Chapter 1: All Bottled Up
Chapter 1
All Bottled Up
There it was again. The lot that sat at the center of town; the peculiar clearing that broke the monotonous scenery of the thatched roof townhouses of Ponyville. To anypony not from the area, one would assume this place was nothing more than an empty plot of land that once held a house or a building of some sort. The uneven sparse sod and loose dirt that littered the center of the clearing all but justifies this idea, and indeed it was correct… to a certain degree. Except it didn’t just hold any old house or a building; it held a home.
She walked slowly towards the center, counting the number of steps she took, her eyes fixed to her hooves as it touched the earth, making sure each step was equally spaced without the slightest inch of deviation.
“One, two, three… five, six, seven… ten, eleven, twelve.”
She breathed a heavy sigh before averting her gaze from her hooves to a thin mound of dirt that was now in front of her, a heavy knot beginning to form within her stomach. She could still hear the dreaded howl of Tirek’s magical beam as it shot towards the tree, the sound growing louder as it approached her and Owlowiscious, eventually being surpassed by a deafening explosion that sent both of them flying in the air.
But the emptiness is what haunted her the most, the absence of the beloved golden oak tree she once called home. Inside its hollow core held so many memories. She could still remember her surprised yet irritated reaction of when her and Spike first stepped through that wood door, the time when Pinkie threw her a “welcome to Ponyville surprise party extravaganza,'' as she had called it. Her whimsical personality was, at the time, a bit too much for her to handle, but after experiencing so many of her parties, many of which were held in Golden Oak, she grew to love each of them, and the pony who threw them as well.
A smile spread across her face as she stretched out her wings. She sure had come a long way since then. The daily friendship problems that she and her friends had gone through put them through so many trials and tribulations, all leading to valuable lessons in friendship, lessons that kept her up late in her old study room.
“Dear Princess Celestia,” she would always begin saying as she paced, while Spike tried to keep awake in the dim study room, illuminated by the flickering flame of a single candle.
She looked up towards the blue Equestrian sky to where the thick branches used to reach, her eyes straining against Celestia’s sun. The many hours she spent gazing at Luna’s starry night through the telescope was something she always looked forward to after a long tiring day. That balcony, where she could step out and feel the gentle midnight breeze was one of her favorite places to retreat to, that and her study room of course.
She looked around and could see everypony was carrying about their day as normal, busily trotting along through the clearing without once pausing to reminisce its history, paying no attention as to where their hooves lie, nor to her as she stood next to a mound of dirt, idly staring at them passing by.
How could they have forgotten so easily?
It seemed as if everypony had moved on, everypony except her. It was as if she was rooted to the past, a time where everything seemed much simpler than it were today, where all she had to worry about was friendship problems and occasional “end of Equestria” events. But life seemed to refuse to slow down, accelerating down a never ending series of events, each one being more difficult as they come. She is the Princess of Friendship, the founder of the renowned School of Friendship, and above all, the soon-to-be ruler of Equestria.
“Twilight! Look out!”
She immediately returned from her pondering, instinctively ducking her head at the frantic call of her name and let out a small yelp, hearing a loud buzz fly passed her head.
She looked up and let out a grin, seeing Tank struggling to regain control of his flying as he let out a guilty smile.
“Twilight! Are you okay?” Rainbow Dash called out, soaring towards her. “Gah. I’m sorry. I had to install a new propeller ‘cause his old one broke. It’s been acting up ever since.”
“No worries. I’ll take care of it.” Tilting her horn, she conjured up a simple spell that illuminated the erratic propeller with a purple aura. Instantaneously, the tortoise managed to regain his momentum as he maneuvered back to his owner.
“Whew. Well that was a close call,” Applejack said as she trotted towards them, accompanied by Rarity, Fluttershy, and all of their beloved pets. She looked up towards Rainbow Dash with a stern face. “I told you to wait for Twilight before you installed that darn thing. But of course, you never listen to me.”
Rainbow Dash let out a sarcastic laugh, rolling her magenta eyes. “Yeah, sure okay. Like you knew that this was going to happen.”
“Well I knew nothin’ good would come from you takin’ matters into your own hooves.”
“Are you saying that I’m not capable of handling things on my own!?”
“I didn’t say that,” Applejack said innocently as she patted Winona on the head. “You just assumed I meant that.”
“I didn’t assume anything! I knew what you were trying to sa-”
“Umm. Not trying to be rude and interrupt or anything, but shouldn’t we start heading to the spa now?” Fluttershy said calmly in her quiet voice, picking up Angel and placing him onto her back. “I still have an awful amount of chores to do at the sanctuary later.”
“Honestly darlings,” Rarity began in her usual regal tone as she started to fix her already perfect mane, “no need for this bickering. We must get a move on. Our appointment is in just a few minutes and Opal and I simply can’t wait a moment longer. Isn’t that right Opal?”
The pure-bred cat let out a soft purr in agreement as she gently nudged her owner’s leg with her soft white fur.
Suddenly, a soft rumble began to fill the air. Twilight turned to the mound of dirt behind her and could see the earth beginning to give. In the blink of an eye, a pink blur emerged from the ground, shooting out from the dirt and into the air like a spring.
“Hey Twilight! Just so you know, staring at paint dry is realllyyy boring. Trust me I know,” Pinkie Pie said with a snort and a giggle as she shook the dirt off her mane, with an expressionless Gummy attached to her tail. “I can't even begin to imagine just how boring it must be staring at dirt dry… or settle… or... what exactly does dirt even do?”
“I wasn’t staring at dirt Pinkie,” Twilight said, narrowing her eyes at her. “I was reminiscing.” She looked around at the blank faces that stared back at her. “Honestly, have all of you forgotten where we are right now? What used to be here?”
“Well of course we remember,” Applejack said with a confused look.
“We’re all just a bit confused I guess,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Confused about what?”
“We thought you had moved on after we gave you the root chandelier that we got dug up from Golden Oak all those moons ago,” Fluttershy said worriedly. She then gasped, putting her hoof over her mouth. “Did you not like it?”
A wave of guilt flooded her as she looked at her innocent blue eyes. Any moment and she was sure she would burst into tears.
“No! I didn’t mean it like that,” Twilight said as she looked at the ground, closing her eyes. “Believe me. I absolutely love the gift you all have given me and I will always cherish it. Everyday, whenever I have the chance, I fly up to its gems, look at each of them, and smile as I watch my… our… memories play out.”
She could see her friends begin to smile as she opened her eyes, their concern slowly melting away. She wanted to just end it there and not continue, but she knew that no good came from harboring feelings. “But things are just changing so fast. Things are becoming much more complex. Becoming the Princess of Friendship and starting the School of Friendship was just barely enough for me to cope with. Now I have to rule Equestria?”
The smiles around her retreated once more as they saw the tears trickle down her cheeks. “I just miss the simple times we spent together, back when a problem meant deciding who to take with me to the Grand Galloping Gala, or when it meant solving a simple friendship problem. Now it seems the fate of Equestria hangs into balance everyday and so many ponies are looking to me for answers. But what scares me the most is our friendship. As time progresses, will our friendship change too?”
She heard the soft rustle of feathers, accompanied by a gentle touch on her shoulder, a feeling that gave her instant comfort from her sorrow. Without even glancing back, she knew who it was.
“Who?” the creature on her shoulder asked.
“Hey there Owlowiscious,” she smiled as she caressed his feathers. “Glad you could make it. I was waiting for you.”
“Whew,” Pinkie exclaimed, wiping the glistening sweat off her forehead. “Is that it? I thought you were sad ‘cause you were still finding more of my confetti cannons. I’m pretty sure I found them all.”
“Actually, I just came across one last night,” Twilight said grudgingly. “In the library, behind a copy of one of my books.”
“Oh yeah! I hid one behind a copy of How to Throw a Party for Dummies,” she said as she bounced in the air. She quickly quieted down as she looked around at the faces staring back at her. “What? I felt it was a fitting place.”
“Twilight darling, we understand that change is hard,” Rarity began as she placed Opal on her back. “But change is inevitable, like the seasons.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash piped in, “Just because things are changing, doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. Sure we all will miss the fun times we had, but remember what we said before? When we gave you the chandelier? We have new memories to look forward to, new memories to make together!”
Together. That word continued to echo in her mind, echoing inside the emptiness that was inside of her. “But that’s just it. What if things change so much that we aren’t as close as we are right now? What if-”
Applejack stomped her hoof on the ground. "Now that's just silly talk Twilight. We will always be friends, no ifs ands or buts. Nothing will ever change that.”
Winona began to bark excitedly, her nose pointing sharply in the air as she sprinted towards the hole that Pinkie emerged from moments before.
“I think we should get going,” Applejack began to say as she walked over to her frantic pet. “Looks like Winona can’t wait to get groomed.”
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "I don't think that's it." She made her way over to where Winona had run off to. Just as she reached her, the canine began to dig.
“What is it girl?” Applejack asked, “Did you find-”
But before she could finish, Winona emerged from the newly dugged out hole, a glass bottle held tightly in her mouth. She wagged her tail proudly as she sprinted towards Twilight, placing her discovery in front of her.
Winona barked happily as Twilight patted her on the head. She carefully picked up the peculiar bottle with her magic, its cracked glass tainted with dirt and age.
“What’s in it!?” Rainbow Dash called out excitedly, soaring towards her with her hooves ready to snatch it. “Open it! Open it!”
She smacked her eager hooves away. "Wait! This is pretty old, maybe even centuries old.” She studied the bottle closer, squinting her eyes, seeing a very dull glow emanating from the top of the bottle.
“Uhh. Why is it glowing like that?” Pinkie asked, scratching her head.
“It looks like somepony casted a spell on it,” Twilight replied, the mysterious artifact fueling her curiosity.
The odd glow of the spell is what interested her the most, a hue of both dark and light. As a pony who avidly studied magic, she had witnessed a countless number of spells, many of which she didn’t think were possible. But this one was unlike anything she had seen before. At first glance, it appeared to be a simple spell, but with a careful eye, one could deduce that this spell was different. This seemed old. Real old. The dwindling glow made it seem as if its magic was summoned long long ago.
“Somepony conjured up a spell to protect whatever is inside,” she said as she rotated the bottle with her horn. “However, the magic seems ancient. This is a preservation spell. I read it in a scroll back in the Royal Library in Canterlot. The spell can last thousands of years and can’t be casted by just one pony. Judging by its light, it seems as if the spell is about to fade away.”
Rainbow Dash squealed, placing both her hooves on her cheeks. “What if it’s a treasure map!? Just like how Daring Do found the lost treasure of the Undiscovered West!”
“There’s no way to say for certain,” Twilight said, taking her hoof and gently wiping the worn glass. “It’s so old that the glass has stained permanently. But the magic is weak enough to where I can undo it.”
“Well what are we waiting for! Let’s get this baby open!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, taking Tank into her arms as she began to dart towards the castle.
“Oh no you don’t!” Rarity called out in frustration. “We have an appointment! Opal and I have been looking forward to this spa day for months! As Twilight said before, our lives are becoming more and more hectic and nopony can say for certain if we will still be together in the future to continue doing all the little things we love!”
The excited feeling Twilight had from discovering the bottle quickly vanished, hearing Rarity’s words fill the air. Her words seemed to have worked though, seeing the deflated expression on Rainbow Dash’s face, with her arms slumped as she carried her tortoise back towards the group.
“Rarity is right,” Twilight said calmly, breaking the unsettling silence. “This can wait. We need to cherish every moment we spend together, enjoy the little things while we still can.”
She placed the bottle into her saddlebag and let out a long sigh, patting Owlowiscious once more. Things were indeed changing, and she hoped that whatever this bottle held, didn’t alter things more.
