Krizak's Compendium of Concise Chronicles

by Krizak

Back to the Crusade - Adventure

The brisk strokes of the chalk across the blackboard and the flapping wings carrying her aloft almost drowned out the excited murmurs of the classroom behind her, but she caught enough to know that they were intrigued. That was good. That was what made her a good teacher, getting the younger generation excited about what she had to offer. Today’s lesson was a hard one for some of those with more fanciful or romantic dreams about her profession, but with luck, she would only encourage the true believers to strive harder.

Finishing up the downstroke of the ‘T’, Professor Daring Do spat the chalk out into the eraser tray and landed, turning to face her class and putting her back to the word she’d just written on the board: “FACT.”

“Archaeology is the search for fact. Not truth,” she began to lecture, a smirk appearing on her face as she continued. “You signed up for the wrong Do’s class if you’re looking for truth; Doctor Ditzy Doo’s philosophy course is just down the hall.”

The classroom let out a mostly unanimous chuckle at the professor’s joke. She gave them a moment to settle before continuing, “So if you thought signing up for this class was going to be your one-way ticket to an amazing world of lost seapony civilizations, ancient royal secrets, and digging up amazing arcane artifacts lost to the ages, you can just forget it! This isn’t a game; we aren’t searching for buried treasure like we’re bunch of pirates or playing hide-and-seek with forgotten pony tribes.”

Daring Do used her desk to prop herself up, emphasizing the next point with the aggressive posture. “Three-quarters of archaeology is spent in dusty old libraries, doing your research, reading up on old legends and histories and everything in between. You have to be able to separate the truth from the story-time fluff in mythology.” She took a breath to continue, but the loud ringing of the bell informed her that she had once again underestimated on time. “Darn it! Uh, next week, 'Earthology!' Start with the discovery of Puddinghead IV by Dusty Trails in 885, and read from there. Anypony needs to talk, I’ll be in my office for about an hour!”

The professor watched as her students filed out of the classroom, briefly glancing out the window at the beautiful sunny day in Canterlot that she hoped to be enjoying as soon as she got some more term papers graded. Turning back to her departing students, Daring Do raised an eyebrow at the one filly who was trying to squeeze past and get into the classroom. She definitely couldn’t be a student at the university; she looked like she had just recently got her cutie mark. The sky-blue filly had the most eye-catching mane she had ever seen, with seemingly every colour of the rainbow represented in different streaks; Daring Do almost felt like it was what her mane would look like if it wasn’t all shades of black and grey.

Finally managing to beat the crowd, the pegasus filly ran up to the professor’s desk. “Doc, Doc, you’ve gotta help me out!” she pleaded, breathing so heavily that Daring wondered just where she had flown here from.

Still, the professor felt she was owed a modicum of respect in her own classroom, and she said as much. “Young mare, I’m not going to respond to being called ‘Doc.’ It’s Doctor Daring Do or Professor Daring Do, though I have to say I prefer the latter.”

A look of defiance briefly flashed over the filly’s face, one that Daring Do had a feeling showed up whenever the prismatic young mare was told to do something. The defiance was quickly quashed, however, as the filly obviously had more important concerns that flaunting her independence. “Professor Daring Do, I need your help! Somepony is in trouble, and you’re the only one with the awesome skills and knowledge to help me out! But we have to go right away, I only have so much time left!”

The filly began to walk around the desk, but Daring Do held up a hoof. “Wait a minute, wait just one minute! What is this all about? Who are you?”

Speaking in rapid fire, the young mare explained, “Oh, I’m Rainbow Dash, and I came here just to recruit you to help me save myself ten years from when I’m from. But my time is almost up, and we need to be getting back!”

Daring Do was so lost and confused by this strange filly and what she was saying that she didn’t object when Dash walked up and curled her forehoof around her own. And Dash beginning to glow was not helping matters. She finally managed to ask, “Back? Back to where?” as the glow reached a blinding intensity.

“Back… to the future!” Dash replied, just before the two mares disappeared from Daring’s university classroom, an unusual twin trail of rainbow fire the only sign that either had been there at all.

Comments

[Krizak]

This story was for Prompt #15: "Damsel in Distress." The prompt was for one of the Mane Six to team up with Daring Do to save Rainbow Dash.

Donny's Boy specifically didn't exclude Dash from being the member of the Mane Six that teams up with Daring Do, so I thought for a bit how I could manage that... and I ended up with a story that fuses Daring Do's inherent Indiana Jones references with references to Back to the Future.