"Where the brambles are thickest, there you will find a pond beyond the most twisted of vines.”
...
“And into her own reflection she stared yearning for one whose reflection she shared, and solemnly sweared not to be scared at the prospect of being doubly mared."
-The Legend of Mirror Pool
There I was, looking again at my reflection, or was it my reflection? We both moved at the same time in uncanny synchronicity. 'What if I am the reflection,' I think to myself and not for the first time. I can't help it, I reach out to... Myself? It's hard to tell, I always look different, I think, I can't really remember, but there are stray memories of... What? Certainly not me. I've lived in this cave my whole life... I think. But if I had, then who's memories are these? Contact, and its not glass between me and... Me? It doesn't matter, her grip is strong and is pulling me, down into the water. No, I can't swim. I don't want to drown. But the pool of water is... Dry? That's the best way I can describe it. Its like I've lived my whole life in the water and for the first time I'm coming up to breathe.
"Cotton Storm," she (I?) says.
"What?" I ask in barely a whisper, having used my voice for the first time.
"That's what I'll call you. My name is Felt Cloud."
"Felt," I cough up some liquid, "Cloud?"
"Yes, how do you feel?"
"S-sick." My stomach empties itself on the ground. So much liquid, its almost surprising how much was inside me. I tried not to think about it, I had other questions. "W-what... am I?"
"You are me, sort of. You are a copy of me," she said, happily. "Oh, you're probably hungry! This is so exiting! Here, try an apple." she extends a wisteria hoof holding an apple in it.
"Th-thank you." I stare at the red object in my hoof, I stick out my tongue to taste it, flavorless. Tentatively I take a bite of the 'apple.' crisp, sweet with a slight tang, it's very juicy and it make me feel less hallow. "It's good."
"We should do something together! But what? What do you like to do? Oh,you probably don't know. Then lets try stuff together! Finally I won't be alone!"
"Where..." My inquiry cut short by Felt Cloud
"We could go for a walk!" She starts trotting in place excitedly.
"Um... Ok," my voice coming stronger now. I hesitantly walk over to her. She starts at a normal pace, but soon starts skipping, still trying to maintain a easy pace for her new friend. "Where," my voice catches, "are we going?"
"The Everfree Fields. Near the Celestial Castle. If we are lucky we might see the Sister Princesses!"
"Sounds nice," we walk, I with a awakward gait, unused to the feel of stone under my soft, new hooves. there is something different about the about the ground as stone turns to dirt, it's... Hard to look at, painful even, 'What is it?' I wonder, 'Why is it hard to look at that spot?' I voice my concerns, "What is that? It's painful to look at. M-m-make it go away. Don't step in it!"
She stops just before putting a hoof on the painful ground, "Don't step in what? This? It's light silly," I flinch as she puts her hoof on the painful spot and her hoof becomes lighter. "It's not going to hurt you, yeah going from a dark place to a light one hurts a little at first, but your eyes will adjust."
My brain can't handle it, 'How can she become like the painful spot?' She was right though, it didn't hurt to look at the spot anymore. 'Maybe she is made of glass!' I rationalize, 'But what is glass? I don't know. I don't want to know, if it's as confusing as this "light" thing I hope I never encounter it.'
"Aren't you coming?" Hesitantly, I follow, flinching as I placed my hoof into the light. It's not painful, its rather pleasant, warm. but it creeps onto me where it's warm. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I walk fully into the light. It's pleasant, I open my eyes and notice something dark behind me.
"Aaaaahh!! What is that thing!! It's touching me and its dark and tall! Get it a way!" Felt Cloud can't handle this spectral and simply cannot stop laughing. I give her a dirty look, "This is serous, It's scary! Please stop, this isn't funny!"
"It's just a shadow, it can't hurt you. it's fine, look I have one too!"
"O-o-oh," I hang my head, feeling... feeling what? Bad, but what is this feeling called? Embarrassment? Maybe, but whatever it is I don't like it, it makes my cheeks hot. "Please tell me this is the last of this voodoo witchcraft."
she sputters a little bit, trying to keep back a laugh, "I think so but I might be wrong. Come on, We are almost out of the cave now."
"Ok..." I follow her out of the cave, not knowing what to expect upon stepping out side of its protection. I steeled myself for whatever is to come, but it didn't matter, I stepped outside and saw... Blue, lots of blue, so far away, so open. It took my breath away, It was huge and empty, I felt so small, just a speck. I feel my mouth fall open, my knees shake, "What... What is... Sky.. This is a sky, right? The blue thing..."
"Oh you silly filly. Yes, that is the sky, Isn't it wonderful!"
"Its so big," I emphasize the last word.
"I know! Hey I have a picnic set up in the field, let's go!"
"Um, ok." Picnic. Picnic. I know this word, its... food, in a basket... And a blanket to sit on. It sounds relaxing. I can see the basket, its really close, but I feel... Something, weak? Tired? It doesn't matter, a few more steps and then I can rest. One... Two... Three... Four... And made it, I let my shaky frame flop onto the blanket. It's soft.
"I guess I forgot about how new you are to things like walking. Don't worry I got a solution, food! Here try a daisy sandwich," she says with a smile.
Oh, what's that word... Oh I got it! "Thunks, wait... that's not it... Thanks!" I can see the smile and laughter she tries to hide, but I don't care, it's still new to me. I reach out for the sandwich and our hooves touch, only briefly, but the touch is comforting, she cares about me. But how do I eat a 'sandwich?' Two hooves, That I know, but I can't get my mouth around the whole thing...maybe if I... My train of thought is interrupted by giggles.
"Silly filly, you can't eat it in one bite! Bite off a piece then chew it." my cheeks feel hot again, better find out what that means. I stop trying to contort my mouth, tentatively I take a small bite, watching Felt cloud to see if she does anything. She smiles, not trying to cover up giggling, must be doing it right. Its... Different, not like the apple but still good. It feels good in my belly, It makes me feel... Full. But now my lips are dry... Ugh, Being a pony is so confusing.
"Felt Cloud?"
"Yes?"
"I'm dry..." I say, not really sure how to phrase it. Felt's eyes cloud over, deep in thought at what I mean by 'dry.' Then her eyes sparkles knowingly.
"Ah, I got it, you are thirsty! One moment, I have some lemonade here." she fumbles around in the basket a little, and pulls out a metal tube and an almost invisible thing. It's glass! 'No! I can't handle that right now! Put it a way!' I scream inside my head. oblivious to my anguish she sets the glass in front of me and twists on the metal tube, and the top comes off, revealing it's hollow! she tilts the tube over my glass thing, and water comes out of it! I was shocked that she would just pour it into that invisible thing! I was even more shocked when the water became tube shaped itself! Wait... Water isn't yellow. It must be that 'lenomaid' thing she was talking about. "Go ahead, take a sip!"
"NO! GET THAT VOODOO WITCHCRAFT AWAY FROM ME!!"
"It's not witchcraft, look!" she picks up the yellow liquid and takes a sip, the liquids only touches her lips.
"Give that to me, I want to try it."
"Please, say please."
"Please give it to me." I try again, she hands over the liquid, just when I was expecting my hoof to get wet, its stopped by something, oh right the glass... I forgot about that. I carefully take a sip. It's really sweet, a little too sweet for me. I finish off the glass, feeling my wet lips. "That's better."
"Hey Felt Cloud, I didn't know you made a ponnequin of yourself. That's kind of creepy, even for you..." An unknown pony says, the voice is deeper then our voices. We both turn to the source, it's a celeste color pony, she looks different from myself and Felt. She has things on her back. Weird fuzzy things. But there is something strange about her muzzle too. "AAAAHHH!!! IT MOVED!!!" The unknown pony scares me.
"Ssshhh! You'll scare her!" Felt Cloud chided. "It's ok, Cotton Storm, he didn't mean to scare you." 'He?' What's that? Is that why she has fuzzy things on her back?
"Why does," sniffle, "she have fuzzy things on her back?" I ask, between tears.
"Oh, Rainy Meadows is a pegasus, and also a stallion." Says Felt, giggling at my confusion. I guess that explains the muzzle, she is a he. And those fuzzy things are wings then.
"Uuuugh, if things become even more complicated I might just go crazy!" I shout, I jump at how loud it was, then I was embarrassed at scaring myself.
"How did you find her? She looks exactly like you, down to your Cutie Mark. In invisibility." Invisibility? What does that Cutie mark look like? I turn to look at my flank, but something is missing on it... Its blank. I have no cutie mark. But if I didn't have a cutie mark... I turn to look at Felt Cloud's flank, blank as well. But, then why would...?
"Very funny, Rainy, now go away, go torment somepony else." Felt says with a deadness in her voice.
"Ah come on, I was just teasing," his voice fades, feeling the wrath of the looks from Felt. "Um... maybe I should just be on my way..."
"Yes, that probably in your best interest. I don't want Cotton, with her young mind, to be subjected to your psychological abuse." Says Felt. Great big words, come on think, what does "siclogil" mean? Maybe Rai- wait where is he? Oh well, I guess I don't get to find out what meant.
"Um... Felt? what does, Ss-ic... log-il?," Great how did she say it? "Siclogil! What does it mean?" she pauses a moment,a searching look on her face then clarity.
"Oh, psychological!" then her face scrunches up, "It's... The brain... Behavior? Something to do with the brain and behavior, or something like that."
"Oh, that's... Helpful... -ish. Gosh darn it there are so many words, why can't there just be like forty words or maybe a book with what words mean in them!"
"They have one of those, it's called a dictionary." she adds with a giggle, she seems happy to forget about the event that just happened.
"New favorite book! Can I get a signed copy of it?" I ask hopefully, sure the most useful book in the world would have an author that would want to sign it. At that Felt promptly laughs out loud, completely unabashed.
"I'm not sure there is enough pages for that many signatures!"
"It's that big..." Great I won't finish for a long time if its that long.
Felt giggles about that, "Don't worry, most of the words aren't used very often."
"That's good, I was worried I'd never be able to talk to other ponies right." I let a sigh of relief escape me.
"Now that is cleared up, try this!" Felt says with a large smile. she hands me an odd food thingy, is shaped like a half moon and has a green, skin?, then it has a white thing between the skin and a red part. It's almost as big as my face! How will I eat that? "Go ahead, it's called a 'watermelon.'" I take a bite on the edge, so I can taste the skin, white part and the red stuff, bleah, the skin is tough and bitter so is the white part.
"Are you sure this is safe to eat?" I ask nervously.
Between giggles Felt replies, "Yes but your not supposed to eat the rind!"
"The rind is the white stuff, right?" I ask sounding as unsure as I felt.
"Yeah, eat the red part, its pretty sweet!" I do, and she is right, it's very sweet and very drippy, I feel the juice making sticky lines on my chin. It's like a waterfall of sweet juice, made even juicier with every bite. I can feel the juice making a mess of my chin and chest, a sweet sticky mess. "Careful, your making a mess of yourself! Hold still, I'll clean you up before you ruin your coat." Felt says to me as she wipes my lips and chin. I feel a warmness rise to my cheeks at being treated like a foal.
"I can do this myself, thanks." I grab the napkin from her and hastily wipe myself off, out of the corner of my eye I can see Felt Cloud wince, great... What mistake have I made this time...
"Be careful, you'll tear your coat off," she says worriedly. I look at the napkin, 'surely my furry skin of lavender would be able to withstand a bit...' The though freezes, pulled to a complete stop as I look at the napkin, of more accurately what's on the napkin. Fur, of the same purple as me... My hooves shake, I drop the napkin, terrified. 'That... That demon piece of paper I thought I could trust it! it betrayed me! But that wouldn't have happened if my hooves would have been more careful. Stupid hooves you ruined my coat!'
"Are... Are you okay?" Those words bring me back.
"N-" sobs choke me up, "N-no! My own hooves betrayed me!" I try and shake the offending body part off of me. My hooves stay on in stoic defiance. Out of my tear filled eyes I can see Felt Cloud pause, then she spoke.
"Be... Trayed you? How did your hooves do that?" A look what I assume is of pure confusion adorns her face.
"These... Monsters made me take some of myself off!" I hear her giggle, It makes me even more frustrated and mad, 'This is serous! how can she just laugh it off!'
"Oh, silly, you just need to be more careful with your coat. Like this." she says with a loving smile on her face, she takes the napkin away from me and gently wipes it across my soaked chest, it feels good, better then the rough tearing my own hooves did. "It's getting late... We should be going home soon." Felt says. A feeling of udder befuddlement washes over me.
'What is late... or home for that matter..." The words feel foreign to my new tongue. " Wait, does late has something to do with time? But what is time? And how does it relate to home?' I voice my confusion, "What is home?"
"Ah----" she freezes, attempting to come up with a coherent answer to explain what they are. "Home, that's a bit easier, home is... Home is the place you can go, at any time. You can decide what it looks like and how it should be treated... Here, let me show you." She trots off, the picnic basket on her back. she stops and beckon me to come with her. Hesitantly I follow. The pleasant packed dirt path became simple cobblestone road. I hope it's not too much farther, my legs are getting a bit sleepy. I decide to voice my concerns.
"Is it much farther? My legs feel all sleepy." I must have used the incorrect word because I heard Felt giggle. "Which one word did I... Fumble? Is that the correct word?"
"Yes, you can use that word there, but I have never heard somepony call there legs sleepy when they are tired."
"Stupid... Equestrian? Is that the lungwicth? No, that's not the word either."
"It's language and yes, we are speaking equestrian."
"Stupid equestrian, why do you have to be so hard‽"
"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it."
"I hope it's soon, it's so strange."
"We are here, this is a house," she guestures with a hoof at a thing of such size it blocks out the sun. It ominously loomed over us with its fourteen lopsided eyes, it's mane of a golden flowing to the sides, it's rough skin criss-crossed with wooden beams giving sinister shadows over it's sideways mouth. Felt Cloud approaches the beasts mouth, pushing on it's mouth revealing a cavernous maw with a tongue of a lumpy surface, it' wretched carved wooden teeth held the attention firmly. My tounge becomes very dry, I can feel myself become less tired as something flowed through me.
"What is this monster? It's scary, make it go away!" I say as as I hide my eyes behind my hooves, if I can't see it it can't see me, right?
"What monster? I don't see anything monster like."
"You can't see it‽ It's right there, with it's terrible teeth and fourteen piercing eyes! It's evil!"
"What? Fourteen eyes? Teeth? I have no id-... Oh, you mean the house, ok I got you. It's not a monster, not even alive, ponies live in these, they protect us from from the cold and rain."
"That's a house? It's so big! How how does something so evil looking protect us? And what is rain?"
"You walk in and what ever is outside of it stays outside. And rain... Let's see... Rain is, hmmm. Rain is water falling from the sky. It's brought by the pegasi. It's to help plants grow."
"But don't ponies water plants? Why does the sky need to water them as well?"
"That... Is something I don't know, you should ask a gardener, there is one here by the name of Chrysanthemum. She tends the castle garden, she would know. But we would have to do that tomorrow. It's late now, time for bed."
"What do we do when it's time for bed?" Then in a quiter voice, "Is it scary?"
"No, not at all, in fact it's relaxing. We put on comfy clothes, brush our teeth, lie down on a comfortable mattress and go to sleep under our blankets."
"That sounds nice and all, but what is sleep, and does it require darkness?"
"No, you can sleep when it's light out, and sleep is... Well, um... When you are tired your eyelids become harder to keep open, then you yawn a few times, and you go to a place called a dream, it's a nice place most of the time, but things don't work like they should. Some times dreams are tying to tell you something about yourself or others." Felt explains as best she can, at the look of confusion on my face, she realizes she may not be able to explain this abstract concept. "You can experience it tonight, and don't worry, I'll be right beside you." At that I start to worry, I can't explain why, but it seems like it may be scary.
"Ok, I'll try not to be scared."
"Good, now let's brush our teeth!" And that's what we did, of course there was a good long portion of time where Felt Cloud had to explain why where was two other ponies in the bathroom with us. Then there was trying to figure out how to get the other ponies in the bathroom to brush their teeth too.
"Sorry about your eye," I say, flinching a little at the thought of the horrible toothpaste tube conundrum.
"It's ok, now just put this on," she hands me what she called a night shirt, in an attempt to do it right before she shows me, I hastily through it over my head and try to get myself in as best I can, but I promptly get ensnared by the evil thing.
"Help!" Felt turns to me.
"How did you even do that‽" she asks, of course a bit of a giggle and some panic are in her voice.
"I don't know!" I say, my voice only slightly muffled by what is most likely not a neck warmer like I though it was. It's a bit of a struggle but we, quiet miraculously manage to get the night shirt on how it's been made to be worn. After that we head to her room to go and do this 'sleeping' thing. Her room had this odd color about it. It was light and fluffy, like a cloud but it wasn't white it was... Something else, pink maybe? Oh well, doesn't matter, we got into the bed together, it was rather small, I fell I might have fallen off if it wasn't for Felt hugging onto me. It wasn't long before Felt stopped moving, her foreleg fell limp around me. She started making this strange noise, like she was trying to swallow a few unhappy bees. I tried to do what she did, I go as limp as I can, it does do anything, it feels good though. I could feel my eyes unfocus and I became less aware. Is this what sleeping is like? I hope not, it's scary, what is something snuck up on me? I started to worry but I couldn't get myself to do anything but let it happen. Then everything when black. Suddenly I found myself in a feild, grass as far as the eye could see. I began trotting around, looking for any way to get back to that bed I was on with Felt.