“Derpy!” Daring Do cried out as she cleared the final cluster of bushes and burst into the clearing where they had made camp. Coming to a screeching halt, Daring stood shocked by the scene in front of her.

Derpy looked over from where she was sitting by the fire and waved happily at Daring. “Oh, you’re back! Hi!” she said. “Hungry?”

Looking at the campsite, Daring was blown away by the devastation and mayhem that… seemed to be missing. Everything seemed to be set up correctly, not to mention Derpy had restocked the fire with more wood without causing half the Equestrian Rein Forest also going up in flames. The tent was pitched in the ideal spot and even had the mosquito netting already in place, and from the smell coming from the pot that was suspended over the fire it seemed like Derpy had already prepared dinner.

“D-Derpy… did… did you do all of this?” Daring asked in amazement, not sure if she was really seeing everything correctly.

Unsure what Daring meant, Derpy looked around, unsure what she meant by her statement. “Uh oh, is something not right?” she asked worriedly.

Daring shook her head. “No, everything is… everything’s perfect.” she said, unable to find anything wrong with the way things were set up.

“Oh, good! Let’s eat then!” Derpy said, lifting the cover off of the pot and ladling some stew into two bowls for them.

Taking a bowl and sniffing the contents, Daring took an experimental bite. While the stew wasn’t five-star restaurant quality, it was exponentially better than the usual dried fruit and energy bars usually brought on her adventures. ’Wow, she’s a really good cook. Heh, maybe I should hire her as my cook for these trips. My usual stuff doesn’t taste nearly as good as- wait a second…’

Stopping mid-chew, Daring realized that nothing in the stew resembled any of the supplies she had packed the night before. “Um, Derpy? Where did you find the stuff for this?” she asked reluctantly.

“Oh, I found everything pretty close by the camp. Let’s see, I found some carrots, leeks, and yams over there. Oh, and I found some wild herbs when I went to get the water.”

Poking through the items in her bowl, Daring saw nothing that warranted any concern or alarm. “Uh, okay… just wondering.” she said with a smile. ’Is this really the same pony that almost got me killed just flying here? How is this possible?’

Despite a small part of her brain remaining alert for any side effects to Derpy’s food, the stew proved to be completely safe and edible. The rest of the night went smoothly as well, though Daring did decide to turn in a little earlier than normal due to her strenuous day. She still felt a little uneasy going to sleep without doing a full analysis for the surrounding area, but a quick patrol around the camp site showed no signs of any hostile animals or inhabitants.

With everything cleaned up and prepared for a quick exit in the morning, Daring and Derpy climbed into their tent and disrobed. Due to the humid tropical weather, both ponies decided to sleep on top of their sleeping bags to stay cool. Making sure everything was safe and secure, Daring blew out the lantern and lay back on her sleeping bag. “Alright, we’ll get up at sunrise and head right for the temple. We should be back in Ponyville by the afternoon. Sound good? Hey!”

Before she could get an answer from Derpy, Daring looked down and saw that the gray pegasus had wrapped her forehooves around her waist and was resting her head on Daring’s stomach. “H-hey! Derpy, what are you… I’m not your pillow!” Daring said.

A light snore signaled that Derpy wasn’t listening as she was fast asleep. Wriggling slightly in an attempt to free herself, Daring soon found her efforts completely futile as Derpy had a surprisingly strong grip on her. “Oh jeez.” she groaned. It only took a few more moments for Daring Do to give up trying to free herself, and while it wasn’t with her secret lover, it was still nice to have the warmth of another pony next to her like this.

“I guess it should be fine for just one night.” Daring sighed.

Morning came all too soon for the two pegasus mares. Despite wanting to sleep in a bit longer, Daring managed to force her eyes open just as the first rays of Celestia’s sunlight began to shine through the canvas of the tent. Contrary to belief, Daring Do was not a morning pony and despised always having to wake up so early whenever she was out on an expedition, so she always tried to sleep in whenever possible. However, now she had to add in the factor of starting to feel the uncomfortable aching and restlessness of her body going in to heat, everything adding to equal one night of horrible sleep.

Sitting up, Daring yawned and stretched her forehooves. Glancing down, she saw that Derpy had finally released her death grip sometime in the night and was now peacefully curled up on her sleeping bag. Daring reached over and gently shook her companion awake. “Hey, time to wake up.” she said.

To her surprise, Derpy’s eyes snapped open and she awoke almost as if she hadn’t been asleep at all. “Is it time to start looking?” she asked excitedly, getting up and quickly donning her outfit and hat.

Daring couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yeah, it’s time.” she yawned, still not quite up herself.

Already dressed, Derpy dashed for the tent flap to start packing up their camp, but as soon as she exited the tent she tripped over one of the anchor ropes and caused it to snap. The damage caused the tent to collapse on Daring Do who was still inside getting dressed, leaving her no choice but to struggle to free herself from the collapsed canvas. After a few irritating moments of struggling she finally found the opening and poked her head out, gasping for air and looking at the pony responsible.

“Oopsie, my bad.” Derpy apologized.

Daring rolled her eyes and sighed. ’Maybe I did imagine last night after all.’ she thought.

After a few more small mishaps, Daring Do and Derpy finally managed to pack up all their items and began the short trek to the Temple of Qandisa. The directions and map Derpy had acquired had proven extremely useful as the temple wasn’t a building that was exposed and visible from the air, but a building carved into the side of a cliff and hidden by a large waterfall.

Staring at the temple’s exposed façade through the water, Daring Do stood in awe, admiring the lengths the ancient zebras must have gone through in hiding the temple and its secrets. Derpy, on the other hoof, wanted to move on and find the item she needed so desperately, and lucky for her Daring also remembered her own time restraint.

“Alright, well, from my own research and Twilight’s notes, the zebra tribe who built this temple were peaceful and not very technologically advanced.” Daring said. “I don’t think this will take too long.”

“Okay. Let’s go!” Derpy said, but the very first step she took caused her to fall face first into the muddy embankment.

Wincing, Daring helped the klutzy pony up and wiped off her face. “You know, maybe it would be quicker if I went in alone.” she said.

“What do you mean?” Derpy said, cocking her head to one side in confusion.

“Well, even though this tomb is relatively safe, even a basic trap can be deadly if you drop your guard.” Daring cautioned. “It takes a lot of studying to be able to know what to look for and avoid. No offense, but it’d be safer for you to stay here and let me go in alone. Besides, I’m much faster when I work by myself.”

Derpy took in Daring’s words rather well. “Well, okay, but…”

Daring shushed Derpy with her hoof, not wanting to waste time arguing. Her heat was coming on a little faster than she expected, so time was of the essence. “No ‘buts’. I’ll be in and out before you know it. Besides, it’s a small temple. I doubt there’s much to explore, so don’t worry about me missing whatever it is you’re looking for.”

Not giving Derpy any time to form a rebuttal, Daring grabbed her trusty whip and dashed off to the temple, jumping gracefully through the waterfall and entering the long lost building.

“Um, okay. I think.” Derpy said, sitting down and scratching her head. “I wonder why she went in there?”

Author's Note

1. Your lack of comments is disheartening.

2. Sexy time comes next chapter!