Reinerth’s caravan sluggishly made its way up the rocky slopes of the Chorda Mountains. His wagon creaked and groaned as the snowy winds buffeted it from every angle. Outside, in the cold, the rest of his expedition was freezing as Reinerth stayed comfortable inside his warm cart. The grey pony groaned as his wagon came to a halt. He waited a few seconds for Kuwinda to open the door.
The zebra poked his head inside, shaking off bits of snow from his Mohawk mane.
“Misteh Reinerth. Dere be a letteh for ya.” He growled.
Reinerth stood up, trotting the small distance between him and his servant. Kuwinda held out the letter from his mouth, gingerly holding it between his worn teeth. Reinerth savagely took it, swiping it almost harshly out of his mouth. He unfolded it out on the table, and adjusting his spectacles, began to read.
Dear Mister Reinerth, from Governor Murad of Istanfoal
I am pleased to report that Daring Do is currently in my palace in Istanfoal. I’ve locked her away in the most secure dungeon I have as she awaits her execution. Unfortunately, she was not in possession of the Thunder Stone. Her travelling companion, a zebra captain by the name of Mbarka is being treated in my hospital and is unaware of Daring Do’s condition. The two were found with a third pony, a young unicorn navigator named ‘Sunny Borealis’. The three will be put to death at the earliest convenience, and no later. I might conduct a bit of ‘persuasion’ to see what they know, if you grant me the permission. My stallions will begin excavating the Tomb of Osman in search for your Stone. On an unrelated note, the griffon party I had dispatched-
Reinerth averted his eyes from the letter, with a wide smile upon his face. He stared at Kuwinda as he quietly snarled,
“Daring Do is caught! Dies ist eine gute nachricht!” he began to talk at an unintelligible speed in his foreign language, which Kuwinda struggled to understand. As his sentence tapered off, he began to talk normal,
“Bring me the archaeologist. I need to speak to him!”
Daring Do awoke in a damp cell. Her head ached and she tasted the faint copper taste of blood on her tongue. She took in her bearings. Her cell was made of sandstone and dirt, with the floor littered by bones and tattered cloth. Chains hung from the ceiling, attached to skulls, ribcages and Daring’s hind legs; the chilled, rusty iron bracers chafing against her tan coat. She shifted her weight around, trying to get a look around the corner of her cell.
The dimly lit hallway challenged Daring Do’s eyes as they adjusted to the change in lighting. Her night vision slowly enhanced until she was able to recognize basic shapes outside her cell. Along the hallway were more cells, most of which were empty. Daring Do spotted no guards, and took a chance to call out,
“Sunny? You out there?”
A whimper from the next cell over.
“Sunny? Is that you?”
The whimper grew louder, and eventually Daring could pick up the minute sounds of the young unicorn.
“Daring Do. I’m… hurt.”
Daring could hear her fighting back tears. She pulled herself along the floor, dragging the restricting chains behind her. She reached her hoof out in between the cell’s bars, and held it out in front of the neighboring cell. After a moment Sunny’s hoof wrapped around her own.
“It’s gonna be alright, kid. Trust me.”
Daring Do tried her best to be reassuring, but she had no idea what was happening. The last thing she remembered was walking into the throne room, and seeing the one-eyed griffon. After that her memories were fuzzy. She vaguely remembered a club, and being dragged down some stairs. She closed her eyes tight, trying to bring back the memories of yesterday.
The door at the end of the hall slammed open, and two brown ponies staggered through. Even from the large distance between Daring and the guards, she could still smell the strong scent of alcohol on them. The two guards were walking side by side, with one draping his hoof over the other’s shoulder. The stumbled their way down the hall, stopping right in front of Daring’s cage. The first pony hicced,
“What’sh this? A, hic, Daring… Daring something!”
The other pony laughed as Daring Do straightened her grayscale mane. She let go of Sunny’s hoof, reluctantly, and stood up, meeting the guard pony’s eyes straight on.
“It’s Daring Do.” She politely corrected. “Any chance you could let us out? I’ve got things to do today.”
The two ponies gazed at each other, bewildered, before bursting out into drunken fits of laughter. Their cackles echoed in the hallway, stirring other prisoners. The first of the two guards retorted back,
“Sure, we’ll let ya out… The… The, uh…”
“Governor!” the second guard perked up, before belching loudly.
“Yeah, him! He shaysh he wants you upshtairs for a talk.”
The second pony fumbled with the key, and eventually managed to get the door open. It squeaked on its rusty hinges as it swung open, letting the two guards drunkenly stumble into the cramped cell, unchaining Daring Do from the wall. She moved slowly, taking care to not agitate her headache more. She let the guards escort her out of the cell, not wanting to fight back due to the splitting pain across her temples.
It wasn’t until Daring Do passed in front of Sunny’s cell that she got a good look at her. Her friendly demeanor was replaced with sullen defeat. Her ear was mangled and leaked blood down the side of her cheek. One of her legs was badly twisted at an awkward angle, but remained unknown as to whether it was broken or not. She looked up at Daring Do through tear-filled eyes, not saying anything, just meeting Daring’s magenta eyes with her own. The pegasus’ heart fell, and her headache diminished as it was replaced by a mixture of fear and rage.
Daring now understood where the guards were taking her. From the looks of Sunny, they were taking her to be tortured.
Daring Do, now ignoring her headache, spun around delivering a kick square to the chest of the first drunken guard. As the second one took his time to react, Daring smashed her hoof against his face. He spun around, knocking himself into the iron bars of Sunny’s cell. He lay on the ground, knocked out easily from the combination of alcohol and Daring’s assault. The first pony had clumsily gotten to his hooves, ready to face off against the unruly prisoner. He tried to throw a punch, but stumbled and fell forward, much to Daring’s delight. He knocked his chin on the ground hard, and remained motionless afterwards.
The key lay glistening in the dim light. She reached down, picking it up with her teeth, and used it to unlock Sunny’s cell. The unicorn remained lying on the ground as Daring undid the chains that were wrapped around her legs. She tried to stand, but fell in a heap.
“Come on, Sunny! Let me help.” Daring Do pleaded as she tried to pick Sunny up onto her back. Her injured leg made the transition difficult, but not impossible, and after several moments Sunny was riding on Daring Do’s back for the second time in the past day. Daring Do trotted quickly to the door, despite the added weight and her weakness.
The two made it to the door exiting the room. She stopped and put her ear to the door. Even though her head was in splitting pain, she could clearly make out the sounds of guards on the other side. She withdrew her head from the door and devised a plan.
“Sunny?” She asked, turning her head to her side to get a view of the unicorn on her back.
“Yeah?” She murmured back, warming Daring’s neck with her breath.
“Hold on as tight as you can.”
Her hooves gripped Daring’s neck tight as the door swung open, bathing the dungeon with a bright light. Immediately, Daring Do shot out as fast as she could in one direction. Immediately outside the dungeon was a large rectangular room, filled with carts, boxes and guards. It took the golden-armored guards nearly ten seconds to realize what was happening. Soon, the sounds of shouting and clanking armor filled the room as a dozen guards gave chase to the two escaping prisoners.
Daring Do saw a large loading door on the other side of the room that led to a sandy courtyard outside. She turned on a dime, nearly dropping Sunny, and ran headlong into the throng of guards. They met her retreat with fierce resistance; kicking, punching and bumping into her as she pushed her way past the guards. Once, a guard had grabbed Daring around her hind legs, only to be bucked in the shoulders by the weakened Sunny. Despite their best efforts, the guards failed to grab hold of the slippery Daring Do.
She had nearly made it out the door. She could smell the desert air and feel the hot winds against her coat as she galloped outside. The change in terrain caused Daring to lose a bit of traction on the sand and fall to the ground. Sunny tumbled over Daring Do and lay on the ground ten feet away, trying her best to stand up. The noise of the guards was fast approaching, and was so close that Daring didn’t even have to look back to know that she only had a few seconds. She went into a flat-out gallop straight ahead, picking up Sunny by her belt and throwing the unicorn onto her back.
The courtyard was mostly empty, save for a few guards stationed here and there. Around the perimeter, a high sandstone wall was erected where a few guardsponies walked. Daring scanned the area with her eyes, and found only one escape; the main gate. But it was closing fast, and would soon trap everyone in the courtyard where there would be no escape for them.
The guards had formed a semicircle around Daring Do when she bolted off towards the nearly-closed gate. It was lowering itself down at an alarming rate. It would be close. Her hooves kicked up clouds of sand behind her as she ran, and her breath was jagged and raspy. Her headache had intensified, but she paid no heed to it as she locked her eyes on the door. It was three feet above the ground when she reached it.
Quickly reaching behind her, she grabbed Sunny by her belt and threw her under the gate. It closed with a thud, creating a cloud of blinding sand.
“Run, Sunny!” Daring shouted past the thick door separating the two.
Daring didn’t hear a response, but didn’t need to. Immediately, she turned to come face to face with twenty guards. They apprehensively surrounded her, slowly drawing in closer to encircle her. She scanned the guards. They were burly, tall and tough, with thick armor covering nearly every square inch of them. She looked for the weakest one, with difficulty. They all seemed equally strong; strong enough to easily defeat Daring Do in a straight on fight.
Squinting her eyes against the glare of the sun, Daring tried to open her wings. She was met with sharp pain at the base of her right wing; it had been dislocated. She shrugged off the pain and got low to the ground. She was going to have to hoof it.
The guards made their move, throwing themselves at the mare. She jumped as high as she could, letting a few stallions fall to the ground beneath her; but there were still more. With more than a dozen more guards left in the courtyard, Daring Do gulped and prepared herself for the inevitable chase.
Sunny was slowly limping down a narrow alleyway away from the jailhouse. She frantically looked over her shoulder, checking for any pursuers. Her thoughts raced concerning Daring Do; What was she doing? Was she okay? Did she need help? She shook her head, pushing these thoughts aside.
Mbarka would know what to do!
The young mare hobbled down the tight alley into an open street, bustling with ponies. They paid no attention to Sunny, remaining faced forwards at all times. Their hooves stomped rapidly as they nearly ran down the streets. It would be impossible for her to keep that pace with her leg in the condition it was in. She looked around and spotted an open door down the street a few yards away. She flattened herself against the wall and slid her way down, trying not to get bumped by the mass of ponies.
She poked her head inside and looked around. The building wasn’t too busy; there were a few ponies sitting at a bar, and a couple asleep in the corner. She pranced inside as painlessly as she could. The bar-pony saw her, and narrowed his eyes as she approached the counter.
“Hi! Uh, can you tell me where the hospital is?” Sunny said, completely out of breath.
The bar-pony huffed, and leaned in closer, “Say… You look familiar.”
Sunny gulped and shuffled her hooves.
“Yeah, you’re the one unicorn the griffons threw in jail! What’re you doing here?”
Several ponies had now turned their heads to the newcomer, investigating the young mare. She began to sweat, and rapidly scanned the room with her eyes. She was in no condition to run, and was far too outnumbered to fight. The bar-pony jumped over the bar and took Sunny by the back of the neck in his hooves. Other denizens hopped up from their spots and trotted over to Sunny’s side.
“What’re we gonna do with ‘er?” One of them drunkenly slurred.
“We’ll hide her.” The bar-pony said flatly. Sunny stopped squirming and looked up at the stallion. But in his eyes she didn’t see any mercy, or compassion. She saw cold maliciousness. He opened his mouth to speak again, “And when the time comes, we’ll kill her.”
The ponies in the bar laughed. Sunny’s heart raced but she remained still, too scared to move. They dragged her around the back of the bar, and down into the dank cellar.
Daring Do sprinted down the courtyard with a dozen armored guards on her heels. Her lungs were about to burst from exhaustion and she felt the faint trickle of blood from her ear. Behind her the guards were shouting obscenities loudly in a foreign language; to which Daring counted herself lucky that she hadn’t gone with Jack to study linguistics back at the museum. The pegasus had circled around the courtyard, and found herself back at the door. She had a few seconds of thinking time, and grasped the opportunity.
She scanned the area once more and found one exit route; over the wall. The only way onto the wall was a small wooden ladder, which the guards on the wall had brought up out of her reach. On one side of the courtyard were a group of empty carts, but even if they were stacked they still wouldn’t be able to boost Daring Do enough to reach over the wall. The only way that she could remotely get over the wall was if-
No, that wouldn’t work… She thought, grimacing. But it’s the only shot I have.
Daring kicked off her hind legs and resumed running, much to the discontent of her splitting headache. She focused her eyes on the group of carts and ran full speed in their direction. When she reached them, she immediately hopped behind on one and pushed with all her might. It gained speed moving directly into the group of guards. They split ways, avoiding the heavy wooden construct.
It had gained a dangerous amount of speed, and threatened the life of anypony who would be unfortunate enough to stand in the way of the cart. Guards dove and jumped out of the way of the careening vehicle as it made its way to the high sandstone wall. Daring stopped pushing, and pulled herself up onto the back of the cart. She closed her eyes and held on tight as momentum brought the cart head-on into the wall.
Wood splintered and buckled as the heavy cart crashed into the wall. Momentum had brought the back end of the cart flying into the air, with Daring Do firmly positioned on it. The impact had jarred her, and she nearly lost her balance at the last minute. But as the back end of the cart reached into the air, Daring kicked off the back and jumped forward. She landed on the wall with her front half, and spent a few seconds pulling herself up. The guards on top of the wall were rushing to her position, but they were too late. By the time they reached her, she had already dived over the side of the wall into the busy streets of Istanfoal.
The governor of Istanfoal was sitting on his golden throne, eating out of a bowl of fruit when his large bronze door slowly opened in front of him. A lone guard adorned in extravagant golden armor approached the throne and kneeled before his ruler. He looked up, visibly shaking, and addressed the governor in a wavering voice,
“M-my lord. Your p-prisoners… They’ve…” He took a second to take in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, “They’ve escaped. D-Daring Do and the little unicorn; they’re gone.”
The governor waved his hoof and laughed heartily into the air. He continued laughing for nearly two minutes, until being stopped by nearly choking on a chunk of fruit. He cleared his voice,
“Well, that’s not the best news I’ve heard all day.” He said lightheartedly. “But it shouldn’t be too hard to fix. I assume our torturers broke their legs before this event occurred?”
The guard pony hung his head and slowly shook it, “N-no sir. They were… intoxicated and couldn’t finish the job.”
The governor’s smile slowly began to fade as he leaned back into his chair. He pulled at his beard and from the folds of his hair he withdrew a short knife. The carelessly tossed it to the guard, who apprehensively took it in his mouth. The governor rested his head on his hoof and closed his eyes.
“You’re going to need that.” The governor said dimly before pulling a lever on the side of his throne. In front of him, the floor began to creak and moan. The floor underneath the guard rapidly slid out from under him. He lost his balance and fell into the dark pit, screaming as he went down. After a few seconds, the governor heard the audible thud of the guard landing down far below, followed shortly by the throaty, bestial roar from his ‘pet’. He pulled another lever, and the floor slid back into position.
The large pony lifted himself off of his throne and made his way further into the palace. He opened a chamber containing a high spiral staircase and slowly began his ascent towards the top, all the while cursing himself.
“Those good for nothing guards! How could they let her slip through my hooves! I had them!” He increased his pace as his adrenaline spiked, “My pay! What about my pay!” He was nearly flying up the stairs to the top of the palace. He slammed open the wooden door at the top, revealing a fenced balcony overlooking the entire city. He leaned over the edge and cleared his throat.
Daring Do was silently making her way through dark alleys, hiding in the shadows or behind boxes anytime a guard ran by. They had been running out of the courtyard searching the area of any sign of her, but Daring knew how to cover her tracks. She knew the best places to hide and how to hide well. She would never get caught.
What Daring had to do now was to find Mbarka and Sunny. She figured Sunny couldn’t have gotten far with her injured leg, and rushed to find her before the guards did. As she rounded a corner into a tight alleyway, she heard a voice. Her ears perked up as she tried to locate the sound.
“It sounds like it’s coming from the palace.” She said to herself, turning her head back to the large building behind her.
“Citizens of Istanfoal!” The voice bellowed. It was out of breath, but amplified enough to be heard anywhere throughout the city, “By order of me, the governor, the pegasus known as Daring Do is know a ‘kill-on-sight’ target by the guards. Any civilian who comes across Daring Do is required by law to bring her in to the nearest guard. Anypony who does not comply will also be put to death. The pegasus can be distinguished by-“
Daring Do ignored the rest as she continued to sprint down the alleys.
“This is gonna complicate things.” She said sullenly, out of breath. The winding alleys were perfect for hiding, but they were getting her nowhere fast, and now that every pony in Istanfoal knew about her escape, there would be no way to get any help. Her thoughts swamed in her aching head as she thought of a plan. First, she’d look for Sunny; she was injured and wouldn’t do well on her own. Next she would find the hospital and somehow get Mbarka out of there. But how?
“One thing at a time, Daring.” She said to herself again, sharply turning a corner.
As she ran she extended her wing once more. One wing opened about halfway before the pain set in at its base. Daring rolled her eyes as she brought her wing back to her side. She would have to refrain from flying for the moment, until she had the time to pop her wing back in place. Her mind began to wonder if there would be any permanent damage caused by the repeated injuries to her wings. She shoved these thoughts aside and focused on running.
Nearly a fourth of a mile from the palace courtyard, Daring stumbled across something that made her stop dead in her tracks. She knelt down, inspecting the small brown belt. It was blood stained on one side, and lay crumpled and discarded on the side of the alley. Daring Do picked it up between her hooves and immediately recognized it as Sunny’s belt. Her eyes began to well up with tears, which she forcefully blinked back. The only good consolidation she had was that she was getting closer.
Scores of ponies were lined up in the courtyard as the governor made his appearance. The shattered remains of one cart were still strewn across the wall, bringing unneeded attention from the nearby ponies. They had shovels and hammers with them, reflecting the bright glare of the sun from their shiny surfaces.
“Ponies.” The governor stated, letting his eyes wander over the crowd of workers, “I know you’ve heard of the Daring Do rumors, and let me assure you; they will be dealt with speedily. In the meantime, my employer demands that I bring a fabled item to him within the next few days. That is where you come in. Legends have revealed to me the exact location of the Thunder Stone, which is hidden in the tomb of the first ruler, Osman. You are going to excavate the tomb as thoroughly as possible; I don’t care if you have to desecrate it, just bring me that stone!” He slammed his hoof in the sand for emphasis.
The crowd of workers raised their hooves in the air and gave a short, foreign chant. Piling into carts, they departed the city into the bleak desert beyond. A dark shape formed behind the governor, watching the brigade of ponies leave.
“Listen here,” The governor started, turning around to face the griffon mercenary. “You’ve failed me once in bringing Daring Do to Istanfoal; it was mere chance that she stumbled into my grasp. However, you have a chance to redeem yourself. Bring me Daring Do, alive if possible, and I’ll be sure to reward you double the amount I earlier promised.”
The griffon gave a curious caw before inquiring, “And what of the unicorn? Do you want her for anything?”
“From what I understand, she’s your grudge, not mine. Feel free to do whatever you want with her; I couldn’t care one way or another. Just bring me Daring Do!”
The griffon nodded before shooting into the air, kicking up a cloud of dust beneath him. The governor turned back to the palace, laughing uneasily.
Sunny cowered in the corner of the bar’s cellar. Above her, the cries and laughter of the drunken patrons made its way through the floorboards. The only light penetrating through the darkness of her prison came through the minute cracks in between the floorboards above her. Her captors had chained her to a large keg of horribly pungent alcohol, wrapping the restraints around her injured leg.
Her thoughts began to swirl together. She thought of Daring Do. Here she thought that going on adventures would be fun. Having the chance to explore the world with Daring Do, of all ponies, would have been the most exciting thing in the world! She looked back on everything that had happened since she met her; she had nearly been killed on multiple occasions by griffons, she had been tortured and beaten, and she had been thrown into confinement twice. She hung her head as far as it would go and began to sob. Her tears stained the broken stone floor at her hooves as she vented her emotions.
Suddenly the floor shook and dust fell from the floorboards above her. The hoots and hollers from above ceased, replaced by dead silence. From the stillness the muffled voice of the bar-pony sounded.
“What are you doing here? We don’t serve your kind.”
Silence, followed shortly by the unmistakable sound of a sword exiting its sheath. The commotion climbed upstairs as ponies rushed to and fro. Sunny couldn’t see what was going on up there, but knew that it wasn’t good. She could hear a large figure moving deftly through the bar. She could hear ponies shouting in pain and falling to the ground, only to be silent moments later. Soon the entire bar was still.
The cellar door slammed open, almost coming off of its hinges. Standing in the doorway, silhouetted against the incoming light was the familiar shape of the one-eyed griffon. Sunny groaned,
“What do you want?! I don’t have anything!”
The griffon approached Sunny, wielding his ungainly scimitar in his talons. He swung it hard in her direction, missing her by hairs, and hitting the chains tied to her leg. They broke, scattering bits of metal across the stone floor. The two stared at each other for a moment, letting the silence envelope them both. Around them, the faint patter of blood droplets sounded as they fell through the planks. The griffon extended his talon.
“You can either make it on your own, and indefinitely get caught by the guards, or you can come with me and be guaranteed safety.”
Sunny sat up, unable to completely stand due to her leg.
“Where will we be going?”
“The governor’s palace, where you’ll be kept in a cell until your fate is decided.” He answered.
Sunny scratched her chin, “So either way I’m dead?”
The griffon nodded, almost excitedly.
“And what if I refuse to go either way?”
The griffon leaned down to Sunny’s level, staring her in the eyes with his single eye. He snarled, filling Sunny’s nose with a disgusting mixture of smells,
“Dead or alive, you’re coming with me.”
The hospital was cozy enough. There weren’t individual rooms; instead multiple patients were put in the same, large room. Around the walls were beds, each laden with a pony suffering from some ailment. Luckily Captain Mbarka was set apart from the run of the mill ponies. He had a bed in the corner, where almost no ponies were. He had gauze and bandages wrapped around his midsection tightly.
He watched the nurses and doctors frantically scurry between patients, trying to keep everyone in tip-top shape. Istanfoal was a sick place, Mbarka thought. It seemed that everyone was violent, bloodthirsty and dangerous, and if they weren’t then they were either sick or on the verge of death. He assumed it was the exhausting city life, coupled with the consistent heat of the desert that put everyone on edge.
A messenger pony coming in through the front door broke Mbarka’s thought. The pegasus hovered above the ground before clearing his throat and speaking loudly.
“Attention! I’m looking for Captain Mbarka. He was admitted here earlier and-“
He stopped talking as one of the doctors ran up to him, pointing a hoof to the far corner of the room. Mbarka cowered a little under the bed’s blankets as the stranger flew over to him. He was shaking, and his eyes constantly shifted around the room. He kneeled by Mbarka’s bed and whispered into his ear,
“Play along, mate. I’m getting you out of here. Okay?”
Mbarka nodded. The pegasus stepped back and cleared his throat again.
“Everyone, this zebra is a criminal and a threat to Istanfoal. He is charged with treason and conspiracy to overthrow our governor! His sentence,” He pulled out a knife from the satchel at his side, “is death!”
Without hesitation, he plunged the knife into Mbarka’s chest. Mbarka felt the point of the knife contact his sternum, before it collapsed into the hilt. He grinned on the inside, but remained confused as to why this stranger was ‘rescuing’ him. Ponies around the room gasped in horror, and some screamed. Almost everypony backed away slowly from the murderous pegasus. Mbarka went limp as he played along with the pegasus’ plot.
“I’m taking this usurper to our governor! Let it be known that this is what happens to treasonous ponies. Long live Governor Murad!” The pegasus shifted Mbarka onto his back and rushed out of the hospital before anypony could investigate his ruse closer. As they left the hospital via the back door, Mbarka chuckled and dismounted the awkward pony.
The pegasus was tall, lanky and awkward. His grey coat blended with his blond mane, which was currently tied back underneath a red hood. The satchel at his side, which contained the trick knife, hung lazily over his shoulder partially obscuring his cutie mark, which appeared to be a pyramid. The newcomer shifted his eyes to Mbarka, and extended a hoof.
“Thank the spirits you’re alive! I was worried when I found out Daring Do was to be put to death.”
Mbarka was shocked, and reeled back, “What?! Is she alright?”
“From what I can tell, she escaped the palace. I don’t believe anypony off the street is going to turn her in though; her reputation is too great.”
Mbarka ignored his remarks, “What about Sunny? What about her unicorn companion?”
The pegasus’ ears perked up as the clanking of guards approached them. “There is no time!” he shouted, pulling Mbarka by the hoof, “I’ll take you to our chapter leader, and explain everything when we meet up with Daring Do!”
Daring Do pushed her way through a tight crowd of ponies. The end of the alleyway opened into a busy street, filled from side to side with scores of ponies. Daring was looking for the nearest door to dash into to hide from the guards, and saw several. Smoke billowed from some open doors, and the jaunts and cries of drunken rabble exited from others.
“Canterlot isn’t this barbaric…” She said to herself in the midst of the sea of ponies. She was surprised that nopony had noticed her, especially after the governor had set a bounty on her. He gave a detailed description of her, which added to the confusion as to why they wouldn’t turn her in for the reward. For a minute, she thought about asking a pony about why they hadn’t, but quickly set that idea aside. It was a stupid and dangerous risk for something as petty as that.
Suddenly, from up ahead, the crowd began to break apart as some commotion broke out. Daring couldn’t see it, but she heard everything. Ponies were shouting ‘griffon’ and ‘unicorn’ and the caws and shrieks of the duo were distinguishable. She forced her way through the crowd and saw them; Sunny and the griffon.
The griffon had Sunny across his back, and was about to take flight when Sunny noticed Daring. Her eyes widened and she dove off the back of the griffon into the thick crowd. Daring ran up to meet her and threw her arms around the young unicorn’s neck, ignoring the crowd and imminent danger looming over her.
For a second, it was only her and Sunny, alone in the streets of Istanfoal. The other distracting sounds were gone, replaced by the calm sounds of their combined breaths. The scent of Sunny’s blood and sweat stained hair smelled refreshing to Daring; it was pleasant enough to know that she was alright. She hadn’t known Sunny that long, but the connection between the two had grown strong enough-
Crippling pain shot through Daring’s back as the griffon buried his talons into the back of her neck. He lifted her into the air, hovering over the ground a few feet. In his other talon he brandished his sword, which now positioned itself on Daring’s throat. The griffon was saying something, but Daring was still absorbed in her own world and failed to hear his words. She felt the blade slowly begin to slide, and suddenly stop. The pain in her neck left as quickly as it began, and she fell to the ground in a cloud of sand.
Sunny lifted her up and stared back at the griffon. Surrounding him were unicorns, pegusi and earth ponies, each wearing distinctive red hoods. They held his arms and legs down, frantically trying to cease his dangerous beatings. From behind her, Daring heard the approaching guards, and was about to take Sunny and hoof it, when somepony grabbed her from behind. A pair of red-hooded ponies was pushing Daring and Sunny into an alleyway, where they threw white robes onto them. The guards, who were more distracted by the blood-covered griffon, didn’t notice the escapees as they fled down the narrow alleys.
They ran silently for ten minutes, until they came to an empty courtyard built around a fountain. Gardens sprouted around the perimeter, and the houses around the courtyard were lavish with extravagant accessories. The pair of hooded ponies shoved them to the middle of the courtyard before turning around and running back down the alley from where they came. Daring and Sunny stood in the heat of the sun.
Each of them was covered in blood. Daring’s neck continued to bleed down her back, and her ear had a small trail of blood. Her wing, which was still dislocated, hung loosely at her side. Sunny was in far worse condition, with her leg only barely managing to hold her weight. Her ear was bleeding too, in a far larger stream, and one of her eyes was blackened. As the two stared at each other’s injuries, they started to laugh. They laughed at their safety, which had finally been granted to them. The two embraced each other in a hug in front of the fountain.
From one of the houses, the zebra captain stepped forth, accompanied by a grey pegasus. Compared to the other two, Mbarka could have just returned from a luxurious spa, as he was completely void of injury, save for the neat bandages around his stomach. He stopped in his tracks as he laid his eyes upon the two bloodied hugging ponies.
“Sweet Celestia…” He muttered, “You two look awful.”
Reinerth’s caravan had stopped on the side of the mountain path. In front of them, a group of a dozen ponies were shoveling away a mound of snow that was blocking the road. Jack sat a distance away, staring up at the mountainside next to them.
“It’s up there somewhere…” he muttered. He was nervous, of course. The Wendigo Shrine was no longer a fantasy to him, it was all too real. And so were the dangers associated with it. He would give anything to just be able to leave and go back home to Canterlot. But he had a job to do. He had to stop Reinerth and save Equestria.
He stood up as Reinerth’s zebra henchman trotted toward him. As he approached, Jack gave a bow, to which Kuwinda did not return. He merely narrowed his eyes and pointed his head in the direction of Reinerth’s caravan. He knew what he meant, even if the zebra didn’t talk much. Reinerth always wanted to see Jack, since he was the ‘head archaeologist’. At least that was halfway true, unlike most of the lies he had told to keep his cover. They made their way through the blowing snow to the caravan, where Jack promptly hopped in.
Like always, the inside was well-lit, and Reinerth was sitting at his desk, studying maps and drinking his wine. He motioned for Jack to sit and take a glass. Jack sat, but didn’t feel like drinking anything; he just wanted to get this over with.
“Hello, Herr Chan. I trust that you’re enjoying yourself?”
Jack shrugged, “Well, you know how it is. Climbing a steep mountain through freezing blizzards and all…”
Reinerth chuckled, but not in his usual way. He was usually upbeat, yet serious. But now he was just sinister. He turned to look at Jack, revealing his tattered look. His mane was frayed, his eyes bloodshot, and his glasses hung on end. He was losing himself.
“Listen, you remember when we talked about Daring Do?”
Jack nodded, too intimidated by the mad look to respond vocally.
“Well, good news! She’s dead!” he cackled loudly.
Jack withdrew, scooting farther away. His heart beat in his chest.
“How… Um, when was this?”
“Well, Jack, she arrived in Istanfoal and was executed by my associates!” the foreign pony explained and exclaimed.
“That’s, uh, good I- Wait. What did you call me?”
Reinerth shed his madman visage and returned to a more serious phase. He straightened his glasses and grinned at Jack. He shook his head slowly and tsked.
“How long did you think you could keep it up? I’ll admit you fooled me completely at first. But I figure out everything eventually.” He stood up with a start, forcing Jack to cower into the corner. “The games up, Jack; I know who you are.” He withdrew a crumpled picture from his desk drawer and threw it at Jack.
Jack picked it up and unraveled the photo to see him and Daring Do standing in front of a temple. On the back, scrawled in hastily hoof-written ink was; ‘Daring Do, Jackhammer, Amarezon Jungle’. He stammered, trying to say something, “How...Wha- Where did you get this?”
“One of my henchmen I sent to Canterlot brought it back from Daring Do’s house. I checked my old museum records book and found out that you are Herr Jackhammer, an archaeologist, and from what I can gather, an intimate friend of Miss Daring Do.” He explained, pacing.
Jack shook his head, changing the subject, “Daring Do isn’t dead, and I know it. And trust me, she’ll stop you! I guarantee it!”
Reinerth reached into his desk drawer, chuckling. He withdrew his hoof, which now had a large metal weight on the end of it. He swung his hoof overhead, bringing it down on top of Jack’s skull. The weight vibrated as the impact sent Jack to the ground, unconscious.
“Auf wiedersehen, Herr Jackhammer.”