//------------------------------//
// Chapter 155: Curse of Daring Do? 
// Story: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
//------------------------------//

Despite his often touted seemingly endless reserves of energy, Braeburn found himself struggling just to keep up with Soarin as the pegasus stallion was speeding along through the Whitetail Woods. "Soarin, could you slow down a little, please?!" Braeburn called. "I only got the four legs to carry me, you know!"

"No can do, Braeburn! This is an emergency, somepony might be in trouble!" Soarin called back.

Braeburn just continued to pant. He wanted nothing more than to stop and catch his breath. "At least do you mind tellin' me why we came all this way out here to the Whitetail Woods?"

"Didn't I already tell you?" Soarin questioned.

The earth pony stallion shook his head. "No. All you said was somethin' about "Daring Do's in trouble!" and then took off without a word."

Soarin groaned in response. "I swear I told you, but I guess I'll have to repeat myself. So pay attention this time: Rainbow Dash is a big Daring Do fan, and she claims that author A. K. Yearling is actually Daring Do in disguise."

Braeburn let out a chuckle at that. "Oh, that's a good one. Although I suppose it would explain why you never see A. K. Yearlin' and Darin' Do in the same place, despite all the times you hear 'bout 'em poppin' up."

"Yeah, so anyway," Soarin coughed into a hoof. "This morning Rainbow came barging into the compound with a newspaper article about A. K. Yearling's 'retirement' or something, and she got all upset. But since she's due to perform in a show in the near future, Captain Spitfire doesn't want her leaving the compound unless it's a family or friendship emergency, which this isn't. So I told her I'd go check it out for myself, and asked for directions to A. K. Yearling's location. Turns out that Twilight's mom is A. K. Yearling's publisher and co-author."

"Funny how I never knew 'bout that before now," Braeburn commented, before he skidded to a halt. "Wait a minute, Soarin. I see what this is really about. You can't stand seein' Rainbow Dash all upset, 'cause you like her."

Soarin skidded to a halt in mid-air and protested with a stutter. "Huh? N-no I don't, don't be silly. Wonderbolts protocols specifically prohibit teammates from being in relationships with each other."

Braeburn arched an eyebrow upward. "Really? That's not what Thunderlane tells me."

The Wonderbolts Co-Captain just growled and grit his teeth. "Whatever! That's not what's important right now! What is important is making sure A. K.'s alright, regardless of who she is or who Rainbow Dash claims she is. Kind of odd that she'd choose to live out in a cottage all by herself though."

"Well unless I'm mistaken, I'd say we've just stumbled onto that there cottage," The earth pony stallion commented as they came to a small clearing in the woods with only a lone cottage with a brick chimney housed within it. "And look, I think that's A. K. now!"

The two stallions dashed over to a nearby window of the cottage and their eyes were drawn to a lone mare with a coat of light gold. She sported a grey hat with a light brown bow, thick red glasses, and a dark purple robe that obscured her lower body (including her cutie mark). Her moderate rose eyes seemed to reflect a look of sadness, regret, and most of all forelonging.

Unaware of her visitors, the mare hung up her hat, revealing a black and dark grey mane. She sighed and hung her head. "I suppose I have no choice, I'll never again take off this cloak and remove these stupid glasses," She said to herself. "Maybe I can go into exile in some other country and start a new," But then she shook her head. "Who am I kidding? They wouldn't want me anymore than anyone here in Equestria would. Seems like I always end up doing more harm than good."

Suddenly there came an urgent knock at the door, and a reluctant A. K. trotted over to answer it. She was more than a little surprised to see that she had visitors, including the easily recognizable Soarin, the co-captain of the Wonderbolts. "Go away!" She angrily hissed. "I just want to be alone with my thoughts and my hopes."

"A. K., come on!" Soarin pleaded. "I'm not here to lure you out of retirement or anything, I just wanted to make sure you're okay. Why in the wide world of Equestria are you giving up? Ponies love Daring Do, and they love you."

A. K. just sighed. "Maybe they still love A. K. Yearling, but they sure don't love Daring Do anymore. They just think she's a menace and a pest."

"What?! Says who?!" Soarin protested. "You're making it sound like Daring Do is a real pony, but that's not true. She's just a fictional pony you made up."

"Though if that's the case then why are you wearin' that long cloak?" Braeburn pondered. "It ain't chilly in here, so throw it off. Unless you got somethin' you're tryin' to hide."

At that A. K. reluctantly spoke up. "I guess it won't hurt to show you two, just this once. It's the last time I'll let anypony see me like this." At that she removed her cloak, revealing a set of wings, and a bushy mane and tail in several shades of black and grey, not to mention a cutie mark depicting a compass rose. Then she removed her glasses and put on a pith helmet, as a well worn green jacket could now be seen on her upper chest.

Soarin and Braeburn both gasped! "No way, you really ARE Daring Do!"

Daring reluctantly nodded. "I was, but not anymore. Surely you read about it in the papers?"

"All I heard was you announcing that your next Daring Do book would be your last, and then you were going to retire, Miss. Yearling," Soarin grumbled. "But it doesn't say why. If you are Daring Do, then shouldn't protecting ancient artifacts and exploring old ruins be more of a priority than your books?"

"Oh it has nothing to do with my books I'm afraid," Daring sighed anew. "On my most recent adventure, while I was battling the evil Ahuizotl in Southern Equestria, I caused quite a bit of damage and destruction. The local newspapers had a field day, just look at the headlines."

Pinned to a nearby wall were various newspaper clippings with headlines that screamed out such things as: Daring Do trashes Somnambula Statue in Southern Equestria, Daring Do leads Bull into China Shop during chase, Daring Do: Hero or Menace?, and even Daring Leaves Trail of Destruction in her Wake: Entire Village left in Shambles.

"So you had a little bit of a collateral damage incident, so what?" Soarin protested. "Are you seriously gonna call it quits just because a few newspapers were looking to stir up discontent? Good news never sells like bad news does, lots of papers do it, it's how they make a profit."

"But it's all true is the problem!" Daring protested with a shake of her head. "What good is it to be Daring Do if all I ever do is cause more messes than the ones I try to fix? Cause more damage trying to prevent a disaster than would've happened had I let it unfold?"

Braeburn only said in reply. "Well what about the villagers? There's no way they're not at least a tiny bit grateful to you for savin' them from whatever evil scheme Ahuizotl had cocked up."

"It's true that if not for me, the entire village would've sank into the ground and vanished," Daring appeared to concede. "But was worth the price the villagers had to pay? I should've been thinking about something besides my glory, besides how I could make the story more invigorating. But all I could think about was living up to the Daring Do namesake, like some kind of superhero."

"So maybe you lost sight just a little about what you were trying to do," Soarin said to Daring. "I bet that if we took a trip down to this village in Southern Equestria and talked to some of the locals, they'd have nothing but praise for you, gratitude for saving their lives."

"And then you can put those negative headlines to rest and come out of retirement," Braeburn boasted. "Easy, peasy, cheesy!"

Daring just sighed anew. "Alright, I guess maybe a trip to Somnambula Village won't hurt anything. But..." She paused and her lips began to quiver. "Maybe it's best if I go in disguise, just to be safe. Nopony down there knows about A. K. Yearling, there aren't any publishing companies that would sell my books. A. K. Yearling won't attract attention the way Daring Do does."

The Wonderbolt Co-Captain appeared to agree. "Fine, you can go in disguise if you want. But once you see how much those villagers admire Daring Do, you won't be needing it."





After a great deal of traveling the trio found themselves trotting onto the sandy soil that defined Somnambula Village in Southern Equestria (the village actually didn't have a name, but for the sake of simplicity ponies had taken to calling it "Somnambula Village").

The disguised Daring shuddered anew at the sights of her unintentional destruction. Villagers all over were sawing wood to create boards for new houses, carts of various vegetation lay overturned and smashed to piece, but worst of all, in the very heart of the village stood a statue that had crumbled at the base. Where there had once been a face of a pegasus pony, there was now nothing but rubble and stone slabs.

Even Braeburn and Soarin had to pause at the horrendous sights that befell them. They hadn't expected things to be anywhere near as bad as this.

"Now do you see why the village hates me so?" Daring growled. "I don't know why I let you talk me into coming back here, there's nothing to learn and nothing has changed. I think the villagers would much prefer it if I just left them in peace to rebuild and get on with their lives. This is exactly why I'm retiring."

"Come on, Daring," Soarin protested. "You can't just give up. Rainbow Dash has always bragged about how amazing you are, about how you've done the impossible time and time again. After all the adventures, after all the close calls, you're calling it quits just because you had a collateral damage problem?"

Daring only hung her head. "If this is the price others have to pay for my adventures, then the world's better off without me. Let some other foolish pony take up the mantle, let them take a crack at it. I'm done with adventures, having or writing!"

Braeburn, however, threw up a hoof and pleaded with Daring. "Come on, you haven't even asked the villagers how they feel yet. You're jumpin' to conclusions," With a smile on his face he suggested to the downtrodden adventurer. "Why don't we have a look around and ask a few locals? We came all this way, might as well tour the village and see the sights, right?"

"I guess," Daring sighed anew. "But don't get your hopes up."





Making their way into the village proper, the outsiders noticed that the natives weren't paying much attention to them. They seemed to be more concerned with rebuilding. A few of them seemed to briefly cast a glance in the trio's direction, but then they went right back to whatever they were previously doing without saying a word.

At last they managed to stumble upon a villager who seemed willing to talk. He was a stallion hard at work repairing his smashed apple cart. "What do you want?" He grumbled to his guests. "Can't you see I'm busy trying to put my life back together?"

"We're sorry to bother you, mister," Soarin politely replied to the merchant. "But I was hoping you could tell me, just briefly, about Daring Do. I hear she's supposed to be this awesome hero."

"Oh she's awesome alright," The merchant remarked. "Awesome at destroying ponies' carts and priceless ancient statues that is! She's hardly any better than the evils she claims to be stopping. We were fine before she came along and we'll be just fine if we never have to see her again."

The Wonderbolt Co-Captain tried to plead with the merchant. "Don't you think you're maybe being a little too hard on her? The village was saved and nopony got hurt, isn't that what's important?"

But the apple merchant growled and snapped in response. "I'll tell you what's important! How are ponies like me supposed to make a living when the only thing we have in life is taken away from us at the hooves of some do gooder?! Just because you don't know what it's like to not have a roof over your head and a warm bed to sleep in, doesn't mean you know what it's like to live solely on the profits of your cart! And that cart gets taken away from you, nothing else matters, you can't make money! And without money, how can a pony hope to make a living?! That's what's important!" At that he turned his back and flicked his tail. "Now kindly leave and don't bother me with your nonsense again!"

A hooded stallion appeared a moment later and pointed a hoof as he chimed in. "You would be wise not to waste your time speaking of 'Daring Do'. For to the ponies of this village, Daring Do is but a menace who destroys everything she touches. Do you not read the papers?!" And then he trotted away as mysteriously as he had appeared.

"Something about that pony sounds vaguely familiar," Daring commented to herself. "But he's right you know. I can't believe I ever thought things would be different in real life. Whoever put you two up to this, tell them that nothing you say or do can change my mind. Daring Do is officially Daring Done! Take that to the papers and enjoy your five seconds of fame!" And she ran off without another word.

"Daring, wait!" Soarin pleaded aloud, forgetting all about trying to maintain her disguise. But it didn't matter, the one he hoped to reach wouldn't acknowledge him or respond to him. She was gone.

"Well, that went well," Braeburn sarcastically remarked as he kicked the dirt with a hoof. "So what exactly are we supposed to do now? It seems like Daring's in quite the funk."

Soarin nodded. "Spitfire and Shining Armor were much the same way when they were going through this, but they weren't so stubborn," He couldn't help but groan. "If I didn't know better I'd swear she and Rainbow Dash were related, they look and act so alike."

"Maybe when this is all over, we can conduct a genealogical research into Daring's background," The earth pony suggested to his friend. "But for now, how do we go about snappin' Daring out of her downtrodden mood? I doubt a party will work for her."

"She's not like Cheese Sandwich, and somehow I don't think it's her birthday or anywhere close to it," The Wonderbolt Co-Captain shook his head. "What she needs is to see that there are ponies who appreciate her for what she's done, ponies who care enough to show appreciation."

"Sounds simple enough. But how do we go about findin' that in a place like this?" The earth pony stallion pondered. "To say we've got our work cut out for us would be an understatement. We're all but up the flooded orchard creek without a paddle."

"Maybe not quite," The stallion with a coat of light blue retorted. "There's one place I can think of where we should be able to find what we need. Rainbow says it's a place Daring likes to stay all the time on her adventures. The Get On Inn! And as luck would have it, it's right here in this village."

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's check out the inn and find the ponies that can help us cheer Daring up!" Braeburn cheered.





It was dark by the time the two stallions located the inn. Compared to the rest of the village it seemed to have escaped the brunt of destruction, and so it was a place that many of the villagers were staying for the time being. It wasn't anything particularly special but it was surprisingly comfortable considering where it was.

Soarin rang the bell at the front desk, figuring it was best to go for the direct approach on this one. A dusty blue coated earth pony mare with a similarly dusty green mane and tail and amber eyes trotted out, sporting blue glasses, a delicate purple robe with white cuffs, and a shimmering necklace of unknown green gems that sparkled even in the light of the inn. "Yeah, yeah, I hear you," She remarked. "The name's Mrs. Trotsworth and I'm the inn keeper. So what can I do for you two? You here to rent a room or something?"

"Actually, we were hopin' you could tell us about Daring Do," Braeburn commented. "Is it true that she's always stayed here durin' her adventures?"

Mrs. Trotsworth just huffed and turned her head. "She used to, but not anymore she doesn't! Wanna know why? Because the last time I had the sense to rent that rascal a room, she was in such a rush to hightail it out of here, she didn't pay her bill! Just took off without even a word, let alone a check!"

"Okay, so maybe that's bad, but I'm sure she had a good reason for it. I mean, she was probably in a rush tryin' to save this town from impendin' doom," Braeburn suggested to Mrs. Trotsworth. "What's the big deal? Just send her the bill, she'll be glad to pay it."

Mrs. Trotsworth only growled. "A lot of good that'll do me now. Not long after she split the scene, a whole bunch of shady looking ruffians showed up and managed to destroy about half the rooms looking for her. I guess she must've ticked them off even more than she did me."

"Are you seriously going to blame Daring Do for something she had no control over?" Soarin complained to the inn keeper. "Seems like you're up to your neck in business right now."

"Yeah, because Daring Do's fight with Ahuizotl rendered nearly half the entire village homeless!" Mrs. Trotsworth complained as she stomped a hoof on the desk. "And you know what's even worse, now I hear that Daring Do's a scoundrel and a thief! I couldn't believe it when I first heard the news, but it seems that's just the straw that broke the camel's back for a lot of ponies!"

Against his better judgement Braeburn decided to ask. "What did she even steal?"

"Why only the thing that everypony in this village values more than life itself," Mrs. Trotsworth explained as she held up her necklace. "This is Glowpaz, and every year since this village was founded, ponies have come to offer up necklaces made of it. All in the hopes of a good future. But it seems that since Daring's last visit, a whole bunch of glowpaz necklaces intended for offering as tribute have 'mysteriously' disappeared without a trace. And don't say it was Ahuizotl, Daring specifically confiscated everything he'd stolen. At least she was decent enough to do that."

"Who told you this?! Give me five minutes with the accuser and I'll get the true story out of 'em!" Soarin demanded.

Mrs. Trotsworth pointed a hoof to a familiar looking hooded stallion. "That stallion claims to have had his glowpaz necklace stolen by Daring Do just yesterday. Found it odd though, he won't tell me his name and I don't remember seeing him here before. If not for the fact that he pays his bill on time, I wouldn't let him hang around."

Soarin (with Braeburn following) trotted over to the stallion as he spoke to a crowd of gathered villagers. "Look at what Daring Do has done to us! She barged uninvited into our town, ransacked it for the sake of her 'adventure', and stole all our glowpaz necklaces. And all for the sake of saving from this Ahuizotl character that never would've bothered us if she weren't frequenting this very inn! If she shows up again, we need to make it clear just what we think of her. Anypony who's interested, meet me at the Somnambula statue tomorrow morning, and we'll discuss how we can ensure that menace gets what she deserves."

A disguised Daring Do could only watch as many of the villagers seemed to rally around the hooded stallion and cheer him on. "Just great," She unhappily sighed as Soarin and Braeburn joined her. "Now I'm getting blamed for things I didn't even do."

"Just so we're clear, you didn't steal from them, correct?" Soarin questioned. "I doubt you would but I want to make sure."

"Of course I didn't steal from them!" Daring protested. "Why would I ever do something like that?! For the longest time this village and the Get On Inn were my home away from home, I could never bring myself to do something so horrible."

Braeburn commented to Daring. "You know what I think? I'm thinkin' that whoever that hooded stallion is has somethin' to do with all of this. Nopony in this village seems to know who he is, and he's the one who claims you stole all the glowpaz even though you didn't."

"Well it doesn't matter, without proof we can't accuse him of anything," Daring sighed. "And unfortunately, that also prevents me from clearing my name."

"Look, Daring, I promise you we'll get this all straightened out in the morning," Soarin reassured the troubled pegasus. "But for now, let's just get a good night's sleep, okay?"

"Besides," Braeburn added. "We kind of have to stay here, 'cause I already ate all the free mini muffins. Couldn't help myself, they were just so irresistible."





And so it was that next morning, Daring Do, Soarin, and Braeburn all made their way to the wrecked Somnambula statue in the center of the village. A huge crowd had gathered to hear the hooded stallion speak, and he continued to rumble and rant on about Daring Do. "What has she done for our town: Nothing! What has she done to repair the damages she's caused: Nothing! What has she left us with: Nothing! It's time we sent that no good Daring Do a message, that menaces such as her will not be tolerated in our fair village!"

At that Soarin leaped up onto the podium and growled. "Listen here, mister! I don't know who you think you are or where you go getting the idea that Daring Do is the worst thing that ever happened to your village!" Looking at the villagers he added. "Daring Do saved your village from sinking into the ground, and the worst that happened was a few houses got damaged and some crummy old statue of an old pony got defaced. Better the village than your lives, wouldn't you all agree?!"

"Yeah!" Braeburn added. "If the whole village sank into the ground you would have nothing left, not even your glowpaz necklaces or your apple carts. Half a village is better than no village at all. After all, it pays to look on the bright side of things. And I have a feelin' whoever it was that was depicted in that there statue would agree."

But just then the apple merchant from the previous day came trotting up and hissed. "You would be wise not to disrespect the legend of Somnambula! For she is whom our village is named after, and whom we erected this statue in honor of! It's why we wear our glowpaz necklaces with pride!" Stomping his hoof down in protest he snarled. "If you wish to tell us what we should be thankful for, first you must understand the history behind the legend of this village. Understand the pony that was Somnambula." And this is the story that the merchant told:

Somnambula was a pegasus mare of medium build defined by her light scarlet coat, innocent and playful grayish violet blue eyes, and a beautiful mane and tail of dark arctic blue and moderate turquoise. Her cutie mark was a simple gold necklace with two pearls on each end. And she was never seen without her white headdress and bluish-white tunic.

When Somnambula was scarcely a mare, her village fell victim to an evil sphinx. Said sphinx demanded most of the villagers' crops as payment. Though Somnambula didn't have much, she used what resources she had to support others and encourage them not to give up hope.

Her example inspired the young Prince Hisan, a not so secret admirer of her. He proudly declared that nopony would ever go hungry again. But when Hisan went out alone to stand up to the sphinx, he was captured and imprisoned in a nearby pyramid! No one would come to his aid. No one that is, except Somnambula. She flew off to Hisan's rescue almost from the moment his capture was made known!

Flying into the pyramid, Somnambula found herself face to face with the sphinx, guarding her prisoner very carefully. The sphinx laid bare her terms, Somnambula would have to answer the sphinx's riddle if she wanted to have any chance of ever seeing the prince again.

"I accept your terms, oh great sphinx," Somnambula had replied. "Now, what is your riddle?"

The sphinx's riddle went like this: "I shine brightest of all in the dark. I am there and yet cannot be seen. To have me costs you absolutely nothing. But to be without me costs you absolutely everything. What am I?"

As Somnambula thought and contemplated, her mind began to drift back to the hardships she and her fellow villagers had to endure. Immediately she knew the answer. "Hope!" She shouted, she felt very proud of herself!

At that the sphinx became enraged! Never before had anypony, anyone solved her riddles! And she got so upset that it seemed she might still refuse to let Hisan go free.

"May I offer a suggestion, sphinx?" Somnambula spoke up. "What if I solve another one of your puzzles? If I do, you let my friend go and never again bother my village. But if I should fail, I will be your prisoner. Either way, Hisan walks out of here a free pony."

The sphinx grinned and chuckled. "Excellent idea, Somnambula. My next puzzle is quite simple. All you have to do to solve it, is walk to the prince."

"That is indeed simple enough, sphinx," Somnambula chuckled. "Your games are quite fun."

"This isn't a game, foolish pony!" The sphinx retorted. "You lucked out on my riddle, but you won't find this puzzle to be so easy!" At that she put a blindfold over Somnambula's face. And when Somnambula tried to fly, she discovered that her wings were useless. "A little extra insurance, Somnambula," The sphinx taunted. "I've cursed this pyramid, so no wings and no horns will work within these walls. Still think you can find your way to the prince without falling into the vat? It may not be corrosive but you still wouldn't want to fall into it." She then gleefully rubbed her paws together.

But even though she was blindfolded, Somnambula refused to give up hope like the sphinx had expected her to. She knew that even without her wings, she was still strong. With the prince's voice as her guide, she made her way across the bridge over the vat. When she reached Hisan the blindfold was lifted, from there was a simple matter to get back across.

Enraged, the sphinx flew away, never to be seen again!

Later, when asked how she'd managed to keep her wits against the dreaded sphinx even while blindfolded, Somnambula explained to the pharaoh that she'd never lost hope, and that hope had guided her through. As thanks for her rescue of him, Hisan replaced Somnambula's pearl necklace (which she had given up to help one of her neighbors buy a loaf of bread) with one made of glowpaz. But these glowpaz were special, they could light up even the darkest of places just as hope could shine through even in the bleakest of situations.

And since that day, even long after Somnambula's mysterious disappearance, ponies continued to flock to her village and offer up glowpaz necklaces as tribute. What had become of Somnambula's glowpaz necklace, no one knew.





"And that is the legend of Somnambula," The apple merchant finished narrating. "So now do you understand why this is so serious? Why it matters so much that this priceless stone statue was so thoughtlessly demolished? And why it matters so much that our glowpaz was stolen?"

Soarin appeared to nod in understanding, before he spoke up. "You're right, it's unfortunate. But don't you see? If Somnambula were here now, she would be thanking Daring Do for having saved the village from Ahuizotl's scheme. For saving it from sinking into the ground. And she wouldn't believe that the same pony who saved her village from certain doom, could be the glowpaz thief. Not without proof."

The villagers all seemed to whisper among themselves in uncertainty.

"You presume to know Somnambula, but in fact you don't!" The hooded stallion coldly hissed as he leaped onto the podium! "Daring Do has ruined countless lives, including my own! And she's a thief, isn't that what matters most?!"

Braeburn joined Soarin on the podium as he pondered. "And just what did Daring Do ever do to you anyway, mister? Sounds to me like you have a grudge against her for somethin' she didn't even do. Who are you to say Daring Do is a thief and a menace?! Nopony here even knows who you are!"

"Who I am isn't important, I'm not the one on trial here!" The hooded stallion protested.

"But I am, because of you!" Daring Do shouted as she removed her disguise and swooped forward onto the podium. "And I think I know who you are, mysterious stallion. Or should I say-" She proceeded to fly around back and lift the stallion's hood, throwing into the air. "Dr. Caballeron!"

A gasp rang out through the crowd as they saw a brownish-gray coated earth pony stallion with a five o'clock shadow appear. He sported a dark arctic bluish-gray mane and tail that looked unpolished and quite messy, cold grayish-green eyes, and a cutie mark depicting a golden skull with a red jewel in its right eye. "Very clever of you, Daring Do!" The fiendish pony hissed. "But how did you see through my disguise?"

"I thought it was odd when I heard your voice coming from that hood, but I couldn't be sure," Daring explained. "I was too distracted by my guilt to think clearly, but when Mrs. Trotsworth mentioned that she'd never seen you before and didn't know who you were I started to get suspicious. Your rant against Soarin confirmed it, only you could be so petty as to have a grudge against me. And I'll bet you've exploited this situation just so you could make me give up!"

Caballeron hissed! "You ruined me, Daring Do! After you snubbed my request to be your partner, the name Caballeron became a disgrace in all archaeological circles! I had to resort to a teaching job just to pay the bills!" Then a grin crept onto his face as the stallion explained. "When I first stumbled upon this village after you had battled with Ahuizotl, I only saw a place to lick my wounds and hope for a fresh start. But then I heard ponies start to grumble about the damage you'd caused, and I saw a chance to smear your good name forever. I'll admit, it was a stroke of genius on my part! To pretend to be somepony else and make the villagers believe you were more of a threat to them than anything else. The funny part was, they all bought it with very little effort. If you hadn't destroyed so much of the town trying to stop Ahuizotl, they wouldn't have been so receptive."

"What have you done with the Glowpaz necklaces?!" Daring demanded of the fiendish Caballeron! "This kind of stuff is exactly why I never wanted you as a partner, you were too greedy! You only cared about exploring ancient ruins and civilizations if you could swipe the artifacts for yourself and sell them to the highest bidder! And I'll bet you're planning to do the same thing to the glowpaz!"

Caballeron just laughed in response. "I've hidden the glowpaz in the pyramid. The necklaces are yours for the taking, if you can them. Oh, and that bit about the sphinx's curse? It's real, there will be no flying at all inside that pyramid. So good luck!"

"You won't get away with this, Caballeron! This time you've gone too far!" The pegasus mare retorted. "I'll retrieve the glowpaz necklaces, and then I'm coming back for you!"

"No, Daring!" Soarin protested. "You and Braeburn can handle the pyramid, I'll take care of the real scoundrel and thief! Caballeron's not going anywhere on my watch!"

Braeburn nodded and then shouted to Daring Do. "Come on, Daring! We've got glowpaz to retrieve."

"But how will we ever find it all in time? That pyramid is vast, and without my wings it'll take much longer to explore every inch of it," Daring protested. "We could be in there for days."

Braeburn just chuckled. "You can't give up hope so easily, Daring. Somnambula didn't give up hope when that sphinx was starin' her down, and Soarin and I didn't give up hope of provin' you innocent. So we just have to maintain hope, and that hope shall guide us through. Besides, Caballeron's an earth pony, he couldn't have hidden the glowpaz anywhere too extreme."





And Braeburn was right. Although it took a great deal of searching, he and Daring Do managed to find all the missing glowpaz necklaces inside the pyramid before long. And when they came out they found that an entire flock of Wonderbolts reserves had shown up, no doubt at Soarin's request.

Said reserves were leading the disgraced Dr. Caballeron away, cuffs applied to his front hooves as he sat in a carriage. As the carriage departed he could be heard declaring. "You haven't seen the last of me, Daring Do! Someday, everypony will see you the same way I do! A pony who ruins the lives of others!"

Braeburn and Soarin gave Daring a great big hug when that evening she told them. "I think I was a little premature to give up the pith helmet and call it quits. If I'm not around to protect villages from the likes of Ahuizotl and Dr. Caballeron, I doubt anypony will be able to just step up and take over the reigns right away," But then she added. "But I've also learned that even when you set out to do good, you're still responsible for the consequences of your actions."

"But when things start to go bad, it pays to remember not to give up on yourself or lose hope," Braeburn chimed in. "What's important is that you strive to right the wrong you did and make amends."

Soarin grinned. "Be sure to add that into your next book. You don't have to mention the two of us if you like, probably best if most ponies still believe you're just a fictional character."

Daring nodded. "So I take it I can trust you two to keep the secret that A. K. Yearling and Daring Do are one and the same?"

"Our lips are sealed." Braeburn and Soarin said together.