Daring awoke inside of a wooden shack, the same one she had seen earlier. It was Scootaround’s little hide-away, and they had moved to the shack later the previous evening once night had fallen. Now that morning had arrived, the pair of ponies had to decide on what to do next.
“I looked outside, and the boat from yesterday is gone,” Scootaround said. She brought back with her a loaf of bread, which she broke for the adult pony. Daring sat up, looking back at her sternly.
“Where’d you get that?” she asked.
“Don’t worry about it,” the filly replied, taking a large bite out of her half of the loaf.
“Kid, you can’t be stealing things if you want to go to Equestria, that was part of the deal.”
Scootaround was silent. Daring dug into the loaf. She was a tad hungry. They needed to find a way to get back to Prance, where Dusty was likely still hanging around, waiting for word from Daring. To do that, they’d need to hire somepony to take them back by boat, or by air.
“Kid, does this village have balloon flight?” Daring asked.
“No. No balloons,” the filly replied, “We have boats, and carts.”
“Boats will have to do,” Daring said, “C’mon kid, gather up what you need, we’re getting out of here.”
****
Daring and Scootaround approached the dockmaster. The filly trotted along behind Daring, trying to keep a low profile and out of sight of some of the ponies who she was probably wanted by.
“I need a boat to Prance,” Daring said to the dockmaster, “Are there any passenger ships headed in that direction?”
“I’ll check,” the stallion replied. He flipped through a clipboard loaded with tally sheets and schedules until he found what he was looking for.
“There’s a boat leaving at five this afternoon.”
“Two tickets, please,” Daring said, exchanging currency. Scootaround watched the gold bits fall from Daring’s hooves with widened eyes. It was probably more money than she had seen in years.
“We’ll have to wait for a few hours,” Daring commented, “I’m not sure what....”
She heard a click, and paused. Slowly turning, she stared into the point of yet another revolver, in the claws of a Gryphon.
“Come with me, Daring Do,” said the Gryphon, motioning to a wooden cart standing on the side of the cobblestone road.
“Not this again,” she said with a sigh.
“I would suggest you come without a fight,” replied the Gryphon. Daring growled at him.
“Don’t you boys have anything better to do?”
A second Gryphon appeared, toting a shotgun. Daring had no choice but to surrender to the armed Gryphons. She made eye contact briefly with Scootaround before she was forcibly shoved into the back of the cart, and bound to the rail.
The large Gryphon ignored the filly completely, and once Daring was subdued the cart took off down the cobblestone street. Scootaround was left in the dust.
The filly thought about what had just happened for a moment. She had been so close to getting out of Carpathia, only to have the pony who was willing to take her in get snatched up right in front of her. She wasn’t willing to let go so easily. After all, she reasoned, what had she left to lose here?
The filly trotted along behind the cart, keeping her distance but watching its path.
****
Scootaround followed the cart as it left the edge of the village and headed out into the countryside. For hours she pursued the cart, hiding in roadside gullies along a dirt path through wide open fields.
Day turned into afternoon, and flat meadows turned into hills and valleys. Scootaround’s progress was hampered by the terrain, and the filly was forced to stop periodically for water from a nearby stream or brook.
As the cart approached a great mountain at twilight, Scootaround was able to figure out where it was going. In the mountains were Gryphon villages and Gryphon-inhabited towns, but this particular mountain was home to a great stone castle, visible from even this distance. In the purplish hue of the sunset’s wane, the filly could tell by pinpricks of light on the battlement walls in the distance that somepony (or Gryphon) was home.
Why would they be taking Daring Do to an old dusty castle?
****
Daring sat tied to a chair in the center of a room, facing a blank stone wall. She was within the castle, but she knew not exactly where. She had been blindfolded up to this point, and now that she could see, she was presented with nothing save for a dusty, cracked stone wall.
“Daring Do,” a sharp male voice said from somewhere behind her, “We meet again.”
Daring felt a chill when she heard the voice. She knew that voice! It belonged to a Gryphon whom she had thought dead at least three years ago.
“Gwindor!”
“Very good, Daring,” he replied, spinning her around to face him. The Gryphon had an eyepatch over his left eye, and parts of his face were visibly scarred. Daring was both horrified and surprised that he was alive, as she had truly believed him to have been eaten alive by piranhas after the Zenith expedition. The ravenous fish had left their mark on the Gryphon, as his missing eye and bite-scarred face attested to.
Gwindor wore the uniform and the rank of an officer, an officer in the military of the Gryphon Empire. Now that Daring was turned around, she could see a bit more of the room she was being held in, which also included a window, a wooden table, and red banners with the Gryphon Empire’s militant colors on the side walls.
“What’s with the patriotism?” she murmured, brows furrowed. Daring was determined not to give Gwindor whatever he needed to wrest from her. She assumed that she had something of value to the Gryphons; they had kept her alive so far.
“This castle belongs to the Empire, Daring,” assured Gwindor. He placed a claw over the back of Daring’s chair, and tipped it back so that he could peer into her eyes. She shifted her gaze again to avoid his.
“You might be wondering why you’re here,” Gwindor continued, setting the chair down.
“It crossed my mind once or twice,” Daring said coldly.
“It was a mistake to come looking for the Crown. Of course, it wasn’t just Fatcat. Anypony who might have had a hoof in dealing with the crown was already reporting to us.”
“He told you we came looking?”
“Yes,” said Gwindor, “It’s a chain. You escape Ahuizotl, he sells the crown and warns that you’ll come after it, we set up this trap. Linear.”
Daring said nothing. The scarred Gryphon took a seat opposite her, opening up her journal to a page he had saved with one of many bookmarks.
“Your entry from November of 1933 describes the journey you took into Old Equestria,” he began, “It is really quite fascinating. Nightmare Moon’s temple is described as being ‘home to an ancient and powerful magic that could threaten the safety of the entire world if released’.”
“That is correct,” Daring said, avoiding eye contact by staring at the leg of a table, “I originally detailed more specifics, but those particular pages would be dangerous in the wrong hooves, and are in a secure location.”
“You lie,” Gwindor said with a beaky grin. He grasped Daring’s face by the cheeks, forcing her face to look up at his. Daring tugged, but his grip held fast.
“What I need is right in here,” he said, pointing between Daring’s eyes, “And I want you to tell me.”
Daring struggled under the grip on the side of her face. She couldn’t speak or hardly breathe, but she managed to sputter out a few choice words.
“Get... your dirty claws.... off my face!”
Gwindor released her from his vice-like grip, and turned away sharply.
“We have ways to coax the information out, but it’s not very pleasant. I’ll give you another chance, Daring. What is contained in the temple of Nightmare Moon?”
Daring remained silent. The Gryphon leaned in next to her face, looking her over with his good eye.
“What is in the temple? This is your last chance, Daring.”
Daring looked up at him, widening her eyes and smiling falsely.
“You wanna know what’s in the temple of Nightmare Moon? Go there yourself and find out. It’s just a swell time, believe me.”
Gwindor slammed a clawed fist into the side of Daring’s head, rocking her sideways and knocking the chair to the ground. She winced as her injured wing was forcibly hit by the floorboards.
“You’re going to regret that, Daring,” Gwindor said, moving towards the door, “Enjoy the next half hour. You’ll be sorry when the time runs out.”
He flipped an hourglass over and placed it on the floor next to Daring, and then left, slamming the door shut behind him and locking it.
****
Scootaround has made it up to one of the upper branches of a tall larch tree, which nearly overlooked the castle walls enough for her to be able to make it inside. She looked out over, down into the courtyard of the castle, and gulped.
It was a long way down.
The filly inched out further and further along the branch, trying to get as far out as she could. She could hear the wood creak and she could feel the branch bending lower.
With a resounding crack, the wood split and Scootaround began to fall. She was seconds away from crashing into the soil within the old courtyard when she began flapping her tiny pegasus wings with all her might. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t avoid the inevitable faceplant in the dirt.
She shook herself off, spitting out dirt from inside her mouth. She was inside the outermost walls of the castle, and there was nopony in sight. Most of the lights in the windows were dark save for the one she had seen earlier.
Climbing through an empty stone arch in a wall acting as a window, Scootaround made her way into a corridor inside the castle walls. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made out of stone, and there was an occasional torch to provide light to see one’s self.
Ahead in the shadows was a pair of armed Gryphons, standing at attention at either end of a door. Scootaround slowed her hoofsteps, keeping as far out of the light as possible and hiding in the shadows.
In the distance, and large Gryphon swooped down a flight of stairs and into the chamber behind the armed guards. He has a flustered manner, setting his cap down on a tabletop and wiping his feathered brow with a kerchief.
“Gibbs, Godfrey,” he muttered, returning his cap and facing the guards.
“Sir!” they squawked.
“Come and help me move the guillotine into position in the courtyard.”
The two Gryphons left their post, following the leader into another place, presumably to go and get the guillotine.
Whatever that is, thought Scootaround. As she heard a door close, she proceeded through the door slowly, peering into the unguarded chamber. The overhead was brightly lit by a light fixture, and a glass case on the far side contained a platinum crown. On the opposite side were bright red banners, the banners of Imperial Gryphony.
Why were those banners in a castle in Carpathia?
The filly darted up the stairs, which were in a spiral formation leading up into the tower of the castle. She had to be quick about this should the Gryphons come back soon.
****
Daring Do had knocked the hourglass over in her struggle to free herself from the chair she had been tied to. She had broken a wooden leg off and had to bite through part of the rope confining her hind legs, but she had wriggled free from the ropes and now stood next to the doorway. She heard echoing steps coming up the stairs, and hid herself adjacent to the door to be able to get the jump on Gwindor as soon as he re-entered.
There was a pause, and Daring heard the metal tinkling of keys entering the lock. She braced herself for the pounce. As the door swung open, she leaped and landed on the figure entering the room, pinning them to the ground. Daring raised a hoof, ready to bash the Gryphon’s ugly beaked face in.
“Dr. Do! It’s me!” choked the little orange filly. Daring stopped herself and froze.
Scootaround!
She got off the filly’s chest and allowed her to stand up, rumpling her mane and laughing awkwardly.
“Sorry about that... I thought you were one of them.”
The filly scooped the metal lockpick she kept and placed it back inside the brim of her cap, placing both back atop her head.
“They’re going to move something right now,” she said, “Now may be the only chance you’ve got to get out of here.”
“What are they moving?” asked Daring, looking past the filly and down the stairs.
“A guillotine, whatever that is.”
****
The two ponies made it down into the same room that the Gryphon guards had been guarding before. Daring made her way over to one of the side tables, which held her bag, journal, and pith helmet.
Scootaround stuck her head quietly around the corner, looking out through a window inside an adjacent corridor and seeing out into the courtyard. There stood a tall wooden structure fixed with a thick blade at the top, but there were no Gryphons to be seen.
“I think they already set that thing up,” she said, “We better go now.”
Daring turned to leave, but was surprised when she came face-to-face with a glass case containing a large platinum crown. Princess Platinum’s crown! Her mouth dropped open in surprise.
I can’t leave this here, she thought, I have to take it with me.
The steps of hind paws and front claws on stone echoed through the corridor as the Gryphons approached. Daring’s eyes widened as she realized that they were trapped. She frantically searched the room for a place to hide, shoving Scootaround underneath a desk and opening up a cabinet on the ground floor. There was a box inside, so Daring moved it out and did her best to make it look inconspicuous before stuffing herself inside the low cabinet and closing the door.
“We’re going to need a full report to send back to the Emperor when this is all said and done,” echoed Gwindor’s voice. Daring could hear them now as they entered the room. She could hear papers rustling on the desk Scootaround was hidden beneath.
“Gibbs, Godfrey, return to your stations,” he ordered, “Grizelda, take a letter.”
“Yes sir, standing by,” replied a female voice.
Gwindor leaned himself up against a set of cabinets, taking his cap off and fiddling with it in his claws as he wracked his brains for the best lead-in for his letter to the Emperor. With this, he would be catapulted back to the forefront of success, and he wanted the communique to reflect that.
“I am pleased to announce the... no, wait.... It is with great pleasure that I announce the sound defeat of.... a longtime rival... no, scratch that.”
He paused for a moment, clicking his clawed fingers.
“....a longtime enemy of the state! That’s it!”
The door burst open, and a spry young soldier entered, saluting and handing an envelope to GWindor.
“Telegram, sir!”
“Can’t you see I’m busy dictating?” Gwindor snapped.
“It’s from the Emperor himself!” replied the soldier, “He wants to know if you have found the equine.”
“I will send a reply in due time,” Gwindor grumbled. He had lost track of what he was saying.
“Grizelda, read that back to me.”
“I... sorry, I thought you were just collecting your thoughts. I didn’t start writing yet.”
Gwindor’s face burned with anger as he gritted his beak and allowed his eye to twitch. He was known for a hair-trigger temper normally, but general incompetence drove him absolutely mad.
“You idiot,” he muttered, “I ought to bash your face in right now! As it is, I have more important matters. Save the telegram for later, we’ve got a job to do. All of you, out in the courtyard, NOW!”
“Yes sir!” squawked the ensemble of several Gryphon officers, shuffling out as quick as possible to give their enraged superior as far a distance as possible.
****
Daring lowered the filly down over the edge of the wall and down outside the castle, dropping down herself a moment later. She had taken the crown out of the case and stored it inside her pith helmet. It wasn’t a very honorable place, but it was safer than a canvas bag.
“We need to put as much distance between us and them as possible, and fast,” Daring said, pointing in the direction of the forest.
She and Scootaround fled through the woods in the darkness of the night, not stopping for hours as they zig-zagged and made odd direction changes to throw any pursuers off. The moon rose, illuminating the woods and allowing a low level of light for Daring and the filly to see by.
Daring considered what the Gryphons were doing now. In her mind’s eye she envisioned the tantrum Gwindor would have thrown after discovering that she was not there; that she had escaped. The loss of the platinum crown would only serve to compound the issue, catapulting her to a top-tier target for not only Gwindor, but the entire Gryphon army. It was a bit terrifying to think about, but it motivated the ponies to keep moving.
Sometime after midnight, Daring decided that she and the filly would need to rest for a few hours before the morning arrived, so they crouched beneath the roots of an old twisted tree and went to sleep.