//------------------------------// // chapter 8: Blast to the past // Story: Quill's Journal (a.k.a. The journey to the center of Equestria) // by Waterwitch222 //------------------------------// "I can't believe it, YA ASH BRUSH'S BROTHER!?" Firecracker shouted in disbelief. Turner wiped a tear from his eye and stared at the tangerine pony. "Yeah. What's it to you?" he ventured. While the two ponies yelled at each other about who should have been there for Ash, Quill could hardly get the look of disbelief off of her face. She now understood why Turner kept to himself so much of the time, and why he moved back to Ponyville after that attack in Canterlot. All of the sudden, Quill felt her mind begin to drift toward memories of her childhood, memories she hasn't visited in a long time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -8 years ago- It was a whole summer after Quill had earned her cutie mark, and she had just begun her last school year before graduation, and she was determined to make the most of it. The classes she was to take this year sounded fun, her new teacher Ms. Pencil Sketch was nice, and Quill had succeeded in befriending a megenta colored filly named Cheerilee. It was after lunch and Quill and Cheerilee had claimed the swingset when the fighting started. A dark pink filly and purple maned filly were cornering a colt against the school wall, shouting and laughing. "What's going on?" Quill questioned. "I don't know, but it hardly sounds good." Cheerilee answered squinting under the sun's gaze. "Oh gosh! It's Lily Blossum and Berry Punch! They're picking on some colt from our class!" Cheerilee gasped, when she spotted the situation at hoof. "Can't we do something?" Quill asked, jumping off the swing. "I don't know." Cheerilee answered. Quill began to adjust her fedora and thought deeply to herself. She suddenly got an idea, her blue eyes squinting in triumph. "Alright. I'll go over there and keep Lily and Berry off him as long as I can while you go get a teacher." "But what if..." "Just do it Cheerilee, he needs us!" Quill interupted, cutting off Cheerilee's protests. Cheerilee nodded nervously an trotted quickly toward the school entrance. Quill breathed deeply and began to gallop toward the wall. "C'mon Turner, you say you have your cutie mark, so let's see it!" Lily ventured, leaning closer to the colt, who was clutching a saddle bag close to his side. "W-why do you need to see it? Can't you just take my word for it and l-leave me alone?" the colt stammered. "Sorry bud, but we need some proof if you wanna keep yourself hidden this year." Berry crowed, stomping her hoof in front of him. The colt pushed his glasses up his nose and gulped. Sweat dripped down his face as his golden eyes searched wildly for a way out. "HA! I knew it! You don't have a cutie mark! You made it up!" Lily shouted in triumph as she yanked the colt's saddle bag away, causing gears and its of metal to fall out and his blank flank to be revealed. "Nice try BLANK FLANK! But nopony can ever lie to US!" Berry yelled, as she and Lily began to chant "blank flank" over and over. That was Quill's cue. She jumped out of a bush and in front of the grey colt, her blue eyes glinting in confidence. "So what if he doesn't have a cutie mark? He's still a pony just like you." Quill said firmly, moving the brim of her fedora out of her face. "Coming from the pegasus who CAN'T FLY!" Lily crowed, gesturing to Quill's wings. The colt saw her face fall for a moment and straighten back to a firm stare. "So? Flying has nothing to do with my talent or my cutie mark, like how bullying has nothing to do with your's. He may not have found his destiny yet, but he's TEN TIMES the pony you could ever be because he's not being mean or stuck up like YOU TWO!" Lily and Berry huffed in disapointment and walked away...right into the teacher. While the two ponies got the talking to of a lifetime, the colt turned to his savior with a shy smile. "Um thanks. You really saved my neck." he said quietly. "No prob. Those two wouldn't know kindness if it came up and bit them, but no reason they should mess with you." Quill answered. She looked at the colt from his grey coat to his golden eyes, but she didn't know him in the slightest. "I don't think we've met. Were you in a different class last year or something?" she asked bluntly. "Um, maybe?" he answered shyly. "Thought so. I'm Quill." she ventured, lifting her hoof for a hoofbump. He stared at her a moment, surprised that a pony not only spoke to him, but was going out of her way to be nice to him too. He never had a real friend before, being a bit odd to most ponies, but he wasn't going to pass up the chance! He gave a big smile and bumped his hoof against Quill's. "Nice to meet you. I'm Time Turner." After that, the two were practically inseperable. Hanging out, exploring Ponyville with Cheerilee (who earned her cutie mark during a campout near the Everfree Forest.), and even taking on small tasks around town to earn a bit or two (which earned Turner his hourglass cutie mark after he cleverly fixed a broken gear mechanism in the broken Ponyville clock tower when they were supposed to just hand the work ponies tools, thus getting it working again.) Even after Turner and his family moved to Canterlot to live with grandparents, the two foals kept in touch through letter and became very chatty pen pals. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -last year- Quill had just finished a letter to Turner about her co-writing with A.K Yearling and of an awesome secret she discovered. She was sealing the envelope when she heard a knock on her door. "Hmm. Wonder who that could be?" she wondered aloud, walking to the door cautiously. She opened the door to find a familiar stallion on her doorstep. Time Turner. Quill knew time had passed since their school days but Turner had changed quite a bit. His glasses were now gone and his wavy dark grey mane was now left loose instead of being combed back and covered in hair gel (he was such a neat freak at the time) Quill also noticed that the cheerful glint in his golden eyes was gone, replaced with a serious look of sadness she never saw in him before. Despite all of this, she pulled him into a hug, which he returned with a small smile. He stayed with her for a few days then moved into an apartment above his new clock shop Gear's Galore, which he had owned ever since. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quill opened her eyes quickly and looked about. Turner and Firecracker were staring at her as if she's gone insane. "Quill, are you alright? You look like you just saw a ghost." Turner said in concern. "And ya eyes were all glowy and white. Ya looked possessed." Firecracker added bluntly, earning a glare from Turner. "I-I saw us Turner. When we were foals. It felt like I was reliving our past. I felt both our feelings, saw every little detail of everything, saw the pain in your eyes when you showed up on my doorstep. It was like I was looking through the eyes of two ponies, me and you. It was so cool and so creepy at the same time." she explained, feeling her body relax when Turner put an arm around her. "Aw, so memorable. Now, what are we gonna do 'bout Ash!?" Firecracker asked impatiantly. "He could be miles away by now and I ain't waitin around for him to be set free." "Firecracker..." Turner started. "Firecracker? Is that your name?" Quill asked her, interupting Turner's response. "Yeah, gotta problem wit it?" Firecracker replied. "No, I like it." Quill said with a smile. "As I was saying, he's my brother so I understand that his rescue is certainly top priority. And, I actually think I know where he is." "You do?" the two mares asked. "Yeah. In my dream, I saw the changeling queen in the Badlands, it looked like the three of us were fighting to get to the amulet of balence from her. If my hunch is correct, she took my brother there to use him to find the amulet, as I know that he lost his sense of sight, which means his other four senses got hightened. So I think if we find the amulet, we'll find Ash." Turner explained. "That's what you two have been arguing about while I was in limbo?" Quill asked. "Pretty much." Turner said with a shrug. "Good enough for me." Quill replied. "You coming Firecracker? We can't do this without you apparently." "All o' ya are just followin da guidence of a stallion's dream and a dead pony'smap to find some imaginary artifact that's being hunted by a shapeshifting royal phyco?" Firecracker ranted. The two ponies nodded. "Ya crazy. Da two o' ya's." Firecracker said. The ponies shrugged and walked away. "HEY! I didn't say I wasn't comin!" Firecracker cried, running to the two surprised travelers. "Ash is like a brother ta me. If ya hunch is right, and Ash's fate is intertwined with Equestria's, then i'm not gonna let ya two have all da fun. I'm in!" The two ponies smiled and began walking forward, with a new destination in mind, a new plan, a new drive to complete the quest, and a new pony along for the ride. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------