“Quite simply? Run!!”
How had things come to this? Everything seemed like it had been going so well before, but now…? Now it all seemed to have come crashing down around her; literally. When she thought about it, this wasn’t all too unexpected, really. In fact, she should have expected it. Lying in silence, beneath the wreckage, she thought back on what had transpired only about a half an hour before.
/)*(\
“We’re about two or three miles out yet!” Caius called to the pair of mares seated in the back of his air balloon’s basket, “Hope you two are ready for whatever you’re going to find down there.” He said that in a rather unnerving tone.
Velvet’s face must have shown her discomfort at the stallion’s words, as Daring was quick to assure her in a hushed tone so that the pilot would not hear – which was not too difficult to do, as he possessed poor hearing, “Don’t listen to too much of anything Caius says. The codger’s more interested in getting your coin, and then not having to take you anywhere by talking you out of it. Claims his policy states ‘once the bits change hoof, no refunds’. Darn swindler will get no such luck with Daring Do.” The Pegasus winked.
Twilight Velvet sighed, and responded in an equally quiet tone, “I wish I had your confidence in all of this, Daring. What I mean is… to be perfectly honest with you… I’m kind of having second thoughts. I mean, I’ve never done this sort of thing before! Here I am, as green to all of this as a rock is to swimming, and I’m coming along with somepony who’s talent is this sort of thing! And to collect some statue thingy from an ancient spirit who consumes pony’s magical auras! What’s my talent? I write books and stories. That is hardly something to help along on such a grandiose adventure.”
The Pegasus raised both eyebrows, before sighing heavily and patting Velvet’s shoulder, “Hey, calm down. You’ll do fine, I’m sure of it,” she gave a small smile before continuing, “It’s actually kind of like something that Caius said before we took off.”
“I thought you just told me not to take anything that Caius says seriously?” Velvet interjected, giving a slight smirk.
It took Daring Do a few seconds to catch that she was joking, “Well! Don’t take anything he says seriously unless I repeat it!” She said, upon finally figuring out the Unicorn’s quip, “But anyway, to be serious here. What he said about, ‘Confidence doesn’t mean much, unless you have the skills to back it up’, or whatever it was he said? Well, I know that I have the skills to survive. I mean, come on, this kind of thing’s my special talent after all. You may not think you have the skills, but you’ve already proved that you can pull through.
“The skills to make it on this kind of thing exist inside of you already. Maybe not as prominent features, but they’re there! Back at the tavern, you leapt into action to save my tail during the brawl. And I got us cornered on a roof, you zapped us somewhere else. You can make it out here. You’ve just got to have the right motivation.”
Daring’s words did help the troubled Unicorn mare. At least, a little bit. But her mind just did not want to be satisfied, “Be that as it may, but my teleporting wasn’t exactly voluntary. I don’t know how I even managed to do it in the first place! It just kind of… well, happened.”
The Pegasus sighed. A few seconds passed, before she finally came up with something that might help calm her friend down, “Okay, now I’m no expert on how magic and all that fancy-schamncy stuff you Unicorns do works, but I’ll give explaining it a shot. You were in danger, yeah? You were frustrated with me, angry at our pursuers, and just mad that your little trip to Caballo got all messed up. And I’ll just assume my kicking some of your luggage back at the lugs was adding to your irritation. You channeled all of those various feelings into your magical reserves, and somehow started focusing all of it into your horn – the conduit between the physical plane, and the magical plane that you can manipulate. And when all of that finally reached the boiling point, bip! Away we go! Sure, you ended up unconscious for the better part of a day, but still!”
Velvet looked at her for a few seconds, “I’m not sure I could replicate that should we need it down there, Daring.” She said, simply.
The adventurer gave an exasperated sigh, “Look, I’m trying to cheer you up, and make myself feel better about somehow dragging you into all of this. ‘Cause if you die down there, I’m going to feel responsible.”
Despite the grim words from her friend, and how much she wanted to stay in her own little pit of doubt, Despite the grim words from her friend, and how much she wanted to stay in her own little pit of doubt, Twilight Velvet had found that Daring’s claim not to be an expert, before going off on her explanation, had greatly amused her, “You claim not to be an expert on magic, and then you go off on a rather well educated explanation. You weren’t all that far off on most of your assumptions. I’m impressed, actually.”
Daring Do laughed a little, “My mom was a teacher on magic back in Cloudsdale. I went with her down below a few times on business trips, and ended up meeting a couple Unicorns this one time. First time I saw your kind, and they were happy to answer a lot of my questions. I had gained an interest in how magic worked and stuff – more so than I already had - so I read up on a lot of it,” Her laughter grew a little, “Can you believe I wanted to be a teacher at one point too?” She said, wryly.
Twilight Velvet laughed along with her, “Seriously? Somehow, I have a hard time believing that. But then again, I can almost see it.”
The Pegasus spluttered, “How in Equestria do you see that?!” Daring said, her voice cracking a bit, “Trust me, there is no way that I, Daring Do – adventurer and treasure hunter - would be able to stand in front a classroom and ramble on about arithmetic and all that boring stuff!”
“Well, maybe not those subjects, but why not history and legends, or maybe even archeology, perhaps? While this may be a lucrative business, when you can get a lead, you’re still going to need to be able to fund your searches, and you can’t rely on the good grace of other ponies forever!” Velvet said, using a tone of reason.
Daring Do seemed to think about that for a second, before waving a hoof, “Naah, I still can’t see it.”
“Well, when we get out of this, I’ll let you know if I see a job opening, yeah?” The Unicorn said, amused by the Pegasus’ actions.
The aforementioned mare just shook her head vigorously, causing her grayscale rainbow mane to whip back and forth, “Nope still not seeing it…” But all the same, she relented, “Fine, if you find something, I’ll look into it, I guess.”
The conversation between the two mares was cut short by the gruff call of Caius; whether or not the old stallion had really heard all that transpired or not, was a mystery, “I’ll suggest you strap in as best you can, ladies! We’re losing altitude pretty quickly, and I haven’t the foggiest why! We’re going to be in for a rough landing,” he growled, and added under his breath, “This is precisely why I talk ponies out of these idiotic ventures.”
As Velvet strapped in – tying herself to a rope on the basket’s railing – Daring Do caught her by the shoulder, “Hey, Velvet, I just wanted to say this real quick. If you ever feel yourself start to get down from here on out, just remember: Don’t go believing in the ‘you’ that believes in me, or even the ‘me’ that believes in you. Believe in the ‘you’, that believes in yourself. Basically, just have faith in yourself! You got that?”
Daring gave her a reassuring smile. Before Twilight Velvet could formulate an answer however, the rushing of the wind became louder, and the basket was slammed against the tops of the trees below, and Daring and Caius were thrown from the basket, as it began to tumble.
/)*(\
The first thing that Twilight Velvet felt was pain. She opened her eyes… or at least, she thought she opened her eyes. It was pitch black whether they felt open or closed. In relief, she found that she was still able to turn move her head and the pain served as to remind her that she was still alive, and had feeling everywhere in her body. So the damage could not be too bad. Shifting her head slowly, Velvet found that she could see a small sliver of sunlight through what she deduced was the basket of the balloon.
Luckily, she found that she was not pinned down at all, and she slowly, painfully, pulled herself to the edge of the basket. She wanted to use her magic to lift the enclosing object off of her, but she didn’t feel that it was worth the risk. Instead, Velvet carefully lifted the basket. Thankfully, it wasn’t heavy, so the feat proved to be easy. Soon, she found herself in the thick, humid air, of one of Caballo’s many rainforests.
How had things come to this? Everything seemed like it had been going so well before, but now…? Now it all seemed to have come crashing down around her; literally. When she thought about it, this wasn’t all too unexpected, really. In fact, she should have expected it. Lying in silence, beneath the wreckage, she thought back on what had transpired only about a half an hour before. She had to make the assumption that thirty minutes was the amount of time that she’d spent unconscious, going by the position of Celestia’s sun in the sky.
Glancing around, she found that many of their supplies had been scattered. Caius was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Daring. Their supplies were scattered about the small clearing she had landed in. Before she could get very far, Velvet felt something tug at her stomach. She managed not to shriek, though all she could do was stand and shake nervously for the next minute. It was only the rope that she had tied around herself earlier. Twilight Velvet wanted to laugh at her jumpiness, but couldn’t. All she was able to do was lie down, and cry. This really was a stupid idea, and now here she was, all alone in a rainforest in an untamed continent. She probably wouldn’t last very long out here. She was doomed.
/)*(\
How long Velvet had lied down, crying, she did not know. The only measure of time she had was that it had been long enough for her to have no more tears. She remembered one of her friends from back home in sweet Equestria. Her next door neighbor, a cheery Earth pony mare named Felicity, had often told her that ‘crying over a dropped cake solves nothing. Just clean it up, and get moving’.
Well Felicity, this was a lot bigger than some massacred birthday treat, but the same logic could still apply. Standing, Velvet untied herself from the rope, and meandered about the clearing, cleaning up the various supplies scattered about. Most of her own and Daring’s gear was present and accounted for, only some of it damaged, and she organized each accordingly. The Unicorn felt her resolve waning when she heard something move behind her.
She was frozen stiff from fear and apprehension. Velvet did not want to turn around, for fear of what she might find. What kind of animals inhabited these forests? What kind of predators? Were there manticores or cockatrice? Maybe even a Cerberus – however far-fetched that was? She could put that out of her mind. Or maybe it was something else, like a tiger or a panther! Her answer, was soon given to her.
“Oh thank Celestia! Velvet! You’re alright!!” It was the voice of Daring Do. Before Velvet could turn to face her, the Pegasus mare had already thrown both of her hooves around Twilight Velvet in an embrace.
The Unicorn stumbled slightly in surprise, but soon relief flooded through her, and she in turn threw her hooves around Daring as well. She didn’t speak, only held the hug for about thirty seconds before Daring let her go, asking, “You’re okay, right? No broken bones or anything?”
Velvet shook her head, “No, no I’m fine. What about you? I could have sworn you were dead… I saw you thrown out of the basket as soon as we hit!”
Daring Do waved a hoof, “Ah, don’t worry about it. I’m a Pegasus, we’re used to that kind of thing! I caught myself on my wings and got out of there alright,” she tried to flap her wings, and winced, “Except for that one. Bashed it pretty badly against a tree on my way in… Think it’s jammed, or sprained, maybe.” She gingerly folded the wing back into place.
Velvet wasted no time in going for the medical supplies they had brought along, and gave Daring a look that clearly read, ‘sit’. The Pegasus obeyed. Velvet retrieved the necessary supplies, and trotted back over, gently pulling Daring’s wing away from her side with her magic. The Unicorn could only imagine how badly it hurt, but Daring managed not to cry out or squirm away, though her face was contorted in what was clearly pain, “Just give me a minute,” Velvet said.
It had taken more along the lines of two minutes, in truth, but by the end of it, Daring’s wing was bound tightly, and resting snugly against her side. Velvet wiped her forehead, the muggy atmosphere beginning to get to her, “Just stay off the wing for a few days, and you should be fine.”
Daring Do grumbled like a little filly called in from playing, “A few days? Might as well be a few months, or a few years!” She lamented.
“Oh, stop being so dramatic! It’s not that bad! But it will be if you stress it too much.” Velvet scolded.
“Since when were you a medical expert?” Asked her Pegasus friend, standing and maaking her way over to her gear.
“Never claimed to be,” Velvet replied, “I just know some basics. My dad was a doctor back in Fillydelphia, you see.”
A few more minutes of silence passed. Daring had donned all of her salvageable gear, and was lying down, regaining her energy. Velvet had followed suit, but rather than wearing her supplies, just lay beside them. Eventually, a thought came to her mind. She had not seen Caius since they began to fall, and the last glimpse she caught was his being thrown from the basket with Daring. Only, he was not a Pegasus like her. Velvet felt she already knew the answer, but she asked anyway, “Daring, do you know where Caius is?”
The Pegasus opened her eyes and looked slowly over to Velvet. Her raspberry red eyes and grim expression would have said it all, but she still gave voice, “Yeah. Old coot was strung up in a tree by his entrails. Sorry to put it so graphically. At least it might have been a quick death.”
Might. That didn’t help. Velvet nodded slowly, feeling nauseous as she thought about the sight of the old stallion dangling from the tree branches by his innards. She quickly banished the thought before it made her too sick. After a minute more, Daring had finally gotten fed up with staying still, and stood, declaring, “Ahuizotl’s sure as a dragon’s hording habit not waiting around for us to come and take his precious away from him. Come on Vel. We have a spirit to tick off!” And she began to trot away.
Twilight Velvet stood, levitating her gear onto her back and following after her. She would have floated all of it, and help keep their energy up, but in the long run, it would have only preserved Daring Do’s. Prolonged levitation in Velvet’s magical state, and especially in such a taxing atmosphere, would prove difficult and tiring for her. She found herself wishing that she had a larger magical reserve. The close, muggy atmosphere and treacherous terrain sapped her energy immensely. All of these thoughts, however, were banished from her mind upon seeing Daring stopped dead still a few feet ahead of her. It wasn’t until Velvet had reached her, that she saw why.
Daring Do was face to face, their noses literally touching, with a large, angry looking tiger. The Pegasus backed up slowly, her pupils dilated. Velvet swallowed nervously, glancing at her friend, “Well Daring… I’m assuming you have a plan. What do we do?” She said, in an effort to calm her down.
Despite it being a rhetorical question, Daring still answered, “Quite simply? Run!” And run they did.
Or, they tried. For as soon as the made the move to, they found themselves closed in on all sides, by various, large, predatory cats. Surrounded.