Chapter 1
“Rainbow Dash! Hey, Rainbow Dash!”
Rainbow’s brow furled as she tried to ignore the noise coming from outside her bedroom. Staring at the book in her hooves, she focused on reading the text, like she had been doing all afternoon. It was an exhausting morning of flight training, and Dash was more than excited to relax with a good book.
“Rainbow Daaaaaaaaash!!”
Now her eye began to twitch as the distracting sound grew louder and more obnoxious. She shook her head to get the voices out and concentrate on her novel. The latest issue of her favorite--
“HEY DASHIE?! YOU HOME?!”
Dash slammed her book shut and leaned out of her bedroom window. “Pinkie Pie! What do you want?!” she yelled to the ground below her.
“Rainbow Dash! Hi!” Pinkie gleefully called back as though oblivious to Dash’s agitation.
Her mouth gaped open in frustration and awe, Dash simply sighed and held in her boiling anger. “Yes Pinkie...hi.” She decided just ignoring her over-enthusiastic friend was in her best interest, so Dash leaned back into her bedroom to continue reading.
“What’cha doing, Dashie?” Pinkie had suddenly appeared next to Rainbow on her bed, a wide smile stretched across her face. Dash yelped as though her heart suddenly stopped then kick started again in the fraction of a second, jumping almost high enough to hit her head on her ceiling. Her reaction only fueled Pinkie’s near twisted sense of humor.
“P-Pinkie? For the love of Celestia, are you trying to scare me to death or-” Dash stopped her sentence midway. “I mean...not that you did scare me or anything...”
Pinkie merely chuckled at her friend's antics. “Silly Dashie, I wasn’t trying to scare you! I was told to come and get you!”
Dash collected herself, paying little mind to what Pinkie had said. “Listen, Pinkie, I’m kinda busy today, so whatever it is you’re up to, you’re gonna have to find somepony else.”
Pinkie leaped from Dash’s bed in a single gravity defying bound and landed gracefully on the floor. “But Rainbow Dash! There’s this really spectacular, super amazing, one of a kind...thing! Twilight sent me to come get you to see it!” Pinkie was practically bursting with her usual excitement, yet Dash sighed and climbed back up onto her bed.
“Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s just something only Twilight would find interesting. Remember the time she made us go on that tour of the Museum of Pony History in Canterlot?”
“Yeah! Wasn’t it fun?” said Pinkie with a smile.
“After dark?” Dash replied coldly.
Pinkie nodded, not breaking her continued enthusiasm, much to Dash’s irritation. She sighed, dropping the subject. “Pinkie,” she continued. “I know Twilight has her hobbies, but I’d really rather not get involved this time.” She fell back onto her pillow and closed her eyes in a vague attempt to feign napping. Pinkie, however, saw through the ruse.
“But Twilight sent me to get you! She said she had something really important to show us!” Pinkie’s determination began to grate on Dash’s already minimal level of patience. She opened her eyes to find Pinkie had positioned herself standing right above her, their noses just inches away.
“You’re not gonna leave unless I go with you, are you?”
Pinkie scrunched her face in brief contemplation before confidently replying with “Nope!” Her wide grin caused Rainbow Dash’s eye to twitch ever so slightly, but inside she knew her defeat was inevitable.
“Fine. Let’s go.” she replied deadpan.
Pinkie backflipped off the furniture with little to no effort. “Wheeeeeeeee!” She landed on all fours, then pointed with gusto to the horizon. “Let’s go go go!”
“Yeah, let’s go and see what Twilight wants.” Dash said as she slowly slumped off her bed. She straightened her wing feathers and was about to follow Pinkie out the door when she turned back.
“Hold on, I forgot something.” She grabbed the novel she had tried to read before, threw it in her saddle bag, and slipped it over her shoulders. “Might as well bring it, probably gonna need something to pass the time.” She turned back, but Pinkie was no longer there.
“C’mon, Rainbow Dash! Hop to it!” Pinkie’s cheers came bellowing from outside. Dash poked her head out the window once again and saw her friend had somehow descended to the ground below. Too tired to care, Rainbow Dash simply took flight and met Pinkie on the soft grass underneath her cloudy home. Without any more words to say, Dash walked in silence with Pinkie into town, headed straight for the library and Twilight’s big surprise.
“Oh! Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie! Come on in you two, everypony is already here.” Twilight greeted her guests at the door after Pinkie had emphatically knocked several times in a row. The three ponies made their way inside of the library and down into the basement, which served as Twilight’s laboratory of sorts. There, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack were waiting patiently, all with equal looks of interest on their faces. Dash’s mind was, of course, elsewhere as she walked down the steps. It wasn’t until she reached the bottom that she noticed what had captured the other’s attention. In the centre of all the odd scientific devices and contraptions Twilight had collected during her time in Ponyville was a pedestal. Resting peacefully on the pedestal was most likely the reason Twilight had called all of them together. It was a cube. Just a simple gold coloured cube, no bigger than an apple, with odd markings on the sides.
“Alrighty-then, Twi.” said Applejack in her colourful accent. “Y’all got us here. Now, ya mind tellin’ us what this is all about?”
Twilight smiled and turned to face the pedestal-held cube. “This!” she said with vigor as she raised a hoof towards the device. The room was appropriately silent, except for one “Oooooooooo” of genuine amazement from Pinkie Pie.
“Yeah,” replied a skeptical Dash. “But what is it?”
Twilight looked as if she had a long and descriptive answer, but instead replied with, “Actually...I don’t know what it is. Or rather what it is entirely.”
“And what the heck does that mean?” Rainbow replied half agitated.
Twilight briefly glanced over the curious expressions on her friends’ faces, except Pinkie. She still seemed impressed by the ambiguous cube. “Well,” she started. “I’m not exactly sure what this thing is, all I know is that its nature definitely involves powerful magic. I’ve performed numerous tests on it, but I’ve discovered only a few things.”
“How did you come across such an ugly thing?” inquired Rarity in a posh tone.
“It was given to me by Princess Celestia. It was originally discovered by a team of archaeologists from Canterlot while they were doing research in another country. I was told by the Princess they found this cube in an ancient temple, probably dating back to an era of pony history long forgotten. They brought it back to Equestria to learn more about it but...” Twilight suddenly drifted off in the middle of her story, concern spreading across her face.
The others stayed silent, hanging on Twilights’ words. Pinkie however, still inspected the cube with curiosity throughout the tale of its history.
“What’s wrong Twilight?” asked Applejack.
“Well...” Twilight looked back to the cube. “It’s just a silly rumor, but some ponies think that it may be...cursed.”
Fluttershy squealed in surprise at the shocking truth. The others stood in mocking doubt.
“Calm down, sugarcube. It’s just a silly rumor.” Applejack said assuring her skittish friend. “That thing looks ‘bout as harmful as a raven in a rainstorm. No reason to be scared of it.”
Dash had been the most reluctant to gain enthusiasm for her being there, and it was starting to show. “Yeah yeah. Cursed, shmersed. What’s this thing good for, anyways? Looks pretty useless to me.”
“Funny you should mention that, Rainbow. And it has to do with you all being here.” Twilight had turned back to her friends, now filled with brimming excitement. “As I mentioned before, I had performed some tests on it, but nothing got nothing conclusive. What I do know, however, is that it reacts to magic. Not just any magic, but powerful magic. The stronger the source, the greater the reaction I get. I’ve exhausted myself trying to get the best possible reading, but i can only do so much on my own. That’s why I’ve asked you all to assist me.”
The others looked to one another in silent skepticism.
“Well...” said AJ. “Not to burst yer bubble, sugarcube, but how do ya think we can help? Rarity can use magic, but the rest of us can’t.”
Twilight grinned in a way that made the others feel slightly uncomfortable. It was the kind of grin only a mad scientist would dare to wear.
“That’s where you are wrong, AJ. You can use magic. The most powerful magic known in all of Equestria, in fact.”
From looks of doubt came looks of mild surprise. Before any of them could reply to the obvious reference, Pinkie decided to join in the conversation at last. “Oh! Oh! I know! I know! You mean the Elements of Harmony! She’s talking about the Elements of Harmony!”
“Yes, Pinkie dear, we could all tell that much!” said Rarity to interrupt her. “But Twilight, aren’t the Elements kept safe in Canterlot with the Princess?”
“Normally, yes.” replied the studious unicorn. “But I explained my motives to her in my most recent letter, and she has given me permission to borrow the Elements for use in my research on the cube. It could very well contain information that would change history as we know it!”
“Isn’t it going to be dangerous?” asked Fluttershy timidly.
Twilight gently patted her friend over the head. “Don’t you worry. I made all the proper safety precautions. You guys won’t come into any harm, I promise you.”
They all looked to each other, and without saying a word, they gave a confirming nod.
“Alrighty then, Twi! We’ll help ya!” said AJ, giving a reassuring wink.
“Oh, thank you! Thank you! I promise you guys won’t regret this!” It seemed Twilight was ready to jump through the roof with excitement. While the others chuckled at her childlike antics, Rainbow Dash was less than thrilled.
“C’mon, let’s get on with it!”
Rarity glared at her from across the room. “Rainbow Dash! There’s no need to be so rude to our hostess! What’s got you in such a hurry?”
Twilight giggled, unphased. “Hehe, it’s ok Rarity. I know what’s going on.”
Rainbow looked at her, mildly surprised. “You do?”
“Yes. I hear the latest issue of Daring Do came out yesterday, and I bet someone here wants to get home to read it.” She gave Dash a cheeky wink, causing the cyan pegasus to blush in embarrassment. “Don’t worry, Rainbow. This won’t take very long. You’ll be back home before you know it. Now, I’ve got the Elements right here.”
With an aura of magic energy, the small familiar box that contained the Elements of Harmony hovered in front of the group. After it popped open, each of the necklaces levitated out and attached themselves around each of their necks. Afterwards, the grand tiara finally lifted forth and gently landed on Twilight’s head.
“There. Now, I need each of you to stand on the designated spots around the pedestal.” She indicated to areas circling the pedestal that held the cube. Each mare took their place, with Twilight standing directly in front of the device. “Alright then, girls. I’m not positive what’s going to happen. If it looks like things are turning ugly, I’m pulling back. I won’t let any harm come to you.”
“Don’t sweat it, Twilight. We trust ya.” Applejack said on behalf of the group. With a heavy exhale, Twilight focused her gaze on the cube.
“Ok. Here we go...” She closed her eyes, gathering energy into the Elements. As the seconds ticked by, the walls began to creak from the pressure of magic. The floor started to rumble as Twilight’s eyes glowed white from the power of the Elements. As the magic from the necklaces started to emanate, the cube started to react. On its own, the cube levitated a few inches off the pedestal, hovering in place.
“Ooooooooooooh...” Pinkie stared at the display, as she seemed the most entranced by it. The others however, were slightly wary.
The cube then started to shake in mid air, ever so slightly, its reaction to the power of the Elements becoming more apparent.
“Twilight! Looks like somthin’s happenin’!” Applejack looked over to her friend, but got no response. By this time, Twilight had begun to levitate, much like the cube had. Her eyes still glowed hot white, but it appeared she was staring right at the cube. “Twilight...you ok?” AJ looked on as the entranced unicorn stared blankly at the hovering cube.
Suddenly, there was a quick flash of light, and Twilight’s head snapped back, her gaze now focused upwards. She let out of moan of pain, her mouth agape in shock. “Twilight!!!” The others collectively called out to their friend, but could not solicit a response. Applejack and Rainbow tried desperately to move, but something was keeping them firmly in place, like their hooves were glued to the floor. Fluttershy had nearly broke down in panic, while Rarity and Pinkie tried desperately to calm her down.
As the spectacle continued, the cube began to glow with a golden light that bathed the basement of the library. The noise began to creep into the streets of Ponyville, and the shaking was felt across the town. The basement door burst open as Twilight’s housemate came running down the steps. “What’s going on--Twilight?!?”
Amidst the light, the faint image of a straight haired unicorn hung in mid air. Spike stood halfway down the staircase, his mind trying to piece together the event. Twilight’s voice was barely audible through the constant tone emitted from the cube, it’s bathing light slowly intensifying. Spike jumped down the remainder of the steps, arms held out in front of him as he waded through the blinding glow.
“Twilight!!!” he called in desperation. “Twilight!!!!”
His cries fell on deaf ears. As he stepped closer to what he knew was Twilight’s body, the light reached its climax. He caught only a glimpse of his longtime friend before her faded image suddenly vanished. The light had cleared away, leaving Spike all alone. The others had also somehow disappeared, as did the device. The room went quiet, save for the sounds of the remaining equipment Twilight’s laboratory housed. Spike, hand outstretched from his attempt to grab at his companion, felt a tear welling in his eye.
“Twilight...”
Snapping to attention, he dashed up the stairs, calling to his friends, hoping they simply re-appeared somewhere else in the house. “Twilight?! Rarity! Fluttershy? Rainbow!? Applejack! Pinkie Pie?!” He called endlessly to his friends, but the house was empty.
He ran outside into the midday sun, amidst the residents of Ponyville whom were still recovering from the chaos. Many had gathered around the library, hoping to get answers to their confusion. Spike, panting, stood amongst the citizens of the town, but no signs of Twilight or the others caught his eye. They had simply vanished into thin air.
A faint musky scent hit Rainbow Dash’s nose, swinging her back into consciousness. The sounds of various insects buzzing around her accented the random cries of exotic birds from high above, and the ground beneath her felt soft, cool, and damp.
“Wha-where am I? Ow...” Her back twitched as a jolt of pain shot up through her spine. “What happened?...I was at Twilight’s place...then...” The sudden realization hit her like a runaway train. She slowly got to her feet, nursing her injuries as best she could.
“Oh yeah...that really bright light. I wonder if...” She looked around her, but saw nopony beside her. There was nothing but her new strange environment surrounding all sides. She called out to her friends, hoping they were nearby. “Twilight!! Applejack!! Fluttershy? Hello? Is anypony...here...” Her voice trailed off as she began to take in the area. She appeared to be in some form of thick jungle, the dense air shortening her breathing. Thin beams of light penetrated the canopy above, making it difficult to see clearly. Even if Dash could hear her friends, it would be difficult to spot them in the shadows.
“Where am I? Seriously, I’m getting a little freaked out here...ok, last I remember, we were all in Twilight’s basement, then that cube thing she had made everything go really bright, and I think musta’ blacked out or something...now I’m in a jungle? How the heck did I get here?”
Dash spread her wing to take flight, hopefully getting a better view over her situation, but her wings immediately retracted out of pain. She moaned in displeasure as she turned to check on her appendages. “Oh no...” Her left wing had managed to dislocate itself, most likely from when she blacked out.
“Damn...when did that happen? Ow!” She winced as her wing twitched from her attempts to stretch it out from her sides. It was no use. She had a broken wing. “Great!” She proclaimed in sarcasm befitting her. “Now I’m stuck here in some weird jungle, I don’t know where I am, my friends are gone, and now I can’t even fly outta here!?! I could be at home reading my Daring Do novel right now, but noooo! I just HAD to go see whatever stupid thing Twilight was doing, cause it was just soooo important! Grrrr!!! This sucks!!”
She bucked a nearby tree in frustration, causing several birds nesting in its foliage to flee in terror while screaming vulgarities in their native tongue. The silence caused by her outburst was soon broken by the sound of a wild animal deep within the darkness of the jungle. Dash cocked her head to find its source, but nothing came into view. The sound grew ever closer as Dash’s mind conjured images of horrors that could match such a terrible noise. A bead of sweat trickled down her brow as a pair a hungry eyes watched her from the shadows. Then, the strike came.
With her athletic reflexes, she turned just in time to catch her predator off guard with a quick job from her hind legs. The creature fell to ground, slightly dazed, but not defeated. The beast rose to its feet, standing just slightly taller than the equine it’s hungered for.
“Oh no...a wild jaguar. Where did he come from?! This isnt good...” Dash quickly formulated an escape plan as the jungle predator recovered from her attack. Usually, her headstrong nature would tell her to challenge the beast face to face, but with a broken wing and an unknown environment, her mind was more frantic than fearless. Her fight or flight reflex kicked into overdrive, and without a moment to spare, she darted into the concealing shroud of the woods.
Ignoring the mild pain in her back from her damaged wing, she weaved between the trees to escape her stalker. Running faster than she thought possible, her pursuer was but one step behind. Dash dared not to look back, fearing she would catch the sight of her final moments on this world. The burning in her legs started to catch up and the dense jungle air set her lungs almost ablaze. At this rate, the end was near. Normally, she would have just taken flight to safety, but Rainbow had no hopes of that happening. For the first time in her life, she feared imminent death.
“Please no...I don’t want to die here!” she cried in her head. Just as she was about to give up hope, a guiding light appeared in the thicket ahead of her. “Freedom! Yes!!” She raced towards the clearing, hoping to finally evade her assailant.
Bursting through the break in foliage, the warming rays of the burning hot sun beat gently on her face. It was pure bliss. A bliss that was immediately broken by the sudden collision into a fairly sturdy object. The impact caused Dash to tumble over a few times before coming to a halt several feet from the point of connection, and almost off a cliff. The tree line she escaped from was only a short gap before a straight drop into another section of thick jungle, a cliff her two front legs now hung precariously over. Dash quickly recovered from her dangerous position, looking back to see what she could have possibly run into. The size and shape of the object suggested it was, much to her surprise, another pony.
“Who is that?” Dash wandered closer to the unknown equine, cautiously. “Is that Twilight? Maybe Applejack?”
Before she could determine the mysterious stranger’s identity, the worst possible thing that could happen, did. From out of the thicket of jungle, the now angry and wild jaguar emerged, its exposed fangs poised to attack.
“Oh great...” Dash was still out of breath, and now, out of options. A cliff face behind her and no wings meant all hopes of escape were gone. “Alright then! No more running. If I’m gonna die, I’m going down fighting!” Dash’s insurmountable courage returned to her in a crashing wake, prepping her for battle with the ferocious animal. She stared into the yellow eyes of the jungle cat, sensing its bloodlust. Waiting for just the right moment to strike, the jaguar leaped first, giving Dash plenty of opportunity to counter. She ducked under its swiping claws, and delivered a solid blow to its jaw, knocking the jaguar to the ground. But the wildcat seemed far more tenacious then Dash gave it credit for, and it got back up, and immediately went at her with another attack. Dash readied herself, this time dodging the sharpened claws with a quick jump back. As she attempted to hit the beast with another counter, she lost her footing over the edge of the cliff.
Misjudging her position next to the ledge, that brief slip up was all the predator needed to get the chance at capturing its prey. Time seemed to slow down for Dash as her gaze caught the sight of the pursuing jaguar pouncing on her. The mere seconds it would take for the creature to bring her down lasted an eternity in her mind. This was the end. She was going to die here in the unknown jungle. She closed her eyes in defeat, and accepted her fate.
Suddenly, an unknown force hit her from her side, knocking the wind right out of her. Dash opened her eyes to find that she had somehow taken flight. She looked back to the cliff, only to see the jaguar now missed its intended target and accidentally leaped off the ledge and into the jungle below. It seemed as though somepony had rescued Rainbow Dash from certain doom. Her savior did not speak or reveal their identity, they simply let Dash go a few feet from the ground, dropping her into the safety of a nearby patch of grass. With a muffled thud, the ground cushioned Dash with less than loving embrace.
“Who just saved me? I was flying, wasn’t I?” Dash formulated in her head of the events that just occurred. “If I was saved by a Pegasus, that could only mean...” Dash smiled and turned back to face her heroine. “Fluttershy--wha...?”
Her grin turned into utter disbelief. Instead of congratulating her longtime friend, she was instead met with a different face. One that seemed impossible to her. In fact, it had to be a figment of her imagination. How could it be real? The jacket, the black and grey coloured mane. The iconic hat. It was all there, right in front of her.
Rainbow Dash had been rescued by Daring Do.