//------------------------------//
// The Chest ( Ch. 1) 
// Story: The Mane 12 
// by PinkiePotter42 
//------------------------------//

"Pinkie!"
Twilight screamed down at the pink mare from her perch at the top of the stairs. This produced Pinkie's head from an old dress-up box. Her mane was frazzled, and she wore an ancient hat and a pair of aviator's goggles around her neck.
"But Twi," she mused, a victimized look on her face, "You asked us to help... so I'm helping!"
Pinkie fell back into the box giggling, sending up clouds of dusk, along with some old beads and a hole-ridden tutu.

True, Twilight had asked her friends to help her clean, but they were doing more bad than good. Twilight had only recently discovered that her library even had a basement, and it seemed to be endless. Pinkie Pie seemed to want to explore every nook and cranny of it - and all in her own time.

She trotted over to Rarity and Fluttershy, who were sorting through an old pile of scrolls.
"Twilight, why did we have to start with the scrolls? I mean, couldn't you at least give us something more exciting to do? a lady like me expected to be working with fine, vintage fashion, not dusty old parchment. Look! This one's dirty!"
Rarity recoiled at the sight of one of the older scrolls, sending the pile toppling down onto Fluttershy. She yelped and darted away behind one of the old, wooden support beams, her face quivering as it stuck out from her moldy hiding spot.
"What was that?"

Rainbow Dash grinned and swooped in behind Fluttershy, careful not to make a sound as she crept up behind her.
"Oh, nothing... Just the footsteps of the big, hairy, pony-eating MONSTERS!"
Dashie jumped out at Fluttershy, sending her ricocheting into Applejack with a squeal.
"Monsters?"
Applejack stood up and brushed herself off, straightening her trademark hat and clearing her throat.
"There's no monsters, sugar cube. Just ignore Dashie here. Why don't y'all go and help Pinkie with, er, whatever she's doin' over there."
Fluttershy nodded, and slowly walked over to the dress up box.
"Surprise!" Pinkie jumped out of the box, now wearing a ridiculously sparkly necklace, with matching earrings. Fluttershy shot back to her beam, eyes squeezed shut.
"Fluttershy, it's just me!" Pinkie giggled, promenading around the basement as if it was a catwalk.
Spike spotted her necklace, and started to lick his lips, before being rewarded with a stern look from Rarity.

Twilight rolled her eyes. They were her friends, after all, but sometimes she wished that they'd take a little more care. Applejack seemed to be the only one actually working. Pinkie Pie seemed to think they were throwing a party, Rainbow Dash was pulling pranks, and Fluttershy jumped at the slightest noise. She looked to her right. Spike was franticly laying out cloths for Rarity to stand on so she didn't have to touch the earthen floor, with the same puppy-dog eyes he always wore when she was around.

Twilight paused near one of the smaller mounds of junk. Near the bottom, she saw a small, green glimmer, out of place compared to the moth-bitten clothes and disintegrating scrolls. She dug down to reveal a small chest, no bigger than two apples side by side. It was covered in green gems, each giving of a radiance to rival Celestia's twinkling mane. The brown wood was wrapped in golden metal, fastening it together with a delicate strength.

Her friends began to notice the strange light, and wandered over to have a closer look. Pinkie begane swarming around the box, poking and prodding and examining it from every angle.
"What do ya think's inside?"
She murmured, so wrapped up in the box that it was hard to believe that just moments before she was bubbling and bouncing through thousand year old dress up.
Rarity ran a hoof over the box, her eye for detail surpassing even Twilight's magical judgment.
"Wa ha ha! I think I may have found an inscription!"
A smile crept onto her face as she turned the chest over triumphantly, revealing a dusty message hidden on one of the short sides of the box.



Hidden inside is a magical swirl, which takes you to another world.
If you chose to go inside, return but wounded, heart, hooves, pride. 



Applejack backed away.
"I don't care what kind of fancy language this thing is using. I don't trust it one bit. Don't y'all think we should leave it alone? "
Rarity trotted over to her side, head held high, but eyes wary.
"For once, Applejack, I agree with you."
Spike hastened to join her. "Yeah Twily. We don't know what horrible creature are waiting for us on the other side."
Fluttershy gasped. "H-h-h-horrible c-c-creatures?"
Spike glanced worriedly at Twilight "Even if you are a Princess, we can't risk bringing the elements with us - we don't know if we can even come back!"
Even Rainbow Dash looked afraid. "How about we take, um, a lunch break?"
The rest of the ponies voiced their agreement, even if Pinkie did look a bit disappointed. 
Twilight turned to make her way towards the stairs. She had barely taken a single step when she felt a pull gripping her tail.
"Dashie..."
Twilight turned, horrified, to see Pinkie's tail disappear in to the blue box, as the others were being dragged to follow. she felt her tail entering the box, then she was falling, falling, until she hit the ground and the world went black.

The world slowly zoomed back into focus. Twilight got up and dusted herself off. She checked to see that the others were with her (they all were). What she saw when she looked around was her biggest shock. They were still in the library basement.

Twilight was confused. She looked around. Every scroll, every cobweb, every bit of dust was exactly in its place. The others looked normal- same coat, same mane, same cutie mark... so what had happened. The others seemed just as confused. Five mares and one dragon looked back at her, seeking guidance. She put on a smile for them, even though she hated lying.

"How about that lunch break?"
Twilight trotted casually up the stairs to the basement door.
What she found when she opened it would be the biggest surprise of her life.