Daring Do and the Hunt for the Hippogriff's Harp

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Epilogue

Prologue

May 15th, 1476
3,000 feet above the Badlands, Equestria

Captain Blackjack sat in his quarters before a table of charts and maps, plotting out the final leg of their journey. Blackjack was a hippogriff - the result of breeding between a griffon and a mare. Like a griffon, his head was that of an eagle, covered in immaculate white feathers. The front part of his body was that of a lion, his sinewy forelegs ended in the talons of an eagle. The hindquarters were that of a pony, complete with hooves and a tail of unruly white hair. His coat was a dark brown, and upon his flank was a cutie mark of a royal flush in the suit of clubs.

The hippogriff captain and his crew had been tasked with transporting some precious cargo for the leader of their people, Queen Rozenn Thunderstruck. The hippogriff monarch, a talented musician, was scheduled to perform at the neighboring pony kingdom's capital, Canterlot, and so Blackjack and his crew were delivering all the necessary supplies for her concert. The cargo also included a national treasure, the queen's magical harp, so it had been a high honor for the hippogriff sailors. The sailors had been perhaps a tad too excited about this task, as they had done their fair share of bragging in the cider taverns before they took off.

A knock at the door to his cabin pried Blackjack's attention from the charts. He stood and opened the door, an ashen-faced sailor waited on the other side. Blackjack knew something must be wrong, he could feel it in his feathers. "What's the problem, ensign?" Blackjack asked.

The sailor raised his wing in a salute. "Sir, we have a situation. Vessel closing in fast on our six."

Blackjack scowled and spread his wings, flying quickly up to the bridge. He raised his spyglass to his eye and gazed astern at the horizon. A distant dot soared through the overcast skies, gradually increasing in size with each passing moment. He swore and glanced over his shoulder, silently urging his ship, the Half-Blood's Lament, ever faster. He turned his attention back to the approaching craft and snarled. The dot had become two dots, and they were both coming in fast.

The Lament was a Clipper-class cargo airship, a product of Forelockheed Aerospace. It was one of the fastest classes of airships in the world, but they were heavily laden with cargo as well as some defensive modifications including a large ballista and metal plating along the hull, severely reducing their speed. The helmsman nervously asked Blackjack, "Think we can lose 'em, skipper?"

"I don't have my hopes up, but head for that cloudbank off the starboard bow," Blackjack ordered.

"Aye, aye, captain," the helmsman replied as he turned the wheel, steering the airship towards the clouds off to the right.

The two vessels were drawing nearer, and Blackjack could make out flags being hoisted on them - black banners with a white canine skull and crossed bones. Pirates. Even worse, dog pirates. Blackjack spit. "Pirates! Sound the general quarters!"

A sailor began rapidly ringing the ship's bell, summoning the crew to battle stations. A small group of heavily armed and armored hippogriffs emerged from below decks. They were the queen's royal guards that had been tasked with guarding the harp. Their leader, a burly hippogriff named Steelwing, flapped his wings and landed next to Blackjack. Steelwing's coat and feathers were dark grey, his cutie mark of a winged shield barely visible beneath his gleaming silver armor.

Blackjack handed the spyglass to Steelwing. "Two vessels approach from the south," Blackjack said. "Pirates both, as you can see."

Steelwing casually gazed at the approaching ships and shrugged. "Let the worms come. This was getting to be a boring trip, anyway."

As the two pirate ships drew near, Steelwing readied the defenders. The small contingent of royal guards was supplemented by crewmen of the Lament, but they would still be vastly outnumbered by the pirates. Steelwing divided the hippogriffs into small fighting squads, then assigned them to guard each side of the airship. A team of veteran marines had been provided to man the ballista, and as they readied their weapon they offered words of encouragement to calm the nerves of the less experienced crewmen.

Blackjack kept an eye on their pursuers, which were still closing in fast on their slower prey. The pirate ships were much smaller than the Lament and they had been painted in a camouflage pattern to try and match the sky, an old disguise trick favored by pirates. Blackjack watched the approaching ships, rapidly clenching and unclenching his talons into fists, quivering in rage. He could see the pirates now, bipedal canines who seemed to be armed to the teeth, but thankfully lightly armored.

Blackjack smirked and began to put on the chainmail armor a crew member had brought for him. The hippogriffs were outnumbered, but he was confident that their likely-superior equipment and training would even up the score. Blackjack buckled on a sword belt and inspected his cutlass before slipping it back in the scabbard. He moved to the front of the bridge and bellowed, "This is it, men! Gods save the Queen!"

The hippogriffs erupted into a chorus of 'Gods Save the Queen' as the pirates began to make their attack, answering the hippogriffs' chant with a dreadful baying. The ballista's shot sent a spray of splinters into the dogs as it tore through the railing of their ship as well as several unfortunate pirates. Undaunted, the lead pirate ship began to close in and work its way abeam of the Lament.

The lead ship accelerated, passing the Lament with a litany of curses, taunts, barks, and howls pouring from the pirates on the deck. The pirate ship continued to blitz past the Lament, before it suddenly swung completely around and veered head-on towards the hippogriffs. Blackjack chuckled and slowly shook his head. They're trying to ram us? Can't they see the metal plating on our hull?

Blackjack put his talons on the helmsman's shoulder. "They want to play chicken, eh? When they flee, I want you to turn into them and give 'em hell!"

The helmsman smiled happily. "Aye, aye, skipper."

Silence befell the airship as everypony waited, watching for the pirates to break off their attack. The pirates held their bow to the Lament, closing in until there was only a hundred feet between the two vessels. The pirates suddenly swerved sharply to starboard and raucous cheers erupted from the hippogriffs. Blackjack smugly smiled at the fleeing pirates and yelled, "You scurvy dogs!"

"We have them now!" Blackjack shouted, as the helmsman rapidly spun the wheel to the left. The Lament shuddered under the impact as its steel-plated bow ripped into the pirate ship, gouging a large gash from midship all the way aft. Blackjack watched the fleeing pirates and immediately knew something was wrong. Instead of any sign of concern over what just happened to their ship, the pirates were grinning and laughing.

Blackjack looked to the right and saw what the pirates thought was humorous. The lead ship's attack had merely been a distraction. Her captain had even let his vessel get rammed in order to play out the charade. While the hippogriffs were watching the lead ship play out the game of chicken, the second ship had ascended just out of sight, waiting. When the Lament had impacted with the lead ship, the lurking pirates sprung into action, descending and lashing the two airships together with grappling hooks. With a chorus of terrifying howls, the pirates began to swarm aboard the Lament.

Blackjack cursed his foolishness under his breath and drew his cutlass as he prepared to defend the bridge alongside the Lament's first mate, a lanky hippogriff mare. The first of the pirates had barely touched the deck when they were struck down by a hail of crossbow bolts. The hippogriffs were lethally accurate, and every razor-sharp bolt had met its mark. A second wave of pirates charged onto the Lament and Steelwing's men dropped their crossbows and surged forwards to meet them. The hippogriffs' superior training gave them the advantage and they quickly repelled the initial attacks. The pirates, used to attacking lightly armed pony vessels, not well-armed soldiers, faltered and fled back to their ship with their tails between their legs. Steelwing rallied his men and pursued the pirates back onto their own ship.

The pirates were running around in disarray before their captain, a massive Great Dane-looking dog, restored order. "You bloody mongrels! Are you dogs, or cats? There are three of you for every one of them! Have all you mutts forgotten the lessons of the wolf!"

The pirates heeded their captain's words, thinking of how the wolf hunts in a pack, and realized that despite their losses, they still vastly outnumbered the hippogriffs. Attacking in large groups, the pirates would single out a hippogriff and overrun his position, quickly turning the tide of battle in their favor. Worried, Steelwing and his men regrouped and began cutting their way through the pirate horde back to the Lament.

Not wanting to fall for the same trick twice, Blackjack had kept his eye on the wounded pirate ship. Sure enough, It had swung around and was coming in towards the Lament's port side. The pirates began to throw grapples and the hippogriffs moved to engage the new threat. Blackjack readied his cutlass and flew towards the port rail.

"Port side! We must sever the grappling lines!" Blackjack ordered. The marines, realizing the danger if the second ship was able to unload her pirates, abandoned the ballista and rushed to help.

Blackjack raised his cutlass and slashed through one of the rope lines. He prepared to slice another line and heard a whistling through the air as an arrow hit the deck an inch from his hoof. He ignored it and cut another grapple line, then flapped his wings and rolled to the right as another arrow streaked by. He peeked up from behind the railing and saw a dog with a recurve bow clutching the pirate ship's rigging.

Blackjack watched as the archer slowly, deliberately, aimed his bow further astern. Blackjack tried to shout out a warning, but was too late. The arrow pierced the helmsman's chainmail hauberk and plunged into his chest, knocking him to his knees. The archer smiled and nodded at Blackjack, before letting loose another arrow, this one hitting the first mate's unprotected wing as she knelt to tend to the injured helmsman.

Blackjack glanced around the deck and frowned. They appeared to be losing the battle. The majority of the hippogriffs were fighting for their lives against an endless swarm of pirates. A wounded dog lay nearby, and Blackjack hoisted him over his shoulders, using the pirate as a living shield. Blackjack made his way along the port side, slicing grapples as the archer mercifully held his fire. With only a few lines left, the archer had second thoughts and opened fire on Blackjack once more, peppering his own comrade with arrows in a desperate attempt to stop the hippogriff.

Blackjack rolled the now arrow-laden dog off his shoulders and watched the marines as they hacked through the final lines, then collapsed on the deck to catch his breath. Pain lanced through his body as an arrow tore through his wing. He clambered to his feet and dashed towards cover, but not before another arrow had hit its mark, piercing through his chainmail and embedding itself in his shoulder.

Blackjack grimaced and glared towards the archer, watched as the pirate ship drifted away. He muttered, "Damn your eyes."

As if he had heard, the archer notched one last arrow and snap-fired towards Blackjack. His shot clanged against the metal plated hull, and Blackjack breathed a sigh of relief.

Steelwing and the other hippogriffs had fought their way back on-board and regrouped with the others. Together, they cast off the starboard grapples. With their ship freed, the first mate spun the wheel hard to port to get some distance between them and the pirates. The threat diminished, the marines quickly got back onto their ballista and began firing at the pirates once more. Their shots were both accurate and destructive, and soon dissuade the two bold pirate captains.

The hippogriffs dealt with the few remaining pirates on-board the Lament and watched in relief as their attackers turned and fled - both of the pirate ships were badly damaged. A great cheer erupted from the surviving hippogriffs as the pirate ship that had been rammed suddenly began to yaw then spiraled towards the ground below. Blackjack staggered back to the bridge and took over the helm. Raising the spyglass with his uninjured arm, he could make out Canterlot Mountain in the distance and turned the wheel to get back on course.

An eerie silence crept over the deck, prompting Blackjack to limp to the forward rail and peer down. The sight stunned him. Littered across the blood-spattered deck was a tangled mass of bodies of dogs and hippogriffs. Blackjack had never seen such carnage, and he felt the urge to vomit. Of the twenty-seven sailors, soldiers, and marines that had been aboard the Lament, only eleven were left standing, and most were badly wounded. Blackjack could count at least twenty dogs' bodies on the deck, and knew Steelwing and the marines must have claimed far more aboard the pirates' own ships, but the thought gave no comfort.

Shaken by the sight and his loss of blood, he stared up into the heavens and whispered, "Gods save us all..."

Blackjack made his way back to the helm and tightly gripped the wheel. He could feel himself getting weaker, slipping towards unconsciousness. His eyes stared vacantly at the mountain in the distance as he used his ebbing strength to attempt to keep the airship on course.

Author's Note

I love Daring Do. She's one of my favorite characters. For a while now I've been wishing I could write a Daring Do adventure. On Sunday. I awoke after an hour or two of sleep, completely miserable, couldn't fall back asleep until twelve hours later... :( However, I did get an idea for a Daring Do adventure, so at least something good came of it.

Chapter 1

July 5th, 2013
Baltimare, Equestria

The taxi began to slow as it neared the destination, 1 Sea Mist Lane, a private residence on the shoreline of Baltimare. Baltimare was the second largest seaport and one of the largest cities in Equestria. The city had been built on the east shore of Equestria, off of Horseshoe Bay, and was well known for the variety of festivals it hosts. The taxi came to a stop at the end of a long, winding, cobblestone driveway. An ornate mailbox, shaped like a sphinx, could be seen at the end of the drive. It was marked 'D. Do' The cabbie looked back over his shoulder. "We're here, miss. That'll be twenty bits."

The teenaged hippogriff passenger, Marion Thunderstruck, plucked a handful of coins from a pouch and paid her fare. Marion was the descendant of Queen Rozenn Thunderstruck, an ancient hippogriff monarch. As the youngest of seven children, Marion knew it would be unlikely she would become queen, and so she had decided to travel the world instead of entering politics like her brothers and sisters. Marion's head and upper body were covered with ivory white feathers. The feathers of her wings were reddish brown with ivory white primary and secondary coverts, forming a strip of white feathers. Her coat was light brown and the hair of her tail was black. Her cutie mark consisted of a lightning bolt striking a tree.

The young hippogriff exhibited a pulchritude that some found irresistible, and despite her royal lineage she wasn't afraid of getting her talons dirty. For the last three years, Marion had been on a quest to find her ancestor's enchanted harp, which had disappeared while being transported to Canterlot, hundreds of years ago. Marion had pursued the scarce leads she had been able to find as to the harp, but had no luck recovering it. In desperation, she had obtained an audience with Princess Celestia, the long-lived pony royal who had been alive at the time of the harp's disappearance. Even Celestia claimed to have no knowledge of the harp's whereabouts, and so Marion had come to Baltimare in search of the one pony who might be able to help - the famous pegasus Daring Do.

Marion grabbed her briefcase and climbed out of the cab. "Thank you, sir."

Marion began to make her way towards the elegant stone mansion in the distance, the home of the legendary adventurer Daring Do. Marion had been raised in an extravagant palace, and had visited many more spectacular dwellings during her travels, but she had to pause for a moment and appreciate the home she saw before her. Made of limestone, the three-story mansion featured several towers and a plethora of jewel-like stained glass windows. A large stony balcony sat over the front doors, and in the back there was an enclosed porch that overlooked the bay.

Marion made her way to the entry way and was in awe of the cherry wood doors, which featured beautiful stained glass windows, upon which were scenes of some exotic jungle locale. Daring Do's cutie mark, a compass rose, was embossed on the door knobs, adding a unique, personal touch to the home. Marion knocked on the doors, but there was no response. She stood there for a few moments, admiring the intricate stonework of the house. She could hear faint music coming from out back of the house, and she decided to investigate.

Marion made her way down a cobblestone pathway towards the water and the source of the music. She could see a large boathouse in the same design as the mansion and headed towards it. The door was open and Marion peeked inside. She saw the phonograph that was playing the Glenn Muler Orchestra's 'In the Mood.' A rum runner boat, featuring a long narrow platform and a planing hull designed for maximum speed, was tied up in one of the slips. In the other, a twin-boom seaplane with a single, central nacelle was being worked on. It was a Forelockheed product, one of the Waterbolt line of seaplanes, which were based off of the legendary Lighting fighter craft of yore, and boasted similar performance characteristics, lessened by the floats.

The seaplane's noseart featured a treasure chest overflowing with jewels and gold doubloons and a stylishly painted name proclaimed it as the Adventure. Marion heard a metallic clang and looked towards the seaplane. Daring was working on one of the engines, the only visible part of her was her well-toned rump and hindquarters. Her tail was a greyscale rainbow of greys and black, a lovely combination with her golden yellow coat.

"Come on, baby, don't do this to me," Daring said as she smacked her wrench against the troublesome engine once more. One more hit, and the turbo-supercharged engine roared to life. Daring began to sputter and cough as she staggered back, her face covered in soot. Daring flapped her wings and leapt up to the cockpit, leaned in and shut off the engine. She saw Marion out of the corner of her eye and began wiping her face with a cloth as she made her way to the hippogriff.

"Sorry, for the intrusion, Miss Do. I need your help," Marion said.

Daring looked Marion over and gave her a grin. "A hippogriff, can't say I've seen too many of your kind." Daring held out her hoof. "Daring Do."

Marion shook the hoof. "Marion Thunderstruck."

Daring raised an eyebrow. "Thunderstruck, eh? Any relation to the royal family?"

"Yes, but don't worry about any formalities. I sure don't," Marion said.

Daring felt her stomach growling. She turned off the phonograph then started to wash her hooves in a sink. "Would you care to join me for lunch? We can discuss your matter at hoof over something to eat."

"That would be wonderful, thank you," Marion replied.

Daring dried off her hooves then picked up her trademark hat, a khaki pith helmet, and slipped it on. "Splendid! Let's head on up to the house."

Daring and Marion headed up to the house, which proved to be even more breathtaking on the inside. Daring gave her a quick tour of her home. The floors were parquet, a blend of oak and cherry. Trinkets, paintings, and random relics lined the walls, the bounty of a life of adventure. The first floor featured a kitchen, dining room, library, sitting room, and a stained glass-domed conservatory filled with exotic plants and trees that Marion couldn't identify. The second floor featured several bedrooms, including a glorious master bedroom with a large hot tub, and a large living room that led out onto the stone balcony Marion had seen on the way in. The third floor had at once been a ballroom, but Daring had converted it to a lounge and billiards hall. Staircases from the third floor led up into the towers. One had a study, another a bedroom, and the third was a scenic sitting room that provided a lovely view of Horseshoe Bay and the surrounding city.

Daring left her guest in the downstairs sitting room and went to prepare their lunch. Marion eagerly inspected the objects that were on display in a glass showcase. They included ancient golden coins, scrimshaw, carved stone idols, and even a skull made of crystal. Marion stared in wonder at the décor and blushed as she caught her gaze lingering upon a large oil painting of Daring in the buff. She heard the clip-clop of Daring's hooves and sat down to await her host.

Daring entered bearing a tray full of food. She had prepared a tomato and garlic soup, grilled asparagus, lettuce, and bell pepper sandwiches served on toasted French bread, and blackberry sorbet for dessert. She also had a pitcher of grape juice, which she poured into two glasses. The pair happily dug into their meal, eating in silence until Daring asked, "So, Marion, what would you like my assistance with?"

Marion looked into Daring's dark pink eyes. "My family really doesn't like this story being told, but you look like a good, trustworthy mare."

Daring flashed her a smile. "Thank you."

"Have you heard of the magical harp my people used to control the weather? Marion asked.

Daring nodded. "Indeed I have."

"Legend tells that the very first hippogriff's father was a musician, and her mother was a unicorn. Her parents combined their talents to produce the harp as testament to their love, just like their daughter. It was the symbol of my people for generations. Sadly, in the late 1400s it was lost," Marion explained.

Daring frowned. As an aficionado of relics, she had read of the harp before, and didn't recall any mentions of it being missing. "Lost? I've read about the history of that harp and don't remember it being lost."

"My people, in our shame, decided to cover up the loss of the harp. Those were different times. We already felt like second-class citizens, we did not want to be a laughingstock as well if the other peoples had learned we lost our prized possession," Marion sadly said.

"I'm pretty sure I know where this is going. I'll need to know everything about the loss of the harp if I'm to be able to find it," Daring said with a smile.

Marion opened her briefcase and pulled out a notebook and a bunch of old sepia photographs, then set them in front of Daring. The notebook contained her research on the harp, while the photos were rather disturbing shots of bog-preserved bodies of dogs and hippogriffs as well as an airship. "As you can see in my notes, the last known location of the harp was aboard the Half-Blood's Lament in 1476. They were bringing it to Canterlot so the queen could perform in concert. Somewhere along the way, they must have ran into trouble, as they never arrived."

Marion leaned forwards and browsed through the photos, selecting one that showed the airship. "The closest we've come to finding the harp was in 1923 when an expedition led by my great-great grandfather recovered this vessel out of the Froggy Bottom Bog."

Daring inspected the photographs. She was no stranger to the macabre, having explored many a tomb, but the photos of the bodies they recovered from the bog made her grimace. Marion pointed to one of the photos, which showed a collection of weaponry near preserved hippogriffs. "The arms and armor of the hippogriffs and dogs put them in the 1400s."

"The airship wasn't the Half Blood's Lament though, so what was it?" Daring asked.

"It appeared to be a pirate ship. Since hippogriffs were found aboard, we believe the pirates attacked the Lament and were defeated, but sadly they took some of our people with them. The Lament may have been badly damaged in the fight, but we've never found a single trace of her."

As they finished their lunch, Daring read over Marion's notes. She found the case very alluring. Not only were there pirates involved, and therefore a chance to find some treasure, but a magical relic was as well. Daring finished her sorbet and sipped at her juice. "Well, Miss Thunderstruck. You have my interest, and it would be my pleasure to help you find this harp."

"Thank you so much," Marion said with a smile.

"If you don't mind sharing your secret with another pony, I have a friend that may be able to offer us some insight," Daring said. "I imagine she'll be very eager to lend her expertise, she kind of has a thing for Forelockheed aircraft."

"A friend of yours is a friend of mine, I hope. If it helps find the harp, then I am all for it," Marion replied.

"Excellent. Lend me a hoof and we'll get these dishes cleaned up, then we'll head down to her house," Daring said.

A short while later the pair set off towards Baltimare's Inner Harbor. Sitting on a bench across the street, a cigarette smoking mare watched them with interest, peering over a newspaper through a pair of dark sunglasses. The mare had turquoise hair and a pale, bluish-white coat. Her cutie mark was of an arrowhead. As Daring and Marion rounded a corner, the mare rose and casually followed in their hoofsteps, making sure to stay far enough behind that they would not notice.

Author's Note

The Argent Hippogryph is one of my favorite mounts in World of Warcraft, so I tried to give Marion those colors.

Daring's house is inspired by a place I remember visiting when I was little, the 1890 House museum.

Chapter 2

July 5th, 2013
Baltimare, Equestria

Daring Do and Marion navigated their way through throngs of tourists and locals alike as they made their way around Baltimare's Inner Harbor. Serving as one of Equestria's major seaports since the 1700s, the Inner Harbor was now a popular tourist attraction, boasting world-renowned restaurants, shopping, museums, cruises along Horseshoe Bay, the famous Baltimare Science Center, the National Aquarium, as well as a collection of historic ships and submarines moored at the piers and open for exploration. Marion had been especially interested in the museum dedicated to the legendary baseball player Babe Hoof, but it, and all the other intriguing attractions, would have to wait for some other time.

Daring and Marion paused to spectate one of the waterfront street performers. an Earth pony breathing flames and walking along hot coals. The onlookers clapped their hooves as the Earth pony finished her performance by igniting a string of fireworks with her heated hooves. The pair continued onwards and a short while later had reached their destination - the Baltimare Aeronautical Museum. A sixty-foot propeller from some beast of an aircraft hung over the entryway of the massive museum complex, which had been designed to look like a hangar. A myriad of aircraft could be seen through the windows.

Daring started up the steps to the museum as Marion quizzically read the museum's sign and hurried to catch up. "I thought you said we were going to your friend's house?" Marion asked.

Daring winked back at Marion as she pushed open the doors to the museum. "This is her house, hon."

An aging pegasus mare, Slipstream Forelockheed, sat behind the reception desk reading a newspaper. Her coat was a sky blue and her hair was a light grey, streaked with white. Her cutie mark was of a winged star. The mare's eyes lit up as she spied Daring Do, and she flapped her wings, leaping over the desk to embrace her friend. She gave Daring a quick peck on the cheek. "Oh, Daring! It's always a pleasure to see you, hon. I don't think I've had a chance to talk to you since you got back from your last expedition. Everything went well, I hope?"

Daring smiled. "Better than I could have imagined. I found the tomb of a fourth century king, untouched by raiders!"

Slipstream frowned. "Really? There was nothing about it in the papers."

Daring laughed. "When we discover a find like that we tend to keep it under wraps, lest the unsavory sort head out there to plunder it. It will likely be months before the archaeologists finish excavating the site and go public with our findings, but swing by the house sometime and I can show you some photographs I took."

"Oh, that would be lovely. Well, Daring, who is your little friend?" Slipstream asked.

Daring introduced the hippogriff, "Marion Thunderstruck, meet Slipstream, owner of this museum and heiress to the Forelockheed fortune."

Marion gasped and shook Slipstream's hoof. "An honor to meet you, Miss Forelockheed."

Slipstream grinned and curtseyed. "Likewise, your highness."

Marion rolled her eyes. "Thank you, but you need not worry about the formalities. Just Marion is fine by me."

"Alright then, Marion. Now, I presume you ladies require my assistance with some aviation related research?"

Daring nodded and glanced around the museum, noticing the small groups of patrons and employees scattered about. "Can we move this conversation to your quarters?"

Slipstream held out her hoof towards a roped off stairwell. "Of course, hon. This way, ladies."

Marion and Daring headed up the stairs and into Slipstream's private residence - a lush flat that would put some of the most luxurious Manehattan dwellings to shame. Featuring antique, ornate, hoof-crafted cherry wood furniture and a collection of artwork worth several million bits, the expensive décor reminded Marion of her family's palace back home. Slipstream led them into her study. The walls of the study were paneled in wood salvaged from the deck of an airship. Portraits of the Forelockheed family adorned the walls and peeked out interspersed between overflowing bookshelves and filing cabinets. The centerpiece of the room was a large, intricately engraved, antique campaign desk commissioned by Admiral Pitot Forelockheed in the 19th century during the Lemon Tree War, crafted with wood from the enemies' flagship after Admiral Pitot's fleet shot it down. The desk's engravings included the Equestria flag, the Royal Navy's insignia, and various battle scenes of engagements the Admiral took part in during the war.

Slipstream motioned for them to sit at a small table by a window overlooking the bay as she went into the kitchen. She returned with a glass of ice water for each of them and joined them at the table. Slipstream sipped at her drink and leaned forwards in her chair while rubbing her hooves together. "Daring Do and a hippogriff princess need my help. Ah, but not just any hippogriff princess. The rebellious youngest daughter. This should be interesting..."

Marion, a notorious party-mare before she became obsessed with finding the harp, frowned and looked at Daring, who shrugged her wings in response.

Slipstream gently pat Marion's talons. "I'm sorry, hon. You do tend to make the tabloids, you know. What would you like my assistance with?"

"We're looking for one of your ancestors' creations, a Clipper-class airship owned by the hippogriff kingdom, the Half-Blood's Lament was the name," Daring explained. "It was en route to Canterlot in 1476 and nopony has seen it since."

Slipstream rubbed at her chin with her wingtip. "Hmm... Oh! I was trying to recall why that seemed familiar to me," Slipstream said as she flew towards a bookshelf. She plucked a book titled Aeronautical Mysteries from the shelf and landed back at the table. She glanced at the index then flipped to the page detailing the Lament's disappearance. "Let's see. According to this author's investigation, they believe the Lament never made it to Equestria, having been blown off course and crashing in the Bermooda Triangle."

Marion pulled her notebook and photographs out of her briefcase and set it before Slipstream. "That seems implausible, as you can see I have some evidence that the Lament made it to Equestria."

Slipstream poured over the notebook and photographs and nodded. "Indeed you do. After you found the ship in the bog, your people continued to search, yes?"

Marion nodded. "My grandfather believed the Lament made it all the way north to the Unicorn Range, crashing there due to bad weather. They never found a trace of her, and I've been trying to search the Range myself, but it is an arduous task."

"Well, Marion, let me take a crack at it and with any luck I shall find this missing airship for you," Slipstream said, then rose and flew towards a filing cabinet and began rummaging through a collection of charts and maps.

Daring leaned back in her chair and grinned at Marion. "Now you get to see her work her magic."

Slipstream returned and rolled out some charts on the floor. She moved a see-through overlay onto a chart and began to copy a flight path from one of the other charts. "This is the flight plan your missing airship was most likely following, having been the established route for hippogriff merchantmen since 1251."

Slipstream pointed towards Foggy Bottom Bog, which was slightly off course of the traced route. "Alright, hon. The vessel your great-great grandfather recovered was found here. The presence of hippogriff bodies with period armaments tells us it almost had to have been involved with the Lament's disappearance."

Slipstream began to run numbers in her head as she traced a path along the chart. "The pirates attack, the Lament gets off course. A Forelockheed aircraft can take a pounding, but even they have limits. The crew may be badly hurt, their ship may be damaged, they're losing airspeed, losing altitude..."

Her hoof stopped and she looked up at Daring with a frown as she arrived at the start of Everfree Forest, an infamous region known for its wild magic and unpredictable behaviors. Once home to the Royal Pony Sisters - princesses Celestia and Luna - it was the only place in all of Equestria that the clouds moved on their own, the plants grew by themselves, and the animals could take care of themselves. Slipstream shuddered. "And they crash land in the Everfree Forest, never to be seen again."

Marion pouted. "Is.. is that bad? What is the Everfree Forest?."

"It is a mysterious land rampant with magic," Daring explained. "Anything can, and usually does, happen there. If your missing airship is indeed there, there is no surprise that it has never been found. I remember an article about a notorious gang of thieves that tried to raid the Royal Pony Sister castle a few years back. They would never say just what it was that happened to them, but when they returned, half-crazed and near-death several months later, they all immediately turned themselves in and swore to never even think of stealing ever again."

Slipstream stood on her hind legs and put her hooves on her hips as Daring and Marion studied the chart. There was a twinkle in Daring's eyes, a twinkle Slipstream had seen before. "You're going to Everfree, aren't you, hon," Slipstream said, knowing full well that she was.

Daring grimly nodded. "The Lament almost has to be somewhere in Everfree, unfortunately. Just feels like the right place to me."

"Just what is it you think is on this airship?" Slipstream asked.

"The Half-Blood's Lament was carrying my people's magical harp that could control the weather," Marion confessed. "I've spent years trying to find it on my own, and..." She began to cry.

Daring put her hoof on Marion's shoulder. "We're getting this harp back, princess. I've survived more mummy's curses, booby traps, ambushes, kidnappings, super villains, snakes - oh gosh the snakes... and various calamities than I can shake a hoof at. We'll find the harp, I promise."

Marion wiped at her eyes and hugged Daring. "Thank you, Daring Do. I knew you were the right mare to come to!"

"I would like to sponsor this little excursion," Slipstream said. "All expenses paid, but in return I get whatever is left of the airship. The Clipper-class airships were all scrapped centuries ago, I'm sorry to say. It would make quite an attraction for the museum."

Marion thrust out her taloned hand. "Deal!"

An adventuring professional, Daring had already begun mentally tallying up what they would need in order to search for the Half-Blood's Lament. After a few minutes sunk deep in thought, she smiled up at the two mares. "Slipstream, think you can get a drop tank and camera rig for my plane?"

"Of course, hon," Slipstream answered. She looked cautiously around the room, "I'll even get you a state-of-the-art military grade set up, if you promise not to tell anypony. Perks of having a skunk works emblazoned with your family's name."

Daring laughed. "Wonderful. Alright, here's the plan. We'll do a standard search pattern over the Forest and while we're lookin', the camera will be clickin'. If we can't find anything, we can then analyze the photos and hopefully spot something our eyes were unable to. Sound good?"

"Sounds fine to me," Marion said.

"Alright then," Daring said with a grin. "How long do you think it would take you to get my plane ready, Slipstream?"

Slipstream frowned and nervously rubbed her hooves together. "Oh, Daring, you're really putting me out on a limb here," Slipstream said as she winked at Marion. "Is half an hour good enough?"

Daring chuckled and playfully batted at Slipstream with her wing. "I reckon that's just about perfect. Still several hours of daylight left. Depending on weather conditions, we ought to be able to cover a decent amount of Everfree before the sun sets. Of course, it is Everfree, so who knows what will happen in that regard."

"Alright, hon. You girls go get whatever supplies you need and I'll have my boys work on your plane," Slipstream said.

Daring hugged Slipstream before heading back downstairs. "Thanks, Slipstream. We'll see you in half an hour then!"

Marion bowed her head. "Yes, thank you so much for your assistance."

Slipstream waved at the departing mares and began to put away the charts when she got the peculiar sensation of being watched. She furrowed her brow and discretely glanced out the window, but there were few vantage points that would be able to see into the second-story window, and Slipstream saw nopony in sight. She shrugged off the feeling and hurried downstairs - she had a lot of strings to pull in order to fulfill her thirty-minute promise to Daring and Marion.

Author's Note

I think it must have been at least ten years ago that I was last in Baltimore. I was looking some stuff up and was surprised how much I remembered about it. The Science Center, the Aquarium, the USS Torsk submarine... Pretty cool place!

Everfree was the first place I thought of when thinking of this story idea. It is a pretty interesting location, for obvious reasons, and I knew there could be no other place for the airship to have gone down. :)

Chapter 3

July 5th, 2013
100 feet above the treetops
Everfree Forest, Equestria

Slipstream had made good on her boast of thirty-minutes, and the Forelockheed techies had even worked on the plane's engines that had been troubling Daring for quite some time. The Adventure was now better than ever, and Daring had giggled with glee as she saw a little sign they had added to the cockpit - 'Do not exceed airspeeds of 500 MPH.' After loading their supplies and a getting a quick rundown on how to operate the camera and ditch the drop tank, if need be, Daring and Marion had heartily thanked Slipstream once more and had immediately took off on a heading towards Everfree Forest.

The flight had been uneventful until the Adventure had crossed over into the airspace above Everfree Forest. As they passed over the outskirts of Everfree, the aircraft's instruments and gauges had gone haywire due to a magical anomaly. When they were still airborne several anxious minutes later, they laughed it off as just one of the many magical mysteries that abounded in Everfree.

The weather conditions over the Everfree Forest, infamous for changing at the drop of the hat and ranging from fierce storms with hail the size of bowling balls to fog so think movement was impaired, were mercifully perfect for their task, providing high visibility and therefore greatly increasing their odds of finding the Half-Blood's Lament. The first hour had Daring and Marion on the edge of their seats, concerned over what calamities could assail them from the forest below. When nothing happened besides a line of clouds merrily following in their wake like a fluffy white serpent, the pair had relaxed and resumed the casual chit-chatting they had been engaged in on the flight over.

Daring was bemusedly observing some brightly glowing will-o'-the-wisps as they darted amongst the foliage below when she felt her stomach begin to growl. "Hey, Marion. Could you pass me some berries, please?"

"Sure thing," Marion said as she began to turn around to get some of the blackberries and blueberries they had brought for a snack. As she looked to their rear, her blood froze. On their six o'clock was an enormous mound of vegetation in hot pursuit. A pair of glowing yellow eyes glared up at them from above a gaping maw of a mouth. It was a plant elemental, which were usually benign, but unfortunately the roar of the Adventure's twin supercharged engines had awoken this one and sent it into a fury.

Marion tapped Daring with her wing, "D-Daring, we have a problem."

Daring's ears perked up in concern as she heard the fearful quaver in Marion's voice. Daring looked back and swore, "Hay bales! Alright, buckle up, time to see what my baby can do!"

Daring pushed the throttle forwards and yanked back on the stick, hoping to get some distance and altitude between them and the elemental. The plane shot upwards with a speed that surprised Marion and Daring both. After ascending several hundred feet, Daring looked back over her shoulder and swore again. The elemental was expanding its body in order to keep up with the fleeing plane, and now towered over the Forest.

Daring leveled off and put the ball to the wall, pushing the throttle all the wall forwards until the knob touched the instrument panel. The Adventure accelerated and quickly left the lumbering elemental far behind. Daring glanced towards the airspeed indicator and sighed as she saw it was still on the fritz. She felt something nagging at her and she remembered the warning sign the mechanics had added. "Is it gone? We need to slow down. I have no idea how fast we're going and I don't want to risk damaging the plane, or us."

Marion looked back and scanned the treetops - there was no sign of the elemental. "I think we're safe, I can't see it. I think it's gone."

"Good," Daring said, as she eased back on the throttle. "Remind me to send some gifts to Slipstream and her crew once we get back to Baltimare. Those improvements her boys made really saved our flanks. We had to be doing at least four-fifty."

"All I know is we were going fast! Uh, so, should we quit for the day?" Marion asked.

"Up to you. I'd guess we got maybe one-sixth of Everfree covered today. The conditions are good right now though if you want to keep going, since who knows what it will be like tomorrow, or even five minutes from now."

Marion, her heart still racing, thought it over for a bit, letting her nerves calm down. "Well, I was going to say we should go home, since that thing tried to attack us, but you're more familiar with this region than I. I say we stick it out until we can't search anymore."

Daring flashed her a smile. "That's the spirit! Now, about those berries.."

"Oh, right. Here you go," Marion said as she passed Daring a bowl of the berries.

Daring popped a hoofful into her mouth and let the sweet juices flow over her tongue. "Ooh, these are good. We should pick some more up at the market and bake something with them. I know a pretty amazing pie recipe. Found it in the tomb of a fourth century knight. Why it was there, I don't know, but it is delicious."

"That sounds scrumpt-" Marion began to say, interrupting herself with a shriek of terror as the elemental suddenly emerged from the forest in front of them. Vines began to lance out towards the Adventure as Daring choked on her berries. She composed herself and pulled the stick back and to the right and slammed on the rudder pedal as she tried to pull an evasive maneuver, but the vines had already begun to ensnare the plane.

The engines sputtered and groaned as the vines thrust into their casings and began to clog up their mechanisms. Foliage covered the cockpit, plunging the two frightened mares into darkness. With one final wheeze the engines died and the Adventure began to be forcibly dragged downwards as the elemental receded into the Everfree Forest.

"Wh-w-what do you think it is g-going to do to us?" Marion stammered.

"I have no idea. Never encountered something like whatever this thing is," Daring said.

"C-could this be what happened to the airship?" Marion asked.

"Good thinking. Could be," Daring replied. "It can likely crush us like a tin can if it wanted to. I'd imagine it or something like it could have easily destroyed an airship."

As they reached the treetops, the elemental created a web of vines between the trees and tied up the offending aircraft. Satisfied that its slumber would no longer be interrupted by the plane, the elemental slunk off into the distance, returning to its home. Daring and Marion, unable to see the elemental's departure, sat in concerned silence for twenty minutes before curiosity got the better of them and they ventured forth to find out what had happened.

"I know I said it was gone last time, and it came back, but I think it's gone now," Marion said as she pointed to the path of leaves the elemental had left in its wake.

"Good. But I sure don't want to be here if it does come back," Daring said. A single tear ran down her cheek as she inspected her vine-ravaged aircraft. The elemental had caused damage to the plane's engines and frame that would take thousands of bits and weeks of work to repair, if it could even be recovered from its current predicament.

"Yeah.. Sorry about the Adventure, Daring. I can tell she meant a lot to you."

Daring sighed. "Thanks. We've been through a lot together. It breaks my heart to see her like this, but right now we need to worry about ourselves. An hour or two of daylight left, and I'm not sure if I want to be in Everfree after sundown."

"Think we can fly out of here ourselves, or do we need to hoof it? I don't want to get attacked by that thing if it has something against flying creatures."

Daring laughed. "Yeah, getting ravaged by vines isn't exactly my idea of a good time. Head on up past the treetops and see if you can figure out where we are while I get our gear out of my poor plane."

Daring began unloading their supplies from the Adventure as Marion flew above the treetops to try and get their bearings. They appeared to be at least a mile deep into the forest. As she scanned the horizon, Marion could hear faint sounds of a melody, which began to grow louder the more she listened. Perplexed, Marion swooped down and landed next to Daring, who had already strapped on her haversacks and pouches.

"I think we're near somepony's house," Marion said. "Does anypony live out here? I can hear this beautiful music."

Daring perked up her ears but could only hear the creaking of the vines overhead. "I suppose some foalhardy ponies may live out here. I can't hear anything though."

Marion frowned and began slipping on her gear. "Really? It sounds so wonderful."

Daring closed her eyes and tried to hear the music again. "I must be getting old. Wings or hooves?"

"Wings, but let's stay low," Marion replied.

"Gotcha. Want to look for this mystery music house?" Daring asked.

"Sure. You really can't hear this?" Marion asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

Daring shook her head. "You take point, Marion."

Marion began to hum along to the tune as she and Daring flew through the trees, juking and dodging a maze of branches and trunks. The sky began to darken above and after a tremendous crash of thunder, a gently drizzle began to fall over Everfree, providing a welcome relief from the hot summer sun. Marion, seemed to be enthralled by the music and began to fly faster and faster as the music began to intensify. Daring was slowed by her packs and struggled to keep up with Marion and yelled for her to slow her pace, but Marion could hear naught but the music.

As the pair arrived at a large clearing the music abruptly stopped. Daring and Marion came to a halt and tried to catch their breath as the drizzle became a downpour. Sweat poured off both the mares and their wing muscles burned from their frantic flight. Marion set down on the forest floor, anxiously looking for the source of the music, but could see nothing but trees and plants. Daring landed and sat up against a tree, taking a long draught from her canteen as she swept off her helmet and let the rain soak her mane.

Daring was screwing the top back onto her canteen when she felt a sudden sense of unease, like a little voice in her head telling her to be wary. As a veteran adventurer, she had felt that feeling many times before, and knew something was wrong. She knew it had to be related to the music. Why can only Marion hear this? And why was she flying like a mare possessed? Hay bales. I know I've read of something like this before...

Mario looked towards a tree that seemed big enough to house a home. "Hello?"

The sound of raindrops pattering against Daring's helmet was the only response.

"Well this is a bit odd, isn't it," Marion said as she looked back at Daring, who was suspiciously scanning the area, her hoof slowly drifting towards a bullwhip coiled at her hip. Marion began to speak and Daring held a hoof up to her mouth. Daring whispered, "Be on your guard. Remember the tale of the sirens, whose music led ships to crash? Neither did I until just now."

Marion's face paled with fright. She whispered, "B-but sirens live on islands, d-don't they?"

"Yes, but this is Everfree," Daring replied.

Minutes passed with no sirens in sight, and the pair breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry for scaring you," Daring said as she swept up her helmet and adjusted it on her head. "I've learned to trust my instincts, and my instincts were telling me that something is not right here. I suppose it may not be sirens, but stay alert nonetheless."

"Oh, no need to apologize. What do you think was producing that music if it wasn't sirens? It sure seemed to originate from this area."

Daring took another look around and shrugged. "Could be a spirit of some sort. Perhaps a nymph having a little fun with us."

"A nymph?"

"They're nature spirits. Presumably we're dealing with a dryad, which live in trees, so this clearing may be where her home grows. Nymphs love to dance and sing, too."

"Are they hostile?" Marion asked.

Daring shook her head. "Only if you're intentionally trying to destroy their trees."

Marion began to explore the area. Strange flowers, the likes of which Marion had never seen, grew interspersed in the clearing. She took a few steps forwards and noticed that the ground was spongy, seeming to give way beneath her feet. Perplexed, she leaned down to try and study the ground. She began to claw through a thick layer of moss and gasped as she saw an inky blackness below. Her gut told her to flee, but she continued clawing away at the moss and began to expose a web of old, rotting rope, which seemed to have been placed over some enormous hole in the ground.

Marion looked back over her shoulder, "Hey, Daring! Check this out."

Daring began to clamber to her feet and gasped as she heard the rotted rope begin to snap and Marion scream. Marion spread her wings to try and escape but was too slow and the rope web became entangled around her body. Daring lashed out with her whip and wrapped it around one of Marion's back legs. Daring dug her hooves into the ground and frantically flapped her wings as she was slowly drug towards the gaping chasm.

Movement from above caught Daring's eye and she glanced upwards and saw a high-tech gyrocopter hovering above the clearing. Rapidly rappelling towards Daring was an Earth pony mare with turquoise hair and a pale, bluish-white coat, she was wearing camouflage fatigues and had on a pair of dark sunglasses. There was something in the Earth pony's expression, a lopsided smirk, that sent chills down Daring's spine. The mare's smirk and the fact that her gyrocopter was almost soundless told Daring all she needed to know - she was in trouble.

The mare hit the ground and unhooked herself from the rappel line as she performed a defensive roll. then began galloping towards Daring. Daring found herself with two options. She could let go of the whip, letting Marion fall on her own, and confront the mysterious mare while she herself was encumbered by supplies. Or she could let herself be pulled down with Marion, where hopefully they could regroup and be prepared to face the mare.

Daring being Daring and always craving adventure, stopped resisting and let herself be drug down the chasm, vanishing into the unknown darkness below.

The mare carefully approached the edge of the chasm and listened to Daring and Marion's fall. The mare pouted when she didn't hear the oh-so-satisfying *SPLAT* and crunching of bones that she was hoping for. She began to check the clearing for a landing zone, then hoof-signaled the gyrocopter to land. Two more Earth ponies wearing camouflage fatigues disembarked from the gyrocopter and trotted over to the mare. They were both stallions. One had a brawny build with dark brown hair, a scraggly beard, and a khaki coat. The other had a vicious looking scar across his muzzle with dark olive drab hair and a russet coat.

The mare pointed towards the chasm. "We need the ropes."

The stallions saluted and sprinted back to the gyrocopter and began to collect their rappel lines and climbing gear.

"What if they're dead?" the bearded Earth pony asked the mare as he hammered in an anchor for their rappelling lines.

"Well, I suppose I'd be all broken up that a dodo bird and a mutt bit the dust," the mare said, her words dripping with sarcasm.

The two stallions laughed as they finished setting up the lines. Each Earth pony pulled a flashlight out of their BDUs and strapped it to their forelegs. Satisfied that their lines were secure, the three Earths began rappelling down into the chasm in pursuit of their prey.

Chapter 4

July 6th, 2013
Deep in an underground cavern
Everfree Forest, Equestria

It had been a hectic, nerve-racking flight down through the chasm as Daring Do struggled to control their descent, bumping against stalagmites and other unseen obstacles in the darkness. Battered and bruised, Daring and Marion had been alarmed by a strange, red glow emanating from the depths ahead of them. Undaunted, they headed towards the light and entered a large, illuminated cavern where they crash landed into a field of colossal bioluminescent mushrooms. The mushrooms produced a crimson light and cast the entire area with an eerie glow.

They had crashed into one of the giant mushroom and their impact had left a small crater in the cap. The spongy flesh of the mushroom provided a welcome comfort to the beleaguered mares. Daring took deep breaths to calm herself down, then crawled over towards Marion, who was trying to break free of her entanglement.

"Are you okay?" Daring asked as she pulled at the ropes on Marion.

"I.. I think so," Marion said as they removed the last of the ropes. She sat up and winced as she stretched her wings. "I've got aches all over from hitting into rocks and such on the way down, but nothing serious, I hope. How about you?"

Daring felt a familiar presence missing for her head and glanced around the crater. "Aha!" she exclaimed as she spotted her helmet, which had been dislodged in the crash and dug itself into the side of the crater. Daring pulled her helmet out and inspected it, brushed off some mushroom flesh, then flipped it back onto her head and adjusted the brim. She winked at Marion and said, "I'm good."

Marion smiled back, then tilted her head as she listened to a sound that was rebounding across the cavern. It sounded like a faint whirring noise, and then the sound of multiple hooves striking against rock. "Please tell me you can hear this, Daring."

Daring grimly nodded as she coiled her whip and hung it back on her flank. "Yes. That would be the spec ops team that is after me, or us."

"Uh, spec ops? Like, military?"

"Yeah, special forces, although I don't believe they're with the Equestrian military," Daring explained.

"Could they be a rescue team?" Marion asked. "Our plane did get taken down."

"No. One of them tried to attack me, that's why I jumped down the hole with you," Daring said.

"So definitely not Equestrian military then... What do we do?" Marion asked.

Daring closed her eyes and listened to the echoes. "I know there's at least two of them, sounds like more, though."

Daring flew up above the mushroom and peered into the gloom. "We can keep going deeper into this cavern and try to lose 'em. Are you good to go?"

Marion flapped her wings and hovered alongside Daring. She felt some pain from her injuries, but not enough to cause her problems. "I'm ready, not going to be able to hit my top wing power, though."

"That's fine. Let's get moving," Daring said, then began to fly deeper into the cavern. The mushroom field continued for several hundred feet, and at the far side of the cavern Daring and Marion found a large lake, filled with small, translucent cavefish.

Daring warily looked back over her shoulder at the mushrooms and had an idea. "Wait here," she said to Marion.

Daring swiftly flew towards the beginning of the mushroom field, and gave one a powerful kick with her hind legs, resulting in a shower of spores. Daring darted between each mushroom and kicked it, and when she got back to Marion the cavern behind her was filled with a massive cloud of spores.

Daring smugly looked upon her handiwork and winked at Marion. "That should buy us some time."

"Awesome, good thinking! I took the liberty of checking out what was ahead, if we keep following the lake there is eventually a tunnel we can head down," Marion said.

Daring and Marion flew past the underground lake and found the tunnel Marion had spotted. The light from the mushrooms barely illuminated the area, so Daring grabbed some torches from her packs and lit them. As the pair continued into the darkness, Marion nervously commented, "I sure hope the weirdness of Everfree doesn't extend down here..."

"I would presume that it does," Daring said. "Those giant mushrooms can't be natural."

"Oh, right... Well, I'm worried we'll run into some horrid monster down here," Marion said, as she moved closer to Daring.

"If there was anything, it would probably be scared of us, or more precisely, our torches," Daring said. "Why, I remember this ancient labyrinth I was exploring once. My sources said that nopony had set hoof in it for thousands of years due to this immortal minotaur that was said to guard the treasure within. Now, I was really, really interested due to the claim that it had never been plundered, since that meant all the relics should be there. So, I set up an expedition, enticed a couple of university archaeology students to come along to boot. None of the locals would dare set foot near the place, so we just headed on in ourselves. Everything was going great, tons of Classical Age artifacts in pristine condition. Not even any dust or debris on them, which we thought was a bit strange, but shrugged it off."

Marion grinned. "The immortal minotaur was keeping it all clean, right?"

"Bingo. So we heard this dreadful roar and turned to see this big ol' minotaur bearing down on us with an axe. One of the students was a unicorn and had been using a light spell. He panicked at the sight of the minotaur and overcharged his spell which caused this blinding flash of light. The axe clattered to the ground and the minotaur screamed bloody murder and ran like Cerberus himself had come to drag him into Tartarus. You see, he'd been living in darkness for so long his eyes just couldn't stand the light, let alone that much light. We finished our dig without ever seeing him again."

"Hey, I think I've seen those artifacts you recovered from that labyrinth! Back when I was a filly, our museum had them on loan," Marion said. "Thanks for telling me that story, it makes me feel safer."

Daring smiled. "You're welcome."

As they continued through the tunnel, they could see glinting formations of crystals growing from all sides of the tunnel in the distance. As they began to fly through the crystals, they could see that many had been broken, as if a great beast had flown through the tunnel, and their shattered remains littered the ground. Daring bent down to inspect the broken crystal pieces and found layers of dirt upon them, suggesting they had been lying there for quite some time. Daring looked up at Marion, who was anxiously peering into the darkness ahead of them, and told her, "Don't worry, whatever it was that barreled through here and broke these things should be long gone. Decades ago, at least, judging by the amount of dust and dirt on these."

With the tale of an immortal minotaur fresh on her mind, Daring's words did little to comfort Marion, but she continued along despite her fears, staying at Daring's heels. As they continued through the tunnel, they entered a small chamber with openings in the ceiling and floor. Daring flew towards the floor to investigate the hole and backflipped away as a cloud of multicolored bats streamed upwards. Marion screamed and backed against the wall as the bats - which had green, leaf-like ears and patterns on their bodies to look like various pieces of fruit - continued to surge upwards. After a minute, the last of the bats vanished into the hole in the ceiling.

"What were those?" Marion asked, as she cautiously flew around the hole and caught up to Daring.

"Fruit bats. They'll be of no harm to you, unless you're made of fruit," Daring explained.

"Oh, thank goodness," Marion said. "They gave me quite the startle when they came flying up like that."

Daring laughed. "Yeah, I heard. We should follow them, they were probably headed to the surface to feed."

Daring and Marion flew towards the hole in the ceiling and began to explore. Around a hundred feet up, the walls began to close in, leaving a perfect passage for fruit bats, but much to small an opening for a pegasus or hippogriff. They flew back to the chamber and Daring rummaged through her packs, pulling out some carrots and cucumbers, which she shared with Marion.

"Which way should we try next?" Marion asked as she munched on the veggies.

Daring looked down into the hole in the floor, then nodded towards the tunnel. "We'll go this way, no telling if the other bat passageway will bottleneck like the upper one did. On the plus side, that bottom tunnel should occupy at least one of those spec ops ponies. They could be wandering through there for hours if we get really lucky."

"What do you think they want with you?" Marion asked.

"I've made many enemies over the years, most of which would love to see me dead or in their dungeon," Daring casually said. "Ahuizotl, greedy antiquities dealers, the Amethyst Corporation, corrupt archeologists, Crown Prince Rothoof, obscenely wealthy businessponies, Khan One-Eye, the Black Heart cult.... Those who seek artifacts for avaricious reasons don't really care for me and my policy of giving my finds to museums. Any one of them could have hired a mercenary crew to come after me."

"Geez... I don't know how you can live like that," Marion said. "If It was me, I would just hide in a safe room with armed guards watching me 24/7! I suppose there's more to you that is daring than just your name."

Daring laughed and crunched happily into a carrot as the pair nibbled at the rest of their dinner. After they finished the vegetables, Daring produced a hoofful of wrapped candies - Goatze's Caramel Creams. Enjoyed by generations since they were created by a family of Baltimarean baker goats in 1918, Caramel Creams are a delicious treat of soft, chewy caramel wrapped around a rich, creamy center.

Caramel Creams were one of Daring's favorite sweets, and Marion seemed quite taken with them as well. After finishing their dessert, they ventured onwards through the main tunnel. A few minutes later they began to hear the sounds of rushing water up ahead. Intrigued, they raced through the rest of the tunnel and discovered a wall of falling water blocking their path.

"A waterfall? What do we do now?" Marion asked.

"We need to fly through quick. Don't let the water push you down, since we don't know what's below," Daring said as she pulled a thing of matches out a pack and placed it in the liner of her helmet. She checked all her packs and satchels, making sure they were secured, and then went over Marion's. Confident their gear was ready, Daring told Marion to go first.

Marion flew back through the tunnel, then turned and accelerated, passing through the waterfall like a bullet. Daring did the same, one hoof holding the torch below her to try and shield it from the water, and the other firmly holding onto her beloved helmet. On the other side she found a merry Marion. "That was fun! Reminds me of when my family and I visited a water park in Las Pegasus."

Daring smiled at Marion and shook some of the water off of herself, then began to investigate their surroundings. They were in another large cavern which featured several waterfalls pouring down from the darkness above, producing a large lake at the bottom. Daring and Marion split up to search for any side tunnels leading out of the flooded cavern. As Marion flew along the outer wall, her heart skipped a beat as she saw a large object beginning to materialize in the gloom ahead. She soared towards the object and her lips drew back into a smile as she began to make out the lines of an airship, bobbing in the waters.

Marion joyfully yelled, "Daring! Please tell me you can see this too!"

Author's Note

Mmm, Caramel Creams. I haven't had those in years, I'm sorry to say. I used to love those things. When I was first writing that bit I wanted them to get a little treat for dessert, and was going to use fruit, which they had earlier. Since they had just seen all the fruit bats, I vetoed that idea and just left it to the vegetables and moved on. A few days later I was talking to a friend and I don't know what made me think of the Caramel Creams, but when I saw they were made in Baltimore, I knew I had found the perfect treat.

Chapter 5

July 6th, 2013
Floating on an underground lake
Everfree Forest, Equestria

As Daring arrived and saw what Marion was talking about, she grabbed onto the hippogriff and danced through the air towards the floating airship. They headed towards the airship's stern and gasped as they made out the slumped form of a body gripping the wheel. Daring and Marion exchanged glances, then cautiously flew forwards. Across the airship's stern was the name Half-Blood's Lament.

Marion was speechless and stared wide-eyed at the airship's name as Daring patted her on the back. Marion finally turned and beamed at Daring. "I can't believe my eyes. All this time, it was here, under Everfree Forest.... No wonder nopony was able to find her..."

"Slipstream is going to love you for this," Daring proudly said as she hugged Marion.

"I'm going to love her too if the harp is still on-board," Marion said.

"This thing looks to be in really great condition, which ought to mean the harp is too," Daring said.

Daring and Marion circled the airship and recoiled at the sight of more bodies splayed across the deck and caught in the railings. The dust-covered Lament was amazingly in very good condition and almost looked ready for action - the ballista even had a shot loaded. Besides the damage from the pirate attack centuries ago, they could see it had suffered some structural damage to the rudders and fins on the gas bag's rigid structure, no doubt caused by its flight through the cave system, and several chunks of crystal were embedded into the hull.

Daring and Marion cautiously boarded the Lament and checked on the body at the helm. Like the airship, Captain Blackjack was covered in a thick layer of dust. His chainmail armor had become rusty, but otherwise he appeared exactly as he had when the Lament crashed in 1476. His death grip on the airship's wheel had prevented his body from moving much over the years, unlike the others. Marion cautiously reached out and touched him and shrunk back in alarm. Their faces paled as they discovered that the hippogriff was still alive, slumbering in a magical stasis.

"I... I don't understand. How can this be?" Marion nervously asked.

Daring furrowed her brow as she looked down at the other bodies on the deck. "Can't say I've seen anything like this before. Remember where we are though: Everfree. My guess is it's some kind of magical coma."

Marion leaned down and blew at the dust on Blackjack's flank, exposing his cutie mark of a royal flush in the suit of clubs. "I recognize this! This is the Half-Blood's Lament's captain, Blackjack! Do... do you think we could wake him up?"

Daring shrugged and pulled out a canteen, unscrewed the cap and poured some out onto Blackjack's face as Marion eagerly looked on. Blackjack didn't stir, and Marion sniffled as tears began to flow down her cheeks. Daring put her leg around Marion's shoulders. "Hey, if magic did this, magic can probably fix it. We can take him to Canterlot. I'm sure Princess Celestia would be more than capable of finding a way to awaken him."

"I'm sorry," Marion said as she wiped at her tears. "It's just... Oh, I don't know!" She sighed and forced herself to look away from Blackjack's body.

Daring held Marion's chin up and gave her a reassuring smile. "Remember the music that led you here? I think we both know what that must have been. Something guided you here. Come on, let's go find your harp."

Daring thrust out her leg to Marion and helped her up, then led her down towards a hatch leading into the hold. Daring leaned down into the hatch and Marion tried to focus on the harp, and then the pegasus' rear, but her mind kept wandering to the slumbering hippogriffs that littered the deck. She reached out and tapped Daring's rear with her wingtip. "Um, Daring. I can't just leave these hippogriffs like this," Marion said as she gestured around her. "We need to help them first, it's not right."

Daring flipped back up onto the deck. "Alright, let's move them into the captain's quarters?"

Marion nodded. "Sounds good."

Daring and Marion hauled ten dusty hippogriffs from the main deck into the captain's cabin, and then gently pried Blackjack from the helm and laid him out on his bed. At Marion's suggestion, the two of them washed the dust off the hippogriff's faces. Content that the slumbering hippogriffs were taken care of, Marion somberly gazed at her 15th century countrymen as they backed out of the cabin and headed towards the hatch.

Below decks, Daring blew the dust off a lantern and was pleased to see it still ignited. Many crates were stacked up in the hold and Daring and Marion eagerly opened each one. Even if the harp wasn't here, they had found a mother lode of relics that would make their expedition worthwhile. The Lament had been transporting supplies for Queen Thunderstruck's concert in addition to her magical harp. These supplies included decorations, jewelry, and clothing, all of which was at least hundreds of years old, if not more, and were in pristine condition. Daring estimated the cargo's value at several million bits, and they were only half-way through the crates.

As they neared the opposite side of the hold, they could see some crates had been moved to form a makeshift barrier. Daring got a twinkle in her eyes and grabbed Marion as she dashed forwards and moved one of the crates aside. On the other side of the barricade they could see a large crate with the armored body of a muscular hippogriff sitting against it.

"The harp must be in there!" Marion cried with delight.

Daring and Marion cleared out the rest of the crates and gingerly moved the hippogriff off of the crate. Marion cleaned off his flank and grinned at the winged shield, the cutie mark of Steelwing, leader of the royal guards assigned to escort the harp.

"This is Steelwing, one of the royal guards," Marion said as she eagerly rubbed her hands together. "There's only one item that he would have been guarding..."

Daring smiled broadly and curtseyed as she backed away from the crate. "This honor is all yours, princess."

Marion opened the crate as painstakingly as possible, knowing she would never forgive herself if she damaged the harp. The object inside was swaddled in cloth. Marion held her breath as she slowly peeled back layer after layer, and sighed contentedly as her ancestor's harp lay exposed before her. The harp shimmered softly and was made of gold and adorned with a variety of gems. Each gem was cut into a weather-related shape - clouds, raindrops, snow flakes, gusts of wind, lightning bolts, hail stones... The harp was inscribed with a phrase written in a combination of ancient griffon and unicorn scripts.

Marion ran her hand over the inscription and blinked as tears began to flow down her cheeks. Daring hovered over Marion's shoulder and inspected the words, then asked her, "What does the writing say?"

"Love conquers all," Marion softly said. "The motto of the hippogriff kingdom."

Daring nodded appreciatively. "It's a beautiful piece. I'm glad I got to be here when you found it."

Marion squeezed Daring's shoulder. "I doubt I would have found it without you. I, and my people, are in your debt, Daring Do."

Daring blushed. "You're welcome. Almost makes you want to pluck a few strings, doesn't it?"

Marion laughed. "Oh, dear, no. I am feeling pretty lucky right now, but I wouldn't want to cause a hurricane or anything like that."

Marion began to yawn and placed her hand over her mouth. "Oof, I'm getting tired. We're spending the night on the Lament, I hope?"

Daring nodded.

"Good, I'll head up to the forecastle and see how the beds are in that cabin," Marion said as she headed towards the hatch. She paused. "I almost want to bring it with me. Keep an eye on the harp for me, please!"

"Sure thing," Daring replied. "I'll be up to help you in a few, I'm going to open the rest of these crates and catalogue the items."

Marion climbed up through the hatch to the main deck and immediately knew something was wrong as she saw wet hoof-prints on the deck. She turned towards the captain's cabin and shrieked as a shadowy figure lunged out of the darkness towards her. Fear overwhelmed her as the Earth pony came into the light, exposing a vicious scar across his muzzle, a malicious sneer, and a baleful glint in his eyes. Her moment's hesitation was all he needed, he swiftly tackled her hard to the deck and put her into a choke hold.

Marion dug her talons into the Earth pony's leg that was across her throat. He howled in pain and slackened his grip. Marion took a deep breath and screamed, "Help!"

Daring had already been on her way when she first heard Marion's shriek. She flew towards up towards the hatch and then pain shot through her skull and her world went dark.The Earth pony mare had forcefully slammed the heavy wooden hatch onto Daring, knocking her unconscious.

Marion, fighting to retain consciousness, glared daggers as the mare casually sauntered over to her. The mare smirked and roughly tapped Marion's beak with her hoof. "Ease up on her, Crow's Toes. She is technically a princess."

The scarred Earth pony, Crow's Toes, angrily pointed towards his wounds. "Princess? Look what the damn mutt did to me, Nightshade!"

Nightshade, the turquoise-haired mare, laughed. "You could have taken her out in one blow if you hadn't failed that ambush."

Nightshade walked towards the railing and said, "Yo, Mesquite, I need you up here."

The bearded Earth pony, Mesquite, climbed up from their inflatable boat. Nightshade pointed towards the hatch. "The pegasus is down there. Help me get her up here before she regains consciousness."

Mesquite and Nightshade warily opened the hatch and were pleased to see Daring's prone body lying at the bottom. They climbed down and manhandled her back up to the main deck. Nightshade nodded towards the mast. "Tie her up to the mast."

"Yes, ma'am," Mesquite said, then he began to expertly bind Daring's legs around the mast.

"Wh-who are you p-ponies?" Marion gasped, still fighting for breath.

"We are proud members of Earth First, an organization dedicated to the advancement of Earth ponies," Nightshade replied.

"D-Daring said you w-were soldiers," Marion said.

"We were, once. We were part of the elite Special Activities Division of the Royal Guard, but retired after growing weary of unicorns and pegasi receiving preferential treatment and assignments due to their tribe's innate abilities," Nightshade explained, a hint of sorrow in her voice. "My teammates and I were in a cider hall one day when the triad council members of Earth First approached us and offered us high-ranking positions. In addition to sharing our beliefs, they offered triple the pay we earned while on the Royal Guard, and other special goodies like our stealth copter. We couldn't turn them down."

"What do you want from us?" Marion hesitatingly asked.

"The harp, of course, my little mutt," Nightshade said. "Earth First was founded by an old-money Earth pony named Olive. Her family owned hundreds of acres of farmland in the old country, pre-Equestria. When the windigos struck thanks to those blackmailing unicorns and pegasi, Olive's family lost all of their land, and, most importantly, their crops. The Earths of that time were the only tribe capable of growing food, and thus their stores were well stocked, but as the months wore on and the blizzards continued, their supplies dwindled and soon the Earths themselves began to starve. Olive swore she would find a way to prevent that scenario from ever happening again - by gathering artifacts that would allow Earths to duplicate the abilities of the other tribes and prevent any future blackmail attempts."

Marion shook her head as if she was listening to the ravings of a madmare. "But that situation will never happen again! Everypony lives in harmony now that we have Equestria."

Nightshade shrugged. "Orders are orders. You are likely correct, but one never knows what may happen. We all thought Discord was dead, yet he came back. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a harp to go claim."

Crow's Toes reapplied pressure to Marion's throat, and she stared helplessly at Nightshade's retreating form as darkness began to dim her vision. Marion passed out and Crow's Toes began to drag her towards the mast.

***

Captain Blackjack grinned as he flew through the azure skies over Heart Saddle Bay, the busiest port on Talonberra, the island kingdom of the hippogriffs. He weaved in and out between a fleet of airships that hung in the sky, then dove towards the beautiful waters off the isle. He skimmed along the surface and dipped his wingtips in the warm, pristine water. He spotted a school of brightly colored fish, and dove into the water and snatched one with his talons. He burst back up out of the water and soared into the sky, popping his delicious catch into his mouth. He licked his lips and turned towards a great palace barely visible on the horizon - Castle Convocation, located in the kingdom's capital city of Foalhaven Aerie.

Somewhere, deep down, Blackjack knew this was but a dream, but he didn't care. He and the other survivors had lived through millions of dreams over the hundreds of years they had slumbered. It might as well have been real to them, however, as they had slept so long it was almost impossible to separate dreams from reality. At first, they would all experience lucid dreams (a dream where one is aware they are dreaming), and would desperately try to awaken themselves, but as the years went on the lucid dreams happened less and less often, and their real lives had been nearly forgotten, replaced by spectacular fantasy lives the dream world provided.

Miles passed within milliseconds as Blackjack flew towards Castle Convocation. The sun instantly set as he arrived at Foalhaven Aerie, and heart-shaped fireworks soon lit up the twilight sky. He buzzed past thousands of revelers that flooded the streets then pulled up and headed for the castle. A long, purple, silk scarf fluttered out of one of the windows and drew his attention. Blackjack quickly dashed over to the window and grinned as a beautiful hippogriff maiden leaned out and flirtatiously waved a kerchief at him.

"Good evening, miss!" Blackjack merrily said as he bowed before the maiden.

The maiden motioned him closer, a look of fear on her face.

"What's wrong, miss?" Blackjack asked as he darted towards the maiden. She gingerly ran her talons along his chest, then grabbed a handful of feathers and pulled him closer.

"Wake up," the maiden whispered.

The words struck Blackjack like an anvil and he started to become lucid. He watched in wonder as the dream world began to shift before him. He was no longer in Talonberra, but instead found himself looking down upon an airship. His airship, he recalled. He thought, Where's my crew? as he descended towards the empty craft.

He yelled for his first mate, the helmsman, anypony, and received no answer. He started towards his cabin, then heard a weak cough behind him. He turned and raised his eyebrow as he saw a young hippogriff mare lashed to the main mast. He rushed to her side and ran his talons through the ropes that bound her. Unable to stand on her own she collapsed into his arms. He didn't recognize her, and glanced down at her flank and gasped as he saw the cutie mark of a royal hippogriff. She reached up and gently caressed his cheek, then yelled, "Help!"

The word rebounded around his mind and the dream world began to collapse. After hundreds of years, Blackjack awoke with a start. Is this another dream? He looked around and by the light of the lanterns and torches on the main deck pouring through the open doorway, he could make out the familiar surroundings of his cabin on the Half-Blood's Lament. Memories, real memories, began to flow. He remembered the aerial battle against the pirates and being wounded. He remembered their airship going down over a forest, straight into a gaping chasm, and the chaotic flight that came afterwards as he struggled to not only stay conscious, but to keep his ship from being shattered on the rocks as well.

He also remembered the princess. He knew that had been a dream, but something about it told him it was more than that. He silently crept towards the doorway, puzzled by the many hippogriffs laid out on his floor. To his amazement he saw there really was a hippogriff, and a pegasus, tied to the mast. He also saw two Earth ponies wearing strange clothing, talking to each other in low whispers near the port rail.

He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned as the rest of the hippogriffs began to wake up. He crawled to the side of his first mate and motioned for silence. She whispered, "Oh, Blackjack... I just had the strangest dreams..."

"I think we all did," Blackjack whispered. "We need to stay quiet. I don't know what's happening, but there's a princess and a pegasus in danger."

"You had the dream about the princess too, cap'n?" a groggy sailor asked.

"Aye," Blackjack replied. The rest of the hippogriffs confirmed they had seen the princess in various situations as well before waking up.

A hippogriff squinted his eyes as he looked out at Marion, then whispered, "I've never seen that princess before, besides the dream just now. Who is she?"

Blackjack shrugged. "I don't know, but it doesn't matter. There are mares in trouble, royal or not."

Blackjack reached for his cutlass and gently pulled on it, finding it melded to the scabbard with rust. He asked the other hippogriffs about their weaponry's status. They only had two cutlasses available; the rest had either been destroyed by exposure to the elements or had fallen overboard. Blackjack held up his talons, "Alright lads, we'll have to use the weapons nature gave us."

They heard Nightshade's hooves on the wooden ladder out of the hold. Blackjack whispered, "Everyone down and stay still!"

As Nightshade climbed onto the deck the cook snarled. "She has the harp!"

"Get ready to charge," Blackjack whispered. He held his hand up and was about to clench it into a fist to signal the assault, when two brawny legs lanced out of the hatch and onto Nightshade's tail and she screamed as Steelwing forcibly pulled her back below.

Blackjack smiled. Steelwing!

Mesquite and Crow's Toes began to double time it towards the hatch while yelling, "Nightshade?"

Blackjack clenched his fist and he and the other hippogriffs charged out of the captain's cabin with a terrifying screech. the force of their wings kicked up a huge dust storm. The Earth ponies' jaws dropped at the sight of the 'zombie' hippogriffs emerging from the dust cloud, but they swiftly recovered and stood back to back, ready to do battle. Two hippogriffs flew down the hatch to assist Steelwing and secure the harp, and two more flanked around the Earth ponies to get to the mast. The remaining hippogriffs swiftly flew in a circle around the besieged Earth ponies, randomly lashing out with their razor-sharp talons.

Mesquite began to weigh the odds in his head and he knew they were in a pickle. Nightshade was his friend, so he immediately nixed any plan that would not include her rescue. He could think of only a few scenarios to resolve their predicament, and even then they all likely wouldn't turn out so well.

They could fight their way to the harp and use it as a bargaining chip, but it was below decks somewhere, meaning they would be charging into an unknown, close-quarters environment with a swarm of hippogriffs on their tail. In addition, it was a long way back to the surface and they would have to scale many walls, leaving them vulnerable to the vengeful hippogriffs.

They could hold their position and try to disable as many hippogriffs as they could before they were overwhelmed, in the hopes that the remainder would lose faith and falter. Mesquite figured they would only be able to take down a few before the rest jumped them.

That left only one option - blitz towards Marion and take her hostage, then see where negotiations would take them from there.

Mesquite turned his head back towards Crow's Toes and snarled, "Get Marion."

"Roger that," Crow's Toes replied.

The Earth ponies wasted no time in making their move. Mesquite jumped towards a hippogriff and sent them crashing hard to the deck with a powerful kick. He followed up and kneed another hippogriff in the chest, knocking the wind out of them. Crow's Toes tackled a hippogriff to the ground then rolled off his stricken foe, only to be immediately knocked to the ground by another hippogriff.

Mesquite barreled towards Marion with Blackjack and two other hippogriffs on his tial. The hippogriffs that had freed Marion and Daring quickly stepped in Mesquite's path to protect the princess. One of the hippogriffs lashed out with a vicious right hook, Mesquite ducked to the side and countered with a quick jab to the hippogriff's beak, which sent him reeling back in pain. The other hippogriff came in low with a sweeping kick. Mesquite clasped the hippogriff's leg between his hooves and pulled, knocking the hippogriff off-balance, then delivered a roundhouse kick that connected with the hippogriff's jaw.

Mesquite grinned menacingly as he lurched towards Marion, then cursed vehemently as Blackjack tackled him from behind. Mesquite wasn't going to let it end like that, and began kicking and trying to bite Blackjack and the other hippogriff's as they tried to control him. A shadow passed over his face and he looked up to see Daring Do scowling down at him. "Sorry, hon," Daring said, "looks like it's Earth Last this time."

Mesquite snarled and turned his head to look towards the aft. Crow's Toes was incapacitated, and Steelwing and his hippogriff helpers were on deck. Mesquite sighed and stopped struggling. "I yield!" Blackjack delivered a powerful headbutt and Mesquite joined his accomplices in the bliss of unconsciousness.

Blackjack stood and smirked at Mesquite, then knelt before Marion. The other hippogriffs followed suit and likewise knelt before Marion. Steelwing proudly placed the magical harp in her talons, "Your royal highness, if only I had known you were on board I would have swiftly flown to your side! Thank the gods you are okay! Here is your harp, ma'am."

Marion was overwhelmed and tears began to cloud her eyes. These people, her people, didn't know her from Adam's Apple, yet they had risked their lives to protect her, solely because she was royalty. Marion felt guilt for her years of un-princessly behavior. For the sorrow in her father's eyes each time she made the tabloids. For all the times she ignored her mother's pleas to straighten up. For the shame her siblings felt when another scandal hit the papers.

Marion could feel a warm sensation begin to emanate from within her heart, a feeling of enlightenment. She knew from this day forwards, gone were the party mare days of her past. She was a princess, and she was going to act like one. She knew she owed it, not only to her ancestors, but to her fellow hippogriffs as well. She smiled and thought, All these years, I thought it was the harp that I wanted... I know now that the harp was just the means to an end, this... glorious sensation I can feel coursing within me, is what I truly yearned for!

After a few more moments of contemplation, Marion collected herself and addressed the hippogriffs. "Please, stand. Thank you all so much for saving us! I am Princess Marion Thunderstruck, and my pegasus companion is an adventurer named Daring Do. Daring and I came here today to find the harp of our people, but it would appear we have found so much more! I know not what magic has protected you all over the centuries, but I think we all know why it did."

"Centuries you say?" asked Steelwing. "Just how were we asleep?"

"Over five-hundred and thirty seven years." Marion replied.

The hippogriffs murmured in amazement.

"We've been trying to find you, but nopony knew where you went. We recovered a pirate ship you destroyed-" Marion paused as the hippogriffs cheered, "but the Half-Blood's Lament remained a mystery. I personally have been searching for years, but it was only until I enlisted the help of Daring Do that your whereabouts were finally discovered. A mysterious melody, which my companion was unable to hear, led us to you, here in a cave system below Everfree Forest."

"And thank the gods for that!" a hippogriff shouted. A chorus of "Hear, hear!" echoed his sentiments.

Blackjack stepped forwards. "I could have never imagined that this would be the outcome of our voyage, but I think every one among us here would gladly volunteer again in a heartbeat. Your tale of our discovery is most interesting, your highness, and perhaps of equal intrigue is the story of how we awakened. We had all been dreaming, as we have for hundreds of years. Each one of us saw you in our final dream. and woke upon hearing your cry for help. The strangest part is that before that, a different hippogriff maiden told me to 'wake up.'"

Marion ran her hand along the harp's frame. "The music, a mysterious maiden, why, your very presence here... I think, no, I know in my heart that it was the spirit of the first hippogriff that watched over you all and guided me to you."

The hippogriffs nodded in agreement. The cook broke the silence, "Personally, I think five-hundred and thirty..seven was it? years in this damned cave is long enough! How are we gettin' outta here?"

"The princess and I flew in here ourselves, if you're all well enough to go, we can get out of here and be back to civilization in a few hours, tops," Daring said.

"What about Everfree at night?" Marion asked.

Daring glanced over the hippogriffs and grinned. "Well, we were originally planning on sleeping here for the night..."

"Nuts to that!" a hippogriff exclaimed. "Last time we fell asleep here we woke up centuries later!"

Daring laughed and looked down at Mesquite. "So, staying here is out of the question it would appear. I'm not sure what to do about these Earth ponies though. Don't imagine you folks would like to haul them out, nor would anypony like to stay behind to watch them until we send some ponies to help."

Blackjack waved his hand. "We don't need to worry about that, we can fly them out of here on the Half-Blood's Lament."

"You think she's still airworthy, captain?" the first mate asked.

"If the spirit of our foremother protected us, why not our ship as well? She had the harp onboard her," Blackjack replied.

The hippogriffs began to pour over the Lament, giving the airship a thorough inspection. The Lament would face some maneuverability issues due to the damage rudders, but the hippogriffs could counter that by using their own wing power to forcefully guide the ship. The hippogriffs worked to repair as much as they could while Daring bound the troublesome Earth ponies. Once Blackjack was satisfied that his ship wasn't going to crash, again, the Half-Blood's Lament roared to life and was airborne once more.

Daring and the hippogriffs guided the airship back through the same caverns that she had flown through centuries prior. The same crystals she had smashed through before had grown, and needed to be hewn down. Marion watched the hippogriffs work and had an idea. She collected the fragments of the crystals, planning to commission medals for the Lament's crew. The eerie red glow of the mushroom field was a welcoming site, and after some hectic maneuvering to navigate through the mushrooms, the Lament was soon rapidly ascending towards the surface.

There were many cheers, claps, and stomping of hooves as the Lament flew up into the clearing and over the treetops of Everfree Forest. Blackjack slapped his sides. "Haha! I knew my old girl still had it in her! Where to, my ladies?"

Daring pointed towards an empty area on one of Blackjack's maps. "The closest settlement, Ponyville, is there."

Blackjack frowned, "Really? It's not on my maps."

Daring laughed. "I would hope it wasn't. Ponyville was founded fairly recently."

"I see. It appears I will have much to learn if I am to continue flying," Blackjack said as he set their course. He paused. "They do still have airships in your time, don't they?"

Daring grinned. "Yes, sir, but I'd bet you and the others will be very hot items once your story gets out. Book deals, movies, interviews, speeches..."

Blackjack absentmindedly nodded, his gaze fixed up on the moon. "I hope we weren't better off in the cave, I see Nightmare Moon is no longer imprisoned. Does she rule this land?"

Daring looked up and smiled. "No. She did come back and try to finish what she started, though, just as the prophecies foretold. Twilight Sparkle, one of Princess Celestia's students, and some of Twilight Sparkle's friends reclaimed the Elements of Harmony from these very woods and defeated Nightmare Moon."

"That is good to hear," Blackjack said as he scanned the heavens above. "You know, as sailors we looked upon the night sky and saw it merely as a tool to help us navigate. I've forgotten just how beautiful it truly is."

Daring nodded in agreement, then reached into her pack and withdrew the last of the Caramel Creams she had brought. She distributed them to the hippogriffs. She smiled merrily at the joyful expressions on their faces as they savored the treat.

"Welcome to the future, folks," Daring said as she unwrapped her own sweet and popped it into her mouth.

Author's Note

I had these villains, the Earth First ponies, in mind since I first got the idea for this story. They're sort of based off the Indiana Jones Nazi villains, except they aren't after powerful artifacts to rule the world, instead gathering them for a 'just in case' scenario and the betterment of Earth pony kind.

The 'hippogriffs survived' idea went through a few iterations. I knew I wanted to use the wonder of Everfree/the harp to have them come back. The very first concept had just Blackjack surviving: the others all perished and the dogs and hippogriffs would rise every night after the sun set and battle each other and get reburied by Blackjack after they were slain once more.

I was trying to think of something major that they could see to really put the 'Whoa... we've really been out of commission for hundreds of years...' effect on the hippogriffs, and the Mare in the Moon came to mind.

Epilogue

August 12th, 2013
Castle Convocation
Foalhaven Aerie, Talonberra

Slipstream Forelockheed turned around in her seat at the sound of hoofsteps. Her eyes lit up as she watched Daring Do trot towards her, clad in a shimmering emerald gown. "Why, Daring! Don't you look smashing! That gown looks just marvelous on you, hon."

Daring grinned and took a seat next to her old friend then greeted Slipstream's husband and daughter. Daring and Slipstream had been staying as honored guests of the Thunderstrucks, and they had been provided private box seats at the royal amphitheater for the 'concert of a lifetime!,' as the newspapers heralded it. Daring leaned forwards and smiled at the sea of ponies, hippogriffs, griffons, mules, donkeys, and a few other races that had all come to see the show.

The miraculous story of the Half-Blood's Lament and her crew had spread like wildfire across Equestria. Slipstream had nearly fainted when she saw the condition the Half-Blood's Lament was in, and had been more than willing to pay whatever it took to get Daring's Adventure aircraft out of Everfree and back into working condition. The Lament's crew had dined with Princesses Celestia and Luna, toured the Crystal Empire, and had returned to weeks-long celebrations in their homeland of Talonberra, which were set to conclude with a concert featuring the royal harp; its first performance in centuries.

Although many had pressured Marion to play since she had recovered the harp, she had declined in favor of her eldest sister, Gwendolen, who was an accomplished harpist. The crowd fell silent as Princess Gwendolen walked on stage. Her feathers and coat were in the same colors and patterns as Marion's, and upon her flank was the cutie mark of an electrified musical note emitting sparks. Gwendolen began to speak in a voice as sweet as honey: "My friends, thank you all for coming out here tonight. I hope you've all enjoyed the festivities over these past few weeks, I know I have! This harp I hold in my talons sure does mean a lot to us hippogriffs, but it should mean a lot to all of you as well, no matter if you're pony, mule, or deer. Why, you ask? Because this harp is a symbol of love."

"Before there were hippogriffs, there was an expression used to represent impossibility: 'Mate griffons with mares, and in the coming age shy deer and hounds together come to drink.' This was due to the belief that griffons detested equines, and therefore they would never in a million years wish to be romantically involved with one. Well, we sure proved that wrong, didn't we," Gwendolen said, pausing as the hippogriff audience members clapped and cheered.

Gwendolen held the harp up and angled its inscription towards the audience. "These words inscribed here read: 'Love conquers all.' And it's true! Love is a beautiful thing. Just as a hippogriff's very existence proves that love can surpass all boundaries, so too does this harp. I hope you will fondly remember the spectacular show I am about to perform, but I also dearly hope you will remember the lessons of love that made all of this possible."

The audience politely clapped their hooves as Gwendolen took her seat. As she began to play a haunting melody, the skies above the amphitheater began to fill with storm clouds. Gwendolen began to sing a ballad as she played and the magical weather adapted to go along with her words. Bolts of lightning formed breathtaking imagery in the skies as they etched the song's events overhead. When the song's heroine was heartbroken after her husband fell ill, a gentle downpour fell. The roar of thunder accentuated the epic battle between the heroine and the evil witch who had poisoned her beloved.

As the song was coming to a close, Daring leaned over the railing and looked down on the joyful faces of the ponies below. Gwendolen finished her song and there was a brilliant display of lightning forming into a heart. The audience erupted into a roar of applause. Slipstream glanced at her friend and saw a tear falling down her cheek. She whispered, "Oh, Daring, are you crying?"

Daring blushed and caught the tear on her hoof. Daring moved closer to Slipstream and softly said, "When I was down in those caverns with Marion, I told her about all the enemies I've made over the years. She seemed flabbergasted that I was able to keep going, knowing so many bad ponies wanted to hurt me. Well, Slips, this right here is what makes it all worth while. Seeing the joy this lost piece of history has brought to so many... This is what it's all about. This is what I live for."

Slipstream hugged Daring with her wing. "I'm glad to hear you say that, hon," Slipstream's eyes darted around conspiratorially as she whispered to Daring, "I almost forgot in all this excitement, but you'll never believe what was donated to my museum last week..."

***

August 21st, 2013
Baltimare, Equestria

The Adventure roared out over Horseshoe Bay as Daring Do headed out on another adventure. She turned back towards the city and flew low past the Inner Harbor, wiggling her wings at the ponies below before vectoring off towards her destination at the Frozen North.

An elderly couple watched her departure from a park bench. The husband waved towards the departing aircraft. "There she goes again! If I wasn't a happily married stallion I'd let her take me on an adventure."

The wife laughed. "Ha! I'm sure she's just aching to haul an old accountant with a bald spot around! Be my guest."

Inside the Adventure's cockpit, Daring switched on the auto-pilot as she looked over the ancient treasure map Slipstream had found for the thousandth time. The map apparently led to the tomb of a pre-Equestria pegasus warlord named Crimson Feather. The map's text warned that death would be the only reward for any who dared plunder the tomb's contents.

Daring giggled like a schoolfilly as she carefully folded the map back up. She tucked it into her pocket and exhaled a sigh of contentment. "Another day, another dungeon."