Daring Do stood at the entrance to the central temple chamber. At last she was face to face with the legendary Sapphire Statue. She put a hoof up to take a step then paused looking at the ground. She backed up, there must be some trap. She looked over at the walls with the peculiar circles that just said to her arrows. She glanced around again; she saw the pebble beside her and kicked it onto the tiled floor. It landed on a tile with a picture of an eagle. The tile lowered and arrows shot across the room. She looked at them stuck against the wall. They were in the exact shape of a pony!
“Hmm.” Daring wondered staring at the tiled floor. “There must be a pattern here, what do all these animals have in commen?” She looked at them again, each tile had an animal printed on it. “Aha! These animals are all predators! Except…Rats!” very carefully she put a hoof on the rat tile. Daring squeezed her eyes shut in fear. “Phew!” she said as no certain death traps came. She hopped from rat to rat. Finally on the other side Daring stared at the blue stone. She took off her safari hat in honor. Stared at and moved around. Nothing seemed to be happening. She waved a hoof above it. She wiped sweat off her forehead and rubbed her hooves together in anticipation licking her lips. Suddenly she stopped. It was too easy, whoever made the temple was stupid. She grabbed the statue with her mouth and put in her hat for safe keeping. She was about to walk again when she heard a curious noise, she raised her eyebrow and looked back at where the statue used to stand. A little peg was rising out of the statue holder. That peg only meant certain death. The ceiling began to crumble and the ground shook, the walls were shifting, the whole temple was going to self-destruct! Daring was about to run back when the floor crumbled to reveal lava. She back up the steps to where the Sapphire Stone used to stand. Pillars fell over on one another, Daring Do was now surrounded by lava, her hooves barely outside of it. Finally she looked up at the hole in the ceiling. That was her escape. She leapt on the fallen pillars, higher and higher as she, slowly but surely, made it to the top. Unable to leap high enough, Daring spread both her wings and jumped and flapped. Daring Do’s arms barely reached the edge of the hole in the ceiling and she struggled to get over the edge. The heat of the sun hammered down on her and she felt the heat of the lava rise, with all the heat and the sweat Daring slipped down to the lava below.

Chapter six: Theif

Daring felt like she was swimming in fear as she tumbled down to the lava. Suddenly a blast of heat came; Daring shot up out of the temple into safety and the sense of relief was over-whelming. Then came the pain her right wing burned with pain and all over she was bruised and battered, the scratches on her hind hooves hurt like crazy, Daring moaned in pain. What about the statue? She thought. It was probably too late anyway. She looked up and the statue flew out of her hat and on to the ground in front of her, another blue figure appeared.

“You thought you could evade me and capture the relic for yourself, but you were sadly mistaken Ms. Do. And now, you shall meet your doom!” Ahuizotl yelled the last part as he held the Sapphire stone. Ahuizotl pulled out a whistle shaped like a cat and blew. Suddenly the cats came back, the tiger, the leopard, the jackal, the Black Panther and the pussy cat. Ahuizotl cackled manically and chortled with gibbering bursts of laughter.

Chapter seven: Another Day, Another Dungeon

Daring Do struggled as the bonds that held her to the table squeezed tighter.

“You won’t get away with this Ahuizotl!” Daring grunted in anger.

“But I already have.” Ahuizotl said simply in that same silky voice. He turned and pulled a lever.

“Ugh! Not again.” Ahuizotl waved goodbye and ran away with his cats following him. Suddenly the walls grew spikes and started to close in. Daring Do struggled more. Spiders began to crawl out onto the spikes. Cobras crawled in and came up to meet Daring’s eyes and sand poured in the room. “Quick sand!” Daring Do said and struggled more. “Feels like the harder I struggle, ugh, the tighter the ropes get.” She struggled even more and her hat fell off. She looked over at the lever and grabbed her hat with her teeth and with her hind leg she launched the hat across the room. The hat flew around the room hitting various objects but she never got the see if it hit its mark because sand came up all around her and filled her nostrils so she couldn’t breathe. Suddenly the sand came down and the ropes busted. The hat hit the lever! She was free! She breathed in the sweet air and chucked sand out of her ears. The door opened and Daring got her hat and put it on. “Another day, another dungeon.”

Chapter eight: Defeat

Ahuizotl sat petting his pussy cat, chuckling. “With Daring Do out of the way, the world with suffer at my hands. I AM VICTORIOUS!” Ahuizotl screeched with laughter. Suddenly Daring swung on a vine and snatched the little blue statue out of his tail hand.

“I’ll take that.” She said smiling. Ahuizotl gasped.

“What? Nooooo!” he yelled.

“Better luck next time Ahuizotl!” Daring said and tipped her hat.

“Curse you, Daring Do!” Ahuizotl yelled after her and screeched insanely…

And so with Ahuizotl defeated, and the Sapphire Statue secured the world was safe and sound once again thanks to Daring Do.

The end