Author's Note
Hello, readers. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it with my collab partner: Novalis14. Enjoy the story and remember bold is Daring Do View...hey that rhymed.
The Temple
"Alright ,Daring. We are going to the supermarket for some vegetables."
Daring Do’s mother ,Moxie Do, filled her saddle bag with bits. It was just another simple day to do simple shopping. She tightened her bags and waited for her young daughter to come down the stairs.
Daring Do, the world famous explorer, looked herself in the mirror. Today, she was entering another Temple. One she entered many times before, but never acquired the one true treasure. "Today is the day." she whispered to herself.
Moxie grew impatient and called for her daughter. The taxi would arrive at any time and she didn't want to pay more than she had to. Daring Do heard her lowly assistant calling from their hideout. She grabbed her hat and rushed downstairs. Her tiny legs didn’t allow her to run fast, and when she arrived at the stairs, she had to slowly traverse them.
Her assistant read useless instructions or named unwanted artifacts that this temple possessed. When would the assistant learn that the real true prize was something worth ten times the other items? The taxi driver opened up the door to his cab. He looked tired, yet always ready for an adventure. Moxie stepped into the cab first, and was followed by Daring. The poor filly had a hard time hopping into the cab, but with flaps of her wings, she finally made in. The taxi driver and her mother couldn't help but chuckle at the filly.
"Onward, to the temple!" Daring commanded as she jumped into the passenger seat, "We can't let other explorers get the artifact, lest they do harm to the world."
Daring's mother, blushing, pulled her filly back to the back seat."She means the supermarket..."
The taxi driver simply shrugged and trotted to the destination. Moxie laid back to rest while her daughter looked excitedly at everything. She couldn't believe all the activity that went on during the day.
The streets to the temple were filled with people each focused on their own problems. The only thing she hoped was that none of the people were after her treasure or realized who she was. That would spell trouble for her and the assistant.
As the taxi came to a halt, its passengers got off and Daring’s mother paid the driver. Daring kept an eye out for anypony who may have their eyes on the treasure while her assistant took her time dismissing their transport. As the mother and filly entered the supermarket Moxie grabbed a cart while Daring, with the assistance of her wings, clambered into it. As they entered the temple Daring’s lowly assistant provided a cart in which to place the less valuable and unimportant items she was so fond of collecting.
The supermarket was filled with so many goods, but Moxie, being a straightforward mare, knew what and what not to buy. If Daring could say one good thing about her assistant, it was that she was a good at distinguishing the good artifacts from the bad. She messed up every now and then. Moxie grabbed a bushel of spinach and Daring shivered. Another useless artifact.
Daring rode in the cart, and Moxie pushed while collecting goods. Unfortunately, the temple was filled with others ponies. It was a place of worship. What else could she expect? She would have to do this quietly.
"Mom, may I get some hard candy?" Daring asked in a low whisper.
"Yes. Just don't take too long and meet me in at the register before too long."
Daring quickly departed from her assistant and used her skills to melt into the crowd. The young pegasus flapped her wings for a boost and flopped out of the shopping cart, crawled to the opposite side of the isle, and walked slyly away. As soon as she was away from the slow-witted gaze of her assistant, Daring began her search in earnest. It was imperative that she be the first to find the treasure. As Daring wove between shoppers hooves, she passed by the toy aisle and froze. There it was! The Crystal orb! Finally! Daring quickly and deftly approached her quarry, careful to avoid drawing the attention of any of the worshipers. Daring began to clumsily climb the shelves flapping her wings sporadically, knocking other merchandise from the shelves as she reached for the package at the very top.
The hard blowing wind, thinned oxygen, and hot temperature were no match for Daring's sheer will and determination. Her hoof made contact with Orb. A smile came across her snout. Finally, after too much searching, her journey was over. With quick reflexes, she jumped down only to be grabbed and shoved to the ground.
"Ahh...thank you, Daring." Said Dr. Caballeron. He grabbed the artifact from Daring's hooves," I would never have found this myself."
Both filly and colt stood in the toy aisle looking each other in the eyes. Neither moved, forcing an older mare to have to maneuver around. Daring, clearly annoyed, got up, and brushed the dirt from her jacket. She pointed towards Dr. Caballeron and shrieked, "Give it back! I found that fair and square!"
"Shush! It's the last one in stock for months. I want it."
Dr. Caballeron smirked, and then ran off. Daring got up and ran after him, yet stopped when she felt a pain in her hooves. Daring began tearing up when she found a tiny cut on her hoof. As she cried, her mother, not far from her offspring, came running.
As Moxie appeared beside her daughter, the little pegasus held out her hoof, a small cut ran along it, and Moxie sighed. She took a small first aid kit from her saddlebag. Daring called out for her assistant and she appeared. She was loyal if not always competent. She quickly bandaged Daring’s injury and after a salute, the adventurer was off after her nemesis ,bravely ignoring the pain from her hoof. Before Moxie could ask her daughter anything, daring was scampering away.
Daring tore through the temple making up for lost time. She soon saw Dr. Caballeron ,and grinned as she took flight. As she passed the Doctor, she expertly snatched the Orb from his grasp. “Nice try.”, she condescended. Daring skidded past the colt, sliding on the slippery floor, using her wings to propel her.
As slid across the floor, she lost her footing. Aimlessly, she slid until eventually colliding with a shelf filled with groceries. She looked up to see the wall crumbling in front of her. Rocks fell and shattered on the ground all around her. Quickly, she grabbed the orb, and ran, dodging the crashing debris. With Another slide, she made it out from under the crashing wall.
A can rolled from the crashed shelf. On either side of the shelf were two young ponies. Each with a troubled look and scared look. The colt, more scared than Daring, ran away screaming, "You win this round,Daring!!!" She always knew she was a better explorer than Dr. Caballeron. She picked up the orb and turned around. Behind her, were the temple guardians, each dressed in white temple uniforms with name tags.
"We better call the manager...again." said one worker in his foreign tongue. Luckily, Daring knew the language.
"No need. He's already here..."
As the manager looked over the wreckage of the aisle, he could only marvel at the little filly that caused it. Before he could do anything thing, the filly was up and gone. As the leader of the guardians surveyed her demolition work, Daring took advantage of the situation, she tipped her hat and dashed for the exit, the orb safely tucked under her wing.
"Where do you think you're going, kid?!" Daring heard the manager yell. Almost immediately, did he and the employees chase after her. Daring pushed her tiny legs as fast as she could until they screamed for mercy. She needed a place to hide from the guardians.
Daring hid in a tiny crack in the stone wall. Luckily flaps of cloth sealed her position. They'd never find her in the clothing department. As her pursuers ran past her hiding spot, Daring saw an opening. Her assistant was by the temple opening with a plethora of random artifacts. If Daring timed things right, she would be able to make her escape.
The scared filly burst from the clothing rack and ran towards her mother who was leaving the store. Then she remembered the toy. She made a quick detour to the checkout line.
Precious time was ticking as she waited in the line to leave. Slowly, the line moved and it was her turn. The cashier grabbed the orb and scanned it, but with no luck. He tried over and over again before saying, "Price check on Crystal Orb. Line Eight." That moment Daring knew she was caught. The Leader turned around, pointed directly at her, and ran with his team. Daring only smiled as she strategically retreated.
The filly flapped her wings, grabbed her toy, reached into her saddle bag, and threw bits at the cashier. "Keep the change!!" She yelled as she flew outside the door.
Moxie, inside a taxi, waited for her daughter. She was getting worried until she saw her daughter burst from the supermarket. Her daughter looked worried. Moxie wondered why until she saw the manager and some workers chasing her filly.
"Start the wagon!!!" Daring yelled, "Start the wagon!!!!"
"Could you just walk lightly?" Moxie asked the taxi driver. The taxi driver simply nodded and pulled the cart slowly.
Daring flapped her wings as hard as she could, trying her best to extend the distance between her and her pursuers. The leader yelled and so did the guardians, yet Daring didn't let that faze her. She continued running. Eventually, Daring reached the quickly departing wagon and jumped in. Moxie helped her daughter in the slow wagon. Daring waved back at the guardians as her assistant told the driver to speed up. Eventually, the Guardians were nothing but a speck on the horizon.
"What did you do this time, Daring?" Moxie asked.
"Nothing..." Daring replied, "Got the last Crystal Orb on the market."
Moxie snatched the toy away from Daring, and put it in her saddle bag. "How many times did I tell you that toy is not for young fillies? Ugh...Daring, you never listen to me."
Daring looked at her assistant...disbelief swelled in her eyes. Her own assistant...had betrayed her. Maybe, the assistant wasn't as dumb as she first thought. Had it been her plan all along? Let Daring do the dirty work, and then make off with the prize. It mattered none...Daring wouldn't be played for a fool. She cocked her hat and smiled.
"Daring...are you listening to me?"
"No one betrays the great adventurer, Daring Do!!" she yelled as she lunged for the precious artifact.
