//------------------------------// // Making Up As You Go Along // Story: Penn and Stone: Dynamic Duo // by Pennington Inkwell //------------------------------// From the moment Pennington opened his eyes, he was acutely aware of how delicate the situation was that he had found himself in. He was the center of attention in a room full of powerful, noble creatures who were all expecting him to fill the role of their heroic patron, but to announce himself as such would probably spark Twilight or Moonstone to do something rash to get "Pennington" back, likely landing them all in trouble. His mind raced with possibilities as he pulled himself back up onto his hooves. If he told the truth, that the Scribe wasn't coming back and that he was taking Quill's place, it would destroy the tradition of the Adelind family along with the chance of help from them in the future. If he lied, Twilight and Moonstone would freak out and attempt to undo the "change," resulting in punishment by the dragons. Even if Moonstone stayed calm enough to see through the lie, that left Twilight. Bahneighn. That was it. Just like Sails, he needed away to send her a message. He pulled himself up to his hooves, scanning the room. Every eye was on him, standing at the center of a small space that had been cleared around him. Everything depended on what he said next. Somehow, this situation felt familiar. He turned around, finding Twilight standing just behind him, one hoof curled protectively around Moonstone. The look in her eyes was one of worry and questioning, clearly not trusting him. Moonstone's face was tear-streaked and her eyes reddened, staring at him in abject horror. Pennington had to admit that the feelings of distrust were mutual, but there would be time for that later. He took a deep breath, leaning in to whisper. "Sure reminds me of King Entropy's court..." he whispered under his breath. Twilight's eyes widened, and she gave a near-imperceptible nod. Moonstone's breath caught in her throat, and Pennington turned away just as her expression began to shift. He turned on his heel, back to face Sunstone and the rest of the dragons. "My dear friends of the Adelind bloodline! Once again, you have proven that your honor and loyalty know no bounds!" Sunstone bowed his head at the praise. "Of course! You are the patron spirit of our house, after all-" "It's almost enough for me to forget that it was your BROTHER who ended my previous life, Sunstone Orthos Borealis!" Pennington pointed an accusatory hoof at the dragon. Looking around, Pennington could feel memories beginning to surface. Just as Quill had promised, however, they weren't overwhelming him, but simply filling in gaps that he hadn't even known were there. Family relations and bloodlines, faces and names of other dragons in the family Quill had known, just simple jogs at his memory. Sunstone was caught off-guard for a moment, his face flushing as he quickly corrected himself. "I can assure you, Scorch was exiled and forsaken for his crime, given the harshest punishment we could muster!" Pennington scoffed condescendingly, praying he could somehow keep the ten-story-tall dragon on the defensive with words alone. "Harshest? He was given a slap on the wrist and politely told to leave! What happened to the noble warriors of the Adelind house? The days when this eyrie would burn with the light of a thousand suns should even the slightest impunity come upon their honor?" He spun about the room, turning his scowl on every dragon present. "I was banished one thousand years from the mortal plane, my body broken and battered and my very SOUL shattered by the one whom I trusted most, and you have ALL spent that time growing fat and lazy on your reputation alone! You have no ambitions and certainly none of your ancestors' convictions! I've half a mind to take it all back and START OVER!" He turned, pointing his hoof at Moonstone. "This hatchling was more willing to hold to her convictions by defying you attempting to stop my return! Moonstone Alis Chalcedony is more of an Adelinda than ANY dragon here, and more deserving to be head of this house of fattened cowards!" He turned away, picking up Moonstone in his magic and placing her on his back. Moonstone instantly wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, hugging him tightly. Pennington gave one last showy scoff before walking back in the direction of the fountain. "I suppose it falls to me to clean up this mess once and for all... I expect so much more of you all when I next return, House of Adelind!" And with that, Pennington trotted his way back into the hall, Moonstone on his back and Twilight following close behind. "That was-" "SHH!" Pennington cut Twilight off, feeling more malice than necessary sneaking into the act. He didn't trust their ability to speak freely, yet. If even one pair of the wrong ears were to overhear them saying that he wasn't actually the Scribe of Legends, his little stunt would almost certainly land all of them in more hot water than he was prepared to try and bail them out of. The three of them traveled in silence through the numerous tunnels back to the spring. With every corner they turned, Pennington felt more and more familiar with their path, often taking a turn before Moonstone had even directed him to. He felt a growing sense that he had been here before, a map in his brain that hadn't existed on his first trip. More of Quill's memories, no doubt... At least they're already making themselves useful. As they entered the hot spring room, Lily and Spike both snapped to attention at the sound of approaching hooves. "Twilight!" Spike exclaimed as he sprung from the water and raced across the room, wrapping himself around Twilight's leg in a tight embrace. Twilight gave a melancholy smile and wrapped her other hoof across his back, giving him a comforting pat. Lily smiled at first, trotting across the room towards the group, only for her relieved smile to turn downwards as she caught a closer look at Pennington's face. Take care of Ixia... Please, just take care of her now that I can't... Quill's words rang in Pennington's mind as he began to feel a tide of emotions not his own beginning to rise up. He swallowed forcefully, focusing on the only thing that he knew was purely his own: his anger. Whatever Quill had told him, he had still been betrayed by Twilight and Moonstone, and focusing on that hurt was enough to center him in his own identity. "Penn... are you okay?" Lily's voice was like cool velvet, instantly washing away his resistance. What few scraps of stubbornness were barely enough for Pennington to keep his composure. "Just... I don't want to talk to anyone right now..." Pennington muttered. He slowly trotted his way over to his saddlebags and began sorting through his things. There were only a few moments of blessed silence before Twilight spoke up again, her voice like a set of claws on a chalkboard. "Penn... how did you do it? How did you survive the trial? We saw what it did to Sails, and-" "Hold on, 'survive the trial?' What happened?" Lily interrupted Twilight. Pennington sighed and closed his eyes, trying to determine how he wanted to approach the situation. He turned and glanced at Moonstone, knowing that lying in front of her would be useless. As he turned to her, however, Moonstone turned her gaze down, ashamed and unable to look him in the eye. Pennington took a deep breath. He was going to have to be confident in himself if he wanted to fool Lily. He reached into his saddlebag and retrieved an amber-colored gemstone embedded in a leather belt with ornate silver filigree. "The Topaz of Del Torah. It strengthens and clears the mind, and it was just enough to keep me from falling over the edge of madness." Lily glanced anxiously back and forth between Twilight and Pennington, eyes wide. Pennington decided not to wait for her to ask more questions. "Twilight and Moonstone were acting under orders from Celestia and Luna to bring me here all along. The dragons here have magic, old magic that affects the mind. They thought that it would transform me into some kind of ancient fearless hero. Sails went after it and it drove him completely insane. It almost did the same to me." Lily's eyes went wide and she stared at Twilight in abject horror. "Twilight? Is... that true?" "W-well, I tried to stop him after I saw what happened to Sails-" The sound of flesh striking flesh echoed through the chamber. Twilight stumbled back, Lily's hoofprint embedded in her cheek. Twilight stared in horror at Lily, who retaliated with a tearful glare. "We trusted you! HE trusted you, more than any pony in the world!" Lily shouted. Twilight looked to Pennington, as if she expected him to step in. Pennington simply glared as he levitated a pen and a piece of paper from his saddlebag, beginning to scribble down a quick letter. "How could you just throw that away?" Lily practically begged for an answer, as if she were hoping that Twilight would be able to provide some magical excuse that would make this all better. "But- But Princess Celestia said-" "I'll get to Celestia LATER, I'm asking YOU!" Tears were beginning to brim up in Twilight's eyes. A few hours ago, that would have been enough to move Pennington to action. Now, it barely accounted for more than a short glance in her direction. "I'm... sorry..." Twilight whispered. Pennington polished off the first letter with a flourish and drew another sheet of paper from his bag. "Well, it was all for naught, anyway. Celestia was wrong. There is no 'Scribe of Legends.' It's just an old mare believing in an old mare's tale." This elicited a gasp of shock from Moonstone, who snapped her head up to stare at Pennington. Pennington turned to meet her gaze with an angry glare. Moonstone's expression shifted, first from shock to confusion, then confusion to indignation, then indignation back to shame. She had seen straight through that one. An outright lie like that would never pass her inspection. But it looked as if her shame was enough to keep her cooperative. Unfortunately, Moonstone's outburst had drawn Lily's wrath towards the little dragon. "And Moonstone! I'm very disappointed in you!" Pennington sighed, stepping forward to place his body between them. "Moonstone didn't know any better. This has been her family's tradition since their bloodline started. She was just doing what she was told she was supposed to since the day she hatched..." Lily drew up short, her wrath fizzling out under Pennington's tired objection, "W-well, still... I thought she ought to know better." Lily muttered, backing down from the confrontation. Pennington sighed, nodding before scribbling down another farewell at the bottom of the second letter. "Well, I'm certain you'll have plenty of time to give Twilight a piece of your mind on the way home." "WHAT?" everyone replied in sync. Pennington took a deep breath. "I need Moonstone to help me beat Scorch. As his niece, she might be able to talk him down without a need for conflict. If not, she can at least make a good fireproof distraction. The rest of you, however, will just be liabilities." "N-no! I can help!" Twilight stepped forward, coming up beside Lily. "Look, I know a few spells that might be able to help! I can take care of myself, even against a dragon, my magic's back up to a hundred percent!" "Penn, you can't seriously be thinking about doing this alone now, so soon after so many near-death experiences!" Lily continued. "As much as I hate to agree with Twilight right now, we can help!" Pennington felt a claw poking at his shoulder. Looking down, he saw Spike standing beside him. Spike had been so quiet through all of this, Pennington had honestly forgotten that he was even there. Pennington felt a small twinge of guilt. I shouldn't have called Twilight out about all of this with him here... She's like a mother or a big sister to him, shaking his faith in her like this is a cruel thing to do... Spike, however, didn't seem shaken. He simply gave Pennington a sympathetic look. "I guess there's some things a guy's gotta do himself, right?" Pennington smiled, wrapping his hoof around Spike's shoulders and giving him a short, rough hug from the side before pushing him towards Twilight and Lily. "That's right, bud." As Spike walked towards the mares, Pennington picked up Moonstone and his saddlebags with his magic and placed them all on his back, turning in the opposite direction. He knew the way out. He didn't need to tell Lily to be careful, and he certainly had nothing to say to Twilight. He reached up, passing the pair of letters to Moonstone as they entered a new tunnel. "Mind sending these for me?" There was a beat of silence as Moonstone hesitated. "Are you... really Penn?" "Yup." "How did you know Scorch was my uncle? Or which tunnel was the exit? Why did I feel like you were lying when you said that there was no Spirit of the Scribe?" Pennington sighed. He'd known that this was coming, but he'd hoped Moonstone would give him a little more time to come up with some half-truths to feed her. Well, lying to each other is what got us into this situation... he thought to himself as he glanced back over his shoulder. Lily and Twilight weren't following them, appearing to be locked in a heated argument back in the hot spring room. He turned into a side tunnel, finally ensuring that they were alone. "I met the Scribe. It was Quill, or at least that was his last incarnation." Pennington took a deep breath. It was easy to take the absurdity of what had happened in stride when he didn't have to speak it out loud. Vocalizing it made it more... concrete. "But what Scorch did worked. The Scribe is never coming back." Moonstone gasped in surprise, but didn't interrupt. "So, Quill passed on what knowledge he had to me, which was just a few of his memories. That's how I know about Scorch and the layout of this place. But Quill told me that I have to start a new cycle. I'm not the next Scribe, I'm the new Scribe, I guess..." A beat of silence followed as Pennington felt Moonstone shudder. "Penn, I'm sorry-" "Don't." Pennington shook his head. "Quill told me everything. I know that you thought that this was the only way you do anything for your family. Believe it or not, I understand." "You... understand?" Pennington sighed. "Why do you THINK I basically named you the next head of the family? The whole clan was listening and I said you were the best fit, you think that was for nothing?" Silence fell again. Pennington supposed Moonstone was taking the time to process her new position. "But... what if I don't want to be the head of the family?" Moonstone muttered. "What if I just want to stay with you?" It was Pennington's turn to be surprised. "Why wouldn't you-" "Because I've had more fun and learned more in the last five months than in my entire life!" Moonstone jumped down from Pennington's back and ran out in front, staring straight into his eyes. "It's true that, when I started all of this, I was just trying to do my part to be a worthwhile member of my family because I can't do much! But as time went on, I realized that I could help YOU! I realized that I wasn't useless, or that I only had one purpose I could fulfill! I could be a part of your life and make a real difference! I felt like... we changed things. We help people. Even when you left Equestria, we didn't stop trying to help people!" Moonstone's eyes began to fill with tears. "When I'm with you, I feel like... I can make a difference. You're my best friend, and when I realized I might lose you... I- I couldn't-" Moonstone rushed forward, jumping up and wrapping her arms around Pennington's neck. "I'M SO SORRY!" Pennington reached around, pulling Moonstone tight against his chest. He leaned down, putting his mouth just beside her ear. "I'm not going to say 'it's okay' or 'don't worry about it,' but... okay. I accept your apology, Moon Moon." Moonstone was sobbing, now, sending hot streams of tears running down his shoulder. With how mature she always acted and her constant nagging as the voice of reason, it was easy for Pennington to forget Moonstone was still a child. "You screwed up. But you're far from the first one out of the two of us to do that, you know?" Pennington smiled, giving her a light pat on the back. "Remember after the Royal Wedding? What you told me? You said I ought to be celebrating because everything turned out okay! Well, everything turned out okay today, didn't it?" Moonstone's sobbing finally slowed to a halt, and Pennington felt her nod as she kept her face pressed into his fur. "Well, then we should celebrate! Once all of this business with Scorch is finished, we're going to go out and have a grand night on the town! All the smoky quartz and sapphires you can eat, and some fresh A-grade parchment for the book I'm going to write out of all this!" Moonstone giggled slightly, pulling herself away enough to look Pennington in the eye. "You- you sure?" Pennington smiled and picked her up, placing her gently on his back. "Well, we're not going to be doing much at all until you send those letters!" Pennington felt a small bit of joy coming back to him as Moonstone giggled and grabbed the letters from his hoof. After a few seconds, he heard her cringe and suck in air through her teeth. "Oh, Penn... I'm going to have to rewrite these..." "What? Why?" "As happy as I am that your magic is back, your hornwriting is TERRIBLE! They're barely legible, and I'm USED to interpreting your chicken scratch writing!" Pennington rolled his eyes as he felt her lean over and snatch a set of new supplies from his bag. Still, his exasperation aside, he felt a mountain of weight roll off of his shoulders. He'd been betrayed by nearly everyone he knew, the one pony who HADN'T betrayed him had turned out to be his counterpart in some kind of eternal cycle of rebirth he had just been adopted into, he had discovered that the greatest privilege he'd ever had in his life had been a set up to try and transform him into someone he wasn't, and now he had reason to think that his entire life had been leading him to some kind of strange destiny... But despite all of that, he and Moonstone were still partners. That was the one constant that had remained. Somehow, he had to admit that it was the one thing he wasn't sure he could have gone on without, so... definitely a positive. At least today wasn't the total end of the world. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Princess Celestia, You were wrong. The Scribe of Legends will not be returning to Equestria. The death of Phoenix Quill was sufficient to break the cycle of that guardian spirit. I know that your intention was for me to be transformed, to be filled with a thousand memories that would all make that new pony who walked away grateful for your actions. Once again, you were wrong. Quill named me the new Scribe, starting a new cycle of rebirth. Every one of my memories is completely intact. You convinced Twilight to betray me. I hope you are prepared to comfort her in her heartbreak, because I never want to see her again. You enlisted Moonstone in your cause. Our friendship has proven too strong for you to break. I will finish my mission. I will defeat Scorch. By the time you read this, Moonstone and I will already be on our way to confront him. Consider it good fortune that I happen to still have a few friends in Equestria that make it worth saving. However, I will not be returning to Equestria. I understand now that the life I had there was a fabrication of your making, at least from the point at which I became Luna's protege, if not earlier. Toying with the lives of the ponies around you to make up for your own insecurities is unacceptable behavior from the ruler of such a blessed land. Equestria will be without the Scribe of Legends, and I want you to understand that it is YOUR fault. Go anywhere near any of the few friends that I have left, and I will know. I will protect them from you. -Pennington Inkwell Dear Princess Luna, I am still here. I know you may have expected the next letter delivered by Moonstone to come from the Scribe of Legends, or something. No. I am still here. And I know everything. I know you and Celestia set me up. I know that you didn't choose me because of my own merits, but because you believed I was the next incarnation of the Guardian Spirit. It is for this reason that I tender my resignation, both as your protege and as a member of the New Lunar Republic, effective immediately following the defeat of Scorch Verdis Stratae Adelind. I will not be returning to Equestria. I will send you no more letters. Goodbye, Luna. -Pennington Inkwell