"Ahuizotl! You two have no idea what kind of powers you're dealing with!" Daring Do warned.
"Of course I know!" Ahuizotl scoffed as the tenth ring was placed on the pillar. "These are the rings of the Sharafaan, made by the finest crafters of the ancient Tôrolo Pony tribe. When this is completed, it will create a weapon capable of causing-"
"That's not what I mean!" She interrupted. "You have no idea of the possible consequences!" As much as she hated her arch nemesis-
"Capable of causing over half a millennium of unrelenting heat! They aren't nearly as powerful as the first set of artifacts that would cause the same effect, but still very potent." Caballeron finished with a chuckle. "So strong that just 20 of these rings are enough to activate the spell!" He chuckled. "The princesses will be forced to give in to our demands, if they don't want to see the country become a scorched wasteland!"
Daring Do rolled her eyes. Make that nemeses, she was still going to give them another chance to stop what they were doing before it was too late to change things. "How long have you been researching the civilization?" She asked, deadpan.
"For the last three long years. Each inscription, each band, its composition, the enchantment on each. It all checks out. We don't need the answers from YOU." Caballeron scoffed as the sixteenth ring was placed on the pillar.
Daring snorted. "I have been working on this for the last FIVE years. I've been double and triple checking each translation. But fine, if you don't want my answers, have my questions instead: Why so many bands? Why scattered as they were? Why are the enchantments so strange? Why can each of you only carry two at most? Why this jungle of all places? Why in a temple like this?"
Ahuizotl was a sharper tack than he seemed. He frowned, intrigued. "You seem to have done your homework, Daring Do. Why don't you enlighten us?"
"Thank you, Ahuizotl. At least one.of you has a brain." She sassed.
Caballeron snarled. "Less backtalk and more explanation." He said as the final ring was placed on the top.
"Unfortunately, you aren't going to have time to appreciate the answer." Turning to the six mares behind her, she demanded, "Girls! Run! Twilight, you set up a seven-fold barrier at the entry! You do NOT want to be in the blast zone!"
Rainbow Dash reached forward momentarily. "Daring, if you're-"
Snorting, Daring Do replied, "No, Rainbow. Just get out. I will catch up." As appreciated as her biggest Fan's willingness was, it wouldn't help here. As the other mares made their escape, Daring said to her foes, "The members of that tribe were known for their powerful magics and long lives, which because of them we Ponies enjoy those even to this day, but they were also known for their infertility. Those are a way to circumvent that, and you're about to find out how!"
So saying, she galloped from the scene, the air fairly shimmering with the magic about to be unleashed. She was just able to slide the last few meters, barely able to retrieve her iconic pith helmet before the barrier was closed, activating a split second before the unleashed magics crashed into it. Twilight was barely able to take the strain, but with a helpful boost from Rarity, they were able to weather the storm.
As the magic finally settled and the barrier fell away, the assembled mares looked to Daring for an explanation. "As I was telling them, that tribe was indeed known for their powerful magics, artifacts and long lives... But also because they were universally nigh-on infertile and furthermore they were incredibly passive." She gestured to the surrounding jungle... "This place is full of life magic. Charged with it, you might say. What do you think that implies?" She added with a smirk.
Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the first to catch on. She snorted, blushing, and then fell over with laughter. "That... That ex- explains it!" She got out in between fits of giggles.
Rarity was the next to catch on. Her cheeks coloured and she covered her mouth with one hoof. Looking at the confusion on her remaining friends' faces, she rolled her eyes. 'Too innocent.' "Really, darlings. Must I spell it out for you? What do most mares mean when they complain about the heat that ISN'T related to the weather?"
Recovering from her bit of laughter, Fluttershy got back up. She still had a wide grin. "I'm going to give you another: Tôrolo means Lovebird. The ritual isn't about the creation of a device of death; it's to aid in the creation of life!"
At that, the other mares started chuckling as well.
Suddenly, noises started coming from within the temple.
"This is your fault, you know." Said one very feminine voice.
"MY fault?! This was your bright idea." Said another.
"Well, you're the one who didn't want to pay attention to her!"
"She's our arch nemesis! Of course not!"
"Touché."
"Damn straight."
"Oh, shut up."
Coming up the hallway were two figures, side by side. The first, a mare with a violet coat and blue mane was obviously previously Ahuizotl, transformed into a slimmed down -yet voluptuous - mare. Beside her was a similarly transformed Caballeron. Following closely were some rather disgruntled henchponies.
"How long do you think this will last, anyway? And why do I feel so... Horny?!"
At this, Daring barked a laugh. "I quote: 500 years worth of unrelenting heat. That ritual is a way to turn some of the users -or victims- into hyper-virile stallions, and the rest into hyper-fertile mares. Good luck on your future parenthood. You're going to need it. For the next 500.years or so, your body will push you harder to find a mate. And as soon as your little one is old enough to be weaned -it'll be sooner than you expect-, the countdown continues; you're going to go rrrright back into heat again. Then those bands on your forelegs fall off and become those rings once more, scattering across the globe until the next time."
Caballeron growled, "You win this time, Daring Do."
Daring smiled smugly. "Yes. Yes I do. But you will be the ones to... get lucky. Come on, girls; let's get out of here."
Turning and guffawing, the seven mares left.
Momentarily, Twilight stopped. "Wait, why the seven-fold barrier? And why are there so many of those rings?"
"Because six wouldn't have allowed me time to retrieve my hat; because stallions are forgetful." Daring replied simply.
Twilight facehoofed before following. Their duty there was done.
