//------------------------------// // Picking up the Trail // Story: Daring Do and the Warlord's Folly // by CluelessBrony //------------------------------// It was a warm and sunny morning in Canterlot when Daring Do, clothed in her cloche hat, purple shawl, and red, thick-framed, and unnecessary glasses, opened the doors of Donut Joe’s shop, moving inside as the bells on the door tinkled. Glancing around, Daring saw that the restaurant was filled with happy patrons, munching on donuts, eclairs, and other tasty pastries and filling the air with bits and pieces of trivial conversation. Do soon spotted the shop’s owner behind the counter, cleaning a coffee mug with a rag. Donut Joe was a pale yellow unicorn stallion, with a wild shock of brown hair on his head. He was dressed in a white apron stained with various colours of icing and jelly with a white folded hat on his head. He glanced up at Daring as she approached and nodded slightly in acknowledgement of her presence, but remained focused on his mug. Daring sat on a barstool and waited for him to finish, tapping the counter impatiently with her hoof. She knew better than to rush Joe, despite wanting to get out of the public eye as quickly as possible. After a short while, Joe set the now spotless coffee cup down next to a long line of equally clean coffee cups before turning to face Daring. He spoke in a gruff accent that wouldn’t be out of place in Manehatten “Hey, ‘A.K’. Glad you could make it.” ‘A.K Yearling’ nodded to Joe. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Your letter said that you’d heard something that might make for a good ‘story’,” she responded, getting straight to business. It had taken Daring several days to travel from her isolated home in the forests, far to the west, all the way to Canterlot, and she was in no mood to beat around the bush. ‘This had better be important, or somepony is going to have a bad day,’ she thought. Donut Joe chuckled humourlessly. “What? No hello? No ‘how ya doin’ for a pal you haven’t visited in ages? That ain’t how you treat a friend, is it?” Joe smirked at Daring. “Especially not an old friend with the kind of helpful tip I’ve got for ya.” Daring rolled her eyes and conceded, impatience evident in her voice. “Ugh, fine, fine... so how’ve you been, Joe? Has the donut business been treating you well?” she asked, insincerely. “Ah, thank you for asking, Ms. Yearling. My business has been doing very well,” he answered, slowly. It was almost as though he were trying to get on her nerves. “Why, as a matter of fact, just the other day I-” As Joe droned on about business ventures and the rising price of flour, Daring examined the restaurant. It was packed to the brim with cheerful ponies, all talking and laughing amongst themselves. It was no place for the kind of talk she was expecting to have with Joe. Daring briefly wondered if Joe actually had a tip for her, or if he just wanted her to trek all the way to Canterlot to annoy her. Daring had known Joe since foalhood- having grown up together on the same street in a small town, they were drawn together. Not due to any similarities they had, of course. They were just some of the only foals in town, and the only two on that particular street. When they grew up, Daring had decided to leave the bland existence of life in a small town and seek a life of adventure, and Joe went on to follow in his family’s hoofsteps and become a baker. They had grown apart, but every once in a while, Joe would send her a letter and a tip, usually about some sort of ancient treasure. She had given up asking where he got his information when his first few tips proved fruitful. Apparently, donut shops are just a popular hangout for archaeologists and treasure hunters. Go figure. Joe tapped his hoof on the counter Daring was leaning on, snapping her out of her musings. “Are you even listening to me?” he asked, exasperated. “No,” Daring bluntly stated. “So, do you actually have a tip for me, or are you just wasting my time?” Daring fixed Joe with a hard stare, already dreading the long trip home. A new lead would have made the trip bearable, but if she were to go home empty-hooved, she would be unhappy, to say the least. Donut Joe took on a hurt expression for a brief moment before regaining his composure. “Come on, ‘Yearling’. You know I wouldn’t dream of wasting the time of such a busy ‘author’ such as yourself. Have I ever let you down before?” “Well, there was that time with the mantico-” “Other than that! Yeesh, a stallion makes one mistake and he never gets to hear the end of it.” Joe leaned down and grabbed something from underneath the counter, pulling it up for Daring to see. A newspaper was held between his teeth, and he dropped it in front of her. “Check out the headline.” Daring glanced down at the newsprint. “Local Archaeologist Missing”, it exclaimed in bold font. A black and white image of a unicorn stallion in adventuring getup was displayed underneath the headline. He was standing in a library, a confident look on his face and a smiling unicorn mare beside him. Daring sighed. “I’m not a forest ranger, Joe. It’s not my job to go searching for missing ponies.” She made to get up off her seat. “If this is all you have for me, I might as well-” “Now just you hold on there, Daring, I ain’t finished yet,” Joe interrupted, placing his hoof on her shoulder. Daring tensed upon hearing her real name, slowly turning back to Donut Joe, first looking down at his hoof on her shoulder, then looking up and fixing him with a sharp glare. Joe knew better than to use her real name in public. “Maybe he isn’t joking around after all?”  wondered Daring Donut Joe didn’t flinch under Daring’s gaze, instead meeting it with his own, even as he removed his hoof from Daring’s shoulder. “There’s more to it. This kid was in my shop a year ago. Some newbie fresh from the university. Heard him talking ‘bout some super important expedition he was about to go on. Said it was gonna make ’em famous.” Daring took a moment to digest this information before responding. “Assuming this is actually something worth looking into, why didn’t you tell me about this a year ago? Better yet, why didn’t you send me a letter explaining this to me and save me the trip here?” Donut Joe sighed exasperatedly. “Three reasons- first of all, I get all kinds of yahoos in here claiming to be on the trail of the next Sapphire Stone, and this kid didn’t seem too different from ‘em. Secondly, you ain’t got a monopoly on every major artifact that pops up. Third, and this is the answer to your second question, I hardly ever get to see you nowadays!” Joe was positively fuming at this point. “Is it too much to ask for a visit from a friend? And for reasons besides business? Can’t you just come in every now and then for a cup of coffee, a couple of donuts, and a friendly chat? Or am I gonna have to bribe you with leads for a few minutes of your time until one day, you don’t come back from one of your adventures?” Daring leaned back and away from the sudden outburst, her ears folding flat against her head. She had not expected the sudden outburst from the usually laid-back Joe. He had barely raised his voice, but it was full of conviction and frustration. And his stare was hard, but genuine concern could be seen in Joe’s eyes. In all the years of coming to Joe for leads, it had never occurred to Daring that Joe would actually worry about her. It was a needless worry, as Daring knew no trapped tomb or temple could stop her, but still… Donut Joe’s expression softens slowly and he sighs. “Well, that’s it. There’s your tip. Go do what you do best.” Joe rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly. “Just… be careful, alright?” After a moment’s hesitation, Daring leaned forward to give Joe a comforting, if awkward, pat on the shoulder. The gruff stallion blushed slightly out of embarrassment, but smiled anyway. “I will be careful, Joe. I always am. Maybe once I’ve finished this lead, I’ll come by for those donuts. Maybe we can even have a friendly chat and catch up on things.” Daring gave Joe what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Donut Joe’s smile widened. “I’d like that. Take care, Yearling. I look forward to hearing about where this lead took you. Maybe you could even give me the scoop before your next book is published, eh?” “I don’t know, Joe. I don’t think that would be fair to my readers.” Daring grins. “Maybe if those donuts are on the house…” Joe chuckled. “Sure, why not? Seems like a fair trade to me!” With those parting words, the adventuress left the shop, the bell on the door tinkling on her way out. Before the door even closed all the way behind her, Daring began planning her next steps. ______________________________________________________________________________ Daring, still dressed in her A.K. Yearling disguise, trotted up the streets of Canterlot to one of the richest districts in the city. After a long time thinking in her hotel room about what her next movements should be, Daring had come to the conclusion that the best course of action would be to consult her associate, Rosetta Stone. Rosetta was Canterlot’s premier professor of archaeology and the curator of the highly-renowned Canterlot Museum of History. If anypony knew anything about the young adventurer who had gone missing, or about any ‘super important expeditions’, it was her. The house in question was more of a mansion. It took up nearly an entire block all on its own, and it towered over the buildings around it with its intricate purple spires and towers. One wouldn’t be wrong to describe it as a miniature castle. Daring reached the pointed gates of the mansion and pushed on them, lost in thought, only to be surprised when they refused to budge. She pushed again, harder this time, and was rewarded with an unsatisfying clanking sound as the gate strained against its lock. “What the hay...?” she muttered, her face scrunched up in confusion. She scrutinized the gate, trying to find anything that may explain why the normally unlocked gate was barring her entry. Her expert explorer’s senses found a large sign which had been obviously and intrusively affixed on the gate. “Gate locked for party preparations?” she mouthed, reading the sign. She shook her head and sighed. “Great...” While Daring could simply fly over the gate, she doubted that Rosetta would appreciate her barging in during party preparations. Daring looked up and down the street, pondering her next move. She had to get in to speak to Rosetta, but it seemed the only way to do that would be to attend her party. ‘Well,’ she mused, ‘I could always wait until after. But that would mean... ugh, waiting. I hate waiting.’ Daring rustled her wings underneath her shawl. She could fly over the gate and just walk into the house, of course. But that would be rude, and the gate being locked was a clear sign that no visitors were welcome. ‘Then again, this is sort of an emergency, right? I need to know where that newbie went so I can save his expeditio- er, so I can save him!’ Daring glances up at the gate, pondering her choices for exactly one second. ‘Eh, the hay with it.’  Unfurling her wings, she flapped them underneath her shawl, rising up into the air and over the pointed tips of the fence gate. Almost as soon as she made it to the other side, she was surrounded by three sunglasses-wearing pegasi in tight black shirts. The largest one flapped closer to her. “We’re sorry miss, but this is private property,” he stated with extremely exaggerated gruffness. “Nopony is allowed inside before the party, and only then with an invitation.” Daring snickered at that. “Heh heh, you can take your warning and stick it where Celestia can’t see it, buddy. I’ve got important business to tend to, so if you don’t mind...” Daring started flying towards the entrance to the mansion, but was blocked when the three pegasus guards intercepted her. The big one flew in front of her, arms crossed. “We’re sorry miss, but we’re under order to keep everypony out, and we weren’t told about any important business!” Daring tried shoving her way past him without success. The guard grabbed her before she could get any closer to the mansion. “Hey, let go of me, Twinklehooves!” she exclaimed. “I’m not afraid of some dumb guard-for-hire with a fake attitude! Let go, or I’ll have to get viol-” She was cut off when she was thrown backwards and over the fence, part of her shawl catching on the pointed tip of the fence and ripping, and she caught herself with a few flaps of her wings before she hit the ground below. Twinklehooves and his entourage glared at her. “Don’t come back,” he warned, simply. He then turned away and, with a slight hoof motion, signalled his lackeys to follow him. They flew off, back toward the mansion. Daring landed and dusted herself off. “Damn guard ripped my shawl,” she grumbled to herself. She ran up to the gate and looked through, watching as the guards entered the mansion. She examined the mansion carefully, looking for another way inside. ‘If those guards won’t let me in, I’ll have to sneak in,’ she thought. Her eyes wandered to the side of her acquaintance’s home, lingering on a side door that was being used by various ponies busily bringing boxes of food and party decorations indoors. Daring scratched her chin. “Hmm...” Daring poked her arm through one of the bars in the gate and waved it around. “Hey! Hey, you!” she shouted, trying to get one of the busy ponies’ attention. A unicorn mare turned and looked at her quizzically before tentatively trotting over. “Um, can I help you, miss?” the mare asked. Daring smiled and put on her friendliest face. “Yeah, my invitation’s at home and I forgot what time the party starts! Could you help me out, maybe?” ______________________________________________________________________________ It was a cloudy night, and the light from the moon was almost completely blotted out. Daring looked up at Rosetta’s mansion, its bright lights starkly contrasting against the darkness of Luna’s night. Many well-dressed ponies were entering the well-lit mansion, their laughter and general chatter piercing the otherwise silent atmosphere. Daring crept low to the ground, not wanting to be seen by any security guards (especially Twinklehooves) or party-goers. She wore a black spandex ninja suit that bulged slightly from the shape of the clothes she wore underneath it. A single black saddlebag bounced against her flank as she moved. The adventurer crept up to the gate of the mansion, stopping a few yards away from the main gate and hiding in the shadows being cast by the thickening cloud cover. She examined the gate for a few moments. It was wrought-iron, too strong to break through, even with tools, and she had a feeling that Rosetta wouldn’t be as willing to help her if she damaged her property. She’d have to take the high road. Daring looked around, first right, then left. Nopony seemed to have noticed her, nor was there anypony nearby to notice her. But there’s no telling how long that would last. She flapped her wings and took off into the air, swiftly flying over the fence. She folded her wings against her side and dropped onto the ground on the other side. She stood still for a moment, crouched low to the ground, glancing around quickly to ascertain whether she’d been noticed or not. Judging by the lack of dumb muscle tackling her, she was in the clear. For now. She took note of her surroundings. The pathway leading up to the doors of the mansion was lined with expertly maintained rows of bushes and flowers. Similarly, a elegant, flowering hedge lined the edge of the mansion. The main door was, unfortunately, flanked by a pair of burly security guards instead of more visually appealing flora. The side door she had seen earlier had no security though, besides the occasional guard walking around the area. That would have to do. Daring sprinted for the hedge lining the walls of the mansion, jumping in quickly. She almost gave a yelp when she ran through a wall of thorns, but managed to remain quiet. She peeked her head out, silently hoping nopony had seen her. When she was satisfied that she remained invisible to the partygoers, she crept along the wall of the mansion, staying close to the ground. The prickly thorns of the Tartaros-spawned hedge scratched against her ninja outfit, threatening to tear it, but she pushed onwards towards the side door. She flinched every time one of her hooves snapped a twig despite her caution, and hoped she wouldn’t be noticed. After what felt like hours of nervous sneaking, she made it to the side door. After making sure that she wouldn’t be seen, she slowly crawled out of the bushes and plucked the thorns out of her sides. Daring tiptoed up to the door and placed a hoof on the handle, pulling on it. It wouldn’t budge. “Oh, horseapples...” she groaned. ‘Of course the door is locked. Why would this be easy?’ As she was mentally berating her situation, a click could be heard from the other side of the door as somepony unlocked it. Daring jumped into the bushes just in the nick of time, peering out as a pony straining to carry a large box of pears on their back. “Apples, you numbskull, we ordered apples!” a voice called from inside. The pony just groaned, cursing under his breath and kept walking forward, slowly, as the door started to swing shut. Thinking quickly, Daring picked up a rock and chucked it towards the door. The rock got wedged in the doorway just as the door was an inch away from closing, propping it open. ‘Heh, they didn’t call me Daring “Deadshot” Do in school for nothin’!’ she thought. When the box-lugging pony was a suitable distance away, she jumped back out of the bushes and opened the door all the way before entering. Daring found herself in a long hallway, cardboard boxes lining the walls. The bland, undecorated walls and dreary lighting wasn’t Rosetta’s style. It must have been a storage area, she thought, or a worker’s hallway. Daring crept along the hallway, darting behind boxes every chance she got. A few worker ponies passed her by, but she went unnoticed in the darkness, steadily making her way forward. After a short while, she spotted a doorway at the end of the hall. Light seeped in from underneath the door, and the occasional shadow swept past. She heard the loud din of hundreds of ponies all talking to each other, along with some fancy music in the background. That must have been where the party was being held! She got up and half-walked, half-ran to the door, but panicked when she saw the shadows of multiple hooves from the crack underneath the door. She acted quickly and without thinking, jumping into the closest box she could find and closing it up. She heard the door open and multiple ponies step in. Daring tried her best to be as quiet as possible in her bed of... was that kale? She grabbed a bit and munched on it while the ponies passed. “Ugh, and then he shouted at me and told me that I should be better at the job that was ‘befitting a pony of my lineage’! Like, what does that even mean?” a voice complained. A second voice answered. “Oh, just ignore that guy. Prince Blueblood is just another racist unicorn. You can’t throw a stick without hitting one of them at this party.” The ponies continued complaining about the prince, and their voices eventually faded away. Daring let out a sigh of relief. If they had wanted some kale, she would have been in a sticky situation. She jumped out of the box and threw open the door. She was greeted with the sight of a lavish ballroom. Ponies in elegant dress were dancing in the center, and along the sides, guests were socializing amongst each other. Tables covered in enough food and drink to feed a small village lined the far wall, and there seemed to be a few ponies already enjoying the punch a little too much. Everything, from the gaudy crystal chandelier hanging from the roof to the hardwood floor shiny and reflective enough to be used as a mirror, shouted “hey, look at me, my owner’s rich!” Daring took in all the grandeur of the posh ballroom, and then shrugged it off, indifferent to her gilded surroundings. When one repeatedly travels to ancient ruins, many of which have been buried for thousands of years, their standards for beautiful architecture tend to change. Compared to the grand halls of civilizations past, this ballroom just seemed to be trying too hard. As Daring was examining the opulent ballroom, a waiter carrying a silver tray of hors d'oeuvres walked past, giving her a confused look as he passed. She scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “Uh... I was told it was a masquerade party.” The waiter just nodded politely and moved on without a second glance, leaving the adventurer to marvel at how lucky she was he didn’t say anything. With a quick tearing motion, she ripped the black ninja outfit off, uncovering a modest, but classy, mauve dress. She quickly deposited the torn ninja suit into a nearby potted plant, shoving it deep into the soil. A quick search of her saddlebag later and she was wearing her thick-rimmed glasses and old mare’s hat once again. Her disguise complete, Daring reluctantly moved away from the walls of the ballroom and moved into the throng of typical Canterlot nobility. Almost immediately, Daring found herself surrounded by a veritable hurricane of trivial, overly polite conversation about matters she couldn’t bring herself to give a flying feather about. Making her way through the sea of nobles, it was not long before a small group accosted her. The group of three ponies made their way towards her, parting the sea of apparently lesser importance. One, wearing purple-tinted sunglasses and sporting a mane larger than his head, smiled at her. “Ah, hello there! I don’t believe we’ve met,” he greeted. “Um, no, we haven’t,” Daring replied. “But I’m kind of in a hurry, so maybe we can keep it that way?” Daring tried to push past him, but the other two ponies seemed to be determined to block her path no matter what. “What’s the rush? We’re at a party, my dear. These events are meant for socializing! My name is Hoity Toity. A pleasure, I’m sure.” Daring audibly groaned and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, hello. I’m A.K. Yearling, it’s good to meet you, what a great chat, we should do it again some time. Gottagobye!” Daring attempted to get around Hoity again, but his entourage continued to block her path.  If Hoity Toity noticed how eager Daring was to get by, he didn’t show it. “Now, where have I heard that name before?” the stallion wondered, putting his hoof up to his chin. “No matter. Now, how did someone such as yourself get invited to an event such as this, Miss Gearling?” “First of all, Yearling, with a ‘y’, as in ‘why am I even talking to you?’ Secondly, I got invited because I saved the host from a tribe of angry cannibal ponies in the Amarezon jungle. Now, excuse me, I have urgent business to attend to.” This statement seemed to finally break the posh pony’s composure. “Saved her from- sweet Celestia, surely you jest? Why, you’re just-” As Hoity continued to chatter on about his disbelief, Daring capitalized on his entourage’s own surprise to slip past them, ignoring Hoity’s indignant rambling. Using what little she knew about Canterlot social gatherings, Daring determined that Rosetta Stone would be somewhere in the biggest, thickest crowd of ponies. Rosetta was an extrovert, plain and simple- she was the kind of pony who could happily flit around a room and speak with everypony there. Daring searched the room, looking for the largest group of ponies. After a moment, she noticed a group lingering around the punch bowl. Surrounded by a group of nobleponies not dissimilar to a flock of incessantly chirping birds, a dark brown unicorn mare with a light brown mane in a lavish, amber-colored dress laughed and chatted among them, easily maintaining her position as the center of attention. From where she stood, Daring could just make out the mare’s distinct, elegant voice, but not her words. Rosetta Stone noticed Daring walking up to her mid-laugh. “Ah, Miss Yearling! It’s so good to see you,” the socialite exclaimed, moving towards Daring and giving her a tight hug. “It’s been ages since we’ve seen each other last! We have so much to catch up on!” Daring moved her hoof into her saddlebag and pulled out the newspaper from earlier, showing it to the mare. “Can we talk?”