Twilight Velvet walked into her study, passing by a wall decorated with awards and framed manuscripts happily showing off her achievements over the years. The latest editorial guild meeting had gone well, and even topics about Daring Do had come up. Naturally, she was familiar with it, given that she had edited a few of the early works. She’d even had the chance to edit one of the recent ones with Rainbow Dash on the cover. She had put together the secret that Daring Do was real all along, which was only confirmed when she had overheard her daughter and friends talking about it during one of their gatherings. She kept her findings to herself since she had no reason to tell others.
Sliding open a drawer on her writing desk, Velvet pulled out a decorated silver key. At the bottom of the handle was a carefully crafted circle of metal. On one side was an image of spread wings and horns. On the other was a smiling regal-looking stallion. Round the rim were ancient words that translated into, May He Rise! Velvet wasn’t sure what it meant, having bought it from a vendor at one of the conventions she had attended. It did remind her of one of the Daring Do adventures, though. As she examined the red lanyard, there was a soft knock on the front door. With Night Light out shopping, it left her to answer the door.
Upon opening the door, Velvet was surprised to see no other than Daring Do herself in her A.K Yearling disguise. Daring glanced side to side as Velvet spoke, “Oh, Yearling, what a surprise.”
“Hello, Mrs. Velvet. I wanted to discuss something with you. May I come in?” Daring asked, looking calm and collected.
“Oh, sure. Come on in,” Velvet said, gesturing as she led Daring into her home. She was curious about what the adventurer could want. Was it about a new book? Or, if lucky, maybe about a new adventure. After the zeppelin vacation, she felt the itch to have some more fun. Stopping in the living room, she turned and smiled at her guest. “Is this about taking on another editing job? I do love your work.”
“It’s more research, I suppose,” Daring replied, adjusting the red glasses. Reaching into her cloak, she pulled out a golden key. “Does this look similar?”
Velvet leaned closer and was quick to eye the symbols that matched the key in her writing room. What a fun coincidence. “Yes, actually, but why?”
“Just a hunch on a lead,” Daring replied, letting Velvet leave the room and return shortly with the silver key placing it down beside the golden one on the coffee table. The adventurer hmmed as she took a closer look, flipping each key over a few times.
Velvet leaned forward, noticing the matching lettering on each, along with the mirrored wings and horn imagery. “What do you know, they match.” She watched as Daring pulled out a sheet from another pocket, looking at some odd script.”So, if this leads to an adventure, can I come?”
Daring Do blinked in surprise as her hoof touched one of the keys. “What? No, uh, this is to make sure the lore is accurate. You know how fans get, right?”
Velvet smirked, taking another glance at the adventurer. “Oh, I know the secret. After all, Rainbow Dash was right on the cover. Also, my daughter's friends are not as subtle as they think.”
Daring groaned, muttering under her breath. “Ugh, not another fanmare.” She looked down at the keys before glancing back at Velvet. “Look, all I need is this key. I don’t need another pony along for the trip.”
Velvet rolled her eyes, reminded of her daughter and how worked up she could get. “I have done plenty of research to be your editor. Plus, I’d love a little adventure.” She smiled, giving a light puppy-eyed look at Daring.
Thankfully for Velvet, Daring had a soft spot for such looks, thanks to so many fans fawning over her works. She groaned, “Fine. You can come. It’s only to Manehattan, anyway. “
Velvet clapped her hooves like a filly. “Great, I’ll just leave a note for Nightlight.”
Back in her A.K Yearling attire, Daring waited until the two were on the train before she pulled out a small notebook from her cloak. The two keys were safely stowed inside another pocket, occasionally clattering together. “Have you heard of the Malicorn Worshipers?” she asked, making sure not to talk too loudly.
“I’ve heard of all sorts of cults that have popped up over the years. But I’m not sure I’ve heard that one. Does it have to do with the phrase on the keys?”
Daring nodded, tapping the notepad. “Yes, they are a group that believes that a male alicorn would rise to rule.” She said, pointing to the small drawing. “While it’s not a very large cult if you can even call it that, I believe I have tracked down one of their temples.”
Velvet listened to every word, seeing the city in the distance approaching. “So it’s located in Manehattan? How does one hide such a thing in a city?”
“My contact found the old entrance to the temple in an old section of Manehattan. We’ll be meeting him when we arrive.”
“Oh? Sounds exciting.” Velvet replied, hearing the train blowing its whistle. She shifted eagerly at the idea of seeing a temple up close, even if she wasn’t much of a fighter.
As the train came to the station, Daring got up and adjusted her outfit. “Don’t get too cocky. I don’t need another pony messing things up somehow. I'm sure your insight will be helpful.” Exiting the train, the adventurer led the way along into the bustling streets of Manehattan. The crowds of ponies flowed around the two minding their own business, barely giving the famous writer a second glance. While waiting for the cab, Velvet took in the sights, reminded of her time at Los Pegasus. She made a mental note to pick up a souvenir for Nightlight before she went home.
During the ride to the older parts of Manehattan, Velvet had a thought tilting her head. “Now that I think about it, all the known alicorns are female. What are the odds there?”
Daring blinked in return, adjusting the suitcase she also had. “Now that you mention it, that is kind of odd. An interesting mystery, if nothing else.”
Arriving at the right part of town, Daring and Velvet climbed off and watched the taxi pony run on back to get more customers. Once he was out of sight, Daring removed her cloak and glasses, stuffing them into the suitcase and swapping it for her adventuring gear. “Ah, much better,” Daring said with a smile, spreading her wings to adjust them. “Our contact should be here soon. He knows a way to get to the entrance.”
Velvet felt more eager as time passed, wondering just what they’d find. “Great, can’t wait.”
A few minutes later, a black unicorn stallion with a yellow mane strolled up carrying a suitcase in his magic. He smiled as he spoke, “Hello, Daring. Brought along a companion, I see.” He greeted, setting his suitcase on a nearby bench. He adjusted his hat before opening it and pulling out a piece of paper.
“Yeah, no big deal. Although not sure this mini adventure will make it into a book. Not all that exciting,” Daring remarked, glancing at Velvet as she took the small map. Her eyes widened as she took it in. “Wait, sewer?”
Velvet made a face as the stallion nodded. “Afraid so, seems the best place to hide a temple entrance. Took me a while to track it down.” The stallion shifted, showing off his book cutie mark.
“Phew, I hope we won’t have to swim at all. That would be rather gross, “Velvet's nose scrunched as the group moved toward the sewer cover.
The sewer cover was floated to the side by the stallion’s magic, revealing the ladder down into the old system. Daring shrugged. “Well, it can't be worse than a pool of slime. Thanks for the assist, Gold Rush.” Taking the lead, she began to descend as Velvet followed.
“I’m sure we’ll meet again soon when you return,” Gold retorted, keeping an eye on them as they climbed down before heading along once they got to the bottom.
As the two headed along the slick stone pathway, Velvet looked back at the ladder. “So, think he’ll do a double cross?” she asked, recalling all the other stories she had read over the years.
“Yeah, sure, third act twist,” Daring jokes, listening to the light gurgling of popes making a turn down another unity tunnel glancing at the old stone walls as she double-checked the map. “Depends if we find some treasure or not. For all I know, we’ll just find dusty old books.”
“Twilight would scold you for not respecting books,” Velvet chuckled, taking careful steps as a few of the old bulbs lighting the tunnels flickered. Silence fell for a minute as the two walked for a bit more before seeing old stone walls, followed by coming across an iron door. On either side were slots for keys.
“Well, this must be the place,” Daring said, moving up the door to bang on it to test how solid it was, hearing a satisfying thud in return. “Most temples I find are more stone and less bank vault.”
“At least with it still being sealed means that proves no one has been inside in a while,” Velvet said, taking one of the keys and moving to the left slot.”Let’s see what’s inside.”
Daring’s amused smirk said it all as she moved to the other side, lining up her key to her slot. “Okay, on my mark. Now!” As the two turned their keys, dust rained down from the ceiling. The heavy metal doors groaned as old locks disengaged. Must be something good inside if it needed this kind of security. Stale air rushed out into the corridor as the doors slid open, ancient lights flickering on slowly. To their surprise, the first main room resembled a small library, with the smell of forgotten paper lingering in their noses. On one side was a stone statue of a male alicorn with its face being a blank smooth surface. Poking at the bookshelves, she groaned. “This isn’t exactly what I was expecting. I mean, where are the traps?”
“Guess it’s more of an archive than a temple?” Velvet remarked as she took care to look for any sign of hidden arrow traps. There didn’t seem to be any pressure plates on the floor either. However, a quick scan of the room did reveal another door at the far end of the room. “Oh, look over there.” On the door was the alicorn symbol, the same one present on the keys.
Daring moved over to it, giving the wooden door a push. Finding it unlocked, the two peered in swing open to reveal a long room with a few rows of chairs set before a stage with a single podium. A focused light shined down upon the real treasure. The adventurer flew across the room to get a closer look and soon saw a regal silver crown studded with two blue gemstones set below on either side of a giant diamond-shaped purple crystal. Despite the many ages of being in the vault for so long, the silver coating still looked freshly polished.
Velvet hurried up to gaze at it as well. “Hmm, think it’s enchanted?” She said, not daring to touch it since Daring was the one who knew more about possible traps.
“Why else keep it locked down here? I guess this was to be worn by the one to rise.” Daring pondered, circling the pedestal for any sign of triggers. Although, a general glance didn’t reveal any sort of pressure plate. She slowly reached out towards it, biting her lips before lifting it off its perch. For a second, nothing happened, making Daring think she was in the clear. However, the lights suddenly began to flicker as the sound of grinding stones was heard. “Uh oh, let’s get out of here!” Daring shouted, flying as quickly as she could to the door.
Velvet felt her heart racing as she followed suit, running behind the pegasus. When the two reached the main room, the source of the loud sound became apparent as the alicorn statue from before started to move and turned its smooth head toward the two. “Eeep!”
Daring tossed the crown to Velvet flexing her wings. “I’ll distract it while you get to the main door. No way a simple golem getting the best of me,” she said, taking to the air the Golem lunged toward the flyer. The heavy stone hoof impacted the wall as Daring rolled to her left, watching Velvet scamper across the room. As the golem turned its head to look at Velvet, Daring frowned and flew up, giving the back of the head a firm buck. “Hey ugly, over here!”
Velvet reached the utility tunnel in no time before turning back to peer into the room, gasping as she watched Daring dodge another hoof blow from the statue. Sparks flew as the massive rock hoof smashed into a bulb, shards of glass raining down. Thinking fast, she called out. “We can lock it in if we are fast,” she suggested.
Daring nodded as she flew the best she could in the small space, giving another smack to the alicorn’s jaw, making the golem stumbled back. With it stunned, Daring bolted for the exit skidding to a stop as she did a sharp turn to face the lock. Grabbing into her, she looked at Velvet. “Now!” With synchronized movements, the two turned their keys watching the doors begin to close. They both stepped back as the golem rushed towards them, more dust falling off the ceiling as it lumbered across the room, knocking a table aside in the process. As the doors finally shut, the smacks of the statue hooves echoed in the tunnel as it punched against the solid metal. Thankfully for the treasure hunters, the sturdy material held. After a few more thuds, the two heard the sound of stone crumbling as the golem collapsed its magic spent.
Daring wiped her brow, looking over at Velvet. “Well, I got my trap,” she said with a faint chuckle.
Velvet took out her key and did a light skip as she held the crown out. “Oh, that was exhilarating! No wonder Twilight does so many adventures,” she said, letting Daring slip the silver crown into her large pouch.
The two made their way back through the tunnels without any issues reaching the ladder that led back to the surface in no time. Going first, Velvet ascended out, wincing at the sunlight for a moment as she got to her hooves. Blinking a few times, she saw the black unicorn from earlier standing nearby with a smile. Waiting until Daring climbed out before he spoke. “Ah, your back. Splendid.”
Daring adjusted her hat as she looked back with a smirk. “Yeah, are you going to demand we hoof over what we found?”
The unicorn laughed a bit, shaking his head. “No, no. But I would like to at least try it on before you take it to the Manehattan museum for safekeeping.”
Daring hesitated for a moment as she opened the latch on her pouch. “Try it on? Why will it somehow make you an alicorn.”
“Oh perhaps, it is said if one is worthy, they shall rise,” he said, nodding his head. “No harm in trying, right?”
Velvet peered at the crown with a curious look. “I suppose he’s right. But, if he knew it was down there, why didn’t he get it himself?”
The unicorn rubbed his neck. “Well, a century ago, the clan lost the keys. It seems you two found them first. Plus, Daring needed an adventure, so double win?”
Daring walked up to the stallion holding the crown close. “So where is the group now?”
“Disbanded or went elsewhere. My family has been keeping an eye out ever since,” he said, looking at the crown. “So, can I?” his eyes almost sparkled with childish glee.
The two mares glanced at each other for a moment conveying silent concerns before Daring sighed and held it out. “Alright, I doubt it is going to work, though.”
The stallion took it with a big smile as he removed his hat and slowly placed the crown atop his head. After a few seconds of nothing happening, he signed. “Oh well, how do I look?” He asked, posing all regal-like.
“Like a proper stallion prince,” Velvet flattered and watched as the stallion gave back the crown to Daring.
“Why thank you, miss. Do make sure it gets to the museum. It wouldn’t do for such an artifact to end up shoved into some dusty drawer.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure it gets somewhere safe,” Daring said, nodding as she moved to her suitcase.
“I”m sure you’ll be paid handsomely for it,” the stallion said before he hoofed over a small bag of bits to Velvet. “You should have something for your trouble too.”
Velvet reached out for the bag and thought it over. “Why thank you,” She said, slinging it around her neck with a smile. “Guess I’m taking my husband out for dinner.”
As the group headed back into town, Daring smiled back at Velvet. “Thanks for the help. Who knows, you might just get to edit my new short story.”
Velvet nodded happily, enjoying the light breeze on her face. “Oh, it was a blast. My husband will love every word, I’m sure.” Her daughter might even enjoy the tale the next time they meet next.
Author's Note
Originally had something with a puzzle door in my head but eh was too confusing to unscramble in my head.