Daring Do And The Overdue Book
Somewhere in a remote part of Equestria, a tired pony with a sprained wing made her way home. It had been a long day of keeping another artifact of power out of the claws of Ahuizotl, and she was absolutely bushed. She turned the doorknob and entered her cottage. She was just about to set down her pack when her eyes fell on a book she'd left out.
"Oh Jay," she said. "This was due almost a week ago..."
Now, you'd think an accomplished author such as she would be more conscientious about such things, but to be fair to Daring Do, known to the world as A.K. Yearling, she found keeping world-changing artifacts out of the claws of villains who would misuse them to be a far more pressing matter. And then there's the fact that getting to the library was a tad... inconvenient.
To say nothing of traversing the library itself.
She turned to go, but her... everything... felt like a lead weight. She dropped her pack by the door. This book would just have to be overdue for a full week.
* * *
Early the next morning, after a good sleep, an energy-giving breakfast, and some basic hygiene, Daring Do picked her pith helmet off the floor where it had fallen in the night, put it on her head... and opened her pack, seeing if there was anything she needed to resupply or replace. After doing so to her satisfaction, and adding an amount of bits she estimated would be enough to cover the late fee -- and more to cover the fee in case she didn't get there the same day, and even more in case the rate went up, and finally, the book itself -- she closed her pack, put it on, and left.
The trail, such as it was, was fairly familiar. Why, she only had to bushwhack a moderate amount this time, so there was that. A piranha-infested river to swing across, assortment of predatory wildlife, assortment of predatory plant life... standard fare.
And now here she was at the door of the library.
Whether the library had actually been built from an ancient temple or the library's architect had simply liked the theme was a question lost to the mists of time, but either way, Daring Do remembered the various traps in place from the last time. Fortunately, she also remembered how to avoid activating them. She took a confident step forward.
THWIP
Daring Do's reflexes took over as she deftly avoided the arrow flying from the hole in the wall.
"Oh, no..." she said with a facehoof, "they've remodeled."
Well, where prior memory of this place isn't going to help, she thought, my keen puzzle-solving skills are going to get a chance to shine.
Careful examination of every visible surface suggested a logical safe path, and after double-checking her work in the dirt outside the temple, she proceeded along, hopping from probable safe square to probable safe square, hoping she didn't make an error. With one final leap over a row she calculated had no safe tiles, she made it into the next room.
A quick scan of the next room made the idea behind it obvious enough: cross the room by stepping on tiles in a particular cycling order; step on the wrong tile, and it'd drop you into acid or alligators or something. She frowned at the tilework.
Okay, she thought. Let's start by assuming there's only one correct path, and this isn't a villain's lair, just a temple...esque library. It's meant to be solvable. I know, there's only one orange tile, so I'll start with that.
A cautious hoof extended toward it, then tentatively touched it a few times before settling her hoof on it. She added more and more pressure until she was actively pushing on it to make it give way if it were going to. She carefully brought her other hooves onto it, as well. She then stood fully upon it, ready to leap if it gave way just as she might be thinking it was safe.
The tile in front was yellow, so she took that, quite correctly, to be the next logical move. Another couple of orange tiles eliminated the path forward and to the left, so she took the pink tile to the right. But now, a conundrum presented itself in the form of a cyan tile in one direction and a white one in the other. For this, she had to think a few moves ahead; from this, she determined that the white tile was the correct choice, and moved to it. The next problem was that all the tiles in the directions she could go in were cyan, and two led to a purple tile. On the other hoof, this pretty much spelled out the rest of the cycle, and one of the cyan-then-purple paths would never get her to the other side, so she took the other such path.
Similar processes of deduction led her safely across... but instead of leaving just yet, she decided to see just what would've been her fate if she had fallen in. She tapped a wrong tile and watched as it swung on its hinge. Underneath? Spikes.
Then a rumble, and the sound of stone grinding against stone. She looked up and gaped as a spike-embedded ceiling lowered toward her! She exited the room as quickly as she could.
Right into a narrow sloping hallway.
Daring Do hated those.
She broke into a full gallop without even bothering to look behind her. Given that the next sound was a loud thud followed by the sound of something very large and heavy rolling, she surmised that this had been the correct course of action. The sound growing louder and louder wasn't exactly making this impression any fainter. She swung over the pit at the end, swearing she could feel the breeze off of the boulder as it fell in. She passed through this doorway, as well, wondering what fiendish puzzle she'd have to solve now.
She emerged in a well-lit room with nice carpeting and a soft couch. Several bookshelves were organized throughout the room, and the reception desk stood before her. Daring Do looked longingly at the couch, but knew that if she tried to take even the shortest of breaks upon it, she would likely be paying for an additional day. No, she would take care of business first.
"Ah, Daring Do, my favorite patron!"
"Your only patron, you mean."
The librarian waved a hoof. "Semantics. Now, what brings you here? Ah, you must be bringing back that overdue book, Myths of Ancient Bovinia!"
"Yeah, that's right," said Daring Do, removing the book from her pack and putting it on the desk. "How much do I owe?"
"Hmm... it's been overdue a week, so... 700 bits should cover it."
"You have increased your rates," Daring Do said, getting out the requested amount.
"Well, we've remodeled recently."
"I've noticed," Daring Do said, dryly. "My first clue of that was nearly my last. I think each of my mane stripes has hairs in them that changed to the color of the lighter stripe next to them."
"Now, Daring Do," the librarian smiled warmly, as she accepted the money, "you don't yet know that to be true." The librarian set to recording the transaction.
"Okay, maybe, but I am starting to foam up from the exertion of getting here. And if last time I was here was any indication, the mane thing is probably true." Daring Do sighed. "You're lucky you have books I'm willing to brave traps for. You know, maybe you'd have more patrons if you got rid of the traps altogether...?"
"Now, what kind of library would we be if we did that? One sorely lacking in verisimilitude, that's what."
"...Can't argue with that," she said. Actually, she could, if she weren't starting to crash from the adrenaline wearing off. "How long until closing?"
"You've got a few hours if you want to browse..."
"No, just... need some rest, that's all. Would you wake me if it gets near closing time?"
"Of course."
"Someday, I'm gonna get too old for your traps," said Daring Do, ambling toward one of the couches and climbing onto it, "and then you'll lose your only patron. Possibly by me gaining enough sense to stop patronizing it." She lay on the soft cushion and got comfortable. More comfortable, in fact, than she often was in her own bed.
The librarian smirked. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Ooh! A bridge! Maybe one that throws you into a chasm if you answer a question wrong? No, better, one that detaches from the side you enter on and makes you climb it like a ladder..."
The sound of furious fieldwriting was the only sound accompanying Daring Do's descent into dreamland...
* * *
Daring Do found herself being roughly shaken.
"Mrrr, five more minutes, Mom..." she said.
"Yes, five more minutes, that's how long you've got until closing! Get up!"
Daring Do's eyes snapped open. "Ack! I've gotta get outta here!" She sat up, closed her pack, and sprinted for the exit. "Ah, it was a really interesting read! See you sometime! Bye!"
"Goodbye," said the librarian, smiling.
* * *
Daring Do raced down the hallway, only to skid to a stop when she came to a branching pathway.
"A maze... why did it have to be a maze?"
Two minutes later, Daring Do was sure she had hit every dead end in the early part of the maze, and that was with having to be on the lookout for arrow traps, fall-away floors, and other dangers. She couldn't afford many more mistakes, and the sound of grinding stone she was sure meant the door was closing didn't help at all.
Another minute, and the door was in sight, and only partway down. With renewed energy, she sprinted for it.
"Ah, plenty of TIIIIIME...?!?"
She came to a stop, right at the edge. A bit of rock she hit along the way tumbled down past the cliff face. Normally, this would be a perfectly viable exit for a pegasus, but in her condition? She raced back into the maze to look for an alternate route.
Thankfully, she found one, but the door was rather low by this time, and was getting unrelentingly lower. She again sped up, and slid under the door safely. Her pith helmet was knocked off as she passed under it, though, and she reached for it... before withdrawing her hoof.
"Eh, I've got a closet full of those at home."
* * *
Daring Do made her way back home. The trip was relatively uneventful, at least, inasmuch as the path to the library was ever uneventful. Pack off, clothes off, a quick rinse and dry, and she tucked herself into her own bed, and treated herself to a good night's sleep.
* * *
"The End."
"My, that was rather more suspenseful than the title would suggest."
"I, um, liked it when she was able to take a rest."
"Ah'm kinda partial to the boulder chase, m'self."
"I loved that colored tile room! Didn't that color pattern remind you of something, though? 'Cause it sure did me!"
The others looked at each other.
"What's that?"
"A cupcake with orange, banana, strawberry, blue raspberry, coconut, and grape frosting, of course!"
"That aside... Y'know, that library sure had some interesting ideas..."
"Don't. Even. Think about it, Twilight."