Daring Do and the Sacred Stones

by Revenant Wings

Chapter 2 - The Bringer of Life and Wielder of Death

Five days later, Daring Do arrived by train once more in Canterlot. It was a pleasure to be back in the same old familiar city and a place where strange cultists or wild birds or wild creatures couldn’t immediately pose a threat to her. And she could take a rest from the last few days of exploring as her old friend Ravenhoof searched out another artifact for her to go and collect.

It was Ravenhoof who taught Daring Do everything she knew about adventuring. It was he who knew what to search for, who knew what was considered valuable or historically important, which items were lost and needed someone like Daring Do to recover. Ravenhoof considered his duty not one of wealth, but of historical importance; Daring’s latest find would be cleaned, polished, and carefully sent either to the Canterlot Archives or any number of Museums of Natural History by the end of the week with a few items that were of interest to Ravenhoof alone.

Without delay, Daring Do got off the train as soon as it stopped at Canterlot station and flew through the crowded city streets. The cold mountain air nipped at her wings and felt good after the heat and humidity of the Mesoequestrian jungles and deltas. She sniffed in the air and sighed happily, doing a few loop-de-loops in the clear skies.

But soon she spotted the house she was looking for and glided easily down. The house was a small cottage-like building with a bright red roof and an antique wood door. Daring Do stepped up to the bronze horseshoe knocker and knocked on the door three times.

“Anypony home?” Daring called. “I’m back!”

Daring Do needed only to wait a moment before the door opened and an orange unicorn stallion with twinkling green eyes and a grey mane and mustache opened the door. He smiled proudly and opened the door further. “Ah, Daring Do, how are you? You’ve returned! Come in, come in. I’ll put some tea on and you can tell me all about it.”

Daring Do followed A. B. Ravenhoof into a small, relatively clean lobby and into a larger living room that functioned much like a large museum collection room. Strange objects littered the tables scattered around, some with special boxes and frames bearing legends and folders of information. Some merely sat or stood where they were, with faces that peered out at her or weird designs that disoriented her.

One of the items that caught her interest was a strange statue seemingly made of emerald and looking like a giant snake. But instead of the snake head it had the head and wings of a majestic-looking hawk creature. In contrast to the Ahuizotl statue that Daring had brought, it looked rather regal instead of beastly in spite of being a strange mix of creatures and a noble gaze seemed to show from the delicately-carved eyes.

“That is Quetzaloatl,” A. B. Ravenhoof said. “He’s another of the Mesoequestrian gods, but I’ll explain that later.”

Daring Do turned to see the unicorn levitating a steaming teapot, two cups, and a plate of apple biscuits. He cleared a space on his desk with his hoof and took a stack of papers off the extra chair and motioned for Daring Do to sit; the pegasus was relieved to be able to sit down properly, and graciously took the cup levitated to her and sipped it. She let out a happy sigh as she tasted the sweet dandelion tea and leaned back in the chair.

“So, where is the statue?”

Daring Do took the blue statue of Ahuizotl and gave it to Ravenhoof, who carefully took it in his hooves and examined it carefully as though a jeweler looking at a fine necklace. He examined it and tapped it a few times, before smiling contentedly and setting it on the desk.

“Perfect. I’m surprised it was still there, honestly. Thought tomb raiders or the like would have made off with it by now.”

“Well, it wasn’t easy. Everything you gave me worked perfectly.”

“The small, bright crystal?”

“Worked well against the wild pink birds of the Baja Los Pegasus delta.”

“The Ring of Mesmer from Bangladesh?”

“Protected against the snakes that inhabit the delta. I have it right here.”

Daring Do made to give Ravenhoof the silvery amulet, but Ravenhoof put up a hoof to stop her. “Don’t worry about it. Keep it. It is one of those items that may be useful in your travels. But let us continue; what about the potion of speed made from the Quick Root?”

“Flew out of the encroaching forests that surrounded the basin itself.”

“Excellent! I trust it wasn’t so hard getting into the temple?”

Daring Do put a hoof to her head and rubbed it. “Well... there was a small mishap.”

“Well, what happened? Don’t stop there; tell me, tell me!”

“I came in and saw a group of ponies chanting. Their leader was Chief Darkhooves, and he said something about sacrificing them; indeed, one looked like he had a large gash on top of his head I’m quite certain was dead. He said something about a ritual to bring Ahuizotl back to life.”

Ravenhoof nodded sagely. He waited until he was sure Daring Do was done before speaking. “What did he say was involved in the ritual?”

“The statue, a very specific chant, and the blood of an honorable sacrifice. He had dripped the blood from a chisel, presumably bashed into the dead pony’s head, to finish it.”

Ravenhoof nodded. “With any luck, with the statue gone and out of the Tenochtitlan Basin, Ahuizotl will remain imprisoned. It is difficult to say what Chief Darkhooves hopes to gain by resurrecting him.”

“He said something about Princess Celestia not being the true ruler or deity of Equestria.”

Ravenhoof nodded. “The words of a madpony,” he said. “Not because one can’t have complaints against our Princess, no, but because he’s willing to go to these lengths to do it. Now, I feel like I have to explain the legend, and why it was so important to retrieve the statue.”

Ravenhoof brought over the statue of Ahuizotl and Quetzalcoatl, and arranged them on either side of his desk, along with a folder of papers. He shuffled through the papers until he found the right one, then brought a pair of reading glasses to his face.

“Ah, here it is. The Mesoequestrians have two major deities: Quetzalcoatl and Ahuizotl. Quetzalcoatl, otherwise known as the Winged Serpent, is the Creator and Bringer of Light and Life. Ahuizotl, who strangely has no other name, is the Destructor and Wielder of Darkness and Death. The two were neither good nor bad, but merely two halves of the whole. Quetzalcoatl is the yin, Ahuizotl is the yang, and so on.”

Ravenhoof shuffled through more papers. “Now, the Mesoequestrians believed this: Quetzalcoatl created the world and all of its inhabitants and ruled the world from afar. Ahuizotl commanded the legions of the dead and was responsible for keeping the world from becoming too full of itself and too overpopulated by the dead. But one day Ahuizotl will come back to life and usurp Quetzalcoatl as the true ruler, causing untold destruction. Quetzalcoatl, too weak to rule on his own, will fall, but there will come warriors who will fight for him, and help him regain his true place. Ahuizotl will be forced back to his former place, and Quetzalcoatl will reign supreme till the end of time itself.”

Ravenhoof closed his folders and leaned back. “And that’s the story. At least, what almost any book on Mesoequestria in the library will tell you. That’s why we needed it back; with these two in the same place, the world is in balance again.”

“Neat. Any other relics from that time?”

“There is this pendant.” Ravenhoof levitated a gold pendant in the shape of an eagle with a snake tail and an emerald green eye and an emerald jewel surrounded by coils. “This was worn by Mesoequestrian leaders as a sign of long life and wise ruling of their people. There are various statues and pottery and the like, but most of those are at various institutions across Equestria. I was given the pendant in exchange for my services; soon the statue of Ahuizotl will be cleaned and on display at the Canterlot Natural History museum, and I will have yet again earned my keep.”

Daring nodded. “Cool. So, you got anything else for me at the moment?”

“Nope. Nothing yet. I’d take my book on Mesoequestrian history and read over it. The story of Quetzalcoatl’s influence throughout the ages and battle with Ahuizotl is astounding. Moreover, it even extends into the Equestria that Princess Celestia rules over today.”

Daring Do nodded. “I think I will. Do you still have a room for me?”

“A room is always here if you need it. Go ahead and make yourself at home; I will be making dinner shortly and we will talk more about your experiences before the events at the Stone Spire.”

---

Three days later, a cool nighttime breeze blew through the open window of the guest bedroom at A. B. Ravenhoof’s. Daring Do lay on a rather comfortable full-sized bed, enjoying the moment of luxury in-between the journeys that fill the life of an adventurer. She slept light as was her nature but relaxed, allowing herself to enjoy the bed without ever getting too used to it; trips like the one to the Tenochtitlan Basin often had her sleep either on more uncomfortable beds or even on hard ground.

A. B. Ravenhoof always let her stay at his house between trips. She did plan to buy a house eventually, but for now saved her money and stayed in Ravenhoof’s guest suite. It was cheaper, and all Daring needed to do was fulfill whatever task or collect whatever item he wanted. Simple enough, and her eventual pay was good; Ravenhoof gave her a thirty percent cut of whatever he got paid from the various museums for bringing the items.

So Daring stayed comfortably at Ravenhoof’s house. She was allowed full use of the guest room, bathroom, upstairs office room, and library, and Ravenhoof always cooked double when she came by for meals. It was Ravenhoof’s insistence that she stayed at his place, encouraging her to make use of his library and to just relax a little while and let him take care of her between adventures, and Daring didn’t mind a few days off between long treks.

It was three days after Daring Do had returned the statue of Ahuizotl to Ravenhoof in Canterlot and Daring was in her light sleep. It was late and she’d already been asleep for a few hours; Ravenhoof had gone to bed not long prior. The statue of Ahuizotl was down below with its twin the Quetzalcoatl statue, locked away in a glass case.

Suddenly, Daring Do was aware of the soft pitter-patter of hooves and her consciousness woke but kept her eyes shut. At first it sounded as though somepony was walking across stone and assumed it was merely a late-night guard. But soon it shifted to sounding as though walking on tile. But the only tile around was the tile of the rooftops, so Daring stayed awake and stayed alert.

The hoofsteps across the tile came closer and closer. It wasn’t much longer before they stopped and Daring focused her ears towards the window. There came the subtle sound of a bow being drawn, and the gentle thunk! of it being released and something hitting the side of the house. Not much later came the sound of more muffled hoofsteps coming up the side of the house.

Daring opened one eye slightly; to the untrained eye, she would still look asleep. Through the open window came the glow of the full moon overhead. For a long while, all she saw was the moon and all she heard was the slightly muffled steps coming closer and closer. But not long after came a head peeking in through the window, an eagle feather tucked in behind each ear and red markings on his face.

Daring immediately recognized the markings as similar to those on the ponies in the Tenochtitlan Basin. So they had followed her all the way here... they probably wanted the statue back! Daring Do laid as still as she possibly could, keeping her eye slightly open, letting her mouth hang open just a little bit as though sleeping.

The pony hopped into the room and looked around. Seeing Daring Do looking asleep on the bed, he quietly walked over to her and smiled, pulling out a vial of a liquid that seemed to shine different colors in the moonlight. He quietly uncorked the bottle.

“With this, you will tell me the location of the statue,” the pony whispered, barely intelligible even to Daring. “You who sought to prevent our lord from coming back... shall now help restore him to power.”

The pony carefully positioned the vial over Daring’s mouth. But he barely had any chance; as soon as he got into position, Daring kicked out her back hoofs and smacked him square in the chest. The pony flew back and hit the wall, collapsing into a heap, the multi-colored liquid spilled all over the floor and the vial lying shattered around the room.

Daring Do got up out of the bed and rushed for the lights, confirming it indeed was one of the ponies from the Stone Spire. Daring picked up the heavy quilt from her bed and charged the pony on the floor when he started to stir, tackling him and pinning him to the ground before quickly wrapping him up in the quilt. He shuffled around and fought his confines, but Daring already had closed up the quilt around him and tied the ends of it in a knot.

Picking up her spear and the silvery Ring of Mesmer, Daring pointed the spear at the pony and waited for him to come to his senses again. “Tell me. Why are you here? What do you want?”

“Ugh... I was told it would be a simple job...” The pony groaned and squirmed around in his quilt-lined prison. “To poison you with the venom of the Tenochtitlan snakes, and use you to get the statue of Ahuizotl back.”

“Why do you need the statue? How do you know if the ritual even worked?”

“Chief Darkhooves is Ahuizotl’s ambassador. He is his right hoof, his emissary, his envoy among this world. Our lord is weak, but we need it to regain his pow- Ugk!”

The pony blanched as Daring pointed her spear to his throat and said no more. “What are you even talking about?” Daring asked. “Answer me! What do you mean about ‘regaining power’?”

It was at this time that Ravenhoof opened the door of the guest bedroom and found Daring with her spear pointed at the pony wrapped in quilts. He dashed off upon seeing the commotion, but quickly returned with a whip. “And what are you doing in my house?” he yelled, pointing at the intruder. “I’ll have you for breaking and entering!”

“Ahuizotl... Ahuizotl lives...” The pony coughed and Daring backed her wooden pole away from his throat. “Quetzalcoatl is no more, the Bringer of Destruction has been freed from his prison.”

A knock came at the door. Daring Do looked over to Ravenhoof.

“I’ll get it,” Ravenhoof said. “You keep him there; see if you can’t get any more information from him.”

Daring nodded and Ravenhoof left the room.

Daring Do focused her attention back on the cultist pony. “You say Ahuizotl lives, but he needs to regain power. What will the statue do?”

“By taking the statue, you prevented the ritual from completing. Ahuizotl lives, but is weakened. With the statue, he will be strong. There is one more piece, but we can’t go on without the statue in our possession.”

Daring Do nodded. “Well, you can tell all this information to the royal guard. Ravenhoof will get them as soon as he answers the door.”

The pony smiled viciously. “Good. Because your ‘princess’ will want to hear it... to hear the coming of her destruction.”

Ravenhoof re-entered the guest room... and with him was a royal unicorn guard with a long length of strong cord. The pony was quickly transferred from the quilt to the cord and was lifted in the air with magic. The guard left and Daring Do panted and sighed in relief.

“What did you find out?”

Daring Do let her nerves calm a little before speaking. “I didn’t stop the ritual. Ahuizotl lives, but without the statue he’s weak.”

Ravenhoof nodded. “There is a way to contain him, but I don’t know what that is. Give me a few days for research and I might send you off on another quest.”

Daring Do nodded back. “By the way, who was at the door?”

“As a matter of fact, it was the guard who took that cultist away. Turns out he had a letter for you.”

Ravenhoof brought in his magic a letter with the golden seal of Princess Celestia, the white seal of Prince Blueblood, and the blue seal of Captain of the Guard Shining Armor. It was addressed to Daring Do. Daring took the letter and swiftly opened up the top, breaking the wax seals and pulling out the letter from within.

Ms. Daring Do:

We have received word that you are an adventure archaeologist working for Professor A. B. Ravenhoof. As all our other sources are busy, we have need of your services in retrieving something for us. Please come to the specified address at ten o’clock tomorrow morning to signal your compliance with this royal order.

Comments

[PonyJosiah13]

I'll be keeping an eye on this one. You show good promise as a budding origin story for Daring Do, and I think this will turn out well.