//------------------------------// // Back on the Job // Story: Fraternal // by Melody Song //------------------------------// Daring went into the living room and stared at the map, trying to find out where she could have gone wrong. Rainbow came in with a towel around her neck and her mane still dripping from her shower. "What are you doing?" Rainbow asked, sitting down by her friend. "Trying to make sense of this map. The path I followed ended with nothing. There's got to be something I'm missing, some clue, something." Daring muttered. Rainbow leaned over and looked at it too. "I've seen that writing before." Rainbow pointed to what Daring had thought was meaningless scribbles on the corner. "It's Old Ponish, Twilight's obsessed with it." "Do you think she could translate it?" "Of course. She brags about it." Rainbow rolled her eyes. Daring stood and rolled up the map. "I'll fly down and find her. I assume she lives in the big crystal palace?" "Well, she is a Princess." Rainbow replied. Daring went to grab her cloak and left for the castle. -------------------------------------------------------- Daring entered the royal castle. She looked around and went down the hallway, peeking into a room to find Princess Twilight reading in the library. "Princess?" she looked up "Daring! What are you doing here?" Princess Twilight asked, putting her book aside. "I need your help. Any idea what this says?" Daring held it out. "Well, let's have a look." Princess Twilight took the map and scanned the writing. "Well, this is pretty simple-to translate, that is. It says: beyond the secret grotto there will be a treasured globe. It will be buried beneath two beams, that only the foretold two may lift without harm. Take the path until you reach a stone hinge." "Great, that gets me nowhere. Back to the drawing board." Daring sighed. She took a quill and spare piece of paper from the inner pocket of her cloak and jotted down the riddle. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more help." "It's not your fault." "Would you like to stay here? I may be able to help." "No, I'm staying with Dash. She was the one who figured out this was Old Ponish, maybe she has some ideas." Daring replied, tucking the map safely back into her cloak. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Daring went into Rainbow's house instantly, too frustrated to worry about possible visitors. She flopped down onto the couch and pulled the map back out. "Stupid directions. What the hay is 'stone hinge' supposed to mean?" "Did you say Ponehenge?" Rainbow asked, coming in. She had a book tucked under her wing. "No, stone hinge. Princess Twilight translated the writing, but it's just a weird riddle-type thing." Daring explained, taking out the paper she'd written the translation on and tossing it to Rainbow. Rainbow looked down at it and then back up at Daring. "What's so difficult about understanding this?" "It's not that it's difficult...it's just... I get the instructions, but the 'foretold two' and 'stone hinge'. I guess my heart's not in it." "Daring Do, you have rescued countless ancient artifacts from the grips of countless villains! You can handle a little map!" Rainbow said, shaking her. "Okay! Okay! I'll look at it again just let go!" Daring said, voice shaking. Rainbow let go of her. "Sorry." Rainbow said, and Daring sighed, straightening her shirt. "It's fine. Now, what the hay do you think this means?" Daring asked "Maybe the stone hinge is supposed to be a stone in the ground. That's a doorway into where the Sphere is." Rainbow suggested "I think you're on to something. You don't happen to have a map of Equestria, do you?" "Maybe? I borrowed one from Twi a while back to see where The Mustang Marathon takes place. I don't remember if I returned it, one sec." Rainbow sped out of the room and returned with a rolled up map. "I did have it. I should probably give it back." "Let me see it." Daring unrolled the map and laid the map to the Sphere on top of it, lining up the landmarks so they fit together. "If you line up the maps with each other, and angle it to point North..." Daring began, turning both maps. "Then the destination would be..." Rainbow added. They both laid their hooves on the same spot. "Here!" they cried, looking at each other and laughing. "So, where in Equestria is it?" Daring asked, lifting the map to the Sphere to see where the spot would be. "The edge of Horseshoe Bay! Right at the hooked part near Hayseed Swamp! That's why I didn't find anything! I was in the wrong place!" Daring exclaimed, flopping backwards into the couch. "So, how soon do you set out for the treasure?!" Rainbow asked eagerly. "You mean; how soon do we set out for the treasure." Daring replied with a grin, and Rainbow gasped. "Seriously?! You'd let me come along?" "Sure, you helped me with this, and you've saved my flank more than one time." Daring replied "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" Rainbow squealed, grabbing onto the mare and hugging her tightly. "You're welcome. But we'd better rest up tonight, looks like we have a long flight ahead of us." Daring replied, chuckling.