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The Coal Pegasus
Smoke lingered around the vast room of the Coal Pegasus Pub, its musty scent was strong in Daring’s nostrils. Many of the ponies in here were drinking to their heart’s content. The bartender held a conversation with another over the counter, possibly talking about their daily lives. It was almost near closing time and the lights casted a dim glow, bringing a gloomy atmosphere among everypony. She waited in a booth far from the bar, listening the violinist play his last song; he was almost ready to pack up for the night. Her friend should arrive at any moment.
It was funny meeting her friend, Alex, once again after all of these years. Last thing she expected out of her day was to see him. She was teaching her students on the last of day of school about what they learned when Jenkins, a fellow teacher, came into her class. He informed her that a visitor was waiting at the office. She walked to the office after finishing her class to be greeted by him. Daring was surprised to see him in Baltimare.
They talked in the library and caught up, both asking about each other’s recent happenings. Daring moved back to Baltimare a couple of years back and she took a job as a school teacher. Her subject was History. It was a steady job that she rather enjoyed, but the routine work soon got to her. The problem was something she managed to keep under control recently. But Alex’s arrival soon peaked her interest. He told her that there was a job that he found. It was something they could both do, just like old times when Daring traveled around the world.
She sort of missed her old life, even if it had lasted a few years.
Daring looked up from her book, noticing two ponies entering the pub. The bartender politely ask for them to leave. He told the two that they were closed, but one of them spoke to the bartender. From hearing his voice, Daring knew it was Alex bribing him for them to stay in for a couple of drinks. The bartender agreed to keep them in after receiving the offered bits.
The two ponies walked over to the booth where Daring sat. Alex was drenched from the rain outside. His hair was wet and spiked when he rubbed his hooves on his head. He took off his jacket and sat next to Daring.
“Glad you could make it Daring. The rain was awful when we got here. Had any trouble getting to the pub?” Alex smiled.
Daring looked at him. “No Alex. I arrived just as the rain was about to hit, and it was certainly busy at the time. I didn’t get any trouble at all, except for a few drunk stallions hitting on me, but that was it. Remember, I can take care of myself.”
“Forgot about that. You sure were a brawler back then, but I wasn’t sure if you still got it in ya. A few years can take a toll on your body.” Daring felt annoyed, she wasn’t sure if he told her that she was old.
“One thing, Alex. We are still young. Not yet old enough to have grandchildren. If you make another comment about my age, then I’ll show you that I can still throw a punch. I guarantee you’ll regret what you say.”
Alex put his hooves up. “Okay, take it easy Daring. I was just making a little joke.”
The stallion dressed in his black coat stood beside the booth near the two of them. He cleared his throat and caught their attention. He was slightly larger than Alex, looking as though he could crush a jawbreaker with his hooves. He wore a black hat and had sported a mustache, a gentlecolt who was out of place in the musty pub. He took off his coat and hat, placed it on the table, and made himself comfortable inside the booth opposite of Daring and Alex.
“I’m sorry about that. Daring, I’d like you to meet Blazing Bright. He is a friend I met in Canterlot a year back. He is the one I wanted you to meet for this job I mentioned. Blaze, this is Daring Do, the friend I’ve been talking to you about.” Alex smiled when the bartender brought their drinks to the table.
“No need to apologize Mr. Alex. Like I told you before, I’m not like those Canterlot folk.” Blaze had a stern look and a deep voice, which matched his physique. “Miss Do, it’s nice to finally meet you face to face. Alex told me a lot about you and about your little adventures.”
Daring watched his hooves making gestures as he spoke, she figured it was most likely a habit of his.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Bright—”
“Please, Miss Do, let’s just call me Blaze. This is an informal meeting, plus I’m not really used to Mr. Bright. I like to be casual.”
Daring grabbed her mug and sipped on her drink, it was apple cider; possibly imported from Ponyville. She coughed a little from its taste and talked.
“Alright, Blaze. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Yes, I heard from Alex earlier today that you were looking for a couple of navigators for your expedition.”
Alex moved around uncomfortably.
“Mind me you two, I have to use the restroom real quick. I had a few drinks before we arrived. Don’t worry, I’ll back in a few.” Alex stood up and moved in the direction of the pub restrooms. His mug was already almost empty. Daring figured he was still a fast drinker.
Blaze turned his head and spoke again.
“Yes, Miss Do. I’m sorry, do you want to be called Miss do, or just Daring?”
“It’s fine either way Blaze. I don’t mind being called either one honestly.”
“Well, Daring. I’m sure you already were told about why I wanted to have two ponies on this expedition.”
“I honestly haven’t been told the actual job description of what I was supposed to do. Alex just told me that you were offering a job I would be interested in.”
“He didn’t tell you? Well, I assume he was being careful about curious eavesdroppers. You see, this line of work I have going on is actually more than just an expedition.”
Daring heard a change of tone is his voice, he was more stern. She knew it was something that would involve more of her skills. Something that she had done before with Alex that almost costed them their lives. Something Blaze wanted to pay them to carry out.
“What sort of work are you actually looking for Blaze?” Daring waited for what he had to say.
“Well, it involves searching for a lost relic from ancient times. From what I hear, you’re the best when it comes to things like these. You were once a treasure hunter, and so was Alex.” Blaze took his first sip of cider since they’ve been talking.
“That was a long time ago. I’m not sure if I have the resolve for things like that anymore. What is it you want to look for?” Daring knew in her heart she was lying to herself. She wanted to go out and travel the world again. Her life in her hometown of Baltimare was nice, but a routine work day wasn’t something that she could get used to.
“Don’t worry Daring. I’m not a shady bandit. I’m just an eccentric collector from Canterlot looking for ancient treasure.” Blaze assured to gain her trust with his smile. Daring still wasn’t sure, but she could trust Alex on his judgement. If he knew they were getting into a bad situation, he knew when to back out. But this job offer from him sounded like something the two of them could pull off.
“If I’m offered a job like this, I need to know what the stakes are. I would take this job if I could at least know what sort of things are involved.” Daring made sure to say the right words. Blaze kept quiet, then he moved to grab his bag from underneath the table. He pulled out a set of large journals, aged with yellowed pages and seen its fair share of uses.
“These right here, Daring, are journals I recently bought from an auction in Canterlot. They belonged to a writer from long ago. If you read through these, I’m sure you’ll find out.” Blaze gave her the journals and she grabbed them. She opened one of them and looked into it for herself.
The ink was aged and written with an old language. It was a language spoken from a foreign land. Something Daring could translate and read. She worked out some of the words, Alex had returned. She continued to concentrate until she had a passage to read to herself. She spoke the words softly to Alex and Blaze as they listened.
“—sand storms covered our tracks from the robbers who were chasing us the night before. The desert is quite unforgiving, sucking out the life from our crew. I feel that Emperor Mystic will be disappointed if we don’t find the settlers of Fire Rock if we die. He certainly will be concerned over the safety of my brother and I. It’s been six days since we’ve seen any sort of civilization, but the locals know how to get to Fire Rock. I’m certain we will be there in three days, just as they told us. They knew how to survive in a harsh climate. Sand covered nearly every part of me, and it feels terrible not to wash. I’m glad we found a watering hole, an oasis as it was called by these guides. Saddle Arabia is surely hell for those who travel within its vast desert.
Rockthrow, 21st of Spring, 351
We made our journey to Fire Rock, in three days just as the guides promised. I owe my gratitude to them, helping us reach this place. The Emperor will be glad to hear news of our success. I already sent the letter with my dragon, Raisin. He is used to the heat from the sun. My brother and I aren’t welcoming of it in this land. It was terrible heat, but we have to bear with it until we come back. The last journey until we can return home after thirty years.”
Daring finished reading aloud the last words. Blaze and Alex were eager to hear more from her. She looked up at him and knew what she had in her hands.
“Do you realize what you have here, Mr. Bright?” Daring hoped he knew. She called him Mr. Bright unintentionally. The excitement overcame her.
“Well, no I don’t Miss Do. However, I know these were expensive journals. The auctioneer told us these were written by a traveling merchant from a long time ago. They knew the value of it, but I was interested in one journal from the set. It had a symbol of a jewel on the front cover. I’ve seen it before and I was interested in that.” Blaze’s word were of an honest tone and Daring knew to trust him on his word. She saw that they were authentic journals and had a brief idea of what he wanted.
“You have here journals written by a stallion who went by the name Shade Rider. He was a merchant who traveled from his homeland with his father and brother and residents of their hometown never saw them for almost over thirty years. The Townsfolk assumed they were dead. They traveled back home when the Emperor of the east died of old age. He chronicled his journey across what he thought was the entire world. It was only the lands of the east. His travels were thought to be fictitious, but centuries after his death ponies began to discover that some of his accounts were true.” Daring drank from her cider mug and continued to speak.
“His accounts were made famous worldwide, over time. Some ponies followed the descriptions from his writing in hopes of finding treasure. Blaze, you have the original set of journals here on this table. These are an incredible value in itself, but you wanted to know more. I suppose Alex told you I could possibly translate these journals, which is one reason you need me for this expedition.”
Blaze picked up the journal marked with the symbol. “It’s good to know you can translate this. Yes, that’s one reason I wanted you to come with us. I hope you can accept my offer. If you don’t mind, could you please translate this one?”
“I don’t mind at all Blaze. Shade Rider is a very interesting stallion to read about.” Daring took the journal from Blaze’s hoof and read it through. She read it to herself this time. It took her a few minutes before she put it down.
“This is the account of Shade Rider finding an island of Zebras. I believe I’ve seen the symbol before, and I’m thinking you’re chasing a myth Blaze.”
“What if you’re wrong Daring? Now that you mentioned this island, I’m curious to hear more about it. In the research Alex and I conducted, we stumbled on these journals. That same symbol was on an old map inherited from my grandfather when he passed on. This map was of places that were unfamiliar to me. My grandfather never told me how he obtained it, and I assumed it was a fictional creation. This is certainly some news, but I did hear about Shade Rider though. I didn’t suspect he would be involved with traveling to a set of isles, leaving his eastern homeland. You said there was a myth?”
Daring put her hooves close together and leaned in.
“Technically, these were stuff I heard and assumed were made up to add to the richness of the myths about Shade Rider. Long ago, when the discoveries involving his accounts were coming true, there were also myths surrounding him as well. You see, he lost some of his journals and he said it himself and mentioned that no pony would believe him if he told them all of what he saw. He never claimed everything he wrote was true, and that’s one way some of those myths were started. There was a story about Shade traveling to a set of Isles searching for something the Emperor wanted him to find. Some of the sailors who traveled the seas with him grew suspicious because of the destination he headed to. It was called the Cabullus Isles. A place where a rare race of zebras thrived, the Cabequedians.
“Not much is known about these Zebras back then, even to this day, and that made sailors wary of traveling there. Shade and his crew settled the isles for what was about a week, nopony knew what they were searching for. It was only a matter of time when the sailors found Shade, his brother, and his dragon lying on the beach shore. They were close to dying, and the sailors who waited for them brought them aboard there ship and left. They were nurtured into good health and Shade was the first to wake up. He started writing another journal and etched a symbol into the cover. The ship’s crew asked him what happened to the others; he refused to tell them.
“That’s when the sailors grew highly unwary of them. But eventually they left the three of them alone, and made there way back to the eastern lands. They spread word and rumors among other ponies in taverns across the continent. Nopony knew what he did on that island or what happened to his crew. Some say he murdered them, and others say it was a curse that almost killed all of them. This is only one of the strange myths about Shade Rider. Many stories like these revolved around him. Over time, these myths became just like the stories from his accounts that spread across the world. A few of those journals were published into books; however, not all of them were found. They circulate around the world lost and are almost never found.
“You happened to obtain one of these lost journals. I think you are possibly chasing a dead end Blaze. Those Isles are settled by other Zebras and the Cabequedians are rarely heard of these days. I’m sure the lost relics you’re looking for don’t exist. The Island is on maps today, and there are ponies who travel there almost on a regular basis, only for private business with the Zebras, but it still takes a while to get there. Who knows for sure, but it’s made me very damn curious.”
Blaze stared at Daring and Alex. He was thinking to himself about the information Daring had provided. He moved his hooves from his face and set them on the table.
“Daring. Are you telling me you’re still interested in this job?”
Daring knew it well that she really wants to accept this job offer. The school was already closed for the summer, and she had planned on traveling around Equestria instead of spending her time off at her home. It was very risky, but the worst thing she could see come out of this trip was that all of this could be a dead end. She reluctantly agreed with herself that she will go with them, only because Alex had a tendency to make good judgements.
“Yes Blaze. You have a deal. I’ll accompany you on this expedition to discover what is on this island. But let me assure you though, this island is now inhabited by settlers. There is a likelihood of all of this being myth. I hope you won’t be disappointed if that would be the case.” Daring held out her hoof for Blaze to shake. He stood up out from the booth and shook his hoof with Daring’s, letting her become a part of his expedition.
“Miss Do, you have a deal. In one week, we will set out to these Isles. I already have most of a crew and Alex will accompany you as well. Alex, do you have any words that you wish to speak?” Blaze waited for Alex to say something.
“Not at all. It was interesting to hear Daring’s spooky knowledge once again.” Alex moved out of the booth. “Daring, you don’t mind if I can come with you for the rest of the night.”
“Oh, not at all, Alex. I don’t mind a bit.” Daring felt it was okay to have him stay at her house. Blaze didn’t seem to mind his choice either.
“It’s settled then. A week from tonight, we’ll set sail on our expedition. Let’s us hope we’ll find something worth of value.” Blaze drank his last drop of cider and the three of them gave their mugs back to the bartender. The Coal Pegasus Pub was slient, and it was getting late.
Daring, Blaze, and Alex stepped out and the smell of fresh rain greeted them. The storm had stopped and Blaze offered to take Daring to her home in his vehicle. She passed on the offer and walked in the other direction. Alex told Blaze that he’ll have to meet with him in the morning and caught up with Daring. The two of them walked away as Blaze watched them and smiled.
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With Friends Like These
It was a long walk from the pub until Alex and Daring reached her home in a private area of Baltimare. The wet stone path glistened beneath the lamp posts filled with its daily batch of torch bugs. Sweet aroma from inside the glass attracted the creatures like a cat with an empty stomach. Daring was fascinated with those little things that happen around her. It kept her from thinking about the conversation that occurred an hour ago.
She still felt surprised to accept the offer from Blazing Bright, after promising herself to settle down. It was something she kept to herself since she moved back into her own hometown. Her new life of teaching was enjoyable, but the sense of adventure never left. A couple of years have passed since she last saw Alex and that was out of a feeling of guilt. She felt an emptiness in the recent months before tonight.
Alex felt uneasy around the awkward silence between them since they entered the property.
“Daring, are you alright?” He stopped short of the front steps. “You’ve been quiet since we passed the gate. Is there something wrong?”
Daring broke her train of thought after hearing Alex. She stopped in her tracks.
“Oh, sorry Alex. I was just thinking to myself. There isn’t anything to worry about.” Daring smiled and proceeded to opening the front door with her key. The two of them walked in.
They entered a small room with bookshelves lined up against the walls, containing many reference materials. A few chairs, a couch, a fireplace, and a small table gave the room an aura of comfort. Daring opened the fireplace and started a small fire. Daring turned to lay down and she relaxed in the couch across from the fireplace.
“The house still looks the same, very welcoming. So, Daring, how does it feel to be a high school teacher in your own town? I hear it can be a fulfilling job.” Alex yawned. He was near the shelves viewing the books. Daring watched him glancing through the titles.
“Teaching is actually an interesting job. It can get a little dull at times, but it’s different for somepony like me.” Daring rolled over and stretched her front legs. “But I do tend to think about the past sometimes. I kind of wanted to go out there once again. It's a little silly thing to ponder, and I never expected it to happen.”
Alex turned around and moved to one of the chairs. “Today was actually a sort of planned meeting for me honestly, it just took a while to find you. Your father was a hell of a stallion to deal with.”
“You met my father? When?” Daring was surprised to hear him mention her father. Her father didn’t mention meeting him when he was at the house.
“I sort of met him yesterday. He didn’t say a whole lot, it wasn’t much of a conversation. He and I talked about things and caught up a little. He seemed a little concerned about you. Always distant and uneasy around a few ponies since you came back from our trip.”
“Well. I was feeling nervous around ponies ever since I came back. I had a few thoughts about a few things. It was sort of, Personal, Alex. What was my dad concernced about? What did he say about me being distant?” Daring moved from the couch and approached Alex. He was enjoying the warmth from the fire in his chair. Daring stood before him.
“He was a little concerned. Told me about you avoiding most of your friends here. He did say you looked a little happy about teaching at the school. But most of the other time, you stayed around the house looking as though you haven’t slept for a week straight.” Alex stared at the fireplace pondering over his words. “Mind if I ask, what’s been bothering you? You weren’t like this a couple of years ago, and that’s when you moved back over here without bringing it up to anypony. That was also after the time when we were in the griffon kingdom. Is it because of that one time?”
Daring hoped he wouldn’t bring up the memory of that day. She wondered about it since she moved back, but put it off because of the guilt that it left her. She wondered about how things could have turned different.
“I really don’t want to talk about it Alex. I think it’s best to talk about it another time, we have plans starting tomorrow morning. Are you expected to return to Blaze tonight?” She wanted Alex to stop talking, one way or another.
Alex stood up out of his chair and hugged her. He knew what was bothering her, but he didn’t want to be too intrusive on the details. Daring wanted to talk, but the guilt prevented her from having the discussion with her friend. It would have to wait another time. He moved from Daring and talked to her.
“I know it’s something that’s hard to deal with, but sometimes it’s best to talk about it with another pony you can trust, like your father. But it’s not good to keep the guilt with you forever. It’ll only get worse if you don’t fix your personal issue somehow. I feel guilt about that day as well, but I figured out that hating yourself isn’t the best way to go about dealing with problems. It’ll be fine to talk about it later on, if you want. But it’s good to have friends to talk to.”
“It’s a little hard to talk about things, Alex. Especially right now, I think it’s best to talk about it down the road. Maybe during the trip.” Daring sat down in the chair and thought to herself.
“Alright then. We’ll save it for another time. For now, It’s getting late and I think Blaze is wondering if I’m coming back or not. I have to go.” Alex went to the door when Daring called out his name.
“Alex. You can stay, I don’t mind anyway. But Blaze is probably expecting to see you again like you said.”
“Don’t worry about it. I do thank you for the offer, but I should return before something happens to him. Just remember, it’s best to have a few friends to talk about your problems. Sometimes, a few of us could help you out and have a solution for it. Good night, Daring. Hope to see you tomorrow.”
“Thank you for the advice, Alex. I’ll consider the option later on. Good night. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day.”
Alex nodded and went outside, and Daring approached to see him. She waved goodbye and closed the door. She went back into the room and rested on the couch. She stared at the fireplace and ran through her thoughts. She eventually fell asleep.
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