“Sweet Celestia, is that a bomb!”
Twilight wasn’t sure who had made the comment, but she did not appreciate the subsequent panic that followed. Many of her students had found their way outside after the initial impact. The noise had been loud, but not loud enough to draw in any residents from greater Ponyville. This was for the best since the ponies of Ponyville tended to be gawkers and fainters. Any further hysteria might be harder to instruct and curtail. Rumors formed rapidly and in real-time as they congregated around the crater in front of the School of Friendship. The hole was still relatively shallow, which made the metal bulge at the bottom of the pit all the more apparent. The metal had a fresh puncture wound from where the drill had unintentionally penetrated it.
It didn’t take long for Twilight and Starlight to disperse the crowd of curious students. Trixie and Spike led them back inside and promised to keep them entertained and out of the ongoing investigation. Twilight was pretty confident that the metal object was, in fact, not a bomb. She knew enough about Ponyville’s history to know that hidden bombs were an unlikely necessity in the small town. She had also run a quick x-ray spell to get an idea of what was underneath. The image proved that the metal object was some sort of large cylinder, with much still buried underneath. The cylinder also appeared to be full of items, a few of which could be seen from the exposed hole.
Twilight tentatively flew down into the pit as Starlight and the construction workers looked on from above. She rested her forehooves on the metal canister and used her magic to remove one of the items within. Her aura encapsulated a cardboard square with some sort of logo on it; upon closer inspection Twilight recognized it as a vinyl record. It was dusty and a bit worn, but still recognizable.
Starlight leaned forward and called out, “What is it, Twilight?”
Twilight hummed to herself as she read the front cover, “It seems to be a vinyl record for a band called… Marevana?” Twilight didn’t have much time to ponder what she was reading before Starlight jumped into the pit and snatched the record away.
Starlight scanned the vintage record with hungry eyes. “Twilight, this an initial release edition of one of Marevana’s earliest albums! Do you have any idea how valuable this is?”
Twilight only looked more confused than before as Starlight studied each inch of the vinyl with the utmost care. “Marevana?” She repeated, unsure if she was saying it right.
“Yeah, Marevana! One of the most influential rock bands in the modern age. Creators of songs like, ‘Spells Like Teen Spirit’, ‘Heart-Shaped Cutiemark’, and ‘Celestia Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam.’” Starlight stared at Twilight with wide eyes and an incredulous expression.
Twilight could only shake her head at, what she could only assume were, song titles. Starlight, seeing that she would find no common ground here turned her attention back to the hole. She dug in greedily in hopes of finding more treasure underneath. Her hooves gripped a small glass object, she grunted as she strained to pull it out from the clutter. Twilight rushed to steady her once she removed the item, a clear glass jar with a piece of paper inside. Twilight wasn’t able to object before Starlight twisted the cap off. The smell of old paper filled their senses as Starlight unfolded it in her magic.
The writing was neat and in cursive, which led the duo to believe that it was written by an older pony. The message was short, but sufficient in clearing up exactly what was unknown. They read the words with fascination.
To who or whatever is reading this, I must ask. How are you? I wasn’t sure about this whole time capsule idea, but this whole town has been completely obsessed with preparing to give you a glimpse of the past. For their sakes, I hope that this letter and all of these items will be discovered intact 100 years from now. But this town of ours- Ponyville is what we call it- isn’t really known for planning plans that go exactly as planned. Things can get a little explosive around here. So, to the ponies 100 years in the future, enjoy your loot and learn a little something. And if you’re not a pony from 100 years in the future, and you’re just robbing this dustbin after like ten years or something. Eh, go for it. I don’t care, I’d be lucky if I even make it 5 years into the future. I just hope that whoever reads this finds themselves in times of peace and prosperity. So yeah, enjoy the future. Later chumps!
The letter had been given a date that was certainly not a hundred years ago; it had only been a few years since its inscription. There was also a name, or at least a set of initials signed at the bottom: FF.
Twilight stomped in place as her mind began to race. “Starlight, this isn’t good! We’ve punctured a hole in one of Ponyville’s monuments.”
Starlight didn’t share Twilight’s panic, she twirled FF’s letter around in her aura. “Relax Twilight, you read what FF said. They don't even care.” Starlight knew that the reasoning wasn’t her best; she smiled sheepishly as Twilight gave a disapproving look. “I mean, you went over the project plan with Mayor Mare, right? How were we supposed to know about this?”
Twilight sighed as she looked at the opening of the pit around her. “I guess you’re right. But we need to put back what we found and cover all this up. We’ll just find somewhere else to build.”
“Or, we could just tell Queen Novo that there was a complication preventing us from building the lab and use the money for something else.” Starlight suggested as politely as possible.
Twilight shook her head despite considering it. “No, we’ll just postpone construction for a later date. Go ahead and put away the vinyl and that jar Starlight.”
Starlight clutched the record in her hooves as if it was a newborn foal. She looked at Twilight remorsefully and stuttered out, “O-okay let's not be too hasty. We… blew a hole in the time capsule, it’s damaged. We can’t just rebury it like this. We might even need to check all of the items for potential damage just in case.”
Twilight could feel her head beginning to ache. Not because of Starlight’s stubbornness, but because her logic was somewhat sound. This was an error that needed to be fixed. She sat on her haunches and rubbed her temples with her front hooves. “You’re right.” She mumbled.
Starlight was practically glowing now. “Yes! Okay, you can remove the whole capsule, so we can get a better look.” She looked at Twilight with an expecting look, but Twilight only raised an eyebrow in response.
“Are you going to help me?”
“I feel like you got it.”
Twilight pondered Starlight’s sudden reluctance to exercise her magic. “You’re not still thinking about what Rainbow said the other day, are you?”
Starlight blew a raspberry and flicked her hoof dismissively. “What? No. I would never let something like that get to me or anything.” Her eye twitched slightly.
“Okay Starlight.” Twilight rolled her eyes as she powered up her horn.
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Twilight had managed to teleport the time capsule into the castle with relative ease. A small audience of students had gathered to observe the spectacle. The capsule appeared to be a repurposed water tank big enough to fit a hoofful of grown ponies. Twilight could see splotches of paint and fading signatures underneath the layers of dirt. There was a twisting hatch at the top of the tank sealed with a lock and chain. It didn’t take long for Trixie to use her lock-picking skills to remove the barrier, and the three adults worked together to unscrew the hatch.
Upon witnessing Starlight’s fixation with the old, recovered album, Twilight stressed to everycreature present that the items were meant for the Ponyvillians of the future. Everything had to be returned safely once the capsule was patched up. Twilight, her friends, and a group of student volunteers got to work sorting and checking each item. The task wasn’t too complicated, as long as one didn’t allow themselves to become distracted by the items that they looked over.
Twilight tried to separate the items from the many faces that she had come to know and love throughout her years in Ponyville, but it was hard. This was a war between her tidiness and her curiosity. It was fascinating to see what these ponies had deemed important enough to be immortalized in a time capsule. She found assortments of records, pictures, writings, and sports paraphernalia.
At the top of the pile sat a metal box that held a plaque signed by Mayor Mare. It documented the official date of the capsules burying and relayed a brief message about the intentions of the townsponies. Twilight ran her hooves over the gold lettering on the plaque as she imagined the energy that must have overtaken the town while the time capsule was being put together. The few fragments of confetti found within the tank indicated quite a bit of fanfare. Twilight shook her head as she placed the plaque among her hoard of checked and verified items. She was about to inspect another object before she heard the unforgettable sound of Spike’s little feet slapping the ground.
Twilight took notice of the fine gold necklace around Spike’s neck. As if to read her mind, Spike slowed down his pace and removed the necklace, he smiled guiltily at the purple alicorn. “Hey Twi, we found some really cool stuff over here.” His claw pointed over toward Starlight and Trixie who were arguing over something. Twilight already knew that she was going to decline his request but didn’t want to shut him down too quickly. His heart was in the right place, but she was not going to allow herself to become distracted by anything.
“We actually found this little scrapbook put together by Rarity and Pinkie Pie.”
Twilight readjusted her wings as she stood up. Perhaps a little break was in order.
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The scrapbook definitely looked like the creation of Pinkie and Rarity. The felt covering was bright pink and was decorated with blue rhinestones. Blue felt letters were carefully sewn into spell ‘Ponyville.’ At the bottom were Rarity and Pinkie’s signatures. Spike leaned over Twilight's shoulder as she ran her hoof over the felt cover. Starlight and Trixie carried on a heated argument behind them as Starlight slipped on a pair of neon green leg warmers.
She modeled the item under the scrutiny of Trixie’s disgusted glare. “See look at this. The pinnacle of fashion. This deserves to be brought back.”
Trixie made a gagging gesture with her mouth and hoof. “As if! Trixie thanks her lucky stars every day that trends like these are dead and gone. Those things were so constricting and uncomfortable. And they always made poor young Trixie’s hooves look swollen and sore.”
Starlight fussed with her mane and stuck up her nose. “I’m sorry to hear that Trixie, but I think they’ve earned their comeback. Twilight! If you wore one of these out, they’ll definitely come back. Maybe Rarity can incorporate them in her next collection.”
“No, Trixie must stop you, you fiend.” Starlight began to giggle as Trixie launched at her. The play wrestled for a bit while Spike rubbed his chin with a claw.
“Well, maybe Rarity was into that type of stuff back in the day. There’s only one way to find out.” He leaned into Twilight as he waited for her to open the scrapbook. She mulled it over, feeling a sense of dread about creeping into materials meant for the ponies of the future, but maybe Rarity did appreciate a good leg warmer back in the day.
She looked around as if the royal guard might storm the castle at any moment before earnestly flipping over the book.
“Woah!” Spike sat up a bit and took a closer look at the image on the front page. Twilight exercised a bit more decorum with her more subdued reaction, but what she saw definitely was unexpected.
The page simply read, ‘Your Authors!,’ with colorful dashes that resembled confetti or fireworks. Underneath was a picture of a younger Rarity and Pinkie. The pair were obviously a bit smaller than they were now and their manes were shorter. They were at that stage where one was nearly as tall as a grown pony, but the legs were still a bit lanky and awkward. Rarity sported a pair of glasses similar to the ones that she often wore when working on her dresses. Her friendly smile gave Twilight a full view of the braces that Rainbow had referenced the other day. They were a standard set with blue brackets that complemented her eyes quite nicely.
When considering the accidental frazzled, shut-in aesthetic that Twilight showcased during her adolescence, she had to admit that Rarity still looked about as confident and fashionable as she was currently. But this wasn’t too surprising for anyone who even recognized Rarity, what was surprising was the presence of glasses on Pinkie’s face. They were almost stereotypical when considering the time period. They were big with rectangular frames that took up a chunk of her face and acted as a magnifying glass to amplify her blue eyes. It appeared that the glasses had undergone intense circumstances since the bridge was fastened and reinforced with a thick pair of duct tape. This particular look wasn’t new to Twilight, her being an alumna of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and all. But she didn’t expect to see it reappear here.
She had never even seen Pinkie wear glasses outside of a comedic setting, and she never donned a pair like these. Spike was following the same train of thought. “Do you think she actually needed those? Does she wear them in other pictures too?”
Twilight wordlessly turned the page which showed a simple snapshot of indistinguishable Ponyville buildings. Pinkie stood alone at the center with a hoof gesturing in welcome. She was beaming as brightly as ever, and she still had on the glasses.
Spike stood up and studied the various hoards around them. “Maybe I can find some pictures outside of the scrapbook to compare.” He waddled off, leaving Twilight to converse with Starlight and Trixie who had moved on from their fashion debate. They were inspecting a lunch box with a cartoon character that Twilight didn’t recognize. Trixie took the liberty of opening it, finding a half-eaten bag of chips, a wrapped twinkie, and a slip of paper.
“What do you girls think? Pinkie’s never mentioned glasses before?”
Starlight stretched, tilting her head from side-to-side.” Maybe she just doesn’t want to talk about it. She might wear contacts now.”
Twilight shook her head; Pinkie was often open about every facet of her life. “But I’ve never seen her wear contacts either. She’s never mentioned it before.”
Starlight didn’t share Twilight’s enthusiasm regarding this mystery, she shrugged, “Well maybe she just wears nothing at all.”
“You think that Pinkie just traverses Equestria practically blind?” Twilight froze in her spot as she began replaying key interactions with Pinkie, she mumbled, “You know, you might be onto something. That could actually explain some things.” Twilight turned back to the scrapbook with a face of determination and concentration.
Starlight turned her attention back to Trixie and quickly grabbed the magician’s hoof, “Hey don’t touch that! It’s probably expired.”
Trixie’s mouth still hung open as she attempted to grab the unwrapped twinkie. “Well Trixie has been dealing with this old dusty, trash all day and she’s positively famished.” Her hooves went up dramatically as she feigned a faint. “And these don’t expire, they’ll last a lifetime. There’s plenty of stored food for the future ponies to eat, let Trixie have this.”
Starlight managed to slap the pastry out of Trixie’s hoof, tossing it back into the lunch box and sealing it shut. Yet, another argument began to flare between the two, making it difficult for Twilight to focus on her train of thought. Her brows furled as she turned to the bickering pair and spoke a little too loudly, “Hey!”
Her shout had succeeded in getting Starlight and Trixie’s attention, but it also had the unwanted effect of drawing the gaze of all the volunteers and Spike.
She cleared her throat and lightened her tone, “You’re right Trixie, we have been at this for a while and I’m certain that everyone could use a snack. Why don’t you and Starlight head over to Sugarcube Corner and order some desserts for us and our volunteers.”
Trixie hmphed before standing to her hooves. “Very well Sparkle. Let’s go Starlight.”
Twilight let out a sigh as she watched them exit. She was prepared to return to her pondering, but Spike ran up with a film reel. “Check out this great find. I can set up the projector real quick. Why not give it a little peak.” He grunted as he struggled to hold up the reel, its metal cover caught the light in the room just right, producing a captivating twinkle.