Oh my god daring-do Chapter 1 Biting, cold raindrops stung Daring-Dos face, body, and wings as she dove at the speeding train. She lowered her head to shield her face from the elements’ onslaught with her wide-brimmed pith helmet. The red taillight of the train was the only thing she could make out clearly in the pitch blackness of the stormy night. Lightning flashed, briefly illuminating the landscape. The adventuress eyes widened in terror when she saw the train entering a tunnel, the utter darkness of the passage only slightly contrasting to the rocky mountainside. The orange pegasus bared her teeth in an determined snarl and pumped her wings even harder, diving in an ever steeper angle toward the entrance. The train disappeared into the tunnel only a few feet before her. She pulled up hard, her hooves scraping along the trails rocky bed. The dive had left her with a surplus of speed, yet she still needed to summon the last of her strength. Inch by inch she gained on the train, stretching out with her forehooves. Her lungs burned, the smoke from the steam locomotive made her cough, and stung in her eyes. Daring clenched her teeth; she needed to get just a tiny bit closer. With one final effort the pegasus grabbed the railing at the tail of the train with her hooves, and quickly pulled herself onto the small platform that was the very end of the train. She entered the car through the rear door as quickly as she could, and slammed it shut behind her. Sinking on her hindquarters she allowed herself to catch her breath. With a relived sigh she took her helmet off, and wiped the sweat and rain from her brow. “Well, look who we have here! If it isnt the infamous Daring-Do, raider of ancient tombs, robber of invaluable artifacts.” Daring looked up slowly. In front of her sat half a dozen ponies around a table, looking up from a game of cards. Most of them were earth ponies; judging by their rugged looks she took them for hired thugs, here to do the dirty work. But the pony who had spoken up was of a different breed. He was a white coated unicorn with a well trimmed light-green mane. He wore a formal shirt with a red vest, a bow tie of the same color, and a monocle over his right eye. The adventuress got up quickly, and shook out her grayscale mane, before putting her helmet back on. “I prefer the term archaeologist myself,” she replied with a clever smirk. The goons stood, and took stance behind the unicorn. “If you are here for the Stone Head of Highever, I have to disappoint you,” he snapped at the mare. “This is the end of the line!” Darings smile only widened to a grin, her eyes were shining wildly in the gaslight’s illumination. “So you do have the Stone Head on this train, Loaded Dice!” The unicorn clenched his teeth in anger. “Get her!” he spat, and pointed his hoof at her. His minions were quick to follow his orders and started to close in on her. Darings smile faded, her eyes darted around the room frantically, searching for any way out of this mess. She grinned once more when she found one. Without hesitating she threw her sun-helmet into the air with a knock of her head, and caught it in her teeth. She swung her head in a wide arc and let the hat fly through the room like a frisbee. The goons ducked and followed the projectile with their eyes, until it hit a red valve at the other side of the cart. With a sound of dying flame all the gaslights in the cart went out, leaving the room in total darkness. Chaos ensured as ponies jumped for the adventuress, and stumbled in the dark. “Ive got her!” “Ahg, my leg!” “I cant see!” “What was that?” they shouted as they tried to grapple her. When Loaded Dice’s horn lit up, he found his minions in a heap, wrestling each other, Daring-Do nowhere in sight. He wheeled around just in time to see the cart’s other door close. “You fools! After her, quickly!” he yelled, kicking one of the thugs to make them untangle faster. Daring slammed the door shut and leaned her back against it. A fake simper grew on her face when she noticed she was in a regular passenger cart, and everypony was staring at her. She quickly got back onto her hooves, and kicked over a heavy trunk to block the door with her hindleg. She shot frantic glances left and right; when nopony came to question her behavior or lift the trunk from the door, she started walking down the cart. “Hello! Good day! Nice train, isn’t it?” she exclaimed, greeting individual ponies as she passed them. She dared not jump into a gallop, even when rattling and kicking sounded from the door, she had come through. She looked back over her shoulder. For now the door was holding, but it shook and would yield any moment now. When she turned towards the front of the train again, she almost ran head first into the chest of an enormous stallion. Her eyes widened in shock. Slowly she looked up to his face, gaping in awe. “Your ticket please,” said the big red earth pony in a deep rumbling voice. Daring blinked a few times, only now noticing that he was wearing a conductor’s uniform. She hesitated a moment, shifting her legs nervously. “Oh yes, my ticket, of course!” she said, and started rummaging around the many pockets of her olive-green explorer’s shirt. She glanced back at his face time and time again, trying to judge if he was buying the act. With a sudden crack the door she had come through burst open, spilling five angry thugs into the cart. Daring took a anxious glance over her shoulder. The conductor looked at them in wonder. The mare quickly jumped into action and snaked past the earth pony. “They stole my ticket! And now they are after me!” she yelled in played panic and dashed for the other end of the wagon. The conductor looked after her in wonder, then turned around, shoved his hat deeper into his face, and snorted angrily. When the goons had managed to get back to their hooves, the stallion was already standing above them, looking down at them sternly. “You wont trouble the lady no more!” he hissed, and leaned his head from side to side, making his spine crack. The ponies before him swallowed hard. Daring made it through the cart and hurried to opened the door to the next one, when she heard a struggle break out behind her. She couldn’t suppress a satisfied chuckle. The pegasus passed through two more passenger cars without further incident, having lost her pursuers for the moment. When she came into the third cart however, she couldn’t believe her eyes. “Chickens? You’ve got to be kidding me! Why does it have to be chickens?” she moaned unhappily. The inside of the cart looked like a farm’s chicken coop. Hens were everywhere, sitting in long rows all along the walls and the floor. Luckily it was night, which meant the animals were fast asleep. Daring swallowed hard. One misplaced step, one loud noise and the cart would turn into a feather filled apocalypse. She gathered her courage and started to sneak through the cart. With slow, deliberate steps, touching the ground with the tip of her hooves first, before gently lowering all of her weight on it, she waded through the chickens, trying not to graze even one feather. Cold sweat stood on Daring#s brow and she bit her lower lip, only a few more steps to the next door. With a sudden clash the door behind her burst open, and her pursuers dashed though, startling the chickens awake. Quick as a striking snake Daring whipped her wings and dashed for the far door; she barely made it though before all tartarus broke loose. Chickens clucked, ponies screamed, feathers flew everywhere. She slammed the door shut behind her and leaned back against it to catch her breath. “This stinks!” she murmured and wrinkled her nose. She had stepped into a cart transporting pigs. “What is this train? A rolling farm?” When Daring finally came out of the last door and onto an open cart, she let out a relieved sigh. Even though it was still raining and the cold wind was tugging her shirt and wings, she allowed herself some well earned rest, and sat on her haunches for a few seconds. Even though her hooves were dirty and her clothing torn in several places, the mare was smiling; for the moment she was just glad to be alive. But she quickly got to her hooves, her exhaustion forgotten, when she saw it. Before her lay a giant head, hewn from dark stone. It was at least two ponies high, almost cubic in its shape. Even though it was eroded from countless centuries, Daring could still recognize the stylized contours of an eagle’s head. It was still wrapped in a coarse net that had been used to lift the artifact onto the train. With slow steps the adventuress walked towards the stone, her eyes big, staring in awe. Carefully she placed one hoof on the surface as if to test if it was real. When it turned out to be solid under her hoof, she hurried, and took out a flashlight from one of her many pockets. Holding it in her mouth, Daring turned it on with her hooves, and waved it a few times to the sky from horizon to horizon, before finally settling on the stone artifact. She squinted her eyes in an effort to make out the tiny details in the torchs light. The pegasus was interrupted, when the door, she had come through, burst open under the pressure of magical force. Through it came Loaded Dice, sporting an angry snarl. Behind him stood his goons, the five of them black eyed and covered in mud, and feathers, their cloths torn, and their coats rugged. Daring wheeled around, backflipped onto the stone, and braced herself for a fight, taking a wide stance. She swung her flashlight around, blinding Dice and his minions in turn. They shielded their eyes form the light, but the unicorn used his levitation, took the torch from Darings mouth, and threw it off the train. His ears shining red with rage. The torch crashed to the ground and died instantly. Having disarmed his adversary the unicorn stepped forward with an arrogant smile. “I must say I am impressed Miss Do. You actually made it to the Stone Head of Highever. Now, if you would be so kind as to get off my property, and then get off this train immediately, so I wont have to order my ponies to throw you off. The choice is yours.” Daring stood her ground. “Your property?” she snapped back at him. “You bribed the local authorities to salvage the head from the Temple of the Elements in Highever. You stole it from the Griffons!” While she lectured him, her gaze shifted between Dice, h
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 09:16:57 +0000
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