Daring Do and the Fate of the Ultima Thule

by Eh

Chapters

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three

Chapter One

***

Daring Do walked through the makeshift marketplace. The air was frigid but was filled with the chatter and deal-making of various ponies, griffins and hippogriffs, and even a few zebras here and there. Their wares reflected their nationality. Ponies would sell candy and hot chocolate along with saddles and boots for the cold. Griffins and hippogriffs were in the business of technology, with various things like typewriters, steam engines, automobiles, and even -despite the impracticality of ponies using them- guns. The few exotic wares like tonics and potions were just as exotic as the zebras selling them. Even their tents reflected them, with ponies camping in tents brightly colored and patterned, gryphs camping out from their automobiles and trucks, and zebras using desaturated dark sheets and wooden sticks to make their stores.

"Hey there, Missy!" A bright yellow stallion called from one of his booths, presenting a box of salt-water taffy, "How about some taffy?"

Daring shook her head to the Stallion and continued. A zebra called to her next, presenting some strange purple tonic.

"It makes you faster and stronger, believe it or not!" He started, "Go ahead and buy one, try a shot!"

She trotted on past, her athletics were just fine in her opinion. His rhyming was terrible too. The next offer however, was actually pretty darn tempting.

A crazy looking griffin yelled at her, "Hey kid! Wanna buy a submarine!?" Daring perked up at the offer and asked how much. The griffin replied, "Two hundred bits!"

Daring sighed and continued on. What would she do with a submarine, she thought. In her head though, she briefly imagined exploring the everfree depths of the sea with her own darn submarine and no one to tell her what to do. She knocked the image out of her head however. She was already dead set on what she was going to spend these bits on. She was visiting an old friend who just happened to be one of the best traveling salesponies in the land. A mint green earth pony with a brown mane was running a kiosk, behind that pony were huge stacks of wooden crates containing Celestia-knows-what.

"Hey, Coco," Daring greeted. Coco Pie looked back from opening one of her crates, and with an instant smile that shined like the stars in the sky, she hugged Daring over the counter.

"Daring Do! It's so great to see you! Haven't seen you since that thing down in Zebrica!" Coco said with near unlimited energy. Daring couldn't help but smile, Coco Pie's happiness must've been contagious, "So what's up, Daring? Oh wait don't tell me! It's Professor Storm Talon's birthday soon! You're going to get him a gift! Oh, you're buying a gift from me, which saves me the trouble of actually having to buy a gift because you're buying something from me to give to him so that means I technically gave him a gift but-"

"Yes, Coco," Daring sighed, "I'm here to get something for him. You wouldn't happen to have stuff sailors would enjoy?"

"I've got just the thing!" Coco's cutie mark was a crate with a question mark on it, and it showed with the monstrous amount of crates that she would carry with her. What they actually contained was just as big a mystery as Coco's mere existence, but they always seemed to have just what Daring needed. Because of this, she and Daring were pretty much fast friends. The only problem was that Daring never had enough money to spend on her stuff. Coco slammed a small crate, about half Daring's size, on the counter and lifted the lid away. The sides of the crate fell down onto the counter, revealing it's contents, a model ship.

Daring's eyes widened at the model. Normally, Daring's definition of "model ship" would be something like a small fisher or at best some trading ship with a few cannons. The thing that immediately caught Daring's attention however was the fact that this resembled an ancient Trireme, but without the oars and possessing two hulls. The sides were a shining green gray, indicating iron plates and on the bow were painted dragon eyes. The deck was enclosed with an iron ceiling as well, with holes on the sides allowing for marines and ballistas most likely if Daring could trace the era of the ship. What further sealed in Daring's curiosity was the presence of propellers attached to the rears of the dual hulls, which indicated the presence of an engine. She couldn't exactly tell the scale of it, but she mentally guessed that this ship must've been huge anyway.

"What..." Daring grinned, the propellers and the technical design would've indicated it being built in the last two or three hundred years. Yet the aesthetic of it would've indicated a few thousand years, "Where did you get this, Coco?"

"I don't know!" Coco knocked her hoof on the counter, smiling as she always did, "So you gonna buy this Daring? I'd buy it too if it was sold to me!"

Daring remembered that this was for Professor Storm Talon, her spirit dropping slightly, "Yeah, definitely, how much?"

"Forty bits!"

Daring pulled out her bag of bits and counted: Only twenty, "Uh, can I have a discount, Coco?"

"Anything for a friend, Daring! I'll give this ship to you for say..." Coco tapped the bottom of her chin, her face taking a rare moment of contemplation. It was immediately replaced by a beaming smile, "Thirty bits!"

"I only have twenty," Daring said, forcing a smile on her face. Coco shook her head.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Sorry, Daring," Coco hit the counter with a forehoof, causing the crate to reassemble and cover up the model ship. Anypony would have decided to simply walk away right then and there. Daring however, needed this thing. It was an awesome looking model for one thing, but it was potentially Professor Storm Talon's present as well. Daring grit her teeth.

"All I have is twenty!" Daring said. Coco shook her head, putting the box to the side.

"Sorry, it's thirty." Daring immediately thought of something.

"Twenty!" Daring raised her voice at Coco, slamming the counter with her hoof.

"Thirty!" Coco remained steadfast, holding up a sign with a picture of thirty bits.

"Twenty!" Daring threw the bag onto the counter. Coco responded by pushing the bag back.

"Thirty!" Coco shouted back.

"Thirty!" Daring pushed the bag towards Coco then back towards herself.

"Twenty!" Coco yelled, taking the bag back.

"I will give you thirty and no less!" Daring shouted into Coco's face.

"I will take twenty and no more!" Coco shouted back. Daring beamed and proceeded to kick the crate onto her back. There was a bit of rattling coming from inside the crate.

"Okay! Thanks, Coco!" Daring said as she began walking away. Coco nodded with a smile, but a few seconds later however.

"Hey!" Coco pointed at Daring, her jaw dropping at the dirty underhanded tactic she had used to acquire her merchandise, "Only I get to do stuff like that Daring! It's not special when other ponies do that!"

Daring however continued on walking satisfied. Coco would get over it anyway, because the sandy yellow pegasus was now in possession of a very amazing model ship. It was almost a shame that she had to give it away to Professor Storm Talon, but hopefully he would have it on display in the classroom. Right now, she was in possession of a very cool ship, somewhat scaled down of course.

A shady looking griffin walked up alongside Daring, "Excuse me," Daring looked over. This griffin had bags sagging under his exhausted looking brown eyes and his feathers were ruffled badly. He tipped his fedora hat towards the pegasus, "Couldn't help but notice you procured that model ship." He placed a claw on the crate, examining every nail and dent in the crate, "You realize what that ship is, Miss...?"

Daring sized him up, "Daring Do."

"Excellent name," The griffin responded, "Anyway, that model happens to be a model of the Ultima Thule, a very revolutionary ship," He glanced in the other direction briefly, "Belonged to one of the greatest heroes of Gryphonic history, Pytheas, used it to explore the entire world."

"Really?" Daring felt a smile creeping on her lips. The griffin gave a smile back.

"Really! Instead of oars he used a steam engine built by a friend of his, Heron. Could give the ship thirty knots on calm waters, revolutionary indeed! Plus, it was 130 or so meters in length, so I'd guess you could fit three-thousand gryphs on there comfortably if you'd wanted to. Also the first ship to use iron as part of its hull, or rather dull hulls considering its catamaran design but you get what I mean, ironclad and such," The griffin chuckled, "Now let me tell you, Pytheas was not one to spare expense. Explorers travel in them lighter, faster boats, get to places quicker, practicality! Pytheas traveled with prestige!"

"Wow!" Daring knocked the crate slightly, causing the griffin to flinch slightly, "That's cool!" Daring held out her hoof to the griffin, "Oh, sorry, didn't get your name."

"Fidelis," He shook her hoof firmly, "Now to the point however, how much did you pay for that ship?"

"Twenty- Thirty bits!" Daring nodded violently, "Yeah, thirty bits!" She sheepishly grinned.

The griffin raised an eyebrow, "Oh dear, it's definitely worth more than thirty bits, Miss Do." He reached under his wing, revealing a sizable carrying bag which looked just as worn down as he was. He pulled out a bag, which clinked with a very familiar sound, "I can give you sixty bits."

Daring's jaw dropped, "Sixty bits!?" Daring looked away from Fidelis for a moment, sixty bits was triple what she paid. She bit her lip, "I'm sorry, but this is for a friend of mine. It's a gift!"

"You can get your friend other gifts." Fidelis shook the bag, allowing the bits inside to clatter their harmonic sounds to Daring's ears. She quickly sighed, her breath turning to vapor in the cold air. Fidelis smirked, "Allow me to raise my price, Miss Do. Say..." He wouldn't be able to finish however.

"Stop right there, scum!" Fidelis was immediately shoved by a prestigious looking hippogriff. He looked over at Daring with his solid gray eyes and pointed his finger accusingly at the griffin, "This griffin here, Miss, is a con artist! He's trying to play you out of the real value of that model ship!"

Daring looked confusedly at Fidelis, "What?" He recovered from the shock of the shove, but was immediately silenced by the hippogriff grabbing his beak.

The hippogriff offered his hand, "I'm Ptolemy, archeologist and a hippogriff that knows the value of certain artifacts." Daring shook it after a moment's hesitation. Ptolemy looked far more well-fed and groomed than Fidelis, a bit ludicrously so, "You happen to have a model -unique I may add- of the Ultima Thule, I'm willing to pay you-" He pulled out a large satchel, which clattered from it's obvious contents, "-three-hundred bits."

"Three-hundred bits!" Daring stumbled, causing Fidelis and Ptolemy to jump on either side of her to keep the precious crate from falling, "I- I can't!"

Ptolemy scoffed, "Fine, double it, nine-hundred bits!" Daring lost her footing, causing the crate to stumble on her back. Ptolemy yelped and hovered his hands around it.

Fidelis yelled, "That's triple!" He wrapped an arm around Daring, who was struggling to even stand, and moved her aside, "Listen here, you can't trust a hippogriff, especially that one. Give me the ship and I'll actually pay you."

"Baw!" Ptolemy butted in, his movements tense and his eyebrows furrowed, "Lemme tell you, griffin! I happen to be an honorable person!"

"If you can call your parentage honorable!" Fidelis spat back, knocking Daring out of the way.

"You take that back you ornery chimera!" Ptolemy flared his wings, crossing his beak with Fidelis'.

Fidelis jabbed his finger into Ptolemy's gut, "Who you calling chimera you hybrid piece of-"

"Boys!" Daring cut off their argument. The two eyed Daring, not moving at all from their threatened positions. Daring forced herself to smile, "Listen, I appreciate the offers but..." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously, "I can't accept."

"What?" They both said, their expressions of anger turning into something resembling shock, fear, and confusion.

"It's a gift, I bought it with my own money, and dang it! I'm gonna deliver it." Daring walked past the two like a saloon door, leaving the two gryphs standing there. They watched as Daring disappeared into the crowd, but were more concerned with what she was carrying.

***

The Librarian, a lavender unicorn politely pointed Daring to her target. The Royal Canterlot University Library was an immense structure that defined the silhouette of the university. It was a huge white tower, big enough to fit a dragon and have enough room for kids, and within this space were hundreds of thousands of books filed into around thirty five floors. Although not the largest archive in Equestria-Luna's personal Library holds that honor-it certainly competes.

Normally, Daring would be in here to read up on amazing stories of extraordinary voyages-fictional of course-instead of studying. Her task at hoof however was finding her International Studies professor, Storm Talon. She grabbed the crate with her forehooves and flew up to the thirteenth floor, nopony would ever think to look there.

He was a griffin however, an old salty sailor of a griffin. Complete with a prosthetic hind leg and tail. He was pretty popular with his students for his rather vigorous language in his lectures and his no-nonsense style of teaching. Unsurprisingly, this put him at odds with Daring's sloppy cunctative style of studying. Considering Storm Talon was a griffin in a land almost exclusively of candy-colored miniature horses, he was easy to spot in a crowd. A dull colored library where nearly everything looks the same was no different. Daring spotted him at a table, a large stack of papers and books next to him and his face buried in an open book with the low rumbling of snoring.

Daring quietly floated next to him, "Hypocrite," she said quietly. The pegasus floated right over the table, then dropped the crate on it. The resultant bang caused Storm Talon to snap backwards out of his chair and to the floor.

"Bugger!" Storm Talon let out as he began making his way back to reality. He looked over at Daring, who was smiling with a face that said, gotcha. He rolled his eyes, "Daring, it's been years since the thing with the Dolphins but please be considering of my mental health!"

Daring chuckled, "Sorry, Professor, but I got you a present," Daring landed in a chair and tapped the crate. Storm Talon looked over at it with an air of caution.

"Does it have a platypus init?"

"No, why?"

"Do ye remember what ye got me last year?"

"Oh, it's not like anyone got hurt."

"I was innae hospital for two weeks."

"How was I supposed to know platypi were venomous?"

Storm Talon sighed, rubbing his face, "Well, I'm aware it is nearing my birthday," Daring slouched in her seat, kicking up her hindlegs on the table.

"Yeah, you're practically family to me!" The pegasus held out her forehooves, smiling. Storm Talon nodded, scratching the bottom of his beak.

Storm Talon muttered, "Well, ya dun choose family..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Storm Talon pointed to the crate, "Whassin this?"

"Open it and find out."

The dusty old griffin muttered something about platypi under his breath, then opened the lid. He exclaimed something in Gryphonic and gently lifted up the model Ultima Thule. His hands quivered, but not too much as to not drop it and his normally grumpy disposition was like that of a foal getting a gift on Hearth's Warming Eve. He quickly put it down, chuckling to himself.

"Okay, Daring, this- I gotta say- this is quite the gift!"

"I know! Quite the bargain too, Coco sold it to me for about twenty bits!" Storm Talon looked over at Daring, jaw dropped, "There were a couple of guys who wanted it too but I think they were just-"

Storm Talon immediately shoved his hand into her mouth, "Ya bought this for twenty bits? Daring, this model is far more than twenty bits!" Daring raised an eyebrow, cocking her head. Storm Talon buried his face into his hand, "There are only three models in existence, Daring! This is probably worth several hundred thousand bits!" Daring spat out Storm Talon's hand.

"Several-what? Thousand! But I- they- and ugh!" Daring slammed her face onto the table. Several hundred thousand bits, she thought, she should've seen that coming.

Storm Talon spoke up, "At the very least, you've gotten me an excellent present for my birthday, not like other people in the faculty who keep getting me nothing but pens," Storm Talon picked up the model ship again gently then placed it carefully into the crate, "Lemme tell ye Daring, the Ultima Thule is one thing every griffin cub learns about when they's growing up. The great explorer sailing off to parts unknown, battling enormous monsters an' discovering new worlds, conquering them too." Storm laughed, "I remember when I was a wee cub, me and my friends would always be bashing the ever loving daylights outta each other, pretending to be Pytheas and some savage natives."

Daring's face was still married to the table. Storm Talon walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Ah, dinnae beat yourself up Daring," Storm Talon snapped his talon, "Say, I know the only class ye ain't failing is Ancient History, so tell ya what: write up a report on Pytheas and the Ultima Thule- five pages or so- turn it inta me, I'll go about some extra credit for International Studies, eh?"

Daring popped up from the table, frowning, "Ah, during Winter Break?" Storm Talon nodded, the pegasus groaned, leaning back in the chair once more.

"Either that or you'll fail the Semester, Daring," Storm Talon began hobbling away, the crate underneath his arm, "Do try natta fall asleep though, eh? Good archeology is done in the library," With that, he quickly flew off out of the thirteenth floor.

Daring muttered, "Good archeology, my hoof..." if there was anything her father-before his untimely disappearance into thin air-told her, it was that good archeology was done in the field. Exploring the ruins of ancient civilizations long passed, the scent of the old mixing with the new, and the cool air of an once inhabited village or city, now long abandoned to mother nature, the stone and clay cracked and the wood long rotted. What civilizations had passed, survived only by their legacy, were just waiting to be found.

Regardless, Daring wasn't a unicorn, so she couldn't make the paper wasn't going to write itself. She quickly fished out a few books bearing Pytheas' name. It wasn't the hardest task, it seems Storm Talon was already doing a little research on the griffin explorer himself and left his books there. Considering he just assigned Daring some light work, it was most likely intentional. She placed a dusty old book in front of her and opened it to some random page. Reading she could do now, writing can come later-or in Daring's, and probably half the college's student body, at the last possible moment-

One of the many dangers involved with the Gondwanaland (now modern Zebrica) expedition was the presence of organisms unknown to the party. At one point, when Pytheas' flagship, the Ultima Thule was traveling in shallow waters, it was assaulted by a large swarm of what Pytheas described in his memoirs as, "Being a terrific cross of spiders and crabs and nearly the twice the size of the largest of my companions". These were mostly likely Giant Zebrican Spider Crabs. While mostly deep water dwellers, they have been reported setting up homes in shallower waters on Zebrica's beaches. They are a relatively docile specimen, yet extremely territorial-

Daring quickly flipped to another page, this was already going off on something that wasn't relevant.

Heron's design for the Drill mostly revolved around his revolutionary Steam Engine. Although slow and being the size of a mammoth, Pytheas was confident that the center of the earth could be breached-

She raised an eyebrow, but continued on to a different page. She felt her eyes beginning to struggle to stay open. However, they were shaken awake by the next passage.

The last voyage Pytheas led has baffled many historians. After leaving port in Gryphonia, he did not return for over a year. When he did, he came back with thirty of his crew of three-thousand, and lacking the Ultima Thule. After he returned, the hero of Gryphonia become a recluse, spending his last years designing and building his own tomb. The Tomb of Pytheas currently has not been found today, and even the fate of the Ultima Thule remains a mystery. Pytheas' memoirs end before the last voyage, and the remaining crew were sworn to silence, with rumors abound to the griffin having killed his navigator, Angelos, for breaking it.

Daring tapped her chin, "Nuts, this is actually getting interesting." She read began to read on further, sweeping a bit of her grayscale rainbow mane out of her eyes. She had to remember not to fall asleep now.

Chapter Two

Really big thanks to the proofreaders.

***

Daring lifted her head from the book. Her eyelids felt heavy, and in general, her body felt just plain tired. Dang it, she thought, must have fallen asleep. She looked up, wiping the sleep from her eyes, and looked at the sky through the library's skylight. It was a musty purple and orange mix of clouds, it must've been near sunset. Had she really been out that long? She turned her head to the book; it was a new page. She flipped through a few of the previous ones. She only made it three pages before falling asleep. She took a look at the page she slept on, however, it was a contemporary illustration of the Ultima Thule. Daring smiled, running a hoof over the picture. It was an excellent looking ship with an illustrious career in Pytheas' explorations. While most pegasi were concerned with flying and the works of airships, there was always a place in Daring's heart for old fashioned sea ships. The pegasus closed the book, pushed herself out of the chair and made her way for the exit. As much as she needed that extra credit, she was sure a five page essay could wait about two weeks.

As she walked out of the library, she noted the marketplace was being torn down within the Royal Canterlot University’s square being torn down. Most of the merchants were packing up their wares and began moving on to the next bit-filled adventure. At one point in her life, Daring considered becoming a traveling merchant, but trying to understand basic economics was a bit much for her. She took flight for her cloud home just a mile away from RCU. Her home was a modest establishment, a living room, a kitchen and a single bedroom. At most, it was a simple five minute trip, and she couldn't wait to just crash on the couch and read up on the Extraordinary Adventures of Totor. Those were books she couldn't fall asleep to, mysteries, thwarting bad guys, action, all the good stuff that's required in an adventure story.

"Oh, nuts!" Imagine her surprise when she opened her door and found the place ransacked. The couch was turned over, the coffee table was on its side, the bookshelf, surprisingly, still standing but every book in it thrown to the floor. Daring made a dash for her bedroom and found it in the same state, her bedsheets tossed aside, and her desk—which was only used in a blue moon for actual work—was capsized. Daring knew the obvious, she must've been robbed. She slapped her hoof on her head. First, she'd have to figure out what they stole, then she'd have to keep the place in its sorry state for investigators to gather evidence. Before she could figure out what to do first there was a knock on her door.

"Great, as if I need visitors," Daring muttered to herself. She trotted over to the door, and opened it. Standing in the doorway was that griffon from the marketplace, Fidelis, his fedora casting a shade over his brown eyes. He was standing on his hind legs, his wings spread revealing his bags and a gun in a holster, "You- what- Why are you here?"

Fidelis answered simply, his face betraying little emotion, "Where is the model ship."

The pegasus tapped her head on the door frame. "You followed me home... to get that model ship?" Fidelis turned away from Daring for a second, sighing. She looked at him to answer, "Listen, I told you, it was a gift for a friend. I gave it away-"

"Well, where is it!?" Fidelis yelled. Daring stepped back, her eyes springing open at the suddenness of it. Fidelis took a step inside, "Listen, tell me where it is right now, or I won't be responsible for what happens to you!"

"... are you threatening me?" Daring stopped backing up.

The griffon pulled his gun from his holster. "If I have to, but I don't want to." Daring stared at the gun, a stainless steel revolver with a black grip. For one thing, she had never even seen a gun up close, much less been threatened by one. "This can all be solved trivially, if you'll just tell me where it is."

"Well." Daring stepped forward. "Why should I tell you?"

"Listen, there is a lot more going on than you think. You aren't in any place to argue, you need to cooperate with me!" Daring felt inclined to tell him, but what he said next terrified her, "Your friend, whoever you gave the ship to, they could be in serious danger!"

"Oh no!" Daring bit her hoof. "Alright, fine! I gave the ship to my International Studies professor, Professor Storm Talon!"

Fidelis sighed with relief. "Alright, where is he? Where is his office?"

Before Daring could say anything, Fidelis turned back towards the door. Daring followed close behind, but recoiled when she heard a click, the cocking of Fidelis' revolver. He looked over at some place out of Daring's sight, and gasped. Before the pegasus could ask what he saw, he shut the door. Daring put her ear to the door quickly, and heard three loud bangs in succession. Suddenly, there was a mechanical ripping as the door was riddled with holes, and the walls gave off little poofs of air. Daring ducked instinctively, yelping in surprise.

After a brief moment, Daring quickly opened the door, and was nearly crushed by Fidelis. He fell over onto the floor, writhing in pain. Daring looked out the door and saw several winged figures. griffons and hippogriffs most likely, with larger guns than Fidelis', and that familiar looking crate.

"They have the ship!" Daring quietly said, so as not to alert them. Thankfully, they immediately flew off from the scene. The pegasus looked back at the wounded griffon. "Oh my goodness, are you okay?" Fidelis coughed in response, spitting some blood onto her cloud floor. He was gravely holding his chest which was doing some good at keeping him from bleeding to death on spot, "I'm guessing you're not okay." Fidelis opened his beak, but all that came out was a wheezing. Daring looked around. "Uh... listen, I'll get a surgeon here as quick as I can-" She was interrupted by Fidelis grabbing her and pulling her close. He shakily reached into his bag and pulled out a small brown book, no bigger than his hand. He forced it into Daring's hooves. "What- What do I do with this!?" He held out his hand, barely wheezing out something, before going completely limp, "Wait, don't die yet! What are you telling me!?" Daring shook Fidelis, but he did not respond.

***

"Do you happen to have a description of these..." Sergeant Traveller of the Royal Guard looked over to the doorway of Daring's cloud home, the familiar light of the afternoon casting through. The floor in front it was still stained with Fidelis' blood, a guardspony taking one last picture of it as evidence. Daring was sitting on the now righted couch, Professor Storm Talon next to her, fiddling with a distinct chip in his prosthetic leg. The Professor had given his testimony, that a band of miscreants led by a hippogriff had assaulted him and stolen the ship in the crate, and that he had been shot at. Daring was only wrapping hers up. Sergeant Traveller was taking her testimony. "... thugs?"

"Well, I got a good look at the hippogriff." Daring violently nodded. "Grey eyes, brown feathers on his face like a hawk, yellow beak, and a bowler hat."

The guardspony unicorn, a gray mare spoke up. "I gotta say, this is a lot harder without cutie marks." she was currently performing her duty as the sketch artist. She turned the paper over to Daring, showing a sketch of what she described. "Is this the hippogriff you saw?"

Daring tapped her chin. "Yeah, that looks like him," the unicorn nodded. Traveller stood up, the unicorn with him.

"We'll post the description of Ptolemy up in town," Traveller said, absently pawing at the floor. "But I doubt we'll catch him, most know Celestia isn't kind to those who bring guns to Equestria." he shuddered at the thought.

"Wait." Daring held out a hoof, her eyebrows quirked. "What about Fidelis, is he—"

The unicorn smiled. "He's fine. he's in a coma. Punctured lung, but we got our best doctors on it."

"We were able to deduce that machine guns were the likely cause of Fidelis' woundings." Traveller looked over at Storm Talon, who merely shrugged in response. "Gryphonian tech."

Storm Talon nodded slightly, chuckling a little. "Calico Model 1921 Submachine Guns. A lotta criminals use 'em, call 'em choppers." Traveller nodded vaguely. The unicorn nodded violently, her curiosity seemed to have been piqued. "Fidelis' gun is a Redbeak .327 Magnum Revolver, very reliable. Fun fact, it's one of the few revolvers out there that can fit a sound suppressor, I'd imagine it's popular with saboteurs and such."

Traveller rolled his eyes. "Yes, of course. Well, we shouldn't take up your time, we'll be going."

The unicorn frowned, but stood up as Traveller did. "We'll let you know if we catch them, but right now, it's not likely."

Daring nodded. "I understand, thank you, Sergeant."

The guardsponies made their way for the exit. The unicorn more carefully than Traveller, that cloud walking spell was rumored to be slightly unreliable. The guardsponies called for the two to stay safe and left the two in the cloudhome. Daring left the couch and proceeded up to her room, Storm Talon turned about towards her. "Daring, if ye need uh... any consultin' or somethin', I understand watching someone get ventilated can be quite traumatizing,"

Daring continued, as she said. "No thanks, Professor. I already know what I'm going to do." Storm Talon began following Daring up to her room. The pegasus was already in her room, proceeding to pack what essentials she had: maps, a few books, food and water. Storm Talon stood confusedly at her door, tapping at his beak absentmindedly. "I'm gonna pack my things, head to Gryphus."

"Gryphus?" Storm Talon crossed his arms, leaning in the doorway. "That's in Gryphonia!"

"I may be failing International Studies, Professor." Daring gestured to Storm Talon, her face barely betraying a giggle. "But I know Gryphus is the capital of Gryphonia,"

The griffon rolled his eyes. "That's Laconia, not Gryphus."

"Oh." Daring forced a smile on her face. Storm Talon walked inside, looking at Daring's saddlebags. The bags looked just as haggard as the professor, mostly because they saw a lot of use in Daring's various escapades.

"Well, why are ya headin' to Gryphus then?" Daring held out the small brown book, Fidelis' book. Storm Talon took it and flipped through the pages. "Daring, this is evidence ain't it? Why didn't ya show it to the guardsponies?"

"'Because, Professor." Daring clasped her saddlebags shut. She walked over to her closet. "The book looks irrelevant to their investigation." it was true. The pages all consist of masterful sketches of things barely relating to each other, landscapes, airship designs and some surreal pictures of strange animals. Storm Talon turned to the first page, a humble looking storefront with a sign right above the door in big letters: STEAM ENGINES. There was another sign in the window, going out of business. Of course the steam engine was going out of business, as far more efficient alternatives had been discovered not too long ago: the internal combustion engine and electricity. Below the sketch on the street was the labeling of Gryphus. Daring continued her explanation. "But, Fidelis gave me that book, so there must be something important going on."

"And ya figure you have to investigate this?" Storm Talon looked over to Daring, who simply nodded as she put on her olive shirt. "Well, why? Was Fidelis some kinda spy or somethin'?"

"Yes, actually." Daring walked over to Fidelis, who simply looked at Daring incredulously. she put a hoof on the picture of the storefront. "I studied up on some spy tactics earlier in the year."

"That ain't part of yer curriculum."

"I know, anyway, one thing spies would do to gather intelligence on a particular area was to sketch. They'd hide classified and detailed information in larger and completely irrelevant pictures which would be unassuming to the average soldier. Now, what I believe is that Fidelis is working with the OSS."

"The OSS?"

"Office of Strategic Services, the Gryphonian spy agency, that stuff."

"Okay, but what does this have to do with that ship?"

Daring sighed, throwing her saddlebags on. "Haven't figured it out yet. Perhaps there's some kind of pattern that I'm just missing." she absentmindedly pawed the floor.

"Or, ya know, we just been on the wrong end of a robbery, Daring." Storm Talon put the book into Daring's saddlebag. "Maybe ye lookin' into this too deeply."

"Maybe I am, but I have a hunch—"

"Oh, ye have a hunch, this oughta be good."

"Hey!" Daring knocked Storm Talon's arm. "When have my hunches been wrong?"

The griffon briefly pondered on it. "Well, there was that one time—"

"Doesn't count."

Storm Talon placed a hand on Daring's head. "Listen, Daring, I'm just tryin' to dissuade ye from hurtin' yerself. I mean, can ya imagine what'd happen to ye if you're right?"

She took Storm Talon's hand out of her grayscale mane, then walked back to her closet to retrieve her most important thing.

Storm Talon raised an eyebrow, "Is this about yer sister? Ye tryin' to prove somethin'?"

"I'm not trying to prove anything!" Daring shuffled through the closet of spare clothes, looking for it. "and I thought I told you not to mention my sister!"

Storm Talon responded, "Well, sorry but this is dangerous work! Ye could get killed! Or worse!" Daring came back out of the closet, bearing her most prized possession in the world, her pith helmet.

She put it on. "Ah, I'll be fine. I always make it through." She smiled at Storm Talon, who could only muster some much as a frustrated sigh. The pegasus took the griffon in a hug. "Ah, don't worry. it's not like I'm joining the Gryphonian Foreign Legion or anything,"

"Perish the thought." Storm Talon returned tit, turning the simple gesture into a bone-breaking bear hug. His bone crushing hug was going to break every bone in her body in a minute, but she simply could not resist. "Alright, I won't worry 'bout ya! Just 'bout yer grades maybe."

"Yeah—" Daring felt the air getting sucked out of her lungs. "-grades!" Thankfully, he put her down, allowing her to breathe normally once more. She couldn't help but give a wide smile. It's not everyday you get hugged by Storm Talon, regardless if you live to tell about it.

After a few moments, Storm Talon mercifully let her down. "I'll send word to an ol' war buddy of mine, he can get ya to Gryphus easy," Storm Talon stated, a slight smile on his face. "Do take warning though, Gryphonia, and possibly the rest a' the world, it's quite different from Equestria."

Daring nodded and made her way for the door. "I'll be fine, I'm not taking your class for nothing you know?"

"You're failing my class."

"Still."

Storm Talon chuckled. "Well, I'll look after yer place then. Head down to Trottingham, my boy's got an airship ready. Safe travels, Daring."

Daring nodded and she left the room. She spread her wings forth then took flight from her home through the roof, she can patch that hole up later. To Trottingham she went, then onto Gryphonia and adventure.

***

"You shot him!?" The Baltimare Dock was usually quiet in the late evening, but not so when Ptolemy had his patience tested. The two hippogriffs he had exploded at, Coryphe and Parados were scratching their heads at why he was having a fit. "Wait, wait, not shot, that implies you have precision and thus some actual intelligence. You ventilated him!"

"'Ey, we got the bloody ship din't we?" Coryphe jabbed Ptolemy in the chest, using his other arm to gesture at Parados holding the crate. "an' like ya said, 'We really need that bloody friggin' griffon outta the picture.' Now he's outta the picture and ye throwin' a fit at us for taking a little initiative, ya daft magpie?"

"Yes!" Ptolemy began walking towards the pier. Tis associates followed him. "Of all the times you two choose to be competent, you choose now! Not when we had Fidelis in Zebrica, not when he had Fidelis in Laconia or Gryphus or Talos, not when you had the assistance of a bloat of angry savage hippos! You didn't even loot his corpse!"

Coryphe spoke up again, "Oi, we ain't you, we don't rob corpses and graves."

"I don't rob corpses and graves, Coryphe, I am an archeologist!"

"Whas the difference?" Ptolemy stopped and quickly turned to slap Coryphe. Coryphe held his cheek, muttering something under his breath.

"The difference, is that I am an educated, intelligent, intellectual who studies the past and applies reasonable theses as to the life of those who came before. The scientific method simply involves having to dig through temples and very old cemeteries and catacombs to analyze artifacts and key literature that may or may not have survived. That, Coryphe is an archeologist. A grave robber is none of those things!"

Coryphe rolled his eyes as Ptolemy shook his fist at him. "Wha'ever, but at least the piker is dead innit?"

"All you told is that you shot him up while he was standing outside some taffy's house. That does not tell me he's dead." Ptolemy sighed, letting himself relax as he leaned on a support for the pier. "Heck, he's probably gonna come right out of those clouds and threaten us to give back the ship."

The three hippogriffs turned to the clouds simultaneously. After a minute, nothing happened. Coryphe scoffed. "Can't believe I fell for that. Anyway, why exactly is Fidelis bein' dead such a big deal, he figure out something ye din't?"

"Ah, my gullible friend, you underestimate me." Ptolemy patted Coryphe's shoulder, the same one that held the strap to his Chopper. "Don't worry about it, I'll figure something out." They turned towards the water near the pier. From the average viewpoint, the black silhouette would appear as if a monstrously giant horseshoe crab was about to invade Equestria. They knew however what exactly it was. It was their ride around the world, and the only that can evade the authorities consistently. The water broke as it rose, letting a small part of the black utilitarian top be exposed to the surface. The three hippogriffs flew down to it and sat down on its shiny and somewhat slippery top.

Air escaped with a hiss, forming a noticeable square large enough for the three hippgriffs to stand side by side. The square opened, revealing itself as a hatch, and down went the trio. Coryphe shut the hatch behind them, and twisted the valve on it tight. At the end of the hall was an earth pony stallion. "Ptolemy, did you get the ship?"

Ptolemy nodded, smiling, "Tell Captain Terror that we indeed have the model ship." Coryphe brushed past them, lifting the crate up for extra room. The pony nodded, stoic in expression. "Inform your Captain that we also need to set a course for Gryphonia, I need to consult the archives there."

The pony raised an eyebrow. "You sure? We're wanted in Gryphonia. You should see the bounty for the Captain. It could pay off a small nation's national debt."

Ptolemy stifled a laugh, scratching the bottom of his beak. "I am sure, send the word, we're going to Gryphonia."

Chapter Three

***

“The air of the jungle was so thick that a sword could run through it and make pastries from it. My crew were suffering from some strange disease that I theorized came from this new world I had discovered. Unlike the homeland where the mountains reached high and the pastures green, this world was almost entirely a jungle that never ended.

Daring Do was sitting on a bench along with a large throng of griffons and ponies and was attentively listening to the tour guide read a passage from Pytheas’ memoirs. They sat in the shadow of the Pytheas Memorial, a fifty meter tall copper statue of the griffon, facing westwards in his armor, with a map in one hand and a sword in its scabbard.

“As I cut through the thick foliage with my sword, I began to wonder, why was I here? Why was I walking all over someone else’s ground for Gryphonia? I was a griffon that had sailed around the world once already, and from my humblest start as a navigator in the Navy, I had always wondered what lie past the horizon. I thought on the question for many years, as Angelos would write his maps, as Heron would build his contraptions and as the rest of the crew would follow me into the deepest jungles and up the highest mountains. Many in my position would give some rather inspiring reason, “I felt it was our destiny,” or “It was the duty of griffons to go west.” My reasoning on why, when I was younger and before I set out on my first voyage with a simple crew of forty and before the days of the Ultima Thule, when I simply decided to go west and not stop, was mostly because I felt like it. Because there was a horizon, birds disappear into the horizon all the time. I figured, since the horizon was there, there had to be something past it. And there was, an entire new world.”

The tour guide closed the thick tome. The crowd began dispersing, some to admire the memorial up close, others going where they needed to. Daring dropped her jaw in awe of the amazingly gigantic statue. It looked just as impressive on the airship ride into Gryphus. Regardless however, Daring had to continue on. She flexed her wings, and took off for mainland Gryphus.

The weather forecast for Gryphus called for light cloudy skies in the afternoon, leaving just enough space for the blindingly bright sun to shine on the industrial port of Gryphus.

If the sun could penetrate the immense clouds of smog.

Gryphus’ skyline was comprised of skyscrapers and giant chimney stacks that gave off black clouds of whatever’s burning at the time. As an industrial port city, it found itself being swamped in terms of immigrants and goods from overseas. Daring recalled the cleaner and more refined Manehattten, but the buildings and shops along the gritty paved street were more grungy and dirtier. The populace wasn’t much of a contrast either, griffons and ponies were moving about in huge crowds going in all kinds of directions, with the occasional person lying on the curb with no place to go. What really caught Daring’s eye were the massive columns of automobiles. There were hundreds of Firearm Industries Model As Automobiles as far as the eye can see.

I’m not here to sight-see, Daring thought. As much as she did want to go sight-seeing, there was an important task at hand. I have to find this particular store. She pulled out Fidelis’ book and examined the particular drawing. A storefront that sells steam engines that’s going out of business. She examined the architecture of it closer. Daring found herself admiring Fidelis’ steady hand, the drawing was immensely detailed right down to the specks on the wall and the dust on the signs. Still, it was just one storefront and this was an entire city; some help was going to be required.

Daring turned to the nearest griffon as he walked past. “Excuse me, sir!” The griffon turned back, tipping his hat to Daring. “Could you help me find this store?” The pegasus held the drawing up to him. He tipped his hat up high, examining it closely with his amber eyes.

“Ah, I’ve seen this store before, I walk right by it everyday. One particular hobo there I always buy meals for.” The griffon nodded, pointing past Daring and down the street, “It’s over on Clockwork Square, very distinct actually.”

Daring grinned, placing the book back into her saddlebag, “Thank you! How do I get there?”

“Ah, it’s real easy, basically you head down this street, yeah? Then you take a left, head up to Eleventh Street, past Litany Avenue, then go down and bear right, gonna come up to a roundabout, but keep going straight, don’t turn, then you wanna head past the Third and cross over onto Eighth and Thirteenth, Fourteenth comes before Thirteenth so don’t get confused, afterwards you gonna come up to two intersections, one parallel and one perpendicular, go down the parallel about two-hundred meters then take a right then you’re on Nautilus Square, not Clockwork, Nautilus, you head down to Nineteenth, there’s some hooligan northerners there so watch out, and then you’re gonna come down to Seventeenth and head upwards of a quarter of a kilometer down Eighteenth. Solve for X.”

Daring shifted her eyes, trying to make sense of everything he just said. “I-uh-buh-ah... what?” The griffon burst into laughter at that.

“Ahahaha! Oh, I’m kidding, you’re a pegasus, you can just fly there. There’s a large clock tower in the center, can’t miss it. Good luck!” With that, the griffon waved goodbye to Daring and continued on his way, still quietly chuckling to himself. Daring simply stood there, dumbfounded.

“Solve for X?” she said to no one in particular. She sighed and simply flew off.

***

As the Griffon said, Clockwork Square did indeed have an impressively sized clocktower in the center. The Square itself was rather spacious, with a park around the clocktower and surrounding the park, the streets. All Daring had to do now was find that particular store. She instantly recognized it, having no need to pull out the book as the Steam Engines sign was proof enough. She walked up past a motorcycle —a rusty looking Tiger 100— and over a griffon hobo in the curb, but not before tossing a couple of bits his way. She looked in through the window and found a counter manned by a rather bored looking griffon. Around him were shelves, all empty. The place really was going out of business. She stepped inside, a ringing bell alerting the griffon.

He looked up at Daring, forcing a smile on his face. “Ah, welcome, can we interest you in any steam engines? Or... steam accessories?”

Daring shook her head, then began walking around the store. “Uh, just here to look.” The shopkeep nodded, leaning onto the counter with a deep sigh. Seems like a regular store, Daring thought. If Daring remembered anything from her International Studies class with Professor Storm Talon, it was that griffons were a bit straightforward. She walked up to the counter and asked, “Do you know Fidelis?”

The shopkeep nodded. “Sure I do, he’s an agent with the OSS. Lieutenant Fidelis Razorwind.”

Ah, he must be well known. Notorious even. Daring raised an eyebrow. Or maybe they’re just that horrible at keeping secrets. “Uh... okay, so. Is this like, the OSS’s secret headquarters and is there like some kinda secret entrance that leads into it?”

“Yep.”

“... Seriously?”

“Seriously! I mean, there ain’t a law saying I should keep my mouth shut about it.” The shopkeep nodded to the wall next to him. “This sure is a secret entrance for the Office of Strategic Services, A.K.A. the Office of Dishonorable Warfare.”

“So can I get in?”

The shopkeep shook his head. “Nope, need a password.” Of course, they’re a spy agency.

Daring frowned. “Well, I know Fidelis, I’ve got some important information for whoever is in charge around here.”

The shopkeep shrugged. “You still need a password.” Daring tapped her head on the counter lightly, then walked towards the shelves. What could the password be? She pulled the book out and flipped through the contents, hoping that Fidelis left some kind of hint in the sketches or anything really. Then it hit her, if griffons are as straightforward as she thinks, then maybe the password is... No, it can’t be. That’s stupid. They’re stupid if that’s actually the password. She rolled her eyes and looked back at the shopkeep.

“Is the password: Password?”

“Yep!” The griffon hit a button under a counter, and the wall next to him creaked and slid open, revealing a long hallway. Daring walked past the counter and looked down into it. A well lit hallway with a door at the end which assumably had the operations of the OSS on the other side. No keycards or steel security locks. No huge minotaur or even Giant Panda guards or even a single pegasus to guard what should’ve been a gigantic vault door. Instead, it was simply a password to an old shopkeep and a wooden door.

Daring exploded. “What kind of spy agency is this!?”

The shopkeep chuckled. “You read too many adventure stories.” Daring looked back at the shopkeep as if he had just grown several heads. “Go on through, I’ll let General Spearhead know you’re coming.” Daring planted her face into her hoof and simply soldiered on through the hallway.

***

Daring sat on the extremely uncomfortable wooden chair. After presenting the book to a bored looking receptionist, she was sent to the office of the Director of the Office of Strategic Services. She looked around the room. Unlike the rest of the headquarters which was very practical and spartan looking, the owner of the office was very extravagant. The floor's rug was actually the skin of a Giant Oceanic Manta Ray. The desk was made of what appeared to be wood from a certain species of mulberry tree that's been known to migrate and atop stood a sawn-off double barrel shotgun on a stand. Mounted on the wall were heads of various animals: cape buffalo, manticore, hydra, all of them were carnivorous. Opposite was a stuffing of a very large Saltwater Crocodile, three times Daring's length and nearly as tall as her. The skin of it was covered in scars, bullet holes, cuts and bruises.

"Gustave was quite the vicious animal!" A foreign voice startled Daring. She turned back, and saw two griffons standing in the doorway. One was quite larger than the other, and other the same height as Daring.

Daring gratefully exited the chair and walked up to the tall one. "Ah, you must be the Director."

"Actually," The tall one spoke, barely stifling a laugh, "my companion here is the Director." Daring turned towards the short one, whom was trying to keep himself from bursting into laughter.

Daring's cheeks flushed, "Oh! I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" The short one lost it and exploded in a hearty laugh, his tall friend joining him with a slight chuckle.

"Ah! Don't worry about it! I get it a lot, gets funnier every time!" He held out his hand, Daring shook it violently, needing an excuse to change the subject. He proceeded to introduce himself, "General Dienekes Spearhead, Director of the OSS." He gestured towards the other griffon, "This is my assistant, Major Platinius." He pointed towards the stuffed crocodile, "And that's Gustave, most vicious animal I had the pleasure of hunting. Fought him in the shade of the jungle river for over two weeks with naught but a .327 Redbeak, six shots, and my wits."

Daring nodded, "Wow, must've been terrible." Dienekes grunted, nodding with a wide grin. The pegasus suddenly remembered to introduce herself, "Daring Do."

Dienekes walked past her and towards his desk, his roaring laughter now a slight chortle, "Excellent name." He nodded towards Daring’s pith helmet, “Nice hat, that’ll get you some metal on the marketplace.” He sat down in his chair, which in contrast to Daring's looked as comfortable as a cloud on a sunny day, and put on a pair of reading glasses. "So, Miss Do, I understand you've made contact with an agent of ours, Lieutenant Fidelis Razorwind. Ya know, they grow them good in the Razorwind tribe."

"Yeah, he gave me this," Daring handed the book over to Dienekes, "Let me explain, basically he was hunting down this model replica of the Ultima Thule. This hippogriff named Ptolemy stole it, and had him shot."

Dienekes frowned, squinting with his green eyes as he flipped through the book. "Oh dear, is he dead?"

The pegasus shook her head, waving her hoof. "No, he's in a coma."

The general recovered, chortling. "Stubborn sod. You say the Ultima Thule?"

“Yep.”

“I see, there are only three models authentically made by the ship’s navigator, Angelos. We had one in the museum, but that was stolen a year ago. We haven’t a bloody clue where the other two are. I sent Fidelis out to recover the one stolen from us, haven’t heard from him since I sent him out several months ago, appears he’s been quite busy. Looks like what we have is standard code from him.”

Daring nodded violently, a slight smile creasing her lips. “Yeah, yeah. I figured there’s also some kind of pattern too, I mean, why would you shoot someone for a model ship? I can understand they’re worth quite a few bits but I have this hunch.”

Dienekes chomped the end of a cigar and spat it out. As he pulled out a lighter, he spoke, “... this hunch that there’s something bigger going on.” He snapped the lighter and lit the cigar.

Daring nodded, rubbing her hooves together. "Yeah, exactly, I came to you to figure out what to do."

Dienekes smirked, letting the cigar hang from his beak. "Hehehe, Miss Do. We can handle this situation ourselves honestly, but if you’re fully willing to investigate the matter..." Dienekes nodded, then slowly turned the sawn-off shotgun on his desk towards Daring. "Do ask that again."

Daring pointed to the gun. "Is that thing loaded?"

Dienekes looked towards the shotgun. "Of course not!" He raised an eyebrow and took it off the stand. "At least I don't think it is." He looked straight down the barrel. Platinius sighed and walked up next to Daring.

Platinius said, "Listen, what General Dienekes is very stringent on who does what, Daring. We're looking for someone with more... experience... confidence... not you. A griffon."

Daring furrowed her brow, jabbing Platinius in the chest. "Hey! I can handle myself!"

"Indeed!" Dienekes planted the gun back on its stand. "Get her one of them hoof-guns Sky & Walker are cooking up, I bet she could tear Ptolemy apart."

"Oh, I don't uh..." Daring rubbed her hooves together, averting her gaze. "I don't use guns, or kill people."

"Pacifist?"

"No, no, it’s just that I don't kill people."

Dienekes nodded, still with some hint of a smile on his face. “Admirable, expected as much from a pony. But Ptolemy ain’t as honorable, indeed, he’s a criminal. He’s killed people before and definitely won’t hesitate to kill you if you get in his way.”

“I know! That—”

“—is why,” Platinius spoke, the pegasus frowned. “We’re having one of our top agents do this.”

Dienekes shook his head, his usual smile dropping. “Oh, we can’t do that, they’re busy.”

Platinius looked at Dienekes, raising an eyebrow. “Busy?”

The general took the cigar in his beak out and puffed out a light cloud of smoke. “Minotaurs.”

Platinius stared at him incredulously. “What? All of them? You seriously sent all of the agents?”

“Yep. Gotta keep them minnows down otherwise we’ll be sucking feed out of a manger.”

Platinius slapped himself on the forehead, then turned to Daring. “Could you give us a moment, Miss Do?” Daring nodded and left the room. She pressed her ear against the door, letting herself focus on the conversation inside. Thankfully, she could hear everything clearly.

Platinius said, “You realize you can’t just send all of our agents on missions out into minotaur territory right? We’re at peace with them and they’re just a bunch of farmers, what are they gonna do? Grow maize at us?”

Dienekes chuckled, “Hey, corn’s delicious and I can use more of these Minoan cigars around here, very excellent tobacco they grow.”

“I’m just saying, you need at least one griffon or somebody here on homeland security. You can’t have possibly sent all three-hundred agents, which I must add is going to look very suspicious, out to Minoa.”

“Well, I left the chicken behind.”

“Andronicus?”

“Was that his name? I’ve been calling him Aloysius for months.”

“He’s an interpreter. Is that really the griffon you have for homeland defense? Heck, all he does is sit outside the building and drink wine unless we need him.” Wait, Daring raised both eyebrows, is that hobo outside really...?

“Well that’s all he’s really good for, I’d sooner have him discharged or sent on a suicide mission than let him rot.”

“So, let me get this straight, your only agent with which to trust regarding a very touchy subject in Gryphonic history is a drunkard interpreter.”

“Yes.”

“Do you realize how stupid that sounds.”

“Yes, which is why I want that pegasus working it.”

“We can’t have ponies doing this, do you realize how the public would react?”

“Tch, they’ll get over it.”

“They never got over the Horseshoe Bay incident.”

“How were we supposed to know those pigs weren’t gonna show up?”

“That’s not the point.”

“Look, I think you’re overestimating Ptolemy. Sure he can disappear like a ghost, but the hybrid twat is a coward, only kills when it serves him and always uses an extra set of hands to do it. I’m sure a fluffy wambly taffy with wings can take him on.

Daring raised her eyebrow, taffy? “What’s more, Platinius, is that this is historical stuff and that taffy out there, I’ve heard of her actually. Derring Do,” Daring slapped herself on the face, of all the ponies they can mistake me for they choose her, she thought. “archaeological wonder she is. If anyone can beat Ptolemy, it’ll be her, and if anyone can figure what in the blazes this has to do with toy ships, it’ll be her. So get in here, Derring.”

Daring slowly opened the door and poked her head in, her cheeks red and a smile that gave away how forced it was. Platinius crossed his arms, his face leaving little to how frustrated he was, in contrast to Dienekes’ rather jolly and warm smile. Dienekes chuckled lightly, “Yes, I heard you out there, I’m not the Spymaster for nothing. Now come in here, lemme explain something to you.” Daring slowly walked in and seated herself on the now very comfortable wooden chair. “We’ll let you handle this, the Ultima Thule is a very touchy subject for many griffons and I figure someone of your caliber can handle something like this. To start, I’d say we’d need to ascertain the location of the other two model ships, and a good place to start would be Pytheas’ memoirs in the archives.”

Daring asked, “Wait, I thought the memoirs were at his memorial?”

“There are two sets of memoirs, the memorial memoirs are for the public, edited to be entirely politically correct.” Dienekes leaned over the desk, and quietly whispered, “Don’t tell nobody else, that is a state secret.”

“Politically correct?”

Platinius shrugged, “Pytheas was what you would call a racist.”

The general leaned back in his chair, puffing out more smoke and gesturing with his cigar. “Indeed! The actual memoirs are stuck gathering dust underground in the old archives.”

“Why haven’t you gotten them out?”

Dienekes shrugged. “Haven’t found a need to, plus there was some stupid environmentalist sod several years back who got his bollocks in a nutcracker and thought he could help nature by introducing the whistling spider to the catacombs and the archives.”

Daring’s irises shrank. She tilted her head slowly. “... Spiders?”

“Yes, the venomous whistling spider, came from a prison colony his majesty established a couple decades ago down in Kingsland. It’s right next to the Outback actually, I do a lot of hunting there, everything born there seems specifically designed to kill you, even some of the sheep.” Dienekes burst into a fit of laughter. Platinius noted Daring’s stiffness, raising an eyebrow.

He asked Daring, “You scared of spiders?”

Daring coughed, “Ah! Oh— no, no, no. No! I’m just...” Daring scratched the back of her neck, looking at Platinius, whom was not exactly amused. Dienekes also stopped laughing, awaiting the end to Daring’s sentence. “... yeah I’m scared of spiders.” Dienekes resumed laughing while Platinius simply rolled his eyes.

Dienekes stopped laughing long to put the cigar back into his beak. “Ah, the great Derring Do, apparently afraid of itsy bitsy spiders.” He stood up, taking a quick drag from the cigar then taking off his reading glasses. “But enough of these antics, we’ve got things to do.”

The three exited the office and made for the exit. Dienekes was still puffing on his cigar and Platinius was still telling him how inane it was sending most of the agency out on a mission with no particular purpose as Daring got caught up in her own thoughts. Is it really right to impersonate my own sister? Yes, totally, she’s a complete jerk anyway. But what if she founds out, isn’t that illegal? It’ll be worth it. But- No, it’ll be worth it, you’ll see. Daring sighed, frowning heavily as they exited the storefront. The three stood over the drunken griffon on the curb.

Dienekes called him, “Oi, Aeschylus.”

Platinius corrected him, “Andronicus.”

Dienekes kicked Andronicus in the wing. “Aloysius. Get up.” Andronicus grunted, sitting up and tossing his empty bottle of wine away. Dienekes gestured to Daring in introduction, “This is Derring Do.”

Andronicus looked over at Daring with his amber eyes. “The archaeologist?”

Daring nodded violently, “Yeah yeah, archaeology and all that.” Wow, is my sister really that famous, how are these people not noticing I don’t look anything like her, she thought.

Dienekes helped Andronicus onto his feet as he explained. “Andronicus, we’ve got an easy assignment for you. Derring is going to retrieve Pytheas’ memoirs, bring them up here for safety reasons. You’re gonna accompany her, make sure the spiders don’t give her any trouble.” Dienekes quietly chuckled at “spiders”.

The drunkard nodded, rubbing his face. “A-Alright. That I can do, definitely, you can count on me.”

Dienekes laughed. “I’m sure. Even a drunkard hooligan like yourself should be able to handle this. You got your .327, and your wits, you should be fine.”

“Yeah! Yeah, I mean, I’m an interpreter but you can trust me, I’m sure.” Andronicus dusted himself off, then hopped onto the motorcycle, “Alright, Miss Do, into the sidecar.”

Daring sauntered up to the sidecar, noting that it was filled with wine bottles. “Why don’t we just fly there?”

Andronicus sighed, “Long story, just get in.” Daring slowly paved her way past all the bottles into the seat of the sidecar. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, with or without the bottles anyway.

Platinius waved goodbye. “Safe travels you two.” Andronicus started up the engine, and twisted the handlebars. The motorcycle roared, then started forward at great pace right into a parked Model A not five meters from where they started. Daring lifted her hat up, she just had the wind knocked out of her as all and looked over at Andronicus. The drunkard looked down at the pegasus.

He said. “Perhaps we should walk.”