//------------------------------// // Dull Surprise // Story: The Do Dilemma // by Metool Bard //------------------------------// Chapter 11: Dull Surprise After a few minutes of navigating through the dense undergrowth of the Everfree Forest, the three mares stumbled upon a rickety old bridge over a large ravine. At the end of the bridge was a large stone castle. "There it is," said Twilight, pointing to the castle. "The ancient ruins of the Everfree Forest." Daring Do's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Hmm. And, how old did you say these ruins are?" "Um, they're over a thousand years old." Daring whistled. "No kidding? Wow. I wonder if the deathtraps even work after so long." Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Deathtraps? Um, actually..." "Eh, they probably do, knowing my luck," said Daring, ignoring Rainbow. "Alright, let's get this exploration underway!" She flew off ahead before Rainbow or Twilight could get a word in edgewise. The two friends simply looked at each other and shared a shrug before following her into the ruins. *** It had been a long time since Twilight first entered the ancient castle to retrieve the Elements of Harmony, and it was still very much as she remembered. The architecture of civilizations past, the dark corridors illuminated only by Luna's great moon; everything about the place gave her a bittersweet nostalgic feeling. Using her magic to provide some extra light, she cleared her throat as she approached Daring. "So, Daring. What exactly are we looking for?" she asked. "Something that doesn't belong," Daring said simply, seemingly preoccupied. Twilight gave Daring a quizzical look. "Can you, get a bit more specific?" "Nope, sorry," said Daring, dipping her voice. "Now would you mind not breaking my concentration?" "Oh, sorry," Twilight whispered back before becoming confused again. "Wait, what do you mean?" "I think you know," said Daring. "Wait, are you worried about deathtraps?" asked Twilight. "Um, Daring. Rainbow and I have been here before, and..." "Shh," Daring hissed, raising her foreleg and stopping Twilight in her tracks. "Wait here." Before Twilight could inquire as to why Daring wanted her to wait, the olive-colored mare lowered herself close to the stone floor and began tapping different tiles with her hoof. After a few seconds of this, Rainbow groaned. "Ugh, can we hurry this up?" she asked. "We don't have time for this." "Hey, I might be able to handle myself, and from what I've seen, so can you," Daring told Rainbow. "But I don't want Twilight here to get caught in the crossfire when we set off the deathtraps." Rainbow breathed a great sigh. "Listen, Daring. Twilight and I have already been here. We can assure you: There are no deathtraps." Daring perked up and stared at Rainbow Dash as if she had three heads. "Come again?" "Just as Rainbow said," said Twilight. "The ponies who built this castle didn't build it with the intention of storing treasure. This used to be a royal palace. I highly doubt the architects would even consider putting traps here." Daring tilted her head and stroked her chin, processing this information. "Huh. Well that's, something," she said in an ambiguous tone. "I mean, it's a nice change of pace. A very nice change of pace actually, considering what I've been through in Argoats. But the idea of ancient ruins without deathtraps, eh, I dunno. It just sounds, weird." Twilight giggled at Daring's confusion. "You'll find that there are a lot of differences between our worlds, Daring," said she. "I gathered," said Daring. "Alright, let's keep moving. Remember, we're trying to find something that doesn't belong here." "What makes you think we'll find it here?" asked Twilight. "Honestly, I have no idea," said Daring with a shrug. "It's just a hunch." Twilight was about to comment on Daring's absurd remarks, but thought better of it and instead used her breathing technique. "Well, what are you basing this hunch on?" "Remember when we found out the book was enchanted by changeling magic?" said Daring. "Yeah." "Well, while you saw that, I saw something else. The magic formed these patterns that seemed a bit too familiar for my taste." "What kind of patterns?" Rainbow inquired. "Sea pony runes," said Daring. "The same kind I saw in Argoats." Twilight tilted her head. "How can that be? There isn't any evidence of sea ponies in our world." "And where I came from, I was about to get the map leading to the treasure of a notorious sea pony pirate. There has to be some kind of connection, right?" said Daring. "I guess so," said Twilight with a thoughtful nod. "But, why here of all places?" "I find the best place to look for mystical things is in ancient ruins," said Daring. "It usually doesn't matter where. Heck, if you'll recall, I actually found the Scarab Tombs by accident while looking through some ruins in Saddle Arabia." "Oh yeah," said Rainbow. "That was in Daring Do and the Minions of the Scarab. You were awesome taking on the Scarab King, by the way." Daring chuckled. "Save the flattery for later, Rainbow Dash. We've still got something to find here." "Right, right. Sorry," said Rainbow, blushing a little. "Alright, let's keep looking." With that, she zoomed off ahead. Daring smirked. "That friend of yours sure is something else, you know that?" she told Twilight. Twilight gave a light chuckle. "Yeah, she is," she agreed. "But I only know that because we've been friends for so long." "Ah, I see. Interesting," said Daring in a reflective tone. She then adjusted her hat, and the cockiness returned to her voice. "Well, shall we catch up with her?" Without waiting for Twilight's reply, she zoomed off. Twilight sniggered and shook her head. "It's almost like they're the same pony," she muttered to herself as she trotted after the two pegasi. "Almost." *** "Hey, Daring! I think I found what we're looking for!" Daring and Twilight met Rainbow Dash in the main chamber, where the Elements of Harmony used to rest. Right in front of the pedestal was what appeared to be a small golden inkwell with a jet black quill in it. Daring smirked. "Bingo," she said triumphantly. "Um, I actually don't get it," said Twilight, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Sure, it's weird to find an inkwell in these ruins, but is that really going to be our key to solving this?" "We'll know in a second," said Daring, approaching the inkwell cautiously. She hovered her hoof over it and observed it from every angle. When she finally took a swipe at it, her body became transparent and her hoof passed right through it. Daring drew a sharp breath through her teeth. "Did you two see that, or was it just me?" she inquired. Rainbow and Twilight both nodded somberly. "I was afraid you'd say that," said Daring with a sigh. "Okay, let's try this again." This time, she managed to snatch up the inkwell in her hooves. "There we are," she said. "Hopefully the next incident won't happen for a while. I imagine as time goes on, it's going to get more and more annoying." "Yeah, not exactly the word I'd use if it were happening to me," said Rainbow sheepishly. "Guess that's why you're not me then," said Daring with a shrug. "Alright then, little guy. What have you got for us?" She turned the inkwell around and around in her hoof, looking at it with a critical eye. She then nodded. "Yep, this is what we're looking for alright," she said. "The marking around this inkwell are sea pony runes, no question about it." "But, what does it mean?" asked Twilight. "Well, for one thing, it means we have sufficient proof that this was no freak accident," said Daring. "Somebody is aiming to erase me from existence." Rainbow's eyes narrowed and she snorted angrily. "Just wait until I get my hooves on whoever thought that was a good idea," she snarled. "I'm thinking the same thing," said Daring. "I don't know what non-existence feels like, but by golly, I don't intend to find out." She then looked over the inkwell again. Her expression quickly became one of exasperation. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me." "What? What's wrong?" asked Twilight. "Well, unless we're dealing with a complete moron, and even at this juncture that's debatable, someone wanted us to find this," said Daring. "I'm not gonna sugarcoat it; this is probably a trap." Twilight and Rainbow blanched. "WHAT?!" they exclaimed in unison. "Yeah, apparently the runes translate out to maniacal laughter," said Daring, who seemed more peeved than disturbed. "Seriously, I've seen more subtlety from Ahuizotl." "B-but that makes no sense!" yelled an aghast Rainbow Dash. "How did whoever did this know you would just run into this castle looking for something you didn't even know was here?!" Before Daring could answer, the quill became cloaked in eerie green light. It then floated out of the inkwell and drew a circle around the three mares. The ink suddenly burst into sinister green flame, which projected a translucent dome over their heads. The dome then began to descend as the trio found themselves sinking into the floor. "Looks like we're about to find out," said Daring before they disappeared from the castle altogether.