Logan caught up with the cyan mare just in time to hear her arguing with the explorer pegasus.
“Let me help you!” Rainbow Dash was insisting. “I promise I can be a huge-huge help if you just give me a chance.”
“I. Work. Alone!” Daring Do growled.
Logan poked his head out to spot Rainbow Dash flying over a very irritated looking Daring Do. Unfortunately, he poked his head out just as Rainbow Dash was looking towards him.
“W-What about Logan?” Rainbow Dash asked. “You teamed up with him! Why can’t you team up with me?!”
Daring Do gave Logan a glare. Logan just shrugged.
“Maybe because this time, we don’t have sphinxes trying to claw our faces off,” Logan suggested. He pondered. “Also, because you didn’t exactly show stellar teamwork back there,” he added as an afterthought.
Rainbow Dash glowered at the wolf. “Smooth backup there, buddy,” she spat.
“You stood outside and fan-girled for the first five minutes, and then messed up my plan with the ring!” Logan shot back.
Before the two could start arguing, they noticed Daring Do slinking away. Rainbow Dash raced after her.
"No, c'mon, Daring Do!" Rainbow Dash insisted. "Even Logan knows that sometimes, ponies you can trust can be really useful when you're in a bind!"
Daring Do sighed and turned away from them. “Look, my work always involves secrets,” she told Rainbow Dash. “And since you never know who you can trust, it’s best never to trust any pony!”
“Just because you can’t trust some,” Rainbow Dash insisted. “Doesn’t mean no pony can be trusted.”
Logan’s ears flicked, and he glanced towards Twilight, who was watching the whole thing in nervous silence.
“Look, I don’t have time to argue…” Daring Do tried to protest, but Rainbow Dash shot ahead of her.
“Neither do I!” she replied. “Now let’s go!” she flew off ahead of them. Daring Do rubbed her head with a groan.
“Can’t believe I’m even talking to her…” she muttered before Logan walked up next to her. “Is she always like this?”
“Sometimes, she tries dropping on your head at fifty miles an hour,” Logan deadpanned. “She’s subtle like that.”
Daring Do rolled her eyes, but set off, Logan by her side and Twilight trailing behind.
#
Logan felt his nervousness increase as the sun went down on their travels. With every passing minute, the human got further away. Yet it also sounded like this Ahuizotl guy was bad news as well. Plus, the tracks had been clearly made visible. Maybe if Logan threw the human off by doing this, it would make his trap less of a threat.
At least, that’s how Logan tried to justify it to himself. Still, he was particularly thankful when Twilight stopped him from bumping into Daring Do. Rainbow Dash had set herself down in a bush, and was watching Caballeron and his three minions as they ate from a bale of hay.
“Looks like they decided to have an early dinner before making their way down to the marketplace,” Rainbow Dash reported.
Daring Do said nothing, simply digging into the dirt and rubbing mud on her face.
“Oh, I see,” Rainbow Dash whispered in glee. “You’re gonna ambush them like in book four at the Horavian Caves! O-Or maybe that neat trick you did in Book Three, where you swoop in and knock three guys down in one swing! Or maybe…”
Logan caught Daring Do’s grimace and shut Rainbow Dash’s snout with a click. She continued to mumble something with a nervous laugh, but it was muffled by Logan’s claw. Despite the support, Logan still found himself flicking an ear in disbelief as Daring Do fashioned a fake beard out of leaves and squashed down her pith helmet.
“Real stellar disguise,” Logan deadpanned.
Daring Do just made a face at him before grabbing a jingling bag and striding out into the clearing. The four minions turned to her as she set the bag down, something gold glittering inside that made their jaws drop in awe.
“I have been lead to believe you have something in your possession,” Daring Do said in a gravelly voice. “An item of significant importance that might be… for sale.”
Logan gaped, pointing at her and then at Dash and Twilight, making choked sounds. He wanted to scream to the heavens, “ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?” Yet Rainbow Dash and Twilight continued to watch with awe and wonder. Even worse, Caballeron didn’t even seem to get that his rival was standing there with only a fake beard to disguise her. It was only the fact that it seemed to be working that Logan kept his trap shut.
“Well,” the doctor said. “I did have another buyer lined up, but he’s not here, so…” he gazed on the gold, before offering up the ring. “Sounds like we have a deal.”
Logan flattened his ears, ready to just throw Dash aside and get back to tracking the human. But just then, a roar pierced the air… and a creature that rivaled Discord in strangeness lumbered out.
He had a head that vaguely resembled a dog, except his eyes were where his nostrils should have been. He had dog hind legs and ape-like forearms, with a long, monkey tail with a hand at the end. Gold jewelry covered his shoulders, neck and wound around his tail. And his teeth, fully bared at the ponies, were razor sharp.
“Caballeron!” the beast roared.
Daring Do flinched. “Ahuizotl!” she growled.
The beast extended his tail towards the ponies. “The ring,” he growled.
Caballeron looked between Daring Do and the monster… before throwing the ring into the air, seizing the gold and dashing away. Once again, he was gone in seconds.
Ahuizotl and Daring gaped at the pony’s vanishing act, before turning to each other. Daring flung her fake beard at the beast and scooped up the ring, glowering as the beast roared at her in recognition.
Logan nearly jumped forward, but Twilight and Rainbow Dash held him back.
“Be cool – be cool!” Rainbow Dash insisted. “She’s got this!”
“The ring, Daring Do!” Ahuizotl growled. “Give it to me!”
Daring Do flashed a smirk. “Now, Ahuizotl, you know I love you, but I can’t give you the ring until I’ve properly proposed.”
Logan’s ears flicked and he glanced at his snickering pony companions. “Were they mates?” he asked.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash gaped at him in disgust.
“Ahuizotl and Daring Do?!” Twilight snapped at him. “That’s… I can’t even…”
She was cut off by Ahuizotl laughing.
“Interesting,” he said. “Because my friends here have a proposal of their own."
He snapped his fingers, and five cats strode out of the clearing; a panther, a cheetah, a tiger, a lynx, and… oddly enough a little white kitten. Despite the kitten’s addition, Logan tensed, his back fur spiking even as Daring Do glanced around with a grin.
“Cats,” Logan snarled, as they bore down on the mare. Before Rainbow Dash and Twilight could stop him, Logan charged out of the clearing.
“I HATE CATS ALMOST AS MUCH AS HUMANS!” Logan bellowed, smashing into the tiger and sinking his teeth into the beast’s neck.
Ahuizotl backed up in shock as Logan fell upon the felines, snapping and growling and biting. Daring Do rolled her eyes, but joined in the fray.
Despite Logan’s hatred, he quickly started to find himself overwhelmed. It was only himself and Daring Do against five of the furious felines. Logan’s pack link flared to life, giving them a small advantage, but the felines didn’t need a pack link to work together. They evened out their pounces, nearly catching Logan and Daring Do off guard several times. Logan’s light shields were the only reason they didn’t go down.
And to make matters worse, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were still watching from the sidelines.
“ARE YOU TWO ABSOLUTELY IDIOTIC!” Logan bellowed, rolling the lynx into a kick from Daring Do. “STOP WATCHING AND GET IN THE FIGHT!”
Rainbow Dash, however, only inched forward with Daring Do’s hat, which had fallen off somehow in the scuffle.
“Daring Do!” Rainbow Dash called. “I’ve got your hat! You want me to toss it?”
Daring Do gave her a frustrated glare before getting set upon by the felines, Logan’s shield blasting them away while Logan hurled a bolt at the tiger. Ahuizotl, however, sighted down on Rainbow Dash. Logan’s ears flared as he noticed the beast lunging for the mare.
“Dash, watch it!” Logan yelled, but when he went for Rainbow Dash’s aid, Ahuizotl saw him coming. The beast’s tail lashed around, catching Logan around the face. As his eyes were shut by the massive paw, the pack link faded. With an evil laugh, Ahuizotl threw Logan hard into a tree. His back exploded in pain, and he slid down the bark, struggling to stand.
His vision faded in and out, and a ringing sound filled his ears. Vaguely, Logan made out Rainbow Dash’s words.
“Don’t worry, Daring Do! I’ll come help you!”
Faintly, Logan heard Daring Do’s reply.
“Don’t bother! I’d say you already helped plenty!”
Logan felt his chin get lifted up, and found Twilight Sparkle staring at him.
“Logan?” she asked in concern. “Logan, are you alright?”
Logan pushed her away, and pulled himself to his paws. Everything ached, but he could still stand.
“I… guess that’s an answer on its own,” Twilight admitted, before turning to Rainbow Dash. “What about you, Rainbow Dash? Does it hurt anywhere?”
“In here,” Rainbow Dash admitted, pointing at her heart. “Daring Do and the ring got captured… and it’s all my fault.”
Logan leaned against the tree he had been flung into, glowering as Twilight held her friend close.
“Dash, it was an honest mistake…” she tried to say.
“You mean you both acted like idiots!” Logan snarled.
Twilight glared at him. "Logan..." she started to chastise, but Logan forced himself up.
“No,” he barked. “You both just sat by and watched while Daring Do and I took on that guy alone!”
“She works alone!” Twilight tried to protest.
Logan started to protest, before realizing what he had to say to argue that. His arm slowly lowered, before he sighed.
“So… are you guys just a bunch of hypocrites?” he asked with a grin.
Both of them looked up.
“When I was pushing you guys away, you kept trying to help,” he insisted. “No matter how hard I made it for you guys, you still tried to help.” He glared down at Rainbow Dash. “Now, you’ve got a chance to help your own kind – someone you look up to and admire – and you’re just going to give up?”
Twilight was holding a hoof to her mouth in disbelief. Rainbow Dash, however, still looked dejected.
“Except trying to help got us into this mess in the first place,” Rainbow Dash mumbled. She looked up at Logan. “Just like how me trying to help just sent you on a wild goose chase across Equestria.”
Logan flicked his ears. “What’re you talking about?” he demanded.
“Me! Fighting you!” Dash insisted. “When I wouldn’t leave you alone, you fought me. It loosened Celestia’s collar… let you get to Canterlot. If I had just left you alone, maybe things would have gone differently with the portal. Maybe…” Dash sighed. “I dunno. All I know is that this is twice now that I’ve messed something up when I should have stayed out of it.” She looked back at Logan. “You didn’t want my help. Daring Do doesn’t want my help.” She turned away dejectedly. “Let’s just go home. My hero’s way better off without me.”
Logan and Twilight looked at each other.
“Dash,” Logan said softly. “I would have gotten to Canterlot one way or another. That wasn’t your fault.”
Rainbow Dash still looked down, and Logan approached her.
“You know what you’re doing wrong here,” he asked. “You’re treating Daring Do like a God, when she’s anything but.”
“But…” Dash looked up. “I’ve been such a huge fan…”
“Have you ever considered that there might be ponies or even people out there who are fans of yours?” Logan asked. “How you might feel if one of them started following you around, insisting that they help you at something you’ve been used to handling on your own for so long?”
“But…” Rainbow Dash started to protest, but Logan spoke over her.
“But what?” he demanded. “You’re one of the Elements of Harmony. You beat Nightmare Moon! You beat Discord! Is that something Daring Do can claim?”
Rainbow Dash looked up, as if her mind had been rocked. Twilight stood next to Rainbow Dash.
“It’s fine to look up to Daring Do,” she told Dash. “But you’ve put her on so high of a pedestal, you can’t even see your own worth anymore!”
“Neither of you can,” Logan added, glaring at the two. “An alicorn princess and the fastest pegasus in Ponyville? We can take on this Azure-whoever guy, I know we can! But only if we do it together!” He flared his pack link before looking to Rainbow Dash. “Stop acting like you need to stand back and let Daring Do handle everything. Stop thinking that she’s flawless, and that you don’t mean anything in comparison. This may be her adventure, but if this valley is really in danger, then everyone has to do their part.” He glared at where Daring Do had been taken. “Now, I’m going after that cat-loving maniac, and I’m gonna do what I can to keep this valley from getting destroyed.” He looked back. “But I wouldn’t mind having some ponies who know how these sorts of adventures work come with me.”
Twilight nodded, and strode up to him. “I’m coming with you,” she said, before looking back at Rainbow Dash. “But I’d really appreciate having the Element of Loyalty with me.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes flicked back and forth, before a determined grin spread across her face.
#
The temple Daring Do’s scent led to looked like a giant triangle with odd markings all around it. Logan had very little experience with ancient architecture, but it looked like something a bunch of ancient humans would have built.
While Rainbow Dash ran off to look for Daring Do, Twilight and Logan made their way to the center of the temple, where a rhythmic thumping could be heard.
The alicorn and the wolf headed into a massive central chamber. The sky was open, revealing the sun above. Ahuizotl was raising his hands like he could touch the sun, standing on a golden tower stacked with rings. A staircase led up to the tower, flanked on two sides by several earth ponies in tribal garb and face paint. Some of them were just thumping their spears, but two of them were seconds away from placing the ring.
Acting fast, Logan charged inside and smashed one of the ring-bearers with his body. The ring went flying, and before Ahuizotl could cease laughing, Logan dug his teeth into the beast’s arm. Ahuizotl wailed in pain, toppling off his pedestal before staring in alarm at the wolf biting him.
“Hey there, fur-ball,” Logan growled through a mouthful of fur.
Ahuizotl growled, before his eyes spotted the ring.
“Get the ring!” he commanded the ponies. “Place it, quickly!”
However, Twilight caught the ring before the minions could, and vanished with a flash. Ahuizotl growled before hurling Logan away. While Logan soared through the air, the alicorn reappeared, tossing it to Logan. The wolf caught the ring with his teeth, spinning and knocking aside the minions that rushed him before throwing the ring back to Twilight. From there, the alicorn and wolf played a high stakes game of catch, with Ahuizotl and his minions stuck in the middle while Logan and Twilight blasted, zapped, bucked and clawed them.
While the chaos erupted around them, Logan spotted Daring Do and Rainbow Dash sneaking inside, towards the tower.
“Help me get all these rings off,” Daring Do told her. The two pegasi worked together, removing the rings one by one. But the work was slow; Logan wasn’t sure how heavy those rings were, but as Ahuizotl joined his minions in chasing Logan and Twilight around, the wolf began to doubt that they’d be able to keep the ring away from the beast long enough.
Going for a double blow, Logan spun in the air, hurling the ring like a discus before blasting two bolts of lightning. One knocked Ahuizotl to his back, the other crackled and sparked against the tower. However, Logan cried out in dismay as he saw the tower hadn’t even been scratched by his attack. Daring Do waved him off with a grimace before lugging at the last ring.
“Wolf; don't bother. If we can remove the giant ring at the bottom,” Logan heard Daring Do say, “The whole fortress will collapse.”
“Was this your plan all along?” Rainbow Dash asked, aiding her with the ring.
“I had to find some way to get into the fortress,” Daring Do replied. “Though I didn’t count on how heavy this ring would be.” She shot Rainbow Dash a smile. “Guess having a little help can be handy sometimes.”
Logan grinned. “More than you know…” he commented… only to get blindsided by a hit from Ahuizotl just as Twilight hurled him the ring.
“Logan!” Twilight cried, busy dealing with two other minions.
As Logan hit the ground rolling, Ahuizotl caught the ring with a laugh of victory. A laugh that was quickly cut short as Daring Do and Rainbow Dash got the last ring up and over the tower. An ominous rumbling coursed through the temple, while the tower melted into a pile of sand.
“Guys, run!” Dash yelled. “This place is going down!”
Pulling himself back to his paws, Logan motioned for Twilight, and the alicorn and wolf tore from the temple. Ahuizotl let loose with one final roar of rage before the temple collapsed around him. Logan didn’t look back, however, linking with Twilight and using their combined speed to easily outrun the collapsing temple. Logan grinned as he spotted Rainbow Dash and Daring Do flying above, and chuckled as he heard Ahuizotl's voice one last time.
“Daring Do!” he bellowed. “I will have my revenge!”
“Geez,” Logan commented. “How cheesy can he get?”
Twilight stifled a laugh, while they raced for safety.
#
After disposing of the ring, Logan found his way back to the tracks left behind at Daring Do’s cottage. The mares followed him there, and even though the tracks were much more faded and worn, they were still just prominent enough to follow.
Before Logan could follow after them, he noticed Daring Do and Rainbow Dash hugging.
“Could never have done this without you, Rainbow Dash,” Daring Do said with a grin, before glancing down at Logan. She flapped down next to him. “I was actually curious,” Daring Do noted. “Did you ever find a way back?”
Logan shrugged. “It… didn’t work out the way I expected,” he admitted. “But, I can say that I’m happy where I ended up.”
Daring Do shot a grin up towards Rainbow Dash, who was excitedly talking with Twilight. “Well, you know how to pick your friends,” she replied. “And for what it’s worth…” she extended her hoof. “I’m glad we got to work together again.”
Logan grinned and pressed his paw against her hoof.
“Same here,” Logan replied.
Daring Do sighed.
“Well…” she declared. “I’ve got a book to finish.” She flew back to her cottage, while Logan turned back to the tracks.
“And I’ve got a human to catch,” Logan replied, before Twilight’s voice stopped him.
“Logan,” she called, flapping down next to him. “I know finding the human’s important… but I thought you might like to know what my guards found.”
Logan was tempted to ask her to save it until he found out what the human wanted him to find. But then Rainbow Dash settled next to Twilight. With a glance, back at Daring Do’s cottage, Logan rolled his eyes with a grin.
“Let’s hear what you got,” he said, turning back to them.