Rainbow Dash couldn’t sleep all night up in Cloudsdale. She’s been clinging to her bed all night, waiting for her moment to arrive. She looks at her alarm clock constantly, waiting for it to buzz.
“AHHH! I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!” she cries in excitement, “I GOT TO GET DOWN THERE EARLY, NOW!”
She then rushes to her bookshelf and grabs one of her Daring Do books that was recently released. She rushes out the door, flying with incredible speed. The look of excitement was stuck to her face.
Discord was by the Friendship Castle, setting up a floating mirror as he brushes hi mane and straightens a formal suit he wears. Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity then approach behind him. Twilight sighs, and comes by the draconequus.
“Might I ask what the special occasion is?” she asks nonchalantly.
“Just trying to do a peace offering to other creatures, just to prove myself.” he tells them.
“For the throne I presume?” Twilight sighs.
“Yep…” Discord answers, “And to convince some old enemies to reform so there could be better… harmony… as you always call it. I’m thinking of starting off with the Diamond Dogs.”
“THOSE FIENDS?” Rarity shouts, “The only thing I remembered about them is that they kidnapped me!”
“Which is why I’m going to try and help them see their errs.” Discord adds.
“Discord… this is no way to get a throne…” Twilight tries to explain, “There’s more to it than just…”
“This is MY way, Twilight.” Discord snaps back, “And I will make sure this reformation works on those poor pups.”
“But Discord, you’re not ready yet…” Fluttershy insists.
“After…” Applejack starts to say.
“The betrayal to Tirek… I know…” Discord mumbles, “But I HAVE reformed, and if I do good things to receive a throne, THIS IS my only good way.”
The ponies groan.
“Fine… believe what you will…” Twilight sighs, “If you really think that’s how you’ll earn one…”
“Thank you very…” Discord starts to thank.
CRASH!
“OW!” he yells, suddenly falling down.
“Sorry!” Rainbow Dash appears, accidentally sitting on him, “I can’t help it, I’m just so hyped up!”
“Please… it’s not like you’re seeing Daring Do…” Discord moans.
“THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT’S HAPPENING!” Rainbow beams, “Daring Do is showing up AS HERSELF, the author of HER BOOKS, right at the Ponyville Bookstore TODAY! I’m going to see her myself and get her autograph in one of my books! SQUEE!”
“Oh…. boy…” Applejack sighs, “Another fantasy thinker…”
“Um… Rainbow…” Fluttershy asks, “Don’t you think you should calm down? You might creep anypony out if you… act like that…”
“As if you’re obsessed.” Spike said.
“Okay, okay…” Rainbow Dash said, controlling herself, “I’ll try and act calm, I promise…”
“Well, good luck…” Discord sighs, getting up from the ground, “I’m going to go do my thing…”
“Maybe it will help if me and Fluttershy come along!” Pinkie volunteers, “Just so we can spread more love too, MAYBE A PARTY!”
“Well, I suppose that will be nice.” Fluttershy grins.
“Sure, sounds cool.” Discord shrugs.
“And… I feel like coming too.” Rarity volunteers, “Just so I can confront my fears, and show you these dogs… aren’t easy to reason with.”
“And I’m going with Rarity because I’m worried about her.” Spike adds.
“Well, okay then.” Discord grins.
“Pfft. Do whatever you guys want… whatever it is Discord is up to. LATER!” Rainbow smiles.
She then zooms off, as Twilight and Applejack see Discord, Spike, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity head towards the stone hills.
“I… think we should join Rainbow Dash…” Twilight hums to Applejack, “Just to make sure she keeps her… self-control…”
“Good idea…” Applejack agrees, “If there’s one thing I learned from her, it’s that she’s scary when she’s hyper…”
The line at the Ponyville Bookstore was quite long, as a couple of police ponies stand by Daring Do as she signs autographs for her fans when they meet her at the table. A sudden couple of pushes finally zoom through the crowd, as the sounds of “OH MY GOSH!” is repeated. Daring Do sighs, knowing who it is already.
“Rainbow Dash…” she moans.
The cyan pegasi then barges through the rest of the crowd, finally in front of her idol. The other ponies are getting up, annoyed and upset of Rainbow’s eagerness. Rainbow then pressed the book against Daring Do’s face in excitement.
“Um…” Daring Do tries to start, as she pushes the book down.
“REMEMBER THAT TIME WE FOUGHT AHUIZOTL AND FOILED HIS EVIL PLAN?” Rainbow beams.
“Yes… I remember…” Daring Do sighs, “You know, you didn’t need to barge through the line.”
“Sorry, I just got excited.” Rainbow Dash apologizes, “I couldn’t sleep all night because I waited for this moment.”
“I can tell.” Daring Do mumbles.
“Can you sign?” Rainbow asks, holding up the latest book.
“Yes…” Daring Do said, as she autographs the cover.
Rainbow then hugs it in joy!
“Can we hang out soon?” she asks.
“Yeah… sure.” Daring Do shrugs, “First I have to meet all the other ponies. Now please… leave them alone. You’re disturbing them.”
“But…” Rainbow stutters.
“You heard her.” a police pony said, escorting Rainbow out of the bookstore, “Time to go…”
“Awww…” Rainbow Dash whines, as she finally is out of the bookstore.
Twilight and Applejack then see Rainbow heading toward a street bench, and sitting on it. The pegasi rocks back and forth, as she waits impatiently to get her chance to meet Daring Do again. Twilight just shakes her head.
“Just like Discord.” Applejack snickers.
Just then, Twilight hears a chariot going through the Ponyville streets. In the chariot being pulled, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna look around the streets with their guards. Twilight smiles, and she and Applejack walk up to meet them.
“Hello Princess Celestia.” Twilight greets, “What brings you here?”
“We’re just inspecting the other pony villages and cities.” Celestia tells her, “There have been recent reports that there have been various kidnappings around Equestria.”
“WHAT?” Twilight gasps.
“There wasn’t any abductions here.” Applejack tells here.
“Good.” Luna nods, “But so far, ten gone missing in Appleloosa, twenty in Manehatten, and fifty in Vanhoover. Some were griffon citizens as well.”
“Griffons too?” Twilight said in shock, “Has Rainbow Dash’s friend Gilda gone missing?”
“We haven’t gotten that information yet.” Celestia tells her, “But we’re having more guards posted at all cities to keep sight in case they catch more kidnappers.”
“This may be a job for you and your friends to take part of too.” Luna said.
“We’ll tell Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy about it when they get back.” Twilight tells them.
“Where are they?” Celestia asks.
“With Discord…” Twilight sighs, “He thinks having the Diamond Dogs befriend the ponies can earn him something.”
Celestia put her hoof on her head.
“I see…” she moans.
“Well… we’ll just have to cope with his egotism.” Luna mumbles
Rover, Fido, and Spot are currently looking for new gems in their cave. Their guards also keep digging to look for any rare kinds with their pick axes. Spot, the youngest one, bites on one of the gems to taste its strength.
“ICK!” he belches, “Not worth anything!”
“That’s only diamonds…” Fido suggests, “Those stones fool anypony that they’re worth something.”
“Then find more!” Rover recommends, “We can finally make sweet bits with whatever is left!”
“You sure they’ll trust us after we kidnaped that unicorn that one time?” Fido asks.
“Forget that mule! She probably forgot to tell on us!” Rover snaps, “Just inform some of our guards to take some gems outside.”
“You heard him!” Fido yells at the other dogs, pointing towards the exit.
The guards shrug, pulling carts of the remaining gems they could find. They walked down at least a couple minutes through the carved hall of the cave. They then make a curve, turning right.
BLAM!
A sudden explosion emerges, as the Diamond Dog soldiers are blasted back. As the three of them struggle to their feet while the guards are knocked down, two mysterious figures storm into the room. A big red hand then grabs Rover by the neck, dragging him to his face.
“Wait… you look familiar…” Rover said in suspicion.
“And I’ve been through hell trying to get out of Tartarus!” the red beast said, “Now I’m going to get even with Equestria for good.”
“Hey… you’re that Tirek guy!” Rover whimpers.
“Why do you want him?” Spot demands, “Let him go!”
Another figure enters the room, suddenly knocking down Fido and Spot.
“Temper temper little ones.” the next stranger said, extending it’s hand on it’s tail, “We don’t want to give any spoilers.”
The cat looking beast then throws a ball on the ground.
“GRAB THE REST OF THEM! LEAVE THESE TWO! THEY’RE WORTHLESS!” Tirek said to his unknown accomplice.
Spot squints through the fog to see the cat looking beast with the handed tail.
“DO NOT STARE AT AHUIZOTL!” the stranger finally reveals, knocking the last two diamond dogs unconscious with his fist.
Fido and Spot then go into a deep sleep, as the two real villains leaving the cave kidnap their friends.
Discord looks around the diamond grounds he, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, and Pinkie are now entering. He snaps his fingers to present a gift basket as a token welcoming gift. He even makes a monocle for his eye.
“You’re overdoing it…” Rarity hisses.
“This is to impress Celestia and Twilight that I have good intentions…” Discord insists, “So get used to it.”
“Fine…” Rarity gives in.
“Wait… what happened here?” Spike said, as he points at the rubble and debris near the cave.
Cries and whimpers are then heard, as the gang squints to see Fido and Spot struggling to get through the cracks of the giant rocks that blocked the cave. The five friends then rush over in shock, helping them down from the wreckage. As the diamond dogs are helped down, they pull their paws away.
“What are YOU doing here?” Spot asks.
“You’re welcome…” Rarity snarls.
“What happened?” Discord asks.
“Our… friends… have been kidnapped for some reason…” Fido tells them.
“KIDNAPPED?” Fluttershy squeaks, “How awful!”
Discord then switches into a superhero outfit.
“NEVER FEAR! I’LL SET THINGS RIGHT!” he cheers, “WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?”
“That beast… Tirek…” Spot tells them.
Discord then changes back immediately, becoming stone cold. Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike drop in fear too. Discord then shakes his head.
“That’s impossible.” he stutters, “He’s imprisoned in Tartarus.”
“Well, he kidnapped our friends…” Spot insisted with truth.
“And he had a friend… Ahuizotl… I think the name was…” Fido remembers, rubbing his head.
“WHAT?” Spike yelps, “That’s Daring Do’s enemy!”
“I’ll…” Discord sighs, “This is not my job anymore. I’ll let Twilight know about this…”
He snaps his fingers, suddenly transporting her, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash to the location he and his friends are at this very second.
“DISCORD!” Twilight shouts, “What is the meaning of this? WHY ARE WE HERE?”
“Another throne attempt?” Applejack snarls.
“Not… anymore… I’m giving up on that today…” Discord whimpers, “They need help.”
He points at Fido and Spot.
“THEM?” Twilight yells, “THEY’RE OUR ENEMY!”
“No they’re not…” Discord insists, “They said their friends are kidnapped by Tirek…”
Twilight jumps in fear when hearing that.
“Is that true?” she asks the dogs.
The two of them nod.
“That could explain the other kidnappings…” Applejack thinks out loud, “Tirek may have escaped to select certain ponies.”
“But why you dogs?” Rainbow Dash asks.
“We’re innocent this time…” Spot sobs, “And we don’t know.”
Twilight now feels bad calling the two dogs their enemy at this point.
“Tirek wasn’t alone either…” Spot adds, “There was this guy named… Ahuizotl that knocked us down…”
“AHUIZOTL?” Rainbow Dash gasps, dropping her jaw, “DARING DO’S ARCH ENEMY! OMIGOSH! OMIGOSH! OMIGOSH! OMIGOSH! I CAN’T BEIEVE IT!”
“The second worst villain team up involving Tirek…” Applejack sneers, then looking up at Discord in embarrassment, “No offense.”
“I don’t blame you…” Discord sighs, “I’ll… transport us to Canterlot so…”
“Yes… good idea.” Twilight nods, “Since Tirek escaped, we must let Celestia know about this matter.”
Discord then snaps his fingers, sending the gang of ten to Celestia’s throne room.
Celestia was pacing around with Shining Armor and Luna, as they go through the reports with their guards. A flash is then shown upon them, as Twilight and the others appear in the room. Celestia then grimaces at the diamond dogs.
“Why are THEY here?” she asks.
“Tirek kidnapped their friends…” Twilight said in fear.
Celestia widens her eyes. She then sighs, and looks at the papers and reports with Luna. She then approaches the dogs and ponies in sadness.
“Yes… we just received information that Tirek had escaped…” Celestia said in anger, “Somepony broke him out, and… we have concluded that this unknown accomplice and him have kidnapped the first number of victims I’ve told you about Twilight Sparkle. I’m just feel horrible and confused to why they kidnapped diamond dogs.”
“Believe me, we are too.” Rarity said, “But… they still are creatures that need our help.”
Celestia nods.
“I’ll… leave you to your…” Discord whimpers, as he starts to leave.
“Discord… you’re part of…” Celestia starts to say.
“No… I don’t want to be…” Discord said in silence.
Celestia seethes.
“Look… Twilight told me about your crazy determination for a throne…” Celestia mumbles, “So if you help, we’ll give you the stupid chair…”
“I DON’T TO EARN IT THIS WAY!” Discord screams in fear, “There… has to be another…”
He then drops.
“No… I give up… I can’t face him again…” Discord weeps, “What I get tricked into betraying you again? What if he kills me? What if anypony I don’t want to drag with me gets killed first?”
The other ponies then change from irritation to sympathy for Discord at this very moment. Tirek is their threat too after all, and they are also afraid. Fluttershy and Twilight then come up to him, rubbing him softly.
“We understand…” Twilight said, “And we’re glad you’re being selfless at this point. And… we’re afraid too. But this something we have to learn to cope with together.”
“I don’t want to prove myself this way.” Discord sobs.
“Sure you can.” Fluttershy encourages, “And we’ll do it together.”
The other ponies and Spike then walk up to help Discord up.
“Tirek is our enemy altogether.” Applejack concurs, “So we’re going to find out where he is, and rescue the others.”
“This is our fight too…” Spot said, as he and Fido approach them, “We want to come too.”
“But…” Rarity protests.
“Rover is our friend…” Fido insists, “We can’t forgive ourselves if he gets tortured.”
“Well… okay…” Twilight smiles.
Celestia then sighs, smiling at the group that’s being formed.
“I have to admit, this team formation is very unusual…” she said, “But… it’s good to give you a second chance Discord. And I’m glad you and your friends are going to stop Tirek, Twilight”
She then hands a box to her.
“You may need to use the contents of this Rainbow Power again at all costs.” she advises, “Make a thorough plan before you use it on Tirek with contact.”
She then looks up at the rest of the group.
“This may be more dangerous than you’ll anticipate…” Celestia warns, “So you need to know how to find him before he invades another region.”
She then hands out a floating red diamond.
“This was saved for emergency purposes when dangerous enemies are on the loose again.” she tells Twilight, “The guards use them often, but this will lead you to Tirek.”
“Um… some guy named Ahuizotl is involved too…” Spot adds.
“Ahuizotl?” Celestia asks.
“That reminds me…” Rainbow beams, “Don’t leave yet, I’ll be right back!”
She then flies out the door.
“I think I know where she’s going…” Pinkie grins.
Daring Do’s house needed spring cleaning, since she lived in the Everfree Forest. The adventurous author kept organizing her bookshelves and cleaning up pieces of scrap paper that fell on the floor. Just then, a knock is made on her door.
Daring Do then trots over to the door, and opens it.
“Um… Daring Do…” Rainbow said, grinning.
“Okay… now you’re just stalking me…” Daring Do sighs.
“Please… I know I’m awkward… but… this is important…” Rainbow begs.
Daring Do sighs.
“Fine…” she mumbles, letting Rainbow in.
Rainbow then tip toes slowly, as Daring Do closes the door.
“What is it?” Daring Do asks.
“Me and my friends need help…” Rainbow explains, “Tirek is on the loose, and…”
“TIREK?” Daring Do gasps, “I’m sorry, but THIS is WAY beyond my limits. No! I have no chance in trying to help…”
“You don’t understand!” Rainbow continues, “Ahuizotl is also working with him!”
That caught Daring Do’s attention very quickly. She then paces around in aghast, rubbing her forehead. She then looks back at the cyan pegasi.
“Do you know why they teamed up?” she asks Rainbow.
“No…” Rainbow shrugs, “But other ponies and innocent races are being kidnapped by them as we speak. And we’re hoping to find them before… they kill their hostages… probably…”
Daring Do sweats.
“This is… beyond what I’m prepared for…” Daring tells her.
“Please…” Rainbow begs, “If not for me, then do it for Celestia.”
“The princess?” Daring asks, “Really?”
Rainbow nods.
Daring Do never thought of doing something noble for the princess before. And it’s to save other victims in Equestria as well, those who wish to go home to their families. She then looks at Rainbow.
“I’ll guide you and your friends to where Ahuizotl might be.” Daring agrees, “Under one condition… you lower your constant visits to me, give me proper space during the adventure without smothering me, and IF you try to make me lose attention or one this close to killing myself in some accident, I’ll leave the mission, and you’ll have to fend for yourself.”
“Geez. That’s harsh.” Rainbow said, “In other words, stay calm, and do what you say without acting crazy.”
“Right.” Daring nods.
“Okay. Deal.” Rainbow agrees, as they shake hooves.
Back in the throne room, Rainbow Dash guides Daring Do inside to meet the rest of the gang. Daring is a bit suspicious by Discord and the dogs, yet they welcome her warmly. Daring then looks at awe to Celestia, not believing she’s seeing her for the first time.
“So… your Daring Do…” Celestia smiles, “Rainbow has been talking a lot about you.”
Daring then knells down before her.
“It’s an honor to go on a quest for you, your majesty.” Daring said.
“I’m sure you’ll be a great help guiding Twilight and the others to Tirek’s hideout…” Celestia says, “I have faith in all of you together.”
She then brushes her horn against Daring’s mane, giving her the encouragement of good luck. Daring then rises up, looking at Twilight and her crew with a smirk. She then looks at Celestia, with Luna and Shining Armor by her.
“I won’t let you down.” Daring promises her.
She then looks at Twilight and the others, and waves her hoof so they could start their quest. Eleven of them then get acquainted with one another, and Shining Armor meets up with Twilight before she leaves. He gives her a tight hug.
“This is Tirek you’re dealing with…” he advises, “Please be safe…”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.” Twilight guarantees.
She then heads out to catch up with her friends.
Outside the path into the Everfree forest, the dogs prepare their bags, as the ponies prepare their tools, gears, and weapons for the journey. Spike even carries the food they need when camping in the unknown. Rainbow then looks at Discord.
“Can you spaz us up some adventuring clothes.” Rainbow asks him.
“I’m not in the mood for chaos because of Tirek…” Discord refuses.
“PLEASE!” she begs, grabbing his dragon leg, “I want to look cool for Daring Do…”
Discord was reluctant, but sighs as he looks into her puppy eyes. He moans, having adventuring shirts and pants appear on each member of the gang, including Rainbow. The pegasi then hugs him, and rushes over to hug Pinkie, who also is excited for the adventure as well.
“I’m sorry…” Discord tells Twilight and Applejack.
“We are too.” Twilight mumbles, “We don’t know how long she’s going to control her obsessions…”
“All right, are you guys ready?” Daring Do asks, as she looks at the others.
They all nod.
“All right, the first areas in the Everfree Forest is very dangerous. We’ll then be heading deeper into the amazon regions. So stay close.” Daring Do cautions, “Let’s go.”
They then walk slowly into the darkness, ready for the green inferno ahead of them.
Deeper and deeper into the Everfree Forest, the gang of eleven cuts their way through the braches, as Daring Do swings her machete against the vines and wood block their path. Twilight keeps close eye on the red diamond, flashing in the direction that Tirek is hiding. Rarity the eyes angrily at the diamond dogs, as she brushes into Twilight.
“Do THEY have to come along?” she whispers at her.
“They seem to be reforming like Discord.” Twilight lets her know, “Plus, their friend might be killed, and they can sense our enemies as much as Daring Do’s.”
“Dog instinct?” Rarity asks.
“Probably.” Twilight replies.
Right by the gang though, Spot suddenly notices something shinny.
“GEMS!” he cheers, looking at diamonds, “MINE!”
He jumps towards the, only to have Discord catch him.
“Nope. Our mission is the ponies. Not treasures.” Discord scolds.
“Darn…” Spot mutters.
Daring Do suddenly stops in her tracks.
“No… we should follow the gems…” Daring Do said.
“YES!” Spot barks.
“WHAT?” Discord said in shock.
“YES! WHAT?” Rarity protests, “How can you…”
“Look…” Daring Do said, picking up a rock.
She swings it toward the path in front of them, as if it were suddenly paved with sand and dirt. The disguise was all to perfect though, as it transformed into vicious giant teeth ripping out from the path ground, as the trail ground too becomes quicksand in the process. The ten characters scotch back in fear, as Daring turns to them.
“Ahuizotl anticipated us to think we’re making a selfless route.” Daring explains, “That’s why he laid certain traps all over the place by now, predicting anypony would follow him to attempt this rescue.”
“So… you’re saying he planted bobby traps… almost everywhere in this here amazons?” Applejack asks.
“I’m afraid so….” Daring sighs, “So Spot, pick up the gems and lead us to the new route.”
As Spot gladly does so, the rest of the ponies sigh in irritation, and follow the direction the dog is heading. The line of gems took a couple minutes, but eventually the trail ended. Fido bumps behind Spot, as he looks up at awe at the sight in front of them, along with the ponies.
It was some sort of temple, with an a certain entrance that’s a hundred feet high, and a wall length that looks like it’s miles long. There are even strange encrypted hieroglyphics of native ponies performing disturbing rituals from olden times. Vines cover the walls and entrance from top to bottom, with centipedes crawling through the cracks.
Fido then snags a gem from Spot.
“HEY!” the small dog protests.
Fido then holds the gem up towards one of the temple doors, squinting at one of the holes that looks like a keyhole.
“Those gems… look like keys…” Fido guesses.
“Really?” Rainbow asks, surprised.
“Yep…” Fido nods, “But why would our two enemies lay them out for us?”
“Because these ruins are nothing but a death trap.” Daring Do figure out, “No… a gambling game of survival. They want to challenge us… to see if we fail when going through this certain temple maze.”
“Oh! Is it like a puzzle?” Pinkie said in excitement.
“Yes…” Daring answers, “Here’s the serious part though… one wrong move in a section of these ruins… and you get stuck here for life…”
The gang shudders.
“In other words… this is a life or death maze…” Applejack said in fear.
“We have no choice…” Twilight said, “We must take this risk for the other ponies.”
“Then let’s start!” Pinkie beams, racing toward the temple.
“HOLD IT!” Daring said, blocking her path with her hoof.
She then takes off her hat, looking inside.
“All right little fella… I need your help again.” she whispers.
Inside her hat suddenly pops out a tarantula spider, grinning as looking at Daring Do.
“A SPIDER?” Rarity screams.
“Oh… it’s so adorable!” Fluttershy smiles.
“His name is Flytrapper.” Daring said, lowering him to the ground, “And you’re going to unlock the door for use with this gem.”
She then takes one gem from Spot, and hands it to the Spider.
“Can you do it?” Daring asks.
Flytrapper nods, and scuttles over through the open area that goes toward the giant temple.
“What a trusty sidekick and pet.” Spike grins.
“The best.” Daring smiles.
“This is pointless…” Spot mutters, “There are no traps…”
SWISH!
The gang jumps back, as they see arrows suddenly flying out from odd looking holes on the walls of the entrance. The blades are extremely sharp and big, they can skewer a pony painfully alive like a kabob. Flytrapper is quick, as he dodges the darting arrows while scuttling.
He then jumps towards the door, where sharp swords suddenly swing through the inner gap of the entrance that surrounds the door. Flytrapper then inserts the gem in the keyhole, and the door opens. When that happened, the trap weapons suddenly comes to a stop.
“After the door is unlocked, the traps come to a halt.” Daring explains, “The grass on the empty ground was actually disguised as a weight sensor floor that’s connected to the temple, ready to kill anypony who steps forth toward it.”
“Another one of Ahuizotl’s traps?” Fluttershy asks.
“Definitely.” Daring nods, “All right Flytrapper, come back.”
Her pet spider then runs back to her, nuzzling by her cheek as she picks him up.
“You did good.” she congratulates, while putting him back in her hat.
As she puts it back on, she heads towards the entrance.
“Follow me.” she instructs, “And stay together.”
“Right.” Twilight agrees.
They all go in a line, looking back at their last time outdoors before spending time in a cluster phobic maze filled with peril. They go in one by one, as Rainbow Dash is the last to go through the door. Then, as Spike, Discord, the dogs, and ponies are in the temple, the door quickly shuts behind them, sealing them in.
“All right…” Applejack sighs, “Better keep moving.”
As they look forward, they then see that there’s a fork of two different hallway directions.
“Should we even split up?” Rarity shudders.
“No, we’re going to stay together.” Daring Do assures, “ And I also say let’s go right.”
As she points that direction, the gang follows her as they go into the darkness of the hall.
The hall had some torches on the walls to bring in saturated light, reflecting onto the floor as the ponies can feel and her crunching of the tiny pebbles scattered on the path. The hall soon became bigger, and shaped like a tubed tunnel. In the middle of the path are circular sculptures of papaya fruits. Supporting the ceiling are circular columns, with hieroglyphic paintings of native ponies performing sacrifices to raise some sort of spirit from a sadistic dimension. Twilight grimaces at the violent imagery.
“You… don’t suppose Ahuizotl and Tirek are planning something like THIS, do you?” Fluttershy asks Twilight, as she looks at the paintings with her.
“Maybe…” Twilight thinks out loud, “But we better see for ourselves rather than jump to conclusions.”
It was a couple more minutes when the group kept walking, keeping their eyes peeled for anything that could trap them.
Then, they approach a door, leading into the first room of the caved labyrinth.
“We’ll go in one by one…” Daring Do instructs, “Go slowly…”
The gangs breathes slowly, as they walk silently without making any noise. The room they’re entering is lighted up with torches on the walls as well. In the square room, each corner has a crypt on four sides that are apart from one another. The door to the next hallway is just across from them as they enter. Spike gulps as he looks at the crypts, hearing some wind coming out from them.
“I think this room is…” Daring starts to whisper, as soon as all of them are in the room.
SLAM!
Behind them, they see the door they went through is sealed shut!
SLAM!
In front of them, the door to the next hallway is shut closed as well.
“WE’RE GOING TO DIE IN HERE FOR ETERNITY!” Rarity panics.
“I don’t think so…” Rainbow Dash said, as she looks at the lids from the crypts moving, “I think this is a fight to get out…”
“What makes you assume that?” Pinkie asks.
“BRAHHHH!”
Out of the for cryptic coffins, came out big beasts with bird wings on their backs, and sharp horns on their heads. Their claws are extremely sharp, and they carry black colored swords. Their eyes are even blood red.
“Child’s play…” Discord grins, as he attempts to use his chaos.
Before he can snap his fingers though, the first beast’s clawed hands grab hold of Discord’s talon. It gives him a painful shock, as a painful aura scatters through his body. Twilight and Rarity gallop over to help him, but the beast makes a counter attack with the chaos absorbed from Discord, shooting the two ponies back.
“A devil angel…” Daring Do tells Rainbow Dash, “They possess power from any being that carries magic. They’re nowhere between good and evil, yet they feel nothing.”
“So they don’t care if we get killed?” Applejack winches, as she rushes to rescue to Discord too.
“Yes…” Daring Do said, fighting another off, “But they aren’t immortal… so they have to have a weak spot.”
Spot cowers behind Fido, as the big dog pushes against the thorny arm that’s trying to pin him down. Fido pushes back, but the weight is almost too great for him, he can feel his bones nearly popping to nearly breaking. Spike then comes behind the devil angel, breathing his first might green flame for the first time. The burn scorches the beast, but it doesn’t back down. It only swings its hand to try and attack the dragon, as he jumps back.
Applejack grabs her lasso to then loop around the second devil angel’s ankles, making a knot and having it topple to the floor. Pinkie then attempts to do an arm hit from above, when flying towards its head. The beast gains strength though, and swings its fist at Pinkie to have her crash to the wall.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash stay close to Daring Do, as they then retrieve Discord from one of the devil angels.
“Their… source of magic is too great…” Discord said in shame, “I have no chance against them.”
“That’s no surprise…” Rainbow agrees, “No matter what we do, they won’t get killed by us.”
Daring Do then looks at the swords, as the next two beasts swing the black blades at them. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash panic, as they miss the cutting swing. Discord then grabs Daring Do as the next beast clings the sword to the floor with might sparks.
“All right… I don’t care if you guys don’t get destroyed by this…” Rainbow hisses at the devil angels, “But you’re going to taste my flight…”
As she speeds up, she has her hooves swing out punches as fast as she can, stabbing through the demonic beasts with her bullet speed. Smoke was the only blood from them though, as they have their bodies absorb the holes to close their wounds. However, they still groan at the strike they got.
“Ha! How does it feel?” she grins.
The beasts’ eyes then grow brighter, with its pupils showing tiny dots. Fluttershy then flies up to grab Rainbow, as she pulls her away from a might ray coming from the black sword. The firing beam makes a scorched mark at the top corner of the room, smoking…
“I don’t think that was a good idea…” Fluttershy whimpers to Rainbow Dash.
As the beast roars when nearing the two pegasi ponies, Daring Do flies upward to distract the devil angel. She then has it follow her, guiding it towards the second devil angel as it extends out its sword. She then flies downward, having the two beasts accidentally collide, as the sword blast evaporates BOTH of them.
As Fluttershy and Rainbow land on the ground, they watch in awe as they see Daring Do land softly, seeing her move to destroy the first two demons.
“They only die when one sword of theirs accidentally collides with another body of their own.” Daring explains, “The piercing makes the explosion great that both get destroyed.”
“But we still have two left.” Fluttershy points out.
“I know, that’s also the problem.” Daring seethes, “Now that the other two devil angels know about this attack, they’ll try and not fall for any of our attempts.”
“Gotta improvise then…” Rainbow nods.
As the three pegasi ponies fly upward, they assist Twilight as she flies to weaken one of the devil angels with her horn ray. The blast was only sucked in by the demon’s hand though, having it shoot out the same ray she made to strike her. She dodges, swooping down as she and Rarity go under the second devil angel.
Rarity shoots a beam from her horn to cut a gash through the demon’s artery, having it crotch down slowly.
“That will only slow it down…” Rarity tells Twilight, “It’s not like it will weaken it…”
“I know.” Twilight nods, as she runs with her.
Spot, Fido, Spike, and Discord suddenly realize their leaning their backs against one another, as they find themselves surrounded by the two devil angels now taking their interest towards them.
“Think… you can combine your chaos with my fire?” Spike asks Discord.
“It’s worth a shot.” the spirit of chaos nods.
As Spike takes another chance to weaken the demon, he breathes out another engulfing flames while Discord combines a yellow blur to stab through the devil angel’s legs. Fido then swings Spot around to have him pound another devil angel in the torso, having it fall onto the ground on it’s back. Spot jumps off, but is then grabbed by the throat by the devil angel. As it drags him upward, Spot chokes in fear. Then… he pulls something out from his vest pocket.
“Be fooled, fiend!” he hisses.
He then crushes a gem, and throws it against the devil angel’s eyes. The monster then drops Spot, covering its eyes as it shrieks like an eagle. It then looks at the other devil angel across from him, seeing it fight Rarity and Twilight. The image then starts to fog up reality, as the demon now sees the other devil angel as Discord, which really it isn’t. It creates its black sword once more, running toward the last devil angel.
Twilight gasps as she sees it come forward for the brainwashed attack, pushing Rarity aside with her. The devil angel makes the stab. A big aura bang is flashed.
FSSSH!
The last two devil angels are at last destroyed.
Rarity then turns to Spot.
“Elegant… work…” Rarity compliments reluctantly, “What was that?”
“A simple magic gem that fogs the enemies’ mind from reality.” Spot explains, “The dust simply fools the enemy to then attack the other one.”
“Not bad.” Daring grins, as she helps the others up.
Fido then looks at the diamond shaped keyhole in the door in front of them.
“Allow me.” Spike offers, as he takes the diamond.
He then walks over, and injects the gem into the keyhole. The hole then turns, as the door shifts upward, revealing another hallway. A line of torches even shine on the left side of the wall.
“Better keep moving.” Twilight said.
With that, the gang of eleven finally leaves the first stage of the tomb.
As they kept walking, Fluttershy notices the line of torches are coming to an end. The hallway becomes slightly dark, but thin rectangular holes on the top rims on the right side of the wall shine out sunlight. The lights from outside make rectangular shaped lights reflecting on the left side on the wall.
“Well, I’m no longer afraid of the dark…” the yellow pegasi hums.
“That was amazing back there!” Pinkie cheers as she hops, “We really put up a fight with these baddies.”
“We almost got killed too.” Rarity huffs, “This isn’t a joyride you know.”
“Yeah… she’s right…” Applejack admits, “Take it seriously. Remember, this is a win win situation on life or death.”
“Pffft. Okay.” Pinkie sighs.
Daring Do squints her eyes as they walk, seeing specks of dust shine through the lights. She then sees another white hue shinning at the end of the hallway. It had to be the next room.
“I think THIS will be even HARDER than the last room.” Daring warns.
“We’re ready for ANYTHING.” Rainbow promises.
After a circular turn, the team enters through a circular doorway. The next challenge was as they anticipated. WORSE.
The circular floor in front of them is cracked, and it’s a certain kind of cliff overlooking a deep pit, dropping into a circular pool of burning acid below. A floating slab with railings then circles around the room, as if it’s part of the brain mastering game. The other side from the cliff end they’re at also faces a circular floor that’s at least twenty feet away from them, also high up from the pit, but the same level with the floor the team is standing on. There’s even a coffin in the middle of that floor on the other side, and two bridges connected to two doorways that lead to different hallways after they cross. The walls themselves are stone grey.
“We can help others fly across with us.” Rainbow thinks out loud.
“I wouldn’t bet on it…” Daring Do advises.
She picks up a pebble on the floor by her, and throws it into the pit. With the tiny rock just falling halfway, something sensed it and INSTANTLY reacts. A GIANT STONED worm with a BIG CIRCULAR MOUTH rises up from the acidic water to eat the rock. Its teeth go around the circular mouth, and they are EXTREMELY sharp. Its inside of the mouth is colored red, and it makes a firing roar as it goes back down.
Fluttershy and Rarity nearly faint at the grotesque peril in front of them, as Spike and Discord catch them.
“I don’t think my chaos can go against that beast either…” Discord sighs.
“But we still have that floating slab.” Spike points out, “However, if the monster sense us again…”
Daring Do paces around, rubbing her hoof under her chin.
“Oh boy! She’s thinking of a plan!” Rainbow squeaks.
“Not when you keep squeaking…” Daring points out.
“Sorry…” Rainbow corrects herself.
Daring Do looks at the floating slab circling around the room again, seeing it go over the dangerous pit below.
“I think I have a strategy for us… it may be the only way to get across…” Daring plans.
She then looks at the coffin in the middle of the floor across them.
“But we also better expect to be attacked by another… thing… once we get across.” she adds.
