Quill's Journal (a.k.a. The journey to the center of Equestria)

by Waterwitch222

Chapter 19: Time Turner's lie

Quill wiped sweat from her forehead as she walked, yearning for the suffocating heat to go away. Time Turner simply walked on, stopping occasionally to look around. The elixir that Kimono had given Quill had definitely done it's job, now Turner was almost in better shape than when they started this trip.

Quill could see however, the glint in his eyes. The same glint she'd seen when he showed up on her doorstep so long ago. 'First he lost his brother, now we both lost Firecracker! We need to find them before anypony else gets hurt!' she thought to herself, urging her hoofs to go on. Her left wing twitched in pain, but she ignored the throbbing heat she felt.

Time Turner's long strides suddenly came to a halt.

"We're here."

he said simply, gesturing to the sandy border that led to Horseshoe Bay. Quill followed his gaze with a smile. She had been to the bay once before, and it hadn't changed a bit. The soft sand, the scent of saltwater, and the intoxicating aroma of pineapples was so wonderful, Quill would've stood there and admired it forever if Turner didn't have any trouble with the locals.

"OUCH!"

he cried, his right hoof in his mouth as he teared up in pain. Quill looked down to see a small crab staring at Turner angrily. Quill rolled her eyes.

"C'mon Turner, it's just a crab. We'll be fine."

Quill said, walking around the crab as she did. Turner made a face at the crab as he passed, causing the crab to let out a high pitched whistle.

As the two ponies walked along the shore, Turner pointed to a mark on the map.

"See? Once we get across the bay, we'll just need to cut through the Hayseed Swamp and we'll be in the Badlands."

he said, a nervous tremor creeping into his voice. Quill opened her mouth to reply, but her words were cut off by her own squeal of pain.

"OUCH!"

she cried, massaging her (now aching) right wing in pain.

Turner raised an eyebrow.

"What was that?"

he wondered aloud.

"Quill bit her lip. "Probably just another crab."

she answered. Turner nodded at first but soon froze when he saw something at the corner of his eye. His eyes widened when he actually turned his head all the way.

"Yeah, definitely a crab... perhaps even a whole herd of crabs."

he said with a shaking voice. Quill laughed.

"Turner, don't be ridiculous. Crabs almost never travel in..."

Her words were interrupted when she followed Turner's gaze. Behind them, a ginormous group of crabs stood, their pincers poised to snap. They didn't look happy.

"...herds."

Quill finally managed to finish, as she and Turner began to back away.

"Quill... you've been here before... what should we do?"

Turner asked in a panicked voice.

Quill gulped.

"Well, the crabs at horseshoe bay are divided into two species, the pinchers and clampers. We unfortunately ran into clampers, which are the most vicious and dangerous when angry."

she said in a quavering voice.

"Meaning?"

Turner asked, digging his hooves into the sand.

"RUN!"

Quill shouted. Time Turner didn't need to be told twice. The two ponies began running as fast as possible down the shoreline, with the clamper's herd hit on their tails. The duo swerved this way and that, trying to lose them, but only succeeded in bringing the group closer to them.

They finally had to stop when they were pinned against a palm tree, unable to run anymore. The crabs crawled closer and closer to them, venom oozing off of their originally safe claws. Quill and Turner squeezed their eyes tight, preparing to meet their fate. When all of the sudden...

'WHOOSH!'

A gigantic wave washed up on the shore, pushing all of the crabs away from the two ponies, while unfortunately getting them wet.

"Peh!"

Turner spat, trying to get seaweed out of his mouth. Quill simply took off her fedora, wrung it out, and placed it back on her head.

"Sorry 'bout that Ye landtrotters, was jus' tryin to get the clampers away, I swear!"

a familiar voice rang.

Quill turned her head excitedly, her suspicions confirmed. "HOOFBEARD! JEWEL! It's great to see you again!"

Quill cried, as she ran over toward the shore to greet the seapony and pirate with gills.

"As it is to see you again Quill. I hope those crabs didn't give you and your friend much trouble."

Jewel said politely. Turner raised an eyebrow.

"You know them?"

he asked Quill.

"Yeah, I heard the story of how they met from Pinkie and thought it was nice, so I came down here and got more information so I can write a book about it."

Quill explained.

"Aye, so what can we do fer ye?"

Hoofbeard asked. Quill thought a moment.

"Well, we got a bit off track while running away from the clampers... so do you think you can give us a lift? We're trying to get as close to Hayseed Swamp as possible."

Quill explained. Jewel and Hoofbeard nodded in unison.

"Of course we will! Hoofbeard brought the Salty Sea Mare with him when we returned to the shores, so he can give you a ride while I swim close by."

Jewel said.

"Aye! Just follow me and ye will see the Hayseed Swamps by mornin."

he said, as he walked toward a ship anchored at the shore. Time Turner and Quill followed.

---------------------------------------------

-2 hours later-

"Aye! Just as I thought. The currents are pushing me ship quickly near these parts, so me promise of ye being at the swamp by mornin will be kept."

Hoofbeard called from the wheel. Quill turned toward him from her perch in the crow's nest and grinned.

"Thanks a bunch Hoofbeard!"

she called. Hoofbeard smiled back.

"No problem lass! Now if ye will excuse me, I think I'll have a swim with me Jewel for a wee bit. The wind should push me ship in the right direction, but shout if anything changes."

he ordered. After a nod of reassurance from Quill, he dove over the side of the ship. Quill sighed and returned to her notebook.

Her pencil danced across the page as she wrote about everything that had happened so far on this trip. She hadn't written such an amazing story in her life.

'And the best part is... it'll have a happy ending.'

she thought to herself, as she closed her notebook, sliding that and her pencil into her (still damp) saddle bag. She peered over the edge of the crow's nest and saw Time Turner hunched over the side of the ship, staring into the ocean waters.

Concerned, Quill climbed back down to lower deck and walked over to Turner, sitting next to him when she made it to him.

"Are you okay?"

she asked. Turner's head jerked up in surprise.

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just a little nervous about the future is all."

he said calmly, with a hint of fear in his voice. Quill nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry Turner, We can do this! We'll get the amulet, save Firecracker and Ash Brush, and even save Equestria from Queen Chrysalis! Aw man, I can't wait to see the looks on your parents faces when we bring Ash home safely! Can you?"

she asked quickly, expecting to see a positive response.

Instead, Turner looked traumatized, and Quill could see tears at the corners if his eyes, threatening to slide down his face.

"Turner? They DO know what happened... right?"

she asked in concern. Turner couldn't even answer. He simply buried his face in his hooves, wishing he could disappear. Quill couldn't bear to see him this way.

"Turner? What happened?"

she asked.

Turner moved his hoof a little so one of his eyes can peek at Quill.

"It will make things seem better if you talk about them with somepony else."

Quill continued gently. Turner opened his mouth to protest, but instead sighed.

"May as well. You were probably gonna get it out of me eventually."

he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. He refused to let himself cry. Especially now.

With a deep breath, he began to tell the story.

"It happened last year, around the time of Princess Cadence's wedding. Ash and I were at the Canterlot library. He was helping me fix a clock that had broken that day. We were just about finished, when a green beam of light shot through the wall. Changelings! To many to count. They began shooting more green blasts at us. One of them hit Ash! Instinctively, I shielded Ash from them. I didn't want him to get hurt even more, but one of the changelings pushed me aside, trying to get to him. I kicked back. That resulted in me and that changeling to have a fight, which I lost. I was so banged up that I lost conscious before I could see if my brother was okay. The last thing I heard was his scream... when they got him."

Turner said, the tears returning.

Quill gasped.

"That's awful!"

she cried. Turner wiped his eyes again.

"It gets worst. Before I left the hospital, I wanted to see how Ash was doing, but... when I finally found his room, he wasn't there! The doctors said that they didn't check him out of the hospital, said that he might've escaped out the window. I searches the entire city all day for him, but he was gone. I'd lost him. When I went home, my parents had already heard about what happened at the library. They were glad I was safe and I nearly forgot what happened in the midst of the love they were showering me with. When they asked about Ash though, I couldn't speak. How could I tell my parents that their youngest son was injured and out in Equestria somewhere? I couldn't bring myself to tell them... so I lied. I told them he was fine... that he just had to stay a few extra days in the hospital to run some tests... that he was okay... *sniff*. And.. they *sniff* believed me!"

Turner was having trouble controlling his tears now, but refused to give in. He had to finish.

"I knew they would figure out the truth once they went to the hospital the next day to visit Ash, and I didn't want to even THINK about being there when that happened. I didn't know what to do! I couldn't sleep that night, knowing that once my parents found out, I would've failed twice in the same week! Un the morning, I decided to leave Canterlot. I decided to look for Ash myself. As soon as they went out to go to the hospital, I had packed as much as I could and left, taking the train to the nearest city. I thought Ash couldn't get far on hoof... I thought I could find him... *sniff* after 4 months of searching... *sniff* I had wound up in the Everfree Forest with little money left, no shelter, and *sniff* no sign of Ash at all. I thought he was dead! I didn't have the heart to go back home, so I walked to your house in Ponyville. I thought that you could help me start over. Help me forget what happened... but I...*sniff* But... I..."

Quill wrapped an arm around Turner, who was quivering and losing control of his emotions.

"Time Turner... it's okay... just let it out."

she said sympathetically. Turner couldn't take it anymore.

"But I... BUT I COULDN'T! *sob* I COULDN'T EVER *sob* FORGET! I HAD FAILED EVERYPONY I CARED ABOUT *sob* AND HAD NO WAY TO MAKE THINGS *sob* RIGHT! I*sob* I LIED *sob* TO EVERYPONY THAT WAS CLOSE *sob* TO ME, AND THERE'S NO WAY TO TAKE ANY OF IT BACK! *sob* NO WAY TO *sob* START OVER! I*sob* I'M SO SORRY!"

That's what happened for awhile. Quill hugged Turner tightly while Turner cried, letting all of his bottled emoticons out. Quill knew right then why Turner was so grumpy, so serious, so protective! He didn't want to lose anypony else ever again! She also now knew why he never went back to Canterlot. she also knew above all, that right now, after all the times he's supported her, it was her turn to do the same.

After 10 minutes, his crying eventually subsided. He breathed deeply, as if a weight had been lifted from his chest. Quill hugged him again.

"Feel better?"

she asked. Turner wiped his eye again.

"Yeah."

he answered.

"I do."