Daring Do and the Sun-piece

by Rarity Belle

The deal

It took her some time, but eventually had Daring managed to leave the jungle behind her in all of its sadness. Instead she found herself sitting in a in a shady bar located in a small town where not much passed through. There she did the only thing that she possibly could think of. Which happened to be drinking away her troubles with one hard cider after the other. Her eyes were mixed with emotion and alcohol. To her it seemed like her whole life had been flushed down the drain. Fairly much the worst of the worst, according to herself, she couldn’t reach any lower. Little did she knew the reality of the matter. "Barkeeper, give me another one, will you," Daring muttered up after she had set yet another glass on the bar.

The unicorn barkeeper gave her one glance and simply rose his eyebrow as his horn kept drying some glasses. "Haven't ya had enough fer tonight?" he spoke to her in a serious tone.

Daring returned the looks to him with a deep sigh. "Me? Nah, pour me another one, would you?" The stallion couldn't do much else then giving her another glass, but something in him told him she wasn't drunk at all, in fact, she was sober as one could possibly be. Little did he knew just how good she could hold her liquor.

“Here ya go, on the tab I take?” the stallion spoke while he passed her yet another mug.

“Would be nice,” replied Daring. under a soft chuckle. She took a swig from the fresh mug of hard cider, hoping for something to happen.

Then the door swung open and in the opening were two stallions in black trench coats with hats that covered their eyes to be found. They walked into the bar with a gentle pace and didn't cause much of an attention roar. The two of them took place behind a table that wasn't located that far away from where Daring was sitting. They began to speak to each other a bit before one of the waiters took their orders. They silenced for a moment before they returned to their words.

But the half-drunk Daring would have caught up some of the spoken words while she finished her cider. Most of them were just business talk, but some sparked her interest. "We need an explorer to get it for us," one of them said. "A good one for the matter, can't fail on any aspect of this."

"I know...I know... Otherwise the boss is not going to be happy, since this is, the expedition of a lifetime. Piece of the Sun, it can mean anything, but there is one thing for sure, it is valuable as the heavens," the other whispered. Words that were just loud enough for Daring to hear them.

Growing more and more curious to the words, Daring gave the two of them a slight look over her shoulder. If their words were indeed true, she could turn every single wrong into a right again. What did she had to lose and what did she had to gain? With all of her hope and bets placed upon the stallion, the pegasus took a deep swig of her cider and prayed for the best.

"Excuse me, gentlecolts, but I heard you needed an explorer? The name's Daring Do, at your service." The mare had introduced herself quite unorthodox after she had swung around on her stool. Her mysterious, magenta eyes fell upon the two stallions. There even was a slight smirk that could be found below her muzzle. All in all, she eyed drunk, but also professional.

The two figures looked up to her and they couldn't believe what fate just had thrown at them. “Would you excuse my companion and myself here, for just a moment, miss?” one of them asked in a polite manner. Daring did the only thing she could do and that was giving them a nod.

After the nod was done, the both of them stood up and would have made their way over to an empty table further way. They took place there to discuss their matters in a bit more privacy. Their matters were sensitive and not meant for other ears to be heard. Especially those of Daring. The pegasus could only guess what they were saying to one another.

---

Daring just turned herself back around and felt the defeat coming up again. Their leaving had crushed her last hope for a job in the profession of explorers and adventures. She didn't saw it sitting anymore, especially since every time she got a job, that cursed Bolocs always managed to mess around with her plan. He let her do the dirty work before he struck with the honor himself. “Barkeeper, one last hard cider,” she muttered after she had finished her last mug.

The stallion behind the bar rose his eyebrows in a surprised manner that time. “The last one? Alright then.” Within seconds was the last mug of hard cider that was served for her. Daring made the decision to enjoy it both deep and great. The adventurer just wanted to forget everything for a little while, just her and the drink. She set the mug on her lips and started to drink faster than she had ever done in her life.

It took her mere seconds before the whole mug of cider was just gone. With a loud tok the mug was placed back on the bar and Daring smirked as a burp left her. Even the barkeeper looked up in a surprised manner at the sheer speed she had consumed. But she said it was her last one and he would keep to that no matter what she would speak in gibberish.

It may not have been long that she had drunk it, but it was deeply enjoyable for herself. “That is enough for tonight.” With the fresh booze behind her teeth it also gave her some hope that those stallions would not have forgotten about her while her own mind began to drift off into thoughts of adventure, fortune and fame. The times as she remembered them to be.

Stories and tales came and went in her mind. But she also thought about of making future expeditions. One in which she was particularly interested in, happened to be one that led her into the Frozen North and beyond the Crystal Empire. She would be going to a place that many had called, The Final Frontier or The Edge of the World. Only the princesses could guess what she would discover within and behind it.

After having spent some time in thought, Daring was tapped on her shoulder without a warning. It was something that caused a light shock to travel through her. One that was strong enough to pull her back in the world as it is known. She then turned herself around to see one of those mysterious stallions. “Miss, Do, was it right? Would you like to join us for a moment?” he asked in a polite tone.

“Daring Do is the name yes,” she replied under a nod and took off her hat. "And lead the way." Then she left the stool and followed the black, trench coated stallion to the table. The very one where he and his companion had taken their retreat on behind.

The stallion moved one of the chairs back for Daring and she took place on it in a gentle and careful manner. “Would you like something to drink before we begin, miss Do?” the standing stallion asked after she had taken her place.

“Some soda, I have been drinking the hard stuff for most of the night now,” she replied with a chuckle. He gave her a simple nod in response. He walked back to the bar where he ordered two glasses of water and a soda for the table.

With time having passed a little bit, he had returned with the drinks and gave them to everypony on the table. Once that was done, he took place himself once more. The stallion who already sat there, kept his mouth shut for the whole time. Something that caused the other to do the word. “Miss Do, you showed us quite the interest in the expedition my companion and myself have planned out,” he said after he had taken his own place behind the table. Yet his tone was a low and quiet tone. Obviously, they didn't want any other soul to know even a bit about it.

Daring nodded at those words and took a sip of her soda, the stallion then leaned closer in and signaled her to do the same. Giving in to the signal almost instantly, the pegasus leaned forward just before the next words left his mouth in a whispering tone. “What do you know of the Sun-piece and Nightmare Moon?”

The explorer allowed her thoughts to be pondered deeply on both of the subjects. But all she got were blank spots. “Not much about either. Though I do know more about the latter then the first, but what have the two in common then?” she then replied with a raised eyebrow.

The quiet stallion next to him kept scanning the entire bar for unwanted ears while the speaker spoke once again. “Before we continue, I need to know one thing, are you in? But know this: once you are in, there is no way out until the job is done.” He stared deep into the eyes of Daring Do with his own, deep yellow rims. He had to be certain that she wouldn’t bail out before it was time.

In her eyes it could be seen for just a moment. That hesitation that was being created deep within her body. But her curiosity and lust for adventure managed to have gotten the better of her rather quickly. Daring Do would have replied with three simple words. “I am in.”

The stallion gave her a nod and stood up from his place. “If you would like to follow us please miss Do. What we are going to discuss further, needs to be done in the utmost of private.” The other stallion also stood up and Daring couldn't do much else then just go with them. The three of them left the table. On it were enough bits to pay for both their drinks and Daring’s long tab of cider.

Each of them walked over the bar's floor and then went up the small wooden stairs. One which led over to the upper level of the bar. Once they stood on top, Daring was guided down a hallway to one of the many room that were up for rental by the owner himself. Sounds could be heard through some of the doors but she didn't gave them any mind.

When she had least expected it, it was the quiet stallion who opened the door and bowed in a polite manner for her to enter. A small smile appeared on the face of the pegasus. “Why thank you,” she said in a rather unusual polite tone. Daring made her way into the room where she would have waited for the other two to enter. It was a thing that took them only mere seconds. Once they were all inside, it was the quiet stallion who closed the door and locked it back up again.

Daring had allowed her eyes to look a little around the room she had found herself in. It was an average bedroom with a two-pony bed, a set of small desks on either side with some candles. There was even a big desk and a little bathroom. But to her biggest surprise, there were three chairs standing in the room. The quiet stallion extended his hoof to one as if he was saying she needed to take place there, which she did without questioning.

The stallions themselves took place on the remaining chairs and the Pegasus couldn't hold her mouth anymore over a little matter as she boldly asked. “Say, did he lost his tongue or what?”

The stallion who always spoke did the word again as he shook his head. “No, he is always this quiet when being around others. But let’s talk business now shall we? Because there is one very important connection between Nightmare Moon and the Sun-piece. The Piece is said to be a very ancient relic, one that came from the time when the princesses were young. And not to mention, a powerful one at that. If the queen of darkness gets it, she'll use it topple Equestria in eternal darkness as she had promised all those years ago. She must not get it miss Do, no matter what.”

Daring had listened to the words with great attention and still was a little stunned by hearing it all. Though there were questions that popped up in her head, questions she wanted answers on. “Hold up a moment here. Let me get this straight, you want me, to find an ancient relic, a powerful ancient relic and keep it out the hooves of Nightmare Moon? Didn't she like, got destroyed by Celestia when she returned from her thousand year imprisonment? Where do you suggest I start looking? And for who do you work for again?” were just some of the questions she had.

“On two of the things I can say you are correct, as for the other two it lays differently. We may not tell for who we work, it would bring the organization in greater dangers than ever, as for the location itself, there have been rumors. Rumors of an old temple that lays hidden deep within the Everfree Forest near the town of Ponyville. Good luck, miss Do, grab what you need while you can, in an hour there will be a carriage standing ready for you,” the speaker told to her

The quiet stallion stood up and opened the door again for her to leave. “The Everfree you say? I will grab what I need and then be on my way as soon as I can,” replied Daring just before she stood up. She nodded to the colts and left the room for what it is.

But once the door was closed again there was a smirk which began to appear on the face of the speaker as he spoke in a sinister tone. “That mare has no idea where she just walked into.”

---

Having her way made back to her own room a couple doors down the hallway, Daring opened that door with a bright smile. “I am back! Back in action,” she spoke to herself Her eyes looked over her own room which was the same as that of the stallions. Only it was a bit more messy given her nature and duration of her stay. The pegasus placed her hat back on her head and began to both gather and find things she would be needing for the upcoming adventure. Her trusty whip, an extra set of vest and some other things all got placed in a big suitcase.

After she had packed everything she needed made Daring her way down the stairs and out of the bar without a single word spoken. Then it would simply be waiting for the carriage to arrive and take her to the little town of Ponyville. She had heard many things about the place in her travels, but never was the destination she always wanted to go to for some reason. Because of the whole fact that certain aspects of the town were giving her more than the creeps. Everything seemed to be so, if not too, perfect.

---

But in the meantime and hidden far away from the little town the explorer could be found in, deep within the bowels of the Canterlot Garden, there a statue was to be found that was unlike any other one. A horrifying statue of somepony not even the bravest of hearts wished to encounter. The moon found itself much higher in the skies than usual. Its wonderful light shone down upon that statue, it began to both crack and crumble. The statue of the incarnation of hate and fear itself was about to break loose and roam free over the world once more.

More and more cracks appeared in the stone and only extended even further. Under a loud creaking sound that went mixed with a terrifying roar, the deed was done. The statue had broken into many pieces and there she could be found on the base itself. Her purple misty mane flowing freely in the wind for the first time in a long time while as her catlike eyes only glared over the garden. The coat was blacker than the deepest night as a pair of wing began to spread themselves. “Revenge, is, mine,” the being spoke before it let another roar of ancient power leave. Then it was gone. Blasting off into the skies with the wings, leaving a trail of darkness and dust of stone behind it.