//------------------------------//
// When rivals care for each other. 
// Story: What If?... 
// by RandomFics271197 
//------------------------------//

It all happen when Daring Do was recovering a new treasure. Someponies told her that she should think before enter that dungeon, who was the fifth dangerous dungeon known in Equestria. But that didn't stop her from trying. She had entered that dungeon and in the first step she made a huge saw blad come out from the ceiling, almost slicing her skin. She had ducked in time as she gulped and thought "I need to be more careful.". As she continued her track, she noticed that some traps were activated and signs of other presence, made her think "Could Dr.Cabbarellon be here?". She proceeded with caution, until she found a giant door with encrypted scripts. She tried to solve that puzzle and with a little effort she successufully completed the challenge. The giant door started to open, revealing it shiny interior. In the middle of that giant room was her trophy, the most valuable and shiny gem all over Equestria. She stepped in and fly towards it. Finally, she reached her trophy, she used her hoof to grab it, but because the pedestral lost it's weight, the whole dungeon started to shacking and some of it structure was collapsing, pillars started to fall down, the ceiling was collapsing. She rushed to an exit, but one trap activated. That trap hitted her right wing, percing throught her flesh making a large cut and made her lose sensability on her right wing. She cried in pain and collapse on the stone floor, she couldn't move, she felt her vision starting to blur and started to feel cold around her body. Then everything became darker.



Ahuizotl who was in that dungeon looking for the same thing that Daring Do was after. 

"Come on, guys. We need to find that before her." he ordered.

His followers nodded and followed his track.

Suddenly they felt the dungeon shacking and saw it starting to collapse. 

"Let's get out of here. There's no use to proceed forward if we don't gone to made it."

They started to rush towards the exit when one of his followers yelled.

"Look, boss. Over there. It's Daring Do. And the gem, she had the gem." he said while pointing to Daring Do.

"But she isn't moving. Something happen. Rush to the exit. I'll get the gem." he said.

His followers nodded while rushing towards the exit.

He started to run towards her body, when the ceiling above her collapsed and made his way towards her body. He rushed 
towards it to try to stop it. He used his front legs to hold the rock firmly and then he throws it away. He started to look for the gem, when he felt something wet of his paws. He looked at his paws and saw blood. 

'Did she...?'. He gazed over her body and saw that she had been wounded by some kind of spike trap, 'Damn you, Daring Do. You had to get yourself hurt like this'. He then heard her whimper and saw her body shacking. 

'Where's the damn gem?'. He then felt the ground beneath him was shacking. 'This is gone to collapse.'. He gazed over Daring Do's body. 'Would I let her die like this?'. 

Then he stepped on something, he looked down and saw it. 'The gem is finally mine.'. Suddenly the ground beneath him started to collapse. 'Daring Do. See you next time. Another time maybe.'. 

He started to rush towards the exit, but...



His followers who were outside, started to worry about him. When they decided to enter to see if he was ok. The whole dungeon collapse.

"BOSS!!" they yelled.

They started to look at each other when one of them pointed to a silhouette. When it started coming closer, it revealed itself.

"Boss, you made it." they shouted.

He smiled. "Of course.".

He decided to show them the gem that he retrieved. It was so shiny, it could make them billionaires. A sudden whimper made them stop their thinking when all of the sudden, Ahuizotl showed them his tail, revealing her.

"Daring Do?" one of them asked. "Are you crazy? You could let her die in there."

"Hey. We might be rivals. But let her die, like that isn't just my way." he said

They looked at him with an unbelief look.

"And since when you care for someone."

"I don't care. The only one that's allowed to kill her it's me." he said

They decided to stop arguing with him because it was no use.

Then they started to trot towards their home.

'Just don't...die now. Her body is so cold. And... and... she... is... cute.' Ahuizotl said to himself.



When Ahuizotl arrived at his home, he trotted towards his house. Signaling to his followers that they could return back to their respective houses, they nodded and left him alone.

He opened his house door and trotted towards his living room. He then, gently dropped her on his couch and decided to light the campfire, so she would warmed up a little bit. Finally with his campfire lit and her body well placed on his couch, he trotted towards his bedroom to gather his first aid kit.

After some minutes, her body was half tended. When he heard her whimper again and saw her stroking her eyes.

Daring Do opened her eyes and started to look around. 'Where am I?'. Then she stroked her eyes and felt a comfortable heat around her body. 

She looked around once more and saw him coming towards her.

"Ahuizotl? What, Where am I?" she asked.

She tried to move but it was painful, she gazed over the source of her pain and saw that 'thing'.

"What happens? Why are this things all over my body?" she asked

"You activated a spike trap. It pierced through your right wing and your skin." he said. "I saw you. I...I..."

"Did you saved me?" she asked. "Why? Weren't we enemies or something?"

"Yes, we are. But, I saw you like that. I could just let you die there, but I... couldn't I..." he answered, while having difficulty to find the right words. "I couldn't let you die there. The only one that's allowed to kill you it's me. I wouldn't let anything take that chance from me."

She trembled and shacked by his recent words. "But, but... If you wanted to kill me. Why are you tending me? I mean you could just finish the job."

"For you, it's easy to say, isn't it?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" she asked

"We both know what I am talking about. Or maybe you need a drawing." he said. "You're the only one, who keeps me in this kind of competition. I wasn't like this before. I lived here. You were responsible for our competition. You keep me from doing this. Trying to surpass you. Don't you understand? The last thing I want it's you getting hurt because of our competition."

"I...I..." she tried to find the right words but she failed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"It's ok." he said. "Let me finish my current task."

She nodded, as she lets him tending her last wounds.

"There you go. Now, maybe one to two weeks and your wing it's back to normal." he said. "Oh, I almost forgot." he turned around a grabbed a bag. "Here, this might belongs to you." he said while taking the gem out of his bag.

She looked at the gem and said.

"Wait, wait, wait. Why are you giving me this?" she asked while feeling strange about his recent behavior.

"Look. You almost got killed because of this thing. And besides I can find another treasure while you're recovering." he said.

He delivered the gem to her and lead her towards the exit.

"Now, you just get past through this little forest and you will find Everfree Forest. Then you just move towards your home. Ok?" he said.

"Thanks." she said.

She signal to him to came closer to her and gave him a little kiss on his cheek. "Maybe you aren't the guy that I thought you were?"

She trotted towards the tribe frontal exit and signal a goodbye to him.

'Gah. Females, always the same.' he said to himself. 

He entered his house again and spotted that she had forgot her hat. 'Seriously. She forgot this. Maybe she will came back when she realized that she isn't hearing a hat.'

He grabbed her hat and something touched his mind. 'Oh fu... I almost forgot that she is still bleeding and that could attract some creatures.'

He rushed out of his house, then he realized that she might be not too far from there, he rushed out of his home and followed after Daring Do.



Daring Do was trotting through the forest, when she heard some familiar voices.

"What do we have here?" it asked

She turned her head back and saw Dr. Caballeron, right behind her.

"Give us that gem." he ordered. 

Then he looked at her body and laughed. "Did, Ms. Do hurt herself, while getting this trophy?" he asked

"Stay away." she said. "If you want this. You had to catch me first." she rushed through the dense forest.

"After her." he ordered.

She had kept running and running, but because she was wounded she couldn't keep her pace.

Then she had to stop, because her escape route had come to an end. There's no way to proceed. 'Why? Why there has to be a cliff everytime I try to run away?'

She heard some movements behind her, Caballeron and his man had reached her position.

"End of the line, Ms. Do." he said. "Give me the gem."

"Never." she said. "Stay away. Or I will drop it."

"Why would you drop such valuable trophy, Ms.Do?" he asked

She then looked over the shiny gem, seeing this as an opportunity Caballeron charged towards her.

She noticed that he had moved and used her back legs to knock him off.

"OW." he said. "Alright. Ms.Do. I know how to play this game too." he said

He reached his tool bag to get his adventurer knife and threatened her.

"Give me the gem. You probably won't want to lose your other wing would you?"

She gasps and said.

"Never."

"Alright." he said

He charged over her, she tried to not use her hooves to stop him.

With a sling he slashed through her left wing, receiving a cry from her.

"I told you." he said while smiling and laughing at her most recent pain. "Now give me it."

"You crazy, you..."

"Next time I won't target your wing. Last chance, Ms.Do. Give me the gem." he said

She showed him up her tongue.

"What's so funny? Oh, well. Night Night, Ms.Do."

He charged towards her again. She closed her eyes trying to not see the following events.

When all of the sudden she heard him grunt and saw a huge body in front of her.

Caballeron got up on his hooves again, started to rub his chin.

"What the...?" he said. "Ahuizotl? What are you..."

"Touch her again and I will make you regret." he said

"What are you talking about?" Caballeron asked. "You, both of you. Get him."

His man started to charge in his direction. With a flick of his tail, he pushes them back.

"Just leave her alone, and nobody will get hurt." he said.

"You would think that I'm going away without my treasure." Caballeron said

He nodded, then he turned around.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded, then she yelled and pointed. "Watch out. He's..."

Ahuizotl turned his head back and saw that Caballeron was charging at him, he tried to react but was slashed in the process. He used his tail to send his knife away. 

He used his tail to make him fall. "Did I need to tell you that isn't gentlecolt enough to attack somepony from behind?"

He then throws him away, that made him run away.

"Just don't show up to me again." he said

He turned his head back to see that she had been hurt again.

"Why? I...I..." she said.

"What were you thinking? You were hurt. He could have killed you." he said.

"I couldn't just give him the gem like that. I..."

He sighed and said.

"Can you walk towards your home?" he asked

She nodded.

"Then let's go. May I accompany you?" he proposed. "You're hurt. Something can happen to you."

She nodded. "I mean if you don't mind."

"Of course not." he said



They headed towards her cottage that stood between the woods.

When they get closer to it, Daring Do looked at him and said

"Thanks for this... trip. I mean... I don't know if I could call if a trip, but thank you." she said

"It's ok, Ms.Do" he said. "Now, that I know where you live. Maybe I will came back to see if your wing is ok or you could go to a doctor."

"I trust you, just don't broke it. Don't try anything."

"Wow.WowWow. Privacy life is a thing, competition is other. Just don't misunderstanding things."

"Look, I want you to have this." she reached her bag and took out the gem. "For helping me out. Consider it a gift."

"Are you serious?" he asked while looked at her unbelief.

"Yup" she said while delivering the gem to him. "Just don't make me regret it."

She leaned in and give in a little nuzzle on his chest. 

"We will see ourselves around." she said while slowly trotting towards her cottage. "Until next time, Ahuizotl." 

"Wait." he said. "There's something you forgot you my house." he reached his bag and take out her hat. "Here you go."

He used his tail to place it on her head.

"Thanks. I will see you around." she said while closing her cottage door.

Ahuizotl turned back and started to trot back to his home.



Ahuizotl arrived at his village, he trotted in his house direction. While inside of his house, he placed the gem on the living room.

"'Consider it a gift.'. Maybe this will work out." he said while leaving the gem inside of a yellow jade box. "I won't trade this for anything."

THE END