//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Double Dare // by Wordplay42 //------------------------------// Epilogue- The ponies found themselves standing in the throne room of the castle in Canterlot. Spike was holding the book, which he had just closed. His green eyes widened when he saw them. “You’re back!” he cheered, running to Twilight and hugging her. Twilight hugged him back. Then he let go and looked up with awe at them. “That was amazing!” he said. “That book was so awesome! Rainbow Dash, you’re so awesome!” Rainbow laughed, and flicked her tail. “Of course I am!” she snorted. “I’ve always been awesome! Don’t you forget it!” “I trust you enjoyed yourselves.” A regal voice made the ponies and Spike look over to where Princess Celestia was striding back into the throne room, smiling royally at them. The six ponies automatically bowed as the Princess strode majestically over. She gazed down at Rainbow Dash, her purple eyes sparkling. “I’ve been hearing,” she said. “That you’ve been having quite the adventure.” “You bet, Princess,” Rainbow Dash said. “I won’t forget that anytime soon!” “Ah, yes, books can take us to so many places, can’t they?” she breathed happily, using her magic to pick up the Daring Do book that Spike had left sitting on the ground. She passed it to Twilight, who took it with her own magic, ready to show the new cover with Rainbow Dash on it to their newly rescued friend. But when the flipped the book over to show its cover, she was disappointed. The picture on the book was the same as it had been before Rainbow Dash entered it. “What happened?” Twilight asked, disappointed. “Rainbow Dash had been on the cover! Now she’s not!” “I’m afraid the book was reset when you all and Rainbow Dash returned here,” Celestia explained. “The book is back to its normal plotline, I’m afraid.” All the girls sighed and apologized to Rainbow Dash. The blue pegasus sighed. “Oh, well,” she replied. “But at least I know I had the adventure, right? Too bad this book won’t be as good without me anymore.” ~**~ They returned to Ponyville by the train, and the entire way Rarity praised modern convenience such as the Friendship Express and running water and other luxuries like that and how she wasn’t just going to take one bubble bath when she got back home but probably three or four. And when Rarity wasn’t complaining about how much dirt was packed in mane and how long it would take to get it out, Rainbow Dash was bragging about her adventures with Daring Do and what the pony had told her right before the end of the book. “So, did you know that Oracle was bad?” Pinkie Pie asked. Rainbow Dash snorted. “Of course I knew!” she scoffed proudly. “I knew from the very beginning that he was a bad guy! I just have an eye for things like that, I guess.” Twilight snorted to herself. “It’s so sad he had to do that,” Fluttershy sighed. “I bet he was a really nice stallion.” Rainbow Dash looked at her as if she was crazy. “’A really nice stallion’?” she repeated. “Fluttershy, he tried to crush Daring and me with falling boulders!” “Oh, I know,” the yellow pegasus agreed. “But underneath all that, I bet he was just misunderstood.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right,” she said. “You should have seen it when I was distracting him, and throwing those rocks and – “ “Uh, Rainbow Dash, we were there,” Applejack reminded her. Rainbow Dash blinked, caught off guard. “Oh yeahhh,” she said, as though just remembering that her friends had been there to see the final fight. “You were, weren’t you?” “Daring Do took Oracle’s fall pretty badly,” Rarity said. “I hope she’ll be alright.” “I’m sure she will be,” Rainbow Dash said. “It wasn’t her fault.” “Still,” the white unicorn said. “What a terrible thing to watch happen.” Twilight took this moment to interrupt. She walked over to Rainbow Dash, carrying the book. It was completely back to normal. She’d read through it again since they’d been on the train. “I’m sorry that the book went back to normal,” she said. Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I guess that’s the way it goes, huh?” she asked. “But….is it okay if I borrow it anyways?” Twilight looked confused. “Why?” she asked. “You’ve already lived through it.” “I know,” Rainbow Dash replied. “But I could use it as the base to write my version of the story!” The Ponyville girls laughed at this, and Twilight agreed to hand it over. She knew Rainbow Dash would take good care of it. As they were pulling up to the Ponyville station, Rainbow approached Twilight. “Twilight,” she said. “Can I ask you a question?” Twilight nodded and smiled. “Sure, Rainbow,” she agreed. “Anything.” “Is Oracle….” She started, but trailed off. “I mean, I saw him fall off the side of a mountain, but is he really…..I mean, does he come back?” Twilight smirked. The train lurched to a stop, and the conductor called out that they could disembark the train. As the purple unicorn turned from her friend, she laughed. “That, Rainbow Dash,” she replied. “Would be spoilers.” Rainbow Dash groaned as she followed Twilight off the train and continued to beg for more information, but Twilight remained silent on the matter. After all, she thought. If I can keep her reading, I can keep her from crashing through my windows. And that thought and Rainbow Dash’s continuous questions kept her smiling all the way back home. End