"Okay," Daring rolled out the uncharted map of the island on a stump for all three kongs to see.

After a few hours of rest and a quick dip in the water to wash off the shedded blue fur of the seven-tails, the adventurous pegasus was ready to go after the Earth Temple.

"So far," She pulled out the three fanged keys from her backpack and pierced the blue gem into a section of the map, "the Water Temple was found here. This is where the Fire Temple was at," she stabbed the red fang in the other end of the map as well. She took the last fang and jammed the green jewel in a section of the map to finish up, "And this is where the Wind Temple was discovered. As you can see, each temple has a specific corner that they cover on the island."

The three primates intensely watched the golden mare's hoof as she pointed to the locations on the map.

"Judging by the positions, I can deduce the location for the next Earth Temple. So the next place I'm going to head for is... here!"

All three of them looked at where she pointed, taking a moment to envision the place she was talking about.

And then they started bouncing everywhere, screeching in mass hysteria like they lost all common sense of restraint.

Daring was backing up confused at the whole situation, "What's with all the monkey business?"

DK planted his hand on the pony's head and kept it still as he lowered himself to an even eye level with her. With a serious look on his face, he shook his head 'no' at her.

Diddy and Dixie chimed in with the answer. The monkey pulled his shirt collar over his head and began waving his arms, while the chimp threw her hair over her face and stood there motionless. They straightened themselves back up and shivered their bodies.

"So there's something about that place that scares you." from what Daring understood. She looked over at the sun, now starting to set for the night to arrive. Her gaze trailed off when considering in postponing or not. "...............no. I've come this far, and I'm not going to let something spooky scare me away."

The kongs began chattering amongst themselves while Daring took the keys that they've already gathered and shoved them into her backpack

"Ohho ho." DK got the mare's attention. All three of them were standing in attendance with the gorilla of the group placed his hands on their shoulders.

Daring made another assumption on their gestures, "Are you implying that all three of you are coming along?" With a nod from all three of them, the mare was at the loss of words. True that she could use some company and she was anticipating that one of them would tag along, but all three?

The mare gave a huff at their nuisance, "Alright, let's head out." she said with a smile.

A full moon was swimming in a sea of stars above them by the time they reached the general location of the expected temple. The shine of the moonlight kept the group's vision clear for the sandy-brown path they traveled, as well the environment they found themselves in. Tropical goldenrod plants made up the majority of the bushes that they brushed aside, sprinkled with mint and violet flowers growing in them. A moist scent was in the air, giving a feeling of Autumn was about; and the smell of the many rotting trees could be picked up by their noses. Many of them were tall, thin trunks that were waiting to fall over at any moment; but some of them were fat and stout oaks. The gang passed by one such tree and the moon reviled a horrendous sight of an odious looking face on the trunk.

The kongs jumped back by the frightening sight with a screech of surprise. Daring though, wasn't very intimidated, "Oh, come on guys. It's just a funny looking tree." DK loosened his tie, Diddy legs were shaking, and Dixie was gripping Diddy's arm for protection. "Relax. This forest may look creepy, but there's nothing to be afraid abo-" she froze solid the moment she spotted a silky web of a spider's, "W-w-w-w-w-we should just focus on finding the temple."

An hour went by as they wandered about, searching for a structure of any sorts. And they eventually noticed something.

Fauna became more sparse the deeper they went. The soil looked pretty ugly and sandy, no place for plants to grow from. Yet there were trees and bushes that still decided to take root here, but the lack of nutrients in the ground made them look very unhealthy and appear as if they were dying.

They followed the trail of rotting plants and their interlude of wandering aimlessly came to an end when a structure was spotted. The team crossed a wide barren yard, stricken of any form of life growing around the three story building. They walked up to a decaying temple, one that felt reminiscent of a basilica. Its age was shown by the cracked sandstone material they used to construct it. Columns, arches, and even parts of the walls have fallen from the flax colored ruin.

Daring Do used what little light she had from the moon to find something specific. The thing that she has found at every temple thus far, and she found it chiseled next to the frame of the door; an inscription.

Earth, the destination of life.

Stiff, not making sound; we ___________________________

____________________________________________________________________ them to achieve.

Their __________________ strife, but the soil will ___________

She groaned at the sight of the crumbled wall, "Years of exposure to the weather have broken off parts of the message. All I can get from it, is that this temple is associating itself with the departed."

"This may get pretty ugly, guys." the mare truthfully informed the kongs. "We'll need to stay sharp and keep our wits about us if we want to find the last key." She looked at the kongs with a perturbed look on her face, "You guys ready?"

An elated looked crossed the pony's face, but suddenly found this situation ironic. Not too long ago, she was trying to work with them as little as possible; finding them as nothing more than a nuisance. But now, she was actually enjoying the involvement; even hoping for their help on many more things now.

Daring held back a small chortle to the entire situation, "I've been putting a lot more faith in them lately."

She peered over to the broken inscription, then up at the basilica temple that she was about to enter.

The four explorers traversed into a large collapsing room. Beams of light were cast by the moon above through the various openings in the ceiling. Bricks and rubble scattered the tiled floor, resting among the glowing yellow mushrooms found growing between the cracks of the surface. Dried roots had broken apart the bricks of the wall, forming cracks as it climbed it's way up. A single window loomed over the entrance, allowing an airflow through the temple and making it bone-chillingly cold. Fallen arches and tipped pillars were everywhere; leaving only the imagination a vague hint of what this place once looked like.

"The area looks unsteady." Daring commented, only to have it confirmed by the sound of gravel rustling to the vibration in her voice. She sucked in her lips the moment some dust appeared in the moonlight. "Okay guys," she whispered to the kongs, "Try to be as quiet as possible until we get to the next room."

Gazing across the room, three passages were hiding under large stone arches for the team to take; the one in the left corner, the one in the right corner, and the one in the center. Slowly they walked over the bricks and stones that have fallen in their path. Despite what little light they had peering inside, they hardly could see where they were going. Daring shuffled her hooves across the floor, getting a feel on the surfaces before she took a step forward. She clanked the front of her hoof on solid rock, it didn't hurt thanks to the hard keratin layer that covers everypony's hooves. For the soft toes of a primate's on the other hand...

Everycreature looked at Diddy, who's holding his toe from accidentally hitting it against a fallen brick. All of them froze in place as the sound of gravel rustling was heard. A pile of it poured from the ceiling next to them and dust floated in the air towards Daring.

"............." All four of them gave out a heavy sigh, relieved that she held back the convulsion.

The room vibrated and began collapsing in upon itself. Daring eyeballed the right cornered path and took action. "DOWN THE HALL! QUICK!!!" informed the mare to her companions before galloping hastefully toward the corridor. She side stepped to the left as rubble nearly missed toppling over her and winched after feeling some stones hitting her. Daring hopped and dove at the hall, skidding inside a dust cloud as she did. The sound of the falling debris behind her slowly began to settle and she flapped the dust away to view that the entrance was now blocked.

Daring perked her head up, scanning the area for any presences of the kongs, yet she found that she was the only one around. "Where did they.... THEY DIDN'T!!!!" She placed her ear against the debris, "ANYMONKEY THERE?"

She listened for a sound. Scratch, thud, voice, anything that told her that something was underneath the pile.

".......I'm not hearing anything. Did they happen to go down a different hallway during that collapse?" She leaned back, recollecting her thoughts on the whole predicament. "There's no point in worrying about it if that's the case. I'm sure we'll meet up eventually if I just continue searching for the last key."

Daring placed the thought aside and proceeded down the hall with careful attentiveness.

As the hallway ended into the corner of another chamber, Daring took a moment to view the place that was lit only by the moonlight that squeezed through the cracks in the ceiling. Lifeless roots have climbed up the crumbing wall towards a window to the outside world. A messy floor laid before her of stone blocks, toppled columns, and illuminating shrooms. Other than the absence of an exit and the fact that the roof was shorter, it looked no different from the room before her to be honest, there were even two similar passages found on the left wall; one in the center and the other in the corner.

Daring knitted her brows, bamboozled at the similarities. With nothing to examine within the room, she took the center hallway.

The pony trotted the passage, listening to the echoes of her hoofsteps hitting on the hard stone surface.

Daring stopped her pacing to the intruding sound. She glanced at the floor, it was a dirt patch. Sliding her gaze upwards, the floor alterated between soil patches and brick layers the further down the passage went. "Strange," thought the mare, "I would've understood if bits and pieces of soil appeared from degrading tile cracks, but the patches of dirt look deliberately made. About two yards of dirt followed by six yards of tiles."

Her eyes stared off into space, flickering about for an answer at this bizarre choice in design. Daring suddenly caught sight of the room up ahead, it was covered in luster from the moonlight. She crept closer to the chamber, watching the dust particles dancing in the lunar beam.

Daring suddenly squinted her eyes, "What's that?" Using her wings, she flew over and scooped it up into her hooves. It was a red fabric with two yellow letters on it, 'D' and 'K'. "What's this doing here?" the mare questioned the tie she held, noting that it still had it's loop to it. She planted her hooves on the squared soil of dirt, surrounded by a tiled floor like the border to a photograph. The room had four passages, each at the center of their own individual walls. Looking up, the mare stared at the hole in the ceiling; giving her viewing access to the moon looming above. With it shining down on her, Daring felt like she was in the center spotlight of a play. "That orb can really make you feel small in the world." She felt some tiny pressures around her ankles and upon viewing the cause, she was alarmed to see that she was submerging into the soil.

She panicked at the sudden surprise of sinking. It felt like quicksand, but it was engulfing her at a much faster pace. It reached her knees before Daring desperately flapped her wings to escape. Her feathers were skimming across the weak surface as she steadily began to lift herself up. Her wings were still a bit sore from the strain she placed on them this morning during her escape from the wind temple, but she gritted through the pain.

Daring plopped out of the soil and flew towards the door ahead; relieved to find a solid brick surface to land on. She wiped her forehead with the cloth she held in her hoof, "A couple inches more deeper and I might've bitten it."

Her patting of the fabric slowed down when she comprehended something. A notion that made her body feel colder the more she interpreted it. She looked at the red tie and slowly panned her sight over to the quicksand that she found it on.

Entangled within emotions of conjecture, shock, denial, despair; Daring was struggling at accepting any of them. ".............no." she shook her head, "There's no way that could possibly be the case." She stuffed the tie into her backpack next to the glowing green crystals she got earlier today.

"I'm sure he just dropped it." she told herself, yet her thoughts wouldn't relent on accepting the answer she believed was most likely true.

Minutes passed as Daring continued down the reverberating hallway. Her hooves were going at a steady beat, sounding each time as they hit the floor.

Daring quickened her pacing, reaching the end of the hall to discover that Diddy and Dixie were in that room arguing.

Each of them were pointing at a path, too engrossed in their bantering with each other to even notice the mare approaching them.

Daring took a second to review the surroundings of the place the three of them stood in.

It was another basic looking room that appeared no different than the first and second rooms she was in. Moonlight seeping through cracks, glowing mushrooms scattered the floor, dried roots on the cracked wall, a window to let the air through, and even three paths to choose from; one on the left of Daring, one on the right of her which Dixie was gesturing towards, and the one where she just came from that Diddy is pointing to.

"This is starting to become quite unorthodox." Daring commented on the pattern she's noticing with these chambers.

Daring refocused on the two kongs arguing about which path they should take. "Ahem." The mare broke their quarrel by clearing her throat. She was then noticed greeted by two over-ecstatic kongs with flips, spins, and rolls coming from them. "I take it that you guys took the path on the left when the ceiling was collapsing." she got a confirming nod from them. Daring pointed to the passage on her left, "Which I'm guessing lead you coming out of that hall." and received another round of nodding. "Well I just came out from the hall behind me, so let's stick together and head down the one on the right."

Dixie gave a proud smile that they'll be going down the path she wanted, leaving Diddy to motorboat his lips in defeat.

They did as suggested and began to tread down the hall with Daring leading the way. The walk was silent, leaving that nerving thought on the pony's mind to get even worse. "I shouldn't tell them," she thought, "not until I'm certain." Daring tried to shake the thought with something else, "So, did you guys have any trouble while we were separated? Any traps that you stumbled upon?"

"That's good to hear," she spoke before going into thought, "But it's starting to worry me. Besides the accident in the first room, I've only encountered one snare out of four rooms and halls. Where are all the traps? Did they malfunction over the years of poor preservation?" Daring placed a hoof to her mouth, "If it did or didn't, this is starting to become too easy." The good fortune only made her shiver, she couldn't shake the feeling that danger was just around the corner. "I'm starting to understand why the kongs fear this area."

Once they'd reached the end of the corridor, they were treated with something that didn't surprise Daring; a room that looked no different from the prior one.

The kongs began to argue on which path should be taken. However, Daring tuned them out as she began to think this through. "If I had to guess, Dixie's path will just lead us to another room like this one." The pony groaned from this entire ordeal, "The arrangement of these rooms are just making us go in circles. It's almost like they want us to take the center path. .........maybe.........did I miss something there?" Daring thought very carefully on what that 'something' may have been.

"We'll take the center," Daring spoke before their bickering got too out of hand. A spark of confidence twinkled in the mare's eyes, "I believe I know where we need to go."

After another stroll through the corridor, the trio arrived at the center room. It was just the same as she left it; open skylight, simple space, and a patch of dirt surrounded by stone tiles. Daring spread a wing in front of the two, "The ground is sinkable here."

"There must've been something that I overlooked here," the puzzled mare stated aloud, "but what?"

Diddy twerked his head about the surrounding area. The layered brick walls had nothing but cracks on them, the tiles didn't sport anything but dust, there just wasn't anything that stood within the empty room. The monkey gave Daring a raised eyebrow, expressing the doubtfulness of her statement.

"I know that it seems unlikely, but the layout of this place has been nothing but unconventional. Instead of a complexing labyrinth or a straight forward path of tests, this place is built like a diamond. Majority of these rooms have three paths to choose from. Every time we choose a left or right path, we enter into another room just like the one before; but whenever we choose the middle path, we end up here."

"Eh ehhe hee ehheh?" Dixie asked the pony, proceeding by grabbing her beret and using it to wave a gust of wind at the golden mare.

Daring considered her actions for a moment, ".........are you asking about this being anything like the wind temple?"

The chimp nodded, leaving the pony amused that she used her own method of association against her.

"I don't think this is the same trick they're trying to pull on us as they did then. All the temples have been playing off a theme that associates with life in some way." Her gaze drifted off as she recalled the events up to now.

"Water comes off as something our ancestors must've gone through, where they were stubborn enough to continue forward, even if they were sent back into the water."

"Fire pushed us with physical tests, a survival of the fittest which rewarded us for our victory at being dominant."

"Wind made us go in circles aimlessly, until we learned from our mistakes and followed a path we were certain on; like a puzzling situation found in everyday life."

"Now for Earth, the inscription at the entrance said it was the destination of life. Life only has one destination that all living creatures share. No matter how you dance around it, you'll eventually have to confront it. And when you do, you....." Her eyes slowly peered over the section of soil that could bury anycreature in minutes.

"......alright you two," the kongs looked over to her, "I want the both of you to find the exit and head back home."

The primates glimpsed at each other, sharing the same uncertain look on their faces.

"I have a hunch on how to progress, but it's a little bit crazy." She pondered for a moment, ".....okay, completely crazy. And I don't want you guys getting yourselves killed from an oversight I made. Elysium knows that I've had more than enough of that for one day, but if I'm right, I'll be coming back with more than just the last key,"

The mare took a moment to collect herself and to find the strength for the ultimate test. She held her breath and with a leap of faith, Daring hopped on the sinkable soil, and started to feel herself being pulled down.

"I'll be fine," she reassured the kongs to settle their nerves, yet it did little to calm her own anxiety on the issue. "I'm curtain this is the way to the key, but to put so much faith in a deathtrap that you would have to gamble your life?"

She was flank deep into the ground and all of Daring's instincts were barking at her to get out, yet she bit her lip to overcome that nerve. She felt her heart beats climbing up her throat, getting stronger as it tried to warn her of the impending doom she was getting herself in. Daring glanced over to her worried companions before tilting her chin up, taking one last breath of air before completely submerging into the ground.

Everything was muffled around her; nothing but the grinding of the soil could be heard. She was too constrained to move and could only feel her veins pulsing within the cold ground.

The only thing that was going through Daring Do's mind at that time, was that she made a grave mistake.

Her thoughts couldn't focus on anything else, until her hooves suddenly felt heavy. The legs soon followed; she could feel them suspended in the air. Relief rushed over her the more she felt in control of her body again. She suddenly felt this sensation rush over her as the rest of herself slipped out of the soil and fell a short distance to another floor.

She felt free to move again and was able to breath in some fresh air; it didn't feel very fresh to her, nevertheless, she thanked whatever deity that was watching over her. When she opened her eyes, her vision didn't get any better. Nothing could be seen within the pitch black room, though the soft yet firm floor told her that she was laying on dirt soil. She patted the ground as she got up, but her eyes just couldn't adjust to the darkness.

"It's such a relief that my hunch was correct, but it looks like I plucked my wings on this one. It's so dark down here," Daring thought to herself. ".....wait a minute!"

The pegasus scrounged through her backpack and saw what she was looking for; the only thing she could see, two green illuminating crystals. Daring pulled out one and the room brightened up a little in a green hue. The room was very average looking for an old structure; brick walls, dirt floor, but the one thing that stood out was that the ceiling was much shorter to the ground than the room above. At best, she could only get about three or four hooves of air before hitting her head. The ceiling itself was made up of layered bricks that looked solidly locked together with one another. There appeared to be a section on the ceiling that was framing a patch of soil, more than likely the place where she fell through. "There's no way I'll be getting back through there, it's too restrictive to swim my way up. How does it even stay up there when it acts like quicksand? Is it magic? Polypeptides maybe?"

Her eyes glided around the room and she spotted a door frame leading to another area. She traversed towards it and found a wide stretched area that had columns holding up the floor above in a row that went down her left and right sides. Daring headed left, observing small hubs not much different from the one she fell in. The lack of any artifacts or defining features the rooms had caused a chill to quiver across the mare's body. It appeared to her that she was probably an old prison of sorts, but after reaching a wall at the end of the long hall, she was certain that she was currently in an ancient monastery.

Before her was a wall that had a badly aged mural of a kremling. The croc's appearance came off as being middle-aged, showing a dignified look on his face that seeked for a distinct sign of respect from the viewer. His heels pressed together as his elbows were to his side and the arms open up to reveal what he was holding, a mirror in one claw and an open book in the other. He's portrayed in a garden filled with trees tethered with bells, shrubs growing pomegranates, and an open gate with a key still in the lock. They all lead up back to the kremling's face, showing off a golden circle behind his head.

Daring was getting an impression from what this mural was telling her, but once she noticed the Crocodian inscription at the bottom, her suspicions became clear.

The Enlightenment of Mulungu

"Mulungu, huh?" She took a step back and got another good look at the Kremling, "With all those symbols the image holds, it must've been the idea of the century."

Daring's ears suddenly flapped to the sound of heavy pounding echoing through the chamber. She scanned the area as the sound was getting louder, as if it was approaching her. It didn't take long to figure out what, or rather 'who', was making the sound as they came screeching to a halt in front of her. With a little hop and the pounding of their chest, they push out a clenched hand in front of the mare; giving the invitation to have a fist/hoof bump with DK.

She was relieved to see the familiar face and a very lively one at that, "You really know how to make somepony worried." Daring indulged him by bumping her hoof on his fist, "It's nice to see that you're okay. You must've been stumbling around in the dark down here," she commented, getting a confirmed head bob in response.

Daring noticed that something was different about the kong's appearance. It then struck her and she reached for her backpack, "Here, you lost your tie." Daring tossed it to the gorilla and she watched him slip it on, noticing how close DK was to the ceiling; he would've been brushing his head on the roof if he wasn't resting on his knuckles. His height also made his face pretty dark from the lack of light as well.

"While I'm at it," she reached in her bag again and pulled out the other glowing crystal she had with her. "Take this, it'll be easier if we both have our own source of light."

"Come on," spoke Daring as she proceeded down the tunnel, "the last fang must be somewhere down here. And I'm not leaving until I find it."

Traveling through the darkness of the temple's basement, their discoveries were pretty underwhelming. Rooms were empty and sight was limited to a few hooves around them. It was at times like these that conversation would be their only retreat from boredom and the dead silence that surrounded them.

"So out of curiosity," the Daring began with, "what do those letters on your tie mean anyway?"

She had to carry most of the conversation for the two of them, "Do they stand for a brand?"

His expression looked puzzled for a moment, but shook to confirm that it wasn't.

"Hmm..... Well here's a shot in the dark," she found some irony in that; given her surroundings, "But are they initials to your full name?"

"They are!? Well this is going to be difficult. I wonder what your name could be?" She took a long look at him, analyzing his features to arrive at the first name that came to her head. "Well...... given that you wear a tie and the fact that you seem to be the more older and watchful type out of your friends, I'm guessing..... Daddy Kong?"

"Look, I can't understand what you're saying, pal. So trying to tell me you name would be near impossible for me to get." The gorilla didn't let that stop him and he started making gestures along with his chanting. Fist clenches, chest beats, ground slaps; all of it didn't leave any form of a hint to understanding what his name could've been. "Um.... Dobby Kong? Dinkly Kong? Dinkey Kong? Sorry, but I don't know what you're trying to get across."

"I'm kinda tempted to suggest Doofus King." Daring thought, finding that these persisting attempts were starting to become irritating. "Stubborn ape."

As she watched the kong's efforts, a shimmer beyond him suddenly was caught in her gaze. "Hey, there's something glinting over there."

They approached the glimmer with caution, finding another light source down there was enough to take precaution. A reflection? Some threat? It wasn't clear, but it was at a low ground level. And upon arriving at the illumination, they discover that embedded into the soil, was a glowing yellow citrine.

"It might be half buried, but this must be the last fanged key we need." Daring commented "It's a jewel, it's glowing, I'm positive that this is what we're looking for." The mare took the first step forward and the two travelers heard a snap beneath them. Lifting her hoof, they viewed the rotting wooden poles that the mare stepped on. Amongst them were stone bowls, all forming a decent sized circle around the jewel. "If I had to guess," Daring considered, "these used to be torch lamps. And judging by the formation they were laid out, they prized this gem with great respect; which begs the question, 'Why is it embedded into the ground?'"

Her eyes focused solely on the planted key in the center of the arrangement, she wasn't going to let the fact that this gem being sacred stop her from taking it. Not after all the effort she put on this excavation.

Daring gently laid a hoof within the circle. She was still cautious of any traps that might activate, but It was a firm dirt patch so it left little for her to worry about. The golden pegasus stretched out her right wing around the citrine, "On three...."

It came bursting out of the ground and latched tightly on Daring's wing. She hastily recoiled her appendage back and felt a lingering sensation that it was just scratched by something sharp. They didn't have time to identify what it was before something else shot out of the ground, holding the citrine key within a cold white hand. It revealed what they were facing as a head popped out of the ground. It let the gravel slide down its kremling face and stared a crimson glow shone from each of its eye sockets. It opened its slack-jawed mouth and gave a piercing sharp screech, befitting for the skeleton that it was.

Daring took a step back, staying cautious as the pile of bones dragged itself out of the ground. The mare has met skeletal remains from many creatures on her journeys before, but this was the first one that decided to move on its own. She glanced at the gem it held in its claw, holding it like a torch that gave a rusted look on its boned body. The jewel was suddenly gripped by another hand; a fleshed skinned hand belonging to DK. With one mighty swing, he whipped the citrine and flung off the skeleton; letting it fly towards a pillar and breaking it into pieces upon impact. And just like that, it was already over with.

The kong turned and handed the jewel to the surprised Daring, "Um.... thanks." She took the key and brushed some of the contents of her bag aside to make room for it. "Well this was certainly easy," Her movement broke to a sudden halt. Eyes widening and pupils shrinking; her blood suddenly turned cold when it hit her, "Too easy."

Dirt patches flew up from the ground as dozens of skeleton hands broke through the floor. The limbs slammed the surface and began pulling the rest of their bodies out from the soil. All of them started screeching at the two adventurers, with mouths full of razor sharp teeth ready to clamp down on them. The mare and kong steadily walked themselves back to the wall, watching uneasily at the number of skeletons that were appearing. They were like weeds that continued to sprout out of the ground with no sign of stopping. Fifteen were staggering towards them, twelve were climbing out of the dirt, and the slack-jawed one that was thrown was beginning to rebuild itself.

"My sentiments exactly," Daring replied to the gorilla. With no end in sight on how many there's gonna be for this self repairing army, Daring thought now would be an appropriate time to make an ungraceful retreat. "But to where?" she thought, "We can't escape from the way we fell in and we've been down the entirety of this passage and saw nothing that'll lead us out of this decaying temple."

Her eyes darted around to what her options were, though her choices were very limited due to her vision in the dark place. The only things she could see were the approaching skeletons and the kong that loomed over her. The sight of his posture caught her attention; noticing just how he was hunched over from the low ceiling. "Try breaking the roof," Daring asked of DK before returning her gaze back at the group that was cornering them, "I'll deal with these guys."

Daring gripped her illuminating crystal in her mouth and DK began to pouch and ram at the ceiling; holding onto his own crystal as he did.

"There may be a lot of them, but they're still just a pile of bones," thought the golden-furred mare. Her reactions were put to the test as the first skeleton swung a claw down at her. She hopped back, letting the sharp talons pass by; then she charged in low and snatched its left femur bone with her wing. It topped over, but Daring was too focused on the next skeleton on the right. She swept a roundhouse kick to its head, spinning the skull around aimlessly. Another came from the left and her eyes caught the skeleton on the far right ignoring her and heading for DK. She avoided the left one's scratch attack by bashing it's claws off with the femur bone she stole, then flung it at the right one to topple it over. The sound of gravel shifting below her caught her attention, and she briskly stomped a sprouting skull back into the ground.

But the skull continued to rise against the pegasus' hoof and more boneheads were appearing out of the shadows. Daring felt a tug on her hind leg, the first skeleton she took down was crawled on its pelvis and had her in its grasp.

Daring's ears made her turn to the sound of rocks crumbling behind her. DK covered his head as the ceiling collapsed above him, but what was revealed was unfortunately a layer of dirt and another skeleton climbing out of it. A screech from a skeleton brought Daring's attention back to the matter at hand and she whipped it back. Her face was suddenly slapped by one of them and she lost her grip on the illuminating crystal. It goes flying into the hoard and gets lost amongst them. Her vision of the skeletons faded to only the red glow in their eyes; hardly enough for her to see them when they attacked.

Daring whipped her leg free and flew over to DK, holding the only illuminating crystal they had to see with. She landed on his back, completely indecisive on their next strategy at getting out of there.

The skeletons approached ever closer to the gorilla. He extended a wide back hand to brush them away, but some held onto and even bit the kong. DK whipped his arm frantically and succeeded at flinging it off.

Daring growled at this entire situation, "I just can't think of any other way of escaping other than breaking through the ceiling. One section of this fallen down temple must be weak enough that'll allow us back to the top-floor, but we can't search every brick with these guys on us." She was biting her lip, nearly to the point of puncturing. And then an idea suddenly got into her head.

She leaned over the kong's shoulder and brushed the feathers of her wing on his nose.

The sound reverberated within the passage, and the cracking of bones and stones soon followed after. Daring bobbed her head up towards the sound as DK brushed away another line of skeletons. It was in the darkness but it couldn't have been missed; a beam of moonlight pouring down from the ceiling on their right.

There were dozens of skeletons blocking the duo from their destination in the dark shadows. DK mowed through them to the best of his efforts by sweeping them aside, but many of those swings only gave the skeletons something to grab on. Hundreds of bone pieces clung to his fur, slowing down his escape and trying to drag him down lower to the floor. Daring didn't let this go unnoticed, she pounced and kicked the bone on and around him.

They battered through roughly forty skeletons in the short travel they made, and yet the kremling remains still didn't relent their assault. The two stood under the weak ceiling and DK wasted no time at gyrating his arm and smashing through the through. A wide hole was made from the fallen debris, leading to another part of the temple which the duo hastily flew and climbed through.

Shaking off the few bones that straggled onto them, the two took note that they were in one of the four rooms that surround the center. The area was completely lit by moonlight casting through the singular window of the room. They've been in this place for a couple of hours now.

"Oh hoo." DK handed back the crystal that helped light the way below, back to Daring.

She stuffed it in her bag looking pleased, "That was an experience I never want to go through again." Daring gave one more glance at the skeletons that growled at their out of reach targets. "Let's get outta here before we end up like our friends in the basement. I'm sure those two must be worried sick about us."

Daring and DK froze at the sudden screech they heard coming down the center hall. The tension of what it was made them consider that they weren't out of trouble yet. They focused on the hall, observing the rays of light pouring through cracks and openings of fallen bricks. The sound of footsteps was echoing down the path and it was getting louder with brief flashes of something approaching. And to their surprise, two frightened kongs came hurdling down the hall towards them.

"Diddy? Dixie?" the gorilla and mare relaxed at the sight of the two, "What are you guys still doing here?"

They both start chanting ballistically, too agitated to even greet the two of them in an appropriate manner. The young kongs tried to pull the other two by an arm and foreleg.

*Sͭ҉̖̗̬̯͚̫͟Ķ̼͕͉̯̠̲͈̍ͪ́̉̋̌̑͌͞Ȩ͍̫͉̫̜̜͍ͬ̾E̵͕̥̿ͫ̏̏͜Ě̥͎̰̙͇̜̼̑͞Ė̐͊̌͏̛̪̬E͈̼̦̻͓ͧ̋̊͛̓̂̑̚E̷̸̹̟̠̠͓̠̖͑͌͛̑ͮ̾̊ͤE̱͉̥̫̘ͦͪ̑̿ͪ̂͋̀E͎̫̞̗͇̔̿̄H̸̭̼̯̳̦̀̈ͧ̿̓̅ͨͮ̀*

They heard another screech coming down the hall, but it sounded a lot more unfriendlier. Bits and pieces of its bony body were being relieved as it stept into the rays of moonlight. Its screeches rumbled the walls of the temple with a sound that came off as a rusty sword being scrapped on a chalkboard. It seemed to be getting taller with each step it took until its head displayed under the ceiling opening, relieving itself to be a twelve hoof tall skeleton; big enough that it was scraping it's head across the ceiling.

"Yeah, I'd run from that too." Daring concurred with the two of them. "Something that size isn't worth the hassle." her eyes darted to the sides and saw the two available hallways to choose from. "Head to the left!" Daring instructed and darted for the path. They suddenly stopped from noticing a collapsed ceiling at the other end of the hall. Daring hesitated, reconsidering on a different escape route. "Um... the right path!" they weaved to said passage and froze at the sight of a gigantic skeleton hand shooting up from one of the soil sections in the hall.

The four of them steadily backed off at the skinless creature climbing towards them.

"What now?" muttered Daring amongst the group. Their heads quirked everywhere in search of an escape route, and with a screech from Dixie, they found their salvation. Like a guiding light source, the moon peeking through the window behind them was showing them the way. Practically telling them to climb the dried roots that led up to it and slip outside.

"Head up there! GO!!!" ordered the mare before returning her gaze at the two giants approaching. Daring flew at them and began flying around like a pesky insect. Gliding between their legs and weaving around arm swings; just to keep them occupied for the others to make their escape.

DK locked his fingers together for his two kong pals to step on and get launched up at the window. One went through shortly before the other, leaving DK to climb up the dead roots towards the opening.

One of the giants caught a glimpse of the ape escaping and began staggering toward it. "HEY! Your fight is with me, bonehead!" yelled Daring. She swooped in and gave the skeleton a mighty kick on its head. The pony immediately regretted it as the impact shook throughout her body; it didn't even phase bonehead at all, "Well somecreature has been drinking their milk." She averted her eyes back at the other skeleton and saw its claw swinging down on her. It was undodgeable, Daring quickly reacted and scrunched herself up to make as little of space as possible. She positioned herself and slipped between the giant's bony hand and let it slam on the other skeleton's head with an impact strong enough to push it aside.

The ray of moonlight suddenly vanished, a clear sign to Daring that DK must've reached the window. It was now her turn to leave and the pegasus flew towards it, but was suddenly met with another roadblock. Kicking and dangling his legs in the air, DK was stuck in the window.

Daring groaned and tried pushing him through, but he wouldn't budge. "Come on. Come on. We don't have time for this." the mare spoke in an apprehensive tone. Daring looked back with an intense look of dread at the skeleton stretching out to grab them. "QUIT MONKEYING AROUND!!!" she yelled at DK and with a strong mighty strike, she bucked his butt through the window.

She immediately flew through the opening and felt a grip on her tail. Daring planted her legs on the outside wall as she was being pulled back. She placed pressure on her legs, gritted her teeth and clenched her eyes shut as she fought the hold on her tail. Daring winced at the pain she felt of her hair strands being pulled out, but she broke free and literally came rolling to the ground outside.

Daring's eyes were spinning by that rollout. She could see nine kongs spinning around her, looking between her and the hoard of skeletons that separated them. Daring steadied her vision and the nine kongs synced together into the three primate she knew; but the skeletons didn't. She jumped to her hooves and joined the kongs at witnessing the horrific sight of a horde of at least three hundred skeletons staggering towards them. The glow coming from each of their eye sockets were enough to tell the adventurers that they were planning to make this place their grave.

The mare and kongs steadily moved back at the approaching army. Daring was rattling her brain on how to get out of this one, "I could easily fly over these numbskulls and would have no trouble with caring Dixie, and perhaps Diddy as well, but carrying an 800 pound gorilla would be out of the question." She noticed that the four of them were slowly getting cornered against the temple they just escaped from, "Charging through them is our best option, but it'll be suicide to go against this many." Daring and the kongs bump against the barren surface of the outside wall, too preoccupied at the swarm that made threatening scratches and jaw snaps at them. "Climbing up the wall doesn't seem possible, and breaking it down would only lead us back to meeting those two giants again."

It seemed like a hopeless situation to the pegasis, but she was determined not to go down without a fight. Daring zipped forward and struck underneath a skeleton's jaw. She was then clawed and flew back with her vest ripped in four tears. Diddy and Dixie went in to give her backup. DK however....

"OOOO-HOOOOOO!!!" He yelled, pounding his chest with a furious look on his face and began to drum the dirt with the loud slamming of his palms.

"What are you doing!?" Daring asked, guarding a swipe with her helmet before returning the favor with a headbutt.

"WHY ARE YO-" Her memory suddenly interrupted her, recalling a time where DK was also doing something irrational during a tight situation. "The Water Temple. You were also clapping then. Are you trying to summon something?" She stood on her hind legs and punched a bonehead, "No offence DK, but I highly doubt that there is anycreature you can call that'll help us against an army of skele-" The word Daring wanted to say refused to leave her throat from the sight she was seeing.

Up ahead, skeletons were being tossed through the air by something that was plowing towards them. So many bones were going about that it made it difficult to tell what it was. She felt the tremors in the ground from this thing as it was approaching. Her ears perked as it bellowed and hopped back when this bulky creature entered the circle. It slowed down next to DK for him to jump on its gray skinned back. From the hooved feet that it scrapped in the dirt and large sharp horn that it had at the end of it's snout, it became obvious to Daring that the creature DK was calling for, was a rhinoceros.

Diddy quickly climbed on top of DK's back and Dixie hopped on Daring's. With a loud snort, the rhinoceros plowed through the hoard again with Daring flying overhead. It was like watching a plow brushing the fallen snow away, though the sound of cracking bones instead of crunching snow was a little off putting. The boneheads tried to stop the quadruped tank, but its thick skin just brushed off any scratches or bites they tried inflicting upon it.

Daring shook her head in disbelief, "To think we were in a bind a moment ago. I should really consider on learning some calls of my own if something like that ever happens again."

The rhino blew out of the horde and kept going into the jungle that started to look livelier the further they went. "AAAWOOOOO-HOOOOOOO!!!" All three of the kongs cried out at their freedom from the hoard.

With this victory, they had all of the fangs needed to enter that underground temple. An anticipating thrill filled the mare's spirit with a sense of giddiness one could gain from waiting for a holiday to arrive or knowing a secret that others don't. "With all of the fangs in our possession, we have nothing to worry about K. Rool or Ahuizotl getting an advantage over us. We hold all the keys, there's nothing they can take from us now."

Daring Do and the Tie Wearing Kong

by Amereep

Earth Temple's Grave