En el Peligro, se Conoce el Amigo
The aroma of hard cider, gin and sweat stung the nose of anypony unprepared for this place. If the smell didn't drive them away, then the looks from the patrons would certainly do the trick. In this old place, a newcomer was not a welcome sight. This wasn't a classy place to visit, nor was it the kind of place to bring your foals. This was a bar in the truest sense of the word, a place where ponies with something to hide came to either drown their sorrows or enjoy their accomplishments.
The bar was dark and dank, the kind of place you would read about in westerns. The wood was polished and clean, but it retained a dirty color. Behind it sat rows of glass bottles, some of them containing amber liquids and others housing what looked like water. A unicorn pony with a well groomed black moustache and equally styled mane glanced about with his chartreuse eyes, noting where the patrons were. There was the group of henchmen-for-hire sitting in a booth while another few sat alone at the tables strewn about the floor, each nursing a glass of their favorite poisons. The only mare brave enough to come here sat at the counter, her cap pulled low over her mane of black and gray.
As the bartender's gaze began to return to his counter, the sound of the doors opening caused his head to snap up, along with the heads of all the patrons in the bar. They each cast their own look at the doors, some scowls, others a drunken glance. A few hisses came from around the room as light illuminated the dingy place. Those who could see through it saw the dark figure of a pony standing tall in the doorway.
A few hoofbeats cracked through the silence as the silhouette entered the establishment and the doors swing shut behind them with a creak. They instantly shut the harsh outside light away, plunging the establishment into its darkened state. As the patrons tried to rub away the spots in their eyes, a couple managed to get a glimpse of the intruder before returning to their glasses.
The stallion stood tall and proud, an air of professionalism around him. He was a faded stone brown stallion, wearing a weather beaten khaki shirt and an equally beaten kerchief of orange with white polka dots. At his rear was a rather curious cutie mark, a golden skull with a single ruby eye. Each side of his mass of charcoal mane contained a silver streak that ran a short way up from his scalp.
A smirk played across his mouth as his wandering eyes stopped at the counter where the lone mare sat. He had noticed that out of all the patrons in the bar, she had not looked at him yet. Instead of paying him the respect he felt he deserved, she continued to stare at the blank slab of wood in front of her. His smirk only got wider as he noticed the forest green shirt she was wearing, her wings pressed tightly to her sides and, most importantly, the black and gray tail that twitched every now and then.
His intel was dead on. He made a mental note to give his contacts a nice bonus when this was over as he turned to the counter and began to walk to it slowly. Even though she hadn't looked up at him, her body spoke volumes about what she knew. The way her wings tightened with every step he took, the way her shoulders tensed as he approached; it all said that she not only knew somepony was there, but that she knew who he was. Still, it didn't mean that he couldn't admire her assets as he approached.
The noise his hooves made died off as he stood behind the stool next to where she was seated. The silence that followed was indescribably palpable, as if it were a wet sponge stuffed between the two ponies. His smirk widened into a full on grin as he leaned forward, attempting to make eye contact with her. Much to his amusement, the mare turned her head as he leaned in.
"Buenas tardes, Ms. Daring." He spoke in a sultry Spanish accent. "It is good to see you again."
She tensed more at his words, turning her head away from him further and pressing her ears to her head.
"What are you doing here, Caballeron?" she replied in a bitter tone. "Run out of artifacts to sell?"
A soft chuckle escaped him as he set his rump onto the stool next to her, the weathered wood creaking slightly.
"I don't suppose you would happen to have one, do you?" he spoke through his smirk, keeping his eyes on her mane.
As if on cue, she spun to face him, her magenta eyes narrowed and a rather aggravated frown on her snout. Internally, Caballeron chuckled a bit, amused by her reaction. He had seen that face many times, mostly while he was stealing artifacts from her, and he always loved it. Unlike him, all the years of stress and adventuring hadn't made her any less cute.
"What do you want, Caballeron?" she almost demanded in a hushed tone. "I know you're not here for a social visit, so spit it out. Need my help recovering another priceless artifact to sell on the black market? Or do you hope to blackmail me?"
Caballeron's smirk only got more smug as Daring inched closer to him, eventually pressing her forehead against his. No matter what tone she took or look she gave him, he was not intimidated in the slightest by her. Still, her words did make his ego flare. He turned away from her, his nose in the air.
"Daring, how could you be so cruel?" he reprimanded. "Me blackmail you? I am a stallion of honor and do not resort to underhoofed tactics like that. I am almost insulted you would think I would stoop that low."
"It wouldn't be the first time you did." She growled, returning to her side of the space between them.
Caballeron's eyes popped open at that before his nose came back down, his ego turning into a flare of anger in an instant.
"How dare you!" he half shouted, turning to her. "I challenge you to name one time where I did something dishonorable!"
Daring spun an unimpressed eye to him before answering. "You stole an amulet from me when a boulder had broken my leg and then left me for dead."
Caballeron was about to say something in response, but his words stuck in his throat. He closed his mouth, knowing she was correct about that. It was rather low to not aid a pony, even a rival like her, when they needed it. Thinking to himself, he looked back to the bar and heaved a sigh.
"Alright, so I have done things in the past I'm not proud of, but I have never left you in any real danger you could not handle."
He turned to Daring, who was now staring at the bottles behind the bar with an irritated scowl, before chuckling under his breath. It didn't go unnoticed, though, because her magenta eye looked back at him.
"What's so funny?"
"Ah, 'tis nothing. I was just remembering you making that face quite often after our adventures together."
"Before or after you became a thief?"
He laughed audibly at that. She was sharp, much smarter than other archaeologists he knew, but she had just played the conversation right to where he needed it to be.
"Daring," he began as he finished laughing. "You are the smartest mare I've ever met, but even you know that you are a thief too. You steal from tombs and sell the loot to museums, I steal them back from you and sell them to ponies with the most bits."
"I only do that to prevent monsters like Ahuizotl from using them the wrong way!" she replied, raising her voice. "And thanks to you, I've lost track of several of those artifacts!"
Caballeron winced. She was perceptive as well, something that always surprised him.
"Daring, I did not come all the way here to argue with you about the morals of our chosen professions. I came here to ask for your help."
She snorted, turning away from him. "What do you need me for? You're a thief like me, so do it yourself."
He groaned, wishing now that he hadn't brought that up. It got her emotional, but he would pay for it by listening to her insults until he could convince her that he needed her help.
"Ahuizotl tried to hire me to recover an artifact." He stated plainly.
Daring didn't seem to react to that, but he knew what she was thinking.
"Normally, I would be more than willing if it meant a nice pile of bits in exchange for it, but Dios mío, this is one even I would not take."
He knew that caught Daring's attention. There were still plenty of powerful artifacts left in the world that almost all archaeologists had made a silent agreement never to disturb. Some were much too powerful and unstable to be removed from their resting places while others could bring about the destruction of Equestria. The Rings of Destiny were one such artifact like that.
"What artifact is he after now?" Daring asked cautiously.
"The relic in the Tomb of the Duskmaker." Caballeron whispered to her.
He could tell his words had hit home. The Tomb of the Duskmaker was an ancient structure that dated back to before Discord began his reign of chaos, the supposed resting place of an pony who moved the sun before Princess Celestia. Not much was known about the place other than it was dangerous and contained an artifact of immense power.
Daring looked at him, suspicion written in her eyes. "Why are you concerned? That artifact would make you richer than you could imagine."
Caballeron heaved a sigh, looking down at the bar before answering. "Because of what he plans on doing with it. His plan is to make a day so long, ponies will lose faith in Princess Celestia's ability to control the sun. When they have lost faith, they will revolt. Once they've revolted, he plans on taking over by lowering it and being worshiped as a god."
"And why does that concern you? As long as you get enough bits, what do you care?"
Caballeron grit his teeth at her question. Revealing his secrets was not something he liked doing, but he did need Daring to help him.
"My business needs a steady stream of buyers for the artifacts, and if his plan succeeds, there will be no more buyers."
Another snort came from her, making him look over with a glare.
"How do you figure that?" she asked, trying not to laugh.
"Ahuizotl did not think of what his plan would do to Equestria financially. Revolt against the Princess means no more government. That means no more value to bits. Besides, in the middle of a revolt, who would be willing to buy an artifact?"
Daring managed to suppress her laughter long enough to smirk at him. He knew how this sounded to her, like some silly pretense so he could trick her into helping him recover one of the most powerful artifacts in history. Still, he had to convince her he was genuine.
"Okay, I've heard some silly things, but that was the weakest reason I have ever heard from you," she said with barely concealed amusement.
"Ah, I did not think you would believe me," he spoke in a somber tone. "That is why I brought you this."
Reaching a hoof into his shirt collar, he fumbled around until he found what he was looking for. As he expected, Daring tensed and leaned back quickly, as if she was expecting him to attack her with something. Instead, Caballeron gave a pretty good tug and snapped the cord strung about his neck. He pulled it out from his shirt and set it on the bar.
The cord was looped through a wonderful looking amulet, a solid piece of gold with an etching of an ancient pony deity from times long past. It was the head of a normal pony, but the ears were much longer and it had the strangest set of teeth. The canines were long like boar tusks, but the rest were pointed. The eyes were empty and the mane reached out around it to form the shape of the sun.
Daring gave no vocal reaction, but Caballeron saw it in her eyes. They widened a bit before returning to normal, a subtle thing he had learned to pick up on. He expected her to reach out and take the glittering piece of jewelry, but to his surprise, she turned her head away from it.
"What kind of fool do you take me for?" she asked quietly. "I know a fake when I see it."
Caballeron took a deep breath, noting the slight against his honor. She had reacted as he expected, but her words still stung his pride. Daring was easily the most hardheaded mare he had ever met, despite how much he liked her style.
"Por favor, señorita; miralo mas cerca." he grumbled under his breath.
"What?" she asked, turning to him with a confused look.
"I said that you... Nevermind. Only you can convince yourself of it's authenticity."
Without waiting for her to reply, Caballeron reached out and put his hoof over the cold golden amulet. For a moment, he considered taking it back. Whether she believed it was real or not, he knew it was; and he knew it was worth millions of bits to the right buyer. His greedy thoughts caused him to start to pull it back, but he only managed an inch before stopping himself.
As much as he wanted to sell it, this amulet was too important for him to part with anypony other than the one sitting next to him. This was the final artifact he had recovered with Daring, back when they were partners, before he became a black market dealer. Back then, he had felt so alive with her at his side, both of them staging incredible adventures to recover some of the world's most priceless artifacts. They laughed at danger, stared down elaborate traps with ease and came home at the end of the day, smiling and wanting to do it again.
He glanced over to Daring, who was blatantly ignoring him. He could see the irritation in her eyes, but there was something else. There were traces of sadness in her gaze, as if she was forcing herself to be angry with him. As he stared at her, he felt something strange begin to stir inside him, a feeling he had never experienced before. Without meaning to, he began to not just be disappointed with his past; he began to regret what he had done to her.
With this new feeling overriding his greed, Caballeron pushed the amulet closer to Daring and left it on the bar. He pulled his hoof back, feeling like he just let go of a gigantic pile of bits, and sighed before getting off the stool.
"Daring," he spoke as he turned away. "I know I cannot change what has happened between us, but I want you to know that I never sold that amulet, the last one we recovered. Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but I cannot force you to accept what I say as truth. Do what you want with it, but if I never see you again after Ahuizotl plans succeed, I will have a clear conscience."
He said nothing more as he trotted out of the bar, leaving her alone. As he exited the bar, he had to shield his eyes from the harsh sunlight. He didn't realize how dark it really was in that place, but he shrugged off the notion and rubbed his eyes. If Ahuizotl succeeded in his plan, he would have to get used to it. Just as he started walking away, he heard a shout behind him.
"Caballeron!"
He turned around to see Daring trotting up behind him, the golden amulet glittering in a pocket on her shirt. She glared at him with her lovely magenta eyes and stopped short of where he was. For a few moments, neither pony said anything. Just as a thought formed in Caballeron's mind, she spoke up.
"You know I still don't fully trust you, right?" she asked pointedly.
A small grin crept up on his muzzle.
"And you would be a fool to unless I proved my intentions with more than an amulet, señorita Daring."
Silently, she nodded to him and started walking, catching up and trotting beside him as they headed for the train station. Caballeron smiled internally at how the situation had turned out, knowing it couldn't have gone any better. He would need to show Daring he meant well and, perhaps, he could even gain her friendship once again.