Daring Do and the Silver Star
Written by Alex Carlson
Chapter 1: Invasion of Privacy
Upon leaving the museum of Dry Pages, after giving him the artifact from her last adventure, Daring Do was going for her morning stroll. As she walked out of the museum, the sun beaming down on her coat felt good after being in the chilly museum all night, her eyes still adjusting to the bright beams of sunlight. Along the way she passed by the town police station. She overheard the sheriff talking with the owner of the general store, Bronco Bill.
“Did ya hear about all the missing pigs from Famer Hoofweeds ranch? 50 of them have gone missing” said the sheriff “just like that, in one night no less. I mean, who in the hay can steal 50 pigs in one night.”
“Boy, that’s a lot of pigs to take. Who would want those pigs anyway?” said Bronco Bill
“I haven’t a clue, but whoever it was, must have a sweet spot for bacon”
Daring pondered this a while and continued her morning walk through town. Along the way she heard other people talking about strange happenings. She overheard Miss Weatherbee talking about her ransacked shed, and missing silver hatchet she had in there for chopping wood for her stove. Marion Stallio, the owner of the butcher shop, was missing a whole bunch of fresh chicken breasts from his meat locker and Mr. Hogspruce was missing his prized collection of silver spoons and forks. Thinking as quickly as she does, Daring Do put all this together and figured it must be someone with a love of Meat and Silver objects. ‘But what kind of creature likes all these things?’ She wondered, ‘And why would it happen now?’ Daring went about her day pondering this the whole time. She spent most of her time in the Leaking Barrel drinking cider. As she finished her 5th mug of cider she realized what creature relates to silver and large quantities of meat, Werewolves. Daring shuddered at the thought of werewolves invading the town. Daring paid her tab and rushed out the front doors of the Leaking Barrel. She quickly galloped to the police station to tell the sheriff what she had concluded.
“Werewolves! Haha, no one has seen a werewolf around here in 50 years. It’s impossible to even think werewolves could have done this. Now run along and don’t dream of such impossibilities.”
The sheriff dismissed Daring and locked up the police station for the night. Daring decided to test her theory. She got her grandmothers silver locket and a pound of ground beef and laid them in front of a trap she set in her backyard. She waited and waited. The clock struck midnight and Daring was just about to doze off and she heard a rustling in her hedges. She perked up and readied herself for what was about to come. A dark shape appeared from the hedges. It moved with the grace of a swan, but the hostility of a lion searching for prey. The shape swooped in and snatched the silver locket and ground beef so quickly, Daring almost couldn’t see it happen. But Daring was still quick as a whip and pulled the rope which dropped a box onto the shape. The box was jumping around like a crazed stallion. Daring jumped on the box to hold it down. The box was still hopping around, almost flinging Daring off multiple times. Daring had a bottle of sleep serum with her. Daring opened the bottle and threw the aromatic gas into the box. Before long the box stopped moving and Daring went to check inside. It was hard to see but Daring could make out some scraggly dark fur and grayish skin. A horrible rancid smell came from the mouth of the beast. A couple of sharp yellow fangs were glimmering in the light cast by a nearly full moon. Daring had captured a werewolf. She slid off the box to catch her breath. She had caught a werewolf, she almost couldn’t believe it. Daring dragged the box down to the home of the sheriff and pounded furiously on the door. She heard the dragging of hooves and the clanking of the locks on the door. The sheriff opened the door and stood there almost falling asleep where he stood. The sheriff looked at daring with sleepy eyes and glanced at the box Daring had next to her.
“Do you have any idea what time it is?” The sheriff asked as he yawned.
“Sheriff, this is important! I have captured a werewolf. I was right about the werewolves. You have to help me!”
“Hold on Daring, a werewolf? You cannot be serious. It’s probably just that old coot Crazy Canterbottom dressed in a wolf suit. Let me take a look.”
The sheriff bent down and looked in through the hole in the side. The sheriff jumped back with a terrified look on his face. “It… can’t be true. Th.. th.. there’s no way.” The sheriff grabbed Daring by the shoulders and looked her dead in the eye. “Daring, this is a real werewolf! Do you realize what this means? It means that the werewolves have broken through; they have broken through the walls of the Temple of Lupenstein. Quick, let’s get this box down to the station and lock it up.”
“Sheriff wait, what is the Temple of Lupenstein? I have never heard of it before.”
“Not now Daring, first let’s lock this thing up.”
The sheriff and Daring dragged the box down to the station and put it in cell seven. The werewolf had just woken up and bucked the box off his back and went absolutely crazy. It began to scrape at the walls and howl towards the sky. The werewolf thrashed at the bars and kept howling its sick cry. It began roaring at Daring and the sheriff. They stared in awe and fear as the werewolf nearly twisted completely around in his crazed state of being.
“Now, let’s go to the museum and talk to Dry Pages about the Temple of Lupenstein. He’ll know more than I do” Said the sheriff.
Chapter 2: The Temple of Lupenstein
Daring and the sheriff galloped all the way to the museum and it began to rain. They approached the museum and it began raining even harder. Daring skipped up the steps leading to the front doors of the museum. Daring banged on the ornate door knocker as hard as she could. She heard the slow trotting of Dry Pages coming to the door. The multiple locks were being undone. Dry Pages ripped open the door and rushed them in. The lightning crashed outside.
“Daring, what is the meaning of this late night visit?” questioned Dry Pages.
“Dry, I have captured a werewolf and I believe that werewolves are the cause of all the missing meat and silver items. What can you tell me about the Temple of Lupenstein?”
“A werewolf? Temple of Lupenstein? These words haven’t crossed my lips for some time. It sends a shudder down my spine knowing werewolves have been released into our world again. Follow me.”
Dry Pages lead them into a deep part of the museum. Daring has never been to this part of the museum before. The shelves of books were dusty and falling apart. All of the glass cases on the exhibits were scratched and some were broken. The exhibits were decaying and disheveled. They continued walking through many exhibits and endless book cases. Dry Pages stopped in front of a stone door set into the wall behind a statue of a proud looking guard dog. Dry Pages threw a switch and the stone door shifted in its place and slid back into the wall. Dry Pages entered the corridor and motioned for them to follow. They walked down a few flights of stairs and many long hallways before they reached a dimly lit room far below the main part of the museum. The room smelled of mildew and decay, like wet papers that have been sitting in the mud for a long time. The numerous cobwebs show that Dry Pages or anyone hasn’t been down her in a while. Around the outside of the room there were bookshelves filled with gold leafed books with beautiful spines. The books seemed to almost be alive and emanating the information they contained. In the center of the room was a pedestal with a single tattered book laying open upon it. Dry Pages begin flipping through the book until he stopped on a page with a gruesome black beast on it.
“I have read this tale many times and can tell it from heart. A long time ago, before harmony was established in this land, there was disorder in every corner you looked. Disorder brought forth war, and war brought forth further disorder. There were creatures of good and evil, the most evil of creatures being the werewolves of the far eastern reaches of the land. They swarmed the west and wreaked havoc on every town they came upon. The werewolves were the vilest of all creatures and enslaved all they didn’t eradicate. One small village, however, fought back. They called all able bodied ponies into service and put them through rigorous training. After a few weeks of secret training, the ponies had their army. They fought the werewolves in the most fearsome war ponykind has ever seen. Ponies drove the werewolves back eastward. The unicorns summoned a spell together to lock the werewolves up in an impenetrable fortress. This fortress, you know as the Temple of Lupenstein, was created from the sands of the eastern desert. The earth ponies created an elaborate labyrinth to eliminate all trespassers that happen to find the temple along with a complex array of booby traps triggered by the Idol of Canines. The pegasi whipped up an eternal sandstorm to hide the temple deep under the blazing sands. The temple was long forgotten. The threat of werewolves reduced to zero. Life went on with order and harmony in the land of ponies.”
“Personally I haven’t a clue how they got out, but you, Daring, need to send them back to where they came. My only guess is they removed the Idol of Canines and dug their way out. You must retrieve the idol and put it back into place. This will reconstruct the temple, enable the labyrinth system and brew up the sandstorm once again throw the werewolves into exile. Go Daring, you must do this before more of them enter our world.”
As daring runs towards the door, Dry Pages shouted “The first place the idol would have been taken is The Mansion of Hounds. Go there first to retrieve the idol. Be careful Daring, the fate of the world lies in your hands.” Dry Pages voice is lost to the wind and Daring began traveling towards The Mansion of Hounds.
Chapter 3: The Mansion of Hounds
Daring traveled west towards The Mansion of Hounds. Daring began feeling the change in climate as she came closer and closer to the western desert. The Mansion of Hounds sat in an abnormal place. Somehow a dense forest grew on the outskirts of a completely dry desert. The trees were thick and strong, the strength only proper hydration and nutrients could produce. The forest came into view and Daring set up camp. She figured a good night rest before embarking on this journey would be a good idea. She pitched her tent in a nice grassy spot and crawled inside her sleeping bag Daring drifted into a pleasant slumber.
When Daring awoke there was something amiss. She felt claustrophobic, trapped. She unzipped her tent and looked out into the darkness. She figured it must still be early so she stepped outside. Her hooves making a sound like she was walking upon stone but when daring fell asleep she was in a grassy area, no stone to be found. Daring grabbed her rucksack and got her flashlight. She flicked it on and discovered where she was. Daring was in a dungeon, or what looked like a dungeon. She walked around awhile and found a set of stairs leading up to a trapdoor. Daring climbed the stairs and approached the trapdoor. She peaked into the room above. She gazed upon an ornate room filled with golden artifacts and beautiful paintings. Daring entered the room and looked at everything on the walls and shelves but then turned to the center of the room, upon a golden pedestal with a platinum centerpiece stood the Idol of Canines. ‘It can’t be this easy. I just happen to end up in the basement of the house that houses the thing I am looking for’ she thought to herself. Daring circled the pedestal a few times to decide what to do with it. Is it booby trapped? How much does it weigh? Should I take it? She pondered these questions over and over again.
Daring stopped and stared at the idol. Carefully, she took the idol in her mouth and removed it from the pedestal. Almost instantly the walls fell away and Daring stood in the middle of a large warehouse looking room. A dozen large spotlights were beaming on her. The heat of them was sapping the energy from her. All around her was dark. From the corner of her eye she could she a figure emerge from the shadows and started moving towards her. She prepped herself to surprise the figure. The figure approached closer and closer. The figure was inches away and Daring struck. She kicked the figure square in the torso with her powerful hind legs. The figure, now recognized as a werewolf went flying into the distance. Daring took off in the other direction and flew up to the ceiling of the warehouse. There was a narrow row of windows at the top. Daring bolted towards them in hope of her escape. She could hear hundreds of paws stomping on the floor below. She hit the row of windows with all her force and smashed through them into the crisp air of the morning. She heard the doors of the warehouse explode open and hundreds of raggedy beasts leapt into the night, all of them dead set of capturing Daring.
She flew higher and farther away from the warehouse. She was above the clouds so no one could find her. Daring assumed she was out of harm’s way and slowed her pace. She let the cool morning air refresh her and she sunk into a sense of relaxation. What she didn’t know, was that the werewolves had some tricks up their sleeves. A few of the werewolves hopped into crude flying machines and took off towards the skies to capture Daring Do.
Daring was peacefully floating along the air currents oblivious to all around her. She hears a slight buzzing sound but figures it’s a bumblebee out for an early morning pollination adventure. The buzzing sounds were coming from the engines of the werewolves’ flying machines. They break through the clouds and close in on Daring Do. Daring begins to get irritated by the buzzing and looks around to swat the bee she thought was making the sound. She locks eyes with one of the werewolves and bolts off into the sky. The werewolves speed up and the chase is on.
Daring does loop de loops and corkscrews in attempt to lose the werewolves in the complex maze of clouds. The werewolves duplicate her maneuvers and pursue her even faster. Daring has managed to find her way back to the mansion and heads into the forest surrounding it. She weaves in and out of the trees with expert grace and agility. The werewolves attempt to follow. One hits a tree and explodes on impact, the other keeps right on her six. Daring bolts up and breaks the tree tops, completely invisible to the werewolf still following her. She ducks into a tree and waits for the werewolf to pass her. He zips by her without a clue and she zooms away, back on course of her journey.
