Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone

  "Radio?"

  "Check."

  "Magic map?"

  "Check."

  "Antivenin?"

  "Check."

  "Toothpaste?"

  "Uhhh..."

  "Daring? Again?"

  "Whatever! I'm sure they have that stuff in Whinnies!"

  Flamington really felt like Daring's babysitter sometimes. She was a little forgetful when they first met, and his job was to do everything for her so she could focus on writing, but now that forgetfulness had escalated to carelessness since she was almost completely dependent on him. He really wondered how she was able to study orangutans in Brayneo for months on end without him being there to remind her to brush her mane. At least Ditzy would be there with her on this mission, even if she wasn't the brightest mare herself. There were also the spy ponies that were going with them to make sure they were safe, but they weren't supposed to be spoken to or seen since the two were supposed to show up alone. The fact that they needed body guards scared him a little; Daring had been in life-threatening situations before, but the lives of two other ponies and the entire free world had never been at stake like this. If, of course, the threat was to be taken seriously.

  Daring wasn't afraid in the least bit, mostly because the cult of Xaoixotal was the stupidest thing she had ever heard of. She had feigned fear at the reception because she felt bad for the silly, crazy pony; she was holding back laughter, and she knew that a few other ponies were also. The cult was made up of ponies who believed that the return of Xaoixotal was imminent, and who thought that only the faithful would be spared in the "harvest of souls." They were taken seriously a long time ago, for it was thought that Discord was the reincarnation of Xaoixotal. Obviously, he wasn't, and they were ridiculed for their misconception. They tried to gain respect again many times over the following millennia by staging fake threats like this one was bound to be, but nopony took them seriously until modern times because of a famous urban legend. A (fake) book was published in the 930s telling of how Xaoixotal had come back before and almost took over the world until Celestia defeated him and erased everypony's memory so they wouldn't be traumatized. Most ponies bought the story, and even though it was later proven that not even Celestia is powerful enough to erase the memories of every living pony, the story had permeated into common knowledge. Now nearly every pony believed the lie, even the level-headed Flamington, and only a select few, such as Daring, knew the truth.

  Ditzy, of course, swore by the story, and this trip was terrifying her. She was screaming like a maniac on the inside when Daring told her what the plan of action was going to be and screamed on the outside when she finished talking. "This is going to be a long trip," Daring muttered both at that time and right now.

  After Flamington "helped" her through her checklist and Ditzy unloaded the last of her bags into the balloon, screaming internally the whole time, the two climbed into the basket with the pilot and the ninja bodyguards. The two waved goodbye to the lone dragon that was staying behind... And Ditzy's internal panic suddenly became external. "I just remembered that I've never flown above 20,000 feet!"

                              ***

  "Ewewewewewewewewewewewew!"

  "Ditzy! Relax! It's just peat moss!"

  "But it's so... squishy! Yuck! And it's getting all up in my hooves! I just had them polished for the trip, too!"

  Daring rolled her eyes. Ditzy had been insufferable since the moment the balloon took off. "She needs to get it through that thick, empty skull of hers that this is not a vacation!" she thought. "Even if the cult is baloney, a friend is still being held hostage, and this could get ugly. Of course, if she keeps whining like this it'll get ugly now!"

  They tread on in the dismal, expansive moor of Whinnies. Daring had to keep up her focus, for a wrong turn could mean getting lost. Just as she thought that they really were lost, she found the river that was indicative of how they were almost there. "We're gonna have to ford this river," she said. Ditzy looked like throwing up. "Absolutely not! I'll get duckweed in my mane!"

  Daring rolled her eyes again. "I can drag you across, how about that?"

  Obviously, Ditzy chose to ford it on her own, and despite her grumbling about the duckweed, they were making good time. Then they saw a log disappear under a deeper part of the water.

  Daring stopped in her tracks, and Ditzy did the same. "Okay," Daring said, "So there are two explanations as to why that log just vanished. One, a pony with impeccable lung capacity decided to suddenly drag it down to scare us; in that case, ha ha! You're very funny! You can come up now!"

  No pony responded.

  "Oh, fabulous. There's only one other explanation..."

  "Bunyip..."

  "How did you know that?"

  "I actually-AAAAAAAH!"

  "What? What just happened?"

  "It just bit me! I'm going to be eaten!"

  "Ditzy! Now that we know that it is in fact a Bunyip, it is very important that we not make a sound-"

  "IT BIT ME AGAIN!"

  "Ditzy! Be quiet! They have poor eyesight and can only tell that we're here by the sound we make!"

  "Well, you're not helping! You're screaming too!"

  "I'm sorry! How about we not say anything from now on?"

  "It just bit me a-AAAAAAAAAH!"

  "Ditzy!"

  Ditzy disappeared under the water, dragged down by the malicious creature to the deeper part. Daring wasted no time in diving under the murky water only to pause for the slightest fraction of an instant to have a tempting thought run through her mind. "Hang on a second," her mind told her. "She's been giving you nothing but grief ever since she decided to waltz back into your life. What made her think she could do that? You were perfectly happy until she decided to marry Harvest. What if you could get that life back? You'd rescue him and tell everyone that she got eaten by a Bunyip, you being completely unable to do anything about it. Harvest would realize that he never loved Ditzy and you would live happily ever-"

  Daring caught sight of the creature with Ditzy's leg in its jaws. Her luminous eyes were open, and she could see one directed at her hoof while the other stared at Daring, begging for dear life. Those eyes... they would haunt her for the rest of her life if she had the audacity to leave her. They were truly a window to her soul; they revealed that she was not as perfect as she strived to be. They caused her to be taunted fiercely when they were foals, Daring being at her side when she was too shy to fend for her self. She couldn't let her die! Not her twin sister best friend!

  Daring blinked and they were back at the shallow part of the river. She had such instinctual drive to save her kin when she saw those eyes that she didn't even realize what she was doing.

  Ditzy gave her sister a bear hug. "You saved my life! You really saved my life! I love you, Daring!"

  "Yes, well, we need to get going."

  Ditzy remained silent for the next two hours of walking. She was lucky to be alive; she wouldn't dream of complaining now! Daring was also silent, but for different reasons. She was ashamed by how she has considered leaving Ditzy to become some Bunyip's meal. She couldn't stew in shame for too long, though, for they were upon their destination.

  There was a huge hill that towered above the others. It had a dark hole cut in the side nearest to them, and a torchlit tunnel led deep underground. As they descended into the hill, Ditzy couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. "It's just the atmosphere," Daring said. "This humidity is making me feel antsy, too." Unfortunately, Ditzy was right. Something was very wrong.