//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: To The Cave! Finally…Run! // Story: Daring- Do and the Zombie Island Jungle // by Stepany1234 //------------------------------// “Gem of sanctuary. Wow, now there’s something for my collection,” Daring Do said as she walked through the dark jungle. The pegasus would usually fly but seeing how the cave is somewhere in the jungle of the island, flying would be too risky and so the two ponies had to search for it on hoof. “Daring?” Quest asked. “Huh?” Daring Do mumbled as she broke out of deep thought. “What’s it like being an adventurer? To be able to fly to other places of the world and discover new things,” Quest asked. Daring Do smiled and began to recap on all her previous adventures. “It’s great. Risky and dangerous but I manage to get through every sticky situation,” Daring Do answered. “Must be nice. I don’t even remember anything other than this island. You can imagine how boring it must be for a pony with a name like mine,” Quest said with a small laugh. “I can only imagine. Do you ever plan on leaving the island?” Daring Do asked. “How can I? The boats that would come to visit this island have stopped visiting due to the large amount of distances. The boat I arrived on was the last. I’m stuck here whether I like it or not,” Quest sighed. Daring Do was silent for a moment before grinning to the idea she had. “What if after all of this is taken care of I could take you with me to see something other than this place. Surely of course it would only be like a vacation from home but it be a fun way to spend a couple days, right?” Daring Do wondered. Quest’s face lit up as she stared back at the pegasus next to her. “You really mean that?!” Quest said with excitement in her eyes. “Sure. Why not? It’s the least I could do for a pony with a name like Quest. How can’t I? Of course, it would only be a couple days and then I could bring you back here,” Daring Do said. “Of course. Wow! I’m so excited now!” Quest said. Her voice pitched higher as she let out a small squeal. Daring Do smiled at the mare that walked next to her and had forgotten about everything that has occurred for a short moment. “Eh! Winged pony!” Said three familiar annoying voices. “Never fails,” Daring Do said under her breath out of annoyance. “Well now it sure is great to see you, beautiful young mare,” the shedding vulture said to Quest as the three birds hovered next to the two ponies. Daring Do walked with her eyes forward and tried hard to ignore the three flying loud mouths. “Thank you,” Quest chuckled. “What you two doing anyway? Nobody goes for a walk out here at night,” the toucan said. “Yeah, dangerous you know,” said the pelican. “Right. Something dangerous could happen to a trio of soon to be flightless birds,” Daring Do muttered. “What was that?” The vulture asked. “Um. Could you three be of assistance to us? Please?” Quest asked. “Sure. Anything for you, dear,” The pelican said. “We’re looking for a cave. One that holds a lot of gems, one in particular. Our map isn’t exactly a map and it’s a bit difficult to see in this dark jungle,” Quest described. “Hmm, there’s many caves out here,” the pelican said. “No kidding,” Daring Do mumbled. “But only one that is filled with gems,” the toucan said with a smile. “Really? Could you please guide us there?” Quest asked. “Sure. We’ll guide you there,” the vulture said as he insisted on only helping Quest and not Daring Do. “What?” Daring Do said as she stopped in her tracks. “Yeah. Why should we help you?” The pelican said. “All you are is mean to us. This pony is nothing but kind. Why should we help you?” The toucan said. Quest saw Daring Do was being pushed to her limits and was ready to snap. “Oh please, sirs. Daring has done nothing bad and has done her all to keep me safe so please help us both,” Quest said as she stood in front of Daring Do. The three birds shot glances at each other and continued to think. “Please? For me?” Quest asked with a smile. “Oh alright. But just because you asked us, not because we’re fond of your friend here,” the vulture said. Quest smiled at Daring Do who only rolled her eyes. “Just show us the way,” Daring Do said. “Follow me,” the toucan said before flying in a different direction. Daring Do and Quest followed the toucan on hoof and soon where lead to the large cave. “Wow, this cave is on the other side of the island. Furthest thing away from the volcano,” Daring Do said as she looked at the scroll’s map. “If you had that this whole time. Why did you ask us to show you the way? I mean, sure it is dark here but it still is a map. We love to help but I’m just curious,” The pelican asked as he noticed the scroll that was laid against the grass. “Because I was suspicious this map was a trap and I was right. This leads to a different direction from this cave,” Daring Do pointed out. “Why would it be a trap? Quest asked. “For thieves. In case somepony tried to steal the scroll and find the treasure for themselves, this map would lead them to trap to protect where the gems really were,” Daring Do explained. “Wow, that’s really smart,” Quest said as she smiled at the pegasus. Daring Do smiled back before having the birds fly between them and hover in front of her snout. “For a rude pony, you sure are smart. But it still doesn’t mean we like you,” the vulture said. “Thanks for helping us. We’ll take it from here,” Daring Do told the birds. She smiled and ignored their sarcasm. “Sure, just be sure to keep Quest safe. She’s the only reason we’re being so kind,” the toucan said. “Yeah! Or we would unleash a large amount of pain on you!” The vulture said. His attempt at making muscles with his wings only lead to causing more feathers to shed. “Right. I’ll keep that in mind,” Daring Do said as Quest began to laugh. “Come on, let’s go,” Daring Do told the mare before walking into the cave. “Good luck, Quest!” The birds said as they watched the ponies enter the cave. “Don’t scream!” Daring Do whispered to the birds. “Why?!” The birds screamed in curiosity. A snap was heard and the ground beneath Daring Do and Quest caved in. “That’s why,” Daring Do said as she hovered in the air above the trap. Daring Do swooped down the dark trap and caught Quest before falling on the spikes beneath them. “Great timing,” Quest said as she clinged onto Daring Do. “You okay?” Daring Do asked. “Yeah. Those spikes look painful,” Quest said as she looked at the large spikes beneath them. “At least it’s not snakes,” Daring Do smiled. The pegasus flew up back to the cave and placed Quest on the solid ground. Daring Do looked back out to the exit of the cave and saw the birds had fled. “Good. They left,” Daring Do said. The two ponies began walking with caution as they went deeper into the mysterious cave. “It’s so dark in here. How do we know if we’re going the right way?” Quest asked. Daring Do looked around and then wondered the same thing. “Hmm,” she said before flying up towards the ceiling of the cave. She stopped once she banged her head against it. “Are you alright?” Quest asked. “Ow. Yeah. Keep your voice down,” Daring Do said in a whispered tone. She didn’t bother taking her hat off to rub her head, not with the risk of loosing the scroll. She then noticed that her hat couldn’t have hurt her head that bad from just hitting the ceiling of a rocky cave, It had to have been something harder. She touched the ceiling with her hoof and smiled after tapping it repeatedly. “What is it? Quest asked. Daring Do stared closely and tried to see the colored gem through the darkness. She smiled to see her reflection in the gem and proved she was right. “The walls, they must be covered in them,” Daring Do said to herself. She flew down quickly and looked around for a rock on the ground. “What is it?” Quest asked, wanting to know what was going through the pony’s mind. Daring Do placed her hoof on a small boulder that sat against the wall of the cave and scrapped her hoof against it. It caused a spark and she repeated her actions again with two of her front hooves and the sparks then landed on a twig on the ground. “Wow, you created fire,” Quest said in surprise. She truly was amazed with what the pegasus was capable of. “And now,” Daring Do said before picking the twig up with her teeth. She flew to the walls of the cave and lit the hidden torches quickly as she flew by them all. Quest’s eyes widened as her jaw dropped. Her eyes sparkled from the reflection off of the gems that surrounded them. All kinds of diamonds and gems were mounted and growing out of the walls and ceiling of the cave. It was brighter than the moon outside the cave and as colorful as a rainbow. “Wow, it’s beautiful!” Quest said as she looked at all the gems on the walls and the ceiling. Daring Do hovered in the air with the lit twig in her mouth still as she was too awestruck from the bright and colorful surrounding. Daring Do looked back down towards Quest and saw how the colorful gems shinned off of her, giving her coat an amazing shine of different colors. Daring Do stared for awhile before catching her eye and quickly flew down to the ground. She dropped the twig on the ground and stomped on the small flame with her hoof to extinguish it. “This truly is beautiful. I wish my visit here would be for a better reason,” Quest said. “Right. I almost forgot why we found this cave in the first place,” Daring Do said as she stared at all the gems around them. Quest looked down and saw one gem by her hoof. It was the same color as her coat, pink. It was the shape of a diamond shard and caught her eye. She smiled and picked it up. “Look,” she said as she showed the gem to Daring Do. “A pink gem. Pretty,” Daring Do said as she looked at the small gem. “Could you hold onto it for me?” Quest asked. Daring Do nodded and placed the gem in her pocket. “Now, which one of these gems is the one we need?” Daring Do asked aloud as she looked around. Quest took Daring Do’s hat off her head and opened the scroll herself. “You could have just asked,” Daring Do said. Quest smiled and placed the hat on her own head before looking down at the scroll. “Hmm, there should be a sketched diagram of what the real gems look like,” Quest said as she skimmed the scroll. “Are you mocking me?” Daring Do asked with a cocky smile. “No,” Quest said with a grin. She laughed softly before looking back at the scroll. “Wait, look,” Quest said. She pointed at a sketch on the scroll and saw a specific looking gem. “That must be it. The Gem of sanctuary,” Daring Do said. “Looks different than these on the walls and ceiling,” Quest said before rolling the scroll up and putting it back in the hat. She deliberately placed it back on her head and only smiled when Daring Do asked for it back. “Guess we’ll have to find that gem,” Daring Do said before opening up her wings. She stretched out her wings and picked Quest up before dashing through the cave. The torches began to light themselves as they flew through the cave. As if lighting one ignited the rest. As Daring Do flew at incredible speed, the gems in the cave began to rush by like flashing rainbows. Colors of all sort passing by them as they sped by quickly. Quest smiled wide as she noticed the beautiful colors they were passing by. She placed her hoof on the hat and smiled as she looked up at Daring Do. Daring Do smiled back before coming to a complete stop. “I think I found it,” Daring Do said. “What makes you so sure?” Quest asked as she looked up at Daring Do. “Oh, just a guess,” Daring Do said sarcastically. Quest turned around and saw the pile of gems that formed a mountain to the to the many gems that looked like the sketch in the scroll. Daring Do flew above the ground to avoid any traps and placed Quest down on the gem mountain before landing herself. “Wow, these look just like the Gem. Are they all it?” Quest asked. “Must be. If the scroll’s story is true. Then 200 years ago, some other pony placed one of these already in the volcano to kill the curse. So I guess there’s many other left to keep the cycle going. “Good, let’s grab one and get out of here,” Quest said before picking up the white Gem up with her teeth. She took off the hat and placed it inside along with the scroll before giving it to Daring Do. Daring Do smiled at Quest and took the hat before placing it on her own head. “Alright, now let’s go. The quicker we get out of here the better,” she said before winking at Quest. Both ponies turned around at the sound of steps and cracks behind them. “What was that?” Quest asked a bit terrified. “Ergh!” Daring Do grumbled before flying towards the shadows. “How many times do you birds have to keep poking your beaks in my business!” Daring Do shouted as she approached the shadow. Its face came out of the shadows and revealed the hideous zombie pony. “Aaagh!” Daring Do shouted in shock before flying back from the zombie. Quest screamed as she saw the zombie ponies come out from the shadows and show their hideous faces. Daring Do flew towards Quest in an attempt to escape. “How did they get here?” Quest asked before getting swooped up. “Who cares. I’m not gonna stay to find out,” Daring Do said as she flew over the zombies and towards the exit. The speed she was going was quick enough to reach the exit quickly but it was a shock to see the zombie ponies already waiting for them. Enrico and a large group of zombies all growled and roared as they looked up to see them in the air. “They were waiting for us?” Quest asked. “That’s why those birds flew off,” Daring Do said as she answered her own question. Enrico roared and frightened both Quest and Daring Do. She took off in high speed towards the jungle and tried to loose the zombies that were following close after them. Quest looked back and saw the zombies gaining after them at incredible speed. “They’re catching up!” Quest alarmed. “What?” Daring Do said as she turned around to see for herself. The small distraction was enough to cause her to crash into a tree and fall to the ground. The ponies rolled to the ground and ached from the impact. “Ugh,” Daring Do mumbled. Her hat had fallen off and she opened her eyes to see the gem and the scroll were on the grass next to her. Her ear flapped back when she heard a growl behind her. She stood up and looked back to see the zombie pony ready to strike. “Move!” Quest shouted before ramming Daring Do out of the way. Daring Do rolled after hitting the ground and quickly shook her head to see the zombie get kicked in the face. Quest kicked him again with her back legs before seeing the zombie run off. Daring Do ran over to Quest as quick as possible. “Are you okay? That was close!” Daring Do said. “Too close for comfort,” Quest said. Quest placed both the gem and scroll back in the hat before giving it to Daring Do. Roars and screams were heard in the distance and the panic rose in the ponies after hearing it grow closer. “We have to hide. Just long enough to throw them off our trail,” Daring Do said. Quest looked around before seeing an abandoned broken down house not too far from where they were. “There!” Quest said before both ponies ran towards it. The grey broken down house was just that. Broken down and old. Some parts of the house was missing wood and the curtains were navy blue and ripped. It wasn’t the prettiest home but it was a good hiding place for their situation. So far hiding was the only option left for the ponies who were trying to escape the zombies.