by G. M. Berrow
“Well, I’ll be ready with the move that Daring Do used in the final scene of book four—the old switch ’n’ fly. This is going to be totally easy!” Rainbow said, conjuring up an image in her mind.
She pictured herself getting to the entrance of the Spirit Circle just in the nick of time. Then she would distract the Half-Gilded Horseshoe thief with an awesome stunt, snatch the relic by switching it with an item of equal weight and size, and then zoom off into the sky to return it safely to Zecora all before it was time for dinner. She would be miles above the thief by the time he noticed what had happened. No problem.
“Rainbow, don’t forget the most important part,” warned Twilight. “If whoever took the Half-Gilded Horseshoe opens the entrance, the spirits will get out!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow Dash replied. She was already thinking of her homecoming party. Maybe Mayor Mare would give her a medal.
Twilight came up close to Rainbow Dash and tried to look her in the eye. “And if they do, they will be freed for another whole season. You have to make sure the entrance is closed! Don’t let the spirits out!”
“Yeah, yeah… got it…” Rainbow answered mindlessly. “Closed and stuff. It’s all good.” But, unfortunately, Rainbow Dash’s head was still in the clouds.
CHAPTER 9
Enter the Everfree
The six ponies, Zecora, and Spike all stood at the clearing that led to the Everfree Forest. Rainbow Dash was wearing her new costume that, thanks to Rarity, had a ton of new pockets and a new, matching lightweight saddlebag. A picture of her cutie mark—a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt—was embroidered on the collar of her shirt, and the fabric on her helmet was rainbow-colored. She certainly looked the part. Now it was all up to her.
“You sure you don’t want company?” asked Applejack. “I feel mighty funny sending you out there alone.” The six of them had been to the Everfree Forest more times than Applejack had liked, but at least they’d been together. It was a spooky and unpredictable place.
“For the last time, no,” Rainbow answered. “Being the bravest means you don’t need any help.”
“Everypony needs help sometimes,” offered Fluttershy.
“I know I do,” Applejack insisted. “Remember that time I tried to buck all the trees in Sweet Apple Acres on my own?”
Zecora bowed her head. “It is time, Rainbow Dash, and I hope you are ready. May your wing beats be strong and your hoof beats be steady.”
“Thanks. And don’t you worry, Zecora,” said Rainbow. She patted the pocket Rarity had added for the relic. “I’ll have the Half-Gilded Horseshoe back in no time. No ghosts will haunt Ponyville if Daring Dash has anything to say about it.” Rainbow twisted into an action pose—right arm up to the sky, wings spread out.
Zecora looked slightly reassured.
Rainbow Dash gulped and took a step forward. “See ya later, everypony.”
“Wait!” shouted Twilight Sparkle. “We didn’t even get to show you your tools yet.”
“My what?” answered Rainbow, growing impatient.
“Each of those dreadfully practical new pockets has a little something from one of us to help you on your way,” explained Rarity, smiling warmly. “Go ahead and look.”
Sure enough, Rainbow Dash emptied the pockets to find a piece of rope from Applejack, a mini teddy bear from Fluttershy, some green cupcakes (and one pink one) obviously from Pinkie Pie, a pair of horseshoes from Rarity, and a Sapphire Stone bookmark from Twilight. They were the weirdest group of adventure “tools” she’d ever seen. Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure how any of these things was going to help her, but her friends looked so proud. It was a nice gesture, so Rainbow played along.
“I told you there was always room for cupcakes!” squealed Pinkie Pie. “The pink one’s for you.”
“Thanks,” said Rainbow, who was already planning to ditch the items as soon as she was out of their sight. No need to have anything extra weighing her down—that went for extra ponies and random gifts. She stuffed the presents back into her pockets. “Now I’m off for real!” Rainbow announced. Then she flapped her wings and soared straight toward her destiny.
As soon as Rainbow Dash was out of sight, Twilight turned to the other girls. “Are you all ready to go?”
“Yes!” Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie said together.
Zecora bowed to them and Spike gave a little wave. “Be careful out there! Good luck!” the dragon said as the five ponies trotted toward the dangerous forest. He was pretty sure they were going to need it.
CHAPTER 10
In the Thick of It
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath as she flew off. The humid air filled her lungs. It was a hot day, and the sun hung low in the sky. The gentle light illuminated every rock, tree, and bramble on the edge of the Everfree Forest. It was serene, but it was a false sense of calm. In a second, Rainbow would be deep inside it—the most wild, unpredictable place in all of Equestria. Other than Pinkie Pie’s head, of course.
Mysterious bugs trilled and exotic birds cried out from the treetops. They seemed almost like they were saying “Do Not Enter!” but there was no way Daring Dash was going to heed the warning. She was the bravest pony in town. And she was on a mission to save Ponyville. Now where to start?
Rainbow Dash looked around and surveyed her options.
There was no visible path up ahead. Every direction was dense with green foliage that seemed to fade into black. It looked so… dark and cold. Rainbow Dash shuddered but then quickly shook off her doubt. “I can totally do this. I’m Daring Dash!” she said out loud to nopony. Her words fell flat against the bushy trees, and she started to realize just how alone she was.
Suddenly, the sound of deep, booming laughter echoed through the trees. It sent shivers up Rainbow’s spine. Maybe she wasn’t so alone after all.… No, it was probably just a trick of her mind. She had to keep moving.
Fifteen minutes later, however, Rainbow Dash hadn’t gotten any farther. When she saw the same purple tree with gnarly roots, she realized she had been flying in a giant circle! She needed a better plan if she was ever going to find the entrance to the Spirit Circle before the relic thief.
Rainbow found a safe spot and landed. She hadn’t heard the scary laugh again and there had been no signs of anypony else. Something told her that it wouldn’t stay that way for long.
“Now where did I put that map of Equestria?” Rainbow said to herself as she riffled through her saddlebag. “I know it’s in here somewhere with all this other stuff.” Rarity’s pair of shoes clanked together and squished into one of the green cupcakes. What had her friends been thinking?
“Yuck!” said Rainbow. She took one of the shoes and flung it behind her carelessly. She expected to hear a thud, but instead she noticed a low gurgling noise, followed by a loud SNAP! It sounded like a huge set of teeth.
Rainbow Dash got the funny feeling that she wasn’t alone anymore. Her body froze, and she turned around slowly, unsure of what fate had in store for her. What she saw was worse than she’d imagined.
“Ahhh!” Rainbow screamed at a huge pack of Colossa-gators. They had iridescent, scaly green skin and red eyes and were each almost the size of an Ursa Minor. They were like normal alligators, except much stronger and a whole lot different than Pinkie Pie’s toothless baby alligator, Gummy, back home. He was so cute.
Rainbow was completely surrounded. She stood frozen in place and watched as they crept toward her. The Colossa-gators were very hungry; they snapped their massive, sharp-toothed jaws and looked her in the eyes. Did they like to eat ponies? She couldn’t remember. All signs pointed to yes.
Finally, she got hold of herself. Rainbow flew up into the air, but the thick canopy of low-hanging trees prevented her from getting enough clearance to be safe. She was still within reach of the gators!
“Oh no, you don’t!” shouted Rainbow, starting to get angry. She flew around, trying to annoy the giant gators like a tiny pesky housefly. Maybe if she could
make them dizzy enough, they’d leave her alone and she could escape! As she weaved through the spiky tree trunks, the gators snapped and chomped. They narrowly missed her rainbow tail more times than she cared to admit.
“Watch this, you ugly gators!” she yelled, flying as fast as she could around them. It looked like a rainbow-colored tornado with random scaly alligator limbs flailing around inside. “That’ll teach you to mess with Daring Dash!” Rainbow landed on the back of a huge gator to do a little victory dance. “Ahhh!” she yelled as the big gator swung around, flinging her into the branches of a nearby tree.
She picked herself up and tried to take off again, but her tail was stuck! She yanked and pulled, but nothing worked. The biggest gator of the pack was getting close. He crawled up slowly, like he was savoring his victory. If she didn’t break free soon, he would be savoring his lunch—a rainbow Pegasus!
Rainbow looked around for something, anything to throw at him. She reached into her saddlebag and grabbed the first thing she could find. It was one of Pinkie’s green cupcakes. “If you’re so hungry, eat this!” She chucked the baked dessert right into his mouth.
The alligator swallowed the cupcake, burped, and simply walked away. Rainbow couldn’t believe her eyes!
What was in those things?! Rainbow reached for another one and gave it a closer look. It had loopy icing that said the words GATOR CUPCAKE on it. Rainbow Dash threw another at a different gator. The same thing happened. They were… gator treats?!
“Pinkie Pie, you’re a genius!” Rainbow shouted into the air.
Pinkie popped her bushy pink mane out of a nearby tree. “Awww, thanks, Rainbow!”
But luckily, Rainbow was so caught up in the action that she didn’t notice her overeager friend almost blow the cover of the other ponies. Rainbow wasn’t supposed to know that they were following her. That would ruin the whole plan!
After Rainbow Dash had gotten rid of all the alligators, she only had one cupcake left. It was the pink one, so she ate it. She hadn’t even realized how hungry she was until then. She guessed Pinkie was right about the whole “making room for cupcakes” thing.
It was a minor victory. Even if she was no closer to finding the Half-Gilded Horseshoe, at least a giant creature wasn’t eating her for lunch right now. But Rainbow needed to buckle down if she was going to make it to the Spirit Circle by nightfall.
It would help if she had some idea where she was going.
Rainbow finally found her map of Equestria and began to search for any sign of something called a Dual Stronghold like Twilight had mentioned. All she could see beyond the forest were old castle ruins. Rainbow suddenly found herself wishing that Twilight were there. She would have definitely had an idea about where to find the entrance. Or maybe she already had, and Rainbow just hadn’t listened… which was entirely possible. Either way, it was too late now.
Rainbow rolled up her map and soldiered on into the unknown.
CHAPTER 11
A Sinking Feeling
There was a hint of something glowing and red in the distance. Rainbow watched with curiosity as the glowing mass drifted and swirled through the branches before escaping behind a large shrub. It looked a lot like the green magic smoke Zecora had used to show them the Half-Gilded Horseshoe. Maybe this meant Rainbow was on the right track!
She took off in the direction of the smoke, hoping that it would lead her closer to the Spirit Circle. “Hey, wait up!” shouted Rainbow as she flew along, relieved that she had a direction to go. Soon she’d find the entrance and retrieve the relic, and Ponyville would be safe once more.
Rainbow reached a large oval-shaped clearing that looked like a lake. But instead of water, the ground below was covered with soft white sand. That was strange. Rainbow hadn’t seen sand like that anywhere except at the beach or the swimming hole. She had certainly never seen it in a forest. But the Everfree played by its own mysterious rules, so it made sense in a backward way.
The red smoke hovered over the sand momentarily before continuing to the other side and disappearing into the woods. Rainbow was about to run after it, when she got a feeling that she shouldn’t. She leaped into the air, beating her wings like normal. She soared across the expanse. “Wait up!” she shouted, though she wasn’t sure whether blobs of bright red smoke could even hear anything.
She was halfway across when, suddenly, Rainbow felt herself falling! It was as if her wings were frozen in midair. She looked down at the sandy ground. It was approaching fast and there was nothing she could do. Rainbow braced for impact.
“Rainbooooow!” she heard a voice shout. It sounded like… Applejack? It had to be the forest playing tricks on her.
Wooompf! Rainbow Dash landed in the soft sand.
It was a nice cushiony landing. She found herself slowly sinking into its embrace, so she rested a moment. Then, she reached out her right hoof and pulled her body up. Her hoof disappeared into the pale grains of sand. Rainbow tried her left hoof and the same thing happened. Every step she tried to take brought her deeper and deeper into the sinking sand.
“It couldn’t be…” Rainbow Dash said aloud, “… quicksand?!”
She tried to spread her wings, but they didn’t work. They were still frozen in place by some sort of magic. Now, Rainbow was in up to her knees. If she didn’t act fast, the sand would soon swallow her up completely. “This is probably the only time I will ever say this, but—I wish this would go slower!”
Her announcement was met with the familiar sounds of evil laughter, echoing across the sandy clearing. Rainbow looked around in desperation for something to grab. The edge of the sandpit was about ten trots away. She scanned the foliage and zeroed in on a low, sturdy bush with wiry brambles. If only she had something to reach it… maybe she could pull herself to safety. But what?
“Applejack’s rope!” Rainbow yelled out, brightening. “Of course—it’s a lasso!”
Luckily, the sand hadn’t swallowed Rainbow’s saddlebag yet. She reached in, grabbed the lasso, and pitched it up into the air with all her might. She swung it around in a circle like she’d seen her friend do so many times.
Rainbow Dash grunted as she tossed the rope toward the shrub. It bounced off the branches and fell to the dirt. “No!” Rainbow shouted, now waist-deep in sand. It was a lot harder than it looked. She made a mental note to compliment Applejack on her lasso skills when she got home. If she got home.
The thought of never seeing her friends again filled Rainbow with a new resolve. There was no way she was going to let that happen! She pulled the lasso in again and gave it another shot. This time, the loop hooked around the bush. Rainbow mustered all her strength and pulled. Inch by inch, she reeled herself back to the solid dirt. By the time she reached the bush, she was exhausted. She collapsed into a heap. This Pegasus had never been happier to have her hooves firmly on the ground.
CHAPTER 12
Finding Your Place
After what seemed like an eternity of trotting through the forest, Rainbow finally stopped herself. She wasn’t going toward anything, and she had no leads on how to find the Dual Stronghold or the Spirit Circle. She was beginning to wonder if they even existed.
“Dual Stronghold…” Rainbow Dash said out loud, allowing herself to sit on a mossy log. “Dual Stronghold? Hmmm. Dual means ‘two,’ so… two stronghold?”
Rainbow scratched her head. What in Equestria was a two stronghold? Maybe she was getting further from figuring it out than before.
It was starting to get dark.
Time was running out, and Rainbow was starting to feel weary and very alone. She wondered what her friends were doing right now. Applejack was probably having a yummy dinner with Apple Bloom, Big Mac, and Granny Smith. Maybe Fluttershy was reading Angel Bunny an early bedtime story. Twilight might be studying a new spell with Spike. Rarity could have been busy designing a new line of dresses involving utility pockets. And Pinkie Pie was definitely baking a giant cake to pop out of—just for fun.
All
those things sounded better than being stranded in a scary forest on an aimless mission to retrieve a relic from an unknown thief. Rainbow grabbed Fluttershy’s teddy bear and curled up into a ball. She started to drift off when she heard a voice softly whispering.
“Don’t give up, Daring Dash!” it said. “You’re supposed to be the bravest pony in Ponyville. You don’t want to embarrass yourself, do you?”
“No!” Rainbow popped up and riffled through her saddlebag for her map. She pulled out the Sapphire Stone bookmark that Twilight had given her and stared at it. Why this instead of something useful like Applejack’s lasso or Pinkie Pie’s cupcakes? Twilight was usually the most practical one of the bunch. Her gift didn’t make any sense.
“I wish this was over!” Rainbow shouted, throwing the bookmark on the ground. She looked down at the gift from Twilight. “I wish I was back with my friends,” she whimpered, picking it up and holding it close to her. Why had she pushed them away again? If they were here, this would have been so much easier. She would have already retrieved the horseshoe and Ponyville would be safe. But now she was lost and alone.
“I wish… I were at the Dual Stronghold right now!” And suddenly, a bright white light blinded Rainbow.
Rainbow Dash blinked and rubbed her eyes with her hoof. When she regained her sight, she saw that she had been magically transported! Instead of being surrounded by spiky, dark trees and low-hanging vines, Rainbow now found herself in front of a large, crumbling stone structure. She knew this place!
“The Castle of the Two Sisters!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. So that’s what Dual Stronghold was code for. Stronghold was just a fancy word for “castle.” If she had figured that out sooner, Rainbow could have saved herself a lot of time and trouble—sneaky Twilight and her enchanted bookmark aside. But there was no time for regrets now.