“I’m going on an adventure!!”
“You know, I’d had a little bit of doubt earlier, on whether or not you were sane. But now…? Now it’s just confirmed!” Velvet said.
Daring raised an eyebrow at that, “I’m dead serious about this, Vel. I really did see it! I had it! The Statue’s real!”
The Unicorn mare sighed, “Daring, honestly. It’s just an old pony’s tale. I doubt that Ahuizotl even exists somewhere in this world! He was just a story invented in the old days to keep ponies from straying too far from their villages. ‘Don’t go too far, or Ahuizotl will drag you beneath the river and eat you’ and stuff like that. He makes for a goof fiction novel, and that is about all the impact he has on this world.”
Daring Do had an irritated expression on her face as Velvet spoke. She looked almost angry, “Of course you would say that! I’ll wager you’ve never even set hoof outside of Equestria until now, have you?”
Twilight Velvet shook her head, “I don’t see what that has got to do with anything-” But the Pegasus cut her off, rising into the air, “It has everything to do with it! Yeah, Ahuizotl was a story back home. A myth made from a true story. Ever been anywhere near Ponyville, Velvet? Or how about the Everfree Forest? I grew up in Cloudsdale, just above those places. I’ve been into the Everfree, and I know exactly what it is like in there. There are some crazy things in the world we live in, Twilight Velvet. And Ahuizotl is one of them.
“I was in the Everfree when I first found the Statue. It was sitting in this cave at the end of a river. I was pretty young – didn’t even have my Mark yet. I was going through the forest in an attempt to find the old castle of the Royal Sisters, and I ended up getting sidetracked by the river. I don’t know what, but… I just felt like there was something down there that I had to find. And then I found the cave. It was surprisingly bright inside, something in the type of rock. It was really unremarkable aside from that. Nothing spectacular about it, except for one thing: Sitting on a pedestal in the very back of the place was the Sapphire Statue.”
Daring began to calm down as she spoke. She landed and folded her wings back against her sides, “I still don’t know why, but I was drawn to it. And I just, picked it up. Sounds pretty dumb of me, huh? Walk into a random cave in one of the most dangerous forests in Equestria, and I pick up a random gem figure? Well, let me tell you. It was both incredibly stupid of me, but also the greatest decision of my life!”
The adventurer had sat back down, and stopped for breath. Her outburst had worried Velvet for a number of reasons. Namely, the Unicorn feared for her health, especially after seeing what this mare was capable of. Also, she worried that she had offended the Pegasus, who so far was the only pony she felt she could trust, even a little, in this place. The aspiring author was snapped back into reality when Daring Do began to speak once again, “I had only just picked up the Statue when there was this really loud cracking sound, kinda like thunder, if I was to give it an analogy.”
She paused for a second once again, trying to remember exactly what happened next, “Anyway, I was scared out of my mind by all of this, and started to run. I didn’t look back. How could I? I mean, if you went into a cave in Everfree, and heard some horrible sound, would you look back? I had assumed it was a dragon, but I was so very wrong. I had only just made it out of the cave, and was taking a little rest, admiring the prize I’d claimed, when out of the water rises this giant paw – kinda like a Diamond Dog’s, only bigger – and it smacks me flat to the ground! And after the paw, which I had assumed was on an arm, but was actually on the tail, there out of the water rose Ahuizotl. I’m assuming you’ve seen the pictures of him? Well, he actually does look a little like those!”
Twilight Velvet, despite how far-fetched all of this seemed, was unable to speak up and tell Daring to stop talking, that this was a load of nonsense. As it was, she remained silent, and allowed the excited Pegasus to continue, “Ahuizotl started going off on this little monologue, mentioning something about almost feeling bad for having to eat me – considering I set him free and all that – but luckily, I was quick enough to get away before one of his paws was able to crush me. I wasn’t able to retrieve the Statue though, and was forced to fly off. I got three things out of that encounter,” Daring Do lifted herself partially into the air, and undid one of the buttons on her jacket, and pulled it aside, showing two long scars, “I got these neat little scars when Ahuizotl had tried to swipe me out of the air,” she left the jacket unbuttoned, and turned in the air, pointing to her Cutie Mark – a compass rose, “This beauty here, and finally, my life’s calling.”
Daring Do landed once again, resetting the button on her jacket, “I know what I saw, Vel. I remember what if felt like to be scratched by that spirit. I remember how heavy the Statue was, and how fulfilled, how proud I felt when I found it! I didn’t discover my Mark until my big brother pointed it out to me, but I knew almost instantly that adventuring, and treasure hunting was my special talent. Not to mention, I had set a potentially great evil back into the world. So I felt kind of obligated to right that wrong.
“That was several years ago, Velvet. I’ve read up on every story, account, and myth there is about Ahuizotl. I’ve followed hints and possible sightings all over Equestria, until finally I found my way here, to Caballo a few months ago. I know Ahuizotl, and his Statue, are here.”
The Pegasus fell silent for a few seconds, before she started to laugh, “And now I’ve gone and told you my life story, now didn’t I? Heh, well, it at least explained a few things,” she saw the look that Velvet was giving her, and trotted over, patting the Unicorn’s shoulder, “I’m not mad at you, Velvet. Not anymore, at least… Okay, maybe a little, but you can stop worrying about whether or not I’m going to cave your face in.” She gave a cheeky smirk.
Try as she might, Velvet wasn’t able to keep her own face straight at that. Daring had a certain way of saying potentially threatening, or morbid, things in a chipper, friendly way that made them much funnier than they should have been. Brushing her white and lavender mane away from her eyes, Velvet spoke for the first time since Daring’s tangent, “I’m sorry for doubting you, Daring. And while I still don’t fully believe the story, I can see some truth in it, or at least, the possibility of truth. Why else would any Equestrian born mare in their right mind be here?”
“Well then, why are you here?” The Pegasus fired back, raising an eyebrow at her, “You calling yourself crazy?”
Velvet hesitated a second in responding. Why was she here? It was the delusion that she would discover some sort of inspiration about a grand adventure, or overhear another pony’s tale for her to draw off of. But her search had proved fruitless. That thought sat in Velvet’s mind for a second before her rational side evicted it. She had found what she was after! Daring Do was an adventurer, who – even if it was false – had a fantastic experience! Twilight Velvet had her answer, “I’m not going to confirm or deny whether or not I am crazy… But I can tell you why I am here.”
She stood, for the first time that morning. Her legs felt a little weak beneath her, but held. That might have also been because Daring allowed Velvet to lean against her. The Unicorn mare continued, “I’m a writer, you see. Never been published in my life, so I do not feel justified in calling myself an author, but I am a writer all the same. I came here to Caballo looking for inspiration for what I hope to be my debut novel. Something about adventure, peril and all that fun stuff. Perhaps something that has a strong heroine, rather than the cliché of the stallion being the savior. And you know what Daring?” Now it was Twilight Velvet’s turn to grin, “You sound just like the kind of heroine I’m looking for. That little yarn you just told me, and just your personality. Ever think about being a storybook protagonist?” She said, amused.
Daring Do gave her a high browed look, before she started to laugh. It wasn’t a jeering, mocking laugh. It was good natured, maybe even flattered. Velvet let the Pegasus adventurer’s mirth continue for a few minutes, waiting for it to die down before she spoke again, “I’m being serious here, Daring. You came here on some grand scheme to find an ancient treasure, and confront an evil spirit. You’re an independent, strong willed and fierce mare. If that doesn’t sound like the set up for a grand adventure novel, I don’t know what does!”
Daring finally managed to stop laughing. Wiping a few tears from her eyes, she breathlessly responded, “So, what exactly are you planning to do, Velvet? Wait around back here for me to get back and spin the tale for you to write down?”
Now it was Twilight Velvet’s turn to laugh, “Nope! I’m coming with you!” At Daring Do’s expression, Velvet was quick to add in, “And before you go saying ‘no’, I’m not going to take that for an answer! You may be able to handle yourself well enough against one pony, but you still needed my help to get away from the mob – even if it was my fault that you needed my help – and any good adventurer needs an assistant! Whether they are a treasure hunter or a traveler of time and space, they’ve always had somepony with them!”
Daring Do’s eyes clearly read ‘you’ve had your nose in too many books’, and she had opened her mouth to protest, but Velvet was quick to cut her off, “That is why you were in the tavern, yes? You told your story, gave them the pitch about coming along, and when they called you a liar, the brawl broke out. Am I right?”
The Pegasus, wide eyed and slack jawed at the Unicorn’s astute observation, was only able to nod. Velvet gave her a smug little smile, “Well, we both know how that turned out. I had been hoping that an answer to my search here would come literally jumping out at me. And that is kind of what you did. Fate has a strange sense of humor, doesn’t it?”
Daring Do nodded, chuckling, “Almost like this was all written in a book, eh?”
After a second’s consideration, Velvet nodded, “Yes, almost like it was written in a book.” She said, amused. The silence that stretched for the next few seconds had been so quiet, that Daring’s sudden speech nearly made Velvet jump out of her skin, “So! That’s all settled then! You’re coming with me on my grand plot to get the Sapphire Statue back, and give Ahuizotl a bad day! Any thoughts you’d like to share, Documenter Twilight Velvet?”
The aspiring author tapped a hoof to her chin for a second. She smiled broadly, and dancing excitedly on all four hooves, squealed, “Oooh! I’m going on an adventure!!”