//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4–Daring Don’t 
// Story: The Little Pony Legend: Tales of Equestria 
// by MaggiesHeartLove 
//------------------------------//


"Hello, everybody! So glad you could all make it back. I have to say that because (looks around to make sure no one is listening and points to above him) She's watching me. 



Anywho, on to our next tale.



Everypony knows Rainbow Dash as the fastest and most daring pony around. You'd think there was no other pony as tough and hard-core as she is, right?



Well, that is where you are wrong. Confused? Let me elaborate.



It was a warm sunny day in Equestria. Fluttershy was caring to her woodland friends when she received an unexpected visit from a very excitable pony.



And I don't mean Pinkie Pie.








(~)








Daring Don't





It was a bright day indeed. The sun was shining as brightly as young Fluttershy's butter-yellow coat. The sweet-hearted pegasus was on a tree branch, teaching young birdies to fly. Behind her was a drawing demonstration of flying for which she was using as a teaching method to the little ones. 

Accompanying her was a young girl, around ten to eleven years old with short brown hair, soft brown eyes, and wearing orange and yellow nomadic clothing. This was Jinora, an Airbender and good friend of Fluttershy, who was observing the pony instruct the birds from a second branch.

"Now, little ones, today is the first day of flying practice. Now, watch me." she opened up her wings and flapped them o so elegantly as to allow the hatchlings to keep up. "See? Not so bad. Now you try." 

The two birdies looked at one another with uncertainty. They were pretty nervous to try flying for the first time. But, with an encouraging smile from Fluttershy, the little ones opened up their wings and began to flap. In only a matter of seconds, they were hovering three feet above their nest.

"Wonderful job!" said the pegasus proudly. 

Jinora clapped her hands softly as to not frighten the small ones, "Wow, you really are great with animals Fluttershy."

Then, suddenly, she heard a familiar voice coming straight at her, followed by a rainbow-colored trail that billowed behind her as she approached Fluttershy.

"Four more months, four more months, four more months!" 

Jinora nearly tumbled off of the branch she was on when an excitable Rainbow Dash came zooming in, shoving Fluttershy away from the tree. The young Airbender hoists herself up with her airbending abilities.

"Rainbow Dash!"

"Oops, sorry Jinora. Didn't see you there."

"At the speed, you were going, I can see why. What's got you so excited anyway?"

"Why wouldn't I be? Right Fluttershy?"

The shy pegasus rubbed her leg in uncertainty, "I, uh, I could be excited. I don't know. I wasn't thinking—"

"Come on, you gotta be excited!"

"Oh, well, I guess maybe I'm a little kinda sort of excited."

"I thought so!"

"Yeah… So, um, why am I excited?"

Jinora rolled her eyes while Rainbow Dash explained the reason why she was so excited. "Because the next Daring Do book is coming out exactly four months from today! That's how exciting it is!" 

"Daring Do?" Jinora asked, "Isn't that the adventure book you lend to Korra?"

"The very one! Have ya read it yet? Pretty awesome right?"

"I've skimmed a few chapters. With Korra having read the entire thing five times I had a hard time trying to pry it away."

"I don't blame her, Daring Do is the most amazing, most epic, most unbelievably most awesome pony ever! Who knows what amazing, incredible, awesome adventure Daring Do will have in her next book." the pegasus began to fantasize about all of the epic adventures her imaginary hero would soon face.

"Will she at long last stalk the Fortress of Talicon? Only to be forced to contend with its dreaded and impenetrable arrow defense? And if so, could her skill, quick wits, and courage possibly carry the day? Or will her next adventure bring her face to face with the vast and horrible Ahuizotl himself?! Would she cower, turn tail and run? Or would she fly at him, full bore, knowing full well against all odds that the greatest challenge she ever faced was still surely no match for—"

"Look out!"

In all of her excitement, Rainbow Dash collided into the tree where Fluttershy stood, landing on the next. She was in a daze while the two little birds from before comically flew around her head. 

"Oh, I'm not so sure she's gonna last another four months…" said Jinora to Fluttershy, who nodded in agreement.


(~)


Rainbow Dash hopped and flipped her way to Twilight's library house. The first month had already passed, oh too slowly to her liking, but she only had three more months to go. 

"Three months and twenty-six days, three months and twenty-six days, three months and twenty-six days!" she arched her friend's house and walked in, "Heya, Twilight! Aren't you excited that—" she was interrupted when Pinkie Pie blew a party horn while hanging from the ceiling. 

All of her friends, including Mako, Korra, Bolin, even Asami were gathered at the library having a little party. Everyone was wearing some form of a hat. Pinkie Pie wore a fez, Fluttershy a purple top-hat with flowers, Twilight had a party hat and Rarity wore a plastic pink tiara, as did Asami, but her's was violet and had flowers rather than hearts. Korra and Mako wore party hats while Bolin also wore a fez, colored green, and Pabu wore a matching one, and Applejack wore a big red hat with white apples imprinted on it.

"So glad you've finally made it!" said Twilight as she levitated a cup of fruit punch. Her horn was covered by her hat, so it glowed along with her magic. Since the hat was made of paper her magic could easily work with it over her horn.

"What's everybody doing here?" asked the blue pegasus curiously. 

"We're having a holiday party!" said Pinkie Pie, right before flowing her party horn again in Rainbow's face, which contained little confetti within it.

"So what holiday would today be?" Rainbow asked.

"National Random Holiday Party Day! Woo-hoo!"

Rarity approached her friend, taking a sip from her cup, "I've never heard of it either. But the punch is quite tasty."

"You might say the secret ingredient is…" Pinkie Pie leaned in closer to Rainbow and whispered loudly, "a secret!"

"How come nopony bothered to invite me?" Rainbow asked in surprise.

"I came to invite you personally," Korra said as she placed a party hat on Rainbow's head, "but you were too busy reading the last Daring Do book for the twelfth time."

"Well, can ya blame me? Besides, haven't you read the one I gave you five times already?"

"How can I not?" Korra replied excitedly, "I'll never forget the way Daring Do swung from one end of the cliff to the other, and all with a broken wing! Man, that took guts!"

The fire bender, Mako also showed his enthusiasm for the series, "Or at that part where Daring cleverly figured out the riddle to the puzzle inside that ancient pyramid. I thought she'd never make it out!"

"Or how about when she escaped the pool of lava?"

"And when she faced Ahuizotl in that epic showdown to get the Sapphire Statue!"

"And when she tackled that griffon with her front hooves to get the Goblet!"

"And crafting a getaway boat with nothing but bamboo and a compass!"

The two teens were so wrapped up in their fan-raging that they didn't notice the many eyes looking at them oddly. Even Asami was rather surprised by this. Korra and Mako cleared their throats, trying to regain their composure.

"Yeah, well…okay."

Rainbow Dash wrapped her hooves around their shoulders, "Well, in three months and twenty-six more days, we'll be able to read the next book."

"I think that calls for a toast." Korra picked up her cup as Mako and Rainbow piked theirs and made their toast to reading the next in the Daring Do series. However, Twilight had some news for them.

"Oh, haven't you heard? The release of the next book got pushed another two months."

The three friends immediately spit out their punch in shock. "Two more months?!" 

"But, I've been waiting so long already!" said Rainbow Dash while trembling, "I don't think I can take another two months! I'll never make it!" the poor pegasus nearly passed out, only to have both Mako and Korra catch her in their arms.

"Yeah. I can vouch for that…" said Fluttershy, and Asami nodded in agreement.

"Did they give a reason?" Asami asked, curious as well even though she had yet to read the series but was concerned about her friend's depressed reaction.

"The publisher just said author A.K. Yearling won't be able to finish the book for another two months." said Twilight before levitating a tray, "Cupcakes?"

Pinkie Pie immediately took a bite.

Rainbow Dash growled when she came back to, now landing on the floor facing Twilight, "How could you possibly know that before me? I'm the series' biggest fan!"

"I'm just as big a fan as you! I'm the one who first introduced you to the books, remember?"

"And you guys introduced them to us," said Mako.

"And, we were hooked." said Korra, "A.K Yearling is an amazing adventure writer."

"I know, she just might be my favorite author." said Twilight, "I know everything about her. Where she grew up, where she studied literature, where she wrote the first Daring Do book…"

Then, Rainbow gained an idea, "Where she lives?"

"Uh… 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!" 

Asami stepped forward, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there Rainbow. Don't you think you're being a little overly dramatic?"

"Yeah, that's usually Rarity's territory," said Mako…only to receive a kick in the leg, courtesy of the said white unicorn. "Ow!"

Korra squatted down to Rainbow's level, "Besides, waiting for the next book isn't that bad."

"Easy for you to say!" said Rainbow Dash, "You've only just found out about the books, I wouldn't expect you to be die-hard fans just yet." she placed her hooves on both sides of Korra's face. "But I am! I– I mean, fans like me, need to read the new book ASAP!" she released Korra's face and the Avatar rubbed her cheeks while narrowing her eyes in annoyance. "Think about it! We could help her with her laundry, buy her groceries, cooking her meals, whatever! Now, who wouldn't appreciate that?"

Twilight pondered, "Hmm, I don't know... What she probably wants most of all is respect for her privacy."

"I agree with Twilight." said Mako, "I know I wouldn't want somebody to just randomly barge into my house."

"She can always just say no," said Rainbow, wrapping her hoof around his shoulder and looked on at everypony else, who looked at one another in uncertainty before nodding in agreement.

"I still think it's not a wise idea." said the fire bender.

"I agree." Korra stated, "Tenzin is always nagging to me about patience, maybe this would be a good thing." All eyes fell on Korra, looking on as if she had lost her mind. "I know, that doesn't sound like me at all." she crossed her arms, "But I still stand by giving her privacy."

While Korra was no stranger to interrogating or barging into action, if somebody had done nothing to offend anybody or did a crime then she saw nothing wrong with leaving them be and do their own thing. 

"Korra's right," said Mako.

But Rainbow Dash, much like the Avatar, was very persistent, "Aw, come on! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese?" then, Rainbow resulted in using her most powerful weapon of all….

The Puppy Eyes!

Korra and Mako immediately shielded their eyes, trying their hardest to fight the overwhelming cuteness.

"Oh no! Not the puppy eyes!" Korra begged, shielding her eyes.

"Anything but the puppy eyes!" Mako exclaimed.

But it was no use, Rainbow's big sad shimmering rose-colored eyes were far too much for our young heroes to resist any longer. Their walls were tumbling, their defenses breaking down. It was over.

"Okay! Okay!!"

Rainbow flipped in the air in victory, "Yes! Come on, let's go find Yearling!" she zipped right out the door, creating a gust of wind, only to pop her head from the door again, "So… how's about getting that address?"


(~)


The Mane Six and Team Avatar traveled across Equestria, following an old yellow-colored map to seek out A.K Yearling. They took Naga to make the trip a tad easier. 

"Are we there yet?" Bolin asked as the places where they had been marked red on the map. "How about now? Now? Okay, how about now? Are we there now?"

"Yes!" Twilight finally said, her and the rest having already grown tired of Bolin's constant asking. "At last Bolin, we are finally here." 

Naga made her way through a jungle forest while Pinkie Pie, standing from her tail, painted the trail they had walked on in red paint. Korra looked around the area, amazed to find that the author of her growing favorite book lived in such an isolated area.

"You see what I mean?" Mako said, he sat behind Korra, followed by Bolin and then Asami, "Why would she live in this remote part of Equestria except to keep folks from intruding on her privacy? We should respect—"

"I think I spotted the house!" Rainbow interrupted, "We're super close! This way!"

Korra told Naga to go forward until they reached the house of A.K. Yearling. However, this was not what they had expected to see. 

"Oh no. What happened?" Twilight said in shock as she and the others jumped off of Naga.

The house was a small cottage with stone walls and wooden windows. The house was made of hey, covering the top in a fuzzy yellow blanket. Pieces of the door and windows had been yanked right off, with books, furniture, house cleaning items, even pieces of wood were scattered outside, looking as if somebody had ransacked the place.

"Apparently somepony has intruded on her privacy pretty hard already…" Rainbow was in equal shock. Who could have done this to her favorite author?

"Looks like we came at the right time," said Korra before taking the first step forward, only to have Mako try and stop her. 

"Korra, be careful. We don't know who did this."

"Whoever it is, we can handle it."

The rest of the group followed the Avatar while the firebender groaned and facepalmed himself, "This won't end well." he hesitantly followed as well.

Korra slowly tapped her index finger on the already nearly ripped-off door, but even that was enough for it to fall to the floor entirely. She squatted down and peeked inside the door, while the otter's ponies all peaked inside as well.

The inside was worse than the outside. Endless pages of books were scattered or ripped apart, pictured were either broken or crooked and furniture had been smashed or turned over. The Mane Six entered, followed by the humans, who needed to squad a bit when they came through the door. Asami had hit her forehead when she did. Mako extended his hand to help her, which she took before quickly dismissing it. The fire bender lowered his shoulders, things between them were still a little tense.

"Hoo-wee, somepony really trashed this place," said Applejack.

Pinkie Pie inspected the ruin, "Hmm… Maybe... or maybe A.K. Yearling's just a terrible, horrible, unbelievable slob!" she said by placing a frying pan on her head, sledding down the stairs with a carpet behind her like a cape and tossing more books into the air. 

Rarity approached a cracked mirror, "I hope A.K. Yearling's alright!" she said with sincere concern. 

"Oh no! What if something terrible happened to her?" Bolin said in fear and Rainbow Dash appeared from underneath a pile of garbage, looking around franticly. 

"I know! There might be no more books!" she received some stern looks from Twilight, Mako, Korra, and even Asami, "Uh… But, of course, I'd be worried about her, too. Heh."

Mako decided that the wisest thing to do would investigate, "Whatever happened here, maybe the culprits left a clue somewhere."

"How is anyone suppose to find anything in all of this?" Korra asked as she picked up some crumpled paper and unfolded them. Suddenly, she noticed something peculiar. "Hey, look at this."

She showed Mako the piece of crumpled paper and his eyes widened and read the words out loud, "The Rings of Scorchero?"

However, this detective search would have to be placed on hold.

"What are you all doing here?"

Everyone jerked up when they heard a voice coming from the entrance. It was a female pony with tan colored coat and grey hair covered in a grey hat with a white ribbon and bow. She wore a long dark purple cap around her body and large red glasses over her rosy red eyes. Rainbow Dash was now speechless.

"Uh… A... K-K... Yearling…?" she squeed with delight upon seeing her. Even Korra was amazed as she gripped Mako's arm.

"Wow…that's her…it's her," she remembered the situation they were in and tried to explain. "Uh, we didn't do this! We swear!"

A.K. Yearling entered her now destroyed home, looking up at the two-legged creatures, "What are you?" she asked. 

Before Korra or Mako could explain, Bolin stepped forward, "Hi, Ms. Yearling. Let me just say what an honor it is to meet you. I haven't read your books just yet but I hear they're amazing. My name's Bolin, that's my brother Mako, Avatar Korra, and Asami Sato. We're humans from Republic City. Don't worry, we're friendly, honest."

The mysterious pony simply arched an eyebrow while the other facepalmed themselves in embarrassment.  

"What have you done to my house?" she asked as she approached a carpet.

"We didn't do this, Ms. Yearling," said Applejack right before Yearling pulled the carpet from under her, "— whoa!"

The tan pony ignored her visitors, even the strange creatures, for which she would deal with later as she looked around her home, visibly searching for something.

"We're awfully glad to see you're alright," said Twilight.

Rainbow Dash was looking through some papers on the floor, noticing that they looked similar to the crumpled piece of paper Korra and Mako had found. Realizing Yearling was staring at her, she whistled and tried to act casual. Yearling approached another pile of books, still looking for something. 

"Okay, clearly this isn't the best time," Rainbow began, "but I've just gotta say how much we all love your books…" suddenly, the tanned pony dawned an irritable look on her face and leaped forward, kicking Mako in the gut, causing him to be thrown backward and land on the floor as a nearly broken shelf on the wall tilted and a book landed open on his head. 

"Mako!" Korra and Asami rushed to his aid. The Avatar scorned the pony, "What's your problem?!"

"Where is it!" she demanded to know, "What have you done with it?!"

"We don't know what you're talking about! We said we didn't do this!" Korra then caught something at the corner of her eye. Buried underneath a pile of trash was a dark crimson book with golden edges. Something about it caught her attention immediately, almost as if something powerful was inside of it. She instinctively grabbed it and then tossed it to the pony.

"Is this what you're looking for?"

The pony smiled with glee when the book reached her hooves. She began turning the three golden corners of the book, almost like she was loosening a lock. She placed her hoof on the circle with a golden horseshoe and turned it like a door nob. The three gold rings unlocked and the book opened, revealing it was not an actual book but a secret box. Once it opened a golden ring-like object emerged. Yearling sighed in relief as she placed it into her clock.

"It's safe."

Korra and Mako were amazed, the ring looked identical to the picture they had found. What was this famous author hiding? 

Rainbow Dash decided now was a good time for her to ask Yearling what she wanted to ask, "Great! Maybe now would be a good time for me to ask you how we can help move the new book along a little faster. Chop chop!" she shoved the typewriter towards her, making Yearling scowl at her.  

"Rainbow Dash, a minute please!" Twilight Sparkle used her magic to levitate the impatient pony outside to speak privately. 

The two girls assisted the firebender up but Yearling stood before them, "You didn't come to steal what was mine?"

"No!" Korra stated, "Look, we only came because our friend really wanted the next book of Daring Do. We came to your house, it was wrecked, end of the story."

"You're…telling the truth?"

"Yes!"

The pony pondered, these creatures were unlike anything she had ever seen, but she learned from past experiences to no longer be fazed by new species. She could see that they meant no harm especially with the sincerity that was seen in this human's eyes.

"Alright. Now leave."

Korra scoffed, "Gladly." she and the rest of her friends exited the cottage, and Asami hit her head again against the entrance.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Mako dusted himself while Korra was still steamed by the pony's rude behavior, "Maybe coming here was a bad idea." she said and inspected her firebender, "You okay?"

"Yeah. I guess Yearling's been reading too much of her own work. That move looked like something Daring would have done."

"I know. Also, what was up with that ring? Something's definitely up."

"Sure you're not just overreacting?" Asami asked, "Maybe she's just really possessive. A.K. Yearling has made it pretty clear that she wants to be left alone."

"Exactly!" Twilight agreed as she schooled Rainbow Dash, "We need to respect her wishes."

"You should tell that to those guys." Pinkie Pie pointed towards the window roof of the cottage, where they saw a mysterious trio of male ponies enter Yearling's home.

"What the heck?" Korra asked, "Who are they?"

"Maybe more obsessed fans?" Bolin suggested, though very uncertainly. 

Korra attempted to walk in again but was stopped by Mako, "Hold on. The last thing we need is her getting angrier."

"Well, what do we do about those guys?"

Mako gestured to the others to follow him and they all squatted down, peeking through the window to see if these ponies were a true threat or not. 

Yearling was adjusting the broken mirror when the three ponies appeared in the reflection. The pony turns around to face them. One of the ponies was white with sunglasses and dark hair and tail, the other was tan with brown hair and tail and a red scarf around his neck with a top hat and sported a five-o-clock shadow. The third looked older and bulkier with a grey coat and orange mane and tail with sideburns of the same color, wearing a tan vest.

But before they could attack, Yearling tossed her clock at the tan pony, her hat at the grey pony's face, and her glasses at the white one. Her grey mane now fell over her neck, adorned with paler and darker grey streaks. The same streaks were on her tail. She had a pair of pegasus wings, one holding the golden ring, a green explore's shirt and an explores's hat. Twilight, Rainbow, Korra, and Mako gasped in baffled shock at the sight before their eyes, and exclaimed in unison;

"A.K. Yearling is Daring Do!"

They could not believe it! The fictional hero from the stories they adorned was standing right before them. And she was the actual author as well! Korra didn't know what to think, any anger she felt towards the pony had faded, being replaced with both amazement, confusion and…well, giddiness. 

Mako was also unsure about this. He had come to love the Daring Do books almost as much as Korra and Rainbow did, but seeing that character before his eyes, he didn't know what to say or think. He honestly thought the books were fictional as well, finding it interesting that ponies still had their own brand of mythology.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash were giddy with excitement. Their favorite heroine, in the fur before their eyes.

"A.K. Yearling and Daring Do are one and the same!" Twilight said, placing her hooves on her cheeks, smiling with glee, "My mind is officially blown!"

"While I think my mind just exploaded." said Mako, while still surprised, was just as exited about this as well. Even he had a certain liking towards adventure. 

Korra was now completely overjoyed with seeing such an amazing hero in front of her. "OhMyGoshOhMyGoshOhMyGoshOhMyGosh!" she repeated Rainbow's signature phrase. 

"Aw, come on, I knew it all along." Rainbow said, earning eye rolls from the three.

The entire group watched as the actual Daring Do, while holding the ring in her mouth, fought the other ponies. The grey one jumped at her, trying to take the ring away with his own mouth, but Daring Do kicked him with her leg, causing him to be tossed back. While the others gave their commentary from outside as if they were watching a show.

Applejack; "Amazing!"

The white pony pulled on Daring Do's tail, only to be kicked back as well.

Rarity; "Incredible!"

Daring Do stood her ground as the two ponies jumped at her, but she easily bucked them off of her before the four engaged in an all out brawl, the ring being tossed out of Daring's gasp and was tossed up, spinning in the ceiling lamp and tossed into the fireplace.

Bolin; "Wow!"

The three approached the fire, hesitant to take it from the flames. Daring, using her mouth, unleashed a lasso to take the ring from the fireplace. The ring, now red from the heat, made contact with a vase of liquid which fell on it, causing the heat to diminish.

Pinkie Pie; "Wow! So much action! Whee!"

Daring flew over to the other side of the room, using a chair to keep the other ponies at bey.

Korra; "A chair? Seriously?

Rainbow Dash; "Daring Do!"

In her excitement, Rainbow called out her hero's name, distracting her and allowing the three ponies to jump on her, causing her to loose her grip on the ring.  The golden object fell to the floor and another pony entered the house. It was a dark skinned pony, also with a five-o-clock shadow but with sleek, suave looking dark grey hair, wearing a white tan shirt and a golden skull for a cutie mark. He took the ring in his hoof and spoke in a Spanish accent.

"Many thanks, Daring Do. As you've probably surmised, our earlier search for this treasure was... unsuccessful. So kind of you to find it for us."

Daring grunted as she attempted to fight once more, but her leg was wounded so she fell, "Give it back, Caballeron!"

"That's Doctor Caballeron to you."

Rainbow whispered to Mako,  "He's from book four: Daring Do and the Razor of Dreams." 

"I know," he said, "He wanted to partner with Daring Do on her adventures, but she refused."

"I still can't believe it!" Twilight said with glee, equal to Rainbow, "The real Daring Do and the real Caballeron!"

"Wait, if they're real, that means all of the other books were real too." Korra stated, "Even Ahuizotl! This. Is. Too cool!" 

Daring wobbled as she struggled to stand up, "So let me guess: Ahuizotl has put you up to this?" 

Korra; "Knew it!"

"You're stealing the ring to give to him so his hold on the Fortress of Talicon will be good for eight centuries as foretold by prophecy!"

"Close, but... no." said Caballeron, "I'm going to sell this to him, make a bundle, and retire from archaeology in splendor."

Daring Do tried to take the ring away from her enemy, but was held back by his henchponies. "Caballeron, you fool! You're dooming the valley to eight centuries of unrelenting heat!"

"To market, henchponies!" at his command, the lackeys released a wounded Daring Do, leaving the place with the ring. The pegasus struggled to stand. 

But while Caballeron and his ponies galloped away, they were suddenly stopped by four tall creatures, looking down at them in disapproval while the female one with blue eye pounded her fists together.

"Haven't you heard? It's not nice to steal." 


(~) 


Rainbow Dash rushed towards her fallen hero, who was bandaging her wounded leg. "Are you okay?"

But Daring simply shoved Rainbow's hoof away, "I got this."

"Um, she was just trying to help, Ms. Do." said Fluttershy.

"Daring Do doesn't need help." said the pegasus, placing her hat and walking away from the ponies, "She handles her business herself." she stopped on her tracks when Korra, Mako, Bolin and Asami appeared before her. Korra pulled out the golden ring.

"You sure about that."

"The ring! How did you--"

"Four tall humans against four shorter ponies. You do the math." Korra smiled smugly. However, instead of a thank you, Daring simply flew up and took the ring away from them. "What? No thank you?"

"You shouldn't have interfered in the first place." Daring said firmly as she placed the ring on the floor.

"If we hadn't those guys would be half way to Ahuizotl by now!"

"Why was he after the ring anyway?" Asami asked.

"Book 3." Mako said.

Asami arched an eyebrow, "Come again?"

"In book 3 Ahuizotl sought control of the Tenochtitlan Basin." he explained.

Korra explained next, "But in book four, she defeated Ahuizotl and secured control of the Amulet of Atonement, dispelling the dark magic of the Ketztwctl Empress, and thus protecting the basin with the Radiant Shield of Razdon."

Rainbow explained next, "But the Radiant Shield of Razdon is vulnerable to the dark enchantment of the Rings of Scorchero!"

Twilight continued next, "But the Rings were scattered to the four corners of Tenochtitlan, thus rendering the dark enchantment powerless"

Rainbow continued, "Only if you assume that the Rings have yet to be retrieved, and the ring Caballeron tried to steal isn't the last to completely restore the dark tower and its cruel hold on Tenochtitlan!" 

"Nerds!" Bolin exclaimed, earning annoyed glances from the four fans. 

"The point is, if Ahuizotl gets a hold of all of those rings, this valley is doomed to suffer a thousand years of unbearable heat." Mako stated.

"Didn't Daring already say that?" Asami asked, "And she has one of the rings, so that's a good thing, right?"

"But it's not enough." said Daring, "This ring isn't like the others. It's also used a locator to find the rest. Ahuizotl wants it to find the actual last ring in order to fulfill his dark wish. That's why I need it, to find the last ring before he does."

"Maybe we can help." Korra said eagerly, "If we work together we can retrieve all the rings."

"That's a great idea!" said Rainbow Dash, "This is so amazing! Working side by side with Daring Do!" *sqee!*

"No!" Daring exclaimed, "I don't need any of your help. I work alone."

"But--" 

Before she could say another word, Daring Do was already off, flying up into the sky to continue her journey, with the locator ring with her. But Rainbow Dash refused to give up.

"We've gotta go help!"

"You heard her!" said Twilight, "She says she works alone!"

"How can we just stand by and do nothing? You know what's at stake here!"

"You gotta admit, Rainbow Dash makes a pretty good point." said Pinkie Pie.

"We gotta help Daring Do retrieve the rings before it's too late!"

Twilight was still uncertain about this. "I don't know." 

Mako and Korra both led Twilight a few feet away from the others and the teens squatted down to her level in an attempt to reason with her. "Twily, I know this hasn't turned out like we expected, but there are worse things than helping a pegasus adventure pony in saving a valley from a weird blue dog thing."

"Besides, we've all seen how Daring handled those guys by herself." said Mako, "She's gonna need all the help she can get."

Twilight pondered on this for a moment, "Are you guys saying this because it's the right thing, or because you both really want to go."

Korra placed her hand together, pleadingly. "I really, really, really want to go."

"And it's the right thing." Mako added. Though, he also really wanted to go just as much as Korra did.

Twilight sighed in defeat, "Okay, but we're going to need a carefully thought out plan…"

"I'm coming, Daring Do!" Rainbow Dash was already off in search of her hero.

"That's not a plan!" 


(~)


Rainbow Dash flew over the vast forest, looking for any signs of the tan colored pegasus pony. "Come on, come on, come on... " She stop in mid-flight when she spotted Daring down bellow and speeded downwards to reach her, "Bingo! Here I come, Daring Do! To join an adventure with the greatest, bravest, coolest, most incredible hero I could ever– " she stopped once more, whimpering in hesitation, "Okay, maybe I just need a sec…" 

She flew down and landed where she last saw Daring, trying her best to ease her anxiety, galloping along, "Just another adventure. No big deal." she then smacked herself, "Get a grip! I got this. I'm not just the fastest flyer in Ponyville, but I'm a top notch firbender pony. Yeah, I'll just show her my firebending skills, she'll like that, right?" 

She stopped once more and backed up a few spaces, "Though, doing it alongside Daring Do... Wow! Maybe I could get my picture taken with her, or an autograph–" she smacked herself again, "There you go again. She's just a pony like any other pony. A pony who stops entire armies of bad guys with nothing more than her bare hooves, and an attitude, and—!" she smacked herself once last time, her cheek turning red this time around, "Ow… That's starting to hurt."

Rainbow's vision became dark once Daring ambushed her with her hat over her face. The two tumbled across the forest floor and Rainbow removed the hat from her face. 

"Yow! Stop!"

"Oh, it's just you." Daring said, disinterested as she placed her hat back on and prepared to leave.

"Wait, don't go!" Rainbow felt her cheek flush from embarrassment at the scornful look Daring gave her before walking away. "Think fast." Rainbow said to herself, "This is your big chance to impress her with your quick wit and courage." 

Daring took the book which contained the ring. The book itself emitted a glow from within, as Daring used it to find the location of the final ring. When suddenly, Rainbow Dash peeked up from behind a bush, once again, acting like a fan-girl. 

"I am suuuuuch a huge fan." she said, laughing nervously. Daring simply sighed in boredom before walking away. Only to be stopped again by Rainbow.

"Wait, wait, wait! Let me show you what I can do. Okay, stand back."

Daring rolled her eyes but decided to humor her this one time. However, her eyes widened when she saw what the pegasus did. She couldn't believe it, this crazy fan-girl pony created a flame from her hoof.

"How did you do that?"

"Something my friends Korra and Mako taught me." she hurled the fire blast, which hit a branch, causing it to break and fall, right above Daring. She quickly jumped out of the way in the last minute when the now partly burned branch laid on the ground. Rainbow blushed in embarrassment.

"He, he, sorry. Guess my aim's a bit off today." As impressive as that was, Daring had more important things to do. She rolled her eyes and walked off, once again being stopped by Rainbow Dash.

"Pleas, let me help you!" she dusted Daring's shirt and hat, "I promise I could be a huge, huge help if you just give me a chance."

Daring Do stared daggers at the pony,  "I. Work. Alone." with that, she walked off again.

"But why won't you let me team up with you just this once?!"

"My work always involves secrets. And since you never know who you can trust, it's best never to trust anypony."

"But just because you can't trust some, doesn't mean nopony can be trusted!"

"Look, I don't have time to argue-"

"Neither do I. Let's go!"

Rainbow took the lead and flew off at top speed. Daring sighed in annoyance, "Can't believe I'm even talking to her…"


(~)


Night had finally fallen and the two pegasus ponies followed the intensifying glow of the ring within the book. Rainbow tried her best to keep silence, but every now and again she would bombard her hero with questions, for which she would either ignore of bluntly answer quickly just to get her to shut up. At this point, now Rainbow was sharing with Daring her own story about how she and the Mane Six, plus Team Avatar defeated Amon and saved Republic City.

"So, then Korra unlocked her airbending and--swoosh!--tossed Amon right out the window and into the water! He started waterbending and that's when everyone found out he was a fraud."

Daring had to admit, the tale was pretty fascination. "Wow. That's pretty impressive."

"Maybe you can write about it some time! That would be so cool if--" Rainbow was interrupted when Daring covered her mouth and told her to squat down. The book of hers glowed brighter and she pushed the bushes back further. She found what appeared to be some kind of stone tablet with aztec writing on it as well as a circular formation on it.

"This is it."

She opened up the book that contained the locator key and placed it on the circular area. It glowed and the stone tablet began to slide open, revealing the final ring that Daring and her arch enemy had been searching for. Rainbow's eyes shimmered with glee.

"Wow! We found it!" she slid back at seeing Darings scornful look. "I mean, you--you found it, he, he."

"Well done, Daring Do."

The two pegasus ponies gasped once they spotted Caballeron and his henchponies…all covered in bandages. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but laugh. 

"Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha!"

"It's not funny!"

"Man, Korra and the crew sure did a number on you, didn't they?" she regained her composure and got ready to fight them, alongside Daring Do. "What ya gonna do now, hu?"

"Oh, we are not going to fight."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake and the tress rustled and a gigantic blue creature emerged, his large mouth wide open, unleashing a roar that shook the very ground they stood upon. The creature possessed an elongated dog-like  head, except for his eyes, which were positioned over his nose at the end of his snout. He walked on all fours and had dog-like limbs and ape-like forelimbs, a long monkey-like tail with a hand on its end. His coat was dark blue with a lighter blue stomach, lower jaw and limbs. He wore golden jewelry around his neck, a single earring, three bracelets and one around his tail's wrist. He was Daring Do's arch enemy.

"Ahuizotl!"

The blue dog-creature laughed in victory, "Well done, Caballeron. You've made up for your previous mistake."

"You followed us?!" Daring asked in shock.

"More like, we followed them."

Rainbow's eyes widened in shock as fear consumed her heart. Ahuizotl had, wrapped in his tails grasp, the entire Team Avatar while the henchponies had the Mane Six tied up and gagged. Both Rarity and Twilight had metal-like tubes on their horns, keeping them from using their magic. Team Avatar struggled in the monster's grip but he just held them tighter. Naga was tied up and gagged with a muzzle.

"The ring, Daring Do! Give it to me!" Ahuizotl pounded his fist onto the ground in anger, but Daring jumped away, placing the ring around her neck.

"Now, Ahuizotl, you know I love you, but I can't give you the ring 'til I've properly proposed." she joked, making Team Avatar share skeptical looks.

"Those are some strange final words." said Bolin, before the monster holding them waved his tail around.

"Interesting, because my friends here have a proposal of their own." she snapped his fingers and four more creatures appeared from behind them. They were all feline in origin. A tiger, a cougar, a cheetah, a panther, and…a little white cat with a very bad temper.

While Daring backed away from the cats, Rainbow unleashed a fireblast at Ahuizotl. 

"Let my friends go right now!"

The dog creature smirked and complied, "If you insist." with all of his might he lunged the four teens at Rainbow Dash. They collided and landed hard on the ground. Korra and Mako ended up unconscious while Bolin and Asami were still awake, along with Rainbow Dash. 

Bolin got up and earthbended at Ahuizotl, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground. His cat minions eased up on Daring Do, but this pony was ready for anything.

"Bring it!"

The panther lunged forward, only to receive a powerful punch from Daring's front hoof. The Tiger came at her, but she jumped up and landed on his head before performing a flying air kick at the cheetah and the cougar attacked her.

Asami untied the rest of the Mane Six, who spotted Caballeron and his minions escaping. Applejack quickly earthbended a rock prison for them all, keeping them at bey. 

Korra and Mako groaned as they tried to stand up, Rainbow rushed to their aid. "You guys okay?"

"We're fine." Korra assured, "Are you?"

"Yeah." she then spotted Daring Do fighting the cats by herself. 

The pegasus kicked and punched while Bolin and the rest of the Mane Six fought Ahuizotl. Korra leaped up and kicked the creature straight in the face, causing him to land hard on a rock. Korra rubbed her fists together as Rainbow Dash rushed over to help Daring Do. Ahuizotl was done playing games, it was time to pull out the big guns. While she wasn't looking, Ahuizotl's tail-hand grabbed Rainbow Dash's tail and he held her close. Daring and Korra attempted to save her, but were stopped when he took out a pocket knife, which he had grabbed from Caballeron's pocket.

"One more move, and your friend here looses her head!"

Rainbow struggled in his grip, Daring and Korra hesitated. There was no way the Avatar was going to let her friend get hurt, and Daring…she honestly couldn't allow an innocent pony suffer. But before she could make a choice, the cats jumped up on the two, while the others maintained their position, in fear Ahuizotl might hurt Rainbow Dash. The cats had tied up Daring and Ahuizotl released Rainbow Dash by tossing her to Korra, who caught her in her arms.

"Pleasure doing business with you all." 

"Don't worry, Daring Do! I'll come help you!" Rainbow said, right before Ahuizotl whipped the two away with a swing of his powerful tail, which could grow longer at his will, and did the same to the others. They landed hard on the ground.

"Don't bother!" Daring said as the cast carried her away, and Ahuizotl now had the final ring. "I'd say you've already helped plenty."

The poor pony watched in despair as her hero was taken away.


(~)


It didn't take long for the sun to rise up. The crew rode on Naga the whole night, trying to find the location of the temple where Ahuizotl took Daring Do. They had Caballeron and his henchponies lead the way, while Naga growled at them and their necks were all linked by a rope, held by Korra.

"How much longer to the temple?" The Avatar asked. When the male pony did not answer, she yank don the rope.

"Alright! It's just a few miles up ahead. We should be there in about an hour."

"You better be telling the truth Caballeron. You wouldn't want to be my polar-bear dog's midday snack, now would you?"

Naga growled at the pony who began to sweat and gulp in fear, "Um, message received, Señorita Korra."

But while everyone was focused on the task at hand, Rainbow Dash was depressed. She felt so guilty for having allowed Daring to get captured. If she had seen Ahuizotl's tail she wouldn't have gotten captured. 

"Rainbow Dash, you okay?" Asami asked with concern.

"No. Daring Do and the ring have been captured by the dreaded Ahuizotl, and it's all my fault."

"It wasn't your fault, Dash." Korra said compassionately, "Ahuizotl got the best of all of us. But we will stop him and save Daring."

"Whatever. Let's just go home." 

To everyone's surprise, Rainbow began to walk away in the opposite direction, forcing Korra to stop Naga in her tracks. 

"We can't go back now!" said Applejack, "Looks a mite like she needs our help more than ever!"

"Trying to help is how I got in this mess in the first place. If I had seen Ahuizotl's tail or if I hadn't been so desperate to get my hooves on the new book…" she sighed and turned away, "You guys were right. We should've stayed out of this."

Twilight, Mako and Korra looked at one another and then back at Rainbow Dash. They were the ones who said it was best to leave Daring, or A.K. Yearling as they thought previously, alone. But now they knew they couldn't abandon her. Twilight walked up to Rainbow in an attempt to lift up her spirits.

"Look, there is more going on here than meets the eye. In every Daring Do book, there always is! We can't turn our backs on her!"

"She doesn't want my help, Twilight."

"Perhaps. But she might need it anyway."

"No. My hero's way better off without me."

The rest of the team approached her too, while Naga kept a watchful eye on the henchponies. 

"This don't sound like you." said Applejack.

Pinkie Pie jumped up and hugged Rainbow's neck, "Where's the Rainbow Dash who would help anypony at the drop of a hat?"

"Or pith helmet, as the case may be." said Rarity.

Rainbow Dash gently shoved Pinkie Pie aside, "She's here where she's got no business being. She should be at home."

Asami approached Rainbow Dash, petting her head sympathetically, "It's fine to look up to Daring Do, but I think you've put her so high up on a pedestal, you can't even see your own worth anymore." 

Korra approached them and squatted down to Rainbow's level, "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?"

Rainbow looked up at the clear confident blue eyes of the Avatar as she smiled at her pony friend. Even Mako showed her compassion, along with Bolin and all the others. Caballeron and his henchponies rolled their eyes, until Naga growled at them, forcing them to fearfully smile and nod their heads in agreement.

"You guys really think I can do this?" Rainbow asked.

"I have no doubt." Korra said with a wink.

It was then, Rainbow knew what she needed to do.


(~)


It wasn't anything new for Daring to get captured, she's escaped worse. Once with a broken wing. Her four hooves were chained to a stone wall underneath the temple where Ahuizotl prepared to place the remaining rings for his evil plan. Bellow her was a salt water pool and to make maters even worse, the water was filled with piranhas.

"Surrender now, Ahuizotl, or I'll be forced to take you down!" Daring grunted as she tried to break free of the cans. 

Ahuizotl appeared from an opening on the wall and laughed at her expense, "Oh, Daring Do, I will so miss your amusing laughter-jokes. Now, I must leave to commence the ring-placing ceremony to unleash eight hundred years of unrelenting, sweltering heat!"

He pulled on a cord as more water came in through a large pipe hole, causing the waters to rise up. And the piranhas were hungry. Daring pulled with al of her might and finally managed to removed her cuffed hoof from the stone wall, but it was heavy due to the metal shackle around it. She broke her other leg free, only to increase her weight with now tow metal shackles, added with the bits of stone still attached to them. She managed to free her front hooves, and her last one, but the water was already so close. Once she was free, she tried to flap her wings, but the weight of the shackles and stone weighed her down. She could feel the water at the tip of her hooves and a piranha came right at her.

"Gotcha!"

Daring was amazed when Rainbow Dash flew on by and lifted her up. She grunted at the weight Daring carried along with her.

"You can flap too, y'know!"

Daring did as Rainbow requested and flapped her wings. Once they made it safely to the entrance on the wall, Daring broke the stone and her shackles. "I was just about to save myself, y'know." she said before shaking the dust off of her body. 

"Of course. I just thought you might need this." Rainbow tossed Daring her pith helmet. Daring was kind of surprised that Rainbow would return her most prized possession, but she was still not convinced. 

"Have I mentioned yet that I work alone?"

"Have I mentioned yet that you're lucky I don't?"

Daring sighed, "You don't give up do you?"

"Nah," Rainbow said smugly, "It's so not me."

As much as the pegasus pony still believed it was best to work by herself, she figured she should allow this pony to at least tag along. She did save her life after all, and even if she wouldn't say it out loud, maybe it was a good thing she did.


(~)


Ahuizotl laughed as he sat on his throne within the Aztec temple. A group of native ponies rose up their spears and tapped on the floor and a rhythmic tune. The ponies were all male, wearing Aztec-like headsets, necklaces and face paint. In front of Ahuizotl stood a tall obelisk with the rings adorned around it, stacked by largest at the bottom and smallest at the top. But just as the final ring was about to be placed, Applejack called out to him.

"Drop the ring, Ahui... whatever your name is!"

Team Avatar and the Mane Six leaped into action but Ahuizotl called out to his minions, "Place the ring, quickly!" 

Pinkie Pie, with a fierce look on her face, airbended herself upwards and knocked two Aztec ponies down. She spun the first ring around her waist like a hul-la-hoop before tossing it to Bolin who caught it in his hand.

"Get it!" 

At Ahuizotl's command, the ponies lunged at Bolin, who tossed the ring over to Applejack, who leaped up to retrieve it. But another Aztec pony caused her to trip and drop the ring. He took it in his mouth until Asami rushed on by and snatched it with ease.

"Thank you!"

She was halted by another duo of ponies and tossed the ring up, which Fluttershy caught. As Ahuizotl chased Fluttershy, he felt his tail suddenly ache in pain. His tail had caught fire, curtesy of Mako, who smiled proudly at his victory.

Fluttershy tossed the ring over to Twilight who caught it with her horn. She saw two more ponies coming at her and she teleported away, causing them to collide against one another. While the rest were busy keeping the Aztec ponies and Ahuizotl distracted, Rainbow Dash and Daring rushed to the obelisk.

"Help me get all these rings off!" said Daring.

Rainbow grunted as the two worked together to get the rings out. They managed to lift up three rings in one, but they certainly were heavy. While they did this, the Mane Six and Team Avatar kept on trying to keep the ring away from the ponies. Applejack stomped her hooves, causing a piece of the earth to rise up and toss a pony away, allowing Korra to get the ring. The Avatar stomped her foot on the ground and earthbender various streams of earth underneath the ponies, causing them all to fall to the ground. But despite this, they were still persistent. 

Daring and Rainbow continued removing the rings, but there were far too many. "If we can remove the giant ring at the bottom, the whole fortress will collapse!" said Daring. 

"W-Was this your plan all along?"

"I had to find a way to get into the fortress."

"You did it on purpose?! But– but I thought—"

"I didn't count on you and your friends putting up much of a fight though, or how heavy this ring would be... Guess having a little help can be handy sometimes."

Rainbow smiled, her hero did appreciate her help after all.

The keep away game continued on, these ponies were stronger than they appeared, counting how bulky their bodies were. When one of the ponies dropped the ring, it flew up, only to be captured by Ahuizotl. But his victory was cut short for the two winged ponies were near the removal of the third ring. The fortress began to shake and crumble at the seems. 

"Stop her!" he ordered his minions.

Daring and Rainbow were both so close, using all of their strength to lift up the ring. The Aztec ponies tried attacking them with their spears, for which daring tried kicking away. "You can flap too, y'know!" said Daring.

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings as hard as she could just as the ring was nearly out,  "Everyone! Run! This place is goin' down!"

The team obeyed her order and ran out of the temple just as the ring was fully out of the obelisk, which began to crack and tumble just like the fortress. Daring and Rainbow flew out from an opening on the celling as everything went down. Ahuizotl tried to grab them but it was too late, his fortress went down, and so did he. 

Everyone made it out of the fortress unharmed while Daring and Rainbow flew out with the final ring. 

"They did it!" Korra exclaimed and jumped up for joy, "Whooho!"

The temple was in shambles, the Aztec ponies were dazed from the impact while Ahuizotl rose up from the shambles, "Daring Do! I will have my revenge!"


(~)


Once all was clear, Rainbow Dash and Daring Do released the final ring, allowing it to smash to pieces once it hit the ground. Daring smiled proudly at her work. But then, she realized, she didn't do this all on her own. With a guilty expression, the adventure pony lowered down, facing the others. She removed her hat, placing it over her heart as Rainbow landed beside her friends.

"I want to say…I'm sorry. I was wrong, about all of you. You truly are great adventurers."

Team Avatar and the Mane Six smiled in gratitude at Darin's kind words. "We're sorry for going into our home uninvited." Korra confessed.

"Actually, I'm glad you did. I guess, sometimes, on very rare occasions, it's okay to meddle in someone's life…sometimes."

The team laughed along with Daring and she approached Rainbow Dash, giving her a special thank you. "I especially want to thank you, Rainbow Dash. I couldn't have done this without you."

Rainbow couldn't contain herself and she lunged forward, embracing her hero in a hug. Hesitant at first, but Daring hugged Rainbow in return. But once she found out the pony wasn't letting she, she gently pushed her off. 

"Well, it was nice meeting you all. I've got a book to finish!" Daring gave one final salute and flew off into the sunset like the hero she was, as everyone else waved goodbye.

"As thus, concludes another Daring Do adventure." Asami narrated, earning some skeptical glares from everyone. "What?"

"So, what are we going to do about these guys?" Bolin asked, pointing his finger at Caballeron and his henchponies, who were still being terrified by Naga.

Twilight smirked, "I'm sure Princess Celestia can find a fitting punishment for them.


(~)


Once they all returned home, Rainbow Dash decided to write down her own experience with Daring Do in the friendship journal. 

"Just had the coolest adventure with the coolest pony ever. Came this close to blowing it because I got so wrapped up in how awesome she was, I almost forgot about how awesome I was. Good thing I didn't, 'cause it gave me a chance to show her how important it is to put your trust in somepony else. And in humans too."

She was interrupted by a knock on the door where a messenger pegasus pony handed her a package. 

"Package from A.K. Yearling."

"Sweet! The new book a week before anypony else gets it!" she snatched the package and wasted no time in tearing it open. She inhaled from excitement. 

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!"

On the cover of the book was not only Daring Do, but also an image of Rainbow Dash…with her firebending. This would certainly be hew new favorite book.


Daring Do and the Ring of Destiny….featuring Rainbow Dash; The Pony on Fire. 



(~)






"Well, not only did Rainbow Dash learn a valuable lesson, but it seems Daring Do did as well. 


Hope you enjoyed this fine tale, tune in next week for another installment of…






"Tales of Equestria!"






Hope to see you soon."