//------------------------------// // The Villa // Story: The Bell of Bridlewood // by milesprower06 //------------------------------// Ten Years Later... It was a cool autumn afternoon in Bridlewood, and Alphabittle carefully lead a blindfolded Izzy down the path south through town. She had just turned eighteen, and after a small celebration at home, she was being taken to her 'really big' present. "The less hints you give me, the more excited I'll get," Izzy warned him a few days ago. "Unlike most of the village, I don't mind when you get excited, Izzy," Alphabittle had replied, seeing right through her ruse to get more hints. From how far they were walking, Izzy had to figure they were getting pretty close to the edge of the forest, so it had to be any time now, because at no point had she ever left Bridlewood. "Alright, right there should be good," Alphabittle told her, placing a hoof on her back to let her know to stop. "And just turn a little bit to your left... There we go. Alright, Izzy, hope you love it..." Alphabittle reached up behind her head and loosened the knot the blindfold had been tied in, and pulled it away from her eyes. "Happy birthday!" Izzy squinted as her eyes adjusted to the afternoon light, then they widened considerably as she found herself standing in front of a tree house. It was one of the larger trees in the forest, with about a third of the roots grown into the hill on the right side. "Oh... Oh my gosh! Really?!" Izzy said excitedly, beginning to jump up and down. "It needs some good TLC, but I figured that would be right up your alley, Iz. It's bigger than my place, so you'd have more than enough room for all the projects you like to work on. Even has half of a second floor, and a balcony up front," Alphabittle told her, pointing up above the front door. "Oh thank you thank you thank you sooo much!" Izzy said, jumping into a hug, which due to his size, had no chance of knocking him over. "You're welcome. Enjoy it. Just promise me you'll visit every now and then, okay?" Alphabittle asked. "You bet! I'll probably be back home tonight, because I doubt I'll get it livable in just a few hours," Izzy reassured him. "Well, then go ahead and take the rest of the afternoon and evening. I've got to get to the tearoom for third shift tonight. Have fun!" With that, Alphabittle tossed her the key to the front door, and headed back down the path to town while she happily bounded to the front door. She slid the key into the lock, turned until it clicked open, and pushed the door open. While most would see an empty, rundown tree house, Izzy's eyes and smile widened with all the possibilities. Paints, lights, not to mention all the room for her arts and crafts, and the wall and floor space to display them. If only there were ponies interested in seeing them... For now, there was one table in the middle of the ground floor. She went over to it, and opened the right flap of her saddlebags, pulling out a large book which she set on the table, before reaching up behind her right ear and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She unfolded it, revealing the drawing that had been attached to the lantern that had floated into their backyard all those years ago. She set it above the book in the center of the table, before opening it, revealing that it was an atlas of ancient topographic charts for the region. She flipped through the pages one at a time, eyes quickly scanning the pages for two specific words. On the twelfth page, her eyes narrowed, and she tapped the tip of her hoof on the lighthouse symbol near the bottom of the map, above the words she was looking for. MARETIME BAY "There you are." Alphabittle trotted up to the Crystal Tearoom, opened the door, and saw that the evening rush hadn't quite started. He saw Oak Branch in his usual spot, wiping down the bar and making sure everything was ready when everypony started coming in for dinner. "Afternoon, Oak. Thanks for letting me have the lunch shift off to spend with Izzy on her birthday," Alphabittle greeted, taking a seat at the bar to have a drink before he started his shift in about 15 minutes, a practice that had become practically routine by now. The bartender smiled at him and ran a hoof through his greying mane. "Eighteen, right? Stars above, feels like yesterday you came in with her when she was just a foal. I hope you don't mind if I've got a little surprise for you on her birthday, though," Oak replied as he poured Alphabittle's regular, a shot of apple whiskey. "For me?" Alphabittle asked. Without saying anything, Oak turned back to the bar and slid Alphabittle his glass with his right hoof, and with his left, placed the key to the Tearoom right next to it. Alphabittle's mouth dropped open slightly. "Oak... You can't be serious," he said, stunned. Oak Branch scoffed. "And why can't I? I've been slowing down for years, Alph, and I'd like to spend my twilight years relaxing, instead of risking screwing up ponies' orders. You started here as a buspony, and now you've been head cook and bartender for years. I can't say I completely approve of the 'games' you play with patrons here," Oak said, motioning to the small area of the shelves behind the bar that had been taken over by the 'prizes' that Alphabittle had offered to any patron who wanted to challenge him to a game of skill, who had to put up an item of their own as their bet. "Nor do I even come close to understanding that infernal dancing game you put in the other room, but it's brought in more customers. You know this place like the back of your hoof. Now are you gonna make me give you even more reasons, or can I give you one more drink on the house, and you let this old stallion retire in peace?" Alphabittle took a breath, took the key, looked at it for a moment, then picked up the glass of apple whiskey that the elder had poured him, and held it up. "Here's to you, Oak."