Secret of the Mare Lisa

by PonyJosiah13

First published 27th of April, 2015

Daring Do and Phillip Finder team up with Twilight, Flash and the Elements of Harmony to uncover a long-lost treasure, all the while facing dangerous enemies.

Leonardo da Whinny. Artist, inventor, polymath. One of the greatest magical experts of Equestrian history. Legend has it that he had a large collection of ancient treasures that he hid away, leaving clues to its location in his most famous work, the Mare Lisa.

Which has just been stolen.

Fortunately, Phillip Finder is on the case, accompanied by an old partner: the adventureress Daring Do. With aid from Twilight, Flash, and the other Elements of Harmony, they will face great danger to recover the painting and unveil its secrets...or will this quest be their end?

Comments appreciated more than ratings. Contains Canon X OC. The OC is not a self-insert. If this is not your cup of tea, please move along.

The Phillip Finder series
The Pony in the Gray Trilby
The Everfree Forest Affair
Time Flies
The Blue Moon Brings Death
Letters to a Candymare
The Face in the Darkness
Checkmate
Secret of the Mare Lisa
The Sun Falls
Clockwork
Behind Locked Doors
Siege of Clovenworth
The Silent Fugitive
Curse of the Taverneigh Blue
Mystery on the Mareish Moors
The Grilled Cheese and the Muletese Falcon
Trifle Not With Monsters
The Fillydelphia Solution
The Sydneigh Ritual
Endgame

Part 1: Museums and Murder

The peace and quiet of an early spring morning in Ponyville was broken by a long, loud scream.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"What was that?" Flash shouted in alarm, sprinting to the balcony of the Rainbow Castle.

"That, Flash, was the sound of utter despair and misery," Twilight said calmly, scanning a collection of notes as she reclined on the sofa of the castle library. When Flash gave her a confused look, she elaborated, "Sounds like Rainbow Dash just found out that the next Daring Do book has been delayed."

Flash looked up and his eyes widened. "Speaking of Rainbow...incoming!" He dived on top of Twilight, knocking her out of the way just as a multicolored blur raced into the room, carrying a wind gust that upset Twilight's neatly stacked notes and knocked several books off the shelves. Twilight ended up faceup on the floor, Flash on top of her, both of them flushed and wide eyed from the shock.

"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "This is not the time! We gotta go see Daring Do, it's important!"

Both ponies turned red with embarrassment. Levitating Flash off her, Twilight got up and gave Rainbow an impatient look. "Rainbow, you're overreacting," she said, staring to clean up the mess. "I know that you've been waiting for the book for—"

"For seven months!" Rainbow shouted. "This is the second time it's been delayed! Daring Do might be in trouble and need our help!"

"Rainbow, just because the book has been delayed doesn't mean that Daring Do is in trouble," Twilight replied calmly, starting to gather up her scattered notes and put them back in the proper order. "And we shouldn't intrude on her just because the book is late."

"We did once!" Rainbow replied.

"Okay, what if we dropped in on her out of the blue and she didn't need any help at all?" Twilight said. "And besides, I'm busy at the moment: I'm going to be giving a speech at the opening of the Leonarda da Whinny exhibit at the Trottingham History Museum later today."

"Who cares about Leo da what's-his-face!" Rainbow responded.

"He's one of the greatest polymaths, artists and scientists of the ancient world, second only to Starswirl the Bearded," Spike said in a monotone, entering and starting to pick up the scattered books. "Much of his work has been collected only in the past year, and it's being displayed for the first time to the public. It's an exciting time for the art and history world." When the other three ponies all gave him a look, he added, "It's also the only thing Twilight has been talking about for weeks."

"Look, Rainbow," Twilight said. "Why don't we talk about it when I get back later today?"

Rainbow sighed angrily, knowing that even she couldn't win this argument. "Fine." She exited via the balcony again, her head hung low in annoyance.

"Wait...the da Whinny exhibit! I'm going to be late!" Twilight suddenly shouted, getting frantic. She quickly gathered up the notes and tucked them into her saddlebag, along with some other items. "Speech notes, check. Lozenges, check. Comb, check. Map of Trottingham, check. Let's see...am I forgetting anything?"

"Yes," Flash said calmly, gesturing at the clock. "The fact that the train to Trottingham doesn't leave for another two hours."

Twilight stared at the clock for a few moments before grinning sheepishly. "Oh. Right."

Baroque Brush settled back on the old sofa. He was a yellow-coated unicorn with purple eyes. His red mane and tail were complimented by green stripes, and his flank had the image of a pair of crossed paintbrushes. Baroque pursed his lips and exhaled cigarette smoke from his nostrils. The stench of nicotine and cheap tobacco did not add to the other odors of the cheap apartment.

He hated the apartment, hated having to live in this smelly old place in smelly old Trottingham with a smelly old landlord who was always on his case about the rent. But it was all he could afford. Much as he hated the starving artist stereotype, he had to admit that he fit it. He was brilliant at painting—nopony had ever doubted that, least of all him—but unfortunately, his skill at business did not match his skill with the brush. It was the public's fault, really—the sheeponies were too stupid to recognize real art, instead craving the same prepackaged garbage that lesser artists got rich off of. It was they who had denied him the fame and riches he deserved.

Which was why he had taken this job. His employer had promised him enough money to purchase an apartment in Canterlot, where he would surely attract a clientele who actually appreciated his work, and had the money to make it known. And he deserved it. He was the only pony who could pull it off--only somepony of his great talent could fake a da Whinny, much less his most famous work...

A knocking at the apartment door interrupted his thoughts. Sitting up, he doused his cigarette in the ashtray before trotting over to the door and opening it. The pony outside was an earth pony of large build. He had a tan coat and brown mane and tail, close-cropped, and wore a gray suit and tie. His mean little brown eyes stared at him from underneath a gray fedora. His cutie mark was a pair of boxing gloves. He chewed on a Blue Camel cigarette.

"Brush," the other pony said with a smile as he entered, doffing the fedora and hanging it up on the hatstand. "How you doing, buddy?"

"All right," Brush greeted his visitor, extending his hoof to shake. "I take it that you did the job?"

"Yup," the other pony said, entering the room and dousing his cigarette in the ashtray on the coffee table. "Did it last night. They'll never know I was there."

"And they'll never know that the painting is a fake, either," Baroque said with a smile. "Now, about my payment."

"Yeah, about that," the tan pony said. "I'm here to tell you about how the payment's gonna work." He gulped, then coughed. "Geez, my throat is parched. You got any hard cider?"

"Uh, yes, I think I have some," Baroque said, turning around and heading for the tiny kitchen that had been squeezed into a corner of the apartment. He hadn't taken more than a three steps before the tan earth pony pulled a switchblade knife out of his pocket, flicked it open, and plunged it into Baroque's back. The knife cut in deep, sending a spurt of dark red liquid gushing into the air. Baroque grunted in surprise.

"That's your payment right there," the visitor snarled as the failed painter collapsed to the floor, eyes wide in shock and pain and already dimming as life left them. Turning, the murderer left the apartment, leaving his hat behind.

Author's Notes:

This took a while: I struggled to figure out a good way to start this off.

But nonetheless, here we go again. It's another murder, another adventure!

NOTE: Daring herself isn't going to show up for a couple of chapters. Just wait a while.

Part 2: Dead End

A few hours later, the train from Ponyville pulled into the Trottingham station. Twilight disembarked with Flash following.

"Twi...Your Highness, we still have about an hour before the opening," Flash said, trotting quickly behind Twilight as she hurried down the platform. "There's no need to rush so much."

"I want to get there as early as possible," Twilight replied. "I have to get ready for the speech."

"You might not be giving it," said a familiar voice. Stopping in surprise, Flash and Twilight saw Phillip Finder exiting a train car and walking up to them.

"What are you doing here?" Flash asked in surprise. Phillip replied by holding up a copy of The Equestrian Times, opened to a headline that read "Trottingham History Museum opening new exhibit on Leonardo da Whinny."

"As soon as I saw that, my crime sense went off," Phillip said. "Something's happened, and I intend to find out what it is."

"Well, come on!" Twilight said, hurrying off the platform and heading down the street.

"Your Highness, wait for me!" Flash called, chasing after her. Phillip followed at a casual pace.

Behind them, a mare walked off the platform, wearing a long green dress, a large sunhat, and a pair of dark glasses that hid her light rosy eyes. She watched Phillip trotting away from her, frowning slightly in concern. It had been a long time since she'd seen the stallion with the gray trilby, and she knew that If he was back in her life, things were about to get a lot more complicated. Even more so than usual.

The trio arrived at the Trottingham History Museum only a couple minutes later. The Museum was a huge marble building that looked like an ancient temple dedicated to the worship of knowledge, with a set of white-washed steps leading up to the entrance, a pair of wide gold doors, surrounded by columns decorated with images that represented various parts of Equestrian history, from prehistoric ponies all the way to the present. Pushing open the doors, Twilight led them into the reception area. The receptionist, instantly recognizing her, pointed her down a hallway towards the da Whinny exhibit.

The exhibit room was a large room towards the back of the museum. A large banner stretched over the entrance, declaring "Grand Opening" in large letters, and a stand and podium had been set up, but there was nopony around. Moving around the podium, the ponies entered the exhibit room, which was filled with cases that proudly displayed much of the ancient master's restored paintings and sculptures and scale models of his numerous inventions, all of them accompanied with information displays.

Standing in front of a large copy of the Vitruvian Pony, nervously wringing her hooves, was a unicorn mare with amber fur, dusty brown mane and tail, and green eyes that were magnified by a pair of thick glasses. Her cutie mark was of a book and quill. She looked up in surprise when Twilight approached.

"Your Highness! We..we weren't expecting you for some time!" exclaimed Doctor Main Exhibit, the director of the museum.

"Doctor, has something happened?" Twilight asked.

"Well...we're not sure," the mare said, nervously looking at the floor. "You see, there was a break-in last night. The burglar, whoever it was, was only inside for a few minutes, and as far as we can tell, nothing was taken. We're still checking all of the exhibits to see if anything was damaged."

"Where'd he get in?" Phillip asked, already pulling his loupe glasses out of his carrying case in his pocket.

"The fire escape in the back. It has a silent alarm attached, that's how we knew...wait, who are you?" Dr. Exhibit asked.

"Phillip Finder," Twilight responded for Phillip, who was already moving towards the door at the back. "He's a friend and a detective."

"Ahem."

"Oh, and this is my bodyguard, Flash Sentry," Twilight added, gesturing to Flash, who nodded to Dr. Exhibit.

Finding nothing of use at the door, Phillip moved on to the exhibit itself, checking each of da Whinny's works for any sign of tampering or damage. Twilight and Flash, guided by Dr. Exhibit, also began to walk around the large room, examining each painting, model and statue with the aid of Twilight's magically conjured magnifier bubble, with the museum director providing a running commentary that the other three tuned out. Nothing appeared to have been touched or damaged. So why had somepony broken in? What were they looking for?

The last painting was placed on the back wall. The painting, which measured only a couple feet on each side, depicted a mare with long brown hair and a young, unblemished face sitting in the foreground, a faint smile playing about her thin lips and in her brown eyes. She wore a dark brown dress that contrasted with her pale blue fur.

"Ah, the famous Mare Lisa," Dr. Exhibit said. "Leonardo da Whinny's most infamous work, solely because of the mystery surrounding it. You have probably heard the rumors that it hides the key to finding a treasure that Leonardo allegedly hid, but those are just rumors—"

"It's a fake," Twilight and Phillip said simultaneously.

Dr. Exhibit's jaw dropped. "H-how can you be sure?"

Twilight indicated the signature, tiny and nearly indistinguishable next to the mare's sleeve. "The signature. The inking is uneven; that means whoever made the signature repeatedly started and stopped trying to trace the signature."

"B-b-but it's the real painting!" Dr. Exhibit cried. "I had five of my best art historians verify it!"

"Our burglar probably broke in to steal the real painting and replace it with this fake." Phillip said as he examined the rest of the painting. "This is a good forgery otherwise...experienced painter. Hmmm..." He thought for a moment, then turned and started towards the exit. "I have an idea."

"W-wait a minute!" Dr. Exhibit called after him. "You can't just leave!"

"Apparently, he can," Flash said to himself.

"Don't worry, Dr. Exhibit," Twilight assured the museum director. "We'll find the Mare Lisa and bring it back." And with that, the other two followed Phillip out the exhibit, leaving Dr. Exhibit standing bewildered.

After a stop at the post office to check the city registry, Phillip guided the others to the east side apartments in search of an old friend. "Baroque Brush," he said, heading up a flight of stairs. "Convicted of art forgery a few years ago, got a lighter sentence and parole for turning on his partners. Lived here ever since. Known expert on da Whinny. If he didn't do the forgery, he might know who did."

Coming up to the third floor landing, they proceeded to room 306. Phillip knocked on the door. "Baroque, this is the Guard. Open up." No response. He knocked harder. "Baroque! We just want to talk." Still nothing. Phillip tried the door and, finding that it was unlocked, proceeded through it.

"Hey!" Flash protested. "That's breaking and entering! You need probable cause!"

Phillip paused, then opened the door wider, revealing the living room. "That's our probable cause," he said, gesturing to the corpse lying in the center of the room with a switchblade in his back. Twilight gasped in shock. "The late Baroque Brush, mates. Doesn't appear to be dead long." He looked around the room, then looked at Flash.

"You wanna do this yourself?"

Flash blinked. "You sure?"

Phillip responded by stepping aside and gesturing into the room. Flash stepped forward, bending over the body. Twilight, in the meantime, decided to ask the neighbors if they had seen or heard anything.

"The knife's in deep," Flash said, examining the fatal wound and noting the brand of the weapon. "Indicates the killer's strength. From the angle, it looks like the killer was left-hooved. There are no signs of a struggle and the door hasn't been broken, so it was probably somepony they knew and trusted." He looked at the ashtray. "These two cigarettes are his: I can tell because of the crimping on the ends. He used that cigarette holder on the table there. This one is probably from the killer: Blue Camel."

He looked up at Phillip, but his mentor gave him no sign of encouragement, simply gesturing for him to continue. Flash continued his examination of the apartment, checking for anything that seemed out of place. Moving into the hallway, he spotted a gray fedora hanging on the hatstand.

"That doesn't belong to Brush," he said, noting that the hat was covering the only other hat on the stand, a small green cap, and that it was too big for the deceased artist's head. He reached out to grab it, but Phillip stopped him, gently shaking his head and gesturing to his eyes. Flash understood: look first, then touch. He peered at the hat. "Looks pretty new...and expensive. I see bite marks in the back rim from when he picked it up, so probably not a unicorn." He looked at the ear holes in the brim. "Tan hairs." His external examination complete, Flash gently picked up the hat by the very edge of his hoof and began to more closely examine the interior. "Let's see...brown hairs inside the brim. What's this?" Noticing a strange lump on the interior brim, he gently pulled out a small blue matchbook. It had a name on it: Skinny's. Flipping open the matchbook, Flash found "Baroque Brush" written on the interior flap.

"I'd be willing to bet our killer hangs out at this bar," Flash said.

Twilight returned at that moment. "One of the neighbors saw Mr. Brush with another pony once," she said, purposefully avoiding looking at the body. "All he remembers is that the other pony had a cutie mark of a pair of boxing gloves. I told him to call the Guard."

"Good," Flash said. "We should wait for the Guard to arrive and secure the scene."

"If we wait, we might lose this lead we've got," Phillip stated. Twilight and Flash looked at each other, making up their minds.

"All right," Twilight said, lighting up her horn and casting a barrier spell over the door to the apartment. "That'll fade when the Guards arrive, but in the meantime, nopony's going in that room."

"Good. Let's go." Phillip led the other three back out of the apartment and down the street towards Skinny's bar.

The mare in the sunhat and dress, who had been waiting in the street outside, followed them.

Skinny's bar was a rundown joint not far from Brush's apartment, the owner's name displayed in blinking red neon in the window next to the door. When Phillip opened the door, he and his friends were greeted with the stench of cheap cider, chewing tobacco, and several ponies who had not showered for a few days. As they made their way through the dimly-lit bar, the other patrons went unusually quiet, turning to watch their progress with open hostility. The bartender, a reed thin earth pony with greasy black bangs, stared at them with an owlish gaze.

Looking around, Flash touched Phillip's shoulder and nodded to a tan earth pony with a generous build sitting alone at a table, nursing a drink with his left hoof and sucking on a Blue Camel cigarette. He had a tan coat and was wearing an expensive gray suit and tie. His flanks displayed the image of a pair of boxing gloves. His eyes weren't focused on anything; he seemed to be unaware of anything around him. The trio of ponies approached, aware that the other patrons were still staring at them in silent hostility.

"You left your hat at Baroque Brush's place, mate," Phillip said to the tan earth pony quietly. The culprit slowly turned and looked up, his eyes widening in fear as he realized that he'd been caught. "Listen up. We're gonna walk outside, nice and easy, and you—"

He was interrupted by the snap of breaking wood. Looking up, Phillip, Flash and Twilight saw a bulky dark blue pegasus with red hair stalking towards them, having just broken a billiard stick over his knee. "You gotta lotta nerve, coming back to this town, flathoof," he growled, slapping the heavier end against his hoof threateningly as he advanced, his glaring eyes on Phillip.

"And even more nerve bringing a princess and one of her dogs in here," a yellow unicorn with dark glasses snarled from the bar, grabbing a bottle of cider with his magic and smashing it against the bar to make a makeshift knife. The other patrons began to approach, several drawing their own weapons, everything from blackjacks to butterfly knives to lengths of chain that rattled threateningly. Flash and Phillip automatically stood in defensive stances, placing themselves between Twilight and the threats.

At that moment, the door flew open and every head turned to see a mare enter the bar, wearing a sunhat, a long green dress and sunglasses. She paused, frowning as she took in the situation. Then, with a sweeping gesture of her hoof, she threw off the clothes, revealing a dark green shirt with several pockets, a pith helmet that covered her greyscale rainbow mane, and glaring rosy eyes. The image of a compass rose stood out on her flanks.

Twilight and Flash both gasped in astonishment. "Daring Do?"

Author's Notes:

This gonna be good...

(Sorry for the wait.)

Part 3: New Partners

For a moment, no one moved, considering the standoff they had found themselves in. The total silence grew deafening, the tension building.

The standoff broke suddenly when Phillip, in a single motion, drew his boomerang from a back pocket on his vest and tossed it out, striking the unicorn with the broken bottle in the forehead and knocking him down. "Flash, protect Twilight!" he shouted, striking another would-be attacker across the jaw with his baton.

Several other ponies moved to attack him, but Daring Do pulled her whip out of her coat and snapped it out three times, the loud cracks stunning them and giving her time to charge, knocking down two of them before springing back up into the air and taking flight, stunning another attacker with a whip crack to the face.

The other thugs all moved in to attack, swarming Daring and Phillip from all sides, forgetting Flash and Twilight. The pair continued the assault, moving from enemy to enemy, never standing still. The pegasus with the billiard stick sprinted towards Phillip. Both he and Daring charged right at him, then when they got close, they suddenly split, going to either side of the pegasus and dodging his wild swing with his makeshift weapon. Phillip countered by springing up and striking him in the jaw with his baton, knocking him off balance. Daring leapt up, grabbed the pegasus' head and slammed it down hard on the table, knocking him out.

"Wow," Flash said softly, genuinely impressed by the tag team attack. Stunning another attacker with an elbow strike to the face, Phillip whipped his trilby off his head and flicked it into an earth pony's face, causing his wild swing with his blackjack to miss. Taking advantage of his momentary blindness, Daring bucked the earth pony hard in the gut, bringing him down while Phillip took down a pair of knife-wielding unicorns. Seeing another unicorn preparing to send a spell in his direction, he dodged to the side, simultaneously throwing a boomerang out. His weapon arced through the air, striking the unicorn and stunning him, continuing through the air towards Daring. Daring caught the boomerang and threw it out again, hitting an earth pony that had been trying to sneak up behind her. The boomerang ricocheted off him and flew back to Phillip, who caught it without looking.

"Amazing!" Twilight said. "They fight like one pony!" She saw motion in the corner of her eye and turned to see that the pony with the boxing glove cutie marks was trying to sneak towards the back door. "Oh, no, you don't!" she shouted, grabbing his tail with her magic and dragging him back towards them, casting an immobilization spell over him to prevent him from running off again.

Daring finished off the last thug with a flying knee to the jaw, sending him crashing down into a corner booth, where he lay still. The bar was now almost completely wrecked, groaning and unconscious ponies lying amongst broken tables and chairs. The skinny bartender was examining the wreckage with a horrified expression.

Phillip and Daring, who had both lost their hats, glared at each other. "You've gotten sloppy, Daring," Phillip said quietly.

"I was just about to tell you that, old stallion," Daring replied back sharply. "You're even slower than I ever remember."

"I was giving them a chance," Phillip replied. The two glared at each other a moment longer like a pair of timberwolves fighting over a scrap of meat, while Flash and Twilight looked back and forth between them nervously. Then the two of them relaxed, bending over to retrieve the other's hat from the floor, dusting it off and giving it back to its owner.

"You haven't changed," Phillip said with a small smile.

"Neither have you," Daring replied, also with a small smile. "So how long did you know I was following you?"

"Since a little after the museum. You've improved."

"Thanks."

"Wait a minute," Flash said. "Do you two know each other?"

Daring gave him a dry look as she put her pith helmet on. "Quick on the uptake, isn't he?" she said. "Where'd you pick up this tenderhoof?"

"His name is Flash Sentry," Phillip replied evenly. "And he's one of the best Guards I've ever seen."

Daring gave a small grunt, obviously unimpressed. She turned to Twilight and nodded. "Princess Twilight. How's Rainbow?"

"Eagerly awaiting your next book," Twilight replied.

"Still writing it," Daring replied. "That's why I came here. I needed the Mare Lisa."

Twilight's eyes widened as she made the connection. "The rumors about it having a hidden message...they're true?"

"Yes," Daring said. "Of course, now it's been stolen."

Phillip looked down at the pony with the boxing glove cutie mark, who was trembling within Twilight's immobilization spell, looking up at his captors with fear. "You know this wanker?"

"Left Hook," Daring said, glaring at the trapped pony. "One of Charlie Silvertongue's favorite henchponies. Which means that Silvertongue's got the Mare Lisa now. Right?" she growled.

Left Hook nodded rapidly. "Yeah! I paid Brush to make the phony and stole the original myself last night! Gave it to Silvertongue!"

"Hold on," Twilight said. "Charlie August Silvertongue, the art collector?"

"Also a blackmailer and one of the biggest dealers on the black market, backed up by an army of lawyers that always keep him out of prison," Daring said. "And one of Ahuizotl's closest friends and suppliers. If Silvertongue's got the Mare Lisa, then Ahuizotl will get his hands on it soon."

"Then we have to get it back," Phillip said. He turned to the bartender, who cowered behind the bar. "You. Call the Guard and tell them to arrest that pony there. He's wanted for murder."

The bartender nodded rapidly. Phillip and Daring turned and left the bar, with Twilight and Flash following.

"Do you really have to bring them along?" Daring asked Phillip, glancing over her shoulder at the other two as she put her disguise back on.

"They're with me," Phillip said, a firm edge in his otherwise even voice that indicated he would not accept any argument. "We might need their help."

Daring sighed in annoyance, but said nothing more.

"She like this the last time you saw her?" Flash whispered to Twilight, scowling. Twilight nodded.

"I don't see what the big problem is," Flash said later in Daring's hotel room. Paranoid of being seen together, she had arranged for them to meet up later, having all arrived at the hotel separately. "We have Left Hook's confession. I can get us a warrant, have Silvertongue's mansion searched."

Daring snorted. "Even if you could find a judge in this city that isn't in Silvertongue's pocket, if you tried to serve that warrant on him, he'd just get his lawyers and have that warrant tossed out before you could blink. And then he'd sue you for everything you've got for defamation."

"Unfortunately, she's right, mate," Phillip said. "Silvertongue's too well-protected against legal means."

"But we can't let him have the Mare Lisa, and we especially can't let him give it to Ahuizotl," Daring said. "The Mare Lisa has a map that leads to da Whinny's hidden treasure; it's rumored that the secret to ultimate power may be hidden in there. If Ahuizotl gets his paws on that...well, you know."

"So what do you propose we do?" Twilight asked.

"I break in there and steal the Mare Lisa back," Daring said.

"Wait a minute," Flash said. "Break in and steal it? Are you serious?"

"The alternative is worse," Daring said plainly.

"I'm with you," Phillip said.

Flash stared at his mentor in astonishment, then looked at Twilight. "We're not having any of this. Come on, Twilight."

"Wait," Twilight said. She turned to Daring. "Is this all for real? The map, the treasure?" Daring nodded grimly. Twilight thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'll help you anyway I can."

"Twilight, I can't believe you!" Flash exclaimed. "You're a Princess; you're supposed to uphold Equestrian law!"

"But I'm also supposed to protect the Equestrian ponies," Twilight replied. "And if these ponies get the Mare Lisa, that could put all of us in danger. And besides, it's not really stealing; at the very least, we'd be getting the Mare Lisa back."

"Two wrongs don't make a right and you know it," Flash said firmly. Twilight grimaced, wavering between her two choices. "As your guard, it's my duty to protect you, even from yourself. Now, let's get out of here." He took Twilight by the shoulder and started guiding her out the door. She paused at the door, looking back at Phillip and Daring. Phillip met her gaze, but Daring ignored them.

"It's all right," Phillip said. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Twilight turned back to Flash. "They're our friends. We should support them."

"If they were going to jump off a bridge, would you support them?" Flash said stubbornly.

"Look, I know stealing is wrong," Twilight said, forming her argument in her head. "But letting a bad thing happen is wrong, too. And maybe...maybe sometimes a bad thing done for the right reasons isn't so bad." She took a breath. "No. I'll stay. They need our help."

Flash looked at Twilight and realized that she had made up her mind. He sighed in annoyance, shaking his head. "Fine. But I'm only helping because you're too stubborn to listen to me."

The two reentered the room. Phillip nodded to them, then bent over the map that Daring had laid out. It was a detailed, hoof-drawn blueprint of a large mansion.

"Silvertongue will have the Mare Lisa in his safe in his basement," Daring said. "That's the biggest problem, though: the safe can only be opened with an enchanted key that he keeps on him at all times."

"Guards?" Phillip asked.

"He has six on patrol 24/7," Daring said. "Two outside and four inside the mansion."

"You have a way in?"

"Several," Daring said. "One thing I thought of was this." She reached into a back pocket and pulled out a small porcelain plate, engraved with Japonese symbols.

"He loves Japonese ceramic. This is part of a rare set; he's got the whole set except this one. I bought it in a market in Cowsaka."

"You can get in by pretending to sell it to him?" Twilight said.

"That was the idea," Daring said. "Problem is, it would be harder for me to get to the safe with their eyes on me all the time. Plus, Silvertongue's seen me enough times that he might be able to see through a disguise."

"I have an idea," Twilight said. "Maybe I could try to sell him the piece?" Daring looked up at Twilight, expecting her to continue. "I've heard of Silvertongue; I've actually met him once or twice. I could get in and try to sell him that plate, and when he's distracted, I could get the key and give it to you."

"There's an idea," Phillip said.

Daring nodded. "Not a bad plan. Now, let's see..." Daring bent over the blueprints, highlighting possible entry and exit routes, Phillip and Twilight debating pros and cons. Flash moodily hung by the side, saying nothing.

Finally, the three of them had worked out a plan. "When do you want to do this?" Twilight asked Daring.

"Tonight," Daring said. "Once the sun starts going down. It'll make our entry easier." She looked out the window. The sun was starting to head towards the horizon, but it would still be about an hour before it started to get dark. "Let's meet up in the alley behind here in an hour."

"All right. See you then, Daring," Twilight said. She, Flash and Phillip got up and left. As Phillip exited the door, Daring reached out and touched his shoulder, stopping him.

"Listen, this is only this one time," she whispered, her eyes narrowed. "After this, we go our separate ways again. Right?"

He gazed coolly back at her, answering silently. She released him and turned away, allowing him to leave, closing the door behind him.

"So how do you know Daring Do?" Twilight asked.

"She and I were in the same class at Pranceton," he replied, following the other two out of the hotel building. "We were the top two students. After I left the Guard, we worked together for a few years."

"Rainbow's going to freak when she finds out that you knew her," Twilight said with a small laugh, though neither of the stallions laughed.

"So how come Daring's never mentioned you in her books?"

Phillip grimaced slightly. "Let's just say we both did things that we're not proud of and leave it at that."

Flash glanced at him. "So you and she...you never..."

"If you're asking if we had sex, the answer is no," Phillip said, giving Flash a withering look. Twilight turned very red. "She and I were never attracted to each other. It was a professional relationship."

And with that, the discussion was over. The trio left to find something for an early dinner.

Author's Notes:

A little flank kicking, a little planning, and a little chat.

Now for some treasure-hunting action next chapter.

(And no, they didn't. Get that image out of your head.)

Part 4: Murphy's Law

An hour later, the sun was setting, sending shadows across Trottingham. Outside of town, on a large hill, a large white mansion sat like a prince over the town.

"This is a terrible idea," Flash said to Twilight as they walked the winding path up the hill, lit by gas lanterns that stood sentinel over them.

"Will you stop saying that?" Twilight replied sharply. "This is the best plan we could come up with. Now be quiet: we're almost at the gate."

A tall wrought iron gate stood before them, bordered on both sides by an equally tall brick wall with lights placed regularly along it, dispelling the dark. There was a large doorbell next to the gate. Twilight pressed her hoof against it and a loud ringing, like a chorus of brass bells, was heard. A few moments later, a dark blue pegasus swooped down and landed on the other side of the gate. He was nondescript, the only defining characteristic his cutie mark, a red eye with a pair of wings. He wore a dark suit and tie and had a walkie talkie on his shoulder. Flash noted the distinctly-shaped bulge of a holster underneath his suit. He glared suspiciously at the two ponies through the gate. "State your names and business."

"I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and this is my bodyguard, Flash Sentry," Twilight said. "We want to see Mr. Silvertongue. I have some artwork I'd like to talk to him about."

The guard turned away, speaking quietly into his walkie-talkie. There was a pause, then a garbled reply from whoever was on the other end. The pegasus pulled a lever on his side of the gate, and the gate swung open. "Follow me, please," he said, turning and heading up the cobbled stone path towards the mansion. Twilight and Flash followed, both of them feeling like they were entering the manticore's den.

Guiding them through a pair of trimmed bushes up a set of stone steps, the pegasus knocked at the large oak doors. They opened to reveal a middle-aged unicorn with brown fur, red hair that included a full beard, and silvery-blue eyes magnified by a pair of thick glasses. He wore a fluffy silver housecoat that made him seem larger than he actually was. His cutie mark was of a silver statue of a pony rearing up on its hind legs.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, what an honor," Charlie August Silvertongue said, stepping forward with a bow. He took Twilight's hoof and raised it to his lips, kissing it. Flash gritted his teeth, but forced himself not to do anything. "Won't you please come inside out of the cold?" He gestured them into his home.

"Mr. Silvertongue, it's nice to see you again," Twilight said, stepping inside the great hallway. She stopped to admire the hallway's decoration, a large painting of melting clocks set on a wide beach. "Is that an original Saddlebred Dali?"

"Indeed," Silvertongue said. "I bought it at auction two years ago. But please, let's go into my study." He guided them down the red oak hallway towards his study room. Everywhere one turned, there was some piece of artwork, be it a painting or a sculpture or a wooden or stone carving. The decoration made it quite obvious that this pony was a lover of art, and had the money to make his hobby a hedonism.

Glancing behind him, Flash noticed that another one of Silvertongue's bodyguards, a white-coated earth pony with a lock cutie mark, was following behind them. Flash could tell by the way he walked that he was a trained fighter, and noticed the calluses on his hooves and knees, as well as the bulge of his holster beneath his suit.

Silvertongue opened a door at the end of a hallway and let them into a study room. The guard stood outside. There was an intricately carved wooden desk in the center of the room, and all around the room were glass cases that contained several priceless artworks. Including a collection of Japonese ceramic plates in a case behind the desk.

"Can I offer either of you a drink?" Silvertongue asked his guests, opening a cabinet in the corner of room and pulling out a bottle of champagne and a three glasses.

"No, thank you," Twilight said.

"Suit yourself," Silvertongue said, putting back two glasses and filling the remaining one. As he turned his back, Twilight and Flash both saw a keychain in the pocket of his robe and glanced at each other. Outside, a dog began barking loudly.

"Oh, just the guard dog. Pay it no mind." Silvertongue took a sip and smacked his lips appreciatively. "Ahh...Prench champagne. A most excellent vintage. But you said you had something for me?"

"Yes," Twilight said, pulling out the ceramic plate. "This was given to me by an ambassador from Japony at the last summit. I wanted to learn more about it, and thought maybe you would like to take a look at it."

The art collector's silvery eyes widened when he saw the plate, shining with greed. "My, my. May I see that?" He gently took the ceramic plate and examined it carefully, pausing at one point to polish his glasses with a cloth. "This is a one of a rare collection, over four hundred years old."

"Yes, I noticed several other plates like them in that case there," Twilight said. "Could I see them, please? They look beautiful."

"Of course, Your Highness," Silvertongue said, turning to the case and carefully opening it. "Exquisite, aren't they? It's little surprise, of course, the Japonese have been making ceramics since before even the formation of the three tribes..."

As he talked, Twilight focused her magic. Ever so carefully, she gently lifted the key out of Silvertongue's robe, being particularly careful to make sure it made no noise. Once the key was free, she quickly floated it over to Flash and tucked it into his tail just as Silvertongue turned, holding one of the plates.

"Here. This is the first of the collection. I bought it from it's original owner for a steal, he had no idea just how valuable it is."

Twilight bent over to examine the plate; as she did so, she flicked Flash with her tail. Remembering his role, Flash began coughing loudly.

"Flash, are you all right?" Twilight asked, turning to him. He coughed a few more times, then spoke hoarsely. "Just an allergy attack, Your Highness. I'm fine."

"Did you bring your medicine?"

"No, Your Highness, I'm fine."

"Flash, you need to take your medicine," Twilight said emphatically. Flash looked at Silvertongue suspiciously.

"It's all right, sir," the art collector said, looking at Twilight like she was a precious painting, lust shining in his eyes. Flash saw his eyes lingering on Twilight's flank. "I have my guard outside. We'll be just fine."

Flash sighed. "I'll be right back."

"The bathroom is to the right and down the hall, second door on your left," Silvertongue said as Flash left the room. Of course, Flash knew that, having memorized the plan of the house. Flash left the room, glancing at the bodyguard outside, then turned right and headed down the hallway. As he walked down the hall, he passed another bodyguard, a blue earth pony with the cutie mark of a key and a set of hoofprints. This guard glared suspiciously at him as he passed.

Every instinct told Flash to grab Twilight and get out of the house as fast as he could. He had just left her alone with somepony that he knew was a threat. He had to protect her. He had to keep her safe. He had to rip that slimeball's leg off and beat him to death with it for looking at Twilight like that...

Okay, maybe not that last part.

But here he was, entering the bathroom with a stolen key hidden in his tail, part of a half-baked plan to steal back the Mare Lisa. And all because of her. Part of him admired her courage. The other part wanted to strangle her.

Moving to the marble sink, he turned the golden faucet and took a drink from the faucet, then pulled the key out from his tail. Turning, he spotted his target: a small ventilation cover. Pulling a pocketknife out of his small saddlebags, he flicked open the screwdriver and quickly unscrewed the cover. He dropped the key down the shaft, hearing a clatter as it hit the bottom of the vent. He then quickly screwed the vent cover back on, shut off the faucet, and made his way back to the study, resisting the urge to run.

"Ah, there you are. I was beginning to worry about you," Silvertongue said as he entered, looking up from the plate that he was showing Twilight. Twilight looked up and gave him a relieved smile, having endured several badly-disguised passes at her mixed in with his lecture on ceramics. Flash nodded, relieved to see her safe, and took up position next to the door.

Ball's in your court, Phil.

Several minutes earlier, Phillip and Daring had climbed up towards the backyard of the mansion. Daring flew up and peeked over the fence, peering through a monocular. She spotted her quarry: a bored-looking gray unicorn bodyguard with a cutie mark of a dog's pawprint sitting on the back porch of the mansion, reading a wrinkled pornographic magazine.

Daring studied the backyard. There was a lot of distance between the fence and the porch. Fortunately, there was a lot of cover, as the yard had a lot of trees, statues, fountains and topiary bushes. Unfortunately, the yard was well-lit, and there wasn't enough cover to get close without the guard seeing them. And even worse, there was a large, vicious-looking dog sitting next to the bodyguard. Even if the pony didn't see them, the dog would smell them.

Daring looked down at Phillip, who was standing beneath her. "You got it?"

"Yeah," Phillip said, pulling a small silver whistle out of his pocket. He put it into his mouth and blew hard, although no sound came out of it that either pony could hear.

But the dog all the way up on the porch suddenly looked up, then bolted towards the brick fence, barking loudly. The guard looked up in surprise, then got up and chased after the dog, shouting and cursing with every step. Attracted by the dog whistle, the dog ran all the way to the fence and started clawing at it in an attempt to climb over it. While the dog was doing that, Daring took a piece of meat from Phillip and dropped it over the fence, right into the dog's waiting mouth. The dog quickly gobbled it up just as its master ran up.

"Well-trained guard animal, my ass," the unicorn snarled, giving the dog a kick. The dog whined and cowered away from the unicorn, flattening its ears against it's head. "Now, come on." The unicorn grabbed the dog's collar in his magic and started pulling him back towards the house.

But after a few feet, the dog began acting strangely. It staggered, groaning, then flopped over onto its side, snoring loudly. "Hey! Get up, you lazy mutt!" the unicorn shouted, shaking the dog in an attempt to rouse it. He didn't know it, of course, but the meat that Daring had fed him had been laced with sleeping pills. The dog could sleep right through an earthquake.

While the guard was distracted, Daring boosted Phillip up over the fence, then flew up after him. Both of them silently snuck up behind the guard. Phillip pounced, grabbing the guard around his neck in a sleeperhold. The well-trained guard reacted instantly, reaching up to grab him and preparing to elbow him in the chest, but Daring grabbed his forelegs, preventing any possible counterattack. The guard struggled futilely for a few seconds, then went limp in Phillip's arms.

"I could've taken him myself, you know," Phillip whispered, dragging the guard behind a fountain.

"When you were ten years younger, maybe," Daring teasingly replied with a smirk, carrying the dog behind the fountain as well. The two of them proceeded quickly up the backyard towards the porch. Phillip crouched at the door, picking the lock in moments. He slowly opened it a crack and peeked through. Seeing no one, he opened it all the way, let Daring through, and locked it behind them.

Daring checked the hallway ahead, and seeing that it was clear, proceeded down it. Finding the door to the stairs, she opened them and proceeded down the stairs into the basement, Phillip silently following her. They reached the bottom and proceeded through another door. The basement was much different than the main floor. The walls here were white-washed stone, harshly lit by flickering lights.

"You get the key, I'll secure the safe," Daring whispered, turning to her right.

"Be careful," Phillip said, the phrase bursting out of his mouth without any thought on his part.

Normally, Daring would have given him a sarcastic, cocky reply about how she was always careful, or remarking about how he should be the one being careful. Instead, she said softly, "You, too."

The two split up, heading opposite directions. Phillip knew the path he was taking towards the ventilation shaft, and he allowed his mind to wander. Daring's words echoed in his mind: "You, too." But it was the way she said it...like she—

Hoofsteps. Phillip pressed himself against a corner wall and slowly peeked around. Another bodyguard was in the room before him, glancing over several stacks of crates. Phillip waited until he moved on. He and Daring had both agreed that it was best to minimize their hoofprints, especially considering that the interior guards were required to check in every few minutes.

"Guard 5, west basement. All clear here," the guard said into his walkie-talkie, and walked away. Phillip waited until he was completely gone before emerging from his hiding place. Turning, he saw his target, the ventilation shaft cover, up ahead. Taking out his pocketknife, he used the screwdriver to unscrew the cover, then reached inside and pulled out the key that Flash had dropped earlier. Replacing the vent cover, he checked once more to make sure that nopony was coming, then started making his way towards the safe, moving from hiding place to hiding place, always pausing to make sure that there weren't guards coming.

A feeling of deja vu passed through Phillip. This was all familiar; he was back on an adventure with Daring Do. And he felt good: better than he had felt in a long time.

Stay focused on the mission, he told himself sternly. Get to the safe, get the Mare Lisa, and get out of here. He silently proceeded forward, his heart beating a rapid tattoo in his chest the whole time.

Meanwhile, Twilight and Silvertongue were still discussing ceramics. "Your Highness, are you sure you will not consider selling? I'm telling you, there are few other art dealers who would be willing to give you a fair price for this."

"Well..." Twilight said, knowing that the sooner they got out of the house, the better. "I guess it's not doing much good collecting dust on my shelf."

"Excellent!" Silvertongue said. "Let me just write a check..." His voice suddenly trailed off, his eyes widening. He looked into the pocket of his robe.

"My key!" he gasped out, then turned to Twilight, his eyes blazing. "Where is it?!" Before Flash or Twilight could react, he whipped a double-barreled silver-plated pistol out of the desk drawer, aiming it directly between Twilight's eyes.

"Wha...what key?" Twilight sputtered, raising her hooves in surrender. "I don't know what you're—"

"Guard!" Silvertongue shouted, summoning the bodyguard outside into the room. "Tell the others to check the safe! Now!" The guard quickly spoke into his walkie-talkie, drawing his own snub-nosed revolver on Flash.

"You're with Daring Do, aren't you?" Silvertongue snarled. "It doesn't matter. None of you are leaving here alive."

Finally, Phillip reached the other side of the basement. Peeking around a corner, he saw that a part of the wall in the corridor ahead had been removed, the false paneling laid on the floor. The removed wall revealed a thick metal wall, with a keyhole set in the center.

"Daring?" he whispered, looking around but seeing nothing. Then he looked up. Daring was pressed up against the ceiling, hidden behind a lamp. She descended silently and landed in front of him. "Thought you were a guard," she said with a grin. "Do you have the key?"

"Yeah," he said, taking the key out of his pocket and giving it to her. She inserted the key into the keyhole and turned it. The metal door glowed with a purple aura, then the entire wall opened up slowly, revealing a cavernous vault, hidden inside the corridor wall. The vault was filled with several treasures: huge paintings, piles of gold coins and silver bars, and locked crates of unknown equipment. In the very center of the vault was a cylindrical tube. Daring took it, unscrewed the end, and pulled out a rolled up canvas. She unrolled it to reveal the true Mare Lisa.

"That's it! Let's get out of here!" she said, quickly rolling the painting back up and placing it back in the tube, which she swung up onto her back. The two of them turned towards the safe door and immediately stopped.

Four bodyguards stood between them and the door. They leered at the two adventurers, like a pack of timberwolves who had just cornered a foal.

"We've got Daring and one of her friends in here," the pegasus with the red eye cutie mark said into his walkie-talkie, sneering at them. "They're not leaving in one piece."

Author's Notes:

Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.

Tapped this out in a couple days, hope you all enjoy!

BTW: I just want to clarify something here. Phillip is NOT a self-insert. I created him to stand on his own as a character; he and I are very dissimilar. So none of this is just to fulfill my own wishes--only to write a story.

Part 5: The Great Escape

"Mr. Silvertongue, please," Twilight said, staring wide-eyed at the gun in her face. "I didn't take your key and I—"

"Sir!" the bodyguard said, looking up from his walkie-talkie. "They've got Daring and one of her friends in the vault."

"Tell them to bring them to me alive, but beaten," Silvertongue said, then turned his attention back to Twilight. "Do you really expect me to believe that it's a coincidence that Daring Do is in my mansion at the same time as you?"

Twilight and Flash both looked at each other. "Listen," Flash said, trying to keep his voice calm for everypony's sake. "Do you really think that you can get away with holding a Princess of Equestria hostage? This cannot go well for you."

"Well, you see," Silvertongue said venomously. "Ponies who cross me have a way of...disappearing. Even Princesses. And my lawyers always make sure that I had nothing to do with it."

Down in the vault, Daring and Phillip were fighting for their lives. Each of them had taken on two of their attackers and were doing their best to defend themselves against the vicious onslaught.

Knocking down one bodyguard with a leg sweep, Phillip turned to the other, a burly brown earth pony. Ducking beneath a fast hook at his head, he countered with an elbow strike to the ribs, and then an upward elbow strike to the jaw to stun him and a kick to the groin to double him over. Momentarily safe, he glanced over at Daring, who was currently grappling with the pegasus with the red eye cutie mark. Behind her, another pegasus had just grabbed a heavy golden statuette and was raising it over his head, preparing to bring it down on Daring's skull.

Seeing her in imminent danger, Phillip's heart leapt to his throat. Instantly, instinctively, he pulled his boomerang out of his back pocket and tossed it out, striking the armed guard in the back of the head and causing him to drop the statuette on his head, knocking himself out.

Suddenly, Phillip was bowled over from behind. His attacker seized him in a full nelson, passing his forelegs underneath his forelegs and pressing down on the back of his neck, lifting him up so he was off balance. The burly earth pony proceeded to pummel him like a punching bag. With his forelegs trapped and struggling to maintain his balance, Phillip was helpless to defend himself against the constant assault; all he could do was try to absorb the punches as well as he could.

"Daring, help!" he shouted, before a blow to the nose struck him. He was momentarily blinded, the punch making his eyes water and his head ring with pain, leaving him limp.

At his cry, Daring immediately disengaged from her opponent and flew over to the burly earth pony who was beating him. With an enraged cry, she flew up into the air and struck him with both her hind legs, sending him flying back into the wall and knocking him out. A second later, she struck the pony holding Phillip in the face, causing him to flinch and loosen his hold. Knowing he might not get another chance, Phillip grounded himself, then simultaneously flung his head back and kicked the guard in the knee. The other pony howled in pain as his nose and knee both broke, sending him to one knee. Phillip twisted and struck a knockout blow with his baton before collapsing to his knees from pain and exhaustion. He knelt on the floor, panting, his chest burning with every breath and his head pounding in time with his heartbeat.

A moment later, Daring was bending over him, her eyes wide with fearful concern. "Are you okay?" she said, almost shouting. "Come on, get up!" She reached out a hoof that he grabbed, allowing her to help him stand.

"The Mare Lisa," he gasped out thickly, blood flowing from his nostrils. Daring retrieved the cylindrical case, handing Phillip his trilby and boomerang as well.

"Easy," she said. "Lean on me, you're okay."

"Get Flash and Twilight...get out of here," he said, panting as she allowed him to rest against her. The two of them hustled out of the vault, leaving four unconscious bodies behind.

"Wait," Flash said. "Listen. You can do whatever you want with me. Just let the Princess go."

Silvertongue turned to him, cruel amusement written on his face. "How sickeningly noble of you—"

As soon as the gun was turned away, Twilight acted. Grabbing the case behind Silvertongue with her magic, she pulled it forward hard. The case crashed down hard on his head, knocking him out instantly.

At the same moment, Flash sprang at the bodyguard, darting to one side to avoid his wild shot before closing the distance. He grabbed the gun and twisted hard, pulling it out of the bodyguard's hoof. His enemy, well-trained and fit, countered quickly, kicking him in the leg and knocking him back. Snarling, the thug snapped his right foreleg out: with a distinctive clic-click, a butterfly knife that had been hidden in his sleeve appeared in his hoof. Flash faced off against the earth pony for a moment, then attacked. The bodyguard blocked his kick, deflected his follow-up punches and countered, striking him in the chest, then slashing twice at his neck. Flash dodged back, but was a split second too slow. The knife caught him across his cheek. Pain flashed across Flash's face and he cried out, giving his attacker time to kick him in the stomach and knock him back. Flash rolled when he hit the ground and got back to his hooves, blood oozing out of his wound. Smirking, the bodyguard settled into stance and waited for Flash to attack again.

Flash attacked again, faking a high jab, then grabbing his opponent's foreleg when he tried to counterattack. Pulling the other pony towards him, he struck down on his elbow, knocking the knife from his grasp. The bodyguard countered by barreling into him, tackling him around the hips and pushing him up against the wall, where he promptly began to pummel his sides with his hooves.

"Get off him!" Twilight shouted, flying towards the battling ponies. When she got close, the bodyguard bucked backwards, striking Twilight in the face and sending her flying backwards into the wall. Seeing Twilight get hurt sent a wave of fury through Flash, and he redoubled his efforts to free himself. Slamming his hooves down on the bodyguard's back, he kneed him hard in the chest, then twisted, slamming his attacker's head into the wall. With a grunt, the other pony let go, staggering back. Flash grabbed him, held him up, and struck with a devastating one-two-three combo to the jaw, knocking him out.

"Twilight, are you okay?" he asked, hurrying over and helping Twilight up.

"I'm fine," she said, shaking her head to clear it. "What about Phil and Daring?"

"We're right here, Twilight," Phillip's voice came from outside. Looking out the study door, Twilight and Flash saw their friends heading towards them, both of them bloodied from their fight.

"Let's get out of here!" Daring said, hurrying out the back door. Grabbing Phillip underneath his forelegs, Daring lifted off, Twilight and Flash following. The ponies flew away into the night, leaving the Silvertongue mansion behind in moments.

Back at the hotel room, the group patched themselves up. Twilight and Flash sat facing each other on one of the beds as Twilight studied the bleeding knife injury.

"This might sting a little," Twilight said, casting her magic over the wound.

"Ow," Flash winced.

"Sorry," Twilight said, retreating for a moment before reapplying the healing spell. The wound began to close, the healing process accelerated by Twilight's magic. "That might leave a scar."

"Cool. My first battle scar," Flash said with a wry smile, trying to make light of the situation.

Twilight sighed, blinking rapidly. "I'm so sorry. I should have listened to you—"

"Maybe you should've," Flash said gently. "But..." He paused to collect his thoughts. "You stuck with your friends and with what you believed was right. And I admire you for that."

"But you still got hurt," Twilight said, rubbing her watering eyes with her foreleg.

"Doesn't matter," Flash said, gently taking her hoof in both of his own. "As long as you're safe."

Twilight smiled. "Always looking out for me," she said softly.

"It's my job," Flash said, smiling back. Twilight giggled softly, the two of them sitting silently next to each other for a moment longer before becoming aware of their intertwined hooves and quickly retreating.

"Let's get that cleaned up," Twilight said, levitating over some tissues.

On the other side of the room, Daring had just finished setting a cast over Phillip's broken nose and patching up the cuts on his face. "There," she said softly, setting the last sticking plaster in place. "How you feeling?"

Phillip's head still hurt, his two broken ribs flared with pain when talked, and he felt like an elephant had stepped on the back of his neck. "Been worse," he said nasally, and he wasn't lying.

"You shouldn't have put yourself in danger for me," Daring said flatly.

"Daring, if we hadn't come along and helped, you'd have gone in there on your own, and put yourself in way over your head, as usual," Phillip replied, just as flatly.

Daring sighed. "You're right," she said. "Your help did make it a lot easier...but you shouldn't be getting yourself hurt for me."

"You're worth it," Phillip said, the words tumbling from his lips before he could stop them. He blinked in surprise at his own speech. That was the second time tonight he had spoken to her without thinking, only saying what he was feeling.

A small half-smile crossed Daring's face and she turned away. For a moment, Phillip thought he saw her cheeks glow. "Oh, shut up," she muttered. A strange tingle passed through Phillip's body and a small, embarrassed smile not unlike her's crossed his face for a moment, and he felt his cheeks grow warm.

Must have been hit harder than I thought, he thought, blinking himself back to seriousness.

The moment passed, and Daring, now returned to her normal serious demeanor, unscrewed the end of the cylindrical casing. Carefully, she eased the painting out of the case, then slowly unrolled it. The real Mare Lisa gazed up at them, her enigmatic smile seeming to glow in the low light of the hotel room. Daring flipped the painting over so that the blank back of the canvas was facing up.

"I deciphered a code in da Whinny's journals about how to reveal the secret message," Daring said, retrieving a small jar of an off-white paste from the writing desk. Dipping a paintbrush into the paste, she carefully dabbed it onto the canvas. Almost instantly, ink began to appear, revealing a series of numbers written in swirling cursive.

Twilight gasped in astonishment. "The rumors were true," she said softly. "I don't believe it."

Daring continued to apply the paste to the canvas, revealing the entire message. As well as more numbers, it revealed what looked like a crude map. At the very left was what looked like a tree with sharp-angled branches and six diamonds surrounding it. A line was cast from the tree for some distance before turning at an angle and leading in another direction. The line changed direction several times before stopping at a large X.

"What is that?" Flash asked, pointing at the drawing of the tree.

"That's the Tree of Harmony!" Twilight exclaimed, recognizing the shape and the six diamonds. "It has to be. It's still in the Everfree Forest."

"Then this line must be directions leading to wherever da Whinny hid that treasure," Flash said.

"Exactly!" Twilight said with an excited smile.

Daring and Phillip were already working on the code. "'Whoever has these six, plus focus, bravery, endurance, and discovers the tenth, shall be worthy to know ultimate power,'" Daring translated.

The four pondered the message for a while. "Well, 'these six' must refer to the Elements of Harmony," Twilight said.

"So it's lucky that we know them," Phillip said with a small smile.

"As well as focus, bravery and endurance," Flash said. "Maybe we have to pass some kind of trial."

"Most likely," Daring said, a faint tone of exasperation in her voice.

"But what about this 'tenth?'" Twilight asked, underlining the section with her hoof.

Daring frowned. "I'm not sure. A tenth element?"

"Maybe we'll figure it out when we get there," Flash said. He noticed Twilight stifling a yawn. "Look, it's really late. Why don't we all sleep on it? Tomorrow, we can get to Ponyville, gather the others, and start on our way."

"That's a good idea," Twilight said, blinking in an attempt to keep herself awake. "I'll...get a room for the night."

"You'll want to find someplace else," Daring said. "Silvertongue will have his goons looking for us, so it's best if we split up for a while."

"The good news is, Silvertongue probably won't go public with this," Phillip said. "He doesn't like hanging his dirty laundry out in public; leads to too many questions."

"Well, that's a relief," Flash said. "Well, I guess we'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah," Daring said, putting the Mare Lisa away and tucking it behind a ceiling tile. "Hey, listen...you be careful out there."

"You, too," Twilight said as she and Flash left. Phillip started to follow them, but hesitated at the door for a moment. He felt as though there were something inside his throat, scratching at the inner walls of his windpipe. He cleared his throat, but the feeling remained. He turned back into the room and looked at Daring, trying to find something to say, something to tell her, but his mouth refused to work. Daring, sensing his gaze, looked at him with a mixture of expectation and confusion, tilting her head a little to the side. Her silvery gray mane glistened in the starlight leaking in through the window.

Phillip swallowed, looked down, but the words failed to come to his mind. An awkward silence passed between them, then he shamefully turned on his heels and left, closing the door behind him. He paused in the hallway outside, the look on Daring's face remaining at the front of his mind like an afterimage.

Idiot, he cursed himself and walked away. Somehow, he knew that neither he nor Daring would get much sleep that night. They both had too much on their minds.

Author's Notes:

Yeah. I can write action, but can't write emotion.

So, I hope that you're enjoying the story so far. Looks like we're going to have some help in the upcoming chapters!

Part 6: Disembarking

The next morning was cold and gray in Trottingham, hazy light shining through a thick cloud cover. A clocktower in the town square chimed out six in the morning. As the final tones died away, Flash Sentry and Twilight walked quickly through the town square, moving through the early-morning shoppers and the merchants selling their wares.

"Do we really have to make all these turns and double back so often?" Twilight growled to Flash grumpily.

"I'm trying to make sure that we're not followed," Flash replied back, a bit more testily than he should have. He'd spent much of the night hovering over a map of Trottingham, plotting out a path to the train station that would allow him to get to his destination quickly, moving through public places, while giving him enough time to shake off any pursuers. The plan involved a lot of U-turns and going around blocks, but he had to be absolutely certain that Twilight was safe.

Even if she didn't appreciate skipping breakfast and having to make extra legwork just to get to the station right on time to get onto the train back to Ponyville.

Twilight's stomach grumbled, prompting her to start grumbling herself. "We could've had breakfast at the hotel, you know. And maybe if you'd planned this out, we would have had time for that and still arrived at the train plenty early. But no, you said we had to leave as late as possible..."

Flash, who was checking his reflection in the shop windows out of the corner of his eye for any suspicious ponies, decided it was best to tune her out. Better be paranoid and be dealing with a cranky princess than lax and dealing with a dead one.

Finally, they reached the train station, where Flash bought a ticket to Ponyville and guided Twilight to a carriage, which he triple-checked before letting Twilight into a small, private room and moving to the window. Twilight sat down on the cushiony sofa with a sigh.

"Nopony was following us," Flash said, scanning the window.

"Are you happy now?" Twilight grumbled back.

"I'm happy you're alive," Flash shot back, his frustration getting the better of him. Twilight looked away in annoyance. Flash continued to watch out the window, scanning the ponies milling on the platform for any suspicious signs. He noticed a mare wearing a long dark green rain jacket with the hood up and sunglasses entering another carriage. He also saw a pony sitting on a bench reading a newspaper, a charcoal gray trilby visible above the paper.

Finally, Twilight sighed. "I'm sorry, Flash," she said softly. "I know you're trying to look out for me."

"So, it'd be best that you listen to me once in a while," Flash replied. Twilight made a little noise that sounded like a wince, and Flash cringed internally. "I'm sorry, Your Highness," he said. "That was out of line. I..."

"It's all right," Twilight said. "We're both just a little stressed and cranky." Her stomach growled again. "Can we go get some breakfast? Please?" She gave him a little pouty face, flattening her ears against her head and sticking her lower lip out. Flash had to laugh. "All right, Your Highness. The cafe car is this way."

As they exited, Flash glanced out the window again. The pony in the gray trilby was gone.

His hat pulled down over his eyes, Phillip walked down the aisle of another carriage car, balancing a tray carrying two cups of coffee. He reached the door he was looking for. Glancing behind him one last time, he opened the door and slipped inside. The mare with the rain jacket was inside; she had taken off the hood and sunglasses, revealing her grayscale hair and rosy pink eyes that were dull with sleep. She looked up as he entered, closing the door behind him and setting the tray down on the table between them.

"Two scoops of sugar and a dash of creamer," he said, handing her one cup.

The mare smiled. "You remembered," Daring Do said, accepting the cup and taking a grateful sip. The caffeine went a long way to dispelling the sleep in her eyes, which brightened like the dawn. Phillip took his own cup and sipped from it, sitting in the seat opposite her.

"Still black, three sugars?" Daring asked.

Phillip smiled. "You remembered." His ribs suddenly flared with pain, and he winced softly. Daring noticed this and sighed softly.

"How come you're always the one getting beaten up?" she asked.

With a mischievous smirk, Phillip replied, "Because I'm the one saving your stupid arse."

"Hey!" Daring said, glaring at him. "If it hadn't been for me, you'd have been piranha bait in Llamazon!"

"If it hadn't been for me, that sniper in Griffonstone would've turned your swollen head into pink mist," Phillip replied.

"If it hadn't been for me, that Cowhili tribe would've sacrificed you to their volcano god," Daring shot back.

"If it hadn't been for—" Phillip started to say, then stopped. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, the absurdity of their argument slowly dawning on them both. Daring snorted, and then both of them started laughing, shoulders shaking as they leaned back in their seats, smiles stretching across their faces. It had been a long time since either of them had laughed like that, and they both enjoyed every second of it.

Daring sighed as the laughter died away. "Ah, the good old days," she said. "What happened to them?"

Instantly, all trace of laughter was erased from Phillip's face. He lowered his gaze towards his cup of coffee, then spoke softly. "You left."

The mood changed as quickly as a switch being flipped. Both ponies suddenly felt as though the air in the carriage had frozen, the elephant that had been in the room with them since they met at Skinny's bar finally coming into play. Both of their minds went back...

Rain poured down on the window of their shared flat in Chicoltgo. Phillip sat in one of the couches in the living room, idly playing a faint, whispering tune on his saxophone. Daring sat in another chair, reading a novel, but barely comprehending the words. She kept glancing up at her partner, who had his eyes shut as he gently caressed his brass instrument.

Finally, she tossed the book aside with a sigh. "This isn't working, is it?" she said.

Phillip stopped playing and looked up. "What isn't?" he asked.

"This," Daring said. "You and I...us."

Phillip frowned, looking confused. "We travel around Equestria, find ancient treasures, solve crimes, catch criminals...what's not working?"

Daring let out a frustrated sigh and got up to leave. "Never mind," she said, heading for the stairs to her bedroom.

"Wait," Phillip called after her. "What is it? I don't understand."

"Of course you don't," Daring replied, heading up to her room, leaving Phillip sitting on the couch, confused and more than a little hurt.

"I came down the next morning and found that you were gone," Phillip said, his face and voice expressionless. "No note, nothing."

The accusation was spoken quietly, but it didn't make Daring hurt any less. She'd left early that morning because she didn't want to have to see him, didn't want to have to explain herself in a talk that she had been certain would turn into a sticky, emotional argument. She simply hadn't wanted their relationship to end with both of them hating each other's guts.

"Was it me?" Phillip asked, a note of hurt entering his quiet voice. "Did I do something? I asked myself that for months after, if there was something that I should have said or done that would make you—make you..."

"Yes," Daring blurted. "I mean, no! I mean..." She let out a half frustrated growl, half annoyed sigh, holding her forehead in her hoof. Phillip simply continued to look at her coolly, his head tilted a little to the side. A part of her wanted him to get angry, to yell at her, to berate her for being so stupid and emotional. It would have felt better than to have him just stare at her like that.

"You shouldn't have to apologize for being who you are." Instantly, Daring wished she had said almost anything else. The phrase was deep, meaningful, and just about the dumbest thing that had ever come out of her mouth.

The two sat in silence for a while longer, avoiding each other's gaze. Eventually, Phillip took a breath. "Why don't we just admit it?" he said, continuing to watch the scenery speeding past out the window. "We were both stupid and we both hurt each other. We didn't mean to, but that's what happened." He paused, collecting his thoughts, then both ponies simultaneously turned to look at each other.

"But for what little it's worth now...I'm sorry."

Daring let out a long, slow breath. "I missed you," she said softly.

"I missed you, too," Phillip said. He sat up straight, extending his hoof. Daring sat up, and took his hoof, shaking it. Instantly, the air between them cleared and warmed, the past injuries forgotten. The two of them returned to their coffee, talking quietly about idle things, past adventures and what they had been up to since they had parted ways. Occasionally, they would lapse into silence, just watching the world outside and enjoying each other's presence.

"So the Elements of Harmony," Daring asked as they neared Ponyville. "I didn't really get a chance to know them that last time. What are they like?"

Phillip let out a small chuckle. "Well, they're...a little odd."

"WHAT?!" Rainbow shouted, flying right into Phillip's face. "You knew Daring Do and you never told me?!"

"You never asked," Phillip dryly replied.

"Anyway, that doesn't matter," Twilight said, laying out a map on the table in the throne room of the Castle of Friendship. "What matters is this: there's a hidden treasure somewhere in the Everfree Forest. And it needs the Elements of Harmony to be opened."

"Except that we gave up the Elements to the Tree of Harmony," Rarity pointed out.

Meanwhile, Daring had just realized that Pinkie was looking at her, her eyes narrowed and her chin stuck out in contemplation. "What is it?" Daring asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Has anypony ever told you that you look just like Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie said with a friendly smile. "Well, except that your colors are different and you've got those wrinkles on your forehead and around your eyes."

Daring had no idea how to react, so she just continued to look at Pinkie with her eyebrow raised. At that moment, Pinkie let out a loud hiccup that caused her entire body to spasm. "I got the hiccups!" she exclaimed.

"I know a good cure for hiccups," Applejack said. "Just drink water from a glass upside-down."

"Oh, I can do that!" Pinkie zipped off to the kitchen and returned a moment later with a glass of water with a straw. Bizarrely, she turned the glass upside-down and started drinking through the straw; none of the water spilled out of the glass. On seeing this, Daring's jaw dropped and she stared for several seconds before slowly turning to Phillip and pointing at her. "It's best if you not think about it," he whispered.

"I know that, Rarity," Twilight was saying. "But remember, we are the representations of the Elements of Harmony. The clue said that whoever possesses the Elements is able to access the treasure."

"As well as focus, bravery, endurance and one more," Daring said, repeating the clue from the Mare Lisa.

"One more what?" Fluttershy asked.

"We're not sure," Twilight said. "But I'm guessing that there are some kind of tests that we have to pass."

"Will they be dangerous?" Rainbow asked, turning to Daring.

"With my luck, yes," Daring replied.

"I'm in!" Rainbow cheered.

"Me too," Applejack said.

"Sounds like fun!" Pinkie said.

"I shall come as well," Rarity said.

"Um, if all of you are coming, I guess I will too," Fluttershy said.

"Where you go, I go," Flash said to Twilight.

Daring looked at Phillip, who just nodded back. "Right. We'll meet up at the edge of the forest in an hour. Twilight will lead us to the Tree of Harmony, and then I take over."

Author's Notes:

I like to pretend that I have some idea what I'm doing. I admit, I'm not very good at writing emotional dialogue. Any pointers and suggestions that you could give me would be appreciated.

Part 7: Into the Woods

"Everypony ready?" Daring asked an hour later at the edge of the Everfree Forest, looking around at the assembled group, who were all laden with their saddlebags. "All right. Lead on, Twilight."

Twilight led the group into the Everfree Forest, following the same path she had once followed long before, when she had first started out as a Princess. Flash was right next to her, eyes and ears alert for any possible threats, with Daring behind. Phillip brought up the rear of the group, occasionally glancing behind them. As they descended into the woods, the foliage around them became thicker and thicker, accompanied by strange noises from the hidden animals.

And strange noises from one of the ponies. "Any reason you're giggling so much, Rainbow?" Daring said dryly.

"I'm on an adventure with Daring Do, again!" Rainbow said with an excited squee.

"And she'd really appreciate it if you'd stop giggling and pay attention," Daring said shortly. Rainbow cleared her throat, returning herself to seriousness. Daring growled to herself. "I should've just done this alone."

"If you'd done this alone, you might never have gotten this far," Flash said back shortly.

"You didn't do that much, rookie," Daring shot back.

Flash whirled around. "This says differently!" he said, gesturing to the scar on his cheek.

Daring was about to reply that one scar that he'd gotten in a fight with one pony wasn't that impressive when Fluttershy stepped between them. "All right, that's enough fighting, you two! You all have done very well so far. Right now, we all need to work together. And that means we don't argue over silly little things like this. Now, both of you apologize."

Daring started to argue, but a cold look from Fluttershy stopped her. With a sigh, she turned to Flash and muttered, "Sorry."

"Me too," Flash said. With a smile, Fluttershy returned to her position in the midst of the group. Daring glanced back at her. These ponies are weird, she thought to herself. Neither Flash nor Daring spoke again for the rest of the trip.

Soon after, the group reached the edge of a canyon. Twilight led them down a flight of stone steps and into a cave filled with light. "There it is," she said gesturing forward.

Flash felt his jaw drop in astonishment at the sight. The Tree of Harmony glowed with a vibrant white light that illuminated the entire cave. Ethereal sparkles and small rainbows surrounded the tree, flickering in the edge of his vision. The rainbow of colored jewels and the large star in the center winked at the group, as if smiling upon their progress.

"Crikey," Phillip whispered from the back. Even the rarely impressed Daring Do was stunned into silence at the radiant beauty of the sight.

"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" Rarity said.

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Flash said, although his eyes were on Twilight, who was adorned by the light from the tree.

"It's pretty nice," Daring said, unrolling a copy of the map she had made. Pulling out a compass, she oriented the map and pointed southeast. "This way." She led the group forward, down the canyon path.

"So what happens when we find the entrance?" Applejack asked, her voice echoing off the canyon walls.

"We open the door, of course!" Pinkie said, cheerfully bouncing along.

"What do you think's inside?" Rarity asked Twilight.

"The legends said that da Whinny hid a secret to great power in the cave," Twilight said. "Ponies have speculated it could be a spell, a magical artifact he found...or maybe nothing."

"Whatever it is, it's this way," Daring said, pointing up a cliff face. The pegasi helped the non-winged ponies up and Daring set on their way again, guiding them through patches of wood, over hills and across streams. Throughout, they were unmolested by any of the Everfree's creatures, although they could faintly hear them in the distance.

That made Phillip very suspicious. This forest is filled with animals, he thought, glancing around the foliage cover and seeing nothing. A number of which are less than friendly. What's keeping them away?

"We're here," Daring said, stopping. The group looked in front of them and saw a small, circular clearing of trees.

"There's nothing there!" Rainbow said, frustrated by having traveled so long for apparently nothing.

"Exactly, and that's what's suspicious," Daring said.

"Huh?" Rainbow said. "I don't see anything suspicious."

"You see, but you don't observe," Phillip said from the back of the group. "Twilight and Flash?"

Twilight and Flash both looked around the clearing. "The trees are in a perfect circle," Twilight said. "That's definitely not natural."

"Maybe there's a super-secret hidden entrance in here!" Pinkie said excitedly, bouncing into the clearing. "Let's have a look—" All of a sudden, she dropped out of sight as fast as a blink. "I found it!" her voice called out from wherever she was.

Stepping forward, Daring approached the place where they had last seen Pinkie. Carefully, she put her hoof forward onto the ground before her. To her surprise, her hoof went right through the ground. "Come on!" she called to the others, stepping forward and descending through the mirage. The others followed, walking right through the illusionary patch of grass and down a set of stone stairs into an underground tunnel.

"An illusion spell!" Twilight said, looking up at the entrance in surprise. "It's amazing that it still works after hundreds of years! da Whinny was truly a master of magic!"

"Twilight, look," Rainbow said, pointing forward. The group had stopped before a large stone door. Inlaid into the door were ten gems. Nine, which were colored red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, pink, brown and turquoise, were arranged in a circle around the central gem, which was white. Carved into the top of the door were words.

"Show That You Are Worthy," Rarity read out loud.

"I guess this must be part of the trials," Flash said.

"But what do we have to do?" Rainbow asked. "Is there some kind of dangerous trap or test or..."

While everypony had been talking, Daring had strode forward and gently touched the door. At her touch, the gems in the door began to glow, slowly becoming brighter and brighter, forming a kaleidoscopic wheel of colors that the ponies had trouble looking at, although they found that they could not look away, mesmerized by the intense beauty of the sight. The lights began to spin, faster and faster, and the ponies watching felt as though they were floating, then falling into the light.

"What's happening?" Fluttershy shouted, but her words were slurred in her own ears. The lights became brighter and brighter until it was impossible to look at. All the adventurers knew was that they were falling, faster and faster, into the darkness...

Author's Notes:

How's that for a cliffhanger?

Part 8: The Trials

Applejack opened her eyes. To her astonishment, she was lying on the ground of a green pasture, with blue sky above her. She looked around and saw that she was alone. Her friends were nowhere in sight.

"What the hay?" she said to herself, getting to her hooves and adjusting her hat. "Where is everypony?" Her only answer was the wind blowing through the tall grass around her. She frowned. "Well, I'm not gonna find out just standing around here." Squinting around in the sunlight, she saw what looked like a town in the distance. Deciding to start there, she headed in that direction.

As Applejack walked, she saw a large apple tree ahead of her, standing alone in the clearing, laden with apples that glistened bright red in the sunlight. They looked delicious, but Applejack wasn't hungry. However, as she rounded the tree, she saw a small colt sitting at the base of the tree, looking up at the apples with a miserable expression of hunger.

"Hey there, little guy," Applejack said in a friendly tone. The colt looked up at her in surprise, but did not back away. "You hungry?" The colt nodded. With a smile, Applejack turned her back to the tree and expertly bucked it in the right place, with the right effort. A single apple fell off the tree and into her waiting hoof. She gave it to the waiting colt. "There ya go!" The colt snatched the apple away, looking around as he did so, as if making sure that no one was watching.

Applejack was momentarily confused, but brushed it off. "Say, you haven't seen any of my friends around here, have you?" she asked. The young colt shook his head. "Well, are there any ponies in that town over there who might be able to help?" The colt nodded, sitting down with his apple. "Okay. Have a nice day!" Applejack tipped her stetson to the colt, who was turning the apple over in his hooves, and turned and walked away.

Some time later, Applejack reached the town, which was a small collection of houses. She entered the town square, which was populated by a small collection of ponies of varying sizes and shapes. Every single one of them stopped what they were doing and stared at Applejack as they approached.

"Howdy, y'all!" Applejack said, smiling around at everypony. "My name's Applejack. I'm looking for my friends. If any of y'all—"

"SEIZE HER!" somepony yelled. The next moment, every pony in the square had pounced on Applejack and grabbed her.

"Wha—what? What is this?!" Applejack protested, struggling uselessly as she was dragged to a platform on the side of the square.

"You picked an apple from the forbidden tree!" shouted one pony, a large unicorn with red fur and dark green eyes with the cutie mark of a skewed set of scales. Some of the crowd parted, revealing the colt she had met earlier, eyes shining with guilt...still holding the apple in his hooves. "The penalty for this crime is death!" the unicorn continued.

Applejack watched in horror as a noose was thrown over a wooden structure. It swung in the air, seemingly beckoning her. "You're gonna hang me for picking an apple for a hungry colt?" she shouted, both in anger and growing panic as she was dragged towards her doom. "That ain't fair!"

The unicorn with the skewed scales looked at her coldly. "You now have a choice," he said softly, his voice carrying grave authority. "You can either deny that you picked the apple, and we'll let you go. But if you do not, we will kill you. It is the law of our land." He glared down at Applejack. "Make your choice."

Sweat trickling down her brow, Applejack looked over at the noose, just waiting for her. Her heart pounded in her chest as she contemplated her death.

Just lie, a voice inside her said. Just deny it. It's not worth dying over.

But deep down, Applejack knew that she couldn't. That lying couldn't be justified, even here. So she closed her eyes, took a breath, and faced the unicorn.

"I did it," she said. "I picked an apple from the tree. I only did it because that colt over there was hungry. I didn't know it wasn't allowed; I'm sorry." Having made her spiel, she closed her eyes and prepared for the end.

"Trial passed," the unicorn said softly.

"What?" Applejack said, opening her eyes to find that everything around her—the ponies, the town, the colt, the apple, the gallows—was all glowing, brighter and brighter until she had to close her eyes, and she felt herself being suddenly pulled upwards...

Fluttershy looked around her in fear. She was sitting in the middle of a wide road. There were a few houses on either side of her, but the lights were all out and nopony was out. The night sky stretched above her, the distant stars offering her no sympathy and little light.

She swallowed. "Okay. Don't panic, Fluttershy," she said softly to herself. "Your friends are around here somewhere. You just have to find them." Deciding that she didn't want to wake anypony up—what if they were unfriendly?—she headed down the road, looking around for any sign of anypony. She wandered down the dark, silent street, but nopony was around. Eventually, she reached what appeared to be some sort of town square, a circular opening with a fountain in the center and a few benches.

A faint sound reached Fluttershy's ears. The sound of crying. Following the sound over to one of the benches, Fluttershy looked beneath it and gasped at what she saw.

Cowering beneath the bench was a small filly, barely flesh and bones. She had no hair or tail, and her pale off-white fur barely clung to her frame, revealing her pockmarked body. No cutie mark was on her flank. She shivered beneath the bench, her bony forelegs over it's tiny bald head.

"Hello," Fluttershy said softly. The little pony looked up, her pale blue eyes wide with fear. Fluttershy smiled kindly. "It's all right. I'm a friend." She extended a hoof towards the little pony, who flinched away slightly. Fluttershy held still, just like the injured pony was a scared animal.

"Why help me?" the young pony said in a quivering, sick voice. "I'm a freak."

"No, you're not," Fluttershy said.

"Look at me," the pony said, gesturing at her body. "I'm hideous. I've got some kind of disease: nopony wants to go near me because of it. They all call me a freak and throw things at me."

"That's awful!" Fluttershy said. "Don't they know it's not your fault that you look like this? Why didn't anypony help you?"

"Cause they're all scared that if they try to help me, they'll get sick too," the pony sobbed. "You should go away. If you stay near me, you'll get sick, too."

"But I want to help you," Fluttershy said. "It's not your fault that you're sick or that you look like that. You shouldn't have to live like this." She extended her hoof again. "Come on. Let me help you."

The pony looked at her extended hoof with apprehension, then at her. "You don't think I'm a freak?" she whispered softly.

Fluttershy shook her head. "No. I think you're a pony who deserves to be loved and cared for."

Slowly, the pony took her hoof and allowed Fluttershy to pull them out from underneath the bench and into her embrace. The two simply sat for a moment, Fluttershy stroking her new friend's back soothingly and humming quietly as she rocked back and forth. Eventually, a smile crossed the leper's face.

"Trial passed," the sick pony declared.

"What?" Fluttershy asked, watching in astonishment as the pony in her hooves began to glow, brighter and brighter until she could no longer look...

Rainbow opened her eyes to find that she was in the middle of a hallway with blank, white-washed walls. "Hey, what is this? What's going on?" she shouted, spinning around in place. Her own voice echoed off the walls, rebounding back at her.

"Rainbow Dash," another voice replied. Turning towards the voice, Rainbow saw a door at the end of the hallway opening. She proceeded through it, every muscle tense and alert for a sudden attack. When she proceeded through the door, she found herself in a small room. Before her was another pony, a light blue mare with a long, silvery gray mane and tail and the cutie mark of a crystal ball. On either side of her were two doors, one gold, the other white.

"Who are you?" Rainbow asked, eyeing the other mare suspiciously.

"I am an oracle," the mare said. "And I can help you."

Rainbow lowered her guard slightly, but remained tense. "How?"

"You, Rainbow Dash, wish to be a Wonderbolt, yes?" the oracle asked, leaning forward slightly, her voice becoming slightly sultry. "You wish for fame and glory, to show Equestria what we both know: that you are the best flyer in Equestria."

Rainbow perked up slightly, the flattery triggering a small smile to spread across her face. "Well, yeah, that's true."

"It's what you deserve," the oracle continued. "After all you've done, the number of times you've saved Equestria. Think of it, Rainbow Dash: your name in lights, ponies cheering for you wherever you go."

Rainbow grinned. "That sounds awesome!"

"And all you need to do is go through this door," the oracle said, gesturing to the golden door, which opened to reveal a shimmering image of Rainbow Dash, wearing the uniform of a Wonderbolt captain. At the sight, Rainbow let out a delighted squee, her wings opening wide to display her excitement. A Wonderbolt captain position for her! It was a dream come true!

But then her gaze turned to the white door. "What about that door?"

The oracle glanced at the door as if she was just reminded that it was there. "Oh, that door," she said flatly. "That door will lead you back to your friends, and to your original goal." The white door opened, revealing Rainbow's friends, who were looking at her with expressions of concern, as if waiting for her to come to them. The oracle turned back to Rainbow and gave her a steely look: not quite a glare, but close. "But if you go into that door, you lose your chance to achieve your dream."

Rainbow's wings folded back down. She looked between the two doors, considering her decision. Her friends...or her dream of fame.

But in the end, she knew that it was an easy choice. With a sigh, Rainbow turned and started towards the door containing her friends.

All at once, with a clap of thunder, the oracle mare jumped in front of her. Her fur turned a darker color, her mane and tail went from silvery gray to dark gray, like storm clouds. She glared down at Rainbow with lightning and thunder in her eyes.

"You fool!" the oracle shouted, sneering down at her. "You'd give up your dream, fame and fortune, for your pathetic friends?!"

"My friends are not pathetic," Rainbow said. "Now get out of my way, they need me."

"They need you?!" the oracle shouted. "Listen to me well, child. If you choose that door, if you choose to go back to your friends, you give up your dream of being a Wonderbolt...forever!"

Rainbow felt like the floor had just dropped out from beneath her. Never be a Wonderbolt? That was her lifelong dream, everything that she had hoped for all her life! She looked back at the open golden door: the image inside shimmered and seemed to fade, like the dream.

But over the oracle's shoulder, she saw the door with her friends standing in it. Her friends, who were always there for her. Without whom she wouldn't have so much of what she had, wouldn't be the pony she was today. She owed them everything.

"I don't care," she said coolly to the oracle, who was still standing in her way. "My friends are more important. Now get out of my way."

The oracle snarled, but stepped out of the way. "Last chance, Rainbow Dash!" she said.

Ignoring her, Rainbow walked up to the door with her friends. She didn't look back as she stepped through the door. She felt like she had just stepped inside a cloud: all around her was dull, muted light and she felt light as a feather.

"Trial passed," the oracle said behind her, and all at once, Rainbow felt herself being blown upwards, up towards the light...

Pinkie Pie looked around. She was sitting in the middle of a field, sun shining down on her in a sky scattered with clouds. She bounced up and saw nopony around. She also realized that she didn't recognize this field. She could have been almost anywhere in Equestria...if she was even still in Equestria. "I don't think I'm in Ponyville anymore," Pinkie said to herself.

But then, she was in a new place, and that meant more places to explore, and new ponies to meet! "Let's get going!" she declared, bouncing down away, allowing her Pinkie sense to guide her away. A gentle breeze blew, rustling the grass and blowing through her mane. This new field that she had found was pretty nice, but it was just so...quiet. And there wasn't anything around. Pinkie began to hum a little song to herself to try to keep her spirits up, but the more she traveled, the less she saw, and the lower her spirits sank.

But then she saw something in the distance. Excited to see what it was, she hurried forward. But when she got close, she skidded to a halt.

Graves. The field was dotted with gravestones. Why would she want to go to a cemetery? There was absolutely nothing fun about cemeteries; they were almost as far from fun as you could get.

But then she read the names on the gravestones. Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy. Rarity. Applejack.

Pinkie gasped in horror. Her mane deflated and her bubble-gum pink coat turned dark. Her friends were all...gone.

"I...I'm alone," she whimpered, lowering her head as tears began to run from her eyes. She collapsed down onto the ground, her tears overcoming her as the sky above her turned dark and gray.

But then another noise came to her ears. The sound of sobbing: somepony else crying. Pinkie raised her head and looked up to see a small filly sitting alone a few feet away, crying. Wiping her eyes, Pinkie got up and walked over to the filly, sitting down next to her. "Why are you crying?" she asked.

The filly looked up at her, her eyes red and puffy with tears. "I'm all alone," she whimpered.

Seeing the filly upset made Pinkie temporarily forget her own sorrow. She gently hugged the filly, allowing her to cry into her chest fur. Then she got an idea: something that was sure to cheer her up.

It took more effort than normal, but Pinkie managed to retrieve a green balloon from behind her. Blowing it up with a big puff of air, Pinkie bent and twisted it until it became a small dog. With a smile, she handed it to the filly, who stared at it in amazement. Slowly, she reached out and took it, the soft beginnings of a smile appearing on her face. Pinkie's hair regained some of it's bounce and color at this encouragement.

"My name is Pinkie Pie," she sang. "And I am here to say,
I'm gonna make you smile and I
will brighten up your day..."

Pinkie began to sing the entire song, starting to dance and jump around as she did so, making funny faces at the filly throughout. As she did so, her mane regained its bouncy consistency and regained its color. The sky above her cleared and the sun began shine brighter and warmer than before. On the final line, Pinkie stood on her forehooves while juggling a set of balls on her hind legs and tail. She tossed all of the balls into the air, jumped back onto her hind legs and caught the balls. "Ta-da!" she said with a big grin.

The filly was laughing and clapping her hooves, a delighted smile across her face. She bounded over to Pinkie and hugged her across the waist. Pinkie hugged the filly back, both of them smiling from ear to ear.

"Trial passed," the filly said. To Pinkie's astonishment, the filly began to glow with a bright light...

"Well, this is just wonderful," Rarity huffed. She was standing in an wooden cabin, a small fire crackling in a rusty iron stove. Outside, she could see a thick layer of snow of the ground, with more snow coming down hard.

Looking around, Rarity saw a table with some items on it. A deep purple coat, a striped purple and white scarf, a set of yellow boots, and a white saddlebag with some daisy sandwiches and a lantern in it. There was also a compass and a small hoofdrawn map. It showed the cabin in the lower left corner, with a trail leading to what looked like a cave at the top of a mountain containing some kind of lantern. The mountain was labeled "Your Friends."

Rarity looked outside. A cold wind rattled against the cabin's windows and door, and the snow was coming down hard. Plus, she could see that it was starting to get dark.

"But if I have to get to the mountain to help my friends, then so be it," she said. "At least the clothes are good-looking." She put on the coat, boots and scarves, put the sandwiches, lantern and map into the saddlebag, which she swung onto her back, and headed out the door. The cold wind attacked her face instantly, but the clothing helped her overcome the chill. Checking the map and compass, she headed off in the direction the trail indicated.

As she progressed, the wind became harder and colder, and the sky began to darken. The snow crunched beneath her hooves, but the boots protected her hooves from the wet chill. Tugging the scarf higher up around her face, Rarity checked her progress on the map and kept going, guided by the light of her lantern. Her stomach rumbled in hunger and she used her magic to reach into the saddlebag and pulled out one of the daisy sandwiches.

Suddenly, from out of the darkness, a shape came at her. In the lantern's light, she saw a pony, shivering violently and coat thoroughly soaked, struggling towards her. He gasped when he saw her.

"Are you all right?" Rarity asked.

"I-I-I'm f-f-fine," the other pony stammered, squinting at her through his sopping wet mane. His stomach growled loudly. "I-I was just g-getting ho-ho-home when this snowstorm came."

"Is your home far?" Rarity asked.

"Yes," the pony said, already starting to move past her. As he lifted his hooves, Rarity saw that they were already starting to turn white from frostbite. "I-I'll be fine. Y-you should continue on your j-journey."

"Wait," Rarity called. She unbuttoned her coat and floated it over to the other pony as she stepped out of her boots. Instantly, the coldness of the snowy air intensified a hundredfold, stinging every inch of Rarity's body like a thousand nettles, but she floated the clothes over to the other pony. "At least take these. I can't let you go out in those snow without some clothes."

The other pony looked at the coat and boots, then gratefully put them on with some difficulty due to his violent shivering. "T-thank you," he said, already beginning to shiver less. His stomach growled again.

"And here, take these as well," Rarity said, giving him her lantern and one of her sandwiches.

"But your journey—" the stallion protested.

"Oh, posh, dear, I'll be fine," Rarity waved him off, briefly wondering how he knew of her quest. "It's not that far. You need them more than I do."

The stallion took the sandwich out of the air and munched it down in three bites, then took the lantern in his mouth. "Thank you again! You are truly generous!" he said, turning to go. Rarity watched the light of his lantern fade away, already shivering in the cold. For a moment, she regretted giving up her coat and boots: it would do her friends no good if she froze to death out here in this barren land.

But she firmly believed, from the bottom of her heart, the other pony needed them even more than she. Turning, she lit up her horn to read the map.

She suddenly froze, starting in surprise. She was now standing in the middle of a cave at the top of a mountain, a glowing purple light before her.

"Trial passed," the stallion's voice came out of the light, which began to glow brighter and brighter, enveloping Rarity's entire body...

This was not an entirely unfamiliar situation for Daring. She opened her eyes to find that she was standing in what appeared to be a desert, sand stretching off into the horizon. The night sky stretched above her, distant stars staring bleakly down. Right in front of her was a cave entrance, the dark mouth of the cave as inviting as the mouth of a hydra.

Which meant that that was the direction she was meant to go. With a breath, Daring entered the cave, descending down into the cold, dark depths. The cave walls closed in quickly, too narrow for her to fly, forcing her to walk.

Descending down, Daring saw a light ahead of her. Proceeding forward, she found herself at the end of a very long tunnel. At one end was a blue light, which seemed to be emanating from a key that was hovering above a stone pedestal, slowly spinning in place. Daring was about to step forward, when in the dim light she saw what the floor was covered with: a writhing carpet of creatures, covering almost every inch of the stone floor, slowly slithering along, sticking their tongues out to taste the stale air. The closest creature raised its head and hissed at Daring.

"Snakes," Daring whispered, her voice shaking as much as her knees. "Why did it have to be snakes?"

She considered her options. The stone ceiling was too low for her to fly. If she wanted that key, she was going to have to walk over the floor covered in slimy, scaly, slithering, disgusting and probably poisonous snakes.

Taking a slow breath, Daring slowly, carefully placed a trembling hoof forward and set it down on the ground. The snakes began to slither around it: she shuddered as she felt their cold scales against her fur. Her shaky breathing echoing in the cave, Daring slowly stepped forward and set her other hooves down. The snakes around her shifted restlessly, hissing loudly.

"Easy," Daring whispered. "Easy..." Step by step, she proceeded forward with agonizing slowness. The snakes around her became more and more restless, the hissing louder and louder.

But as she got about halfway across the cave, Daring felt something cold crawling up her leg. Instantaneously she froze, her entire body feeling like it had been turned to ice, her lungs forgetting how to breathe and her heart pounding in her chest like it was trying to escape her ribcage. A snake was going up her leg, slithering slowly across her body and underneath her shirt. Daring shivered violently as the snake's scales tickled her. GETOFFMEGETOFFMEGETOFFMEGETOFFME! she thought as loudly as she could. The snake curled around her chest and emerged from her collar. Daring had to stifle a whimper as the snake gently touched her cheek, its tongue flickering out to taste her sweat and fear. Finally, after about ten years of terror, the snake slithered out of her collar and down her foreleg, back onto the ground.

That's it. She was done. Daring Do was getting out of here.

But even as she tried to get herself to turn to leave, her hooves refused to move. Something in her defied her fear, defied the cave of snakes, defied herself. How could she, Daring Do, allow herself to be beaten by a bunch of reptiles, just because she was scared?

"No," she said softly, her voice still shaking. "I won't run away! I am brave! I am adventure! I am Daring Do!"

Her courage reignited, Daring determinedly moved forward, slowly and carefully. She kept her eyes on the key, doing her best to ignore the writhing beasts below her and her crawling skin. One step at a time, she got closer and closer to her goal. Finally, she reached the pedestal. With a relieved sigh, she wiped sweat off her brow and took the glowing key in her hoof.

"Trial passed," a voice said, and the key in her hoof suddenly began to glow brighter and brighter...

When Phillip opened his eyes, he found that he was lying on the floor of a small dark room, with blank stone walls around. In front of him was a plain wooden door. Phillip shut his eyes and gently rubbed his eyelids for a few seconds to activate his night vision, then opened his eyes again. The room was entirely bare: the only feature was the wooden door on one wall. Carved onto the door was a set of colored circles: blue, red, yellow, green. He memorized the pattern in a couple of seconds.

Guess this must be part of the trial, he thought. He considered the door before him: part of him didn't want to open the door, afraid of what was on the other side.

But it was the only way forward. He opened the door with a slow creaking and proceeded through into the next room. The door automatically closed behind him.

All of a sudden, a light went on above him, illuminating the room. What he saw before him made him freeze in shock. Lying on the floor in the center of the room was a body of a stallion with light brown fur and a long red mane, tail and beard. His sea green eyes wee wide open in shock, glazed over in death. A cutie mark of a trumpet with a treble and bass clef on either side. The stallion's neck was cut and he lay in a pool of his own blood.

Phillip stared at his father's corpse in shock, his breathing ragged. Staggering forward, he collapsed to his knees before him, tears suddenly blinding him.

To his shock, the corpse's mouth moved and a ragged voice spoke from the slit throat: "You failed me."

"No..." Phillip whimpered, his strength leaving him. This couldn't be. This wasn't possible...

Wait. This wasn't possible. His father had died and been buried years ago.

This had to be an illusion of some kind. Looking up and wiping his eyes, Phillip saw a blur of colors on the wall around him. He concentrated and saw that the colors were doors, each painted a different color, but he still couldn't tell them apart: the shapes and colors blended together.

Taking a long slow breath, Phillip closed his eyes and released all his emotions, imagining his guilt, anger and grief as smoke blowing away on the wind. Now able to focus, he opened his eyes. The doors were now clear and distinct. Turning, he found the blue door. Without turning back, he stepped forward and through the door into the next room.

The light snapped on, revealing another pony in the room, facing him. This pony had dark fur and a matted red mane, with long bangs that covered his scowling green eyes and a goatee. His cutie mark was of a set of four yellow hoofprints. In his hoof, the pony held a long, bloody, serrated knife.

"You didn't stop me," the murderer of his father growled.

A storm of hatred and guilt unleashed itself inside Phillip's chest, his forelegs stiffening, burning with the desire to attack. Stopping himself, he took a breath, remembering that his father's murderer died in prison years ago. Releasing his emotions once more, he focused on the doors. Finding the red one, he proceeded through.

Instantly, he had to duck as something flew at his face. Screeching out a cry, a raven circled above him, then landed on the shoulder of the pegasus in the room. This pony's coat was a sickly yellow color, clinging to his bony frame. His mane and tail were the color and consistency of dead grass. His cutie mark was the silhouette of a raven. The pegasus looked up slowly, revealing shrunken red eyes that seemed to glow like goals and yellowed teeth pulled back in a sneer.

"You fear me," Doctor Nevermore whispered in a voice like rattling bones, his eyes burning into him.

Ignoring the chills that ran down his spine, Phillip looked around the room, struggling to focus on the doors as they blurred before him. Taking slow breaths to calm himself, he concentrated on the yellow door and proceeded towards it. He felt Nevermore's eyes on him the whole time, heard his raven Lenore fluttering and screeching, but forced himself to focus. Grasping the doorknob, he turned it and entered the next chamber.

Even before the lights turned on, Phillip's nose was assaulted by the acrid smell of expensive Saddle Arabian tobacco. The light snapped on and Phillip felt his blood run cold. A unicorn stood before him. He had a walnut brown coat and dark chestnut brown mane and tail, and he was dressed in an expensive suit and tie. His cutie mark was a chess piece, a black king. Smoke wafted from the cigarette in the pony's mouth, which was drawn in a smirk. Zugzwang's black eyes sparkled maliciously as he gazed coolly at him, like a cat gazes at a trapped mouse.

For a moment, Phillip couldn't think: his accelerating heart carried a single objective to his racing mind: Attack. He stepped forward, already raising a hoof to strike. Zugzwang did not react, his smirk growing wider as he puffed smoke from his cigarette.

But just as he sent his hoof forward, Phillip stopped, remembering his objective. Zugzwang wasn't real, wasn't here. He had to focus. Stepping back, he shut his eyes and started taking slow breaths, remembering his objective.

But as he tried to concentrate, the smell of the tobacco seemed to become more intense. Also, Zugzwang chuckled: a low, humorless sound that sent chills up his spine and sparked the fire inside him.

That's not good enough, he told himself. Concentrate. What was the door color?

Another laugh from Zugzwang chased the thought from his head. With an irritated grunt, Phillip dug deep inside himself. He shut everything out—all smell, all sound, all emotion—let it all become like smoke blowing away on the wind. Letting out a final, slow breath, he pulled up the memory of the colors and remembered: green. Opening his eyes, he focused on the colored doors before him. Finding the green one, he stepped forward.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Zugzwang was there, standing between him and the door. His enemy locked eyes with him, and with hypnotic intensity, Phillip felt himself falling into his gaze like a deep abyss...

He shook himself out of it, his objective blazing in his mind like the North Star: Open the door. Get out of here. He stepped forward and passed right through the illusory Zugzwang, moving to the door and opening it.

"Trial Passed," a voice said, and a light blinded him, carrying him forward...

Cold wind roused Flash from his slumber. Looking all around, he found himself surrounded by darkness. He was lying on hard, cold ground in a plain somewhere in the midst of a storm. The clouds above him blotted out the sky: he couldn't tell if it was night or day. Icy wind and rain assaulted his body, making him shiver.

"Twilight!" he shouted, spinning on the spot. His only reply was the wind. Just as he was starting to panic, something moved in the corner of his vision. Turning, he saw a floating, glowing blue sphere in front of him, moving quickly towards him.

"Follow me!" a voice came from the sphere as it floated past him and away. Without thinking, Flash took the air, flying after the sphere. The sphere flew ahead of him, going slightly faster than him, staying far enough ahead so that he could still see its light, but only barely. The wind and rain attacked Flash's body like thousands of small arrows, but he flew determinedly on, squinting through the pitch black.

He heard splashing beneath him and realized that he was now flying over a body of water. He felt the chop of the icy water beneath him and flew up a little higher to avoid them, still following the blue light as it accelerated away from him.

Flash was very fit, but the cold sapped his strength and before long, he felt fatigue setting in: his breathing became fast and heavy and his heart beat a rapid rhythm against his chest.

Suddenly, his wings cramped up. Almost before he knew what had happened, he dropped out of the sky and into the water. The icy water embraced him instantly, cutting off all sight, hearing and air. Flash twisted and struggled upwards, breaking the choppy, stormy surface with a gasp that turned into coughing. Ahead, he saw the blue sphere, still speeding ahead.

His wings still aching, Flash was forced to swim, struggling against the heavy, churning water that pushed back against him. The cold bit into his bones and he knew that it wouldn't be long before hypothermia set in. Panting with exhaustion, he struggled onwards, determined to reach his goal.

Finally, he felt ground beneath him and realized that he was close to dry land. Shivering violently and breathing raggedly, he heaved himself up onto land and looked up. To his disbelief, he saw a tall rocky cliff before him. And the blue light was traveling straight up and over it.

"No way," he said to himself, dropping to his knees. Flash was at his limit: the flight and swim had sapped him of all his strength. He couldn't move another inch. He lay on the sandy beach, letting the rain fall over his body, chilling him even more.

But then he thought of Twilight. What if she was in danger? What if she needed his help? Was he, her bodyguard, the stallion that she had entrusted with her life, going to sit here like a wimp?

No way. "On your hooves, soldier," Flash growled to himself, rising to his hooves. The cliff seemed insurmountable, towering over him like some beast of legend.

But he was Corporal Flash Sentry of the Royal Guard. Nothing was going to keep him from his duty. He tested his wings, but quickly realized that they were all but frozen to his sides.

Climbing it is then. Racing forward, he leapt at the cliff wall, digging his hooves into the grooves and ledges and began to climb. His limbs shook with the effort of carrying his weight, but he forced himself upwards. Bit by bit, he climbed closer to the top.

Suddenly, when he was close to the top, he lost his grip! Rocks crumbled away, tumbling beneath him as he hung on by one hoof. Looking down, Flash saw the ground a dizzying distance below. With a grunt, he reached up and secured another grip, heaving himself upwards with his forelegs alone.

Slowly, Flash pulled himself up over the edge of the cliff, flopping onto the solid ground, panting. Looking up, he saw the blue sphere floating above him.

"Trial passed," the voice from the sphere said, and it began to glow brighter than before, filling Flash's vision...

Twilight opened her eyes to find herself lying on the warm grass of a field. Birds above her chirped cheerfully, flapping through the sunkissed sky. Sitting up, Twilight looked around and saw a table nearby. On it was a china teapot and two teacups. The scent of jasmine reached Twilight's nostrils, enticing her forward.

Then she saw the other pony. Sitting next to the table with his back to her was a unicorn with tan fur and a long, scraggly white mane and beard. He wore a simple dark brown traveling cloak and his cutie mark was of a crossed pencil and paintbrush. He was painting a picture on an easel of a mare lying beneath a tree surrounded by small angels. As Twilight approached, he turned and looked at her, revealing a face with well-proportioned features and kindly blue eyes.

"Leonardo da Whinny," Twilight whispered in awe. The unicorn smiled in reply. "B-but...you can't be here. You died over a hundred years ago." The artist continued to smile enigmatically in reply.

"Then...this is just an image," Twilight said, thinking out loud. "This is just in my head. This is one of the trials, isn't it?"

da Whinny nodded. "So..." Twilight said slowly, uncertainly. "What do I do?"

"Show me the most powerful magic of all," Leonardo replied softly.

Twilight blinked in reply. "Um...all right." She started racking her brains, going over every spellbook she had ever written, turning over every advanced theory that she had studied. What spell could she use to impress him? She looked at the sun above them. Maybe she could set the sun? No, that didn't seem right. Assist with his painting? Too simple.

The most powerful magic of all...

Then something clicked. Of course! The answer was obvious!

With a smile, Twilight stepped forward, extending her hoof. "Hello," she said. "My name is Twilight Sparkle."

"An honor to meet you, Ms. Sparkle," Leonardo replied, taking her hoof and raising it to his lips. "Join me for a cup of tea?"

"Of course," Twilight said, sitting down at the table with Leonardo. "I'm a huge fan of your art. I've always wondered, how did you start?"

"Well, I began drawing as a foal," Leonardo replied, pouring a cup of tea for his guest.

The two began to talk, sharing tales and anecdotes, smiling and laughing. The sun slowly descended, then began to be set, casting long shadows across the ground and beautiful red streaks across the sky.

"That's a beautiful sky," Twilight said.

"It is," Leonardo agreed. "But it's even better to be enjoyed with a friend." He turned to her, his eyes sparkling in the low light. "Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. You have shown me the most powerful magic of all: friendship. Trial passed."

His eyes seemed to glow, brighter and brighter, and Twilight felt herself falling into them, drawn into the light...

Author's Notes:

Got this done within a week, ahead of schedule!

Now to open that door...

Part 9: Opening

The light cleared and everypony suddenly found themselves standing in front of the gem-encrusted door. "Wh-what just happened?" Rarity exclaimed.

"It must have been a magical illusion," Twilight said. "Like Sombra's door in the Crystal Empire, but more benign."

The multicolored gems in the door were now glowing brightly. "Guess that means we passed the trials," Flash said, still panting slightly.

"Now what about the last one?" Twilight said.

The white gem in the center of the door began to shine faintly, revealing words carved into it. "'The mother of all things, faith and hope and charity. No use to one, but it makes two into one,'" Daring read out loud. "It's a riddle. I hate riddles."

"Faith and hope and charity," Twilight murmured. "Makes many things into one..."

Enlightenment shone in Flash's eyes. "Isn't it obvious?" he said. "It's love."

Everypony looked at him as Flash turned to Twilight. The two ponies locked their gazes, and for them, that moment felt like holding a match to a piece of tinder; like standing before a door that was once locked and is now about to be opened, revealing what is on the other side. Wingtips fluttering, Flash strode forward.

"Twilight," he said softly, a nervous smile flitting about his lips. "You are the most beautiful mare I've ever met, and I mean that in spirit. You're honest, you're kind, you're really sweet. You're loyal to your friends and really smart: whenever there's trouble, you always know just what to do. And you're also one of the bravest ponies I've ever met. You...you're a really great friend."

Twilight's cheeks turned a little red. "Flash, thank you. And...you're also a really great friend, too. You're brave, you're very sweet, you always look out for others instead of yourself..." Her cheeks turned redder and she stepped closer, suddenly finding it hard to meet Flash's blushing gaze. "I...I guess what I'm trying to say is..."

Flash slowly reached up, placing a hoof underneath Twilight's chin and lifting her face up. "Twilight...I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," Twilight said.

His heart dancing in his chest and his wings trembling, Flash slowly leaned forward and closed his eyes as he pressed his lips against Twilight's. Her wings slowly spread open and pleasure sparked from her horn as she kissed him back, her own breath catching.

"Awww!" Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy all cooed.

"About time," Applejack said with a smirk. Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes.

As the two ponies separated, a spark flew from Twilight's horn and into the white gem, which began to glow even brighter. With a series of clicks, the door unlocked and slowly swung open, revealing a dark cavern behind it. Hesitating for only a moment, the group strode forward and into the cavern, lighting flashlights as they did so. The first thing that their lights fell on was a small stone column attached to a stone trench. In it was what looked like a thick layer of dry hay. Daring examined the hay, giving it a brief sniff. "It's covered in oil," she said.

Phillip reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a cigarette lighter. Flicking it open, he applied the flame to the hay, which caught quickly. The flame sailed down the trench and into the cavern, dispelling the darkness. And what the ponies saw made them all stop, staring in astonishment.

The cave was filled with treasures: statues of stone, silver and gold, huge paintings, chests of intricately carved jewels and coins, scrolls and books that were easily hundreds of years old, ancient artifacts of bygone civilizations. Amazed, the group began to examine the treasure trove in closer detail.

Twilight bent closer to a rickety wooden shelf that was laden with scrolls. Examining the seal on the faded red ribbon tying one of them, she gasped in astonishment. "Scrolls from the Library of Clover the Clever!" she whispered excitedly. "Is this possible?"

Rarity gazed in delighted awe at an open chest of jewels, already imagining what spectacular designs she could make with them. Fluttershy was examining a painting that depicted a beautiful alicorn mare with white fur, long red mane and tail and blue eyes like the sky with a cutie mark of an inkpot and quill rising from the ocean as a pair of angels flew in to robe her. Flash and Rainbow were looking over a collection of ceremonial swords and spears.

"It's a big, blue-green pony with a tall hat and a strange goatee," Pinkie said, her head tilted to the side as she examined an ancient Equegyptian statue before her. "I'm guessing that's significant!" she said with a smile, hugging the statue.

Meanwhile, Daring had proceeded up towards a pedestal in the back. It had an object on it, covered with a cloth that had been ravaged by time, ripped and faded. It was the only thing in the cavern hidden from sight like this.

Could this be the secret of the Mare Lisa, the key to great power? Daring took hold of the moldy curtain in her mouth and with a gesture, pulled it off. What she saw beneath it made her freeze, gazing in astonishment and confusion.

Mostly confusion.

Her own reflection looked back at her, wide-eyed in bewilderment. The object was a wide, gilded mirror. An inscription in the frame read "True power lies here."

"What?" Daring said. "The secret to ultimate power is a mirror?"

"It's not the mirror," Twilight said, walking up with the others, her reflection joining Daring at her side. "It's us. Don't you see? By standing together as friends, with the virtues that we used to get in—kindness, loyalty, honesty, generosity, laughter, friendship, endurance, focus, bravery and love—we can accomplish anything."

Daring looked at the others reflections in the mirror, all of them smiling back at her in companionship. When she looked at Phillip's reflections, he grinned back at her softly, and something in his gray eyes sparkled. Daring felt herself smiling back at him. "I guess that—" Something suddenly moved in the reflection. Daring froze, then dived out of the way. "Look out!"

Everypony else leapt aside as a huge blue paw came down hard on them, smashing the mirror. The paw was attached to a large blue dog-like creature with a long tail that had an extra paw on the end, jet black hair and mean yellow eyes that glared in hatred.

"Ahuizotl," Daring growled, glaring back at the beast. "So that's why there weren't any other animals."

"Friendship?!" Daring Do's archenemy growled. "Bah! Well, if I cannot have ultimate power...then I shall have you, Daring Do!"

Instantly, Daring attacked, leaping into the air with a flying kick. Ahuizotl dodged it, swinging his tail around to knock her out of the air. She smashed into a wall and crumbled to the ground.

"Oi, wanker!" shouted an enraged Phillip, instantly flinging his boomerang at Ahuizotl's head. The beast dodged it, slapping Phillip aside so that he tumbled into a pile of coins that spilled over him. Ahuizotl turned his attention back to Daring and was about to move to finish her off when a voice interrupted him.

"How dare you!" Fluttershy shouted, flying up and locking eyes with Ahuizotl, giving him a full-blast Stare. "You think just because you're bigger than everyone that you can do whatever you want? You should be ashamed of yourself! Didn't your mother ever teach you that hurting others is wrong?"

"No! Please! Have mercy!" Ahuizotl begged, dropping to his knees in terror and holding up his clasped paws in pleading as he trembled right down to the extra paw on his tail, sweat dropping down his back.

As soon as he was vulnerable, Applejack sprinted up and bucked him hard in the gut, doubling him over. Rainbow followed up with a flying uppercut that dazed Ahuizotl, sending him staggering back.

Quickly, Pinkie Pie leapt onto his back and climbed onto his head. She leaned down and gave him an upside-down grin. "Hi!" she said. Growling, Ahuizotl tried to slap her with his paw. The result was, of course, that he bonked himself on the head when Pinkie jumped aside at the last second.

"Yoo-hoo!" Rarity called. When Ahuizotl turned towards her, he suddenly found himself blinded by a bright light. He howled in pain, covering his eyes.

"Take that, you ruffian!" Rarity declared, having accomplished this trick by using several of the polished gems and metal artifacts to reflect the light from her horn several times.

While Ahuizotl was staggering in blinded agony, Twilight charged up a spell in her horn and fired it at him. It struck him hard, bringing him to all fours. Instantly, Flash flew in, striking him up from underneath his jaw, then coming down hard on his head. The sound of the blow echoed in the cavern, and Ahuizotl was knocked out.

Rainbow and Twilight helped Daring and Phillip to their hooves, both of them shaking their heads as they recovered. "Huh," Daring said, examining the unconscious Ahuizotl. "Not bad work."

"So what happens now?" Flash asked.

"Well, we should call the Guard to secure him," Twilight said, glancing nervously at the beast. "And Celestia should know about this, certainly. We've discovered a historical treasure—"

A sound distracted everypony. Looking up, they saw a collection of wildcats, including a small white house cat, dragging Ahuizotl away. A tiger stood between its master and the ponies, teeth bared.

"You may have defeated me today," Ahuizotl groaned as he was dragged up and out of the cavern. "But I will get you eventually, Daring Do, and your little friends too!" And with that, the cats carried him out of the cavern. Instantly, Daring and Phillip raced after them. But by the time they got to the surface, Ahuizotl and his cats were already gone. Daring grunted and stamped her hoof against the ground in frustration.

"Hey," Phillip said, reaching out and touching her shoulder. "It's all right. Let him go and lick his wounds. At least he doesn't have the secret to ultimate power."

Daring sighed. "You're right." She glanced back at the cavern, seeing the other ponies emerging from it. Phillip gave her a small, encouraging smile, which she returned as they rejoined their friends.

Author's Notes:

It was at this point that I sort of just stopped caring and wanted to end this story as quickly as possible.

Big thank you to Trickilee for prereading and giving me some advice and corrections!

Part 10: New Headings

As night fell, an archaeological team of ponies, sent by Celestia, descended upon da Whinny's cavern. Every treasure in it was carefully examined by relevant experts and prepped for transport to a museum.

"Make sure you're cataloguing everything," Twilight was saying to a unicorn who was going through a chest of gold coins. "Are you cataloguing everything?"

"Yes, Your Highness," the unicorn replied dryly.

"You're using proper storage procedures, right?" Twilight continued. "Be careful! Those are historical treasures! We don't want to ruin any of them!"

"Twilight, let him do his job," Spike laughed.

"Princess Twilight!" Dr. Main Exhibit called from the other side of the cavern, where she was examining the collection of scrolls. Turning to go to her, Twilight accidentally bumped into Flash, who had been standing behind her. Both of them staggered slightly, looking up in surprise. Flash smiled and chuckled softly. "We really need to stop doing that."

"Yeah," Twilight said, trying to conceal her blush. She walked over to Dr. Exhibit, who was turning in the spot, her eyes wide in awe behind her spectacles.

"Your Highness, I can't believe you found this!" she said excitedly. "The knowledge that this will provide could fill entire libraries!"

"That's no doubt what da Whinny intended," Twilight replied. "He placed this so that other ponies would later find it."

"But however did you figure out where it was?"

Twilight glanced back at Flash, who gave nothing away. "Let's just say that I had some help from my friends."

"And the Mare Lisa?"

"I have it," Twilight said. "Rest assured, it will be returned to the museum where it belongs as soon as possible."

"Doctor, come look at this," one of the scientists shouted, calling Dr. Exhibit away. Twilight turned to Flash, who looked around at the other ponies, then tilted his head to the side a little, indicating for them to go out. Nodding, Twilight followed him up and out of the cavern and into the clearing. The night sky stretched above them, the stars offering a glittering backdrop to their private meeting.

The two ponies sat down next to each other, starlight glimmering in each other's eyes. Flash chuckled nervously, gathering his thoughts. Twilight blushed and looked down at the ground, her wingtips fluttering as a sign of her nervousness.

"Everything's changed now, hasn't it?" she whispered.

"Nothing's changed, Twilight," Flash said, smiling kindly as he took her hoof. "I'm still your Guard, and you're still my Princess."

Twilight smiled back, leaning into his shoulder. He wrapped a wing around her and pulled her close in a gesture that was both protective and loving. She returned the embrace herself.

"You know, it's funny," Flash said quietly, looking up at the starlit sky. "If you hadn't bumped into me that day at the Crystal Empire, this would never have happened. You think maybe that was fate?"

"Maybe," Twilight hummed thoughtfully. "Who can say? But I do know this: we have a great future ahead of us. You, me, and all of my friends."

A shooting star passed by overhead, briefly lighting up the sky. Twilight gasped in delight. "Quick, make a wish!"

"Don't have to," Flash said, turning to his Princess. She looked back at him, her lavender eyes shining even brighter than the moon above. "I love you, Twilight."

"I love you, too, Flash," Twilight said. She leaned forward slightly and kissed him again. He kissed her back, feeling as though there was nothing in the world, but him, Twilight, and the stars looking down in quiet approval.

This feeling was quickly replaced when he heard a quiet cough. Looking up, he saw Spike giving him a look over Twilight's shoulder. Spike pointed two of his claws at his eyes, then at him. Getting the message, Flash chuckled softly and winked at him. Spike relaxed his gaze and walked over to Twilight's other side. She enveloped him in her other wing, holding him close. The three friends sat together in silence, looking up at the stars like sailors charting the course of their future.

"So what happens now?" Phillip said, facing Daring in the middle of the living room of 221 B Boulevard, where the two had gathered for a final cider and debrief. "You go back to your cottage and turn this into a bestselling book, with all the names changed to protect our identities?"

"Yeah," Daring said with a small laugh. "Eh, what can I say? It's a living."

"Yeah. It's a living," Phil repeated, glancing around at the mostly bare room.

Daring paused, taking a sip from her shot glass to cover the awkward moment. "I gotta say, you've got a pretty good team here. Even the kid."

"He's better than he knows," Phil said. "Problem is, he spends too much time proving it." He paused. "They can be your team, too, you know," he added softly.

Daring turned away a little, her face falling slightly. "You know I'm not really good with teams," she murmured in an almost apologetic tone.

"Well, neither am I," Phil replied. "Maybe that can change?"

"Maybe," Daring said, now finding herself unable to meet his gaze. "One day."

There was another silence as both of them finished their drinks, the mood having been turned chilly and uncertain.

"Well..." Daring finally said, placing her shot glass on the coffee table next to the chessboard. "See you."

"Yeah." Phil stepped aside, watching Daring as she collected her pith helmet from the couch. Placing it atop her head, she turned and started towards the door.

She's leaving. Say something, you idiot.

Daring paused at the door, contemplating the brass doorknob. It blocked her path, seeming to almost glare at her, judging her for leaving him again. Without turning, she reached out and tentatively grasped it, feeling it's cold embrace. I'm leaving. Say something, you idiot.

"Wait," Phillip blurted, raising his hoof as if trying to pull her back. His heart hammered nervously in his chest. Daring had paused at the door, her hoof still on the knob, but Phillip felt like she was standing on the other side of a bottomless chasm, out of reach.

"I don't...I don't want you to leave," he stammered, instantly realizing how shallow that sounded. "I mean...you and I...we make a good team. We're, we're...good with each other and...I mean, I think we were more than teammates...I..."

He was babbling, stumbling over his words, his voice quivering as tears stung at his eyes. His brain had jammed, the gears grinding against one another as his voice slowed to a halt. He lowered his head, breathing heavily in exhaustion. Suddenly, one of the gears in his brain burst loose, and a phrase tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"I love you."

He cringed. The room fell silent, everything stopping like a paused film. Daring had gone completely still, her hoof still on the doorknob. Phillip turned away, tears now falling from his face. Great work, idiot. Now she's going to leave and you'll never see her again. Fantastic bloody job, you—

His thoughts were interrupted when something grabbed his face and pulled him around. He found himself looking into Daring's rosy red eyes, and was surprised to find that they were wet as well.

"I love you, too," she whispered and pulled him forward, pressing her lips against his. Phillip gasped softly, his body stiffening in surprise. Daring pressed a little further, tugging gently on his lower lip. A surge of energy traveled through Phillip's body, breaking his paralysis and releasing a cooling wave of pleasure. He closed his eyes and began to kiss her back, putting his foreleg around her neck and pulling her in. When the two finally pulled away an eternity later, they paused for a moment, both of them just gazing at each other as smiles played about their lips.

"I should've said something years ago," Phillip said, wiping at his still-wet eyes. "I should've realized—"

"Shhh," Daring hushed, touching his lips with her hoof. "It's all right, I should've been more forward. I was...I was just scared, I guess."

He let out a soft exhalation of a laugh. "Daring Do, adventurer extraordinaire, scared?"

"Hey, you were the one that didn't pick up on the little hints that I was dropping," Daring replied in an equally teasing tone, her eyes glittering with humor. "Some detective you are."

Phil couldn't think of a reply, so he just kissed her again. She pushed up against his lips, humming softly, and he yielded to her assault, allowing her to push him down onto the sofa with her on top. For a moment, the two of them just lay there, chuckling quietly and cuddling.

"Where do we go from here?" Phil asked.

"What do you mean?" Daring replied.

"Well, you're the one with the compass," Phil said, tapping her flank with his hoof, earning a soft yelp of surprise from the adventurer.

A cheeky grin spread across Daring's face, her eyes becoming half-lidded and sparkling like stardust. "Well...there is a cave that needs to be explored."

Phil chuckled. "Don't you have a book to write?"

"The book can wait," Daring purred, tossing her helmet aside and unzipping his vest. "Tonight, you're mine."

Above them, moonlight filtered through the windows, providing a gentle illumination for the two as they began their new adventure. The dawn would come, and they would part ways once more, but their paths were intertwined now. And right now, the night was theirs.

Author's Notes:

Well...that turned out pretty well for everypony.

Thanks again to Trickilee and Doccular42 for prereading! I hope you enjoyed this story! If you feel inclined, please feel free to drop a comment or a like!

(P.S. He's using condoms. Of course he is. What do you take me for?)

Chapter notes

Part 1
—Leonardo da Whinny: play on Leonardo da Vinci
—Baroque was a style of art and music popular in 17th and 18th century Europe, characterized by ornate detail.
—Baroque Brush's eyes and coat (purple and yellow), and the colors of his mane and tail (red and green) are complementary colors, opposite each other on the color wheel, which cancel each other out.

Part 2
—Vitruvian Pony: play on The Vitruvian Man.
—The Mare Lisa is, of course, a reference to the Mona Lisa.

Part 3
—"tenderhoof": play on the phrase "tenderfoot," a term for a beginner.
—Charlie August Silvertongue is based off of one-time Sherlock Holmes nemesis, blackmailer Charles August Milverton.
—The group's plan to distract Silvertongue by offering him an item for sale while Daring and Phil break into his mansion is based off of The Adventure of the Illustrious Client.
—Japonese: from Japony, play on Japan.
—Cowsaka: play on the Japanese city of Osaka.

Part 4
—Murphy's Law is a phrase that says, "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong."
—Saddlebred Dali: reference to impressionist painter Salvador Dali. The painting mentioned is Dali's most famous work, The Persistence of Memory.

Part 5
—The chapter title, "The Great Escape," is a nod to the 1963 film of the same name.
—Both pairs share a tender moment.
—The idea of a hidden message being placed on the back of the painting is a nod to National Treasure, which this story is partially based off of.
—Phillip is beginning to realize that his feelings for Daring are a bit stronger than he first thought, but can't quite put those feelings into words.

Part 6
—Flash is a bit paranoid when Twilight's safety is involved.
—None can resist the Twilight pout.
—Llamazon: play on the Amazon rain forest.
—Cowhili: play on Swahili.
—The reason that Daring left was because she was frustrated by the emotional distance that Phillip put between them--she, too, had feelings for him that neither of them realized.
—I came up with the gag of Pinkie literally drinking water from a glass upside-down a while ago, and was looking for a chance to use it.

Part 7
—The chapter title "Into the Woods" is a nod to the musical of the same name.
—Daring doesn't appreciate having to work with a "kid" like Flash. Flash does not like being patronized.
—"You see but you don't observe": quoting Sherlock Holmes in A Scandal In Bohemia.

Part 8
—Applejack's challenge is loosely inspired by the tale of George Washington and the cherry tree.
—"I don't think I'm in Ponyville anymore.": reference to The Wizard of Oz: "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."
—Pinkie sings her signature Smile Song.
—"Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?" : reference to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Daring's fear of snakes (ophiophobia, in case you were wondering) is a nod to her character model, Indiana Jones.
—"I am brave! I am adventure! I am Daring Do!": parody of the iconic line "I am vengeance! I am the night! I am Batman!" from Batman: The Animated Series episode Nothing to Fear.
—The Trial of Focus refers back to Phillip's origin story (The Pony in the Gray Trilby), Doctor Nevermore (The Face in the Darkness), and Zugzwang (Checkmate): all of which cause extreme emotional reactions in Phillip that make it harder for him to concentrate.
—Originally, Phillip was supposed to take the Trial of Endurance, but I decided to give that to Flash.
—Originally, Twilight's trial was supposed to be Wisdom, and she was supposed to solve a series of sophisms and paradoxes to prove her wisdom, but I decided that making it a trial of magic/friendship would make more sense.

Part 9
—"Like Sombra's door in the Crystal Empire": reference to The Crystal Empire Part 2
—Flash and Twilight's first kiss!
—Clover the Clever: reference to Hearth's Warming Eve.
—The painting that Fluttershy is examining depicts Fausticorn, Lauren Faust's alicorn OC, in a parody of Botticelli's The Birth of Venus.
—Equegyptian: play on Egyptian. The statue that Pinkie is examining is a ponyfied version of the ancient Egyptian god of the underworld, Osiris. This scene parodies National Treasure.
—Daring's archenemy, Ahuizotl makes an appearance--and is quickly shown up.
—"I will get you eventually, Daring Do, and your little friends too!": reference to The Wizard of Oz: "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!"

Author's Notes:

Chapter notes from the story.