A Daring Day - Part Four

Chapter Four: Tale of the Nahual


Transit through the jungles had been swift for Twilight, but she took little comfort in that. She’d instinctively snapped her eyes tight shut after the goop had struck her horn, and between that and the net enshrouding her, her vision was thoroughly impaired. Her magic was no good, as whatever was covering it had nullified her magic somehow. Escape wasn’t an option, and as much as she wanted to struggle against her captors, she suspected that it would do little good.

One thing was certain at this point, however. Twilight now knew from experience that there was no fun in being a damsel in distress. Not that she’d thought there was before – what Cadance had dealt with had taught her better – but the way Rarity romanticized it at times…

Eventually, she stopped feeling the humidity of the jungle and the light of the sun upon her. The odd peek that she made out of her eyes, as well as the apparent increased humidity, told her that she was inside of something old, made of stone and not nearly as well-maintained as the castle at Canterlot. Now feeling more confident that whatever had hit her horn had dried, Twilight opened her eyes to notice the torch-lit tunnel she was being carried down, her captor slowing as he reached the end.

The end was, in fact, a reasonably large chamber, with most of it enshrouded in darkness save for the center, a quartet of torches providing light enough to make clear a circular golden area on the floor and a set of manacles arranged around it. Twilight barely had time to make out any of the artifact’s details before she was pulled from her captor and flung free from the net into the center of the room. Another pony waited and pulled her to her hooves as a second began to lock manacles about her fetlocks, with the bolas remaining to restrain her wings.

“<Gently, all of you! This is a most illustrious guest!>” Fake charm oozed from the voice of her captor’s leader as he came into the light, beady eyes and toothy grin clear as he removed her gag. “Princess Twilight Sparkle. I do apologize for not properly greeting you the last time we met. I am…!”

“I know who you are, Ahuizotl, and I’m not impressed.” She gave the beast a steely glare and hoped that she didn’t sound too melodramatic as she countered, “Whatever it is you’re doing, it won’t work. It’s only a matter of time before somepony arrives to free me, and…”

“And by then, it will be far too late!” Not at all intimidated by the alicorn before him, Ahuizotl laughed and declared, “You are exactly where I need you to be, your Highness. Within a few short hours, you will serve as the key to my ultimate victory. And no one, not even that pestilence of a pegasus Daring Do, will be able to stop it!”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “It isn’t Daring Do I’d be worried about if I were you.”

A mocking laugh and a hard back-handed slap answered her. “I fear nothing from your Princess Celestia! She knows not to face one of my power!” A cruel grin formed upon his massive maw as he slunk past her and out of the chamber. “For now, do get some rest. You won’t have long to wait before the big moment arrives.”

As Ahuizotl and his minions disappeared into the darkness surrounding her, Twilight rubbed her face against one leg and hoped the sting would ebb. She doubted what he said was true. Ahuizotl was, after all, arrogant enough to set himself above anything else. Still, the way he was talking suggested a measure of confidence, and he’d apparently planned this out quite well.

Still, he’d made one mistake. He’d left her friends behind, and she knew they’d be on their way to save her as soon as they had the chance, with some help in tow. She just hoped that they knew more about this than she did.

-

“Late last week I tracked Caballeron leading Ahuizotl to a hidden pyramid, one that somepony had gone the extra mile to hide!” Quiver and Rainbow Dash kept pace with Daring Do as she charged along the path through the jungle. “I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but something tells me that pyramid and what happened to you guys are connected!”

“But what does Ahuizotl get by luring us here and snatching Twilight?!” Rainbow Dash, surprisingly, had kept to her hooves as she charged with her friends. “I mean, he’s not gonna hold her for ransom!”

“He’d be arrogant enough to try it, but something tells me that isn’t his game!” The three closed in on a small structure and slowed to a halt as Daring opened her front door and prompted the two inside. “You two do know where we are, right?”

“Yeah, we’re in Maretonia, miles away from where you recovered the Sapphire Stone.” Quiver followed the two mares into the small home to find it sparsely decorated – clearly, it wasn’t somewhere that Daring Do stayed regularly. “But arrogance aside, that’s a risky move on Ahuizotl’s part. Maretonia’s an Equestrian protectorate, and both governments would be on his chimeric plot in a heartbeat.”

“The trouble there is that Ahuizotl doesn’t recognize the authority of the Maretonian government. Between that and his ability to get across the border, he doesn’t think he’s got a lot to worry about. And that’s ignoring how his followers practically worship him – I’ve tweaked a few things here and there in the books, exaggerated or omitted some details, but that’s one thing I haven’t changed that much.” Daring moved to a bookshelf and noted, “Those ponies you met are part of a tribe that’s been bound to Ahuizotl for longer than I’ve tangled with him. He keeps them in line with fear, but they still think of him as a god.”

“Hence why he’s still got them working for him despite all the losses he’s suffered at your hooves,” Quiver reasoned. “But god complex or no, Ahuizotl’s got to know that attacking Twilight wouldn’t be worth it. The instant Princess Celestia or Prince Shining Armor found out…”

“I’d have to fill a hole in my rogue’s gallery, so it’s gotta be something big for Ahuizotl to try something like this.”

“So what’re we waiting for?! Daring, you know where this hidden pyramid is…”

“But she doesn’t know what’s gonna be there waiting for her when she charges to the rescue, or what Ahuizotl’s endgame is.” Quiver looked to his friend and explained, “Charging in half-cocked isn’t going to help anypony, Dash. Figure out the plan, then thwart it.”

“Speaking of, you got the letter with you?”

Dash shook her head. “No, Twilight was carrying it. But it made a big deal out of us being here today, and it wanted Twilight here. I didn’t think too much about it.” She looked to Daring Do and explained, “I mean, you’re a busy mare and all.”

Quiver rubbed his chin then looked up at the adventurer before them. “Miss Do, that hidden pyramid. How specifically was it hidden?”

“It was covered in vines. They were easy enough to clear away during the night, but when the sun was out, they grew hard and fast, like kudzu on steroids. I took a sample that same night and mailed it out to a lab…” She pulled out a binder and laid it out on a waiting table. “And the results came back yesterday. Those plants were chemically enhanced, most likely with something derived from a potion.”

“So what’s that tell us?”

“Exactly what I was hoping it wouldn’t.” He gestured towards the bookshelf and asked, “May I?” At Daring Do’s nod, he pulled out a book and brought it to the table.

“[u]Tales of Maretonia[/u]?” Dash approached the table as Quiver opened it and flipped through the pages. “I know you’re a history buff, but…”

“No, I think he’s on to something, but I really hope he isn’t.”

“Sorry to dash your hopes, Miss Do, but I think I know exactly what Ahuizotl’s game plan is.” He reached the desired page. “It’s the only thing that fits. The date, the area, the pyramid hidden by plants that rapidly grow in the sun, and the need for an alicorn.”

Daring looked over the page and scowled. “Damn. Ahuizotl would definitely try something this crazy.”

Dash found herself alarmed at the tone in their voices and examined the pages herself to see an illustration of a large creature mixing anatomy from a jaguar and an ape. “What’s a nah… nah-who…?”

“Nahual.” Quiver turned to her and explained, “It’s a skin-changer, a shapeshifter. That’s its default form, but it can change into other forms, like a donkey or a beast like a gigantic jaguar, but that’s not the worst of it.”

“A long time ago, before any of us were born, the nahual appeared here in Maretonia and slowly built up an army of followers.” Daring gestured to the book and explained, “Nopony knows where it came from, only how it raised an army. According to the accounts, a scratch or bite and then an order from the nahual puts you under its thrall. Given enough time, it could’ve taken control of everyone in the world. Thankfully, it was stopped after a local mage recognized what was going on and stood against it.”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me, Star Swirl the Bearded.”

“Nope.” Daring turned the page to reveal an illustration of a nondescript pony mage, conspicuously lacking a horn and adorned with a long cloak, in battle against the nahual. “Star Swirl had long vanished by the time this happened.”

“Yeah, this was centuries after Princess Luna’s fall from grace, and long after Star Swirl disappeared.” Quiver gestured to the book and explained, “Somehow the mage, whoever they were, was able to force the nahual into a dark cavern, and then seal it inside of a sarcophagus. The sarcophagus was then locked away at the bottom of a pyramid, and the pyramid was hidden away as best the mage could manage. How Ahuizotl found it, I have no clue.”

“Okay, fine, but what’s Twilight got to do with this?”

“She’s the key to freeing the nahual.” Daring pointed to details in the book and explained, “The mage didn’t have the power to create a permanent seal, so they did the next best thing and made a seal that was almost impossible to break.” She indicated a circular illustration in the book and explained, “In order to undo the magic of the seal, an alicorn needs to be in physical contact with this design while it’s in direct sunlight at high noon on the anniversary of the spell being cast.”

“Which is today!” At Quiver’s confirming nod of her realization, Rainbow exclaimed, “Holy crap! We gotta get to that pyramid!”

“No.” At the shocked looks of the two mares at his sides, Quiver stepped back and turned around to make for the door. “You two need to get to that pyramid.”

“Wha–?! Quiver!” Rainbow turned back and called, “Where do you think you’re going?!”

“Back to the train station. I need to get out of your way.”

“Whoa, hold on!” She dashed in front of him and countered, “You are [i]not[/i] in the way, and we can’t do this alone! Don’t tell me that you’re scared!”

“Of course he’s scared.” A harsh glance shot Daring’s way from the prismatic pegasus, to which she countered, “What? He’d be an idiot not to be. I’m a little scared too.”

“Well so am I! My friend’s in danger! I don’t know much about magic seals and stuff, but there’s gotta be some kind of feedback from that! And that’s ignoring the dangerous monster sealed inside of a pyramid!” Rainbow turned quiet as she turned back to Quiver and asked, “And it’s not fear, is it?”

Quiver’s eyes closed as his head drooped low in shame. “No.” He turned to look at her and sadly explained, “I’m no hero, Dash. I’m not you, I’m not Twilight, and I’m definitely not Daring Do. At best, I’m…” A saddened sigh. “I’d say I was a hack with delusions of grandeur, but I’m not even that. I’m an idiot. I come along, I’ll just screw things up. And with stakes this high, I can’t afford to screw things up.”

Silence briefly held until a raspy voice answered him. “Can you afford to lose somepony you think of as family?” Quiver felt a wing gently cup his muzzle and raise it up so that Rainbow Dash could look him in the eye. “Pinkie told us about that scrapbook you’ve put together. It wasn’t just her who appreciated that. I did too.”

“If you’re trying to gut-punch me, you’re doing a great job of it.”

“I’m not. I’m telling you that you’re not an idiot.” Shame coming into her voice, she continued, “This is probably the least awesome thing you’re ever going to learn about me, but I dropped out of flight school. It’s a long story, and I really don’t want to get into it, but it happened. I was lucky to get a job in Ponyville as a cloud-pusher, even luckier that I had awesome folks in my life to support me. It’s thanks to them that I was able to rebound from that, get as far as I have, but parts of that still hang over me. Probably always will.” She poked him in the chest with a hoof and firmly said, “But you? You’re different! You got through school and got that fancy egghead degree and everything! Seriously, you figured out this thing with the nahual, and don’t tell me you clocking that goon with the canteen was an accident!”

“It wasn’t. It was instinct, but it didn’t help.”

“You on your own against six ponies? You can’t be hard on yourself over that!” She gave him a bright, determined look. “Nopony’s asking you to be a hero! I’m asking you to do what you can do, because nopony else is here to do it, and because I believe in you! And that’s the same with Twilight and everypony else! And I know you won’t screw up, because you’re my friend.” She then grinned and declared, “And all of my friends are awesome.”

Quiver kept his gaze upon her for a few short seconds, then sighed, closed his eyes… and smiled. He opened them again and looked to her in gratitude. “Thanks Dash.”

The adventurer looked between the two and asked, “You sure the two of you aren’t dating?” At their sidelong glances, she grinned. “Kidding, but that was way too sappy. Come on, we’ve got a long ways to go.”

“Aw yeah–!”

“Wait!” Rainbow Dash gave him a disbelieving look as she hung in midair before Quiver clarified, “No, don’t worry, the pep talk worked, I’m just thinking out loud here.” He turned to Daring and said, “This is the biggest stunt Ahuizotl’s pulled. He’s not going to leave anything to chance, and he knows that you’re gonna charge in to try and stop him. Which means that he’s ready for you.”

Daring raised an eyebrow. “And what are you saying that he [i]isn’t[/i] ready for?”

Quiver grinned. “An outside context problem.”  

...to be continued...