Daring Do: A Derp in Time

by Lance Skyes

Part 2: Realization

Rainbow Dash flew as fast as she could back towards the library to tell Twilight about what she had found in the book and on the cover, completely ignoring the downpour she had to fly through. Fortunately, her saddlebag protected the book from getting wet or being blown away as Dash flew relentlessly through the wind and rain. At last, Rainbow Dash arrived at the library and rushed right into the door. “Twilight!” the pegasus shouted. “Twilight, are you here?”

“I’m here,” Twilight said, flying in from the top floor. “What’s the matter?”

Rainbow Dash reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the book. “Take a look at this cover. Do you notice anything strange about it?”

Twilight levitated the book in front of her for a moment. “Oh, hay. You restored the color on the cover. Wait a second... did you mess with the cover while restoring it?”

“I swear I didn’t. In fact, that’s exactly why I’m here. I was wondering if you knew how Derpy and I got on this cover.”

Twilight looked at the cover a little closer to try to find evident or non-evident signs of tampering when she suddenly gasped with shock. “Rainbow Dash... you didn’t happen to look at who the author of this book was, did you?”

Rainbow Dash flew over to where Twilight was. “I didn’t, actually. Why?” The confused pegasus grabbed the book in her hooves and looked back over the cover of the book. Suddenly, a look of pure shock came over her face as she read the name of the author. “This is impossible! This can’t be happening! Why does this book say that I’m the one who wrote it?” What the startled and confused pegasus was true. The book clearly said ‘Written by Rainbow Dash.’

“I don’t understand it either,” Twilight said. “You either tampered with it or you actually wrote it. Those are the only conclusions I can draw.”

“Well I certainly didn’t tamper with it, but I know for a fact that I didn’t write it either. This is even more confusing than Pinkie Pie on Tuesday.”

Twilight was silent for a moment before she finally sighed and spoke up. “I believe what you say, Rainbow Dash,” she said, “so there’s only one solution I can see.” The alicorn then walked up to Rainbow Dash, who was still staring at the book. “You need to continue reading it. Who knows, we might find some answers.”

Rainbow Dash kept staring at the book, but listened to what Twilight said. “You might be right,” Rainbow Dash finally said. She then opened the book back up and tried to find where she left off. “Okay, let’s see... Here’s where I left off...”

”Terribly sorry about that,” the Doctor said. “That’s just one of my other companions, Derpy Hooves. Excuse me for a moment.” The Doctor then flew up to a grey pegasus with a bright yellow mane and crossed eyes. “What was that for, Derpy?”

“I thought we were trying to wake her up,” Derpy replied.

“Yes, but she was already awake. Don’t say it. Please don’t say it.”

“Sorry, but I just don’t know what went wrong.”

The Doctor’s ears drooped and he hit his face with his hoof. “You said it. You actually said it.” He then flew back over to Daring Do, who was still rather confused. “Now then, if you could come with me and Derpy...”

“Hold on a second,” Daring said, backing away from the Doctor. “First off, what the hay is even going on here? And on top of that, you still didn’t answer my first question..”

“Which one? ‘Doctor who?’”

“No, the one after that.”

“‘Am I on one of those hidden camera shows?’”

“Yeah, that one.”

The Doctor laughed a little to himself. “No, you’re not on a hidden camera show. Believe me, I’ve tried running those kinds of shows before. I couldn’t keep a joke like that running if I tried. Anyway, are you going to come with me and Derpy to save Equestria or not?”

Daring thought about this offer for a moment before answering. She knew for a fact these two ponies were crazy, but it couldn’t hurt to see if there was any truth behind this stallion’s offer. Could it? “You know what?” Daring finally said. “I’m in.”

“Excellent,” the Doctor said. “Follow me. Derpy, come on.” The Doctor then began flying downwards towards the Everfree Forest with Derpy following like a puppy.

“Why is this guy headed for the Everfree Forest?” Daring asked herself when the two ponies were gone. Finally, she just shrugged and began following the two. When she finally landed, the Doctor was trotting into the forest, looking around as though trying to find something. “What are you looking for, Doctor?”

“A blue box,” the Doctor replied, not turning around to look at Daring. “Probably about as tall as the length of an average pony.”

Daring was now more confused than ever. “And why are we looking for such a small box?”

“Because that’s the vehicle Derpy and I came in. And before you say anything, you’ll understand how we fit in there once we find the box.”

Daring was about to speak up, but Derpy’s voice from somewhere not too far away stopped her. “I found the TARDIS, Doctor,” she called. “It’s over here!”

“What the hay is a TARDIS?” Daring asked as the Doctor galloped past her.

“Follow me and you’ll find out,” the Doctor replied, not even slowing down.

Daring just sighed and began following the Doctor. “You still aren’t answering a single one of my questions, Doctor!” she called. The Doctor either didn’t hear her or didn’t even pay attention. He just kept on galloping towards where Derpy was. “Wow this guy’s a nutcase.”

“I heard that,” the Doctor called back to Daring. “And the word you’re looking for is ‘madman’, not nutcase.”

Daring was about to say something else, (something she probably would have regretted) but all of a sudden, the Doctor came to an abrupt halt. “Why are you stopping?” Daring asked. “Are we there already?”

The Doctor turned around with a smile on his face. “Yes we are,” he said. “Daring Do, I present to you... the TARDIS.” The Doctor then stepped to the side to reveal a dirty-looking blue box with the words ‘Police Public Call Box’ written across the top above the two doors and a small light at the very top of the box.

“It’s small,” was Daring’s first comment. “And... kinda looks like it needs to be washed.”

“Well, she never hears that second comment,” the Doctor said, trotting up to the box and opening the door. “Are you two coming?”

“Oh, right,” Derpy said, flying into the open door.

The Doctor was about to walk in with Derpy, but stopped when he noticed that Daring Do wasn’t following him. “Aren’t you coming?”

Daring sighed in defeat. “Do I really have a choice at this point?”

The Doctor pretended to think about this for a moment, sticking his head out of the box. “Hmm... nope, not really.” With a smile he went the rest of the way into the box. Daring stood still for a moment, but eventually trotted into the box, entirely unsure of what to expect.

“And that’s the first chapter,” Rainbow Dash said, closing the book and looking over to her alicorn friend. “If I did write this book, I would have put myself in the first chapter.”

“Maybe it’s just because you aren’t important to the story just yet,” Twilight said. “Maybe you’ll turn up if you read a little further.”

“Okay...” Rainbow Dash then opened the book back up and turned to the second chapter. “‘Chapter two: The Time Machine...’”

Author's Note:

Before you say anything, I'm wondering how Twilight didn't notice the author's name as well. My best guess is that the text for the author's name was a similar color to the background it was on and was difficult to see without the color. Anyway, Part 3 (or 4, I'm not sure) will actually have Rainbow Dash in the book, so stay tuned.

Comments

[Iceflower99]

Part 3 can't come soon enough!