//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - The Legend of the Sacred Stones // Story: Daring Do and the Sacred Stones // by Revenant Wings //------------------------------// It took Daring Do a moment to realize the full effect of Shining Armor’s words. “So... we’re scre—” “Not necessarily,” Shining Armor cut off Daring Do before she could finish. “We have one more option. And this one we know where it is.” Daring Do nodded. “You need me to seek out this final option because you’re all too busy with political matters and day-to-day running of Equestria.” “Correct. Now, have you heard of something called the Sacred Stones?” Daring shook her head. “Nothing comes to mind immediately.” “Very well. The Sacred Stones are considered a legend across Equestria. Supposedly they hold enough magical power to defeat nearly anything. In the right hooves – say, Princess Celestia and former Princess Luna – they are the most powerful magical artifacts to exist. And we’re talking enough to seal Discord away in his stone prison and for Princess Celestia by herself to banish Nightmare Moon nearly one thousand years ago.” Daring blinked in astonishment. “Oh! I remember now! Each Stone is powerful in and of itself, but their power is strongest if they’re all gathered in the same place. But only certain ponies have access to their power. That sounds like the perfect thing to help us defeat Ahuizotl!” But Daring’s excitement quickly turned into a frown. “But wait a minute... weren’t the Stones lost shortly after the defeat of Nightmare Moon?” “Exactly. With one of their number gone in the banishment of Princess Luna, the Stones were soon lost, supposedly spread to the far corners of the globe. None of them work anymore because of this, and we can’t use them if they’re spread apart.” “So, if they’re lost, that means they’re hidden out there somewhere. And you want me to go get them.” Shining Armor nodded. “Unfortunately, we only have two clues as to the location of the Sacred Stones. The first is that there are rather strange ruins in rather obscure places around Equestria that seem to serve no purpose, but we’ve been able to find one and there’s a hint there’s four more. Furthermore, we have a poem from the renowned mage Starswirl the Bearded that makes reference to the Sacred Stones.” “Won’t be so hard,” Daring Do said proudly. “Hey, I took a fairly direct path to Tenochtitlan Basin and the Stone Spire to get that statue. Following a trail around Equestria and looking for these ruins shouldn’t be too hard.” “But the path isn’t entirely known,” Shining Armor said. “We know of one that is just outside Canterlot. That’s the easy part. But each ruin contains a hint to the next on the path. The other remaining problem is the poem mentions nothing of it, just of the existence of these Stones.” “Sounds like you’re sending me on more than just a hunt for these Stones. You need me to find out this path such that these ruins can be secured.” Shining Armor nodded. “Sounds about right. However, to help you out, we do have a single Stone. Princess Celestia identified it as such, so it may give a hint about what you’re looking for. Come with me.” Shining Armor stood up and went into the bedroom. Daring Do followed him. It was dark excepting for a lit desk lamp shining on a large stone sphere in a red pillow on the bed. The Stone looked rather unremarkable. It was as big as a basketball, round, and gray as though made of plain rock or andesite and looked rather sturdy. Shining Armor stood on one side, Daring Do on the other, each examining the stone. Daring took a minute to look around the Stone but didn’t touch it. “Got to admit, it doesn’t look like much,” Daring Do said. “No, not particularly,” Shining Armor said. “Except for one detail.” Encasing the Stone in blue magic, Shining Armor turned around the Stone and carefully wiped away dust that had gathered on one part of it. After a few gentle sweeps, an image started to show: a symmetrical six-pointed star, the points facing up and down larger and longer than the four pointing to the sides. “Princess Celestia found this one day quite by accident,” Shining Armor said. “She was taking a walk through her favorite spot in the castle garden and she nearly tripped over it. Caused quite a confusion until we noticed the mark.” “And what did Princess Celestia think of it appearing, exactly?” “Well, confusion as to why it appeared. Then the cult started to grow and we received word of its actions in Mesoequestria and she realized its purpose.” “She needs to wield them again?” “Not exactly. They’re magically powerful to the point of almost being sentient. Sounds strange, but the current theory is that it almost quite literally jumped out of its former hiding place to the safest place it could imagine, which happened to be at the Princess’ hooves.” “So, by extension, these ruins are probably the safest places the other Stones could imagine and so they leapt from their hiding places and went to them.” “It’s a possibility. And the best we got for now. But Ahiuizotl finds these ruins, they’re no safer than they were in hiding, and could even be used to restore him to his full power including bringing him immortality. This one was right to come here, but then there’s this mercenary to worry about.” “Right. You mentioned something about one going after the statue of Ahuizotl for Chief Darkhooves and finding it before you could. Let me guess: you need me to find these things quickly and before he gets them, and then we can use them against Ahuizotl before he can use them himself.” “You catch on quick. Whoever it was had access to the once lost statue of Ahuizotl. Who knows if they have access to the Stones.” “Alright. So find the ruins, secure the locations of the Sacred Stones, bring them back to Canterlot, and find out about this mercenary or band of mercenaries and keep them from getting their hooves on it.” Shining Armor nodded. “Now, things might move a bit quick from now on. The day after tomorrow, I will be bringing along an acquaintance of mine and a few guards and we’ll be heading for the first ruin. We collect the Stone, find the hint, and you will be traveling with my acquaintance to find the rest of the Stones.” “Right... normally I work alone. Professor Ravenhoof gives me whatever task he wants me to go on and leaves me to handle it by myself.” “I’m afraid to say it, but this being a royal order, I can’t let you do otherwise.” Shining Armor walked out of the bedroom. Daring Do followed him out and they sat back in their respective positions in the living room. “So, at least tell me who this acquaintance is.” “Name is Combat Medic Charity Kindheart. Unicorn, I’d say a little younger than yourself, specializes in medical treatments and herbal remedies with mild knife training for protection. We can’t have you injuring yourself and being taken out of the game. No one else in your job field has the productivity you do.” “You challenging me?” “Not at all,” Shining Armor said, somewhat irritated. “Actually, I’m praising you. I’m saying we need you, Daring Do.” Daring Do smiled. “Count me in. I’m down for adventure. And I’ll do my best for Princess Celestia.” Shining Armor smiled proudly in return. “Perfect. Then we have a few gifts for you.” Shining Armor raised a hoof and beckoned a guard over. He held three items in his yellow magic glow: a stack of letters, a soft-but-sturdy-looking sack, and a map. “The first are these: the Rite of Conscription. With these, you are allowed to recruit whoever you want to help you in gaining the Stones; as a Royal Order, they are forced to accompany and aid you. We’ll start you with three, but you can contact me if you need more. I will be available at this house as much as possible.” Daring took the letters the guard gave her and put them in her satchel. “Next is this Transport Sack. This has a duplicate here. Place an item or a note in it and close it tightly, and it will shine. At that point, it will have teleported to its duplicate, which will be in my possession at all times. We will also be able to send you items should you require them via the notes, and it will prove a quick way of sending the Stones back here when you find them.” Daring Do put the Transport Sack in the satchel as well, and was very glad that Professor Ravenhoof had given it to her. “And finally is this map of Equestria. We have included the poem on the backside for your convenience. As I have other duties to attend to today, I cannot go over the poem with you. But I would advise you to read it. Furthermore, we will need you to use the Transport Sack frequently. When you come across a ruin, mark it on the map and send it back. We’ll duplicate it on our own maps and send it back. This way we can secure the ruins easily.” Daring nodded. “Is that it?” “For now. We leave at seven o'clock in the morning the day after tomorrow. Rest well, Daring Do, for you will have little time to do so once we start.” Daring Do nodded. “You know, you’re smarter than your pretty boy looks suggest. You ever hear that?” “Very frequently. The pretty boy part at least; a lot of ponies wonder how I made it to Captain, let alone even into the guard. But it’s better to laugh at yourself for things like that. If someone can laugh at themselves, then they have the strength to take on the world.” Daring nodded at Shining Armor, smiled, and left. A. B. Ravenhoof nodded thoughtfully at the information Daring Do gave him. Daring, now comfortably back in her jacket and pith helmet, watched him as he ducked down carefully under his desk and began to sort through items. He was down there for a few moments muttering to himself before he became audible. “Here we are... I should have known about this. Why doesn’t Her Majesty ever tell me these things earlier...” Coming up from behind his desk, he had a stone tablet in his hooves and he set it on the desk. “Yes, the Sacred Stones are hidden,” he said. “Yes, they are somewhat magically powerful and sentient to the point of jumping to the nearest source of safety. As such, it is entirely possible they don’t know it is safe and need coaxing out.” “Okay, but what’s with the tablet there?” “Because the Stones have always been in these ruins. This was in the first one, which is located somewhere in the Everfree Forest, and would have held the Stone that Captain Shining Armor now has. And this was the clue to the next step on the path of the ruins. Here; read it and it might give you a clue as to what you are looking for.” Daring Do approached the tablet and blew it off. The words had almost faded by time, but were still there. A snowy peak stands tall above the sunny fields; A cold air and violent blizzard protects and shields. Though it's close to throne of pony royalty, Admittance is gained by value of one’s loyalty. “That’s it?” Daring Do exclaimed. “That’s all I’ll have to go off of!?” “Well, it will vary from ruin to ruin. But this one is fairly obvious. You’re going there tomorrow; just outside Canterlot is a path that leads to the summit of the mountain it sits on. Snowy peak above fields? Close to throne of royalty?” Ravenhoof leaned back in his chair and threw his hooves up as though to say “There you go.” “By the way, how’d you get it if these ruins are supposed to be hidden?” “Well, now that’s the strangest thing. Few years back, I was in Ponyville down at the base there by the Everfree Forest. I was there on holiday and have family down there, and I was perusing through one of the shops when I saw an open stall selling all sorts of knick-knacks. The seller - I don't know what his face looked like; he had on a cloak that covered his face - then suddenly comes to me with a rather ‘rare’ item and presents me with this. I recognized it immediately but didn’t tell him anything about it. He comes in there with this whole pitch and rather elaborately explains it to me, and I act bamboozled about the whole thing and bought it off him for an absurd amount for the purpose of taking it off his hooves before he knew what it was exactly.” Daring Do nodded. “Any idea where this seller is?” “Not a clue. For according to the residents, he packed up and left that evening. And they hadn’t seen him there before, and apparently haven’t seen him since.”