Daring Do was surrounded. Mr Bad Guy's minions had surprised her while she was climbing through a tight shaft, attempting to surprise him with an attack from behind.
She siged deeply. "Get it over with." She said while submitting to the shackles the minions bound her with so she couldn't escape THIS deathtrap.
Mr Bad Guy had her tied to the throne in the dungeon's main chamber. "Do you know what's special about this seat? Whenever somebody could best the current emperor in three disciplines of strength, mental and physical agility without losing once, the emperor would lose his status and die on that very throne."
"And now you have to explain to me how exactly it works. Get on with it. It's only a difference between me kicking your butt in five or ten minutes, anyway." Daring did not have any expression on her face.
"At least you entertain me even before your demise. I like that. The ruler would have to sit on his throne, then trigger the mechanism, which first releases a bunch of paralitically poisonous snakes..."
"It's 'venomous'. Poison is ingested, venom injected."
"Ahem! To stun him, then ever so slowly, the swinging blade approaches his throat from the left, first putting him through minutes of agony until finally breaching the main arteria."
"Snakes don't live thousands of years, you know that? Your trap is most likely harmless by now, the blade'll have rusted through."
"I took the liberty of replacing both. Now, meet your maker."
"The only thing I'll ever meet today is your butt, and that with both of my hindhooves. See you in three minutes flat."
"Gah! Trigger the mechanism, then bring me the sarcastic pony's head. I'm off."
*The author would like to detail Daring Do's escape here, however, it can not remotely be described with words. But believe us, it's leaking liquid awesomeness. We'll resume right when she meets Mr Bad Guy. Thank you for your understanding.*
Rainbow squealed in delight over the story she was reading. Due to her busy schedule being awesome, she hardly got any time to read, even if she wanted. The more she enjoyed whenever she could read, be it on a lunch break in the library or at night at home.
At her speed, she was halfway through the fourth book in the series. In that volume, Daring Do had to go save her sister from Mr Bad Guy, despite the fact that it was a time of the month when she usually didn't adventure.
But family was family, so she had to go. Dash enjoyed the mare's previously unknown affection to sarcasm. It reminded her of herself at times.
After reading a few more pages, Dash suddenly dropped the book onto her belly. It was by that that she noticed how sleepy she already was, so Rainbow decided to stop fighting and let herself drift into the bliss that was sleep.
Some time later, Rainbow came into the library to return volume 4 and borrow the next book from the series.
"Oh, Daring Do and Family Obligations. My favorite!" Spike called out after accepting the book from Rainbow.
"You're reading those too?"
"Yeah. I mean, why else should Twilight have them? As if she ever read anything non-educational..."
Twilight, who was just returning from the little fillies room, blushed ever so slightly, but could hide it before she stepped into the main room.
"Now that you say it, that kind of makes sense. Hey Twilight. Don't mind me, just swapping books again."
Spike dashed away to a corner of the library, where the returned book belonged. After putting it back in place, he ran a claw over the lined up series of Daring Do books, but didn't seem to find what he was searching for.
"Odd. Just number five isn't here. Where could it be?" Everybody in the room looked around, searching where the book may be misshelved. Rainbow was first to spot it.
"Up there!" She pointed a hoof upwards, to the other end of the room, in the top shelf. Spike gave an annoyed groan as he went to get the ladder.
"Erm, Spike?" Twilight stopped him. After a brief confusion, he understood what she meant as she levitated volume number 5 down. "It's time for some sorting, I think."
With that, she magically grabbed the first misplaced book she could find, taking out the one in it's designated spot, then putting it into place and repeating. Over time, she was working with four books at a time.
"You know, some ponies would be happy to be able to do that with ONE book." Rainbow was in awe of Twilight's capability for not only performing the magic, but also knowing every single book's place by heart.
Twilight's eyes were closed. Resorting the library that efficently took a great part of her concentration, so she couldn't respond.
"Eh, just leave her. She'll get done eventually."
There was a short pause where they both just looked at Twilight, still moving around books like a machine. She could see the objects she grabbed magically, so there was no need for her to look.
"I suppose. I'll be off then. Bye!" Rainbow dashed up to the highest window she could reach without passing a door, then jumped out of said, forelegs spread out, hindlegs together. Somewhere, an eagle cried out.
Of course, she had to spread her wings and fly just moments later. But for a moment, that one moment that mattered, she was truly free of all bonds and thoughts, seemingly jumping into doom.
Rainbow Dash laid on her belly, nose in the book she generally carried around now to make waiting times less boring. She had underestimated her speed from the beginning, so now she had to wait for the rest of the group to arrive at one of Pinkie's random picnics.
Pinkie Pie was off somewhere defying the laws of physics, logic and biology at once, when the other four ponies came. Twilight had Spike riding on her back.
"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now." Rainbow hadn't meant to say that, not at all.
"Because I can offer you what you've always wanted." Spike only added to the confusion of five ponies, but amused Rainbow.
"New greeting coming from Cloudsdale that I don't know of?" Twilight attempted to explain her friend's behaviour. The pegasus only shook her head.
"No, what's standing right here." She pointed a hoof towards the open book. "Must've gotten so hooked I accidentally said it out loud. Nice reaction time, by the way."
Spike shrugged it off. "The altar scene's pretty much the highlight of the book, such things stick."
"Isn't it another throne?" Dash's head dived back down to check the text.
"Eh, could be."
"Well, now that we're all here, let us get to it. I'm sure you'll have plenty of time later to for your little book club." Rarity said in a tone of elevated standard. She didn't mean to be talking down to anypony, and her friends knew it, but sometimes she liked to play the lady a bit stronger than usual.
Rainbow nodded and stuffed the book under her wing. It couldn't stay there forever, but it saved Dash opening her saddlebags before it was really necessary.
Daring had, once again, defeated Mr Bad Guy. "You know not what you have done! All I did was save the world... before the bigger evil."
She sighed. "And now that I've kicked your butt, it's unleashed and I have to stop it, right?"
Mr Bad Guy suddenly lost a lot of drama. "Kind of, yes. How did you know?"
"Not like every second villain would do that. Now I go stop that demon thingy there, and when I come back to arrest you, you're gone and I need to stop you yet again. Let's cheat a bit. YOU. WON'T. ANNOY. ME. AGAIN."
Daring angrily made sure to prevent Mr Bad Guy from doing any more harm.
"And now to care for that demon..." She said to herself as just that monster came stomping around the corner.
"Hey Rainbow!"
Dash was pulled from her fantasy violently when two ponies plus one dragon came towards her. She instantly recognised Twilight and Spike, but had a bit of trouble identifying the grey pegasus.
"Hey Twilight and... Glimmer, right?" The pegasus shook her golden mane as a sign of affirmation. "Such a long time since you left Cloudsdale to study magic, yet you look like hardly a day has passed."
"What can I say, good diet, exercise... And a hint of magic." The last few words were whispered, only for Twilight to hear, whose knowing smile extended a bit further.
While the ponies were busy in their talk, Spike got bored and investigated his surroundings further. Daring Do Dealing with Mr Bad Guy Again caught his eye. He decided to look where Rainbow was in the story. Perhaps it'd make a conversation topic.
He checked the title, but that only added to his confusion. He was sure he knew where Rainbow was, but he had never seen that particular piece of text before.
It seemed to show on the outside, as the ponies turned from their conversation towards him.
"Erm, Spike, what's on your mind? You look oddly confused."
"I wanted to see where you are in the book, but I've never before seen this bit of text before, even though I almost know the scene where it is by heart." He indicated towards the part where Daring was detailed dealing with Mr Bad Guy.
"That's strange. Must be a second run. But why would they change text like that?"
When Spike was busy and certainly not listening, Rainbow Dash pulled Twilight aside for a little private conversation.
"That thing with the book's still bothering me, you know. That's why I have to be sure if my suspicion's correct."
Twilight shifted a bit. "Wh- What's your suspicion, then?"
"Seeing as the part he mentioned is rather strong, the copy you got him is probably a censored foals' version, right?"
"Yeah. I got them for him when he was maybe half that size, they grow so fast, you know. Couldn't have handled it back then." Twilight spluttered out, aborting a hastily made excuse.
Picking up on a joke Rarity had pulled earlier, Rainbow Dash had joined Ponyville's book club for adventure books.
Maybe not as much "joined" as "agreed to watch the colts and fillies that were holding it while their usual authority was busy".
At least, that's what she told everypony. Possibly, there was more behind it. She never said anything either way.
Just as she was about to start, Twilight came in, muttering something along the lines of "Glimmer" and "something very important, must be alone". She dropped off Spike to enjoy himself during the day while his mistress was away.
"Alright, colts and fillies. And dragon. The plan says you were reading Daring Do, volume five. You should have it finished by now, it also says. I assume you all did?"
The ponies gave various signs of affimation, Spike spoke up. "I did, but it was some time ago, and since you have the library's copy, I couldn't refresh my knowledge."
There was something in that statement that should have sparked Dash's interest, but she had other things on her mind in that moment. "That's okay, I'm sure it will all come back to you. Who can summarise what happens?"
A pegasus filly with a gray, slightly purple, coat took the challenge. "Daring notices that she didn't kick Mr Bad Guy's butt hard enough in the last book, so she comes back and does it again when he does evil again."
"Good. What happens then?"
A unicorn filly with white coat, who Rainbow only then recognised to be Sweetie Belle, continued. "After she safely chains him somewhere..." *Wow. The foals' version sure is censored.* Dash thought.
"A truly baleful abomination, which was what Mr Bad Guy was trying to keep in its banishment below the earth, comes and Daring has to stop that, too!"
A short pause followed, where even Rainbow had to think about the meanings of the complicated words Sweetie had used. "Erm... Yes. Yes, I think you could say it like that. Quite a little dictionary, aren't you."
Sweetie Belle moved away a bit shily to avoid the compliment.
"What scene did you like best?" The book discussion was going on viscid. Rainbow Dash just didn't grasp the trick behind it. What was so hard about making those foalies talk about a book they liked?
"When she's all tied up with her own leather whip and the Bad Guy wants to torture her, but she just swaps their positions with her awesomeness."
"Whip? It's just a regular piece of rope." An unicorn filly with bright green eyes corrected. Rainbow tried to remember her name. Blurry? Berry? Somewhere there.
"I'm pretty sure my copy says it's her whip."
Dash intervened before the argument, even if so banal, could heat up. "Let's look it up, I brought mine." It wasn't hers, of course. She wasn't sure she really wanted to spend money on books yet, so she just got them from the library for now.
She hastily flipped through the pages, with a vague idea of where the part she looked for was. "Hm, hm, hm... There! 'With his minions holding her down, Mr Bad Guy took Daring's whip and used it to bind all of her legs together with the altar.'
The unicorn flinched a bit. "Ok, if that's what stands there. Sounds just like when I walked in on mom one night..." The second sentence was filled with emotional pain and said so quietly that seemingly nopony but Dash picked it up.
She inspected the book's backside closer. "Author: Flying Quill. Produced at: Canterlot Lecture for Young Ponies. Heh, if they knew. But seriously, ask Twilight a few questions about this. There's some things that don't add up." Rainbow Dash thought.
"Twilight, can we talk?"
"Sure, I... Think? You know I always have time for my friends." Twilight stepped back from the library's door, inviting Rainbow to come inside.
"Thanks. I'm probably overthinking things, but there's something I need to know."
"I thought you'd never ask!"
"Yeah yeah, it took me some time to figure out. But really. Whenever somebody talks about Daring Do, there's always some conflict. It's like every book has different text. Can you tell me something about that?"
"Uh, there's different versions of it, we already discovered that, didn't we?" Twilight tried to mask her disappointment in that Rainbow had not actually brought up the topic she'd hoped for.
"How many? Two foalies that'd have the same one had clearly different text. And... Spike mentioned he has to read the library versions, so he couldn't possibly HAVE a different one than I do. What's going on?"
"Oh colt. Look, there's a small secret that as few ponies as possible should know, but occasionally somepony finds out. As a matter of fact, there's only one version."
"But how are there so many differences?"
"Magic. I know, it sounds like a general excuse, but those books are printed at Canterlot, right? There's a little spell that they can be imbued with to make the viewer like it more."
"So you're - sorry, they're - messing with ponies' heads just to sell their books better?"
"No no. The text literally changes to fit the reader better. Not much, just slight things like censoring a violent scene if the reader couldn't handle it."
"Interesting." Dash thought about the preceding conversation to make sure she understood it. Something that had previously slipped by struck her. "Erm, you didn't think I was going to..."
"I do, Dash. Do you?" Twilight suddenly blushed, perfectly understanding what Rainbow meant.
"... Let's talk about that."