//------------------------------// // Trust // Story: Daring Do and the search for the Winter Pearl // by DemonWriterX //------------------------------// CH 2 TRUST “Where are we going, Ahuizotl?” Daring Do demanded. They had been walking through the humid rainforest for over two hours. Ahuizotl was leading the way. He ignored her question when he pushed down a set of thick branches with ease. Daring was reminded how she had to stay on the tips of her hooves.He still hadn’t told her the name of the stallion and if he decided to go back on his word. She won’t have the strength to fully defend herself. “You ask too many of these questions,” Ahuizotl began, glancing back at her. “Where are we going? We are we going?”He said in a high pitched tone, mocking her. “Bah! It is getting tiresome.”He pushed down another set of branches, which came crashing down in front of her. She angrily flew up to his face. “Hey! Watch it! You almost crushed me back there!” Ahuizotl pushed her away with his tail and wagged an index finger at her. “In my culture, the word “almost” means “nothing”, which means, nothing happened to you. You are alive…unfortunately.” He said, muttering the last part under his breath. She glared at him. “Whatever. I still want to know. Where. Are. We. Going.” “Yes, yes, yes.” He said, waving her away. “You will know soon enough, Miss Do. We are already here.” Ahuizotl pushed aside a thick brush revealing a camp full of Aztec Ponies. The Ahuizoten. The followers of Ahuizotl. Daring saw over fifty warrior ponies gathered around a large bonefire. One look at Daring and they pointed their sharp spears at her. It was a trap! She immediately landed on the ground taking out her trusty whip from her side. She snapped it towards them. Her teeth clenched around the handle, ready for any type of attack. The ponies advanced towards her but saw Ahuizotl step in between them. “Enough with the formalities,” He began with a slight tired tone. “regrettably, she is a guest.” The ponies glanced at one another, raising brows and whispering amongst each other. Daring’s eyes darted back and forth at them, slowly back up towards the trees, just in case. Ahuizotl became impatient and slammed both of his fists down on the ground. The sudden force shook the ground are them, multi-hued birds flew out of the trees, cawing in distress. The ponies swiftly huddle together, quivering in fear, dropping their weapons as they did. “Enough!” Ahuizotl barked. “I am in no mood to deal with you all now, so somepony deliver my dinner to my tent right now or all of you are getting thrown in the fire!” The ponies instantly scattered. They all hurried to a nearby fire pit. Sitting on top of it was a cauldron filled with boiling brown soup. They worked quickly to chop up vegetables and throw it into the cauldron, fearful of their master’s wrath. The Aztec ponies are nomadic. They lived off the land and away from other modern ponies. Daring Do realized that the only reason they follow Ahuizotl is because they see him as a protector and their leader. With undying loyalty, they will follow Ahuizotl to their death. Daring pitied them. She knew Ahuizotl. He was just using them as his personal goons for his schemes. Daring Do put away her whip and looked up at Ahuizotl, who signaled her to follow him. She, along with his cats, walked through the campsite. The camp had tents set up to accommodate an individual pony and families. There was large fire pits scattered nearby to cook meals. The camp was designed to quickly disassemble and relocate at a moment’s notice, in accordance to Ahuizotl’s own lifestyle. When they continued to walk, Daring saw mares tending to the weapons and clothes, while the males gathered the food to cook. Surprisingly, Daring noticed a few fillies and colts running around the campsite. Once they saw Ahuizotl, they immediately ran towards him. Daring froze in fear when they began to climb on him like he was their personal jungle gym. She thought Ahuizotl would throw the poor kids off of him but instead he gave them a small smile. She blinked at him. She never seen him smile so kindly before. He was usually ruthless. With his tail, he picked up the kids one by one and put them back on the ground. “No, no playing today, ninos.” The kids let out a collective “aww”, their heads bowed down in disappointment. “Go on, go back to your mothers.” He told them sternly, pushing them all gently with his hand. They did what they were told and scurried away. She glanced up to Ahuizotl, who still held a warm smile until his eyes darted at her. His smile quickly went back into a scowl. Daring decided to not say anything when she followed him towards the end of the campsite. There was a rectangular-shaped tent, much larger and extravagant than the others. The perfect size for Ahuizotl. The cloth was made out of the finest blue and gold fabric. Daring had a strong suspicion that he may have stolen the material since it reminded her of the fabrics made in Saddle Arabia. The interior was just as extravagant. At the entrance, there were five sets of large pillows for his cats. The immediately took their respected spot as Ahuizotl went to his own pillow in the middle of the room. There was a small table set out and everywhere Daring Do looked, she saw statues, accessories, and things all depicting cats. She did not realize how much Ahuizotl’s love for cats was in the range of obsession. “All right Ahuizotl,” Daring Do began, taking a seat on a spare pillow in front of him. “No more wasting my time, tell me what I need to- “ “Please, Miss Do,” he interrupted with his palm out. She frowned. “I am bound to tell you what I know since you healed me. It is a tradition in my tribe to keep out promises, even to our enemies…” He let out a growl at the last word, but took a breath, calming himself. “At least let me have my meal first.” On cue, a small orange filly walked in with a tray of food on her head. On the tray there was bread and a bowl of soup. Daring gawked at the sight of the small filly, struggling to keep the tray steady. One misstep and hot soup will go everywhere. The tray wobbled precariously side to side with each step the filly took. Daring put out her hooves. “Maybe I should- “ “Leave her be.” Ahuizotl said with a hard tone. He let out a disappointed sight at the filly’s poor service and put out his tail. Daring moved to her whip, ready to protect the poor child from his temper. Instead, Ahuizotl put out his index finger and straightened the filly’s head. “You must keep your chin up. Back straight. Chest out.” He said with a bored tone. As if he said it numerous times before. “Now walk.” This time, the filly and the tray was well-balanced. Ahuizotl nodded at her when she stopped beside the table. “Well done. Now, set the tray down with your neck straight.” Slowly, the filly did what she told. The tray slid from her head and smoothly onto the table. The filly turned to Ahuizotl, waiting further instructions. Ahuizotl smirked. “Well done. Now, bring her meal…” he ordered, rolling his eyes as he pointed at Daring. Daring Do kept a straight face, pretending she didn’t notice his rudeness. The filly ran out the tent for a moment and came back with a new tray of food.This time, she walked more confidently and placed the tray in front of Daring. “Muy bien.” Ahuizotl said. Even though Daring’s knowledge of Ahuizotl’s language and his tribe was limited, she did understood praise when she heard it. The smile on the filly’s face indicated to that. With a wave of his hand, he sent the filly away. Daring Do looked down at her meal and stared at the it. It could have poison. She thought. She pushed the tray away and her eyes moved to Ahuizotl, who bit off a mouthful of breath and swallowed. “Do not be picky.” He chided, picking up his bowl of soup. “If somepony places a meal in front of you, it is considered rude not to eat it.” “No thanks,” She replied with a frown. “I’m not hungry.” “Fine.” He shrugged. “I suppose I should get this ‘thrilling’ visit over with…” He put down his bowl. “The pony who has the pearl is called Blanco de Bouve.” “Blanco?” She repeated. “Never heard of him.” “Of course you would not have. His is originally from Maris, a city known for its vass museums filled with art and various items of wealth.” He took a sip of his soup. “I do not know much about him but…he supplies valuable treasures to ponies who can afford to hire him. He is known for frequenting the black market and stealing from museums.” “So he’s just some petty thief.” “I would not call him petty, Miss Do.” Ahuizotl said in a low voice. “You saw what he did to me and to you. He is not um…” he began to snap his fingers trying to figure out the right word before landing on the right one. “-a weakling. He is clearly experience in combat.” Daring pursed her lips and tapped her hoof against her chin. “Judging from the way he attacked you…and me, he was aiming for our pressure points. It’s a hard art to master, so he must be a skilled fighter but, who is he working for?” “That is hard to say because I do not know of the answer. I do know this…you are familiar with the legend of the Winter Pearl, no?” “Sure, the pearl is regarded as a sacred artifact to the Ococztet Tribe that used to live there. There was the legend on how their God, Tlaloc, used the pearl’s power to save them from a drought. On a high mountain, on the day of the winter solstice the pearl caused the land to be covered in snow. But, the magic of the pearl made it snowed in that region, non-stop for a hundred years.” She blinked, the thought dawning on her. “Wait…the winter solstice is in a few weeks!” She got up. She couldn’t afford to waste any more time. She would have to track Blanco down and intercept him before he could reach his buyer. But, it’s hard to track down ponies in the rainforest, disappearing without a trace. She let out a groan. “It will take me days before I could pick up his hoof prints.” “It seems you are in a slight dilemma, Miss Do.” Ahuizotl said, a grin plastered across his muzzle. Daring cocked her head at him. It was then she put the pieces together. “You know where he is…” She said. “You know where he took the pearl!” “I am surprised you caught on so quickly.” He mocked, Daring decided to let it slide. “Yes, I know where is heading. He is going back to his homeland to give the pearl to his buyer in Maris. He is attending a party in a museum called, “Petite’s Jewels and Artifacts,” but there is a small prob-!” “Wait, how do you know this?” Daring asked with suspicion. “Two weeks ago, I was frequenting the Black Market, it was there when I heard the rumors of this pony and the pearl. Naturally, I did not want to deal with eternal snow and ice, so I decided to find the pearl first and destroy it.” Ahuizotl let out a sigh. “But the temple remained elusive to me, that is until I saw you with a map leading to the temple and well, you know what happened after.” “How could I forget?” She said with a hard tone, rubbing her sore side. “And what do you mean by ‘problem’? There’s no problem I can’t handle. I handle you pretty well, don’t I?” She sneered. Ahuizotl growled at her. “Funny.” He said dryly. “But you will never enter the event without the location and it is for married couples only.” Daring stared at him for a moment, stifled out a laugh before bursting in loud laughter. Her head thrown back as she clutched her sides. “Please! A married couple? Who the hay made up that stupid rule?” She wiped a tear from her eye, ignoring Ahuizotl’s glare. “I can work around that, I would just have to get a pony who can help me and…” She looked up at Ahuizotl, who took another sip of his soup, while keeping his eyes on Daring. She took a step back, mouth agape in shock. “You got to be kidding me, you want to come with me!” “To seek my vengeance on the pony who paralyzed me!” Ahuizotl shouted before he cleared his throat. “And to also destroy the artifact.” “No thanks. I prefer to not work with an ego maniac, who tried to kill me multiple times in his stupid traps.” Daring Do turned away from him, heading out. “And I want to preserve the pearl, not destroy it!” “You are foolish to preserve such a powerful totem!” “I am a mare of history! It belonged to a lost race of ponies, it deserves to be admired!” “You need my help, Miss Do.” Ahuizotl said sternly, which made her scoff at him. “Please, what do you have to offer? I’ll tell you, nothing.” She stomped her front hoof at him. “This involves going in undetected. Blanco could run if he gets one look at you a mile away or one smell of your breath.” “And he’ll run in fear from your witty remarks.” Ahuizotl countered. Daring Do smiled and batted her eyelashes at him. “Why Ahuizotl, are you calling me witty? I’m flattered; I guess you aren’t as dense as I thought.” “How very adult of you.” He responded with a dull tone. She flipped her mane back. ‘Besides, I am a professional in disguises. You, on the other hoof, aren’t exactly ‘small’ or ‘approachable’.” She said, making air quotations with her hooves. Ahuizotl put his hand to his chest in offence. “I am plenty approachable!” He argued. “As for changing my appearance, I might have something that will be of assistance.” With his tail, he reached over to a clay urn. He reached inside and pulled out an emerald amulet, surrounded by silver and engraved with symbols. It was attached to a silver chain. “What is that?” Daring Do asked, peering at the green oval gem with interest. She had never seen anything like it. The symbols depicted a picture of a chimera engraved into it. “This amulet will me of extreme help, Miss Do. The Amulet of Metamo. Metamo was a creature who can change his form at will, each amulet he made turned him into any creature he could think of and this one, could change me into a pony.” Without a second thought, he put the necklace around his neck. The emerald began to glow brightly, emitting a pulsing light that enveloped Ahuizotl in a blinding veil. Daring Do put up her hood, shielding her eyes. As quickly the light appeared, it was gone in a quick flash. Her eyes widened at the sight of what appeared to be a pony version of her enemy. He was an earth pony, with dark blue fur and a black mane. A little taller than most earth ponies and slim. He still had his yellow eyes, and he wore the same golden necklace, bracelets and the one earring. Fitted to his new size. The amulet hung loosely around his neck. He looked at Daring Do, seemingly discouraged by her silence. He looked at himself in a small frown. He clapped his new hooves together; he would have to get used to not having hands for a while. He looked up at Daring, tired of the silence. ‘Why are you staring?” He demanded. “You know…" she started slowly, “You look so… ugly. You look exactly the same!” She dramatically gasped, covering her mouth in mock horror. He scoffed, rolling his eyes as he walked past her. “As always, your sense of humor is compatible with the back end of a mule,” he smugly retorted. She shot a glare at him. “We will leave for Maris in the morning, until then…” he pointed to the opening of the tent, "Get out, you shall sleep outside.” “Hmph! Gladly! This place smells like cat litter anyway." she replied with her head up high, taking her leave. She looked over at the Aztec ponies, finding them heading into their own tents. Daring Do looked up at a nearby tall tree, one large enough to not be pushed down by Ahuizotl and tall enough to not get caught off guard. She shot up toward a high branch, set herself down, and looked down toward Ahuizotl. He waved goodbye to her with a grin across his face, making her cringe at the gesture. Daring watched him go back inside, she leaned back against the trunk of the tree, resting her hooves over her stomach. Trust was not a thing easily given to the likes of Ahuizotl. She knew once they get a hold onto the Pearl he would try to kill her. For now, she was safe up in the trees.