Reed Roamer held up the gem stone in his paw. He looked at it with the grin of a dog who saw the great many things he'd spend the money on. It was almost translucent but he knew it had to be worth a fortune. Trekking for days through the desert just to reach this one temple in the middle of the sand, it had been sheer luck that they had beaten Go Gallant here. World's greatest archaeologist, it was clear he wasn't the fastest.
"Look at it boys... the Eye of Zebropolis itself," Reed said, holding it up for his cronies to see. His voice echoed off the walls of the small chamber the four dogs stood in. While Reed Roamer himself hadn't led his men into the dark room, greed had overcome fear of a trap in the last instance of their journey. When he saw the gleaming green jewel sitting atop the pedestal, the portly brown hound had simply ran up and snatched it.
"Yeah... good job, boss," the first lackey said. He shifted uncomfortably; unlike their obese dog boss who was dressed in a white double-breasted coat with matching pants and hat, Reed's "associates" were wearing more conventional clothing and weighted down by bandoleers of ammo and supplies. It was all on the off-chance that they would run into a certain pony with a penchant for getting his muzzle into business it didn't belong in, especially the kind Shiversly was interested in.
It was in this moment of sheer triumph that Reed and his men heard something. A stone dislodged from the wall and fell to the ground with a dull thud, busting on impact. The dogs noticed this and turned their faces to the ceiling to see a figure clinging to the side of the wall. Reed didn't need to see his face to know exactly who it was. The helmet and wings gave him away, they always did.
"Gallant!" Reed shouted. "You're too late, Gallant! I've already got the Eye and there's nothing you can do about it!"
"I'd love to stay and chat Rover but I'm afraid I'd be late for something else!" Go Gallant said back, dropping down to the floor and dashing out of the hallway.
"It's Roamer!" Reed shouted. That pony absolutely infuriated Reed Roamer. But he had the Eye of Zebropolis. Still, this was the perfect opportunity to be rid of the Pegasus once and for all. "Don't just stand there you dolts! Shoot him!"
Gallant ran to the end of the corridor and turned right. Another long hallway full of already-sprung booby traps lay ahead of him. Both paths were so narrow that even if he tried to fly straight, the dogs running after him would have a perfect shot. He had to think of another way out.
"What are you going to tell me now, Gallant? That this jewel belongs in a museum?" Reed shouted down the corridor.
"Actually, it belongs propped up against my friend's door," Go quickly replied. He took off his hat, he had one shot at this. The dogs, still running down the corridor were almost on him. He flew up and grasped the ceiling again just as they rounded the corner. As Go Gallant predicted, they turned right and began running down the other hallway, too preoccupied with the chase to look up and see the Pegasus hanging from the ceiling.
That's when Go Gallant got their attention. "Hey guys, you wanna help me out?" he shouted down to the dogs. The two dogs stopped running and turned. They looked up to see the smug smile of the Pegasus clinging to the roof and aimed their rifles at him. Without a word, they fired. Go Gallant dodged quickly, jumping around the corner as bullets peppered the place were he'd just hung. Pieces of the ceiling came down and light illuminated the tunnel, a way out.
"I appreciate it fellas! And tell your boss to take a closer look at that gem!" Go said. He quickly dashed out of the hole the rifle fire had made in the roof of the hallway and flew away, free.
Back in the chamber of the desert temple, Reed Roamer ran the length of the corridor and stopped in front of the pile of rubble that had rained down from above. His men stared up at the hole in the ceiling. Gallant was clever indeed; he'd managed to use Reed's own men to escape. But he still hadn't been quick enough to get the Eye.
"What do we do now, boss?" one of the dogs asked. "We go after him?"
"Crafty colt's probably already halfway back to Ponyburg by now. Let him go."
"Sure thing, boss," the dog obeyed.
Reed pulled the green jewel out of his pocket and smiled. For once, he had beaten the legendary Go Gallant. He held it up and in the light of the ceiling's new opening, he saw something he hadn't in the darkness of the chamber. The jewel was translucent but light caught the edges of some kind of inscription on the back, letters. Reed furrowed his brow and turned the jewel over. Was it some kind of message? A description of the gem from the ancient zebra civilization? He quickly made a startling discovery: the words were in English.
"Made in Taiwan?" Reed read out loud. His two cronies looked at each other, puzzled. The realization then hit the villainous dog like a stone from above. He was holding a doorstop.
Reed Roamer's blood began to boil. Anger filled every fiber of his being. He shook with rage, crushed the doorstop in his paw and shouted the name that he hated, the Pegasus that had gotten to the chamber first and switched the real Eye of Zebropolis for a piece of garbage, the colt who had outwitted him:
"GO GALLANT!!!"
The scream echoed through the chambers and was heard by the name's owner. Go Gallant turned his head back to the temple and grinned as he flew back to Ponyburg.
Author's Note
Dedicated to Daringdo, a user on this site and all Daring Do fans, let another adventure begin with an interesting twist.
I'm not going to spoil the ending but I would like to say that ALIENS WILL NOT BE INVOLVED IN ANY WAY. Thank you.
Update for JZ1: OR INTERDIMENSIONAL TIME TRAVELERS WITH CRYSTAL SKELETONS.
What Archaeology's All About
Ponyburg wasn't Go Gallant's hometown but with all the traveling he did, he'd come to think of the place as home. It was quiet but still lively on occasion, folks were nicer and creeps like Reed Roamer were nowhere to be found. Although technically an archaeologist, the Pegasus tended to consider the world as his office. Go's home was a small one on the outskirts of town, a shack close to the Evenfree Forest he slept and stored things in the few times he found himself here. He rarely stopped by if it wasn't to hit the hay and today was no exception. He flew towards the center of town, over the tops of buildings to land in front of the Ponyburg Museum.
Gallant checked his pocket one more time to make sure he remembered the Eye of Zebropolis as he walked up the steps into the museum. He felt the green stone and smiled. After six weeks of searching and dodging Reed Roamer's lackeys at every turn, he'd finally managed to find the legendary jewel from the lost Zebronian Kingdom.
Gallant regretted he'd unintentionally led them into the ancient temple of the zebras but he'd had no choice. Keeping the treasures of the world out of the greedy paws of individuals like Roamer was something Gallant had dedicated his life to doing. He'd made many friends and enemies in the process and at times it seemed like a quest that didn't end. But he felt it was his obligation; the treasures of the world and the knowledge and stories they held belonged to the world, not to any one individual.
While not as glamorous as even the museum in close-by Gallopolis, the Ponyburg Museum still held its share of important artifacts. It taught the local ponies a lot about history despite its small size and its exhibits were well worth the two bit admission fee. Gallant walked through the entrance and into the halls. It was the middle of the day and there were a few ponies there, milling about the various displays. Go was looking for somepony in particular... well, actually not a pony at all. He found his friend near one of the exhibits at the back along with a crowd of younger ponies, a class on their field trip.
Gallant leaned against the wall, deciding it was best not to interrupt the tour. His zebra friend, Zeroba was not only a tour guide, he was also the museum's curator. Zeroba explained the details of the exhibit behind him in to the class in great detail. The way Zeroba rhymed every time he spoke also helped to keep the audience's attention.
"Now, before the tour is concluded class, is there anypony who has a question to ask?" The younger ponies were shy but one of them raised a hoof in the air, a young male with yellow coat and a red mane. Zeroba pointed a hoof at him.
"If all this stuff was lost," the pony spoke up in a thick southern accent, "how did it get here now?"
"I think I can answer that," Go said, stepping forward. "History's a long time. Civilizations, ancient kingdoms and countries have disappeared over time, leaving behind very little to tell us about what happened to them. Ponies like me, archaeologists, go looking for what they left behind."
"That sounds boring," one of the ponies in the crowd said.
"Yeah," another agreed.
"Shut it, Crystal Crown!" the southern-sounding pony shouted.
"You wanna make us blank flank?"
The teacher moved to intervene. "Applebulb, Silver Spork, Crystal Crown! The three of you, stop fighting!"
"Yes, Mr. Le Cheeri," the ponies responded in unison.
Go Gallant grinned michieviously. "Oh I assure you, it's not boring. Especially when these civilizations don't want their secrets uncovered." The stallion approached the class in a low crouch, like a predator that had cornered unsuspecting prey. "Some of these kingdoms believed their precious treasures were all-powerful, dangerous if they ever got in the wrong hooves. They set traps and obstacles to guard them in their absence, diabolical machinations designed to function under the most basic principles, activated by the simplest means..." Without warning, Gallant stomped a hoof into the floor, jolting several of the students. "To crush anypony who would dare disturb them!"
A hush fell over the class as they were both captivated and cowering before the pegasus' speech. Finally, one of them spoke up.
"See? I told ya it wasn't borin'!" the questioner said, breaking the silence.
"Well, does anypony else have any other questions?" the teacher asked. The class was silent, awe-struck by Go Gallant's epic description of his job. "I'll take that as a 'no' then," the teacher said with a chuckle. "I think that about wraps things up. Thank you so much for the tour Mr. Zeroba."
"You're welcome, thank you so much for coming in," the zebra said as the class departed. "And please feel free to come again."
"Thanks for stopping by everypony!" Go Gallant waved. A couple hooves waved back from the exiting crowd. "And don't forget to check out the gift shop!"
Go waited until the class had left completely and the two were for the most part alone in the rear hall of the museum.
"It's very good to see you my friend. How are you now that you're journey's at end?"
Go reached into his pocket and pulled out the green gem, the Eye of Zebropolis. "Couldn't be better, Ze. Picked ya up a souvenir," he said, presenting the gem to his friend.
"I'm pleased to see the success of your mission. To our museum, this jewel will make a wonderful addition."
"Yeah, better here than in Reed Roamer's back pocket. Sorry I lost your doorstop though," Gallant said. He'd found the Eye of Zebropolis with Reed and his thugs right on his tail. He hadn't had time to replace it with anything else and so had used Zeroba's doorstop, which just coincidentally bared a striking resemblance to an ancient, magical jewel. Gallant had only planned on using the doorstop as a last resort and it turns out, it had been a good thing Zeroba had let him borrow it. The doorstop had saved his life.
"It's all right my friend," Zeroba said, examining the crystal. "What's done is done. Besides, I was looking for an excuse to buy a new one."
"Well, I'm gonna head home now. I'll swing by tomorrow and help you find a spot for the Eye of Zebropolis in the Zebra Wing," Go said, taking his leave.
Zeroba smiled. "I think that sounds like just the thing. Perhaps we shall rename it the 'Go Gallant Wing'!" he said with a laugh.
Go laughed himself. Individuals like Zeroba were living history, more of a treasure than anything else in the museum. Still, his zebra friend was right; some if not most of the exhibits had been direct contributions from Go Gallant himself. While he'd been offered plenty of bits to submit them to other more prestigious museums, institutions, a research facility in Manehattan and even Bubble Berry's own party store, Gallant was happy to contribute to this small museum in Ponyburg. It generated business for the town and allowed the locals to see parts of the world they'd never seen before. That was worth more than money, Gallant thought.
He passed by a few of the exhibits on his way out and thought of how each one had gotten there. All the memories... the museum told Go Gallant's story as much as it did that of what it displayed. Except for the macaroni art exhibits. Most of those were Bubble Berry's.
He exited the museum and stepped out into the sun. It was still early in Ponyburg and there were lots of residents moving about the streets.
"Mr. Gallant!" somepony called from him, not from the street but from the side of the museum's entrance. Go turned to see three mares walking towards him. A brown mare with a darker brown mane, sunglasses and some kind of beret led them, followed by a pale white mare with a dark brown mane and behind her a dark blue pony with reddish mane and bat-like wings. Go Gallant had read about those before: halflings, half-pony, half-thestrals, they were typically nocturnal and could see very well in the dark.
"Mr. Go Gallant, how are you doing this morning?" the lead mare asked.
"I'm doing quite well, actually. Is there something I can help you ladies with?" Go asked. Being a famous explorer, Go was used to a lot of attention from strangers, especially the opposite sex. While he appreciated such attention, especially from three fetching females, he had a feeling these ponies were more than just fans.
"Absolutely!" the mare said as she walked up to him. "Visionary filmmaker slash director Michelle Hay, pleased to meet you," the mare introduced herself with a powerful smile. They then shook hooves, though Go Gallant was now left with questions.
"This is my friend Torra Telecaster, esteemed author of Buttersized," Michelle introduced the white mare behind her.
"Do not introduce me like that," the white mare said to Michelle, sounding slightly frustrated. "And this is our friend Shade Flyer," Torra said, introducing the Halfling mare behind her.
"Well, I guess you already know my name," Go Gallant awkwardly admitted. He didn't know where this was going, why a "visionary film-slash-something" was interested in him.
Michelle laughed. "Of course, of course! That's the idea isn't it? What pony hasn't heard of Go Gallant: archaeologist, treasure hunter and explorer extraordinaire? Not to brag but-"
Shade interrupted her. "Please don't mention Coltbots," she said to Michelle. "Mr. Gallant," she now addressed the Pegasus. "Michelle, Torra and I would like to share your story with the world."
Go Gallant raised an eyebrow. "My... story? You mean about my work?"
"Absolutely, Mr. Gallant. We happen to be filmmakers and we believe that the tale of Go Gallant would make an epic film," Michelle explained.
"You do know there's a few books about my... travels... out already?" he asked the mares.
"Your adventure novels! Yes, I have them all! Even the newest one!" Shade said energetically, her batwings flapped twice in a display of glee.
Go smiled. "Well thank you, you know every copy purchased goes to supporting the museum right here in town right?"
"Books aside," Michelle interrupted. "We think your story deserves to be on the big screen!" Michelle said. She had all the enthusiasm of somepony trying to sell something.
Go put a hoof to his chin. Go Gallant... movies? Was he that big of a celebrity? A montage of images entered his head. Go Gallant action figures, Go Gallant cereal, Go Gallant t-shirts, board games, Go Gallant the Flamethrower. He shook his head to snap himself out of it. This was not the kind of attention he needed, it wasn't what his work was about. It wasn't even about him! All he did was recover what history had been lost by time. That's why he did what he did: he preserved history, not mocked it.
"I'm sorry ladies but I think I'm going to have to decline," Gallant said, starting to walk away.
The brown mare was absolutely devastated. "Oh... but... um, you're sure about that?" she asked.
"I'm afraid so but thanks for the offer."
Michelle trotted after him. Go didn't like doing this but apparently this 'fan' wasn't taking the hint, he spread his wings and prepared to outrun the overzealous mare.
"Mr. Gallant, this is a great opportunity for you! It could... it could mean more money for the museum!"
That comment actually made him hesitate for a second. He quickly reconsidered; the museum got enough support and he got enough attention. He turned to face the the director.
"I'm sorry ma'am but I'm just not interested in being a part of a movie right now. If you'd like to make a screen adaptation of one of my stories, you're welcome to talk to my publisher about using one of my books but as far as me being involved, the answer is no," he explained. Michelle smiled but behind that smile Gallant could tell her confidence was certainly deflated.
"Well, at least take my card," Michelle hooved him a white business card. Sure enough, the front read "Michelle Hay: Visionary Filmmaker/Director". Gallant decided he would keep the card, if only to make his fan feel better. Who knows? Maybe he would find something for the director, he liked to keep his options open. He stuffed the card into his jacket pocket, the same pocket he'd kept the Eye of Zebropolis in.
"Please, don't hesitate to call if you change your mind," Michelle said.
"I'll... keep that in mind. It was nice meeting you all," Go replied. The Pegasus then took to the skies without another word, leaving the three mares behind him. A Go Gallant movie. What pony would possibly be interested in that?
Author's Note
Couldn't resist the urge to gender swap my own OCs and even Shadow's. Yes, Michelle Hay, Torra Telecaster and Shade Flyer are the gender swapped versions of Michael Hay, myself and Night Glider. I have to say, it's quite adorable to imagine. I was going to put the rule 63'd versions of myself and friends in Dusk Shine: TLC but I decided that story should focus more on Dusk Shine and I'd have difficulty only giving my OCs cameo roles.
Also, Coltbots would be the pony-version of Gobots, the predecessor to Transformers. As you can probably tell, Michelle Hay is famous for the Coltbots movies the same way Michael is famous for Transformares.
