• Published 12th Nov 2013
  • 1,347 Views, 121 Comments

Penn and Stone: Dynamic Duo - Pennington Inkwell



On an assignment from Princess Luna, Pennington Inkwell and his assistant, Moonstone, attempt to thwart a dragon with the power to change the weather.

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The Boarding of the Cliffjumper

In the barn, the relief efforts were quiet and organized, calm in the face of the danger Ponyville had been facing up until now. Ponies were quietly filing out through the door to the barn, protected by a magical barrier provided by Twilight Sparkle and several other unicorns working together. Ponies would enter the tunnel under the barrier and walk all of the way to the Cliffjumper before climbing the ladder onto the secondary deck, which seemed like a hollowed-out chunk near the front of the ship with several ways inside. Though the lightning seemed to be trying its hardest to reach the ponies, it was constantly either stopped by the magical barrier or drawn to the harpoons on the top, which were essentially acting as lightning rods. Several earth ponies and pegasi that were obviously part of the crew were helping organize the remaining Ponyvillians into a single-file line and tending to anyone who needed medical aid or other help. A single, green-coated pegasus was presiding over the events, watching over everything with a wary eye and a crossbow strapped to his back.

"Sure Shot! You're as dependable and swift as always!" Pennington called out, stepping into the barn with a grin. The pegasus, hearing his name, looked up and grinned, floating down to the ground and trotting over to Pennington, who offered a friendly hoof.

"Pennyton Inkwell, I should have known I'd find you anywhere there was trouble brewin'!" He replied, taking Pennington's hoof in a firm grip and tugging on it, pulling the two of them into a friendly hug, only briefly grasping one another before letting go again.

"The Cliffjumper's looking like a real beauty!" Pennington smiled, nodding towards the door. "Did I spot an extra pair of wheels on her?"

"Yeah, that's right! The NLR decided, after the changelings managed to get into Canterlot, she needed to be a fully equipped battle vessel, as well as a hunting machine. The wheels give extra stability and structure support." Sure Shot gave him a sly grin. "They made a few other additions that aren't so obvious! My baby could take on a whole hive without breaking a sweat!"

Pennington rolled his eyes. "Yeah, probably for all of ten seconds."

"Hey!"

Chuckling, he shook his head and patted Sure Shot on the shoulder. "I'm just kidding! I'm sure that the Cliffjumper is nigh-invincible, right? Why don't we go aboard and you can show me around?"

Turning back towards the work going on, Sure Shot shook his head. "We're gonna to be the last ones aboard, I'm pretty sure. These residents are the reason we're here. Picking you up is just a little bonus!"

Pennington nodded. "Right. Primary objectives first, after all."

For the first time, Sure Shot seemed to notice Moonstone standing alongside Pennington, and took a moment to stare in surprise before smiling and nodding to her.

"You're the little dragon who keeps scorchin' our mailponies, right?" He chuckled and offered her a friendly hoof. "Name's Sure Shot!"

"And you're the pegasus who once lit Penn's hair on fire to give him the idea for his pen name, right?" Moonstone smiled and shook his hoof. "Mine's Moonstone."

Sure Shot gave her a suspicious look for a moment, then laughed. "Ha ha! I like you, Moonstone! You got spunk!"

Pennington sighed, rolling his eyes. "You know, I should have just told you some made-up story about how I came up with 'Scorching Quill.'"

"I would have known." She grinned, hopping up onto his back.

"So, how are the twins?" Pennington sighed, changing the subject back to Sure Shot.

"You mean Close and Constant? Invaluable as ever. They saved at least three crew members' lives this month!" Sure Shot started walking back towards the relief efforts, motioning for Pennington to follow him. "The best doctors you could ask for inside and outside Equestria!"

Catching up to his friend, Pennington gave him a gentle nudge and a knowing grin. "And how's Constant, in particular?"

"Beautiful as ever, and getting prettier every day," he chuckled. "I really couldn't ask for a better girlfriend. I just wish her sister wasn't so overprotective..."

"Well, that's the danger of dating a twin without your wingman!"

"You were supposed to be my wingman!"

"Weeell, that's debatable. There's only so much one wingman can do about a pony like Close Care! The only thing warm or soft about her is probably the numb feeling you get once her venom starts to take effect!"

Both of them laughed together at the fact that the doctor pony was, indeed, often emotionally cold enough to make the idea of having poisonous fangs not out of the question. After only a few seconds of laughter, though, Sure Shot cut himself off abruptly. Looking up at his friend, Pennington saw the pegasus gesture in the direction of the unicorn-provided shield with one of his wings. Looking in the indicated direction, a purple-coated, white-haired unicorn was staring directly at them with an unamused expression on her face. Immediately, Pennington stopped laughing, as well.

"You- you don't think she heard us, do you?"

"Let's both pray to Luna that she didn't..." Sure Shot replied.

"You see there's a reason that I keep my mouth shut on occasion." Moonstone rolled her eyes.

"So... How's life with Twilight?"

"Well, as rough as ever... With me needing to leave again, things are just... a little rocky. It's not that we have problems with each other, it's just that we don't get to spend enough time together!"

"Well... Go spend time with her!" He nodded towards the group of unicorns, then at Pennington's own horn. "Doesn't matter how strong you are, if you can make that glow, you can at least fake helping well enough to go over there!"

Pennington looked at the group of unicorns, then back at his friend, and finally at Moonstone, who was still sitting on his back.

"Well, what are we waiting for, Penn? You heard him!" Hopping down to the ground again, Moonstone pointed to Twilight. "Get over there and spend some time with her!"

With a smile, Pennington ran to the pathway, joining the other unicorns alongside Twilight while Moonstone and Sure Shot watched. As soon as he was out of earshot, however, Moonstone turned on Sure Shot, her winged arms crossing over her chest and her eyes growing narrow in suspicion. Noticing her sudden enmity, Sure Shot gave her a confused look.

"I want to know what you're holding in the bowels of the Cliffjumper." She stated flatly.

"What?" Sure Shot looked nervously from side to side, making sure that no one had heard her. "Well, there's an engine, a few different systems for ensuring stability-"

"There's something dark in there." Moonstone's eyes narrowed again to a full-on glare. "I may be a child, but I'm not stupid, Sure Shot. There's something inside your boat shrouded in secrets and lies. I can even see it from outside, just looking at that ship! There's something evil inside there, and I want to know what it is before I or Penn set foot or hoof on it!"

Sure Shot blinked several times in surprise before letting out a long sigh. Looking from side to side to make sure that no one was listening, he put his hoof around Moonstone's shoulders and gently guided her to a quiet corner of the room, where he could speak slightly more freely. Bending low so that their faces were at the same level, he took a deep breath.

"Fine, but you cannot tell Penn. This could be bad, and I mean very bad if he finds out..."

"There are lots of things that it would be 'very bad' for Penn to know." Moonstone's eyes narrowed. "I'm certain I can stop myself from filing this one under 'blabber about in day-to-day conversation.' Now quit stalling."

Sure Shot stared at her with a mix of admiration and amusement. "Well, on our way here, we encountered a dangerous entity that could pose a threat to all of Equestria... We captured it, but didn't have the time or means to dispose of it properly, so we've been ordered to transport it to the Crystal Empire. It's locked up tight in the brig, and has no means of escaping, so the Cliffjumper should be safe to board. In fact, I can almost guarantee that it's perfectly safe."

"Who is it?"

"That is something I'm under orders not to tell anyone." Sure Shot shook his head. "That's everything I can say without gettin' reprimanded by my higher-ups."

Moonstone gave him another suspicious look, but he didn't appear to be lying to her. Taking a deep breath to try and steady her nerves, she nodded her affirmation. "Am I allowed to know why I can't tell Penn?"

"Moonstone, this is Pennington Inkwell we're talking about! He wouldn't be able to resist trying to get down there and take a peek at it!"

Moonstone wanted to argue the point, but she knew that Sure Shot was right.

"Captain! Everyone's aboard!" One of the crew members called out from the other side of the barn.

As the two of them finally took their attention off of one another and looked around, it was true: all of the Ponyville residents who had been in the barn had managed to board the Cliffjumper. The only ponies remaining were a few crew members, the unicorns holding up the barrier around the path to the ship, and Moonstone and Sure Shot. With a smile, Sure Shot turned to look at her.

"So, you ready to see what she looks like on the inside?"

"If what you're keeping secret hurts Penn, you're going to have a lot to answer for..." Moonstone sighed, resigning herself as she began walking towards the shielded tunnel. "Both to Princess Luna and to me."

"Who do you think ordered me not to tell you two what it was?" Sure Shot muttered in reply.









"So, what do you think?" Pennington asked cheerfully as the two of them walked quietly down one of the narrow hallways in the ship. As it turned out, the Cliffjumper was divided into three decks. The uppermost deck, aside from being home to the Control Room and the Captain's Quarters, was home to several of the rooms most strongly associated with dune worm hunting, including a dissection room, the storage for the extra harpoon ammunition and weapons, and even a refrigerated room for storing the few precious pieces of the creatures that could be used or sold. The middle deck was mostly devoted to the crew, with their living quarters and dining hall on the same level. It was also home to the brig, where troublesome members would be sent for detainment. Many of Ponyville's residents had been packed into these rooms for the trip to Canterlot, with both civilians and crew staying four or five ponies in a room. Any remaining ponies had needed to go down to the bottom deck, which was used mostly for supplies and storage, when the space wasn't filled by one of the three engine rooms (one for each pair of wheels), assorted bits and pieces of machinery for keeping the wheels turning, or the gigantic fuel tank. Even with these limitations, Sure Shot had bragged that the Cliffjumper could store enough food and water to last its crew an entire month.

"What do I think?" Moonstone muttered from her position on his back. "Well, the lighting adds a certain atmosphere. I certainly think it could use a few windows..."

"Knowing Sure shot's reckless driving, they'd be shattered within a day!" Pennington chuckled, even as the Cliffjumper hit yet another large bump, jostling all the ponies inside like candies in a pinata. "We'll just have to make ourselves content with electric light until the weather is gentle enough for us to go out onto the top deck!"

Moonstone sighed an nodded, looking up at the string of lights in the hallway. They provided only the necessary light to see clearly, seeing as energy was a valuable commodity, giving the long hallway an almost haunted look. She'd been told that there were brighter lights in private crew rooms and places where other important work took place, but the hallways were so filled with shadows, she could have sworn that the entire vessel was run by King Sombra.

"So, how many ponies are we bunking with?" She asked, turning over and reclining against his neck. "It'll only be a few hours to Canterlot, right?"

"That's right. But if we need to bunk down, we have a room on the Deck A with Twilight and Spike."

Moonstone nodded quietly, even as the speakers positioned near the ceiling in the hallway crackled to life.

"Pennington Inkwell, please report to the bridge! I repeat, Pennington Inkwell to the bridge," a female voice called out.

Pennington didn't seem surprised, trotting to the end of the hall and finding a small intercom. Holding down one of the buttons, he spoke into a similar device.

"Alright, Close, I'm on my way up, now. Give me ten minutes, copy?"

"Over!" the smaller speaker chirped in reply.

"What's this about?" Moonstone asked as Pennington opened the door to a stairwell at the end of the hallway, beginning to ascend.

"Probably just catching up. It's been almost a month since I stopped at the eastern station of the NLR. I'm sure that Sure Shot and the others are all curious what we've been up to."

"Ah. And how are your legs?" Moonstone asked, turning back to sitting up, keeping a grip on his neck for stability.

Pausing to look down at his gauze-wrapped hoof, Pennington gently tugged back on the edge, revealing a red underside to the bandage and bloody fur.

"They hurt. In fact, they've been aching and burning for a while, now. The bandages should last another hour or two before we need to replace them."

Looking over his shoulder, Moonstone gave a worried frown, even when he replaced the gauze and began walking again.

"Penn, what if we run out of bandages on our trip? There's not going to be any place we can stop to get more once we're outside the border."

"We'll make do."

"But what if the openings in your skin get infected?"

"Then we'll have to make do."

"What if the scent of blood draws predators?"

"We'll have to be good fighters and better runners."

"What if-"

"Moonstone, we've prepared as best we can. If something happens that we can't handle, there was never anything that we could have done about it, anyway!" Pennington shook his head. "I know you're trying to look out for me, but you're just stressing yourself out over what we can't change. Try to relax, okay?"

Taking a deep breath, Moonstone nodded, sitting back from his shoulder.

"Fine. But I'm still going to ask those doctor ponies if they have extra bandages we could have."

Pennington smiled, and she could tell that her words had made him just a little happier.









Pushing open the door to the bridge, Pennington stepped through. The Cliffjumper had a wide array of controls, headed by a traditionally large steering wheel. Several ponies were manning different stations, including one at a large lever that seemed to be the vehicle's gearshift. Sure Shot, himself, was standing at the front, looking out the forward windshield, which was the only window on the entire ship.

"You wanted to see me, Sure Shot?" Pennington smiled, raising his hoof in a salute. Sure Shot turned around for a moment, surprisingly solemn. With a wave of his hoof, he motioned for Pennington to join him. Caught off-guard, Pennington balked for only a moment before stepping forward and walking to the front. The view was terrifying. Rather than follow any particular path, the Cliffjumper was taking a direct route to Canterlot, rolling up and down hills, rolling over dislodged rocks and earth, and the horizon showed only more terrifying weather. Tornadoes and hailstorms were visible to the right, and torrential downpours and massive sinkholes were falling to the left, and the Cliffjumper seemed to be trying to maintain a path between the two of them, taking the least powerful forces of each.

"Penn, what do those look like to you?" Sure Shot pointed up into the clouds. Looking directly up above them for the first time, Pennington noticed a large black mass hovering just above the Cliffjumper, keeping pace and looming over them.

"It... looks like bad news. Looks like it's definitely something meant for us... Perhaps some new variation on the weather magic to form a predatory entity?" Pennington muttered, his eyes narrowing. "But what does it look like to you? You always had the better pair of eyes."

Sure Shot shook his head. "I think you're right. It looks like bad news. I think-" Before he could finish his sentence, there was a flash of emerald light from the dark cloud. A verdant fireball flew downwards, slamming against the carved out section of the forward bow that the bridge looked down on. There was a palpable shudder in the floor from the force of the impact, and the fire dispelled and spread across that part of the bow, leaving a large scorch mark. As the flames burned out, however, there was something left over. It appeared to be a pony at first, but only for a brief moment as the twisted horn, sleek black body, and hole-riddled limbs made themselves clear. Though Moonstone gasped in shock, Pennington somehow felt absolutely no surprise. Deep down, it had been obvious to him that they were nearby, though he had been trying to put it out of his mind, remembering what had happened the last time that he'd been anywhere near changelings.

But there's no denying it, now... Not only are they not going to just leave us alone, but they're about to rain down on us in fire and brimstone! They're forcing themselves back in... WHY? Why can't I just GET AWAY? An uncontrollable rage began boiling up, first in his chest and then welling up and overwhelming his senses. Overcome by his rage, Pennington turned to Sure Shot, struggling to keep his movements slow and under control. With the last of his self control, Pennington spoke five words.

"I'll protect the forward bow."

With those words, he gently lifted Moonstone up and off of his back, setting her on the ground, then spun around and sprinted from the room. Something deep and savage was eating away at his senses, and he only had one sane objective left in his mind.

I need to get my sword. I need to get my sword. I need my sword...

"ALL HOOVES TO BATTLE STATIONS! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! I REPEAT, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! ALL HOOVES TO BATTLE STATIONS!"