Chapters On a stormy afternoon, there was nothing Twilight liked more than curling up on her bed and studying by candlelight. And by some wondrous coincidence, the newest books ordered from Canterlot had arrived just that morning, including one she had been just dying to tear into. She was so deeply immersed in a chapter on detecting approaching threats that when the downstairs door burst open she jumped three feet in the air.
“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash cried, stomping in and shaking the water from her mane. Twilight rushed down the stairs, but the intruder had already begun ripping books from their shelves in search of something.
“Rainbow Dash!” she cried, “What in the wide world of Equestria are you doing?!”
“I'm bored,” Rainbow said, tossing another book aside and trotting over, “Please tell me that there's another one.”
“Rainbow, you know as well as I do that there's not another Daring Do book out yet. Go ahead and read something else. I personally–”
“No!” Rainbow Dash cried, “I don't want to read anything else right now! Find me something.”
Twilight rolled her eyes and picked a book up off the floor, one she recognized as a tome of literary magic. Figuring that there might be something in there to help, she flipped it open and began reading.
Restoring burnt pages, sorting books alphabetically, refreshing faded ink– oh, maybe this... It wasn't a spell Twilight was very familiar with, but as Rainbow Dash had gone back to sweeping her shelves clean in the pursuit of something to read, she was willing to try anything to keep the pegasus occupied.
“Alright,” she said, “I think I've got something.”
“Really?” Dash asked, pouncing over, “What is it?”
“It's a spell,” Twilight explained, “that should create a brand new story for you to read. Just tell me what you want.”
Rainbow's eyes widened and she began spouting off: “Okay, I want this to be Daring's most dangerous adventure yet, with new enemies and the greatest villain she's ever faced! It needs to be full of exciting and shocking twists too!”
Twilight rolled her eyes again. “Alright,” she sighed, “Let me try this.”
Pooling all her energy, Twilight thought about the end result she wanted to achieve. Her horn began to radiate with a purple aura. The spell was so unfamiliar to her, and so complex, that the normal toll that even difficult spells took on her concentration seemed magnified tenfold.
Twi simply closed her eyes and doubled her effort. Hearing Rainbow’s happy gasp, she looked to see that a book was actually forming in midair out of nothing, surrounded by a purple aura. Twilight allowed herself a small smile and continued pushing herself. It was only a matter of moments before the spell would be complete.
“Uh, Twilight…” Glancing over at Rainbow Dash, Twilight panicked and stopped casting. Rainbow had been surrounded in a purple aura too, and even though she canceled the spell that aura did not disperse.
Twilight watched helpless as Rainbow was dragged closer to the floating book. She was pulled closer as though by some sort of funnel, and too quickly for Twilight to do anything but stare in disbelief. The poor pegasus was lifted up into the air against her will and, though she flapped her wings ferociously, was sucked into the pages of the little novel right before Twilight’s eyes. The book fell, landing hard on the floor and sitting there, feigning innocence.
After a moment of shock, Twilight quickly dashed back to the spellbook and reread the description: Allows for the experience of new ideas as developed stories . Experience! How could she have misinterpreted the word?! Now Rainbow Dash was gone, possibly in danger!
Suddenly very afraid for her friend’s safety, Twilight darted upstairs to look for the notes she had on spell reversal.
***
The first thing Rainbow noticed was that she couldn’t see anything. There was a sharp ringing in her ears, but something else too, like a voice calling something to her. Her vision slowly began to swim into focus and the words she was hearing became clear.
“-are you? What are you doing here?”
Rainbow Dash blinked several times. Somepony was standing over her, blocking the setting sun so that she was only a silhouette to the half-conscious pegasus. It looked like she was wearing a hat and coat, but there was no way Dash could be sure.
“Who are you?” Rainbow tried to ask. All that came out was a wild slur.
The pony standing over her recoiled at the sound, allowing Rainbow Dash to get a better view of her. For a moment, she could only stare in wonder and awe. Then Rainbow shrieked with joy and leapt to her feet.
“Daring Do!” she cried. Indeed, the pony that had stumbled across her sleeping form was Daring Do, her favorite storybook character. But with this answer came a hundred new questions.
First: where was she? The two pegasi were standing in a small camp on an arid plane. To their left was a vast, sandy desert, which glared by reflecting the light of the harsh evening sun.
“This must be where…” Rainbow trailed off. This must have been where the book was supposed to take place. She could only look around and stare in astonishment at what she was surrounded by.
“I’ll ask you again,” Daring said, looking angry at Rainbow’s intrusion, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
“Oh, Daring Do!” Rainbow cried, rushing forward and shaking her hoof ferociously, “It’s such a pleasure to meet you you don’t even have any idea! I know all of your adventures by heart and I just know we’re going to be the best of friends! Can I have your autograph?!”
“What? No!” Daring Do pulled her hoof free from Rainbow’s grip. She looked over Rainbow again with a mild form of disgust. The way she stood there, a smile plastered to her face and wide eyes sparkling with excitement, it gave Daring the creeps.
Probably just some crazy fan, Daring finally decided, turning away and inspecting her saddle bags to see if they were properly packed.
After a moment, though, Daring realized that she could feel somepony’s breath on her neck. She glanced over to see the rainbow-haired pony peering over her shoulder to see what she was doing.
“Please go away,” Daring said calmly.
Rainbow Dash slowly backed away a few feet and sat down on her rump. Daring rolled her eyes and asked, “Would you at least tell me your name?”
Rainbow jumped to her feet and saluted, proudly declaring, “Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in all of Equestria, at your service!”
“Ah, okay,” Daring replied, unimpressed, “And why are you here?”
“To come with you on-”
“NO!” The reply was so ferocious that it took Rainbow completely by surprise. Daring had eyes like daggers, and she was positively fuming. “I work alone,” she said.
“But…”
“ALONE!” she cried, “Besides, I can’t trust you.”
“Yes you can!” Rainbow insisted, “I’m not just the fastest pony in Equestria, I’m also the most loyal. You see–”
“Please, please stop,” Daring begged her, “I don’t want to hear your life’s story.” And, ending the conversation there, she returned to her busy packing.
Rainbow was beginning to feel a little irritated now. She had finally gotten to meet her hero and it was nothing like the meeting Rainbow had always pictured: Daring Do would have gotten herself into an impossible situation, and then here comes Rainbow Dash from above to save the day! The two outsmart the villain and race off towards home to roaring applause, and they are recognized as the best team in all the land.
This was nothing like Rainbow Dash had imagined it.
“So…” she started, “what exactly are you looking for?”
Daring groaned and looked at Rainbow. “If you must know,” she said, “I’m searching for a temple deep within the desert. There’s an item in there that needs to be kept out of the wrong hooves.”
“What kind of item?” Rainbow asked. Daring noted that her tone implied that she was legitimately clueless, indicating that she probably wasn't smart enough to be a spy. Or if she was, she certainly wasn't very good at it.
“That’s confidential,” she replied.
“Well, why can’t I come then?”
“It’s too dangerous,” Daring insisted, “Besides, you’d just slow me down.”
“But I’m the best,” Rainbow whined. She went on to beg, “Come on. Just trust me. I can handle myself.”
Daring didn’t reply. So Rainbow tried again, pleading, “You can at least use the extra hoof, right? There’s a lot to carry, right? And– and if I can’t do it, you can just leave me behind.”
Daring Do sighed. She turned to look at Rainbow Dash again and looked her over once. Rainbow did her best to look proud and strong, but she was clearly terrified that Daring Do wouldn’t allow her to come.
“Fine.” The word hung in the air. At first, Rainbow couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t until she heard Daring go on to say, “But if you can’t follow orders and do as I say then I’m leaving you in the dust,” that she really understood that she was coming along.
When she landed, Daring told her, “Don’t do things like that either. We have to be as discreet as possible. We’re not going to be the only ones out there, and I don’t want to be caught.”
“Oh. I understand,” Rainbow told her, blushing.
Daring didn’t reply, and her expression was blank, but she was probably rethinking her decision to let Rainbow come along. Instead of kicking her out right there, all Daring said was, “It’s late. We need to get our rest for tomorrow. You can use my sleeping pad. I’ll keep watch for a couple of hours.”
Rainbow smiled. They had gotten off to a rocky start, but things were quickly looking up. As she laid down on the thin little mat, she just knew that the two of them were going to get along great.
When Rainbow Dash woke up, the first thing she noticed was that every one of her muscles ached. She stretched out and rubbed the dirt from her eyes, trying to ignore the screaming pain from within her. How Daring Do did this every day-
Daring Do! Rainbow Dash leapt up and looked around, scattering dust and dirt as she did so. The adventurer was sitting by the dying embers of her fire, mindlessly poking at them with a stick. Rainbow let out a sigh of relief; she hadn't imagined the whole thing. Trying not to whimper as the pain surged through her, she limped over and sat down beside her new companion, looking expectantly at her.
Daring Do was silent for a while. After a moment she turned to Rainbow and said, “We should pack. It’s a long journey and we can only travel by day.”
“Oh, okay,” Rainbow replied, noticing a rumbling in her stomach. Without a word, Daring pushed a skillet filled with scrambled eggs in her direction. “Eat up,” she said, “You’ll need your energy.” As Rainbow eagerly filled her belly, Daring Do strapped on her saddlebags, taking a moment to fill the new pony in on their mission.
“Some years ago, I was called in to investigate the new ruler of a small land, a Minotaur by the name of Theseus, who seemed a little too good at ruling that savage land. As it turned out, the source of his power was a staff he had acquired that allowed him to bend the minds of others to his will. It was the only way he made it to the throne in the first place. Without the time or means to call for backup, I was forced to destroy his staff myself and thus end his tyrannical rule right there. But now he's shown up again, thirsty for revenge.”
Rainbow Dash didn't remember this story, and she had read every Daring Do book three times now. But she didn't mind; a little mystery would make things all the more interesting. She would have to thank Twilight for that when she got home.
“I only recently learned that the staff, while damaged, was not completely destroyed. It still has the potential for magic, but to a nonmagical being like Theseus that normally means nothing. Unfortunately, he discovered, as did I, the legend of a magical power source, that would provide the energy to fuel his staff for a hundred years at least.
“This shard is one of five similar, which altogether form a golden plate with the instructions for locating and unlocking that infinite power source.” She held the little golden clue up to the light, where it glinted ever so softly. Rainbow Dash had stopped chewing her food and was now watching with the utmost curiosity. “Needless to say,” Daring continued, “We cannot let Theseus take that power. If he does, he will not stop at a single nation this time.”
“Cool,” Rainbow droned, her voice muffled by the food in her mouth.
“Cool!?” Daring Do snapped, pulling the girl out of her trance, “This is serious! The fate of millions rests in the balance!”
“Sorry, sorry,” Dash replied quickly, before asking, “So how come he's not imprisoned or something? I mean, if he was such a threat before.”
“He's a slimy monster,” she muttered, turning away so the mare couldn't see the tears forming in her eyes, “Always another trick up his blasted sleeve.” Wiping her eyes dry again, she told Rainbow Dash to grab the sleeping pad and tie it to her back.
“Why can't I just carry it?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“No!” she snapped in reply, still upset. Recomposing herself, she said quietly, “No, it's okay. I'd rather hold onto it myself.”
“Are you okay?” Rainbow asked her as she rolled up the sleeping pad.
“I'm fine, really,” Daring told her, wincing slightly as the straps to hold the pad in place were pulled tight. She had found her normal calm again and was ready to go. Stretching her wings to ensure the pad wouldn't be in the way while flying, she pointed out into the desert and said, “We go that way.”
***
Daring had made it explicitly clear that they were to fly slowly and low, low enough to kick the sand from the ground if they flapped their wings hard enough. They had to fly slowly so Daring could keep an eye out for approaching threats, but at least it was faster than walking… kind of. This “exciting adventure” that Dash had wished for was turning out to be the most boring flight she had ever been on.
She itched to fly higher, to fly faster. The need reverberated in every fiber in her being. She was a flier, the best flier in Equestria! She needed to fly! So, deciding to forgo the stealth approach, she nudged in closer to Daring Do and said, “Hey, I bet I can fly faster than you.”
“What?” Daring asked, astonished at her disregard for safety, “You can't be serious.”
“Yeah, come on,” she urged, “It'll be fun.”
“Rainbow Dash, don't,” Daring warned.
“I'm gonna do it.”
“It's not safe, Rainbow Dash!” But her words fell on deaf ears. Dash had darted off, sending sand flying everywhere in her wake until she began her ascent. And worse still, she left a rainbow-colored trail in her wake, much like Daring's own grey-scale trail.
Daring Do’s heart sank. “Rainbow Dash you foal!” she cried, taking off after her. She had to catch the idiot before they got caught.
Rainbow Dash glanced back to see Daring Do chasing after her. She chuckled to herself and said, “Aw yeah, now this is what I wanted.” She pushed herself to go faster. The air pressed hard against her, a meager attempt by the sky to slow her down, and the whistling in her ears was matched only by the pounding of her heart. This was the joy she lived for.
A griffon's cry lashed out across the air. Rainbow broke to a grinding halt, and a moment later Daring rammed right into her. But the two mares managed to remain airborne. As Daring tried to clear her head of stars, Rainbow looked around for the source of the shout.
“Uh, Daring,” she said when she spotted it, “Who are they?”
Daring, head still pounding, glanced over and her heart sank further. A group of three griffins had spotted them and were charging their way.
“Fly. Fly!” she exclaimed, taking off in the opposite direction. Rainbow Dash followed and quickly passed her, but the Griffins were coming up on Daring fast. Realizing that she couldn’t outrun them, the pegasus turned and charged right at them. For a moment, Rainbow could only stare after her in amazement before she too flew in to confront them.
The first griffin was stunned when Daring rushed forward and kicked it square in the face. It went down, falling like a brick to the earth below. Another one slashed at her, its claws tearing the ropes that held Daring’s sleeping pad in place. Letting it fall, she dodged another swipe and spat in its face, distracting it long enough for her to turn around and avoid the last one’s beak as it came towards her head. Ducking beneath it, she came up from behind and bit hard into its tail.
As the creature began screaming and thrashing, Rainbow Dash made it to the scene and grabbed the other griffin in a chokehold. Muttering, “This is how I would always get the better of Gilda,” she pulled the griffin down, charging straight for the ground. Normally, Gilda would plead for mercy, at which point Rainbow would let go and allow her to fly away. This time, she held on even as the griffin choked out its pleas. The ground rushed up quickly, but Rainbow didn’t let go. Finally, when it looked as though she was going to pound them both into the sand, she released her grip and quickly changed direction. The griffin was unable to fight the momentum and crashed into the ground, leaving a dent in the sand.
When Rainbow made it back up, Daring had already scared the other griffin off. “Yeah, high hoof!” Dash cried, raising a hoof for Daring to hit. Daring instead glared at her, and she slowly lowered her leg.
“That was foolish of you,” Daring scolded, “I told you that we had to be CAREFUL! Now that griffin is probably going to report back to Theseus that we’re coming.”
“Oh. I…” Rainbow couldn’t think of anything to say. “I’m sorry,” she finally muttered, head hung in shame, “I suppose you’ll want me to leave now.”
“No.” Daring Do’s response surprised Rainbow Dash. “It’s too late now,” she explained, “They’d catch you and torture you for information. We’ve just got to keep moving on.”
Daring dropped to a lower altitude and began flying again, and Rainbow quietly followed. Trailing behind Daring, she could see that she was favoring one of her wings. It wasn’t flapping as hard or as fast as the other one. It must have been hurt during the fight, and that knowledge only made Rainbow Dash feel worse.
They flew faster and higher this time, though only slightly. They couldn't afford to charge blindly through the desert at mach one, but detection wasn't exactly their priority concern anymore. Daring managed to ignore her injured wing for a long while, until she caught sight of something in the distance and began to slow. Motioning for Rainbow Dash to follow her, she flew closer to the ground, close enough to kick up sand with every flap of her wings. They flew this way for another hundred yards or so before plopping softly on the ground. Daring trotted briskly towards a nearby sand dune and Rainbow followed.
“So what are we doing now?” she asked.
“Quiet,” Daring warned, “I saw an enemy camp nearby and I want to check it out. It should be just around this sand dune.”
“I didn’t see anything,” Rainbow told her.
“Of course not,” Daring muttered, “You were so distracted by your own ego.” She didn’t realize that Rainbow Dash could still hear her. Addressing the pegasus directly, she said, “Wait here while I check it out.”
Daring left Rainbow there and began walking slowly around the sand dune, careful enough not to kick up any sand as she walked. Rainbow Dash watched her go and then snorted. “Like I’m going to wait here,” she muttered, turning around and quickly trotting in the other direction around the dune, kicking up sand as she went.
Daring Do glanced around the bend, observing the small camp she had noticed earlier. There were several tents set up, and a large pit for a bonfire near the middle. Several griffins were resting out in the sun, tied to several posts, but those weren’t what concerned Daring. Sulking around the camp were several savage beasts that stood on their hind legs. They were hyenas, with sunken in eyes and drooling, toothy maws.
“Gnolls.” Daring swore their name through gritted teeth. They were nightmarish foot-soldiers, quick to attack and hard to escape. Each one wore a weapon at their waist, a sword or a mace of some kind. They staggered around their camp, waiting for something to distract them. As she watched, one bumped into another, and the two began fighting. Brutes that they were, they began clawing and biting at each other instead of reaching for their weapons. The remaining gnolls quickly gathered around to watch and howl at the scene.
Sensing her chance, Daring darted towards the camp. Her heart pounded at the very real threat that one of the monsters would see her and alert the others to her presence. She stopped only when she made it behind the largest tent. Her breathing was quick and shallow, and for a moment all she could do was sit there and listen. But the brawl continued; not one of them had noticed her coming.
Taking a deep breath and relaxing her muscles, Daring lifted the edge of the tent and peaked inside. There was not a single gnoll inside, and there was a large table set up. But the tent had an open door facing the middle of the camp. If Daring wasn’t absolutely perfect, they would catch her for sure.
Daring slid inside and crawled along the ground towards the table. She was so focused on her task that she wasn’t paying attention to the tent around her. A loud snore froze her in place. Panicking, Daring glanced to the side where she saw a gnoll lying sprawled across a cot.
The commotion outside was ending, so it shouldn’t wake the creature up, but at any moment one of the others could wander into the tent and catch her. She rushed forward, praying that she wouldn’t make a sound, and peaked up onto the table. Sprawled out was a map of the area, with several lines and shapes drawn on it.
This was exactly what she needed! Daring quickly grabbed the map in her hooves and began rolling it up. Her heart was racing. She had been in tough spots like this before, but it never got any easier. She still had to slip out of the tent and get back to Rainbow without being detected.
A chilling scream split the air. Daring froze, not out of fear for herself, but because she knew the outcry of another pony when she heard it. The gnoll on the cot was stirring, but Daring Do had already dropped the map and was halfway out the door.
Outside, two gnolls had gotten a hold of Rainbow Dash and were holding her by her front legs in the middle of the camp. The frightened mare was struggling, flapping her wings and bucking ferociously, but she could not get free.
“Let me go!” she cried. Fear was plastered over her face. The gnolls around her howled and screeched with their mad laughter. They jumped up and down, eager to sink their wet teeth into her soft flank.
One of the beasts, taller than the rest, stumbled forward, brandishing his mace wildly. He shoved his ugly mug in her face and snarled, “Little pony run right into camp. Little pony will die!” The gnolls screamed louder with anticipation as the beast raised his weapon to strike.
“No…” Rainbow Dash whimpered. The gnoll had a wild glint in his eyes. He was ready to kill.
He never had the chance. At that moment, Daring Do rammed into him with the speed of a bullet. She heard the crunch as his spine cracked and split right before the creature’s pained shrieks filled the air. As it fell, Daring caught Rainbow’s eyes. They were wide with fear and apprehension, but only for a moment.
In the time it took to blink, Rainbow had twisted her body and broken free of her captors, bucking one right in the face and quickly head-butting the other. As they fell in a crumpled heap, the cries of excitement around the two ponies turned to howls of rage.
“Stay close,” Daring muttered to Rainbow as the ten or twelve remaining gnolls pulled their weapons.
“Don’t worry,” Rainbow Dash spat, “I’m going to make them pay.”
“We’re outnumbered,” the other pegasus tried to remind her, but Rainbow had already leapt into the fray.
Daring Do had been in plenty of fights before, but she had always known when to give up and run away. Normally, she would have never allowed a situation like this to escalate, but Rainbow’s screw-up had landed them both in this terrible situation with no way out but to fight. Although, if Daring had been given a moment to reflect on it, some of her own early mistakes when she was still apprenticing were just as grave, if not worse.
It was hard to see through the small throng of enemies. Daring lashed out wildly, hoping to cripple as many of them as possible. As they angrily swung their weapons about, the gnolls ended up doing more damage to themselves than to Daring Do. But Daring could only barely avoid the majority of their attacks.
She felt something scratch against her flank and the accompanying sting that indicated the blade had drawn blood. Bucking another one, she felt a blow land against her leg, hard enough to make it go numb. A weapon nicked her ear and one of the gnolls swiped a claw against her muzzle.
Rainbow Dash wasn’t faring much better. She hadn’t had as much experience in fighting either. But the pegasi were natural-born warriors, and she wasn’t about to lost to these cronies. By flapping her wings, she was able to send enough sand flying to blind her attackers as she struck back. As the gnolls continued to throw around their weapons in blind fury, Rainbow felt something cutting behind her. Glancing back, she saw part of her tail lying on the ground, the rainbow strands of hair scattered across the sand.
“Oh. No. You. Didn’t.” she growled. Giving off a mighty war cry, she leaped right at the offender.
Realizing that they were losing the battle, several gnolls ran towards the griffins already pulling against their binds. With their swords, they quickly cut the ropes and set the griffins free.
The gnolls scattered as the griffins came rushing towards Daring Do. Realizing the trouble they were in, Daring looked around for Rainbow Dash, but could see no trace of her. She couldn’t leave her to the mercy of the gnolls, but the griffins were upon her. With no other choice, she took off into the air and began flying away.
A moment later Rainbow Dash emerged from the tent and saw the griffins chasing Daring Do away. While the remaining gnolls regrouped, Rainbow Dash stuck the stolen items in her mouth and took off to follow.
In a moment, Rainbow Dash had passed the griffins, leaving a rainbow-colored trail behind her. She flew side-by-side with Daring Do, who wore a strained look on her face. Rainbow flew a little faster, and Daring cast her a dirty look before desperately trying to match her speed.
In mere minutes the cries of griffins had died away, though it felt much longer to the frightened and weakened Daring Do. She glanced back to see that they had indeed begun their retreat before letting out a sigh of relief. Feeling a little safer, the two slowed down considerably, and it wasn't long before Daring began to fly lower, losing altitude at an alarming rate.
Rainbow followed her, watching Daring Do struggle to stay aloft, until she finally hit the sand, landing near the dried-up oasis she had been aiming for. The only indication that there had ever been life there were the few scattered dead trees still standing. Sand had long-since covered up anything and everything else.
Rainbow landed beside her, slipping the items she had stolen from the camp into her saddlebag, and watched sadly as Daring sat down and tried to clear her head. The mare was covered in cuts and bruises, and was trying to massage her sore muscles. The fight had clearly taken a toll on her.
“Are you okay?” Rainbow asked.
“I feel as bad as you look,” Daring replied darkly, stretching out her damaged wing and looking at it. “I think I’m done flying for today, though,” she admitted. Turning her attention to their surroundings, she frowned and dropped her bag to the ground.
“Rainbow Dash,” she said, opening her bag and beginning to riffle through, “Pull the wood from these trees while I set up camp.”
Rainbow did as she was told, walking up to the nearest tree and grabbing at the bark with her teeth. She pulled until she heard the bark crack, and then jumped back in surprise as termites flew from the tree and covered her.
She trotted over, arriving as Rainbow finished wiping herself clean of termites, and reached up to grab one of the low-hanging branches in her teeth. With one sharp jerk, she pulled the dead limb from the trunk and let it fall to the ground.
***
In the last moments of sunset as Dash carried over her final haul, the last remaining wood she could salvage from the long-dead flora, she saw that Daring had already finished erecting their campsite. They had a tent, but the various utensils that Daring carried with her were scattered around seemingly at random. She had already piled the wood into the pit and had her flint and steel ready.
“Wait,” Rainbow said, confused, “I thought we were trying to avoid detection. Why are we lighting a fire? Isn’t that like a beacon to them?!”
“The desert gets inhospitably cold at night,” Daring replied as she blew on the little flame to help it grow, “If we don’t light a fire for warmth, we’re going to freeze to death.” She had to roll her eyes at Rainbow Dash’s ignorance. “Besides,” she continued, “They’re not going to risk coming after us in the dark and cold. If the temperature doesn’t kill them, the animals out here will.”
Rainbow’s heart sank and she glanced around. The sun was beyond the horizon, and soon they would be in total darkness. She didn’t want to think about what could be just outside their circle of firelight, watching them in the darkness. But Daring didn’t seem the least bit worried, so Rainbow decided that she wouldn’t be concerned with it either.
Daring lied down by the fire, tucking her legs underneath her and gazing softly into the dancing flames as they licked at the air. She didn’t seem particularly happy, and she sighed upon reflection of how badly her day had gone. Seeing Rainbow Dash standing across from her on the other side of the fire didn’t help either.
Sensing that now was the time, Rainbow circled the fire to stand beside Daring and said, “I have something that you might like.”
“What could you possibly have-?” Daring began, but the sight of what Rainbow was holding cut her off mid-sentence. In her mouth, Rainbow was holding a golden shard and a rolled-up piece of paper. Rainbow laid her find on the ground and said, “When I ran into the tent, I saw the map you had been looking for and thought I’d grab it for you. I almost didn’t notice this,” she pointed at the golden shard, “until I was halfway out the door. I thought it looked familiar, like the other one you had.”
Daring Do rolled open the map and examined it, eyes wide with excitement. Then she picked up the golden shard and a smile slowly crossed her face. She pulled out her own shard and laid them down together. The two fit perfectly, forming a semicircle with one a small piece missing out of the middle of the straight edge.
“Rainbow,” she said slowly, “this is great.”
“I guess I can do some things right after all,” Rainbow boasted, standing proud.
Daring was smiling, but another glance at her damaged wing wiped the smile from her face. She sighed and stood up, saying, “I hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into, Rainbow Dash.” She then picked up a frying pan in her mouth and said, muffled, “I guess it’s time I start making dinner.”
“Thank Celestia, I’m starved!” Rainbow cried, rubbing her stomach and chuckling. She stopped suddenly and glanced out into the darkness. She could have sworn she heard something out there.
Daring set the pan on the fire and turned to pull out some ingredients, as well as the iron knife that she would use to help prepare the meal. Over the popping sounds of the fire came a low howl that froze Daring in her tracks. Was that the wind? It sounded so… bestial.
A small gust blew over the campsite, kicking up a pile of sand. Daring’s heart refused to settle, and she quickly slipped the golden shards into the buttoned pocket of her vest. The worst thing to encounter in the desert was a sandstorm. If one of those hit, they were just flat out of luck.
Something tickled the inside of Daring’s ear, a sound like a whisper. She jerked away and looked but could see nothing. A quick glance at Rainbow Dash showed that she was fighting something similar.
Then the earth exploded. Sand flew everywhere and the mares shrieked in alarm. Rainbow caught a glimpse of something, something that looked like it was glowing in the darkness. She called out for Daring, swiveling to face a pair of glowing pale blue eyes suspended in midair.
Without warning Rainbow felt sand flung into her eyes. She howled in pain, trying to rub her eyes clean. There was a crackling laughter around her. Squinting, Rainbow could make out the silhouette of a shapeless beast with glowing blue eyes. Though she could barely see, Rainbow watched as the beast lost its form and collapsed into the sand below them.
Daring wasn’t doing much better. She fought a similar beast with similar blue eyes. This one had buried below the ground and was throwing sand at her. Daring jumped to the side, but the sand covered the fire, putting it out. Another glob of sand came from the left, hitting Daring Do on the side of her head and knocking away her hat.
These wind-spirits continued to wreak havoc on the campsite, tearing down the tent and sending utensils flying everywhere. Rainbow Dash eventually got her wings free and began flapping like mad, trying to bat away the flying sand. Before her, the two eyes reappeared in the air, and the sand flew up to form a shape around it. It took the shape of a head, featureless save for the gaping maw filled with sharp teeth. The creature roared, and its cry caused Rainbow Dash’s heart to sink.
As the monster floated closer, more sand flew up to form a bestial form. At first, it looked bipedal, with two long, hulking arms. But it just continued to add limbs, gaining four legs, and then six, each one with different features. Some were thin and insect-like, others thick enough to be a tree limb. As the spirit neared, Rainbow flapped her wings harder. The wind she generated knocked sand from the creature, but it continued to draw sand onto itself faster than Rainbow could blow it away.
Then the beast stumbled as Daring Do rammed it from the side. She had to duck in order to avoid being hit by her own opponent, letting it throw all its weight onto its companion. In a moment, Daring was standing by Rainbow’s side. They were both breathing hard, and both realized that they were outmatched.
The two wind-spirits allowed their bodies to fall apart, being too weak to hold them together for very long. They dived below the ground again, sending sand flying all around. Rainbow and Daring, standing back to back, raised their wings and flapped as hard as they could. The two dug their hooves into the ground, doing their best to avoid being lifted into the air as they flapped.
Both spirits emerged from the ground and, either defeated or bored, flew off into the night. Daring Do and Rainbow Dash stood side by side, watching the glowing pairs of eyes get smaller and smaller as they fled towards the horizon.
Rainbow looked around the remains of their campsite. This wasn't exactly the kind of “action” she had asked Twilight for. Without warning, Daring began running around, collecting wood and throwing it into a pile.
“Help me, Rainbow!” she cried, “We need to get another fire started before we freeze.”
It took them a while, but the two finally managed to get another fire started and their campsite back in order. They hadn’t lost much, but they did have to wipe the sand from all their food. Daring pulled out the iron knife again and cut the ingredients before throwing them into the frying pan to cook together. She claimed that it brought out the flavors, something that she had learned to do in a far-off land.
The two sat down to wait for their meal to cook, both still extremely on edge and quite jumpy. Daring checked to make sure that the golden shards were still safely in her pocket. That's when Dash ventured to ask, “So why do you do it?”
“Do what?” Daring asked in reply, but she already knew the answer.
“Why all this? Why do you go adventuring? I mean, I think it's the coolest thing ever, and what other reason do you need, right? But I want to know what you think.”
There was a moment of silence. And then:
“It's not as glamorous as you've been led to believe,” Daring insisted, “But I suppose somepony's got to do this job. I may not be Con Mane, but I think I do just as good at saving the world.”
“Con Mane?” Rainbow asked.
Daring raised an eyebrow, “You don't read? Con Mane, super spy? Really popular series. Not very accurate, though.”
“Oh, I don't read much,” Rainbow Dash replied, “I'm not really an egghead.”
“An egghead? Are you serious?” Daring looked stunned, “Just how old are you, to still be calling ponies 'eggheads'?”
“I-I'm an adult!” Rainbow Dash stammered, “I'm not that much younger than you, anyway.”
“Uh huh...”
A loud pop from the fire startled them both. Once they had calmed down, Rainbow asked, “What were those things that attacked us anyway?”
“The ancient civilizations had names for such beings,” Daring replied, her anger fading quickly, “I’ve heard stories about spirits that weave themselves bodies out of clouds or water vapor, called Villa, which had the power to send storms down on weary travelers. Maybe these are their desert counterparts.”
“Well what do they want with us?” Rainbow asked, pretending like she wasn’t the least bit afraid of what she was hearing.
“Only to watch us suffer, Rainbow Dash,” Daring said slowly, pulling the iron skillet out of the fire.
Rainbow wasn’t used to eating cooked vegetables, but she scarfed down her meal like there was no tomorrow. Daring could only stare and chuckle as she watched Rainbow eat. Shaking her head, she pulled out the golden clues and studied them. But Rainbow Dash still had questions that needed answering.
“So you're really hurt, aren't you?” she asked, referring to the injuries across her body.
“I'm fine, Rainbow Dash,” Daring insisted, “this isn't the worst shape I've been in.”
“Yeah,” Dash agreed, “There was that time you had to stop Ahuizotl with a broken wing.”
“Yeah...” Daring knew that she really should have asked how Dash knew about that, but she had already assumed Rainbow to be nothing more than a dedicated fan. Besides, she had to worry about these clues and what the patterns meant.
The tent was destroyed beyond repair, so the two were sleeping around the fire that night. Rainbow Dash was curled up on the sand while Daring Do herself had spread out her maps to compare them with the newly acquired one. She was covered by a thin blanket but had nothing else to sleep with.
Rainbow Dash was without the luxury of a blanket. She curled up as tight as she could, eyes closed, facing the popping fire, but she still shivered from the cold. All of a sudden, Rainbow felt something fall across her. She opened her eyes to find Daring’s only blanket covering her. She could see Daring Do walking back to her maps and lying down, ignoring the cold. No longer shivering but still feeling bad, Rainbow closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, distracted by thoughts of what a bad partner she was being.
Maybe she shouldn’t have insisted on coming along after all.
Around midnight, Daring finally ran out of wood for their fire. Rainbow Dash had long-since fallen asleep, so at least she wasn't making the situation stressful by panicking. Daring couldn't resist a shiver as the flames began to finally flicker and die. Soon the midnight cold would set in. At least Rainbow Dash had the blanket to keep her somewhat warm. Daring would survive the cold, but it wouldn't be a pleasant experience.
Daring pursed her lips as she thought. There was another option... her eyes drifted to Rainbow Dash. Daring still didn't know if she could trust the strange mare, and she had proven to be a stubborn nuisance. And yet, as Daring felt for the small golden shards in her pocket, she couldn't find it in herself to distrust the girl. Maybe she was just tired, or maybe the strain of this mission was getting to her...
But she gave in. Daring Do left her seat by the fire and walked over to where Rainbow Dash was lying down. Slipping off her hat and coat, she set the hat aside and folded her coat into the shape of a pillow. Careful not to disturb the sleeping pony, she lied down beside Dash and leaned against her. She could feel Dash's body heat through the blanket, and it gave her the unspoken assurance that she wasn't alone.
Closing her eyes, Daring muttered a quick, arcane word. Immediately the heat of the warming spell began to encompass both their resting forms. It would supply them with the additional heat they needed, but was no substitute for the comfort that their physical contact brought. Another brief incantation warded away the potential dangers of the night, keeping them away with magic like the fire was supposed to do on it's own.
Feeling relaxed for the first time in weeks, Daring snuggled closer to Rainbow Dash and let herself drift off to sleep.
***
Rainbow Dash woke up as soon as the blanket was pulled off of her. The sun wasn't yet high enough for it's rays to hit the western horizon. Very groggily, she stood up and began to dust herself off. Sand fell off her mane and coat in clumps, and she had some trouble pushing her mane out of her eyes.
“Tired?” Daring Do asked, already up and dressed herself. She was stuffing the blanket she took from Rainbow Dash into her saddlebags, the last item she had to pack. Their camp was officially taken down.
“No,” Dash lied, wobbling where she stood. Her muscles were just as sore as the morning before, and as she began to stretch she caught sight of Daring chuckling out of the corner of her eye.
The adventurer then extended her wing and observed it, making sure it would hold her through the remainder of the day. But more unnerving than that was the subtle wind that was already building. Sand was slowly filling their fire pit from the night before.
Daring gulped and looked around. The sky in the desert was always free of clouds. This made it incredibly easy to tell what time of day it was, as well as what the cardinal directions were. And direction was Daring Do's specialty. From just one map and a few hours, she had determined exactly where they were in the desert and which direction they needed to head in order to reach their destination, the temple lost to the ages, hidden from pony and even zebra life for untold generations.
But clear skies had another side effect, one that wasn't nearly as pleasant. With no clouds, it was going to be impossible to tell what kind of winds they would be facing. And as the two made their final preparations to take off that morning, they knew the winds were going to be a doozy.
“Ow!” Daring Do cried, “Not so tight!” Rainbow released the straps holding Daring’s saddlebags in place.
“Sorry,” she replied, not meaning it. She blinked; the wind was kicking up sand into her eyes. She would be happy to be off the ground
“I still have to fly with this thing on,” Daring reminded her. She stretched out her wings and examined her damaged one once more. She was struggling to keep them open against the growing breeze. “It’ll be fine,” she asserted, pulling them closed, “Let’s go before this gets any worse.”
The two spread their wings and pushed themselves quickly off of the ground. Rainbow was pulled back by the current but quickly adjusted herself until she was floating above the low wind stream. Daring was just a few yards away, flapping her wings hard to keep steady. Glancing up towards the sun to get her bearings, Daring Do took off in the right direction, and Rainbow Dash followed.
Higher up, the headwinds only got worse, and the two mares had to fly directly into it. Rainbow could barely keep her eyes open. The winds were so strong that she was tearing up. She had to keep glancing away, and could only barely keep a view of Daring.
Daring Do herself wasn’t doing much better. Tears formed in her eyes as well, but she refused to turn her head and refused to blink. Her goal was getting closer, she could feel it. And this time, she wasn’t going to let it slip through her hooves again. A knot was forming in her stomach at the thought of what awaited her, but she ignored it.
Something flew into the edge of Daring’s peripheral vision. Fearing the worst, she chanced a glance over. But there was no griffin in sight. She looked around, but there was nothing nearby. Still unsettled, she called back, “Rainbow, keep an eye out for-”
Something flew over Daring’s head, brushing against her mane. Panicking, Daring froze for just a moment, long enough for her wings to lose their rhythm and let her drop a few feet. Angry now, she looked up at Rainbow Dash, who had given up all hope of stealth and was now doing spins and loop-de-loops in the air above her.
“RAINBOW DASH YOU FOAL!” Daring cried, but her voice was drowned out by the roar of the wind.
Rainbow continued her maneuvers, swiftly and easily cutting through the choppy air. It was so much easier than flying directly against the wind. She knew that all that hard training to join the Wonderbolts was going to pay off one day. She just didn’t realize that she would be using the techniques she learned to fly through desert winds with a hero other than the Wonderbolts themselves.
Over the howl of the wind came another sound. It was nothing more than a tickle in Rainbow’s ear, just a whisper, but it seemed so familiar. Turning around to look for the source, Rainbow saw Daring Do hovering down close to the ground. She seemed to be shouting at Rainbow Dash.
Figuring that to be the source of the sound, Rainbow quickly changed course to meet up with her, continuing her loops and flips to slice through the air. She saw Daring’s eyes open wide in fear as she approached at breakneck speeds. Smiling, Dash turned sharply and circled around the frightened pegasus, coming to a screeching halt and floating there.
Her smile disappeared at the sight of Daring Do’s face. “Rainbow,” she said darkly, raising her voice to be heard over the gale, “I told you to stay low and follow me! What do you think you’re doing?!”
“It’s easier to maneuver around the wind than to fight it!” Rainbow explained.
“This isn’t about taking the easy way out!” Daring cried, shouting now out of anger rather than necessity, “We have to be methodical!”
“You and your methods!” Rainbow Dash cried, rolling her eyes, “I thought you were good at this! But I can clearly see that you don’t have the confidence to handle this!”
Struggling to stay still against the rapidly shifting gusts, Daring yelled back, “I got good at this because I worked carefully to get where I am! Who are you, anyway?! What do you have to offer?! No, you’re right! Apparently I don’t know what I’m doing, because I agreed to let you come along!”
“I WANTED TO HELP!” Rainbow cried at the top of her lungs. The wind was now at hurricane speeds, and the desert below them was churning as it sent the sand flying. The sound was like crackling laughter in their ears, and they almost couldn’t hear each other at all. But the two mares were so focused on their rage that the obvious signs of danger were lost to them.
Rainbow continued, “MAYBE IF YOU WERE BEING A BETTER PARTNER INSTEAD OF TRYING TO BOSS MY AROUND, I’D BE MORE HELPFUL!”
“IT’S MY MISSION!” Daring bellowed, “I’M IN CHARGE AND I WILL TELL YOU WHAT TO DO!”
Then the desert below them exploded. Sand filled the air, blocking out the sun and casting them into total darkness. Neither mare could keep their balance and instantly lost control. As Rainbow Dash was thrown backwards, she felt something grab onto her mane. It was Daring Do, who had leaned forward and bitten into Rainbow’s hair in order to avoid being separated.
Laughter filled their ears, and as the two were thrown around the sandstorm in a wild frenzy they could see glowing blue eyes watching them. If they could have said anything without their mouths filling up with sand, they would have cursed their foolishness at ignoring the approaching threat.
With no sense of up or down, the two were stunned when they hit the desert floor. Rainbow Dash felt something pull against her mane before it let go. But there was no time to worry about that. Her wings were still open and the wind was trying to pull her away. Digging her hooves into the ground, she slowly struggled to force her wings close.
Daring Do landed several yards away. She pulled her wings closed and spat out the hair that she had pulled from Rainbow’s mane. Glancing around and holding her leg up to block the sand from her eyes, Daring caught sight of Rainbow nearby, still struggling to close her own wings. Daring jumped forward and wrapped her front legs around the pegasus’ neck, forcing her to the ground.
The two mares stayed against the ground until the storm ended, occasionally shaking off the sand that continued to pile on top of them. It was a long time before the sound of rushing winds died down and the two dared to raise their heads. Daring let go of her companion and stood up, looking around.
She recognized nothing. The landscape had been radically altered by the storm, of course, but the sun was in a much different position than it had been before. Daring didn't know if it was because the storm had lasted so long or because they had been thrown so far off course. Either way, they were officially lost.
Rainbow Dash pulled herself from the ground and stretched her sore limbs. She could see the scattered remains of their supplies all around them. Their saddlebags had been torn open and their contents thrown across the desert.
“Shame,” Daring said, not turning to face Rainbow Dash, “We were doing so well.” She rubbed a hoof against the pocket containing the golden shards. They were safe, but without the map any hope they had of reaching the temple was gone.
Rainbow walked over to stand beside her. The adventurer was gazing off into the desert, but seeing nothing. She blinked once and looked over at Rainbow, saying, “We’d better take inventory of what we have.” Her voice was cold and dead. She had lost any sense of her earlier anger, but also any joy at the prospect of continuing on.
Silently, Daring Do and Rainbow Dash picked up their scattered supplies, leaving their hoof prints in the fresh warm sand. When they had collected their things, piling them together near the empty saddlebags, they sat down in the heat of the afternoon sun and contemplated what they had left.
Only a little bit of the food had survived. Both mares knew it wouldn't be enough to last them the rest of the journey. But amidst the pile of things that did make it through their ordeal were a thin rope, a pair of binoculars, a canteen, the iron knife, and a cracked compass.Daring held the compass in her hoof and looked at it, sighing. “We were doing so well,” she repeated, letting it fall and plop in the sand.
“Hey,” Rainbow cooed, smiling softly, “It’s not that bad.”
“Not that bad?” Daring asked, remembering her earlier anger. She turned to Rainbow Dash and shouted, “Because of your foolishness, we’re now completely lost and without any supplies! What do you mean, ‘not so bad’?!”
“Well we still have the clues, don’t we?” Dash cried.
“For all the good they do us! Where the buck are we?! Can you tell me that, Rainbow Dash?! You seem to have an answer for everything else!”
“You’re the adventurer!” Rainbow snapped, “You tell me how you get out of situations like this!”
“I don’t get into situations like this! I’m smart enough to avoid them!”
“Oh yeah, look at me,” Rainbow Dash retorted, rolling her eyes, “Outsmarted by a storybook character.”
Rainbow quickly brought her hoof up to block her mouth, but it was too late. Daring Do had heard what she said, and was now staring at her with a puzzled expression on her face. “What?” she asked.
“Never mind,” Rainbow quickly replied, turning away to avoid her gaze.
“No, tell me what you meant by that,” Daring insisted, “What did you call me?”
Rainbow decided that she couldn’t take it anymore. Looking her straight in the eye, she informed the pegasus exactly what she was. “I said you’re a storybook character. You only exist inside a book. I was brought here when a friend of mine accidentally cast the wrong spell. I thought that going on an adventure with you would be fun, but I guess that my friend wasn’t the only one who made a mistake.”
For a moment, Daring just stared at her, not comprehending. Then she blurted out, “You’re insane! You know that, Rainbow Dash? Is that all I am to you? Some character out of a book who always comes out on top?! I’m just as real as you are.” To illustrate this last point she raised her leg and jabbed Rainbow Dash in the chest with her hoof.
Rainbow Dash brushed her hoof away and said, “You broke your wing shortly before going to search for the Sapphire Statue, the one that Ahuitzotl almost got away with. Not long after, you faced off against a giant two-headed snake that almost hypnotized you, but you outsmarted it by jumping into a lake, causing it to be hypnotized by its own reflection and allowing you a chance to escape.”
“You could have learned about that from anywhere!” Daring tried to interrupt, but Rainbow kept on going.
“In the third book, you went romping through a series of caves on a secret mission for the mayor of Fallstreak, chasing down a group of thieves that had stolen the city’s treasured prize, an aquamarine stone known as the Jewel of Icy Weather. You retrieved it, but were so dirty when you returned that the mayor commented that you needed a bath. You told him it was all in a day’s work, but secretly you couldn’t wait to go home and take a nice bath. Not that you would admit that to anypony.
“And then,” she continued, on a roll now, “Ahuitzol appeared again searching for an ancient city that supposedly held the remains of a Lindworm, an ancient, wingless type of dragon with deadly venom. He knew that if he devoured its shed skin he would gain incredible wisdom and knowledge. When you arrived, though, you two found the Lindworm preserved in amber, still capable of being revived by a sequence of spells left by the ancient ponies who worshiped it. After defeating Ahuitzol, you buried the city beneath a mountain of rock and vowed never to speak of it again.
“After that, you were visited by an earth pony named Didgeri D-”
“ENOUGH!” Daring shoved a hoof in Rainbow’s mouth to get her to stop, “I need some time to think,” she said softly, and Rainbow could see that there were tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Rainbow Dash shut her mouth and sat down on the warm sand, watching as Daring Do turned and walked away.
She stopped after a few yards and stood there, staring out into the sky. Rainbow couldn’t begin to imagine what must have been going through her head at that moment. Rainbow Dash had accurately exposed a good chunk of her early adventures, including some very deep secrets. And the fact that she knew about Didgeri... from what that book revealed, it was no wonder that Daring didn't want to hear about her.
Rainbow began mindlessly drawing in the sand with her hoof as she waited for Daring to return, thinking about some of the events in her own life. She thought about the things she did with her family, with Scootaloo, with her friends… and the way that she treated them all.
Rainbow Dash had her head down when Daring approached, casting her shadow over the image she had drawn. Rainbow quickly brushed the picture, a crude drawing of her with her parents, away and stood up.
The expression on Daring’s face was impossible to read. She took a deep breath before looking directly at Rainbow and saying, “I’ve thought about what you said.” Rainbow waited silently for her to continue. “Based on what you know, it seems like you have some very compelling evidence,” she told Rainbow Dash, “nor can I ignore the possibility that you’ve deceived me somehow. But it doesn’t matter.
“I came out here to do a job, and to save the world. Storybook character or not, that’s what I’m going to do.” She looked more confident now; she was sure of what she was saying. “If we need to, we can settle this whole affair later. Right now, I have a serious threat to stop.” Rainbow could see her reflection in Daring's watering eyes as she finished, “And I could appreciate a second pair of wings at my side.”
Rainbow smiled and rested her hoof on Daring’s shoulder, saying, “I’m here for ya, pal. Just show me the way.”
“Well, that's the problem,” Daring said, pulling away and wiping her eyes dry. She explained, “I can tell which direction is which based on the movement of the sun, but I have no idea where we currently are. Our map would be useless even if we still had it. We’re going to need to find another one that has our position marked.”
“Where are we going to find one of those?” Rainbow asked, suspecting that she already knew the answer.
“The same place we found the first one,” Daring replied, turning around, “Come on, and let’s fly a little higher this time. We need to be able to see as far out as we can.”
Rainbow Dash had to admit to herself that there really was something about Daring Do that impressed her. It wasn’t just her talent or lust for adventure. Somehow, she had managed to shake off a world-shattering revelation and focus on the task before her.
Dash couldn't see it, but as soon as Daring turned away she had to fight to repress a sob. Tears ran freely down her muzzle, and she wanted nothing more than to fall to the sand and cry. But she shook her head to clear it of these thoughts and stretched her wings. She had a mission to complete, after all, and this was no time to give in to despair.
“Alright,” Daring whispered, “There they are.”
The two mares were peeking over a sand dune and onto the sprawling camp below. It was over twice the size of the other gnoll camp that the two had come across. The foot soldiers were everywhere, standing around the fire pit, milling around the tent entrances, tripping over each other on their way to where the griffins were tied up, the kind of stuff sorry minions did when they had nothing to beat up.
“This looks kind of dangerous,” Rainbow told Daring, “Are you sure about this?”
“Positive,” she replied, “You’re okay with this, right? You don’t want to back out?”
“Haven’t you figured me out yet?” Rainbow muttered back, smirking, “Just tell me what I need to do.”
Daring pointed to the largest tent, saying, “That is the main tent, and most likely where the maps are held. If there is a shard in the camp, it’s probably held there as well. Unfortunately,” she scanned the area around the tent, swarming with gnolls, “the hard part will be getting in and out. Hopefully it’s too hot inside for them to even consider standing guard in there.”
“Won’t that mean that it’ll be hot for us as well?” Rainbow asked.
Daring Do nodded in reply, but continued, “One of us will have to create a diversion, without getting caught, while the other runs up to the backside of the tent and slips underneath to get inside.”
“You know what we’re looking for,” Rainbow admitted, “So I should do the distraction.”
“Agreed. So what did you have in mind?” When Rainbow Dash didn’t answer, Daring glanced over to see that she was gone.
“Rainbow?” she asked, turning around in time to see a rainbow-colored streak taking off in the distance. It was gone in the blink of an eye, and in a moment said streak was rising up into the sky.
“What is she doing?” Daring Do wondered, at the same time briefly marveling at the colors in Rainbow's tail. She watched as Rainbow Dash arced and aimed herself straight at the gnoll camp. "That foal!" Daring wanted to cry. Rainbow kept coming faster, that rainbow streak stretching as she picked up speed. By this point the gnolls could see it coming, but couldn’t recognize it as a pegasus. They began to scatter blindly, and Daring almost leaped over the hill and dashed for the tent.
But at that moment a loud boom filled the air, and Daring Do was blinded by every color of the rainbow. A shockwave of hues erupted from the spot where Rainbow Dash broke the sound barrier, and in their panic the gnolls all turned tail and fled. For a moment Daring Do could only stare at the spectacle in the air above her. It was some stroke of luck that reminded her what she was supposed to be doing instead.
As quickly as she could, not caring anymore if she got caught, Daring leaped forward and ran for the tent. Reaching the edge, she pulled herself down and slipped under the thin flap. The tent was just as hot as she had anticipated, and there was not a single gnoll inside.
A table was nearby. Daring scanned the map and saw that it was indeed what she was looking for. Not even taking the time to roll it up, she stuffed the map into her saddlebag and quickly glanced around for anything else. A large sack on a nearby cot caught her eye. It was partially open and something inside it was twinkling.
Leaping over, she flung the sack open and looked inside. It took her a moment, but she finally caught her breath. From there, it was impossible for her to suppress a laugh. Gleefully, she grabbed the bag in her mouth and slid back under the tent wall.
Her happiness was short lived, though, as she slipped outside only to find herself at the feet of another gnoll. The creature felt her bump against it and looked down, its eyes wide with mad frenzy and its mouth half-open. She could almost count the number of pointed, yellow teeth it had, and it took all her strength of will to keep from throwing up at the scent of the beast’s foul breath.
The gnoll raised its head and opened its mouth wide to bellow out, to alert its kin that an intruder was there. Daring panicked and froze, but the monster never let out a sound. Before it could, a blue streak rammed into the back of it. Daring heard the crack of its spine as it gurgled in pain before collapsing to the ground.
Rainbow Dash stood above her victim, breathing hard and sweating through her coat.
“Hurry… up…” she panted. Daring pulled herself to her feet and, adjusting her grip on the sack she carried, ran after Rainbow Dash until they were safely over the hill and out of sight. As they ran, Daring could feel that they were just moments away from being spotted and attacked. And with that many gnolls after them, there was not much hope of escape.
But there was no war cry, and no sound of fifty or so gnolls running after them. Somehow, they managed to avoid detection. And as soon as they were over the hill, both Daring Do and Rainbow Dash opened their wings and flew off at a low altitude, hoping to put as much distance between them and the camp as possible. Both flew fast enough for their respective tails to flow behind them, and neither cared about getting caught anymore.
When they landed a short while later to shake the sand from their fur, Daring dropped the bag and let her prize spill out. Rainbow was blinking ferociously, trying to force out the sand from her eyes with tears, but she stopped when she caught sight of what her companion let fell to the ground.
Grinning at the surprised look on Rainbow’s face, Daring bent over and laid their other two clues out beside the new ones. They fit together perfectly, forming a whole circle except for a small hole in the heart of the disk.
“One more to go,” Daring said, sliding them all back into her vest. Lying down, she pulled out the map and spread it out across the sand, pressing out all the wrinkles she could, so she could figure out where they were. Rainbow went back to stretching her aching muscles. That Sonic Rainboom had taken a lot out of her, and she hadn’t even had the opportunity to warm up first.
I’ve got to make sure never to push myself that far again, she thought. But she made a note that, when she retold this story to her pony friends back home, she would neglect to mention just how much it hurt. She couldn’t have them thinking that she was going soft.
“Alright,” Daring said soon, rolling up the map, “I know which direction we need to go.” And she pointed to the west, in the direction of the sun.
“Let’s go!” Rainbow cried, taking off before Daring had the chance to open her wings. She had decided that Daring didn’t need to know how much pain she was in either.
***
Rainbow Dash began to regret her arrogance long before evening finally came and they were forced to land. When Daring Do began her descent, Rainbow gladly dropped from the sky and plummeted to the ground, forgetting that even soft sand feels like concrete when you hit it hard enough.
Once the splitting pain had subsided Rainbow looked around to examine the area they had landed in. Daring had found them an oasis, an active one this time, consisting of a large pool of water surrounded by a small but dense ring of trees.
Once their pitiful fire was up and their few remaining supplies scattered around them, Daring again pulled out their four clues and assembled them. She examined them in the dying evening light.
“You know,” Rainbow started, brushing the sand from her mane, “I was wondering: exactly why would this Minotaur give these clues to his minions instead of holding onto them himself?”
“Plot convenience,” Daring replied, before looking up and smiling at her own joke. Rainbow Dash didn't laugh; it was a little too true for her to accept. Continuing, Daring Do explained, “I think he was hoping that I wouldn’t run into the minions who held them, or, if I did, they would be able to capture me. I guess he didn’t count on you, since I’ve never worked with a partner until now.
“But he was probably hoping that I would make it to the temple, where I would be surprised to find that he didn’t have the other three pieces. Thus I wouldn’t be able to steal them from him, use them to get the item, and escape. Only once he had me captured and had taken my own clue for himself would he summon his minions to bring the other three so that he could assemble the disk himself.”
Rainbow countered, “That sounds really complicated to me.”
“Yes,” Daring said, “But he’s counting on that. Trust me Rainbow Dash, I know Theseus.” Rainbow could see it in her eyes- she was deeply immersed in memory. Whoever this Theseus was, he had a history of overcomplicating things.
But this time Daring would not be outsmarted by him. She was determined to bring him to justice.
“Anyway,” she mumbled, her attention shifting back to Rainbow Dash, “His griffins have no doubt already told him that we’ve grabbed hold of the three, so he’ll be expecting us.”
“I thought there were five parts to the disk, though,” Rainbow Dash reminded her, pointing at the little hole in the center, “That’s why there’s a piece missing. Shouldn’t we be looking for that? As for that matter, why did that one camp have two pieces? It seems awfully suspicious to me.”
“Theseus will be holding onto the last piece,” Daring replied, pretty sure she had already made that part clear, “As for the camp, it was significantly larger than the first one we came across. I assume that it was a combination of two smaller camps which carried a single shard each.” Again, this all seemed too perfect for Rainbow Dash to accept. But Daring didn't seem the least but off-put by this.
When she had finished explaining this to Rainbow Dash, Daring looked down at the four, sighed, and growled softly, “But we need that middle piece. Come here.” She motioned for Rainbow to come over, and when she had Daring pointed at the clues, narrating, “When the five come together to form a disk, the clues can be read.” She was referring to a long strip of writing gently carved into the gold shards, which started at the edge of the circle and moved in a large spiral pattern towards the middle. When the five were together, the strip lined up and could be read as a single line. “With the middle piece gone,” Daring continued, “I don’t have the last information I need to finish deciphering what it says. So the whole thing is useless.”
“Useless?” Rainbow Dash asked, surprised, “You have most of it. Don’t be such a crybaby.”
“It’s written in a dead language,” Daring clarified, “I have a deciphering chart, but it’s not perfect. The letters themselves are supposed to form a clue as to what it says, according to the myth, but I still need to see the entire message in order to figure out what the clue itself is!”
“Come on,” Rainbow said supportively, “You're smart. I wouldn't call you an egghead, but you are pretty smart. I'm sure you'll figure it out.”
“I hope you're right...” Daring trailed off, “Sorry we don't have enough to prepare dinner. I want to save the remaining food for the morning. We'll need our strength. The temple's only a day away.” But she didn't seem very excited to be nearing her journey's end. In fact, she looked very uncomfortable at the thought. But she pushed this aside and buried herself in studying her four clues.
As Daring pulled out her notes and charts to continue working, Rainbow Dash took a seat less than a meter away from her, getting as close to the little fire as she could. The cold was already beginning to set in. Finally, she answered Daring, “It's okay. I can go without food for one night.” Her growling stomach contradicted her right away, but she smiled softly and ignored it.
“So, you think I'm smart, huh?” Daring asked, “That's quite a compliment coming from you.”
“Well it's true!” Dash cried, “Look at all the puzzles you've solved. You're a lot smarter than me. I was never any good at school...”
“There must have been something you were good at.”
“Well, racing, but I guess you kind of figured that out yourself.”
“Yes, I noticed,” Daring told her, thinking of how much trouble Rainbow's speed had been for the past couple of days, before going on to say, “I was always known for my grand dreams. The other foals would always call me out on my make-believe adventures. I admit, I didn't really have any idea of what I was getting into back then, but I guess that's what shaped my goals in life.”
“Same here!” Rainbow said, laughing, “I wasn't always a great flier. The other children always called me 'Rainbow Crash', even until just recently. Even though I'm the only mare in Equestria to ever pull off the Sonic Rainboom. Can you believe it?”
“I guess not every pony in the world is as kind as they should be,” Daring Do suggested.
Rainbow Dash didn't reply. Daring glanced up to see that she was blushing.
“Rainbow?” she asked, “What's wrong?”
“What? Nothing!” Rainbow snapped, before realizing what she was doing. She apologized, “Sorry. I was just thinking...”
“I'm sorry, Dash. I didn't mean to upset you.”
“It's not your fault,” Rainbow Dash insisted, “Maybe I should get settled in for bed, since I'm not being helpful.”
“You're distracting me,” Daring muttered, so low that Rainbow almost couldn't hear her. But it wasn't in the tone of somepony complaining, rather that of somepony who was desperately searching for a distraction from her own thoughts. Before Dash could reply though, Daring had already pulled out her blanket and thrown it over. Rainbow caught it and set it down on the sand.
But she didn't curl up to sleep. Instead, she slid closer to Daring Do and said, “You know, I don't really know a lot about you're earliest days as an adventurer. Would you tell me a bit more about that?”
A smile flickered across the veteran's lips and she turned away from her work. She looked Rainbow Dash in the eyes and said, “As soon as I got out of school, barely old enough to be considered an adult, I came under the wing of a great treasure hunter. He taught me everything I knew...”
***
Later, as Daring Do finally put up her notes, and the last light of the dying fire began to fade, she looked at the sleeping form of Rainbow Dash nearby. She was curled up underneath Daring's blanket, fast asleep and still shivering slightly from the cold. It brought a smile to Daring's face for some reason, seeing her calm like that. Maybe that was just the sisterly instinct in her...
Daring shook her head free of that thought and finished packing her things. Making sure they were secure, she then took off her vest and hat, setting the latter aside and using her vest as a pillow. Like the night before, she curled up next to Rainbow Dash and cast the protective spells. Being close to her inspired a warm and fuzzy feeling inside the seasoned adventurer's heart.
An unsettling sensation that had nothing to do with her hunger arose in Daring’s stomach. Just hours ago they had been at each other’s throats, ready to throw aside their mission and kill each other. Now they were working like old partners. Then again, if Rainbow Dash was to be believed, they almost were.
She pushed this thought out of her head as well. The mission was all that mattered right now. The time to worry about that stuff was later. And so Daring Do closed her eyes and slept.
***
When Rainbow Dash woke up, she was lying on her side against the sand. Rainbow still wasn’t used to sleeping on anything other than clouds, let alone cold sand. She wondered briefly how Daring Do did it all her life.
Daring Do! Rainbow Dash whipped around to see Daring still asleep by their dead fire, her work strewn before her. She wandered over and looked to see. Daring had written down what she had discovered; the writing seemed to be instructions of some kind. In quotations, Daring had written some kind of gibberish. Slowly, Rainbow Dash tried to sound it out, but couldn’t even pronounce the first word.
“It’s beyond your ability,” Daring said, causing Rainbow to jump in surprise. The Pegasus stood up and yawned, stretching her legs and wings as she did so. “Good morning,” she continued, before looking up and saying, “Or what's left of it. Sorry I didn't wake you up sooner. I got back up at the crack of dawn to finish my work. I thought I would only close my eyes for a brief moment.” She chuckled slightly at this.
Regaining her usual composure, she finished by saying, “We’ll be going in a northwestwardly direction today. I hope you’re ready.” There was a twinkle in her eye as she finished, “We’ll be at the temple by four.”
It was clear immediately after the two took off that this wasn’t going to be as easy as they had hoped. They were fighting strong headwinds again; stronger than before, it seemed. But when Daring glanced around for Rainbow Dash, she saw the young mare following in her wake, pushing against the wind instead of trying to maneuver around it.
So she can be taught! Daring thought, amused.
“Did you say something?!” Rainbow Dash called forward.
“What? No!” she cried back.
“Oh, sorry!” Rainbow replied, “Thought I heard something.” Daring thought she heard something else too. There was a tickle in her ear, like a whisper. She thought that it was Rainbow Dash saying something too softly to hear over the wind.
“You’re going to have to speak louder!” she called.
“No, before that!” Rainbow replied, not making any sense.
“What?!”
“I couldn’t hear what you said!”
“I didn’t say anything…!” Then it hit Daring. They were both shouting, but the whisper didn’t leave her ear. Actually, it had
“RAINBOW! TO THE GROUND!”
Without waiting for an explanation, Rainbow Dash charged for the ground, Daring Do right behind her. They were about halfway there when the sand below erupted, spinning into the air and churning up the desert floor like ocean waves. The laughter grew louder, faster, until it threatened to split her head in two.
Almost entirely unable to see, Daring was as surprised as Rainbow Dash when they collided and hit the ground. There was no point in fighting the wind anymore. In moments it would burry them in sand. Rainbow struggled, naturally, but for some reason Daring pushed her harder into the sand so that she couldn't move.
Daring didn't like to do this, and she had already been using a lot of magic this trip, but she opened her mouth and blurted out a few words. And then the sand stopped flying and settled. Spitting out what had found its way into her mouth, Daring stepped off of her struggling companion.
“What the hay is wrong with you?!” Rainbow Dash cried as she stood up, “I mean you could have-!”
It took her a second to realize what had happened. The sandstorm was raging on just as before, but the two of them were protected from it by a large translucent bubble constructed of magic.
“What the hay...” she repeated softly.
“It's a kind of magic,” Daring explained, rubbing her temples with her hooves. It had taken a lot out of her to cast this particular spell. In fact, the protective bubble was a lot bigger than she had hoped for. In her panic, she must have overcompensated.
“How is this possible?” Rainbow asked, walking over to the edge of the bubble and looking out. She could see glowing blue eyes sitting just outside the magic barrier, angry that their prey was so close and yet untouchable.
“It's a spell I learned a while back,” Daring explained, drawing back Rainbow Dash's attention, “I've been casting it the past couple of nights as we slept to protect us as we slept. I figured this was as good a time as any to bring it out again.”
“But... but you're a pegasus!” Dash exclaimed, “Only unicorns can use magic!”
“It's a different kind of magic,” Daring said, wincing as her headache worsened. The edges of the bubble began to shrink back, making it smaller and easier to maintain. She continued, “It's far older than anything you'll be familiar with. I first learned how to use it from one of the native zebra tribes.”
The sandstorm was beginning to fade. The spirits had apparently lost all interest in a prey so well protected, at least for now. Daring let their bubble shrink some more, and the strain on her concentration became much more bearable.
“It's going to be a while before they give up,” Daring told Rainbow Dash, “Sandstorms, even artificial ones, last for a few hours at a time.”
“Well then,” Dash yawned, “I'm gonna catch up on that sleep I've been missing. You can keep this thing up, right?” She was referring to the bubble. Daring nodded, and Rainbow Dash quickly curled up to take a nap, only briefly thinking how amazing it was for a pegasus to be able to use magic.
***
When Rainbow Dash opened her eyes again, the world was calm. At first it seemed like the barrier was gone, but she could only walk about two meters before running right into a solid surface. The barrier was still there, just not visible in the sunlight.
Daring herself had fallen asleep, and her hat had fallen to the ground. A gentle breeze passed harmlessly through the barrier and sought to sway it, but it remained where it lay. Smiling, Rainbow Dash looked around. The sun was shining, but the landscape itself was unidentifiable, not that Dash herself was any good at finding directions.
As Rainbow Dash shook the sand from her mane and feathers, Daring Do stirred and slowly opened her eyes. Fear gripped her for a moment, but then she saw Rainbow Dash standing out in the sun, and realized that the worst was over. She pulled herself up and grabbed her hat, flipping it back onto her head before grabbing her saddlebag.
“What time is it?” she heard Rainbow asked.
Setting the bags squarely on her back, Daring looked up at the sun and surmised, “Probably a little more than an hour. We'll still make good time.”
“So we won’t be too late for our date with Theseus, then,” Rainbow asserted. Daring looked at her, amused by her comment, and they locked eyes. For a moment both were still, and then they fell to the ground laughing.
“That was pretty funny,” Daring admitted, “And I think I needed a good laugh after that.”
Rainbow Dash asked, “Why do they keep attacking us?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Daring replied, picking up Rainbow’s saddlebag in her mouth and walking over. Muffled, she continued, “But I’ve heard stories about this desert, and about wild sandstorms that supposedly guard an ancient secret.” She threw the bags over Rainbow’s back, letting them fall into place.
As she stepped back, Daring locked eyes with Rainbow Dash once more. They both knew what the other one was thinking. And they both hoped with all their hearts that the secret would not be any more heavily guarded the closer they got.
“We’re near,” Daring said, “But we’ve still got a ways to go. We should start moving.”
“Alright, let me just stretch my- Daring, look!” Rainbow Dash pointed up at what was flying in the distance. Griffins were patrolling the sky, and they were undoubtedly looking for something in particular.
“Well,” Daring observed, “I daresay that our Theseus has learned how many parts of the disk we posses, and he doesn’t want us getting any closer to the item itself.”
“How are we going to get by unnoticed?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“We walk.”
Rainbow Dash was sure that she had misheard Daring. But then Daring continued, “They’re searching the air for us. The glare of the sand will prevent them from seeing us.”
Rainbow Dash nodded. It was the same trick that Daring had once used to cross an icy plain without being spotted by pony-hungry vultures. Rainbow shivered at the mere thought of those monsters. Sure, knowing that it had worked once before didn't exactly calm her nerves, but at least they weren't in danger of freezing to death, and they weren't in danger of being eaten.
…right?
“It's an awfully big leap of faith,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
“So was bringing you along,” Daring replied, “And that seems to have worked out well.”
Rainbow Dash smiled modestly. It wasn’t a grand sweeping ode to how wonderful she was like Dash had always dreamed of hearing from her hero, but Daring’s words touched her heart just then. It was nothing like what she imagined; it was better.
***
The sun beat down like they were in an oven, and the sand only reflected the light back into their eyes. At least in the sky they had the wind against them to keep them cool. Rainbow Dash was almost sweating through her fur coat.
Daring had even taken off her vest and hat and forced Rainbow to put them on. Rainbow Dash should have been fawning over the fact that she was in her favorite adventurer's outfit, but it made her so hot that all she could do was pant. Daring claimed that, if they were spotted through the glare, the griffons might just think it a trick of the light since Daring's own colors were so dull. But Rainbow stood out, so she needed something to make her blend in a little. Rainbow Dash thought it was just because Daring Do didn't want to have to wear the outfit in this heat. But the shards were still in the vest pouch, so at least it proved that Daring did trust her.
Another pack of griffons flew overhead, causing Rainbow Dash to cringe. Despite all their precautions and all Daring's assurances, Dash was absolutely sure that they were going to be seen at any moment.
“You know, Daring,” she whined, “I'm still not entirely comfortable with this.”
Daring’s response was simply, “Trust me. Remember, you’re the one who knows how well I’ve done in the past.” Turning her head to look at Rainbow, she continued, “Speaking of which, I still know nothing about you.”
Rainbow Dash waisted no time. “All my life,” she started, gazing off into the distance as she recollected the memories, “I had this dream of joining the royal flight team, the Wonderbolts! I trained every day, but eventually I grew too old to stay with my family.” Thoughts of her family came flooding back, and she winced.
“Tell me about them,” Daring insisted. Rainbow wasn’t sure if she had noticed her anxiety, but pretended not to be bothered by the subject.
“Sure,” she said half-heartedly, “We got along great. But they never thought much of my dream to become Equestria’s greatest flier. I had to spend a lot of time on my own, training. They never liked that I didn’t get along real well with other ponies.”
Really? Imagine that, Daring thought. It wasn’t a mean-spirited thought, and she had to suppress a chuckle thinking it.
Rainbow Dash continued her spiel of half-truths, “My entire family was always very practical. They knew what they wanted to do and they did it, but it was always the most boring things in the world. Half of them were simple weather ponies. My aunt was the only one who ever accomplished anything when she discovered a better way to deploy ice crystals over large areas. Bo-ring!”
Finally she got to the part of the story that wasn’t entirely coated in lies. “As I grew older,” she went on, “It became clear that nopony where I lived was able to appreciate my dreams. And I was getting too old to continue living there without taking up a job to support myself. But the one job I always wanted was always just out of my reach.” She frowned as she said it: “I could never get an audition for the Wonderbolts.”
She had never said it out loud before. Always, it had just been that she could wait a little longer, that there would always be time and she could continue practicing until that day came. She never admitted to herself that the reason she never got the chance to prove herself to them was…
“I guess they just didn’t want anyone as reckless and hotheaded as me on the team.”
“I don’t think you give yourself enough credit,” Daring replied, “You’re not the most level-headed mare I’ve ever met, but you clearly know what you’re doing.”
“Thanks, Daring,” Rainbow said, smiling softly.
“You’re welcome, Dashie. Go on.”
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and continued, “I traveled for a while, looking for work. I found plenty of odd jobs, but I could never keep one for more than a few days. And all I really wanted to do was practice my flying anyway. Finally, I stumbled on a small town called Ponyville, where... an old friend of mine had settled down. The town needed a weather pony who could manage the weather, and they bullied me into accepting the job. Besides, I needed the money too badly to say no.
“As it turned out, I made a really good manager. I was really good at keeping the weather nice and it was sweet having all the pegasi do everything I said. I had to put so little effort into it that it wasn’t any different from being paid just to practice for joining the Wonderbolts. That’s usually what I do anyway, just practice.
“Not too long ago, a new pony moved in, Twilight Sparkle, and shortly after that Night Mare Moon escaped. I was one of the ponies who joined her and helped to discover the Elements of Harmony. It turns out I represent the element of loyalty. That's right. I’m the most loyal pony in all of Equestria! Anyway, we defeated Night Mare Moon. Later that year I got invited to the Grand Galloping Gala, where I thought I would get a chance to impress the Wonderbolts.”
Rainbow Dash paused, thinking about what a disaster that night was. “It didn’t work. But luckily some time before that I won Cloudsdale’s Best Young Fliers Competition when I proved that I could do a Sonic Rainboom. That seemed to get their attention. And earlier this year our town was chosen to collect the water for the Cloudsdale reserve. I was in charge of the whole thing, and Spitfire, the Wonderbolt's captain herself, came to see.”
“The Sonic Rainboom,” Daring repeated, “What you did in that camp yesterday.”
Rainbow Dash nodded, “I’d only done it once before the competition, when I first earned my cutie mark.” She glanced at the rainbow-colored bolt of lightning on her flank, “But during the competition I saved several of the Wonderbolts when they fell unconscious trying to save another pony from falling.”
“How did that happen?” Daring asked.
“She was kicking around and hit them all when they tried to rescue her. I won the competition and their attention. Sometime later, Princess Celestia herself asked me to perform the Sonic Rainboom at her niece’s wedding. I danced with one of the Wonderbolts at the reception.”
“So it sounds like you did make an impression on them after all,” Daring told her, “From the sound of things, I’d say you’re well on your way to joining them.”
“You really think so?” Rainbow asked.
“Absolutely,” Daring replied, watching another pack of griffins fly overhead, “Just don’t ever give up. There are times I thought I might not make it, but I always keep trying. In fact this whole ordeal with Theseus has been one mess up after another.”
Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure that this last part was meant for her. Daring had a glassy, far-off look in her eyes. There was something about the minotaur that really got to her, and Rainbow Dash had no idea what it could be.
“What about you?” she asked, “What do you want to do with your life?”
Daring laughed. “I've already done so much,” she said, “I know that my calling is to be a treasure hunter, but if I could give up saving the world and curl up in front of the fire with a good book, you can bet your flank I would. For all the perks of this life, it's such a chore being the world's last hope for salvation. You would not believe the pressure. Or maybe you would, considering all that you've told me.”
“Yeah, well, it's nothing, really,” Dash tried to be as modest as her pride would allow, “I always had my friends beside me, anyway. I could never have done it alone.”
“I was beginning to feel the same,” Daring told her, “I don't know how I would have even gotten this far without you.”
“You'd have found a way,” Rainbow assured her.
“I'm glad I didn't have to. And I imagine your friends feel the same about you.”
“You really think so?”
Daring looked her right in the eye and replied, “Trust me. You can't ever put too much value on those who trust you. I learned that the hard way.”
From far away, it looked like just another sand dune. As they got closer, they could see that it was much taller than any of the surrounding sands. Daring realized first what they were really looking at, and she began to trot faster. Rainbow wasn’t sure why she had perked up so suddenly, but picked up speed to match her stride.
It wasn’t until much later that the shape of the temple started to come into focus and Rainbow Dash realized just how close they were. It was tall and crafted out of stone. In fact, it must have been taller at one point, because large parts of the structure had fallen off and still rested half-buried in the sand where they had fallen.
They stopped a good distance away from the temple to let Daring scan the entrance with her binoculars.
“Oh yeah,” she said, “They’re waiting for us.”
“How many?” Rainbow asked.
“About six griffins and twenty gnolls. Theseus is out front, and he's brought two manticores with him.”
“Yikes.”
“And yet I expected more.” Daring smirked. “He must be feeling really confident.” And he had every reason to, not that Daring would reveal that to Rainbow Dash. She just hoped that they could get in and out without giving him the chance to play his ace in the hole.
“We can't go in from the front,” she continued, her gaze drifting upward, “But there are more holes in that thing than swiss cheese. If we're careful, we can fly right into one without being noticed.”
The two changed direction and circled around the temple until they were standing directly behind it. Daring finally took back her coat and hat, much to Rainbow's relief. A quick glance through the binoculars showed gnolls patrolling the edge of the entire temple. They would have one shot to do this without getting caught.
“Are you ready for this?” Daring asked.
“You can’t be serious!” Rainbow cried, “They’ll catch us for sure.”
“Nonsense! I’ve gotten through tighter situations before. Or are you starting to doubt yourself, Dashie?”
“Not a chance!” And Rainbow Dash readied herself to charge forward.
“Alright,” Daring said, “On my mark… get set… go!”
Using their wings to propel themselves, the two took off at breakneck speeds towards the temple wall. They stopped just before hitting the wall and changed direction, flying upwards until they found the first hole in the wall. It wasn't until they had slipped inside and made it to the ground that their hearts settled down to normal.
“Well that wasn't so bad, was it?” Daring asked nonchalantly, looking around the darkened room. There was a soft white light coming from one direction. “We go that way then,” she said, “But slowly. We don't know what traps we might be facing.”
Rainbow Dash heard her, but she couldn’t help but feel a little giddy. This was it, finally, the part she had always dreamed of when she stayed up late at night reading these books: exploring old temples, outsmarting deathtraps, finding some long lost treasure. Who could blame her for feeling excited?
But she remained quiet and slowly followed Daring, or more specifically her silhouette, towards the light. She couldn’t see anything, but she kept glancing around, hoping for just a peak at some sort of ancient writing lining the walls, or a faded painting of ancient gods tattooed across the ceiling. She saw nothing, but the thrill kept her staring intently at the narrow walls around her.
So distracted was she that she didn’t even notice that Daring Do had stopped until she bumped right into the other pegasus.
“Careful,” Daring grumbled. The light was just a little brighter now, and Daring still had to squint to make out what she was seeing in front of her. A series of small holes lined the walls at different heights. Daring had seen enough dart- and fire-traps in her life to know what to look out for. She scanned the area, searching for a trigger, but could see nothing on the floors or walls. There was no switch or tile that she could accidentally hit to start the reaction.
Frowning, Daring glanced up on the ceiling on the off-chance they had rigged it from above somehow. But the ceiling itself was as smooth and unbroken as the floor, save for one straight seam that extended from wall to wall. That worried Daring. What was she missing?
Daring felt Rainbow brush past her. The pony was walking forward, right into a trap!
“Rainbow, no!” she cried softly, reaching out to stop her companion.
Dash stopped and began squinting at the empty air, moving her head from side to side. For a moment, Daring could only watch her in confusion before Rainbow Dash said, “Come look at this, Daring. But be careful. It’s hard to see.”
Puzzled, Daring slipped a little bit closer and looked at where Rainbow Dash was focusing.
“I don’t see anything,” she said.
“Squint,” Rainbow told her, “It helps you see the glare.”
Daring squinted and began moving her head from side to side. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized what she was looking at. Even with the small amount of light they had available, Daring could see that it was reflecting off of something right in front of her nose, creating a small glare. It took her a moment to realize what it was.
“It's thread,” she murmured, stepping back and looking at the holes in the wall, “Thread as thin as spider's silk, extending from one hole, crossing the gap, and ending in another.”
“Precisely!” Rainbow exclaimed, looking quite smug, “You’d have missed that if it weren’t for me.”
“I’d have figured it out eventually,” Daring replied, not with pride but matter-of-factly. She had turned her attention back to the ceiling. That crack she noted earlier must have been the real trap. No doubt it was supposed to open and let something fall out of it once a wire had been snagged.
Fortunately, the strings were mostly fairly low to the ground, coming up only to about chest height. Quietly blessing her wings, Daring extended them, stepped back, and leaped, brushing her ears against the ceiling, only to land safely on the other side of the trap entirely.
“You’re turn,” she called back to Rainbow Dash.
But Rainbow was hesitant. What if she couldn’t jump high enough, or far enough? She could be killed in an instant.
“Come on, Dashie,” Daring said, “You wanted an adventure? This is it. This is the kind of thing that makes it an adventure.”
Daring was right, and Rainbow wasn’t going to be called a coward by her idol. She stepped back and extended her wings. Closing her eyes, she gulped and thought briefly of her wide-open skies. What she wouldn’t give to be there at the moment, safe and comfortable.
Rainbow’s eyes shot open. No, this was the kind of thing she lived for. After all, she’d done much more dangerous stunts before. Without giving herself another second to think about it, Rainbow Dash leaped into the air, only to hit her head on the ceiling.
She came crashing down at Daring Do’s hooves. It took her a moment to realize that she wasn’t being crushed by a ton of rock. Shaking her head to get rid of the stars she saw, Dash looked around to see that she had, in fact, made the distance over the trap.
“Not the most graceful landing,” Daring admitted, “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied, standing up, “Please tell me there aren’t more.”
“Not much,” Daring replied, finding herself smiling once more at Rainbow’s sense of humor.
As it turned out, the light they had been following was not emitting from any kind of torch. When they reached the first room, they found it to be quite an impressive sight. In the middle of the room was a giant diamond sitting on a large pedestal. It was easily the largest diamond either of them had ever seen, larger than a pony's head. And it was emanating soft, magical light in every direction.
That is, except for one ray of light that it gave off. Positioned on the far wall were four incredulously large gemstones arranged in a column: an emerald, a ruby, some orange stone, and a sapphire. A powerful ray of light, so bright that it almost hurt to look directly into, was beaming from the diamond and straight into the red ruby.
“It's like an oven in here,” Daring commented from the doorway. And indeed it was- the amount of energy that the diamond was giving off was incredible.
“But what's it for?” Rainbow asked.
“I'm not sure,” Daring said, investigating the floor for clues, “It seems unlikely that the civilization that built this would sacrifice such large gems for what amounts to a very poorly-built heat lamp.”
She was eyeing the diamond. What would happen if she removed it? Was that a trigger? And what of the floor? The large tiles were all marked in what seemed to be random ancient symbols. She didn't know off the top of her head if any of them were dangerous to step on. How could she tell? Was there any danger in just flying through? What if, by cutting off the beam of light from the diamond to the gem on the wall, they accidentally triggered something? And why was it only directed at the ruby... unless it was capable of changing direction to point at any of the other gems?
All of this raced through her head at the speed of a cheetah. It was almost involuntary, she had been doing it for so long. It was almost like a cute little puzzle that you ask a schoolfilly to solve. You just had to look at it from the right angle and it became... well, elementary.
But Rainbow Dash did not have Daring Do's experience, and, as she continuously mentioned, she was not an egghead. She hadn't the patience for such puzzles, and this room seemed to mock her by how insidiously it was arranged. Finally she gave up and laid down in the hallway, waiting for Daring to figure it out. This was just one aspect of adventuring she wasn't all that excited about.
“I got it!” Daring cried softly, a twinkle coming to her eye.
“Cool!” Rainbow said, getting up and eagerly looking towards her, “what do we do?”
“We don't,” she replied, leaving Dash more confused than before. She explained, “Judging by that last trap, the creatures that made this didn't count on any intruders being able to fly.”
“Yeah, who did you say made this place again?” Rainbow asked.
“...zebras,” Daring replied, looking stunned at the question. How could Rainbow Dash not have known that, considering where they were? But she continued, “The tiles on the floors are all marked with symbols that correspond with the different seasons.” She pointed at each of the gemstones in turn, listing off “Spring, summer, autumn, and winter. It's summer now, so the beam is pointing at the ruby. That tells the trap to activate if any of the tiles not matching the summer theme are stepped on.”
“So we can just fly over this?” Rainbow asked, irritated that she had waited so long for an anticlimax.
“No. Tell me, do you see a door?” There was, indeed, no doorway but the one they were standing it. Daring told Rainbow, “Give me a moment. Once all the correct tiles have been activated, the door should open.”
“And if you make a mistake?”
“Then I die.”
She said it so flatly that Rainbow Dash wasn't able to comprehend her meaning immediately. Death was a constant threat, she knew, but to be so plain about it? It didn't seem natural for somepony to brush off something that could kill them so easily. But before she could say anything, or for that matter think of anything to say, Daring had stepped out onto the first tile.
As soon as she did, the symbol on the tile lit up with an eery red light, and the ruby on the wall began to pulsate lightly. Taking the time to observe all the surrounding tiles carefully, Daring chose her next move and stepped to an adjacent square. As soon as her hooves touched it, the symbol on that tile began to glow as well. She was moving slowly, considering every move thoroughly in advance.
This continued for a while, Daring stepping on new tiles and causing them to glow. In some spots, she seemed almost stuck, but her movements never betrayed any sense of uncertainty she might have felt. Rainbow Dash would have impressed if only the sight of her walking around was the slightest bit interesting. But even though she knew the stakes, this scene held no tension for her, and her mind quickly wandered.
And then all of a sudden there was a rumbling. Rainbow Dash initially panicked, sure that Daring had made a mistake and that they were both about to die. But the tile Daring was standing on glowed red like all the others, and she was, in fact, looking at the wall where a slab of stone was sliding away, revealing a new doorway.
Once it had opened, the tiles stopped glowing and Daring smiled. “Piece of cake,” she lied to herself. In fact, it hadn't been very easy. Some of those symbols she knew had double-meanings, and they could have referred to more than one season. She had tried to go with only the obvious ones for as long as she could, but when it came down to the last few tiles it was all she could do to keep from quaking in fear.
She was going to relay this to Rainbow Dash, but a quick glance at the cyan pony's expression told her that she had no concerns for the difficulty of this puzzle. She was just finally happy to be moving on, and had already begun to make her way to the new door.
Daring was left to give herself the words that she wanted to hear. “Good job, Daring,” she muttered under her breath, “You're bravery and intellect are always appreciated.” They were words she heard often enough from her fans and employers, but they had no idea what she really went through. Maybe it was just the loneliness of her job getting to her, but she didn't like how Rainbow Dash, who saw the kinds of things she went through firsthoof, just shrugged it off- nay, seemed outright bored with the whole thing.
Not saying a word, she followed Rainbow Dash into the dark corridor and quickly took the lead. With the source of light now behind them, the two were headed blindly in what Daring Do hoped was the right direction. Without any indicator of where they were and with no other choice but to follow the straight line, her special talent was pretty much nullified.
“Daring?” Rainbow asked, “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing wrong, Dash,” she replied. But, realizing how cold that sounded, she softened her tone and said, “I'm just thinking.”
“About the traps? Or about the Minotaur?”
“Neither,” she replied, though both were true in their own way. Theseus had proven that he cared as much about free will as the designer of this maze had. And the way he had hurt Daring was far worse than the way this place had.
“What then?” Dash prodded.
Daring Do sighed, and then asked, “Where you come from, Rainbow Dash... who... how do...” she struggled to find the right words, “If your parents had forbidden you from leaving home, would you have stayed?”
Rainbow Dash stopped, shocked by the question. “My parents...?” she trailed off, “Oh! I... I suppose not.”
“Really? No matter what they said?” Daring demanded.
“Daring, what's this about?”
Daring Do didn't answer right away. When she did, she sounded tired. “Nothing,” she lied, “It's nothing. I just wondered if... even though my life has been everything I wanted of it, it still sometimes feels like I'm being led around on a leash.” She brushed her hoof against the stone wall, “Being here doesn't help, I suppose.”
Rainbow Dash winced, thinking about how Daring Do was, in fact, still nothing more than a storybook character. She was still bound to the whims of the writer.
Wasn't she? So far, Rainbow Dash's knowledge of the books hadn't really helped her. She knew a bit of trivia, but the real Daring Do was so much more complex than anything the books had ever let on. They went into a few details, but the many complexities of Daring Do's personality and her history seemed glossed over in comparison to what Rainbow Dash had seen personally.
And was this even a case where the writer had control? The book had been created by magic, not written by hoof. And she hadn't even been all that specific in what she wanted. If anything, Rainbow Dash herself was the one responsible for putting them into this situation. And yet, she didn't feel like she was in control at all. At what point did the book end and the reality of this universe actually begin?
And even if there was somepony out there responsible for writing this, what did that mean for Rainbow Dash? Were her own actions just decisions of the writer, or did she actually control what she did? Or, since she had inserted herself magically, would she even have showed up on the page at all? What if, as soon as she left, this world reverted back to normal, without any indication that she had effected it at all. Daring wouldn't even remember her or anything she had done. It would have become meaningless. And the only thing worse than that was if she couldn't leave! If she forever became a tool for the mysterious writer for the rest of her life.
And suddenly Rainbow Dash was very, very afraid.
“Is something wrong?” Daring asked, mirroring Dash's own question from earlier.
“No,” Dash lied in return. She didn't know if anything she had thought up had also crossed Daring's mind. After all, Daring knew what she was, or at least what Rainbow Dash thought she was. If she was really feeling like she had no control, didn't that mean she must be considering who did?
And suddenly neither wanted to be alone with their thoughts, because they began conversation right away after that.
“Tell me a bit about the jobs you did after you left home,” Daring told her.
“Well, the first place I went to was Vanhoover, where I spent several days carting around manure.” Daring chuckled, but Rainbow went on, “I spent two weeks in that city, trying various jobs. As it turns out, I make an awful secretary, worse bodyguard, and a pretty bad journalist. Besides, all I really wanted to do was train, so I quickly packed my bags and, bitless, made my way south to Humcolt, down by the ocean. And I tell ya, the first time flying over the ocean...” Tears welled up in her eyes over the beautiful memory, not that there was enough light for Daring to see that.
“Unfortunately," she continued, "I didn't do very well there either. I tried getting onto several sports teams, but they insisted that I was too ill-tempered.” She stomped her hoof against the ground in anger, showing her disbelief in their conclusions about her. “I needed more money to keep going, so I spent a few weeks delivering newspapers. In fact, the Wonderbolts performed while I was in the city, but I couldn't afford a ticke-”
Rainbow Dash cut off when she realized that she had stepped on a tile and caused it to sink into the floor. Immediately the corridor lit up, the walls lined with glowing red symbols. And not only was it bright, it was hot. The runes were actually giving off tremendous amounts of heat.
“Uh oh,” Daring said, before taking off down the corridor. “Come on!” she cried back, “We have to get out of here before we burn!” Rainbow Dash followed quickly, already sweating through her coat. She was already scolding herself for what she did, but insisted, not unfairly either, that there was no way for her to have known about the trap.
The runes grew brighter and the hall grew hotter, until it was almost impossible to keep from panting. Finally Daring stopped, having reached what appeared to be a dead end. Rainbow's heart skipped a beat, but Daring was reading the lettering on the wall, and recognized it as a puzzle. Rainbow Dash was beginning to see spots, but Daring ignored the heat and stared at the wall, trying to deduce it's meaning. Finally, she found what she needed, placed a hoof against one of the symbols, and let out a sharp bark of some kind from the back of her throat.
And all at once they were in darkness. Rainbow Dash wasn't exactly sure what Daring Do had done, but the trap was off. Granted, the heat didn't go away. Rainbow Dash was so close to passing out that she didn't even hear the door sliding out of the way, or feel Daring pull her through and into the next room.
It felt like a while before Rainbow Dash noticed the temperature change, or the fact that they now had a little bit of lighting. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to see that the room they were in was large and empty and to make out Daring Do's silhouette. The light itself was coming from several torches scattered about the chamber, and not, thankfully, any large diamonds.
The far wall was featureless, and the one to the right had a large doorway leading into another corridor illuminated by more torches. The two pegasi had apparently stepped out of a hidden side-corridor, blocked off by a doorway that could only be opened from one side. But it was the wall to the left that caught their attention right away.
It was bare, except for a large stone door that stretched to the ceiling; it was of an entirely different stone than the rest of the temple. It looked as if there was writing near the bottom, and as the two came closer they could make out two rows of five symbols each. Daring looked over them for a minute to make sure she knew what she was doing, and then stood on her hind legs to place her front hooves over two of the symbols.
When she began speaking, it was in the same arcane language of her magic. They were harsh sounds, each one like a mix between a gasp and a hiss, or a hiccup and sneeze. Rainbow shirked away from Daring, only to stop and stare in amazement at what happened next.
As she spoke, Daring began to move her hooves from one symbol to the next. Every time she raised a hoof, the symbol she exposed began to glow with a brilliant light. Dash counted every color in the spectrum, reds and blues and greens and black and white. It all seemed so random- the words Daring spoke, the order of the symbols she touched, what color each symbol expressed- but the look of concentration on her face suggested a very methodical approach to the puzzle.
Finally there was silence. Daring stopped speaking and dropped to the ground. Every symbol was lit up with a different radiant color. When she saw her handiwork, Daring smiled and said, “For a moment there I thought it wasn't going to work.” She turned and told Rainbow Dash, “I was able to guess the combination from the clues on the disk, but I was afraid that, without the middle piece, I might have gotten it wrong.”
“And then we'd die?” Rainbow asked tentatively, remembering what had been said earlier.
“Well, I imagine it wouldn't have been pleasant,” Daring replied, before turning back to the wall and using one final word. It was barely more than a cough to Rainbow Dash, but it resonated within the chamber for about thirty seconds. And as soon as she said it, the all the symbols stopped glowing and returned to their blank state.
This was immediately accompanied by a low rumbling sound. The entire chamber began to shake as the door started to slide inward.
Daring called out over the noise, “You have magic like this where you come from?!”
“Not like this!” Rainbow replied, stepping back in concern.
From inside the hidden room came a great flash of light, and when Rainbow could see again the door had vanished, exposing the way into the next chamber.
It was small, and when the girls entered it they found it to be completely empty except for a small pedestal in the center. Lying on the pedestal was a small, black, finely cut gemstone.
“Is this it?” Rainbow asked, looking around for more.
Daring just walked right up to the stand and picked up the gem in her hoof. Looking carefully at it, she deduced, “Melanite. Curious.” It looked like a small, black diamond. Rainbow Dash scooted closer to get a better look at it. It was shiny, but it looked... wrong, somehow, like it was hiding something. Still, Rainbow couldn't help but feel disappointed in their find.
“This is it?” Rainbow Dash asked, “This is what we came here to find?”
The two jumped as a new voice answered, “Indeed it is.”
Entering the room was a minotaur and a pegasus. At the sight of that white hide and the vase that was it's cutie mark, Daring clutched the gem tighter in her hoof. Though the newcomer's delicately shaped mane and tail looked tattered from months of hard traveling, she flipped the deep red strands out of her dark blue eyes with grace and poise. Her gaze locked onto Daring's own, and both ponies looked ready to kill – one from anger, the other for the sheer joy of it.
Rainbow Dash saw two gnolls enter behind this pair, each one wielding an axe large enough to cleave a pony in two. The Minotaur glanced over at Rainbow Dash only momentarily, long enough for her to see the burnt side of his face and his blind eye.
“Boys,” Theseus said calmly to his foot-soldiers, “How about you each take a girl and follow me upstairs. I'm sure they'd love to attend our... barbecue.”
The pegasus who accompanied him gave off a haughty laugh at his joke. There was the sound of something hitting the ground and Rainbow looked over to Daring Do. She had dropped the black diamond and was standing with her head down. Her hat covered her eyes, but Rainbow could see her struggling not to cry.
Before she could do something, Rainbow Dash felt one of the gnolls grab her by the leg. She struggled, but the beast quickly grabbed her other leg and pinned her against its body. She could feel it's rancid breath against her neck. It had her wings trapped, and she couldn't bat it with her legs.
Rainbow watched helplessly as the other gnoll picked up Daring Do, who didn't even put up a struggle. It heaved her over its shoulder and began walking out, letting Theseus swoop over and pluck the little stone from the floor where it lay.
“Daring...” Rainbow said. She could only watch open-mouthed as the story unravelled before her eyes and her hero did nothing to resist it.
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.
Rainbow Dash and Daring Do were neck and neck as they reached the edge of the desert. Each was followed by their trail, stretched to the limit by how fast they were going. Below them, the sand gave way to short grasses and scattered plant life, indicating that their race was over.
Daring slowed down and landed first. Rainbow came crashing down only moments later. They were both dripping in sweat and ready to rest their sore wings, but neither would admit defeat.
“You were good, Dashie,” Daring said, “But I think I was faster.”
“Are you kidding?!” Rainbow replied, “I totally beat you!”
“Did not!”
“Did so!”
They locked eyes and for a moment each gave the other their hardest gaze before both fell over laughing. As soon as they had collected themselves, Daring held up the disk in the dimming sunlight. It seemed so harmless now, nothing but a heavy plate with a black stone.
“By the way,” Daring said, “that was a good job you did back there, tricking Theseus like that. I guess that a thousand years of disuse really takes a toll on these kinds of things.”
“Actually,” Rainbow admitted, “When he started, I could feel the spell working it's magic, but a voice in the back of my mind told me that something was wrong. Even though it was working, it didn't have any effect. Then I realized that I was doing everything wrong. Instead of resisting the minotaur, I could trick him into thinking that I had joined his side so I could save you.”
“Lucky me,” Daring said, “But why didn't it work on you then?”
“Because I'm the most loyal pony in Equestria!” she cried, “I would never turn on my friends.”
Daring laughed along with her before turning her attention back on the plate. She seemed uncertain, so Rainbow Dash asked, “Aren't you going to destroy it? Hey, wouldn't that have saved us a whole lot of trouble to begin with? Why didn't you just destroy the one piece you got?”
“Because I'm a treasure hunter, Dash,” Daring replied sternly, “I may be a thief by nature, but the archeologist in me refuses to harm a treasure like this, especially when I had to steal it to begin with. No, I'll return the shards to their respective owners. As for this little monster in the middle...”
She hesitated, but asked anyway, “Dash, were you telling the truth about what you said earlier? About... me just being a character in a book where you're from?”
“What? Oh, that...” Rainbow didn't want to answer, but the expression on Daring's face demanded honesty. “Yeah, yeah you are, but that doesn't mean anything! Do you think that's all you are to me? You're as real as I am!” To illustrate this last point she raised a leg and jabbed Daring Do in the chest with her hoof.
Daring just brushed it aside, saying, “I don't know what happened to bring you here, but I do believe that we exist in different worlds. All that means is that you somehow found a window and slipped through.”
“A very dirty window,” Dash corrected, “I've never read about you using magic before.”
Daring smiled before barking out another quick spell. The black gemstone popped from it's resting spot in the plate and she caught it in her hoof. Holding it out to her, she told Rainbow Dash, “It's too powerful for me to destroy, but as long as it remains in this world nopony is safe.”
Rainbow Dash slowly took the gem in her own hoof and looked at it. The diamond, she couldn't remember the actual name that Daring had called it by, seemed nowhere near as threatening as before, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that it was smarter than it pretended to be.
Dash rolled her eyes at this thought. It was a rock! How could it be “smart” to begin with? She told herself this, but she wasn't quite sure she believed it. After all this, Rainbow Dash wasn't sure what she could take for granted anymore.
“Thanks, Daring, but...” her ears drooped, “I still don't know how I'm going to get home.”
Then, to her surprise, Daring offered, “Well, you can just stay with me until we figure that out. It's... kind of fun having you as a partner.” Then, half-jokingly, she added, “And it's nice to be around somepony who understands me for a change.”
“Daring,” she said tentatively, “What are you going to do about her?”
Daring Do, the fearless adventurer who would never give up so long as she could still draw a breath of air, sighed and said,
“She's lost to me now. Has been for a while.”
“Daring!” Rainbow shouted, causing her to jump, “You can't give up hope like that. Heirloom wouldn't want you to,” she paused before adding, “and neither would Didgeri.”
Didgeri. The name hung in the air between them. Daring could see her now, standing on her front step, asking to be let in. Didgeri Do, her own mother. They'd never seen eye to eye, and it had nothing to do with her being an Earth Pony, she was just... she was just so much like Heirloom used to be. They were good ponies, just... just not the kind to accept Daring's lifestyle.
But Rainbow Dash was right. Whatever it was that made them so different, Didgeri had always loved Daring, and had always wanted her to do the right thing. And, certainly, she would have wanted Daring to find a way to save her sister, to return her to being the safe, idol daughter that she was supposed to be, that Daring never was.
“Daring?” Rainbow asked, afraid that she had gone too far.
Daring sighed as a thin smile crossed her muzzle. “I don't often say this,” she admitted, “But you're right. Now more than ever, I need to keep fighting. Besides, I doubt she is going to accept this defeat with grace.”
“Well, anytime you need a friend...” Dash offered, smiling too.
But the smile was quickly wiped from Daring's face.
“Is something wrong?” Dash asked, alarmed, “Did they find us?!” She quickly turned in a circle, searching the skies for griffins, but saw nothing in the fading twilight.
“No, you're...” Daring almost couldn't believe what she was seeing, “You're glowing.”
“What?” Rainbow Dash craned her neck to look at herself and gasped. She was glowing, her entire body from mane to tail, as though somepony had lit a bright candle inside of her. And it was getting brighter.
“Daring! What's happening?”
“I don't know,” Daring said, stepping back cautiously.
Rainbow felt another sensation, like a soft tugging against her entire body. It was as though somepony had grabbed her and was trying to pull her somewhere. But where? Rainbow thought she knew the answer.
Smiling sadly, she told Daring Do, “I think I have to go now.” Daring nodded solemnly. Rainbow added quickly, “But I'll be back. I promise, I'll return to help you again someday.”
“I believe you,” Daring replied, “And I'm looking forward to it. Good luck.”
“Thank you,” Rainbow said, as her vision began to swim. She blinked and the world began to come back into focus. But it wasn't Daring Do she was looking at. It was Twilight Sparkle, with a look of worry planted across her face.
“Rainbow Dash, are you okay?” she asked, “I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to send you into the book like that. How long were you there? You're not hurt, are you? …what's that in your hoof?”
Rainbow looked down to see the familiar black diamond still clutched firmly in her hoof. Smiling, she said, “I'm fine, Twilight. Where's the book?”
“It's... over there.” Twilight pointed to the nearby table where the book was lying, asking, “Are you sure you're okay? You don't seem the least bit angry.”
“Nah, it was fun,” Rainbow Dash said, brushing off her concerns like nothing had changed. She walked over and opened the book, muttering, “In fact, I might want to try it again sometime.”
She scanned through it, surprised to find that it actually did tell about the adventure between her and Daring Do. She paused momentarily to read the last page:
As Daring's new friend faded away, the pegasus turned to wipe a tear from her eye.
“Goodbye, Rainbow Dash,” she said.
Knowing that evil never slept, she quickly took off and flew towards home. Maybe there would be more partners in the future, but for now she was back to business as usual. Daring Do wondered briefly where her next adventure might take her, and what new oddities her world – and others – still had to offer.
Rainbow Dash closed the book. “I'm just going to take this home,” she told Twilight, leaving before the mare could ask any follow-up questions about what had happened while she was in the book.
***
Rainbow lay stretched out on her cloud bed, still thinking about her adventure. What she found most remarkable was how much faster time passed on the inside of the book than on the outside. What if she had stayed longer, like a couple years? Would she have been older when she returned? She was just as dirty and tired when she appeared in the library as she had been when she said goodbye to Daring...
Her gaze wandered over to the desk nearby. Resting on it were the book and the diamond. Every time she saw the thing it stirred up an uneasiness in her heart. Maybe the burden of holding onto it was more than she had realized. But Daring was right – even if it was bad, it was safer with Rainbow Dash. She owed it to Daring to keep it safe and secure, if nothing else.
And there was something else that she kept coming back to. The two of them got along so well in the end, in stark contrast to how they behaved towards each other in the beginning. Dash thought about it for a while, then got up and started turning her room upside down in search of a pencil and a sheet of paper.
Laying the paper out on her desk, Rainbow stuck the pencil in her mouth and began her letter.
Dear Princess Celestia, she wrote, Today I had an amazing experience in which I got to meet my biggest hero. I learned the hard way that idolizing somepony can give you unrealistic expectations of them, because they really are ordinary ponies themselves. But just because you don't make a great impression right away doesn't mean that you can't get along with them, and it certainly doesn't mean you shouldn't try your best to get along with them; they deserve the same respect and patience as everypony else. I discovered that when you can truly love and appreciate the ponies you work with, then you can do amazing things together.
She folded up this piece of paper and left it on the desk. Flopping herself onto the glorious cloud bed, she wondered if she could possible get Spike to send it to Princess Celestia without reading it first. After all, she couldn’t have them thinking that she was going soft. That would just taint the image they had of her as she described the whole adventure to them, her amazing heroics and all.
Of course, some of the private matters they discussed would have to be left out, but nopony would be interested in that stuff anyway, right?