Memories Of The Flask

by WindigogoGadget

It All Returns To Nothing

Author's Note:

Was listening to Undertale OST: Track - 081 while reading and writing this. It sort of set the mood.

Undertale OST: 081 - An Ending

It had been well over two years since Starswirl had vanished into the aether, and within that period of time, the two princesses were woefully unable to visit the tower, caught up in the unrest that had resulted from the magical disaster that Starswirl gave himself up to prevent. Yes, that day had been a tragic one, one which had resulted in the younger sister running off to find a way to pull Starswirl back from the void, but to no avail. It would seem then that Starswirl's tower would remain forgotten, and its only remaining tenant would be left to slip through the cracks in the minds of the princesses to be forgotten by the world entirely, until one day, the princesses returned.

Having cleared their way through masses of debris to reach the upper levels, the two sisters stepped up a series of dilapidated stairs. The inside was dusty and full of webs, the only possible indication that Alyosha remained was the cold presence that the flask-born child usually gave off. And even that was faint. There were ashes in the fireplace, almost overflowing. Not a log was in sight in any floor, in any room of the tower. Any scrap of wood that could be burned had been burned, but their ashes couldn't escape. This once lively tower was an empty house devoid of life, and it was likely that it had been for quite some time.

The two split up to explore in silence. Celestia quietly checked a cabinet in the kitchen. There were many meals, all of them amounting to one massive feast stacked and plated expertly on what little furniture Starswirl had owned. Tea tables, the one large round table, and even stools had been used to keep the various dishes off the ground. All of it had gone to waste, she'd discovered. She'd accidentally disturbed the spell that had been preserving all the food when she'd found the largest cake she'd ever seen at the center of it all. Time had caught up instantly with the meals, some turned to dust near immediately while others had molded away into nothing in minutes.

It was quite a sad sight. The pantries and cupboards had been utterly raided and likely turned into the feast that was presented for... For them. Most likely.

"Celestia! I found an item of interest!" Luna called, showing off a flawless sapphire that she nearly dropped when it started speaking abruptly.

"I finally got back into cooking! It was a little hard since there wasn't much to cook with, so I had to get creative. Starswirl really did not stock much, or that's what I thought initially. Turns out he had a basement full of goodies! It's absolutely stuffed with food, like if he was going to outlast a nu... never before seen disaster or something like that... Anyways... I figured that when you all came back, you might be hungry, so I made a few meals. I put some magic around it to preserve it. Hope to see you all soon!"

The sapphire stopped speaking. It was Alyosha's voice. But where was he?

"We left him waiting." Luna commented to herself.

"We were busy, Luna," Celestia assured her sister, draping a wing over her side. "He might have left a notice on where he's gone. He must surely be alright."

The sisters ascended the stairs together, skipping a floor that was oddly empty. Sure, they'd briefly given it a search, but it was decided that they could always give a more thorough investigation of the mysterious floor. What was previously one of the few floors not dedicated to science was turned into something else. A gray, organic mass hung from the ceiling, the tea table they'd shared a drink over was still there, now to capacity with a variety of earthenware and burnt stubs of wooden sticks that barely held onto the vestiges of something pleasant. Incense. There was also a bed that wasn't there previously, made of something bright green, but dulled.

"Do you think he took this as a bedroom while we were away sister?" Celestia asked, lifting an earthen jar filled with something that smelled vaguely fruity. She sniffed it tentatively, just what had he gotten up to while everyone was away? "Sister? Luna? I think I found-" "Wine." Luna noted, setting a clay cup down. She'd drained one of the comparatively small pots dry. About two hooves large. "Not particularly bad for anything left out in the open air. I wonder what it was for."

"LUNA THIS WAS NOT WHAT I WISHED TO INFORM YOU OF!" Celestia shouted, shaking the whole roof free of dust. "I found another message, why in the world would you drink something unknown?! Have you no common sense?"

"I wanted to." Luna replied nonplussed and stepped away to investigate the mass that was hanging from the ceiling. It was a sack of some type. It reminded her of a hollowed-out butterfly cocoon. "In any case, it's hard to miss the giant thing hanging from the ceiling, sister. Why point it out?"

A clear crystal was plucked out of the surprisingly thick 'skin' of the cocoon in Celestia's yellow magic, hovering slowly across Luna's field of vision towards the alabaster alicorn. "Oh."

"Oh indeed. Let's try to figure out what this place became." Without much flourish, she activated the assumed audio message. It was... A song? Lightly off-key, like it was made up on the spot.

"Every day, I imagine a world where I can be with you.
In my hand, is a way I'll make a tale of me and you.

...Every day, I imagine a world where I can be brand new.
By your side, I know that we'll find a place just for me and you.
Take that step, and I know that together we'll find a way to take flight.
What will it take, just to find that special day?

And if this world can't write me an ending, then I know we can have it all.
...

"Its been... I can't even remember when the last time I could sleep was. I was too nice to shout at Starswirl over what he did. But now, thanks to her I can finally sleep again. I might not be able to dream again, but to have some time in comfort is nice. She's not around all the time but thanks to her I feel safe. Warm. She's snarky and a little confused on how to be nice but I think she's doing her best and I- Hoo! Golly, I almost said that out loud. I'm brea^kin-"

"A diary. We're listening to his diary. Celestia, do you think he ever found a way to store more than one message per crystal? Pass it here! Pass it here! This isn't the best time to snoop one's possessions but it's as good as any!"

Celestia hovered the magical stone over to her sister, who snatched it up in a starry aura as her magic began to probe it. It played the same message again, and it was quickly cut off. "Nothing... Wait! I know just where to look. He's certainly going to have more.

"Luna what are you doing?" Luna ignored Celestia in favor of just flipping the bed upside down and sending sheets everywhere as she left the mattress overturned. There was one more message left for them.

"I've been thinking. Maybe it's time for me to leave it all behind. But that's just stupid. I'd have to tell someone where I went. No, I think I'll just stay here a while. People don't just abandon things right? Right. No, I think maybe I just need to try one of my old experiments again. I'm going to visit the local village again. I've almost gotten the pony form right.

I'm gonna make friends. Like a real... Like a real pony. Like a normal... being. And I'm going to enjoy this life. What are the odds of them putting me down for good anyway? They killed me once, and Chrysalis was able to bring me back. So... Agh." The crystal stopped playing, and there was an uneasy stillness between the two sisters. Luna dropped the crystal and stepped outside of the room to the floor above at a moderate speed. Celestia soon followed.

---

Investigating the floor above what used to be the conference room was a laboratory. A very cramped one. It was practically overflowing with a combination of broken flasks and other unrecognizable glassware, melted or burned papers. There was something rusty that had sunk into the wooden floorboards, and emerald green fibers scattered everywhere. There was an open wood box, or maybe it was a bowl? It was hard to tell, but there was a variety of papers written in different hoofwritings all weighed down by a clear gemstone that lay in the box. Celestia took it in her magic, and let it play. She would have time to read the papers later.

"This marks the... A day of being alone. No sight of Starswirl, yet. No new visits from... Well, that's not important. I'm working on something important here. I... My last attempt was painful. But I think I have learned much since then. Thanks to Chrysalis, I can read again. With all that, today also marks my first attempt at making a personal assistant. I don't know what to call it yet." There was a hum of energy in the background for a few moments, then silence. "Separation failed. Starswirls original theory was way off. I'm never going to use that damned research. He... He- He- He-" The message stuttered and shut off forever. No amount of quickly tinkering with the crystal in her magic could make it speak again. Then it started playing again.

"WOAH! OkAY EVERYONE, GOOD NEWS!" Alyosha's voice exploded from the gemstone loudly, so loud that it made the two sisters wince.

"NOT IMPORTANT SHUSH! Ahem. So, this experiment has been a huge success. The first step in both getting me a real body, and some more knowledge on what the world outside is like. I've been able to dip into the abyss directly, basically violating a few laws of nature by creating matter out of nothing and changing it into a living being. Human transmutation.
...Kind of. See, I didn't really understand the research at first, but now I realize what I was reading! How he MADE me! So, I wondered, if using dark magic tears you up inside, why can't I just redirect that tearing into something else? I just repeated the steps he did to create me, but I used myself. This resulted in a hollow vessel, that I later filled with the pieces that it tore off of me. Did you know you can focus on what it takes from you?

So now I made... Uh.. I made a thing. I haven't decided on a proper name but as of this moment, I'm calling them Envy. Yes you are, you are definitely an envy. Lucky you, having a real body. Now quit melting on the floorboards. Come on, as we practiced... Look, can you go into the other room? Thank you..

"I feel tired... What was I saying? Right. They have problems trying to eat everything in sight. Living things. Light-born things. Anything that isn't made out of shadows it wants to convert to its own dark flesh thing I made. Now, I have trained this out of it, and I'm thankful that its fiercely loyal to me so I can trust it not to try to eat anything alive, but if you ever find a vaguely melty pony thing on your doorstep and you think it less than friendly, just spark your horn at it, its deathly afraid of fire. It'll back off and probably say sorry."

Luna blinked. Celestia took a deep breath. It wasn't going to be a problem, and at least one of the two here expected this.

"I've decided I'm going home. I think I found a way to do it. I know I was never destined to exist in this life or my old one. But damn it- I miss home. I might have been dragged through everything, but I hate it here. There's a whole new world out there, and I'm trapped. It'll be dangerous. But I know it'll be worth it. I just need to focus on Bushka and I'll be home. Back where it all started."

There was a pause as the crystal was set down and the message stopped. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

"She's gone, she's gone for real- please, I'm sorry, please I just wanted to- I didn't want this I'm sorry. God please-"

"...Something happened," Luna murmured. " Celestia! Did you find any more crystals?"

"No, not yet. I'll try to find one before it starts playing again. Check and see if it is over." She responded. She had only barely managed to get a glance at the room before the crystal had caught her eye, much less investigate. They'd come to get a few of Starswirls effects, and break the news to the young one if need be, not realize that they might have lost both of them.

Celestia hadn't gone far when Alyosha's voice rang out from the same crystal again, darkly. "You know what my days used to be like, I had a pretty good life. Nobody murdered me or fed me to bugs, or put me in a bottle. And then, YOU showed up. I think these floors are looking better than before, your facility is completely operational again... The best solution is the easiest one, and killing you? It's hard. So thank god you're alright, you monster. How have you been, you monster? I thought you were my best friend when all along you were my enemy. Just stay gone."

"..."

The message came back. He was speaking softly, like how they'd first met._{"...Starswirl I didn't want this. I'm still doing science. Still doing science. Sir. Mister Starswirl... I thought you were my enemy, but all along were you, my friend...?}

There was the sound of resigned, bitter laughter. "It's been fun. Don't come back. Bastard."

...

"I think it's time I confess something. After all, it's not like anyone will ever hear these. I know nobody is coming for me. Thats fine... Well. It's been a huge success. I've created dozens of shades by splitting myself into pieces. I can feel myself slowly going... Hollow. It's like I know what's supposed to be there, I can act on instinct on what's supposed to be there, but it's just not there. Like when you've lost a limb, and you think it's still there.

The side effects aren't important. But I've set them all loose upon Equestria. Wrath, Sloth, Pride, Hope, I started with a few emotions, then I tried to move onto more abstract concepts. Maybe I'll split myself in two, and then I'll be free.

I don't know why I'm still waiting. I hope I get a letter back from some of them soon. Their mission is to study Equestria and make it a kinder place. Maybe me getting killed once was just a fluke.''

---

"I remembered a tale. A tale of two colonels. You don't have a thing in common, or so I'd hope, but it reminded me of you. I hope you two came back while I was still around, but if not... Well! That's okay! I-I'm past things like this now. I hope that these two will be useful to you. I think these gems are tuned specifically to your magic. Go ahead. Try!"

Celestia and Luna looked at each other, a little curious and a bit wary. "It would have been of better help if we knew where the other gems were." Luna murmured.

"They can't have been far. Maybe all we need to do is reach out-" Celestia's horn glowed brightly, and a box appeared. "And take it. That was easy."

She moved to open it with her magic, first setting it down where it immediately revealed a small egg. Another message played out. "Hey Celestia! This here is a handmade phoenix egg! I called her Philomena in the research notes. You wouldn't believe how much I was able to get done when I had privacy! In any case, she's yours now. A flame elemental from my homeland that'll never burn out. Take her home. Oh! One more thing, you need to wake the egg with a bit of your magic.

With love, _An- Alyosha."

"I... It was hard to come up with something, but this is here! This little pebble is a bit of the darkness itself! It'll do whatever you tell it to. It will take whatever shape you want it to, I originally had it configured as a guardian, but... But I think you'll need it more. It's not my companion. I hope it helps you on your adventures!

Sincerely, Alyosha."

"I suppose we collected something after all." Luna murmured morosely. Celestia couldn't quite stare at her gift or her sister in the eye. There was an insufferable silence that clung to the room.

"...Luna, why don't you go up ahead? I'm going to search this room more."

"Very well. Take caution, sister."

As soon as Luna left, her attention snapped to the wardrobe. She wasn't sure how Luna missed it. It was the only thing in this floor that wasn't dusty or bearing the marks of age or ruin that had come to the tower. Every time she stared at it, there was a compulsion to look away, like she was staring into a gaping maw of the abyss that would snuff her out.

It was a long hallway made of something gray and shimmering, like a magical barrier that established this room's presence in a void somewhere else. Initially, there was no scent of anything in the room, not even dust, but as Celestia made her way further into the void she came across candles. They didn't seem to be scented, but the air still smelled odd in the void. Faintly of salt water and something metallic. They were all plain, undyed, and yellow like beeswax or tallow, and the majority of them were melted into puddles. The ones beginning near the entrance were the least melted, while at the farthest she could see in the void was an insurmountable wall of puddles of wax and charred wicks from candles that had burned out.

She felt like she'd come across something she wasn't supposed to have, but there was another voice crystal on the floor of the abyss alongside some papers with something wholly illegible. Curious, she hoisted the gem up in her magic with an unusual amount of difficulty. It didn't respond for a moment, but it still glowed like the others.

"It feels good to cry for once... To be emotional. To rage, to loathe, to mourn." There was a crackling noise and a whoosh, like a lit torch. Soft thudding echoed in the background. The message was so unlike the others, quiet and mournful just like the atmosphere that surrounded her. A private moment recorded forever in an instant. "I've always regretted not being able to express myself when it mattered. I only ever did what I thought would help the family. I did it all for them. Never talked back. Bared the hits... When I die. I'm going to laminate my skeleton and pose myself in the lobby. That way I can stick around. You know, I'm honestly terrified of dying. I'm afraid. There's no evidence anything comes after death, you know? Spiders, the dark, being alone, bugs, I'm afraid of all of these things, but they don't terrify me. I'm afraid of dying with regrets. When the time comes, I won't go easy into that long night. And now I think- I think- I think I'm fa-"

The crystal had shorted out in a loop unexpectedly before the audio became distorted. Celestia dropped it in surprise at the base of the melted candle wall. It was loud and accusatory. "If you're listening to this crystal. Turn back. It was stupid for me to record this thing in the first place. Leave everything as it is and turn back. There will be no answers for you here. Go far away. Like everyone else."

The message stopped, and the room was silent again. There wasn't anything here that made her feel better. She knew what the candles were, and what she intruded on. Celestia bowed her head in regret to the waxy mass, and turned around to walk away.

She'd meet with her sister upstairs. Or the rooftop if she was done searching.

---

There was a base of impossibly black crystal at the center of what used to be the rooftop observatory. Various scopes and other specialized brass that once occupied the floor were entirely gone or overturned. There was also a hole in the roof and plenty of rubble surrounding it. Luna's magic woke the crystal, and a golden ghost of Alyosha materialized from thin air near the crystal, speaking happily to it. "Testing! Testing! Hey! Chrysalis! Get in range of it I want you to see it before you go!"

"What is it now, flaskborn?" A two-toned voice said snappily. "We all have important business to return to."
Alyosha puppeted the pony doll's head to look at the voice. "Please?"

"...Fine. So what is it?" A green phantasm appeared on the scene from somewhere above. It had insect wings, a long jagged horn, and serpentine eyes.
"Hold on, I'm making a note here; Huge success." Alyosha's spectral was tinted green while they spoke to Chrysalis again, her horn faintly giving off magic. "A camera! Well, incorrect. It records magical signatures and movements in a world space, then plays them back on command. I wasn't able to get it to play it back in real time to a different position, but this would be an interesting addition to your hive's security. I remembered you talking about it all the time so..." He gestured to the crystalline mass, turning gold again. "Ta-da!!"

"Fascinating. So what happens if I-" Chrysalis's horn glowed as she touched the crystals with her hoof, and the holographic memory played out again in a loop.

---

There was one last place to explore. At least, while there was still sunlight out. The princesses could only afford so much time away from their duties, and there wasn't nearly enough time to explore every nook and cranny with the one shot they had to be here. The empty floor was empty, and neither of them could recall its original purpose, or if it ever existed.

So Luna chucked a pot of wine into the room and watched it shatter on the very real stone floor and spill everywhere, creating a huge mess at the center of the room. "Luna! What in the world was that for?"

"We were testing something. Maybe something would reveal itself if we disturbed it. Break any illusions, spells, you'd know." Luna replied simply, stepping into the room to investigate the mess of wine. Nothing had changed. Except...

Except for an impossible staircase, down into an abyss. A gaping maw of truth. They descended the steps into a world of darkness, a void where nothing could be seen and where nothing existed except for Celestia and her sister. It was like this for a while before a faint light came into view. It was painfully cold for Celestia, and yet Luna barely noticed a thing, it was like she didn't feel the suffocating aura she felt.

Proceeding silently through the field, the long golden strands seemed to part for them as they walked. The sky was dim, forever a rosy hue with stars dotting it. This world in the basement was locked in eternal twilight. It was like a landscape taken out of the finest painting, the world of darkness seemed so bright and alive, a gentle wind shaking the golden stalks that stretched endlessly.

"Do you think he made this?" Luna asked.
"It certainly feels like he did. You really don't feel it, do you?" Celestia spoke half-heartedly.

"Feel what?" She said, confused. "Sister?"

"It's like I'm being weighed down. It feels cold down here. Like I shouldn't belong here. It's how I..." Celestia swallowed. "It's how I was able to find this place."

"Halt. Is that...?"
"No, it isnt." Celestia said quickly. There was a stuffed doll laying in the field. But it wasn't a pony. It might've had her novice stitch work and craftsmanship, but it was not made by her. It was a doll made of black fabric, of a cat dressed up in a dark blue cloak and tan scarf. Orange button eyes stared blankly at her, unmoving. It was set up as if it were sitting down upright on top of a log. The ashes of a campfire were at the center of an opening in the field, wide enough that the calm winds wouldn't send embers to the landscape. Or at least, they wouldn't reach. "Do you think it's alive?"

"It's inanimate sister. It's hollow. Nothing left." Luna replied, levitating the limp doll. A crystal fell out of a pocket, landing on the soft ground below. "Another message?"

An unfamiliar voice burst out from the gem. "THIS ISN'T GOING TO WORK! LET ME GO! I DON'T WANT THIS! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT THIS!" The message was cut off almost immediately by the sound of a horn casting a spell and the sound of hissing. The two waited in stunned silence. Nothing more played out of the crystal.

"What?"

"There were signs of a struggle this way. We should follow."
Behind the doll was a narrow path of crumpled wheat. It didn't part for the assailant as it did for the two sisters, instead, there were clumps that were bent at awkward angles and sharp jagged rocks that were kicked up from the soft soil. Rocks that seemed to move out of the way of the two sisters.

"Look. Up ahead."