The stiffness was beginning to set in. Daring Do sat back, leaning in an uncomfortable chair that had clearly been sat in many hundreds of thousands of times and then not sat in for many years, perhaps even decades. Her wings hurt, and despite her overall physical fitness, the altitude was beginning to take its toll. Despite her best efforts to suppress the symptoms, Daring Do could not help but feel nauseous and weak. Had she been as young as Rainbow Dash, she would have been able to weather the chance with ease; now, though, it would take some time.
Pursuing accommodations had not been easy. There were no inns on the mountain, as the ponies and goats who lived there hated outsiders with a passion. The normal procedure would have been to set up camp outside the village, but carrying all the necessary equipment would be impossible.
It had taken every ounce of charisma she had- -and at least two thirds of the money she had on her, the rest going to warm clothing for her and Rainbow Dash- -to even get a chance to negotiate with a mildly sympathetic Pegasus mare. She had charged a ridiculous sum for what amounted to a long-abandoned, barely furnished house that listed several degrees on a cracked foundation. Even then, Daring Do was sure she would not have been successful had it not been for White. Apparently, the ponies of this area found a silent, pure-white mare with synthetic, unblinking eyes to be extremely unnerving and intimidating.
While considering this, the pony in question entered the room through a crooked, rotting doorframe. Rainbow Dash followed behind her, a strange frown on her face. Daring Do immediately understood why. White had just come back from a bath, and although her mane and wings had become adorably poofy, it was the first time Daring Do had seen her without her armor. White was even younger than she had initially expected, and was gangly and thin. Her body was perfect white but marked with a number of scars. Many of them were perfectly straight and even, the result of countless surgeries. Many others, though, were not.
What Daring Do found the most heartbreaking, though, was not the presence of a scar but the lack of something else. Despite having been enlisted as a soldier and tasked to violently and knowingly destroy most of a city block along with every pony within it, White had not yet acquired her cutie mark.
White paused, turning toward Daring Do, staring at her questioningly. The pause was brief, but Daring Do noticed a strange mark on her right shoulder. She had a barcode.
As quickly as she had paused, White suddenly rushed forward toward the sputtering fire in the hearth. She immediately burrowed underneath a large pile of musty blankets, squirmed for a moment, and then rose up through them so that only her face was exposed. She then proceeded to sit quietly and cheerfully, reveling in her warmth.
Rainbow Dash had also come back from the bath, although she had not become nearly as poofy. In fact, she had tied her mane back with surprising skill. As soon as she entered, she approached the pile of coats and warm-weather gear that Daring Do had just purchased. She began to put it on.
“What are you doing?”
“What? You said we’re going up to the ruins, right? To see the castle?”
“To inspect it for clues to what happened to the last Exmoor pony,” reminded Daring Do. “And look out the window.” She pointed. “It’s dark out.”
“That’s just because the sun went behind the peak. There’s still two hours of daylight left.”
“Maybe. But it’s not safe to be on the mountain after dark.”
“I’m trained in night-flying. I can even do instruments only. Without any instruments.”
“I’m not doubting your flying skills. I’m doubting your judgement. This mountain is ancient. Old places like this tend to have things living in them. Things you don’t want to encounter in the night.”
“But Caballeron- -”
“Already has the Spear. And I can guarantee the Hand of Doom isn’t here. There is no logical reason for him to be here.”
“That’s not what I mean! He’s getting ahead! If he gets to it first- -all of Equestria will be in danger!”
“You don’t need to be dramatic. We still don’t know what it actually does. And I’d bet Caballeron doesn’t either. Although…” Although, she thought to herself, if he had already obtained the Spear of Extinction, there was a strong possibility that he also had a map. He could be there at that very moment, about to claim victory and recover the artifact first. Daring Do found the thought infuriating, but even more so was the fact that she would gladly have climbed the mountain in the dead of a moonless night, regardless of barbegazas, yuki-onas, yeti, even stray wendigoes. If only she had been a little younger. If only the journey just to get there had not been so hard on her.
“I’m not going until morning,” she said. “I need to check the translation one more time, and go through my back-notes about the Spear of Extinction.” That was an excuse, although probably not a lie. As tired as she was, Daring Do doubted she would be able to sleep. “But I will be there as soon as Celestia begins to raise the sun.”
“But…I already put my boots on!”
“You’re going to have to take them off anyway. First socks, then coat, then boots, it doesn’t work any other way.”
“Wait…why would I need socks if I’m not going up the mountain.” Rainbow Dash suddenly blushed profusely. “You don’t mean- -”
“No,” frowned Daring Do. “I don’t. I mean, you’re quick enough that you can at least scout the mountain before dark. But don’t go into any ruins or crypts or any of that stuff without me. Just walk around. Take a look. Try to get an appreciation for our history. It really is a beautiful place and it really inspired me when I was your age.”
Rainbow Dash gasped but continued to blush. “You were here- -when you were MY age?”
“I’m assuming your eighteen or nineteen so yeah. I guess it’s better if you see it alone the first time. I’ll be with you tomorrow to do a more thorough search.”
Rainbow Dash most likely could not have looked more overjoyed. Daring Do had never seen a pony put on winter clothing so fast, and she saw little more than a rainbow-colored door as Rainbow Dash shot out of the door. Before she slammed it behind her, she said something along the lines of: “ThankyousomuchI’lldoexactlythatbebackintwohoursthreetops!”
Daring Do paused for several seconds as the rainbow-colored substance that made up the blur began to precipitate and drift to the floor. There was no need to ask what it was, as Daring Do did not want to know. Instead, she sat up in her chair and with a great deal of arthritic pain stood.
“White,” she said. The albino Pegasus turned her face toward Daring Do, keeping the rest of herself swaddled in blankets. “Do you like hot chocolate?”
White’s artificial eyes- -which were already massive- -widened even more. She gasped audibly despite not having vocal cords, and began to salivate visibly. Daring Do took that as a “yes”.