On The Wings of Wind

On another beautiful day in Ponyville, Rainbow Dash had been bouncing around on the ground almost like Pinkie Pie, excited for something. She kept repeating "3 months and 26 days" after every hop as she slowly approached the Golden Oaks Library. While nopony knew what she was going on about, she was interrupted when a gust of wind blew her around a bit. "Zephyr, what ARE you doing?!"

Her boyfriend flew back with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, was trying out a new bit of wind magic I had come up with. I didn't know where to go with it so I decided to look back at my first few 'spells' to see if I couldn't improve them."

"I guess somepony was inspired by Sunset Shimmer restarting her own studies. You talking about your Air Strafe and Wind Dash?"

"Yup. I couldn't figure out what to do with the Air Strafe, but I managed to develop an advanced form of the Wind Dash, which you JUST saw now." Ascending a bit, he uses it again causing a light-green cone to form around him as he flies rapidly around.

Rainbow was surprised by the display. "So now you have both a 'Wind Dash' and a 'Wind Boost', huh? Any key differences you noticed?"

"I only Boost in the direction my body is facing, unlike my Dash where I can change direction on demand. However, the Boost gives me more speed if I can maintain it for long enough." Now it was Zephyr's turn to be curious. "What were you excited about before I blew past you?"

"3 months and 26 days until the next Daring Do book comes out!" Rainbow went right back to excited. "I was just about to ask Twilight if she heard any updates over it!"

"Right, I'm surprised you managed to tear yourself away from that one book you had read for, what? 11 or 12 times?" Zephyr scrunched his muzzle a bit. "Then again, I doubt I'd be any better."

"You're always so understanding! Anyways, as curious as I am about your top speed with your Wind Boost, I want to talk to Twilight first. Care to join me?"

Zephyr chuckles at her. "Oh fine, I've more or less gotten an idea down of how it works and I need a break."

Rainbow grins as the two enter the library. "Hey Twilight, got any updates for--" She was interrupted by Pinkie blowing a party horn in her face. "What the..?"

Twilight grins at her friend. "Glad you could finally make it, Rainbow!"

"Glad I could-- wait a minute." Rainbow looked to her sides before realizing what was going on and looked up. "A certain somepony is 'apple-strung' right now."

"Hi, I am fine right now." Zephyr was plastered against the ceiling, much to the amusement of everypony present. "Why did I listen to Scoots' suggestion of an apple-themed breakfast today of all days?"

"Oopsie! Well, you'll work it out of your system!" Pinkie blows another party horn in Rainbow's face. "I'm just glad you made it to the 'Random National Party Day'!"

"Just admit you felt like throwing a party today, Pinkie." Zephyr managed to get himself unplastered off the ceiling with an "oof" at the fall.

Fluttershy giggles at her brother. "I would have invited you, but you were busy with your wind magic so I decided not to interrupt."

"And Rainbow was too distracted reading her "Daring Do" book for the umpteenth time!" Applejack made sure to throw that out there.

"AND in 3 months and 26 days, I'll be reading the very next one!"

Twilight realized Rainbow didn't know. "Rainbow, I thought you would have heard by now. The book got delayed for another two months!"

The Alicorn was not prepared for Rainbow to spit-take in her face. "TWO MONTHS?! T-that's a total of 61 more DAYS! I can't handle that kind of wait!" The Pegasus promptly face-plants into the ground.

Fluttershy and Zephyr glance at each other with flat looks. "We can sure vouch for that."

Even with Twilight's explanation of why the book got delayed, Rainbow was upset about it. When the conversation suddenly pivoted towards going to A.K. Yearling's place so that her 'daily necessities' could be taken care of while she writes the new book, only Twilight and Zephyr were exasperated. Everypony else thought it was somehow a good idea, leaving the former two to begrudgingly tag along to make sure nothing happens.

The trip eventually took the group into a forest north of Vanhoover past the Galloping Gorge. Zephyr was unamused by Pinkie. "Do we really need a red line marking our entire journey?"

"Why not? Makes going back easier as well!" That got a facehoof.

"Everypony, I think I found her house! This way!" Rainbow excitedly pointed in a direction before flying ahead.

Twilight tried to stop everypony else. "What about her privacy?! Augh..."

Zephyr was still unamused by the whole thing. "Maybe I need to make an example out of Rainbow if she keeps this--" He was cut short when they joined the rest and saw the house. "What the... what happened here?!"

Rainbow looked uncertain. "Looks like somepony already intruded on her privacy pretty hard..." She knocks on the door, only for it to fall over.

"Alright, that'll be far enough!" Zephyr quickly drags Rainbow away from the door. "Just because it's already invaded doesn't give us permission to do so as well!"

"B-but what if there's clues as to who did it?"

"Then WAIT for Yearling to come home and offer assistance then! You know how it goes, Rainbow. You only get one chance at a first impression, so don't blow it doing something stupid." That made Rainbow sit down in a hurry. "This applies to everypony else here as well!"

Rarity had a thought. "Let me guess, something similar has happened to Harpsong in the past?"

"It happens to everypony who becomes famous or an important figure. I'm sure Twilight knows what I'm talking about."

Twilight nods at that. "I had to deal with it a lot more ever since I became Princess of Friendship. That's why I was so hesitant to come here in the first place!" She sighs before looking around. "Since we're here already, let's see if we can't find anything suspicious outside the house before Yearling comes home. While we might not get permission to search in her home even then, since she might want her privacy respected, we can at least show we came to help!"

"Leave it to detective Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie already had the detective's hat on and was beginning to look around the outside of the house with a magnifying glass.

Zephyr salutes. "I'll scout around the area. If I find Yearling, I'll inform her of what happened to her house. If I find the thugs... well let's just say you'll know when you see a few tornadoes pop up."

"Don't go too crazy now. At least leave a piece of the action for me!" Rainbow piped up with a grin, which merely earned an eye roll from her boyfriend before he took off.

It didn't take long for him to see a lone figure heading towards the house. Realizing it was A.K, Yearling herself, he flew down. "Excuse me, miss?"

She gives him a leery look. "What do you want?"

"I needed to inform you that your house was broken into. My friends and family arrived to it already ransacked, but they're limiting their investigation to the outside of your house for now. They'll need your permission to investigate inside."

That changed her look to bemused. "That's... considerate of you and yours. Very well, I'm assuming they're still at my house?"

"Yes, they'll be a group of mares including an Alicorn. Whether you let them inside will be up to you. I'll keep looking around for the ones who broke in." All that got Zephyr was a nod as she redoubled her speed.

Some time later, with his search turning up fruitless much to his frustration, he was about to head back to the house when he heard unknown voices. Upon investigating, it was a group of four stallions: three thugs and one pony who looked like a pretentious archaeologist with a giant gold ring around his neck. Realizing that they could be the ones who trashed A.K. Yearling's house, he lands in front of them while kicking up a lot of dust.

The presumed leader didn't look to happy. "What do you want, kid?"

"Been ransacking any houses lately?"

"Hah! Playing hero won't let you live a long life, you realize that? Besides, it's four against one and other ponies have buckled under less!"

Zephyr merely cricked his neck with a flat glare on his face. "Won't know until I try, huh? You know what they say about assumptions."

"Wait, I recognize this Pegasus!" One of the thugs suddenly spoke up with a grin. "He was that mutant freak we tried to foalnap over, what, 16 years ago? We were hired under somepony else before you, Dr. Caballeron." Zephyr's eye twitched at that as he looked shocked.

"Oh yeah, that was a bust. Couldn't operate for a time after that because he decided to fall of the cloud! Doesn't he know cloud-walking potions are expensive?"

"Then your chance at a bit of redemption is present, boys!" Caballeron grins, seeing his thugs will get a chance to kill two birds with one stone. "He's in my way and you want revenge. Makes--"

"You... you were the ones..." Zephyr's anger was beginning to rise to a melting point as he began letting out shudders of pure rage. "You're the ones who separated me from my family... ruined my colthood..."

"Aw, what are you going to do about it, cry? It's still three against one, WE have the advantage--"

The thugs were cut short when wind started circling around the now furious Falconite. "I hope you made your peace... because I'm about to start making pieces of YOU!"

"GET HIM!" The thugs tried to jump Zephyr, but his rage reached a fever pitch as he wrapped himself in his wings before making one final, feral cry.

"DIE!!!"

A massive, sickly-green tornado erupted around him, which started viciously ripping into the forest. The thugs barely got away from the suction, only to see the Falconite starting murderously at them from within. Not even a second later he erupts from the storm, which caused it to dissipate, and savagely shoves a hyper-condensed wind ball into one thug's face. The result was the stallion getting launched at high velocity while stunned.

Further back A.K. Yearling, who had revealed herself to actually be Daring Do, was trying to shake Rainbow off of her back when the two were interrupted by a feral scream and the massive tornado that erupted ahead of them. "What the-- since when do tornadoes just pop up like--"

Rainbow knew instantly what was going on. "ZEPHYR!!!" She was about to take off when one of the thugs from earlier went sailing over their heads, clearly stunned. "No..! What caused him to fly so far back into his rage?!"

Daring was about to ask when Rainbow launched herself forward towards where the tornado was. "Wait, what's going on?! Argh, and to think it took this much to shake her off yet now I need to go with her to verify what's going on! Caballeron is there as well with that ring!" Shaking her head, she also makes her way to ground zero.

The two arrived to see Zephyr viciously dragging one of the thugs across the ground at high speed before throwing him through a nearby tree. The Falconite had a twisted snarl on his muzzle and irises almost unseeable due to them being pinpricks. The last thug tried to run away, but got brutally beat up into the air before getting launched into the ground, rendering him unconscious as well.

When Zephyr landed near the two mares and made motion to further attack the thug in front of them, Rainbow burst forward and hugged him tearfully. "Zephyr, that's enough! Why are you acting this way?!"

"They ruined... my foalhood.... my family... MY LIFE!" Zephyr formed razor-wind claws on his free forehoof and started reaching at the unconscious thug, struggling against Rainbow's hold. The act of him using magic shocked Daring more than his current actions.

"Stop it, please! You're better than this!" Rainbow refused to let him go, tightening her hug. "You're better than any of this..."

Zephyr slowly calmed down thanks to Rainbow's words and embrace. Eventually, he was able to hug her back. "I'm sorry... when they mocked me for being the foal they tried to foalnap so long ago, all I could see was red. I didn't... want to worry you like that..."

"It's fine! You're fine now!" Rainbow smiles at him. "Please remember... your past can't control you anymore. You have your present... and your future to look to now."

Daring let out a low cough. "Right, now that you two are done being sappy, perhaps we can look for Caballeron since he escaped that tussle?"

When Zephyr looked over to see who talked, he was stunned. "Uh... Ms. Yearling, is that you?"

"Yeah, A.K. Yearling really was Daring Do the whole time!" Rainbow revealed to her boyfriend, now feeling lighter about the whole situation.

"Augh... my little hissy fit does NOT look good on me right now..."

"I really don't care. These thugs have been a thorn in my side for quite some time and kind of deserved what they got." Daring cleared her throat. "Regardless, I'm going after Caballeron. Thanks for taking care of his bodyguards, I can handle the rest."

With the implication that all the books written by A.K. Yearling really did happen, Zephyr realized something. "Even if this Caballeron was alone now, there could be other enemies lurking in the shadows. Even knowing that--"

"I just told her this before and I'll say it again: I work alone." Daring was getting really tired of trying to keep others off her back.

"Sorry, not going to fly." Zephyr lifts off, which surprised Daring with his two sets of wings. "I was like you once, believing I could get through life without needing anypony else in my life. I was proven wrong when I was foalnapped as an adult to a research outpost and rendered powerless to change my fate, only for the ponies who I though hated me to rescue me."

He looks at Daring with a resolute look. "Say what you want, but we're already involved with this 'narrative' now. You may as well let us see it through."

Zephyr's spiel merely made Daring roll her eyes. "Fine, you can come along. Not that I'll need any help since Caballeron is by himself now. We just need to track him." She continued forward while walking past the two tag-alongs.

Rainbow squeed a bit. "You manged to convince her to let us come along!"

"Cool yourself, Rainbow, like you cooled me off. I know you read the books religiously, but this is real life and anything can happen. For now, let's let Daring handle this... Caballeron character. If nothing else happens, then events will play out as normal... I think..."

It was nightfall by the time the trio found Caballeron's camp. He was by himself, shivering in fear of what he had bore witness to earlier. "I never thought... that Daring... would be the least of my concerns..."

Daring raised an eyebrow at that. "Wow, you really got to him with your stunt back there, huh?" Zephyr merely scrunched his muzzle at that as Daring walked forward, not even bothering to disguise herself. "Caballeron, I finally found you! You know why I'm here!"

"H-here, take the damn ring! If that green Pegasus is still in the area, I'd rather just retire off what I have now!" With that, Caballeron throws the ring at Daring and runs away.

Daring grabs the ring right as a roar was heard. "Caballeron!" A blue monster appears from the underbrush, only to look at Daring in shock. "Daring Do! You got to him before me?!"

"Guess you were too slow this time, Ahuizotl." Daring taunted the creature as she backed away from his advance.

"I don't care! You WILL give that ring TO ME!"

"Now now, Ahuizotl, there's always an order to these things! I have to think of a proper proposal before I even consider it!"

That got a smug grin from Rainbow while Zephyr looked confused. "Uh... context?"

"Just Daring taunting Ahuizotl again. She loves getting under his skin."

Ahuizotl gave Daring an amused look. "A proposal, huh? I'm certain I've got one you'll find... difficult to turn down." He snaps his tail-hand fingers and a mess of various jungle cats appear... plus a tiny white one.

"Oh right, he somehow commands cats." Zephyr crouched a bit, keeping an eye on the action.

Daring got backed into a corner before staring defiantly at the predators. "Bring it!" What she wasn't expecting was the felines to all come at her at once.

Suddenly a green blur knocks a couple down, giving Daring the opening to jump through. "Hey, fleabags! One at a time because there's only so much of her to go around!"

"What the--" Rainbow suddenly realized Zephyr was not beside her anymore. Groaning at her boyfriend's antics, she managed to land a pot-shot on the Panther herself. "Zephyr, you're really going to ignore the narrative here?"

"Screw the narrative, this is reality and my sense of duty refuses to let THIS kind of thing slide!"

Ahuizotl Looks at the new arrivals with surprise. "Daring Do with companions?! Seems odd, even for you, Ms. Lone Adventurer."

"Eh, they're just tagging along. Guess I'll take the help if it makes my job easier." Daring was expecting to fight all the cats off herself, so the sudden interruptions worked in her favor for once. I'm way too used to interruptions working against me... what does that say about my luck?

"I see, but that one... ah! The Falconite that I've heard about on the grape vine!"

That earned a snort of laughter. "Please, no autographs outside of official events."

"Hehe, you misunderstand me. There was a certain... other project that I had to abandon before, yet now that I've confirmed you're here, it'll make a nice back-up plan."

Daring immediately knew what he was referring to and scoffed. "You talking about that temple on the Windswept Plateau? One thing wrong with that: you're not looking for a Falconite. You're looking for a Pegasus with three wings and he has four."

"I'm sure the extra wing wouldn't matter, but I'm not going to be concerned with him for now. Unless... you refuse to give me that ring, in which case, I WILL switch targets!"

It was at that moment Rainbow dropped all pretense of the scenario being just 'a Daring Do novel getting derailed'. It had now become personal as she pawed the ground aggressively. "You're not getting either. Not the ring, NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"

Ahuizotl noted the sudden increase in aggression levels in the blue Pegasus and merely grinned. "I can assure you... you won't have a choice!" With that, he draws a bunch of weapons and engages the trio alongside his feline minions.

Despite the numbers disadvantage, they were handling themselves pretty well. Now that Rainbow had gotten serious, she had no qualms about double teaming a target or two with Zephyr in rapid air-born strikes or even pummeling them with her own hooves.

Despite his rage from earlier exhausting him, Zephyr still had his wind magic for movement control and disruption. He also made sure to keep a close eye on his girlfriend to make sure she wasn't caught unawares. At one point, one of the cats swiped the ring off Daring's neck, which made him drop his attacks and catch it. A strange feeling permeated his body as he shuddered.

Is this..? No... it can't be...

Shaking his head, he threw the ring around his neck and ended up engaging Ahuizotl in a deadlock with both his forehooves in each of the creature's front hands. Ahuizotl smirks at the Falconite. "You seem to have forgotten... I have an additional appendage!"

He tried to swing his tail-hand at Zephyr, who promptly caught it in his left primary wing with a small smirk. "You clearly didn't realize I have TWO extras!" He then socks Ahuizotl in the head with his free primary before backing off.

Daring got distracted by the ring being on somepony else's neck, only to get blindsided by the panther and pinned. Rainbow saw it and was distracted herself before the tiger landed a bad blow on her back as well.

The disaster dominoes culminated in Zephyr seeing his girlfriend get hit. He tried to turn to save the two Pegasi when Ahuizotl took advantage of his distraction to grab him, pinning all four wings and both forehooves in his grip. "AHAHAHA! Thanks for the distraction, Daring Do! You just gift-wrapped both the Falconite AND the ring just for me! Truly, this could not have gone better!"

"Z-Zephyr!" Rainbow tried to get up and attack Ahuizotl, but got pinned by the tiger. "No... let him go!" Daring could only glower at her nemesis as she struggled against her captor.

"Too bad, so sad! Now then, my loyal minions, do make sure these two can't follow me to the temple. Have fun with your first FAILURE, Daring Do!" Zephyr struggled in vain, the pain from his secondaries too great for him to put up much resistance. He could only watch helplessly as the felines knocked both Daring and Rainbow out as Ahuizotl left the area with him in tow.

"--Up! Please wake up!"

"Waaaugh!" Rainbow woke up with a start when she heard Twilight's voice. "H-how long was I-- it's daytime now?!"

"Looks like it..." Daring had regained consciousness as well as she put her hat back on. "Ahuizotl's probably gone to his current-plan temple to do a ritual now."

"Wait, Zephyr! where's Zephyr?!" Rainbow tried to take off, but fell over when her back flared up in pain, causing her friends to cry out in surprise.

Daring sighed at the display. "Knowing Ahuizotl, he'll probably imprison your boyfriend somewhere for safe-keeping. Right now, what's important is making sure that ritual doesn't complete."

"I... have to abandon Zephyr... again..?"

Applejack shook her head. "Sugahcube, yer' in no position to try and save anypony right now. You'll have to trust he'll be fine."

Dusting herself off and getting ready to leave, Daring leers at Rainbow Dash, clearly done with her attempts at 'helping'. "Besides, you'll probably make things worse, so it's best if you just stay behind."

"For the greater good... I have to leave him behind for the... greater good..." Rainbow opens her eyes as a rainbow light shines in them, reflecting off the nearby temple. She suddenly growled. "No, I don't care! I'm not leaving him behind. Not after everything we've been through! Not again!" Fighting through the pain, Rainbow takes flight and heads towards the temple in the forest.

Daring could only look at the now distant Pegasus in frustration. "Why is she suddenly so insistent on saving him first? Doesn't she know there's more at stake here than just her boyfriend being imprisoned?"

"It's because of what happened the last time she was forced to abandon him 'for the sake of the greater good'." Daring looks back at Twilight who bore a sad look. "When he took a severely bad crash that left him temporarily crippled, she felt responsible for it despite it being out of her control. Yet she was forced to put Equestria first before him and 'abandon' him. The result? Finding him unconscious and fearing he was beyond saving."

"She's... done that before..?"

Rarity nodded at that. "And this was back when they were just friends, possibly far before they started developing feelings for each other. Now that they're a couple, her feelings towards him have gotten stronger."

"Please tell us, Daring, w-will big brother be okay?!"

Daring was stunned to hear Zephyr's sister was here as well. Realizing that she was falling too hard on her prior experiences with trust, and the fact that Rainbow was loyal to Zephyr to the bitter end, she swallowed her pride. "I... can't say for certain and that's why I should catch up with Rainbow Dash. However, despite none of you owing me anything... I need to ask a favor..."

Zephyr came to and quickly realized that all four of his legs were shackled to the wall, both sets of wings were tied up, and he was above a water pool full of piranhas below him accented with spikes on the walls. "What the-- where am I?!"

There was maniacal laughter above him, which quickly revealed itself to be from Ahuizotl. "Ah, you awoke just in time for your demise!"

"Didn't you say you needed me for something else?"

"I did say that, but that was only if I couldn't get my hands on the ring. Considering you practically gave it to me, you're no longer required! Normally I reserve this kind of thing for Daring Do, but I'm not above spreading the love a bit."

That got a flat look from Zephyr. "And here I thought your fondness of overly elaborate execution chambers was flanderized..."

"Heh, looks like you failed to take that into account! Now, as amusing as this conversation is, I must finish the ritual. Soon, I will unleash eight hundered years of unrelenting, sweltering heat!"

No...

Ahuizotl pulls a rope-switch and leaves while laughing maniacally again as the room began filling with water. Zephyr looked around to see if there was anything he could do and noticed the stones holding his shackles were differently colored. Taking a chance, he pulled the one holding a forehoof out with great effort as he tried to roll down the rope restricting his primary wings. It would be pointless if I drag all of my limbs out without my wings free!

He was able to get them open, but right after he pulled a hind leg stone out, one of the piranha's managed to leap high enough to bite his other leg. He managed to hit it off, but the pain and bleeding made it too weak to pull the stone out unassisted. Putting his faith in his wings, he pulls his other forehoof free and flaps desperately trying to free his final leg.

"Zephyr! We got you!" Rainbow and Daring suddenly swoop in and help drag his final leg free before bringing him to safety. He fell over a bit, clearly exhausted. "We made it..."

"It feels very weird not being the one in Ahuizotl's death trap. But I guess your instincts with your boyfriend were correct, Rainbow Dash." Daring Do sighed as Rainbow helped Zephyr smash the stones off his legs. "Normally this is where I reiterate that I work alone. However... seeing you two supporting each other with such undying loyalty make me realize... I was horribly out of hoof. If you didn't..."

"Don't sweat the details and 'what-ifs'. Zephyr is safe and our friends will do their best to ensure the ritual will not be finished!" Rainbow smiles at her hero, grateful for the help in finding the chamber.

Daring nods before putting her business face back on. "We should get going. Zephyr, are you well enough to travel?"

"Just my hind leg was bitten, so I can still fly fine. I promise not to be a nuisance." Zephyr salutes at that.

"Then let's get going. Your friends won't last forever!" The trio start making their way to the main ritual chamber.

When they arrived, there was a massive game of keep-away going on with the ring. Daring pointed at the alter where more rings of exponentially increasing size are resting. "We need to get all those rings off to make this whole place collapse! Give me a hoof, you two!"

As the three fliers started lifting the first bunch of rings off, Ahuizotl managed to snag the final ring from Twilight by faking her out. When he turned back to the altar, he growled. "Stop them from removing anything!"

Rainbow suddenly got hit to the ground by one of the tribal stallions, which caused Daring and Zephyr to drop them out of concern. Zephyr managed to wallop the offender off his girlfriend, who quickly shook her head. "We can't stop now! Ahuizotl is almost to the alter!"

For Zephyr, for some reason, it felt like time started slowing down as he saw the creature approach the alter with a savage grin, clearly expecting his victory.

That FOOL! He's dealing with forces beyond his comprehension!
If that seal breaks... ifHEawakens..!

Stop him...

STOP HIM!!!

"Augh... AAAAAAUGH!!!"

A massive gust of wind blew Ahuizotl off the alter, causing him to drop the ring which Pinkie quickly reclaimed. The display stunned everyone present. "What the-- I could have SWORN that Falconite was magically exhausted!"

"Z-Zephyr?!" Rainbow became very worried when Zephyr's body started bursting with wind at seemingly random intervals. The patterns on his secondary wing feathers started pulsing erratically as well as the Falconite clutched his head in pain. Not long after, another tornado erupted, though this time it was centered on the alter.

Daring grimaced at the sight, but noticed the wind was being more helpful than harmful. "I'm not sure what's happening, but that tornado will help us remove those rings! I know you're worried about Zephyr, but we can't let this opportunity slip!"

When Rainbow saw that Zephyr managed to nod at her, she regains a determined look. "Then let's finish this!" With that, the two mares began lifting the rings with the assistance of the tornado.

"I don't care how, keep them from ruining everything!" Ahuizotl ordered the stallions around him as he continued chasing the last ring. The rest of the mares managed to wise up to any fake-outs or tricks that could be used against them.

When a stallion leaped at Rainbow after she went down with Daring to grab another ring, Zephyr leaped forward and punched him away. The punch itself looked weak, but the whirlwind it generated launched the poor sucker into a wall, knocking him out. "You will not keep them! You will not hurt HER!"

"Gah, this last ring is heavier than I thought!" Daring panted that out as the two mares tried to life the last ring. "But... this'll do the trick!"

"Let me!" Zephyr managed to regain enough control over his body and magic to assist the two in removing the last ring.

Rainbow smiled before looking at her friends. "Everypony, get out of here! This place is going to crumble!" The advice was taken as the five other mares evacuated the premise.

Ahuizotl tried to stop them, but the wind kept him back until it was too late and the temple collapsed around him. As he roared out in rage, the trio managed to get far enough away to shatter the ring, preventing the seal from ever being undone.

Daring let out a sigh. "I couldn't have done it without you two! Admittedly, my original plan was to get captured myself to get in the temple, but..."

"Wait, so you're saying me getting involved actually made things worse?!" Zephyr deflated at that. "Guess that's what I get for ignoring--"

"Actually, it was for the best you did that. If Ahuizotl had discovered you at any other time, he could have had you captured for whatever his plans are on the Windswept Plateau and probably when I'm too far away to help deal with it. With this, you two are now aware of the danger and it won't happen again. Plus... it actually felt good to trust somepony again... when all my prior experiences taught me I shouldn't."

"Daring..." Rainbow knew what the adventurer was talking about and gave her a sad look.

Daring Do shook her head with a small smile. "But seeing you two... made me want to try again... try giving loyalty another chance. Perhaps... not everypony is out to get you after all!" Daring holds out a hoof for a hoofshake, but Rainbow gave her a hug and dragged Zephyr into it as well much to their amusement. "Now that everything's settled down... there's a book I need to finish! Ah, but before I go, I'll give you two this."

Daring holds out an adventurer's badge, which stunned Rainbow. "Isn't this important to you? Being an adventurer is your entire life, yet you--"

"It is, but I can always get a new badge. Consider this my way of acknowledging you two as equals!"

After waving Daring Do off, the two returned to their friends to head home. When they did, Rainbow wrote an entry in their diary that, while the whole thing was awesome, the greatest feeling was her and Zephyr allowing Daring Do to relearn how to trust in loyalty again. It was compounded when she got the newly written book, with the cover showing Daring in the middle, Rainbow on the left, and Zephyr on the right with Ahuizotl's eyes looking down on the three.

The badge that Rainbow got from Daring shone a brilliant rainbow light as it sat next to another Daring Do book.

That... was too close. But that seal shall remain so for the foreseeable future so long as one of the other ones don't fall.

But I can see one benefit to the whole thing. That ordeal managed to weaken my own seal from the outside, which will make my end much easier to deal with.

Now, it is only a matter of time... before the final storm of equinekind begins to call.