Daring Do: A Derp in Time

by Lance Skyes

Part 3: Seeking Answers

Rainbow Dash was sitting in a chair in the corner of the library with the book still in her lap. “I just don’t get it,” she said to Twilight. “How could Derpy be in a Daring Do book that I wrote? Just to be clear, I’m asking how Derpy is in the book and how I wrote it.”

“I’m telling you, Dash,” Twilight said, “you need to read further. I’m sure answers will turn up if you have faith.” Twilight then trotted over and levitated the book in front of her. “Besides, I want to read the rest of this book. Now, let’s see...” As Twilight was flipping through the pages, Rainbow Dash grabbed the book out of Twilight’s energy field.

“Hay, my questions, my book...” Rainbow Dash flipped to the back cover of the book and showed it to Twilight. “My author’s signature. Wait, I actually signed this? Dear sweet Celestia, this gets creepier and creepier.”

“Well, now that you have your book back, are you going to read it or not?”

Rainbow Dash looked down at the book for a moment. “Yeah,” the pegasus finally said, opening the book back up. “I’ll go ahead and read it. Let’s see... ‘Chapter two: The Blue Box. Daring Do trotted into the small box, not knowing what to expect...’”

...but when she got inside, she was at a total loss for words. Somehow, she had gone from a tiny box to a huge room full of buttons, switches, screens, blinking lights... lots of other things that she had no idea what they were. “What the hay is all this?” she asked nopony in particular as she looked around the room with wide eyes and her jaw hung open.

“It’s called the TARDIS,” the Doctor replied, galloping around the center console and not really paying attention to Daring. “It’s a, uh, time machine. I mean... Derpy, you tell her. I need to concentrate.”

“Okay, Doctor,” Derpy replied. She then turned around to Daring. “It’s called the TARDIS. That’s an acronym for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. It’s pretty much a ship that can move anywhere in time and space. Back in time, forwards in time, to the far corners of this universe, almost anywhere.” Derpy then turned around to the Doctor. “How was that, Doctor?”

“Picture perfect,” the Doctor replied. “I knew you were paying attention last time.”

“So...” Daring said, “are we going anywhere in particular?”

“No, actually. We aren’t going anywhere. We’re staying right here in this one spot in Equestria.”

Daring was about to begin arguing, but Derpy quickly flew over and whispered something into Daring’s ear. “Really?” Daring asked Derpy. “That’s what I need to ask?” Derpy smiled and nodded in reply. “Fine. So, Doctor, when are we going?”

“Derpy told you to say that, didn’t she?” the Doctor asked. “Thanks for teaching her that, Derpy. We’re moving forward about 100 years to the time period where Derpy’s from. There’s one more passenger we need to pick up before we can get started on what we’re doing. Hold on to something, you two. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”

“Bumpy ride?” Daring asked.

“You might want to listen to him,” Derpy said, flying down near Daring and hanging on to a rail. “It may be his ship that he’s been piloting for the past few centuries, but he still hasn’t mastered flying it smoothly.”

“Centuries? How old is this guy?”

“A thousand or so years,” the Doctor replied, putting his hoof on a large switch. “I’ll get into the details once everypony’s here. As ironic as my track record would make it seem, I don’t like explaining everything about me every single time I wind up somewhere. Now hold on, everypony!” Before Daring could ask a single other question, the Doctor quickly pulled the lever his hoof was on and the entire room began rocking around the ponies, tossing Daring around. “I told you to hang on to something!”

“I was!” Daring shouted, doing her best to remain upright. She was about to be knocked over to the other side of the room, but Derpy was quick enough to catch her. “Thanks, I guess.”

“Don’t mention it,” Derpy replied. “You are a first-time flyer, after all.”

Daring was about to say something when the room suddenly stopped shaking. Daring looked over to find the Doctor standing at the center console again, holding the lever he pulled in its original position. “Nice catch, Derpy,” he said. He then began trotting towards the door where the three ponies had originally entered from. “Come on, you two. We’re here.”

“Where exactly is ‘here’ anyway?” Daring asked, very frustrated that almost none of her questions were being answered.

“A town called Ponyville,” Derpy replied. “This is where I’m from.”

“It won’t be built for another ten years, though, Daring,” the Doctor said, poking his head out the door and looking around. Suddenly, he let out a quick yelp and quickly slammed the door. “Daring... how good are you with dangerous animals?”

“Dangerous animals?” Daring asked, almost smiling. “What kind of dangerous animals?”

“Timber Wolves. Scary, dangerous, pony- and Time Lord-eating Timber Wolves.”

“Come on, Doctor,” Daring said, happily trotting up to the door. “You’re afraid of a few little Timber Wolves? Somepony give me a challenge for once.” Daring then opened the door and trotted up to the three Timber Wolves who were waiting outside the TARDIS. One of them roared right in Daring’s face as she stepped out, but this didn’t phase her one bit. “A few breath mints would go a long way for you three. But for now, I have to make you pay for threatening my new friends.”

Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor could only press his ear up against the door to listen to the flurry of growling, snarling, and hooves impacting on wood. After a while, the door suddenly opened, startling the Doctor and nearly making him fall over. On the other side of the door was Daring Do with only a few scratches, a couple splinters, and a messed-up mane. “Are you alright, Daring?” the Doctor asked.

“Am I alright?” Daring repeated. “Pfft. You should see what a typical Tuesday is for me if you have to ask me that. Now come on, you two. Those Timber Wolves are gone.”

Derpy and the Doctor looked at each other for a moment as though silently asking each other, “Who the hay is this pony?” After a while, though, the Doctor trotted out of the TARDIS uneasily with Derpy following close behind.

“Okay,” Daring started, “where is this ‘Ponyville’, anyway?”

“I know where it is,” Derpy said, waving her hoof in the air. “Follow me!”

“Okay,” the Doctor said. “Lead the way.” Derpy nodded and began flying in the opposite direction of where the three were originally facing. Daring and the Doctor began following Derpy, neither one sure if Derpy was going the right way.

After a little while, the three pegasi found themselves in the town of Ponyville, a rather small town with only about a hundred or so ponies. “So, Derpy,” the Doctor said, “do you know where our fourth passenger is?”

“No, I don’t,” Derpy replied sadly. “Hay, why don’t we ask Twilight where Rainbow Dash is?”

Just as Rainbow Dash read that line, there was a knock at the door. “I wonder who that is,” Twilight said, trotting over to the door. However, Rainbow Dash was still reading and didn’t hear the knocking on the door.

The trio trotted through Ponyville, looking for the library near the center of town. They passed by many other ponies, several of which were kind of looking at the three like they didn’t quite belong there. (Maybe because they were all pegasi who probably lived in Cloudsdale and were here in Ponyville for whatever reason, as well as the fact that one of them was wearing clothes like one would wear if they were going into a forest for a period of several days.) After a while, Daring finally spoke up. “So, where exactly are we going, again?”

“To the town library,” the Doctor replied. “There’s a certain pony we need to talk to.”

“Hay,” Derpy suddenly said. “We’re here.” The other two pegasi stopped and looked in front of them to find themselves standing in front of what looked like a large hollow tree that actually looked like it was suitable for a pony to live in.

“Well that was easy enough,” the Doctor said. He then trotted up and knocked on the door. There was a pause for a moment before he heard hoofsteps trotting towards the door. When the door opened, on the other side stood a purple alicorn with a lavender mane that had hot pink and dark purple highlights.

“Oh, hello Doctor,” the alicorn said as he and Derpy bowed, followed quickly by Daring. “It’s been a while.” [Author’s note: It’s a little known fact that Twilight was once one of Doctor Whooves’ companions.]

“It certainly has,” the Doctor replied, looking at the alicorn’s wings. “Anyway, you know Derpy, so I’ll skip straight to introducing a more recent companion of mine. This is Daring Do.”

Rainbow Dash quickly put the book down and flew as fast as she could to the door once she managed to “put two and two and two together,” as Pinkie said. The knocking on the door, the “purple alicorn” who answered the door... Ponyville in general! What was going on in the book was happening right at the front door of the library! There was no way Dash was going to miss an opportunity to meet Daring Do.

“Nice to meet you, Daring Do,” Twilight said, shaking Daring’s hoof. “I’ve read about all of your adventures.”

“They wrote books about me?” Daring asked, surprised. “I had no idea I was that popular.”

Just as Twilight and Daring were about to go into further conversation, Rainbow Dash flew in and almost knocked Twilight over as she landed. “Daring Do?” Rainbow Dash asked, doing her best not to hyperventilate and, in a word, geek out. “It’s so great to meet you! I’m a huge fan!”

“Geez,” Daring said. “Does everypony here know all about my accomplishments?”

“I’m here, too, Rainbow Dash,” Derpy said.

Rainbow Dash leaned a little to the left to look at Derpy. “I noticed.” Rainbow Dash then turned back to Daring. “So, what are you doing here in Ponyville? For that matter, didn’t you live a hundred years ago?”

“One of your questions is the same as mine,” Daring replied. She then turned to the Doctor. “But this stallion is the one who has the answers, and he insisted on waiting for when we found you before answering any questions I threw at him.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Rainbow Dash,” the Doctor said, stepping forward. “I’m the Doctor.”

Rainbow Dash was about to ask the Doctor’s favorite question, but Daring stopped her. “Don’t ask him that. You’re not going to get an answer.” Rainbow Dash nodded in reply.

“So, what are you doing here, Doctor?” Twilight asked.

“I’ve come for Rainbow Dash,” the Doctor replied. “I have a problem that I think she’ll be able to help with.”

“Me?” Rainbow Dash asked, her confusion obvious. “Why would you need me?”

“That I can explain later, but for right now, all I can tell you is that Equestria is in terrible peril.”

“Do we need to bring the others with the Elements of Harmony?” Twilight asked.

“My dear Twilight,” the Doctor started. “You know as well as I do that I can’t bring that many ponies along. Just the four of us will be enough.”

“Four of us?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You’re talking like I already agreed to go.”

“Do you agree to go?”

Rainbow Dash paused for a moment and looked at the Doctor with an expression that looked like a mix between “What kind of stupid question is that?” and “*sigh* Yes” The vocal result of this was, “Yeah, let’s get going already.”

“Hold on a second, Doctor,” Twilight said. “There’s a book over there that was written by Rainbow Dash. Or, now that you’re involved, probably will be written by Rainbow Dash. You, her, Derpy, and Daring are all in it. Does that mean that book will say everything that happens to you four?”

The Doctor sighed before answering this. “Forgive me if my tone of voice gives any spoilers, but yes, it does... to the word.”

Twilight got a hint of sadness in her eye, but shook it off and turned to Rainbow Dash. “Be safe, Rainbow Dash.”

“Of course I’m going to be safe,” Rainbow Dash quickly replied.

“No, I mean be really careful. Don’t let anything happen to you.”

“I’ll be all right and you’ll know that, Twilight. You have the book right there.”

Twilight sighed before responding. “That’s what worries me.”

“Can we get going?” Daring asked. “I’d really like to have some questions answered now that the whole herd’s together.”

(“A herd,” the Doctor said to himself. “That sounds better than calling us a gang.”) “Daring’s right,” the Doctor said out loud. “We should get going.”

“Goodbye, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said. “I’ll see you soon. Doctor, do me a favor and don’t come back for half an hour. It should take me about that long to read the whole book.”

“Will do, Twilight,” the Doctor replied. “Come on, everypony.” The four pegasi (Dash, Derpy, Daring, and Doctor) then began walking flying out of town and towards the Everfree where the Doctor parked the TARDIS.

Author's Note:

At long last, Rainbow Dash is about to step into the TARDIS. But will she survive the adventure? Will Daring's questions be answered? Will these questions be answered? (The answer to the third one is yes.)

Comments

[Iceflower99]

This is gonna be good, I can feel it!