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// Chapter 24 - The Crystal Cave 
// Story: The Quill of Eternity 
// by Written Dreams 
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     “Twily… come on little sis…” Twilight’s eyes slowly opened and the small unicorn let out a groan. She rose her head as she started to stand but she stumbled a bit, panting a little before she shook her head to right herself,
“H…Huh…?”
“Twily… please…” Twilight gazed around slowly, an infinite void of darkness around her except for a small speck of light far off in the distance before her. Twilight gave it not a second thought and began to gallop towards the light,
“S-Shining?!” Twilight’s eyes suddenly widened as the form of her brother, Shining Armor appeared before her although something seemed… off about him. His mane was still a dark blue with a few streaks of sky blue and his coat was still a pure white color but his eyes… As she gazed into his eyes… Her brother, still a few yards away from her, looked as though he had no hope; the kind and gentleness she had always seen in his eyes, even in the toughest of times, was gone, “Shining! Please let me get you out of here! I‘m here now!” 
Twilight began to reach of for him but she gasped as tendrils of darkness began to ensnare her brother and dragged him farther away from her. She reached out, a pained look on her face but she felt something holding her back. She looked down at her outstretched hoof and gasped seeing the tendrils having bound her as well. She could feel them pulling her back but the unicorn put on a determined face and growled as her hoof stomped down against the shadowy ground beneath her, her hoofs beginning to steadily continue forward as she let out pained gasps, “Shining…! I‘m going to find you! Just wait a little longer!!” She let out a scream as hundreds more tendrils wrapped around her, the mare clawing at the ground as she felt herself sinking down like quicksand, “I… promise…”

Twilight’s eyes shot open and she let out a loud yell, flailing around in her bed before looking around quickly. Sweat poured down the mare’s face, her panting beginning to slow as she laid her head back down on her pillow. Her eyes slowly closed again as she felt the cold chill of an ice pack being placed upon her forehead, “Thanks AJ…” Applejack let out a sigh as she took a step back,
“Twilight you‘ve been working yourself way too hard… You really need to rest.” Twilight quickly sat up, the ice pack falling into her lap on top of the blanket as she stared at Applejack,
“No!! We can‘t rest until Discord is stopped!!” Twilight then groaned, her eyes rolling back in her head a bit and she fell back onto her bed. Applejack replaced the ice pack onto Twilight’s head and then shook her head, 
“Ya’ll need to rest Twilight. Ah got another letter from Written Dreams this mornin’ tellin’ us that everypony is safe and sound at the clubhouse.” Twilight’s response was to slowly open her eyes again and stare up at the ceiling,
“I had a dream… and this feeling like… my brother was reaching out to me…” The farm pony adjusted the ice pack on her friend’s head and slowly nodded to her with a gentle smile, 
“Twilight… Do you think you‘ll be safe here while I head to the clubhouse and check in with everyone?” Twilight offered no words in response until she finally nodded her head, 
“Yes AJ… I‘ll be okay. You‘re right, I need to rest.” Applejack slowly nodded before she slid her hoof over to Twilight’s bangs and pushed them away from her face,
“Be strong Twilight. Ah‘ll see what ah can do at the clubhouse and ah‘ll be back soon.” Applejack let out a quick breath, “Right then.” She trotted quickly down the stairs and Twilight soon heard the door to the library close as Applejack left.

Applejack arrived at the clubhouse within ten minutes and as she knocked on the door it was opened almost immediately by Applebloom before the small filly tackled her sister; or more ran into her and hugged her tightly around the neck. Applejack closed her eyes as she held her sister close to her, “It‘s good ta see mah little Sugarcube safe and sound.” AJ’s ears perked as she heard Rainbow Dash’s voice, the pegasus having stood up and Rainbow trotted over to her,
“Applejack… where is Twilight?” Applejack paused for a moment before nodding to her and then to Written Dreams who was also giving the farm pony a rather fearful gaze,
“Twilight is back home at the library. She discovered the location of the next clue but… this has all taken a huge toll on her mind and body. She can‘t continue in the condition she‘s in now.” Written Dreams took in her words and slowly stood, his tail swaying for a few moments before he nodded, 
“I propose that we move to the library. It is only a matter of time before Discord comes here himself and if all of us are just sitting around here then that‘s the end of things… right there.” He looked to Rainbow Dash, “Rainbow I would like you to remain here for the time being. It‘s going to be you and Applejack who track down the clue in the crystal caves.” He then turned to the crusaders seeing the three of them looking up at him with serious expressions, “Girls, you have the ability to roam freely but I would like you to wait until the cover of darkness has fallen before you head to the library. It would be best if Discord did not see you head there. Applejack…” He looked back to her with a smile, “I‘ll watch after Twilight while you two retrieve the clue, is that alright?” Applejack slowly nodded to him with a grin,
“Ya‘ll have been workin’ this out in yer head fer a while haven‘t ya?” As Written Dreams nodded he then looked back to Rainbow Dash,
“Try stretching your wings a bit now. You should be okay to fly short distances.” The two of them then left, Rainbow Dash letting out slow breaths and showing twinges of pain on her face as she extended and brought her wing back to her side a few times,
“Man that‘s sore…”

After the two arrived at the library Applejack pushed the door open, “Ah‘m glad yer gonna be takin’ care of Twi while me an’ Rainbow are gone… Written?” She looked back at him, seeing the pegasus staring at the inside of the library with a bit of a sad look on his face,
“It‘s… been a long time since I last stepped hoof here.” Applejack looked back at him as she tilted her head a bit,
“What happened between ya’ll an’ Twilight?” The gaze of the pegasus shifted to the earth pony and he closed his eyes and shook his head, looking down a bit as he sighed,
“That is a story that Twilight and I should tell together… Rainbow Dash has heard a few of my stories while the two of you were away and she is curious as well.” He took a step inside, almost freezing as he heard his hoof touch the wood under him but he soon walked inside, letting out a slow breath. Applejack trotted up the stairs, followed by the pegasus and as Applejack entered Twilight’s bedroom Written Dreams was by her side, the two walking over to Twilight together,
“Twi… ah‘m gonna be gettin’ the clue with Rainbow. Ah brought somepony ta take care of ya while ah‘m gone…” The unicorn was breathing heavier then she was and looked unconscious but as her breathing began to regulate again her eyes steadily opened and she looked at the two with a hazy gaze, 
“AJ… be… careful…” Applejack slowly nodded to her and gave the mare’s mane a light stroke before she adjusted the ice pack on her forehead and trotted out of the room, the clopping of her hoofs fading until the two heard the door close downstairs, “Heh… I bet I looked a lot better the last time we saw each other…” She gazed up at him with a soft smile on her face, “Remember…? You… came to get… the book from me…?” Written Dreams was silent as he slowly nodded, an ashamed and sad look on the pegasi’s face. Twilight closed her eyes again and once she had fallen back to sleep, Written Dreams heaved a sigh as he shook his head still looking down at the floor,
“I could barely even look at her… such pain in those eyes.”

Applejack grinned as she opened the door to the clubhouse and Rainbow nodded to her with a determined expression, “Ready to go AJ?” Applejack nodded and the two hurried out of the clubhouse after saying a quick goodbye to the crusaders. Rainbow Dash and Applejack set their sights on Canterlot in the distance, the location of the entrance to the crystal caves still fresh in the earth pony’s mind.
The two continued running for a good twenty minutes before they finally slowed at the foot of the mountain, Rainbow Dash looking to Applejack with a grin, “Alright where do we head from here?” AJ looked around before pointing off to the side and the two began running again, climbing further towards Canterlot but before they reached the gate Applejack smiled as she trotted over to a very overgrown trail off to one side.
Rainbow Dash followed behind her closely, occasionally dodging a branch that Applejack would push out of the way. The rainbow pegasus grumbled a bit as she ducked out of the way followed by a bit of a growl, “Come on AJ I just recovered. Last thing I need is a branch to the face.” Applejack looked back at her with a bit of a nervous chuckle,
“Erm… sorry there Rainbow. Shouldn‘t be too much farth--!” Applejack suddenly fell into the ground, a wide, dark hole under her and Rainbow wasted no time leaping in after her.
Rainbow looked around quickly as her hoofs touched down within the cave, “AJ! Where are you?!” Her ears then perked as she heard a groan off to one side and she hurried over, cringing a bit as she looked down at Applejack, “You okay AJ? That was a really nasty fall…” Applejack slowly stood, brushing herself off as she nodded,
“Ah‘m fine. Jus’ surprised me is all.” She looked around with a bright smile, “Lookie there Rainbow…!” Rainbow Dash blinked before following Applejack’s awed gaze forward. The mare’s eyes lit up as she looked around the caverns before them, all glistening brightly with crystals,
“Rarity would have a field day with this place!” Applejack motioned her forward as she started to trot,
“Come on pardner, let‘s find us that clue!” Rainbow nodded with a grin and hurried after her, the two mares continuously scanning the walls as they walked.
The two of them continued through the vast caverns of crystal before eventually Rainbow Dash sat down letting out a tired huff, “Why not get as deep as we can go and just search from there? I makes sense that the clue would be there anyway.” AJ looked back at her, pausing for a moment as she brought a hoof to her chin,
“Not a bad idea Rainbow. Let‘s hurry on down then!” Applejack looked ahead and grinned, hopping into a mine cart and looked back at Rainbow Dash as it started moving, “Come on Rainbow!” The pegasus blinked before rushing over and jumped into the mine cart as it continued to roll along the tracks. 
As the cart started to pick up speed Applejack threw her arms in the air while laughing loudly and Rainbow Dash grinned, “I bet at the top of my game I could go way faster then this thing!”

Written Dreams let out a sigh as he stroked Twilight’s mane, the unicorn’s face flushed as she sweated. The pegasus lifted a cool rag and wiped her brow before setting it on the side table and smiled at her, “Your fever has gone down a bit…” The light purple unicorn then opened her eyes, yawning before she looked over to him with a blushing smile,
“Will you tell me a story…?” Written Dreams paused for a moment before slowly nodding to her. He sat up before he stood and motioned to a glass of water to her side,
“Drink some more water while I think of one.” Twilight did as she was instructed, her hoofs taking the glass into them as she sat up a bit and drank a bit,
“It‘s so weird not using magic…”
“It‘s for the best that you don‘t… you need to rest your mind as much as possible… How about the time I met Fluttershy?” As Twilight nodded to him with a bright smile on her face, Written Dreams stepped up onto the bed and laid down against the blanket at the foot of the bed.


Written Dreams let out a slow breath as he trotted out of the Everfree Forest, rolling his neck and flexing his wings before he looked around, “I wonder if there really is a cure for that curse…” His ear then perked and he looked off to his right, seeing a large cottage sitting at the edge of the forest, “I wonder who could be living there.” He then started trotting over, soon passing over a small bridge over a small creek and continued to look around. He paused after a moment though, as an almost heavenly singing voice drifted into his ears. 
The pegasi’s eyes drifted around, following the sound of the singing until he saw her, a light yellow pegasus with a lighter shade of pink mane. Her singing faded as she stopped and landed at the far end of the creek, standing before a few ducks that looked very happy to see her, “There now little friends, I have your lunch for you.” her hoof pushed into a small bucket at her hoofs and she took out a pile of green flakes before tossing them out into the pond. She then turned her head and her eyes fixed on Written Dreams. She stared at him for a few moments before letting out a loud ‘Eep!’ and ducking behind a bush, her large eyes the only thing that could be seen inside of it. 
Written Dreams paused a bit as he stared at her, seemingly mulling a few thoughts around in his head before he finished crossing the small bridge and instead of trotting over to the pony inside of the bush he laid down next to the bucket of food and started tossing a few out to the ducks, watching them eat it with a smile on his face. 
He continued doing this for a number of minutes before his ear perked as he heard her approaching from behind him, “Um… p-please don‘t feed them too much…”
“My name is Written Dreams.” He turned his head to look back at her with a gentle smile on his face, “May I know yours?” She fell silent for a moment, taking a step back as he looked at her but her hoof set back down onto the grass as she gave him a timid look, 
“I‘m… Fluttershy…” 
“The element of kindness is fitting to you Fluttershy.” The two were silent for a moment, both trying to find further things to talk about before Fluttershy finally let out a slow breath and pushed her bangs from in front of her face,
“So… I noticed you coming out of the forest earlier… can… can I ask what you were doing inside?” The dark blue pegasi’s eyes lit up and he grinned towards her,
“Well I‘m a bit of a treasure hunter! Right now I‘m looking for something very special and a few of the clues have been within the forest so far. The next one kind of concerns me though.” Written Dreams noticed a curious expression on the adorable pegasi’s face and his smile softened a bit more as he continued to look towards her, “My next destination is the ursa’s cave.” Fluttershy’s expression almost instantly turned to one of dread as she shook her head and pressed her front hoofs into his chest,
“YOU CAN‘T GO THERE!!” Written Dreams took a step back, the mare falling back onto all fours as he tilted his head at her,
“I‘ll have to be extra careful then won‘t I?” Fluttershy was giving him a bit of an embarrassed look after she had shouted at him but she still gave him a pleading look,
“You don‘t understand though… the ursas are incredibly vicious and protective of their cave… if you wake one of them up then--” She was cut off seeing Written Dreams still grinning at her,
“What‘s living without taking risks sometimes? Pretty sure I‘ve been through worse then some big, old, celestial bears… want to come with me?” Fluttershy fell completely silent as she just stared at him with a look like she was trying to process what he just asked her,
“Well… I mean… I have a lot to do around here and the animals need me…” Written Dreams raised an eyebrow before he chuckled lightly and shook his head,
“Now you‘re just making excuses. It won‘t take more then an hour tops. Come on, let‘s go have an adventure, if only this one time.” The pegasus was noticeably blushing as she watched him closely,
“I… but… they‘re so big and… and scary.” He raised a hoof and touched it to her shoulder,
“I promise Fluttershy, I will get you out of there if anything bad happens.” Fluttershy silently nodded before cracking a small smile.
A short while later the two were at the entrance of the forest and Written Dreams caught the timid look of the pegasus, giving her a smile before he started to trot into the forest, “Another reason I asked you to come with me… is that I don‘t know where the cave is exactly.” Fluttershy seemed to have opened up a bit more over the short time they had spent together and let out a small giggle before she pointed off to the upper right,
“There is a path just a little ways in… and the cave is not very far down the path.” The two didn’t talk much as they walked down the path and soon turned to the right, Written Dreams gazing up at the enormous cave before the two of them,
“Now how did I miss that…?” He started to trot towards it once again and he soon paused at the mouth of the cave, looking back at her with a grin, “Coming?” Fluttershy looked from right to left quickly before she shook her head rapidly a few times. Written Dreams then raised an eyebrow before chuckling, “Well then… I hope you enjoy your time out here alone in the forest!” He then walked into the cave, Fluttershy letting out a loud eep and she then rushed to his side in less then a second and she cautiously looked around the inside of the cave as they both trotted inside.