The Quest for the Golden Apple Tree

“Wh-what?!”, Daring Do shouted as she suddenly awoke, mid-flight, to the sound of lightning striking the ground. She had been flying for a day without so much as a small break. It had begun to show in her sporadic black outs.

“As much as I hate to admit it”, she yawned as she began to slowly make her descent, “I need to find someplace to rest my eyes for awhile....”

Daring suddenly awoke to sunlight in her eyes. 'How long have I been out? And more importantly', she thought to herself, 'Where am I?' As Daring stood she stretched her wings and took a look at her surroundings. It was quite obviously a forest as she noticed she was surrounded by trees and bushes, but she had no clue as to how she came to be in such a place. She yawned.

“Well, it could be worse”, she whispered to herself with a slight chuckle. Daring knew it was bad luck to utter such words, but she wouldn't be an adventurer who was known worldwide if she hadn't learned to take risks.

After stretching her wings and taking the time to wake up, Daring readied herself and took to the sky in a trail of black and gray; Her destination planted firmly within her mind.

Daring had acquired a certain fondness for flying. She knew her destiny was to be a tomb raider/adventurer/daredevil/fortune hunter, but recently she began to enjoy the exhilaration of flying as fast as her wings could push her. However, she had no clue as to why. She merely shrugged it off as a common pegasi attribute.

Hours had passed before Daring Do began to notice less trees and more ground, until eventually there was only sand covering the ground below. Any other pony would avoid such a dangerous trek though the desert, but Daring Do was no other pony. She smiled as familiar sensations began to creep along her body. Fatigue, hunger, thirst, etc. Yet she pressed on with a smile on her face.

It wasn't until she noticed a small town in the distance that she decided to take a break. Daring looked to the sun as it was beginning to set over the horizon. Another sensation overcame her. It overpowered her hunger, fatigue, and thirst like no other sensation had ever come close to. She felt freedom. Freedom to fly. Freedom to seek treasure. Freedom to do as she darn well pleases as long as it paid the bills. Daring Do was an amazing pony and no other could compete.

The moon was high in the sky when Daring had arrived at the small commercial town.

'Welcome to ////////'. Daring could make out the 'Welcome to', but had no clue as to the actual name as it seemed numerous sandstorms had eroded the paint into nothingness.

Daring Do landed with a tired yawn. She was exhausted. Normally pegasi would be unable to fly as far as Daring had, but excitement and adrenaline had kept her going. However, it would seem she was running rather low on excitement, let alone adrenaline at the moment.

“Daring. Do.”, came a familiar voice as Daring had made her way into town. She quickly turned at the sound of her name to see a brown stallion with glasses and blond mane smiling at her.

“Christopher!”, Daring shouted in greeting, but was cut short with a vicious yawn. Christopher raised a curious brow. “I see some things never change”, she said with a slight smirk. Daring smiled with half lidded eyes, “I could say the same for you”, she began with a chuckle, “You're still sporting the same mane-style and glasses I see.” Christopher laughed and motioned for Daring to walk with him.

“So what brings you so close to Saddle Arabia?”, he asked with a tinge of sarcasm. Daring rolled her tired eyes. She knew Christopher already had the answer. Fortune. “Ah”, he said with a slight nod, “And what fortune are you seeking, if I may ask?”

Daring Do may be a mare of many talents, but small talk wasn't one of them. All she wanted to do was climb into a soft bed and sleep the night away. She yawned once more which elicited another raised eyebrow from her friend.

“I can see you've come a long way”, Christopher said as he looked up and down Daring Do's body, “You're covered in dirt and sand.” She nodded in agreement. She had come a long way, but distance had little meaning to the adventuring pegasi. She knew her actions would be sweetly rewarded the moment she discovers the Golden Apple Tree.

“Sleep”, Daring muttered.

“What was that?”, Christopher asked as he leaned closer.

“Sleep”, Daring said again, but noticed Christopher was smiling. She once again rolled her tired eyes.

“Right, of course”, he said, “You can stay with me for the night. I have a small living area set aside in this town for when I'm out on business. I do hope you don't mind some company though. I'm having a colleague visit while we work on a new project of mine.”

Daring Do nodded half heartedly. She had barely caught anything he had said to her.

Christopher smiled. He and Daring went way back. Back to even before Daring Do had become Daring Do. They were close friends.

He led the tired mare through the empty streets. Words went in one side of Daring's head and out the other. She was exhausted. A sensation that she wouldn't really ever grow accustomed to.

The pair had eventually made it to a small house at the edge of the small town. Daring was relieved.

“-o anything?”, Christopher's voice trickled into her brain.

“Huh, what?”, Daring asked as she shook her head.

“Can I get you anything?”. Christopher asked.

Daring shook her head.

Christopher nodded and motioned for the bed near Daring. “This bed probably isn't the best you've slept in, but it'll do.”, he said with a smile.

Bed? 'We're in a room?', she thought to herself, 'But weren't we just outside?' Daring Do lifted up her head and examined her surrounding. 'When did I get here?', she asked herself. She yawned one last time before dropping her saddle bag, dropping onto the bed, and passing out.

“-ree. It's here, isn't it? In Saddle Arabia?!”

Daring's eyes opened at the sound of Christopher's voice down the hall. 'Oh, right. He has a colleague visiting. They're probably just speaking about his project', she thought to herself with a yawn.

“That is what he told me. He even claimed to have seen it with his own two eyes.”

Daring Do shot out of bed. “It's her! T-that's the voice!”, she quietly said to herself. She would recognize that voice anywhere. The professional feminine tone. The way she passively rolled her R's. The bad vibe from before. It was indistinguishable.

“I knew it!”, shouted Christopher, but he quickly quieted down, “Oh, oops. I have a guest here.”

“Guest?”, came the female voice.

“Indeed. An old friend of mine.”, he said with a slight optimism in his tone.

“Oh? And who might this be?”, she said curiously.

“No one important. Another adventurer”, he began, “Much like yourself.”

Daring heard the mare move as she spoke, “Oh! May I meet her?”

'Horseapples!', Daring Do screamed in her head.

“She's sleeping right now”, came Christopher as he seemed to be moving as well. He had apparently cut off the mare as her hoof-steps stopped with his.

“I'm sure I could disturb her for just a moment”, said the mare as her hoof-steps picked up once more. She was getting closer.

'Ooohhh, what do I do?!', Daring quickly thought to herself. Just then a breeze hit the back of her neck. The window. She quickly turned to see it was open a crack. Without hesitating, Daring Do grabbed her saddle bag and ran for the barely open window.

“Hm? It sounds like she is quite awake”, came the mare's voice from the other side of the door.

“Uh oh!”, Daring whispered to herself. She quickly turned her attention to the window. There wasn't enough time to force the window open. She would have to break the glass and escape that way.

The door knob turned. It was now or never.

Daring Do gulped and readied herself. “Now or never”, she whispered as the door began to open.

Running, Daring jumped and easily broke through the aged glass. Shards cut into ribs and clipped a feather or two, but she was fine as she took to the night sky.

She hadn't bothered to look back as she flew as fast as her wings would let her. Daring knew she wasn't being chased, but she felt as if she needed to distance herself away from her old friend and that mysterious mare.

Several minutes passed before Daring finally slowed down enough to think. Why was Christopher after the Golden Apple Tree? He was no adventurer. Why was he speaking with that mare from before? And why was she a friend of his? Christopher had never mentioned having any other friend than herself.

Questions were swimming around in her head. The more she tried answering them, the more confusing the situation became.

It wouldn't be the first time Daring Do was in a race to the finish, but it had somehow felt different this time around and a lot more dangerous. More dangerous than her experience with the Sapphire Stone. She sighed and looked to the moon. 'Oh Luna. I could really use some guidance. Hay, even some advice would work', she thought to herself once more with a shake of her head. She was asking the princess for help? Since when did Daring Do ever ask for help? “I have a reputation to uphold”, she said to nopony in particular.

/Daring Do..../

“Huh, what?”, Daring Do looked behind at the mention of her name. No one. She was completely alone up there. She chuckled and shook her head, “Still tired.”

/FLASH!/

“Urgh!”, Daring Do winced as the bright flash of light blinded her, but the light was gone as fast as it had appeared.

She quickly blinked her eyes and slowed to a stop. “Wow, that was definitely not normal.”, she said softly as she rubbed at her eyes. Daring saw the sky begin to turn a hue of light blue. Daylight? 'I must have slept longer than I thought', she thought to herself as she took flight once more.

Daring Do hadn't noticed the sun was unusually smaller as it rose on the horizon.