Chapter One: New Beginnings
A/N:
I bet you guys are wondering why the heck i'm posting this now, when I'm supposed to be out of town. Well, turns out my dad's work screwed him over, and we couldn't leave yet. We'll be heading out to Indiana in the morning.
Unfortunately, I was unable to complete the first chapter of The Makings of an Alicorn, so that won't be making an appearance yet.
I think this fic is some of the best quality work i've done yet, but that's just me talking. We'll see how it stands up to your expectations. So, without further ado, here's Extended Longevity: New Beginnings.
The day began innocently enough; the sun rose over the library as a lavender unicorn slept peacefully in a bed covered in lush, downy sheets. At the foot of the bed, her number one assistant, a young dragon, lay curled up in a wicker basket, atop a plush disk of padding. Although most would consider a bed of this kind for pets, this draconic assistant preferred this simple, yet comfortable, sleeping arrangement.
As the sun graced the sky with it's presence at the bidding of it's caretaker, the golden rays illuminated the solid oak walls and floor of the unicorn's room, the hollowed out bookshelf on one side of the room coming alive with color as the books stored there were illuminated one-by-one by the creeping sunlight. Eventually, the sunlight found it's target, lining itself up and pelting the unicorn's eyelids with an inconsiderate wake up call. With all hope of sleeping late lost, the mare hauled herself into a sitting position, her eyes blinking open to survey her familiar surroundings.
Twilight Sparkle, the protege of Princess Celestia, clambered out of her comfortable, tempting bed and cantered groggily across the wooden floors with soft clicks. Reaching her vanity mirror, her horn ignited in a purple glow as she levitated a brush to begin grooming herself. She couldn't run a library without looking presentable, as much as she sometimes wished she could. Some days, her mane could be a rat's nest of tangles, and it hurt to comb them all out.
With her mane and tail presentable, she began a long and arduous journey downstairs to the kitchen, in the hopes of felling the great beast known as hunger. The beast's roars echoed from her stomach, as she searched through the cabinets of her kitchen for a nutritious breakfast. She used her magic to pull down a box marked “Celesti-Os”, as well as a bowl. Although her mentor vehemently denied any associations with the makers of the cereal, Twilight had her suspicions. The marshmallows looked suspiciously similar to her beloved mentor.
However, ever the considerate protege, Twilight neglected to pursue the matter more. In the grand scheme of things, she considered, regardless of how interesting a box of cereal seems, it is not as important as continuing her studies in magic. Twilight filled the bowl almost to the brim, before reaching out with her magic and drawing a carton of milk from her icebox, and pouring it's contents indiscriminately over the waiting marshmallow cereal. Setting the bowl on the counter, she wielded a spoon, valiantly overcoming hunger once again one mouthful at a time.
With her breakfast consumed, she made her way to the bathroom sink, where she floated her toothbrush over to her and squeezed the perfect amount of toothpaste from the tube, a single immaculate sphere of gelatin. Running the rough bristles of the brush back and forth across her teeth, she cleaned them thoroughly, leaving them sparkling white as she stared at herself in the mirror.
Trotting from the sink, she made her way to the main library, flipping around the sign that would mark the library as open for business. Although she didn't get many customers, and the few she did get were usually her friends, she wasn't expecting a hectic day. Looking back, she would realize how unprepared she really was.
Calling a greeting to Spike, she levitated a tome to herself in preparation for some studying. This was one of the books she had custom-ordered from the Canterlot Library Star Swirl wing, for her studies. Noticing the title read “The Lost Works of Star Swirl, Volume 2”, Twilight realized she'd never read this before, and a feeling of exploration that lit itself ablaze in her chest as she stared at the cover excited her, as it always did, while she opened the dusty tome.
Twilight flipped through the pages, each documented spell more interesting to her than the last, until she stopped about halfway through the book.
“Huh, that's interesting...” She muttered aloud to herself, before looking up. “Hey, Spike, can you fetch me that sunflower we have by the window? I've noticed it's a little droopy, and I want to try out this spell.”
“Yeah, no problem, Twi!” Her eager assistant called back, before he rounded the corner in possession of the flower. “Here's the flower...” Tilting his head slightly, he regarded the focused mare closely. “What'cha doing, anyway?”
“Well, I found this spell that reverts an object to a younger version of itself. I want to see if I can bring this flower back.”
“Huh, well, that sounds interesting.” Spike said, “I wonder if you could turn it back into a seed?”
“Probably, although I only want to try small changes for now. I don't know how much power it'll take until I try it, and I don't want to overexert myself. Again.” Twilight sighed, “You'd think I'd have learned to be more careful after the first three times...”
“Well, actually, you kinda did.” Spike pointed out, always the helpful assistant.
“Oh, yeah, you're right.” Twilight chuckled slightly, before pulling her attention to the flower. “Now, let's see what we can do...” Twilight's horn glowed as her aura wrapped itself around the potted plant, coaxing time itself into following her whims. As she watched, the plant became more lively, before it ultimately stood tall and strong.
“Wow, cool.” Spike fawned over the newly-refreshed flower, his face one of unmatched awe. “I've never seen anything like that before.”
“Honestly, neither have I.” Twilight said, “But this spell could have tons of uses.”
“Huh?” Spike didn't need to elaborate, Twilight was already entering what he called her 'lecture mode'.
“Well, for example, in the medical field, this spell could be used to mend broken bones or repair injuries a lot faster than anypony thought possible,” Twilight mentioned, “Although now that I'm thinking about it, it's possible we could use it to live to be a lot older than we do now. Aging and everything that comes with it would become outdated.”
“Sounds good to me.” Spike said, shrugging.
“Hm, now I'm curious. What kind of effect might this have on a pony?” Twilight pondered the possible effects, although her considerations were cut short as somepony knocked on the library's door. Rising out of her comfortable reading position, Twilight went to the door, opening it with her magic.
“Oh, good morning Twilight.” A quiet voice greeted, belonging to the shy pegasus Twilight had, only a year ago, found the magic of friendship with.
“Hey Fluttershy, you know this is a public library, so you can just walk right in whenever the sign says open, right?”
“Oh, um, yeah... but I couldn't impose...” Fluttershy quietly responded, her head slightly declined such that a section of her mane covered her eyes.
“Well, that's alright. Come on in.” Twilight offered, stepping out of the door to give her friend room to enter. She closed the door after the meek pegasus, a quiet click indicating that it latched. “So, what can I help you with?”
“Oh, um... A zoo needed to expand one of their exibits, and they had a spotted owl with nowhere to go. The poor dear. I offered to take care of it while they worked, but in the meantime I need a book that can tell me as much about it as possible.”
“I have just the thing...” Twilight told her, before turning toward the library, “Hey, Spike, where's that book on exotic birds?”
“Alien Avians?” Spike called, pulling a brown book with green highlights out from the shelf. He climbed down the ladder with skill born of years of practice, ending his task by handing the book to the pegasus. “Here ya go, Fluttershy!”
“Thank you, Spike.” Twilight said, before turning to Fluttershy. “Was that all?”
“Oh, um...” Fluttershy's face took on a slight tint of red, “I'd also like one of my regulars... if it's not too much to ask...”
“Not a problem.” Twilight said, turning to get the requested book.
“Hey, Twilight! Let me get it.” Spike said, chasing after her. “Just tell me what it is!”
“Not this time, Spike.” Twilight said, her voice indicating that there would be no discussion on the matter.
“But I always get the books...” Spike muttered, before turning around and trudging away.
Twilight returned shortly afterward, carrying a bag which she hoofed over to Fluttershy. “There you go, Fluttershy.” Smiling, she looked expectantly at her friend. “Actually, you know what? Your timing was perfect. I was just thinking about testing out a new spell, and I needed a volunteer. Would you be willing to help?”
Fluttershy gave a short squeak, hiding her eyes in her mane again. Before she could respond, though, a voice behind her caused her to leap about a foot in the air, spreading her wings out to keep her balance. Unfortunately, her bag of books fell from her grip, spilling out it's contents onto the floor.
“Hey Fluttershy! Hey Twilight!” A pink pony appeared out of seemingly nowhere. “Oh, I'm sorry Fluttershy! Here, let me get those for you!”
“Oh, oh dear... um...” Fluttershy stammered, as Pinkie reached down with her mouth to pick up the fallen books.
“Hey, I didn't know you read books like these, Fluttershy!” Pinkie said, holding a dark gray book by the spine, “I saw this one in Rarity's room, once, but then she yelled at me for snooping. Geez, you'd think if it was private, she'd keep it hidden, not out in plain sight on her bedside table.” Twilight would have wondered how the pink pony managed to speak with a book in her mouth, except for the knowledge that Pinkie is Pinkie, and she doesn't make sense a lot of the time.
“Pinkie, why are you here, anyway?” Twilight asked, mostly out of curiosity but also to distract the pink pony before any specific titles were mentioned. She was already going to be grilled about this from Spike when her friends left, she knew that to be true. The knowledge that Rarity had one of these books would make him insatiable. He'd want to know everything about them, and that was something Twilight just couldn't let happen.
“Oh, right, I had a twitchy knee, an itchy tail, and a floppy ear!” Pinkie said, having placed the book in the bag and returned it to Fluttershy. “That means you're about to test out a super-fun new spell! So I came straight over after I invited all our friends!”
“You did WHAT?” Twilight asked, completely and utterly exasperated. She'd expected to have one test subject, not five. “Pinkie...” Fortunately for the pink pony, Twilight's lecture was cut short by a knock at the door. “Oh dear.”
“Hey, Twi? We're almost out of food, so I'm heading out to the market!” Spike called, heading for the door. He opened it, before Twilight heard him say, “Oh, hey Rainbow Dash. Yeah, Twilight's inside.”
Rainbow entered the library, taking to the air shortly after she entered the main room. “So I hear you're testing out some new spell.”
Twilight sighed, “Yeah.”
Another knock echoed at the door, but the door opened as a beautiful unicorn stepped into the room. “Hello darlings, did I miss the spell?”
“Not yet, Twi's just getting ready.” Rainbow answered.
“Oh, spectacular. You wouldn't believe the amount of preparation I had to do to be ready for this.”
“Girls...” Twilight huffed, “Your support is appreciated, but this is an untested spell. I don't know what could happen!”
“What exactly are you testing, Twilight?” Rarity asked, her interest showing.
“Well, it's supposed to make you younger by a certain amount.” Twilight said, “But it hasn't been tested on ponies. I don't know if it'll just change how you look, or if it actually reverts you completely back to how you were however long ago.”
“Ooh, a way to always be this young and beautiful!” Rarity exclaimed, her eyes shining like stars, “Oh, don't worry, I heard the risks. I'm more than happy to help anyway.”
“What? No way! I'm going to help her test!” Rainbow argued, “After all, I am awesome.”
Twilight sighed, resigning herself to hearing an extended debate between two of her friends over who gets to help her test her newest spell.
“Silly fillies!” Pinkie interrupted the seemingly inevitable debate before it occurred, “Twilight's not going to zap anypony until Applejack gets here!”
“What?” Both unicorn and pegasus looked at her in confusion.
“Yeah, it's no fun if she doesn't zap us all at the same time!” Pinkie explained.
“Actually, Twilight, Darling, is there any good reason why you couldn't test more than one pony? The spell might effect different ponies differently.”
“True, but I don't think it's wise to test it on everypony at once.” Twilight said, “Because who knows what could happen if it goes wrong.”
“That's why you don't let it go wrong!” Pinkie exclaimed happily.
A knock sounded on the door, and Pinkie dashed off to let Applejack in.
“I heard you're plannin' to test out one o' yer fancy new spells, so I figured you'd need some good ol' fashioned help.” Applejack drawled, “Though it seems like a pretty full house ta me.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” Twilight responded, “Thanks.”
“Ooh, ooh, now zap us Twilight!” Pinkie said, gathering five of the six friends into a small group.
“You all sure about this?” Twilight asked, obviously worried about the safety of the group as a whole.
“You worry too much! Zappy zappy, Twilight!” Pinkie said, punctuating her sentence with a giggle.
“Alright...” Twilight began charging energy into her horn, feeling her aura surrounding her friends. She willed time to reverse around them, slowly aging them backwards. She shut her eyes in concentration, her focus solely on regulating her power.
“Twilight! I'm home!” Spike yelled from the door, followed by the slamming of the door.
Twilight lept, her horn suddenly flaring with power as she lost control for a split second before cutting it off. She slowly opened her eyes to survey the damage.
“Oh, Faust. What have I done?”