Dear Idea Works and Design Works:
Long time, no write! It's been a while since we talked about my next novel, and it would seem the muse has struck again. Between my husband returning to teach university and my kids getting old enough to handle themselves (despite my better judgement), I'm happy to say that I've still got some books in me. I know it's only been a year or so since you published Daring Do and the Rise of Marelantis, but I'm just too impatient to quit.
I've attached a preview chapter, to whet your appetites. The setup is simple: Daring Do has traveled to the Unexplored West in order to hunt down an artifact of ancient Equestria; Grogar's Bell. Or, one of them. Stories say he had multiple lesser bells besides the famous one. A lot of my story ideas were inspired by some government excavation work I was asked to help with, so if something sounds familiar to something else you've read in the papers, that would explain it.
And that's the Bell Daring's after, when she's caught by a mad cult led by an even madder pony, Wilspur Wheatley, who plans on using the Bell to steal Grogar's dark power.
I hope you enjoy it, as it was a lot of fun coming up with. Especially the cameos. Aren't my kids amazing writers too?
Hope you two enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Signed, your friend,
AK Yearling
Daring Do awoke suddenly as a bucket of cold water was splashed unceremoniously into her face. She sputtered and shook her sopping mane, bleary-eyed, but instantly ready for action.
Touch came back first, out of all her senses. Daring could feel the hard, cold bell pressed up against her back, and the tightly wrapped ropes holding her against it. Even her wings were pinned to her side.
Sound was next. She could hear water dripping somewhere far off, just audible over the chorus of birdsong and rustling greenery.
This was quickly confirmed as Daring's sight came back. Her mind was already trying to take in the surroundings, which seemed to mostly include a dark, ruined temple covered in moss, with blown-out windows that once might have held stain-glass mosaics. The whole place had that feel, that appearance she'd seen a thousand times before, one of rot and decay so old that even the Princesses would be taken aback.
Smell was last to return.
Did they hit her with filtered water?
Across from Daring, even as she struggled in her wakening, she could see her captors smirk. There were six of them at the moment, though from her groggy memories of the fight, she could remember more. Four of them were dressed in black, all-concealing robes. Typical of cults, Daring supposed, even though it was obvious they were all unicorns from their uncovered horns.
But at the front of this menacing crowd {eh, more of a gaggle, some word-choice options helpful} stood two figures Daring knew she'd seen before. The first was a stallion, dressed in black robes, yet crowned with a crown hat mantle helm made from a ram's horns.
But the other, a young mare dressed in a matching red fedora and trenchcoat, drew Daring's ire instantly.
"Carmare Sandeneighgo," she growled, "We meet again!"
The infamous thief and criminal mastermind, and secretly the daughter of Daring Do and her once-rival, Dr Caballeron, {I know this ship isn't that popular in the fandom, but I'm sticking to it for authorial vision. Also, if you're worried about legal, never fear! I've already obtained permission for Carmare's cameo appearance from her creator, my older daughter Zaldia} began to say something nefarious, Daring had no doubt, when the ram-horn-crowned cultist stepped forward.
"Excuse me!" he declared in a haughty, entitled voice that Daring found immensely familiar, "But I was the one who founded this cult! You shall speak to me! Daring Do!" he somewhat added her name to the end as an afterthought.
Daring rolled her eyes. Villains these days were drama princesses. Adding way too many exclamation points to their monologues.
"I don't even know you," Daring pointed out without being able to point, "Though, I suspect you're the ones who stole Kagrenicker's Tools!"
"Guilty as charged!" the stallion laughed, villanously {drawing a blank on better adverbs}. "And I knew, where an evil cult had stolen rare artifacts, there would be Daring Do to the rescue! Exactly as planned!"
Daring frowned, "You planned on me kicking your butts and stopping you?"
"What?" the stallion seemed confused, "N-no! It was my intention to capture you! That you might be the first sacrificed to Grogar upon his return! When I strike the Great Bell, the Heart of Lavan, the veil will be torn asunder, and Grogar the Great shall return once more!"
Daring stared at the mad cultist, and was unimpressed. "Okay, question."
Carmare snickered, knowing all too well where this was headed.
"Why sacrifice me?" Daring shook her head slowly, for emphasis, "I've dealt with all sorts of evil cults, weird artifacts, and spooky ruins before, but nothing related to Grogar. So, why me?"
"Erm..." the cult leader paused a moment, thinking.
But Daring wasn't waiting that long!
"Seems a bit personal, if you ask me. And what's that about bringing Grogar back? You do realize he's already back, right?"
One of the other cloaked figures tilted their head to one side, whispering to one of their compatriots in a heavy Canterlot accent, "Uh, wait... is that true?"
"Idiots!" their leader snapped, black lightning suddenly crackling between the horns of his helm, "She's trying to confuse you! Grogar awaits his Chosen in the void beyond!"
Daring chuckled, "Nah! He's probably helping Sugarcube Corner out with their latest order. Or, he's reading to his grandfoal. Or, he's playing poker with the other retirees at the home. You guys do get the newspaper out here, don't'cha?" {No, I'm not being paid a sponsorship to mention Sugarcube Corner. I just like the joint.}
The cult leader snorted, and strode forward. With a snarl, he conjured a roll of duct tape and snapped Daring's mouth shut. From this close, she could finally see who her captor was.
Wilspur Wheatley? The famous musician and adventurer unicorn? The one who'd disappeared under mysterious circumstances?
Of course! Daring shook her head ruefully.
It was so obvious, in hindsight! The bored, Canterlot elites making up his cult? The message in the cider bottle? The impeccable vocal control? How could she miss that!? {Clues will be dispersed throughout the text up until this point, I don't need to assure you.}
"Yes, Daring," Wilspur whispered, "I assume you recognize me now, hrm? All I wanted was to join you on one of your adventures, but you couldn't be bothered with your Number One Fan! And now, with the help of these hapless fools, I shall steal the power of Grogar himself, and... ascend. I will become all powerful, and worthy of your attention!. What do you have to say now?"
Daring rolled her eyes. This was why she didn't like getting publicized. Too many fan club members ended up going evil to prove themselves. It was a rather disconcerting statistic. {Rainbow Dash, the Official Daring Do Fan Club President, is cool. But I've noticed a certain toxic part of the fanbase in recent years, and figured I needed to address them somehow.}
Wilspur glanced down to her taped-up muzzle. "Oh... right. The tape. W-well..."
He coughed, and began speaking normally, or as normal as a monologueing villain could speak, saying, "Regardless! If the Eclipse weren't so important for the ritual, I'd stick around to make certain your demise... but sadly, we haven't the time."
"Uh, boss?" another cultist raised a hoof in question.
"Yes?"
The cultist who spoke looked around, "Um... we could just, like, hit her with a rock. Ya know?"
Wilspur looked aghast. His mouth hung low, and his eyes bulged.
"Are you out of your mind!?"
"Well, I thought..."
Wilspur's dark magic frothed about his, Daring now realized, surgically added ram-horns. And with a simple burst of his newfound magical fury, he vaporized the poor henchpony instantly.
"There is a proper way to do things!" Wilspur stomped through the ashes, "You do rituals to get your dark power, or summon your evil overlord, in this case. You conduct searches in standardized patterns, like how we caught Miss Do. And, when you have Daring Do hostage, you put her in the death trap!
"Bray's buckles!" he cursed, "I thought you ponies at least read my newsletter!"
Wilspur sighed, dramatically. His remaining cultists cowered before his dark power. That, to him, seemed to be all he wanted.
"And, in any case," he reached out with his magic and flipped a long, bronze switch on the wall, "We're out of time."
The gears and clockwork machines that lined the walls began to shriek and churn, ancient magic no-doubt keeping the whole system in working order, despite the relentless march of time and rust. The hammer, which had been suspended by such machines, now began to lurch backward, up and into the air with each ponderous tick of the gears.
It was some sort of evil, clockwork mechanism, like the Metal Ponies of Cyberquestria, from Daring's battle against the Maresians in Daring Do and the Space Invaders. {Scratch that. Too meta.}
Daring could tell at once that the hammer was being pulled back into position... to squash her at the ringing of the bell!
"Farewell, Daring Do!" Wilspur began laughing, maniacally, as he and his cultists left the chamber. Only Carmare Sandeneighgo paused. The scarlet-dressed mare watched Daring with a piercing gaze.
Then, Carmare trot up to the ensnared adventurer. The cultists watched, knowing that their ally had some sort of bone to pick with her.
Carmare said nothing. Her gaze said all that needed to be said. She reached over, and gave a clearly sarcastic, and maudlin, kiss to Daring's cheek, before she turned and strode away, Wilspur and his cultists taking their leave as well.
Daring sighed. If her little girl was one thing, she was an adventurous thief. And if she were two things, she was also a good kid. Daring reached down as far as she could with her muzzle, and flipped open one of her shirt pockets.
A penknife! Right where Zaldia had just dropped it!
"Atta girl!"
But, as she caught the knife in her teeth, there was a sudden quail from the machine! The gears popped and creaked, and somewhere a spring must have been busted loose, for there was an awful shaking of the room.
The knife dropped from Daring's grasp! It hit the floor, and lay just beyond where her tail or hooves could reach.
This was it, Daring thought. The end. She looked up at the hammer as it was brought fully into position.
There was a moment of silence.
The end.
Daring closed her eyes, and waited.
SPRING! The hammer snapped free...!
But no ringing. No splatter. Daring slowly opened her eyes, and saw that the hammer was mere inches from her face. The thin end of a whip had gripped the deadly device, and held itself taut.
Daring looked down the whip's length, and beamed.
"Indeedy Do!" her other daughter, the intrepid young adventurer herself, stood at the chamber's entrance, holding the entire machine's deadly strike back through brute earth pony power.
"Don't you worry, Mom!" she called out with a grunt, "I'll getcha out of there...!"
Which was when the whip snapped...
I bet you're on the edge of your seats now? I told you I still got it! Indeedy and Carmare play a big part of this adventure. Again, I got permission from Indeedy's creator, my younger daughter Treasure S Hunter. I have very talented kids, I know. I've also got a few gags with Indeedy giving her foalsitter, Ahuizotl, the slip, and the finale is all planned out. Hint: it involves Daring ringing some bells.
But, we can talk all about that when I see you in pony. How about that little cafe in the Crystal Empire. Applebucks? I know you love talking books over a nice brew!
Your friend,
AK Yearling
The Princess of Friendship shook her head. This... this wasn't at all how she wanted this to go.
Now she'd probably have to wait a year or something to find out what happened!
She laughed at her own little joke, at least internally. Externally, she was running Dusk Court, and had little time to ruminate on Daring's miss-sent letter. She found it rather amusing that her friend, favorite author, and current government researcher, had accidentally sent the Princess that little taste of her next manuscript, tucked away in the middle of her Trixie report.
That had been a week ago. Daring had apologized for the mix-up, and Twilight had offered to help her edit the final book when it was ready. A good time was had. And, through an all-too-short teatime with Daring and Rainbow, Twilight had learned that Wilspur and his cult had been banished to the Shadowrealm when they struck the wrong note on the bell, and Daring had to perform a harmonic-song-spell on the Wind-chimes of Fate in order to close the portal.
It sounded like a fun adventure, all told. Even Zaldia and Treasure learned a few lessons about friendship, and grand theft charges, at least in Zaldia's case.
Twilight had asked Grogar what happened to Wilspur and his cultists, seeing as how that old ram still had control over his dark realm.
He'd just laughed. And laughed. And laughed. Pinkie had to spritz him with a spray bottle to make him stop.
Still. As Twilight Sparkle conducted the ship of state, she couldn't help but wonder what wonders she would find in the second half of that journal entry. And, she also wondered how Trixie herself had been doing since the Gala...