Daring Do and the Coin of Destiny

by Pink as Pie

Chapter 1

Daring Do and the Coin of Destiny

Join the exciting adventures of Daring Do as she travels to exotic locations, facing dangers around every corner and pitfalls from foe and friend alike.

On this adventure, Daring Do travels in the Misty Woods of Fallin’ Mountains searching for the remains of an ancient civilization.

Finding herself lost deep in the forest, Daring Do continues to trudge on, hoping beyond hope to find some remnant of the long lost civilization…

The cool air did not still Daring’s nerves, it put her on edge. The entire landscape had an eerie feel to it; there was no wind, no movement. It was as if the Misty Woods were stuck in time unable to move forward, either because it was unable to or it did not want to. Of course that was crazy talk and if there was one thing Daring was, it was not crazy though some of her colleagues would beg to differ.

Time and again, Daring would hear a noise but it would prove to simply be her imagination; the land was so barren of noise that she had to invent it herself or so she presumed.

The purple and green hued vegetation added an alien feel to this already strange place. Trees only grew to about two standard ponies height above Daring and shrub was thick but sparse. There were no flowers about, pitiful amount of grass and little to no fruit and nuts. Daring was going to have to survive off of her rations until she found what she was looking for.

Which brought Daring Do back to the reason she was here in the first place; a small map drawn centuries ago by who knows who, excited Daring with the tall tales she had heard of from her youth about a great and ancient civilization once dwelling in this land. Rifling for the map in her satchel, Daring’s hoof felt through medical supplies, food rations, her trusty canteen, a surgical knife and other vittles necessary for this expedition.

Muttering her frustration at having difficulty finding the item that had brought her here in the first place, Daring flung her satchel up over her shoulder and onto the ground, where she continued her search.

Now lying on the ground, Daring’s search through her pack went far easier than previously. Grasping map in fetlock, Daring triumphantly claimed the pesky thing.
Opening the map, she reviewed the contents she had looked upon for the hundredth time.

The contents of said map were sketchy at best and unreadable at worst, what they did show, but rather vaguely were the Fallin’ Mountains named so because they were inverted and from a distance they seemed to be falling. In the center of the map a faded image of the Misty Valley more commonly known as the Misty Woods, colloquially named by the nearest settlement of ponies, they were a small colony established many hundreds of miles away from Equestria, called Ponyland. They were around three hundred miles from Fallin’ Mountains and some of their explorers had rediscovered Misty Woods a few decades ago. Now Daring Do was here to seek out any and all ruins of what some archeologists had theorized existed somewhere in the Misty Woods.

Returning to the map after letting her thoughts wander, Daring revisited the small marking on the map, this possible clue to the old civilization, with their rare and powerful artifact, traps to be sprung and evaded, and villains with which to do battle; it was what Daring lived for, this! This! Adventure, puzzles, traps, pygmies with spears, all of it was what Daring dreamed of when she was little and now it was her occupation.

Shaking her head Daring muttered, “Gotta focus, eyes on the prize,” staring back down at the map; Misty Woods etched in the middle of the map, bordered on all sides by Fallin’ Mountains, a small black dot or maybe an ink stain, one Do hoped was the site of some ruins, a temple, anything worth exploring.

Returning the map to the satchel, Daring swept the bag up and over her neck and under her shoulder. Satisfied she set off toward where the ruins she be located, navigating by lodestone, and the sun’s position, Daring trooped on.

Time had passed and Daring had seemed to get no farther in this insane forest, was there really any ruins? Or Perhaps Daring was on another wild goose chase. For days on end, Daring had searched these blasted woods up and down, left and right, through and through; and for what? Nothing.

Frustrated with herself and this failure of an adventure Daring kicked a brick with all her might, the brick flew up and landed a few yards away. Snorting Daring started to head back to camp.

Wait, was that a brick? Stealing a glance back, Daring found that it was indeed a brick, one made of stone, and a brick meant only one thing, civilization, and where there was civilization there was adventure! Shooting up past the canopy Daring hovered surveyed the land, excitingly whipping her head back and forth searching, searching for anything that could- there, right there a small dark thing that did not match the rest of the forest.

Speeding toward the dark haze in a forest of green and purple, Daring could start to make out more features, it seemed to be somewhat small, maybe they were pygmy ponies?, the structure was shaped like a trapezoid, one side was slanted and buried in dirt the other simply rose straight up, it was no pyramid or great temple but Daring knew that underground structures could be just as impressive if not more, for who knew the what laid underneath.

Approaching the shambles that made up the entrance to the building, Daring drew a deep breath, reached into her satchel and pulled out a lantern powered by fireflies, drawing into the deep well which was her will she entered the ramshackle entrance and descended below.

The fit was tight but Daring was not to be bested by some mere small passage, though it could help if she remembered to cut back on the sweets, it would give her the extra inch to be able to maneuver such tiny spaces better.

After the twentieth second step down Daring could see it was here that the stairs stopped and the passageway began, Daring eyed the foreboding darkness, with suspicion. Darkness hid all manner of evil best after all, and if she hadn't at least learned that in all her adventuring she would have long ago been killed.

Taking cautious step after step, Daring found herself in what looked to be a narrow hallway, life did not exist here and it felt like a recently opened tomb, no bugs, no cobwebs, no weeds or other kinds of vegetation, just stale air and cold wet stone.

The passageway seemed to have no end, and Daring had long left the safety of the known, she had entered the unknown, for who knows how long, this ruin had remained undisturbed by anypony. Hundreds perhaps a thousand or more years had gone since the last builders of this civilization had left the world. Giddiness welled up in Daring Do’s heart she was at last doing what she always had dreamed of, once more.

Tiptoeing across the brick that was haphazardly strewn across the floor that however would not trip up the one and only Daring Do! A cocky smile graced Daring’s face as she marveled at how easily she was progressing, she may not have found the artifact yet but if the rest of the way was going to be as easy, Daring stopped. Her previous smile shifted into a frown how could this be so simple, where were the traps, the dastardly villain, the spear toting pygmies!

Trotting faster now, Daring was not going to lose to the mind games this place was playing with her if it thought they could trip her up it, they were going to have another thing coming. Moving faster and faster Daring was close to flying as she- bang! “ow”, Daring croaked, looking up Daring found she had hit her head on a wall that had suddenly appeared, if that wasn't a trap then Daring didn't know what was.

She sighed, lying to herself was not going to make matters better, a wall was just a wall turning back she picked up her fallen lantern and made her way back when she felt her hoof slip, stumbling Daring quickly righted herself. Glancing back she searched for what had made her hoof slip then she felt it; something circular, a shape, an artifact!

Excited, she placed her lantern down and brought the artifact into the light. Staring at the object in firefly light, Daring’s heart skipped as she took a good look at it.

A small round coin with a small cut along the edge, the coin was wooden and inscribed were three hoofs interlocked to form a triangle, flipping the coin over a blank surface, with nothing of note.
“How? Another piece of rubbish! No Artifact of immense significance, no traps, no villainous cur and no Pygmy ponies?” Daring screamed, exasperated she turned her attention back to the disappointment of a find. Bringing her ire to full bare, she leered at the treacherous trinket. She spared it no mercy; disgust welled up as she contemplated what to do with the useless thing.

Filling her head with various ways to break it, her gaze never leaving it she was surprised when she couldn't see the object of her rage anymore, in fact she could only see black, blinking her vision readjusted, what had just happened? Glancing about and finding nothing had changed, Daring slowly relaxed still puzzled but with no immediate perceived danger she looked back down at the coin. ‘Gasp’, the coin it’s face the one with no marking previously now had what looked vaguely like words inscribed upon it.

Daring felt her blood pump perhaps this was something magical and the weeks spent looking for these ruins would not be a total waste. Daring placed the coin in her satchel and headed back to civilization, she was going home.

Having taken a week to fly back to Ponyland Daring was idly waiting for the next arrival of an outgoing airship for a ride back to Equestria, while Ponyland was nice, it just didn't have the facilities needed to support Daring’s line of work, even though Ponyland had existed for a long time it was mostly farmers and small villages, this small town being the only settlement capable of harboring airships.

Having nothing to do at the moment, Daring reached inside her pack and brought out the wooden coin. Examining her prize, Daring did what any other esteemed colleague of hers would do in a situation like this with a priceless artifact of some long vanished race, quite possibly magical; she flipped it as if it were a common bit.

Up and up, the coin went; higher and higher it sailed through the air, Daring never took her eye off of it for a second, then the sun’s dying rays caught it, the coin reflected the light in one marvelous rainbow for a split second.

Deep down halls of pristine marble, chiseled lovingly, arches erected to hold the formidable ceiling high above the floor. Immaculate in every way, stain glass offered the only light that came from the Sun’s reflection off the moon high in the sky. A scream echoed.

Suddenly a pony in nightgown, with only a slight adjustment to his bed mane and tail, scurried down the hall in the most dignified manner possible while near galloping. Trotting down the pony made an abrupt right turn into a smaller hallway. Another right and our little pony entered the bed chambers of an illustrious royal. Catching themselves almost making a grave error the pony bowed deeply upon entering, “Your gracious Prince what may I inquire trouble you?”

A pony with blonde mane and tail, white fur and blue eyes, had a bewildered look upon his face that spoke of shock and confusion, turning back toward the mirror he screamed again.

Comments

[Sgt GobSmacker]

I like it. Depends on future events; if I'll fav or not.