//------------------------------//
// Stranger Things 
// Story: Daring Do and the Eyes of the Demon 
// by PegasusKlondike 
//------------------------------//

The wet heat of the jungle threatened to sap the strength of the trio as they walked carefully over tangled roots and under the shade of titanic trees. The buzz of mosquitoes around her head annoyed Daring, and with her odd influence, gave a try to making them go away. Almost as soon as she used her odd power, the mosquitoes decided they had more pressing issues elsewhere.

But after a minute or so, a different batch of bloodsuckers wanted to come up and sing her the song of their people right in her ear. Concentrating again, she banished this batch of mosquitoes. Swatting at them futilely with a wing, she finally accepted that there were more bugs here than she had willpower. 

But the buzz of insects was interrupted by a hooting call from the treetops, followed by the crashing of leaves as something jumped from one branch to another. 

"What was that?"

Timur and Zecora glanced that direction with obvious distaste. "Ignore them, Ms Do," Timur replied coolly, turning his attention back to the forest trail. There was something different about the forest, but Daring couldn't quite put her hoof on it. The trees seemed larger and more evenly spaced. The trail seemed to have been used more heavily and the forest floor seemed much thinner.

"Okay, something smells fishy around here. What is this part of the jungle?"

Zecora raised an eyebrow, Timur understood the idiom and replied, "This is no regular part of the jungle. It's an orchard. Just keep your eyes on the trail and we will not have any trouble."

Daring stepped a little closer to her guide as more of the hooting calls came from the forest canopy. Looking up carefully to avoid being seen, she saw streaks of black fur as they swung from branch to branch, carrying baskets laden with fruit. She felt a hoof forcefully push her wandering gaze back to the forest floor. 

"Eyes...down," Timur hissed.

She threw his hoof off, extending her wings in agitation. "What gives, huh?"

"They take eye contact as a challenge to their territory. So keep your eyes down and be quiet! This is not zebra land anymore, so we have no influence or sway here. This forest belongs to the apes."

Risking a peek, Daring peered around herself. "Apes, huh? Like chimps and gorillas and what have you?"

"Precisely," Zecora said softly. "This is a chimpanzee orchard here. If we keep low, trouble will stay clear."

"What's so bad about chimps? They're kinda cute."

Timur kept his gaze steadfastly on the trail. "Oh, they may look cute and cuddly. But give one a reason to hurt you, and he will tear out your eyes and replace them with feces." Zecora nodded, making a warding symbol in the air. 

Contact, however, proved to be inevitable. While walking on the trail through the orchard of towering trees, the trio of equines passed near a tree with a low hanging branch that lay over the trail. Watching from above was none other than the most troublemaking of the great apes. Swinging down low, he sat down on a the low hanging branch and kicked back. Gripping a samba fruit with his feet, he tossed a bit of the peel at the trio of (what he believed to be) zebras.

Daring felt the fruit peel bounce off her helmet, and like Timur told her to, she kept her eyes on the ground. Again a piece of fruit bounced off her helmet, annoying the pegasus. Grinding her teeth as a third piece of fruit peel hit her straight on the nose, Daring couldn't help but look up. 

Leaned against the trunk of the tree was a black furred chimp, chewing on a samba fruit. "'Ey pretty zebra. Want to buy some fruit?"

"No thanks," Daring replied as politely as possible. She cantered forward to avoid having to keep talking to the ape. 

The chimp moved through the trees with extreme agility, landing at another branch further along the trail and assuming a relaxed pose, as if he had been there for a while. "How about some jewelry? I got good jewelry here."

"Not interested," Daring said as inoffensively as possible. A thought occurred to her, and she turned back to whisper to Timur and Zecora. "Is this thingy on my head making me understand obscure languages, or did he just say that in Equestrian?"

Timur nodded. "He did, but they don't call it 'Equestrian', they some strange name for their language that doesn't make any sense."

Suddenly, a pink simian face pushed its way into their circle. "Whatcha talkin' 'bout? And if jewelry ain't your thing, I also do guided tours."

Timur roughly shoved the chimp away, avoiding eye contact and moving along. The chimp kept an easy bipedal stride next to Timur, badgering him with more possible things he might want. "Not the gabbin' type I see. Man of action, I like that in a person. And I have just the thing for a man of action!" The chimp ran a few steps in front of the annoyed Timur, who ground his teeth at the simian annoyance. "Behold! The Spear of Doom! And it can be yours for three simple payments of $19.95 in gold, bits, stones, or any other form of accepted currency!" The chimp hefted a very familiar looking assegai that was made of very rare metal and covered in runes. 

"That is my spear! Give it back, thief!" Timur shouted. 

The ape stared at the spear in his hands like it had just suddenly appeared there. "By the Allgood's grace! A magic spear that just leaps into my hands! Truly a warrior's weapon!"

"Give. It. Back!"

The ape held up a hand. "Hold on a moment, maybe this is my spear that looks exactly like the spear that you very recently lost."

"I have no time for this. Daring! Use your doohicky and scramble his brain!"

Daring sat back and giggled at the ape's antics and his uncanny ability to annoy Timur. "No way, he's too funny. Besides, I don't think my "sponsor" would appreciate that. I don't even know if my doohicky has a 'brain scrambler' setting."

The chimp sidled up to the pegasus. "Ooh, she likes me! Care for a spear madame? Or perhaps I can interest you in this fine hat I recently acquired?"

Daring didn't know how, she didn't know if it was some form of magic, but her pith helmet now rested oddly on the chimp's head. "Hey, that's not funny. Gimme that back, please."

His look of dejection validated the pegasus. And the ape reached up to his head and took off the helmet, placing it back on Daring. "Damn magic word," the chimp muttered.

Timur walked up, swiping his spear from the ape's outstretched hand. "Thank you, monkey."

The ape stiffened, his hackles raising and a certain fire of rage glowing in his eyes. "Monkey.....MONKEY! HOW DARE YOU CALL ME A MONKEY! I sir, am a great ape! A relative of the Allgood herself! And you come to my turf and declare me to be a half-witted monkey!!" The chimp advanced slowly on the zebra, baring his fangs, hooting and howling in rage. 

Timur pulled out his recovered spear, preparing to dance blades with the ape. As the chimp prepared to charge, a shadow passed over the entire orchard. A reptilian cry pierced through the jungle, sending the ape in front of Timur into tremors. 

From the treetops, more chimps scrambled to get down to ground level. One dressed in wooden armor leaned down to the civilian chimps. "AGOGWE!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. The trio turned their gaze upward, just as another of the huge kongomatos blotted out the sun. A shriek came from the orchard canopy, and a chimp fell tumbling from the treetops. Landing on the ground with a sickening thud, the sight of an arrow in his back turned Daring cold.

The chimp with them ran to a log overhanging the trail. Diving underneath, he motioned for Daring and the zebras to join him under the shelter. More arrows fell through the trees as the trio dove under the log. "What are they?!" Daring shouted over the din of the screaming chimps. 

"Agogwe! Unnatural freaks!" the chimp hiding with them shouted. 

"They are like chimps, but covered in plant matter," Timur said to Daring, "They hate chimps and chimps hate them back. They ride kongomatos like gnolls ride nandi."

"I don't know why they are attacking now, we didn't even come close to their territory!" the chimp shouted, covering his head with his hands. 

A mother chimp and her child ran by the log, the mother screaming as an arrow pierced her from above. "That's it! I'm putting an end to this!" Daring shouted. Climbing out from under the log, she spread her wings and took off for the canopy.

"DARING! WAIT!" Zecora screamed as she tried to stop the pegasus. Too late to stop her friend, Zecora reached into her pouch and began to chant while pulling out a powder.

As Daring Do pumped her wings hard to break the treeline, shapes fell past her on the way down. From their green skins, she guessed them to be agogwe aerial troopers. And from the black emblems, she knew them to be N'dutu's servants. Breaking the forest canopy, she got a good look at her opposition. Five kongomatos, their riders firing storms of arrows at the ground. Like the kasai, the kongomatos looked like a dinosaur skeleton from the museum given flesh.

Picking her first target, Daring shot head on towards an approaching flyer, rolling out of the way of the massive beak as it snapped at her. Putting her hooves forward, she barreled straight into the rider's chest, tearing him out of the saddle and throwing him off his mount. Grasping up the reins, she pulled hard to the right, forcing the flying monster straight into another. 

As the two kongomatos struck in midair, their wings and harnesses entwined with one another. Springing out of the saddle, Daring watched as the two fell from the sky and crashed through the trees. 

The buzz of an arrow past her head brought her back to the fight. Spinning around, she saw another of the flying archer platforms heading straight towards her. Bunching up her muscles, she dove at the rider. Screaming past arrows and bolas, Daring spied one agogwe aiming straight for her face. Rolling to the right, she managed to dodge. But she lost all momentum and crashed into the kongomato's back. 

Standing up from her crash, the wind whistled in her mane and the creak of leathery wings filled her ears. Turning back to the rider at the kongomato's neck, she pulled out her whip, lashing it out with a snap. Several of the simian archers unbuckled themselves from their harnesses, pulling out long knives to fight this boarder. Cracking the whip at her attackers, Daring struck one across the eyes, making it scream and clutch its head, falling off the flying kongomato. 

Daring leapt to the side as one lunged at her with blade outstretched. Kicking out with her hooves, she heard the crack of bone as she struck its head. The final rider stayed back, tossing the knife between hands, beckoning the pegasus to attack him. Curling her whip, she lashed out at the agogwe, wrapping the leather tip around his neck. Coiling it around her hoof, Daring gave the strongest pull she could, the whip letting go as the creature fell from the back of the kongomato. Riderless, the great beast began to fly off in a direction that it chose, away from the battle. Daring leapt from the harness, spreading her wings to keep on fighting.

Down on the ground, Timur and Zecora fought viciously against the agogwe that had dropped in as paratroopers. The vicious agogwe troopers stopped chasing their sworn chimp enemies to encircle the pair of zebra. Holding back their attack, Timur and Zecora considered what kind of tactic to use.

"Ten to two, a fair fight in my book, eh Zecora?" Timur called back to the mare at his back.

"Fair enough, let's see how tough," replied Zecora. Throwing a handful of green powder into the air, it exploded into the image of a roaring dragon. Frightened by the sudden appearance of a super predator, the agogwe flinched and fell back. Out of the falling green mist, the butt of a quarterstaff lunged out and took an agogwe in the throat. Spinning it in her hooves, Zecora struck another in the temple, using her momentum to sweep low and take out another's knees.

Timur leapt out of the mist, taking down a trooper with his falling hooves. Whipping his spear to the side, he jammed the head effortlessly between the ribs of an agogwe. Throwing back an elbow, he caught another in the chin, sending it flying back. Ripping his spear free, Timur dodged a wayward sword slash from an agogwe trooper, dipping his spear into to slash across his eyes.

The remaining agogwe inched back in fear, Timur and Zecora advancing on them. Throwing down their weapons, the plant coated simians bolted for the forest. But as they neared the trail's edge, the screams of chimps sent them into abject terror. Dropping from trees, angered chimps surrounded the agogwe, knocking them to the ground and pounding them with bare fists. After a minute of stomping them into the dirt, all the agogwe troops had fled or were no more than jellified corpses on the forest floor. 

But the same was not true in the sky. Two kongomatos with full crews still circled over the orchard, firing arrows down at the ground. Determined to end this, Daring placed herself in between the two beasts. "Okay Yeye, let's see what we can do," Daring murmured. Closing her eyes, she sent her thoughts out to both kongomatos, diving into their minds with her gifted power. Their wills were strong, and the loyalty to their riders even stronger. Straining at the exertion of fighting two of them at once, the mark on her forehead nearly burned with the amount of power flowing out of it. Digging at their will, Daring fought for control. The titanic reptiles shrieked and struggled in the air, whipping their heads about as they tried to fight off the mental invasion. 

Focusing her attack on one, she managed to break in, ordering it to fight its partner. The kongomato under her control gave an ear piercing shriek, climbing in altitude before diving down to attack the other. Barreling into its partner, the great beast clawed and snapped at the other kongomato, tossing most of the riders off its back and crushing those who stayed. Against its rider's will, the one not under Daring's influence fought back, twisting in the other's claws to slash at the open belly. Straining hard at the reins, the agogwe managed to get his mount to break loose, forcing it to flee with the enraged reptile in pursuit. 

Panting like she had just done a complete run through a Southern Jungle temple and stepped on all the traps, Daring let go of her influence on the kongomato. Gasping for breath, a rush of pain had her nearly screaming and holding her head with her hooves. It felt as though somepony was driving a railroad spike into her brain via the magic mark on her forehead. Descending down through the forest canopy, Daring felt the world spinning as she touched down lightly on the ground. Falling onto her side, she clutched her head and groaned. 

Noticing the pegasus in pain as she fell, Timur and Zecora rushed over to her landing site. Zecora reached her first, checking the pegasus for any head trauma. "What is wrong? Is the pain strong?"

Daring nearly rolled on the ground with the agony. "It's bucking killing me! Give me something to dull it before my skull explodes!"

Guessing that she was actually in much less pain than she let on, Zecora dug around in her saddlebag, producing a small vial which Daring greedily drank down. Laying on her back and panting, Daring waited for the potion to take effect. Slowly it numbed the pounding throb in her skull, and as she lay there, the zebras went on high alert. Around them in the trees, dozens of chimps stared down at Daring. 

Seeing that she was alright, the bothersome chimp from before swung down from the branches, landing next to Daring. "Wow, I mean....wow. Nobody has ever kicked so much agogwe ass in one go. Isn't that right?" he asked to the other chimps. Dozens of black furred heads nodded, impressed with how well this strange winged zebra had repelled their greatest enemies. "I mean, holy Allgood, I think most of us are in debt to you now." Most of the primate crowd agreed. "Anything you would want us to do, or is there something you want?"

Daring stared straight at the sky, breathing deeply and feeling every beat of her heart as a hammer to the skull. "Look, all I want is to get to the Zengo River and head upstream to the Everguard. Is that too much to ask?"

Biting his lip, the chimp nodded. "It actually might be a little bit too much. But there's only one ape who can say otherwise, and that's the Prime Minister. I mean, the Zengo River is kind of holy and all, and the Everguard are kind of in a forbidden zone."

Leaning up, Daring started to swoon a little as the pain potion kicked in with the side effects. "Well then, we're off to see the Prime...Whatchamacallit," she drunkenly replied.

The chimp shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, this way please. By the way, the name is Jack." The chimp named Jack motioned for Daring and the zebras to follow him. Standing up, Daring stumbled along as Timur and Zecora supported her by each side. The two zebras did seem rather cross about something.

Leaning over to her ear, Timur hissed, "Are you crazy!? We could just walk through their territory and still get to the Zengo!"

Zecora leaned over Daring and muttered to Timur, "Admit it, we were lost! But going to a chimp village is still a great cost!"

"Fine, my sense of direction may have been slightly off! But don't think that you were any help with it, miss princess!" 

"Will you two shut up? This thingamajig on my head will have them groveling before us like the zebras back in Din'Jaro land. By the way, what's a Prime Whatchamacallit?" Daring said oddly as the world seemed to spin around her, probably too much pain potion.

"Apes don't have kings or chiefs," Timur muttered. "They vote for a leader every few years. It is a complex system that I cannot understand. Far too complex for simple farmers like chimps, they always say they gained all their knowledge from their messiah. Speaking of which, your doohicky won't do us any good. Apes don't worship Yeye; in fact, they deny ever being touched by Yeye in favor of the 'teachings of the Allgood'. And you thought we zebra were cultists, you will see their level of devotion when we get to their village."

"What?! That's crazy talk! I spoke to your god, she touched me in my special place! In my mind!"

"Won't do us any good, so keep your mouth shut."


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


The ape village bore many resemblances to Nyumbani, except that the village was spread out through dozens of smaller trees, with bridges and walkways connecting each treehouse. All the important building seemed to be at ground level though and built of a smooth mudbrick. 

Jack gave a half assed salute to a pair of wood armored guards with wicked looking swords and spears, walking past them and into the village with pony and zebra in tow. Walking lazily over to a ground level building, Jack raised a fist and hammered on the door. "Ey Mr Prime Minister! I need a word with you!"

"Parliament's not in session! Go away!" another primate voice shouted back.

"That's what I get for voting for a bloody bonobo," Jack muttered. "We were attacked by agogwe in the orchard! Some zebra came along and saved our arses, and now she wants to go up the Zengo!"

There was a general shuffling and commotion inside the building. "Agogwe you say? Hold a bloody moment, I'll get me pants on." After a minute of additional shuffling and at one point what sounded like a cat being stepped on, the door swung open. "Right then, come in." Jack motioned for the equines to follow him in. 

The Prime Minister's abode seemed kind of quaint, not at all like the home of a chief or a king. Or a Princess for that matter. Exquisite paintings of very dignified chimps and even a few of gorillas in officer's uniforms hung on the wall, and a hearth crackled with a fire despite the heat. Somehow, this house reminded Daring of some homes in Trottingham. There was an overall sense of sophistication and an air of class, despite the mudbrick construction and unfinished roughness of most of the surfaces.

Leading them into a rather impressive study, the Prime Minister crashed behind a desk, pulling out a pipe and packing a bowl of tobacco. He motioned for the other chimp and his guests to take a seat somewhere. "Take a seat, anyone care for a smoke?"

"Don't mind if I do," said the pegasus, taking the offered pipe and sticking it in the corner of her mouth. 

Kicking his feet back up onto the desk, the Prime Minister took a deep drag on his pipe, letting out the smoke in a ring. "So, Jack tells me you all saved a bunch o' folk out there today. May I ask what your motivation was?"

"Good Samaritan type of thing," Daring replied. 

The Prime Minister nodded. "Oy, the Allgood was always preaching about how we should be good to each other without expectin' payment. Good on ya. Now, what you want up the Zengo?"

"We're after the Eyes of the Demon," Daring blurted out. She slapped a hoof to her own mouth, and the mark on her head tingled. 

The chimp Minister pulled the pipe out of his mouth with a foot, raising an eyebrow. "And what you want with the Blind Warrior's Burden?"

"You know the story of Talib?" asked Timur.

The Prime Minister leaned back in his chair. "That's right. This village right here was one of his last stoppin' places on the way to his own Tomb. The New Testament of the Allgood says it clear as day. Jackie, would you fetch me New Testament? It's over there on the shelf. Time to preach the good word of the Allgood."

"And so it begins," Timur muttered under his breath. Jack climbed up the shelves like they were the branches of a tree, pulling out a very large book bound in wood and leather. Dropping back down to the floor, he presented it to his Prime Minister.

"I ain't no priest, so I'll have to paraphrase it." The chimp flipped to a page, placing on a pair of reading glasses. "Ah, 'ere it is. Says that about five hundred years after the Allgood left this world to live in the paradise of Ingull And, and another three hundred years after the Allgood's brothers all died out, a demon was cavortin' around Zebrica."

"Grinwa," Zecora hissed under her breath.

The Prime Minister nodded. "That's right, little lady. The demon Grinwa loved playin' his tricks on all the good creatures of the Earth, apes included. And we apes consulted the manuscripts of the Allgood, but she didn't leave no information about handlin' demons. But before we could enact the holy word of the Allgood, Grinwa was defeated in single combat by Talib. Let's see, says that the zebras stole the Eyes from Grinwa's corpse, and then basically went on a rampage. Twelve thousand zebra warriors and about a thousand ape warriors were utterly destroyed, their very bodies sucked dry of life."

"Sucked dry of life? Does that mean that the Eyes are some kind of vampire device?" Daring asked.

"Don't rightly know, the Eyes were never in ape hands. Anyhoo, it says that Talib stole the Eyes from his brethren and brought them here, knowin' we apes were too devout to use a demon's device. But he couldn't stay for long, and he asked the Prime Minister back then if he knew where to hide them where they would be safe. And apparently we knew a place, up the Zengo, on the Lake of Stars. And with our help, Talib started building his defenses there using some of the most powerful magics known in the world, maybe even the Eyes themselves. And as a last act, a coalition of chimps, shaman, abada zebra and even dozens of ponies all erected the Everguard as the first line of defense. Talib went with the Eyes to inspect their resting place, and never came back. Now that I've told you this, you tell me why you want the thing we worked so hard to keep sealed away."

Daring thought about the Eyes for a moment, that if they were actually as dangerous as everypony kept saying, she had to get them back to Equestria. "You know those agogwe I fought in the orchard? They're servants of a cruel warlord. And he wants the Eyes of the Demon for himself. And I know that if he gets them, everything here, everything you know and love, it will all be destroyed. I can take them back to a safe place, and I can stop him. But I need to get up that river before this warlord can."

The Prime Minister lit another bowl of tobacco, taking a deep puff. "Never said I was going to stop you. I'm just telling you that I'm not too worried about the safety of the Eyes. Nobody has ever made it past the first trial."

"And what if he does? Then we'll all wear the yolk of slavery. Please, your people need this from you, I need to know how to get past the trial," Daring begged.

The Prime Minister sat up in his chair. "If this is what the Allgood would want of us, then I'll send you with a guide. Jack! You've been up the river before, right?"

"Sure have, Mr Prime Minister."

"Good boy, Jackie, then you're gonna take this lovely zebra and her friends up as far as you can."

The chimp's eyes grew wide, and his jaw fell. "Is this punishment for that little accident with your daughter?"

"You call groping her at her own wedding and then stealing the wedding gifts an accident? By the Allgood's teachings, I don't want to know what happens when you do things intentionally."

Jack nodded to his elected leader, placing a fist over his heart. The Prime Minister slapped a fist over his own heart in response. Jack turned with his charges to leave, but his leader stopped him one more time. "And Jack, for expediency, just go ahead and take my boat. I know you were thinking about it anyways."

And then there was four. As the group walked down to the docks, Jack looped an arm over Timur's shoulder. "Looks like we're gonna be spendin' a lot more time together, buddy."

Timur glanced once again at the sky. "Yeye, if you are there, kill me now before I kill this ape." His comment went unnoticed by both gods and chimps. Reaching the dock on the Zengo River, Jack hopped into a modest river barge, motioning for his new companions to join him. Stepping uneasily onto the barge, Daring dropped her things by the stern. 

With everypony settled in, the chimp pushed off from the dock, using a long pole to push them up the sluggish, brown expanse of the great river. The first step of this new journey had been undertaken, but it would not be by any means the easiest. Tipping her pith helmet over her eyes, Daring leaned back against a coiled pile of rope and tried to take a nap.