The Quill of Eternity

by Written Dreams

Chapter 8 - The Deal

Twilight and Princess Luna had finished walking through the chaotic town of Ponyville and had begun down the path towards the towering and snowy-peaked mountain ahead of them, the unicorn letting out slow breathes that caught the princess’ attention and Luna looked over to her with a concerned expression, “Twilight… what are you thinking about?” Twilight continued looking ahead, even after hearing her words she continued walking with her in silence for a number of minutes before she stopped and looked to the mare of the night,

“A few things. That Discord may have grown suspicious of what we‘re doing… and I‘m wondering what could be waiting for us at that cave. We haven‘t used much magic at all but still… I can‘t help but think he‘ll be showing his face again soon and then what?”

“We escape again.” Twilight stopped walking at the princess’ quick response and looked at her with a worried expression,

“Princess it can‘t be that easy! What if he--” Luna stomped her hoof angrily, glaring down at her,

“I don‘t know Twilight! I don‘t know what will happen if we encounter Discord again! What else can we do but just keep on running and searching for this quill and pray we never see his face throughout our entire journey?!” Luna paused, seeing Twilight take a step away from her and the alicorn sighed softly, hanging her head a little, “Twilight… I‘m sorry for yelling but… I am just as scared as you are about finding Discord again…” Twilight took a few steps towards her, putting her front hooves around her neck and embracing her tightly,

“Princess… I‘m sorry… you‘re right. I need to stop thinking about so many scenarios and just continue looking ahead and taking things as they come. Regardless of how hard they might be to overcome.”

A little over an hour later the two mares found themselves at the foot of the enormous mountain, looking up at the cragged peaks and jutting stones before them before they nodded in unison to one another and began walking up the trail up the mountain. It didn’t take the two very long before they came to an enormous rockslide barring most of the path in front of them, Luna pausing as she looked up and down at all of the boulders, “Oh my… what happened here?” Twilight gave a bit of an embarrassed laugh and scratched the back of her head, looking over to the princess as she walked forward and started walking over the boulders,

“This was actually Fluttershy‘s doing. She yelled so loudly that it caused an avalanche. It wasn‘t her fault though, she got startled when the rest of us were talking about avalanches so she thought one was happening.” Princess Luna gave a small laugh as her wings spread, flapping a few times as she flew across the rockslide, watching Twilight trot over to her after she had climbed over a few more boulders,

“Sounds like you all had quite the journey climbing up here.” Twilight looked back at the princess as the two continued up the path, making their way quickly up the mountain side with no interruption,

“It really was a fun experience in the end and we all learned that even though she‘s shy, Fluttershy will stand up for her friends no matter who opposes her.” Another hour passed before Twilight sat with a groan, panting a little as she was out of breath, “Princess, can we sit down for a few minutes? I’m exhausted.” Luna stopped walking, looking up at the remainder of the mountain they had left to climb before she trotted over to Twilight and laid down next to her,

“We‘re almost there anyway. It‘ll be better for us to get there and not be completely warn out from this hike.” Luna waited for a few moments, silently looking around before she blinked and looked down, seeing Twilight’s head resting on her arm and the little unicorn sound asleep. Luna watched her for a moment before smiling warmly down towards her and laid her own head down on the ground, “Still so young… everything that‘s happening is reeking havoc on her mind and body.”

Luna patiently waited for nearly thirty minutes before Twilight stirred, lifting her head and then standing up and blinking with a blush of embarrassment, “Oh my, did I fall asleep?” Luna nodded as she stood up as well and laughed, turning back towards the trail as she began walking once again,

“you haven‘t been able to really sleep peacefully in a while, and what‘s happened has taken its own toll on your mind and body, it‘s understandable Twilight.” Twilight took in Luna’s words and her expression turned to one of concern for the alicorn and she tilted her head a little as she trotted after her,

“What about you princess? Shouldn‘t you get some rest as well?” Luna slowly nodded her head, her smile fading a little as the two of them continued walking,

“Compared to what I‘ve endured, this is nothing.” Luna looks down at the pony walking next to her and she smiles softly, “Try being imprisoned on the moon for a thousand years but…” Luna pauses, looking ahead again, “This is second only to that…” After that, the two walked in silence until they reached the enormous cave near the top of the mountain. Twilight walked over to the entrance to the cave and looked around slowly before looking back to the princess as she walked over to join her,

“Okay princess, lets keep our eyes peeled for anything inside the cave.” Luna simply nodded in response and the two of them walked inside, both looking at the walls as they walked along opposite sides so that they would meet in the middle, “Princess… if these clues are hundreds of years old and carved into stone… wouldn‘t they have disappeared by now?” Both of the mares continue walking along the wall, Luna peering over to Twilight to acknowledge her before looking back to the wall,

“Logically yes, but I sensed it in the ursa‘s cave. The carving of this mountain was coated in a very thin layer of time magic.” Twilight stopped and looked over to the princess but Luna shook her head as she saw her face, “I know what you‘re thinking and no, there is no spell that allows a pony to rewrite history. The magic on the carvings stops them from ageing by sealing them in the second the spell was cast, and then it simply replays that second over and over again. It seems like it only works on carvings though as it doesn‘t have the properties to effect living beings.” As both Twilight and Luna met at the other end of the cave Twilight peered up towards the ceiling and her horn glowed a bit, illuminating the darker parts of the cave. Luna and Twilight both smiled in unison as the next clue was revealed to the two of them. Depicted above them was a large open prairie, some mountains off in the distance and a few rocks on the ground here or there. An ‘X’ sat in the center of the drawing, along with a herd of buffalo running across the picture. The two then paused and fell silent as they heard steps in front of them at the entrance of the cave,

“Twilight Sparkle I think you may have finally lost it.” Discord slowly walked towards the two of them with a sinister grin on his face, the draconequus imitating Twilight’s voice as he laughed, “I‘ve lost all my friends! Better climb a mountain!” Both Luna’s and Twilight’s horns glowed as they stare angrily towards the spirit of chaos but he throws up his arms and stands his ground, ceasing his approach, the elements of harmony around his neck and on his head, “Easy now ladies I didn‘t come her to fight you.” Both remained silent except for the growling leaving the two mares and Discord dropped his arms giving an unamused sigh, “Oh come now. If I wanted to I could have just blasted you both with the elements when I first saw you but that wouldn‘t have been fun at all.” Twilight opened her mouth to speak but Luna took a step forward staring down Discord with an angry expression,

“Discord why would you come here?” Discord brought his eagle claw to his chin and laughed before shaking his bear paw at the princess,

“Oh come now is that how you really greet an old friend after… how long has it been?”

“Not long enough. Now tell us why you didn‘t attack!” Discord rolls his eyes in response, folding his arms as he stares at them both,

“I came to strike a deal since I find it boring to pointlessly chase you both to… wherever it is you planned on going.” Discord walks around the cave a bit as he speaks, joining his paw and claw behind his back, “But this cave is actually quite nice though a bit drafty for my taste I much prefer my castle--” Twilight took a step forward and yelled towards Discord, both of their horns glowing brighter,

“What‘s this about a deal Discord?!” Discord blinked as Twilight cut him off, looking back to them with a smirk,

“Ah, yes that. Well seeing as how you two seem to have a habit of teleporting whenever I show up I think I can offer you something in exchange for completing my collection of the royal sisters.” Luna took a step back as her eyes widened in response to what Discord had said, the alicorn’s eyes narrowing with hatred-filled eyes. Twilight pauses hearing Discord’s words and looks towards him with a distrusting look,

“There is nothing you could possibly offer me that would make me give up the princess, and besides, that‘s not my choice to make anyway!” Discord fell silent as Twilight finished speaking and he stood before them for a few moments,

“Actually it is your choice Twilight because it‘s more fun for me that way. If either of you try to teleport, I shut off your magic. There is no way out of this for the princess.” Twilight stopped as she heard this, giving Discord an odd look,

“Why would you let me go?”

“I‘ve said it already. You are no threat to me but with the princess, you do pose a threat so I‘m restacking the odds in my own favor by removing her from the equation now then…” Discord brought his claw and paw out to his sides, both glowing with a bright shimmer and in five flashes, the statues of Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash appeared before them, Discord grinning as he saw Twilight’s eyes widen,

“Discord… what…?” Discord remained standing behind the five statues, motioning to each of them with his claw as a sinister smile creeped onto his face,

“In exchange for the princess, you may pick two of them to be returned to you. Two is more than fair I believe wouldn‘t you say, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna let out a slow breath and looked over to Twilight, her ears lowering a little,

“Twilight… my fate is already sealed here. You have no choice but to take Discord up on his offer and continue on without me.” Twilight was silent, staring at the ground as she said nothing. In her mind she was processing the situation. She was going to lose Luna now, that was set in stone as there was nothing else she could possibly offer the spirit of chaos but now she had to choose two of the five friends in front of her.

Discord turned away from them, walking to the mouth of the cave and laid down, closing his eyes as he looked over to the two, “You have one hour to make your choice, Twilight Sparkle.” He then disappeared in a flash of light and was gone. Twilight walked over to the statues of her friends, accompanied by the princess as the unicorn looked at each of them. Each of them were in the same positions they had been when they were originally changed, Rainbow Dash the only one not standing and in a flying stance laying on the ground. Twilight then simply looked down to the ground as she let out a sigh,

“Princess… I don‘t know who to choose… and how would they feel about me not choosing another?” Luna walked over next to her, putting a hoof around her and held her closely, giving her head a nuzzle as she sighed,

“Twilight… he‘s forcing you to make a selfish choice, there‘s no way around it. I would look at it this way. If you have to pick two of your friends, think of the future ahead of you and which two of your friends would be more useful against what you might face. Think of their skills and strengths, but do not forget their weaknesses as well.” Twilight listened carefully to the princess’ words and looked across at each of her friends,

“Rarity… she has a strong heart but can be overly dramatic at times. She‘s good at manipulating to get her way but is also generous to an incredible point.” Twilight looked to the next in line, “Fluttershy… quiet and shy, scared of most things but has a powerful bravery that comes out if one of her friends is in trouble and requires her to be strong.” Twilight continued to ponder as she looked to Applejack, “AJ… honest and physically she‘s very strong. Level-headed and very trustworthy although she can be a little too dependant on what other ponies think of her.” The unicorn continued, taking a few steps to the side as Luna continued to watch her, “Pinkie… dependant and trustworthy… she‘s able to see the silver lining in just about any situation and she‘s always positive and smiling but she can be serious if she needs to be.” Twilight lowered her head to look down at the statue of Rainbow Dash on the ground, “And finally Rainbow Dash… Loyal and strong, fast but prideful.” Twilight slowly closed her eyes and she laid down, laying her head down on the ground and groaned, “This is such a hard choice.”

The minutes passed by slowly and Twilight had stood up again, pacing around the cave as her eyes remained on the floor. Luna watched silently as Twilight mulled everything over in her mind. She silently waited and watched the unicorn as she made several laps around the cave before the princess eventually stood up and walked over to her, laying a hoof on her shoulder, “This must be hard for you Twilight… but pacing around is only going to make this harder. Come sit with me and rest your mind a little, it will do you a lot more good than thinking so hard about this.” Twilight said nothing as she looked at the princess, a look of heavy distress on her face, the small unicorn slowly walking over to the princess and laying down, laying her head on the ground as she sighed, feeling Luna running a hoof down her back periodically as she laid there,

“Princess… can you help me make this choice in any way?”

“Twilight… I feel I‘ve helped you as much as I can. In the end this is your decision to make. It might make things a little easier if you think about what we‘ve faced so far and think of that as what may happen in the future. Perhaps it might be easier if you could think of one or two to eliminate from your choices.” Twilight slowly lifted her head, looking up at her friends before closing her eyes,

“I wish they didn‘t have those horrified looks on their faces… it hurts to even look at them knowing I‘ll be leaving three of them in stone.”

“How do you think Fluttershy would have reacted in Sunny Town? Or against the ursas?” Twilight shook her head looking to Luna,

“That‘s not fair, that‘s just playing on weaknesses. When we were here she made the dragon leave and never return.”

“That was then, this is now. What you need to do is find which will be more valuable to YOU Twilight. Don‘t think about how they will feel about it. Yes, you are going to be leaving three in stone but if the two you choose can help you all the way to the end, then you have to choose them. The strongest, the ones who will look on with determination and the ones that can pick you or another up if they fall. There are a lot of different factors to choose from.” Twilight remains silent for a number of minutes until her hour expires and Discord appears in a bright flash of light, standing before them with a grin, his arms folded,

“Have you chosen?” Twilight nodded and took a step back as the Elements of Harmony glowed brightly, Discord raising his arms before he unleashed the power of the elements on Luna, the princess spreading her wings and standing with a determined expression as her body turned cold and grey. Discord gave a satisfied smirk as Twilight looked away from the princess with a sad sigh and sniffed before she rose her head hearing Discord snapping his fingers, “Go ahead and make your choice now.” Twilight pauses, looking at each of her friends before looking up at Discord with a scowl,

“Answer me something first. Why would you have me make this choice?” Discord folded his arms at Twilight’s words, shaking his head slowly as the spirit of disharmony lets out a laugh,

“It should be obvious. Chaos of the mind can be even more damaging than simple physical chaos. Yes I can make houses float and I can turn ponies into chocolate but when the war rages inside of a mind, that is when chaos is at it’s most powerful.” Twilight looked over as the statue of Luna glowed brightly and then disappeared in a flash of light, “Now Twilight. Make your choice, you‘ve stalled me long enough I‘m missing some excellent chaos while I sit here talking with you.” Twilight was silent for another few moments before she looked up to Discord and nodded slowly,

“I choose Applejack and Rainbow Dash.” Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy all disappeared in a flash of light and the Elements glowed brightly, as Discord touched a finger to the two remaining statues, color filling them as their solidification disappeared. Discord looked at Twilight Sparkle for a few moments before a dark smile creeped onto his face,

“An interesting choice Twilight. I hope this decision won‘t haunt you for too long.” Discord let out a loud laugh as he disappeared, his laugh echoing throughout the cave. Applejack collapsed to the ground with a groan and passed out in front of Twilight, Rainbow Dash doing the same and Twilight let out a slow sigh as she walked around the cave, gathering a few twigs and branches and gathered them in the middle of the cave, her horn glowing for a few moments before she touched it down, the raw magical aura making the dry wood catch on fire after a few moments, Twilight withdrawing her horn and walking over to her two friends, bringing them over to the warmth of the fire and she smiled gently, seeing the two of them breathing slowly as they slept

“Honesty and Loyalty, Strength and Stealth… I just hope I made the right choice.” Twilight then laid opposite the two and laid her head down, staring into the flames as she held back her tears, the loss of the princess weighing heavily on her heart.

Comments

[Demirari]

Nooooooooo! Shoulda chosen Pinkie Pie.