Penn and Stone: Dynamic Duo

by Pennington Inkwell

The Adelind Eyrie

Eclipse took a deep breath, trying to control his trembling. He was the Royal Advisor to Celestia and Luna. He was the last draconequus! At his peak, his magic could warp the very fabric of reality, itself!

So why was he so terrified of stepping out into the streets of Canterlot?

He wasn't even actually going to be walking down the empty streets, Luna had given him an address to teleport to. Nodding in affirmation that he wouldn't need to actually spend much time out in the open, he raised his hand, telling himself that he would snap his fingers and teleport on the count of three.

One.

I trust Luna, don't I? She wouldn't send me anywhere bad.

Two.

Besides, this is for Celestia. To stop her from making an awful mistake.

Three.

I just have to get there, find the pony in charge, and ask for the "daring mare." That's probably some kind of code, right?

Four.

I mean, if it isn't, then I'm going to have a REALLY awkward moment because I hardly understand what I'm doing.

Five.

No! If I start thinking about the three dozen ways this could go wrong, I'll never do it!

Six.

Wait, wasn't I supposed to go on three?

Eclipse sighed, rolling his eyes in irritation, mostly with himself. He glared angrily at his hand. His fingers obviously hadn't stuck to the plan.

If something goes wrong, I'll just teleport back and ask Luna what I should do. Yeah. Instantly disappear.

Feeling reassured at the idea of allowing himself to instantly bail out if something went wrong, Eclipse took a deep breath and snapped his fingers, teleporting himself across Canterlot.

The next thing that he knew, Eclipse was standing in the middle of a shop. Camouflage and dark colors covered every object on the shelves, ranging from night-vision goggles to body armor to survival gear like ropes and fire starters. Most of the shelves looked empty, however, with disturbingly large gaps between items and most of the racks and displays on the floor completely empty.

"If you're here for a sleeping bag or some kind of blanket, umbrella, or raincoat, I'm afraid we sold out two days ago." A gruff-sounding voice announced, causing Eclipse to jump nearly a meter into the air in surprise. As he spun around, he found himself looking at a heavy-built pegasus with a black coat and a mane of gray, a washed-out blue that betrayed his age, even if his fit condition didn't. "And I refuse to sell weapons to anypony until this crisis has passed. That's just asking for trouble."

Eclipse cleared his throat, trying not to let his nerves show.

"A-actually, I'm from the castle. Princess Luna sent me. I'm looking for... the 'Daring Mare?'"

The pegasus stared him up and down, examining him in a way that made Eclipse extremely uncomfortable.

"I apologize for the lateness of the hour." The pegasus stared at him, narrowing his eyes as he waited for an answer.

Eclipse was about to point out that it was only the early evening, but stopped as he remembered the significance of the expression. In case of an emergency, both Celestia and Luna had taught him the passphrases for their supporting organizations. This pegasus was asking him for the other part of the New Lunar Republic's code.

"The clock is wound tight and the hours pass quickly?"

"The clock moves hour by hour."

Eclipse couldn't help feeling relieved as the response confirmed that he was using the right code.

"A late hour is but an illusion to the moon!"

The pegasus smiled, nodding in affirmation and moving to the back wall behind his desk, activating a hidden mechanism to reveal a secret door leading down into the ground.

"I'll be back in a moment."

Eclipse nodded silently as the pegasus vanished into the dark passage. Left completely alone in the shop, Eclipse quietly clasped his hands behind his back and took the time to observe his surroundings more closely. If things went wrong, then there was an exit just behind him at a distance he could cover in about a second. Any weapons in the room were locked in a glass case under the front desk, but he couldn't take for granted that the pegasus wouldn't come back armed. A quick check assured him that there were no magical wards over the shop to stop him from teleporting out, either. For all intents and purposes, he seemed to have nothing to fear.

When the door opened again, the pegasus had returned, along with another pegasus mare trailing behind him. Even without her signature pith helmet and olive-colored vest, Eclipse instantly recognized her as the pony from the covers of numerous books in Luna's bedroom. With a quick flutter of her wings, she jumped over the counter and landed in front of Eclipse, offering him a friendly hoof.

"A. K. Yearling. You must be Mister Tumult, correct?"

Eclipse nodded, slightly dumbstruck at the fact that he was shaking the hoof of what appeared to be the real-life Daring Do.

"I'd heard rumors that there was a draconequus living in the castle, but I hardly dared to believe it! It's a real pleasure to meet you!"

"L-likewise, Miss... Yearling, was it?" Eclipse cleared his throat, trying to shake off his confusion. "Forgive me for asking, but you bear a remarkable resemblance to a certain... character I've read about. You wouldn't happen to know one 'Scorching Quill,' would you?"

The pony rolled her eyes, sighing with a melancholy smile.

"I know, Daring Do looks exactly like me. Trust me, not a single day goes by where I'm not reminded of it. I didn't think the books would get so popular, so I agreed to let Scorching use my likeness for his main character. How could I say no to my former student, after all?"

Eclipse blinked again, realization beginning to dawn onto him as to why Luna had sent him to find this particular pony.

"You were Pe- Scorching's teacher? He's actually the reason I'm here looking for you. We think his life may be in danger, moreso than he is equipped to deal with."

Yearling raised an eyebrow at his obvious slip, turning back to the shop owner.

"Thunder Strike, could the two of us have a moment alone? We need to speak freely."

The other pegasus nodded, trotting over and locking the front door before ducking back through the secret door and leaving the two of them alone. Yearling took a deep breath and hopped up on top of one of the displays, bringing her up closer to eye level with Eclipse.

"Alright. What kind of trouble has Pennington gotten himself into this time, and what makes it so bad you've come to me?"

Eclipse took a deep breath.

"Are you familiar with the legend of the Guardians of Equestria?"

"Actually, they're not EQUESTRIA'S guardians, they protect the land, itself. Legends about them date as far back as recorded history for every race that's ever lived here for any extended period of time." Yearling smirked. "But yes, I've gone on many, MANY expeditions looking for traces of them at Celestia's request. Heck, I wrote my senior thesis on definitively proving that their last incarnations participated in the war against Discord as Quill, Ixia, Threadmane, and Emb-"

"YOU were the one providing Celestia's information?"

Yearling shrugged. "Yes, so? I was just as intrigued as her, so I was happy to go dig up what I could."

Eclipse sighed, leaning back against the wall.

"Celestia is making a grave mistake based off of that information, Miss Yearling. She believes that the guardians have been reincarnated once again-"

"If that were true, then that would mean Equestria is in grave danger..." Yearling muttered under her breath.

"-and she's taken it upon herself to try and 'guide' the ponies she suspects of being their next incarnations to their 'destinies!' She thinks Pennington is the new Scribe, and she's sent him to go through the trials of the Adelind dragons!"

Somehow, Yearling didn't seem to panic at the news, taking a deep breath as she was briefly lost in thought.

"Miss Yearling? Miss Yearling, that kind of magic is too much for a single pony's mind! Celestia's sending him into a trap that'll drive him insane!"

Still, A.K. said nothing, her eyes narrowed in focus.

"Even if Celestia's foolish belief in these stories is right, it would pour a thousand lifetimes of knowledge into his head at once, destroying his identity! There's wouldn't be any Pennington left! Moonstone is stopping our letters, and unless he goes to sleep soon, Luna and I will have no way to warn him before it's too late!"

Yearling finally seemed to agree, nodding and taking a deep breath.

"So what did Luna send you to me for? Does she think I can convince Celestia otherwise after years of feeding her 'foolish belief?'" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "And you might do well to start believing in old legends, Mister Tumult, considering that you ARE one."

Eclipse took a deep breath. "I think Luna sent me to you for help because you know Pennington. You would know a way to get through to him when all else fails, right? Or at least, you might be the only pony in Equestria who stands a chance of catching up to him in time!"

Yearling sighed, the urgency of the situation seemingly lost on her. "I've read the journals of Quill and Threadmane, in their last days, the two of them believed that something was hunting them, and worried that the Guardian Spirits themselves might have been in danger. Shortly after that, Quill was killed BECAUSE he was the Spirit of the Scribe!" She sighed, sitting back on her haunches. "If that's the case, Celestia would be right to be pushing them like this. They'll need to be ready faster than whatever hunted them down."

"And what about Pennington? Don't you care about him at ALL?"

This made Yearling chuckle.

"Of course I care about him, he was the best student I ever had! I might even agree with Celestia, he does seem like the best fit for the next Scribe. But I think you're putting too little faith in him, Mister Tumult. Pennington's mind held up against the might of the changeling hivemind when they tried to convert him. I've seen him shrug off mind-altering magic in a matter of hours after the spell was broken as if nothing had happened! You could put ten lifetimes or ten thousand into his head, Pennington would still be Pennington. He's stubborn like that."

She chuckled softly to herself. "Pennington has spent so long in over his head, he's learned to thrive in it. You might say he's become quite the adept swimmer."

Eclipse felt his spirits beginning to fall as he realized the point A.K. Yearling was trying to make.

"So, you aren't going to help us?"

Yearling sighed, shaking her head.

"Short of flying across Equestria in this killer weather in a matter of hours, what could I do? If a princess and a draconequus can't get in contact with him, what can a pegasus do on her own, no matter how determined?" She shrugged her shoulders. "The only help I can offer you is this advice: you and Luna should have faith in her student, just as I have faith in mine."

Yearling chuckled to herself softly.

"Besides, a certain other one of my students would NEVER let anypony 'erase' Pennington but himself."

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The flight to the Adelind Eyrie was blissfully uneventful and quiet, aside from the quiet mumbling of Pennington and Moonstone talking back and forth with one another. Spike and Lily quickly drifted off to sleep on the warm scales of their ride, and Twilight had to admit that she was tempted to follow their example. Seeing a dragon's-eye view of this part of the world, however, was too good of an opportunity to pass up. She watched beneath them as the stark white landscape freckled with green spots faded to an arid brownish-red, and the rolling hills and mountains abruptly stopped, as though it had all been stomped flat by the titans that dwelt on the other side of Macintosh Hills. Far below them, Twilight could see gigantic winged lizards going about their days, usually in solitude. Those that weren't alone were more often than not fighting with one another, sending up angry snarls and plumes of flame that threatened to burn off her eyelashes even at this great height.

Twilight had to admit, she was starting to really enjoy flying. In the back of her mind, she began working on the puzzle of finding a way to fly on her own, some day.

"So, these are the dragon lands..." She whispered. As much as she wished she could take notes and study more carefully, her saddlebags had been torn to shreds in the fight with Delta Raider, and judging by the look Moonstone had given her when she was eyeing Pennington's supplies, any attempts to "borrow" writing tools from him wouldn't end well. Instead, Twilight settled for mental notes, trying to commit every detail of their journey to memory.

After what she could only guess to be about 45 minutes of flying, their goal came into sight: a great spire of orange rock shooting up into the sky twice, no, three times as tall as Canterlot Castle. Dragons of varying sizes and body types were constantly flying in and out through numerous holes in the sides. Twilight's heart raced as they drew closer and closer, trying to analyze every dragon they passed. Each one was different and beautiful in a new way, their scales arrayed in every color of the rainbow, some shimmering like gemstones while others looked to be covered in scales of different metals. Amphiptheres coiled themselves around the craggy spires at the top of the tower, their legless bodies making them almost exclusively airborne creatures and nearly impossible to study for scholars. Far, far down at the base of the tower, wingless drakes and wyrms crawled across the ground, near-impregnable tanks and snake-like agile hunters working in tandem to gather resources and guard the borders of their territory. Every species of dragon Twilight had ever read about and some she never had rested between those two extremes, a gradient of the spectrum of dragon biology that only few of the most honored scholars had ever had the opportunity to see.

Twilight quickly glanced to make sure Moonstone was looking away, then snuck her hoof into Pennington's saddlebag and snatched as much paper as she could along with a well of ink and a fresh quill. For a moment, she and Pennington locked eyes, catching her in the act. She gave a sheepish smile as Penn rolled his eyes and gave her a silent nod of approval. With a barely-suppressed squee of joy, Twilight began taking down notes and making anatomical sketches as quickly as her horn could make the quill move.

"Father will be happy to see you, Moonstone. It has been many years since you left home." Noir declared, turning towards one hole in the massive structure. To everyone's surprise, Moonstone jumped up into the air before landing hard on the edge of his wing, forcing it down and taking them all in a sharp turn to the left.

"And I'll be happy to see him, but our first stop NEEDS to be the spring!"

Noir climbed higher into the air and flew in a loop around the tower, trying to avoid crashing headfirst into the structure. To Twilight's delight, this served to give her even more to study, and she began to wonder if her horn had recovered enough to start using a second quill to take notes twice as fast. Noir twisted his head to look around at his passengers, giving Moonstone a wary look. She stared straight back, her arms folded over her chest.

"I'll take the heat for not going to Dad first, don't worry about it. But we NEED to get these ponies to the spring, and we need to do it now!"

Noir raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"You're twice as stubborn as you were when you left, sister. I like it."

Moonstone gave her brother a smug smirk, walking back along his wing and onto his back. "If you think I'm bad now, you really don't want to see me when I'm mad."

A low chuckle ran through Noir's body as they circled around and through one of the holes in the spire, finally bringing them inside. Noir made it look almost effortless as they drifted from one room to another, passing through cavernous doorways and tight tunnels with only the slightest tilting and flapping of the tips of his wings. Twilight knew that there was no chance that she would ever be able to remember the path they took, even if she had been capable of navigating it. The Adelind Eyrie was a labyrinth of sandstone, one that twisted and coiled around itself in both the horizontal and vertical planes. It was all that she could do to be able to tell the general direction that they were moving in: downward and into the heart of the structure. The air took on a subterranean chill as they moved further and further inside, and it was several minutes before Twilight caught a more notable change: humidity.

Moments later, they finally emerged from the last passageway and into the largest cavern she had ever seen in her life. It was a massive cylinder of open air, stretching all the way from ground level to the top of the tower, letting in a bath of natural sunlight that washed over her like a warm bath. Looking down, she spied a pool of steaming water large enough to practically qualify as a lake. The walls were lined with holes and tunnels, and Twilight could tell that this was the literal heart of the structure, with access to every other area stemming from this hot spring. All roads led here, and the healing aura disseminated out from this place like blood from a heart. There was something almost holy about it all, leaving Twilight with the uneasy feeling of standing inside a cathedral.

Finally, Noir's spiraling descent came to a stop, landing gingerly on the shore of the pool and laying down on his stomach to bring them as close to the ground as possible. One blue wing stretched out and into the water, providing a gentle ramp for them. The landing finally startled Spike and Lily awake, both of them rubbing at their eyes and blinking in disbelief at their surroundings. Moonstone, however, seemed to take the situation all in stride, completely at home in the awe-inspiring surroundings.

"Okay, everypony into the water! Lily, Twilight, I want you both to work together to move Pennington into the shallows so he can lean against the edge to keep his head up. Then, I want each of you to head into deeper waters, at least up to your necks. Spend as much time as you can swimming underneath, though. Especially you, Twilight, you don't have many injuries, other than your horn and magical exhaustion." She placed her hands on her hips, staring at them expectantly.

"WELL? I'm not the one with telekinesis, here!"

Twilight and Lily both looked at each other. Twilight was considering making a remark about Moonstone's overly bossy attitude, but the look on Lily's face told her that both of them were too tired for a fight to be worth it. Carefully, the two of them wrapped their magical auras around Pennington's body and walked down Noir's wing and into the water. The moment Twilight's hoof touched the water, she gasped as she felt potent magic pouring into her body. Instantly, all of her aches and bruises seemed to melt away, leaving her with a comforting warm tingling throughout her body. A quick glance over at Lily confirmed that she wasn't the only one experiencing the sensation, with Calalily's eyes having sunk into half-lidded bliss. The feelings only grew stronger as they both waded deeper in, up to their knees and then their bellies. From the shoreline, Moonstone waved them towards the shore, to a place where the smooth stone floor was only halfway up their forelegs. Moonstone silently set one of Pennington's saddlebags as a pillow on the shore as they laid him on the ground, his head on the shore and his body barely covered by the water. When Pennington came in contact with the spring, his eyes widened and he let out a noise somewhere between laughter and a weak sigh of relief. Moonstone carefully stroked the side of his head as she reached into his bag and retrieved a small bottle. Tipping it into her hand, Twilight recognized the pills that she quietly slipped into Pennington's mouth: they were the medication Zecora gave him to stop his sleep paralysis.

"Okay, buddy... You did good today," she whispered, giving Pennington a warm smile. "Now you can rest. Sleep if you want, just move into the deeper waters when you feel strong enough to stand on your own four hooves, okay?"

Pennington nodded wordlessly smiling and closing his eyes. As his breathing fell into a steady rhythm, Moonstone finally seemed to relax for the first time since Twilight had seen her, her shoulders slumping as she fell back and onto the ground, spread out across the stone floor as all her tension melted away and she sighed with relief. She tilted her head to look at Twilight and Lily, giving them a sheepish smile.

"S-sorry about all that. I know I've been a pain in the flank all day."

Lily and Twilight both glanced at one another, Lily giving a knowing smile.

"I'm more impressed than angry. For someone your age, you sure know how to take charge of a situation in crisis." Lily chuckled softly. Twilight quickly nodded her agreement.

"And you didn't let up or cave to the pressure until you were certain it was over! That's incredibly commendable!" Twilight walked back up to the shore, picking Moonstone up in her magic before giving her a quick hug and setting her into the water alongside them.

Spike watched from the shore, grinning. Twilight suspected that the transformation of their vitality returning was probably easily visible from his perspective. "Sure, you were bossy, but bossy gets stuff done. It's hard to fault you for that!"

Moonstone let out a sigh of relief before rolling her eyes and swimming away from Twilight and back to the shore.

"Unfortunately, MY work isn't quite done. I still have to go greet my father and explain to him why we bypassed the proper tradition of greeting the head of the household and brought strange ponies straight to the sacred spring..." She sighed, rubbing at her temples. "Still, I doubt he'll be TOO mad at me. Even before I left, I could get away with a LOT." She fluttered her way over to Noir, landing on his back before giving Spike a mischievous grin.

"Hey, kiddo, you want to meet the head of one of the noble dragon households?"

When Spike gasped in surprise and looked at Twilight with a smile threatening to split his face, she knew she had already lost any chance of convincing him to stay without breaking his heart. She smiled and nodded, giving her silent permission for him to leave. In a flash, she had run up Noir's wing and onto his back, jumping up and down with excitement. Moonstone rolled her eyes and, with a flap of his wings, Noir was back in the air, carrying away the hatchlings to parts unknown.

Somehow, though, Twilight wasn't worried as long as he was with Moonstone. For the first time since they had entered the caves beneath Canterlot, she felt completely and totally safe. Looking over, she spied Lily laying beside Pennington, having quickly fallen asleep beside him even resting at the awkward angle on the shore. Realizing that her friend probably had the right idea, Twilight snatched hold of the second of Pennington's saddlebags and laid down in the water, letting the healing magic wash over her back and sides. With a long sigh, she shut her eyes and laid her head down on the second saddlebag... only to feel the sharp point of one of the gemstone-based relics inside poke straight into her temple. Quickly sitting back up again, Twilight realized why Lily had foregone using it as a pillow: it was a literal bag of rocks.

Twilight sighed and pushed the bag aside, laying her head on the smooth stone. The overwhelming comfort of the healing spring's magic overwhelmed any discomfort the lack of a pillow gave her, and she soon drifted off to sleep.

Comments

[Love able chaos]

Best of luck with your Father Moonstone.