ShopDreamUp AI ArtDreamUp
Deviation Actions
Literature Text
The Reflected
Chapter 1 - Spring Cleaning
Winter is a season full of wonder and magic. The crisp morning air after a fresh snow fall, the quiet mystery of a clear night as the flecks of snow trickle and dance across the sky, and all the fun you can have outdoors are only a few reasons that winter is great. Fifi however was not thinking of any of these reasons at the moment. In fact Fifi hated winter. As a member of the castle's cleaning staff, winter presented a whole slew of problems that got on her nerves. The windows all remained shut, the mice would try to sneak in and find a warm place to hide out the cold of the season, fireplaces would constantly be running leaving dust and soot everywhere. Winter really only meant one thing to Fifi and at the moment that was the arduous task before her. Today was the beginning of spring cleaning.
While several other of the royal cleaning staff opened the windows and aired out the many beautiful rooms of the palace, Fifi headed to the basement. The dusty blue Unicorn wasn't really certain how she landed the task of cleaning out and organizing the basement, but it was all hers. With a heavy sigh of determination, she pulled her pink and white locks back and opened the large door that led into to the basement.
The creaking of the door echoed through the space, bouncing of the cool stone walls. Fifi magically lit the sconces on the walls, casting a soft glow across the room. As she looked over the space, panic began to set in. The ceilings were at least twenty feet in height; and even straining her eyes, she couldn't see the back wall of the room. Blankets of dust cloaked the myriad of items that had been locked away and forgotten. Fifi wondered when the last time someone actually set eyes on this place, let alone cleaned it. Picking herself and her supplies up, Fifi got started.
She began by opening up the windows high on the walls, letting the crisp morning air and the bright light flood into the space. After that she was lost. She had no clue where to start. Fifi grumbled, “They don't need a cleaning mare, they need an army down here.” Her blue eyes drifted to the nearest box. Using her magic she opened the top and rifled through contents. This box like many others contained the strangest mix of items. Within an hour she had found a bowling trophy, a large assortment of old and unfashionable clothing, photos, books and a toy dragon.
It was late in the day when hoof falls of another echoed through the halls of the lower level. The old mare looked over the mess that had been created and pinned her ears back. Boxes were randomly tossed here and there with an assortment of stuff strewn about. Her ears piqued as she picked up a faint chatter down one isle. As she turned a corner the older mare found quite a sight before her. There was Fifi with a large red feather hat on, a furry white boa around her neck nosing through the boxes and chatting away to the toy dragon, “I can hardly believe the sheer amount of stuff that Celestia has kept. I really am beginning to think that the princesses are hoarding. I mean really Roarbert, who needs a box of old doilies?”
The old gray mare cleared her throat with annoyance. Fifi turned and jumped, “Lilac!?” Sheepishly she set the dragon down and snapped off the Boa.
The sarcasm was evident in Lilac's voice as she looked about the room, “I see your working hard.”
A bright pink blush dusted Fifi's cheeks, “I wasn't sure where to start, so I thought I would take an inventory?” It was fairly obvious to Lilac that the young cleaning mare was grasping at straws.
“And he is your assistant? What did you say his name was, Roarbert?” Lilac spoke softly, yet firmly. She had dealt with lazy young mares in the past and in her eyes, Fifi was no different. “I would suggest you get started by cleaning up this mess. It is not your job to rifle through the princesses' personal belongings. It is your job to clean this up and sort it out.”
Now Fifi really felt embarrassed. It was as if she was a naughty filly getting scolded by her mother all over again. Frankly it annoyed her quite to no end. Pinning her ears back beneath the feathered hat she cut in, “If you wanted me to stack things, then why send me in here? They were already stacked. What exactly did you expect me to do?”
“Perhaps if you read the labels on the boxes you could save time and help you figure out how to organize this?” Lilac was not amused by Fifi's outburst, but she wouldn't let it ruffle her feathers. She simply pinned her wings in tight and turned to leave offering one final dig at the Unicorn, “Nice hat.”
Fifi's blood boiled, but she managed to hold her temper till the door closed. She stomped her foot and tossed the hat back in the box with a huff, “Ooh that old mare! She has no idea how hard this is...where am I even supposed to start?” Fifi glanced at the dragon as if to ask his opinion. The old toy slumped over and Fifi let out an unladylike snort, “Your no help.”
* * * * * * *
Several days had past and the majority of the dust began to settle. Most of the rooms had been aired out and overall everything had had a good scrubbing. All in all Lilac was quite pleased with the progress of this year's spring cleaning. The castle had a constant flowing breeze that brought with it the scent of fresh flowers wafting through the corridors. The sounds of the birds returning from their winter vacation danced in the air keeping everyone in high spirits. Lilac made her way through the halls checking up with her various crews. Ticking off another check on her clipboard she nodded happily. Sadly, though, there was only one box left undone and that was the basement.
The castle's basement was perhaps the most undesirable job in the castle and that duty landed itself on Fifi. In the past week she had made a great deal of progress. She had had a rough start, but now she had her groove. She settled for sorting the boxes by their labels and then by their dates. At least those who packed them were organized. The little red toy dragon had become a fairly constant companion in the task and it gave Fifi someone to chatter to during the long lonely hours.
So far the day had been unremarkable. Rows of boxes had been moved, the floors scrubbed and the boxes re-stacked in a more manageable order. Fifi had just finished scrubbing a section of the floor. Looking over her work she nodded in approval and tossed the brush into the bucket of soapy water. Maybe she tossed it a little harder than usual, or perhaps she was just a little to far away. Whatever the reason, the water splashed and the bucket tipped. A flood of water soaked the floor and surrounding boxes. In a panic Fifi reached out with her magic she created a barrier to stop the water from damaging anything and mop up the excess water. Once the mess was under control she shook her head and began to pick up the wet rags. Magically exhausted she opted to pick up the rags the old fashioned way. Leaning down to pick up she picked up the last of the sopping wet rags she thought to herself, “Almost done.”
Something glittered across the room as the light bounced off the wet floor and onto something else. Curiously Fifi crossed the room, eyes never leaving the sparkle. Half hidden beneath an old sheet stood a magnificent mirror. It was at least twice Fifi's size, possibly more. It was definitely old, perhaps older than Lilac herself. The thought made Fifi Snicker as she stepped forward and pulled the sheet away. The frame looked to be made of polished stone and was masterfully carved. The center was a giant heart supported by two stone mares, one Pegasus and one Unicorn, rearing up on their hind legs. Above a banner spanned the top with a strange inscription carved into the surface. On each end a stone heart accented the banner with a third at the center top of the banner.
Walking about the mirror Fifi took in all of the mirror from all sides and finally came back to the front. For the first time in days Fifi felt excited about cleaning and set about cleaning and scrubbing every nook and cranny of the magnificent mirror. As she balanced precariously atop an old ladder, Fifi wiped away years of dust and grime revealing the strange inscription.
Ev Ahl Lah Suoyla Ofaeris Edu Oyd Lih Cafles Ruoy Eesdna Esolck Ool Louss Seld Lih Croop Ho
Fifi tried to puzzle through the foreign words, but to no avail. Lets face it she was a cleaning mare, not a scholar. Next she turned her attention to the mirror itself. Once polished up the mirror was stunning, save for the glass. No matter how long she tried or how hard she scrubbed, the mirror retained a foggy reflection. Standing back in frustration she simply stood and looked at the glass trying to think of a way to clean it up. The more she looked at the glass the more Fifi began the think she saw something swirling through the depths of the mist. Looking hard she stepped closer. The fog began to clear revealing a figure. It moved like a reflection, but something was amiss. Soon Fifi was right at the base nearly shoving her nose against the glass. The image was far to small to be her. It was more the size of a foal...it seemed to look like her otherwise. Quietly she murmured the strange inscription again not understanding what the mirror was for. As the last syllables trailed off her tongue the fog cleared and the reflection stepped forward.
Fifi squealed in fear and disbelief. It was her reflection, but her as a wide eyed innocent filly. While that normally wouldn't frighten her, the fact that the reflection was moving independently of her and stepping through the mirror did the trick. The glass rippled and bowed as if something was pressing against the surface. Backing away in a panic Fifi bumped the ladder knocking it over. The ladder began a cascade effect of precariously balanced items falling in on the path. The foal in the mirror looked about in a panic and backed away from face disappearing back into the fog.
As the noise and dust settled Fifi breathed a sigh of relief. Silence reigned for a long moment before a creaking filled the room. The mirror wobbled and finally fell back with a loud crash. It landed with an explosion of dust. As the dust settled Fifi stepped forward cautiously and looked hesitantly into the glass. The mirror looked okay. A few cracks in the stone frame and a small hairline crack were the only signs of damage. Breathing a sigh of relief Fifi looked around at the basement that now resembled a war zone. “I am in so much trouble.”
* * * * * * *
Celestia looked over the most recent addition to her private chambers. The large stone mirror puzzled her to no end. It had apparently been found in the basement during the castle's spring cleaning. In all honesty the princess was a little embarrassed that anyone had seen the mess lurking in the basement. She had intended to get down there and sort all that out herself ages ago. Nothing down there really held any value or importance, or at least anything she could remember. Honestly she couldn't remember most of the contents, everything had been sitting for so long.
The other new addition to her room was a small red toy dragon from her childhood. The dragon brought back a lot of fond memories and a feeling of comfort. Turning her attention back to the mirror she sat and stared. The cleaning mare who had been assigned the arduous task of cleaning out the basement clutter had been scared silly. Apparently things had been stacked so high and so carelessly there had been a bit of an avalanche when she bumped into a box. The mirror had been lightly damaged with a small hairline crack, but Celestia didn't really care. She was just happy to hear that Fifi had been alright. As an apology for the mess she had assigned Fifi to be the mare that cleaned her personal quarters. The mare had been quite excited about the new arrangement.
Atop the mirror was a strange inscription that was quite puzzling. Fifi had told her about the clouded glass and the child like reflection trying to escape. That caused some level of concern. It was most definitely an old magical items, but the princess had no memory of it. She had even showed Luna who also had no clue of its origin. Luna had been kind enough to point out that it was less than likely she would recall as she was trapped on the moon for quite some time. Celestia felt a little sheepish, but didn't worry about it. The mirror was an unknown.
After a few days and a great deal of deliberation Princess Celestia made her final decision. The mirror fascinated her, but she had no time to look into its history. Frankly that wasn't really her area of expertise. However, she did know a special Unicorn that seemed to specialize in books. Twilight Sparkle, favorite student and Ponyville resident would be the perfect choice to research the mirror. With a nod to herself Celestia sat down at her desk and picked up a quill. This certainly would be an interesting letter.
Suggested Collections
Featured in Groups
So I finally set about writing the story to the adoptables I made ages ago. I've never really written before this so feedback is valued. I hope you like what I have so far
© 2013 - 2024 EllisArts
Comments8
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
i love this!!