The Phoenix King

by Turtlehaus

Chapter 20: Daring Plan

Deep within the jungle several hard at work henchponies were digging away at the small clearing of dirt, excavating the land and chopping away the overgrowth that lingered. The henchpony's attire wasn't all that complicated, there was a headband here, some face paint there, some feather, a bit of jewelry, and they were ready to rough some ponies up. Although several wagons full of dirt, splintered wood, and stone were currently being carted up from the site by these henchponies, and being dumped haphazardly a couple yards away. The sounds of tools, metal striking rock, echoed across the jungle as the henchponies dug ever on.

It seemed like back breaking work, but for their leader, Ahuizotl, merely stood off to the side to supervise the site. Ahuizotl had an elongated dog-like head; he walked on all fours, having dog-like hind limbs, and ape-like forelimbs. His fur was a dark blue, while lighter in some areas, his golden jewelry sparkled in the sun, as his tail hand a monkey-like fist waving at its end.

"No pony gets a break until we find the key!" Ahuizotl shouted angrily, shaking his fist menacingly.

"What's this 'we' stuff?" A henchpony mumbled under his breath; driving a pickaxe into the dirt.

"I'd like to see him pick up a shovel for once." The henchpony beside him murmured.

"Soon, I will have the Heart of the Jungle in my possession and all of Equestria will tremble before me!" Ahuizotl declared loudly, laughing maniacally.

"Drop out of school you said, henchponies is where the money is at, you said." Another henchpony said sarcastically.

"How was I supposed to know henchponies make only five figures annually?" Asked the henchpony standing beside him.

"Less talking and more digging!" Ahuizotl warned them.

Several yards away, just behind the tree line, Daring Do, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack hid surveying Ahuizotl's encampment. Daring Do had some small branches of leaves tucked into her hat to better conceal herself while Rainbow Dash took more of a guerilla tactic and covered herself in mud and leaves. Applejack didn't really see the need for covering herself in mud and chose to keep her head down like a normal pony.

"So what's Ahuizotl looking for?" Rainbow Dash asked in a whisper.

"I think he said something about a key, which is a good sign seeing as he doesn't have the Heart of the Jungle yet." Daring Do whispered back, taking out a pair of binoculars.

"He talks so loud it's a surprise not every pony in the jungle knows about it." Applejack mentioned.

Focusing her binoculars, Daring Do peered through the lenses to get a better look. By her count there were at least twelve henchponies working the dig site, and looking none too happy about it either. She focused her sights on Ahuizotl who continued to bark orders at his henchponies as his tail fist clutched a rolled up piece of parchment.

"He's got something in his stupid monkey paw." Daring Do reported.

"Can you see what it is?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm not sure but I'll bet my hat it's a map of some kind." Daring Do whispered.

"A map to what?" Rainbow Dash asked excitedly.

"I'm not sure, but I'll take a guess and say it marks the locations of these clues." Daring Do answered, lowering her binoculars.

"Do you see any of the missing Jungle Ponies?" Applejack asked curiously.

Daring Do scanned the dig site. It was clear that the only ponies that were shoveling dirt and picking rocks were the henchponies, and there didn't seem to be any cages with trapped ponies. Not liking the weird feeling in her gut, Daring Do shook her head no.

"The Jungle Ponies are not here." Daring Do reported.

"Does that mean that the Hom Dai really got to them first?" Rainbow Dash asked in a horrified whisper.

"It's too early to jump to any conclusions; they might have saw signs of trouble and hightailed it out of here. For the meantime, our job is to ensure that Ahuizotl doesn't get his big dumb hands on the Heart of the Jungle." Daring Do informed her.

"So what's the plan, then?" Applejack asked.

"We need to gather more information on what Ahuizotl knows, and what these clues will ultimately lead him to." Daring Do stated.

"How are we going to do that?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

Raising her binoculars once more, Daring Do searched the campsite in hopes to find something to help them out. Spying some laundry hanging on the line, Daring Do suddenly had an idea.

"I'm going in." Daring Do whispered to them; giving Rainbow Dash the binoculars. "Don't follow me, just stay right here."

"What are you going to do?" Applejack asked, sounding concerned.

Daring Do took off her hat, her shirt, tossing them to Applejack before gathering up some mud from the ground and using it to obscure her cutie mark. Signaling Rainbow Dash and Applejack to remain quiet, Daring Do got down low and crawled on her stomach out from the brush towards the campsite. The extra dirt helped her to blend in with the other henchponies that had been digging all day, but for her disguise to really work she needed to get some of their garbs.

Ahuizotl whipped open the parchment in his tail-hand in front of him. The map in his possession was very old, but it did not stop Ahuizotl from drawing on it with a marker. With two big x's crossed off the images depicting two temples, Ahuizotl traced his finger to the remaining temple upon the map that was crudely circled with ink.

"It won't be long now." Ahuizotl whispered to himself, unable to contain an evil grin.

Ahuizotl threw back his head for an overly dramatic evil villain's laugh that scared a flock of birds from the treetops around them. The henchponies from down in the dig site overheard Ahuizotl's laughing and rolled their eyes collectively.

"Easy for him to say, he's not the one having to dig through solid rock with second hoof tools." A henchpony remarked disdainfully.

"You said it, Mugsy." Another henchpony agreed with him.

"It's been three days and we haven't seen so much as a hint of gold; this is a joke." Mugsy the henchpony said disdainfully. "I remember signing up for piles of cash and knocking some heads together. Not this digging and picking stuff."

Several henchponies mumbled in agreement.

"Sounds like we're not getting what we were promised." A voice chimed in.

Mugsy the henchpony, along with many others, looked over to see where the unfamiliar voice had come from. In her disguise, Daring Do was chipping away at some rock with a pickaxe, committing to her persona of just being one of the henchponies.

"You say something, bub?" Mugsy asked in a rough and tough manner.

"All I was saying is that I didn't sign up to be a slave is all." Daring Do replied again, speaking in a lower register to disguise her voice.

"I ain't no pony's slave!" Mugsy remarked taking offense to the idea.

Mugsy stepped up to her, throwing out his chest, feeling his tough colt status being questioned. Some of the henchponies were now coming over to see if a fight was about to break out, but Daring Do kept her cool; standing hoof to hoof with him.

"You talk big but you're down here in the pit just like us, bud." Daring Do informed him; tossing her pickaxe on the ground.

There was a collective 'oooo' from every henchpony. Mugsy was looking rather frustrated now, looking for something to say to make him sound tough without making promise he knew he couldn't keep.

"Yeah… well… that blue monkey… dog… thing is on my last nerve!" Mugsy announced, trying to win back the crowd.

"Yeah!" All the henchponies declared in unison.

"But what can we do?" A henchpony asked, hoping for an answer.

"We could… we could… uh…" Mugsy took a moment to think about it.

Daring Do leaned over to Mugsy to whisper to him.

"You can unionize." Daring Do whispered to him.

"We can unionize!" Mugsy shouted to the other henchponies.

All the henchponies cheered in support of this idea, tossing their tools to the ground and stomping their hooves.

"What does that mean?" A henchpony asked from the crowd.

"Uh… it means uh…" Mugsy mumbled again trying to think hard.

"It means that you can stop working until Ahuizotl treats you better." Daring Do whispered to him once again.

"It means that we don't have to work anymore until Ahuizotl meets our demands!" Mugsy shouted, watching all the henchponies cheer him on.

"You should start right now." Daring Do whispered to him.

"And I'm going to go make these demands right now!" Mugsy declared.

The henchponies cheered once more, stomping their hooves and high hoofing each other.

"What are our demands?" A henchpony asked from the crowd.

"Uh… uh… um…" Mugsy thought about it, looking over at the disguised Daring Do for help.

"… dental?" Daring Do offered with a shrug.

"Dental plans for every pony!" Mugsy cried.

The henchponies cheered in agreement. Mugsy marched off with the herd of henchponies at his back to confront Ahuizotl, while Daring Do quietly hung back to survey the dig site more thoroughly. It was apparent that the temple that once stood here had fallen many years ago, with all the rain and mud having covered most of it. Taking in the area, Daring Do was able to map out in her head the foundation that temple once had.

"What in Equestria is Ahuizotl looking for?" Daring Do whispered to herself.

Ahuizotl was still snickering to himself over the idea of having the Heart of the Jungle in his possession when he felt a tug on his tail from behind. Glancing over his shoulder, Ahuizotl saw a henchpony waiting to speak with him. Quickly putting away his smile, Ahuizotl turned to the henchpony putting on his menacing face.

"Sir?" Mugsy spoke up.

"What? What is it, Mugsy?" Ahuizotl asked rolling up the map.

"The other henchponies and I have decided to unionize." Mugsy remarked.

"How dare you utter such filth in my presence?" Ahuizotl gasped in disgust.

"Look, sir, it's been two weeks of dead ends, petty theft, and long hours with no overtime. We're not going to stand for it anymore." Mugsy informed him.

Ahuizotl could see all his henchponies tossing their tools down, not looking all that happy with him. Pulling on his golden collars nervously, Ahuizotl wrapped his arm around Mugsy in a friendly manner.

"Well… it's been a bit of a dry streak for us, what can I say?" Ahuizotl remarked nervously.

"That you're going to be making some changes around here, changes that we want." Mugsy declared with every henchpony nodding their head in agreement.

"You are absolutely right, Mugsy, I must have caught some sort of… jungle fever out here. I've been pushing you ponies way too hard. What do you say we break for lunch and pick this up later?" Ahuizotl asked, trying to come off as charming; hoping to steer them away from forming their own union.

"We also want to talk about a dental plan." Mugsy added, with the rest of the henchponies nodding their heads.

Rainbow Dash zoomed in with her binoculars to see the henchponies leaving the dig site with Ahuizotl, they all seemed to be discussing something with one another. Searching around for any sign of Daring Do, but came up empty.

"What do you see, Rainbow Dash?" Applejack asked curiously.

"The henchponies are moving back to camp with Ahuizotl, but I don't see Daring Do with them." Rainbow Dash reported.

"Is she still over by the dig site?" Applejack asked curiously.

Swinging her view towards the dig site, Rainbow Dash could see the top of Daring Do's head peeking out from the lip of the pit. Waving her hoof in their direction, Rainbow Dash could see that she was calling them over.

"You were right, Applejack. Daring Do is still over there and I think she wants us to join her." Rainbow Dash replied, passing her the binoculars to take a look.

"We're going to have to make our way along the tree line before we try to make our way over." Applejack pointed out, peering through the binoculars to see Daring Do still trying to signal them.

Keeping their heads low, Applejack and Rainbow Dash moved down the tree line closer towards the dig site. Daring Do waited patiently for them, keeping an eye out for any henchponies that may have been wandering about. With the all clear signaled by Daring Do, Applejack and Rainbow Dash dashed out from the tree line, making their way over to the lip of the pit before dropping in.

"We'll have to be quick; I'm not sure how long every pony will be gone for." Daring Do said quickly and quietly.

Applejack offered her hat and shirt back to, which Daring Do was more than happy to put back on while wiping the headband and feather from herself.

"What exactly are they looking for?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously, looking at all the uncovered temple stones still wedged within the ground.

"That's what we're here to find out. From the layout of this place, it's safe to say that this is the main plaza, which means that the wall over there is our best bet at finding the next part of this temple." Daring Do explained to them.

"You mean that giant wall of rock?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking skeptical.

"It doesn't appear to look like much, which is why the henchponies dug down instead of out, but it's actually a wall mural that has been lost to time and nature. Our only problem is that the jungle ponies used rocks to make this place and sealed the room with even more rocks." Daring Do stated, walking them over to the rock face at the end of the dig site.

"So we're going to have to dig this out ourselves?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking at the solid rock wall in front of her.

"Yep, and as an added bonus we can't make too much noise or risk being discovered." Daring Do added, picking up a pickaxe.

"This is going to take all day, there's no way we're going to get through before Ahuizotl catches us." Rainbow Dash remarked, shaking her head at the idea.

"Stand aside partner, I've got this." Applejack said, placing her hoof on Daring Do's pickaxe to have her step back.

Applejack placed her ear upon the rock wall, lightly tapping it with her hoof, listening carefully as she slowly moved over every now and again.

"Applejack, what are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking very confused.

"I didn't spend all that time working with Roman and his stone cutter ponies not to pick up on a couple of things." Applejack remarked, tapping her hoof against the wall again.

"What is she talking about?" Daring Do asked looking equally confused.

With a tap of her hoof, Applejack noticed a difference within the rock. Taking several steps back, signaling to Daring Do and Rainbow Dash to give her room. Bending her knees slightly, focusing on a specific point on the wall, Applejack leaped forward, turning on a dime and kicked the rock with tremendous force. From the impact of her hoof, the rock wall split almost immediately, several more cracks webbing its way out from the center before beginning to crumble away. As the rocks fell, it revealed a room behind it; a dirt cloud billowing its way out before them.

"Applejack that was amazing!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Shush! We're trying to keep a low profile here!" Daring Do hissed at her.

"Sorry." Rainbow Dash whispered back, covering her mouth with her hooves.

"That was a good kick though, Applejack." Daring Do remarked walking past her into the hidden room.

Applejack tipped her hat to Daring Do before following her into the hidden room with Rainbow Dash striding up beside her.

"How did you do that?" Rainbow Dash asked, still reeling from her amazing feat.

"When Tiff was getting his dam built back in the Ashen Fields, there wasn't much else to do but sit around and wait, but I ain't about that, so I decided to pitch in where I could. Roman showed me some basic kicks for breaking stones, and I picked it up pretty quick." Applejack explained.

"You got to show me how to do that." Rainbow Dash said excitedly.

"I got to say though, if I had to choose between bucking trees or rocks, trees win it hooves down." Applejack replied.

The hidden room was rather large, the light from outside only bathed the entrance of the room and nothing else. Daring Do put the pickaxe on the ground, giving it a rather forceful kick near the top, snapping the wood in two. Wrapping some of the henchponies garments around the top of the stick, she retrieved some flint and steel from her shirt pocket and struck some sparks upon it. The garments caught fire, making her impromptu torch roar to life.

"Alright, we need to search this room for anything that looks important." Daring Do stated, turning to the two of them.

"Right." Applejack and Rainbow Dash said together.

Daring Do jumped up into the air, hovering just a ways off the ground, trying to provide the maximum amount of light for every pony as they searched. The room itself was filled with very old objects, everything from plates, pots, statues, and even some ancient cloths could be found lying about.

"It seems more like a storage room then a temple." Applejack remarked, removing some cobwebs from a pot.

"It would help if we knew what we were looking for." Rainbow Dash remarked; pushing some pots aside to look at an old rolled up tarp.

Daring Do waved the torch around, trying to scan the room, when something shimmered from the far end of the wall. Waving her torch once more, the shimmer appeared each time. Quickly soaring down to the far wall, Daring Do held up her torch to see an undamaged mural before her. It was a painting, depicting the Hom Dai, each mask different in both color and style. The jungle was there back drop while the center piece was what caught her eye.

"I think I found what Ahuizotl was looking for." Daring Do remarked, catching both Applejack's and Rainbow Dash's attention.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack strode up along-side her to see a feint shimmer reflecting the torch light.

"Those look like the masks we saw from yesterday." Applejack stated, looking over the mural.

"There are some inscriptions here." Daring Do mumbled, tracing her hoof over the engravings.

"Can you read it?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

"My ancient Jungle Pony is a bit rusty but I think I can get the idea." Daring Do mentioned, carefully looking it over.

"What's it say?" Applejack asked after a couple moments of silence.

"It says something along the lines of 'whoever disturbs the Heart of the Jungle calls upon the Hom Dai to cleanse it' or something. I'm just paraphrasing." Daring Do stated.

Rubbing her hoof against the wall to read more, the shimmer started to grow, every pony gasped at what was beneath it. A solid ruby, shaped like a tear drop, nearly the size of a watermelon, fitted within the wall.

"Rarity is going to flip when she hears about this." Applejack mentioned, giving a sharp whistle at the sight of it.

Daring Do passed the torch to Rainbow Dash, taking extreme care, she tapped the gem several times to work it out of the wall before catching it as it slipped out. The weight was intense; the flames from the torch reflected the red light all about the room as the three ponies stared at it in wonder.

"That must be worth over a million bits!" Rainbow remarked, marveled by it.

"Chump change compared to the Heart of the Jungle." Ahuizotl's voice drifted into the room.

Daring Do whipped around to see Ahuizotl and his henchponies standing at the entrance. A mixture of sour looks and sneers were worn upon every henchpony as Ahuizotl towered behind them. Applejack and Rainbow Dash stepped forward, putting themselves in front of Daring Do who held the ruby.

"Daring Do, how nice of you to find my gemstone." Ahuizotl began his pleasantries.

"How dumb of you to think I'll be handing this over." Daring Do remarked.

"You cannot stop me this time, Daring Dope, the Heart of the Jungle shall be mine and you will kneel before my awesome power!" Ahuizotl shouted in revelry.

"Ahem!" Mugsy cleared his throat.

"Right, right." Ahuizotl remarked nodding to him. "You shall be kneeling before our awesome power!"

They were outnumbered three to one, and their only means of escape was currently blocked. To make matters worse, the ruby was rather heavy, which was going to slow Daring Do down, but also make it difficult to put down, and not have some henchpony try to steal it while they were distracted.

"Do we have a plan to get out of here?" Applejack whispered, not liking the odds.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking." Daring Do whispered back, looking around the room.

"Enough of these semantics! Daring Do, you and your friends will hand over that gemstone or we shall have to take it from you by force!" Ahuizotl declared, raising his fist at her in fierce determination.

"You'll have to catch us first!" Rainbow Dash shouted suddenly.

With a hard flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash snuffed out the torch, throwing the whole room back into a blanket of darkness; successfully catching every pony by surprise.

"Rainbow Dash! What are you doing?" Daring Do hissed at her.

"Buying us some time. They won't be able to find us in the dark very quickly." Rainbow Dash remarked.

Sure enough, the henchponies were hesitant to rush in. Daring Do could see them squinting hard, trying to focus their eyes to the darkness. It turned out to be a good idea on Rainbow Dash's part after all.

"Find them! Bring me that gemstone!" Ahuizotl shouted, pointing his henchponies to brave the darkness.

"I didn't bring a torch, did you bring a torch?" A henchpony asked another.

"Forget the stupid torches! Just catch them!" Ahuizotl shouted angrily.

Several henchponies rushed into the darkness, disappearing from sight, when several crashes were heard of ponies tripping over themselves into piles of junk.

"I can't see anything!" A henchpony shouted from within the dark room.

"I think I found them!" Another henchpony shouted.

"That's me you dolt!" A rather angry henchpony replied.

Daring Do could see the rest of the henchponies were having seconds thoughts about running in, which gave her an idea.

"Applejack, hold onto the ruby. Rainbow Dash, come with me." Daring Do said quickly, passing the ruby to her.

"What are you waiting for? Get in there!" Ahuizotl shouted in frustration.

"I'm not going in there, not without a torch or something." A henchpony remarked.

"That ruby could buy you a lifetime supply of torches! Now get in there!" Ahuizotl shouted at them.

With the promise of a big pay day, the henchponies moved in. Just as they did so, a large tarp went sailing over their heads, draping over them and blinding them. The henchponies struggled beneath the tarp, bumping into one another while trying to fight their way out from beneath it. Ahuizotl rubbed his temples, feeling very agitated by this point.

"You can't stay in there forever, Daring Do! You'll have to come out eventually!" Ahuizotl shouted.

"Put a lid on it!" Daring Do shouted from the darkness.

Squinting to see, Ahuizotl saw a pot come flying right at him and landing on his head. Ahuizotl's angry voice was muffled by the pot, struggling to remove it from his head; flailing about.

With a loud pop, Ahuizotl pulled the pot off his head to see Applejack's foot flying right at him. Rainbow Dash and Daring Do flew by, carrying Applejack by the arms, giving her the chance to kick Ahuizotl square in the face. Her hoof flattened his nose, sending him reeling on the spot, before crashing down hard on the ground. Daring Do and Rainbow Dash put her down just outside the entrance, the ruby wrapped in an old piece of tarp, slung around Daring Do's back.

"Let's get out of here!" Daring Do shouted, racing up the dirt path.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were galloping close behind her when Rainbow Dash stopped hard and turned back. Applejack slid to a stop, looking over her shoulder to see her racing back towards Ahuizotl.

"Rainbow Dash! What are you doing?" Applejack called after her.

Landing next to Ahuizotl, Rainbow Dash plucked the map being held by his fist-tail.

"I'll be taking that." Rainbow Dash stated in a matter of fact tone.

"Easy squeezy lemon peezy…" Ahuizotl mumbled, still dazed from Applejack's kick.

With the henchponies becoming unraveled from their net like tarp, Rainbow Dash took to the air once more; soaring after Daring Do and Applejack who raced off into the jungle. Ahuizotl lay sprawled upon the ground, looking rather discombobulated while his henchponies tried to slap him back to his senses. After a couple of solid whacks, Ahuizotl started to come around, rubbing his head and regaining his composure.

"Where are they? Where's the gemstone?" Ahuizotl asked aloud.

"They got away, sir." Mugsy spoke up.

With all three of his hands suddenly clenching into fists, Ahuizotl gritted his teeth in anger as his face started to turn purple. Leaning his head back, raising his arms into the air in frustration, screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Daring Doooooooooooo!" Ahuizotl cried.

Ahuizotl's voice could be heard echoing through the jungle, much to the amusement of Daring Do. Together, the three of them raced through the trees, trying to put a fair distance between them and the dig site. After a while, Daring Do had slowed down, winded and almost out of breath as Applejack and Rainbow Dash trotted up alongside her; equally exhausted.

"That was some quick thinking, Rainbow Dash." Daring Do complimented her; motioning to the map in her hoof.

"It was nothing." Rainbow Dash replied, trying to catch her breath.

"So what's the plan now?" Applejack asked, removing her hat to wipe her brow.

"Ahuizotl is going to be looking for us. He can't do anything without this ruby. We need to keep it away from him at all costs." Daring Do stated, patting the gemstone that rested within the sling.

A sudden snap of a tree branch had every pony turning to look behind them. With the ambience of the jungle it was hard to pinpoint where it exactly had come from. Rustling from the brush grew louder and louder, with Rainbow Dash, Daring Do, and Applejack backing up slowly. From the brush, a figure moved into sight, the ghoulish mask appearing from the shadows.

"Every pony run for it!" Rainbow Dash shouted in fright.

Daring Do stared wide eyed at the sight of the ghoulish mask; awestruck. Applejack took off, flying past Daring Do who stood frozen in place. Rainbow Dash took hold of her arm, tugging on it hard, trying to force her to start moving. More of the Hom Dai appeared from the foliage, every ghoulish mask starting to give chase.

"Move it!" Rainbow Dash shouted at her.

Snapping back to her senses, Daring Do turned on the spot, tearing through the jungle with Rainbow Dash at her side; Applejack leading the way. Already tired from their sprint from the dig site, not to mention the weight of the ruby, Daring Do could feel her muscles starting to pain her, but her adrenaline kept her moving.

"Ooga-chaka! Ooga-Ooga! Ooga-Chaka!" The Hom Dai chanted loudly, racing through the jungle after them.

"What are they saying?" Daring Do hollered, glancing over her shoulder.

"Who cares? Just keep running!" Rainbow Dash shouted back.

Applejack leaped over a large tree root, clearing the brush, but was suddenly met with the end of the jungle. A cliff marked the end of it, the jungle canopy down below seemed like an ocean of green, but Applejack was more occupied trying to stop her momentum. Digging her hooves into the dirt, sliding across the ground, feeling her back legs kick off the edge of the cliff face, Applejack hung just off the side.

"Whew!" Applejack breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as soon as Applejack had gotten a moment of respite, Daring Do and Rainbow Dash charged out from the tree line. Surprised by the sudden end of the trail, they both screamed, trying to throw on the brakes but slammed right into the hanging Applejack as the three of them tumbled off the side of the cliff. The three ponies screamed in terror, just for a moment, the shock wore off as Daring Do and Rainbow Dash opened their wings, catching the wind beneath them. Rocketing after Applejack, they managed to catch her before she got too close to the jungle canopy.

"You alright, Applejack?" Rainbow Dash asked, sounding concerned.

"I think I preferred the snow over the jungle, to be honest." Applejack mumbled, heaving a relieved sigh.

Glancing back up at the edge of the cliff, every pony could see dozens of the Hom Dai standing at the brink, gazing at them. Eventually the Hom Dai returned to the forest, disappearing amongst the trees, giving the three of them a chance to rest.

"Let's find a place to land." Daring Do suggested, looking visibly tired.

Flying over the canopy, Rainbow Dash and Daring Do found a river cutting through the jungle. Gliding down, the two carefully dropped off Applejack before landing themselves. Every pony looked tired, but with the map and ruby in hoof they looked quite pleased with themselves.

"We make a pretty good team." Rainbow Dash said with an exhausted smile.

"You can say that again." Applejack concurred.

"I have to say, it would have been almost impossible to get this far without help. Thanks." Daring Do replied, with a nod. "I just can't believe the Hom Dai are real. I saw them with my own eyes."

"Freaky looking, aren't they?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"That's just it, Rainbow Dash. Call me a sucker for believing in this sort of thing, but after what I just saw, I'm not so sure I can just dismiss it easily as superstitious nonsense anymore. The Hom Dai are here, the mask, the mural, and seeing them up close proves it. It's clear that Ahuizotl has upset the protectors of the jungle. If the legends are true, and the Hom Dai are cleansing the forest, we need to set things right." Daring Do said decisively.

"How are we going to do that?" Applejack asked, striding over to the river; splashing some water on her face.

"Rainbow Dash let me see that map." Daring Do asked.

Passing her the map, Daring Do laid it out on the ground, giving it a gander. It appeared to be an antic, although Ahuizotl had tarnished it with his markings. Although it did give her a glimpse into what his plan was.

"This map is hundreds of years old. The inscriptions are some of the earliest writings of the Jungle Ponies. From what I can tell, there are two temples. This right here is where Ahuizotl's dig site was." Daring Do stated, pointing to the x on the map.

"What's in the other temple?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously.

"I'm not sure. He called the ruby the key which means that it will probably unlock something at this temple." Daring Do hazard a guess.

"That first temple was buried underground, what if this other one is too?" Applejack asked, feeling uncertain about this.

"We'll just have to chance it. The Hom Dai are going to continue to cleanse the forest until we ensure that the Heart of the Jungle is protected." Daring Do said rolling up the map.

"Again, how are we going to do that?" Applejack asked looking puzzled. "Those mask wearing ghouls didn't seem too happy to see us."

"Maybe we can just bury it? Ahuizotl would never find it and the Heart of the Jungle will be safe once again." Rainbow Dash offered.

"Ahuizotl has set things in motion; by association we're equally as guilty to disturbing the Heart of the Jungle by taking this." Daring DO explained.

"But we're the good guys." Rainbow Dash said in their defense.

"At this point, the Hom Dai won't care which pony is on what side. To them we're intruders trying to steal the Heart, just like Ahuizotl." Daring Do commented, approaching the river to wash off the dry mud on her hide. "Our only chance is to find the Heart of the Jungle ourselves and use it to stop the Hom Dai before they cleanse the entire jungle."

"What if we can't find the Heart of the Jungle?" Rainbow Dash asked, sounding concerned.

"If we somehow manage to escape, the Hom Dai will continue to cleanse the entire jungle and any pony or creature unfortunate enough to enter it. Every jungle village, every tourist, animal, explorer, what have you will become victims of the Hom Dai's wrath." Daring Do said narrowing her eyes.