Three weeks ago
“...and I can give you this rare magical tablet for just 149 bits! Not a moment to be lost; anyone would want this sort of tablet for this sort of deal!”
There was something in the customer’s face – particularly the sparkling green eyes and the grey mane – that appeared wizened, but his own looks deceived him. His eyes were cocked to one side, his head slightly tilted, his ears somewhat flattened by the barrage of information and pointed towards him as though unsure of what to think.
He had him. “However, just for you, sir, I think I can make an exception. For you, today... 129 bits.”
The orange unicorn contemplating the stone plaque brought a hoof to his face. “You can’t get it any lower?” he asked. “I’m afraid it’s still a bit high. Do you think you can make it a hundred?”
“Sir, the words on this tablet are a magical incantation! I can’t get away with things like that for even the 129 bits I’m offering you! But you’re a special case, so I’m going to ask you one more time: do you want this rare tablet?”
The pony thought about it a little more. “Why not? I’ll take it.”
The unicorn customer counted out one hundred and twenty nine bits. Once the cloaked shopkeeper had agreed to the amount and the tablet exchanged, the unicorn took the tablet and walked away, seemingly happy with his decision.
The shopkeeper was even happier. The sale of pilfered items had gone quite well, and in a place like Ponyville with lax laws and a populace kept in the dark on most events, it was quite easy to do so without arousing suspicion. Even the tablet, itself chiseled from the stones of the ruins inside the Everfree Forest, could be sold in a place like this with the right customer.
Bits were exchanged, a few more items sold, and at around five the shopkeeper closed down his shop. A pony from the local government building came by and the shopkeeper paid him a small fee for using the space before tearing down the tent he'd used and heading into a rented cottage a few blocks away at the edge of the town. He carried a heavy bag of bits with him and set it down with pride.
“Withers!” he called. “You in here?”
“Coming!” Out came a pale grey pony with a short black mane and a purple shirt collar came out of a back room. “How did the sale go?”
“Good. I think we made somewhere in the range of six hundred bits. You have a location of the Ahuizotl statue?”
“Chief Darkhooves’ lead did not fail me. Uncle Curio in Canterlot does have the statue, but he thinks it mere blue crystal and not the sapphire it really is.”
“You could tell it was indeed sapphire?”
“I took a jewelers’ glass with me. I inspected it. No crystal could have shone the way that did under the light. And the cost is cheap; a mere two hundred fifty bits.”
“Good. What about the other leads?”
“I have been informed that a certain Professor A. B. Ravenhoof was unavailable by local staff of Canterlot University. Apparently he’s taking a holiday.”
“Well, then we’ll have to try again some other time. I’m sure he’s holding another piece of the puzzle. You remembered to copy down the riddle before the plaque was sold, yes?”
“Exactly as instructed; it is in your pocket notebook and inside your own satchel.” Withers motioned to the fresh-looking satchel by the door.
“Excellent. Tomorrow, I need you to go to this Uncle Curio. Take three hundred bits; the amount for the statue plus fifty to buy his silence. I will go to the University and see about anyone else who would know the studies of this Ravenhoof.”
“What about a member of the guard?” Withers suggested. “I know one or two who are considered dependable and reliable. I might be able to pay one or two of them to pass information on if we find it.”
“Do so. Tell them payment available upon receiving the information. They will likely make a move soon; Chief Darkhooves is perhaps overly zealous and the Princess is getting uncomfortable with the situation down there.”
Withers nodded. “Of course,” he said, bowing slightly.
“For now, let us sleep. Today has been profitable; eight hundred bits over the last few days is quite the payday, and will give us free reign in some cases. But tomorrow, we’re on the first train to Canterlot.”
Present day...
At six thirty-nine, Daring Do sat at the kitchen table finishing breakfast. A. B. Ravenhoof had made a fine breakfast quesadilla of egg, potato, and roasted tomato and provided her with a black scarf for her trip up the mountain. She examined the contents of her satchel, including the Transport Sack, the letters of conscription, and the map of Equestria with the poem. Waiting for the guard to arrive, she began to read the poem.
The Sacred Stones shall quell sibling rampage
Then become hidden at the end of an age.
Their departure marks the finale of a troubled climb
For none are needed during following peacetime.
But their arrival shall herald a brand new evil
And villains asleep since times medieval;
All will be lost if they remain apart
And even their magic will not outsmart.
A knock came at the door. “Well, that answers nothing,” Daring thought to herself as she folded the map back up and put it in her satchel. “Just that they would hide away and we have to go find them.”
The knock came again, sounding slightly impatient. Daring Do opened the door and recognized the pony standing there as the unicorn guard who was present at the house where she met Shining Armor. “I’ve come to collect you, miss,” the guard said. “We will meet the others at a guard tower near the exit of the city and the path we’ll use up the mountain.”
Daring nodded. “Lead the way,” she said. “Quickly, if you must; I can keep up just fine.”
The unicorn nodded. “Fly over me. I shall gallop ahead. I have tied a blue ribbon on my spear; find it should you lose me in crowds.”
Daring Do secured the satchel over her shoulder and back and nodded. She locked and closed the door behind her and jumped into the air, spreading her wings and flapping a few times to gain some altitude but enough where she could still easily see the guard. Without waiting for further notice, the guard took off and galloped east towards the mountains.
There were few ponies out at that hour; a few were at the coffee shops and more were coming, but Canterlot remained a relatively quiet town and her streets held only whispers. The sun had barely risen over the horizon and most of Canterlot remained hidden in the shadow of the mountain on which it stood. Daring looked up for but a moment to see that the top was surrounded almost entirely in snow and ice despite it being spring and very close to summer, and the exact top could not be seen.
But Daring didn’t question why it snowed on top of the mountain despite the already increasing heat. She was sure the top had been somehow enchanted, a way of hiding the ruin and protecting the Stone within. It was meant to scare them, to drive them away, to make sure that only those who sought them out were powerful enough to find a way through in the first place and had the knowledge to correctly make use of it.
When they approached the guard tower, the unicorn leading Daring Do slowed down and Daring eventually glided down and stood alongside him. Shining Armor was standing outside the tower looking at them expectantly as they approached and soon walked up to meet them.
“Good, you’re here,” Shining Armor said. “Thank you, Swift Blade.”
The unicorn who had brought Daring saluted Shining Armor then resumed his post.
“Well, we’d better get inside,” Shining Armor said. “We have a few provisions to go through before we make our trek. It’s not long, but it’s steep and difficult.”
Daring Do nodded and followed Shining Armor inside the watchtower. They entered a main room with a staircase leading upwards and a door presumably leading into the wall surrounding Canterlot. They entered through the door and came across a small armory where two unicorns and a pegasus sat waiting. One of the unicorns was a royal guard, but the other was a white mare with a bright pink mane and wide blue eyes and with a cutie mark of a red heart with a white cross in the center.
Shining Armor walked over to this white mare first. “Daring Do, this is Combat Medic Charity Kindheart,” he announced. “She’s part of the Royal Medic Corps, has advanced training in Botany and knowledge of basic sedatives, antidotes, and healing ointments.”
“Just ‘Kindheart’ is fine, Ms. Do,” the unicorn mare said softly. “I’m not completely defenseless, though; I do have a police baton with me and can use it well enough.”
“All recruits must go through training with one weapon to defend themselves,” Shining Armor said. “Medic Kindheart has ably completed her training with high marks.”
Daring Do nodded. She felt a little better about having a companion who was skilled and could protect herself. Shining Armor gathered the other two unicorns close as Daring examined Kindheart. She was rather delicate-looking, but there was a quickness to her rather wide-eyes that Daring thought marked her as a keen observer. She was also smiling rather tenderly, and Daring wondered how long it would be before the pressure of the guard finally broke her.
“I hope you don’t mind me coming along with you, Ms. Do,” Kindheart said apologetically. “But Shining Armor told me it was a royal order and I couldn’t refuse.”
“Yeah, he told me the same,” Daring admitted. “But you look capable enough. Have you ever seen combat before?”
“No,” Kindheart said. “I was going to go fight changelings not long ago, but the fight ended in their retreat before I could ever see combat. This will be my first time.”
Daring admitted to herself she felt a little worried by this information, but didn’t have much time to dwell on it. Shining Armor was gathering them around and drawing their attention to a drawing on a nearby chalkboard.
“Alright, everypony. This is our current mission: we need to ascend the top of the mountain and reach the ruins within. From there, we shall obtain the second of the Sacred Stones and hopefully find the key to the next ruin. We’ll need to stick close together to keep ourselves from getting separated in the storms above.”
Shining Armor pointed to the chalkboard, on which was a reasonable drawing of the mountain. “Now, the blizzard will not only block our progress, but could potentially result in frostbite or even death if we get lost. To help combat this, everyone will wear one of the jackets provided and drink a Potion of Heating. We’ll put on the jackets now and we’ll drink the potions later. Go ahead and grab yours.”
Daring Do found a nametag on a dark brown jacket with her name on it and put it on. It was a little large and was very soft, and almost immediately she began to swelter in the confined room. Shining Armor slipped his on, the guards put theirs on over thinner coats of armor, and Charity Kindheart put on a pink one, oddly brighter than the duller brown of Daring’s and the guards and the dark, royal blue of Shining Armor.
“Alright. Let’s head out. Daring, you can fly alongside if you want, but be warned the atmosphere gets thin up there and it might be hard to fly.”
Daring Do nodded. “I think I’ll conserve energy and stay on the ground.”
Shining Armor nodded approvingly. “Alright. Come on, we have no time to lose.”
Shining Armor led the way out the tower and right outside the gate to a pass leading to a cliff-side path along the mountain’s edge. Daring Do and Kindheart followed close behind and the two guards, Swift Blade and a pegasus, brought up the rear.
“So how long have you been adventuring?” Kindheart asked Daring.
“Oh, about three years under my mentor, Professor A. B. Ravenhoof.”
“I know Ravenhoof. He was my old history professor at Canterlot University before I joined the guard. I didn’t know he adventures.”
“Well, he’s retired now. He mostly sends me out nowadays; he finds objects that need retrieving, and I go get them.”
“Shining Armor told me you’re getting the Stones for Princess Celestia right now,” Kindheart said. “Do you have any ideas about the locations?”
“No, not really. The fact we already have one and know the place of another is a decent start. But I’ll have to figure out where the next one is from a clue at the ruins.”
“This is really fun,” Kindheart said. “I’ve never been on an adventure like this. I know it’s glamorized sometimes, but I always wanted to do something like this.”
“Trust me; it’s fun but dangerous,” Daring said. “It’s not something to take lightly. Come on; we should stay quiet and conserve our breath; I can already feel the air getting thinner.”
The path wound around the edge of the mountain for a while until they were on a very small ledge looking above Canterlot. From here the path turned inwards, and the first glimpses of snow could be seen a short ways away.
“Charity, distribute the Heating Potions,” Shining Armor said.
Charity pulled out five vials of a red liquid and distributed them with her magic. Daring quickly uncapped her but waited until the others had also obtained and uncapped their own vials.
“Drink,” Shining Armor said simply. “Then we go. We have limited time before they wear off.”
Daring mimicked the others and downed the vial in one gulp. As soon as the vials were emptied of their contents, the five set off again, following the path into the snow. Shining Armor pulled out a series of red flags along the way and placed them within visible distance of each other, each holding a red light on top that shined brightly. Daring knew the technique from those used by climbers for keeping track of where they were in areas of dense snow or fog.
The five trudged onwards. Kindheart was panting furiously, and every once in a while Daring turned to her and gave a small smile. Kindheart’s spirits seemed revived every time she did so, and would once more resume pace. The snow grew thicker and the air grew colder, and still they trudged on.
Then suddenly a high speed gale seemed to crash into them. Daring pulled her wings close and braced herself, but was still thrown backwards into a pile of snow. She quickly dug her way out and looked around, soon seeing the brown coats of the other guards, the dark blue coat of Shining Armor, and the red lights of the poles.
“Are we all okay?” Shining Armor called over the howling winds.
“I’m okay,” Daring Do replied.
“We’re good,” Swift Blade replied.
“Where’s Charity?” Shining Armor asked.
Daring Do looked around. There was no sign of the white mare. Daring began to panic. “She’ll be lost out here if we don’t do something! Her white coat will hide her if we don’t act soon.”
“Charity’s been warned of the dangers,” Shining Armor said. “We have the flags; she should be able to find her way back with them.”
“Are you kidding me!?” Daring shouted. “We can’t leave her! What if she’s knocked out?”
“We have a limited time before the Heating Potions run out,” Shining Armor said. “We can’t wait around to look for her.”
“I don’t care!” Daring said. “I’m not leaving her behind! Give me some flags!”
“I can’t let you do that!” Shining Armor said. “You’re vital to this mission; unfortunately Charity is not.”
“Well, I’m not letting her stay behind!” Daring Do trudged off into the high gales. “And don’t you try to stop me!”
Daring Do wandered off, always keeping in sight of the red flags and the red lights. She scoured the snow as quickly as she could, looking for a little flash of pink somewhere among the white drifts. Another wind blew and toppled Daring over and she rolled away, screaming as she twisted and turned.
Sticking a hoof in the deep snow, Daring finally managed to stop spinning and regain herself. She pulled herself up but could no longer see the red flags or the red lights.
“Shining Armor!” she cried out. “Kindheart! Where are you?”
But her voice was lost to the howling winds.