The Temple of Nightfall

The flight to the university was easy; it was a trip that had become routine for Daring. Today, however, was going to be very different from her normal visits to the university. She was to meet with her professor, Dr. Antique, and discuss the plans for her upcoming trip. It’s going to be amazing, Daring thought as she flew through the streets of Manehattan with great speed and ease. Maybe I’ll get to see something nopony has seen for centuries, or discover some sort of lost relic. Lost in her thoughts of grandeur, she almost barreled into a fruit cart that had pulled out of an alley. Snapping back to reality, she swerved to the side, calling back an apology to the startled pony pulling the cart as she continued on her way. But, I must remember I am only an apprentice. At best I will probably be helping the professor with his logs as we document the temple. Daring quickly turned down a street and flew upwards, diving back down to accelerate as she neared the university. Still, the opportunity for discovery is there, I can dream can’t I? Daring smiled as she landed at the front doors of the university. Her mind flashed back to the tomb in her dream, and the horrible creature that appeared in it. Daring sighed and pushed through the doors. “Goddesses, I can dream alright…”

The stuffy air that filled the university was something Daring had grown accustomed to over the year she had studied there. The smell of old books mixed with the smell of fresh coffee permeated through the building as she made her way to her professor’s room. She recalled back to when she first started out at the university, how nervous she was as she introduced herself to the professor. She had feared that Dr. Antique was going to be the incarnation of all the professor horror stories she heard during her senior year of high school. In truth, he was completely different from what Daring had expected. He was incredibly polite and kind, always willing to help a student understand something or to flesh out a topic in greater detail. His mane was solid white with a mustache that always gave him an amused look, and fit well with his tawny colored coat. Sometimes he seemed a bit scatter brained, not focusing too long on one idea or topic. His lectures were always interesting to Daring and many other students, as nopony knew what tangent he could go off on while discussing a time period. Despite his personality however, his classes were very strict. He demanded a lot from his students, but only because he believed they were capable of doing the work. To say that every student met his expectations would be false; in fact some students left his classes after the first few weeks. Daring was enthralled by his knowledge of past civilizations and conflicts in pony history, and quickly became one of his favorite students.

Trotting through the hallways, she reached her professor’s room. Outside of the room however, was somepony Daring did not recognize. A stallion, with a charcoal colored mane and light red coat. The thing that captured Daring’s attention however, was his eyes. They were a brilliant gold color that seemed to almost glow. The stallion took notice of Daring, and trotted slowly over to her. Every move he made brimmed with the self confidence of a king; like he knew exactly where he was in the world and that nopony else’s opinion mattered to him. Daring backed up self consciously, to say that she was intimated would have been an understatement. She had the same problem in high school, always being dwarfed by anypony that was larger than her. The stallion chuckled as he saw her shrink back and stopped his advance. “I do apologize if I made you nervous; I only wanted to introduce myself.” His voice was brimmed with a thick accent that Daring could not place. She gave him a small smile as she relaxed a little and said, “Uhh, well, umm, my name is Daring Do.” Way to go Daring, you sound incredibly cool right now, she thought as she awaited his response. His ears perked at her name, and the stallion bowed graciously, “My name is Avarice, my full title is Baron von Avarice, but there is no need for formalities, especially not between myself and a pretty mare such as you.”

His words seemed coated in honey; Daring surmised that it was a skill he must have acquired from being a baron, but his less then subtle advance was something Daring wanted nothing to do with. She wanted to simply leave it at that and run into her professor’s room, but curiosity took over in Daring’s mind. “What brings you to the university Mr. Avarice?” Daring said as she tried her best to maintain her composure. Avarice seemed to contemplate the question, his eyes scanning over Daring making her feel more then uncomfortable. He trotted slowly around her as he answered, with Daring’s eyes following him as he moved. “Oh, I am one of the sponsors in the excavation of the newly discovered temple out in the Everfree Forest. I was simply checking in with Dr. Antique on how the preparations for the site were coming along.” Daring’s ears perked at the mention of the temple, but found it odd that a baron would take interest in something as expensive as an excavation. Carefully, she asked, “You said you are a Baron, so why help sponsor an excavation? I don’t see what you gain from it.” Avarice gave her an amused look and Daring quickly added, “Not that I’m ungrateful that you helped fund something that can help further our understanding of history of course. It’s just that I figured there must be some sort of motive behind a Baron taking part in the university’s research.” Avarice chuckled, and then moved closer to her until their faces were inches apart. Her heart thumped in her chest as his golden eyes seemed to hypnotize her. She wanted to move away, but she found her body not responding to any of her commands. Slowly, Avarice moved a hoof through her mane, a playful grin spread across his face as her wings unfolded involuntarily. “It seems I still have an effect on mares, as to why I helped fund the site? The temple is bound to have some…interesting things to reveal to us. It’s a win-win situation, you see. The university gets to document and study some ancient historical objects, write some more books, and I get credit for funding such a wonderful project. I do hope you have fun on your visit, maybe we will meet again. Time will most certainly tell.” Avarice pulled away from her, and with that, made his way out of the building. Sweet Celestia what a creep, Daring thought as she let out a sigh of relief at seeing him go, blushing as she folded her wings. Such an intrusion into her personal space was something she wasn’t prepared for, especially an intrusion by a stallion. It’s not like I can report him if he is funding the dig site, Daring thought bitterly as she trotted into her professor’s classroom. In any case I hope he is wrong, I don’t want to see him again, ever.

Daring looked around the classroom as she trotted in to find that her professor was missing. Based on the noise coming from the back rooms she guessed he was looking through the nightmare that he liked to call his file cabinets. “Hello?” Daring said as she trotted over to his desk. A cheerful voice called out to her from one of the back rooms, “Ah, I hear somepony, just a minute; I am looking through some files real quick.” Daring smiled, it was good to hear his voice after meeting the “Baron” and responded, “It’s just me Sir; you wanted to talk about the trip and get the details worked out.” The sounds of several books falling echoed throughout the classroom, as well as the sound of Dr. Antique swearing. Daring giggled as she glanced over the books on his desk. Most were basic history textbooks, probably left behind by his students. One book caught Daring’s eye, The Everfree Forest: A Complete Collection of Folktales and Legends. The author wasn’t one Daring was familiar with, but before she could look through it further Dr. Antique emerged from the back room, looking a bit frustrated from his recent encounter with his file cabinets.

“Ah, Daring my dear, so very nice to see you.” Dr. Antique said as he made his way over to her. His trademark safari helmet bobbed up and down as he trotted across the room, giving him a comical appearance that Daring tried hard not to giggle at. “Yes I do believe we have some things to discuss.” He said as he adjusted his hat to stop it from bouncing. “We will probably be gone a month, perhaps a bit longer. Make sure you pack accordingly; it will be in the Everfree Forest. There will be lots of shade from the trees so you might not want to worry about bringing a hat.” Daring laughed, not bringing a hat sounded so ironic coming from him. Dr. Antique always wore that safari helmet, indoors and outdoors. Daring had once asked him about it, and received the simple response of “It’s like a lucky charm, it has stayed with me through some tough situations in life and I wouldn’t dream of not wearing it.” Dr. Antique gave her an amused look and said, “What’s so funny Miss Daring?” Daring smiled at him and moved to a map on the wall behind his desk, then responded, a playful tone in her voice. “You always wear that hat sir; I just thought it was funny that you were telling me not to bring a hat when you are never without that silly thing.” Dr. Antique simply chuckled, an amused glint in his eyes as he said, “Yes well, you cannot deny that I look dashing in this hat, it brings me back to my days of youth. I was quite popular with mares back in the day.” Daring rolled her eyes and examined the map, looking for the location of the temple. “Whatever you say sir”, Daring responded as she found the place she was looking for. Marked by a red circle was the location of the temple inside the vastly uncharted Everfree Forest. In her mind she could already picture the trip to the temple, lots of carts with scholars and apprentices like her anxious to reach their destination. “When will we be leaving sir?” Daring asked as she calculated the distance on the map in her head. “Three days, we are still waiting on some experts to arrive before we start heading out for the temple.” Dr. Antique said as he gathered up a few books of his desk to take back to the file room. Daring stared at the map and then tapped it with her hoof. Anticipation built up in her, this was her chance to show the professor she was made for this. She was going to finally be able to put what she learned to use. She was going to be out and exploring a piece of pony history, not just reading books about it. She was going to be independent, going out on her own accord without having to come back to her parent’s house. She was going to be surrounded by those who shared the same fascinations as she did, in a place steeped in pony history.

With a happy smile on her face, she said farewell to her professor, who was once again wrestling with his files, and proceeded to head out of the classroom and towards the front of the university. The sun was high in the sky as she approached the glass doors to leave. It was a bright, sunny day for Daring to enjoy now that she had finished her business with the professor. Rumbling in her stomach reminded her that she only had cereal for breakfast; she would need to swing by her house to get money for lunch. Three days until we depart, for now though I think a nice salad sandwich would hit the spot, Daring thought cheerfully as she pushed through the doors of the university and back out into the city air of Manehattan.