Daring Do

and the

SEARCH FOR THE FORGOTTEN AMULETS

R. Hoofsketch

Chapter 1

A Scholar and Two Forgotten Trinkets

    The sound of a loud whistle wailed and filled the soundless air as the long express train accelerated down the open fields and hills of Equestria. A certain pony decided to take a ride on the Pony Express after the recent events that took place near the border of the Crystal Empire. She wasn’t just on it for a change in pace, but there was somepony on the train she needed to talk to. The train was packed with tourists, however, and made it difficult for the mare to locate her target.

    “A.B. said he would be on this train,” she mumbled to herself, “but where is he?” When it came to ancient relics and treasure that needed finding, Daring Do was always in a hurry to find out more about them. She had searched high and low for hidden relics throughout the years, and just recently she had taken possession of the Half-Gilded Horseshoe of Cirrostrata, also known as the Forbidden City of Clouds. She had wondered what became of the city since her departure now that it would be seen by the ponies who roamed on the land below.

    Now was not the time to trot down memory lane though, for Daring had an objective to keep. She was sitting down on an empty seat in the third express car of the train, monitoring the ponies that would pass my her aisle on their way to the buffet table in the car. No pony seemed to take notice of the golden mare that was constantly looking over her seat. Daring had to be careful when looking for her target. She had enough experience during her travels to know that if she turned her back for more than a second, she would miss the pony she was looking for. She also knew, however, that other ponies could be watching her back in an attempt to claim the prize before she would have the chance. Dr. Caballeron’s men, especially. Whenever she got close to finding certain treasures, someone like Dr. Caballeron--or worse, Ahuizotl--would always on her tail attempting to claim it as their own. Therefore, Daring made it her goal to discover them first and keep them from getting into the wrong hooves.

    She kept looking for the stallion that had the information she seeked. Instead, he came to Daring. “Ms. Do, I presume?” a deep voice asked her. She quickly twisted her head to the other end of her seat to see a tall, scholar-looking stallion standing in between her seat and the one in front of her. His coat was light blue with a dark purple mane and tail with a few strokes of gray, which were finely combed. He wore a forest-green suit, a dark yellow tie, and a gold-rimmed monocle placed in front of his left eye, and he had an open scroll for a cutie mark. Daring could remember seeing the stallion from a picture A.B. Ravenhoof had showed her after she returned from Cirrostrata and knew he was the pony she was searching for. His name was Baron Scholar. “Forgive me dropping in all of the sudden, but your partner Ravenhoof sent a message to me that you came to the Crystal Empire for some information.”

    “I’m glad A.B. let you know,” Daring replied. “I was hoping you would know something about….”

    “The Forgotten Amulets of Friendship.” The scholar finished her thought. “Yes, I know much about what you seek, and I can tell you what you know, but it’s better we talked somewhere private.”

    “Couldn’t agree more,” Daring favored. It wasn’t a smart idea for her and her clients to discuss about certain information in public places. Daring knew that from experience.

    They both then proceeded to the end of the car where a closed room with seats was left unoccupied. Baron walked in first, followed by Daring as she checked the other side of the car in case if anypony was keeping an eye on them. Eventually confirming the coast was clear, she slowly close the door. The scholar sat down on one seat, sitting close to the window, while Daring sat on the one opposite to him. The room would hopefully keep most of the noise from traveling outside its somewhat thin walls for somepony to hear.

    “For the last few years, I have been researching on the two amulets and their magical abilities,” the scholar began. “So far, I have learned that they’ve existed in a time before the great Elements of Harmony.” He paused for a moment while eying Daring curiously. “I would assume you know about the Elements of Harmony?”

    “A bit,” Daring replied, remembering what she had read about them in on of her trust encyclopedias on ancient relics, “but those were already found by six ponies, as I heard. The elements are said to keep Equestria safe.”

    “Yes, exactly,” Baron confirmed, “but when I found information about the Forgotten Amulets of Friendship on my last trip to Marapore, I discovered that they, too, were used to protect Equestria some time before the Elements of Harmony first came to be.” The middle-aged scholar adjusted his monocle before pulling out an old book from his worn-out bag sitting next to him and opening it up. He searched the pages until stopping a particular page that was bookmarked with a note inside. “According to my research,” he continued, “They possessed great, mysterious powers similar to those of the Elements, but their magic was also able to be used by others besides the ones who wielded the amulets. However, it was said that the others had to have a pure heart of friendship to increase the power of this magic. Then, for some mysterious reason, they disappeared years before the sun and moon goddesses found the Elements of Harmony. They’ve been a complete mystery for many ever since….”

    All the while, Daring Do wondered how so much magic could be used by those other than the ponies who possessed them. There had to be a specific reason the magic in those trinkets could spread to those who believed in such a way. She questioned if all of this was even true because when it came to hunting treasures they were either make believe or the real thing. So far, Daring had seen some very bizarre treasures and places in her life, such as temples tumbling down or a whole city that was once invisible to the naked eye. “And you know this could be true?” she asked curiously.

    “I know it’s true!” The scholar snapped at her. “I just know it is.” He set his book down beside him and placed his monocle back on his muzzle, which fell off when he snapped at Daring. “Forgive me for being a bit sensitive, but I know this has to be true. When I visited the town of Marapore, I found some ancient scrolls there that spoke about the forgotten amulets. Now, I had recently found a map in Celestia’s old library which shows the last sighting of where they might have been hidden.”

    He took out an old, rolled-up paper and rolled it out to reveal a map of central Equestria. Daring examined the old map to see if there were any landmarks she would notice. She could confirm the map was quite outdated because some of the towns in central Equestria--including Canterlot, Appleoosa, and even Ponyville--weren’t even recognized on the map. However, she did recognize the pictures of forest and mountain landmarks like the Everfree Forest and the Unicorn Mountain Range. In one of the forest landmarks, just west of Ponyville, was an X in the middle of it. That meant the treasure was in that location.

    “This forest was the last spot they were supposedly seen.” Baron pointed to the X on the map. “The White Tail Forest. Not many ponies know about it, but it was once home to the white-tailed deer in which the forest got its name from. A small temple is also said to be in there, though it may be covered in very dense foliage. You’ll most likely find clues to the amulets there.”

    “Ah-ha! Thanks for the info, Doc,” a voice suddenly called. The scholar and Daring sprang up from their seats and looked around the room to find where the voice came from. Daring then opened the door and saw a tall, muscular pony rush past her and towards the door outside. One of Caballeron’s goons, no doubt. She chased after him as he made it out the car.

    “Daring, help!” Baron cried. Upon hearing him, she turned around to see a light-orange mare pegasus fly out of the room with the map and book in her hooves. By the time Daring noticed her, the pegasus flew out the other door.

    Caballeron’s henchponies had the information Daring needed to find and protect two magical relics, but there was no way they were going to get it back to him. Not on her watch.

Chapter 2

Chase on the Pony Express

    The golden pegasus flew out an open window and onto the roof of the car to find the culprits who stole the scholar’s research. It didn’t take long for her to notice them heading towards the end of the train and decided to pursue them before they got their chance to escape. With one great leap forward, she dashed through the air with great speed to catch up to the duo.

    The stallion noticed the adventurer flying towards them and quickly dived down into the next car, narrowly missed by Daring. “Grrrrr!” Daring gave a low growl. So close. Then, she noticed the other pegasus soaring up into the sky, the book still in her hooves. The pegasus was possibly attempting to hide in the clouds in case if Daring chased after her, but Daring Do was no pony to be underestimated. With a great pounce, she took off with great speed up into the cluster of white clouds above her. Once she broke out of the other side, she slowed down to glance around every direction. The other pegasus was nowhere to be seen, but Daring decided to wait for a short moment.

    Suddenly, the light-orange pegasus zipped out of a stratus cloud and passed right by her into another. “You’re not getting away that easily, missy,” Daring shouted. She folded her wings close to her belly and began a diving descent from the sky, pursuing the flyaway pegasus. The dense clouds blocked her vision for only a few seconds, and when she regained it her target was just a few meters from her area of reach.

    Then, something else caught Daring’s attention: the rogue stallion was standing at the back of the caboose shouting, “Hurry up! Caballeron’s almost here!” Mentioning that name made Daring realize the stallion had called for backup and that she was running out of time. It was either now or never, so Daring raced as fast as she could to Caballeron’s henchponies. Then, in one big swoop, she quickly redirected her body and swiped the book clean of the other pegasus’s hooves before tossing it to the stallion. Astonished and dumbfounded, the light-orange pegasus lost control and collided with her partner in crime. They grunted in pain and stupidity.

    Daring, now fifty feet above the train, glanced down at the dumbfounded duo. “Sorry you two,” Daring called out, “but I deserve this more than your boss does.” At that very moment, she looked up to see a small silhouette on a nearby hill. It seemed like a miniature wagon pulled by two horses. As it drew closer to the train, she saw only one pony riding in the back of the wagon; it was Dr. Caballeron. The horse-drawn vehicle slowly came to a halt as the treasure hunter glanced up to look at the golden pegasus in the eye. He was still far below her, but Daring could tell he was angry due to another plot foiled by her. “Hey Caballeron,” Daring cried out, “next time you want to swipe a book, try looking in a library!”

    He gave a low, furious growl. “You’ll regret this, Daring!” Caballeron shouted at her in anger. “I will have that book and the key to finding that treasure!” Daring didn’t pay attention to him, for she had already began her course southward. The treasure hunter gave a low growl as he watched as his rival slowly became no more than a tiny spec in the clear, blue sky.

    With the book safely in her bag, Daring flew homeward to her old cottage. There wasn’t much time before somepony would pick up her trail, so she needed to get a head start on discovering the mysteries of the Forgotten Amulets of Friendship--that is, if her cottage wasn’t to be sabotaged like last time.