The mare spoke with the kind of voice that implied she'd given this same speech a million times before in the past, and was destined to give it a million more times in the future before the sweet release of retirement freed her from the horror of her job as a tour guide. At this point in her life, it didn't matter what the words actually were, as they all mashed together in her head from repetition, but it would go against her nature to deny a visitor the rich history of her home village. Of course, that same nature was the only reason she was talking at all, considering the fact that it was her one day off this week and she was expecting to spend it relaxing in the town's hot springs, but luck makes fools of us all.
But then again, it did feel good to talk to someone who was actually interested in what she had to say.
"So this was taking place during the reign of that general guy, right?" The mare across from her asked. She was a dull gold colour, with a grey mane stuck to her coat from the water currently up to her waist. A pith hat was resting lazily on her left ear, surprisingly dry. In her hooves, she held a small notebook, and a pencil was clenched in her teeth.
"He wasn't a general, dear, he was a shogun. Back in a day when being a shogun meant something. And this story actually took place after his reign, when he was overthrown by the shogun Shotosodo." The mare replied, prompting the golden mare to write the fact down in her notes.
"And what was his story?"
"Well, that one is quite interesting, you see Shotosodo was born into a family of eta, but kept that fact a secret while he grew and eventually married into a higher class, allowing him to..."
The golden mare continued to write down everything, seemingly word for word.
Several minutes passed like this, and the minutes combined into hours, and the two talked, until finally a shout came from the building built on the edge of spring. With a quick glance, the tour guide smiled and pulled herself out of the water. She then addressed her partner, "My time here is up. If you want a tour of the village, I would be willing to give one tomorrow morning, but it would cost you."
The mare shook her head, "Wait wait, I have more questions! What happened to Shujinko? What was the meaning of the ghost appearing? Are there any more stories?"
The guide chuckled, "Many, far more than I still have time for."
There was silence, before another shout came from the hut, and the guide turned to leave. The golden mare sat tense for a moment more, before letting herself sink lower into the water. With a sigh, she placed her notebook on dry land, the pencil resting on its pages.
She tried to relax in the warm waters of the spring but it seemed impossible. It wasn't long before she was grabbing at the paper and reading through her notes again. Neighpon culture was not one of her strong points. Griffons? She'd written a thesis on them. Crystal ponies? Had a summer house in their empire. Cirrostratans? Hell, she'd discovered them! But when it came to the strange ponies living on the island of Neighpon, Daring had to admit she was a little less confident. Still, while she was here, she might as well use the most of her vacation for research. Who knows what she might learn? Hell, on her first day she must have learned half of their entire history!
(It was, of course, not one tenth, but Daring would have been no less pleased to learn the truth.)
Vacation. The word was an odd on for her. She couldn't remember the last time she took a vacation. The discussion she and Ravenhoof had was still vivid in her mind, weeks later. How he managed such a way with words was beyond Daring, but somehow she'd found herself roped on a boat before she even knew where she was going.
A vacation would be good for her, he claimed. It would refresh her mind, relax her body, get her ready for whatever the future held. Of course, she'd done just fine without vacations, but Ravenhoof was having none of it. The ticket was already bought, he said. The spa already booked! She simply had to go!
Sinking deeper into the water, Daring shrugged to herself. He was right. Of course he was. He was right. A vacation would do her good. Besides, she was enjoying herself, wasn't she? Not having to worry about any world ending disaster or impending death trap. It was relaxing, it was good for her. She had to be enjoying herself, why wouldn't she? Anyone else would. Who wouldn't want a paid vacation to one of the finest spas in Neighpon?
Yes, yes, she was enjoying herself.
The fact that she'd just spent the last four hours taking notes like a graduate who'd missed his classes and suddenly learned he had a report to give tomorrow meant nothing.
A voice cut through her thoughts like a clichéd metaphor and Daring tensed her body again, pushing herself straight so the top half of her body was out of the water. Looking up at the almond shaped eyes of the hostess standing next to her, Daring clenched her teeth, depressurizing her ears. The host, seeing that she was noticed, gave a large bow.
"Would the guest like anything to improve her stay? A hoof shine, perhaps? Maybe some food; I can have the chef prepare the usual. Or does she simply wish to be left alone?"
Daring shook her head, "Nah, none of that, I don't really need..." she began, before stopping herself. She was supposed to be enjoying herself! She was supposed to be pampered upon. It was her vacation and she was going to enjoy it. "Actually, I could use some snacks. And a hoof shine sounds nice, never had one of those. Just my left fore though, I'll decide if it's good enough for the other three when you're done. And you don't need to call me 'the guest,' Daring's been good enough for me so far."
The host gave another bow, and hurried into the building. Daring waited for a moment, watching a fox flitter in and out of the bushes on the other side of the spring, before the doors flung open again and more ponies walked out. In their hooves was a variety of fancy oils, incenses, cloths and other tools. Daring swore she saw a hammer. Tentatively, she raised her left leg out of the water and rested it on the shore. It was quickly lifted up by the hooficurists, who went to work like it was their first day and they wanted to impress a woman hiding just out of sight.
"Okay that's... that doesn't feel too... oh okay, better... better... not better... worse... that kinda hurts... ow ow... ow. Stop. Stop it, stop it now. Wait! Better. No, stop it. Stop." Daring pulled her hoof back into the water, the sun shining dimly off of the keratin before it vanished into the water. "No, didn't like that. Bad job. What was I thinking? I have to walk on those, I can't have them dollied up."
Looking up at the curists, Daring sighed, "Alright, I'm sorry. It was my fault, you guys did a great job. I'm sure many ponies enjoy your service."
Glancing down at her shiny hoof as the ponies retreated back into the building, Daring didn't notice as the hostess from before came closer balancing a tray in her teeth. "Your food, Daring."
With a movement so fast you could almost hear an audible snap, Daring spun back to face the host and the food she was offering. To be honest, Daring wasn't sure what she was looking at. The outside was obviously seaweed and the inside was partially rice, but that didn't explain why the rice was darkly coloured. Nor did it explain what the third ingredient was. Some kind of pink corn on the cob that had been stripped of all its corn? Daring wasn't sure. Still, the hostess was presenting it to her, so clearly she was expected to eat it. Is that what ponies did on vacation, eat things they didn't know the origin of?
A swift wing movement swept one of the rolls into Daring mouth, and she chewed it slowly. It was a...unique taste. It tasted like the ocean floor and the currents of the water, mixed with the grain of the land and the earth of the ground. It was quite good. Daring popped another into her mouth and said with her mouth full, "What is this stuff?
"Sushi," the host replied.
"Never heard of it. Does it get eaten much outside of Neighpon?"
"Not exactly. Many ponies are turned off by the fact that the main ingredient is uncooked fish, and that's not discussing the ethical issues of eating meat at all."
Daring stopped chewing. Her face turned green, and something started to build at the back of her throat. Fish? She was eating fish? Daring fought off a wave of nausea. Colours started to flash out at her from the background of green and grey, and the world started to lean slightly to the right. The fox had retreated from its perch. Grey overpowered green as Daring's eyes watered, dripping into the spa beneath her. A fish swam past her vision, seemingly laughing at her as it passed. Daring paused for a moment, trying to regain her composure, before throwing up.
(It was, of course, Daring's greatest secret that she had a phobia of fish. Little or big, it didn't matter, even the mention was enough to make her sweat. So you can imagine the effect that eating one would have.)
By the time she had got a hold of herself again, Daring was panting heavily. "Just...just leave me alone. I'm trying to enjoy a vacation and clearly Neighpon doesn't want me to do that."
Daring didn't watch as the pony left her alone. Her hooves were already rubbing against her face, trying to wash the thought of fish out of her mind. It wasn't very effective, but at least the warm water made her feel cleaner. She kept rubbing.
It came with little shock that Daring realised she was bored. The animals opposite her had vanished sometime around her outburst, and other than the slowly bubbling water or the cloudy sky above her, there was little left for her to actually do other than sit and soak in the water like a vegetable. That's not to say the sky wasn't interesting, as the clouds had gathered in such a way that it nearly looked like they falling to Earth not a few blocks away. Their dark black complexion also suggested a hint of storms.
Looking around for the dozenth time, Daring finally noticed that the host had left Daring's notebook right where she'd left it. With a tired sigh, Daring picked it up again and started to read. She wasn't having fun. She wasn't sure how a vacation was supposed to go, but evidence gathered from other ponies suggested it was supposed to be a fun thing, with plenty of great experiences and stories created daily. How sitting in a spa for hours at a time created a great story Daring didn't know, but at least it was something. Maybe she was just vacationing wrong.
Looking up, Daring sighed again. Would it really hurt that much to find something that was more her style?
A sudden scream caught Daring Do's attention immediately. Conflicted emotions rushed through her before curiosity got the best of her body and pulled her out of the water. The speed of the action sent droplets high into the air.
There was shouting, coming from everywhere and nowhere until it combined into a constant wail that was almost physical in form. From what little of the street she could see from the spa, ponies were gathering in groups, staring up at something just out of sight. Daring followed their gaze, lost it behind a tree, but immediately realized what the problem was. The clouds weren't just reaching down to Earth, they were starting there, flowing upwards in a billowing mass of smoke and ashes. The smell of charcoal flowed down the mountain and settled in Daring's nose. She sneezed.
"The shrine..." Someone on the street said, her voice drowned by the wall of noise.
Daring simply reacted. Her ear flicked sideways, securing her hat around her head as she crouched low. Her wings fluttered against the wind uselessly for a second, before what could only be described as magic pulled her into the air. Daring was flying.
"Keep my stuff safe, I'm heading up to help. I've got a notebook next to the spa and if it's not with my clothes when I get back, you can forget about a tip. Don't worry, I can fix this. Probably." Daring said to the mare below her before zipping into the sky. A trail of grey was left behind her.
From up in the sky, Daring got a fantastic view of the village. Built into the side of a mountain, the entire place reminded Daring of Canterlot, if Canterlot had been built vertically instead of horizontally. At the base of the mountains were the hot springs that made the town famous and such a juggernaut in the beauty industry. Further up were the shops, dolled up to try and attract stupid tourists to spend their money on useless junk. Past them were the huts and houses of the ponies living there, such as there must always be. And at the top of the mountain, accessible only by a small stone stairway, was the shrine.
Daring loved shrines. And temples. And ruins. And towers, castles, villas, shafts, stables and museums. Daring loved anything that radiated culture like light from a bug zapper. Which was a rather good description, as she often found herself playing the role of the bug whenever she got near one.
Racing forward, Daring arrived at the shrine quickly. She hovered in the air above it for a second, surveying the ponies below and their actions, before a gust of wind engulfed her in smoke and forced her to land. The building in front of her billowed great plumes of grey smoke into the air, tainting her every breath with the hint of soot and ashes. Faint flickers of yellow and orange flashed out the top of the building. At the entrance to the building were two stone statutes of lean foxes, though one had been knocked over in the panic and was lying shattered on the ground. Even stranger was a small wooden fence built around everything, noticeably lacking a large section. As if something had ran through it.
Someone pushed past Daring and she directed her attention back to the ponies around her. From even a cursory glance, Daring could see their leader. He had that look of a leader, of the kind of person that people look to when things go wrong. Of the person who always knew the answer. Daring hated that kind of person. They were always too smart for their own good.
Mostly though, it was his different dress.
Daring approached quickly, introducing herself, "Daring Do, professional adventurer. I'm here to help, what can I do?"
"The...the honden!"
"The what now? The burning building? I noticed. Now what's the plan for just turning it into 'the building?'"
"The hondon! The house of the kami! Without the kami's guidance, our springs will run dry!"
"Alright, you're speaking a lot of words I don't understand. What's a kami? Does it put fire out?"
The stallion grabbed Daring by the shoulders, and it was only by her quick reflexes that she avoided being dragged across the ground. "A kami is one of many sacred spirits. An essence of nature. Without a house, ours will abandon us; travel to another shrine. Our village will be left to the mercy of evil spirits. Our wells will run dry and our rice will spoil."
Daring sighed, "Look, I don't have time for a history lesson or a sob story. What can I do to help?"
The pony stuttered, "The...the b-b-beast dragged a priest into the building before it was set alight. Neither have come out. But none can enter the building to save her. Even if they could, the beast would overpower them."
"Don't worry, I'll get your friend back." Daring said, preparing her wings for flight.
The pony quickly stopped her, "NO! You cannot enter the honden. It is a holy place for the kami only. And the beast..."
"It'll be a holy pile of ashes if we don't do something and I'm not going to sit here while somepony is in danger in there. I'm going in, monster or not."
The head priest waited for a second, occasionally glancing back at the burning building. A moment passed in silence, and he finally released a tired sigh. "If you are to enter the honden, you can at least be purified."
"So cleanse me, come on, hurry up."
Pointing, the priest drew Daring's attention to a small trough of water behind him. A faint waterfall dripped water from one rock to the next, rushing over a metal ladle. "One can only clean themselves."
Daring stood still for a moment. The thought to simply enter the honden right away entered he mind, and she entertained it. There wasn't time for customs, people were in danger right now and the longer she wasted the lower chance she had of finding them in time. It didn't matter who this 'kami' thought they were, they weren't going to stop her from playing the hero.
But then again, she was a good pony at heart, and she just couldn't bring herself to disrespect anyone by not following the customs. Especially when she got the feeling she was already stretching the boundaries of what was acceptable. She was an explorer, respecting other ponies beliefs was half her job. Like it or not, she had to follow the rules. Making up her mind, Daring rushed over to the trough.
Quickly, she dipped her front hooves into the cool water, and then, since she was running into a fire, splashed some on her face for good measure. She turned to leave, before the priest stopped her. "Back hooves as well."
Sighing, she turned around, dipping her back hooves in the water. A loud crash echoed through the air as a section of the burning roof collapsed. Daring had a sudden vision of pony being trapped under the collapsed wood. She turned to leave, but was once again stopped. "Your mouth as well. Rinse it."
Daring let out an annoyed groan, and turned around. Thrusting her head into the water, she came out with a large mouthful. She ran it through her teeth for a second, before swallowing.
"That all?"
"You're not...not generally supposed to swallow."
"But I can, right?"
"It's not recommended, for health reasons."
"That's a yes to me!" Daring shouted, shooting into the air. A golden blur whizzed past the priest, and he was left staring at a grey trail for a moment as Daring shot into the burning building.
Almost immediately, she came to regret her decision. The sheer heat was enough to make her start sweating and the smoke wormed its way into her eyes and mouth. She was thankful for the thin coating of water she still had, but was smart enough to know it wouldn't last for long. She needed to act fast.
Landing, Daring crouched under the rising smoke. From what little she could see, the room was empty. Sure, there were small things like tables or plants or bowls, small things to suggest that there was a time before the fire and smoke, but otherwise there was nothing of importance. Fumbling forward, Daring shied away as another section of the roof collapsed further inside. A shot of adrenaline rushed through her veins and forced her forward. The smell was overpowering, omnipresent, just charcoal and smoke forever. Daring whipped her hat down further to shield her watering eyes.
Her front hooves rubbed against something in the smoke, and she pulled them back hastily as they burned. Some kind of door. And voices, but Daring couldn't hear what they were saying over the crackling and creaking. Sliding under a fallen beam, Daring carefully pushed the door open and slid into the next room.
This room was much larger, easily taking up nearly the entire interior of the building. Daring couldn't see any evidence of life, but the fire had twisted the room into a maze of tiles, smoke, wood and heat. She took a deep breath, coughing as smoke mixed into her lungs and trod forward. The voices were still there, but were no clearer. If she could only get closer...
Bracing herself, Daring leapt into the smoke. After only a second, her eyes were forced closed. Flying blind, Daring maneuvered herself through the air, avoiding the rubble below. Something smacked into her wing, sending a lingering heat up her feathers, until her breath finally gave out and she was forced to land. She quickly patted out the ember on her side and took several deep breaths. The voices were closer now. There were two, definitely. One was panicked, scared; trying to negotiate to something that wasn't listening. The other one was familiar.
"Ahuizotl?" Daring said to herself. The smoke made it come out broken and deep.
Following the voices, Daring wandered deeper into the shrine. When something started to move at the edge of her vision, Daring ducked beneath a large beam. The heat was searing into her back, but it was worth it to avoid getting caught.
"Is this one it? Tell me, little pony, is this the one?"
"I...I don't know. We shouldn't be here, the kami..."
"Do I look like a care about some silly superstition? Let the kami stop me, lets see its true power! Or does it have none?"
Licking her dry lips, Daring poked her head out from her hiding place. It took a moment for the smoke to clear, but when it did, Daring had no doubts that she was looking at Ahuizotl. What other creature could match his huge stature? His dog like behind and his ape like front? His monkey tail that grew to a hand? What other creature could even come close to the amount of jewelry he carried on his frame? There was no doubt, Daring was looking at Ahuizotl.
Questions spontaneously appeared in Daring's head, but she kept them silent while she kept watching. It didn't matter why he was here. All that mattered was he had a pony, and Daring needed to get her away from him.
He moved his body, revealing a small stone pedestal and a wooden box to Daring. Occasionally, his tail would lift a small bag from the box and hover it just out of Daring's sight.
"What about this one then? You worship the thing, surely you know what it looks like. Is this the key?"
"I don't know what you're talking about. What key?"
With careful hoof falls, Daring inched her way closer. She would need to pick her next actions very carefully. In a straight fight, there was no doubt Ahuizotl could easily beat her. It wouldn't even be a fight, she stood no chance. She could go straight for the pony, but her path was blocked by a very inconvenient pile of smoldering embers. Glimpses of the pony would occasionally poke through the smoke, but Daring didn't trust herself enough to try and fly blind again. Not with another passenger. Not in this heat.
"Bah, this is pointless." Ahuizotl shouted, throwing the box at the ground. "I'll just take them all and determine the right one when I arrive."
"No please! You mustn't take the shintai. Without it, we will be unable to rebuild the shrine. The kami could be lost to us for good!"
"I assure you, little pony, that will be the least of your worries."
Leaping over some more rubble, Daring reacted on instinct. A piece of burning wood soared through the air before exploding on Ahuizotl's right shoulder. "Not so fast, Ahuizotl. I don't know what you're planning, but I'm here to put a stop to it." Daring said. It sounded much better in her head. Must be the heat frying her brain.
"Daring? What are you doing here?" Ahuizotl said, like someone who'd just caught their best friend sleeping in their bed and demanded an answer as to why their own bed wasn't good enough.
"I decided to take a day out of my vacation to stop you. That's more than enough time anyway. "
The building let out a loud creak, almost in tune with Ahuizotl's smug scoff. "Vacation? You? Another one of your disappointing one liners. Completely unbelievable. Not something special, like 'I'm hunting the snipe of Neighpon and turned my sights on you?' Or how about, 'I can't stop meddling in things, let me ruin your day, Ahuizotl, free of charge.' Or how about 'I'm turning up the heat on you now.' Very thematic."
"Some creatures deserve to have their day ruined. You're one of them."
"Again with the liners. You are predictable, Daring."
Daring wanted to wipe her brow. Her sweat from the heat was mixing with the soot building on her coat and running in thick black streams into her eyes. She remained still though. Didn't break eye contact. Didn't show weakness. "One chance, Ahuizotl, give me the pony, give me whatever's in the box, and get out of here."
Ahuizotl waved his tail, a variety of silk bundles clenched tightly in its hand. "Or what will you do?"
Let it never be said that Daring would miss such an obvious cue. "This!" she shouted, reaching a hoof down to her waist, grabbing the first thing she felt and flicking it towards the ceiling. The wooden chunk smoldered for a moment, before the sudden rush of oxygen ignited it again. With a very unponylike and unladylike curse, Daring dropped the chunk and waved her hoof through the air to try and alleviate the burning.
Daring stared at Ahuizotl. He stared back. If time had not been important, they might have shared a moment of silence. With a nervous chuckle, Daring said, "I was planning to pull that beam above you down with my whip, collapsing the roof on top of you. After that, I was gonna grab everything I could and run." Daring licked her lips, "I kinda forgot I left all my things at the spa. So...yea. I deserve what happens next, lets just get it over with."
"Very well."
They say that time seems to slow down in dangerous situations. You notice things you usually wouldn't, find ways to protect yourself from harm. And while this would certainly be convenient from a writer's perspective, Daring herself knew from experience that it didn't happen like that; and for that reason had kept such analogies out of her books. If anything, time seemed to speed up in danger. Adrenaline made you faster, you defaulted to your instincts, your brain simply stopped processing things long enough for your body to get you to safety. In other words, you didn't think, you simply did.
Daring's body threw her hooves into her face as Ahuizotl lunged at her. Her back legs kicked forward as she was pulled into the air, missing their target by mere inches. Her throat contracted trying to get air into the rest of her body around Ahuizotl's hand. Her hat flipped onto the ground, and Daring was vaguely aware of it landing next to her, and then it was in front of her. She slammed into something behind her, breaking through it and slamming into the thing behind it. For a second she wondered if she'd hurt herself, before the pain seized her senses.
So that was a yes.
Ahuizotl looked down at her, a sinister grin on his face. Daring knew that look. He was planning something. Daring wasn't sure how she felt about that.
"What was it you were planning to do, Daring?" He finally said, throwing her against the wall again. "Collapse the roof was it?"
He released his grip, "Brilliant idea."
Any cry that Daring tried to shout was drowned out by the loud groan of the roof as Ahuizotl grabbed its burning materials and pulled them with all his strength. The weakened wood gave way quickly, and Daring's body tried its best to roll out of the way. It didn't work.
The hot air was forced out of her lungs as pounds of heated stone and wood collapsed on top of her. Soot rained from the sky like a swarm of flies as Daring struggled for breath. Her wings were pinned. Her back legs were pinned. Her left leg was pinned. A burning pain was running up and down her back. A stream of sweat was running into her eyes and she really felt like now would be a good time to wipe it, if only Ahuizotl would hurry up and leave already.
"I'm sorry it's so anti-climatic, Daring. If I'd known you were coming, I'd have prepared a proper death trap. But moments like this cannot last forever, and so I must hurry to my business. Farewell Daring."
Daring just groaned in response. She groaned again as Ahuizotl walked over her towards the exit.
Her mind raced for a way out, starting by eliminating methods. She couldn't lift the roof herself, she wasn't strong enough and even if she was, she couldn't get enough traction on a single hoof. She couldn't fly out, obviously. Her hat was out of her reach somewhere in the building, meaning all options with that was gone. Same with any of her equipment.
Something fell close to her, smashing as it hit the ground.
She couldn't call for help, no one could hear her, digging didn't work, dragging herself was impossible, waiting it out wasn't an option.
A tile hit the ground close to her, startling her.
She couldn't extinguish the fire she couldn't call for help she couldn't pull herself free she couldn't lift it she couldn't catch her breath she couldn't do anything she couldn't she couldn't she couldn't
"This will hurt. Do not...panic. It will be temporary."
Daring snapped to attention. There was a pony standing over her. Her coat was a pure white, surprisingly unmarked by the dirty air around her, save for her orange nose and ears. Daring couldn't see a cutie mark. She let out a small chuckle, though she couldn't tell why. Then the ponies words settled in her mind. "Wait wait wait, what will hurt?"
"Do not...panic." The pony replied, in the exact same tone, speed and emotion as before. Like she was speaking a recording.
Confusion marked Daring's face, until she realised exactly what the other pony was doing. Lining herself up in front of Daring. "Wait, stop, just pull me owww--" Daring let out a sudden shout as the pony slammed her hoof down on the rubble on top of Daring. The full force of the building weighed on her for a second as her own leg gave out, then it was gone. Daring waited for a second, before dragging the rest of herself off of the floor.
The beam on top of her was cleanly cut down the middle, directly where she was lying. So were all the individual tiles and stones. Daring had seen ponies chop through wood with just their hooves before, but that was usually when someone had hollowed out a fault line down the middle; and it was never as thick as this. Daring wiped her brow. "Wow. I'm actually impressed. Who are you?"
"Where is...the mare? Are they safe?" The white mare said, ignoring the question.
"Deeper inside, I think. We need to hurry."
"Hurry then." The mare said.
In regular circumstances, Daring would have stayed longer, asked more questions, gotten more answers. As it was though, she simply didn't have the time. "Fine, stay here," she said, before turning around and trotting back the way she came. As she walked, she spread her wings; twisting and flapping them to make sure they weren't damaged. She'd injured her wing once before while on an adventure, and it was a real set back. She'd need her wings fully functional for this adventure.
Did I say adventure? I meant vacation. Yes.
It wasn't hard to find the mare. She hadn't moved from the back of the room. Only difference now was that she was cradling the small wooden box that used to contain the...thing. Daring wasn't sure what. The mare was younger than she was a expecting, she'd probably only gotten her cutie mark a few years ago. With a grunt, Daring tried to pick her up before failing completely. Her body did not want to exert itself, not after all that. Daring was willing to comply. She'd find another way to get her out.
Tracking her way back to the door, Daring made sure to scoop her hat off the ground. Dusting it hoof with the bottom of her hoof, Daring flipped it onto her head, "We'll get him next time. Don't worry," she said, seemingly to herself.
By the time the two of them finally worked their way back to the entrance, the white mare was gone. Daring wasn't worried. Someone was sure to recognize her from her appearance, it shouldn't be too hard to track her down. Hoisting herself and the foal over the rubble, Daring lead her outside into the clean open air.
She couldn't get one breath after she came out before she was mobbed by a swarm of ponies. The foal was ripped from her grip and Daring let it happen, sure she was in safe hooves. The constant talking was like buzzing in her ears, and she wanted to fly out and away from the distractions. She was already wasting time. Pushing through the crowd, Daring was unable to find the pony she wanted. Several breaths of fresh air later, and Daring was already feeling like her old self.
"Everypony, please just stop talking for six seconds, please! Just six seconds." Daring waited for a moment as everyone kept talking, "Alright, fine! Those of you listening, I'm going after Ahuizotl. My things are in room three of the Spa de la von Spa. I want all of them brought up here as quickly as possible, preferably without anyone damaging them please. I also need two days worth of food and water, I can't be sure when I'll be back and I like planning ahead."
Daring stepped forward, pointing into the crowd, "I want somepony to find the mare who came in after me. White coat, red ears, unknown cutie mark. Tell her I want to give her a reward for her help and my thanks as well. That should bring her out. Hurry along now."
Switching her hooves target to the priest, Daring continued, "Ahuizotl took something from inside the...is it a temple? Inside the temple. I need to know what it does, why he wants it, why it was there; basically everything you know. This is important, skip no detail, no matter how boring. I can take it."
"The...the mare after you?"
"Yes, somepony find her, now about the thing..."
"...nopony came in after you."
Daring paused for a moment, processing and then discarding this information, "Yes, they did."
"No pony else can enter the honden."
"I am one billion percent sure somepony else came in after me. What was her name?"
"Only you, Miko and the Beast entered the building."
Daring sighed, "Fine, so she entered secretly. Find her anyway. And while you're at it, I could really use a drink. And is anypony else feeling really tired right now? I think the adrenaline is starting to leave my body. Wow, I always forget how much that takes out of you."
Daring collapsed to her knees and took several deep breathes. Someone in the crowd offered her a small bowl of water, and she drank deeply. Her throat was so sore. She gave a quick thanks, before standing back up. A few more breathes, and she was ready to go again. Ready for another adventure.
Vacation. Sorry again. Ready for her vacation.
