Rainbow Dash waited impatiently at the practice field for her honorary little sister, tapping her hind hoof restlessly. They were supposed to meet ten whole minutes ago, and Scootaloo knew that. Something made her run late, and she dearly wanted to know what that was.

In the distance, there was a trail of dust clouds moving towards her. After another thirty seconds, an orange filly rolled up on her scooter, skidding to a halt in front of her. Scootaloo removed her helmet, looking concerned by at her idol. “I know! I know! I’m late! I’m sorry!”

The worried look on the filly’s face softened Rainbow’s features. “It’s no big deal. Just ten minutes, is all.” She assured, tussling the Crusader’s mane. “What kept you, anyway?”

Scootaloo perked up, jumping ahead with a buzz of her wings and a swish of her tail. “Oh, I was playing a round of Dragon Pit with Bolt and Twilight! We… ran a little long.”

The mare winced as discreetly as she could manage, walking along after her. “Cool. Did you win?”

“Nah. My dragon got trapped…” She lamented. “But it was still really fun! And it was so adorable when Nova flipped the whole board over when Bolt’s dragon got hit!”

Imagining the little colt laughing with a lit horn and knocking over an entire board game, Rainbow couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “Oh, I can imagine! So, you ready to practice?”

“I was born ready!” Scootaloo declared, jumping into the air and flexing her forelegs.

“That’s what I like to hear!” Rainbow declared, pumping her hoof. She galloped past the younger pony, taking a position at the starting line. “Okay, then, let’s go for twenty laps, no flying!” She hunched over, taking a running stance as Scootaloo took a position beside her. “Ready… Set…” Her hind legs instinctively pushed forward, starting her run preemptively. “GO!!!” The very instant the word left Rainbow Dash’s mouth, Scootaloo was behind her. It wasn’t as fast as when they flew together, but the thundering hooves beneath them, combined with the wind in their manes was truly exhilarating, rounding the turn with an ease that brought the speed freaks no end of joy. After the laps were done, they moved onto a set of hurdles, followed by practice with each individual obstacle in sequence. After an unexpected dip in the mud pool, they gave themselves a quick wash, moving over to a bowl filled to the brim with eggs. Rainbow Dash plucked one of the eggs out of the bowl, holding it up to her honorary sister. “Okay, Scoot, last obstacle!”

“Okay! This is one I’ve got down!” The filly declared. She brought her nose up to the closest egg, flipping it into the air and reaching up nose-first, catching the egg on the tip of her nose to balance perfectly as her forelegs touched the ground once more. “I’ve been practicing this one every day at home!”

The Wonderbolt froze, giving the Crusader a wide-eyed look and dropping her own egg on the ground. “Wow... “ She retrieved another egg, carefully bringing it up to balance on her nose. “So, by ‘home’ do you mean your house, or the castle?”

“Both!” She answered, flourishing her egg with a small hop. “Twilight gave me a lot of advice on balance, and it’s not like there aren’t any eggs at my aunts’ place, either.”

Rainbow winced one more time, dropping the egg in the process. She let out a gasp, scrambling her forelegs to catch it only for it to crack open on her hooves. “Aww, man…” She shook her hooves free of the sticky substance, wiping the rest off on a towel as she grabbed a new egg. “Okay… Let’s try this... again…”

“Are you okay, Rainbow Dash?” The foal queried, trotting in front of her.

Rainbow held her nose high, keeping her latest egg as still as she could. “Just fine, why?”

Scootaloo squinted inquisitively, putting her egg aside. “Fine, huh?” She fluttered up to be level with the mare’s face. “You know, that word doesn’t always mean what you think. Bolt taught me it can mean something else.”

There was another wobble in Rainbow’s egg as her eye performed a twitch. “Yeah, I know that whole ‘fractured, insecure, neurotic, and emotional’ bit. What makes you think that I’m any of those things?”

Scootaloo landed, turning around and moving back to her egg. “Oh, nothing, really.” She picked it up again, perching it atop her nose. They continued their balancing act in silence for a few seconds, Rainbow Dash letting out a sigh of relief at the conversation’s end. She was ready to put all distractions aside and-- “Bolt.” --jump, tossing the egg into the air as she tipped backwards, pratfalling like a professional clown and getting a freshly-broken egg on her face.

Rainbow sat up, glaring at the snickering filly with a face so burning red that the egg running down it began to turn white. “What the heck was that for, squirt?!”

“What? All I did was say his name.” She explained, gently returning her egg to its bowl. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Rainbow Dash stood up in a huff, wiping the egg off of her face and refusing to look back at her. “I’m fine! We’re done for the day, so you can go ‘home’ to those other ponies you’re so fond of!”

“Woah… Didn’t think you’d take a little joke that hard…” Scootaloo started, reaching her hoof out. “I’m sorry… Can we keep going? I really do wanna spend more time with--" Rainbow spread her wings, taking off at full speed and leaving an enormous cloud of dust in her wake. “... you…” Her hoof fell back to the ground as her ears attempted to follow suit.

The following three days fared no better for Rainbow Dash. She tried incessantly to practice that one little obstacle, but the moment the egg touched her nose, memories of her embarrassment came to her mind and sent her faltering. After a final attempt failed, she stomped her hoof into the mess, taking off out of her house.

The sky, as always was a refreshing place to be. The fluffy clouds, the fresh air, the wind in her mane. Everything up there was perfect. So I’m having some trouble with eggs. I can get over it! It’s not like we don’t have every other part of the race totally down! She weaved between a line of clouds, coming upon the gargantuan crystal structure that was Twilight’s castle. I should probably apologize to Scoot for storming off the other day. She went into a dive, making a fast, skidding landing that sent her through the balcony door and into the hallway beyond. She trotted onward, thinking of what she would have to say as a pair of voices entered her ears.

“I really think we should. She’s already part of the family, after all.” Boltsinger argued.

“I know she is, but… I don’t know. I still feel like it’s not the right time yet.” Twilight replied, sounding uncertain.

“Why not? She practically lives here, already, and she’s a pretty devoted big sister, to boot.” He stated. “I mean, she went through an extradimensional labyrinth to save Nova!”

“That’s true…” She affirmed. “I wish Discord would use that magic on Smarty Pants again. I always wanted to have a real conversation with her.” Rainbow stepped up to the slightly open door, peeking inside as Twilight shook her head from the distraction. “Anyway, I know that she’s just as big a part of this family as Nova is, but I can’t shake the feeling that we’d be getting between her and Rainbow Dash. You know how close those two are!”

What are they talking about…? Rainbow wondered, twitching her tail with intrigue.

“You have a point…” He agreed, hanging his head. “Maybe we should talk to Rainbow about it?”

“I think that would be for the best.” Twilight confirmed, standing up and stretching her legs. “We can ask her about it when we get the chance. In the meantime, I have papers to grade.”

Boltsinger nodded, standing up and heading for the door. “Okay. But you know, I’ve already talked to Lofty and Holiday about it, and they seemed to be okay with the idea.”

As the stallion came closer to the door, Rainbow dashed to the side, sidling against the wall while it opened in front of her. Lofty and Holiday? What do Scoot’s aunts have to do with any of this? Unless… A loud gasp escaped the Wonderbolt’s mouth, causing her to tense up and shove her hooves over them.

With a twitch of the ear, Boltsinger stopped, turning to see what made the noise. “Honey? Did you gasp just now?”

“No. Why? Did you hear something?” The Alicorn called back.

“I think so.” He said, scratching his head with his wing. “Must’ve been my imagination…”

Rainbow waited a few moments as the sound of trotting commenced. When the timing was just right, she rose up to the top of the hall, diving down for an audible landing just outside the door. “Hey, Bolt! Hey, Twilight! Whatcha doin’?”

“Grading papers!” Twilight answered. “I’ll talk to you soon. Just need to concentrate right now.”

Boltsinger raised his wing in greeting. “Hey, Rainbow. I’m going to check on Scootaloo and Nova. Wanna come with me?”

Rainbow shrugged, making to follow him. “Sure. Been meaning to talk to Scoot, anyway.”

The Pegasi turned into the next room, where two orange blurs zipped by on the floor. One was making a howling noise, while the other was giggling so giddily it was hard to tell he was pretending. Boltsinger sent a smirk over at Rainbow Dash, who smiled back in kind. They each spread their wings, took a deep breath, and let out their best roar. Scootaloo and Nova stopped dead, looking at the older ponies as they dove at them with some giggles of their own. The young ponies met the tackles with a smile, Scootaloo jumping over her honorary big sister and hovering above her. Nova, however, wasn’t so quick, and found himself in his father’s forelegs with a face nuzzled against him. Boltsinger landed on his back, lifting him up and bouncing the bubbly baby up and down.

“If you like playing wolves this much, you’re gonna love playing Monster Trackers!” He exclaimed, letting out another howl. He kept the motion going a little longer, pondering all the things his colt may enjoy, then pulled him close again. “Say… Do you think he’d like Daring Do?”

Rainbow and Scootaloo stopped their wrestling for a moment, looking at the stallion like he’d gone insane. “Why wouldn’t he love Daring Do?” Scootaloo asked. “Who doesn't like those books?”

“Rarity.” Rainbow and Boltsinger simultaneously deadpanned.

A smidge of genuine confusion began showing itself on the filly’s expression as her jaw hung open. “But… But how?! The action!” She struck a dynamic fighting pose in the air. “The puzzle-solving!” She stacked a number of Nova’s blocks up to be roughly twice her height. “The suspense!!!” She raised her forelegs defensively as the block tower wobbled, falling over next to her. “It’s got everything you’d ever want in a story!”

Boltsinger smiled proudly at his favorite filly, putting Nova down and standing up. “True, but Rarity just doesn’t mesh with that kind of adventure.” He walked over to the girls, running his hoof through the mono-color mane. “Just means more for us!”

Scootaloo let out a laugh, waving her hoof to shoo him off. “Hey! That tingles!”

Rainbow tilted her head. “Tingles?”

Boltsinger mirrored the mare, moving to remove his hoof. “Weird… Why would it…” The hoof and the mane refused to separate. “... Oh…” He turned his head back, noticing a tingle of his own. There, standing at attention, were his wings, sparking with electricity. “Oh!” He directed his attention to Scootaloo, whose mane was similarly sparking, her tail doing the same on Rainbow Dash’s stomach. “Ooooooooooooooh… You girls may want to grab on!”

“Grab on?” Repeated Rainbow.

“Eeyup! It’s bound to be easier than trying to get loose!” He confirmed. He gave a hard flap of one of his wings, blowing the nearest window open as he made a deep inhale. “TWILIGHT! LIGHTNING HAS STRUCK! I REPEAT, LIGHTNING HAS STRUCK!”

Scootaloo sent her idol a terrified glance. “Oh no… He’s about to--" And the thunderclap sounded, leaving a smoking scorch mark where the ponies had stood.

Thick jungle stretched as far as the eye could see. Scootaloo shook her head, finding it free of Boltsinger’s hoof as she took on her surroundings. Upon knowing they had landed, she immediately perked up, shaking the full grown ponies beneath her. “Rainbow Dash! Bolt! Wake up! We’re here!”

Boltsinger’s hoof rose dramatically. “Never fear, tiny giant! I’ve just gotta smite the evil moth monster!” He droned.

Rainbow’s hoof rose in kind. “SMITE ‘IM GOOD!”

The Crusader rolled her eyes, shaking the ponies some more. “Come on, snap out of it!”

Boltsinger’s eyes snapped back to normal, his body jolting to his hooves without so much as a thought. “Right! I’m up! I’m up! Where’d we land?!” After a few seconds of his head darting every which way, his breathing began to calm. He looked back at where they had landed, seeing a twenty foot-long groove in the ground made by their impact and wincing.. “Ouch… You two okay?” He offered a hoof, smiling sheepishly.

Scootaloo buzzed her wings, rising out of their landing site with ease. “No issues here.”

Rainbow Dash took the extended hoof, climbing to her own and brushing herself off. “I’m fine.” She looked back at the groove, sharing her fellow flyer’s cringe. “Heck of a landing, though…”

“You’re telling me!” A rasp called from a nearby bush. “You scared me half to death! I almost gave away my position!” The bush began to rustle, and a pony emerged. She was a tan-coated Pegasus with eyes the same color as Rainbow Dash. Likewise, her mane and tail looked shockingly similar to the Wonderbolt’s, but with a grayscale color scheme. She wore an explorer’s jacket and a well-worn pith helmet, with a compass rose emblazoned on flanks. She looked between Rainbow and Boltsinger with a stern face. “What were you thinking, crashing like that?”

“I… sorta couldn’t help it.” The stallion answered, finding his head increasingly itchy with embarrassment. “Sorry, Daring…”

The mare’s name struck a chord in the filly’s mind. She looked up at Boltsinger, who was interacting with this pony like they’d known each other a while. She turned to Rainbow Dash, who looked like she was getting ready for an adventure at the mere sight of this pony. Finally, her eyes fell on the newest face in the group, closely examining her features. “It can’t be… You’re… You’re…” She took a breath to let out her next word, but found her mouth quickly muffled by a bright orange hoof.

“Yes, Scootaloo, she’s Daring Do.” He whispered. “But we can’t nerd out right now. We already made enough noise with our landing…”

Daring hunched over, casting her gaze back and forth. “He’s right. Caballeron’s henchponies could be here any second… We’d best make ourselves scarce.”

Rainbow gave the adventurer an understanding nod. “Gotcha!” She offered a hoof to her honorary little sister. “Come on, Scoot, let’s fly!” Scootaloo grinned back at the Wonderbolt, buzzing her wings. The two speed demons took off into the air, flying to the clouds above.

Daring and Boltsinger looked up to the sky, a concerned look showing up on the performer’s face. “Why does everyone forget…?” He turned to Daring. “Could you catch Rainbow Dash, please?”

“Catch her?” Daring repeated, cocking an eyebrow. “Why would I need to--" A shrill yell answered the archaeologist, coming from high in the sky. She looked at the scream’s source, finding Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo careening towards them with electricity trailing off of them. “What the heck?!”

“Yeah, it’s weird to explain, just follow my lead!” He told her, taking off after the smallest of their number. Daring rolled her eyes, following suit after Rainbow.

The four ponies collided in the air, spinning out towards the largest of the nearby trees. Daring Do sat up, spitting out some leaves. “And just what was that all about?” She pointed her hoof at Rainbow and Scootaloo. “What the heck happened to you two?”

“Sorry!” Boltsinger cried out, lowering his head. “That’s… kinda my fault.”

“How is it your fault?” The writer wondered, sending him a glare. He began telling her the nuances of how his lightning behaves, in particular with how it affects others that come with him. “So, they got flung back at you because they got too far away? But that doesn’t make sense! Last time I saw you, you brought ponies with you and we all split up to do different things!”

“Different circumstances.” He reasoned. “But even erratic lightning seems to have rules. We’ll just have to abide this time around.”

Daring gave off a mildly annoyed sigh, looking at the ground below. A large Earth Pony stallion with shifty eyes was patrolling just beneath, scanning the area diligently. “Well, if you’re here, then you might as well help out.” She looked sternly over to Scootaloo. “Which means you do exactly as I say. Got it?”

Before the filly could respond, a cyan hoof wrapped around her. “Don’t worry about Scoot. She’s as tough as they get!”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Daring retorted, checking the ground again. “Okay, the coast is clear! Let’s go!” She waved them forward, jumping down from the tree.

The lightning-charged ponies followed suit, the stallion walking next to Daring. “So, what’s the situation?”

“You remember how I mentioned the ancient Pony-glyphs when we met in Somnambula?” She started. Boltsinger nodded in confirmation with Rainbow not far behind. “Well, I’ve been following some clues, and I’m pretty sure one of them is nearby. Unfortunately, Caballeron caught wind of it, too, and he’s been ravaging the jungle to find both it, and me!”

“So we need to be sneaky, huh?” He suggested. “Why don’t we just fly? Caballeron and his henchponies are all Earth Ponies. We have the aerial advantage!”

“All the more reason for them to look up.” Daring reasoned. “He’s got towers set up all over the place to search for us in the skies.”

“Besides, why would there be any clues up there?” The Wonderbolt added, motioning to the forest around them. “It’s never as easy as just flying around for it.”

Boltsinger closed his eyes, scratching his chin with his wing as his companions stopped moving. “Hadn’t thought of that…”

As the stallion moved onward, Scootaloo raised a hoof. “Uh, Bolt?”

“So… Where is this temple, anyw--” He started, finding himself rapidly descending until he felt a sudden wash of cold and wet. As his wings touched the water, a powerful jolt of electricity erupted in and around him, sending him screaming and shooting out of the water and straight into the nearest cloud. He poked his head out, shaking his head and breathing heavily while Rainbow fell to the ground in hysterics. “You could’ve warned me!”

As he made his descent, Scootaloo facehoofed. “I was trying to!”

“And if you’d stopped to look around, you’d have seen that we were here already.” Daring stated, pointing to the lake. “I’m pretty sure the temple is down there.”

Boltsinger looked at his reflection in the water, swallowing a lump in his throat. “... I see… Well, that presents an interesting problem.”

“I don’t see a problem at all…” A thickly-accented voice chided as a brown Earth Pony stallion emerged from the jungle. His mane, tail, bushy eyebrows, and stubble were all black, with some gray stripes running through the coiffed hair that came from his head and rump. He had a Cutie Mark of an ornate gold skull with an emerald and ruby for eyes, and wore a faded green shirt with a high collar and rolled-up sleeves, tying a red ascot with white polka dots underneath the collar. He focused his bright green eyes on Daring Do with a smug yet hateful glare. “After all, you just led me right to my goal!”

Daring met the stallion’s gaze in equal measure, taking a fighting stance. “Caballeron! How did you find us?”

“It’s not often you see a bolt of lightning in the middle of the jungle!” The villain stated. Daring sent her glare towards Boltsinger, who shrank into himself with a sheepish grin.

“What’s one pony gonna do to stop her, anyway?” Scootaloo asked, stepping forward and looking angrily at the Earth Pony.”You’ve never beaten her before!”

Caballeron smirked down at the filly, forcefully patting her head. “What a smart little filly… You must be an avid reader…”

Rainbow Dash and Boltsinger tensed up considerably, hunching over, flaring their wings, and boring their eyes into Caballeron. “Scootaloo… come here…” The mare suggested, beckoning with her hoof.

Caballeron smiled maliciously, putting his hoof around the Crusader, whose stern face fell away to reveal a new state of panic. “Now, now… don’t be like that! We can still be friends, can’t we?” He gave his nemesis a cocky smile, alternating his attention between the Wonderbolt and the living lightning bolt. “I mean, you did come all this way. We should be more…” He raised his free foreleg, stomping hard next to Scootaloo’s hoof, causing a number of henchponies to appear from all around. He lifted the foal up, turning her around to face the other Pegasi with pinpricks for pupils. “... hospitable!” The grown Pegasi looked around at the angry faces, once again landing on Scootaloo and lowering their wings.

Daring Do scowled at Boltsinger as the ropes around them tightened. The four Pegasi had been bound, back to back, around a stump in the middle of Caballeron’s camp, where the henchponies ran about, gathering the gear required to make a dive into the lake while the pony in charge lounged on a fluffy pillow and watched. “You really have gotten cocky, Daring Do. Bringing a foal on one of your adventures? Too bad for you, your weakness for the innocent proved to be your downfall!”

“You won’t get away with this, Caballeron!” Daring spat, struggling to free herself from their bindings. “Why are you even doing this, anyway? These glyphs don’t even have any value!”

“Maybe not to me.” He affirmed, motioning to himself. His face turned fierce as he got close to his foe, poking his hoof into her chest. “But they have value to you! You’ve cheated me out of every treasure I’ve sought for so many years, what better revenge could there be than to take from you the treasure you’ve been the most desperate to find?!” He stood tall, looming over his least favorite pony with a smug, villainous grin. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…” He walked over to a nearby crate, pulling out a diving suit. “I feel like going for a swim!” He draped it over his back, walking away with twisted laughter.

Several of the henchponies followed their leader back to the lake, leaving one to secure the area. He marched back and forth, keeping his head on a swivel while a soft snicker was heard by the heroine. “What’s so funny?” Rainbow whispered, casting a glance at Boltsinger.

“Nothing.” He said, narrowing his eyes at their guard. “Just thinking of how good it’s gonna feel to kick Caballeron’s butt.”

“And how do you expect to do that?” Daring angrily inquired. “So far, all you’ve done since you got here is crash so hard you made a groove in the ground, send your own friends flying because of some stupid rule, and give away our position by shooting lightning out of your own body! Not to mention, you brought a defenseless filly with you! A filly that they threatened in order to make us give up! So now we’re all tied up while Caballeron goes after the Pony-glyph!”

Daring felt a sudden, sharp pain in her side, finding the aforementioned filly staring her in the face. “Hey! I am not defenseless!”

“Yeah! Scootaloo is one of the bravest, toughest little ponies ever!” Rainbow Dash concurred. “No way am I gonna count her out!”

“I have yet to see any proof of that…” Daring argued, turning away from the foal.

“You haven’t given her a chance.” Boltsinger reasoned, letting out another snicker. “Besides, when has being tied up ever stopped you? They even went as far as to use ROPE. That’s just begging for a ‘Daring’ escape!”

The guard stopped dead, jerking his attention to the prisoners. “What did you just say?”

“What? I didn’t say anything!” He answered, flashing a nervous grin. “You’re doing great, by the way.” The henchpony leaned in, looking Boltsinger in the eye. He examined the orange stallion up and down, trying to figure out just what he might be up to. Boltsinger wiped the grin from his face, lowering his head as he received a hard snort in his face, the guard turning to return to his duty.

Looking out at his surroundings, the henchpony breathed a sigh of relief. That lake looked deep, especially if a hidden temple was at the bottom, and he was glad all he had to deal with was guarding his boss’ enemies. Easier to sit and enjoy the sounds of nature. Tweeting birds, a cool breeze, the snapping of rope. That last sound didn’t make much sense to him. He looked back at the prisoners, catching a brief glimpse of Daring Do charging towards him. With momentary hoofprint in his vision, everything went black.

A splash came from the water in a large, empty chamber, letting a group of ponies in diving suits emerge. They lifted themselves out of the water, breathing heavily and removing their helmets.

Daring Do raised her head, looking around. “Is everypony okay?”

Rainbow Dash raised a hoof, sliding out of her suit. “I’m good. How ‘bout you, Scoot?”

Scootaloo shook herself dry as she left her suit. “I’m okay!”

Boltsinger looked at the garment that mow lay beneath him, breathing a sigh of relief. “I’m good, too. And thankful for insulation!”

Daring nodded, turning towards the hallway. “Good. Now let’s get moving! There’s no telling how much of a head start Caballeron and his goons have got!” The other ponies let out sounds of agreement, following the seasoned adventurer into the temple depths.

Boltsinger kept pace with Scootaloo as the ponies walked, two by two, through the temple. Rainbow Dash found herself looking back at the pair of orange equines more often than not, making a mess of her thoughts and feelings. She faced forward once more, feeling a shifting beneath her hoof. Her movement stopped as her eyes slowly shifted downward, finding that her hoof had fallen upon a symbol of a swordfish. “Uh-oh…”

A click came from the walls, directing their attention to some rapidly-opening holes. “GET DOWN!” Daring ordered, diving into Rainbow as spears flew out from the holes. Boltsinger followed suit, grabbing onto Scootaloo and hitting the deck. When the whizzing of flying spears stopped, Daring stood up, helping the Wonderbolt to her hooves. “What was that about? You normally don’t spring traps that easily!”

“Sorry. Just got some stuff on my mind.” She replied, chancing a glance back at Scootaloo. She was being thoroughly inspected by Boltsinger, who held a panicked expression as he did so.

“Well, you need to concentrate, or it could spell disaster.” Daring reminded her, guiding her attention forward again. “Would it help if you talked about it? I know you Element-bearers like to do that kind of thing.”

Rainbow reared her head back, giving off a groan. “Do I have to? We’re in the middle of an adventure!”

Daring shrugged, adjusting her pith helmet and continuing forward. “You don’t have to. It’s just a suggestion.”

Rainbow trotted ahead. “It’s this thing with Scootaloo. It feels like she doesn’t look up to me like she used to.” They came upon a ledge that loomed over a pit of spikes, leaping over with ease. “Like, she used to get super excited to do anything with me, but now whenever we’re together, all she talks about is Twilight and Bolt.”

“So she likes other ponies now?” Daring guessed, jumping in unison with the group over a series of incoming pillars that careened at them from the side. Rainbow gave her a confirming nod as they landed, venturing onward. “What’s so bad about that?”

“Well, it’s not bad at all.” She admitted, stopping the adventurer short of a series of tiles. She looked at the walls, then back at the tiles below. She shrugged, spreading her wings and flying over it. “But she’s pretty much my little sister, and lately it feels like I’m not her idol anymore... I really liked being her role model.”

“So you don’t like that you’re not the center of her world?” Daring sighed, looking back at the ponies behind that followed her lead. “Do you remember how, when we met, you were totally obsessed with how ‘cool’ I am?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“You remember how things went while you were geeking out?”

Rainbow thought back to her first meeting with the pony she believed was the greatest adventurer of all time, finding herself cringing at some of her actions. “Oh… Yeah, it wasn’t pretty.”

Daring gave her number one fan a hard pat on the back. “Exactly. If that filly is moving past her hero worship, you should let her. It’s not like you can’t still be sisters.”

“I guess…” Rainbow relented. The group came upon an enormous rotunda with a set of large doors at the end. On the walls were etchings of different types of fish, ranging from tiny goldfish to seahorses to swordfish to hammerhead sharks. The fish alternated between facing the entrance and facing the doors. Rainbow approached the doors curiously, pushing at them to find that they refused to budge. “So what’s going on here?”

“It almost feels like we’re underwater!” Scootaloo pointed out, receiving a flat look from the stallion next to her. “Well, maybe not exactly like it, but it’s still pretty!”

“Looks like whoever built this place had one last key to get in.” Daring reasoned, observing the walls. “Some of these fish look dangerous…”

“Some of them are pretty harmless, though.” Boltsinger added. “Like the seahorses, here. They don’t do anything to anypony.” He reached for the closest seahorse pattern to him, which looked in the direction of the closed doors. It slid into the wall as his hoof made contact, letting out a soft blue glow. His head recoiled, looking between Daring and the pattern. “Uh… Daring… I think I broke something…”

Daring cantered over to see what he meant, leaning in close to the light. “More like you found something! Everyone, search for more seahorses!”

The group scattered around the room, scouring the walls for more images of the creature. After a moment, Scootaloo excitedly buzzed her wings, looking at an image that faced the room’s entrance. “I found one!” She quickly pressed it, hearing a shifting in the wall behind it. “Did that do anything?”

“Nnope.” Boltsinger stated.

Rainbow chuckled, directing the filly’s attention around the room to reveal that the blue light had gone out. “Looks like you went a little backwards, squirt.”

“Really? But I pressed the seahorse just like you did!” She turned back to the image with a frustrated growl, pressing it again. “Why didn’t it work?!”

Boltsinger sat beside Scootaloo, putting a hoof on her back. “Relax, Scoot. It’s one setback. We’ll figure it out.”

“Was there something different about the one you pressed?” Daring inquired, stepping up to examine it.

“Not really. It looks just like the one Bolt found.” Scootaloo answered, motioning to the etching. “See for yourself.”

The adventurer’s hoof found its way to her chin, putting her eyes mere inches from the image on the wall. “You’re right… it’s exactly like the one Bolt found…” Her head swiveled back, looking at the image Boltsinger had pressed. “But it was on the opposite wall! That’s it!” She rose to the air, flying around the room to search for her targets. “What do you think will happen if we press every seahorse that’s swimming toward the doors?” She flew over to each of the seahorse images, pressing them in sequence. The room became awash with the soft blue light as a rumbling began. Daring Do, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Boltsinger turned to face the door, which slowly slid apart, revealing a wide room with a pedestal in the middle. On top of the floor’s protrusion sat a stone slab with ancient writing all over it that sent a large smile onto Daring’s face. She galloped into the room, her companions in tow as she examined the slab.

“So this is one of the Pony-glyphs, huh?” Rainbow guessed, circling the pedestal.

“Yes. This is one of the only records of Equestria’s lost history.” The archaeologist affirmed, scanning the thing that held up the treasure. “Now, how do we get this without springing the--”

“Trap?” A familiarly-accented voice suggested from the entrance. All motion in the room stopped, directing their eyes at the voice’s owner. In the open doorway stood Caballeron, who stared smugly back at them while his henchponies filed into the room. “I knew you would escape and make it into the temple, Daring Do. And I must thank you for springing all of the traps leading here! Heaven knows these nincompoops wouldn’t be able to make it on their own!”

As the henchponies surrounded the Pegasi, Scootaloo sent Caballeron a confused look. “Wait… If you knew we would escape, why did you even bother tying us up?”

“There are some things you just do, little filly.” The bushy-browed pony explained. “We all have our own little traditions.”

“Yeah, just like how I always defeat you!” Daring called out. She leaped at her longtime enemy, her hoof raised and ready to strike. Caballeron stomped his hoof, prompting one of the henchponies to dive between the two and take the blow.

“Now that was quite rude!” Caballeron teased, waving his hoof. “If you have an issue, why don’t you entertain my henchponies for now while I take care of all this?” The henchponies stomped towards Daring and her companions, a couple of them dragging their hooves on the floor.

Scootaloo glared at the antagonistic Earth Ponies, rearing up and buzzing her wings. The henchponies leaped forward at their targets, each of them raising a hoof to strike. Scootaloo zipped out of her assailant’s path, hovering above him and delivering a hard buck to his head. The larger pony reeled forward, his head making contact with the wall. He let out a low growl, turning around with a fierce scowl only to find that the filly was much higher above him than he had expected. She had begun performing numerous loops in the air, picking up speed. The henchpony watched in a state of confusion, following the filly’s movements to the point of dizziness. He closed his eyes, trying to shake his head free of the daze, but felt a sharp pain in his chin that sent him careening into the high wall, knocking him out cold.

Boltsinger dodged the swing his opponent threw, snickering to himself as he flapped one of his wings, sending a burst of wind at him. “These guys are slow. Nothing like my brother’s skills!” He snickered to himself again as the assailant made another charge at him, ascending just enough to dodge with a single flap of his wings. “Then again, you are henchponies. You can’t beat Daring Do in a five-on one!” The henchpony slammed into the wall, bucking back furiously into the stallion’s chest. He doubled back, coughing from the impact. “Okay, I’ll admit, that was good. You may yet be Caballeron’s number one minion!” The Earth Pony recoiled at the compliment, taking a moment to brush himself off in a cocky pose. The Pegasus stallion smirked, balling his wing up into a fist and slamming it into his opponent’s cheek. The impact from the electrified wing sent a jolt through his body, relieving him of his consciousness as the lightning’s owner turned around, slapping his wings together as if dusting them off. “That still doesn’t say much, though.”

With the sound of another pony slamming into the wall, Daring and Rainbow deftly dodged the attacks of the ponies assaulting them. Taking to the air, Daring chanced a glance at the pedestal, which Caballeron now stood before. “Caballeron, wait! You can’t just simply take it! It’s booby trapped!”

“Oh, I don’t mean to take it!” Caballeron corrected, glancing back to see his hated enemy and her accursed friend throw one of his henchponies into another. “I’m going to give you a choice!” He hunched over, bucking the stone slab off of its pedestal and into the far wall, where it subsequently shattered and fell to the floor. Daring cried out, reaching for the shattered remains as a button raised on the pedestal, dropping into the floor as the walls began to rumble. He jumped into the air, wrapping his forelegs around Scootaloo and running to the room’s entrance.

Scootaloo shrieked as the brown stallion’s grip around her tightened. “Rainbow Dash! Bolt! Help!!!” She cried, reaching out for the older ponies.

Caballeron smiled down at the Crusader, giving off a cackle. “You can come save your little filly friend, or you can gather what’s left of your precious Pony-glyph! The choice is--”

“HOOVES OFF MY SCOOTALOO!!!” Came a scream in stereo. In less than a second, orange and cyan hooves met with Caballeron’s face, nearly distending his head like a rubber ball from the impact. The villain wobbled for a moment as the hooves left his head, falling over on his side. Scootaloo got up from the now-limp forelegs, looking up at her rescuers. Rainbow Dash and Boltsinger stood over the downed pony, wings aggressively flared with heavy breaths.

“Threaten my girl twice in ONE DAY, huh?!” Boltsinger asked through gritted teeth. He clutched Caballeron’s ascot with his wing, lifting him up and snorting in his unconscious face. “Why, I’ve got half a mind to--”

Scootaloo reached over to the stallion, putting her hoof on his foreleg. “Bolt, it’s okay. He’s not gonna keep this up.”

The friendly contact was like a wake-up call to the furious stallion. His eyes went wide, unfurling his wings and letting the villain drop to the floor. He looked down at the winged Crusader, a soft smile forming on his face as his rump hit the floor. Before he knew it, he had pulled the filly into a tight hug. “He didn’t hurt you, right?”

“I’m fine, honest.” Scootaloo confirmed, reciprocating the embrace. Boltsinger’s only response was to squeeze harder, eliciting a laugh from the filly. “I’m in more danger from this than I would be with Caballeron!”.

Rainbow Dash found her rump falling to the floor at the sight before her. There she was, her little sister. Her Scootaloo. And she was hugging another pony the same way they did when one of them needed support. She had seen it before, but something felt different this time. Her rage at Caballeron for his actions was deep and righteous, but somehow, against all odds, Boltsinger had beaten her to the literal punch, if only by a fraction of a second. She settled on a look at the worry in his face, remembering the conversation she had heard that morning. He really does care for her a lot, huh? She took a deep breath, finding her exhale taking the form of a sad sigh. I guess the time for hero worship is over… Time for her to move--

“Can I get some help here?!” Daring asked. The Ponyville Pegasi looked up from the moment they were having, seeing Daring Do calling to them over her shoulder, hunched over the remains of the slab. The room had grown significantly narrower than it was when they had first entered, but she seemed to pay it no mind. “You three get the henchponies out of here! I need to get all the pieces of this thing!” Rainbow gave the archaeologist a firm nod, rushing to the side of one of the henchponies and dragging him out of the room.

“Uh, Daring, I don’t know if we have time to get all the pieces!” Boltsinger noted, shifting his gaze between the moving walls.

“Of course we have time!” Daring retorted, gathering up more fragments with a face of sheer panic. “We have to have time! This history is too important to lose!”

Rainbow looked up from the last henchpony pulled to safety, twisting her face with concern. “Is it more important than your life? Come on, let’s go!”

“Not yet!” The obsessed adventurer stressed, continuing her search. “Princess Celestia is counting on me to gather all of the glyphs! I can’t let her down!”

Boltsinger stepped forward upon hearing his friend’s name. “Do you really think Celestia would want those glyphs this badly?” He galloped over to the mare, biting down onto her tail and pulling with all of his might. “Come on! We have to get out of here!”

Daring glared back the stallion, holding firm against his pull. “What? Were you called here just to prevent me from getting this? You’re no better than Caballeron!”

Rainbow Dash found herself taken aback, raising her hoof in shock. “Really?! Trying to help his friend turns him into a villain?” She cantered over to the glowering mare, joining Boltsinger in his attempts. “Like it or not… You’re getting out of here!” The Pegasi heaved together as hard as they could, dragging Daring towards the entrance as the walls came ever closer.

“Please! There’s just one left! Don’t stop me!!!” She struggled against their pull, reaching desperately for the last remaining shard of the slab.

“Not… on… your… life!!!” They simultaneously replied, pulling her through the threshold of the room. They tossed her to the middle of the rotunda, holding her down as she scrambled to her hooves in an attempt to go back.

Scootaloo stood between the adults and the closing room, spotting a look of desperation in Daring’s eyes as she pleaded with her friends. The crusader snorted, turning to face the danger and hunching over. “Leave it to me!” She cried, buzzing her wings.

Boltsinger looked back at the filly, his concern growing further as he reached for her. “Scootaloo, wait!” He let go of Daring, diving for her as she lifted off into the shrinking room. “SCOOT!!!”

There was no response past the rumbling of the walls. Boltsinger stared, wide-eyed, into the darkening room, attuning his ears in the direction of the shadows to hear a shuffling as the walls peeked into the doorway. Stepping forward, he raised his hoof. Rainbow Dash let go of Daring, coming up next to the stallion. “Come on, squirt… get out of there!”

Seconds passed like hours, marked only by the racing of their hearts and the movement of the room’s walls. “I’ve gotta get in there…” Boltsinger told himself. “I’ve gotta… gotta--" He felt the wind being knocked out of him, sending him tumbling back while the walls of the treasure room finally closed completely. Lying on his back and catching his breath, he looked up to find his favorite filly standing on his stomach, wagging her tail with a shard of stone held firmly in her mouth. “You… You’re okay!” He brought his forelegs around her, sitting up as Rainbow Dash proceeded to tackle them in a hug of her own.

“And you got the last piece! The Wonderbolt exclaimed. “I knew you were the toughest little pony out there!”

Daring Do stared at the little orange pony with an expression of dumbfounded disbelief. “You… You risked your life for me? Even after I underestimated you?”

Scootaloo wormed her way out of the embrace she was caught in, approaching the heroic mare and placing the shard at her hooves. “How else was I gonna prove you wrong?” She teased, turning around and swishing her tail. “Besides, you looked like you really wanted it! What else was I gonna do?”

“We get it, Scoot, you’re awesome.” Boltsinger said, standing up. “Just promise me this…”

He took a sizable breath, finding himself joined by the cyan mare next to him. “NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!”

Daring chuckled, scooping up the shard and putting it with the others. “You act like her parents!”

Rainbow held her hoof up, clearing her throat. “Big sister!”

Boltsinger found a lump in his throat, bringing his wings forward to slap his muzzle as the discharge faded from his wings. “Well… I mean, she is family…”

Boltsinger inhaled deeply as he took off his helmet, thankful for the feeling of fresh air. “Oh, sweet Celestia, is it good to see the sky again!”

“You said it!” Rainbow affirmed, stretching her wings. “Makes you wanna just take off, doesn’t it?”

“I’d rather get these pieces back together!” Daring corrected, making sure her pith helmet was on straight. “That history isn’t gonna learn itself, you know!”

Boltsinger turned his head to look at the heroine, cocking an eyebrow. “Speaking of that… Did Celestia really order you to find these Pony-glyphs?”

“Yes, but she wanted to keep it secret.” She confirmed. “Not even Princess Luna knows about all this. The only reason I can put it in my books is because most ponies don’t know they’re based on true stories.”

“Hence her not letting us know she knew, even when Rainbow bragged about adventuring with you to her.” He added. “So, you need any help getting those pieces together?”

“I think I can handle it.” The archaeologist dismissed, starting her walk back into the forest. “You three have helped plenty already.”

Boltsinger gave his favorite writer a solemn nod, turning to the other ponies. “Okay, then, who’s ready to go home?”

“Um… Can you give me a minute?” Scootaloo asked, her hind legs hopping urgently. “I havent’ used the bathroom the whole time we’ve been out, so I really gotta go!”

Rainbow and Boltsinger simultaneously nodded, letting the winged Crusader rush off into the woods. The blue Pegasus turned to the orange one, her thoughts coming to a boil as she made her approach. “Hey, Bolt, can I talk to you about something?”

Boltsinger gave her a curious glance, turning to properly face her. “Hm? Sure, what do you wanna talk about?”

“I sorta… overheard you and Twilight talking this morning…” She admitted, rubbing her foreleg with her hoof. “You know… That gasp you heard?”

“Ah…” He started, dropping his hindquarters to the ground. “I knew I wasn’t just hearing things… How much did you hear?”

She thought for a moment, summoning the words she needed with a deep breath. “Enough to figure out what it was you were talking about.” Her friend’s face grew worried at the knowledge, as he began to scratch his mane with his wing. “I just wanna say… I’m… I’m okay with it.”

The stallion went from worry to confusion, raising an inquisitive hoof. “Really? Twilight was worried we’d be getting between you two…”

“Don’t worry about that.” She assured him, sitting next to him and looking at the forest her little sister disappeared into. “It’s about time she got over the hero worship, anyway.”

“What do you mean?” He inquired. “She’ll probably never get over the hero worship! Heck, you’re practically all she talks about at home!”

It was Rainbow’s turn to show confusion, cocking her head to the side. “Really?”

“Oh, definitely.” He continued. “Just a few days ago, we were playing a game of Dragon Pit, and she kept talking about how you two were practicing for the Sisterhooves Social and how she thought you’d love that game in particular.” He put his hoof up to his chin, thinking back. “Honestly, I think she’s right. It’s a fun game, and I bet you’d love all the cool things it does!” He offered her a hoof and a smile. “So, you wanna come over and play some Dragon Pit sometime?”

Rainbow Dash laughed to herself, giving the extended hoof her best bump as Scootaloo came out of the bushes. “You can count me in!”

Author's Note

I knew this was gonna be a long chapter, but it's still surprising to see it.
I apologize if this one seems a little lackluster. Daring Do adventures are remarkably difficult for me to write, but they're really cool stories, so I want to keep working with them! This time, though, I thought it appropriate to have it be a single chapter, rather than splitting it up like I did with my last foray into Daring's adventurous world.
I already know what I'm gonna do for the next two chapters, by the way. I'll be starting on one of them soon!
If you're reading this in October, be prepared. I'm getting into the spirit of things!
I hope you enjoy it!