Finding Yourself: In The Sky
Daring Do stood on the stone pillar in the centre of the underground cavern. All around her, loose stones fell from the roof and lava bubbled up from the floor. Her pillar wobbled as it was eaten up by the lava from below, and she struggled to regain balance. She would have simply flown away had it not been for the falling stones that surely would cripple her wings before she had even made it two feet.
Earthquakes. Why did it have to be earthquakes?
The column crunched from somewhere below her, as a chunk of it fell off. Quickly, Daring Do shifted her weight to the opposite side, trying desperately to keep it upright. But she was fighting a losing battle, it was like trying to stop Cerberus from chasing a ball; you can postpone it, but it’s ultimately inescapable. Usually there was a way out, so she looked around for one. Where was it?
There! There it was; a small cave twenty feet below her. The lava had almost reached the entrance, but if she timed it right, she could reach it. The pillar started to fall. Here we go…
Daring Do jumped to one side of the pillar sharply, causing it to tip even further to that side. Momentum did the rest. The pillar began to fall, quicker than she was expecting. She had to get on top of the quickly toppling column, lest it dump her in the boiling lava. She scrambled to get up before the pillar tipped her off, but a rock hit her shoulder.
She fell backwards. No! Flaring her wings and gritting her teeth, she grasped the edge of the pillar as it fell. Her vision tumbled and she found herself staring at the roof of the cave, faces of carved monsters jeered at her. Laughed in the face of her death. Come on! The heat grew in intensity; she could imagine the lava licking at her hooves.
With only the barest distance between herself and the lava below her, Daring Do closed her eyes. Then, at the last second, her hooves hit stone sharply. She let go of the pillar, and tumbled into the cave. There was no break for the adventurer though. Lava swarmed into the cave, and into the depths of the unknown galloped Daring Do.
Hoof after hoof, she ran for her life as the lava began to froth and gush. It didn’t help that the tunnel often twisted sharply, leaving her blind for a few moments until the red hot lava flowed after her. All of this added to the fact that the earthquake was tearing apart the tunnel ahead of her. Well, Daring thought to herself, if you wanted it easy, you would’ve become an author full time.
Ha! Like that was easier. A boulder fell from the ceiling, and she ducked to one side to avoid it, scraping her already injured shoulder against the coarse rock. Pain seared down her leg, and she stumbled. Damn! She couldn’t regain balance, and the lava coursing behind her wouldn’t let up. Considering her current options, it was worth the risk to fly.
She spread her wings and flapped as hard and fast as she could. Unbelievable levels of adrenaline flew through her veins as she herself flew through the tunnel. In front of her, a tiny circle of light appeared; finally, a glimmer of hope. Closing her eyes, Daring Do quickly swerved to avoid another falling boulder. As she passed it, she heard the soft whoosh of her wings, the roar of the lava and the cracking of stones. A true gauntlet to test her skills. If only Ahuizotl could see this!
The opening grew in size and brightness, causing Daring Do to wish she had the luxury of closing her eyes again. She was being blinded, but she had to make it out before the whole mountain collapsed. Running short on luck and flying with sunspot-filled vision, lava streaming behind her and the cave crumbling to ruins, Daring Do fought for her life. In the distant heights above her, she heard the top of the mountain explode, raining molten rock and spewing death across the landscape. She smelt brimstone, felt fire, and desperately hoped she wouldn’t melt in the cave. At the last second, as the lava caught up to her hooves and she ran out of cave, Daring Do took a deep breath and…
“Daring Do?”
The voice echoed ghoulishly across the midnight breeze. Faint crystalline chimes replied from the glowing white tree. Daring turned her head, looking up from the page she had been typing on. As the moon shone dimly from above, the Tree of Harmony backlit her figure, and illuminated her work.
Rainbow Dash skittered down the steep staircase, dislodging some pebbles before deciding it would be faster and safer to fly the rest of the way. Landing in front of her idol, an eyebrow raised and a stance friendly, she paused a moment to yawn.
“What are you doing here, this late at night?”
Daring Do laughed, and removed her glasses, rubbing her eyes and the bridge of her snout.
“I could ask you the same question. I just got back from a trip to Mons Igneus in the Turturem Archipelago, and I figured I might see the great Tree of Harmony on my way back home.”
“Really? Does that mean you’re working on your new book? Can I see it? Is that the manuscript?”
“Don’t worry, Dash. You’ll still get the advance copy.”
Daring Do caught Rainbow Dash’s infectious yawn. She paused for a moment, eyes looking up and to the left at the middle distance.
“You know, I travel all over finding and rescuing magical artifacts, but of all of them, it’s the Tree here that is the most powerful.”
“How d’you figure that? It’s just a boring old tree,” Rainbow Dash said, unconvinced. She moved closer to the tree and took a long hard look at it, as if staring would coerce it to reveal some mystical secret. Daring Do went on.
“It can defend itself. I do a lot of protecting in my line of work, but the tree will never need it. That’s not the real reason though. In all my adventures across many countries, I always find myself embroiled in some plot to spread villainy.”
“Embroiled? As in, caught?”
“Yeah, sorry, I have my writer’s brain on. I suppose that’s why I’m philosophising.”
“Naw, I got it. I read it somewhere,” Dash smiled, “Y’know, without your books, I wouldn’t have been able to say that.”
Daring Do sat down on the stone, and Rainbow Dash did so too. It occurred to Daring Do that they must look like a couple of fillies on a camping trip, sitting around the old tree, swapping stories. It certainly felt that way, she could imagine the crackle of a fire and the smell of burnt marshmallows.
“The point is,” she continued, “Not once has Ahuizotl or anyone else ever tried to use the Tree for evil. It exists only to spread goodwill and friendship, and you won’t find that anywhere else. You girls are lucky you get to harness that power.”
“Luck has nothing to do with it.”
Daring Do laughed again, “I suppose not. Does it…”
She paused, for once uncertain.
“Does it feel good? Not in any sappy way, but, y’know, do you go to bed with a smile on your face?”
Rainbow Dash was caught off guard, and almost stood back up again. Then she settled down and smoothed back her feathers. She bit her lip and thought for a while. Did she? With her busy schedule, she often slept mere moments after laying down, but on those precious nights where she listened to the birds and the breeze, on the nights she lay thinking, she knew what she felt.
“I guess so. I never thought of it that way. It’s more about thinking how awesome tomorrow is going to be.”
Daring Do turned around and folded her typewriter neatly, revealing a travelling handle. She gathered it up against her brown travelling satchel, filled with all manner of necessities. Then she turned back. Her eyes were wet.
“I thought so. See you later, Rainbow Dash.”
With that, she extended her wings and soared off, leaving Rainbow Dash very, very confused.
Rainbow paused, what was she to do? Thankfully, her indecision wore off. She was the Element of Loyalty. She would be loyal.
She, too, extended her wings and took to the air, following the dark silhouette framed by the purple night. She still had no clue what had happened just prior, but that was not going to stop her comforting her friend. Across the sea of stars she called out, hearing her words whip back with the wind. She tried again louder.
“Daring Do!”
The shape in front of her turned its head, looked back and kept flying. Two small droplets caught the light as they fell. Urgency poured speed into Rainbow Dash’s flight as she saw them. Why was her friend weeping? Daring Do took a sharp turn, then dove for the ground. Hundreds of feet in the air, Rainbow saw the lights of Cloudsdale on the horizon as she twisted in mid-air and followed her friend to the ground.
With only the barest indication of movement below to guide her and the brush of the wind to comfort her, she freefell towards the Everfree Forest. Flashbacks of Flight Camp and the Wonderbolts Academy distracted her mind while her body fought to keep steady. It was all too easy to go into a death tumble at these speeds, and it was incredibly difficult to regain balance. Rainbow never had been able to properly appreciate the flight skills of Daring Do, as their encounters were rarely conducive to fast flying.
She was fast though, and skilled. There’s an elegance to flight that can’t be conveyed through words alone, so the Daring Do stories hadn’t shown Rainbow Dash quite how proficient her friend was. A slight breeze, and each wing changed position, always keeping in that streamlined dive. Rainbow felt her eyes water from the air, and kicked back her hind legs. She simultaneously tucked in her front legs and wings, sending her plummeting.
She advanced quickly on Daring Do. The adventurer might be good, but nopony was as good at flying as Rainbow Dash. She came up beside her, and shouted against the buffeting turbulence.
“You need to land! We’re too low down!”
Daring Do nodded against the wind, and slowly extended her wings in the classic parachute manoeuvre. Rainbow Dash did the same, and the halted their descent slowly. Just above the treeline, Daring Do tried to make a dash to the right, but Rainbow Dash made a low swoop, transferring her momentum downwards to speed. She blazed in front of Daring Do, and turned around, gliding backwards with extreme difficulty. Without saying another word, the adventurer landed, and so the chase was over.
Panting for breath, both took stock of the scenario. Here they were, in the middle of the most dangerous jungle in Equestria, incapacitated from lack of breath, in the dead of night. As a testament to their bravery and humour, both promptly burst out laughing. Rainbow Dash was first to regain enough breath to speak.
“So, why have you dragged me out here at this time of night?”
The laughing intensified. Daring Do quietened down.
“I suppose I owe you an explanation.”
Rainbow Dash nodded and got into a comfortable position. Daring Do indicated her silent thanks with a tip of the head. She wiped away her tears.
“Maybe I need to get this off my chest. I’ve… Well, I’ve just been thinking lately. With my new book on the worktable, I’ve been re-evaluating. And I think, I prefer your gig.”
“What do you mean? I shunt clouds for a living - not exactly exciting. You, you beat up crooks and save priceless treasures - and the world!”
“I meant with the Elements. You six know exactly what you’re here for, and what your true nature is, so you can constantly improve on yourselves.”
“I don’t follow,” Rainbow Dash said plainly.
“You’re ‘the loyal one’. Everyone knows they can rely on you, and you represent one of the six elements of friendship! That’s something anyone can envy, but me, well, I suppose I’m jealous of the payoff. When I go to sleep every night, I try to think of one thing that I did that no-one else could do. And I can’t.”
“I don’t know anypony who can get themselves out of traps as well as you, Daring Do. Who else would’ve thought to use nothing but a thumbtack and a twig to escape the prison chamber of King Rar?”
“Maybe. I’m not the element of ingenuity though, that’s the problem. I don’t know what I am. A writer? An adventurer? Am I brave? Daring? Resilient?”
“You’re all of those things, just like I’m not just loyal. I’m also totally awesome and super-cool.”
“Ha! I suppose that’s true. But who am I at the core, Dash?”
Her words gave Rainbow Dash pause for thought. It wasn’t an easy question to answer. A group of twittermites drifted towards the pair, and they stood up again, ready to take to the sky.
“Can I sleep on it?” Rainbow Dash asked, awkwardly unable to answer. She wore a puzzled expression, both eyebrows furrowed deeply. With the load of the quandary borne across two pairs of shoulders, Daring Do looked lighter on her feet, but the friends were still weighed down in thought. There was an answer, they were sure, but it was not an easy one to find.
“Sure. Hey, can I sleep at your place? I don’t really have a place to stay until I get back home.”
“Can Daring Do sleep at my house? That’s not even a question! Have you got any candles?”
As they took off, Daring Do nodded.
“Sure, I always carry some in my satchel. Come on!”
The darkening sky beckoned the friends, and they heeded its call.
Light permeated the cloud cover, shining on the low-flying home. Rainbow Dash was the first to awaken; Daring Do was taking a much-needed rest. The jangle of bits accompanied her exit, held in a pouch that hung across her back. The floor was cool from the night still, and the air outside even colder. Rainbow Dash shivered, and pumped her wings to warm up her body.
As she flew, she wrote something down in her daily checklist. She couldn’t read it lest she crash into an unforeseen obstacle, but she had done the same thing many times before, and had perfected a sort of on-the-go shorthand.
After a short sojourn to a cloud that had overstepped it’s boundaries, she landed in the town square, knowing it was the hub of all morning activity. Now safely on the ground, she pulled out her checklist. Only one item, scrawled in a messy, jagged text. It read “Bvy Efenenf for Dasing Oo”, and with a little translation, “Buy Element for Daring Do”.
All she had to do for that was find the jewellers, which was a simple task. Cherished Stone’s store had been established years ago, and being the only such store in Ponyville, was going to continue for a long time. Of course, travelling stalls posed something of a threat, but the average customer wasn’t after an exotic tribal necklace from the zebra tribes, or a monocle carved from pure obsidian. So Cherished Stone made a tidy profit, and ponies got a wide selection of Equestrian jewellry.
Upon entering the store, Rainbow Dash first heard the tinkle of chimes above the doorframe, then the soft chatter of ponies examining all the many products on sale. It was a busy morning for the store, but thankfully no-pony was buying anything yet. Ignoring the shelves upon shelves of brass earrings, hornrings, wing decorations and necklaces, she walked to the front counter, where Cherished Stone stood.
“What can I do for you?” he asked merrily, fiddling with small magnifying glass.
Rainbow Dash put her head down, leaning in. She didn’t exactly want everypony in the store knowing what she was purchasing.
“Do you still do engraved pieces?”
“Indeed we do, my dear,” he replied, “What were you looking for, exactly?”
“A necklace. Nothing fancy, just a bit of gold on a chain.”
She shyly crossed her front hooves. Hopefully, none of the ponies here blabbered Rainbow Dash in a jewellry store. She tried to glare at the other customers to put such thoughts from their mind. The last thing she needed that sort of a mark against her reputation. It was just uncool.
He nodded after some thought, “I think we can find something like that. And the engraving?”
“Just write, ‘Daring Do’. As in the adventurer.”
“‘Daring Do, as in the adventurer’?” Cherised stone said with a grin.
“Yes,” Rainbow Dash paused, then continued, “I mean no! Just write ‘Daring Do’.”
Simple, but it would convey her message well.
“Ah, I see. Well, that’ll be twenty bits. Come back in an hour, and it should be ready. ”
He winked at her as she deposited the bits on the bench then left. She wondered what he was thinking. That wink seemed like they shared some dark secret. The only other time she’d seen that wink was whenever Rarity was talking about the Canterlot elite, and all the secret trysts that came with the title. Oh no! She dearly hoped he hadn’t thought the two of them were going out. She definitely wasn’t interested. But that wink certainly made it seem like that. She crashed back through the doors.
“And we aren’t going out. It’s just a present!”
Too late she realised that the store was still full of other ponies, who turned for a moment before going back to their tasks. Rainbow Dash blushed profusely and left the store.
On the way back, a plume of cloud exploded above her. She glanced to see Daring Do streaking through the sky, climbing higher and higher into the atmosphere. The adventurer reached higher than most Pegasi dare, becoming a dot against the blue backdrop.
Then the dot became larger. Daring Do had fallen. She picked up pace, growing exponentially as her fur surely bristled. Rainbow Dash watched in awe, knowing first hoof the difficulty of such a move. It was like playing a game of chicken with a wall.
A massive boom ripped through the sky. A circular rainbow burnt around Daring Do as she reached and passed terminal velocity. The first rainboom of the morning shook the roofs of the town, rousing those still sleeping. Tired heads poked out Rainbow Dash’s breath hitched. Daring Do was too low to be able to pull out in time. It was too late to dodge the wall. Without having to think, she extended her wings and took off, kicking up her own tan circle of dust.
She flew swiftly, seeing her friend realise her error too late. The ground was coming up at speeds incomparable to any pony transportation. It was faster than the wind, faster than sound. Rainbow Dash streaked across the sky, worried she might not make it in time.
Daring Do fell, trying to extend her wings and slow her descent, but the air pressure kept them tightly clutched against her body. Rainbow Dash saw the fear in her eyes, this wasn’t something you could escape with a clever trick and some sleight of hoof. This was life-or-death.
Eyes widening with mounting horror, she flew faster to reach Daring Do in time. She reached out her front hooves until her legs strained, tensed her muscles for impact and prepared herself. She was so close - close enough to pick out individual hairs on Daring Do’s body. All that she needed to do now was catch her.
There was a short roar, cut off by a quick beat.
Time slowed down. Rainbow Dash smelt the grass, watched Daring Do plummet, all overtoned by the quick swoosh of wingbeats. A second rainboom echoed through Ponyville. Rainbow Dash looked above her and saw her friend soar. Maybe she was too fast.
Maybe not. Daring Do fell into her arms at a steep angle, and Rainbow Dash altered her course in an arc, calculating for velocity. She grimaced as the wind blew in her face. All she saw was Daring Do in front of her.
However, what she did have was the liberty of infinite space to slow down to nothing faster than a trot, and so did so with ease. She pulled up, did a half-turn, and sped back to Ponyville. When they were within a few hundred metres, Daring Do finally spoke up.
“Hey, can we stop here?”
“Sure thing,” answered Rainbow Dash, and she gracefully landed on a patch of grass. Daring Do got out of her arms, and stretched her wings. Her head and ears drooped low.
“I feel so stupid. What I did back there just wasn’t cool. Sorry Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow put a comforting hoof across her shoulders. She pulled her friend in close tightly. Quiet was the right choice right now. Her friend would speak when she needed to.
“I woke up this morning, and you weren’t there, so I decided to go out and practice my flying.”
Rainbow Dash kept quiet.
“That move you made last night, when you made that low swoop, well, I can think of a dozen times when I could have used a fast maneuver like that. Well, it seems like I need more practice. That was my first ever sonic rainboom, though, which is pretty cool.”
Daring Do twisted her neck round to stretch the muscles.
“They take a lot out of you, don’t they? But, um, I also thought about what we said last night, and I know I’m many things, and I know I can’t really ask anyone to help me find out which is truly me, but, thanks for talking to me. I needed someone to talk to, even if I didn’t know it then. So thanks.”
She looked into Rainbow Dash’s eyes with her own, warm and full of thankfulness. The two friends embraced. When they let each other’s hooves fall back to the ground, Rainbow Dash formed a small smile.
“Do you want to go back to the house, and I’ll just quickly grab something?”
Daring Do reciprocated with her own smile.
“I might start collecting my things.”
“Do you have to go so soon? It’s been a blast having you here, and trust me, Ponyville needs some excitement like you around. It’s so boring!”
“Well, I need to finish this book and get it to my publisher. But I’ll come back to your place sometime, and you know you and your friends are always welcome at mine.”
Rainbow Dash grinned as she left, confident in her plan. Daring Do had a small smile on her face, and her eyes were lighter.
Daring Do had just finished packing her bags when Rainbow came flying in through the window, of all entrances. She hoisted her satchel over her back, and stood up. She hoofed Rainbow Dash, and simultaneously raised an eyebrow.
“The window?” she queried with humour. Rainbow Dash shrugged nonchalantly.
“Doors are for people with no imagination.”
“Fair enough,” Daring Do said, “Well, I suppose this is goodbye.”
“Don’t leave yet!” Rainbow said, holding out a brown paper bag. Daring Do took it, her curiosity piqued. It made a rustling noise as she took it that reminded her of the long dry grass of the Savaneigh. The bag had the odour of the bark found on a rainforest tree. She had no idea what could be inside. With excitement and a small trepidation that had worked it’s way into her mind after one too many traps, she peeked over the jagged lip of the bag. A glimmer of familiar gold shone back at her. She shuffled through all the ancient artefacts she had collected over the years, counting all the golden ones. It was an involuntary response, but helped her to no end in combat.
She reached inside the bag and withdrew a thin gold chain. It was a necklace, with a single golden pendant on the end. She took the pendant and turned it over. Two words were etched into the gold.
Daring Do
As she was looking at it, Dash spoke.
“I thought about what you said too,”she began slowly, trying not to jumble her words, “And so I made this for you. It’s not an ordinary necklace though. It’s an Element of Harmony.”
Daring Do looked up at this, but Dash continued softly.
“It’s the Element of Daring Do. If you ever wonder what it is that you are, you can look down and see what your element is. You are who you are, Daring, and that’s as much an Element as Loyalty or Honesty. Without you, my world, and the world of all Equestria, wouldn’t be the same.”
“I…”
For once in her life, the usually one-liner spouting adventurer couldn’t speak. There simply weren’t enough words. So she just cried.
Of all the treasures she had found buried in sand temples or lost in arctic wastes, this gift was the most valuable. So she just cried.
Extravagant in its simplicity; valuable in its meaning alone; not just a necklace. So she just cried.
For the second time in as many days, tears fell, and as they hit the cloud floor, small tufts of cloud billowed up like steam. From ear to ear, a wide smile cracked open, and her voice quavered.
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow nodded, and threw open her wings, wrapping them tightly around her friend’s shaking body.
“You deserve it.”
At the last second, as the lava caught up to her hooves and she ran out of cave, Daring Do took a deep breath and…
…leapt of the edge. Below her was the jungle, and the cool air made her shiver. She was free! She looked behind her, and saw the mountain burn the forest into black char, surely taking the Sceptre of Souls with it. Phew!
She wished she could have brought the Sceptre out with her, but she knew that it would just have fallen into the wrong hands yet again. And that couldn’t be allowed to happen. The danger it posed outweighed the risk. Daring Do looked behind her one more time at the volcano, which was covered in thick red lava that bubbled and cracked.
A rush of excitement broke through her body. This was why she was an adventurer! In that moment, she never wanted to do anything else, she wanted to live the dream forever. All her life she had questioned what her true nature was, but it had always been right in front of her. She was Daring Do, the adventurer.
With Mons Igneus behind her, Daring Do flew off into the darkening sun-lit sky, ready for tomorrow to come.
Rainbow Dash closed the book. For what must have been the hundredth time, she read the note that had been sent with it.
Dear Rainbow Dash,
As promised, the advance copy of Daring Do and the Sceptre of Souls. Hope you like it! Maybe not as exciting as our latest adventure together, but exciting nonetheless!
From your friend and fellow Element of Harmony,
Daring Do
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What program did you use for the cover?
6611265 A dash of MS Paint and a hint of Photoshop. There isn't really a be-all end-all Pixel Art program, usually it has to be done manually. Do you like it?
[edit for clarity] It's not super-great, but it does the job well enough.
6611280 It's good.
Very nice. Have a like.
6611924 Why, thank you!
This is a very sweet story! Love it a lot.
6614199 Thank you! It was a blast to write. Perhaps you should check out the other stories in the competition.
That was well-developed and was a nice take on the FTP contest. You did a nice job constructing the prose as well. And it fitting some of the show's themes was also a nice touch. Anyway, nicely done, and have an upvote for your efforts.
6636629 Thank you, you've made this story officially my most upvoted. I appreciate the support, especially from a popular writer such as yourself.
6638051 You're welcome! Best of luck on your future stories.