//------------------------------//
// Daring Do vs. Polite Society 
// Story: Daring Do and the Eyes of the Demon 
// by PegasusKlondike 
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Equestria's most famous explorer was tired and positively beat from her last investigation and subsequent archaeological dig. The sun had fallen little over an hour ago as she rode the train to Canterlot with her various recovered artifacts stashed in a storage car. Far from being a destitute mare, she had reserved an entire  coach car for herself on the trip back from her latest dig. Absently tipping her trademark pith helmet over her pink eyes, she leaned back in a bunk and tried to get some sleep. 

Try as she might, she couldn't get any rest. Something was nagging at the pegasus, like she was forgetting something. Annoyed she tipped her helmet back and went over a checklist of things she might have forgotten. 

Jumping down from her bunk the mare opened the door from the coach and went into the boxcar. Lighting a lantern she went over various crates. 

"Alright, artifacts A-L, check." She paced over to another crate, "Artifacts M-Z, check. Digging supplies, check. Camping gear, check. Memento recovered from hostile natives, negative." She scratched that one off of her mental checklist, this last dig hadn't been the least bit adventurous in any nature, just some old ruins in somepony's backyard here in Equestria. The nice old mare who owned said ruins had served some tea and cookies to Daring and her excavation team, that kind of made up for the complete lack of booby traps.

"Helmet," she flicked the brim of her favorite hat with a hoof, "Double check." Having gone over the bulk of her inventory without finding something astray, the gold pelted pegasus forced down the feeling of forgetfulness as she opened the door back to the coach car. Tossing herself in her bunk, she rolled over onto her side and stared out the window. The gentle hills and placid forests of Equestria zipped by, reminding the mare as to why she had chosen her line of work.

To get away from this crap was the simplest answer. Equestria may have had its moments, but to a well traveled adventurer like Daring Do it was more boring than taking a crochet class. This place may be her homeland, but by no means was it her home. An aloof explorer like her had no true home, Equestria served as more of a place to keep the bulk of the junk that she collected in her literal globetrotting. She preferred listening to the noises of the late afternoon jungle, laying in a hammock after a hard day's work of plundering various tombs and braving ancient temples in the Great Southern Jungle. That, or outrunning various monsters up in the frozen territory of Snowreach, or even making deals with shady minotaur swashbucklers in the Minotaurranean Sea. Anything was preferable to the relative peace and quiet of Equestria. 

Shifting her pink eyes, Daring spotted the lights of the pony capitol of Canterlot, styled by some to be the capitol of the world. Daring grimaced, cities meant civilization, and civilization meant that she would have to act more ladylike. She shuddered at the thought. Daring preferred Gryph'Kalor as a city, much more rough and tumble, more her style of town. The kind of place where you could close a deal with an ambassador to get digging rights to an ancient monastery and order hard liquor in the same room. 

It was pointless to try and get any sleep now, Daring rolled out of her bunk and grabbed her saddlebags, tossing them on. Patiently waiting for the train to stop at Canterlot station, she wracked her brain for whatever it was she had forgotten. The locomotive eventually ground to a stop, the conductor blaring the whistle to alert the passengers. Not bothering to oversee the safe handling of her acquired artifacts, Daring debarked and took off for the museum on wing. 

Canterlot Museum was said to be the most complete archive of early society and pony origins in the world, but Daring knew better. There was a huge gap in the timeline, one that the Princess refused to acknowledge. Daring had even confronted her royal majesty once about it when she had been granted an audience one time, the result being a very angry looking Princess Celestia and Daring Do not showing her face in Equestria for the next two years.

Landing lightly at the front steps to the Canterlot Museum, Daring walked up the steps, past the alabaster columns styled like the cloud formed columns in Cloudsdale's antiquity. Trotting up to the front doors, she passed a night watchpony who stood very bored looking at the front door. 

"Evening Professor Do."

Daring sighed, "For the last time Reggie, don't call me Professor."

The bored museum watchpony smirked, "Fine then, Dr Do. Somepony came along earlier, right before I got on shift looking for you. Said you were supposed to be back yesterday. Fellow looked real important. Also real angry."

Daring shrugged, "Can't imagine what that would be about." She brushed past, trotting through the front door to the lobby of the museum. Taking a sharp turn away from the exhibits she pushed open a nondescript wooden door that led to the museum's administration and private offices. Trotting down the hallway, Daring came to a door with a clouded glass window, her name printed in bold black letters on the glass. 

Opening the door to her office, Daring tossed her pith helmet expertly on the top of an old coat rack, dropping her saddlebags by the door. Flicking on the magic powered lamp on one of her filing cabinets, Daring picked up her rather considerable pile of forms and mail off the floor. 

Looking up from her stack of mail, Daring's heart nearly stopped as she spied her oldest enemy sitting at her desk. The pile of mail fell out of her hoof and to the floor. "You." she said as her eyes narrowed. It simply sat there, not saying anything to the mare. This was a foe more dreaded than Ahuizotl and more ancient than Fu Man Chu, her nemesis in the Orient. Something that had haunted her ever since puberty when her mother had gotten her first one for her.

The little black dress.

Her antithesis, the complete and total anti-Daring Do, the symbol of society and class! Its presence here in her office instantly made her mind click with what she had forgotten. "Oh buck, I've got a beneficiaries gala to attend!" Her eyes shot to the clock in the corner, "In fifteen minutes!"  Throwing off her green jacket, Daring tugged on her nemesis and brushed her charcoal mane in the bathroom, trying to get as many knots and tangles out as possible. Satisfied with that, she doused herself with a bottle of perfume and tried desperately to apply some make up. Feeling like she was painted like a clown she grabbed the speech note cards off of her desk and dashed out of her office door.


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Ancient Lore stood in the entrance to the Canterlot Mareiott, various philanthropic and wealthy ponies filing in and shaking hooves with the Curator of the Canterlot Museum. Though calm on the outside, Lore was sweating under his tuxedo suit and cursing the continued absence of his curator of antiquities. Oh yes, Daring had pulled a few stunts like this before, but it would just ice the cake if she didn't show up for the biggest fundraiser of the museum's fiscal year!

The beige unicorn put on a huge, fake grin and adjusted his thick glasses as he welcomed yet another pair of would-be philanthropists dressed as though they were attending the Grand Galloping Gala. Hell, for all he knew that was how they dressed every minute of the day.

Checking his pocket watch, Lore scanned the skies for any hope of Daring somehow falling out of the clouds to be on time for once. And for once luck seemed to be on his side as the pegasus came screaming down from the heavens, leaving a trail of poorly applied cosmetics in her wake. Landing hard, Daring Do panted as she checked her pocket watch.

"And just where in Tartarus have you been Daring?!?" 

Daring continued to pant, "No worries chief, I'm here on time!"

"Oh yes I'll worry! How well do you think this fundraising gala would have gone if the face of the Canterlot Museum didn't show up?! Speaking of faces, it looks like you let some circus performer do your make up." Ancient Lore's horn glowed with magic as he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe off some excess eyeliner. "Is that...dirt? You came here straight from a dig?!"

Daring shrugged, "Well yeah, it was a pretty good find actually, lots of Pre-Classical artifacts from an unknown race. Hit the mother lode on that one. Gave myself an extra day to work at it."

Ancient licked a hoof, rubbing a smear on the pegasi's forehead, "Daring, you know just as well as I do that Her Majesty's Royal Guard will confiscate those as soon as they see the light of day. And did you ever stop to think that you may have had a previous engagement? Now get in there, you have the opening speech. Just read what I wrote on those cards for you and this should all go well for us. Maybe we can finally expand the exhibit on Pre-Classical era warrior societies!"

Daring Do rolled her eyes, trotting into the the lobby of the fancy hotel. Pulling the stack of notecards out of the bosom of her dress, Daring noticed the stack felt a lot lighter since she had taken off from the museum. "Crap, just have to work with what I have, maybe improvise a little."

Walking through the open door to the hotel ballroom Daring slipped past the dozens of tables containing chattering museum enthusiasts, philanthropists, important city officials and even a few members of the museum board of directors. This was not going to go well. In the background a piano played, and everypony patiently waited for the opening speech to be given so they could move on to more important matters.

Daring took the stairs up to the stage, smiling as everypony clapped as she waved her way to the podium. Taking her place, Daring pulled out her note cards. 

Crap, I lost the introduction! Okay Daring, you can do this, just try opening with a joke.  

The archaeologist cleared her throat, public speaking had never been her strong point. "Welcome museum goers. Or as I like to call you, 'future exhibits'!"

The room remained silent, somepony in the back coughed. Daring put on a sheepish grin, "Heh, right. I'm Daring Do, curator of antiquities at the esteemed Canterlot Museum." Desperately she began to flip through the note cards, "Aha! The purpose of history has always been to preserve what we have been and define who we will be. And there is no better place in this world to preserve our culture and heritage, and maybe learn something new about ourselves, than the local museum."

The cards were totally out of order, Daring flipped through trying to find that might follow that up. "Though the patronage of the good citizens of Canterlot has kept the Museum at the forefront of archaeological, philosophical and even paleontological research and advance, regretfully-" It just stopped there! 

Flipping through the cards again, she sighed and just tossed the pile to the side. "Alright people, here's the deal. We're in a tight spot for cash and the only way we can keep our heads above water is if you see fit to keep us going. We want to open a new exhibit but frankly we just don't have the bits for it. Can you help us out a little?" The well dressed crowd laughed heartily, in the back of the room Daring watched Ancient Lore swoon and collapse. "Okay...thanks for your time." Daring flitted off stage.


************************************
   

The music had started again and nopony seemed to remember the butchered opening speech. Daring drowned herself at the open bar, haunches firmly on a stool, forehead on the bar. 

"Barkeep, double whiskey." she said without raising her head. The barkeep slid her the drink, Daring lifted her head just long enough to choke down the poor excuse that these ponies called hard liquor. Grabbing a bit out of a pocket with her wing tip, she flipped it into the tip jar. "Keep 'em coming." 

Forehead planted on the bar and a leg covering her head in shame, Daring hardly noticed when somepony took the stool next to her. "'Future exhibits', I've heard some bad ones in my time Daring, but that was almost worthy of an award."

Daring's pink eyes shifted to take in the four leafed clover cutie mark on a nut brown flank. Lifting her head up, she took a sip of her drink. "Lieutenant Charms. Tell me old friend, why shouldn't I just break your legs here and now?"

The earth pony wore a black suit, not a tuxedo like the other guests. "It's not lieutenant anymore, it's Agent Charms. You look pretty when you actually try to be a lady."

"Moving on up in the world? Let me guess, you shake down enough innocent archaeologists and Princess Celestia gives you a meaningless job with a nice suit and tie."

Agent Charms slammed a hoof on the bar, "Those demon artifacts you keep trying to exhibit are dangerous Daring! And don't you dare try to sully Princess Celestia's name again! I had to use my one favor with her Majesty that one time when you insulted her right to her face!"

Daring put on a mischievous smirk, "Well then Lucky, you're gonna go absolutely bananas when you see what I've brought back this time."

"Too late for that Daring, I had six agents at the train station when you arrived, all that trash you call artifacts is already on its way to the incinerator."

Daring laid back her ears and flared her wings in agitation, "You bastard, I worked for a week to collect all that!"

"Please Daring, you know it's not about the artifacts, it's about the thrill of the chase, for you and me. Besides, I don't think it's anypony's loss that there won't be an exhibit featuring the midden heap of some long dead society."

Daring calmed and laid her wings down, "Lucky, remind me why I haven't left you stranded out in the middle of some jungle."

"You have Daring, twice now actually. Once in the Great Southern Jungle, the second time in that prison cell in Knossos."

Daring grinned at the fond memory, "Those minotaurs sure were pissed when they found out you swiped that idol."

"Luckily for you Daring, my memory tends to drift towards the night before that event." Agent Charms lifted an eyebrow suggestively. 

"They don't call you Charms for nothing. So Agent, what brings you here tonight?"

Agent Charms glanced around, "Can't say it here, we need to go somewhere private."

Daring finished her whiskey, "Meet me back in my office in the museum, thirty minutes."

"Perfect, see you in half an hour." The Royal Agent stood from the bar stool and walked out the front door of the hotel. Daring was getting ready to head out when Ancient Lore crashed into the recently vacated bar stool next to Daring.

"Barkeep! Your strongest drink, make it a double!" Lore turned his head to the pegasus mare next to him, he had gotten rather disheveled looking in the past few minutes, "And as for you Ms Do! The only reason why I keep you around is because the public loves you! I've had to go around apologizing and trying to salvage this situation after you bombed up there on stage! You had ONE job Daring, ONE JOB!"

Daring slapped him with a wing and grabbed his shoulders with her hooves, "Hey, calm down Ancient. That was Agent Charms with the Royal Intelligence Service, I think they might have a job for me." 

The unicorn visibly calmed, "The Royal Intelligence Service? Really? Damn, a private contract with the throne could make our next two years! Screw this fundraiser crap, take the job Daring! That's why I keep you around Daring, you have the guts to go anywhere and take any challenge head on!"

"Hold it there Lore, don't drop the fundraising just yet. Maybe I won't take the job. There are certain things I don't do."

Ancient Lore gulped down his drink, "Alright Daring, you go and find out what they want, and if you have ever cared about the future of our beloved museum, you will consider taking the job."


****************************************************


Daring nodded to Reggie as she entered the museum through the front door as usual. Ignoring the normally fascinating exhibits in the lobby, Daring took her traditional path back to her office. Walking up to her office door, she heard two voices talking in her office, one was definitely Charms, the other had a much deeper quality to it. 

Pushing open her door, Daring spied Charms sitting behind her desk, conversing with a hooded figure seated in a chair by the wall. The striped legs and various bracelets told her that the newcomer was definitely a zebra. "Evening gentlecolts."

"Daring, glad you could join us." Charms pulled open a desk drawer on Daring's desk and pulled out her private stash of fine Mexicolt cigars. Taking one of the cigars in his hoof, he ran it under his nose, taking in the scent. "You always did go for the best Daring." Clipping off the end, he lit it up and proceeded to stink up the entire office. 

"Oh yeah, no go ahead and plunder my private stash. Show some common courtesy and open a window, I'm not supposed to have those here." Daring trotted to the open bathroom in her office, cranking on the sink to splash some water on her face. "So what do you want Charms?"

"Been reading the newspaper lately Daring?"

Daring scoffed as she peeled off her dress, right in front of both stallions nonetheless. Throwing on her green jacket, she shook her head. "Most of the time I'm nowhere near anyplace that has ever heard of a newspaper."

"Surely you've heard something about the war in Zebrica?"

Toweling off her face, Daring took a third seat across from the unintroduced and silent zebra. "It's a guerrilla war between bush tribes, what is there to know?"

Charms puffed on his cigar, blowing the smoke carefully out the window. "It's a little more complicated than just some 'guerrilla war'. It's a genocide in the making."

"Then why don't you just step in? Equestria has a large enough army to take on any threat in Zebrica."

The Intelligence Agent shook his head, "We can't, they haven't made any hostile acts against Equestria or her people. Besides, the warlord on the aggressive side is using child soldiers in a lot of his attacks."

Daring rolled her eyes, "This is all horribly tragic, but what does this have to do with me?"

"Take a look." Agent Charms pulled a folder from his suit pocket, tossing it on the desk. Opening the folder, Daring got a look at a black and white photo of the ugliest zebra she had ever seen. 

"Who is he?"

"N'dutu, former shaman of the Matsunga tribe." The strange zebra intoned in a heavily accented voice. 

Daring continued to flip through the photos, each one getting different angles of the zebra warlord. One photo had bile coming up in the back of her throat. The warlord N'dutu, surrounded by a trio of big cats.

"Son of a bitch....I'd know those damn cats anywhere, Ahuizotl's in on this! But why would he want to start a war in Zebrica? He is only interested in ancient artifacts!"

The strange zebra dropped his hood, "There is an artifact, it is the whole reason why the tribes are fighting right now. Macho Ya Pepo, The Eyes of the Demon."

Charms ground out the remnants of the cigar, "Where are my manners, Daring this is Timur; as you can tell he is a zebra, and from one of the tribes involved in the conflict in Zebrica."

Daring offered a hoof to the zebra, "Daring Do. Nice to meet you."

The zebra returned her hoofshake, "Timur Duan!ziti of the Gochano tribe."

Daring raised an eyebrow in confusion, "How do you spell that exactly?"

The zebra chuckled, "'Timur' will do fine, Ms Daring Do."

Charms interrupted the introductions, "So Daring, our plan is to exploit a loophole in diplomatic relations with the zebra tribes. The Equestrian government or army cannot take action against N'dutu unless he strikes first. But if we send you as a private explorer, you can get the Eyes while still being able to take necessary actions against N'dutu. If there is no prize at the end of N'dutu's tunnel, there is no reason for him to keep fighting."

"So, you want to use me because you guys aren't ballsy enough to just go out there and find this artifact?"

"Daring, this is a plan that came from Princess Celestia herself. She believes that the Eyes aren't safe anymore and should be brought here to Equestria for safekeeping. Besides, I thought you never passed up a chance to stick it in Ahuizotl's craw."

The explorer sighed, "If Ahuizotl is after this little trinket of yours, it must be worth a fortune."

Timur shook his head, "The Eyes themselves are next to worthless as material, it is the power that comes with them that makes them so desirable."

Daring lifted an eyebrow, "What do you mean? I've yet to come across an artifact that has actually done something. The Sapphire Statuette? Just a pretty statue. The Gryphon's Goblet? Just a fancy cup that makes wine taste better. Ockham's Razor? Actually an ancient philosophical concept."

Timur looked mildly offended, "I know you Equestrians do not have legends of the Eyes here, but in Zebrica it is reputed that a full seven tribes, over 12,000 warriors, were destroyed in the time after the Eyes were pried from the dead grasp of Grinwa. And not just the warriors, the very lands they stood upon were destroyed, gouging out canyons and leveling mountains."

Daring sat incredulously, "What do the Eyes do?"

Timur shrugged, "I do not know, only the highest shaman of the Din'Jaro and their chief are burdened with any knowledge of Grinwa's Promise."

The explorer took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, turning back to Agent Charms. "What's the pay?"

Charms grinned, "The Royal throne funds your museum for the next three years, we look the other way to a certain extent for your fascination with demon artifacts, and as an added bonus, you save the world and foil Ahuizotl. Timur here can speak most of the languages of the zebra tribes that you may encounter and will be your guide through Zebrica."

Daring glanced at the eager looking zebra, "I'll take your job, but I don't need him."

"Daring, have you ever been to Zebrica? There are more monsters than the Great Southern Jungle and Snowreach combined. More languages than there are scales on an elder dragon. Without him, you won't make it ten feet out of the Equestrian embassy."

Daring gave a prideful smirk and leaned back in her chair, "You underestimate me Charms."

Timur shook his head, "And you underestimate Zebrica. It is a dangerous and unforgiving land, half the creatures there will eat you alive, the other half will kill you and leave you for something else to eat. And it is not just the wildlife, the burning heat will sap your energy until your tongue is black from thirst and your skin like paper. You may find sanctuary in the jungle, only to have your body be eaten from the inside out by insects and disease. There is no safe way to travel Zebrica, I can only help you get through it alive."

Agent Charms and Timur both stared down the pegasus mare, awaiting her response. Daring sighed, then smiled. "Charms, you have yourself a deal. On one condition, I get to keep the remaining demon artifacts in my possession."

Agent Charms grimaced and laid back his ears, "Fine, deal."

Daring grinned and stood up from her chair, walking over to her bulging saddlebags. Flipping them open, she dumped out a sizable pile of ancient artifacts on her desk. "And next time Lucky, have your goons check inside the crates before they incinerate a bunch of camping gear."

Charms's eyes narrowed, "Clever girl..."