-Manehatten, Rata-
“I doubt anyone would ever trust you with an adventure again, what’s your next 'supposedly' great adventure going to be?” Some pony was smack talking Daring Do, but that wasn’t why I was here and it was none of my business. I really like being a postal squirrel, it wasn’t like it was that much different from what I was doing previously and I got more challenging jobs than running up and down a really big tree.
“I always find an adventure, give me ten seconds and…” I made my way closer at a walking pace holding the letter. Daring saw me, but the other pony didn’t. I tilted my head at the pony in question while flicking the letter in her direction.
“And what… you expect some kind of god to just walk up and offer you an adventure?” Well that was ironic, I’m not sure the earth pony was going to be happy that I arrived just in time to prove them wrong. “Sure you might go on adventures a lot, but who would trust you after this whole debacle with Ahuizotl?”
“Sure, I’ve made some mistakes, but I don’t cower away when I’m wrong.” Daring put a hoof to her chest and glared at the pony. “I always try to make things right, but that doesn’t mean that Ahuizotl was entirely innocent with all the things he pulled either.”
“So what if Ahuizotl might have caused a large ecological disaster unknown proportions, I seriously doubt you have any more adventures ahead of you and I hope you go broke you spreader of lies! I doubt you’ve ever actually met a god before.” Really? The nerve of some entitled ponies. I walked up to Daring Do and held up the letter for her. “What the… why is a squirrel delivering a letter to you?”
“This is the messenger god Ratatoskr, he’s apparently delivering a letter to me personally from an old friend.” Daring quickly opened the letter and looked inside. “Hmm… alright, I’ll be there right away! I always like a good mystery, but do you have anything to write on so that I can tell them I’m coming?”
I pulled out a sheet of paper, a pen, an envelope and a stamp, also a card about the cost of providing stationary written in several languages so there is no misunderstanding as to what I’m asking for here. All of this was for a return message at a moderate cost.
“Okay, hold on.” Daring do took out a bag of bits and dropped five coins down in front of me. I checked them with my teeth, nodded and then gave her what she asked for once I was sure they were not counterfeit bits.
You’d surprised how often someone tries to get one by mail delivering paragons such as myself… they get to see my more mischievous side and they wouldn’t be happy when they meet that side of me.
“Do you seriously expect me to believe that this squirrel is a god?” I looked more closely at the mare in question. She had pink fur, purple hair and seemed a bit stuck up. Good, nobody important would care about her with what I’m going to do. I grabbed her front left hoof and lifted her above my head and then ran towards the waterfront a mile or two away in under ten seconds. “What the, where are you taking me? Stop this at once and put me down!”
I did as she asked and put her down, into the sea. I grabbed the end of her tail as she went flailing face first into the water. After a moment I gave a sharp tug on her tail, she emerged and flopped onto the dock sputtering and coughing up water from within a large fish enveloping her head. Whoever this mare with three buttons on her flank was, she likely needed a little attitude adjustment like this.
I dusted my paws off and left the mare behind to run back to where Daring Do was still writing out the letter with a hoof.
“Thanks for taking care of that nuisance, I had no polite way of ending that confrontation without kicking her butt up and down the street. I hope you didn’t do too much to her even if that mare is a real piece of work.” I nodded to Daring and once she sealed and stamped the envelope, I took it and ran off for Airship Mauled.
-Airship Mauled a day later, Train Station, Daring Do (AKA AK YEARLING)-
Stepping out into a town I haven’t been too much since… the incident… I took in a bit of the fresh air around here. It didn’t take long before I spotted the local favored goddess waiting for me. She was holding up a sign that reads, AK YEARLING.
I trudged over to her and looked up at her and she looked down at me with a quirked eye.
“So, how have you been?” I asked in my general disguised demeanor, she gave me a flippant look and I returned it with one of my own. “Was the sign really necessary? I know you by sight alone.”
“Things could be better or worse, I’m currently in the middle of a bureaucratic war with Celestia. Since war is my primary domain…” She trailed off with an insufferable smile that had chills running down my back. What could she possibly be doing with bureaucracy and why does the sudden void in my thoughts horrify me so much? “Let’s just say that Celestia shouldn’t play with fire even if she can handle the sun.”
“Okay, what’s the story behind this Hearth’s Warming present and why is it here of all places?” This place was peaceful and too serene at the moment, it was honestly a little off putting.
I saw a thestral that was walking around looking a little too paranoid like I was feeling, looked to be the local guard judging by her armor and was that a giant ant following her around like a puppy? This place was still as weird as I remembered it being.
“A centaur dropped off this present on Hearth’s Warming and asked us to contact you when you had absolutely nothing better to do at the time. That time is now apparently.” Okay Sekhet, but I get the feeling that there was more to this. “What makes the situation intriguing about the centaur was that he was a free genie, a very interesting oddity as the centaur likely still has some of those nearly phenomenal cosmic powers he got from servitude.”
“Did he say anything else?” I’ve had a few run-ins with supernatural wishing chicanery creatures, I wondered if any of them might be related to this and was surprised the world still made sense for the moment. I did not want to deal with another golden monkey’s paw situation for as long as I lived in this frame of existence.
“His name was Evoker and he told Kuril he was marginally making up for a debt he owes someone, we’ve all been quite curious about the present ever since. It does have your name on it after all.” Okay, so according to Sekhet, some random mystical being that used to grant wishes has a present for me and left it here on Hearth’s Warming. No, certainly not completely suspicious at all. “We wondered what’s in the box, when it tempts even someone of my stature to open it. Whatever it is, it is clearly important to those who live here as much as it is to you.”
It’s been a while since then and I currently wasn’t too busy to be contacted. Considering I was about to get into a row with some random mare until Rata cooled her head in a most literal fashion, I really didn’t have much going on. I’m quite sure I would have found another adventure soon enough even if this one hadn’t fallen into my lap. I just had to stay out of Tenochtitlan Basin and related areas for a while, I seriously didn’t want Ahuizotl’s ire for a while.
I don’t know this Evoker at all and his name isn’t ringing any bells, he was a genie set free of imprisonment and once the genie was let out of the bottle… well they weren’t as dangerous as they could be while they were imprisoned. The perks were almost worth being a genie, long lifespan and magical powers out the wazoo. While imprisoned, they are far more powerful and able to do far worse by twisting any wish in extremely unique ways.
This should be raising a few warning flags with me, but somehow it oddly doesn’t and I’m getting more paranoid by the second as to what kind of adventure was coming my way.
I entered the local favorite restaurant built out of a crashed airship. The surrounding area has changed a lot, but the core places were still here. Kuril, a witch whose daughter I couldn’t protect, sat this supposed present on a table and looked towards me with her blindfolded eyes. She was looking exactly at me, so she wasn’t blind and was probably using some kind of mystical sight or seer ability.
I looked at the present, Hearth’s Warming themed and nothing especially odd about it. Everyone in the room was fairly silent.
There was a diamond dog with a medical kit and a kraken wearing a nurse’s hat off to the side.
Oh thank goodness, they had a doctor on standby. A qualified doctor of any species was a good enough doctor in my book, considering how many times my life has been saved by various random doctors of varying species around the world.
There was the unicorn with the broken horn that I’m having problems remembering the name of. The mirage rabbit is apparently naturally the size of a bear now.
There was a chimera in the room, if I remembered correctly they became a lawyer. I could use one of those right now because of Dr. Caballeron’s slanderous book.
There were also two mares and two stallions staring intently at the box from a nearby table, I remember them being friendly locals.
Three thestrals with one of the mare being oddly colorful were at another table, those guys were definitely familiar and reminded me of that time at the grotto city.
The saxophone player was playing some daunting music, I think I’ve heard it on a quiz show.
“Seriously?” I asked looking at all the people watching the box with unrestrained curiosity, even Sekhet was looking at it from over my shoulder having shrunk down to about a fully grown alicorn’s size.
“Well… we’ve all been rather curious as to what’s in the box.” Kuril ran her digits through the long mane of the thestral that walked up to nuzzle into her side, Blade’s hair was a lot longer from when I last saw her. “I’m quite surprised that we’re restrained enough to not open it. On another note, you’re looking fairly healthy Daring Do.”
“Yeah, don’t know for how long that’ll last though.” Being one of the few that I couldn’t actually help, the problem was just too big and Kuril should be the one that hates me the most out of anyone I’ve caused problems. “You… don’t hate me?”
“I’m not a witch of hate, I’m all about good taste and you are a good mare that was in a bad situation. If anything I’d love to slug the assassin in the face with a vial of instant wall.” Well it was nice to know that Kuril didn’t hat me. “Just open the box and sate all of our curiosities so Speedy Sax can stop playing that ponderous thinking music.”
The mare didn’t stop playing the saxophone for a second, but she did smile. I trotted up to the box and carefully pulled at the red bow, it untied and I lifted the cover off the box with everyone leaning forward to watch me do this.
I looked into the box and blinked once or twice and took out a piece of old parchment. I unrolled it carefully and despite it being ancient it likely had some preservation magic on it to look as good as it did. I looked over the ancient text and read it out.
“To those who seek The End of Immortality, these three last clues will combine to tell you where it is precisely located without a doubt.” I stopped and blinked, after all the crap I’ve been through and that centaur guy delivers me the last few clue I needed with a present? “What… the…”
“Daring, there’s a child here.” Kuril said hastily as a little griffon cub hopped upon the table and looked at me curiously before turning to her and holding out his talons. Kuril picked him up and he curled up in her arms for a nap. “One that likes your books.”
“Fudge brownies with hot maple syrup, covered in ice cream dipped in liquid chocolate, covered in walnuts along with sprinkles and whipped cream!” I immediately said, do they even realize how long I’ve been on this one mystery? They were all staring at me with blushes and I blushed myself.
I’ve been through Ornithia, Minos, Zebrica, Abbysia, Saddle Arabia and almost all of Equestria looking for this one thing, it was like a worldwide conspiracy. To think it is only now of all times that I get something leading to the final clues?
I don’t believe this was a coincidence, because I and Caballeron were both puzzled when all we found was disturbed dust for the last clue that leads to The End of Immortality. At least we had hoped it was the last clue, the wild goose chase was daunting and I was willing to see it through because it led me to so many interesting places and discoveries.
“Well, go on.” Kuril motioned as she kept the sleepy cub’s head supported with her shoulder.
“Eye at the center of the eels, circle of the ancient alpacas and… the leg of the true bakers?” A whole lot of nonsense, that’s what it was.
I couldn’t even begin to fit together how any of these things were relevant together or where I should go first, because these clues were as vague as the last and this parchment hadn’t been altered in the slightest.
“Eye at the center of the eels? Sounds the like Eerie Eel Eye, I never wanted to hear about that place again!” Everyone turned to the… ducking sheepish looking seal?
“You don’t have to go, but could you maybe give Daring the location Briny?” Kuril said to the talking seal, only the mouth of the seal opened and I was spooked to see a pony’s head inside it.
“Well… I guess I am living in your lake next to Mr. Escargot over there.” Selkies are seldom seen, but this one was living here? The sea kraken waved a tentacle at her in a friendly manner and she waved a flipper back. “I’ll generally tell her where it is, but it’s a really horrible place to go to though.”
“If I make you food, would you consider giving her as much information about the area as you can?” At Kuril’s words the selkie’s face lit up brightly.
“Of course, baked fish is yummy!” Selkies are apparently easily bribed.
“We’re going with Daring.” Fizzle anounced calmly as Maries moved up to her side.