Daring Do's First Adventure

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Daring Do's First Adventure

Daring Do's First Adventure

Deep in the hot, uncivilised deserts of Saddle Arabia, a lone bar stood at the centre of a large oasis. A traveller's respite, at first glance, but once inside those doors, one discovers a den of the most vile, most wretched collection of villainy in the world of Gaia.

It was here that Daring Do had entered, under the guise of Lady Ambrosia, with the intent of meeting Doctor Ali Baba, a kingpin of the Saddle Arabian underworld. She was sat at the table that he would be joining that night, engaged in a game of poker to pass the time.

The ponies around her were good, but she was better. She knew that the stallion to her right was cheating, but once she discovered his method, she was able to hide her cards from his accomplice's sight and, since then, he had folded every hand.

"I'm in," she said, meeting the bet that was placed before her. Two mares folded and one stallion met the bet. The three participants revealed their hands, and Daring Do grinned. "I'm in luck tonight."

Her hooves stopped as the sound of a mechanism clicking to her right filled her ears. The stallion who had been cheating had drawn and loaded a crossbow, and suddenly, the music stopped. "You're cheating," he said, and the other members of the table all grabbed weapons of their own – daggers, nunchaku, hoofdusters, and scimitars.

"You got any proof?" she challenged, shifting her hind leg slightly.

"We'll find some." And with that, he fired. Daring Do flipped the table to block the shot and then rushed the first pony to her left. It was a mare with a dagger, and she swung at the adventurer, only to miss.

"Hya!" Daring Do delivered a kick that knocked the mare out, then moved onto two stallions with hoofdusters, jumping over them and delivering spinning kicks that sent them flying.

"It's just one pony!" the stallion with the crossbow shouted, loading another bolt. But Daring Do was on him before he could take his aim, and she grabbed the crossbow from him, throwing it aside and kicking him in the stomach to make the stallion fall to his knees.

A mare with nunchaku took a swing at Daring Do, but the pegasus was swift and agile, and managed to dance around the confused mare and take her from behind.

That left only three stallions, one with a pair of daggers and two with one scimitar each. "So, how we gonna play this, boys?" she asked, crouching down and preparing to fight.

The first stallion charged, swinging his daggers wildly to confound Daring Do, but it did not work. She used her martial arts to disarm him and stole one of his daggers. "I'll be borrowing this!" she shouted as she bashed the stallion on the head with the hilt.

"YAAAAA!" One of the stallions ran forward, carrying his scimitar in his magic, but Daring Do parried the blow. The second stallion flanked her, and she felt a bead of sweat drip down her head. Not from fear, but from excitement.

She pushed the first stallion back and hurled the dagger at the second one, striking his leg and causing him to drop to the floor midcharge.

"You will pay for this!"

Before the final stallion could make another move, the doors to the bar slammed open. A tall, fat pony stood at the entrance, watching the scene unfold with a matchlock in his magical aura. "What is de meanin' of this, Alberto?" he asked, his gun trained on Daring Do. "I ask you to treat our guest with courtesy, and you instead turn one o' my favourite bars into a battleground."

"Boss, I'm sorry, I-"

"I take it you're Ali Baba?" Daring Do asked.

The matchlock clicked, and the visitor laughed. "That is right. And you must be Lady Ambrosia, though I doubt that is your real name."

"You're right. It isn't." Daring Do grinned. "My name is…"

"Daring Do."

Daring Do stiffened, sweat dripping down her head, this time from fear. "W-What?"

"Daring Do," he repeated, his form becoming blurry before her eyes.

"Miss Do, if my class is so boring, then perhaps you should not be enrolled in it."

Daring Do rubbed her eye, ignoring the laughs of the ponies around her, though her face still reddened under their gazes. She turned to the page of notes before her, groaning as she said, "I already know all this stuff. Can't we move onto something more exciting?"

"While I appreciate your devotion to the field, and your eagerness to learn new things, I have a lesson plan that all students must follow." The teacher grinned as he turned away from her, facing the blackboard at the front of the room. "Besides, you may think that you know everything, but you do not. For there is always something new to learn, and you may find that seeing things from a new angle could alter your understandings of certain topics."

"What?"

"Put simply, you're an amateur, Miss Do, if you think that sleeping in class is acceptable simply because the content is 'boring'."

The class laughed again, and Daring Do frowned as she fell back into her seat, her forelegs crossed. Her teacher, Doctor Caballeron, was well-respected in the field of archaeology, but as far as she was concerned, he was a snobbish, know-it-all type who had had it out for her since her first day at this university.

The other mares seemed to have a thing for his thick accent that sounded like something out of a cheesy soap opera. To Daring Do, though, it just made the condescending stallion sound even moreso.

"Since your parents have paid good money for you to be here, it would unfair for them if half of your time in the classroom was sleeping and missing crucial information. Therefore, I will have you stay after the class is over, to catch up on what you missed."

Daring Do groaned, but didn't argue. She knew that it was pointless, and the other students were already enjoying this too much. She opened her notepad to a blank page and began to doodle pictures of the ponies from her dreams, admiring her own creativity when she was asleep and wondering what kind of backstories she could give to these characters.

When the hour ended, the students around her shuffled from their seats and packed away their notes and stationery. Daring Do moved to join them, but was stopped by Doctor Caballeron's voice. "Miss Do, please stay behind to catch up."

The students around her snickered again, and she sighed as she approached the front of the room and took a seat closer to the lecturer, watching with an annoyed glare as the students around her all filed out of the room, leaving her behind.

"Don't you have other classes to teach?" she asked, hoping that Caballeron had a bluff to call.

"I am free for the rest of the day, Miss Do," he said, closing the door behind the last student and then turning to face his student. "Just like your father, your grades are impressive, and your knowledge of ancient history is beyond what one would expect of a pony your age."

Daring Do's glare faded quickly, replaced with a look of intrigue, and confusion. "You know my dad?" she asked. Doctor Caballeron approached her, pulling a stool behind him so that he could sit opposite to the bench between them. "He never told me he knew you."

"Your father was a student here, like me. We attended the same classes and became partners for a time, excavating sites here-and-there, and appraising valuable trinkets found by museums."

At the mention of her father, Daring Do seemed more interested. As a child, she never bothered to learn much about her father, and then he suddenly moved to the Griffon Empire to study their history. She had not seen him in years. "What was he like?"

"Many of his ideas contradicted my own, so we did not get on very much, but I respected the stallion for his genius." Doctor Caballeron grinned at Daring Do. "I see that same genius in you, Miss Do, but where your father was serious, almost to a fault, you are lazy."

Suddenly, Daring Do's bad mood was back. "Well, maybe if you could stop with all the boring stuff…"

"Tell me, Miss Do: why did you choose to study archaeology? Was it to follow in your father's hoofsteps? Or did you simply hope that his name would see you swiftly to the top?"

"Neither. I did it so I could see new places! Go on adventures, explore old tombs and navigate ancient traps. Solve ancient riddles, stop evil ponies and bring magical artefacts to the eyes of Equestria!"

Doctor Caballeron blinked, and then, he chuckled lightly. "I see… You are one of those ponies." He sighed. "Such a pity. You truly were my best pupil, but…"

"What? Don't think I can handle it?" Daring Do challenged. "I've been trainin' since I was a filly! My uncle taught me how to fight, how to solve puzzles, and how to dodge any traps sent my way!"

"Miss Do, I am sorry to break this fantasy for you, but archaeology is not as adventurous a field as you seem to believe." He noted Daring Do's spirit starting to fall, and he shook his head. "I do not like the idea that you young ponies seem to have about archaeology being all about thrills, excitement, and romance, and it is not real. Archaeology is days, weeks, spent in the dirt, fighting the intense heat of the sun above your head and securing against mudslides, mosquitoes, sandstorms, and whatever other natural hazards may present themselves to you."

"But… what about the underground crime lords who wanna exploit the ancient world?!"

"A crime lord would have more interest in a bank or a train than in a tomb located halfway across the world."

"… You're just makin' this up, aren't you?" Doctor Caballeron did not answer right away, and Daring Do grinded her teeth together. "I-"

"Doctor Caballeron! They've found it! They've-" As both ponies turned to see who had burst into the room so suddenly, the short, chubby stallion in an expensive-looking suit was taken aback by Daring Do's presence, and sweat started to pour down his forehead. "A-Am I interrupting something? Sorry, I'll be back."

"No. Miss Do was just leaving," Doctor Caballeron said, and he noted the look of surprise on her face. "I will let you off with just this talk… Unless you would like to also be given an assignment to complete by tomorrow's lesson?"

Daring Do stood immediately and shook her head. "That's fine! Thanks for the talk, Teach! You've really opened my eyes!" She turned to the newcomer and waved a hoof. "See ya!" With that, she raced past the two of them and into the hallway, peering over her shoulder and waiting for the door to close before she stopped and turned around.

Quietly, she approached the classroom, looking around before placing an ear to the door so that she could hear what was being said inside.

"Doctor Solomon, I have told you to practice more subtlety at the university," she heard Doctor Caballeron say.

"Sorry, Doctor Caballeron, but it's big news! They've found the other half of Neptune's Treasure!"

"Well, that is big."

Daring Do raised an eyebrow, wondering where she had heard that name before. "As you said, it is in Zebafrica… where, I'm afraid, we have no digging rights."

"That will be no problem," Doctor Caballeron assured. "We will get digging rights."

"But how?"

"We still have Zembweebwee's torch from our excavation a few months ago, do we not? We will offer it as a trade for the right to dig in those lands."

"Will they accept it?"

"They will. There are few things that zebras value over their alchemy and potions, and one of those things is ancestral heritage. They will not abandon a heirloom from their ancient lineage."

"Then, I'll go inform Princess Cadenza right away!" Daring Do heard hoofsteps approaching the door and gasped, using her wings to fly to the ceiling just as the door swung open.

'Princess Cadenza? As in, the Princess Mi Amore Cadenza? How does a guy like him know somepony like that.'

Another set of hoofsteps approached the door, this one much lighter than the steps made by Doctor Solomon. She looked down and found Doctor Caballeron step outside, looking around with a curious look on his face. Finally, he looked up and, with a gasp, Daring Do flapped her wings and flew down the corridor before he could catch her.

'T-That was close!' Daring Do slowed down after she rounded a corner, and then she landed and looked over her shoulder, a wide grin spreading across her face. "No adventures in archaeology, huh? Yeah right! No way I'm gonna miss out on somethin' like this!"

Three days later, Doctor Caballeron and Doctor Solomon gathered their team of fifty ponies at the eastern border of Equestria. With them, they carried ten caravans of tools and supplies that would be necessary for setting up their excavation, and the ponies were performing their final checks on their equipment as they awaited their royal escorts.

"Should we be heading out so soon?" Doctor Solomon asked. "We haven't even sealed the deal with the zebra tribe."

"I have no doubts that the deal will be a success. Have faith, old friend." Doctor Caballeron motioned to a nearby mare to help two struggling stallions with a nearby caravan. "The only miscalculation was this team. One would think the money of royalty could afford better hooves."

"Not many ponies are comfortable trekking so far out for something that many believe to be a mere myth," Doctor Solomon explained. "Besides that, recent advances in aeronautics have pressured Princess Celestia to allocate more money towards new airships, and a station in Manehattan to improve trade. There simply isn't the budget for her niece and nephew's little project."

"Well, Neptune's Treasure, when whole again, is said to reveal the location of a store of gold bullions worth more than the combined wealth of Equestria, the Griffon Empire, and the hoards of the dragon tribe."

"With that kind of money, the balance of power would change drastically," Doctor Solomon whispered, looking around cautiously and taking a step closer. "We must not let this news leak to the zebras, and we must make sure that nopony is unaccounted for. We have performed background checks of all involved, but-"

"The legends may yet be exaggerated, but if they were true, that is precisely why Princess Celestia chose this assignment for the two cousins… perhaps." Doctor Caballeron grinned, reaching for the flask attached to his side and unscrewing the lid. "Watch your back, Doctor Solomon. New like this may reach their ears, too."

Doctor Solomon nodded. "If it does, I'm prepared." Doctor Solomon patted his coat, indicating something metallic hidden beneath. "I may not be as young as I once was, but I still remember how to fight."

"The real danger is the traps we will surely face," Doctor Caballeron said. "And with the prince and princess with us, we are under additional pressure. I just hope they will stay in their tents, and will not insist of journeying with us."

"Actually, I was hoping that I could take part in the dig with everypony." The two doctors turned to find a figure whose cuteness and elegant posture stood out amongst the gruff, muscular ponies hauling heavy objects with vulgar language. She wore a white hat with a large rim and a light jacket designed to keep one cool. "It is nice to meet you. I am Princess Cadance."

"'Cadance'?" Doctor Caballeron asked. "Not 'Mi Amore Cadenza', as your letter stated?"

"That's my full name, yes, but I prefer just Cadance."

The two simply nodded, neither one wishing to voice their concerns about letting such a frail-looking creature partake in such rough work as theirs. "And what of Prince Blueblood? Were the two of you not to arrive together?"

"Oh, he's here." Cadance gestured to a nearby caravan, where a small squad of soldiers stood like statues, vigilantly watching their surroundings for any signs of danger. "He doesn't like the jungle. He said he'll be spending the entire trip in there until we arrive."

"Then why does he even bother coming?" Caballeron muttered.

"Princess Celestia insisted. If he wants any credit for this project, he'll have to come with us." Cadance giggled. "Don't worry. I'll help however I can!"

"While we appreciate the sentiment," Doctor Solomon started, "I must ask, have you any formal experience in archaeology?"

"Nope! But I'm eager to learn."

Doctor Caballeron sighed. "For now, could you go and let the guards at the border know that we will be departing soon? Also, be sure that you and the prince have put on protection from the sun. It will start to get hot part-way through our journey."

As the princess trotted away to notify the guards of their departure, Doctor Solomon cleared his throat and motioned around him. "She might be cute, but despite being clumsy, this team is passionate about digging. If we tell them to entertain an amateur, they won't be happy… They might ask for more money, and that's if we're lucky."

"We have plenty of time before we arrive. I will think of some menial tasks we can assign to keep the princess engaged," Doctor Caballeron said. "It seems that everypony is just about finished. Let's go and make our own preparations, shall we?"

As the group progressed through the jungle, they encountered few obstacles along the way, but what threats they did happen upon proved to them that the jungle was as dangerous as it was rumoured to be.

Living plants that attempted to attract them with their sweet scents almost claimed the head of Prince Blueblood, had Doctor Caballeron not managed to keep him at bay until they had passed, and a group of bandits almost had the drop on the group thanks to the generosity of Princess Cadance allowing one of them to get close after feigning illness.

But the help that Doctor Solomon had found proved themselves each time, and thus far there had been no injuries and casualties. As few as they were, they could defend themselves – and their royal escort – in this harsh terrain.

What they could not do was stand to hear the prince whine for another moment.

"How much longer until we are at this tribe? I should have brought more water! Why is the air so dry out here?"

"We will stop to rest in a few minutes," Doctor Caballeron said through gritted teeth, observing the map held before his eyes by the magic of a unicorn assistant. "There is an oasis where we can refill our water, and then you can bathe before we continue."

"And how much longer after that?" Blueblood asked.

"Should only be a thirty-minute stroll after that," Doctor Solomon said, earning an exaggerated groan from the prince. He turned to Cadance, who was walking alongside him and observing the nature all around, and said, "This project of yours, I must say, it is very unusual for royalty to take an interest in archaeology. Not that I am complaining, mind you, but generally, it's not a field that the 'elite' like to venture into."

"Well it was either that, or scouting the Everfree Forest," Cadance replied, noticing the surprised looks that that got her. "Blueblood said, 'Cadance, dear, you decide our project. I'm much too busy getting my hooficure to deal with such trivial matters!', and so I decided on something that would benefit the country, and not just Canterlot. Choices were… limited."

Blueblood huffed, poking his head out from inside the caravan. "Leave it to a mare to not even handle one simple task correctly."

"Excuse me?!" Cadance asked, turning and running over to the caravan. She started trotting backwards, keeping herself face-to-face with her cousin. "If you wanted a say in what we did, you shouldn't have been so lazy!"

"I never expected you to choose a project that involves digging around in the dirt! You're a princess, for ponies' sake!"

"That's right! And a princess helps all ponies, no matter how dirty the work is!"

"Oh, this again! 'Hi, I'm Princess Cadance, hero to all and magical fairy godmother of the poor! Watch as I roll around in the dirt to make sure the simple farmers are happy!' We are above that, Cadance!"

"Coming from the colt who ran around Canterlot in nothing but a cape and proclaimed himself a superhero for two years," Cadance returned, a smug grin on her face. "How many times did the Royal Guard have to return you to the castle?"

"I grew up," Blueblood said with an indignant huff. "You should try it. We have a role to play and it doesn't involve getting involved with the affairs of commoners!"

"Of that, I can agree," Caballeron muttered.

"What my associate means," Solomon quickly interjected, "Is that, you make our jobs harder by requiring us to protect you."

"See?" Blueblood said.

"But we appreciate the sentiment," he added with a warm smile. "It means a lot just to know that you have us in your thoughts, and that you truly wish to help us."

"See?" Cadance said, and Blueblood stuck out his tongue. "You want a reminder of the last time you did that? I can make your leg twist even farther if you like!"

Blueblood gasped, and then turned away, making sure to flick his mane towards his cousin. "Only a barbarian would fight to prove their point."

"What did you call me?!"

"You heard me!"

"Come out here and say that!"

"Make me!"

"Will the two of you please be silent?" Caballeron asked, his teeth starting to crack under the pressure. "We are trying to avoid attracting wild animals.

Cadance turned and frowned at the doctor. "But he-"

"I don't care!" he shouted, and heard a whine from the princess. "You are a prince and princess for Moochick's sake!"

At that, all fell silent, save for the stifled chuckling of Doctor Solomon. "If it helps, Doctor, we are almost at the oasis."

"If we 'lost them' there, would Princess Celestia really miss them?" Caballeron whispered.

"I think so."

"… Then find something to keep them busy for the remainder of the journey, or I may just have to commit treason."

"I think I have some crosswords in my pack. Ah, it's just past that large tree over there!"

It had been five minutes since the voices outside had stopped. Daring Do cautiously opened the top of the barrel that she was hiding in and looked around. "Coast is clear," she whispered to herself, grinning as she slipped out and replaced the lid. "Man, no way I could've lasted even another minute in there. I gotta find some water…"

Daring Do's ear twitched. She heard the sound of running water nearby, and she closed her eyes as she tried to pin the source. Carefully, she made her way away from the camp, navigating the unfamiliar jungle and taking note of the trees and plants as she passed them.

She came upon an oasis at the base of a roaring waterfall, and looked around to confirm that the area was clear. "Guess I'll wash up a bit, and then tail 'em from a distance."

As she approached the water, Daring Do removed her jacket and tossed it to the ground. She tested the water with a hoof, and then dipped her entire leg inside. She submersed herself with a pleasant sigh, and blushed when she heard a quiet growl. "Man, I could do with some grub, too." She heard the growl again, and it seemed louder this time. "… Crap."

Turning around quickly, Daring Do backed away from the swiping claw of a jaguar as it hissed towards her. It lowered its stance and then pounced, landing in the water and Daring Do spread her wings and soared.

Her wings shivered as her wet feathers were greeted by a strong breeze, and they closed involuntarily, causing Daring to fall to her hooves.

The jaguar growled and jumped out of the water, chasing her as she fled to a nearby tree and climbed it to safety. She looked down and found the jaguar slowly ascending, sinking its claws into the bark, and she groaned. "Cats and trees don't mix!"

Looking over to her jacket, Daring Do wondered if she could make it if she ran. She tested her wings, and decided that they would be okay if she didn't push them too much.

After taking a breath, Daring Do extended her wings and launched herself off of the branch, using her wings to glide to the ground, and then galloped to her jacket. She searched her pocket and found a knife, which she swiftly threw at the pursuing jaguar as she spun on her hooves to face it.

The jaguar ducked, and the knife passed over its head. Shocked, Daring Do froze, and the jaguar readied itself for one final pounce.

A bolt passed by Daring Do and struck the jaguar's shoulder, causing it to trip and fall onto its front. The beast picked itself up and hissed, before being struck by another bolt, and another. It turned on its heels and fled, narrowly dodging a fourth, and disappeared into the thick shrubbery surrounding the area.

After taking a moment to compose herself, Daring Do turned around and found Doctor Caballeron standing behind her, lowering his crossbow and staring at her with an unamused glare.

"E-Eheheh… Uhh, what's up, Doc?"

"You could have been killed!" Doctor Caballeron shouted, causing Daring Do to wince. He had brought his student back to the campsite, and she was currently being yelled at by himself whilst Doctor Solomon stood to the side, laughing at the situation he apparently found funny. "It is one thing to stow away on an expedition for which you are not qualified, but then you wander off on your own, without alerting somepony! What if we had left as you were bathing?!"

"I get it, I get it! My bad…"

Doctor Caballeron sighed. "Now we must spare some of our workers to escort you back home."

"What?!" Daring Do shouted.

"The workers aren't going to be happy about that," Doctor Solomon said. "They came to dig, not to foalsit."

"Not to mention that it will only make this whole expedition take even longer," Prince Blueblood said, surprising everypony as he emerged from his caravan to join the discussion. He shot Daring Do a smile and took her hoof with a bow. "Prince Charles Blueblood, honourable nephew of Princess Celestia herself. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Easy there, Cousin," Cadance said, pulling the prince back with a sigh. "And I'm sure that the workers will understand, especially if we still pay them the agreed amount."

"And what of their safety?" Blueblood asked. "We only brought enough security to cover one group. If we halve our Royal Guard escort, both groups will be vulnerable."

Doctor Solomon nodded. "He has a point. Our own, larger group aside, the group going home would be in danger."

"The safest option would be to keep her with us," Blueblood continued. "We're also only thirty minutes from our destination, so it would be a shame for any of us to turn back now."

The group thought about it for a few moments, before Caballeron sighed and nodded his head. "Very well. We will allow you to stay." Caballeron noticed the hope in Daring Do's eyes and sought to crush it immediately. "You are not to dig, though. You are still unqualified. Instead, you will observe from a distance, to stay out of our ways, and when we return, you will write a one hundred-page essay on what you've learned here. Do we have a deal?"

Daring Do frowned, but nodded her head regardless. "Fine…"

"Then it is settled. We will rest for five more minutes, and then we leave."

Doctors Caballeron and Solomon moved off to the side with some other ponies, discussing something as they looked over some maps and some documents. Daring Do turned to the prince, who smiled at her, and she returned the gesture. "Thanks for the help, uhh, Prince Blueblood."

"Please, think nothing of it," he said. "To travel with a fine specimen of equine beauty such as yourself, that is reward enough for me."

"You have a marefriend," Cadance deadpanned, before turning to Daring Do with a smirk. "Don't fall for his 'charms'. He's a total womaniser."

"Hmph! Baseless rumours and hurtful accusations are beneath you, Cadance, but then what can one expect from somepony adopted into the family, rather than born- OWOWOWOW!"

"Please excuse us!" Cadance said as she pulled Blueblood away by his ear. The two disappeared into his caravan, where raised, muffled voices could be heard, and the royal escort outside looked nervous.

"Excuse me, Miss Do?" Daring Do turned and found Doctor Solomon standing before her. "We have not formally been introduced. I am Doctor Solomon. I have previously worked with your father and Doctor Caballeron on some expeditions."

"Oh. I've… never heard of you," she said sheepishly.

Solomon simply laughed. "Your honesty is refreshing." Doctor Caballeron called for the group to pack up their things and get ready to keep moving. "I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about your father, since I never really knew him outside of work. Would you care to walk-and-talk?"

"Sure," she said, before leaning in to whisper, "So long as it keeps me away from Caballeron. Guy has some issues."

Solomon laughed again, and the two walked together as the group left the campsite.

"And that was basically when I started asking him to teach me about archaeology and ancient cultures. For my birthday, he got me Helix's autobiography, Digging The Past, and for Hearth's Warming I practically begged for Dome's Introduction to Ancient Pony Society."

Daring Do laughed, and Doctor Solomon joined her, removing his glasses for a moment to give them a quick cleaning. The temporary blindness almost caused him to trip over the root of a tree, but Daring Do quickly caught him, and he uttered a quick word of thanks. "Your father was always so passionate about the field. A little too passionate, I often feared. When he was officially declared missing, the Equestrian Archaeological Society has been in an uproar."

"He'll be fine," Daring Do said with a wave of her hoof. "He-" An arrow whizzed past her face, causing her to gasp and to quickly tackle the doctor to the ground. "GET DOWN! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

"What?" one of the workers asked, a hint of annoyance in his tone. A cry to his right caused him to turn and see his colleague falling to the ground, an arrow in his foreleg. "GET DOWN! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

"That's what I-" Daring Do noticed a pony running through the trees, and she pushed herself to her hooves to give chase. "You aren't getting away!"

"Secure the prince and princess!" Caballeron told the Royal Guard escort, and they immediately ushered the princess into the caravan, before surrounding it and raising their shields to deflect incoming arrows. "Doctor Solomon, the matchlock!"

"Right, er…" Solomon searched through his saddlebag and pulled out the device, examining it for a second before rising to his hooves. He gasped as he saw a pony charging towards him with a spear. The pony was wearing rags and paint along his face, possibly designed to intimidate prey, and had many scars along his legs and on his face.

"Give what you got and nopony gets hurt!"

"Doctor!" Caballeron shouted.

Solomon lit the match in the gun's clamp and aimed the matchlock at his foe's exposed leg. It unleashed a loud bang as it fired, and the fighting stopped for just a moment as everypony turned to see the aggressor drop to the floor in pain, clutching his leg and cursing the doctor.

"Oh my," Solomon said, breathing heavily as she discarded the gun and searched for the next. He threw one to Caballeron and took a third for himself. "My friend, might this be-"

"Probably, but let's not focus on that for now." Caballeron fired at a mare that was charging him with a sword in her magic, and she fell to the ground before him as blood poured from her shoulder. He tossed aside the spent weapon and pulled out a knife, readying himself as two more ponies cautiously approached him.

One of the ponies lunged, his spear aimed at Caballeron's neck, and the doctor parried it with his hoof. He heard a bang, and saw the pony fall. The second pony held a bow in his magic, and drew back the string with a green-tipped arrow ready to fire.

Caballeron dodged to the side to avoid the arrow, and flanked the archer faster than he could react. His knife buried itself into the archer's flank, forcing him to fall to the ground as the pain overcame him. He looked around and found that the ambush was failing, and that their assailants were retreating. "Well, that could have gone worse."

Gasping, Caballeron turned around and saw a teary-eyed mare raising her spear before him, ready to bring it down. The mare screamed as she thrust the spear forwards, but before the tip could reach Caballeron, an amber blur knocked her and her weapon aside.

The mare fell to the ground, her weapon flying some distance away from her, and she looked up with a growl at the one who had knocked her down. "Hey, didn't you see your friends runnin' away from us?!" Daring Do asked, her wings flared as she glared down at the mare. "Go join 'em if you know what's good for ya!"

The mare screamed and lunged at Daring Do, swiping hooves that were covered with cuts and bandages, but Daring Do was able to block each blow. When she saw her opening, she countered with a kick to the mare's side, winding her attacker and allowing her to jump back to a safer distance.

"Daring Do, watch out!" Caballeron shouted.

The warning prompted Daring Do to look away from the mare, and found two archers ready to shoot her. She jumped back and avoided their arrows, and saw the doctor rush to her side with his crossbow loaded. The two archers rushed to the mare, lifted her to her hooves, and then ran back into the trees, abandoning the group that they had just attacked.

As Daring Do caught her breath, she looked around to see what damage had been done. The royal caravan was untouched, and the supply ones suffered minor damage. The guards were picking arrows off of their shields, whilst the workers had taken a few blows, but were mostly unharmed. The only injury was the stallion who had received the first arrow, but the group's medic examined the wound and assured everypony that he was not poisoned.

"Who were those guys?" Daring Do asked.

"Bandits," Caballeron answered. "A group of ponies descended from a savage tribe that once ruled these lands. They once enslaved the zebras that now live here, until Equestria liberated them. Over the centuries, the zebra tribes have continued to take more land from them, but these ponies still fight to this day, believing themselves to be the rightful rulers of the jungle."

"Do you think they heard that we were escorting royalty?" Solomon asked.

"It's possible, but I find it strange that they would attack when we are so close to a zebra tribe, and with so little force… No, it was probably a scouting party that thought they could get the drop on us."

"Hey, those were guns you used, right?!" Daring Do asked, startling Doctor Caballeron as she was suddenly in his face. "That's so cool! I've never seen one before! Hey, y'think you could teach me how to use one?!"

"These guns and their ammunition are expensive!" Caballeron shouted. "By the way, Miss Do, I can't help but notice that you ran off on your own again!"

Daring Do rolled her eyes and sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry, won't happen agai-"

"And I should just believe you this time?!"

"Hey, I saved your flank, remember?!"

"… That you did," Caballeron admitted.

"Doctor Caballeron," Cadance said as she stepped out of the caravan, much to the dismay of her escort. "Perhaps we should hasten to the village, before our assailants return. If that was merely a scouting party, as you say…"

Doctor Caballeron nodded. "You are right." He turned back to Daring Do, who gulped as she anticipated her punishment. "… I suppose that makes us even, so I will let you off this time."

"… Eh?" Daring Do simply watched in confusion as Caballeron moved to pick up the discarded firearms. She turned when Solomon approached her from the side. "Was he just nice to me?"

Doctor Solomon hummed in thought. "Could be. On the other hoof, could be that he's just lost patience with you and has decided that punishing you is too much work."

"… That guy… is hard to get."

Solomon patted Daring Do on the back. "Welcome to the world of archaeology, Miss Do!"

"Huh?"

"Tombs and ancient riddles are never easy to solve – almost as though our ancestors purposely made them as cryptic as they could, just to confound and confuse us. Doctor Caballeron is much like one of those tombs, so much so that I sometimes suspect he's doing it on purpose, too." Doctor Solomon motioned for Daring Do to walk with him as the group readied to leave. "If you can figure out him, then I don't think there'll be a tomb out there that's beyond your understanding."

Daring Do turned her gaze to Caballeron, and simply nodded her head. She remained silent for the rest of the journey, until they reached their destination.

The rest of the journey was met with no further interference from the bandits, and when the group made it to their destination, they were greeted by High Priest Afuba, ruler of the Zebu Tribe. The rest of the villagers watched curiously behind him, whispering to each other and pointing their hooves at the strange outlanders.

"You are High Priest Afuba, I presume?" Doctor Caballeron asked, stopping to bow before the tall, muscular zebra as she neared.

Daring Do noted the black-and-white stripes that were common on all zebras, but also noticed that there were other markings, too. They didn't appear to be wounds or scars. They were tattoos, and they covered practically his entire body. On his head lay a large headdress of many brightly-coloured feathers. A symbol of his status, she realised, though she had never taken the time to really study the tribal customs of Zebafrica.

"Come to think of it," Daring Do whispered to Doctor Solomon, "I don't know a thing about zebra customs or traditions. I barely even know their history."

"You should study up on more than just rocks and artefacts, Miss Do," the doctor whispered back. "You cannot uncover the past if you ignore the present, and the living are just as important as the dead."

"I see," Afuba said, motioning to two spear-wielding zebras behind him. He turned back to the group, and said, "We will increase security around our village. The bandits have never come so close before, but if they felt so bold as to attack you so close to your destination, then they may very well try their luck."

Daring Do raised her eyebrow. "What's this group's name, anyway?" She felt most of the group's eyes on her, and felt her face growing red. Did she ask a stupid question? "I mean, surely they're not just 'the bandits', right?!"

"They used to call themselves Tambelon, back when they ruled this land," Doctor Solomon explained in a hushed voice.

"We do not dignify them with that name anymore," the high priest stated, anger clear in his tone as he glared at the two. "They are mere bandits, and that is all that they will ever be. Now, I will lead you to the site where your 'treasure' was found, and then you will return what was stolen from us!"

"But of course," Doctor Caballeron said, casting a quick glare to Daring Do before following the high priest through the village.

"Researching other cultures will also help you to avoid embarrassment," Doctor Solomon said, giving Daring Do a pat on the back before they continued on.

Daring Do simply laughed nervously as she walked. "Y-Yeah, I guess so…"

As soon as the group arrived, Doctor Caballeron set the group to completing various tasks. A burly stallion and two mares began establishing a cordon, asking the high priest to spare some guards to ensure nobody passed it. Some ponies took the cooking supplies and setup a makeshift kitchen, attracting the attentions of curious zebras as they prepared typical Equestrian meals.

Prince Blueblood went with Doctor Solomon to talk with the high priest and complete their end of the bargain, whilst Princess Cadance had been asked by Caballeron to take regular photographs of the dig's progress.

Daring Do volunteered to join the team that would be searching for the treasure, but as Caballeron had told her earlier, she had been forbidden from participating as was instead instructed to sit by, to watch, and to take notes. Of course, he never said from what distance she had to keep from the group.

"So what're we lookin' for, anyway?" she asked a mare who was kneeling on the ground, studying the earth and feeling it carefully with her hooves.

"You'll know when we find it," the mare said, searching through her tools and then pulling out a small trowel.

"So, you go on a lot of digs? Anything exciting ever happen? Like those bandits earlier? You ever fight terrorists that wanna use ancient treasures to rule the world? You ever been double-crossed by somepony who hired you for a job?" Daring Do gasped, but an excited gasp, as stars filled her eyes. "You ever see ghosts?!"

A nearby stallion laughed, but the mare groaned. "Kid, you're bothering me! Go bother somepony else with your weird fantasies."

Daring Do crossed her forelegs, but didn't say a word. With a huff, she flew herself away from the mare, hearing curses behind herself at the dust her wings kicked-up.

On the other end of the digsite, Daring Do noticed Doctor Caballeron leaving the cordon, taking with him some writing utensils and a pad of paper. Curious, she followed after him, smiling at the disgruntled zebras guarding the site and the fascinated onlookers as she left the cordon.

Some distance away from the site, at the edge of a large, sparkling lake surrounded by trees, Daring Do found Caballeron sitting on a large rock, his supplies at his side as he stared ahead of himself. As she approached, a small bird flew past her head, startling her and causing her to yelp suddenly.

Caballeron turned quickly and asked, "How long have you been there?"

"Uh, just got here," she said, approaching the grumbling doctor and taking an uninvited seat beside him. "So, uhhh, not interested in the dig?"

"I have dug so many holes in my days, Miss Do. After some time, it becomes a bore, and other things begin to preoccupy your mind."

"Like what?"

"Like what to do once we find Neptune's Treasure." Noticing Daring Do's look, Caballeron said, "That is right. I never really told you what this treasure is all about, did I?"

"Doctor Solomon said it was important. So important that you haven't even told Celestia of its 'true nature'."

"Long ago, it was said that there lived a merchant by the name of Neptune. His true name is unknown, but he is said to have been the son of a once-noble household, before he took their riches and founded the largest group of pirates the world had ever seen.

"With his financial backing, Neptune and his pirates sailed the seas with the largest ship, manned by the largest crew, armed with the largest cannons. Not only was Neptune rich, though, but he was smart, and a unicorn of great calibre. He quickly amassed more riches than his family had ever known, through piracy, conning ponies, trading in slavery markets, gambling, and, of course, murder."

"That's… horrible," Daring Do said.

"Before Neptune died, he hid every last bit of his treasure, and left a map for the pony that would succeed him – his son, should he choose to follow in his father's hoofsteps. However, according to the legend, the matron that housed the abandoned son discovered his father's identity, and the son was then hanged before his tenth birthday, for fear that he would continue Neptune's lineage. The treasure remained unfound, and its map remained in two pieces, hidden somewhere in the world."

Daring Do put a hoof to her chin. "You already have one piece, so you're looking for the other one right now?"

Caballeron nodded. "The first one was found by a griffon archaeologist, who thankfully did not know just what it was that he had found. Doctor Solomon and I quickly bought it, and we have spent many, many years searching for the remaining piece."

"What do you mean by 'thankfully'? I mean, I get that that much treasure would be great and all, but shouldn't it be more about finding the treasure than owning it?"

Doctor Caballeron grinned. "Your father's daughter, for sure." Caballeron shook his head with a sigh. "The problem, Miss Do, is that, according to the legends, Neptune's combined wealth is said to surpass the combined wealth of Equestria, the Griffon Empire, and the hoards of the dragon tribe. Whichever nation has it would become the sole superpower of the world."

Daring Do's eyes widened, and as she shot to her hooves, she asked, "Should we even be looking for it, then?!"

"If not us, then who would you have find it?" Doctor Caballeron frowned, turning to look over the lake before them, and Daring Do followed his gaze. The calmness of the water was somewhat soothing. "This is not a dig for wealth, nor even for the journey, Miss Do. It's to secure the safety of all of Equestria. If somepony has to find it, then it must be us."

Daring Do lowered her head. She understood what he was saying, but at the same time, it seemed wrong to agree with his line of reasoning. "Is it… hard, coming up with decisions like that?"

"Something you will learn in life, Miss Do, is that every major decision you make will be hard. All that matters is that you do what you feel is right, for the reasons you feel are also right."

Daring Do turned back to Caballeron, catching him in the faint light that passed through the canopies above them. She swallowed the lump in her throat, suddenly finding it hard to find her voice for the words she wanted to say. "I-"

"Doctor Caballeron!" The two turned to find Doctor Solomon galloping towards them. By the time he stopped, he was completely exhausted of breath. "We've found it, my boy! We've really, truly found it!"

Doctor Caballeron pushed his way through the group that had gathered around a small workstation just outside of the digsite, Daring Do and Doctor Solomon following closely behind. Both doctors could barely contain their excitement, but Daring Do started to feel uneasy.

"Let me see it," Caballeron said as he approached a small stallion at the centre of the group, examining the find closely under a magnifying glass whilst cleaning it gently with a brush. "I must verify this for myself."

"It matches the other one perfectly," the stallion said, holding up the discovery for all to see. It was half of a coin, fractured perfectly down the middle with three small pegs jutting out of the fractured side.

"This is it," Caballeron gasped, reaching into his saddlebag and removing a similar object; half of a coin, fractured down the middle, but where there were pegs on the other half, this one contained three small holes. Taking the newly-found half of the coin, Caballeron fit the two pieces together. They clicked, and then moments later, the now-whole coin started to glow.

"Whoa!" Daring Do shouted as the coin projected an image into the air. "Magic! It's a magical hologram!"

"Extraordinary!" Doctor Solomon shouted. "Such an advanced spell, before the establishment of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, could only have come from a pony of royal blood!" Solomon laughed suddenly, startling Daring Do and confusing the rest of the group. "This must mean that Neptune wasn't 'nobility', but royalty!"

"Absurd!" Prince Blueblood scoffed, pushing his way through the crowd with Cadance politely excusing his behaviour as she followed. "There is no way that a criminal could exist in our family's noble lineage!"

"While I hate to admit it, Blueblood's right this time," Cadance said. "There's no record of anypony by the name of 'Neptune' in Equestria's royal family. I've studied it quite intensely in the past."

"Shush, everypony," Caballeron said, looking up to the image projected by the coin. It appeared to be a sheet of parchment, containing a map and then some writing beneath. "This must be the location of Neptune's Treasure. I recognise it…"

"That's… so close!" Doctor Solomon said. "Why, we could make the journey before nightfall, easily!"

"What's the writing say?" Daring Do asked, stepping forward to read it for herself. "'To my successor, if thou are reading this, then truly thou hath chosen thine path as laid out by the stars. To deny one's destiny is to deny oneself, and thus must you continue where I left off. This map will lead thee – a treasure that could topple the combined might of the nations pony, griffon, and dragon. My son, I leave you these parting words: trust nopony. From wisdom, magic, and from magic, might.' That's what it says… Where have I heard that last phrase before?"

"This confirms that the treasure exists!" Blueblood said excitedly, attempting to grab the coin, only for Doctor Caballeron to pocket it quickly. "Now we just have to take it and-"

"I got it!" Daring Do shouted suddenly, startling everypony around her. "'From wisdom, magic, and from magic, might.' That's a Unicornian phrase from before the tribes united!"

Doctor Solomon put a hoof to his chin. "By Celestia, she's right!"

"I read about it once," Daring Do continued. "The expression was used to enforce the idea that unicorns were not only smarter, but stronger than the other tribes, too. When Equestria was formed, pegasi and earth ponies didn't like the phrase being used, so Queen Platinum forbid its use. It died out in just a few decades after the country was founded."

Doctor Caballeron put a hoof to his chin. "I see… So that means…"

"It means nothing," Blueblood said. "Other than that Neptune was a Unicornian, which would answer our question of why there's no record of him in our royal family."

"If that's true," Daring Do began, "Then it means we've been making one grave misconception this entire time. The 'nations of pony, griffon, and dragon' – they were all much smaller back then, and the 'nation of pony' would be referring to Unicornia. Not Equestria."

"Furthermore," Doctor Caballeron added, "The concept of wealth changes over time. One thousand years… Equestria's annual budget today could easily topple the Unicornian government of old, and we'd still have coin to spare." Doctor Caballeron shook his head. "The 'Golden Age of Piracy' was three centuries ago, which is why it was assumed Neptune lived then. Even with inflation taken into account, the estimated value of his treasure would still have been enough to upset the power-balance, but in light of this new information…"

"Neptune's Treasure might not be so dangerous, after all," Doctor Solomon concluded.

Caballeron nodded his head. "Right, we now have the map leading to the location of Neptune's Treasure. Prince and Princess, I would ask that you return to Equestria to report on our prog-"

"BANDITS! BANDITS ARE ATTACKING!"

The shout was met with ringing bells coming from the village, and stamping hooves approaching the group as Afuba appeared before them all.

"Honoured guests, we are under attack! You must flee at once!"

"Leave anything unessential and procure a weapon!" Doctor Caballeron shouted. "Don't go looking for a fight! We make for the entrance to the village and only tackle what's in our way!"

"Your Majesties, please take cover inside the caravan," Doctor Solomon said, though Prince Blueblood was one step ahead of him. "Princess, please…"

"But I-"

"I understand how you feel, but your safety is a priority. If you are endangered, somepony must help you, and then they will be endangered. Please…"

After a moment of hesitation, Princess Cadance nodded. Caballeron approached and pointed towards the village. "We go through. There's no telling what ambushes may be set in the trees surrounding us."

"Everypony stay together and- Where's Miss Do?" Doctor Solomon asked as he looked around.

Caballeron looked over his entire team, who had packed their things and were prepared to leave. He gritted his teeth. "… We must leave. There is no time to search for her."

"I'm here! Hold your horseshoes!" The group looked up to find Daring Do landing on the ground, a proud look on her face as she pointed towards the jungle. "I saw some smoke in the distance and checked it out. Looks like they're coming from the east but the west looks clear."

"… In the future, I would appreciate you telling me of your plans before executing them," Caballeron said, before turning away and leading the group. "We'll have to leave the village heading westwards, and detour back to our original route."

As the group ran through the burning village, ducking and dodging through the mayhem as they tried to avoid attracting the attentions of stray bandits, Daring Do couldn't help but feel like she was abandoning the poor zebras whose homes were being destroyed. It was clear that not all of them were fighters, and the bandits were sparing nopony, but what could she do against an entire army?

She stopped as she heard the cries of children coming from an alleyway, and looked down it to find a zebra mare and two children cowering against a wall, three large bandits moving towards them like hounds entrapping their prey.

"Miss Do," Doctor Solomon said beside her. The rest of the group was gone, and the two of them exchanged stares for just a few seconds, before the cries of the children snapped Daring Do back to reality.

"I'm not leaving them. I can at least do this much."

Doctor Solomon smiled. "I was simply going to ask if you would like a partner to fight alongside you."

With a grin, Daring Do uttered a word of gratitude, before charging down the alleyway and delivering a kick to the back of the middle bandit's head.

Doctor Solomon approached the right bandit and swept his legs, dropping him to the ground, before swiftly manoeuvring to the final bandit and parrying a coming blow, leaving an opening for Daring Do to kick the pony's face.

The zebra family wasted no time fleeing past their saviours, the mare stopping only briefly to bow and pray to the two.

"Well," Daring Do said, an unshakable feeling of excitement washing over her, "Feels good to help others."

"O-ho-ho! It sure does," Solomon said, before wincing as his shoulder suddenly started to hurt. "Though perhaps I have pushed this old body a bit too far…"

An explosion rang through the air, making the two jump as they turned quickly to the entrance of the alleyway. There, a bandit twice Daring Do's size, and thrice as muscular, fell to the ground, groaning as blood poured from his back. Behind him stood Caballeron, who put his gun away as the two ran towards him.

"Terribly sorry, old friend," Solomon said, but Caballeron raised a hoof to silence him.

"The rest of the group have gone on ahead. We must hurry."

"But the zebras here-"

"Have already ignited the signal towers," Caballeron said, motioning to the burning towers that could be seen from anywhere in the village, climbing higher than even the canopies of the jungle. "The message will be carried and reinforcements from neighbouring villages will arrive, but there is naught for us to do. Now come along!"

Daring Do sighed, but knew that he was right. Reluctantly, she followed her teacher, Doctor Solomon taking the rear as the three ran through the chaotic battlefield that was once a peaceful village.

"Hurry, for pony's sake! Don't let them take me!"

"We're going as fast as we can, Your Highness," one of Blueblood's guards replied, biting his lip as he and his fellows navigated the chaotic streets whilst the other soldiers cleared the way for them. The sloppy attacks of the bandits were no match for the expert training of the Royal Guard. An arrow would be blocked by an advanced spell, a sword would be parried and returned by a shield. One soldier could handle five bandits at once. "There's nothing to fear, Prince and Princess. We will get you out of here, even if it costs us our lives!"

"Help me!"

Cadance gasped, and stuck her head out of the caravan to find the source of the cry. There was a zebra child, sitting on his haunches in the middle of the street, his leg bleeding and seemingly-twisted. He was crying, and there were no other zebras around, suggesting that he was separated from his family.

"Don't," Blueblood said, but his words fell on deaf ears, as Cadance leapt from the caravan and rushed to the child's side, ignoring the pleas of her escort to return to safety. "Cadie, stop!" Blueblood gasped as he noticed a masked bandit chasing after his cousin.

Cadance reached the child and knelt down to inspect his leg. "Are you okay?" she asked, gently patting his mane as he looked to her in confusion. His tears stopped, and he simply nodded his head as he sniffed. "Your leg's broken."

"I-I fell and g-got sep'rated from my brother…"

Cadance smiled, and used her magic to gently lift the foal onto her back. "What's your name, little one?"

"R-Ranna…"

"Cadance, look out!" Blueblood's shout alerted Cadance to his presence, and as she turned, she found sparks flying in her face as iron clashed against steel. Blueblood stood to her side, a sword in his magic blocking a rusted blade held by a masked-bandit.

Blueblood used his magic to pull at his opponent's leg, knocking the bandit's balance off so that he could strike his shoulder. The bandit fell to the ground, writhing in pain, and Blueblood huffed as he looked over what he had done.

Cadance recognised the sword that he had used as the one Celestia had given to him for his birthday. Suddenly, another sword entered her vision: her own, given for her birthday. Both were made of the finest steel, crafted by a master smith, and each had inscribed upon them the symbol of Equestria.

Cadance took her sword from Blueblood's grasp and stood, looking at the blade nervously as it shook in her magic. "I can't use this…"

"Why not?" Blueblood asked. "I thought you received fencing lessons, too."

"Of course I did, but I…" Cadance screamed as three bandits suddenly charged towards them from behind nearby rubble, and her magic exploded, creating a barrier that shielded herself, her cousin, and the little zebra on her back, whilst pushing their assailants back. "I can't use something that would kill my enemy. I can only use something that’s not lethal…"

"That's cool," a voice said from behind the princess, prompting her to turn and find Daring Do walking towards them. "You leave the trash to me, Your Highness! You shouldn't have ta get that sword dirty, anyway!"

Daring Do extended her wings and kicked off, startling the prince and princess with her speed. The bandits had just recovered when the flying pegasus bowled through them, knocking them all onto their backs and living them completely winded. She circled back and rejoined Doctor Caballeron and Doctor Solomon.

"Your Majesties," one member of the escort began as it closed on the group, "There are more coming! We must go now!"

Cadance nodded, climbing back into the caravan with the foal on her back, Blueblood joining her after wiping the blood from his sword. Daring Do watched as a small army of bandits approached them.

"You all go," Doctor Caballeron said, taking out one of his matchlocks and taking aim. "I will cover your retreat."

"Capital idea," Doctor Solomon said, joining the escort as they escaped through the village.

Daring Do stood beside Caballeron, earning a sigh from her teacher. "Why am I not surprised?"

"You think I'm gonna let you do this alone?" she asked, extending her wings to reveal many knives tucked into her feathers. Noticing Caballeron's surprised look, she explained, "Cool, right? Dad showed me this trick. Said it saved his life out in the desert."

"Honestly, that stallion…" The bandits neared, and with a grin, Caballeron said, "Not dying will count as extra credit, Miss Do."

Doctor Solomon looked nervously to his watch for the fifteenth time in so few minutes. "Please hurry along…"

"We have to go," Blueblood insisted. "We cannot wait any longer!"

"They're here!" one pony shouted, and Solomon breathed a sigh of relief as Doctor Caballeron and Daring Do ran upto the group, both exhausted and gasping for air.

"Thank heavens the two of you are okay!" Solomon said, offering water to the two of them. "I've already performed a headcount and we're missing nopony!"

"Then we shall leave shortly," Caballeron said before taking a drink of his water.

"Wait, we can't just leave!" Daring Do said. "We should try to help these guys before their backup arrives!"

"No. You must go." Afuba approached the group, armed with a spear and covered in what Daring Do could only assume was the blood of his enemies. "You have already done much for our village. I will be taking care of Ranna from here."

"Of course," Cadance said, gently returning the small foal to the high priest. "But Miss Do is right. We cannot simply abandon you like this."

"The sentiment is nice, but the two of you are of more importance than any in our village," Afuba said, narrowing his eyes at the prince and princess. "We cannot spare any of our soldiers to protect you, and if something were to happen to you on our watch, the gods would punish us for allowing you to die."

"Our first priority should be the safe return of Prince Blueblood and Princess Cadance," Doctor Solomon said. "If they die here, it would lead to war with Tambelon!"

"Here is what we will do," Doctor Caballeron started, "I will take five of the ponies hired for this expedition to recover the treasure. It is not far, and there is the risk that the bandits had overheard us as we made our discovery. We cannot let them have it.

"The rest of you will escort the prince and princess home."

"I'm comin' with you," Daring Do said.

"No," Caballeron replied. "Not this time, Miss Do. I mean it! You are to go home with the escort. It would be much safer for you."

"But I wanna help you!"

"You'll help by protecting our royal family! I know that you can hold your own, so put that strength to use and protect the two of them on the journey home!"

"I am against this idea," Doctor Solomon said. "The trek will be dangerous, and the location of the treasure is in the direction Miss Do said the bandit camps had been set."

"I will be fine," Caballeron insisted, giving his old friend a sure smile. "I know the area well. I can navigate my way there without being detected, but I may need help when I actually make it to where the treasure is stored."

"You must go now, while you have the chance," Afuba said, and then, with that, he turned and made his way back into the village.

After a moment of silence, Doctor Solomon nodded. "Very well. You go, and the rest of us will return home." Solomon turned to Daring Do, who clearly was not satisfied. "Please, Miss Do."

Daring Do looked to Doctor Caballeron, and then to the prince and princess, and to the workers who had been hired for the expedition. Finally, she sighed. "Alright. I'll… I'll go back home with you guys…"

"I recognise this clearing," Cadance announced, taking out her map and quickly casting her eyes over it. "If we go left from here, we can use the cover of the trees to move without being seen."

"We would lose our own visibility, too," Blueblood said, poking his head out of his caravan and snatching the map from Cadance. "We'd also hit a river, and it would be harder to hear anypony approaching us. I say we just go straight. It's the fastest route."

"It's the most open one!" Cadance argued.

"I'll take open over trapped!" Blueblood shouted.

"Please, you two," Doctor Solomon said, but to no avail. The two cousins bickered as their escort tried to break them up. The doctor sighed, and turned to Daring Do for assistance, only to find that she was lagging behind the group. "Are you tired, Miss Do?"

Daring Do shook her head. "I just… I got a bad feelin' that I can't shake," she said, looking over her shoulder, through the trees behind her.

"Doctor Caballeron has been through situations like these more than once," Solomon assured her, but he could tell that it was not enough. "He will be fine, as will his companions."

"… Maybe, but I just know something bad's gonna go down. And my gut's usually right about these kinds of things!"

Before Doctor Solomon could stop her, Daring Do had broken into a gallop through the trees, running away from the rest of the group and leaving them all startled as she vanished from sight. "Drat!" Solomon shouted, taking out one of his matchlocks and giving it to the nearest Royal Guard. "Take this and lead the group to the right. We left tracks on our original route and going towards the river is no good."

Cadance and Blueblood huffed together and returned their map to one of the diggers. "What about you?" the digger asked, offering the doctor the map.

He shook his head, and turned to where Daring Do had run off. "I'll go after her and ensure she's safe. I know where Doctor Caballeron went so it won't be hard to track her."

"Will you be okay on your own?" Cadance asked.

"Yes. Now stop worrying about me and think more of yourselves," he said, motioning for the group to get moving. The guards saluted him, and then led the group towards the right, using the trees as cover as they moved forward.

With a sigh, Doctor Solomon sprinted after Daring Do, uttering a prayer for her safety.

At the base of a large cliff, reaching so high that they could not even see the top, Doctor Caballeron and his group had arrived at their destination. It was known that certain caves existed within this cliff face – remnants of the old mines used by Tambelon, and abandoned when a cave-in had buried everything valuable and cost the lives of five hundred zebras and fifty ponies.

"There must be a hidden entrance somewhere," Caballeron reasoned. "We must find it before the sun starts to set."

"I'm afraid that you'll have to leave that to us, Doctor." The ponies readied their weapons, as a group of twenty stallions, all wearing armour over their chests, approached. They were all unicorns, and leading them was a tall, dark-coloured mare dressed in leather armour, a dagger floating to her side in her magical aura. Her black cape flowed in the wind, and she said, "We will take it from here. Thank you for leading us this far."

"More bandits!" one of Caballeron's workers shouted. "Don't let 'em get the treasure!"

"We ain't afraid of you Tambelon remnants!" another shouted.

"Lady Ravensblood," one of the assailants began, "Your orders?"

The mare – Ravensblood – simply huffed and flicked her mane as she walked away. "Take them, all of them, and bring them back to the camp. Alive."

"Yes, ma'am."

Ten of the stallions drew shields strapped to their sides, and formed a wall before Caballeron's group. The remaining ten stood behind the wall and charged spells into their horns.

Caballeron simply stood and watched as his group charged, weapons in the air.

In one instant, spells unleashed and all five members of Caballeron's forces were felled, groaning as they each hit the floor and dropped their weapons. Caballeron watched as two of the stallions approached him, the rest rounding up their new prisoners and leaving the scene.

"You're comin' with us, Doc," one of the two remaining stallions said. "Don't make this difficult on yourself."

Caballeron said nothing, instead slowly reaching into his saddlebag as he eyes the two stallions. "Do you really think that you can find the entrance without me?"

The two stallions looked to each other, uncertain. Suddenly, a brown blur whisked one of the stallions into the air, screaming as he was just-as-suddenly slammed into the ground and knocked unconscious.

His partner prepared a spell in his horn, but before he could unleash, a blow to the back of his head forced him to join his friend in the land of dreams.

Caballeron withdrew his hoof and turned to face Doctor Solomon, who was holding a thick branch as he stood behind the fallen stallion. "What are the two of you doing here? I expected this from Miss Do, but from you, Doctor Solomon?"

"Sorry, old chap," Solomon said, "But I couldn't very well leave an old friend in peril now, could I?"

"Who are these guys?" Daring Do asked as she finished tying-up the first of the two stallions, moving onto the second one swiftly. "We saw them ambush you earlier and waited for a chance to come out, but they didn't really give us many openings…"

"It would seem that Tambelon has some threatening elements in their ranks," Caballeron said.

As Daring Do tied the second stallion's hooves, she noticed something in his – a scroll, with a red ribbon keeping it rolled-up. She unrolled it, but could not understand what was written there. "What the? Hey, can you make sense of this?"

Caballeron glanced to the scroll and huffed. "Don't bother with that. It's not important."

Daring Do raised an eyebrow. "Really? If we could crack this code, I bet it could tell us something-"

"As I said, it is not important. What is important is rescuing our captured friends."

Doctor Solomon nodded. "And finding the treasure before they do."

"I will secure the treasure. Doctor Solomon, Miss Do, can I rely on the two of you to rescue the prisoners?"

"You can," Doctor Solomon said. "Come, Miss Do, before it gets dark."

"Ah, right…" Daring Do put the scroll down and followed after Doctor Solomon, humming in thought as they made their way over the same hill that their enemies had retreated over earlier. "Say, didn't those shields kinda look like…"

Doctor Solomon turned to look over his shoulder, and found that Daring Do had stopped behind him. "Miss Do?"

Daring Do turned back to where they had come from, narrowing her eyes. "Say, you know what? He might need more help than you."

"Well, I don't know about that… But then again, if they send another squad out to retrieve the treasure…"

"You'll be fine," Daring Do said with a reassuring smile, and with that, she turned promptly and galloped back the way she had come from, reuniting with Doctor Caballeron at the base of the large cliff. There, the doctor had found a small opening, hidden behind some overgrown shrubbery.

Doctor Caballeron turned and sighed. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Because you know your top student so well," Daring Do answered as she stopped beside him. "Hey, this's my first real adventure! I'm not letting you take the glory away from me!"

Shaking his head, but smiling nonetheless, Caballeron motioned to the small opening. "Well then, Miss Do… Shall we?"

The opening led the two into the depths of a long, narrow cave that seemed to stretch forever into the darkness. Caballeron held a lantern around his neck that helped the two to see, whilst Daring Do occasionally drew patterns along the wall to help them find their way out.

"This cave is deep," Daring Do said, receiving a simply nod from Caballeron. "So hey, I've kinda been wondering, do all your adventures go like this?"

Caballeron shook his head. "Not all of them. Some have been simple excavations, in-and-out with no trouble, whilst some have involved trekking through hostile terrain under the cover of darkness. Sometimes we have lost ponies, and at other times, ponies have joined us."

"You, my dad, and Doctor Solomon have been on a lot of expeditions together, huh?"

"I have worked with your father before, yes, though we are merely fellow experts in the field. I did not care much for his theories, nor did he mine, so we did not talk much outside of work. Doctor Solomon and I met on a dig once and we 'hit if off', as you might say. He has called on my services a number of times."

Daring Do simply nodded along as she listened, her eyes fixing on Caballeron the entire time. She realised he had finished talking and thought of something new to ask. "So, you uh, got a special somepony?"

"Regrettably, no." Caballeron grinned over his shoulder, sending a chill down Daring Do's spine. "I am a difficult stallion to get along with, and I don't just mean as a teacher to his student."

"Aww, you're not that bad. I mean, granted I thought you were just some boring old stallion with no sense of humour who was always cranky-"

"Miss Do…"

"-But I've seen the good in you during this journey. You've helped us so many times, and you really care about your job with a passion. You gotta respect that." Daring Do shot the doctor a sly grin. "Guess it's not just the accent that makes the mares like you, after all."

"… Miss Do, you will notice that we have stopped."

Daring Do looked around herself, and found that to be true. "Uh, yeah…"

"Would you care to venture a guess as to why?"

"I… suppose it would be those two branching paths we've found?"

Caballeron nodded. "Now, if you are done paying me indirect insults disguised as compliments, perhaps we might try to determine which path is the correct one?"

"Hmmm… Neptune wanted his son to find this place, so there has to be some way to identify the correct path."

"Precisely." Caballeron took out Neptune's coin and examined it with a hum. He then approached the right-hand wall, examining it closely with his lantern, before moving over to the left. He smiled, and put the coin away. "Neptune's mark," he said, holding his lantern to a marking on the wall. "We go left here."

Daring Do laughed and held her hoof in the air. "See?! That's why you're the doc!" Doctor Caballeron did not reciprocate Daring Do's high-hoof. "C'mon, don't leave me hangin' here!"

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Caballeron turned and began down the left passageway, leaving Daring Do to pout on her own. The darkness caught up to her, and she wasted no time in catching up to her teacher. "Hey, wait up!"

"Stop!" Caballeron shouted, holding a foreleg out and stopping Daring Do from running past him. "… The passage seems strange."

Daring Do raised an eyebrow, but then realised that he was right. As she looked around, she found subtle holes and slits in the ground, along with evidence of the area having been dug up and reburied.

Doctor Caballeron picked up a nearby rock and threw it ahead of himself. The instant it hit the ground, arrows began to fly, blades began to swing, and fire began to spray.

Daring Do's jaw dropped, though her eyes showed excitement. "So. Awesome!"

"Except for the fact that it is blocking our path," Doctor Caballeron said, a noticeable grunt in his tone. "This must be the work of an automated spell. Such spells from Unicornian times were stored in a circle. Erase that, and you erase the spell."

"I think I see it on the wall over there," Daring Do said, pointing to the other side of the trap. A circle was drawn onto the wall there, many elaborate shapes nestled within its borders.

"If we had Doctor Solomon with us, he could use his magic to stay some of these contraptions…"

"Nah, we got this," Daring Do said, flexing her legs and stretching her back and her wings. She crouched on the ground, narrowing her eyes and she observed the gauntlet before her. "I can see a path…"

"Please tell me you aren't about to-" Before Doctor Caballeron could finish his question, his fears were confirmed, as Daring Do propelled from the ground and into the gauntlet of deadly traps. To his astonishment, however, the brown blur managed to weave elegantly between the numerous arrows, blades, and flames that lay before them, and before he could even tell what was happening, Daring Do was on the other side. "… I don't recall her father ever doing that."

"I just rub this out, right?!" Daring Do shouted over. Caballeron nodded, and Daring Do ran her hooves over the circle. She clicked her tongue, and the drawing was actually etched into the stone itself. Taking a deep breath, Daring Do turned around, leaned forwards, and then bucked with all of her might.

The wall cracked and fissured, and the circle was disrupted as a messy crater was left in the wake of Daring Do's kick. Caballeron moved through the now-calm gauntlet with caution, his eyes scanning every single spot of the trapped-area until he was safely on the other side.

"Aw yeah! That's how it's done!" Daring Do cheered, pumping a hoof into the air as Caballeron passed her by.

"I must admit, that was very well-done," he said, stopping for a moment to look Daring Do in the eyes, and say, "That was certainly an impressive display of skill and strength, Miss Do."

Daring Do stopped her cheering and blushed as she regarded her teacher with a look of surprise. "A compliment? From you?"

"I do give them when warranted."

Daring Do simply laughed under her breath. "Yeah, okay. Well, I'll do my best to earn more, then."

"Well, that looks unstable," Doctor Caballeron muttered to himself, as he prodded gently at the rotting wood of the bridge that spanned across the great ravine before himself and Daring Do. "And we cannot simply fly across, since you stepped on that pressure plate that triggered the waterfall barring our path."

"I said I was sorry!" Daring Do shouted, huffing as she approached the rickety bridge. Halfway across, there was a stable platform made of stone. But that, too, was now the victim of the raging waterfall that she had unwittingly triggered. "Neptune wanted his son, a unicorn, to get across."

"A unicorn could potentially part the water with magic, given enough training. We, however, shall have to power through it. The problem is that this bridge has not withstood the test of time."

"It should be fine if we tread lightly."

"This is coming from the one that can fly."

"Hey, I won't be able to fly after I run through that thing!"

With a sigh, Caballeron accepted his fate and slowly touched one hoof to the first plank of the bridge. It creaked, but seemed to be able to support his weight. He paused for a moment to reach into his bag and hand Daring Do a small candle, which he lit with his lantern. "I will go first. We should not test fate by proceeding together. Once you are on the other side, I will offer you light from the other end."

"When should I-"

"Once I reach the waterfall, you follow."

Daring Do nodded, and watched as Caballeron slowly-but-surely made his way across the bridge. The thing swayed and groaned a few times, but it seemed to be able to hold his weight. And she knew that she was lighter, so she reasoned that she would be fine, come her turn to cross.

"Here I go!" Caballeron shouted, before charging through the waterfall.

That was Daring Do's signal. She hovered over the first stretch of the bridge, landing gently on the other end. She could feel the spray of the waterfall against her face and let out a low whine. "Guess I got no choice…" Taking a deep breath, she ran through the waterfall. Her wings contracted immediately and she wanted to close her eyes from the intense pressure, but she needed to be able to see where she was going.

Once she made it to the other side, she found that Caballeron was already almost across. She followed, aiming for the wet patches of the planks as she reasoned those were the spots that Caballeron had stepped on when he crossed.

"You're almost here!" Caballeron yelled, prompting Daring Do to look up and find him on the other side, his lantern relit and shining in her direction. "Keep going, just a little-" Daring Do's hoof slipped on one of the planks and she fell, smashing two of the planks behind her and falling through them. "Miss Do!"

Daring Do fought with all of her might to stay hoisted on the one plank before her, but she could feel herself slipping, and she could hear the plank starting to splinter. Suddenly, a hoof was thrust before her. She did not hesitate to grab it, and was pulled to safety moments before the plank split and fell into the deep pit below.

Though they were both exhausted, Daring Do and Doctor Caballeron rushed to the other side before the bridge could get any worse. They only stopped to breathe the moment their hooves touched the stone of the cave's floor beneath them.

"That… was close…" Daring Do said between huffs.

"Too close… Let us hope that Neptune… ran out of ideas for trials…"

"'Trials'?" Daring Do asked.

Caballeron nodded. "That is what… I suspect these are…"

Minutes passed, and after the two had shared some water and caught their breaths, they decided to press on. "Hey," Daring Do began, "Thanks for saving me back there."

"Do not mention it," Caballeron said. "I might need you for future traps." Daring Do frowned as she stared sidelong at her teacher. "I suppose, I might have also been worried, too. As a teacher."

Daring Do felt herself swallow involuntarily and cleared her throat. "Yeah, sure. Y'know, you put on this real tough act, and I don't get why. Kinda makes it hard to tell what kind of guy you even are."

Caballeron hummed as he nodded his head. "Perhaps that is the idea."

"Or maybe you're just shy?" Daring Do teased, nudging Caballeron with her wing. "Welp, wings're dry, at least! Hey, you said before that you think these are 'trials'."

"Yes, well, after venturing through enough of them, you sort of learn how to detect such things. It would seem that Neptune not only wanted to keep pegasi and earth ponies out, but he also wanted to ensure only his son would be able to make it through."

"How'd you do that, though? It seems the traps could be resolved by any unicorn with enough skill."

"And therein lies the secret. Remember, Neptune's time was a long, long time ago. In those days, it was thought that only unicorns born with the blood of elites could perform more than just the basic spells. And of those, only royalty had access the most advanced spells, such as the ability to make flames appear from nowhere, and to part water. Even automated spells that were available to nobles were of the lower grade."

"Heh. Guess you really know your stuff."

"As I said, it all comes from experience."

Daring Do looked around herself for a few moments, noting that they were back in a long, cramped tunnel, with no end in sight. "So like, what made you decide to study archaeology in the first place?"

"Riches," Doctor Caballeron answered, earning a laugh from Daring Do. "You find my answer funny?"

"C'mon, stop with the cold-hearted thing already!" Daring Do said, playfully shoving the doctor and receiving a scowl for her action.

"I assure you, my answer was quite serious. I wanted to become rich, in both money, and in knowledge." Caballeron sighed, slowing for a moment, before picking his pace up again. "However, as time passed, the knowledge became… empty. What point is there to knowing the past without ever experiencing it?"

Daring Do shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno. It's kinda cool to know how things were once, right? And isn't it important to know the past so we can move into the future?"

"That is what I once thought, yes, but eventually I realised that the past was riddled with events that only ever brought doom to those that sought it out. Knowing too much only brought about… 'complications', yet the allure of ancient treasures still called to me. So I continued my research in the field, certain that, out there, there was a treasure that could fill the yearning my heart has felt for so many years…"

Daring Do felt her heart beating as she listened to Caballeron's tale, and as he stopped and remained silent for several seconds, she couldn't resist asking, "What… was it that happened, in the past?"

"Water…"

Daring Do raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"I can hear running water…"

Daring Do's ears twitched, and she, too, could hear the sound. "But we're so far away from that ravine."

"It sounds close… Examine this area! We must be near!"

"R-Right!" Daring Do ran to one side of the passage, whilst Doctor Caballeron examined the other side, and she examined the wall closely, pressing her ear to it and closing her eyes as she listened. "It's coming from over here… It sounds like… there's an echo… A room?"

Daring Do's hoof felt something poking out of the wall, and she opened her eyes to see what it was. It was a panel, upon which were eight stone plates with distinct patterns on them. Upon scrutinising them, Daring Do found that they seemed familiar.

She moved some of the plates around, and grinned. "Neptune's mark…" She moved more of the plates, biting her lip as she soon found herself going in circles, and then accidentally letting out a grunt as she found her progress being undone.

"Oh come on!" she shouted, before randomly sliding this plate and that until, finally, she could see the solution presenting itself to her. "Gotcha!"

"Well, that's one way to solve a puzzle," Caballeron said, shaking his head as he approached her. "I do not believe that that was what Neptune had intended for his son to do."

"Yeah, well, he didn't count on me. It didn't seem to do anything, though…"

"I found this." Caballeron presented another plate, its pattern completing the mark that the other eight plates had almost made themselves.

Nodding to each other, the two watched as Caballeron placed the panel into its slot, and then gasped as the wall opened. A bright, blinding light greeted them, and a strong wind extinguished Caballeron's lantern.

Once they could see again, Daring Do and Doctor Caballeron made their way into the large chamber that had opened before them.

The chamber had clearly seen better days; the stones of the walls had been cracked and fractured, with vines seeping through the gaps and mould growing on the wooden barrels that held various treasures.

Daring Do ignored the treasure, though, instead drawn to the scenery that was available through a large breach in the side of the mountain. It was almost a wonder that somepony hadn't simply found this room by accident, but a look over the edge revealed that jagged rocks lined the walls all the way down, and thick, overhanging vines would have served well to hide the entrance from the outside.

Still, though, from inside the room, the view was something to behold. She could see the vast jungle of Zebafrica, and in the distance, smoke rising from the various camps and watchtowers inhabited by the zebras.

"It's incredible," she said as the setting sun painted the horizon a burning orange, giving the impression that the jungle was on fire. "Doctor, you have to see-" Turning around, Daring Do found that Doctor Caballeron was already busy counting the treasures inside the chamber. Smiling, she approached, her heart beating as the rays of light illuminated his cheerful features.

"The legends were indeed exaggerated," Doctor Caballeron said. "As you said, it was written some time ago. The concept of wealth has changed since then."

"So how much is there?"

"Not enough to tip the balance of power." Caballeron sighed, but still smiled regardless. "Certainly enough to make a poor pony wealthy, though. Perhaps enough to found a small village, at most."

"Well, it's still more than this whole expedition cost! Princess Celestia should be happy." Daring Do turned her head to the room's entrance. "Like he said, the legend's exaggerated! So why don't you come out now?"

Doctor Caballeron turned also, and the two waited in silence for a few moments, before several ponies barged into the room, armed with crossbows and swords. One final pony entered, walking slowly towards the two explorers. It was a tall mare in leather armour, a dagger strapped to her waist and a long, flowing black cape trailing behind herself.

"Ravensblood," Daring Do announced. "You were following us all the way here."

"That's right," Ravensblood said, turning to Doctor Caballeron with a glare. "You should not have come."

"Well, he is your partner, isn't he?" Caballeron and Ravensblood turned to Daring Do with shared looks of surprise, and she chuckled under her breath. "I mean, you two are working for the Royal Guard, right? Her Majesty's Secret Service, if I'm not mistaken."

"… Incredible," Ravensblood said. "No wonder you couldn't shake her off. She's every bit as sharp as her father."

Doctor Caballeron shook his head. "Or perhaps you are simply dull. She bluffed, but then you just confirmed her theory."

"Actually, I was certain," Daring Do remarked. "When I met you in that clearing, Doctor, you released a messenger pigeon. Then these guys show up!"

"The bandits had already attacked us before that, though."

"The bandits were loud and aggressive, but you guys were quiet, organised, and methodical. It was clear there were two separate groups, not just one."

"Even so, that does not imply the Royal Guard," Doctor Caballeron said. "Even if they were not simple bandits, they could have been from the Manehattan mafia, for example."

"I thought that, too, but their moves seemed more militaristic than that. There was also that one guy with a coded message that you disregarded, Doctor."

"The message? Because it was inconsequential."

"Exactly. But you wouldn't have been able to know that unless you could read it, which means you must be one of these guys!" Daring Do shot the doctor a warm smile. "And I don't think somepony like you'd be involved with the Manehattan mafia."

"That's a bold assumption," Doctor Caballeron said. "And a risky gambit."

"No risk, no reward. My final clue was when you told me to go with Doctor Solomon after the prisoners. The doctor isn't exactly as young as he once was, and you've been blowin' gaskets left-and-right this whole trip when I've been putting myself in danger. Clearly, you must've known that we would've been safe."

Daring Do was positively beaming as she put the finishing touches on her deduction. "And why the Secret Service, you ask? Because their shields didn't contain the usual emblems adorned on the shields used by the Royal Guard, which meant that-"

Ravensblood cleared her throat, drawing their attentions once more. "Sorry to interrupt, but I must insist that Miss Do be escorted back to Equestria now." She turned to the student about to refute, silencing her with one hard glare. "We had intended to destroy this treasure, to protect the world's economy from collapsing, but seeing as it is not as much as we had thought it was, it will instead be taken back to Her Majesty.

"There is no further use for you here. Frankly, a civilian should not have been brought here in the first place."

"Oh come on! I help find the treasure and I don't even get a 'thank you'!"

"Doctor Caballeron, please say something to her…"

Doctor Caballeron stepped to Ravensblood's side, sighing as he turned to Daring Do. "… Your deduction was quite impressive, Daring Do, and your services thus far have been wonderful. However, I am afraid that you must be dismissed now." Caballeron raised his crossbow and shot Ravensblood in the neck, drawing one startled gasp from her before she fell silently onto her side. "As must you, Miss Ravensblood."

Daring Do watched in horror as the mare fell, and behind the doctor, ten of the fifteen guards turned their weapons on the remaining five, slaughtering them before they could even process what was happening. Daring Do ducked to avoid a crossbow bolt and jumped to avoid a thrusting sword from an advancing pony, kicking him in the face to push him into his friends.

She landed and saw Doctor Caballeron signal for the others to halt, before drawing a fresh bolt and reloading his weapon. "W-What the hell's goin' on?!" Daring Do shouted, tears welling in her eyes as she looked between her teacher and the dead body by his hooves. "How could you do that?!"

"It was a risky gambit, and it did not pay out," Doctor Caballeron said, pointing his crossbow towards Daring Do. "I was indeed part of this mare's group. Just as I was once your teacher." The doctor grinned. "You call something like this a 'long con', Miss Do. One that I am upset did not pay off as I had hoped."

"You… This can't… I…"

"I did warn you, Miss Do. There are no adventures in archaeology… Simply death for those that stick their noses in too far."

The doctor fired, and Daring Do moved to avoid it. She found that she was close to the edge of the chamber, though, and unable to run any further, her wing was pierced. She let out a cry, but kept her balance.

"Kill her."

Daring Do gasped as the ten thugs all laughed and approached her slowly, tauntingly. Looking around the room presented no answers, and looking behind herself only enforced one truth, that she did not want to accept.

Hearing a crossbow being loaded, Daring Do turned and jumped from the chamber, extending her injured wing as best she could to glide just long enough to grab onto a vine. A sharp pain caused her wing to fold, though, and it was all that she could do to flail and reach for the vines before she hit-

"Water!" Daring Do abandoned her old plan in favour of a new one. Seeing the large body of water below, she tucked into a diving position and braced herself. Her eyes wanted to close, but she needed to keep them open to time things just right. As she neared, she forced her wings open to slow her descent. Slower, and slower…

She hit the water and was still alive to feel the pain coursing through her body. She had forgotten to take in some air as she was diving, and knew immediately that she would need to swim up. Her legs protested, but she kicked them as much as she could. The surface wasn't far now. Or maybe that was just her vision becoming blurry from the lack of oxygen. The light was getting brighter, though whether that was a good sign or a bad one she dared not to ask herself.

"Can you see her?!" one thug shouted to another.

"No, I don't- Wait! There she is! She's alive, Doctor Caballeron! Should we go after her?!"

Caballeron approached the edge and peered down. Daring Do was clambering out of the water below, struggling to find her hoofing and seemingly choking out water. "No. Leave her be."

"Are ya sure? We'd be leavin' a witness."

"The Royal Guard may have sent reinforcements for Miss Ravensblood," he said as he motioned for the thugs loading the treasure to hurry themselves. "What can one filly, in a hostile terrain, possible do to us? She is not worth going out of our way."

The pain would not stop, but still, Daring Do pressed on. She was swaying as she made her way through the jungle, her breathing short, laboured gasps and her vision failing her, making navigation much more difficult.

The only thing that Daring Do could think to do was to run further away from the mountain. Away from Doctor Caballeron and his bandits. "Caball-all… You bast-" Daring Do tripped over a rock on the ground and fell onto her face. Tears streamed down her face, but she was too exhausted to sob. She simply lay there, unable and unwilling to move any further…

"What is this I see here?" Suddenly, Daring Do felt herself being lifted up onto something soft. Opening her eyes, she found long streaks of black-and-white. "A young mare on the verge of tears? Dangerous it is to be out here alone. Come with me, to my humble home."

Daring Do groaned. "… What's with the rhyming?"

"It is the way of my family, do you see? To rhyme in our words and…" Daring heard some embarrassed giggling. "I am still only an apprentice, so it is quite hard."

Daring Do felt a smile tugging at her lips, and a laugh almost escaped her. "Yeah, I hear that. I'm only a student myself… Just lost my teacher, though."

"I am sorry to hear this. Would you like to discuss it, Miss?"

"My name is Daring Do." Daring turned her head to get a better look of who was carrying her. It was a zebra mare, who seemed no older than herself. "And you?"

"A humble alchemist, from a family famed in our historia. My name is Zecora."

"… Okay, that was horribly forced."

Zecora laughed, and Daring Do joined her. "Again, I am still only an apprentice."

Several months had passed since Doctor Caballeron had returned to Equestria with Neptune's Treasure. With the riches from the job he was able to retire from the university… after first erasing any documents of his existence and 'silencing' the headmaster.

He had also arranged for any documents held by the Royal Guard to be destroyed, though accomplishing such a feat required an act of arson for which he was required to lay low for quite some time. Caballeron had spent the time outsourcing to fellow outlaws and reading literature brought to him by his servant.

"And so, she escaped from Ahuizotl with the Sapphire Stone safely in her hooves." Chuckling, the doctor closed the book and looked over to his servant. "I must say, there is a certain pride one feels when they see their top student become so successful. It almost brings a tear to my eye."

"I'm afraid I wouldn't know the feeling, sire. Still, are you sure that it wise not to sell your information on Miss Daring Do? It would surely fetch a high price."

"Indeed it would, but it is a trump card that I would prefer to hold for myself." Caballeron reached for the pipe to his side and his servant lit a match in preparation. "No, I will simply allow Miss Do to keep up this illusion that 'A. K. Yearling' is a different pony entirely. She even went to the effort of forging an entire family history for a mare that does not exist."

"But she has defeated Ahuizotl, sire. She is clearly not to be underestimated."

The servant lit Caballeron's pipe, and he took a few puffs as he stared down at the book in his lap.

"Congratulations on your first book's success, Miss Yearling." Doctor Solomon looked up from the ducks happily picking at the crumbs scattered on the ground before him, turning to the mare sitting beside him on the park bench. Her hat and her thick glasses made it difficult to see her face, and her cloak, whilst elegant, hid any distinguishing features of her body.

"Thank you, Doctor," the mare said with a smile.

"And as expected, Ahuizotl is now looking for you…"

"It would seem so. And thank you again, for that impeccable job. When I asked for a new family history, I didn't think you'd be so… thorough."

"I covered every corner, to ensure it would be difficult for any pursuers – new or old – to find you."

"And wiping any past records of me, too… Thank you. Really."

"Will you be okay, living in such an unguarded location?"

The mare nodded. "It's discreet, and it's not even on the map. That cabin belongs to my family, so there's no paper trail, and the nearby town is so quiet one could go mad just spending the night there."

"Still, though, I can't help but feel that you're just asking for trouble, publishing your deeds so openly, and not even changing the names of your 'characters'."

"I am asking for trouble." The mare turned to Doctor Solomon and gave a conspiring grin. "I'm inviting anypony who would dare use ancient artefacts for their own corrupt means to face me, and I'm letting the whole world know: Daring Do will stop at nothing to preserve the sanctity of the past!"

"I will be returning from my retirement soon. I look forward to doing battle with you once more, Miss Do. That is, assuming you could ever catch-up to me.

"I have a task for you!" Doctor Caballeron put down his pipe and rose from his seat, approaching an empty shelf on one side of his study where he placed the book. "Please go down to the bookstore and place a subscription in my name for the entire A. K. Yearling book series."

The servant bowed. "Right away, sire."

As his servant left, Doctor Caballeron walked to the other side of the room, where a set of drawers were placed. A matchlock pistol lay atop the drawers, and he picked it up. "It is not often that one escapes my grasp. If you find me again, Miss Do, then I will reserve this bullet… just for you."