//------------------------------// // Booklandia, Chapter 2 // Story: Booklandia // by Surprise The Pegasus //------------------------------// Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, painting the sky in bright colors. Her chest and flank still stung, but it hurt much less. She attempted sitting up, but a sharp bolt of pain laid her back down. Fluttershy gasped when she heard the crackling of a fire. Was it all just a bad dream? Maybe it was. But the sound of silence put out her tiny flame of hope. However, the silhouette of a pony reignited that little flame. "Rainbow Dash?" Her voice was weak. The pony tilted its head, and sat down in front of her. Fluttershy's hope was once again stomped out. It wasn't Rainbow Dash. It was a golden-coated Pegasus mare with a grayscale rainbow mane, and familiar rosy eyes. "Ah, and she finally wakes up." Said the mare. "W-where am I?" Asked Fluttershy quietly. The mare walked away, and came back moments later with 2 wood bowls. One of them was handed to her. She took it, and sniffed. It smelled like rice. "Where are you? You're in the jungle, if you hadn't noticed already. You were hurt pretty badly when I found you last night. You would've died." She replied, her tone nonchalant. "Thank you." Said Fluttershy. "Don't sweat it. Name's Daring Do. Yours?" Asked Daring, helping her sit up. "Um, I'm Fluttershy." Whispered Fluttershy, her mane falling in her face. "What?" Asked Daring, leaning a bit closer. "I'm Fluttershy." "Oh, Fluttershy! Nice to meet ya'. I'd recommend eating that before it gets cold, or I'll eat it." Said Daring. Fluttershy's stomach rumbled. She hadn't realized how hungry she'd been. She stuck her muzzle into the bowl and scarfed down the rice. "Looks like somepony was hungry." Teased Daring. Fluttershy was too famished to care. She just nodded. Daring trotted away, and came back with a roll of bandages. .............. Rainbow Dash trotted into Fluttershy's room, pulled up a chair, sat down, and set her bouquet of flowers next to the other gifts. "Hey, Shy. I know you don't like all this adventure and action stuff, but I thought it'd be nice. A way for us to spend some time together." Said Dash, trying to hold up a false smile. She opened the book and began to read. "Chapter 4. Daring Do ran through the jungle, a tiger hot on her tail..." ............ "Finished. You're all patched up." Said Daring, wiping sweat off her forehead. Even in the early morning, the jungle was hot and humid. Fluttershy stood up, and tried to step forward. She stumbled, but was caught by Daring Do. "I'd sit down if I were you. You just got mauled by a tiger. One step at a time, alright?" "I need to find a way out." Replied Fluttershy. Daring blocked her path. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. There's no way in hell I'm letting you go out there alone. You're gonna get yourself killed, genius." Said Daring defensively. "Only treasure hunters like me know how to survive in places like this." Fluttershy sat down. "You're a treasure hunter?" Asked Fluttershy. "Yeah. It's dangerous, but really rewarding." "How's it dangerous?" "Seriously? You're seriously asking me that? First off, the types of places that treasure can be found in are insane. There are bushes and roots that you can trip on, and then there's the animals. Second, the temples and ruins are full of booby traps, and not to mention a chunk of stone could fall off at any minute and crush you." Said Daring crossly. "Oh, my." Whispered Fluttershy. Daring pulled out a map, and traced out a route with her hoof. She pointed to a large red X. "I need to go there. The Temple of Shadows." Said Daring. Fluttershy shivered. "The T-Temple of S-Shadows?" Fluttershy gulped. Anything with the word "shadow" in it was immediately a red flag. "D-Do I have to g-go there?" Daring looked her up and down. "Oh f**k no! You'd die in 10 seconds flat! I'm going on my own. You're in no condition to be doing anything but walking." She exclaimed loudly. Fluttershy felt a strange sense of déjà vu around this mare. She was very similar to Rainbow Dash. It was almost scary. "So, Daring?" "Yeah?" "What kind of treasures do you...hunt?" "Rare and ancient artifacts. Stuff like the Sapphire Statue, the Griffon's Goblet, and the Ring of Destiny." "Really? That sounds cool." Daring blushed slightly at the compliment. "Thanks." ............... Rarity glanced at the photo of her and her friends, then continued to work on the task at hand. She had started to work on the dresses for the ball ever since she got the invitation. But something inside her just felt empty, like all her inspiration had been snatched away from her. Now it was just stitching, instead of creating. She took another glance at the photo. Her eyes locked on Fluttershy's smiling face. Rarity's lower lip wobbled, and her vision was blurred from tears. She turned back to her sewing machine. Just stitching... ............ Rainbow Dash finished the chapter, then moved on to the next. "Chapter 5. Daring looked at her map. She wasn't far from the Temple of Shadows." ............ Pinkie took the cupcakes out of the oven, and proceeded to frost them. She spread on a layer of butter yellow cream cheese frosting, and topped it off with pink icing butterflies. She carefully removed them from the baking tin, and arranged them on a plate. Pinkie picked up the plate and set it on the counter, next to a tag that read "Strawberry Flutter". She ran her hoof through her long, straight mane, and sighed. .............. Daring packed up her saddlebags, and helped Fluttershy walk along with her. The Temple of Shadows wasn't far. They would set up camp on the ruin's edge. They walked together though the jungle, hot and exhausted. "Hey Shy, how're you holdin' up?" Asked Daring. "It hurts when I put too much weight on my hind legs, but I'm ok." Replied Fluttershy. "Good." Soon, they reached a clearing at the edge of the Temple. "We'll camp here." Daring set down her saddlebags. "Fluttershy, would you go get some wood for the fire?" Fluttershy nodded, and limped over to the nearby trees. Using her wings to keep her hind legs off the ground, she gathered an armful of wood and took it back to Daring Do. "Thanks, Fluttershy." Daring went to work, preparing the night's fire. After camp was set up, Daring went over her plan with Fluttershy. "So, here's the plan. I'll stay here with you until you're in good shape, then I'll go into the temple, get the Shadow Staff, and I'll come back and get you. Then we can leave here. Sound good to you?" "Mhm." She replied. They just sat there for a while, an awkward silence hanging in the air. Finally, Daring had had enough quiet. "So, Fluttershy. Tell me about yourself." "Ok. I live in Ponyville, in a cottage on the outskirts of town. I live with my animal friends, and take care of them." "Sounds kinda lonely." "Oh, not at all! I have pony friends, too. There's Rarity. She's a fashionista, and designs dresses. She's pretty classy. I go to the spa with her every Tuesday. There's Applejack, a farmer, Pinkie Pie, a baker that's always happy and makes me smile. My best friend is Rainbow Dash. We've been friends ever since we were fillies, living in Cloudsdale. She stood up for me when I was bullied, and helped me and my other friends earn their Cutie Marks. You remind me of her a lot. Twilight Sparkle is the one that brought us all together. It was time for the Summer Sun Celebration, and we were responsible for setting it all up. But what we didn't expect was Nightmare Moon, instead of Princess Celestia. We had to go through the Everfree forest, and we overcame all of Nightmare's challenges together. Then, we defeated her with the Elements of Harmony. I represent the Element of Kindness." Explained Fluttershy. Daring realized she had leaned in a bit too close in her wonder, and scooted away. "Princess Celestia sends us on adventures sometimes." "...Woah. That's so awesome!!" Exclaimed Daring. "Have you had to fight for your life before?" "Well, I did battle Changelings once. I just avoided them, I didn't fight. I don't like conflict." "We're gonna work on that, just in case you get attacked on anymore of your crazy adventures. It's also just a good skill to have. But for now-" Daring rummaged through her saddlebags, and pulled out a banana. She broke it in 2, and gave a half to Fluttershy. "Eat." .............. It had only been 3 days, and Rainbow Dash was already a train wreck, in every possible way. She never realized, until now, how much Fluttershy meant to her, to them. Without her, nothing felt the same. Rarity would go alone to the spa every Tuesday, Pinkie was always sad, Twilight couldn't focus and attend to her duties, even Applejack couldn't work properly. But Rainbow Dash had taken the hardest blow. She visited Fluttershy every day, and read her Daring Do. She was lost without the shy mare. It felt like a piece of her soul had been gouged out of her, then burned. She never talked to her friends anymore. Either she was cooped up at the hospital, or she was cooped up at home. The awesome Rainbow Dash was now a husk of her former self. And it had only been 3 days. Rainbow walked to the Day Spa, her expression somber. The tiny doorbell chimed. Aloe and Lotus were nowhere to be found, but Rarity was. She was sitting on the waiting room sofa, leafing though a magazine. "Rarity?" Asked Rainbow. Rarity's head shot up, and her gaze shifted to Rainbow in surprise. "Rainbow Dash? What're you doing here?" Asked Rarity. "I came to see you." Replied Dash. Rarity smiled warmly, and motioned for Dash to sit next to her. Rainbow sat next to her friend, but didn't say anything more. Aloe and Lotus walked up to Rarity and asked her what her treatment would be. "The Usual, please." The sisters nodded. "Come along, Rainbow." Said Rarity. Dash got up and followed her to their first treatment: the sauna. The two mares entered the wood room, and sat on the bench as a cloud of steam puffed around. They sat there for awhile, until Rarity snapped. "It wasn't your fault!" Rarity shouted, tears running down her pale face and making her makeup run. "What did you just say?" Snapped Rainbow Dash. "What happened to Fluttershy. It wasn't your fault, so stop acting like it!" Her voice cracked. "I know it's hard, Rainbow Dash. But it wasn't your fault. You spend all day either at the hospital or at your house. You never talk to us. I'm worried, Twilight's worried, Celestia knows how worried Pinkie is, and even Applejack is concerned about you. What happened to the strong, brash, confident mare we used to know? What happened to her, Rainbow. Tell me what happened. Please." Rarity sobbed. Rainbow Dash looked her straight in the eye, and spoke in a sharp, angry voice. "You want to know what happened to her? She's gone. She's gone and she's not coming back until Fluttershy wakes up." ............. Fluttershy finished off her banana half. "Why don't you tell me about your self, Daring Do?" Asked Fluttershy. "No." "Why not?" "Because my work involves secrets. I can't trust anypony. Not even you." "Hey! I shared my life with you, so why can't you do the same? I understand that you may be secretive, but still. You trusted me enough to save me when you could have just left me there. So why? Why did you save me if you don't trust me?" "Because you were gonna die. That's not trust, that's just common decency." "So why didn't you just save me and then let me go my own way? Why didn't you let me go? Why am I still here, sitting next to you?" "Because...because...because you were going to die out there all alone. Letting you go would've been like letting somepony kill themselves, right in front of me. I just couldn't let that happen, especially to an innocent pony like you. You're completely clueless as to what's out there waiting. I can handle myself. You can't." Said Daring, covering her eyes with her hat and turning away. "Please, Daring Do? Please?" Fluttershy scooted up next to her and gave her a hug, her forearms wrapping around Daring's waist. Daring pushed her away. "Don't touch me right there." She said crossly. A lightbulb went "ding!" over Fluttershy's head. She smirked, and repeated the motion. Daring chuckled, then pushed her arms away again. "I told you to not touch me there." "Ooh! Looks like somepony's ticklish!" Replied Fluttershy. "No, I'm not." "Oh really? Then prove it!" Fluttershy tackled Daring, and began to tickle her mercilessly. The explorer exploded into a fit of laughter, and tried to shove Fluttershy off. Eventually, Fluttershy saw that she'd had enough, and let her up. "Ha! And you said you weren't ticklish!" Scoffed Fluttershy, voice filled with pride. "I-I bet you're ticklish too!" Shouted Daring. With that, Daring tickled Fluttershy until she couldn't breathe, but was mindful of her wounds. The stars now peppered the night sky, alongside the pale moon. From the treeline, Ahuizotl watched intently. Finally, he had found Daring Do's weakness. Now, after all these years, he would have his sweet revenge.