The Quill of Eternity

by Written Dreams

Chapter 16 - Rainbow Dreams

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes slowly opened the next morning, the sun only barely peeking up over the horizon of apple trees as the unicorn gazed out the window next to her. She took in a deep and slow inhale, taking in the scents of the crisp morning air around her before slowly exhaling and the mare shook her head, smiling gently as she looked at the sleeping forms around her. She stopped suddenly, however, when she saw that Scootaloo was sleeping alone, Rainbow Dash missing from under the blanket the little filly was curled up in. Twilight turned towards Applejack and opened her mouth as she walked over to the sleeping pony but stopped and stood before her, a contemplative look on Twilight’s face before she shook her head and walked over to the door, slipping out quietly and started walking down the ramp, her eyes scanning the skies above her.

The unicorn began walking through the vast orchard of trees slowly, ever vigilant as she continued scanning the skies, “Rainbow… where‘d you run off to this time…?” She closed her eyes, a thin aura of magic cloaking her horn as she tilted her head up, scanning the area around her for any signs of the pegasus before she blinked her eyes open and turned to the right and started trotting down one of the paths between the trees.

Twilight could hear nothing as she approached one of the apple trees, peering around it slowly before looking down at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus was leaning against the tree, in a position similar to that of a human with her back legs out in front of her and her front hooves to her sides. Rainbow silently stared at the ground before her as Twilight stood next to her, the unicorn’s head tilted slightly as she looked down at her friend, “Rainbow…? What are you doing all the way out here by yourself?” Rainbow Dash did not answer her immediately, continuing to stare at the ground for nearly another minute before she spoke, her eyes not leaving the earth under her,

“I guess your curiosity has peaked after last night… You‘ve already got the beginning to my story from Applebloom so I pretty much don‘t have any choice but to tell you guys now… right?” The pegasus was speaking rather quietly and with a hint of sadness in her voice and as she looked up at Twilight, the unicorn noticed that her eyes were red, no doubt from crying earlier. Twilight took a step forward, looking closely at the pegasus with her head remaining slightly tilted out of curiosity,

“Rainbow… were you… crying?” Rainbow Dash looked away from her and off to the side, a light chuckle leaving her mouth before she sniffs and wipes her eyes,

“Heh, come on… me? Crying? That‘s a good one Twilight! But… Twilight can I ask you something?” Twilight Sparkle nodded slowly as Rainbow Dash looked back to her, a curious expression on the pegasus’ face, “Do you really want to know what happened between me and Written Dreams? Or is it just that you like hearing about him?” Twilight paused at this question, feeling herself lightly blushing as she thought it over and looked down at the ground,

“Throughout our journey… we‘ve been hearing stories about him… and it‘s like we‘ve been piecing together the journey of someone who‘s path will be intertwined with our own soon. But to answer your question Rainbow Dash… a little of both.” Twilight looked up at the pegasus and smiled gently, “The fact that you‘ve been so secretive about your story has only made me want to hear it even more and after Applebloom told us that part of the story… it really made me want to hear it even more…” Twilight then fell silent as Rainbow looked back up at her and chuckled, slowly getting up and standing before her before she smiled,

“I feel like I should tell you that the crying is unrelated…” Rainbow grinned towards the purple unicorn and whipped her mane, “I was burning off some bottled up emotion about this whole mess… anyway… I figure I can tell you guys my story when we head out towards the dragon migration grounds…” Rainbow Dash sighed as she rolled her eyes, the two mares beginning to walk back towards the clubhouse, “Honestly I completely forgot that those three were even there when I had that talk with him… not every day I get to race a pegasus I‘ve never seen in action before.”

“I‘m sure it‘s going to be an incredible story Rainbow. I can‘t wait till we‘re on the road again so I can hear it.” Rainbow Dash laughed in response, looking down a bit as they walked,

“Twilight… I just realized that I never really said ‘Thank you’ for picking me to come with you on this quest so… thanks.” Twilight paused for a moment as she looked over to the pegasus, Rainbow looking over to Twilight before they both stopped and embraced one-another closely,

“You are very welcome Rainbow Dash.”

The two mares chatted casually as they walked back to the clubhouse, taking a good five minutes before they walked up the ramp of the clubhouse together and opened the door. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were still all asleep but Applejack was packing her bag and looked up at the two with a smile as she spoke in a whisper, “Was wonderin‘ where you two disappeared off to. Ya wanna head out soon Twi?” Twilight and Rainbow Dash looked at one another before they both nodded with light smiles and walked around to their own bags, packing up what little they might have taken out for the night and strapped their saddlebags to their backs. Twilight stopped as she looked to the others before her gaze turned to the crusaders,

“What should we do about Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle? We can‘t just leave them here…” Applejack and Rainbow Dash both looked from Twilight Sparkle over to the three fillies, both remaining silent till Applejack turned and looked back to Twilight,

“Those three‘ve been here since that feller Discord made this world and since they made that there deal with him ah‘m willin‘ to bet that they‘re safe here.” Rainbow Dash spoke next, nodding in agreement to Applejack’s statement,

“Applejack is right Twilight; and besides, if we do find dragons at the migration grounds then that would put those three in a lot of danger. We have some experience with dragons, they don‘t.” Twilight was silent as she listened to her friend’s words and her gaze returned to them for a moment before she nodded and walked over, nudging Applebloom till she woke up, hazily looking up at Twilight with a small yawn,

“Applebloom we‘re heading out to the migration grounds now. We‘re going to leave you three here because we know you‘ll be safe here.” Applebloom blinked slowly as she stared up at Twilight Sparkle for a few moments before she nodded,

“Be careful Twi… there might be dragons there.” Applebloom looked at her for another moment with a rather hazy expression before her eyes closed again and she passed out, laying back down and Twilight’s horn glowed a moment later, sliding the blanket further up onto the filly before Twilight turned back to the others and they headed out the door, each of them walking down the ramp with the exception of Rainbow Dash who simply glided down to the ground. Twilight looked up to the sky for a moment before slowly looking around and as her gaze caught Canterlot she turned a little to the left of it and pointed with her hoof,

“We‘re headed North. We should get through Ponyville and past Canterlot as fast as possible so as not to draw attention to ourselves… from anything.” The three mares nodded to one another before they galloped off through the trees, each with determined looks on their faces, Rainbow Dash beating her wings and weaving between the trees as they galloped.

The three mares continued on through Ponyville, which was now comprised entirely of cheddar cheese and on towards Canterlot. They continued running for a number of hours, eventually passing Canterlot and continuing past the mountain it sat upon.

They continued running for a good four hours till the three ponies were far past Canterlot and they decided to rest for a while before continuing on, Applejack looking over to Rainbow Dash as the three hadn’t spoken to one another much at all during their time running and flying, “So Rainbow…” Rainbow Dash looked over to Applejack and paused for a moment, seeing the farm pony grinning towards her and she raised an eyebrow,

“What..?”

“Come on pardner, time ta spill the beans about what happened with you and that feller Written Dreams!” The three were in a heavily wooded area, a vast grove of trees around them with a rather wide path through the middle for easy passing. Twilight had laid down, Applejack and Rainbow Dash still standing and they were a bit off to the side of the trail. Rainbow Dash took a step back, her eyes widening as she stared at Applejack,

“AJ! I said I didn‘t…” Rainbow cut herself off as the pegasus met the gaze of Twilight looking towards the boisterous mare with a light smile on her face. Rainbow Dash looked down and let out a sigh as Applejack took another step towards her with a grin,

“Lemme guess… he beat ya in that race didn‘t he?!” Rainbow Dash looked up quickly and narrowed her eyes,

“No! I…” Rainbow Dash looked off to the side, her wings were spread upwards and she looked away from Applejack with a bit of a blush on her cheeks, “Fine… I‘ll tell you guys everything. I‘ll start from the beginning though…”

“Hmph… he won‘t even stand a chance! He‘ll be blown away when he sees my moves!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she flew through the air towards Ponyville and away from Sweet Apple Acres. She continued through her day as normal, moving clouds here or there but still found time to relax and lay on one or two of them for a while although she found herself unable to drift off, the thoughts of her race at midnight were plaguing her and as the day neared its end she sprawled out in the cloud she was laying in above Sugar Cube Corner, her front hooves going above her head and a light puff of cloud rising from the white fluffiness around her as she groaned, “He was so impossible to read though! I can‘t tell if he was just bluffing or anything!” Rainbow Dash heard a whistle come from under her cloud and blinked for a moment as she heard a familiar voice yell out,

“Hey Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow blinked, lifting her head and sitting up, peering over the edge of the cloud and down towards the ground, seeing Pinkie Pie looking up at her with a grin and waving her hoof, “Come down here for a sec!” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, her wings spreading and giving a few slow beats as she glided down to Pinkie Pie, giving her an odd look and a smile,

“What‘s up Pinkie?” Pinkie Pie gave her trademark grin and tilted her head a little,

“The Cakes made a few too many cupcakes today and we‘re getting ready to close. Do ya want one, Dashie?” Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but roll her eyes, not being very much fond of the nickname the pink pony had made for her but she thought for a moment before smiling lightly,

“Sure Pinkie I could go for a cupcake.” Pinkie Pie hopped into Sugar Cube Corner before returning a few moments later with a small tray in her mouth with a cupcake on it. The cupcake was rather plain, which was to be expected from an extra cupcake. The cake part was barely visible under the white icing, a few sprinkles in the shape of ponies on top and the cake was a light tan color, cooked to perfection like almost everything from the bakery. Rainbow raised her hoof and took the cupcake, peeling back the wrapped before she ate it in two bites, grinning towards the party pony as she gave her a nod, “Ah~ thanks Pinkie. That really hit the spot!” Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash chatted casually for a few minutes before Pinkie Pie suddenly asked,

“Ya look like you‘ve got somethin‘ on your mind Dashie! Anything wrong?” Rainbow Dash looked into the calmly, yet concerned face of her friend before she sighed with a bit of a nervous laugh,

“Well.. I met this pegasus and… long story short we‘re going to have a race tonight.” Pinkie Pie paused for a moment as she tilted her head and smiled brightly,

“A race? But you‘re the super speediest Pony in all of Equestria! Are you worried about the race?” Rainbow Dash shook her head with another grin,

“Worried? Heh, when have I ever been worried?” Pinkie Pie only smiled, poking her chest as she giggled,

“How about the flying competition that was up in Cloudsdale?” Rainbow Dash blinked and looked off to the side with a sigh,

“Erm… yeah okay then. Well he‘s not from around here so I don‘t know how fast he is--” Pinkie Pie gave an excited gasp as she jumped a little bit into the air,

“I know who you‘re talking about! Written Dreams right?!” Rainbow Dash took a step back as she blinked, staring at her for a moment before she remembered what the pegasus had told her about Rainbow Dash being the final of the six for him to meet,

“Yeah actually. I found him over at the crusader‘s clubhouse. You wouldn‘t… know how fast he is by any chance… would you?” Pinkie Pie continued to grin before rapidly shaking her head and laughing,

“Nopey-Dopey-Lopey! But he‘s by far one of the bravest ponies I‘ve met! I actually met him when he first got to Ponyville and a few more times after that! I can tell you the story if you‘d like Rainbow Dash. But… he never flew when I was with him other then a little glide here or there.” Rainbow Dash laughed before shaking her head a bit,

“I think we‘ll leave the story for another day Pinkie. I‘m gonna do some cloud-moving before the race tonight so things are bright enough. I‘ll see you later Pinkie.” Pinkie Pie waved happily as Rainbow Dash zipped up into the sky and flew towards Cloudsdale,

“Bye Dashie! Good luck!”

Rainbow Dash flew till she reached Cloudsdale, walking around a bit before she flew up into the sky and began moving some clouds and bucking a few others, making them disappear in a puff. She paused after around twenty minutes and nodded with a soft smile, “Perfect!” She then flew back to Cloudsdale, heading back to her house and walked inside, hopping up onto her bed and let out a deep sigh as she pulled her rainbow-colored blanket over her, “Come on… Gah!” She sat up and groaned, “Why can‘t I sleep?! I am the fastest I have nothing to worry about!” Rainbow shook her head a few times and laid back down, remaining silent as she tried to clear her mind and eventually fell asleep.

Rainbow Dash slowly blinked her eyes as she awoke a good three and a half hours later and shook her head a bit before she slipped out of bed and walked to her mirror off to the side of her room looking at herself in the glass in the moonlight showing in through her window. The pegasus paused as she looked at herself before her eyes narrowed and she smiled in a determined stance, “Alright let‘s do this!” Rainbow Dash turned and flew to her window and out of it, flying above Cloudsdale and stood on one of the clouds overlooking the city. She slowly scanned the white clouds under her for the pegasus she had challenged, “He‘s going to be late if he doesn‘t show in a minute or so…” Rainbow Dash then paused for a moment, her ear twitching as she heard a light whistle. The mare looked up at the cloud above her, seeing the dark blue pegasus looking down at her with a raised eyebrow and a light smile on his face,

“Looking for someone?” Rainbow Dash spread her wings and flew upwards, her wings flapping a bit slower as she hovered before him,

“Heh, glad you showed up Dreams! You ready to do this?” Written Dreams stood from his lying position and chuckled a bit, his own wings spreading and flexing a few times,

“I am indeed. What shall the course be?” Rainbow Dash flew a bit closer and landed on the cloud next to him. She stood only a few inches from him given the cloud itself wasn’t all that large and pointed into the starry sky, moving her hoof back and forth as she steadily explained what their race course would be, full of twists and turns,

“…And then we‘ll end up back here at the end. A few of these are storm clouds so just make one drop a bolt of lightning to symbol you‘ve gotten back here. Sound fair?” Rainbow said as she looked over to Written Dreams who nodded happily and turned back looking ahead of him again,

“Got it. You ready?” Rainbow Dash grinned confidently as she got down low, preparing to take off, both pegasi’s wings spreading and very slowly flapping,

“Set…” The two looked at one another and exchanged a nod before they took off at the same time, Rainbow Dash quickly overtaking Written Dreams and started circling clouds in figure eights before she blinked and looked to her left, Written Dreams having caught up to her and was looking at her with a grin,

“Heh, what they say about you is true!” Rainbow Dash then blinked as the silver and blue pegasus flew ahead of her, blasting through a series of ten clouds before he flew into the air doing multiple barrel-rolls. Rainbow Dash growled and her wings sped up considerably, the gap between the two of them rapidly closing until they were neck and neck again, climbing higher and higher into the sky, neither one overtaking one another, their eyes locked on the other as they flew, spiraling and bursting through clouds together, an afterglow of a rainbow trailing behind Rainbow Dash before they both flew much higher into the sky before they both hovered, a few feet away from one another as Written Dreams softly smiled towards her, “Rainbow… you‘re amazingly fast.” Rainbow Dash’s cheeks were flushed. She slowly looked away from him for a few moments before looking back to him, her demeanor much calmer then before, a soft smile on her face as she moved closer to him,

“Nopony has ever put up such a good fight… I‘ve just left them all in the dust at the starting gate but you…” She looked down again before flying over and embracing him tightly, “You’re real competition…” Written Dreams paused, not expecting this from the pegasus but embraced her as well, a gentle smile spreading onto his face as she laid her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed as they embraced one another.

Nearly a minute passed before Rainbow Dash raised her head from his shoulder and smiled softly towards him, their faces illuminated in the moonlight, and Written Dream’s mane and tail shimmering softly in the night’s sky. Written Dreams was looking towards her with a gentle smile. Rainbow Dash then leaned in, sealing lips with the pegasus before her and like clockwork, the wings of the two pegasi ceased to flap, Written Dream’s eyes widening at the sudden kiss and very soon the two began to fall down towards the Earth, still embraced as one.

The two’s wings began to flap again as the two met terminal velocity, their wings beating rapidly to continue their speed in its increase, a mach cone invisibly forming around the two as their speed continued to rapidly increase. Rainbow Dash broke the kiss a few moments later, nuzzling his neck softly as their bodies pressed through the cone, an explosion erupting out from where they had broken the sound barrier with their speed.

Comments

[Jolttix]

Heh. Saw that one coming. But nice. It was fun to read that last part. Hats off to you sir! Dash was all like then was like then was all like then she was all