//------------------------------// // Chapter Three // Story: Where Would Rainbow Dash? // by CommissarAJ //------------------------------// Chapter Three Even after becoming a Princess, Twilight Sparkle was no stranger to failure. Her first week as an alicorn was sufficient testimony that not only was failure not foreign to her, but it was practically her second language. Her wings alone accounted for numerous mishaps involving closing doors, spilled drinks, knocked-over vases, obstructing other ponies’ views, and at least a half-dozen crashes. Then there was magic, which for even the best of ponies was a long process of trial and error. A messed-up spell was not uncommon, but for the most part, Twilight never messed up a spell that she couldn’t figure out a way to undo. Staring at the rainbow-maned pegasus who was now convinced that she was the famed archaeologist, Daring Do, Twilight Sparkle was not only left uncertain of how to correct this but also how to even react. The first notion that crossed her mind was calling for the Royal Guard because Applejack was going to be furious when she found out about this. The second, and more rational, thought was to try using some sort of counterspell to undo the damage. Sadly, no exact spell came to mind. Rainbow Dash wasn’t under any persistent magical effect so there was nothing to dispel. Undoing her damage meant Twilight would have to rip those memories out, and that seemed like an even more dangerous idea. “Okay, I can still fix this,” Twilight mumbled to herself as her brain continued churning to concoct a solution. “Helloooo!” Rainbow called out. “Daring to purple pony, do you hear me?” Twilight Sparkle was still staring dumbfounded and slack-jawed like some young filly who had never seen a spell cast before. Eventually, her brain was able to kick itself back into action, but not before Rainbow Dash had snatched her hat back. “Don’t panic,” the alicorn continued muttering to herself, “this is just a minor setback. It’s nothing to worry about.” “Speak for yourself,” Rainbow remarked. She let out a quiet groan as she rubbed her forehead. “I’ve got a headache the size of Celestia’s backside, and its got ‘ouch’ written all over it.” As the alicorn still seemed to be trapped into her own brain short-circuit, Rainbow Dash decided to take a better look at her surroundings. While she didn’t recognize the exact layout, it bore a striking resemblance to the Ponyville. However, the last time that Daring Do visited Ponyville, it was little more than a fledgling town built around an apple orchard and its unique, magical produce. Nonetheless, the sight of Canterlot in the distant mountains left few other possibilities. “What happened to me anyways? Everything is fuzzy,” the pegasus added. It appeared that even in her current state, Rainbow struggled with her memory. She could recall something about a sorceress of some sort or at the very least something involving a lot of magic getting thrown about. “N-nothing!” Twilight insisted. “Just a—um, spell that didn’t quite work out.” “You did this to me?” Rainbow snapped. She didn’t know what ‘this’ was, but in Daring’s experience, magic frequently meant trouble. “You better start—” Rainbow cut herself off mid-sentence when she pointed an accusatory hoof at the other pony. Her gaze fixated on her hoof—her blue hoof. Babbling incoherently, Rainbow Dash began looking to the rest of her body. Blue wings? A cutie of mark of a rainbow-coloured lightning bolt? What madness was this? As panic began to rise up her spine, Rainbow dashed to the nearest reflective surface she could find, which happened to be the glass pane of a storefront. “Wait! I can explain!” Twilight called out as she chased after the pegasus. However, Rainbow Dash was more fixated on staring at the reflection of a pony she could not recognize. Shock, horror, and traces of panic swept across her visage as her mind tried to come to grips with this dissonance. She couldn’t understand how the pony staring back at her was not the visage of Daring Do that she remembered. “Wh-what’s happened to me? My gorgeous tan! My beautiful salt-and-pepper mane!” Rainbow lamented. All of her confusion reached the same logical end: the magic spell the other pony said she casted. Confusion turned to anger as she swung around to face Twilight. “You! Who are you and what have you done to me?” The sudden confrontation tripped Twilight even further as she tried to maintain control of the situation. “I-I can explain,” she stammered. “I was using a memory spell and—” Unfortunately for Twilight, the mentioning of memory spelled had an unforeseen reaction in Rainbow. “Trying to pry open my memories, huh?” Rainbow accused. Her mind began piecing the fragments of Daring Do memories into cohesive patterns until it reached a logical conclusion. “You’re working for Azura! Well, you’ll never get the secrets of the Alicorn Temple from me!” Before Twilight could even ponder who Azura was or its connection to any temple, a swift kick from the defiant pegasus sent her sprawling across the ground. As Rainbow flew off, the downed princess tried to call out after her, but the blow had left her gasping for air. “What was that all about?” Twilight groaned once she had the strength to return to her hooves. Rainbow Dash was already long gone by the time Twilight took to the sky. Nonetheless, she flew off to search for her friend. Under normal circumstances, Twilight could never match Rainbow’s speed in the air, but hopefully the pegasus didn’t remember just how fast she could fly. However, while Rainbow might not have remembered the full extent of her aerial dominance, she did remember how Daring Do eluded her pursuers in the Gryphon’s Goblet. Often the best place for a pony to hide was in plain sight. When Rainbow saw the number of ponies milling about the town’s marketplace, she saw the perfect place to hide from an evil sorceress. Landing amongst the crowds, Rainbow began trotting off to the busier sections of the marketplace. The various tents and stalls offered plenty of cover from any aerial snoopers, and whatever magic has changed her appearance meant that few ponies would recognize her as Daring Do. However, while none would recognize her as Daring Do, there were numerous that seemed to insist on referring to her as ‘Rainbow Dash.’ “Morning, Rainbow!” The first time caught her by surprise, and it took the pegasus a few seconds to realize that it came from the pony by the flower cart. “Oh! Um, good morning,” Rainbow replied. Noticing that the flower cart had a sizable awning attached to it, she trotted over to take advantage of the cover. She figured if she acted like another random patron, it would make it harder for that purple witch to find her. “That was quite the nasty storm we had last night, wasn’t it?” the flower-vendor commented. “I’m surprised you’re not still cleaning it up.” “It’s being taken care of,” Rainbow replied as she played along with the line of conversation. “By the way, hypothetically speaking, where would I go if I needed to get an evil spell undone?” The other pony raised an eyebrow in confusion before chuckling to herself. “Oh come on, Rainbow Dash, you of all ponies should know that Twilight is the only pony in town that can do that,” she answered. “What mess did you two get yourself into this time?” “It’s personal,” Rainbow answered, which was not too far from the truth. Thankfully, that appeared to be enough to deter the flower-vendor’s curiosity. “Do you know where I can find her?” “The library, maybe?” The vendor had little else to offer other than an uncertain shrug of her shoulders. “She’s your friend, though, so you should know better than I.” “O-of course, I knew that!” Rainbow Dash was beginning to think that the spell used upon her did not simply transform her into a different pony, but perhaps transplanted her into the body of somepony else. If that was the case, then the real Rainbow Dash was probably roaming about as Daring Do. It made perfect sense! If Daring Do had become a threat to the evil sorceress, Azura, then what better way to throw the archaeologist off then by dumping her into some random pony? Now all she needed to do was find this Twilight and her real body. But where would Daring Do be? Rainbow pressed her memory but came up empty. Being body-swapped must have had a greater impact on her mind than she realized. Rainbow could barely even remember who Azura was aside from the fact that she was trying to stop the sorceress from taking over Equestria. “How’s AJ?” Rainbow Dash froze on the spot. Given the sensitive nature of ‘saving Equestria’, she didn’t want to make it known that she wasn’t who she appeared to be. “Is something the matter?” the vendor asked. “N-no!” Rainbow insisted. “Everything’s just fine! AJ and I are fine. Stop being so nosy!” “Ohhhh. I think I know what’s wrong,” the flowerpony said with a knowing grin and a chuckle that made Rainbow feel uneasy. “Somepony’s in the doghouse, aren’t they?” Given that ponies were much more likely to believe a lie if deduce it themselves, Rainbow rolled with the presumption. “I-it’s nothing like that at all. It’s really not a big deal” Rainbow said as she feigned avoidance of the issue. “That serious, huh?” The flower vendor paused for a moment to think. Another brilliant grin flashed across her face just moments before she grabbed a large bouquet from her cart. It had a simple glass container stuffed with over a dozen red flowers. “Nothing says ‘please forgive me’ like a nice bouquet of carnations, roses, and alstroemerias.” “They’re nice, but I don’t have the money to be buying flowers right now.” The flowers looked more than nice: they looked gorgeous. It was almost enough to make her lament the broken love life of Daring Do. Being a globe-trotting archaeologist never left much time for romantic pursuits, and most ponies she did meet were either hot-headed adventurers that wouldn’t know a book if it hit them in the face or boring scholars that melted under the smallest bead of sweat. This ‘AJ’ pony must have held great significance to the real Rainbow Dash to warrant such a bouquet. All Daring Do had was a list of short-lived dalliances. She’s had longer relationships with cartons of milk. Despite Rainbow’s protest, the vendor gave the flowers over to her. “Take ‘em, I’ll put them on your tab,” she explained. “I have a tab?” Rainbow got the sudden impression that this was not the first time she’s needed flowers on short-notice. Since she had been playing along thus far, she decided not to buck the trend and accepted the gift. “I’ll be sure to pay you back later,” Rainbow said. Hopefully, such a debt could be paid off by the real Rainbow Dash. After carefully balancing the bundle of flowers upon her back, Rainbow Dash gave her thanks to the flower-vendor whose name she still did not know nor dared to ask. “Well that was weird,” Rainbow thought as she carried on. She wondered what she was going to do with a bunch of flowers, but for the moment she figured they would help aid in her attempts to blend in. Casting a wary eye to the sky, she saw a few pegasus soaring high above. As she couldn’t be certain whether that purple pony was amongst them, Rainbow decided to find a building to duck into. A cafe called ‘Sugarcube Corner’ seemed as good a choice as any. **************************** Applejack could barely even hear her own voice over the pounding rainstorm. Heavy droplets pelted against her face with all the fury of the heavens as thunderclaps rattled her to her very core. Yet while most ponies would have taken cover from such a watery onslaught, Applejack continued her charge out into the orchard. The farmer pony galloped with all her strength and speed, even as the gale-force winds buffeted her movements. “Rainbow Dash!” she shouted. Amidst the dark blanket of thunderclouds, she could see a faint flicker of blue feathers. She tried shouting out once more, but another bolt of lightning drowned out her voice. Applejack knew she couldn’t give up. She had to keep chasing! The pony shouted and shouted until her voice was strained to its breaking point, but no matter how loud she bellowed, the pegasus above continued flying further into the distance. In her desperation, Applejack lost focus on where she was running, and her hooves slipped upon the rain-soaked grass. The farmer pony fell headlong into a mud puddle, which normally shouldn’t have been any concern to a pony who spent half of her day working in the fields. However, when she tried to get back to her hooves, the mud clung to her like glue. “What in tarnation?” she growled as she struggled against her gelatinous prison. Even with her strength, she could not pull herself free. It seemed as though the more she struggled, the tighter it held onto her. “Rainbow! A-Ah’m stuck!” Alas, her cries for help were as futile as before. Her love was little more than a blue speck in the distance. Though trapped and unable to project her voice beyond a few meagre metres, Applejack refused to give in. The earth pony cussed and grunted as she began to pull with such strength that she was certain her limbs were going to be pulled from their sockets. For an instant, Applejack thought she might just be able to pull herself free, but another lightning struck drew her attention skyward. The blue speck that was her errant love was no longer flying away, but instead plummeting to the earth like a clipped bird. “Rainbow!” With her final fervent cry, Applejack came tumbling out of her bed and crashed upon the hardwood floor. Knocked wide awake, the farmer pony sprang to her hooves in a panic. “Who? What? How in the—oh! It was just a bad dream.” The realization that her ordeal had been entirely in her mind came as a huge relief to Applejack. She breathed a quiet sigh to steady her nerves before repeating her last few words in a mumble. “For a second there, Ah thought Rainbow had—” Applejack came to an abrupt halt in her train of thought as her awakening mind recalled the moments before she went to sleep. “Rainbow!” A quick glance about the room revealed the obvious fact that the pegasus had long since flown the coop. Applejack wasn’t certain whether she should be angry or worried. In the end, she felt a bizarre mixture of the two. She wanted to both hug and strangle that pegasus. Perhaps an affectionate chokehold would be suitable. Either way, Applejack knew that she’d need to track that pegasus down before she got herself into trouble. Before galloping out the door, the farmer pony made sure to grab a bundle of rope just in case Rainbow Dash tried to give her the slip. “Ah guess this is that ‘tough love’ everypony is always talking about,” Applejack muttered under her breath. The idea of having to hog-tie her girlfriend just to help did not sit well with her, but she may not be left with any other option. Upon charging out the front door, gung-ho and ready to wrangle a pegasus back to earth if necessary, Applejack wondered how in the world she was going to track down a pony who could be anywhere in Ponyville by now. The first thought that came to mind was Twilight Sparkle. If anypony could track Rainbow down, it would be Twilight and her magic. **************************** Much to Rainbow’s relief, Sugarcube Corner did not appear to be frequented much in the early hours of the day, or perhaps she had lucked out and caught the cafe during an unusually quiet time. The proprietor of the establishment was a kind gentlecolt who had been quick to offer her a milkshake shortly after her arrival. Rainbow had to conclude that the real pony that inhabited her body was a frequent customer. Sadly, with no bits on her, the pegasus had to decline and made up the excuse that she was waiting for AJ. Rainbow decided to pass the time by trying to piece together the bits of her memory that still floated about her mind like peas in broth. What was she forgetting? Using a nearby napkin and a borrowed pen from the yellow stallion behind the counter, Rainbow began jotting down every recent memory of her life as Daring Do. She remembered a bit about an evil sorceress named Azura. There was something about a Temple of the Alicorns as well, but despite what she had claimed earlier, she couldn’t remember anything on the subject. Knowing how Daring usually picks her adventures, no doubt there was a connection to an ancient relic. She remembered there being a forest too—a dark, dangerous forest. The pegasus’ memory mining came to an abrupt halt when yet another pony recognized Rainbow Dash. A blue-maned pegasus had trotted into the cafe, looking proud but fatigued, and was about to order when he saw Rainbow sitting at the nearby table. “Rainbow? What are you doing here?” Soarin’ said. “Shouldn’t you be resting at the farm?” “I...um, needed to get out,” Rainbow replied after covering up her notes with her helmet. While the stallion seemed uninterested in what had been written down, he did take a seat on the opposite side of the table. Rainbow wished she had some idea as to who this pony was. “Well, okay, if you say so,” the stallion replied with some reluctance. “I know things are a little tough right now, RD, but you’ve got to hang in there. I’m always here for you if you need somepony to talk to.” He seemed quite concerned about Rainbow’s well-being. He could just be a friendly colt, but the idea floated through her head that perhaps he was that ‘AJ’ mentioned by the flower-vendor. There did appear to be a casual familiarity between the two, and he did look like potential boyfriend material. “I appreciate your concern,” Rainbow replied as she tried to keep a friendly, open tone. “I’ve just got some really important stuff to deal with right now, and I need to deal with it on my own.” “You know that’s not necessary, Dash,” Soarin’ said before leaning forward to rest his fore legs on the table. “Nopony will think less of you for coming to them for help, especially me. Considering everything, I doubt there’s much you could ask that I wouldn’t do for you.” Rainbow couldn’t remember the last time that a pony showed that level of concern for Daring’s well-being. Even Blondie’s concern  from years ago was built upon a mutual need to survive through the day. It was tempting to take some advantage of Rainbow’s pre-existing relationships, but the archaeologist inside her knew that there were more important things to worry about. Perhaps it was that ‘work first’ mentality that resulted in so many nights alone for Daring. After thinking it over for a moment, Rainbow decided to take the stallion up on his offer. “Actually, I’m kind of looking for Twilight. Do you know where I can find her?” “Beats me,” Soarin’ said with an uncertain shrug. “At this hour, she’s probably at the library.” He was about to leave it at that until he remembered that Rainbow was having memories issues, which was probably why she was asking him such a seemingly simple question in the first place. “It’s the big tree-building just a couple blocks west of here.” “Thanks!” It was one step closer to her goal. She wished she could have told the stallion what was going on, but it was probably for the best that he remained oblivious. The last thing she needed was a fretting boyfriend getting in her way. There was one idea that came to mind, however. Grabbing the bundle of flowers, she slid them across the table to Soarin’. “Here, I got you these.” “Wha—? For me? Aw, geez, Dash, you shouldn’t have!” In fact, the more Soarin’ thought about it, the less sense it made. Rainbow had never been the type for spontaneous gifts, particularly flowers. “Spitfire didn’t put you up to this, did she?” “Spitfire?” Rainbow was beginning to suspect her instincts had been misplaced. “My fiancée,” Soarin’ reminded his fellow pegasus. “I know pregnancy and hormones can make a mare act a little off, but this seems strange even for her.” Rainbow realized that she may have made a critical mistake, but quick-thinking had always been a Daring Do trademark. “Oh, no no! These are for you so you can give them to Spitfire,” she explained. “I’m sure she’d appreciate the surprise, and you look like you’ve been rather busy as of late.” “Hey! That’s a great idea,” Soarin’ said eagerly as he accepted the gift. “And Spitfire says I never do anything for her.” The conclusion of their conversation could not have come at a better time as Spitfire came trotting into the establishment just a few moments later. Much like her fellow Wonderbolt, she expressed confusion upon seeing Rainbow Dash out on her own. “Shouldn’t you be at the farm with Applejack?” Spitfire asked with far more concern than Soarin’ had expressed earlier. “Apparently, she has stuff she needs to take care of on her own,” Soarin’ explained. “Well, if Applejack is okay with it,” the Wonderbolt Captain said but trailed off at the end. She wasn’t going to butt too much into Applejack’s relationship, and she figured that Rainbow wouldn’t be out if the farmer pony hadn’t given her blessings. Before she could say anything further, Spitfire’s attention was drawn to the bundle of red fauna. “Hey, what’s with the flowers?” Seizing the opportunity, Soarin’ slid the bouquet over to his partner. “They’re for you, my beloved!” “Oh, Soarin’! They’re gorgeous.” Nothing like flowers to brighten a mare’s day. As her face beamed with joy, Soarin’ leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. Spitfire, however, wanted to repay the act with a bit more intensity, and she took hold of her love for an even more passionate kiss. With the two Wonderbolts now preoccupied with each other, Rainbow Dash took her opportunity to slip out unnoticed. With the directions to the library fresh on her mind, she knew what her next step would be. “You are just the sweetest stallion there is,” Spitfire cooed, oblivious to Rainbow’s departure. Her attentive eyes caught sight of a small card nestled within the red petals of her bouquet. Plucking the card out, the pegasus read the small inscription. “‘To my dearest Applejack’?” “Er—I can explain!” **************************** “Back in fifteen minutes?” Rainbow shouted in her outrage. Here she was, so close to her objective but was shut down by a cardboard sign taped to the library door. Rainbow couldn’t help but wonder if that purple sorceress may have had something to do with this. Perhaps she or Azura knew that Twilight Sparkle was the only one who could help restore Daring Do. If anything, this at least implied that she was on the right path. “Maybe there’s a clue inside,” Rainbow muttered to herself before she began to open the door. Having cracked into ancient tombs, she figured that breaking into a simple library would be a piece of cake. A flimsy wooden door was hardly an obstacle to the great Daring Do, especially when somepony didn’t bother to lock it before leaving. A simple nudge and Rainbow was inside. For a small-town library, the place appeared to be well-stocked. It wasn’t the library at the Royal Canterlot Museum or the university, but the sight of leather-bound tomes brought a small sense of peace and reassurance to the pegasus. There was just something therapeutic about the feel of paper beneath your hoof and the gentle crinkle with the turn of each page. It was hard for her not to get a bit distracted as she casually browsed the various titles on the shelves. “A lot of books on magic,” Rainbow commented. “I guess that would explain why she’s the magic expert.” However, a librarian might not be as much use to Rainbow as she had hoped. Librarians weren’t known for their interest and aptitude in the hooves-on side of research. During her brief walkabout of the library, one particular book caught her eye. It was in a pile of fictional books, and probably would not have caught her eye had it not been for the image of Daring Do on the cover. “What in Equestria?” Overcome by curiosity, Rainbow picked up the book and looked it over. “‘Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone’,” she read aloud. “I remember that expedition. Who’s been looking through my journal notes?” She began flipping through more of the pages and reading it in more depth. “And who wrote this garbage?” She was going to have a serious word with her publisher once she got this particular mess sorted out. If anypony should be getting money off of her exploits, it should be the pony who stuck her neck out for them in the first place. Before Rainbow could further investigate the depths of this literary theft, the sound of an opening door drew her attention away. Standing in the doorway was a familiar-looking blond-maned pony who looked equally surprised to see Rainbow Dash. “Blondie!” Rainbow shouted. Overcome by relief, she almost tackled the other pony in her haste to embrace the nameless mare. “You have no idea how relieved I am to see you!” “Wh-what in the hay are you talking about?” Applejack stammered back. This wasn’t the reaction the farmer pony had been expecting. “It’s me, Daring Do! I know I look a little strange right now, but you’ve got to believe me!” Rainbow insisted, which did not help alleviate Applejack’s confusion. “What in blazes are you babbling about? You ain’t Daring!” “I’m serious! Some evil sorceress has put a hex on me or something,” Rainbow explained with growing concern. “Here, I’ll prove it to you!” Equal parts bold and daring, Rainbow put her hopes that her memories of their time together was equally strong in the other pony. Giving Applejack no time to even contest, Rainbow hooked her hooves around the other mare and dove lips first into a passionate embrace. Her hooves loosened a bit once she felt the earth pony begin to soften in her grasp. She shifted her hooves to gradually caress through that familiar soft, golden mane. For her part, Applejack was too surprised at first to react. Not too long ago, Rainbow seemed cold and distant to her affection, but now it seemed to have returned in all its glory. It was hard not to get lost in the passion; the warmth of the pegasus’ embrace and the gentle tingle as hooves traced across her frame were almost intoxicating. One could hardly blame Applejack for wanting to hold onto this familiar feeling for as long as she could. She wanted, if only just for a second, as those blue wings wrapped around her frame, that she had her Rainbow Dash back. But she knew it was just a fantasy. The prior talk about Daring Do left too many questions on Applejack’s mind, and when those questions finally bubbled to the surface, she broke away from the embrace. “Rainbow, what in the hay are you going on about?” Applejack snapped in an attempt to conceal the carnal desires the kiss had stirred in her. “And why do you keep calling me Blondie?” Shock and confusion danced across Rainbow’s visage. After taking a step back to look the earth pony over in more detail, it became apparent to her that this was not Blondie, but just another blond-maned earth pony with a countryside twist. The presence of a trio of apples upon the mare’s flank would have been a dead giveaway had Rainbow noticed it earlier. “O-oh! I...uh, s-sorry! I thought you were someone else,” Rainbow stammered upon realizing the gravity of her error. On the bright side, it wasn’t a half-bad kiss. In fact, it was a bit too passionate on the other pony’s part to have been just a case of kissing a random stranger. This left only one logical conclusion. “Y-you must be Applejack, right?” “Well at least one part of your memory ain’t busted. Now would you care to explain what’s going because being left in the dust ain’t good for mah patience.” Thankfully, Applejack wouldn’t need to hear Rainbow’s attempt to explain the situation with only a sliver of memory to call upon. A new voice echoed from just outside the library. “Applejack, wait!” It was Twilight Sparkle. No sooner did the memory-addled pegasus spot the incoming pony, she tried to make a break for an exit. “Oh horsefeathers, she found me!” Rainbow yelped as she flew to the nearby window. “Don’t let her get away!” Applejack glanced between the inbound alicorn and the outgoing pegasus, uncertain of what to do. An explanation would be nice, but it seemed that nopony wanted to give her the courtesy of one. Seeing that Rainbow Dash had no interest in sticking around, Applejack knew the only way to get some semblance of an answer was to keep the pegasus in the room. Thankful that she brought her rope along, Applejack quick reflexes enabled her to lasso her errant lover before Rainbow could make it out the window. The precision-aimed lasso snagged Rainbow around the midsection, pinning her wings against her body. Combined with a sharp, powerful tug, the lassoed pony came crashing back into the library. “Hey! Let me go!” Rainbow shouted as she tried to wrestled free of the rope. However, the experienced rodeo pony had the pegasus hogtied and helpless within a few seconds. Ignoring the pegasus’ pleas, Applejack turned her attention to Twilight. “Now would somepony please explain to me what the hay is going on here!” “Maybe it’d be best if we spoke in private first,” Twilight suggested with a sheepish chuckle. While Twilight was glad that Rainbow Dash had been contained, this left her with the unfortunate task of explaining the situation to Applejack. Much to Twilight’s relief, however, her terms were deemed reasonable and the two ponies convened in a separate room once Rainbow Dash was secured in the basement. “Would you care to explain to me why Rainbow Dash is acting like she’s gone on another Daring Do marathon?” Applejack asked with growing impatience. Twilight felt a growing nervousness clawing at her. While she feared upsetting her friend, she knew that saying nothing would only let down another friend. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Twilight decided to approach it with the same strategy as removing a band-aid. “I ran into Rainbow Dash a little while ago, and she explained what happened,” Twilight began in a hurried voice. “And I know how you usually like doing things without magic, but Dash asked me to try something. So I tried the memory spell that I used back during our encounter with Discord, but it didn’t do anything.” As the words spilled out, her anxiety grew worse, which just made the words cascade even faster. “I didn’t want to push it further but she begged me to try harder. When I tried a more powerful version of the spell, I only made it worse. Please don’t be mad at me!” Applejack remained silent as she stared at her friend, who was already half-braced for a thunderous reprimand. But the farmer pony only let out a quiet sigh. “Ah ain’t mad, Twi,” she said. “You’re not?” Twilight wasn’t going to complain, but it did come as a shock. “Not even a little?” “Well Ah ain’t happy about it if that’s what you’re asking,” Applejack replied, “but Ah can’t say Ah blame you for wanting to help a friend. Why if Ah hadn’t been passed out in mah bed, Ah probably would’ve asked you the same thing.” “You would?” “You didn’t see what Dashie was like earlier today,” Applejack continued as her tone became more morose. “She tried to go clear up some clouds, but she completely froze. Ah ain’t ever seen her so terrified before.” Just recalling the incident was almost enough to make Applejack tear up. “She’s just...she ain’t the same pony anymore. All that confidence and energy is just gone.” Twilight Sparkle could only imagine the kind of heartache that Applejack was going through. Losing somebody close to you was hard enough, but to have them still physically walking around was just a reminder of the hole left in your heart. “So how exactly did your memory spell go from nothing to making her think she’s Daring Do of all ponies,” Applejack asked. She was willing to chalk it up to ‘it’s magic’, but knowing a bit more about the situation might help them figure out a way to fix it. Twilight didn’t fully understand what went wrong, but she had a theory. “Well, the memories are still somewhere inside Rainbow’s mind, but she’s lost them. Her mind doesn’t know how to find them. So in order to enhance the memory spell, I used an object that Rainbow shared a lot of memories with. The idea is that it’s used as a kind of map for the mind to find its way back to those memories.” “Okay, so what did you use?” “Her hat, or at least I thought it was her hat.” “She’s had that hat for a day,” Applejack explained. "You were there when Ah bought it, remember?" “I forgot, okay?” Twilight admitted. “I mean, it looks just like the one she’s had for years. But worse than that, that hat used to belong to the real Daring Do!” Applejack eye’s widened at the news. “You mean she’s real?” she exclaimed. “Ah thought those stories were all just crazy made-up stuff!” “Well I don’t know how accurate the stories are,” Twilight continued, “but there was a real Daring Do who was a real archaeologist and traveled the world. So using Daring’s hat caused Rainbow’s mind to find its way to all of her memories of the books she’s read. Since that’s now the only memories she’s got, her mind naturally thinks they’re her own.” On the bright side, at least Daring Do was a known entity, which meant that Applejack wouldn’t be completely clueless as how to handle the pegasus. However, knowing Daring Do, it was going to be difficult to convince the pegasus that this was a freak accident involving memories and not a body-swap as Rainbow claimed. Crazier things had happened to Daring Do according to the books. “So what do we do now? There ain’t no way she’s going to rest and recover if she thinks she’s Daring Do,” Applejack asked as her own attempts at coming up with a plan fell short. “Before she ran away from me, she mentioned something about a Temple of the Alicorns.” “‘Daring Do and the Temple of the Alicorns’ is the title of the latest book.” “Of course! The memories of that book would be the freshest on her mind, so naturally she’d think they’re the most recent,” Twilight exclaimed with growing confidence. “That means Daring—I mean, Rainbow Dash will try to continue her quest.” “And how does that help us get Rainbow back?” The triumphant grin on Twilight’s face promptly evaporated under her friend’s scrutiny. “It doesn’t, but at least we’ll have an idea of what Rainbow will try to do next.” “Except Rainbow’s the only pony who’s read the book,” Applejack informed her friend. “Ah’ve only heard a few bits and pieces. It’s something about an evil sorceress named Azura trying to find some lost relic.” “Maybe I should go get the book, it might help us convince Rainbow that she’s not who she thinks she is,” Twilight suggested. At this point, the two ponies were trying to find whatever semblance of a plan they could. At the very least, it would give them a lead if Rainbow tried to run off again. “Ah’ll go get it,” Applejack insisted. “Are you sure?” Twilight expressed her doubts. “You saw how Rainbow Dash was reacting to me earlier.” “Ah can’t fly or do magic, Twilight,” the farmer pony explained plainly. “If she escapes, Ah can’t track her down like you can. Just make a force field or something. How hard can it be to keep one pegasus inside?” A salient point, Twilight had to admit. She typically used force fields to keep things out rather than somepony in, but it held the potential for a short-term solution. Once Applejack got the book, they could maybe confront Rainbow Dash with it. In the meantime, Twilight could use the opportunity to maybe convince Rainbow Dash that, at the very least, that there was nothing to fear from the alicorn. After Applejack hurried on her way back to the farm to find the aforementioned Daring Do tale, Twilight Sparkle made her way downstairs where she was relieved to find that Rainbow Dash was still bundled up. “So? Have you come to torture the answers out of me? You won’t get anything from me,” Rainbow said with all the defiance a hogtied pony could muster. “Rainbow—” “Daring! If you’re going to interrogate me, the least you could do is get my name right.” Twilight tried to contain her annoyance but her eyes still did a few barrel rolls in response. “I’m not here to interrogate you, Daring,” Twilight continued. “I don’t work for Azura. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and, believe it or not, I’m your friend.” “You mean you’re Rainbow Dash’s friend,” the incapacitated and irritated pegasus snorted back. The animosity was understandable, but Twilight was determined to fix things between them. It would be hard to help her friend if said pony didn’t believe they needed help in the first place. “Meaning that I’m not here to hurt you.” Now it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to roll her eyes. Had she not tired herself out struggling against the ropes, she would have tossed in a few more pithy retorts. For the time being, she settled for quiet brooding. Since words alone weren’t going to win the pegasus’ trust, Twilight decided that it would be best if she displayed a bit of trust on her part. While it was risky, it felt wrong keeping her friend tied up. Without a word, Twilight used her magic and undid the ropes binding the pegasus. Rainbow was surprised at first. She exchanged glances between the slacking ropes and the alicorn before slowly raising to her feet. “Th-this doesn’t change anything,” Rainbow insisted. Her defiance was met with her a growing sense of uncertainty. Perhaps she had been hasty in judging this Twilight Sparkle. Everypony that Rainbow met spoke of the alicorn with reverence, which made her being in league with an evil sorceress like Azura seem improbable. “I want to help you,” Twilight stated. “You want your Rainbow Dash back, right?” Twilight nodded. “Then help me find Azura and undo whatever curse she’s put on me,” Rainbow said. “That will fix all of our problems.” Twilight was tempted to try and reiterate that Rainbow was not the real Daring Do, but it would just fall on deaf ears and ruin what progress she’s made in building trust. Once Applejack brought the book back and they could show Rainbow what happened to Azura, the situation would be better contained and they could focus on finding a solution. “I’ll help in whatever way I can if it means getting my friend back,” Twilight agreed. It wasn’t a lie, but she felt bad misleading her delusional friend. She reminded herself that this was for the best. “How about we go back upstairs and you could help me with some research? I might be able to find some information that could help us figure out what spell Azura used on you.” Okay, that was a lie, but it was a necessary deception to keep Rainbow from flying off on her own again. She kept Applejack’s idea of a force field around the library in mind, but refrained from using it just yet as it would turn the pegasus against her in an instant. “I could go for some quiet research,” Rainbow said with a tired sigh. “I think I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”