Friends Forever Issue 32

My Little Pony: Friends Forever #32 is the thirty-second issue of IDW Publishing's My Little Pony: Friends Forever comic series. In the issue, Daring Do enlists Fluttershy's help in uncovering an ancient treasure.

Summary
The comic begins with Fluttershy at her cottage looking forward to an entire week of no dangerous adventures or heroics. All of a sudden, there's a knock at the door, and world explorer Daring Do bursts in, asking for help on an adventure. Fluttershy claims to not be an adventurer, but Daring had heard from Rainbow Dash that she is not only a repeated savior of Equestria but also an expert on animals. When Daring entices Fluttershy with the prospect of meeting exotic animals on their quest, Fluttershy hesitantly accepts.

On the Friendship Express, Daring Do explains to Fluttershy that a new species of spider has been discovered: the Callobius cartographica, or "map spider", named for the map-like patterns on their backs. According to the legend of Queen Parabola, her treasure is hidden in a secret castle, and the map spiders are the key to uncovering it. Daring Do needs Fluttershy's help in catching one because she claims to be allergic to spiders.

At a faraway spider pit, Daring tasks Fluttershy with going down into the pit with a lantern and catching a map spider. Flutter swallows her fear and ventures into the pit, eventually finding and catching one of the unexpectedly adorable map spiders. When she returns outside the pit, she finds Daring Do fighting off a group of stallions who also seek Queen Parabola's treasure. Dr. Caballeron appears, and his henchponies capture whole cratefuls of map spiders. Daring tries to stop Caballeron from making off with the spiders, but in her attempt to help Daring in the fight, Fluttershy gets caught in tree vines.

While Daring helps Fluttershy, Caballeron escapes. Luckily, Fluttershy still has the one map spider she caught earlier—which Daring uncharacteristically screams in the face of.

After braving several jungle dangers, Fluttershy and Daring Do follow the pattern on the map spider's back to Queen Parabola's castle. Unfortunately, the castle door is already open, meaning Caballeron may have already arrived before them. After getting past the castle's various booby traps, they make their way to the central chamber. However, they are suddenly ambushed by Daring Do's arch-nemesis Ahuizotl. He briefly taunts Daring with the map spider she is traveling with before tying her and Fluttershy up in ropes and tossing them into a pit with a large boulder to weigh them down. Fluttershy and Daring are able to keep themselves from plummeting into the pit by clinging to the walls with their hooves.

When Fluttershy asks about Ahuizotl's spider-related taunting, Daring Do confesses that she is not allergic to spiders—she is afraid of them, and Ahuizotl is the only one who knows. Daring admits that she is not as brave as Fluttershy, but Fluttershy argues that she is afraid of everything. Daring argues back that Fluttershy was brave enough to accompany her on this adventure, go into the spider pit by herself, and help Daring fight Caballeron's henchponies; the fact that she had to ask for Fluttershy's help means she is not as brave as Fluttershy is.

Fluttershy decides to help Daring overcome her fear of spiders. She says the map spider can undo the knot binding them in ropes, but Daring has to let it crawl on her. After Daring's very reluctant approval, the map spider crawls across her face toward the rope knot and unravels it, freeing them.

In the castle's central chamber, Fluttershy and Daring hear Ahuizotl and Caballeron having a dispute just outside the treasure room. While Daring flies into the open to distract the two, Fluttershy sets the map spiders free from their crates. Caballeron and his henchponies flee from the spiders in terror, and Daring knocks out Ahuizotl by dropping a stone pillar on his head, allowing Fluttershy and Daring to claim the treasure. Daring thanks Fluttershy for her help, and they commend one another for their bravery. Daring Do is still afraid of spiders, but Fluttershy says she will overcome it eventually with baby steps.

Quotes

 * Fluttershy: ...Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! I can't believe it! I have an entire week ahead of me with no adventures! No heroics! No capers! No wacky hijinks or antics!


 * Daring Do: I need your help on an astonishing adventure!
 * Fluttershy: Oh, buttons.


 * Daring Do: These spiders could be the key to uncovering one of the greatest treasures in all of Equestria! But we need to keep quiet! You never know when somepony could be listening!


 * Fluttershy: I'm not scared. I'm not scared...


 * Fluttershy: I-It's awfully dark and ominous...
 * Daring Do: For a secret castle, that's a good sign!


 * Ahuizotl: All Equestria shall know this as the day I defeated the great Daring Do! And, uh—
 * Fluttershy: M-My name is Fluttershy.
 * Ahuizotl: And Fluttershy, yes.


 * Daring Do: Bravery doesn't mean not being afraid. It means being afraid and doing it anyway. I asked you along because I couldn't confront my fear of spiders. You were brave. I was a coward.


 * Daring Do: I'm not scared... I'm not scared...


 * Dr. Caballeron: ...You promised me a percentage, Ahuizotl!
 * Ahuizotl: And you shall have it, Caballeron! Once you and your men break through this door.
 * Dr. Caballeron: You need us, Ahuizotl! You can't get the treasure without us! Pay us before we crack the vault!
 * Ahuizotl: Don't try and cheat me, Caballeron! I remember the scheme you pulled in Saddle Arabia!


 * Ahuizotl: Cowards! They are only insects!
 * Fluttershy: Arachnids!


 * Fluttershy: Look, you've even made friends with a spider!
 * Daring Do: Gaah! Spider!!!
 * Fluttershy: Baby steps.
 * Daring Do: *whimper*