Chapters Daring Do and the Curse of the Lunar Pharaoh
The passage was like a furnace. The hot sun and lack of air circulation had made the dark tomb almost unbearable. Using only a small flashlight to show her the way, a tan-coloured Pegasus moved her way through the passage. The heat did not bother her, though, and she scanned the walls as she slowly made her way along. The hieroglyphics intrigued her, and she noted them in a small leather bound book she kept in her pocket.
She noted the interesting designs, and used her book to translate common phrases. They were typical of a pharaoh, the symbol for king, god, and other praises were scratched into the walls. Coming to a stamp in the plaster in the shape of a Jackal and nine slaves. The Jackal representing the god of the dead, Anubis, and the slaves representing the pharaohs royalty.
On the far wall, she found it. It was exactly as the legends and textbooks had described it. The wall was covered in the royal seal of what what believed to be the wealthiest of the pharaohs. He had had so many names throughout history and folklore that there was no definite translation of his name. The design of his seal was intricate and bold, with symbols representing his lineage and conquests throughout his reign.
The Pegasus scratched down a copy of the seal and moved to the wall. She felt around the edges of the wall, finding what seemed to be cracks all the way around. She leaned against it, putting all of her strength and weight into the wall. She strained, holding her breath until the rock lurched forward an inch or two, and she almost lost her balance. After the initial two inches, the wall moved with ease, having been on some ancient-style hinges. The wall swung out into a much larger antechamber.
As the Pegasus stepped through the door, her mouth fell open, and she stared in awe at what lay before her. The room was expertly organized, and must have housed hundreds of artifacts. There were statues, weapons, carriages, tables and chairs, all made of gold and precious gems. If she had been a grave robber, the Pegasus would have settled for what she had just found. But her goal lay deeper in than this antechamber, she was looking for one artifact specifically. However, she could not help herself but take something. She reached out to find a small, perfectly smooth, gold disc only an inch or two in diameter. Directly in the centre was a smooth ruby that had been inlaid to the gold. On one side, the ruby was almost half an inch in diameter, while on the other side, it was significantly smaller. It looked so familiar to her, like something out of one of her books back home. She looked it over for only a moment before popping it into her pocket.
When she looked up, she saw more hieroglyphics on the wall. Not surprising, since this was an Egyptian tomb. However, these ones seemed more rushed than the others. As if this was the last statement to be put down before the tomb was closed. Or, someone didn't like what they were righting and wanted it over with as soon as possible. The tan-coloured Pegasus couldn't resist a little mystery, and took the time to write it down. When she had finished her copy, she leafed through the pages of her leather bound book to translate them. She did her best, though she had to fill in some of the blanks to better understand. She did not read aloud, as if speaking them would summon some sort of curse.
However, it read, “As the god of night does sleep, the sun remains in the sky. If his rest is disturbed, night will rule the day.” It did not make much sense to the Pegasus. She knew that the pharaoh who lay in the tomb was sometimes referred to as “The God of Night”. He believed, unlike other pharaohs, that he was descended of Nut, the night goddess. This was a strange belief because until that point, the pharaoh was always believed to descend from the sun god, Ra. There were several reasons in folk lore and legend as to why a pharaoh would change the beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians so drastically, all different. Some believed that it was because this pharaoh held a specific hatred towards his father, so he wanted a change. Others believed him to be a night worshipper. Others still believed that he was actually a she. They believed that the pharaoh was a woman disguised as a man who decided to change the beliefs to match her ideals. There was only one way to know for sure. To open the sarcophagus.
The Pegasus moved to a door with the pharaoh's seal resting above it. She cautiously entered the burial chamber and saw what it was she had been looking for. Not the sarcophagus, what she searched for was beyond. On a golden table past the glorified coffin was a pot, much like a canopic jar. However, it did not contain the mummies organs, but something of much greater value.
The legends said that the pharaoh was buried with their most prized possession. It was said that it contained a small magical device shaped like the moon, which could control it's phase, rise, and set. The device was believed to be used by the pharaoh to control the tides of the Nile, giving greater harvests. It was a small trinket, but could contain real power. The Pegasus did not believe the stories, however, the discovery of the trinket would make her famous, and perhaps bring better understanding to the legends of the pharaoh.
She walked around to the other side the sarcophagus and opened the jar. Inside, she found it, just like she had imagined. It was a giant pearl that had been carved to look like the moon's face. It was magnificent. She took out a rag from her pocket and wrapped the pearl in it, sliding it into her pith hat, and popping it back on her head.
She stared down at the sarcophagus, not wanting to open it, but consumed by the idea of finding out what it meant. She remembered the statement on the wall, and dared not open it. She didn't believe in curses, but she wanted to be safe. The Pegasus shook her head to clear her thoughts before exiting the burial chamber. She was met then by three grave robbers. The one in the middle was dressed significantly better than the others.
“I really must thank you for clearing this place for me, Ms. Do.” The well dressed pony sneered. “I was worried about traps, but you seem o have gotten in all right.”
“Who are you, and what do you want?” Daring Do asked through clenched teeth.
“I am called Richmond.” The stallion bowed. “Isn't it obvious what I want? Doesn't everybody want a slice of the pie?”
“So, it's money then.” Daring do shook her head. “And, what? No Doctor or professor before your name? Just Richmond?”
“No.” Richmond shook his head. “I have no need for a title, I am brilliant enough as I am. A higher education would be pointless. As well, why have a higher education when all I do is take things out of holes in the ground?”
Daring Do took personal offence at the last comment. She had spent years studying Archaeology and Anthropology to get where she was, not to be insulted by an undereducated grave robber. She was outnumbered, however, and did not want to antagonize the stallions blocking her only exit.
“Ms. Do.” Richmond stepped forward. “We are here for the riches of the pharaoh, and we will not leave empty handed. I imagine that you have taken the pearl already, so I will ask you to hand it over.”
“What are you willing to trade me for it?” Daring Do growled.
“Nothing, really.” Richmond shook his head. “But I will let you leave here alive.”
“Not a chance.” She adjusted her pith helmet.
“Well then.” Richmond pointed at his two henchponies who ran to grab Daring Do.
She expertly dodged and charged past Richmond. She was almost free and clear, thinking of a clever one-liner to shout as she charged out of the tomb. Unfortunately, she did not notice the larger than life stallion standing just beyond the doorway, who she ran into, knocking her hat off and causing her to fall to the ground.
Daring reached for her hat, but was grabbed from behind by the other two henchponies. The massive stallion picked up her pith helmet and fished out the giant pearl. He handed it over to Richmond who eyeballed the gem before dropping it into his pocket like an old coin.
“Now, I think we should solve the age old question of 'what gender was the pharaoh?'” Richmond mused as his henchponies moved Daring into the burial chamber.
he decided to save her strength to escape when she could get more leverage. The five of them stood in the burial chamber, the light of a lantern Richmond had brought illuminated the room. The massive stallion stood in the doorway so Daring could not escape, and Richmond stood on the opposite side of the sarcophagus. He ordered the two ponies holding Daring to open the golden box holding the dead king or queen.
The two strained for a second before knocking the ancient lid haphazardly to the ground, scuffing and scraping it. They were obviously hired muscle with no regard for history or delicacy. The sarcophagus was like a Russian stacking doll, with two more layers of coffins underneath, each slightly less brilliant than the last. When they were at the last layer, a simple wooden coffin, Richmond had them pause.
“This is an incredible historic moment, Ms. Do.” Richmond grinned. “Would you like the honour?” He motioned to the wooden box.
Daring hated being talked to like this, especially when she was a captive. However, she did want the honour. It was something she had been dreaming about for years. Discovering the unknown pharaoh would be a dream come true for her. But then she remembered the curse on the wall.
“I'll pass on this one.” It almost hurt to say it. To lose her only chance to discover this huge part of history. Especially seeing as she was only backing down because of a silly curse.
“Suit yourself.” Richmond laughed as he threw the lid off of the box and stared down at the body within. “Magnificent.”
Daring couldn't help but peer into the box. She needed to know. As she stared down at the mummified remains, she called to mind her training as an anthropologist and started to notice the subtle differences between male and female. She could not help but grin.
“Ms. Do, would you care to fill us in?” Richmond cocked his head.
“Only if you let me go.” Daring growled.
“You rive a hard bargain.” He replied as he looked down at the body. “Sure, you tell me what I want to know, and you're free. I have everything I need anyway.”
Daring looked back down at the body, double checking her findings so she was one hundred percent accurate.
“The pharaoh,” Daring Do stated, “was a woman.”
“Good, very good.” Richmond replied, looking excited. He then turned to his goons. “Throw her in the annex room.”
The goons looked confused, but Daring was scared. The annex room was small, and sealed by another stone door, but thicker. Inside would be old food and games, but there would be no way out. Richmond explained to his thugs where the annex was and they nodded. It took the efforts of both of the thugs to open the room, while the biggest one kept an eye on Daring. They finally opened the door and pushed her inside.
“How do you expect to get away with this.” Daring asked, standing back up. “You can't excavate with someone screaming and banging in one of the rooms.”
“Simple.” Richmond shrugged. “I will wait a few weeks, and then you'll be no more than a modern day mummy. Then I can take what I want and go. You will have simply gotten abandoned by your grave robber friends and died. Goodbye, Professor.” He said the word with such disdain.
The door closed, but Daring didn't give Richmond the satisfaction of screaming. She heard him laugh as he and his workers exited the tomb. The annex was dead silent. Daring could hear only her own breath and heartbeat as the gravity of her situation set in. She looked around the room, trying to find anything that could help. All she found were a few board games, jars upon jars of wine, and different spices and foods that had long since decayed.
She looked the door over and considered her options. Suddenly, an idea hit her. She walked over to the door and sniffed it for a moment. She nodded in approval, but to be sure, she licked it. Drawing her tongue back into her mouth, she considered the taste.
“Limestone.” Daring confirmed, nodding. “This I can work with.”
She then looked around the room at what was left in the annex. Her eyes stopped on the jars of wine. Daring took the lid off of one of the jars and inhaled deeply, causing her to gag and cough on the fumes. The jar reeked of vinegar. The years had separated the components of the wine, leaving a concentrated vinegar solution.
“Perfect.” Daring coughed, taking the jar from its resting place.
She tossed it against the door, shattering it on impact. The door was coated in vinegar, which bubbled slightly and slowly dripped to the floor.
As each solution of vinegar rolled to the floor, Daring smashed another pot on the door, it was working. It took hours, but eventually Daring Do managed to weaken the door enough that she could push it out of place by herself. Not a moment too soon. Any longer in there and she felt like she would pass out from the vinegar fumes.
She stood once again in the antechamber of the tomb. Her clothes and mane reeked of vinegar, but she was free. Suddenly, Daring became aware of a lump in her pocket. It was the small golden disc she had picked up before.
“At least I still have you.” She said, slipping it back into her pocket and starting the long trek back to the town from which she had come.
Author's Note
My first shot at a Daring Do story. I checked my science, so I think everything so far works. I did my homework on the Egyptology as well. However, if you find errors, please let me know and I will further investigate.
Daring Do and the Curse of the Lunar Pharaoh
Daring Do stepped through the hotel doors around one in the morning. She was dead tired, and covered in sand from the long walk back. Her clothes were sweaty, and she still reeked of vinegar. Her mouth hung open out of fatigue, both from the walk and because of the time. Her mane was a mess, and her eyes were bloodshot.
“Miss Do.” The desk clerk looked startled. “You look awful. Have you been out drinking?”
“Normally, yes.” Daring murmured. “But tonight... Let's just say I just got back from one Hell of a wine tasting. Is my room still open?”
“Yes, miss.” The clerk nodded, pulling a key off of a rack. “I kept it for you, even though company policy states that we are to vacate rooms when the guest is not in before midnight, to make room for potential visitors.”
“Mustafa,” Daring stated, reading the desk clerk's name off of his tag, “you are a Saint.”
“Thank you for saying so miss.” Mustafa replied. Just before Daring Do turned to take the key and leave, he held out his hand for a tip.
“You may be a Saint,” Daring grumbled, fishing through her pocket for a bill, “but you're a greedy Saint, Mustafa.” She found no money in her pocket, so she took off the analogue watch she had bought from a street merchant the day before for the tip.
“I have to make money somehow.” The clerk shrugged, innocently.
“You're a check-in clerk.” Daring griped, slapping the watch into his hoof and snatching her keys. “You make money doing that.”
As she turned and walked up the stairs to her room, the clerk called after her, “Yes! But it isn't much!”
“Whatever!” She shouted over her shoulder as she walked to her door. “And that had better count for tomorrow's rent!”
She fought with the lock until it gave way and she was let into the room. She grumbled to herself about where the locks could go and how to get there as she took off her hat and dropped it on the hat rack. Without changing, she walked over and collapsed onto the side of the bed, in what would have normally been a very uncomfortable position. But, she was asleep as soon as she hit the mattress, so she couldn't complain.
Daring drifted hazily back from la-la land into the world of the living as she felt an uncomfortable feeling in her everything. One of her forelegs was asleep, her back was sore, and her hind legs felt as if they would fall off. The side of her face was soaked in her own drool as she peeled it off of the bedspread. She was awake now, not like she had been the night before. Or was it still night? Daring looked up to see that it was still dark outside. She let her mind dwell on it only for a moment before taking a hoof and drying the side of her face.
“That's nice, Daring.” Daring Do said with disgust. “Really ladylike. Just like mom always wanted.” She wiped her hoof on the bedspread to dry it.
Daring took a deep breath and gagged. The entire room smelled like vinegar. She still smelled like vinegar too. She tore off her jacket and walked quickly to the bathroom to have a shower.
“If I ever smell wine or vinegar ever again, I'm going to hurl.” Daring promised herself.
Daring stayed in the shower for almost an hour, still able to smell the vinegar from the day before. The cheap hotel soap did almost nothing for it. She did her best to get the smell out, and gave up after the hour. Drying herself, Daring swore she heard the hotel alarm clock going off in the bedroom.
“That's weird,” Daring thought aloud, “I set the alarm for nine AM. But it's still dark out.”
Daring towelled off quickly so she could turn off the alarm before it became unbearable. Practically running from the bathroom, she slapped a hoof down on the top of the screaming clock, halting it mid-squawk. She raised the clock to eye level, reading the time off of the face. It read “9:00 am”, but Daring couldn't believe it.
Still holding the clock and slightly damp, Daring went down to the lobby to see Mustafa about the alarm. When she came into view, he smiled and waved.
“Good morning, Miss Daring Do.” Mustafa bowed. “I assumed you would be sleeping in after coming in so late last night.”
“I intended to sleep until nine.” Daring groaned. “But there's something wrong with this clock. I set the alarm for nine, and the time was right last night, but this morning it went off early.”
Mustafa looked confused. “What time is it, then?”
“I don't know, Mustafa.” Daring growled. “Check your watch.”
Mustafa turned over his hoof to inspect the watch he had received from Daring the night before. “It says it is just past nine o'clock in the morning. So either you are wrong, I am wrong, or we are both wrong.” Mustafa laughed.
“Well then, why is it still dark outside?” Daring asked, walking over to the front window.
“Storm clouds?” Mustafa offered.
“No, there aren't any clouds, I can see the moon and the stars.” Daring shook her head.
“Maybe you have one of those clock-destroying auras.” Mustafa noted.
“Those are as big of bedtime stories as mummy's curses.” Daring grumbled. Then she remembered the words that had been scribbled on the wall of the tomb. She started to worry herself, and shook her head. “Just a coincidence.” She told herself.
Returning to her room, head spinning, Daring Do pulled the notebook out of her vinegar soaked jacket and something fell out of the pocket along with it. She looked down and found the gold disc. She kept forgetting that she had taken it, it was almost like an automatic response. She laid the disc on her bedside table and leafed through her notebook again. She found the page with the translated inscription on it. “As the god of night does sleep, the sun remains in the sky. If his rest is disturbed, night will rule the day.”
“Guess the rhyme gets lost in translation.” daring joked to herself, trying to calm her nerves.
It was difficult, though. She so desperately wanted to just say it was a fluke, curses don't exist, but there was a looming feeling of dread as she read the words over and over. She could feel some power in the words, even unspoken. Right then and there, Daring decided that she would return to the tomb that day, if only to satisfy her curiosity.
Daring took her hat and jacket, still smelling of vinegar, down to the lobby. Mustafa was reading a magazine behind the counter. It was still dark outside, and Daring could hear crickets and other bugs chirping and buzzing around in the warm Egyptian air.
“Can you get these dry cleaned?” Daring held up her clothes.
“The jacket, yes, miss Daring. I am not so sure about the helmet.” Mustafa shook his head, taking the articles out of Daring's hoofs.
“Try.” Daring ordered. “I can't stand the smell of vinegar anymore.”
Mustafa began to search the pockets of the jacket.
“Do you mind?” Daring asked, a little disturbed.
“Sorry, Miss Daring Do. Some of the ponies down at the laundromat have some “sticky hooves.”” Mustafa explained. “I don't want them taking any of your belongings.”
“I checked the pockets before I came down.” Daring hissed. “They're clean.”
“Where are the things from your pockets?” Mustafa asked, noticing that Daring was not wearing a jacket or carrying a bag.
“They're in my room. On the table.” Daring replied. She noted a devious expression on Mustafa's face. “Do you have a master key?”
“Of course, miss.” Mustafa said, holding it up for her to see.
“Could I use it, I think I forgot my keys in the room.” Daring asked.
“Certainly, miss Daring Do.” Mustafa agreed, handing her the master key.
“Is this the only one?” Daring eyed the key.
“Yes, miss. The only one. So I expect it back.” Mustafa said with authority.
Daring ruffled the feathers on her wing, and her room key fell out. After sliding the master key onto the same ring, she slid it back into her wing. She gave a coy smile to the desk clerk.
“I want to keep your sticky hooves out of my room, and my things.” Daring grinned, turning to leave.
“But what if I need to clean the rooms?” Mustafa asked helplessly from behind the desk.
“It can wait.” Daring replied over her shoulder.
Daring Do walked into the street, deciding to stop by a merchant to purchase a satchel. She realized it would be more convenient than stuffing things into her wing. For a moment, she considered going back to the hotel to collect her things, but she liked the idea of Mustafa having to squirm, so she left him there for a while longer, so she could look into some local folklore.
It was easy to find ponies to ask, because everyone was outside staring up at the sky. The sun was nowhere in sight, just the suns of other planets and solar systems gave light to the world. It just occurred to Daring that the moon was nowhere in sight. It was not a new moon, because the shadow of the moon was not there. The stars were all that gave light. Daring walked over to an old couple who looked almost scared to see the stars.
“Are you two alright?” Daring asked.
The two of them babbled in their native tongue before the old stallion turned to her. “Yes.”
“You don't look okay.” Daring Do eyed them. “What's the matter?”
The old stallion looked to his wife for a moment, and then spoke. “My family. They are firm believers of old superstitions.”
“And what do they say about this?” Daring enquired.
“My father used to tell me a story much like this.” The old stallion began. “There was an evil pharaoh who loved the night. He was said to be able to control the elements by using the moon. When his subjects did as they were told, giving him offerings of food and gold, they were aloud to live. But if they refused to pay, or could not provide, he would use his powers to kill those who had failed, making an example for those who survived.”
“That's ridiculous.” Daring stated. “But, why wouldn't they be able to offer him anything?” Daring, of course, knew her history, but she wanted to know what the local stories said.
“In those times, ponies could hardly provide for their families because the king controlled the Nile.” The stallion explained. “He only allowed water to be taken from it if an offering was made to him. Families who needed food would offer up family heirlooms to the king, in the hopes that they would appease him. His demands took almost all that his subjects had. But so long as he had as much as he could eat, and so long as he was rich, he did not care. When he died, his magic and terror faded with him, and a curse was put on his tomb.”
“A curse?” Daring asked nervously. “What kind?”
“The curse was to keep his magical powers and devices from controlling the elements and the tides. If the grave was desecrated, or if the king was disturbed from his rest, the powers would come back, and he would control Egypt, the moon and the elements once again. But there is another version.” The old stallion scratched his chin.
“What's that?” Daring moved closer, as if this was some well kept secret.
“Some say it was old age that killed the pharaoh. Some say he was assassinated because his magic protected them from disease and age. Other still say that he was buried alive in three sarcophagi, and the spells in the tomb kept him from escaping, and bound his soul to this earth.”
“That's a nice bedtime story.” Daring nodded. “Thank you.”
The last theory spooked Daring. As she walked away from the couple, she couldn't help but shudder. Being buried alive was a fate no one should have to face. She needed more input though, and asked all around town, finding little differences in the stories. All told of a king or queen that controlled the elements and used his or her powers to take from their subjects. The only change was how the pharaoh died. After nearly two hours or so, it was hard to tell with no sun, Daring decided that it would be a good time to return to the hotel and reclaim her things. She returned to the hotel to see Mustafa still sitting behind the desk. Ruffling her wings, Daring took out the master key and teasingly held it out in front of him.
“Miss Daring Do.” He grinned. “Your clothes are back from cleaning.” He pulled the jacket and helmet out from behind the desk.
The two of them exchanged what the other wanted and Daring returned to her room. When she was alone and locked into her room, Daring pulled her jacket on. She felt as if she was whole again. The jacket was like a part of her. It was her signature. Daring moved over to her bedside table and picked up her belongings. She slid the notebook into her pocket, along with the golden disc and slipped her wallet and keys into the other pocket.
“I got everything done, and all before the sun came up.” Daring was once again trying to lighten her own mood. The tales she had heard worried her, even though she didn't believe them. But what else could be causing the weird celestial phenomenon? “I need to get back to that tomb.” Daring said, pulling on her pith helmet.
Author's Note
And, we're off. I think this stories gonna turn out pretty well. Again, if you have any questions or corrections, don't hesitate to drop a comment.
Daring Do and the Curse of the Lunar Pharaoh
Daring slowly stepped into the tomb. The tomb held unhappy memories, but not just those of Daring Do. She now understood why the last few hieroglyphics were so rushed and messy. They were scratched into the wall after the pharaoh was dead to make sure they remained. Or, perhaps, they were scratched in to make sure that the pharaoh who was just locked into three boxes stayed in them.
The thought of being locked away like that made Daring cringe. She almost gagged as she caught a whiff of vinegar from the annex she had escaped from. Looking over to the small room, she still saw puddles of the distilled liquid on the floor, still slightly eating away at the limestone door. Upon closer inspection, there were small limestone deposits forming on the floor where the vinegar had evaporated. Tearing herself from the annex, she turned back to the antechamber, where she had found the golden disc. Everything was right where it had been when Daring had left it.
“Obviously Richmond hasn't been back yet.” Daring shook her head as she moved about the room. “He would have cleared this place out.”
Daring still wasn't sure what it was she was looking for in the tomb, or what she would find. What she did know was that she needed answers, and the tomb seemed to be the place that would have them. The room was quiet, and she took out a light to scan the walls for any more inscriptions. It did not take long to find another quickly scratched curse on the wall. There were at least half a dozen of curses in the room. All of them were to the same effect of how the pharaoh must remain undisturbed, or the world would fall into chaos. Daring Do tried to be brave, but each curse wore on her courage, replacing it with dread and worry. She did her best to shake off the worry, and moved from one to the other. Finally, her head turned to the burial chamber.
The sarcophagus was as it had been before Daring had come to the tomb. Each layer had been put back on top of the other. Daring moved into the room and eyed the gold-plated outermost layer. The scratches and scrapes from the henchponies being so rough with it were still there.
“Richmond must have closed it up to make the discovery look authentic when he returned in a week.” Daring assured herself, though the curses on the walls had gotten her into a mindset of worry. Though she hadn't said it, in the back of her mind Daring feared the worst.
Scanning the lid, it didn't take Daring long to find an inscription scratched into the gold. She pulled out her notebook and started translating. Her eyes jolted back and forth from the book to the sarcophagus as she turned pages to find a translation. The work took time, but she eventually translated the words.
“As from dust we turn to dust.” Daring read aloud to herself. “As from sand we turn to sand. As from water we are as blood. As from death we return to death. But as this soul was not noble or pure, it shall not return to the land. May the body be held by this coffin, until the world has turned to sand.”
The words did not comfort Daring at all. Her mind immediately got to work on what the curse meant. Dust, sand, blood, death, noble and pure. What did it all mean? Why go through the trouble of writing such a cryptic verse on the sarcophagus? Daring took several approaches to the phrases, until she found one that worked.
“So, we return to what we come from.” Daring mumbled, pacing around the room. “That much is clear. But...” She turned in revelation to look at the scratched words on the gold. “But she did not. The purpose of the sarcophagus was to keep her from returning to nature, where she came from. The ancient Egyptians must have been worried that if she returned to the soil, she would taint the world. That was the whole purpose of the sarcophagus! Not to keep people out, but to keep her body in. They needed to keep her body bound in physical form, separate from the earth!”
Daring was pleased with her theory, and decided to move on to the next level, and find out what other curses or explanations lay beneath the gold and sparkle of the pharaohs sarcophagus. She reached up her forelegs and pushed against the golden lid of the outer layer. It slowly scraped along the bottom, making an unpleasant noise as it moved. Daring shuddered as the lid fell to the ground as it had before. She really did not want to damage this important historical find, but she needed to move it now. The lid below the first was still gold, but less detailed than the first. There was yet another inscription scraped into it. Daring immediately started translating, taking just as long, if not longer than the first time.
“Our magic is of pure descent.” Daring read aloud again. “Given from the gods above. Our powers were a gift, and we use them with reverence. But she who called herself pharaoh, had no regard for your grace. Let the power she has stolen from you, remain trapped in this place.” Daring took no time easily connecting this one like the first. “They thought magic was a gift from their gods. They gave thanks whenever they used it. They used it sparingly so as to show that they respected their gift. But the pharaoh had no restraint and used it to bend the world to her will. They wanted to keep her magic sealed in these ruins so she could never again use it to do evil.” Daring remembered one of the endings to the tale of the pharaoh. “She could not die of disease or old age. What if breaking this seal would allow that power to return to her?”
Daring could almost wait no longer, and hurriedly pushed the next golden lid off of its bottom. The final coffin lay before her. It was a simple wooden box, but now she noticed its significance. The entire face of the lid was covered in scratched in hieroglyphics. All from different sides, as if magicians had worked together to get these curses written in as soon as possible. She had committed several different hieroglyphics to memory by now, and moved through some of them with ease before noticing a pattern.
“All of them are praising different gods.” Daring whispered. “Asking them-begging them... Not to let the pharaohs soul enter the afterlife.” Daring took off her helmet and ran a hoof through her mane. “They were worried that she would kill the gods and take their powers. Then she would return to earth and reclaim her throne.” Daring was scared by the words she had read, but not scared enough to stunt her curiosity. By now, she really did not care about whether the curses were real or fake, she just liked solving the riddles of them.
Daring wanted to see the pharaoh again. She wanted to see the body she had been forced to identify, but on her own terms this time. She pressed her forelegs against the wooden lid and knocked it loudly to the floor. She wiped her forehead and looked down into the coffin. Her mouth hung open and she stared down into an empty coffin.
“Where's the body?” Daring shouted, not caring who heard. Odds were that no one was around for miles.
Daring sat, seething in a cafe just down the street from the hotel. Her mind still on the empty sarcophagus that lay in the tomb. The sky was still full of stars. Now that she was out of the tomb, her thoughts were no longer tainted with ideas of ancient curses. She reminded herself that they were bedtime stories. She was not scared now, she was angry. As it always did when she was faced with a shocking situation, Daring's mind snapped to the most logical explanation.
“I can't believe he would do that.” Daring growled to herself. “He would steal a mummy, thousands of years old, from the tomb in order to play on simple superstitions? To make ponies take an interest in his find and pay more for it.” She practically spat out the words “his find” it made her so angry. “We know magic exists. Unicorns are everywhere. So there is such thing as magic. Obviously that pearl wasn't a useless trinket. It definitely holds some power. Power that Richmond is using to make the whole of Egypt look like night. All of this just to put money in his pocket.”
“More coffee, miss?” A waiter looked worried as he came over to Daring's table.
“No, thank you.” Daring grumbled. It almost came off as angry, though she was trying to hide her emotion. At any rate, the waiter walked away, leaving Daring alone again. “If I ever get my hooves on that slimy son of a-”
Daring was interrupted as her coffee cup hit the ground and shattered. She had angrily reached for it and accidentally knocked it to the floor. The entire restaurant stared n her direction as she pulled down her pith helmet to cover her embarrassment. Another waiter came over to clean up the broken cup and spilt coffee.
“Rough day at work, miss?” The beige coloured Pegasus who was cleaning asked.
“Yeah.” Daring Do replied, resting her head in her hooves. “You could say that.”
“We're all feeling it, miss.” He said, brushing the broken ceramic into a small dustpan. “I'm sure it's just a fluke. The princesses will be able to handle it, I'm sure.”
“You must be an optimist.” Daring looked up at him.
“Why shouldn't I be?” The waiter shrugged. “Everything has seemed to work out in the past, why no now?” Then, getting up, he added, “Head in your hooves is no way to go through life. Keep your head up.”
“Thanks.” Daring said sarcastically as the waiter walked away. “I'll remember that.”
Her mind turned back to Richmond. She wanted to find him and ring his neck. She just needed somewhere to start. But where in Egypt would someone like Richmond be hiding?
She decided to ask around town, seeing if anyone recognized the name or the description of the grave robber. The work was long, and occasionally people would respond rudely to the foreigner asking them questions. But nothing could discourage Daring. She needed to find Richmond and bring the pearl back to the tomb. She thought that, if the pearl was put back in the enchanted pot, its powers would be nullified, and the day and night would return to normal. It was simple, really. She had no idea why she had been so nervous earlier.
Finally, she found someone that recognized the name and description of Richmond. The pony who recognized him is one Daring would not have even considered speaking to under normal circumstanced. He was a shady looking character, with a dagger hanging off of his belt, and he was missing a few teeth. Daring assumed that this was a sign of being in fights, and more than likely losing honestly, or winning dishonestly. More likely to be dishonest, thought daring as she eyed the dagger.
The stallion told her that he had heard of someone named Richmond looking into some pretty powerful ponies in town. The kind who had a lot of money, and would be willing to spend a little for a golden trinket. These were the kinds of ponies who got where they were because they either knew someone, or killed someone else. They were really no more than mobsters. For the names of some of these powerful stallions, Daring had to pay off the shady looking one. She gave him everything she had left in terms of cash, and he gave her five names and addresses she could use to find them.
Daring decided that she would just scope out each of the houses. If Richmond was going to sell the pearl, or the mummy, he would sell it as soon as possible, while everyone’s interests were peaked. She decided to go straight to the fourth name, seeing as Richmond had a head start. If he wasn't there when Daring arrived, he would be there soon.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading, same things apply. If you have any comments, feel free to share.
Daring Do and the Curse of the Lunar Pharaoh
Like A Theif In The Night
Daring checked the address and name on the sheet of paper the sketchy stallion had given her. Everything checked out, and the massive house looked like something a powerful mobster would live in. There was a tall fence all around the perimeter, the only way through being a gate out in front. Behind it, daring could see a huge house befitting a king. The grounds of the house were well kept, and as Daring moved around back, she could see an Olympic sized swimming pool just behind the house.
Daring needed to get through, but without something to sell she wouldn't even make it through the gate. She took another walk around the fence, noticing security cameras as she went. Stopping by one side of the house, she decided that where she stood would be the perfect place for a break-in. The wall of the house was close enough to the fence that Daring could easily cross unnoticed. There were no security cameras here, and there was a window near the roof, Daring assumed it was the second or third floor. The best part was that Daring didn't even need to climb the wall.
She spread her wings, now that she was keeping nothing in them. Daring flapped vigorously, so she could move swiftly into the house before she was noticed. She easily scaled the wall, and moved in close to the window. Grasping the window, Daring flapped harder to move the glass pane up and out of the way.
She quietly drifted in and landed in a quiet, empty room. Daring Do closed the window behind her to avoid drawing attention to the room. Looking around, Daring could see that it was a bathroom. The bath was to her left, and the sink and toilet were to her right. Daring needed to find somewhere to hide and see the action when Richmond arrived. She turned on the lights in the bathroom and looked under the sink. She hoped she would find a fire escape route. Since this place would have many people and a huge staff, Daring assumed that they would need one. She was not disappointed, and found the escape plans for the house. Each room was labelled, and she quickly found the one labelled “Office”. It was on the same floor she was on, just on the other side of the house. Daring needed a way to get to the other side.
The door knob began to jiggle as someone on the other side fought with it to get into the bathroom. Daring quickly ducked into the bath tub and shifted the curtain in front of her. A stallion walked into the bathroom and went straight to the mirror. Daring peeked out as he closed the door behind him and stared at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a collared shirt, tie, and a black jacket with a radio sticking out of one pocket. He wore a pair of dark glasses as he gazed at himself in the mirror.
“You are a majestic stallion.” He told himself. “The world is your oyster. All you have to do is go out and get it.”
He was psyching himself out. Daring could tell he was security, and obviously didn't like his job. Daring saw this as a golden opportunity and took it. When the stallion started to splash his face with water from the sink, Daring slipped out of the bath tub and sneaked up behind the security stallion. They were about the same size. Daring moved to one side while the stallion had his face in the sink. She whistled to get his attention, and when he pulled his head out of the sink, she bucked it with her powerful hind legs, and knocked him out cold.
When he hit the ground, Daring got right to work. She took his shirt, tie and jacket and replaced her signature green jacket with them. She dropped her pith helmet and jacket on the floor next to the window and slipped on the sunglasses. Daring looked at herself in the mirror for a moment.
“I am a magnificent stallion.” Daring mocked before rolling the unconscious pony into the bath tub and exiting the room. She locked the door behind her to ensure no one would find him.
Exiting the bathroom, she straightened her new jacket and got her bearings. She knew where the office was, she just had to get there without anyone seeing through her stolen disguise. Sure, breaking and entering was a crime, and so was assault. But what these mobsters and Rishmond had done was a crime too. They had stolen an artifact that was thousands of years old with untold power. Daring couldn't help but imagine what crimes they could commit if they had that kind of power in their hands. Not to mention Daring's personal vendetta against Richmond.
Daring moved quickly but steadily over to where the plans had indicated the office was located. When she arrived, she looked over her shoulder to be sure that no one was following her before letting herself into the room.
The office was massive. It had an old English feeling to it, with a wood decor and a large oak desk in front of a large window overlooking the yard. The walls were lined with shelves covered in various trinkets and trophies. Daring recognized many of them as historical artifacts. If Richmond would be able to sell the pearl to anyone, it would be this guy. Daring Do took her time looking at all of these treasures, no doubt stolen from digs, never to be seen in any textbook or museum.
Suddenly, she heard voices coming towards the office. She needed to find a place to hide. Her eyes darting around the room, Daring quickly noticed the large, heavy curtains handing on either side of the window.
“Bingo.” She smirked, darting in behind them and making sure they fell to the floor, covering her hooves. Daring did her best to lie flat against the wall, so as not to make the curtains seem bulkier than usual. The door to the office swung open with a bang, and she heard two ponies enter the room.
“Mister Richmond.” The voice of a stallion said. “Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
“The pleasure is all mine.” The familiar voice of Richmond replied.
“So, do you have the piece with you?” The other stallion asked.
“Of course I do.” Richmond answered as their voices drew nearer to the desk.
“Wonderful.” The other stallion stated, then he came closer to the window. “It is rather warm in here, no? Allow me to open the window.”
The sound of the creaky window opening filled the office. Daring held her breath, hoping to Celestia that the mobster would not see her. He did not, and moved back to his desk, where Daring heard him take a seat.
“So, Mister Richmond.” The Mobster said. “Name your price for the gem.”
Daring lost interest at that point. She did not care for how much the stolen artifact was being sold for, she just wanted to steal it back. After waiting through their long conversation about money and other shared interests, she heard the pearl hit the desk and the mobster stood up.
“Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of a piece of history.” Richmond laughed.
“In honour of our business, would you care for a drink, Mister Richmond?” The mobster chuckled.
“I would be delighted.” Richmond replied.
Daring listened for the two stallions to leave the office. After the door clicked shut, she waited until their voices became inaudible before she moved out of her hiding place.
There it was, the pearl. The God of Night's gem. Daring moved in close to the desk, her eyes darting around the room to be sure she was alone and safe. Taking the pearl in her hooves, she quickly dropped eyed it, making sure it was the same one from the tomb. Upon realizing it was the real deal, she felt relieved that the gem was back in capable hands.
Daring Do She froze when she heard the door to the office reopening and two laughing stallions stepping in. She turned to see Richmond and the stallion she assumed was the mobster standing in the doorway.
“What is she doing here?” Richmond hissed, going slightly pale.
“What's the matter, Richie?” Daring cocked her head. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”
The mobster looked down at the pearl she held in her hands. “Thief! Unhand the pearl or I will call the police!”
“The police?” Daring laughed. “Somehow, I don't think you want them stepping foot in here. Go ahead and call. Make my day.”
“Professor.” Richmond began. “We are two and you are one. Check your odds.”
“Check your math.” Daring reached onto the desk and took a large, knife shaped letter opener in her hoof. She dropped the pearl into one of her pockets and held out the knife threateningly. “I like my odds.”
“If it is money you want, I can pay you.” The mobster noted.
“I don't want your money!” Daring growled. “This artifact is stolen. It belongs in a museum, not in your collection. Or at least back in the tomb where it came from, out of your reach.”
“I can't let you do that.” The mobster replied. “That is mine, and it will remain so.” He pulled a knife out of his pocket and pointed it at the Pegasus. Richmond stepped out of the mobsters way, almost cowering.
A strong wind blew through the window and Daring flinched for a moment. She took a menacing pace forward at the mobster. The Mobster and Richmond recoiled in fear. Daring felt empowered by their fear of her. The mobster dropped his knife and almost screamed as he pushed past Richmond to get out of the room. Richmond stuttered, attempting to speak before running out of the room.
“I need to get me one of these.” Daring smirked at the letter opener.
Daring saw something move out of the corner of her eye and turned towards the window. What she saw almost made her run screaming like Richmond and the mobster.
What stood before her was hideous. To call it a skeleton would be an understatement, to call it a body would be an exaggeration. She could see straight through the creature, but there were still remnants of skin and muscle on the bones. Where eyes had been only lay empty cavities. All that remained was the deflated, yet beating heart of the creature. Muscles were still visibly attached to the body parts necessary for basic movement. The flesh was decayed and the muscles were frayed at the attachments to the bones.
Daring dropped the letter opener to the floor and gaped at the creature before her. The creature screeched something in ancient Egyptian that Daring could not understand. It pointed a bony, fetid hoof at her jacket and screeched louder. Daring looked down at the pocket, the one that housed the pearl. At that point, Daring could hardly think at the moment, still coming to term with the horrid creature before her.
Daring ran as fast as she could out of the office. As she ran through the halls, she did not care what the security or others thought. She needed to get out of there. Daring found herself back at the bathroom door. She tried the knob before remembering that she had locked it. Peering over her shoulder, Daring saw the creature coming out of the office. She did not have the time to fight with the lock, deciding to turn and buck the door. An almighty crack resounded as the wooden door shattered from its hinges and fell to the floor.
Inside the bathroom, the stallion who had been knocked out was coming to in the bath tub. Daring charged through the room, grabbing her jacket and hat which were still lying on the floor. Daring pulled her pith helmet on and looked over to the stallion in the bath tub.
“Sorry about the trouble.” Daring apologized as she charged towards the window.
She smashed through the glass pane and glided down to the road below. Looking back up to the window, she saw the creature standing in the bathroom, looking directly at her. Daring's gaze locked on the creature for a moment, before it turned to sand and blew away. She was confused and mortified by the sudden transformation and darted down the road, away from the massive house.
Author's Note
Now the spooky twist comes into the story, and Daring has to face the facts.
Daring Do and the Curse of the Lunar Pharaoh
Richmond almost tripped over himself as he galloped down the road. His heart was racing, his breath almost matching his pulse in rapidity. The Moon Pearl jumped around in his pocket with every step he took. If he had not been running, his heart would still be pounding in his chest out of fear. The creature had scared him even more than the first time. The sounds of the mobsters screaming in pain and fear still rang in his ears. Every sound Richmond heard made his heart skip a beat.
Suddenly, he heard a sound that almost made his heart stop. Looking up, Richmond saw a shadow flying towards him. He screamed ad something solid collided with him and sent him rolling to the ground, the Moon Pearl rolling out of his pocket. He covered his head with his forelegs and began begging for mercy. Surely the creature would finish him. But the shadow simply walked past him as he begged and it scooped up the glimmering pearl in a handkerchief.
“Richmond.” The shadow shook its head. “Quit your whining, it's hardly dignified. But I guess it suits you.”
“Professor Do?” Richmond raised his head out of his forelegs.
“The one and only.” Daring replied, tipping her had and starting down the road again.
“What are you going to do?” Richmond called after her, starting to get up off the ground.
“I'm going to put an end to what I started.” Daring growled, slipping the pearl into her pith helmet. She turned back for a moment to look at Richmond. “And then I'm coming back to kick your ass.”
Richmond fell silent and watched as Daring Do walked away. She didn't have time to deal with Richmond, she needed to get back to the tomb. The cool Egyptian night wind blew through her mane as she heard the creature shriek in the distance. As a sense of urgency filled Daring's mind, she started running. Adrenaline started fuelling her movements, her heart racing faster than Richmond's had been a moment before.
By the time Daring Do reached the tomb, her muscles were screaming. In the last few days, she had had to run to and from the tomb too many times. By the time she made her latest trip, her legs were still aching. But she had to keep going. She sweated and swore, her legs almost giving out as she descended the stairs into the familiar stone tomb. On the way from the town, the desert wind had picked up, as if the elements knew what events were to transpire that night. Sand had blown through Daring's mane and gotten into her pockets. Her eyes stung with sand and wind as she took off her pith helmet and poured sand from it.
Daring had no time to waste and hurriedly made her way into the burial chamber. It was just as she had left it, the lids of the sarcophagus strewn across the floor. Before anything else, Daring tested the weight of the outermost golden lid.
“Damn!” Daring groaned, attempting to lift the heavy metal. “It's too heavy!”
She tested the other two lids. With some work, she was able to lift the second lid enough that she could lever it on to the top. The wooden lid was the easiest to lift, though it was still heavy. Daring started to think about how she could seal away the Lunar Pharaoh if she could only lift two of the lids. Then she remembered the inscriptions on those two lids. The wooden lid kept the creature's soul bound to the earth, and the second lid kept the creature's magic at bay. So after those two lids were placed on top, the lid holding the body bound to the earth could wait until Daring could get help.
The sand-coloured Pegasus decided that it was the time to act, and took a deep breath. She removed the two gems from her pocket and pith helmet, holding them aloft. Softly, she unwrapped the Moon Pearl and gripped it tightly in her hoof.
A strong wind blew down the tunnel of the tomb and the creature materialized before her. It recognized Daring and the two gems she held immediately and started towards her. Before Daring could bring the two treasures together, she was tackled to the hard floor of the tomb and stared up into the empty eye sockets of the Lunar Pharaoh.
It screamed into her face and in doing so blew sand into Daring's eyes. Daring fought to bring the Moon Pearl together with the Disc of Ra, but the creature had her pinned to the floor. Daring pushed with all of her might to get free. The Mummy let out a sound like gravel scraping against stone coming from the creature's throat. It was laughter. The Mummy was laughing at her feeble attempts to escape. It brought a hoof down hard on Daring's right foreleg, causing her to cry out and drop the Moon Pearl, sending it rolling across the floor.
The creature stood up and used it's magic to raise Daring up to eye level. It laughed something in Egyptian before levitating the Moon Pearl teasingly in front of Daring's nose. Daring had one chance to save herself. She looked down at the Disc of Ra and said a silent prayer before throwing it at the beast.
It connected with the Mummy's face, causing it to emit an earsplitting shriek and drop Daring as well as the pearl. Daring dashed to grab the two artifacts, barely managing to get them before the creature regained some composure. She slammed the two gems into each other, filling the burial chamber with light and making the creature shriek even louder than before. Daring used the two artifacts almost like a lion tamer to move the Mummy around the room on her terms.
She manoeuvred the creature against the sarcophagi, turned around, and used her hind legs to kick the Mummy into the wooden box. To keep it from moving, Daring quickly reconnected the two artifacts in her hooves. She held them in place for a long while before making her move to grab the wooden lid of the coffin. Slamming it shut, she heard the creature begin to shake and thrash about in an attempt to escape. Daring put all of her weight against the lid to hold it in place. She realized then that she was hopelessly stuck. The creature would not stop moving to let her get the second lid, let alone wait for her to wedge it back on top.
Daring almost wept out of anger and desperation as she realized how hopeless her situation was. She looked rapidly around the room, hoping to find something that could hold this lid down for her. She found nothing that would be heavy enough. Praying to anyone who would listen, Daring begged the universe for help.
Suddenly, Daring felt another pair of hooves slap down on the lid of the coffin. She raised her head to see a glowing apparition of a Unicorn stallion wearing a golden headpiece and an Egyptian royal beard helping her. Then another pair of glowing hooves came down next to the first pair, and the spirit of a similarly dressed Unicorn stallion now stood to hold the coffin lid down.
Out of sheer surprise, Daring fell back to the floor. As she looked around the burial chamber, the ghosts of nearly a dozen Unicorn stallions all dressed the same, yet slightly different were scattered about. As the initial two held down the wooden lid, the rest worked together to lift the second lid to the stacked sarcophagi. The lid came down slowly as one of the spirits recited incantations. Shrieks of the creature could be heard as the apparitions moved on to the final lid of the sarcophagus.
Daring Do did not move. She did not speak. She hardly breathed. All she did was stare in awe as the spirits worked to put away the Lunar Pharaoh. They moved like dancing, articulated and accurate. Their actions were deliberate, but almost in slow motion, as if they were underwater.
As the final lid came down on the Lunar Pharaoh, the screeching ceased, and the room went silent. Daring dropped the Disc of Ra and the Lunar Pearl to the floor. As the disc clinked against the rock, the spirits of the pharaohs all turned to look at her. One of them walked over to her, though the steps it took did not match the leg movements. Daring continued to stare as the ghost picked up the Disc of Ra and the Lunar Pearl. It held out the disc for Daring to take, which she did. As soon as it was in her hoof, the ghost seemed to forget that she was even there and drifted over to the jar next to the sarcophagi.
Dropping the Lunar Pearl back into its original resting place, the pharaohs, like candles, all slipped back into the dark nothingness they had emerged from. Daring Do was once again alone in the tomb she had been searching for for years. All she had left from the encounter was the Disc of Ra. She hoped to have a moment to rest, but after only a few moments of rest, the entire tomb began to shake. The walls creaked and cracked. Sand began to sift through the cracks and into the burial chamber. Without thinking, Daring Do galloped out of the tomb and back out into the desert. Turning back, she swore she saw one of the apparitions in the entrance to the tomb as it collapsed and filled with sand.
Daring wiped her face as her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight.
“Sunlight?” Daring looked up and almost blinded herself as she looked straight into the burning sphere in the sky.
Her heart danced as she cheered. She must have looked very strange to anyone who could have seen her, if anyone had been there. They would have seen a sand and dust coated Pegasus sitting in the middle of the desert jumping around and cheering for what would seem like no reason. But no one was there, and no one could see, and it made no difference to Daring Do if anyone could see her or not. She had just been through the impossible, and no one would ever know. Even if they had known, they would not have believed. They would have been as sceptical if not more so than Daring had just a few days before.
But now, the tomb had been reclaimed by the very desert it had called home. The tomb and its contents were buried deep beneath the wrath of the Egyptian sands. The Lunar Pharaoh and its curse were now just as they were before Richmond and Daring had disturbed the eternal rest of the queen of Egypt. They were simple stories once more, and Daring hoped that they would never be any more than stories for the rest of time.
Ashes to Ashes. Dust to Dust.
Author's Note
And thus ends the adventure, however there is still the Epilogue to come. Thank you for your support and continued reading.
Daring Do and the Curse of the Lunar Pharaoh
Daring Do sat in the cafe again, drinking her coffee. She rolled the Disc of Ra around on the table. Still not quite sure what she had witnessed earlier, Daring wondered what other strange folktales were actually fact. She hoped that one day she would know for sure what mysteries there still were to solve. She finished her coffee with her mind still spinning.
“More coffee, Ma'am?” The same beige Pegasus waiter from the other day asked.
“Are you following me?” She countered, eyeing the Pegasus.
“No, Ma'am. Just offering some fresh coffee.” The Pegasus shot back jokingly.
“Sure.” Daring smiled, holding out her coffee cup.
The Pegasus happily filled the cup. The door to the cafe swung open and another stallion came into the room. Daring was busy getting her cup filled, so she did not notice the newcomer. She thanked the waiter and sent him on his way. Now Daring looked over her shoulder to see that Richmond was sitting across the room. He had not noticed her, and she hoped he wouldn't, not yet anyway.
Daring quickly downed her coffee and dropped some cash on the table. She slipped her pith helmet onto her head and stood up from the table. Turning towards Richmond, she walked around the room so he would not see her coming. She crept up behind the stallion and paused for a moment.
She tapped him on the shoulder and he stood up before turning to see who had tapped his shoulder. When he saw Daring, his face went pale and the smirk he had been wearing dropped off his face. Daring grabbed him by the shirt and flipped him onto the table. She stared him in the eyes, her face inches away from his.
“Richmond.” She hissed. “You got a lot of people killed, and almost got a lot more killed. I don't take kindly to being locked in a tomb, and even less kindly to a greedy stallion who only cares about himself.”
“What are you going to do to me?” Richmond stammered, trying to raise a hoof to cover his face.
“I told you.” Daring smiled. “I'm gonna kick your ass.”
Daring threw only one punch, straight down onto Richmond's face. She broke nothing, but apparently hit him hard enough to knock him out. Daring was almost disappointed that it had ended so quickly. She stepped back, looking around the cafe. She stared into the faces of several different ponies, some looking in shock, others in awe. Two large stallions from a booth came over, and Daring expected a fight to break out. She got into a fighting stance as they moved. The two of them stopped short of her and looked her in the eye.
“Is this man bothering you, miss?” One of them asked.
“Not anymore.” Daring shook her head, smiling. “But if you could remove him, it would help.”
“Certainly.” The other large stallion nodded.
The two of them picked up Richmond, hauled him to the door like a six-pack and threw him out of the cafe. Daring Do had a renewed respect for Egyptians. The two gargantuan stallions tipped their hats to Daring and returned to their table to finish their drinks.
She walked out of the cafe and passed Richmond, who was slowly scraping himself off of the side walk. Daring Do walked down the road with her head held high. She moved forward to the future, and the secrets it held. As she walked towards the rising sun, the sun she had helped put back into the sky, she could feel it in her bones. She was on her way towards something incredible.
Author's Note
And so ends the Adventure of Daring Do. Thank you for reading, I can't wait to see what's up next.
Daring Do and the Curse of the Lunar Pharaoh
“What was that.” Daring asked herself, panting from her long run. She had run all the way back to the hotel from the mansion. She walked a slow pace down the dusty road, the stars still providing a dim light to walk by. But by now, the stars would normally be out. It was approximately seven at night by the time she found her way back.
Daring peered in the windows of the shops as she passed the by, trying to purge her mind of the horrifying scene she had witnessed. It didn't scare her as much as disturb her. In all of her days of archaeology, she had seen hundreds of corpses. Some were brutally destroyed and mangled, some with nothing but a few patches of skin and organs. Some were even more disgusting than the one she had seen earlier that day. But all of them had been dead, still, unmoving. None of them had ever moved, let alone spoken to her. Daring racked her mind, wondering what it could be. She kept telling herself that stuff like what she had seen only existed in fairy tales.
“It must have been some kind of magical side effect of the pearl.” Daring assured herself, looking down at the bulge in the pocket of the black jacket she was still wearing.
Come to think of it, she was still wearing everything from before. Daring Do pulled off the sunglasses and threw them across the road. The tie was now loosely around her neck, with one button of the shirt undone to let her breath better. The black jacket was now covered in dust from the long run.
Daring Do walked silently into the hotel, sliding the door shut behind her. Mustafa was standing behind the desk again, but did not see her come in. He had his face buried in a magazine again. Daring really did not want to talk to him, because he always said something he thought was clever, and she was too tired and focused on the creature to deal with his humour. Daring kept her eyes on Mustafa, hoping he would not look up as she crept along the wall to the stairs. She practically tiptoed her way over, and Mustafa still didn't notice her. When she arrived at the stairs, she sighed and raised a hoof to the first step, which creaked loudly under her weight.
“Miss Daring Do!” Mustafa cheered as Daring practically deflated from the personal loss. “I did not see you there. How was your day? Were you at a fancy party today?”
“No.” Daring responded flatly, still staring up the stairs to her room.
“Do you still have your keys?” Mustafa asked, checking his rack.
“Yes.” Daring grumbled.
“You know this is your last night here, Miss Daring Do.” Mustafa noted. “Unless, that is, you are planning to pay for another night?”
“I don't have any more money, Mustafa.” Daring Do growled.
“So will you be packing and leaving tomorrow?” Mustafa asked.
“Yes, Mustafa. Unless I can find something else you can take off of me to pay for the room.” Daring hissed.
“Enjoy your last night, Miss Daring Do.” Mustafa added innocently as always.
Daring Do grumbled dozens of four letter words as she climbed the stairs to her room. As was normal, she fought with the lock for too long before finally gaining entrance to her room. Daring Do dumped the black jacket and other stolen clothes on the floor. As she did, she heard a loud thump that caused her to look over. She saw the Moon Pearl lying on the floor, almost glowing in the dim light. She did not want to teach it, thinking it might summon the horrible apparition again. She used the white shirt to cover her hand as she picked up the pearl and lay it next to the gold disc on her night table.
She turned on the hot water and stepped into the shower. She thought about all that had happened since opening the tomb, and how to put an end to it. Suddenly, a thought hit her. She had not wanted to think about it, but the idea flooded into her mind like a bursting dam. The creature had looked so familiar to her, and she hadn't known why. But now she knew what it was with absolute certainty. The creature was the mummy of the Lunar Pharaoh. She had no idea why she hadn't put it together before, thinking how an idiot would have been able to tell just by looking at it. Daring was filled with an urgency to put the mummy back in its sarcophagus. If the mummy being able to rise from the grave was any indication, she was in a world of trouble. If it could come back to life, that could mean that the other curses, stories and inscriptions were true as well. Perhaps it did have control over the elements. Maybe, just maybe, she was what was causing the perpetual night of Egypt.
Now, Daring was full of an urgency to get the mummy back into the tomb. Her mind began to race, thinking of how she could put down the cursed creature. First, she thought she could simply return the stone to the jar she had initially found it in. That may work. But, perhaps she could use the stone to summon the creature like she may have that day, and force it back into it's sarcophagi.
At any rate, by that time she felt like she had been in the hot water long enough, and turned the shower off. Stepping out of the shower, Daring shivered. It had definitely gotten much cooler than when the sun had been in the sky. She dried herself quickly and slipped into her normal clothes which she had laid on the bed. Turning to her nightstand, she noticed that the pearl was on the ground, but quite far from the table. Not as if it had rolled off, more like it had been pushed off or thrown off. The only other object on her nightstand was the gold disc. Her curiosity had been peaked. Daring took up the disc with the ruby glinting in the centre and used her other hoof to take up the pearl.
Daring Do peered at the two objects she held before her. One symbolized the moon, and may contain magical powers she did not know how to control, and the other, she was not sure what to make of it.
“Here goes.” Daring mumbled as she was about to bring the two objects together.
Suddenly, her window blew open and sand blew into the room. Daring abandoned her current task for a minute and stared in shock and horror as the sand began to bind together. It crawled up an invisible presence, forming hooves, then legs, then a body, and culminating in a head. The sand burst away like a mold shattering, and there, standing in her hotel room, was the Mummy of the Lunar Pharaoh. It screeched its Egyptian as it saw what Daring was holding.
Daring dropped the two gems she had been holding to the floor, causing the pearl to roll. As if guided by a higher power, the pearl rolled straight into the golden disc. A flash as bright as the sun emanated from the two gems, and they flew apart, like two magnets with the same poles facing each other. When Daring looked up, she saw the Mummy recoil as if it had been burned. In fact, it had been burned. The Mummy's right foreleg was black and glowing red, like a burning log.
Daring quickly put two and two together and took up the two gems again. The Mummy began to charge at Daring as she brought the two items together. The flash exploded from the two gems again as the two collided. Daring squinted to see past it, trying to see the Mummy. The creature screamed an unearthly shriek as it recoiled in pain. Daring held the two objects together, though they tried to repel each other. The Mummy quickly realized that it would not survive if it remained any longer, turning into sand and streaming out of the hotel window.
Finally allowing the two objects to repel each other, Daring Do let her forelegs fall limp. She now stood alone in her hotel room, the red carpet was sand-covered with burn marks where the creature had stood. Panting from the encounter, Daring celebrated by hoof pumping into the air and sitting down. She looked down at the golden disc in her hoof and finally made the connection.
“Ra!” Daring shouted as she looked down at the disc. “The symbol of Ra!”
She now realized why the little trinket looked familiar. The disc with the ruby was a copy of the symbol used to write Ra, the god of the sun, in hieroglyphics. Daring now understood the repulsion between the pearl and the golden disc. They represented the sun god and the night god. The disc held a blessing from the sun god, while the pearl held a dark magic that the pharaoh had bestowed upon it. Daring now knew what she could do to finish the creature once and for all.
Charging down the stairs, Daring Do decided that she needed to get back to the tomb and end this. But as she came into the lobby, she was met with nearly a dozen stallions in suits. Mustafa was being held at knife point by one of them. Out of the shadows walked Richmond and the mob boss.
“Professor.” Richmond greeted with his usual twinge of hate.
“Miss Daring Do.” The mob boss grinned. “How nice of you to join us.”
“What do you want?” Daring asked, slowly stepping off of the last stair. She knew exactly what they wanted, but wanted to hear it from the horses mouth, so to speak.
“I want what you have stolen from me.” The mob boss ordered, holding out his hoof for Daring to drop the pearl into.
“Do you have any idea what that thing can do?” Daring shouted, growing tired of Richmond.
“I know it can make me rich.” Richmond sneered, stepping towards Daring and pulling out a knife of his own.
“I know it will make my collection even better.” The mob boss added. “And that is all I care about it doing. Now, give it to me.”
“Don't you realize that this could destroy the world?” Daring tried to reason with them, but to no avail.
“I want what is mine, Miss Do.” The mobster ordered. “Give it to me now, or I will kill the clerk.”
“As nice as that would be...” Daring looked at the helpless Mustafa and reached into her pocket. She pulled out the pearl, wrapped in cloth and dropped it into the mob boss' hoof.
“Much obliged.” He bowed, reaching into his own pocket. He pulled out a stack of cash and handed it over to Richmond. “I am a man of my word.”
The mobsters released Mustafa and filed out through the door of the hotel. Daring did not have time for small talk with Mustafa, and barrelled out through the door. She wanted to catch them off guard and take back the pearl. She wanted the whole ordeal to be over.
Daring Do kept to the shadows, her eyes trained on the mob boss and Richmond as they trotted through the streets. She kept to alleys and side streets so she would not be noticed. She kept dead silent and moved quickly.
Finally, the mob boss and Richmond stopped. They assumed that they were far enough away from the hotel that they would not have to worry about Daring. They spoke quietly to each other for a moment before the mob boss removed the cloth covered pearl from his pocket. Rolling it in his hooves, he must have been deciding whether or not to take it out of its wrappings. He must have decided quickly, because he threw off the rag it had been wrapped in and held the glowing Moon Pearl in his outstretched foreleg. Holding it to the sky, he admired the glow and beauty of the craftsmanship. His praises were short lived, as Daring heard the wind pick up and she braced for what was to come.
The creature reformed from the sand before their very eyes. As soon as the beast became whole, it charged at the mob boss, screeching in Egyptian. The stallion screamed in terror and threw the pearl behind himself as he turned to run. And eerie blue glow enveloped him and the Mummy as he started away, and he froze in place. While the pharaoh was busy with the mob boss, Richmond scooped up the pearl and darted down the road, in the direction they had originally been heading. The creature used its magic to bring the mob boss close to it, before realizing he no longer had the pearl. When the realization came to the Mummy, it shrieked as it had before and threw the quivering stallion into a few of his gang members.
“Kill it!” He shouted as he stood up and dusted himself off.
Several gang members pulled out pistols and began unloading into the creature. Unfaltering, the Mummy menacingly marched towards them, enveloped in its blue glow again. Daring watched in horror as the creature magically wrenched the guns from the mobsters' hooves and turned them against their owners. Learning quickly how the machines worked, she unloaded the remaining bullets into the unprepared stallions of the mob.
Before the creature could leave, Daring started off in the direction Richmond had run in. She had no idea where he was going, but she knew she needed to get the pearl before the Lunar Pharaoh could get her hands on it.
Author's Note
So now we near the climax of the story. I hope you've enjoyed it thus far, and will keep on enjoying it even after it's done. Thank you for reading.
