Daring Do and the Wendigo Shrine

It was dark and the streets of Canterlot were nearly empty. Quickly and silently, the three figures dashed across the street and ducked into a nearby alleyway. They were silent throughout their actions, not even breathing audibly. As they progressed down the alley, they found their target; an open window.

Two ponies knelt beneath the window, bracing themselves as they lifted the third one through. He landed on the floor with a soft thud, and scanned the room quickly. Empty. Perfect. He helped the other two ponies through and when they were all in the room together he said,

“Search everywhere. If it’s not here that means she has it on her.”

The ponies abandoned their subtlety as they overturned tables and rummaged through desks. They threw books off of the shelves, cluttering them on the floor. One pony stopped to look at a photograph; a tan pegasus and a blue stallion standing next to an ancient looking temple. He turned to one of the others,

“Yo, it’s her.”

The second pony looked over his shoulder, ceasing his search.

“Who’s the dude with her?”

“Beats me. I sure as hell don’t know him.”

The third pony interjected, “Knock it off and get back to work! We don’t have much time.”

They dropped the photograph onto the messy floor and continued looking through drawers and cupboards. The room was small, and felt smaller as they continued to throw items into a pile on the floor. After fifteen minutes of turning the place upside-down, they stopped, catching their breath.

“It ain’t here, boss. She must have it.”

The third pony sighed, “Damn. Then we’ll wait here. Crash, you take lookout.”

The pony named ‘Crash’ nodded and jumped back out the window. He took a position at the edge of the alley, obscured by shadows, where he could see down both sides of the street.

“Boss, what do we do when we get it from her?”

The boss chuckled menacingly under his breath, “Reinerth said we could kill her.”

Earlier that same day, Daring Do entered the museum. She trotted through the quiet halls, gazing at the well known exhibits, most of which she attained herself. As she passed by a statue of an ancient griffon commander, Daring spotted the curator. The alabaster mare was conversing with a rich looking unicorn. She waited until she was done talking, and passed the time looking at the surrounding artifacts.

Across the hall from her was a tapestry of a draconequis battling with a unicorn. It was elaborate and huge, measuring at least seven feet across. She winced as she remembered the three ribs she broke trying to get it back from temple thieves. To her left she saw a golden plate inscribed with runes of an old earth pony tribe. It was covered in jewels and gemstones of varying colors, each more exquisite than the last. She was in the middle of wondering what could have happened in that adventure when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned to see the grinning face of the curator. Daring Do smiled in return. She had known the curator since before she started treasure hunting, and she had been the closest thing to a family Daring had.

“Miss Do! It’s an absolute pleasure to see you! How went the trip?”

The curator’s voice was excited, as usual, and very posh, like all Canterlot ponies.

“Not too good, unfortunately.” she frowned, “They got away with the idol.”

The curator’s grin faded, “That’s a shame, I’m sorry to hear that. But at least you’re back in one piece! What can I help you with?”

“Well, I got a letter from Jackhammer today, and he-”

“Jack! That’s wonderful! I haven’t heard from him in ages!” the curator interrupted.

Daring Do was used to the mare’s excitable behavior getting the best of her, and tried her best to work around that.

“Yeah, I was surprised to see his letter. Anyway, he mentioned a professor that worked here; Reinerth? What department was he in?”

The curator scratched her chin with her hoof, thinking hard, “I believe he was in ancient pegasus history. Gosh, that was... six years ago? Maybe more. What did Jack say about him?”

“He also mentioned the Wendigo Shrine? Do you know anything on that?” Daring Do asked, ignoring the curator’s question as politely as she could.

The curator laughed, “The Wendigo Shrine? Even for Jack, that’s childish! It’s just a legend, Daring. An old mare’s tale!”

Daring Do figured as much, but that didn’t explain why Jack was so worried about it. She was still curious.

“What books do you have on the subject? I’d like to read into this.”

The alabaster mare trotted off towards the museum library, with Daring following closely behind her. They reached the round room, where the bookshelves went upward thirty feet before hitting the ceiling. Around her, ponies silently had their heads in books, reading about physics, old plays, or other generic library subjects. The curator led Daring down a section covered in brightly illustrated books. She felt a little awkward in an area that was intended for foals, but knew that this was the best place to learn about ‘old mare’s tales’.

The curator pulled three books from the shelves, each more whimsical than the last. She balanced the colorful books on her back as she approached a table on the other side of the room.

“There you are. They may be childish, but they’re the three books that cover the subject the best.” the curator explained, unloading the books onto the table.

Daring Do tipped her hat, “Thanks. I’ll be in here reading if you need me for anything.”

The curator laughed loudly, disturbing several nearby ponies.

“Don’t get too into this, Miss Do. It’s just a legend.”

“Maybe. But isn’t that what you said about half of the exhibits here? I managed to find those.”

The curator let out another laugh, causing several ponies to cup their ears and concentrate harder on their reading.

“Well, you’re free to do what you want, Daring. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

With that, she walked out of the large room, waving a hoof goodbye as she went. Daring pulled the first book off the top of the pile and opened it to the table of contents. The words were printed large, undoubtedly for young fillies to read easily. Daring found the page and flipped to it. The entry was only five paragraphs long, and had bad puns strewn about throughout them. Daring sighed and thought to herself,

Jack, if you’re making me read through these filly’s books, this better be important. There’s hardly any information on here!

Daring Do forced herself to begin reading through the large font and first-grade grammar.

Reinerth’s party had yet to depart from their warehouse in Stalliongrad. The ponies were loading the last of the crates onto the carts as Reinerth and Jack paced throughout the large building. For the past hour the two had been sharing their knowledge of the Wendigo Shrine. Although everypony was convinced it was an old legend, Jack and Reinerth both knew otherwise.

“Herr Chan,” Reinerth whispered, as to not draw the attention of the other ponies, “I promise to reward you greatly for your archaeological assistance, but I was wondering if there was one more thing you could do.”

Jack tilted his head, “Uh... Sure. What is it?”

Reinerth pulled Jack closer as they walked, “When we get to the shrine, the other ponies are sure to want a share of the power. I’ve got two or three loyal ponies, but the ones I hired off of the street can’t be trusted with the end result.”

“I think I know what you’re going to say...”

“I want you to help me... dispose of them when we’re done. Judging by your past experiences, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“Uh...” Jack’s mouth went dry. Earlier, during his espionage, he had told Reinerth that he was part of the royal guard who scoured the land, fighting dragons. Now he wished he could omit the entire thing, “Uh... Maybe? Well, um, talk about it when we get closer to the Shrine.”

Reinerth beamed, “Ausgezeichnet! You and I, Chan. I sense a good relationship in the future between us two.”

All Jack could do was force a smile. This pony was sick! First he proposes a plan to destroy Equestria using the powers of the Wendigo Shrine and rule from the wreckage, then he talks about killing his own crew! Jack’s gut told him to run out of the building, run far away from Stalliongrad. He could go warn the royal guard in Canterlot and stop the whole thing! But another, less cowardly part of his mind told him to stay and be the hero himself.

Just like Daring Do. She wouldn’t run!

The two had made their way around the warehouse and now stood in front Reinerth’s decorated wagon. The ponies around them had packed the last of the crates onto their wagons and now began hitching themselves to the front. Several of the smaller ponies sat in the back of wagons where there was space. As the duo looked over the scene, the zebra trotted over to them,

“Reinerth, we’re ready ta go. Jus’ give da signal.”

“Danke, Kuwinda. By the way, this is Chan. Treat him with respect, he’s important.” Reinerth then turned to Jack, pointing a hoof at the zebra, “This is Kuwinda. I saved his life and now he works for me. Just don’t get on his bad side and you’ll be fine. Now, es geht los!”

Reinerth climbed aboard his wagon, leaving Jack to find his own ride. He trotted around, looking for an open seat in on of the many wagons. Near the back of the room, surrounded by ponies in winter clothing, was a single cart with one spot left. He galloped straight to it and jumped in the back, clambering up to get his spot.

He looked at the faces around him. There was a pink mare who was smiling to a yellow pegasus at her side. The pegasus had a pair of goggles over her eyes, obscuring her light blue eyes. The two mares were giggling about something oblivious to Jack, who blushed at the attention he was getting. Sitting next to him was the stallion, Notes, from earlier. He gave Jack a small wave before being interrupted by a booming voice in the front of the room.

“Listen up! We’re gonna be travellin’ in two teams! One of ya is headin’ for da Chorda Mountains, followin’ Reinerth. Da other group is headin’ for Istanfoal to pick up a set of packages. After dat, ya’ll be headin’ into da Chorda Mountains as well. We’ll meet up at da rendezvous in three days, and then set out as a group to da third location.” He looked specifically at the cart Jack was sitting in, “Try not ta get lost.”

He ended his little speech on that note and began reigning himself to Reinerth’s cart. Notes gave Jack a friendly punch to the shoulder,

“Yo, I remember you! What did that foreign guy wanna talk about anyways?”

Jack stammered, “Uh, I’m... related to one of his business partners. We were just... catching up!”

Notes nodded, and pointed to the pink mare, “That’s Chilly and that’s Bonnie.” He said, pointing to the goggle wearing pegasus, “This here is Jack, right?”

Jack began to nod, then immediately corrected himself as he blurted out, “Chan! It’s Chan, actually.”

Notes raised one eyebrow, “Are you sure? You introduced yourself as Jack earlier.”

Jack floundered for an answer, “I was... out of breath. You must have misheard me. It’s Chan.”

“Whatever,” Notes said, throwing his hoof in the air. “I know what I-”

He was cutoff by a high pitched screeching sound coming from the front of the warehouse. All heads turned to the noise, and saw the front gate rising on rusty hinges. Bright light flooded the room, causing many ponies to raise a hoof to their eyes. Outside, the chilly winds of Stalliongrad whistled through the cloudy skies. Jack watched as three ponies ran out the door, unaccompanied by a cart.

“We leave in half an hour! Any business ya gotta get done, get it done now.” Kuwinda bellowed deeply from the front of the room.

Jack turned and dug through his saddlebags, bringing out an inkwell, a quill and a few sheets of parchment. Hastily, he scrawled a latter, making sure Notes and the mares didn’t read it.

Daring needs to know about this as soon as possible. If she can’t stop it, nopony can. If I can get a letter to her soon, maybe she can get a head start on Reinerth’s plan. He thought, going over the newly written letter.

He signed his name on the bottom and folded it in half. Pulling out another piece of parchment, he wrote down his second note,

Dearest friend,

A matter of grave importance has come up. I’m just going to skip the formalities and cut to the chase. I need you to take your airship to Canterlot and pick up an old friend, Daring Do. Fly her to Istanfoal immediately. Once you arrive, give her two days to get what she needs, then fly her to the Chorda Mountains. I’ll meet you there, and pay you substantially. How does 150 bits sound? But you have to go fast! Time is running out.

-Sincerely, Jackhammer

Jack addressed the first letter to Canterlot, and the second to Trottingham. He was sealing the letters with wax when Chilly poked her head over his shoulder,

“Who’s that for?” she asked cheerily.

Jack spun around, shouting loudly, “No one!”

The pink mare recoiled, falling backwards into her seat. She was about to chastise the strange pony when he jumped off the cart and galloped to the front door, letters clenched in his teeth.

Outside the warehouse, the bitter cold of Stalliongrad numbed Jack. He ran down a cobblestone street surrounded by tall wooden houses. Beyond the thatched roofs, the thin columns of black smoke could be seen rising from factories. Jack ignored his surroundings, searching for one thing in particular. His hooves splashed in slushy snow as he galloped to the small rectangular box on the corner of the street.

He reached it, completely out of breath. He shoved the two letters into the small opening, and stepped back. Jack looked around quickly, noticing only ragged looking ponies who were old, hungry, and very dismal. But there! There he was! Coming around the corner was a pony clad in a blue uniform dragging a small two-wheeled cart behind him. He made a bee-line for the mailbox, nearly knocking Jack out of the way to get there.

Jack watched as the mailpony dumped the contents of the mailbox into his wagon and continued on his path. His heart leaped as he watched his letters of distress go on their way to their destinations.

Now, he thought, It’s time for Chan to blend in.

Jack made his way back to the warehouse, where everypony was gossiping about the strange, compulsive archaeologist.

Daring Do had been in the library for hours and had been studying the Wendigo Shrine the entire time. Every book she read said the same thing; Deep in the Chorda Mountains, thousands of years ago, a sect of pegasus ponies had built a magical shrine. This shrine, in honor of the fabled wendigoes, was built to control masses of weather over the entire land. The creator, Chaplain Tornado Winds, and his pegasus followers used it to regulate seasons over a vast area. However, the power of the shrine was too tempting for Tornado Winds, and he succumbed to his temptations. He began to use the shrine to lay waste to his enemies, the griffons.

Eventually, Tornado Winds became so powerful that he threatened to crush the other pony tribes with tornadoes, blizzards, and earthquakes if they didn’t bow to his will. To end this, his followers overcame their leader and banished him to roam the cold mountains. To prevent the shrine from being used for evil, the harnessed the magical energies into a single object; The Thunder Stone. They hid the stone far off in the Sahoofa Desert, where nopony would find it. Without the stone, the Wendigo Shrine became useless, and stood only as a monument to Tornado Winds’ sins.

Over the years, the pegasus followers died off, and the shrine was forgotten. The location was lost to time, and the Thunder Stone was never recovered. Any pony that went searching for the shrine in the Chorda Mountains was either lost, or was taken victim by the elements. Daring Do could clearly see why Jack would be worried about such a thing, but also felt that the entire situation was silly. The Wendigo Shrine was just a myth, right?

Daring yawned and looked at the clock. It was past midnight, much to the shock of the pegasus. She had been reading about the Wendigo Shrine, Tornado Winds, and the Thunder Stone for hours nonstop. She stood up, stretching her legs, and walked out of the library.

The museum was open all day and night, but even so, there were few ponies that were willing to look at a few exhibits in the wee hours of the morning. Daring exited the museum without being noticed, and trotted down the silent streets of Canterlot to her home. It wasn’t a long walk, only four or five blocks. Daring knew the path like the back of her hoof. She thought as she walked,

Reinerth wants to find this shrine and use it to rule Equestria. But he can’t do that unless he has the Thunder Stone, so why bother?

Daring Do recalled Jack’s letter having mentioned something about her having to go to Istanfoal to fulfill some unknown task.

Istanfoal is on the edge of the Sahoofa Desert! I bet Jack wants me to find the Thunder Stone before Reinerth can get to it!

Daring came to her house and opened the door. She stepped inside, and immediately froze in her tracks. The house was a disaster! Around her, books were strewn about and papers were thrown to and fro about the room. She trotted into the room further, in shock of what she saw. Behind her the door closed.

A pony wearing all black clothes jumped out from behind the door, tackling Daring Do to the floor. She was taken by surprise, and wasn’t able to fight back for a few precious seconds. As the pony struggled with Daring Do on the floor, a second pony stepped out of the shadows. He dove to the floor and held Daring’s hooves down. She was pinned; there was no way out of it.

She ceased her struggling as a third pony came in through the door. He was larger than the other ponies that were holding her down, and stood directly above Daring Do,

“Where’s the stone?” He asked, his voice dripping with venom.

Daring Do answered bravely, “What are you talking about?”

The boss swung his hoof, connecting with Daring’s jaw. Her head whipped to one side, letting loose a string of saliva.

“Don’t get smart with me, Do. The Thunder Stone. You have it! Where is it?!” he roared.

Daring Do turned her head, seemingly unharmed, “I don’t have it.”

The boss brought his hoof back, ready to swing again, when Daring Do drew all her strength and pulled one of the ponies on top of her. As the boss brought his hoof down, he hit the henchman in the back of the head. The blow nearly knocked him out cold, and he lost his grip on Daring’s back legs. Taking the opportunity, Daring spun herself around so that her legs were facing the wall. She planted her back hooves firmly on the wall and pushed with all her might, knocking the second pony away.

Daring Do quickly sprang up just in time to catch the boss’s left hook with her face. Her head went fuzzy for a second, but regained itself in time to see the second hook coming from the right. Daring thought fast and ducked underneath it, leaving her helmet hanging in the air above her for a split second as the henchman’s hoof flew harmlessly beneath it. The helmet fell back onto Daring’s head, and she used it to head butt the bulky pony in the chest.

He staggered backwards, hitting the other wall. Swearing, he advanced on Daring Do, who bravely stood her ground. She was about to make a move when one of the other ponies grabbed her from behind. She bucked wildly, trying to kick him off, but to no avail. She saw the hoof come straight at her face at nearly lethal speed. Without thinking, Daring turned her head to one side, letting the hoof go through the empty air, only clipping her ear. She heard an impact, and the second pony’s grip went limp as he fell to the floor, unconscious.

Taking this as a stroke of luck, Daring scanned the room for a chance to make a move. On the floor were two unconscious ponies, and in front of her was a very large, very angry stallion. To her left was the open window, the source of entry for these brutish henchmen. She mentally facehoofed and scolded herself for not closing it when she left. With blinding speed, she shifted around the threatening foe and jumped out the small window. She brought her wings closer to her body to ensure that she would fit. The pegasus fell through the air and landed on her stomach with a hard thud.

Daring Do ignored the vulgar language that was bellowing from inside her house, and took to the skies, her wings flapping powerfully in the night. She made her way to the Canterlot airship docks, her head aching.

“Jack, when I find you, you’re in for it.”