Daring Do and the Necklace of Adipone
Daring Do luxuriously stretched out her legs as she curled up in her favourite chair, after returning home the night prior. Another great adventure was behind her, and another artifact was rescued from Ahuizotl's clutches and on its way to the Museum of Equestrian History in Manehattan. A small chuckle escaped her as she pictured her archenemy's ranting in her head.
With her thirst for adventure sated for now, all she wanted to do was relax at home for a couple of days, maybe a week, before she decided to go hunt down another ancient treasure. Where would she go next? Perhaps Trottingham, or Saddle Arabia? Griffonstone maybe?
A smirk crossed her muzzle as the call to adventure was already starting to buzz in the back of her head. Who said she had to wait before getting back out there? She was her own boss.
Before she could hop off her chair and peruse her shelf of books and ancient tomes, a creaking sound came from the door, followed by the sound of paper falling on the hardwood floor. The mail, she assumed.
She gave her wings a small stretch, letting out a comfortable moan, and gave herself a little hop to glide across the room to the door. The envelope was rather thick, bulging a little from having more than just a letter inside. Of course, Daring's curiosity flared up.
Wasting no more time, she took it to her desk, lifted the flap and pulled out the letter. There was something else inside, but she would get to that in a moment.
Dear Ms. Do,
I would like to begin this letter by saying how much I admire your work. As an aspiring archaeologist myself, I have followed you and your discoveries for a long time now. I'm not ashamed to say I'm a big fan.
That said, I've written to you to provide you with potentially another caper. I've come across a map that leads to, according to my research, someplace called the Tomb of Adipone. I haven't found much about it, just that it's the resting place of the leader of a lost civilisation. I've also heard rumours that there is a treasure there! Though, I've read that the treasure actually wants you to take it, which sounds curious, doesn't it?
I haven't gone to check it out myself - I thought I'd leave that honour to you. You're the expert after all. I can't wait to read all about it!
Best wishes,
A long-time fan
Now this was peculiar. Why would some random pony decide to send her information to potential treasure when they could just go for it themselves?
No, she thought, pushing the letter away, it had to be a trap. No doubt it was that snake Cabailleron setting her up for an ambush.
But on the other hoof, what if it was the real thing? What if it was a fan of her work? She was no stranger to being recognised, and many had come up to her to commend her for her findings and discoveries.
For curiosity's sake, she dumped the squared up paper on the desk and unfolded it to reveal a translucent sheet with a circle on it, near the bottom. She blinked as she tried to make sense of what she was looking at. What kind of map was this? What could this possibly mean?
On a whim, she pulled a map of Equestria over and put the two papers side by side. Perhaps there was a connection?
Then it came to her. Both sheets were similar in size, and if the one with the circle was see-through...
She put the map beneath it, and the circle covered a part of the Forbidden Jungle, near the temple where she'd found the Ring of Destiny with Rainbow Dash.
"Pfft, too easy," she scoffed quietly, a lopsided smirk on her muzzle, "might as well have just told me the directions, buddy."
Daring wasted no time in preparing; she gathered her usual supplies into her saddlebag and put together a couple of bits for a train ticket to the station nearest to the jungle. She'd take off first thing in the morning, after a good night's rest.
Her break wasn't going to be as long as she'd expected, but she honestly didn't care. Adventure had come knocking, and as always, she was leaving the door wide open.
A harsh sigh escaped Daring Do as she slumped against a tree in the jungle, wiping sweat off her forehead. She'd had quite the journey so far - after getting off the train at Dodge Junction, she had travelled a small ways across the desert till she reached the Badlands, where she had quite a time getting past the lizards and scorpions populating the hot rocky terrain.
The Hayseed Swamps came next, and she had chosen to hover over the marshes rather than risk slipping on a mossy rock and falling into the bog to meet her fate as a snack for an alligator.
Once she reached the edge of the Forbidden Jungle, she returned to her hooves to give her wings a rest. Snakes, spiders, and the occasional timberwolf crossed her path, but she avoided them without much trouble.
All in all, so far it was a pretty standard morning for Daring Do.
She took the opportunity to review her course. She took out the map, with her destination still circled on it, and compared it to her compass. If her sense of direction was correct, and it almost always was, it was just an hour's worth of walking south-east until she reached this Tomb of Adipone.
Her giddiness filled back up and a grin crossed her muzzle as she rolled the map back up. She wasn't used to having so little information regarding a treasure, but that was what drove her the most. The sheer mystery that been hoof-wrapped and given to her by her mysterious supporter. While the whole thing reeked of suspicion, she knew her urge for adventure wouldn't let her just consider it a prank and leave it alone. She had to find this Tomb, and see what this treasure was it held.
Once her hooves stopped aching, she got back up and continued her trek through the deep jungle.
After an hour of walking, it seemed that Daring's assumption was indeed correct. In a wide clearing of the dense trees, the archaeologist had come across quite the interesting sight. A house-shaped dome stood tall before her, made of ancient stone, and the doors sealed shut for what seemed like centuries.
Daring's heart fluttered with excitement. This had to be the Tomb of Adipone!
As she approached, she could see the doors had some kind of mural on them, mostly worn away by time but she could make it out. On one door was a rather plump mare with her hooves resting on her round paunch. Some lines stuck out from her stomach, as if depicting it growling with hunger. On the other door, a large banquet table with cakes, pies and all kinds of sweets piled onto it.
She looked around the door, trying to find a way to open it. She lifted moss for buttons, rooted through weeds for levers, and flew around the rounded stone building for a loose rock. She even checked the surrounding foliage for some kind of mechanism. But despite using all of her experience and intuition as an archaeologist, there didn't seem to be any way to open these doors.
But Daring wasn't one to quit that easy. She returned to the large stone doors, and regarded the mural on them. Maybe it had some kind of clue she was missing?
The plump mare, the table of desserts, they had to mean something...aside from being the most appetising mural she had ever seen. That mare on the mural was pretty lucky, having all those treats to eat up, seemingly all to herself...
Grrrruuuuwwwll...
Daring blushed as her stomach growled with hunger. Obviously she was finished with her breakfast and her body was demanding some lunch next. She put a hoof to her belly and rubbed it.
CLUNK!
Her ears pricked up as some kind of large mechanism sounded nearby. Her eyes widened as the stone doors shuddered, and slowly opened inward. She could go inside!
But, what caused the doors to open? She didn't say any passwords or push any buttons, she just sat there and rubbed her stomach.
Unless...unless her getting hungry was the trigger to open the door? Now that would be some interesting magic. She'd have to look into it when she got home. But for now, she hopped onto her hooves and trotted inside the Tomb of Adipone.
She passed the stone doors, and entered a pitch black room. She squinted into the darkness, but couldn't even make out any outlines. What little light she had was provided by the doorway, but she had realised too late that the doors were closing on her own. She tried to pull them back open in a slight panic, but it was too late and the doors were too heavy. Only the smallest sliver of sunlight through the crack remained.
At least, until the torch sconces suddenly burst alight, lighting up the room on their own. Daring gave a small sigh of relief now that she could see, and assumed this was some kind of entrance hall from how empty it was, minus some markings on the wall and a rather large doorway leading to a downward tunnel.
"Let's get to the bottom of this," Daring muttered to herself and trotted for the tunnel, "this tomb, at least."
Daring kept her wits about her as she descended further into the tomb. Torches lit up on their sconces as she went, as if some kind of presence was guiding her through. That alone was enough to get her wariness flowing. Who knew what other secrets this crypt held.
Though, strangely enough, so far there had been no traps. No puzzles to test her intelligence or experience. No secret buttons or levers to hidden passages or certain doom. Despite its winding tunnels and the air getting staler, it certainly was quite a lazy tomb.
Though, it did mean it didn't take her long to reach the main sanctum. The lights eventually led her to the end of a tunnel, and once she stepped a hoof further, more torches blazed to life as she found herself in an enormous rounded room, big enough to fit a house into. In the middle of the room sat what seemed to be an enormous round table that took up a lot of the floor. Daring approached it and gingerly placed a hoof over the edge.
Beyond the table, beyond a few steps stood what Daring assumed to be a throne, though the size of it made it look more like a stone couch. A cushion was fitted into the seat, and despite the dusty murk of the tomb, even from that distance it looked rather comfortable. The light caused something in the middle of the seat to twinkle, which naturally attracted the explorer's attention.
Daring hopped onto the table and crossed it, using her wings to glide over the steps and onto the throne. The twinkling was coming from a necklace, with a small silver chain and three jewels embedded into it. Daring's eyes widened as she marvelled at its beauty, and every bone in her body was urging her to swipe it.
Though, a thought appeared in the back of her head, which quickly forced herself to the front. A thought that said instead of just taking the necklace, she should wear it. Keep it for herself.
Daring was no stranger to the urge, and always managed to fight it off despite how tempting it was. But this time, it was taking more willpower than usual. Maybe a bit too much. She shouldn't be so interested in a necklace she'd probably find in the window of a Canterlot jewellery store, but...there was something about it. Something saying that she wanted this necklace. That she needed it.
She stared at it, her hooves pattering anxiously on the stone floor. She bit her lip as she tried to fight the urge, but the more she denied it, the stronger it grew.
"Oh, fine," she sighed, snatching the necklace up in her hoof, "I'll try it on... just for a second." She took off her plithe helmet and flipped the wide silver loop over her neck.
She barely got her helmet back on before she was suddenly overcome with an intense pang. She doubled over, falling onto her haunches and clutching her stomach as it nearly snarled with hunger. She gritted her teeth as the growls echoed through the large room.
"How am I so hungry already?" She murmured, "I ate supplies in the tunnels! All of them! Maybe it's...time...to..." She trailed off as she spotted something peculiar on the huge circular table. Specifically, it had suddenly been filled to the brim with cakes, ice cream, pies, muffins, cupcakes, brownies and all other kids of desserts Daring could think of. And either they were closer than she thought, or they were huge!
Her mouth watered at the sight, and her eyes widened in disbelief. Where in Equestria had all these treats come from so quickly? She was looking at an empty table just moments ago, and now the stone seemed ready to buckle with the enormous delights seemingly waiting for her. Almost like the tomb knew she was hungry, and was acting like a generous host to its unexpected visitor.
The temptation within her grew, and she licked drool off her lips. "I suppose I can stay for just a bite," she purred quietly, not realising she had sat herself down on the ancient yet plush cushion of the large throne. Her grin grew even larger as a bowl of vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce lifted itself up into the air and hovered up to Daring's muzzle. The silver handle of a spoon stuck out from the side.
"Well that's convenient," she giggled greedily, before grabbing the spoon in her hoof and taking the first mouthful. To her mild surprise, the ice cream was nicely chilled. Her eyes shot wide open as the sweet taste of chocolate and vanilla exploded onto her taste buds, and her senses sent a quick signal into her brain.
More. More! Eat MORE! was all her brain told her. And she happily obliged. She began shovelling spoonful after spoonful of the cold treat into her mouth, moaning with delight as she felt each one slide down her throat and into the pit of her stomach. Before she knew it, she had poured the melted remains at the bottom of the bowl into her mouth, and it was empty.
But before she could sound her disappointment that her treat was finished, the bowl was whisked away by an unseen magical force, and replaced by a blueberry pie topped with whipped cream. Daring guessed it had to be the size of a carriage wheel! Daring wasted no time in digging in.
However, what Daring hadn't realised in her sweet nirvana, was that something was happening to her. Her body was beginning to change.
Her belly, where the food was being packed into, started to develop a round little paunch. And as she kept eating, that paunch got larger and rounder, ballooning as pure adipose layered around it. Her shirt was starting to get snug, flab bulging out from beneath it, as well as between its buttons.
Her compass cutie mark began to expand, to fit her growing flanks. This meant her plot was ballooning, filling up more and more of the throne as she ate. Her black tail, wagging with gluttonous glee, looked smaller and smaller in comparison.
Her cheeks began to creep into her peripheral vision as they rounded up, and a slab of fat began to hang below her chin.
But of course, Daring was far too busy eating to care, or to even realise. Nor had she realised that no matter how much she was eating, she felt no more full. Or that the feast seemed to regenerate with everything she ate.
The necklace's jewels almost glowed, like it was fuelling and feeding off its host's pure greed...
Eventually, Daring Do had to sit back and take a break from her feast. Not out of stomach pangs or feeling she'd been there too long, but to relax her hooves and jaw for a while. Her thick hooves rested on her belly, unknowingly sinking into its new layers of pure blubber.
She let out a contented sigh, followed by a wet burp. "Talk about a feast~" she purred, licking at the cream, sauce and crumbs staining and colouring her muzzle and hooves.
The ominous creaking of her shirt's stitching finally ceased, with a POP POP! of its black buttons which shot in different directions across the throne room. Her thick upper legs caused its sleeves to tear, allowing the tan-furred fat to bulge out free.
"Oof," she grunted, rubbing at her belly again, "dunno what that was, but it sure feels better...in fact, I could go for some of that cheesecake there~"
Almost like the throne room itself was obeying her request, the carriage-sized, multilayer strawberry cheesecake hovered up to the massive mare, and she rubbed her hooves greedily. "Oh yeah, that's the stuff~"
And just like that, she was back to eating again. First the cake, then some pies, then some more ice cream, then a few chocolate puddings...
"This way, you fools," a stallion growled in a gruff but exotic accent, "just follow the torches."
"Boss, are you sure she's here?" Another stallion whimpered in an Equestrian accent, "I mean, how do we know?"
"Because the torches are lit, you idiot," the 'boss' grunted irritably, "that means she's been here. Use your brain for once."
A group of stallions entered the Tomb of Adipone's throne room, led by an intense looking earth pony with a messy black mane rough-furred muzzle, wearing a polkadot neckerchief under his tan shirt and sporting a golden skull as a cutie mark. A trio of rough looking but well-dressed earth ponies followed after him.
The four halted as they tried to believe what was before their eyes. They weren't sure if it was a pony or not, because it looked an awful lot like a massive, house-sized blob covered in tan fur, sporting a tiny bit of black hair on its head. Its hooves wiggled uselessly, partially sucked into its own blubber, as it fed on a massive chocolate cake being held to its mouth by magic.
The first stallion was the first to react, with a hearty cackle of triumph as he walked around the large table of food. "Haha! I knew she'd fall for it!"
One henchpony eyed up the food, while the other stared at the massive blob of pony feasting on it, his cheeks turning pink. Only the third could find his voice. "Uh, fall for what, boss?"
"The Curse of Adipone, you fool!" He snickered, and pointed to the jewelled necklace gleaming on the blob pony, beneath the landslide of chins. "The Queen of Adipone was the most gluttonous ruler in Equestria history, doing nothing but sit on that throne and eat. Her necklace was her most prized possession, aside from her army of chefs, and when a starving zebra traveller asked for a share of her food, she denied her because it meant less food for her. So her necklace was cursed with her gluttony after she died."
He put a hoof on the stone table holding the food. "In fact, this table is her coffin!"
"So anypony who saw the necklace would want to wear it, and anypony who wore it would want to eat?" The henchpony guessed.
"For eternity." The boss snickered.
"So that's why you had us forge that letter to her!"
He nodded and placed a hoof on Daring Do's belly, sinking in up to the elbow. "Now that she's indisposed, nothing can get in my way! All the world's treasures will be mine!"
CLICK!
The four ponies blinked at the sound, and watched the Necklace of Adipone slide down Daring's enormous dome of a belly and land on the stone floor with a jingle. Her neck had gotten so thick that the silver chain could take no more strain!
The food on the table dissipated into thin air as if made of dust, including the cake Daring was helping herself to.
The stallions stared at the necklace, all looking rather captivated by its beauty, and the boss stepped forward. "Plus, a little bonus helps..."
One henchpony flanked him. "Hey, can I wear it, boss?"
Another took his other side. "Nah, lemme wear it. I'd look better with it."
The third said nothing - he simply barged passed them in an attempt to grab it for himself.
All Tartarus broke loose as the four ponies dived onto each other, yelling and tumbling over one another in a dust pile as they tried to grab the coveted necklace.
The fog in Daring Do's mind began to clear, and her thoughts were returning to her. "Oof...what the...?"
She tried to move, but made absolutely no progress. It didn't take her long to realise what had happened to her, despite being barely able to move her neck from how much fat had accumulated on it.
"What in Equestria...?" She grunted, her voice deeper and slower from the fat pressing into her vocal chords.
She couldn't see past her massive dome of a belly, but she could make out a familiar voice amongst a tussle. She scowled as much as her fat-laden face would let her.
Dr. Caballeron.
She began rocking herself as hard as she could. No progress at first, but her weight began to shift. She made more and more distance, much to her exhaustion from how heavy she had gotten and how much effort it was taking, but eventually, she had dislodged herself from the massive throne.
Dr. Caballeron's triumphant cackle of claiming the Necklace of Adipone was cut off by his getting flattened by a ton-heavy blob of Daring Do, whose thick hooves, sucked into her leg fat, had no hope of reaching the floor, and whose carriage-sized flanks wiggled helplessly in the air. Her compass cutie mark looked more like a large sundial. Even her wings had flopped down lazily from how thick they were with fat.
"Gotcha, Caballeron!" She grunted, not sure if he had heard her or not. She was about to give him another 'Bad guys never win' speech, but some squirming from beneath her massive belly made her giggle and chuckle from how much it tickled.
The three henchponies managed to escape their confinement beneath the giant blob mare, but their employer could only get his head free.
"Drat," he snarled while gasping for air, "the necklace's curse must have broken when it snapped off!"
"Looks like, I win, again, Caballeron," Daring grunted, taking frequent pauses for air herself, but more because talking was taking more effort than usual, "and you're stuck, down there, until I, get back, to normal...!"
Caballeron growled at the predicament he was in. "Curse you, Daring Do!" He glared at his henchponies, who were either given him awkward looks, or staring up at Daring's massive frame while squirming their hind legs. "Don't just stand there, you idiots! Go and get a weight loss potion or something!"
The three suddenly snapped to attention and scrambled for the exit.
Daring smirked and called after them. "Maybe, bring back, a little bite, to eat too? I'm feeling, starved...!"
