“So mister Dreams…?” It had been two and a half days since Rainbow Dash’s encounter with the griffon Gilda, the sun sitting high in the sky as the blue pegasus looked over to Scootaloo. The little filly had been reluctant to ever leave Rainbow Dash’s side while she recovered and only did when plans for the crusaders to ‘crusade’ made her leave. Most of Rainbow Dash’s wounds had closed up and the splints on her wing had been removed although she couldn’t move it much as it was still stiff while healing. Rainbow Dash was laying on top of a blanket that had been folded into a makeshift bed for her some two days ago and although she could walk a bit she still wanted to heal quickly so she didn’t do that often. Rainbow Dash slept soundly with Written Dreams laying next to her still, a bandage around her torso and very few still around her wing to hold the bone in place while it healed. She also had a few bandages around her legs and a larger bandage over her shoulder. Her mane and tail, along with her coat were back to their normal sheen after being cleaned a day ago,
“What‘s up Scootaloo? Not helping to plan activities with the other crusaders?” The little orange pegasus looked up at him with a light and genuine smile,
“I was only wondering, are you a doctor? When you brought Rainbow Dash here… you knew just what to do. That was really cool!” Written Dreams’ expression turned from one of mild curiosity to a neutral happiness, a soft smile appearing on the pegasi’s face as he shook his head, his mane swaying a little as he did so,
“I‘m not a doctor. When you travel and read as much as I do it‘s good to know basic survival tools. And me, I sometimes travel with a companion or two with me so I went ahead and learned some about the anatomy… the body structure of pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies. Also CPR is important to know as well.”
“CPR?” Scootaloo said as she tilted her head, looking up at him with deep curiosity in her eyes,
“That‘s what I was doing when Rainbow‘s heart had stopped. That pushing on the chest and blowing air into her mouth.” Scootaloo listened patiently over the next few minutes as Written Dreams talked with her about basic survival techniques and he soon laughed a bit as he shook his head, “But mainly the things I know are out of a ‘better safe then sorry’ kind of mindset. Did you have any more questions for me?” Scootaloo thought for a moment as he said this, bringing her hoof to her chin before she shook her head,
“Um… not right now but if I think of anything I‘ll be sure to let you know!” Written Dreams nodded to her, his smile still remaining on his face before he brought a hoof forward and patted her mane,
“When Rainbow wakes up I‘m gonna tell her about the time I met Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Sometime tonight I think.”
“Oh man that sounds cool! Make sure that we‘re back before you tell it though!”
“I couldn‘t let you all miss it if you‘re this excited about it already.” The dark blue pegasus said before letting out a laugh. Scootaloo soon left to rejoin the other crusaders on the other side of the clubhouse, the three writing occasionally along with drawing their various plans for different ways to earn their cutie marks. Written Dreams’ ears would twitch on occasion, hearing Sweetie Belle humming a gentle tune, his gaze turning to the three fillies and seeing Applebloom drawing what seemed to be blueprints on the floor. His gaze slowly turned to Scootaloo’s scooter, which was propped up against the wall to the left of the door. He smiled gently as he looked to the three before slowly shaking his head with a small laugh, “Someday.”
Twilight groaned as she sat up, shaking her head a few times before she opened her eyes, gazing around her at the dark cave the two ponies had stayed the night in as they continued on their path towards the dragon migration grounds. Twilight stood, walking to the mouth of the cave before she peered out into the afternoon sunlight, “Noon already…? I must have been more tired then I thought.” She then paused and looked around blinking, “Applejack? Where are you?!” Twilight heard a whistle and looked to her right, a small campfire burning and the farm pony sitting next to it with a frying pan’s handle in her hoof. Twilight tilted her head as she walked over to her, her expression of worry turning to a light smile, “What‘s on the menu AJ?” Applejack’s gaze was on the food within the pan and she looked up at Twilight Sparkle, dumping half of it onto a plate before handing it to her,
“Ah think you‘ll like it Twi. Ah snagged a bit oh cinnamon from the barn when we were back at Sweet Apple Acres an I thought it might be good on eggs. Lemme know whatcha think!” Twilight blinked as she looked down at her plate, scrambled eggs with a light dashing of cinnamon. Twilight paused as she raised an eyebrow, looking back up at Applejack who was looking at her with an expecting grin on her face. Twilight then shrugged as she took a bite, thinking for a moment as she tasted the flavor before she grinned happily towards her friend,
“Applejack this is an amazing combination! It‘s delicious!” Applejack let out a laugh, serving herself the rest on her own plate before she sat down and began eating,
“Hehe, just goes to show you that experimenting can lead to some pretty good stuff!” The mares both shared a mutual giggle as they ate their meals before Twilight placed her aura around the fire and put it out, turning back to Applejack with a light smile,
“We should get there in an hour or two if we run the whole way.”
“Yeehaw! Let‘s get on the road then Twi!” Applejack yelled as she reared up on her hind legs and took off down the road before Twilight giggled and ran after her, catching up to her before long and the two ran together, not talking much as they ran, their expressions that of deep determination.
The two soon looked upwards, several volcanoes appearing in front of them as they exited the forest they had been running through. Twilight Sparkle and Applejack looked to one another before they both grinned and continued, galloping down the winding path that led up to the center volcano.
The mares had slowed their steps to a trot as they ascended the path upwards and soon found themselves at the rim of the volcano, Twilight looking around slowly, seeing a few pools of lava among the solidified ground covering most of the inside, “Applejack do you notice anything… odd?” Applejack blinked as she looked back to Twilight, raising an eyebrow as she adjusted her hat,
“Ah see a few dragons down there but ah don‘ see how that‘d be odd to ya Twilight.” Twilight shook her head and continued looking down at the few dragons in the crater before them,
“That‘s not it AJ… it‘s that this place… and the dragons are… unchanged. There‘s no sign of Discord‘s magic around here anywhere!” Twilight’s eyes widened as a massive red dragon lifted his head, looking up at the two of them before he stood up, his dark pink spines curving a little as he bent his head and began walking towards them but instead of a look of hostility the dragon seemed to be wearing a look of curiosity on his face, “Applejack… he‘s coming towards us!” Applejack looked over to Twilight who had begun hyperventilating with her eyes wide. Applejack raised an eyebrow before raising her hoof and gave Twilight a bonk on her head making the unicorn blink and shake her head before looking at Applejack, “Thanks…”
“It has not been long since we last saw a pony among us but you two. I remember you.” Applejack and Twilight both looked back to the dragon that had been approaching them, seeing him on all fours to be eye level with them both. He then looked around warily behind them both before he spoke again, “That pink maned pony isn‘t with you again… is she?” Twilight and Applejack were both silent as they shook their heads, the very same dragon they had gotten to leave the mountain above Ponyville was now before them but he showed no hostility as he let out a deep sigh, “Well that‘s good… I didn‘t do anything wrong this time anyway…” The dragon seemed to pause for a moment and looked back to them, “There must be some reason ponies would come here. But I can only think of one.” Twilight slowly nodded having regained herself and took a step forward,
“We seek the Quill of Eternity, yes, but can I ask something first?” As the dragon nodded to her Twilight looked around again, “I know that when Discord gained control of the Elements of Harmony he let loose a pulse of chaotic magic that spread over Equestria so… why are the dragons and this place so… normal? By dragon standards I mean.” The red dragon before them slowly shook his head before looking back at some of the other dragons in the crater behind him,
“We were all curious as to what that was… but to answer your question: the hide of a dragon, from birth, is incredibly resistant to magic of all forms, other then, say, a levitation or something like that. Chaotic magic, as you‘ve put it, is clearly no exception to this, and thus we remain unchanged.” Applejack then spoke, also looking around slowly before she shook her head,
“This bein‘ the migration grounds an all, why‘s there only a handful of dragons here?”
“More dragons reside in the other craters around here but the fact that you came to the center first helps to prove that you are indeed searching for the Quill of Eternity. However, I cannot lead you to your next clue to follow until you have proven yourselves worthy. Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville, since you are the ringleader of your little group, you will take on the three trials.” Twilight Sparkle blinked as she looked to the dragon and raised her hoof,
“Wait a second, how do you know about me and my friends? I mean, yeah we came up to the mountain that one time but we didn‘t tell you any of our names.” The dragon let out a hearty laugh before shaking his head and stood up on his hind legs, his tail laying off to his left as he looked down at the two,
“Ponies know very little about dragons but the dragons that desire to, know anything they‘d like to know about ponies. Naturally I became curious about why the alicorn princess would send six ponies to remove me from that mountain instead of doing it herself so I looked into it a bit. I know of the elements of harmony and your ties to them; an interesting read you six turned out to be. Now then…” With a beat of his wings the dragon was lifted from in front of them, a path leading into the crater appearing before them and he landed in the center, motioning to them with his claw.
The two mares approached him again, other dragons in the crater staring at them, some with looks of hostility and others with looks of curiosity, “Your first trial is that of memory. Second is that of strength and the final trial shall test your heart.” Twilight Sparkle slowly nodded, the red dragon grinning towards her before he lifted both his wing and claw, motioning to a dragon who was laying on the ridge of the volcano to approach them. The dragon flew over a few moments, the scales of the dragon being a lighter blue shade whilst the spines on its back were aqua in color. As it landed next to them it spoke in a feminine, yet very deep voice,
“The test of memory is simple and yet, could spell the end for your search if your answer is wrong. Answer me this one question: Name, in order, each previous clue that led you here.” Twilight was silent as she stared up at the dragon before the unicorn’s eyes closed and she looked down, her memories flowing back to her of all of her experiences so far, a gentle smile sliding onto her face before her eyes opened again and she looked up into the dragon’s beautiful yellow eyes,
“The Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, Sunny Town, The ursa‘s cave, which collapsed by the way, The dragon mountain outside of Ponyville, The stampeding grounds of the buffalo that reside near Appaloosa, under the tree containing a clubhouse in the orchard within Sweet Apple Acres and finally, the dragon migration grounds.” Twilight Sparkle smiled proudly and held her head high as she stared into the eyes of the dragon before her before seeing her slowly nod and smile towards the unicorn,
“Well done. The test of strength awaits you.” The dragon beat her wings sending a powerful gust outwards as she lifted off and flew back to the rim, the two ponies looking back to the red dragon they had been speaking to earlier as they heard his voice again,
“Your memory serves you well Twilight Sparkle. The test of strength is next.” Suddenly there was a loud boom as the dragon in front of them brought his claws down, a massive boulder now sitting on the ground in front of Twilight and Applejack, “This boulder must be sent into…” He then pointed off to the side at one of the pools of lava, “That pool of lava.” Twilight’s horn glowed as she grinned, the boulder before them glowing with the same light pink aura before it raised into the air, Twilight sticking her tongue out as she focused, staring up at the boulder that was levitating in front of her and the lave pool roughly thirty feet from them.
Twilight then jumped as she grinned, the boulder launching from her aura and flew away from her, landing, moments later in the pool of lava. Twilight Sparkle gave a few happy jumps as she giggled, Applejack grinning and watching her before she tilted her hat and yelled with a laugh, “Yeehaw! Three points right there! Ah!” Twilight heard Applejack yell as the dragon picked her up in his claws and held her out over one of the pools of lava, staring down at Twilight who’s expression had turned to one of sheer horror,
“Wha…! Put her down!”
“Last test.” Twilight took a step back, looking over to Applejack who was looking at her with pleading eyes before Twilight looked back to the dragon and nodded, “How much is finding the quill worth to you? I drop your friend and I‘ll bring you the clue, how does that sound?” Twilight was silent as tears began welling up in her eyes, she quickly looked back to Applejack and then back at the dragon before shaking her head, her eyes narrowing as she glared up at him, her horn becoming engulfed in a billowing aura,
“I could never agree to anything as horrible as that. And if you dare hurt Applejack I swear that I will fight you with all I have!” He blinked as he looked down at the unicorn, bringing his clawed hand out from over the lava pit as he continued staring down at the unicorn in mild surprise,
“Your friends mean so much to you that you would take on a dragon? Even knowing that you wouldn‘t last more then a few seconds?” Twilight Sparkle’s glare only grew more intense as she nodded,
“Try me.” He lowered his hand, opening his claws and set Applejack back onto the ground, the farm pony running over to Twilight and embracing her tightly,
“Twilight I was so scared!” Twilight’s expression softened into one of gratefulness as she embraced Applejack and looked back up to the dragon a moment later as she heard him speak again,
“You would take on any challenge for those you care for. There is no doubt in my mind, the strength that resides in your heart.” He then lowered his hand into the lava pit next to him, withdrawing it a few moments later and set down an object before the two of them. It seemed to be a bag of sorts that looked to have been formed from the hide of a white dragon. It was clasped with what appeared to be black glass and Twilight’s horn glowed, the clasp releasing and the bag opened a moment later, a slab of stone lying down on the ground before the two of them and Twilight gazed down at it curiously before shaking her head and looked up at the dragon who was looking down at them still,
“I… don‘t know where this is.”
“You will find where you need to go in time Twilight Sparkle.” Applejack continued staring down at the tablet depicting many crystals jutting from the walls of many spiraling and twisting caverns,
“Twilight, ya think we should head back to yer library? One ah yer books is sure ta lead us in the right direction, and we can go see Rainbow Dash too!” Twilight paused as she looked at Applejack before she slowly nodded,
“But… we don’t know where Rainbow Dash is. Only that she‘s with Written Dreams right now.”
“Well then first we need ta find out where we‘re supposed ta go but ya’ll can send a letter ta that feller Written Dreams askin’ him where he might be hidin’ Rainbow at.” Twilight then nodded with a gentle smile on her face and looked back to the massive red dragon who was sitting, towering over them,
“That sounds like a plan AJ… thank you for everything… um…” The dragon then shook his head, grinning again,
“My name is of no importance. Go now Twilight Sparkle, Applejack. You have a location to find and a clue to retrieve.” The mares then said their goodbyes to the dragon and continued on their way up the path and out of the crater before they ran down the winding path and back into the forest, determined to get back to Ponyville as fast as they could.
“…and then Mitta tackled Grey Hoof so he couldn’t catch me. Without her I wouldn‘t be here right now so I‘m really grateful for her help. Escaping the forest wasn‘t too difficult although it still was a really frightening experience.” Applebloom had been smiling during the story and spoke up after Written Dreams had finished telling them about his meetings with Zecora after he got out of the thick trees and then meeting Ruby,
“You tell the best stories mister Dreams! Can you tell us the one about when you met the princesses next?!” Written Dreams thought for a few moments before gazing out the window, seeing the darkness having begun to creep up against the twilights of the sky at the edge of the orchard in the distance,
“I‘m sorry girls but Rainbow really needs her rest. I‘ll tell you tomorrow, I promise.” The girls gave a group groan and ‘aww!’ and Scootaloo looked up at him with a grin,
“Pinkie Pie promise?” Written Dreams blinked as he looked at the girls before he let out a laugh,
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Goodnight girls.” He said while crossing his heart with his hoof before he flapped his arms and pressed one hoof to his closed eye respectively. The girls took a few minutes to head into the other room, Written Dreams turning his head to look at the sleeping form of Rainbow Dash peacefully breathing under the warm blanket over her light blue coat, “Maybe I should send Twilight and Applejack another scroll--” Written Dreams paused as he felt a light tug in his mane and turned his head, seeing Scootaloo standing in front of him, “Scoot? Is something the matter?” Scootaloo was silent as she stood, her face turned away from him but from what he could tell she had a very light blush on her face. Written Dreams gave the filly a curious look, the two in silence before Scootaloo finally spoke,
“Mister Dreams… can I ask you something?” Written Dreams slowly nodded as he looked down at the filly,
“Of course you can Scootaloo, what is it?” Scootaloo slowly looked up at him, her gentle azure eyes locking with his before she showed a cautious smile,
“Well it‘s just that… you‘re so awesome… and you saved Rainbow Dash‘s life and… I was wondering… if… maybe I could call you… my big brother.” Written Dreams was silent, Scootaloo having turned away from him as she finished her sentence, “It‘s okay if you don‘t want--” Scootaloo blinked her eyes as she felt a hoof wrap around her torso and she was brought into a close embrace, her eyes slowly closing before she nuzzled up against the warm fur behind her head,
“I‘d be honored to have such a cool little sister like you Scootaloo. How could I refuse with that adorable look you were giving me?” The two remained silent for nearly a minute before Scootaloo turned her head to look up at him, and he looked down at her as she smiled softly,
“I love you big brother.” Written Dreams felt himself blush slightly out of pride and gave the little filly in his arms a tender nuzzle,
“I love you too little sis.”