Low light shone through the open window as the orange sun set in the skies of Istanfoal. Outside of the safe house, guards scoured the city searching for the elusive mare.
Sitting around a low table, Daring Do, Sunny and Captain Mbarka discussed their plans. Sunny and Daring had tended to their wounds and bathed, washing themselves of the blood that covered their coats. Sunny’s leg had been broken in the ordeal, and now lay in a tidy splint and propped up on a few pillows. She was sleeping rather soundly, exhausted from the past few hours.
Daring Do leaned back, resting her head against the wall behind her, “So where were you during all this?” she asked in Mbarka’s direction.
He raised his head in a snap, “I was in the hospital. I got some rest, they gave me some food. It was alright.” He looked towards the dozing unicorn, “I take it you two didn’t enjoy your stay as much as I did.”
Daring Do needlessly shook her head. The door opened slowly, and the red-hooded pegasus poked his head in. He looked around at the refreshed crew and smiled politely. Daring, seeing that she hadn’t been properly introduced, stood and bowed her head to the newcomer.
“Hello. We all thank you very much for your hospitality. If there is any way we could repay you, just let us know. My name is-“
“Daring Do.” He interrupted as gently as he could. “Everypony knows who you are. My name is Brother Hail, I’m a member of the-“
“Brother!” shouted a more stern voice from behind him. Through the door, a larger robed pegasus walked through. He wore similar red robes, but far more extravagant. His hood was lowered, revealing a thinning grey windswept mane on top of his pale yellow head. “Mind yourself,” he said in a sage-like voice. “This is not the place for such talk.”
Brother Hail lowered his head, “Yes, Father.” Turning to the trio he explained, “This is Chaplain Hurricane Winds, our chapter leader.”
Daring Do and Mbarka simultaneously bowed before the Chaplain as he took a seat at the low table. He reached beneath his robes and pulled forth a crumpled map.
“Now, Miss Daring Do, we know all about the threats approaching from the Wendigo Shrine. I trust that you know the legends?”
Daring Do nodded. She had known that spending twelve hours reading through storybooks would pay off. The Chaplain cleared his throat through a series of coughs and wheezes and continued,
“Well then, let me begin. For two and a half thousand years, our chapter has protected the Thunder Stone’s location. Chaplain Tornado Winds, the founder of the Wendigo Shrine and my ancestor, was banished from his lands. He regretted everything he had done with the Wendigo Shrine, and vowed for it to never happen again. Before his death, he arranged a small group of pegasus followers to guard it’s burial site with their lives. Since then, we’ve used Istanfoal as a-“
“Hold on one minute!” Mbarka chimed in, “Istanfoal hasn’t been around for two and a half thousand years. That’s older than Canterlot!”
“You’re right, it hasn’t. For the longest time, this area was uninhabitable, so our chapter organized in underground caverns and tombs in the region. It wasn’t until the last millennia that we used Istanfoal as our staging point.”
“How many people come looking for the Thunder Stone?” asked the small voice from across the table. Sunny was awake now, barely, and listened with increased interest.
“Until now, no more than one hundred in the past two millennia. But, given recent events, that number has risen dramatically with all the excavators being hired to dig up our tombs. We’ve worked hard to stop them before and we won’t be dissuaded by these newcomers.”
Brother Hail bounded over and whispered into the Chaplain’s ear. The elder pegasus’ face went to stone as he stood up with a start. “We’ve been found; we have to leave.” He looked to Sunny, “Are you alright to walk, young one?”
She stood up, with difficulty, and walked a few clumsy paces, proving her worth. She smiled shyly at the group. Daring Do trotted over and lowered herself onto her knees, inviting Sunny to hitch a ride on her back yet again. The Chaplain watched as they small unicorn clambered onto Daring’s back, getting her grip by wrapping her hooves delicately around Daring’s neck.
“Alright then,” Mbarka said, heading for the door, “Let’s get the hay out of here.”
Jack awoke with a throbbing pain in his head. His vision was blurry, and his hearing was dulled. He moved his head from side to side, trying to shake away the side effects, but without any progress. He attempted to move his legs, but found them tied to something. He focused his mind into his surroundings. Where was he? He was… in a chair. Tied to a chair, to be exact.
In front of him, a blurry shape moved into view. He said something, but the words were lost in Jack’s ringing ears. Soon, the shape moved from view, and Jack felt himself being carried. Bright light bombarded his eyes and the icy chill of the wind whipped at his face. His vision became clearer, and he saw the heavy snows of a blizzard from outside Reinerth’s wagon.
He was pulled back in, now able to see and hear much clearer. In front of him, Reinerth stood. He looked much more collected than earlier, and appeared rather regretful when he looked at Jack.
“Ah, you’re awake.” He said blissfully, “I’m sorry about the ropes, but it’s necessary.”
Jack looked down. His arms and legs were secured tightly to the chair; restricting any movement, save for his head. He tried to speak, but his words came out as babbles.
“I knew I hit you too hard… You see, Herr Chan, I-” He stopped, mid-sentence and corrected himself. “Jack. Herr Jack. I apologize, I’m used to Chan. But you see, I tried to kill you, ja. That much is clear. But, for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to bury this knife in you.” He held up an ornate gold sword with tassels on the end.
Jack tilted his head ‘why’.
“You shared my interest in the Wendigo Shrine! You might not have wanted to rule Equestria with it, but you loved the idea of it. That’s something nopony on this expedition has. I didn’t want to kill the only pony that was like me.”
Jack furrowed his brow and bared his teeth. ‘I am not like you’ his expression read.
“Maybe not.” Reinerth leaned in uncomfortably close, “But soon you will be. You see, power has a way of doing that. Even the most humble of ponies can turn bloodthirsty, and attain a lust for greatness if he’s given the right amount of power. I want to know how much power it takes for you, Jack.”
Reinerth’s prisoner turned his eyes away and stared at the ground, trying to get the foreign pony to shut up. But he continued talking,
“That’s why I’m keeping you alive until we reach the shrine. And I’ll demonstrate to you, firsthand, the unlimited power that I shall soon possess. And I’ll offer you an ultimatum.”
Jack raised his eyebrow, still refusing to look Reinerth in the face.
“I’ll set you free, unharmed and open to live wherever you please without any threat. But in return, I want you to destroy Canterlot. Simple as that.”
“You’re sick.” Jack managed to spit out, with indignation.
Reinerth simply chuckled as he turned around. He sat at his desk with his back turned to Jack.
“You might not be so resentful towards my offer when you hear the other half.” He turned his head around, staring Jack down from his desk. He said nothing, but he didn’t have to. Jack knew what would happen should he refuse the offer.
The group of ponies moved quickly through the bare streets of the private district of Istanfoal. Chaplain Hurricane Winds led the pack, running savagely through the winding avenues. They all knew that if they were spotted or caught by the guards, they would be killed on the spot. Not like that changes much... Daring thought.
The Chaplain was taking the group to one of their underground safe houses on the other side of the city. From there, he explained how they would disguise themselves as a dig crew, and sneak out to the Tomb of Osman outside the city where they would find the Thunder Stone. But at the moment, their only priority was evading the guards long enough to get into hiding again.
Brother Hail slowed kept pace with Daring Do; running alongside her at all times explaining things about the Thunder Stone and how to get it.
“I trust that you’ve dealt with traps before?” he asked breathlessly as they turned yet another corner. This was an easy question for Daring Do. Half her job involved traps. She recollected that, in a single temple, she had nearly been shot by darts, hacked by axes, crushed by rocks, fallen down trapdoors, burnt by fire jets, asphyxiated by toxic fumes, and narrowly missed a mauling by a pack of deadly crocodiles.
“I’ve seen my share of traps, yeah.”
“Cool! What kinds?” Asked Sunny, returning to her lighthearted demeanor.
“Well, the Thunder Stone is protected by a multitude of traps.” Continued Hail, ignoring the young filly’s excitement, “I’m not high ranking enough to know the details, but I can at least give you the layout of the tomb.”
Before Hail could get too in depth with his explanation, the group emerged in a large crowd of ponies. They were moving slower as the sun set on the horizon. They easily assimilated into the crowd, blending in with the diverse ponies. Brother Hail pushed his way past a couple of unicorns and returned to Daring’s side.
“The first room you enter is filled with trapdoors. There’s no telling which of them are stable and which lead to your death. So… be careful. The next room is going to-“A burly earth pony barged his way in between the conversing two, splitting the conversation. Daring craned her neck over the pony and strained her ears, trying to pick up what Brother Hail was saying.
By the time the big pony moved, Hail had moved on with his explanation. “And so that’s the second room. The third room, right before the actual Thunder Stone room, there is going to be jets of fire. A lot of them. I actually have no idea how to get past those, but I’m sure you can find a way.”
Sunny leaned in closer to Daring Do’s ear and whispered, “Some help he is. I mean, he just-“
“Brother Hail!” shouted the commanding voice of the Chaplain.
The trio turned to face the Chaplain and Mbarka, patiently waiting at the entrance of a nearby building. He motioned his hoof for them to hurry, and by the time they finally arrived at the entrance, the Chaplain had already left them and gone inside. They quickly followed the impatient pegasus into a large, open roofed building, filled wall to wall with assorted crates. The setting sun dimmed the light inside, making it difficult to see the wall on the far end of the building, but that wasn’t important. Daring spotted Hurricane Winds opening a compartment in the floor behind a stack of crates.
Slowly, they filed down one by one into a dark corridor. When they were all down, the door shut, leaving them in complete darkness.
“Alright everypony. This passage moves in a single direction, just walk along the wall and we’ll get to where we’re going.” Hurricane Winds explained as he slowly began to scoot along the wall.
“I sure wish we had some light…” complained Mbarka shortly after he had tripped over his hooves.
“Hang on, Cap’n! I got just the thing.” Sunny pipped. She focused, and soon her horn began to give off soft silver light. Within time the glow intensified, and grew bright enough to light the corridor in front of them.
“That’s better, kid. Thanks.” Daring Do turned to the Chaplain in front of her, “How long is this passage?”
“Twelve miles.” He grunted contentedly.
Mbarka and Sunny simultaneously groaned. Daring Do could have sworn that she heard the Chaplain chuckle underneath his breath.
Jack was dozing in the back of Reinerth’s wagon. At his desk, the foreign pony was studying charts and maps with great interest. He hadn’t slept since the trek began, and was so close to his goal that he could almost taste it. And with Daring Do dead and out of the picture, the only thing standing in his way was the Thunder Stone. Once he acquired the key, all of Equestria would kneel to his might.
Suddenly, the door to the carriage swung open, letting in the increasingly cold winds. Kuwinda stepped inside, shaking himself of the cold and waking up Jack in the process.
“Misteh Reinerth. We be ready ta move again.” He growled.
“Gut. Carry on.” Reinerth waved a hoof to his servant without turning from his work.
“Dere’s also this note.” He waved a note in between his teeth. “From Istanfoal.”
“Probably just a follow-up on the Daring Do execution. I wish I had been there to see it… Schade.” He sighed. Gingerly taking the note, he unfolded it on his desk and adjusted his spectacles to read.
Dear Prof. Reinerth,
I apologize for the informalities. That blasted Daring Do has escaped, and bested a score of my best guards! I fear that she is in league with a local vigilante group that has been working to secure the Thunder Stone for years. I will inform the guards and workers to take a note of Daring Do. I will not let you down again, Prof. Reinerth.
-Governor Murad of Istanfoal.
Reinerth sat, staring at the note with a face void of emotion. Ten full seconds passed. Then thirty. Then sixty. When he finally looked up, both Jack and Kuwinda were staring at him with wide, round eyes. He put on a fake grin and shakily said,
“Just as I thought! Executed within the hour.” He shifted his head to the side, motioning for Kuwinda to join him. He leaned close to his zebra companion and whispered harshly,
“Take the fastest chariot we have. I want you to take that filth there to Istanfoal. Trade his life for the Thunder Stone. No doubt Daring Do will have it by then…”
“I thought ya said she’d be dead?” he asked.
“That dummkopf governor in Istanfoal let her escape! The point is, I want you to find her in Istanfoal and trade Jack for the Thunder Stone.”
Kuwinda nodded slowly, “And what about my brothah?” he asked.
“What?”
“My brothah, Mbarka. He’s with the Daring Do mare. Did ya want anythin’ from him?”
Reinerth shook his head, "He's all yours. I just want that verdammt stein!" he shouted. Jack raised his eyebrows at the pony, who returned his gesture with a false smile. “Go, Kuwinda. Remember your debt.”
The zebra shrugged crossly and walked to Jack’s chair. He took the back of the chair in his teeth and dragged it unsympathetically outside. Jack struggled to keep his eyes open in the blinding wind, which howled wildly through the mountainous path. They had moved further up into the mountains, where low clouds obscured everything. It would be the perfect chance for him to escape, given the opportunity.
Kuwinda continued to drag the restrained Jack towards the back of the convoy. Ponies huddled together in their caravans, clinging to warmth. Some had taken apart unnecessary commodities and lit them ablaze, creating small campfires at irregular intervals. The entire nature of the crew was dismal, and some looked as if mutiny was on their minds. Few ponies looked at Jack, and the ones who did quickly looked away.
“They looked up to ya.” Kuwinda said slowly, seeming to have read what was on Jack’s mind. “They respected ya. You were their one link to da boss, and now ya be a traitor. They be thinkin’ I’m takin’ ya ta be killed.”
“Great.” Jack said calmly. “But let’s get one thing straight; you’re not going to kill me?”
“With luck, no. I’m takin’ ya to Istanfoal. Now shut up.”
“Fine by me.” Jack surrendered. They had reached the end of the convoy, where a few bearded ponies could be seen through the cloudy fog. Small lights of magic would momentarily break through the haze, lighting up their faces, but only for a moment. They went past them, around to their wagon.
Attached to the side of their large wagon were two small carts. They were sleek, with only two wheels and looked just large enough to fit one pony, maybe two if they were packed together. Kuwinda dropped Jack in the snow and worked unfastening one of the chariots. With a crash, the chariot fell to the ground.
“Get on.” Kuwinda commanded, fastening himself to the front of the vehicle.
Jack complied, he might as well. He didn’t have many choices at the moment. He could either risk it with Reinerth, who would probably kill him when he refused to destroy Canterlot. He could try and run off into the mountains, but he would die alone in the cold. Or he could stick with the zebra, and probably die somehow.
“Not the best odds.” Jack thought aloud as he settled into the chariot. With a jumpy start, the chariot shot down the mountainside, throwing safety to the wind. Kuwinda’s powerful legs propelled them down rocky slopes at tremendous speeds. Wind whipped at Jack’s eyes, filling his eyes with water and his ears with rough noise. Clouds became lighter, and eventually they emerged beneath the layer, into full view of the mountain range.
Around them, scores of rocky, craggy peaks soared. Many of them reached into the clouds, obscuring their snow-tipped points. Below them Jack could see tiny rivers and fields that were at least a mile beneath them. Far away, the black smog and pollution of Stalliongrad stood out like a scar on the horizon. Further from that, the pale-blue mountains of Canterlot could be seen hundreds of miles away.
“And after that, Istanfoal. Even further.” Jack said quietly. “How long is it going to take to get to Istanfoal?” He shouted over the wind at Kuwinda.
“Day and a half, if ya don’t keep distractin’ me!” He replied, only mildly winded.
Day and a half… We’ll be there on Thursday. If Daring Do was in Istanfoal on Monday, there’s no way it’ll take her that long to find the Thunder Stone. Jack thought to himself, staring into the orange sunset.
Daring Do emerged from the tunnel first, bathing herself in the orange glow of the desert sunset. Behind her, Chaplain Hurricane Winds exited, followed shortly by Mbarka who carried Sunny on his back. Brother Hail was the last to exit. The group sat outside the tunnel’s exit, gazing at the expanse of sand in front of them. They left Istanfoal a few miles behind them, and were now placed at the edge of the Sahoofa Desert.
“Follow me.” The Chaplain tiredly said. He trudged along, leaving long trailing tracks behind him. The entire group was tired, but they couldn’t afford to rest. Their plan would only work if Daring Do could get into the tomb with a group of excavators, who would leave in just a few hours.
“We still have a way to go, let’s pick up the pace.” Daring suggested impatiently. She was itching to do some adventuring, despite everypony’s best efforts to deter her via torture and beatings. She naturally increased her speed to a light trot, advancing ahead of the others. She reached the top of a large dune and stared down at the scene below with disbelief.
Mbarka joined her side, and stood next to her. His mouth dropped open, followed shortly by Sunny’s. The two additional ponies joined there side and looked below, remaining stalwart as always.
“They’ve always been there.” The Chaplain said. “As I’ve said; many ponies have been looking for the Thunder Stone. These are no exception.”
Down the slope of sand, less than two-hundred yards away, close to a thousand ponies were frantically working in large pits. Trenches and holes were dug systematically in the sand, filled with ponies wielding shovels and hammers. On the far end of the site was a large sandstone structure covered in guards. It stood out from the site, a gargantuan presence in the flat expanse.
“How am I supposed to get in?” Asked Daring Do, dumbfounded.
“Simple!” The Chaplain responded lightheartedly. “All we need to do is put you in with a group of excavators. They’ll move into the tomb, past the guards, and split up among the passageways. From there, just use this map to find the Thunder Stone’s reliquary.” He handed Daring Do a dirty rolled up parchment, stained with dirt and grime.
“Just remember what I told you about the traps and you’ll be fine!” Hail chimed in. “Now, follow me. We’ll get you some slave clothing so you’ll blend in.”
Brother Hail slid down the dune, hiding behind a tent when he reached the bottom. Daring hesitated, shifting her eyes to Sunny and Mbarka.
“Don’t worry about us, Daring!” Sunny said. “We’ll be fine. I’ll wait for you to come back with that stone!”
“Me too.” Mbarka added, “Just be careful.”
Daring Do nodded, not wanting to drag out the goodbyes. She turned and slid down the slope to meet up with Brother Hail. At the bottom, the site seemed far larger. They hid behind a tent where their presence was unknown to anypony. Brother Hail lifted up the bottom of the tent slightly and peeked underneath it.
“There’s nopony in there! Quick, jump in and get the robes.”
Daring Do slid underneath the tent with ease. She got to her hooves on the other side and quickly scanned the tent. There were at least thirty cots in the little tent, and all of them were filthy. In one corner, a pile of rags and robes were carelessly thrown about. Grabbing the first one she saw, Daring made a quick escape back to Hail.
“Got it.” Daring said with a smirk.
“Good! Now you’ll blend right in. Just be sure to hide your wings and your cutie mark. And maybe your hair too.”
Daring took off her pith helmet and jacket. Both were covered in blood and dirt, as was the norm for most of Daring’s clothing during an adventure. She fumbled around with the large robes, and eventually managed to get them on properly. Once that was on, she took a few rags and fashioned them together into a turban, which she placed on her head, making sure it obscured her grayscale mane.
Brother Hail looked at the new figure in front of him. He could hardly see her coat beneath the beige robes, and her hair was hidden perfectly. If he hadn’t known better, he would easily have been fooled.
“Good. Now hurry, you don’t have much time!” he urged.
“On it. Thanks so much for your help, Hail. I appreciate it greatly.” Daring Do bowed her head to the pegasus one last time before running off into the dig site.
Ponies crowded everywhere in the site. There wasn’t an inch of ground that wasn’t occupied by a pony or their supplies. Daring had to push her way through the unruly slaves to get anywhere. She just head in one direction; towards the gargantuan structure in the distance. Hopefully nopony would spot her through her disguise.
Calm down, Daring. Nopony even knows what you look like. You’re getting worked up over nothing.
Ahead of her, a friendlier group of workers were loosely gathered on the side of the path. They had journals, brushes and other archaeological possessions. Daring figured that, given their more collected appearance, they were the tomb workers. She joined their group, acting as casual as possible.
“Eh, who are you?” One mare asked her, waving a quill in front of Daring’s nose.
“Oh!” Daring responded without thinking. She quickly tried to recover, “I’m an… assistant.”
“To who?” asked the mare. She had a puzzled look on her face and seemed to be looking past Daring’s disguise. Daring Do began to feel sweat bead on her forehead before replying,
“Um… Jack. Jackhammer. He’s from Canterlot.”
“Canterlot, huh?” she resumed; now smiling. “You’re quite a way from home. Why come all the way to the Sahoofa desert?”
“Well, Jackhammer is a real enthusiast for ancient tombs. You know how stallion archaeologists are.”
The mare laughed, “Yes, I know exactly how they are. I’ve been with this group for years now. They never take a break.”
Daring Do faked a laugh, ‘What are you all here for?”
“Some hotshot from Stalliongrad is paying big for some stone.” Answered a short stallion as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. “We figured we’d come in and collect the reward.”
“Why not donate it? What kind of stone is it?” Daring asked, pushing her limits of subtlety.
“Hey, don’t get me wrong, I’d love to donate it! But museums don’t pay seven hundred bits, do they? I figure, with that kind of money, I’ll give anything to this pony.” The entire group slowly began shuffling their way through the crowds to the tomb. Daring Do worked her way into the middle of the group where guards were unlikely to spot her. Overhead, pegusi guards flew about, scanning the workers as the adjusted their grip on long spears. Daring gulped, Some fool I was for worrying about getting in. How am I going to get out?
The tomb loomed in front of them, reaching higher than Daring originally anticipated. Sandstone columns held up the towering roof, and were intricately decorated with symbols of royalty and Istanfoal history. As they ventured further into the dark construction, archaeologists began to split up. They journeyed by torchlight down corridors and passageways that branched off of the main hall.
Daring Do opened her map and studied it carefully. According to the Chaplain’s directions, the Thunder Stone’s resting place was located off the main hall near the back of the tomb. She tucked the map into the folds of her robe and trotted down the dark hall. Echoes of hooves on the stones and the faint hiss of torches were the only sounds in the decrepit vault.
The end of the tomb was unlit by torches and covered in loose sand and cobwebs. The clattering of large spiders could be heard as Daring investigated the stone seal to the Thunder Stone’s shrine. The entranceway was completely sealed, with no apparent way to enter. Daring Do sat down heavily, inspecting the area when something on the floor caught her attention.
From the farthest corner of the tomb’s hallway was a path of slightly discolored bricks leading to the seal. At a quick glance they would have blended in perfectly with the other arranged bricks, but were apparently obvious once spotted. Daring went to the corner, and even in the dark she could see the switch; a raised brick sticking out a full inch above the rest. She closed her eyes and pressed her hoof slowly onto the stone.
From behind her, the door crashed to the ground in an enormous racket. Dust shot up from the floor, coating Daring’s back in its abrasive texture. She shot around, looking down the hallway. Within seconds, half a dozen ponies bolted around corners and shot down the hall after the noise. Daring jumped into the air out of surprise, and dashed into the newly discovered corridor.
Daring Do found herself in a pitch black room. The only light, as dim as it was, came from the open door behind her, which soon filled with other archaeologists. One, the short stallion with the glasses, stepped forward and stood by Daring Do. He lit his torch and held it high. Soon, the entire room was bathed in a soft orange glow, illuminating what appeared to be a perfectly square room, with nothing adorning the walls and floor, and only a single door on the other side.
“Nice find, rookie.” He said halfheartedly. He took a few steps forward.
The crash reverberated through the room, echoed by the collected gasps of the archaeologists. In front of her, Daring watched as a small portion of the floor opened up and swallowed the stallion. He dropped his torch nearby, and it lay sputtering on the floor. Automatically, the trapdoor shut itself, leaving the unfortunate pony stuck under the floor.
“Sweet Celestia!” a mare exclaimed. Ponies began to back off out of the room, and some even bolted out of the tomb. Daring Do kept her ground, and almost laughed to herself as she thought of the solution. She tore her robes off, exposing herself to the other ponies, and opened her wings to their full length. One of her wings was still sore from her injuries, but was far from useless. She leaped into the air, flapping her wings powerfully as she propelled herself above the floor to the other side of the room.
Behind her, ponies gawked and pointed hooves. Daring Do could hear the muffled whispers and murmurs of the ponies all discussing Daring Do’s identity. She turned around to see over half of the ponies disapprovingly staring at her, while the other half wandered off, presumably to warn the guards of the fugitive in the tomb. Daring resumed her course; she knew that time was a limited factor now.
The next room she entered was just as dark as the last. She gulped and took the initiative, stepping gingerly into the room. As she slowly walked, she shouted out,
“Hello!”
The sound echoed down the room quite a ways before bouncing off the opposite wall and returning. From her primitive echolocation, Daring judged the room to be very long and quite narrow. She continued down the corridor at an unnecessarily slow speed, not daring to go any faster, despite the new threat of encroaching guards.
She stopped dead in her tracks when something brushed against her hoof. Thanks to her slow speed, she was able to stop before it snapped. Resting gently against her leg was a tripwire, which ran the width of the room. She slowly let her weight off of it, being extra cautious as to not let it snap. When she no longer felt it against her hoof, she let out a sigh of relief.
“That was close.” She said to herself. She effortlessly jumped over the tripwire, keeping a mental note of where it rested. As she landed on the other side, her weight fell down. She sank into the floor accompanied by the slight grinding sound of stones. From her sides, Daring heard the sound of ropes snapping and gears winding. Something dislodged in the roof and fell down.
In the dark Daring could only distinguish this threat by the hissing of the blades as they cut through the air. She felt the tip of a blade swipe past her tail, before hearing additional snapping ropes and clinking gears.
“Great…” she sighed as more blades began to descend from their resting places in the ceiling and walls. She ignored her original thinking, and sprinted full speed down the hall. As she went, countless more tripwires were sprung, releasing blades of all shapes and sizes. In the dark, Daring left her fate up to luck more than anything, hoping that she wouldn’t run headlong into a descending blade.
Behind her, the racket of swinging pendulums of death increased, and soon drowned out any other noise. The whistling split through the air, filling Daring’s ears with dreadful sounds of disaster. At times she could feel the wind currents caused by the blades blurring speed as they hacked through the air. She increased her speed, shouting again in the dark.
This time, the echo was nearly instant, and Daring could sense the wall was just up ahead. She made one last push, dislodging half a dozen tripwires at once. From inside the walls, the nasty sound of sliding stones resounded tenfold. Daring slid along the ground on her back in an attempt to dodge the incoming onslaught of weapons. All around her spikes and blades shot out from the wall at every angle. Daring had managed to slide right in between a pair of spikes that protruded from the floor. Their cold steel chilled her coat as she slid past them, emerging in safety on the other side.
She stood up, shaking the dirt off of her coat.
“Two rooms down, one more to go.” She whispered to herself. She found consolidation in the fact that this new room wasn’t as dark as the others. Along the top perimeter of the square room were several green crystals, each giving off a faint light. The middle of the floor was still obscured by darkness, as the light wasn’t powerful enough to reach the center, but the floor along the walls was light enough to see.
Daring Do began by walked alongside the wall to her right. The soft green light illuminated the path in front of her as she slowly progressed across the large room. She crossed underneath one crystal, reveling in the security of the light. For a moment, she pondered the significance of the crystals, and how they glowed in the first place. She shrugged the ideas aside, dismissing them as ‘magic’.
She worked her way to the other door, opposite of her starting point. Wandering down the hallway, Daring felt renewed, but also wary. That room was suspiciously quiet and easy, for being a trap. As Daring thought through the sense of it, she smacked her hoof against something on the ground in the dark corridor. Sharp pain rocked up her leg.
She took in her bearings and found that, somehow, she ended up exactly where she started. The blades that had fallen previously now stood as proof, and from down the treacherous blade-filled hallway, Daring could hear the shouts of guards. She turned to the new room, bewildered. She shook her head and went through the room again. She stuck to the outside where the lights were.
Yet again, when she arrived at the door she had found herself back at her starting point. She swore silently to herself, trying to wrap her head around the situation.
“When it feels that I only walk half of the room, in reality I walk the entire way. But that can’t be right…”
Daring Do eyed the middle of the room, still covered in blackness and shadows.
“But what about…”
Daring slowly crossed over into the dark. As she set her hoof down in the shadows, a puff of air came shooting out of the floor. The distinct odor made Daring recoil back in terror, shortly before a gout of blue fire shot out from the floor.
“Gas… Clever.”
In the instant that the fire lit up the darkness, Daring could see a crude layout of the floor. It was designed in a checkerboard pattern, with the gas on every other stone, and a normal stone on the others. She tested her theory, setting a hoof on the ground a foot to the left from previously. The floor creaked, but nothing happened. There was no stench of gas, and the air didn’t ignite.
Daring had her plan; she would only walk on interchanging stones, and ignore the firestarter ones. She closed her eyes, picturing the floor’s layout in her head. Carefully, she place on hoof diagonally across the floor, resting it gently on a solid stone block. She let out a sigh of relief as she remained unscathed. Suddenly there came a noise from behind her. Still hidden in the shadows, Daring looked behind her at the intruders. Two winged guards sat scanning the room. Their gleaming spears reflected the eerie green light of the room.
They said nothing, and only moved their heads from side to side as they investigated the room. They were oblivious to Daring’s presence, which she counted herself lucky for. The only thing she had to do was not make a sound, and not trigger a trap, and she’d be fine. The two guards began walked the perimeter of the room, underneath the green crystals. Daring watched, curious as to what trickery had befallen her earlier.
As the guards walked underneath the crystals, they began to fade. They became more transparent and eventually disappeared altogether. On the other side of the room, they started to reappear under the corresponding crystal. By the time they would have reached the exit, they had been gradually teleported to the entrance.
“Wow…” Daring whispered to herself, amazed at the complexity of the trap.
At once the guards drew their spears. The minute sound of Daring’s voice had drawn their attention to the center of the room. Slowly, they approached the fire traps. Daring moved faster, trying her hardest to stick to the non-trap stones while being as silent as possible. She made it halfway across the room when the smell of gas filled her nostrils once more.
Behind her a plume of fire roared from the floor. One of the guards howled in pain, and recoiled back to the safety of the hallway. Through the glow of the flame, the second guard could distinctly see Daring Do as she attempted to sneak past the trap. There was no time for carefulness. Daring shot out of the center of the room like a bullet, leaving a trail of fire in her wake. The guard pursued, but not for long; he was turned back by the intensity of the flames.
As Daring entered the final room, the first thing she encountered was yet another stone button on the floor.
“Come on, how many of these do they need?!”
The fire room pressurized as massive quantities of gas was pumped into the room. A single click of the igniter went off before the roar of the fire sounded throughout the tomb. The intense heat and light was too much for Daring to bear, and she pressed on, now safely secure with a wall of fire between her and the guards.
Gas pockets continued to be released throughout the room. From high above the floor, along walls and precipices in the ceiling, several small torches gave off low light. The room illuminated, revealing a masterfully crafted temple. In front of her, a large monolith rose from the architecture. A winding staircase encircled its girth, and ended at the top, where a single golden pedestal rested.
Daring squinted her eyes, straining them to see her prize. On the pedestal, resting in the light was a large green object, about the size of a grapefruit. Its octahedral shape reflected light onto the walls in a rich forest-green color. There was no doubt in Daring’s mind that this was the Thunder Stone.
Jack’s head nodded as he attempted to doze off. It was the middle of the night and Kuwinda hadn’t slowed down a bit; he remained galloping as hard as he could across the plains below Canterlot. The bumpy ride made it difficult for Jack to sleep, which in turn made it difficult for Jack to put his mind at ease.
He kept looking up at Canterlot as it passed by, high in the mountains above them. He was so close to his own home, so close to being free of madmen and doomsday devices. He wanted to make his way to the museum, check out a dozen books and read them all in one night; just like in the old days. Yet, he knew with every fiber of his being that he couldn’t go home until Reinerth was stopped.
“Kuwinda?” Jack inquired, “Why was Reinerth upset earlier? Before we got in the chariot?”
Kuwinda’s head slowly nodded before vigorously shaking itself. Apparently, despite Jack’s best efforts to sleep, the zebra was able to doze off just fine. And still be able to keep a sprint while doing so!
“I thought I told ya to not ask any questions.” He growled.
“I know, I remember. I just figured you’d be up for some small talk.”
Kuwinda sighed, “Well, ya ain’t learnin’ why he be upset from me! I’ve gotten meself into enough trouble by spillin’ my tongue on account a’ others. In due time, Jack, you’ll learn for yaself.”
“Sure.” Jack replied sourly. Ever since he had been exposed as his true self, he had been treated with no respect. On a normal basis, he may only receive a few ounces of respect a week, but he would gladly take that over being a prisoner.
“Dey found da Thunder Stone. In case ya was curious.” Kuwinda barked.
“Oh… great? That may be good news for you fellas, but to me that isn’t on the bright side.”
“What about da boss’s offer? Ya’ll be killed if ya don’t. Even if ya escape, ya still gonna die when he activates the Shrine.”
A thought popped into Jack’s head, “Why do you stick with Reinerth? It doesn’t seem like you’d get any benefits from him destroying the world.”
“It’s not that I enjoy him. In fact, I dislike Reinerth with a passion. But I owe him a life debt. He saved me when my tribe was under attack.”
“A life debt?” Jack asked. He was smart enough to know what a life debt was, but he was interested in the way the conversation was heading.
“Ya. He saved my life, so I owe it to him. I was gonna be dead if it hadn’t been for him. You see, zebras have a sense a’ honor that ponies miss out on.” He explained breathlessly, “Any zebra will uphold honor and tradition. It’s always been da way. Until one, dat is…”
“What do you mean?”
“Dere was one who broke da tradition. My brothah, Mbarka.”
Jack gained more and more intrigue as the conversation went on. He remembered Captain Mbarka from his journeys aboard the Onyx Wind, and was now very curious as to how these two were connected.
“My brothah was saved by Reinerth too. But instead of givin’ his debt to ‘im, he left. He went and lived in some pony city, and left behind the zebra way of life. I’ll never forgive him for what he done. It be a shame dat it’s gotta come to this, though.”
“Come to what, exactly?” Jack asked.
“I gotta kill him. It’s tradition. If a zebra don’t hold up his life debt, then the life that was saved is forfeit. When I trade you for the Thunder Stone, I’ll find Mbarka.”
“Trade me? I thought that you already had the Thunder Stone.”
Kuwinda shook his head as he continued to run. “No. Daring Do has it and once-“
He pursed his lips, and faced forward. Jack couldn’t tell, but it appeared that he was humming curses to himself. The archaeologist smiled thinly, chuckling to himself. He leaned back, resting his head in his hooves.
“I knew she wasn’t dead. Thanks for the info, Kuwinda.”
The zebra had slowed down a tad, and now hung his head as he ran.
“And hey,” Jack continued. “I’m sorry about your brother. Maybe you won’t have to kill him. I’m sure you two could work something out.”
But Kuwinda ignored him, remaining silent with his head hung down. Jack rested in the chariot. For once, he felt sorry for the zebra. Now that he learned about him a bit, he didn’t see him as this purely evil henchman. As he gazed up into the starry night sky he wondered,
Could Reinerth be the same way?
The ascent to the pedestal was agonizing. It wasn’t tiring or painful, but it put Daring’s nerves on edge. If she took this stone, she’d be getting into things that she didn’t fully understand. She knew about the Thunder Stone’s importance, and of the Wendigo Shrine’s destructive power, but that was no excuse for her to risk her own life. She was a treasure hunter, and treasure hunting didn’t entail saving the world. Sure, she had saved individual ponies before, and even put away some very evil figures, but nothing had done had ever come close to saving the world.
She reached the top and viewed the Thunder Stone at its zenith of awe. It was huge; no doubt the biggest gemstone Daring had ever seen. Its forest green surface entranced Daring as it reflected light from throughout the room. It rested atop a golden pedestal that was inscribed with foreign letters and symbols. Daring interpreted them as carefully as she could;
Here lies the Thunder Stone in its power and glory,
Should one take this stone from its resting place,
Then let the heavens fall,
And bury them in their arrogance.
Daring thought of what this could mean. Maybe it refers to the Wendigo Shrine? It would explain the third line. But…
Daring’s thoughts trailed off as the guard duo flew into the room. They were both blackened and their armor was charred from the fire, which had apparently run out of fuel. They pointed their spears at Daring Do and flew full speed, readying them to impale the intruder. Daring acted fast, swiping the stone from its pedestal as fast as she could. As she did, the center of it clicked and rose slightly.
“A pressure trap. I should’ve known…”
The stone roof began to shake high above their heads. The guards slowed, shifting their attention to the crumbling structure. Sand began to pour through cracks as the roof gave way.
“Put it back! Put it back!” One of the guards shouted, urging Daring to negotiate. But it was too late. Before Daring could think, large stones began to fall from above them. They crashed to the ground, vibrating the entire tomb. The shower of debris was followed shortly by a rain of sand, quickly filling the room.
We must be under the dunes right now… This means…
Out of the rain of sand and stone, Daring caught a glimpse of stars in the night sky before they were obscured by more dust and sand. Awkwardly taking the stone in her mouth, Daring flew directly towards the funnel of sand. She dodged the remaining roof’s stones as they plummeted to the ground, making a hole in the ceiling large enough to fly through.
The desert air was cool against Daring’s coat as she exploded out of the tomb. From above the dunes Daring saw the destruction; a huge swath of land that was funneling into the ground. Everything within a hundred yards of the exit point was being swallowed into the tomb. She continued to watch the funnel, waiting to see if the guards would make their escape. However, nothing but sand stirred below.
Buried in arrogance Daring thought to herself, eyeing the stone she held between her teeth.
Under the moonlit sky, Daring could easily distinguish Istanfoal by the soft glow of lights in the distance. She flew in its direction, ready to meet up with everypony at the safe house, where they would discuss the next steps.