Making Things Write

by MegaTank

Hitting the Fan

Chapter 2: Hitting the Fan

Unfortunately for Daring, the name ‘Temple of Swords’ wasn’t just artistic. The place was packed with hundreds of identical blades, and just about all of them had tried to cleave a hole into her flank. From the moment she entered, her wits and agility were put to the test as she was assaulted by the sword based traps every step (or flap, as it were) of the way.

A couple of the blades did actually connect with Daring, bringing fresh wounds to her legs and flank. However, the temple had not aged well. Many of the swords had become dull and rusty over the hundreds of years they had been in place, to the point where some of them fell apart the moment they sprung out of the walls.

“Just once I’d like a temple that just let me have what was inside,” Daring muttered as she barely made it past another sharp encounter. “Then again, that would mean anyone could get inside. And this is something I simply must have.”

By the looks of things, there was just one more hallway between Daring and her prize. The hall looked innocent enough, with no signs of obvious traps, just a few statues of ancient looking ponies in various heroic looking poses.

Daring just couldn’t shake the feeling she was being watched…

---

“There.” Opal breathed a sigh, releasing the quill she was using up to that point. “How’s that?” Twilight floated the piece of paper that Opal had just been writing towards her, and gave it a quick read.

“Hmm…” Twilight mused. “Yeah, this is actually pretty good. Do you normally write this quickly?”

“Well… actually, no. Normally it takes me much longer to come up with good writing.” Opal lifted the rest of binder she had been carrying. “It took me a few months just to come up with this, though I have triple checked most of my work already.” Opal paused briefly, putting her hoof up to her chin. “I guess I’ve just never been under this much stress.”

Twilight laughed softly. “I guess it’s not every day you get called a criminal.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Opal said, rolling her eyes. “I’ve had just about enough danger for one day.” Opal was still sporting several small injuries from her attempts to flee her pursuers.

Rainbow Dash suddenly flew past and snatched the paper that was still magically floating in the air.

“Let me see that,” Rainbow Insisted. “If anypony knows Daring Do, it’s me.” She glared at the paper, inspecting each and every word. This continued for a couple of minutes, until Twilight poked her head between Rainbow’s eyes and the page.

“So, what do you think?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow Stared blankly at Twilight for a few seconds. “About what?”

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. “You were supposed to be checked if this writing makes Opal the real Daring Do author!”

“Oh, yeah, heheh,” Rainbow laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, I think this is the real deal...” Twilight stared at Rainbow for a moment until she finally caved in. “Okay, okay! I just wanted to read what happens next.”

“Wait, so you already believe she’s the real Daring Do author?” Twilight asked.

“Sure, what not?” Rainbow confirmed, smiling. “I mean, there was that whole word play thing, right? And really, if I was gonna lie I wouldn’t say I was a famous author.”

“That’s surprisingly astute,” Twilight noted. “To be honest, it does seem a little elaborate for a fabrication.”

“Right,” Rainbow trailed off. “What she said.”

“Now hold on a mite,” Applejack objected, stepping between Twilight and Rainbow Dash. “I still don’t trust her. What about how she acted not an hour ago?”

“Come on, Applejack. That was when we all thought she was a criminal, remember? We weren’t exactly that welcoming ourselves,” Twilight explained.

“I still think she’s no good,” Applejack muttered to one side.
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m sorry I pulled you hat over your face,” Opal offered. Applejack simply turned to the door to leave.

“I have to go back to th’ farm,” Applejack called out in a low tone, leaving the library and slamming the door behind her.

Opal stared at the door briefly. “Was it something I said?”

“Don’t worry, Applejack will come around eventually,” Twilight assured her. “You did cause us some trouble, and she probably wasn’t expecting me to be inviting you into my home.”

Opal turned to Twilight. “You know, that surprised me a little too. Especially when I don’t even know your name.”

“Oh, you’ll have to excuse me. Twilight Sparkle, student to Princess Celestia.”

Rainbow Dash zipped up in front of Opal. “Rainbow Dash, best flier in Equestria! But you already knew that, didn’t you?”

Opal gave Rainbow a half-hearted smile. “Well, Twilight did mention your name before. With all that’s been going on around here, I don’t think I need any introduction.”

“Yeah, you really brought the house down,” Rainbow noted. Opal looked gingerly at the results of her escape attempt. The shattered remains of a drinking glass lay on the floor, along with a small puddle of apple juice. Not too far from them was the messy pile of books that had nearly crushed Rainbow Dash. Opal lifted one of the books slowly with her magic, and then pulled it in closer to get a better look.

“Wait, you have a first edition copy of Historic Equine Warriors: the Unabridged Index? Do you have any idea how difficult this is to get?” Opal asked.

“Well of course,” Twilight started. “There are less than a hundred of these still around. To think that I found this in a dusty old bookshop.” The copy was worn, but still readable.

Opal let out a short laugh. “Aren’t you lucky? My one cost me a small fortune. It’s a good thing my father never found out. He would have flipped.” Opal turned her attention back to the pile of books on the floor. “We should probably get these cleaned up.”

“Oh, I couldn’t ask that of you. Besides, you should probably get yourself cleaned up first.”

“I’ll be fine,” Opal insisted. “I think it’s only fair that I at least clean up after myself. If I’d have known you had these kinds of books, I probably would have thought twice about throwing them off the shelves.”

“And on to me...” Rainbow Dash added.

Twilight turned around. “Rainbow Dash, don’t you have anything else to do?”

Rainbow rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. “Yeah, well I uh... I was going to uh, you know...”

Twilight smiled slightly at Rainbow “Getting a little star struck, are we?”

Rainbow reared back at the comment. “Hey, who do you think...?” Rainbow Dash’s angry expression disappeared, and her legs hung limply in the air. “Okay, maybe just a little. I mean, what were the chances?” Rainbow suddenly flew up in front of Opal. “I only have like a million questions!”

Twilight pulled Rainbow back with her magic. “I told you to calm down. Opal isn’t here to answer your questions, okay?”

“Perhaps when I have finished my work, we might be able to discuss it?” Opal offered.

Rainbow stopped hovering in the air and landed. “Yeah, alright. But promise I can get a chance to talk, just you and me.”

“You have my word,” Opal confirmed.

“Say, Rainbow Dash, could you go and talk to Applejack? She didn’t seem too happy,” Twilight asked.

“Gotcha!” Rainbow replied, launching up into the air and flying out the window.

“You have some interesting friends,” Opal noted, causing Twilight to laugh.

“That’s one way of putting it. Though I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Twilight explained. “What about you, Opal? What kind of friends do you have?”

Opal looked away from Twilight. “I guess I never really focused much on making friends. There was Gold Leaf; she was a good friend for a while. Then she moved to Manehattan. Once I discovered my special talent, I took to writing most of the time.”

Twilight was silent for a moment. “Yeah, I know how that feels. Not too long ago, I didn’t think I would ever need any friends. But having others you can depend on, share good times with, who’ll pick you up when you’re down.. It’s not something you should miss out on...”

“I think I’ll manage for now,” Opal said, still unable to look directly at Twilight. “We should probably get started on cleaning this up.” Opal magically lifted a couple of the books from the floor. “Say, why don’t you tell me some more about the books you’ve read? I’m sure you have a few good stories.”

Twilight smiled, picking up a book herself. “Actually, there are a few times they came in handy.” The two of them proceeded to talk about the different books they had read while returning the books to their
shelves. Quite a few of them were titles both of them were familiar with, while some of them Opal had never heard of. Though in fairness, she had spent just as much time writing books as reading them, while Twilight had absorbed as many books as she could, having read all the books in Ponyville several times. Thanks to their combined skill and familiarity with libraries, it only took them a few minutes to get everything straightened out. Twilight’s skill with magic also made picking up the shards of glass from the floor a lot simpler than it could have been. Finally, the library was clean and pristine again, for however long that would last.

“...how amusing. If I ever run into poison joke, I’ll keep that in mind,” Opal said. “It sounds like the Everfree forest is nothing but trouble.”

“I haven’t even told you about the time I got petrified.”

Opal took a look a look around until she found a clock adorning one of the walls. “Is that the time already? I should probably freshen up and get to work already. The sooner I get this done, the better.”

“Right. You can get yourself clean upstairs, first door on the right. Once you’re done, you can get to work... wherever you like, really. Just try not to go outside, the townsponies are likely still on the lookout for you.”

“I assure you I have no intention of pushing my luck,” Opal assured her, already heading upstairs. Opal went through the door to the right as Twilight had instructed, and found a rather modest bathroom. There was a simple bath with a shower head on the right, a sink and cistern over to the left, and a towel rack opposite. It was a lot less lavish than what Opal was normally used to, but complaining was neither one of her strong points or her hobbies, not to mention how rude it would be.

After a moment of consideration, Opal decided to run herself a bath. She needed to be at her best if she was going to finish her story as best she could, and her injuries from earlier were still hurting. Opal turned the faucet with her magic and watched as the bath tub filled with steamy water. Finally, she slowly dipped one hoof into to the water, only to quickly retract it as scalded her.

“Gah, this is harder than it looks. Come on Opal; just give it a few minutes.” Opal hadn’t been able to keep track of how long it had been exactly, but once the steam started to subside she tested the water once more. Finding the water to be more acceptable this time, she lowered her body into the water and lost herself in the hot water for a moment.
While the water had gone some way to soothe the sting of her injuries, she could still definitely feel them. On reflection, it seemed strange to Opal. Considered she had written about Daring doing countless dangerous stunts and having numerous close calls, and having almost nothing to show for it. Opal on the other hoof had taken part in a whole two chases and had gotten herself hurt each time. Not to mention the fact her pursuers eventually did end up catching her. Then again, Daring Do had a lot more experience with this kind of thing than her.

Live and learn, Opal concluded, now focused on cleaning herself off. She took a sponge and focused on the dirt on her flank and the blood that had now dried onto her coat. The blood proved the more stubborn of the two stains, but eventually with the help of the hot water it all washed out. Opal was also forced to scrub over her wounds, which made them sting all over again.

After deciding she was finally clean enough, Opal got out of the bath and dried herself off with one of the towels. She was getting impatient to start writing again, but one look in the mirror just above the sink showed Opal that her mane was a mess.

“We can’t have that now, can we?” Opal muttered to herself, opening up the cabinet above the sink with her magic. She quickly scanned the contents of the shelves until she found the hair brush she was looking for. With a few strokes of the brush Opal quickly tidied up her mane, trying to avoid spending any more time than necessary. As long as it was clean and presentable, it didn’t really matter to her, especially at this point.
Opal quickly put things back the way they were then left the bathroom. She could see the main area of the library immediately as she went through the door, but there was no sign of Twilight anywhere.

“Hello?” Opal called out. No response. Had Twilight really left her on her own like this? She decided not to dwell on it, considering all that had happened. Given her situation, Opal probably couldn’t try anything anyway. If she left the library she ran the risk of getting caught and if she tried anything inside the library Twilight would probably kick her out.

Opal’s speculation was quickly cut short as she was startled by a loud crashing noise outside, which also happened to shake the library. A moment later, Rainbow Dash came in through the front door.

“Oh, hello, miss Rainbow Dash. You’re back already?” Opal called out.

“Please, just call me Rainbow Dash. Or Rainbow if you like, it’s cool.”

“I see. Well Rainbow Dash, you wouldn’t happen to know where Twilight is, would you?”

“Well, that’s sort of why I’m here. See, Twilight had some stuff to do and everypony else was busy, so she asked me to come here and keep an eye on you.”

Opal came down the steps and approached Rainbow Dash who was currently grinning from ear to ear. “We both know that’s not the only reason you came back so soon, but I can understand Twilight not wanting to leave me here unsupervised. That being said, I’d prefer it if you didn’t disturb me while I was working.”

“Hey, we had a deal,” Rainbow retorted, before taking a moment to calm down. “Okay okay, so I might have one or two things I’d like to talk about.”

Opal let out a sigh. This was going to be a long afternoon.

Might as well make the best of things, Opal decided. “Alright, Rainbow Dash. If you’re going to be here for a while, you think you can help me out?

“Well, I’m sure...” Rainbow started. “Wait, you’re not trying to get rid of me, are you? This is just like those tryouts.”

“No no no, I actually needed some books from the library to help me write my story.”

Rainbow flew slowly along the bookshelf. “Wait, what do you need books for? I mean, I know you’re writing one and all.”

Opal pulled out her quill and a piece of paper with her magic, and started writing. “If you want to be a good writer, you have to do your reading. At least that’s the way I see it. Like anything else, learning the best ways to write a story helps a lot. I also like to research the different locations I use for my writing, or at least get an idea of how the places I write about might look.”

“I dunno, that sounds like a lot of work,” Rainbow admitted, rolling her eyes. “And anyway I wouldn’t say most of the Daring Do adventures could really happen, you know?”

“If you’re going to do something, you might as well do it right. Besides, you’d be surprised how often things like inaccuracies and such get noticed. It’s not so much that it has to be completely realistic, but believable. Or at the very least, entertaining enough for people not to mind.” Opal finished writing, and passed over the page to Rainbow. “Here’s what I’ll be needing.”

Rainbow took a look at the page, which now had a list of books along with their authors, listed alphabetically to boot. “You remembered all of these?” Rainbow quickly checked the list. “You’re more like Twilight than I thought,” she muttered to herself.

Opal picked up her folder with her magic. “I think we’ve talked enough, I should really get to work. So you think you can find those for me then?”

Rainbow was still staring at the page, before quickly turning to face Opal. “What? Oh right, the books. I dunno if all these will be here.”

“That’s okay I guess. Just try to find as many as you can, okay? I’ll be upstairs.” Opal climbed back up the stairs, taking her stuff with her. It was only when she was completely out of sight that Rainbow got to her task, flying around the shelves checking each book for the ones Opal had listed. There were a couple of history books, but also a few works of fiction, and even one of the past Daring Do books, which surprised her a little.

Opal set her folder open and flicked through the pages. She didn’t feel comfortable forging ahead without any materials to help her, so she decided she might as well try and fix up what she’d already written. That last passage in particular had been written on the fly, which meant there was even more risk that something sloppy or inaccurate had slipped through.

Opal carefully scanned the page, keeping her quill poised for the first sign of something she didn’t like, which didn’t take long. “Temple of Swords?” Opal muttered to herself. “What kind of name is that? No, this won’t do at all...” Opal scribbled the name out, and considered a more suitable name. It took longer than she expected, and she had to resist the temptation to start chewing on her quill.

Opal’s thought process was interrupted by a rather loud crashing sound coming from downstairs, followed by the sound of several things tumbling, before slipping back into an abrupt silence. Opal peered over the side and saw Rainbow Dash hovering silently, staring at a few books lying on the floor. Opal breathed a sigh. “do you mind? I’m trying to work here.”

“Heh, sorry.” Rainbow said, giving Opal a sheepish grin. “I’ll only be a minute.” Opal rolled her eyes and turned back, returning to her work. True to her word, Rainbow Dash came up to where she was working about a minute later, lugging a small pile of books.

“Here,” Rainbow Dash grunted, setting the books up onto the desk. “I couldn’t find Pre-Civi... Pre-Civi...”

“Pre-Civilization wars?” Opal finished, checking through the pile of books. “Don’t worry about that one, it shouldn’t be too important anyway.”

“Then why even bother with it?”

“Well, it was important back when I was writing the start of the book. Now that I’m this far in, most of the background’s already been explained. I just kept it around for reference.”

Rainbow scrunched up the list of books and threw it away. “So are you good now?”

“Well I might have been able to use that list later on if I had to put any of the books away again,” Opal remarked, making Rainbow cringe a bit. “I should be fine otherwise. Thanks for the help.”

Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. “Oh, it was nothing, really.”

“Right,” Opal trailed off. “Well, I should get to it now.” Opal took another look at the clock. Almost 5PM. “I’ll probably take a break in a couple of hours or so, we can talk a bit more then, okay?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Rainbow continued to hover in mid air for a few seconds until Opal looked back up to her, and started to stare indignantly.

“Do you mind?” Opal suddenly asked. “You’re distracting me.”

“Aww come on,” Rainbow groaned. “You really expect me to just wait around here for two hours?”

“I expect you to let me work in peace.” Opal looked around. “Surely you don’t have to stick around all the time?”

“But I promised Twilight I would...” Rainbow insisted.

Opal walked up to the window and opened it. “Well can you please do it somewhere it won’t bother me?” Opal snapped. She softened up when she noticed Rainbow looking downtrodden. “Look, it’s nothing personal. I just prefer not to have any distractions.”

“Yeah alright,” Rainbow conceded. “I’ll go downstairs, read a book or something. But you gotta tell me when we can hang out.”

“You’ll be the first to know.”

---

The next two hours for the most part passed without any kind of incident. Rainbow Dash spent more time looking for some kind of book she might actually be interested in than getting any reading done. Unfortunately for her, she had already read all the available Daring Do books, and nothing else looked similar enough to pique her interest. When she finally turned away from the fiction section, something did catch her eye.

“Hmm. Training for the High-Performance Flyer. This might come in handy. Not that I need any kind of book to do what I do best. Still, never hurts to try.”

It was some time later that Rainbow was finally able to tear her attention away from the book, which was only due to her sudden thirst.
“Never thought of it like that,” Rainbow mused, reflecting on the things she had read. “I’ll have to try some of these when the best writer ever isn’t in town. Speaking of which.” Rainbow took a look at the clock, and jumped at what she saw. “Dah! Seven-Fifteen already? What if I’m too late?” Rainbow zipped to the upper level, where Opal was focusing intently on the pages in front of her. Several of the books Rainbow had fetched her were now floating in mid-air, each open to a specific page.

Opal felt the rush of air resulting from Rainbow’s flight and turned to face her. “Rainbow Dash, what do you want?”

“What, I’m too late? No, I thought you’d tell me when you were having your break!”

“Break?” Opal looked up at the clock. “Huh, what do you know. Guess I really got in the zone there.”

“Yeah, me too I guess,” Rainbow admitted. “Sorry if I broke your focus.”

Opal stretched her forelegs and yawned. “Well, to be honest I think now may actually be the best time to call it a day. Don’t want to get sloppy now.” Opal took a good look out the window, where the sun was now starting to set. “You know, Twilight’s been out awhile. You think she’s alright?”

Rainbow waved a hoof at Opal. “Oh, I’m sure she’s fine. It’s not like she went into the Everfree or anything. So, can we hang and stuff now, please?”

“I guess you have been patient.” Opal relinquished her quill. “So, what is it you wish to know?”

Rainbow tried to think of the first question, but found herself distracted. It didn’t take her long to figure out why. “Okay, first of all what’s with the floating books? I’ve never even seen Twilight lift that many books for that long, at least not without even focusing on them.”

“Oh that?” Opal turned to the set of floating books, then back to Rainbow. “It’s simpler than it looks. All I did was use a spell to make all my books weightless.”

“Woah, you can do that?”

“Of course. I can keep a few books afloat for much longer than with simple magic. Though getting them all to hold still is another matter entirely.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Rainbow started flying back and forth. “Now let’s see here. Questions, questions... why not start at the beginning?” Rainbow flew up close to Opal. “So, why’d you start writing in the first place?”

Opal closed her eyes for a moment, putting a hoof up to her chin. “Well, I always did have a thing for writing. Though you probably already knew that from my cutie mark. Where did I get my Daring Do idea? I guess I always like the idea of somepony going on grand adventures. You know, Facing countless dangers, and still finding great treasures. Well, most of the time anyway. It was actually pure chance that it happened to end up getting the attention of a publisher. Once I got that far, I just couldn’t stop, you know? There were just more adventures to be recounted. Not that my father ever had any idea. I probably could have gotten my work done a lot faster if I didn’t have to make sure he never found out.”

“Right,” Rainbow trailed off. “But surely you’ve been on some adventures of your own, right?”

Opal rolled her eyes. “I wish. Like I said, I’ve been under my stupid father’s hard hoof for as long as I can remember. He wouldn’t even let me go see my mother after she left him. It’s not very hard to see why she walked away.”

“Well then why don’t you just walk away? Your father sounds like a jerk.”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple,” Opal explained, sighing.

“It sounds pretty simple to me,” Rainbow retorted. “All you have to do is get away from him. You know, like you’re already doing.”

“I said it’s not that simple. You’ve seen the lengths my father went to get me back. I’ve tried to reason with him, but that got me nowhere.”

“Why don’t you just stand up to him then?”

Opal’s eyes were downcast. “That’s... never worked either.”

“Well why not?” Rainbow demanded.

Opal opened her mouth, but she quickly froze up as no adequate answer came to mind. “I, I, I just can’t.”

“Oh, I get it now.” Rainbow Dash declared. “You’re too scared to do anything, aren’t you?”

“What?” Opal’s head rose back up as her gaze crossed Rainbow’s.

“You heard me. You hate your father, but you don’t even do anything? You say you love adventures, but you’ve never stepped out of your house in Canterlot. All you do is hide from your problems.”

“Shut up!” Opal almost shouted. “You have no idea what it’s like to be me. you think I wanted the life I have? You think it’s easy being me? I may have had everything I needed, but I never had anything I wanted.”

Rainbow snorted. “You know, I didn’t believe Applejack before, but now I’m starting to see what she meant. Because there’s no way the the writer of the Daring Do books can be such a spoiled little coward.”

Opal gave a soft growl. “I’ve had enough of your snide insinuations.”

Rainbow reared back a bit. “What?”

“Get out. Now.” Opal picked up a book from the desk with her magic and hurled it and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow ducked her head just in time to avoid the improvised projectile.

“Oh, you want to do this the hard wa- gah!” Rainbow had failed to notice Opal flaring up her horn, bringing the still airborne book flying into the back of Rainbow’s head. Rainbow threw a punch at Opal, only to be stopped at the last millimetre but Opal’s magic. A second later, Rainbow pulled her hoof back. “You’re not worth it. I’m done foalsitting. Twilight can throw you out for all I care. I wish I never read your stupid books.”

Opal gave a harsh, derisive laugh. “I’m amazed you can read at all.”

Rainbow started to shake as her face went red. “Whatever, you’re still a little scaredy filly. I hope I never see you again.” Rainbow bolted out of the window, ascending to the sky leaving her spectral trail behind her.

Opal just stood there for a moment, sucking in the almost jarring silence. A single thought ran repeatedly through her mind. What the hay just happened?

As much as she liked to think of herself as an even tempered pony, Opal had just been almost impulsively violent, with a pony who was supposed to be her greatest fan no less. Everything Rainbow Dash had told her, everything she had laid bare hurt Opal deep down. Mostly because in its own way, it was all true. Opal really never had the courage to stand up to her father, or to step out into the real world. If it weren’t for Twilight, her current escapade would have more than likely ended already.

Oh no, Twilight, Opal suddenly realised. How am I going to explain this to her?

Opal didn’t have time to come up with an answer, as the front door to the library came open. Opal rushed out to get a look, and sure enough Twilight had come back.

“Twilight!” Opal called out, voice shaking ever so slightly. “Where were you?”

Twilight set a pair of saddlebags onto a nearby table and went up to join Opal. “Sorry I had to run off like that, but I had matters to attend to. I had to go find Spike. I should have realised he’d be at the Carousel Boutique, trying to help out Rarity after her mane got messed up.”

Opal sighed. “I said I was sorry!”

Twilight cleared her throat. “Then I decided to around town and try to clean up the mess your father made. I still have to tell them you’re staying here, but it should be safe for you to go into town tomorrow. Sorry I took so long, but Rainbow Dash promised me she’d keep an eye on you... at least I think she did. Have you seen her?”

Opal could no longer look Twilight in the eye. This was going to hurt. “We, we kinda...”

“What happened?” Twilight asked flatly.

“We sort of had a fight,” Opal trailed off.

Twilight stared blankly for a moment. “A fight? What happened?”

“Well, I told her about my life she said some... brutally honest things. It was more than I could take. I smacked her with a book, and she flew off.”

“How is that even possible? Rainbow was supposed to be your biggest fan. How could you do that?”

Opal still didn’t look directly at Twilight. “She said I was weak, a coward. I just got so mad about it I couldn’t stand it. She didn’t deserve for me to hit her, even if she was a bit brutish.” Opal hung her head low. “So what now? Are you going to throw me out? I would understand if you never wanted to see me again.”

Twilight let go of Opal, scrunched her face and started pacing. Eventually, she turned to face Opal. “What you did was wrong, I know. At the same time, Rainbow Dash wasn’t completely in the right either. I appreciate the fact that you owned up to your mistake. I think you deserve a second chance.”

“So what happens now?”

Twilight took a quick glance outside, where it was now getting dark. “You can stay here tonight, but I want you and Rainbow Dash to apologise to each other tomorrow morning. Then maybe we can put this whole thing behind us.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready to go that far,” Opal admitted. “But you’re right, she does deserve an apology. I don’t want to ruin things between us more than I already have.”

“Then it’s settled. Tomorrow morning, I’ll talk the Rainbow Dash and we’ll clear things up. Once it’s safe for you to go into town I want you to meet my other friends, if you haven’t already. If you have... well let’s just say you might need to fix a few more bridges.”

“If you insist.” Opal let out a rather loud yawn. “Do you mind if I have an early night? I have had a rather long day, you know.”

Twilight suddenly teleported in front of Opal. “Not so fast.” Opal froze for a second. “First you have to tell me how you got so many books to float in the air.”

Opal laughed again, more honestly this time. “I should have known.”

---

Morning had finally started to break out over Ponyville, and for once Twilight was there to greet it. She had decided to get to bed early herself, partially out of consideration for her new guest, but also to be up as early as she could. The sooner this whole fight was resolved, the better.
As she opened up the curtains, it soon seemed like fate had other ideas. Twilight looked around the room, but there was no sign of Opal. In fact, the bed she was in the night before had been made up perfectly as though it hadn’t been occupied at all.

“Opal. Opal?” Twilight called out. A few seconds passed, and no reply came. Twilight teleported around the library searching for any sign of her. Opal was nowhere to be seen, but curiously her folder and trusty quill lay on the same desk Opal had been writing from. Twilight came up to the folder for a closer look, and found a note, which she recognized as Opal’s hoofwriting.

Twilight

There is something I must do. I know that I must apologise for what I did, but first there is something I must prove.

The truth about what Rainbow Dash said still haunts me, and I cannot go on until I am past this.

Do not worry about me. I promise I will be back before dawn.

Opal

Twilight dropped the note then checked outside to confirm her fears. The sun had already risen above the horizon, which meant Opal was still out there.

Twilight grabbed the note from Opal and flared up her horn. “Time to get to the bottom of this.”

---

“Get up.” Twilight shook Rainbow Dash’s bed vigorously. “I said get up!”

Rainbow gave a long groan. “T-Twilight? It’s like the crack of dawn,” she said, yawning. “You know I’m more of a ‘crack of noon’ kind of mare.”

Using her magic, Twilight shook the bed even harder. “First of all, dawn was almost an hour ago. Or at least, Astronomical dawn,” Twilight explained, staring into space momentarily.

“How are you even up here?” Rainbow asked lazily.

“Cloud walking spell, remember? And anyway you’re missing the point. Opal’s missing!”

Rainbow simply turned her blanket over. “Yeah, so?”

Twilight sighed. “I thought as much. Opal told me about the fight you had, you know.”

Rainbow finally pulled herself out of bed and got up onto her hooves. “She threw a book at me. Twice.”

“I know, Rainbow Dash. Opal also mentioned you said some rather mean things to her. Is that true?”

Rainbow rubbed her mane with her left leg. “Yeah, i guess it sort of is. But I said those things because I meant them. I don’t care what she said.”

“That doesn’t make it okay to say those kinds of things, Rainbow Dash. How would you feel if we called you lazy and reckless all the time?” Twilight stared apprehensively at Rainbow for a while, who rolled her eyes.

“So what? I know I’m those things. Big deal.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight snapped. “You’re missing the point! You insulted her when she hadn’t done anything to deserve it.”

Rainbow stepped back. “What’s your problem, Twilight? I thought you were my friend. Why are you taking her side?”

“I’m not taking anypony’s side,” Twilight insisted, eyes closed. “I had the same conversation with Opal. Except she was willing to admit what she did was wrong, which is more than I can say for you.”

“When you put it that way, I guess you’re right,” Rainbow finally admitted. “Not that it makes any difference. It sounds like Opal’s already skipped town.”

“No, it’s not like that at all,” Twilight objected, giving Rainbow the note that Opal had written. “Her stuff is still in the library as well. The only thing is it doesn’t say where she was going.”

“I’m guessing she didn’t come back when she promised either. You know, she might have come back since you left.”

“Good point.” Twilight looked out of a window towards Ponyville. “If Opal’s back at the library, I want you two to patch things up. If not, we’ll have to try and figure out where she is.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Rainbow took off out of one of the open windows.

“But... fine, don’t lock your house,” Twilight grumbled, lighting up her horn and teleporting away.

---

A few seconds later, Twilight materialized back in the library to find Rainbow Dash already there.

“Finally. What took you so long?” Rainbow asked.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Look, there’s no time to argue. We have to try and find Opal.”

Rainbow took a look around the library, but there was still no sign of her. “Yeah, it doesn’t look like she’s coming back. So much for her promise.”

Twilight put her hoof up to her chin for a moment. “Wait, the note. Rainbow Dash, do you still have it?”

“Nah, I think I left it back at...” Rainbow Dash rubbed her mane with her leg, only for the note to fall out. “What do you know.”

Twilight grabbed the note with her magic in the middle of its fall, taking another quick look. “Hmm, something she had to prove.” Twilight turned to Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash, is it true you accused Opal of being a coward?”

“Yeah, don’t remind me.”

“That’s not the point. I think that’s what Opal went out to try and prove. That’s she’s not afraid. At least, that’s what it looks like.”

“But where would she go for that?” Rainbow asked. “It doesn’t sound like she went far.”

Twilight suddenly gave Rainbow a serious look. “There’s only one place she’d go that’s nearby. The Everfree Forest.”

Rainbow Dash did a double take. “That’s insane! Doesn’t she have any idea how dangerous it is?”

“That’s just it,” Twilight explained. “Opal obviously took what you said pretty hard. She wanted to show you she wasn’t afraid. And I kinda told her about some of the things that happened to us in there. She must of gotten it into her head that she could prove herself by going in there.”

“By herself? She could be in serious trouble, we have to go find her!” Rainbow took off towards an open window, but was quickly pulled back by Twilight’s magic.

“Hold on, Rainbow Dash. We can’t just go off into the Everfree, we have no idea where we would find Opal.”

Rainbow Dash kept pulling on Twilight’s hold, despite the continued lack of success. “I’ll search the whole forest if I have to. I’m not letting anything happen to her because of me.”

The room was silent for a few moments and Twilight and Rainbow Dash stared at each other for a few moments, Rainbow still trying to break free of Twilight’s magic. Finally, Twilight gave a sigh. “Fine, go.” Twilight let her magic fade, and a split-second later Rainbow disappeared.

---

“Oh, not again,” Opal complained. This was the third time she had run into the same oak tree. She had no idea how, but Opal finally admitted to herself that she had become completely lost. The sun was now bright enough to break through the canopy of leaves, but Opal was having little luck otherwise.

It was supposed to have been simple. Follow the path through the Everfree, then simply turn back once she had gotten far enough. As soon as she entered, it seemed that the forest itself had been trying to play tricks on her. What had appeared to be a shortcut had in fact led to a completely different path. Which soon led to a dead end. Opal had tried to backtrack to where she came from, only to choose the wrong path and get even more lost. From there, she had simply gone round in circles several times to the point where the area started to look familiar, in spite of the fact that Opal had no idea how to get out.

Why didn’t I stop for breakfast, Opal thought as her stomach started to hurt. She lay down to rest for a moment, as walking had become rather difficult with both her hunger and how long she had been going already. This whole thing was a stupid idea. Why didn’t I just stay in library.

Opal soon pushed herself back onto her hooves. No, I can’t think like that. I have to be strong. I’m not afraid. I’M NOT AF-.

Opal’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she sensed something or someone nearby. She turned around slowly, only to find herself face to face with a manticore. Opal let out a piercing scream louder than anything she’d ever done before.

---

Rainbow Dash combed across the top of the Everfree Forest, occasionally shouting out Opal’s name in the hope of getting a reply. For the first few minutes, Rainbow had no such luck. Nonetheless, she tirelessly raced among the trees, looking for any sign of her target.

“Come on, she’s gotta be here somewhere.” Rainbow stopped at a dirt path, hoping to find Opal’s tracks. Sadly, there hadn’t been any rain in over a week, meaning the path was covered in different tracks, which made finding any specific set of prints all but impossible.

Rainbow was about to set off again, when a shriek from the north caught her attention. “Oh no...” Rainbow Dash pushed off in the direction of the sound as fast as she could. “I’m coming, Opal!”

For Opal, her situation had rapidly gone off the deep end. Her initial reaction to the beast had caused it to assume hostility from her, causing it to chase after her, fangs bared. All of Opal’s hunger and exhaustion quickly evaporated as a surge of adrenaline had allowed her to run away as fast as possible. Which she wasted no time in doing.

Either she had gotten incredibly lucky, or her sheer desperation had given her speed she hadn’t even thought possible, but Opal managed to gain some ground on the manticore pursuing her. At the first opportunity Opal dived behind a rock and pressed her back to it, attempting to hide from the predator. She could hear the steps of the creature slowing to a halt, which meant her tactic had worked, at least for now.

Opal stood behind the rock, quietly hoping the beast would give up on the chase. From what she could hear, that wasn’t how it was going to go down. The manticore sniffed in the air for a few seconds, then let out a loud roar. The sound made Opal’s heart beat harder and faster than it already was, until Opal felt like it would soon escape from her chest. At which point, she could hear the manticore coming closer.

The sound of footsteps got louder and louder, as though the creature could smell her fear. Opal was now genuinely terrified, and completely unsure of what to do, not just because of her fear but also because it was difficult to tell whether the manticore knew where she was or not.

It let out another roar, this one just inches from Opal’s face. She urged her legs to start moving, but nothing happened. As the manticore poised itself to attack her, all Opal could do was watch, letting a single tear roll from her left eye. Opal closed her eyes, as time seemed to slow almost to a halt, prolonging the horrible moment that looked to be her last.

The manticore lunged towards her, only to be abruptly knocked back by an incredible blur, sending the beast flying several metres before crashing down to the ground. Opal opened her eyes, and saw Rainbow Dash hovering about a metre above.

“Not this time,” Rainbow boasted, before turning her attention to Opal. “You okay?”

Opal’s body finally started to move again, trying to dry her eyes. “Rainbow Dash. You- you saved me.”

“Yeah, I guess I did. To think, yesterday you couldn’t stand me.”

As Opal’s body stopped shaking, she got down and regulated her breathing. “You had a point, you know.” Opal turned the the stunned manticore. “And I can’t exactly afford to picky right now.” At this point, the manticore was already righting itself, preparing for another attack. “Speaking of which.”

“Right.” Rainbow offered her forelegs to Opal “Grab on, and don’t let go.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Opal grabbed onto Rainbow Dash’s hooves, and they both took off as the manticore tried to pounce on them.

Rainbow gained enough height to ensure her passenger wouldn’t collide with any trees, and made her way back to Ponyville. Rainbow briefly glanced at Opal, who still looked tense.“You okay down there?”

“I’ll manage,” Opal called back. “Great view too.”

The two of them continued to soar over the sea of trees, until they finally reached the point where the forest stopped and Ponyville began. Instead of heading back to the library, Rainbow Dash landed in the middle of a small, clear field. She gently lowered Opal to the ground until Opal finally let go, and landed herself. Both of them opened their mouths, but had to catch their breath first.

“Rainbow Dash,” Opal finally started between breaths.

“Opal.” Rainbow hit her gently on the shoulder. “What the hay were you thinking? You could have been eaten!”

After a moment of silence, Opal finally faced Rainbow Dash, holding back tears. “It was true, what you said. All of it. And I took it out on you because I couldn’t take it.”

“I see.” Rainbow Dash looked away for a moment. “Even then, you shouldn’t risk your life just to prove me wrong!”

“No,” Opal whispered. “I wanted to prove it to myself. Prove that I wasn’t afraid. It was stupid I know, but when you laid it out bare, I just felt so worthless.”

Rainbow reached her leg aground Opal’s neck. “Hey, it wasn’t cool of me to be so hard on you. I expected too much of you as the writer of Daring Do, and I almost made you hate me because of that. If it means anything to you, I’m not sorry I read your books.”

Opal finally smiled at Rainbow Dash. “Yeah, it means a lot to me. I just wish I wasn’t such a scaredy-filly. Back there in the forest, I couldn’t move because I was so afraid.”

“I still think you’re cool,” Rainbow insisted. “If it means that much to you, then take it one step at a time. None of us want anything to happen to you.”

“Sounds good to me.” Opal blushed as her stomach audibly rumbled. “Some food sounds good right now too.”

Rainbow took off from the ground. “Come on, Twilight’s waiting for us.” The two of them started to head back into Ponyville, but Opal soon slowed down.

“Rainbow Dash, wait,” Opal called out, making Rainbow come to halt and turn around. “Thank you. For everything. Maybe once we get back you’d like to read some of my work?”

Rainbow Dash grinned. “Yeah, I’d like that. But I’ve got some writing of my own to do first.”

Comments

[MegaTank]

Welcome to chapter 2. After 9 years 3 months in development, hopefully it will have been worth the wait.

Couple of things:

1. I threw in a reference to Kwakerjack's Wild, Sweet & Cool fic, after he did the same for me. Actually, he got me off my flank to write this. Go check it out if you haven't already.

2. I could really use a proper cover image for my fic. If anypony can help me out on that, I'd appreciate that.

That's all for now, enjoy the chapter (again, if you haven't already)

[Kwakerjak]

I liked it, and I hope there's more to come. Thanks for the shout-out, by the way.

[shadotterdan]

Much as I'm liking this story, I don't really feel any sympathy for Dash. It seemed kinda hypocritial of her to call Opal a coward for not standing up to an extremely controlling father who is completely willing to send armed thugs after her, yet find her venturing into the everfree to be completely insane. Of the two I think the everfree would be the one to take less courage.

[Scrambles]

After getting around to reading this I really hope you keep going!

[Ltblackcoat]

i am not going to lie to you the only complaint in the entire story i have is the akward and sudden argument dash and opal get.

the rest is great thought i did come here out of open reqest from Kwakerjak after reading the story you refed (its the book) i am now currius after reading this where hes ref was?

posonly it is completly your call if you continue but you have something great here if you do. after all i had to scrap one of my own and under stand that sometimes BIG gaps happen (trails and trials).