Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone

by Slender Pony7

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure
Length: 4170

The first book in the Daring Do series.

This is the first book in the Daring Do series written as it would be in the pony world. I am planning on bringing you all (HELP ME) sixteen books in the series. Before I die.

SUMMARY: An adventurous pegasus by the name of Daring Do crashes in the Evergreen Forest and breaks her wing. While there, she discover a hidden temple, a treasure that's been lost for centuries, and a villain that wants to rule the world.
Critics say:

"A tale packed with very few words but lots of pages that is sure to make even ponies who think reading is for eggheads ready to steal from a hospital to finish it!" New Horse Times

"Two hoofs up!" Equestrian Inquirer.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-10-30 11:36:46 UTC

A/N

Copyright Page

Copyright 0110 by Slender Pony

All rights reserved.  Except as permitted under the Equestrian Copyright Act of 0011, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a databarn or retrieval system, without the prior hoof-written permission of the publisher.

Slender Reading Co.

Haychette Book Group

237 Barn Avenue, New Horse, NH 10017

www.FiMfiction.com

Slender Reading Company is a division of Haychette Book Group, Inc.

The Slender Reading Company name and logo are trademarks of Haychette Book Group, Inc.

The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

First Paperback Edition: May 0110

First published in hardcover in July 0100 by Slender Reading Co.

The ponies and events portrayed in this book are fictitious.  Any similarity to real ponies, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.  In the event a real name is used, it is used fictitiously.

Library of Congress Coltaloging-in-Publication Data

Pony, Slender.

    Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone / Slender Pony. --- 1st ed.

        p. cm. --- (Daring Do)

    Summary: Wow, you’re actually reading this? If ponies want to read the summary, they usually go to the back cover of the book or the inside of the front cover.  Not like you really don’t know what this is about, though.  If you even clicked on this story then you’ve seen “Read it and Weep,” and you already know how this story goes but want to hear it in more detail.  Now go read the actual story, you lama-lipped lapdog.

    ISBN 978-0-316-03698-7(hc) / 978-0-316-03830-1 (pb)

    [1. Talking Ponies-Fiction.    2. Talking ponies with wings-Fiction.    3. You actually reading this-Fiction.    4. Small temple that holds much more than its outer dimensions should let it hold-Fiction.    5. A FRIGGIN’ WINGED TALKING PONY!-Fiction.    6. An ugly dog that wants to take over a world filled with magical talking ponies-Fiction.    7. A Sapphire Stone-Fiction.]    I. Pony, Slender    II. Title.

    PZ7.Y25673Dl 2010

    [Fic] ---- dc22

                                                                                                                                                                   7777777777

10  9  8 7  6  5  4  3  2  1

RRD-C

Printed in the United Towns and Cities of Equestria

Dedication Page

1.   To the Aviators, because they are awesome.

2.   To Lauren Faust.  You know why.

3.   To all sheep, because you remind me of Coco, my big standard poodle.

4.   To Coco, because you remind me of the sheep that remind me of you.  And you are also awesome.

5.   To Scootaloo: STAY AWAY FROM KFC!

6.   To KFC: STAY AWAY FROM SCOOTALOO!

7.   And now, a very serious and sincere one, to anybody who reads this and likes it, because you are the ones that made any of this possible.  I know it sounds cheesy and all, but without anybody to read this story and enjoy it, this story wouldn’t exist.  And I would be the only person left on Earth.

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Epilogue

Prologue

Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone

Prologue

  "And that, young foals, is the history of the Everfree Forest."

  "But what  about about the Sapphire Stone?"  This had come from Daring Do, one of the pupils in Mr. Book's class, and one of the only ones who had not yet aqquired her Cutie Mark, which we all know to be one of a compass rose in the future.

  "Miss Do," said Professor Artifact, who had come in from the museum that day as a special visit to tell them all about the Everfree forest, "Everypony knows that the legend of the Sapphire Stone is just a tale that an archeologist that had gone deeper into the Everfree Forest than anypony else made up for fame because nopony could confirm or deny it, and that parents use to keep their children out of Everfree.  It's just as real as the temple you mentioned earlier today that supposedly houses the Stone, or the Jackal that you also mentioned earlier today." And that was seemingly just that for Daring.  As theProfessor began to pack up his Everfree artifacts, for the school day was just minutes from being over, the students also began to pack up their school supplies into their saddlebags and waited.  Daring Do sat thinking, not waiting.  The Sapphire Stone is real, she thought, My dad told me so!  He told me that it lies in a hidden temple deep in the Everfree Forest and is guarded by Ahuizotl, the Jackal.  It's just that nopony has found it yet because it was hidden really well and it is in the most dangerous place in Equestria.  Just like the Crystal Kingdom! There were a few moments of silence in which the students sat and fiddled with their saddlebags, drew, read, or levitated things.  Then the huge bell in the belfrey was rung by the pony who had misbehaved enough to have to wait up there in the cold and ring it for that week.  As the students were filing out the door in the daily rush to get home, Daring Do held back and watched the Professor finish packing his things.

  When Mr. Book left, the Professor called out, "Thank you for letting me teach today, Text!"

  "Any time, Professor, the kids loved it!  Good day!"

  "Good day to you as well!" Daring and the Professor were then alone in the room, although he must've thought he was alone, because he started humming a very out-of-style 80's tune.  When he turned around, he gave a start.

  "OH!  Miss Do... I didn't see you there... Would you like something?" he said, his cheeks red.

  "Yes, actually.  I know you don't believe the legend of the Sapphire Stone, but... Would you know where it would be on a map of Everfree if it were real?"

  The Professor sighed.  "Yes, as a matter of fact I would.  I actually have a hoof-written map of the Everfree Forest here that labels the location of the temple that holds the Stone.  I will allow you to look at it, but not to touch.  See, here it is, you can even copy down the coordinates for where the temple is." Daring's face at these words resembled that of a five-year-old filly being offered  a sweet.  Daring loved these kinds of things.  Her father was a famous explorer, and Daring had always wanted to be just like him and hunt for lost treasures in dangerous trap-filled tombs and such.  Daring's father often took her on trips to safe jungles and caves that always had nothing in them except the natural things caves and jungles are supposed to have, so as to make sure she didn't get hurt, but Daring had always thought that she was going on an actual adventure in search of something old and really valuable.   So when the coordinates to a place that could give her an actual adventure were offered, Daring of course seized it.  She looked at the latitude and longitude on the sideways scroll and wrote it down on a small scrap of parchment and stuffed it in her saddle bags with her books.  She bade Professor Artifact a good day, and flew off to her house tell her parents of the day.  From that moment forward she held on to that scrap of parchment.  Daring grew and learned and explored more and more over the years, gained her Cutie Mark, which was of a compass rose (and everypony knew why), was accepted into the Everfree University and later graduated to start working in the Museum of Natural Equestrian History.  She worked as a professor in history, as anypony  could have guessed.  Then, one day she was offered a chance to travel into the Everfree Forest and search for the Sapphire Stone itsself, an offer that she, of course, accepted immediatly.  Daring Do was finally going after the Sapphire Stone, finally having the adventure she always wanted!  Daring's parents made a visit to see her off.  She was flying there using her own two wings, making occasional stops for food, water, and a rest along the way to Ponyville.  Daring made stops at cities like Manehattan, Seaddle, New Horse City, and such and such.  She made it to ponyville.  Looking at the immense vastness of the Everfree Forest, Daring knew that this would be no easy task, but she also didn't care.  The residents of Ponyville, a newly-formed town in Lower Equestria, had come to see Daring off.  They stood there, shouting their farewells, waving, and wishing her good luck.  At the last second before stepping into the wild unknown, she spread her wings and shot up into the air.  I'll get a much better view of where the temple could be from up here, she thought as she kept on flying through the cool air and scanning for the temple below.  It was very uneventful for just a few minutes, until she ran into the dragon.  No, she literally ran into it.  The huge beast didn't even know what had hit him (although it didn't bother him a bit).  Daring, though, lost her balance and spiraled through the air, headfirst, falling through the trees and their sharp branches, and then Daring's world was black and silent.  This is where our story begins.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

  Daring walked up the stone steps to the enterence of the temple.  The smell of decay and danger hit Daring Do as she peered into the dimly lit entrance of the ancient temple.  She walked into the entrance hallway, which was lined with carved stone torches providing less and less light as Daring got farther and farther away from the sunlight outside.  Bugs scuttled out of the way from Daring's feet as she walked, their home being disturbed for the first time in Celestia knows how long.  She saw a pony's ribcage, picked clean, but chose to ignore it and instead observed all of the ancient carvings in the walls of the corridor.

  Daring walked further until she was met with the feeling of her left forehoof sinking into the ground, accompanied by the sound of grinding stone.  Looking down, Daring saw that she had stepped on a trap button in the ground.  She pulled her hoof off of it quickly, and quickly ducked as three axes spun through the air where her head was an instant ago.  So whoever built this temple must've been a clever somepony, she thought, This place is probably littered with booby traps.  I had better watch where I step.  Suddenly, the floor beneath her opened up, and she jumped in front of it just in time to see a blazing inferno that could have roasted her.  She looked up to see alligators hanging from the ceiling, but managed to get down and start crawling beneath them as they snapped at their out-of-reach prey.  She crawled out from under the alligators and got up to see an even bigger axe swinging with the sole purpose of creating two Daring Do's out of one.  She jumped over it, and then arrows started flying from the wall opposite her and embedding themselves in the wall.  She dodged the arrows, stepping on some, and did a backflip, landing on her back hooves - right on top of a hole where a spike was about to shoot upwards.  She straightened herself out of the way and jumped over it.  She jumped on top of another hole, and then jumped again before the spike could have time to impale her.  She kept jumping until she saw a giant slab of rectangular cement start to block off her path.  Then Daring began flat-out running, moving left and right to avoid the spikes popping up everywhere.  She slid under the block at the last second and stood up facing the recently placed door and wiped the sweat off of her forehead.  Daring turned around and took a step - right on another trap button.

  "Aaaarrrgghh..." she grumbled.  I can't really tell you  what happened next, but it involved a lot of strange noises, so you probably don't want to know anyways.  She came back out of the door that was at the other end of the mystery room, holding her now arrow-riddled hat in between her teeth, scraped said arrows off of it, and put the hat back on.  When she turned around, a light from the cieling struck an object that was sitting on a pedestal in the center of this new chamber and reflected off it in all different directions.  It was a perfect statue of a two-headed jackal, just sitting there, ready to be taken, and it was made out of pure Sapphire!  It was the Sapphire Stone!

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

  Daring Do stood at the entrance to the central temple chamber.  At last, she was face to face with the legendary Sapphire Statue!  She made to step towards it, but drew her hoof back when she saw the different pictures on the "tiled" floor before her.  Wait a minute! she thought, It CAN'T be that easy...  The floor surrounding the pedastal in the center was made up of different tiles that all had a picture of a certain animal on them; and when she looked at the walls, they were dotted with holes.  She looked around for something to test the floor with.  She saw a rock and kicked it, where it landed on a tile with an eagle on it.  Immediatly when it landed, the rock weighed the tile down and dozens of arrows flew out of the wall above the rock, embedding themselves in the opposite wall in the perfect shape of a jumping pony that could have been Daring Do herself.  She kneeled down to examine the pictures on the floor.

  "Hhhhmmm..." she said to herself, unaware that she was now speaking out loud instead of just in her head, "There must be a pattern here.  What do all these animals have in common?  Aha!  These animals are all predators!  Except... RATS!"

  Daring looked at the rat panel closest to her, and then then looked for any more rocks.  There were none.  Well, here goes nothing, she thought.  Sweating, Daring slowly and carefully stepped on the rat panel.  Nothing.  Another swipe to clear more sweat from her forward, and she started looking for the next one.  She jumped on it, then the next one, then the next, and the next, almost losing her balance at the next, the walls remaining motionless throughout, did a couple of tricks during the last few, and then she was there.

  Looking back at the still-silent tiled floor of death, she smiled to herself in celebration of the task of completing the gauntlet.  Then her attention was again focused on the Stone.  She walked up  the steps to the top of the pedastal ang gazed at the glittering, beautiful, completely sapphire replica of an animal that most likely didn't exist and was just another object of worship from another ancient marean tribe.  Of course, there was bound to be one last trap guarding the stone.  Daring walked around the small rock pillar, looking for anything that might have a grudge against her.  Sweating again, she nervously rubbed her hooves together, and then- casually grabbed it in her mouth and turned to leave.  Just like that.  She took off her hat, stowed the Stone in it, and put it back on.  Suddenly, there was another grinding-stone noise, and Daring turned around to see a small cylinder rise from the spot where the Stone just was, and then drop back into the hole.

Of course.  Daring made to go back the way she came,  but the tiled floor of death broke apart and fell into a pit of lava that was under it.  A flame rose from the pit and almost licked her hoof before she pulled it back.  The temple was now falling apart, columns and pillars were falling and the pieces of the roof were breaking off and falling into the now-growing pit of fiery orange liquid beneath the pedastal.  Daring lept up the steps to avoid being engulfed, and was at the top where the Stone was when she watched two pillars that were near her fall over each other right near a hole in the cieling that was already there.  Bracing herself, she jumped.  She landed the bottom of the pillar and ran to the top of it.  The hole was relatively close, but with no wings to help, she would have to rely on complete horse-power.  Once again she braced herself for the longer  jump she was about to make.  Then she jumped the jump she had braced herself to jump.  As soon as her hooves left the pedastal, it was swallowed up by the ever-rising lava.  She barely caught the edge of the hole in her mouth, and used her front hooves to pull herself halfway out.  She only made it halfway out, though, because just then a burst of steam erupted from the hole she was in like a volcano, shooting her into the air as lava actually started seeping out of the top, exactly like a volcano.  Daring Do rose very far into the air, and on any other expedition this would have been fine, but on this one her wing was out of order, so when she landed, it wasn't the light, controlled landing you would expect from pegasus.  It was more of a loud, jarring, painful thud.  Or to sum it up in one word:  WHAM!  The Sapphire Stone landed about a foot in front of Daring, but she had managed to snag her hat and put it back on.  She was in no condition to move, of course, but she tried to grab the Stone anyway.  Especially since a four-toed blue foot had just landed next to it.  Attatched to the foot was an animal that had four more of those feet, along with a long tail with a four-fingered hand at the end of it, and a jackal's head.  His face, though, eyes and everything, was all at the end of his long snout.  He had a lot of sharp teeth jutting out of his mouth, and was wearing golden earings, leg bracelets, and necklace.  It was Ahuizotle.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

  "You thought you could evade me and capture the relic for yourself, but you were sadly mistaken, Miss Do... And now, you shall meet your doom!"  Ahuizotle said.  His voice sounded like he was gargling marbles, or for a better reference, he sounded like that new Batmare, from Batmare Rises.

  He took out a small whistle in the shape of a cat, and blew on the tail.  Out of the mouth of the whistle came the sound a cat makes when it just got stepped on, and suddenly, the big cats from earlier (minus the small one) jumped out from the bushes, this time holding ropes and weapons.  And then the small one came out from behind the tiger's leg (oh, there it is!) and rubbed itself up against the tiger purring as Ahuizotle started doing the evil villain's evil laugh and holding up the Stone.  He did have a very good evil laugh.  Must have been practicing.

  Daring Do was tied up on a table in another little temple, surrounded by five cats and a jackal.

  "You won't get away with this, Ahuizotle!" she said defiantly.

  "Oh, but I already have," he purred, before walking over to a lever in the wall and pulling it.  Suddenly the cieling started collapsing around her for the second time that day.  Dang.  Luck is not one of Daring's finer points.

  "Aaauuugh! Not again!" she huffed.  Ahuizotle waved at Daring and ran out of the room, followed by his cats.  Then spikes shot out of the walls on either side of her and started moving towards her.  Then spiders scuttled out of the holes where the spikes were, snakes slithered from a hole in another wall, and then quicksand started pouring into the room!  As I said, luck was not one of Daring Do's finer points.

  "Quicksand!" Daring said and started struggling against her bonds.

  "HURGH!" She grunted with the effort of struggling.

  "It feels like the harder I struggle, the tighter the ropes get!"  Her position was getting worse and worse, and Daring's hat fell onto her lap.  Suddenly, looking at her hat, and then at the lever, and then at her hat, Daring got an idea.  She pulled the hat back using her back hoof and mouth, and released it, where it started ping-ponging against the walls.  The quicksand reached above Daring's head and she had to hold her breath when the hat reached its final destination: the lever.  It hit the bottom of the lever, causing the lever to swing upwards and the trap to work in reverse, sucking back up the quicksand and pulling back the walls.  Daring broke out of her bonds and put her hat back on.

  "Another day, another dungeon," she said as she straightned her hat.

  Back outside, Ahuizotle was stroking the white housecat and chuckling.

  "With Daring Do out of the way," he said whilst admiring the Sapphire Stone he was holding in his tail, "the world will suffer my duty at my hands.  I AM VICTORIOUS!  HAHAHAHA!  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"  He had his eyes shut while he was laughing, which was a mistake, because suddenly Daring Do swept from the sky in a grayscale streak and snatched the Sapphire Stone right from Ahuizotle's tail-hand.

  "I'll take that!" she yelled she was swinging on a vine away from the scene.

  Landing on a cliff, she taunted, "Better luck next time, Ahuizotle!" and put the Stone in her saddlebag.  Not her hat.

  "CURSE YOU DARING DO!  AHAHAHAHAA!!!!!!!!"  And when he made the laughing noise this time, it wasn't a laugh.  Daring Do ran away from the cliff and away from the recent adventure she had hoped for when she was young.

  And so, with Ahuizotle defeated and the Sapphire Stone secured, the world was safe and sound once again... Thanks to Daring Do!

A/N

There it is!  My first ever completed story on FiMFiction!  Next time: Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet!  But before that... There's going to be a random one-shot.  I had an idea.  Whenever I finish a Daring Do story, the next one doesn't come for.. wait for it... a MONTH!  I know.  BUT!  That's only because when I finish a story, I'm going to use that month to write a random oneshot that you WILL read.  Beside's the regular wait time for the next book in a regular book series is about a year.  Be happy that it's only a month.  Anyways, onto the "book credits"!  This right now is the stuff that normally comes AFTER the book:

Acknowledgements

Are you kidding me?  This story was MY idea!  I wrote it!  I didn't get (or need) any help writing it, grammar or otherwise!  If anyone should be thanking anyone, then you should be thanking me!  Good day to you sir!

About the Author

I live in a pink house, and I own a poodle.  That should be enough to make you not want to hear anything else about me.

END.  NOT.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

  As Daring Do trekked through the tropical jungle, the wet heat sapped her energy and slowed her every step.  If only she could escape the suppressive atmosphere and fly up into the cool blue sky.  But her crash landing in the jungle had injured her wing and she was grounded for a few days.  A few days.  It might as well be a few months.  Or a few years!

  The mosquitos buzzed loudly.  The macaws cried from the high trees.Yet, all of these distracting noises were not enough to cover the sound of the predators following her every step.

  Daring Do turned around and found her self literally face to face with a tiger.

RAWR! Daring ducked as the tiger tried to take a bite of her.  She jumped over a fallen tree and made to go further along the path to get away, but a black panther that growled at her.  A lynx and a cheeta jumped out from the numerous trees as well, blocking two more paths.  Now Daring could only go one way, and there was even a rustling of trees coming from that path, possibly and most likely another jungle creature to block her off for a final time, and also likely a big cat.  What jumped out at her, though, was a small, white, fluffy, cute, house kitten.  Daring smiled to herself, and then lept over the cat and started running.  The cat hissed at Daring, but was then trampled by the other bigger cats.

  Daring ran down a steep hill that was dotted with trees, while the wild carnivorous animals ran to catch up behind her, with the tiny white cat clinging to the panther.  Daring Do was dodging the trees in her path and running as fast as she could, which was an accomplishment, considering that she had spent most of her life flying to places, and her wing was now broken.  When Daring Do looked forward again from her glimpse backwards, she skidded to a stop because because ahead of her was now a giant canyon.  She looked down at the vast expanse of nothing below, and then behind her at the cats.  The one moment when I needed my wing to work, she thought.  Suddenly, Daring spotted a vine hanging above the  pit.  How convenient, she thought.  Daring leapt towards the vine and caught it, the force of her impact causing it to swing forward towards the other side of the canyon.  As she swung, Daring saluted the big cats.  She should have been terrified out of her wits, but it's not like this was her first encounter with the wildlife of Everfree.  After all, she had been there for sixty days.  Safely landing on the other side, Daring finally allowed herself a moment to breathe.  She turned around to find herself face-to-face with the long-lost temple that she had sought tirelessly for for over sixty days and nights!