//------------------------------//
// Part 6: "I'm not doing this for archeology. I'm doing this for you." 
// Story: The Death of Daring Do: The Engine of Eternity 
// by DuncanR 
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An hour later, Rainbow Dash followed Skyworthy out of the deeper caverns, grinning broadly. There was an energetic bounce in every step she took. When they returned to the small cave with the folding metal table, she rushed in and squealed with delight: Derring and Walski looked up from the heaps of scrolls and notebooks.
"I trust your walkabouts was rewarding?" Walski said.
"This is the coolest thing I've ever seen, done, heard, or visited! There's real-life ruins back there! Like, actual corridors with bricks and tiles and statues, and all sorts of crazy runes and symbols! I don't know how this day could get any better!"
"I'm sure I can think of something," said Professor Walski. "How would you like to take home a souvenir?"
Rainbow Dash let out a squeal of pure joy.
Derring shot out of her seat, alarmed. "Perez, no! How could you!?"
"Calm down, Miss Do. I was thinking we could teach her how to take a charcoal rubbing. I'm neither a profiteer nor a smuggler."
"Oh...well, of course." Derring Do sat back down. "Had me worried there."
"What about you two?" Rainbow Dash said, "did you figure out anything cool while I was gone?"
"We learned quite a bit," Derring-Do said, "though I think it will be much more useful to Walski than ourselves."
Rainbow Dash sat at the table next to Derring. "Oh? How do you mean?"
Professor Walski clasped her hooves together. "The Dzunturan were an ancient race of ponies... in fact, they're the oldest equine civilization known to us, and their discovery raised quite a few big questions. You see, some scientists believe that all three of the modern equine races—that is, earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns—are all descended from a single genetic ancestor. Paleontologists have been searching for a missing link for decades: some kind of pony species that we all evolved from."
Derring nodded, eagerly. "So far, nopony's found any clear evidence for or against this theory... but the Dzunturan might be exactly what we're looking for. It would have taken thousands of years for us to evolve this way: the same period of time when their civilization was at its peak."
"No way!"
"Well it's all just speculation," said Professor Walski. "Until we can find an actual city to examine, we'll never be certain."
"That's what Walski is looking for right now," Derring-Do said, "the lost capital of the Dzunturan, and the heart of their once great empire. She's been searching for thirty years!"
"Thirty four," she said, "and I expect to be searching for quite a bit longer still. Patience, as everypony knows, is a virtue."
"Searching for the lost, ancient city of a lost ancient race?" Rainbow Dash leaned her head on the table and let out a longing sigh. "This is so much better than the books!"
Walski smiled. "I should hope so. Reference material can be exceedingly boring to the uninitiated."
Derring shook her head. "She means the, ah... novels."
"The what?"
"There's a series of fictional novels about archeology. Pulp-action archeology."
Rainbow Dash nodded. "I've read the whole series a couple of times!"
"Fiction, eh?" Walski frowned at her. "You really ought to avoid that sort of thing... it's liable to rot your brain before long."
Dash scowled, but Derring cut her off with a wave. "Well, then! Thank you very much for your time, Professor Walski. I do hope you find my notes useful."
"Quite, quite." Walski stood up and led them towards the main entrance. "I'm terribly sorry I couldn't shed much light on your own project. I'd be happy to add your name to my final report to the board of directors, once this expedition is complete."
"You'd do that for me?" Derring-Do took her hoof and shook it vigorously. "Thank you, professor! Thank you very much!"
"Quite all right, considering how helpful your reports were. We may have to plan an expedition to the Crystal Empire, sometime soon: it's quite a bit further west, but about the same latitude. A very curious coincidence indeed."
Dash cleared her throat gently. "Um, excuse me professor Walski?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"Do you think I could still get that souvenir? Maybe?"
"Oh, where is my head? Yes of course. Were there any engravings in particular that caught your attention?"
Dash grinned, broadly. "Yeah! The great big one, in between the two big pillars!"
"Right this way, then. Would you like to come along, Miss Do? Perhaps you have the honor of teaching Miss Dash how to perform a charcoal rubbing properly?"
"I think I can handle that much," Derring said with a smirk.
Professor Walski led them further into the caverns. After several twists and turns, the sound of chipping stone and grinding metal echoed all around them. Derring watched as laborers pushed minecarts down the corridors, carrying loads of rubble and gravel.
"Isn't this amazing?" said Rainbow Dash. "I wonder how long it took to dig all this out?"
"Months, probably," Derring-Do muttered.
"Two weeks, actually," Walski said. "Each expedition teaches us something new, and we've improved our methods enormously over the years."
"How did you instal these railways?" Derring said.
"The usual way, I suppose. I leave such things to the fore-pony's discretion."
Derring looked up at her. "You mean you weren't there to oversee it yourself?"
"We've already laid some three miles of scaffolding, Miss Do. You can't expect me to be everywhere at once."
"I... suppose not." Derring turned to watch the laborers, all carrying heavy pickaxes and sharpened spades. "Mister Skyworthy mentioned you had over thirty laborers. How many excavators do you have?"
"I have a pair of assistants who report to me directly," Walski said. "Other than that, I do all the delicate work myself."
Derring-Do bit her lower lip. Her eyes darted side to side. "Doesn't that seem a little extreme, professor? You can't possible deal with such a massive workload all by yourself. Nopony could."
"I delegate, Miss Do. In these modern times, any major undertaking requires a certain knowledge of administrative techniques... I assure you, I personally look over every artifact the workers uncover, and decide what requires a closer look."
"Shouldn't you be the one uncovering these artifacts in the first place? A common miner knows nothing about excavating delicate evidence!"
Walski frowned at her. "Certified archeological excavators earn a much higher hourly wage, and they take a hundred hours to do the job that a miner can accomplish in one hour."
Derring-Do glared at her. "Is money all you care about? What about proper procedures?"
"Miss Do!" Professor Walski's voice rang out across the cave, loud and stern. The workers all paused in their tasks and turned to watch. "This operation is not performed at the discretion of the university... it is funded by private investors. All together, this expedition costs my investors twenty thousands bits a day to maintain. And in return, those investors ask for only one single thing: results."
"But... but...!"
Walski stepped forward and gently set a hoof on Derring's mouth. "Stop stammering, dear. It's unbecoming. I know it's been a very long time since you've visited a dig site in person, Miss Do. This is the first time you've seen modern methods being employed, and so I will forgive your outburst. But this is how things are done these days. It is better to risk damaging one artifact if it means we successfully uncover nine others. Archeology is a science, not an art... and science is pragmatic."
Derring looked down at her hooves. "Yes, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am."
Rainbow Dash's eyes darted back and forth between the two professors. "You don't really believe all that garbage, do you?"
Walski glowered at her. "Miss Dash. Your wealth and eccentricity will only go so far in endearing you to me."
Dash straightened up and met her gaze. "Well it's pretty clear that Derring-Do is twice the archeologist you are!"
Walski sniffed at her. "Of all the impertinence."
"Dash, no!" Derring-Do put a firm hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "Don't you dare embarrass me with one of your temper tantrums! Walski is ten times the archeologist I am!"
"What, because she's found more stuff!? That just means she's more famous! Real archeology is about perseverance! It's about digging away at the dirt with nothing but a grapefruit spoon and a toothbrush, sweating under the burning sun for days and days!" Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at professor Walski. "But you'd use a bulldozer to dig up a teacup!"
Professor Walski rolled her eyes. "And now we see what those pulp-fiction novels have done to your sense of realism. I think you're completely out of your league."
"You do, huh?" Dash flapped her wings and hovered a few feet over the professor, brandishing her front hooves like a boxer. "Well I think you can shove it in your ear!"
"Dash!" Derring-Do shouted, angrily. She grabbed Dash's leg and pulled her down. "Don't you dare speak to her that way! She's a professional, and this excavation is her responsibility! We've got absolutely no right to pass judgment on her methods!"
Rainbow Dash looked at her. "Derring, where'd your spine go!? You know what an arrogant, stuck-up loser she is! You know it better than I do!"
Derring-Do pulled her into a headlock and brought her kneeling to the ground with alarming strength and speed. She brought her face close to hers, and her bright purple eyes smoldered with volcanic rage.
Rainbow Dash swallowed, hard. "Shutting up now," she said.
Derring-Do let go of her and nodded to Walski. "I'm deeply sorry for her behavior, Professor. I'm sure we've overstayed our welcome and I promise we'll be out of your way as promptly as possible."
Walski sighed and shuffled her hooves. "You may as well stay the night, and let your plane recharge its power crystals... to say nothing of giving you a good night's sleep before you have to pilot. A few rude words isn't reason enough to risk a dangerous trip home."
"Thank you, professor."
Derring-Do took Dash by the shoulder and led her towards the exit. She followed beside her until they reached the frigid cave that led outside. Dripping water echoed off the stone walls, and the tarps flapped against the howling wind outside.
"Well?" Derring said. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
She flexed her shoulder. "You've got a real mean take-down, you know that?"
Derring punched her shoulder. "I mean about your horrible behavior!"
"Professor Walski is wrecking this place! You know she's wrecking this place! How can you stand by without even saying a word!?"
"It's her dig!" Derring said. "It's her expedition, it's her team, it's her ruins... and it's her reputation on the line!"
"These ruins don't belong to her," Dash said. "They belong in a museum."
"Well they'll never get there at all if she doesn't do her job to the best of her abilities! Neither you nor I are skilled enough, or experienced enough, to question her judgment!"
Dash gave her a bland, emotionless look. "I saw a crate of dynamite lying around."
"I don't care what you saw!" Derring-Do choked briefly. "She's using explosives!?"
"You know she's not a better archeologist than you! She's just more famous, and she has more toys to play with! She doesn't really love it like you do!"
Derring-Do's voice rose to a shout. "Professor Perez Walski is one of the greatest archeologists in the world! She's been doing this for over thirty years, and she's published over a hundred books! Have you read any of them? Have you? Well I have, a hundred times each, and I can guarantee you she's passionate about what she does! I don't care what else you say about her: she loves her work more than anypony else in the world!"
"She's a wrecking ball! She's a bull rampaging through a china shop!"
"Don't you talk about her that way! She's ten times the archeologist that I could ever be!"
Rainbow Dash stared at Derring-Do: her face was twisted in anger and her cheeks were streaked with tears. Her cheeks were flushed and she was gasping for breath.
"I'm sorry," Dash whispered. "I'm sorry your hero wasn't what you expected."
Rainbow Dash turned and took a heavy winter coat from a nearby rack. She put it on and walked out of the cave without looking back. The sound of wet, choking sobs was quickly drowned out by the icy, howling wind outside.
 



 
Rainbow Dash lay on her cot in the living quarters they'd been assigned. She stared at the featureless white ceiling and listened to the quiet creak of the airship all around her. She turned onto her side, then the other. She let out a long, quiet sigh and closed her eyes. She began muttering to herself, and finally screamed at the top of her lungs and threw her pillow across the room.
Stupid archeologists... just a bunch of stuck up losers. All of 'em. She laid on her back and stared at the ceiling again. I've got to start reading books about spaceships or something.
There was a knock at the door. "Hello? Anypony home?"
"Yeah... may as well come right on in."
The door opened and Skyworthy stepped in backwards, pulling a tea-cart behind him.
"You again?" said Dash.
"I figured you could use something to soothe your body and spirit... and nothing helps you forget about the cold outside like a cup of steaming-hot cocoa."
"Sorry, but I'm not very thirsty right now."
He took up a kettle and poured it into a thick white mug. "Well, why don't I just leave this on the endtable for you anyways? Your tummy might change it's mind when the smell hits your nose."
Rainbow Dash watched him set a mug on the nearby table, next to the lamp.
"Hey."
"Yes, Miss Dash?"
"Do you know where Derring-Do is?"
"Oh, her. We found her in the entry cave all by herself. We had to carry her back to the elevator on a stretcher."
She sat bolt upright. "A stretcher!?"
"Mm hm. She wouldn't say how she ended up there all by herself, but the poor thing didn't have an oxygen tank with her. The atmosphere up here is too thin for anything more than a casual stroll."
"All by herself," Dash muttered.
"Don't you worry," Skyworthy said, "the ship's doctor says she'll be just fine after a short rest. She's sleeping it off in her room right now."
Rainbow Dash propped herself up with her front knee. "Where's her room?"
"That'd be number five, just down the hall. You can visit her if you like, but it might be best to let her sleep a little longer."
Skyworthy left her room and closed the door behind him. After a few minutes, Dash picked up the mug with her wing and carried it out into the hall with extreme care. After a few steps, she was standing in front of a metal door with the number five printed on it. She set the mug on the floor and quietly knocked.
"Are you awake in there? I brought you some hot cocoa."
She stared at the door for a moment.
"I need to talk to you. Can I please come inside?"
She pressed her ear to the door, but heard nothing.
"Well then... I'll just have to say it through the door. I'm... sorry." She slumped to the floor and let out a sigh. "No, that's not enough: I'm extra-super-duper-double sorry. All I could think about was saying 'I told you so'. I never once thought about how you must have really felt. That was the lowest I've ever seen you, so sad and hurt and angry, and all I did was kick you while you were down."
Rainbow Dash leaned her head against the door with a thump.
"I'm sorry. I've had a ton of fun watching you do real-life archeology stuff. Can we still be friends, please?"
She watched the door for awhile.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you quiet because you're angry at me? Or are you quiet because... you're asleep and you haven't heard a single word I've said?"
Rainbow Dash stood up and stared at the number five.
"Okay. If I ask to come in, and you don't want me come in you can just say no. And I'll stay out. And if you're asleep, I'll back out real quick... I'll only watch you sleeping for, like, a second."
She set a hoof on the door lever,  but hesitated.
" 'Watch you sleep for a second'? Wow, that's creepy when I say it out loud. Okay, how about this: I'll open the door a crack, without looking, and just listen. If I can hear snoring, I'll close it again. Okay? Okay."
Rainbow Dash pushed the lever and opened the door a crack, listening intently.
"Well I don't hear any snoring, and you haven't told me to stay out. That means you don't mind if I come inside." She opened the door wide and stepped inside, glancing around. "Or... you're not here at all. And I'm just talking to myself like an idiot. Great."
She stroked her hoof against the rumpled bed sheets, and frowned quizzically.
"So where are you?"
 
 
 
Rainbow Dash snuck down the metal stairwell that led to the airship's spacious cargo hold. All the lights were set to low and there was nopony else in sight. The arctic nights were too cold for any sort of work, so the laborers all slept in the airship. As Dash reached the last step, she saw a single pony over by the cable elevator: she was obscured by a heavy winter coat and a full facemask with a breathing apparatus. Dash walked closer, very quietly, and watched as the mare opened the elevator's front door.
"Where're you going?" said Dash.
The pony spun around to look at her. She snatched up a pair of saddlebags and dove into the elevator, pulling the release lever.
Rainbow Dash moved towards the elevator at a leisurely jog and stood in the way as the elevator door slid shut around her. They bumped against her sides, let out a chime, and opened up again. Dash stared at the mare, blandly, as the doors closed and opened repeatedly.
"Where're you going?" said Dash.
Derring-Do pulled her mask down and let it hang around her neck. "I need to take a look at something in the ruins."
"I thought you said they were Professor Walski's ruins. Isn't that stealing?"
"Well that's the great thing about charcoal rubbings. Whenever you take them, you leave the original behind."
Rainbow Dash arched one eyebrow.
"Look, when we were walking through the ruins I saw several carvings that seemed to reference a geometrical shape... and after doing the linguistics, I'm pretty sure that shape matches the same triangular prism we found earlier. I'm absolutely convinced there's a connection, and this could be our one and only chance to learn the truth."
"Why not wait for Walski to figure it out? You gave her all your notes, didn't you?"
"Because she might not be looking for it. Her methods are...  well, they're her methods. And they're great for finding what you're looking for."
"...But?"
"But they won't help her find things that she isn't looking for." Derring-Do took off her saddlebag and checked the contents one last time. "Look, this doesn't make me a hypocrite. I just need to go in and take a few notes before the excavation continues tomorrow morning. This is something I need to do myself."
Dash stepped into the elevator. "I'm coming with you."
"Don't even joke about that," Derring said. "This will require me to trespass on university property. If they catch us, we'll almost certainly face exorbitant fines and a lengthy jail term. I can't let you risk that... and more importantly, I can't have a clumsy, ignorant non-archeologist tromping after me."
"Sorry," Dash said, "but you're stuck with me. Get used to it."
Derring-Do stepped close and hissed at her under her breath. "I no longer have the time nor the patience to put up with your ridiculous fascination with archeology! I refuse to indulge you any further!"
"I'm not doing this for archeology. I'm doing this for you."
"Well I don't want your help!"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes before meeting her gaze. "If you ever go hiking or spelunking or mountain climbing—
Derring-Do waved at her. "No. Just... don't."
—you always use the buddy system. You bring somepony with you—
"Not one more word, I'm warning you!"
—and you stick together."
Dash and Derring glared at each other for a moment.
"Fine. You can come along. But stay out of my way."
"Be reasonable, Derring-Do... you need all the help you can get. Just think of me as your own personal bodyguard."
"I can take care of myself," Derring said.
"Now who's living in a delusional fantasy? I've personally kicked a dragon in the face and lived to tell about it. You, on the other hoof, have spent the last ten years sitting behind a desk." Dash put on a winter coat of her own and stood beside her. "I'm not saying books aren't cool... they are. But I'm making it my job to keep you alive long enough for you to do your job."
"Now who's the drama queen," Derring-Do muttered as she closed her saddlebags up.
"Here, let me," Dash said and reached for the bags. "Really, it's cool. I work out a lot."
Derring-Do looked her up and down. "Wing-wrestle you for it."
"What?"
"Wing-wrestle you. Winner carries the bags."
"Oh, no. No-no-no." Rainbow Dash pointed to herself. "Trust me, sister, you don't want any of this."
Derring-Do unfurled her left wing and pointed it straight up.
Dash squinted at her. Finally, she extended her own wing and locked the joint against hers. "You asked for this," she said.
Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth and heaved with all her strength, but Derring-Do's wing fell down on her like a sack of bricks and slammed her against the floor. Dash lay on her back and let out a slow, strangled gasp.
Derring ran her nose along her feathers, preening them for a moment. "Like I said... lefty works just fine."
"But... how!?" Dash rolled onto her side. "You've gotta be stronger than most earth ponies I know!"
"I go through physical therapy to keep my right wing from atrophying," she said, "so I decided to exercise both of them together. Plus, I won't ever have to worry about being buoyant or aerodynamic... I can bulk out on heavy muscle as much as I like."
Derring-Do held out her hoof. She was actually smiling.
Rainbow Dash smiled back at her as she took her hoof. "Now that's more like it!"
Derring hoisted her saddlebag up and onto her back with one powerful heave. "More like what?"
"Never mind."