Starburst in Wonderland

Starburst’s screams echoed as she fell deeper and deeper down the hole. Upon instinct her giant wings started flapping halting her fall. Starburst stopped screaming the moment she started hovering. She looked down and noticed a faint light bouncing off the walls of the hole. She then looked upwards seeing nothing but darkness. “There’s no point of going back,” the tiny pegasus thought out loud. Soon Starburst started to hover downwards until she arrived in the area that was illuminating with lights. There she found a bright lamp imbedded in the wall of the hole and tall bookshelves stacked with books that were floating in mid-air. “Mom might love it here,” Starburst said to herself. As she continued to hover downwards she saw even more lamps together with tables and geographical maps all floating in mid-air which very much reminded the young princess of the study that Princess Twilight had at The Friendship Castle. Starburst then came across a floating open pantry which contained a large glass jar marked “Orange Marmalade”. Starburst loved orange marmalade and decided to treat herself to sample. To her disappointment the jar was empty. Now all the tiny pegasus had as company was an empty orange marmalade jar. A frustrated Starburst held the jar above her head ready to throw it down with force. However, she remembered how angry her mother was when Starburst accidently knocked down a glass jar when she was eight years old. There Princess Twilight gave Starburst a long lecture on the dangers of broken glass so from that day forward Starburst made a vow to herself to never to be so reckless when it came to glass. As she held onto the glass jar she glanced downwards finding a floating shelf containing plates and other dishes much to her relief. Gently Starburst laid the glass jar on the last shelf. She then examined her new surroundings finding paintings on the walls, floating globes and even floating wooden models of ships. “At this rate I might fall right through Equestria,” Starburst thought out loud. “Seriously, if Nightlight did the interior decorating of this place how did he managed to get all the way up here?” Starburst stared down the path with a furrowed eyebrow. With every ground she covered light would spread across along the tunnel-like path revealing floating furniture and more academic instruments. “Nightlight!” Starburst called out. “Are you down there?” She began to ponder on how long it would take until she eventually made it to the bottom. Either it was a very long hole or Starburst was hovering slower than she intended. Suddenly she thought if this hole was this deep then when she landed at the bottom she was bound to meet the mangled corpse of her brother. Panic started to grip her. “Sweet Celestia, no!” she thought out loud. She then began to flap her massive wings and started to pick up the pace passing all the maps and the furniture that floated around. Finally she found bottom of the hole and started to frantically look around for Nightlight or at least what was left of him. She stared intently at the floor finding no blood and no body parts. After breathing a sigh of relief she found herself within a type of corridor. “Did Nightlight landed on his feet?” Starburst thought. “That was a pretty long drop from what I could see. I know cats always land on their feet, but I don’t know about rabbits doing that. Even cats can’t land on their feet from so high up. Nightlight definitely couldn’t have used magic because he can’t use hovering spells. Plus, I doubt he could do any kind of magic now that he’s a rabbit.” Slowly, the princess started to trot down the corridor.

After what seemed like twenty minutes Starburst turned a corner finding what appeared to be a dead end. There was no kind of doors so Starburst began to wonder if Nightlight survived the fall how was he able to get out of the area he was now in. “Nightlight, are you in here?” Starburst called out. As she looked around worry started to take hold of her. “If I don’t find Nightlight I’ll never forgive myself,” Starburst thought out loud. “Mom and everypony else are gonna be so devastated. What kind of princess would I be? What kind of big sister would I be?” She began to think back to the times when she and Nightlight fell out with one incident leading to blows being traded between themselves. Soon worry gave way to guilt. As Starburst pondered these things her eyes met a small curtain at the edge of the room. Though the princess was smaller than most mares this particular curtain was much smaller than she was. She then pulled back the curtain finding an elegant looking door which was even smaller than the curtain. She determined that the door must be fifteen inches high which was still too small for her. “I could probably only fit my head,” Starburst thought out loud. She then reached forth her hoof and gave the doorknob a twist. “Ow!” a voice suddenly exclaimed. The sudden sound of a pony’s voice made Starburst jump slightly. She looked around the dimly lit hall finding no one. Starburst twisted the doorknob again. “Hey, stop!” said a male voice. A voice Starburst suddenly recognized. There was no denying that the familiar voice was coming from the doorknob. Upon careful examination of the doorknob Starburst realized that the doorknob and the keyhole was actually the face of her older cousin. “Valiant Heart?!” exclaimed the princess. Prince Valiant Heart was the only son born to Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. He was also the younger brother of Princess Flurry Heart and the first stallion in Equestria to become an alicorn. He squeezed his eyes shut as he wriggled his nose which was actually the golden doorknob. “You gave me quite a turn there, little filly,” said Valiant Heart. “Get it? Doorknob? Turn?” Valiant Heart/Doorknob laughed at his pun much to the slight annoyance of Starburst. “What happened to you, Lance?” asked Starburst using the nickname most creatures gave her second oldest cousin. “How come you’re a doorknob?”

“Well, I don’t know if you have the time,” said Valiant Heart/Doorknob casually. “But it all started at the factory where they melt certain metals until they become the shape…”

“Never mind that!” said a frantic Starburst cutting him off. “Have you seen Nighty?”

“Nighty” said Valiant Heart/Doorknob with a look of confusion. “It’s a little too early for bed, don’t you think?”

“No, Nightlight.”

“Nightlight? Well, if you want a nightlight there’s this department store…”

“No! Nightlight, your cousin! My brother!”

“Cousin? I don’t have any cousins. Just me and my lonesome.”

Starburst facehoofed and let out a loud growl. “Look, this is gonna sound crazy, but Nightlight turned into a rabbit somehow,” explained the pegasus. “I was following him through The Everfree Forest until I came down that hole. And I bet he went right through this door. It looks big enough for a rabbit.” Starburst reached again for the doorknob which was Valiant Heart/Doorknob’s nose. “Sorry, little filly,” said Valiant Heart/Doorknob turning away his doorknob/nose. “You’re way too big to get in.”

“But I gotta find Nightlight!” insisted Starburst.

“Anyone who wants to get through me must be at the right size, something you clearly aren’t,” said Valiant Heart/Doorknob. “You know it and I know it.”

“I don’t have time for this! I need to find Nighty and get back home!”

“Sorry, I can’t help you get back home. But maybe what’s on the table could help.” Valiant Heart/Doorknob motioned over to an area behind Starburst.

“Table?” said the confused pegasus. She turned around to find a glass table with a huge glass bottle on its surface. “I didn’t remember seeing that table there when I first came here,” said Starburst cocking her head.

“Don’t just stand there,” urged Valiant Heart/Doorknob. “Go over already.”

Starburst picked herself off the floor and slowly trotted over the table. She examined the glass bottle carefully seeing that it was filled to the brim with a clear liquid and the words “DRINK ME” were engrained on the bottle itself. Starburst picked up the bottle with one hoof and unscrewed the seal with another hoof. She stared at the liquid for a moment with trepidation. She began to wonder if she was about to drink poison. Then again, she knew her cousin would never encourage her to drink something unsafe. Slowly, Starburst put the bottle to her mouth and took a sip. Suddenly her eyes widened with delight. “It tastes like cherry tart,” said Starburst smacking her mouth. Unbeknownst to the princess she shrank an inch. She then took another sip and a broad smile appeared on her face. “Now it tastes like custard,” said Starburst. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that Mrs. Pinkie Pie came up with a new dessert.” As she said this she shrank another inch. Soon the tiny princess took a gulp. “Let’s see,” she said as she tried to detect another flavor. “Grape, apple, raspberry. Hay? Dandelions? Hey! Is that watermelon?” As she is pondering this she shrank all the way down until she was smaller than the bottle. The bottle landed safely upwards while Starbursts tumbled backwards with a yelp. She looked upwards seeing the glass table now towered over her. “Curiouser and curiouser!” said an astonished Starburst. She then began patting herself all over. A smile formed on her face because she knew right then that she was at the right size to get through the door. Immediately Starburst flew towards the door but to her shock she realized that the once tiny door now surpassed her in size. She estimated that she at least had the strength to turn the doorknob. “Okay, Lance,” began the princess. “I’m now at the right height. At least I think am. Now can you let me through?”

“Yeah…I don’t think so,” said Valiant Heart/Doorknob with a goofy grin. Starburst wore a look of outrage. Valiant Heart was known to be a tease on occasion, but this was overdoing it. “Why the heck not?” she said. “I shrunk to the right size!”

“Yes, I could see that,” Valiant Heart/Doorknob said. “You certainly shrunk more than was required. But the thing is I’m locked.”

Valiant Heart/Doorknob let out a laugh eliciting a low growl from Starburst. “And you didn’t think to tell me that from the start?” demanded the princess angrily.

“Hey, if you could find something to get you to the right size, I’m pretty sure you could find a key at the same table,” said Valiant Heart/Doorknob seemingly unaware of the pregasus’s angry facial expression. Starburst quickly spun around turning her focus on the glass table. In the blink of an eye she flew towards the midst of the legs where the glass bottle still stood. She looked up and sure enough she saw a key that laid at the top of the table. With her tiny size Starburst thought flying to the top would be too arduous. “I probably need the exercise,” Starburst said out loud with an exasperated sigh. She then started flying upwards to the top of the table until she finally arrived meeting the golden key. She stared at the key which was approximately six feet in length and was rather thick. Casually she walked over to it and proceeded to lift it up with her forehooves finding it too hard to lift. She dropped it and started to catch her breath. She made another effort only managing to lift one end of the key about a few inches off the table’s surface. She then dropped the key and started to gasp for air like there’s no tomorrow. “Note to self, need extra strength training,” she thought out loud. She refocused on the key feeling a sense of frustration welling up inside of her. She bucked the key with her hind hooves and flew off the table. She hovered downward sulking the more distance she made. “Lance, that key is too big and too heavy!” Starburst called out. As she hovered to the floor she noticed a box at one of the table’s legs. Confusion settled inside of the pegasus because she was quite sure that the only object present was that tall glass bottle. She landed on her hooves and walked over to the box. Slowly she opened the box finding a large cake covered in icing with the words EAT ME written on the surface. “If drinking something is gonna cause me to shrink, then eating something might cause me to get big enough to carry that key,” said Starburst thinking out loud. She took a piece of the cake and ate it. She then waited a bit for any kind of results. Starburst looked up to the table seeing the large key not once experiencing any change in her physical appearance. “Maybe if I ate a bigger piece,” Starburst said to herself. Soon she broke off a huge piece of the cake and shoved it in her mouth. She felt as if the muscles in her face were getting a workout due to how long it took for her to finish the cake. After swallowing the cake she folded her forehooves and waiting for some indication that her size had increase at least a little. After a while Starburst realized that she had not even grown past an inch of the table legs much to her frustration. She let out a growl and glanced down at the cake which was now a half of cake. She picked up the last piece of pastry with both hooves and put it to her mouth. She reasoned that she needed to finish the whole delicacy if she was to experience any kind of change. However, she was reluctant to greedily consume the rather large remnant of the cake. “If I want any chance of making it into the Royal Guard, I can’t be a big, fat slob,” Starburst thought out loud. “But I’m pretty sure that I might’ve inherited at least some of Mom’s alicorn genes. Alicorns have high metabolism. I mean, look at Princess Celestia. She eats cake for dessert every day and she never lost her figure even after having Illusion.”

With those words Starburst wolfed down what remained of the vanilla cake. Her face became covered in crumbs and icing with every bite she took. Soon there was no more cake left in Starburst’s hooves. She then began to wipe her face and lick cake off her hooves. Suddenly before she had a chance to react Starburst grew into a giant size reaching all the way to the ceiling with very little room for her head. There was also a lack of room for her hooves and her abnormally large wings. Starburst’s face was a few inches from the door in full view of Valiant Heart/Doorknob. The pegasus struggled to make herself comfortable as she looked at her cousin in horror. “Lance, what happened?” Starburst said. “I ate some cake and now I’m freakishly big!”

“Yup, gobbling that cake sure went a long way!” said Valiant Heart/Doorknob through hysterical laughs. As he laughed the frustration within Starburst began to overwhelm her. So much so it gave way to a deep pain within. “Come on, Lance,” pleaded Starburst. “It’s not funny!” As she pleaded with her cousin Starburst could have sworn that she started to feel tears welling in her eyes. Soon she remembered the times when she would observe her mother on the verge of tears whenever Equestria was in crisis. Whenever that happened Princess Twilight would fight back the tears and put on a brave face because if Princess Twilight became an emotional wreck how else would the citizens of Equestria have a sense of hope that they would see a crisis through? Seeing this from her mother Starburst promised herself that she would never show any kind of emotion at least not in public. Starburst let out a grunt and put on a stern expression in the face of Valiant Heart/Doorknob’s laughs. She started to look around and saw the glass bottle marked DRINK ME. She squinted her eyes seeing that there was still some liquid left. She started to ease her body along the hallway until her face was inches away from the bottle. Starburst then clenched the bottle between her teeth and titled her head backwards allowing the liquid to fall down her throat. In the blink of an eye Starburst shrank down again. This time she was tinier that the first time she shrunk. Her face wore an expression of satisfaction as she flew back to the door. “Oh, you shrunk back,” said an astonished Valiant Heart/Doorknob. “See the wonders using your brain can do?”

“Yes,” said Starburst with a mischievous grin. “And speaking of using your brain, I found a really smart way to get through.” With those words Starburst plucked a feather from her massive wings and started to tickle Valiant Heart/Doorknob’s nose or doorknob. “Hey, what are you doing?” he said as he wriggled the doorknob that was meant to be his nose. Starburst ignored him and continued to tickle his doorknob. Suddenly Valiant Heart/Doorknob was brought to the verge of sneezing. As this happened Starburst flew right through the keyhole that was meant to be his mouth. She disappeared to the other side of the door when Valiant Heart/Doorknob let out a huge sneeze.