//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: Daring Do and the Black Mare 
// by UnidentifiedFlyinPegasus 
//------------------------------//

	Daring took in a sharp breath and swallowed hard. This snake was huge, as thick around as she was tall, and so long that it was coiled five times and still barely fit in the large room. It's head facing her, the snake's body was spread over the entire room so that there was no way to cross. 
For non-pegasi, that is. 
Daring flapped her wings, trying to hover quietly and create as little wind as possible so as not to wake the giant cold-blooded reptile. She flew over the thick snake, looking down at it's colossal scales.
Daring Do allowed herself to breath as she touched down on the other side of the room. Behind her, the snake continued to sleep. 
A small wooden door led to another room. Daring walked nervously through, unsure of what to expect.
The moment she stepped inside, the door slammed shut behind her. Daring heard a loud hissing as white gasses were spewed out of holes in the walls. She took a deep breath and held it before the gas could reach her. Within a few moments the entire room was filled with a hazy white smoke. 
Daring's lungs burned and the smoke stung her eyes. She couldn't see a thing, and dared not breathe for worry that the gas was poison. She stumbled blindly, feeling in front of her with her hooves. Black spots began to dance before her clouded vision. A stone shifted beneath her hoof, and suddenly she fell away into darkness. 
Daring Do landed on a dune of sand, the fine grains cushioning her fall. She gulped in the fresh air, glad to be out of the terrible smoke.
Daring looked around her and gasped, her eyes widening with amazement. It was better than she could have ever dreamed of. Golden goblets, full to the rim with glistening rubies. Silver necklaces inset with emeralds. Everywhere, gold coins and glittering diamonds. It was-
"The lost treasure of Mindalin Ramidad." Bold Wing dropped down lightly onto the sand dune next to Daring, staring around in awe. 
"You!" Daring Do leapt off the dune and glared at her sister. 
Bold Wing laughed. "You really thought that would let you escape that easily? We've been following you this entire time, sister. I knew that you had memorized the map, and I knew that you would so kindly find the treasure for me." She chuckled to herself. 
"You-you-" Daring found herself at a loss of words. 
"Bring the big bags!" Bold Wing called up through the trapdoor. "There's even more than I anticipated!" 
The scarred stallion leapt down, wincing as he landed. Daring noticed that his foreleg was wrapped in a tight bandage. 
Bold Wing set to work immediately, grabbing a large burlap sack from the stallion's saddlebag and racing towards the nearest pile of gold. 
Daring noticed an inscription, repeated over and over again along the length of the floor in hieroglyphics: Beware the wrath of the dead. 
She realized what it meant a moment to late; Bold Wing was already shoveling diamonds into her sack. The floor began to shake violently. 
"It's a booby trap!" Daring shouted. "Put them back or this whole place'll go under!" 
"Liar!" Bold Wing said angrily. "You're lying! You just want it all for yourself, just like when we were kids!" 
The  ground shook even harder. 
"Bold Wing!" Daring yelled. "We have to go! Now!" 
Bold Wing didn't answer, but began stuffing her bag with jewels again. 
"Boss..." The scarred stallion looked up at the ceiling, where already large chunks of stone were beginning to fall. One particularly large chunk fell with a crash right next to Bold Wing, but she didn't seem to notice. 
Daring Do ran to her sister. "Please, Bold Wing." She pleaded. "I'm- I'm sorry." 
The apology jolted Bold Wing out of her madness, and she seemed to notice the room crumbling around her. 
The scarred stallion swept a hoofful of coins into his saddlebag and galloped towards the opening in the ceiling. He didn't even look back before leaping through it. 
"Come on!" Daring pulled her sister towards the exit. "We'll die if we stay here!" 
Bold Wing grabbed her sackful of riches and followed Daring to the middle of the room. Daring began to fly up, but descended when she saw her sister struggling with the heavy bag. 
"You can't fly with that!" Daring said. "Leave it! We have to go!" 
Bold Wing let go of the sack for a moment. "No! I've worked too hard to let this slip through my hooves!" 
Daring couldn't leave her sister. Not even if she was a thief. She grabbed the sack and flapped her wings as hard as she could. Bold Wing grabbed the end of the sack and flapped with her, and together they carried the sack up and through the opening. The pair held their breaths as they ran through the poisonous room and arrived in the snake's lair. 
It was awake. 
"That thing ate two of my guards!" Bold Wing said through a mouthful of burlap. "The only way around it is by flying. Strong Hoof had to run past it and he was injured by it's tail." 
"The sack is too heavy to carry over it. We'll have to empty it a little if we want to have a chance of making it." Daring said. 
"No!" Bold Wing protested. "We can carry it!" 
Daring wished that she would stop being so stubborn. Did she really value diamonds over her life? 
Bold wing grabbed her end of the sack and began to flap her wings. Daring hesitated, but grabbed the other end. The pair began to rise.  
They were halfway to the ceiling when the hissing began. 
It was quiet at first, but quickly became louder and louder. Daring looked down nervously to see the snake watching them with it's large eyes, following their slow ascension. 
It was only a matter of time before it would decide that they were food. 
Daring Do and Bold Wing both flapped hard, but no matter how strong their wings were, they couldn't lift themselves and the sack of treasure out of the snake's reach. Daring found herself struggling to stay aloft, the burlap sack gripped in her teeth becoming heavier by the second. 
Bold Wing was struggling too, and soon they were losing altitude. 
The snake lunged. Fangs bared, the giant head was aimed straight for Bold Wing. She tried to dodge it, but the weight of the sack slowed her down, and instead of being sliced in half, she was only scratched by the sharp fang. The other fang ripped through the sack's fabric, sending a shower of golden coins falling down onto the snake's body. 
"No!" Bold Wing's yelled, releasing her end of the sack and diving after the coins. Daring was now the only one carrying the heavy treasure; she was being dragged down by it's weight. It was either a sackful of gold or her life: Daring chose her life. 
She let go of the sack and watched it fall down, down, finally landing with a resounding clunk on the hard floor. 
"Leave it!" Daring shouted after her sister. "We have to leave now!"
Bold Wing didn't answer, but stared down at her lost treasure. The sack had split open on contact with the ground, and it's glittering contents were strewn over the floor. 
The snake hissed again. 
Daring began to fly out of the reach of the giant reptile, and Bold Wing reluctantly followed. They got over the giant snake safely and began flying down the passageway. Daring reached the exit first, joyfully flying out and into the cool night air. Bold Wing flew out as well and landed on a sand dune. 
"We did it!" Daring exclaimed. "We're alive!" 
Bold Wing smiled. "Yeah. Alive." She was panting for breath. 
"Are you okay?" Daring asked. 
"Fine." Bold Wing moved her feathers to cover her hind leg. "I'm fine." 
Daring landed next to her sister. "Let me see." 
Bold Wing frowned and moved her wing. Her leg was swollen, and underneath the fur, her skin was discolored. 
"The snake scratched you!" Daring exclaimed. Of course, a snake that size was probably poisonous. 
"I'm fine." Bold Wing repeated weakly. Pus was already beginning to leak from the thin cut. Daring feared it was already too late. 
"We have to get you to a hospital." Daring's voice cracked, and she realized for the first time how scared she was for her sister. Daring Do never got scared. 
Bold Wing shook her head. "The nearest one's miles away. There isn't time." 
"There has to be something I can do!" Daring felt her eyes grow warm, and she blinked away the wetness. "I can't just- just watch you die!" 
"It's okay." Bold Wing smiled reassuringly. "Everything's okay." 
Daring could remember another conversation she'd had, long ago, with her sister. 
"Why are your eyes different colors?" Little Daring had asked, trying to keep her balance as she walked on the edge of the sidewalk. 
"I'm just special, I guess." Bold Wing had smiled and steadied her as she wobbled to and fro. 
"I wish I were special." Daring stared in fascination at her older sister's mismatched eyes. 
"You are special, you silly little filly." Bold Wing swept her younger sister onto her back, and she giggled. "You're the most special pegasus in all of Equestria." 
Daring Do smiled at the memory and looked down at her sister. She was beginning to shiver and her eyes were going out of focus. "I'm sorry." Daring nuzzled her sister lovingly, and felt a tear slide down her cheek. 
"Go... have an adventure... for me." Bold Wing's eyes closed for the last time. 
Daring Do stretched out her wings, sheltering her sister's dead body from the moonlight. 
"I will." she whispered. 
The end.