Daring Dash and the Eye of the Star Spider

“This isn´t an adventure…”

“Come on Rainbow, stop pouting and come have some of these...umh what did you called them again Rarity?” Applejack said.

“A submarine sandwich, dear…”

“Ha, that´s so silly, you can´t eat underwater!” Applejack said, in one of those rare literal-minded moment of hers that Pinkie would surely envy, and Rarity responded with a facehoof.

“I don´t want any sandwiches! I wanna go outside! We´re supposed to be in an adventure for Daring Do, not enjoying a cruise tour!” Rainbow retorted.

“Really? The service here is making me feel like in a cruise,” Rarity said, having recovered her composure with a fruit cocktail.

“Ahhh! This is so boring! Why did we have to take this slowpoke aircraft?” Rainbow complained, falling flat to the ground.

“Stop it, Rainbow. Remember that this isn´t just an adventure, is also a diplomatic mission. We can´t just barge into Saddle Arabia like we own the place, “ Twilight Sparkle said.

“Why not? If we rush in we can stop Braze before he gets his fiery hooves on the Star Spider´s Eye, they should thanks us for that.”

“That´s not appropriate! There´s treaties and regulations between our nations to honor, all established since the first encounter of Princess Celestia with…”

Twilight began with one of long lectures and Rainbow fell down again, groaning all the way. WHile Applejack and Rarity ignored them and kept with their lunch, Fluttershy excused herself and got up.

“Where yah going, Flutters?” Applejack asked.

“Mmh, well, I...I need to…”

“Applejack please, that´s not something you ask to a lady,” Rarity chastised her.

“What? Oh is that. Well, if she has to go, why doesn't she just says so?”

“Applejack, seriously…”

Gently retreating from the other argument, Fluttershy walked to the cargo area, avoiding eye contact with the ship crew. The poor stallions got a little hurt, thinking they intimated her but actually, that wasn´t the only reason. Fluttershy was actually trying to avoid them because she had a secret, a secret buried in a big suitcase, that trembled and groaned, demanding to be left out.

“Aaaaah! I can´t stand it anymore!”

“Spike please, be quiet,” Fluttershy said, making sure nopony had followed her.

“But I´m boooored, FLuttershy! Ever since I got into this ship, I had been stuck in this suitcase. I wanna see the ship!”

“I can´t let you out, Spike. Twilight insisted that this mission was too dangerous for you.”

“But I wanna go too! I´m also part of this team, even if you guys keep forgetting about it..” Spike pouted.

“Oh Spike, we never forget about you, it´s just that sometimes there´s situations that are too much for a little dragon for you to handle,” Fluttershy explained, patting his head.

“Yeah yeah, I´m just a baby.”

Fluttershy couldn´t resist giving him a hug. She knew how important it was for the little guy to help, no matter the risks. That´s the reason why she had snuck him into the ship but even so, Fluttershy knew that this mission was too dangerous for him. Actually, she thought it was too dangerous for her too. She only went along because she couldn´t bear thinking her friends being in danger while she was hiding in fear but truth was, she was really scared. Going to an unknown land, to fight against a villian that already captured them once and now he was searching for an item that would make him as powerful as that terrifying Changeling Queen or even that evil King Sombra…

“Fluttershy!”

“Oh, what, what happened?”

“You were totally lost inside your head! You weren´t even listening to me!” Spike complained.

“Oh sorry, what were you saying?”

“I said I want to see the ship!”

“Spike, I already told you…”

“Come on, I´m super bored here. There´s no way you can sneak me aboard, maybe if I sneak in your saddlebags or something?”

“I think you´re a little too big for that, Spike…” Fluttershy said and then gasped after a loud bang. “Quick, hide!”

Fluttershy rushed to the door, trying to come out with a convincing excuse for why she was there, although honestly she could just say she was checking her luggage; and opened the door to find Pinkie Pie.

“Hi Fluttershy!”

“Oh hi PInkie Pie, I was...um I was looking for the bathroom and…”

“You got lost? I get you, sister. I was stuck for two hours arguing with the ship map. He keep saying YOU ARE HERE and I was like, yeah I´m here but where are you? But he never answered me back.”

Fluttershy blinked a few times, she never knew what to say to Pinkie Pie´s ramblings.

“Anyhowwwww, have you seen my inconspicuous pony assemble?”

“Your what?”

“You know, a trench coat, a hat, glasses with a fake nose and moustache. What I use for my routine of pony that trips with a banana peel because I can look like the most common pony that nopony will notice until she trips with the banan?”

It took Fluttershy a full minute to process that and then she said “Oh, no, I...I haven´t seen it.”

“Oh well, I guess I´ll keep looking but it´s gonna be tricky. If anypony is wearing it, he would look so common thant I would never notice him. Oh well,” PInkie said and bounced back to the main deck.

“...did she say what I think she said?” Fluttershy asked while Spike peeked out of the suitcase.

********

Standing atop of a dune, a hooded figure looked at the sky. He growled when he spotted the airship slowly approaching. He rubbed his chin, where a scar was left after his last encounter with the explorer pony. He knew she was coming for him. to stop him for obtaining the magic jewel but he wasn´t going to stand by idly.

“Clouds and winds that swiftly run, thunder and lighting that the sky pierce, at my call gather around and bring to earth that airship!”

He had to stretch phonetically the last rhyme but the spell worked. Braze hold his stick against the skies and in a matter of seconds, a storm cloud formed and marched against the zeppelin.

*****

“All I´m saying is that Daring Do wouldn´t fly in one of these bathtubs,” Rainbow explained, leaning in a couch and chomping on an apple. “She would fly in her own and cross the desert in a matter of days.”

“And surely you would do the same?” Rarity asked.

“Of course not. I´ll do it in a couple hours but that´s because I´m that fast and awesome, “ Rainbow said and the three rolled their eyes. “My point is that she would never waste her time travelling in something so slow when she can just use her wings.”

“What if she couldn´t use her wings like that time she got her wings injured in...book one, her first adventure, right?” Applejack asked, looking at Twilight for help with the data.

“First book but chronologically her third adventure,” Rainbow said, showing off her knowledge much to Twilight's frustration. “On that case she would ask a friend for a more reliable vehicle like a train or maybe those funny airplane things that you wingless ponies have to use, ehehe, you look silly using those things.”

“Well, excuse us for needing help to taking flight,” Applejack said while Rarity made a hmph sound.

“And excuse us, winged ponies, that still prefer to use a safe, modern vehicle and enjoy the company of others,” Twilight said, spreading her wings to make a point.

Rainbow just shrugged and went back to her apple.

“Excuse me, your highness,” a young gaur said, approaching them. “The captain has spotted a storm front ahead so we´ll have to take a slight detour. He also asked you to return to your rooms in case of turbulence.”

“Thank you, Flash Sentry,” Twilight said and the guard bowed. “And also…” Flash stopped and turned around, a bit surprised while Twilight fought against a blush. “Rememberme to thank Cadence and Shining for allowing you to uh take time to escort me, us! In this mission, That...that's all.”

Flash Sentry nodded and retreated with a smile.

It took less than a second for the other ponies to mock Twilight.

“Thank you for taking time to spend with me, Flash,” Rainbow said.

“Stop that. I was just being polite. He travelled all the way from the Crystal Empire just for a favor. I mean, he didn´t had to take my brother´s petition.”

“Oh I bet he wanted to take that order,” Applejack said with a grin.

“I...I don´t know what you mean, Applejack.”

“Come on darling, he looks clearly interested and if he´s anything like that fellow you described us…” Rarity teased her but Twilight wasn´t listening.

“That has nothing to do with this! This Flash and that Flash are different and...and I don´t have to explain you girls anything! Leave me alone!”

“Woah, this desert is huge! No wonder we don´t visit Saddle Arabi more often!” Spike said, looking through the ship windows.

“That´s great Spike but we should really go back to the storage room,” Fluttershy said.

“Oh, now? But I haven't visited the cafeteria and I´m hungry!”

“I´ll get you something later but I don´t want to risk you running into any of our friends. i don't think that disguise...ah!”  Fluttershys rushed to put herself between Spike and Flash Sentry and to look as casual as possible, which considering she was a terrible liar wasn't easy. “Hello there, buddy, friend, compadre?”

“Hello Mrs. Fluttershy, the captain has ordered everypony to return to their rooms.”

“Oh okay, I´ll go back immediately,” she said and Flash Sentry nodded and kept going, allowing Fluttershy to breathe again.

“Oh and tell your dragon friend that the cafeteria is closed.”

“Oh,” was all Fluttershy could said.

Meanwhile, the girls were still teasing Twilight when Pinkie rushed in.

“Itchy hooves! Itchy hooves!”

“What does that mean, daeling?”

“Han on Rarity, I have a list of all of Pinkie Sense signals…” Twilight said but Rainbow saved her the trouble by pointing outside.

“Up ahead!”

The storm cloud wasn´t just moving at them, it wa chasing them. Fueled by an angry and powerful magic, the storm engulfed the airship and began shaking it. The ponies screamed and tried to hold to something, the food bouncing with them and hitting them. Fluttershy hold Spike tight and tried to stay in place, flapping her wings, thinking that was what Rainbow would do in such a situation and she was right but both ponies underestimated the strength of the storm and soon the ship was turned upside down and crashed in the desert.

******

“Ugh, well, at least now this is starting to resemble an adventure…” Rainbow said, shaking her head to get rid of all the sand. She looked around, finding that she had been expelled from the ship and landed in the desert, luckily the sand was soft enough to cushion her fall and she figured her friends also made it okay but she couldn´t find any of them. She looked back and saw a familiar pony lying in the ground, unconscious.

“Hey Flash, dude. Wake up! We need to…”

“Well well, if it isn´t Daring Do is the second best thing.,,,”

Rainbow looked in front of her and saw a large bull and about forty arabian horses, all dressed as obvious thieves and standing ready to assault them.

“I take it back...NOW it looks like an adventure!”