The Death of Daring Do: The Engine of Eternity

by DuncanR

Part 3: "This isn't exactly my area of expertise."

A sleek and slender bullet-train, carved entirely out of glittering golden topaz, hushed to a halt as it entered the Crystal Empire's only railway station. There was a hiss of compressed gas, and the doors slid open by themselves: a crowd of distinctly non-crystalline ponies poured out and talked excitedly amongst themselves. They paid no attention to the interior of the station itself, which had somehow been constructed out of a magnificent spectrum of polished gemstones.

A low, raspy voice called out over the roar of the crowd. "Hey look, everypony! It's Rainbow Dash, over by the gift shop!"

The crowd squealed with delight and stampeded off the landing deck, mobbing the poor vendor on the far side of the station. Only two ponies lingered behind: a khaki-mustard pegasus with her cap pulled down over her eyes and a pony wearing a huge, crumply poncho that obscured her almost completely: the hood was tied tight around her muzzle leaving only her mouth and nose exposed, and the tips of her hooves were briefly visible as she stepped along. The two ponies walked calmly out of the station and into the nearest side alley.

Rainbow Dash tossed the poncho off and gasped for breath. "Finally! I thought that train ride would never end!"

Derring-Do wrapped the poncho into a tiny packet and tucked it away in her saddlebag. "I thought you liked being the center of attention."

"Ugh, no. Just... no." Dash shook her head. "It's fine when it's just a couple ponies, like seven or eight. I love to get to know my fans and talk about stuff we actually care about, but a giant mob is no fun at all. It's like being the rope in a game of tug-o-war." She shook herself out and slicked her mane back. "Me? I like my adoring audience to stay in the bleachers."

"Yes, well." Derring-Do glanced down each end of the narrow alley. "Shall we get this over with?"

"Right, right. The palace is right in the center of town: you can't miss it!" Rainbow Dash hopped up, pumped her wings once, and glided down the alley and into the main street. The gleaming city stretched out before her, like a vast circular amulet encrusted with buildings instead of jewels.

"You've never been here before, have you? Isn't it crazy? They build everything out of gemstones! We still have no idea how they do it, or where they find such huge gems!" Rainbow Dash glanced back over her shoulder and slowed to a halt. "Derring? Hey, Derring!"

She flew in a little circle and scanned the road below. She traced her path back the way she'd came, and finally found Derring-Do in the narrow alley. She hadn't moved a step.

"What's wrong with you? I thought you were in a hurry."

Derring glared at her.

Dash clapped a hoof over her mouth. "Ooh... yeah. The, uh... that whole... thing."

Derring walked past her without a word.

Rainbow followed after her. "Look, I'm real sorry, okay? I just had a brain-burp, that's all. It was real dumb of me, I know."

Derring sniffed. "...And you ended up with loyalty?"

Rainbow Dash caught up and walked beside her for awhile. She said nothing, but her eyes kept flicking over her right side.

Derring scowled at her. "What?"

"You really can't fly," Dash said softly. "I'm sorry, it's just... I can't get used to the idea."

"Just forget it."

"But that's the problem," she said. "I keep forgetting it's there. I tell myself it's not a big deal... but the more I think about it, the bigger a deal it seems like."

Derring rolled her eyes.

"So what is it like?"

Derring shot Dash a glance, but hesitated when she saw the look in her eyes. There was absolutely no pity, nor any shame or embarrassment.

Derring came to a halt. "You really want to know?"

She nodded. "Absolutely. I feel like I'm taking it for granted."

Derring sighed and looked away. "To be perfectly honest... it's not that big a deal. I haven't flown for so long that I've sort of forgotten what it's like. And I never knew anything about weather control to begin with, so that's no loss."

"You have a loft apartment, right? How do you get around?"

"They're called stairs," Derring said with a cheeky smirk. "You should try them some time. Honestly, I don't think of myself as a pegasus that can't fly... I feel like an earth pony with one good wing. And no talent at all for farming or skilled labor."

Rainbow Dash arched an eyebrow. "One good wing?"

Derring lifted her unbound wing and spread it wide. "Lefty still works just fine. It's no good for flying, of course, but I can still carry things and operate simple devices."

Dash watched her plumage. "I guess that's pretty useful after all. But if it's not so bad, then... why are you so angry about it?"

She frowned, but not at her. "I hate how ponies act around me. Canterlot is full of incredibly rich, arrogant snobs and they're all obsessed about being politically correct... despite the fact that most of them don't have a genuinely sympathetic bone in their bodies. I'm sick of it... sick to death of it all."

"You oughta visit Ponyville," said Dash. "It's not nearly as stuffy, and the ponies actually care about each other. Well... most of them do."

"I bet they do, but I'm also betting they don't have a university." Derring sighed. "There's only two universities in the world that have a full-time archeology division. It's a very young field of study."

"Wow... talk about an exclusive club."

They continued walking for a while, idly watching the local ponies and their magnificent, gleaming buildings.

"I think that's the first time in years anypony's asked me about myself," said Derring-Do. "I mean, who I really am... they usually ask about my job or my disability."

"I still feel bad about that," said Dash. "The first time we met, I made a lot of assumptions... I've read those books a million times, and I thought you were—"

Derring let out a sigh of frustration. "I don't want to talk about those silly books. At all."

"I won't. Promise. But I still think you've done a lot of cool stuff... and I bet your real life would make a pretty good story."

"You can't be serious."

"Maybe it won't be an action packed story, but it'd still be really interesting. You're really smart, and you've been to a lot of exciting, far-away places, haven't you? I read that you went on a dozen expeditions!"

"Sixteen," Derring said, "but I was only an assistant excavator."

"Still, you were doing real life archeology! It must have been so exciting!"

Derring-do tossed her head back and laughed.

"What? What'd I say?"

She smiled at her. "I want you to imagine you have a giant garbage dump that's been buried under five meters of dirt, clay, and rock. You have no idea how big it is, or what it contains... and you have to dig up the entire thing using nothing but a grapefruit spoon and a toothbrush."

Rainbow Dash crinkled her nose. "Eeugh. I once had to clean the floor of a whole school cafeteria with a toothbrush... it was brutal."

"Yeah, except this is outdoors, so it's freezing cold or blazing hot."

Dash pursed her lips. "So... if they didn't pay you, would you do it for free?"

"Not an option," Derring said. "Dig sites cost a fortune to set up and the further away you go the higher the price tag. If there's no money, there's no digging."

"What about just going out on your own? There's no law against grabbing a box of tools, and just flying out over the horizon, and—"

Derring-Do squinted at her.

"I, uh... I mean... running off into the horizon, and finding a bunch of ruins to explore all by yourself?"

Derring-Do shoved her shoulder and fixed her with an intense look. "Now you listen here, Rainbow Dash. I can overlook your obsession with sensational pulp-action stories, but there is one particular notion that I need to disabuse you of immediately."

Dash took a step back. "Right, right! Sorry! I didn't mean to—"

"Never, ever, ever work alone," she said. "If you ever go hiking or spelunking or mountain climbing, you always use the buddy system. You bring somepony with you, and you stick together. I went into a cavern all by myself and it cost me my wing. Don't you ever forget that."

Rainbow Dash nodded, quickly.

"Good." Derring nudged her cap up and continued down the road.

After a few minutes of uneventful walking, Rainbow Dash and Derring-Do arrived at the massive, faceted spire at the center of the city. Half its towers were suspended in the air by sheer force of magic, and all the lanterns and candelabras burned with languid, blue flames.

Derring-Do peered up at the ceiling of the main hall. "So, we're in the palace. Uninvited. I notice we haven't been arrested yet."

Rainbow Dash sighed. "You really don't have much faith in me, do you?"

"Not a speck," she said, "but I'm willing to be proven wrong."

"That's all I could ask for." Dash squinted and scanned the crystal ponies gathered about. Most of them were dressed more finely than those outside, and were speaking quietly to each other. "Okay... there's the prince."

"Where?"

"See the geeky little guy, with the glasses? Over by the fountain? That's Prince Gallium. He just woke up from a hundred-year sleeping curse, and he's the only prince they have right now. He's all they got."

"He's got quite a crowd around him... are you sure this is a good time?"

"It's cool. I got this."

Rainbow Dash softly cleared her throat and flexed her shoulders. She then took a deep breath and cupped her hoof beside her mouth. "Hey, four-eyes!"

The prince immediately perked up and looked around the room.

"Are you crazy!?" hissed Derring.

"Would you calm down? I said it's cool."

The prince finally caught sight of them and broke into a wide smile. "Rainbow Dash! You decided to visit us after all!" He walked towards them, leaving the crowd of nobles behind.

Rainbow Dash smiled back at him just as broadly. "Glad to see you too! How's the duchess been? No hard feelings, I hope?"

"Oh, you know, keeping busy," he said. "Most of our outlying estates and villas have been taken over by hordes of giant monsters, and she's sallying forth to single-hoofedly fight them all off... she's never been happier!"

"Sounds like fun," Dash said, "but I'll have to hear about it later. I'm here on royal business."

"Of course, of course." He nudged his glasses up. "What do you require?"

"We just want to know more about that Miracle Medicine you gave us. Is there anything it can't cure?"

"It's completely universal," he said. "Our empire has used it for over a century, and we've never encountered any kind of illness or injury that couldn't be cured by it. Why do you ask?"

Dash turned to Derring, and there was a moment of awkward silence. Dash nudged her, and she looked away slightly.

"Oh, come on," Dash said, "he's not going to bite."

Derring-Do cleared her throat. "Well... your Highness... I have a disability. And the medicine didn't do anything for it."

"Oh dear. That is rather puzzling. Did you apply it properly?"

Derring-Do pointed at Rainbow Dash. "She threw it in my face, if that's what you mean."

"Yes, yes. The elixir is designed to absorb into the epidermal layer and suffuse the entire body. Can you tell me the nature of your injury?"

"My wing is bad."

"Bad?" Gallium nudged his glasses again. "Can you elaborate?"

"It's crippled. I was trapped under a rock and feverish for two days, and they had to... cut it off." The crystal ponies around them all winced with revulsion. Derring-Do blushed slightly. "They took me back to a hospital and used magic to regenerate it, but they couldn't regrow the nerves properly. It still has sensation, but I can't move it at all."

One of the other nobles nodded to her. "Perhaps you should try a dose of our Miracle Medicine, young lady: It can cure any sickness at all!"

"That's why we're here," she said through clenched teeth. "I tried it. It didn't work."

There was a round of gasps.

"The Miracle Medicine failed you? Impossible!"

"How can this be? Has something gone wrong with the machine?"

"...But my father was going to get a dose next week! Whatever will we do if it doesn't work?"

Prince Gallium raised his voice and addressed the crowd calmly. "Patience, my subjects. Patience. This is an urgent issue, and I promise it will be investigated properly. This is hardly the time for panic and paranoia."

The crowd immediately settled down. The Prince turned to Derring-Do.

"I'm very sorry, miss. Our medicine has never failed us before, but this is also the first time it's ever been used on somepony who wasn't a crystal pony. I'll look into this myself as soon as I am able."

"Yeah. Great." Derring glanced at the exit. "So... are we done here?"

Dash turned to the Prince. "Can you tell us anything about how the medicine works? Anything at all, to give us a clue to go on?"

Derring cleared her throat. "That's not really necessary."

"I'll tell you everything I can," said the prince. "I am a master alchemist, after all... but you must know that I didn't invent it myself. I only discovered it."

"Discovered it? How?"

"It's created by an alchemical apparatus that's been in the royal family for generations... it's not fully understood. The apparatus was constructed out of some very unusual components, some of them quite old."

"Old?" Dering-Do frowned. "How old, precisely?"

"Older than the Crystal Empire, to be sure. Other than that, it's a complete mystery... we don't have any experts on old things."

Derring-Do rolled up the sleeves of her jacket. "Show me."

Prince Gallium led them up an elevator and into a large, circular hall. The walls were lined with shelves full of books and laboratory equipment and there were tables arranged in a loose circle... but the centerpiece of the room immediately drew their attention. There was a pair of large crystal tanks, filled with red and blue liquid, respectively. The top of one tank tapered to a narrow point and fed down into the top of other, then formed a long spiral spring within it.

"The Alchemical Alembic Apparatus," Gallium said as he slowly led them around it. "It's similar to a distillery... the liquid in the first tank is heated to a boil, and the vapor moves up through the tube. The second tank is filled with cool water, which causes the vapor to condenses as it passes down through the spiral. It then drips out of the spigot at the bottom as a liquid, purified by several factors. But unlike a normal still, the Alchemical Alembic Apparatius amplifies and refines the magical properties of mystical substances."

Dash stared at the enormous construct. "Wow... do you have any clue how was it made?"

"Most of it is simple alchemy, except for this part here..." He pointed at the top of the machine where a complex clockwork device had been fused along the thin crystal tube. "This is what makes the Alembic possible. It generates a concentrated beam of magical light that shines through the tube and affects the vapor. The light has to be calibrated just so, using just the right color."

Derring-Do peered up at the attachment. "Is there any chance I could take a closer look?"

Prince Gallium pushed a lever in the floor, and a ring-shaped section of the floor lifted up into the air: it snapped apart neatly into individual steps that formed a spiral staircase around the Alembic. The Prince walked up the stairs while they were still clicking into position, and Derring and Dash followed after him.

"Interesting," Derring said as she examined the machinery. "The clockwork technology is certainly impressive, but it can't possibly be more than a thousand years old."

"I built it myself," said the Prince. "All it does is manipulate the light field... I was getting pretty tired of having to do all the math by hoof."

"Why is this part made out of metal?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Why not use gems or jewels or something, like you did with the tanks and the tubes?"

"Opacity," Derring-Do said before the prince could respond. "This is a device for filtering and positioning light... if you built it out of translucent materials, light would come in from the outside and spoil everything."

"Quite correct," he said. "The most important component, however, is that crystal right there." He pointed out a tiny, translucent stone in the heart of the device.

"...It's a prism," Derring whispered. "That's what you use to split the light into separate colors."

Dash grinned and gave her colorful mane a shake. "Hey, you mean like a rainbow?"

"Except this one doesn't split light," the Prince said. "It splits magic."

Dash frowned at the stone. "What kind of gem is it made of? Quartz? Diamond?"

Gallium gave them both a serious look. "We have... absolutely... no idea."

Dash and Derring both looked up at him, surprised.

"But gems are your thing!" Rainbow Dash said, "it's what you do!"

"It's a complete mystery," said the prince. "My grandmother found it when she was a young mare: she was always obsessed with adventure and excitement, and she wasn't a very good empress... but she did find a lot of interesting treasures and artifacts, and that prism was one of them. She brought it back to the empire, and her science-wizards used it to construct the apparatus you see before you. For the longest time, it was only useful for scientific research—really boring stuff—but eventually, somepony figured out a way to use it for medicine. It revolutionized the Empire's medical science by leaps and bounds, almost overnight."

Derring-Do turned back to examine the device. "So was there a violent civil war or something?" she said blandly.

Rainbow Dash nudged her. "That's a terrible thing to say!"

Derring-Do shrugged. "What? That's what always happens."

"You're entirely correct," said Gallium. "There almost was a war: the machine could only make a single dose every month, and everypony wanted it. My grandmother managed to negotiate a settlement that was fair for all, and over time we developed conventional medicines and treatments that alleviated demand."

"Then you dodged an arrow," said Derring. "I've studied a lot of ancient civilizations, and this sort of discovery almost always turns into a disaster."

"It was a close thing," he said. "If it had been any closer, you might be studying our own city right now... but with nopony left to talk to."

Dash stared at the prince. "Dude."

Derring-Do straightened up and turned to the prince. "I assume you've already studied the prism's physical properties to the best of your abilities. Do you have any records I could look at?"

"Right this way, miss." He walked down the spiral staircase and led them to a bookshelf packed with old tomes. "These three shelves contain everything we know about the prism itself, and it's the only part of the Alembic that wasn't constructed by crystal ponies. You may peruse them at your leisure."

Derring lifted her good wing, pulled down a stack of three faded, dog-eared tomes, and carried them to a nearby table. "I'll do what I can, but I can't make any promises. This isn't exactly my area of expertise."

"Anything at all would be appreciated," the Prince said. He nodded to Rainbow Dash. "Come! Let us indulge in some long-overdue hang-time whilst the professor is immersed in her study."

"Well, ah, that'd be really cool and all, but..." Rainbow Dash hopped in place, glancing between the prince and the professor.

"Oh, what am I thinking?" the prince said. "Of course the professor will need an assistant!"

"Right!" she said. "An extra set of hooves is always useful!"

"I understand completely." He turned and walked towards the exit. "Do speak with me if you need anything."

Derring-Do opened the first tome and scrutinized the writing. Dash rushed to her side and began hovering over her shoulder.

Derring peered up at her. "What?"

"So," said Dash, "is there anything you need help with?"

Derring shook her head and turned the next page.

Dash moved sideways and hovered over her other shoulder. "Anything at all?"

"Some quiet would be nice," she said. "I really don't need an assistant for this... it's just reading. You can go 'hang out' with the prince if you wish."

"Are you kidding?" Dash did a midair tumble and landed on the floor beside her. "This is the first time I've ever seen real-life archeology! I wouldn't miss this for the world!"

"Well... I suppose you can help me get the books off the top shelves."

"You got it!" She flew up and began scooping up double-loads of heavy books, dropping them on the table in a heap. "This is gonna be so awesome!"

Comments

[Rainbow87dash]

Daring Do and Rainbow Dash?
*SQUEE!

[Rainbow87dash]

The next chapter is gonna start with Dash saying
"I'm so booooooooored!!!"

[BeauZoe]

A sequel to Biased and Incomplete!... An adventure story by DuncanR!

_______|_______________________________ That's the drool which is pooling on my keyboard.
And best of all, it's still incomplete *Squee* meaning this might become your longest story yet. I'm so excited to be here! The story description has a lot of spoilers for Biased and Incomplete, but I suppose that's unavoidable if you want people to start reading in the middle. I'm sorry, but no long review here even though I know you like them. I'll save my review for when its complete if that's OK with you. For now though, know that I love where you're going with this.

[Armadaes]

......she has wings......why is she climbing?

[Kadziet]

The Death of Daring Do.

But the Death of Derring Do?

Hehe.

[DuncanR]

Thanks to everyone who commented, and to everyone who Favorited... and especially to everyone who's decided to stick around and keep reading: there's plenty more where that came from.

2328062
Even her Squees are graceful!

2328667
(Covers computer screen with arms)
Hey, stop reading ahead!

2328678
Wow... I have an actual fan! Neato!

I'm not quite sure how long it'll end up being, but I've already got six chapters in total. I intend to release them every few days, giving me time to write and polish the next. I've actually got a couple long (unrelated) stories saved up and waiting for a second draft, so I do know how to produce a lot of story in a hurry.

As for a full-length review, I can certainly wait. But do feel free to make wild conspiracy theories in the meantime! I'm also curious to know if this story will live up to the original: it certainly is a different mood and atmosphere, and I worry that readers who liked the poignant ending will be disappointed somehow.

2328903
Hm... maybe I should have gone with my original title: "Daring Do: The One Where She Dies at the End".

Kinda catchy.

2330581
Lefty works just fine... righty, though, not so much. It takes two to tango.

[nemryn]

2330685
Aha! Nice catch.

[Arzoo]

This is criminally underviewed. Great writing, strong, original plot.

[Lillyfroo]

"Hey, four-eyes!"

Trust Rainbow Dash to talk to a prince with some manners

"What kind of gem is it made of? Quartz? Diamond?"
Gallium gave them both a serious look. "We have... absolutely... no idea."

At that point I'd just yell 'I'm done here' and fly away

[Midnight-Blue766]

"Never, ever, ever work alone," she said. "If you ever go hiking or spelunking or mountain climbing, you always use the buddy system. You bring somepony with you, and you stick together. I went into a cavern all by myself and it cost me my wing. Don't you ever forget that."

Oh the irony!

[BlueNinja]

"You oughta visit Ponyville,"

If, as the first story hints, Ditzy is Derring's sister, then why hasn't Derring visited? Or does Ditzy make more as a mailmare?

he's the only prince they have right now.

What about Shining? and Cadence?

Prince Gallium led them up an elevator

An ... elevator. Is this a recent addition to the palace, perhaps?

her science-wizards

Technomages?

turned to the prince."I assume you've

Need some space before that quote mark.

[Nekonyancer]

Derring-Do and Rainbow Dash are SUCH a perfect pair!! All those moments, like when Rainbow yells HEY FOUREYES and Derring-Do is like WTF ahhhh i love it. Their characters play off each other perfectly.

And you captured Dash's Dashiness perfectly. She often comes off as a jerk because of her Dashiness - both in the show and in fanfiction - but not here! I was very happy that she still came off as a good pony. That detail about Rainbow's eyes when she asked Derring what not flying was like? GREAT stuff.

loving all of this omg

hushed to a halt as it entered the Crystal Empire's only railway station.

Hushed to a halt? Whaa? I've never heard that word used that way.

We still have no idea how they do it, or where they find such huge gems!"

Um, who is the "we" here? Equestrians? Are the crystal ponies keeping their architectural technology a secret from their Equestrian allies? Or does "we" mean everypony, and "they" refer to ancient crystal ponies? So new structures in the crystal empire are built of wood and stone then?

Rainbow Dash caught up and walked beside her for awhile. She said nothing, but her eyes flicking over her right side.

kept flicking

Derring Rolled her eyes.

decapitalize rolled

"Not an option," Derring said. "Dig sits cost a fortune to set up and the further away you go the higher the price tag. If there's no money, there's no digging."

sites

Half it's towers were suspended in the air by sheer force of magic,

its

Derring-Do cleared her throat. "Well... your highness... I have a disability. And the medicine didn't do anything for it."

Your Highness. Can't argue on this one - professional authors all capitalize this. :)

"Older than the Crystal Empire, to be sure. Other than that it's a complete mystery... we don't have any experts on old things."

comma after that, i think.

There were a pair of large crystal tanks, filled with red and blue liquid, respectively.

was, not were - there is only one pair.

but she did find a lot of interesting treasures and artifacts and that prism was one of them. She brought it back to the empire and her science-wizards used it to construct the apparatus you see before you. For the longest time it was only useful for scientific research

commas after artifacts, empire, and time

Rainbow Dash hopped in place, glancing between the Prince and the Professor.

Prince and Professor are never capitalized anywhere else. Was this intentional?