Cross World Explorers

by Ximer

Chapter 1

Long ago a sect of unicorns tried to master the whether without the aid of the pegasi. Their pride and vanity cost them dearly and the magic that was unleashed consumed them.

“An entire tribe of unicorns, wiped out. That doesn’t bode well.” Daring Do said as she re-read the historical account of a tragedy that transpired ages ago from the comfort of a library. While a secret book writer herself, she had a preference for antiquated reading material.

“The instrument of their demise was crafted from the horn of a great sea serpent and fitted with powerful augmented gems…it looks like it gave them what they wanted.“ Daring said scanning the pages until she saw a somewhat crudely drawn depiction of the item, though given the times in which the book was written this type of drawing was to be expected.

“Indeed and it has the ability to give so much more.” said a voice from behind her that she didn’t recognize. The sound of hooves clacking against the stone floor put Daring Do on edge.

Turning around Daring confirmed that it was a pony that had spoken to her. The stallion had the appearance of a librarian yet something was off. A barely noticeable, but still fresh, blood stain was near the collar of the shirt he wore. The earth pony had a sinister looking grin that made it evident this stallion was less than friendly. It now made sense to her why he had shown a lack of enthusiasm that other librarians had when she decided to visit them for information.

“You’re not a librarian, are you?” Daring Do asked getting up from her seat. No sooner had she asked her question two more earth pony stallions emerged from the shadows, the two newcomers lacking any subtlety with their appearance, their intent perfectly clear.

“I’m afraid not Miss Do. I’m surprised you didn’t come here under your alias, not that it would have made any difference.” the earth pony said with a smug grin.

“So who is paying you to try and corner me this time? Has Ahuizotl lost what little originality he had?” Daring Do asked as her eyes darted to different parts of the room, formulating a plan of escape.

“Ahuizotl? Hardly a contender compared to our employer, his goals are far greater than a simple treasure and temporary wealth, but I won’t bother boring you with the details since you won’t be around long enough to worry over what’s to come.” the stallion replied with a laugh.

“If we’re going to do this at least let me grab my hat first, I expected more of you though.” Daring Do said ignoring the earth pony’s taunts. She started to pick her hat up off the table and grinned as she stretched it out slightly with her teeth across her hoof before releasing it.

The hat sailed towards the first earth pony, hitting him right between the eyes. As the stallion closed his eyes in pain Daring Do dashed towards him and brought him to the ground as she landed a hoof into the side of his head.

The other two earth ponies charged after the pegasus, hoping to overpower her with brute force. The heavy fall of their hooves reminded Daring Do of their presence and the adventurer quickly flew to the next table from her.

Daring Do swiftly knocked the table on its side before flying around and kicking it with her hind legs with all of her might. The force of the impact sent the furniture flying towards the two stallions and collided with them, a crack forming down the middle.

A groan came from the earth pony in disguise as he struggled to crawl away. Daring Do walked over slowly and picked up her hat, dusting it off a bit, before placing it on her head. She looked down at the pain stricken stallion and smiled confidently.

"I'll never talk..." the stallion wheezed as his vision shifted from a single Daring Do to three of them looming over him.

“Suit yourself, just tell your employer to give up his silly goals. By the time he finds the temple the Storm Serpent Scepter will be in much safer hooves.” Daring Do said before picking up the book she had been reading and sliding it into her saddle bag.

As if nothing unusual had just happened, Daring Do proceeded to the register and looked over the counter. Much to her delight the real librarian was tied up behind the large circular desk. The pegasus released the stallion from his bonds and put the book she had been reading on the counter.

With her book checked out, and the ruffians who had attacked her subdued, Daring Do departed from the library followed quickly by the librarian who immediately started calling for the guards. Unknown to Daring Do she was being watched from afar by hateful orange eyes.

"Useless buffoons, no matter soon Daring Do will regret trying to interfere with my goal. Wealth from plundering temples has had its day, I seek something more permanent. All of Equestria will know of Falsemane." Falsemane said coldly.

---

"Uggh I'm bored!" Isabella exclaimed slamming a book shut. Her brother was forcing her to study today since she continued to put it off. A more active individual, the idea of sitting in one place for a long period of time was torturous to her.

"Cry more Izzy," Daniel said nonchalantly. "Your tears sustain me." Her brother sat in front of the T.V on his off day playing Ocarina of Time and for the most part ignored her complaints until now.

"It's not fair, this is like having to go through kindergarten again. How in the hell did you cram all of this into your head in time?" Isabella asked still slightly frustrated at her predicament.

"I didn't have it easy either. You're smart Isabella, just look at it like a memory game-oh crap!" Daniel shouted as a shrill cry came from the T.V.'s speakers. Isabella smiled knowing there was only one being from any game series that truly horrified her brother to the point it gave him nightmares.

"One two ReDead's coming for you~" Isabella sung as she turned her head towards the screen to watch as the zombie approached a frozen Link while Daniel frantically tried to move the character.

"No no no no no..." Daniel chanted as the creature drained Link of life. Were it not for his tear comment earlier Isabella might have felt sorry for him. Little was more humiliating than death from a ReDead due to their method of attack.

"Humped to death in this world just as easily as ours huh?" Isabella asked walking over and nudging him in the shoulder. She found it hilarious how Daniel was still terrified of the monsters, though now that they were in a land where unicorns were real perhaps this fear was a bit more justifiable.

"Meh it's time for a break from this anyways, you want to come grab some fresh air?" Daniel asked dismissing her question. His suggestion was an answered pray as far as Isabella was concerned, it was a chance to clear her mind and walk around a bit.

"Sure, I might as well try and read a few signs and learn how to navigate the town." Isabella replied following her brother out the door. The sun was concealed by a series of clouds and the snow on the ground was a clear indicator that winter was still in effect.

Isabella vaguely remembered Daniel mentioning something about wrapping winter and how Twilight was helping plan the event. As long as it involved getting rid of the snow she didn't care what it was called.

The young woman's eyes lit up when she saw Sugarcube Corner come into view. Like a kid in a toy store she tugged on Daniel's sleeve to get his attention, and to slowly achieve her goal of driving him insane. Sighing in defeat Daniel handed Isabella a few bits for her to use at the store.

"One more thing before you go." Daniel said stopping her long enough to shove a book into her hands. Isabella rolled her eyes at the title, a Daring Do book. She preferred actual documented accounts of exploration instead of stories for little kids, or as far as this world was concerned foals.

"You keep trying to push this on me like it's the bible around here or something. Why in the world would I want to read about some pegasus going on made up adventures when I've gone on some of my own?" Isabella asked with a laugh.

"You can get adventure from a book, besides it's a good entry level for you right now...just trust me on this one. Think of this as your first step towards stepping out in this world and look at Sugarcube Corner as a Starbucks or something." Daniel replied.

"Whatever I'll read it, what I can anyways." Isabella said departing from her brother. She knew he meant well, but sometimes her sibling came off as over concerned.

Pushing open the door to the pastry shop Isabella was greeted by the sweet aroma of the assortment of baked goods in the store, along with a few stares from some of the ponies occupying the tables.

"Izzy!" a pink mare shouted from behind the counter. Isabella recognized her from her first night in Equestria as Pinkie Pie. She had become better acquainted with Pinkie over the past few days as she tried to adjust to being surrounded by colorful ponies.

"Hey Pinkie, how's life?" Isabella asked approaching the counter. Those uncertain of the woman's presence relaxed a bit upon seeing the friendliest pony in Ponyville carry on a conversation with her so casually. They were far more tolerant of her than when Daniel had appeared, most likely because the initial shock of seeing a human was gone.

"It's been a pretty laid back day today. So the usual?" Pinkie Pie asked raising her eyebrows twice comically at the end of her question.

"Yep, a strawberry muffin with a chocolate chip on top." Isabella replied with a smile.

"Okie dokie lokie, be right back!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed vanishing in a pink blur.

Recalling that her brother had associated the pasty shop to a Starbucks Isabella decided to sit down at a table and start to read the Daring Do book at a snail's pace. She looked up briefly to notice she wasn't the only one reading at the table she had selected.

Isabella was halfway through the second page and already Daring Do had uncovered an evil scheme by a creature called Ahuizotl. She was stunned by the name since it was similar to a mythical creature from Earth the Aztec civilization believed in.

"Fitting name for a foe, if they liked drowning." Isabella mumbled, unintentionally breaking the silence at the table after speaking her mind aloud.

"How's the book treating you?" asked a mare's voice from behind a large book that seemed a bit old and blocked her face from view.

"It's okay, adventure novels aren't really my thing since I've actually been to places where there is danger like tigers and snakes. I guess when you've actually done something that someo-pony else wouldn't normally do they just loose their excitement." Isabella replied.

"Really? You fancy yourself an explorer?" the mare asked skeptically.

"Archeologist actually, I prefer a hands on approach when it comes to learning about the past, or I did anyways. Now that I'm in this world I don't know what to do. I suppose I'll try to return to the one thing I know best." Isabella said with a sigh.

The sound of a thick book suddenly closing made Isabella look up at her fellow occupant. She stared in disbelief for a few seconds before looking down at the cover of the Daring Do book and back up to the mare in front of her.

"It's nice to meet somepony else who appreciates the past and what we can learn from it." Daring Do said with a small smile on her face.

Author's Note:

I know this chapter is a bit short and I apologize for that. Since I saw a few comments about how Isabella and Daring Do were so similar from my other story here's the end result of an idea I had while at work. I had been intending for Isabella to have her own chapters here and there, but a story revolving around her and Daring seems just as good, hopefully you think so too.
Ledgion and Stunner are two readers who gave me the drive to do this so lets see how it goes.

Comments

[Silentwoodfire]

She was totally hoping for Rainbow Dash to show up