Series 2) Daring Do and the Caballeron Chronicles

by AlmanacP

3) Daring Do and the Radiant Shield of Razdon

Daring Do and the Radiant Shield of Razdon

She hadn’t left her room for weeks.

Daring Do was an adventurous mare. Able to face the odds, beat the bad guys, and save the world countless times in a single week. She had faced down Hydras; she had beaten monsters, fought off curses and defeated ancient foes. But Daring Do wasn’t really there anymore.

Diane Daring Do lay curled up in her bed, scattered plates surrounded the sparse furniture and the papers of mysteries and work related research lay unsolved on her desk, strewn about and gathering dust in their lack of use. The air smelt faintly rotten, a bath was likely needed for the mare and a thorough clean for the area. But she didn’t care.

The intrepid, once adventurous mare stayed curled up in her blankets, her safe haven away from life and reality that she had cocooned herself into, and had thus far refused to leave.

Her depression and wallowing was all encompassing. For the first few days she had received knocks and bangs on her door variously by either Cloud Zapper, the Royal Guard that had befriended her, Caffeine Kick, her childhood friend, and even once by R B Ravenhoof, the Head Professor of Archaeology there at Clopsdale University. She had turned them all away, him especially. He was the original mentor of Bravely Blue.

Beatrice Bravely Blue was once considered the greatest adventurer in the field. Facing the odds, doing the most daring of deeds, saving the world from powerful artefacts falling into the wrong hooves…and then she’d stopped.

Like most in the field that reach such levels of fame, she chose to step back from active work so much as her age began to become an issue, and instead chose to pass on what she knew to the younger generation. She became a teacher.

Daring Do’s first class at Clopsdale University, so many years ago, was where they had both met, where things between them had blossomed as student and tutor. Bravely Blue became Daring’s personal mentor after seeing a spark in Daring. Together they had accomplished so much.

The first adventure Daring had been on, was with Bravely Blue by her side. Daring had thought it wise to prepare for every contingency, and as such, had packed several saddlebags filled with everything from climbing gear, to digging gear, to weapons and even a camping stove if they wanted to cook up some food.

Bravely Blue hadn’t said a word. She didn’t correct Daring, she allowed the filly to choose whatever she wanted to bring, simply smiling at any suggestion and giving no indication if the choice was right or wrong.

This was a lesson of course. Everything was a lesson with Bravely Blue.

“Learn through experience.” She would say nonchalantly whenever pressed or questioned on her methods of teaching. And she stuck to that creed.

Daring remembered wearing two full saddle bags that were heavier than her, full to the brim with assorted equipment’s, whilst trying to hike up a mountain trail, heading for a cave at the top. Bravely Blue had decided to pack lightly herself, and was pulling ahead of Daring, trotting merrily as though the incline of the path meant little to nothing for her stamina.

Daring, however, was panting, sweating, taking a single step at a time. She was almost at the top before she collapsed, but the incline at this point was quite a bit more than it was most of the way up, and thus, without realising it, she began to topple backwards. She was about to grasp hold of anything before hooves lashed out and grabbed her own, halting her on the precipice of falling backwards, over the edge of the trail, and down into the trees below. It would have been a very nasty fall.

“Are you okay?” Bravely Blue had asked, her eyes looking concerned, warm, and almost motherly in nature.

“Y-yeah.” Daring gulped, panting. The adrenaline was turning to hysteria and she couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. “I…erm…guess I shouldn’t have packed so much, huh?”

“And now you know for the future.” Bravely Blue smiled softly, seeming satisfied that a lesson had been learnt.

The entire day was like this, filled with tests and turns. They came across a cavern that would require them crossing a large gorge, and just as Daring was getting out the climbing equipment, Bravely Blue took it from her. She placed it off to the side and folded her hooves.

“Cross.” She said simply, watching Daring Do with expectant eyes.

“But, you just took away the climbing gear.” Daring looked at her accusingly, wondering what the older mare was playing at.

Bravely Blue shook her head.

“You won’t always have climbing gear. You can’t pack everything, as you’ve already found, and you can’t prepare for every eventuality. You need to learn to be creative.” The blue mare padded up and slipped the pith helmet off of Daring’s head, ignoring the girl’s protests. She slipped a rope around the helmet, tying it tightly so it wouldn’t come loose. She then held the helmet in both hooves and pulled back with one of them, stretching the helmet.

Daring Do watched with wide eyes at the surprising elasticity of the hat before her mentor let it go. The hat careened towards a wall, struck it, bounded off and slipped through some stalagmites that hung low from the ceiling, wrapping around one of the stalactites over at the other ledge they needed to get too, giving them a rope to use to get across.

“That hat may or may not be designed differently to other helmets.” She shrugged, tying off the other end of the rope and grasping hold of the rope while Daring just stood with her mouth agape.

Every turn was a new experience. There were traps, at every corner. Daring would step forward and Bravely Blue would stop her with a single hoof, pointing to the ground where a trip wire or a stone would lay. She would push the stone in and show the trap that would be set off, often it would be fast and deadly, other times it might have just been nasty. Each lesson Daring took to heart, making note of positions, and timings, how long traps could take to set off. Daring remembered spending hours a night, constantly setting traps up in her own room, trying to get through them. She would wire the place full of strings with bells, trying her best to navigate them without setting off a single ring. And she would time herself, getting faster and faster each time. Daring would lay down fragile paper and learn to step on it and cross it without breaking it (it had taken her months). She would learn to navigate in the dark, setting obstacles for herself, and made meticulous notes in her classes and lectures. And on the weekends, every Sunday, she and Bravely Blue would have a personal class. These were often filled with anecdotes and examples of how stuff she had learned and experience had taught her how to navigate and perform certain tasks. Often she would be tested, learning to undo knots, learning how to wield weapons.

To anypony else outside, this would be seen as excess, this would be seen as too much time devoted to this one singular cause and ideal. But for Daring Do, it was living the dream; it was working towards what felt like her destiny.

Daring’s home life between her and her parents hadn’t been anything special. She’d always been a wayward filly, getting into trouble, constantly going out exploring and trying to find adventure. And her parents had encouraged it…kind of. Or more accurately, they had figured out they couldn’t stop her, as each time they’d tried, like grounding her, she’d sneak out of her bedroom window to go find adventure regardless. At least under Bravely Blue they knew she was being taught to be safe by a professional.

There was a bit of distance between her and her mother though, despite all the support. Daring Do had never been a family oriented mare; she had never been one to have deep connections with those that were blood kin. She loved them, of course. But she didn’t feel any special duty towards them, and thus her four years at the university had passed by with little interaction with her family, and not much care as to changing that.

After her four years of learning, Diane Daring Do had entered the field for the first time, stepping out of the shadow of Bravely Blue’s tutorship onto her first solo escapade.

The newspapers had already picked up her name thanks to Bravely Blue herself. A press conference had been held, and Bravely Blue had introduced her to the world, with details about the upcoming trek, straight into the heart of Pirate Cove, some of the most deadly waters in Equestria, to enter a cave in the ocean cliff side, and find the Opal of Tethys. It was an ancient stone said to be able to control the very ocean itself, and the dreaded pirate, Black Mare, was said to be after it.

Famously, Bravely Blue had actually been asked personally to go retrieve the opal, and protect the world from it falling into the wrong hooves, but she had instead declined, claiming that Daring Do would do it in her place as her debut.

Daring remembered being terrified of the approaching mission.

Looking back on it, she supposed it hadn’t really been that hard.

Black Mare turned out to be withered with age and with less swords and weapons among her crew than she had teeth in her mouth. The crew had been challenging due to their numbers, with Daring Do being captured at first. She’d been starved for almost three days, in their hold before being subjected to water torture. She could still remember the feeling of drowning as they had subjected it to her. In the end she had submitted, and they had used her to help them find the opal. Bravely Blue had said she would save her though. Those were her last words, that if it got too bad, she would be there for her, and help her. And throughout it all…she hadn’t. There had been no sign of her mentor.

Daring had led them through the cave, avoiding all the twists and traps easily. She was surprised at how easy avoiding them came to her now, she had been half terrified that her training would have been for nought, and she would never master the same skills Bravely Blue claimed. But she had, and they ventured deeper and deeper into the cave, only to find the Opal upon a pedestal, sitting there under an arc of light. And it was at this time, that Daring realised a chance had been sprung upon her. There was a basic rule in this line of work. Bravely Blue had told it to her only once, but it was one that sprung to mind in an instant.

“Now remember, all those traps before the pedestal are just to keep you away, but they can be gotten past with a bit of timing and skill.” Bravely Blue had begun. “But at the end of the day, those that built the places to house those items really don’t want it to be taken away. So there is always one final trap, one you really can’t avoid.” She had finished this sentence with a sad smile. “For those traps, you grab the artefact, and you do the only thing you can.” She shrugged. “You run, you run as fast as your hooves can carry you.”

Daring had used that advice that day. Allowing Black Mare to step forward, the old crone’s shaky hooves wrapped around the artefact and lifted it up, grinning at the power it could grant her. But she was not expecting the place to suddenly start shaking like an earthquake had suddenly begun racking the cave.

In the confusion Daring Do had broken free of her bonds, taken the opal from the protesting pirate, and galloped off, barely making it out of the cave in time for the entire place to collapse into itself, burying the pirates that had proven too slow to escape.

After she had made her way back to Bravely Blue, she had confronted her mentor, demanding why she hadn’t come to her aid, through the capture, through the torture, through it all, why she had been left alone. Bravely Blue’s answer to these questions had echoed in her head for years to come.

“Because out there, you will always be alone.” She said softly, but with a touch of warmth to her voice. “And I knew that you could do it. And you did.”

That faith had given her strength. But it was those first words that had really stuck into her heart. ‘…out there, you will always be alone…’

And she had been. Always. Every time Cloud Zapper had joined her, he’d barely been of any help, occupying the enemy whilst she herself had saved the day. Often he had just gotten in the way, and that damn armour of his had almost cost the life of her closest friend.
Bravely Blue had left her to be alone on every mission, not matter how dangerous, but she had always been there afterwards, to nurse her when she was sick or hurt, to help her with the research if she needed it, to be there as encouragement. She had encouraged Daring Do to become independent and strong, to revel in being alone and to trust in herself and her own capabilities.

But Cloud Zapper was the opposite.

And the more Daring thought about it, the weaker she realised Cloud Zapper had made her.

If she tried to go on a mission or adventure, Cloud Zapper would come with her, if she tried to stop him, he would demand it, just in case Ahuizotl would turn up, just in case Shadow was there, just in case she needed HELP.
It wasn’t her pride that was the issue. It was his faith. He believed she needed help, and he believed it wasn’t safe for her if she went alone. But it had never been safe; she couldn’t remember a single adventure she’d ever been on where ‘safe’ was a factor.

He had started making her believe she needed him. That she needed help.

Would things have been different without him? Could she have taken on Shadow, Ahuizotl, and Bravely Blue at the Terrifying Tower all alone? Would she have fought harder if she hadn’t had help? Would she have thought faster? More creatively? Would she have been able to save…

…could she have saved Bravely Blue’s life?

The sight of Bravely Blue rose in her mind again, standing in the water, standing there as she held the Griffon’s Goblet. Standing there as her body turned grey, as her legs turned to stone, as she solidified. As she died.

The Terrifying Tower was said to show ponies their worst fears. But Cloud and Daring had seemingly been unaffected. She wasn’t sure about her foes, but there were no hallucinations for them, there were no dreams or visions of dreadful sorrows. There was just the task, there was just the adventure. There was just the mission.

But that was only because the Tower didn’t need to do anything.

Cloud Zapper, who was a stalwart Royal Guard officer that was obsessed with bringing Shadow to justice, had lost his adversary; He had lost Shadow, and failed the princesses’ order. For a guard such as Cloud, it must have been his own version of Tartarus.

And Daring Do, Daring Do had watched Bravely Blue die. Worse than that, she had all but killed the mare herself. Her lack of speed, her inability to react fast enough, and her slowness in reading ancient writing had all contributed to her being unable to save Bravely Blue in time. And it had been her own hooves that had knocked the Griffon’s Goblet into the water of the pool, the water where Bravely Blue had stood. The water where she had drank from the Goblet. The water that was the one place she wasn’t supposed to stand when taking that drink. The water that had granted Bravely Blue the immortality that she had sought. Immortality as a statue.

Daring had carried on, of course, like it had barely affected her. She had cried, and she had mourned. But she had continued her adventures, she had tried her best to not let herself break. But she had anyway. She had broken.

She didn’t know when it had happened, she had no clue. It could have been that night, or a few nights after, but inside something had broken and now the world, a once fascinating place filled with adventure, felt like the darkest void, and the most terrifying nightmare.

She had become weak.

And she needed to be strong again.

Daring Do knew what she needed to do.

*

Eyes watched her.

Prying pupils staring out of classroom windows looked down into the courtyard of the university as for the first time in weeks; Daring Do left her dorm, and the building.

Her mane was freshly brushed, she was showered, dressed in clean clothing, and for all purposes, she looked well. Except her pith helmet was stored in a saddlebag that was strung over her back, and not sat upon her head. She didn’t feel deserving enough to wear it yet.

“Daring!”

The voice called out from above and behind her, and with the soft clop of hooves on the ground she knew that Cloud Zapper had landed just a few short feet away.

“I’m so glad to see you up and about.” He said chirpily, showing that playful personality he often wore around the university.

It wasn’t really HIS personality, or maybe it was, whether it was this or the other one, Daring wasn’t quite sure which was the real Cloud Zapper, or if there even was one. The Royal Guard had a few layers to him that even she had not yet puzzled out. Often he seemed silly, and even stupid. He could be brash, playful and jokey; the very description of anypony that she would never associate with being a Royal Guard, let alone an Inquisitor. But there was another side to him, buried under it that was called in when the need arose for it, a side almost directly opposite to his smiling demeanour. It was cold, it was serious, and it was strong. It always gave him a look in his eyes that somehow made the stallion seem taller and more powerfully built than he actually was. She had seen this in him when he would go hunt for an enemy, when they were in territory he knew foes were lurking, and she had seen this personality rise whenever a certain Pegasus came into the picture. A Pegasus stallion that called himself ‘Shadow’.

Daring knew it wasn’t his real name. Shadow wasn’t the kind of name any pony gave to their children. It was a self-styled name that had been forged in his past, and whoever that stallion had been, he was Shadow now, a master thief, and a master manipulator, and Cloud Zappers current target.

For now though, such deeper and darker regions of Cloud’s personality were buried, and his smiling carefree nature shone fourth. If asked, Daring would always claim such a carefree and smiling nature irked her, but in the secret confines of her own mind, she could not help but find it charming at times and sometimes she had to admit to herself that she needed his smile. Though today was not one of those times, and today she did not need him.

“I’m going away.” She responded simply, knowing it would broach questions. But she had answers ready for when he asked them, which predictably, he did.

“Away? Where?” His confused face gave away nothing of his internal feelings. Daring Do had studied his face before, and had seen both personalities, and both reactions he could muster up. She had quickly become aware of something about Cloud Zapper.
He had no reactions he did not fully control.

Even now, she knew he would likely be worried about her, weighing the pros and cons of her going, checking her attire and what she was carrying, trying to decipher what it was she might be thinking up, and thinking of all the excuses he could make to manipulate her into allowing him to join her wherever she was going. Whether that was for her sake or the sake of his hunt for Shadow, she couldn’t be sure. But despite how certain she was of what was going through his mind, his eyes never left her’s, there wasn’t a twitch of worry that crossed his face, only the look of curiosity. He was to any onlooker that didn’t know him, oblivious, innocent, and quite gullible. She knew he was anything but.

“I’m going to track down Ahuizotl.” She said honestly, she was being short and to the point as usual. She knew Cloud would focus on the journey, and not the reasoning behind the journey, so it was of no surprise to Daring Do when he answered with, “oh, I’ll get my stuff then.”

“I’m going alone.” She said rapidly. Cloud had already turned his back and spread his wings, preparing to take off and head back to his dorm so that he could gather supplies for the journey, so it was good that she spoke as swiftly as she did, stopping him in his tracks.

“What?”

“I’m going alone.” She repeated herself, not bothering to look at him. She needed her strength…and he made her weak.

“Why?” He asked, looking carefully curious. Not indignant. Not offended. Not accusatory. Just carefully curious. Did this stallion have no reactions or emotions that were not carefully controlled or concealed?

Daring was surprised she had never seen it before, surprised that his mannerisms had ever even seemed natural and genuine to her. Cloud Zapper played the fool to make everypony forget that he was in fact a Royal Guard. An Inquisitor. He’d said so himself to her when she had asked, early on in their adventures together. He admitted that he played the fool to fool everypony else. And for a short time, even after knowing the truth, he had somehow begun to fool her as well.

Cloud Zapper was a Royal Guard. Heavily trained and experienced in the field, chosen for the Inquisitors, the elite fighting force of the Royal Guard, and designated solely for the seeking and destruction of chosen targets.

She would not forget who he was again.

“I’m going alone. You are not to come with. This is not up for discussion. If you try to follow me, I will never aid you again, and you will have to find Shadow without my help.” She said this firmly, this time looking directly into his eyes.

Cloud was facing her now, having turned when she had been talking. He was facing away from majority of the onlookers, so the expression on his face was more-or-less privately reserved for her. And she saw the switch, the change in those features and the spark in his eyes that seemed to alter and almost change in tone with the way he gazed at her. His cheeks hardened, his eyes shifted to less of an emotive personality to one that was slightly cold, and even though his eyes stayed their piercing green, there was a kind of fire inside them, that changed from a warm red…to a cold shade of silver.

“Shadow is with Ahuizotl, finding him could happen if I followed you anyway.” His voice was a challenging tone as he spoke to her. It was a challenge to her reasoning. It was a tone that said ‘I could just follow you anyway, and you couldn’t stop me’.

“Shadow wasn’t with Ahuizotl the last two times either of us saw and faced him. Not when the Amulet of Atonement was the target, and not when he attacked the train I was on. Logic dictates Shadow is off doing something else, and whether or not he is even still working with Ahuizotl remains to be seen. He is sly, and manipulative, as you yourself have said, there is every chance that he is off on some mission for Ahuizotl, either stirring up trouble or bringing beasts to their side.” She reasoned. “Clopsdale University gets all the latest news; this is a prime location for you to gather information of happenings around Equestria. Should his antics crop up, you will be able to investigate them yourself, rather than being absent if the news arises because you were out gallivanting with me.” She turned to him and looked him up and down. “Besides, I work better alone.”

“Since when?” He said in an almost mocking tone, any degree of warmth he usually had in his voice, now seemed suddenly absent.

She turned to him sharply and stepped closer so her voice wouldn’t carry to those around them. “Since all you did in the Tower was let Shadow escape while I fought and defeated a strength-enhanced Ahuizotl, and stopped Bravely Blue.” She said firmly, for once her voice not cracking when saying that name. “Since you almost got my friend killed with your clunky and shiny armour.” She said accusingly.

“And what about the train?” He inquired with narrowed eyes. “Was you getting captured my fault too? How did you get away again? You never did say.” He said, this time his voice was accusatory, and a slightly mirthful smirk adorning his features. It was the first time she had ever known him to use malice in his voice.

“I escaped.” She answered vaguely. “Like I always do.” She turned away from him. “And if you follow me, I’ll never help you again.”

With that, Daring Do spread her wings and gave a single hard flap, launching herself up into the cool blue sky. The adventurous mare shot forward, heading towards the cave that Ahuizotl had taken her to when he had captured her. It was as good a place to start as any on her hunt, and it was so far the only lead she had. But she knew that something there would point her in the right direction. Ahuizotl had wanted her help after all. He would have left her a way to find him.

A heavy weight in her chest reminded her that emotions were still not necessarily on her side these days. She longed for company, and cool air felt surprisingly lonely, while once such a thing had never bothered her. The gentle breeze caressed the tips of her wings as the Pegasus soared on air currents high in the sky, watching the landscape below pass her by, with a few littering’s of ponies here and there that looked as small as ants from her position above them.

The train she had been on that had derailed did so a mile and a half from the Clopsdale station, so it didn’t take her long to reach the location. Since then everything had been cleaned up, but even as she stood on the barren field between the tracks and the forest, she couldn’t help but relive the moment. The ground was still uprooted and scarred from where the train had dug into the soil as it had skidded along the ground, and from those lines and paths alone she could see the route the train had taken, the way it had been wrenched off the rails by a fierce blow. Likely from that Hydra that Ahuizotl had managed to befriend.

How did he manage to get such a beast anyway?

It was certainly a mystery. Dogs would growl and bark at Ahuizotl, and other animals seemed to shrink away from his presence. It often felt like Ahuizotl was something other animals greatly feared. Truly he wasn’t like any other creature Daring had ever faced, and she didn’t have a clue about where he was originally from. But one thing was always certain, animals did not like him.

So how did he end up with a pet cat, a lynx, a cheetah, a panther and now hydra?

Ahuizotl was full of mysteries, and she wondered if it would ever be a mystery she would solve. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to solve it at all.

Pulling herself from her thoughts, Daring Do looked around, trying to find some evidence of where he had taken her. When he had captured her, he had bound her here on the field, and then had her carried on the back of the hydra, the problem was, she had been forced to face upwards at the time. And her head had been bound too to stop her biting at the ropes. She had only seen sky the entire time they had moved, so judging a direction was difficult.

She knew they had been in an underground temple of sorts, and many such things were built into mountainsides. There were two mountains nearby, both in opposite directions. Standing where she had been captured in the first place, she laid down onto her back, trying to recreate the moment. She THOUGHT she might have been taken east, if that was true, then it would be the mountain to her left. She decided she would check that one first, and if it was wrong, she’d simply go to the other one. They weren’t that far away. She took off and headed in her chosen direction, coming upon the mountain after almost an hour of flying.

The mountain wasn’t that big, small compared to most mountains in the area, and if measured, would only come halfway up the side of the mountain that Canterlot sat upon. Daring Do landed at the base and began walking around it, trying to find some evidence of the secret cave. She had walked out of this place and walked back home, she should have known where it was, and she should have recognised something. But she had to admit, at the time of her walking out, she hadn’t been in the deftest frame of mind. She hadn’t been focusing on directions or landmarks, her brain had barely been working and her hooves had simply carried her home with little conscious will of her own to guide them. It was all something of a haze.

Though, she could hardly blame her past self. The words of Ahuizotl still hung in her mind, rattling up and over in her head daily and nightly, sounding out like a mantra, like a spell or a chant that might try to woo her to the monsters will. Well it had worked, hadn’t it?
‘I know how to save Bravely Blue.’

Those words haunted her.

Bravely Blue was dead. She was turned to stone and there was no way she could be turned back. But Discord was turned to stone too right? And he had come back. But that was a god, or a spirit of chaos, or whatever he was supposed to be. But then again, Bravely Blue couldn’t help but remember how the Terrifying Tower had crumbled around them, falling down and rubble crashing around them, how the entire building and all underground passages had collapsed in on themselves and become nothing but rubble. And there in the centre of the damage, untouched and unharmed, was Bravely Blue as a statue. In fact, if the Unicorns of the Royal Guard Mystic Guard Division that had been telling the truth of it, every spell they had tried on the statue had failed, and it seemed that Brave4ly Blue as a statue could not only NOT be saved or changed back, but it couldn’t even be damaged or affected. She was an immortal statue. Indestructible.

Why would the magic make her indestructible if it simply only made her stone?

Was there really a way to save her?

These thoughts burned through Diane’s mind as she moved around the mountain. A second voice in her head, more rational than the first, openly chastised her for her train of thought. Whenever she was focused on the task, she called herself Daring Do in her mind, the moment Bravely Blue came into her thoughts, suddenly she was Diane again. She could hear the voice telling her she was going mad, that she was disassociating herself with who she had always been. That she doubted herself.

Good.

She had reason to doubt herself. She had failed. She had failed her mentor, gotten her likely killed, or at least trapped, and like a good student, like a good adventurer, she would do what she could to save Bravely Blue.

Whatever it took.

Even if it meant helping Ahuizotl.

She found the entrance.

A crevice in the wall that was barely big enough to squeeze into –Celestia knows how Ahuizotl managed- that led down to some stairs. They were basic steps, hewn into the rock a millennia ago, leading down into the depths of the mountain. She expected twist and turns, but that wasn’t the case. It led only to a single room, the same room she had been kept in after being captured.

Why build a temple that only had a single room?

Her brain started to work and thoughts of Bravely Blue and her failures were for a time, pushed to the side, as Daring Do stepped into the role she had played for all of her adult life.

“What's going on here?” She asked herself as she looked over the decorated walls.

The chamber only had three walls, a ceiling and a floor, the back of the entrance with the stairs was basic jagged rock, as though this room had been carved out of the inside of the mountain. She’d taken it for a temple because such decorations and effort put into designs, were often reserved in the past for those places of great value, which more oft than not, were places of worship. The three walls were all filled with ancient equestrian writing and hieroglyphs that barely made sense to anyone that had not been studying such things for a lifetime.

The left wall was a depiction of ponies bowing to another. A singular figure stood high and mighty with lines of power surrounding them, with the symbol of a jewel above its head. The centre wall had the depiction of a temple, and a powerful pony inside it, with what seemed a bubble around the temple that was keeping the other pony figures from entering. Daring turned to the wall on the right. This one seemed to depict a strange image. It was a large cylinder that was at the top of a set of stairs inside of the depiction of a temple. And around the depiction was surrounded with thirteen rings. The rings seemed plain, but there were power lines around them, giving them a visage importance in the picture.

Stepping back from the picture she looked down at the floor. The cylinder was there, but it seemed the rings had been slid onto it in order of size, largest first. There were power lines here too, and above, where the temple the rings and cylinder were housed, were eight suns. Each of the suns was surrounded by ten smaller suns that ran around them in a ring. And below the suns, around the temple were ponies…they looked like they were being burned alive.

A shiver ran up Daring Do spine.

What was it Ahuizotl had said?

Daring turned her attention back to the centre wall, where it depicted the circular field that kept every other pony out. ‘It speaks of the Shield of Razdon…’ Ahuizotl’s melodious voice rang in her head unbidden as she looked over the depiction. She turned to the wall on the left; the one depicted the pony that had gained great power via a jewel.

“The Amulet of Atonement.” She surmised as she looked at the way the pony figure seemed to rule over the other ponies from on high. ‘…and of the Ketztwctl Empress.’ His voice came to her again. Her eyes turned to the wall on the right, and then from there, to the floor. Its eight suns, each sun surrounded by another ten smaller suns. ‘It speaks of an ancient power to extend my life eight centuries…’ The ghost of Ahuizotl in her head seemed to say. And it came one last time as she looked down at the rings on their cylinder mount. And below the alter where they stood, she gazed at the writhing bodies of those ponies that were being burnt alive. ‘The prophecy speaks of…’

“…The Rings of Scorchero.” She finished the sentence herself aloud. Ahuizotl had found yet another way to extend his life. Yet another way to gain power.

Daring Do gazed down at the depiction thoughtfully before turning her attention to the right wall. She approached it, wondering if it somehow held some clue as to where to find the other rings. She had some inkling she already had one of them, in a particular box left in a satchel she had kept secure in her room. The golden ring in the wooden box that had been protected so fervently with layers and layers of spells that were interweaved to make sure nopony would ever retrieve its contents. She was glad, not for the first time, to have such contacts as Shamrock Luck of the Mystic Guard to aid her in breaking such enchantments.

The depictions on the wall were very detailed on the right side, showing mountains and hillsides in the background and it seemed that each ring that circled the temple in a semi-circle above it had a little something behind it that could be seen through its centre. One seemed across an ocean above an island that was strangely shaped like the island of the Terrifying Tower where she had found her first one. And one of them, the centre one and the smallest ring, was right over a mountain that looked a little like this own one. She reached up and ran a hoof across the ring for a moment, feeling the ridges that had been carved into the stone. But as she moved her hoof over it, something clicked strangely. There was a whirring sound and suddenly the ring itself jutted out of the wall with a click, sending ancient dust into Daring’s face. The mare stumbled back for a moment, and sneezed; she shook her head and grumbled before looking back up at the ring, she reached up and it came loose into her hooves. The stone around it began to flake off and there was a glinting underneath. It was gold. Daring Do began to scrape away the rock that had been cemented onto the ring and eventually it was clean and gleaming in her hooves, the passage of time having had no effect on its gleaming surface.

Her hooves travelled over its surface, stroking over the curved gold that was shaped like a large hoof or a horn ring. It was strange that such an unassuming object could be something as devastating as the Rings of Scorchero. She now had two of them. Two of ?. And where the others were, she could only discover in time. Daring looked up at the right wall again, looking at the depictions of the other rings, and where they lay. It was difficult to understand, after all, it wasn’t like they were placed on a scale map; there were only vague depictions in their centre. The first one drew her eye, she had the ? and the ?, but she figured she had best start in order. The first one seemed very small. If the depiction on the floor was anything to go by, it was the one that was supposed to be on the top of the cylinder. According to the image, it seemed to be over a collection of mountain rangers, two particular peaks that were above a lake that ran between them.

Daring Do stepped back from the wall, pulling out a map of Equestria from her backpack; she began searching the different mountain ranges around the land for any that looked similar. Many of the places were labelled, but when she found what she was looking for, there was no listed name for the area. It was beyond the Smokey Mountain, part of the same ranges, not that it being part of the same ranges meant anything, the Smokey Mountain ranges were over a hundred miles along alone, and the twin peaks she found that resembled the depiction on the carved walls seemed still half a day’s train ride away from the Smokey Mountain territories. This was a going to be a long journey, which meant she’d need the help of a particular pony.

*

Melody Hollow had a particular skill with her Cello. She was a musical Pegasus, a talent that wasn’t very common in the flying breed of ponies, not that Melody herself much cared for the curiosity, though her lack of attention to this fact did not deter others from finding it interesting. In fact, it was such an oddity that it was this fact alone that drew most of her crowds, entirely because she could apparently play with her wings.

Melody Hollow’s talent was music. She had a lime coloured coat and a two toned green mane and tail, and a stylised semi-quaver as a cutie-mark. Though playing the Cello wasn’t as deep as her talent went. Her talent was love.

When Melody began to play with her wings, holding the bow in the soft tendrils of her feathers, it produced such a soft adoring music that those that listened to it could not help but fall in love with her and her music. It was a strange talent, and one that Melody had to use carefully and sparingly. It was also quite dangerous.

Love made fools out of everypony.

It was because of this talent that despite this strange talent, Melody refused to allow her-self to become too famous, never allowing herself to even be seen outside, let alone revealing aspects of her private life. Concerts and shows were done sporadically, with the town she was playing in only hearing of her performance the very day she set to perform. Because she conducted business this way, she was both successful, and also not very well known. This was exactly as she liked it.

Daring had known Melody from school when they were just fillies. She’d always been a rambunctious child, seemingly loving the attention of anypony that cared to give her even a lick of notice. It was funny how she’d changed into such a recluse that avoided the concept of fame as though it were a plague. But because of their acquaintance when Daring Do was younger, it was only fitting that they’d stayed in touch. Over the years Daring had discovered that Melody had a second talent, one that Daring had used a few times now. The ability to hide.

Melody was so accomplished at not being found and followed by paparazzi, that she knew the best places in almost any town to stay in that was out of the way and unseen, and all of the easy ways into any town that were away from prying eyes. Both of these were attributes that Daring had a use for right now.

Using her contacts she had, Daring had discovered where the latest Concert was being held.

Vanhoover.

Vanhoover was shortly west of the Smokey Mountain, which was convenient for Daring Do, and certainly a turn of luck.

Daring decided to make the journey by train rather than try to fly the entire way. Though what she didn’t expect was to suddenly feel extremely nervous around trains. Completely understandable of course, she’d recently been in one that had derailed. It was not an experience that one soon forgot, and certainly not one Daring had any intention of reliving. But it WAS the fastest way to get there, so she grit her teeth, smiled awkwardly at the ticket master and got on; hoping that this train ride would be uneventful.

It WAS uneventful. And extremely boring.

So boring that Daring had nothing to do but think.

Daring Do was a solitary mare, the concept of time to just sit and think pleased her usually. It was great to run through mysteries in her mind and work on puzzles and generally just let her brain work on things that she otherwise might not have time to work on. Any alone time could be really useful when she wanted to be productive in her work.

This was not a productive time though.

It wasn’t that she didn’t have things to work on of course. She’d taken rubbings of all the surfaces of that chamber, and could easily go through them in this time and work out where the other rings might be buried, as well as spend her time deciphering the writing that were also around the depictions in the hope of gaining more information than what Ahuizotl had told her. But she didn’t.

She didn’t because she was on a train.

And the train was loud.

And it creaked.

And its wheels squealed.

And it lurched, and jumped and with every corner the train took she would be pushed either right or left in her seat from the force and speed of the corner, her teeth would clench even tighter and her eyes would close, shutting out the world as she stiffened in her seat, holding on with her hooves for dear life.

She was being silly. She knew that. The trains were safe. She’d been on hundreds, possibly thousands of train rides and only that once had anything gone wrong, and that wasn’t the trains fault. It was Ahuizotl’s. He’s the one that derailed it. But with every lurch and corner, Daring’s mind ran a million miles per hour through scenarios that were each in turn both more vivid and more ridiculous than there last. The train could hit a stone on the tracks and it could slip under one of the wheels, shattering into one of the pumps underneath and letting out the pressure, causing the front of the train to suddenly lose momentum. The sudden loss in momentum could cause the rest of the carts to crash into the front of the train, knocking it off the rails, the sparks that would occur could ignite damaged gas and pressure valves that would explode the front of the cart and they’d find themselves not only tumbling and derailing off the side BUT IN FLAMES!

Or at least…that’s what Daring’s brain told her.

The moment the train stopped in the Vanhoover station, she dived out of the doors as far from the train as possible and snuck herself into a corner to calm her racing heartbeat.

‘Great.’ She thought to herself. ‘The great Daring Do has grown a fear of trains.’ Her mental voice was sour and unimpressed, while her racing heart and burning lungs that gasped for air told that mental voice to shut up; and to NEVER TRUST TRAINS EVER AGAIN!

The city of Vanhoover was one of the few places Daring had never visited on her travels. She’d had the opportunity of course, but never the inclination. Daring Do had places that she could settle down all over Equestria. Little safe houses and hovels and cottages that were rented, bought or given to her by those she helped that gave her places to stay when her need arose for it. In this particular area, her closest place was a small cottage in White Tail Woods. She COULD stay there and not bother Melody, but White Tail Woods was a bit further away, and she had promised Melody last time that she’d come see at least one of her shows soon. Both of those were really good reasons and it certainly had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it’d take another train ride to get there.

Melody’s concert was scheduled for that night, and only just now did the city have fliers up so ponies could actually attend. It was a sound practice for the mare if she didn’t want to get accosted during her travels, but Daring had to wonder how many ponies actually were capable of turning up to these things on short notice. She hoped her friend was doing okay financially.

The place Daring had been told to go through her contacts was a pretty nice hotel that was just out of the main town area, so Daring Do found herself trotting the streets to reach the place, taking the time to look around as she did.

Vanhoover was a bit like Manehatten in that it was a large bustling city. But the aesthetic was quite different.

While Manehatten prided itself on its large square cloudscrapers, Vanhoover preferred a kinda, rounded edge to their designs. The city was built in a circular pattern and seemed to have a great adoration and appreciation for art of the statuesque and architectural variety. Buildings were ornately designed and built beautifully out of stone, while statues hewn from rocks such as granite and marble littered the squares and market places and street junctions like so many stone sentinels guarding the city. Each one was designed after a historic figure of the area, including many of the cities founder, Vanhoover himself. Always seemingly depicted with an admirals outfit –complete with hat- and a scroll in his maw or jutting out of a saddle pack.

The place was very beautiful, and Daring found herself wondering why she had never taken the time to visit before.

The road she was on intersected with another so she was forced to cross the street, but once she did, it was only another corner before she saw the hotel she had been looking for.

The Bitz.

It was quite the famous hotel, which was curious for Daring as it was usually the opposite kind of place Melody would go to. But she had to admit it made sense if only a little. It might be a bit high class for Melody, but the place had a reputation for discretion. At least if anypony asked at the desk they were likely not to get an answer as to if Melody was there or not.

Daring walked in, keenly aware of the well-dressed ponies around her and their high class manner. She always felt slightly out of place wearing her khaki’s when around such ponies. Approaching the desk Daring saw that a friendly looking, yellow coated unicorn secretary sat talking on a phone.

“I know. I know. Yes. He did seem the type.” The secretary giggled. She glanced up when Daring approached, her eyes quickly looking over the grey-scale maned mare and turned back to her phone. “Darling I’m going to have to call you back. Yes. I know.” She giggled again at something said on the other side of the phone. “Okay, okay, I’ll see you tomorrow. Ciao.” She hung up the phone and turned to Daring Do. “How may I help you?”

“I’m here to see Mrs Cello.” She said simply. The name ‘Mrs Cello’ had been told to her specifically, it was a code name given for Melody for any that had legitimate right to see her. The secretary gave Daring another appraising look before checking her paperwork, glanced at Daring again and nodded. “Second elevator, fourteenth floor, room 363B.” Her eyes narrowed for a moment. “Don’t wander.”

Daring gulped and nodded, heading for the elevator.

Once inside the small box and ascending floors Daring thought she might be feeling a little less on edge, but the elevator itself had a pony there dressed in a suit. It seemed to be his job to just stand in the elevator as ponies went up and down. He didn’t do anything; he barely looked at her, and never said a word. But he unnerved Daring all the same. High society types always did.

When the elevator finally pinged and the doors opened, she stepped out and breathed a sigh of relief. She began walking down the halls, marvelling at the deep red carpeting, the cream panelling and the golden wallpaper that seemed quite expensive that lined the walls. It was like the entire theme of this hotel was cream, white and gold. It smelled expensive.

She scanned the door numbers.

352

353

354

370

370? She checked again, she’d reached a crossroads in the hallway and found that the rest of the numbers went down one side rather than straight on, so she turned down the second hallway.

361

362

363A

363B

Daring wasn’t sure why this room number had a second ‘B’ room but she wasn’t about to question it. She knocked on the door.
The door sprang open and hooves flew at her. For a single moment she thought she might be being attacked, but instead the hooves encircled her neck and a cute lime coloured pony hugged her tightly.

“Diane!” Melody squealed as she hugged Daring so tightly that the mare was wondering if her circulation might be cut off. But before it became a problem, the lime pony let go and dragged Daring into the room by a hoof.

The room was well furnished and quite big. There was a big double bed in on the far wall with dishevelled sheets, the carpet was a gorgeous shade of red that was slightly romantic, and the walls were a chocolate brown. But it was lit with orange lights so despite the dark colours in the place, it had a bright vibrant atmosphere that was…romantic?

Daring looked to Melody and cocked an eyebrow.

“Why are you staying in a place like this?” Daring asked suspiciously. It was a question that had Melody’s ear tips turning a shade of pink.

“Why, whatever do you mean?” She smiled nervously.

“This place, it’s...romantic.” She said the word like it was dirty. Daring Do was not the kind of mare that was big on romance. It all just seemed a little too corny for her. She noted a door on the left wall and trotted to it. It turned out to be a lengthways bathroom, with a shower and a bath…and a door that led right to the next room which she assumed would be room 363A. The rooms were joined by the bathroom.

“And why is your bathroom connected to another room?” She asked with her brow raised. Looking back at Melody, she found the mare shuffling shyly with her cheeks burning a bright pink. “Do you have a special somepony staying in the other room?”

The question made Melody meep. “I...erm...maybe?”

Daring thought about it for the moment. “If you have a special somepony, why not just share a room?” She asked casually.

A fierce blush flared up in Melody’s cheeks that momentarily made her quite adorable.

“I…I didn’t want the attention. He’s kinda big in his field.”

Daring accepted this answer, shrugging. “Well fair enough. I’m happy you found a pony that makes you happy.” She said studiously, chewing the inside of her cheek a bit as thoughts of Caffeine Kick ran through her mind. He was just a friend. She only wanted him as a friend. But he was also the only pony that ever really wanted her as anything more than a friend. Even if she didn’t want him romantically, it was nice to be wanted at all. Daring Do shook her head, clearing the thoughts from her brain. Now was not the time to consider romances.

“So,” Daring continued. “I was hoping to see your show later and maybe if you could help me get a place to stay –not this place- that would be really gr-”

She never managed to finish because at that moment, the door from the bathroom opened up and a stallion walked in, obviously from the conjoined room.

“I’m afraid my dear, I cannot find what you asked me to find, embarrassing, considering this is me.” He chuckled cockily, taking a few steps into the room before he noticed Daring Do.

Daring’s eyes widened at the sight of the stallion as recognition spun through her mind. Her eyes darted to that pallid shirt, those startling grass green eyes and that deep grey coat, taking them all in as indicators of who this stallion was. Even as his mane fell around his eyes in a mess that was certainly not its usual state –if pictures she’d seen of him in newspapers were evidence-, she could not deny his identity.

“Doctor Caballeron?”

The stallion froze where he stood, looking Daring Do up and down before his features brightened.

“Daring Do?” He asked, seeming quite pleased to see her. “A pleasure to meet such a mare of repute, in this humble hotel room no less.” He said, his eyes lidding slightly with a sultry gaze that had Daring’s insides turning uncomfortably.

Doctor René Caballeron was in the same field as her, so to speak, but for entirely different reasons, and with methods that most found questionable. He wasn’t so much an archaeologist, as he was a treasure hunter. From what Daring heard, he barely did much temple and tomb raiding and preferred to send in a bunch of lackeys that he would hire to do most of the dirty work for him. He would then take whatever was found, regardless of how dangerous it may be, and sell it to the highest bidder. His methods really ticked Daring off.

The stallion reached up, stroking the goatee he so proudly sported on his chin, running his hoof through the course hairs as he considered Daring Do for a moment.

“You two know each other?” The awkward question sliced through the silence that had descended between everyone. Daring had barely noticed the silence though. She and Caballeron had just been staring at each other, considering each other, challenging each other with their eyes. It was like a silent form of communication, and within that moment, so much information had passed between them. She knew Caballeron was here for something, and it was not a coincidence that he was in this area, and she bet it probably had something to do with Ahuizotl and those rings.

She also knew that he likely knew that she knew that. As well as knowing that she was here because she knew of Ahuizotl’s plan. That is of course, assuming that this wasn’t a coincidence, and he really knew about Ahuizotl, and if that was the case then he would know that she knew, and likely that she knew that he knew that she knew. But if this was a coincidence, then he wouldn’t know anything.

Daring Do thought that made perfect sense.

“O-only by reputation.” Caballeron’s voice cut through her thoughts as he answered Melody’s question, seeming for the entire world a gentlecolt in his politeness. “We work in the same field after all, archaeology is such a small stage, and there are very few players of note, we quickly learn each other’s lines.” His words had a slight flick to them, it was subtle, and barely noticeable to the casual listener, but Daring heard it. She heard the slight lilt in his words that spoke of smugness that spoke of boasting. Yes, he certainly knew all about Ahuizotl and Daring’s reason for being in the area.

Daring Do’s eyes narrowed for a moment before a smirk slipped across her muzzle. She shuffled her hoof on the floor, looking down at it absently. “Yeah, that’s true, though last I heard you prefer to coach others in your lines, hey Caballeron?”

Melody looked between them, obviously lost, which was, of course, the intention. She had no idea that Daring Do and Caballeron were duelling with wit. Caballeron had obviously boasted that he knew of Daring’s situation, his line about knowing each other’s lines was about knowing each other’s intentions, and maybe even their secrets. Her response had been a little bit more of a bite than his opening had been. It was the equivalent of bared fangs within words, and the result was Caballeron betraying a small flash of anger that lasted barely a blink of an eye. It was fast, unnoticed by Melody, but very obvious to Daring Do. Her words about him coaching others in his lines was a jibe at him not playing his part at all, his pension for hiring others, unwilling to get his own hooves dirty. She was, in essence, calling him a coward.

She admitted, it might be a bit premature for such harshness and maybe even unfair; they had never met before this, and despite his bad practice in the field, Caballeron could easily be as nice a colt as he claimed he was…but Daring doubted it. He knew about Ahuizotl, and his first instinct had been to gloat about it. Good ponies don’t gloat.

“Perhaps I should go.” Caballeron began, narrowing his brow at Daring for a moment before extending a hoof, his face becoming a mask of smugness and smiles. “It was a pleasure, Miss Do.”

Daring Do watched as the stallion turned his tail and walked out of the room, leaving the place feeling somewhat chilly from his attitude.

“Erm…” Melody began. Daring could tell by the hesitation in her voice, that she was about to ask what was wrong, so before the young mare could, Daring turned back to her with a wide and warm smile.

“I really can’t wait to come to one of your shows.” She said with genuine warmth. It was enough to halt Melody’s question and make the mare smile.

“Well it starts in three hours so let’s get going.” She grinned, pulling Daring out of the room.

*

The concert was amazing.

The sights and sounds, the crowd and the deafening roar that drowned out all thought. Daring Do was often awkward in social situations, she worked better alone, always did, and she found comfort in her own solitude. But despite that, she was only awkward being in the crowd, surrounded by thousands, for a few short minutes. Once the music had started, she became one with the mob. She was screaming and held in rapture by the music as much as anypony around her. Three hours passed, her hooves ached from holding her in one place, and her throat was hoarse from her squeals of joy, but she was exhilarated and blissfully happy.

Melody’s music was not what it had been reported to be. The reports were an insult to the reality of how gorgeous the sounds she brought to life really were, and how they wove in the mind and couldn’t help but drown all worry, fear and anxiety, replacing it with joy, love and hope for a better future. Daring Do wasn’t big into the music scene, but she knew classical was popular, she also knew that there were some underground bands that had caught hold of the youth that were a bit…heavier. But these crowds put to shame any that could have come from somewhere else.

Despite Melody’s decision to advertise only on the day of the actual concert, to enter towns anonymously and leave just as anonymously, to keep herself out of the sight of anypony else so she could lead a normal life, it was apparent to Daring just how big that mare could become, if she wanted. She could rival Sapphire Shores, if she desired to.

The music of the evening rang through Daring’s mind as she snuggled into the soft pillow of the hotel room. She was staying a few blocks from Melody, in a small place that wasn’t very well known, perfect for what Daring needed, and thanks to Melody the room was free.

The music in her mind rolled on and on, slowly penetrating her dreams when she slipped into a peaceful slumber and, for the first time in a while, Diane felt more like Daring Do, and a little less broken.

*

The Tenochtitlan Basin.

The map showed it as a crevice between the two mountain peaks north of the Smokey Mountain, and only a few miles from Vanhoover. The trek was uneventful, but despite the quietness, Daring Do decided to go slowly as she neared the location.

The Tenochtitlan Basin was the remnants of an old lakebed, which in the olden days would have been above water level and populated, seemingly by the same kind of ancient ponies that thought creating magical items that could destroy the world, was a good idea.

These days it was home to a few uncovered temples, and Daring Do had no idea which one of these would be the right one.

She approached from the east, pushing her way through the foliage. A nearby sound drew her attention, so she approached it, her belly to the ground as she shuffled quietly through the undergrowth in an attempt to stay out of sight.

“How’s the hoof?” A stallion’s voice asked from nearby. Daring peaked over a small ledge in the dirt down onto a group of three stallions, all wearing khaki outfits and looking quite uncomfortable. One of them had stubble over his muzzle, and another wore a cheap pith helmet that looked like it had seen better days. All three were crème coloured, but the one that was speaking had a grey mane while the others had black manes.

The one with the pith helmet was the one to answer, his right forehoof in a sling. “Not as bad as I made out, but it got me out of doing all that digging.”

“You shouldn’t o’ lied.” The white maned stallion said with a sigh, he began looking around as though worried about being overheard. “That enchantress’ll probably know you bin skiving.”

“Nah, she’s all smoke ‘n’ mirrors.” The pith helmet wearing stallion responded, chuckling softly. “I bet she and the big blue are all too busy about those rings they’re lookin’ for.”

“Yeah, I heard they found another one.” The quiet black maned pony chimed in beside them. The pith helmeted pony’s eyes widened at the news.

“Another? They’re doin’ good with those.” He mumbled.

“Well, not found, but they know where it is, I hear they’re gonna be sendin’ a load of us to go get it, I hear it’s in a town of some sort.” He said with a grin.

“A town?” The white maned stallion asked curiously before his face became a sinister grin. “Great, I figure I could find myself some fun there, lotsa them town folk have some good stuff ya can trade in.”

The pith helmet pony seemed giddy at that. “Aww yeah, I love a good lootin’.”

Daring Do had heard enough. These three ponies were terrible, and while she could sneak around them, she found she didn’t really want to.

“Hey!” Her voice yelled down at them, making their heads snap up to where she had been, but they wouldn’t see her. She was up in the trees, but not for long. Suddenly she was in front of them, approaching fast, swinging down, and clutching a vine in her hooves. Her body struck all three of them, her hooves striking their faces as she swooped down onto the three startled stallions. They all went down in a single blow.

Daring Do landed on the ground with a thud, and behind her the stallions own thud joined hers, as their unconscious bodies struck the soft earth.

Ahuizotl was not the usual kind of person to hire goons, so the fact that these three seemed to be here was worrying for her. And who was this enchantress? Could she be the Empress that Ahuizotl had spoken of?

She wasn’t going to find any answers here, so Daring Do decided to move on, crawling through the undergrowth again as she got closer to her destination.

Mossy undergrowth gave way to rocky dirt as she approached a large cliff edge. She knew this area was littered with temples, but she also knew it wasn’t quite safe, and her travels had never really taken her out this way. Daring’s personal excavations were often tailored towards items that were rumoured to be magical and dangerous, but the Tenochtitlan area had never been a place on the list that was especially important in the way of ancient finds. But rumours and old writings weren’t always right, and this place obviously housed something if Ahuizotl wanted a piece of it.

The Temples below lit Daring’s eyes up wide. There were eight of them, all of them littered around the place with barely intact roads that connected them. They were in surprisingly good shape, and there seemed to be even more that were being uncovered in the cliff faces but ponies digging into the rock. The workers, the hired goons, they were everywhere, and getting close to Ahuizotl and this Enchantress was going to be extremely difficult. But she was Daring Do, she’d managed worse.

Her attempts at her usual cocky attitude that would on most days be considered a strong part of her personality, only gave way to what ‘worse’ things she HAD managed. The chief of which would be getting her long time mentor and friend killed. Diane Do pushed away those feelings, ignoring the pain that blossomed in her chest as she stole herself for the moment.

The grey-scale maned mare jumped down into the basin, skidding along the side of the dirt bank before coming to a skilful stop at the bottom, rolling behind a large set of stones at the base of one of the temples as a patrol of hired goons trotted by, talking animatedly about something that Daring didn’t quite catch.

She slipped behind them when they passed, dogged their heels for a few seconds before slipping up the steps of a temple and into one of the alcoves, finding herself in a room that had three exits. She slipped through one, finding herself on the other side overlooking limestone steps. Daring Do slipped down them, back into the rock and sand below. She looked around her before glancing up; wondering if she could get around by flying, but as she looked up a few Pegasus flew overhead, forcing her to duck behind the nearest rock that was out of their view. She’d be a sitting flying duck if she were to try flying around.

Slipping along the outside of the temples proved her best bet, they contained alcoves she could slip into that would shield her from, flying eyes, as well as rooms she could dart into to hide from patrolling ponies. As she got further into the basin, the sound of picks and the clinking of rocks on shovels met her ears. The dig site was nearby, and that’s where they needed to be. Ahuizotl was many things, but he was not patient. Daring Do knew he’d be as close to the dig site as possible, wanting to be right there when they found what they were digging for.

When Daring got a good look, she found that they were trying to cut out the ruins of an old temple that seemed in far worse repair than any of the others littered about. It had slowly been swallowed by the rocky cliff over the centuries, and now it seemed they were trying to find a way inside it. Thankfully, Daring had a talent for this.

Daring Do slipped around them, walking a wide birth away from them so she didn’t get caught before moving to the Cliffside. She was slightly round a corner, barely able to be seen and over ten meters from the actual dig site.

Daring breathed out a sigh to steady herself as she stood there; she looked over her shoulder at her own rump, her cutie-mark clear and blazed upon her flank. It was simply the points of a compass, dressed in golden colours. To many it seemed obvious, her talent being her adventuring. But did that really make sense?

An adventure by definition was the unknown. It was something one could not predict. To set out to complete a task was a quest, but an adventure was a journey with no sure ending, with no sure outcome or discovery. So why a compass? Why a tool that told you for certain where you were going?

Her cutie-mark was nothing about adventuring, it was in fact, the reason she kept falling into holes. Not that she’d ever admit that.

The compass was a symbol, a symbol that meant she had a talent for always being where she needed to be. Always moving in the direction she needed to go.

Daring Do could never get lost.

This wasn’t just about getting home, or knowing where she was going, it was simply that she would always find what she needed to find, often by accident (like falling in holes).

She trusted in this talent now, ignoring where they were digging and just running her hooves against the rocks round this corner. She began walking the length, tempted to run and rush, but trusting that it would all play out. As she moved around, she would give the rocks a soft tap every once in a while. After only a few minutes of doing this, her hoof reached up and tapped at a space on the Cliffside as she had before, but this time her hoof went through, knocking rock down into the inside of the cliff.

Success!

Daring Do began pushing at the rock, digging out her entrance. This part of the temple was buried deep and the insides had caved in, leaving this little pocket of loose rock. Once the hole was big enough, she crawled inside. If all went to plan, she could search the temple and find whatever there was to find before Ahuizotl and his goons could even finish digging out their own entrance.

The inside was dark and dusty, so Daring Do took off her saddlebags to rummage through it. Her hooves pushed her pith helmet out of the way. She looked down at it for a moment, biting her bottom lip. Her head had felt strangely naked without the familiar hat, but this wasn’t the time, not yet. She pushed it aside and brought out a headlamp, strapped the straps over her forehead and switched it on with a hoof tap. She slipped her saddlebag back on and looked down the corridor she was in.

The bright light of the headlamp illuminated the walls with a dull yellow glow that gave everything a sallow and almost sepia glow, though it didn’t help that a lot of the walls were carved yellow sandstone. She’d expected designs and ancient equestrian writing, as usually such temples that housed great objects of power were also used for decorations of prophecy and tales that ancient ponies wanted to be etched in stone so they could last for all time. But strangely, these walls were smooth, or at least, not carved. She trotted through, the sound of her hooves seemed dull without much echo, which told her, that the walls were thick and there was likely a lot of cave-ins. More stone meant less places for the sound to reverberate through.

She moved down the corridor and turned left, not bothering to really think about where she was going. She let her experience guide her. She moved down the corridor and found a ramp that led down, she decided to turn away from it, going down the right side of a corridor instead, letting her hooves do all the walking without much thought to direction. She found a set of stairs that headed downwards rather than a ramp, so she began trotting, but stopped halfway.

Her head cocked to the side before she dropped her hoof down one more step, before suddenly dropping herself to the stone steps, a loud bang echoed around her and she looked up to find a stone slab, that had once been a brick in the wall, had erupted out and struck the other side of the stairs. That would have hit her if she’d stayed upright.

A slight grin began to travel up her muzzle before she moved forward, jumping as a stone step collapsed in, she jumped up, planting her-self on the wall, spikes lashing up, barely missing her tail. She jumped from the wall and landed round the corner, galloping down the steps. There was a loud creaking and a large bladed pendulum swung down in front of her. She jumped up, latching herself onto its handle, it swung up the steps and then back down, and she kicked off, flipped down and landed with a roll on the ground, dust kicking up about her, her mane cascading down around her as she stopped for a moment, her breath slow and steady as she looked down at her hooves.

Slowly she looked up. She was in a large room. There was a path in front of her, with grooves and holes sliced into the ground that spoke of traps littering that path before her. One either side of the path were large pools of bubbling sludge that smelled rotten, permeating the room with an ungodly stench that made Daring instinctively never want to touch that water. At the very end of the room stood, of course, on a pedestal was a golden disc etched with designs. In the centre of the disc was a ruby red jewel. The item looked like the kind that would be magical; Daring by now could tell the type.

She closed her eyes and breathed a deep breath. A singular image flashed in her mind, the image of her task and her determination. She knew exactly what she was doing. Daring Do was an adventurous mare, but for once this was not an adventure, this was a Quest, and she had to trust and have faith that she wouldn’t stray from the path she needed to set herself on, that she would do what she needed to do to achieve her goal.

Daring Do opened her eyes fiercely and dashed forward. She jumped high over the first set of holes, spikes lashing up that almost caught her. She rolled, dashed to the side as darts lashed out from one of the walls, missing her by inches. She kept moving, not stopping for an instant. Another pendulum sliced down, she dodged to the side to find floor beginning to rumble. The stones in front of her began rising, the floor re-arranging itself. She jumped, climbing up the first, jumping to the next, diving over another, even as they moved and changed, making it difficult to concentrate on where she was jumping, Daring Do kept moving. In front of her it seemed an entire wall was rising up to block her, but the stones were rising at different rates. She dived, tucked her wings in tight and span in the air, slipping through a small crack in the stones before they closed shut behind her. She landed on the floor with a thud, rolling and panting, looking up at the ceiling.

The room became still, she took a deep breath and sat up, looking at the pedestal. The pedestal was shaped differently, it seemed like the jewelled golden disc had once been set in some part of the stone that rose from the back, behind the prize Daring sought. It seemed it had been inserted into the stone, but time and maybe damage of some sort had dislodged it. She wondered if that was significant.

Daring Do slowly walked up the steps, one hoof in front of the other she reached the pedestal, reached up with her fore-hooves and took down the jewelled disc.

The moment she lifted it from the pedestal, the raised wall behind her began to lower, the rocks slid back into place, and instead of setting off a trap, all previous traps slotted themselves away. The torches suddenly flared into life, around her the fires burst out. It was like the temple had been waiting for the item to be taken.

She stared down at it, running her hoof over the unique design. It was thin, but the jewel in the centre was big, and seemed to have an iridescent glow.

There was a noise behind her, but she didn’t turn to look at it, the sound of hooves could be heard, and the steps of something that sounded like claws on stone.

The steps stopped nearby, and silence filled the room. She reached up to her forehead and tapped her forehead torch, switching it off. She didn’t need it anymore now that the fires had been lit.

Daring Do let out a soft sight and turned around. There, in the centre of the room, was Ahuizotl. Beside him was a Unicorn mare that was dressed in exotic items, she had a large headdress, piercing green eyes and a crème coloured coat. Her eyes were decorated with a blue lining, and her outfit was spun from purples and gold’s, covering her beautifully. She also looked dangerous, taller than most ponies Daring had ever known and something about her spoke of both dangerous magic, and royalty.

Daring just eyed them, before slowly taking a few steps before them. Her hooves clopping on the ground, letting out soft echoes as she approached those that had long since been her foes.

Daring stood before Ahuizotl, looking up at him. They shared a look, her’s was solemn, his was curious, and for a while it seemed only silence could span between them.

“Here.” Her voice was soft as she reached out and offered Ahuizotl the temples treasure.

“Is this it?” He asked, a single brow rose as he studied her.

And Daring Do nodded.

“The Radiant Shield of Razdon. As long as you hold this, it can’t be used against you. It’s the only thing that could stop you.”

Her words echoed around the room and Ahuizotl reached out, taking it from her hooves casually without any hesitation, as though he knew she wouldn’t resist.

“I knew you would come.” He said, his melodious voice sounded out with complete confidence.

“I know.” She answered, and she had, she knew all along.

“Can you do it?” She asked, trying to keep her voice steady, but a slight break in her tone could be heard. “Can you really bring her back?”

Ahuizotl looked down at her, his eyes traveling from the treasure in his paws to Diane’s face.

“Yes.”

Daring felt something in her tighten at that single word, and slowly she lowered her head.

“Then tell me what I need to do.”

Author's Note:

dun duun duuuuuuuun!!!!!!!! I hope you enjoyed this latest instalment. ^-^ hit me up a comment or message if you feel like it.

Comments

[DemonWriterX]

Why isn't everybody reading this!!!????
I'm loving this!
And why with the cliffhanger?!!!
Why?!
I need more!

[AlmanacP]

5896523 thank you so much. ^^ but as part of the schedule I'm now going to do three commissioned books before I do the next Daring Do. ^-^; So I'm afraid you have a little while to wait. But, after the fourth Daring Do book, there will be a new book thats a bit of a surprise. its gonna be a side story that you may enjoy. Also, if you want a few spilers on how book four might go...you might want to watch the mlp episode 'Daring Don't'. The title of the fourth book is 'Daring Do and the Razor of Dreams'. ;)

[DemonWriterX]

5897519

Yes!!

[AlmanacP]

6415057 such a wonderful review. why thank you. XD