A Daring Duo

Just outside the temple door Theseus had erected a large pile of dry wood. Where he found wood to burn was anypony's guess, but it was made very clear what he intended to use it for. Daring Do and Rainbow Dash were tied back to back against a large pole sticking out from the middle of this pile, their wings pinned uselessly to their side.

From where she was tied, Dash couldn't see the Minotaur, but she heard his over-the-top speech loud and clear.

“We come here today,” she heard him cry, “to celebrate the passing of a long-time foe.” There was a pause as the crowd of gnolls burst out laughing at his joke. “How fitting,” he continued, “That she should leave us in the same manner she left me- in flames.”

“Daring?” Rainbow asked. She heard a sob from the other side of the stake. “Daring, tell me what's going on.”

“I'm sorry Rainbow Dash,” Daring sniveled, “I didn't mean for you to get caught up in all of this.”

“Oh,” Dash heard Theseus drawl, “Isn't that sweet? She's looking out for her friends loved ones. If only she had thought to do that sooner.” Again the henchmen surrounding them howled in crackling laughter at his witty little comment.

“Shut up!” Rainbow Dash cried, “Just shut up, all of you!” Something danced into the corner of her eye, and she looked over to see the white pegasus scooting closer to get a better look at her.

“It's okay Dashie,” Daring replied, openly sobbing “I deserve it for what I've done. I should have never allowed you to come. I was just... so afraid I wouldn't be able to do it. I needed somepony there to push me, and I used you as just that. I didn't even care if you were a spy or not, I just needed to use you for a bit. I'm so sorry.”

“No, that's no reason for you to have to suffer this,” Rainbow tried to assure her friend, “There's nothing you could have done to deserve it.” The other mare had walked onto the wood pile and leaned in closer to Rainbow Dash, close enough for her to jerk back in fear when Rainbow Dash bit at her.

But she was also smirking in amusement, and declared to all, “This one's got spunk.” She then asked Daring, “Kind of like the sister you always wanted, right?”

“You know that's not true,” Daring shot back.

Rainbow Dash cried out, interrupting them, “Somepony explain what's going on!”

The white pony told Daring, “Oh, you do it, dear, you were always so good at telling stories.”

For a moment there was silence, and then Rainbow Dash heard Daring Do take a deep breath. She was clearly having difficulty keeping her voice steady as she began the tale.

“I told you Theseus had gotten hold of a magical staff that gave him the power of mind-control, and that I broke it. That's not the whole story: Theseus was originally a nopony, living on the very bottom rung of society. When his great uncle, a powerful sorcerer, died, Theseus came into possession of his magic staff.

“When I confronted him, I slammed the staff against an ancient magical mirror,” Daring explained, “It shattered the crystal, and I thought that destroyed its powers as well. I was half-right.” Rainbow Dash was only half-listening. She had spotted the golden disk in the Minotaur's hand, now fully assembled, and his magic staff in the other. Their saddlebags sat not too far away, next to a disinterested Manticore. Already, her mind was racing, searching for a way out of their situation.

“The blast that resulted from when I smashed the darn thing blew us both back, me into the wall and Theseus himself into the fireplace. I ran, not stopping to think for a second about him.” As she revealed this, Theseus' lip curled and he gave a low growl. Dash was doing a quick mental run-through of what they still had in their saddlebags. If she could just get to them...

“With the staff destroyed, Theseus could no longer control ponies against their will. So he tried something else- changing their personalities so that they would willingly work for him. And his first test subject... was my sister Heirloom.”

The pegasus chuckled, saying, “It was a gift. Theseus showed my my true calling-”

“You were a museum curator!” Daring cried.

“I WAS NOTHING!” Her outcry was accompanied by a silence that fell over the entire camp, “Even my name: Heirloom. It was always clear which one of us was destined to live the good life while the other simply collected dust for all time. But I changed that.”

“You're a thief!”

“I'm a collector,” Heirloom corrected her sister, “like you. After all, I was able to steal four of these golden shards out from right under your scrawny little nose.”

“You are nothing like me!” Daring snarled.

“No. I'm more like her, aren't I? I was always too much like her.”

Daring didn't reply, and Rainbow knew why not. The three of them were all thinking of the same pony at that moment, a certain earth pony who one day showed up on Daring's doorstep.

Heirloom continued, “You didn't even look for me.”

“I did,” Daring protested, before quietly admitting to herself, “just not very hard.”

Rainbow Dash couldn't believe her ears. This was truly outstanding! She never had any idea... none of the other books had ever hinted at something like this. And the knot in her stomach told Dash that she knew why. No matter how she tried to avoid it, she was responsible for this: Daring's most dangerous adventure yet, with new enemies and the greatest villain she's ever faced; oh, and the shocking twists that Dash had outright demanded be included. Well, she had certainly gotten her wish. And though she opened her mouth to say something, she knew that there was nothing she could say or do to make up for all this.

These thoughts were swept aside by what Daring said next. “You can rot in Tartarus for all you've done, Theseus.”

“Oh, so is the little family feud over and done with, then?” he asked, “Good. I was beginning to get bored.” He walked up to Rainbow Dash to look at her more closely. “I must say, Ms. Do, you're choice of companions amazes me. She looks just like you.”

“What?” Daring asked, “She does not.”

“More like you than I ever did,” Heirloom spat back.

“I can't let you live, Daring,” Theseus said thoughtfully, “But it would be a shame for such an eager young girl to follow you into the abyss.”

“No!” Daring cried, twisting her body in a futile attempt to break free of the ropes. The minions around them howled in glee at the sight of her struggle. Finally she stopped and, her voice quivering as she cried, said, “I'm so sorry, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash briefly thought about how they had gotten to this point and replied, “I'm sorry too. I know you don't believe me, but this really is all my fault. And I'm sorry that I took you for granted. And I'm sorry I was such a bad partner this entire time.”

“Actually,” Daring sniffed, smiling though Dash couldn't see it, “I couldn't have asked for a better friend.”

From where she stood, Heirloom rolled her eyes. Theseus stood back and readied his staff. In his other hand he held the golden plate, and suddenly it's purpose was made clear to Rainbow Dash.

The black gem was sitting firmly in the middle plate, and all the symbols scattered on the plate were glowing with a strange dark aura. The stone itself may have been the source of ultimate power, but it was a power that could not be accessed unless channeled through the very clues that led to it's location. Dash would have been impressed at the cleverness of the ancient zebras if she wasn't so scared.

“Now you will know the power I have to liberate you from your weak 'morals',” the beast snarled.

On the top of the staff sat the remaining part of a shattered crystal. It too was emanating a dark magical aura, now powered by the black diamond. Rainbow Dash tried to look away, but found that she couldn't. The magic was somehow holding her gaze. Theseus was saying something, but she could barely hear it.

From where she sat, Daring fought back her tears and began the incantation that she hoped would save them. Brief though it was, she could not finish it before her sister ran forward and quickly bucked her in the jaw. She almost couldn't feel the running blood through the pain. She locked eyes with her sister again; her's reflected the hate in Daring's own. She spat at Heirloom, causing her to cringe and cry out as blood got into her eye.

Rainbow's mind was racing. She had to get out, had to save her friend, had to keep her head clear, couldn't give in to the magic. But a nagging voice in the back of her mind told her that something was wrong, and the more she listened to it, the more it began to make sense.

With a sudden epiphany, Rainbow told Theseus, “Let me go.”

“Oh?” Theseus asked, “What was that, dear?”

“I said let me go,” she said, “You're right. It was stupid of me to think that Daring Do was anything but a reckless foal. I know what side I should be with. Let me go.”

Dash could almost hear Daring's heart breaking, but it was quickly drowned out by the sound of the minotaur's laughter.

“You see, Daring?” he asked, “I win again. Boys, cut her down and bring me a light.”

One of the gnolls stumbled forward and slashed at the ropes binding Rainbow Dash in place. Daring struggled, but the ropes holding her were still firm.

“Watch it!” Rainbow cried, shirking away from the gnoll's blade, “You almost tore my wing off with that thing!” She made a face at the creature and hopped off of the pile of sticks, heading straight for the saddlebags.

Theseus had his minion stand off to the side with a ready torch while he got in close to Daring Do. Daring could feel his hot breath on her. “Soon the world will be rid of you,” he said, “and it will be so much better that way.”

“You can rot in Tartarus,” she said again, hot tears running down her face, “and take these good-for-nothing traitors with you!”

Heirloom watched this confrontation from where she stood, ignoring Rainbow Dash as she continued pulling things out of their bags. Finally Rainbow found what she wanted, slipping it quietly under her wing and holding it there.

Trotting over, she told Theseus, “Let me have a moment with her.”

“Buck off,” he snapped at her.

But Rainbow Dash wasn't going to take no for an answer. She hissed back at him, “I wasted the best years of my life idolizing her. Give me a moment to give her a piece of my mind.”

Theseus looked at Dash, examining the fury in her expression. Certainly, he thought, the mare could suffer a little more abuse. After all, the two must have been great partners to come so close to winning. So, smirking, he stepped off to the side, out of earshot.

Rainbow came forward and looked down on her companion. Daring's eyes showed the same bitter resentment towards her as they did the minotaur. It was only for a moment though, before her expression softened and she whimpered, “Don't do this, Dashie.”

“Shut up!” Rainbow Dash spat back, “You have no right to call me that, you weak, blubbering child. I can't believe how much time I spent fawning over your achievements. I see you now for what you are, a pathetic treasure hunter, stealing from others because you can't make it on your own.” As she spoke, she quickly opened her wing just enough for the object she was holding to fall. She was close enough to Daring that nopony else caught sight of it.

It was the knife that Daring had been using to cut their ingredients for meals. The blade had landed right next to her hoof, allowing her to quickly grab it and slide it behind her back. As Rainbow continued her rant, Daring began frantically cutting at the ropes, trying not to move around too much lest she give away what she was doing.

“...you'll never amount to anything! Theseus is right, the world will be better off without you! And you know what else?” Rainbow leaned in real close, her expression unchanged, and whispered calmly, “I should do the distraction,” and then she smirked before backing away.

“I'm done with her,” she said, walking away and standing there. Theseus stepped forward between her and Daring, motioning for his torch-bearer to step forward.

“Oh...” Rainbow Dash said, “There is one more thing.”

Theseus turned around to glare at her, only to have his eyes widen in shock as a cyan torpedo headbutted him in the gut. Daring took this to be her moment, quickly snapping the bonds and rushing forward. She grabbed the plate still clutched in the monster's outstretched arm and quickly yanked it from his grasp.

Heirloom shouted something and all the gnolls scrambled to ready their weapons. The manticores roared and leapt forward. Theseus himself was only momentarily stunned, but neither mare was willing to wait to see what he did next. They were in the air before anypony could stop them, and they weren't the least bit concerned with stealth anymore.

A loud screech from behind alerted them to the griffins in hot pursuit. When they glanced back, however, the pegasi were surprised to see Heirloom speeding towards them, outracing the griffins and actually gaining on the duo.

“Rainbow,” Daring said, “I guess it's time to see who's faster after all.” Without waiting for a reply, she began picking up speed. Dash quickly matched her speed and beat it, taking the lead. But she was blindsided when Daring darted past her, leaving a greyscale version of Dash’s rainbow trail behind her.

“Dang!” Rainbow cried, picking up speed herself. Daring had a good lead, but Rainbow Dash wasn't going to lose, not even to her hero.