The Infinite Library 1: Celestia's Inside Story.
The Multiverse, a vast network of possibilities, and wonder. Anything and everything that has or ever will happen exists and will continue until the end of time. Welcome, my friends, to the Infinite Library, a nexus where stories from all worlds are collected. I am Caretaker, the Librarian of this wondrous place. Lets get started.
It is no surprise to learn that Twilight Sparkle will do anything for Princess Celestia. No request is too demanding and no task too difficult. The younger princess will do anything to become closer to her idol and mentor, anything.
So, what happens when our favorite book worm finds an interesting way to do just that? After agreeing to help with yet another task by the Princess of the Sun, Twilight find the request not only exciting, but it also allows her to get to know Celestia in ways she never dreamed of. But as they say, be careful what you wish for, short shortsightedness can easily turn a golden dream into a black nightmare.
Our story begins in Princess Celestia's chambers at Canterlot, one dark and quiet night. Though, the Princess is not alone...
Twilight stood before Princess Celestia and Luna in the older mare's bedchamber assembled with her 5 friends. They bowed in respect before entering. Celestia only smiled.
"Come now, Twilight. I told you, no bowing here. I don't invite friends to my room for formal meetings."
"Sorry." Twilight smiled sheepishly. "Force of habit. Anyway, your letter said you wished to discuss something with us?"
Celestia's smile only widened as she summoned two bottles from her nightstand into both hands. In her left hand, a green bottle, and in the right a blue one. Twilight quickly noticed the different expressions on the Royal Sisters' faces. Celestia displayed an open and even excited smile at the bottles, completely at odds with the distrustful glare Luna was giving them, though the younger sister say nothing as the meeting continued.
"After your first letter about a zebra living near Ponyvile, I went out to see Zecora myself. Relations with the Zebras have been cool at best the last few years, so I felt it best to get on good terms with one. We've kept up a good friendship since then. I was most impressed with her potion making skill, a brand of magic sadly forgotten in Equestria.
"Due to her involvement with both your duel against Trixie and her help during the Everfree's invasion, I offered her a reward from the crown. The other thing Zecora asked for was a favor from me in the future." Celestia smiled as she lifted the green bottle. "That is where this comes in. The green potion is a new brew Zecora has requested of me to try, and I need your help, Twilight."
Celestia smiled at her former student as Twilight pondered the request. "Princess, I'm sure i speak for all my friends when I say we'd gladly help you anytime-" the others nodded their agreements before Twilight continued- "but this seems a little odd. Calling us out to your personal chambers at sunset? What are we doing?"
Luna jumped in at this point. "While I don't doubt Ms. Zecora's intentions are pure, I DO have doubts about the safety of this 'experiment'. And, though I do not agree that Tia should be the one to test this potion in the first place, we did agree that it would be better to have you and your friends help her, instead of informing others. The very nature of this potion could allow our enemies, both political and foreign, to strike at us in ways we may not be able to stop."
Luna gave a serious glare at the other mares. "It goes without saying that everything you see, hear, and experience from now until the experiment ends is top secret of the highest level. Before I allow this to continue I want each of you to swear on you lives, rank as Element holders, and your loyalty to the crown, that you will not breath a word of this to anypony outside this room. Understand?"
It became clear to Twilight, that whatever this potion was, it agitated the Princess of the Moon greatly. And that only added to growing excitement. Secret after dark meets, a mysterious potion of unknown effect, and Luna's demand for oaths of silence, it was all like some grand mystery novel she'd read, only for real. As she looked at her friends, she noticed similar excited looks in their eyes, well except for Fluttershy. She was more terrified than anything else. Not really out of the ordinary for her.
However, the yellow pegasuses went along with her other friends and joined in as they chanted the Pinkie Promise together, an oath Luna knew was the most sacred bond of trust the 6 friends could make. It was enough to satisfy her before speaking again. She lost some of her harshness this time.
"Very good. Please, forgive my bluntness in this matter. I am not overly fond of this idea."
"Calm down, Luna." Celestia said with a dismissive smile. "There's no need to be worried. I trust both Zecora and Twilight completely."
"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't be concerned." Luna gave a small glare to the older princess.
Celestia only nodded before turning back to Twilight and the others. "Now that you've sworn the oath, I will fill you in on the details. This potion is meant to allow ponies to shrink and enter the bodies of other ponies." She paused at the expected looks of shock and confusion from the six ponies. "I will be the one drinking this potion, and you six will enter my body and explore, testing out the potion effects and searching for any negative reactions. That is the long and short of it."
Twilight's mouth dropped. It sounded insane, and if anypony other than Princess Celestia had told her this, she would've laughed them off before returning to her books. But, this was Princess Celestia, and she knew the Princess well enough now to realize this wasn't a joke. Luna's extreme concern over the plan was proof of that. At once, Twilight's mind kicked into over drive and she began pacing in thought. The possibilities of such a potion were countless. Medical applications, better understanding of anatomy through direct observation, heck even stranger things like fighting possible overpopulation by housing tiny ponies inside willing hosts.
However, as her eyes rested on Luna she began to see the darker possibilities as well. Assassinations, spying, infiltration, it had just as many negative consequences as positive. She quickly realized the seriousness of the situation and of what Celestia was about to ask of her. This may well be one of the most important things she'd ever do for the Princess. She hesitated before asking.
"Princess, are you sure about this? I mean, why would Zecora even ask this of you? It seems very risky if things go wrong."
"That is was the blue potion is for."She held up said bottle. "It is a powerful anti-potion. Should something go wrong, I simply drink the contents of the blue bottle and all effects of the green potion will be negated. You and your friends will be quickly teleported out and my body will return to normal. As for why she asked me, it is simple. She needed to test just how powerful the potion is. She felt, and I agree with her, that testing on an alicorn's body is the best choice as we naturally are more resilient to magic. As the oldest and most developed alicorn, I was the natural choice."
Celestia stood and walked over to Twilight, placing the bottles on the ground and her hand on the younger alicorn's shoulder. "Please, Twilight. You're almost as bad as Luna. I would not be doing this if I thought it would turn out badly and I have taken precautions just in case. I just ask that you trust me, as I am trusting you. Can you do that?"
A thousand reasons why this was a bad idea ran through her head all at once. Truly, Twilight wanted to simply run out of the room that moment and call for the castle doctor for help. But she found herself defeated by Celestia's words and the kind, trusting smile on her mentor's face. She trusted Twilight, and she couldn't answer that trust with doubt, not after everything the older princess had done for her.
Twilight turned around to look at her friends, her face asking the questions her mouth seemed unable to speak at the moment. Pinkie's answer was all too clear, with her mad smile, eyes nearly bulging out of her head, and her whole body vibrating with excitement. She began nodding agreement at blinding speed and a small squeal passed through her teeth.
Rainbow Dash simply shrugged and nodded as well. Rarity and AJ looked to each other before answering. The two seemed to be silently debating the issue back and forth. Finally, they smiled and turned back to Twilight, AJ giving the thumbs up and Rarity nodding. As expected, once the others agreed, Fluttershy followed suit.
Twilight mouthed 'Thank You' before looking at Celestia again. "Alright. We'll do it."
The purple alicorn wasn't ready for Celestia's reaction. She grabbed Twilight and pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh thank you, Twilight. I was a little concerned I'd have to ask somepony else."
She quickly released Twilight and grabbed the green bottle. "Now, stand together everypony. If Zecora is correct, this next part is a little intense."
Twilight looked on confused. "Wait, what?"
Author's Note
Well, here we go. Please PM me if you find any typos, don't post in the comments. Thank you.