Daring-Do and the Deserted Past Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The wind swept through the Sandy Dunes Desert as a lone figure wandered through it's sands. A yellow pegasus, with it's wing wrapped in white bandage and a dark green jacket. The pony wore their light brown hat, keeping the glaring sun out of their eyes.

Daring-Do trudged through the sand, focused on putting one hoof in front of the other. It felt as if she had walking for hours. She was starting to see why ponies always said it was dangerous to walk through a desert; she had always known it was dangerous but it was different having to do it yourself.

Daring-Do wiped the sweat from her forehead, she was running out of energy and was growing more and more thirsty. Daring-Do sighed from exhaustion, she couldn't take too much more of this desert.

As her steps started to slow Daring-Do looked forward and saw something off in the distance, she couldn't quite make what it was, but she didn't care. It was something that wasn't sand, so she headed in it's direction.

But then again, it could be the desert playing cruel tricks on her. One could easily see mirages of pools of water as they started going insane from thirst.

But this wasn't a big pool of water, it had a pointed top, almost like a building.

As Daring-Do got closer to the object it grew clearer and clearer, she could see more pointed tops along with the central one. Daring-Do opened her pocket and took a look at her compass, pulling up the map as well. If that wasn't a mirage, and she was headed in the right direction, there was only one thing it could be: Rabalon.

Daring-Do smiled and started running to the buildings off in the distance. There it was, the ancient city, buried beneath the sand, uncovered for the first time in who knew how long. She couldn't believe it, it was real, and she was really about to reach it.

Daring-Do got excited at finding the long forgotten city, she ran towards it with her spirit renewed. She began to make out what the city looked like, ancient stone buildings weathered by time. Soon a main gate stood tall in front of her, the tall wall around it had crumbled to pieces.

She looked up at the entrance to Rabalon, it was tall and covered in markings, pictures of ponies and other things Daring-Do couldn't make out covered the gate. The light brown stone was worn from hundreds of years of being constantly coated in sand.

Daring-Do took a deep breath and took her first steps into Rabalon. She looked around at the stone structures around her, they were some of the most well designed and gorgeous buildings she had ever seen, how the ancient ponies managed to build these so well was a mystery.

Surely this was the archaeological find of the century. Atlas could spend days here simply looking at the ancient stones. Not to mention the Crown that could grant any wish, and any other number of priceless artifacts.

Daring-Do walked through the buildings, taking in the gorgeous architecture when she heard a voice from somewhere in the city.

"You insolent fools! Can't you do anything right?"

Daring-Do knew that voice all too well.

"You scardey cats, we need to get inside that temple! The Crown of Dreams is in there, and once it is in my hands, I can use it's power to conquer the world!"

Ahuizotl; looks like Atlas wasn't the only one looking into the legend of the Crown, and it looks like he was still up to no good. As if getting here was enough trouble, now she had to deal with Ahuizotl again.

Daring-Do snuck through a building to see the source of the loud voice. She peeked over a crumbled pillar and saw a large courtyard. A large looming structure was at the top of a staircase; Daring-Do guessed this was the temple she overheard Ahuizotl just mention. And if that was true, then odds are good the Crown of Dreams would be in there.

Daring-Do creeped through a few crumbled stone buildings, making sure to avoid any of Ahuizotl's cat minions. As she crept along the outer buildings of Rabalon she saw a tiger walk past her and she quickly ducked out of sight.

The tiger jumped up onto what looked like a train engine made of stone. The vehicle was filled with bags, gold and jewels poking out of the tops. The tiger held a gem in it's mouth and put it into a slot; the stone vehicle chugged to life, it's large wheels moving a little as it rumbled.

"Careful, that thing is not a toy!" Ahuizotl yelled at the tiger. "That is our escape in case the sandstorm arrives."

The tiger lowered it's head in shame and walked away from the stone vehicle. Daring-Do waited until the coast was clear and sprinted across the open street. She was close to the temple, just a little more and she would be inside.

Daring-Do sneaked around the courtyard, walking through buildings that used to be pony's homes so many years ago. Daring-Do took care to stay out of sight, she would be done for if she got caught.

She looked into the large courtyard where Ahuizotl and a number of his cats were looking up the steps to the temple. The cats looked as if they were terrified of the temple, they were huddled on the ground in fear despite Ahuizotl's yelling and complaining.

Daring-Do decided that this was her chance to get inside the temple while Ahuizotl was distracted. She crept into the building closest to the temple entrance, keeping an eye on the courtyard. As she walked through the crumbled building she bumped into something. Something fluffy.

Daring-Do turned to what she had bumped into and saw a tiny white kitten sitting on the ground looking up at her.

"He he, you again huh?" Daring-Do whispered to the kitten.

The kitten started growling at her as threateningly as it could, Daring-Do tried to shush the kitten with her hoof.

"Be quiet, you're gonna blow my cover!" She whispered to it.

The kitten started growling louder and louder, Daring-Do looked over her shoulder at the courtyard and saw a mountain lion perk it's ears in her direction.

"SSSHHHHH!" Daring-Do whispered to the kitten. The kitten growled at her and started meowing. Daring-Do looked at the mountain lion who was now looking straight at her and growling.

"Thanks a lot!" Daring-Do pushed the kitten aside and sprinted from the building to the temple entrance.

As she ran into the open a small swarm of cats started growling and chasing after her. Ahuizotl turned and saw Daring-Do running to the temple.

"Daring-Do! I should have known you would be here seeking the Crown of Dreams!" He shouted.

"I hate to burst your bubble Ahuizotl, but I'm gonna be the one to get that crown!" Daring-Do yelled over her shoulder as she ran up the steps.

"Stop her!" Ahuizotl yelled.

Daring-Do ran up the steps to the temple with the cats right behind her. She looked into the entrance and saw a stone button in the wall. As Daring-Do ran into the temple she swiftly kicked the button on the wall, causing the entrance to rumble and lower a large stone door.

Daring-Do turned around as the door closed and stuck her tongue out at the cats as they vanished behind the other side of the door. The cats ran into the door and fell to the ground in a heap.

Ahuizotl slammed his fists on the ground in frustration. "Curse that Daring-Do!"

He frowned for a moment before his ears perked up. "All right then, we'll just wait here while you do all the work for us." He smiled and wrung his hands together before letting out a loud laugh.

Daring-Do looked at the door behind her, making sure it was securely closed. She sighed in relief, a few more seconds and she would have been cat food. She took a few paces into a large room, seeing rows of stone ponies holding spears lining a long hallway that lead into total darkness.

She walked over to the wall and picked up one of the many lit torches that lined the walls at the feet of the pony statues. She couldn't even see 20 feet down the hallway, she had no idea how far it went.

She took a few steps forward, looking out for any buttons hidden in the floor. The rows of stone ponies stared down at her like they were watching her every move. She had to admit there was something creepy about them.

She was starting to understand why Ahuizotl's cats didn't want to come in here.