“Are the preparations complete?”
“Yes, sir. The ritual is mere minutes away. After a... simple sacrifice, we shall be ready.”
“Have you picked one out?”
“He is ready and willing, sir. To bring our lord to life... it is an honor.”
The two ponies walked into the shadows at the edges of a large stone chamber. Ponies dressed in feathers and faces painted in elaborate designs were all assembled around a pedestal with a blue statue of a strange beast with the head of a lizard, the ears of a jackal, the front arms of a monkey, the body and legs of a large cat, and a tail that contained another monkey-like hand coming out of it. Torches all around the chamber cast a flickering light that seemed mostly to illuminate the statue in the center and left the edges covered in shadow.
One of the ponies stepped out of the shadow, boasting a red and blue coat with stripes and spirals painted in black on his face and a headdress of fine eagle feathers. He surveyed the room, then called out in a loud voice that echoed through the whole room.
“Where is the one for the sacrifice!?” His eyes slowly scanned the room. “Have you gotten cold hooves? Are you no longer true to our high deity!?”
Another pony wearing a simpler headdress and only stripes painted on his face came forward. “For our lord and king, I will do my duty.” His voice was low and solemn.
The first stallion nodded slowly. “Bring forth the hammer and chisel.”
Two ponies came forward, one carrying each item. The pony with the giant headdress turned to the pony still in the shadows. “Are you going to stick around?”
“I’m afraid I have other business to do. You see, the one you summon will not be the deity you planned him to be unless I complete one more task. He will still be powerful, but mortal.”
The pony chieftain nodded. “Very well. Go, and do what you have said. We will continue as expected.”
The second pony nodded and retreated into the blackness. The pony chieftain took the hammer and chisel from the ponies who brought it to him and walked forward towards the pedestal with the beast-statue. The pony with the smaller headdress followed the chieftain up the steps towards the pedestal.
“Today, we gather to bring our lord into mortal form.” The chieftain’s voice rang out over the crowds assembled, hanging on to his every word. “Through the statue representing his image, the chant to bring him to life, and the spirit of one who is in the prime of his life, we shall resurrect his form and return him as the true deity of Equestria!”
“Yaaa!” came the shout from the ponies around the pedestal.
“In just a short while, those fool pony princesses will see they are worthless compared to the might of our lord. For tonight, he will return to his kingdom once again for the first time in a thousand years! Tonight, he will reign as the true king!”
“Yaaa!” came the shout again, louder and more vengeful than before.
Taking the hammer and chisel in his hooves, the chieftain motioned towards the other feathered-pony towards the pedestal. The pony came up and rested his head on the pedestal and stayed completely still, even when the chieftain set the chisel on the top of his head and brought the hammer up behind it.
The chieftain raised and lowered the hammer twice, tapping the chisel both times. The move served two purposes; first to make sure he would hit the chisel completely dead on when he finally struck, and second to see if the pony flinched. It would not do; he had to face this proudly.
The pony didn’t budge an inch. He maintained a rather focused gaze on the statue; his eyes never left it and he never offered a word of protest to the cheiftain’s actions.
The chieftain nodded in approval and spoke again. “Your decision is honorable. You will be remembered for this.”
The hammer came up, then swung down with great force.
Daring Do dashed through the Tenochtitlan jungle undergrowth, searching for the next open gap through the trees. The jungles here weren’t so thick that she couldn’t gallop through the underbrush, but she longed to fly for a better view, and to look for a stone spire that marked her next destination.
Around here would be the sacred temple of Ahuizotl, the massive mixed-beast deity noted of in southern Equestrian legend. More specifically, the ancient god of Destruction and Desolation, who used to live near water and prey on the flesh of ponies. According to her old friend A. B. Ravenhoof, therein would be the statue of Ahuizotl, believed to be able to summon the beast himself. In addition to keeping it out of the hooves of those who would be able to summon such a thing, it would be a massive archeological find.
And so Daring Do had not hesitated in taking up the task when her old friend and mentor mentioned such a valuable object. Ravenhoof had given her a map and the necessary tools for the job and sent her on her way, and the pegasus had followed the signs on the map. First through various towns and villages where only one pony knew where the next town was, then to a delta with wild pink birds, then came the river she’d followed that held giant multicolored snakes, then finally the wooden archway that marked the pathway to the stone spire that marked the path to the Temple of Tenochtitlan Basin.
It had been a grueling five days of travel and many perils. Ponies were defensive about the routes to the next town on the path to the next city, and one even attacked her with a crude knife. The wild birds were vicious about their nesting place being disturbed and had pecked at her wings to keep her from leaving until she threw at them a gem that reflected the light and made them greedy for the prize. The multicolored snakes were masters of magic in themselves and had nearly caught her in their transfixing spell if she hadn’t worn a special amulet looking like a silver snake eating its own tail on her hoof. And now she had merely to escape the jungle and find the stone spire.
Up ahead she found an opening and jumped up to begin her flight, but it suddenly closed up before she could even spread her wings. So this was the final challenge! The trees would block her way out to prevent her from reaching the temple! Daring smiled and knew exactly what she needed.
Still running, she reached into her bag and pulled out a vile of blue liquid. Taking the cap off, she clamped onto the top of the bottle with her mouth and threw her head back, swallowing the contents in one go. Slowly the wind picked up on either side and the trees turned to brown and green blurs as she picked up speed. Seeing an opening ahead, Daring spread her wings and jumped.
Quick as a lightning bolt, Daring Do shot out of the trees and soon found herself soaring over a cliff and into the clouds, staring down at the Tenochtitlan Basin. It was freeing being out of the jungle after enduring the darkness and closeness for two days and feeling the wind in her wings again. She smelled the fresh humid air and sighed happily, flipping around and twirling in the partly cloudy sky.
Now in the air, Daring was able to get a good look at her surroundings. The basin was filled with more of the jungle and was quite large, covering an area of land larger than Manehattan and Baltimare put together. And towards the far end of it was the Stone Spire of Ahuizotl, the legendary shrine that Ravenhoof told her would house the statue she now sought.
Quick as a whip, Daring tucked her wings in and dropped down towards the base of the Spire. Taking another item from her back, a long wood pole reinforced with strong leather, Daring clamped the pole between her teeth and charged for a large open portal leading into a shadowy entry hall. As soon as she touched down, Daring took off at a gallop into the shrine and started swinging her pole.
Ravenhoof’s advice yet again came through; rocks being launched at her from numerous tiny slots were swiped and batted away at by the firm wood pole. The rocks shattered and crumbled upon contact with the wall, creating a loud commotion and echo around the chamber. But Daring stood in the middle of the chamber unscathed. Keeping her trusty wood pole at the ready, Daring charged forward into the next chamber.
What looked like twenty ponies were arranged in a circle, chanting and staring at a central pedestal with the statue of Ahuizotl sitting on it. A large pony that looked like a chieftain with a large feather headdress stood at the pedestal, a chisel stained red in his hand. Blocked by the pedestal, a pony lay slumped over and unresponsive. The Chieftain raised his head up and looked at Daring.
“Well, if it isn’t the famous archaeologist.” The Chieftain smiled venomously at the pegasus while the ponies around kept chanting. “Daring Do. I should say I’m surprised you’re here, but honestly I’m not.”
“Chief Darkhooves,” Daring Do responded. “Aligning yourself with the wrong crowd now? I thought that Princess Celestia making a truce with your lands would have calmed you down.”
“Alas, that’s not true. You see, Celestia thinks she has power over this land. But in reality that is wrong. She never owned these lands. Never will, not in a thousand years!”
“She never claimed to own them. She merely wanted a truce. She wanted the fighting to stop. She believed you were better... than this!”
“Ah, but she was wrong, then. Tonight, our true lord and king, Ahuizotl, will rise to power once again!”
“You can’t do this! I’ll give you this one last chance; make them stop and I promise your sentence will be lighter.”
“I’m sorry, but they are compelled to do my bidding. I’ve taken some of the venom from the multicolored snakes you passed by earlier and imbued it into a special amulet. They will listen to me and me alone, and I serve the whims of our Ahuizotl.”
The ponies around the statue stopped chanting. The chieftain took a bronze staff covered with the jackal head of their deity and pointed it at Daring Do.
“Get her,” he said. “Bring her to me alive.”
The twenty ponies charged at Daring, but were sent flying by a swing of her staff. The pegasus took off and flew around the room, throwing ponies around the room with her staff. Some of the cultists started picking up slings and throwing stones, but Daring batted them back and hit their owners.
After a while, the staff raised again and the ponies suddenly stood still. Daring, flapping in the air, looked at Chief Darkhooves and taunted him. “What? Are your powerful earth pony cultists still not enough for a single pegasus archaeologist?”
“Well, it is surprising you are not immediately bending to my will. The blood and venom of the magical snakes is normally more than enough to make one obey my whim.”
Daring Do raised a hoof containing the amulet Ravenhoof had given her. “Preparedness in every situation,” she said. “In order to pass, I had to be properly equipped. I guess I’m even protected against your special little amulet too, eh?”
Chief Darkhooves gave an amused smirk. “So you’re as intelligent as the stories say you are. But, I’m afraid you’re too late. While we were talking earlier, the chanting of the ritual is completed. With the statue here, the chanting finished, and the honorable sacrifice performed, there is but one thing left to do.”
Chief Darkhooves took the red-stained chisel and held it over the statue. Daring now realized that the stain on the chisel was that of blood, and the pony slumped on the floor had been the sacrifice.
“Rise, Ahuizotl! Rise and rule your people once again!”
Three drops was all it took before the statue went from blue to fiery red and a blue smoke began filtering the room.
“You’re finished, Daring Do! You and all of Equestria shall know the might of the Tenochtitlan deities!”
“Not if I can help it! You still need the statue here, don’t you? Well, then I’ve got one thing left in my arsenal.”
Rearranging the staff and holding it like a lance, Daring Do swept down and charged at Chief Darkhooves. The pony made to take the statue, but he was too late. Daring’s staff caught his side and he flew across the room, a large red scratch showing down his side. Arcing back around, Daring quickly scooped up the statue and flew up high.
“See you later!” Daring said. “I’m afraid your all-powerful Ahuizotl isn’t coming back!”
A deep, dark laughing came from behind Daring, who nearly dropped the statue out of surprise. “I’m outta here.” Quick as a lightning bolt, Daring launched through and into the entry portal and out into the sunshine of the Tenochtitlan Basin and away from the Stone Spire.
In her hooves was the greatest prize: the statue of Ahuizotl. The statue faded back from the violent red to a glistening blue, and Daring Do smirked with satisfaction as she soared over the jungle. No longer would she have to deal with magic snakes, encroaching jungle, or wild birds.
Daring Do, satisfied with her efforts, caught an updraft and sailed on back home.
Chief Darkhooves dazedly opened his eyes. There seemed fewer ponies in the room than there had been before.
A few ponies rushed to his side. Quickly they picked him up and righted him, and he stood looking around the room.
“Are... are we all here?” he asked.
One shook his head. “Three are missing. Not including the one used for the sacrifice, but his body is gone, too.”
A shadow enveloped Chief Darkhooves, and he suddenly felt a shiver down his back. He turned around and stared into a pair of piercing yellow eyes looking at him from a lizard head and nearly shouted in horror.
“You are the one who raised me?” came a deep, growling voice. “I will remember this kindness. As I scorch the land beneath my feet, you shall remain untouched. Now, to restore my power, and to take revenge on those who imprisoned me...”