”THE Daring Do? As in, 'Daring Do and the Quest for the Something Something' series?”

”Heh, you've read those huh? Yeah that's me. Mostly anyway. My cousin is the one writing them. I used to send her letters telling her what I've been up to, and she got it into her head that she should write a book about it. Things just went from there.” the pegasus replied and rubbed her neck awkwardly.

”That's very … interesting,” Karon politely answered before clearing his throat and taking a less aggressive stance, ”But might I ask wh-”

”Hey! I know who you are,” the pegasus proclaimed loudly and looked Karon up and down closely.

”You ... know me? If you're referring to some rumor about all those dead pegasi in Cloudsdale, that was totally not my fault! They were trying to kill me and I just … tried to kill them back. It's not my fault I was better than them at it.”

Daring stopped her close observation of his appearance and looked him right in the eyes suspiciously. She turned to Lyra and Trixie and asked, ”What is he talking about?”

Trixie shrugged and looked at Lyra curiously. The unicorn in turn facehoofed and mumbled something into her hoof before answering.

”An evil super-genius villain tried to take over Canterlot with an army and a lot of magic. Karon tried to stop him and killed over two hundred pegasi working for the villain in the process. I think at least. Some of the rumors said it was a thousand, but I don't think it could be that many.”

After the brief explanation, Daring relaxed and smiled at the trio. “Oh, that's okay. I know how stuff like that works. Mess with an artifact a little like that, a little like this and BAM! The army of Gnazi hyena troopers besieging the legendary city of the elephant master are sucked into a vortex leading into some unknown world, never to be seen again. So don't worry. Been there done that.”

Trixie and Lyra stared open mouthed at the cocky pegasus while Karon flashed a crooked smile.

“I like her.”

“So … how do you know me?” Karon asked Daring.

“My cousin mentioned a tall biped called a 'human' being very nice to her and her kid. Karon, right?”

Said human blinked in surprise and tried to think back to his stay in Equestria, and only once did he remember being nice to a mother and her child.

“Wait … you mean that your cousin, the cousin of the famous, fearless and very capable adventuress Daring Do … is Derpy?”

“Hey, her name is Ditzy!” Daring shouted with anger flashing across her face.

“Sorry, the name rubbed off on me from the ponies in Ponyville,” Karon said, looking at a very shameful Lyra to his side.

Kindly choosing to ignore the issue, Daring stopped flapping her wings and dropped nimbly down to the floor, looking up at Karon questioningly.

“So, what are you doing out here in the middle of the desert, inside a ruin that's supposed to be lost?”

“Looking for the jackal crown,” Karon said with a hint of irony, casting a quick glance down at the crown in Daring's left hoof.

The air around the group grew tense with the unspoken implications, and both Trixie and Lyra looked back and forth between Daring and Karon, who had locked gazes and seemed to be measuring the others will.

“Why?” Daring asked quietly, muscles relaxed but the hoof holding the crown inching towards a curled whip hanging at her flank.

“The jackals want it so they can gather under one leader. I plan to keep it far away from them.”

“Good,” Daring said and breathed a sigh of relief, “I was worried they might have sent you for a minute there.”

“No, the empress sent us to figure out why the jackals were attacking the zebras.”

“She did? That doesn't sound like her. She only likes to use ponies she has total control over,” Daring said scratching her chin.

“Well, we might be doing it to knock off a prison sentence. A totally bullshit prison sentence I might add,” Karon said and briefly squeezed his spear harder.

“Heh, bullshit. First time I heard that one. I like it though, and that does sound a lot more like the empress.”

“Know her personally, do you?” Karon asked bemused.

“I might have had to sneak by her warriors once or twice to smuggle some stuff. Zebras don't take kindly to anything that isn't from their own culture, and if it belongs to something they don't like, they tend to destroy it, even if those things are priceless pieces of art or ancient artifacts.”

“Careless. You never know what kind of guardian or power you might wake up like that,” Karon noted.

“Exactly! Not to mention the loss of history. Still, the zebras don't deserve to have all the jackals making war on them just because the empress and the upper nobility have an inferiority complex,” Daring added.

“I understand,  and I prefer them to the jackals too. Especially since we had to flee from one of their camps while they were looking for us,” Karon joked, but Daring blanched as soon as he had said it.

“WHAT!? The jackals are looking for you!? Please tell me you didn't leave a trail for them to follow?” she asked, panic creeping into her voice.

“Don't worry, there were no jackals in sight when we left them, and you could see pretty far back in the drylands. Besides, if we left any trail in the sand, the wind must have swept it away,” Karon said, ignoring the gnawing feeling that they had been followed. “And even if they did manage to follow us, they must be many days behind us. We can still get away.”

“Oh crap....” Daring whispered and flew up into the air, looking about ready to flee.

“What!?” Lyra asked nervously, experience telling her something just had to go wrong.

“The jackals don't track with sight, they track by smell. Even the faintest odors are enough for them. They always follow way behind, and when their prey is cornered, they rush it! They can flat out run almost as fast as I can fly, and they can keep it up for days without stopping. They just followed behind you so you could find the crown for them!”

“Hold on. How would they know we were looking for the crown, or that we would even find it,” Trixie asked.

“It's the only explanation. If they were just hunting for you, they would have overrun you. Think! Did you say anything or do anything that might have made them think you could find these ruins?” Daring asked, switching her gaze between the three of them.

Karon felt a cold chill trickle down his spine and he sighed. He knew he should have trusted his instincts when they said there was danger.

“Yeah, I stole a fragment of the ruins the jackals had and were using to sniff out this location. They must have noticed it was missing and knew we were looking for the same place.”

“Then they're following you, and as soon as they realize you've found this place, they will come running and baying for blood,” Daring said, the distant look in her eyes telling them she was trying to think of a solution.

“Do you think we can outrun them?” Karon asked her. She appeared to to know far more about the jackals than he did.

“No, not a chance. Even if you had a two day head start, they would be on you in three.”

“Judging by how far back they must have stayed to remain unnoticed, I would say we have maybe one day minimum,” Karon said, his own mind racing with calculations and possible scenarios.

“Then we're in trouble,” the pegasus said, stating the obvious.

“You could just fly away with the crown. If they know you have it, they might ignore us and try to go after you,” Karon said and tilted his head to Daring.

She responded with a frown. “That's not how I do things. Besides, even if I did, I can only fly for so long before I need to rest. The jackals can go on for much longer than me, and since there are no clouds in the desert, I would need to sleep on the ground. They would catch up with me.”

She finished with a mumbling sound, something in what she had just said looked to have made her thoughtful.

“What?” Karon asked, gripping whatever slight chance they might get.

“Well ... there is one place we might flee to. It'll take three, maybe four days to get there at normal pony running speed. But that means we'll still need at least a two day headstart.”

“And what is this place?”

“A place the jackals won't cross over into, no matter the reason,” she answered, her voice telling them she didn't doubt her words for a second.

“Okay … we've got a safe haven then, and I'm not gonna ask why they avoid it since I'm reaching for straws here. Do you think we can go now? Before the jackals get here?”

“No. The moment you crossed into the sands they will have shortened the distance between you. The hills would have obscured their approach as long as they kept it silent.”

Karon was reminded of the distant howls he had heard at night.

“How long do you think we have?” Lyra asked the pegasus.

“I'm not sure, that depends on who's leading them. This new grand warchief I've heard about sounds pretty clever. If it's him, then it might be a matter of hours, otherwise I think maybe a day.”

“Shit...” Karon breathed, capturing all of their feelings in one word.

“We'll die won't we?” Lyra asked out loud, saying it like she had expected it.

“Nah don't worry. Being trapped in a ruin while a hostile army is approaching just means it's a Wednesday for me,” Daring said.

“We still have an advantage,” Karon murmured, the cogs inside his head spinning once more.

“What do you mean?” Daring asked and twirled the crown around her hoof.

“They use surprise, shock and awe, and their superior numbers right? The first two won't work if we know they are coming, and where they are coming from.”

“Right, so what are you thinking?” Daring asked, an eager gleam making its way to her eyes.

“First of all, there must be another way out somewhere. This used to be a city, and even if most of the entryways are blocked or collapsed, the only access can't be a single hole in the roof.”

“Sure, but it might take a very long time to find it, longer than we have,” Lyra noted.

“Let me worry about finding a way out,” Karon answered her.

“Alright,” Daring said, not asking what he was planning. “We still have the problem of the jackals following us.”

“Then we find a way to prevent them from following us or at least make it harder for them to.”

“I'm listening,” the pegasus said, putting her arms behind her neck and floating in the air casually.

“We have lots of possibilities as long as we find another way out of here. If the jackals come and follow us into this ruin, we just have to lead them further towards the other exit, then stop them from following all the way. We can collapse the roof, maybe find some gate to lock or whatever. Point is, they will be busy trying to get through to us, not thinking we're slipping out of here and heading towards whatever that safe haven is. As long as we make sure it takes time to get through the obstacles we leave behind, we will have time....” Karon offered, to the positive nods of the ponies.

“...and if that is not enough, I can find a choke point and hold them off while you escape,” he finished.

“NO! I told you we're not leaving you!” Lyra screamed at him, her voice bouncing off the walls and echoing down the hallways.

Karon was about to respond when he slammed his mouth shut. He strained his ears to pick up on a sound he feared he had already heard. The other three looked on him at first with confusion, however Daring quickly understood what he was doing and flew off into the darkness, the light she had carried igniting once more.

Karon listened so hard his ears started to hurt, his blood pumping painfully within his head. Then he heard it, a distant shuffling, a small clang as metal bounced against rock and a quickly silenced yelp.

The jackals were already inside.

“Just great...” he whispered to himself, watching as Daring's light disappeared around a bend. She would be back soon, bringing the news he already had discovered. He needed to be fast or they wouldn't make it out of the ruins at all.

He dropped his spear and it clattered to the floor loudly, making Lyra and Trixie flinch from the sudden sound, and walked over to the wall at his left, putting both hands on it before closing his eyes.

The world melted away and the only thing that remained was the solid rock pressing against his palms, the patient stone carved by small meatbags with tiny tools. Karon's mind sunk into the rock, and impressions from the stone flowed through his thoughts. Ages could pass and the rock would hardly notice. The flickering beginnings and ends of the creatures walking upon the skin of the planet was hardly worthy of notice, so the energy of the stone did not resist when Karon's own mixed in with it, tapping into its awareness.

He felt the different frequencies of the energy, suspended in time and made matter, and the different fields they produced. He felt the history of this place imprinted upon the stone, echoes and phantoms of times past recorded in the traces of energy that had been left behind.

It would have been interesting to watch it, to try and piece together what had once happened to the jackals, but there was no time. The rock didn't understand,  couldn't comprehend this rush, but it yielded when Karon pushed and sought the greater feeling of the rock, of the slow weathering its skin endured from the wind and sand above. He coasted along the outer edge, seeking an anomaly, something different, something that broke the pattern.

He found it. Far away, following one of the great tunnels that the jackals had once dug together with another species. Flickering images of small creatures with clever minds flashed through Karon's skull, and he forced himself to ignore it. There was another exit.

A great collapse had happened once. The creatures had been careless and not paid enough attention to the weight above, and they had payed with many lives when it came crashing down. Now there was a big hole, opening up to the sky above and letting the wind and sand into once crowded halls.

Karon withdrew his mind, cutting the connection and returning to his fragile body of flesh and bone. When he opened his eyes, he felt sick. The squishing and flushing of liquids, the constant movement of tiny organisms, the feel of muscles contracting and relaxing again and again. He took a deep breath and centered himself, pushing the memory of the stone away and keeping only the knowledge of the road they had to take to reach the other way out.

After a few seconds he shuddered and felt enough like himself again to speak.

“I found a way out,” he said and swallowed hard, and to his disgust he could feel the saliva trickle down his throat all the way to his stomach.

Both Lyra and Trixie watched him worriedly. It was hard for them to miss that he didn't look so good.

“Did something happen?” Lyra asked.

“Just a … slight side effect. The mind adapts to what it connects to … I'll be alright,” he assured them, taking up his spear.

The faint light down the tunnels heralded Daring's return, and after a few moments she zipped around the bend and reached them a heartbeat later and her light winked out.

“Well, we got good new and bad news,” she said and took in the three creatures below her carefully.

“Bad first,” Karon said groggily and massaged his left temple.

“The one walking in front of the rest is twice as big as a normal jackal, wielding the biggest ax I have ever seen since I was in Toro and got into a fight with a minotaur … so I would guess that's the infamous Vako, the would-be king of the jackals.”

“Honestly, I didn't expect anyone else. And the good news?”

“They're still trying to be sneaky,” she said and shrugged her shoulders.

“They didn't notice you?” Trixie asked.

“Nah, I flew dark the last bit. They didn't see anything walking around with those torches right in front of their noses. Jackals don't see very well to begin with anyway.”

“How long until they get here?” Karon asked and drew up a mental map of what he had sensed from the rock about the underground city.

“Maybe fifteen minutes, they obviously want you to find the crown for them so they're hanging back and taking things slow.”

“Do you have any ideas for slowing them down?” Karon asked.

“Usually I would say go for the leaders. Most jackals hate having to think for themselves, but since the leader is a huge monster that would make a minotaur nervous, I don't think that's the number one choice we should be aiming for.”

“Indeed,” Karon said dryly. “Anything else?”

“Well, I tend to try and lure my enemies into traps whenever I happen to be inside an old ruin, but I was disappointed this time. Not a single trap so far in the entire city,” she said, her voice tinged with slight disapproval, like she didn't appreciate the lack of challenge presented.

“We're running out of time you two,” Lyra interrupted, fiddling with her hooves nervously.

“Right,” Karon said and turned around, facing the gap in the floor and measuring the distance. When he felt confident he could make it, he took a calming breath and with a few sprinting steeps he leapt over the chasm and landed safely on the other side. The two ponies followed with a little help from Daring, giving them a boost with her wings.

“That won't stop them,” the pegasus noted.

“I know, but if they can't find our scent on this side, then they will hopefully assume we all didn't notice the gap and fell in,” Karon answered.

“How were you planning on hiding our scent?” Daring asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Magic,” came the easy answer.

“Ah, should have known you were a magic user. The hat kinda gives it away,” the pegasus said and flew down closer.

“Okay, here's the plan,” Karon said and looked each pony in the eyes. “I'll veil us from sight, sound and smell, as well as any trail we leave behind. I might be able to keep it up for at most twenty minutes, so we need to run fast to get some distance. Once I can't veil us anymore, everything I veiled will cease to be charged, including our scent, and unless they're complete idiots they will realize we know they're down here. I felt a pretty big exit maybe an hour away if we run.”

“What about stalling them? We need more than twenty minutes if we want to make it,” Daring said.

“How about we think about that while we run, because right now I don't have anything,” Karon said and looked behind him nervously.

The three ponies looked at one another, and then fell in behind Karon when he began running down the hallway, the slight tingling of energy in the air telling them he had worked his magic. Now it was just a matter of gaining as much ground as possible before it failed.

Daring glided close to the running group, easily keeping to their speed and looking almost bored after a few minutes of monotony. The light fixed above Karon's head spread its white glow around them, dispersing the darkness and lighting the way down the seemingly endless hallways.

Karon was busy maintaining the field around them while simultaneously keeping the impressions that he had gained through the stone with him, turning without hesitation whenever they reached a crossroads. As they went, the hallways shifted from lavishly painted to mostly bare symbols and reserved images.

With each stride he took, Karon felt his mind slipping, like he was walking against a torrent of water growing ever stronger. His vision flickered in and out of time. One second he was running through the hall with the ponies, the next he was standing in the same hall, but it was brightly lit and jackals as well as smaller, yellow colored mammals of some kind were walking through it. They were pushing carts of wares, making conversation and just generally contributing to the hustle and bustle of a regular city. And then he was back in the dark halls lit only by his small light, his ragged breath sounding loudly in his ears.

The memories of the stone were trickling into his mind, and he didn't have the strength available to push it back. And so he let it come, and he kept flickering in and out of time, growing more and more distant from where he truly was.

Until he heard a distant echo of an echo, a howl of rage bouncing down the walls from the far dark they had left behind. Only then did he discover he had let the veil slip and the game was up. The jackals knew they were running, and now the hunt was on.

“I think that means they know what's going on,” Daring noted, her voice calm and without worry.

“How far to the exit!?” Lyra shouted, increasing her pace like the rest of them had.

“We might be … halfway there,” Karon said through gritted teeth.

“Not good enough, I'll go back and slow them down,” Daring offered and patted the whip hanging at her side.

“You sure that's a good idea?” Karon asked her, to which the mare only shrugged.

“It's not like this is the first time I've been chased through an ancient ruin. I'll be fine, you just keep going,” she said, and with a tip of her hat shot back down the hall, her light shining once more.

“Do you think she's going to be okay?” Lyra asked out loud, and received no answer.

Karon cursed inwardly and prayed to whatever deity might listen that Daring would return safe. With no obvious way to stop the jackals from pursuing, he would take on that task, buying the ponies time to flee with his life, but he needed Daring to get them back to safety for that.

They kept on running, and over the sound of their heavy breathing and soles hitting the floor, they could hear distant yelps of pain and anger respectively. It gave Karon some relief each time he heard it, since it meant Daring was still alive and giving them trouble. However, after a while the sounds stopped reaching them, and if it was because they had moved out of the sound's reach or if it was because something had happened he didn't dare guess.

When he felt only a short stretch was left before reaching the exit, Daring returned, her light reaching them from behind a few heartbeats before the mare herself came into view at breakneck speed, passing by them while gradually slowing down until she stopped and waited impatiently for them to catch up.

“I might have bought you some extra time there. I kept hitting their torchbearers and one of them accidentally set another jackal on fire. They must have been different tribes because when I left them, all of the jackals where about ready to start fighting each other. Vako is going to need time to get them all back in line,” the pegasus reported and fell in above them.

“Good,” was all Karon said.

“Watch out for him though, he's pretty accurate with those little ax things he threw,” Daring said and rubbed a cut she had received on her right hoof.

Karon felt some relief return to him alongside Daring, until his veins felt like they had turned to ice when a deafening howl reached his ears. It was enough to make him stop and wince, as did the ponies beside him. Even Daring looked to have been shaken by it when she covered her ears with her hooves and squinted her eyes in pain.

The monumental howl was followed by a massive chorus of others, lesser in strength, but the combined sound of it all was enough to make the walls shake, and dust trickle down from the ceiling.

When the echo died down, Daring looked behind them with the first clear sign of fear on her face. “Okay … that must have gotten them back in line.”

“We're almost there,” Karon reassured and started running again, fear making his feet barely touch the floor.

The unicorns kept an equal pace, their faces mirroring the fear on Karon's own, and above, Daring flew with a singularly focused look with no trace of her easy bravado left.

They ran until the corridor opened up into a large dome, and Karon had a brief image flash before his eyes of jackals and the unknown creatures standing in large groups around stalls and wagons, bartering and trading goods with beautifully crafted fountains spraying water for anyone to drink from. The image lasted only for a second, but it was enough for Karon to know it had once been a place of great commerce, and perhaps more importantly, a place of tragedy, demonstrated by the collapse evident halfway across the square where a pile of sand and rock cut off all signs of civilization.

“Where's the exit!?” Lyra half shouted and looked around.

Karon closed his eyes and he felt a fleeting impression of wind and sand coming from a place forward and up. Eyes still closed he let his finger track the feeling until he found its location and opened his eyes. He was pointing at the upper part of the pile of sand.

“There! The wind has covered it with sand, but it's not thick. We can dig our way out.”

“We don't have much time,” Daring said and glanced back the way they came.

“Then hurry,” came the short reply from the human, and he hurried up the slope of sand and began shuffling it away.

He was joined in by the unicorns while Daring flew around the opening of the hallway, waiting for the jackals' arrival. After a few minutes of digging, a beam of light broke through, and the trio began digging in earnest, opening a small passage wide enough to crawl through.

“Go, go, go!” Karon shouted and close to pushed Trixie and Lyra through the opening, before turning around and shouting to Daring.

“Come on! You too!”

Reluctantly, the pegasus flew over and was about to go through the opening when the jackals came pouring in through the hallway at an almost impossible speed, a blur of fur, fangs and brandished weapons. At the front was a great beast, and Karon remembered the alpha wolf he had killed in the Everfree forest, a prime example of its species.

Great chief Vako, the one with enough ambition and cunning to seek to unite all jackals and lead them in conquest. He stopped halfway to Karon and Daring, going up on his two hind legs and walking as easily as he had ran on all fours. On his back, a huge ax hung in a loop, which he grabbed and swung through the air with a roar.

“Great...” Karon huffed.

Vako's eyes fixed instantly on the crown Daring and attached to her belt, and his voice bellowed with a barking quality to it.

“Pony has retrieved crown for us! If she gives it to me now I might forget the pain she caused earlier!” The statement was met with a few growl from the ranks behind him, said pain still fresh.

“You'll have to deal with me first,” Karon said and stepped in front of the pegasus, doing his best to sound menacing.

“So we're really going through with this whole honorable sacrifice thing?”

“It seems so.”

“I'm not going to complain, at this point it's useless. Allow me just to say … it is such a waste, there was so much waiting for us.”

“So much pain you mean.”

Vako fell silent as did the rest of the jackals as they stared at the strange creature they had never seen before. They stared at his odd form, oddly reminiscent of the monkeys found in the savanna, and his odd clothes. They stared at his glowering face, and they stared at the jet black spear he held.

And they continued to stare.

And continued.

And continued.

Finally Karon grew almost insulted that they would give more attention to the spear than they would him.

“Uhh, what's the matter with you?” he finally asked as his patience wore out, and Vako's eyes snapped up to meet his.

“It cannot be,” the jackal growled.

“What?” Karon asked in an oblivious voice.

“Bator's promise! Is it Bator's promise!?” Vako roared.

Karon stood stunned, still not quite comprehending what was going on. Daring came to stand next to him and looked the spear up and down closely.

“Oh yeah … I should have recognized that. Where did you get it?” she asked in a whisper.

“It was a gift, from a … dragon....” Karon said, his mind going back to when Eldros had explained where he had gotten it in the first place.

“Oops...”

“I take it the spear is kinda important?” Karon asked in a whisper, not taking his eyes of the shocked army of jackals before him.

“Yeah ... The jackals have this legend about their greatest leader Bator, who made it and promised to slay an ancient dragon with it and bring back its treasure, thus marking the beginning of a new era for all jackals and the start of a conquest that was supposed to bring the entire continent under their rule.”

“It didn't go so well after what I've heard,” Karon mumbled.

“Nope, he got eaten. No surprise there, but the jackals greatest legend says that whoever recovers the spear will fulfill Bator's promise and bring Punda Milia under jackal control.”

“So it is true!” Vakor roared, and Karon cursed himself. He should have considered that jackals might have good ears as well as noses.

Vako turned his head to the jackals behind them, numbering in the hundreds and continuing far back into the hallway beyond Karon's sight.

“FORGET THE CROWN! GET THE SPEAR!” the great chief roared and the jackals swarmed forward to do his bidding.

“Oh shit.”

“Daring, take the others and get them to safety!” he said and threw his rucksack and map through the opening. Twirling his spear and bringing it to bear against the approaching horde.

The light that had kept to a point above his head darted forward at his mental command, and with a great surge of energy it flashed brighter than the sun for an instant before winking out, stopping all the jackals in their tracks and leaving them blinded.

Daring darted through the opening, leaving Karon facing the jackals alone. The sand beneath him would shift when the weight of the jackals were placed on it, and the loose footing would not serve them well when trying to reach him. That and the length of his spear should prove enough of an advantage for a little while, then he could retreat through the opening and stab anything that tried to get out. It wouldn't last, sooner or later they would get through, and he would be cut down. Hopefully by then the ponies would have gained enough distance to reach whatever safe place Daring had mentioned.

“So this is it, after everything that's happened we will die at the dirty paws of a few mangy mutts?”

“It is kind of ironic isn't it? When Eldros sent us out to kill the wolf pack he had said that the wolves were my superiors because I could not kill them. Now here I stand, about to die at the hands of a pack of talking, walking, foul smelling wolves.”

“Yeah … great going there on making something of yourself.”

“It's better this way. The ponies will make it to safety, and if we kill Vako, then the rest of the tribes will fight over who is to wield the spear. They will destroy themselves and what remains, the zebras should be able to handle. It will fix every problem, it will give the greatest outcome … it will solve everything.”

“I have never seen us as stupid, do you know that? Full of ourselves, prone to throwing ourselves into things without thinking, yes. Easy to goad and easy to bring out of balance yes, but never stupid. However selfish, ignorant or in over our head we may have been there has always been a slight degree of watchfulness, of awareness and quick thinking making sure that no matter how dark it got, we pushed through. However, now you are stupid. We were never a hero, but we were a survivor.”

“I know … that was always the problem.”

“What has changed? Ever since we met Twilight, we moved forward, we grew and we gained. What changed?”

“Nothing changed … nothing ever did.”

The conversation flashed through his mind in a brief instant, drawing out time in small slices, each heartbeat lasting what felt like an eon. The jackals were growling, barking and roaring, Vako loudest of them all.

Karon found himself feeling annoyed, this was supposed to be his last stand, doing something suitably heroic, giving his life to ensure the escape of his friends. They were totally ruining the moment. The strange feeling was interrupted when another sound reached him above the cacophony.

Lyra was shouting.

“NO! No! NO! I'm not leaving him! Karon I'm not leaving without you! If you want us to leave, you have to leave with us!”

The sound made him frown. She was ruining things, making it more difficult. Couldn't she see that this was the best solution?

It would solve everything.

“MASTER! Please hurry! You have to come with us! You can't leave us, you can't leave me!” Trixie's voice joined Lyra's, and Karon's resolve shook.

It angered him. This wasn't the time for hesitation and second thoughts. He had brief seconds before the jackals would recover.

“Please!” the voices begged, and something shifted inside him.

“Give me your hooves!” Karon shouted and threw himself at the opening, stretching his left hand out into the sunlight.

Two hooves met his hand, but instead of dragging him to safety he held back.

“No, channel all your energy to me. Don't ask questions just do it!” he screamed.

Behind him he heard a few confused growls, sounds telling him the jackals were regaining their sight. Fear caught his heart for a brief instant, and then it got flooded with light. Power burst through the small contact of skin on skin, and all sense of fear vanished. Time slowed, everything slowed, all that was was light, was power, coursing through him. Making his hairs stand on edge and his veins burn. Every part of his being, his spirit and mind, his soul was screaming in fierce joy. Sparks of light danced between the hairs on his arms, and when he opened his mouth to breath, he could see tiny specks of light in the air, rushing to fill his lungs. Every shape and color was enhanced, vibrant and alive.

He let go of the hooves, the living hooves, vibrating visibly to his eyes and he turned around. The jackals were moving in slow motion, and he could see their muscles playing with the movement,  their pupils slitted to barely no size at all, the faint tremor that went through the earth when their paws hit the ground, sending shivers up their legs. He could see the sounds, like blue waves of energy sweeping outwards.

Karon's mind stretched, it felt for the roof, but it was solid and would not yield without a fight. He felt the walls but they were the same, held in steady place by the pressure from above. However, below the floor Karon felt a hollowness. And within that hollowness there was water, the water that had once supplied the fountains of the market with its soothing relief from the desert heat. It had carved a greater stream below the floor as the years passed by, and what once had been a steady stream, was now a rushing torrent.

The floor was not thick, and it would yield to the power he now wielded.

His decision made, Karon's mind reluctantly slipped into his normal awareness and the world returned to normal. Vako was the first to regain his sight, and with Karon outlined so perfectly from the light behind, he rushed forward with a roar.

When the would-be-conqueror passed over the section of the floor right above the stream Karon lifted his spear up high.

“How about we do this in style?”

“Why not.”

“YOU, SHALL NOT-” he didn't get any farther before a whooshing sound interrupted him, and he managed to duck just in time to avoid a throwing ax from Vako splitting his skull.

“Something new then,” Karon growled and held the spear high above with his right hand, while flipping the jackals off with his left.

“Abracadabra, bitch!” he screamed and slammed the spear down into the sand, where it barely made a sound.

The same can not be said of the stone floor.

A huge thundering sound lashed out as the floor split open like a wound, and with the collapsing rock, jackals fell down into the eagerly waiting torrent and were carried down into the deep, screaming. Karon fell to his knees, exhaustion pressing him down. He watched the jackals with labored breaths and smiled wickedly.

Until he saw Vako.

The monstrous jackal came clawing his way up from the collapsed section of the floor, and even in the dimly lit cave, Karon could clearly see the near madness shining in his yellow eyes.

“Ho...ly...shit...”

Even worse, behind him the jackal horde was looking for a place where the broken floor sections were close enough to leap over, and they found it. It was with disbelief marking every inch of his face that Karon watched as the jackals just shrugged off what had been an epic demonstration of magical might, giving no second thoughts to what must have been half a hundred jackals that had been flushed away by the water.

Karon took the sight in for a moment, then he threw himself to the opening and crawled through. The flare of bright light made him squint his eyes, but he didn't stop, instead he began running as soon as he was out, grabbing his gear and pushing the unicorns forward.

“Run!” he simply screamed, and led by example.

“Did you stop them!?” Daring asked loudly as she flew alongside the fleeing trio.

“I split the floor in half and it barely slowed them down!” Karon shouted shrilly, just before he started to stumble.

He stopped and stood on shaky legs. The energy he had commanded, had channeled … it had burned him out. He was useless magic wise, and his body was not far behind. He needed time to recover, time they didn't have. He couldn't do anything more.

“I can't … go on....” he rasped and tried to swallow.

Trixie and Lyra walked up to him, and Lyra put her hoof on his shoulder.

“We're not leaving you,” she said with a sad smile.

“You can't-”

“I can do whatever I want,” she interrupted him, and Trixie nodded.

“Master … thank you for everything you've taught me,” the sky blue unicorn said without a hint of sarcasm.

Karon's eyes widened.

“Trixie … you can save us,” he said and met her eyes.

“What … me? What do you-”

“Trixie! I'm spent. I've got nothing more to give, but you … you don't get it. I'm not a real master, but that doesn't matter. I've begun teaching you, that means through me you have begun your first steps to greater things, to gaining entrance to the true masters and powers. They will know this, and so far you have done nothing to fail them, nothing to make them doubt you. Trixie … you can save us.”

“How?” she asked, doubt written all over her face.

“They will protect their own, nature will respond to you if you only reach for it. Let yourself go, give in, give in to the calling and you will reach everything you ever wanted and need.”

She stared at him fearfully. It shone out of her eyes like beckoning stars, and it kept her back. Karon could do no more. He had told her was she had to do. She would succeed or they would die, it was up to her now.

Behind them, they could hear the sound of Vako crawling through the small opening, shuffling sand around himself as he tried to push through. Trixie looked at Karon with terror, the struggle raging inside her was plain on her face. He could remember the feeling, the need to tense up, to demand control, to cling to the safety blanket that was one's fear.

With every moment of struggle with herself, she tensed more, constricted herself more, she didn't realize that there was no end to that struggle, that there was no light at the end of that tunnel, but he couldn't tell her that.

Vako barked victoriously when he broke through, and his smaller brethren followed out after him quicker. The jackals saw them just standing there, like they were waiting for them. Perhaps Vako thought they had given in to defeat and was waiting for him to come end them, for he chuckled to himself and walked casually towards them.

“Perhaps we should say something encouraging, dramatic and cliché?”

“Like what? 'I believe in you' or something similar?”

“Maybe not that cliché.”

Then it happened, it was so easy he could see the shock in her eyes. The moment you stop struggling, the moment you realize the only enemy is yourself, and you let go. Trixie let go of her fear, let go of her doubt and gave in. She had been called, and she had answered the calling.

And now it came to answer her.

The effect was instantaneous. A wind whipped up the sand around them in a great storm, so thick it blocked out the sun's light almost entirely, leaving them in a sand colored gloom and the roar of the storm drowning out the surprised shouts the jackals must have made.

With a wondrous look in her eyes, Trixie turned to Karon with tears in her eyes, and simply said, “Thank you.”

“Congratulations, now let's get out of here.”

Daring looked around them at the swirling cyclone of sand and her expression turned dubious.

“Uhh, not to object to the life saving bit of magic, but I have no idea which way is south-east now,” she said.

“That way,” came the sure response from Trixie, and she looked at her hoof strangely after she spoke.

“You have no idea how you knew that correct?” Karon asked with amusement in his voice.

“Yes...” came Trixie's uncertain reply.

“You get used to it,” he said back and turned to the direction she had pointed. “This way you say? Can you keep up the living compass thing until we reach safety?”

“I … think so,” she replied.

“Good, then we should get going,” Karon announced and motioned for Trixie to take the lead.

The unicorn hesitated only for a second before she walked in the direction she had indicated, the other falling in behind her. All around them, the wind kept shrieking and the sand whipped around with speed enough to tear away skin, yet it didn't touch them.

They kept following Trixie, and soon lost all track of time. Lyra and Daring had to help Karon walk, and a few times they had to stop and allow him time for rest. It made them nervous every time, none of them knew what was going on outside of their little safety bubble. Eventually they all got too tired to go on, and as soon as they had decided to stop and try to get some sleep, the wind broke away from them.

It was like passing through a sheet, leaving the sand behind and opening up to the desert landscape before them, serene and unmoving beneath a starry sky. They looked behind them and gasped, it hadn't just been a tornado or cyclone shifting around them as a shield, no, Trixie's call had been answered viciously, and now a huge sandstorm raged in the area they had left behind.

“How long do you think it'll last?” Lyra asked.

“I think … it will last just as long as we need it to,” Trixie replied.

“Well then ... let's try and get some sleep,” Karon said, and the suggestion was meet with tired confirmations.

Despite their tired states and the excitement of the day, they slept uneasily. The howling of the sandstorm was a constant reminder that the jackals were out there, and they would not be happy if they found them. When they woke up, the sandstorm still raged, and they continued on their way southeast, putting as much distance from it as they could.

The water and food Karon had in his rucksack was enough to last them a few days, but the specter of what would happen after that loomed over them constantly. Trixie might be able to provide the water, but food was not easy to come by in the desert, and they would need food for such a long journey as the one back to the zebra lands.

They repeated the same thing the next day, and the one after that. Conversation was kept to a minimum, the only thought or desire that possessed them at the moment was escape, getting away from the jackals. One night, Lyra had started a conversation with Karon that sounded like she had wanted to say something important, however she stopped herself before she had gotten to the point of what she wanted, and the situation had left both of them feeling confused as to what had happened.

The next day repeated as the ones before, and at the end when the sun was beginning to set, they reached an invisible border marked by the beginning of a savanna, much like the land the trio had passed through on their way to the jackals' territory.

As soon as they passed into the tall grasses, Daring let out a sigh and glided through the air on her back lazily, chuckling from relief.

“What is it?” Karon asked and leaned heavily on his spear.

“We're here. We're safe,” she said and continued doing backwards strokes and looked to be enjoying herself immensely.

Karon looked around skeptically, as did the unicorns.

“Think you could explain?” Karon asked and sat down on the grass, taking off his boots and massaging the soles of his feet.

“This … might not sound so good. Don't overreact.”

“Great, just what I wanted to hear,” he grumbled.

“This is nyegere territory. Nothing smart enough to speak would ever cross into this land unless they want to die.”

“And you're leading us right into it.”

“Well, you don't enter nyegere territory because you don't want to attract their attention and led them to the rest of your tribe or city. They're pretty much unstoppable as I have heard it.”

“Unstoppable?”

“Yes, there's an ancient saying in old zebrihili, 'nyegere haitoi kutomba, ni tu inachukua nini anataka'.”

“And that means?”

“Basically, you don't stand a chance, so don't mess with a nyegere.”

“Comforting, so why did you led us here now again?”

“Because unlike most creatures, I can fly. I can scout the plains ahead and make sure you avoid running into one. They're pretty rare to begin with, and if you stay put at night and don't attract attention, we should do fine.”

“If these nyegere are as dangerous as you think, should we perhaps consider other options?” Karon said and looked questioningly to Lyra and Trixie.

“Stop worrying. I'll handle it,” Daring responded confidently and raced off into the sky, scouting for these dangerous nyegere.

Karon sighed and put on his boots once more before standing up and looking suspiciously at the tall grass stretching out in front of him.

“Let's go then.”

They followed the small figure of Daring flying high in the sky, diverting their course just once when she abruptly stopped and went straight right for a while before heading down south once more, perhaps spotting one of the infamous nyegere or some other threat. They went on for a few more hours before the the sky had darkened and the sun hung on the horizon, when Daring came gliding down and landed on the ground.

“I won't be able to see much from now on. We should stay for the night and wait until morning before going on,” she said and arched her back lazily.

“Fine,” Karon said and dumped his rucksack and map on the ground.

The ponies fell down in the soft grass happily, moaning softly as they took the weight off their hooves. They ate in silence, and a tentative calm seemed to have settled over them. They had escaped one great danger only to trade it for another, but at least they weren't in a rush anymore.

“We should take turns watching over the others, in case one of these nyegere comes around,” Karon said after they had all eaten and were ready to go to sleep.

“Ughh, please tell me I don't have to go first,” Lyra pleaded.

“That's okay, I can go first,” Daring offered.

“Good, Trixie you're up after Daring, then me then Lyra will stay up until sunrise when we'll all get going again.”

“Fine,” Lyra said and rested her head on a hoof, falling asleep almost instantly.

Trixie and Karon weren't slow to follow her example, and soon only Daring remained awake, looking out over the grassland watchfully.

Sometime during the night Karon was woken up by Trixie, pressing a hoof down on him gently.

“Huh? Wah...?”

“It's your turn,” she replied with a yawn before shuffling over to her spot.

Karon groaned and slapped himself twice to wake up, then got up and walked over to a nearby rock sitting halfway up a hill close by, giving him a better look at the surrounding landscape.

The wind was playing over the grass, creating waves that threatened to mesmerize him, so he shifted his eyes reluctantly and stared up into the night sky, knowing what would come next. He had spent the past days focusing on nothing but getting away, of surviving, as he knew the other also had.

Now that luxury had passed, and even though Daring had warned that there was plenty of danger where they were now too, it didn't seem as immediate and threatening as a raving jackal horde had. And without an immediate threat to distract him and focus his mind, thought and feelings were starting to trickle out into his consciousness.

“We really need to make up our mind,” the voice announced dryly.

“You know we already have.”

“Then what was that back with the jackals?”

“I followed them because they still need me.”

“What if Trixie and Lyra will always need us?”

“You know they won't. We just have to wait until the right time to...”

“You don't even dare to put it into words do you? Should I say it instead?”

“No...just...no.”

“There is still much waiting for us.”

“You said that, back with the jackals. But you're wrong, there is nothing waiting for us but the same thing. What we have done … what we did … it will always come back at us, will always haunt us. We can never escape it, it is all we will ever have. There's no point to this anymore.”

The words seemed to send echoes out into the world, and the wind died down, the small distant sounds of living creatures went silent, and everything was still. Karon looked around with a raised eyebrow and walked down to the camp, retrieving his spear. What had just happened stank of magic and the shifting of fate, and he wanted to be prepared for whatever might come next.

He stalked around the small camp where the ponies slept, but couldn't find anything suspicious or out of the ordinary, as far he understood ordinary for the savanna.

That was until he heard something. It was rhythmic and coming closer, sounding almost like a voice. He sneaked towards the sound, keeping low in the tall grass and listening intently. He realized the sound was coming from one of the few trees scattered around, and that it was of someone … singing.

“Asante sana squash banana. Wewe nugu mimi hapana!” it sang, repeating it over and over, sometimes laughing happily in between.

When Karon reached the base of the tree and looked up at the tree canopy he could see nothing at first, but then something dropped out of the thick cluster of branches and landed right beside him, laughing deeply. The sudden drop of the creature made Karon flinch and when he tried to turn and face the creature he tripped over his spear and fell down on the ground.

The creature chuckled from the sight and then jumped into clear view, it was a monkey. It looked a lot like a baboon, but a bent tail stuck out from its back and in its right hand it held a gnarly old wooden staff.

And it could speak.

“Wohohoho, what have we here? A trickster all blessed up and far from home? What brings you around to these parts, hmmm?” it asked and bounced back a few steps, giving Karon room to get up.

“Looking for something out of place,” he replied and held his spear firmly, the monkey could be a lot more dangerous than he appeared.

“Oh, then you've found it. It's you! Bwhahahah!” the monkey replied and slapped its knees like it had told the most hilarious joke.

“Funny, personally I would have thought it would be the talking monkey standing before me,” Karon said evenly and glared at the creature.

“Oh no, no, no, no. I'm exactly where I should be. I fit in perfectly don't you think?” the monkey asked and spread his arms out wide.

“Monkeys don't generally talk,” Karon noted.

“That depends on where you're from!” came the quick reply before the monkey danced away and disappeared amongst the grass.

Karon thought of pursuing, but discarded the idea and began heading back to the ponies. Halfway there, the same monkey popped up from the grass and came landing right before him.

“So what are you doing now?” it asked and smiled broadly.

“Same thing as before,” Karon replied and grind his teeth.

“Why? I told you, it's you!”

“Fine, I'm out of place. Happy now?”

“Course I am, I helped! Mwhahaha. But why do you still look so sad then?” the monkey asked, his voice a little lower.

“I'm not sad,” Karon replied automatically.

“Hmmm, that sounds rehearsed. Tell you what, if you can say the same thing but in five different ways, I will believe you.”

Karon felt his muscles tensing in irritation for a moment, before he sighed and let it go.

“What do you want?” Karon simply asked.

“To help of course. You seem a little lost.”

“We already got a guide thank you.”

“No, no, no. Not that kind of lost, I mean the big kind of lost.”

“'The big kind of lost'?”

“Exactly! I thought you might need some help getting back on track, since you are so out of place.”

“And how were you planning on doing that?”

“Why, with words of course,” the monkey laughed.

“Enough of this,” Karon growled and pushed by the monkey, only to receive a bash to the head from his stick.

“Aouch! Do that again and I will do the same to you!”

“That does sound fair,” the monkey replied and scratched his chin thoughtfully.

“Well my stick has a pointy end,” Karon said with a grim smile.

“Oh no, that would be cheating. What's your name?”

“I … uh … Karon.” the reply eventually came.

“Karon! I know a Charon, works with public service and transportation, a little grim but a nice person all things considered.”

“And your name would be...?” Karon asked a little curious, the monkey was obviously more than he appeared to be.

“My name!? My name is Metat … no wait that isn't right. It's Rafiki now.”

That settled Karon's suspicions, something was going on.

“Fine, you want to talk? So talk,” Karon told him and leaned on his spear.

“Hmm what manners, so rude to old Rafiki. Normally I don't even deal with this, normally it's big U that handles these things, but he was busy at the moment, something about a wizard that had himself killed to get out of a deal.”

“Fine, uhrm. Please oh great wise one, enthrall me with your wisdom,” Karon said dryly.

“Sarcasm! Wonderful, this is going great so far! Now for a question. Why haven't you told Lyra what is going on with you?”

“Enough with this,” Karon muttered and ignored the question, turning around and walking towards the camp.

“Killing yourself won't solve anything, you know,” Rafiki called to him, and Karon stopped dead in his tracks.

He turned around slowly and asked in a shaky voice.

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean? I mean what I just said; killing yourself won't solve anything.”

“I'm not...”

“Yes you are. You're tired and afraid, tired of the pain that eats you from inside, and now you are afraid because a certain set of chains are being undone and a certain black door won't remain locked forever.”

“How do you...?”

“It's my job of course. Now, of course you can't just outright kill yourself, that wouldn't be right. Not after dear Feather Touch gave her life for yours. It would be an act of betrayal to kill yourself after that, but the pain and fear is so much. It is too much right? But what if you would die while doing something heroic? Like, trying to give your friends time to flee while you cover their backs and tragically die in the attempt. No one could blame you for that, hmmm? Tell me, was it really that nice, sinking towards the bottom of the sea? Feeling the wafting breath of death upon your nape?”

“It … was.”

“It won't solve anything, you know. Your past will always be your past, unless you go back in time and change it of course, but then again, trying to might make things worse.”

“How am I supposed to go on like this then!? Just take it!? I can't, I can't carry all of this anymore, it hurts too much. I need it to go away … or I will die inside.”

“Well, you're the one making it hurt, and only you can make it stop.”

“How?” Karon asked, despair washing over him like thick oil.

“You know the answer to that question; it ends where it started.”

“I can't...”

“You need to, it is inevitable. You said it yourself, you can't escape it. It is a part of you after all.”

“I can't...”

“You will know when the time is right. You fear those memories because they would kill you, in more ways than one. So listen closely now, the time to face what happened is the time when you risk that happening anyway if you don't.”

“What? I don't understand...?”

“Of course not, because it's not time quite yet. You got other stuff to deal with first after all, chains still wrapped tight and all.”

“I'm listening,” Karon said quietly.

“Good, well first thing first. You can't live for a dead person. Feather's gone, she made her choice and she does not regret it. I got inside sources, so you'll just have to trust me.”

Karon only nodded, it was easier said than done.

“Second, don't try to kill yourself, that one should be obvious. So no more picking fights or wading into battle like you want to die, because you're not allowed to want to die anymore, capish?”

Karon nodded again and sighed.

“Third and lastly … have fun.”

“What?” came the incredulous response.

“You heard me, stop denying yourself joy. Trust your instincts and follow your desires. You are a trickster after all and will never find out what it means to be one unless you actually ARE one, in action. And you need to learn the answer to that question. You didn't get blessed by this world just for laughs and giggles trickster. There are many, many lives that will depend on you understanding a few things before the end.”

“No pressure right?” Karon snorted and the being calling itself Rafiki laughed loudly.

“That's it! Trust yourself, and don't deny your inner voice completely no matter how stupid it might be at times.”

“Hey!”

“Are you sure about that last one?” Karon asked with a small smile.

“HEY!”

“Course I am! I'm a, a … I'm a monkey, I know stuff. Like that thing over there!” the monkey said and pointed to something behind the human.

Karon turned around and looked, but he couldn't see anything, and when he turned back the being disguised as a monkey was gone.

“He did make a few good points.”

“Fine, he did.”

“So can we go back to being fun now?”

“Yes … we can.”

“WOHOOOOOO!”

                                 *****************************************

Karon's mind was spinning after the strange visitation, and he didn't know what to think of the fact that he seemed to have caught the attention of beings that were very, very powerful. Despite that though, he managed to fall asleep quickly after he had woken Lyra for the last turn of keeping watch, and when he woke up he felt … oddly refreshed.

Though more than one strange thing had occurred during the night.

“I don't get it, I know I woke you up for your turn keeping guard,” Karon said in a defensive tone while Lyra and Trixie looked at him accusingly.

“No, you didn't. I didn't wake up until just now,” Lyra held firm.

“Fine, fine. Let's just wait until Daring get's back and see what she has to say.”

Karon, Trixie and Lyra had been woken up by Daring, who had been fast to demand an explanation of why she had woken in an entirely different place from where she had fallen asleep in. And after having shaken the sleepiness off, the trio had seen for themselves that the entire landscape had changed. They were still in a savanna, but there were different trees and hills around them than in the place they had went to sleep in.

Daring had flown off in order to get her bearings while the trio had remained stationary, arguing about whose fault this was. Karon had a suspicion, and it did not involve any of the three ponies, but he kept his mouth shut about that.

Daring swooped them with a big grin after few minutes of absence and spoke happily.

“I think our food problem is solved.”

“How's so?” Karon asked.

“Because unless I'm completely lost, which I'm not, I think we're just a few hours away from Mjimkuu.”

“What!? How?” Lyra demanded and cast two suspicious eyes towards Karon.

“Hey I didn't do it,” he answered truthfully.

“Well, whatever happened wasn't bad. So perhaps we should get going? After all we have the crown and we know what the jackals were planning. We have done everything the empress asked and more.” Trixie said.

“Yeah uhh … I would appreciate it if you didn't mention me having the crown, they'll only want to destroy it if they know I have it,” Daring asked.

“What were you planning to do with it?” Lyra asked and cocked her head.

“It has a place waiting in Canterlot's Royal Museum, and Celestia pays a great deal to those who help her preserve history,” the pegasus answered.

“Good enough for me. Just keep it out of sight when we arrive and everything should work out,” Karon finished, and they started upon the last stretch of their journey.

Their moods were in high spirit and they talked, joked and laughed more than Karon had done in months. He still felt the deep scars after all he had been through, and he knew more would come, but it wasn't the only thing he dared feel anymore. And it was in true trickster fashion that he rebelled against the pain and laughed honestly out of joy.

And then, while they were busy listening to one of Daring's stories of adventure, he felt a twinge of foreboding. A shiver running gently up his spine, warning him something was wrong.

His eyes were guided by the feeling, and soon he noticed something drifting up from beyond a few large hills before them, blocking their view. Black smoke.

“Daring … could you fly on ahead and … make sure everything is alright?” Karon interrupted.

The pegasus went silent and followed his gaze, and her face shifted from happy carelessness to complete focus instantly. Without any further words she raced off into the sky, and Karon began running in the same direction, Trixie and Lyra following behind.

A few seconds later Daring came flying down from the sky, landing on top of the hills without looking back on them. The trio ran up the hill to where she stood waiting, and saw what was causing the smoke.

Mjimkuu was under attack.

Next Chapter: Chapter 39: Trickster, monster, legend Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 28 Minutes