Daring Do counted the pile of coins one last time, hoping she was doing her math right. The exchange rate between jangles and bits changed so frequently that she worried she wouldn't have enough.

She wished Okpono was here. That math professor could probably do the whole problem just by glancing at the stack.

"Come on, Daring," Storm Talon said. "If we don't get a (censored) move on, then it won't matter how many (censored) bits we have because Bravado will be dead as a (censored)."

"I just hope they didn't up the bail count or anything," Daring said as the two of them exited the house of Bravado's friend. "Okay, girls. We're going to have to fly to keep ahead of the crowd. Can you manage that?"

Desert Flower looked worried and fluttered her wings slightly.

"Desert Flower isn't a very strong flier," Sandstorm said. "She can't go too fast."

"Okay," Daring said, shrugging. "Storm Talon, if Desert Flower falls behind, will you stay with her?"

"I know my limitations," Storm Talon said. "You just want to stick the slow fliers together."

"I didn't mean-"

"Shut the (censored) up, Daring," Storm Talon said. "I'm a (censored) old geezer with a (censored) prosthetic wing. I'm lucky to get my (censored) in the air. But you'd better get flying or you'll be late. I'll take care of the girls."

"Right." Daring Do launched into the air, the bag of bits strapped firmly to one side. She cruised above the bustling streets of Marabia to the prison theater, checking the clock tower as she flew past. She had a good half-hour to get there before they even let the audience in.

She hadn't had much chance to stretch her wings during this trip, so she flew a few loop-the-loops on the way. She'd need all her skills once they finally reached the Temple of Ko-mara.

"Hey- Daring Do!"

"Down here! Daring!"

"Please come to the aid of fellow explorers!"

Daring Do faltered and tumbled out of her loop. She struggle to right herself. Once that was done she rolled her eyes, recognizing the voices. Swinn and Dell. What did they want?

"Daring!"

"Daring Do!"

"Please don't abandon us in this strange country where everypony is a thief and nopony speaks Equestrian!"

"Please!"

Daring sighed and descended. She'd knocked a few feathers out of position from that ruined loop anyway.

Swinn and Dell were crouched on a street corner, doing their best to look pitiful.

Daring landed in front of them and turned to nose her feathers back into place. "What do you want?" she said.

"Safe passage to Equestria," either Swinn or Dell said. Daring wasn't sure and it didn't matter.

"We're sick of this country."

"Too many creeps."

"Like Sebastius."

"And that weirdo doctor."

"And that bratty colt."

"And we just want to get home where there are normal doctors so we can get our horns back!"

Daring stopped preening and whipped her head around to stare at the girls. "What?"

Sure enough, neither had a horn on her forehead.

"You know those don't grow back!" Daring Do said.

"Don't worry about it," Swinn said. "Just help us get back to Equestria and we'll be fine."

Daring glanced at a window display of clocks to check the time.

"I'd love to help, but I have to fly," she said. "If you want to follow me then I'll see about getting you on a train bound for home."

"Hooray!" Dell said. "We owe you one, Daring."

Daring Do launched into the air, not bothering to check if the SwinnDell sisters were following her. The two girls had been little more than a minor nuisance to her most of the time, but other times… well, she didn't feel too charitable towards them.

She picked up her speed, no longer flying at the leisurely pace she'd been using before. She couldn't take Bravado's life for granted. He'd probably appreciate it if she didn't wait until the last minute. She could only imagine how much he'd be shaking, facing the prospect of a Marabian execution.

Finally she made it to the prison. She landed by one door and ran up to the soldier guarding it.

"I'd like to pay for the freedom of one of the prisoners," she said, panting slightly.

"Hold on a moment." The guard entered the building and left Daring outside.

A few minutes later, Swinn and Dell ran up to her.

"Gee," Dell panted, "you flew really, really, really fast."

"Water costs too much in this country," Swinn half-whined.

Daring Do sighed. She hoped she wouldn't have to babysit these girls for too long.

"Hey, Daring!" Sandstorm landed besides them. "Who are these girls?"

"Ooh, cute kid," Dell cooed.

Sandstorm backed off, her eyes wide with fright. "Is she safe?"

"They probably won't hurt you unless they'd somehow get paid for it," Daring Do said. "And they're lousy fighters, so you'll be fine as long as you're with me."

"Hey!" Swinn said. "I resent that notion!"

"Where are Storm Talon and Desert Flower?" Daring Do asked Sandstorm.

The young pegasus gestured over her shoulder. "Just a little behind. See them?"

The griffin and the filly descended and landed besides Daring. Desert Flower was curled up on Storm Talon's back, clinging to a few neck feathers with her front hooves.

"Awww, that's too precious!" Dell shrieked when she saw the little pegasus.

"Daring?" Storm Talon said. "What are these (censored) girls-" he did a double take. "What happened to their horns?"

"Sebastius happened," Swinn said. "We don't want to talk about it."

A genuine look of concern crossed Storm Talon's face. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Don't worry," Dell said. "We still have them." She fished her horn out of her saddlebag. "How hard can it be to reattach a horn?"

"Very hard," Daring Do said. "Only the best surgeons understand the art."

"And their services aren't exactly cheap," Storm Talon said.

Swinn and Dell looked devastated.

"Which prisoner are you looking for?"

Daring turned around to find the guard had returned, bringing a harried-looking unicorn along with him. The unicorn was suspending a dozen record books in the air besides him using lavender telekinesis.

"Bravado Mareton," Daring Do said, hoping Bravado would forgive her for using that name.

The unicorn moved a book in front of his face and opened it. He flicked the pages dully.

Then he gasped. All the books collapsed to the ground in a huge pile, and the unicorn leapt behind it.

"What?" Daring Do and Storm Talon said, leaning close.

The books leapt into the air and rearranged themselves into a fortress. The guard took a look at Storm Talon, gulped, then leapt behind the wall with the unicorn.

"What?" Storm Talon demanded.

A single book slid aside, leaving a hole through which the unicorn peeped.

"The prisoners scheduled for yesterday's execution were declared not guilty by the gods and were released," he said. "The Mareton brothers, Sebastius and Bravado, were next in line, so we executed them yesterday."

"What?!" Daring Do said.

"By 'we', I mean the other guards, not me," the unicorn squeaked out hastily.

"Or me," said the guard hiding in the book fort. "I didn't help!"

"You (censored) cowards!" Storm Talon screamed in the way only griffins can. The two ponies whimpered. Storm Talon slashed at the books, tearing off a number of covers.

"Storm Talon, stop," Daring Do said. Her voice shook a little. "That won't bring Bravado back."

Storm Talon banged his head against the wall of books and left it there, staring at the ground.

Daring Do turned away from the prison. Tears teased the corners of her eyes.

It was hardly the first time that Daring Do had lost a pony close to her. The reality of her job was that everypony she brought along was in mortal danger. Usually she could keep them safe.

Sometimes she couldn't.

Daring Do wiped her eyes and turned around, knocking on the side of the book fort. "C-could we at least have his body so we can bury him in his hometown?"

One of the books slid aside cautiously so that the unicorn and the guard could peer cautiously at Daring Do. "There's nothing left to bury."

"Stupid Marabians!" Storm Talon screeched, causing the unicorn to slam the book back into place.

"Can we go now?" Sandstorm whispered.

The two pegasi sisters were glancing anxiously the guards, the barbed wire, and the cannons.

Daring Do turned away and stared at the wall, taking a moment to compose herself.

Then she whirled around and flew over the walls of the book fort. The unicorn screamed and the guard ducked.

"This is the month of the lightning god," Daring Do said. "You execute criminals using electric hornets in this month. So don't tell me there's nothing left to bury. Tell me the truth." She glared at both of them.

"Okay, okay!" the guard said, waving his hooves over his head. He slowly stood up. "The truth is, usually nopony cares to bury the criminals properly. There's this doctor who likes to take the dead bodies for his experiments, so we just sell their corpses to him."

There was a pause.

"Uh oh," Dell whispered.

Daring Do rose above the book fort and landed in front of Dell. "Uh oh what?"

"I think I know where Bravado is…"