//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: Read It and Weep (S2:E16) // Story: My Little Pony: Nine Elements Book 2 // by BlueBioWolf //------------------------------// My Little Pony: Nine Elements Book 2 Written by Brandon Nell and Blake Hawkins Chapter 18: Read It and Weep Two days after Applejack returned to Ponyville, Rainbow was flying around in the sky to work off the weight she gained the day before from the eating contest she took part in to apologize to Pinkie for weaponizing her chatter. Pinkie, having won the contest, decided to forgive Rainbow (although, she would have forgiven her even if she lost). Scootaloo was watching as well as Rarity. Twilight and Spike (whose claws had healed), out for a walk, came up to the small group. “Hey, girls,” Twilight said. “What are you all looking at?” Spike asked. “Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo excitedly said. Spike and Twilight looked up, and true to Scootaloo’s word, they saw Rainbow flying impressively. “She’s really working off that weight,” Twilight said. “Indeed,” Rarity said. “And I certainly can’t deny that her skills are indeed impressive.” With the prismatic-maned Pegasus, she was doing well until her right wing cramped up, causing her to spin out. “Ow!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Wing cramp, wing cramp!” Distracted by her pain, Rainbow crashed into the ground on her right side. Mercifully, the pain caused her to pass out. The others winced from Rainbow’s injury. “We better get her to the hospital,” Spike said. When Rainbow came to, she saw the other Guardians of Harmony around her. “How are you doing, Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked sympathetically. “What am I doing here?” Rainbow said before seeing her right wing bandaged. “Oh, that’s what. Guess I should have stretched my wings a bit more before taking off.” “Nurse Redheart said that Dr. Horse will be back with the full diagnosis in a bit,” Twilight said. At that moment, a grayish amber earth stallion with a brilliant orange mane and tail, brilliant amber eyes, and a Cutie Mark depicting a stethoscope and red-cross-marked first aid kit entered the room. “Alright,” he said. “Where’s the patient?” “She’s right on the hospital bed, Doctor,” Rarity said. The stallion approached Rainbow and started talking to her as if she was a foal. “Aw, does the big pony have a boo-boo?” “Can you stop talking to me like that?” Rainbow said, clearly annoyed. “I’m nineteen, you know.” “Aw, and a smart wittle pony, too,” Dr. Horse said. At that moment, another pony doctor entered. He was shocked at the display, which quickly changed to annoyance. “For crying out loud, Top!” he said, using his grayish cyan magic aura to move the earth pony doctor aside. “How many times do I have to tell you not to pester my patients?!” “Hold it,” Spike said. “If you’re Rainbow’s doctor, then who’s this?” “This,” the unicorn stallion said. “Is Carrot Top, an incompetent pediatrician who uses not only his position, but, my name to engage in misconduct with patients younger than him!”* “That explains the baby talk,” Rainbow said. “Nurse Redheart!” the real Doctor Horse shouted. “Coming, Doctor,” Nurse Redheart’s voice answered back. Nurse Redheart entered Rainbow’s room. She quickly saw the situation and forced Carrot Top out of the room. “I’m so sorry for that,” Doctor Horse said. “As long as you don’t give me any baby talk, we’re good,” Rainbow said. “The damage isn’t too severe,” Doctor Horse said. “Your friends got you here quickly.” “How long will she have to stay here?” Scootaloo asked. “I'd say a few days minimum,” Doctor Horse said. “A few days?!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Aww~!” “It’s not the end of the world, Rainbow,” Spike said. “You usually like to lounge anyway.” “It’s different when I’m outside in the open air,” Rainbow said. “Here, I’m in one spot in a confined space. I’ll be in here for a few days, but, it’ll feel like it may as well be a few months or even a few years. If I don’t have the option to go anywhere, I get really bored.” “It’s not so bad, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said. “You’ll be able to get plenty of rest on a comfy bed.” “N’ the chow’s pretty good,” Applejack said. “But, don’t take nothin’ from the alchemy ward.” “Uh… noted?” Rainbow said, clearly confused. “The hospital gowns do look quite comfortable,” Rarity said. “They even match the curtains.” “That’s supposed to make me feel better?” Rainbow asked. “Hmm,” Rarity said. “Now that I think about it, I suppose matching patterns don’t always appeal to everypony.” “But, this might,” Pinkie said, holding the hospital curtain. “You have a roomie.” She opened the curtain to reveal a pale-coated pony without a visible mane or tail. He looked very sick. This didn’t brighten Rainbow’s mood as she turned to her side and pulled the covers. Twilight could see how downspirited Rainbow was. She then heard the squeaking of wheels outside the room, turning her attention to see a plump earth pony nurse walking along pushing a full book cart. Twilight looked at the selection of books, choosing one off of the cart that she read in the past: the first of a book series that she thought Rainbow would love. She levitated the book towards Rainbow and used it gently to tap Rainbow on her flank, careful of her injured wing. Rainbow turned her attention towards the book Twilight was levitating as she set it down with her magic. “What’s this?” Rainbow asked. She picked up the book, reading its title aloud off of the cover. “Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue?” “It’s the first book in the series,” Twilight said. “I have all of them so far.” “Yeah,” Spike said. “She used to read them to me as bedtime stories.” “My mom gave them to me,” Twilight continued. “That’s a perk of my mom being the editor for A.K. Yearling, these stories’ author.”** Rainbow, however, wasn’t interested. “Sorry, Twi, but, I’m not really the reading type. I do know how to read, but, learning how to was so boring. I’m an athlete, not an egghead.” The others couldn’t help but laugh. “Ya serious?” Applejack said, a hearty chuckle following suit. “Who doesn’t like ta read a bang-up tale from time ta time. Ah’m pretty athletic, but, ah like readin’, ‘specially ta Apple Bloom. Ah even do different voices fer the characters.” “About apples, I bet,” Rainbow scoffed. “Hey!” Applejack snapped indignantly. “Ah read more’n just stuff ‘bout apples!” “Before things get too heated,” Rarity said, trying to deescalate the situation. “I can agree that reading is a delightful activity every now and again. After all, nothing's more wonderful than reading a book on a Sunday morning in silk pajamas.” “I like reading, too,” Pinkie smiled. “And ever since the Cake triplets were born, I got opportunities to read to them, even making up stories starring me and our friends. I call them Pinkie Tales!” Twilight cleared her throat. “Rainbow, I think you’ll like reading if you give it a chance. You clearly know how to make any use of those tortoise care books for Tank.” “Yeah, but, those are books based on facts,” Rainbow said. “These are made-up stories.” “As Princess Celestia said,” Spike countered. “Stories, whether fact or fiction, generally have to come from somewhere.” “Besides, I think you’ll like Daring Do,” Twilight continued. “You have quite a lot in common. She’s adventurous, fierce, courageous, and unstoppable.” The plump nurse entered the room. “Alright, everypony and dragon,” the plump nurse said sweetly. “Visiting hours are over for the day and Rainbow Dash needs her rest. You will all have to come back tomorrow.” “Sure thing, Nurse Sweetheart,” Spike said. “See you tomorrow, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said kindly. “And don’t worry. I’ll look after Tank while you’re here.” Spike and the other guardians left the room. So, Rainbow was left to her own devices. Throughout the first day, Rainbow did things to keep herself busy that ultimately didn’t pan out. She tossed a small red rubber ball against a wall, tried to drink water without a straw, clicked the lamp by her side on and off, and even told jokes to her hospital room neighbor. “To get to the other side!” Rainbow said. She chuckled to herself, but, the patient didn’t laugh. He was fast asleep and breathing deeply. “Uh, you probably heard that one, huh?” She then remembered that his muzzle was bandaged, meaning he couldn’t answer if he wanted to. She sighed dismally. She turned back onto her good side where she saw the Daring Do book on her nightstand. Since the activities she tried didn’t work out, she decided she may as well read. “I guess I’m doing this,” Rainbow said. So, she opened the book to the first page and read the first chapter aloud, though, she didn’t have as much enthusiasm for the first few sentences. “‘As Daring Do trekked through the tropical jungle,’” she read. “‘The wet heat sapped her energy and slowed her every step. If only she could escape this oppressive atmosphere and fly up into the cool blue sky. But, her crash landing in the jungle had her grounded for a few days. Few days… it might as well have been a few months, or a few years!’” Rainbow stopped reading for a brief second, catching that she herself said something similar earlier. “Huh, I’m right there with you, sister.” As she continued reading, gradually gaining more enthusiasm, her imagination began painting a detailed picture of what transpired in the book. ‘The mosquitoes buzzed loudly. The macaws cried from the high trees. Yet all of these distracting noises were not enough to cover the sounds of the predators following her every step.’ A pegasus mare matching the one on the cover illustration could be seen. She greatly resembled Rainbow Dash including having rose-colored eyes. However, her coat was a sandy sepia toned one while her mane and tail were greyscale with dark and light gray stripes. She even sported a different Cutie Mark, a compass rose. The biggest difference was that Daring wore a pith helmet and a green collared shirt. This mare found herself face to face with a tiger. She then turned in a different direction to see a panther. When she turned her head in another direction, she saw a lynx. She turned again and saw a cheetah. And when she turned her head in the final direction, she saw… a kitten. This gave the mare confidence. She maneuvered carefully. Though she couldn’t fly due to her injured wings, she was able to safely secure herself on strong jungle foliage and maneuvered over the kitten with ease. The kitten screeched as the big cats charged. She managed to charge through the jungle and lose the predatory beasts in the underbrush. However, she found herself at a cliff. “Whoa!” Daring Do exclaimed in a voice different from Rainbow’s. Daring Do looked around, seeing if there was a way to get down to a temple on the other side of the chasm without sustaining too many injuries. Suddenly, she saw a vine hanging from a tree so tall it seemed like the vine was hanging in midair. So, she grabbed onto the vine and carefully made her way across as Rainbow continued reading. ‘Safely landing on the other side, Daring finally allowed herself a moment to breathe. She turned around to find herself face to face with the long lost temple that she had sought tirelessly for over sixty days and nights!’ Back in the hospital room, Rainbow was blown away by the impressive story. “Wow~” Rainbow said, astonished. “I would hate to admit to myself and to my friends, but… I love this story! I love reading!” She happily held the book against her chest with a smile, but, with a look of horror, she realized, “I’m an egghead.” She looked at her hospital room neighbor, who, to her relief, was sleeping soundly. A look out the window made her realize how late it was and she elected to get some sleep. As Rainbow continued reading the next morning, she imagined Daring Do entering the temple. ‘The smell of decay and danger hit Daring Do as she peered into the dimly-lit entrance of the ancient temple.’ Daring Do cautiously entered the temple hallway. However, she had to watch her step. She noticed a particular stone slab that was leveled up slightly higher than the rest. Experience taught her that such things were a tell-tale sign of traps. She picked up a nearby rock and tossed it at the stone slab. This triggered a wall trap to unleash a barrage of axes. As she was standing well back, all the axes missed her. “Phew,” Daring sighed with relief. She then noticed panels leaving tell tale signs of a sliding trap door. They slid open and fire spewed out. “Whoa!” Using her natural pegasus agility, she jumped over the flames. She panted from the intense heat, but, she continued on. Suddenly, alligators hung from the ceiling. She avoided getting snapped by simply crawling on her belly under their snouts. Daring Do couldn’t relish in her pride for too long, though. She pressed on, dodging various traps that seemed to form a series of chain reactions. She wound up with 20 arrow holes in her pith helmet. She remedied that by simply rubbing them off. She then went to a door leading to a main chamber of the temple. As she moved one of her front hooves in closer, a knocking sound was heard. Rainbow snapped back to reality and hastily hid the book. The knocking she had heard was coming from Twilight, who came to visit Rainbow along with Spike and Scootaloo. “Hi, Rainbow!” they all said in unison. “Oh, uh, hey, guys,” Rainbow said. “What brings you here?” “We thought we’d come by and cheer you up,” Scootaloo said. “We had invited Fluttershy to join, but, she’s still too busy looking after Tank at her cottage. But, she did send her regards.” Twilight levitated a board game box. “We brought your favorite board game, ‘Vast Sky.’” “We know how much you like to win,” Spike said cheerfully before continuing in a deadpan tone. “You make it abundantly clear.” Twilight used her magic to set up the game board. “You can go first, Rainbow.” However, Rainbow was quick to turn the tables. “Uh, since this is likely your first time playing this, why don’t you guys give it a go first?” The trio were confused, but, obliged. “Okay,” Twilight said. She moved a game piece in the shape of a cloud. “Uh, cloud three.” “Aw, shucks!” Rainbow said. “You… rained on my cumulus! Heh, Scootaloo, it’s your go now.” “Uh,” Scootaloo said. “Sky five?” “Whoa!” Rainbow said. “You found my seagull. Okay, Spike, your turn.” “Uh,” Spike said. “Cloud two?” “You zapped my weather pony,” Rainbow rambled. “Stung my bumblebee! Ugh! My thunderbolt! Aw, that’s my last cloud! You found it! Guess you all win! I lose!” “But, you didn’t even get a turn,” Scootaloo said, confused. “And you just said those last three without any of us saying or doing anything,” Spike said. “Ah, no biggie,” Rainbow said. “You win some, you lose some.” “But, you can’t really lose if you don’t-” Twilight started before Rainbow let out a fake yawn. “Well, thanks for coming, but, I’m going to have a nap now,” Rainbow said after fake-yawning. “But, yesterday, you were desperate for things to do,” Twilight said. “Do?!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Who said anything about Daring Do? I already told you, I’m not into fiction, Twilight. But, I better catch some z’s while I'm still here. Nighty night.” And with that, she pretended to fall asleep, mock-snoring obnoxiously. The trio left. Though, they were suspicious. “Okay, something’s really suspicious,” Spike said. “While Rainbow is getting better at dealing with losing, she’s got a long way to go before being that good a sport.” “I admit, that is a little weird,” Scootaloo said. “Normally, she’s ecstatic to play all sorts of games, but, now, it seems like she just wanted to be done with the game.” “And Fluttershy told me she gave up playing Vast Sky with Rainbow years ago because she won literally every single time,” Twilight said. “Something else must be on her mind,” Spike said. “She did bring up Daring Do, even when my mom only said ‘do.’ You don’t think…” “That was suspiciously specific denial,” Twilight admitted. When Rainbow made sure her visiting friends were out of sight and out of her room, she got the book back out and continued from where she left off. She started reading aloud. “Daring Do stood at the entrance of the central temple chamber. At last, she was face-to-face with the legendary sapphire statue!” In Rainbow’s imagination, Daring Do could see a statue of a two-headed jackal made entirely of sapphire. Before Daring Do could walk into the central temper chamber, she looked at the floor. It had tiles depicting various animals. She threw a rock to one tile, which depicted an eagle, triggering an arrow trap. “Hmm,” Daring Do thought aloud. “There must be a pattern here. What do all of these animals have in common?” She took a minute to think to herself. She then lit up. “I got it! These creatures are all predators, except… rats!” She carefully put one hoof on a rat tile. To her relief, nothing happened. She then jumped from rat tile to rat tile. She soon made it to the pedestal with the Sapphire Statue. She looked around for obvious traps. When she didn’t see any traps, obvious or otherwise, she simply grabbed a hold of the statuette, dropped it into her pith helmet, and put it back on her head. However, this caused the temple to start rumbling, as if it was caught in the path of an earthquake. The animal tiles crumbled, revealing lava beneath. She saw the intricately carved pillars around her fall and collapse on top of each other, and she peered to see an opening on the ceiling, leading outside. As the lava started rising, she made a jump for the hole. The smoke and steam from the lava pressurized as an air cannon, propelling Daring Do into the air and several miles away from the temple. She collapsed unceremoniously on the ground, causing her pith helmet to launch off of her head and the Sapphire Statue to land close by. She was about to reach for it, when a big blue monkey-like paw stomped in front of her. The paw belonged to a large canine-like creature with deep blue fur, a dark purple, almost black mane, light blue patches of skin, sharp pointed fangs, red eyes with yellow sclera, an intricate gold earring, jeweled collar, and gauntlets. At the end of his long tail was a similar paw to his own. This creature was known as the ahuizotl. He looked like he was about to speak, but, when he opened his mouth, what came out his mouth was an unfitting voice. “Hello, Rainbow Dash!” the ahuizotl said in Pinkie Pie’s voice. Rainbow snapped back to reality. She looked to see Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity entering her hospital room. Thinking quickly, she hid the book under her covers. “We came to see how you were feeling today,” Rarity said with a sweet smile. Applejack sniffed and winced. “Whew, we need ta get ya some fresh air in here,” she said as she walked towards the window. “Yer lookin’ sweatier ’n a pig wrangler on a summer day. Believe me, that’s sayin’ a lot comin’ from me.” While Rainbow was sweating, it wasn’t for reasons that Applejack was thinking of. “Oh, uh, thanks, guys,” Rainbow said. “Thank you for visiting, but-” Luckily for her, a different earth pony nurse walked in wheeling in a cart with a tray full of steamed vegetables and raspberry flavored vegan gelatin. This was Nurse Snowheart. “Okay, dinnertime for Rainbow Dash,” she said. She left the cart by Rainbow’s bedside. Despite the steamed vegetables not having an appealing smell, she saw this as an opportunity. “Oh, just in time, Nurse Snowheart,” she said, grabbing the tray off of the cart. “I am so hungry.” Nurse Snowheart nodded and then walked out of the room. Rainbow hoped that her friends would leave as well. “Well, don’t mind us,” Rarity said politely. “Yeah,” Applejack added. “Go ‘head n’ eat up.” Rainbow could tell they weren’t leaving anytime soon and decided to eat deliberately sloppily. This disgusted the three mares so much. Even Applejack, who herself had times where she ate sloppily, looked disgusted. “Yech,” Applejack said. “Now ah see why yer askin’ me fer fancier dinin’, Rarity.” “On second thought,” grimaced Rarity. “We’ll leave you to it.” “We’ll just come back tomorrow, Rainbow…” Pinkie said. “Maybe when it’s nowhere close to mealtime while still being part of visiting hours.” When they were outside the room, Applejack could still picture Rainbow’s sloppy eating. “Am ah that sloppy?” she asked Rarity. “Oh, darling, absolutely not,” Rarity said. “I’ll admit, you do have some messy eating habits, but, you still have some decent table manners.” “Have the rest of you noticed that most of the nurses in this hospital have the word ‘heart’ at the end of their names?” Pinkie asked. “Hey, yer right,” Applejack said. “Redheart, Sweetheart, Snowheart, Tenderheart… that’s a purty wild coincidence.” “And I recall seeing an apprentice nurse,” Rarity said. “Nursery Rhyme, I believe.” “She musta got the job shortly after gettin’ her Cutie Mark,” Applejack added. “Er she got the job n’ then got her Cutie Mark, one o’ the two.” Meanwhile, Rainbow waited until she was sure the coast was clear. Once she was sure, she spit out her masticated dinner. “Bleh!” Rainbow gagged. “Applejack was wrong about the hospital food.” She then pulled the book out of her covers and she continued reading. “‘You thought you could evade me and capture the relic for yourself, did you, Miss Do? But, you are sadly mistaken!’” Rainbow’s imagination illustrated the ahuizotl grabbing the Sapphire Statue. “And now,” the ahuizotl said in his true voice. “You shall meet your doom!” He blew into a cat-shaped whistle. The big cats and the small yet vicious kitten surrounded Daring Do, ensnaring her in their fluffy clutches. The ahuizotl laughed maniacally. Back in reality, Rainbow was surprised. “Whoa,” Rainbow said to herself. “Who is this dude?” Back in her imagination… Daring Do was tied onto a large stone slab, struggling to break herself free. “You won’t get away with this, Ahuizotl!” Daring grunted. “I already have,” the ahuizotl smirked. “It’s in my nature to lure others to their deaths***.” He activated a trap that he set for Daring Do, causing the area around the stone slab to fill with a strange liquidy yellowish-brown substance. “Quicksand,” Daring gasped. She struggled to break free even more. The ahuizotl and the felines made their escape. In their place, spiders and snakes began to surround her. Suddenly, Rainbow heard the voice of Doctor Horse. “Rainbow Dash?” he called. Rainbow snapped out of her imagination. “Oh, uh,” Rainbow stammered. “Good evening, Doctor.” “I believe you should be saying, ‘Good morning,’ Rainbow,” Doctor Horse smiled patiently. Rainbow hadn’t realized how long she’d been reading. A look out the window confirmed that it was indeed morning. “Oh, uh,” Rainbow said with a sweatdrop. “Morning, Doc.” Doctor Horse noticed a lantern full of fireflies. “Have you been up all night?” he asked. Too afraid to admit the truth, Rainbow picked up the lantern. “Oh, no,” she said, letting out the fireflies. “Slept as comfortably as I could, what with this busted wing and all. I guess I must have forgot to turn this off after getting a glass of water late at night.” “Well, I’ll be quick,” Doctor Horse said. “Congratulations, Rainbow Dash. We’re checking you out of the hospital.” “What?!” Rainbow yelped nervously. “Later today?” “No,” Doctor Horse said. This gave Rainbow some confusion and a bit of hope. The hope was dashed when Doctor Horse followed up with, “Right now.” “Right now?!” Rainbow exclaimed. “As in ‘right now,’ right now?!” “‘Right now,’ right now,” Doctor Horse confirmed as Nurses Snowheart and Sweetheart entered. “We’re glad you’re feeling better,” Nurse Sweetheart said. “But, now it’s time for you to go home and see your friends.” “And we need to get this bed cleaned so another patient can use it,” Nurse Snowheart said. “But, I thought I had to stay for a few days!” Rainbow said. “This is just the start of day three!” “Precisely,” Doctor Horse said. “You’ve been here the minimum number of days and your wing has recovered enough thanks to healing potions you had with your meals. Just make sure to take it easy. Outside of flying, stay off your right wing for a week.” And with that, Rainbow was hastened out of the hospital. The last thing she saw in her room was Nurse Snowheart finding the book under the covers.**** “Oh, no,” Rainbow said once she was outside. “How will I find out what happens to Daring Do? Does Ahuizotl get away with the statuette? What’s going to happen to Daring Do? What am I going to do?!” She paced frantically before a thought occurred to her. “I know! Twilight has a copy of the book! Oh, but, I can’t just ask her after I pretty much called her an egghead. Oh~ this whole thing is making me sick all over again.” That phrasing gave her another idea. A short time later, Rainbow pretended to stagger into the hospital, moaning and groaning. “Oh~ ahh~,” Rainbow groaned, clearly over-exaggerating. “Oh, the pain~ the pain~!” Doctor Horse and Nurses Snowheart and Sweetheart were at the front desk. “Rainbow, what are you doing back here?” Doctor Horse asked. “Is something wrong?” “My wing,” Rainbow said. “It’s still hurting, Doc.” Doctor Horse, sensing that Rainbow might be acting, gently felt her left wing. “Ouch!” Rainbow said. “Right there.” “I was touching your good wing,” he said flatly. “Your injured wing is your right wing.” Rainbow realized she wasn’t being very convincing. “Uh, well, I think that wing’s hurting a bit… too… uh…” Doctor Horse was clearly unamused, but, he then chuckled throatily. “I think I know what the trouble is; a pseudo-condition known as lazy-itis.” He urged Rainbow out of the hospital. “I promise you that you’re alright. You just need some time to get back into the swing of things.” With that, he went back into the hospital. “Ugh,” Rainbow groaned. “What am I going to do? I’ll never get to sleep without knowing what happens to Daring Do!” She looked at the hospital before shaking her head. “No!” she said. “I’m not breaking into the hospital to steal a book. That’d go on my permanent record and lower my chances of joining the Wonderbolts!*****” Then, she got another idea. “Wait, Twilight lives in a library!” she said. “Ponies take books from libraries all the time. I could take the book while they’re sleeping and it won’t count as stealing!” She looked around, realizing nopony else was around. “I should probably stop talking to myself so much.” That night, Twilight and Spike had gone to bed after a long day. As soon as the lights were turned off, Rainbow snuck towards the Golden Oak Library. Luckily, one of the windows was open. Rainbow used it to get in and quietly looked through the books until she found the one she was looking for. Deciding that leaving with it would make too much noise, she decided to read while she was there. Within the story, Daring Do was still struggling, surrounded by spiders and snakes, and sinking lower into the quicksand. “Feels like the harder I struggle,” Daring Do rationalized. “The tighter the ropes get.” “Rainbow?” a spider said in Spike’s voice for some reason. That startled Rainbow back into reality. She looked and saw a sleepy yet annoyed Spike, rubbing one of his eyes. “What are you doing here?” Spike asked grumpily. “Uh…” Rainbow said, trying to come up with a feasible excuse. “Would you believe this is a dream you’re having?” “No,” Spike said flatly. “Because my dreams don’t involve pegasi breaking and entering the library and reading out loud when a pony and a dragon are trying to sleep!” “Well, technically, I didn’t break anything,” Rainbow said. “Now,” Spike said, trying not to lose his temper. “Explain.” “Spike?” Twilight said. She had heard the voices and came out of her bedroom to investigate. “Is everything okay?” She then turned her attention to see her blue pegasus friend. “Rainbow? What are you doing here? What’s going on?” At this point, Rainbow knew she’d reached the point of no return and decided to come clean. “I’m an egghead,” she said after a sigh of defeat. “Yeah,” Spike quipped. “Hard-boiled.” “No, seriously,” Rainbow said. “You see, I came in here to finish the last chapter of-” “Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue?” Twilight finished. “I knew the book was good, but, I never thought that it would result in a pony sneaking in during the cover of night.” “Good?” Rainbow said. “Try awesomely amazing! It was so good that I couldn’t put it down… until I did put it down. I was checked out of the hospital before I could finish it and I didn’t want to break in there. That would be dumb. I figured that since books get taken out of the library all the time, it wouldn’t count as stealing.” “Well,” Spike said. “There’s a couple things wrong with that.” “Yes,” Twilight said. “Like sneaking in while Spike and I are trying to sleep for one. You know from experience how grumpy Spike gets when his sleep is disturbed.” “For another,” Spike said. “You need a library card to borrow books from a library.” “Yeah, you’re right about that,” Rainbow said shamefully. “I’m really sorry, guys. I guess I was so desperate to find out how the book ends that I wasn’t thinking clearly. I don’t know if I can afford a library card.” Spike and Twilight were a bit confused. “But, they’re free,” they said in unison. “Oh, okay,” Rainbow said. “I’ll go now, but, I’ll come back to get one in the morning. I already know the first thing I’m going to check out.” The next morning, when Spike was rested and in a better mood, Rainbow arrived. “Ready for your library card?” Spike asked with a smile. “Sure am, little buddy,” Rainbow replied. He had a camera set up and prepared a background for her picture. Rainbow got in position and the camera flashed. Twilight used her magic to develop the photo and put it on a library card for Rainbow. “There you go,” Twilight said. “You’re all set.” “You said earlier that your mom was the editor of the author of the books?” Rainbow said. “That’s right,” Twilight said. “She made sure the final version of each book was grammatically correct and appropriate for the target audience.” “I see,” Rainbow said. “And you get the first copy of every new book she edits?” “That’s right,” Twilight replied. “My mom is only slightly less of a daredevil than you are, although, according to my dad, she toned it down about the time she became pregnant with Shining and, while my mom never told me how she came to know Yearling, I know Yearling has come to trust her enough to allow her to edit the books before they go to the publisher.” “How long has this series been around?” Rainbow asked. “About five years,” Twilight said. “There’s been quite a few books released in that short time alone.” “I’ll have to check them out,” Rainbow said. “Figuratively and literally. But, first things first, Spike, think you can help me draft my friendship lesson?” “That’s what I’m here for,” he said. Once he had a parchment and quill ready, Rainbow began to draft her letter. “Dear Princess Celestia, It is important to learn how to read, but, I thought that reading fictional books and stories was just for those who are really smart like Twilight and Spike. But, when I was laid up in the hospital, I was able to start reading a book and I got so engaged in the story. That lesson taught me that I shouldn’t knock something until I try it. Reading is something any creature can enjoy if they just give it a chance. Yours truly, Rainbow Dash” Spike rolled up the scroll and sent it away. “Thanks, Spike,” Rainbow smiled. “Now that I got that taken care of, I can finally see how the last chapter ends.” “Here’s a list of the order you should read the books in,” Twilight said, levitating a list to Rainbow. “Thanks, Twilight,” Rainbow said, taking the list. “I’ll be back soon.” Later, Rainbow was reading the final chapter and her imagination was illustrating where it left off. As Daring Do continued to struggle, she moved her head forward so that her pith helmet would land on her chest. She then looked to see a lever nearby a spiked wall that was closing in on her, and an intricately designed stone decoration. Thinking quickly, she maneuvered her pith helmet onto her right hind leg, pulling at the brim with her teeth. She launched her helmet and it ricocheted all over the room, triggering the lever and stopping the death trap. The quicksand had dampened the ropes and they unbound her. She coughed up grains of sand from her throat and shook out any excess sand from her ears. She then saw the open dungeon door. “Another day, another dungeon,” she quipped to herself as she put her pith helmet back on her head. Meanwhile, the ahuizotl was stroking the kitten on his lap. “With Daring Do out of the way,” the ahuizotl monologued. “The world will suffer mightily at my paws. I am victorious~!” Thinking he had won, he cackled wickedly as he held the Sapphire Statue in his right paw. However, passing by on a rope swing, Daring Do snagged the statue. “I’ll take that,” the archeologist said. “What?!” The ahuizotl gasped, utterly bewildered. “No~!!” “From whence you came,” Daring Do recited. “You shall remain until you are released again!” The ahuizotl was seized by tentacles made entirely of water that dragged him away.****** “Curse you, Daring Do~!” The ahuizotl exclaimed as he dragged down to the depths below. Daring Do landed safely. “He’ll be back eventually,” she said. “But, I’ll be ready for him.” ‘And so, with ahuizotl banished and the Sapphire Statue secured, the world was safe and sound once again, thanks to Daring Do!’ With the book finished, Rainbow returned to reality. She sighed happily. She then went back to the Golden Oak Library to return the copy and check out the next story in the series. “Hey, Twilight,” Rainbow said. “I finished the book. It was awesome how she beat that ahuizotl.” “Temporarily,” Twilight said. “As a water elemental, he thrives in water, but, ironically, it’s one of the few things that can contain him. With the Sapphire Statue, his water power would be enhanced.”******* “Whoa,” Rainbow said, astounded. “I’m ready for the next story now.” “Alright,” Twilight said, levitating the next book. “‘Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet.’” “Awesome~!” Rainbow said excitedly. She then flew off. End of chapter.