The Quill of Eternity

by Written Dreams

Chapter 25 - A Clue Within Crystals

Written Dreams continued to scan the walls around them before he heard Fluttershy gasp and looked back at her quickly seeing the pony cover her mouth with her hoofs before pointing a shaky hoof in front of them. Written Dreams followed her hoof and his eyes widened as he saw the enormous, light blue ursa sleeping before them. It took long inhales before letting out longer exhales through its nose, the upper lip of the bear flapping a bit from the force of the exhale accompanied by the sound of growling. Written Dreams turned to Fluttershy and pointed to a corridor off to the side. Fluttershy turned her gaze from his hoof back to him and gave a shaky and slight nod before the two of them continued down the corridor off to one side, “Ursas are so much more beautiful then the depictions I‘ve seen in books.” Fluttershy looked at him quickly,

“Well… yes. But the only one who‘s been able to tame and put that ursa minor back to sleep was Twilight… it would have destroyed all of Ponyville if she hadn‘t done what she did.” Written Dreams tilted his head as he looked back at her,

“You seem like you‘re really good with animals… why didn‘t you work your own magic on it?” Fluttershy shook her head in response,

“I don‘t know if I would have been brave enough to try but even if I was… I wasn‘t there. I was asleep through the whole thing since when it happened was fairly late at night and… well my home is at the far edge of Ponyville…” Written Dreams shook his head as he looked back at her with a grin,

“It‘s alright Fluttershy. I‘m just glad that Twilight was able to handle things on her own.” The two continued walking for a number of minutes before the two finally entered a large, open cavern, the dark blue pegasi’s eyes fixing immediately to the far wall and his wings spread before he flew over to it and began studying the marking on the wall, “Isn‘t it beautiful Fluttershy? These have been preserved for at least a thousand years!” Fluttershy trotted over to him and smiled up at the drawing etched into the cave’s walls depicting the dragon’s mountain,

“The one who carved it must have been very skillful.” Written Dreams touched down and looked at her with a wide grin,

“This mountain is the tall one outside of Ponyville am I right?” The timid pegasus slowly nodded with a soft smile on her face,

“Oh yes… me and my friends once… well we went all the way to the top because a dragon was sleeping up there and… well he was polluting the air.” Fluttershy smiled proudly, “I had to give him a stern talking to but in the end he wasn‘t so mean at all--” There was a sudden and very loud boom and Fluttershy froze as Written Dreams looked around quickly. Both of their eyes soon fixed upon a giant bear claw slamming down onto the cave floor and soon the face of the ursa major appeared from around the corner. It stared at them, watching the ponies staring up at it before it growled and slammed its other claw down, causing a few rocks to fall from the ceiling, “What do we do Written Dreams?!” When Fluttershy heard nothing but grunting she turned to find Written Dreams’ wing pinned down under one of the fallen rocks, the pegasus trying hard to free himself,

“Fluttershy… Get out of here! I can lure it while you escape!” The ursa major got down low and nearly a moment later it began to charge them, roaring loudly as loud booms came from its claws with every bound.

Fluttershy looked from Written Dreams to the ursa major and back to him with a look of intense fear on her face before her eyes quickly narrowed and she stood, barring the path between Written Dreams and the ursa major, “WAAAAAAAAIT!!!” The ursa’s expression turned to one of confusion and it skidded to a halt, stopping several feet from the two. Fluttershy looked up at it defiantly as she stomped her hoof, “We are not here to hurt anyone! Only to look at this beautiful piece of art!” Her voice steadily became softer and kinder as she continued speaking, “We both know that this is your cave and that you are very protective of your child… we also respect that you have the right to attack any intruders but honestly now…” She smiled softly, “Are we really a threat? The only thing we both want is to be on our way and leave everything just as it was. Will you please let us do that…?” The ursa major was silent as it stared down at the two for a number of minutes of contemplation before it finally slid its paw over to written dreams and flicked the rock, sending it flying off into the corner and it then nodded and turned, leaving the room and disappearing around the corner.

Written Dreams simply stared at the pony for nearly a minute before he threw his hoofs around her and embraced her tightly, “That was absolutely incredible Fluttershy!!!” He then let her go, still smiling brightly at the now blushing pegasus opposite him, “Right then… umm.. Shall we go?” Fluttershy smiled gently as she nodded to him and the two exited the cave without further interruption.

After leaving the forest the two returned to Fluttershy’s cottage and talked a bit about their adventure but all good things must come to an end and eventually, Written Dreams said his goodbye’s to the timid pegasus, Fluttershy, and left, trotting with a grin, into Ponyville, Twilight’s library meeting his gaze off in the distance as he grinned.

Written Dreams’ ears perked a bit as he opened his mouth to continue speaking but paused as he turned his gaze to the unicorn who was still looking at him with a gentle smile on her beautiful face. Her lids were half closed giving her the appearance of sleepiness, “That was such a nice story Written… and… it‘s rare to know a colt who would give their life for somepony they just met.”

“Twilight… I live by believing that no matter what happens, there will always be a positive outcome. That way, I can never lose hope. When Applejack and Rainbow Dash return from the crystal cave beneath Canterlot I would be honored if you would accompany me until we find the quill together.” Twilight opened her mouth to speak but stopped as she gazed at him, slowly nodding with a happy giggle, “I feel like it‘s fitting.” His eyes then drifted to the corner of her eye, a single tear falling down her cheek. He reached forward, touching his hoof to her cheek and wiped it away, “Get some sleep Twilight. Rainbow and AJ should be back by morning.” Twilight offered no response but to close her eyes and snuggle a bit more into her blanket seemingly unaware that she had shed a tear. Written waited until her breathing slowed and she had fallen asleep before he beat his wings a few times to lift off of the bed without disturbing her and touched down against the cool wood of her bedroom floor.

As he trotted back towards the door to her bedroom his gaze returned to the sleeping unicorn in the setting sunlight and a warm smile spread across his face, “Sleep well Twilight Sparkle.” He then trotted through the threshold, his hoof holding onto the edge of the door as he pulled it and he heard the door touch the frame as he continued down the stairs, the door opening just a crack as he descended.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash braced themselves as the mine cart flew down the tracks, winding and turning every which way and the pegasus had her wings extended to give them further balance, “I think we‘re almost to the end of this thing AJ!” Applejack continued looking ahead, as she was in the front of the mine cart to begin with. Her eyes then suddenly widened and she pointed ahead,

“Ah‘ll sure say we are Rainbow! But there ain‘t much room fer us ta be stoppin’ at!” Rainbow Dash went down into the mine cart, grabbing the emergency brake lever and pulled it back, sparks grinding and spraying everywhere around them as the two of them flew towards the end of the tracks.

Mere moments later the two gave the other a quick nod before Rainbow Dash grabbed Applejack and flapped her wings as she jumped out of the mine cart, the cart hitting the small stopper at the end of the track and flew past it, slamming hard into the opposite wall and was partially embedded inside of it, “That wouldn‘t have been fun…” Rainbow said with wide eyes as she dusted herself off and Applejack stood up with a light smile as she chuckled,

“Thanks Rainbow fer makin‘ sure ah got out ah there.”

“No worries AJ.” Dash said with a grin as her ears twitched a bit and her eyes drifted around in her head, “So where to next? Looks like we‘ve hit the end of the line--”

“Hello?!” Both mares quickly looked towards the wall that the mine cart crashed into and the pegasus rushed over to it and hit it with her hoof, making a lightly echoed sound along with the light clop,

“Is somepony in there?!” She pressed her ear to the crystals before they heard the voice speak again,

“I‘m trapped in here and there‘s no way I can get out…” Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other and the farm pony looked back to the wall of crystals,

“Don‘t worry yer head there pardner! We‘ll get ya out ah there in a jiffy!” The colt’s voice soon spoke again, letting out a relieved sigh and they then heard a chuckle,

“You know… I had lost hope of anypony coming to save me. My magic is strong but these crystals deflect it… I suppose it‘s the perfect prison for a unicorn.” Rainbow Dash and Applejack turned themselves around and faced away from the wall, Applejack nodding to her as she lowered,

“Ya‘ll should stand away from the wall! One… two… three!” They both slammed their hind hooves into the wall, a loud bang echoing throughout the cave. Applejack let out a slow breath before getting down low again, “Again!” She counted down and they slammed their hooves into the wall again.

As hours passed the sun eventually set over the horizon. Written Dreams was lying on a couch downstairs in Twilight’s home with the book on the Elements of Harmony open in front of him, his eyes slowly scanning the text as he read. Twilight was still asleep from before, the dark blue pegasus having gone up to both check on her and replace her ice pack every twenty minutes or so.

His ear then perked after a few more minutes and he stood up, stretching so that he could hear a pop from his back and flexed his wings. He trotted over to the door and slowly opened it, smiling down at the three crusaders as they came inside, “Don‘t be too loud girls, Twilight is still asleep.” They all nodded to him and he closed the door, Sweetie Belle going off into another room in search of her own book to read, the little unicorn’s eyes scanning the shelves as she trotted around.

Applebloom and Scootaloo trotted off in another direction and into the kitchen, Written Dreams following them with a light chuckle, “You guys must be hungry… what have you guys eaten over the past few weeks?” Scootaloo groaned as she quickly made her way to the pantry and began to rummage,

“Pretty much nothing but apples, it‘s been awful--” Scootaloo was cut off as she caught a glare from Applebloom and she chuckled nervously, “Erm.. Even if they were delicious apples.” Applebloom went about setting up bread, along with various flowers and other condiments. She also brought out a few bananas and a mango to be cut up.

Over the course of the next twenty minutes the three casually chatted, Sweetie Belle eventually coming back into the room with a spell book. The three crusaders were seated at the dining table off near the wall of the small kitchen as Written Dreams cut up the fruit and made them each a daisy and daffodil sandwich, “What are you reading over there Sweetie Belle?” The white unicorn looked up from the book she was reading and smiled a bit,

“Well I figured since I‘m also a unicorn I could learn a few more spells just in case.” Written Dreams paused, stopping mid-cut into the mango,

“In case of what…?” Sweetie Belle’s expression turned to one of unsure contemplation.

“Well… for if things don’t go the way we plan… when we fight Discord.” Written Dreams continued to cut the mango as he spoke, his tone fairly serious,

“Girls… the three of you are going to be staying here during the confrontation.” Scootaloo raised her voice a little and stood up in her seat, her front hooves planted on the table,

“No way! Why would we stay here while all of you go and battle Discord?!” Written Dreams was silent as he finished their dinners and brought the three plates to the table, giving them each a glass of orange juice as well,

“Quiet down Scootaloo and I‘ll explain. You see, the final confrontation is going to be one of the most dangerous situations any of us have ever been in and the reason I‘m telling you three to remain here is because it would kill me to see anything happen to you three. You‘re so young… you shouldn‘t have to spend your lives as statues if things go badly...” Sweetie Belle said nothing more as she continued to pan through the spell book, her eyes slowly sliding back and forth and Applebloom started on her breakfast. Scootaloo picked at her food with a bit of a disheartened look on her face.

Written Dreams looked over to the little orange and purple filly and took his hoof, touching it to her mane and stroked her mane slowly , “Can‘t let my little sister get hurt, right…?” Scootaloo looked up at him with a bright smile on her face but it faded slightly as she spoke,

“I know you‘re worried about us but after everything that‘s happened… we don‘t even get to watch?” The pegasus colt paused for a moment before he smiled over to Sweetie Belle,

“Tell you three what. If you can figure out a way to watch without being there then you can do whatever you‘d like, okay?” The three nodded with wide smile on each of their faces and they all began to eat happily.

After the three had finished eating Scootaloo looked up at her honorary big brother and tilted her head slightly, “Hey… I know you asked us to stop asking you about it but will you please tell us the story about you and Twilight…?” Written Dreams paused midway through picking up the dishes and gazed at her,

“Scoot…” He stood up, putting the dishes in the sink before he trotted back over to the table and sat down again, “I told you before… it wouldn‘t be right for me to tell you of the memories she has locked away in her mind. I‘m sure you‘ll know eventually… but not before Twilight realizes on her own what she did.” Applebloom tilted her head slightly, giving him an odd and disbelieving look,

“Mr. Dreams? How is Twilight going to remember if she locked her memories away?”

“Twilight is one of the smartest ponies I‘ve ever met. There is no doubt in my mind that she‘ll realize what her own body is telling her soon enough.” Twilight had stopped midway down the stairs, frozen in her tracks with her eyes wide and staring at nothing in particular. Many thoughts going through her mind as she took in the words that she had overheard Written Dreams say, her hooves slowly moving backwards as she went back up the stairs.

The unicorn stared at the floor as she trotted back over to her bed and sat at the foot of her bed, laying her head on the blanket, “Locked… memories…? Why would I…” She raised her head, her expression one of deep confusion, “What happened?”

“One! Two! Three!!!” The pegasus and earth pony slammed their hooves hard into the wall of crystal and it suddenly exploded, shattering all around them and the two mares jumped back at the sound. The mine cart also fell to the ground as it was freed from the wall and rolled a few feet before coming to a stop in the dusty air.

The unicorn on the other side of the crystal coughed in the dust cloud and the three waited for it to settle before they all looked at each other. The unicorn trotted over to them and nodded his head with a grateful smile on his face. His mane was two coats of blue, one dark and a streak of lighter along with his tail and his coat was a pure white. His cutie mark depicted a three-pointed shield with a pink six-pointed star inside of it and three blue stars, one above each point of the shield, “Thank you so much for helping me to escape that prison… please let me introduce myself. My name is Shining Armor, captain of the royal guard of Canterlot.” Applejack and Rainbow Dash were silent for a moment as they merely stared at him with light blushes on their face but eventually, Applejack smiled brightly and shook his hoof,

“Pleased ta‘ meet ya Shinin‘ mah name‘s Applejack. Ah run Ponyville‘s Apple farm with mah brother an‘ granny.” Rainbow spoke next after regaining her composure a bit,

“The name‘s Rainbow Dash! Fastest flier in Equestria and soon to be Wonderbolt!” Shining chuckled as he smiled at the two of them and gave them each another nod,

“A pleasure to meet you both. I‘ll put in a good word for you with the Wonderbolts once this whole mess is over. If I’m not mistaken, are you the elements of Loyalty and Honesty?” When the two of them nodded the unicorn grinned brightly, “I‘ve been wanting to meet my little sister‘s friends for a long time now and I wanted to say thank you, for watching over her while I‘ve been unable to.” The mare’s eyes widened and Rainbow went airborne, her wings lightly flapping to keep her hovering a few feet off the ground,

“Wait a minute! YOU‘RE Twilight‘s brother?! She‘s going to be so happy to know that you‘re okay!” Shining quickly nodded and his horn glowed, the mine cart righting itself and floated back onto the tracks properly. His expression turned a bit more serious as he looked at the two of them,

“Then we mustn‘t waste any time in getting back to her. You two can fill me in on what‘s been happening along the way.” They both quickly nodded but Applejack looked to Rainbow Dash for a moment,

“Rainbow we‘ve still gotta find the next clue.” Shining Armor paused for a moment before he turned around and pointed back into his prison,

“I was wondering what this was.” Applejack and Rainbow Dash trotted through the destroyed wall and both looked around the walls for a moment before their eyes fixed upon the wall.

The sight before them was of a massive castle surrounded by trees, however, the castle itself was riddled with holes and seemed more like it was made by insects like a hive instead of being made from stone. Also, small carvings of bug-like creatures were flying all around but were too small for any real details to be made out. The two mare’s ears perked as they heard Shining’s voice again behind them, “Do either of you know where that might be…?” They both looked back at him and shook their heads and Rainbow Dash spoke next,

“I know somepony who should know though. Let‘s hurry back to the library!” Neither of the others said another word before Applejack and Shining Armor hopped into the mine cart and it was soon flying down the tracks with Rainbow Dash flying right beside the two of them.