Daring Do and the Order of the Eagle

by Arkansandragon

Shelter and Fans

Chapter 4: Shelter and Fans
Stunned silence filled the room as Twilight paused at the end of that first chapter. When she looked up from the book, it was to see varied reactions from each member of the group.

Rarity and Spike hugged each other, staring at Twilight in disbelief. Fluttershy had a spare pillow over her head, looking fearful. Both Pinkie and Rainbow were wide-eyed and slack-jawed in shock, with Pinkie's jaw actually reaching the floor. To complete the scene, Applejack was clenching her hat in her front hooves, chewing on the brim nervously.

"Don't worry!" reassured Twilight with a smile and a laugh. "Daring gets out OK! It'd be a pretty short book if she died within the first chapter!"

“”Pffff... Of course she will!” said Dash, a little too loudly. “Of course she will! I mean,” she added awkwardly, “why wouldn't she get out OK…? She does in every other book... heh heh...” She trailed off, blushing, before adding with renewed vigor, “But we still gotta know what happens next! Two bits says that guy in the white robe saved her!” As if to back up her claim, she tossed two of the golden coins into an empty popcorn bowl.

“I’ll take that bet,” said Spike good-naturedly, keeping a reassuring claw on Rarity’s foreleg as he tossed in his own two bits. Sighs of relief and embarrassed chuckles followed this statement, and the others visibly relaxed.

Suddenly, Pinkie asked, "Speaking of that, how'd you get this book anyway, Twilight? I thought it wasn't supposed to come out for another two whole months." Then she eyed the unicorn suspiciously and added, “You don’t secretly know the author and never told us do you?”

“Oh no, nothing like that,” answered Twilight, levitating a drink over to herself from the nearby snack table. “I won it in an essay contest. The topic was information on the constellation creatures living in the Everfree Forest. The author was considering using them in their next book.”

Impressed murmurs of understanding and congratulations followed this. Then the group got comfortable again, and the story continued.

“Nightmares haunted Daring Do as she hung in the darkness somewhere between life and death. At times she thought she heard someone calling out to her, willing her to hold on and come back to the light. Other times there were nothing but distorted dreams, or what she thought were dreams anyway. Dreams of being pulled from white rapids. Of somepony forcing the water from the her burning lungs and breathing life back into her. Of being carried through scorching fire, freezing ice, and howling winds that scratched her skin clean through her coat, threatening to tear her from the hold of her rescuer. Then after what felt like eternity, they had come to a place of stillness and safety. Finally there was one last dream, of creatures in white robes tending her wounds, then laying her in a warm, soft bed, with one of them always watching over her as she slept.

“But this last dream felt all too real, as awareness slowly came back to her. Daring kept her eyes shut and lay still, taking stock of her surroundings through her other senses first. She was lying on her right side, and could feel bandages on her legs and head. Her hat was missing, and her body was sore from what she recognized as healing bruises, and maybe a few cracked bones. Her wings felt stiff from disuse, but miraculously seemed uninjured. Another surprise was that her coat felt clean and brushed, with her mane and tail combed out, though she certainly didn’t remember bathing. It even felt like somepony had preened her wings for her.

“The bed wasn’t as comfortable as she remembered. It felt like a mix of straw and feathers inside the mattress, but she supposed that after sleeping on the ground in a tent for the past few weeks, this bed had felt soft as a cloud when she’d been laid here. The feather pillow was nice though. Next thing she noticed was that her warm blankets had been replaced by thin sheets, and that the air was cool and dry. She could smell a calming mixture of burning herbs nearby, but wasn’t sure which kind they were.

“Carefully, the mare opened one eye, looking around as far as she could without having to sit up. Daylight filtered in through heavy window drapes, creating a twilight effect in the small stone room. The room itself wasn’t much bigger than a closet, and was simply furnished, having only the bed, a nightstand, and a colorful woven rug on the floor. Daring noted with surprise that it wasn’t a cat-woven Purr-sian rug as she’d first thought, although the pattern was similar and the quality just as good. This looked more like sheep weaving then anything else. Pushing that oddity to the back of her mind, she continued examining the room. The masonry looked centuries old, but had been skillfully done, and was still in fine condition. Several small red and white banners on the walls also added color to the otherwise gray room. She took note of the strange black stylized arrowhead on them as well, resolving to find out more about it later. The burning herbs Daring had smelled came from three of what looked like tealight candles placed on the nightstand. Her hat was sitting next to them, looking not much worse for the wear, all things considered. At least it didn’t smell like fish from her dunk in the river.

“She was just about to reach for it, when she heard the sound of voices coming towards her. It was only then that she noticed the wooden door to the room was open, revealing a stone hallway beyond. She also noticed that her white-robed guardian was absent from his usual post near the foot of the bed. Instead, her shirt had been folded and placed on the stool he normally used. It looked as though somepony had cleaned and repaired it, for which she was grateful. But that left her puzzled. If her shirt was there, then what was she wearing now? A quick peek under the sheets showed her a robe of soft green fabric. She didn’t have time to examine it further, however, because the voices suddenly became hushed right outside her door. Daring quickly lay back, shutting her eyes and steadying her breathing as best she could to feign sleep.

“Nearly-silent hoofsteps slowly entered the room, stopping a short way from the bed. Curious despite herself, the adventuress slowly cracked one eye open. Standing off to the side of her bed and eyeing the pegasus cautiously were two school-age foals. Or at least, the young zebra was a foal. She wasn’t quite sure what a baby griffin was called. The two were dressed in dark gray robes with hoods. Both their hoods were down to reveal their faces, and they seemed to be arguing about something.

“ ‘See, Thistle?’ said the griffin smugly, male by the sound of his voice. ‘I told you she wasn’t a dragon!’

“The zebra, Thistle, who was also male, grumbled something that sounded like, ‘Know-it-all...’, and hoofed over four bits from inside his robe.

“Thistle peered closer at the mare and said, ‘I still don’t know, Cirrus... A pony tough and fearless as her has got to have at least some dragon blood in her line.’

“ ‘A dragon and a pegasus? Really?’ asked Cirrus skeptically, giving his friend a raised eyebrow.

“ ‘Hey, it could happen,’ said Thistle. ‘My cousin is half unicorn. Got both horn and stripes.’

“ ‘Sounds cool,’ said Cirrus, ‘But I still don’t think so...’ He quickly glanced around, as if looking for eavesdroppers, then whispered into Thistle’s ear so that Daring almost didn’t catch it, ‘You don’t think she could be a secret student of the Mentor, do you?’

“Thistle snorted with laughter, giving the griffin a playful shove. ‘A secret student!’ he chuckled. ‘Fat chance of that! Have you been getting into Cream Puff’s donuts again? You know those things always make you talk sun-crazed!’

“ ‘Hey! It’s just as plausible as her being part dragon!’ huffed Cirrus.

“Daring decided that now would be a good time to ‘wake up’. Otherwise those two might hang around all day and she’d never get a chance to explore on her own. The two backed away, looking startled as she moved.

“ ‘We should go,’ whispered Thistle, heading for the door. ‘Let her have some space when she wakes up.’

“ ‘Good idea,’ answered Cirrus, following close behind him.

“Daring took her time getting out of bed, both to make sure the boys were actually gone and to carefully stretch her stiff limbs. It wouldn’t do to strain something now after only just healing. That taken care of, she eased out into the deserted hallway. It had the same build as the room she’d just left, old grey stone, but well maintained. Other, identical wooden doors lined the hallway as well. More bedrooms, she guessed. Seeing daylight through an open door ahead, Daring could only stare in wonder as she entered the courtyard of a towering castle.

“Although the light had been strong coming through the bedroom window, here the area was cast in shadow and the cobblestones carpeted with mist. Only the tops of the high towers and domes were gilded in the sun’s light. Yet, as Daring continued to look, she saw that the courtyard wasn’t completely dark. Small fires in iron cages were spaced along the bases of the walls to provide light. Another thing she noticed were several wooden awnings scattered around with piles of hay stored beneath them. Also, more of the strange red and white banners hung from the walls and stood on poles scattered throughout the yard and atop the battlements. Flags, Daring realized, noticing four more, two large, and two smaller ones which were completely red, that framed the doorway to what she assumed was the main castle keep. The keep itself also had many windows, some tall and narrow, others small and circular. They had no glass, presumably to help with air circulation, but instead contained beautiful sunburst patterns shaped of wrought-iron.

“There was a railed stage in front of the doorway with stone steps curving down off to the left. Below the stage and off to the right was a fenced in ring floored with a sunburst mosaic in differing shades of gray. On the far right of this, next to the wall, stood several wooden and straw dummies. The ring and dummies were directly across from Daring, with the keep to her right. To her left were two more pathways, one leading up to a tower accessible by a ladder, while the other path twisted down to reveal a raised portcullis, also of wrought-iron. Behind her was another high wall, with the door she’d just come through set back into the shadows. Had she not known it was there, and come in through the main gate, she never would have noticed it.

“But even more noticeable than the architecture, were the ponies. Daring shook her head, berating herself. The courtyard was full of activity and here she was, standing slack-jawed and gawking like a newborn foal! I must look like a complete doofus! she thought. But looking again, it seemed that the other ponies either didn’t mind, or didn’t notice. Those that saw her nodded in acknowledgement, but gave her space and went about their duties. They acted as though it was perfectly normal to have a strange pony in their midst.

“As she looked around, she noticed that, although there were plenty of pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies, they weren’t the only creatures. The fenced in area, clearly a training ring, held two donkeys locked in a sparring match while a crowd watched. Here and there, among the crowd and roaming the yard in small groups of what she thought must be guards, were also zebras, griffins, mules, horses, and even - she blinked again - where those deer and buffalo? A few of the group even seemed to be of mixed heritage, like Thistle’s cousin. What kind of place was this, to have so many different creatures all together?

“Another strange thing was that they all wore hooded robes. The cut and style of the garment varied to each individual, but the colors clearly split them into groups. It reminded Daring of the uniforms and ranks she’d seen in military and some school districts. The children of the group all wore dark gray, like the two who had visited her room. Those in their teen years and older seemed to be divided by rank instead of age. These outfits ranged from having a gray robe with a white overtunic, like the guards, to plain white robes with a red sash around the waist. She noted also that everyone except the children was armed with blade or bow, and wore varying types of armor.

“Speaking of children -

“ ‘Hi there! You’re Daring Do, right?’

“Daring jumped away from the voice, startled, then quickly tried to compose herself. Looking down, she saw that Thistle and Cirrus had found her again.

“ ‘Yeah, that’s me,’ she said, smiling, ‘You two heard about me?’

“ ‘Yeah!’ cried Thistle, trotting in place happily. ‘We’re really big fans! Oh, I’m Thistle, by the way, and this is Cirrus,’ he added, pointing to his griffin friend.
.....................................................................

Meanwhile, back in the real world...
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS TRAIN WATCHERS YAY!”
Five minutes later...
“99 buckets of oats on the wall! 99 buckets of oats! You take one down, pass it around, you got 98 buckets of oats on the wall!” sang out Sweetie Belle as they waited. “98 buckets of oats on the wall! 98 buckets of oats! You take one down, pass it around, you got 97 buckets of oats on the wall! 97 buckets of oats on the wall! 97 buckets of oats! You take one down, pass it around - !”
96 buckets of oats later...
“This. Is. So. BORING!” moaning Scootaloo, throwing her hooves up. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle nodded glumly in agreement. Just then, Daisy Joe walked past them, contentedly chewing her cud. “Why hello there girls!” said the cow cheerfully, “Lovely day for watchin’ trains ain't it.”
The three fillies just stared at her, dumbstruck as she walked by. Once she was out of sight, they looked at each other, shrugged, and went back to watching the train tracks again.
Five more minutes later...
“Know where we can find a few proton packs at this hour?”
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS GHOSTBUSTERS YAY!”

Author's Note:

Yes, I know this chapter is unfinished. But I'm tired of just having it sit on my computer while I'm busy working on other things and planning to re-write the previous chapters anyway to clean them up and add more to them. Hope you enjoyed it anyway!

I'm not sure when my next update will be. :( But I'll get back around to this eventually.

Comments

[chrisharte97]

Interesting chapter you have here.

[EpicShadowz]

YOU ACTUALLY UPDATED. ACCEPT MY HUGS.