//------------------------------// // Mechanical Beast // Story: Daring Do and the Crown of Ages // by Fedora //------------------------------// Daring half expected there to be a gun aimed at her when she awoke, but in the dim light she could see no sign that the Gryphons had been anywhere near them. Instead, she was greeted by the tranquil ambience of birds in the treetops and a steady patter of rain. “Kid, get up,” she said, “We’ve got to get a move on.” Scootaround rolled over, sluggishly finding her cap and stretching herself awake. “D’you think they’re gone?” “Gone from the woods?” Daring said, “Yes. But I bet you anything they’re waiting for us back in town.” They got out from under the tree, shaking off and stretching their legs. “If we go East to the Hoofiet border, I can find safe passage back to Prance,” Daring said, “The Hoofiets aren’t very agreeable with Equestrians, but it’s the best chance we have.” The pair walked along in the rain, their hooves sloshing in the mud. Daring herself didn’t much like the fact that they were leaving tracks in the mud, as it would make it easier to track them should their trail be caught up. “Doctor?” whispered Scootaround. “It’s Daring, kid.” “No, Dr. Do is your name,” insisted the filly, “I don’t call anypony by their short name, if they have one.” Daring decided not to argue with her. It made no sense why a little vagrant off the streets would stick to formal names, but perhaps it was something cultural. Perhaps her parents had taught her one way, and not even years on the streets could shake the habit. “So what were you going to ask?” “What’s up with your wing?” Daring glanced back at her injured wing, which was bound with strips of bandage that were now dirtied and worn down. “I was shot,” she whispered, “I don’t really want to go into it.” “Can you fly at all?” “I could,” Daring said after a brief pause, “But it would hurt. I don’t want to if I don’t have to.” **** At about midday, the pair of ponies rested on a rocky outcrop. A storm was brewing just on the edge of the clouds, threatening to come their way in a bluster of thunder and lightning. The wind was already starting to pick up quite a bit. “Dr. Do, I’m hungry,” said the Filly. She had not eaten anything since the previous morning. Daring herself could feel the pangs of an empty stomach, and she could feel the drain on her energy as she worked without fuel. They needed some lunch. Around the outcrop were trees, which did not seem to be fruit-bearers of any sort. Being June, it was far too early to seek out any types of wild Apple trees. The pair of ponies searched around in their area for some time, looking through shrubs and up through the branches of possible candidates. One was finally found that yielded greenish fruit, which were slightly immature but were more than edible. The nimble filly climbed up the trunk of the tree and shook the branches while Daring kicked at the trunk, knocking a few of the greenish fruit down. “I think they’re pears,” Daring said, taking a bite out of one of them. The two gathered up as many as they could, storing the extra pears inside Daring’s bag while they continued on their eastward journey. **** Upon coming to the edge of a shallow river, Daring got an idea. Despite the drizzle of rain and the distant roar of thunder, she decided that they would be better off following the river’s path for a bit, to hinder any following Gryphons who might pick up their trail through the muck. Daring and the filly waded for a ways through the meandering waters, keeping shallow enough so as not to risk getting swept away in the quickening current. Not long after beginning to follow the river, Daring happened upon a small shack by the riverside. Upon the bank was perched a canoe, which had not been put away by its owners before the storm. Due to the rain, the wooden craft was half filled with water. “Lend me a hoof, help me dump this out,” said Daring, and together the two ponies tipped the boat on it’s side, allowing it to drain. Daring searched around, climbing the hill to see somepony’s cottage and backyard. Leaning against a woodshed were three paddles, which she stole. Thievery was sometimes warranted. As the pair of ponies entered the canoe and pushed off from the shore, it occurred to Daring what a bad example she was setting. After all, she had been trying to impress upon Scootaround that stealing was wrong, yet she had taken somepony’s boat. The afternoon wore on, and the wind and rain picked up. The pace of the water quickened, propelling the two ponies down the river quite easily. The paddles were more useful for steering and avoiding a crash or sharp rocks than pushing them forward. As the pair of ponies came to a village on the seashore, Daring decided that they would be better off continuing on hoof. After all, travelling by sea during a thunderstorm was a bad idea. The pair came ashore behind a great stone building, dragging the boat into the bushes and flipping it on it’s side. The wind had picked up greatly, and thunder crashed. A torrent of rain drops splashed against the wet ground, mixing with the dirt to form pockets of water-filled mud. “Scootaround, listen,” started Daring as the two trotted on through the sloshing muck, “I’m not sure if we’re in Carpathia still, or if we made it all the way to the Hoofiet Union. If something bad happens, hide yourself away immediately. You got that?” “Uhuh.” The village square was unusually empty for so early in the evening, though the dark skies and turbulent storm provided plenty of excuse to stay indoors. Daring made her way across the dirt street to what appeared to be a post office of some kind, hoping to find out where she was. “Wait out here,” she instructed the filly, leaving her standing outside the building. The filly leaned herself up against the stone wall, watching the rain fall from the roof and splatter against puddles. From inside came the sounds of excited yelling, followed by a series of gunshots. There was a clang, a small explosion, and then a trail of smoke began to pour out from the entrance. Scootaround stood up straight, alert and startled. “Get out of here, kid!” came a muffled yell belonging to Daring, “Run!” Scootaround took off running just as an engine began to roar to life behind her. The filly didn’t look back as she dashed away towards the wharf. **** Daring Do stood outside the flaming inferno of the building as the rain slowly began to put the fire out. A drop of a soldier’s lantern combined with the rupturing gas had created an explosion, destroying the building entirely. The Gryphons were here, and they knew she was, too. Daring didn’t have anywhere to run other than into the woods in the thick of the driving thunderstorm. She made her way toward the edge of the village, making her way towards an old cobblestone path leading into the trees. The thunder rumbled, but there was another sound rumbling through the forest, one that made Daring pause. It was mechanical, and she could hear the sounds of limbs breaking off trees, of earth and dirt being crushed underneath something quite heavy. With a thunderous roar, the skies were lit up as the humongous Gryphon war machine fired at Daring. She bolted out of the way, back toward the village. The shell exploded where she had been just moments before, leaving a smoking crater. Lightning struck, illuminating the form of the tank clear as day for just a split second. It was bulky, armored, and squarish. The symbol of a screaming Gryphon could be seen painted onto the side of the metal beast. She would have to force herself to fly if she was going to outsmart this thing, no matter how much it pained her. In a moment's time, Daring had flown up to the rooftop. She looked over the soaked roofs of the village. She noticed that Gwindor was looking right at her from the turret of the tank, shouting commands to his Gryphons. She had his attention. As the tank's turret turned to face her, Daring charged in the direction that it was turning from at full speed. She reached the end of the roof she was on, and leaped over to another roof in the direction she was running. A crash of lightning illuminated her silhouette for a brief moment in time. A bellowing sound cracked through the sound of hooves striking wet cement. A high-pitched whizzing tore past Daring. The tank round had missed behind her. The tank made adjustments, now trying to get a lead on her. Lightning crashed again, and she thought she could see a small orange shape sprinting across the village, towards the docks. Scootaround was getting out ok. Daring winced as she took to the air, pushing off the slippery rooftop with a kick of her back hooves. Her sudden vertical change made the next artillery round miss again. The tank was thundering down the street again, turret adjusting even more as Daring continued to fly a pained course through the air. Daring heard the bellowing sound of another round firing, and this time she backed up suddenly, watching the shell narrowly pass in front of her face at high speeds as a forked lightning bolt struck the lightning rod of a nearby building. She knew that she couldn't dodge them forever. Daring took a dive, speeding towards the mud and landing on all four hooves with a splash. She tore off down the street, passing right in front of the tank. Since it's guns were still pointed towards the skies, they had no chance to fire at her. Daring circled around behind the machine, placing herself in it's blind spot. Hurriedly, Daring kicked at a loose rock, which was medium sized . It came out of the mud with her efforts, and she placed it into her pith helmet. The tank was turning around, and Daring ran in the opposite direction on the ground level. She crossed it's sights for an instant, and once again the tank fired too late to hit her. The shell exploded upon striking the cobblestone, leaving a sizable crater smoking in the middle of the street. Daring knew it would take around five seconds for the Gryphons to reload, so she swooped up to where she was right in front of the main cannon. Hurriedly, she dumped the rock out of her pith helmet and into an open hoof. She proceeded to ram the hoof down the barrel of the cannon, plugging it with the rock. As soon as she had done so, Daring took to the skies again, flying in a big arc over the top of the Gryphon tank, and landing on top of one of the buildings. The tank turned about in the middle of the street, it's turret raising to catch her position. Daring leaped into action once again, bolting across the rooftop while glancing back at the tank. She could see the turret adjusting to track her, and when it had a slight lead she heard the sound of it's cannon firing. Instead of launching an artillery round, the barrel of the cannon expanded in the middle and ruptured, sending pieces of broken metal flying as a plume of smoke poured out of the hole. Daring disappeared behind the building she was on, landing on crisp green grass. She could hear the sound of Gryphons wheezing and coughing, and Gwindor barking hurried commands. Knowing that the damaged battle tank would occupy the soldiers for a minute or two, Daring began running towards the docks of the village at a quick gallop. Her mane and clothes were covered in grimy dirt, rain water, and sweat. **** "Daring Do!" shouted an older stallion, dressed in a fancy jacket and shaking her hoof cordially as she approached the docks. Daring’s mouth dropped wide open. Dusty! "I must say, you look absolutely horrible." "No time to talk!" Daring panted, still panting from having escaped the Gryphons. She knew that they would still be after her, and they did not have a lot of time; they had to get out on the river immediately. The Carpathian border ended to the north where the river emptied into the sea. "Yes, the vessel is primed and ready to leave whenever you are ready to depart, Dr. Do," said the pony, still unaware of how serious things were. Daring bounded into the boat, leaping from the wooden planks of the dock onto the carpeted deck. The boat was relatively small, about the size of a fishing vessel, but was outfitted with a cabin with space to sit. Scootaround was already inside. As the other pony untied the rope holding the ship to the dock, Daring Do embraced the filly in a strong hug. "Thank goodness you're alright," said Daring, releasing Scootaround from the hug and tipping her hat up. She was still in disbelief that Dusty of all ponies had now come to her rescue. Starting the boat's engine was easy- all Daring had to do was give a great tug on the cord, and the engine roared to life. It sputtered for a second, but then the rumbling sound of it turning over became steady and much stronger. Before they could get the boat underway, the other pony rushed into the cabin, looking flustered. "What's the matter?" asked Daring, eyebrows furrowed. "There's a gryphon soldier here, m'am," the stallion answered, adjusting the wire-frame glasses that had dropped on his snout. "He insists on looking over the boat for a couple of escapees." "Go tell him he can check it if he wants, but we have a schedule to keep," Daring said, standing up quickly. The stallion stepped outside of the cabin. Daring motioned for Scootaround to stand up against the wall of the cabin, and she complied. Daring herself got against the wall on another side, near the door. As soon as she was in position, the door swung open again, and a tall gryphon barged in. The gryphon peered about the cabin, and his eyes darted to Scootaround first. He took a step forward, and in that instant Daring delivered a swift kick to his neck, dropping him instantly with a sick crunch. The gryphon fell down onto the planked floor of the cabin, helmet bouncing off of his feather-covered head. Daring was quick to grab him by the scruff of the neck with her teeth, and drag him back out the door of the cabin. Thunder crashed as the Gryphon was thrown overboard into the water. **** "Where are we headed?" asked Scootaround, standing up on her back hooves to see the dark, expansive ocean ahead of the ship as she grasped the rails. The storm was lightening up, and the sky was a dark navy blue. "Well, we need to put as much space between us and the gryphons as possible. We're out of their jurisdiction if we can get to the ocean," said Daring, biting her lower lip. She was exhausted, and worried about Gwindor. She knew he wouldn’t give up very easily, and she doubted even her own words. "Actually," Dusty Shelves remarked, "If what Dr. Daring Do has told me is true, and the Gryphons are allied with Carpathia and allowed to run military operations within their border, then we will need more than just a little space between us and the mainland. Considering that both shores of the river might as well be hostile..." "We'll be fine," Daring said, "Here, Scootaround, come down into the cabin with me. I'll teach you to play some card games. You ever played with playing cards before?" "A bit." said Scootaround. "I would play against my dad at night. We'd bet with beans and seeds." The kid bounded down into the cabin, but Daring remained behind with Dusty for a moment. “I have the crown, Dusty.” “That’s... fantastic,” he said in earnest, “Daring... what’s going on? Who’s this kid? What’s wrong with the Gryphons?” “Back in ‘30,” began Daring, “This Gryphon by the name of Gwindor oversaw an operation that sought to steal the progress of the Zenith dig away from the pony crew. During a fight, he got knocked over into the river, and the piranhas got him.... By Celestia how I hate piranhas. They’re just as bad as snakes, I swear....” “Daring,” “Right. Anyways, he managed to survive, and he got involved with some secret deal to get ahold of the Crown. Old Fatcat tipped him off, and so.... I don’t know how, but my journal gets involved in this somehow. They want to reopen the Temple of Nightmare moon, and finish some of the quests I’ve not finished yet. I’m thinking he was planning on killing me off this whole time.” “And the kid?” “An orphan off the street. I think I’m the first pony who’s shown her kindness since her parents died. She’s got some bad habits, but I made her a promise to bring her back.” “As long as you have the crown in tow,” Dusty said, “I don’t really care. Let’s get out of here tonight.” **** Dusty Shelves took over the wheel, and Daring broke open a box of crackers for the three of them to snack on. Dusty returned to steering shortly thereafter, and Daring was left with Scootaround in the cabin, lying on the floor and trying to go to sleep. "Dr. Do?" Scootaround asked, after sitting in dark silence for a few minutes. Daring lifted her pith helmet up from above her face, and looked over to where Scootaround's voice was coming from. "What's up?" "I was just wondering, what's gonna happen to me when we get to Equestria?" "Well," said Daring, "Before we can get to Equestria we're gonna stop in Shetland. It's a nation that's allied with Equestria, and we need the rest. When we're all rested up and ready to cross the Anterlic Ocean, we'll probably do it by plane. They're big flying machines that take you farther than what most pegasus can fly, and faster. Then, I guess we'll have to figure out what to do with you." "What does that mean?" "Well, there's several options. There's boarding schools, orphanages, and adoption. I'm not sure it's entirely my choice what happens, but I know you'll be well taken care of." "Dr. Do?" "Yeah?" "Do you have any kids?" "No, Scootaround. I don't." "Okay." There was a couple moments of silence, and then Scootaround spoke again. "Good night, Dr. Do." "Goodnight Scootaround. Try to get some good rest."