Soon after entering the tunnel, Twilight discovered that the downward-sloping path was wide enough for she, Pennington, and Luna to all walk abreast, and the three of them all were allowing their horns to glow and light the way.
They walked in silence for a long time, both waiting for Luna to start the conversation. The walls around them began to glint with the shine and glow of crystals as they moved deeper and deeper into the earth and smelled old and musty, as if the cave had existed for thousands of years. Twilight couldn't help but wonder where they were going.
Neither she nor Pennington seemed to want to speak, and it took some time for Luna to finally speak up again.
"Pennington, you are familiar with Twilight's position in regards to my sister?"
"Of course... Twilight is Celestia's personal protege, studying under her tutoring and reporting her findings. She reports directly to the Princess, herself." Pennington smiled, giving Twilight a warm glance. "She's so smart and so strong, Celestia took a personal role in her studies and training."
Luna nodded quietly. "Very true... What I had in mind for you was similar, though also quite different."
Pennington stopped in his tracks, obviously in shock. After a few seconds, he shook off the initial shock and ran to catch up. "Y-Your highness, I- I- I'm at a loss for words! And that's saying something..."
"Pennington, please, need I remind you? Call me Luna." She was obviously trying not to laugh at his reaction, but she didn't hide her grin at all. "But please, allow me to explain a few things..."
"You know for a fact that I cannot attend to all matters personally, I am more often than not tied to the castle by my duties and responsibilities..." As Pennington nodded his understanding, Luna continued. "I know that you have travelled across the world, done and experienced things that some ponies only dream about, and seen much more than I have the time to... I would like to ask you to help me. As my personal protege, I would like you to send me letters and materials from your journeys, describing everything in detail. I would also like for you to occasionally act on my behalf on international affairs when you happen to be in the areas of current negotiations... your latent empathetic abilities from the changelings would make you invaluable in such matters."
Pennington looked at her with a mix of surprise and suspicion. "How did you know that I could-"
"I saw what would be taken and what would remain after your healing during the expulsion process." Luna looked over at Pennington, her expression more sincere. "But, of course, the exchange would not be one-way. As my protege, you would have access to any resources you may need, along with the ability to contact me any time. I would also continue to monitor your problems with sleep paralysis through your dreams, and would be willing to help you should some sort of emergency arise."
Pennington's eyes were lit up with joy, and Twilight smiled at the sight of him being so happy.
"Yes, yes, of course, Princess- I mean- Luna! Thank you!"
"Thank you, Pennington! I have long needed somepony I could trust to help me with matters I cannot attend to personally." Luna smiled as they reached an open cavern, and Twilight's jaw dropped. Somehow, they had walked into one of the restricted sections of the Royal Archives! There were huge shelves lined with books, lit by a few torches high above them, casting faded light downwards. The entire room seemed to have some kind of invisible barrier from the caves around it, because the musty, dank smell of humidity on stone had been replaced by the cool, clean, dry air that Twilight easily recognized as the ideal temperature for storing more ancient and easily damaged tomes. She felt her heart skip a beat as spine by leather-bound spine revealed intriguing titles in filigreed script, embossed in precious metals and embedded with gems. She could hardly contain her excitement as she began to bounce up and down in place. She looked over at Princess Luna, silently asking for permission to browse the library, but felt her hope fall when she shook her head in denial.
"There are two more matters of business for you, however, Pennington. The first and foremost being that I do not wish for you to work alone." Luna rapped her hoof on the wall, sending a series of knocks echoing through the room. "While I do my best to help you, I cannot be your guardian angel. There are other ponies who need my help, as well... So, I would like for you to take on an assistant, both for your writing and your 'adventures.'"
Pennington looked down at himself, then back up at Luna, obviously remembering for the first time in several minutes that he still looked like Scorching Quill. "P-Princess, please! I don't really need an assistant! You can ask Twilight, the last time that I had somepony come with me on an adventure, I nearly died! And- I mean- I'm not even in my real colors!"
"She is meant to assist you in every aspect of your life, including your second life as Scorching Quill." Luna grinned at Pennington, then turned back towards the shelves, obviously expecting something to happen. A look of slight irritation crossed her face as only silence continued, and she knocked out the same rhythm on the wall again. "As for your trips and explorations, she has proven herself to be quite capable in a tight position, and I do believe that she may be a greater asset than a hinderance..." She seemed to grow more irritated, and started to tap on the wall again before finally abandoning it. "Moonstone!" The call, obviously this mysterious assistant's name, seemed to illicit no reply. "MOONSTONE!" This time, Twilight and Pennington both cringed as Luna began to slip into the Royal Canterlot Voice.
"Coming!" A small voice cried out at last, accompanied by the fluttering of wings. Twilight and Pennington both watched as a small creature rose into sight above the shelves. It flew in an almost batlike way, flitting above the long rows of books and silently arriving in a matter of seconds. When she landed in front of them, Twilight found herself to be staring at a small dragon.
She landed directly in front of Pennington, looking hopefully up into his eyes, as if they held some kind of answer that she was desperate to know. These few seconds of inspection allowed Twilight to take in the details of the young hatchling.
She was obviously older than Spike, standing almost half a head taller than him and almost at eye level with Pennington. Her scales were a faded purple, as were her eyes, which held a shade only slightly darker. Her underbelly and scales beneath her tail shone a bright silver with only a slight amaranthine tint. The spanning flesh of the wings was the same color as her underbelly, held taut by spans of lavender bone that jutted out from the underside of her arms. A set of long spikes on her head and frills on either side of her face, along with claws on her hands, toes, and spines on her rapidly flicking tail were all a deep black.
Her eyes flickered from Pennington's eyes to his bandaged legs, to his cutie mark, then back to his eyes in rapid succession.
"Why did you dye your hair?" She asked, blinking in confusion.
Pennington shook his head for a moment. "Well, I- It's for protecting my identity... I write under a different name than I-"
"Not that!" She leaned closer, staring more intently. "I mean your orange-ish hair. Why did you dye it blue?"
Twilight blinked in confusion, trying to understand what the little dragon was talking about. After a few seconds, what Front Page had told her in the library surfaced in her memory.
Well, you see, that's not his real mane color... It's more of a burnt auburn. He gets it from his mother's side of the family...
"Oh! Pennington, she means 'why do you dye your mane blue?' Your dad mentioned that it wasn't your real color..." Twilight chuckled when Pennington facehoofed at the mention of his father spilling his secret.
"Because I like blue better than orange..." He waved off Moonstone's question, but she grabbed him by the ear and pulled him down again, forcing a locked perspective again. "Ow!"
"This is important to me. If we start off lying to each other, this will never work!" She gave him what seemed like a mix of a glare and a pout. "So, please tell me the truth..."
"Moonstone has a very unique ability..." Luna smiled, obviously holding back a small giggle with a hoof to her mouth. "She can see through a lie or disguise with ease. Truths are harder for her to find, but she can see a liar right off the bat..."
"Ow! Fine! I dyed it because I hate the side of the family it comes from, okay? Sheesh!" Pennington jerked his head away, and this time Moonstone let go.
Sorry about that, but... Luna told me I should try to make an impression." At this point, Moonstone's face began to darken in a small amount of blushing. "Was that good?"
"I meant that you should make an impression on his mind, not a dent in his ear..." Luna chuckled. "But you did well." She turned to Pennington, who was still rubbing his ear. "Moonstone comes from an ancient an prestigious line of dragons, who allow their younger members to choose to come to Canterlot at a young age and help us in some of the matters that we wouldn't trust to simple ponies..." She grinned. "In return, those dragons are given training in their latent abilities, such as Moonstone's ability to see truth, and both sides receive a better relationship, and our international relations become stronger."
"So, it's like a foreign exchange study for dragons?" Twilight asked, tilting her head in an effort to understand. "Moonstone wasn't hatched in Equestria, like Spike?"
"Nope!" Moonstone beamed proudly, obviously happy under all of the attention. "I was born far away from here, in the ancestral nesting grounds of my family!"
"I trust that the two of you will work well together!" Luna grinned, despite the shocked look on Pennington's face.
"She almost tore my ear off!"
"I'm sorry!" Moonstone seemed to be panicking, now, and looked back at Luna for support. "I was just trying to do what Luna told me!"
Luna gave Moonstone a reassuring smile, then shot a tense glare at Pennington. "I chose the two of you because you are both resilient, hard-working, and resourceful. As much as you may not believe it, I know that you two will come to be great partners. Pennington, I hope that you will not judge Moonstone by one misunderstanding! I expect more from you." When Pennington's head drooped and his eyes shifted to the side in shame, Twilight knew that Luna's words had struck hard.
"Well, I'm Pennington Inkwell..." He looked back at Moonstone with a weak smile, holding out a hoof. "It's a painful pleasure to meet you..." When Moonstone smiled again and looked up at him with a small chuckle, things were starting to look better. "I'm sorry if I overreacted..."
"I'm Moonstone, and the pleasure is all mine! I'm sorry if I overreacted..." She took his hoof in her claws and gently shook it with a quickly-widening grin. "You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to this!"
Pennington looked back at Luna, one eyebrow slightly arched, and she nodded her approval. With a sheepish grin, he looked back to Moonstone "Well, you'll most likely be just grabbing paper and ink for me while I'm writing... Pretty boring stuff."
"Not exactly..." Luna walked back to the two, her expression one of bemused satisfaction at Pennington and Moonstone's quick remedying of their fight. "There is one more thing that I have to ask you for... But it isn't one to be taken lightly. It will be very dangerous, require much traveling both within and possibly without Equestria, and will mandate that you face the greatest dangers..."
"Okay, what's the part I should be worried about?" Pennington winked at Twilight, but she shook her head quietly, nodding her head towards Luna's lack of amusement.
"Pennington, I would like to ask you for a commission. I wish for you to compile a beastiary. One detailing all of the dangers living in Equestria, for both education and protection of cross-country travelers." She smiled smugly as Pennington's jaw dropped. "You will need to write a detailed description of each type of danger and creature, whether magical or simply due to physical properties. Your travel expenses will be paid for, as will any hospital bills. I trust that there won't be any need for funeral arrangements, but... they will be provided, if necessary." She gave him an unsure glance, but Pennington gave her a wink and joking salute.
"Princess, you can count on me! I have no intention of dying!"
"No one does..." She whispered, forcing Pennington to take on a more somber tone.
A spark lit in Twilight's mind as she recognized the task as being one she had read about before. "But, Luna, isn't there already a beastiary? It was written by-"
"Quill the Scribe!" Moonstone surprisingly cut Twilight off in mid-factoid, obviously excited at the opportunity to speak. "He was one of Equestria's first adventurers, traveling the land soon after Canterlot's founding as the first pony colony! His original beastiary is actually kept here, in this restricted section of the library!"
Pennington's head whipped towards Moonstone in shock, eyes wide. "Really? Quill is my hero! I'd do anything to see one of his original manuscripts! His record of Equestria's founders is considered the first adventure novel to be published in the entire history of the country, and he wrote dozens more! I even named my pseudonym after him, 'Scorching Quill!'" He looked up at Luna, somewhat in shock. "You want me... to replace his work?"
"Not replace... Simply update." Luna gave him an understanding smile, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "I know that you hold Quill's work in the highest regard, Pennington, and I would not ask you to unseat your hero. However, Quill's beastiary has become outdated. There are new dangers in Equestria that ponies don't understand, and evil has been changing over the centuries. Ponies are getting hurt because they don't understand what is out there. Ponies who trust my sister and I to keep them safe." The princess smiled at Pennington again, looking him directly in the eye. "Pennington Inkwell, can I count on you to help me protect my subjects?"
Pennington paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded solemnly. "Princess, it would be my honor. It is a privilege to continue Quill's work, and an honor to act on your behalf." He took a moment, then looked down at Moonstone, obviously unsure.
"I'm with you every step of the way, Penn!" The dragonet chirped happily.
"Whether you want her there or not..." Luna raised a mischievous eyebrow. "Moonstone is not just an assistant that you can leave behind whenever you want to do something dangerous. She is to stay by your side as often as possible." She gave Pennington a half-joking glare. "Lily told me a lot about how you have several self-detrimental habits..."
"Lily exaggerates!" Pennington cast a glare to the side, obviously annoyed that Lily had "tattled" on him.
"Well... She has a point..." Twilight muttered quietly. "You don't exactly put much thought into your own well-being..."
"Twilight exaggerates!"
"Regardless, Moonstone... I want you to watch out for Pennington's well-being, as well. Make sure that he takes care of himself."
"Luna, you don't have to do that!" Pennington was on the verge of whining at this point. "I can take perfectly good care of myself, I'm a grown stallion!"
"I'll make sure, Luna..." Moonstone did a very bad job of hiding her smile as she cast a glance between Pennington and Luna. "He'll be fine."
"Good!" Luna nodded her approval and turned back towards the corridor that they had come from. "I already have a ticket for the train from Canterlot to Ponyville for Moonstone. If you need anything else to set up her living quarters, I can provide it..."
"Don't worry, Luna. I have an extra room." Pennington began to follow Luna, nodding his head for Moonstone to follow. "I can set her up in the upstairs."
"Well, I'd actually be happy with a cozy little fireplace!" Moonstone ran to catch up until Twilight lifted her up and onto her back, trotting along down the long corridor. "I mean, I get a little dirty, but, for a dragon, a pile of toasty embers is every bit as comfortable as a bed!"
"Spike told me about that, once!" Twilight replied, trying to get involved in the conversation. "Except I never let him because it gets him so dirty..."
"Well, it actually helps burn out what the baths can't get! Cleans out under the scales..." Moonstone reached up and scratched at her head.
"Well, I do have a fireplace... in my study..." Pennington said quietly.
Twilight raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Your study? The one with a dozen locks on it? The one that you never let anyone into?"
"Yes!" Pennington snapped at her, nearly bearing his teeth with the growl. Instantly, he seemed to notice his own tone, and replied again, this time more kindly. "Yes, my private study. Accessible only to myself and my assistants..."
Twilight could understand why Pennington was so stressed. When she had been given Spike to take care of as a child, she had quickly learned that there was more to taking care of a sentient creature than simply what it took to take care of a pet. She knew that Pennington was going to be taking on a lot of responsibility, and he knew it, as well. Not only that, but he had just had the pressure of being Luna's student thrust upon him and had his ability to take care of himself blatantly insulted.
"It's a lot of pressure, isn't it?" Twilight asked quietly as she came up alongside him. "You know how much pressure is on you to look good, now. To represent the princess that chose you... to prove to yourself that you deserve to have the position."
"Well, among other things..." He muttered, giving her a weak smile. "Yeah... Is this what it feels like for you every day?"
"Well, it was at first..." Twilight smiled. "It all just seemed like too much. I didn't feel like I was good enough to be learning from Princess Celestia herself!" Twilight looked back at Moonstone, then levitated the dragon up and onto Pennington's back, instead. "But, after a long time, she told me something that changed everything for me. She told me, 'Twilight, I'm trying to help you because of what you can become, but I chose you because of who you are now.'" As Pennington looked back at Moonstone, she nodded her agreement. "So the best thing that you can do is to be yourself ,act like you always have, and just try to do what she asks you to!"
"That's all that you really need to do!" Moonstone chimed in, wrapping her winged arms around his neck. "Luna told me a lot about you before we met, and she really thinks highly of you!" She seemed to be trying to cheer him up, as well. "And, if you don't want me around... I mean... I can always-"
"No! No, Moonstone, it's not you..." Pennington smiled, giving her a warm glance. "It was just a bit of a surprise to me to suddenly have you as my assistant... Felt like things were flying out of control."
"That's okay, Penn! I understand. Looks like we both messed up under pressure!" Moonstone gave Pennington a hug from behind, and Pennington began to chuckle. The two of them began to laugh as the tension of the moment melted away.
This is a big change for him... But he's doing well... Twilight smiled as the two of them seemed to finally be starting to get along, just as she and Spike had over time. Hopefully things will only get better with time...
"What do you mean, 'I'm not coming?'" Twilight's jaw dropped at Pennington's response when they reached the train station. He had washed off the dye to avoid a crowd in public, and after quickly replacing his bandages in private (He still refused to let Twilight see the wounds on his legs), the two of them had walked to the train station.
"Just what I said! I'm going to stay in Canterlot for a few more days, at least until I don't need these bandages, any more." He gave her a confident grin and a wink, trying to assuage her fears. "I'll be back before you know it!"
Twilight looked down, her spirits falling. "And let me guess... You're staying with Lily?"
"Well... yes..." Pennington tilted his head in confusion. "What? Is that a problem?"
"I just wonder..." Twilight glanced up again, slightly embarrassed. "The two of you seem to get along so well, and you went to her when you had a problem that you couldn't solve on your own..."
Pennington's expression changed quickly from confusion to one of regret, his lips pulling themselves into a tight line and his eyes shifting to the side.
"Oh... Right. I see. You want to know about Lily and I, right? You want to know if the two of us might do anything behind your back."
"No! No- I know you wouldn't do anything like that!" Twilight reeled back in surprise, finally raising her head from its slumped position.
"No it's a legitimate point... An unfortunate majority of stallions these days aren't exactly respectable..." Pennington let out a long sigh.
"Oh, if only you could see what I can..." Moonstone shuddered. "I don't think I want to know what the dark secrets I was seeing were... Speaking of which, Penn-"
"Moonstone, give me just a minute with Twilight?" Pennington muttered the words through gritted teeth, making Twilight wonder what had happened to the budding friendship that she had seen only moments before. Moonstone's face lit up with understanding, and she nodded and took a few steps back. Pennington took a deep breath, then continued.
"Lily and I are a long story, Twilight... Too long to tell before you miss your train. But, long story short, Lily and I considered that we might be each other's special somepony, but we disagreed on a few key things... Things that made us both agree to go our separate ways when it came to romance." He gave her a bittersweet smile. "I suppose that you could say that Lily and I are an 'alternate ending' in the back of my life story. If things hadn't gone the way that they had, it may have worked... But she wanted me to settle down in my prime, to take what I had and leave for a quiet life. She wanted to have foals and a family... But I wasn't ready for that."
Twilight blinked in surprise. She had been right about Pennington and Lily having a relationship, but she had never imagined that the two of them had gotten to the point of considering something as serious as having foals!
"So, what happened?"
"Just what I said... We went our separate ways. I set up shop in Ponyville and started writing, and she decided to follow her dream of leaving the small-town life for the big city. We've kept in touch, and we stayed best friends..." He shrugged quietly, as if acknowledging the hopelessness of the situation. "I've always come to her whenever I'm banged up after a trip, she always takes good care of me, just like I would for her, and she has some of the steadiest hooves I've seen. That's why I came to her for help and not you... In return, she knows that she can come to me for help if she's ever running low on cash..." He looked from side to side, as if he were about to tell some kind of secret. "By the way, if she asks, you have no idea why she didn't get a bill for the rent this month."
Twilight nodded in understanding, grinning at the thought of how the proud pony would react to having her rent paid for her. "So.. you're just best friends? There's no chance of-"
"None." Pennington leaned forward, bringing his face close to hers. "You're the only one for me, Twilight... You should know that by now..."
Twilight smiled as she felt her worries melt away. "I'm presuming that your leaning so close means that you're well enough to-"
"ALL ABOARD!" The conductor's voice rang out, cutting their intimate moment short. Both of them cringed, and Pennington nodded towards the open turnstiles.
"You'd better go. There will be plenty of time for that later..."
Twilight nodded and began to walk away, then turned around and ran back, planting a peck on his cheek. With that, she ran back through the turnstile and onto the train.
"Three days!" She called from the open window. "Three days, then I want to see you!"
"Make it five, just in case!" Pennington called in return, waving his bandaged blue hoof. "But I'll be there! I love you, Twilight!"
"I love you, Pennington!"
Once Twilight's train was out of sight, Moonstone returned to Pennington's side.
"Sorry about blowing up on you like that. I was just-"
"Trying to get me to stop talking? Trust me, anger that faked was totally transparent to me." She waved off his concern with ease. "But why were you lying to her about why you're staying in Canterlot? What kind of secret would be worth lying to her for?"
"Well, I didn't lie... I really do need to stay here for a few more days to heal. But Moonstone, I only condone lying for two reasons: to save someone or to prepare a surprise." He gave her a mischievous wink. "This falls under the second category."
The dragon grinned and rubbed her hands together, mimicking his playful attitude. "Oh! And what kind of surprise were you thinking of?
"Well, that depends... How good are you with gemstones and jewelry?"
"Delicious! In fact, I was wondering when we were going to have lunch!"
Pennington took a moment to stare at her as if she had gone insane.
"For Twilight! I want to get her a nice gift after she's waited so long! I couldn't ask anypony to do that for me, and she did it out of love!" As the concept seemed to finally sink in for Moonstone, Pennington looked around the plaza that they were standing in. "Normally, the skilled crafters work in the inner parts of the city... So we should head towards the castle... Maybe Luna can point us towards a few shops!" He was starting to walk away when a thought struck him.
"You eat gemstones?"