//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: "The Lost Dialogue." 
// Story: Daring Do Adventures: Daring Do And The Raiders Of Atlantis 
// by XombieSlayr 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 7: "The Lost Dialogue."

Baulkham State University was one of the most prestigious institutions of learning in Equestria. It was known for its strict dress code, it's stricter teachers and its many awards in the field of historical research and archaeology. Professor Atlas was possibly the only teacher in the school who actually enjoyed her job, not that anyone ever respected her for it. 

As soon as the professor was back in the sparkling white halls of the university, she already began to hear stifled snickering and laughter from students and faculty alike. But this time she wasn't alone.

Daring Do comforted the professor as they made their way through the school's halls. 

"Don't pay any attention to them, professor." She said in a warm tone.

"They'll be laughing at themselves once we find Atlantis." She added with a smile.

Swift Wing and Herpy had decided to go to the local Library to do research on Plato, while Daring and the Professor (reluctantly) went to find the lost dialogue in the school. Herpy and Swift also wanted to see what they could dig up on their friend, Moonbeam. 

Herpy had thought if Moonbeam was that bad, then either she or her organization, had to be in a history book somewhere.

Swift Wing hadn't actually gone for research. She just didn't want to set hoof in "a hive of snooty teachers and know-it-alls."

Daring saw what Swift Wing had meant. The more students she saw snickering and gossiping about the professor, the lower her opinion of them got. And the higher, her desire to sock one of em in the muzzle rose.

As Daring and the professor reached the classroom of one Dr. Hobby Fossil, the professor who had won Plato's Lost Dialogue, they saw that the door was affixed with several mean looking locks.

The professor turned to her companion. 

"Okay, this is the room according to the school records. Plato's dialogue has to be in here."

Daring nodded. As another teacher trotted past them she lowered her voice. "So, how do we get in?"

"Oh, uh...I don't actually know. Any ideas?"

Daring smiled as she took out her lock picking kit. "I have one, but judging by this door it'll take a while."

Daring took a pick out, and held it with her teeth. She knelt down and got to work on the door.

"Keep an eye out for anyone, okay?" Daring asked through clenched teeth, as she worked on the lock.

"Okay." The professor assured.

One Hour Later

After an hour, and half a dozen lock picks, Daring and the professor finally heard the last lock click open.

Daring sighed as she wept sweat from her brow. "Wow. Whatever is in there, they really didn't want any pony getting to it."

The professor nodded. "Perhaps they actually know whats in here. This university would never let something like Plato's Lost Dialogue out of their grasp. They're far too reputable."  

"And uptight." She added under her breath.

Daring and The professor carefully opened the door and stepped into the room.

The whole place was a virtual disaster area of books and packed boxes. It looked like a library and warehouse had been ripped apart by a tornado and scattered amongst one another. And everything was covered in a thick layer of dust and cobwebs.

Daring looked and saw that what used to be the professor's desk was overturned on its side.

The professor coughed violently as she took in a mouthful of dust. "It*cough* doesn't look like anypony's been here for*cough* years!" She sputtered.

Daring nodded. "Yeah. I guess they really did have this place locked up since dad disappeared."

She looked around the room, at the hundreds of boxes and dusty shelves of books. She sighed. "This isn't gonna be easy."

She turned to the professor. "Welp, lets get to it. I don't want to be in this place for any longer than I have to."

She started looking through a large box of books, as the professor nodded. "I know. The dust in this room is horrible."

"I was talking about the university."

"Oh."

They got to work unloading box after box, searching for anything that resembled Plato's Dialogue. 

Apparently Dr. Fossil, had been a very astute collector of rare books. Daring found several tomes that she knew were quite famous in the fields of history and archaeology. As well as others that were extremely old. 

She found one in particular that caught her attention. An old grimoire looking thing, with a dark purple cover. It had no title, but bore a strange symbol of a green evil-looking eye with purple flames encircling it, and a large horn extending out from the top of the whole design.

"Whoa. I don't think this is a history book. Not one of normal history anyway." Daring remarked, studying the cover.

The professor looked up to see the mysterious book Daring was holding. 

"What in Equestria is that? I've never seen any history book so...occult looking."

Daring opened the book, making the professor nervous. "Be careful, Daring. We don't know the kind of company Dr. Fossil kept. That book could be dangerous!" She warned.

Daring smiled. "Thanks, but I've handled a lot of danger in my life. I'm sure I can handle a book." She assured.

She opened the book to its first page and read aloud, but quietly.

"The Historium Excorcisium: A History Of The Court Of The Dark Horn."

"For as long as unicorns have wielded magic, there has always been a small group of them that desired more than just the ability to move and manipulate objects with their horns. This group is thought to have first come together during the the days of King Sombra's rule over the crystal empire. A tight knit cabal made up of strictly unicorns, that embraced the fallen unicorn king's ideals of using the Dark Arts instead of traditional magic. Over the centuries, this elitist collective have gathered the most powerful magics that exist in our world, and used them to establish themselves as one of the most, if not the most powerful and dangerous organization in the world, currently." 

"Their name has only recently been uncovered as "The Court Of The Dark Horn". It's believed this name is to entail the group's use of the Dark Arts as well as their elitist unicorn only philosophy." 

"The group's whereabouts as well as the identity of their leader is currently unknown, but if word of an extraordinarily powerful magic were to rise, it can be assured that the Court will make itself known once again. We can only hope that they continue to stay in the shadows. As it's unclear, just how much of a chance we'd have against such a powerful threat. "

As Daring finished reading the passage, a chill went up the professor's spine.

"They don't sound too friendly." She said unnerved.

Daring nodded. "They sound like the organization that Moonbeam leads. Question is: What's the good doctor doing with a book on their history?"

The professor didn't seem to have an answer. "I'm not sure. Maybe he was being targeted by them because he had Plato's dialogue. He may have been reading up on them so he could prepare himself."

"Or maybe he was one of them." Daring suggested, suddenly. 

The professor was surprised by this remark, but said nothing. They decided to simply take the book (Daring said they were just "Borrowing it.") so they could know more about Moonbeam's organization. Anything on her or her group was invaluable, and they both thought it did more good to have the book with them, than to leave it in a dusty locked up office.

Daring and the professor continued their search for Plato's Lost Dialogue. While Daring continued to search the many bookshelves, the professor decided to investigate the overturned desk that once belonged to Dr. Fossil.

She looked it over, and it appeared to have been overturned in a hurry. The papers and folders that were once stacked on it were still cluttered on the floor around it. 

Turning her attention to the rest of the room, Professor Atlas saw something that caught her eye: A safe that had been built into the ceiling. If she had wanted to hide something as valuable as the lost dialogue somewhere, she would've definitely hidden it in there.

"Daring!"

Daring's head peeked out from behind a bookshelf  "You found it?"She asked eagerly.

"I found a safe on the professor's ceiling! This must be where he hid Plato's Lost Dialogue." Atlas exclaimed, pointing to the ceiling.

Daring trotted over and looked over the desk, spotting the secret locked compartment.

"Huh. Well, that's definitely one of the last places I'd look. This professor guy was pretty clever." Daring remarked, looking up at the safe.

The professor looked at it as well, and raised an eyebrow. "But why is it on the ceiling? I get that he wanted to keep it safe, but how did he think he could get to it?"

Daring thought for a moment. Then she got a realization. "Of course!"

"What?"

"Don't you get it? It makes perfect sense!"

The professor looked confused, so Daring explained.

"All the members of The Court Of The Dark Horn are unicorns! A unicorn wouldn't be able to reach it-

She flew up, swung open the safe and plucked a small, ancient looking collection of parchment in laminated plastic from a shelf in the safe.

She held it aloft. "But a Pegasus could!"

The professor smiled broadly as they looked over the dialogue. It was clearly ancient, with worn and faded scripture lined in rows on its surface. Daring couldn't make out a word of it. But she knew who could.

She gently put the treasure in her satchel. "Come on, lets get this back to Herpy, so he can translate it for us!"

And we'll be one step closer to Atlantis!" She added as they trotted from the room, closing the door behind them.

Not knowing that, in taking Plato's Dialogue from the safe, a small security sensor had tripped and alerted the school's security of the theft.