“Big brother? Will you please tell us the rest of the story you told us yesterday?” Scootaloo said as she and the other two crusaders entered the clubhouse, the dark blue pegasus blinking as he looked up at them. The sun outside had set and the moon had begun to rise into the sky. Rainbow Dash was curled up next to him, sleeping soundly before her eyes blinked open and she looked towards them,
“Well WD?” Written Dreams looked down at her and chuckled as he closed the book sitting at his hooves in front of him,
“Well girls, I suppose I could. What happened when you three went to the castle?” Applebloom trotted over to him, laying down as she looked up at the pegasus before her,
“Mister Discord wasn‘t there… Fluttershy told us that he left to go see what had happened ta Twilight, Rainbow and Applejack.” Sweetie Belle spoke up next with a light smile,
“And Rarity told us to say hi for her and to thank you for saving Rainbow Dash‘s life.” Written Dreams let out a chuckle as he nodded to the girls, gazing around at each of them,
“I wish I could go up to the castle myself and see them again.” Scootaloo tilted her head in response as she walked over and laid down next to Applebloom,
“Why don‘t you?”
“Two reasons actually. The first is that I don‘t have a ticket to walk freely around the castle like you three and two; Discord doesn‘t know who I am and I‘d prefer to keep it that way until the final confrontation with the Quill of Eternity.” Written Dreams then let out a breath and smiled towards the fillies and mare around him, “So then, I suppose it‘s time I finished that story I was telling…”
Written Dreams’ eyes blinked open the next morning. He sat up with a yawn, looking around the room before he slipped out from under his blanket and let his hooves touch down on the floor. He walked over to the side of the room and looked into the mirror, his eyebrow raising as he saw his reflection, his mane in tangles and split ends. He paused for a moment before shaking his head rapidly and patted his mane a few times, every hair falling into place and he grinned, “There we are.” The pegasus trotted over to the large doors opposite the mirror he was just standing in front of. Reaching out with his hoof, he slid one open and stepped out, his eyes closing as he raised his head, the morning sun and a crisp morning breeze blowing through his mane as he took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly before be began trotting down the steps and back into the castle.
Written Dreams merely hummed for a few minutes as he descended the stairs, beginning his journey to find the Quill of Eternity weighing heavy on his mind. His ear perked a few minutes later as he trotted down a corridor in the castle. Peering over to a door at his side he laid his hoof against it curiously and pushed it open, finding it rather easy as it was a swinging door and was rather large.
As he peered inside, a few ponies wearing aprons and chef’s hats trotted around the large and wide kitchen area but as Written Dreams gazed around, his eyes fell upon Princess Luna standing on her hind legs stirring a pot with a small fire under it, and a pony standing next to her looking less then amused. He then heard the cook’s voice that stood next to the princess, “Princess I really don‘t think… that seems to be too much… ehm… Princess…” As he said this, the princess was adding random things to the cauldron she was stirring including a wedge of cheese, and a ton of different spices,
“Your princess knows that she can make a delicious meal just the same as the chefs of our castle!” Written Dreams trotted over with a bit of a laugh, rather enjoying the situation as he watched the princess arguing with, he could only imagine to be, the head chef. The chef then rolled his eyes and let out a long groan, watching Luna put a dashing of pepper and salt into the pot before taking a few peppers and dropped them in as well,
“Princess… you don‘t have to cook. That‘s what we‘re here for!”
“Mind if I have a taste, Princess?” Written Dreams said as he trotted over to the cauldron, Luna’s gaze immediately turned to him followed shortly by a wide grin on the mare’s face. The Alicorn’s horn began glowing and a spoon lifted off of the table next to them. The cauldron was stirred a few more times before the spoon was dipped inside and it soon rose up again, bringing with it a dark grey and mushy substance with it. Written Dreams took the spoon from Luna’s aura as she brought it over to him, the end of the spoon entering his mouth before he slid out the empty spoon, his lips smacking a few times as he savored the flavor, “Well that‘s… different. Not bad though. It‘s missing that sweet element. Try adding some fruit!” Luna smiled happily before trotting over to a cabinet full of fruit and began browsing. The chef pony turned to face Written Dreams. His coat was a dusty white and his cutie mark was a chef’s hat. His mane and tail were a light orange with a few streaks of black,
“Must you really encourage her…?” Written Dreams chuckled as his gaze fell upon the pony standing before him, his hoof scratching the back of his head as he laughed,
“Oh I‘m sure she‘ll be done before too long. So much must have changed while she was trapped up there in the moon. I think she‘s just trying to do the things she missed doing or didn‘t get the chance to do before being sent away.” The chef let out a sigh as his gaze returned to the mare of the night who was happily giggling as she threw various fruits into the cauldron,
“I suppose… and she really isn‘t doing any harm. If she manages to make something that tastes delicious out of all of that mess then who knows, we might even be able to serve it!” Written Dreams laughed along with the chef and nodded to him,
“Well, I‘m off to see Celestia before I leave Canterlot to head down to Ponyville for the book I‘m after. I hope we meet again.” The chef nodded to him with a light grin in response and Written Dreams trotted out of the kitchen. As he was trotting from the kitchen he heard Luna’s voice, humming as he walked down a few hallways before entering the throne room. The majestic alicorn motioned for him to approach as he closed the door behind him,
“What brings you to me so early in the day mister Dreams?” Written Dreams continued walking up to her before he bowed with a bright smile on his face and soon raised his head getting back to his hoofs,
“I just came to say thank you for your hospitality and that I‘m going to be heading down to Ponyville today to start on my quest, Princess.” Celestia slowly nodded before bringing her hoof up to her chin as she examined his form,
“Let me think for a moment… there was something I wanted to tell you…” Celestia paused, her gaze turning up towards the ceiling before she suddenly smiled brightly, “Ah!” She looked back at him, “While you‘re in Ponyville I would like it if you could meet with the six wielders of the Elements of Harmony.” Written Dreams blinked as he turned his head slightly,
“Well I‘m sure I can do that. The elements are one of my favorite things to study about so meeting the wielders would certainly help fuel my research. Where are they in Ponyville?”
“Just trust your instincts. You know their names already I‘m sure. I have faith that you will meet them all if the fates allow.” Celestia said with a gentle and very wise smile, the dark blue pegasus nodding to her as he lifted his head and continued to smile,
“Thank you for everything Celestia.” Celestia simply shook her head in response, letting out a light laugh as she continued looking down at him,
“It was my pleasure to house you for the night Written Dreams. Swiftly now, off to Ponyville with you!” Written Dreams nodded with a happy smile before he trotted from the throne room and left the castle, heading out of Canterlot and down the mountainside towards Ponyville.
“Sounds like our little pegasus friend has a crush on Luna~!” Written Dreams blinked and shuffled a bit as he heard Rainbow Dash’s voice, looking at her with a light blush on his face as he shook his head,
“No! I mean… Yeah she‘s nice and fun to be around but the compatibility…” Rainbow raised an eyebrow, chuckling as she shifted over to him and poked his side,
“Hey bro, just messing with ya.” Written Dreams blinked before chuckling nervously,
“Very funny Dash…” Scootaloo spoke up next with a bright smile on her face,
“So! Back when we were at the castle we decided to go cheer up Pinkie Pie before we left and she told us about the time she met you! It was actually kind of interesting…” Written Dreams fell silent as he stared at the pegasus filly, running through the events in his head,
“Do you want me to tell it…?” Written Dreams said before Sweetie Belle spoke up, shaking her head with a grin,
“Nah, we‘ll tell the next story. You‘ve been telling all of them anyway!” Applebloom smiled softly as she looked across at the dark blue pegasus,
“Pinkie was really happy to tell us that story… it‘s the first time we‘ve seen her smiling in a while.” Scootaloo then cleared her throat, the Cutie Mark Crusaders laying in a line opposite Written Dreams with Rainbow Dash laying to their right, the five of them in a semi-circle,
“Anyways… let me try to remember everything Pinkie said… Oh! It was a bright and sunny day…”
Pinkie Pie hummed happily as she trotted around Sugarcube Corner with a broom in her mouth, the occasional dust cloud rising up a foot or two from each sweep. She was her usual perky self, her bright pink mane fluffy and bouncy as well as her tail and there was a bright smile on the party pony’s face, “I‘m all done Mrs. Cake!” There was a voice from the kitchen sounding rather upbeat and happy whilst rather motherish in tone as well,
“Alright Pinkie Pie we‘ll see you for work tomorrow then!” Pinkie then hummed happily as she trotted, or rather bounced out the door letting out a happy ‘La~!’.
A moment after she had closed the door behind her with her poofy tail there was a loud thud as Pinkie ran into another pony. The pink pony’s head wobbled a bit before she shook her head looking down at the pegasus on the ground, “Oh my gosh I‘m so, so, so, so, so sorry!” She then heard the wisdom-filled voice of her friend, Twilight from a few steps away from the downed pegasus,
“Really Pinkie you have to watch where you‘re going!” The dark blue pegasus took the hoof outstretched to him by Pinkie and hopped up to his feet, giving himself a quick brush off before he smiled,
“Really part of the blame is mine as well. Did I hurt you at all Ms…?” Pinkie paused for a moment before her hoofs bounced on the ground excitedly,
“OH MY GOSH!! I‘venevermetyoubeforeandifIhaven‘tmetyoubeforethatmeansthatyoumustbenewtotown! My name‘s Pinkie what‘s yours!?” Written Dreams paused for a moment, letting his brain attempt to process the blur of words coming from the pony’s mouth but he soon blinked as he chuckled a bit,
“A pleasure Pinkie Pie. You‘re the fourth out of your friends that I‘ve had the fortune to meet. You‘re the element of laughter if I remember right.”
“Yeppy Deppy Peppy! Some of my friends call me the party pony too because I love to throw parties! In fact I throw one for every new pony in Ponyville!” Pinkie said as she continued to bounce excitedly. Written Dreams continued to watch her, his head moving up and down in time with her jumps before he paused and rubbed his neck before rolling his head a bit,
“I‘m actually pretty busy Pinkie Pie so tell ya what. Let me get done with everything I‘ve gotta do and then we‘ll have that party, sound good?” Pinkie nodded with a happy grin in response and stopped hopping,
“Yepparoony that sounds just fine! So what are you two up to??” Pinkie stopped for a moment before she gasped loudly, “Oh my gosh are you two on a date?!” Twilight and Written Dreams both looked at each other quickly with light blushes on their faces before they each started talking incoherently over the other, each scratching the back of their heads while they tried to talk. Pinkie simply stood there smiling at the two before she finally chimed in, “Where were you…? You‘re both all dusty!” Twilight paused and patted her coat with her hoof a few times to get off some of the dust and dirt and Written Dreams did the same, “Well Pinkie… Written Dreams is a treasure hunter and he‘s going after a very powerful artifact right now. We were just up at the dragon‘s mountain to try and find another clue to follow and now we‘re heading back to the library for a little R&R.” Pinkie Pie nodded happily at Twilight’s explanation before she held up a hoof,
“Hold that thought!” Pinkie then disappeared into Sugarcube Corner and returned about a minute later with two cupcakes balanced on her head. Written Dreams paused as Pinkie set one in his hoof and he stared at it,
“Cupcakes…? Thanks Pinkie! What kind are they?”
“Oh these are new!~ The cupcake itself is a nice and moist chocolate and the icing on top is actually a good mound of butter cream frosting encased in even more chocolate!” She giggled, her eyes arching as she watched the two of them begin on their cupcakes, “I hope you both like them!”
Twilight paused partway through her cupcake and leaned over, giving the dark blue pegasus a tender nuzzle up against his neck. Pinkie giggled a bit at Written Dreams’ reaction of freezing up mid-bite before smiling with a bit heavier of a blush on his face as he continued to eat his cupcake after a few moments, “Just friends.. Mhmm…” Pinkie giggled with a smirk on her face watching as Twilight continued to happily nuzzle him having finished her cupcake and Written Dreams becoming increasingly frazzled as he tried to finish his own.
After a good ten minutes the pegasus was finally able to finish his treat and nodded happily to Pinkie Pie, “Thank you very much for the cupcakes Pinkie. I‘ll be sure to come back to this bakery whenever I‘m in the mood for some more of those amazing cupcakes!” Twilight and Written Dreams soon trotted on past her after saying their goodbyes and Pinkie Pie looked back at the two, seeing the door to the library close behind the two and she then bounced away humming a light tune.
Written Dreams had a very uneasy look on his face as his eyes were on the grinning face of Rainbow Dash staring at him with a wide smile, “Rainbow… please stop giving me that look…” Rainbow Dash then laughed, her hoof clopping on the floor a few times as she banged it down on the wood,
“That look on your face was just too priceless! I‘ve got to say I‘m even more curious about that story about Twilight now!” Written Dreams then let out a sigh as he shook his head,
“I can‘t… it wouldn‘t be right if I told that story while Twilight‘s memories are still locked away.”
A few hours later the crusaders had retired to the other room to sleep for the night and Rainbow let out a sigh as she watched Written Dreams writing by candlelight, “What‘re you writing…?”
“Just writing a letter for Sweetie Belle to send in the morning to Twilight. A few updates on what‘s happening here… I‘m a bit concerned about her I hope everything went well with the dragons.” Rainbow slowly nodded as she looked up at him,
“They should be back soon. They have been gone a while…”
Twilight Sparkle let out a long yawn as she rested her head on her pillows, Applejack already asleep next to her on the other side of the bed. The unicorn was sitting up in bed staring down at the blanket. The two had only just returned to Ponyville and had swiftly made their way to the library. They were both completely exhausted from their journey and Twilight’s eyes were heavy.
She slid out of the bed and made her way downstairs, beginning to pan through the books on her shelves by hoof as even her magic was beginning to fail her in her current condition, “Crysta… Crystalline…” Her eyes continued scanning back and forth through the indexes of various books until finally, her eyes closed and she passed out in a small mound of books, a few open on her back, the pages against her coat and one on her face the same way.
In the morning Applejack slowly blinked her eyes open before letting out a yawn and she rolled over, smiling a bit as she was still waking up, “Mornin‘ Twi-- light…?” Applejack slid out of the bed and trotted down the stairs before chuckling a bit to herself. She lifted the books off of Twilight’s back and face and lifted her onto her back before she started back upstairs, “Come on pardner… let‘s get you some real shut eye.” Applejack steadily made her way back down stairs after putting Twilight into bed and trotted over to the small mound of books, stopping as she gazed down at one that was open and from what she could remember, was the one open in front of Twilight when she must have passed out.
The farm pony laid her hoof on the book, spinning it around and her eyes began to scan the text, “Caverns that used to serve as a dungeon to unicorns who would hope to make off with the gems inside… under Canterlot. Lessee… widely forgotten among ponies the caverns are now completely vacant and aren‘t used for much of anything… Sounds like our place.” She then noticed a small picture off to the side of the caverns almost identical to the picture she had seen on the tablet when she and Twilight were at the migration grounds.