Daring Do and The Turquoise Serpent

by Time Pony Victorious

Chapter 13 (END)

XIII

DARING DO

An Alicorn Am I

Daring Do fell to the ground, retaining her original Pegasus form; the nasty Nightmare Moon was torn from her body very much literally. Before she slammed into the ground, Luna swooped in and caught her. She looked up desperately as Danus transformed.

She laughed insanely as a black mass enveloped her and became assimilated with the changeling's body.

"The true power of the night!" Danus declared. "All mine!!"

She became Nightmare Moon right before Daring's eyes. Danus retained her changeling form; her horn became repaired and her wings remained its normal form but grew two feet longer. Her body was larger and sleeker, legs becoming much stronger and her eyes… they were as cold as the moon.

Armor morphed on her body, covering her head, shoulders, body and legs; they had the symbol of Nightmare Moon on them and a dark purple aura surrounded her body.

Danus/Nightmare Moon laughed and regarded Princess Luna as an insect.

"Oh my," Danus said cruelly, "Princess, from here you look just like a puny little bug!"

From her horn a massive fireball shot out and aimed itself at Luna and Daring. Stepping in front of Daring, Luna erected a force field that absorbed and dispelled the fireball. When the fire died, Luna's shield dissipated.

"Nightmare Moon," she said. "It is so strange seeing you in this form. Though, I must say, your taste in friends is unbecoming."

Danus shuddered as if she just drank something bad, when she spoke, her voice was altered, it was the voice of the real Nightmare Moon. "How cute Luna, trying to protect that Pegasus. Is she one of your pets?"

"Ms. Do is not a pet, she is my friend!" countered Luna.

"Friend?" Nightmare Moon hissed. “You are unworthy of such things. You are hated and who could blame you? Your own sister couldn’t put up with you and banished you to this prison. Quite frankly, I must agree with her decision. Princess Celestia is beloved, she is kind, beautiful and powerful, while you are awkward, unsightly and weak!”

Luna glared at Nightmare Moon; she refused to be manipulated, she needed to remain calm.

"Coming from the mare that is currently possessed by a changeling, I'm not sure your words are legitimate."

Nightmare Moon roared. "NOPONY CONTROLS ME, EVENING HEAVEN, WAIT PRINCESS LUNA, FOR I WILL SHOW YOU THE FOLLY OF YOUR WAYS!"

Then, Nightmare Moon released and condensed so much magic it began to corrupt the entire moon itself. Like powerful gusts, the magic shockwaves would have sent Luna flying if it wasn't for her magic protecting her and Daring. But the magic was thick, powerful and evil. Daring shuddered under Luna's hooves.

Nightmare Moon's eyes began to change; her entire body then began to morph - like a changeling's – but just before a definitive shape could be produced, her entire body shuddered. It was Danus, inside, trying to fight for control.

"No!" cried Nightmare Moon in Danus's voice. "I will not allow some little foal to corrupt me, The changeling princess!"

"You are foolishly naïve changeling!" retorted Nightmare Moon. "Did you really think it simple to control me? Did you think it would be the same as controlling the snake god Xiuhcoatl?"

She chuckled, a sound that brought chills to Luna's back, something dripping in malice and contempt. "You wish to witness the true power of Nightmare Moon? Then I shall show you."

If it were possible, everything got colder and Nightmare Moon froze in her place. After four agonizingly painful seconds, Nightmare Moon screamed in pain, but it wasn't in her voice, it was in Danus's.

She crumbled to the floor and covered her eyes, as if trying to block some horrifying image. Her scream was disturbing to even listen to; it was filled with such pain and sorrow that Luna felt sorry for her.

Luna stood. "Nightmare Moon! Stop! Do not harm her!"

In an eerie and ominous tandem, both Nightmare Moon and Danus spoke. Danus with her bloodcurdling cries and begging for mercy and Nightmare Moon's maniacal laughter.

"You seek to protect the changeling that threatened Equestria? Luna, you have gotten soft over the years!"

"Release her! Take me instead!"

Danus stopped screaming, her voice hoarse and her exhaustion made obvious by how she breathed in to desperately catch her breath.

"You were a fool for offering…" Nightmare Moon said.

Danus's body shuddered disgustingly and from her chest burst out the spirit of Nightmare Moon. It was in its ghostly form, so no physical damage was done to Danus, but Luna couldn't imagine what kind of psychological damage had been inflicted upon her.

Nightmare Moon laughed darkly as she flew toward Luna, ready to possess her. But, just as that moment, the sun emerged and instantly shone over the moon's surface. Nightmare Moon hissed and deflated from the energy of the sun; her power was decreasing! Luna's would too eventually, she needed to act fast.

Using the residual power from the eclipse, Luna zapped Nightmare Moon with all of the power she had. The stars aided in her imprisonment; as they rolled off from the galaxy, huge burning chains were formed and they wrapped around the ghost of Nightmare Moon which soon formed a physical body.

She roared and struggled against the chains which were already tethering her to the moon. "NOOOO! NOT AGAIN!!!"

They continued to wrap until Nightmare Moon was completely detained; everything was tied down and all she could do was struggle in vain and scream in agony as the burning stars sear her flesh.

Luna's power was running out; the sun was sapping it. She needed to hurry. She turned to Daring Do, who still lay unconscious, and zapped her with magic, teleporting her back to whence she came.

As Daring disappeared, Princess Luna's consciousness started to fade, her power disappear. She felt weak; she was going back to her prison as well. But, for the last time, she relished the feeling of the sun, the warmth on her face; it would be the last time she would feel it… until later.

~--~

Daring Do woke up in a castle. She was wrapped in a silky white dress in favor of her traditional uniform; she was lying on a couch that felt like sleeping on a cloud; no, felt better, and a harpist serenaded her slumber with some music. When she opened her eyes, the blinding lights gave her an intense headache and she looked around.

The place was pure white with an expensive and exquisite taste, huge doors with dragon doorknockers stand opposite of her, the harpist behind her, and, in front of her, was a beautiful mahogany table with a bowl of grapes.

"Well, this isn't the moon," she muttered.

"I would hope not," a familiar voice called out. And from the windows, Mare Do Well turned around to look at Daring. She looked terrible; her outfit was burned, her hat nearly torn to shreds and her cape was virtually gone.

But that wasn't the thing that struck her as weird; it was the fact that she was in costume and not, well, herself.

"Fl- er, Mare Do Well, what are we doing here? In fact, where is here?" Daring asked, careful not to mention Felicity's name in front of the harpist.

"This is Princess Celestia's house in Canterlot. We're here on a cordial visit."

Daring must have been messed up last night to have made it from the moon to Canterlot, but Felicity explained everything. She explained about the Sea of Chaos and Xiuhcoatl and how after she imprisoned him she woke up, with the sensation of falling, in the alley she was at initially. And only minutes after her trip to the Sea of Chaos, Daring Do fell from the sky.

Felicity had flown up and caught Daring, managing to save her. After that happened, the changeling army simply became disturbed, as if they knew their princess was defeated, and ran away. Felicity, in no condition to run and carry Daring, prepared a quick escape but the police ponies applauded her. They claimed that they witnessed Daring Do's and Mare Do Well's actions against the changelings and vouched for them.

It was then that Celestia's personal carriage had arrived, picked them up and brought them here. It had been a few hours since then and Daring was asleep the entire time.

"Okay… But why would the princess bring us here-"

"Excuse me," a unicorn stepped inside the room looking down at a clipboard, not paying particular attention to them. She wore thick glasses and had a fiery red mane with a silver coat; her cutie mark was a clipboard. "Are you all right to walk? Because the princess is ready to see you, despite my warnings." She mentioned indignantly.

"Oh, um, yeah," Daring stood up from the couch but nearly stumbled and fell. Felicity was immediately at her side and helped her up; either Daring had lost half her body weight or Felicity was really strong because she held her up with no effort.

"Whoa, you okay?" Felicity asked. Daring's sight cleared, her dizziness subsided but she felt nervous for some reason. Felicity being this close made her... uncomfortable.

She cleared her throat. "Um, yeah, yeah I'm good. We should go though, the princess is waiting, right? Uh…"

"Noteworthy," the unicorn answered. "I am Princess Celestia's personal assistant." She said, puffing out her chest with pride.

"Oh, uh, cool." Daring looked at Felicity and gave her a coy look, like 'can-you-believe-it?'

The two followed Noteworthy into the hallway and up a crazy amount of stairs. Felicity still carried Daring while Noteworthy was in front of them humming to herself. She wasn't out of ear-shot but she wasn't paying attention to them either.

"Has anypony, you know, taken off your mask?" she asked quietly. "You know, while you were in the Sea of Chaos. You were still sitting in that alley, completely vulnerable."

"Don't worry, my secret is safe. Besides, I have back-up system preventing anypony but me from removing the mask."

"Oh, what would happen, a gas comes out to knock them out or something?" Daring laughed but Felicity remained quiet. "Uh, aren't you uh… joking..?"

She looked at Dare and had an obvious smile under her mask. "Something like that."

They finally reached the top of the tower and were led to a door with a crude and frayed sign that said, in a filly's writing it seems. "Princess Celestia's Room"

Princess was misspelled.

Without knocking, Noteworthy just opened the door and walked right in.

Unlike the rest of the castle, this place was the humblest of them all. It was a simple large round room with dark purple wallpaper and carpeting; on the ceiling was a mural of the night sky which included accurate constellations of Orion, Heracles, and the Little Dipper. To the immediate right was a bright pink dresser with a large round mirror on it; on the dresser itself were a bunch of stuffed dolls and pictures of ponies. The pictures were strange, as there was a picture of Felicity as a filly and another of her when she was older, perhaps a teenager.

There were a bunch of clothes strewed all over the floor, a walk in closet to the father right that was slightly ajar; Daring could see a few more clothes just piled up inside. To the left were the windows and another large dresser that had a bunch of scrolls and letters on it. The windows were as tall as the room but the curtains were drawn. And in front of them was the bed; it was a huge super queen sized bed that could probably fit six ponies!

Adhering to the theme in this room, the comforters and blankets were purple -except for the pillows, which were pink. There was a canopy overhead with a, as expected, purple cover. Beside the bed was a night stand that was a complete mess; as half eaten cakes lay littered all over it. And finally, Princess Celestia was sitting on the bed looking like… well, a normal pony.

Whenever Daring saw Celestia, she always had this regal air about her, and it wasn't because she was a princess. She just looked confident, strong, like a born leader. Her perfect figure, her beautiful literally flowing mane, and her elegant eyes that looked like they have seen everything (which Daring didn't doubt).

But now she looked absolutely… normal.

Her mane wasn't flowing and completely flat, plastered to the bed, her eyes were bored and tired, she was slouched reading a good book while simultaneously eating cake and when she looked at Noteworthy and company, she gave a warm and familiar smile; like an older sister greeting her younger sister.

"Oh, hello my little ponies, so lovely to see you here," greeted Celestia warmly.

It was all Daring could do to stop her from saying something stupid.

"Your mane isn't flowing."

Yep, something like that.

Celestia giggled and dismissed Noteworthy who begrudgingly reminded the princess that she needed sleep.

"Whenever I am here," she gestured to the room. "I tend to avoid formalities. My mane being one of them; you have no idea how difficult it is to maintain a flowing mane constantly."

"My princess," Felicity said stiffly. "Might I ask why you brought us here?"

Celestia looked at Felicity. "Come over here Mare Do Well."

Felicity complied and trotted over to the bed.

"I have heard a great deal about you Mare Do Well," Celestia began. "Of your heroics and good deeds in Manehattan. I have even heard your recently endeavor with the turquoise serpent. The reason I called you two here is to personally thank and congratulate you for your heroics."

Daring's face lit up with a smile but Celestia wasn't finished.

"But, as mentioned, in this room, I tend to avoid formalities. So, Mare Do Well, don't not speak to me as your alter ego, but rather as-" as quick as thought, Celestia leaned in, grabbed Felicity's mask with her mouth, and pulled it off; Felicity yelped and jumped back while Daring gasped. "-my star pupil, Felicity Peridot."

"Wait, you were one of her personal students?" asked Daring.

Felicity sheepishly nodded but turned to Celestia. "How did you know it was me?"

Celestia smiled and jutted her chin upwards with pride, "Oh please Fleece. Do you really think I wouldn't be able to recognize you with or without mask?"

Felicity blushed.

"Now then, I think congratulations are in order. I thank you for your services Ms. Peridot and Ms. Do; you have shown exemplary skills in your battles and have proven to be a force to be reckoned with. You will be honored with medals at a ceremony later, but, for now, do you want some cake?"

Daring almost took the offer for cake but stopped herself, "Wait, but what happened to Danus? And Princess Luna? And Nightmare Moon? What's with the moon anyways? Why could I breathe on there? And is that chocolate cake?"

Celestia took another bite of cake. "The changeling princess Danus has been trapped on the moon, with Nightmare Moon, and reverted back to her stony form thanks to Luna's last burst of magic. Consequently, the souls she had taken for her revival had returned to the hosts when she was imprisoned. Luna, being tethered to Nightmare Moon, is, sadly, trapped there as well."

She looked down at the thought of Luna, sad, but she tried to smile bravely. "As for the moon, it is quite simple really. Nightmare Moon's power is so strong that it condenses around the moon to such an extent it created an atmosphere similar to Earth. And yes, this is chocolate cake."

Daring gratefully took the cake and ate it.

"But Princess, what would drive the princess into doing something like this?" Felicity asked. "I mean, how twisted would you have to be to do that?"

"I don't pretend to understand the princess's motives," Celestia answered. "But you must empathize with the princess in order to understand her. Her appearance, firstly, she seems battered and broken; remember her horn. If I had to guess, she may have been mistreated by the ponies of her time which drove her to insanity. Ponies back then weren't very tolerate of changelings, so their mistreatment was common. There was one colt who managed to charm her."

"Who?" Dare asked.

She pointed at Daring's chest. "You are wearing his amulet."

Daring looked at her chest and it was as she said; Arion's amulet hung there comfortably.

"But, she was still warped and obsessed with revenge that upon her imprisonment, she swore to achieve her goal even if it took her eons. Her changeling army must have been working on a revival plan for centuries before finally utilizing it before my solar eclipse."

They let that thought sit for a while. Daring wondered what it would take to drive Danus over the edge, to dedicate her entire life on revenge. It was depressing, and she actually felt bad for Danus. Maybe they could have been friends if they met under different circumstances.

"But, that is enough depressing conversation. We should talk about your rewards."

"What rewards?"

Celestia's eyes twinkled mischievously and Daring got a feeling she would enjoy these rewards.

~--~

In front of the Canterlot castle a press conference was held. Hundreds of ponies gathered and plenty of the media showed up. Celestia showed up as her usual immaculate self, perfect and unattainable. A harmony of pictures snapped as Celestia stepped out in front of the podium with Daring Do and Mare Do Well on either side of her.

Despite Noteworthy's attempts to keep her in bed, Celestia had insisted on holding this conference to honor the heroes worthy herself.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," Celestia's said into the microphone, her voice booming throughout the garden. "Thanks to the efforts of these two mares-" her wings opened to show Mare Do Well and Daring Do, "-The chaos that ensued from the changeling princess, Danus, and her army was swiftly put to a stop. We must honor these heroes, and the first thing that is in order is to pardon Mare Do Well and to note that she is a true hero, not a masked menace."

The ponies clamored and asked a dozen questions about why the changelings would attack and if that would strain Celestia's already shaky relationship with them. Celestia put a hoof up to silence them.

"The details on why the changeling princess would do this will not be discussed, nor my relationship with the changelings. This conference is simply a formality and its intent is to give these two mares what they deserve."

Daring had a feeling that somewhere in Manehattan, J.J.'s mouth dropped to the ground. Having the support of Princess Celestia to continue your heroics and having her officially declare that Mare Do Well isn't a menace to begin with was the most amazing thing Felicity could get!

She looked over at Mare Do Well who stood stoically besides the princess but she knew that underneath that mask was a smile as wide as a mile.

"And, it is a great honor to bestow upon them the Royal Canterlot Distinguished Pony Medal." Noteworthy, approaching Celestia with a box, levitated out of it two gold medals with the Canterlot castle on one side and the impression of Celestia's face on the other.

Celestia took the medals, turned to face the mares, and placed them both around their necks. She leaned forward and whispered. "There, that should help your reputation out some."

She stood straight and winked at the mares, before turning back to the crowd and bowing as the crowd cheered.

"Not bad for a day's work huh?" Daring asked. She turned to look at Felicity but she was gone. The pony crowd gasped as they looked at the top of the Canterlot castle, as the Mysterious Mare Do Well stood atop the highest point, cape fluttering in the wind.

"She loves theatrics..." Dare mumbled.

Felicity then jumped from the castle and flew away heroically, thus solidifying her position as hero of Canterlot.

~--~

After an exhausting party, Daring finally found herself back home. She trotted in her room to find Calypso grooming herself delicately.

"AWWK! Thieving Mare!" Calypso squawked.

"No, turns out she wasn't the thief," Daring answered; she took a cracker from atop a dresser and gave it to Calypso who ate it swiftly. "She was a pretty cool mare."

"AWWK! Egghead!"

"Yeah, Herpy is just fine. Visited him in the hospital, he'll be out in a few days; he's just concerned with his final paper. Once an egghead, always an egghead huh?"

Growing tired of the interrogation, Calypso began to groom her wings again, but not before saying. "AWWK! Thieving Mare!"

Turning around, Daring saw Felicity standing at the door. Not as Mare Do Well, but as Felicity the journalist. Felicity gave her a shy smile but Daring wore a disgruntled expression. "So, you leave me alone at the mercy of those stuck-up ponies, break into my house and sneak up behind me for what, huh?"

She walked up to Felicity and jokingly jabbed her shoulder. "Sheesh, you could've at least taken me with you."

Felicity smiled wider and did something Daring hadn't expected; she hugged her.

"Sorry, I don't do well in crowds," Felicity admitted. "Neither does Mare Do Well."

Daring hugged her back. "It's cool. But hey, what are you doing here? How did you break in my house..."

Felicity winked. "I'm Mare Do Well okay? I can do anything."

"AWWK! Key under the mat!" Calypso explained.

"Which includes finding keys under the mat." The mares laughed. It was nice to finally get some downtime and after saving the entire world; enjoying a laugh with a friend was the best thing they could do.

Before they knew it, the two mares were having a slumber party in her room. They had done makeovers, had s'mores, and played games. It was Felicity's first slumber party, apparently, and it was an absolute joy!

It was relaxing not having to worry about giant snakes trying to eat the sun or crazy changelings trying to destroy the world. Felicity was a good friend; awkward and a bit clumsy, but cool and sweet.

She had explained that J.J. had stopped with the Mare Do Well pieces and allowed Felicity to write whatever she wants. Ironically enough, Felicity wrote about the whole fiasco with the turquoise serpent and Mare Do Well. Flair had quickly recovered, because of his Minotaur size, and was quickly back in the game but was photographing a lot of different things other than Mare Do Well.

"What about you, and the amulet?" Felicity asked. "It is an insanely powerful device, if anypony were to get their hooves on them."

"It is locked up safely in the Canterlot University, where nopony would find it. I hate doing this, but I had a duplicate made so it would be put on display while the real one is hidden. But anyways, what about you? When are you heading back to Manehattan? Are you going to continue this whole Mare Do Well shtick?"

Felicity fiddled with her mane for a few moments before answering. "I'm heading back tomorrow and, yeah, I think I'll continue this hero business for a little while longer."

"It's dangerous though, I mean, you could get seriously hurt," she protested.

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Please, coming from you? Ms. Recklessly-Charge-The-Changeling-Princess?"

"Okay, okay, but I don't go looking for danger, it finds me. What you're doing would require you to literally look and combat danger every night. That's a lot more dangerous."

Standing up and walking to the window, Daring saw a quiet and confident expression on Felicity's face. "I've got to do this. If I have the power to help ponies, I should, you know? Why did you help me with Danus if you knew it would put you in danger?"

"Herpy and all of the other ponies would be in danger if I had let Danus go," Dare explained. "I couldn't just sit by and let her cause havoc."

"Exactly." Felicity looked at Dare with such a serious expression, it was unnerving. "And I couldn't let anypony get in danger. Not Herpy, not Flair, or you. If I have a chance to help ponies, I'm going to do it."

Dare's worries subsided for now. She still wasn't convinced, but she found herself agreeing with Felicity. She wouldn't be able to let her get hurt either.

"Well, just know that if you ever need an adventurer to help, you can always call me. We're the best of friends right?"

Felicity smiled. "Yes, we are."

And for the first time in a long time, Daring had a good night's sleep.

Another day, another victory.