//------------------------------// // Gee Willikers! // Story: The Mystery of the Old Ponyville Time Capsule // by GrangeDisplay //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle smiled softly as she reorganized her collection of ordinances and proposals with her magic. The task, in and of itself, was a naturally pleasurable process for the orderly pony as she took cursory glances at each of the papers in her aura. The rearranging was only made better by the presence of the six mares and one little dragon that surrounded her.  The throne room was often a hub of activity for the friends. A center of exuberant discussion and banter in an otherwise pristine and vacuous castle. Twilight took a moment to overlook her most pressing document, a construction plan commissioned by Queen Novo herself, before neatly placing her stack of work onto the cutie map. She leaned back in her throne and observed the subtle chaos enfolding in front of her.  Rainbow Dash’s raspy voice echoed throughout the room as her excitement grew, “It’s gonna be so awesome! There’s gonna be a ton of ponies there, just to watch me perform!” Rainbow accentuated her point with a swift midair barrel roll. Before gliding down into her throne.  “And by a ton of ponies there to watch ‘you’, you mean a ton of ponies there to watch the Wonderbolts, right RD?” Applejack crossed her front hooves as she quirked an eyebrow at the pegasus.  Rainbow waved a dismissive hoof at the cowpony as she relaxed in her seat.  “Yeah, yeah. Same thing. Either way, it and I will be totally awesome.” Applejack’s expression softened as she pushed up her stetson. “Well either way, I’m happy for you. It’s a great opportunity and all.” Applejack turned to Fluttershy. “And make sure to take plenty of pictures for us, Shy. I wish we could all watch her ourselves.” Fluttershy nodded as she took a sip of her tea. “Of course Applejack, but please don’t feel bad. I hope you all enjoy your time off.”  “Oh, you know we will darling. I feel like we’ve all been so terribly busy. After weeks of dealing with our usual work and our teaching jobs, I look forward to spending some quality time with my family.” Rarity flipped her mane to the side as she mixed her tea. “Not to say that I don’t enjoy my work. It's quite the opposite really. But it’s nice to have a little time to fulfill my other obligations, even if it means enduring my father’s prolific knowledge of hoofball trivia.”  Giggles overtook the room as Twilight rubbed the back of her head. She looked on with a sheepish grin. “Once again, I really do appreciate you girls for helping this dream come true. You all deserve some time to yourselves.” Her smile was genuine, if not a little hesitant.  It wouldn't be the first time that she would be away from her friends, it wouldn’t even be the longest. But that still didn’t change the general anxiety that came with parting from those you care for, especially if that camaraderie has proven to be a capable defense against a number of national threats and world-destroying foes. But it was only a few days, what’s the worst that could happen?  In a town like Ponyville, “just about anything,” was a reasonable answer, and Twilight was well aware of it. She had developed hundreds of contingency plans to combat the many things that could go wrong, but this came with the misconception that Ponyville would be faced with logical or reasonable threats. More times than not, strange occurrences that challenged Twilight’s fundamental understanding of reality popped up daily, and it is experiences like those that are why the young alicorn princess is constantly running out of antacids.  Twilight’s eye twitched slightly as she looked at each of her wonderful friends. “Well girls, this time apart will be great!” She looked at the reassuring smile of Applejack. “Applejack, I hope you enjoy your time in Appleloosa. And give Braeburn my regards.”  Rainbow looked at her with an eager smile. “And Dash, fly high and fly fast.” Rainbow saluted in response, eliciting a giggle from the princess. Fluttershy watched with a comforting expression, letting out a little “oh” when Twilight drew attention to her. “Fluttershy, I just know the foals will love all the critters you show them. And when you stop by Rainbow’s show, please do take pictures and cheer extra loud for all of us.” Fluttershy nodded meekly.  Twilight locked eyes with Rarity’s astute gaze. “Rarity, though hoofball isn’t exactly your forte. I do hope that you enjoy your time in Vanhoover.”  Twilight looked at Pinkie’s throne, which seemed desolate without Ponyville’s Premiere Party Pony. Luckily, the Great and Powerful Trixie had taken the Element of Laughter’s throne and was lazily lounging across it. Twilight was confident that Pinkie wouldn’t mind the intrusion, so she made an effort to not let her eyes linger on the usurper. Starlight Glimmer flashed her an apologetic smile and picked up where she assumed that Twilight had left off.  “And I just know that Pinkie is enjoying her baker’s retreat in Canterlot, she practically tore the front doors off of the castle when she first received her invitation.” A sense of levity returned to the group as Starlight let out a strained chuckle.” She just about scared me to death. I thought that Ponyville was under attack… again.”  That last part was the wrong thing to say. Starlight could practically feel the rising nervousness emanating from the purple alicorn, she coughed and carried on, “And Twilight, Trixie, and I. Oh, and Spike. Have a lot of work ahead of us, right girls?” She flashed her best smile at Twilight and was relieved to see her determined expression return. Twilight let out a sigh before gesturing to the stack of paperwork before her. "We do indeed Starlight. I have some assignments I need to finish grading and we have to look after the students who are staying over the break.”  She used her magic to separate and unfold the blueprint of the Friendship School’s newest addition. “And, hopefully, this will be done in time. I’ll have to make sure that everything goes smoothly for the construction team.”  It was at this moment that Trixie decided to break her long and uncharacteristic silence, “And what exactly is being built again, an underwater sports center?” Trixie rolled her forehoof to punctuate her words. Twilight could feel a headache brewing. Starlight interjected quickly, “Remember, we talked about this Trixie. It’s an underwater laboratory for experiments and stuff.” Silence overtook the room as everypony avoided eye contact with each other. Rarity and Fluttershy took long sips of their tea. Rainbow Dash closely observed the shine and gleam of her right hoof. Applejack found a sudden fascination with her hat’s seam work. Spike had already made his leave the very second that Trixie opened her mouth, under the guise of getting more tea.  Nonetheless, Trixie persisted, “So help The Great and Powerful Trixie understand this…you intend to build an additional lab… that is also underwater?” The question was a reasonable one, which was what made it so difficult for Twilight to hear for the fiftieth time since receiving Queen Novo’s generous donation. Starlight responded before Twilight could, putting on her most official-sounding voice, “It… is a way of making sure facilities are more accessible for… current and future students.” Starlight smiled at Twilight, partly in hopes of brightening her friend’s mood, but also because she was happy that she remembered the same explanation that Twilight had told her earlier this week when she had asked the exact same question.  Trixie didn’t seem too impressed. Everything about her facial features indicated that she was still very much confused. Twilight sighed as she rubbed her forehead and spoke halfheartedly, “It’s the thought that counts Trixie.”  A chortle echoed throughout the room as Rainbow held her hoof to the muzzle. “Yeah, it's a pretty ‘unique’ donation, but what were we supposed to do? Tell the Queen that we don’t want it. Twilight’s got a big ole brain in that noggin of hers, she’ll probably come up with like a billion crazy egghead experiments to do underwater or something in no time.”  Rainbow eyed Twilight and grinned boldly. “And Twilight, don’t get freaked out about some monster or eldritch abomination getting loose and going crazy. You’re like mega-powerful, and I can get back to Ponyville in no time and beat them back to Tartarus with you.” She looked around at all her friends. “And they can get here too, not as quick as me, but they can. Anyways, you also have Starlight, and she can like blow stuff up and time travel and mind control and stuff.”  Trixie scoffed indignantly, sitting up slightly to give Rainbow a stink eye, “The Great and Powerful Trixie will also be here. Do you think that I am not mega-powerful and capable of mind controlling and blowing up an eldritch abomination!” Rainbow Dash blew a raspberry. “I guess, but you and Starlight are different with magic. You do tricks and stuff while Starlight does sorcerer stuff. You use your magic to put on a show, while Starlight uses it for like everything.”  It was Starlight’s turn to scoff indignantly, and she did so with gusto. “I do not use my magic ‘for like everything.’” She attempted her best Rainbow impression as she crossed her hooves defensively.  “Uh, you totally do!” Rainbow looked around for some sort of confirmation from the others. Finding none, she pressed on, “Just yesterday I woke up from a sweet nap up in the clouds to see Starlight and Trixie trotting through the park. Then Starlight’s all like, ‘Oh, Gee willikers I’m thirsty.’ So, what does she do? She casts a cloud walking spell on herself and levitates herself up into the clouds. Cast one spell to transform one cloud into a cup made out of ice, then cast another spell to transform another cloud into water.”  Starlight looked around in shock. The others’ unwillingness to look at her, informed her that they believed that Rainbow’s accusation had some merit. “What, I was thirsty. And I have never said gee willikers, nopony says gee willikers.” The jury wasn’t moved by Starlight’s protests, although Twilight was feeling a little proud of her friend’s expanding magical prowess.  Rainbow smiled triumphantly as she carried on, “It doesn’t matter what you do or don’t say. What matters is what you could have done instead. There are plenty of shops that could give you some water, heck there was a pond not too far that you could drink out of.”  Rarity gagged at the notion proposed by Rainbow Dash. “Well, I say. Why am I not surprised that Rainbow drinks pond water.” Applejack chuckled to herself, enjoying the lighter turn that the conversation had taken.  Rainbow emitted another raspberry at Rarity’s snide comment. “Whatever, miss prissy pants. The point still stands. Starlight uses magic for every little thing.” She looked at Twilight with a smug expression. “Twilight if you really wanted to. You could probably just have Starlight use her magic to build the underwater lab herself. No need for a whole construction team or whatever.” “Now Dash, ain’t no need to pester Starlight about her magical knowhow, you just about fly everywhere you go.” Applejack boasted a smug grin comparable to Rainbow’s as she gestured her hoof to the lounging pegasus.  Twilight heard a subdued munching from the side of her seat. She looked over to see that Spike had since returned and was engrossed with the conversation. He snacked on the “‘I’m gonna super-duper miss you all soooo much’” cookie platter that Pinkie had given them before departing.  “She’s right you know darling. When I first met you, I almost thought that you had never touched grass in your entire life.” A rare but formidable team-up was forming as Rarity fed off of Applejack’s energy. The smugness in the room was hitting a critical level. Fluttershy’s forehooves covered her face stifling what the most attuned ears could interpret as a giggle.  Applejack leaned back in her throne with an easy smile. “You know Rare, I just about thought the same.” Her green eyes fell upon Twilight, who listened with rapt attention. “I can’t even describe the weird little prance that Dash did whenever she had to walk around with us ground ponies.”  Rainbow shot up into the air with a defiant snort, her face grew red as she sputtered out a rebuttal, “Hey! How was I supposed to act? Walking on grass is like walking on a thousand tiny knives. I mean, I lived in Cloudsdale and flying was a must. Starlight didn’t live in like, magic city, where everyone had to do magic to go to the corner store.”  Rainbow scanned the room for her easiest target. She knew that the best way out of this takedown was by deflecting and breaking the bonds that had been forged. She zeroed in on Rarity’s satisfied face. “And if we want to talk about weird stuff that happened when we first met, let's talk about the early stages of Rarity’s refined Canterlotian accent.” Rainbow mockingly stuck up her nose before speaking in a higher pitch, “‘Oh dahling, your mane is just divine, dahling. What positively smashing colors you have here, dahling. I was born and raised in Ponyville but inexplicably have this accent… dahling.”  Rarity gasped, sucking air in as her composure seeped out. Applejack howled with laughter as tears formed in her eyes, Fluttershy hid as much of herself behind her mane as possible. “Now Dash. You know that you’re wrong for that one. We all have to start somewhere, and Rarity took a bit to master her fancy shmancy tongue. Was I confused by it at the time? Yes. But I can’t fault her for that. Anyways, those braces that she was rockin’ at the time definitely made it harder to develop.”  Rainbow clapped her hooves together with elevated excitement. “Sweet Celestia I almost forgot! Hah! It was more like, ‘Shdarling, your mane ish jush divine, shdarlin-’ WOAH!” Rainbow narrowly dodged an impressive tackle from Rarity by flying out of her reach. The Element of Generosity stood on Rainbow’s crystalline throne with one of her angriest faces to date.  The distinguished seamstress used the sudden silence to compose herself. She brushed her mane back into its iconic curls and let out a low sigh. She nefariously looked at Starlight as her voice came out in a low growl, “Starlight, be a dear and use one of your transforming spells to turn a cloud into an ice club so that I can teach Rainbow an important… friendship lesson about keeping her mouth shut.”  Starlight actually considered Rarity’s request before giving in to the obvious peer pressure that Twilight was beaming her way. Applejack cleared her throat, “Now, now no need to go on a warpath, Rares. We’re just havin’ a little fun. Same thing goes for you Starlight and RD. I wish that Pinkie was here, she’s usually pretty good at makin’ jokes without makin’ anypony the butt of it.” Rainbow sunk down a little lower, but still not low enough to be within Rarity’s reach. “Hey, my bad Rarity. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or anything.”  Rarity mulled it over before taking a more relaxed posture. “It is in the past, darling. Applejack was right, we all need to start somewhere. I do recall a certain pegasus with quite the unique self-administered manecut.” She giggled as Rainbow scratched her head and blushed.  “Yeah, whatever it seemed like a good look at the time.” The friends laughed as the last bit of tension in the room dissolved. Everything seemed to be dying down, as a comfortable silence developed throughout the group. But Twilight’s mind was beginning to buzz with new questions. She sensed an opportunity to learn something new. “You all were friends before I came to Ponyville. I knew that, but I never really asked for more details, did I?” She wasn’t sure if her words were meant to be a statement or a question, but she was intrigued by the miniature anecdotes that she had heard.  Applejack seemed to pick up on Twilight’s curiosity as she hopped out her throne and readjusted her stetson. “I’m sure any of us would be happy to tell you more sugarcube, but we gotta get goin’. The four of us are gonna be heading out to the train station in a few.” She looked to Rarity who nodded in agreement.  The bearers made their way to Twilight, and each gave her a hug before making their way out of the castle. She watched them depart as reds and pinks overtook the evening sky. She felt confident in the idea that this break would be a relatively calm one.  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next day, Twilight listened to the birds chirping outside of her office window as she read through her students’ assignments. She had instructed her students to write a short essay on the merits of teamwork before the break let out and had received a compilation of writing covering the same core themes in various degrees of quality. Ocellus’s writing, per usual, was a positive stand-out. The alicorn allowed her work to envelop her as the construction team hammered away outside, a noise that might be distracting to any pony that was incapable of casting a selective noise canceling spell. The construction workers had broken the ground for the project earlier this morning and had continued at a steady pace since. They worked on their project while Twilight completed hers, but no selective noise canceling spell could shield against the miniature earthquake that shook the entire friendship castle in the afternoon.  Twilight’s wings furled as she braced herself. The songs of the birds were replaced with shrill screeching as they fled from the premise. The shaking didn't last long enough for her to take cover. She recanted her silencing spell and heard the shouts of various construction workers along with the unmistakable sound of hooves running outside. Before she had the chance to teleport out to see the commotion, Starlight teleported into her office.  Twilight was momentarily blinded by the sudden flash of teal sparks. She rapidly blinked in an attempt to dispel her disorientation. Luckily, Starlight didn’t seem too unnerved by what she had seen. She let out an awkward laugh as she shifted where she stood. “So… uh… They might have hit something out there. And it’s a little… odd.”  Starlight looked on at Twilight, probably anticipating the inevitable teleport to the outside. But Twilight wasn’t in a rush. She reached into her desk and poured out a hoofful of antacids as she prepared to face another day of living in Ponyville.