//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: World at Large 
// Story: Daring Do: the Legend of the Algae Photis (A Ranger side-story) 
// by Wanderer D 
//------------------------------//


Daring Do: the Legend of the Algae Photis


by Wanderer D


Chapter 2: World at Large






"Twilight?"

"Oh, hey Spike," Twilight mumbled, barely sparing him a glance, instead looking with bafflement at the pile of books on her bed, then, looking down to her tactical backpack with distress. "I don't think I can fit them all."

"So uh," the little dragon ventured as he hopped on the bed and started sorting through the books, making three smaller piles for her and watching the smile creep up her face as she chose one and slid those books into the backpack. "You're leaving. Again."

"It's only for a small while," Twilight said, turning around and levitating her guns with a critical eye. The gun was dismantled in the air and a cleaning kit got to work on it. Seconds later it was back in one piece and secured in its rear-leg holster. "Take that, Bradford! Let's see you chew me out for being too slow."

She started doing the same on her assault rifle. "I need to make sure to pick some Equestrian weapons, can't be firing these all over the place."

"But, you're like, going on an expedition, right?" Spike asked, slowly walking over to where a pile of equipment lay, which he started sorting and packing together for ease of use. "You know, looking at ancient ruins and stuff, right? Don't you think you'll need some help?" He puffed his chest. "I've studied a lot of history with you! And I have claws! I could be a ton of help!"

Twilight walked over to where he was and took each item or set as he passed them along, slowly organizing her backpack and making sure the weight would be distributed properly, which was tricky.

"Well, I have Rainbow Dash, Alejandra, Tala, Daring Do, and Galahad going with me," she said once the equipment was orderly stored. She zipped up the bag and went over to a nearby desk to get a set of gems she had enchanted earlier. She scooped them into a small pouch before walking over to check on GREMLINICIOUS.

"Well, yeah, but if you're doing a bunch of research, won't you need your number one assistant?"

Twilight's hoof paused, barely touching her drone. Slowly, she turned to look at Spike, who wasn't looking back at her, simply pretending to be busy double checking her things.

"I can help you carry stuff, you know," Spike said, not looking up, "and you know I'm really good at taking notes for and from you… and also contacting the princesses if you need to send them a scroll."

When Twilight gently levitated her backpack and armor off the bed, he didn't move, simply letting the items slide from his claws and sitting down and staring at them while she went to lay down next to him. "Why can't I go?" he finally asked in a low voice.

"Oh, Spike." Twilight wrapped him in a tight wing-hug. "I'm sorry, this is going to be very dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Shouldn't you bring your friends, then?" Spike asked, looking up. "Please? Or me?"

"I am bringing my friends," Twilight said gently. "And I would bring you if it wasn't… well, something that you could really get hurt doing."

"I know you're bringing some of your friends, but what if you need the Elements—"

"They're in the Tree of Harmony, remember?"

Spike narrowed his eyes at her smile. "Fine, but you know what I mean."

Twilight sighed. "I know, and I really wish I could just change my mind, Spike but… I see danger differently now, and dragging you all with me into a crazy adventure again is not the best way to relearn trust right now. Not when there's so much at stake."

"We've done things like that before!" Spike said, his words urgent. "Remember Nightmare Moon, or Discord, or Sombra?"

"I know," Twilight answered, pulling him back into her hug. "But I need to do this this way, Spike. I can't second guess things, worry about the others, and also do what I need to do."

"I don't think you're thinking clearly," Spike muttered, hugging her back tightly. "Think about it, Twilight. we've all been in danger before. We've all been by your side."

"Spike, what if we went all the way there and the bad guys attacked us?"

"We all know how to fight!" Spike replied, pushing back and looking at her, holding her by the shoulders. "We were all in that fight with the Changelings, remember?"

"I also remember how quickly the others decided to not trust me." Twilight stood up and walked to the balcony. "I also remember how Pinkie jokes around all the time and complicates things, or Applejack second-guesses me to prove a point, or Rarity delays things because she needs to keep clean, or more importantly and obvious, how Fluttershy jumped in front of a loaded gun!" She forced her shoulders to relax. "I can't allow this mission to fail or rely solely on good luck or our enemies having some sense of decency. 

"We were very lucky that Discord is a prankster and that Sombra was just smoke at the time. Right now I don't have the luxury of leaving things to chance. If they don't trust me, more people die, Spike. I'm not the naive Twilight they remember. I'm not doing things a certain way just because I'm insecure, or someone that is blind to reality."

"But how to you expect them to trust you again if you don't give them a chance?" Spike countered. "How can they get to meet the new you if you leave them behind?"

"What if we find ourselves in a dangerous area?" Twilight asked. "Will they try to send me back again? Like they did in the Everfree?"

Spike narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "You know that's not how it works. They were worried and they learned their lesson. What if you decide to shoot your weapons and all you needed was some kindness?"

When Twilight cringed, Spike's face softened. "Come on, Twilight. Even if Alejandra and the others are better fighters, they're not from around here. They don't know Equestria like we do."

"We won't be in Equestria, Spike," Twilight said, straightening up. "This is a military operation, and they are civilians. I don't have time for another wedding incident. And I don't have time to get them to stay in line if needed." 

"Twilight, we are your friends, please let us help more!"

"I said no, Spike." Twilight's horn shone and her equipment floated to her. She started getting into her armor as she spoke. "I love you all, but you all still think things will just work out with love and friendship... and I won't let anything happen to you when you find out the hard way it's not that easy." She gave him a regretful glance, her magic enveloping her in a purple-red aura. 

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks for the help."

And with that, she was gone.





Daring Do lowered the last of her equipment into The Mareia, glaring at the small crew of parrots, goats and one malicious-looking dwarven fish. "Alright, get it all secured! My companions should be here soon!"

"Some of us are already here."

Daring gasped and turned around, her hoof already flying to knock out the creep, only to be dodged with a chuckle. "Galahad!"

"Guilty." The griffon smiled.

"And the rest of us are also here," Twilight spoke up, walking up to them with Alejandra at her side and Tala sitting on the griffon's head. Rainbow Dash landed next to them, trying to hide her eagerness at being in Daring's vicinity once again.

She hated to admit it, but it was kind of endearing. Still, they had things to do, and little time to do them. That and she needed to get them ready for what was coming. "Alright everycreature," she called out, "gather up!"

Twilight and her friends walked to stand as a loose circle around Daring, with her own crew in the boat, looking over the rails.

"First, is this all of you?" Daring asked. "Where's Gilda, Princess Luna and the kid, Gabby? And are we really bringing a breezie?"

"They're staying," Twilight replied. "Lae… Luna needs to be in Canterlot, and I trust my friends to keep her out of trouble."

"And Gabby…" Alejandra rubbed her foreleg. "She's a bit young for this one, I asked Gilda to stay and keep an eye on her. She also apparently needed to talk to some of Twilight's friends."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash chuckled. "She wasn't too happy about it, but she's going to apologize to Pinkie and give her and the others a chance."

"As for Tala," Twilight motioned at the breezie, "trust me, you don't have anything to worry about. She can really do a lot of damage."

Daring shrugged and nodded. "Alright then." She started pacing in front of them in a tight circle, her eyes focused. "We're taking this boat as far down south as we can. Our first destination is Klugetown, so we won't be able to ride the river all the way there since the desert cuts us off, but we'll be close enough for a short flight.

"We'll organize provisions and equipment, and from there we'll head over to Mount Aris to meet with my contact." She pressed her lips. "You should know, Abyssinia and Mount Aris are currently allied in the war."

She expected a stronger reaction, but only Rainbow Dash gave any sign of being anxious. 'Interesting.' It wasn't strange that they had been unaware, if their widened eyes was any indication, but their body language was way too calm. Galahad, she expected this from. The others? Not so much.

"What war?" Twilight asked, eyes narrowing.

"There's a creature called the Storm King," Daring Do elaborated, "who has been causing up trouble far, far, southeast. Not much is known about him, but he has an army, some sort of propaganda machine, and recently, he's made moves northward. 

"Right now, the only thing stopping him from taking control of Panthera and Klugetown, and what remains of Abyssinia is Mount Aris, so expect some danger on the way and for creatures all over to be on the edge." She stopped pacing and faced them again. "Any questions so far?"

"Does Princess Celestia know about this?" Twilight asked, her tone slightly disbelieving.

Daring sighed. "Yes. And before you ask, the reason she's not doing anything about it is because… both Mount Aris and Abyssinia downright refused to have her assist them. In their own words, ponies already held too much sway over the world as it is… that and Celestia doesn't want to lose ponies."

Twilight frowned, shaking her head. "That's ridiculous. Both Celestia and the rulers of Abyssinia and Mount Aris are just being obtuse!" She sighed loudly. "She and I are going to have a long talk after this is all over." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay then. War. It won't be the first time most of us venture into a battle zone."

Daring raised an eyebrow. "I noticed. I'm very curious about the exact nature of your experience, but, we can touch on that later. If I may continue?"

Twilight glanced and the others, a doubtful look in her eye, then she glanced at the sailors before looking back to Daring. "We'll have to see."

"Great," Daring said, making a conscious effort to not display a reaction to that. "From Mt. Aris, we'll be sailing west, to Ancient Fleece."

"Why don't we just go there first?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Y'know, skip the war?"

Before Daring could answer that one, Twilight spoke up, "Because Ancient Fleece is not an actual place, Rainbow Dash."

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash looked honestly baffled. "Walk me through that one? Fleece is a country, right?"

Twilight nodded, "Yes, but Ancient Fleece was a great empire thousands of years ago, it covered several modern countries, including what we currently know as Fleece itself. If I'm understanding right, Daring's contact will be able to give us a much more accurate location to head to, whether it happens to be in Modern Fleece or not."

"That's right," Daring said, nodding. "Now, my contact will receive a message that we're on our way a few days before we get there, so depending on how things are at the moment, we might have to wait a little bit for the information, but knowing her, she'll probably want to be rid of us as quickly as possible."

"So friendly," Rainbow Dash muttered.

"She has a lot on her plate," Daring replied. "Don't take it personal. You'll understand when you meet her."

"So, once we know our destination, where are we going to resupply?" Alejandra asked, wings opening a little, betraying her interest in the matter at hand.

'This group is way too comfortable around war,' Daring thought. "Ideally there, but worst case scenario we can fly back to Klugetown and find something there. Unfortunately, this boat is not designed for open seas, and it would be too long a flight with all the extra equipment."

Alejandra nodded, and the others seemed to have understood her outline, so Daring smirked. "Alright. Adventure and treasure awaits! Come on!"

Dash's grin almost split her face. "Oh, yeah! This is going to be awesome! Come on, everypony!"

Daring watched the group jump in, waiting on the shore with Twilight. While the others were distracted getting organized, she glanced at the princess in her strange armor. "Are you ever going to tell me what's really going on?"

Twilight grimaced. "I will. But the less creatures know the whole extent of it, the better." She glared at Daring. "And don't you dare publish it in your book."

Daring chuckled. "We'll see, princess. I reserve the right to decide what goes and not."

Twilight shrugged. "I'll tell my mom to edit it out if it happens."

Daring blinked as Twilight took off to land in the ship. "Wait… your mom? Twilight Velvet's your mom!?" she called out, following her into the boat. "How come I never knew that?!"

"You never asked."


End Chapter 2