//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Double Dare // by Wordplay42 //------------------------------// Chapter 7- Rainbow Dash followed Daring Do through the dense jungle underbrush which had seemed to only grow thicker and thicker as they pressed onward. She found herself continuously looking over her shoulder, feeling certain as if they were being watched. But she still didn’t see anyone, and didn’t want to tell Daring for fear the adventurer would think her a coward. So she strode on, keeping the eerie feeling to herself and sticking close to her brown lookalike’s side. “Wait,” the other pegasus suddenly said, stopping in her tracks. “What-“ Rainbow Dash started, but her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. She didn’t want to sound scared in front of Daring. But, of course, she was not scared. Just…unnerved. Yes, that was it. “What is it?” she tried again. Daring used a hoof to push down some of the foliage in front of them, revealing a clearing just up ahead. For the first time, Rainbow Dash became aware of the smell of charred earth and wood. As she stepped forward to stand beside the adventurer, she soon found out where the smell was coming from. The cyan pegasus’ eyes widened at the sight before her. The forest which had been here was decimated; a black hole and a few charred stumps were all that remained of the trees and bushes that had once grown here. Carefully, Daring and Rainbow maneuvered their way through the remaining foliage and down the steep incline that bottomed out into the crater. They paused together and glanced around. “What could have done this?” Rainbow Dash asked, amazed. Daring scraped her hoof across the charred earth and raised it to her nose to sniff it. She made a face, and then lowered the hoof back to the ground. “I don’t know,” she answered. “It’s too localized to be a fire.” “And we both know that lightning couldn’t have done something like this,” Rainbow Dash added, drawing on the fact that they were both pegusi and knew almost all there was to know about weather. Daring nodded absently as she continued to look about the crater. Rainbow took a few steps forward and scraped a bit at the dirt, like Daring had. A few flakes of dust came away to reveal something sparkling beneath the layer of char and ash. Rainbow Dash blinked and held up what looked like a shiny pebble, but when she blew more of the dust off, it became clear that she was holding a clear – if somewhat dirty and impure – crystal. “Daring?” she said, looking over her shoulder. The second pegasus came up to see what she had found. Her magenta eyes widened at the object in Rainbow Dash’s hoof. “Diamonds,” she breathed. “I found some too. Whatever did this was hot enough to turn the foliage around here, not just into ash, but into diamonds.” “Whoa,” Rainbow Dash said, staring with wide eyes at Daring Do. “Are you telling me that we’re dealing with something that can make diamonds?” “Take it easy, kid,” Daring reminded her. “Look at the field that whatever it was destroyed. It doesn’t just make diamonds. It can destroy entire sections of jungle, using heat and force strong enough to turn plant carbon into crystal. Whatever did this, it’s not natural, and it’s definitely dangerous.” Rainbow Dash nodded slowly and let the diamond drop to the ground. There was nothing she could carry it in, and she didn’t even know if she could get back to Ponyville anyways. And Daring was right. Whatever had done this was bad news. She sighed and glanced around. “So, have you figured out where we are?” she asked, looking up at Daring. But the pegasus’ eyes were locked on something over Rainbow Dash’s shoulder, and the look on the brown mare’s face wasn’t a good one. In fact, Rainbow could definitely spot some fear in the magenta eyes. Slowly, Rainbow Dash turned and looked up as well at where the steep side of the crater met the flat ground. She blanched. Several large stallions stood above them, their hooves wrapped around spears. A few wore gold earrings from one ear, and all had pieces of cloth – turbans – wrapped around their heads. Their manes and tails were slightly unkempt, but their bodies were muscular and sleek, and Rainbow Dash had no problem believing that they had the ability to use the spears they carried. They did not look happy. “Daring,” she whispered, not taking her eyes from them. “I know you said that whatever burned this field was dangerous, but…what about them?” “I was wondering the same thing,” the brown pegasus replied. A dark chocolate colored stallion with a black mane, who seemed to be a leader, or at least slightly higher in rank than the others of the group, began barking orders in a language Rainbow Dash didn’t understand. “Uh…what was that?” she asked. Daring narrowed her eyes. “I…think they want us to come with them,” she said, and started the climb out of the crater towards where the pony warriors stood. They raised their spears, but stepped away and allowed Daring Do through. Rainbow followed quickly up after her, and was given the same treatment. She kept a close eye on the sharp weapons, but none of them seemed intent on actually using them against the two pegasi mares. The one who had spoken earlier came to stand in front of Daring Do and Rainbow Dash. He stomped a hoof and spoke some more in the strange language, and Rainbow looked to Daring for translation. However, Daring remained silent and simply bowed her head in response. The stallion turned and headed off into the jungle, and the others followed, pressing Rainbow Dash and Daring Do forward. “Hey!” Rainbow snapped when one of them pushed too hard. The stallion, this one a lighter brown than the leader, snorted, but didn’t seem to care. “Just walk,” Daring told the blue mare. Rainbow lashed her tail, but did as she was told. However, if another pushed too hard again, they’d get the business end of a hoof. The stallions fell into a loose circle around their “prisoners”, the dark brown leader in front of them. As they walked, Rainbow Dash heard a few talk amongst each other. “Well, we know one thing for sure now,” Daring Do said as they walked. Rainbow Dash glanced sideways at the grey-scale pony. “What?” she asked sarcastically. “That the locals are a little spear-happy?” “No,” Daring replied flatly. “That we’re in Manegolia.” “Where?” Rainbow Dash asked, confused. “Manegolia,” Daring repeated. “One of the more unexplored countries of Equestria. Very little is known about it, and it’s said there are entire tribes of ponies living here who have never even heard of Princess Celestia, or that she is seen as more of a myth by them.” “But, you were able to understand what that one stallion was saying,” Rainbow Dash reminded her. “How?” “My Manegolian is a little rusty,” she replied. “But I do know a little of the language.” “That’s good news,” Rainbow Dash said. “Maybe you’ll be able to ask these guys how to get back to…you know….the real world.” “You getting homesick, Rainbow Dash?” Daring teased. Rainbow snorted. “No! Of course not,” she said, flicking her tail and laughing awkwardly. “I’m just saying…” “Well, I think we may have to wait a little on that,” Daring said as the foliage began to thin. “Because it looks like we may be meeting a few more of ‘these guys’ before we go….” Rainbow Dash looked once more forward and found that the stallions had led them to some sort of a village. It was unlike anything that Rainbow had ever seen before. The ponies (all earth ponies, she realized) had built mud and stone houses around a clearing, along with what seemed to be a well of sorts and maybe some other varying structures. As the stallions led their catches into the midst of the small village, the other ponies began to take notice and slowly dropped what they were doing to come and swarm around the two new arrivals. Rainbow Dash noticed that the stallions who had led them here mostly peeled away so as to not get trapped amongst the crowd as the natives crowded in on every side to try and get a better look at what their warriors had found. The villagers were all varying shades of earth tones: shades of brown and grey, with maybe a white thrown in once in a while. While Daring Do blended more or less into their color scheme, Rainbow Dash was a clear stand out with her sky-blue coat and multi-colored mane and tail. The pegasus grimaced as she felt several ponies reach out and touch her hair, stroking it and trying to figure out if it was real or not. She tried to back away, untangle herself from the mob of fascinated earth ponies and their strange, babbling language that Rainbow Dash couldn’t understand which hammered on her ear drums as they asked her questions over and over again or called out to her strange words or sentences. Feeling overwhelmed, and pegasus pony opened her wings and attempted to take off. The earth ponies gasped at the sight of Rainbow’s feathered wings and backed away a few steps. Rainbow winced as the bruised joint of her wing throbbed, but she wanted to get out of the crushing throng of ponies. She prepared to lift off when Daring touched her shoulder. “Wait,” the grey-scale mare warned. “Don’t insult them.” “They’re everywhere,” Rainbow complained. “I know, but it’s just because they’ve never seen anything like us. These ponies have probably never seen a pegasus before. Just be patient.” Rainbow Dash grumbled something under her breath and tried not to panic when the ponies began to move in even closer. She bit her lip, beginning to think she was about ready to drown in a sea of them…. There was the sound of a hoof stomping which could be heard even over the sound of dozens of villagers’ excited chattering. The stomping was followed quickly by a deep voice, speaking once more in the language that Rainbow Dash didn’t understand. However, it seemed to have a dramatic effect on the villagers, who immediately stepped back and away from Rainbow Dash and Daring Do. Rainbow relaxed a bit, feeling the hooves that had been petting her mane fall away. She inhaled deeply as she felt like she could breathe once more. As the crowds fell away, another pony took their place before the two pegasi. Another stallion, but this one different from those who had brought them here from the crater. This one was light brown with a dark brown mane and tail which was thick and healthy. Like some of the other stallions Rainbow Dash had seen, he wore an earring on one ear, and a few gold rings decorated his neck and two front hooves. He flashed a smile that showed a golden tooth. He reminded Rainbow Dash slightly of Zecora. “Welcome, my friends,” he said in heavily accented Equestrian. Rainbow was half surprised, half relieved that she could understand him. Though she wondered how that could be, it was nice hearing someone speak in a tongue she was used to. Listening to the language of the villagers made her feel lost and confused. Or, at least, even more lost and confused than she already was. “Please forgive the ponies of my village,” he told them. “They have never seen creatures quite like you before. No pegasi have been born to us; we are just ponies of the earth. And your colors are quite a shock to them as well, as we are all the colors of the earth as well.” “It’s no problem,” Daring Do said easily. “We understand.” The stallion bowed his head, his smile still lingering. He seemed middle-aged, and his smile caused wrinkles to form around his almond-colored eyes. He motioned with a hoof for the mares to follow him. “Please,” he said. “Come. I have been waiting for you, and you must be hungry. Dine with me. I have the feast all prepared.” Daring and Rainbow shared a glance, but the former shrugged and followed the older stallion as he turned and made his way towards one of the more elaborate (if Rainbow could call it that) mud houses. She followed hence, but glanced briefly back over her shoulder at the villagers who watched her as she entered the stallion’s home. She tried a smile, but was relieved when a flap of cloth separated her from their staring eyes. ~**~ “So….where are we?” Applejack’s question was blunt and simple. And Twilight had a simple answer to go with it…..she simply didn’t know. “I have no idea,” the purple unicorn said as she gathered herself to her hooves and looked around. All she could really see was jungle. Trees. Lots of trees, and bushes too. Mostly just quite a bit of green. And not much else. Twilight turned and looked behind her at the others. “Everypony okay?” she asked as they began to rise to their hooves as well. Celestia’s spell had seemingly dropped them into a jungle of some kind. “Figures,” Rarity griped as she stood. “We get dropped into the middle of some Celestia- forgotten jungle. And I just had my hooves done, too.” “Rarity, watch your language,” Twilight warned. “It’s not too bad. After all, it could be worse….I guess.” “I’d like to see how,” Rarity muttered under her breath as she wiped dirt from her white coat. Pinkie Pie had already bounced to her hooves and was busy inspecting the leaves of a nearby bush. “Oh, look!” she said as she stared at something. “We’re in Manegolia!” “That’s right,” Twilight said, suddenly remembering. “I remember that from the book. Manegolia, one of Equestria’s more undiscovered countries.” “How’d you know that?” Applejack asked Pinkie Pie. “By looking at this spider,” the pink pony replied simply with a wide grin. “Spider!” Rarity screamed and leaped to hide behind Fluttershy. Twilight didn’t bother asking how Pinkie knew about different species of spiders, and she also decided not to check on whether the pony was right about the certain arachnid she was studying. Having a face-to-face encounter with a spider was not on her list of things to do. However, finding Rainbow Dash was. “Where should we start?” Fluttershy asked, glancing around at the trees surrounding them. “She could be anywhere.” “I know,” Twilight agreed. “But in the book, I remember something about a mountain, and a cave or a mine or something. Maybe we should just look for that. “Easier said than done,” Applejack stated, looking up at the trees. No matter where they looked, the foliage blocked their view. There could have been a mountain right in front of them, and they would have missed it. “Hmmm,” Twilight said, and then looked to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, you’ll have to fly up and see if you can see anything.” “Oh, I don’t know,” Fluttershy said softly, crouching low. “It’s just so scary here.” “Please, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, walking over to the light yellow pony and placing a hoof on her shoulder. “We need your help. Without it, we might not be able to find Rainbow Dash in time.” Fluttershy considered for a moment, then nodded. “Okay,” she said, straightening. “For Rainbow Dash.” The others cheered her on, and Fluttershy opened her wings and took off into the sky. She was lost as she broke through the thick tree canopy above them, and for several moments they merely stood there, staring up into the trees and trying to find a glimpse of their shy friend. Finally, the yellow pony descended and landed gently back onto the ground, folding her wings against her back. “I did see a mountain, but there are several of them,” she sighed. “I couldn’t tell which one you meant.” “Well…” Twilight said, trying to think. “Where was the….tallest one? What direction?” “It was that way,” Fluttershy pointed with a hoof. “To the North.” “Then that’s the way we’ll go,” Twilight said determinedly. Applejack frowned, “Are you sure?” she asked. “No,” Twilight admitted. “But it’s our best bet. We have to find Rainbow Dash – before it’s too late!” “Ah guess you’re right,” Applejack said, falling into step beside Twilight as the lilac unicorn began to lead the way into the underbrush. The others followed, though Rarity kept squeaking whenever a loose branch or leaf brushed against her. After a steady glare from Applejack, the white pony laughed nervously and tried to calm herself, but Twilight could still see how jumpy she was. She couldn’t really blame her. This jungle was spooky. “Stay together, girls,” Twilight warned. “Anything could be in this jungle.” I just hope Rainbow Dash is, too, she thought.