A Daring Day

by EchoWing

Chapter One - The Hidden Pyramid

Southeast of Equestria was the nation of Maretonia. Small in comparison to its neighbor, the country was known mostly for its large number of ruins, many predating the founding of Equestria itself with their origins lost even to the indigenous ponies whose own ancestors had constructed them. To a casual observer, the place would look to be the inspiration for many a Daring Do book, something that the locals would have taken advantage of to aid their tourism industry, were it not for certain elements within their borders.

Dr. Caballeron, while not a local, had spent a good chunk of his adult life in the region and places like it throughout the world as he sought out artifacts and procured them for wealthy clients. It was hard and often troublesome work, difficult enough thanks to the local wildlife but especially in light of dealing with the mare who could have been his partner had she been just a little more sensible. The fact that she had all of the fame thanks to a series of adventure books of all things both galled and disturbed him.

It was even worse that he never saw so much as a bit for his appearances in those books. Were it not for his side job and the funds he got from that, then he’d be more eager to do something about that.

In any case, this evening he and his associates found themselves in the unusual position this time of being in the lead on a hunt for a rare find in the jungle, rather than the ones to follow Daring Do after an artifact. A part of him wondered if she was following behind somewhere, only to correct himself with the thought that he already knew full well who was behind him, and that was plenty of incentive to complete this job and be done with it.

Map held before him in hoof and light shining from the helmet he wore, Caballeron emerged from the jungle to find himself and his group at the base of what looked like a hill. As he tossed the map aside to examine their find, a member of his party stepped forward. “Boss, you sure this is the right place? I mean, I don’t see a pyramid here, just a hill covered in vines and jungle growth.”

Without even looking away from the apparent hill, the archaeologist put a hoof to a vine. “My friend, smarter ponies than you have made the mistake of missing the forest for the trees.” He curled his hoof around the vine as best he could and pulled the plant away from the hill to expose carved and smoothened stone. “Our employer’s source said that the jungle had concealed the pyramid, after all. Though I will admit, this seems…”

“You’ve found it!”

Caballeron paused and looked to the path they’d taken as his cohorts darted out of the way of their employer as he emerged. Large as life and with eagerness glistening in his beady black eyes, the creature before them was no pony, his body suggesting traits of both ape and dog and his head built in such a way that the jaw was immense underneath his small eyes and nose, with a four-fingered appendage like those at the ends of his forelegs at the end of his long, muscular tail. With a brief gulp, he nodded. “Yes, Ahuizotl, it appears that we have indeed found what you’re looking for. You had an excellent source; even I only thought this was a myth.” He cleared his throat as the beast approached the pyramid and said, “Now, if you’d be so kind…”

“Yes, of course.” A snap of his fingers from his tail-hand, and a bag of gold was tossed into view from the surrounding trees. “Your payment, as promised.”

Caballeron reminded himself to count the money once they were far away even as he counted his blessings that Ahuizotl had remembered to pay him after their last transaction had gone south. “A pleasure doing business with you, sir, as always. Gentlemen, let us leave Ahuizotl to his work.” He had no reason to stay, as he knew that if the legends were true, this particular pyramid had no relics or treasures inside. He also knew that Ahuizotl wouldn’t have hired his services if he’d believed nothing was inside, however, which gave him even more reason to vacate, and almost made him hope that Daring Do was indeed watching them.

After all, if this went sideways, then he’d never see any more money.

Perhaps in response to his hopes, or maybe in spite of them, a pegasus silently flew out of the jungle and settled onto a far wall of the pyramid. Her eyes narrowed at the vines as she surreptitiously took a sample, confident that the small cutting would go unnoticed. She was less confident, however, that she’d be able to deal with whatever this latest scheme was. It might well be time to call in some help.

Comments

[Comickook]

Hey there. Thanks greatly for starting the story. :-D Loved the look point of view from one of the villains. :-D The exchanges and characterizations were quite well done. Now, on to the next chapter.

[EchoWing]

8414267
I thought this would be a good way to start things out. Set the mood, build some tension, stuff like that.

[BenRG]

"Rainbow Dash! I need your help!"

"Daring Do is asking me for help?!? Omigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshomigosh!"

[EchoWing]

8418025
Well, she wasn't above asking for Fluttershy's aid in the comics, and they didn't even say a word to one another...

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

It was even worse that he never saw so much as a bit for his appearances in those books. Were it not for his side job and the funds he got from that, then he’d be more eager to do something about that.

This made me laugh. I don't know why, I just thought it was a really funny look into Caballeron's greedy personality. XD

Great start to this story so far! I'm looking forward to seeing what'll happen from here...

[EchoWing]

8785287
I gotta admit, it was fun to write him. And with any luck, I'll do it again in the future.