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A Proposition1,826 words
A... Date?1,891 words
Dressup2,056 words
Showtime1,513 words
A Whole New World1,252 words
The First Clue1,634 words
The River1,289 words
Adventure Unfolds1,614 words
Bonus Chapter A Night Under the Stars244 words
Morning Mysteries1,779 words

The River

"It's a river!" I exclaimed.

Soarin looked at me with bleary eyes, like I'd just taken a random guess.

"No, no, I'm serious! Twilight loves brainteasers like this. She annoys me with them constantly, so I've gotten kinda good at them. See, a river can't walk, but you do say it's running when you talk about direction. Ponies also say that a river murmurs or burbles when it flows over rocks. And, of course--"

"The mouth of a river is where it opens into the sea," Soarin finished for me.

"Exactly," I agreed, pounding my hoof once authoritatively. "Take that, Dipcord! We figured out your lame riddle!" I shouted at the sky. "Thanks to you." I pulled Scootaloo close to my side, nuzzling her cheek.

She giggled. "No sweat."

"Okay, so... I guess we need to find a river, huh?" Soarin said after standing awkwardly for a moment. He was looking a little third-wheel.

"Genius. See? That's why we have you here." I stretched up to give him a peck on the forehead. He grinned adoringly.

"Let's go!" I announced, taking off toward the jungle. I stayed on the ground, though, trying to make accommodations for my screwed-up friends. I could hear Scootaloo's frantic hoofsteps trying to keep up with us, but we couldn't slow down. We had to make it through this insane game.

As we approached, I could see more and more details of the jungle. It seemed like its natural fog was receding, and a sharply outlined shape was emerging.

"Is that a cliff?" I wondered, panting.

"No, even better!" Soarin yelled. "It's a waterfall!"

I felt my heart swell. Maybe this would be it. Maybe we'd solved his riddle, and we were going to get the treasure and get out of here.

Scootaloo was wheezing hard.

"You okay, kid?"

She coughed. "F-fine..."

I skidded to a halt, putting my head under Scootaloo's stomach and letting her slide down to my back. She shifted into a more comfortable position, giving in to the help.

It was almost like we had crossed a threshold. It was definitely one of Discord's mediocre tricks, because the sunny and cool climate shifted impossibly fast into a steamy, stuffy environment. It pressed in on all sides, feeling like it was wringing your lungs.

The two of us slowed down, turning our sprint into a hike. There was some strange ambiance that I couldn't quite identify, but what stood out to me was the roaring of hundreds of gallons of water. It couldn't be that far away, but I supposed that Discord could do anything he wanted.

Just as I was preparing for a very long walk, the river revealed itself.

"Um... now what?" Soarin wondered.

Honestly, it was an excellent question. We'd found the river, but what were we supposed to do? Cross it? Swim to the bottom of it? "I... I don't know."

I heard a tiny snore from my back. The poor kid. She'd fallen asleep in my mane.

"Gosh... I guess we should just head toward the waterfall, then," I suggested. "Thataway."

Soarin shrugged, following me up the river.

~~~~~

It wasn't long to the cliff, and the spectacular waterfall dazzled even me. The water dropped straight down, exploding into white foam and sending water droplets everywhere. Twilight would say that it was a 'multi-sensual experience.' God, I wish she was here.

"What's that?" Soarin was squinting over toward the cliff face.

"What's what?" I asked, not seeing much of anything.

"I don't know... Lemme get a closer look..." he murmured, trotting towards the cliff. I followed, hoping it would help us get one step closer to getting out of this messed-up place.

Soarin laughed out loud. "Dash, you're gonna love this." he pointed to a symbol in the stone.

It was a spiral, just like the one on the clue, and an arrow pointing to the waterfall.

I took a deep breath, looking at the rushing water. I then bounced a bit, trying to wake up Scootaloo. "Hey, Scoots. Better wake up. Hope you're ready to get wet."

~~~~~

"Okay-- Here's what we do:" I hopped into the water. "We need to hold our breaths and just swim under the waterfall. That way we won't get all bruised and stuff from the water falling on us so hard."

Soarin looked uncomfortable. "Y-yeah, okay..."

"Everything alright?" I asked.

"Well, I just... I mean, I can swim just fine, but..." He stuttered, "I-I don't know. I just don't think this is such a good idea."

"Oh, my god." I realized something. "You're afraid of the water. Just like--"

"Just like the real William," Scootaloo piped up.

"Oh, gosh..." Soarin whispered breathily.

"Well, this might not be too bad. Just remember all the times you've gone swimming with your friends. Or alone, or whatever." I added hastily.

Soarin gulped. "Mm-hm..."

I sighed. "Okay, how about I go through first, and then I'll lead you through when it's your turn."

I could see he was about to give in, when he gave me a second look. When he was only listening, all he heard was Rainbow Dash. But when he looked at me, he was seeing Daring Do. his hero.

He puffed out his chest. "No. I'm gonna do it by myself. For you, Rainbow."

I knew that wasn't true. He was doing it for Daring.

Before I knew what was happening, Soarin was in the river, doggie-paddling toward the waterfall. He took a deep breath, his cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk, and dove under the surface. I followed his lead, helping propel Scootaloo through the murky water.

We breached the surface in a small, dark area.

"I can't see a bucking thing. Sorry, Scoots." I remembered I was with a little filly.

" 'Sokay. I don't mind."

"Soarin, give us some light, will ya?" I called.

"I don't know how." Came a voice that was closer than I had anticipated.

I leapt back in surprise, kicking Scootaloo with my back leg. "I'm sorry!"

Scootaloo groaned. "It's fine. Don't you have a lantern in that saddlebag of yours?"

"Oh yeah!" I perked up, undoing the small clasp and unzipping the bag. My nose touched something cold, probably a water bottle, and several other odd-feeling things before I finally got my jaws around the lantern handle. I bounced my snout around in the bag some more, finding the sandpaper side of a matchbox and lifting that out, too.

"Soarin, could you...?" I grinned sheepishly, even though he couldn't see me.

He sighed. "I'll try." The stallion grunted, and the light blue sparks flew once more. I couldn't see it, but I heard the match strike, and I watched as the flame moved toward the lantern. The fire caught, and the small cave came into view. The flickering flame threw violently sharp shadows over the contents of the room.

I wish I could forget what I saw.

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