//------------------------------// // Chapter 53 (Daring Don't) // Story: Spike The Brony Dragon // by red4567 //------------------------------// There wasn’t much I could do for “Twilight Time.” All I did was avoid making a ton of nachos nopony would eat. I enjoyed that scene where Twilight ate a lot of burgers, though. That made me notice that Twilight was eating a lot more than usual. I wondered if it was because of some sort of alicorn metabolism or she was just getting really hungry these days. “Flight to the Finish” was the same story. As much as I wanted to chew out Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon out for making fun of Scootaloo’s disability, I couldn’t. I was already guilty for trying to frame them in “One Bad Apple,” so I did my best not to interfere with them anymore. At least Scootaloo got over it and the CMC still got to carry the Ponyville flag. The next episode to come up was “Daring Don’t.” In the show, Rainbow Dash is peeved that the next Daring Do book is delayed, so she and the other girls visit A.K. Yearling’s house only to discover she’s the real Daring Do. Then after she gets kidnapped, the girls save her. I couldn’t think of anything to change, but I did want to join them. The girls and I were having a party at the library. Pinkie considered it a “National Random Holiday Party Day.” We were all wearing different kinds of hats. I wore a brown fedora, which was fitting given the episode. Just like in the show, Rainbow Dash showed up. When she asked why she wasn’t invited, Applejack replied that she tried to, but Dashie was busy reading the last Daring Do book. “Yeah, well, in three months and twenty six more days, I'll be able to read the next one,” Rainbow Dash said. She then drank one of the cups of punch. “Oh, haven't you heard?” Twilight asked. “The release of the next book...” “Wait! Wait! Wait!” I said. “Let her finish her drink first.” Rainbow swallowed. “Why? What’s this about the next book?” “It...got pushed another two months,” Twilight replied.   “What?!” Rainbow dropped her empty cup. “Two more months?! I've been waiting so long already! I don't think I can take another two months! I'll never make it!” She then collapsed to the ground. “Yeah. I can vouch for that...” Fluttershy said. “See?” I picked up Rainbow’s cup. “I had a feeling she was going to do a spit take right before you told her the bad news, Twilight.” “Did they give a reason?” Rainbow asked. “The publisher just said author A.K. Yearling won't be able to finish the book for another two months.” “How could you possibly know that before me? I'm the series' biggest fan!” “Twilight was the reason you were introduced to the series, remember?” I asked. “Oh, right,” Rainbow sheepishly replied. “A.K. Yearling just might be my favorite author,” Twilight said. “I know everything about her. Where she grew up, where she studied literature, where she wrote the first Daring Do book...” “Where she lives?” Rainbow asked curiously. “No, though I could probably find out somehow. Why?” “Don't you get it?! The new book is obviously delayed because she needs help dealing with whatever everyday nonsense is distracting her from spending her every living breathing second writing! So I...I mean, fans like me, can get to read the new book ASAP!”  “Rainbow Dash, you have to remember that A.K. Yearling isn’t some book-making machine,” I said. “A lot of ponies can delay their work for important reasons. Maybe Yearling’s sick and can’t think straight. Maybe she ended a relationship with somepony and is trying to cope with the loss. Maybe she’s having a burnout and wants to take a break from writing for a while.” “Or maybe A.K. Yearling and Daring Do are the same pony and the reason why she’s delaying it is because she hasn’t finished her adventure yet!” Pinkie quickly suggested. We all stared at her. “What?” “Look, all I’m saying is that we help her out,” Rainbow said. “If she doesn’t want to help, then she can say no.” While the girls and I were reluctant, we decided to help her find Yearling’s house. We traveled to the northern part of Equestria to look for Yearling’s house. The trip itself was rather long, and it didn’t help that Pinkie kept stopping to paint a red line on the ground. After a few hours of walking, we ended up in a dense forest that could rival the Everfree Forest. “You see what I mean?” Twilight asked. “Why would she live in this remote part of Equestria except to keep folks from intruding on her privacy? We should respe—” Rainbow flew straight out of the bushes. “I think I spotted the house! We're super close! This way!” We quickly followed her to see a cottage that looked like it was caught in warzone. Furniture, books, and paper were spread around the yard. Some windows have shattered, and the front door was just hanging by a rusty hinge. “Apparently somepony has intruded on her privacy pretty hard already...” Rainbow said. Rainbow approached the front door. A light tap of her hoof was all it took for the hunk of wood to collapse to the floor. When we looked inside, the entire place was in no better shape. So much damaged furniture and parchments scattered the floor like a carpet of trash. We quickly looked around. “This place must’ve been ransacked!” I exclaimed. “I hope A.K. Yearling's alright!” Rarity stared at a broken mirror. “Oh no! What if something terrible happened to her?!” Twilight looked at some of the crumpled balls of paper. “I know! There might be no more books!” Rainbow then noticed Twilight’s unamused face. “Uh... but, of course, I'd be worried about her, too.” “What are you all doing here?” A voice asked. A pony with a maroon cape, red glasses, and a grey bonnet entered the house. Rainbow instantly recognized her as A.K. Yearling. The cute face she made in glee nearly made my heart stop. “We didn't do this! We swear!” Twilight said to Yearling. Yearling frantically looked around her home. She quickly grabbed the book Rainbow was standing on. After turning some dials on the spine and twisting the horseshoe imprint on the cover, Yearling opened the book safe to reveal a giant ring. Rainbow tried to convince the author to speed up her writing progress, but Twilight quickly stopped her and dragged her outside. The rest of us followed her. “A.K. Yearling has made it pretty clear that she wants to be left alone,” Twilight said to Rainbow Dash. “We need to respect her wishes!” “You should tell that to those guys.” Pinkie pointed to a bunch of stallions that just disappeared through one of the windows on the top floor. “Uh, oh. We gotta warn her,” I said. Twilight and Rainbow peeked through one of the lower windows. I followed suit. The stallions surrounded Yearling. She quickly threw her accessories at them, revealing who she really is. “A.K. Yearling is Daring Do!” Rainbow and Twilight shouted in unison. “Called it!” Pinkie shouted behind us. We watched as Daring Do and the others fought over the giant ring. “Shouldn’t we help her?” I asked. “It’s Daring Do,” Rainbow replied. “I’m...sure she can handle it.” Rainbow was instantly proven wrong. All the stallions gained the upper hand, and as a result, the ring was taken by their leader: Doctor Caballeron. Right after they left, the girls hurried inside to see Daring Do taking care of her hurt leg. “Are you okay?” Rainbow held out a hoof. Daring Do quickly smacked it away. “I got this!” “Um, she was just trying to help, Ms. Do,” Fluttershy said. “Daring Do doesn't need help. She handles her business herself.” Daring limped out of her house and flew after Dr. Caballeron’s group. “We've gotta go help!” Rainbow declared. “You heard her!” Twilight rebutted. “She says she works alone!” The two then argued about how important the ring was. To put it simply, the ring was very significant, and the world would be on fire without it. This was one of the few arguments where I somehow didn’t get angry. “We gotta help Daring Do retrieve the ring for safekeeping before it's too late!” Rainbow exclaimed. Twilight sighed. “Okay, but sounds to me like we're in way, way, way over our heads.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “This is no different from our usual villains.” “You haven’t read the books, have you, Spike? While neither Ahuizotl nor Cabelleron have the same magic strength compared to what we’ve encountered, that doesn’t mean we can defeat them the same way we defeated the others. We're going to need a carefully thought out plan...” Before Twilight could even think, Rainbow shot off into the sky to search for Daring Do. “I'm coming, Daring Do!” Dashie shouted. “That's not a plan!” Twilight yelled. “Come back!”  Sadly, her shouting fell on deaf ears. “Ugh! Come on, girls! We need to find Rainbow Dash.” Twilight galopped ahead. We quickly followed her. The sky was already getting dark. “I still can’t believe Daring Do is a real pony,” I said. “First those in myths and legends, and now fictional characters?” “No wonder her stories made her sound like she was actually there,” Twilight said. “Did you see how she brushed us off like that?” Pinkie asked. “You’d think Daring Do would be honored to see us. We used to save the world so much that some ponies would have recognized us.” “You’ve seen how recluse she was,” replied Rarity. “Perhaps she didn’t figure out that we were the Elements of Harmony yet.” “Also, saving the world is Daring Do’s job as well,” Twilight said. “Maybe she did recognize us, but she didn’t want our help.” “So it would be like if a pro tried to help another pro with something they’re both skilled at, right?” I asked. “Only to have the latter refuse.” “If ya ask me, it sounds like Daring Do is just like Rainbow Dash initially: not botherin’ to swallow her pride for the sake of acceptin’ help,” Applejack said. You’re one to talk. I still remember that “Applebuck Season” episode. “She kinda looks like her, too,” Pinkie said. “If you change her colors and cutie mark.” After all that running, we were out of breath. We couldn’t find Rainbow Dash nor the other ponies. “It’s getting too dark to see,” Twilight said. “We’ll have to return to the house and try again in the morning.” “Are you sure Daring would allow us to sleep there?” Fluttershy asked. “There’s no other choice. We can’t sleep out here, and it’s a long way to Ponyville. We’ll just make sure we leave anything untouched while we’re in there.” The girls and I returned to Daring’s home to sleep. The next morning, we hurried out bright and early to find Rainbow Dash. In no time flat, we found her sulking in a clearing. “Rainbow! Thank goodness you’re alright!” Rarity sighed. Twilight noticed the sad look on Dash’s face. “Quick, where does it hurt?” “In here.” Rainbow clutched her heart. “Daring Do and the ring have been captured by the dreaded Ahuizotl, and it's all my fault.” We all gasped. Rainbow wanted to give up and head home, but Twilight and the others convinced her otherwise. “It's fine to look up to Daring Do, but you've put her so high up on a pedestal, you can't even see your own worth anymore,” Twilight said. “She's in the fortress, and we're here, and we wouldn't be who we are if we didn't go in after her! And neither would you! So, are you with us, or not?” After a brief moment, Rainbow Dash agreed. She then told us where Ahuizotl took Daring Do. We quickly followed her. It didn’t take long for us to find a giant ancient fortress. I could almost hear voices coming from inside the temple. “Okay, so you girls and Spike try to find the rings while I save Daring Do,” Rainbow Dash commanded. “We’ll come help you once I help her get out of whatever trap Ahuizotl put her in.” “A-Aren’t there other boobytraps?” Fluttershy stuttered. “If what the books say is true, then they should be disabled. You should make it to the center in no time!” We climbed up the steps while Rainbow flew to the top. Once we entered the fortress, the sound of spears hitting the ground echoed throughout the stone halls. We followed the source until we came across a room full of tribal ponies. In the center of the room was a stack of gold rings. A giant, black and blue, canine-like creature stood behind it. It was Ahuizotl. “That’s quite a bundle of rings,” Rarity whispered. “We need to stop him,” Applejack said as she marched into the room. “Drop the ring, Ahui...whatever your name is!” Pinkie quickly sprung up and grabbed the ring. She then tossed it to Applejack. “Get it!” Ahuizotl shrieked. Applejack bucked the ring away, but a tribe pony tripped her with his spear. He then grabbed the ring and tossed it to Ahuizotl. Fluttershy quickly interfered and passed the ring to Twilight, who quickly teleported to the other side. “Spike! Catch!” Twilight shouted as she threw the ring with her magic. The second I quickly caught it, I made my own ring out of my fire breath. I quickly surrounded myself as the flames burned around me. The tribe ponies quickly backed away from the scorching inferno. “The ring is mine!” I declared boldly. “You should never take what belongs to a dragon!” I used my fire breath to heat up the ring. I was thankful I was fireproof, but I could still feel the heat through my thick scales. “Gimmie that!” Ahuizotl’s tail hand pierced through flames and grabbed the ring, but he paid the price of not seeing how hot it was. He gave a loud howl as he dropped the blazing ring like a hot frying pan. The ring glowed a bright red as it hissed on the stone floor. “Get some water! Get some water!” One of the tribe ponies shouted. “Hurry!” Suddenly, the fortress shook like an earthquake. I didn’t have to guess to know that Daring Do and Rainbow Dash took out the last ring, causing the temple to collapse. “Ponies! Run!” Rainbow shouted. “This place is going down!” The girls and I quickly ran out of the tumbling fortress. I evaded any falling debris as I made my escape. At least there’s not a giant boulder or wall of water chasing us! By the time we got out, the entire fortress was reduced to a giant pile of rubble. Daring and Dash quickly threw the last ring to the ground, shattering it. “Could never have done this without you, Rainbow Dash,” Daring said as she exchanged hugs with Rainbow Dash. “I've got a book to finish!” She then flew off into the sunset. That’s when she halted and turned back. “Oh, and before you ask: I know that my fourth book sounded like an exaggeration, but it’s all the truth, including the fridge chapter. Reality can be unrealistic sometimes.” Daring then flew away. While it was nice being on a Nathan Drake/Indiana Jones-like adventure, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Ahuizotl and his friends. Watching that “Daring Doubt” episode probably justified that. I had a feeling he was exaggerating about the 800 years of heat. “Alright, so how do we get back from here?” Rarity asked. “Follow the red line,” Pinkie said as she pointed to the line of paint that were behind some bushes. “What? You thought I painted all that for the sake of a map-traveling montage?”