Daring Do and the Cloud-Held Eternity

by Trivial

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Daring was ecstatic! This was sooooo awesome!!! Not even her discovery of the Valley of Grouchy compared to this! The first thought that entered her giddy mind was to find out if the Eternity still worked — to find out if it ever did. The legends said that the Eternity had to be filled with pure rainwater. Easy enough, she thought, flying back to the rain-trap. She noticed that the precipitation had stopped after they had exited.

Daring quickly pulled one of the dark clouds from the ceiling and brought it back to the Eternity. She carefully positioned the cloud above the well and kicked it to start the rain. As she did so, the small voice in the back of her head told her that this wasn’t a good idea. However, her excitement combined with her rash personality and together they immediately silenced the offending voice of reason. Leaning over the edge, Daring noticed that the etchings began to glow a vibrant blue color as soon as they were touched by the rising water. The adventurer’s eyes widened with excitement. “Yes! It works!” she shouted. Oblivious to all else, she leaned further forward and studied the swirls as their glow deepened in color.

The pool was large enough that, even though the entire cloud was emptied, the water was still about two feet below the edge. Daring decided that the water was easy enough to reach and immediately pulled a collection probe out of her saddlebag. The legends also say that a pony needs to be submerged in the water for it to work, she thought as she popped the cap off a sample vial and placed it at the end of the probe, but why take any chances. Holding the end of the probe in her mouth, she leaned forward to submerge the vial…

…and Daring wasn’t sure what happened. Suddenly, it was very cold and she was dizzy. She couldn’t breathe! She was underwater! Her survival instincts kicking in, she swam in the direction she thought was up and her head broke the water’s surface. She coughed out the water that she had inhaled and took a deep breath. A second later, she remembered feeling the push and tumbling into the well. Oh, no!

She attempted to tread water and found her forelegs entangled in cloth. A terrible feeling began to form in her stomach when she realized that it was her shirt, which was suddenly larger than it had been. Diving back under the water, Daring pulled herself out of the garment. Surfacing again, she noticed that right above her head was a layer of clouds, shimmering silver and blue. She shook her head to clear her ears.

Daring heard muffled laughter from the other side of the cloud layer: Shifty! “Hey! Wha’d you d-!” she began to bellow. She cut herself short when she heard that she was shouting in a squeaky, high-pitched voice. Some calmer part of her mind was beginning to put one and one together, and the only possible answer was not at all good.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Shifty’s laughing voice: “I can’t believe how fortunate I was! Here I was looking for a way to get rid of you, and an easy one presents itself.” Daring noticed that all of the class and propriety that was once a part of his voice was now gone.

Daring was baffled. “Why?!” was all she could think of to say.

“Why? Because you stopped being useful after you got me through that door,” Shifty sneered, indicating the portal they had just entered, “After that was done, you needed to be dealt with, so you wouldn’t get in my way. Personally, I find direct murder too messy — and I was hoping that it wouldn’t have to come to that. But then you conveniently gave me another way! And it worked! I just cannot believe my luck! This cloud-net is an added bonus.”

“You’re just a… a coward!” Daring shouted, finally coming to terms with what just happened.

“I may be,” replied Shifty, “but I don’t stay alive doing what I do by being brave. All brave ponies get is a nice memorial. Maybe you’ll get one! Regardless, there’s little you can do to stop me now. It doesn’t really matter whether you get out of that pool or not; you’ll never get off of Cloudyon. Enjoy the rest of your life!” Daring heard more laughter, which faded as Shifty apparently walked away.

“WHY-! YOU-! I’LL- I’LL GET IN YOUR WAY! YOU DUMB-” Daring started, but stopped when she realized it would be pointless. Shifty was right; there really was nothing she could do. She was stuck here.

***

Daring was a lot of things: she was a strong pony, she was a skilled pony, she even considered herself a smart pony. There were some things she wasn’t, though. Daring was not an easily defeated pony. NO! cried out a voice in Daring’s head, I’m not letting him beat me like that!

Neither was Daring a quiet pony. She rarely bothered to prevent a disturbance and liked changes of scenery (it was one of the reasons she chose to become an explorer). It also meant that she found it difficult to remain still even for a short while, and her confinement in this pool was forcing her to do just that. Born of this, a second voice joined the first. There must be a way out of here! I’m not going to just let him walk away! Daring looked up at the shimmering clouds above her and reached out to touch them. Ewwww, sticky! she thought, as the clouds clung to her hoof.

This must be the last trap to catch anypony who used the Eternity without permission, she reasoned while moving her hoof sideways through the cloud layer. This examination revealed that the cloud layer was soft and could be dug through, though it felt like tunneling out of very thick molasses. It’s not meant to kill, but by the time somepony got out of it, the whole army could be waiting on the other side.

Daring kicked herself up and starting digging into the cloud-net. Suddenly, she heard a shouted curse, followed by the sound of hooves echoing as somepony galloped across the room. There was no need to guess who that was. Stupid Shifty! Curse his sudden but inevitable betrayal! Why’s he still here anyway?

Just thinking about her former colleague was enough to make her work faster and, after a long while, she finally pulled herself out of the sticky clouds. She looked back down into the hole she had created and saw her clothes, saddlebags and pith helmet sitting at the bottom of the Eternity. She scowled. She didn’t want to risk diving back into the Eternity to get them; she didn't think she would become any younger, but this day wasn’t exactly looking up for her. Besides, they would no longer fit. As she stared at her beloved helmet, a sudden rage overtook her. HE MADE ME LOSE MY HAT!!!

Energized by her anger, Daring bolted back out the door and through the vestibule, halting as she arrived at the long drop of the rain trap. Before giving it another thought, she jumped onto a cloud-umbrella that had been left behind and, fluttering her tiny wings, drove it downwards. She just barely registered the fact that the rain did not start again, but quickly dismissed it as unimportant.

She tumbled off as the cloud as it impacted the floor and broke apart. Jumping up, she ran through the following hallway, her short stature allowing her to easily pass under the falling slabs, which had somehow reset themselves. Her determination (and her good memory) allowed her to work her way back through the lightning chamber in about a third of the time it had taken her to get through before. She raced up the steps, across the Temple, and out the door.

The freezing air hit Daring like a wall. Still wet from her ordeal, she shivered and suddenly found herself out of energy. She stumbled down the Temple’s steps and fell on the cloud surface. Weakly, she sat up and pulled a bit of the cloud around her as a makeshift blanket. It wasn’t the best insulation, but it was much better than nothing.

The cold wasn’t the only problem, however. The adrenaline began to wear off, and her thoughts finally had a chance to catch up with her. As Daring warmed up, she looked around. There was no sign of Shifty anywhere. She looked up at the western sky and saw the moon, larger and brighter than she had ever seen it before. The dark head of the Mare in the Moon stood in stark relief against the silver light. Daring shivered again, though not from the cold: she recalled tales of Nightmare Moon returning from her prison to gobble up little foals. Is it just my imagination, or is Nightmare Moon… looking at me? As she gazed at the terrible visage, despair began to creep into her mind.

Daring took a closer look at herself, confirming her fears. Her body was now that of a tiny filly, one too young to even begin flight school. She stretched her small wings and gave them an experimental flap. The resulting wind should have been enough to disrupt her cloud-blanket. Instead, the blanket only lifted a little bit. Daring felt she should have been panicked, but all she felt was an empty hopelessness. Shifty’s right, she thought, forlornly, There’s no way I’m ever getting offa this cloud.

Looking around, Daring was suddenly overwhelmed by the sudden hugeness of the Temple’s facade. From her new perspective everything looked more intimidating, and much, much scarier. Every shadow looked like it could eat her whole. Every flash of lightning made her want to jump. Each pillar towered ominously over her and even the steps seemed to stretch out forever.

Feeling strangely agoraphobic, she found the strength to look again over the rest of her body. As she looked at her shrunken limbs and tail, her fear increased.

Even worse, she saw that her cutie mark — the compass rose that proudly displayed her life’s purpose of exploration and adventuring — had disappeared. Now, Daring panicked. Oh no! My special talent is gone! What do I do?! How can I do anything?! Her thoughts continued in a downward spiral: even if she could get off of Cloudyon, how could she go back to the University? She wasn’t an archaeologist anymore! She’d have to go back to kindergarten! She couldn’t even begin to face her family. She’d have to run away and find a new talent. Her life, as it was, was over.

“C’mon, Daring. It’s time to go to kindergarten,” Darrin said, his voice thick with forced encouragement.

“Yeah, squirt. You go off to class, and let me become the famous archaeologist!” Derring added, a fake, sickeningly sweet grin on her face.

Daring blinked, looking down at herself. She was wearing a pink backpack, and a matching bow. “N-no, I’m a big pony! Really!” She cried out desperately, only to be interrupted by Darrin grabbing her.

“Now, Daring... You’re just a filly again. A young helpless filly that isn’t even old enough to earn their cutie mark.”

Before Daring could protest, she felt the scene transform and she suddenly found herself sitting at a giant desk, surrounded by ponies that made her look little more than a toy.

“Hey, look at my cutie mark! It’s a hurricane!”

“Mine’s a cupcake!”

“I got a cloud!”

Daring could barely keep up as dozens of voices bragged about their special talents, “I-I got a-“ she squeaked out, only to be interrupted by one of the massive colts.

“What cutie mark, blank flank? You’re not old enough to earn one!”

“Yeah,” added a nearby filly, “I don’t think you’re even old enough to be in kindergarten!”

Before Daring knew it, her environment once again changed and, when she finally got her bearings, she saw that she was trapped in a giant crib, surrounded by toys for foals.

“No! No, no, no! I’m not a foal! I’m a big pony! I’m a-. Her rant was suddenly interrupted when a bright purple pacifier entered her mouth. Her eyes widened as she fell back into the bed. Babbling helplessly she looked up, only to see one more nightmare.

Nightmare Moon herself hovered above her, with a hungry look in her eyes. She gave a dark grin that offered no mercy, than charged at her.

Daring gasped, waking up from the terrible nightmare. She hadn’t even felt herself fall asleep, but even knowing that it was all a dream didn’t help. She felt her fear redouble, and the deep feeling of hopelessness in her gut only got worse.

Not knowing what else to do, Daring pulled another layer of cloud over herself and, covering her head, she cried.

Comments

[Trivial]

Finally! It's up. I want to apologize for the slow update. It's been a particularly trying couple of weeks for everyone involved in writing and editing this story. I want to give a special thank you to my Editor, Tutis75, for his efforts in getting Ch 4 finished.

[Tutis75]

Reading this chapter on the site, I just realized I really like the font. Just something I wanted to note.

Besides that, the chapter is an effective way to show just how bad the situation is, and how much Daring has to overcome to save herself. Very nice chapter, can't wait for the next one!

[JonJR625]

Why did I already know Shifty would backstab her? Oh, right, because this story is AWESOME! Can't wait for the next chapter!