Oh the Places You'll Go

Now,

When you actually sit for a second and consider some things, a miracle is a rather subjective concept don’t you think?

Divine Intervention, a Heroic Rescue, and Plain stupid luck?

We can thank our friends, the creator, or whatever someone happens to believe in.

I’m very certain most of the animal kingdom was quite glad when the dinosaurs kicked the bucket. They praised the giant flaming

boulder that wiped out the giant bloodthirsty lizards.

I’m fairly certain the meteor didn’t care for their praise.

On the other hand the dinosaurs themselves should be considered.

Did they appreciate being wiped out?

Not quite so much.

Miracles are a strange thing.

Her snout was still pressed into the surface of the jungle floor when she felt it.

She had been traveling the world long enough to differentiate natural from unnatural phenomenon, and whatever had decided to interrupt her sleep definitely the latter. Her eyes shot open as she felt the earth tremble. Lifting her head with a groan she winced as the sore muscles complained at the sudden movement. Her dry mouth huffed as her breath quickened in response to the unknown movement. Her mind was lagging far behind her instincts and like an aquarium of black moors she clumsily roused to awareness.

“wusattwhosdere….” She mumbled incoherently. Her sense of balance was still struggling to reassert itself. Shakily she tried to rise to her feet. She tried to raise herself up in case she had to start running; not that she was in any position to. The earth shook again and Daring fell heavily to her knees.

A squawking filled the area and her eyes widened as she saw a swarm of birds emerge from the trees. Pulling her hat down over her face Daring bit the earth as the massive black swarm passed overhead screaming off into the sky.

What’s going on?! What’s happening out there?

She was answered by a deafening explosion.

Her heart almost stopped as a great light suddenly appeared in the sky. Her eyes opened impossibly wide as a brilliant plume of fire and smoke burst from the clouds themselves. It rose higher and higher touching the heavens. The fire spread out into the sky its wrath lashed out threatening to set the earth ablaze.

The rumbling started again and Daring felt the ground beneath her lurch violently.

A deathly quiet suddenly followed.

A wild guess that’s nothing good,

I think it’s time to get up Daring.

The trees suddenly buckled over. Their leaves were shorn from them as the bark was stripped off in an instant and their mighty trunks splintered and broke. Daring being somewhat less hardy than a tree felt an immense force pluck her off the ground and hurl her against the pile of rubble at her escape tunnel. She barely registered the splinters of wood as they mercilessly pelted her body before she slammed into the stones.

The most unfortunate heroine landed on her back twisting the broken wing.

“AHGHHHHGHHHHH” Her cries were drowned out as wind blasted past, screaming through the ruined trees and tearing stones from the ruins and hurling them past.

The tears streamed out of her eyes as she twisted reflexively trying to ease the mind-numbing, no, mind erasing pain. Her body rolled down the rocks further twisting the abused injury. Her momentum carried her forward and Daring could barely tell up from down as she fell in a heap back onto the forest floor. Dust kicked up by her body as she lay unresponsive in the ground sprawled out. Her broken leg now twisted at a sickening angle.

The pain she had felt when she had first broken her wing was nothing compared to the agonizing torture she now felt. She would have given anything to slip into the blissful sleep of unconsciousness, the universe felt otherwise.

Streaked with tears she could barely see out of the haze, gritting her teeth she cried out again as several of them tumbled out of her bloody mouth.

She tried to rise to her feet but achieved nothing beyond crawling a few paces forward. Collapsing in a heap again Daring suddenly noticed that she was becoming much colder than before.

It’s not nightfall yet, how can I be this cold—oh no...

Weakly she turned her head downwards and examined her body with growing horror.

She barely had time to turn her mouth upwards as she threw up.

Fate had seen fit to see Daring Do come out of most of her adventure completely unscathed. From Cabelleron’s traps, to the lava pits of ancient tombs, to the occasional crashing plane; Daring had managed to walk out of each.

Evidently, fate had been keeping a tally.

Mangled was the only term that could be used to describe her body. All her limbs now matched the broken ones and her mustard coat was stained crimson. Her fur was missing in patches and replaced with ugly burns that oozed pus. Brackish dark blood spurted out from a gash in her side and splinters of wood peppered her body.

The rapid onset of shock and blood loss was the only barriers from her mind entering an estranged panic. She doubted she could struggle at this point, she doubted if it was even worth it.

But she’d be damned if she didn’t try.

Daring regarded the fatal wounds wordlessly, assuming of course her ragged torn throat was capable of speech. The revulsion and horror bubbled up inside of her as blood now filled her lungs. She coughed and sputtered as crimson liquid flew from her mouth and stained her lips a deep red

Most normal beings regard their deaths with a kind of acceptance when it’s laid out so plainly for them. Most normal beings accept their ends.

Daring was not a normal being.

She would fight to bitter end. The very bitter end. The incredibly bitter looking end. Her instincts kicked into overdrive and every fiber of her being shouted at her to get up, to fight, to resist that oh so alluring urge to just lay down and sleep.

I-I-I’m not g-gonna die here…I won’t.

That wonderful desire to sleep rose within her. The kind of desire that stems from a long day at work, when all we want at the last kissing sunbeams is the embrace of sheets and a pillow.

The kind of desire that was about to kill her.

The most terrifying sleep she could imagine.

She pathetically tried to move limbs that refused her orders, bones and nerves mashed to a pulp.  Her vision began to cloud as more blood abandoned her sating the thirst of the grass.

No no no no no no

Her mind viciously lashed out at her again, trying to make her body move in a way it no longer could.

She coughed up more blood as blackness began to invade her vision, her heart filled with dread. The pain began to flood her body and she groaned as her abused nervous systems began to flicker off.

Weakly she tried to call out for help.

“S-s-omeone….he-lp….p-p-p…lughss,” the words died in her throat. She coughed again staining more of the rocks. Daring could feel her pulse begin to weaken and the panic kicked in again as her brain tried to figure a way out of this mess.

Don't be such a baby Daring. I've been through worse.

Haven't I?

Haven't I?

She was terrified.Her mind stopped screaming at her now. It was almost time.

Daring Do was at death's door.

Oh, Celestia, help me…I don’t want to die…

She sobbed again, tears began to flow freely mixing with the blood on her face. The salt stung her wounds. Her thoughts were becoming muddy and she could feel herself slipping.

In her panic she barely registered it. The rustle of grass alerted her to the presence of something else. Something was coming; she could barely make out the shape of something coming towards her body.

Her body twitched weakly trying to reach out to whoever they were, desperate for someone, anyone. As it neared she could barely make out its form.

It towered over her, garbed in a flowing black robe that whipped against the wind. It kneeled down her and whispered in her ear.

"I'm so sorry, i'm so so sorry." a feminine voice spoke out, its voice filled with regret.

Daring didn't respond. She was too busy dying. She closed her eyes, possibly for the last time.

“Do you want to live?” it asked in asked sadly.

Her eyes fluttered open, she didn't understand. What was going on?

"Do. You. Want. To. Live?" It repeated again.

The pony nodded weakly.

Gentle hands grasped Daring’s face and brought her head, cradling her in its lap.

“Do you mean that? Are you absolutely sure?

Daring barely moved her head in a ghost of a motion.

The figure reached into it's robes, it searched for something deep inside.

It pulled out a pen.

"W-what?" Daring mumbled weakly. She wasn't going to last much longer and pain was getting worse.

The figure reached back into its robes and withdrew a document of some kind.

Gingerly the figure awkwardly tried to put the pen into one of Daring's broken hooves and she moaned in pain. Her vision was getting darker and she could feel herself beginning to slip away.

The figure didn't seem to notice and unhurriedly stuffed the pen inside Daring's mouth. It held the bottom of the document firmly against the pen.

"Sign it," the voice commanded.

Between the blood loss and the trauma Daring could barely form a coherent question. "w-w-ha-tt."

The figure seemed to grow annoyed. "If you want to live, sign it, Now."

Daring still didn't understand, the pen lolled in her mouth uselessly. The darkness now covered most of her vision and her pulse had weakened to the point where she couldn't feel it anymore.

"Your going to last another minute." It spoke somewhat angrily. "Your're going to go to sleep and never wake up again. I don't think you want that" The voice grew more sympathetic. "I know you're confused but I can explain later."

Nothing to lose at this point I suppose.

Geronimo

Weakly she scribbled a poorly produced version of her name onto the paper.

The pain was reaching a new crescendo.

The figure placed a hand directly over Daring’s face and closed her eyelids as if encouraging her to sleep. "I'm going to give you something for the pain," the voice cooed gently. Something slipped into the chest pocket of her shirt.

“Give this to the lady at the desk.”

“W-what?”

The figure suddenly gripped the mare’s head and twisted, snapping her neck.

Daring’s vision was forced upward, the air filled with an organic crunching sound.

Then nothing.,

Daring Do slipped off into the darkness.