52
Just an early warning, some bits may be a bit intense/extreme this chapter. I also probably missed a few grammar things, too, unfortunately. So let me know if you see any problems. I had this chapter planned since so long ago and I hope people noticed the many hints to it. 
“Trash, trash, burn it, burn the pony if he even gets near her... Ugh, this is really getting out of hoof.” Aegis Flare slammed her head into the table in front of her while her friends looked over at her in askance.
“What is all of that anyways, Flare? You've been going through all morning since we gathered for breakfast.” Aegis Flare looked over to Twilight before she torched one of the letters she was reading. She flicked a wing towards her crown that was sitting next to her before responding.
“Ever since we had these forced on us I've been getting all kinds of letters from ponies around Equestria. Unfortunately, most of them are marriage proposals from various nobles. Haven't you all been getting them too?” The others looked at each other before turning back and shrugging.
“All of my mail goes through Spike, but I haven't seen anything like that yet.” Twilight looks to the others who just shake their heads as well.
“Mine goes through my boutique and I haven't had a chance to check it this week.”
“Angel hasn't given me anything yet either.”
“Ah haven't been to the farm since we got here.”
“We can get mail here?”
“If it isn't part of my my weather duties or about Daring Do I usually just throw it out without reading it.”
The group turns to look at Rainbow Dash before shaking their heads at her. “Well what is so bad about all those marriage proposals? I would think it would feel flattering to be so desired.” The bat-winged alicorn just wordlessly passed over one of the letters to Rarity who quickly read it before her eyes widened. “This... This is just obscene! Scootaloo is still just a child! Why if they tried anything like they wrote in here about Sweetie Belle why I'd...”
Rarity trailed off as she realized that she may have some of the same letters as well before she scowls and tears the letter to pieces. Applejack frowns as she makes a note to check with her brother who was currently handling things on the farm while she was in Canterlot. “See? This is why I don't bother reading through all the junk unless I know who it is from. Too much drama otherwise. Of course with all this I doubt I'll be checking my mail for another couple months when the next Daring Do arrives.”
“Didn't you hear, Rainbow? The next book was delayed a couple months.” Rainbow Dash shot up as Twilight revealed the news with a shout of denial. Her friends rolled their eyes at the mare as she began her own special form of drama which they mostly half listened to until the cyan mare gave her plan of action which caused Aegis Flare to look over at her uncertainly.
“Wait, you want to what?!”
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“Are you sure we should be bothering her out here? I mean there has to be a reason that Ms Yearling abandoned her old home like that to move to the other side of Equestria like this. I'm sure she's just fine.” The others rolled their eyes at Aegis Flare as she had been trying to get them to head back though they couldn't understand why.
“Yeah, yeah. We heard you the last hundred times but we have to make sure. We wouldn't want anything to happen to the boo- I mean A K Yearling.” Aegis Flare just grumbled to herself as she kept a wary eye out on the dark trees around them. While the mare they were searching for was one of her worries, it wasn't for the same reason as the others and she had other worries as well, specifically the part of Equestria they were in.
“I still don't understand why anypony would want to live out in this dark and dingy forest. Especially with a name like the Forest of Trotting Death.” The others nodded while Aegis Flare just grumbled behind them.
“Probably to keep others from bothering her, much like we shouldn't be doing.” Her friends ignored her as they walked through the forest and they soon came upon a cabin in the middle of a clearing. They were surprised by what they found as it contrasted heavily with the surrounding area.
“Finally! Ugh, we could have been here already if you just remembered that she moved, Twilight.” Twilight just tossed a glare at Rainbow Dash before she shot back.
“Well excuse me for forgetting about it since most of the time I heard about it was from my mom who is the editor for the book. It was only after we got to her other place that I remembered Derpy mentioning this place when she brought a load of her books one day.” Looking around the mares took in the dichotomy of the terrain as the advanced on the building.
“Well isn't this a rather cozy place she has here. Almost like out of one of them fairy tails Granny used to read ta me.” Applejack's words were met with nods from the others as they advanced on the idyllic little two-story cottage. Entering the building, Aegis Flare wasn't surprised to see the damage within it, though she still thought that they shouldn't have come. Soon enough the group had gathered on the ground floor once again after having found nothing.
“What are you all doing here?” As every head turned to the voice, Aegis Flare side-steeped so that she was hiding behind Fluttershy, much to her confusion. As her friends talked to the mare she started hearing an odd sound and, seeing her ears twitching, knew the Fluttershy heard it too. While listening to both the sound and her friends she had to facehoof at what Rainbow Dash ended with.
“Okay, clearly this isn't the best time, but I've just gotta say how much we all really love your books...” While trying to stay unseen, this was just too much for Aegis Flare.
“Seriously Rainbow Dash, when you go crazy over something you don't do it by half measures. I don't even know why I bothered to try and stop you.” While her friends rolled their eyes once again the other mare in the room tried to peer around them at the hiding mare as she sounded familiar to her.
“Wait, is that Sparky? What are you doing here? Wow time sure has been good to you and...” The mare paused as she got a clearer look at the bat-winged alicorn and she squinted her eyes. “Whoa, when did you upgrade to wings? Did you find something interesting out in your area of the Everfree Forest?” Aegis Flare winced as she looked back over at her wings before sighing.
“I really hate that nickname you know, and you just had to use it in your books. Also, yes, I did find something in the Everfree along with my six friends. Perhaps you've heard of them? The Elements of Harmony?” The non-alicorn looked around the room a moment, her gaze stopping on each of the alicorns, before she frowned.
“Huh, how did I miss the room full of alicorns? It still doesn't explain why you are here after promising not to say anything about me, or why your horn is lit up.” Her question was partially answered when a large crashing sound was heard, along with cries of pain soon after.
“I didn't tell them anything and even tried to get them not to come. Also Twilight's mom is your editor and we all live in Ponyville so I wouldn't be surprised if your sister said something on accident. As for the horn, well since you didn't seem to be expecting visitors I took the precaution of catching your little intruders upstairs.” The beige mare looks over at the blushing Twilight before she rubs at her head with a hoof.
“Of course you live there. You only told me at least a dozen times in your letters. Dang it Derpy, how many times do I have to ask you not to brag about me to your friends? Now let's see just who these intruders are.” As they moved upstairs, Aegis Flare ignored the glares she was receiving from Rainbow Dash. She could guess what they were about but she had promised not to say anything about the mare they were following and she still had a few more secrets. When they reached the top landing of the stairs the found the orange alicorn's shield blocking the doorway, with three stallion trapped inside of it in a bubble.
“So we meet again. Granted the situation isn't ideal but it is a surprise to find that you have actually trapped your own home. Still this won't last forever and once it falls we shall get what we came here for, Daring Do.” Both Daring Do and Aegis Flare groaned at the secret being revealed while the other alicorn just gaped in shock at her as she removed her disguise of her alter-ego.
“Oh, will be going anywhere for a long time Dr Cabelerron. Of course the item you are searching for isn't even here and there is no way you or Ahuizotl will be able to get ahold of it.” The stallion just glanced down at his injured minion, who had ran headlong into the barrier, while ignoring his other one before scoffing.
“I admit that this is a minor setback, but only that. Once we escape we shall track down the artifact and claim it for our client and there is nothing that you can do about it and if you get in our way you will pay.” The minion kept trying to get Dr Cabelerron's attention, but he was ignored as Daring Do started chuckling at him.
“So, did you get all that Princess?” The pegasus looked over at Twilight who had been writing down everything that the stallion was saying.
“Just about, so tell us again how you are going to commit crimes including theft and assault?” It was only then that the stallion noticed that there were others in the room and that they were all alicorns. Noticing the princesses the stallions jaw dropped open as he went into shock at what he was seeing.
“There probably isn't much else that he can say that would incriminate him, Twilight. It's not like he ordered his minions to kill us in the Everfree during that little trip we took, isn't that right Mr C?” At the name drop Twilight's head whipped around to glare at the stallion who flinched backwards as if it had real force behind hit.
“What did you just call him?” The venom in the purple alicorn's voice sent chills down Dr Cabelerron's spine and her friend's leaned away from her in surprise.
“Oh, that's right. You didn't know who it was that organized that adventure we had. How did that idol work out for his client anyways, Daring Do?” The pegasus chuckled at the question before jerking her head towards the trapped stallion.
“His client was quite mad about it. The group tried to sacrifice him in hopes of recharging it but he always has a plan to escape if things go south. Well, almost always as you can see now.” She gestured to the stallion who was now frothing in rage at the two mares though his words were incomprehensible at this time. “So what are you going to do with him now?”
Pinkie Pie let out a high-pitched whistle, causing the two ponies of thestral heritage to wince and glare at her, which caused a commotion downstairs as well as the window in the room they were outside of. Soon a dozen members of the guard, not the Royal Guard as they had been refusing to follow them out of Canterlot due to the difficulty, were surrounding the three encased stallions. “That's easy. We'll just let these fun ponies take them all the way back to Canterlot to meet Celestia and Luna. Take them away boys.” One of the guardsponies clears her throat and looks at the pink pony who looks sheepish. “And girls.”
“Uh, Pinkie? Where did all these guards come from?” Twilight watched as all but four of the guards marched the trio of stallions away while the ones staying moved to outside of the building. Aegis Flare raised an eyebrow at the purple alicorn before twitching her ears.
“They've been following us since we left Canterlot. What, did you think that they would let us go off without guards of some sort to protect us? At least this group seems to be more competent than the Solar Guard.” The alicorns all looked at each other in surprise at hearing this, except for Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy who rose a hoof.
“Um, I heard them the entire time. I'm sorry I didn't say anything but I thought you all knew. Though I'm not sure what those things I've been hearing when we entered this forest are though.” The mares looked uncertainly at Fluttershy before turning back to Aegis Flare though it was Daring Do that answered.
“It's nothing to worry about unless you go too deep into the forest, though this cabin is just on the border. The guardians of this place don't really like uninvited guests and you wouldn't believe what it takes to get an invitation. My wife was out with them which is how I knew somepony was here.” At this point finally had enough of holding herself back and she spoke her mind.
“Wait, wait, wait. When did you get married!? And for that matter...” She turned towards the bat-winged alicorn. “You knew that A K Yearling was Daring Do this whole time!? Why didn't you say anything before!? Does that mean that you actually were there in Daring Do and the Temporal Temple!?” Aegis Flare looked towards Daring Do who just shrugged at her while her friends watched on, also interesting in hearing answers.
“Hey, don't look at me. They're your friends. You might as well tell them since they're going to hear about it eventually since they are all princesses. It's probably a good idea that they know about Ahui just to be safe in case she and my daughter need to go to Canterlot or Ponyville for some reason.” Twilight's head shot up at the name causing her to frown in concentration.
“Wait, Ahui? But didn't she return to being Ahuizotl in Daring Do and the Diadem of Duality? Wait, if all the books are true, then does that mean you actually were a stallion after Daring Do and the Fetish of Fertility?” Before the purple mare could ask anything else, or Rainbow Dash join in, Daring Do groaned as she brought a hoof to her face.
“Yes, yes, it all happened. Ugh, why do all these ancient groups have to be so vague with their artifacts? After Ahui and I spent time getting to know each other we agreed to start dating and she wanted to be left out of the books after finding a cure. We thought that the diadem would help, but it turns out it works oddly when the target is pregnant so it split Ahuizotl away from her into his own being. Only now he is much crueler than he used to be as if all that was good about him is gone.” The two mares were about to say more but Aegis Flare stepped forward to interrupt.
“As fascinating as all this is, maybe they can all wait until later? Hay, you could just send them in a letter through Derpy to her so she has time to think them through and not releasing more than she might want to. Even I didn't know about her having a child until just now, all she told me was that there were 'complications' that split Ahui from Ahuizotl.” Daring Do ran a hoof through her mane is she looked towards the floor.
“Please do that. Ahui is probably going to kill me for letting all of that out. I'm not really that good with dealing with others. It's why I always worked alone until Sparky showed up on that expedition.” The others nodded, though Rainbow Dash still tossed a glare at Aegis Flare.
“That can wait I guess, but when are you going to tell us just what is going on?” The orange mare inhales deeply and holds it for a few moments before exhaling.
“Since Daring Do says it's fine to tell you, I'll tell you everything once we get back to Ponyville to my home.”
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The seven mares sat in the family room of Aegis Flare's home as she tried to compose herself for the coming conversation. When Scootaloo came in carrying a tray of cider and cookies, the bat-winged alicorn sighed and turned her head towards her sister and lighting her horn. “Scotty? Can you bring me the Daring Do book from the case over there?”
Scootaloo looked shocked for a moment before nodding and heading towards the now glowing display case. As she reached it a section of it popped out revealing the key she the pegasus snatched up and shoved it into the lock. Opening the case, she reverently lifted the book onto her back and carried it over to her sister. “Are you finally going to say how you got this? Can I stay and listen, too?”
Aegis Flare was about to deny her, but she quickly realized that she would probably sneakily listen in anyways and nodded and lifted one of her wings. The filly quickly climbed onto her sister's seat and nestled under the wing with a sigh as she watched the book be set down in front of the duo. “This... Isn't going to be easy for me. This isn't just a copy of the book, but a copy of the original journal that Daring Do wrote after we escaped from the Temporal Temple. Yes, it is a real place, though I can't say where it is or how to find it as we don't even know how we found it the first time. Most of the time when she writes her stories she has to exaggerate things a bit to make it interesting, but this was the only time I know of that she had to understate the situation because of how bad it was.”
“Was this what caused ya to hide in your basement for a month until we drug ya out of there?” Applejack's question received a nod causing her to look at the book wide-eyed as her mind went back to that day.
“It started out as a normal day a few months after my parents had gone missing. Around that time I was starting to get used to exploring the Everfree Forest, having learned many of the things to avoid and how to defeat many of the threats as well. Yet that all changed when I came across the camp of Emperor Imperious Rex....”
vvvvvvvvvv
The orange teen unicorn slowly climbed through a tight thicket in search of anything that may have been useful. It had been a week since she had entered the Everfree Forest and she had yet to find anything worth carrying back to Ponyville. She wasn't too worried though as she had gone longer without finding anything, though this time she had managed to leave a decent buffer back at home with her sister this time. Still she was doing well for such a young pony that had known little about the place a little over a year ago and was starting on an amateur map to try and keep track of where she had explored.
Finding nothing she let out a quiet sigh as she left the thicket and ascended a nearby tree to try and get a better view of the area. While she didn't see much other than more greens and browns, her ears twitched as she heard something out of place for the Everfree. If she didn't know better she could have sworn that they were voices.
After taking a moment to identify the direction of the voices the teen descended the tree and carefully made her way in that direction. After a short while she slowly creeped up on the edge of a camp populated by diamond dogs and she listened in, not wanting to be seen. “Hurry up you mutts! We must to get to that temple before it disappears and this all goes to waste. She's somewhere out there and I want us to be somewhere where she can't sneak up on us.”
Aegis Flare was curious as to who they were talking about, as she didn't know who these diamond dogs were nor had she met any before. Warily she began backing away from the group until she backed up into something that had not been there when she passed through moments earlier. Panning her gave around she came eye to nose with a beige muzzle causing her to take in a breath of panic before a set of hooves were thrown over her mouth. Moments later she was flying in her captors grip through the Everfree until they were some distance away from the diamond dog encampment. “Now I'm about to release you, but don't scream. We don't want those mangy mongrels to find us, now do we?”
Aegis Flare shook her head hurriedly, but when she was released she dashed over into the nearest bush before turning to see what had grabbed her. With the better viewpoint, she was able to see that it was a beige pegasus, who was shaking her head, with a greyscale mane and wearing a pip helmet and and olive safari jacket. “W-w-who are you? What are you doing here?”
The pegasus sighed as she looked over the unicorn in frustration. “Oh great, it's just some kid. Never mind why I'm out here, what is some little punk like you doing all the way out here? There isn't a town around for days. Oh this is just great, I follow King Imperious Rex and his crew all the way out here and I run into this. I don't have time to take care of a snot-nosed little brat and there is no way that I can take her back now.”
The beige pegasus started pacing back in forth as she muttered to herself with the young unicorn watching on. Movement from behind the pegasus caught the orange mare's eyes and when she focused on it her eyes widened. Lighting up her horn she unleashed a stream of fire at the creature behind the pegasus who let out a yelp as she dodged to the side. She was about to retaliate when a scream rang out from where she was and she turned to see a pile of slime on a nearby tree writhing in pain as it was being bathed in fire. Soon it stilled as its life faded and the pegasus looked at the unicorn questioningly. “T-that's a parasite slime. It attacks its victims from hiding and tries to take over it's body by crawling into its head. It is also coated with a nasty poison that can burn flesh with prolonged exposure.”
The pegasus just looked at the smoldering corpse for a few more moments before she frowned. “Okay, maybe I was wrong about you, Sparky. You still seem to be a bit young to be out here in such a dangerous place though, but I really could use a guide that knows the area. The name's Daring Do.”
Aegis Flare looked at the extended hoof of the pegasus for a moment before she hesitantly reached out her own towards it. “I-i-i'm Aegis Flare. I'm not sure how much help I can be though. I've only been out here for about a year now.”
Daring Do just shrugged as she looked off in the direction of the diamond dog camp. “It's more than I know. While I'd rather work alone, this forest is just odd and nothing like the jungles that I'm used to. Your year is much more time than I've had and the diamond dogs have already lost a dozen in here, though there are still many more left. Now come on Sparky, we need to catch up with them and keep an eye on them.”
As Daring Do was about to take off into the air to try and get a view of the diamond dogs, Aegis Flare's ears flicked around a few times before she turned and started back unerringly in the direction they had come from. The pegasus gazed after her a moment before she settled on the thestral-like ears before she shrugged and followed after. Neither said anything, which was fine by Daring Do as she had no need to get close to her young guide while on the job.
Soon the duo caught up to the other party and, using her enhanced hearing, followed at a safe distance. Nothing happened for days for the two ponies, though Aegis Flare found a few medicinal plants to stash in her saddlebags, though the number of diamond dogs slowly dwindled as they ran into obstacle after obstacle. Most of the creatures were driven off by the group, but some were left for dead allowing the unicorn to get samples from some as well as learn about a few more dangers that were new to her.
After a week, Daring Do was starting to get frustrated with the diamond dogs as she shot a glare in the direction of their leader. “What is King Imperious Rex even doing? He's just wasting the lives of his subjects, and for what? Some rumored temple that may or not be there? Even so, doesn't he know how dangerous the artifact he is searching for can be?”
“What is it that he is searching for?” Aegis Flare cringed as Daring Do turned an eye on her.
“I wish I knew, but from what I can tell it's supposed to have something to do with time travel or time control or something. There's hardly anything out there about this place and even the myths consider this place a myth. I never even heard of this Temple of Time place until one of their agents came to me asking about it.” Suddenly, as if her saying the name was a sign, the whole world felt as if it lurched under their hooves. When they were able to recover their balance they found that the forest had disappeared and they were now at the bottom of a stairway leading up to a giant stone building.
“Um, I think we're here?” Daring Do just glanced over at the unicorn before raising a hoof to her temple.
“I have a bad feeling about this. That was not any kind of magic I've seen or heard of before.” Daring Do looked around warily before tapping a hoof on the bottom step. “We better get inside quickly. If this appeared for the others, then they might already be further inside.”
Rushing up the stairs, Daring Do stopped near the top to see the younger mare slowly following her. “You can stay out here, I doubt you have any experience with places like this.”
Aegis Flare didn't respond verbally, but she slowly made her way up the stairs to stand next to the pegasus. Raising an eyebrow, Daring Do shook her head before entering the temple. The two looked around as they slowly advanced down the featureless hall. They weren't sure how far they went, but when they saw the first crossroad they welcomed that change from the featureless white walls.
Suddenly from out of the left hall Aegis Flare and Daring Do came charging out into the crossroads. Before either of them could react the ceiling came down on the two, smashing them into paste causing a spray of red to spurt out the sides. Seeing this, Aegis Flare's breathing started to increase before she was in a full-blown panic and started screaming. “We're gonna die! We're gonna die, we're gonna die we're gonna-” *SMACK*
Silence reigned as the unicorn's head snapped to the side after being struck by Daring Do's hoof. “Get ahold of yourself!” When the unicorn just pointed at the scene of carnage ahead of them she only received a shake in response before her head was turned towards the blood-splatter. “Look closer! Something isn't right here.”
With her head forced into staring at the area where she died she kept shaking in fear as she surveyed the area. Noticing something peculiar her eyes narrowed as she traced the blood stains and noticed that they just cut off a short distance from the ceiling trap. Suddenly it began to rest itself yet there was no sign of anything being there before as the floor was still a pristine white. Soon even the bloodstains faded away leaving her more confused than in panic. “I don't know what that was, but there is no way that it could have been us. Since we just saw it we would know to avoid the trap so there is no way that it would have caught us.”
Calming down, though still fearful, Aegis Flare nods to the pegasus who pats her on the shoulder before moving toward that trapped area. It didn't take her long to find the trap mechanism and the two walked around it to the hall on the other side. The two traveled down the hall, through various twists and turns until eventually the pegasus threw up her hooves. “What is with this place? There is no way that it was this big on the outside and we haven't even taken any turns yet.”
The unicorn's ear twitched as she picked up a faint clicking sound as the adventurer was pacing around followed by another sound that was familiar to her. Reacting to the direction of the sound she quickly tackled Daring Do off to the side of the hallway before putting up a shield around them against the wall. Before the pegasus could ask what was going on, a wave of water crashed down the hall from behind them, flooding the area. It passed over the two like a stone in a river and it soon passed, but soon after it was followed by a wave of flames, drying the hall once again. Once the danger had passed, Daring Do got up and growled. “Okay, how was that even possible!? We didn't pass anything that could have caused all of that back there, and THAT certainly wasn't there before!” She pointed a hoof at a slightly raised portion of the ground. “And that hall certainly wasn't there before!”
Aegis Flare looked to where the mare was pointing to find that a new path had opened up without them noticing. She was about to turn away when she saw movement at the other end of the hall, but she couldn't believe what she was seeing. “Mom? Dad?”
Daring Do looked at her curiously for a moment before the teen dashed off down the hall. “Hey, wait! Don't just run off like that!”
The unicorn ignored her though as she ran down the hall to where she saw her parents. Rounding the corner she slid to a halt as she came across a horrifying sight. Before her was herself, but not as she was but a grotesque effigy of herself. The figure was turned away from her and appeared to be eating something but the teenager didn't want to know what as she tried to quietly back away, but failing as she stumbled.
The creatures head shot up at the sound and it slowly turned to face her, blood dripping from its muzzle. Seeing her the creature started advancing on her revealing an orange form behind her. “No, it can't be... Scootaloo? Not my sister...”
Aegis Flare looked on in horror at the body of her sister just laying there, entrails spread out like spaghetti. Her head smashed open like a ripe cantaloupe. Her chest-
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“Enough!” *SLAP!* Rarity struck Aegis Flare with her hoof to interrupt her from her hyperventilating as her mind locked in on the memory. “Sorry, darling, but I don't think we really need to hear about all that.”
Looking around the orange alicorn saw that her friends were looking rather green in the faces and she only then noticed the shivering form against her side. Glancing down she found her sister against her side, eyes wide in fear at what she was hearing. Using her wing she pulled her closer to her side as snug as possible, which slowly calmed the filly as she felt safer from the pressure. “Sorry about that everyone. It's just... I still have nightmares about that day and even now the thought of that place terrifies me. It's one of the reasons why I didn't want to talk about this place.”
The alicorn shivered in fear, but it slowed when she felt pressure all around her. Looking up she found that all her friends had rushed over to grab her up in a group hug. The eight mares sat like that for a few minutes before one of them finally spoke up. “You don't have to continue if you don't want to anymore.”
Glancing over at Fluttershy, the bat-winged alicorn just shook her head. “No, I'm doing better now. I've already gone this far so I might as well finish.” With a nod the yellow pegasus slowly backs away towards her seat, soon followed by the others.
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With a shriek the teen's horn lit up as an inferno blazed out of it, engulfing the figures before her. Even when there was nothing but ash the flames still poured out of her and only cut off when she felt hooves wrap around her from behind. “It's all right, it's dead. That's enough now.”
Turning back she found Daring Do holding her before her eyes teared up and she threw herself at the mare, wailing in grief. The pegasus just sat there making calming noises as she rocked the unicorn back in forth. “Shh, it's all right. It wasn't her, it couldn't have been her. This place is just messing with your mind, none of it is real.”
The two stayed like that for over an hour before the unicorn had cried herself out. While fatigue was setting in, the pegasus knew that they couldn't stop just yet. “Hey, are you going to be all right?”
The unicorn sat there for a moment before she nodded and slowly pulled away. Rising to their hooves, the two prepared to head out again when they heard voices from the hall they had just left. “Fascinating, I've never seen anything like this before yet it feels familiar for some reason. Don't get lost now, who knows what will happen if you leave my side, now, Allons-y!”
Looking down the hall they saw a brown-maned, tan stallion walk by follow by a blonde-maned, gray pegasus mare with a set of bubbles as a cutie mark. The two-
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“Wait, wait, wait! Why is Derpy in your story? It's impossible for her to be there since she was pregnant with Dinky around that time. I should know, I was with her in Cloudsdale then.” Aegis Flare looked at Rainbow Dash blankly for a moment before she looked thoughtful.
“Huh, how did I never notice that before? It might not have been our Derpy though considering how that place works though. Now can you please save any questions like that for afterwards?” Getting a nod from the mare the orange alicorn took a deep breath in as she continued her tale.
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The two mares looked at each other for a moment before following after the two ponies, but when they reached the corner they found the hall empty. “Ugh, this is getting to be annoying.”
Deciding to ignore the incident, Daring Do made her way down the hall in the direction the two weer going. The unicorn made to follow, but stopped when her hoof came into contact with something making a clattering sound. Looking down she found a blackened, cylindrical device which she picked up to examine. After turning it over and looking at the odd gem on the tip she just shrugged before tucking it away into her pack and following the pegasus.
The next few hours were spent searching the temple while finding nothing but danger and empty halls.
“Why is there a cake in the middle of the hall?”
“Ack! Bees! Not the bees!”
“Get me down from here! The spiders are getting closer!”
“Ack! Weasels! Can't you use your magic to get rid of them!”
“Not when they're fire weasels!” The two mares darted down one hall to run face-to-face with another horde.
“ZOMBIES!” The two turned and ran in another direction as a pack of zombie Daring Do and Aegis Flares chased them, and soon became flaming zombies when the weasels crashed into them.
The chase led them into another another hall where they managed to lose them as they ran by a small group of diamond dogs who were soon beset upon by the flaming zombies. Once they had traveled far enough that the sounds of screaming had stopped the two paused to regain their breath. “Well I guess that just confirms that none of those are really us. I am really starting to hate this place.”
The two started off down the hall but Aegis Flare was soon tackled from behind by a doppelganger of herself. “You won't get me this time! If I get you first then there is no way for you to kill me!”
Daring Do could only watch as the two rolled around on the ground, quickly losing sight of who was who. Trying to decide what to do the decision was taken when on of them kicked out with her rear hooves, sending the other flying over her head to land on the ground of the path ahead of the duo. The unicorn quickly rolled to her feet but was met with a loud click as her hoof landed on a pressure plate. “Oh buck!”
With a scream the floor disappeared under her, sending her screaming into the darkness below. Aegis Flare could only stare in shock at having caused the death of another, especially with it being herself, that she just locked up in shock. Seeing her freeze, Daring Do knew that she was the real ones as she grabbed her in yet another hug. “Don't think about it, just let it pass and move on for now. Think about it later.”
It took a while but the unicorn slowly recovered as tears began to flow from her eyes. Shaking off the adventurer she started to turn away from her. “Y-y-you should just leave me here. I'm just holding you back. No way should a coward like me put a brave pony like you in danger like I've been doing.”
Daring Do looked over at the unicorn for a moment before she let out a sigh and removed her helmet. “That isn't true and you know it. You've already saved my life a couple times and who knows how many more times you will in the future. And as for being scared? Well I've been scared this whole time but brave ponies have to be scared, you know why?”
Aegis Flare looked shocked for a moment but quickly shook her head in confusion at the pegasus. “A pony without fear is just reckless. A brave pony is one that is scared, but still does what needs to be done anyways while not letting that fear control them. Instead they use that fear to help them survive. You've done that already just to get this far, you might as well see it through to the end now.”
The unicorn looked unsure for a moment before she slowly nodded to Daring Do. With a smile the pegasus held out a hoof to her which she pressed her own against, feeling a bit better knowing that she wasn't the only one scared. Turning around the two prepared to go on again when they found that they had somehow reached the end of the hall and were now in a grand, treasure-filled room. “I am really starting to hate this place.”
Aegis Flare nodded along with Daring Do as the slowly creeped through the mounds of gold, jewels, and various artifacts. “There is no way all of that can be real. I've been through many temples but none of them had anything close to this, and those that were similar were just one giant death trap.”
Her words caused the young unicorn to flinch away from the object she had just been reaching out to poke with a hoof. She kept a watch on where she placed her hooves from that point on to prevent coming into contact with any of the treasure just in case. Suddenly Daring Do put a hoof in front of the unicorn as she cocked an ear, listening. With it being brought to her attention, Aegis Flare also lifted her ears and could hear some voices from up ahead. “Shoot, that must be Imperious Rex up ahead. I just hope we aren't too late.”
The two rushed forward towards a door that they saw on the other end of the room. Going through they found themselves in a smaller room, still filled with treasures, though it was different in that the center of the room was dominated by a large tree from which odd, orb-shaped fruit hung from. At the base of the tree they saw what remained of the diamond dogs along with their leader who was reaching for one of the fruits. “King Imperious Rex! Don't touch that! You don't know what it will do!”
The ruler of the Diamond Dog Empire paused when Daring Do's voice rang out and he slowly turned to glare at her. “Ah, Ms Do. I have heard much about you these past few years. Unfortunately I don not have time to deal with you so, guards? Take care of them.”
The few remaining guards looked warily at the two for a moment, but started to advance when the king's adviser blew into a whistle causing them to wince. Aegis Flare became worried at the large creatures advancing on them but Daring Do wasn't through with the ruler. “Are you crazy?! For all you know that thing will destroy us all! What do you hope to accomplish?”
The ruler glanced back at the two ponies once more before he began to reach for one of the hanging orbs. “You ponies have always thought that you ruled the world, and it is all because of that princess of yours and her immortality. But with this, I shall have control over time itself and my empire shall flourish in ways you can only dream of. With this, nothing shall be able to stand against me!”
As he said his last line his paw came into contact with the orb and it began to glow at his words. Before anyone could react, an orb of light began to expand from the orb, followed by another, and another. Where the lights passed, flesh it came into contact with began to peel away layer by layer. All the dogs watched in shock as their leader's flesh was ripped off of him,followed by muscles and even his bones were steadily worn away leaving only an outline hanging in the air with whatever gems and metal he had been wearing hanging from it. When the noticed that the orbs were still expanding it was too late for them as the same thing began to happen to them as silently as had been done to the king.
Daring Do was always a quick thinker, and when she noticed how the light only affected living or once-living object her gaze shot around the room. Spotting a large bowl big enough for the two of them, she quickly grabbed up Aegis Flare and dove into the bowl causing it to flip over the two of them. The unicorn didn't even react as she had frozen at the sight of the diamond dog king's grisly death.
The two stayed under the bowl as lights flashed along the bottom rim and soon wailing sounded through the room outside of it. After an unknown amount of time to the two, the sounds slowly trickled to a stop along with the lights and a rattling sound reached their ears. Daring Do waited a few more minutes just to be safe, before she lifted the edge of the bowl, the end away from the tree, to find that nothing seemed to be happening. Slowly rolling the bowl over, the two peered around the room to find no sign of the diamond dogs beyond the metallic objects and gems that they had been carrying.
Glancing at the tree one more time, the pegasus turned to the shivering unicorn. “I've had about enough of this place to last me a lifetime. Start grabbing anything of interest and let's get out of here. Just don't touch that tree.”
Aegis Flare shakily nodded as she began scooping interesting objects into her pack before the two fled the temple.
^^^^^^^^^^
“We soon found our way out of the temple through the front entrance, everything we went through being the rear, and made our way back to Ponyville. Daring Do was really annoyed about that and eventually learned that all her previous adventures were much the same.” Aegis Flare stood up and moved back to the case to return the book back into it before lifting the crown which Twilight eyed.
“But wait, if there was a diamond dog king, how come I never heard of him before except for in the Daring Do book?” Aegis Flare looked up from the crown to her friends before shaking her head.
“We aren't really sure, but after I got back to Ponyville a locked myself in the basement, my only contact with others was getting certain materials sent to me. From what I can tell, that tree was linked to all of time and actually granted his wish. Nobody can ever stand against him now since it erased him completely from time, not just this one but from any time-line that he existed in.” She shivered as she says this while the other mares look at each other in amazed shock.
“This crown was the one he actually wore at the time and is the only evidence he ever was real. Of course nobody believed Daring Do even with it so she sent it to me along with a message reminding me of what she told me on our adventure. 'Being brave is not the lack of fear, but feeling it and not letting it control you while using it to push forward.' Even today I have yet to find a saying that has resonated with me like that and I've tried to live by it ever since.” The alicorn returned the crown to the case before locking it once again. Before she turned away she gazed at it one more time as a shimmer moved across it and returned to her seat next to her sister.
The other alicorns weren't quite sure how to respond to the amazing story and decided to say their goodbyes to take some time to think on it before talking with her again the next day. Outside they were still quiet, some of them unusually so which didn't go unnoticed by the one most usually the quietest. “Um, Pinkie? Are you doing all right? If you don't mind my asking, I mean.”
The other four turned to look at the pink mare to find the normally hyper mare walking at a somber pace with her mane slightly deflated. “I'm doing okay, but Flarie isn't. I always knew that there was something wrong since she never truly smiled with her whole heart, but I never thought it was this bad. She wasn't just hurting all these years, but something actually broke in her. I never was able to cheer her up, even with her doing better the last couple years.”
Both Rarity and Applejack looked at each other before Applejack took a step forward. “Ah think ah might know some of why she is like that. Flare used ta be much like Fluttershy when she was younger, but after that temple she changed. It started back when her parents went missing, but since then she was always losing things. First her parents, then her foalhood, and after hearing her story she lost so much more than we realized. In fact ah think that her whole life was full of loss and even with her sister she was afraid of losing the last thing she cared for, her sister.”
She looked over to Rarity as she came up and set her hoof on her shoulder. “Applejack is right. What Pinkie said about her getting better is true as well, she has been getting better ever since Twilight moved to Ponyville. Since then she has actually been gaining more than she has lost, but the fear is still there. I'm not sure what we can do to fully heal her of her pain, but I expect that she needs something that we just can't provide.”
The mares nod to each other while looking thoughtful as they each head to their own homes.
----------
Back in the home of the two orange sisters, Scootaloo shuffled off after her sister as they headed to their rooms. Before they could party ways the young filly cleared her throat, getting her sister's attention. “Um, sis? Do... do I have to worry about what you saw happen to me in that temple?”
Aegis Flare's head shot around to look at her sister to see her trembling with fear causing her to turn around and pull her sister into a hug. “No!” She shouted out louder than she want which caused her sister to wince. Taking a deep breathe she started again at a quieter tone. “No. You never have to worry about that place again. Whatever happened in there happened to some other version of you from a different time-line. I was really lucky to survive my early years in the Everfree, but that Scootaloo? I don't think her sister was as lucky.”
Both of the two shivered at that before the young filly peered up at her sister wide-eyed. “Ca-can I I still sleep with you tonight anyways? I don't want to sleep alone tonight.”
Looking down at her sister, the older mare felt a bit of regret in allowing her sister to hear the tale of what happened before shaking her head. Lifting Scootaloo on her back she turned towards their parents room. “I don't think I would be able to sleep myself either, but I think our parents room will be a better place tonight than either of our beds.”
Soon the two sisters were curled up together in the one place they still felt safe as they dreamed of better times long lost to them both.
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Spike.
Nice! Spike has a spam filter! Or at least a man filter.
Like number 200 baby!
This story, I like it!
m.popkey.co/d2da25/GMWOb.gif
might want to fix that.
Nooooot quite.
damn just damn. I knew it was gonna be bad but just damn
good job
I have no words to describe how i dislike that damned place
May it be lost and forgotten, to never be found again, unless it's powers are needed when nothing else will work or be of any help
7908194 The next chapter will actually be dealing with some of this. There have been reasons for everything, though the clues as to why have actually been pretty sparse which may have been a mistake. Needless to say, it will feature mention of a previous character, as well as bring in a special canon character that some may be interested in.
7963090
I haven't caught all the way up to the to the last chapter released so far, but so far this is wrong. Celestia is the only one to know they exist so far. Luna, and even the Royal Guard Captains don't. Heck, in the Crystal Empire chapter, it was revealed that Celestia was letting Shining Armor, the captain of the ENTIRE day guard, which was the ONLY guard other than the black guard before Luna came back, to waste a lot of resources for years to try an incriminate someone that works directly under her...
We also don't know of any other Black Guard members, or their families other than Bon Bon. And Bon Bon mentioned that they were Disbanded years ago.
A lot of things don't add up. Celestia should be able to easily be able to keep things in check and running well. But instead we find she Disbands her greatest Guard, gives false information, or no information at all, to her Day Guards which we KNOW is pathetic and untrained in every thing from fighting to tactics to strategy to even basic thinking. It's Luna that recreated the Night Guard, not Celestia, so they don't fall under her command. And yet the Night Guard is the best Guard now and there is even a 'War' between the Day and Night Guards that Celestia does nothing about. Heck the Night Guards are the ones Training the Day Guard now.
A lot in this story is pointing to Celestia being very very stupid and not knowing what she is doing. Heck, the Captains, CAPTAINS, the LEADERS for her Secret Black OPS guard goes missing for YEARS and she does nothing about it. From investigating WHY they went missing on a DIPLOMATIC MISSION, to even Investigating how their family is, Who she HAS met before and knows about. Heck, most we hear about anything she is doing with the Elements is that she has Guards guarding them, who are so bad at it that they all fail... and made Bank Accounts WITHOUT TELLING THEM I might add.
Celestia could do so much to Protect the Elements, or help Scoots and Flare. But she never does, without much reason giving. She just... Forgot about them for years, Even after PERSONALLY sending a Letter to Flare to guide Twilight on the day of NMM's return. A lot of things are not adding up.
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I can't express how long I waited for the Daring Doo chapter. I must say I'm not disappointed. May that other Scootaloo rest in peace
as she never should have ever experienced that in any timeline.
Man...this chapter was something alright. I may be a bit desensitized after reading some more...hardcore things, but I can definitely see why Aegis was so messed up. I was thinking it was going to be some sort of time-loop, but...I don't even know what this is. And all of the different things that were seen inside...so many questions, I can see why someone as messed up as Discord would still want to stay away.
Daring Do and the Fetish of Fertility... I think that's actually a comic on derpibooru.
Don't get close to it, it's a lie
That's so inconvenient
That's even worse
7963200
Plus for supposedly the best student in Celestia school twilight is getting more of an education from flare than the school. Celestia might need to grow up and start acting like an adult. Maybe that's why Luna went bad she was keeping order and nobody appreciated all the work she did.
To quote from what'sthediff.org,
If you're reading this Fresnir can you continue to the story I really like it and there's some others who like it