Years ago, Daring Do discovered an ancient city, forgotten in one of the farthest reaches of Equestria, and within it a mysterious lock that could not be opened by a single pony alone. Frustrated and eventually defeated she was forced to abandon her find, willing time to absolve her of her failure.
Not too long ago, she met a pony named Rainbow Dash. A pony who helped her.
Now old memories are rekindled when Daring learns that a longtime rival has uncovered the city's location. Forced into action, she sets off on a race against time to beat her competitor, and finally learn the secrets it undoubtedly holds. But this time, she'll succeed where she failed all those years ago. This time, she'll have help.
Chapters (19)
I'm a simple guy. When I see 8686, I click.
Indeed.
Do continue.
I approve of this... Always looking for good Daring Do fics :)
Groan. (smirk)
But seriously, many laughs were had by me during this chapter. I can't wait for the adventure to begin!
7841202 This is the correct system for finding quality stories. Hell, I faved before reading a word.
I've loved your past stories, and this one's already off to a good start. I particularly liked Dash's insistence that they bring Twilight on this adventure.
Looking forward to seeing where this goes.
Daring seems excessively skeptical of Dash and Twilight here, considering the former is literally the element of loyalty and the later is a flipping alicorn. But other than that, great stuff.
Wait... Daring isn't allowed to read anyone else's books? What kind of horseapple rule is that? Writers HAVE to read. We have to read a LOT. That's how we become better writers... We read and we write.
7843182
Reading in general is different than reading fan fiction of your own stories.
Daring my dear, I'm afraid you're on the the wrong side of that line—by a mile or so.
Also, Hitchhiker's reference FTW!
I think you mean "leap-before-you-look" type.
7844410
Drat!
Yes. Yes, I do. Fix'd.
Thanks for that.
So, the "cliff racers" are pterosaurs? Pretty cool.
Every Vvardenfell native ever would like to have a word with you,
7845253
Ah, yes. Ahem.
Truth be told, ’Cliff Racers’ as a name was originally only supposed to be a throwaway reference. When I was first thinking out this section of the story, I figured I could name them once and then get away with calling them 'the creatures' or 'the monsters' etc thereafter. Unfortunately, they became slightly more important to the plot than I'd given them credit for and by then the name had stuck in my head. So I just kept using it. Plus the bonus is that if you get the reference then you already have a good feel for what they look like, how large they are, how aggressive they are and how much of a bloody nuisance they're going to be. Half my work is done.
I read this and my immediate thought was: "History records precisely one visit by Luna and Celestia to the Heartspire."
Jesus, we're not even hiding our Indiana Jones references now,
Oh lord that ending was precious...
I still don't think it's really dawned on Daring on who these ponies are.... I mean, she's flying around with an alicorn princess as if it's a regular occurrence.
I wonder if they realized that Twilight being there basically makes Daring (legally) untouchable by Calla-whatshisname since, in a way, Daring is there by royal commission. He can't interfere with that.
On the other hand, almost no one seems to care nor notice that Twilight is an alicorn, so yeah..
I really enjoyed I Wish I Had Met You Yesterday, so I was happy to see the callback.
I wasn't crazy about "Daring Don't" when it aired -- the show didn't do a very good job presenting its moral, in my opinion. This story, on the other hand, is doing an excellent job of reflecting the spirit of the show.
This is a great first chapter!
Seemingly killing of the main character of the story in the prologue? I was fully expecting it to be some random explorer pony. Really well written too. The last line was a great twist on my expectations and really hooked my interest.
I missed having a daily fic to look forward to. This isn't half bad.
Arthur Dent would be proud.
Great cliffhanger!
And are Celestia and Luna the daughters of the diary's writer?
Holy shit this chapter.
I'm pretty sure the two fillies in the diary are Celestia and Luna
Oh boy…does the crown has a spell on it or something.…?
Wow! Really cool prologue! I really like your writing style!
7850862 I completely agree with everything you said except I pretty much knew it was Daring Do.
Your writing skills are enviable.
7844798 Same!
Priceless!
If the main OCs of this story were voiced, what would they sound like? Also, this longtime rival of Daring Do needs an OC tag. I mean, unless it's Dr. Caballeron.
7855951 Pretty certain it's Doctor Caballeron, given that him planning an expedition out here was what catalysed Daring's own attempt.
Does... does Caballeron not realize that he's threatened a Princess of Equestria...? Doesn't he realize Twilight can have him arrested as soon as they get out of there...?
How come nopony is acknowledging Twilight's authoritah?!
7857856 I know, right?!
Oh no
the answer to Twilight's quest is, they helped a friend to stop merely existing, and start moving towards Surviving and living.
there are 4 basic ways to describe Life, Existing, Surviving, Living, and Thriving.
I'm already hooked. Great first chapter!
media2.giphy.com/media/LpWkBPb5lvPdm/200_s.gif
Also, kinda breathes new life into the meaning of the Summer Sun Celebration, don't it?
We just straight-up swiping lines from Empire now?
... and paraphrasing Last Crusade,
Twilight I'm disappointed. I'm sure it's a joke but I can't imagine Book Horse not giving a unit of measure!
Also if memory serves its 4.18 Joule/mol (or one calorie) so the 4,000 think only works if she's using a weird system. But that's semantics.
Well that's not ominous at all
Ohhhhh boy.
...wait a minute. It took from Our Heroes AND the Brother Kings, so there are FIVE sources of magic in the crystal. Where will the homeless two go..?
Daring, remember the quip about rain? Well something tells me you're going to get it. With a lot of rain. A lake's worth to be more precise.
7863516
Oh, I'm so glad someone called me out on this, because it's true and it bothers me more than I'd care to admit. The theory was that she wasn't really expecting an answer to her rhetorical question, but when Daring does she can't not set her straight. But she doesn't really think either Rainbow or Daring [or the reader] will understand or care about the full answer, (because while Daring is very smart, she says herself she's a history and literature expert, not a scientist, and Rainbow is... well... Rainbow) so she just gives them the number. But you're right. A true scientist never gives a number without a unit!
As for the number itself, I was always taught that Specific Heat Capacity is, "The amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of a substance by 1 degree Celsius." Thus by that definition the specific heat capacity of water is 4181 j/kg°C. Your value is still correct, except that would be the amount of energy required to raise 1 gram of water by 1 °C. We're just dealing in different orders of magnitude.
7863927 not sure about both brothers. One brother intended to meet his wife in a forest. No idea what happened to the other brother or if he escaped.if I've figured this right the one brother was Celestia and Lunas father.
Celestia up and raising the sun just because she wanted to be friends with it? That is SO ADORABLE.
ark reference.
Calling it now, the lake is going to rush in and flood the city soon.