doing anything.”

“Apparently she's been reading my mind and can tell that I'm stressed out, and it's making her nervous, too.”

Tory nodded, but didn't offer any words of encouragement or reassurance. “Let's go back to the game,” he said firmly. Yup. Lake was the dead weight and he knew it. Not that knowing that would help anything. He probably should’ve brought some Zoloft through to this planet, Equus. Nothing he could do about it now though.

“Hey. Lake. Call,” Tory told him, a hoof tapping impatiently. Lake shook his head to clear those thoughts and tried to think of nothing else. Even if he was dead weight right now, Tory and Roxanne were more than capable of picking up for where he failed.