Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...
Scootaloo rethought her decision to tag along with Shining Blade as she struggled to free her scooter from the moist, boggy ground of the Haysead Swamps. She flapped her wings as hard as she could, desperately trying to speed off, but her efforts just sank her wheels further into the muck. Blade noticed that the young filly had gotten stuck, and went over to help her, but it turned out he didn't need to. Night Sky swooped in from above, hooked his hooves under the handlebars, and pulled Scootaloo out of the swamp.
"Careful there, kid," he warned her. "You might want to stay off that thing here."
Scootaloo thanked the thestral, and made her way through the swamp on hoof with her friends. The scooter still got plenty of use, however...as a weapon. Like the rest of the world, the swamps had gotten dangerous since the magic surge, and they were constantly set upon by pony-sized frogs, giant hawks, and other monsters. All the while, they tried to find decent footing as they passed through the swamp. Finally, they reached the edge of the Forbidden Jungle, the smelly muck making way for a dark maze of trees. Somewhere within, they would find Lockheart's secret project, and hopefully learn what she and Thatch were up to.
The three ponies wandered into the dark forest, the light of the entrance shrinking in the distance behind them. After a while, the jungle completely surrounded them, confusing their sense of direction. It was doubtful they could even make their way back out, much less find some secret facility. It was at this point that a giant spider crawled down from a tree, hoping to devour these treats that had wandered into its home. Blade noticed the spider, and prepared to fight it...when a tan and black streak zoomed in and knocked the creature right on its back. With one more strike, Daring Do ended the spider's life with her bare hooves.
Shining Blade couldn't believe his eyes. "Daring Do!? Wait, you're real!?"
"Who wants to know? A fan of mine?"
"Eh, not really," Blade admitted. "I've read one or two of your books. Good stuff."
"Wow, the real Daring Do!" Scootaloo piped up, rushing over to the famous explorer. "Wait until I tell Rainbow Dash about this!"
"You know Rainbow Dash, kid?" Daring Do asked. "Why don't you say hi to her for me next time you see her?"
"Wait, you know Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked, astonished.
"Sure, she and her friends helped me out a while back," Daring answered. Scootaloo squealed in amazement and delight.
"That's all well and good," Night pitched in, "but what's a fine lady like yourself doing in a place like this?"
Daring pondered for a bit, sighed, and decided to give these three strangers an explanation. "I'm searching for the lost zebra city of Aquinas. It's supposedly on the coast of the jungle, but nopony's seen it from the sea. I came into this jungle with a guide, hoping to discover its secrets." She sighed once more.
"You had a guide?" Blade wondered. "Who? Where are they?"
"A zebra named Zaphias, the last survivor of Aquinas," Daring responded. "He was going to bring me right to the lost city, but it looks like he bailed on me."
"Well, we're searching for something in this jungle, too," Blade mentioned. "How about we stick together and search the jungle together?"
"You really think it's a good idea to get sidetracked like this?" Night asked him.
"I doubt it could hurt," Blade replied. "We're gonna be wandering through this jungle either way, so it'd be good to have an expert on hoof. And if we find this lost city first, at least we'll have a landmark."
And so the four ponies made their way through the twisting jungle. The darkness confused them and twisted their path through the trees, and they were constantly set upon by more giant spiders, as well as ghostly creatures made of rags. Slowly, though, the jungle got brighter, as they made their way closer and closer to the coast. Finally, they reached a clearing overlooking the beach. Or rather, overlooking a ruined structure on top of the beach.
"That's it!" Daring exclaimed, pointing to the structure. "That's Aquinas!"
"What, that little brown box?" Night pointed out. "That's no city."
"That's just the entrance," Daring corrected the thestral. "The city itself is underwater."
"Well, that explains a bit," Blade mentioned. "Somehow, I think ponies would miss this."
"Does that matter?" Scootaloo asked rhetorically, her eyes wide with delight. "This kinda stuff is awesome! C'mon, let's go inside!" She got on her scooter and sped off toward the ancient city.
She didn't get very far before a four-armed bear, alternating black and white fur, swooped down on insect wings and brandished its massive stinger at the poor filly.
"The bugbear!?" Scootaloo wondered in shock. "But I thought Rainbow Dash and her friends defeated this thing!"
"'Defeated' doesn't mean 'dead,' kid," Night pointed out, readying his spear. "Well, better clean up their mess."
Blade rushed in to save Scootaloo, slicing at the beast's stinger. He managed to lodge his sword right above the stinger, causing the bugbear to howl in pain. Scootaloo took advantage of this, backing away before rushing back on her scooter. She vaulted off her friend's blade, and shoved the full force of her scooter into the bugbear's stomach. As it was left reeling, Night swooped down on the beast...
"Crescent Moon!"
...and made a loop in the air, dragging the tip of his lance into a crescent arc that knocked the bugbear right out of the sky. His sword free, Blade followed this up with a Destruction Field, roasting the creature as he plunged his sword into its abdomen. It writhed and clawed at its attackers, but Scootaloo dazed it with a swift and powerful blow to the head.
"Moonbeam!"
It was hard to tell, but Night seemingly teleported the few feet from where he hovered to directly above the bugbear's heart, before dropping down and plunging his spear into the beast's chest. As it finally died, he returned to his previous place in the sky just as instantaneously.
Daring Do was amazed. "Wow. I've never seen a monster of that size go down that quickly."
"Well, most of us are trained for this kind of thing," Blade explained. "Self trained, in my case."
"Anyway, we'd better go see the ruins now," Scootaloo piped up.
"Woah there, squirt," Night began. "That's the lady's job. We've still got work to do, remember?"
"Oh, come on! Don't you want to see what's in there?"
"...okay, maybe a peek."
The four ponies made their way to the ruins on the coast, unsure of what awaited them in the lost city below.