The Quill of Eternity

by Written Dreams

Chapter 9 - Reunion

“Twilight… hey… Twilight…” The unicorn’s eyes tightened a bit as she awoke, feeling a hoof nudging her side before her eyes slowly opened and she looked up, seeing Applejack looking down at her with a confused look. Twilight stood up, her eyes beginning to well up with tears and both ponies embraced one another, tears streaming down Twilight’s face as Applejack closed her eyes, “I just woke up Twilight… what happened?” The two let their hooves fall back to the ground and Twilight looked over to Rainbow Dash, who was laying on her back snoring periodically in her sleep,

“Let‘s wait till Rainbow comes to.” Applejack nodded and took a few steps over to her before Twilight raised her hoof to stop her, “AJ, you‘ve both been statues for a few days now… best to let her wake up on her own.” Applejack walked back over to Twilight before nodding to her, “What is it like being a statue…? What do you remember?” Applejack looked down, letting out a slow sigh before she and Twilight laid back down, the country pony tilting her hat back a little,

“Last thing I remember is us goin‘ up against that feller Discord and… then things really turned bad. He used the elements on us Twi and then I saw the princess jump out in front of you… then nothing. I could still think jus‘ fine but I couldn‘t see ‘er hear nothin‘… I also couldn‘t move at all, no matter how hard I tried to. I could sleep though, kinda let my mind shut off to pass the time. Lost track ‘a time pretty fast.” Twilight silently nodded during Applejack’s description of being encased in stone and she looked down with a sigh before looking back up at her with a slight smile,

“It sounds like hell but… at least you‘re out now--”

“So that‘s where we‘ve been this whole time.” Twilight and Applejack turned their heads to see Rainbow Dash giving them both an annoyed look as she still laid on her back, “What are we doing here Twilight? How did you bring us back?” Rainbow Dash said as she rolled onto her stomach before flapping her wings a few times to right herself and she trotted over to them, “And… where are the others?” Twilight took a deep breath before letting it out slowly and watched as Rainbow Dash laid down folding her wings as she watched Twilight’s face,

“Luna and I were following clues towards a mystical artifact called the Quill of Eternity. First Trixie and I made it to Canterlot castle where we managed to find a book detailing where the first of many clues were located. Discord confronted us… I don‘t know what happened to Trixie, she teleported me out of the room. Luna and I escaped the castle and headed into the Everfree forest where we found Zecora. The three of us went back to where the six of us originally fought Nightmare Moon where we found the first clue which led us to Sunny Town… A cursed town that’s inhabitants turn to decayed zombies at sundown. One of the ponies managed to catch Zecora… she was cursed and we lost her to the town. Me and Luna escaped and met Ruby, who told us to head to the ursa major‘s cave. We did that with Ruby‘s help and that clue led us here. To the cave at the top of this mountain but when we got here…” Twilight paused for a moment, looking down with a sad sigh, “Discord was waiting for us and forced me to make a deal with him.” Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the mention of a deal with the spirit of chaos as she stared at Twilight,

“You made a deal with him…?”

“I had to trade the princess to--” Rainbow Dash interrupted Twilight and stomped her hoof angrily, her wings beating to accompany her tone,

“What were you thinking trading the princess to that monster?!” Applejack stood and yelled towards Rainbow Dash, stomping her own hoof in defiance,

“Calm down there Rainbow! You know Twilight wouldn‘t have made that deal unless she had to.” Twilight had looked away, waiting a few moments as Rainbow Dash’s wings went back to her sides and she looked down, a bit ashamed of herself,

“Sorry Twilight… I…” Twilight looked back to the rainbow pegasus and shook her head,

“Rainbow it‘s okay… Applejack is right though, I didn‘t have a choice. Discord told me that in exchange for the princess I could choose two of my friends to be un-petrified and… I chose the two of you.”

“Well of course you chose me! I doubt you could have made any better choice!” Applejack nudged Rainbow Dash then, before pointing to Twilight who was looking down and away from them, a worried look on the unicorn’s face and Rainbow paused with a sigh as Applejack took a step over to Twilight and nuzzled her,

“We‘re mighty grateful for you choosin‘ us sugarcube, but why me and Rainbow and not either of the others?” Twilight was silent for nearly a minute before she looked back up at the two who were both looking at her eagerly awaiting her answer, Applejack with a concerned look and Rainbow wearing the same expression,

“It wasn‘t an easy choice to make… but Discord only gave me an hour to decide so if I didn‘t pick then I would have been turned to stone along with the princess and I wouldn‘t have been able to continue this journey either… I chose the two of you because you both have a lot of positive traits and you balance each other out as a pair. Applejack, you‘re strong and you don‘t give up, same with you Rainbow Dash. Your loyalty is unfailing and I know you‘ll do anything for either me or Applejack in any situation. Along with that… neither of you back down from a fight.” Both pegasus and earth pony nodded to her with grateful smiles on their faces and Applejack looked around slowly before her gaze shifted back to Twilight,

“So ya mentioned clues that we‘ll be needin’ to follow.
Did you two find the one that was here?” Twilight walked past the two and raised her head, her horn glowing brightly and she illuminated the enormous carving above the mouth of the cave. Applejack paused as it appeared and she tilted her head a little, “Twi, that looks like the stampeding grounds them buffalo and the appaloosan’s were fightin‘ over when we were there visitin‘ Braeburn.”

“That‘s what I thought too when I first saw it. From what it looks like what we‘re going to have to do is head there and possibly dig at where this x is on the picture.” Rainbow Dash stood up and nodded, her wings flapping once as she grinned towards the two of them,

“Alright then! Now that we know where we‘re going let‘s head out!” Twilight felt herself smile softly at Rainbow Dash’s words and looked from her to Applejack before nodding,

“I‘ll do what I can to answer any more questions that you both might have.”

The three of them descended down the mountainside without talking much, Rainbow Dash hovering most of the way instead of walking and soon they were on their way towards Appaloosa, “Twi, last time we went to Appaloosa, it was an overnight train ride. Do ya think we would be able to take the train again or are we going to have to walk?” Rainbow Dash landed and looked ahead of them, cringing as she saw Ponyville in the distance along with the chocolate Canterlot high up on the mountain,

“Discord turning everything all chaotic I really don‘t want to be taking any trains from Canterlot or Ponyville.” Both Applejack and Twilight seemed to accept the answer and thought it best to simply walk all the way there. Twilight looking around as they walked down the path before she stopped, thinking for a few moments as she drew calculations in the dirt below them,

“It was an overnight train ride so if we run for a few hours… and walk other times… we should be able to get to Appaloosa in about two days if we limit the time that we rest.” Without another word they all take off down the path, galloping together, all with determined looks on their faces as they make their way towards their next destination.

“Hey Twilight, I have a question.” Twilight looks to her right to the pegasus, Applejack to the unicorn’s left as she gives her a quizzical expression as they all run,

“What is it Dash?”

“Just wondering; what does this quill do? I mean, can it beat Discord and the elements or… what?”

“The book that me and Trixie found doesn‘t tell us anything about what the quill actually does, and I don‘t think that there‘s a book out there that even can do that. I don‘t even think it was ever documented.” Rainbow Dash didn’t seem even slightly accepting of the answer given and her quizzical expression only deepened,

“So why would we go and find something when we don‘t even know what it does?” Twilight nodded in response to her words, continuing to look ahead as her horn glowed and a scroll poked out of her pack, the pegasus noticing it as soon as it appeared,

“Because after the confrontation of Discord and before Spike was also turned to stone, I received a fail-safe letter of sorts from the princess instructing me to find it. You can both read it when we stop to rest in a few hours.” Rainbow seemed contented with the answer as her wings gave a few more beats as she flew along, closing her eyes and letting out a long breath a few hours later as the three continued to run, her mane and tail blowing carelessly in the cool breeze she made around herself in the warmth of the western-esc landscape,

“Oh man does it feel good to fly again! I was going crazy not being able to spread my wings! Woo-hoo!” Rainbow yelled as she did a few barrel-rolls and flips as she flew next to the two. Applejack giving an unamused rolling of her eyes as she looks over to the pegasus,

“Rainbow, I‘m all fer havin‘ a good time but we need at focus on headin‘ straight there.” Rainbow let out a laugh as she flew upside down, her front hooves behind her head and her back hooves kicking like she was swimming in a reclining pose,

“Are you forgetting I‘m the fastest pegasus in Cloudsdale? I could probably be there and back before you all made it halfway! Actually that‘s not a bad idea…” Twilight gave her an unsure look as the unicorn looked up at her and shook her head,

“Rainbow you can go ahead a bit if you really want to but just stay within eyesight of us okay? I don‘t know how Discord‘s magic has effected Appaloosa so we need to be prepared for anything.” Rainbow looked down at her as she continued her swimming motion as she flew and raised an eyebrow in concern,

“You really think it might be dangerous there Twilight? I mean, yeah, last time we were there the appaloosans and the buffalo had a big fight but it all turned out right in the end.” Twilight’s expression turned serious after she heard this and she narrowed her eyes at the pegasus,

“That‘s not what I mean Rainbow. Remember what happened to you and the others when you were all effected by Discord‘s magic? The same thing could have happened to any of the ponies or the buffalo there.” Rainbow Dash flew ahead after giving a nod, staying about half a mile ahead of the two, doing a trick or two periodically as Applejack and Twilight continued running. After a bit Applejack turned her head towards Twilight and gave a bit of a leap, letting her front hoof be free for a moment so she could adjust her hat,

“Hey Twi, we‘ve just about passed the fifth of the way mark if you wanna slow down for a bit.” Twilight continued looking ahead, a determined look on her face as she continued running, Applejack’s face showing concern for her knowing she didn’t run very often and wasn’t the fastest pony when she did,

“I‘m fine Applejack. I can run for about another hour before I‘ll need to rest.” Her head then turned towards the country pony, “How about you?”

“I‘ll stop when you do Twilight. No use in us seperatin‘ any time soon.” The next hour and a half went rather uneventfully, Rainbow Dash moving back to fly next to the two of them. Twilight had begun taking shorter breaths, indicating she was pushing herself incredibly hard to continue going, “Twilight, you‘re gonna collapse at this rate lets stop for a bit and rest.” Twilight’s hooves began to slow a bit before she slowed further and eventually stopped, panting hard as she looked over to Applejack,

“Yeah… I guess you‘re right.” Twilight started to fall forward, her exhaustion taking over and Applejack caught her on her back,

“Easy there pardner. Rainbow?” Applejack said as she looked up at the hovering pegasus, “See if you can find us a place close by where we can rest for a while out of this sun.” Rainbow zoomed off without another word, Applejack watching her as she hoisted Twilight’s unconscious body onto her back and trotted after Rainbow. If was only a matter of minutes before Applejack saw Rainbow motioning a bit in the distance and after a few minutes, she walked over to her, looking around at a small cave in some rocks with a burned out fire in front of it. AJ walked over to the cave, setting Twilight in the shade before walking over and poking the fire, “Nopony‘s been here for a long time.” Rainbow Dash trotted opened Twilight’s bag and withdrew a canteen from it before walking over to a nearby cactus and punching it hard, her hoof entering it before she replaced it with the canteen,

“Starting to think we should have gone back to Ponyville for a bit. Maybe get some supplies for this trip.” Rainbow then walked back over and lifted the canteen for Twilight as she lifted her head, making her drink a bit of the water before she drank a bit herself and passed it to Applejack who took a swig before sliding the cap back on,

“Maybe… but it looks like Twilight‘s carryin‘ more then her share of bags.” Rainbow shrugged looking back at Twilight before looking back to Applejack,

“Maybe she got the princess‘ bags from her before Discord took her away?” Applejack simply nodded in response, the two of them taking Luna’s bags from Twilight’s back and Applejack fitted them onto herself,

“Surprised she was able to run so long with so much weight… she really is determined when sets her mind to somethin‘.” The sun had set by the time Twilight awoke, the unicorn looking around hazily as her eyes adjusted. She then paused seeing a gentle glow near her, Applejack and Rainbow Dash sitting around a small fire as Applejack unfurled a scroll and had begun reading it as Rainbow was laid down. Twilight laid there for around a minute before she stood up and walked over laying next to her friends with a small smile on her face,

“Reading the princess‘ letter?” Applejack nodded to her as she continued reading aloud for Rainbow, her eyes slowly sliding from left to right as she did so,

“I pray that ya will never receive this letter from me and since ya have, ya’ll must find Written Dreams. Your mentor and friend, Princess Celestia.” Applejack paused for a moment as she read the name, bringing a hoof to her chin as she though about it, “Written Dreams…? Twilight, didn‘t you say we was lookin‘ for that Quill of Eternity?” Twilight nodded in response and her horn glowed, the letter rolling back up and sliding into her bag,

“I‘ve worked out that Written Dreams is looking for the quill himself and given that some ponies have looked for years and never found it I‘m very sure that we‘ll be meeting him eventually if we simply continue following the clues.” Applejack nodded to her with a light smile and the earth pony laid down looking across to her,

“Ya know, the name sounds familiar, I might ‘a met him a few months back I‘m sure it‘ll come to me eventually.” Twilight’s smile grew wide at hearing this, her eyes arching a little,

“I was wondering if anyone else had met him when he was in Ponyville. I met him when he came by the library for the book on the quill.”

“Hey Rainbow, did ya ever meet--” Both ponies paused as they saw Rainbow sort of staring up at the sky with a small smile on her face and a very faint blush on her cheeks. Her wings were straight up and seemed locked that way as she said nothing in response to Applejack’s words, “Looks like we lost ‘er.” Twilight giggled as she watched Rainbow’s expression and looked back to Applejack,

“Fond memories I guess. He was staying at the castle when he was around Ponyville. I don‘t know if he came into town more then once though. Zecora told me the story of how she met him twice and Ruby, from Sunny Town told us about his experiences there.”

“He‘s a pegasus right? Dark blue and he‘s got that silver mane and tail?” Twilight simply nodded with a happy smile as Applejack continued, her hoof under her chin as she continued thinking, “Yeah… yeah… I think he came by the farm for a bit before he got rushed off. Was kind of a short visit but he was there.”

“Book, potions…” Written Dreams paused as he looked around, “A farm… Well I suppose I‘ll need some food along the way.” As the pegasus continued up the road he caught sight of Applejack and smiled as he trotted over to her, “Hello miss, I was wondering if I could purchase some food for a trip I‘ll be taking. Small yet filling would be perfect.” Applejack laughed as she turned to face him, adjusting her hat as she smiled warmly,

“Cut right to the chase don‘t ya pardner? Well ya‘ll‘ve come to the right place as long as you‘re a fan of apples! I‘m Applejack by the way, friends call me AJ for short.” Written Dreams raised his hoof, happily shaking the farm pony’s hoof before they both returned their hooves to the ground,

“I‘m Written Dreams. So you‘re Applejack, the element of honesty?” Applejack gave a happy smile as she brought Written Dreams over to the barn, looking around for a moment before taking a few apple-based foods such as pies and pastries and wrapped them up for him, “Honest Applejack some call me. I take it ya‘ll know about the elements then?” Applejack said as she turned back to him. Written Dreams gave a happy nod as he stood before her, watching as she got the food put together for him,

“The elements of harmony are one of my favorite subjects to write about actually. Some of my research brought me to Ponyville so I was excited at the possibility of meeting some of the six who wield them.”

“Well I‘m sure Twilight could tell ya more then I could. She‘s the one with the smarts on the subject.”

“Honesty and modesty are a good combination.” Applejack gave a laugh as she finished packaging up the food and smiled as Written Dreams handed her a bag of bits. Applejack paused though as she looked inside and tilted her head a bit,

“Well aren‘t you the flatterer… but ya paid me far too much for all of this.” Written Dreams shook his head before turning back and reaching into his bag and withdrawing a canteen,

“I was actually hoping I could have this filled with some of that famous cider I‘ve heard about. I know it‘s not the season but I was hoping you still might have had a barrel or two knocking around.” Applejack blinked for a moment before she brought a hoof to her chin and thought before nodding with a happy smile,

“Actually tapped one of the reserve barrels we have stocked away a few days ago.” Applejack left and returned about a minute later with the canteen capped and smiled as Written Dreams replaced it into his bag,

“I‘ve heard a lot of really good things about this cider I can‘t wait to try it.” Applejack smiled softly before motioning again to the bag of bits now sitting on one of the boxes near her,

“I know I gave ya‘ll some cider too but I really can‘t accept this much.”

“Actually would it be possible to have that food delivered to the castle?” Applejack blinked before looking back to the few boxes behind her and turned back nodding,

“Well that sounds like a fair deal. I‘ll go get my big bro Big Macintosh to get on his way in a little while!” Written Dreams nodded to her before blinking, feeling a light tapping on his side and looked down seeing the small filly Applebloom standing next to him,

“Did I hear ya sayin‘ ya like to write about stuff?” Written Dreams paused for a moment before lowering his head to get eye level with her and grinned,

“Yes indeed I do. Why do you ask?” The little filly beamed with excitement as she looked at him and took a step back pointing off into the vast apple orchard,

“Mr. Dreams I have friends who would love to meet you! Can you come with me if you‘re not busy?! It won‘t take too long I promise!” The pegasus rose his head and looked back to Applejack with a light laugh,

“Looks like I‘m being kidnapped. I‘ll see you later AJ.”

“See ya WD.” Written Dreams laughed at the abbreviation before he had to run off after Applebloom as she constantly shouted for him to run faster.

Applejack let out a light sigh of contentment as she finished her story and looked over to Twilight who had been watching her with a light smile and her head resting against the ground. Twilight rose her head as Applejack finished her story and gave a light giggle, “I wonder what Applebloom and the other fillies wanted with him?” Applejack shook her head as she laughed a bit,

“I dunno, but Applebloom seemed pretty excited about it whatever it was. I didn‘t see him again after he left though but given how interested he was in the elements I‘m pretty sure he visited each of us at least once. Now let‘s get some shut eye. We all need our rest if we‘re gonna be runnin‘ all day tomorra‘.” Twilight nodded in response, the two walking over to the small cave and curled up inside before falling asleep, leaving Rainbow still looking up at the beautiful and cloudless, night sky.

Comments

[Jolttix]

Shipping. never saw that coming...