Daring Do goes on an adventure that gets more dangerous with every step she takes.
Daring Do travels off to a distant land where she hopes to uncover a city lost beneath the desert sands, but in doing so runs into a foe more dangerous than she could ever imagine, that foe being none other than Daring Do herself.
(Note: As I was a brony only a couple of weeks when I wrote this there are many errors with names, locals, and such. I apologize)
Chapter 1: How Daring was arrested, and how much trouble it put her in.
Chapter 1: How Daring was arrested, and how much trouble it put her in.
The land of Ponisia was a mystical, ancient land. It was located on a large continent southwest of the land of Equestria. It was a desert land. Its buildings were made from clay and sand with tiled roofs shaded in palm trees. It was a land where water was worth its weight in gold, and the gold, well, it was valuable beyond all imagine. Especially here. Being an ancient culture it had a lot of ancient secrets that usually unearthed themselves as hidden tombs filled with gold or forgotten temples swallowed by the desert’s ever-shifting sand.
Daring Do had gone over her notes a hundred times. She had discovered an old map in a book in the Canterlot archives. It (along with weeks of research) had led her to discover the route to a lost treasure. The clues were a little vague and required further research. Suddenly a shrill whistle blew indicating that the ship she was on had docked. She folded her map and stuck it inside the rim of her hat. She threw on her saddle bags and waited for the crowd near the gang plank to thin before she disembarked.
After spending an entire week on a steamer ship, Daring Do was glad to be back on solid ground. Its not that she didn’t like sea travel, and the S.S. Celestia was anything but cheap, but she longed for a change of scenery from the endless ocean and the decks filled with tourist playing shuffleboard. Also (and she would never admit it) she would sometimes get severe sea-sickness, and Dramamine is not fun to take.
The docks were crowded with workers unloading crates from the steamer. They weren’t being very gentle with the 70 pound wardrobe trunks they were unloading. She had learned long ago never to send anything in the cargo hold. At least as long as she didn’t want it damaged in some unconceivable way. Of course after 2 years of world travel she had learned to pack very light. She kept personal items in one saddle bag and her tools in another. She always hid her most precious documents in her hat. Today she was going to learn just how good it is to travel light, since she was about to loose everything but her hat.
Daring made her way through the twisting streets to her hotel. ‘The Arabian Arms’ was not one of the best hotels in the city, but it was the best one that wasn’t full of tourist taking photos of everything that looked even remotely exotic. If you haven’t caught on yet, Daring is not fond of tourist. She walked up past the bell-boys dressed in red with big fez hats and up to the front desk.
“The Name is Daring Do. I have a reservation.”
“Lets see.” Said the mare behind the desk. But instead of looking at his log books he starred at her for a very long moment, suddenly his eyes grew as wide as saucers.
“Is there a problem?” Asked Daring.
“Uh, err, no. Not at all. Here’s your key M-Miss Do. Room 21.”
The clerks hand was shaking as he handed her the key.
“Okaaaay. Thanks.”
“Boy that was a little weird.” Thought Daring as she walked towards the stairs. She looked back to se the manager making a phone call. He seemed almost frantic.
“It’s probably nothing.”
Daring’s room was at the top of the stairs. She used her key and walked into the room. It was a small room with a double bed, a dresser, and a vase of flowers on an end table. She threw her saddlebags on the floor and walked out onto the minuscule balcony. Looked out onto the busy street filled with vendors and tourist reminded her way she traveled. Culture. Interacting with as many cultures as possible was at the top of her ‘Things I Love’ list. She turned back into her room and collapsed onto the bed where she started to fall asleep.
“The warm breeze…feels…so… (Yawn) good.”
Suddenly her nap was interrupted when her hotel door came crashing down and several ponies dressed in blue uniforms poured in. they were all wielding night sticks, and one of them threw a net over Daring Do.
“What the bloody hell is…” Was all she got out before a club made contact with her head and everything went black. This wasn’t how she planned to fall asleep, but it sure was effective.
Several hours later Daring woke. Her head was swimming from the blow she took from the blackjack. Moonlight shone through the window, indicated that she had been out for at least six hours. The first thing she noticed was that she was sleeping on a bed that was so lumpy it couldn’t be a hotel bed (even a cockroach couldn’t fall asleep here). If that wasn’t bad enough the next thing she noticed were bars on the window.
“Wait a minute. Bad mattress… bars on window…crap.”
Daring looked around to find herself surrounded by bars. It wasn’t the first time she had been arrested, and usually the matter was cleared up quickly or a fine paid. However this was the first time she was taken by force. She got up and started walking around her cell. Her head was still a little fuzzy but after about 10 minutes she was back in full control of her faculties. It was then that she noticed it.
Across the hall from her cell was a bulletin board covered in wanted posters and government propaganda. Right in the center was a rather bad picture of her with a nasty look on her face. Above it said ‘Wanted’ and below it said ’For Robbery and Attempted Murder’.
“Oh this is not good. Not good at all.” Said Daring, shaking her head.
A few minutes later a bailiff came and opened the door. He grabbed Daring and half dragged / half threw her down the hall. Daring tried to ask the rough pony what was going on but got nothing but an evil stare. He put her in a bare room with nothing but a chair, table, a large mirror, and lots of lights. It was an interrogation room, and not the cleanest one at that. The bailiff ordered her to sit down and when she did he handcuffed her to the table. He left and as he did turned on all the lights. There were enough bulbs lit to fry an egg.
She knew what was happening. She knew that the hot lights were to soften her up. In Equestrian the police were trusted mares who used evidence and protocol to try and convict criminals. She was even friends with a few. But she wasn’t in Equestrian. She was about as far away from Canterlot as one can get. The cops here take their first suspect, force out a confession, and then get a commendation. Bribes were common…and so was torture. That last part bothered her. There was no way she had enough cash to bribe her way out of a robbery/murder charge. But what got robbed? Who did it? And most importantly why was it HER face on the wanted poster!
A few minutes later two ugly looking ponies came in. One was wearing a uniform and another wearing a cheap, ruffled brown suit with the world’s ugliest tie. He spoke first.
“I’m the head detective here. Confess and you might get life without parole…if you’re lucky.”
Daring thought for a moment.
“You’ll have to forgive my confusion,” said Daring, “I just arrived in this country today and don’t really know what’s going on.”
“What do you mean?!” Said the Detective somewhat surprised.
“At 15:00 I arrived off the steamer from Equestria. At 15:30 I find myself being kidnapped and beaten. Now I’m being interrogated. All I know is what I saw on a wanted poster with a picture of someone who looks like me.”
“You lie! You robbed that army depot with your goon squad and wounded 4 guards. One was a friend of mine.” Raved the detective.” According to your passport your name is ‘Daring Do’ and that you’re an archeologist. Confess! Where did you hide the Army digging equipment you stole?”
“Digging equipment?”
“One Steam excavator, 500 picks & shovels, and 1000lbs of dynamite.” Said the uniformed officer as he read off a list.
“She knows what she stole, moron!” Said the detective.
“Why do you think it was me?” Asked Daring.
“This is all the evidence I need” Said the detective as he threw a dozen pictures down on the table.
Daring’s eyes quickly darted back and forth as she looked on in disbelief. The photos showed a group of mercenary ponies raiding an army base. They were led by a pony that looked exactly like her! The mane was her color, as was her fur. She was wearing the same explorers vest and pit helmet. But even more amazing was the fact that she had the exact same compass-shaped cutie mark!
Even though it wasn’t her she knew that nothing she said would convince them otherwise. It looked bad, really bad. She started to think fast. The steamer company would have her ticket on file but those files were 8000 miles away in Equestria. Only the year was stamped in her passport and Ponisia didn’t require visa’s. She started to think up excuses when her thoughts were interrupted by a lead-filled baton swinging across her jaw. Her head snapped sharply right and she noticed a fresh spot of blood on the wall. Apparently she had ‘zoned out’ a bit too long and had missed one of the short fused detectives questions, at which point he had decided that it would be easier to beat out a confession. She was sweating profusely from the lights and now required stitches across her lower lip which she knew she’d never get. The detective walked around the table and gave her a hard punch to the gut. She reeled over and fell off her chair. It was hard to get up since she was still handcuffed to the table but she somehow managed. The detective put a scroll on the table along with a quill and some ink.
“This scroll is a complete confession. All you have to do is put your name on it. We’ll be back with some ‘persuasion’ tools. If you know what’s good for you’ll sign it before we get back
The two officers left and turned out all the lights. That was to her advantage. With the lights out Daring could see that there was no one on the other side of the one-way glass. She had at least a good ten minutes. Now the only thing left for her to do was break out of police Headquarters. It was a puzzle all right. Fortunately she was very good at puzzles.
The handcuffs were nothing. She pulled out a bobby pin she kept in her mane just for this type of situation. The cuffs were off in seconds. Now she needed to get out of the police station without being spotted. When she was brought into the interrogation room she had caught a glimpse of the layout of the main station. There was a massive squad room with offices lining one wall and locker rooms on the other side. Across from her was the entrance, but it was a good 75 feet and she’d have to wade though 50 cops who had all been staring at her photo for at least a week.
“The locker rooms! Of course. I might just be able to get there, get a disguise, and get out of here!”
Daring Scribbled out something on the scroll and slowly peaked out of the door. The cops hadn’t locked it since they figured the cuffs would hold. She was only a dozen paces from the lockers. Fortunately a few of the lights had blown out so she could stick to the shadows. Most of the cops were seated at their desks intent on their endless paperwork. Daring was about to leave when she saw the two cops walking back to her. The ‘tools’ they were carrying were, well, I’m not even going to describe them, they’re so bad. Then Daring eyed the uniform officer with the detective. He was about her size. Then a large smile grew across Daring’s face.
She quickly sat down as the officers walked back in. They locked the door behind them and put the torture tools on the table.
“Have you signed the confession?” Asked the Detective.
“I have. I decided that my frail body couldn’t take a beating.” Daring almost giggled as her melodrama escalated.
“Damn.” Said the Detective. “Well, I suppose I could always loosen my fist on your…What the!”
The detective had noticed that instead of Daring’s signature on the confession note, she had written ‘Detective, go buck yourself. PS, your suit sucks.’
With that Daring stood up and flipped the table over onto the Detective. He fell over backwards. She jumped on him and hoof-stomped his face. Daring’s punch was enough to knock him out. The cop was shocked for a minute by suddenly seeing his superior KO’ed. It was enough. Daring spun around and kicked the cop with both of her rear legs. He slammed back against the wall. Daring grabbed his collar and gave him three hard rights. That and a kick in the nuts was enough to knock him out. She quickly stripped the cop of his uniform and donned her new disguise. She was lucky in that no one had heard the short scuffle. She still had her pit helmet which contained her research notes but all her tools and luggage had been impounded. She decided it was too risky to search for them.
She grabbed a whip off the table, walked out of interrogation 1 and started for the exit. She swiftly picked up a file off of a desk and held it up like she was reading it, conveniently hiding her face. As she neared the exit an alarm sounded. The cops had evidently discovered the two counts of assault she had left behind her. D.D. picked up the pace and went through the rickety revolving doors. She haled a cab
“Police emergency! Drive!” Daring barked to the driver.
“Where to?”
“1000 Rue De Sud. And step on it!”
It was the only address she knew in town. It led to an old bookshop that specialized in antique books and scrolls. The shop had moved and she knew it, but the police might trace her back through the cabbie. 10 minutes later she was there. She hopped out of the cab and ran into the ally pretending to go around back to foil a robber just to sell it to the driver. It worked as he shrugged it off and left. Daring kept running through the ally and out to the next road. The book shop had moved nearly 20 blocks and she had to hoof it all the way, but the sooner she was off the street the better. Because the sooner she was safe the sooner she could discover just what was going on.
Chapter 2: How Daring made her treasure map, and how she escaped the cops (again).
Chapter 2: How Daring made her treasure map, and how she escaped the cops (again).
Daring arrived at the backdoor to Old Mare’s Antique Bookshop and rapped on the door until a light went on.
“Hello! Old Mare? It’s me, Daring Do. It’s an emergency, Let me in.”
The door opened slightly emitting a beam of light into the inky darkness.
“Daring?” Said Old Mare. “Is that you? Why are you dressed as a cop? And why are you here at 1:00 in the morning?”
“I’ll explain after I get inside. Please let me in.”
“All right.”
The old man undid the chain on the door and let D.D. in. She knew the old mare well. Every time she visited Ponisisa she frequented this shop. The books and scrolls here were several hundred years old and always gave her clues towards whatever treasure she might be hunting. The pony who worked there was an old man but was full of pep. He even had a thing for Daring but he was about 40 years too old for her, but his attempts at flirting were so funny that she never minded.
Daring slammed the door behind her and quickly locked all the bolts. She followed her friend up to his apartment above the shop. She collapsed on his couch thoroughly exhausted. Old Mare came in a minute later with two cups of tea.
“So did you run out of a costume ball or should I add ‘impersonating an officer’ to the list of your misdemeanors.”
“Ha Ha very funny.” Said Daring sarcastically, “Where can I change?”
“What’s wrong with right here?”
“I may be Daring, but I’m not THAT daring.”
“Yeah I suppose so,” said Old Mare, sighing. “You can change behind that divider.”
Daring walked behind it and started to change. As she did she explained her predicament to her friend. He found her scuffle particularly amusing.
“…And so that’s how I ended up here, since you’re the only friend I’ve got in this town.”
“My dear,” said Old Mare. “You’re in more trouble than you realize.”
After Daring came out dressed in some old pajamas he gave her a newspaper.
“This paper is three days old. When I saw it I immediately sent you a telegram warning you not to come but you must not have gotten it.”
The headlines read “Filly’s Merc’s Rob Armory: Suspect At Large.” Along with it was a picture of her committing the robbery. The text read as followed:
“Last night at 3am an Army supply depot was raided and robbed. The thieves, which were comprised of groups of unknown earth pony mercenaries led by a light brown pegasus pony with a dark mane and a cutie mark in the shape of a compass. She is believed to be extremely dangerous and out of control. Stolen in the robbery were large supplies of excavation equipment, explosives, and swords and daggers. Several guards were injured with three in critical condition at the Good Samaritan Hospital. Police believe (continued on page 3)”
“Great. Now the police think I’m a deranged psychopath.”
“Yeah, and it’s a bad picture of you, too.”
“It’s not me! Alright, wait. Let’s think this out analytically. They stole lots of weapons. Almost anyone would steal that. Even I’ve been known to ‘liberate’ weapons when I really need them but never in bulk. However…all those shovels and picks. What could those be for?”
“Digging?”
“Wow, did you think of that all on your own?” Said Daring sarcastically. “Come on Mare, think. Now why would someone need that much equipment?”
“A construction company?”
“Nah. Those were definitely not union workers.”
“Well, the only other thing that gets dug up around here are…”
“Ancient relics.”
“Great,” said Daring, “tomb raiders. That’s all we need.”
“Isn’t that what you do?”
“I’m an ar-chi-ologist. My finds end up in museums. Tomb Raiders trade the loot for cash or dope. They have no patience and often destroy priceless treasures.”
“But you both smuggle loot out of countries to avoid the governments ‘Claiming’ it for their own.”
“That’s besides the point. So what does all this leave us with?”
“Well, the cops want you dead, a band of mercenaries are running around potentially raiding tombs, and you have an evil double going around causing general havoc. But other than that, not much.”
“Well that makes me feel a whole lot better, thanks.”
“Just trying to help, my dear.”
“(Sigh) I’m going to bed.”
“Need company?”
“Goodnight, Old Mare.” Said Daring firmly.
Daring woke up well past noon. Old Mare had left some clothes out for Do. She got dressed, grabbed a daisy and barley sandwich out of the fridge and headed down to the bookshop below.
When Old Mare saw her he immediately shooed out his only customer and closed up shop`. This way Daring could do her research without having to worry about someone recognizing her. He drew the shades, turned, and greeted her.
“So my dear, what lost treasure are you after this time. A prehistoric skeleton, lost idol, ancient mummy .I have a lead on an old grail said to grant immor…”
“Nothing so small.” Said Daring Do excitedly. “I’m after an entire city! It’s big. It’s called ‘The lost city of the Unicorns.’ I’ve got an old map that has numerous lost landmarks but has a few that I’ve read about and have known locations. If I can find the modern names of some of these places I can triangulate its location. That’s why I need some of your books. I remember seeing names in a few scrolls that mach the ones on my map.”
“You know,” said the mare, “I had someone come in here about a week ago asking if I had any info on a ‘City of the Unicorns’ but I told him I had never heard of the place. He started to raise his voice and get violent but then a few customers came in and he left.”
“I don’t suppose you got a good look at him?”
“Nope. Sorry.”
“(Sigh) Well then, I guess I’ll start my research.”
For the next two long days and nights Daring stayed in the close confines of the small shop and poured over book after book. When it comes to archeology a lot of time is spent in the library. In the movies it seems as if the hero or heroin gets a small clue and then travels halfway across the world. It’s not like that. Oftentimes more time is spent in a book than in a jungle. While Daring often found herself constantly running through foreign lands and solving confusing puzzles, it was always preceded by a month surrounded by stacks of books.
Daring went from books to scroll and back to books, constantly switching mid page and scribbling notes in her journal. She didn’t find much. A name here, a location there, a clue somewhere else, but it all added up. Old Mare had gone out and bought her clothes and some picks and chisels. Daring had to stay indoors due to an all-points bulletin out for her. She kept the radio tuned to 1710 AM to keep abreast of the police activity. By the night of the third day she had enough information on her lost city to start her quest.
“Daring, before you go I’d love to hear what you’ve found.”
“Well, ok. My original map had the location of the lost city of the unicorns in what appeared to be its northwest sector along with 4 more named towns and oasis. I found the location of one of the oasis but its location put the city out in the ocean. Then I figured that since the county’s population originated in the south and spread north it meant that the top of the map was south! So I flipped the map around and it all made sense. I found the location of two more of the cities, and with that I was able to triangulate the approximate location of the city of the Unicorns!” Daring was giddy by the time she got to the end of her explanation.
“But Daring,” Asked Old Mare, “What do you expect to find there?”
“Well, I’m not exactly sure.” Continued Daring Do. “Some entries pointed to some grandiose treasure. One entry called it a ‘key to eternal happiness’. Probably an idol, deity, or some sort of religion. Anyways I figure I’ll find some ruins of some massive buildings. I’m mostly interested in a certain tomb. Its said to belong to the royal family, and sounds to be the most well-built structure in the city. The odds are its still in existence. That’s my best bet”
“You’re going to have trouble getting out of town. You can’t impersonate a cop again since you’ll be loaded down with supplies.”
“I learned a few tricks from a ninja-pony friend of mine in the far-east.” Said Daring with a sly smile spreading across her face. “It should help me get through. Once I make it out to the desert I’m in the clear. The cops don’t get paid enough to travel that far out.”
“True, but the mercenaries are.”
Daring decided to go out immediately. It was dark enough to hide her presence. The bookshop was located on the edge of the business and the residential district. It was nearly 10 kilometers between her and the wide open expanse of the desert. She ate a sandwich, swung her saddle bags over her back, and snuck out the back door. She walked down the dark ally, keeping to the shadows. There were enough ally’s and side roads to keep her off the cop’s radar. Or at least that’s what she thought.
She was only about 2 k’s from the city walls when she turned a corner and ran strait into a cop. Actually it was several cops. Apparently there had been a robbery and daring had walked right into the crime scene. Of course, the cop instantly recognized her. He blew a shrill whistle that drew the attention of everypony there. Daring turned around and ran. She took off south. Outrunning the cops with her packs would be tough but her legs were very strong. She ducked and weaved her way through the streets with the cops right on her tail. She kicked over a stack of barrels that tripped up her pursuers. She turned a corner and climbed up a ladder to the rooftops.
She didn’t know if they had seen her go up there but she wasn’t going to wait and find out. She took off across the rooftops. The buildings were close together so it was pretty easy to hop from rooftop to rooftop. Whistles and sirens could be heard in the streets. Eventually Daring had to climb back down to the street level and made it another kilometer before she was spotted again. By this time she was only 2 blocks from the city gates. As she approached them an iron grill dropped down, effectively cutting off her route to freedom. She turned and ran along the wall until she came to a ramp that brought her to the top of the wall. There were cops on the wall as well. They came up from behind her and were gaining ground! Suddenly 2 more cops appeared from inside a guard station in front of her. They drew their swords. She only had one chance. She climbed over the edge of the wall and jumped! She started to fly but suddenly got a wing cramp.
“Could this day get any wooooorrrrrse!” Yelled Daring as she fell 4 stories.
A moment later Daring Do found herself submerged in a murky moat face to face with an alligator.
“Apparently it can and has.” She thought.
She swam towards the shore and pulled herself out, which was no easy feat with her bags fully loaded. Daring Do took off across the desert. The half-dozen cops on the wall fired a few arrows but they missed their mark. 500 meters out and she was in the clear.
“Now I’m really on my way. On that road to adventure! Note to self: Stop spouting corny clichéd lines and get some better material”
Chapter 3: How Daring crossed the desert, and how she joined a tribe.
Chapter 3: How Daring crossed the desert, and how she joined a tribe.
It was the middle of the night but it might as well of been noon. The full moon was as big as the sky was deep and shone twice as bright. Daring was even able to make out some of its larger craters and seas. It cast a glow over the desert that was mystifying and intriguing. It’s glow made the tan desert sand turn into a light blue sea. Daring could see 50 kilometers in every direction. In the distance behind her she could barely make out the glow of the city she had escaped from earlier that night. Ahead of her lay an endless expanse of sand dunes. A light breeze blew across and swept up wisps of sand and sent them across the land. They almost looked like errant spirits. It was quite cold but daring had packed a good coat. It was a legion surplus winter coat. They were better than normal civilian coats. They weren’t stylish but they were effective, and they could last for decades without wearing out. And considering how expansive the desert was, it just might take her that long to cross it.
Daring was use to extreme conditions like this and was in such good shape she could put an Army WAC to shame. Walking the 200 kilometers to the next town was nothing to her. However the monotony of walking 200k through an endless desert was overwhelming. She was fighting boredom as best she could, Except she was limited to whistling, singing, and eye spy. Eye spy, she found, was a very bad idea. So she stuck with singing.
“Oh I’ve got heartache by the numbers, And lovers by the storm, Everyday you love me less, Each day I love you more…”
After 263 choruses of this, ’Johnny Guitar’ and ‘I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire’ she noticed a small light in the distance.
“Finally. If I have to hear myself sing anymore I might go crazy.”
Daring kept walking until she was only a dune away from the light. It was a campfire at an oasis. The oasis wasn’t very big. It was basically a body of water about 100 feet square and surrounded by about a dozen palm trees. It was like an island in a sea of sand. Surrounding the oasis were four tents. Now, these aren’t your normal camping tents. Each one was about 10 feet tall and 50 feet square. Each have several rooms and can sleep 10, 20, even 50. Next to them were nearly 100 horses and camels.
Surrounding the campfire were a half-dozen guards dressed in turbins, vests, and baggy pants. The also had some very sharp swords by their sides. Daring ducked behind her dune and thought out what to do. She didn’t need to do much thinking because she suddenly found herself surrounded.
“(Sigh) Crap.”
Daring’s hooves were shackled were tied and she was led by knifepoint down the dune and into what appeared to be the main tent. She was brought into a room filled with pillows, and on the biggest pillow was a huge mare dressed in white. He was surrounded by 3 pony-harem girls who were feeding him peeled grapes. Daring was forced to kneel before him.
“Sir,” said one of the guards, “we found this one sneaking around the camp. What should we do with her?”
The pony he was talking to waved off the grapes and looked at Daring.
“Tell me, child,” said the man in a fat, jolly voice, “why are you sneaking around my camp. You do not look like you mean us harm. Tell me your story.”
“Well, my name is Daring Do, and I’m…”
“Daring Do the archeologist?!” He said, suddenly standing up.
“You’ve heard of me?”
“Indeed I have. You are the famous archeologist who discovered the lost writings of the ancient nomads of this land. Your have brought back many lost traditions and ways back to our people. Guards, release her at once!”
Daring shackles were removed and she rubbed her sore wrists.
“I am so terribly sorry,” said her host, “I know who you are but you don’t know who I am. Can you guess?”
“Well, you’re definitely a Sheik, And by the looks of things your tribe is one of the bigger ones in the area.”
“You are most correct, my dear. I am Sheik Ali-Sand the XIV. You can just call me Shiek. Attention guards, Miss Do is a special guest of mine. Please treat her well. Miss Do, I’d love to hear your story but it is getting late, and we all must be off to bed. The guards will bring you to our guest quarters. Tomorrow night we may continue.”
“Good night and thank you Sheik.”
The guard led Daring through a canvas hallway down to a little room. Most of the people in the tent slept in common rooms holding up to 50 people, so having a private room was a luxury. It was filled with colorful pillows with little tassels. Daring dumped her supplies and undressed. She wrapped her towel around her and headed out to the oasis.
Daring needed a relaxing bath. There were only a few guards out and none could see her too well. She removed the towel and slipped into the water. Even though it was 3am the water was a comfortable 79 degrees. During the day it heats upwards of 110 under the desert sun, so even after 6 hours of darkness it was still warm. She rubbed a washcloth over herself, scrubbing out all the sand and turning her fur from rough to a sleekness that shined in the moonlight. She found that she had sand in every place imaginable, which as you can imagine was very uncomfortable. She could suddenly feel eyes burning into the back of her head. On of the guards, a young guy, was peeping on her. She smiled slyly and did some ‘stretches’. Daring giggled to herself, thinking of the young kids eyes getting wider than Sailor Moon’s. Daring knew he could only see blurs since it was night time. She finished her bath, dried off thoroughly so as not get all sandy again, and headed back to her room. Her bed was so soft that once she collapsed on the pillows she was out instantly.
Daring Do spent the next day exploring the camp. The nomads had been camping there about a month, and were just a part of the main tribe. The Sheik was on a tour of the land, and had brought along a large entourage. It encompassed the Sheik, his entire harem, plenty of guards, servants, and several select friends.
Daring was allowed to study some of the Tribe’s documents on their history and way of life (which she found fascinating) and was also given a woman’s nomadic outfit. It was white with a sheer veil and a blue vest, and covered everything except her mane, eyes, and hoofs. That night at dinner she told the Sheik all about her latest dig, how she was imprisoned, and how she escaped. The Sheik especially liked that part, since he and the authorities never could see eye to eye.
“Sheik,” asked Daring, “I need to find out who framed me. You know everything that goes on in these parts. Have you heard anything about them?”
“Its interesting that you ask me that, because since you described them I have been thinking of whom they could be. The list of mercenary groups operating in this desert is short. It sounds like the group you described could only be the XLD.”
“The 440s?”
“No , the X.L.D, the eX-Legion-Destroyers. They are a group of ex-legionnaires that know nothing but war. They only believe in money. They’re the second toughest group in the area. My head guard can fill you in on all we know about them.”
“Oh thank you, kind Sheik.” Said Daring, bowing. She was so happy that her journey was about to resume that she didn’t see the evil glare that one of the servants gave her.
Late that night Daring was in one of the soundest sleeps of her life. Silently a dark clad figure stole down through the tent and towards her room. Slowly he opened the flap and crept towards her. The moonlight could be seen glinting off of a long, sharp dagger. Suddenly the sound of something shattering rang through the tent. Daring woke with a start and saw her would-be assailant. She jumped up and lunged for him, knocking the dagger out of his hand. It was hard to see but she was still able to give him a good thrashing. The noise of the struggle alerted the guards and they came running. Somebody lit a lantern.
“What’s going on here!” Demanded the head guard’
“This man,” said Daring, pulling him to his feet, “tried to kill me with this dagger.”
“Why, its one of our cheifs!” Said the astonished guard. “But why should he try to kill you?”
“Possibly because of this!” Said Daring as she ripped his already tattered shirt to reveal an old military tattoo. “Isn’t this a Foreign Legion tattoo?”
“A Spy! Take him away.” Barked the guard. “Miss Do we are terribly sorry for this. Pleas accept our most sincerest apologies.”
“Of course.”
“But tell me, Miss Do, how did you wake up in time to see him?”
“He stepped on my porcelain washbowl.”
The next day Daring was treated to a big surprise. The Sheik had felt bad about almost letting a spy kill his guest, and since he really liked and respected her, he decided to make her an honorary member of the tribe. It was a grand celebration. There was lots of feasting and drinking and dancing (and more drinking). Daring had a grand time. They even held an exhibition fight for entertainment. She enjoyed seeing the two Herculean stallions duke it out. The party lasted into the night. Daring fell asleep that night and slept well. There was something about the outdoors that always helped her slumber.
The morning after she decided it was time to continue her journey. She packed her saddlebags and was ready to go when she was told that the Sheik had requested her presence. She found him on his throne surrounded by several more girls (none of which were the same ones she had seen the first time she had met him).
“Daring Do. You have wandered here out of the desert like the Prodigal Son returning home, and indeed you may always consider this a home. As much as I would like to send protection along with you I fear that all my men are needed here. So since I can’t send you off with supplies at least let me send you off with some words of advice.
“It has been said that the city you seek is laden with many riches, but it is also heavy with secrets. Only one of a pure heart may truly posses that which all desire. Go, my child, and may Ala bless you on this most perilous of trips.”
“Thank you, sir.” Said Daring, bowing as she backed out of the tent.
As she left the camp she found herself going over and over the Sheik’s cryptic message. What treasure was he talking about? Was it The great treasure she had read about? What did he mean by ‘pure heart’? What was IT that all desire? These questions spun around in daring’s head until she finally decided to dismiss them until the time was right. She just hoped that she would know when that time was.
Chapter 4: How Daring closed in on the city, and what she found in the desert.
Chapter 4: How Daring closed in on the city, and what she found in the desert.
Daring’s trip across the desert was relatively uneventful. Apart from a few scorpions and some quicksand Daring made good time. After only three days she made it to the next town, and her final destination before the ruins. It was a good sized town, built around a large oasis. Daring checked into a local hotel. Her room was about the size of a double bed, but fortunately it had all the amenities; an oil lamp, a bed, a window overlooking the main road, and it even had a latch on the door. Daring looked out of the window and remembered what happened the last time she checked into a room. She decided this time to barricade the door as best she could. The view from her second story window was actually pretty good. Across the road from her was the town square.
“Wow, look at that,” said Daring to no pony unparticular, “they’ve got everything. Food, lamps, weapons, creepy mercenaries, pottery… Wait? Creepy mercenaries? It’s them, those ex-legionnaires. You’d think for an underground operation that they would at least wear less conspicuous uniforms. What am I saying?! This is my chance!”
Daring rushed out of the hotel and across to the square. As she got there she could see them leaving the square across from her. She fell in behind them.
“Come on you legion flunkies, take me to your leader.” Daring whispered to herself.
The 2 soldiers zig-zaged through a dozen alleys, over 3 bridges, and through a shanty town. Daring stuck to the shadows and alcoves. She was almost caught once when she accidentally kicked a tin can but apart from that was able to avoid further detection. At the end of their walk Daring saw the 2 ponies go into a building marked ‘Ponisian Embassy’.
“How stupid do they think I am. I mean, who ever heard of an embassy located in its own country? Of course it could be a trap. Actually it might as well have a flashing billboard that says ‘Trap’. Oh well, that just makes this more fun.” There were no guards, but then again it was a small building. Daring waited about a half hour until it got dark. It was easy to see which rooms were occupied now, since the illuminated windows gave them away. There were only lights on the second floor. Daring snuck down an ally along side of the house until she found a basement window conveniently hidden next to a dumpster. She jimmied it open and crawled in.
The basement was dark. She pulled out a flashlight and took a look around. The basement was full of filing cabinets. Daring took a quick look but found them to be nothing but useless government documents.
“Hmm, nothing but expired patents. This must have been a federal building in the past.”
Fortunately she did fine something that was really interesting. It was a crate marked ‘Army’. Daring grabbed a nearby crowbar and pried open the crate. Inside she found a pile of shiny new swords.
“Just great. Not only is my enemy made up of war mongers but they’ve got swords sharp enough to cut steel.”
Then she noticed a box of something on the floor. It had what looked like black tin cans with wooden handles sticking out the bottom. And there were a dozen of them.
“As if the swords weren’t bad enough, they’ve also got grenades.”
Daring closed the crates and headed up to the first floor. It looked like a normal house. It had a sitting room, a dining room that could double as a meeting room, a kitchen, and two den offices. Daring walked around until she found herself at the bottom of a large staircase. At the top she could see a crack of light peeking out of a door. Daring snuck up the stairs and over to the door. She could hear voices from the other side.
“Commandant!” Said what sounded like one of the stallions she had followed. “We have just received word that Daring Do has escaped police custody and fled the city. It is believed that she is somewhere in this very town.”
“FOOLS!” Said a mysterious filly voice. “We cannot let Daring interfere with our plans. Report to the dig site and join the night patrol. We cannot let her discover the treasure before we do, The fate of our mission is at stake. Now go!”
Daring hid behind a curtain as the two stallions exited the room and went downstairs. Daring heard the front door slam, indicating that they had left. Daring went back to the door.
She couldn’t see anypony but could hear somepony enter an adjoining room. The light went out. Daring assumed the mysterious voice had gone to bed. She snuck into the office. Inside she found several clues to aid her in her little ‘investigation’. The first item was a large map of the desert. It showed the area where Daring believed the city to be. Across it were several pencil marks, suggesting that they has also discovered the approximate location of the city. She also found an old notebook. It was labeled ‘The Treasures of the Lost City of the Unicorns’. Inside were lots of notes invaluable to her dig. She took the book and map and stuck them in her saddlebag. She was about to leave when she realized that whoever was in the next room would notice immediately that these items were missing, so she decided to forgo subtly. She grabbed a marker and scrawled ‘I Know Everything –D.D.’ across a whiteboard.
“That ought to get their dander up.” Whispered Daring to herself.
She went downstairs and left by the front door. She snuck back through the alleyways to her hotel room, always watching to make sure she wasn’t being followed. She went to bed that night, dreaming of the look on the mysterious mare’s face when she would see her ‘message’.
Daring spent the next day in her hotel room going over the stolen notes. From what she could figure there was some sort of treasure hidden in the high priestess temple in the main palace of the city, and that whoever possessed that treasure would have the secret to eternal happiness.
“It must be the treasure that I read about. I wonder if it’s related to what the Sheik told me?”
Next to it was scrawled the words ‘secret to immortality’. Daring doubted that it could grant you that, but whoever owned this book definantly thought so. Daring checked the inside of the cover. It said ‘Property of P.D-O.’
“A hyphenated last name. You don’t see that too often.”
Daring read on and discovered several clues that would help her get through all the booby traps in the temple. She memorized the entire book. That evening she fell asleep, dreaming of her adventure up to that point.
The next day Daring woke up bright and early. She ate breakfast and loaded up on supplies for her desert trek. She caught a cab and took it to the city limits. After that she had a 20 kilometers walk to the dig site. It was slow going since Daring had to duck off the road several times to avoid running into anypony. She didn’t know who was working for whom. It was evening when she capped a dune and caught her first glimpse of the lost city of the unicorns dig.
It was a large expanse of sand, illuminated by a hundred lanterns. There were rows and rows of white canvas tents along with rows and rows of digging equipment. There were trenches dug through the land along with surveyor’s stakes.
The workers were just finishing up for the day and turning in. The night shift guards were coming out and starting their patrols. Daring snuck past them into the camp. She grabbed one of the workers outfits so as not to seem out of place. She found an empty bunk and settled in for the night. The next morning daring explored the camp under the guise of a watermare. She discovered that the ponies were mostly uneducated locals working for food. They were digging trenches in search for an opening to the city. In the notes she had ‘liberated’ she had discovered that the city had extensive underground cisterns, and if you could find any building, you could follow its lead drainage pipes down to the tunnels. From there you could traverse the entire city with ease. And then Daring saw her.
She was up on a hill top barking orders. There standing in front of a half-dozen X.L.D. mercs was… herself! She moved a little closer so she could overhear.
“…and I want her found now! We’re so close to discovering the path to the treasure and I don’t want her messing anything up. I know she’s here, I can feel her do-gooder presence. I want Daring Do found and I want it done NOW! Why are you still standing here. Go!”
“Time to step up my game.” Thought Daring.
She started going around the camp from group to group, putting her ‘2 cents’ into every conversation she found.
“Let us hope the curse does not effect us…I hope we aren’t the ones to discover the cursed treasure or our eyes might melt…They say that whoever lays eyes on the treasure will be cursed for all eternity…they are slowly poisoning our food…Our leader is secretly a cross-dressing nazi!”
Daring spread the seeds of rumor here and there and they spread like wildfire. Soon the camp was filled with nervous workers. One by one they snuck off, running for the hills. Daring’s plan had worked, and by that evening half the workers had been scarred off. This gave her just the opportunity she needed. She grabbed her notes and settled in an outhouse for some privacy. She compared her notes with the stolen ones and discovered the location of a hollow obelisk. The tip of the obelisk had already been found, but it was nearly two hundred feet tall and only the top 5 feet was exposed. This made digging it out almost impossible. However Daring was the only one who knew it was hollow. If she could get into it she could make her way into the hidden city 20 stories below the ocean of sand. She decided that it was safest for here in the outhouse, so she decide to fall asleep right there.
Daring woke up. It was 2:30 in the morning. Daring grabbed a rope and some picks and snuck out of her tent. The guards were only securing the perimeter, and since Daring was already within it she was able to move around freely. Daring stole her way over to the obelisk and started chipping away at the bricks. She hated to destroy a priceless treasure but she knew that it would be easy enough to repair a dozen missing bricks. Daring shone a light in. It revealed a staircase going down into an inky darkness filled with stale air. Daring stepped in and started descending under the sands. She didn’t see the shadows near her new entrance nor their owners staring at her, waiting for their chance to strike.
Chapter 5: How Daring discovered lots of loot, and how she failed to notice she was being followed.
Chapter 5: How Daring discovered lots of loot, and how she failed to notice she was being followed.
Daring kept walking. It seemed like hours. After descending down the obelisk she found herself in the underground cisterns. She lucked out. The obelisk was right above the main tunnel, and it made traversing the city quite easy. The tunnel was nearly 3 stories tall and seemed to go on forever. There were several offshoots but Daring ignored them. She figured the main tunnel would lead her strait to the palace and…the temple. This was also reinforced by the fact that hieroglyphics on the wall acted as road signs at every major intersection. She finally found a staircase that was ornately decorated with a crude iron gate blocking it. Things don’t rust in the desert, but two thousand years is plenty enough to weaken a gate. One good kick and she was in.
She followed it up into a service corridor. She had to go through two wooden doors and another gate before she found herself in a great hall. It had 8 giant statues of ponies wearing grandiose headgear along each wall. They were nearly 5 stories tall and you could just barely see the remnants of its red, gold, and green paint. The hall lead up to a throne on a balcony. Daring decided to get a better view and walked around until she found the way up. Daring stood at the edge of the balcony and turned her lantern to full power, illuminating part of the room. Her light was the only one, and it cast eerie shadows throughout. Daring stood in aww.
“Its like the Babylon set from ‘Intolerance’ but without Nebuchadnezzar.”
Then she turned around.
“Never mind. Its looks like King Neb made it after all, or at least all that’s left of him.”
On the thrown was a skeleton with a crown and a tattered cloak. In its hoof was clutched something odd. It glinted when she shone her light over it.
“Well well old boy, what was so important that you guarded it to your death?”
Despite what you see in movies, bones don’t stay together too well. The moment Daring touched his hoof the whole skeleton collapsed. She grabbed the item before it fell to the floor.
Daring turned the item over in her hoof. It was solid gold. It was shaped like the letters ‘LE’, with the ‘E’ part covered in diamonds protruding from all sides. The ‘L’ part, however, was smooth and void of any gems whatsoever. It was almost like a handle. As Daring examined it a bone fell off the throne and onto the floor. Her eye naturally followed it. It landed with a dull thud. This caught Daring’s attention. Daring took a closer look and found a loose tile on the floor. It wasn’t loose because of the ruins because all the surrounding tiles were tight and unchipped. Daring pried it up. Underneath she found three small square slots. Her eye darted back between the golden object and the holes.
“Hmm…I wonder? Nah, it couldn’t be that easy…could it?”
Daring stuck the ‘E’ part of the golden item into the three holes. The ‘L’ part stuck out. It was a key. She turned it.
Suddenly a loud rumble came from below her feet and the throne started to shake. It slowly slid back, revealing a hidden staircase! Daring took a nearby brick and wedged it in so that the door couldn’t close and latch behind her. She grabbed her lantern and cautiously descended into the darkness. Once she left the great hall was once again dark. At least, it was for about a minute. Then another light shone in from where Daring had entered. Anypony watching would be very confused to see the pony who had just exited at one end of the room immediately enter it again from the other end.
At the bottom of the stairs was a long hallway. Daring looked at the walls. On each were several weird faces with surprised looks and open mouths. Daring grabbed a rock and flung it down the hall. The moment it hit the floor an arrow flew out of a mouth and flew across the hall. As the rock rolled four more arrows flew out. The floor was booby trapped. “Just like in the notebook. That means on the floor…”
Daring took a closer look and found that some stones were elevated just a half-centimeter above the rest. Those were the triggers. A closer look at the wall revealed a multitude of wide cracks that arrows could fit through.
“So if a person tried to crawl on the floor to avoid the mouths they would get hit anyways. Clever.”
Nearby Daring saw an old pile of weapons… and armor. Bronze Shilds are useless against side attacks, but strap two on each side and you’ve got adequate arrow protection. Daring took it step by slow step. The hallway was long, so long in fact that it took daring an hour to get ¾ of the way down. At each raised rock she saw she would look for the corresponding hole, stand back, and activate it. This way it would be a little safer on her trip back. By the time she made it to the end her legs were ready to collapse. Daring took a short rest. In front of her were two doors. Between them was a sign. Daring read and translated it. It was in prose and went like so:
2 choices before you lay, the right one will pay out great the wrong one if you play the journey will end today
“Great, so the wrong door will kill me. What to do… hey, what’s this?”
Daring bent down to look closer at the floor. In front of the left door was a large stain that seemed to have seeped from underneath it. It was a very dark red, almost black.
“Blood. Well, it looks like I’m not the first one to make it this far. Thank you, oh nameless corpse behind the door, for you have shown me, the right, uh, door. Boy, my rhyming is terrible.”
Daring opened the right door and continued on. She failed to hear the sound of an arrow flying through the air or the sound of a limp body falling to the floor far behind her.
The next room was huge. When Daring saw what was in it her eyes grew wide and a smile stretched across her face from ear to ear. The room was filled with gold from wall to wall! In one corner was a pile of coins, in another ten tons of gold bars, across from that were ten magnificent sarcophagus, and the wall behind them were covered from top to toe in hieroglyphics. Daring was giddy with excitement and did a quick dance. She ran over to the gold coins and started to go swimming! She started laughing like a crazy person or even an anime girl. She was so happy. Not only had she made the discovery of the century but now she was ultra rich! After a few minute daring settled down and stepped back to take a look at the wall of hieroglyphics. Suddenly she felt something sharp poke her in the back. It was a knife.
Do froze. She wanted to believe that she had backed into a unicorn statue but the sound of heavy breathing behind her told her otherwise.
“Turn around.” Said a mare’s voice. She recognized the voice as the one barking orders from earlier.
Daring turned and found herself staring at…herself. Right there in front of her was a mare that looked just like Daring Do. She had light brown fur, a black to grey gradient mane, and mysteriously enough a compass cutie mark exactly like hers. She was also holding a silver dagger with a swastika on the hilt. Behind her were 6 guards and as many worker stallions.
“Hello Daring, surprised to see me, or should I say, you.” Said the mare. “We’ve been following you this whole time. I knew you were in the camp and would try something after dark so I had a guard watch for anypony walking around after working hours. I have to admit breaking into the obelisk was genius worthy of myself.”
Daring starred at her doppelganger for a minute until it dawned on her.
“Well well,” said Daring with renewed confidence, “your disguise is very flattering and could fool anypony, but you’ve still got that certain narcissistic quality that everyone hated you for.”
“Oh, so you remember me. I’m not surprised. Nobody forgets me.”
“Believe me, we wish we could, Miss Petty Drop-Out!”
Petty Drop-Out. The pony who every pony hated. Her ego was so big that she believed the world revolved around her, and that everypony exsisted only to serve her. And she had the money to make it happen. She was a classmate of Daring’s when she went to Canterlot University. She was almost expelled when it got out that she had paid off people to do her schoolwork, but she officially dropped out just hours before she was expelled so that it would make her record look better than it was(not that dropping out is much better, mind you). Daring had heard that she had gone bad, but of course she had everyone else do her dirty work, so nothing ever got back to her.
“I almost didn’t see you through that full body dye job.” Said Daring. “And that fake Cutie mark must be a bitch to maintain. Just like you.”
You’re still as snarky as ever. But enough of this stupid banter, time to get down to business. I have a little job for you.”
“What do you need me for? You’ve already got the treasure.”
“HA! This? This is just a bonus. The real treasure is worth ten times this.”
“Just what exactly is this treasure. Your notes rambled so much I couldn’t get that part.”
“Well, I suppose there’s no harm in telling you since you won’t make it out of here alive. The treasure is supposedly a mystic potion and spell infused with enough magic to grant the person who drinks it anything she wants.”
“As in immortality?”
“Precisely. Once I drink it will become immortal, and then I will be the most powerful pony on the entire planet! Wa Ha Ha!”
“So now what, are you going to kill me now or wait till later?”
“Oh I’ve got plans for you. You see, there is one more room of traps to traverse and you are going to clear the way for me.”
“Well bully for me.”
At Petty’s order Daring’s wings were tied. They all proceeded to the back of the treasure chamber where they found another door. Daring opened it.
Inside was another grand hall, except instead of statues and thrones it was filled with spike-filled death drops and giant pendulums of death. At the end was an altar with a small chest on top.
“Oh goody, it’s the temple of doom. Could this get anymore clichéd?”
Then she noticed the snakes.
“I guess it can.”
Well Daring,” Said Petty, “get going. There should be a switch on the other side of the room. If you try and take the treasure for yourself I’ll have my archer here shoot you.
“Sigh.”
Daring started across the room. She crawled slowly, making sure to avoid the spike filled pits and the pendulums of doom. Suddenly she took a step and a spike shot out of the floor. Now she only had to avoid spikes, pits, and pendulums. Now she wished she had read Poe’s book.
But she had read Petty’s notebook. In it mentioned colored floor tiles. Only red ones were safe. While it sounds like that would make things easier, the tiles were only 6x6 inch squares.
Daring gingerly tipped toed through, dodging potential death at every step. After nearly twenty minutes she made it to the altar. On it was a small chest made of pure opal. Daring wanted to open it but suddenly remembered the crossbow aimed at the back of her head. Next to the alter was a large lever. She pulled it. Loud clicks could be heard from the floors and walls. He Pendulums stopped swinging. All the pits opened and exposed themselves. All the traps were disarmed. She thought of arming them wile Petty was in the middle of them but found the lever locked in place. Petty approached the alter and opened the chest. Inside was a vial of liquid and a scroll.
“This is it! The key to immortality! Bwa ha ha ha. Wa ha ha hack cough…uh, anyways, Guards, tie Goody Do Do to a post and leave her to rot. In fact, Daring, I’ll leave your lantern so you can watch as the light slowly dims until darkness overtakes this room. You’ll go crazy before you die.”
Daring was tied up and watched them leave. She wondered what was written on the scroll. Then she was all alone.
“Well, I guess its time I make a ‘Daring’ escape. I do so love that line.”
Daring wiggled her hoof around until she found what she was looking for. Daring always kept a small blade hidden within the lining of her vest just for such an emergency. 10 minutes later she was free. She took this time to inspect the empty chest for clues. She found that it was bolted to the altar.
“That’s so weird. Wait, what’s that thing in the bottom of the chest?”
Daring had seen what looked like a ring. She blew the dust away to reveal a raised circle. She touched it just as she realized what it was... a trap.
It was a standard pressure release switch. The moment the vial was removed it was suppose to release and activate, but after 2000 years it was jammed. ‘Was’ being the operative word here. Daring managed to unjam it, which didn’t help at all. Suddenly the whole place started to shake.
“Buck.”
Daring took off across the room. Boulders were falling everywhere. At one point a pendulum almost fell on her. The door started to close. She dove into the treasure room just as it shut. She breathed a sigh of relief. She filled her pockets with gold coins as the rumbling from the previous room died down. Then the treasure room started to shake.
“Again? Really?”
She took off across the room. She ran down the arrow hall so fast that she was ahead of what few arrows were left. Daring was almost there. Just a few more feet and she would be safe. She took a great leap and got her front hoofs over the safety line at the end of the hall. She fell flat out on the floor. Daring had made it. She started to stand up but found that she couldn’t. A warm feeling on her flank worried her. She looked back and noticed that her compass cutie mark had a new point. An arrow point.
Daring stared at the slow stream of blood trickling out of her flank from where the arrow had penetrated. It had hit its mark perfectly and penetrated the exact center of her cutie mark. Her lip quivered, her eyes watered, and then the pain followed. A barrage of expletives later Daring attempted to remove it. She had to make an incision along the arrow, then slowly pulled it out, all while attempting not to die of blood loss. After pulling it out and a few more swears she bandaged it up. Then she started the long walk out.
It was a good thing she wasn’t being followed since her blood trail was too easy to follow. She had found a pole and it helped her along despite her limp. It took her three times as long to get out, fortunately half-way through the pain made her leg completely numb. When daring got to the foot of the obelisk her already dim lantern finally gave out. She had to feel her way up the long and narrow stairs. Since there was no light she had to assume it was either night time or they had bricked up the exit. She figured both, and she was right.
At the top she ran into a dead end. Literally.
“Great, not only is it bricked up, there’s probably a guard or two on the other side in case I…break out. Of course, that’s it!”
Daring felt the wall. The mortar was fresh and hadn’t finished setting. Daring removed the bloody arrow from her bag. She turned around and got ready.
Daring gave a hard double-kick to the weak wall. It blew out with the force of a small explosion. On the other side were two guards just like she thought. One of the guards was in the way of the collapsing wall and was knocked out by flying debris. She pounced on the other’s back and held the arrow to his neck.
“Don’t make a sound, not a SINGLE sound!” said Daring through her teeth.
The guard froze. Daring raised her arm and brought her elbow down hard on the back of his head. He stumbled. It wasn’t enough to knock him out, so daring leapt from his back, grabbed a brick and slammed him upside the jaw. That did it.
Daring glanced around. The camp had already been abandoned since Petty had gotten what she came for.
“Great (huff huff) now all I’ve (pant) got to do is…traverse… the… Deserrrrr.”
With that Daring collapsed.
Chapter 6:How Daring found the island, and solved the riddle.
Chapter 6: How Daring found the island, and solved the riddle.
It took about a day of lazily flying around before daring came across her destination. It was a large deserted island. The island was tropical and was covered in a thick jungle. The Island was of volcanic origin, which Daring figured out when she saw the 1000 foot volcano smack-dab in the middle of the island. It is also worth noting that the volcano was active.
Daring landed on the beach and took a look around. She wasn’t sure exactly where to go. Since she was pretty sure that Petty had lost her way (that is assuming that she survived.) Daring decided that she deserved a vacation. It took her only a few hours to weave a hammock out of some vines and gather a pile of fruit.
“Now THIS is a relaxing vacation.”
She spent the next few days just lounging on her beach, working on getting a perfect tan and swimming in the warm crystal clear water. On one of her flights around the island she came across a small port town. Well, town is a bit of a stretch. It was just a rest stop for passing ships and was comprised of a warehouse next to a dock and a giant inn/ bar. The entire place was abandoned probably due to the smoking volcano. This gave her an unlimited amount of free wine to make her vacation even better.
On top of all that she discovered a large hot springs in the jungle. It was her where she was now bathing. She slowly sunk down into the warm steamy water and looked around at her surroundings through half-lidded eyes. The large natural springs were surrounded by round water-polished rocks and was filled with the clearest water Daring had ever seen. Palm trees skirted the edge with vines hanging down into the water. Tropical birds flew around and iguanas lounged on rocks. Nothing could move the intrepid adventurer from this spot. Except an earthquake.
She should have seen it coming. The iguana’s slithered into the underbrush. The birds squawked and flew away. The water started to ripple. But Daring was so relaxed that she was oblivious to her surroundings. Now, however, she was wide awake.
“Great, it looks like this island is going to blow sooner than I thought.”
Daring got out of the pool and was finishing getting dressed when an aftershock knocked her from her feet. It also knocked loose some boulders from a nearby cliff face revealing a cave. As a born explorer, the drew her in like a magnet to a steel bar. The cave was warm and dark, but a glow in the distance pulled her onwards. Soon she came across a river of lava. Daring’s eyes grew wide.
“Oooooooo.”
She followed the river but soon realized the floor was extremely smooth.
“This part of the tunnel was created by Ponies. The floor is clear and the walls are painted. I wonder where this leads?”
Daring continued along, hurrying as tremors shook the cave. Slowly the cave sloped upwards, and Daring wondered how far up she was. Suddenly it opened up into a giant cave. Light hit her, temporarily blinding her. Once her vision returned she realized that the far end of the cave was opened and looked over the island, with the village off in the distance. In the middle of the cave was an alter. The alter had a spot on it where it looked like a round item set into it. Below it was writing similar to the writing from the underground city.
“Lets see, If I translate this it comes out to… Oh my gosh! It matches the writing on the scroll. Maybe the potion bottle fits in on top!”
Daring removed the bottle from her saddlebags and slowly placed it in the indent. A moment later a ‘click’ could be heard and the front of the alter slid down to reveal more hieroglyphics and what appeared to be two buttons.
“If…if you had a choice of one,” read Daring as she translated, “which is the choice of the pure. Would you save a drowning soul, or rescue him even at the cost of loosing the secret of immortality.
“I guess this is what they mean by pure of heart. Obviously id save the poor pony from drowning.”
Daring pressed the left button. The entire alter shook and sank into the ground. Suddenly another one appeared in its place. On top was a plaque and above it was the most decorative crown Daring had ever seen. It was sold gold and lined with pearls and rubies. In the center was a giant topaz surrounded by opals. It was amazing. The plaque below cleared up all mysteries surrounding the potion. It read as follows;
‘We of the city of the unicorns congratulate you. Through trial and trepidation you have reached the end of your journey. We offered ones hearts desire only to the purest of ponies. While we eluded to the chance of immortality, this is wholly unobtainable. Even alicorns do not survive forever. This crown was owned by our ruler, an alicorn who watched over us for over 1500 years, who suffered a mortal blow in a great battle. Our city dying, she requested us to set up this elaborate test so that she may grant a life of comfort to hopefully one worthy pony. This crown was the most valuable item in our kingdom, and is valuable enough to grant one anything they want. The potion within the flask, while not an immortality potion, will give you added vitality, vigor, and stamina. Congratulation.’
“Ha! Petty would be furious if she read that.”
Daring drank the potion and put the crown in her saddle bags. It could fetch millions of bits at auction. Suddenly the whole cave shook violently and Daring was swept from her feet. A crack formed in the floor and warm fatter started spraying out. At the same time part of the cave collapsed, closing off the opening to the outside. The water (having no place to go) started flowing down the passage that had brought her there. The tremor wasn’t stopping. This was it! The volcano was on the verge of erupting!
“Not good not good! I can’t get out in time. It took me an hour to get up here. Plus, once that water hits the lava river this place will fill with steam and I’ll be cooked alive! Unless…I beat the water!”
Quickly, Daring ran for the tunnel and jumped into it. Her flank hit the floor first and she started to slide. The water made the polished floor nice and slippery, and a moment later DD had picked up a good amount of speed. In fact she caught up with the edge of the water flowing down, and managed to keep her speed steady so that she was just inches from the edge of the river of water. It was better than any water park she had ever been to. She sped past the lava river and down to the cave entrance, where she was unceremoniously dumped head first into the hot springs. She made for the port at fast as she could. The whole place island was tearing itself apart. Daring opened the warehouse and grabbed a crate of food. She dragged it down the docks and pushed it into a deluxe steamer Chris-Craft.
“That’s odd. I could have sworn there was a fishing boat docked here too.”
Daring powered up the boat and took off as fast as she could, and it was none-too-soon. As she sailed away she could see lava rushing down the face of the mountain. It engulfed the town and flowed into the ocean, sending a large cloud of steam billowing into the air. But for her, everything was ok. It was a close call, but she had seen worse. She could have always flown home. The boat was just easier. The volcanic eruption was just a part of nature. It was even picturesque. She made sure to snap a picture. Her boat had a little cabin and some navigation equipment. She figured it would only take a week to reach civilization. Even if she had no food or water, she could still last that long. Plus she got out of it with a big crown thingy. Overall her island vacation was “Pretty good.”
Chapter 7: Daring’s good(?) name is cleared and she gets into a cat fight(or is that pony fight?)
Chapter 7: Daring’s good(?) name is cleared and she gets into a cat fight(or is that pony fight?)
Her trip home was uneventful. She spent most of the time sunning on the forward deck while listening to records through the boat’s sound system. With the Chris-craft set on full steam it only took her a week to reach land, and another week of train trips to return to Equestria. She still had the little problem of being a wanted felon in a country she liked to visit. That was soon rectified. A visit to the embassy by her lawyer accompanied by her travel papers managed to convince the officials to drop all charges and pursue the real enemy. On top of all that, her discovery rocketed her to the top of popularity. She was THE mare to meet and was being invited to all the biggest parties, including the Grand Galloping Gala. Every periodical wanted her on their cover, from Equestria Geographic to Playstallion (which she gladly posed for). Now she was to auction it off at the Canterlot auction house.
It was here she was headed now. Before it was to be auctioned it had to be appraised to estimate its value. It was presently believed to be valued at 7 million bits. As she rode the elevator up to the 20th floor of the Faust building she imagined what she would do with that much cash. A new house was defenantly in order. She stepped out of the elevator and into the spacious top floor office of the CEO of the country’s biggest auctioneers. It was a round office with a half sphere desk across from the elevators. Behind the desk was a large executives chair and beyond that was a balcony that opened out to one of the best views in Canterlot. The building was built on the edge of a cliff, so the view looked out over the valley.
“Amazing view.”
“Its one of the best in the city.” Said the voice behind the chair. “Did you bring the item?”
“Its right here.” Said Daring as she put a case on the desk
“Open it.”
“Sure thing. Here it is. Shiny, isn’t it.”
“Yes, it is.” Said a female voice. Daring was shocked as the chair turned around to reveal None other than Petty Drop-Out! She was hiding behind the chair. In it was an elderly stallion, who was sweating profusely as his glance darted back and forth between Daring and the revolver being held to his head.
Guns were rare due to a world counsel banning their production over 100 years ago. Of course an old gun is still as deadly as ever.
“Petty! Yo-your alive! How…”
“…did I survive. I lucked out and found an overturned lifeboat. I had what was left of my guards row me to a volcanic island where we took a tug boat home. Had I known you were on the same island I would have taken care of you then and there.”
“C-could I leave?”
“Shut up you old koot.” Said Petty. She grabbed the back of his head and slammed it onto the desk, rendering him unconscious.
“No point risking him run out and get the royal guards. After all this is between you and me.” “Before you ice me, could you answer one question?” asked Daring.
“What.”
“You had set sail for the volcanic atoll in search I’m assuming for the treasure. What clue led you there?”
“Had you looked at the bottom of the flask that contained the potion you would have realized there was map of the atoll with a mark on the volcanic island. Although it raises the question of how you found the prize.”
With a snarky smirk on her face Daring looked Petty square in the eye and said “Sheer luck.”
If Petty wasn’t mad before then she certainly was now
“DIE DO!”
Daring side-stepped as Petty pulled the trigger. She grabbed an ink bottle of the desk and splashed the contents in Petty’s eyes as she dropped behind the desk to avoid the second shot.
“AUGH!” screamed Petty as the ink got in her eyes. “You little bitch. Your dead meat Do!”
Petty ran around the oversize desk towards Daring. As she came around she nearly tripped over Daring, who jabbed a hoof out towards Petty. She grabbed Petty’s wrist in an attempt to control the gun. It went of towards the floor twice before Daring writhed it away from her. It flew across the room and under a chair.
Petty took her left and put Daring in a choke hold. Daring countered by swinging her head back, headbutting her assailant. Petty reeled back and daring spun around, kicking her in the get and giving her three right hooks in a row. Petty swung her rear hoof around, hooking Do’s legs and knocking her off balance. Petty brought a hard elbow down on her stomach befor climbing on top of her.
Now pinned, Petty gave Daring a pummeling. Left, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right. Petty gave off better hits than most stallions she had tangled with. Daring tried to Kick but her legs caught nothing but air. Her right hoof found itself on a paperweight that had fallen to the floor. She brought it up and mad contact. Daring was knocked to the floor. She was hit in the jaw and was bleeding from her mouth. Daring climbed to her feet and kicked Petty in the face.
Petty noticed the gun on the floor. She grabbed Do’s ankle and while she didn’t fall it did knock her off-balance, buying Petty a few seconds. She rushed for the gun. Daring saw her and tackled her as she picked it up. The tackle threw both of them through the pane glass windows and out onto the balcony.
Again they were struggling with the gun. This time however daring didn’t escape taking damage. It went off and caught her shoulder. It was only a scratch but it still hurt. Daring clamped her jaw around Petty’s wrist. There was one shot left in the revolver. Petty spun around and gave daring a resounding kick! It threw Daring through the glass railing and off into oblivion. “AUUUUuuuuuuggg” Daring scream was lost as she dropped from sight into the cloudy valley below
“Sayonara D.D. Now to claim my prize.”
She turned around to find Daring Do standing across from her, the gun at her feet.
“What! Bu-bu-but HOW?!
“Pegasus, remember?”
“Why…you… little…DIE ALREADY!”
Petty reached behind her and pulled out a knife. She flung it at Daring. When she did Daring dropped to the deck and fired the last shot.
“BKKAM”
Petty just stood there, seemingly frozen. The knife dropped from her grip and a blank look came across her face.
Daring couldn’t tell where she hit her, although it was obvious to anypony she had been.
“Check…mate…daring…Checkmate.”
Petty fell over backwards over the edge of the balcony.
“Petty!”
Daring flew to the edge and dove over but screeched to a halt. The lower clouds hid everything from view. Even if she could reach her before she hit the bottom, it was pointless if she couldn’t see her
The appraiser soon came to and helped clear things up when the royal guards arrived. The crown went on to sell for 12 million bits and Daring bought a large old mansion in a secluded area north of Canterlot. While it was a happy ending for her, there was one thing that always bugged Daring.
The royal guards never found Petty’s body. They figured the body washed downstream of the river that was at the base of the cliff. Even searching downriver turned up nothing. One had to wonder.
The End
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Authors Note: I wrote this but let a lot of time pass between the last chapters, so I forgot where I was going with the plot. I really lost interest in writing this story, but I hate it when people leave stories unfinished so I figured any conclusion was better than none. Future stories will be better. Also in MLP, any time they fistfight they stand up, so I wrote the final fight with them standing up. It made choreographing the fight scene easier.