//------------------------------//
// Daring Do and the Cyber Spirits (c) 
// Story: The Majestic Tale (of a Mad-Pony in a Box) 
// by R5h 
//------------------------------//


And now, the conclusion to Daring Do and the Cyber Spirits.






Twilight tried to force the logical part of her mind to take control, but watching one of her closest friends mere seconds from death made this impossible. The choices ran in a loop in her head: do nothing, and watch Rainbow Dash die; put the console right-side-up, and send her into the pit faster; or shake the console, thus battering its inhabitants even worse than they already seemed to be.

There was nothing to do.

But—a flash of gray. Ahuizotl reared back in pain, both hands covering his face. Twilight realized, a second later, that Derpy had stuck him in the eye with her wing.

And there she was, grabbing on to Rainbow Dash and the Doctor, heaving them up above the level of the pit. That was all the prompting Twilight needed; she focused her magic on the console, lifted and rotated it as smoothly as she could, and set it back on the ground.

She saw Derpy collapse upon the ground with her burden. Ahuizotl leaped off the invisible wall just in time, stumbling blindly across the dirt, swinging his tail to and fro with enough force to negate Derpy's act of heroism if he struck any of them.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight yelled. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yes!” she squeaked.

“And Mr. Kingpin?”

“I-I think he'll be okay!”

“Then get in here!”

A moment later Fluttershy dashed into the little alcove and saw the screen. “Oh my goodness, no!” Her hooves went over her mouth. “What do we do?”

“We're going in.” Twilight concentrated, remembering the whirr of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver as he'd sent himself and Derpy into the game. On screen, Ahuizotl struck Derpy with a random swing of his tail, sending her flying against an invisible wall.

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy said quietly.

“As I ever am.” She had it. She thought she had it. In either case, she had to try. “Let's go.”

Her horn lit up purple for a second—but fizzed, and crackled blue. It whistled, it warbled, it pierced her ears with the sound.

The screen went black, and the words she'd grown to detest appeared upon it. The familiar wind blew at her back, and she jumped in.

All was black for a moment—then she landed on the soft dirt, right in front of the stumbling Ahuizotl. He lunged at her, but she magically grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him against the wall.

His eyes finally opened, and though they were red and teary they seemed to work well enough. “Who are you?” he asked.

“Don't you dare lay a finger on any of my friends. Not now, not ever!” Her magic pressed him harder to the wall—but not much harder.

He coughed out a laugh. “And you think you can stop me, girl?” Abruptly he planted his tail on the wall and pushed—and Twilight realized, as her magic failed to hold him, just how tired she was. He landed on the ground in front of her as she staggered and started taking deep breaths, feeling the bruises on her back, the ache in her head.

“I think I will!” Fluttershy dove in front of Ahuizotl's face. “Just who do you think you are, picking on ponies half your size?”

“I am Ahuizotl! Ruler of the jungle, murderer of the seas!” He stared defiantly back at her.

“No you're not! You're just a big delusional bully who thinks he's a character in a book, and can't think about anyone beside himself!”

“Lies!” Ahuizotl leaned back over the pit as Fluttershy moved in on his face.

“Oh yeah? Prove it. Let my friends go.”

“You ask me to die?” Gone was the villain's arrogance; he was leaning so far back that his tail was propped against the invisible wall.

“You can just come right back. They can't!” Fluttershy's nose almost touched Ahuizotl's, and her voice was as fierce as it always wasn't. “So, what's it going to be?”

Ahuizotl looked around and gulped. “I suppose... you leave me no choice, fierce one. But know this!” He snarled one last time. “You could not defeat me through strength alone—and as I fall now, so shall you fall to the final boss.”

“What final boss?” Twilight yelled.

He turned to her, his eyes slits, and she realized what it meant to look daggers at someone. His word was a whisper. “Quetzalcoatl.” He raised his tail and disappeared into the pit. A second later, the earth rumbled as sand rose back up from the depths, leveling out the ground.

Fluttershy dashed back to the group, wearing an expression of pure terror. “Oh my goodness, is anyone hurt?”

Twilight noticed the Doctor in her peripheral vision, his jaw hanging slack. “Did she just...?” he managed a few seconds later.

“She can be pretty persuasive when she wants to be.” Twilight almost smiled, but as she turned to look at the Doctor she noticed Derpy and Rainbow Dash lying on the ground—and the awful angle of Rainbow Dash's wing. She rushed to her friend's side. “What happened to her?”

“Ahuizotl threw me at her,” the Doctor admitted. “Not my finest moment.” His hoof sneaked up on Rainbow Dash's wing joint, so that when the two touched Rainbow Dash didn't notice. Frankly, she wasn't noticing much of anything at the moment; her eyes were closed, her face was pale, and she groaned gently with each breath. “It's dislocated,” the Doctor muttered as he felt the joint. “I might have been able to fix it, but I'm, ah... a bit low on resources at the moment.”

“What?”

“I lost my sonic screwdriver in the fight.”

“What?” Without that, how are they going to get out? In fact, she realized, how am I going to get out?

“Hold on just a damn minute!” Daring Do barged in between the two of them. “Your little wand could have fixed my wing this whole time and you didn't think it was worth mentioning?”

The Doctor stood his ground. “We've got a few other priorities right now, Daring. Like getting Rainbow Dash in a state where we can move her.”

“But would it have killed you to mention—”

“Quiet!” Twilight yelled, for Rainbow Dash's eyes were fluttering open. She bent down to her friend's eye level, as did Fluttershy and the Doctor. “How do you feel?”

“Like a negative million bits,” Rainbow groaned. She looked at Twilight, then around at the others there: Derpy, who was pulling herself to her hooves; Fluttershy and the Doctor, with looks of relief on their face; and finally at Daring Do, who didn't seem so relieved. “You.” Weak as Rainbow's voice was, the vitriol within it was undeniable.

“Me what? Spit it out.” Conversely, as fierce as Daring was acting, her retort sounded feeble and desperate.

“You're the one who nearly yanked my wing off. You said you don't care about us.”

“That? No, that was so Ahuizotl wouldn't kill you to spite me!”

“Yeah, right.” A tremor shook Rainbow's body, and she made a short pant of pain. Then she looked up at Daring Do once more. “I used to look up to you.”

Daring Do seemed to forget how to speak. Her mouth flapped and nothing emerged.

“Enough.” All eyes turned to Derpy, who was standing firm now. “Fix her,” she said, looking at Twilight. “You've gotta spell have that can do it.”

“You mean 'have a spell',” Daring Do mumbled.

“Don't talk to her like that.” There was more force in Rainbow's voice now, and more color in her face. She looked up at Twilight. “Can you patch me up?”

“I think so. This might hurt a bit.” She focused her magic on Rainbow Dash's wing joint, feeling the ball and the socket, and the distance between them. “Okay, on three. One, two—”

She shoved the joint back into place. Rainbow Dash howled. “What happened to three?”

“I read somewhere that you're not supposed to get to three.” She grabbed one side of Rainbow Dash, Derpy grabbed the other, and together they lifted the pegasus to her feet. “How are you feeling now?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow Dash took a few shaky steps, but didn't fall. “I think I'll be okay.” She flexed her wings and cringed. “Won't be flying for a while, though.”

“Okay,” Derpy said, turning now to the Doctor. “How do we get out?”

The Doctor closed his eyes and pressed a hoof against the bridge of his nose. “Twilight figured out a spell to get in here... she can probably figure out a spell to get out.”

“But we still need to beat the game?”

“Most likely, yes.”

Derpy jumped into the air, flying high above the jungle canopy for a moment, before falling back to earth. “The end is that way.” She pointed at a break in the jungle around them. “Let's go. Doctor, lead the way. Twilight, figure out that spell. Fluttershy, make sure Rainbow Dash keeps moving. I'll stay in back with Daring Do to make sure she doesn't get us into trouble again.”

No one moved for a few seconds, until the Doctor exclaimed, “Well, what's everyone standing around for? Allons-y!”





Twilight and the Doctor emerged from the jungle first, followed by Fluttershy supporting Rainbow Dash, and Derpy and Daring Do in the back. At least, Twilight assumed they were all still behind her; she couldn't spare any concentration to look at them. She focused on remembering the feeling of the spell that had brought her into the game, and trying to figure out a spell that felt opposite.

It wasn't going well. Or, for all she knew, it was—the process was only a shade more scientific than a wild guess. Even after a few minutes, when she'd come up with something that seemed more or less right, she couldn't be sure. She tested it, letting her horn glow with power, and felt a rushing sensation like wind against her face, ruffling her hair. But she couldn't be sure.

“Oh, is that good?” She opened her eyes to see a hopeful looking Doctor, standing on a stone path she hadn't even noticed. Torches lined the path, burning brightly, though superfluously—it was still day outside, wasn't it?

A moment later, she realized that no, it wasn't. In her distraction she'd failed to notice that night had fallen, leaving the sky black and without stars. It was like being in a void, or a dream.

“Twilight?” The name brought her back to herself, and she realized that in noticing the night, the feeling of the spell had slipped away from her. She groaned in dismay. Why can't I do two things at once?

“Ah. Not going wonderfully, then.” The Doctor shrugged. “How do you feel?”

“Like I'm gonna get a couple of my best friends killed.” She sighed. “I just don't know if this is going to work.”

“Well, if it's any comfort, I never know if it's going to work, and I've turned out all right.” He smiled for a moment. “More or less.”

“But what if I fail?”

“You won't.”

“Don't tell me that. Both of us know I could.”

Any trace of smile faded from the Doctor's face. “If—and this is a very small, unlikely if—but if you fail, you need to remember something.”

“That is?”

“That whatever else happened, you did the best you could. And from what I know about you, that's the best anyone could. There's no shame in that.”

She didn't feel any more confident. “And do you know that's going to work?”

“I figure it has to work for someone.” He sighed—then, only a moment later, was chipper once more. “Now, buck up, if you'll pardon the expression. You'll be brilliant, believe me.” For all his high spirits, Twilight had the impression that she'd heard more than he meant to say. She felt she had to say something in return.

“Um... Doctor...” Not that she had no idea what that thing might be.

“Yes?”

“Um... remember the first time we met?”

“In the eternal field of your spotless mind, yes. You shared a couple of memories with me—thanks again for that, by the way.”

“It's just that, now that I think about it... I think you shared some things with me too.”

His head snapped to look at her. “What kind of things?”

“It's hard to describe, but mostly...” She concentrated on the vague memory of the time they'd spoken without words. It was a task less rewarding than making up a counter-spell; the feeling seemed to slip away as she tried to find it. “You felt guilty.”

The Doctor sighed and looked at the ground. “Someday I am going to have to figure out how to make a one-way door between minds. Go on?”

“You've lost friends, haven't you. Ponies—people, I guess—people you couldn't save.”

“Oh, you are just the high princess of tact today, Miss Sparkle.” He trudged ahead of her.

“I'm sorry!” she exclaimed at his back. “I just needed to ask... why'd you bring Derpy here?”

He looked back at her, stopping dead in his tracks. “What do you mean?”

“I think you were lying earlier, about how Fluttershy and I shouldn't go in the game because we were former Elements of Harmony. She's the current Element of Honesty, and she's your friend. And you brought her into danger.”

He didn't make any sort of retort. He didn't even look angry. In the inconstant torchlight, he just looked empty, like someone had jabbed a needle into his face and drained away all the feeling. “I'm sorry,” Twilight stammered. “I shouldn't have asked.”

“Can you get a move on?” Rainbow Dash called out from behind her. “I don't wanna be in here any longer than I have to, and Fluttershy's getting tired.”

Without a word, the Doctor started walking forward once more, still with the same blank look. Twilight followed a little behind him, uncomfortable with looking too closely. It felt obscene, like she was seeing something private that should have stayed hidden.

“I suppose I do, don't I,” he finally said. A few seconds later, he turned his head, and to her relief he'd composed his features into something merely sad. “But there's fifteen lost spirits trapped in here, and Derpy's the best assistant I've got. Some things are worth a little guilt.” He turned away again, mumbling. “Some things are worth it.”

“I guess she wouldn't have let you keep her out anyway, would she.”

“Not for anything.” He smiled. Just a little, but it was enough for Twilight to relax.





Rainbow's wing caught on a low-hanging branch as they were leaving the jungle. She winced, and tried to keep going, but she was properly stuck. She gritted her teeth and work her wing backward as subtly as possible.

Of course, Fluttershy was right next to her, so there was little hope of her playing it cool. She lifted her own wing and pressed down on the branch, freeing Rainbow's wing. Rainbow sighed in relief and walked out of the jungle.

“Careful,” Fluttershy said, looking down at the stone tiles that stretched forward as far as there was torchlight to see by. Even compared to the dense undergrowth of the jungle, they were treacherous; there was no consistent ground level to be found. “Do you need to lean on me?”

“My wing's hurt, Flutters, not my legs. I'll be fine.” She stepped forward, misjudged the height of one of the steps, and fell right on her face. “You win,” she grunted, mouth flat against the ground.

Fluttershy helped her to her hooves. “You've had a really bad accident. You're gonna be a little shaky everywhere, even where you didn't get hurt. Just let me stay with you.”

“All right, all right.” She let Fluttershy help her up a particularly tall step. “Just don't call it an accident. What happened, happened for a reason.” She grimaced. “And the reason is that the featherbrain behind me is a complete jerk.”

“Not Derpy?”

“What? No. Daring.” She spat out the word like it would poison her otherwise. “Actually, you know what? I'm not gonna call her that. She's not the real Daring Do, or else she wouldn't have... given up on us like that.”

“It can't have been that bad,” Fluttershy said.

“Fluttershy, she nearly tore my wing off in that fight. And she didn't lift a hoof to save us.” Rainbow would have yelled, but she didn't feel up to it. She compensated with the harshest whisper she could muster. “That was all Derpy, and Twilight, and you. How does it feel to be a better hero than an actual so-called hero?”

“Oh, um...” Fluttershy blushed. “Thank you.”

“Heck, how does Derpy feel?” Rainbow almost tripped over a stone jutting out beneath her hoof; Fluttershy put a wing out in front of her, catching her. “Sorry about that. But I think I know how she feels.”

“You do? You're not usually that good with... feelings.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but hear me out. Imagine if her guy turned out to be a huge jerk. How'd she feel then?”

“I... think that's just how you feel again,” Fluttershy said, grunting as she helped Rainbow up over a little cliff of stone.

“Are you sure?” Rainbow looked back at Fluttershy. “Hey, are you all right?”

“I'm fine.” She smiled, but Rainbow noticed a gleam on her face in the torchlight. Sweat was collecting in her coat. “Just let me worry about the two of us, okay?”

Rainbow sighed. “Told you you were a hero.”

Fluttershy blushed even redder than before.





As she'd promised, Derpy was still stuck in the back with Daring Do as they left the jungle. Not the Doctor, and not Rainbow Dash; she was with the one who'd nearly gotten them all killed. It stank to be the responsible pony sometimes.

Not that Daring Do was being combative, or whiny, or in any way troublesome. Frankly, Derpy might have preferred that to what Daring Do was doing instead: saying nothing, avoiding eye contact, and generally putting on a show of non-existence.

Much of Derpy's attention was devoted to deciphering the treacherous, flickering light on the stone footing, and it took her several minutes to make the obvious connection. But, finally, she realized: Silent, just like I was with the Doctor. A whole host of implications blossomed in her mind.

Something must have shown on her face—maybe a self-satisfied grin—because Daring Do chose that moment to talk. “Whatever you're gonna say, please don't.” Well, she chose that moment to mumble, in any case.

“You do care.”

“Please, don't.”

“You liked it, how Rainbow Dash up looked to you. And there you were, acting like we shouldn't do that!”

“And look how right I was.” Daring looked down at the ground. “I kept saying I wasn't Daring Do. Now you finally took the hint.”

“But you'd like to be Daring Do.”

“Not much I can do about that.”

“Not that attitude with.”

“You mean... oh, it doesn't matter.” Daring sighed. “She's not gonna care what I do now, anyway.”

“Probably not.” Derpy wondered if she should let herself thaw, as she deliberately looked away from Daring and plodded onward. In the front, Twilight's horn lit up, and she saw a smile on the Doctor's face. Behind them, Rainbow Dash stumbled on some protruding stone, but Fluttershy managed to keep her stable.

“Sorry, by the way,” came Daring's voice from behind her.

“For which thing?”

“Well, this time I'm sorry I called you wall-eyes. That was rude.”

“Oh, really?” Derpy rolled her eyes, but then caught herself. She's apologizing. She's trying. “Apology accepted,” she said. The two of them continued on in silence.

The torches made it difficult to judge distance, and when Derpy looked up only a few minutes later she jumped backward; a massive temple had appeared just in front of her, out of the darkness. It seemed to loom over her head, and looked ready to topple at any moment. There were deep cracks high in the temple, where hardly any light reached, and there was an unholy smell about the thing, one that put her in mind of unheard pleas just before ancient sacrifices.

Of course, it couldn't topple on her. It was a step pyramid. Step pyramids wouldn't fall over like dominoes, silly, she reminded herself. They'd collapse inward.

Then she noticed the door. “Do we have to go in there?” she asked the group at large.

“Most likely,” the Doctor replied, at the front of their group. He was a good fifty yards from the door, and sounded about as enthusiastic as Derpy felt.

“Then why we aren't?”

“Look,” he said, tapping the ground in front of him and producing not the short sound of hoof on stone, but a muffled rustle. Derpy jumped into the air to see that surrounding the temple was a massive moat of sand. “So?” the Doctor asked. “Who wants to test the waters?”

For a few seconds, no one moved. And, as far as Derpy could be sure of, nothing moved. After all, the torchlight made it impossible to gauge such a thing even if it were happening. Why would the sand be rising in front of them, anyway...

But within seconds the movement became undeniable. The sand bulged, forming an ever-growing mound in front of them, and the air filled with hissing—until a massive snake burst from the sand and towered over them.

Even in the faint light, Derpy knew who it was. The crest of green feathers around the head; the massive red-tipped wings that spread out to encircle the group; the massive fangs, and the surprisingly small eyes—small but cunning: this could only be Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent.

The seven of them were still; the six of the group eyed Quetzalcoatl, and he them. At long last, he spoke, but not in the sibilant hiss that Derpy had expected. Instead, his tone was very casual, as if he weren't a snake the size of a pyramid. “It's nice to have company once in a while, isn't it?” He might have smiled, but Derpy wasn't sure; snake's faces didn't seem to be very good at it.

“Er... hello!” The Doctor raised his hoof and waved like he was still practicing the gesture. “I'm the Doctor, and you must be Quetzalcoatl.”

“Greetings, Doctor.” The snake leaned in close to see them, and Derpy realized how much bigger his mouth was than her whole body. Even his 'small' eyes were the size of her head. “I've spent so much time here, and not one pony has showed up. And now... well, not one pony has showed up. Why is that, I wonder?”

“We've sort of gotten roped in by twos, actually... bit of a long story.” The Doctor scratched his neck. “By the way, I'd like to mention that you are incredible. Has anyone ever mentioned?”

“No one's been here to mention.”

“Yeah, I suppose so... I do mean it, though.” The Doctor grinned. “Look at you. You're like nothing I've ever seen outside of a painting.”

“Really? Well, that's very kind of you.” Quetzalcoatl's wings shifted up, then back down. It took Derpy a few seconds to recognize that this was probably a shrug.

“Could you two save the flirting for later?” Daring Do asked. 

“Ah, my old nemesis!” Quetzalcoatl had been uncomfortably close before; now he leaned in further until he was nose to nose with Daring Do. “You look a bit under the weather this evening.” Daring gulped. “Oh, that's disappointing. The game hasn't been kind to you, has it.”

“Listen,” the Doctor said. “We just want to get out of here. This game, that is. And I'm afraid that means we have to go through you.”

“Oh, naturally.” Quetzalcoatl sighed. “Being the final boss, I can't be skipped, so you've got to quote-unquote kill me. Quite a feat under normal circumstances, I assure you.”

“And now?” the Doctor asked.

“Go ahead.”

The Doctor paused. “Sorry?”

“No permanent damage to myself, given that I respawn. And it's necessary for you to get out of here. It should not be a difficult decision for you.”

“Erm. Okay... this may sound a bit rude, but... how?”

“Oh, my word. I forgot!” Quetzalcoatl chuckled. “In the normal boss fight, you have to trick me into attacking with my wings, and letting them strike the torches.”

“We have to... immolate you,” Twilight said.

“Barbaric, isn't it? Well, I suppose I'll be doing most of the work here. Stand back, please.” Without further warning, his wings thrust forward through the group, and their tips touched the torches. Fire surged along the wings and onto the feathered body, which caught like a pile of matches. What had been a landscape in shadow suddenly blazed with light, every detail thrown into stark relief by the bonfire.

Derpy winced. “Doesn't that hurt?” she yelled.

“Rather a lot!” Quetzalcoatl replied, sounding quite cheerful as he writhed and sank into the sand. “By the way, don't cross the sand until I'm fully beneath it, or it will drag you down.”

“Do you want to come with us?” the Doctor asked. “I'm sure we could get you out too.”

Rainbow Dash groaned. “Doctor, stop offering to give the bad guys a ride.”

“It pays not to assume someone's what they seem, Rainbow Dash. So how about it, Quetzal?” He raised a hoof. “You could escape with us!”

“I'll have to respectfully decline!” The serpent's body stiffened, standing straight up like an obelisk—then sinking into the sand. “Goodbye, and have a nice daaaayyyyyy...”

The sand rushed into his open mouth, so that when he finally sank beneath it there was a crater left. Yet again, no one spoke or moved for several seconds; it had been that kind of day.

“I think we just found the world's most accommodating person,” Twilight said.

“Yeah,” Derpy replied. Then she winced at the sound of grinding stone, and realized that the door of the pyramid was slowly lifting out of sight, revealing a dark passageway inside.

“Do you think the sand's actually safe now?” Twilight eyed it cautiously.

“I'm a pegasus, I'll test it.” Derpy dove down to the ground, only to stop several inches above the sand. Daring Do was already standing there, looking nervously at her hooves, but not sinking. She looked around and smiled nervously at the others.

“Good enough for me,” Rainbow Dash said. She pushed past Daring Do and marched across the sand. The rest of the group followed soon after, with Daring Do coming in last. From what Derpy could see of her face in the flickering light, she was doing a terrible job of acting like she didn't care.





Was it really that she couldn't make it up to Rainbow Dash? To the one who idolized her, who had a costume of her, who at this rate was probably going to burn the costume when they got back—that would be enough to explain how Daring Do felt, as Rainbow Dash brushed past her without a second thought.

And yet there was something besides shame growing in the pit of Daring Do's virtual stomach, as she followed the rest of them inside the massive pyramid. It might have been awe, and that would be justified; the narrow stone path on which they trod was only the merest part of the massive room around them. The torches illuminated a sea of sand around them, so wide that Daring could not see the end of it.

And then again, it might have been elation—for she could see the statue of the Vision Serpent, a snake eating a stylized pony, in front of them. Their ticket out of here. And yet then again, the feeling might have been confusion, as she tried to figure out why anyone would venerate a statue of a snake eating a pony in the first place.

No, she realized. It's fear. Because Quetzalcoatl was full of manure. Why wouldn't he want to leave too?

“Woo!” Derpy did a lopsided loop-de-loop in the air. She didn't look very conflicted. “We did it!”

“Now, everyone!” the Doctor called. “Remember, when we touch the Vision Serpent there's a break in gameplay, and Twilight can use her magic to get us all out. But we have to stay together! Otherwise we're not all getting out, understand?”

“Yeah, yeah, fine, now let's go!” Rainbow Dash surged forward into a full canter—and then froze.

She did not skid to a halt. She did not slow down. She simply froze in mid-step. Daring's mouth dropped open, and she took a step forward—or tried to. She looked down and tried to move her hooves, but they wouldn't.

“What's happening?” Fluttershy said. “It's not just me, is it?”

“Can anyone move?” the Doctor yelled.

“I'm stuck!” Derpy cried, floating upside-down in the air. “What's going on?”

“You shouldn't have trusted a snake, fools...” Daring Do craned her neck at the sound. Behind her, the sand began to move, and bulged upward once again.

Quetzalcoatl burst out, but with none of the geniality he'd been putting on before. His fangs were bared as he rose higher and higher out of the sand, much further than he'd gone during the boss battle.

“You said you didn't want to escape!” the Doctor yelled.

“I said I didn't want to escape with you!” Quetzalcoatl hissed. “But I have been lonely here, waiting to be slain by some hacked-together hero and finding none—and I would very much like to escape on my own. You were necessary only to open the temple—but no longer.”

“You're wrong!” Twilight yelled. “You can't leave here without me!”

“Foolish girl. I got what I needed from your little group some time ago.” The tail of Quetzalcoatl was emerging from the sand; it became thinner and thinner until it finally broke away—but the very end seemed to be wrapped around something. And, unless Daring's eyes were playing tricks on her, the something in question was silvery and had a blue tip.

“My screwdriver!” the Doctor gasped.

“I've followed you from deep within the earth this whole time, Doctor. I've heard what this device can do. And when it fell into a pit, I saw my chance and saved it. By its power you have been bound in place, and by its power I shall emerge into the waking world, and be recognized for the god I am!”

Daring Do struggled, but there was nothing she could do. She'd spend the rest of her days even more trapped than she'd started them.

“And now, I take my leave of you.” Quetzalcoatl inclined his head in mock humility. “Goodbye, fair strangers, and have a very nice eternity.” He dove toward the Vision Serpent.

“No!” Twilight spat. She screwed up her eyes in concentration, and her horn flickered with light. A single purple bolt flew from it, striking Quetzalcoatl's tail. It flailed, and the sonic screwdriver fell off. It clattered to rest in front of Daring Do, close enough for her to bend over and pick it up with her mouth.

Daring Do looked up at the Vision Serpent. She could see her escape; freeing herself from her bonds, running past the assembled ponies, grabbing the Vision Serpent and shaking a triumphant hoof at Quetzalcoatl. Using the screwdriver to pluck herself from the game...

Seeing Rainbow Dash's face, even more bitter than it was already. Confirming every awful thing that Dash must have thought about her.

Daring Do sighed. Well, I'll hate myself either way. She grabbed the sonic screwdriver in her mouth and squeezed—and almost fell over as movement returned to her body. She could use her hooves now—but she could do one better. She flipped the screwdriver around in her mouth and pointed it at her injured wing.

The bandage sprang off, and she felt free. “Hey!” she yelled. “Klutzalcoatl! Looking for this?” She grabbed the sonic screwdriver with her wing—I can grab things with my wing!—and turned it on, letting the snake hear the whistling sound it made. She saw his snarl, saw him turning around, and took off.

She could move her wings. She could fly, and soar, and flip—if she had the time. Instead, she dove at Quetzalcoatl's face, quickly enough that he couldn't react, and drove both rear hooves into his eye. As he reared back in pain, she swooped down over the path, and—sonic screwdriver in her mouth once more—freed Derpy, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and finally the Doctor. She opened her mouth and dropped the screwdriver in front of him.

“Go!” she yelled.

“You have to come with us!” he replied.

“Just go!”

She looked back to see Quetzalcoatl turning around, one eye closed and bloody. “You!” he spat. “You will not slow me down!” He surged at her with incredible speed.

He thinks I still have it. “You want it? Come and get it!” She flew right at his face, but this time he was ready; his jaws opened wide to receive her. She swerved out of the way just as they snapped shut.

“You will wish you could die,” he snarled, whipping his head back around with remarkable agility.

“Sure, sure, but answer me this!” she yelled. “If I've got the free ride, then what am I doing over here?”

He froze. “You little...” He looked around to see the other five clustered around the statue, ready to touch it. He surged away. Daring Do darted after him, knowing she wouldn't catch up, and hoping that the rest of those idiots would do what they had to.

Quetzalcoatl was mere yards away, but they did. The Doctor reached out and touched the Vision Serpent.

They all froze, save for the statue; it rose gently into the air, and glowed to light up the whole pyramid. There was no sound, save for a quiet whirring noise. Daring Do looked down—eyes only; she could move nothing else—to see the Doctor's hoof already pressing down upon the sonic screwdriver.

The five of them glowed blue, brighter and brighter—but not so bright that Daring couldn't check something. She could still see that Rainbow Dash was looking up at her with an anguished expression on her face. Daring would have smiled if she could. I guess I made it up to you in the end.

There was no more fuss—the group simply vanished. The Vision Serpent sank back onto the pedestal. Daring Do didn't realize that motion had been returned to her until she was already falling too quickly to slow down; she crashed into the stone path and felt several somethings crack. So I do have bones, after all. Learning all sorts of new things about myself today.

“You.” She pulled her head up to see Quetzalcoatl floating above her, cold fury upon his face. “You I will torture until the end of time.”

“You're wrong there, klutz,” she wheezed, dragging herself to the side. “You were right about something else, though. Something you said earlier. Want me to tell you?”

“Insufferable to the last, Daring Do,” he snarled, driving his face forward until it was a foot from her own. “But I can make you tell me anything now. I can at least have that pleasure.”

“No.” It wasn't easy, but she grinned. “Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to figure out what it was. All the time in the world.” Then she pushed herself over the side of the path and into the quicksand. It took scant seconds for her to disappear.

Only for her to reappear in the desert, miles away and fully healed. She looked up, and the blue sky above her was the same as it ever was. The sand beneath her was the same, too. There were pyramids in the background, and she recognized them—could recite every detail of theirs blindfolded. It was all the same. It would always be the same.

Daring Do sank to the ground, wishing she could die.





The Doctor became conscious of two things: the brightness of sunlight on his eyelids, and the texture of dust in his nose. He rolled to the side, only to topple off the pile of bodies on which he'd lain. Opening his eyes, he saw over a dozen groaning ponies strewn across the ground—real ground. Not desert sand or jungle earth or temple tile. So that was a real sun above him, too. We made it! He whooped internally, but stopped as a thought occurred to him; the arcade game had been inside. What were they doing out?

“What in Tartarus have you done to my wall?”

He looked around to see Mr. Kingpin, bruised and battered but somehow more indignant than mere battery could explain. He was standing half-in, half-out of the bowling alley building, in a place where there hadn't been an opening before. Well, that would explain the plaster, the Doctor thought.

“Whoa.” Derpy stumbled to her hooves next to him, her mouth slightly open at the gigantic hole that all those emerging bodies had blown in the wall. “Did—did we just....” She snorted.

Here we go. He snorted, she giggled, he followed suit, and the two of them were quickly laughing their heads off. “Oh, I'm ecstatic to know you had a nice time!” Mr. Kingpin yelled, which did nothing to stem the flow of laughs.

That didn't happen until a few seconds later, when the Doctor saw something very unfunny: Rainbow Dash was behind Mr. Kingpin, standing wordlessly in front of the arcade.

The Doctor shut up and darted through the opening to the game. Dents upon dents—the work of the earlier mob—covered the outer casing, and steam was issuing from the inside, but Rainbow Dash's gaze was fixed on the screen. There, the Doctor saw Daring Do standing still on the first stage, head sunk to the sand.

“You let her get trapped in there.” Rainbow Dash didn't look around at him; possibly she didn't want him to see eyes that, judging by her voice, were beginning to tear up. “She saved us—she saved everyone—and you left without her.”

“I had to,” he murmured. “And she knew I'd have to, at the end.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Not in a million years,” she muttered. It didn't sound admiring. “I'm going back in there, and I'm gonna get her out.”

“Rainbow Dash—”

“Everyone else is out now—it doesn't matter if I snuff it, it's not gonna destroy the town, and she deserves to get out!”

“You can't.”

“Don't tell me I can't!”

“You literally can't.” He pulled her down to look at the side of the arcade. Its protective panel was crumpled in a corner, revealing the source of the steam; the Order's parasitic little box. It had melted like a candle, dripping plastic down the inside of the machine. The four markings were no longer visible. “The machine can't let people in or out anymore. I'm sorry, I truly am, but she's stuck in there for good.”

“We can get Twilight—she can figure out a spell—” Rainbow Dash sounded seconds away from sobbing openly.

“It's okay.” The little voice stopped both Rainbow Dash's sentence and the Doctor's upcoming reply. The both of them stood up and looked at the screen. Daring Do sat in the sand at the beginning of the game. She was looking away from them. “It really is okay, kid. I earned this.” If she was close to sobbing, she wasn't showing it; her voice was calm. No, not calm—empty, devoid of sadness and any other feeling.

She was silent for a few seconds, as if waiting for a response, but the Doctor knew he had nothing to say. Rainbow Dash moved closer and rested a hoof on the controls.

“They're gonna get this thing working again, and then I want you to do something for me.” Another pause. “Play the game. Just one more time.”

“I don't understand,” Rainbow Dash said.

“You were always the best.” A hint of emotion broke through into Daring's voice. “When you played... it always made me feel like myself.” Her shoulders slumped, and she stopped talking. Rainbow Dash's eyes glistened for a moment before she closed and rubbed them.

“So.” Derpy appeared between the Doctor and Rainbow Dash and clapped a hoof onto each of their backs. “What are we gonna do for her? I mean, there's gotta something be, right?”

“We can't get her out,” the Doctor said.

“Then let's fix in.” She smiled at him. “Come on, you Time Genius, you've got the screwdriver that can change everything around. You've gotta have some ideas of how to use it.”

Now that she mentions it... The Doctor's head tipped to the side as ideas began tricking into it. “Want to take a few days off from making the TARDIS?” he asked.

She winked. “How can I help ya?”





Twilight had been waking up fairly early to work with the Doctor for the past two months, and woke up early that Friday out of habit—but she knew there was no work to do. She lounged in bed, rolling around slightly to feel the blissful texture of her sheets. It was marvelous.

Until a crash from the first floor jolted her from her reverie. “Twilight!”

She groaned, emerged from her bed, and started walking downstairs. “Rainbow, I'm going to lock that window one of these days. And pick those up!”

“Later!” Rainbow Dash pulled herself out of the pile of books she'd brought crashing down. “Right now you gotta check this out. Doc's fixed the Daring Do game and he says it's amazing. And now he's looking for what he calls 'playtesters' and what are you waiting for? Get over there right now!”

“Rainbow, no.” Twilight narrowed her eyes. “I'm not dropping everything just to play an arcade game!”





Twilight walked into the bowling alley with something between a sigh and a yawn. There isn't even a Want It, Need It spell on the box anymore. How did Rainbow talk me into this?

Even as drowsy as she was, she noticed two things straight as soon as she entered. The first was the sound of one bowling ball hitting the pins, followed by a second, and a third. She looked up from the ground to see the lanes full of life and rolling balls, in stark contrast to the emptiness of the week before.

The other obvious change was in Mr. Kingpin—not just the bandages covering his many bruises, but the smile that shone through his mustache. “Mornin', Miss Sparkle!” he called. “Want to bowl a game? It's on the house.”

She shook her head. “I'm here about the Doctor.”

“Ah, okay. He's over with the game, same place as it was before. And guess what? No line!” He cackled. “I could have told you it was a fad.”

She thanked him and walked into the dark alcove, which wasn't quite so dark now. Mr. Kingpin's wall hadn't quite been fixed yet, so a sheet of plywood had been slapped over the hole. Bits of light peeked out around the rectangle, illuminating the hunched figure of the Doctor.

At her approach, he looked up at her and beamed. “Twilight! Always a pleasure. Ready for an all-new gameplay experience?”

“Not really,” she yawned, “but sure, I guess.”

“You're kidding me.” This voice came from inside the console. Twilight walked in front of its screen to see Daring Do's face on a black background, looking at her with extreme skepticism. “You can't have her play. She's terrible.”

“Winnacker's First Rule of Playtesting: Get a novice,” the Doctor recited. “Trust me, there's planets where games are as much of a science as, well, science. Just don't live there, it'll take all the fun out of it.”

Twilight had to filter her way back through that ridiculous collection of sentences to realize she'd been insulted twice. “I'm not a novice!”

“Right.” The Doctor nodded vaguely. “Well, come on, Daring, I know you're dying to see what I've done with the place. Ready?”

“Oh... all right, fine.” Daring shook a hoof at Twilight. “You'd better not screw up on me, got it?”

“Uh, yes ma'am.” Twilight placed her hooves on the controls, which were exactly as they had been before. For that matter, so was the screen, and the console's plastic covering. She couldn't see anything new.

Then the Doctor plugged a bit into the slot, and she could hardly see anything old. The graphics looked the same, but the level was completely different—filled with white shapes on a field of blue that suggested clouds in the sky, and with no land in sight. Daring Do stood on a cloud to the left of the screen, and unless Twilight's drowsy eyes were tricking her, her jaw was wide open.

“This....” Daring said. “This is...”

“New.” The Doctor smiled. “Completely and utterly new. From the ground up with a new boss, new enemies, what have you.”

“Well, uh, that's pretty neat.” Daring sighed. “Though this is probably gonna get old pretty soon too.”

“I wouldn't be so sure....” He pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and pointed it at the screen. There was a moment of blurriness, then the clouds disappeared, replaced by a massive mineshaft.

“What the—” Daring Do was cut off as the screen changed again. Now she was atop a snow-covered mountain. Another buzz from the sonic, and she was aboard a mighty airship—inside a volcanic crater—on the orange soil of an alien planet. “How did you...”

“It's not one new world, Daring. It's millions upon millions for you to explore—all stored inside a chip that's bigger on the inside. There will always, always be something more for you to see.” The Doctor laughed. “Good, isn't it?”

“I... I... thank you so much!” Daring Do turned to the screen, a bright white smile on her face.

“Oh, but there's one more thing. It's something you're missing.” The Doctor poked her image on the screen with the screwdriver. “Have you noticed it yet?”

Daring Do looked around herself. “I don't see anythi—” Her mouth went slack, and she did a double take to her back. “My bandage! It's gone!”

The Doctor shrugged. “Lazy design in the first place. What's a game with a pegasus if she can't fly?”

Daring looked up at Twilight. “Okay, I don't even care how bad you are right now, you have gotta start playing. I mean, look at this place!”

Twilight smiled as an idea occurred to her. “You know what? Playtesting can wait.” She used her magic, grabbed the screwdriver from the Doctor—ignoring his cry of surprise—and directed it at the controls. The lights around them died away. “You look.”

Daring Do took a tentative step forward. Then a second. Then a third, fourth, fifth, until she was running flat out. With a great whoop of joy she jumped into the air, spread her wings, and took off. The display followed her as she swooped across the starry sky.






Tune in next time for:
The Advent of Betaurus