Daring Dash and Rosetta Sparkle in the Jungle of Perilsby elPossenreisserChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13EpilogueChapter 1Daring Dash and Rosetta Sparkle in the Jungle of Perils by elPossenreisser Chapter 1 “No!” Dr. Negative cried, scrambling backwards on the ground as his own groaning servants began to swarm him. He managed to get a short distance across the courtyard before he backed into a wall. “What have you done? Wha-what have you done?” He fumbled through his satchel and seized a small vial with his hoof. His triumphant cheer was cut short though, as the vial was knocked out of his grasp and crushed beneath the hoard of drugged ponies. Frantically, he reached for his bag again, only to find it trampled beneath the hooves of a large red stallion; multicolored fluids coated the ground around it. “No!” “It's no use, Doctor,” Daring Do called out as she watched the physician's struggle from her perch on the balcony above. “You did this to yourself.” She hopped off the railing and started for the door, walking past a fedora-wearing Earth pony. “You're just going to leave him?” he asked, following her back into the manor. “Seems a little cold for you, Do...” Daring paused as the door shut, canceling out the screams of agony now echoing about the place. Her gaze fell to the floor with her wings.“It's not like he doesn't deserve whatever happens to him down there.” She shuddered. “Brainwashing ponies like that... It's... It's just wrong.” When no response came, Daring's eyes shot up. She could handle danger; give her a crazed doctor with way too many drugs or an ancient temple filled with traps and she couldn't care any less—but him? She needed him. If she upset him—scared him off or ignited his righteous fury—she'd never forgive herself. A quivering desperation seeping into her tone, Daring asked, “You... You don't think I'm a horrible pony for this, do you?” A brown hoof settled on her shoulder as Manehatten Silver looked her straight in her watery eyes. “No,” he said softly, pulling her into his embrace. “Negative's the monster here, not you.” Daring choked back a sob as she nuzzled deeper into Silver's chest. “Wh-when he had you—back at the lab... You... a-and the syringe... When you... When you...” Her words failed her and turned into incomprehensible sobs. Gently, a hoof patted her back. Soft words were whispered into her ears, causing her to only hold on tighter to the stallion she'd so nearly lost. “I was so scared,” she whimpered. Her whole body trembled in his forelegs, but he only held her tighter. “I wanted to kill him—I wanted to rip his throat out and stomp it into the dirt! I-I—” “Shh,” Silver whispered, running a hoof down the pegasus's gray-scaled mane. “It's over now,” he said. “It's all over.” “All I could think about was that night in Fillydelphia,” Daring continued, “And how stupid I was for walking out and... I'm so sorry...” Biting his lip, Silver shifted his weight and looked away from his long-time friend and rival adventurer. “Look, Dare, you don't have to—“ A tan hoof interrupted him and jarred his face down towards Daring Do's. Her eyes shone like rubies in the dim light of the hall. “Just shut up and kiss me,” she whispered, pulling him closer. Her wings flared as their lips furiously collided in a passionate— “What?” Rainbow Dash cried indignantly, raising her hooves in the air. She glared at the book before her with furious distaste. “That's... that's...” “So sweet,” Twilight sighed dreamily. She closed her eyes and smiled, her tail lightly sweeping across the wooden floor of the library. “Don't you think so, Rainbow?” “So stupid!” the pegasus finished, batting the novel aside. It flew across the room and smacked the wall with a ruffled thud. Paying no mind to Twilight's irritated stare, Rainbow began pacing around the room. “What about Rosetta?” she growled, flapping her wings furiously. She glared out the window at the sunset. “What about her?” Twilight asked as she picked up her new copy of Daring Do and the Devious Doctor Negative and carefully placed it back on her personal bookshelf. “She's still back at the college, right?” Dash huffed and blew a stray bit of her mane out of her face. “So?” “So...” Twilight rolled her hoof in the air, gesturing for her friend to explain further. When Rainbow didn't turn around, she sighed and continued: “What's the problem?” “Everything!” Rainbow roared, spinning around. Twilight stumbled back in surprise as Dash's hooves slammed into the floor and shook the picture frames on the walls. Nostrils flared, she began prowling around the room, circling Twilight like a hungry lioness. “How can Daring just... Why would she...” Twilight's brow furrowed. “Rainbow?” she said slowly, watching Rainbow curse and kick another book into a wall. “Are you okay?” “No!” the pegasus groaned, bringing her hoof to her forehead. “Yes!” She growled at the floor as Twilight stood up and stepped closer. “Ugh! I don't know! I don't get it!” “What don't you understand?” “She kissed him!” Dash spat; just saying the words left a bad taste in her mouth. “I can't believe it!” Frowning, Twilight gave her friend a curious look. “What's wrong with that? I think it's a very sweet conclusion to the story.” “But what about Rosetta?” Twilight brought a hoof to her head and rubbed her temple. “I don't think I understand where you're going with this, Rainbow,” she groaned. “What do you mean?” Dash rolled her eyes. “I mean that Daring totally belongs with Rosetta—not stinkin' Silver!” Jerking her head back, Twilight's curious expression quickly switched from bemused to amused. An eyebrow raised as Twilight shook her head. “What?” she snorted. “You're joking, right?” Rainbow's face hardened. Her wings ruffled. “No,” she said. “I'm not.” “But there's been no evidence that Rosetta and Daring feel anything more than platonic friendship at all, Rainbow,” Twilight giggled despite Rainbow's steadily growing scowl. “Not a single scrap in the whole series.” Dash's eyes drifted down to the floor and cursed silently. Without thinking, her gaze shot back to her friend and she protested, “They got milkshakes in the beginning of the book!” “Oh,” she said, smirking, “Then it must be true love!” “It was a date!” Rainbow stuck her tongue out. “And that's way better than some stupid kiss!” “It was not a date!” Twilight countered, “Daring Do has never gone to her for more than advice or to hang out!” “That's not dating?” Dash huffed, glaring at Twilight. “Daring's totally crazy for her!” “Just because somepony gets a milkshake with somepony else doesn't mean that they're romantically involved, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, a hint of annoyance seeping into her tone. “How many times have we gotten milkshakes on reading days?” Dash's wings flared and her ears slicked back behind her head as she turned to the side; the setting sun peered through the window and lit her face, coloring it red. Her cheeks felt warm. “I-it wasn't about the milkshakes, Twi...” she mumbled to the floor. “I mean, I could totally see that... that they were happy together...” Twilight shook her head. “Rainbow, I'm sorry. I don't know how you got the idea that Rosetta and Daring love each other—let alone the fact that they are both homosexual—but it just isn't there.” Rainbow's eyes never rose from the floor. There was a crack traversing the length of one of the boards on the far side of the room, she followed it across the floor to Twilight's hooves. “But... but it has to be...” she whispered so low that Twilight didn't manage to catch it. “Daring... Daring totally loves her...” “Besides,” the unicorn added, tapping her chin with her hoof. “Daring and Rosetta would make for a very strange couple—don't you think so, Rainbow Dash? I mean, Rosetta's a professor at Canterlot University—it'd be awful hard for somepony as adventurous and free-spirited as Daring Do to stick around and be in a real relationship with her.” Dash jumped to her hooves, her hackles raised. “She could do it if she wanted to!” Twilight raised her hooves. “I'm not saying that she couldn't,” she reasoned calmly. A scroll on a shelf on the far side of the room lit up in a purple light. It floated over to the duo and presented itself to Twilight, who opened it. An illustration of a unicorn wearing glasses and a lab coat adored the back. “And I guess I don't see any major flaws in their dynamic...” Rainbow's face lit up for a ghost of a second and she looked at the floor once more. “See?” “But, there's still the complete lack of anything beyond friendship exhibited in their actions, Rainbow,” Twilight sighed, setting the scroll down on her desk. “Just because they get along doesn't mean that they'd make a good romantic couple. Daring Do has been known to have a soft spot for Manehatten Silver—she is obviously in love with him if she asked him to kiss her.” *** Dash’s wings flared up. “No! That – that was just in the spur of the moment! Why should she be in love with that annoying Manehattan Silver? He’s always so smug and perfect and – augh! No way! Don’t you see that Rosetta is so much cuter and sweeter than him?” “Rainbow, it’s just – “, Twilight tried to calm down her friend, but the pegasus just continued ranting. “It ruins everything! Manehattan Silver!” she spat out his name. “Of all ponies! She has known Rosetta so much longer, it’s just supposed to be! How can you not see that?” “Rainbow – “ “I bet it’s just because he’s a stallion!” Rainbow fumed. “Rainbow, can we just calm down and continue with the book, please?” Twilight asked, getting more and more annoyed by the pegasus’ insistence on the matter. “I really don’t see the point in discussing this any further!” Rainbow failed to realize that Twilight was getting worked up now as well and continued. “I’m totally gonna write my own story where Daring totally gets together with Rosetta. Because Silver – that is just stupid!” she shouted. “No, Rainbow, you know what’s stupid?” Twilight interjected before Rainbow could burst into another rambling rant. “Getting all worked up about a little romance in a novel, that’s stupid! It’s all printed now, and you can either – “ “Don’t call me stupid!” Rainbow yelled at the top of her lungs. Before Twilight could stop her, she was already out of the window. As she stared at the rainbow-colored trail the pegasus drew after her, her anger deflated like a cooled down soufflé. Had she really just had a shouting argument with her best friend over the world-shattering question of who a fictional character in a novel was in love with? Despondent, she sat down on her haunches, her ears drooping and her head hanging low. Going over the argument again in her mind, she couldn’t help but come to the conclusion that she had completely overreacted and had probably deeply offended Rainbow Dash. Of course, the blue pegasus had been quite annoying in her insistence on a potential romance between Rosetta and Daring Do, but still, that was no excuse for Twilight to have lost her calm and, yes – “I really did call her stupid, didn’t I?” she whispered dejectedly. “I have to make it up to her. That’s way too big for a simple sorry. But what in Equestria can I do?” She lay down on the floor and tried to resist the urge to curl up into a tight little ball. Her gaze fell upon the Daring Do novel that had caused all this, lying on the bookshelf. “And all because of that stupid romance plot”, she growled to herself. “If only…” With a sudden jerk she sat up, fighting the sudden impulse to chirp “Idea!” in her most high-pitched voice, like Rarity did when inspiration struck her. She jumped to her hooves. It could work. It was going to be quite a bit of work, but she felt she owed Rainbow that much. Without further hesitation, she grabbed a bunch of empty scrolls and some quills with her magic and galloped to the cellar door. “Spike!” she yelled as she ran, “I’m in the basement; I’m working on a project. You have the library; I don’t want to be disturbed!” She opened the cellar door where she hesitated for a moment. “And could you make a cherry soufflé for dinner? I’m really craving one right now.” With that, she stormed down the stairs to her laboratory to start working on her apology to Rainbow. Author's Note Everything up to the first "***" break written by The_Incredible_Blunderbolt as prompt for the TwiDash group Abandoned Prompt Contest. Chapter 2Chapter 2 It wasn’t until a few days later when Twilight Sparkle reemerged from her basement laboratory. Luckily for her, Spike had returned in the meantime and had made sure the unicorn ate, albeit irregularly. In her frantic laborious state of activity she had paid little attention to the needs of her body. The project had been more important. Now she was standing on the clouds outside Rainbow’s home. She had taken the balloon up here and had cast the cloud-walking spell on herself. Twilight was still very unsure about confronting Rainbow, as she feared the pegasus might still be mad at her – which, Twilight thought, she had every right to be. But she had to make up with Rainbow. Even if it was scary. She knocked. Almost immediately, the door was open and Rainbow grinned at her. “Hey Twi! Haven’t seen you in forever! Whatcha doing up here?” “I want to apologize for yesterday. Or the day before? You know, when we had this st – this argument about Daring Do. I’m really sorry for acting the way I did.” As she spoke, her head came hanging more and more, and her voice got lower and lower. She hardly dared look at the cyan pegasus. “Oh, that”, Rainbow said dismissively. “It’s cool, Twi, forget about it. I went overboard there myself.” She gave Twilight a probing look. “But Twi, that was like four days ago, not yesterday. Are you sure you’re alright?” “Four days? Wow, I wouldn’t have thought…”, she mumbled more to herself than to Rainbow. “No, but really, I’m sorry for what happened. I was a jerk.” “Twilight!” Rainbow groaned with a half-smile. “I told you, it’s alright. Now stop worrying about it, kay?” “So you’re not mad at me?” Twilight blinked at Rainbow. “No, I’m really not mad at you”, the pegasus replied, still smirking. “But what did you do all this time anyway that you even forgot the days and all?” “I was busy working on a project, and I may have lost track of the time. I could’ve sworn it hasn’t been more than two days though. Curious.” She furrowed her brow for a moment before she continued. “Anyway, Rainbow, I owe you more than just a simple apology. No, no, I insist”, she added as she saw Rainbow opening her mouth to object. “And that’s what I’ve been working on.” “You’ve spent four days working on an apology?” Rainbow asked incredulously. “What is it?” “I wanted to give you an opportunity to show me why you are so… invested in the whole Daring Do - Rosetta ordeal. So I took the machine I built to analyze Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense that one time and made some modifications, added a second brainwave outlet, a semantic unit, and some clairvoyance and logic sub-processors, and basically turned it into a logical lucidity generator”, she explained proudly. “Yeah”, Rainbow replied, puzzled. “And what’s that in non-egghead speech?” “It’s a machine that will allow us to enter a Daring Do story and see with our own eyes what happens between her and Rosetta.” “Like a movie projector?” Rainbow asked. “No, no, much more powerful. We’ll be literally inside the story, not just watching from the outside. We can move around and follow the characters along, see what they see, hear what they hear, smell – you get the idea.” “Wow”, Rainbow said. “That’s pretty awesome, Twi!” “All we need now is a story about Daring and Rosetta. You, erm, mentioned something about wanting to write one yourself? Maybe I can help you.” Twilight said, but Rainbow interrupted her with a lifted hoof. She puffed her chest as she explained, “Way ahead of you.” Twilight stared at her uncomprehendingly. “See”, Rainbow continued, “after we had our argument, I was so pissed that they wouldn’t write it so that Daring and Rosetta ended up together that I just couldn’t get it out of my head. So I took two days off and sat down and just wrote and wrote. I finished last night.” With that, she stepped aside so that Twilight had a clear view through the door. On the table in the middle of the living room lay a stack of five notebooks, right next to some empty inkwells and some broken quills. “I didn’t get much sleep either”, she added with a half-embarrassed chuckle. “But it was totally worth it. That story is pretty awesome. Not that that’s a big surprise”, she added cockily. Twilight stared at the notebooks. Whatever Rainbow Dash had written, it was definitely not a short story. And it was even better that the story was already completed – after all, she wanted to give Rainbow an opportunity to convince her of the chemistry between Rosetta and Daring Do. She smiled at the pegasus. “Wow. I’m impressed! In this case, we can start right away!” “So you just need the story? Like, the notebooks? And that’s all?” “And two ponies willing to go where nopony has gone before”, Twilight added with deliberate melodrama. Rainbow burst out laughing and dropped on her back. “That was the eggheadest thing you’ve said in like forever!” she laughed. Twilight smiled at her friend as she wiped some tears out of her eyes. It was good that everything between the two of them was alright again. And she was quite excited herself to test out her contraption. Without waiting for Rainbow Dash’s consent, she grabbed the notebooks in her magic and dropped them in the balloon basket. “Let’s go then!” she exclaimed and took Rainbow’s hoof, pulling her along. *** “Whoa”, was all Rainbow Dash could say when she and Twilight finally stood before the contraption – or rather complex – Twilight had concocted in her basement laboratory. The central pieces were two helmet-like devices that were connected to an arrangement of glass and metal objects on a big lab table. The helmets were covered in a plethora of little light bulbs and protruding cables. Behind the table stood a pony-sized wooden box that was connected to some of the thingamabobs on the table with a broad cable of at least four dozen strands. The box itself was humming, and from time to time a small steam cloud evaporated from a ventilation opening on one side. An inextricable chaos of smaller cables, some straight, some curled like Pinkie Pie’s mane, connected the table with an upright board behind it that was covered in a mesh of tiny metal conductors. A huge pink crystal was place in the center of that board and irradiated a soft glow. Next to the upright board there was another, smaller table – or maybe it had once been a bookstand – with what looked like a big metal egg mounted above it. An opening in the egg pointed directly towards the surface of the bookstand. And in a corner lay – “Tell me you didn’t sleep on that, Twi”, Rainbow said, bubbling with hardly contained laughter and pointing at the pile of rolled up cables covered with a dusty blanket behind the metal egg bookstand. Twilight blushed and shook her head. “No, Rainbow, I didn’t sleep on that. It would be more accurate to say I passed out on it, to be honest.” Rainbow burst into laughter, but quickly recomposed herself. “That really doesn’t sound healthy”, she jokingly admonished. “You’re one to talk”, Twilight gave back with a smile. “Writing that whole story within a few days? It’s surprising you can still stand on your hooves.” “Yeah, yeah”, Rainbow said smirking. “You know, when the Rainbow Dash does something, she does it right. No half-assery.” “’The Rainbow Dash’? Really?” Twilight asked with a raised brow. Rainbow puffed out her chest. “The one and only. So how does this thing work, huh?” “Let’s see, there must be a documentation somewhere”, Twilight mused and began scanning the outskirts of the laboratory. “Wait, I thought you built that thing. Don’t you know how it works?” Rainbow asked in surprise. “Well, my memory of building it is, well, sketchy, so no, I don’t know how it works”, Twilight replied a little defensively. “At least not every little detail. But I checked off ‘Write documentation’ on the master checklist, so it must be somewhere.” “Wait, so you don’t even remember you wrote that documentation?” Rainbow asked, even more perplexed. “No”, Twilight replied cheerfully. “But it must be here; else I wouldn’t have checked it off. Aha!” She picked up a notebook with her magic and flicked through it. “Yeah, that’s it. Looks pretty comprehensive. Oh! It even has a quick-start guide!” She clapped her hooves in excitement. “Let’s see. Step one. ‘Insert the source material into the source narrative reading device.’ That’s the bookstand over there. Just put the notebooks on it. Make sure they are in the correct order though.” She chuckled. “Wouldn’t want to skip a few chapters because of that.” “Um, alright”, Rainbow said and carefully put her notebooks on the bookstand underneath the mysterious metal orb. She poked the orb with her hoof, eliciting a strangely harmonic sound from the contraption. “Okay”, Twilight continued. “Source material check. Next step: ‘Assume a comfortable position’.” She glanced at the pile of cables and blankets in embarrassment and shook her head. “That won’t do. It says here in the documentation that the estimated duration of the experience will be roughly an hour for every day of narrated time. How long does your story take?” she asked Rainbow. The pegasus scratched her head. “Erm, I kinda went into writing frenzy at some points, so I’m not entirely sure about everything. Four days”, she concluded with absolute certainty. “That’s still four hours”, Twilight mused. “We need something comfortable for that or our legs will kill us.” “Clouds would be good”, Rainbow chimed in, but after a short look around she shook her head. “Nah. Won’t work. Clouds won’t last here long enough. Air’s too dry.” “I was going to say”, Twilight went on, “we can just grab some of the couch cushions and some blankets from upstairs. Come on!” They returned upstairs to the library’s main room and pillaged the pillows and blankets from Twilight’s favorite reading couch. Back in the basement, they arranged them in a big pile, threw the blankets over them, and settled down. “Comfortable position check. ‘Put on brainwave outlet’.” She levitated the two helmets towards their bedding. Rainbow Dash looked at them skeptically. “Are you sure this is safe?” she asked with a slightly squeaky voice. “These things look…weird.” Twilight looked at her understandingly. “You’re right, they do. Let me check.” She floated the master checklist towards her and started reading the several meters long document. “Aha. Yes, they’re safe”, she finally announced with unswerving confidence. The cyan pegasus looked at her dumbfounded. “Wait, how can you know that?” “It says so here on the list. ‘Double-check safety standards’ is double-checked”, Twilight beamed. When she noticed Rainbow’s still completely puzzled look, she added, “I wouldn’t have double-checked it here if I hadn’t in fact double-checked the safety standards. These two checkmarks here mean it is completely safe.” To show the still somewhat unconvinced pegasus that everything was in fact fine, she hovered one of the helmets onto her head. “See? Perfectly safe.” “Ok Twi, I trust your checkmarks”, Rainbow said after a few more seconds of staring. Twilight gently put the other helmet on her head and gave her another encouraging smile. In response, Rainbow puffed her chest and added, “Not that I’m scared. It’s just, you know, a little weird.” Twilight chuckled softly. “It’s alright, Rainbow.” She let the notebook float towards her again and continued reading. “Brainwave outlet check. Next step: ‘Press start button’. Ready?” Without waiting for Rainbow’s answer, she punched her hoof onto a big green button on the edge of the central table. Then everything went black. Chapter 3Chapter 3 And it stayed black. “Um. Twi?” Rainbow’s voice finally asked into the impenetrable black void. “Is that what’s supposed to happen?” “Hmm. One of us should be able to access the controls”, Twilight mused. “Go!” she shouted, but nothing happened. “Rainbow, say ‘Go!’ decisively. The device is controlled by emotions, and saying it out loud should be a good focal point.” “Um, not that I’m complaining or anything, but why am I in control and not you, since you built this thing and know how it works and all?” “I wonder about that myself”, Twilight admitted. “The only reason I can think of is that the narrative parser recognized you as the author and thus put you in command. That’s a really interesting feature, don’t you think?” “Well, I am totally gonna ace it”, Rainbow stated with her usual self-confidence. “So I say ‘Go!’ and the story starts and we watch it?” “We will be able to freely navigate through the world, and we will know, well, a lot about what’s happening. We will definitely share all knowledge of the narrator plus everything the interpretative unit adds to flesh out the world. We can look around, follow the main characters and experience their emotions as we go. The only thing we won’t be able to do is interact with the world. We are simply observers.” “Aw”, the pegasus’ voice replied disappointedly. “Okay, but it’s still gonna be pretty rad, being in a Daring Do novel like this. Are you ready?” “There’s one more thing!” Twilight hastily said before the pegasus could start the machine. “Since we won’t have bodies in the story’s world, we’ll have to talk like we do here, just with our minds.” “What’s that supposed to mean, ‘talk with my mind’? That’s like ‘flying with your hooves’!” Rainbow remarked, uncomprehending. “You just think of speaking to me. Like you do now. Don’t think about it too much, it should all come very natural.” A little skepticism remained as Rainbow said, “Uh-huh. Ready?” Before Twilight could interrupt her again, she yelled “Go!” *** Without so much as a blink, Twilight found herself standing in bright sunlight. After the velvet blackness of that non-place they’d been in before she had to squint her eyes to tiny slits; and at first she couldn’t discern anything. She heard the hoof steps and mumbling of a large crowd of ponies, and also the faint rustling of waves. The air smelt of salt and seaweed. Wherever she was, it was probably a large square right at the coast. She only wondered – “Rainbow? Are you here? I can’t see anything in this light!” she squealed with a much squeakier voice than she had intended. “I’m here, Twi”, Rainbow Dash reassured her from somewhere in front of her. “Where is ‘here’, anyway?” Twilight asked. Her vision slowly cleared; she could now see lots of fast-moving shades trotting through her field of vision, and some larger shapes in the distance that set themselves apart against the blazing horizon. “Gotta be Marenagua”, Rainbow answered. “Probably that great square just off the river, what’s its name again…?” “Plaza de la Libertad”, Twilight promptly recounted, “the main square of Marenagua, just between the sea and the mounds of Rio Marenagua. The name is Alpacan and means ‘liberty square’.” She interrupted her flow of words. “Why do I know that?” she asked with a slight hint of panic in her voice. “I don’t speak Alpacan!” Rainbow didn’t answer, but at least Twilight’s vision cleared more and more. She blinked a few times, hoping it would help. She could now make out more of her surroundings. She was in fact standing on Plaza de la Libertad, facing the sea, where a beautiful esplanade with carefully hatched palm trees and baroque lanterns lined the shore. As she looked around, her gaze fell upon the town hall, a classic colonial building painted in bright yellow, which flew the flag of Neighcaragua. Next to it she saw the Marenagua Grand Hotel, a huge neo-classical building with intricate lion head stonework adorning the façade. A liveried page was standing in front of it under a sunroof with red and white stripes. The remaining buildings lining the square were mostly held in neo-classical style as well, most of them painted in bright pastel colors and in impeccable state. In the center of the square, on a huge pedestal, stood a statue of Simon Coltivar, the heroic founder of the country. The sun was high up in the sky and burning down relentlessly; it was probably close to noon. A lot of ponies and alpacas were hastening across the square left and right. At last, she looked at the pony standing in front of her, and she gasped in surprise. Rainbow Dash wore an olive-colored vest and a pith helmet, just like Daring Do, and some tan-colored saddlebacks embroidered with Daring Do’s cutie mark, a compass rose. “You look almost like Daring Do”, Twilight stated with a shaky voice. Rainbow chuckled. “And you look like Rosetta.” Twilight quickly checked herself. She ran a hoof along her mane and found it wrapped in a tight bun. Now she also realized that her vision was girdled by black frames – Rosetta’s glasses. She too wore saddlebags which were embroidered with a white rose. The only detail missing was the lab coat, but she supposed that it wasn’t the best piece of clothing for an expedition to Neighcaragua. She hung her head. “I don’t get it. We should be observers, not the main characters of the story!” she moaned. “How is this supposed to work? What are we even supposed to do?” “You see, there’s this mine in a place called Malatierra, a little mining outpost upstream”, Rainbow explained unflinching. “They found some ancient Alpacan temple, and the ministry of mining suspected it might be something important. So they got in touch with us, and we did some research and figured it might be where the legendary Golden Alpacan Princess is hidden. They invited us over here, and we just arrived here.” “I know all that”, Twilight retorted impatiently, “but what are we supposed to – wait. Why do I know all that?” she whispered. “You’re Rosetta”, Rainbow simply replied. “She knows that. Hay, I don’t know anything about ancient Alpacan temples, but Daring does, so now I do too. At least that’s what would make sense, kind of, right?” Twilight tapped her chin with her hoof. This was true; Rosetta would know these things. And apparently she was Rosetta, at least for the time being. She quickly probed her mind for unexpected knowledge and found that she now possessed extensive knowledge about the colonial history of the Southern Equestrian continent as well as some of the indigenous tribes that lived there, like llamas, alpacas, and the lost civilization of the Donkans. She also knew quite a bit about the topology of Neighcaragua in general and the area around Malatierra specifically, and she was aware of several scientific theories about the Golden Alpacan Princess, its mythological significance, and its current whereabouts. So at least knowing what to do would probably not be a problem. Still, this was not how the machine was supposed to work. She had not designed it so that they would take the parts of the main characters. And speaking of which – “I don’t know why you get to play Daring anyway”, she mumbled. “What? Who else?” Rainbow asked back. “Wait a second. You wanna be Daring? But Twilight! How does that even make sense?” “What, you mean I can’t be the heroic, erm, heroine?” Twilight snapped, but immediately started chuckling at her own loss of words. “No, seriously Rainbow. When I read those books, I see myself as Daring Do. I get to do all the cool stuff. I save the world. Well, I’m sure so do you…” “Well of course!” Rainbow replied enthusiastically. “I mean, look at the facts, Twi. I’m a pegasus. Daring’s a pegasus. I’m not afraid of anything. Daring isn’t afraid of anything. We’re like the perfect match!” “But so am I!” Twilight objected. “Daring is a professor of archeology, a scholar – so am I! Daring solves problems with creative thinking and sometimes even with solid planning – so do I! Well. That last one may be a bit of a stretch. But still, I never see myself as Rosetta, the dorky sidekick!” “Well…” Rainbow started and scratched her head. “But only one of us can be Daring, anyway. And I think you’re not giving Rosetta enough credit. She’s pretty awesome, and I think she kicks some serious flank in this story.” At this, Twilight’s ears perked. “Wait, you think she kicks flank? But you wrote the story! You of all ponies should know this!” “It’s funny, Twi, I don’t remember too much of what happens in the story”, Rainbow admitted sheepishly. “I mean, I was kinda sketchy on the details with all the lack of proper sleep, but now I hardly know anything anymore, and what I know is just random bits and pieces. All I know now is why we’re here and that we’re supposed to meet a certain Copper Star from the ministry of mining. They arranged our trip, as they want the temple examined properly before the miners destroy invaluable cultural goods. He should meet us here about, well, now.” “That’s strange. I don’t remember installing a component that would actively alter our memories”, Twilight mused, again tapping her chin with her hoof. “So, do you think it’s gonna be a problem? Like, should we stop this?” Rainbow asked carefully. “Not that I’m scared, but you’re the expert on, well, all of this. If you say it isn’t safe…?” She trailed off. “Oh, I’m still sure it’s safe. After all I checked that on the checklist”, Twilight replied distantly. She was still busy taking stock of her new and unfamiliar knowledge. “And what about that other thing? Are you okay being Rosetta in this story?” Twilight thought about this question for a moment, then shrugged. “Sure. I guess it isn’t too far-fetched. You’re right, obviously only one of us can be Daring Do, and I guess when we look at it objectively, you are actually the better fit.” She grinned. “Hey, it’s probably going to be a cool adventure! I can’t wait to explore that temple! I hope we really find the Golden Alpacan Princess. This is going to be really exciting!” She clapped her hooves. “Okay then”, Rainbow chuckled. “Let’s see if we can find Copper Star. If I remember correctly he has a bright red mane, so he should be easy enough to spot.” She started. “Huh, seems I at least remember some bits.” Instead of an answer, Twilight started to fumble at her – or Rosetta’s? She wasn’t quite sure – bun, trying to open it, but Rainbow interrupted her with a hoof on her shoulder. “You can’t take it off!” she protested. “You have to be as much Rosetta as possible! Just like I wear the helmet and all!” She examined Twilight’s mane with squinting eyes. “’Sides, it looks really good on you.” Just as Twilight was about to answer, and possibly keep her cheeks from flushing at the unexpected compliment, a dark brown stallion with a bright red mane and a mustache stopped in front of them. “Señorita Do?” he asked with a slight Neighcaraguan accent. Rainbow giggled, her eyes gleaming in excitement as she was addressed as Daring Do. But she soon found back her confidence and replied, “The one and only. You must be Copper Star.” “That’s right. I welcome you in Neighcaragua on behalf of the Neighcaraguan government and the ministry of mining.” He bowed slightly, his attention almost entirely focused on Rainbow Dash. “I have taken the liberty to reserve a table for a belated lunch right now, in case you haven’t eaten yet. There we can discuss all further arrangement.” As a response, Rainbow’s stomach gave an audible growl. “Yeah, something to eat would be awesome”, she replied, grinning sheepishly. “Then please follow me, señoritas”, Copper Star requested and began walking towards the impressive stone hulk of the Grand Hotel. “Did you have a pleasant journey?” Copper Star asked politely. “Yeah, yeah, it was alright”, Rainbow replied cheerfully. Twilight suspected that Rainbow had as little memory of the actual trip as she had, and that she was just spinning a tale. “Are we eating at that hotel?” “Sí, señorita. The ministry is providing you with a room there for tonight, so it is most convenient”, the stallion explained. “Wait, but aren’t we supposed to get to Malatierra as soon as possible?” Twilight interjected. “Why do we spend a whole day here?” Copper Star shot her a slightly indignant look before he turned to Rainbow Dash and explained, “The only way to get to Malatierra is by a river boat. The next boat departs tomorrow morning, so you couldn’t start your journey any sooner. This also leaves us convenient time to prepare everything.” Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, sure, sounds great. Now can we please get something to eat? A great archeologist doesn’t run on air and ancient artifacts alone, you know?” Twilight rolled her eyes, but Copper Star just smiled politely and led them towards the Grand Hotel. “Grand Hotel, sweet”, Twilight suddenly heard Rainbow’s voice resonating very clearly in her mind. “Wonder if their hay fries are any good.” Twilight started and almost stumbled, but then she remembered what she told Rainbow about communication while they were inside the story. Apparently, it still worked, even though they now did possess bodies. “Hey, it works!” she thought towards Rainbow. “We can talk without talking!” “Yeah, cool, but I’m really hungry now!” Rainbow turned around while walking and winked at Twilight, which brought a giddy smile to her face as she winked back. If Copper Star had noticed anything of this, he was too well-behaved to make a remark. Lunch was very pleasant. The cuisine of the Grand Hotel was as good as the place looked classy. Copper Star discussed some details of their upcoming travel with them and told them the name of the boat that would take them upstream to Malatierra. The Sea Stallion was captained by Capitán Flujo and was set to sail out of Marenagua the next morning at ten. The journey would take a day. He gave them a reservation for a double bedroom in the only hotel in Malatierra, and a letter for the representative of the ministry in Malatierra, an alpaca by the name of Vedeja de Cuarzo. The representative was, on paper, bearing the authority of the ministry, but Copper Star explained them that in reality the big mining companies that ran remote mining colonies such as Malatierra often agreed to just anything the ministry told them, only to go on doing whatever they pleased. They would not go so far as to actively keep them from the ruins, but their status as authorized by the ministry would most likely not be enough to earn them special treatment. After Copper Star had taken care of the check-in to the Grand Hotel, he wished them a pleasant journey and asked them to drop by at his office in the ministry when they returned so they could discuss their findings. Twilight made a note, since she feared that Rainbow might not even have listened, and the red-maned stallion bade them goodbye, leaving the two ponies in their spacious two-bed hotel room. “It’s very nice of Copper Star and the ministry to give us all that help, don’t you think?” Twilight commented after he’d left. Rainbow Dash was lounging lazily on her bed, her eyelids drooping suspiciously. “Yeah”, she replied and yawned heartily. “Gosh, I’m tired. That jet lag is killing me!” “Erm, I’m sure you don’t mean jet lag. Jet lag occurs when somepony travels very fast and into a different time zone. Some of the early intercontinental fliers first discovered the phenomenon and – “ She stopped talking and giggled as she noticed that Rainbow was just staring at her with glassy eyes. “Whatever, Twi”, the pegasus replied good-natured. “It means that you badly need a nap, and that’s what I have right now. Aren’t you tired?” Twilight wanted to reply, but had to stifle a sudden yawn. Whether it was the sudden change in climate, the frantic working the days before and the consequential lack of sleep, or just the excitement of being in a Daring Do adventure, she suddenly felt very tired too. She climbed on her bed. “Sleep well, Rainbow”, she said, but the pegasus was already fast asleep. Twilight followed suit only minutes later. Chapter 4Chapter 4 Several hours later, the sun hung low over the horizon and basked the hotel room in warm orange light. Twilight awoke from the sound of Rainbow taking a shower. She remained settled for the time being and stretched lazily. She felt very relaxed after the nap. Just out of curiosity, she decided to try to communicate with Rainbow again. “Sleep well?” she asked. “Augh! “ came back Rainbow’s surprised yelp. “Twi! I’m in the shower!” Twilight chuckled telepathically. “It’s not like I can see you, you know.” “Still, would you please stop it? It’s really weird, okay?” Rainbow groaned. “Okay, okay. I just wanted to see if it still worked.” With a smile she settled back into her cushion and looked out of the huge window. The sun shone directly through it, and Twilight enjoyed the warm light that engulfed her. In the distance she saw a chain of shallow green mountains that the sun was about to settle behind. She was pretty sure that what she saw was the Sierra Lluviosa, or Rainy Mountains, a mountain range known for its thick and mostly unexplored rainforest. Scattered successors of the Donkans were said to have survived in remote mountain villages. Rosetta’s knowledge amazed her once again. Rainbow came out of the bathroom, her mane still wet. “It’s all yours. Whatcha think about dinner afterwards?” “Sounds great”, Twilight smiled. “Do you have something in mind?” “How about we just stroll through the town and see what we find?” Rainbow suggested, letting herself drop on her bed. “Sounds great!” Twilight agreed emphatically and vanished in the bathroom. *** After Twilight completed her shower, they went out to find a nice place to have dinner and to generally explore the town. What they had seen so far of Marenagua was beautiful, and in the lush evening air and illuminated by the gazillions of lanterns the capital of Neighcaragua seemed even more inviting. The sounds of crickets filled the air, which smelled of the drying afternoon rain they had slept through, and didn’t bear the heavy scent of seaweed anymore. It was still warm and a bit humid, but not oppressive. The ponies and alpacas that roamed the streets seemed relaxed and not in a big hurry. A lot of the inhabitants seemed happy to just sit down in one of the many small parks and enjoy the evening. Several buskers filled the air in the streets with their exotic tunes. Twilight enjoyed the peaceful evening air, but it didn’t require telepathic powers to realize that Rainbow Dash was impatient and hungry. So she didn’t suggest they find a nice place in one of the parks to sit for a while, but instead followed her through the narrow alleys of the old city center in search of a promising restaurant. They agreed to skip a tavern near the harbor that was stuffed with muscular sailors and smelled of cheap beer and vomit, and with a shared smile skipped the fancy restaurant just off Plaza de la Libertad which had a maître d’ in a tuxedo standing outside the front door. Eventually, they decided for a small restaurant in the ground floor of a narrow old colonial building in an alley between the plaza and the harbor district. It was frequented by a number of locals, which they took as a good sign. The waitress gave them a table for two in a cozy booth as far away from the kitchen doors as was possible in the small room, lighted the two candles on the table, and handed them two menus. Twilight was curiously reading through the mostly rather exotic dishes when she heard a thought from Rainbow – an inarticulate, frustrated groan. She looked up and saw her friend’s desperate look as she paged through the menu. “Little help here?” she asked. “I don’t even know what half of these things are!” Twilight bowed over the table and began pointing at dishes and translating their descriptions, making good use of Rosetta’s extensive knowledge of the Alpacan language. Rainbow insisted on reading along with Twilight, with the effect of their heads almost bumping together a few times. Whenever she read out something the pegasus found so exotic that she started laughing, she could feel the cyan mare’s head brushing against her mane, a curious, but not unpleasant sensation. They finally decided to share a salad with passion fruit and limes and have a selection of starters to go with the salad instead of a full menu. They picked some spits of grilled potato bits with coconut, rolled up banana leaves filled with bits of pineapple and mild chili peppers, and, following a suggestion by Twilight, orchid flowers filled with blanched seaweed. Rainbow furrowed her brow at this last one, but decided she would not chicken in front of Twilight. “May I recommend our pomegranate mead?” the waitress, a young black alpaca mare, asked as she took their order. “My grandma makes it herself, and it is the most delicious drink you can find in all Neighcaragua.” Twilight smiled at her enthusiasm and shot a questioning glance at Rainbow, who nodded enthusiastically, before she ordered a bottle of pomegranate mead. For a few moments, they just sat in companionable silence as they waited for their drinks, which arrived soon. “Wow!” exclaimed Rainbow after she had taken the first sip of the mead. “This stuff is amazing! It’s almost better than Applejack’s cider!” Excited, she took off from her chair and did a quick loop. Twilight set down her glass and wholeheartedly agreed. “Yes, we made a good choice here, I think.” She took another sip. “So, how do you like our adventure so far?” she asked idly. Rainbow giggled. “Well, not much of an adventure going on so far. But it’s nice being out and about for a change. It’s like vacation.” “It really is, right?” Twilight agreed. “It’s almost a shame we don’t have more time here. There are quite a few sights to see in Marenagua, and I’d really like to show them to you. There’s the old Captaincy Office that dates back to the fifth century and now houses a museum of the colonial history of Marenagua, and an excavation site just out of town where they are digging out an ancient Donkan temple, and – what?” Rainbow was shaking with barely suppressed laughter. “Erm, Twi, you do realize I’m still not an egghead, right?” Rainbow asked, smirking. When Twilight pouted, she quickly added, “Aw, don’t give me that look. It’s actually pretty cool that you get so excited about this kind of stuff. Kinda makes me want to let you show me all these things.” She leaned in over the table and added in a whisper, “Don’t tell anypony I said that.” Twilight could feel Rainbow’s breath on her muzzle, and in the soft candle light her eyes appeared very big and dark. She laughed involuntarily. “Well, thanks, I guess. But that’s easy enough to say for you, since we don’t have the time to go sightseeing anyway.” “You say I’m not being serious? Tell you what, Twi – when we’re done in Malatierra, we come back here and spend a day sightseeing. You’ll be my guide, and I swear, I’ll listen to all the facts you have about this place”, Rainbow offered emphatically. “But you better make it awesome. I don’t wanna get bored to death!” Twilight giggled at the earnestness of her friend. “It’s a deal”, she agreed. Suddenly she frowned. “Hmm, Rainbow, you are aware that we are still inside a Daring Do novel, right? Once we’re done with the story, this here – “, she made an all-encompassing motion with her hoof, “ – this here will end, and we’ll be back in Ponyville.” “Oh, ponyfeathers”, Rainbow said dejectedly, her ears drooping. Before they had time to indulge in any negative feelings the prospect of this trip having a very definitive end might bring, the waitress returned to their table and put down a couple of plates. Twilight noticed that her glass was already empty; apparently she had drunk the whole glass while they were talking; and apparently so had Rainbow. She grabbed the bottle in her magic and refilled both their glasses, while the waitress also added a basket of bread and some napkins. “If you need anything else, just let me know”, she said with a friendly smile before she vanished again. Without hesitation, Rainbow dug into the food. The starter plates were arranged beautifully, with tropical flowers and star fruits for decoration, but the pegasus didn’t even seem to notice as she wolfed down a rolled banana leaf. She grinned at Twilight with a full mouth. “Mhmm, thapvv greap!” she mumbled happily. Twilight giggled at her friend’s complete lack of eating manners and started with a filled orchid flower. It was delicious; unlike everything the Equestrian cuisine had to offer, and unlike anything she had ever tried before. She quietly asked for Applejack’s pardon because she enjoyed the food so much, and tried the passion fruit salad. Unsurprisingly, it was delightful as well. For several minutes, they ate in happy digestive silence, only interrupted by the occasional pleased moan when they tried a new dish. Only when there was just one grilled potato spit left, they suddenly engaged in a staring match over the delicacy. Eventually, Twilight gave in with a chuckle and pushed the plate to Rainbow Dash. “You take it. I have to watch my figure”, she added jokingly. “You’re kidding, right?” Rainbow retorted, flabbergasted. “For an egghead you’re in great shape. I mean, your shape is… erm, and since you don’t exercise that much…erm… you know…” She trailed off, blushing violently. Twilight suddenly found the table’s surface exceedingly interesting and turned her gaze down, her cheeks flushing as well. After some moments of awkward silence, they both regained their composure. Twilight took the bottle of pomegranate mead and found that it was full to the brim; apparently the waitress had silently replaced the empty bottle. She shrugged and refilled their glasses, not noting that her aim was a little bit shaky already. Then she leaned back and watched the cyan pegasus eating the last potato spit. The candles were halfway burnt down, and the restaurant had emptied noticeably. After finishing the meal, Rainbow became aware of Twilight watching her, and looked back at her with a quizzical gaze. Again, Twilight realized how velvety and deep Rainbow’s eyes were in the soft glow of the candle. She felt like she could get lost in these magenta eyes… Rainbow frantically wiped her muzzle with her hoof. “Did I get it?” “Huh?” Twilight replied with utmost eloquence. “I had something in my face, wasn’t that why you were staring at me? Is it gone?” “Erm, yeah, it’s all gone”, Twilight replied with a slight blush. Before the situation could take a swing towards awkward, the waitress reappeared at their table and began collecting the empty plates. “Was everything satisfactory?” she asked. Both ponies nodded in enthusiastic affirmation. “Would you like some dessert, or a coffee?” Twilight and Rainbow exchanged a look and silently agreed. “No, thank you”, Twilight answered the waitress. “It was delicious, but I don’t think we can fit anything more. Could you bring us the bill, please?” The waitress nodded and vanished again to get the bill. When she returned, Rainbow took the bill without hesitation. Twilight wanted to protest, but Rainbow didn’t let her get a word in. “It’s fine, Twi. The department of archeology is paying for the trip expenses anyway, so don’t worry.” She grinned. “Look at me, I’m a professor now. I’m an egghead just like you!” She placed a pile of bits on the table, and they both got up. “Professor Rainbow Dash”, Twilight giggled as they walked out of the restaurant. “How very becoming to you!” The alley was dark now, with intermittent isles of light surrounding the street lights, and it was almost empty compared to earlier. They stopped for a moment outside the restaurant to take in the fresh air, and Twilight involuntarily swayed against Rainbow Dash. “Whoa, Twi, you alright?” the pegasus asked and put a wing around Twilight’s withers to support her. Twilight shook her head as if to clear it. Rainbow suddenly giggled. “Twi, are you drunk?” she asked with a broad grin. “I’m not – “, Twilight started to protest, but she stopped herself. “Maybe I am a little tipsy.” She giggled. Rainbow laughed. “No worries, Twi”, she reassured the lavender unicorn. “It happens. Now let’s get you to bed, and tomorrow you’ll be fine again. Can you walk?” “I’m just a little tipsy, not out of control hammered!” Twilight replied with a smirk. “You just stay there by my side, just to be safe.” She leaned in against her friend and enjoyed the warmth of the other pony in the rather cool night air. Rainbow chortled, which made Twilight’s whole body shake, and pulled her a little tighter into her wing as they set off to their hotel. They walked through the now quiet and dark streets of Marenagua. Some bars lining the plaza were still open, and cheerful music sounded across the square. Several groups of ponies and alpacas made their ways home or to the next bar. The hotel’s bell boy greeted them politely, and they made their way upstairs to their room. Just in front of their door, Twilight suddenly stopped, causing Rainbow to stop as well. She looked at her friend questioningly. “You know”, Twilight said in a low, slightly raspy voice, “this was a way better date than just some old milkshakes”, and gave the surprised pegasus a quick peck on the muzzle, before she quickly opened the door with her magic and stepped inside. Rainbow Dash stood outside the room for another couple of seconds, flabbergasted, and tried to grasp what just had happened. Eventually, she followed Twilight inside with flushed cheeks and a broad giddy smile on her face; a smile which quickly turned into a fit of silent giggles when she saw the unicorn sprawled on her bed, snoring softly. “Oh Twi”, she whispered to herself and lay down too. Chapter 5Chapter 5 Until they arrived at the harbor and started looking for the Sea Stallion, Twilight didn’t speak much the next morning. She had a very slight hangover, but even worse, she of course remembered everything about last night, including that incredibly stupid… thing… she had done right before going to bed. Flirting with Rainbow Dash? What had she been thinking? It didn’t help that Rainbow Dash had been making fun of her ever since she had discovered that Twilight was not only a little hung over, but also quite embarrassed by the way last night had ended. Twilight’s reactions had remained monosyllabic, even though, between two fits of laughter, Rainbow had assured the mortified unicorn that it was no big deal. Not that she found Rainbow Dash unattractive, no, in fact, the athletic pegasus was rather – With an annoyed groan she choked off this train of thought. “Just drop it, ok?” she heard Rainbow’s telepathic message. The smirk in her voice was impossible to miss, even though she was hovering in front of Twilight. “It’s completely normal to lose control in the presence of The Rainbow Dash!” “Very funny”, Twilight replied. “Let’s just find the boat.” “Come on, Twi”, Rainbow insisted. “It’s no big deal. It’s just part of the story.” Twilight just reacted with another exasperated groan, but continued looking around, trying to push back the embarrassment with some success. Rainbow was right – this was just a story, and if Rainbow was cool with it, then she could pull herself together too. Still she mused about Rainbow’s last statement. It made sense in a very confusing meta-narrative way, she assumed. The whole point of this story was, as far as she knew, to prove the validity of a romance between Daring Do and Rosetta, so there had to be such a romance between the two characters in the first place. A little flirtation was probably just what the story required at this point. Rainbow sure enough didn’t seem to be upset about last night. Reassured that she hadn’t crossed any boundaries and had only done what was required, she pushed her worries away and looked around. The harbor was located on the banks of the river, a little upstream from the river mound. The quay was paved and offered enough space for around a dozen bigger ships, and several more lay at anchor in the middle of the river which here, just off the mound, was several hundred meters wide. A bunch of smaller vessels of seaweed farmers and pearl divers were bustling about in between. The quay itself was lined with a couple of big warehouses and several shady taverns like the one they had skipped the night before. Ponies and alpacas were busy carrying around boxes and sacks and rolling barrels from and to the moored ships. A big wooden crane was lifting a large bundle of boxes, wrapped in a strong net, from the deck of a steam boat. In between all of the busy dock workers, ponies were selling foods in a plethora of stands and booths, sometimes even just a small grill behind a box serving as a counter. “Ugh, how do you even find a ship in this mess?” Twilight groaned. “Easy peasy”, Rainbow boasted, and before Twilight could so much as answer, she shot up in the air and began darting from one ship to the next. It took less than a minute before she found it and told Twilight, “Last ship upstream.” Twilight set herself in motion, following the rainbow-colored trail her friend was leaving dangerously low above the ships’ masts and superstructures. She smiled at the intricate patterns the pegasus flew – Twilight thought she recognized a Double Inverted Wing-Flip. Flying was Rainbow Dash’s life, and ever since they had started their adventure, she hadn’t gotten to it quite a lot. And even though, according to the manual, only one hour had passed so far, they had in fact spent almost a day in Marenagua already – inside the story it felt completely real. The different smells of foods were enticing; despite the breakfast they had had at the hotel. Thanks to her being completely mortified, it hadn’t been very enjoyable, and she probably hadn’t eaten quite enough. She levitated some bits out of her saddle bags and bought a spit of deep-fried battered pieces of banana and pineapple for each of them. When she reached the ship Rainbow had indicated, she found the pegasus hovering lazily above the gangway. She handed her friend one of the pineapple-banana spits, and they took some minutes to eat them in companionable silence. Twilight examined the ship. It was a steam boat and about thirty meters long. The hull was made from metal and painted in patches of all kinds of shades of brown, olive and rusty red. The cabin in the rear part of the deck had once been white, but the paintjob was almost as patchy as the hull’s. The black chimney was puffing clouds of brown smoke into the air. She exchanged a doubtful glance with Rainbow Dash. “Can I help you, señoritas?” a brown stallion with a dark olive mane, standing on the gangway, asked them, almost grunting. He looked bulky and weathered and wore a captain’s hat. “Hope so”, Rainbow Dash replied. “We’re looking for a captain Flew Ho. That you?” “I’m Capitán Flujo”, the stallion confirmed. “Who are you?” “Daring Do, world famous adventurer and archeologist. And my assistant, Rosetta Sparkle. We’re travelling with you.” “Ah. Good. We were waiting for you. We are ready to cast off. Follow me, I’ll show you around.” He beckoned them onto the ship and led them into the cabin. While walking, he yelled at nopony in particular, “Cast off!” A bell rang in response to his order. The captain showed them their cabin and the mess hall and then left them alone. Not really knowing what to do, they found a spot near the bow where they wouldn’t be in everypony’s way and settled down next to the railing. Slowly the banks moved past them. So close to the city of Marenagua, the land was still fairly cultivated. Along the river, a broad strip of jungle had been cleared, and a bunch of farms were scattered over the area. The farm buildings mostly were solitary large manors with additional subsidiary buildings, surrounded by orchards and plantations. Twilight recognized pineapples, bananas, avocadoes, and coconut palms, but there was also a huge variety of other crop she didn’t know. She made a mental note to read up on Neighcaraguan agriculture. Workers were busy tending the fields, and most of them waved at the ship as it passed by. Not long and the strip of cleared land became thinner and the manor houses sparser and also simpler until they were only simple log houses. It was obvious that these farms had been established more recently. Their fields were smaller, and more time-intensive crops such as avocadoes and coconuts were missing. About an hour after they had cast off they sailed past the last farm on the river banks. The jungle crept back to the water, with the canopy projecting far above the river and air roots looming out of the shallow water near the banks. They saw the motions of a lot of wildlife in the branches and under the trees, but could not discern individual animals. Logs were floating in the river – or at least that was what they thought until one of those logs suddenly propelled itself out of the water to snap at a small cat-like animal just as it was about to drink. They gulped and shared a look – crocodiles! Unconsciously they scooted a few paces further back from the railing. As the sun rose higher in the sky, it got hotter and hotter. The river and the jungle seemed to be steaming, and the humidity was very oppressive. Mosquitoes as big as a filly’s hoof circled them, and they had to constantly wave their tails to try and keep them at bay. They stayed put until lunch, chatting idly about this and that. The jungle, while interesting and exotic at first, quickly turned into a monotonous green mass that was rather tiring to look at. Rainbow Dash took off for a quick flying exercise, antsy after so much time spent sitting still, and Twilight took the opportunity to have a look at the contents of her – or Rosetta’s – saddlebags. She found a promising book about the ancient high cultures of Neighcaragua and put it aside for later reading. There was also a pith helmet such as Daring Do’s which would come in handy for exploring ancient ruins, a lantern, a notebook with a pencil, a topographic map of the region around the Rio Marenagua and, surprisingly, a paperback romance novel. Apparently Rosetta had interests beyond her scholarly life. With slight embarrassment, Twilight realized that she had read the novel in question. Burying the cheesy book deep in her bags, she instead turned to the history book. When they returned to their spot after having tea, the captain joined them at the railing. He scanned the jungle ahead, and suddenly, as the mound of a tributary came in sight, he spat into the water and growled, “Malditos chivos.” “Goats?” Twilight repeated in surprise. “What are goats doing here?” Rainbow’s head snapped around as she focused on the captain; she looked alarmed. Which was hardly surprising, as she had had a few encounters with a certain goat Hauptmann who had tried to snatch invaluable artifacts for the questionable goals of the Goat Empire – no, wait, Daring Do had had these encounters, and Rainbow had read about them. Knowing just who was who could get a little confusing. As if to confirm her assumption, the captain started to explain, “They are after the old temples and ruins of the ancient alpacas that lived here. Want to steal our heritage and bring it to their Empire.” He spat in the river again. “I may not be an alpaca, but I’m Neighcaraguan nonetheless. This is our country, and our cultural heritage, and we shouldn’t sell out to those goats.” “But how can they even do that?” Twilight asked. “I mean, they can hardly just come here and start digging for artifacts, can they?” “If only that were true”, the captain said. “They bribed some officials, and they leased this river to them, so this is now territory of the Goat Empire. They have armed soldiers there, and they get really nasty when they find people trespassing, or so I’ve heard.” He spat in the water a third time. “If it were for me to decide, I’d kick them out of the country, along with their arrogant attitude and their shiny boots and all.” “Yeah, I’m with you, captain”, Rainbow agreed. “All the goats I’ve met were mego… mangalo… Twi, what’s that word again?” “Megalomaniac”, Twilight helped her out, chuckling. “Yes, Hauptmann Hornmeyer is more than just a little crazy. We had some run-ins”, she added for the captain. “We are not on the friendliest terms with the Empire.” “Nopony in their right mind should be”, the captain mumbled. “I have to return to the bridge.” He left them. Twilight stared at the river the goats had taken possession of. As unbelievable as it was, there was the black, white, and red flag of the Goat Empire hanging limply from a flagpole next to the river banks. It looked very foreign as it slowly floated past them. “You really brought Hornmeyer into this?” Twilight finally asked, unnecessarily waiting until the captain was out of earshot. “He’s the best villain”, Rainbow explained. “He’s so mean, and he always comes with a gazillion minions… and when he took me hostage and brought me to Black Forest Castle in ‘Daring Do and The Golden Cup of the Knight Errand’, that was one of my favorite parts of the whole series.” “Daring Do”, Twilight corrected her. “They abducted Daring Do, not you.” “Yeah, yeah, whatever”, she smirked. “It’s basically the same anyway, ain’t it?” Rainbow was probably right, Twilight mused. For the time being, Rainbow was Daring Do. Everypony in this, this world, for lack of a better word, addressed her as such. And she, Twilight, was Rosetta just the same way as she was herself. Which meant – She gasped. If she was Rosetta, and if Rainbow was Daring Do, and if Rosetta and Daring Do were set up to end up in some sort of romantic relationship, that meant she, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash would – Carefully holding the thought at bay, she looked at the pegasus rested next to her from the corner of her eye, almost expecting that she had come to the same conclusion just now. But Rainbow just looked idly at the jungle that was floating by. The idea scared her a little. She was woefully underprepared for this kind of situation. Her own romantic experiences were limited to the odd filly crush back in school. And of course, being on a boat in the middle of a jungle in the middle of a book meant she didn’t have easy access to any reference material either. On the other hoof, after all, this was a book, and as such a somewhat safe environment. Judging from the unexpected knowledge she possessed about Neighcaraguan culture as well as the specifics of their task here, there was a good chance she’d know… know… know what exactly? Know what to do, apparently. Or know what to know, for that matter. She smiled. The anxiety that had shortly overcome her was now replaced by excited anticipation. She suddenly couldn’t wait for her and Rainbow Dash to, well… hit it off. *** After a night in the stuffy and hot cabin, they reached Malatierra the next morning right after breakfast. The town was clearly visible from afar, thanks to the large headframe that towered above it. When they moored at the wooden pier that protruded far into the river, they were greeted by a huge crowd of harbor workers who immediately began unloading the ship. The captain bade them goodbye and reminded them that he’d be back to Malatierra in a few days, and then they found themselves on dry land at the end of the pier. They decided to find their hotel first, and a miner pointed them in the right direction. ‘Hotel’ was probably too big a word for the place; the ground floor was taken up by a saloon from which resonated loud honkytonk music and the hoarse voices of drinking workers, despite the early time of the day. A small sign indicated open guestrooms. As they entered, they earned a few curious looks from the various groups of pony and alpaca workers grouped around the tables. An old alpaca was hammering on a piano as if it had insulted his heritage, and a mare in a flouncy dress was dancing a can-can on a small stage. And at the bar were seated a group of – “Goats!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in utter surprise. The four goats turned around at once and glared at the two mares. They were all wearing the armbands of the Goat Empire’s military, but no uniforms, except for one goat wearing a beret. He slowly rose to his hooves. “Got a problem viz zat, mein Fräulein?” he asked with a thick goat accent. Suddenly the saloon was quiet, workers, musician, dancer and the barkeep eagerly watching what was going on with the two newcomers. With slow, menacing paces the goat walked towards the two mares. His comrades stood up as well and followed a few paces behind him. “I know who you are”, the leader said threateningly. “You are zat pegasus who keeps interfering viz zee Empire’s operations. Hauptmann Hornmeyer told us to vatch out for you.” He gave them a mean grin. “Looks like today is our Glückstag!” The other goats sneered and smirked in anticipation. “Oh yeah?” Rainbow shot back at them, wings and temper flaring up. “I’ma buck you in your Glückstag so hard you’ll fly back to your beloved Empire!” She pawed the floor with her hoof. “Bring it on!” Twilight, although worried at the prospect of a physical fight, also lowered her head menacingly. She was determined to have Rainbow’s back against these guys. The goats slowly closed in on them, the three other soldiers fanning out behind their leader in an attempt to flank them. Rainbow snorted aggressively. “Fillies, gentlegoats!” a cultivated voice suddenly shouted from behind Twilight and Rainbow. “Please, don’t let’s argue, okay? There really is no need for physical violence!” “Stay out of zis, Silver”, the goat leader retorted to the newcomer, not lifting his gaze from Rainbow Dash. “Zis is none of your business.” “It is my business to keep order in this town, and that includes you”, another voice growled from behind them. “I will not tolerate you causing havoc in this saloon, Empire or not.” The goat leader halted, quickly followed suit by his underlings. “Now sit down, have another beer on the house, and drop it, Feldwebel.” Obviously reluctant, the goats returned to their seats, the Feldwebel never turning away his gaze from Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Only when the goats were seated again at the bar, the two ponies turned around to see who the newcomers were, and they experienced their second surprise within a few minutes. “Manehattan Silver!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “What the hay are you doing here?” “Keeping you from trouble, Do, it seems”, he chuckled. “Allow me to introduce, this is foreman Pico, he’s in charge of pretty much everything in this town. And who would be your charming companion?” Before Twilight could so much as squeak in protest, he had grabbed one of her hooves and planted a kiss on her fetlock. “I’m Tw… Rosetta Sparkle”, she stuttered. “Daring Do’s assistant.” “Well, it is my unadulterated pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Sparkle”, he assured in a smooth voice, looking into her eyes. For a second, Twilight found it hard to turn away. The foreman pointedly cleared his throat. “Mind explaining what this was all about?” he asked. “What are you doing here?” Twilight quickly levitated the letter from Copper Star out of her saddlebags and presented it to the foreman who gave it a cursory read. “So the ministry sent you to investigate the ruins. Qué curioso.” “What a coincidence!” Manehattan Silver exclaimed. “As it happens, DeBridles, the mining company that’s running this town, hired me to do exactly the same. It’s really a small world, isn’t it?” “And what was this argument about?” Pico insisted, ignoring Manehattan Silver, just as Twilight was about to answer. “It vaz a misunderstanding”, the Feldwebel called over from his place at the bar. “Vun vord gave zee uzzer, temperaments rose up, you know how zeese zings happen.” He raised his glass to Rainbow Dash, his eyes cold as ice. “All forgotten, nicht wahr, mein Fräulein?” Rainbow was apparently about to explode at him again, so Twilight put a calming hoof on her shoulder. The pegasus reluctantly gritted her teeth and nodded slowly. “All forgotten.” “Alright. Make sure this doesn’t happen again”, the foreman added, turning to Rainbow Dash and Twilight. “Now. What do we do with you?“ “Foreman, if I may?” Manehattan Silver turned to him. “As it seems, my esteemed colleague is on the same mission as I am, and as you know, I was about to set out for a first examination of the ruins in question. Why don’t the two ladies just join me?” “Are you sure this is such a good idea?” the foreman asked back suspiciously. “After all, you were brought in by the company, whereas these two –“ Manehattan Silver didn’t let him finish. “Miss Do is a distinguished archeologist. If anything, it will be more than beneficial to have her on board. I really want her and her assistant to join me”, he quickly explained the foreman, giving him a sharp look. The foreman stared back at the brown stallion and furrowed his brow. He shrugged. “Whatever you do, just don’t get in the way of my workers.” He turned to leave. “Well, you know the way. I have a mine to run.” “Wait!” Twilight stopped him before he could leave. “We’re supposed to meet a Señor de Cuarzo of the ministry first!” “Don’t worry”, Pico said dismissively. “I’ll let him know you’re here.” With that he left. “Well, I guess that has to be enough”, Twilight said, unsure of what to make of that scene. “Wonderful. Are you staying in one of the guestrooms here?” Manehattan Silver asked them. As they nodded, he continued, “Well then, why don’t you quickly get settled and meet me down here afterwards, and then we can be on our way?” “Sure”, Rainbow Dash agreed. There was only one thing bothering Twilight. “Was he just flirting with me?” she asked with consternation as they trotted towards the stairs. “Don’t think too much of it, Twi”, Rainbow reassured her. “When he first met Daring, he acted pretty much the same, remember?” “I don’t know. I somehow suddenly don’t like him too much. He was… sleazy?” Rainbow just chuckled at that. “Did you write him like that on purpose?” “Dunno”, the pegasus happily confessed. “But he’s been a jerk all along.” Chapter 6Chapter 6 They just took a quick look at their rooms before they returned downstairs. Twilight decided to simply take her saddlebags along with her, as most of the things inside could potentially be useful for an expedition into ancient ruins. She put on the pith helmet, earning her a lopsided grin from Rainbow Dash. Manehattan Silver also got up and put on his fedora as well as a saddlebag. “Are you ready, ladies?” “Wait, so we’re just walking into the jungle? What if we get lost?” Twilight asked, slightly worried. “Can you at least show us where we’re going on the map?” “Don’t worry, Miss Sparkle”, Manehattan Silver reassured her with a charming smile. “I’m sure that between Do here and me you are in more than capable hooves. And it’s just a short walk anyway.” Twilight forced herself to smile back at him, but inside she cringed at his patronizing attitude. She remembered finding him quite attractive when he had first been introduced in the Daring Do series, but for some reason, now he only seemed sleazy and rather unpleasant. But since he and Rainbow were already leaving the bar, she had to postpone these thoughts and catch up with the others instead. “So what’s the deal with those goats?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What are Hornmeyer’s minions doing here?” “Ah, that’s a most unfortunate story”, Manehattan Silver explained almost apologetically. “The Goat Empire has struck a deal with the local government, and apparently they have also contacted DeBridles and are trying to get their hooves on the old ruins in this area. You see, this land here, and also the spot where they found the ruins, is contracted to DeBridles on a mining concession, and they can legally exploit it in any way they want.” “And are DeBridles going to give them access?” Twilight wanted to know. The stallion shrugged. “I really don’t know. Foreman Pico seems like a reasonable pony, but out here things can be a bit, well, unclear. Maybe they have already bought somepony, I don’t know. At least nopony seems to mind them walking around in town.” “They have a base nearby, or so we’ve heard”, Twilight mused. “Interesting. That would be an explanation.” Manehattan Silver led them out of the town and into a jungle. A narrow footpath snaked through the impenetrable green of the rainforest, apparently only cleared a short while ago. It was barely wide enough for one pony. This close to the underwood, the noise of the various wildlife in the jungle was almost deafening and the sheer foreignness of the screams, the cries, and the hoots made Twilight shiver a bit. She made another mental note to study up on Neighcaraguan fauna so she’d at least be able to tell which one of these cries originated from a vicious predator. The “short walk” Manehattan Silver had promised turned out to be a three-hour hike. Before long, Twilight’s coat was soaked in sweat due to the immense heat and oppressive humidity. Rainbow and Manehattan Silver, both better athletes than Twilight, seemed much less fazed by the strenuousness. And she had also insisted on taking the stupid saddlebags which seemed to get heavier by the minute. Rainbow somehow seemed to notice and looked back to give her a sympathetic smile. Finally the path opened up into a clearing, or rather an area of less dense underwood. In the center of the clearing a small, irregular bump rose. Only on second glance Twilight realized that it wasn’t just a hill or some jungle tree that had fallen over, but in fact the topmost remains of a stone structure. The visible masonry was almost crumbled beyond recognition, except that the arrangement still looked too regular to be a natural occurrence. Suddenly Rainbow Dash took off and shot up into the dense canopy. She came back to the ground only seconds later and offered Twilight a bite from a freshly picked mango which the unicorn accepted with a grateful smile. “Thanks. What was that all about?” “Just needed to stretch my wings before we go in there. It’s not like caves make me nervous or something.” Twilight giggled. In the meantime, Manehattan Silver had progressed to the ruins and was peeking inside, holding a lantern in his mouth. He quickly turned his head to the two mares and gestured them to catch up. Almost hidden between a thicket of bushes and vines, a few remains of walls made from surprisingly regular brown building blocks were visible. Under the dense brush, a dark passageway opened, leading down between the ancient masonry. The orange light of Manehattan Silver’s lamp didn’t reach further into the darkness than a few paces. “Here it is”, he announced unnecessarily. “Do you have an extra light by any chance?” Shooting him an impatient look, Twilight lit up her horn, casting the clearing in bright purple light. “Would that be enough?” she asked sweetly. Manahattan Silver just smiled at her and nodded. “Then follow me”, he said and began crouching into the narrow entrance. Twilight noticed that Rainbow did two nervous somersaults, and gave her an encouraging pat on the withers. “You know, it’s really fine if the cave is big enough to quickly take wing.” They squeezed into the small opening and found themselves in a narrow corridor which led downwards in a fairly steep angle. Vines and mosses grew along the walls. The draft coming from below was cool and damp and didn’t smell very good, but at least it was breathable. After one or two seemingly endless minutes in the monotonous tunnel it suddenly returned to a horizontal orientation and widened enough so that two ponies could walk abreast – or so that one pegasus could stretch her wings and let out a satisfied sigh. Just like the entrance tunnel, this one was square and completely barren, the walls featuring the same uniform brown masonry. Only instead of vines there were now little pale mushrooms growing in the corners. Not a long time later, they reached a T-junction. Manehattan Silver took some time to shine his lamp into both directions. “Hmm. If this here is any similar to the Great Temple of Teneightitlan, then there should be a fake burial chamber to the right, and the sanctuary should be to the left.” Thanks to her newly gained knowledge about Alpacan culture, Twilight knew that Manehattan Silver was right. Although – “But if this is structured like the Tomb of Coltláuac, it would mean that the way to the right leads us to the fake burial chamber, behind which we would find the real burial chamber, while the left tunnel will lead us into a water pit, or worse.” If she was completely honest with herself, she didn’t have any reason to assume these ruins would rather follow the design of the Tomb of Coltláulac than that of the Great Temple. There was just something about Manehattan Silver that provoked her to argue back. “Let’s go right first”, Rainbow Dash decided and immediately turned into the corridor. Manehattan Silver and Twilight followed; the latter feeling unreasonably giddy because Rainbow had sided with her. Only a few dozen paces later the tunnel opened into a big rectangular chamber with an arched ceiling, thus proving that this structure was different from both the Great Temple and the Tomb. The room was barren and empty except for some mushrooms and spider webs. Unlike the corridor whose floor had consisted of the same building block as the walls, the room’s floor was covered in irregular stone tiles, many of which were cracked. On the opposite end, a doorway led way into the next room. They gave the walls only a cursory glance as they trotted through the vault, Rainbow hovering in front, Manehattan Silver taking the back. Behind the doorway there was another room, for all they could tell exactly the same as the one before, with the same doorway at the opposing end. Rainbow Dash took the lead and hovered through the doorway into the next room which, for all intents and purposes, looked like an exact replica of the room they were in. She stopped right above the threshold and closely examined the floor tile right in front of the threshold. Not looking up, she held out a hoof to stop Twilight and Manehattan Silver from stepping onto the tile. “That’s a trap”, she said with unwavering confidence. Twilight looked at the tile more closely and noticed that it protruded from the ground by the tiniest margin. It was conveniently not cracked and looked very innocent. “Good job on finding this. You’ve read way too many Daring Do novels”, Twilight joked. “Hah! I’m just that awesome! What do you think happens when you step on them?” the pegasus asked. “Collapsing ceiling? Poisoned darts?” “I really don’t want to find out”, Twilight said resolutely and jumped across the tile. Manehattan Silver followed them into the next room. The next room was almost the same as the two before. Unlike the others though, on both sides the room was lined by little alcoves which were framed by statues of stylized upright-standing crocodiles. In their claws they held long-dead torches. The tile in front of the threshold to the next room was cracked in several places. Rainbow carefully hovered through the archway and closely examined the first tile in the next room while Twilight extended her head through the passageway to give her light. The tile in question was not cracked either, and Rainbow Dash just pointed her hoof at it. Twilight nodded, took a few steps back and leapt over the tile, closely followed by Manehattan Silver. The air had grown damper, and now they could hear the sound of water somewhere ahead. More mushrooms than ever were growing in the corners. The next room was longer, almost another corridor, and they couldn’t see its end in the light of Manehattan Silver’s lantern and Twilight’s horn. After several dozen paces they could see another archway. The water they heard had to be behind it. Carefully watching the floor tiles they approached the archway. Rainbow took the lead and flew into the next room carefully. Twilight craned her neck through the passageway and saw a room unlike any room in any of the known ancient alpacas’ ruins. The room was actually more of a pit. It was almost round. Its ceiling was a few meters above them, and it extended far into the depths. A steep ramp lined by a chest-high wall descended into the pit. It looked like, unlike the other parts of the temple, it had been carved out of the bedrock. In the center there was a waterfall disappearing in the abyss. “I’ll have a look what’s down there”, Rainbow said. “Gimme the lamp, Silver!” The stallion handed her the lamp, and the pegasus flew into the darkness, surrounded by a small sphere of yellow light, leaving the other two ponies outside the passageway. “There’s another tunnel down here! You can just walk there on that ramp!” Rainbow yelled from below after a few seconds. Manehattan Silver and Twilight stepped through the archway, and the unicorn just had time to think ‘What if there is a trap?’, when she felt rather than heard a click underneath her hooves. Startled, she jumped forward onto the top part of the ramp, the low wall saving her from falling down. Manehattan Silver followed her and looked around suspiciously. “Did we –“ he began. Then suddenly the floor they were standing on sagged with a mighty jerk, strong enough to knock them off their hooves and make them tumble down the ramp like on a huge albeit rocky slide. Twilight desperately tried to hold onto something, but the walls and the ramp were too smooth to grab. As their wild ride went on, they were smashed into the walls of the ramp repeatedly, the two of them falling over each other not helping at all in trying to stop their descent. “Rainboooooooooow!” Twilight screamed. Rainbow heard Twilight’s panicked scream. She darted upwards to see what was going on and saw Twilight and Manehattan Silver rolling down the ramp like a pony avalanche. Not wasting any time, she flew back to the passageway, put down the lamp and held onto the doorframe with grim determination, waiting to catch her companions. When Manehattan Silver shot past her, she grabbed his hind leg and yelled, “Catch her!” praying he’d be quick enough. Another fierce tug told her that, thank Celestia, he had been quick enough. Twilight tried not to think about what waited for her at the end of this slide, when suddenly something yanked on her rear hoof with full force and brought her to a halt. Dazed by the countless times she’d crashed into the rock wall, she momentarily couldn’t see anything of her surroundings except for a trace of light. Then she was slowly dragged upwards. After a few moments she found herself being pulled through a passageway. Next to her Manehattan Silver was lying on the floor, breathing heavily. Rainbow Dash was sitting on the floor too and stared at her with big, worried eyes. Twilight started to speak, “Rainbow – “ but didn’t know how to continue. Still, that seemed to be enough for the pegasus as she jumped forward and pulled Twilight into a tight embrace. “Are you alright?” she asked.. “I’m okay”, Twilight replied, holding on to Rainbow for a moment longer. “Is anypony hurt?” Manehattan Silver asked. “That was quite a wild ride!” Before anypony could react, suddenly a large gush of water streamed past outside of their archway and down the ramp. The ponies quickly jumped away from the small amount that flowed into their tunnel. The water continued thundering past them. “Water, to make sure we’d be flushed down there even if we managed to stop somehow”, Twilight said with a strained voice. “Lovely.” “Hah, they didn’t count on the speed and awesome rescuing abilities of Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow boasted, still keeping one wing wrapped around Twilight. “Thank Celestia they didn’t”, Twilight agreed. Shakily she got back on her hooves. “Alright, let’s continue.” “That was still pretty close”, Manehattan Silver mumbled to himself. They continued down the corridor, leaving the roaring of the water behind. Not after long, they reached another doorway. Being extra careful after the pit trap, Twilight checked the threshold. There was again a suspicious tile on their side. “Look out here”, she mumbled and carefully jumped over it. The door gave way to another huge room, much wider than the corridor. The opposite wall was only barely visible even in Twilight’s magic light. A line of square columns ran around the room, each one seemingly ornate with intricately carved reliefs. In the center a pedestal rose from the ground on which lay a shiny item. “The sanctuary”, Twilight whispered. “The Golden Princess”, Manehattan Silver added. “Careful now.” “The floor between the columns”, Rainbow Dash immediately observed. The stones directly in between the columns protruded again, but luckily were small enough to just carefully step over. The pedestal was adorned by stone carvings as well, but their attention was immediately drawn to the shiny object on top of it. It was the golden statue of a rearing female alpaca wearing the traditional alpaca headdress whose hind legs were wrapped in the body of a large serpent that seemed to have feathers instead of scales. “Watch out, maybe the pedestal is rigged to the weight of the statue”, Manehattan Silver quietly advised. Twilight fought the urge to roll her eyes – that particular trap had already been used in Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone. Nonetheless, she scanned the pedestal closely – after all, the ancient alpacas had probably not been avid readers of Daring Do – but the plinth appeared solid and completely un-rigged. “I think it’s safe.” “Good”, Manehattan Silver said, stretching the word. “Give it to me.” “Wait a second”, Rainbow protested. “Why should we give it to you?” Something clicked. “Because I will shoot you if you don’t”, Manehattan Silver replied softly. Only now Twilight and Rainbow turned their gaze from the golden statuette and looked at Manehattan Silver. The earth pony held a revolver pointed at them and was slowly stepping away from the pedestal. “Sparkle, levitate it here, or your girlfriend dies.” “You – you – you traitorous bastard!” Rainbow yelled at him. “When we get outta here, I’m gonna kick your flank to Tartarus and back!” “Relax, Rainbow”, Twilight said with unease, afraid the aggressive pegasus might provoke Manehattan Silver to shoot. She levitated the statue over to the stallion who snatched it with his mouth and put it into his saddlebag. “So who bought you, Manehattan Silver? DeBridles?” “It is really none of your business”, the stallion replied, “but since you won’t get out of here anyway, there is no harm in telling you.” He had now reached the doorway and stopped just in front of the supposedly trapped tile. “I have started a very fruitful cooperation with the great Goat Empire. Hauptmann Hornmeyer has a strong interest in powerful artifacts, and I have a strong interest in getting paid by him. It is a deal where everypony wins. Well, except for you.” He shook his head and looked at them, an expression of insincere regret on his face. “I’ve always respected you, Do”, he went on. “You are almost as good an archeologist as I am, and I’ll give it to you, we had a lot of fun together on our past adventures. I didn’t mean you to get caught up in this, but you’re a liability, and I have to deliver this statue. So, well. Sorry, I guess. And farewell.” With that, he quickly stepped on the trapped tile and galloped away. There was an ominous cracking noise. Then the ceiling above the doorway collapsed, blocking the entrance under tons of rocks. The room started to shake violently and almost threw Twilight off her hooves. “That was the most clichéd villain speech ever!” she yelled after Manehattan Silver, almost more angry that he had got to have final say. Then the floor began to sink. Chapter 7Chapter 7 The room was shaking fiercely as Twilight jumped off the floor tile that was falling down underneath her hooves. She could see that all across the room floor tiles were collapsing, and after mere seconds she felt the ground she was standing give out once more. Again she leapt up, landing on some tiles that were still stable. The whole room quaked violently, and a cascade of stones fell from the ceiling. “Twi!” Rainbow Dash shouted from above. “The altar! Quick!” Twilight looked up and saw that the pedestal the Golden Alpacan Princess had been on still seemed stable. Without waiting for the tile she was standing on to fall down as well, she took a deep breath and jumped, barely crossing the distance to the altar. She landed with her front legs on the edge and struggled to pull herself up as the violent shaking of the room ceased. Finally, she stood on the top of the pedestal and could watch the destruction of the sanctuary with wide unbelieving eyes as the dust started to settle. Almost the whole floor was gone. Only a thin line of stones between the columns remained intact. At the same time, the exit had been blocked by the cave-in – even though some rocks had just fallen down when the floor collapsed. She carefully looked down into the void around her and saw nothing but a bottomless black pit. Rainbow was hovering over her and looked at her worriedly. Twilight took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She cast a quick look at the ceiling, aware that a collapsing ceiling was pretty much a staple in trapped temples in a Daring Do novel, but for the time being its remains looked stable enough, which was at least a small relief. “Twi!” Rainbow shouted, “are you okay?” “I’m fine, Rainbow”, she calmed down her friend. 'But how do we get out of here', she didn’t add because she didn’t want to sound whiney. The situation was bad enough without one of them panicking. They had to get out of there! She desperately scanned the walls, searching for some kind of exit. A slight draft coming from below caught her attention. If there was a draft, it had to be going somewhere! And maybe that was an exit for the two ponies was well! She carefully licked her hoof and held it into the air. The air appeared to be moving towards the wall opposite of the destroyed exit. Staring intensively, Twilight realized that one of the big stone panels lining the walls, the one that was just opposite the entrance, had a large crack. Maybe, hopefully, that was a possible exit. “Rainbow!” she called out. “Can you buck that panel over there? That could be our way out.” “I will buck that thing into a thousand pieces!” She darted over to the panel, turned around and, giving Twilight a wink, she kicked the wall with all the force she could muster up. While it didn’t burst into a thousand pieces, she managed to break it in half along the preexisting crack, and both halves fell down into the bottomless pit. Behind the panel there was a dark passageway. “Woohoo!” Rainbow Dash cheered, triumphantly pumping her hooves in the air. “You found a way out! Lemme fly you over there!” “Thanks, Rainbow, but I’ll just teleport over there.” She closed her eyes and concentrated on the teleportation spell. Nothing happened. “Are you kidding me?” Twilight groaned in exasperation. “Rosetta can’t teleport? I guess I’m lucky then that at least she knows the light spell and some levitation!” Before she had time for more complaining though she once more found herself picked up by a pair of strong cyan hooves, and before she could protest, Rainbow Dash had already set her down in the passageway. In the light of her horn they saw that the tunnel was very much like the one that had led hem there, including the mushrooms. They couldn’t see its end. They didn’t have to walk for long. The tunnel eventually ended in another large room which unlike the sanctuary was completely empty. In the wall on the opposite end there was another doorway, hopefully leading to an exit. Rainbow Dash examined the doorway, carefully hovering above any suspicious floor tiles around the threshold. “Looks like this thing is going on forever”, she remarked. “You sure this is going somewhere, Twi?” “I sure hope so”, the unicorn replied. “It really sucks that jerk Silver has the Princess”, Rainbow mused grimly. “We should totally go after him when we’re outta here and get it back.” “I don’t think that’s such a good idea”, Twilight disagreed. “We’ll only get lost in the jungle, and I have no intention to almost fall to my death again in some deadly trap. We should continue to Malatierra and tell somepony about what happened.” “He stole the statue! We gotta get it back!” “But – “ Twilight tried to reply, but Rainbow interrupted her by hovering in front of the lavender unicorn and staring right into her eyes. “Twi, if we stop now, we’ve lost. I don’t lose! You know that!” “But it’s going to be dangerous! We don’t know the jungle! There could be goats out there to meet with Manehattan Silver, or worse things even! Going out there on a whim and hunting down Manehattan Silver is just reckless!” Twilight finally managed to object. “It is not reckless, it’s heroic! I can’t believe you’re such an egghead even inside a book!” Twilight just stared at her, mouth agape, trying to decide if she should be offended. She knew she was right – just running out in the jungle would be dangerous in all kinds of ways, and she didn’t like it one bit that Rainbow had called her an egghead. At the same time, she didn’t want to look like a coward in front of the pegasus. It was obvious that Rainbow was pushing her buttons – but it seemed to be working; she didn’t want her to think badly of her. Rainbow Dash brought her head even closer to Twilight’s and added, “And if we go home now, the story’s over! I don’t want it to end yet!” Not liking being called an egghead was one thing, but she disliked the idea of the story being over even more. Even though their adventure had turned out to be rather strenuous, stressful, and even dangerous at times, she didn’t want it to end yet. That was almost like not finishing a book, something she had not done since her second year in school. Besides, she wanted to know how the story ended. She wanted to know how it would all work out. Even if it was dangerous and foolish. And if that meant hunting down Manehatten Silver, then, well, she’d hunt down Manehattan Silver. After all, an invaluable artifact like the Golden Princess should not be in the hooves of the Goat Empire. And he had threatened Rainbow Dash. If she was completely honest with herself, Twilight had to admit that this was probably driving her mad the most. He had also called Rainbow Dash her girlfriend. That was a sentiment that brought forth a weird mix of emotions – a little anxiety mixed with quite a bit of anticipation. Rainbow Dash would become her girlfriend before this story ended! Unless the story ended right here and now. “So let’s do this already! Silver deserves some flank-kicking!”” the pegasus interrupted her thoughts with grim verve. Finally having reached a decision, Twilight agreed, “Okay. Let’s get him!” “Yeah!” Rainbow cheered and pumped her hoof in the air. “We’re gonna kick his flank!” She started moving into the next corridor. “Are you coming? Let’s check this place out!” Smiling at her friend’s determination, she followed Rainbow Dash through the passageway, still half-way caught up in her anticipation. Yes, she definitely wanted to know how this story ended. The tunnel led them into a wide and surprisingly high hallway that was guarded by statues, ponies in old-fashioned plate mail armor, wearing swords and shields, on the right, and alpacas with their traditional headdresses and armed with spears and blowpipes on the left. The ponies were all injured in some way, spears and arrows stuck in their armors and bodies, and the alpacas were viciously baring their teeth. “They must have built these immediately before the downfall of their empire”, Twilight whispered, impressed by the gruesome depictions. She continued narrating, “When the first ponies arrived in Neighcaragua, they were less than friendly towards the alpacas, who in turn didn’t want the newcomers on their sacred land. "There were a lot of fights and skirmishes. The alpacas were driven back further and further into the jungle, and the ponies razed their capital, Teneightitlan. Legend has it that the last High King of the alpacas, Manetezuma, tried to strike a bargain with the alpacas’ sun god, Trotathiu. In exchange for victory over the ponies, he sacrificed his own daughter and, in a horrible ritual, enshrined her soul in the Golden Alpacan Princess statue. Then, with his own hoof, he placed the statue in a secret temple. "Shortly thereafter, the last Alpacan army went to battle the ponies in the plains north of Marenagua. Confident in Trotathiu’s blessing, Manetezuma recklessly led the charge, armed with a golden spear. His loyal guards, clad in golden armor and absolutely fearless, were right behind him. They clashed into the spearheads of the pony army and killed lots and lots of pony soldiers, seemingly made invincible by the blessing of their god. "When the night fell, Manetezuma and most of the guards were still alive, but they found themselves surrounded. The ponies had defeated the entire alpaca army, and except for those who had fled, only the High King and his guards were left alive. The ponies offered them to surrender, but the High King wouldn’t listen. "He was imperturbable in his belief that he was blessed by his god and that the pony army could not defeat him. So he raised his golden spear, and he cried out the ancient war cry of the alpacas, and they charged.” She stopped, unsettled by her own story." “What happened?” Rainbow asked in a low voice. Apparently she was impressed by the story as well. “The ponies killed them all. That day, the Alpacan Empire ceased to exist. The surviving alpacas were treated rather gracefully by the ponies once they had made peace, but they had lost the reign over their land.” She swallowed. “They must have built these statues right before the battle, to express their confidence.” With a shimmering eyes, she raised a hoof and gently touched the statue of an alpaca warrior with a raised spear. A pegasus wing was softly wrapped around her withers. “Thanks”, she sniffled. “I’m not usually that unsettled by history.” She wiped her eye. “Then again, I never knew I knew this story. It must have come from Rosetta again.” Rainbow gave her a quick squeeze with her wing before releasing her. “Wow. That was a really cool story. That High King was reckless.” She smiled. “You know, you are a pretty awesome guide. The way you tell history, it kinda all comes to life. I never knew that old stuff was so interesting!” “Thanks”, Twilight giggled, still a little downbeat. “If you’re not careful, I’m getting you into egghead stuff!” “Yeah, yeah”, the pegasus replied. “If it’s as cool as that story, I won’t even mind. And most stuff is much more interesting anyway when you – “ “When I what?” “Nevermind.” She looked away and cleared her throat. “Ready to go on?” Twilight nodded, and they continued on down the long hallway lined by alpaca and pony warriors. It wasn’t long until they reached the end of the hallway. There had been a cave-in, and the rocks and dirt had toppled over the great statue of Manetezuma who had stood there on a pedestal. He now lay half-covered in stones, looking defeated. After the story of his last resolve, it was sad and oddly fitting to see him lie like this. Above the statue, where the rocks had fallen down, an opening was visible. The draft was stronger here; there was likely to be an exit up there. Twilight stretched out her neck in order to light as much of the cave above them as possible. It seemed big enough for a pony for walk through, and she could climb the stones like uneven stairs. “More stupid caves”, Rainbow Dash mumbled. “Yeah”, Twilight agreed. “I've had enough of them, too.” Rainbow offered Twilight a hoof as she started climbing up the rocks, which the unicorn gratefully accepted. Soon they found themselves in the cave that had collapsed into Manetezuma’s temple. The cave was narrow and not very high. The same mushrooms as in the ruins grew in the corners, and a couple of tree roots grew threw the walls that seemed to consist more of dirt than rocks. It continued in roughly the same direction as the hallway with the statues. The air was much damper up here than in the ruins. They trotted along, the cave leading up a shallow angle. Twilight noticed that the continuous walking was weighing her down. She was not the most athletic pony of all, and hour-long hikes were not her typical pastime. She stifled a yawn. “You okay, Twi?” Rainbow asked worriedly. “I’m fine”, the unicorn replied. “Just a little tired from all the walking.” “Wanna take a nap?” “Let’s get out of here first. I need some daylight.” They dragged themselves on. The cave was much less interesting than the ruined temple, and the strain of the past hours was more and more weighing down on them. When they started hearing the rushing of water up ahead, they hardly reacted. They just continued prodding on. As they turned around a corner, they suddenly found themselves in front of, or rather behind a huge waterfall. Through the rushing water they could make out pale daylight. Looking around, they found that their cave opened into a ravine, into which the waterfall was pouring from a source somewhere above them. Rainbow carefully flew around the side of the water to take a look outside. “It’s only like ten meters to the top, no biggie”, she reported back. “But how do I get up there?” Instead of an answer, Rainbow came flying back into the cave and crouched down next to Twilight. “Hop on”, she instructed Twilight with a smile. The unicorn climbed on the pegasus’ back, careful to not obstruct her strong blue wings. “Hold on!” With a loud cheer, Rainbow darted past the waterfall. The ravine seemed to reach as far down as the one in the temple, a thought that made Twilight shudder and wrap her hooves even closer around Rainbow’s neck. “Relax, Twi, you’re flying with the best flyer in Equestria!” Twilight smiled and loosened her grip a little, instead burying her face in the multi-hued mane to block out the unwelcome view into the depth. It was only a few seconds later that Rainbow Dash landed. Twilight looked up again and saw that they were back in the jungle, surrounded by the impenetrable green. She slid off Rainbow’s back and took a look around. The scenery was exotic, yet pretty uninteresting. At least there was daylight and fresh, albeit hot and humid, air. “You good to go on?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I should be able to walk for another hour or so”, Twilight replied. “But thanks for asking.” “You look kinda smashed after all those traps and temples falling down on you, you know.” She looked around, trying to determine where to head. “So, where do you think we’re gonna find Silver?” “Hmm, Captain Flujo said the goats have some territory claimed along that tributary river we passed yesterday. Let’s have a look at the map.” She pulled the map out of her saddlebags, now happy she’d brought them, and let it hover in front of them. “Okay, Malatierra is here. The ruins must be around here, so we’re probably around here”, she indicated. “The river where the goats are must be this one, the Rio Moreno. It takes a bend here and flows almost parallel to the Rio Marenagua.” She estimated the distance. “We should be able to get there early tomorrow.” “Let’s just hope we get there before Manehattan Silver gets on a boat and is gone”, Rainbow mumbled. “We shouldn’t be too far behind him, actually”, Twilight said, looking around. “The temple is on the other side of this ravine, and to get to Rio Moreno, Silver has to walk around it. We might even be a little ahead of him!” “Alright, then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Rainbow impatiently waited for Twilight to stuff the map back into the saddlebags, but when the unicorn stifled another yawn, she added, ”Just say it when you need a rest, okay?” Twilight chuckled. “So I guess you’re in charge of taking care of me now, hmm?” she asked with a smirk. To her surprise, Rainbow didn’t respond to her good-natured teasing, but instead replied more seriously, “You know, I was really worried about you back there when that darn traitor caused the floor to collapse. With all those stones flying around, I – I – “ “You what?” Twilight asked carefully. “I wasn’t sure if I could’ve caught you”, the pegasus blurted out. “I was really scared of losing you there. I guess I’m kinda still chewing on that.” Twilight didn’t know what to say and simply gave her a gentle nuzzle on the neck. “You know”, Rainbow went on, “back when we all got our cutie marks, when I did my first Sonic Rainboom… when I was done with the race with those jerks, I heard how Fluttershy had fallen off of the clouds. I mean, she was fine, but still, when they told me, it hit me like a thundercloud. She could’ve died there, you know? If it weren’t for those butterflies.” She went silent for a short while, and Twilight didn’t dare interrupt her. Finally she continued, “Back then, she was my only friend, you know? I didn’t really hang with the other foals in my year because, well, they were just learning to fly and I was already pretty awesome. And the older kids just made fun of me. "Well, and then there was Fluttershy. I kinda took her under my wing, even though she was older, you know? She was just so timid! So whenever some jerk bullied her, I stood up for her. And she, she was just there for me. "I dunno. I just don’t know what I would’ve done if something had happened to her, you know? And ever since I met you guys, it’s been the same with all of you. I’d rather have my leg torn off than let something happen to you, I mean, any of you.” She cleared her throat, and when she continued in her usual cocky way, it was obvious that it took her quite an effort. “Luckily I’m totally awesome, so I usually just ace it!” Twilight nuzzled her again. “I didn’t know you felt that way. At least not that strongly”, she finally said. They continued walking in silence for a while, before Twilight added, “Thanks for sharing this with me, Rainbow.” Rainbow chuckled sheepishly and looked to the other side, scratching her head. “Yeah, well… just don’t tell anypony I got all sappy, okay?” Twilight gave her an encouraging shoulder bump. “Don’t worry. Your sappy secrets are safe with me.” “Hehe cool.” She looked around, apparently still a bit embarrassed. “Erm, I’ma quickly take wing, have a look around above the trees and stuff. You cool with that?” Twilight nodded understandingly, and the pegasus took off, darting into the sky, leaving behind her trademark rainbow-colored trail. It wasn’t long before Rainbow returned to the ground. “Yeah, river’s pretty much where you said it is. It’ll still be quite the walk.” “Let’s make some way, then, before dark.” So they trotted on, slower than before. They didn’t talk much, but it was a companionable silence. When they came past a patch of mango trees, Rainbow again flew up and picked some which they ate while walking on. It was more demanding than the way from Malatierra to the ruins, because there wasn’t even a narrow cleared path, and they constantly had to push aside branches and step around bushes and shrubs. They heard the rain start shortly after, but only a few thick drops reached the ground through the dense canopy above them. Thunder roared once or twice, but then seemed to lose interest. The jungle fauna didn’t react in the slightest and continued their usual cacophony. When Twilight swayed into Rainbow, the pegasus stopped. She examined her shortly and decided, “We’re taking a break now.” Twilight by now was too exhausted to protest, so she just nodded and collapsed on the ground. Rainbow huddled up next to her, and the unicorn gladly snuggled her face up against her coat and quickly fell asleep. Chapter 8Chapter 8 It felt like Twilight had only just closed her eyes. She felt hardly refreshed at all. In her head, something was going around in circles, something about Rainbow Dash and this story and the feeling of Rainbow’s coat on her face when she fell asleep, but her still-exhausted mind just couldn’t pinpoint it. It was late afternoon. She idly wondered what had woken her as she clearly wasn’t ready to get up. Luckily, Rainbow Dash cleared that up. “Stay back or I’ll make you regret it!” she yelled furiously. Alarmed, Twilight jumped up, still dizzy and sleepy, and looked around. Rainbow was hovering next to her, staring angrily at a group of alpacas that were slowly closing in on them, almost surrounding them against the ravine behind them. They all carried spears and blowpipes. The coat in their faces was covered in white paint, and they had lots of small, colorful beads tied into the long fur on the sides of their necks. And they looked decidedly unfriendly as they slowly prowled closer, spears raised. Rainbow Dash, however, would have none of this. With an unarticulated scream, she launched herself at the nearest alpaca, gracefully evading the spear he thrust at her, and hit him in the face with her outstretched hooves. The alpaca grunted and collapsed to the ground. Immediately two more alpacas jumped at Rainbow, grabbing her hind hooves and pulling her to the ground. She bucked like an angry mustang at a rodeo, and one of the alpacas flew against a tree trunk. The other tried to hit her with the shaft of his spear. Rainbow Dash ducked and jumped back a few times, but couldn’t avoid a painful hit in the shoulder. She groaned, took wing and quickly darted over the alpaca. Before he could turn around and bring is spear to bear, she kicked him hard in the back of his head. The alpaca collapsed as well. “Who else wants some?” she shouted, panting heavily. One alpaca who wore a small headdress made from colorful feathers made a hoof gesture, and two more alpacas threw themselves at Rainbow Dash. Twilight gasped, which attracted the very unwelcome attention of another alpaca who immediately pointed his spear at her. Rainbow Dash awaited the two charging alpacas with a mean grin on her face. Right before the first could reach her with the blunt end of his spear, she quickly leapt towards him, spun around and welcomed him with a bone-shattering buck in the chest. The alpaca was thrown backwards and skidded across the ground a few steps. The other attacker though lunged out at her with his spear shaft and hit her in the back of her head. This time, the pegasus yelped in pain, and Twilight flinched in sympathy. Rainbow took off again and was about to fly across the latest attacker just like she’d done before when the alpaca with the headdress grunted something that sounded like “¡Dispare!”, and one of the others quickly raised his blowpipe and fired a dart at Rainbow. It struck her in the neck. She brought a hoof to the dart sticking in her coat and tried to brush it off, but her motions quickly became uncoordinated and she just fell out of midair. “Rainbow!” Twilight screamed. “Está dormiendo”, the alpaca leader said. “Do you want to surrender, or shall we put you to sleep as well?” “What have you done to her?” Twilight asked in a high-pitched, panicked voice. “The darts of our blowpipes bring sleep”, the leader explained. “She will wake up. I ask again. Do you still want to fight?” Looking around and realizing that at least five alpacas had their blowpipes pointed at her, she just shook her head and slumped to the ground. The alpacas left her lying, only guarded by one warrior, and started to prepare Rainbow’s transport. They found a large tree branch and tied Rainbow’s hooves to it so that they could carry her dangling upside down. The image of her strong and proud friend reduced to a limp captive made Twilight almost sick. When four of the warriors finally picked up the branch, the one guarding Twilight gestured her to get up with his spear. Only now did the alpaca leader turn to talk to her again. “Somepony has broken into the sacred temple of Manetezuma and stolen the Golden Princess”, he said in Alpacan. “Until you have proven that you are not responsible for this desecration, you will be our prisoners.” He led the troupe deeper into the jungle. Twilight followed her captors as if in trance. If only she could at least make sure Rainbow Dash was alright! She was sleeping they had said, but Twilight was still worried about her friend. It took them about an hour to reach their goal, a small village on a clearing. By then the night had fallen, and the village was easily visible by the soft glow of torches and camp fires. It didn’t look very big. Twilight was positively exhausted after not enough rest and yet another hike, and her worrying about Rainbow didn’t help. They waited outside while the troupe leader was discussing something with an older alpaca, surrounded by the other warriors. The elder wore a much more elaborate headdress, and most of his neck and chest fur was covered in the typical beads. Twilight concluded that he was probably a shaman or chieftain. After a few minutes the leader returned. He grunted something unintelligible at the patrol. The warriors picked up Rainbow again, and a spear was poked into Twilight’s flank to get her moving again. They led her across a small central square and towards a hut that was built from very durable-looking logs and had tiny windows. She was pushed inside while they simply dropped Rainbow in the one main room, and somepony threw her saddlebags into the hut. The door fell shut, and she found herself alone in the dark hut. A bar was put in place outside. Quickly, she lit up her horn and used her magic to carefully undo the knots that bound Rainbow Dash to the tree branch. The pegasus was still fast asleep and didn’t react. Twilight examined the two bruises on Rainbow’s shoulder and the back of her head, but neither looked really dangerous. Besides, she didn’t have any medical supplies with her anyway. With a sigh, she sat down against one of the walls and carefully placed Rainbow’s head in her lap, extinguishing her magic light. The weight and warmth of the pegasus were comforting. She smiled a little at how great it was to be with Rainbow Dash on this adventure. There was no better pony she could wish for as a companion – the pegasus was brave, strong, and resourceful, and she always made Twilight smile, even in a rather desperate situation like this. She didn’t even care anymore about the rather rude way Rainbow had convinced her to continue with the adventure. Absentmindedly she started stroking Rainbow’s mane. It was nice to spend so much time with Rainbow. Granted, ever since the pegasus had first taken an interest in reading, the two of them had spent quite a lot of time at the library, reading together. Sometimes Rainbow would just drop by to hang out, chat with Twilight, or take a nap on her sofa. They enjoyed each other’s company, but hanging out for an afternoon was just not the same as spending several days on a trip to the Neighcaraguan jungle. Rainbow had even shown her a vulnerable side Twilight hadn’t really known before when she’d spoken about her fear of losing her friends. Twilight had suspected that there was more to the daredevil than her usual air of bravado and coolness, but Rainbow was very careful to keep it to herself, even in front of her closest friends. That she had opened up to her, even just for a short time, made her unreasonably proud, and the memory brought a smile to her face. Without a conscious effort, this memory was replaced by Rainbow’s face in the soft light of the burnt-down candles in the cute little restaurant in Marenagua. With closed eyes she reveled in the mental image of those deep magenta eyes, the wonderful feeling of Rainbow holding her under her wing on the way home. The sensation of her lips touching Rainbow’s muzzle as she had kissed her. She held onto the memory for a moment. She still suspected that friends normally didn’t kiss, but it was part of the story after all. The sensation that she and Rainbow Dash were quickly becoming more than friends kept getting stronger – with the way the usually so brash pegasus had opened up to her, and after falling asleep right next to her, and of course with having her head in her lap right now. Her musings were interrupted by Rainbow suddenly starting to stir in her sleep. She groaned something incomprehensible and opened her eyes. “Twi”, she mumbled with a raspy voice. “Where are we?” “In the village of the alpacas”, she answered, not ceasing to stroke Rainbow’s mane. “They hit you with a tranquilizer dart and brought us here as prisoners because they suspect we have something to do with the Golden Princess being stolen”, she explained. “How do you feel?” Instead of an immediate reply, Rainbow groaned and squinted her eyes shut. “My head hurts”, she finally said. “But I’m quite comfortable right now, thanks”, she added with a clearly audible smile. Twilight felt her cheeks heating up. ”So, how do we get outta here?” “I can probably lift the locking bar on the door”, Twilight mused. “We just need to check if there’s a guard.” Rainbow jumped up. “Then let’s do this!” She trotted over to one of the tiny windows and peeked outside. “Nopony to see.” “Alright then.“ Twilight took position at another window and bent her neck to get the locking bar into view. She concentrated and tried to move it, but it was blocked. In the glimmer of her magic encasing the uncooperative bar she could see an iron chain and a padlock. She wondered where the tribal alpacas had acquired it, but it didn’t really matter. Instead she refocused her magic on the padlock in order to open it, but to no avail. She groaned in annoyance. “Ugh! Rosetta isn’t really good at telekinesis. Normally I should be able to crack a primitive padlock like this without breaking a sweat, but now it feels like the lock is filled with, I don’t know, applesauce, and I can’t seem to grasp the bolt.” She turned to Rainbow. “If only I had a picklock.” She looked at her saddlebags which had clearly been sifted through by greedy hooves, but she knew there was no picklock in there. To her surprise, Rainbow flew over to her and reached around her head. Her mane which she had still in Rosetta’s habitual bun suddenly became loose. Grinning, Rainbow held a hairpin in front of her face. “How about that?” Twilight chuckled, grasped the pin in her magic, and levitated to the padlock. Controlling the pin was easier than trying to grasp the bolt inside the lock, and after what felt like an eternity of wiggling, thrusting, and pushing, the padlock finally snapped open. She quickly seized the locking bar and lifted it. “Let’s go!” she said, grabbing her saddlebags as she left the hut. Carefully they sneaked outside. The village was completely quiet and only illuminated by a few torches. The canopy above the clearing was still dense enough to block out all the light from the moon and the stars, so outside the small islands of light around the torches it was almost pitch black. Suddenly they heard hoof steps behind them. Before they could react, somepony yelled out something in Alpacan and started galloping at them. Startled, the two ponies jumped behind a hut, but the alpaca had seen them and skidded around the corner of the hut, blowpipe raised. “Run!” Rainbow shouted and darted towards the alpaca. Twilight galloped into the opposite direction, barely able to see where she was going in the sparse light, and almost crashed into an unlit tree. Behind her she heard a dull thud as Rainbow Dash knocked out the alpaca warrior. But his cry had already alerted more alpacas. There were hoof steps coming closer from at least two different directions. One of the attackers on the right carried a lantern in his mouth, casting a wildly swaying light on him and a second warrior. Whoever was closing on them from the left stayed hidden in the dark, but they didn’t seem to know exactly where Twilight and Rainbow were either. Rainbow, now carrying a spear, silently landed next to Twilight and dragged her into the dark, hopefully away from the advancing alpacas. They ran as fast as they could, and as soon as the alpacas could locate them exactly, they started running at them as well, yelling furiously. The jungle a few dozen meters ahead of them looked like a black wall. The alpacas were much closer behind them than that. All of a sudden they heard the unmistakable pfff of a blowpipe, and Twilight felt the impact in her right side. “I’m hit!” she cried. Another pfff, and a second projectile hit her. She continued running, waiting for her legs to lose power, for her mind to become dizzy – … but nothing happened. “Go on!” she shouted at Rainbow. The pegasus grimly shook her head and once more flew off into the darkness, in the direction the shots had come from. There was a loud crash and a yelp of pain and before more than a few seconds Rainbow was back at Twilight’s side. They shot through a narrow alley between two huts, now almost at the edge of the village. A shadow suddenly stepped into their way, growling something in Alpacan that Twilight didn’t understand, not with the adrenalin rushing through her ears and the angry screams of their chasers. Rainbow didn’t even slow her pace, but instead dove to the right in the last instant before she hit the blocking alpaca, and extended the shaft of her spear to the left, swiping the alpaca right off his hooves. Now there were only alpacas behind them, and they soon found themselves within the impenetrable darkness of the jungle. As soon as the dark green had swallowed them, Twilight tugged on Rainbow’s tail to slow her down, and led her in a right angle to the left. “Let’s not go where they expect us to”, she explained. With great care, they sneaked through the jungle, trying not to be heard by the alpacas. But with the noise the angry alpacas made, trampling through the jungle and screaming out their anger, they were hardly in any danger. Had the jungle been a little disconcerting during daylight due to all the strange noises, it was actually pretty scary at night. No light whatsoever made its way to the ground, and since Twilight didn’t dare light up her horn while they were still too close to their haunters, they bumped into trees and bushes more than once. Their plan seemed to work out though, as they clearly heard the alpacas moving further and further away from them. After about ten minutes of sneaking, the noises of the alpacas fell silent in the distance, and Twilight finally made some light. Immediately they were surrounded by a cloud of insects, mostly harmless moths, but also a lot of mosquitoes. At least they could see where they were going and didn’t run the risk of walking into, say, a waterhole inhabited by crocodiles. The thought made Twilight shiver. “Seems like we lost them. Are you sure we’re going the right way?” she asked Rainbow. The pegasus shook her head. “Not a clue.” “Then let's find a place to sleep somewhere nearby and continue on tomorrow”, Twilight suggested. “Yeah, I could use a little nap, too. Being drugged is exhausting!” She yawned. They found the hollow trunk of a tree that had fallen over. It wasn’t the most spacious location, but thanks to some shrubs growing next to the trunk it was nicely secluded. They huddled down next to each other. Before she extinguished her magic light, Twilight examined the spot where she felt she had been hit by the blowpipe darts. What she saw made her shake with suppressed laughter – the darts stuck in the bands of her saddlebags, not even two inches apart. She pointed them out to Rainbow Dash, and the pegasus’ eyes grew wide. “Whoa, that was close. Good thing you brought them!” “Yeah.” She yawned. “Let’s get some sleep. Night, Rainbow.” Rainbow leaned her head on Twilight’s shoulder. “Night.” Chapter 9Chapter 9 They were awakened early the next morning by the angry war cries of the tribal alpacas combing through the jungle. They only shared a quick look before they stumbled to their hooves. Rainbow quickly took wing to orientate herself and was able to point them in the right direction, and they didn’t hesitate to get moving. Both of them had to fight yawns, as this early hour, shortly after sunrise, was clearly not their favorite time of the day. Before they had gotten any further than twenty meters, they already almost bumped into an alpaca warrior, and even though they hastily retreated, he noticed them and gave off a loud alarm cry. Within seconds they heard alpacas closing in on them from all sides. “Get on my back! I’ll fly us out of here!” “And if they hit you with their blowpipes again we’ll crash”, Twilight replied worriedly. “I’m afraid we’ll have to fight them.” Without waiting for Rainbow’s reaction, she grasped a huge tree trunk that was right above one of the approaching warriors, twisted it, and caused it to fall down. With a little push of her magic, she managed to hit the alpaca right on the head, and the tribal warrior collapsed. As if this had been the starting signal, at least half a dozen alpacas started charging them from all sides. From the corner of her eye she saw one alpaca take aim and fire a dart at Rainbow Dash. Without thinking, she caught the dart with her magic in mid-air and made it fall down. In the meantime Rainbow bucked the frontmost alpaca in the chest and made him crumble against a huge tree trunk. Then another alpaca armed with a club lunged himself at Twilight. She barely managed to duck underneath his attack and meekly punched him with her front hoof. The alpaca grunted, but took another swing at her. Twilight jumped to the left and rolled over as she landed. The alpaca jumped after her, but she was back on her hooves just in time to spin around and buck him in the head. The alpaca crumbled like a puppet whose strings had just been cut off. At the same time, Rainbow Dash was attacked by two alpacas, one with a club and one with a spear. With a cocky smirk, she blocked the attacker’s spear with the one she still carried with her, but the alpaca, much more experienced with this kind of weapon, whirled his spear around the shaft of Rainbow’s spear, and the quick and unexpected spinning motion tore the weapon out of her hooves. The alpaca grinned maliciously. She noticed that the alpaca with the club was trying to flank her, and quickly took wing. She grabbed the first attacker’s spear and pulled it up as she flew. The alpaca, refusing to let go of his weapon, was thrown on his back. Rainbow Dash launched herself at him from midair and smashed her hooves against his chin, knocking him out cold. Before the club-armed alpaca could even react, she darted towards him and picked up the horrified alpaca. She took to the air in a nice ballistic angle and let go of her opponent, launching him into the jungle at high speed, and he crashed into some bushes. As she landed, she saw Twilight shooting a big rock at one alpaca who was standing a few steps back and was reloading his blowpipe. The alpaca was hit in the chest and fell over, letting go of his blowpipe. Rainbow quickly glanced around and saw that of the group that had attacked them, only one more was still standing, aiming at Twilight with his blowpipe. “Hey, woolface!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. The alpaca was distracted for just a second and lost his aim on Twilight, and Rainbow took the opportunity and shot over to the alpaca. She knocked him out with a few well-placed punches. “Woohoo!” Twilight shouted, panting. Rainbow, a little out of breath herself, didn’t rest. She quickly flew over to Twilight and picked her up and carried up, above the canopy. “Let’s get out of here before more of them show up!” Twilight, still enthused about their victory, wrapped her hooves around the pegasus and cheered in her ear, causing her a broad smile. Rainbow didn’t plan to fly far, just enough to be out of reach of the alpacas. But suddenly Twilight who was now eagerly looking around shouted, “Look, there! Smoke!” She almost pointed in the direction with her hoof, but then resorted to using her horn instead. “Over there!” “Silver?” Rainbow asked through gritted teeth. “Not unlikely!” Without waiting for an invitation, Rainbow changed course and flew in the direction that Twilight indicated, while the unicorn bent her neck to keep the smoke in view. It was a tiny column of white smoke, potentially from a camp fire, and not even two kilometers away. “Don’t fly right into it”, she advised. “Land somewhere nearby, so we can have a careful look first.” “I’m not scared of him!” Rainbow protested. “He has a gun”, Twilight pointed out. “What if he shoots us while we’re still in mid-air?” “Yeah, I guess you’re right”, Rainbow reluctantly agreed. “We’re still kicking his flank”, she growled. “You bet”, Twilight agreed with a grim smile. Rainbow carefully carried them on, now flying very low above the canopy. Not before long began to descend, and Twilight had to press her face against the pegasus’ shoulder as she was zigzagging around tree trunks at what seemed like breakneck pace. Almost an eternity later they touched the ground, barely making a noise. They could hear faint voices from ahead, where the fire had been, but too far to make out who was speaking or what was being said. “Th-thanks for the lift”, Twilight whispered, still a little shaky from the rough ride. “Sorry, Twi”, pegasus chuckled sheepishly. “Force of habit, you know. But you were absolutely safe, promise”, she added, looking Twilight in the eyes earnestly. Twilight couldn’t pull herself away from those beautiful magenta eyes. It took a good part of her willpower to care about Manehattan Silver, Hauptmann Hornmeyer, and the Golden Alpaca Princess right now, and even then she wasn’t even halfway successful. Rainbow pulled away from the gaze first and started prowling through the dense underwood, towards the voices. Twilight shook her head to clear it at least partially and followed her. Soon they were close enough to distinguish several voices. One was clearly Manehattan Silver’s, the others sounded decidedly like goats. So he had met up with some soldiers. Rainbow Dash hissed “Jerkface” as she prowled even closer. “How come you get to still be the same awesome flier anyway and I only have Rosetta’s average magic?” Twilight wondered. “I guess Daring is just as awesome as I am”, Rainbow replied matter-of-factly. "Very funny", Twilight said, even though she had to admit that it made sense. It was still a little bit frustrating. They sneaked closer, ever so carefully and slowly. The voices became clearer, and they could even smell the fire now. Finally, they reached the edge of a small clearing. Peeking out from the shrubs edging the clearing, they could see their prey. Manehattan Silver was sitting around a small campfire with four goats wearing grey military fatigues and Goat Empire armbands, one of them with the beret of a Feldwebel – the same four goats they had met in the saloon in Malatierra. Each goat was holding a rifle across their lap. Twilight pointed at the weapons. “We have to be careful here”, she told Rainbow. “We should strike right now”, Rainbow advocated. “We can surprise them!” “Too dangerous”, Twilight disagreed. “They have their guns on them; if they are quick enough they might be able to shoot us.” She tapped her hoof against her chin, thinking about what to do. “I think our best bet is to follow them and see if there is a better opportunity.” Rainbow’s response was an unarticulated growl, but she didn’t argue back. The two of them settled down under their lookout shrub. They didn’t have to wait for long until the goats extinguished the fire and set out with the traitorous pony amidst them. Again Rainbow Dash was about to dart straight after them, and again Twilight stopped her with a hoof on a shoulder. “Let them get ahead a little, so we don’t run the risk of being found”, she suggested. Again, she received Rainbow’s grunted acceptance. They waited until the goats were almost out of earshot before they followed them across the clearing. Despite the situation and the diverse threats they had to face – heavily armed goats in front, angry alpacas behind – , the whole ordeal felt a little but like a friendly walk to Twilight. She was still exhausted from the day before, but she couldn't keep her mind from circling around herself and Rainbow Dash, and what this story would develop into. The point was, she was getting impatient. Twilight recognized this sentiment from when she had been reading Daring Do and the Devious Doctor Negative – she didn’t want to wait! She hungered for the romance to finally happen. After all, there were enough signs. The irony that she was rooting for a pairing – and actually believing in it – that she had only days before flat out denied wasn’t lost on her and made her smile. She was curious how it would play out, and the anticipation of being part of said romance herself was causing her a warm, fuzzy feeling in the stomach that was not entirely unpleasant. Maybe she should just give the whole thing a little push? Walk with her tail entwined with Rainbow’s, for example? Fighting back a sudden trace of fear of being rejected by Rainbow Dash, she reassured herself with the knowledge that this was, still, in fact, undeniably, a story about her and Rainbow Dash getting together. The rational knowledge that she would probably not be shot down and would probably not make things very awkward helped a lot in alleviating the fear. She gulped down the last bit of uncertainty and, with an air of utmost nonchalant innocence, wrapped the tip of her tail around Rainbow’s. The pegasus seemed to get out of step for the shortest moment but caught herself immediately. Twilight looked at her with a shy smile, and Rainbow smiled back at her, her cheeks flushed in a soft pink. Twilight took a deep breath, trying not to let Rainbow hear it, and turned to taking in the new situation. Since she had never been in a romantic relationship, she had never held tails before. It felt like little more than a little tugging on her tail, with the odd stray hair occasionally tickling the back of her legs. With other words, it was amazing walking through some imaginary jungle, holding tails with this beautiful pegasus mare. She couldn’t help but let a broad smile creep onto her face, and from the corner of her eye she saw that it was the same with Rainbow. They continued on for over an hour when suddenly Rainbow’s stomach gave off a loud rumble. They were far enough from their prey so that they were in no danger of being heard. “We kinda missed breakfast this morning”, she said and rubbed the back of her head with her hoof. She quickly looked around, scanning the area for edibles that she knew. “You keep going, I’ma get us some snacks!” Although she was hungry too, Twilight felt a small pang of regret when Rainbow let go of her tail and soared away into the jungle’s canopy. She kept going to keep contact with the goats, and only a few minutes later Rainbow Dash landed at her side. She offered her a papaya which the unicorn happily accepted, but what made her even happier was that Rainbow, without hesitation, wrapped her tail around Twilight’s again as they walked on, eating their papayas on the go. The jungle was less dense in this area, and walking was much less strenuous then their way to the ruins had been the day before. There was very little underwood here in between the large pillars of the tree trunks. The wildlife didn’t seem to care in the slightest though and made the same cacophonic noise as always, but after spending a day out in the jungle they were pretty much used to it. Between the trees there were occasionally little ponds, most of them very shallow and with questionably green water and colorful frogs sitting on strangely shaped lily pads. Others had a longer, bent shape and were deeper. But with the pace the goats set they didn’t have too much time to enjoy the scenery. The goats kept marching for a couple of hours. Rainbow Dash took wing several times to get a better overview of their whereabouts and reported that they were making good progress towards Rio Moreno. Eventually they heard the voice getting louder as they came closer; apparently the goats had stopped. Carefully, they sneaked closer, cowering down as they went, until they were in sighting range. The goats had settled down near a small deep pond. There was a fifth goat talking to the Feldwebel; the newcomer wore different fatigues, his face was smeared with camouflage paint, and he carried a lighter gun. He and the Feldwebel had their heads stuck together and were discussing something in low voices so that they couldn’t hear anything. Then, suddenly, the Feldwebel barked an order, and the other goats visibly relaxed. They put down their guns, kicked off their combat boots, and lay down in the grass. One of them pulled out some cigarettes, and another one started munching on some snack. Manehattan Silver put down his saddlebags. “What about now?” Rainbow Dash eagerly asked. “They dropped their guns, they’re not expecting anything!” Her wings were flaring in anticipation. “But we need a good plan!” “Well, I fly in, kick Feldwebel numbnuts in the face, and we improvise from there. You could use your magic to get their guns away, maybe into the lake?” Rainbow quickly outlined a possible battle plan. “Levitating their guns into the pond is a good idea”, Twilight agreed. “We should probably start with that. And while they are distracted, you fly in and go for the Feldwebel.” Rainbow nodded eagerly. Twilight closely examined the trees standing around the pond and continued, “When I’m done with the guns, I’ll drop that branch up there on some of them. That should take out two, then there will be two left.” “One”, Rainbow disagreed with a cocky smirk in her voice. “Or how long do you think it takes me to wrestle down that goat jerk?” “Alright, alright”, Twilight chuckled. “I’ll join you when I’ve dropped the branch, and we take out the last goat.” “What about Silver?” Rainbow asked with hardly suppressed anger. “Hmm, you’re right; he’ll just run off the second something happens. Change of plans, then. I’ll hit him with the branch first, at the expense of hitting more goats if need be. So you’ll have to deal with three or four goats until I’m there. Think you can manage that?” Rainbow’s response consisted simply of a snort. “I’m still worried”, Twilight confessed after a few seconds of going over her plan in her mind again. “These are real weapons. One of us could get hurt.” Rainbow Dash grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. “Don’t worry”, she mumbled in Twilight’s ear. “You’re with the Dash!” Despite her worries, that made Twilight giggle. Rainbow released her and grinned at her. “See? Much better!” They kept staring into each other’s eyes. Twilight was once again fascinated by the deep magenta color of Rainbow’s eyes. She knew she could get lost in these eyes. She suddenly felt like she had scores of butterflies in her stomach. Her head moved closer to Rainbow’s as if acting on its own behalf. “Twi –“ Rainbow’s voice was raspy. She closed the last few inches between them and shut her eyes as their lips met. Twilight reveled in the sweet taste of Rainbow’s lips, her breath on her face. She slowly moved her own lips, opening her mouth a little, and felt Rainbow mirroring her movements. Almost without her own doing, her hoof moved up and gently stroked Rainbow’s cheek. They broke the kiss after a few moments, both breathing heavily, grinning into each other’s faces. “Let’s go kick some flank”, Rainbow whispered. Twilight nodded in agreement end tried to put the voice inside that giddily kept yelling ‘I kissed her!’ aside and focus on the task at hoof. “Ready? Go!” Twilight grabbed the stack of guns in her magic and with one quick pull flung them into the lake. Rainbow Dash darted towards the Feldwebel, hooves stretched out, ready to hit him in the head. That was when things started to go horribly wrong. Chapter 10Chapter 10 The guns sailed into the pond, and that went according to plan. Rainbow’s hooves connected with the Feldwebel’s chin and knocked him on his back, and that too was according to plan. What was not according to plan were the three goats that suddenly leapt out of the bushes behind the collapsing Feldwebel, nor the two more that stepped out into the open from behind some big trees, pointing their submachine guns at Rainbow Dash. One of them yelled, “Freeze, or vee vill shoot you!” Rainbow hesitated for a moment and took in the situation. Twilight’s breath caught as she feared the aggressive pegasus would attack regardless and get shot, but luckily she decided to step down. “Get on ze ground, put your vings behind your head”, one of the newcomers harshly ordered. Rainbow Dash obeyed while the other goats moved in closer, on full alert, guns pointed at her. The one goat who had joined the group before the attack wiped the camouflage paint off his face and turned to Rainbow Dash. “Hornmeyer!” she cried in surprise. Twilight took in a sharp breath as she as well recognized the Hauptmann. He’d set them up! And he had Rainbow Dash! “Vell, vell, Fräulein Do”, he said with a triumphant smirk, loud enough so that Twilight could hear him from her position where she still lay in hiding. “It is my pleasure to meet you again. Especially under zeese circumstances.” He began pacing in front of her. “You have been, how do you say, a major pain in ze flank. But I guess your days of interfering viz the great Goat Empire have finally come to an end!” “So you’re gonna kill me?” Rainbow spat. “I’m not afraid of you!” Twilight’s eyes filled with tears at her friend’s courage, or was it fear of losing her? She couldn’t tell. “Maybe later. But I sink for ze next ten or tventy years you vill be a good vorker on one of zee Empire’s rock farms. Vee vill take you viz us!” He laughed cruelly. Twilight started sobbing silently at the prospect of the proud pegasus being held in a forced labor camp. The Hauptmann turned towards Twilight’s general direction. “And you, Fräulein Assistentin! Do you vant to come out now, or do you vant us to come get you? You vill not like it venn vee get you, zat much I can promise.” Suddenly, she heard Rainbow’s voice in her head. “You gotta get outta here, Twi. I’m gonna distract them, but you gotta run as fast as you can!” “No! I won’t leave you!” “You gotta! I’m counting on you to get me out of here!” “But you’re much better at this than I am. Let me distract them, and you get away. I can still drop that branch and –“ Twilight blabbered. “I am getting impatient!” Hornmeyer called out. “I von’t vait forever! Reveal yourself now!” “Twi, listen! Are you listening? They want me, not you”, Rainbow hastily explained. “They won’t shoot me, no matter what this loudmouth says, they wanna bring me to their empire and lock me up or something. But they don’t give a horse apple about you; they have no reason to keep you alive! I can’t let them get you! I won’t let them hurt you, understand? Now, on the count of three – “ “Rainbow, I – “ Twilight had no idea how to continue. “I know, Twi.” And then, instead of words, she sent Twilight an emotion: the feeling of their first kiss. Suddenly Twilight could feel the excited happiness Rainbow Dash had felt when they had kissed; she could feel the strong affection she felt for her, and her unwavering desire to keep the unicorn safe. “One – two – three!” Tears running down her cheeks freely, Twilight watched as Rainbow suddenly launched herself at the Hauptmann who was still scanning the jungle, his back turned towards the captured pegasus. She managed to hit him in the back of his head and make him stumble before the other goat soldiers launched themselves on her and knocked her out. Twilight threw herself around and started running into the jungle. Two shots were fired after her but went high into the trees. Sobbing, sniffing, her vision blurred by her tears, her heart heavy, she ran through the jungle, the only thing on her mind the face of the courageous, loyal pegasus. She ran for what felt like an eternity, until she finally collapsed under a shrub, not able to carry on, her worries about the pegasus too heavy, and cried. Rainbow Dash… Eventually Twilight’s tears dried up, and a fierce determination took hold of her. Rainbow Dash was counting on her to get her out of the hooves of the goats. She picked herself up and started retracing her own steps. Soon she reached the little pond where the goats had captured Rainbow. She carefully sneaked closer, but the goats were gone. She quickly peeked into the pond, and seeing the goats’ guns in the clear water caused her a grim satisfaction. Next to the bank of the pond she found an alpaca spear, probably the one Rainbow had taken from the village the night before. She tried to contact Rainbow telepathically, but got no response. She told herself that Rainbow Dash was unconscious after having been knocked out by the goats, but she had to put some effort in suppressing her fears about the cyan pegasus. Sighing, she followed the traces of the goats. It was easy enough now, since they were quite a big group. When she left the clearing, she suddenly heard the war cries of the tribal alpacas again from somewhere behind her. It might just have been the general state of anxiety she had fallen into after Rainbow being captured, but they sounded much closer than she would have expected. Far too close for her comfort at least. She decided to not walk directly on the trail the goats had left, as she figured it might be too easy for the alpacas to find her, and instead pushed through the jungle on the right side of the trail, close enough to not lose it and hopefully far enough so she wouldn’t run into any tribal warriors. Twilight estimated that her flight and little breakdown had provided Hornmeyer with a margin of no more than half an hour, and that they would reach the goats’ base at the banks or the Rio Moreno in no more than three hours. She’d probably not catch up with them before they reached the camp, so she had to free Rainbow Dash from there. While she walked through the by now loathsome endless green of the jungle, her mind set to work to come up with a plan of attack. It didn’t help that she was thoroughly fed up with the jungle, a fact that was only made worse by her now having to face the walls of plants all by herself. It had been much less of a strain when she trotted on side by side with Rainbow, chatting, simply not being alone. And of course it had been a thousand times better when they had been walking with their tails entwined, shooting shy smiles at each other every now and then. She had to fight back fresh tears. She missed the cyan pegasus horribly. Even though no more than an hour had passed since they had been separated, she missed her encouraging presence around her, and even though they had only been on this trip for a little more than two days, she found it hard to remember what it was like being without the pegasus. Well, judging from how she felt now, probably not too great. Wiping her nose with a hoof she continued on, brooding over how to free Rainbow. She would have to be stealthy, as there was no way she could take on all those goats in combat, and that was even before she counted in their guns. After all, there were alone ten goats now escorting Rainbow Dash to the base. Oh, and Manehattan Silver, the traitorous jerk who had gotten them into all of this! Without even noticing, Twilight let out a small growl at the thought of the brown stallion. She passed by some banana plants and picked one of the fruits. Trotting on, she ate the banana, sadly thinking back to the fruits she had shared with Rainbow Dash. Again some tears were trying to flow from her eyes, and she let them. It was only just to cry a little about Rainbow being held captive, she assumed. Without any conscious effort, her thoughts turned back to the kiss they had shared only moments before everything had gone so terribly wrong. To her big surprise, the memory made her smile and even caused the butterflies in her tummy to reappear. Once more she relived the sensation of Rainbow’s lips on her own, this time enhanced by the emotion the pegasus had shared with her before she’d run away. The amount of Rainbow’s love she’d felt back then was heartwarming and gave her strength and confidence for her upcoming task. Twilight suddenly realized that the war cries of the tribal alpacas had ceased, and potentially some time back while she’d been pondering over the goats and her feelings for Rainbow Dash. She had absentmindedly meandered back onto the goats’ trail. Before she could so much as think 'It is too quiet', with a dull thunk!, a spear impacted in a tree trunk nearby, and an alpaca warrior jumped in her way. Twilight let out a terrified shriek as the alpaca came charging at her, his spear raised. For a second the shock had her paralyzed. It wasn’t the first time she got into a fight today, but with all her emotional turmoil over Rainbow Dash being captured, she needed to consciously pull herself together to be able to move. With an exasperated groan she grabbed the alpaca’s spear with her magic and pulled it out of his hoof, levitating it towards her and turning it around. The alpaca, now unarmed, came to a halt and looked at her uneasily. Another alpaca broke out of the underwood, aiming a blowpipe at Twilight. Without even thinking, she extended her magic reach to his weapon and just snapped it in half. But the first alpaca used her short distraction to start charging at her again. Before Twilight could react, he had already taken hold of the still floating spear and tried to wrestle it away from her magic grip. She concentrated harder on the telekinesis spell, trying to keep control of the weapon, when she realized that the other alpaca was charging at her, also armed with a spear. With the second alpaca charging at her, she only had a moment to deal with the one wrestling with her over the other spear. Unfortunately, her – Rosetta’s – magic was so weak that a determined pony or alpaca had reasonable chances to keep hold of an item despite the magic pull. Thus Twilight, without warning, stopped pulling on the spear and just pushed it into the same direction the alpaca was pulling it in. Surprised by the sudden lack of resistance, the alpaca lost hold of the spear, and the blunt end hit him in the face, knocking him over. Twilight jumped to the left to evade the other attacker, but her timing was off, and the alpaca hit her with the shaft of his spear, causing her to topple over. As she tried to get to her hooves again, the alpaca jumped on her, trying to impale her with the spear. Twilight managed to roll away, but the spear that had been aimed for her throat still nicked the skin of her front leg, sending a sharp hot pain through her body. She shrieked, more in surprise than in actual pain, and instinctively took the spear in her magic and flung it into the jungle in a high ballistic arch. The alpaca was still above her, now trying to hit her with his front hooves. Twilight managed to deflect the first two, but the third hit her on the temple, and for a moment she saw stars. It was clear to her that the alpaca was a far more experienced fighter than she was. In panic, she grabbed the alpaca in her magic. Rosetta was far too weak to fling him away like the spear – which had been her initial plan –, but at least she could slowly float him out of punching distance. She turned around and bucked him with all the force she could muster before she let him collapse on the ground. Afraid there might be more attackers she looked around, but for the moment she was alone. Deciding that the jungle was way too dangerous to be out and about unarmed, she took the remaining spear and started running into the jungle, now some meters off the goats’ trail again. Her injured leg hurt, and she would have to do something about the bleeding soon, but for now she really needed to get away from here before more alpacas showed up. She walked for ten minutes until she allowed herself some rest to check up on her leg. The cut was along the outside of the upper thigh, luckily not very deep, but it was still bleeding a bit, and it hurt enough to hinder her walking. She looked around and found some huge leaves that she wrapped around the cut using her magic, fixing them with her trusty hairpin. The vivid memory of Rainbow Dash pulling it out of her hair back in the alpacas’ village made her well up again, but she swallowed down the tears. Now was not the time to feel sorry for herself. Rainbow needed her! Gritting her teeth, she continued on, now paying more attention to potential attackers, but the jungle remained comparatively quiet. *** Her estimations proved correct, as around three hours later she reached the goat camp. It was easily visible from afar, the trees plastered with the black-white-red flags of the Empire, and part of the jungle had been cleared around the camp. Her leg was still hurting, but the bleeding had stopped, and that was at least something. The camp itself was located directly at the banks of the river. It was a wide open area with a handful of primitive huts, surrounded by a wooden fence, and a wooden pier floating in the river. A small river boat and a water plane were tied up at the pier. The only gate that allowed entrance inside the wood was even guarded by a small watchtower. Twilight could easily see the goat standing guard on that tower. Twilight took position behind a large tree trunk about a hundred meters away from the fence – close enough to keep her eyes on the installation, but not close enough to be in actual danger of being found by the goat guards. The sun slowly set over the river, painting the sky in magnificent hues of orange and pink. Suddenly, she heard Rainbow’s voice in her head again. “Twilight? You out there?” “Rainbow Dash!” She almost started crying again, now out of joy to hear Rainbow’s voice again. “Are you alright?” “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. They got me locked up in a boat. Where are you?” “I’m outside their camp. I can see the boat.” She resisted the urge to wave. “Great! Now listen, they said they’re gonna transport me tomorrow morning, so you have all night. I can see some stuff through the porthole. You see the hut next to the banks, a little away from the pier, with the porch? That’s where Manehattan Silver is staying. Now, I can see a guard patrolling around the huts, and one guy is sitting on the pier. There’s one more on the boat, I guess on the deck.” “Rainbow, that’s great, but – are you alright? Do they treat you well? Did they – “ The questions bubbled out of Twilight. “Twi, relax”, Rainbow good-naturedly admonished her. Twilight could almost see her lopsided smile. “I’m okay. But I’m counting on you to get me outta here. Can you do that?” “Y-yes, of course! Let me think about it.” She desperately tried to clear her thoughts. All she seemed to be able to think about was that Rainbow Dash was alright. She forced herself to focus on the positions of the guards, and the layout of the camp. Her mind, ruthlessly efficient and rational, began to set in motion, and the first rough sketch of a plan took shape. “Okay, I think I have a plan. I will start in a couple of hours, after midnight. You have to be awake then.” “No problemo.” “Erm, Rainbow? Can I ask you something?” “Yeah?” “How can you stay so calm?” The pegasus audibly smiled as she replied, “Rainbow Dash is way too cool to lose her cool”, she stated with mock arrogance, before she added more seriously, “but mostly because I trust you, Twilight.” Filled with a weird mix of emotions, of missing Rainbow Dash, of being worried about her, of being indescribably happy about the trust she placed in her, Twilight trotted back into the jungle. She had some preparations to take care of before she started her rescue operation. When she was out of sight, she returned to the river banks in a wide curve so that the goats wouldn’t see her, now downstream of the camp. Several patches of reeds grew along her side of the river. The water of the river was still, and no crocodiles were visible. Taking cover between the reeds, she sneaked up to the goats’ camp again, careful to remain unseen. She made it to the edge of the cleared area around the camp, now with a much better view at the pier, the boat, and the plane. The pier was a simple construction, not much more than some planks nailed to a few barrels that kept the pier afloat. She saw the guard Rainbow had mentioned dozing on a chair in the middle of the pier, gun leaned against a crate next to him. On the crate there was also a lantern. The plane was fixed to the near side of the pier, the boat on the opposite side, so she couldn’t see it too closely. For now she just had to assume the guard was somewhere on deck. The plane itself was of goat origin – since there were no winged goats, they had come up with other means of flying, and the Goat Empire’s aeronautic industry was one of the most sophisticated in the world. The plane had one engine and was probably big enough for about a dozen passengers. It was completely deserted. On the banks where the pier was tied in place, there was another pile of crates. Between that spot and the huts where Manehattan Silver had taken residence stood two other huts; one would probably have to sneak through the passageway between them. Manehattan Silver’s house, on the other hoof, partially blocked sight to the gate and the guard tower. Lights were on in the Manehattan Silver’s hut and the two huts between it and the pier, and also behind some windows of the boat. The other three huts were dark. Hopefully there weren’t many more goats in the camp than Twilight already knew. With a satisfied nod Twilight sneaked back through the reeds. It looked like her plan was likely going to work. She found a nearby bush with big leaves and curled up underneath it. After a whole day of hiking and fighting she was completely exhausted physically, and worrying about Rainbow Dash had worn her out emotionally. She needed a rest. And she wasn’t going to take action before it was late at night anyway. Rainbow’s face on her mind, her injured leg throbbing, she fell into a deep slumber. Chapter 11Chapter 11 When she woke up, it was dark. Judging from the position of the moon that shone through some holes in the canopy, she assumed that it was around two in the morning. With grim determination, she went to work. First, she broke off the tip of the spear she had brought. It was reasonably sharp, and she needed a cutting tool for the next step. The tip was clean since it wasn’t the one she’d been cut with, a thought that made her slightly queasy. Feeling a little bit guilty, she cut the bands off her trusted saddlebags. They had served her so well in this adventure, and now she had to defile them like this… But she needed something smaller. Twilight loosely bound the bands of the saddlebag around her waist and cut out a small piece of fabric from the bags. She wrapped the fabric around the spear tip and shoved it into her makeshift belt. It wasn’t perfect, but at least she could carry it without using her magic. She pulled it out again and cut out another strip of fabric from her poor bags and tied it around her head. With a satisfied nod, she left the remains of the bags. Even though it hurt her to leave innocent books out here to rot, they were just too useless for the task at hoof. She carefully sneaked back to the river. It was bright enough in the pale moonlight so that she didn’t need to light up her horn. She stopped in front of a patch of reeds, took out her makeshift knife and cut off two big reeds. She quickly cleaned off the leaves and cut off the tips and made sure that the reeds were hollow. She stuck one of them into her belt for later use. In the distance to her right she saw the lonely lantern on the pier of the goat camp. Swallowing down her apprehension of the water and potential crocodiles, Twilight stepped into the river. The water was warm and felt a little slimy, and she could almost hear Rarity scream in agony at what she did to her coat. At least the coolness felt nice on her injured leg. She submerged her head under the water and took tip of the reed in her mouth, trying to breathe through it. It worked quite well, but she couldn’t see much in the murky water. She slowly started swimming towards the pier, mostly underwater, but taking breaks every now and then to make sure she was still on target. After half an hour of slow swimming, she was close enough to see the shine of the lantern on the pier from under the water. She could now also see the guard on the pier. He was still slumped on his chair and looking into her direction – that is, if he was awake. But Twilight decided to not take a chance. She submerged again and stayed under water until she was right next to the pier. Taking a deep breath, she dove deeper to swim underneath the pier. She carefully exhaled through the reed to keep the water from flowing in until she could lift the reed’s tip through the water surface again on the other side of the pier. Taking a few seconds to catch her breath, she carefully levitated her spear tip out of her makeshift harness and stuck it into one of the pier’s barrels. Then she very slowly and carefully reemerged. The guard didn’t react; he either hadn’t heard her or he was really asleep. She stayed in the water almost motionlessly and listened for any sound from the guard. She could hear faint snoring and smiled. “Rainbow?” she asked telepathically. “I’m awake, Twi. You coming?” “I’m already here”, the unicorn chuckled. “Can you somehow lure the guard on deck to you? Demand some water or something?” “Sure, no problem.” Immediately, Twilight heard Rainbow’s muted voice from inside the boat. Somepony gave a grunting advice on the deck, then she heard hoofsteps walking down some stairs. It was now or never. Hearing Rainbow’s real voice seemed to give her bit of extra confidence as she carefully pulled herself onto the pier, never leaving the guard on his chair out of eyesight, and secured her reed in her belt. He didn’t react; apparently he had dozed off. Twilight quickly grabbed his gun with her magic and slowly submerged it into the river before she continued on to the boat. She silently made her way up the narrow wooden gangway. With the light of the lantern on the pier behind her, she could see rather well, but cast a huge shadow in front of her. Luckily the moonlight helped. To her right there was a cabin with an open door from whence faint light was shining, and she assumed that Rainbow was held somewhere in there. Suddenly somepony barked, “Halt! Wer da? Stehenbleiben!“, and she heard the click of a gun being cocked. She startled, her heart pounding in her throat, as she had not expected another guard here. Her thoughts started racing. She was going to get shot, and this time it wouldn’t end with a dart being stuck harmlessly in the bands of her – Darts! Leather bands! Without even thinking about it, she reached out to her belt with her magic and took one of the two alpaca darts that still stuck there. Even though she didn’t have a blowpipe, she could just propel a dart with her magic. “Wer da?” the goat asked again, giving her a much better idea of where he was. Praying that the tranquilizer on the darts hadn’t washed off during her bath in the river, she hurled the dart in the direction the voice had come from. “Was zur – “ the goat stammered, then there was the thud of a collapsing body. Twilight let out a relieved sigh. But she wasn’t safe yet, as there was still the other goat who had gone downstairs to Rainbow Dash. And she could only hope that the sleeping guard on the pier had not suddenly become the wide awake guard on the pier. Twilight carefully walked to where the goat had collapsed and levitated his gun away, slipping it very slowly into the river to avoid splashes. Then she edged towards the half-open cabin door. Downstairs, she could hear the muffled voices of Rainbow Dash and a goat. That meant the goat was still distracted. She silently moved down the stairs which led into a narrow corridor. The goat was standing in front of a locked door at the far end of the corridor. Not even caring about staying silent anymore, Twilight walked up to the goat. Three steps in and he finally noticed her and turned around, puzzled. As soon as he turned, Twilight started galloping towards him at full speed. The goat raised his gun, but Twilight was too fast for him. She launched herself at him and hit him in the chest with two outstretched hooves, knocking the goat over. Before he had time to get to his hooves again, she quickly bucked him against the chin, knocking him out. “Twi? Is that you?” Rainbow Dash asked from the other side of the door. “Yes, Rainbow, I’ll have you out of there in a second.” Twilight hastily searched the unconscious goat and found a key ring. She took it and soon found the right key to open the door. As soon as she did, a cyan pegasus launched herself at her and wrapped her hooves and wings around her. Almost sobbing from happiness, Twilight returned the hug and buried her face in the rainbow-colored mane. “Rainbow Dash!” “I knew you wouldn’t leave me hanging”, Rainbow Dash whispered in her ear before she released her and closely examined her. “Are you hurt?” she asked with a worried frown, pointing at the leaf bandage. “Just a little cut”, Twilight answered dismissively. “I ran into some alpacas when I followed the goats; apparently they are still after the Golden Princess.” “You sure you’re okay?” the pegasus asked, not sounding convinced. “Yes, I’m sure, Rainbow”, Twilight said with a reassuring smile. As the frown wouldn’t leave Rainbow’s face, Twilight leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips. “I’m fine, promise. Now let’s get out of here and find Manehattan Silver.” Rainbow Dash nodded her agreement, now much more enthusiastic, and the two ponies carefully trotted back upstairs. Apparently the pier guard had not slept through everything, as they almost ran into a few guards on the pier. Four goats had taken position on the pier, guns at the ready, as they could see in the light of the single lantern. Just in time, they dove back into the cabin as the goats fired of a couple of rounds. “I have prepared for this”, Twilight just said and started concentrating on her magic. The grabbed the spear tip she had left stuck in the barrel and with one powerful push thrust it under the barrel’s hoop, causing the hoop to dislodge from the barrel and the barrel to burst open. Almost immediately they heard the surprised shouts of the goats outside. Twilight carefully peeked out of the door and saw the last of the goats falling into the river as the pier capsized. “That was awesome!” Rainbow Dash commented. “Let’s get back ashore”, Twilight replied, pulling the two reeds out of her belt and giving one to Rainbow Dash. As the pegasus looked at her in bewilderment, she explained, “We’re diving so they don’t know where we are. We’re going ashore right next to Silver’s house, and then Celestia help him! Let’s go!” With that, she took the reed in her mouth and just jumped over the railing on the starboard side of the ship, as far from the still swimming goats as possible, and Rainbow followed her. In the water, Twilight quickly entwined her tail with Rainbow’s so they wouldn’t lose each other in the dark water. Then she started swimming towards the center of the river. They needed to swim around the remains of the pier and the angry goats, and she rather wanted some distance. Even though their guns were probably wet and useless, it was better to not take unnecessary risks. It took them a while to swim around the pier chaos, and they didn’t dare emerge, keeping their tails tightly entwined. After a few minutes of swimming downstream Twilight estimated that they should be level with Manehattan Silver’s hut, and they carefully lifted their heads out of the water. Apparently they had even swum a bit too far and were now in a safe distance to the pier. There was a huge commotion on the banks where goats tried to salvage the pier and generally figure out what was going on. Manehattan Silver’s hut was still lit. They swam towards the shore, not bothering with diving down again as clearly nopony was looking in their direction. Soon the sneaked onto dry land and hid against the wall of the hut. They heard the agitated shouts of the goats at the pier, but around them everything was quiet. “Through the window!” Twilight whispered. With a quick glow of her magic she opened the window in the rear wall. Not hesitating, Rainbow darted inside first, Twilight climbing in after her. They found themselves in the large main room of the hut. Manehattan Silver and Hauptmann Hornmeyer were standing at the front windows with their backs turned to them, staring outside at the commotion that was going on outside. “That’s it, you traitorous jerk!” Rainbow Dash shouted. The stallion and the goat snapped around. “You!” Manehattan Silver gasped. Quickly, he grabbed his saddlebags which hung over a chair behind him. “Hauptmann, you deal with them, I’ll get the statue to the Empire!” and ran out of the front door. “No! Come back!” Rainbow yelled after him. The Hauptmann muttered a suppressed curse and drew a sabre, menacingly coming closer, threateningly swinging his blade. Twilight and Rainbow Dash backed off, but after only two steps they had the wall in their back. Hornmeyer came closer. “You know he’s gonna screw you over”, Rainbow taunted. “I vill deal viz him venn I have dealt viz you”, the Hauptmann growled, slowly getting closer. Twilight let out an exasperated groan, quickly grabbed the remaining alpaca dart in her magic and shot it at Hornmeyer. It hit him in the neck. With a funny look on his face, he dropped his sabre and fell over. “We have no time for this”, Twilight grumbled grimly. “Let’s get Silver!” They carefully approached the front door to make sure there were no guards coming for them, but all the goats where still gathered around the sunken pier. Suddenly, the loud roar of a starting engine cut through the night – somepony was starting up the plane! “We can’t let him get away!” Twilight shouted. Rainbow just grunted in agreement, and before Twilight could come up with anything else, she picked up the lavender unicorn and darted out of the hut and towards the pier. Several surprised shouts welcomed them, and at least one goat brought his gun to aim and fire some rounds at them, but missed. Despite Rainbow’s speed, they were too late. The plane was already picking up speed along the river. Rainbow, holding Twilight in her hooves, cried out a curse as the plane slowly rose out of the water. Except for the red and green position lights it was barely visible in the pale moonlight as it climbed above the canopy. Rainbow changed course and followed the plane. Some more bullets were fired after them, but they were quickly getting out of range. Higher and higher rose the plane, and the pegasus kept as close as possible. Even though she was the fastest flier in all of Equestria, carrying another pony meant she wouldn’t be able to keep up with the untiring plane forever. She had to get to it sooner rather than later, or they would lose Manehattan Silver. She increased her efforts and managed to slowly reduce the distance to the plane. As if she knew what she needed to do to make Rainbow’s life easier, Twilight wrapped her hooves around her neck and held on tight, releasing the strain on the pegasus’ hooves. Being able to move a little more freely, she managed to at least keep up her increased speed despite her strength quickly waning. “I will not let him get away!” she growled. Twilight encouraging nuzzled her ear which seemed to free some additional reserves. With a last mighty push she managed to level with the plane’s tail. Exhausted, she grabbed the rudder and pulled herself on the cabin top, releasing Twilight who instinctively crouched as to not lose her balance. Slowly and carefully, Rainbow still out of breath from the chase, they crawled along the cabin roof towards the wings where the doors were located, Twilight now taking the lead climbed down onto the wing, and when Rainbow joined her, she pulled the door’s handle. The wind almost tore it out of her hoof, and some smaller items were sucked out of the door by the howling wind. Aware that their presence was no longer a surprise for Manehattan Silver, they quickly slid inside. The cabin was empty except for some big nets to fix big cargo items. The cockpit door was open, and they saw the faint glow of the plane’s instrument lights. “You should have stayed in that darn temple and just died there!” they heard the stallion scream from up front, but he didn’t dare come at them and leave the plane’s controls. “It’s over!” Rainbow yelled, but it was Twilight who took the lead and charged into the dimly lit cockpit. Manehattan Silver awaited her with his gun drawn, using only one hoof to control the plane. He fired once, but between steering and the motions of the plane, he missed her by far. Twilight didn’t wait for him to try again and snatched the gun out of his hoof with her magic and threw it behind her. “It’s over”, she repeated calmly. “Just give up.” “You two annoying meddling–!” He didn’t finish the sentence and suddenly jumped out of the pilot’s seat and launched himself at Twilight. She took a step back to evade him, but her injured leg picked that exact moment to give in, and so instead she stumbled against the cockpit wall. Manehattan Silver immediately noticed her weak spot and planted a well-aimed kick on her leaf bandage. Twilight screamed in agony. “Leave her alone!” Rainbow yelled and darted at him, even though her wings were still killing her. She crashed into him, knocking him back into the plane’s dashboard. Manehattan Silver hit her head with a hoof punch, but she simply shook off the pain and returned the favor, leaving the stallion dazed. Meanwhile, Twilight got back to her hooves and stared out of the front window. With nopony in control, the plane had started to descend and was quickly losing altitude, and all she could see was a black wall of nocturnal jungle coming right at her. “The plane!” she shrieked. “We’re going to crash!” Rainbow Dash glanced out the front window too and immediately let go of Manehattan Silver to get behind the plane’s controls. Making use of Daring Do’s comprehensive adventuring knowledge, she tried to stabilize the plane. “Pull pull pull!” she growled through gritted teeth, but the plane was already too low. She just saw the faint glitter of moonlight reflecting from one of the bigger ponds before the plane impacted in the water with a mighty splash. Chapter 12Chapter 12 The plane impacted in a shallow angle and bounced off the water like a skipping stone. Its momentum carried it across the water and onto the banks of the lake where its nose dug into the ground, and the front window burst. The three ponies in the cockpit were shaken around in the cockpit and thrown against the dashboard. Manehattan Silver was the first to recover. With one swift and slightly shaky leap he escaped through the broken front window. He stumbled and fell when he landed but quickly got back on his hooves. Twilight was still busy picking herself up when she saw Rainbow Dash dart through the window and after the stallion. She shakily followed, careful not to strain her injured leg. She could see that Rainbow had knocked Manehattan Silver over, and his saddlebags had flown away. Now they were engaged in a heated brawl at the banks of the pond. “Get the statue”, Rainbow grunted through gritted teeth as Manehattan Silver tried to grab her in a sleeper hold. “I’ll deal with this jerk!” “You’ll do no such thing!” the stallion cried and, instead of the sleeper hold, threw Rainbow Dash over his withers. The pegasus just spread her wings and darted back at Manehattan Silver who was already crawling in the direction of the saddlebags, sending him to into the dirt. Then Rainbow settled down on Manehattan Silver’s back and started pounding his back and neck with her hooves. With a mighty roar the stallion bucked Rainbow off his back and got to his hooves again. He leapt to the saddlebags before Twilight could react, and reached for them. Expecting him to pull out the Golden Princess, she actually saw the glimmer of gold for a second before she realized that Manehattan Silver had pulled out a second gun. Immediately she tried to disarm him with her magic, but this time Manehattan Silver was prepared and firmly maintained his hold to the gun. He fired a bullet that flew closely over Twilight’s mane. “Stop!” he roared so loud that his voice broke. “I’ve had enough of you!” Rainbow got on her hooves again and made a move for the brown earth pony, but he quickly fired another warning round. “You too! Over with your girlfriend! And don’t you so much as twitch!” “Okay, okay, chillax”, Rainbow groaned and slowly trotted to Twilight. The lavender unicorn gladly leaned against her for consolation, and she put a wing around her withers. Manehattan Silver picked up the saddlebags, never letting Twilight and Rainbow Dash out of sight. “This statue”, he explained with hardly contained anger, “is property of the Goat Empire. And you, you just keep ignoring the facts!” He began pacing in front of them. “But I have it now. I won. And you lost!” He spat out a nasty laugh. “So what’s going to happen now is, I will swim across the lake, I will walk back to Malatierra, and I will travel to the Goat Empire. And there is nothing you can do about it because you will be dead!” Then, suddenly, across the lake on their right, a bright orange light flared up, accompanied by the alpacas’ war cries. All three ponies turned towards the light, only to see a big group of alpaca warriors lined up on the banks of the lake. In the center of the warriors stood the old alpaca with the large headdress Twilight had seen in the alpaca village the night before, his eyes closed, his body swaying to an unheard rhythm. The orange glow was centered on him and apparently emanated from the old shaman. As they watched, the light seemed to gain density until it seemed almost physical and took the shape of a snarling angry alpaca head of at least four meters height. Instead of eyes it only had two lifeless voids, and yet it seemed to be staring at the island with an unwavering, inquisitive gaze. Rosetta had a good idea what it was, and it scared Twilight to death. “Manetezuma’s Wrath”, she whispered, her eyes wide open in terror. “What’s Manetezuma’s Wrath?” Rainbow asked. Instead of Twilight, Manehattan Silver answered, his voice shaky as well, “It’s an ancient alpaca ritual. Legend has it that they summon Manetezuma’s spirit, since his soul was taken by Trotathiu after his defeat against the pony army. And Manetezuma’s spirit descends onto earth, wielding the power of Trotathiu to punish anypony who wronged the alpcas. Nopony has ever seen the ritual be cast and lived to tell the story.” He had lowered his gun and was slowly walking towards the two mares, while the giant fiery alpaca head on the other side of the lake was still solidifying its shape. Twilight nodded her agreement with Manehattan Silver’s explanation. “It must be after the Golden Princess!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “We have to give it to them now!” Twilight said insistently. “No way!” Manehattan Silver protested albeit with a still shaky voice. “We can’t give it to these savages! It belongs to the Goat Empire!” He pointed his gun at Twilight again. “You! You’re a unicorn! Cast some magic and keep this thing away from us!” “You can’t possibly think I’ll – “ Twilight started, but was interrupted by a shout from the alpacas. “Ponies! You stole what is ours! Surrender the Golden Princess now, or face the Wrath of Manetezuma!” the voice of the old alpaca carried across the water. Twilight was sure that he spoke Alpacan, but Rainbow’s snarl made it obvious that she had heard and understood the message as well, even though she didn’t speak any Alpacan. The shaman had probably used some sort of magic to transmit his threat. “We can’t just give up!” Rainbow Dash agreed. “After all that! We can’t just quit!” Twilight was a bit surprised that Rainbow agreed with Manehattan Silver, but she couldn’t deny that she felt similarly, that they deserved to win the Golden Princess after all their adventures, after being captured and beaten and even crashing with a plane. She lowered her head aggressively and, almost unconsciously, began casting a protection spell which was probably beyond Rosetta’s abilities. Bright purple sparks began flying from her horn as she gathered magic energies for the spell, and a faint green sphere began to take shape around the three ponies. She was mildly surprised that she was actively protecting Manehattan Silver, the very pony who had caused them all this trouble. The alpacas who had been jeering and shouting at them suddenly fell silent, and the fiery ghost head let out a terrifying, unearthly roar. It snarled and began to slowly float at them. As it flew past trees and bushes on the banks of the lake, the leaves and branches caught fire almost immediately. Relentlessly, the giant head hovered across the water, bellowing and shouting threateningly as it went. “I have an idea!” Rainbow Dash called out and immediately darted towards the lake. Twilight was too absorbed with the protection spell to even reply. Rainbow started flying rapid wide circles skimming just above the water's surface, the suction created by her great airspeed drawing up more and more small water drops from the lake. She went faster and faster, creating a curtain of water around the burning head which curiously enough ignored the pegasus. As she reached the height of the head, she started to pull her circles tighter and tighter around the flaming ghost. “What is that crazy pegasus doing?” Manehattan Silver asked incredulously. “Trying to get herself killed? Well, good riddance!” He turned to Twilight, gun still pointing at her, the Golden Princess lying on the ground in front of him. “You just keep that spell up!” Meanwhile, the ghost head reached the translucent green shield Twilight had erected around them. For a moment, it stopped, warping its shape around the spherical green surface. Its roars turned into high-pitched shrieks of anger. Twilight pushed her hooves in the ground even firmer as she tried to withstand the onslaught of magical energy from the blazing head, sweat beads forming on her forehead. Rainbow Dash still drew increasingly tight circles around it but couldn’t get them tight enough to actually douse the head in the water she had pulled up in time. As the spirit was fighting the shield, Twilight felt as if it was looking straight into her mind and in turn revealed itself to her. The spirit let her feel the hatred it felt for the ponies who once had taken this land from its people, and it let her know of its desire to retrieve the statue and punish whoever took it. The raw power of the sprit’s hatred was almost as painful as a physical punch in the guts. In return she felt like something took a very close look at her emotions and motivations, about her desire to beat Manehattan Silver and to spoil his plans. When Rosetta’s limited resources finally faltered, the shield exploded into a cascade of small green fragments, and the weird and scary connection was broken. The spirit continued its slow advance, now almost completely obscured by the rainbow-colored trail and the mist curtain. Finally the first drops connected. There was a loud hissing of steam and a white steam cloud exploded from the head. The angry shrieks suddenly sounded triumphant. Rainbow Dash was knocked back and crashed into the ground right next to Twilight and Manehattan Silver. As the steam cleared, they could see that the head had lost a small part of its volume, but otherwise continued its advance unfazed by the water. “We can’t stop it!” Twilight cried. “We have to give them the statue!” “Never!” Manehattan Silver yelled. He fired the remaining bullets from his gun into the apparition, to no visible effect. “The statue is mine! Do some magic!” Rainbow Dash started for him now that he was unarmed, but he saw her from the corner of his eyes and escaped the flying kick. The first bushes on the banks on their side of the lake were already on fire, the smell of smoke unpleasant and threatening in the nightly air. “Give it to them now!” Twilight yelled at the stallion. “Or we’re all toast!” “You’ll be toast!” he shouted with a hint of manic laughter in his voice. “I’m outta here!” He picked up the statue, threw himself around, and started galloping towards the far end of the peninsula where it was connected to the jungle. Suddenly, the flaming head changed its course towards the fleeing stallion. It also picked up speed. With a triumphant howl it charged across the water and up the banks in hot pursuit of Manehattan Silver who quickly vanished in the jungle. Twilight and Rainbow only stared after it as it dove into the dense underwood, leaving a trail of smoldering leaves in its wake. Without a word, the alpacas and the shaman vanished in the thick underwood behind them, apparently no longer interested in the two mares on other side of the lake, now that the spirit had revealed that Manehattan Silver had the statue. “I wonder what will happen to him”, Twilight mused. “Whatever it is, he totally had it coming”, Rainbow replied coolly. The first light of the day became visible through the canopy. Twilight found that she couldn’t stand on her hooves any longer, her injured leg now aching badly, and half collapsed on the ground. Rainbow Dash settled down next to her and draped a wing over her. Twilight let out a relieved sigh and snuggled up against her friend – no, her girlfriend. Rainbow Dash was her girlfriend. And that also meant she could just lean over and plant a long and tender kiss on her lips, which the pegasus eagerly returned. It wasn’t so much the kiss that made her feel almost weightless with joy but the knowledge that there were as many kisses as she wanted, and she could just take them from Rainbow Dash. “We did it”, the pegasus said proudly. “Still a shame we didn’t get to keep the Golden Princess.” “It belongs to the alpacas”, Twilight remarked. “Yeah, yeah, it feels kinda right that they get to keep it”, Rainbow agreed. “Still. It almost feels like losing.” “But only almost.” “How could this be losing?” the pegasus asked and drew Twilight into a long kiss. As Twilight teasingly tugged at Rainbow’s lower lip, and Rainbow’s tongue darted into her mouth, the two forgot the world around them. The sun rose above the canopy and basked the lakeside with the two kissing mares in bright orange light, and the world slowly started fading to black. Chapter 13Chapter 13 Twilight opened her eyes and found herself back in her basement laboratory, snuggled up to Rainbow Dash, the pegasus’ wings draped around her, just like they had been on the island before the story had ended. Rainbow came to as well and stretched her wings before she quickly took wing and hovered above Twilight. “Whoa”, she just said with a broad grin. “That. Was. Awesome!” “It was”, Twilight agreed. She got up, carefully sparing her injured leg – and then she noticed that her leg was fine. The makeshift bandage and the cut had disappeared because the story was over. Over. Suddenly she felt a large lump in her stomach. Trying to sound as normal as possible, she continued, “Why don’t you go ahead upstairs while I shut down the machine?” “Okay. Maybe I can get Spike to make us something to eat, I’m starving!” With that, she flew up the stairs and left Twilight behind. As soon as she was out of earshot, Twilight collapsed on her haunches. She tried to hold back her tears but was unable to. It was over. The story was over. The exciting adventure about alpacas and ancient ruins and evil goats was over. And, most importantly, so was the romance between her and Rainbow Dash – no, the romance between Daring Do and Rosetta. It had never been her romance in the first place, it had always just been between two fictional characters whose role she and Rainbow Dash had happened to play. And with the play over, the romance was over. She could no longer just walk up to Rainbow Dash and kiss her, as much as she might want to. The story was over, and the pegasus had no reason to kiss her back anymore. She assumed that her feelings for Rainbow shouldn’t be so strong anymore now that they were back to reality, but she couldn’t help but have her thoughts return to all the moments she had shared with Rainbow while inside the story. The lovely relaxed dinner in Marenagua and the premature kiss. Rainbow opening up to her after they had escaped the ruined temple. Falling asleep huddled up next to each other. Rainbow’s head on her lap in the hut in the alpaca village. Walking through the jungle holding tails. Their first real kiss right before they attacked the goats, and the emotion Rainbow had shared with her over their telepathic connection. The relief of seeing her safe and sound after being captured. Realizing that she could just get a kiss from her whenever she wanted one; realizing that they were actually in love. Their passionate last kiss right at the end of the story. It was all over, and instead of enjoying the beautiful memories, all she could feel was painful regret that it was in fact over. She buried her face in her hooves and let her tears run freely, trying without much success to remain silent so that Rainbow wouldn’t hear her – crying because a story was over was decidedly not cool. Idly she wondered how that could have happened, when she suddenly heard Rainbow’s voice from the door. “Twi, you coming? Spike’s not here, so why don’t we just go to Sugarcube Corner and – Twi?” She interrupted herself when she saw the crying unicorn on the cushions next to the machine. “Twi, what’s wrong?” She slowly stepped closer and settled down next to her. “Twilight?” Twilight fought the strong urge to snuggle her face up against Rainbow’s coat, aware that she had no right to this kind of consolation anymore now that their adventure was officially over. Rainbow gently put her wing around her withers and pulled her in closer. The memories of the times she had done this in the story – when they had been in love – just made her cry even harder. “Twi, talk to me!” Rainbow urged. “What’s wrong?” The unicorn couldn’t answer, as more and more sobs shook her body when she realized that this was not her girlfriend lovingly taking care of her, but her friend being worried – and that it wasn’t enough. After what she had experienced in the novel, she wanted Rainbow Dash to be her girlfriend, not her friend. And it wasn’t going to happen in the real world. The pegasus, meanwhile, comfortingly rocked her back and forth and seemed to accept that she was unable to talk for the time being. It took her some time before her sobs started to calm down. She kept her face buried under her hooves when she finally muttered, “I don’t want it to be over.” “What was that, Twi?” Rainbow asked softly. Finally, Twilight uncovered her face, but didn’t dare look even into the direction of the cyan mare next to her. “I don’t want it to be over”, she repeated more clearly. “But we totally aced it”, the pegasus replied uncomprehendingly. “We kicked Manehattan Silver’s flank and got the Golden Princess back to the alpacas and all. We won. No need to cry about that.” “That’s not it”, Twilight mumbled. “I don’t get it, Twi”, Rainbow said, looking confused. “What is it then?” It took all her courage to finally turn to Rainbow Dash and look at her. She fought back the lump of fear in her throat and still only managed a feeble whisper. “I don’t want us to be over.” Rainbow stared at her, obviously not following. “Whatcha talking about?” Twilight took a deep breath and, deciding that all potential damage was done already, explained, “Us. We were, you know, more than friends, back in the story.” She gulped. “I know it was only a story, and it wasn’t real, but – “ Fresh tears flowed out of her eyes. “I don’t want it to be over! I –“ She was interrupted by Rainbow’s lips covering her own. When she broke the kiss, the pegasus smiled at her. “Twilight”, she groaned in faux exasperation. “So what if it was only a story? Does it make it any less real?” Twilight just stared at her with wide wet eyes, dumbfounded by the sudden kiss, unable to answer. Rainbow continued more softly, “Even if it was just a story, what we had back there”, she gently poked her hoof at Twilight’s chest, “in there, it was real, wasn't it?” She nuzzled Twilight on the nose. “I remember what I felt in there, and that’s real enough for me. This isn’t over, I promise.” As Twilight continued to stare at her, she sealed her promise with another kiss which the unicorn gladly returned. When they separated again, Twilight had a smile on her tear-stained face. “Thanks, Rainbow”, she whispered. As if in response, Rainbow’s stomach gave a loud growl. The pegasus chuckled sheepishly. “So what do you say we have our first real-life date at Sugarcube Corner then, like, right now? I’m starving!” EpilogueEpilogue “Are you ready?” Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash grinned at her and rolled her eyes impatiently. “Yeah, yeah, let’s do this already!” Twilight took a more comfortable position cuddling up against Rainbow Dash; the brainwave outlet helmets getting slightly in the way. On the bookstand, under the metal orb, lay a stack of notebooks, the top one labeled Daring Dash and Rosetta Sparkle and the Mystery of the Jade Zebra in Twilight’s impeccable writing. After planting a quick kiss on Rainbow’s cheek, Twilight pushed the green button, and everything went black. Author's Note There, it's done, my first ever uploaded fanfiction. Wee! Thanks you for reading! I'm grateful for constructive criticism and grammar goatzism. Thanks to the folks organizing the TwiDash contest for making me write this!
Chapter 1Daring Dash and Rosetta Sparkle in the Jungle of Perils by elPossenreisser Chapter 1 “No!” Dr. Negative cried, scrambling backwards on the ground as his own groaning servants began to swarm him. He managed to get a short distance across the courtyard before he backed into a wall. “What have you done? Wha-what have you done?” He fumbled through his satchel and seized a small vial with his hoof. His triumphant cheer was cut short though, as the vial was knocked out of his grasp and crushed beneath the hoard of drugged ponies. Frantically, he reached for his bag again, only to find it trampled beneath the hooves of a large red stallion; multicolored fluids coated the ground around it. “No!” “It's no use, Doctor,” Daring Do called out as she watched the physician's struggle from her perch on the balcony above. “You did this to yourself.” She hopped off the railing and started for the door, walking past a fedora-wearing Earth pony. “You're just going to leave him?” he asked, following her back into the manor. “Seems a little cold for you, Do...” Daring paused as the door shut, canceling out the screams of agony now echoing about the place. Her gaze fell to the floor with her wings.“It's not like he doesn't deserve whatever happens to him down there.” She shuddered. “Brainwashing ponies like that... It's... It's just wrong.” When no response came, Daring's eyes shot up. She could handle danger; give her a crazed doctor with way too many drugs or an ancient temple filled with traps and she couldn't care any less—but him? She needed him. If she upset him—scared him off or ignited his righteous fury—she'd never forgive herself. A quivering desperation seeping into her tone, Daring asked, “You... You don't think I'm a horrible pony for this, do you?” A brown hoof settled on her shoulder as Manehatten Silver looked her straight in her watery eyes. “No,” he said softly, pulling her into his embrace. “Negative's the monster here, not you.” Daring choked back a sob as she nuzzled deeper into Silver's chest. “Wh-when he had you—back at the lab... You... a-and the syringe... When you... When you...” Her words failed her and turned into incomprehensible sobs. Gently, a hoof patted her back. Soft words were whispered into her ears, causing her to only hold on tighter to the stallion she'd so nearly lost. “I was so scared,” she whimpered. Her whole body trembled in his forelegs, but he only held her tighter. “I wanted to kill him—I wanted to rip his throat out and stomp it into the dirt! I-I—” “Shh,” Silver whispered, running a hoof down the pegasus's gray-scaled mane. “It's over now,” he said. “It's all over.” “All I could think about was that night in Fillydelphia,” Daring continued, “And how stupid I was for walking out and... I'm so sorry...” Biting his lip, Silver shifted his weight and looked away from his long-time friend and rival adventurer. “Look, Dare, you don't have to—“ A tan hoof interrupted him and jarred his face down towards Daring Do's. Her eyes shone like rubies in the dim light of the hall. “Just shut up and kiss me,” she whispered, pulling him closer. Her wings flared as their lips furiously collided in a passionate— “What?” Rainbow Dash cried indignantly, raising her hooves in the air. She glared at the book before her with furious distaste. “That's... that's...” “So sweet,” Twilight sighed dreamily. She closed her eyes and smiled, her tail lightly sweeping across the wooden floor of the library. “Don't you think so, Rainbow?” “So stupid!” the pegasus finished, batting the novel aside. It flew across the room and smacked the wall with a ruffled thud. Paying no mind to Twilight's irritated stare, Rainbow began pacing around the room. “What about Rosetta?” she growled, flapping her wings furiously. She glared out the window at the sunset. “What about her?” Twilight asked as she picked up her new copy of Daring Do and the Devious Doctor Negative and carefully placed it back on her personal bookshelf. “She's still back at the college, right?” Dash huffed and blew a stray bit of her mane out of her face. “So?” “So...” Twilight rolled her hoof in the air, gesturing for her friend to explain further. When Rainbow didn't turn around, she sighed and continued: “What's the problem?” “Everything!” Rainbow roared, spinning around. Twilight stumbled back in surprise as Dash's hooves slammed into the floor and shook the picture frames on the walls. Nostrils flared, she began prowling around the room, circling Twilight like a hungry lioness. “How can Daring just... Why would she...” Twilight's brow furrowed. “Rainbow?” she said slowly, watching Rainbow curse and kick another book into a wall. “Are you okay?” “No!” the pegasus groaned, bringing her hoof to her forehead. “Yes!” She growled at the floor as Twilight stood up and stepped closer. “Ugh! I don't know! I don't get it!” “What don't you understand?” “She kissed him!” Dash spat; just saying the words left a bad taste in her mouth. “I can't believe it!” Frowning, Twilight gave her friend a curious look. “What's wrong with that? I think it's a very sweet conclusion to the story.” “But what about Rosetta?” Twilight brought a hoof to her head and rubbed her temple. “I don't think I understand where you're going with this, Rainbow,” she groaned. “What do you mean?” Dash rolled her eyes. “I mean that Daring totally belongs with Rosetta—not stinkin' Silver!” Jerking her head back, Twilight's curious expression quickly switched from bemused to amused. An eyebrow raised as Twilight shook her head. “What?” she snorted. “You're joking, right?” Rainbow's face hardened. Her wings ruffled. “No,” she said. “I'm not.” “But there's been no evidence that Rosetta and Daring feel anything more than platonic friendship at all, Rainbow,” Twilight giggled despite Rainbow's steadily growing scowl. “Not a single scrap in the whole series.” Dash's eyes drifted down to the floor and cursed silently. Without thinking, her gaze shot back to her friend and she protested, “They got milkshakes in the beginning of the book!” “Oh,” she said, smirking, “Then it must be true love!” “It was a date!” Rainbow stuck her tongue out. “And that's way better than some stupid kiss!” “It was not a date!” Twilight countered, “Daring Do has never gone to her for more than advice or to hang out!” “That's not dating?” Dash huffed, glaring at Twilight. “Daring's totally crazy for her!” “Just because somepony gets a milkshake with somepony else doesn't mean that they're romantically involved, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, a hint of annoyance seeping into her tone. “How many times have we gotten milkshakes on reading days?” Dash's wings flared and her ears slicked back behind her head as she turned to the side; the setting sun peered through the window and lit her face, coloring it red. Her cheeks felt warm. “I-it wasn't about the milkshakes, Twi...” she mumbled to the floor. “I mean, I could totally see that... that they were happy together...” Twilight shook her head. “Rainbow, I'm sorry. I don't know how you got the idea that Rosetta and Daring love each other—let alone the fact that they are both homosexual—but it just isn't there.” Rainbow's eyes never rose from the floor. There was a crack traversing the length of one of the boards on the far side of the room, she followed it across the floor to Twilight's hooves. “But... but it has to be...” she whispered so low that Twilight didn't manage to catch it. “Daring... Daring totally loves her...” “Besides,” the unicorn added, tapping her chin with her hoof. “Daring and Rosetta would make for a very strange couple—don't you think so, Rainbow Dash? I mean, Rosetta's a professor at Canterlot University—it'd be awful hard for somepony as adventurous and free-spirited as Daring Do to stick around and be in a real relationship with her.” Dash jumped to her hooves, her hackles raised. “She could do it if she wanted to!” Twilight raised her hooves. “I'm not saying that she couldn't,” she reasoned calmly. A scroll on a shelf on the far side of the room lit up in a purple light. It floated over to the duo and presented itself to Twilight, who opened it. An illustration of a unicorn wearing glasses and a lab coat adored the back. “And I guess I don't see any major flaws in their dynamic...” Rainbow's face lit up for a ghost of a second and she looked at the floor once more. “See?” “But, there's still the complete lack of anything beyond friendship exhibited in their actions, Rainbow,” Twilight sighed, setting the scroll down on her desk. “Just because they get along doesn't mean that they'd make a good romantic couple. Daring Do has been known to have a soft spot for Manehatten Silver—she is obviously in love with him if she asked him to kiss her.” *** Dash’s wings flared up. “No! That – that was just in the spur of the moment! Why should she be in love with that annoying Manehattan Silver? He’s always so smug and perfect and – augh! No way! Don’t you see that Rosetta is so much cuter and sweeter than him?” “Rainbow, it’s just – “, Twilight tried to calm down her friend, but the pegasus just continued ranting. “It ruins everything! Manehattan Silver!” she spat out his name. “Of all ponies! She has known Rosetta so much longer, it’s just supposed to be! How can you not see that?” “Rainbow – “ “I bet it’s just because he’s a stallion!” Rainbow fumed. “Rainbow, can we just calm down and continue with the book, please?” Twilight asked, getting more and more annoyed by the pegasus’ insistence on the matter. “I really don’t see the point in discussing this any further!” Rainbow failed to realize that Twilight was getting worked up now as well and continued. “I’m totally gonna write my own story where Daring totally gets together with Rosetta. Because Silver – that is just stupid!” she shouted. “No, Rainbow, you know what’s stupid?” Twilight interjected before Rainbow could burst into another rambling rant. “Getting all worked up about a little romance in a novel, that’s stupid! It’s all printed now, and you can either – “ “Don’t call me stupid!” Rainbow yelled at the top of her lungs. Before Twilight could stop her, she was already out of the window. As she stared at the rainbow-colored trail the pegasus drew after her, her anger deflated like a cooled down soufflé. Had she really just had a shouting argument with her best friend over the world-shattering question of who a fictional character in a novel was in love with? Despondent, she sat down on her haunches, her ears drooping and her head hanging low. Going over the argument again in her mind, she couldn’t help but come to the conclusion that she had completely overreacted and had probably deeply offended Rainbow Dash. Of course, the blue pegasus had been quite annoying in her insistence on a potential romance between Rosetta and Daring Do, but still, that was no excuse for Twilight to have lost her calm and, yes – “I really did call her stupid, didn’t I?” she whispered dejectedly. “I have to make it up to her. That’s way too big for a simple sorry. But what in Equestria can I do?” She lay down on the floor and tried to resist the urge to curl up into a tight little ball. Her gaze fell upon the Daring Do novel that had caused all this, lying on the bookshelf. “And all because of that stupid romance plot”, she growled to herself. “If only…” With a sudden jerk she sat up, fighting the sudden impulse to chirp “Idea!” in her most high-pitched voice, like Rarity did when inspiration struck her. She jumped to her hooves. It could work. It was going to be quite a bit of work, but she felt she owed Rainbow that much. Without further hesitation, she grabbed a bunch of empty scrolls and some quills with her magic and galloped to the cellar door. “Spike!” she yelled as she ran, “I’m in the basement; I’m working on a project. You have the library; I don’t want to be disturbed!” She opened the cellar door where she hesitated for a moment. “And could you make a cherry soufflé for dinner? I’m really craving one right now.” With that, she stormed down the stairs to her laboratory to start working on her apology to Rainbow. Author's Note Everything up to the first "***" break written by The_Incredible_Blunderbolt as prompt for the TwiDash group Abandoned Prompt Contest.
Chapter 2Chapter 2 It wasn’t until a few days later when Twilight Sparkle reemerged from her basement laboratory. Luckily for her, Spike had returned in the meantime and had made sure the unicorn ate, albeit irregularly. In her frantic laborious state of activity she had paid little attention to the needs of her body. The project had been more important. Now she was standing on the clouds outside Rainbow’s home. She had taken the balloon up here and had cast the cloud-walking spell on herself. Twilight was still very unsure about confronting Rainbow, as she feared the pegasus might still be mad at her – which, Twilight thought, she had every right to be. But she had to make up with Rainbow. Even if it was scary. She knocked. Almost immediately, the door was open and Rainbow grinned at her. “Hey Twi! Haven’t seen you in forever! Whatcha doing up here?” “I want to apologize for yesterday. Or the day before? You know, when we had this st – this argument about Daring Do. I’m really sorry for acting the way I did.” As she spoke, her head came hanging more and more, and her voice got lower and lower. She hardly dared look at the cyan pegasus. “Oh, that”, Rainbow said dismissively. “It’s cool, Twi, forget about it. I went overboard there myself.” She gave Twilight a probing look. “But Twi, that was like four days ago, not yesterday. Are you sure you’re alright?” “Four days? Wow, I wouldn’t have thought…”, she mumbled more to herself than to Rainbow. “No, but really, I’m sorry for what happened. I was a jerk.” “Twilight!” Rainbow groaned with a half-smile. “I told you, it’s alright. Now stop worrying about it, kay?” “So you’re not mad at me?” Twilight blinked at Rainbow. “No, I’m really not mad at you”, the pegasus replied, still smirking. “But what did you do all this time anyway that you even forgot the days and all?” “I was busy working on a project, and I may have lost track of the time. I could’ve sworn it hasn’t been more than two days though. Curious.” She furrowed her brow for a moment before she continued. “Anyway, Rainbow, I owe you more than just a simple apology. No, no, I insist”, she added as she saw Rainbow opening her mouth to object. “And that’s what I’ve been working on.” “You’ve spent four days working on an apology?” Rainbow asked incredulously. “What is it?” “I wanted to give you an opportunity to show me why you are so… invested in the whole Daring Do - Rosetta ordeal. So I took the machine I built to analyze Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense that one time and made some modifications, added a second brainwave outlet, a semantic unit, and some clairvoyance and logic sub-processors, and basically turned it into a logical lucidity generator”, she explained proudly. “Yeah”, Rainbow replied, puzzled. “And what’s that in non-egghead speech?” “It’s a machine that will allow us to enter a Daring Do story and see with our own eyes what happens between her and Rosetta.” “Like a movie projector?” Rainbow asked. “No, no, much more powerful. We’ll be literally inside the story, not just watching from the outside. We can move around and follow the characters along, see what they see, hear what they hear, smell – you get the idea.” “Wow”, Rainbow said. “That’s pretty awesome, Twi!” “All we need now is a story about Daring and Rosetta. You, erm, mentioned something about wanting to write one yourself? Maybe I can help you.” Twilight said, but Rainbow interrupted her with a lifted hoof. She puffed her chest as she explained, “Way ahead of you.” Twilight stared at her uncomprehendingly. “See”, Rainbow continued, “after we had our argument, I was so pissed that they wouldn’t write it so that Daring and Rosetta ended up together that I just couldn’t get it out of my head. So I took two days off and sat down and just wrote and wrote. I finished last night.” With that, she stepped aside so that Twilight had a clear view through the door. On the table in the middle of the living room lay a stack of five notebooks, right next to some empty inkwells and some broken quills. “I didn’t get much sleep either”, she added with a half-embarrassed chuckle. “But it was totally worth it. That story is pretty awesome. Not that that’s a big surprise”, she added cockily. Twilight stared at the notebooks. Whatever Rainbow Dash had written, it was definitely not a short story. And it was even better that the story was already completed – after all, she wanted to give Rainbow an opportunity to convince her of the chemistry between Rosetta and Daring Do. She smiled at the pegasus. “Wow. I’m impressed! In this case, we can start right away!” “So you just need the story? Like, the notebooks? And that’s all?” “And two ponies willing to go where nopony has gone before”, Twilight added with deliberate melodrama. Rainbow burst out laughing and dropped on her back. “That was the eggheadest thing you’ve said in like forever!” she laughed. Twilight smiled at her friend as she wiped some tears out of her eyes. It was good that everything between the two of them was alright again. And she was quite excited herself to test out her contraption. Without waiting for Rainbow Dash’s consent, she grabbed the notebooks in her magic and dropped them in the balloon basket. “Let’s go then!” she exclaimed and took Rainbow’s hoof, pulling her along. *** “Whoa”, was all Rainbow Dash could say when she and Twilight finally stood before the contraption – or rather complex – Twilight had concocted in her basement laboratory. The central pieces were two helmet-like devices that were connected to an arrangement of glass and metal objects on a big lab table. The helmets were covered in a plethora of little light bulbs and protruding cables. Behind the table stood a pony-sized wooden box that was connected to some of the thingamabobs on the table with a broad cable of at least four dozen strands. The box itself was humming, and from time to time a small steam cloud evaporated from a ventilation opening on one side. An inextricable chaos of smaller cables, some straight, some curled like Pinkie Pie’s mane, connected the table with an upright board behind it that was covered in a mesh of tiny metal conductors. A huge pink crystal was place in the center of that board and irradiated a soft glow. Next to the upright board there was another, smaller table – or maybe it had once been a bookstand – with what looked like a big metal egg mounted above it. An opening in the egg pointed directly towards the surface of the bookstand. And in a corner lay – “Tell me you didn’t sleep on that, Twi”, Rainbow said, bubbling with hardly contained laughter and pointing at the pile of rolled up cables covered with a dusty blanket behind the metal egg bookstand. Twilight blushed and shook her head. “No, Rainbow, I didn’t sleep on that. It would be more accurate to say I passed out on it, to be honest.” Rainbow burst into laughter, but quickly recomposed herself. “That really doesn’t sound healthy”, she jokingly admonished. “You’re one to talk”, Twilight gave back with a smile. “Writing that whole story within a few days? It’s surprising you can still stand on your hooves.” “Yeah, yeah”, Rainbow said smirking. “You know, when the Rainbow Dash does something, she does it right. No half-assery.” “’The Rainbow Dash’? Really?” Twilight asked with a raised brow. Rainbow puffed out her chest. “The one and only. So how does this thing work, huh?” “Let’s see, there must be a documentation somewhere”, Twilight mused and began scanning the outskirts of the laboratory. “Wait, I thought you built that thing. Don’t you know how it works?” Rainbow asked in surprise. “Well, my memory of building it is, well, sketchy, so no, I don’t know how it works”, Twilight replied a little defensively. “At least not every little detail. But I checked off ‘Write documentation’ on the master checklist, so it must be somewhere.” “Wait, so you don’t even remember you wrote that documentation?” Rainbow asked, even more perplexed. “No”, Twilight replied cheerfully. “But it must be here; else I wouldn’t have checked it off. Aha!” She picked up a notebook with her magic and flicked through it. “Yeah, that’s it. Looks pretty comprehensive. Oh! It even has a quick-start guide!” She clapped her hooves in excitement. “Let’s see. Step one. ‘Insert the source material into the source narrative reading device.’ That’s the bookstand over there. Just put the notebooks on it. Make sure they are in the correct order though.” She chuckled. “Wouldn’t want to skip a few chapters because of that.” “Um, alright”, Rainbow said and carefully put her notebooks on the bookstand underneath the mysterious metal orb. She poked the orb with her hoof, eliciting a strangely harmonic sound from the contraption. “Okay”, Twilight continued. “Source material check. Next step: ‘Assume a comfortable position’.” She glanced at the pile of cables and blankets in embarrassment and shook her head. “That won’t do. It says here in the documentation that the estimated duration of the experience will be roughly an hour for every day of narrated time. How long does your story take?” she asked Rainbow. The pegasus scratched her head. “Erm, I kinda went into writing frenzy at some points, so I’m not entirely sure about everything. Four days”, she concluded with absolute certainty. “That’s still four hours”, Twilight mused. “We need something comfortable for that or our legs will kill us.” “Clouds would be good”, Rainbow chimed in, but after a short look around she shook her head. “Nah. Won’t work. Clouds won’t last here long enough. Air’s too dry.” “I was going to say”, Twilight went on, “we can just grab some of the couch cushions and some blankets from upstairs. Come on!” They returned upstairs to the library’s main room and pillaged the pillows and blankets from Twilight’s favorite reading couch. Back in the basement, they arranged them in a big pile, threw the blankets over them, and settled down. “Comfortable position check. ‘Put on brainwave outlet’.” She levitated the two helmets towards their bedding. Rainbow Dash looked at them skeptically. “Are you sure this is safe?” she asked with a slightly squeaky voice. “These things look…weird.” Twilight looked at her understandingly. “You’re right, they do. Let me check.” She floated the master checklist towards her and started reading the several meters long document. “Aha. Yes, they’re safe”, she finally announced with unswerving confidence. The cyan pegasus looked at her dumbfounded. “Wait, how can you know that?” “It says so here on the list. ‘Double-check safety standards’ is double-checked”, Twilight beamed. When she noticed Rainbow’s still completely puzzled look, she added, “I wouldn’t have double-checked it here if I hadn’t in fact double-checked the safety standards. These two checkmarks here mean it is completely safe.” To show the still somewhat unconvinced pegasus that everything was in fact fine, she hovered one of the helmets onto her head. “See? Perfectly safe.” “Ok Twi, I trust your checkmarks”, Rainbow said after a few more seconds of staring. Twilight gently put the other helmet on her head and gave her another encouraging smile. In response, Rainbow puffed her chest and added, “Not that I’m scared. It’s just, you know, a little weird.” Twilight chuckled softly. “It’s alright, Rainbow.” She let the notebook float towards her again and continued reading. “Brainwave outlet check. Next step: ‘Press start button’. Ready?” Without waiting for Rainbow’s answer, she punched her hoof onto a big green button on the edge of the central table. Then everything went black.
Chapter 3Chapter 3 And it stayed black. “Um. Twi?” Rainbow’s voice finally asked into the impenetrable black void. “Is that what’s supposed to happen?” “Hmm. One of us should be able to access the controls”, Twilight mused. “Go!” she shouted, but nothing happened. “Rainbow, say ‘Go!’ decisively. The device is controlled by emotions, and saying it out loud should be a good focal point.” “Um, not that I’m complaining or anything, but why am I in control and not you, since you built this thing and know how it works and all?” “I wonder about that myself”, Twilight admitted. “The only reason I can think of is that the narrative parser recognized you as the author and thus put you in command. That’s a really interesting feature, don’t you think?” “Well, I am totally gonna ace it”, Rainbow stated with her usual self-confidence. “So I say ‘Go!’ and the story starts and we watch it?” “We will be able to freely navigate through the world, and we will know, well, a lot about what’s happening. We will definitely share all knowledge of the narrator plus everything the interpretative unit adds to flesh out the world. We can look around, follow the main characters and experience their emotions as we go. The only thing we won’t be able to do is interact with the world. We are simply observers.” “Aw”, the pegasus’ voice replied disappointedly. “Okay, but it’s still gonna be pretty rad, being in a Daring Do novel like this. Are you ready?” “There’s one more thing!” Twilight hastily said before the pegasus could start the machine. “Since we won’t have bodies in the story’s world, we’ll have to talk like we do here, just with our minds.” “What’s that supposed to mean, ‘talk with my mind’? That’s like ‘flying with your hooves’!” Rainbow remarked, uncomprehending. “You just think of speaking to me. Like you do now. Don’t think about it too much, it should all come very natural.” A little skepticism remained as Rainbow said, “Uh-huh. Ready?” Before Twilight could interrupt her again, she yelled “Go!” *** Without so much as a blink, Twilight found herself standing in bright sunlight. After the velvet blackness of that non-place they’d been in before she had to squint her eyes to tiny slits; and at first she couldn’t discern anything. She heard the hoof steps and mumbling of a large crowd of ponies, and also the faint rustling of waves. The air smelt of salt and seaweed. Wherever she was, it was probably a large square right at the coast. She only wondered – “Rainbow? Are you here? I can’t see anything in this light!” she squealed with a much squeakier voice than she had intended. “I’m here, Twi”, Rainbow Dash reassured her from somewhere in front of her. “Where is ‘here’, anyway?” Twilight asked. Her vision slowly cleared; she could now see lots of fast-moving shades trotting through her field of vision, and some larger shapes in the distance that set themselves apart against the blazing horizon. “Gotta be Marenagua”, Rainbow answered. “Probably that great square just off the river, what’s its name again…?” “Plaza de la Libertad”, Twilight promptly recounted, “the main square of Marenagua, just between the sea and the mounds of Rio Marenagua. The name is Alpacan and means ‘liberty square’.” She interrupted her flow of words. “Why do I know that?” she asked with a slight hint of panic in her voice. “I don’t speak Alpacan!” Rainbow didn’t answer, but at least Twilight’s vision cleared more and more. She blinked a few times, hoping it would help. She could now make out more of her surroundings. She was in fact standing on Plaza de la Libertad, facing the sea, where a beautiful esplanade with carefully hatched palm trees and baroque lanterns lined the shore. As she looked around, her gaze fell upon the town hall, a classic colonial building painted in bright yellow, which flew the flag of Neighcaragua. Next to it she saw the Marenagua Grand Hotel, a huge neo-classical building with intricate lion head stonework adorning the façade. A liveried page was standing in front of it under a sunroof with red and white stripes. The remaining buildings lining the square were mostly held in neo-classical style as well, most of them painted in bright pastel colors and in impeccable state. In the center of the square, on a huge pedestal, stood a statue of Simon Coltivar, the heroic founder of the country. The sun was high up in the sky and burning down relentlessly; it was probably close to noon. A lot of ponies and alpacas were hastening across the square left and right. At last, she looked at the pony standing in front of her, and she gasped in surprise. Rainbow Dash wore an olive-colored vest and a pith helmet, just like Daring Do, and some tan-colored saddlebacks embroidered with Daring Do’s cutie mark, a compass rose. “You look almost like Daring Do”, Twilight stated with a shaky voice. Rainbow chuckled. “And you look like Rosetta.” Twilight quickly checked herself. She ran a hoof along her mane and found it wrapped in a tight bun. Now she also realized that her vision was girdled by black frames – Rosetta’s glasses. She too wore saddlebags which were embroidered with a white rose. The only detail missing was the lab coat, but she supposed that it wasn’t the best piece of clothing for an expedition to Neighcaragua. She hung her head. “I don’t get it. We should be observers, not the main characters of the story!” she moaned. “How is this supposed to work? What are we even supposed to do?” “You see, there’s this mine in a place called Malatierra, a little mining outpost upstream”, Rainbow explained unflinching. “They found some ancient Alpacan temple, and the ministry of mining suspected it might be something important. So they got in touch with us, and we did some research and figured it might be where the legendary Golden Alpacan Princess is hidden. They invited us over here, and we just arrived here.” “I know all that”, Twilight retorted impatiently, “but what are we supposed to – wait. Why do I know all that?” she whispered. “You’re Rosetta”, Rainbow simply replied. “She knows that. Hay, I don’t know anything about ancient Alpacan temples, but Daring does, so now I do too. At least that’s what would make sense, kind of, right?” Twilight tapped her chin with her hoof. This was true; Rosetta would know these things. And apparently she was Rosetta, at least for the time being. She quickly probed her mind for unexpected knowledge and found that she now possessed extensive knowledge about the colonial history of the Southern Equestrian continent as well as some of the indigenous tribes that lived there, like llamas, alpacas, and the lost civilization of the Donkans. She also knew quite a bit about the topology of Neighcaragua in general and the area around Malatierra specifically, and she was aware of several scientific theories about the Golden Alpacan Princess, its mythological significance, and its current whereabouts. So at least knowing what to do would probably not be a problem. Still, this was not how the machine was supposed to work. She had not designed it so that they would take the parts of the main characters. And speaking of which – “I don’t know why you get to play Daring anyway”, she mumbled. “What? Who else?” Rainbow asked back. “Wait a second. You wanna be Daring? But Twilight! How does that even make sense?” “What, you mean I can’t be the heroic, erm, heroine?” Twilight snapped, but immediately started chuckling at her own loss of words. “No, seriously Rainbow. When I read those books, I see myself as Daring Do. I get to do all the cool stuff. I save the world. Well, I’m sure so do you…” “Well of course!” Rainbow replied enthusiastically. “I mean, look at the facts, Twi. I’m a pegasus. Daring’s a pegasus. I’m not afraid of anything. Daring isn’t afraid of anything. We’re like the perfect match!” “But so am I!” Twilight objected. “Daring is a professor of archeology, a scholar – so am I! Daring solves problems with creative thinking and sometimes even with solid planning – so do I! Well. That last one may be a bit of a stretch. But still, I never see myself as Rosetta, the dorky sidekick!” “Well…” Rainbow started and scratched her head. “But only one of us can be Daring, anyway. And I think you’re not giving Rosetta enough credit. She’s pretty awesome, and I think she kicks some serious flank in this story.” At this, Twilight’s ears perked. “Wait, you think she kicks flank? But you wrote the story! You of all ponies should know this!” “It’s funny, Twi, I don’t remember too much of what happens in the story”, Rainbow admitted sheepishly. “I mean, I was kinda sketchy on the details with all the lack of proper sleep, but now I hardly know anything anymore, and what I know is just random bits and pieces. All I know now is why we’re here and that we’re supposed to meet a certain Copper Star from the ministry of mining. They arranged our trip, as they want the temple examined properly before the miners destroy invaluable cultural goods. He should meet us here about, well, now.” “That’s strange. I don’t remember installing a component that would actively alter our memories”, Twilight mused, again tapping her chin with her hoof. “So, do you think it’s gonna be a problem? Like, should we stop this?” Rainbow asked carefully. “Not that I’m scared, but you’re the expert on, well, all of this. If you say it isn’t safe…?” She trailed off. “Oh, I’m still sure it’s safe. After all I checked that on the checklist”, Twilight replied distantly. She was still busy taking stock of her new and unfamiliar knowledge. “And what about that other thing? Are you okay being Rosetta in this story?” Twilight thought about this question for a moment, then shrugged. “Sure. I guess it isn’t too far-fetched. You’re right, obviously only one of us can be Daring Do, and I guess when we look at it objectively, you are actually the better fit.” She grinned. “Hey, it’s probably going to be a cool adventure! I can’t wait to explore that temple! I hope we really find the Golden Alpacan Princess. This is going to be really exciting!” She clapped her hooves. “Okay then”, Rainbow chuckled. “Let’s see if we can find Copper Star. If I remember correctly he has a bright red mane, so he should be easy enough to spot.” She started. “Huh, seems I at least remember some bits.” Instead of an answer, Twilight started to fumble at her – or Rosetta’s? She wasn’t quite sure – bun, trying to open it, but Rainbow interrupted her with a hoof on her shoulder. “You can’t take it off!” she protested. “You have to be as much Rosetta as possible! Just like I wear the helmet and all!” She examined Twilight’s mane with squinting eyes. “’Sides, it looks really good on you.” Just as Twilight was about to answer, and possibly keep her cheeks from flushing at the unexpected compliment, a dark brown stallion with a bright red mane and a mustache stopped in front of them. “Señorita Do?” he asked with a slight Neighcaraguan accent. Rainbow giggled, her eyes gleaming in excitement as she was addressed as Daring Do. But she soon found back her confidence and replied, “The one and only. You must be Copper Star.” “That’s right. I welcome you in Neighcaragua on behalf of the Neighcaraguan government and the ministry of mining.” He bowed slightly, his attention almost entirely focused on Rainbow Dash. “I have taken the liberty to reserve a table for a belated lunch right now, in case you haven’t eaten yet. There we can discuss all further arrangement.” As a response, Rainbow’s stomach gave an audible growl. “Yeah, something to eat would be awesome”, she replied, grinning sheepishly. “Then please follow me, señoritas”, Copper Star requested and began walking towards the impressive stone hulk of the Grand Hotel. “Did you have a pleasant journey?” Copper Star asked politely. “Yeah, yeah, it was alright”, Rainbow replied cheerfully. Twilight suspected that Rainbow had as little memory of the actual trip as she had, and that she was just spinning a tale. “Are we eating at that hotel?” “Sí, señorita. The ministry is providing you with a room there for tonight, so it is most convenient”, the stallion explained. “Wait, but aren’t we supposed to get to Malatierra as soon as possible?” Twilight interjected. “Why do we spend a whole day here?” Copper Star shot her a slightly indignant look before he turned to Rainbow Dash and explained, “The only way to get to Malatierra is by a river boat. The next boat departs tomorrow morning, so you couldn’t start your journey any sooner. This also leaves us convenient time to prepare everything.” Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, sure, sounds great. Now can we please get something to eat? A great archeologist doesn’t run on air and ancient artifacts alone, you know?” Twilight rolled her eyes, but Copper Star just smiled politely and led them towards the Grand Hotel. “Grand Hotel, sweet”, Twilight suddenly heard Rainbow’s voice resonating very clearly in her mind. “Wonder if their hay fries are any good.” Twilight started and almost stumbled, but then she remembered what she told Rainbow about communication while they were inside the story. Apparently, it still worked, even though they now did possess bodies. “Hey, it works!” she thought towards Rainbow. “We can talk without talking!” “Yeah, cool, but I’m really hungry now!” Rainbow turned around while walking and winked at Twilight, which brought a giddy smile to her face as she winked back. If Copper Star had noticed anything of this, he was too well-behaved to make a remark. Lunch was very pleasant. The cuisine of the Grand Hotel was as good as the place looked classy. Copper Star discussed some details of their upcoming travel with them and told them the name of the boat that would take them upstream to Malatierra. The Sea Stallion was captained by Capitán Flujo and was set to sail out of Marenagua the next morning at ten. The journey would take a day. He gave them a reservation for a double bedroom in the only hotel in Malatierra, and a letter for the representative of the ministry in Malatierra, an alpaca by the name of Vedeja de Cuarzo. The representative was, on paper, bearing the authority of the ministry, but Copper Star explained them that in reality the big mining companies that ran remote mining colonies such as Malatierra often agreed to just anything the ministry told them, only to go on doing whatever they pleased. They would not go so far as to actively keep them from the ruins, but their status as authorized by the ministry would most likely not be enough to earn them special treatment. After Copper Star had taken care of the check-in to the Grand Hotel, he wished them a pleasant journey and asked them to drop by at his office in the ministry when they returned so they could discuss their findings. Twilight made a note, since she feared that Rainbow might not even have listened, and the red-maned stallion bade them goodbye, leaving the two ponies in their spacious two-bed hotel room. “It’s very nice of Copper Star and the ministry to give us all that help, don’t you think?” Twilight commented after he’d left. Rainbow Dash was lounging lazily on her bed, her eyelids drooping suspiciously. “Yeah”, she replied and yawned heartily. “Gosh, I’m tired. That jet lag is killing me!” “Erm, I’m sure you don’t mean jet lag. Jet lag occurs when somepony travels very fast and into a different time zone. Some of the early intercontinental fliers first discovered the phenomenon and – “ She stopped talking and giggled as she noticed that Rainbow was just staring at her with glassy eyes. “Whatever, Twi”, the pegasus replied good-natured. “It means that you badly need a nap, and that’s what I have right now. Aren’t you tired?” Twilight wanted to reply, but had to stifle a sudden yawn. Whether it was the sudden change in climate, the frantic working the days before and the consequential lack of sleep, or just the excitement of being in a Daring Do adventure, she suddenly felt very tired too. She climbed on her bed. “Sleep well, Rainbow”, she said, but the pegasus was already fast asleep. Twilight followed suit only minutes later.
Chapter 4Chapter 4 Several hours later, the sun hung low over the horizon and basked the hotel room in warm orange light. Twilight awoke from the sound of Rainbow taking a shower. She remained settled for the time being and stretched lazily. She felt very relaxed after the nap. Just out of curiosity, she decided to try to communicate with Rainbow again. “Sleep well?” she asked. “Augh! “ came back Rainbow’s surprised yelp. “Twi! I’m in the shower!” Twilight chuckled telepathically. “It’s not like I can see you, you know.” “Still, would you please stop it? It’s really weird, okay?” Rainbow groaned. “Okay, okay. I just wanted to see if it still worked.” With a smile she settled back into her cushion and looked out of the huge window. The sun shone directly through it, and Twilight enjoyed the warm light that engulfed her. In the distance she saw a chain of shallow green mountains that the sun was about to settle behind. She was pretty sure that what she saw was the Sierra Lluviosa, or Rainy Mountains, a mountain range known for its thick and mostly unexplored rainforest. Scattered successors of the Donkans were said to have survived in remote mountain villages. Rosetta’s knowledge amazed her once again. Rainbow came out of the bathroom, her mane still wet. “It’s all yours. Whatcha think about dinner afterwards?” “Sounds great”, Twilight smiled. “Do you have something in mind?” “How about we just stroll through the town and see what we find?” Rainbow suggested, letting herself drop on her bed. “Sounds great!” Twilight agreed emphatically and vanished in the bathroom. *** After Twilight completed her shower, they went out to find a nice place to have dinner and to generally explore the town. What they had seen so far of Marenagua was beautiful, and in the lush evening air and illuminated by the gazillions of lanterns the capital of Neighcaragua seemed even more inviting. The sounds of crickets filled the air, which smelled of the drying afternoon rain they had slept through, and didn’t bear the heavy scent of seaweed anymore. It was still warm and a bit humid, but not oppressive. The ponies and alpacas that roamed the streets seemed relaxed and not in a big hurry. A lot of the inhabitants seemed happy to just sit down in one of the many small parks and enjoy the evening. Several buskers filled the air in the streets with their exotic tunes. Twilight enjoyed the peaceful evening air, but it didn’t require telepathic powers to realize that Rainbow Dash was impatient and hungry. So she didn’t suggest they find a nice place in one of the parks to sit for a while, but instead followed her through the narrow alleys of the old city center in search of a promising restaurant. They agreed to skip a tavern near the harbor that was stuffed with muscular sailors and smelled of cheap beer and vomit, and with a shared smile skipped the fancy restaurant just off Plaza de la Libertad which had a maître d’ in a tuxedo standing outside the front door. Eventually, they decided for a small restaurant in the ground floor of a narrow old colonial building in an alley between the plaza and the harbor district. It was frequented by a number of locals, which they took as a good sign. The waitress gave them a table for two in a cozy booth as far away from the kitchen doors as was possible in the small room, lighted the two candles on the table, and handed them two menus. Twilight was curiously reading through the mostly rather exotic dishes when she heard a thought from Rainbow – an inarticulate, frustrated groan. She looked up and saw her friend’s desperate look as she paged through the menu. “Little help here?” she asked. “I don’t even know what half of these things are!” Twilight bowed over the table and began pointing at dishes and translating their descriptions, making good use of Rosetta’s extensive knowledge of the Alpacan language. Rainbow insisted on reading along with Twilight, with the effect of their heads almost bumping together a few times. Whenever she read out something the pegasus found so exotic that she started laughing, she could feel the cyan mare’s head brushing against her mane, a curious, but not unpleasant sensation. They finally decided to share a salad with passion fruit and limes and have a selection of starters to go with the salad instead of a full menu. They picked some spits of grilled potato bits with coconut, rolled up banana leaves filled with bits of pineapple and mild chili peppers, and, following a suggestion by Twilight, orchid flowers filled with blanched seaweed. Rainbow furrowed her brow at this last one, but decided she would not chicken in front of Twilight. “May I recommend our pomegranate mead?” the waitress, a young black alpaca mare, asked as she took their order. “My grandma makes it herself, and it is the most delicious drink you can find in all Neighcaragua.” Twilight smiled at her enthusiasm and shot a questioning glance at Rainbow, who nodded enthusiastically, before she ordered a bottle of pomegranate mead. For a few moments, they just sat in companionable silence as they waited for their drinks, which arrived soon. “Wow!” exclaimed Rainbow after she had taken the first sip of the mead. “This stuff is amazing! It’s almost better than Applejack’s cider!” Excited, she took off from her chair and did a quick loop. Twilight set down her glass and wholeheartedly agreed. “Yes, we made a good choice here, I think.” She took another sip. “So, how do you like our adventure so far?” she asked idly. Rainbow giggled. “Well, not much of an adventure going on so far. But it’s nice being out and about for a change. It’s like vacation.” “It really is, right?” Twilight agreed. “It’s almost a shame we don’t have more time here. There are quite a few sights to see in Marenagua, and I’d really like to show them to you. There’s the old Captaincy Office that dates back to the fifth century and now houses a museum of the colonial history of Marenagua, and an excavation site just out of town where they are digging out an ancient Donkan temple, and – what?” Rainbow was shaking with barely suppressed laughter. “Erm, Twi, you do realize I’m still not an egghead, right?” Rainbow asked, smirking. When Twilight pouted, she quickly added, “Aw, don’t give me that look. It’s actually pretty cool that you get so excited about this kind of stuff. Kinda makes me want to let you show me all these things.” She leaned in over the table and added in a whisper, “Don’t tell anypony I said that.” Twilight could feel Rainbow’s breath on her muzzle, and in the soft candle light her eyes appeared very big and dark. She laughed involuntarily. “Well, thanks, I guess. But that’s easy enough to say for you, since we don’t have the time to go sightseeing anyway.” “You say I’m not being serious? Tell you what, Twi – when we’re done in Malatierra, we come back here and spend a day sightseeing. You’ll be my guide, and I swear, I’ll listen to all the facts you have about this place”, Rainbow offered emphatically. “But you better make it awesome. I don’t wanna get bored to death!” Twilight giggled at the earnestness of her friend. “It’s a deal”, she agreed. Suddenly she frowned. “Hmm, Rainbow, you are aware that we are still inside a Daring Do novel, right? Once we’re done with the story, this here – “, she made an all-encompassing motion with her hoof, “ – this here will end, and we’ll be back in Ponyville.” “Oh, ponyfeathers”, Rainbow said dejectedly, her ears drooping. Before they had time to indulge in any negative feelings the prospect of this trip having a very definitive end might bring, the waitress returned to their table and put down a couple of plates. Twilight noticed that her glass was already empty; apparently she had drunk the whole glass while they were talking; and apparently so had Rainbow. She grabbed the bottle in her magic and refilled both their glasses, while the waitress also added a basket of bread and some napkins. “If you need anything else, just let me know”, she said with a friendly smile before she vanished again. Without hesitation, Rainbow dug into the food. The starter plates were arranged beautifully, with tropical flowers and star fruits for decoration, but the pegasus didn’t even seem to notice as she wolfed down a rolled banana leaf. She grinned at Twilight with a full mouth. “Mhmm, thapvv greap!” she mumbled happily. Twilight giggled at her friend’s complete lack of eating manners and started with a filled orchid flower. It was delicious; unlike everything the Equestrian cuisine had to offer, and unlike anything she had ever tried before. She quietly asked for Applejack’s pardon because she enjoyed the food so much, and tried the passion fruit salad. Unsurprisingly, it was delightful as well. For several minutes, they ate in happy digestive silence, only interrupted by the occasional pleased moan when they tried a new dish. Only when there was just one grilled potato spit left, they suddenly engaged in a staring match over the delicacy. Eventually, Twilight gave in with a chuckle and pushed the plate to Rainbow Dash. “You take it. I have to watch my figure”, she added jokingly. “You’re kidding, right?” Rainbow retorted, flabbergasted. “For an egghead you’re in great shape. I mean, your shape is… erm, and since you don’t exercise that much…erm… you know…” She trailed off, blushing violently. Twilight suddenly found the table’s surface exceedingly interesting and turned her gaze down, her cheeks flushing as well. After some moments of awkward silence, they both regained their composure. Twilight took the bottle of pomegranate mead and found that it was full to the brim; apparently the waitress had silently replaced the empty bottle. She shrugged and refilled their glasses, not noting that her aim was a little bit shaky already. Then she leaned back and watched the cyan pegasus eating the last potato spit. The candles were halfway burnt down, and the restaurant had emptied noticeably. After finishing the meal, Rainbow became aware of Twilight watching her, and looked back at her with a quizzical gaze. Again, Twilight realized how velvety and deep Rainbow’s eyes were in the soft glow of the candle. She felt like she could get lost in these magenta eyes… Rainbow frantically wiped her muzzle with her hoof. “Did I get it?” “Huh?” Twilight replied with utmost eloquence. “I had something in my face, wasn’t that why you were staring at me? Is it gone?” “Erm, yeah, it’s all gone”, Twilight replied with a slight blush. Before the situation could take a swing towards awkward, the waitress reappeared at their table and began collecting the empty plates. “Was everything satisfactory?” she asked. Both ponies nodded in enthusiastic affirmation. “Would you like some dessert, or a coffee?” Twilight and Rainbow exchanged a look and silently agreed. “No, thank you”, Twilight answered the waitress. “It was delicious, but I don’t think we can fit anything more. Could you bring us the bill, please?” The waitress nodded and vanished again to get the bill. When she returned, Rainbow took the bill without hesitation. Twilight wanted to protest, but Rainbow didn’t let her get a word in. “It’s fine, Twi. The department of archeology is paying for the trip expenses anyway, so don’t worry.” She grinned. “Look at me, I’m a professor now. I’m an egghead just like you!” She placed a pile of bits on the table, and they both got up. “Professor Rainbow Dash”, Twilight giggled as they walked out of the restaurant. “How very becoming to you!” The alley was dark now, with intermittent isles of light surrounding the street lights, and it was almost empty compared to earlier. They stopped for a moment outside the restaurant to take in the fresh air, and Twilight involuntarily swayed against Rainbow Dash. “Whoa, Twi, you alright?” the pegasus asked and put a wing around Twilight’s withers to support her. Twilight shook her head as if to clear it. Rainbow suddenly giggled. “Twi, are you drunk?” she asked with a broad grin. “I’m not – “, Twilight started to protest, but she stopped herself. “Maybe I am a little tipsy.” She giggled. Rainbow laughed. “No worries, Twi”, she reassured the lavender unicorn. “It happens. Now let’s get you to bed, and tomorrow you’ll be fine again. Can you walk?” “I’m just a little tipsy, not out of control hammered!” Twilight replied with a smirk. “You just stay there by my side, just to be safe.” She leaned in against her friend and enjoyed the warmth of the other pony in the rather cool night air. Rainbow chortled, which made Twilight’s whole body shake, and pulled her a little tighter into her wing as they set off to their hotel. They walked through the now quiet and dark streets of Marenagua. Some bars lining the plaza were still open, and cheerful music sounded across the square. Several groups of ponies and alpacas made their ways home or to the next bar. The hotel’s bell boy greeted them politely, and they made their way upstairs to their room. Just in front of their door, Twilight suddenly stopped, causing Rainbow to stop as well. She looked at her friend questioningly. “You know”, Twilight said in a low, slightly raspy voice, “this was a way better date than just some old milkshakes”, and gave the surprised pegasus a quick peck on the muzzle, before she quickly opened the door with her magic and stepped inside. Rainbow Dash stood outside the room for another couple of seconds, flabbergasted, and tried to grasp what just had happened. Eventually, she followed Twilight inside with flushed cheeks and a broad giddy smile on her face; a smile which quickly turned into a fit of silent giggles when she saw the unicorn sprawled on her bed, snoring softly. “Oh Twi”, she whispered to herself and lay down too.
Chapter 5Chapter 5 Until they arrived at the harbor and started looking for the Sea Stallion, Twilight didn’t speak much the next morning. She had a very slight hangover, but even worse, she of course remembered everything about last night, including that incredibly stupid… thing… she had done right before going to bed. Flirting with Rainbow Dash? What had she been thinking? It didn’t help that Rainbow Dash had been making fun of her ever since she had discovered that Twilight was not only a little hung over, but also quite embarrassed by the way last night had ended. Twilight’s reactions had remained monosyllabic, even though, between two fits of laughter, Rainbow had assured the mortified unicorn that it was no big deal. Not that she found Rainbow Dash unattractive, no, in fact, the athletic pegasus was rather – With an annoyed groan she choked off this train of thought. “Just drop it, ok?” she heard Rainbow’s telepathic message. The smirk in her voice was impossible to miss, even though she was hovering in front of Twilight. “It’s completely normal to lose control in the presence of The Rainbow Dash!” “Very funny”, Twilight replied. “Let’s just find the boat.” “Come on, Twi”, Rainbow insisted. “It’s no big deal. It’s just part of the story.” Twilight just reacted with another exasperated groan, but continued looking around, trying to push back the embarrassment with some success. Rainbow was right – this was just a story, and if Rainbow was cool with it, then she could pull herself together too. Still she mused about Rainbow’s last statement. It made sense in a very confusing meta-narrative way, she assumed. The whole point of this story was, as far as she knew, to prove the validity of a romance between Daring Do and Rosetta, so there had to be such a romance between the two characters in the first place. A little flirtation was probably just what the story required at this point. Rainbow sure enough didn’t seem to be upset about last night. Reassured that she hadn’t crossed any boundaries and had only done what was required, she pushed her worries away and looked around. The harbor was located on the banks of the river, a little upstream from the river mound. The quay was paved and offered enough space for around a dozen bigger ships, and several more lay at anchor in the middle of the river which here, just off the mound, was several hundred meters wide. A bunch of smaller vessels of seaweed farmers and pearl divers were bustling about in between. The quay itself was lined with a couple of big warehouses and several shady taverns like the one they had skipped the night before. Ponies and alpacas were busy carrying around boxes and sacks and rolling barrels from and to the moored ships. A big wooden crane was lifting a large bundle of boxes, wrapped in a strong net, from the deck of a steam boat. In between all of the busy dock workers, ponies were selling foods in a plethora of stands and booths, sometimes even just a small grill behind a box serving as a counter. “Ugh, how do you even find a ship in this mess?” Twilight groaned. “Easy peasy”, Rainbow boasted, and before Twilight could so much as answer, she shot up in the air and began darting from one ship to the next. It took less than a minute before she found it and told Twilight, “Last ship upstream.” Twilight set herself in motion, following the rainbow-colored trail her friend was leaving dangerously low above the ships’ masts and superstructures. She smiled at the intricate patterns the pegasus flew – Twilight thought she recognized a Double Inverted Wing-Flip. Flying was Rainbow Dash’s life, and ever since they had started their adventure, she hadn’t gotten to it quite a lot. And even though, according to the manual, only one hour had passed so far, they had in fact spent almost a day in Marenagua already – inside the story it felt completely real. The different smells of foods were enticing; despite the breakfast they had had at the hotel. Thanks to her being completely mortified, it hadn’t been very enjoyable, and she probably hadn’t eaten quite enough. She levitated some bits out of her saddle bags and bought a spit of deep-fried battered pieces of banana and pineapple for each of them. When she reached the ship Rainbow had indicated, she found the pegasus hovering lazily above the gangway. She handed her friend one of the pineapple-banana spits, and they took some minutes to eat them in companionable silence. Twilight examined the ship. It was a steam boat and about thirty meters long. The hull was made from metal and painted in patches of all kinds of shades of brown, olive and rusty red. The cabin in the rear part of the deck had once been white, but the paintjob was almost as patchy as the hull’s. The black chimney was puffing clouds of brown smoke into the air. She exchanged a doubtful glance with Rainbow Dash. “Can I help you, señoritas?” a brown stallion with a dark olive mane, standing on the gangway, asked them, almost grunting. He looked bulky and weathered and wore a captain’s hat. “Hope so”, Rainbow Dash replied. “We’re looking for a captain Flew Ho. That you?” “I’m Capitán Flujo”, the stallion confirmed. “Who are you?” “Daring Do, world famous adventurer and archeologist. And my assistant, Rosetta Sparkle. We’re travelling with you.” “Ah. Good. We were waiting for you. We are ready to cast off. Follow me, I’ll show you around.” He beckoned them onto the ship and led them into the cabin. While walking, he yelled at nopony in particular, “Cast off!” A bell rang in response to his order. The captain showed them their cabin and the mess hall and then left them alone. Not really knowing what to do, they found a spot near the bow where they wouldn’t be in everypony’s way and settled down next to the railing. Slowly the banks moved past them. So close to the city of Marenagua, the land was still fairly cultivated. Along the river, a broad strip of jungle had been cleared, and a bunch of farms were scattered over the area. The farm buildings mostly were solitary large manors with additional subsidiary buildings, surrounded by orchards and plantations. Twilight recognized pineapples, bananas, avocadoes, and coconut palms, but there was also a huge variety of other crop she didn’t know. She made a mental note to read up on Neighcaraguan agriculture. Workers were busy tending the fields, and most of them waved at the ship as it passed by. Not long and the strip of cleared land became thinner and the manor houses sparser and also simpler until they were only simple log houses. It was obvious that these farms had been established more recently. Their fields were smaller, and more time-intensive crops such as avocadoes and coconuts were missing. About an hour after they had cast off they sailed past the last farm on the river banks. The jungle crept back to the water, with the canopy projecting far above the river and air roots looming out of the shallow water near the banks. They saw the motions of a lot of wildlife in the branches and under the trees, but could not discern individual animals. Logs were floating in the river – or at least that was what they thought until one of those logs suddenly propelled itself out of the water to snap at a small cat-like animal just as it was about to drink. They gulped and shared a look – crocodiles! Unconsciously they scooted a few paces further back from the railing. As the sun rose higher in the sky, it got hotter and hotter. The river and the jungle seemed to be steaming, and the humidity was very oppressive. Mosquitoes as big as a filly’s hoof circled them, and they had to constantly wave their tails to try and keep them at bay. They stayed put until lunch, chatting idly about this and that. The jungle, while interesting and exotic at first, quickly turned into a monotonous green mass that was rather tiring to look at. Rainbow Dash took off for a quick flying exercise, antsy after so much time spent sitting still, and Twilight took the opportunity to have a look at the contents of her – or Rosetta’s – saddlebags. She found a promising book about the ancient high cultures of Neighcaragua and put it aside for later reading. There was also a pith helmet such as Daring Do’s which would come in handy for exploring ancient ruins, a lantern, a notebook with a pencil, a topographic map of the region around the Rio Marenagua and, surprisingly, a paperback romance novel. Apparently Rosetta had interests beyond her scholarly life. With slight embarrassment, Twilight realized that she had read the novel in question. Burying the cheesy book deep in her bags, she instead turned to the history book. When they returned to their spot after having tea, the captain joined them at the railing. He scanned the jungle ahead, and suddenly, as the mound of a tributary came in sight, he spat into the water and growled, “Malditos chivos.” “Goats?” Twilight repeated in surprise. “What are goats doing here?” Rainbow’s head snapped around as she focused on the captain; she looked alarmed. Which was hardly surprising, as she had had a few encounters with a certain goat Hauptmann who had tried to snatch invaluable artifacts for the questionable goals of the Goat Empire – no, wait, Daring Do had had these encounters, and Rainbow had read about them. Knowing just who was who could get a little confusing. As if to confirm her assumption, the captain started to explain, “They are after the old temples and ruins of the ancient alpacas that lived here. Want to steal our heritage and bring it to their Empire.” He spat in the river again. “I may not be an alpaca, but I’m Neighcaraguan nonetheless. This is our country, and our cultural heritage, and we shouldn’t sell out to those goats.” “But how can they even do that?” Twilight asked. “I mean, they can hardly just come here and start digging for artifacts, can they?” “If only that were true”, the captain said. “They bribed some officials, and they leased this river to them, so this is now territory of the Goat Empire. They have armed soldiers there, and they get really nasty when they find people trespassing, or so I’ve heard.” He spat in the water a third time. “If it were for me to decide, I’d kick them out of the country, along with their arrogant attitude and their shiny boots and all.” “Yeah, I’m with you, captain”, Rainbow agreed. “All the goats I’ve met were mego… mangalo… Twi, what’s that word again?” “Megalomaniac”, Twilight helped her out, chuckling. “Yes, Hauptmann Hornmeyer is more than just a little crazy. We had some run-ins”, she added for the captain. “We are not on the friendliest terms with the Empire.” “Nopony in their right mind should be”, the captain mumbled. “I have to return to the bridge.” He left them. Twilight stared at the river the goats had taken possession of. As unbelievable as it was, there was the black, white, and red flag of the Goat Empire hanging limply from a flagpole next to the river banks. It looked very foreign as it slowly floated past them. “You really brought Hornmeyer into this?” Twilight finally asked, unnecessarily waiting until the captain was out of earshot. “He’s the best villain”, Rainbow explained. “He’s so mean, and he always comes with a gazillion minions… and when he took me hostage and brought me to Black Forest Castle in ‘Daring Do and The Golden Cup of the Knight Errand’, that was one of my favorite parts of the whole series.” “Daring Do”, Twilight corrected her. “They abducted Daring Do, not you.” “Yeah, yeah, whatever”, she smirked. “It’s basically the same anyway, ain’t it?” Rainbow was probably right, Twilight mused. For the time being, Rainbow was Daring Do. Everypony in this, this world, for lack of a better word, addressed her as such. And she, Twilight, was Rosetta just the same way as she was herself. Which meant – She gasped. If she was Rosetta, and if Rainbow was Daring Do, and if Rosetta and Daring Do were set up to end up in some sort of romantic relationship, that meant she, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash would – Carefully holding the thought at bay, she looked at the pegasus rested next to her from the corner of her eye, almost expecting that she had come to the same conclusion just now. But Rainbow just looked idly at the jungle that was floating by. The idea scared her a little. She was woefully underprepared for this kind of situation. Her own romantic experiences were limited to the odd filly crush back in school. And of course, being on a boat in the middle of a jungle in the middle of a book meant she didn’t have easy access to any reference material either. On the other hoof, after all, this was a book, and as such a somewhat safe environment. Judging from the unexpected knowledge she possessed about Neighcaraguan culture as well as the specifics of their task here, there was a good chance she’d know… know… know what exactly? Know what to do, apparently. Or know what to know, for that matter. She smiled. The anxiety that had shortly overcome her was now replaced by excited anticipation. She suddenly couldn’t wait for her and Rainbow Dash to, well… hit it off. *** After a night in the stuffy and hot cabin, they reached Malatierra the next morning right after breakfast. The town was clearly visible from afar, thanks to the large headframe that towered above it. When they moored at the wooden pier that protruded far into the river, they were greeted by a huge crowd of harbor workers who immediately began unloading the ship. The captain bade them goodbye and reminded them that he’d be back to Malatierra in a few days, and then they found themselves on dry land at the end of the pier. They decided to find their hotel first, and a miner pointed them in the right direction. ‘Hotel’ was probably too big a word for the place; the ground floor was taken up by a saloon from which resonated loud honkytonk music and the hoarse voices of drinking workers, despite the early time of the day. A small sign indicated open guestrooms. As they entered, they earned a few curious looks from the various groups of pony and alpaca workers grouped around the tables. An old alpaca was hammering on a piano as if it had insulted his heritage, and a mare in a flouncy dress was dancing a can-can on a small stage. And at the bar were seated a group of – “Goats!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in utter surprise. The four goats turned around at once and glared at the two mares. They were all wearing the armbands of the Goat Empire’s military, but no uniforms, except for one goat wearing a beret. He slowly rose to his hooves. “Got a problem viz zat, mein Fräulein?” he asked with a thick goat accent. Suddenly the saloon was quiet, workers, musician, dancer and the barkeep eagerly watching what was going on with the two newcomers. With slow, menacing paces the goat walked towards the two mares. His comrades stood up as well and followed a few paces behind him. “I know who you are”, the leader said threateningly. “You are zat pegasus who keeps interfering viz zee Empire’s operations. Hauptmann Hornmeyer told us to vatch out for you.” He gave them a mean grin. “Looks like today is our Glückstag!” The other goats sneered and smirked in anticipation. “Oh yeah?” Rainbow shot back at them, wings and temper flaring up. “I’ma buck you in your Glückstag so hard you’ll fly back to your beloved Empire!” She pawed the floor with her hoof. “Bring it on!” Twilight, although worried at the prospect of a physical fight, also lowered her head menacingly. She was determined to have Rainbow’s back against these guys. The goats slowly closed in on them, the three other soldiers fanning out behind their leader in an attempt to flank them. Rainbow snorted aggressively. “Fillies, gentlegoats!” a cultivated voice suddenly shouted from behind Twilight and Rainbow. “Please, don’t let’s argue, okay? There really is no need for physical violence!” “Stay out of zis, Silver”, the goat leader retorted to the newcomer, not lifting his gaze from Rainbow Dash. “Zis is none of your business.” “It is my business to keep order in this town, and that includes you”, another voice growled from behind them. “I will not tolerate you causing havoc in this saloon, Empire or not.” The goat leader halted, quickly followed suit by his underlings. “Now sit down, have another beer on the house, and drop it, Feldwebel.” Obviously reluctant, the goats returned to their seats, the Feldwebel never turning away his gaze from Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Only when the goats were seated again at the bar, the two ponies turned around to see who the newcomers were, and they experienced their second surprise within a few minutes. “Manehattan Silver!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “What the hay are you doing here?” “Keeping you from trouble, Do, it seems”, he chuckled. “Allow me to introduce, this is foreman Pico, he’s in charge of pretty much everything in this town. And who would be your charming companion?” Before Twilight could so much as squeak in protest, he had grabbed one of her hooves and planted a kiss on her fetlock. “I’m Tw… Rosetta Sparkle”, she stuttered. “Daring Do’s assistant.” “Well, it is my unadulterated pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Sparkle”, he assured in a smooth voice, looking into her eyes. For a second, Twilight found it hard to turn away. The foreman pointedly cleared his throat. “Mind explaining what this was all about?” he asked. “What are you doing here?” Twilight quickly levitated the letter from Copper Star out of her saddlebags and presented it to the foreman who gave it a cursory read. “So the ministry sent you to investigate the ruins. Qué curioso.” “What a coincidence!” Manehattan Silver exclaimed. “As it happens, DeBridles, the mining company that’s running this town, hired me to do exactly the same. It’s really a small world, isn’t it?” “And what was this argument about?” Pico insisted, ignoring Manehattan Silver, just as Twilight was about to answer. “It vaz a misunderstanding”, the Feldwebel called over from his place at the bar. “Vun vord gave zee uzzer, temperaments rose up, you know how zeese zings happen.” He raised his glass to Rainbow Dash, his eyes cold as ice. “All forgotten, nicht wahr, mein Fräulein?” Rainbow was apparently about to explode at him again, so Twilight put a calming hoof on her shoulder. The pegasus reluctantly gritted her teeth and nodded slowly. “All forgotten.” “Alright. Make sure this doesn’t happen again”, the foreman added, turning to Rainbow Dash and Twilight. “Now. What do we do with you?“ “Foreman, if I may?” Manehattan Silver turned to him. “As it seems, my esteemed colleague is on the same mission as I am, and as you know, I was about to set out for a first examination of the ruins in question. Why don’t the two ladies just join me?” “Are you sure this is such a good idea?” the foreman asked back suspiciously. “After all, you were brought in by the company, whereas these two –“ Manehattan Silver didn’t let him finish. “Miss Do is a distinguished archeologist. If anything, it will be more than beneficial to have her on board. I really want her and her assistant to join me”, he quickly explained the foreman, giving him a sharp look. The foreman stared back at the brown stallion and furrowed his brow. He shrugged. “Whatever you do, just don’t get in the way of my workers.” He turned to leave. “Well, you know the way. I have a mine to run.” “Wait!” Twilight stopped him before he could leave. “We’re supposed to meet a Señor de Cuarzo of the ministry first!” “Don’t worry”, Pico said dismissively. “I’ll let him know you’re here.” With that he left. “Well, I guess that has to be enough”, Twilight said, unsure of what to make of that scene. “Wonderful. Are you staying in one of the guestrooms here?” Manehattan Silver asked them. As they nodded, he continued, “Well then, why don’t you quickly get settled and meet me down here afterwards, and then we can be on our way?” “Sure”, Rainbow Dash agreed. There was only one thing bothering Twilight. “Was he just flirting with me?” she asked with consternation as they trotted towards the stairs. “Don’t think too much of it, Twi”, Rainbow reassured her. “When he first met Daring, he acted pretty much the same, remember?” “I don’t know. I somehow suddenly don’t like him too much. He was… sleazy?” Rainbow just chuckled at that. “Did you write him like that on purpose?” “Dunno”, the pegasus happily confessed. “But he’s been a jerk all along.”
Chapter 6Chapter 6 They just took a quick look at their rooms before they returned downstairs. Twilight decided to simply take her saddlebags along with her, as most of the things inside could potentially be useful for an expedition into ancient ruins. She put on the pith helmet, earning her a lopsided grin from Rainbow Dash. Manehattan Silver also got up and put on his fedora as well as a saddlebag. “Are you ready, ladies?” “Wait, so we’re just walking into the jungle? What if we get lost?” Twilight asked, slightly worried. “Can you at least show us where we’re going on the map?” “Don’t worry, Miss Sparkle”, Manehattan Silver reassured her with a charming smile. “I’m sure that between Do here and me you are in more than capable hooves. And it’s just a short walk anyway.” Twilight forced herself to smile back at him, but inside she cringed at his patronizing attitude. She remembered finding him quite attractive when he had first been introduced in the Daring Do series, but for some reason, now he only seemed sleazy and rather unpleasant. But since he and Rainbow were already leaving the bar, she had to postpone these thoughts and catch up with the others instead. “So what’s the deal with those goats?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What are Hornmeyer’s minions doing here?” “Ah, that’s a most unfortunate story”, Manehattan Silver explained almost apologetically. “The Goat Empire has struck a deal with the local government, and apparently they have also contacted DeBridles and are trying to get their hooves on the old ruins in this area. You see, this land here, and also the spot where they found the ruins, is contracted to DeBridles on a mining concession, and they can legally exploit it in any way they want.” “And are DeBridles going to give them access?” Twilight wanted to know. The stallion shrugged. “I really don’t know. Foreman Pico seems like a reasonable pony, but out here things can be a bit, well, unclear. Maybe they have already bought somepony, I don’t know. At least nopony seems to mind them walking around in town.” “They have a base nearby, or so we’ve heard”, Twilight mused. “Interesting. That would be an explanation.” Manehattan Silver led them out of the town and into a jungle. A narrow footpath snaked through the impenetrable green of the rainforest, apparently only cleared a short while ago. It was barely wide enough for one pony. This close to the underwood, the noise of the various wildlife in the jungle was almost deafening and the sheer foreignness of the screams, the cries, and the hoots made Twilight shiver a bit. She made another mental note to study up on Neighcaraguan fauna so she’d at least be able to tell which one of these cries originated from a vicious predator. The “short walk” Manehattan Silver had promised turned out to be a three-hour hike. Before long, Twilight’s coat was soaked in sweat due to the immense heat and oppressive humidity. Rainbow and Manehattan Silver, both better athletes than Twilight, seemed much less fazed by the strenuousness. And she had also insisted on taking the stupid saddlebags which seemed to get heavier by the minute. Rainbow somehow seemed to notice and looked back to give her a sympathetic smile. Finally the path opened up into a clearing, or rather an area of less dense underwood. In the center of the clearing a small, irregular bump rose. Only on second glance Twilight realized that it wasn’t just a hill or some jungle tree that had fallen over, but in fact the topmost remains of a stone structure. The visible masonry was almost crumbled beyond recognition, except that the arrangement still looked too regular to be a natural occurrence. Suddenly Rainbow Dash took off and shot up into the dense canopy. She came back to the ground only seconds later and offered Twilight a bite from a freshly picked mango which the unicorn accepted with a grateful smile. “Thanks. What was that all about?” “Just needed to stretch my wings before we go in there. It’s not like caves make me nervous or something.” Twilight giggled. In the meantime, Manehattan Silver had progressed to the ruins and was peeking inside, holding a lantern in his mouth. He quickly turned his head to the two mares and gestured them to catch up. Almost hidden between a thicket of bushes and vines, a few remains of walls made from surprisingly regular brown building blocks were visible. Under the dense brush, a dark passageway opened, leading down between the ancient masonry. The orange light of Manehattan Silver’s lamp didn’t reach further into the darkness than a few paces. “Here it is”, he announced unnecessarily. “Do you have an extra light by any chance?” Shooting him an impatient look, Twilight lit up her horn, casting the clearing in bright purple light. “Would that be enough?” she asked sweetly. Manahattan Silver just smiled at her and nodded. “Then follow me”, he said and began crouching into the narrow entrance. Twilight noticed that Rainbow did two nervous somersaults, and gave her an encouraging pat on the withers. “You know, it’s really fine if the cave is big enough to quickly take wing.” They squeezed into the small opening and found themselves in a narrow corridor which led downwards in a fairly steep angle. Vines and mosses grew along the walls. The draft coming from below was cool and damp and didn’t smell very good, but at least it was breathable. After one or two seemingly endless minutes in the monotonous tunnel it suddenly returned to a horizontal orientation and widened enough so that two ponies could walk abreast – or so that one pegasus could stretch her wings and let out a satisfied sigh. Just like the entrance tunnel, this one was square and completely barren, the walls featuring the same uniform brown masonry. Only instead of vines there were now little pale mushrooms growing in the corners. Not a long time later, they reached a T-junction. Manehattan Silver took some time to shine his lamp into both directions. “Hmm. If this here is any similar to the Great Temple of Teneightitlan, then there should be a fake burial chamber to the right, and the sanctuary should be to the left.” Thanks to her newly gained knowledge about Alpacan culture, Twilight knew that Manehattan Silver was right. Although – “But if this is structured like the Tomb of Coltláuac, it would mean that the way to the right leads us to the fake burial chamber, behind which we would find the real burial chamber, while the left tunnel will lead us into a water pit, or worse.” If she was completely honest with herself, she didn’t have any reason to assume these ruins would rather follow the design of the Tomb of Coltláulac than that of the Great Temple. There was just something about Manehattan Silver that provoked her to argue back. “Let’s go right first”, Rainbow Dash decided and immediately turned into the corridor. Manehattan Silver and Twilight followed; the latter feeling unreasonably giddy because Rainbow had sided with her. Only a few dozen paces later the tunnel opened into a big rectangular chamber with an arched ceiling, thus proving that this structure was different from both the Great Temple and the Tomb. The room was barren and empty except for some mushrooms and spider webs. Unlike the corridor whose floor had consisted of the same building block as the walls, the room’s floor was covered in irregular stone tiles, many of which were cracked. On the opposite end, a doorway led way into the next room. They gave the walls only a cursory glance as they trotted through the vault, Rainbow hovering in front, Manehattan Silver taking the back. Behind the doorway there was another room, for all they could tell exactly the same as the one before, with the same doorway at the opposing end. Rainbow Dash took the lead and hovered through the doorway into the next room which, for all intents and purposes, looked like an exact replica of the room they were in. She stopped right above the threshold and closely examined the floor tile right in front of the threshold. Not looking up, she held out a hoof to stop Twilight and Manehattan Silver from stepping onto the tile. “That’s a trap”, she said with unwavering confidence. Twilight looked at the tile more closely and noticed that it protruded from the ground by the tiniest margin. It was conveniently not cracked and looked very innocent. “Good job on finding this. You’ve read way too many Daring Do novels”, Twilight joked. “Hah! I’m just that awesome! What do you think happens when you step on them?” the pegasus asked. “Collapsing ceiling? Poisoned darts?” “I really don’t want to find out”, Twilight said resolutely and jumped across the tile. Manehattan Silver followed them into the next room. The next room was almost the same as the two before. Unlike the others though, on both sides the room was lined by little alcoves which were framed by statues of stylized upright-standing crocodiles. In their claws they held long-dead torches. The tile in front of the threshold to the next room was cracked in several places. Rainbow carefully hovered through the archway and closely examined the first tile in the next room while Twilight extended her head through the passageway to give her light. The tile in question was not cracked either, and Rainbow Dash just pointed her hoof at it. Twilight nodded, took a few steps back and leapt over the tile, closely followed by Manehattan Silver. The air had grown damper, and now they could hear the sound of water somewhere ahead. More mushrooms than ever were growing in the corners. The next room was longer, almost another corridor, and they couldn’t see its end in the light of Manehattan Silver’s lantern and Twilight’s horn. After several dozen paces they could see another archway. The water they heard had to be behind it. Carefully watching the floor tiles they approached the archway. Rainbow took the lead and flew into the next room carefully. Twilight craned her neck through the passageway and saw a room unlike any room in any of the known ancient alpacas’ ruins. The room was actually more of a pit. It was almost round. Its ceiling was a few meters above them, and it extended far into the depths. A steep ramp lined by a chest-high wall descended into the pit. It looked like, unlike the other parts of the temple, it had been carved out of the bedrock. In the center there was a waterfall disappearing in the abyss. “I’ll have a look what’s down there”, Rainbow said. “Gimme the lamp, Silver!” The stallion handed her the lamp, and the pegasus flew into the darkness, surrounded by a small sphere of yellow light, leaving the other two ponies outside the passageway. “There’s another tunnel down here! You can just walk there on that ramp!” Rainbow yelled from below after a few seconds. Manehattan Silver and Twilight stepped through the archway, and the unicorn just had time to think ‘What if there is a trap?’, when she felt rather than heard a click underneath her hooves. Startled, she jumped forward onto the top part of the ramp, the low wall saving her from falling down. Manehattan Silver followed her and looked around suspiciously. “Did we –“ he began. Then suddenly the floor they were standing on sagged with a mighty jerk, strong enough to knock them off their hooves and make them tumble down the ramp like on a huge albeit rocky slide. Twilight desperately tried to hold onto something, but the walls and the ramp were too smooth to grab. As their wild ride went on, they were smashed into the walls of the ramp repeatedly, the two of them falling over each other not helping at all in trying to stop their descent. “Rainboooooooooow!” Twilight screamed. Rainbow heard Twilight’s panicked scream. She darted upwards to see what was going on and saw Twilight and Manehattan Silver rolling down the ramp like a pony avalanche. Not wasting any time, she flew back to the passageway, put down the lamp and held onto the doorframe with grim determination, waiting to catch her companions. When Manehattan Silver shot past her, she grabbed his hind leg and yelled, “Catch her!” praying he’d be quick enough. Another fierce tug told her that, thank Celestia, he had been quick enough. Twilight tried not to think about what waited for her at the end of this slide, when suddenly something yanked on her rear hoof with full force and brought her to a halt. Dazed by the countless times she’d crashed into the rock wall, she momentarily couldn’t see anything of her surroundings except for a trace of light. Then she was slowly dragged upwards. After a few moments she found herself being pulled through a passageway. Next to her Manehattan Silver was lying on the floor, breathing heavily. Rainbow Dash was sitting on the floor too and stared at her with big, worried eyes. Twilight started to speak, “Rainbow – “ but didn’t know how to continue. Still, that seemed to be enough for the pegasus as she jumped forward and pulled Twilight into a tight embrace. “Are you alright?” she asked.. “I’m okay”, Twilight replied, holding on to Rainbow for a moment longer. “Is anypony hurt?” Manehattan Silver asked. “That was quite a wild ride!” Before anypony could react, suddenly a large gush of water streamed past outside of their archway and down the ramp. The ponies quickly jumped away from the small amount that flowed into their tunnel. The water continued thundering past them. “Water, to make sure we’d be flushed down there even if we managed to stop somehow”, Twilight said with a strained voice. “Lovely.” “Hah, they didn’t count on the speed and awesome rescuing abilities of Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow boasted, still keeping one wing wrapped around Twilight. “Thank Celestia they didn’t”, Twilight agreed. Shakily she got back on her hooves. “Alright, let’s continue.” “That was still pretty close”, Manehattan Silver mumbled to himself. They continued down the corridor, leaving the roaring of the water behind. Not after long, they reached another doorway. Being extra careful after the pit trap, Twilight checked the threshold. There was again a suspicious tile on their side. “Look out here”, she mumbled and carefully jumped over it. The door gave way to another huge room, much wider than the corridor. The opposite wall was only barely visible even in Twilight’s magic light. A line of square columns ran around the room, each one seemingly ornate with intricately carved reliefs. In the center a pedestal rose from the ground on which lay a shiny item. “The sanctuary”, Twilight whispered. “The Golden Princess”, Manehattan Silver added. “Careful now.” “The floor between the columns”, Rainbow Dash immediately observed. The stones directly in between the columns protruded again, but luckily were small enough to just carefully step over. The pedestal was adorned by stone carvings as well, but their attention was immediately drawn to the shiny object on top of it. It was the golden statue of a rearing female alpaca wearing the traditional alpaca headdress whose hind legs were wrapped in the body of a large serpent that seemed to have feathers instead of scales. “Watch out, maybe the pedestal is rigged to the weight of the statue”, Manehattan Silver quietly advised. Twilight fought the urge to roll her eyes – that particular trap had already been used in Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone. Nonetheless, she scanned the pedestal closely – after all, the ancient alpacas had probably not been avid readers of Daring Do – but the plinth appeared solid and completely un-rigged. “I think it’s safe.” “Good”, Manehattan Silver said, stretching the word. “Give it to me.” “Wait a second”, Rainbow protested. “Why should we give it to you?” Something clicked. “Because I will shoot you if you don’t”, Manehattan Silver replied softly. Only now Twilight and Rainbow turned their gaze from the golden statuette and looked at Manehattan Silver. The earth pony held a revolver pointed at them and was slowly stepping away from the pedestal. “Sparkle, levitate it here, or your girlfriend dies.” “You – you – you traitorous bastard!” Rainbow yelled at him. “When we get outta here, I’m gonna kick your flank to Tartarus and back!” “Relax, Rainbow”, Twilight said with unease, afraid the aggressive pegasus might provoke Manehattan Silver to shoot. She levitated the statue over to the stallion who snatched it with his mouth and put it into his saddlebag. “So who bought you, Manehattan Silver? DeBridles?” “It is really none of your business”, the stallion replied, “but since you won’t get out of here anyway, there is no harm in telling you.” He had now reached the doorway and stopped just in front of the supposedly trapped tile. “I have started a very fruitful cooperation with the great Goat Empire. Hauptmann Hornmeyer has a strong interest in powerful artifacts, and I have a strong interest in getting paid by him. It is a deal where everypony wins. Well, except for you.” He shook his head and looked at them, an expression of insincere regret on his face. “I’ve always respected you, Do”, he went on. “You are almost as good an archeologist as I am, and I’ll give it to you, we had a lot of fun together on our past adventures. I didn’t mean you to get caught up in this, but you’re a liability, and I have to deliver this statue. So, well. Sorry, I guess. And farewell.” With that, he quickly stepped on the trapped tile and galloped away. There was an ominous cracking noise. Then the ceiling above the doorway collapsed, blocking the entrance under tons of rocks. The room started to shake violently and almost threw Twilight off her hooves. “That was the most clichéd villain speech ever!” she yelled after Manehattan Silver, almost more angry that he had got to have final say. Then the floor began to sink.
Chapter 7Chapter 7 The room was shaking fiercely as Twilight jumped off the floor tile that was falling down underneath her hooves. She could see that all across the room floor tiles were collapsing, and after mere seconds she felt the ground she was standing give out once more. Again she leapt up, landing on some tiles that were still stable. The whole room quaked violently, and a cascade of stones fell from the ceiling. “Twi!” Rainbow Dash shouted from above. “The altar! Quick!” Twilight looked up and saw that the pedestal the Golden Alpacan Princess had been on still seemed stable. Without waiting for the tile she was standing on to fall down as well, she took a deep breath and jumped, barely crossing the distance to the altar. She landed with her front legs on the edge and struggled to pull herself up as the violent shaking of the room ceased. Finally, she stood on the top of the pedestal and could watch the destruction of the sanctuary with wide unbelieving eyes as the dust started to settle. Almost the whole floor was gone. Only a thin line of stones between the columns remained intact. At the same time, the exit had been blocked by the cave-in – even though some rocks had just fallen down when the floor collapsed. She carefully looked down into the void around her and saw nothing but a bottomless black pit. Rainbow was hovering over her and looked at her worriedly. Twilight took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She cast a quick look at the ceiling, aware that a collapsing ceiling was pretty much a staple in trapped temples in a Daring Do novel, but for the time being its remains looked stable enough, which was at least a small relief. “Twi!” Rainbow shouted, “are you okay?” “I’m fine, Rainbow”, she calmed down her friend. 'But how do we get out of here', she didn’t add because she didn’t want to sound whiney. The situation was bad enough without one of them panicking. They had to get out of there! She desperately scanned the walls, searching for some kind of exit. A slight draft coming from below caught her attention. If there was a draft, it had to be going somewhere! And maybe that was an exit for the two ponies was well! She carefully licked her hoof and held it into the air. The air appeared to be moving towards the wall opposite of the destroyed exit. Staring intensively, Twilight realized that one of the big stone panels lining the walls, the one that was just opposite the entrance, had a large crack. Maybe, hopefully, that was a possible exit. “Rainbow!” she called out. “Can you buck that panel over there? That could be our way out.” “I will buck that thing into a thousand pieces!” She darted over to the panel, turned around and, giving Twilight a wink, she kicked the wall with all the force she could muster up. While it didn’t burst into a thousand pieces, she managed to break it in half along the preexisting crack, and both halves fell down into the bottomless pit. Behind the panel there was a dark passageway. “Woohoo!” Rainbow Dash cheered, triumphantly pumping her hooves in the air. “You found a way out! Lemme fly you over there!” “Thanks, Rainbow, but I’ll just teleport over there.” She closed her eyes and concentrated on the teleportation spell. Nothing happened. “Are you kidding me?” Twilight groaned in exasperation. “Rosetta can’t teleport? I guess I’m lucky then that at least she knows the light spell and some levitation!” Before she had time for more complaining though she once more found herself picked up by a pair of strong cyan hooves, and before she could protest, Rainbow Dash had already set her down in the passageway. In the light of her horn they saw that the tunnel was very much like the one that had led hem there, including the mushrooms. They couldn’t see its end. They didn’t have to walk for long. The tunnel eventually ended in another large room which unlike the sanctuary was completely empty. In the wall on the opposite end there was another doorway, hopefully leading to an exit. Rainbow Dash examined the doorway, carefully hovering above any suspicious floor tiles around the threshold. “Looks like this thing is going on forever”, she remarked. “You sure this is going somewhere, Twi?” “I sure hope so”, the unicorn replied. “It really sucks that jerk Silver has the Princess”, Rainbow mused grimly. “We should totally go after him when we’re outta here and get it back.” “I don’t think that’s such a good idea”, Twilight disagreed. “We’ll only get lost in the jungle, and I have no intention to almost fall to my death again in some deadly trap. We should continue to Malatierra and tell somepony about what happened.” “He stole the statue! We gotta get it back!” “But – “ Twilight tried to reply, but Rainbow interrupted her by hovering in front of the lavender unicorn and staring right into her eyes. “Twi, if we stop now, we’ve lost. I don’t lose! You know that!” “But it’s going to be dangerous! We don’t know the jungle! There could be goats out there to meet with Manehattan Silver, or worse things even! Going out there on a whim and hunting down Manehattan Silver is just reckless!” Twilight finally managed to object. “It is not reckless, it’s heroic! I can’t believe you’re such an egghead even inside a book!” Twilight just stared at her, mouth agape, trying to decide if she should be offended. She knew she was right – just running out in the jungle would be dangerous in all kinds of ways, and she didn’t like it one bit that Rainbow had called her an egghead. At the same time, she didn’t want to look like a coward in front of the pegasus. It was obvious that Rainbow was pushing her buttons – but it seemed to be working; she didn’t want her to think badly of her. Rainbow Dash brought her head even closer to Twilight’s and added, “And if we go home now, the story’s over! I don’t want it to end yet!” Not liking being called an egghead was one thing, but she disliked the idea of the story being over even more. Even though their adventure had turned out to be rather strenuous, stressful, and even dangerous at times, she didn’t want it to end yet. That was almost like not finishing a book, something she had not done since her second year in school. Besides, she wanted to know how the story ended. She wanted to know how it would all work out. Even if it was dangerous and foolish. And if that meant hunting down Manehatten Silver, then, well, she’d hunt down Manehattan Silver. After all, an invaluable artifact like the Golden Princess should not be in the hooves of the Goat Empire. And he had threatened Rainbow Dash. If she was completely honest with herself, Twilight had to admit that this was probably driving her mad the most. He had also called Rainbow Dash her girlfriend. That was a sentiment that brought forth a weird mix of emotions – a little anxiety mixed with quite a bit of anticipation. Rainbow Dash would become her girlfriend before this story ended! Unless the story ended right here and now. “So let’s do this already! Silver deserves some flank-kicking!”” the pegasus interrupted her thoughts with grim verve. Finally having reached a decision, Twilight agreed, “Okay. Let’s get him!” “Yeah!” Rainbow cheered and pumped her hoof in the air. “We’re gonna kick his flank!” She started moving into the next corridor. “Are you coming? Let’s check this place out!” Smiling at her friend’s determination, she followed Rainbow Dash through the passageway, still half-way caught up in her anticipation. Yes, she definitely wanted to know how this story ended. The tunnel led them into a wide and surprisingly high hallway that was guarded by statues, ponies in old-fashioned plate mail armor, wearing swords and shields, on the right, and alpacas with their traditional headdresses and armed with spears and blowpipes on the left. The ponies were all injured in some way, spears and arrows stuck in their armors and bodies, and the alpacas were viciously baring their teeth. “They must have built these immediately before the downfall of their empire”, Twilight whispered, impressed by the gruesome depictions. She continued narrating, “When the first ponies arrived in Neighcaragua, they were less than friendly towards the alpacas, who in turn didn’t want the newcomers on their sacred land. "There were a lot of fights and skirmishes. The alpacas were driven back further and further into the jungle, and the ponies razed their capital, Teneightitlan. Legend has it that the last High King of the alpacas, Manetezuma, tried to strike a bargain with the alpacas’ sun god, Trotathiu. In exchange for victory over the ponies, he sacrificed his own daughter and, in a horrible ritual, enshrined her soul in the Golden Alpacan Princess statue. Then, with his own hoof, he placed the statue in a secret temple. "Shortly thereafter, the last Alpacan army went to battle the ponies in the plains north of Marenagua. Confident in Trotathiu’s blessing, Manetezuma recklessly led the charge, armed with a golden spear. His loyal guards, clad in golden armor and absolutely fearless, were right behind him. They clashed into the spearheads of the pony army and killed lots and lots of pony soldiers, seemingly made invincible by the blessing of their god. "When the night fell, Manetezuma and most of the guards were still alive, but they found themselves surrounded. The ponies had defeated the entire alpaca army, and except for those who had fled, only the High King and his guards were left alive. The ponies offered them to surrender, but the High King wouldn’t listen. "He was imperturbable in his belief that he was blessed by his god and that the pony army could not defeat him. So he raised his golden spear, and he cried out the ancient war cry of the alpacas, and they charged.” She stopped, unsettled by her own story." “What happened?” Rainbow asked in a low voice. Apparently she was impressed by the story as well. “The ponies killed them all. That day, the Alpacan Empire ceased to exist. The surviving alpacas were treated rather gracefully by the ponies once they had made peace, but they had lost the reign over their land.” She swallowed. “They must have built these statues right before the battle, to express their confidence.” With a shimmering eyes, she raised a hoof and gently touched the statue of an alpaca warrior with a raised spear. A pegasus wing was softly wrapped around her withers. “Thanks”, she sniffled. “I’m not usually that unsettled by history.” She wiped her eye. “Then again, I never knew I knew this story. It must have come from Rosetta again.” Rainbow gave her a quick squeeze with her wing before releasing her. “Wow. That was a really cool story. That High King was reckless.” She smiled. “You know, you are a pretty awesome guide. The way you tell history, it kinda all comes to life. I never knew that old stuff was so interesting!” “Thanks”, Twilight giggled, still a little downbeat. “If you’re not careful, I’m getting you into egghead stuff!” “Yeah, yeah”, the pegasus replied. “If it’s as cool as that story, I won’t even mind. And most stuff is much more interesting anyway when you – “ “When I what?” “Nevermind.” She looked away and cleared her throat. “Ready to go on?” Twilight nodded, and they continued on down the long hallway lined by alpaca and pony warriors. It wasn’t long until they reached the end of the hallway. There had been a cave-in, and the rocks and dirt had toppled over the great statue of Manetezuma who had stood there on a pedestal. He now lay half-covered in stones, looking defeated. After the story of his last resolve, it was sad and oddly fitting to see him lie like this. Above the statue, where the rocks had fallen down, an opening was visible. The draft was stronger here; there was likely to be an exit up there. Twilight stretched out her neck in order to light as much of the cave above them as possible. It seemed big enough for a pony for walk through, and she could climb the stones like uneven stairs. “More stupid caves”, Rainbow Dash mumbled. “Yeah”, Twilight agreed. “I've had enough of them, too.” Rainbow offered Twilight a hoof as she started climbing up the rocks, which the unicorn gratefully accepted. Soon they found themselves in the cave that had collapsed into Manetezuma’s temple. The cave was narrow and not very high. The same mushrooms as in the ruins grew in the corners, and a couple of tree roots grew threw the walls that seemed to consist more of dirt than rocks. It continued in roughly the same direction as the hallway with the statues. The air was much damper up here than in the ruins. They trotted along, the cave leading up a shallow angle. Twilight noticed that the continuous walking was weighing her down. She was not the most athletic pony of all, and hour-long hikes were not her typical pastime. She stifled a yawn. “You okay, Twi?” Rainbow asked worriedly. “I’m fine”, the unicorn replied. “Just a little tired from all the walking.” “Wanna take a nap?” “Let’s get out of here first. I need some daylight.” They dragged themselves on. The cave was much less interesting than the ruined temple, and the strain of the past hours was more and more weighing down on them. When they started hearing the rushing of water up ahead, they hardly reacted. They just continued prodding on. As they turned around a corner, they suddenly found themselves in front of, or rather behind a huge waterfall. Through the rushing water they could make out pale daylight. Looking around, they found that their cave opened into a ravine, into which the waterfall was pouring from a source somewhere above them. Rainbow carefully flew around the side of the water to take a look outside. “It’s only like ten meters to the top, no biggie”, she reported back. “But how do I get up there?” Instead of an answer, Rainbow came flying back into the cave and crouched down next to Twilight. “Hop on”, she instructed Twilight with a smile. The unicorn climbed on the pegasus’ back, careful to not obstruct her strong blue wings. “Hold on!” With a loud cheer, Rainbow darted past the waterfall. The ravine seemed to reach as far down as the one in the temple, a thought that made Twilight shudder and wrap her hooves even closer around Rainbow’s neck. “Relax, Twi, you’re flying with the best flyer in Equestria!” Twilight smiled and loosened her grip a little, instead burying her face in the multi-hued mane to block out the unwelcome view into the depth. It was only a few seconds later that Rainbow Dash landed. Twilight looked up again and saw that they were back in the jungle, surrounded by the impenetrable green. She slid off Rainbow’s back and took a look around. The scenery was exotic, yet pretty uninteresting. At least there was daylight and fresh, albeit hot and humid, air. “You good to go on?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I should be able to walk for another hour or so”, Twilight replied. “But thanks for asking.” “You look kinda smashed after all those traps and temples falling down on you, you know.” She looked around, trying to determine where to head. “So, where do you think we’re gonna find Silver?” “Hmm, Captain Flujo said the goats have some territory claimed along that tributary river we passed yesterday. Let’s have a look at the map.” She pulled the map out of her saddlebags, now happy she’d brought them, and let it hover in front of them. “Okay, Malatierra is here. The ruins must be around here, so we’re probably around here”, she indicated. “The river where the goats are must be this one, the Rio Moreno. It takes a bend here and flows almost parallel to the Rio Marenagua.” She estimated the distance. “We should be able to get there early tomorrow.” “Let’s just hope we get there before Manehattan Silver gets on a boat and is gone”, Rainbow mumbled. “We shouldn’t be too far behind him, actually”, Twilight said, looking around. “The temple is on the other side of this ravine, and to get to Rio Moreno, Silver has to walk around it. We might even be a little ahead of him!” “Alright, then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Rainbow impatiently waited for Twilight to stuff the map back into the saddlebags, but when the unicorn stifled another yawn, she added, ”Just say it when you need a rest, okay?” Twilight chuckled. “So I guess you’re in charge of taking care of me now, hmm?” she asked with a smirk. To her surprise, Rainbow didn’t respond to her good-natured teasing, but instead replied more seriously, “You know, I was really worried about you back there when that darn traitor caused the floor to collapse. With all those stones flying around, I – I – “ “You what?” Twilight asked carefully. “I wasn’t sure if I could’ve caught you”, the pegasus blurted out. “I was really scared of losing you there. I guess I’m kinda still chewing on that.” Twilight didn’t know what to say and simply gave her a gentle nuzzle on the neck. “You know”, Rainbow went on, “back when we all got our cutie marks, when I did my first Sonic Rainboom… when I was done with the race with those jerks, I heard how Fluttershy had fallen off of the clouds. I mean, she was fine, but still, when they told me, it hit me like a thundercloud. She could’ve died there, you know? If it weren’t for those butterflies.” She went silent for a short while, and Twilight didn’t dare interrupt her. Finally she continued, “Back then, she was my only friend, you know? I didn’t really hang with the other foals in my year because, well, they were just learning to fly and I was already pretty awesome. And the older kids just made fun of me. "Well, and then there was Fluttershy. I kinda took her under my wing, even though she was older, you know? She was just so timid! So whenever some jerk bullied her, I stood up for her. And she, she was just there for me. "I dunno. I just don’t know what I would’ve done if something had happened to her, you know? And ever since I met you guys, it’s been the same with all of you. I’d rather have my leg torn off than let something happen to you, I mean, any of you.” She cleared her throat, and when she continued in her usual cocky way, it was obvious that it took her quite an effort. “Luckily I’m totally awesome, so I usually just ace it!” Twilight nuzzled her again. “I didn’t know you felt that way. At least not that strongly”, she finally said. They continued walking in silence for a while, before Twilight added, “Thanks for sharing this with me, Rainbow.” Rainbow chuckled sheepishly and looked to the other side, scratching her head. “Yeah, well… just don’t tell anypony I got all sappy, okay?” Twilight gave her an encouraging shoulder bump. “Don’t worry. Your sappy secrets are safe with me.” “Hehe cool.” She looked around, apparently still a bit embarrassed. “Erm, I’ma quickly take wing, have a look around above the trees and stuff. You cool with that?” Twilight nodded understandingly, and the pegasus took off, darting into the sky, leaving behind her trademark rainbow-colored trail. It wasn’t long before Rainbow returned to the ground. “Yeah, river’s pretty much where you said it is. It’ll still be quite the walk.” “Let’s make some way, then, before dark.” So they trotted on, slower than before. They didn’t talk much, but it was a companionable silence. When they came past a patch of mango trees, Rainbow again flew up and picked some which they ate while walking on. It was more demanding than the way from Malatierra to the ruins, because there wasn’t even a narrow cleared path, and they constantly had to push aside branches and step around bushes and shrubs. They heard the rain start shortly after, but only a few thick drops reached the ground through the dense canopy above them. Thunder roared once or twice, but then seemed to lose interest. The jungle fauna didn’t react in the slightest and continued their usual cacophony. When Twilight swayed into Rainbow, the pegasus stopped. She examined her shortly and decided, “We’re taking a break now.” Twilight by now was too exhausted to protest, so she just nodded and collapsed on the ground. Rainbow huddled up next to her, and the unicorn gladly snuggled her face up against her coat and quickly fell asleep.
Chapter 8Chapter 8 It felt like Twilight had only just closed her eyes. She felt hardly refreshed at all. In her head, something was going around in circles, something about Rainbow Dash and this story and the feeling of Rainbow’s coat on her face when she fell asleep, but her still-exhausted mind just couldn’t pinpoint it. It was late afternoon. She idly wondered what had woken her as she clearly wasn’t ready to get up. Luckily, Rainbow Dash cleared that up. “Stay back or I’ll make you regret it!” she yelled furiously. Alarmed, Twilight jumped up, still dizzy and sleepy, and looked around. Rainbow was hovering next to her, staring angrily at a group of alpacas that were slowly closing in on them, almost surrounding them against the ravine behind them. They all carried spears and blowpipes. The coat in their faces was covered in white paint, and they had lots of small, colorful beads tied into the long fur on the sides of their necks. And they looked decidedly unfriendly as they slowly prowled closer, spears raised. Rainbow Dash, however, would have none of this. With an unarticulated scream, she launched herself at the nearest alpaca, gracefully evading the spear he thrust at her, and hit him in the face with her outstretched hooves. The alpaca grunted and collapsed to the ground. Immediately two more alpacas jumped at Rainbow, grabbing her hind hooves and pulling her to the ground. She bucked like an angry mustang at a rodeo, and one of the alpacas flew against a tree trunk. The other tried to hit her with the shaft of his spear. Rainbow Dash ducked and jumped back a few times, but couldn’t avoid a painful hit in the shoulder. She groaned, took wing and quickly darted over the alpaca. Before he could turn around and bring is spear to bear, she kicked him hard in the back of his head. The alpaca collapsed as well. “Who else wants some?” she shouted, panting heavily. One alpaca who wore a small headdress made from colorful feathers made a hoof gesture, and two more alpacas threw themselves at Rainbow Dash. Twilight gasped, which attracted the very unwelcome attention of another alpaca who immediately pointed his spear at her. Rainbow Dash awaited the two charging alpacas with a mean grin on her face. Right before the first could reach her with the blunt end of his spear, she quickly leapt towards him, spun around and welcomed him with a bone-shattering buck in the chest. The alpaca was thrown backwards and skidded across the ground a few steps. The other attacker though lunged out at her with his spear shaft and hit her in the back of her head. This time, the pegasus yelped in pain, and Twilight flinched in sympathy. Rainbow took off again and was about to fly across the latest attacker just like she’d done before when the alpaca with the headdress grunted something that sounded like “¡Dispare!”, and one of the others quickly raised his blowpipe and fired a dart at Rainbow. It struck her in the neck. She brought a hoof to the dart sticking in her coat and tried to brush it off, but her motions quickly became uncoordinated and she just fell out of midair. “Rainbow!” Twilight screamed. “Está dormiendo”, the alpaca leader said. “Do you want to surrender, or shall we put you to sleep as well?” “What have you done to her?” Twilight asked in a high-pitched, panicked voice. “The darts of our blowpipes bring sleep”, the leader explained. “She will wake up. I ask again. Do you still want to fight?” Looking around and realizing that at least five alpacas had their blowpipes pointed at her, she just shook her head and slumped to the ground. The alpacas left her lying, only guarded by one warrior, and started to prepare Rainbow’s transport. They found a large tree branch and tied Rainbow’s hooves to it so that they could carry her dangling upside down. The image of her strong and proud friend reduced to a limp captive made Twilight almost sick. When four of the warriors finally picked up the branch, the one guarding Twilight gestured her to get up with his spear. Only now did the alpaca leader turn to talk to her again. “Somepony has broken into the sacred temple of Manetezuma and stolen the Golden Princess”, he said in Alpacan. “Until you have proven that you are not responsible for this desecration, you will be our prisoners.” He led the troupe deeper into the jungle. Twilight followed her captors as if in trance. If only she could at least make sure Rainbow Dash was alright! She was sleeping they had said, but Twilight was still worried about her friend. It took them about an hour to reach their goal, a small village on a clearing. By then the night had fallen, and the village was easily visible by the soft glow of torches and camp fires. It didn’t look very big. Twilight was positively exhausted after not enough rest and yet another hike, and her worrying about Rainbow didn’t help. They waited outside while the troupe leader was discussing something with an older alpaca, surrounded by the other warriors. The elder wore a much more elaborate headdress, and most of his neck and chest fur was covered in the typical beads. Twilight concluded that he was probably a shaman or chieftain. After a few minutes the leader returned. He grunted something unintelligible at the patrol. The warriors picked up Rainbow again, and a spear was poked into Twilight’s flank to get her moving again. They led her across a small central square and towards a hut that was built from very durable-looking logs and had tiny windows. She was pushed inside while they simply dropped Rainbow in the one main room, and somepony threw her saddlebags into the hut. The door fell shut, and she found herself alone in the dark hut. A bar was put in place outside. Quickly, she lit up her horn and used her magic to carefully undo the knots that bound Rainbow Dash to the tree branch. The pegasus was still fast asleep and didn’t react. Twilight examined the two bruises on Rainbow’s shoulder and the back of her head, but neither looked really dangerous. Besides, she didn’t have any medical supplies with her anyway. With a sigh, she sat down against one of the walls and carefully placed Rainbow’s head in her lap, extinguishing her magic light. The weight and warmth of the pegasus were comforting. She smiled a little at how great it was to be with Rainbow Dash on this adventure. There was no better pony she could wish for as a companion – the pegasus was brave, strong, and resourceful, and she always made Twilight smile, even in a rather desperate situation like this. She didn’t even care anymore about the rather rude way Rainbow had convinced her to continue with the adventure. Absentmindedly she started stroking Rainbow’s mane. It was nice to spend so much time with Rainbow. Granted, ever since the pegasus had first taken an interest in reading, the two of them had spent quite a lot of time at the library, reading together. Sometimes Rainbow would just drop by to hang out, chat with Twilight, or take a nap on her sofa. They enjoyed each other’s company, but hanging out for an afternoon was just not the same as spending several days on a trip to the Neighcaraguan jungle. Rainbow had even shown her a vulnerable side Twilight hadn’t really known before when she’d spoken about her fear of losing her friends. Twilight had suspected that there was more to the daredevil than her usual air of bravado and coolness, but Rainbow was very careful to keep it to herself, even in front of her closest friends. That she had opened up to her, even just for a short time, made her unreasonably proud, and the memory brought a smile to her face. Without a conscious effort, this memory was replaced by Rainbow’s face in the soft light of the burnt-down candles in the cute little restaurant in Marenagua. With closed eyes she reveled in the mental image of those deep magenta eyes, the wonderful feeling of Rainbow holding her under her wing on the way home. The sensation of her lips touching Rainbow’s muzzle as she had kissed her. She held onto the memory for a moment. She still suspected that friends normally didn’t kiss, but it was part of the story after all. The sensation that she and Rainbow Dash were quickly becoming more than friends kept getting stronger – with the way the usually so brash pegasus had opened up to her, and after falling asleep right next to her, and of course with having her head in her lap right now. Her musings were interrupted by Rainbow suddenly starting to stir in her sleep. She groaned something incomprehensible and opened her eyes. “Twi”, she mumbled with a raspy voice. “Where are we?” “In the village of the alpacas”, she answered, not ceasing to stroke Rainbow’s mane. “They hit you with a tranquilizer dart and brought us here as prisoners because they suspect we have something to do with the Golden Princess being stolen”, she explained. “How do you feel?” Instead of an immediate reply, Rainbow groaned and squinted her eyes shut. “My head hurts”, she finally said. “But I’m quite comfortable right now, thanks”, she added with a clearly audible smile. Twilight felt her cheeks heating up. ”So, how do we get outta here?” “I can probably lift the locking bar on the door”, Twilight mused. “We just need to check if there’s a guard.” Rainbow jumped up. “Then let’s do this!” She trotted over to one of the tiny windows and peeked outside. “Nopony to see.” “Alright then.“ Twilight took position at another window and bent her neck to get the locking bar into view. She concentrated and tried to move it, but it was blocked. In the glimmer of her magic encasing the uncooperative bar she could see an iron chain and a padlock. She wondered where the tribal alpacas had acquired it, but it didn’t really matter. Instead she refocused her magic on the padlock in order to open it, but to no avail. She groaned in annoyance. “Ugh! Rosetta isn’t really good at telekinesis. Normally I should be able to crack a primitive padlock like this without breaking a sweat, but now it feels like the lock is filled with, I don’t know, applesauce, and I can’t seem to grasp the bolt.” She turned to Rainbow. “If only I had a picklock.” She looked at her saddlebags which had clearly been sifted through by greedy hooves, but she knew there was no picklock in there. To her surprise, Rainbow flew over to her and reached around her head. Her mane which she had still in Rosetta’s habitual bun suddenly became loose. Grinning, Rainbow held a hairpin in front of her face. “How about that?” Twilight chuckled, grasped the pin in her magic, and levitated to the padlock. Controlling the pin was easier than trying to grasp the bolt inside the lock, and after what felt like an eternity of wiggling, thrusting, and pushing, the padlock finally snapped open. She quickly seized the locking bar and lifted it. “Let’s go!” she said, grabbing her saddlebags as she left the hut. Carefully they sneaked outside. The village was completely quiet and only illuminated by a few torches. The canopy above the clearing was still dense enough to block out all the light from the moon and the stars, so outside the small islands of light around the torches it was almost pitch black. Suddenly they heard hoof steps behind them. Before they could react, somepony yelled out something in Alpacan and started galloping at them. Startled, the two ponies jumped behind a hut, but the alpaca had seen them and skidded around the corner of the hut, blowpipe raised. “Run!” Rainbow shouted and darted towards the alpaca. Twilight galloped into the opposite direction, barely able to see where she was going in the sparse light, and almost crashed into an unlit tree. Behind her she heard a dull thud as Rainbow Dash knocked out the alpaca warrior. But his cry had already alerted more alpacas. There were hoof steps coming closer from at least two different directions. One of the attackers on the right carried a lantern in his mouth, casting a wildly swaying light on him and a second warrior. Whoever was closing on them from the left stayed hidden in the dark, but they didn’t seem to know exactly where Twilight and Rainbow were either. Rainbow, now carrying a spear, silently landed next to Twilight and dragged her into the dark, hopefully away from the advancing alpacas. They ran as fast as they could, and as soon as the alpacas could locate them exactly, they started running at them as well, yelling furiously. The jungle a few dozen meters ahead of them looked like a black wall. The alpacas were much closer behind them than that. All of a sudden they heard the unmistakable pfff of a blowpipe, and Twilight felt the impact in her right side. “I’m hit!” she cried. Another pfff, and a second projectile hit her. She continued running, waiting for her legs to lose power, for her mind to become dizzy – … but nothing happened. “Go on!” she shouted at Rainbow. The pegasus grimly shook her head and once more flew off into the darkness, in the direction the shots had come from. There was a loud crash and a yelp of pain and before more than a few seconds Rainbow was back at Twilight’s side. They shot through a narrow alley between two huts, now almost at the edge of the village. A shadow suddenly stepped into their way, growling something in Alpacan that Twilight didn’t understand, not with the adrenalin rushing through her ears and the angry screams of their chasers. Rainbow didn’t even slow her pace, but instead dove to the right in the last instant before she hit the blocking alpaca, and extended the shaft of her spear to the left, swiping the alpaca right off his hooves. Now there were only alpacas behind them, and they soon found themselves within the impenetrable darkness of the jungle. As soon as the dark green had swallowed them, Twilight tugged on Rainbow’s tail to slow her down, and led her in a right angle to the left. “Let’s not go where they expect us to”, she explained. With great care, they sneaked through the jungle, trying not to be heard by the alpacas. But with the noise the angry alpacas made, trampling through the jungle and screaming out their anger, they were hardly in any danger. Had the jungle been a little disconcerting during daylight due to all the strange noises, it was actually pretty scary at night. No light whatsoever made its way to the ground, and since Twilight didn’t dare light up her horn while they were still too close to their haunters, they bumped into trees and bushes more than once. Their plan seemed to work out though, as they clearly heard the alpacas moving further and further away from them. After about ten minutes of sneaking, the noises of the alpacas fell silent in the distance, and Twilight finally made some light. Immediately they were surrounded by a cloud of insects, mostly harmless moths, but also a lot of mosquitoes. At least they could see where they were going and didn’t run the risk of walking into, say, a waterhole inhabited by crocodiles. The thought made Twilight shiver. “Seems like we lost them. Are you sure we’re going the right way?” she asked Rainbow. The pegasus shook her head. “Not a clue.” “Then let's find a place to sleep somewhere nearby and continue on tomorrow”, Twilight suggested. “Yeah, I could use a little nap, too. Being drugged is exhausting!” She yawned. They found the hollow trunk of a tree that had fallen over. It wasn’t the most spacious location, but thanks to some shrubs growing next to the trunk it was nicely secluded. They huddled down next to each other. Before she extinguished her magic light, Twilight examined the spot where she felt she had been hit by the blowpipe darts. What she saw made her shake with suppressed laughter – the darts stuck in the bands of her saddlebags, not even two inches apart. She pointed them out to Rainbow Dash, and the pegasus’ eyes grew wide. “Whoa, that was close. Good thing you brought them!” “Yeah.” She yawned. “Let’s get some sleep. Night, Rainbow.” Rainbow leaned her head on Twilight’s shoulder. “Night.”
Chapter 9Chapter 9 They were awakened early the next morning by the angry war cries of the tribal alpacas combing through the jungle. They only shared a quick look before they stumbled to their hooves. Rainbow quickly took wing to orientate herself and was able to point them in the right direction, and they didn’t hesitate to get moving. Both of them had to fight yawns, as this early hour, shortly after sunrise, was clearly not their favorite time of the day. Before they had gotten any further than twenty meters, they already almost bumped into an alpaca warrior, and even though they hastily retreated, he noticed them and gave off a loud alarm cry. Within seconds they heard alpacas closing in on them from all sides. “Get on my back! I’ll fly us out of here!” “And if they hit you with their blowpipes again we’ll crash”, Twilight replied worriedly. “I’m afraid we’ll have to fight them.” Without waiting for Rainbow’s reaction, she grasped a huge tree trunk that was right above one of the approaching warriors, twisted it, and caused it to fall down. With a little push of her magic, she managed to hit the alpaca right on the head, and the tribal warrior collapsed. As if this had been the starting signal, at least half a dozen alpacas started charging them from all sides. From the corner of her eye she saw one alpaca take aim and fire a dart at Rainbow Dash. Without thinking, she caught the dart with her magic in mid-air and made it fall down. In the meantime Rainbow bucked the frontmost alpaca in the chest and made him crumble against a huge tree trunk. Then another alpaca armed with a club lunged himself at Twilight. She barely managed to duck underneath his attack and meekly punched him with her front hoof. The alpaca grunted, but took another swing at her. Twilight jumped to the left and rolled over as she landed. The alpaca jumped after her, but she was back on her hooves just in time to spin around and buck him in the head. The alpaca crumbled like a puppet whose strings had just been cut off. At the same time, Rainbow Dash was attacked by two alpacas, one with a club and one with a spear. With a cocky smirk, she blocked the attacker’s spear with the one she still carried with her, but the alpaca, much more experienced with this kind of weapon, whirled his spear around the shaft of Rainbow’s spear, and the quick and unexpected spinning motion tore the weapon out of her hooves. The alpaca grinned maliciously. She noticed that the alpaca with the club was trying to flank her, and quickly took wing. She grabbed the first attacker’s spear and pulled it up as she flew. The alpaca, refusing to let go of his weapon, was thrown on his back. Rainbow Dash launched herself at him from midair and smashed her hooves against his chin, knocking him out cold. Before the club-armed alpaca could even react, she darted towards him and picked up the horrified alpaca. She took to the air in a nice ballistic angle and let go of her opponent, launching him into the jungle at high speed, and he crashed into some bushes. As she landed, she saw Twilight shooting a big rock at one alpaca who was standing a few steps back and was reloading his blowpipe. The alpaca was hit in the chest and fell over, letting go of his blowpipe. Rainbow quickly glanced around and saw that of the group that had attacked them, only one more was still standing, aiming at Twilight with his blowpipe. “Hey, woolface!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. The alpaca was distracted for just a second and lost his aim on Twilight, and Rainbow took the opportunity and shot over to the alpaca. She knocked him out with a few well-placed punches. “Woohoo!” Twilight shouted, panting. Rainbow, a little out of breath herself, didn’t rest. She quickly flew over to Twilight and picked her up and carried up, above the canopy. “Let’s get out of here before more of them show up!” Twilight, still enthused about their victory, wrapped her hooves around the pegasus and cheered in her ear, causing her a broad smile. Rainbow didn’t plan to fly far, just enough to be out of reach of the alpacas. But suddenly Twilight who was now eagerly looking around shouted, “Look, there! Smoke!” She almost pointed in the direction with her hoof, but then resorted to using her horn instead. “Over there!” “Silver?” Rainbow asked through gritted teeth. “Not unlikely!” Without waiting for an invitation, Rainbow changed course and flew in the direction that Twilight indicated, while the unicorn bent her neck to keep the smoke in view. It was a tiny column of white smoke, potentially from a camp fire, and not even two kilometers away. “Don’t fly right into it”, she advised. “Land somewhere nearby, so we can have a careful look first.” “I’m not scared of him!” Rainbow protested. “He has a gun”, Twilight pointed out. “What if he shoots us while we’re still in mid-air?” “Yeah, I guess you’re right”, Rainbow reluctantly agreed. “We’re still kicking his flank”, she growled. “You bet”, Twilight agreed with a grim smile. Rainbow carefully carried them on, now flying very low above the canopy. Not before long began to descend, and Twilight had to press her face against the pegasus’ shoulder as she was zigzagging around tree trunks at what seemed like breakneck pace. Almost an eternity later they touched the ground, barely making a noise. They could hear faint voices from ahead, where the fire had been, but too far to make out who was speaking or what was being said. “Th-thanks for the lift”, Twilight whispered, still a little shaky from the rough ride. “Sorry, Twi”, pegasus chuckled sheepishly. “Force of habit, you know. But you were absolutely safe, promise”, she added, looking Twilight in the eyes earnestly. Twilight couldn’t pull herself away from those beautiful magenta eyes. It took a good part of her willpower to care about Manehattan Silver, Hauptmann Hornmeyer, and the Golden Alpaca Princess right now, and even then she wasn’t even halfway successful. Rainbow pulled away from the gaze first and started prowling through the dense underwood, towards the voices. Twilight shook her head to clear it at least partially and followed her. Soon they were close enough to distinguish several voices. One was clearly Manehattan Silver’s, the others sounded decidedly like goats. So he had met up with some soldiers. Rainbow Dash hissed “Jerkface” as she prowled even closer. “How come you get to still be the same awesome flier anyway and I only have Rosetta’s average magic?” Twilight wondered. “I guess Daring is just as awesome as I am”, Rainbow replied matter-of-factly. "Very funny", Twilight said, even though she had to admit that it made sense. It was still a little bit frustrating. They sneaked closer, ever so carefully and slowly. The voices became clearer, and they could even smell the fire now. Finally, they reached the edge of a small clearing. Peeking out from the shrubs edging the clearing, they could see their prey. Manehattan Silver was sitting around a small campfire with four goats wearing grey military fatigues and Goat Empire armbands, one of them with the beret of a Feldwebel – the same four goats they had met in the saloon in Malatierra. Each goat was holding a rifle across their lap. Twilight pointed at the weapons. “We have to be careful here”, she told Rainbow. “We should strike right now”, Rainbow advocated. “We can surprise them!” “Too dangerous”, Twilight disagreed. “They have their guns on them; if they are quick enough they might be able to shoot us.” She tapped her hoof against her chin, thinking about what to do. “I think our best bet is to follow them and see if there is a better opportunity.” Rainbow’s response was an unarticulated growl, but she didn’t argue back. The two of them settled down under their lookout shrub. They didn’t have to wait for long until the goats extinguished the fire and set out with the traitorous pony amidst them. Again Rainbow Dash was about to dart straight after them, and again Twilight stopped her with a hoof on a shoulder. “Let them get ahead a little, so we don’t run the risk of being found”, she suggested. Again, she received Rainbow’s grunted acceptance. They waited until the goats were almost out of earshot before they followed them across the clearing. Despite the situation and the diverse threats they had to face – heavily armed goats in front, angry alpacas behind – , the whole ordeal felt a little but like a friendly walk to Twilight. She was still exhausted from the day before, but she couldn't keep her mind from circling around herself and Rainbow Dash, and what this story would develop into. The point was, she was getting impatient. Twilight recognized this sentiment from when she had been reading Daring Do and the Devious Doctor Negative – she didn’t want to wait! She hungered for the romance to finally happen. After all, there were enough signs. The irony that she was rooting for a pairing – and actually believing in it – that she had only days before flat out denied wasn’t lost on her and made her smile. She was curious how it would play out, and the anticipation of being part of said romance herself was causing her a warm, fuzzy feeling in the stomach that was not entirely unpleasant. Maybe she should just give the whole thing a little push? Walk with her tail entwined with Rainbow’s, for example? Fighting back a sudden trace of fear of being rejected by Rainbow Dash, she reassured herself with the knowledge that this was, still, in fact, undeniably, a story about her and Rainbow Dash getting together. The rational knowledge that she would probably not be shot down and would probably not make things very awkward helped a lot in alleviating the fear. She gulped down the last bit of uncertainty and, with an air of utmost nonchalant innocence, wrapped the tip of her tail around Rainbow’s. The pegasus seemed to get out of step for the shortest moment but caught herself immediately. Twilight looked at her with a shy smile, and Rainbow smiled back at her, her cheeks flushed in a soft pink. Twilight took a deep breath, trying not to let Rainbow hear it, and turned to taking in the new situation. Since she had never been in a romantic relationship, she had never held tails before. It felt like little more than a little tugging on her tail, with the odd stray hair occasionally tickling the back of her legs. With other words, it was amazing walking through some imaginary jungle, holding tails with this beautiful pegasus mare. She couldn’t help but let a broad smile creep onto her face, and from the corner of her eye she saw that it was the same with Rainbow. They continued on for over an hour when suddenly Rainbow’s stomach gave off a loud rumble. They were far enough from their prey so that they were in no danger of being heard. “We kinda missed breakfast this morning”, she said and rubbed the back of her head with her hoof. She quickly looked around, scanning the area for edibles that she knew. “You keep going, I’ma get us some snacks!” Although she was hungry too, Twilight felt a small pang of regret when Rainbow let go of her tail and soared away into the jungle’s canopy. She kept going to keep contact with the goats, and only a few minutes later Rainbow Dash landed at her side. She offered her a papaya which the unicorn happily accepted, but what made her even happier was that Rainbow, without hesitation, wrapped her tail around Twilight’s again as they walked on, eating their papayas on the go. The jungle was less dense in this area, and walking was much less strenuous then their way to the ruins had been the day before. There was very little underwood here in between the large pillars of the tree trunks. The wildlife didn’t seem to care in the slightest though and made the same cacophonic noise as always, but after spending a day out in the jungle they were pretty much used to it. Between the trees there were occasionally little ponds, most of them very shallow and with questionably green water and colorful frogs sitting on strangely shaped lily pads. Others had a longer, bent shape and were deeper. But with the pace the goats set they didn’t have too much time to enjoy the scenery. The goats kept marching for a couple of hours. Rainbow Dash took wing several times to get a better overview of their whereabouts and reported that they were making good progress towards Rio Moreno. Eventually they heard the voice getting louder as they came closer; apparently the goats had stopped. Carefully, they sneaked closer, cowering down as they went, until they were in sighting range. The goats had settled down near a small deep pond. There was a fifth goat talking to the Feldwebel; the newcomer wore different fatigues, his face was smeared with camouflage paint, and he carried a lighter gun. He and the Feldwebel had their heads stuck together and were discussing something in low voices so that they couldn’t hear anything. Then, suddenly, the Feldwebel barked an order, and the other goats visibly relaxed. They put down their guns, kicked off their combat boots, and lay down in the grass. One of them pulled out some cigarettes, and another one started munching on some snack. Manehattan Silver put down his saddlebags. “What about now?” Rainbow Dash eagerly asked. “They dropped their guns, they’re not expecting anything!” Her wings were flaring in anticipation. “But we need a good plan!” “Well, I fly in, kick Feldwebel numbnuts in the face, and we improvise from there. You could use your magic to get their guns away, maybe into the lake?” Rainbow quickly outlined a possible battle plan. “Levitating their guns into the pond is a good idea”, Twilight agreed. “We should probably start with that. And while they are distracted, you fly in and go for the Feldwebel.” Rainbow nodded eagerly. Twilight closely examined the trees standing around the pond and continued, “When I’m done with the guns, I’ll drop that branch up there on some of them. That should take out two, then there will be two left.” “One”, Rainbow disagreed with a cocky smirk in her voice. “Or how long do you think it takes me to wrestle down that goat jerk?” “Alright, alright”, Twilight chuckled. “I’ll join you when I’ve dropped the branch, and we take out the last goat.” “What about Silver?” Rainbow asked with hardly suppressed anger. “Hmm, you’re right; he’ll just run off the second something happens. Change of plans, then. I’ll hit him with the branch first, at the expense of hitting more goats if need be. So you’ll have to deal with three or four goats until I’m there. Think you can manage that?” Rainbow’s response consisted simply of a snort. “I’m still worried”, Twilight confessed after a few seconds of going over her plan in her mind again. “These are real weapons. One of us could get hurt.” Rainbow Dash grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. “Don’t worry”, she mumbled in Twilight’s ear. “You’re with the Dash!” Despite her worries, that made Twilight giggle. Rainbow released her and grinned at her. “See? Much better!” They kept staring into each other’s eyes. Twilight was once again fascinated by the deep magenta color of Rainbow’s eyes. She knew she could get lost in these eyes. She suddenly felt like she had scores of butterflies in her stomach. Her head moved closer to Rainbow’s as if acting on its own behalf. “Twi –“ Rainbow’s voice was raspy. She closed the last few inches between them and shut her eyes as their lips met. Twilight reveled in the sweet taste of Rainbow’s lips, her breath on her face. She slowly moved her own lips, opening her mouth a little, and felt Rainbow mirroring her movements. Almost without her own doing, her hoof moved up and gently stroked Rainbow’s cheek. They broke the kiss after a few moments, both breathing heavily, grinning into each other’s faces. “Let’s go kick some flank”, Rainbow whispered. Twilight nodded in agreement end tried to put the voice inside that giddily kept yelling ‘I kissed her!’ aside and focus on the task at hoof. “Ready? Go!” Twilight grabbed the stack of guns in her magic and with one quick pull flung them into the lake. Rainbow Dash darted towards the Feldwebel, hooves stretched out, ready to hit him in the head. That was when things started to go horribly wrong.
Chapter 10Chapter 10 The guns sailed into the pond, and that went according to plan. Rainbow’s hooves connected with the Feldwebel’s chin and knocked him on his back, and that too was according to plan. What was not according to plan were the three goats that suddenly leapt out of the bushes behind the collapsing Feldwebel, nor the two more that stepped out into the open from behind some big trees, pointing their submachine guns at Rainbow Dash. One of them yelled, “Freeze, or vee vill shoot you!” Rainbow hesitated for a moment and took in the situation. Twilight’s breath caught as she feared the aggressive pegasus would attack regardless and get shot, but luckily she decided to step down. “Get on ze ground, put your vings behind your head”, one of the newcomers harshly ordered. Rainbow Dash obeyed while the other goats moved in closer, on full alert, guns pointed at her. The one goat who had joined the group before the attack wiped the camouflage paint off his face and turned to Rainbow Dash. “Hornmeyer!” she cried in surprise. Twilight took in a sharp breath as she as well recognized the Hauptmann. He’d set them up! And he had Rainbow Dash! “Vell, vell, Fräulein Do”, he said with a triumphant smirk, loud enough so that Twilight could hear him from her position where she still lay in hiding. “It is my pleasure to meet you again. Especially under zeese circumstances.” He began pacing in front of her. “You have been, how do you say, a major pain in ze flank. But I guess your days of interfering viz the great Goat Empire have finally come to an end!” “So you’re gonna kill me?” Rainbow spat. “I’m not afraid of you!” Twilight’s eyes filled with tears at her friend’s courage, or was it fear of losing her? She couldn’t tell. “Maybe later. But I sink for ze next ten or tventy years you vill be a good vorker on one of zee Empire’s rock farms. Vee vill take you viz us!” He laughed cruelly. Twilight started sobbing silently at the prospect of the proud pegasus being held in a forced labor camp. The Hauptmann turned towards Twilight’s general direction. “And you, Fräulein Assistentin! Do you vant to come out now, or do you vant us to come get you? You vill not like it venn vee get you, zat much I can promise.” Suddenly, she heard Rainbow’s voice in her head. “You gotta get outta here, Twi. I’m gonna distract them, but you gotta run as fast as you can!” “No! I won’t leave you!” “You gotta! I’m counting on you to get me out of here!” “But you’re much better at this than I am. Let me distract them, and you get away. I can still drop that branch and –“ Twilight blabbered. “I am getting impatient!” Hornmeyer called out. “I von’t vait forever! Reveal yourself now!” “Twi, listen! Are you listening? They want me, not you”, Rainbow hastily explained. “They won’t shoot me, no matter what this loudmouth says, they wanna bring me to their empire and lock me up or something. But they don’t give a horse apple about you; they have no reason to keep you alive! I can’t let them get you! I won’t let them hurt you, understand? Now, on the count of three – “ “Rainbow, I – “ Twilight had no idea how to continue. “I know, Twi.” And then, instead of words, she sent Twilight an emotion: the feeling of their first kiss. Suddenly Twilight could feel the excited happiness Rainbow Dash had felt when they had kissed; she could feel the strong affection she felt for her, and her unwavering desire to keep the unicorn safe. “One – two – three!” Tears running down her cheeks freely, Twilight watched as Rainbow suddenly launched herself at the Hauptmann who was still scanning the jungle, his back turned towards the captured pegasus. She managed to hit him in the back of his head and make him stumble before the other goat soldiers launched themselves on her and knocked her out. Twilight threw herself around and started running into the jungle. Two shots were fired after her but went high into the trees. Sobbing, sniffing, her vision blurred by her tears, her heart heavy, she ran through the jungle, the only thing on her mind the face of the courageous, loyal pegasus. She ran for what felt like an eternity, until she finally collapsed under a shrub, not able to carry on, her worries about the pegasus too heavy, and cried. Rainbow Dash… Eventually Twilight’s tears dried up, and a fierce determination took hold of her. Rainbow Dash was counting on her to get her out of the hooves of the goats. She picked herself up and started retracing her own steps. Soon she reached the little pond where the goats had captured Rainbow. She carefully sneaked closer, but the goats were gone. She quickly peeked into the pond, and seeing the goats’ guns in the clear water caused her a grim satisfaction. Next to the bank of the pond she found an alpaca spear, probably the one Rainbow had taken from the village the night before. She tried to contact Rainbow telepathically, but got no response. She told herself that Rainbow Dash was unconscious after having been knocked out by the goats, but she had to put some effort in suppressing her fears about the cyan pegasus. Sighing, she followed the traces of the goats. It was easy enough now, since they were quite a big group. When she left the clearing, she suddenly heard the war cries of the tribal alpacas again from somewhere behind her. It might just have been the general state of anxiety she had fallen into after Rainbow being captured, but they sounded much closer than she would have expected. Far too close for her comfort at least. She decided to not walk directly on the trail the goats had left, as she figured it might be too easy for the alpacas to find her, and instead pushed through the jungle on the right side of the trail, close enough to not lose it and hopefully far enough so she wouldn’t run into any tribal warriors. Twilight estimated that her flight and little breakdown had provided Hornmeyer with a margin of no more than half an hour, and that they would reach the goats’ base at the banks or the Rio Moreno in no more than three hours. She’d probably not catch up with them before they reached the camp, so she had to free Rainbow Dash from there. While she walked through the by now loathsome endless green of the jungle, her mind set to work to come up with a plan of attack. It didn’t help that she was thoroughly fed up with the jungle, a fact that was only made worse by her now having to face the walls of plants all by herself. It had been much less of a strain when she trotted on side by side with Rainbow, chatting, simply not being alone. And of course it had been a thousand times better when they had been walking with their tails entwined, shooting shy smiles at each other every now and then. She had to fight back fresh tears. She missed the cyan pegasus horribly. Even though no more than an hour had passed since they had been separated, she missed her encouraging presence around her, and even though they had only been on this trip for a little more than two days, she found it hard to remember what it was like being without the pegasus. Well, judging from how she felt now, probably not too great. Wiping her nose with a hoof she continued on, brooding over how to free Rainbow. She would have to be stealthy, as there was no way she could take on all those goats in combat, and that was even before she counted in their guns. After all, there were alone ten goats now escorting Rainbow Dash to the base. Oh, and Manehattan Silver, the traitorous jerk who had gotten them into all of this! Without even noticing, Twilight let out a small growl at the thought of the brown stallion. She passed by some banana plants and picked one of the fruits. Trotting on, she ate the banana, sadly thinking back to the fruits she had shared with Rainbow Dash. Again some tears were trying to flow from her eyes, and she let them. It was only just to cry a little about Rainbow being held captive, she assumed. Without any conscious effort, her thoughts turned back to the kiss they had shared only moments before everything had gone so terribly wrong. To her big surprise, the memory made her smile and even caused the butterflies in her tummy to reappear. Once more she relived the sensation of Rainbow’s lips on her own, this time enhanced by the emotion the pegasus had shared with her before she’d run away. The amount of Rainbow’s love she’d felt back then was heartwarming and gave her strength and confidence for her upcoming task. Twilight suddenly realized that the war cries of the tribal alpacas had ceased, and potentially some time back while she’d been pondering over the goats and her feelings for Rainbow Dash. She had absentmindedly meandered back onto the goats’ trail. Before she could so much as think 'It is too quiet', with a dull thunk!, a spear impacted in a tree trunk nearby, and an alpaca warrior jumped in her way. Twilight let out a terrified shriek as the alpaca came charging at her, his spear raised. For a second the shock had her paralyzed. It wasn’t the first time she got into a fight today, but with all her emotional turmoil over Rainbow Dash being captured, she needed to consciously pull herself together to be able to move. With an exasperated groan she grabbed the alpaca’s spear with her magic and pulled it out of his hoof, levitating it towards her and turning it around. The alpaca, now unarmed, came to a halt and looked at her uneasily. Another alpaca broke out of the underwood, aiming a blowpipe at Twilight. Without even thinking, she extended her magic reach to his weapon and just snapped it in half. But the first alpaca used her short distraction to start charging at her again. Before Twilight could react, he had already taken hold of the still floating spear and tried to wrestle it away from her magic grip. She concentrated harder on the telekinesis spell, trying to keep control of the weapon, when she realized that the other alpaca was charging at her, also armed with a spear. With the second alpaca charging at her, she only had a moment to deal with the one wrestling with her over the other spear. Unfortunately, her – Rosetta’s – magic was so weak that a determined pony or alpaca had reasonable chances to keep hold of an item despite the magic pull. Thus Twilight, without warning, stopped pulling on the spear and just pushed it into the same direction the alpaca was pulling it in. Surprised by the sudden lack of resistance, the alpaca lost hold of the spear, and the blunt end hit him in the face, knocking him over. Twilight jumped to the left to evade the other attacker, but her timing was off, and the alpaca hit her with the shaft of his spear, causing her to topple over. As she tried to get to her hooves again, the alpaca jumped on her, trying to impale her with the spear. Twilight managed to roll away, but the spear that had been aimed for her throat still nicked the skin of her front leg, sending a sharp hot pain through her body. She shrieked, more in surprise than in actual pain, and instinctively took the spear in her magic and flung it into the jungle in a high ballistic arch. The alpaca was still above her, now trying to hit her with his front hooves. Twilight managed to deflect the first two, but the third hit her on the temple, and for a moment she saw stars. It was clear to her that the alpaca was a far more experienced fighter than she was. In panic, she grabbed the alpaca in her magic. Rosetta was far too weak to fling him away like the spear – which had been her initial plan –, but at least she could slowly float him out of punching distance. She turned around and bucked him with all the force she could muster before she let him collapse on the ground. Afraid there might be more attackers she looked around, but for the moment she was alone. Deciding that the jungle was way too dangerous to be out and about unarmed, she took the remaining spear and started running into the jungle, now some meters off the goats’ trail again. Her injured leg hurt, and she would have to do something about the bleeding soon, but for now she really needed to get away from here before more alpacas showed up. She walked for ten minutes until she allowed herself some rest to check up on her leg. The cut was along the outside of the upper thigh, luckily not very deep, but it was still bleeding a bit, and it hurt enough to hinder her walking. She looked around and found some huge leaves that she wrapped around the cut using her magic, fixing them with her trusty hairpin. The vivid memory of Rainbow Dash pulling it out of her hair back in the alpacas’ village made her well up again, but she swallowed down the tears. Now was not the time to feel sorry for herself. Rainbow needed her! Gritting her teeth, she continued on, now paying more attention to potential attackers, but the jungle remained comparatively quiet. *** Her estimations proved correct, as around three hours later she reached the goat camp. It was easily visible from afar, the trees plastered with the black-white-red flags of the Empire, and part of the jungle had been cleared around the camp. Her leg was still hurting, but the bleeding had stopped, and that was at least something. The camp itself was located directly at the banks of the river. It was a wide open area with a handful of primitive huts, surrounded by a wooden fence, and a wooden pier floating in the river. A small river boat and a water plane were tied up at the pier. The only gate that allowed entrance inside the wood was even guarded by a small watchtower. Twilight could easily see the goat standing guard on that tower. Twilight took position behind a large tree trunk about a hundred meters away from the fence – close enough to keep her eyes on the installation, but not close enough to be in actual danger of being found by the goat guards. The sun slowly set over the river, painting the sky in magnificent hues of orange and pink. Suddenly, she heard Rainbow’s voice in her head again. “Twilight? You out there?” “Rainbow Dash!” She almost started crying again, now out of joy to hear Rainbow’s voice again. “Are you alright?” “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. They got me locked up in a boat. Where are you?” “I’m outside their camp. I can see the boat.” She resisted the urge to wave. “Great! Now listen, they said they’re gonna transport me tomorrow morning, so you have all night. I can see some stuff through the porthole. You see the hut next to the banks, a little away from the pier, with the porch? That’s where Manehattan Silver is staying. Now, I can see a guard patrolling around the huts, and one guy is sitting on the pier. There’s one more on the boat, I guess on the deck.” “Rainbow, that’s great, but – are you alright? Do they treat you well? Did they – “ The questions bubbled out of Twilight. “Twi, relax”, Rainbow good-naturedly admonished her. Twilight could almost see her lopsided smile. “I’m okay. But I’m counting on you to get me outta here. Can you do that?” “Y-yes, of course! Let me think about it.” She desperately tried to clear her thoughts. All she seemed to be able to think about was that Rainbow Dash was alright. She forced herself to focus on the positions of the guards, and the layout of the camp. Her mind, ruthlessly efficient and rational, began to set in motion, and the first rough sketch of a plan took shape. “Okay, I think I have a plan. I will start in a couple of hours, after midnight. You have to be awake then.” “No problemo.” “Erm, Rainbow? Can I ask you something?” “Yeah?” “How can you stay so calm?” The pegasus audibly smiled as she replied, “Rainbow Dash is way too cool to lose her cool”, she stated with mock arrogance, before she added more seriously, “but mostly because I trust you, Twilight.” Filled with a weird mix of emotions, of missing Rainbow Dash, of being worried about her, of being indescribably happy about the trust she placed in her, Twilight trotted back into the jungle. She had some preparations to take care of before she started her rescue operation. When she was out of sight, she returned to the river banks in a wide curve so that the goats wouldn’t see her, now downstream of the camp. Several patches of reeds grew along her side of the river. The water of the river was still, and no crocodiles were visible. Taking cover between the reeds, she sneaked up to the goats’ camp again, careful to remain unseen. She made it to the edge of the cleared area around the camp, now with a much better view at the pier, the boat, and the plane. The pier was a simple construction, not much more than some planks nailed to a few barrels that kept the pier afloat. She saw the guard Rainbow had mentioned dozing on a chair in the middle of the pier, gun leaned against a crate next to him. On the crate there was also a lantern. The plane was fixed to the near side of the pier, the boat on the opposite side, so she couldn’t see it too closely. For now she just had to assume the guard was somewhere on deck. The plane itself was of goat origin – since there were no winged goats, they had come up with other means of flying, and the Goat Empire’s aeronautic industry was one of the most sophisticated in the world. The plane had one engine and was probably big enough for about a dozen passengers. It was completely deserted. On the banks where the pier was tied in place, there was another pile of crates. Between that spot and the huts where Manehattan Silver had taken residence stood two other huts; one would probably have to sneak through the passageway between them. Manehattan Silver’s house, on the other hoof, partially blocked sight to the gate and the guard tower. Lights were on in the Manehattan Silver’s hut and the two huts between it and the pier, and also behind some windows of the boat. The other three huts were dark. Hopefully there weren’t many more goats in the camp than Twilight already knew. With a satisfied nod Twilight sneaked back through the reeds. It looked like her plan was likely going to work. She found a nearby bush with big leaves and curled up underneath it. After a whole day of hiking and fighting she was completely exhausted physically, and worrying about Rainbow Dash had worn her out emotionally. She needed a rest. And she wasn’t going to take action before it was late at night anyway. Rainbow’s face on her mind, her injured leg throbbing, she fell into a deep slumber.
Chapter 11Chapter 11 When she woke up, it was dark. Judging from the position of the moon that shone through some holes in the canopy, she assumed that it was around two in the morning. With grim determination, she went to work. First, she broke off the tip of the spear she had brought. It was reasonably sharp, and she needed a cutting tool for the next step. The tip was clean since it wasn’t the one she’d been cut with, a thought that made her slightly queasy. Feeling a little bit guilty, she cut the bands off her trusted saddlebags. They had served her so well in this adventure, and now she had to defile them like this… But she needed something smaller. Twilight loosely bound the bands of the saddlebag around her waist and cut out a small piece of fabric from the bags. She wrapped the fabric around the spear tip and shoved it into her makeshift belt. It wasn’t perfect, but at least she could carry it without using her magic. She pulled it out again and cut out another strip of fabric from her poor bags and tied it around her head. With a satisfied nod, she left the remains of the bags. Even though it hurt her to leave innocent books out here to rot, they were just too useless for the task at hoof. She carefully sneaked back to the river. It was bright enough in the pale moonlight so that she didn’t need to light up her horn. She stopped in front of a patch of reeds, took out her makeshift knife and cut off two big reeds. She quickly cleaned off the leaves and cut off the tips and made sure that the reeds were hollow. She stuck one of them into her belt for later use. In the distance to her right she saw the lonely lantern on the pier of the goat camp. Swallowing down her apprehension of the water and potential crocodiles, Twilight stepped into the river. The water was warm and felt a little slimy, and she could almost hear Rarity scream in agony at what she did to her coat. At least the coolness felt nice on her injured leg. She submerged her head under the water and took tip of the reed in her mouth, trying to breathe through it. It worked quite well, but she couldn’t see much in the murky water. She slowly started swimming towards the pier, mostly underwater, but taking breaks every now and then to make sure she was still on target. After half an hour of slow swimming, she was close enough to see the shine of the lantern on the pier from under the water. She could now also see the guard on the pier. He was still slumped on his chair and looking into her direction – that is, if he was awake. But Twilight decided to not take a chance. She submerged again and stayed under water until she was right next to the pier. Taking a deep breath, she dove deeper to swim underneath the pier. She carefully exhaled through the reed to keep the water from flowing in until she could lift the reed’s tip through the water surface again on the other side of the pier. Taking a few seconds to catch her breath, she carefully levitated her spear tip out of her makeshift harness and stuck it into one of the pier’s barrels. Then she very slowly and carefully reemerged. The guard didn’t react; he either hadn’t heard her or he was really asleep. She stayed in the water almost motionlessly and listened for any sound from the guard. She could hear faint snoring and smiled. “Rainbow?” she asked telepathically. “I’m awake, Twi. You coming?” “I’m already here”, the unicorn chuckled. “Can you somehow lure the guard on deck to you? Demand some water or something?” “Sure, no problem.” Immediately, Twilight heard Rainbow’s muted voice from inside the boat. Somepony gave a grunting advice on the deck, then she heard hoofsteps walking down some stairs. It was now or never. Hearing Rainbow’s real voice seemed to give her bit of extra confidence as she carefully pulled herself onto the pier, never leaving the guard on his chair out of eyesight, and secured her reed in her belt. He didn’t react; apparently he had dozed off. Twilight quickly grabbed his gun with her magic and slowly submerged it into the river before she continued on to the boat. She silently made her way up the narrow wooden gangway. With the light of the lantern on the pier behind her, she could see rather well, but cast a huge shadow in front of her. Luckily the moonlight helped. To her right there was a cabin with an open door from whence faint light was shining, and she assumed that Rainbow was held somewhere in there. Suddenly somepony barked, “Halt! Wer da? Stehenbleiben!“, and she heard the click of a gun being cocked. She startled, her heart pounding in her throat, as she had not expected another guard here. Her thoughts started racing. She was going to get shot, and this time it wouldn’t end with a dart being stuck harmlessly in the bands of her – Darts! Leather bands! Without even thinking about it, she reached out to her belt with her magic and took one of the two alpaca darts that still stuck there. Even though she didn’t have a blowpipe, she could just propel a dart with her magic. “Wer da?” the goat asked again, giving her a much better idea of where he was. Praying that the tranquilizer on the darts hadn’t washed off during her bath in the river, she hurled the dart in the direction the voice had come from. “Was zur – “ the goat stammered, then there was the thud of a collapsing body. Twilight let out a relieved sigh. But she wasn’t safe yet, as there was still the other goat who had gone downstairs to Rainbow Dash. And she could only hope that the sleeping guard on the pier had not suddenly become the wide awake guard on the pier. Twilight carefully walked to where the goat had collapsed and levitated his gun away, slipping it very slowly into the river to avoid splashes. Then she edged towards the half-open cabin door. Downstairs, she could hear the muffled voices of Rainbow Dash and a goat. That meant the goat was still distracted. She silently moved down the stairs which led into a narrow corridor. The goat was standing in front of a locked door at the far end of the corridor. Not even caring about staying silent anymore, Twilight walked up to the goat. Three steps in and he finally noticed her and turned around, puzzled. As soon as he turned, Twilight started galloping towards him at full speed. The goat raised his gun, but Twilight was too fast for him. She launched herself at him and hit him in the chest with two outstretched hooves, knocking the goat over. Before he had time to get to his hooves again, she quickly bucked him against the chin, knocking him out. “Twi? Is that you?” Rainbow Dash asked from the other side of the door. “Yes, Rainbow, I’ll have you out of there in a second.” Twilight hastily searched the unconscious goat and found a key ring. She took it and soon found the right key to open the door. As soon as she did, a cyan pegasus launched herself at her and wrapped her hooves and wings around her. Almost sobbing from happiness, Twilight returned the hug and buried her face in the rainbow-colored mane. “Rainbow Dash!” “I knew you wouldn’t leave me hanging”, Rainbow Dash whispered in her ear before she released her and closely examined her. “Are you hurt?” she asked with a worried frown, pointing at the leaf bandage. “Just a little cut”, Twilight answered dismissively. “I ran into some alpacas when I followed the goats; apparently they are still after the Golden Princess.” “You sure you’re okay?” the pegasus asked, not sounding convinced. “Yes, I’m sure, Rainbow”, Twilight said with a reassuring smile. As the frown wouldn’t leave Rainbow’s face, Twilight leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips. “I’m fine, promise. Now let’s get out of here and find Manehattan Silver.” Rainbow Dash nodded her agreement, now much more enthusiastic, and the two ponies carefully trotted back upstairs. Apparently the pier guard had not slept through everything, as they almost ran into a few guards on the pier. Four goats had taken position on the pier, guns at the ready, as they could see in the light of the single lantern. Just in time, they dove back into the cabin as the goats fired of a couple of rounds. “I have prepared for this”, Twilight just said and started concentrating on her magic. The grabbed the spear tip she had left stuck in the barrel and with one powerful push thrust it under the barrel’s hoop, causing the hoop to dislodge from the barrel and the barrel to burst open. Almost immediately they heard the surprised shouts of the goats outside. Twilight carefully peeked out of the door and saw the last of the goats falling into the river as the pier capsized. “That was awesome!” Rainbow Dash commented. “Let’s get back ashore”, Twilight replied, pulling the two reeds out of her belt and giving one to Rainbow Dash. As the pegasus looked at her in bewilderment, she explained, “We’re diving so they don’t know where we are. We’re going ashore right next to Silver’s house, and then Celestia help him! Let’s go!” With that, she took the reed in her mouth and just jumped over the railing on the starboard side of the ship, as far from the still swimming goats as possible, and Rainbow followed her. In the water, Twilight quickly entwined her tail with Rainbow’s so they wouldn’t lose each other in the dark water. Then she started swimming towards the center of the river. They needed to swim around the remains of the pier and the angry goats, and she rather wanted some distance. Even though their guns were probably wet and useless, it was better to not take unnecessary risks. It took them a while to swim around the pier chaos, and they didn’t dare emerge, keeping their tails tightly entwined. After a few minutes of swimming downstream Twilight estimated that they should be level with Manehattan Silver’s hut, and they carefully lifted their heads out of the water. Apparently they had even swum a bit too far and were now in a safe distance to the pier. There was a huge commotion on the banks where goats tried to salvage the pier and generally figure out what was going on. Manehattan Silver’s hut was still lit. They swam towards the shore, not bothering with diving down again as clearly nopony was looking in their direction. Soon the sneaked onto dry land and hid against the wall of the hut. They heard the agitated shouts of the goats at the pier, but around them everything was quiet. “Through the window!” Twilight whispered. With a quick glow of her magic she opened the window in the rear wall. Not hesitating, Rainbow darted inside first, Twilight climbing in after her. They found themselves in the large main room of the hut. Manehattan Silver and Hauptmann Hornmeyer were standing at the front windows with their backs turned to them, staring outside at the commotion that was going on outside. “That’s it, you traitorous jerk!” Rainbow Dash shouted. The stallion and the goat snapped around. “You!” Manehattan Silver gasped. Quickly, he grabbed his saddlebags which hung over a chair behind him. “Hauptmann, you deal with them, I’ll get the statue to the Empire!” and ran out of the front door. “No! Come back!” Rainbow yelled after him. The Hauptmann muttered a suppressed curse and drew a sabre, menacingly coming closer, threateningly swinging his blade. Twilight and Rainbow Dash backed off, but after only two steps they had the wall in their back. Hornmeyer came closer. “You know he’s gonna screw you over”, Rainbow taunted. “I vill deal viz him venn I have dealt viz you”, the Hauptmann growled, slowly getting closer. Twilight let out an exasperated groan, quickly grabbed the remaining alpaca dart in her magic and shot it at Hornmeyer. It hit him in the neck. With a funny look on his face, he dropped his sabre and fell over. “We have no time for this”, Twilight grumbled grimly. “Let’s get Silver!” They carefully approached the front door to make sure there were no guards coming for them, but all the goats where still gathered around the sunken pier. Suddenly, the loud roar of a starting engine cut through the night – somepony was starting up the plane! “We can’t let him get away!” Twilight shouted. Rainbow just grunted in agreement, and before Twilight could come up with anything else, she picked up the lavender unicorn and darted out of the hut and towards the pier. Several surprised shouts welcomed them, and at least one goat brought his gun to aim and fire some rounds at them, but missed. Despite Rainbow’s speed, they were too late. The plane was already picking up speed along the river. Rainbow, holding Twilight in her hooves, cried out a curse as the plane slowly rose out of the water. Except for the red and green position lights it was barely visible in the pale moonlight as it climbed above the canopy. Rainbow changed course and followed the plane. Some more bullets were fired after them, but they were quickly getting out of range. Higher and higher rose the plane, and the pegasus kept as close as possible. Even though she was the fastest flier in all of Equestria, carrying another pony meant she wouldn’t be able to keep up with the untiring plane forever. She had to get to it sooner rather than later, or they would lose Manehattan Silver. She increased her efforts and managed to slowly reduce the distance to the plane. As if she knew what she needed to do to make Rainbow’s life easier, Twilight wrapped her hooves around her neck and held on tight, releasing the strain on the pegasus’ hooves. Being able to move a little more freely, she managed to at least keep up her increased speed despite her strength quickly waning. “I will not let him get away!” she growled. Twilight encouraging nuzzled her ear which seemed to free some additional reserves. With a last mighty push she managed to level with the plane’s tail. Exhausted, she grabbed the rudder and pulled herself on the cabin top, releasing Twilight who instinctively crouched as to not lose her balance. Slowly and carefully, Rainbow still out of breath from the chase, they crawled along the cabin roof towards the wings where the doors were located, Twilight now taking the lead climbed down onto the wing, and when Rainbow joined her, she pulled the door’s handle. The wind almost tore it out of her hoof, and some smaller items were sucked out of the door by the howling wind. Aware that their presence was no longer a surprise for Manehattan Silver, they quickly slid inside. The cabin was empty except for some big nets to fix big cargo items. The cockpit door was open, and they saw the faint glow of the plane’s instrument lights. “You should have stayed in that darn temple and just died there!” they heard the stallion scream from up front, but he didn’t dare come at them and leave the plane’s controls. “It’s over!” Rainbow yelled, but it was Twilight who took the lead and charged into the dimly lit cockpit. Manehattan Silver awaited her with his gun drawn, using only one hoof to control the plane. He fired once, but between steering and the motions of the plane, he missed her by far. Twilight didn’t wait for him to try again and snatched the gun out of his hoof with her magic and threw it behind her. “It’s over”, she repeated calmly. “Just give up.” “You two annoying meddling–!” He didn’t finish the sentence and suddenly jumped out of the pilot’s seat and launched himself at Twilight. She took a step back to evade him, but her injured leg picked that exact moment to give in, and so instead she stumbled against the cockpit wall. Manehattan Silver immediately noticed her weak spot and planted a well-aimed kick on her leaf bandage. Twilight screamed in agony. “Leave her alone!” Rainbow yelled and darted at him, even though her wings were still killing her. She crashed into him, knocking him back into the plane’s dashboard. Manehattan Silver hit her head with a hoof punch, but she simply shook off the pain and returned the favor, leaving the stallion dazed. Meanwhile, Twilight got back to her hooves and stared out of the front window. With nopony in control, the plane had started to descend and was quickly losing altitude, and all she could see was a black wall of nocturnal jungle coming right at her. “The plane!” she shrieked. “We’re going to crash!” Rainbow Dash glanced out the front window too and immediately let go of Manehattan Silver to get behind the plane’s controls. Making use of Daring Do’s comprehensive adventuring knowledge, she tried to stabilize the plane. “Pull pull pull!” she growled through gritted teeth, but the plane was already too low. She just saw the faint glitter of moonlight reflecting from one of the bigger ponds before the plane impacted in the water with a mighty splash.
Chapter 12Chapter 12 The plane impacted in a shallow angle and bounced off the water like a skipping stone. Its momentum carried it across the water and onto the banks of the lake where its nose dug into the ground, and the front window burst. The three ponies in the cockpit were shaken around in the cockpit and thrown against the dashboard. Manehattan Silver was the first to recover. With one swift and slightly shaky leap he escaped through the broken front window. He stumbled and fell when he landed but quickly got back on his hooves. Twilight was still busy picking herself up when she saw Rainbow Dash dart through the window and after the stallion. She shakily followed, careful not to strain her injured leg. She could see that Rainbow had knocked Manehattan Silver over, and his saddlebags had flown away. Now they were engaged in a heated brawl at the banks of the pond. “Get the statue”, Rainbow grunted through gritted teeth as Manehattan Silver tried to grab her in a sleeper hold. “I’ll deal with this jerk!” “You’ll do no such thing!” the stallion cried and, instead of the sleeper hold, threw Rainbow Dash over his withers. The pegasus just spread her wings and darted back at Manehattan Silver who was already crawling in the direction of the saddlebags, sending him to into the dirt. Then Rainbow settled down on Manehattan Silver’s back and started pounding his back and neck with her hooves. With a mighty roar the stallion bucked Rainbow off his back and got to his hooves again. He leapt to the saddlebags before Twilight could react, and reached for them. Expecting him to pull out the Golden Princess, she actually saw the glimmer of gold for a second before she realized that Manehattan Silver had pulled out a second gun. Immediately she tried to disarm him with her magic, but this time Manehattan Silver was prepared and firmly maintained his hold to the gun. He fired a bullet that flew closely over Twilight’s mane. “Stop!” he roared so loud that his voice broke. “I’ve had enough of you!” Rainbow got on her hooves again and made a move for the brown earth pony, but he quickly fired another warning round. “You too! Over with your girlfriend! And don’t you so much as twitch!” “Okay, okay, chillax”, Rainbow groaned and slowly trotted to Twilight. The lavender unicorn gladly leaned against her for consolation, and she put a wing around her withers. Manehattan Silver picked up the saddlebags, never letting Twilight and Rainbow Dash out of sight. “This statue”, he explained with hardly contained anger, “is property of the Goat Empire. And you, you just keep ignoring the facts!” He began pacing in front of them. “But I have it now. I won. And you lost!” He spat out a nasty laugh. “So what’s going to happen now is, I will swim across the lake, I will walk back to Malatierra, and I will travel to the Goat Empire. And there is nothing you can do about it because you will be dead!” Then, suddenly, across the lake on their right, a bright orange light flared up, accompanied by the alpacas’ war cries. All three ponies turned towards the light, only to see a big group of alpaca warriors lined up on the banks of the lake. In the center of the warriors stood the old alpaca with the large headdress Twilight had seen in the alpaca village the night before, his eyes closed, his body swaying to an unheard rhythm. The orange glow was centered on him and apparently emanated from the old shaman. As they watched, the light seemed to gain density until it seemed almost physical and took the shape of a snarling angry alpaca head of at least four meters height. Instead of eyes it only had two lifeless voids, and yet it seemed to be staring at the island with an unwavering, inquisitive gaze. Rosetta had a good idea what it was, and it scared Twilight to death. “Manetezuma’s Wrath”, she whispered, her eyes wide open in terror. “What’s Manetezuma’s Wrath?” Rainbow asked. Instead of Twilight, Manehattan Silver answered, his voice shaky as well, “It’s an ancient alpaca ritual. Legend has it that they summon Manetezuma’s spirit, since his soul was taken by Trotathiu after his defeat against the pony army. And Manetezuma’s spirit descends onto earth, wielding the power of Trotathiu to punish anypony who wronged the alpcas. Nopony has ever seen the ritual be cast and lived to tell the story.” He had lowered his gun and was slowly walking towards the two mares, while the giant fiery alpaca head on the other side of the lake was still solidifying its shape. Twilight nodded her agreement with Manehattan Silver’s explanation. “It must be after the Golden Princess!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “We have to give it to them now!” Twilight said insistently. “No way!” Manehattan Silver protested albeit with a still shaky voice. “We can’t give it to these savages! It belongs to the Goat Empire!” He pointed his gun at Twilight again. “You! You’re a unicorn! Cast some magic and keep this thing away from us!” “You can’t possibly think I’ll – “ Twilight started, but was interrupted by a shout from the alpacas. “Ponies! You stole what is ours! Surrender the Golden Princess now, or face the Wrath of Manetezuma!” the voice of the old alpaca carried across the water. Twilight was sure that he spoke Alpacan, but Rainbow’s snarl made it obvious that she had heard and understood the message as well, even though she didn’t speak any Alpacan. The shaman had probably used some sort of magic to transmit his threat. “We can’t just give up!” Rainbow Dash agreed. “After all that! We can’t just quit!” Twilight was a bit surprised that Rainbow agreed with Manehattan Silver, but she couldn’t deny that she felt similarly, that they deserved to win the Golden Princess after all their adventures, after being captured and beaten and even crashing with a plane. She lowered her head aggressively and, almost unconsciously, began casting a protection spell which was probably beyond Rosetta’s abilities. Bright purple sparks began flying from her horn as she gathered magic energies for the spell, and a faint green sphere began to take shape around the three ponies. She was mildly surprised that she was actively protecting Manehattan Silver, the very pony who had caused them all this trouble. The alpacas who had been jeering and shouting at them suddenly fell silent, and the fiery ghost head let out a terrifying, unearthly roar. It snarled and began to slowly float at them. As it flew past trees and bushes on the banks of the lake, the leaves and branches caught fire almost immediately. Relentlessly, the giant head hovered across the water, bellowing and shouting threateningly as it went. “I have an idea!” Rainbow Dash called out and immediately darted towards the lake. Twilight was too absorbed with the protection spell to even reply. Rainbow started flying rapid wide circles skimming just above the water's surface, the suction created by her great airspeed drawing up more and more small water drops from the lake. She went faster and faster, creating a curtain of water around the burning head which curiously enough ignored the pegasus. As she reached the height of the head, she started to pull her circles tighter and tighter around the flaming ghost. “What is that crazy pegasus doing?” Manehattan Silver asked incredulously. “Trying to get herself killed? Well, good riddance!” He turned to Twilight, gun still pointing at her, the Golden Princess lying on the ground in front of him. “You just keep that spell up!” Meanwhile, the ghost head reached the translucent green shield Twilight had erected around them. For a moment, it stopped, warping its shape around the spherical green surface. Its roars turned into high-pitched shrieks of anger. Twilight pushed her hooves in the ground even firmer as she tried to withstand the onslaught of magical energy from the blazing head, sweat beads forming on her forehead. Rainbow Dash still drew increasingly tight circles around it but couldn’t get them tight enough to actually douse the head in the water she had pulled up in time. As the spirit was fighting the shield, Twilight felt as if it was looking straight into her mind and in turn revealed itself to her. The spirit let her feel the hatred it felt for the ponies who once had taken this land from its people, and it let her know of its desire to retrieve the statue and punish whoever took it. The raw power of the sprit’s hatred was almost as painful as a physical punch in the guts. In return she felt like something took a very close look at her emotions and motivations, about her desire to beat Manehattan Silver and to spoil his plans. When Rosetta’s limited resources finally faltered, the shield exploded into a cascade of small green fragments, and the weird and scary connection was broken. The spirit continued its slow advance, now almost completely obscured by the rainbow-colored trail and the mist curtain. Finally the first drops connected. There was a loud hissing of steam and a white steam cloud exploded from the head. The angry shrieks suddenly sounded triumphant. Rainbow Dash was knocked back and crashed into the ground right next to Twilight and Manehattan Silver. As the steam cleared, they could see that the head had lost a small part of its volume, but otherwise continued its advance unfazed by the water. “We can’t stop it!” Twilight cried. “We have to give them the statue!” “Never!” Manehattan Silver yelled. He fired the remaining bullets from his gun into the apparition, to no visible effect. “The statue is mine! Do some magic!” Rainbow Dash started for him now that he was unarmed, but he saw her from the corner of his eyes and escaped the flying kick. The first bushes on the banks on their side of the lake were already on fire, the smell of smoke unpleasant and threatening in the nightly air. “Give it to them now!” Twilight yelled at the stallion. “Or we’re all toast!” “You’ll be toast!” he shouted with a hint of manic laughter in his voice. “I’m outta here!” He picked up the statue, threw himself around, and started galloping towards the far end of the peninsula where it was connected to the jungle. Suddenly, the flaming head changed its course towards the fleeing stallion. It also picked up speed. With a triumphant howl it charged across the water and up the banks in hot pursuit of Manehattan Silver who quickly vanished in the jungle. Twilight and Rainbow only stared after it as it dove into the dense underwood, leaving a trail of smoldering leaves in its wake. Without a word, the alpacas and the shaman vanished in the thick underwood behind them, apparently no longer interested in the two mares on other side of the lake, now that the spirit had revealed that Manehattan Silver had the statue. “I wonder what will happen to him”, Twilight mused. “Whatever it is, he totally had it coming”, Rainbow replied coolly. The first light of the day became visible through the canopy. Twilight found that she couldn’t stand on her hooves any longer, her injured leg now aching badly, and half collapsed on the ground. Rainbow Dash settled down next to her and draped a wing over her. Twilight let out a relieved sigh and snuggled up against her friend – no, her girlfriend. Rainbow Dash was her girlfriend. And that also meant she could just lean over and plant a long and tender kiss on her lips, which the pegasus eagerly returned. It wasn’t so much the kiss that made her feel almost weightless with joy but the knowledge that there were as many kisses as she wanted, and she could just take them from Rainbow Dash. “We did it”, the pegasus said proudly. “Still a shame we didn’t get to keep the Golden Princess.” “It belongs to the alpacas”, Twilight remarked. “Yeah, yeah, it feels kinda right that they get to keep it”, Rainbow agreed. “Still. It almost feels like losing.” “But only almost.” “How could this be losing?” the pegasus asked and drew Twilight into a long kiss. As Twilight teasingly tugged at Rainbow’s lower lip, and Rainbow’s tongue darted into her mouth, the two forgot the world around them. The sun rose above the canopy and basked the lakeside with the two kissing mares in bright orange light, and the world slowly started fading to black.
Chapter 13Chapter 13 Twilight opened her eyes and found herself back in her basement laboratory, snuggled up to Rainbow Dash, the pegasus’ wings draped around her, just like they had been on the island before the story had ended. Rainbow came to as well and stretched her wings before she quickly took wing and hovered above Twilight. “Whoa”, she just said with a broad grin. “That. Was. Awesome!” “It was”, Twilight agreed. She got up, carefully sparing her injured leg – and then she noticed that her leg was fine. The makeshift bandage and the cut had disappeared because the story was over. Over. Suddenly she felt a large lump in her stomach. Trying to sound as normal as possible, she continued, “Why don’t you go ahead upstairs while I shut down the machine?” “Okay. Maybe I can get Spike to make us something to eat, I’m starving!” With that, she flew up the stairs and left Twilight behind. As soon as she was out of earshot, Twilight collapsed on her haunches. She tried to hold back her tears but was unable to. It was over. The story was over. The exciting adventure about alpacas and ancient ruins and evil goats was over. And, most importantly, so was the romance between her and Rainbow Dash – no, the romance between Daring Do and Rosetta. It had never been her romance in the first place, it had always just been between two fictional characters whose role she and Rainbow Dash had happened to play. And with the play over, the romance was over. She could no longer just walk up to Rainbow Dash and kiss her, as much as she might want to. The story was over, and the pegasus had no reason to kiss her back anymore. She assumed that her feelings for Rainbow shouldn’t be so strong anymore now that they were back to reality, but she couldn’t help but have her thoughts return to all the moments she had shared with Rainbow while inside the story. The lovely relaxed dinner in Marenagua and the premature kiss. Rainbow opening up to her after they had escaped the ruined temple. Falling asleep huddled up next to each other. Rainbow’s head on her lap in the hut in the alpaca village. Walking through the jungle holding tails. Their first real kiss right before they attacked the goats, and the emotion Rainbow had shared with her over their telepathic connection. The relief of seeing her safe and sound after being captured. Realizing that she could just get a kiss from her whenever she wanted one; realizing that they were actually in love. Their passionate last kiss right at the end of the story. It was all over, and instead of enjoying the beautiful memories, all she could feel was painful regret that it was in fact over. She buried her face in her hooves and let her tears run freely, trying without much success to remain silent so that Rainbow wouldn’t hear her – crying because a story was over was decidedly not cool. Idly she wondered how that could have happened, when she suddenly heard Rainbow’s voice from the door. “Twi, you coming? Spike’s not here, so why don’t we just go to Sugarcube Corner and – Twi?” She interrupted herself when she saw the crying unicorn on the cushions next to the machine. “Twi, what’s wrong?” She slowly stepped closer and settled down next to her. “Twilight?” Twilight fought the strong urge to snuggle her face up against Rainbow’s coat, aware that she had no right to this kind of consolation anymore now that their adventure was officially over. Rainbow gently put her wing around her withers and pulled her in closer. The memories of the times she had done this in the story – when they had been in love – just made her cry even harder. “Twi, talk to me!” Rainbow urged. “What’s wrong?” The unicorn couldn’t answer, as more and more sobs shook her body when she realized that this was not her girlfriend lovingly taking care of her, but her friend being worried – and that it wasn’t enough. After what she had experienced in the novel, she wanted Rainbow Dash to be her girlfriend, not her friend. And it wasn’t going to happen in the real world. The pegasus, meanwhile, comfortingly rocked her back and forth and seemed to accept that she was unable to talk for the time being. It took her some time before her sobs started to calm down. She kept her face buried under her hooves when she finally muttered, “I don’t want it to be over.” “What was that, Twi?” Rainbow asked softly. Finally, Twilight uncovered her face, but didn’t dare look even into the direction of the cyan mare next to her. “I don’t want it to be over”, she repeated more clearly. “But we totally aced it”, the pegasus replied uncomprehendingly. “We kicked Manehattan Silver’s flank and got the Golden Princess back to the alpacas and all. We won. No need to cry about that.” “That’s not it”, Twilight mumbled. “I don’t get it, Twi”, Rainbow said, looking confused. “What is it then?” It took all her courage to finally turn to Rainbow Dash and look at her. She fought back the lump of fear in her throat and still only managed a feeble whisper. “I don’t want us to be over.” Rainbow stared at her, obviously not following. “Whatcha talking about?” Twilight took a deep breath and, deciding that all potential damage was done already, explained, “Us. We were, you know, more than friends, back in the story.” She gulped. “I know it was only a story, and it wasn’t real, but – “ Fresh tears flowed out of her eyes. “I don’t want it to be over! I –“ She was interrupted by Rainbow’s lips covering her own. When she broke the kiss, the pegasus smiled at her. “Twilight”, she groaned in faux exasperation. “So what if it was only a story? Does it make it any less real?” Twilight just stared at her with wide wet eyes, dumbfounded by the sudden kiss, unable to answer. Rainbow continued more softly, “Even if it was just a story, what we had back there”, she gently poked her hoof at Twilight’s chest, “in there, it was real, wasn't it?” She nuzzled Twilight on the nose. “I remember what I felt in there, and that’s real enough for me. This isn’t over, I promise.” As Twilight continued to stare at her, she sealed her promise with another kiss which the unicorn gladly returned. When they separated again, Twilight had a smile on her tear-stained face. “Thanks, Rainbow”, she whispered. As if in response, Rainbow’s stomach gave a loud growl. The pegasus chuckled sheepishly. “So what do you say we have our first real-life date at Sugarcube Corner then, like, right now? I’m starving!”
EpilogueEpilogue “Are you ready?” Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash grinned at her and rolled her eyes impatiently. “Yeah, yeah, let’s do this already!” Twilight took a more comfortable position cuddling up against Rainbow Dash; the brainwave outlet helmets getting slightly in the way. On the bookstand, under the metal orb, lay a stack of notebooks, the top one labeled Daring Dash and Rosetta Sparkle and the Mystery of the Jade Zebra in Twilight’s impeccable writing. After planting a quick kiss on Rainbow’s cheek, Twilight pushed the green button, and everything went black. Author's Note There, it's done, my first ever uploaded fanfiction. Wee! Thanks you for reading! I'm grateful for constructive criticism and grammar goatzism. Thanks to the folks organizing the TwiDash contest for making me write this!
