//------------------------------// // Shining Diamond and the Crystal Sea // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// “What are you doing here?!” Both pegasi said at once. “You know this pony?” The Red Hornet—or Valentine maybe—raised an eyebrow at Daring Do. “Yeah,” Daring Do nodded. “She’s a friend of mine from Equestria. What happened here?” The two stallions shot each other an uncertain look while The Red Hornet dumped Zargoz’s head onto the sand. She walked over to stand with Daring Do, still facing down Rainbow Dash and the employees of the Aux-Lemm Corporation. “Well thanks to your friend I was able to catch Zargoz, but now our pals from Aux-Lemm over here want to take him into their custody,” The Hornet explained. “Ugh,” Daring Do dragged a hoof down her face. “Of course… things just can’t be simple, can they?” “Could I maybe get a clue on what’s going on?” Rainbow impatiently asked. “I wouldn’t mind that either,” Cart said as he stared down Daring Do. “I don’t recognize you, but you’re working with The Red Hornet?” The orange stallion coughed into his hoof and tried to walk up to Cart. “If everypony could calm down for one second we’d all see there’s no reason for conflict.” Rainbows ears perked up as soon as he spoke. It had been a little while since she had actually heard the phrase “everypony”. This guy must not be from around here either. Rainbow Dash bit her lip but she decided to act on her gut feeling again. She could always trust Daring Do—that’s what she honestly believed. So Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and flew between the two groups, hooves outstretched. “I think you’re right about that,” she said to the orange stallion before looking over at Cart. “Hey Cart, I know we’ve only known each other for like two days, but do you trust me?” Cart eyed her. “I… think you’re of good character.” Rainbow grinned. “Alright. Then believe me, I can’t speak for the other three, but I know that pegasus is a good pony.” She said, pointing at Daring Do. “And if she’s with them then I know they aren’t doing anything bad. So what do you say we all take a moment to relax, and maybe get off this street and talk someplace a little quieter?” She glanced back at The Red Hornet. “And no one will start any fights either.” The Red Hornet snorted in bemusement but grinned right back. “I can agree to that, so long as the camel doesn’t leave my sight.” Cart also looked over at Zargoz as he coughed up sand. “I’m fine with that.” “Good,” Rainbow Dash sighed in relief. “Then let’s talk.” Inside a large tent in the interior of the non-camel quarter of the oasis, the ponies all sat together while a bound and gagged Zargoz angrily tried to get out of his bindings behind them. It was an Aux-Lemm tent and one quite private per Cart’s words. The tension inside was palpable and Rainbow Dash still had about ten million questions to ask but at least she felt better with Daring Do here. That was a pony she could always count on. “Well,” The Red Hornet said, breaking the silence. “I suppose some introductions are in order. You all know me so I’ll let that fall to the rest.” Cart nodded. “I’m Cart D’Evron. I suppose you can consider me a representative of the Aux-Lemm Corporation for the moment.” “My name is Birdseed,” the orange stallion said. “I am an… associate of The Red Hornet.” “Same here!” The pot-bellied stallion said. “And uh, my name’s Coin Flip. Hehe.” Now Daring Do got up. “My name is Daring Do. I’m not from around here, so I apologize in advance if I do or say anything against local customs. Miss Valentine and I are working together on a common couple of goals, to put a long story short, we ran into each other in the desert not too long ago while working independently. I don’t know what her reputation with you all may be but she’s proven herself a trustworthy and loyal comrade to me.” She looked over at Rainbow Dash and smiled. “Just like Rainbow Dash here is.” Rainbow Dash blushed and waved at the other ponies. “Yeah, that’s me. Daring Do and I know each other from way back.” “Alright, and now with that out of the way, why don’t you all tell me why I shouldn’t do the lawful thing here and take Zargoz into my custody. And report the fact that a notorious criminal is clearly up to something to my superiors?” Cart asked, narrowing his eyes directly at The Red Hornet. “Because we’re trying to stop disaster from befalling this entire desert, honey. That’s why,” she answered. Cart and his other employees shared a few nervous looks and whispers before he opened his mouth again. “Care to explain?” “I’d like to hear about that too,” Rainbow said. Daring Do looked at The Red Hornet and raised an eyebrow. The Hornet scowled but eventually sighed and nodded. “Have you heard of a pony by the name of Shining Diamond?” Cart thought for a moment before shaking his head. “Can’t say that I have.” “I’m not surprised,” The Hornet folded her legs over her chest. “He doesn’t come down to any oasis like this himself or show himself in public, he just uses his minions for errands.” “And he’s a relative newcomer to this desert, like I am,” Daring Do said. “So what’s his story?” Cart asked. “He’s something called a crystal pony from a far-off country and-” Daring Do started before Rainbow interrupted. “Wait, hold on!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “What’s a crystal pony doing out here?” “I was just getting to that, Rainbow,” Daring Do rolled her eyes. “Anyways—crystal ponies are essentially just normal ponies, but they have a sort of crystalline and translucent look to them. That’s not really important though, what is important is he’s a dangerous criminal with a lot of resources at his disposal. And… and he’s traveling through the desert in search of the Crystal Sea.” “What?!” Cart stood up in shock. “But even attempting to look for the Crystal Sea will get the camel’s entire Murker Corps to go after you if they find out!” “Umm...” Rainbow Dash raised a hoof. “I’m lost again.” “I guess there’s kind of a lot to unpack here...” Daring Do said. “I’ll try and explain things the best I can to you,” Cart said to Rainbow Dash, clearing his throat after his previous outburst. “Do you remember what the money I gave you yesterday was?” “Yeah, little copper coins?” “That’s right, but that’s not the currency camels use in the desert. You see, camels have their own currency of rare crystals that other creatures aren’t allowed to hold or trade with. It keeps their economy from being manipulated or threatened and protects the caste system of the desert. And this “Crystal Sea” is a semi-legendary place where a massive amount of these crystals supposedly form, right up out of the desert sands. The camels either forgot about or lost its location a long, long time ago. And of course if anybody else was able to find the Crystal Sea they’d be able to throw the entire economy of the desert into turmoil. The camels would go into a panic. That’s why it’s forbidden to look for it, or practically even ask about it.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Okay, starting to get a handle on things. So because you’re now also sort of looking for the Crystal Sea, this Zargoz guy is threatening to tell all the camels and send the Brotherhood of Murkers after you or something?” “Little mixed up there, honey, but you’ve got the gist of things,” The Red Hornet said. “The Brotherhood is the ruling body of camels, and the Murkers are their military wing.” Cart snorted. “Military wing? More like a band of roaming savages. The Murkers prey on anyone they can when they’re not being ordered to do anything specific. They’re hated and feared across the whole desert by anyone who isn’t a camel.” “Considering your hatred of the camels I’m surprised you weren’t willing to just let me and my associates go on our way,” The Red Hornet raised an eyebrow. “That’s because two wrongs don’t make a right. The Aux-Lemm Corporation has a reputation for honest work and keeping to the law. You don’t have such a reputation. I’ve heard enough stories from non-camels about you to make me think they’re telling the truth. And anybody getting to the Crystal Sea can’t be a good thing,” Cart scowled at her. “Hold on, we really just want to stop Shining Diamond from getting to it!” Daring Do said. “Please, I want you to believe me when I say we don’t have any intentions to use the Crystal Sea for ourselves or even tell anybody else where it is. We’re just trying to find it and the clues that lead to it before Shining Diamond can. I’ve also heard a lot about Miss Valentine, and I’ve had to talk her out of some things myself.” Daring Do shot a sharp look at the scarlet mare. “But I’ve also gotten to know her on a personal level, and the Aux-Lemm Corporation can trust that she’s doing the right thing.” “I can vouch for Daring Do. I don’t know this Hornet pony either, but I can at least trust Daring Do’s judgment,” Rainbow said. “Also, if you’re so concerned about the well-being of this desert, then you’ll want to not give us any trouble either,” The Red Hornet said to Cart. “None of us like the camels, but Shining Diamond is hardly looking for the Crystal Sea to right their wrongs. It’s all about power to him. Maybe if someone did want to just overthrow the camels you’d support them, but that’s not the case here.” Cart went to share a look with the other employees, they had to nod in agreement with what The Red Hornet was saying. “So what’s Shining Diamond even going to do if he finds the Crystal Sea?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Cause turmoil and chaos. Camel currency will become worthless as thousands of crystals from nowhere flood the market. He can bribe or blackmail anybody, give the crystals to non-camels, or just threaten to do all of that and force the camels to give him anything he wants,” The Red Hornet said. “Once he’s gotten enough power for himself I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to overthrow the Brotherhood entirely. He’s an insane megalomaniac. And with all the flaws of camel rulership, they’re still better than a cruel dictator like him would be.” “That’s why we can’t have anybody find out about what we’re doing. We can’t afford to have the Murkers or any other camels get in our way while we’re trying to stop Shining Diamond,” Daring Do said. “You can understand why we’re trying to be incognito about all this.” “Obviously trying to convince the camels we’re the good guys wouldn’t work either,” The Red Hornet shook her head dismissively. "That wouldn’t go very far,” Cart had to agree. “And it would probably be a bad thing if they found the Crystal Sea again too. Unlimited resources. As long as they controlled themselves they’d be even more untouchable than they are now. The Crystal Sea being found by benevolent creatures would be one of the only ways to fix this desert...” “Let’s not go too far. While I’m not a fan of how this desert is, things are in a precarious spot, and having that kind of power can easily corrupt even a good pony,” Daring Do said. Cart sighed. “Well, fair enough.” He suddenly frowned and looked over at Zargoz. “Wait—so then you’re saying that Zargoz here knows the location of the Crystal Sea?” “He knew where we could go to potentially find the next clue or partial map to the Crystal Sea. He had a “friend” who found a map a long time ago, Zargoz secretly made a copy of half of that map before being interrupted and having to flee. Valentine got him to spill the beans about it but Zargoz tried to pull a fast one on us when we tried to get the real copy of the map from him. He gave us a fake he had made at some point along the way,” Daring Do said. “I only just realized that in the nick of time,” The Red Hornet glared at the tied up camel. “We were originally hoping that the partial map Zargoz had would be enough for us to find the Crystal Sea or another clue to its location on its own. But as we talked to him we learned that the original map only showed the way to another clue,” Birdseed said. “Not only did the half he copied only showed the starting point and not where the next clue was, he tried giving us that fake that would have us going in the wrong direction.” “So where do you have to go next to find the real map?” Cart asked. This time it was Daring Do and her allies who had to nervously share a few looks. They huddled up and started talking to each other—with Rainbow Dash able to hear a few angry growls from Hornet while Daring Do tried to reason with her. Eventually they came out of the huddle with The Hornet scowling, Birdseed blankfaced, Coin Flip licking his lips, and Daring Do offering a small smile. “In the spirit of trust and working together, we’ve decided to tell you,” Daring Do said. “Right now we’re on the way to Two Hump Oasis.” Cart instantly grimaced and reared back. “Two Hump Oasis? That den of scum and criminals?” “Not really a surprise that a friend of this criminal would be there,” Daring Do shrugged and hooked a hoof over at Zargoz. “I’m assuming that’s a bad place?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “The worst in the whole desert,” Cart spat. “It’s a lawless zone that the camels don’t bother policing and Aux-Lemm steers clear from. It originated as a thieves hideout built around a small oasis in the first place, before growing and becoming a refuge for all sorts of bad folk over the years. It has a thriving black market but I would never tell any honest merchant to go there, it’s just too dangerous.” Naturally, everything he said made Rainbow Dash pretty excited. She almost couldn’t stop her tail from swishing about behind her. “So you know we’re serious about what we’re doing,” Daring Do said. “Please, don’t let Zargoz get in our way. I’m sorry that I have to ask you to break some rules but this is incredibly important. Shining Diamond is a threat to everyone.” Cart stared back at her and blew a breath of air out his nose. He glanced over at Rainbow Dash, who smiled back at him. “I believe you. And I suppose you have the right of it. We won’t interfere in your business.” “Good,” The Red Hornet impatiently stood up the moment Cart finished speaking. “Then it’s time to silence a certain camel. For good.” She stalked across the tent to Zargoz, whose eyes widened in fright as he struggled even more frantically to free himself. Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped and she quickly flew around the others, coming to a stop right in front of The Hornet and blocking her path. “Whoa, hold on! There’s no need for that!” The Red Hornet raised an eyebrow at her. “Excuse me? We can’t just let Zargoz live with what he knows.” “Killing isn’t right,” Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. “Even if this guy is a criminal, he’s not dangerous to you anymore. I’m not letting you kill someone who’s defenseless like this. From what you’ve said he’s definitely a big jerk but I don’t think that makes him deserve to die.” “I don’t take chances. So get out of my way,” The Hornet said to Dash. “No,” Dash said right back. “Rainbow Dash is right,” Daring Do suddenly cut in, putting a hoof on The Red Hornet’s shoulder. “I’ve told you this before, Valentine. You need to relax.” The Red Hornet inhaled deeply, and then slowly let it all out. “Fine. But what are we going to do with him then?” “Leave that to us,” Cart said. “We’ll take him with us on our trip to Dry Hole. He can be our honored guest. That way at least he’ll have no way of contacting anyone else for at least a month.” “Mrph!” Zargoz let out a muffled yell. “Shut up,” Cart said, rolling his eyes at the camel. “I guess that’s it then?” Daring Do said. She smiled at Cart. “Thank you for your understanding.” “Then let’s hurry up and go. We really don’t have any time to waste,” The Hornet said and turned to leave the tent. “Hold on!” Rainbow Dash shouted again and lifted up a hoof to get her attention. The Red Hornet, Daring Do, Birdseed and Coin Flip all looked at her. The Hornet in particular with an annoyed scowl on her face as she stared down Rainbow Dash. “What?” Rainbow Dash grinned. “There’s no way you’re thinking I’m not coming with you is there?”