Daring Do Adventures: Daring Do And The Griffin's Goblet

Chapters

Chapter 2: "Daring's Determination."
Chapter 3: "Kamara Mista."
Chapter 4: "Coco's Bazaar Trades and Goods."
Chapter 5: "The Rise Of the Storm's Vengeance."
Chapter 6: "Myths and Legends."
Chapter 7: "Stowaways."
Chapter 9: "Cat and Mouse."
Chapter 10: "Hunt for the Goblet."
Chapter 11: "The Griffin's Goblet."
Chapter 12: "The Spy."
Chapter 13: "Race to Kamara Mista."
Chapter 14: "A City Built By Talons and Hooves."
Chapter 15: "The Gates Of Kamara Mista."
Chapter 16: "Waters Of Life."
Chapter 17: "Flight Beyond Flight."
Chapter 18: "The Journal."
Chapter 19: "The Journey Home."
Chapter 20: "Epilogue."
Chapter 1: "An Unexpected Visitor."
Chapter 8: "The Pony Who Could Fly."

Chapter 2: "Daring's Determination."

Chapter 2: “Daring’s Determination.”

Daring ran as fast she could through the halls of the university, looking for Storm Talon. The one person (er,Griffin) that she knew would have the info she needed. There was no one in Equestria more qualified to talk about griffin history. This was not only because he was one, but because he had in fact lived through much of it. She burst through the door, panting,holding the letter under wing. Storm looked up from his studies. “Daring?” Storm asked in his usual gruff, yet intelligent tone. He looked a bit annoyed. “What have I told you about running in the halls?” he asked. “Y’know I'm supposed to be chastising students about this, you’re a professor for Celestia’s sake!” Storm was clearly annoyed, But Daring couldn’t have cared less in this situation.

“Storm?” she asked.

“Yes?”

“Two things. One: Shut Up. Two: Read this.” Daring handed Storm the letter shed received. Storm took the letter in his talon.

“And whats this? Some kind of-“ he stopped noticing the wax seal on the envelope. “Wait a minute…that’s the seal of…the Old Kingdom.” Storm said bewildered. His eyes widened. “I haven’t seen this outside of textbooks. Back from the days of the Elders almost!” He remarked still amazed at seeing the seal. Storm looked over at Daring. “Where did you get this?” he asked still surprised. Daring do rarely ever wore a serious expression. But this time her face was serious enough to give even Storm talon shivers. “Read it storm.” She said clearly.

Storm held the letter up,and scanned its first few paragraphs quickly. His eyes widened behind his half-moon spectacles. He could scarcely believe what he had just read. He looked over at Daring. “Do you know if this is true?” he asked earnestly. Daring’s face didn’t show that she was sure of anything right now. She only looked down at her fore hooves and gave a weak smile. “It…was the place he was looking for.Y’know,when he…” Daring’s voice trailed off.

Just then Herpy,who had shortly given chase to see what Daring was so concerned with,burst into the room,panting and out of breath. He gave himself a moment to catch his breath. “D-Daring! *cough* There you are!” he exclaimed. Herpy was confused and exhausted. He only wanted to know if his boss (and friend) was alright. “Are you okay?” he asked Daring. Daring had her back to him and said nothing, for she was too lost in thought. “what’s in the letter?” He asked, his curiosity becoming lethal at this point. Neither Storm nor Daring said anything for a minute. Then Storm piped up.
“You best read it for yourself.” Said storm solemnly. The old griffin handed Herpy the letter,who took it with trembling hooves.

Herpy read it aloud.

Long Ago, there was a city in the sky. Larger than Stormton. More populated than Cloudsdale. And with more riches then even the wealthiest of equestrians could hope to attain. And at its center, something far more valuable. The city was lost long ago, in a great battle of hoof and talon. It secrets hidden away from prying eyes and greedy hooves. They say that it vanished in the night, never to be seen again. That no natural force may find it again.

I have a feeling, you’re intimately aware of this legend,Ms.Do. One does remember their favorite bedtime stories for a life time after all. But its more then that,you and I both know. And now there is news from the coast of Zebrica of odd cloud formations. Stories from pilots and pegasi alike of lightning storms and strange magic. Perhaps the one who read you those stories, will be waiting.

I hear he misses you. Best of Luck.

You know what you must find.

Herpy finished reading the letter with his eyes wide. If his hooves weren’t shaking before, they were practically vibrating at this point. The room was quiet for several moments. No one said a word,as Daring,Storm and Herpy were all too shocked and lost in thought to say anything. Finally, Herpy broke the silence. “I-Is It?” Herpy squeaked. “Daring answered Herpy’s question before he asked it.

“Yes…My father.”

She looked up, her face determined. She spun on her hoof,and ran out of storm’s office at a brisk pace. The page and the professor stumbled to keep up with her. The three ran through the halls of the university,garnering several surprised looks and remarks from the students walking though them. Herpy,still tired from chasing after daring before,called out. “W-where are you going?” He called to daring. Daring slowed down as they walked through a slippery hallway that had just been freshly waxed that morning.

Daring didn’t look back as she spoke. ‘To the library. Then to Coco’s… Then to Zebrica.” She said determined. This time Storm voiced his opinion.

“You can’t just wander off again, you only just got back!” he exclaimed, thoroughly surprised. Daring didn’t answer but kept up her pace as they continued through the waxed hallway. Storm,thinking he was being ignored tried to reach daring again. “Masra will have your head.” He warned. Daring didn’t reply with her usual clever quips or remarks. This situation was much too serious to joke,and she knew that.

“If this is my chance to finally find him…she can have my legs too.” Daring said seriously. Needless to say,both Herpy and Storm were taken aback by this remark. The three continued to walk, as they made their way through the entrance hall to the library. Storm sighed. “I suppose there’s no stopping you is there Daring?” He sighed. “Nope.” Daring answered plainly.

Storm sighed again. He knew his part to play in Daring’s adventures by now. “Fine…Ill cover your classes, then.” Storm said. ‘I wish you luck, wherever this message takes you-“ Storm was interrupted by Daring .

“You’re coming with me.” Daring said plainly. Storm stopped dead in his tracks. He struggled to find words that expressed just how surprised he was. He settled for a traditional response. “What!?” he exclaimed. Daring gave a smile as she trotted along the hall. “This is a griffin’s seal. This is a griffin’s dagger. And this is a griffin’s legend.” Daring glanced back at Storm and smiled slyly. “I’m gonna need a Griffin expert with me.” Storm was speechless. “You’re the only one here who fits that bill.

“Besides…Don’t you wanna find him?” She added hopefully. Storm collected himself, and put on a determined look.

“Of course I do. But we have no idea if this letter is genuine.” Storm explained. Daring smiled.

“I’m gonna find out. Now, come on were wasting time.” Daring said picking up the pace again.

Storm marched alongside her. “I’m a professor Daring! And unlike you I don’t go swanning off on adventures and leave my students behind!” Daring stopped and turned to face Storm.

“Storm-“

“I mean there’s a test coming up,that I have to present to a lecture hall!”

“Storm.”

“I mean I have a responsibility, to instill knowledge in the minds of those young up and comers. Pony or otherwise. And I intend to keep-“

“Its Spring break!” Daring finally exclaimed, her voice echoing in the now empty hall.

Storm blinked. “What?” He asked, utterly taken back.

“Spring break starts in like, two hours.”

Storm looked around. While they had been talking, Students had been gathering their things, chatting with one another, saying goodbye to friends and teachers, and leaving through various exits out into the warm spring daylight. The entire school was now empty, save for a few teachers.

“Oh.” Storm said, now utterly embarrassed.

Daring smiled. “Now shake a mechanical leg. We need to get to the library.” Daring turned towards Herpy, who had been watching earnestly from behind Storm. “Herpy, I need you to locate a book for me.”

Herpy gave a smile. “Right away, Daring.” He exclaimed. With that, Daring turned and opened the doors that opened into the library.

Chapter 3: "Kamara Mista."

Chapter 3: “Karma Mishta.”

The Library of Canterlot University was huge, packed with tomes from every continent, in every known language, from every time period, a pony could imagine. It was quite a feat to find a tome amongst its winding shelves. It might take hours, before they found the book of their choice. Fortunately Herpy was no ordinary pony. He happened to be the best page this side of Equestria. His eyes darted over the many books in each row with calculated precision. He read each subject aloud as he searched for the book he was looking for. “Genies, Ghosts, Ghouls,Giant…Griffin!” Herpy grabbed a heavy leather bound tome from the shelf, then hurried back to the tables where Daring and Storm waited.

“Here you go Daring. The Compendium of Griffanian History.” Herpy stated proudly,setting the book down on the table with a heavy thud.

Daring smiled at her friend. “Thank you Herpy.” She turned to Storm,who was admiring the intricate design on the front of the book. “Now Storm,the legend were interested in,has to be in here.” Daring tapped the book with her hoof, letting up a small cloud of dust. “But its in Old Griffanian,and you’re the only one who can translate it.” Daring said, smiling at Storm.

Storm actually looked eager to read through a book containing the entire history of the old Griffinanian dynasty. “Of course.” He said adjusting his half moon spectacles, and opening the heavy book, scattering more dust into the air. “Tell me what it is your looking for.” Storm said, ignoring the coughing of both his colleagues.

After the dust had cleared,Daring sighed before answering Storm. “The Legend Of Kamara Mista.” She said clearly. “And the location of the Griffin’s Goblet.’ She added.

Storm gave a weak smile as he turned the pages of the book. “I figured as much.” He said, scanning the many dusty worn pages.He stopped on a a segment of several pages that had been written in elegant strokes of various lines and wing patterns. The language of the Old Griffins. “Now before I start. Are you sure you want to do this?” Storm asked,looking up at Daring. Daring gave a puzzled look. “Whoever sent you that letter,probably has an agenda of their own.” Storm stated clearly.

Daring chuckled. “And if they want to discuss it, I’m all ears. In the meantime, I’m going.” She stated with a smile.

Storm nodded. “Very well. Though I don’t know why you have me reading this. You grew up with this story.” He said,his eyes still on Daring.

Daring gave a quick glance down at the book. “I know. But I wanna hear it straight from the griffin’s mouth. I need to be as precise as possible if I want to reach the city.” Daring said in a serious tone.

Storm had never seen Daring so serious before. This truly did mean something to her. Perhaps more than anything else shed ever encountered in her career. Either Career. He smiled warmly,but said nothing as he found the first chapter that detailed the legend of Kamara Mista. “Ah,here it is.” He said. Storm cleared his throat,then let out an incredibly high pitched screech that sounded as if an eagle had just screamed into a microphone. Daring and Herpy covered their ears to protect them from the eardrum bursting sound. Luckily Storm stopped,seeing them recoil as they did.

Daring uncovered her ears slightly. “Please read in Equestrian,Storm.” She sighed,her ears still throbbing from the sound. Storm,who had apparently been completely unphased by the head splitting wail he'd just let out,looked up at his colleagues from the book.

“Hm?...Oh! Yes of course.” He said casually. “Sorry about that.” He added as Herpy gingerly uncovered his ears. Storm cleared his throat again, and began to read. This time in Equestrian.

The Legend Of Kamara Mista,The Great Cloud City

Long ago, The Great Queen created the world and the elder days began. But soon there was a terrible war,and the races of the world were scattered and divided. They fought against one another,and there was much suffering. In these dark days,griffins preyed upon ponies at will. But there came a day when the griffins renounced their ways. And proposed a new endeavor. Together,Griffins and Ponies would create a great city in the sky.

By the might of the griffins,the magic of the unicorns,the will of the pegasai and the dedication of the earth ponies,a city was created. It was called Kamara Mista, and the clouds were enchanted with great magic,such that even unicorns and earth ponies could walk upon them with ease. One cloud was the greatest of all, it stood grandly in the center of the city and it was called Karma Serena. The cloud brought beautiful, unending rain such as no creature had ever seen before. A magic goblet collected its water, and those who drank of it were blessed with magical flight beyond imagining. Ponies and griffins delighted in their achievements and there was peace throughout the city.

But peace did not last forever. A group of griffins, lead by a winged sorcerer called Grentor, grew angry at their brethren and the ponies they lived and played with. They did not want to share the power of the cloud. They planned and they schemed, even turning some of the more wicked ponies to their cause. Once their strength was built, they attacked their enemies. Griffin against pony and even griffin against griffin, fought for control of the city. Hooves met beaks,and claws ripped at hides. The battle lasted for days, fierce and unceasing.
Until finally, the sky darkened and the ground rumbled. All were confused ,until suddenly a great voice was heard, Bellowing from the magic cloud. It decreed:

“The harmony that wrought my creation is broken. Instead of joy, I see only fighting and unhappiness. This great city is no longer a place of peace…But one of war. I have granted you great flight, and you have repaid me with naught but childish squabble. If you cannot maintain harmony in my presence, then I shall expel you.”

A great wind blew through the city, renouncing all from its walls. But Grentor sought to ensure he would find the city again and take the cloud for his own. As the wind howled, he cast a spell upon the goblet of the cloud, and the cloud itself. He said “This goblet shall leave its place and descend to the surface. When it is met with the gift of a griffin, the city shall be found again.” And it was so.

But his efforts were for naught, as the wind grew in strength,the goblet was ripped from Grentor’s talons and carried away to the horizon. Grentor searched all his life for the place where the goblet fell. But he was never successful. Because of his curse,it is now called The Griffin’s Goblet.”

Storm Finished reading. “That is all it has to say on the matter.” He said shutting the book gently. Daring and Herpy both sat together at the table,eyes wide and chins resting on their hooves. Daring had been completely captivated with hearing her favorite story from her childhood again,after so many years. She was reminded of when her father sat her upon his knee and read from his own copy of the book,when she was barely a filly.

She was brought back to the present when Herpy voiced his own amazement. “Wow. And you think your father might have found it?” Herpy asked Daring who had turned to look at him.

Daring thought for a moment. “I don’t know.” Then she stood up from her seat,hooves on the table,and smiled slyly. “But there's only one way to find out.” Daring looked over at Storm who was now cleaning his spectacles on his own cotton cloth he kept on his person. She smiled with determination. “Storm, pack your things.” Storm didn’t have time to respond,because Herpy responded first.

“B-But wait! You're going to fly to Zebrica,to find a long lost artifact. Use that long lost artifact to locate a long lost city. And search that long lost city for your father…Over Spring Break!?” Herpy exclaimed, not taking even a single breath. "That’s only one week! You'll never make it back in time!” Herpy added,clearly freaking out.

Storm walked over and put a talon on Herpy’s shoulder to calm him. “Herpy,my boy. I'm going to ask you a favor.” Herpy calmed down for a second,until he realized what this favor was going to be.

“W-wait…No,no way!” He exclaimed.

Daring looked over at him with a warm smile. “well try to be back in a week. But if we don’t make it..."

Herpy struggled to speak,but only worried mumbles came out.

“There's a class that Monday. Its only a lecture,you'll be fine.” Storm said reassuringly. “Well probably be back before then in any case.”

Herpy tried to find his voice,as he said ”B-but I'm not a professor-“

Daring casually didn’t wait for Herpy to finish and according to her Herpy would do it. “Then its settled.” She said smiling. “See ya later Herpy!”

Daring and storm talon began to make their way through the library doors,before Herpy called out to them,sounding terrified. “B-but wait! I cant!” he sputtered.

Daring peeked back into the room. “I'll tell Coco you said Hi!” she said with a smile.

Herpy found enough volume in his voice for one more go at speaking actual words. “But Daring!” he exclaimed as the doors finally shut,leaving him alone in the library.

Storm and Daring made their way back through the school. "So,what now?” storm asked.

“We head out,that's what.” Daring answered. She ran over the mental checklist she'd made in her head. “First we need to find the goblet.” She said clearly “If we find that,we find Kamara Mista.” She added. “We'll need transport. Fast transport.” Daring said thoughtfully.

“You'll need protection too.” Storm added,making Daring stop and look at him,with a “Are you kidding” look.

“Protection? Storm, I've been skulking around ancient tombs since I was a filly. I've trained in basically every fighting style there is. I don’t need protection.” Daring explained plainly,clearly amazed why Storm would suggest such a thing.

Storm stopped and looked at Daring’s look of determination. "This time could be different. Whoever sent you that letter,knows something about this. And they may not be the only one. I doubt well be the only two looking for the goblet in Zebrica.”

Daring was taken aback a bit. She had to admit he had a point. Who knew what they were going to encounter trying to find the goblet,let alone when they used it to find Kamara Mista.

“If were going to do this, were going to do this right.” Storm said beginning to walk again,with Daring in tow. “Let me handle the transport. Ill call in some favors. Can you hold off till then?” he asked Daring,looking back at her.

Daring was surprised. She was usually the one who handled transportation for her adventures. And what favors was he talking about? Daring sighed. “Fine. If you insist.” She said with a sigh. “But I'm still going to Coco's. You make those arrangements. Make them fast, then meet me back here, got it?” Daring said smartly.

Storm smiled at his colleague and friend. “Yes Ma'am.” He said nodding.

Chapter 4: "Coco's Bazaar Trades and Goods."

Chapter 4: “Coco’s Bazaar Trades and Goods.”

The two split up. Storm Talon going to secure safe passage to Zebrica, while Daring went to see the ever eccentric sales pony, Coco Pie.
Coco was a green earth pony, with a fluffy mane and a cupcake for a cutie mark. She was a traveling sales pony,and a collector of strange items. She had wandered marketplaces and back alleys, all over the world. Whenever Daring needed something strange and she needed it quick, she usually went to see Coco.

As always, she was set up in the locale bazaar,making sure it lived up to its name. Coco scratched her fluffy mint mane as she thought. “So your telling me I can get two manticore stingers if I reverse the polarity of-" She was talking to another one of her bewildered customers,when Daring Do approached her stand.

"Um,Coco?” she asked. Coco looked over to Daring and smiled sweetly. “Oh Hi Daring! Gimme one sec.” She said turning back to her customer,a light yellow pegasus,who was also scratching their head,trying to make sense of Coco’s lack of sense. Daring watched as Coco and her customer argued for a second, then they both smiled,shook hooves and the customer dropped two large dried up manticore stingers onto Coco’s counter. Coco smiled then handed him a large figurine of what looked like a rodeo clown riding a fish over the moon. If there was one thing that Coco specialized in, it was the odd stuff.

Daring watched the customer collect their trade,then trot off. Daring was confused. “Um…What was that?” She asked watching the customer fly off. Coco collected the stingers then put them in a crate behind her.

She turned back to daring and smiled. “Oh, that’s just a little something I traded a ninja sword for a few weeks back.” She answered causally. Daring smiled back. “Oh, you mean like a katana?” She asked,having thoroughly studied ancient sword craft when she was in China,looking for the Jaded Dragon of the Scorpion Emperor, a few months back.

Coco shook her head. "Nope. I mean a sword shaped like a ninja.” She said with a smile. She took this opportunity to begin unloading a box of what Daring saw was small wooden monkey totems,each one carved with a silly face on them.

Daring was once again confused. “Um…never mind. I need some supplies. The usual.” Daring said as Coco finished unpacking the monkey totems. “Grappling hooks,insect repellent,water all that stuff. Plus some extra clothes and a couple first aid kits.” Daring said with a smile.

Coco smiled back and gave a wink. "Planning on getting hurt?” coco asked slyly. Daring returned the look. “No,but I just might hurt someone else.” She implied.

Coco was surprised. “Ooh! Well aren’t you miss grumpy-pants today!” she exclaimed. She put her head on her hooves as she leaned forward.”Whats up?” she asked,curiously.

Daring shrugged,and pulled a fake smile. “Its nothing. Just get my stuff.” She asked,trying her best to be friendly and hide her intentions. But Coco was nearly impossible to hide anything from. She gave a sly grin as she leaned over her counter,until she was inches from Daring’s face. “Its certainly not nothing!” she said smiling. She receded to her counter. “if it was nothing then it wouldn’t be something. And its obviously something, not nothing. So what’s something?” Coco implied, using her trademark Coco logic which could confuse even the most educated pony.

Daring was at a lost for words. Not even her with her degrees,and years of experience,could deduce just what in Equestria Coco had just said. “I-I…Hyuh?” Was all she managed to say.

But Coco Fluttered her magenta colored eyes and smiled sweetly. “Come on! Tell ol’ Coco Pie about it.” She asked eagerly.

Daring wasn’t beaten that easily. "I told you,its nothing!” She implied,collecting herself once again. Daring eyed Coco,her eyes piercing into hers. “Now please get my supplies,so I can go back to doing,Nothing!” She answered, putting emphasis on nothing. Coco blinked, then returned to her cheerful and sweet demeanor. “Alright. If you say so!” she said sweetly. She hopped to the back of her stand and gathered Daring’s supplies into a large box.

She returned a few minutes later with a box full of everything Daring had asked for, plus a few extra items thrown in. “Okay! all wrapped up and ready to go!” She said joyously.

Daring smiled and loaded the box onto her back. “Thanks Coco.” She said smiling. Coco smiled back.

“Your welcome. Good luck finding your father!” Coco called as Daring turned to leave.

The remark was so jarring,that Daring almost didn’t notice it. “Yeah, you too…wait. What did you just say?” Daring turned back to Coco,eyes wide.

Coco just tilted her head to the side and smiled in a cute manner. She rolled her eyes. “Nothing.” She said implying she had definitely said something.

This wasn’t the first time, Daring had been left speechless by Coco Pie’s mysterious knowledge of current events, even if she logically shouldn’t know about them. It was as if she could read minds,or had some strange psychic ability. But Daring knew shed never get a straight answer from Coco, so she just ignored it. “Um…right. Well,I'll see you later then.” Daring said,still suspicious. She turned and began to walk off.

“Probably not until the next story!” Coco called to Daring,who once again turned around with a dumbfound look on her face. She opened her mouth to say something,but thought better of it and hurried off.

Meanwhile Coco, turned to look at no one in particular and winked. Coco really was an odd one, wasn’t she?

Chapter 5: "The Rise Of the Storm's Vengeance."

Chapter 5: “The Rise of The Storm’s Vengeance.”

As Daring Do left the odd earth pony’s stall in her wake, she became lost in her thoughts as she made her way back to the university. Normally she would have flown. But at the moment she didn’t quite feel like it. There was a tightness in her chest, she wasn’t sure what it was. She wouldn’t have called it fear, that would’ve been too simple. It was something more deeply rooted, something old. Her father had been lost for years. A chance to find him,or at least what happened to him brought up thoughts she hadn’t bothered to think in a very long time. There was a time when the greatest adventures she went on,were those in books. Books that her father would read to her every night before bed. And after he'd said goodnight and turned out the lights,Young Daring would dream of going on fantastic adventures, just like the protagonists in the books she loved so much. Daring felt the tightness in her chest grow as she tried to imagine her fathers face, smiling at her as he read to her.
She was so distracted by this, that she walked headfirst into the giant airship parked on the university lawn.

Daring rubbed her muzzle as she stepped back to gaze at the massive metal and wood behemoth. She tried to find words. “W-whoa.” She said utterly amazed.

A familiar voice called from the deck of the airship. “Ahoy Daring!” It exclaimed. Storm Talon waved at her from the deck with the biggest grin Daring had ever see the old griffin wear. “I called in that favor!” He exclaimed proudly. Daring was at a loss for words as Storm called to another griffin in a navy uniform. “Lower the intake bridge!” Storm barked.

“Sir,aye,Sir!” the navy-griffin saluted.

Storm turned to another navy-griffin. “Bring Ms.Do aboard posthaste, and begin prepping the engines!” Storm ordered. “We launch at dawn! She may be an old bird, but shes got some fight left in her!” Storm turned to his crew. “Am I right?” The entire crew saluted.

“Sir,Aye,Sir!” They repeated.

In front of Daring’s eyes lay The Storm’s Vengeance, once the pride and joy of the griffin navy. The ship had been retired and gathered dust in the local museum, as a relic of a bygone era. Now it sat, restored to its former glory and primed to fly. Above, its large boat like hull propellers moved gently in the wind, ready to lift them into the sky at words noticed from her captain. The proud seal of the navy shining beneath the bow spirit in the sun.

Daring stood awestruck, as the boarding plank lowered onto the well kept grass of the university lawn. Inside, lay the control hub of the Storm’s Vengeance. Griffins of all kinds walked about, checking gauges, taking orders and preparing the ship for lift off. There were more buttons and levers than Daring could possibly understand. The large windscreen, offered a perfect view of the setting sun framed in glass. Two griffins ran over checklists of various functions and procedures for preparing the ships ballasts, as Daring continued to look around, utterly amazed. Storm Talon came down from the upper deck and smiled at Daring’s bewilderment. “Well? Are you just gonna stand there gawking, ground lubber?” Storm asked proudly.

Daring found her voice again. She smiled at her friend. “You're enjoying this aren’t you?” she joked.

Storm looked around his ship. “Maybe a little.” He admitted. He turned and gestured toward the ship’s bow. “Now. How about I give you the grand tour?” he asked with a grin.

Daring was once again awestruck. “A tour of The Storm’s Vengeance? How could I turn that down?” She exclaimed. “And while were on the subject: How did you manage this?!” Daring asked,desperate to hear how Storm managed to pull one of the greatest griffin war vessels of all time from retirement. “I mean I was expecting a plane! Not a fully stocked airship,with a full crew!” Daring exclaimed.

Storm’s grin grew wider as he explained. “Well I said you’d need protection. And nowhere under Celestia’s sun is there any better than under the watchful eye of this bird. Any foolish enough to tangle with you,now has to tangle with us. There aren’t many who’d do that lightly.” Storm smiled as Daring tried to hide her further amazement.

“And how I managed?” Storm continued. “You rack up a lot of favors after a few decades in the air navy. More than enough for a small request like this.”

Daring’s eyes widened. “This is small?” she asked still amazed.

Storm chuckled. “Well I thought two might be excessive.” He admitted.

A strong looking griffin flew over to storm and saluted him. “Captain, all systems normal. Engines are fully primed and ready for take-off.” He said. “The cannons are also primed and ready. Ammunition is being loaded now.” He added. He took out a clipboard and paged through it. “We’ve detected several emissions from inside the fuel compartment. Recommend flushing the system.” He said.

Storm nodded. “Agreed. Are we ready to depart on schedule?” Storm asked.

The griffin saluted him. “Aye, Sir. Were ready for anything.” He said confidently.

Storm smiled. “Excellent. That is all sergeant. As You were.” The griffin turned to leave but looked back.

“One more thing sir.”

“Yes?”

“Its good to see you again.”

“Its good to see you too, Sergeant Cloud.”

the griffin saluted Storm again,before flying off. Storm turned back to the crew. “Now lets get this bird ready to fly!” He called out.

Daring heard a resounding “Aye, Sir!” from every griffin in the room.

Storm turned to Daring who had been watching in awe. “You see Daring? We are staffed by the finest crew the air navy has to offer. The 201st. There are no better griffins in the sky, that I guarantee you.” Storm smiled as griffins began to man their posts. “On an off-the-books volunteer mission of course.” Storm added with a grin.

Daring was ready to voice her opinion now. “So…Awesome!” She exclaimed, wide eyed.

Storm chuckled. “I thought you’d say that.” He stretched his wings once then collected himself as he motioned around him. “Now this is the control room. From which orders can be sent to any part of the ship.” Storm explained. ”The wheelhouse is situated in the center, along with various controls for the ballasts, engine primers and the propeller stops. We have to keep careful watch on the heat levels in the arcane matrix. If it gets too hot, we could rupture the containment field.” Daring Do was a scholar, an explorer and a very skilled adventurer. But she knew next to nothing on the mechanics of old griffin war ships.

Daring gave a nervous smile. “Um…that would be bad.” She said trying to hide her ignorance. Storm had apparently not noticed daring’s nervousness.

“Hmm, yes I suppose it would be.” He stated,agreeing with Daring. “I guess it kind of loses its power if you’ve survived it once or twice.” He said casually. Storm suddenly looked lost in thought. “Took a while for my feathers to grow back after that one.”

Daring gently nudged Storm with her hoof. “Um, Storm? Back on track?” she said,bringing the old griffin out of his thoughts.

“Oh! Yes. In any case follow me.” Storm walked back to a room near the back of the control hub,which was lined with radios,wires and telegraph machines. “This is the communications center. This is where all transmissions on and off the ship are received, using a bit of magic.”

Storm stopped noticing someone at one of the transmission receivers. “Wait a minute.” Storm approached them. “Who are you sergeant?” Storm demanded. “Where’s Skycall?” The griffin turned around in his seat to face storm.

"Out sick, sir.” He explained. “I’m his replacement, Sharpatalon. I’ll do my best to do you proud sir.” The young griffin saluted Storm who rubbed his chin in thought.

“Hmm…alright then. As you were.” The young griffin turned back around and got back to his work. Storm eyed him for a moment, then cleared his throat.

“As I was saying, when we reach Zebrica, well hail them and let them know of our intentions. While this air ship has seen greater threats, then the Zebrican Navy, I don't want to antagonize them unnecessarily by sneaking in unannounced.”

Daring nodded. “Makes sense.” She said. “So, how quickly can we get this puppy off the ground anyway?” She asked eagerly.

Storm looked back at his crew. “Well, were not fully prepped yet. We can't lift off for a trip that long,without thorough inspections and priming of the engines. Cleaning the gears,calibrating the balance,testing the arcane flight matrix...” Daring began to lose touch as Storm continued to drone on the fundamentals of griffinain ship mechanics.

Finally she had to stop him. “I get the point.” She said,stopping storm mid sentence on something called a reverse tank filtration unit. “Uh, when can we leave?” Daring rephrased her question. Storm chuckled. “First thing in the morning, should be. Can you wait a night?” Storm asked,knowing full well how eager Daring was to go.

Daring’s mood was taken down a bit. “If I have to.” She sighed. “I still need to do some research on where the goblet might be.” She said raising her spirits up. Daring Do liked to research treasure almost s much as she did hunting it. “Word of mouth is fine, but books are best.” Daring said with a smile.

Storm returned the gesture. “Indeed.” He said.

Daring turned to leave,but as she did something occurred to her.

“Hey,storm?”

“Yes?”

Daring turned and faced Storm,her face suddenly alert. “This thing was a museum piece for the longest time. How did you manage to get it here so fast?” she asked.

“A very perceptive question.” Said Storm.

Daring leaned on. “That would like a very perceptive answer.” She inquired. Storm thought for a moment.

“Well…Daring, things haven’t been quite right in griffin circles lately.There's been rumors of strange things going on.” Storm said cryptically.

“Ive been worried for awhile,so a few weeks ago I made request to have the ship readied in case it was needed. It was denied but like I said,I called in some favors.” Storm looked around. “It seems my worries were not unfounded.” Daring’s instincts had been correct.

She walked over to storm. “What was it your so worried about?” she asked.

Storm sat down and sighed. “some griffins…they don’t like the idea of sharing the sky with ponies.” Storm said. “That battle was fought a long time ago,but a few just don’t know when to let go.” Storm got up and collected himself. “You don’t survive as long as I did in the griffin navy,without being a little paranoid.” Storm admitted.

Storm looked at Daring. “These are hardened griffins Daring. If their involved, I want you to have every possible advantage.”

Daring stood there for a moment. “I see. Thank You, Storm.” Daring said with a smile. But her smile faded,replaced by that same serious look she had when she first read the mysterious letter. “Though if they know anything about my father,I don’t care if their hardened manticores,and I wont need your defenses. They will.” Daring stated in a tone that gave even Storm a shiver down his back.

He collected himself. “I have no doubt.” He said. And he really didn’t. “But it never hurts to plan ahead.”

Daring's normal expression returned as she smiled,turning away. “I’m gonna go do that research,you come get me the second were ready to lift off.” Daring ordered.

Storm nodded. “Aye, aye Daring.”

Daring made her way back to the deck of the airship. It was eye level with several of the offices inside. It was eternally thankful, Masra’s office was on the opposite side of the building. Scanning the curious faces inside, she spotted the pony who she knew was best suited to help her find the information she needed.

“Herpy! Get your flank out here, and bring all the books you can on Zebracan Mythology!” Daring yelled into the empty classroom, sending a now fully awake Herpy to the floor, in a hail of papers.

“All of them!?”

“All of them! And Make some more coffee, its gonna be a late night!” Daring exclaimed.

Chapter 6: "Myths and Legends."

Chapter 6: “Myths and Legends.”

The pair of them set up in the mess hall, going though tome after tome, and several mugs worth of Herpy's finest brew. Zebrica’s History was rich with folklore, and there were no simple tasks locating one myth amongst so many. But Daring was tireless, and knowing the stakes, so was Herpy. They paged through several books for what felt like days, and still no luck in finding the myth they were after.

Daring got up out of her seat to go get a fresh mug of coffee.

“Daring?” Herpy asked suddenly.

Daring turned around, her empty mug still clutched in her hoof. “Yes?” she replied.

Herpy stuttered a minute. “A-are you sure you want to see this through? What if…you don’t like what you find?” he asked.

Daring set her mug down. “At least I would’ve found it.” She sighed. “I need to know at least…I need to know.” Daring trailed off there.

Herpy sighed, but gave a weak smile. “Alright.” He said, returning to the search. Daring poured coffee into her mug, as Herpy called out. “I may have found something.”

Daring returned to the table and set her mug down as she took her seat. “What is it?” she asked. “An old sepertan legend from the fertile crescent. There’s a tribe of zebras who worship a sacred chalice.” Herpy explained reading from the book.

Daring raised an eyebrow. “That sounds promising.” She said with a smile.

Herpy began reading from the book. “The legend says that many years ago, the shaman was lost in the desert. He had been on a journey to find enlightenment and lost his way. He was hungry and thirsty, and there was no food or drink for miles in any direction.”Daring leaned in, eager to hear more.

“He continued to walk for miles and miles. His legs were weary, but eventually he collapsed. All hope was gone,there was no chance of help. He was too far from anything for his hoarse cries to be heard. Fairly certain he wasn’t gonna live much longer,he made his peace and closed his eyes.” Herpy read dramatically.

Daring was less then captivated however, as she wanted to hear about the goblet. “Yes,yes. The usual monk story.” Daring sighed uninterested.
"What does this have to do with the griffin’s goblet?” she asked.

Herpy smiled. “That’s just it. The legend continues that right when he'd given up all hope,there was a sound from the sky. The sound of thunder and lightning. Suddenly, the sky was darkened by a single black swirling cloud. He watched in awe, too weak to move as it started to storm in the middle of the desert! Then,from the heavens there was a flash of gold,and tumbling from the sky came a goblet of gold and jewels. It landed in front of the shaman,and using it to catch the rain he was able to survive.” Herpy finished reading,as both he and Daring looked at one another. Both thinking the same thing.

“You don’t think-“

“The dates match up! There’s some debate of Zebrican vs Equestrian record keeping when it comes to dates but,it makes sense. Great storm,a chalice from the sky,I mean I know technically a goblet and a chalice are two different things but really the goblet title is more of a poetic aspect of alliteration-

“Herpy.” “Focus. Where?”

“Oh! Yes,well. The legend corresponds to an area around the town of Glyphmark. Right on the tip of the fertile crescent,Near upper Saddle Arabia. There’s an old temple built in its honor.” Herpy continued to read on the next page. “the legend holds that the rain it brought to the desert is divided among the land along the crescent, which is why it yields such good crops.” Herpy turned to one of his journals. “My research seems to indicate a strange cloud formation right around that area too. Just off the coast of the Metazebranian Sea. I think that’s no coincidence.”

Daring smiled excitedly. She had found the goblet’s location! It was all thanks to Herpy. “Neither do I! This is the lead I was looking for! Thanks a ton Herpy!” The page turned a peculiar shade of red as Daring embraced him.

Herpy tried his best to form words of gratitude. And failed miserably. He sputtered nervously, before he managed to say “Y-your welcome.” He said weakly,as his face grew redder. As Daring let go,Herpy tried to regain himself. “Um,Good luck Daring! And…come back safe.” He said still blushing, but gave a weak smile. Daring got out of her seat, scribbled down what she learned in her journal, then hurried to the door.

“I owe you one when I get back! I'll help dust off artifacts, or something.” Daring opened the door leading out into the hall.

“I gotta go tell Storm our destination! Thanks again!” And with that Daring was out the door and on her way back to the Storm’s Vengeance.

Informed of their destination, Storm talon plotted a course for Glyphmark in Zebrica. The great warship grew quiet, as night settled on Canterlot university. The crew members who remained awake, who were making last minute preparations and checks, were far too busy to notice the shadowy figure that crept through the grass. Not even when it sneaked up the gangplank and hid itself among their supplies.

Chapter 7: "Stowaways."

Chapter 7: “Stowaways.”

The next day, Daring awoke to the sound of screaming. “DARING DO! YOU COME OUT HERE,RIGHT NOW!” The familiar voice bellowed. “WHY IN THE WIDE WORLD OF EQUESTRIA, IS AN AIRSHIP ON THE UNIVERSITY LAWN!? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT GRASS COSTS TO MAINTAIN!? Daring didn’t have to get up from her couch where she lay, to know that voice belonged to Masra, the university’s normally calm and collected headmaster. And she sounded like she was about to lose her head in a second. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. A gruff voice called in. “Ms. Do, the captain advises we leave. Now!” It was one of Storm’s crew, and Daring couldn’t have agreed more. “Um…yes. I think that’s a fantastic idea.” Daring said flying from the couch and packing a small saddlebag of some essentials. She paused to smooth out her grey and black mane, and put on her stylish pith helmet. She loaded her bag onto her back and was out the door, down the hall and outside in mere minutes. Sometimes she very much enjoyed being a Pegasus.

Daring flew up the gangplank, as Storm was on deck barking orders to what could’ve been a hundred scrambling griffins. “Raise the gangplank! Prep The engines! All hands prepare for lift off!” he ordered. The griffins all flew to their posts and began prepping the ship for lift off. A loud whirring was heard throughout the area, as the great propellers of the airship began to spin. The engines roared to life, sending a great wind gust through the morning grass of the university lawn. The sound was loud enough to be heard all over campus, and yet even this didn’t mask Masra’s screaming.

“Do you have any idea how hard our staff has to work to ensure the lawn is absolutely perfect?!” Masra yelled over the roaring propellers.

Daring was astounded. How in the world was she yelling that loud? Wow. She really is mad. Daring thought, as the engines roar grew louder.

“Sometimes I don’t even know what goes through that brain of yours! Does that pith helmet even allow common sense to make it through your skull!?” Masra yelled. Daring looked to see the fuming grey earth pony march toward the airship. Daring swore she could actually see smoke coming from her eyes behind her small spectacles. “You two get back here right now, or so help me you’ll work every night for the rest of your!..."

Masra was finally drowned out by the sounds of the engines and the propellers at full power. Slowly the airship raised itself from the ground and began to head towards the skies. Daring looked back to see Masra still yelling back down on the ground. Daring took off her helmet and waved to the headmaster. “You have a good spring break too Masra!”

Storm walked over and joined Daring in watching their boss literally jumping on the lawn like a mad frog. Storm, unsurprisingly looked worried.

“I’m fairly certain that’s going to come back to haunt us.” He said gravely.

Daring put her helmet back on.”Eh, well cross that burning bridge when we get there.” She said dismissively. “Now,tell me how long it will take to get this baby to Glyphmark?” Daring asked Storm eagerly.

Storm looked out into the rising sky,as the ship lifted higher. “About 9 hours with a good tail wind.” He stated. Storm turned to leave. “Make yourself comfortable Daring.” He told her.

Daring let out a unsatisfied grunt. “Ugh! 9 hours? That’s Forever!” she complained. Daring walked up to storm. “is there any way we can go faster?” She asked eagerly.

Storm raised an eyebrow. “That’s about six hours shorter than the fastest plane currently available to civilians.” Storm stated. He turned to Daring. “And you can try flying all the way there, over hundreds of miles of open water using your wings if you wish.” Storm said glancing at Daring’s tucked wings. She unfurled one. They were strong. But not even they could carry her over that distance. Daring frowned as she tucked her wing back to her side and sighed.

“Fine, point taken.” She said annoyed.

Storm smiled. “Relax,Daring. Time will pass before you know it.” With that Storm flew off to see to his crew.

In fact time did not pass before she knew it. Daring read the books that she had thought to bring with her in the first two hours, and afterwards was at a complete loss for anything to do. She mulled around the ship in various states of boredom, having explored most of its various rooms. At least those that she was allowed into…and some that she wasn’t. She found herself with nothing to do. She attempted to make conversation with the various griffins who crewed the ship,but many were either too busy,or not friendly enough to make conversation. She settled for sitting in the mess hall, fiddling with her hooves,and wishing that something interesting would happen.

Her wish was granted,5 hours into the trip when alarms started blaring throughout the ship.

Daring fell off her seat and onto the floor in surprise. “What’s going on?” Daring called out from under her helmet. She adjusted her helmet onto her head and got up, fully alert. Daring ran to the doors, only to be met with a force of griffins coming in the opposite direction.

She barely avoided being trampled as they stormed into the mess hall and headed to the kitchens, Storm Talon shouting orders in their wake.

“ Find them! I want them caught and in the brig in the next few minutes! Or well just see who wants to try flying across the ocean with no rations!” Storm yelled.

Daring ran over to Storm. “Storm! Whats going on?” Daring asked,trying her best to be heard over the shouts of the griffins making their way to the kitchens. Storm didn’t look at Daring as his eyes narrowed.

“Stowaway.” He said gruffly. “Set off the alarms in the kitchen, trying to get food, no doubt. They might be a spy, or someone trying to sabotage the mission.” Storm stated still not looking at Daring,which she was fine with due to the furious look Storm was making. The last thing she wanted was to have that look directed at her.

“Well come on then, lets catch up, I gotta see this!” Daring said running over to the kitchens with Storm in tow.

Daring and Storm raced off with the griffin troops, through the double doors into the kitchens. As they entered they found several of the storm griffins, unconscious on the floor. The kitchen in disarray of pots and pans and spilled food. They stared in shock for a moment, before following the trail left by the battle.

Storm was more worried than angry now. “Who could’ve done this?” He asked.

Daring didn’t look back as she smiled. “One way to find out.” She replied. The trail led them to a storage cupboard at the back of the kitchen, the last of the griffin troops staring at it wearily. Storm pulled one aside with a rough talon. “Whats going on here solider?” He demanded.

The griffin struggled to speak. “I-It."

“IT!?” Storm exclaimed in surprise. Just what could be so terrifying that a hardened troop of the griffin air navy would call anyone IT? They heard a jar drop with a clang to the floor from inside the storage cupboard. There was definitely something in there!

Storm had had enough of this. “I'm going to put a stop to this once and for all.” He said narrowing his eyes.

Daring and Storm crept towards the door, weary of what might lurk behind it. What had snuck aboard their ship, and had remained hidden for so long during the flight? What could take out so many griffin soldiers? Who could possibly be behind that door?

Storm talon reached out, nodding to Daring to be ready, as he grabbed the knob. “Now!” Storm shouted as he swung open the door.

Daring jumped inside. “Who are you? Why are you here? And what do you want?” Daring demanded.

“Waff?!” came a voice that sounded like its mouth was full.

They found a earth pony mare in a dirty flight jacket, sitting amongst the pots and pans with half a sandwich in her mouth. The grey mare straightened her unruly silvery mane and pulled the sandwich from her mouth.

“I’m…Swift Wing.” She introduced herself. “And me, well…I guess I’m just here for the fun of it.” She replied with a chuckle. She took a bite of her sandwich. “As for your last question…” She wiped her muzzle on a napkin, then smiled. “Got any mustard?” She asked innocently.

Storm pushed passed the griffins and was clearly fuming. “Young lady! I insist you tell us your intentions beyond stuffing your face, this instant or I'll-“ Swift Wing interrupted him. “You’ll what?” she challenged, giving a sly grin. “This is the sky navy, you gonna have me walk the plank? Will I need a life vest or a parachute?” she joked. Storm was furious now. In fact he was so furious he wasn’t able to speak. He muttered and grumbled angrily but no words came out. All he could do was try and stare a hole through the earth pony, which she seemed unphased by.

He continued to grumble as Swift Wing suddenly looked concerned. Storm’s eyes were nearly bulging from his head.

“Is he alright?” she asked generally concerned. Her eyes flipped over to Daring who was watching Storm’s episode Swift Wing’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Oh hey! Your Daring Do, aren’t you?” Swift Wing asked excitedly. Daring turned to meet her eyes.

“Daughter of the famous, Daren Do?” the earth pony asked.

Daring rubbed the back of her head as she gave a weak smile.

“Oh my gosh, I love your work!” Swift Wing said,apparently having forgotten about the current situation. Swift Wing continued to voice her admiration of Daring, as Storm continued to try and make words. “That Sapphire Stone caper! That was just awesome!” the earth pony gushed.

Daring smiled. “Oh! Well…thank you.” She said, taking admiration for her awesomeness. Something she was used to.

“Daring!”

Storm had finally found his voice again.

“What? A compliment is a compliment, even if it is from a spy.” Daring stated.

Swift Wing raised an eyebrow. “Spy?”

Daring turned to her. “That’s what you are, aren’t you?” She asked. “Come to spy on me for some mysterious boss, I'll have to find out about later?”

Swift Wing laughed. “No! I’m just here because it seems like a pretty cool ship!” she replied. “And a pretty cool crew, and a pretty cool adventure.” She added.

Storm looked cross. “Sorry if were not inclined to believe you, after taking out half of my guard squad and raiding the pantry!” he stated gruffly.

Swift Wing waved a hoof and smiled. “Oh, its just a little food between friends,water under the bridge right?” she asked.

Daring could read by Storm’s expression that the water was not under the bridge. In fact the water had flooded the city and destroyed the bridge, from just how angry Storm looked.

“Wrong.” He replied in a very scary tone.

This was apparently enough to get to Swift Wing. She stuffed her sandwich into her coat. “Uh-oh, time to go!” She said making a break for the doors. But Storm was fast. He caught her by her flank and pulled her up off the ground, clutching her whole body to his chest as she squirmed, trying in vain to get free.

Swift Wing struggled as Storm held on. “You’ll find I’m a lot harder to deal with than my men!” he stated. “Now, most civilized griffins have a policy of not eating ponies...but.”

Swift Wing's eyes widened as her struggling grew more fierce. She grunted trying to escape the old griffin’s talons. She leaned in towards Daring ”Hes not serious is he?” she asked, concerned.

Daring shrugged. “I don’t know. Ive heard his mother’s brisket is pretty tasty. Never did hear what kind of meat she used.” Daring said with a sly grin.

Swift Wing knew she was made. She gave a nervous chuckle. “Well, um. Why don’t we just go down to the brig then? Put up my hooves? Take a nap? Wont resist I promise.” Swift Wing gave a weak smile.

Storm carried the stowaway down to the belly of the ship,as it continued on its way to Zebrica. True to her word, she didn’t struggle as he tossed her into the small cell in the brig, and closed the door.

With their uninvited guest out of the way, Daring and Storm discussed the matter in the brig, while the kitchen was cleaned up.

“Do you really think whoever sent me that letter, might have sent her?” Daring asked, unsure of what to think.

Storm thought for a moment. “Well,will do this by the old law of the sky. “ he stated.

“And whats that?”

“Guilty,until proven innocent.”

Swift Wing rolled her eyes. “Oh, nothing could possibly go wrong with that philosophy.” She said sarcastically.

“I don’t know Storm,she just doesn’t scream “hired spy assassin”,to me.” Daring inquired. “she’s too loud for one.”

“Hey! I got on board didn’t I?”

Daring and Storm were only a few feet down the hall from her cell, so Swift Wing didn’t really need to struggle to hear what they were saying.

“Yes. Yes you did.” Storm said, implying his point. “Admittedly impressive, but all the more reason we shouldn’t trust you.” Storm said coldly.

Swift Wing sighed. “Fair enough,Fair enough.” She said, slinking back to the cot in the cell. She laid down as she said. “But would you really have just let me come if I asked?” she asked.

Storm was hesitant. “Were still not clear on why you’re here in the first place. So I'm inclined to believe whatever reason it may be, its not in our best interest.”

Daring put a hoof to her chin. “He’s got a point: Why are you here?” Daring asked.

Swift Wing smiled. “I told you, I’m just here for fun. “Y’know yucks,laughs,giggles,chortles,the thrill of adventure!” She reasoned.

But Daring Do was not one to be fooled so easily. She may not have been a spy,but she was definitely hiding something.

“And to get a look at your ship! Pretty nice ride if I do say so myself.” Swift Wing added.

Daring smiled slyly. “Well if you’re looking for adventure, I guess we can drop you off in Mulegascar on the way. There's lots of cool temples and stuff, if you can get past the natives. I'm sure you'll have lots of laughs!"

"Sound like a good idea, Storm?”

“A fine one to me.”

Storm grinned as he turned to leave. “Come along Daring, I'll plot a course for this little pit stop.” he said making his way up the stairs to the deck. He peeked his head back down. “I hope you remain comfortable until we arrive,Ms.Wing.” he joked.

Swift Wing suddenly looked very worried. She put on a brave face as she called out. “Heh, wait! Wait,wait,wait a minute here!” She called.
“Can't we talk about this?” She asked sincerely.

Daring eyed her. “Not if you won't tell us the real reason you snuck aboard.” She explained. “Until then…toodles!” Daring said tipping her hat and giving a smile.

“I wanna see the cloud city.”

“What?”

“Cloud city, Kamara Mista. I want to see it!”

Swift Wing sighed as she took a seat on the cot. “Look, haven’t you ever had something you’ve wanted to see since you were a foal?” She asked.

Daring and Storm looked at each other.

“That’s me.” Swift Wing turned so they could see her cutie mark. A pair of wings adorning her flank. “How many earth ponies do you know with a flying cutie mark, huh? Not many.” she asked. “When I was a filly, my sister told me stories about the city. A cloud city that earth ponies lived on! Do you have any idea how much of dream that is?” Swift Wing asked.

Daring didn’t say anything, nor did storm, as the earth pony continued. “For an earth pony to walk on clouds? A pretty darn big one!”

Swift Wing turned back to face Storm and Daring and smiled. "I wanna see it for myself. I heard about the trip from a griffin in a local tavern and snuck aboard. It was the only way I could come along.” She explained, looking hopeful.

So she just wants to see Kamara Mista? I guess we cant be too mad at her then. Daring thought, as she rubbed the back of her neck, looking a little sorry.

“Well we don’t have any proof of that, though.” Daring said. Its not that she didn’t believe Swift Wing’s story. Its just that she didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.

“Indeed we don’t.” Storm agreed.

Swift Wing looked taken aback. “Your…not really gonna leave me in Mulegascar are you?” she asked nervously.

Storm sighed. “No, not really. But you’re staying in there.”

Storm called for the cadet who watched the brig. “Make sure this young filly stays here for the remainder of the journey.” Storm ordered. He looked at Swift Wing. “And make sure shes fed. She apparently gets disagreeable when shes hungry.” Storm added.

“What! Y-you, You cant just leave me here!”

“Can and will.”

Storm turned to Daring. “Come along Daring, just about an hour till we reach Zebrica.” Storm called, making his way up the stairs to the deck.

As Daring followed him,something occurred to her.

“Hey, Storm?”

“Yes?”

“She said she heard about the trip from a griffin in the tavern. I thought this was an off the books trip.”

Storm stopped halfway up the stairs. "it is."

He turned to face Daring,leaning in and lowering the volume in his voice. “And it seems I was right to be concerned.” “I don’t truly believe she’s a spy, but we cant be too careful.” He said cryptically.

“Whoever is spreading word of this mission,has connections in griffin circles. And probably ties to whoever sent you that letter.” He whispered.

He walked out onto the deck,with Daring following. “keep on your toes, Daring. I doubt they were spreading the word for fun.”

Daring nodded. “Agreed. We'll have to be careful.” She replied, looking around to see if anyone was listening in. To her it seemed that everyone was too busy with their workstations to pay heed to her and Storm’s conversation.

Chapter 9: "Cat and Mouse."

Chapter 9: “Cat and Mouse.”

Off the coast of Zebrica, high in the sky, Daring Do stood on the bridge of the Storm’s Vengeance.

But another warship had just appeared in front of them, bristling with cannons and showing every intention of hostility. Manning one of the cannons aboard the Vengeance, Sergeant Cloud called out.

“Cannon fire bearing 2-0-7!” He called as he turned the cannon to face the warship.

Storm Talon spun the wheel again and pulled levers at his side. The Vengeance jolted into a swift upward climb which sent Daring tumbling over.
She yelped as she rolled over, catching her helmet between her teeth as it suddenly flew off her head.

“Hold On!” Storm yelled as he held the wheel. The Vengeance was extremely agile for its size, darting back and forth in anticipation of where the enemy might aim next.

Cloud loaded the cannon. “Returning Fire!” The cannon let loose its payload and hit the hull of the warship, although it didn’t seem to do any damage.

“Status!”

“We’ve hit them sir, but their armors holding strong.” Cloud called back, reporting the damage they’d done: None at all.

“Sir! Thaumic charge from the enemy ship!” A nearby sailor exclaimed. Suddenly, the air was cut by the sound of crackling magic as a mysterious blue ball of light suddenly shot into the sky above them, and rained down tiny blue sparkles around them. In a split second, those sparkles then detonated like small bombs, as small magical bursts erupted over the entire ship. Daring looked around to see the ship itself was surprisingly undamaged.

“What was that?” She asked.

Storm looked over at her. “They’re disrupting our magical components.” He explained. Indeed all of the dials and machinery that used magic, were now spinning out of control and malfunctioning as blue energy crackled over them.

“Incoming!”

The vengeance shifted to one side. Storm turned the wheel again and tried to steady it, while simultaneously evading the enemy’s fire. Suddenly everyone heard the break of metal as one of their propellers suddenly stopped, and began to spark and smoke. “We lost a propeller. We’ll need to-Comms are down Daring! Get to the third port side propeller. Find sergeant Winder and tell him we need a full reset!” Storm called over to Daring who nodded in reply.

“Got it!” She said.

Daring raced through the ship, hoping she wouldn’t lose her way amongst the confusing corridors. Soon enough, she reached her destination and approached a griffin sailor. “I’m looking for Sergeant Winder. He needs to reset the third propeller.” Daring told him.

The sailor shook his head sadly. “Winder’s unconscious ma’am.” He explained.

“Well can you do it?”

The sailor shook his head again. “Uh…I’m not trained for that.”

Daring sighed. “Great.” There was one thing left to try. She raced back to the brig, grabbed the key off the wall, and unlocked the only occupied cell. Swift Wing stepped out and looked at Daring in surprise.

“Your letting me out?” she asked. There was no time to fill her in.

“I need your help. Follow me!” Daring said as she took off towards the third propeller station with Swift Wing in tow. Soon they reached the propeller. It was sputtering in place, moving back and forth seemingly at random. Swift Wing eyed it and raised an eyebrow.

“Wow. That’s a weird design.” She joked, watching it sputter around.

“Can you fix it?”

Swift Wing put on a serious face. “Alright alright, let me think. Primary torque distribution is down, thermic circuits are inaccessible. The only other way to reset it is…rope.”

“What?”

“Do you have rope?”

“Yeah.”

Swift Wing tied the rope around her midsection and gave Daring the other end. “I’m goin’ up top!” she cried.

“What??” Daring exclaimed.

She was already on her way, racing up the ladder that led to the service hatch above.

She scrambled to unlatch the lock, and the hatch violently swung open as a massive wind filled their ears. Swift wing called down. “Daring! Hold on to that rope!” She called.

Daring looked at her. “You can’t be serious.”

In a flash, Swift scampered out of view. She tumbled along the roof of the Vengeance, the fierce winds constantly pushing her aside. But she was determined, and in a few moments she reached the malfunctioning propeller. “Alright! I’m gonna try a reset!” She exclaimed, not that anyone could hear her over the roar of the wind.

Daring climbed up the ladder cautiously, holding the rope as tightly as she could, she peered over the edge and spotted Swift Wing. Swift clutched the wrench in her teeth as she worked the latch. “Almost… got it!” Suddenly the propeller sprung to life. ”Pull the rope!” Swift called out. Daring pulled downward as hard as she could, and Swift struggled against the propeller’s power. Finally she tumbled back inside and slammed the hatch behind her.

“Wow…that was pretty cool!”

Meanwhile, Storm Talon was still on the bridge. This fight had not been easy for the Vengeance, but its captain was not giving up yet. “Prepare to Fire.” He ordered, as the warship had mysteriously stopped firing. This might be there only chance.

Suddenly Sergeant Cloud called out. “Sir! Look!”

The enemy warship was now firing a new kind of weapon. Its shells burst in midair, creating large puffs of harmless white smoke.

It was standard practice of every Griffin war vessel to have mandatory “Cease Fire Smoke Projectiles” on board every ship. But why had this ship begun firing at the Vengeance, right off the bat? They could’ve just signaled them as soon as they saw them. Something didn’t feel right.
And Storm Talon knew it.

“They’re signaling us, sir.” Cloud reported, as the white smoke wafted over the sky.
Storm narrowed his eyes. He could feel those old war instincts kicking in again. And they were screaming at him to take this chance to sink that bird. But he collected himself as he considered his options.

The Vengeance was a beast on its own. But even it didn’t stand a chance against a Dreadnought in a fire fight. And they weren’t exactly winning anyway. Storm didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t risk the lives of his crew, or Daring. He sighed heavily.

“Hold Fire! Respond with white signal!” He ordered.

The Vengeance fired its own puffs of smoke. The two ships stopped maneuvering around each other, and everything came to a quiet standstill.
Daring got up from her position and watched earnestly as neither ship moved, but hovered in the air. Each one seemingly waiting for the other to do something first. Were they waiting for us to contact them? Maybe we were supposed to just wait for them to contact us?

Or were they faking it? Was this a trick, to try and get the Vengeance to lower its guard, so they would take a surprise attack without any chance to defend against it?

A few tense moments went by with no further action. The battle had suddenly come to an end.

Daring walked over to Storm Talon who was eyeing the enemy vessel, as if anticipating some sort of trick. She looked out at the horizon, as the warship continued to hover in the air. Storm suddenly spoke, and in a tone that didn’t at all ease the tension.

“What in Equestria? First they try to kill us, and now they want to talk.” Storm remarked, still not daring to take his eyes of the Dreadnought. Yeah, something definitely isn’t right here. We got to be ready for anything. Daring thought.

Suddenly a hatch opened on deck of the warship, and a tall wicked figure emerged. Sergeant Cloud was the first to remark.

“They’re sending an envoy, sir.” He called to Storm who was now watching the figure, intently as it suddenly spread its wings and took to the sky.

“Open the external hatch.”

The mysterious figure approached the Vengeance and entered through the hatch. He handed on the bridge, just in front of Storm’s position.

He tucked his wings to his side, and bowed his head to Storm. “Captain. My apologies for the misunderstanding.” The way he spoke was commanding, fierce. And by usual standards, was just plain scary.

Storm’s eyes widened. “CopperBeak?”

Captain CopperBeak, of the griffin Air Navy, stood before him. He was roughly Storm’s age, and in his military service he had picked up a few scars of his own. The feathers around his head were dark and grizzled, but his expression seemed calm. It seemed almost as if he had forgotten about the battle which had ended only moments ago.

Storm’s expression was calm as well but his eyes were fierce. “What are you doing in Zebrica?”

“I could ask the same of you.” CopperBeak replied.

Storm’s expression softened. “It’s a…well, sort of a sightseeing mission.” He explained.

CopperBeak chuckled. “You requisitioned an entire battleship just to see the sights?”

Storm tried his best to mask his hesitation. He cracked a fake smile. “We’ll, you know me, Copper, I’m very attached to this ship. I hadn’t seen her in a while.”

CopperBeak raised an eyebrow.

Daring Do came racing onto the bridge. “Hey, did we win?” Daring stopped seeing the dark and scary looking old Griffin in front of Storm. “What’s going on here?”

CopperBeak turned to face Daring. We’ll more like towered over her. Any other pony would’ve been terrified. But Daring Do was not just any pony.

“Daring Do, is it?”

“Who are you?”

“An Old Colleague.” Storm explained.

CopperBeak bowed to Daring. But not in respect. In fact it seemed he was just alluding to the fact that he simply noticed her, and wanted her to think he cared that she was there. “The name’s CopperBeak. I am captain of the Rising Thunder. And I’m running a security mission for Zebrica.” He stated.

Daring didn’t buy that for a second. Security Mission? Security against what, Dragons? Why would he need that giant warship for a simple “security mission?” She thought, not at all trusting the griffin’s words.

Storm Talon wasn’t buying it either. “Is Zebrica under threat?” he asked.

‘Not Necessarily, no. But it seemed like a good way to…cement our friendship, as it were.” CopperBeak replied with the very slightest of hesitation. Nevertheless his expression revealed nothing of what his true intentions were. He was unreadable.

“Really.” Storm pried. He wasn’t giving up. That old griffin was hiding something. Something he was doing a poor job of hiding. As if he wanted Storm to know he was lying.

CopperBeak gave what resembled a smile, but came across more of a smug smirk. “Well you know how the government keeps talking about reaching out to other races. I’m just doing my part.” He said nonchalantly.

Swift Wing, who had followed Daring, piped up.

“So why did you shoot us?” She asked ,raising an eyebrow.

Storm nodded. “Yes, why did you- “ He stopped and turned to face Swift Wing. “What are you doing here?”

“I let her out.” Daring replied.

“You what?”

“I needed her help. I’ll explain later.”

CopperBeak cleared his throat. “As I was saying, I’m here on a security mission. Your ship approached unannounced, and it was only natural to assume you intended us harm.” He explained.

“You could’ve hailed us and asked what we were up to.” Storm said calmly.

“But we did hail you, Storm. You didn’t respond.”

Storm was first to voice his outrage before Daring. “That’s because your guns took out our antennas!” he exclaimed.

CopperBeak feigned surprise. “How unfortunate! One of my gunners must have been too quick on the trigger. I’ll make sure that he’s reprimanded. In the meantime, you are free to land at Glyphmark at your convenience. There will be no further trouble.”

Storm eyed CopperBeak for a moment. “…Very well. Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome.”

CopperBeak spread his wings and exited the way he had come. They watched for a moment as he flew back to his ship. Finally, Storm turned to face his crew.

“Sergeant.”

“Sir?”

“Start making repairs, and prepare for landing.”

“Aye, Sir.”

He turned to face Daring and Swift.

“Now, would the two of you kindly explain what’s going on?”

Daring explained everything, taking care to emphasize how Swift Wing had been so awesome when she fixed the propeller.
“…and then she barely made it back alive! She saved the ship Storm!”

“I think we would’ve survived even without her…but I must admit…that was quite a stunt, miss Wing.

Swift Wing perked up. “You think?”

Storm smiled. “If I hadn’t heard it from Daring herself, I’m not sure I’d believe it.”

“You see? There’s no way she’s a spy. And she definitely knows something about airships.

“Oh Yeah! I read the blueprints for this thing like a year ago. Such a weird design. But very effective if you know what you’re doing.” Swift Wing said proudly.

Storm thought for a moment. “Hm. She used to be more effective. But I guess I’m out of practice. In any case we have a new problem to deal with: CopperBeak.”

Swift Wing looked confused. “What, your friend from the Air Navy? How is he a problem? I mean, yeah, he shot us, but that was just an accident, right? It won’t happen again.” She said with a shrug.

Storm narrowed his eyes. “That was no accident. And he’s not a friend. If he was a friend, he wouldn’t have fired in the first place. Griffin ships don’t just shoot each other without good reason.”

Daring put a hoof to her chin. “But if he wanted to kill us, why’d he stop shooting?”

“He doesn’t want us dead. Not yet, anyway. He wants us to be afraid of him. This entire encounter was a show of force.” Storm explained.

“But why would he want us…” Daring’s voice trailed off as the realization suddenly hit her. “the goblet. He’s the one who sent me the letter!” She exclaimed, both surprised and angrily.

Swift Wing turned to Daring. “What letter?”

“Someone sent me a letter saying that it might be possible to find Kamara Mista. It’s what started this whole quest. Copper must have sent it.”

Daring explained.

“How do you know?”

“Aside from his obvious attempt to scare us without killing us, there’s also the fact that he mentioned Glyphmark.” Storm answered.

Daring nodded. “Exactly. This is an off-the-books mission. It’s obvious that we’re going to Zebrica, but how does he know the details? How does he know which particular town we’re heading for…”

Swift Wing’s eyes widened. “Unless he knows what you’re up to.”

“He read the same legend I did. He sent me the letter. He wants his claws on the Griffin’s Goblet.”

“Exactly. And he wants you to retrieve it from the temple.” Storm stated.

“And then what? I’ll just give it to him?” Daring scoffed.

Storm chuckled. “I expect he plans to steal it from you.”

Swift Wing was impressed. “So he brought an entire dreadnought-class warship just to pick your pocket? Wow, Daring, you’ve got a reputation! She exclaimed, smiling.

“Either that, or he has other plans besides pick pocketing.” Storm remarked.

“What do you mean?”

“If were right, CopperBeak is searching for Kamara Mista. And I don’t expect he’s just here for the sights.”

“So he wants the cloud. Flight beyond reckoning; that’s what the cloud gives you.” Daring said, putting the pieces together.

Storm looked out at the horizon, the coast of Zebrica now so close they could see the palm trees from the shipping dock. “Imagine: All of Copper’s men given supernatural abilities. With an army like that, there’s no telling what he might do.” He turned to Daring. “Daring, if I didn’t know you better, I’d ask you to leave the goblet where it is.”

Daring gave a chuckle. “We’ll it’s a good thing you know me, then, cause I am not going back home without seeing this through.” She said, suddenly serious.

Swift Wing nodded with a grin. “Ditto.”

Storm smiled. Their determination was something to truly be admired. “Then we’ll have to find a way to get the goblet for ourselves, without Copper taking it away. Here’s what I’m thinking…”

They talked for another half hour. Finally, the Vengeance landed in Zebrica, and its sailors began the task of repairing the damage which the ship had incurred. As Daring Do exited the gangplank, she looked up to see the Rising Thunder hovering overhead, casting a gloomy shadow all around.

Chapter 10: "Hunt for the Goblet."

Chapter 10: “Hunt for the Goblet.”

The village of Glyphmark was a thick collection of wooden buildings, apparently arranged at random. The streets were chaotic and confusing, but it seemed that the locals had a little trouble in navigation. There were hundreds of them, bustling back and forth, purchasing strange items and concoctions from many stalls and shops. Daring Do, Swift Wing and Storm Talon made their way through the streets.

The chatter of the crowd was indecipherable, and Daring strained her ears trying to listen for word of the Shaman’s Temple, only to hear conversations about the prices of bananas, the weather and a rather rapid conversation in a language, Daring had never heard before.

They passed a stall where a Zebra was selling sandwiches. “Come here, come here, to see a sale: A juicy sandwich, made with kale!” He exclaimed.

Another was selling hand crafted carpenter tools. “If simple tools are what you seek, come here and talk with Monazique!” The zebra held out a basket of tools to Storm.

Storm feigned a smile as he gently pushed the tools away. “No, no thank you! By Tartarus, this is so disorganized.

“Yeah, isn’t it great?” Said Daring, herself hadn’t ever once tried to organize her incredibly cluttered classroom or her even more cluttered home office. To her it was easier to find something laying on the floor, than if it was thrown in a drawer somewhere. This place was just fine with her.

A zebra in a fancy shawl smiled and waved to them. “We welcome you to Glyphmark-town. Please feel at home and roam around.” He said politely.

“Does everyone have to rhyme all the time?” asked Swift Wing.

The zebra smiled sheepishly. “Well no, actually. But it’s more interesting that way.” He admitted with a chuckle.

“Oh.”

Daring walked up to the Zebra. “I’m looking for the Temple of the Shaman’s Chalice. Do you know where it is?” She asked.

The zebra turned and gestured a hoof. “Look to the east, my pony friend! Your quest will soon be at an end!

After a few minutes’ walk, they came to the edge of the city. They looked out as the wide expanse of the Zebrican desert stretched out in front of them meeting the horizon and melting into the afternoon sun.

Daring put a hoof to her forehead and squinted. She could scarcely make out the outline of a large stone temple, not far from where they were standing. She breathed sigh of relief. Thank Celestia, It’s not far. Good. I’m not prepared to walk a mile in the desert, and I’m pretty sure Storm and Swift aren’t either She thought.

The hot sand scorched their hooves as they walked, every step sinking more and more into the sand as they drew closer to the temple, and further from Glyphmark. After about an hour’s walk, they finally came upon a great stone temple. They had already agreed that it would be best if Daring went in alone, while Storm and Swift Wing stayed outside and kept lookout.

Except Swift Wing had changed her mind without telling anyone. She tried to follow, but Daring stopped her.

"Whoa! Where do you think your going?"

"Into the temple?"

"I thought we agreed that you and Storm would stay out here!"

"Yeah, well I...changed my mind." Swift Wing said, feigning an excuse.

"And when were you going tell me?"

She looked down at the ground. "When we were half way through the temple."

Daring sighed. She knew better than anyone, how great the lure of treasure was. But she had no idea how well guarded the goblet was. She couldn't risk her life and Swift Wing's. She knew it was best she went alone.

"Look, I know how exciting this must seem, but there's no telling how dangerous things will get in there. Ancient temples, Death traps, Escaping death at the last second. Those are my thing! I know how to get through these things, mostly unscathed. It's best you stay out here."

"But!-"

"Plus, I need someone to keep an eye on things back at the vengeance. We can't let storm do all the work now can we?"

They laughed as Storm shook his head. Swift looked a little disappointed. But she knew Daring was right. As much as she wanted to tag along, she'd rather not end up skewered on the end of a stick or having fallen into an alligator pit.

She smiled at Daring. "You'll tell me everything that happens, right?"

"You know I will."

"Well then, Daring Do,I suggest you get a move on. After all, your dads waiting on you."

"I Wouldn't want to keep him waiting."

They hugged each other, before Daring finally turned her attention back to the temple.

Daring Do peered into the entrance of the ancient temple. The light from the sun provided enough so she could see just past the entrance. But the rest of the way was pitch darkness. A feeling of unease crept up in her stomach. She ignored it. Now it was time to focus. Daring waved goodbye to Storm and Swift and made her way through the ancient lobby towards the greater part of the temple. The sun beamed down on the room from a large hole in the ceiling. Daring could make out crude wall carvings of zebras in tribal garb, worshiping a great gleaming goblet in the sky.

“Well, at least I know were in the right place.” Daring said looking over the carvings.

“Let’s see. Is this going to be one of those functional temples, or one of those deathtrap temples?” Daring wondered aloud. Daring received her answer when her hoof caught a tripwire, sending a shruiken speeding past her head.

“Deathtrap, definitely deathtrap.” Daring said now completely alert with her eyes wide.

“Is everything alright?” Storm Talon called in from the entrance.

"Your not dead, right?"

“Heh, Fine! Everything’s just…fine.”

She stood frozen for a second. Cautious. Daring continued onward. “Okay, tripwires trigger flying shurikens, what else we have here?” Daring said taking mental note of her environment.

A pit opened in front of her and flames poured out from below.

“Fire pit.” Daring noted casually. This was certainly not the first tomb Daring had explored,and she knew how they worked pretty well at this point.

She ran down the list as she made her way to the main temple room.

A huge saw blade came through the hallway behind Daring.

“Giant Blade:”

Next, Several poison tipped darts shot out from the walls as Daring ducked underneath them.

“Deadly darts.”

Daring looked as the door at the other end of the hallway began to slowly close. She smiled at her expertise.

“Slowly closing door at the end of the hallway.”

Daring raced for the exit, only to find spikes pop from the ground wherever she stepped.

She ran even faster ,dodging spikes and darts, until finally she slid under the door just before it closed.

Daring gave herself a moment to catch her breath. “Right… Next time, I’ll try not to step on one of those floor panels.” Daring said confidently.

She turned from the door and took a step…onto another floor panel.

“Aww.” Daring said sadly, as all manner of traps activated around her.

Chapter 11: "The Griffin's Goblet."

Chapter 11: “The Griffin’s Goblet.”

In a few minutes, Daring emerged from the second room. “Aww… I got arrows in my hat.” Daring said annoyed. As she removed the arrows, she eyed her surroundings.

Daring walked carefully forward. “Where am I anyway?” She wondered aloud, surveying each side of the room, as she made her way forward. A beam of light shone from the ceiling and shifted position until finally it caught a brilliant gold object on the far side of the room.

Daring’s eyes lit up. “Ohh, that’s where I am.” She said proudly. Daring Do stood at the entrance to the central temple chamber. At last she was face to face with the legendary Griffin’s Goblet. And with it…the key to Kamara Mista. Daring’s eyes twinkled as she gazed at the treasure. “There it is, right out in the open.” Daring said proudly. Then she looked back and then around. “But you wouldn’t make it that easy would you?” Daring asked herself.

Daring Do knew that some cultures believed in guarding their artifacts with deathtraps. It was believed that only a person who could avoid the traps, was worthy of claiming the prize. Daring looked around. She spotted peculiar holes in the walls, and then she tossed a rock in front of her. The rock hit a tripwire, sending darts shooting from the holes.

“Great. More darts.” Daring said annoyed.

She turned her attention to the floor in front of her. It was a grid of panels, and each was marked with a picture of an animal. Daring studied the floor. “Hmm. Must be a pattern here. What do all these animals have in common?” Daring asked herself. She took note of all the animals pictured on the panels. Lions, Tigers, Wolves, Snakes, Leopards, Cheetahs, Panthers and…Sheep?

Then Daring got it. “Aha! These animals are all predators! Except…Sheep!” Carefully she stepped on the first Sheep panel. “So far, so good.” Daring said cautiously. She scanned the floor for the path of sheep panels to the other side, then carefully made her way across.

“Two paces left.”

“Forward One Pace.”

“Right five.”

Daring maneuvered herself to each sheep panel almost perfectly. Finally reaching the end, Daring stepped on the last sheep panel and onto solid ground. Daring looked back at the floor and smiled.

“Well that wasn’t too bad.” She said relieved. As she turned her muzzle suddenly collided with that of an old zebra in monks robes.

“Greetings, My pony friend.”

Daring jumped back in surprise, almost landing back on the trap floor. But she caught her balance just in time. She breathed a sigh of relief.

“Did I startle you?”

“A bit, yeah.”

The zebra monk bowed. “My deepest apologies. It’s just that it has been sometime since I’ve seen anyone. I suppose my social skills have deteriorated in the last 300 years.”

“No, it’s fine- wait. Did you just say 300 years?” Daring asked, startled.

“Indeed. For it was 300 years ago, that I pledged myself to guarding the sacred chalice that saved my life all those eons ago.”

“Wait…You’re the Shaman aren’t you! The one from the legend! It was you who found the goblet!”

The monk bowed again. “Indeed.”

Daring was amazed to say the least. She had come to retrieve the Griffin’s Goblet. But now here she was, face to face with the very shaman who had brought it back to this temple all those years ago. Her mind was racing with questions to ask the monk, but she settled on one.

“How are you still, well, alive?” she asked as politely as she could.

The shaman smiled. “Long ago, I cast a powerful spell that would allow me to live for as long I kept the chalice safe from those who would misuse its gift.” He explained. “As long as the chalice remains here, I shall remain here to guard it.”

“Wow, that’s some serious devotion. Guarding something for so long. Don’t you get lonely?” Daring asked.

“My faith gives me all the company I need.”

“Oh. We’ll I’m actually here for the Goblet-er, chalice. I need it so I can find the lost city of Kamara Mista and find my father.”

“You wish to take the sacred chalice?”

“Um…Yes? Please?”

The shaman suddenly stood up on his hind legs. He gripped his staff as he eyed Daring. “Then, you must prove yourself worthy.”
He lightly tapped his staff on the floor and Daring heard a great churning of stone wheels from somewhere in the room.

Lights suddenly beamed down from the ceiling, illuminating some hundred pedestals in the room, each with a different goblet of all manner of shapes ,sizes and precious metals. Daring now saw that there wasn’t just one goblet on a pedestal in this room. There were hundreds.

The shaman sat down in a meditative state and closed his eyes. “Choose.”

“Choose?”

“Only one chalice in this room is true, pick the right one and you may take it as you wish. Pick the wrong one, and you shall take my place in guarding the chalice. Forever.”

Daring was suddenly worried. She hadn’t really taken the time to actually study what the goblet looked like! She only knew that it was apparently gold, from the shaman’s legend.

She looked around. There were about 42 gold goblets in the room, which meant any one of them could be the Griffin’s Goblet.

And if she picked the wrong one, she would be stuck guarding the real one for all eternity. Great. So no pressure then right? She thought anxiously.

She took a moment to collect herself, before she began to examine the goblets. They were all beautifully crafted, and each one stood out on its own amongst the others. But as far as she could tell, every one of them could be the griffin’s goblet. There was no way to tell for sure!

She began to panic again. She looked to the shaman for help. ”Um, can you give me a hint?”

The shaman shook his head, still mediating. “Look within yourself. Use your instincts, and you will be successful.”

“Great. Thank you!”

He hadn’t helped at all. Daring was at a loss. She kept double checking for the slightest clue that could help her, but she saw none. She had come all this way, and now that she was so close she couldn’t even identify it. She was going to be stuck in here forever.

Then, out of her frantic mind a memory surfaced. It was of her and her father. They had been playing chess, and she was losing horribly. She had gotten so frustrated she had kicked away her chair and walked away. But then her dad called back to her.

“Heh! You can’t expect everything to be easy, Daring. Sometimes you need to look between the lines. Treasure just doesn’t let you find it. You have to look beyond what’s in front of you. You’ve got to use your head and think in a whole new way to earn your prize.”

Daring recalled her father’s words as if she had just heard them again. Look beyond what’s in front of you. Think in a whole new way.

Daring thought for a moment, and then like a bolt of lightning it hit her. She knew! She knew what she was supposed to do! Instead of looking for which goblet she thought was the right one, she should be taking note of those that aren’t!

“I’ve got it! I know which goblet it is!” She called proudly, bringing the shaman out of his meditation.

Oh?”

“I had only paid attention to the goblets that were gold ,because I remembered from the story that it was gold.”

Daring put on a sly face.

“But its been over a century since then. Gold tarnishes over time.”

She turned and looked at all the goblets in the room. “which means that none of these are the right goblet.” She added confidently.

The shaman raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Then, pray tell, which goblet is the correct one, if not any of these?”

Daring turned and eyed the shaman, smiling softly.

“It’s around your neck.”

The shaman’s eyes twinkled kindly, as a warm smile crossed his old face. He stood up and carefully pulled up his beaded necklace to reveal a gnarled, rusted looking cup, no bigger than a coffee mug, hanging from the end of it by a small rope coil. It was bent and cracked from the impact it had taken when it fell to earth from Kamara Mista, and It’s gold finish had been tarnished over centuries of age. This was the Griffin’s Goblet.

She had found it at last.

The shaman bowed. “You are the first to make it this far in my temple. And the first to prove yourself worthy of the scared chalice.” He removed the rusted goblet from his necklace and held it out for Daring. “It is yours. You have earned it.”

Daring smiled as she gently took the rusty cup from the old zebra’s hoof. She looked it over. To the unwary eye, it looked like a beat up old cup. But now that she held it in her hooves, Daring felt that this goblet was indeed very special.

She looked up to the old zebra with tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “Thank you.” She said softly.

The shaman bowed again. “I wish you luck in your journey, young Pegasus. Return the chalice to its home. And find whom you seek.” He said kindly.

“Farewell.”

And with that he vanished, leaving Daring clutching the precious old goblet. Before Daring could react, a large door suddenly moved away from the wall and bright sunlight poured in. She blinked.

Then she smiled as she pocketed the goblet in her saddlebag. She looked towards the exit.

“There’s my way out.” She said cheerfully.

She made her way over to the door leading back out into the desert.

Before she walked through it, she turned back and looked back towards the place where the shaman had sat for centuries, guarding his beloved treasure. Daring tipped her helmet in respect. “Thanks Mr. Shaman. I’ll get this goblet home safe. I promise.”

With that, Daring exited the temple to rejoin Storm and Swift Wing.

Chapter 12: "The Spy."

Chapter 12: “The Spy.”

“That’s the Griffin’s Goblet??”

Storm looked just as surprised as Swift Wing. “It’s certainly…smaller than I would’ve expected.”

“And cruddier.”

Daring Do had returned from the Shaman’s Temple to the Storm’s Vengeance, with the Griffin’s Goblet in her saddlebag. She had been excited to show Storm and Swift the Griffin’s Goblet, but she had expected their reactions to be a little…underwhelmed.

Daring smiled and shrugged. “Y’know, it’s a little worse for wear, but if it can get us to Kamara Mista, then I can accept a few scratches here and there.” Daring held the goblet up so they could get a better look at it.

It was a beaten up, cracked old thing. The very last thing anyone would expect to be the mystical artifact that would lead the pony who found it to Kamara Mista, and allow them to receive the gift of true flight.

But that’s exactly what the shaman had knew. Which is why only the truly worthy would be able to even get the goblet, let alone use it.
And Daring had proved that she was truly worthy.

Swift Wing tilted her head to the side ,eyeballing the goblet. “So…how do we use it to find the city?” She asked curiously.

“That’s…a good question.”

Storm thought back to the legend of Kamara Mista. “This goblet shall leave its place and descend to the surface. When it is met with the gift of a griffin ,the city shall be found again.”

“Hmm. The gift of a griffin.”

“What’s the gift of a griffin?” Daring asked.

“I wish I knew. It must pertain to something simple, that any griffin could do.”

They all thought for a moment, but no one came up with anything. Storm decided to retire to his quarters to better study the goblet and see if he can find some hidden meaning to the legend’s instruction.

In the meantime, Daring and Swift were starving, so they went down to the kitchen to get some late lunch.

Swift Wing of course fixed herself another sandwich, while Daring made herself a fruit salad. They talked while they ate.

“So you really got to meet the shaman from the story??” Swift Wing asked excitedly. She had been particularly interested in hearing about it since Daring had told her and storm.

“Yep. Had the whole mystical master of meditation thing, and everything.”

Swift took a bite of her sandwich. “Howdah eck washe still aluve?

“Huh?

She swallowed. “How the heck was he still alive?”

Daring chuckled. “He said he had used some magic spell that allowed him to live for as long as the goblet was there. A thought crossed her mind. “Which means, when I took it…he…”

“Hey. He had to have been there a really long time. Plus we needed the goblet to find Kamara Mista. I’m sure he’s better off now. He doesn’t have to worry about guarding that ugly thing anymore.”

Daring thought for a moment. Swift was probably right. He had been guarding that thing for centuries. He had to have wanted to move on. “In the end, he had chosen me to return the goblet to its home.”

“And that’s exactly what were gonna do. He’d be proud to know the goblet is in good hooves.”

Daring smiled. “Thanks Swift.”

“Your welcome.”

Suddenly alarms began ringing all over the ship as the red light in the kitchen strobed.

“Augh! Can’t we have one friendly moment, without someone attacking us?”

A sailor opened the doors of the kitchen. “Ms. Do! You must come with me at once!”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s the captain! He’s been knocked out cold, and the goblet’s been stolen!”

“What!?”

Daring Do, Swift Wing and the Sailor raced to Storm’s quarters to see it wrecked from the result of a fierce struggle. Storm talon lay unconscious on the floor next to his desk, with a rather large welt on his forehead.

“Storm! Are you alright?”

He came to, rubbing his throbbing head and cursing himself.

“Coward. Hit me from behind when I wasn’t looking. I should’ve kept my guard up.”

Daring narrowed her eyes. “Who did this?”

“I didn’t see them. But there’s only one way out of my quarters, besides the cabin door. They must’ve used my escape hatch to the deck. Get a move on Daring! You can still catch them!”

“Don’t worry Storm. They’re not making it off this ship.”

Daring raced to the deck of the Vengeance to see a dark figure standing over the gangplank, waiting.

“Hold it right there! You’re not going anywhere!” Daring yelled out at them, over the sound of the ship’s propellers.

They turned for Daring to see that she knew exactly who this thief was.

It was Sky Call’s replacement, Sharp Talon. The sailor from the communications hub.

“You?? So you’re the Spy!”

He chuckled. “Surprised?”

“No, not really. I mean it makes sense that a spy would be hiding out in the communications hub.”

“Which would allow him to alert the Rising Thunder of your ship’s location?”

“That was you, too??”

He sighed. “It seems you aren’t as clever as I had you pegged, Ms. Do. So much for an award winning professor.”

Daring narrowed her eyes. “Enough of this. You’re coming with me, and you’re going to give us back the goblet.” She said menacingly.

“Or else what?”

“Or else, I’ll make you.”

He pretended to think for a moment. “Hmm. I think I’ll choose…neither.”

Suddenly, The Rising Thunder, in all its terrible glory ascended up from the clouds beside the Vengeance, making the whole ship rock unnervingly. Daring covered her eyes from the gale force winds being produced from the warship’s propellers, as Sharp Talon waved at her, before he took to the skies and landed on deck of the warship. Daring uncovered her eyes to see the warship start to turn as its cannons suddenly opened up all over its hull. And turned their sights on the Vengeance.

“Oh, Come On, that’s cheating!”

Daring yelped as she was suddenly knocked to the ground by the force of the entire ship suddenly jerking back to avoid the cannon fire.
She looked up to see Storm Talon at the ship’s wheel.

“Storm!”

“Hang on Daring! We’re not out of this fight yet!” He grabbed the wheel and turned it all the way to the right, making the ship spin on its tail end to face the Rising Thunder, which had now taken off across the horizon.

Storm pulled a lever next to him and Daring could hear the ship’s engines groan as they powered up. Storm hit a switch and the whole ship suddenly rocketed off, in pursuit of the Rising Thunder.

Chapter 13: "Race to Kamara Mista."

Chapter 13: “Race to Kamara Mista.”

The Storm’s Vengeance was in hot pursuit of The Rising Thunder. Daring Do stood on deck as the ship followed the massive warship through the evening sky. Where they were heading, she had no idea ,but she knew where they were going to end up.

CopperBeak must’ve discovered the secret to using the goblet to find Kamara Mista, and he had tried to slow the Vengeance down with cannon fire before taking off to find it.

Swift Wing had come up to the deck, shortly after Storm wheeled it around to avoid the Thunder’s cannons. She sat on deck with Daring as they watched the warship sail quietly in front of them.

“Do you think they know were following them?”

Daring looked back. “I don’t think so. If they did, I can’t imagine why they haven’t tried to shoot us out of the air yet.”

“Copper has what he wants now. He doesn’t care that were following him. He probably plans to deal with us when we reach Kamara Mista.” Storm said, still gripping the ship’s wheel.

“And…we have a plan for when that happens, right?”

“Working on it.”

Daring sighed. “Great.”

The Vengeance followed the Thunder through the clouds, as the sun began to set on the horizon. Daring and swift talked with one another, as Storm struggled to keep his eyes open.

"So, how much longer do you think we'll be following this guy?"

Daring took off her helmet and set it down as she smoothed her grey and black mane. "Not sure. However long it takes him to find the city, I guess."

Swift laughed. "We'll if that's the case, then were never gonna get there. He had to get you to find the goblet for him, cause he was too lazy to do it himself! I'm pretty sure he couldn't hope to find the actual city on his own."

Daring and Swift both laughed, as they leaned over the deck looking out at the evening sky.

Meanwhile, Storm was still a little woozy from the blow to the head he’d received. Still he stayed vigilant, watching the Thunder maneuver through the clouds, with the vengeance following the same path.

Swift looked back at him. "Is he sure he should be up and around like that? That's a pretty big mark on his head."

Daring smiled. "Trust me, it'll take more than that to put Captain Storm Talon out of commission."

She looked back at the old griffin, watching his steely gaze that was fixated on the warship in front of them.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure he's more upset that he let himself get jumped, than that huge welt on his head."

"Or any brain damage he might have gotten from it." Swift whispered.

" I heard that!"

They laughed again ,turning their attention back to the sky.

An hour passed before something suddenly occurred to Storm. How far had they sailed? He looked around and saw that they were no longer above an ocean of water, but were now sailing across a sea of clouds. Great wisps of white, swirled around the ship as they maneuvered through it. There was no visible earth anywhere!

Storm suddenly looked alarmed. They hadn’t gone any higher. Why were all these clouds gathered in one spot?
He looked back to the thunder to see a surprising sight. The ship had halted all of its engines ,and now simply hovered there in the sky!

Storm pulled the ship's break,halting the ships own engines,letting the propellers keep them in the air. The ship stopped just behind the Thunder.

Daring was nearly knocked over the edge of the deck by the sudden stop. "Hey! Storm what's-

She stopped as she too spotted the warship, hovering like a ghost above a cloud ocean.

“Um, Storm? Why did they stop?”

“I wish I had an answer for you, Daring. This must be some sort of trick to distract us. Copper may attack us sooner than we anticipated!”

They all looked back, but still the warship showed no sign of prepping an attack, sending an envoy or anything. It was eerily quiet.

Swift Wing looked over the balcony and gasped. "What? W-where did all these clouds come from?"

Daring spread her wings and flew up to the crow's nest. She looked out and saw nothing but white around them. "T-There's no land! There isn't any landmass anywhere!" She called down to Storm and Swift. "It's just a sea of clouds!"

Swift Wing continued to look over the deck, awestruck.

"Nothing but clouds, all the way down."

One more minute of silence passed, before a loud rumble suddenly caught everyone’s ears. It seemed to be coming from beneath them, and it was getting louder by the second.

“What’s going on?” Swift wing called over the ever growing intensity of the rumbling noise.

Storm began to lose his grip on the wheel. “I don’t know! But whatever it is, I think it’s just starting! Brace Yourselves!”

The rumbling had grown so loud now that Daring and Swift wing had to cover their ears, as the whole ship was now shaking like it was having its own earthquake.

Swift grabbed onto a nearby post and held on tightly.

Storm tied a lifeline around the wheel.

"DARING! GET DOWN HERE, NOW!"

Unfortunately, Daring didn't have time to react to Storm's order.

Underneath them, the earth itself exploded as a ridiculously huge geyser of water suddenly shot up from below the cloud sea and propelled both them and the Rising Thunder skyward, at such speeds it knocked all of them senseless.

But Daring took it the worst. She was completely pinned to the floor as the intense air pressure hit her on all sides. She had been 15 feet above the deck, inside a dinky crows nest at the highest point of the ship, when the ship had been shot into the atmosphere.

Needless to say, she wasn't feeling too great right now.

Daring struggled to open her eyes as the earth grew smaller beneath them, the ship rising higher and higher into the air. She struggled to catch her breath as the intense pressure was nearly squeezing the life out of her.

The wind rushed at hurricane level speeds around her ears, as Daring tried in vain to stand up. She could feel the air grow colder as they were launched higher still into the atmosphere.

Then, all at once. It stopped.

Everything stopped.

Time stopped.

And in front of them was Kamara Mista.

Chapter 14: "A City Built By Talons and Hooves."

Chapter 14: “A City Built By Talons and Hooves.”

It took Daring Do a full minute to register what had just happened, and where she and the Storm’s Vengeance now where. Her jaw dropped as she stood up in the Crow’s nest and looked around to see herself in another world.

Rays of golden sunlight shined down in streaks all around them, illuminating the entire sky in a golden hue.

Great gleaming clouds floated around with giant marble statues of ancient looking Griffins and Ponies resting on top of them.

Huge floating islands, with great water falls pouring down to the earth below, peppered the scenery.

And in the center of it all, was the most beautiful city Daring had ever laid eyes on.

It was like a world onto itself. A sprawling complex of glittering, soaring spires and sweeping buttresses. The magnificent architecture of it all, seemed to pulse with streams of light, and the entirety of it emblazoned against a backdrop of a radiant luminescence that seemed to stretch to infinity.

Daring had no words. Because no words were needed.

She let herself glide down to join Storm and Swift Wing on deck, who were also gazing out at the magnificent city in pure awe. None of them were able to look away.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have much time to appreciate the great lost city’s beauty, as the scene was suddenly blocked out by The Rising Thunder, with all its guns trained on the Vengeance.

Storm snapped back to reality, Just as the cannons fired. He seized the wheel and threw it a random direction.

Daring and Swift were thrown aside as the Storm’s Vengeance spun to the left, nearly colliding into a nearby floating island. A shot missed, but the other exploded into the side of the ship ,throwing Storm off the wheel.

In a matter of minutes, cannon fire was flying in all directions from both ships, As griffins scrambled all over different parts of the ship, while Storm barked orders to his crew.

“All soldiers to stations! Lock down the central propeller! All Cannons, be ready to return fire!”

“Sir! We’ve taken damage on the port-side hull!”

“Get someone down there on the double, We can’t afford any risks in this fight. Get it patched as soon as you can!”

“Aye, Sir!”

Daring and Swift Wing did all they could to aid the griffins in the fight, but it was becoming clear that they couldn’t afford a huge sky battle. Not when they were literally right outside Kamara Mista’s front door.

Daring turned to Storm. “Storm! We don’t have time for this!” She yelled over the cannon fire.

“We’re literally right outside the city! We need to get in there, before CopperBeak does!”

Storm nodded but looked unsure. “Your right Daring, but I can’t afford to leave the ship. My men need me to-“

“Storm. My father could be waiting for me down there.

“I need you.”

Daring’s words touched the old griffin. He thought for a moment.

Then gave a determined smile.

“Cloud! Front and center!”

Sergeant Cloud flew over and saluted storm. “Aye, Sir?”

“We’re going down to the city to stop Copper. I need you to stay on deck and keep that Dreadnought busy!”

Cloud’s eyes widened. “Sir, I-“

“Is that understood Cloud?”

Cloud looked taken aback a bit. But he saluted storm again. “Sir, Aye, Sir!”

Storm nodded and saluted Cloud back.

As the Sergeant flew off, Storm turned to Daring.

“Alright. So how do we intend to reach the city?”

“Ummm…fly?”

Storm looked surprised to say the least. “Fly!? While cannon fire is being hurled left and right from both ends?”

“Well I don’t know, I thought you had a plan!”

“I thought you had a plan!”

Swift Wing raised a hoof. “I’ve got one.”

Daring and Storm both looked at her. “You do?” they said in unison.

Swift smiled and nodded. “Follow me.”

Below Deck

“No.”

“Storm, it’s the only way.”

“No.”

“Storm-“

“These crafts were not designed for maneuvering through a war-zone! They were meant to take griffin soldiers or civilians to safety in case the ship was going down.”

Daring eyed him. “Well, you got a better idea on how to get there?”

“I…well…No.”

Daring smiled then gestured a hoof to the escape ship’s pod door. “Alright, so: Griffins first!”

Storm grumbled to himself as he entered the small confines of the escape pod.

As Daring entered, she turned to Swift Wing outside the door. “So…you know how to fly this thing right?”

Swift Wing gave a nervous smile and scratched her head. “Oh yeah...you know…maybe?”

“Maybe?”

“Hey, it can’t be any different then flying a plane can it?”

“Heh. Fair enough.”

With that, Swift Wing, Storm Talon and Daring Do were all seated in the escape pod as the ship rocked from time to time from the force of the firing cannons.

Before Storm could protest, Swift Wing had activated the controls and launched the escape pod into the skies, bound for Kamara Mista.

Chapter 15: "The Gates Of Kamara Mista."

Chapter 15: “The Gates Of Kamara Mista.”

The skies around them exploded as Daring and her team’s lone escape ship dipped, dived and weaved around the cannon fire like a mad hornet through a mine field. This was not the way griffin escape ships were meant to fly.

But Swift Wing was having too much fun to care.

Storm on the other hand, was beside himself.

“This isn’t a fighter plane!” He yelled, over the innumerable explosions going off around them.

Swift only smiled wider. ”It is now, old-timer!” She let a whoop of victory as she did a barrel roll past another mortar shot.

Daring was laying down, one hoof holding her helmet down, the other wrapped firmly around a support brace. Storm looked at her for support, but she only smiled.

“Let her, have her moment.”

Storm’s eyes widened. “Her moment, is going to get us killed!” He yelled.

Daring shrugged.

“Or, maybe it won’t! Positives, Storm.”

Storm rolled his eyes. “Of course, Positives. How foolish of me!” He said sarcastically.

Daring laughed. “That’s the spirit!”

The small escape ship looked like a small bronze fly dodging and weaving through a massive fireworks display. They had a few close calls, but Swift Wing’s reckless yet expert piloting got them through to the sparkling courtyard on the outer rim of Kamara Mista.

The craft landed not at all gently, but they were alive and well.

Or at least alive.

Storm was the first out of the ship, landing face first on the sparkling gold colored stone and taking deep breaths.

Daring casually strolled out of the ship, brushing back her mane before putting her helmet back on. She looked over at Storm and chuckled.

“Not feeling too good?”

“*huff*…were lucky to be alive.”

Swift Wing strolled out next. “Oh come on! My flying wasn’t that bad.”

Storm picked himself up and flapped the dust from his wings. “We’ll…I’ll be honest. I’ve seen worse.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Swift turned to Daring. “C’mon Daring, back me up on this.”

….Daring?”

Daring didn’t hear her. She could only hear the sound of her own heart racing as she took in every detail of what she was now seeing. Her eyes widened to better allow her to see everything.

Then Storm and Daring saw it as well, and reacted the same way.

They were in a gargantuan courtyard of shining gold and white stone. They walked to the edge to see a great gleaming staircase leading up to an enormous bronze gate. Powerful looking griffin statues stood at 50 feet at either side of the gate, Guarding it.

Daring and her friends said nothing as they made their way to the stairs to the gate. They looked around and saw great pillars carved to the smallest detail to resemble clouds with flecks of gold rolling over their surface.

Swift looked to see a small clearing with several exotic and strange plants shed never seen before, blooming in the light. Unwatered.

Daring suddenly took off up the steps at full gallop and sat at the base of the great gate, unable to see the top of it, no matter how far back she leaned. She fell back and let the moment consume her. She laughed happily as tears began to form in her eyes.

She had done it. She had found Kamara Mista. The Great City of the Clouds. The place she'd only dreamed about as a filly, after hearing the legend from her father for so many bedtime stories. She was there now. And maybe her father was here to.

“We did it dad. We found it.”

Swift Wing walked up to her beaming. “Why don’t we head in, so you can tell him yourself?”

She offered a hoof.

Daring laughed as she took it and was pulled up to her feet. “Yeah. Let’s do that.”

They both looked up at the enormous gate. Inlaid in the brass metal was intricate symbols along with several designs of Ponies and Griffins flying, planting gardens, and building homes. At the top was a carving of a great spire tower with a beacon of light shining in waves from its window.

Daring took a moment to admire the artwork, before a thought crossed her mind.

“So…how do we get in, exactly?”

Swift Wing scratched her head. “Um…No clue.”

“Storm!”

Storm Talon was already gazing up at the gate when Daring yelled for him. He looked at the carvings etched into its surface in awe.

“Remarkable! This city is so well preserved. There’s not a speck of dust or debris on any surface.”

His eyes suddenly lit up.

“Of course! We're at the perfect elevation where dust cannot reach anything, nor can air and moisture break any metal materials down! Nothing up here will erode or become covered in dust. Ever! Oh, this is simply amazing! And me without a journal!”

“Storm.”

“Huh?”

“How do we get in?”

“Oh, yes.”

He looked over the artisan crafted surface of the brass gate. “Well…this gate was obviously operable. There must be a switch or a lever of some kind. We won’t find it on ground level though.”

“Why?”

“It wasn’t exactly a common practice for ancient cultures to have the switch for letting strangers into their great cities, on the outside of their gate.” Storm replied.

“Oh.”

Daring scanned the area. Apart from the truly magnificent architecture, she saw nothing that looked like a switch.

Then she spotted it, high up near the top of the gate. She squinted to see the lever catch a gleam of sunlight.

She took off from the ground and landed at the small perch where the lever jutted from the wall.

“Okay, so…about a fifty-fifty chance this will either open the gate, or kill us in some horrible way.” She told herself.

“Let’s hope it’s the second.”

She grabbed the lever and with effort pulled it down. She jumped as the loud clunk of metal and sounds of grinding stone gears echoed through the courtyard.

Suddenly she saw from the perch, that the great griffin statues which stood as high as the gate came to life and grasped a side of the gate.

The griffin automatons pulled, moving the great brass doors apart and revealing the city of Kamara Mista.

Daring landed back at the top of stairs, and the three adventurers walked through, as the gates continued to open.

Daring felt her heart skip a beat as she took in the splendor of the city.

“Holy Celestia Above.” Storm said, completely awestruck.

They walked to a great outdoor hall of gleaming gold inlaid in white stone, and a set of stone steps that became a marble tile pathway stretching into the city.

Great golden spires and towers rose up from the depths of the city, amongst small lavish homes with draped and domed roofs.

Towering staircases which lead to different parts of the city were adorned by aqueducts,which had sparkling clear water rushing through them in rivers,which emptied into great lakes and ponds around the sprawling metropolis.

Huge marble statues of griffins and ponies in centurion like armor stood proudly at the bases of several buildings.

Lush gardens brimming with life and vibrant colors, grew in parks and small inlays around the streets.

The city of Kamara Mista, was a whole world onto itself.

Chapter 16: "Waters Of Life."

Chapter 16: “Waters of Life.”

Daring Do and her friends made their way through the gilded streets of Kamara Mista, taking in everything they could of the wondrous city. They passed through a large market place where many shops had produce that no one ever sold, the city having been evacuated by some great unknown force.

Swift Wing had been unable to contain herself as she kept pointing out the slightest thing and acting like it was the single coolest thing she'd ever seen. She was sure she'd never want to leave.

“Whoa! Look at those buildings! It’s like their built right into the clouds!” She exclaimed excitedly, gesturing towards several lavish homes that floated above them on glittery clouds.

Speaking of clouds, Daring and Storm practically had to pry Swift off of whatever clouds she had the opportunity to walk on. She trotted in place waiting for her to fall through it. And when she didn’t, she would squeal with delight, and hop up and down like a giddy little filly.

Storm chuckled. “She’s certainly enjoying herself.”

Daring smiled as Swift Wing was now behind one of the market stalls, gathering a bushel of apples that had been left behind.

“This place is a dream come true for her. She’s wanted to see this place her whole life”

Storm smiled. “And because of you, she gets to.” He said warmly.

Daring smiled, as Swift Wing hurried over to them with a bag of apples clutched in her mouth. “Guys, Your not going to believe this! These apples are still fresh. It’s like they were just picked yesterday!”

“Really?” Daring asked taking an apple and examining it. It shined in the sun and there wasn’t a single bruise or spot on it. It looked fresher then fresh.

She shrugged and took a bite out of it, astounded that it tasted even better then a normal apple.

“This is amazing! How’s this possible?”

Storm’s eyes widened at the preserved state of not just the apples but all the food and produce in the stalls was completely fresh and edible.

“It must be the constant air pressure. Were high up enough, that the cold keeps them refrigerated, and the pressure keeps the freshness sealed in! Astounding!”

Daring was amazed to see that nothing had spoiled, and had been preserved by constant air pressure from the city’s climate. The wonders of this place were truly something to behold.

As they continued down the street, Daring became lost in thought. She began to wonder what the city was like back when griffins and ponies roamed these streets, not fully understanding the gifts they had been given. How ashamed they must’ve felt, to be cast out of such an amazing place by their own petty squabbles and indifference. Because they didn’t appreciate what they had.

Daring’s mind shifted to her father. Had he appreciated what he had? If he did, why did he leave her, her mom and her sister all those years ago? Did he plan on coming back? And what was so important to him that he would abandon his family like that?

Daring felt a tightness in her chest as she began to question just what she’d say to her father if she found him here. Would she say she was happy to see him after so long? Or would she be angry for him leaving her them? Or would she just straight up deck him in the muzzle, and then apologize for it afterwards? Daring wasn’t sure.

Daring was brought out of her thoughts by Swift Wing’s sudden exclaim. “Whoa! Look at That!”

They followed her pointing hoof to see a huge cathedral like building stretch out in all directions in front of them, resembling a Vatican of smaller church like buildings and soaring spires.

In the center of this complex was a massive gilded tower that towered above everything, climbing through the clouds and above the whole city.

A sparkling river poured out from aqueducts along the sides of the complex and circled the whole place in a swirling intricate pattern of diamond shapes and swirls. Daring noticed that from above, the pattern would’ve resembled a pair of outstretched wings.

“Kamara Serena.” She said softly. It was even more beautiful then she had thought.

Daring yelped as she was suddenly pressed to the ground by a strong arm.

“What the?!”

“Shhh!” Storm Talon warned. “Look over the bridge.”

Daring looked across the bridge that connected Kamara Serena to the rest of the city and saw a squad of heavily armed griffin soldiers patrolling the outskirts of the complex.

Daring narrowed her eyes. “Those are CopperBeak’s men, I take it?”

“Yes. They must’ve entered the city shortly before us.”

Swift Wing lowered herself to the ground.“But, how’d they get in? The only way was through that gate, and it was sealed up when we got here.”

“My guess is, they didn’t exactly use a gate. Probably dropped in from the air, which is how they were able to locate and lock down this place so quickly.”

“So…what’s the plan then?”

Storm eased up on Daring, as the patrol turned around the corner. “I’m not sure. We can’t really know how many are in the building let alone the outside.”

“We’ll we can’t just wait here! We have to get in there now! Copper’s already probably found the waters that ’ll give him True Flight!” Daring exclaimed angrily.

“I realize that Daring, But we can’t just go in there without a plan of action!”

Storm turned to Swift Wing. “Ms.Wing, could you perhaps double back to the market place? Perhaps there’s something there that will let us move closer, undetected. A large crate or some such.”

“Yeah, sure. But one question.”

“Yes?”

“Is that before or after Daring beats the feathers off those guys?”

Storm turned back to see that Daring had suddenly bolted up the bridge, to the complex’s courtyard and had tackled one of the griffins to the ground.

“DARING!?”

Daring Do didn’t hear Storm’s yell. She expertly dodged a flurry of sword swipes from one solider, before standing on her hind legs, grabbing his arm and judo throwing him over her shoulder.

Another Griffin made a dive for her but she flipped over him landing a hard drop kick to his shoulder.

One actually managed to catch her in a headlock, but she elbowed him in the ribs, then the beak, then finally brought her back leg up to deliver a swift back kick to his face, sending him tumbling backward onto the ground.

Two griffins attempted to gang up on her ,but they only grabbed air as she dodged one tackle and then the next, making them collide into one another.

A very burly griffin picked her up off the ground by the collar of her shirt and held her aloft, laughing mockingly. He wasn’t laughing for long, as Daring reared her legs back and gave a powerful double hoofed uppercut kick to the underside of the griffin’s beak knocking him out instantly.

Storm and Swift watched in awe as a new griffin appeared from the corner every minute, only to be shortly beaten by Daring. They were no match for the mare’s years of martial arts training, she’d picked up all over the world.

After about ten minutes, the last of Copper’s men lay in a heap at Daring’s feet as she panted heavily, with drips of sweat pouring down her brow.

Storm shook his head. “Reckless. Utterly, and completely, reckless.”

Swift Wing smiled wider than she ever had as she squeed with delight. “So…Awesome!!”

Daring smiled and waved for them to join her in the courtyard.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Storm scolded.

“Hey! I didn’t see you coming up with anything!”

“I had a plan!”

“Let me guess, did it involve us sneaking past them in a crate or something?”

“I, well…um.”

“Yeah. We would’ve been here for hours. Meanwhile that crazy ex-navy buddy of yours is on his way to gaining the powers of true flight, then taking over the world! We don’t have time to plan anymore, Storm!”

“Daring.”

“This isn’t about me and my dad anymore! Don’t you get it? Were the only thing that can save the ponies of Equestria from that madman! If he and his men get that water, no pony will be safe. We’re here to stop him. And that’s what we’re going to do.”

Storm Talon eyed Daring for a moment. Then he smiled.

“I couldn’t agree more, Daring.”

They both smiled at one another, and then turned to make their way up the marble steps and through the huge doorway into Kamara Serena, with Swift Wing following suit.

They came into a huge well-lit temple room with high painted dome ceilings. Various tapestries of what were probably great griffin and pony heroes and warriors, adorned the gold encrusted white marble walls.

A massive golden statue of a powerful looking griffin in an ornate headpiece and armor stood as tall as the ceiling at the end of the room, beneath a large drain grate.

He clutched in his mighty talon, a huge golden goblet, which tilted at a slight downwards angle, allowing the sparkling waters it contained to steadily pour in a single stream into the massive sparkling marble fountain around the statue.

Storm gazed up at the huge golden griffin. “The waters of Kamara Serena. This must be how the rainwater was collected. Pouring in through the huge tower directly into that goblet which then poured into this pool. The old griffin architects were truly beyond their time.” He stated awestruck.

Suddenly they heard a cold voice from behind them. “Breathtaking isn’t it?”

Daring and her friends whirled around to see CopperBeak standing atop a large beam above them. He smiled wickedly as he looked down at them.

“A whole city, where ponies and griffins could share the skies, in harmony.” The way he said this, was as if he was reciting a joke he found very amusing.

“Bah! The skies were meant for the griffins, and griffins only!” he snarled. “Ponies should stay on the ground where they belong.” He added, giving Daring a very menacing look.

She winced a bit as his eyes seemed to drill right through her. But Storm came to her defense.

“This ends now, Copper. What you’re doing, What your planning is complete madness!” Storm exclaimed.

“MADNESS!?” Copper bellowed.

“You want to know what true madness is Storm?” he laughed.

Storm Talon narrowed his eyes at Copper in response.

“It’s this! This temple, this whole bloody place! You know what Kamara Mista translates to?”

Daring raised an eyebrow. She’d never really thought of that. What did Kamara Mista mean?

Copper chuckled to himself. “It means Holy Cloud. Kamara Serena means Holy Sanctuary.”

“These griffins and ponies thought they were gods! There’s nothing holy about this miserable place! It was just a fool’s dream that ended up the way it did, not because of fate or some higher power!”

CopperBeak looked down on them again as his eyes grew colder. “It was because griffins and ponies were never meant to be friends. That’s why this holy city failed.”

“You’re wrong!”

Daring turned to see that Swift Wing had stepped forward bravely. “This place was made for that exact reason, because ponies and griffins were meant to be friends!” she exclaimed.

“No place is perfect, but they got along. They shared the skies, they lived together, they grew crops and built homes for each other! This place may have failed, but it wasn’t because it wasn’t meant to be.”

Swift Wing glared menacingly at CopperBeak. “It was because of griffins like you. Griffins who were too selfish and greedy to allow a utopia like this to exist! They were just as narrow-minded as you, wanting everyone to fight each other, so they could have all the glory. It’s your fault that Kamara Mista was abandoned!”

Swift Wing had tears in her eyes now, but she held them back. “So, if you’re going to blame anyone for the fall of this great city, blame yourself!”

Daring and Storm both looked at Swift Wing with admiration. Whoa! Way to go, Swift Wing! Daring thought to herself as she smiled at her.

CopperBeak clapped mockingly.

“You’ve got spirit, little pony.” He said plainly.

“But I could care less what happened to this city, or who’s to blame.”

He pulled out the Griffin’s Goblet. “I only came to get what’s mine.”

Storm Talon soared off the ground and locked eyes with the wicked griffin. “Over my dead body.” He said gravely.

Copper chuckled, putting the goblet away.

“Gladly.”

And he tackled Storm, smashing them both into the far wall. The two griffins fought in the air, each taking shots at the other. As talons raked and beaks bit, the goblet fell from copper’s satchel and into the pool below.

Daring made a dive for the pool, but was knocked aside by one of Copper’s men, who were now storming the temple.

Daring clocked the griffin across the face and sprang to her hooves while swift ducked under another griffin's sword swing. The two ponies stood flank to flank as the sword wielding griffins closed in around them.

“Well…this should be fun.” Daring said with a smile.

“Right?” Swift agreed.

And the fight began.

Chapter 17: "Flight Beyond Flight."

Chapter 17: “Flight Beyond Flight.”

A large griffin hit the wall as his buddy had been caught in a head lock by Daring Do. Swift Wing ducked under one’s attempt to grab at her mane, spun around then landed a hard buck to the griffin’s backside sending him flying into the wall.

Daring and Swift Wing had been largely outnumbered by at least 47 Griffin soldiers. But the griffins were ones at the disadvantage in this fight. The two ponies had barely broken a sweat as they took down griffin after griffin with nothing but their bare hooves.

But the real fight was happening above them, as CopperBeak and Storm Talon fought in a fierce griffin vs griffin battle. CopperBeak had proven he was a very strong fighter, and Storm had been overwhelmed at times. But he kept at it, as the two collided into the wall, and fell to the floor.

Daring slugged a soilder in the beak as she turned to see the two griffins getting up off the floor. She had to get the goblet before Copper did!

She lept into the pool and began frantically searching for the rusted goblet.

“You won’t take this away from me, pony!”

CopperBeak was now speeding towards her, talons outstretched.

She found the goblet near the right side of the fountain, clutched it in her mouth, spread her wings, then soared out of the fountain, just as Copper made a grab for her tail.

Daring sped through the air as fast as her wings could flap, but Copper was in hot pursuit. She ducked under a beam and swerved around several pillars as the griffin was gaining up on her.

He closed the distance and made one final grab for her, before he was tackled out of the air by Storm Talon.

“Storm!”

“Don’t worry about me! Get rid of that thing, before he has chance to use it!”

Daring nodded and removed the goblet from her mouth, spitting out the nasty taste of rust along with it.

She searched around the room for a spot she could hide the goblet. Then she looked up and saw the huge gold goblet the griffin statue was holding.

She clutched the goblet, pulled back her arm then threw the goblet will all her strength. It soared up and dropped into the water filled golden basin with a splash.

“YOU MEDDLESOME LITTLE INSECT!!” CopperBeak bellowed.

Daring looked back to see Copper snarling at her as Storm had him restrained from under his wings. But the griffin broke free and proceeded to fly after Daring again.

But this time Storm grabbed him by his back legs and hurled him into the far wall, where he slid to the floor knocked out.

“Yeah! Nice job Storm!”

“What are you waiting for?! Get that goblet before he wakes up!”

“Oh!...right!”

Daring soared up to the huge golden basin that the statue held and saw the goblet teetering on the edge of it. But then she saw something else. Something that made her chest tighten and her breath catch in her throat.

It was her dad’s jacket.

It lay on the side, half submerged in water. But there was no mistaking it. A thick brown leather jacket, with the family motto inscribed on a patch on the front of it. “Do or Die. That’s the Adventurer’s Way.”

She hovered in the air frozen. She stared at the beat up jacket with more wonder then any treasure she’d ever seen. Her father’s jacket! He had been here!

She quickly retrieved the jacket from its place and looked it over. It was too big for her, obviously. Her father had always been a fairly strong and burly Pegasus after all. There was dirt on the patch that bore the family crest. She lovingly wiped it off and smiled looking down at it.

She hadn’t found her dad. But she didn’t care. This jacket proved he had been here. That he was still alive out there, somewhere. And that was all she needed.

Daring gently tucked the jacket under her wing, grabbed the goblet then turned around, to come face to face with CopperBeak.

“Give me the goblet. Now.” He growled menacingly, his eyes narrowed to slits.

But Daring stood her ground. With her father’s jacket under her wing, she found she had enough courage to smile and say “Make me.”

“RRRRAAGGHHHHHH!!” Copper yelled furiously, as he dove at Daring.

“Swift, get the goblet!”

Daring hurled the goblet into the fountain below, as her friend turned to see it just in time.

Swift Wing leaped into the fountain, found the goblet, and held it up.

“I got it!”

Daring slugged Copper across the beak as she flew to his side and delivered a heavy kick to his side. He howled, but not in pain. She was just making him angrier.

“DRINK IT!”

“What!? I don’t have wings, Daring!”

“You don’t need to! DRINK!”

Swift wing looked down at the goblet. The small rusted thing gave off a strange aura, as the sparkling incandescent water shined within it.

Swift Wing took a deep breath, then tilted the goblet back to her mouth, downing every drop of the water within.

Suddenly a massive gust of air blasted through the temple, as the winds began to circle around Swift Wing. She covered her face, until she was lifted into the air.

She floated as huge arcs of golden energy crackled over her body and she began to glow with a bright yellow aura, enveloping the whole room in a yellow glow.

The energy converged to her hooves, swirling around each individual hoof like mini sparking tornadoes.

Swift Wing’s eyes lit up as she struggled to speak from her excitement.

Her grin covered her whole face as she said softly “I’m…flying.”

She looked at Daring. “I’m, Flying!”

Daring nodded and smiled.

Swift Wing soared upwards and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“I’M FLYING!!!!”

She took off through the temple at unbelievable speeds, ducking and weaving around pillars and beams as the wind itself seemed to carry her effortlessly through the temple. Swift Wing had never been more happy in her entire life. Tears ran down her face as she did a few backflips through the air.

She landed back on the ground, touching the ground with the softest step as the wind swirled gently around her, as if it was protecting her.

She wiped the tears from her face, but she kept crying as she began to sob now, in spite of herself.

“I can fly…” She sobbed.

Daring smiled broadly at her, as CopperBeak who had been watching in awe, flew into a rage.

“NOOOOO!!!”

He dove towards Swift Wing at full speed, and clutched a talon around her neck.

But he grabbed air as Swift Wing vanished right in front of him, leaving behind a wind gust that sent Copper flying back where he slammed into a wall.

He recovered and looked back, dumbfounded. “W-what? How?”

“Up here, birdbrain!”

He looked up to see Swift Wing looking down at him, arms crossed and a sly grin on her face. She was floating in the air, but in a way where it looked like she didn’t need to use any effort at all. As if flying was easier then breathing to her.

Copper shouted as he soared up towards her, but he smashed into the ceiling as Swift had vanished once again. Chunks of marble hit the floor as the ceiling cracked from his impact.

“Let’s take this outside shall we?” Swift Wing called from the entrance. She flew out the temple doors, with CopperBeak in hot pursuit.

Daring was amazed. Not even she could keep track of how fast Swift Wing had flown. And she did it so gracefully and flawlessly. Daring had never seen any pony fly like this.

“Flight beyond flight.”

She smiled as she flew outside and took a seat on the temple steps to watch the action.

Swift Wing blasted across the skies at such speeds that the clouds whipped forward to keep up with her. CopperBeak struggled to keep up the chase, as she skated gracefully around corners of the horizon.

She flew down to the city and began to weave through the buildings, with CopperBeak now searching in around trying to keep track of her. She moved too fast for him to see.

He felt a hoof tap him on the shoulder. “Giving up already? We were just getting started.”

He whipped around and slashed a claw at her, but Swift Wing disappeared again, just as quickly as before.

“Missed me!”

He slashed at her again.

“Try again!”

He slashed at her again and again, but Swift Wing danced around each strike with unparalleled grace.

She soared high into the air and causally side stepped a tackle attempt from CopperBeak.

Looking out at the outskirts of Kamara Mista, Swift Wing suddenly spotted the Rising Thunder, parked at one of the floating islands. She smiled as a fun idea crossed her mind.

“Hey fly-boy!”

CopperBeak looked up at her, in spite of himself.

She smiled cheerfully. “Catch me if you can!”

She took off towards the Rising Thunder with an enraged CopperBeak chasing after her.

Chapter 18: "The Journal."

Chapter 18: “The Journal.”

Meanwhile back on the ground, Daring Do was fonding over her father’s jacket. It was the only thing of his she’d seen since he disappeared all those years ago. She held it out so it would dry in the sun.

That’s when a small leather bound notebook fell out of one of the pockets.

Daring quickly retrieved it from the ground and looked it over. On the cover was a frayed and worn emblem of the Do family crest, and below it the family’s motto. (Do or Die. That’s The Adventurer’s Way.)

It’s pages were bloated with several out of place bookmarks and sticky notes, and the inside of it was no easier to read then hieroglyphics (as some pages were literally written in hieroglyphics.)

But as Daring carefully peeled through the pages of the worn journal, she came across several pages that described in great detail, expeditions and adventures that her father had gone on, over the years.

She saw several pages that seemed to categorize themselves on certain expeditions. She saw one page with the title Atlantis. Scrawled across the top and underlined twice.

Atlantis!? The Atlantis? Had Daring’s father really gone after the most famous lost city in history? Beyond this, the date scrawled underneath stood out the most to her.

It was written exactly one week after he had disappeared!

Daring’s heart was beating faster by the minute as she looked over her father’s notes on his Atlantis Expedition.

Day 1: Baulkham State University, Fillydelphia (Atlantis Expedition)

My first week away from Darla and the girls hasn’t been easy. But it’ll all be worth it once I find Atlantis. A discovery like this, will support our whole family for generations! The Do name will be legendary, once again. And my darling Daring and Darlene will have a father they can look up to.

Right now I’m waiting to meet with Professor Atlas, an old friend of mine from my earlier adventure days.

She’s reported several articles on Atlantis and she even claims to have an artifact that came directly from the city itself! She’s my ticket to finding the city, I just know it!

I’ll only be gone for a little while longer. I look forward to the day I can return home to them with the discovery of a lifetime under my belt.

Wait for me, Daring. Take care of your little sister and mother. Daddy will be home soon.

-Daren Do, Oct. 6th, 781

Tears welled up in Daring’s eyes as she finished reading. She could almost hear her father read the words to her as she looked at the page.

“Daddy will be home soon.”

“So where are you dad?” Daring asked herself softly.

“…Where are you?”

“Daring?”

Daring turned to see Storm Talon, bruised and scratched up. But still okay.

“Storm.”

“I’m Fine, Daring. Believe me, I’ve take a lot worse.”

His eyes found Daring’s hooves clutching the jacket.

“Daring! I-Is that-“

“He was here storm. My dad’s alive, and he’s out there somewhere.”

“Dear Celestia.”

“He left this in the pocket too.”

Daring showed him the journal. He took it gently in his talons, and scanned its pages.

“What?...why this. This is-“

“Looks like we got another adventure, after this one!” Daring said cheerfully.

Storm was speechless, as his eyes grew wider.

Then he smiled. Atlantis. How very like you, Daren. Your daughter’s just as stubborn and bright eyed as you. You must be so proud of her. He thought wistfully.

He glanced around. “Where’s Ms. Wing?”

“Oh she’s flying around the city, fighting CopperBeak.”

Oh.”

….

“WAIT, WHAT!?”

Back up in the skies, Swift Wing and CopperBeak circled around The Rising Thunder, skimming the clouds as CopperBeak’s men swarmed the deck, many either confused or just wanting to see what’s going on.

Copper was unable to keep up with Swift Wing’s speed, nor her immeasurable flying skill. The goblet had given her the power, but it was her spirit that allowed her to wield it so perfectly.

Even if he and his men had drank from the goblet, they still wouldn’t be able to fly like that. Not even close.

This fact only enraged Copper even further. He was losing to a pony who couldn’t even fly. No…he was losing to a pony, period.

“ALL CANNONS, FIRE AT THE EARTH PONY! BLAST HER OUT OF THE SKY!”

Swift Wing stopped and looked down at the hail of cannon fire hurtling at her.

“Really? You couldn’t play fair, for even a minute?” She asked.

She effortlessly dodged every single shot, and the winds swirling around her sent several flying back towards the ship, where they exploded through its hull, scattering debris through the air.

As more shots fired at her, the more were sent back towards the ship by the massive swirling winds that shielded her. The ship was taking more and more damage by the second, as many griffins began to fly off.

“Where are you going!? YOU COWARDS!” Copper shouted after them.

The ship had been completely abandoned as it struggled to stay in the air.

The ship began to lean towards the right as smoke poured from the holes in its hull. A propeller that had been hit directly and began to grate and screech as it came undone and flew into one of the engines.

The engine exploded as a chain reaction caused the whole ship to explode in a massive fireball that sent Swift Wing and Copper flying backwards.

Flaming debris rained down around the golden backdrop of Kamara Mista as the smoldering remains of the Rising Thunder plunged beneath the sea of clouds, and vanished from sight.

Swift Wing managed to spin her body around before she hit the stone street of the city, Skittering to a clean halt.

CopperBeak however wasn’t so lucky. He was sent flying through the window of a large tower, down to the temple where he hit the top of the doorway, and landed in a heap on the temple steps.

Daring and Storm ran up to him. He was knocked out cold.

Daring smiled. “Welp, looks like Swift showed him!”

Storm looked down at Copper. “How far you’ve fallen, my old friend.” He said solemnly.

“Literally.” Daring Joked.

Swift Wing landed in the temple court yard, and collapsed, breathing heavily. But smiling.

Daring wrapped her in a tight hug as she smiled with delight.

“You did it! You beat him, Swift!”

“Heh. I did?”

“And you flew!”

“Yeah. I flew.” She said softly, still out of breath.

Daring looked concerned. “You alright?”

“It’s all gone. I can feel it. I can’t fly anymore.”

“What?? Of course you can! All you have to do is drink from the goblet again-

“That won’t work, Daring.” Storm explained.

“Didn’t you see the fountain? How little water it was producing?”

Daring looked at Storm.

“Kamara Mista is ancient. It’s magic is on its last legs. There isn’t enough magic in the water anymore to allow her to gain that level of power again.”

Daring looked concerned. “But-“

“Daring…It’s okay.”

“But...Swift. Your dream.”

Swift Wing smiled with tears running down her face. “I flew. I flew, Daring!”

Her face lit up. “Whether it was for a few minutes or a few seconds, it doesn’t matter! I FLEW!”

“That was all I ever wanted. And I will, never forget it.”

Daring looked at her for a minute. Then smiled. Swift Wing had flown. Not only that but she had flown better than any other pony in Equestria could’ve. And she stopped CopperBeak, all on her own.

Swift Wing smiled at her. “Not bad for a crazy earth pony, huh?”

Daring shrugged. “Eh. You did alright.”

They laughed as they hugged one another.

Chapter 19: "The Journey Home."

Chapter 19: “The Journey Home.”

Daring and Storm had used some rope from her satchel to tie up CopperBeak. His men had all flown away, once their ship was destroyed and their leader was caught.

Swift Wing had helped them clean up the temple and took a moment to look into the fountain and remember the feeling she had gotten when she had flown. She would never forget it.

Daring had decided to take the Griffin’s Goblet back with her to the university. Not for the museum, but as a memento of Kamara Mista. And the day she had found out her dad was still out there.

“I still can’t believe your dad, went searching for Atlantis!” Swift Wing exclaimed.

Daring chuckled. “Yeah. Leave it to my dad, to set the bar that high on an adventure.”

“So…”

“So what?”

Swift Wing couldn’t hold back her excitement.

“Atlantis, Daring! When are we gonna start looking for Atlantis!”

Daring laughed. “We’ll work on that once we get back. For now, let’s focus on actually getting home.”

“Awesome!....um, how are we getting home?”

Daring turned to Storm Talon. “Storm?”

“Already taken care of, Daring.”

With that the massive shadow of the Storm’s Vengeance, appeared above them. Looking up they saw Sergeant Cloud, smiling and waving at them from the deck.

As Storm boarded the gang plank he was greeted by his men who saluted, cheered and some even hugged their brave captain.

Daring and Swift explored Kamara Mista, taking in its sights, exploring its libraries and stocking up on all the food they could cram into saddlebags.

That night, Storm stayed on the ship planning out their route back to Canterlot, while Daring And Swift Wing spent the night in Kamara Serena, laying down outside and gazing up at the sky. The stars were so close to them, Daring swore she could’ve caught one with her hoof.

Early the next morning, Daring and Swift Wing boarded the Vengeance and it departed the great city. Daring felt a tightness in her chest along with a sense of peace as her and Swift Wing watched the legendary city of Kamara Mista grow smaller and smaller, until it vanished amongst the sea of clouds.

“Kamara Mista. The city built by talons and hooves.” She said softly.

“One lost city down…”

Daring took out her father’s journal, and opened it to the page describing his Atlantis expedition.

“Another lost city to go.”

She smiled and watched the morning sun rise, as the vengeance sailed off towards the horizon.

Then a thought hit her. “Wait…What day is it?”

Swift Wing casually answered . “Uh, Sunday, I think.”

The realization hit Storm and Daring like ice water.

“SPRING BREAK’S OVER!”

They both looked at each other.

“Herpy!”

Canterlot University (Monday Morning, After Spring Break)

Herpy stood at the front of a huge classroom of students, trying his best to form words over his occasional nervous mumbling. Confused stares watched him from every corner of the room, as his mind struggled to cooperate with his brain.

He chuckled nervously, as his legs began to shake and he began to sweat. He couldn’t do anything! He had just wandered into the room and started mumbling nervously as these students had expected their teachers to come through the door. Not a school page. And a sweaty school page at that.

Much to Herpy’s (and the student’s) relief, Daring Do suddenly walked through the door of the classroom with Storm Talon and Swift Wing following in behind.

Storm talon took his place at the front of the classroom.

“Okay! Thank you, Herpy for taking attendance for me, but I think I can handle things from here.” Storm said gratefully, as Daring put a hoof on the extremely relived page’s shoulder and pulled him aside.

“Oh, thank Celestia.” He sighed.

“You alright?”

“Alright? I thought I was gonna die up there! I swear, I don’t know how you professors do it.” Herpy said breathing a sigh of relief.

Then he smiled. “So…did you find it? The Griffin’s Goblet?”

Daring took the small rusted, beat up cup from her satchel and held it up for Herpy.

“Its…smaller then it thought t would be?”

“Yeah, but trust me. It’s special.” Daring said softly.

Herpy sighed again, and then looked quite serious.

“So, tell me! Did you find him? Your father?”

“Well…sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“I’ll explain everything at lunch, but for now I need you to do me a favor.”

Herpy nodded. “Okay, what is it?”

“I need you to find me all the books you can on Atlantis. Oh, and look up a professor named Atlas at the Baulkham University in Fillydeplhpia.”

“Uh, okay, but why?”

Daring smiled slyly.

“Oh, don’t worry about it.”

THE END

To be Continued in Daring Do’s next amazing adventure: Daring Do And The Raiders Of Atlantis.

Chapter 20: "Epilogue."

Mazra paced angrily around her desk, as Daring Do sat in a chair in front of her, wishing she was anywhere but here right now.

"The deposit for the lawn care we had to hire to fix that grass, is coming out of your next paycheck!" She fumed.

"I know." Daring said solemnly.

"And making poor Herpy, teach not only yours, but Professor Storm Talon's classes while you two ran off to chase some mythical lost city!"

Daring stood up. "Hey! I saved all of Equestria! If it wasn't for me, that maniac would've enslaved every pony in Canterlot!"

"It doesn't excuse you abandoning your classes, again, to go treasure hunting!" Mazra argued.

"Every pony in Canterlot, would disagree." Daring said plainly.

Mazra finally sat down in her chair and took of her spectacles to brush a stray lock of her sliver mane from her face.

She sighed. "Look, Daring. I understand how important it is for you to find your father-"

Daring sat up again. "Then you get why-"

"But Atlantis, Daring? Atlantis??" Mazra said, not at all hiding her disbelief.

She stood up and looked at Daring. "Atlantis is a myth! a fairy tale, dreampt up by old pony philosophers, some 500 years ago!"

"But!-

"I will not have you fly off, only to drown at the bottom of the Atlantic, searching in vain for a lost city, that doesn't even exist!"

Daring stood up from the chair. "My dad wrote about his whole expedition in his journal! He even had a friend helping him find it! Professor Atlas!"

"Professor Atlas?"

Mazra chuckled. "Professor Atlas is just a hack, Daring. Shes always said she'll make some big discovery that'll change Equestria, but she never has any facts or evidence! All she does is make speeches and show slides at the Manehatten Theater whenever they have nothing else showing."

Mazra adjusted her spectacles. "She's a laughing stock at her university. They all say shes nuts, and they keep her there out of pity."

Daring eyed Mazra. "She's a friend of my dad's. And I don't care how nuts she is, she can help me find Atlantis! And she may even help me find him."

Mazra sighed. "Your hearts in the right place, Daring. But its obvious your dad was just using the poor mare to-"

Daring was suddenly very close to Mazra's face making her lean back in her chair.

"My father would never use anyone. Ever." She said narrowing her eyes.

Mazra blinked.

Then she sighed. "Alright, alright. I see there's no point trying to talk you out of this."

Daring sat back down in the chair, with a satisfied smile.

"If anything, you may actually end up finding your father."

And then, Mazra smiled warmly. "He was an eccentric, no doubt. But he was an absolute genius. The smartest Pegasus I ever knew."

She looked at Daring, in an almost friendly manner.

"If there's a chance that you'll find him on this crazy expedition of yours, then I'll allow it."

Daring soared up out of her chair, pumping her hooves in the air. "YES!"

"But!"

She landed back on the floor. "But?"

Mazra eyed Daring. "I don't want you doing anything dangerous. Hunt for your father all you like, but if you go searching for a myth, you'll only end up getting hurt."

Daring raised an eyebrow. "And...your concerned about that?"

Mazra looked shocked. "O-Of course I'm concerned, Daring! I may be a little strict, But I'm not evil for Celestia's sake! I care about all of you. I don't want you getting hurt because of a legend."

Daring smiled. "And if it turns out to be more then a legend?"

Mazra smiled back. "Then by all means, bring me back a lost city for my museum."

Daring leapt out of her seat and saluted Mazra. "Can do, ma'am!"

With that she left the headmaster's office,leaving Mazra to sit back in her chair and think to herself.

"Atlantis? Hmm..."

She trotted over to her window,and looked up at the sky.

"Is that where you've been hiding, Daren?" she asked herself.

She chuckled. "I guess we'll find out."

Chapter 1: "An Unexpected Visitor."

Chapter 1: “An Unexpected Visitor.”

It was nighttime at Canterlot University, and Daring Do lay sleeping at her desk, Once again having fallen asleep sprawled over her various maps and diagrams in search of her next adventure. Little did she know, that on this particular night, her next adventure would find her. Out of the darkness, a shadowy figure snuck through the halls on a mission.
This dark agent of the night arrived at her office, peering briefly inside. Once he was sure she was asleep, he took a small envelope, affixed it to her door and vanished as quickly as he had come.

The next morning, Herpy, one of the university’s many pages, and Daring Do’s personal assistant stood up frozen outside daring’s door. “Eh…Daring?” Herpy called in his nasally yet intelligent sounding voice.

“Nyhuh?” came Daring’s sleepy reply from behind her door. “Herpy?” she asked.

“Yeah, uh, I was bringing you your coffee.” Herpy explained.

“Well...Why are you standing out there?” Daring asked still only half awake. “come in and lay it on me.” Daring said, her eyes still closed.

“B-But Daring! There's something on your door.” Herpy exclaimed sounding anxious. This didn’t wake Daring up any more then a few minutes.

“Yeah…so?” Daring asked sleepily. “It’s a Letter.” Herpy stated clearly. Whatever he was seeing was clearly something he wanted Daring herself to see. Daring yawned in reply. “And?” she asked.

“Its stuck there with a dagger.” Herpy stated finally. Herpy heard Daring's chair hit the floor and scrambling hoof-steps as Daring opened her door. She was now completely awake.

“what?”she asked alarmed. Daring's eyes quickly found what had been posted to her door. “whoa.” She said looking it over. There stabbed into the door was an ornate dagger. Rubies and diamonds inlaid into its hilt. It was carved with a pair of griffin’s wings,spread in flight,fierce talons reaching out for any who cared to come close. The razor sharp tip stuck through an envelope,closed with an intricate wax seal. Daring's eyes widened. Not out of fear,but out of appreciation for the daggers beauty,and the strange method of sending someone mail. Daring chuckled a bit as she said "well…that’s certainly one way to send a letter.” She said with a slight yet cautious grin. Daring reached up and tried to pull the dagger from its affixed point. It took a bit more effort, but she finally freed the blade from her door with a loud sharp sounding shhhinnkk!
“There we go!” Daring said smiling. Daring held the dagger aloft in her hoof and examined it,her eyes twinkling as they often did when she was looking over a newly discovered treasure. “Hey! This is a pretty cool dagger. Early Griffanian, if I’m not mistaken.” Daring said,admiring the weapon’s craftsmanship. Daring glanced at the small hole now left in her door from the dagger. “Who would leave this in my door?” She wondered aloud. “Not that I’m ungrateful or anything,but if I had something this cool, I wouldn’t go using it as a sticky note.” She said slightly annoyed.

Herpy piped in. “U-um,daring?.”

“Yeah?” Said Daring coming out of her thoughts. Herpy glanced at the letter in Daring’s other hoof.

“The letter?” he said motioning towards the unopened envelope.

“Oh yeah!” Daring exclaimed setting the dagger down for a moment. Daring held the letter in both hooves and looked it over. It was very fancy. The kind of envelope you’d hand deliver to Princess Celestia to invite her to some extravagant party or something. Daring eyed the wax seal. “Check out this seal. This is serious. I cant quite place it…but it looks griffanian too! Old Griffainian.” Daring said,noticing the design of the seal. It was red wax and stamped with the design of a griffin with its wings outstretched on the backdrop of a sun. Daring turned the envelope over. “Well this just gets more interesting by the second doesn’t it?” She asked Herpy,who nodded in agreement.

“Yeah that’s…that’s one word for it.” He said a little worried. Daring Do carefully opened the letter,being careful not to break the seal. She removed the letter and saw that it was very neatly written. There was not one extra stroke. Not one unnecessary embellishment. Daring read the letter quickly to herself,her eyes darting over the words. Herpy’s anticipation grew.

“w-what! What does it say?” he asked anxiously. Daring slowly brought the letter down from her eyes. She looked shocked.

“I-It..It cant be.” Daring said in bewilderment. “He’s…Alive?” She said finally, her face one of both surprise and shock. Herpy could stand it no longer.

“Who? Who's Alive?!” he asked very anxious to hear what could spook even that of the fearless Daring Do.

Daring suddenly pocketed the letter,and ran over to the door. “I got to go Herpy,I got to go talk to storm. Now.” Daring said suddenly.

Herpy stood there in bewilderment. “B-But daring? He started to ask,but Daring was already out the door,and racing down the hall. “Daring! What did the letter say? Who's alive? What about your coffee?” Herpy asked all at once, calling at Daring as she galloped down the hall.

Herpy heard Daring exclaim “Give it to Mazra!” as she finally disappeared down the hallway

Chapter 8: "The Pony Who Could Fly."

Chapter 8: “The Pony Who Could Fly.”

The rest of the trip passed mostly without incident. Storm Talon ordered the ship searched for any other stowaways, but it turned up no results. The Vengeance made its way across the wide stretches of ocean as its crew worked tirelessly to complete the journey. Daring Do occupied herself by studying the letter she had received. She searched for some clue as to who might have sent it, or how it might be connected to her father. But it offered no clues. She turned her attention to the sea, watching as the shadow of the vengeance flowed over the waves, lost in thought.

She hoped against all hope that she might someday see him again. A memory surfaced in her mind. He’d vanished when she was young, just out of filly-hood, soon after getting her cutie mark. He had gone on an expedition, very similar to the one she found herself on now, and simply never came back. Leaving her, her sister and her mother on their own. The newspapers and tabloids reported fervently about his vanishing, and the resulting searches.

Several she'd even been apart of, during the later years. But as time had passed, the news grew slimmer and slimmer until Daren Do was little more than a hoof note in the occasional scientific journal.

Daring Do had never given up hope of seeing him again. But as she stood there, the wind gently blowing through her mane and the sea below her, looking out as the coast of Zebrica came into view, she could scarcely believe that she might finally have found the lead she was searching for. As the journey grew closer to its destination, she decided to distract herself from her thoughts, climbing once again into the depths of the ship.

She decided to find out a bit more about their most recent addition, whom she found laying in bed in the brig. “Hello,uh… Swift Wing, right?” Daring asked standing at the door of her cell. Swift Wing rolled over onto her back, her eyes still closed.

“Yeah that’s me.” She replied plainly.

Daring took a seat on the floor as she talked. “So…you’re a fan of mine,huh?” Daring asked with a smile.

Swift Wing suddenly opened her eyes and smiled as she looked up to the ceiling. “Well, yeah! I mean your quite the adventurer. The pony who found the Pharaoh’s Tomb when she was just a filly? Who never backs down from a challenge. The Do name is legendary!” Swift Wing gushed.

Daring blushed as she chuckled. “Well, maybe not legendary.”

Swift Wing rolled over and smiled at Daring through the bars. “No, but you are!” she exclaimed. She paused as she scratched her head. “Um, now that I have you here,do you mind if I ask you a question?” she asked nervously.

Daring smiled. “If I can ask you one.”

“Fair enough.” “Why do you do it?”

Daring raised an eyebrow. “Do what?” She asked.

Swift Wing turned to look at her again. “Stay down here, in the muck!” she exclaimed. “I hardly ever hear about you flying anywhere. You could live in Cloudsdale! Not worry about any of this, live in the sky!” she added enthusiastically. Her expression suddenly turned solemn. “Instead you’re on the ground, in caves and tombs and stuff. Why?” she asked turning to Daring again.

Daring thought for a moment. She'd never really thought of it before. But she did have a reason.

“Why? Because my father told me something once.” Daring said gazing out the nearby window at the ocean. “He said, Daring. Too many pegasai think with their wings. Have their heads in the clouds. But, the thing about clouds is they dry up. They shift and change. The only history of the world is on earth. Keep yourself grounded and don’t lose sight of where you come from.”

Daring sighed as the smallest of tears welled up in her eye.

“I think that’s why he was so interested in Kamara Mista. Imagine it: A permanent settlement in the clouds. What history might be found there! I mean, even Cloudsdale changes and shifts. But this city? An ancient civilization in the sky. The only one of its kind.”

Daring sighed as a tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away with her hoof.

“That’s why he searched so hard for it.” Daring said,collecting herself. “I think he should’ve listened to his own advice. Stayed Grounded.” She added.

Daring gazed out at the sea once more.

“Stayed with mom.”

A moment passed where neither Swift Wing nor Daring said anything. They simply gazed out at the ocean, as waves rolled across its surface.

Daring finally broke the silence. “But, that’s what I plan to do.” Daring said turning back to Swift Wing,who stared at her with tears in her eyes.

Wow. I didn’t mean to make her emotional too. I guess I got a little too personal. Daring thought.

Daring smiled. “I stay on the ground, because it keeps things in perspective.” She said proudly. “That, and it has the coolest swag. But I digress.” She added with a chuckle.

Swift Wing sat speechless on her bed for a minute before she opened her mouth to speak. But Daring stopped her. “Uh, uh. A question for a question.” She said slyly. She sat down on the floor and removed her helmet, holding it under wing. “So now you know why I'm a Pegasus archeologist. Tell me, how does an earth pony end up with wings on their flanks?” Daring asked curiously.

Swift Wing’s eyes twinkled as she chuckled to herself. She sat up on the bed. “Ah,now there's a story.” She said dreamily. She looked down at her cutiemark and smiled.

“My wings. I know its kind of odd. Most earth ponies I know aren’t very fond of heights. But I’ve always loved them!” She said with a smile. She looked down at her hooves as she recalled her story. “I remember when I was a little filly climbing counter tops, leaping from shelves. Drove my parents up the wall!” She chuckled. “I told them I wanted to fly. You can imagine what they told me.” She added.

“Still something about earth ponies, were stubborn. I taped cardboard wings to my sides and jumped out a window!” She chuckled.

Daring chuckled with her. “How’d that turn out?” She asked.

Swift Wing sighed and smiled. “Probably shouldn’t have picked the third floor.” She said. “Still, the bones healed.”

“Ouch!”

“Yeah. They thought I was crazy.” Swift Wing laughed. “They shipped me off to a farming school for the summer to “calm me down.” She continued.

“Didn’t work of course, but…I guess I should thank them.” Daring looked surprised. “Thank them?” she asked. Swift Wing’s eyes twinkled again. “Its where I saw my first plane! I remember it was during one of those boring gym exercises. "

"We were out in the field, running around learning to work plows and junk when…over the horizon, I heard the most beautiful sound in the world."

"The sound of a roaring plane engine."

And then I saw it…My first plane.” Swift Wing’s eyes glossed over as she looked up at the ceiling. As if she was reliving that breathtaking moment of seeing her first plane. “It was like a bird of metal, defying gravity! It was something that didn’t look like it should fly, just like me!

But there it was soaring through the air! How could I not fall in love?” She exclaimed falling back on the bed and closing her eyes, smiling as she relived the feeling.

Daring smiled as she too could imagine the feeling. Going your whole life wanting to fly and being told you’ll never do it.

And then seeing something just like you, soar through the air giving you hope that you could one day do the same.

Swift Wing continued to tell her story with an added passion. “I ran off as fast as my legs could carry me! They tried to catch me,but you don’t try to fly without getting a good running start.

They didn’t stand a chance.” She laughed.

“There was an airshow. Imagine that, first one in Equestria right next to the one place they stuck me, to kill my dreams of flying.” She laughed.

“Orville and Wilbur Flight had set up shop right on their doorstep,and were showing off their newest invention!”

Daring smiled. “Well that’s some kinda luck.” She said impressed.

“You say luck, I say destiny!.” Swift Wing exclaimed her eyes flashing as she spoke.

“I couldn’t keep away. I snuck in, found the nearest plane. Keys right in the ignition.”

“You didn’t!.”

‘Sure did. Five rounds round the field, buzzing teachers like a bumble bee!”

Swift Wing sat up and laughed. “You should’ve seen their faces! Me, flying! The controls felt more natural than my own hooves! I never wanted to stop.” Swift Wing laughed with a smile

She composed herself as she continued. “Of course I had to, after they threatened to start shooting.” She said nervously.

Daring’s eyes went wide yet again as she chuckled at the thought. “Wow. How'd you get out of that one?” She asked.

“I didn’t. I decided landing was better then finding myself with a few new holes. When I got out of the cockpit, I had my wings on my flank, plain as day.” Swift Wing explained, looking fondly at her cutiemark once more.

“Almost got arrested on the spot,but…one of the pilots stuck up for me. A griffin called Kitty Hawk. It was her plane I stole,but she didn’t press charges. She said I had spirit.” She explained fondly.

“A few weeks later I went home, but I didn’t stop thinking about airships. And now I'm here!” Swift Wing exclaimed finishing her story.

Daring Do lay on the floor in front of Swift Wing’s cell, her pith helmet tucked neatly under her wing. She had been completely invested in her story. She got up off the ground and put her helmet back on as she smiled. “Wow. That is quite a story.” She said, thoroughly impressed.

Swift Wing put her face close to the bars. “You…Do believe me don’t you?” She asked hopefully.

”I really don’t wanna cause trouble, I just want to see it. Touch it. Know it exists for myself.” She added looking over at the window.

Daring thought for a moment. At this point, she had no reason to doubt Swift Wing anymore. She was a wild and free spirit. Just like she was. She was here for the same reason as Daring was: The thrill of adventure, and wanting to see the city of Kamara Mista for herself.

Daring smiled. “I believe you.” She said simply.

Swift Wing perked up. “You Do?!”

Daring chuckled. “Yeah. You don’t seem like the backstabbing bad guy sort. Still, I cant go letting you out of the brig, after you snuck aboard and beat up half the crew. That’s asking for trouble.” Daring admitted.

Swift Wing started to argue but Daring held up a hoof to stop her. “But! I will talk to Storm about it.” Daring promised with a grin.

Fwiffwing smiled from her cell. “Thank you.” She said softly.

“Your welcome.” Daring grinned.

Just as Daring said this, a massive explosion suddenly knocked both ponies off their feet as the entire room shook. Daring and Swift Wing got up off the floor, uninjured but shocked.

“What was that!?” Swift Wing called out in panic.

“My Guess?”

“Yeah?”

Daring brushed some debris from her helmet as she turned to look out the window. She gasped as she saw a huge second shadow hover over the ocean next to their own.

“Trouble.”

Daring turned back to Swift Wing. “Hold onto something,I'm gonna go see whats going on!” she told Swift Wing, who immediately grabbed onto a support beam in her cell and clung to it for dear life.

Daring raced up the stairs and out of the brig, through the corridors of the Storm’s Vengeance as they rattled and shook. Something was battering the side of the ship like a rams horns.

She barely kept her balance as she leapt over fallen items. Racing towards the control room,she burst in with a start. She saw that Storm was bellowing orders as loud as he could to the crew.

“Full power, all propellers! Raise altitude, load cannons!” He ordered, as griffins were scrambling every which way to prepare for a fight.

Daring galloped up to him. “Storm! What’s happening?” She asked anxiously.

Storm didn't waste a second. “Surprise attack.” He said sternly.

“Who’s attacking us?” Daring asked worried. Storm turned to look at Daring, his eyes flaring.

“I didn’t get a good look, but I think it might be another griffin vessel.” He stated. Another massive explosion rocked the whole ship. Daring’s helmet tilted on her head as she tried to hold her balance.

She looked around before talking. “Well, tell them to stop shooting at us!” She exclaimed.

“We tried! First thing they aimed for was the antennas!” Storm explained.

Another shot went off. It must have actually missed this time, as instead of the ship, a nearby patch of ocean suddenly exploded upwards. Storm ordered the griffins who were frantically directing the ships wheels. “Pull us on a starboard arc! Reduce altitude and head for cloud cover! Switch ports on auxiliaries!” He ordered, as the griffins did as he said. "And get the matrix out of that cool-down!” He added to a scientist in the back.

Daring didn’t understand what was happening, so she just asked. “What are we doing now?” She asked frantically.

Storm ignored her as he gave another order order.

“Evasive Maneuvers!” He yelled. “All claws,prepare to brace!” he added,just before another shot hit the Storm’s Vengeance.

Daring got up off the ground. “Can't your evasive maneuvers be a little more evasive!?” She asked,freaking out a bit. She didn’t want to end up being blown to smithereens just when she was about to reach Zebrica! Actually, she didn’t want to be blown up at all!

Storm shook himself off. “This old bird has a lot more fight left in her! Mark me on that, Daring Do!” He called in a serious tone.

Storm heard another shot.

“BRACE!” He shouted,as everyone did so. Storm flew over to the controls. He spun the wheel with all his might,turning the ship in one swift movement like a lion pivoting on its back paw. Daring and several crew members were thrown against the opposite wall,as the ship twisted to face its attacker. Daring rubbed her side. Shed hit the wall flank first,and now felt sore. “Ow..” She said rubbing her flank with her hoof,and twinging at the stinging pain. “Okay. That was more evasive.” She said weakly. Daring got up off the ground, only for her eyes to meet a truly terrifying sight as she gasped.

Daring Do looked through the glass in front of her ,to see a giant warship held aloft by almost innumerable spinning propellers. Its hull cast in cold grey metal, easily twice the size of the Storm’s Vengeance. The emblems of the griffin air navy emblazoned on the side, and several massive cannons aimed at them. Daring’s eyes went wide and her mouth was agape as she stared in horror at the massive war machine in front of them.

“Storm.”

“Yes, Daring?”

Daring simply pointed a hoof at the ship and asked. “Whats That?”

Storm looked at the ship and narrowed his eyes. “A Dreadnought, M-class warship. 15 harpoons, magical disruptor array, belamatrix lift and fifteen cannons. Dragonslayer Class.” Storm said, reciting all from memory.

Daring turned and looked at him hopefully. “And…can you out fly it?” She asked. Storm thought for a moment.

“That depends.”

“On what?”

Storm gripped the wheel with both claws.

“Can you find something to hold onto?”