It's been weeks and Rainbow Dash STILL doesn't have her power. The only thing she's looking forward to now is the class trip to Manehattan. But when a conspiracy is taking place aboard the same train she and her friends are on she'll have to be faster than the wind to get her and her friends to safety.
On a lone moonlit night, a figure in a cloak sped through the shadows avoiding the light and any chance of being seen. When she finally reached her destination, she pulled out a grappling hook and climbed onto the roof. She walked over to a skylight and looked through to make sure no once was there. She then opened it and climbed through with a rope.
She sneaked through the halls. Dark corridors and rooms flew by until she finally came upon her destination. She was now in the catwalks of an abandoned ware house. A single light was on, illuminating the large area far below her. Down there, there were several tough looking goons either eating, playing cards, or guarding the pedestal in the center of the room. In the stand on the pedestal laid an a light blue crystal that appeared to be wrapped in vines.
This is what she had come for. She was examining to room, trying to come up with a way to get it when another figure walked in. He was a tall man with grayish brownish skin, green eyes and dark hair with streaks of grey. He quickly gathered his minions attention.
"Well mi amigos! The Jewel of Flora is now ours!" The minions cheered but quickly settled down again when he continued to speak. "All we have to do now is deliver it to Ahuizotl, and we'll be rich enough to retire in paradise!" The goons cheered again, excited at the prospect of spending their days at a tropical beach with no responsibilities. Everybody quickly went back to what they were doing before and the man chatted with some of them.
The woman suddenly had an idea.
A few minutes later, the light suddenly went out, making everyone groan.
"Oh great..a power outage." The man complained. "Someone go resent the circuit breaker!" A few moments later the light came back on, but something was different.
"The Jewel! Where is it!?" The man shouted when he saw the empty pedestal.
"Look! Up there!" someone pointed to high above the pedestal. Hanging from a rope was the woman with the Jewel in hand.
She lifted it up and smirked. "Looking for this, Dr. Caballeron?" she asked mockingly before swinging gracefully back to the catwalk.
The Doctor was furious, "Get her you fools!" He ordered his minions and they immediately went after her, but she was too fast and had too far a lead. The Doctor and his minions made it to the roof just in time to see her jump off it to a nearby roof and get away.
Dr. Caballeron vowed to get the jewel back and shouted into the sky: "Curse you Daring Dooooooooo!"
Daring Do escaped into the night, her prize in hand.
All she had to do was get this to Manehattan and she would be all set.
It was a bright sunny day at Canterlot High. It was the time of day every student loved just before the final bell: lunchtime. Inside the cafeteria, students sat with their friends and ate and hung out with their friends. At one particular table sat a group of seven unique young women. Most of them looked like they were enjoying themselves all except for the girl with rainbow hair...
"What's the matter Rainbow?" Pinkie asked, concerned about her friend.
Rainbow looked up from her pouting to glare at the pink girl. "What makes you think something's wrong?"
"Well you have been kind of grumpy and moody lately, not to mention the narrator herself said you weren't happy."
The rest of the girls, though a little confused by Pinkie's statement, nonetheless agreed with her.
"She does have a point darkling. You have been sullen for quite a while now. And I'm not guessing that...it's...ahem...your time...?" Rarity blushed as she struggle to get it out. Rainbow herself turned tomato red when she realized what it meant.
"N-No! It's not that!"
"Then what's wrong?" Sunset Shimmer asked with concern. "We're your friends Rainbow, you can tell us."
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "And how do you expect me to be happy when I still don't have my power?" The other girls either sighed or rolled their eyes at this.
"This again. Your still upset about it?" Aj was getting tired of hearing her friends constant complaints about not getting her power.
"It's just not fair! Most of you girls have your powers already! I don't want to sit to the sides while you girls get to enjoy them!"
"If it makes you feel better I don't have my power either." Twilight pointed out. "It's like Luna said: Magic sometimes works in mysterious ways. You can't force your power to come sooner any more than I can force mine. All we can do is wait and when the time comes, they'll arrive."
Rainbow groaned. "But I hate waiting! It's so boring! Almost as much as waiting for the next Daring Do book to come out!"
"Hey, at least you won't have to think about it for the next few days." Sunset pointed out, causing everyone to get excited.
"I can't believe the trip to Manehattan is already tomorrow. Oh! I'm so excited!" Fluttershy said softly.
"Oh I know! The sights! The sounds! The fashions!" Rarity squeed.
"AT least the trip will give ya a little bit of a distraction." Aj said.
"I guess." Rainbow said hesitantly. As much as she had been looking forward to this trip, she still could get her unknown power out of her mind.
Finally the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and the return to learning....or at least day dreaming and pretending to learn.
When Rainbow returned home after basketball practice, she found her parents excitedly awaiting her arrival.
"There's out little champion! How was your day?" Her father, Bow Hothoof asked from the kitchen as he prepared dinner. He was ruggedly handsome middle aged man with pale, grayish blue skin, yellow eyes, and a constant 5 o'clock shadow. Like his daughter, he shared the same distinctive rainbow hair.
"Good." Was all Rainbow had to say while she went to put her stuff away.
"I got your suitcases all packed!" Her mother, Windy Whistles, informed her excitedly. Looking between the two women, it was easy to tell they were related as Windy looked very similar to her daughter aside from the freckles and her short, striped orange hair. Like her husband, she thought the world of her only child and they took every opportunity to show it....whether Rainbow wanted them to or not. "Oh! It's going to be so much fun! Your going to have a blast in Manehattan!"
"Uh..thanks mom." Rainbow quickly rushed to her room and shut the door. She loved her parents, but even she could admit that they could get a little...overbearing. She fed Tank and then pulled out her guitar for a solo jam session.
All she needed to do now was eat and get some rest. The train left early tomorrow and there was no way she was going to miss it!
Early the next morning, as the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon....
Several students and teachers from Canterlot High were at the train station waiting to board the train. Most of them were either chatting with their friends, playing on their phones, or yawning due to having to get up at such an early hour.
Rainbow herself let out a ginormous yawn, "It should be illegal to get up this early."
Twilight looked up from the train schedule, "Well it was the only train we could get that could get all of us to Manehattan before it gets too late. It's a long way you know, and it has to make several more stops on the way."
"Whatever. First thing I'm doing when we get on is take a nap." Rainbow yawned again.
"Oh! And after that we can all have a super fun train party!" Pinkie cheered. "I've got all sorts of fun train games planned!"
"Speaking of fun train activities..." Twilight grinned and pulled out a travel guide."This is the perfect time to brush up on our knowledge of the city! Did you know that the city is one of the most important trading posts in Equestria? And there's a checklist of all the landmarks we'll be able to see along the way!"
Egghead... Rainbow rolled her eyes at her friends' geeking out and looked around the station. There weren't too many people up this early, mostly people who were packed for business trips and such. Suddenly, Rainbow noticed a figure moving through the crowd. She wore a purple cloak, a grey hat hat and red trimmed glasses. She clutched a briefcase to her chest as though her life depended on it. She seemed to be glancing around nervously and erratically, as though on the lookout for something...or someone. Before Rainbow could get another look, Principal Celestia called everyone to attention.
"Alright everyone! The train is ready to board! Stay with he rest of the class until the train leaves!"
They quickly lined up and began to board. Just before Rainbow got on she noticed the woman from earlier boarding the same train on a different car further down.
Huh...
Soon everyone was on board the train pulled out of the station.
"Listen up everyone!" Celestia announced as the students were seated in once of the cars. "It will take us several hours to get to Manehattan. There are several other passengers so please be on your best behavior. Lunch will be provided in the dining car at noon until two. Dinner is from five until six thirty. The train will be making a few stops along the way and while you are free to step off and check them out, you must inform one of the chaperones beforehand and be back on the train by the time it leaves again. Once we get to Manehattan we will meet here again and get off together. Is that understood?" The students nodded their heads. "Alright then, enjoy the ride! We should get to Manehattan by seven tonight!"
Some of the students began to walk off to explore the train while others were looking for comfy places to catch up on some sleep.
"So, what do ya'll want to do?" Aj asked as the girls assembled.
Rainbow stretched and yawned, "Like I said earlier, I'm catching up on some Zs." She shifted, trying to get comfortable in her seat.
Soon the rest of the girls made their own plans and went on their way while Rainbow got her nap...at least for a little while.
A short time later, Rainbow awoke to the sound of a door banging. She looked around and saw that it was caused by the very same woman she had spotted earlier!
The woman looked around and, seeing as there were only a few people besides her and Rainbow, took a seat, still clutching her briefcase protectively.
Not that Rainbow got a better look at the woman, she couldn't help but feel she had seen her somewhere before. Well, no better way to find out than to ask!
Rainbow quickly got up and made her way directly to the woman.
"Hi! I'm Rainbow Dash!" The woman quickly turned and landed her eyes on Rainbow, revealing them to be magenta like hers.
"Err....hello."
"I'm sorry...but have we met before?" The woman's eyes widened in fear.
"Uh...nope! Never!" The woman pulled her hat over her face in an attempt to hide it. Rainbow could sense something was off about her.
"Are you sure? You seem familiar..."
"I just have one of those faces, you know?" The woman said quickly. She turned her attention to the rolling landscape outside the window in the hope that Rainbow would get the message and leave her alone. But Rainbow was either too stubborn or too dense to give up...or maybe a little of both. She did briefly consider going away and pulling out her Daring Do book....
...wait a minute...
Daring Do....
Rainbows eyes widened as the proverbial light bulb lit up above her head.
"Wait a minute! I know who you are!"
The woman turned back to her, a look of terror on her face, "Y-you do?" she asked nervously as she clutched her case even tighter.
"Yes! Your A.K Yearling! Author of the Daring Do books!" Rainbow said gleefully.
The woman blinked for a minute before responding, "Yes...that's me."
Rainbow felt so excited! The author of her favorite books was traveling on the same train she was! Rainbow took the seat opposite of her.
"Can I just say that I love your books? I totally didn't expect that twist at the end of 'The Emerald Necklace"...."
"uh-huh...that's nice.." Yearling seemed agitated and impatient as she listened to Rainbow to rant on. Just before she could say anything herself however....
The door on the other side of the car opened and her eyes widened at what she saw. Rainbow finally noticed Yearling's expression and turned towards the back.
Three men had just entered. Two of them were big, burly types with a few scars and such. The middle one Rainbow could tell was the leader of the group. He was tall and wore a pin in the shape of a golden skull with a single ruby eye.
As the men walked through the car, Yearling appeared to be sliding down in her seat, as though she were trying to disappear.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Rainbow asked when she noticed this.
Yearling appeared to be thinking intensely for a moment before taking her case and sliding it under the table to Rainbow.
"Look, I don't have much time ok? Just take this and do not let anyone take it, especially those guys!" As the men got approached their area, Yearling's anxiety appeared to increase.
"But why-"
"Please! Just do this for me! I'll meet back with you later to get it back, but until then do not open it or give it to anyone else under any circumstances!" Rainbow was surprised, to say the least, but agreed to it anyway.
"O-okay..."
"Thank you! I'll catch up with you later I promise!" With that, Yearling got up and left the car as fast as she could.
"What was that about?" Rainbow wondered aloud.
"Excuse me miss?"
Rainbow looked up, startled as she realized the men had now reached her table, though thankfully they didn't seem to notice Yearling leaving. The man who spoke was the leader and he appeared to have some sort of accent.
"Yes?"
"Have you seen a woman with a purple cloak carrying a briefcase around here?"
Rainbow felt her heart skip a beat. So they were after Yearling! But why?
"Uh...nope! Haven't seen anybody like that!" She said a little too fast.
"Shoot. Very well then, thank you for your time." Just before they walked away, Rainbow decided to ask him something.
"Why are you looking for her anyway?"
The man appeared to think for a moment before donning a mysterious smirk.
"Let's just say...she's an old friend of mine who has something that belongs to me." With that, he and his goons left, leaving Rainbow along with the hidden suitcase.
This is getting weirder by the minute...
Once the coast was clear, Rainbow pulled out the suitcase and examined it. It was well worn leather with with secure looking key lock.
The weirdest part were the initials sewn onto the case: D.D.
"D.D.? Who's that? And what the heck is going on here?"
Lunch time eventually came and with no sign of Yearling anywhere, Rainbow was forced to bring the case with her to lunch.
"My goodness darling! Wherever did you get such a thing?" Rarity asked as Rainbow joined with the others.
"You guys totally won't believe it!" Rainbow proceeded to tell them about meeting Yearling, the strange men, and Yearling forcing her to take the case.
"Wait! you actually got a mission from THE A.K Yearling?!" Twilight asked, excitedly. She loved the Daring Do books almost as much as Dash did.
"You bet!"
"...Or maybe somebody who wanted you to think she was A.K. Yearling." Sunset suggested.
Rainbow looked at her with wide eyes, "What do you mean?"
"Isn't Ms. Yearling supposed to be super reclusive?" AJ asked. Twilight and Rainbow nodded. "So what would she be doing here?"
"I don't know! Doing work for her next book or something?" Rainbow shrugged.
"Rainbow, for all you know, she could've been somebody who just looked like A.K Yearling!" Sunset pointed out.
Rainbow refused to believe it, "But then why did she give me her case?"
"For all we know, she could be some of thief or smuggler and those guys were cops coming after her. When she saw them coming, she could've just decided to let you hang onto it until the heat died down. See those initials? This might not even be her case!"
"Oh my..." Fluttershy gasped.
"There's no way that can be true!" Rainbow looked around until her eyes widened at what she saw. "Look!" She pointed towards a table further down the dining car, where the same men were enjoying lunch. "Those are the guys I was telling you about! Do they look like cops to you?!" She whispered now, afraid of being overheard by them.
"Oooh! Maybe their undercover! Just like on T.V.!" Pinkie declared, clearly not grasping the concept of 'whispering'.
"Whatever the reason, somethin' fishy is goin' on here." Aj summarized, causing the others to nod in agreement.
"And there's only one way to find out..." Sunset declared.
"What?" Twilight asked.
"We need to see what's inside that case."
"But Yearling made me promise not to open it!" Rainbow said, recalling Yearlings' pleadings.
"I know. But what if she's some sort of criminal hauling stolen goods? This way, we can contact the authorities as soon as possible."
"But what if it is Yearling? This could be the manuscript to her next book or something!"
Sunset smiled deviously at this. "Then are you going to turn down the chance to even get just a peak at the next Daring Do book?"
Rainbow hesitated. That would be the most awesome thing ever!
"And if it is Yearling, we can just lock it back up and she'll never know."
"But how are we going to open it? We don't have the key!" Fluttershy pointed out.
Sunset smirked at this, "Don't worry about that. Just leave it to me...."
"....Where did you learn how to pick a lock?" Aj asked cautiously as she watched Sunset do her work. After they finished eating, they had found an empty cart and Sunset had pulled out a set of lock picks.
"You'd be surprised at what you pick up in juvie." Sunset answered nonchalantly as she continued the process of violating someone's property.
"Most importantly...why do you have a set of lock picks on hand?!" Rarity asked.
Sunset merely shrugged at this, "You never know."
"Ok then..." AJ said as she and Rarity exchanged glances, wisely deciding not to press the issue.
"This feels wrong." Twilight said for the tenth time as she looked around nervously in case someone happened to come by and see what they were doing.
"Sometime you have to do wrong things for the greater good." Just then the case popped open. "Got it! Now lets see what's she's hiding."
"Well!? What is it!?" Rainbow asked impatiently, rushing behind Sunset to get a good look.
Sunset slowly lifted the case up and the girls gasped at what they saw.
There, inside a molded container foam, was a light blue crystal with a golden ring near one end. Strangely enough the crystal appeared to be encircled by vines.
"What is that?" Rainbow asked in amazement.
"Something you girls have no business seeing."
The girls turned around sharply and standing there was Yearling herself.
Yearling ignored her and brushed past the girls to close her case. "I told you not to open this under any circumstances!" She picked it up and was about to leave when Aj stopped her.
"Now hang on a moment Ms. Yearling, just what the heck is in that case!?"
"Whatever it is, it doesn't concern the Elements of Harmony!" The girls were shocked ad this.
"Wait...you know us?" Twilight asked.
"Of course I do, who doesn't? " Yearling asked in annoyance. She looked around quickly. "I have to go." But she was stopped yet again.
"Now hang on, whatever is going on, we can help!" Rainbow begged.
"No, you can't! This doesn't concern any of you! Now just let me leave and..." Her eyes widened as she looked down to the door of the car. Through the window, the silhouettes of three men could just be made out. Yearling pushed the case into Rainbow's arms and began pushing the girls into a nearby supply closet.
"You girls just hide and do not make a sound!"
"But..."
"Just do it!" Yearling commanded as she pushed them all in and closed the door behind them. The girls were crowded together in such a small closest but they managed to make it work. Rainbow, who was right next to the door, managed to open it just enough to make out what was going on.
"What's happening?" Sunset whispered.
"I don't know...wait look!"
The girls turned silent as the three men surrounded Yearling.
"Ah... Ms. 'Yearling', it is so good to see you again!" The leader said sinisterly. Yearling, unintimidated, glared at him.
"Drop the act Dr. Caballeron! We both know you aren't one for courtesy!"
WHAT!?
"Dr. Caballeron!?" Rainbow whispered in shock.
"But...he's just a bad guy in the Daring Do series, this doesn't make any sense!" Twilight whispered in confusion.
Outside, Dr. Caballeron only smirked at Yearling's words. "Then in that case, we should both drop these pretenses 'Ms. Yearling'...or should I say....Daring Do!"
WHAT!?
The girls all gasped at what they heard.
In that moment 'Yearling' removed her cloak, glasses and hat, revealing her outfit to be similar to a jungle explorer's with a green button up shirt decorated with a compass rose badge along with cargo pants and hiking boots. She pulled out her trademark hat and laid it atop her head.
She now looked exactly as she did on her book covers.
She looked just like Daring Do.
"No. Way." Rainbow whispered. She couldn't believe what she was seeing!
"A.K. Yearling and Daring DO are one in the same! My mind is officially blown!" Twilight whispered excitedly.
Back outside, the tension was increasing...
"Hand over the Jewel of Flora Daring Do, and nobody has to get hurt!"
"Fat chance! I've hidden it somewhere you'll never find it!"
Dr. Caballeron growled at this, "We'll see about that..." but before he or his goons could do anything, they noticed a train worker entering the car.
Dr. Caballeron scowled at this and whispered to Daring Do, "We'll meet again. And you will give us the Jewel of Flora!" He and his goons walked casually away as the worker made their way through. Daring Do put back on her disguise before they could notice anything.
Once the coast was clear, she opened the closet door, causing all the girls to come tumbling out at one. Daring could only sigh at this, "So...how much did you see?"
Rainbow grinned sheepishly, "...All of it?"
Daring could only sigh again as the girls got their barrings together.
"What in the hay is goin' on here!?" AJ asked.
"What did they mean by 'The Jewel of Flora'?" Rarity asked.
"Isn't 'Flora' the Goddess of Nature?" Fluttershy pointed put.
Daring put the case on a nearby table and, making sure the coast was clear once again, opened it with her key to reveal the crystal from before.
"This.." She said, gesturing to the crystal, "...is called the 'Jewel of Flora'. Long ago two tribes were in a vicious war. The leader of one of these tribes became so desperate that he begged the Goddess of Nature to help him. She agreed and gave him several enchanted objects, but warned him that the price for disrupting the balance of things would be high. He won the war, but lost his family, his wife, and many of his friends in the process."
"How sad..." Fluttershy said sympathetically.
"This crystal is one of these objects. It is know as 'The Jewel of Flora', and it supposedly has the power to absorb and contain large amounts of magical energy, and even magical beings themselves!"
"Woah..." Rainbow said in amazement.
"A few weeks ago it was uncovered at an archaeological dig, but Dr. Caballeron stole it before it could be secured. He was hired by Ahuizotl to get it for him. I managed to get it back, but he caught onto my trail. If I can get it to my contact in Manehattan, it'll be secured right in a museum. If Ahuizotl gets his paws on it...I don't even want to think about what he'll do with it!"
The girls were stunned by this revelation.
"So wait, this is all real? And all your books are real too!?" Twilight asked, eyes wide.
"Yes."
"This...is...AWESOME!" Rainbow shouted before being quickly hushed by Daring.
"Can you please try not to drawn any attention. I still have a few hours to keep it safe before we get there. I need to get an important message to my contact about Dr. Caballeron but he and his goons on the look out. If I try to get off the train at the next stop, they'll get me for sure!"
"How about I make the drop off for you?" Rainbow volunteered excitedly. She was going to be part of a real life Daring Do adventure! This was her dream come true!
But Daring shook her head at this. "Absolutely not. It's too dangerous. Besides, I work alone."
"Please!" Rainbow begged. "Like you said: It's too risky for you to go yourself! Besides, Dr. Caballeron will never guess your working with me! Plus we've faced danger before! I'll send the message real quick and be back before you know it!" Rainbow now resembled Spike when he wanted a treat or belly rub.
Daring thought on this for a moment. She was used to working alone and the though of sending a newbie in made her frown. But she had to admit she didn't have any other options at the moment and so she finally nodded her head.
"Alright. You can help. But you have to be very sneaky and do everything I say, got it?"
Rainbow nodded enthusiastically. This was going to be so awesome! What could go wrong?
The plan was relatively simple and straightforward.
"Okay, at the next stop, get off and head inside the cafe. There, you'll find a man in a stripped shirt in a far corner booth. When you see him, show him the case and tell him "Bravely Blue has the honey, but it has started attracting flies." once you do this head right back on the train and find me ok? If you see Caballeron or his goons, just ignore them and try to act casual. This stop only has fifteen minutes but that should be plenty of time for you to find him."
Rainbow quickly got permission from Celestia and she and her friends waited for the station, carefully keeping the case out of sight. As the station approached, her friends grew nervous.
"Are you sure you want to do this Rainbow?" Twilight asked, worried for her friends' safety.
"It's an awful big risk yer takin'." Aj pointed out.
"Oh please! Since when am I known for not taking risks? Besides all I gotta do is go in, say a line, and get out. Easy." Rainbow brushed aside her friends concerns. Couldn't they see that this was the opportunity of a lifetime?
Before anyone could say anything else, the train came to full stop and the conductor announced the stop. Rainbow got up, clutching the case to her.
"I gotta go. See ya in a few minutes!" Was all she said before rushing off the train. This did little to ease her friends worries.
"I hope she'll be ok..." Fluttershy said.
"Well, theres nothing we can do now, but wait." Twilight said as she looked out the window.
The platform was crowded with people getting off and on the train. Rainbow tried to move as swiftly as she could to the station cafe. Suddenly, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw one of Dr. Caballeron's goons on the lookout! Rainbow moved quickly, hiding behind people and luggage until she finally entered the cafe.
She gave a quick sigh of relief before looking around. There were only a handful of people in the Cafe besides her, the waitress and the chef. She quickly spotted that contact that Daring had described. He was sipping coffee and looked like he was reading a news paper, but every once in a while he would look up and do a quick scan of his surroundings.
Bingo.
Rainbow approached him casually, and when he raised his eyes to look at her she quickly showed him the initials on the briefcase. His eyes widened in surprise be he quickly collected himself.
"So...do you have a message for me?"
Rainbow smiled and looked at her arm. Written in marker was the line she was supposed to repeat, but it appeared to have gotten smudged on the way here.
"Uh..."Bravely Boo has the money....but it has started attracting fries?"" The guy just blinked stared at her blankly while she squinted, trying to make out the smudged words. "No wait! "Bravely Blue has the honey, but it has started attracting flies!"" Rainbow grinned while the guy went into thought.
After a moment, he finally said: "Tell her "They will have a jar for the honey ready for when she arrives."" Rainbow nodded and quickly wrote that down on her arm as well.
"Thanks!"
All she had to do was get back on the train and tell it to Daring and she was good!
Meanwhile...
"Ah didn't see her boss."
Caballeron was sitting at a table on the train with his lackeys who were just finishing their report. Caballeron pounded his fist on the table when he heard this!
"Curses! She must have hidden the jewel somewhere on this train!"
"But we've searched everywhere, and we couldn't find it!"
"Then we will just have to make her give it to us! Time for plan B!"
Caballeron pulled out a walkie-talkie and began talking into it.
"Withers, do you copy?"
A crackle later and: "I copy. What do you want me to do?"
"It appears we will have to...persuade Ms. Do to hand the jewel over. Time to switch to plan B!"
"Really? You sure?"
"Yes you idiot! Do it now!" and with that Caballeron hung and made another call.
In the engine room, the engineer prepared to head out...whether the passengers themselves were ready or not.
"Well if the boss says so..."
The train let out a loud whistle and began to leave the station.
The girls themselves heard the whistle and saw that the train was already leaving.
"What's going on!? The train isn't scheduled to leave for another ten minutes!" Twilight exclaimed, checking her phone.
"And Rainbow still isn't on board!" Fluttershy gasped. The others panicked upon realizing this too. They heard a shout and looked out the window to see Rainbow running out of the station, case still in hand, chasing after the train.
"RAINBOW DASH!" Was all they could scream as the train left their dear friend behind.
Rainbow was finishing up with the contact when she heard the train whistle. She looked out the window and saw that the train was leaving without her!
"What the--!?"
She quickly rushed outside amid the confused and panicking passengers, trying to chase down the train. She looked and saw her friends' worried faces in the window.
"WAIT! STOP! HOLD ON A SEC!"
When she reached the end of the platform, there was nothing she could od but stand and watch as the train become nothing more than a dot in the distance.
All around her, people were wondering what was happening...
"What in the world is going on!?"
"But the train wasn't supposed to leave for at least ten more minutes!"
"All my luggage was still on that train!"
Rainbow clutched the suitcase and felt helpless. She was all alone in the middle of nowhere while her friends' and hero were on the same train as the bad guy!
No! She couldn't end it like this! She suddenly felt something stir inside her and she knew what she had to do.
She jumped off the platform onto the dirt and began to run.
Meanwhile, in the Lair at Canterlot High, the Element of Loyalty began beeping...
Daring rushed to the girl's table just as the station left their view.
"Please tell me Rainbow made it back on board!"
"No! She's still at the station!" Sunset explained, worried about her friend.
"I don't understand! The train was supposed to stay for a few more minutes!" Twilight wondered. Hearing thins, Daring's eyes widened with realization.
"Caballeron! He must have one of his goons posing as the engineer!"
"Indeed I have, Miss Do!"
Daring turned around sharply and found herself face to face with Caballeron himself! The girls gasped when they saw him.
"Caballeron! What have you done!?"
Caballeron smirked at her, "Oh, this is just a little effort to persuade you into giving me what is mine!"
"And how exactly is making the train leave earlier a threat?"
"In that by itself, nothing. But we are soon to pass over a very wide and very deep river....and it would be a shame if the bridge were still up when we got there...."
The girls and Daring gasped at this, "You wouldn't..."
"I would. And I have!" He gloated. "You have ten minutes to hand over the Jewel of Flora, otherwise... you'll have to hope you and everybody else aboard this train are very good swimmers." He then walked away, laughing all the while.
Daring slumped down into a seat with the girls.
"Oh my stars! What are we going to do!?" Rarity panicked.
Daring could only bow her head. "There's nothing we can do. Our only bargaining chip isn't even on the train anymore!"
"But won't he be in trouble too?" Pinkie asked.
"He's probably got an escape boat waiting for him just in case. I just can't believe it! We're on a runaway train heading towards a watery death and the only thing can save us now is back at the station!" Daring groaned and put her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry for getting you girls involved in this. This was my job, and I blew it."
Fluttershy reached over and put a comforting hand on Daring's shoulder, "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known he would do this."
"There has to be something we can do!" Twilight declared. Just before anyone could say anything else...
"LOOK!" Pinkie pointed out the window.
The girls looked on just as a rainbow blur passed by them!
"What in the world was that!?" AJ asked, shocked by what she had seen.
"It...it looked like a rainbow!" Daring exclaimed.
Rainbow was running unlike anyway she had ran before!
The world seemed to pass by in a blur as she rushed forward
It felt incredible! She felt like she had an endless amount of energy! She could probably break the sound barrier if she tried!
"THIS...IS...AWESOME!" She shouted as continued running. She soon passed by the train but kept going. Hopefully she could make it on at the next station! She continued to clutch the case as she went even faster.
Eventually she stopped herself at the river where she noticed something was up......
"Wait a minute! Why is the bridge up?"
She felt confused. The train was making it's way here, so shouldn't the train be down to allow it to cross?
She eventually came across the bridge station. She was about to knock to ask what was going on when she heard voices...
"It's all done boss. Bridge is up like you asked."
"Good. Now let us hope that Daring can be agreeable in this instance."
Rainbow was stunned. The second voice was definitely Dr. Caballeron! Which means the guy in there must be working for him! She had to do something!
Rainbow then dramatically kicked the door aside, immediately alerting the guy at the control panel to her presence.
"Hey! Your not supposed to be here!"
"The name's Rainbow Dash! And I'm here to kick your butt!"
The man was strong and burly, but Rainbow had training and her newfound speed at her side. A few quick quick punches to the face and kicks to the stomach sent him running. Rainbow was tempted to go after him, but knew that her friends needed her to lower the bridge.
She stood at the control panel with all it's various knobs, buttons and levers.
"Okay...how the heck do I lower a bridge!?"
On the train, the group rushed to find the conductor and found him talking to Celestia.
"Girls! There you are! Please tell me Rainbow made it back on board!" She asked full of motherly concern for her students.
Sadly the girls could only shake their heads.
"I don't understand! I've tried calling the engineer and he's not doing anything about this! I'm worried we left some passengers behind!" The conductor exclaimed.
"We've got bigger problems than that!" Daring spoke up. "I have intel that tells me that the bridge at the river is up!" Celestia and the conductor's eyes widened at this.
"THE BRIDGE IS UP!?" Celestia exclaimed.
"Yes. We need to contact the bridge operator and tell them to lower the bridge!"
The conductor ran off but quickly returned with a walkie talkie and a sheet of paper.
"Bridge operator! Do you hear me? We need help!"
A few seconds passed before a familiar voice spoke up.
"Uh..hello? My name is Rainbow Dash and I have absolutely no idea how to lower the bridge!
"RAINBOW DASH!?" The group gasped in shock. Soon the walkie was being passed around the group.
"Rainbow! It's us! Are ya'll alright sugarcube?"
"Yeah, I'm fine!"
"How in the world did you get there so fast?" Twilight asked.
"You'll never believe it! I was-"
"We don't have time for this!" Daring grabbed the walkie. "Rainbow we need you to lower the bridge!"
"I just told you: I don't know how! The only one here was Caballeron's goon but I managed to chase him off!"
"Don't worry." The conductor said, holding up the sheet of paper. "Safety regulation state that we keep and extra set of instructions just in case something like this happened."
"But it works!" Daring grabbed the paper and began reading from it, "'Move the Power Selector to Normal'".
There was a pause as Rainbow searched for it.
Finally, "Got it! What's next?"
As the instructions kept coming through, Rainbow tried to figure her way around the control panel, pulling switches and pushing buttons as fast as she could.
She took a quick peek outside and saw that the bridge was starting to lower!
But at the same time she saw the train approaching! She had to move!
"What's next?"
"'Put rail lock to neutral'."
Rainbow quickly found the switch and set it. The bridge was almost lowered! But the train was now on the water...
"Finally,'Set machine break'.
After a moment of panicked searching, Rainbow finally set the switch and looked outside....
....to see the bridge fully lowered and locked in place just before the train crossed it!
"YES! We did it guys!" She shouted into the radio. They were going to be ok!
"You did it Rainbow Dash. Nice work out there."
Rainbow was beaming. She had just gotten praise from one of her favorite heroes! What could be better?
Back on the train, the group gave a collected sigh of relief as they passed safely over the bridge.
"Now that that's taken care of, where's..." before Daring could finish the sound of a door opening and wind rushing caught their attention.
"You may have won today! But I'll be back!" Caballeron finished his threat just before he jumped off the train and onto his escape boat. The group arrived at the door just in time to see him get away.
Thankfully Caballeron's goon was kind enough to make a full stop of the next station before escaping. Luckily a replacement was quickly found and they made it to Manehattan on time!
"I can't thank you girls enough for this." Daring said as they got off at the station. The sun was just beginning to set. "Especially you Rainbow, now the Jewel of Flora will be safely locked inside of a museum for all to see and enjoy."
"It was our pleasure." Twilight said.
"Besides, it was awesome! I got to live a real life Daring Do adventure!" Rainbow gushed.
Daring smiled at them, "I have to get going, but thanks again for all your help. You saved a lot of people today."
"Eh, it's what we do." Rainbow shrugged.
As Daring left, Principal Celestia came over.
"Now that that matter's settled...I believe we have another important topic to discuss." She smiled specifically at Rainbow when she said this.
"You bet we do!" With that, Rainbow began rushing around the group, stopping only to talk."I love my super speed!" She ran and stopped again, "Did I mention how awesome it is!?"
"Only about eight times in the past hour..." Sunset muttered.
AJ shot Rainbow a cheeky grin, "So I guess waitin' for yer power was worth it after all?"
Rainbow blushed and chuckled nervously, "Yeah...I guess it was..."
"Incredible..." Twilight said, examining Dash, "You also seem to have also developed rapid thought processes and reflexes as well to help with your speed. Just as Applejack also developed increased durability and tougher skin and bones along with her strength."
"Ooooh! Neat!" Pinkie said.
"Who cares about all the technical stuff?" Rainbow ran and stopped again. "This is awesome!"
"Make that nine..."
The students were gathered and they were finally on their way to the hotel. As they walked, the girls grouped together at the back.
"Can you believe just how crazy today was?" Aj asked.
"I know right! A high speed train in distress while a powerful artifact is put in danger!" Pinkie declared dramatically. "It's just like a movie or a piece of fanfiction!"
"What?"
"Oh, nothing."
The girls went silent until Twilight spoke up,
"So...looks like I'm the only one still without their power, huh?"
Aj draped her arm over Twilight's shoulders, "Aw don't worry 'bout it sugarcube! Ah'll bet your powers gonna be amazin' when it arrives!"
Twilight smiled at this, "Thanks Applejack. Though it appears that our powers only arrived when we really needed them."
"I wonder what's going to happen next?" Fluttershy wondered.
"Fluttershy that'd be spoilers!" Pinkie scolded.
"Huh?"
"Let's not worry about that right now darlings. Right now we're in one of the most fabulous cities in Equestria! And we are going to enjoy it!"
The girls agreed and indeed they had a grand time. Though fate wouldn't allow them to rest for too long...