Happy Adventuring, Twilight!

by Pennington Inkwell

Old Friends and Coltfriends

"How could you hide the fact that you're a famous author?" Twilight asked incredulously. "I mean, ponies everywhere read and love your books! Daring Do is one of my favorite characters of all time!" After forcing a confession out of "Scorching Quill," the two of them had set off to cover the rest of his "errands."

"Because I don't like ponies going crazy over me..." Pennington muttered as he walked down the street. "I like to be an inspiration from afar because I think that the attention should be more on the spirit of adventure than on me! That's why I changed my coat, my mane, and my name when I started writing these books!" He shook his head. "So... Please. Stop bouncing around like a little filly!"

Twilight, who had indeed been jumping up and down, finally came to a stop, feeling a bit sheepish. "That explains the autographed copy that you gave to Pinkie, but why the shop in Ponyville? And the ramen noodles? If you have so much money from your Daring Do series, you could retire here in Canterlot and eat well every day!"

"Well, I like ramen!" He argued with a smile. "As for why I set up a shop in Ponyville? That's a question that I don't answer very often." He happily pushed open the door to another store: The Commando Supply. "Thunder Strike? I have a new challenge for you!"

The store was unlike any that Twilight has seen before. The entire store was filled with tactical equipment of every kind, from infrared goggles to smoke bombs. Every shelf was bursting with camouflage and sheer black objects, all designed to blend in perfectly with their environment, whatever they may be.

"Scorching Quill!" A black, heavily built pegasus jumped out from behind the counter, giving his old friend a quick hug. "It's been too long! I was beginning to worry that you had retired to some plush little cabin by the sea!" The two laughed as they separated, with Thunder's hearty laugh overlapping with Pennington's chuckles.

"Not a chance, Thunder! The day I retire from adventuring is the day that I die!" Pennington laughed.

"Or the day you meet a nice little filly..." Thunder Strike winked as he looked over at Twilight. "Speaking of which, who is this?"

"Oh, I'm Twilight Sparkle!" Twilight tried to hide her blushing at what the store owner was implying. "I'm just a friend, here to help him with his research!"

"Hmmm..." Thunder Strike's eyes scanned every part of Twilight's body, making her blush even more. "Scorching, I have to say, she's not exactly cut out for your 'research.' Are you sure that you're taking her?"

"No, I'm not." Pennington glared over at his new "friend." "She's just a fan, following me around Canterlot. You can take her, if you want!"

Despite Twilight's indignation, the other stallion only laughed. "No, thanks. I have my own filly back at home, the same one who made me leave the elite royal guard." He quickly trotted back behind the counter. "Well, what can I get for you, Scorching? You said that you had a challenge?"

"Yep! I need equipment for an espionage mission! Simply recon, pal, but in a heavily guarded fortress." Pennington spoke as if it was nothing.

Thunder Strike became serious, pulling out a thick book of inventory. "Then you're going to need some equipment for the art of tactical distraction, and to become nearly invisible! That's a toughie... Especially if you're planning on carrying your equipment with you!" He quickly flipped through the pages. "That coat of yours isn't exactly subtle, so you're going to need a 'second skin' suit to match your environment, at least until you get inside. Can you tell me where this is, or is it some kind of top secret project?"

"Well, I can tell you, but you're not going to like it." Pennington shrugged, still surprisingly relaxed. "It's going to be dark, but I'm suspecting a lot of green ambiance..."

Thunder didn't look up from his book of inventory, jotting down different items onto a growing list. "You've given me requests for every kind of equipment under the sun, Scorching. You could tell me you were going to look for the long-lost Princess of the ant ponies, and I wouldn't be surprised."

"Well, if you really want to know..." Pennington was about to reveal his destination, when he noticed Twilight looking at him with expectant eyes. He walked up to the counter and whispered in his friend's ear, making sure that Twilight couldn't hear. This fact irritated her to no end, especially as the former elite guard's eyes grew wide, and his sheer black coat seemed to pale.

"You're kidding me. You're doing that now? They're still fuming over the last set of debates! What would happen if you got caught?"

"That's why I'm here." Pennington gave his friend a pat on the back. "Your equipment has saved my life more times than I can count! I know that you won't leave me hanging!"

"Where are you going?" Twilight shouted, grabbing the attention of both stallions. "You told me that you were coming here to do research for my commission!"

"I am, but Canterlot is just a stop for supplies!" Pennington winked smugly, obviously happy to know something that was irritating her so much. "The real research is going to be taking place somewhere else! Somewhere far away from here! Somewhere that you're not going, so it doesn't matter!" He confidently walked back out from behind the counter, finally looking as confident as he sounded.

"Scorching... I don't know if I can prepare you for something like that!" Thunder looked back at the list and began scribbling down even more lines and scratching out other ones.

"For pony's sake, just tell me!" Twilight shouted, stomping her hooves. "Tell me, Penning-" In a reaction faster than Twilight believed a pony could move, Pennington's hoof had been shoved into her mouth, stopping her from shouting his real name.

"Penny?" Thunder looked up from his work, trying to make sense of Twilight's words.

"I told you, Twilight... Just because I use a lot of pens, does not make me 'pen-y!' That's not even a word, so, don't call me that!" Pennington laughed nervously, quickly devising a lie to cover his identity.

Twilight quickly spit out his hoof, but the taste lingered in her mouth. I almost forgot! He's Scorching Quill now... Suddenly, a devious idea sprung to her mind, one that she decided to implement immediately. "Fine, Scorching Quill, But I'll keep calling you that unless you tell me where you're going!" She couldn't help but feel proud of herself as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

The entire hidden meaning was lost on Thunder Strike. "Oh, she's a fiesty one, Scorching... Reminds me of you!" If looks could kill, Pennington would have vaporized his friend, who only chuckled and went back to his work.

Twilight ignored the owner, glaring at Pennington and waiting for her answer. When he turned back to her, Twilight noticed that, although he had changed most of his body, his eyes had stayed the same: a deep violet.

"I'm going to make your story as lifelike as possible, Twilight Sparkle. I'm going to go and visit the changeling hive!"

Twilight refused to stop trying to talk him out of his crazy idea throughout the entire day, as did every pony that he went to for supplies. Pennington would only shake his head and laugh, as if he didn't comprehend the danger that he was throwing himself into.

This was not the pony that I was expecting to meet when I wanted to meet the reclusive author! Twilight thought as they began walking back towards the train station. "Scorching, you can't be serious! The changelings would rip apart any pony that they found in their home! Don't you have the imagination to just make something up? Imagine what it would look like!"

"Truth is stranger than fiction, Twilight!" Pennington shrugged. "This is how I've written every Daring Do book, by building on experience."

"Well, if that's why you're going, then you don't have to do my commission! Just forget about it!" Twilight shouted as they walked through the doors of the railroad station.

"Not a chance! I've got the idea rooted into my brain, now!" Pennington laughed, as if he wasn't taking her seriously. "Don't worry, you'll see me back in Ponyville soon, Twilight! I'm not going to end up in any kind of trouble."

Twilight stomped her hoof in frustration. "Why are you being so stubborn about tossing your life away?" He shouted, attracting the attention of several ponies around them. "This 'adventure' is going to get you into more than just 'trouble!' It could very well kill you!"

"I'm not being stubborn! You don't know what you're talking about!" Pennington shouted in return, grabbing the attention of even more ponies. "You didn't even meet me until a few days ago, and now you think that you know what I can and can't accomplish?"

Many of the ponies were staring at the arguing couple, and some were beginning to whisper at the sight.

The author's words struck a nerve in Twilight's mind, pushing her over the edge. "I don't know what I'm talking about? Where were you when Nightmare Moon was beaten? Or when Discord was turned back into stone? And you say that I don't know what I'm talking about?" She stomped both of her hooves in aggravation. "I know all about danger, and this is CRAZY!"

The crimson pony nearly screamed in his own frustration. "You don't know ME! You don't know what I do for adventure or what I CAN accomplish! You may know danger, but I know everything that there is to know about Scorching Quill!" Without waiting for an answer, Pennington stormed off to buy his train ticket, leaving Twilight standing alone in a ring of pony spectators.

Pennington ignored the requests for autographs and photos, marching straight to the ticket vendor. "I'd like a ticket as far east as you can take me, and there's an extra large tip for you to make sure the filly that I was fighting with doesn't follow me!"

The colt behind the glass nodded with understanding. "I can hear you. My marefriend and I argue all of the time, and sometimes I just need to get away..." He passed a train ticket through the hole in the bottom of the glass. "That's 150 bits."

"Here's two hundred., and she's NOT my marefriend!" Pennington passed a fold of bills through to the ticket vendor, grabbed his ticket, and trotted to the train, confident in the fact that he had left Twilight far behind.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but he just bought the last ticket for that destination!" The young worker announced as Twilight ran up to the window.

"How do you even know where I'm going?" Twilight shouted, slamming her hoof on the counter.

"If you're following him, then you're going to the eastern border of Equestria." He said matter-of-factly. "And he just bought the last ticket."

"That son of a..." Twilight muttered. "How much did he bribe you with?"

"Fifty bits!" The ticket vendor gave Twilight a grin. "So... Unless you can give me more, he bought the last ticket."

Twilight grumbled, knowing that she didn't have that much money with her. "I don't have fifty bits..." Her mind immediately began trying to think of new ways to address the problem. Obviously, he only wants money. He was wide open about being able to be bribed... "So, I have to give you something that I have and you want?" She reached into her bag and pulled out her sack of gems that she had been holding onto to prevent Spike from eating them all at once. Sorry, Spike. Your snacks will have to wait. "What about these? All real gems, mostly opals."

"Hmm... My marefriend will love these!" The vendor quickly pulled the bag inside, shoving a ticket towards her. "Go ahead and follow your coltfriend..."

"What? He's NOT my coltfriend!" Twilight shouted as she took the ticket and jumped onboard the train.

"Oh, so it's that kind of relationship..." The ticket vendor chuckled as he watched her go. "With a coat like that, he'll never escape a stalker!"

As Twilight searched the train, however, she proved him wrong. "Scorching Quill" was nowhere to be found. Ugh! I've lost him AGAIN! She turned to the pony closest to her, who looked as if she might be suffering from a slight case of motion sickness, but it could simply have been her light green coat. "Excuse me, but have you seen a bright red-and-orange pony anywhere around here? Goes by the name 'Scorching Quill...'"

"Oh! He passed through here just a short while ago!" The pony seemed cheerful, in spite of being obviously sick. "I think that he's riding up in the first-class car."

"Thank you!" Twilight grinned, running easily from car to car until she had reached the front of the train. Sure enough, in a well-cushioned seat in first class, Pennington was lounging around, jotting down notes of some kind as he looked out the window.

"Ah-HA! I found you!" Twilight shouted, prompting him to jump about a foot into the air and spin around to see her.

"Twilight? How did you- What are you- GAAH!" Pennington buried his head in his hooves, obviously admitting defeat to the fact that she was standing there before him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to stop you from killing yourself! What else have I been trying to do today?" She quipped, taking the seat next to him.

"I'm not killing myself, and are you planning on doing that by joining me?" Pennington moaned. "This train is only travelling one way, and it's not towards Ponyville!"

The full implications of Twilight's actions hit her with the full force of a freight train. "Wait... Are you saying-"

"We're not going home today, Twilight. You had better have everything that you need in those saddlebags of yours to last a few days!" Pennington buried his head in his front legs, slumping onto the table. "I spent most of the money that I had with me back in Canterlot. I only have enough for a few more supplies and MY ticket back home!"

Comments

[Pennington Inkwell]

908697

She nearly gives away his identity in Chapter 4! Not to mention, ponies start thinking that she's his marefriend/stalker...

BTW: how did you get that emoticon?? That's hilarious!!!

[Neon Icy Wings]

Twilight is the smartest dumb pony I know. Twilight! You're suppose to know what you're doing before you do them! And she doesn't even have Spike!

[thewaffler]

910323
believe it or not there's a Firefox add-on that allows you to upgrade Fimfiction.net's dropbox icons and add things like you tube videos and and ton of other neat things. First download: Grease monkey Firefox add-on. , This is located on the official Mozilla website. Then download: FIMfiction Enhancements for Grease monkey, click install and restart Firefox and click the grease monkey icon to enable or disable it.

[Pennington Inkwell]

912010

Thanks for the advice! Makes me kinda sad that I use google chrome. Oh, well.

[StarShine739]

[MariusIoannesP]

"Here's two hundred., and she's NOT my marefriend!" Pennington passed a fold of bills through to the ticket vendor, grabbed his ticket, and trotted to the train, confident in the fact that he had left Twilight far behind.

"What? He's NOT my coltfriend!" Twilight shouted as she took the ticket and jumped onboard the train.

Yeah, I think we all know where this is going. Especially with the romance tag and all.

Wow, Twilight really goofed up this time.

[PONYKILLER]

is in the air is in the air

[Beware The Carpenter]

"I'm not killing myself, and are you planning on doing that my joining me?"

By

[Orphan]

912010
That must be why I can’t see whatever the picture was on your comment. I’m on Safari, on my iPhone