Join Daring Do as she journeys to the city of Mare-is to either find a priceless treasure that was stolen or risk invoking the Countess of Monte Colto's wrath with the assistance of an estranged friend of hers, who walks into her life once more.
The city of Mare-is is a popular tourist spot, especially since it is the home to the esteemed legacy of the Count of Monte Colto, believed to have been made from the burning desire for revenge against those that wronged him. However, when a priceless treasure belonging to the legacy was stolen and the family was attacked on the new Countess's wedding day, she vows revenge against the thief that caused it.
Meanwhile, Daring Do is alerted to the potential crisis when an old friend, a minstrel named Night Serenade, comes into her life once more and tells her of a letter requesting her presence at the city of Mare-is. She plans to go alone, but is forced to take Night Serenade with her at his request. Can the two find the priceless treasure in time or will they succumb to the wrath of the Countess of Monte Colto?
The Countess looked at herself in the mirror, the mutilated face of the once beautiful Earth mare staring back at her. She growled before putting the specially-made mask she had ordered on. If anyone heard her do that, they wouldn’t blame her. Something or somepony had decided to attack her and her family on her wedding day. On her wedding day. She growled once more before turning away from the mirror.
“I will fix this,” she vowed as she walked up to the small display case in the room’s center.
It was empty of whatever was in it and, if one were to look closely, there was a circle cut into it. She looked at the empty case with a glare. The case was supposed to hold the one item that had been in her family ever since the first Count of Monte Colto made himself known: a necklace that he had given his betrothed when they had finally married. Since then, whenever a pony born into the Monte Colto legacy is to be married, they always gave their fiancee the necklace on their wedding day to ensure that nothing bad is going to happen. The Countess’s glare grew harsh and looked away.
“I will punish the one who had the nerve to steal my family’s treasure and set an example for any and all ponies who come here!” she bellowed out as she left the room entirely.
As she roamed the manor, the servants all watched her with wary eyes. They knew how the first Count of Monte Colto was and it was no secret that those following would one day be driven by revenge should something happen. A butler nervously cleared his throat, getting the Countess’s attention.
“What is it?” she asked impatiently.
“Perhaps you should take a moment to consider your, er, ideals, my lady?” the butler asked, choosing his words carefully.
The Countess only stared back, the same impatience written on her face.
“Very well,” she said begrudgingly. “I’ll be in my chambers. I am not to be disturbed.”
“Yes, my lady,” the butler responded as the Countess walked off.
A maid walked up to the butler and waited until the Countess was well out of earshot.
“What do we do?” the maid asked, making sure to whisper in case the Countess was listening. “Unless the thief is found, it’ll be both our heads and the other Legacies.”
“We have no choice,” the butler answered. “The thief couldn’t have gone far. We’ll have to call upon somepony who has an expertise at this kind of thing. You go about your duties, I’ll write the letter to her myself.”
The maid only nodded as she resumed her duties. The butler walked into the study and went to write the letter, making sure to check to see if anyone happened to be watching. After what felt like an eternity, the butler finished writing the letter and put it in the envelope, closing it with the official Seal of the Monte Colto legacy. Letter in hoof, he calmly made his way through the estate, making sure to keep up the appearances of a butler tending to his duties should the Countess or her family see him.
Eventually, he exited the estate and walked through the city of Mare-is, hoping to at least find somepony who would do the difficult task of delivering the letter. He soon finds somepony and walks up to them.
“Excuse me,” he said after clearing his throat, getting the cloaked pony’s attention. “I’m terribly sorry for troubling you, but I need you to deliver this to the pony it’s written to.”
With that, he held out the letter towards the pony. The pony eyed the letter for a moment or two before nodding.
“All right,” the butler said as the pony took the letter into their own hoof and stashed it into their own cloak. “Just make sure you get this to Miss Daring Do and tell her it is imperative that she answer right away. I don’t have much Bits on hand, but-”
The pony only held up a hoof for a moment before lowering it.
“There’s no need for paying me, good sir,” the pony said. “I will gladly deliver it straight away. Besides…”
The pony then removed his hood, revealing a dark grey stallion’s face with a jet black mane and bright blue eyes.
“I happen to know her very well,” he said before a pair of dark grey wings emerged from the cloak and took off, heading towards his destination.
The butler watched for a moment or two before walking back to the estate.
“I really hope I’m making the right call,” he muttered to himself before he went back into the estate.
Meanwhile, Daring Do was flying to and fro, dodging every tree that came into her path. She had just barely escaped the temple with the Gilded Cat of Longevity and right now, she was trying to get away from Dr. Caballeron and his henchponies. After a while, she chanced a look behind her. Looks like she lost them. She breathed out a sigh of relief and went to find a museum to deliver the relic to.
Later, Daring Do had returned to the humble abode she called home and went inside. It was still exactly the way she had left it. Smiling, Daring Do closed the door and went to sit into her chair, getting comfortable with a book in her hands. The book in question was titled Encyclopedia Equestria: Magic Charms in the Known World, Volume M-N. She was about to open to get some light reading done when she heard someone knocking on the door. She raised an eyebrow before setting the book down as well as getting up from the chair and walked towards the door cautiously. Only a few ponies knew where she lived, but chances are that it could be one of her enemies.
Once she reached the door, she reached out to open it. When she did, she saw a cloaked pony standing on her porch, a smile evident on his face. Daring looked at the pony with a hint of both uncertainty and intrigue.
“Can I help you with something?” she asked.
“Yes,” the pony said. “I’m looking for Daring Do. I assume that you’re her?”
“Well, you assumed right,” she answered. “Why don’t you come in?”
The pony nodded as Daring Do allowed him inside and closed the door.
“Okay, spill,” Daring Do demanded as she looked at the pony, “who sent you?”
“Okay, you got me,” the pony responded modestly. “I was sent here on the behalf of somepony. But don’t worry, it’s not Dr. Caballeron or Ahuizotl.”
“Then who sent you?”
“Well, before I tell you,” the pony started as he went to remove his hood, “I think we were both overdue for a reunion.”
With that, he took off the hood, revealing to the light gold Pegasus mare the same face that she had often thought of whenever she wasn’t thinking of exploring or escaping her enemies. Daring Do’s eyes widened in surprise.
Both ponies stared at each other for what felt like a good minute. The silence was soon broken as the stranger cleared his throat.
“Well, I’m sure that I want to play catch-up with you, but there is another matter at hand,” he said as he handed Daring Do an envelope.
The golden Pegasus took the envelope and looked at it, noting the seal on it.
“Somepony from the Monte Colto family sent you to deliver this?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Night Serenade said. “It was a butler serving the legacy. He told me to get this to you and to mention that it’s urgent.”
Daring looked at the envelope and went over to her rolltop desk.
“Think you can get me those horn-rimmed glasses over there?” Daring asked as she pointed her towards one spot in her house.
Night Serenade went to get the object in question as Daring opened the envelope and carefully took out the contents of it. When Night Serenade came back, he gave her the glasses, which she put on. She then looked at the letter and made a face. The letter was written in a jumble of letters and read like so:
Daring Do looked over the letter several times before walking over to the bookcase. Night Serenade watched her as she looked over the various book spines.
“Now where did I…?” she asked before her hoof found one spine. “Bingo!”
She then pulled out the book and walked back to the desk. She set the book down, showing the title as Codes, Ciphers, and Other Puzzles. Night Serenade raised an eyebrow as Daring opened the book and flipped the pages.
“There!” Daring exclaimed as she pointed to a page in particular.
Night Serenade looked to see a page about a cipher called Keyword Cipher.
“If I’m right,” Daring started, “this is the cipher that the Monte Colto butler used. If I could figure out what the keyword is, we can at least get started.”
As the two pondered, Night Serenade picked up the Encyclopedia Equestria book that Daring had set down.
“Hey, should we consult this?” he asked as he showed her the book in question.
“It’s a start,” Daring said. “Let’s take a look.”
They both stood at the desk as Night Serenade set the M-N Volume onto it and opened it. As he flipped each page, both Pegasi looked at them, hoping to at least find some sort of clue to the cipher’s keyword. After a while, they were looking at one page when Daring’s eyes had caught something.
“Hold up!” she said as she pointed to one item in particular. “Look at this.”
Night Serenade looked at what she was pointing at as she read the entry out loud.
“Let’s see. ‘Monte Colto Pendant: a powerful charm named after its founding along with Monte Colto’s treasure by the first Count of Monte Colto, known as wrongly-convicted Flantes at the time. This charm is believed to bring great fortune upon those who possess it and has since been used as a wedding gift following the first Count’s marriage to the first Countess of Monte Colto, Marecedes.’ You thinking what I’m thinking, Night?”
“The keyword’s ‘Pendant’?”
“Yeah,” Daring said as she took out a blank piece of paper. “You got a quill on you?”
“Always,” Night Serenade said as he took out a purple feather quill and gave it to her.
Daring looked over the quill and then started writing down the key for the cipher. After that was done, she got to work deciphering the letter that was sent to her. Eventually, she looked at the now deciphered letter.
“Well, looks like that butler was right in telling you that it was urgent that I get this letter,” she said. “Someone stole the Monte Colto Pendant and now, the current Countess is out for blood.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Night Serenade remarked. “I heard that the Monte Colto family can hold one Tartarus of a grudge.”
“All the more reason to get to Mare-is as soon as possible,” Daring Do said as she went to get her pack ready. “No rest for the weary.”
“Yeah,” Night Serenade said before noticing that Daring instantly headed for the door after getting her pack. “Don’t tell me that you’re going by yourself.”
“Okay, I won’t,” Daring said as she went to open the door, only for Night Serenade to place a hoof on her shoulder and made her look at him.
“Let me go with you,” he said.
“Night,” Daring said as she lightly pushed his hoof away, “as much as I want you to come, but you know that with folks like Ahuizotl and Dr. Caballeron, I’m practically walking with a target on my back.”
“True, but I know the city of Mare-is like the back of my hoof. I could at least save you the trouble of asking around about where the Monte Colto manor is.”
The two ponies stared at each other for a silent moment or two. The silence was then broken when Daring Do let out a sigh.
“You know something?” she asked as she lightly glared at him. “I really hate it when you’re right about things.”
Night Serenade smiled and lightly booped her on the nose, much to the golden Pegasus’s slight embarrassment. Later, both Pegasi were heading towards the Get On Inn, where Daring Do often rested at during their travels. As the pair flew, they talked amongst each other.
“So, how long has it been since we’ve last done this?” Night Serenade asked.
“Well, gee, let me think,” Daring said with a fake ignorant tone. “Oh, yeah. The last time we’ve done a quest like this, you asked me to help you find the Flute of Hooflet and then you had to save me from a fanatical cult at one point during that.”
“Heh-heh. Okay, that was a weird one.”
“Yeah, it was,” Daring said with a nod.
Night Serenade nodded back. After a while of flying, the two soon reached their destination. Landing on the walkway, Daring was glad to see the Vacancy sign hanging from the Inn’s sign. They both entered the Inn, taking in the familiar scent of the carrot-and-apple stew as Mrs. Trotsworth appeared behind the front desk. The old mare raised a curious eyebrow as the two Pegasi walked up.
“Pleasure seeing you again,” Mrs. Trotsworth said to Daring Do with a smile. “You and your friend are just about the second and third ones that came here today.”
“Really?” Daring asked as she handed Mrs. Trotsworth enough Bits for her and Night Serenade’s stay. “Who else was here?”
“A nice young mare from Mare-is,” the old mare said as she handed Daring a key from room number 8. “She came here a while ago and told me that she needed a place to lay low until things have calmed down a bit in Mare-is. She paid me a good bit of money for a week’s stay and I gave her the key for Room 7.”
Both Daring Do and Night Serenade looked at one another before looking at Mrs. Trotsworth.
“Did she give you a name?” Night Serenade asked.
Mrs. Trotsworth looked at him with a hard glance. Daring noticed and was going to let her companion know to tone down on the questioning when Night Serenade gave her a couple more Bits. The old mare looked at the money before smiling.
“She told me that her name was Fillyvort,” Mrs. Trotsworth answered before coughing a bit. “Thinking about it now, she was too nice to be a Fillyvort.”
“Well, thank you for your time,” Daring said as Mrs. Trotsworth gave the two some fresh towels. “And can you send up some of that stew?”
“Can do,” the old mare said. “I’ll get it up to your room while you chat up that nice Fillyvort mare.”
“We will,” Night Serenade said as Daring Do led the way to their room.
As they reached their room, Daring looked at the door leading to room number seven. They both entered the room.
“Well, she was pleasant,” Night Serenade remarked.
“Yeah, and this place is perfect because she doesn’t ask too many questions,” Daring mentioned.
“That makes sense.”
Daring Do nodded before making a face.
“What do you know about the Fillyvort legacy?”
“I know that they are the descendants of prosecutor Fillyvort, who was only a deputy prosecutor when Flantes was wrongly convicted. According to some sources, Fillyvort was going to let Flantes go when he found out that the letter that Flantes was going to deliver was written to his father and so, instead of risking his own image being ruined, he had Flantes be imprisoned at the prison for life without even a fair trial. Since then, folks in Mare-is associate the Fillyvort legacy with the idea of Pride.”
“Huh.”
Night Serenade nodded. Daring thought for a minute before walking to the door.
“I’m gonna go meet that Fillyvort for myself,” she said.
“Need me to go with you?”
“Can’t hurt. Let’s go.”
The two Pegasi walked out of their room and headed over to room number seven. Daring politely knocked on the door. A few moments later, the door slowly opened to reveal a young mare about their age with a purple coat, indigo mane streaked with silver, and crimson eyes as well as wearing a scarlet outfit that could be described as noble-looking.
“Oh, hello,” the mare said with a warm smile. “I didn’t expect to have neighbors so soon.”
“I didn’t think there were other ponies staying here as well,” Daring said honestly. “My name is Rose Compass and this is my acquaintance, Evening Ballad.”
“Hello,” Night Serenade said, catching on to Daring Do’s idea of aliases.
“A pleasure meeting you both,” the mare said. “I’m Nobella Fillyvort.”
“Funny, you’re too nice to be a Fillyvort,” Night Serenade joked.
Nobella giggled a bit at that.
“I get that a lot,” Nobella said. “So, what brings you two here?”
That was when Daring Do decided to think up a quick, but reasonable, excuse.
“We’re planning on visiting Mare-is to see some of Evening Ballad’s relatives,” she explained. “We’re only staying here to rest for a bit before we get back to our journey.”
“Oh, that sounds nice,” Nobella said with a small smile, though the two Pegasi can tell that she sounded uncertain. “I’m only staying here just for a while to collect myself. Life in Mare-is has gotten hectic lately.”
“How so?” Night Serenade gently asked.
“Well…” Nobella said in hesitation before sighing. “I’m pretty sure you haven’t heard, but everypony is scared stiff of the Countess of Monte Colto’s wrath right now.”
“Really?” Daring Do asked.
Nobella nodded.
“Her wedding day was the other day and she as well as her family was attacked during that. As far as I know, no pony even knows how it happened.”
Both Daring and Night looked at each other. They both have a good idea about the how part of the story.
“Well, I’m sure that somepony will figure it out,” Daring said reassuringly.
“I hope you’re right,” Nobella said, her smile resuming its usual brightness. “Well, it’s been nice talking to you two.”
“It’s been nice talking to you as well,” Night Serenade said. “Enjoy the rest of your stay.”
“You two as well,” Nobella said before going back into her room.
The Pegasi walked back to their room and started eating the stew that was already served into two bowls on a table.
“Okay, let’s review,” Daring started as she sipped from her bowl. “The Monte Colto Pendant was recently stolen, which may have resulted in the current Countess getting attacked on her wedding day.”
“Not to mention that Nobella Fillyvort had went to here a couple of days after to stay out of the potential dangers of the Countess’s wrath,” Night Serenade mentioned.
“Now that I think of it, I know that we both noticed that Nobella had a hint of uncertainty in her voice when I mentioned that we were visiting Mare-is.”
“That reminds me, how’d you know that I had relatives in Mare-is?”
“I didn’t. I had to make some kind of excuse that would at least make sense.”
“Okay, I walked right into that one.”
Daring Do gave him a smirk that said ‘Yes, you did’. After a while of discussion and planning, both ponies finish the last of their stew and get ready for bed, with Daring having put up her pith helmet and Night Serenade putting up his cloak and lute as well.
“You sure you don’t mind sleeping on the couch?” Daring Do asked. “You can always have the bed.”
“I don’t mind having the couch,” Night Serenade said. “Besides, you look like you need the bed worse than I do.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I haven’t gotten a chance to really relax after getting the Gilded Cat of Longevity to a museum.”
“Yeah… Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. Adventure always calls out and no pony can resist that call.”
“True.”
Both Pegasi nod as Daring Do got onto the bed while Night Serenade got onto the couch and draped a blanket over him. They exchanged good-nights to one another before Daring put out the light and the two went to sleep. However, Daring was having trouble sleeping. There were too many thoughts running through her mind. The most obvious would be Night Serenade’s unexpected reappearance, though she thought that he probably didn’t expect to be asked to deliver the letter to her. Another obvious thought was how bad the current Countess’s wrath could be if what she heard about the legacy was true. The third and least obvious was who could’ve stolen the pendant as well as if Nobella had anything to do with it. She shook her head free of all of those thoughts and attempted to at least sleep a bit.
Then, in the darkness of midnight, somepony screamed.