The Search for Mbili'Pembe (Closed: Zoebel12 and Steeleagle)

[Pretzelparty]

In the oldest stories of the Zebra Culture's mythology there are stories of an ancient species of creatures who commanded powerful magic unlike the Zebra's had ever seen, at least until they first met the Unicorns of Equestria. These creatures were called the Abada, unlike the unicorns though, these creatures bore two curved horns instead of a single straight one and had the tail of a wild boar.

In the old myths they were portrayed as the greatest of potion makers as well as powerful magic users. It is said they used to speak to maintain contact with the Zebra tribes of Unyasi, occasionally appearing from the depths of the Brakenweald from an ancient city of untold beauty and some of the most incredible magic a zebra could behold; Mbili'pembe.

One day though, they just dissapeared. The abada were always a very reclusive race, if they sent a messenger from their city hidden in the Brakenweald they almost always sent him alone and even then he rarely seemed to be willing to let himself be seen by the member's of whatever tribe they dealt with. It was rare for these creatures to willingly let someone into their city under any circumstances... however one Zebra says that he managed to find their city and even sneak in. This Zebra was a long ago a young stallion who sought to use steal the abada's greatest potion to save his tribe from a mysterious illness that threatened them. On the day one of the abada came to speak with another tribe he pounced him and stole a charm from him. This charm was supposedly the only thing that could allow someone to pass through the disorienting magic that made many explorers who dared to find their kingdom hopelessly lost until they gave up on the pursuit. It even acted as a key to the city's "gates" according to the Abada he took it from.

Soon this stallion managed to get into the mythical city and steal the most powerful looking healing potion he could find. The Abada were not pleased with this event and eventually forbade any zebra entrance to their home. The stallion who stole their potion managed to save his tribe and be celebrated as a hero until his eventual death or so the story says.

A certain adventurous painter had heard this legend from a random Zebra in a bar who claimed he was a descendant of the stallion in the story. It took a few rounds before he spilled that particular can of beans though. An ancient lost city of incomparable beauty and magic, that was something Presteza HAD to see(and paint, obviously).

"So... wot exactly 'appened with tha' charm thingy ya were talkin' about?" asked the mare through a bit of a drunken slur. Apparently the guy had sold it to some traveling salegriffon. He had been told this story by his parents multiple times and all he could think of was how ludicrous it sounded.

"Those Abada were nothin' but a myth and that amulet's worthless... I only got a single melon for it.. and it was expired!"shouted the stranger.After a few more drinks Presteza managed to find out which way the griffon was heading from the drunk zebra. Oddly enough the rest of that night was a blur which was a bit worrying to her as she usually had a perfect memory and sometimes when she walked past vaguely familiar looking Zebras they would look away and blush and when she got back to the local inn she found out she apparently had been sent a small wagon as thanks for what was only refered to as a "Favour" from the zebra who delivered it.

"Okay... I'm worried about what happened last night... but on some level I'm thinkin' I really don' wanna know. Oh well, I got a free cart outta woteva happened so it can't be all that bad!"

The journey to the Veld of Unyasi was rather taxing but rewarding, Because of the heat she had to ditch her favorite scarf and keep it in the cart with the rest of her art supplies and a certain colorful flying friend resting as he hung from the top of the wagon's roof. Celestia's sun hung high in the sky warming the Lands below and almost cooking a certain pony who was not yet fully used to this climate. Fortune seemed to see fit to smile on the painter as she eventually came to a pond of fresh clean water that someone else had already decided to stop by and relax.

Lowering her muzzle to the water she took a long drink and made her way over to the Griffon, noticing he wore a charm that matched the description given to her by the zebra in the bar around his neck.

"Oi, you open fer business, mister? If ya are could I buy that thing around yer neck off ya!"

The griffon grinned and said that he could be persuaded to part with it for... perhaps 20 gold bits. It was clear he assumed from her rather shabby appearance that there was no way this unicorn could afford that. He didn't count on her to go back to her cart and pull out a large sack of gold bits and drop it before him and say,"There's forty, keep the change!" The griffon's jaw dropped on the floor as he looked into the contents of the bag. Lifting the charm from his neck he stared dumbstruck by the wealth before him and could only say,"Here... you go miss... let me just savor this moment please..." and then draped it on the silvery maned pony's neck. Presteza's parents had been sending her fairly large sums of bits every week and with the amount of time she had spent at that particular inn in Unyasi she had decided to let the currency accumulate awhile.

The mare gave a shrug and went back over to her cart to check out this trinket. It didn't look to special really... just looked like a rock with some fancy carving etched into it. could this thing really be magical?

[SteelEagle]

Unyasi was one of the last places on the map that the hooves of an Earth pony hadn't touched, that a unicorn's magic hadn't entranced, and that a pegasi's power hadn't transformed. No doubt a few ponies had made their mark in some areas but on the whole it was a wild land by the standards of an Equestrian. The skies did not obey. The world did not answer your call and your connection with the earth was severed if not weakened. It was an attractive location for a pony with adventure in her heart and a wanderlust printed into her genes. Here was a land full of mystery and unexplored history that the ponies of Equestria knew little or nothing about, if they even knew Unyasi even existed! What a perfect place to be. A perfect place to visit. A perfect place for adventure!

Pathfinder had started to make more frequent trips to the nation down south, seeing it as a sort of resting stop of sorts. No doubt there was a generation of adventure hidden in it, meaning she was never at a loss for something to do. This allowed her to take breaks from her Equestrian hot spots which were turning cooler by the hour as she slapped them all down one after another. When you started venturing down any old mine or cave hoping to find something like it was a game of Oubliettes and Ogres, you were on the wrong side of adventuritis. Speaking of slapping, that was something that she found herself on the receiving end of more often these days. Sometimes it was deserved, like when she cut in front of line at a bookstore to get a book signed by one of the authors of the New Adventures of Daring Do. Other times it was complete lunacy, like during that same instance when he had told said author she had written Bravado out of character and needed to re-write it. The pride of some authors, jeez!

And so after a failed expedition to the Crystal Empire resulted in an odd love affair with a guard thanks to an errant love spell, she decided to take a break and had down south for some more exotic adventures. Unyasi fun times? Unyasi fun times! Pathfinder flew high in the sky from the northern tip of Equestria through the breadth of the land, past the ocean, and into Unyasi itself. From there she just had to consult a few of her maps, which were ore often than not marked with various legends and conspiracy theories to follow up pon. After extensive research however and not understanding much of the local language except for curses, she found fewer options than usual. Sort of a bust. She'd only found a few gems and a few relics. Only a few gas traps and arrow traps, and only a few somewhat sapient monsters had tried to eat her. Relatively boring. Super boring!

With this mindset, she found herself flying closer to the ground than usual. In Unyasi, it was better to fly under the cloud layer than abive as it was so much hotter and stuffier. That and it allowed her to spot any potential ADVENTURE HOLE that she saw. Normally all she would see was wild life down below snarl at the pegasus who looked liked the tastiest treat in all the world creating an ignorant silhouette in the sky above. It didn't take too long for her to find a watering hole and a unique pair of visitors below. What was another pony and a griffon of all types doring out there? As Pathfinder used her patented awesome vision to scout out the pair, the pony hoofed over a bag of gold coins which were not worth a hill of beans in Equestria. A lot of coins though, and she got some sort of pendant medallion thingamobobber. Ooh, cool! The griffon seemed to be fascinated by the gold while the pony was similarly taken in by the pendant. Well, she needed to refill her canteen anyway. MIGHT AS WELL CHECK IT OUT.

Pathfinder flittered to the ground, yawning as she came to a skidding stop near the waterline, tossing her canteen in haphazardly as she trotted next to the pony.

"Heya there! Cool lookin' thingy you have there. What is it? Does it open a hidden tomb? Why'd you pay so much for it? What's your name? Also, it might be a bit late, but you have a nasty sunburn on your flank! I saw it from above. That's why I fly wth the cloud cover! Also happens to help avoid any cloud serpents. What brings a pony out into the middle nowhere, Unyasi, on a day like this? Are you an outcast or a spy or a reanimate?"

[Pretzelparty]

The golden tan unicorn eventually decided that if it was magic, it was probably magic at least native to this country. If anypony had a chance of knowing how such a charm could work it would likely be someone in one of the nearest zebra tribe. Now all Presteza needed to do was find where one of the tribes was. Above her head she heard a squeak as a certain little creature yawned and laned on the floor of her wagon in front of the mare and her new magical accessory.

"Well... G'mornin' Frezzy! Did I wake ya up, mate?" the mare said cheerfully to the fruitbat that still seemed a bit drowsy due to being awake at this time of day. Fresco had been Presteza's closest companion during the lonely days on the road, he'd lend her an ear when she felt like she needed to confide in somepony.. or some-bat.

"Well, While yer up how about ya take yer usual spot?" the creature gave a squeak before flying over to the mare's hat and hanging upside from it's rim, "I'll get ya some water, li'l guy." slowly she went through all the thinks she had packed on her cart and soon she took a small bowl from the back of the van and cantered over to the nearby water source. Lowering her head to the water she prepared to scoop up some of the fresh clear liquid... only to immediately fall face first in the water, the rest of her body soon following.

Fresco had been smart enough to fly off of her hat and take refuge on a nearby branch while a strange black maned pegasus came onto the scene, her landing and subsequent skidding halt resulting in her knocking the unicorn into the smallish pond and leaving the poor mare drenched. Eventually she managed to pull herself out of the water and was about to give Pathfinder a rather potent glare but instead it was replaced by a look of surprise as she was bombarded with questions, an observation and some odd speculation to top it off.

"Heya there! Cool lookin' thingy you have there. What is it? Does it open a hidden tomb? Why'd you pay so much for it? What's your name? Also, it might be a bit late, but you have a nasty sunburn on your flank! I saw it from above. That's why I fly wth the cloud cover! Also happens to help avoid any cloud serpents. What brings a pony out into the middle nowhere, Unyasi, on a day like this? Are you an outcast or a spy or a reanimate?"

Walking out of the water and pushing her soaked mane out of her eyes,pursing her lips and spat out some excess water out like a fountain,"Okay... I'll try and answer those questions in order..." by her tone of voice it was obvious the young unicorn didn't appreciate being forced into an unexpected swim. Another thing that could be gathered from her voice is where she originated from, the accent she bore seemed to belong to those ponies native to north Trottingham back in Equestria.

"Supposedly it's an ancient charm to open the way to a hidden mythical city. It opens the way to mystical city... supposedly. Because it might open the way to a mystical city. It's Presteza."Upon getting to the part where the sunburn on her plot was being pointed out the mare blushed a bit and reflexively tried to hide it under some of her tail,"I'll uh try and remember cloud cover fer later and I'm an adventurin' painter actually!"

[SteelEagle]

She had a fruitbat! Fruitbats were pretty fun. Contrary to popular belief, they did not eat little ponies who didn't follow the orphanage's rules to the letter. They were actually quite harmless, much to Pathfinder's initial chagrin. What use was an animal that couldn't eat you should it ever decide to betray you in the middle of an adventure? That wasn't very adventurous! In fact it was the opposite of that. It was lame.

But there was room in her life for things besides cool adventure things, like food and drink even if she did try and spice that up with the thrill of adventure. If you found spices that didn't have a label in some rinky dink pawn shop that also sold you smoke bombs and ninja stars, put it on everything and hold tight for an adventure of culinary extremes. But she had room for other things too, and over time had learned that fruitbats were cool pets to have. They scared some creatures away and were shockingly intelligent and playful. They had fangs, and fangs were cruise control for cool!

The pony herself wasn't as cool. Still pretty cool- adventurin' anyponies were cool no matter what- but not as cool. Mostly it was the fact that her tone, while not mean or cruel, had a small tint of anger. Probably because Pathfinder had slammed into her and caused her to take a bath but that was not a reason to be angry as far as Pathfinder was concerned. Why, if she was an adventurin' painter then she probably needed daily baths to get all the adventurous paint off of her. Pathfinder rarely had need of baths- she just had the smell of adventure clung to her. When Pathfinder took baths it was for fun, and normally the water was boiling. Or the water was poisoned. She wasn't picky as long as she could wash odd whatever was attracting the drop bears.

But none of that mattered really. What mattered was the charm! Mystical city mystical city mystical city! Pathfinder didn't even care about the rest. Mystical cities were to her like cake was to a Princess. Pathfinder beamed and launched above, hovering above the watering hole. She dumped some canteens into it as her mind started to race. She was feeling a bit bored lately with all of the normal flying and non adventuring she was doing and if this painter pony was the key to keys that unlocked the locked, then Pathfinder was willing to tag along. Or stalk, if the allied route didn't work.

"Adventuring painter, eh? That's cool! Is your paint magical? Can you paint something and it becomes reality? That'd be pretty cool. One time in a cave under the Lakes I found this old cave painting that when I touched it I became this totally two dimensional image on the wall for a while and fought against the other stick figures. It was pretty awesome! Can you do that? And that charm of yours, it sounds pretty cool! Where is this mystical city located? it's been days since I've been in a ruin, and a full week since I've triggered a trap! It's hard out here for a pegasus!"

[Pretzelparty]

"Adventuring painter, eh? That's cool! Is your paint magical? Can you paint something and it becomes reality? That'd be pretty cool. One time in a cave under the Lakes I found this old cave painting that when I touched it I became this totally two dimensional image on the wall for a while and fought against the other stick figures. It was pretty awesome! Can you do that? And that charm of yours, it sounds pretty cool! Where is this mystical city located? it's been days since I've been in a ruin, and a full week since I've triggered a trap! It's hard out here for a pegasus!"

"Blimey, this mare sure talks fast..." thought the painter as she began to try and wring her mane out between her hooves with moderate success. Calmly she pulled her hat from her head, the constant dripping of water from the soaked reeds that made up the accessory... and now her scarf was completely wet too. Her big brother made this scarf and it was one of her most beloved possessions.

Trotting back to her cart she took off the scarf and hung it off a nearby hook on the top of the cart and let it face the sun, hoping to let it dry in the warm light of Celestia's sun. Looking at herself she blushed a bit, without her usual accesories she felt ... naked. Even she had to admit this was an odd feeling as most ponies were naked 24/7 anyway but having gotten so used to them being on her person felt like second nature at this point.

The new pony's eye were still upon her so she couldn't afford to be looking so uncool at this moment so she cleared her throat and prepared to speak,"Well fer one thing would ya mind slowin' down a bit? I'm no' goin' anywhere yet so you don' have ta ask all those questions so fast. Anyway I--" Presteza was suddenly interrupted as Fresco flew back down and hung himself on the brim of Pathfinder's pith helmet.The small strawberry bat giving a squeak as if looked at her,"Anyway, Sorry abou' that 'e seems ta like ya"

She chuckled a bit and sighed at Fresco's sudden affection for the strange pony... speaking of which this mare looked familiar. She looked exactly like the heroine of Presteza's favorite adventure book series. Although considering that she acted nothing like how she pictured her , honestly she was reminded of how some fans at conventions and book-signings would dress up in Daring Do outfits for fun. Needless to say it seemed more likely that this pony was just a very enthusiastic fan, "So... a Daring Do fan, huh? Awesome! I love Daring Do!... Didn' get the chance ta read the last book though..." said the silver maned unicorn, hanging her head a bit in sadness.

After a brief pause she resumed speaking,"Anyway, My paint itself Ain't magic... I can channel spells through my paintbrush though. I don' know many spells though. Also I'm no' sure exactly where it is besides bein' somewhere in the Brakenweald... and wot did you say abou' livin' paintings fighting eachother?"

[SteelEagle]

The fruit bat came back on the attack and- well, not really, but Pathfinder wanted it to rhyme internally as the adorable little creatures roosted on her pith helmet. Aww, such a cutie patootie! Hopefully he wouldn't turn into some sort of giant vampire pony who would try to eat her if he ate any sort of strange native plant with transformative properties. Actually, that'd be pretty cool! Then she would have to fight the fruit bat for the charm because the painter was knocked out, but then the painter was a vampire pony! And Pathfinder had to fight both of them and she got away with the charm but was bit and had to figure out the secret of whatever mystical city was in their path before she too became a vampire pony. Soooommeeeeeppoooonnnyyyyy was getting an idea for another part of her eighteen story long fanfiction saga!

And then he sorta nibbled on her hat and she decided it'd do just for him to be an adorable little pet. Save the vampire pony stuff for later.

"Of course he likes me! He must smell all the adventure and the cool collapsing caves and strange sapient orchard that he probably likes to call home! isn't that right? I bet it is! I'm gonna call you...batty! And I'll...try to slow down it just isn't...natural because time...is a wastin'...adventures waits for...nopony!" Pathfinder tried to slow the pace of her speech for the benefit of Prezztastical, but it was hard. Pathfinder was a mare of speed and action in all things and she couldn't abide by a wasted second. She'd try though and maybe she could teach the painter to think and talk like any true adventure, which was a mile a second and as accurate and precise as a fat filly sniffing down cake.

Besides, there was more important information that had just been revealed though she remembered to talk slower for Pressy!

"Oh my gosh...you poor mare! I had no...idea you had missed out on the...latest and greatest adventure of...Daring Do! Luckily for you I...just flew into your life! I have first edition,,,the newly released second edition...paperback copies of both... limited edition...cover for the first...and all are signed by someone involved...in the making. One even has the editor, oooh! I'll let you borrow one...copy until you finish it in exchange for the...both of us finding that little...mystical city of yours! Deal? As for the paint fight, well...what happens under the Nimbusgait STAYS in the...Nimbusgait!" Pathfinder laughed, digging through her saddlebag and producing one of her unsigned copies of Daring Do and the Delving Depths. One of her best? Yes, according to the mare who thought every new book was the best.

[Pretzelparty]

"Of course he likes me! He must smell all the adventure and the cool collapsing caves and strange sapient orchard that he probably likes to call home! isn't that right? I bet it is! I'm gonna call you...batty! And I'll...try to slow down it just isn't...natural because time...is a wastin'...adventures waits for...nopony!"

The mare took a few steps forward and oddly enough sniffed the air around the pegasus, "Huh I suppose I can catch a whiff o' that. Mostly I just smell a mare who needs a wash." she said with a playfully teasing smirk, giving the mare a little shove toward the pond nearby as Fresco flew over to a branch above his friend. "And 'is name's Fresco Actually and I am Presteza, The world's future greatest painter."

Adventure was going to have to wait a bit for Presteza as there was no way she was going on an epic journey without her scarf. Seeing as it was now soaked there was no way it would be flapping in the wind in her wake as she ran from her latest threat or nimbly dodged the swipe of the claw of some angry beast she was confronting. Losing her hat for the moment was only a minor inconvenience seeing as she often had to replace it after having to resort to eating it. Actually now that she thought about she heard the pegasi were capable of effectively blow drying things so perhaps this one could do her a favor... but before she could ask it seemed Pathfinder had something to say about her situation regarding the Daring Do series.

"Oh my gosh...you poor mare! I had no...idea you had missed out on the...latest and greatest adventure of...Daring Do! Luckily for you I...just flew into your life! I have first edition,,,the newly released second edition...paperback copies of both... limited edition...cover for the first...and all are signed by someone involved...in the making. One even has the editor, oooh! I'll let you borrow one...copy until you finish it in exchange for the...both of us finding that little...mystical city of yours! Deal? As for the paint fight, well...what happens under the Nimbusgait STAYS in the...Nimbusgait!"

The pauses were a bit much. If anything this mare was a tiny bit quirky and obviously an enormous fan of Daring do. It wasn't likely Presteza would be able to get that newest edition normally so this was actually a pretty positive development.

Extending her hoof towards pathfinder to shake,"Ya got a deal, mate! But I get ta wear the charm until we get there and ya don' 'ave ta talk like that fer my sake. oh and you wouldn' be able ta dry my scarf would ya?"

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder didn't think she needed a wash. The only thing that washed over her and that she wanted washing over her was the ever cresting waves of adventure that seemed to travel with her everywhere she went. She would bathe in lava and swamps and breathe in the fine steam that rose over fire traps and shower in row upon row of fine arrows instead of soap and water. Pegasi didn't really like water anyway, so damp and weighty. Held them down! And being held down was only good in a select few circumstances, most of which were not fit for print by anypony else other than Pathfinder in her fanfictions about Daring Do where being held down was a running theme in a hundred different areas.

"Well, I like batty or bats or batastical but if he is already named I suppose that I can go with that...for now, anyway. So, why future greatest painter? Why not present future painter? Not enough experience or super powers yet? Maybe you'll get powers soon, like cool paitning powerrs. Failing that you can always just become the second best adventurer in the great PrestaFinder Duo of Destiny!" Pathfinder offered, slapping her new found ally on the back as she hoofed over the book and set about drying the scarf. There wasn't any great secret technique to keeping it dry, just flapping DEM WINGS as fast as you could so as to create heat. And that was just what Pathfinder did, creating enough pressure to create heat. It took a few minutes of course as she hovered above. but the deed was done and she hoofed the scarf back to the painter pony. Ahhh, simple things were cool! Well, simple things that were useful.

"Here ya go, Pretzel! One fluffy fine warm scarf for a fluffy fine pony. Now, let's get to the adventure part where we fight off giant corral snakes that are actually spider scorpions. This watering hole is boring!"

[Pretzelparty]

"So, why future greatest painter? Why not present future painter? Not enough experience or super powers yet? Maybe you'll get powers soon, like cool painting powers. Failing that you can always just become the second best adventurer in the great PrestaFinder Duo of Destiny!"

"Well I haven't gotten any o' my paintings in any galleries yet, but once they are ponies are gonna be talkin' about 'em ferever! ... and actually painting superpowers would be cool..." said the yellow-tan unicorn putting her hoof to her chin. Being able to paint images that would come to life and assist her in battle would be awesome! She could paint a gigantic guard pony that could trample timberwolves into kindling! Her short bout with her imagination ended as Pathfinder made the ridiculous claim that Presteza could fail. There was no way in tartarus she was going to let herself be anything less than the world's best artist.

"Well sorry ta tell ya this but I don' settle fer second best! Okay... except maybe in the Running of the leaves, but then I only lost cause o' an allergy an my competition was really awesome!" the mare let out a cough at her rather sudden and rather uncool outburst.

It seemed Pathfinder was more than willing to assist her in the department of her soaked scarf. Pegasus wings sure were impressive! They were strong to enough to fly and could even make enough heat to dry off a drenched scarf. She could only imagine how awesome it was to be able to fly, imagine all the incredible angles on things she could get from above. She could have used those wings to fly to the highest of vantage points in no time flat to get the best view of the latest target of her artistry.

"Here ya go, Pretzel! One fluffy fine warm scarf for a fluffy fine pony. Now, let's get to the adventure part where we fight off giant corral snakes that are actually spider scorpions. This watering hole is boring!"

"Thanks... uh so yer name's just finder? well thanks, Finder! I'm sure we'll get along great if ya don't fall too far behind." she said with a slightly cocky grin. "Anyway to the Brackenweald!" With that declaration the mare pointed her hoof passionately to the horizon before realizing something rather important as Fresco landed on her back and gave the back of her head a poke,"Or is it that way... or that way?" It was pretty obvious the mare didn't fully know where everything was in this land yet. The little fruitbat on her back looked to pathfinder and put his paw to his face at his owner's antics

[SteelEagle]

Well DUH it'd be cool. What wasn't cool about superpowers? Pathfinder might have been the biggest fanfilly of Daring Do, but that didn't prevent her from being a big fan of other things too. Power Ponies were pretty cool too and they all had cool superpowers, but none ofthem had pant powers. If ponies had paint powers would that mean the painting superpower would be to create something or to transport them? Golem creations coming to life would be cool, but so would being able to step into a painting and be someplace immediately.

You could escape traps or- oooh, nah, you wouldn't be a super HERO, you'd be a super VILLAIN. Able to break through any security with the power of your imagination. Super awesome! And then Daring has to face down this evil threat in another one of Pathfinder's Power Ponies slash Daring Do crossover fanfiction. Ideas! Inspiration everywhere! But that'd have to wait, because Pathfinder was gonna be travelling with a super confident pony this time so she'd have ti pay a little bit of attention this time- unless she was lying and ALREADY had those powers! Coooool! But that'd have to wait. Probably.

"Well, nice to see somepony is confident! That's good, 'cause I don't partner with just anypony or anygriffon or anyzebra! Only the best! I've been everywhere and lemme tell you, good teamwork does the heart a LOT of good until one of us betrays the othr at the very end for whatever justification. Hopefully there is no lava nearby! Whizz, bang, boom, HISSSS goes the villain!" Pathfinder chortled as she flew about, not getting too far ahead of pressy before flying back and then flying forward and blah blah blah. She was just flying. She was a pegasus, what was she going to do walk? But then the silly pony didn't know which way the Brackenweald was. Pathfinder giggled, flew down, grabbed the silly one's head, and twisted it in the right direction.

"That direction, silly. Name's Pathfinder for a reason. Probably, anyway! Now lets roll!"

[Pretzelparty]

"That direction, silly. Name's Pathfinder for a reason. Probably, anyway! Now lets roll!"

Soon the mare found her head pointing in another direction as Pathfinder showed her the appropriate way to the Brackenweald,"Right! just a sec!" The unicorn galloped over to her cart and grabbed a pair of saddle bags, putting them on and looking through them a moment,"Got all I need!" The saddlebags she now bore wear full of an assortment of paintbrushes and a few small bottles of various colors of paint. The other bag on her side had mostly the same but the main compartment of the bag was actually empty. A quick whistle from the mare fixed that problem as the little fruit bat climbed into the bag and relaxed,"Don' get too comfy, Frez! It might turn into a bumpy ride!" With that an eager smile crept on to pony's face before she took off towards the direction Pathfinder pointed in, leaving the pegasus in the dust for the moment, "C'mon Pathy, yer gonna fall behind!"

Once the two were far off and on their way to the Brakenweald it seemed that the griffon merchant had some other visitors who asked him for a similar medallion to the one Presteza had so recently purchased. When he told him he had already sold the useless trinket they didn't seem to happy about it but only asked where the one who bought it went with it...

--Brackenweald--

The gigantic Rain-forest's edge loomed imposingly above the two ponies, While the two adventurers had originally taken the main road towards the forest City of Mti Nguvu Pressy had remembered a bit of info regarding the legend as told to her by the zebra at the bar. According to him his ancestor had to travel to the north of the great forest city along the border of the Brakenweald and the Veld.

The mare looked up at the gigantic trees and their incredibly thick trunks, their thick boughs blocking out most of the light from Celestia's sun above."Maybe we should've brought a tor--" began the unicorn, but she stopped as the noticed the amulet around her neck beginning to glow... and oddly enough it seemed to feel a bit lighter around her neck. with every step she took it the amulet grew lighter and lighter until it began to float around her neck and seeming to subtly tug towards a small gap in between the gigantic series of trees,"Oi,Pathfinder! Check this out!" she said as she galloped towards the opening... only to find the gap full of brambles and thorns that obscured and possible path from view.

[SteelEagle]

This painter certainly had a reserve of guts to go along with her supposed skills at painting, which suited Pathfinder just fine. She had no time in her life for those who wanted to wat around and be safe instead of being bold and adventurous! She didn't blame the ponies who were lame and slow because that's just who they were. Not their fault, just life. They didn't have the Daring or the Doing inspiration that Pathfinder had, of course. But this mare wasn't gonna be a disappointment because she wanted t scoot! Wanted to move! Vroom vroom! She sped off and challenged Pathfinder, who laughed in response. She was a pegasus! That little unicorn had about as much chance of beating Pathfinder in a race as the Equestrian legal system had of reaching Pathfinder for court summons. The painter got off to a fast start but Pathfinder cacled with glee, cruising about the sky for a few minutes before powering in the thin Unyasan air out ahead of the two-pony pack.

Pathfinder cut through the Unyasan sky, breezy and sure winded as it was, clear and without nary a gust to concern herself with. Now this was flying easy time! Unyasan ar had less resistance than Equestrian air since Equestrian air was full of leftover excess Pegasi magic. Unyasan air was free and easy and she made darn good time as the pair made their way to the thick jungle called the Brackenweald. Pathfinder preferred to call it the Brack-Brack. Se approached the Brack-Brack with an abundance of caution befitting the legends that surrounded it, slowing to a stop as Pressy below caught up. Pathfinder shot up, looking over the vastness. Boy howdy, it looked exciting! Vines and the whole shebang! But below, Pressy seemed to have something cool going on. She called out and Pathfinder answered dutifully, coming down and beholding her SUPER ENCHANTED AMULET BEING SUPER COOL. Awesome, this adventire was gonna be totally worth it!

"Oh, cool! It's a Trailer Amulet! They're super useful. I wonder where it leads!" She giggled in midair, giddy as could be as it lead into a thicket. She pulled out a machete and went to town on it.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'LL CLEAR IT!"

[Pretzelparty]

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'LL CLEAR IT!"

The Silver maned unicorn sat there staring in a bit of awe as Pathfinder hacked away at thorny brambles. It seemed the brambles were incredibly tough, but it was far from impervious to damage as pathfinder was indeed making progress... if slow progress. There was something about Pathfinder that made the mare chuckle. Just looking at the hyperactive pegasus made her realize something she should've realized sooner; while Pathfinder sure looked the part of Daring Do... she didn't seem to have the caution or patience of her idol. The rapid swings of the khaki colored pegasus where soon met with sound of steel colliding with stone as the machete hit something much harder than vine or wood.

*CLANG!*

Presteza reflexively winced as she heard the sound. Walking over to the bramble covered area that Pathfinder had hopefully stopped hacking away, presteza began to pull some of the vines away from whatever it was they were hiding from the world. It took a bit of work but soon most of the vines and brambles were pulled away and revealed a massive stone door. The structure seemed to loom ominously above the two mare and while Presteza's amulet began to glow and levitate more intensely in the door's direction, many symbols that had been carved on the edges of the massive stone gate began to glow in response,"Looks like we've found the right path!"

"Excuse us, Equine... we will be taking it from here." shouted someone,"Give us the amulet and be on your way." Turning around Presteza beheld five griffons. All of them wore what seemed to be wearing simple looking vests with several pockets. Some of them had a few odd looking tools and some charts being carried on the backs of some of the smaller looking creatures. On each of their jackets the griffons bore an insignia that looked like a reddish brown griffon holding a bottle of bright red liquid.

The mare stood there a moment and straightened her hat, calmly stepping forward. "I don't know who ya griffons are but I paid fer this amulet fair and square. Me and my partner aren't leavin' til we find wot we came for... Right pathy?"

[SteelEagle]

Hackhackhackhackhackhack, the day was hackalicious! It was hacktastical! Pathfinder wasn't a huge fan of going nuts with sharp objects as she normally preferred a good round of hooficuffs, but there was some primordially based joy in just going crazy with a machete and chopping up the path in front of her. Like a griffon butcher preparing their disgusting meals, Pathfinder took to her task with disquieting gusto. Heck, the quicker the better as these vines and heavy underbrush weren't even sentient and trying to eat her. So far, the Brackenwald was proving to be a massive six figure disappointment. Nothing had tried to eat her or kill her or mind control her, and it wasn't like her machete was standard grade either. She had stolen it from some griffons she had come across a few days ago who had been camping out in the clouds. They all had them so she liberated good, honest, Equestrian steel from their unvaliant Griffon claws. So she hoped that would come bac to bite her in the rear and make things interesting. It was more effective than her novelty machete from the Daring Do and the Land of the Dolls value meal at Big MacDonalds. That thing had broken off inside of a gem scorpion, super lame.

CLANG...CLANG CLANG!

Her machete cracked against a stony surface a few times before she pulled back. She had defeated the level one bramble beats and was now confronted by a stone door, which Pressy Tezzy went to investigate. Pathfinder joined her in due time, because who else was better at sneaking and finding secret passages than the mare who snuck through mansions so she could cuddle with her filly friend? NOPONY THATS WHO. As Pressy searched so did Pathfinder, her hoof traveling across the seam between the door and the rockface. It was old and not well constructed, the gaps half a hoof wide in some cases and barely a hair's width in others. That could mean it was shoddily made or that a lot of time had passed and natural erosion had impacted other areas far more harshly than others. Pathfinder continued her investigation of the door as the voices from behind her opened up with their usual barrage of griffon nonsense. It sounded like the same group that Pathfinder hap pilfered the machete from, and they seemed mighty interested in Presteza's glowing amulet thingie. Well, glowing amulet thingies led to adventures and adventures needed bad guys, and how fortune smiled upon Pathfinder as she had stolen the machete from her future bad guys! Plots within plots within systems within words!

Fun times were about to be had. Pathfinder had felt around the edges of the stone door and now felt more of it as Pressy fired back at the interlopers. She asked a question of Pathfinder just as the pegasus found what she was was looking for, a small depression on the right side. The pegasus paused and then turned around in a flash, digging through her saddlebag and throwing a smoke bomb at Presteza's hooves. The bomb went off, clouding them in dense smoke as Pathfinder grabbed Presteza by the mane, pulled her in closer, and then bucked the depression full force with a thick and resounding crack of hoof on stone. In a flash the door swung open and pulled the two in, sending them inside of a large cavern as the door reset itself outside. Pathfinder coughed a few times.

"Trick doors, cool! That should buy us a minute or two. C'mon paint pony, we got a super cool cavern, a city lost to time, and bad guys! Its more fun than a Daring Do book! Well thats a lie, a big one, but forward!"

[Pretzelparty]

The griffin just stared at the pony for a few moments, seemingly perplexed at her decision of defying them. The mysterious group stepped forward, glaring intently,"Suit yoursel-- what the?" Both Pressy and the griffins looked down at the object Pathfinder had just tossed to the floor.

*KABOOM!*

"Wot the?!" shouted the griffins and pressy in surprise before being engulfed by the bomb's thick cloud of smoke. The griffin's scrambled and some of them seemed to be trying to blow the smoke away with powerful buffets of their wings. Meanwhile the painter was stuck coughing her lungs silly as she had taken the brunt of the smoke right below her from Pathfinder's throw. Soon though she was effectively (and rather painfully) yanked out of the smokescreen by her mane and pulled into the now opened door, landing with a thump on the other side and in a cavern.

"Trick doors, cool! That should buy us a minute or two. C'mon paint pony, we got a super cool cavern, a city lost to time, and bad guys! Its more fun than a Daring Do book! Well thats a lie, a big one, but forward!"

Presteza got the last few coughs out of her system and nodded,"Y-yep! pretty *cough* cool!... Um did ya make that smoke thingy yaself, also watch the mane!, would ya?" she asked with a chuckle as she got to her hooves. After a few seconds the mare started to trot through the cavern with Pathfinder, there was no telling how long that door would hold the griffins back. Griffins were supposed to be a pretty strong bunch and while they weren't likely going to get through the door anytime soon with the bucking method that Pathfinder demonstrated, they probably had enough physical force to get through it eventually and catch up with the two adventurers if they didn't book it!

After a long while of galloping and putting a fair bit of distance between themselves and the entrance, Presteza came to a skidding stop. The painter's jaw dropped at the sight of many rather elaborate painted murals upon the walls of the cavern,"Oi, Pathy take a look at this!" She said pointing her hoof at one very large painting that had rather unique depiction; that of a large flying city with a large a shield around it. Below the floating city seemed to be a smaller version of the infamous Brakenweald, perhaps in it's infancy, alluding to the city's age. At the edge of the Brakenweald was a door that looked similar to the one the duo had recently gone through, below it was what looked like a deep cavern system that held a strange ... swirly... thing... at the bottom with an arrow that pointed towards the city above,"I think if we find this swirly thingy it'll take us ta the city!"

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder was so giddy that if she had been younger and full of more fluid she may have wet herself. There was just no denying the sheer glee that coursed through every fiber of her somewhat bowed but never broken being every time the spine-tingling sensation of adventure hit her. There was no other way to live other tha by living to the fullest and you only lived to the fullest if you were finding something new, experiencing danger and companionship and the great tapestry and story that was life. Pathfinder loved her life and always wondered why more ponies weren't like her in that regard but figured that some ponies were simply dumb. In any case, she was with a smart pony as Pressy Tezzy Misstaztical knew what was up in terms of loving living life. Even if she choked up a bit because of the smoke, but hey, that happened. Pathfinder patted her on the back to help get some of the smoke out of her lungs. Pathfinder probably should have coughed herself, but who knew the mysteries of Pathfinder?

"I'll consider going easy on your mane Pressy Tezzy but speed and adventure comes before looks! If I gotta pull, I gotta pull and there simply isn't a single thing I can do about it!" Pathfinder laughed as she flittered about with her friend on the ground looking at the murals a they found them. Pathfinder had seen so many murals and ancient tapestries that to a certain extent they kind of bored her now. They were all made one of a few ways, either stenciled in with a sense of urgency or as a warning. Sometimes they were far more ornate with beautiful colors rimmed with gold siding, telling of the glory of eons past and history flowed through them with such ease. This mural looked pretty nice, but the art style was unique. Probably because it was Unyasan and Pathfinder hadn't seen too much of that yet. She followed Pressy's train of thought and it was pretty on the money.

"That's what it looks like, Tezzy! Then we bang, boom, zam, up into the sky! I'll fly and you can be on my back. Hopefully we'll find a bow and arrow and you can be all like FLIT FLIT FLIT with the arrows! Lets go!"

[Pretzelparty]

"That's what it looks like, Tezzy! Then we bang, boom, zam, up into the sky! I'll fly and you can be on my back. Hopefully we'll find a bow and arrow and you can be all like FLIT FLIT FLIT with the arrows! Lets go!"

The mar chuckled wryly at the mention of the arrows and continued to examine the strange mural,"Um... sorry ta dissapoint ya, pathy but I've ne'er used a bow and arrow before... My dad taught me a li'l fencin' though... gimme a minute and we'll head off ta adventure!" Looking closely at the floating city in the mural she notices a weird series of wavy lines and what appeared to be a pair of wings that looked as if they were plucked. Presteza couldn't help but wonder what that could mean. Maybe the abada were carnivorous and liked eating the wings of creatures so long as they were plucked first? A bit of a weird hypothesis but really this was a pretty vague mural in some places.

Once the minute was up, the young painter turned to Pathfinder with a grin,"Alright, Pathfinder..." Started the unicorn with a twinkle in her eye before adjusting her hat in an almost theatrical manner. "Let's get goin' we got a lost city ta find!" Now that the painter had committed the entirety of the mural to her memory she was ready to take on any trials or tribulations that would come there way... at least when it came to clues about the Abada that the mural might have answered.

"Follow me! We gotta put some distance between those griffons!" She shouted before galloping off into the cave, levitating a paintbrush in front of her and channeling a simple light spell into it so it functioned as a more steady and less dangerous torch for the two adventurers.

After a long, long gallop into the depths of the cave. the two ponies would eventually find themselves at the very portal they sought. That is if it really is a portal at all. EVen presteza thought it was kind of underwhelming. She pictured a big swirly mass of magical energy not this but it was still a rather impressive sight anyway, just in a different way.

Before the two ponies stood a large stone column with a circular indentation on the front, While it seemed easy enough to solve at first; obviously you just put the stone in the indentation! Howver it seemed there was one additional step that Presteza had not seen coming. Below the slow for the amulet there seemed to be two small holes on top eachother, both of the holes on the column seemed to have a sort of spiral pattern around them as well... perhaps a sort of clue? Whatever these two adventurers were going to do...

*BOOM*

They'd better do it fast, no doubt that sound meant that the griffon's on their tale had actually forced there way past the gate and were obviously coming there way in hot pursuit.

[SteelEagle]

Now now now, was Pathfinder to believe that her new companion didn't have a special set of skills for Pathfinder to utilize en route to total victory? Fencing never helped no[pony with nothing in an adventure because rarely did you get to face something face to face in an even engagement. Usually there were a dozen of them or one huge big bad and you didn't wanna face 'im in open combat or else you became chow food. Pathfinder sighed at a level four level internally as she imagined that if nothing else, if Pathfinder and Zoey got into a fight she knew better than to give her a big long object to stick into the erstwhile pegasus with a love of adventure and Daring Do's sparkling fl- personality. Pathfinder followed her companion's eyes to the mural. She didn't plan on losing her wings. Just the opposite iin fact. It would be them that would lose their wings if they had any. And if they didn't, she would see to it that a spell grant them wings only to remove them! Ha!

"Well, I guess we'll have to work in your fencing into some sort of cool last stand. No worries though, it'll be super cool!" Pathfinded added to the chorus of excitement in her own head as the prospects grew.

And after a while, her companion was finally in the mood for high adventure and excitement. She stated here desire to get going and find that city and Pathfinder responded by doing a loop in place, giving a swift hoof bump. Time for the A game from the A team in an A plus adventure of awesome win! Some silly city thought itself hidden from her prying eyes and it was going to learn the hard way that the worst thing you could be was some hidden ruin or city because Pathfinder was going to find your silly flank and explore every inch of you until you held no more secrets and she got what she wanted from you. She galloped alongside the painter but then remembered she had wings and started to put distance between the pair and the griffons who were slowly breaking in. It'd still take them a little while to get through and that made the pair all the more determined to get to the city before their foes. They didn't seem the type to play nice or non-lethal.

They then arrived at the portal or whatever imitation was in use. A large stone column with a single circular indentation on the front and two spots for what seemed obvious to Pathfinder, hooves. As the griffons finally forced their slow and dumb way in, Pathfinder nodded.

"Right. Lets move, Pressy!" Pathfinder exhorted her comrade to follow, gesturing to one of the small holes.

"Probably for a hoof! I'll put one hoof in, you the other, amulet takes care of the rest. Failing that you can use your fencing and I can use my titally elite rock sniping skills I learned in the Badlands to kick some super feathered flank until they run away like puppies! Woof woof, lets roll!" She bellowed as she slammed her hoof into place...hopefully. Only time would tell- and by that, Pathie meant in the next few seconds as Pressy bit her noblepony hoof in!

[Pretzelparty]

"Probably for a hoof! I'll put one hoof in, you the other, amulet takes care of the rest. Failing that you can use your fencing and I can use my titally elite rock sniping skills I learned in the Badlands to kick some super feathered flank until they run away like puppies! Woof woof, lets roll!" She bellowed as she slammed her hoof into place...hopefully. Only time would tell- and by that, Pathie meant in the next few seconds as Pressy bit her noblepony hoof in!

Already the young noblepony could feel the adrenaline pumping through out her as she joined Pathfinder in trying to slam her hoof into the indentations... Although they immediately hit a problem. Pathfinder had made a mistake as the holes there were nowhere near large enough to hold a hoof! These holes were considerably smaller and were situated on top of each other. Seeing as the amulet's aura remained the same as earlier it seemed that this was not the right course of action.

From down the long hall the duo of adventurers could hear riled shouting from their pursuers. Soon the yelling was joined by the sound of paws and talons beating down upon the floor as they made haste towards the gates to the ancient city. The sounds of their hunters were getting closer and closer and if these two mares didn't figure out what to do they would be cornered and at their mercy! From the sounds of all the paw and clawsteps there were evidently more than enough of these guys to make for a doozy of an action set-piece!

As much as the young Rough and tumble painter loved the occasional tussle she knew that this was a bit different than a friendly sparring match with the servants back at the manor. These griffins were here to take whatever the city had to offer and Celestia knows what they'd do to a pair of witnesses.

The young painter's mind went into overdrive as she tried to put the pieces together. There had to be some kind of clue to get this thing to open! Something they had to have missed... maybe something simple. Starring at the holes on the column that were too small for hooves her eyes went wide. Two holes vertically stacked on top of another... smaller than a hoof but not smaller than. The silver maned mare's big blue eyes drifted upward to her forehead and the answer hit her like a tone of brick; a horn! The very translation of the city's name was "Two horns"; a prominent feature of the Abada in the myths. Now pressy realized the problem with their predicament was only even bigger now... there was no way anypony or griffin was getting in there with out a second horn to dual cast magic from...

But with the option of getting caught and not achieving her dream of being history greatest artist or improvising a way to get in the ancient city, presteza was for the latter option. Taking a deep breath the mare lowered her head and aimed her horn carefully then slammed it in to the indentation on the bottom and concentrated. Soon a multiple symetrical lines began to appear over the bottom half of the pillar... but that wasn't good enough! The clever painter had one idea and she hoped it would work, taking a second to remove her horn she levitated her brush to the upper indentation and chenneled he rmagic into it before jamming it in. The top half of the pillar soon was covered in the magical markings and after Presteza repeated the process with her horn so did the bottom!

"YAHOO, WE DID IT!", after the mare made her excited statement she heard a increasingly loud hum coming from beneath her and pathfinder, maybe she used a bit too much magic...

Immediately a giant glowing portal appeard before the two and before they could step in themselves the floor seemed to thrust them into it. In a flash they found themselves on top of some kind of massive disk that then rocketed into the air with the two passengers on it. THe intense speed of the platform combined with the downward gravity pinned the two mare's to the floor of it as it flew high up into the air, everying appearing like muticolored smears on the landscape as they whipped by. Soon the platform started to slow down... but only slightly, it was still enough to keep the tiwo pinned to the platform and then it came to a immediate stop, launching the two mares directly into the air and then the two landed with a hard thump on some... grass?

on the way up a spell was cast on pathy, all the feathers on her wings are transparent now and immaterial so she isn't able to fly. She can still see her wings and they are uninjured but disabled.

[SteelEagle]

Pathfinder started putting her hooves anywhere and everywhere she could. In holes, on top of rocks, inside of pressy, in her bag, generally just everywhere that looked fit for a hoof placement at that moment in time. She was pretty convinced that it was needed. Mostly just because she felt like stretching her hooves and it was always cool to see a few scratches from an earlier encounter on your hooves, like a rough and tumble adventurer would and Pathifnder was a rough and tumble adventurer! So she was placing her hooves everywhere she thought could help, smiling all the while. Even as the sounds of the rock being broken through crashed across the tunnels and room she smiled. She hoped they got here in time to have a fight. She had so many things lined up for them and so much experience dealing wth griffons that they were nothing but bad ideas on a sunny day. It didn't hurt that she had a painter friend with her who could beat them up too!

Speaing of painter friend, she started putting her horn in all manner of places. It was weird, but she was weird. Goodbut weird. She painted instead of adventure, zigged instead of zagged. And now her horn was dirty. Horns could be a lot of fun to play with and sometimes were useful in adventuring scenarios but what was really cool was her cool control of her cool paintbrush with her cool magic. She could do it so well! She should become a professional painter. There could be a huge market for adventure themed painting. She could paint Pathfinder roaring across the sky in all of her blazing adventure glory. It could fill a thousand different galleries and they would be super famous painter and adventure buddies that would be rich too. Good ideas. Pathfinder continued putting her hoof on things, not watching what her friend was doing to actually push the adventure along.

And just like that they were transported through space and time and energy and cereal and clouds and pendenants and butts to their destination, a wonderfully pretty and boring grassy zone that Pathfinder thunked down on as she pawed fruitlessly in the air, dust clouds eminating oddly beneath her. She got up and tried to fly- nope! her wings weren't working. The smile was still on.

"Cool! This place looks like it belongs on a postcard. Is this a postcard? That'd b kinda weird...but I don't think that's the case. So, hey, does your horny horn work? Because my wingy wing doesn't," she emphasized by trying to flap to no avail.

[Pretzelparty]

"Cool! This place looks like it belongs on a postcard. Is this a postcard? That'd be kinda weird...but I don't think that's the case. So, hey, does your horny horn work? Because my wingy wing doesn't," she emphasized by trying to flap to no avail.

Presteza looked to pathfinder and blinked once or twice,"Uh... I don't think it's a postcard." the unicorn picked herself up and stretched out her hooves, running one over the grass under them; it felt real enough. She lowered her nose to the ground and sniffed lightly; smelled like grass. The mare tugged a blade off the ground with her teeth and chewed away at it,"Tastes like real grass... so I think it's safe ta say we're not in a postcard!" Idly chewing on the grass in her mouth she took a look around, bright blue eyes narrowing to get a better look. Around their small patch of landscape appeared to be a few other floating landmasses that were attached to eachother via bridges and stairways. some of the larger islands being covered in some sort of moss and verdant growth that coated some broken up stone buildings.

"Anyway, my magic..." there was a moment's silence before the unicorn's horn lit up in a bright blue and she lifted up her amulet in her magical aura,"...Seems ta be just fine. Maybe this is some kinda invisible location bound spell that disables flying creatures from getting up here?... maybe The abada weren't a fan of griffins?" As soon as she spoke the word 'griffin' she darted back to the place where the two had been launched from and looked over the area that the elevator was. It didn't seem like it was going anywhere. Those griffins that were pursuing the two young heroines were unlikely to catch up with them very soon. The cream colored pony let out a sigh of relief and got back up, only now did she actually think to take a look on what was on the path ahead.

Before the two mares was a long path leading to a rather old and dilapidated, and positively gigantic courtyard that housed an almost equally large altar. If looked at from above the altar bore the distinctive shape of a bird of somekind. Hesitantly, Presteza took a step forward, her amulet glowing brightly and then releasing a strong burst of magical energy. In response to the strange durge of magic, all the various ancient markings and he like began to glow brightly, until the altar itself..... raised up. A large bird shaped imprint from the ground as the gigantic stone avian now loomed over the two mares, an eyeless head seemingly staring searchingly at the two.