As she lay buried under a pile of sand in some clearing, Daring tried to remember what happened after the ritual. Nothing was clear, and all she remembered was the light in the council ring, and then she was here. She was still surrounded by birds of every size and shape, all remaining silent as if in respect.
Somewhere nearby, Daring heard a voice calling her name. "DARING! DARING DO!" the voice screamed.
Another voice screamed just as loud, but in a more feminine way. "DARING DO! WHERE ARE YOU!"
Daring summoned as much strength as she could, croaking out to the voices of Timur and Zecora. "Help," she croaked. However faint, it seemed to be enough, and the crash of brush and the stomp of hooves on the dirt told her that the zebras were very close.
As Timur and Zecora charged into the clearing, they skidded to a halt. In front of them sat a sight that many would have considered too holy to even look at with sinner's eyes. A huge circle of colored sand outlined most of the clearing, a line spiraling inwards towards the center. And in the center lay Daring Do, only her face exposed above the sand. Looking around themselves, the zebras almost choked with how many birds sat in the bushes and trees, silently watching over Daring.
Swallowing his trepidation, Timur took a tentative step into the sacred circle, followed closely by Zecora. Coming up to Daring, he began to frantically scoop away soil, exposing more of the pegasus. "Daring, are you alright? Are you hurt in any way-" A sepia hoof erupted from the thin sand and punched Timur straight in the muzzle. Falling back on his haunches, he rubbed his nose.
Zecora stood back and smirked at Timur. "She seems alright to me. Perhaps I should leave her be."
Timur snorted out a small clot of blood. "She's fine."
Daring leaned up, wiping the sandy soil off with her hooves. "What the buck happened last night?" she croaked.
"We did the ritual, and you vanished!" said Timur.
Daring stared at him tired eyes. "Okay, then what happened?"
"We don't know! You just disappeared."
Understanding of what happened had not yet struck Daring. "Okay, we did the little ritual, nothing happened and I walked out. Why was I buried up to my neck in sand? And what the hell are all these birds doing here?"
Timur grabbed her by the shoulders, a sense of minor terror in his eyes. "Daring. You never left the council ring. We performed the ritual and you literally disappeared in a flash of light."
The pegasus sat with a disbelieving frown. "Things just don't disappear. There's obviously a logical explanation for all of this." Standing up, she shook more of the sand out of her fur, stretching her wings to shake out her feathers....
Her eyes snapped to her torso, extending a wing fully feathered for flight. "How the buck..." she said under her breath.
Zecora stood back, her eyes open wide and her jaw trembling. "What are you starin' at?" Daring said to Zecora. The zebra mare said not a word, instead pointing to her own forehead. "Whatever," she replied. Walking over to the watering hole, she began to splash some of the water onto the paint, washing it off. "So did your 'god' show up? Did she even come close?" she shouted back to the pair of zebra that sat aghast.
"Closer than you think," Timur said, sitting next to Zecora as they took in more of Daring.
Splashing some water on her face, Daring finally turned to address the huge flock of birds. "Shoo!" she shouted, waving a hoof and spreading her refeathered wings. Almost as one the flock of birds took wing and dispersed out into the wild. "Damn birds..." Daring muttered.
Walking back over to the pair of zebra, Daring lay down and stretched her wings out. Zecora still sat speechless, nearly choking on a breath of air. Daring squinted at the other mare. "What's she so worked up about?" Zecora reached into a saddlebag and pulled out a gourd and a bowl. Pouring clear water into the bowl, she shakily pushed the bowl to Daring, then wordlessly jabbed at her own forehead with a hoof. "Oh, some clean water, thanks." Daring began to lightly sip the water.
Zecora grabbed her Daring's head with her hooves, aiming her back at Zecora's face. Again the zebra pointed to her own forehead, then aimed Daring's face at the water in the bowl, pulling back Daring's charcoal bangs with a hoof. "Zecora! What are you-" Daring interrupted herself as she got a good look at her reflection. On her forehead rested a silver circle, with a line slowly spiraling inward toward the center, just like the strange ring she had been buried in. Dipping a hoof into the water, she scrubbed her forehead. Looking at her own reflection again, the mark was still there, shining bright in the sunlight.
Daring snapped out of Zecora's hooves, a look of rage on her face. "YOU TATTOOED MY HEAD!?!?" she roared with the fury of a buffalo.
Zecora fell to her knees, prostrating herself and chanting, "Mimi sistahili! Mimi sistahili!"
"What in Celestia's name is she saying?" asked Daring.
Timur stood gobsmacked of the pegasus. "She said, 'I am not worthy'." Timur fell to his knees and began to chant just like Zecora.
Disregarding the zebras, Daring ran back over to the watering hole, scooping up a hoof full of sand and scrubbing her head with it, desperately trying to get the mark off.
As the zebra continued their prostration and sending their prayers to Yeye, a sound caught Timur's ear. A low rumble, followed by the cracking and splitting of branches as something huge moved through the brush. A foul stench drifted in, a stinking odor that could only mean one thing.
With a hoof he stopped Zecora. "Zecora, je, ni kwamba msimu?" (Zecora, is it that season?)
The mare stopped and listened, her ears twisting and turning. Suddenly the odor hit her full in the nose. "Unajua, mimi nadhani ni." (You know, I think it is.)
"Ni utaratibu bado ni sawa?" (Is it still the same procedure?)
"Kukimbia kama moto wa Jehanamu?" (Run like hell?)
"Ndiyo, hiyo moja." (Yeah, that one.)
"Ndiyo." (Yup.) The rumbling grew louder, the only one oblivious to it being Daring as she continued to try and scrub off the mark. The pair of zebras bolted for the safety of the treeline, diving behind a termite mound for safety.
"DARING! RUN!" shouted Timur to the pegasus. Daring lifted her head just in time to see the wall of grey, wrinkly flesh tear through the treeline, white tusks shining as it trumpeted in rage. "It's in musth! Run Daring!" A strange fluid seemed to drip down the elephant's cheek, and its eyes were red with rage. Swinging its tusks it uprooted a small tree and its trunk flailed liked a garden hose.
For some reason, Daring wasn't afraid of the titan of hormonal rage. Something about it seemed almost annoying. Staring into those bloodshot eyes, something began to happen. She could feel the elephant, hear its heartbeat like her own and sympathize with the incredible pain it was going through. The bull elephant stood more still as the pegasus simply stared at it from the ground.
Opening her mouth, Daring said only two words. "Go...away," she murmured to the elephant that stood twenty feet away.
The elephant leaned back its head and trumpeted loudly, shaking the leaves on nearby trees. Swinging its head almost in denial, the elephant turned around and slowly walked away into the bush. Watching the grey behemoth flee, Daring was startled by Zecora's hoof touching her on the shoulder. "You should be dead." Zecora looked into Daring's magenta eyes. "You have seen a realm few have tread."
"But I don't remember what happened after the light," Daring said in her defense.
"You have gone beyond Yeye's approval Daring, I think she may have chosen you as a champion. Those birds, that elephant...Yeye must have given you some kind of influence over them," said Timur with an air of incredulous demure.
"That's a coincidence, it has to be."
"Yes Ms Do, an extremely holy symbol appearing on your head after you vanish in a flash of light and animals suddenly having the utmost respect for you. Oh, and don't forget the fact that your wing feathers completely regrew overnight. Must be a coincidence."
Daring licked her hoof and rubbed it on her forehead. "Don't get snippy with me. How can something that major happen without me remembering anything?"
Zecora gently touched Daring on the forehead, just to see what would happen. As no reprimand came, she deemed Daring safe enough to bring back to the village. "That is a question we may answer back at home. I have many potions for memory in my tome."
Daring nodded, and the zebras took off in the brush to find their way back to Nyumbani.
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Approaching the great tree that harbored the Din'Jaro's greatest village, zebras that worked their fields and tended their flocks dropped their tasks to see Daring. After disappearing from the council ring, many believed her dead, a failure in the eyes of Yeye. But here this outlander still walked amongst the living, her flesh bearing one of the holiest symbols known.
Coming to the spiral ramp that led to the boughs of Nyumbani, the pair of Din'Jaro warriors in red tunics leveled their spears at the outlander many considered to be some kind of trickster demon. Zecora and Timur both protested, but Daring took this as a small test of her new gift. Walking to the forefront, she pulled back her charcoal bangs with a hoof, exposing the shining silver mark on her forehead.
The warriors stopped their protest, mouths falling open. Dropping their spears, they bowed before Daring. Looking back at her zebra friends Daring gave a mischievous grin. "It's gonna be hard not to abuse this."
Making their way through the treetop village, they reached Zecora's hut. Sitting down on the bed, Daring wondered what other cool stuff this new mark could do. As Zecora flipped through the pages of a tome, Daring focused her thoughts outside the window.
"Alright Ms Do, I think I have the potion for you," Zecora said as she looked up from her book to behold Daring surrounded by butterflies.
Daring held out a hoof for a large blue butterfly to land on. "Wow," she said with a smile, bringing the insect closer to her face to marvel at this strange phenomenon.
Timur sat on a stool across from Daring, shaking his head. "Don't abuse it, Daring. You have no idea what the consequences could be for randomly making animals go against their nature."
"You're no fun." She gave a motherly coo to her little flight of insects. "Shoo shoo, everyone out," Daring said to her menagerie of butterflies. They obliged and drifted out the window.
"Don't take this the wrong way Ms Do, but why in Tartarus would a god bestow such a specific gift on you?"
"Who knows? Maybe it's because I'm the best pony for the job of finding the Eyes."
Zecora interrupted their conversation, pulling a flask off a shelf and presenting it to Daring. "Drink deeply and we will see, what the reason was for this godly decree."
Daring took the flask and began to sip from it. The bitter taste of the memory potion nearly made her gag as it flowed down her throat. Setting the flask aside, she lay back on Zecora's bed, waiting for the potion to take effect.
"Do you remember anything, Ms Do?" asked Timur.
Secrets held under lock and key within her memory began to come back to her mind, sights and sounds that would forever change her world. "I remember....singing."
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The light permeated everything that Daring saw as she walked through it. The world slowly became solid again and the light dimmed away. But this was not Zebrica, nor was it anyplace she had ever seen in any place on Earth. A forest of twilight surrounded her, majestic trees towered up into the eternal sky. A soft light seemed to come from everywhere, just enough to illuminate the forest at dusk. The grass under her hooves felt softer than any cloud. Looking at her hoof, Daring was surprised to see that she could see through herself, that the only part of her that truly seemed substantial was the runes and tribal markings done by Timur and Zecora. Everything seemed foggy, and it seemed like some elements of the forest changed each time she looked at them.
Looking around herself, Daring searched for anypony in the endless forest. "Hello? Is anypony here?" she shouted. A soft singing tingled her ears, and Daring looked for the singer. She noticed that there were no true sounds of night, just the gentle song that seemed to come from everywhere. Looking in the boughs of a great tree, she saw small, gently flickering lights.
"Spirit orbs," Daring said to herself. The orbs were everywhere, slowly drifting about this eternal realm, singing their songs and relishing in eternal rest. One orb drifted from between the trees, approaching Daring deliberately. The spirit stopped in front of Daring, seeming to inspect the pegasus.
"Come, she is waiting for you," the spirit said to Daring in a voice that comforted her in a tone like a father with his child.
"Who's waiting for me? Where am I? Who are you?" Daring asked the soul that led her through the wood.
"In time all your questions shall be answered. Who I am is of no importance, but I was once known as Starswirl."
The songs of the dead seemed to tell the stories of their lives as Daring and her guide spirit walked amongst the sylvan wood. As a choir of angels they sang of happiness and love, joy and beauty to make the heart weep. The spirit known as Starswirl brought her through the moonlit glades, along a path that seemed untrodden by mortal hooves. The songs of the spirits grew more harmonious as they came to the edge of a clearing.
The spirit of Starswirl bowed to Daring, then flew off, rejoining his companions in their songs. One in particular he seemed to be in perfect harmony with. But that was not what held Daring's sight. While everything else in this strange twilight world seemed somehow ethereal and wispy, She was not.
A glittering pool of silver water lay in the center of the clearing, its surface shining like liquid crystal. A willow tree hung over the pool, its long branches holding uncounted spirit orbs who decorated it like fireflies. And underneath the tree, laying next to the pool, was an alicorn.
Her fur was of the finest forest green color, making Daring consider hers a dull coat in comparison. Her ink black mane flowed like the wind, but it showed the view of stars and galaxies that Daring had only ever seen the dim light of through a telescope. She wore a diadem of crystal on her head, a single blue and green gem set in the center. And around her neck lay a necklace, bearing the seal of the Elements of Harmony.
The alicorn looked up from the shimmering waters of the moonlit pool, smiling at her guest.
Daring took a step closer to the pool and the alicorn. "Um, howdy. You, uh, wouldn't happen to know where I am, would you?"
Come child, join me.
Daring looked around for whoever had whispered that straight into her ear. There was only her and the strange alicorn. "Did you..." The alicorn nodded, and indicated a place next to her. "Okay then," Daring said nervously to the stranger.
Walking around the pool, she sat down on the soft grass next to the alicorn. The alicorn closed her golden eyes, listening to the chorus of angelic songs that the spirits all around them sang. A small smile crept up her face, and Daring too listened to the voices of the past. "They're beautiful," she said to the alicorn. "Who are you?" she asked.
The alicorn's lips did not move, nor did she even open her eyes. The Dream Walker, The Wind Shepherd, The Lady of the Scale, The Mother, The Sea Witch, all of these and more, her ethereal voice whispered to Daring.
Daring nearly fainted with shock. "You're...you're Yeye." Daring looked around herself. "What is this place?" she whispered to herself.
She of All Stripes, another of my names, and a more fitting one than most. You are Daring Do, I have been watching you. Welcome to my realm, the realm of my mind's creation. A dream that you and I are both sharing.
Daring looked away from the alicorn goddess, taking in her surroundings. No matter how real it seemed, how clear the songs of the spirits sounded, no matter how the light shimmered off the crystal pool, this beautiful realm was a dreamscape. "How have you been watching me?"
Yeye opened her eyes, extending a large wing to touch the surface of the crystalline pool with a feather. The surface flattened, and the image of young Daring at the Summer Sun Celebration came up, then a scene from her in school, then one where her mother gave her a compass and she earned her cutie mark, then another on her first expedition.
"You've been watching me my entire life?" The goddess nodded, smiling at Daring's achievements in memory. "If you're Yeye, why aren't you a zebra? You are the god of zebras, right?" Daring gasped as she no longer sat next to an alicorn, but to a zebra mare whose stripes seemed to flow along her hide, sitting still yet never seeming to stop.
Is this more appropriate?
Yeye's form shifted again, this time to a strange creature like an ape. But calling her one would have been an insult as she sat by the pool in a green dress with pale, smooth skin. The strange creature had a haunting, ageless beauty about her.
Or perhaps this form is more pleasing to your mind?
Suddenly a large dragon surrounded Daring, her nearly translucent scales dazzling in the pale light of the silver waters.
She shifted back to the form of an alicorn. "I don't care what you look like. I just need to know, am I worthy of seeking the Eyes of the Demon?" The alicorn form of Yeye nodded her head.
In the name of Harmony and light, you are worthy to seek that abomination.
Strange, her mental voice seemed to be touched with anger at the mention of the Eyes. "But, you didn't even test me."
Haven't I?
Yeye touched a wingtip again to the pool of water, the shimmering water clearing to show Daring in the bush, pulling the lightning bird chick free of its entrapment at the risk of her own safety.
You show kindness where others would show fear.
The water rippled, changing to Daring pulling Timur through the desert, not even stopping to rest for herself.
You are loyal to the point of selfless sacrifice.
Again the water rippled, showing Daring giving her own feather to the colt in the Nyika village.
You generously give hope wherever you go.
The image of her in the hall of the High Chief of the Din'Jaro, asking for the knowledge of the Eyes.
You show naught but the purest of truth in your honesty.
The ripples calmed, and the images of her laughing with Timur, laughing with Zecora and with Lucky back in Equestria.
And I must say, your laughter is rather infectious.
Daring leaned over the pool of water, seeing these images of the goddess testing her, long before she even knew she was to be tested. With a realization, she noticed the amulet around the alicorn's neck. "I think I'm missing one," Daring said to the goddess
Yeye smiled and nodded. Yes, magic. But I can solve that problem. The alicorn leaned her head to Daring, touching her forehead with the tip of her horn. Daring felt the magic of a god flow from the alicorn and into her own body, an infinitesimal amount compared to what she felt coming from Yeye. Use my gift wisely, Daring Do. You are my tool on Earth, a beacon of harmony to defeat the devices of chaos. The Eyes of the Demon are harmful to my children, and I have punished Grinwa greatly for making them. But they are not safe anymore, and you must change that.
Lifting her head away from the horn of Yeye, she felt she had to ask something else. "During my journey, there were a couple of times when things just seemed to work out in my favor. Did you have anything to do with that?"
Again the goddess touched a feather to the water, the ripples parting to show the memories of the hippos, the lightning bird, the rats and even the kasai in N'dutu's camp.
I may have intervened a little. Now clear your thoughts, for I must send you back.
"Wait, before I go, why did you destroy them? You know who I'm talking about, right?"
Something unexpected happened, Yeye's eyes shimmered and the goddess shed a tear for the fallen Tall Ones. They were never meant to be destroyed. Yeye leaned close to Daring, and for the first time, she opened her mouth and spoke. "Do not let my daughter lie to you anymore." The goddess's horn glowed with her magic, and the light once again surrounded Daring.
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Daring lay in Zecora's bed, staring at the ceiling after fully recounting her sojourn into the Twilight Realm. "It was real. It was all so real."
Timur and Zecora stood back, and to Daring's surprise, tears streaked down Zecora's face. "Can...can you draw her?" asked Zecora.
Daring nodded, pulling out her notepad and a pencil. But before she could begin, the door to Zecora's hut opened, the aged and decrepit High Chief of the Din'Jaro slowly feeling his way in. Zecora ran to her father, placing a hoof on his shoulder. "Father, you are not well. You need to lay down for a spell."
The ancient zebra slowly lifted a shaking hoof and removed his daughter's hoof from his shoulder. His blind gaze searched for Daring, seeming to find her on the bed. The old zebra moved slowly over to her, and once he found her, the High Chief began to feel Daring's face with a hoof. He took in a mental image of the pegasus, feeling the shape of her face. When his hoof touched her forehead, the High Chief froze.
His blind eyes closed, a small tear falling down his cheek. His wrinkled face dimpled as he gave a joyous and toothy smile. "Aziza," he said quietly. The Chief began to speak, and with his hoof touching her marked forehead, Daring understood his words.
"Up the river Zengo lies your goal,
Past dangers of the jungle untold.
Travel north for many nights and days,
Past the Everguard's watchful gaze.
Find you will the Lake of Stars,
Enter into the mountain's scar.
A hundred by a hundred stones,
Carved into the earth's bones.
Tread carefully out of the light,
And follow the path of they without sight.
Only the sightless may see,
And walk the path of eternity.
Deep within Her bones lies the Tomb,
Where lies the Eyes of our doom.
Be warned, ye who is brave and bold,
The Eyes cannot be controlled."
The Chief finished the rhyme, removing his hoof from her head. The aged chief took a step back and bowed before the one chosen by his god to rid him and his tribe of their unending curse. The one sent by the Sun Daughter to bear away the evil that had plagued Zebrica since before the banishment of the Moon Daughter.
The High Chief rose, beckoning to Daring to come with him. The pegasus placed her wing on his shoulder, and the chief smiled, slowly ambling his way out the door of Zecora's hut with Daring escorting him. Pulling aside the curtained door, the pegasus saw a stunning sight. Every rope bridge, every platform and every branch thick enough to support somepony stood packed with zebra clad in red tunics. They remained silent, awaiting the sign from their chief.
The High Chief stopped, raising a hoof to his people. "Aziza ni Yeye!" he shouted.
"AZIZA!" shouted the voices of hundreds of zebra warriors and workers, crafters and farmers. "Aziza! Aziza! Aziza!" they shouted in unison, stomping their hooves and raising their spears to the sky. The High Chief lifted his hoof once again to silence his people, stepping back to let Daring speak. Daring looked nervously at the assembled tribe, wondering what to say.
"What are they calling me?"
"Favored of god," said Timur appeared by her side. "They wish to know what you would ask of them."
"But I don't speak Din'Jaro," Daring replied.
"Then I shall speak it for you."
Daring nodded, turning back to the zebras of the Din'Jaro. Here she was again with public speaking, but she felt something with her, a presence that seemed reassuring. Taking a deep breath, Daring stood tall. "I am not a mare of many words, but there are no words that can describe what will happen if we let N'dutu succeed. I have seen his evil and his depravity. And I have seen the lives and homes torn apart by his cruelty." Beside her, Timur relayed the message.
"I have known fear in the face of tyranny, and I have overcome my fear! My heart beats with the blessing of Yeye, and I say that She looks not upon me to fight tyranny. Yeye looks to you to stand up to the demons within our own hearts! I do not fight for an artifact, I do not fight for glory or greed. I fight for freedom! I fight to end the cruelty and slavery that the few would see on the many! Now is the time, my brothers and sisters, to raise up your spear and bear your shield in the name of freedom and harmony! We do not stand alone, send the fastest runners to the other tribes, and tell them that Aziza and Ingelosi calls to them! Go to the Nyika, go to the Mbusa, the Zare, the Gochano, go to all the tribes! Tell them that we do not hold them as enemies, we judge not by our blood or our right to guard the Tomb, we call to them for all people across the world! For freedom, for honor, and for Harmony!"
A thunderous roar came from the throats of every zebra of the Din'Jaro, cheering for the one that Yeye had chosen. Several warriors grabbed their spears and gourds of water, strapping them onto their torsos and running down the ramp of Nyumbani. The fastest did as they were told, sprinting off to the winds to seek the tribes of Zebrica that still fought for their freedom.
Zecora touched the pegasus on her shoulder. Daring turned back to see a smiling and resolute Chief and his daughter. "Come Daring Do, my father has a gift for you."
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In the hall of the High Chief, Daring, Timur and Zecora stood before the throne of the Din'Jaro, formed from a living branch of Nyumbani. Speaking for his father, Zitali retrieved the gifts of his tribe for the warriors blessed by Yeye. Passing a bundle to Zecora, the mare approached Timur, unwrapping the bundle.
"Timur Duan!ziti, this spear was made from the metal of a fallen star. It was meant to be my dowry, but has no use thus far." She pulled the cloth from the spear, the cool blue metal dazzling Timur's eye. It indeed seemed a metal of another world, and when he lifted the spear, if felt as light as a feather, but stronger than the scale of a dragon. Runes ran the length of the shaft, and flicking the head through a hair, Timur cleanly split the hair. He bowed to the chief and to Zitali before sheathing the spear.
Zecora brought a smaller bundle to Daring, slowly unwrapping it. "It is said that Wale Mrefu bore this in their final days. You should bear it to punish the one who slays." The cloth parted to reveal a coiled whip, runes covering the carved bone handle. Daring took gently from Zecora. It seemed to fit perfectly in her hoof, no matter the shape of the handle. Though nearly two thousand years old, the whip flexed and fit to her like the day it had been made by the cleverness of the Tall Ones and the magic of the zebra. She was not a weapon, she was a punisher of wickedness.
As Zecora set down her bundles, she took to Daring's side. Her brother Zitali approached her with a bundle. "Sister, you go now on a journey to save our home. Take this and seek the wisdom in this tome." He presented her with a book of alchemy and herbalism of the rarest and most powerful types. Zecora bowed to her brother and her father, placing the book in the basket on her side.
With their gifts of knowledge and power, the party of three left Nyumbani, heading northwards on hoof to the thickening forests that housed unknown danger and the first step on this new journey, the Zengo River. The armies of the Din'Jaro would hold back N'dutu's advancing army as long as they could, and if Daring could beat him to the Eyes, then there was a glimmer of hope on the horizon for all of Zebrica.
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That's right, I gave Daring Do the power of The Stare, whatcha gonna do about it?