Chapter 10
Just Book It
A book is one of the most sacred treasures ever known in Equestria. That is how Twilight refers to them as anyway. Books can even take you on a journey so to speak. It's almost as if each book has its own world. Daring Do is a book series about a pegasus that goes on adventures to find rare artifacts. Rainbow Dash is Daring Do's number one fan, self-proclaimed I might add. It was thanks to Twilight that Rainbow Dash became a Daring Do fan in the first place, even though in the beginning Rainbow Dash was reluctant to want to read because she thought it wasn't cool. Now, Rainbow Dash isn't afraid to admit she loves reading. Though technically the only books Rainbow Dash reads are Daring Do books. In total, Rainbow Dash has read the Daring Do series ten times over so far. So you can see why she considers herself the number one Daring Do fan. Rainbow Dash would give anything to actually meet Daring Do. That time would soon come into fruition. It all began one afternoon in Ponyville. At Golden Oak Library, Flareon was busy at work trying to complete a potion Princess Celestia asked him to make for her. Due the extreme difficulty of the potion, it was going to take Flareon all day to finish it. He couldn't have anything distract him during this important task. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Rainbow Dash came flying in through the bedroom window, screaming his name at the top of her lungs. Just as he turned around in his chair, Rainbow Dash quickly began shoving a book in his face. "Oh my god Flareon! Can you believe it?! The new Daring Do book finally came out! Daring Do and the Samurai's Sword! Look! Look! Look! Isn't it awesome?! Luckily for me I slept in front of the book store last night so I could be the first pony to buy it! You have to check it out!" Flareon desperately tried to calm Rainbow Dash down as he kept her from knocking of his incomplete potion. It was proving more than a challenge. Unfortunately, just as Flareon managed to push Rainbow Dash away from the potion, she accidently knocked it over with her left elbow, which in turn, made Rainbow Dash drop her book on the table. As a result, the potion spilled all over the open book. A few seconds later, the book began to glow light pink. An oblivious Rainbow Dash immediately attempted to check the condition of her new book to make sure it wasn't damaged. Just as Rainbow Dash's right hoof made contact with the book, her hoof was quickly absorbed into it. The harder Rainbow Dash tugged, the faster the book was dragging her inside it. Sensing danger, Flareon put his hooves around Rainbow Dash's waist and tried to pull her out. Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash's body was completely sucked into the book, along with Flareon. Soon after, both ponies were nowhere to be seen as the once lively bedroom had fallen silent. When Flareon and Rainbow Dash finally opened their eyes, they found themselves in a luscious jungle. After Flareon and Rainbow Dash stood back up, they brushed themselves off, completely oblivious to the fact they were not alone.
"Excuse me," a voice said, "Are you two ok?" When Flareon and Rainbow Dash turned around, they were absolutely shocked and dumbfounded at the pony who was standing right in front of them. It was none other than Daring Do herself. Before Flareon had a chance to reply, Rainbow Dash squealed loudly as she flew over to Daring Do.
"Oh my god! Daring Do! It's really Daring Do!" Rainbow Dash burst out happily, "Can I say I'm your biggest fan?! I've read all your books ten times! You're the most super awesome and amazing explorer ever! Can I please please please have your autograph?! Please!" Just as a very confused Daring Do was about to speak, Flareon grabbed Rainbow Dash's tail and pulled her over to another spot. She clearly wasn't happy him ruining her important conversation with Daring Do. "What gives Flareon?! I was going to let you have your turn...eventually."
"You moron! Don't you understand what's going on?! Flareon replied.
"Yeah! Of course I do!" Rainbow Dash said, "Daring Do is real!"
"No!" Flareon replied, "Look around us! We're inside a huge jungle! Where would we find such a jungle? Especially one with a fictional character in it? There's only one explanation for this...we're inside your book! Daring Do and the Samurai's Sword! The potion must have had some sort of altering effect on it allowing us to enter the book's world."
"Oh...I see...sorry," Rainbow Dash apologized embarrassed for her outburst a moment ago," By the way...what was that potion you were working on?"
"It was a potion that would help blind ponies read books," Flareon replied, "As for why we were able to enter the book's world...I think it was because of how the potion was incomplete. That's my theory anyway."
"So...how do we get out?" Rainbow Dash asked, "I mean...don't get me wrong Flareon. I still want to go back home...eventually."
"Well...two things," Flareon replied, "Either we hope someone, like Twilight, finds out we're inside here and gets us out, or we complete the book's story and possibly activate a portal or something that will allow us to return home. If not...we'll be stuck inside this book replaying the story over and over for an eternity. So our best bet as of now is to partner up with Daring Do and find this Samurai's Sword." After Rainbow Dash agreed with Flareon's plan, they headed back to where Daring Do was waiting patiently. "Hey Daring Do. We...uh...want to help you find the Samurai's Sword."
"Hold up...how did you know about the Samurai's Sword?" a suspicious Daring Do asked, "You guys aren't spies...are you?"
"We're...uh...adventurers like you!" Rainbow Dash replied, "My name's Rainbow Dash and this here is my sidekick Flareon. We're looking for the Samurai's Sword too. So how about we team up?"
"What?! Sidekick?! Flareon burst out angrily, but before he could stage his protect, Rainbow Dash quickly covered his mouth with her right hoof.
"Just go with it Flareon!" Rainbow Dash whispered. As much as Flareon wanted to argue with her, he knew they had a more important issue to worry about. Getting out of the book. After being stared at by Daring Do for a few seconds, she sighed as if she had no other choice.
"Fine," Daring Do said, "I guess forming a team would be a better option anyway, but if you two are spies or something, I won't hesitate to stop you from stealing the sword...got it? Let's go." Daring Do then took a map out of her back and looked it over for about five seconds before putting it back in her bag. "The Sacred Temple where the Samurai's Sword is located isn't very far from here...follow me." All there ponies immediately flew into the air and headed east. Soon after, they arrived in front of a very large ancient temple that was nearly covered by the surrounding trees. Once they landed back down, Daring Do took out her map again and looked it over. "Let's see...entrance...entrance...entrance. That's strange. I don't see the entrance for the temple on the map." She then put the map back in her back. "I guess we'll have to do this the hard way. Let's split up and search for anything that can get us inside." The ponies quickly split up and began their search. About fifteen minutes later, Flareon suddenly heard Rainbow Dash screaming for help and rushed to her location. When he finally found her, Flareon saw Rainbow Dash struggling to get out from a mud pit. It turns out Rainbow Dash had accidentally got caught in quicksand.
"Hey Rainbow Dash...going for a swim?" Flareon chuckled, "Seriously...how could you possibly fall for such an obvious trap?"
"I could say the same thing," Rainbow Dash replied sarcastically. When Flareon looked down at his hooves, he saw that they were slowly disappearing. Apparently, he too was also stuck in the quicksand. Flareon tried to go into Flame God Mode to free himself, but was unable to summon his fire magic. For some reason, it didn't work inside this world. Immediately, Flareon and Rainbow Dash both began to call for help. Shortly after, Daring Do arrived just as the quicksand had reached their necks.
"Quicksand huh? Ha...rookies. Don't worry! I'll save you!" Daring Do shouted confidently. Unfortunately, when Daring Do tried to move towards them, she was unable to budge an inch. It turns out, not only had Flareon and Rainbow Dash been caught by the quicksand, Daring Do was also a victim. None of them were heard uttering another word as they were too embarrassed to say anything. It wasn't long before the quicksand swallowed all three of them. When Flareon, Rainbow Dash, and Daring Do opened their eyes, they found themselves in a poorly lit hallway. By some miracle, they had found the entrance to the temple. "Good job you two! You found the entrance! I have to say, the whole scared screaming act you guys put on was really believable. You sure had me fooled!" In response, Flareon and Rainbow Dash smiled awkwardly. "Be prepared you two. There's no telling what kind of traps we'll run into, so be very careful." Daring Do then looked over the map and once she was done, she put in back inside her bag. Flareon and Rainbow Dash followed after Daring Do, who took the lead. Snakes, boulders, poison darts, and pit falls were some of the traps the ponies were forced to deal with. All this reminded Flareon of a movie about an explorer who also dealt with traps like these on a daily basis. Most of the time it was either Flareon or Rainbow Dash activating these traps, which made Daring Do question whether they were real explorers. After many deadly traps and long spooky corridors later, the ponies finally made it to where the Samurai's Sword was located. The temple throne room. It was just like the one in Canterlot Castle. Back then, this room was probably very beautiful and elegant. As Flareon, Rainbow Dash, and Daring Do looked around, they could see the bones of dead Samurai Guards everywhere. Overall, there were twenty bodies in total. In the back of the room, on the throne chair, they saw the bones of a huge samurai, most likely the king, resting peacefully. In his hooves laid a sparkling golden sword. There was no doubt about it, that sword was the fabled Samurai's Sword. After making sure there were no traps present, Daring Do walked up to the Samurai King and carefully took the sword from his hooves. Before she was able to make it back to Flareon and Rainbow Dash, the Samurai Guards suddenly sprang to life. Apparently, they weren't going to let them simply escape with their king's keepsake. It wasn't long until the ponies found themselves surrounded.
"Without my fire magic...this won't be easy," Flareon said.
"Come on Flareon! You're telling me you're going to get taken out by a bunch of stupid skeletons?" Rainbow Dash replied, "We having the Daring Do on our side! We can't lose!" In response, Daring Do smiled as she held the sword in her hooves tightly.
"I like your gusto Rainbow Dash," Daring Do said as the Samurai Guards slowly approach them, "Ok! Let's...do...it!" Soon after, the battle between the ponies and the guards got underway. Even though Flareon, Rainbow Dash, and Daring Do were clearly outnumbered, they found no trouble in defeating the skeletons. Fifteen minutes later, the battle was finally over. However, the real battle was about to begin as the Samurai King's eyes suddenly started glowing bright red. Every step he took towards them was similar to a small earthquake. "Be prepared everyone! He won't be easily defeated!" In response, the Samurai King roared loudly as dust fell from the celling and immediately charged at them widely. The ponies were very careful to evade his blows and tried to deliver a counter attack as quickly as possible. Just as Rainbow Dash was about to get hit by the Samurai's King gigantic hoof, Flareon pushed her out of the way just in time. Unfortunately, he took the full force of the attack and got sent flying into a wall, knocking him unconscious.
"Flareon!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she got back up. Rainbow Dash was unable to go help her friend and she had to dodge another of the Samurai's Kings attack. Now it was only herself and Daring Do left. Things were looking dire for them, but Rainbow Dash refused to give up. Sacrificing herself to be the bait, Rainbow Dash let the Samurai King force her into a corner. Just as the Samurai King was about to deliver final blow, his body suddenly split in half as the tip of the golden sword cut threw him, courtesy of Daring Do. The defeated Samurai King's bones were shown lying silently on the floor as not a hint of life was left over. As Daring Do put the golden sword into her bag, Rainbow Dash immediately ran over to Flareon's aid. Not long after, he regained consciousness.
"That was a pretty heroic move Flareon," Daring Do said.
"What can I say...it's in my nature," Flareon replied with a smile.
"Flareon may be cool, but he's still my sidekick," Rainbow Dash said. In response, all three ponies burst out laughing. Just then, out of nowhere, a bright light engulfed the room. After it disappeared, a door-like portal was shown before them, just as Flareon had hoped would happen. After saying their goodbyes to Daring Do, Flareon and Rainbow Dash walked into the portal. When they opened their eyes again, Flareon and Rainbow Dash found themselves back in the bedroom of Golden Oak Library. Soon after, Rainbow Dash left with her book so that Flareon could finish his potion for Princess Celestia. Luckily, not all of the potion had been lost so Flareon didn't have to start over. He did though however write down the incomplete potion in his personal log book. Flareon felt that this valuable information was worth keeping and giving to Princess Celestia too.