//------------------------------//
// 3 - Making Progress 
// Story: Out of Body 
// by zaponator 
//------------------------------//

	The next morning, their travels resumed much the same as they had the day before. Dash scrounged up a breakfast of wildflowers before they set out on the road once again. Though she had, at Daring's insistence, packed some food of her own, Rainbow reasoned that she might as well take advantage of the environment and save her own food stores for an emergency.

"Way to go, kid," Daring commented with a wink. "You're already starting to think like an adventurer."

Rainbow merely rolled her eyes and finished packing up her saddlebags before trotting down the hill and back onto the hard-packed road. The hills still occupied the bulk of the scenery, though Canterlot remained an imposing titan off to Rainbow's west. For the first few minutes, Daring followed silently behind, and Rainbow Dash didn't try to change that.

The longer she walked, the more doubt festered in the deepest recesses of Rainbow's mind. Here she was trusting an incorporeal image of one of her personal heroes that appeared out of thin air shortly after Rainbow Dash had received one of the worst head-injuries in her recent memory.

Really, when she thought about it like that she almost wanted to turn around right there.

She couldn't, though. No matter how crazy it was, Rainbow Dash had to believe in Daring's presence, because to do otherwise would risk letting her down. It was crazy, but Rainbow's undying sense of loyalty was a core part of her being. She had to be loyal to her friends, even if it seemed insane. 

Besides, even if Daring was a hallucination then at least Rainbow got a decent camping trip out of the deal.

As they trotted down the road, Daring seemed to show an interest in the scattered ruins that crowned a few of the taller hills. Rainbow Dash didn't think much of it, and instead kept her focus mostly on the road ahead of her. It was impossible to see where the road led or when it would end due to how it wound around and between hills, but Rainbow Dash trotted along in the hopes that the next bend in the road would bring about a change in scenery.

After a couple hours, with no change of scenery in sight, Rainbow was beginning to grow unbearably bored. So it was that she asked Daring to pass the time with stories about her career. Dash was certain that the Daring Do was chock-full of interesting adventures that had never made it into her books.

Shortly into the conversation, it became quite apparent that what Dash had expected was quite different from what Daring had delivered.

"…and you see those pillars over there?" Daring pointed smilingly at a series of massive stones atop a squat hill in the distance.

"Mhmm," Rainbow Dash replied unenthusiastically, not that it seemed to slow Daring Do down.

"Judging by the size and near-perfect symmetry, I'd say those are all that remains of a pre-Unification earth pony fortress." She paused to chuckle lightly. "A lot of ponies think that the earth ponies were a bunch of measly farmers, but they were actually a formidable nation in their own right. The fact that even a few stones are still standing is just a testament to their knowledge of masonry and engineering."

"…you don't say?" Rainbow Dash droned without turning her head.

"I know, right? Pretty exciting stuff." Daring grinned widely, though if she'd turned her focus from the ancient architecture she might've seen Dash's scowl. "Even more interesting are their underground constructions. I mean, nothing's gonna top a pre-Unification unicorn dungeon, but at least the earth ponies gave it an effort. Pegasi of that time don't even have ruins, y'know, 'cause everything was clouds."

Rainbow Dash resisted the urge to groan, but only barely. Sure, she'd been desperate to pass the time, but she hadn't expected was a lecture on ancient historical architecture. She'd already lost track of how long Daring had been rambling about the archeological significance of their surroundings.

"Now, what earth pony tombs have over unicorn ones is a total lack of traps. Not necessarily a benefit, but," she chuckled, "in my line of work, that's considered a plus." Daring paused to flap a little higher and glance around the rolling countryside before her face lit up and she pointed off to the right. "Aha! See, that misshapen hill over there, that's a classic sign of an earth pony mausoleum just beneath the surface. You're not gonna find as many gems and treasures as an ancient unicorn burial site, but the pre-Unification earth ponies built their stuff to last. I'd bet my bottom bit that place is in absolutely perfect condition, so if you ever want to check out beautifully preserved ancient architecture that's the thing to look out for."

Daring trailed off, and for a moment Rainbow thought she might be finished. The younger pegasus didn't even have the time to sigh in relief before Daring launched off again.

"And that's just ancient Equestrian history! The temples left by the ancient donkeys in modern-day Mexicolt are amazing. The traps there are even more dangerous, but the architecture is fantastic, and pretty well preserved given that most of it is above ground. Why, the ruined ancient city of Tenochtrotlan has—"

"Alright, that's enough of that!" Rainbow Dash interrupted suddenly.

Daring turned, ears drooping. "But I haven't even gotten to ancient Stirropean cities yet. There's Ponpeii—"

"Nope!" Rainbow Dash waved a forehoof. "No more ancient cities, or ancient buildings, or ancient plumbing systems."

"Hey, the advanced aqueducts of ancient Roam are no joke!"

"No more!" Rainbow Dash paused to wince as her own shout brought forth a twinge of pain in her skull. She rubbed the ache away and refocused her glare on Daring Do.

"You know, when I asked you about your job, I wasn't exactly expecting a history lesson."

"Oh, I get it." Daring Do nodded knowingly and gave Rainbow Dash a wink. "You wanted to know about the other part of my job."

Rainbow Dash threw her hooves up. "Yes! Finally!"

Daring Do chuckled. "Well buckle up, kid, 'cause this is where things get crazy."





Daring Do was torturing Rainbow Dash. That was the only explanation. Rainbow Dash had messed up somehow and this was her punishment.

"—so I tell my publicist, 'listen up, bud, if that's what the editor wants then they're just gonna have to invent a new definition for sapphiric, 'cause I ain't changing my wording!'" She let out a guffaw, then continued, "I swear, I've never seen a pony tear apart so many dictionaries in my life. It all worked out in the end though, 'cause they can't just say no to 'AK Yearling', y'know?"

Rainbow Dash's glare was her only response, not that Daring Do saw it.

"Then there was this time I got invited to a dinner party for all the famous authors in Manehatten at the time. And I swear, there were ponies there who couldn't narrate their way out of a friggin' box." She rolled her eyes. "I mean, some of those punks still used a thesaurus! What is this, first year Equish? The fact that these are published authors is really a testament to the degradation of modern literary pop-culture."

Rainbow Dash idly began casting her gaze around the landscape. She tuned out Daring's continued rambling, only briefly noting that she'd moved on to stories of her first publication. The land around them was much the same as it had been all day. The same rolling hills of varying size that Rainbow had fallen asleep next to the night before. Canterlot remained a bright sentinel atop the mountain to her left, though it had moved a little since she'd last checked, a sign of their slow but steady progress.

Whatever lay ahead of them was still a mystery, hidden behind the many hills that the path twisted around and between. Some of the hills were topped by the ancient stonework that Daring had lectured about earlier, and despite her disinterest in the topic, Rainbow couldn't deny a certain sense of awe now that she realized the true age and history behind those standing stones.

Still, she was hoping for a change of scenery before too long. They'd already been walking for hours and the initially stunning surroundings were starting to lose their appeal. Rainbow Dash glanced up to gauge the time and noted that the sun was already at its apex. It would begin dipping towards the horizon soon, and Rainbow was beginning to expect they'd spend another night camping in the hills before a new locale presented itself.

If Rainbow hadn't been checking the sun, she would've missed it. Something moved in the sky, little more than a black speck, but it was gone before she managed to get a good look. Whatever it was, it was very high up and mostly hidden behind the scattered cloud cover. For some reason that she couldn't fully explain, the sight made the hairs on Dash's neck stand up.

"Hey, Daring," Rainbow Dash tried to get the adventurer's attention, but Daring was still in mid-rant.

"—so I said 'liquor? I barely know 'er!'" She paused to cackle so hard that she nearly fell to the ground. "You can bet that got their stuffy pantaloons in a bunch."

"Daring, seriously!"

That finally managed to catch her attention. "Huh?" Daring turned to Dash, blinking tears of laughter out of her eyes. "What is it, kid?"

"There's something in the clouds," she gulped, "and I don't like the look of it."

Daring followed Rainbow's gaze and the two came to a standstill in the road, both staring skyward. Several moments passed without incident, and Rainbow Dash was just beginning to think her head was playing tricks on her, when something flashed between two clouds. It was only there for a split-second, but when Rainbow and Daring turned to face one another they knew both had seen it.

Rainbow's eyebrows went up. "What was—"

"Hide." Daring's face had gone completely serious. "You need to hide, now."

Daring's expression brooked no argument, and Rainbow quickly spun in place, searching for a decent place to conceal herself. She spotted a large, rock-covered hill nearby. One of the rocks at the base of the hill was the size of a small shed, and more importantly, sat in such a way that a small alcove was formed at its base.

Rainbow set off at a sprint for the rock, and Daring followed close behind. Upon arrival, Dash quickly dropped to the ground and wriggled her way under the stone. It was a tight fit, and the place was cool and damp, but Rainbow Dash was able to fit herself entirely underneath.

"Good," Daring's voice came from outside. She was standing next to the rock with her eyes trained on the clouds, having no reason to hide herself. "Now just don't move until I tell you to."

Now that the adrenaline of the moment wasn't quite so strong, Rainbow finally found the voice to question why she was curled up beneath a rock like a crab.

"Daring… why am I hiding?"

"So you don't get seen. Jeeze, kid, I didn't think you were that new to adventuring."

Rainbow knew Daring couldn't see her glare, but she glared all the same.

Daring sighed. "Alright, I know I've got some explaining to do, but can that wait a few? I really can't use the distraction right now, and you should be keeping quiet anyway."

Rainbow Dash grumbled, but said nothing. The next few minutes passed agonizingly slow. A jut of rock was digging into Rainbow's flank, but there was no way to fix it from her cramped position. So she focused on her breathing. Slow and steady, in and out. The light outside was shifting into afternoon, and still Rainbow waited. Only after what felt like an eternity did Daring finally poke her head beneath the rock, smiling.

"Coast's clear, kid!" She motioned for Dash to come out. "Let's get to walking again and I'll explain as we go."

Rainbow Dash carefully extricated herself from her tiny hiding place and took a minute to ease the stiffness in her limbs before turning to Daring with a stern look.

"What the hay was that all about, huh?" Rainbow took a step forward, but Daring held her ground. The expression on Daring's face seemed torn for a moment before settling into resignation as she met Dash's eyes.

"Walk and trot. This is gonna take some explaining."

The two of them set off along the road once more, the afternoon sun tossing Rainbow's long shadow across the grass to their right. Rainbow blinked as she realized there was only one. Daring floated onwards oblivious, shadowless.

After taking a minute to compose her thoughts, Daring flew in front of Rainbow Dash and flapped backwards so they could talk face to face. Her own expression was a cross between worry and determination as  she cleared her throat and tapped her forehooves together.

"So, being totally honest with ya, kid. I may have left some… rather important details out of my story earlier."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, but refrained from commenting just yet.

Daring sighed and tore her eyes away from Dash's. She idly stared skyward as she said, "My quest for the mirror wasn't quite as simple as I implied. In truth, I actually had a bit of a nasty run-in with some… unfriendly individuals while I was tracking down the temple."

Rainbow finally broke her silence. "What kind of ponies are we talking here?"

Daring winced. "Not ponies, actually." She looked up and finally met Rainbow's gaze, her eyebrows knit tightly together. "I was attacked by a group of griffon mercenaries." 

Silence was Rainbow's only response, though this time was more because of surprise than any conscious choice.

"I don't know what their motive was, or if it even had anything to do with the Mirror. Truth be told, they could've had their own reasons to come after me completely unrelated to the Mirror of Souls. Especially since it's such an obscure and unheard of artifact."

"Okay, but, like, haven't you dealt with plenty of bad guys in your time?"

"Sure," Daring waved a hoof, "but these guys are real serious. They weren't out to just beat me up, kid. If these mercs caught me, they wouldn't have left me alive."

"So, whatever we saw in the sky back there…" Rainbow Dash gulped.

"Yep, that was one of 'em. I'd bet my hat on it." Daring winced and patted at her empty mane. "Er, figuratively speaking."

"How can you be sure, though? It could've been anypony." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Even if it was a griffon, some griffons are friendly."

Daring tilted her head. "Didn't you see the way the sunlight flashed off 'em? Whoever was up there was carrying steel, kid. Unless they were taking their shiny new axe collection out for a happy walk, I sincerely doubt they were friendly."

"Jeeze…" Rainbow Dash wheezed. Then a thought struck her. "But wait, so you got assaulted by some crazy-hardcore griffon dudes, but why would I have to hide from them? It's not like they get their kicks just attacking random ponies in the wild…" she gulped dryly. "d-do they?"

"Heh, see, that's the thing that made me not want to have to explain this…" Daring rubbed the back of her neck. "I managed to lose the mercs before going to the temple for the Mirror, but from what I've seen they wouldn't just give up after that. Some of them are gonna continue on my trail, while others go after any of my associates for information. It's how bad guys work.

"The thing is, y'know… I work alone. I don't have any associates, and never really have." She hissed a breath through her teeth and once more looked skyward. "Except… one."

Rainbow squinted for a moment, but then her eyes widened. "Oh no."

"Yeah, remember my latest book?"

"Daring, no."

"The book about us defeating Ahuizotl together?" Daring gritted her teeth. "The book that had you on the cover?"

"Oh come on!" Rainbow Dash stopped walking and threw her forehooves into the air. "Are you saying that I'm the only pony that could ever be linked to you!?"

"Not necessarily, but… yes. Sorry, kid."

"Well crap."

Daring hung her head. "I'd hoped that we could get there without having to deal with these jerks, but it seems they're already out searching for you. This adventure just got a whole lot more dangerous, and…" Her eyes clenched shut and her teeth gnashed. "I guess I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to call it quits and head home. You live next to a flippin' princess; no way some two-bit mercs are gonna bother you there."

There was a brief silence in which Daring refused to look up or open her eyes. She seemed almost certain Dash had already left, yet unwilling to look up and face that cold reality. All the while, Rainbow Dash looked on with an amused smirk. Finally, Dash felt she could open her mouth without laughing.

"Are you kidding!?"

The force of the exclamation would've blown Daring back if she was still a part of the physical world. Instead she just looked up with wide, surprised eyes.

Rainbow Dash grinned. "This adventure just got a whole lot more awesome!" She struck a pose. "I'm Rainbow Danger Dash. I'm not gonna be scared off by some thugs."

Daring couldn't help the small smile that wormed its way onto her face at Dash's confidence. "You know, I did some research into you for my book, and I'm pretty sure your middle name is actually Jen—"

"We don't speak of that!" Rainbow Dash interrupted frantically.

Daring giggled, but her face fell slightly before she said, "But seriously, kid. These aren't your everyday wholesome baddies. These guys play for keeps. You sure you're up for that?"

"Pshh!" Rainbow Dash waved a hoof. "I can't believe you're even asking."

Daring smirked. "I knew there was a reason I liked you."

"Just one question:" Rainbow Dash raised a forehoof. "You said there were also guys following your trail?"

"Yeah…" Daring sighed. "It's only a matter of time before they manage to track me down, I suppose. When they do, I'd rather not be standing there like a zombie staring into a mirror. They won't hesitate to slit my throat while I'm defenseless."

Rainbow Dash winced hard and unconsciously rubbed at her own neck, but quickly reasserted her confidence as best  she could. "W-Well, I guess we just have to beat them to the temple then! No biggie!"

"I appreciate the confidence, kid. I really do." Daring smiled softly.

"No more wasting time!" Rainbow pointed northwards. "We've got places to be and butts to kick!"

The grin that sat upon Dash's face was infectious, and soon enough Daring was sporting one of her own. Together, the two of them set off down the road at a brisk trot.

"Hey, did I ever tell you about the time I busted up a magical artifact black market in the Manehatten underground?"

"Now we're talking!"



 

By the time evening fell, the scenery had finally begun to change. The sun was nearing the edge of the horizon, painting the sky and the land below in vibrant amber, when Daring Do pointed out that the hills around them were growing steadily smaller. Rainbow Dash took this as a sign that something was up ahead, and trotted a little faster.

Sure enough, a few minutes later the pair of travellers rounded one last rise and skidded to a halt at the scene that lay before them.

The landscape changed to a gently rolling grassy plain that extended for some distance before meeting a solid wall of trees. The orange sunlight painted the forest as if it were on fire, and the flaming tops of trees extended all the way to the horizon. It was hard to see, but in the dim evening light Rainbow's keen vision could almost make out several long, thin lines extending skyward somewhere deep, deep within the forest. She recognized the site as columns of smoke, hopefully from a small town.

Daring Do landed soundlessly next to Rainbow. "Sure is pretty, eh, kid? That'd be Hoofington," she said, pointing to the smoke columns and confirming Dash's suspicions.

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Our first stop?"

"Yep!" Daring affirmed. "That's where I initially stepped off in my journey to the temple, so from there on out we should be travelling along familiar ground. Well, for me at least." She shrugged. "It'll also be a great place to pick up some much-needed supplies."

"I already packed supplies." Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "You helped me pack before we left."

"Pshh!" Daring waved a hoof dismissively. "We made do with what you had, but you were missing a lot of key components."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Rope, for starters."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "What kind of normal pony just has rope?"

"Snnkt, fair enough." Daring smirked. "We're still gonna need it though, not to mention a decent hatchet, some proper travel rations, and whatever else they can scrounge up in terms of survival equipment."

Rainbow Dash stared. "So we basically set out for this trip completely underprepared?"

"Eh, I work best when I improvise!" Daring winked. "Now come on, it'll be stupid windy if we try and camp on the plains. Best to make it into the tree cover if you don't wanna freeze your feathers off. Tally ho!" 

As Daring turned and galloped down the hill, Rainbow cast one last glance towards the western sky. Canterlot mountain was outlined by a brightly burning orange sun, casting the mountain city as a black silhouette straddling the horizon. Once she dove into the woods ahead, the towering city would disappear from sight, and whether it was visible wherever she came back out was anypony's guess.

So, taking one last moment to soak in one last monument to her home, Dash exhaled all the breath from her lungs and turned away. Daring was already a third of the way to the trees, so Dash leapt into the air and beat her wings until she caught up with her traveling companion. 

Even over that short flight, Rainbow was aching by the time she dropped to the ground and settled into a steady gallop. Her wings folded stiffly to her sides and the muscles all over her ached. Once again, Rainbow Dash was reminded that she'd been released from the hospital just a day ago. 

Rainbow had experienced enough injuries to know when not to over-strain herself. Clearly, flying would not be an option just yet given the pain it caused across her whole body. Fortunately, she experienced no such problems with walking or running, so Rainbow Dash was easily able to match pace with Daring as the pair galloped for the forest. They passed the first trees while the sun was still poking half above the distant horizon.

Rainbow slowed down and stopped just inside the treeline, and Daring Do stopped with her. While Rainbow Dash panted and caught her breath, Daring stood idly by and watched. Dash was suddenly struck by the odd thought that Daring probably didn't actually need to breathe at all in her current state. The thought was disturbing for some reason and Dash quickly tossed it aside to focus on other things.

In short order, she'd gathered up some wood and prepared a small, crackling fire within the cover of the forest canopy, hidden from any unwanted eyes above. Since they were planning on restocking anyway, Rainbow decided to eat some of the food she'd packed for herself. She reached into her saddlebag and withdrew a beat-up Wonderbolts lunch box. The old lunchbox's latches clicked open with a bit more effort than they might've taken years ago, and the lid squeaked as she tilted it up to reveal stacks of sandwiches within.

A beaming grin of pride was on Rainbow's face as she took out one sandwich and held it up in the firelight. She had just raised it to her face for a big bite when a stifled snicker from across the fire caught her attention. Ears twitching, Rainbow turned to face the adventurer seated on the other side of the flames.

"…what?"

Daring was covering her muzzle with her hooves, but it did little to conceal her amused grin and even less to hide the odd giggle that managed to escape her throat.

"N-Nothing—snnkt—carry on." Her eyes were beginning to tear up as she watched Dash raise the sandwich again, and the moment Rainbow took a bite Daring burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Okay, what the what!?" Rainbow Dash stood up and rounded on the rolling pegasus. "Did you do something to my sandwiches!?"

"No… no," Daring managed to get out through fits of giggles, "nothing like that." She took a moment, and several deep breaths, to calm herself before elaborating. "It's just… here we are on an adventure, in some unknown woods, possibly pursued by dangerous griffons, and when we set up camp for the night you pull out this… this l-lunchbox! Pffft-hah!"

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash pouted, even while surreptitiously sliding the lunchbox out of vision behind her saddlebags. 

Daring wasn't quite done. "And- and then you have, like, peanut butter and jam sandwiches!?" She barked another laugh. "We're on an adventure, girl! We might not see a fridge for weeks! You're not gonna want to touch those things after a few days!"

Rainbow crossed her arms and huffed, only for her ears to fold back against her head. "…okay, so maybe I hadn't quite thought of that."

"Pffwa-hahah!"

Rainbow wilted lower and lower as Daring continued to laugh, until the senior adventurer finally took notice of the younger mare's crushed expression.

"Aww," Daring paused to wipe away her tears of laughter. "Come on, kid, I don't mean anything by it. You're just a newbie to this whole adventuring thing. Most ponies are."

Rainbow shook her head. "But I'm not! Or… I shouldn't be. I've saved the world, like, a bunch of times with my friends, but I guess Twilight always organized those sorts of things for all of us." She stared into the fire. "I'm some sort of hero of Equestria, but I can't even survive if I leave my house for a few days? That's lame."

Daring offered a warm smile. "Hey, it's no big deal, kid. Look," she paused and glanced around suspiciously, almost as if afraid someone was listening, "I'll tell you a secret, alright? But if you ever tell anypony, I'll deny it."

Rainbow looked up at Daring's smirking face and gave a quick nod.

"When I first started this whole adventuring thing, I had no idea what I was doing either. I made it up as I went along, and more than a few of my first adventures ended horribly. You'll never see a book about 'Daring Do and the Monkey's Goblet' and you wanna know why?"

Rainbow Dash was staring with wide eyes now, ears perked, and she could only offer a shaky nod in response.

"Because I lost it. Doctor Caballeron showed up and had his thugs beat the crap out of me, then he took the Goblet from me with his own hooves and sold it on the black market for a pretty penny."

"You… you lost to Doctor Caballeron!?" Rainbow Dash gaped.

Daring chuckled. "Sure, kid. Like I said, I was new to this whole thing. I'd never been in a fight, much less taken on a gang of bad guys. Hay, I didn't even know there were ponies like him in the archeology business! My original career was… well, you know what, kid? That story can wait for another time. The point is that I've had some nasty mistakes in the past, but I learned from them and kept going. My mistake with the Monkey's Goblet put me in the hospital for two weeks. Your mistake is something we can just laugh about."

Rainbow Dash went through a series of conflicted facial expressions before finally settling on a tentative smile. "I guess it is kinda funny isn't it? I mean, I packed this lunch like it was my first day at school. I really don't know what I was thinking, heheh."

Daring smirked. "That's the spirit, kid. Now why don't you get some shut-eye. We've still got a ways before we reach Hoofington, after all."

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to respond, but all that came out was a long yawn. Only then did she realize just how very tired she was. Smacking her lips, Rainbow gently laid down on her stomach with a contented smile.

"Yeah, goodnight, Daring."

"Goodnight, kid."

The cacophonous sounds of the forest lit up the air around them in an endless chorus of bugs and other things filling the night with their song. The crackling of the fire added its own percussion to the natural harmony, and soon enough it was joined by slow and steady breaths from Rainbow Dash.

Daring Do gazed quietly at Rainbow's sleeping form, the older mare's mouth set into a thin line beneath a furrowed brow. She released a long, heavy sigh, and then turned around without a sound. Before she could take a single step, her ears twitched to a voice.

"Hey, Daring."

Daring Do hesitated, then turned her head. "Yeah, kid?"

Rainbow Dash didn't look up or even open her eyes, but as she lay there she muttered, "I know this whole situation is kinda sucky, but… I'm real glad I got to go on another adventure with you."

Daring didn't respond, couldn't respond, for several long moments. When she finally found her voice, she could only whisper, "Me too, kid. Me too."





Rainbow Dash dreamed of thunder and lightning.