Only the Daring

by Holy

Rating: mature
Tags: Sex, Daring Do, Violence, Death, Alternate Universe, Human, Doctor Whooves, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Gilda, Adventure
Length: 36998

Daring Do embarks to find out the secrets of an ancient civilization. With Gilda hot on her heels and the devious truth about her goal, her physical and sexual limits will be tested.

The Nabinazzi have been the source of wild legends of untold power for centuries. When the Empire finds an interest in the area, Daring Do must discover the secrets of this ancient civilization before it can be used against Equestria.

This is no ordinary expedition for our heroine. She will have to be prepared for any challenges that may arise; sexual and otherwise.

Edited by the wonderful DiscordedDiscord and MikeMeiers.

Published 2014-07-23 00:10:04 UTC
Last updated 2014-08-15 04:23:55 UTC

Act I: The Hawk and The Sparrow

The cold, stone walls gave way only to segments of hard iron bars. Moonlight poured into the poorly maintained jail where the bars allowed, giving the prisoners only a small glimpse at what they'd lost. A constant drip echoed throughout the unforgiving hallways, and the smell of blood and concrete was strong throughout.

A burly Empire soldier leaned against a wall at the end of a dark row of cells. He pushed his assault rifle to the side of his black and red uniform with a tired sigh. He fished between his ammo belts to find a single cigarette and put it up to his mouth. Just as he brought the lighter in his other hand to his mouth, a pair of tanned arms shot around his throat, quickly cutting off his airway. It wasn't long before the soldier stopped his struggling and went limp in between the girls arms.

Daring Do jerked back around a corner as fast as her legs could take her, dragging the unconscious guard around with her. She pressed her body up against the wall and peaked out of the corner she just escaped from. A guard twirled a set of keys around his finger and whistled as he walked on the opposite side. The cold wall made her flinch away when her midriff brushed against it; the rags they’d given her left Daring more exposed than she would have liked. She waited until he was out of sight, then darted past the hallway and up the stairs at the end.

It's got to be around here somewhere! She frantically searched the corridors for somewhere that might be considered the warden's office. She wasn't about to let her latest find fall into the hands of the Empire military. A mistake like that could spell the end for Equestria.

She darted around another corner only to jerk back when she saw two guards jogging past the next hallway.

"Her cell is empty! Find her before she escapes!" One of the soldiers called out, stopping to direct the others to where she had been kept.

"Shit..." she muttered under her breath. Daring knew she didn't have much time now. She ran down the hallway, her bare feet creating soft pats as they hit the concrete. A soft electric glow at the end of the hallway revealed a set of stairs. It was her best shot.

She ran to the end of the hallway and up the stairs, only stopping just before the doorway to make sure the room in front of her was empty. The room held a single, large desk that sat in front of a barred opening that looked over the main cell block. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for the one thing that she couldn't leave without.

Her eyes locked onto a golden idol of a dragon sitting on the desk. She ran over to the shimmering statue and reached out for it. The heavy metal door of the office slammed behind her, she spun around and took a defensive stance.

"Well, well, well," a rough, gravelly, female voice let out. Once Daring's eyes locked on her captor, she recognized her as the same officer that had locked her up in the first placed. Her snow-white hair hung sharply over her piercing, golden eyes. She radiated power, and wore a sadistic smile as she stared at Daring.

The silver gleam of a revolver crossed her eye. She looked at the gun in the officer's hand and grinded her teeth. So close...

"Gilda..." Daring said, her voice laced with anger and frustration.

"The one and only." Gilda walked closer to Daring, her smile growing with every step. "I knew this shithole wouldn't give you much trouble." Gilda stopped mere inches away from Daring. She dragged the revolver across Daring's neck, making her gulp as she was pressed against the desk. "That's why I'm here."

"I'm not letting you take that idol, you bitch," Daring said. Gilda only smiled at her malicious tone.

"Oh? And what do you plan to do to sto--"

Daring Do's hand shot forward in a flash towards the revolver, grabbing the barrel and swinging it out of her path. She lunged towards Gilda for a takedown, but Gilda was faster.

With all the skill of a trained military officer, Gilda pulled Daring across her with her own momentum. She quickly grabbed one of her wrists before she hit the ground and slung her around towards the wall. Daring slammed into the wall with enough force to leave stars in her vision. Before she could fall towards the ground again, Gilda was back on her. She grabbed both of Daring's hands and pinned them above her head.

"A nice try, but you don't stand a chance." Gilda holstered her revolver. "Now, there's something else I want from you, Doctor Do." Gilda tightened her hands around Daring's wrists, making her wince at the strength of her grip. Gilda's other hand slowly snaked down Daring's navel, and entered the waistband of her pants.

"I don't think I could live with myself if I let a chance with the great Daring Do..." Gilda's hand found its way between her legs, teasing her entrance with all the subtlety of a gunshot. Gilda forcefully jammed her fingers into Daring making her cry out. "...Slip through my fingers!"

"Ah!" Daring squirmed under the unwanted assault. "G-Gilda, s-stop!"

Gilda shot her a cocky grin and pushed her fingers in even deeper. "Doctor Yearling?"

Daring gave her a puzzled look. She shouldn't have known that name.

"Doctor Yearling?" Gilda's expression softened and the pressure of her fingers inside of her faded away.

_______________________________________________________________

"Doctor Yearling!" A voice boomed throughout her office.

"Gah!" Daring tried to jerk forward out of her position with her feet up on her desk. The end result was her splayed out on the floor and an overturned chair.

"I take it you slept well?" The well-dressed man said with a teasing grin.

Daring glared at the man, unamused. She immediately recognized his spiky, brown hair and glasses, but didn't care much for pleasantries at the moment.

"Can't you just let a girl sleep, Whooves?" Daring rubbed the back of her head, and spared a quick glance to the wet spot between her legs. She was enjoying that one, as odd as it seemed. Daring grabbed the edge of the desk and brought herself up to her feet.

"Not at a time like this, my friend," Doctor Whooves said with a prideful smile. He pulled his bag off of his shoulder and set it down onto her desk.

Daring put her hands on the desk with an excited grin. "You found it?!" She looked at his bag eagerly. He had been gone for months on this latest errand.

"Er, not quite. But I have found where it might be," Whooves said, holding out a hand so that Daring wouldn't start berating him just yet. The Doctor pulled out a decrepit map and carefully unrolled it onto the table. The tattered paper showed a large portion of the eastern continent, with a red circle surrounding a group in the southern area.

Daring's eyes flicked over the map in disbelief. "Are you kidding? That's almost half of the Southern Basin!" Daring glared at him again with frustration.

Whooves took a defensive step back. Daring wasn't much fun to deal with upset. "Believe me, Daring. I went through quite an ordeal just to narrow it down to this. The Nabinazzi weren't exactly well-documented."

Daring sighed. "I know that, Whooves, but you were out there for months! This is going to take us weeks to explore." Daring dropped her eyes back to the map, starting to formulate a plan to get to find their newest destination without wasting time.

"Perhaps not." Daring looked back up. She focused completely on the Doctor. "I've gotten word about a village that may know about the ancient civilization." Whooves pointed to a specific spot in the red circle with a small blot of blue next to it. "Here, there's an indigenous village that I've heard has ties to the Nabinazzi. I've yet to confirm anything, but I think they're our best bet at finding whatever temple or shrine you're looking for. We'll have to fly in by plane and land at this lake if we don't want to risk going through miles of jungle."

"You have the plane set up?" Daring asked.

"As always."

Daring opened one of the drawers on her desk and pulled out a bag, already prepped for this moment. "Then what are we waiting for?"

"There is one minor setback..." Whooves said sheepishly.

Daring groaned and gave a weary look to Whooves. The last thing she needed right now was another holdup. "What now?"

"The village is currently occupied by a large force of Empire military. It could be a problem trying to get past them."

Daring shrugged, then slung the backpack over her shoulder. "Nothing we haven't dealt with before. We shouldn't waste any time. Let's get a move on." Daring walked past the Doctor and right out the door, leaving him scrambling to pick up the map to follow.

They started down the halls of the empty university, Whooves still struggling to fit the map into his pack as he walked beside Daring. Daring Do thought back to the dream she had before she was so rudely interrupted. Gilda... I know I've heard that name before.

"Whooves?" Daring asked, not looking away from the path in front of her.

"Yes, Daring?"

"Does the name "Gilda" mean anything to you?"

Doctor Whooves looked up thoughtfully. "Hmm. Gilda is a fairly common eastern name. Though there is one girl I've read about recently." Daring leaned in, interested. "Lieutenant Gilda Fwight. She's an officer famed for her more... sadistic methods during the southern colonization. Though I haven't seen her name in quite a while. I've read about her somewhere. If you've heard it recently, she's probably the one you're talking about." Whooves looked over at Daring questioningly. "Why do you ask?"

"N-No reason."

_________________________________________________________

The engine of the plane was the only thing Daring could hear. The great expanse of the jungle passed by below them, holding untold dangers and all the adventure Daring was looking for. Doctor Whooves sat in the front seat with the pilot, leaving Daring to her thoughts in the back.

Judging by the Doctor's occasional glances back at her, he was wondering just what she was planning, and whether or not she would let him come with her this time. That answer, yet again, would be no. She didn't need anyone holding her back; and Whooves definitely wasn't cut out to be an adventurer. She knew exactly how that conversation would go. Just so long as he got back on the plane, there wouldn't be any problems.

The jungle beneath them gave way to a massive lake, spanning miles in either direction. This could only mean they were getting closer to their destination. A smile crossed Daring's face. She started her routine of making sure she had everything: She checked her belt for her knife and rope, then started digging in her backpack to double check everything else.

The plane skidded forward as it touched against the water. They slowed down and Daring could see a village edging closer and closer by the second. Wooden huts mixed in with taller stone buildings that she could tell were a recent addition. The village covered most of the shoreline and cut a decent chunk out of the jungle. She could also see groups of men in black uniforms patrolling around the city.

Finally they came to a stop at a worn wooden dock at the edge of town. Daring was the first to open the door and step out onto the dock. The door gave a rusty groan as she leaned against it to make sure she didn't fall through the slats in the wood. She grabbed her backpack out of the plane and started off, but Whooves wasn't having any of that.

"Daring," he said, stepping out of the plane behind her. He wobbled a bit as he tried to recover his ability to stand after such a long flight. Daring opened her mouth to object, but the Doctor beat her to it. "I know what you're going to say, but this time you need me."

Daring rolled her eyes and turned to walk down the dock away from him. "You're just going to get in the way."

"And you aren't going to get anywhere without me."

Daring Do waited until her boots were on the sand before she turned to address the Doctor following her. "Turner.” Daring sighed. “You're just going to get yourself killed," she said. She pointed an unyielding finger back towards the plane. "Get back on the plane and go home. I don't want you dying on my watch, and I really don’t need you right now."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong," Whooves said, a prideful smile crossing his face.

Daring crossed her arms. "And how do you figure that?"

"Well, how exactly are you planning on finding your destination?"

Daring smirked. "Easy. You said the villagers knew something about the Nabinazzi. I'll just ask some of the locals."

"Do you know their language?"

Daring opened her mouth to make a comeback, but her breath caught in her throat when she realized that it could present a problem. "Er, no. I'm sure one of them spe--"

Whooves didn't bother to respond. He simply smiled at her attempt at a response and put his hands on his hips.

Daring frowned. She knew he was right, but the last thing she wanted to do was admit it. If she didn't end up bringing him along, she really would have to comb the jungle for weeks. She let out a frustrated grunt and started walking up towards the village. "Just stay out of trouble."

Whooves let out a chuckle at his victory and followed her. He waved off the pilot, signaling him to turn on the engine and be on his way.

Whooves jogged up a couple steps to come side by side with Daring. "Oh, come now. You act like I've never been outside of Canterlot."

"You've never been with me on one of these expeditions. You could get killed," Daring said with some leftover venom. It didn't seem to phase the Doctor.

"With a rough-and-tough adventurer like you at my side? Why would I ever be worried?" Whooves said lackadaisically.

Daring rolled her eyes, still frustrated he was tagging along. "I'm not your babysitter."

Whooves waved her off. "Oh, quit worrying, Daring. If all goes well you won't even know I'm here."

"It won't," Daring muttered under her breath.

The sun was unrelenting this time of year. The humidity of the jungle and the heat of midday made sweat start to form on Daring's body already. She was glad for her choice in headgear; at least the sun wasn't blinding her as well.

They stepped off of the sandy beach onto the firm soil of the main road. For a village of that size, the streets were quite active. Residents carried carts full of belongings to trade or crops to sell, and vendors shouted for people to come and look at their wares. Empire soldiers patrolled the streets. She knew they were going to pick her out of the crowd; her usual shirt and hat stuck out among the simple rags many of the villagers wore. The last thing she needed was them asking questions. She dipped into the thicker part of the crowd and dragged Whooves with her.

"I know you usually--hey!--prefer to not tell me the important--excuse you--details until after the fact, but I am tagging along this time," Whooves tried to say between bumping into the locals.

Daring didn't have a problem with colliding with those around her; she weaved around the townsfolk with unnecessary agility until they came to a less-busy portion of the road.

"All I know is that the Empire wants something here, and bad. They've been sending more troops to this area than any other colony in the past three months."

"And why exactly does that concern you? I mean, I know relations between the empire and Equestria aren't exactly friendly at the moment, but what do we have to worry about here?"

Daring looked around for their first stop. A sign with a bottle at the end of the street caught her eye. The large building it was attached to must've been some sort of bar, judging by the crowd gathered around it. She turned her course towards it.

"The Nabinazzi," Daring replied.

"You know, I've read countless textbooks on ancient civilizations, and I have never heard that name until you told me to look for it," Whooves remarked.

"I know. They're mostly just a legend from what I know; but every story I've heard about them says they were more than just some city in the jungle."

"How's that?"

"Certain legends go along the lines of another civilization attempting to conquer them, then after the first attempt, soldiers would either wander into the jungle, never to be seen again, or they would turn against their own men,” Daring said ominously. “Others say that the attacking force lost the will to fight altogether, but I've never heard more than that."

Whooves raised an eyebrow. "That's... odd. You think they used some sort of mind-control or something?"

"I have no idea."

"So we're out here based on some legend and a hunch?"

"The empire doesn't seem to think it's just a legend. If they want to find them this badly, then we need to get to it first," Daring said seriously.

"I suppose you're right. I'd hate to think about what they might do with such a power."

They both finally reached the large stone building Daring deduced as the bar. The chatter of the townspeople inside overpowered the shouting vendors and passersby outside, villagers and soldiers alike sat around tables and exchanged stories. Daring turned away from some of the soldiers that gazed in her direction; she knew how out of place she must’ve looked.

Daring and Whooves sat at two empty stools against the stone bar, looking around for their first lead. Outside of the occasional picture or decorative piece on the wall, the bar was the standard hard stone and wood. Many of the buildings around a colonized area shared the simple design. Most of the visitors preferred style over function, and the villagers kept to their own traditions.

Daring's eyes scanned the bar until they fell upon a cheery girl with blue hair. She was talking to a few patrons on the other side as Daring waved her over.

Her pale skin and bubbly demeanor definitely set her apart from the locals. Daring thought she might actually catch a break with this one. "Hi! What can I get you two?" she said in an excited tone. "The bar may look small, but we've got anything you might want!"

Daring tipped her hat up and looked the girl in the eye. "I want information."

Daring's serious expression made the girl's smile falter. "I... okay. What do you want to know?"

"Nabinazzi. You ever heard that name?" Daring spared a glance over at Whooves, who was scanning the other side of the bar and looking over the soldiers.

"Once or twice I think. They were just stories I've overheard though."

Daring leaned in closer on the bar. "What kind of stories?"

The girl brought a finger to her chin and looked up thoughtfully. "Oh, something about a deranged cult in the jungle north of here. If you ask me, it's probably just their version of ghost stories or something. You know, the usual 'go into the woods and never come back'. I didn't really pay attention when that lady was telling it though."

"Who was this lady?"

The girl raised an eyebrow. "You sure ask a lot of questions, ma'am."

"It's important. Now tell me."

The girl shrugged. "Alright. I don't know her name, but I'm pretty sure she lives over by the caves in the west. At least, that's always the way I see her come in from."

This might have been easier than Daring had first thought. She might not even have needed Whooves in the first place. "Caves?"

The girl opened her mouth to speak, but immediately looked away from Daring and turned her attention to something else sheepishly. She gave her a pensive look, but before she could drag her back, Whooves tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to her left to glare daggers at him for interrupting, but over his shoulder she saw what the problem was.

A white haired officer with a sharp glare stepped into the bar. Daring knew that face. She'd seen that same self-satisfied grin in a dream. Lieutenant Gilda Fwight stood in the doorway flanked by two larger troopers decked out in the heaviest armor available. It was a stark contrast between the massive soldiers carrying large light machine guns and Gilda's much smaller form with just a pistol at her hip. Despite the difference in firepower, Gilda's gaze struck more fear into Daring than any gun. As Gilda started to look in her direction, Daring turned and faced the bar, looking intently at the wooden surface.

"What do we do?" The doctor whispered, mirroring Daring's actions.

Daring cast a nervous glance over at Gilda as she walked into the bar. She looked back over to the bar and hoped they would pass.

"Keep still and hope she doesn't notice us," Daring whispered back.

Even the other patrons of the bar went quiet as Gilda strode in. She had obviously built herself quite a reputation. For what reasons Daring hoped she wouldn't find out.

"What, no standing ovation?" Gilda's gravelly voice let out. "I'm hurt," she said sarcastically.

A few glasses clinked to break the uncomfortable silence in the building. Gilda adopted a much more serious tone. "A plane I haven't seen before just left the harbor. You all know I don't exactly take kindly to tourists. So if any of you have seen any new faces around here, I would encourage you to be open about it now..." Gilda lunged forward and grabbed a random patron out of his seat and twisted his arm behind his back to the point of almost snapping. "...Before I start to lose my patience." She accentuated the last word by throwing the poor villager against the table, knocking him out cold.

Daring looked back to see Gilda standing over him, then immediately regretted it once she turned her gaze back over to the bar. Daring snapped back to look forward and grimaced in frustration; she couldn't tell if Gilda saw her or not.

"You," Gilda said. "Mina. Any new customers?"

The girl behind the bar froze in place once her name was called. Daring could see her start to shake as Gilda slowly walked over to the bar.

"I... uh..." Mina looked over at Daring and Whooves for a moment, contemplating her own safety. Daring scowled at her and she looked away, but the damage had already been done.

Gilda smiled and continued on her path. Two men at the bar stood up and got out of her war-path as she stepped closer to the bar. In one swift motion Gilda reached over the bar and grabbed one of Mina's hands before she could even react.

"Work with me here. I wouldn't want to have to cut off any fingers from that pretty hand of yours." Gilda looked over the hand in her grasp with a thoughtful smile. Mina seemed to know better than to resist as she cowered down and looked between Gilda's eyes, terrified.

"Gilda! Please! I'm sorry!" she begged. She turned her head and shut her eyes, waiting for the worst as Gilda tightened her grip. Before she knew it, Gilda had let her go and backed away from the bar.

Mina cowered down under the bar and grabbed her wrist. She struggled to catch her breath after the situation. Daring leaned down a little further; she could feel Gilda moving closer to her.

"Fine, fine. I guess if you want something done right..." Daring felt something jerk her hair back and pull her halfway out of her stool. The force moved her head backwards, and the piercing edge of a knife settled against her throat. "...you've got to do it yourself."

"Daring!" Whooves shot out of his seat and tried to pull Gilda back, but one of the massive soldiers shoved him back against the bar with a heavy shoulder and pointed his gun at him. The doctor gave the guard a nervous smile and put his hands in the air.

"Daring? As in Daring Do?" Gilda let out a laugh. Daring's heartbeat doubled as she felt the tip of the knife start to drag across her neck. She closed her eyes and tried to think of a way out of this. "You're a long way from Equestria to be playing dress up. What are you even here for?"

Daring gulped. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Gilda yanked on Daring's hair, pulling her down backwards for a moment and letting the knife dig into her throat. Daring yelped as she felt the tip break the skin, but it didn't go any further.

"Yes. I would." Gilda pulled her even further back to look over her face, but kept the knife close. "Well, you sure look the part, I'll give you that." A smile crossed Gilda's face as Daring nervously studied her. "But I can't let you live. Nothing personal, but having some rogue adventurer running around might get in the way of my orders." Gilda slammed Daring forward into the bar, then turned the blade sideways to slit her throat. "I hope you understand."

Daring gave a desperate glance over to Whooves. Whooves caught it and lunged forward, pushing the soldier sideways into the one beside him. The roar of the machine guns filled the bar and embedded a couple of rounds into the wood beside him. Gilda paused to look back right before the knife started to drag across her throat. Daring took the opportunity to grab a bottle off of the bar and spin out of Gilda's grip to smash it across the side of her head. The bottle shattered on impact, causing Gilda to kneel down and grab her face.

Daring pushed the Doctor forward towards the exit. "Run!" she yelled, looking back to see the two soldiers recovering and bringing their guns up to them. They both darted out of the exit just in time to hear the machine guns let off another couple of rounds into the dirt ahead of them.

"After them!" They could hear Gilda yell as they both ran down the street.

Daring sprinted out into the street pushing past confused pedestrians with the Doctor in tow. She looked back to see the two soldiers trying to get a good shot at them, but the various people who started running at the sight of the guns trained at their heads made it difficult. One of them fired a couple of rounds into the air, causing the civilian population to start screaming and running wildly out of the way, giving them a good line of fire.

They had a good fifty yards on them, but Daring knew that wouldn't make much difference to a bullet. As soon as one of the burly soldiers brought his sights on them, she jerked Whooves into a nearby alley, following close behind. They ran past the edge of the building just fast enough to see a cloud of dust kick up from the wall next to them.

The buildings of the village weren't large or plentiful enough to provide them with enough cover to actually lose Gilda. Daring soon realized this as she stopped at the end of the alley to face the open lake again. Some of the soldiers along the shoreline were becoming interested in the gunfire and were moving towards them at a light jog. She looked around for a way out, but the only possible way out was to try to lose them in the jungle. Daring knew she wouldn't be able to pull that one with Gilda and her guards right behind them.

"What do we do?!" Whooves yelled, panic edging at his voice. Daring could feel panic start to eat at her when she didn't have a quick answer.

"S-Split up! Go that way!" Daring said as she pushed Whooves to the right as she cut back to the left. She caught a quick glimpse of an enraged Gilda with blood running down her face as she ran.

"You! Go after her friend," Daring heard Gilda say.

Daring looked around desperately for a way out. Adrenaline pumped through her veins and her heart pounded in her chest at the threat of death nipping at her heels. With eager trigger fingers at her back and who knew how many guns trotting up the hill, Daring cut back towards the main road. The alley ahead of her was filled with enough junk to completely block their path. Daring Do gave a pleading look to the boxes and trash to try to find a way through.

With the boot-falls of her aggressors getting closer by the second, the only sensible direction was up. Without thinking, Daring scaled the crates stacked next to the walls as quickly as she could manage. Gilda and one of her guards rounded the corner before she could make it to the roof and started filling the walls around her with bullets as she made the last step onto the building. One piece of hot lead sliced through Daring's shirt and grazed her lower back. She yelped at the painful heat and jumped forward onto the stone roof.

Daring scrambled to get back to her feet before any more lead found its way inside of her. She could hear the pair climb up the boxes behind her, so she jumped across one building to the other, then sprinted up to the edge of the next building to see there wasn't another roof to jump to.

Below her, Whooves backed against a wall as the soldier pointed his machine gun in his face as he inched closer. She assumed he was making some attempt to talk him down by his sheepish smile and disarming hand motions, but she had a better idea.

"Coming down!" She said with a smug grin as she leapt off the ledge. The trooper only had time enough to look up to see Daring's knees push him to the ground with a sickening thud that left him motionless in the dirt. She rolled off of him and skidded to a stop a couple of feet away.

She looked back up to the doctor, who wiped a bead of sweat from his brow and gave her a relieved expression. "Thank you for that."

"I think it's time we made our exit," Daring said as she looked up to the rooftop, waiting for their pursuers to look over it.

"I couldn't agree more!"

They couldn't run to the treeline on the other side of the road without being spotted; that path would end with them in a pool of their own blood. Daring looked around and smirked at the glimmer of the light machine gun that Gilda's guard so graciously left behind. Daring snatched it out of the unconscious guards hand and raised it up to the rooftop.

Gilda and her remaining guard rose over the corner just in time to notice the muzzle flash as Daring sprayed their location with bullets. They both ducked and moved backwards to avoid the barrage, giving Daring enough time to make a break for the forest.

"Into the treeline! Go!" Daring gave Whooves an encouraging push along towards the woods as she backpedaled and gave the occasional burst of fire to the rooftop, keeping the pair huddled together from fear of being perforated. Daring pushed into the foliage just as the belt on the machine gun ran out of ammo.

She threw the gun back to the ground and turned to catch up to Whooves. That might not have stopped Gilda from following them, but it bought them a couple minutes of a head-start. With the cover and the trees and the greenery thickening as they moved further in, Daring thought they might finally be able to lose them.

They both ducked and dodged through foliage, making sure to put as much distance between themselves and whatever forces Gilda was bringing with her as possible. Once sunlight struggled to peak through the canopy, Daring started to slow down and leaned against a tree to catch her breath. Whooves slowed to a stop near her, much more worn out than his companion.

"Not used to running for your life?" Daring asked through gradually softer pants. Whooves on the other hand was still gasping for breath.

Whooves looked up from his bent over position next to her. "Shut... it..." Daring gave a small chuckle at the sight of him actually sweating. She regained her composure and looked around to plan her next move.

Doctor Whooves leaned up after finally catching his breath. "So what now?"

"Well, I think we sh--"

"Oh dear, are you alright?" Whooves gave her a worried expression as he looked below her face. Daring raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?"

Whooves raised a hand under Daring's chin, but pulled away, like he didn't want to do anymore damage. "Your neck, it's..."

Daring brought her hand up to her neck to see what he was talking about. The sting of a fresh wound made her gasp and pull back. She looked down to her hand to see fresh blood staining her fingertips. The cut wasn't deep enough to kill her, but it was enough to let blood slowly run down her neck.

Daring stood frozen as she looked at her fingertips. She gulped as she realized how close to death she actually was. Just a little bit deeper and she would have bled out on the dirty floor of that bar. If she didn't realize it before, she knew now that Gilda wasn't messing around. If Daring Do wasn't careful, she might actually be the end of her; from what Whooves had told her, and what she had seen today, it wouldn't be fast or painless either.

"Daring?"

Whooves' voice snapped her out of her fearful stupor. She shook her head to regain her bearings. She knew they should get moving before Gilda caught up to her.

She was less shaken up, but she couldn't help but look at the blood on her fingertips. "I... We should get deeper into the jungle. We need to find the caves that the bartender was talking about."

"But are you alright?" Whooves asked, still concerned at the various wounds Daring had now.

"I'll live." Daring couldn't help the tightening of her voice from the lump in her throat. "Let's go." Daring looked around to make sure of their path. She gulped as her mind focused again on the feeling of blood on her fingertips. Why is this getting to me?

Whooves gave her a stiff nod and they both turned to walk deeper into the woods. Only a few steps in, Daring stopped in her tracks and held out a hand for the Doctor to do the same. She looked behind her with a worried glance. Once the sound of their own footsteps stopped, the sound of distant shouting and men running through the trees behind them became more apparent.

Daring looked back to Whooves, who, by his expression, looked like he had heard the same thing. "Hope you don't mind running again," Daring said as she took her first step into a run.

Whooves let out an exasperated sigh and followed close behind. "As long as my life depends on it!"

The pair ran at a steady pace through the brush, but Daring feared that might not be enough. They were standing still for too long; they had given Gilda time to gather her men and close in on her. They also had a better pace than she did.

With the jungle ahead of them getting thicker with every step, successfully running through it became more of a challenge. Their slower speed meant it was only a matter of time before Gilda and her soldiers spotted her.

Daring grimaced when their speed came to little more than a light jog, having to brush limbs and vines out of the way just to see a couple of feet ahead of them certanly slowed their speed. She grunted in frustration. This is hopeless! she thought. She stopped to look around the thick foliage. Unless...

Whooves was looking increasingly worried as the platoon of soldiers closed in behind them. He turned his head frantically back and forth as panic started to well. "Uhh, Daring? Why did you just stop?!"

Daring knelt down beside the Doctor and looked him right in the eye. "Alright, we're going to have to split up again. Go as far forward as you can, I'm going to try and take out Gilda."

Whooves looked at her as if she were insane. "What? How is that supposed to help us at all?"

"Look, they're all following her orders, right?" Whooves nodded. "So if she disappears, then they'll have to find her for orders eventually instead of following us, right?"

"I don't know, Daring. Do you really think that would work?"

"Maybe. I don't have any better ideas right now." Daring craned her neck to see how close the soldiers were to their position, then looked back to Whooves. "Now hurry. I'll catch up with you after I lose them."

"But Daring--"

Daring stopped him with a quick finger to his lips. "No, don't come back for me. I'll be fine." Daring pushed him along until he was back up and moving through the brush. "Now get out of here," she whispered.

With him out of the picture, Daring could calculate how to best get out of the situation without having to worry about her friend’s well being. Her heartbeat increased as she thought about the fight she was about to have. She crouched down and looked through the leaves to see the wave of soldiers coming closer to her. They were close enough to make out their faces now. She scanned the line until Gilda's bloody face came into view. Daring could make out her gritted teeth and seething expression from almost eighty yards away. If she was that mad, she might get reckless, then Daring might have a chance. Beside her walked the heavily armored soldier that wasn't knocked out back in town.

Daring moved deeper into the jungle and ran over to where she thought Gilda and her guard might enter. The vines and limbs were so thick that she could barely see an arms-length in front of her without having to swat out greenery. That also meant that the soldiers wouldn't see her until she was right on top of them. Daring smiled as her first moves played out in her head. She skidded to a stop and knelt down as heavy boot-falls came closer to her.

Daring saw the large black boots first. The metal-plated shin-guards gave her a good idea of who was in front of her. A gloved hand brushed a branch out of the way, and Daring saw the soldier's tinted visor look towards her. In a flash, Daring jumped into action. Gunfire illuminated the trees around them and kicked up leaves where Daring once stood. Daring ran to the side and hopped towards a tree, kicking off of it with one foot and spinning around to kick the guard across the face-mask. A satisfying crack filled the air as her strike connected.

Daring landed back to her feet to find that the kick didn't do much more than stagger the soldier. Adrenaline pumped through her body. She had to find a way to get that gun away from him before he recovered. She rammed a shoulder into him and wrapped both arms around his hand before snapping the machine gun out of his fingers. She spun around once again and unloaded several rounds into his chestplate. The rounds all either bounced off or made shallow indents in his armor, leaving him no worse for wear except for a few bruises. A few more rounds pushed him back, but he took a step forward and reached for Daring. She lifted the machine gun over her head and brought the butt down on the side of his mask before he could touch her. Another crack echoed across the leaves, and this time the soldier fell with a satisfying thud. The crack that ran across his visor told her that had probably done the trick.

With the cacophony of gunfire she just let out, all of the soldiers around her were coming her way. She could hear the sound of rustling leaves and vines in every direction but behind her. She dropped the gun and turned around to make her escape. With everyone rushing to that position, she could easily shake them if they bunched up. She ran forward with as much speed as the thick foliage would allow. The rustling behind her faded away after a few minutes, so she slowed her pace to catch her breath.

"Gotcha!"

Daring's heart skipped a beat. Gilda shot a hand out and grabbed the shoulder of Daring's shirt and jerked her to the side. She panicked and tried to writhe out of her grip. Daring thrust her fist into the leaves the arm was coming out with and connected with something. Gilda’s hand loosened its grip, and Daring pulled out of it just in time to jump away from the gunshot that kicked up dirt at her feet. She fell backwards into the dirt of the forest floor. Gilda sifted through the brush to face Daring. Her face was covered in blood on one side from the bottle and the rest was plastered with rage.

Daring scrambled to her feet and shot away as Gilda tried to shoot into the leaves after her. She could hear several rounds tear through the jungle around her and whizz past her head. One shot bit into the side of her neck. Daring yelped as the heat of the round caused her to instinctively press a hand to the wound.

Darning ran as fast as she could to get away. Branches swatted her across the face and she bumped into several trees, but it was a small price to pay to get away from Gilda.

Daring kept running into the woods as far as her legs would take her. She wouldn't be able to take down Gilda head on. Her best bet was to either surprise her or let her run around in circles in the jungle until she gave up. Daring opted more for the latter as she started to feel the pain of the increasing amount of wounds on her.

Daring slowed to a stop as the jungle started to open up around her. Her heart pounded in her chest and sweat poured off down her body as she bent over and struggled to catch her breath in the humid air. She didn't know how far she ran, but the waning light around her told her that the day was nearing its end. Daring put her back to a nearby tree and slid down to its base.

As soon as the weight left her feet she felt relieved. The day was hardly over, yet she already felt exhausted. She looked around to see nothing but the jungle settling into its night; not even the distant shouts or footsteps of those following her could be heard anymore. With her mind at ease, Daring sighed in relief and closed her eyes for a moment.

Before she could get another breath, a hand gripped around her throat. Her eyes shot open to see Gilda's sadistic smile and the dark grooves of the inside of her pistol. Gilda pulled Daring to her feet and pressed the gun to her forehead. I didn't even hear her come up... How is she that fast?

"You're not getting away this time," Gilda said with a vicious glee that promised pain. Gilda looked between Daring's eyes as she struggled for breath. Daring wrapped both hands around Gilda's wrist, but couldn't conjure the strength to break it away. Daring grimaced and kicked around in a desperate attempt to get away. Gilda laughed at her attempts. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this..." Gilda looked across Daring's body with barely contained excitement. Daring didn't even want to imagine what she was planning.

Dark spots formed at the edges of Daring's vision. She knew if she passed out she'd only wake up in a worse situation, or perhaps not at all, but it didn't look like she had a choice. Gilda tightened her grip and Daring's hands fell away from her wrist as her vision started to fade.

Just before she passed out, Gilda's hand fell away from her throat and a dull thud resounded in her fading senses. Daring fell to her hands and knees and gasped for breath. She could already feel bruises forming on her throat.

As Daring's vision returned, she saw Gilda slump to the ground next to her, unconscious. Daring looked around for her savior to find Doctor Whooves to her right. He dropped the large, dead branch he was holding in one hand and knelt down next to her. He put a hand on her back and gave her a concerned look.

"Are you alright?"

Daring struggled to choke out a response. The dull pain in her throat barely allowed her to breath. Daring crawled forward and reached a hand out to Gilda's unconscious figure.

"Daring, what are you--"

Daring answered his question by reaching out to grab Gilda's pistol. It slid out of her hand without much effort. Daring strained to bring herself to her feet. Once she was upright, she aimed the gun right at Gilda's head.

"Stop!" Whooves said with a harsh whisper. Just before she could pull the trigger, Whooves grabbed it out of her hand. The jerk of his action caused her weak body to fall back to its knees.

Whooves knelt back down to her level and looked her in the eye. "You can't do that, Daring."

"Why... not..." Daring said between gasps.

"Because then every soldier in this jungle will know where we are." Whooves looked between Gilda, then back to Daring with a hint of disappointment. "And you aren't a killer, Daring."

Daring wanted to argue. She wanted to tell him that sparing her was a mistake and that they would regret it later. She wanted to say that killing Gilda would be doing this entire region a favor. She wanted to tell him to give her back the gun and let her make this easier for both of them. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't; her ragged breathing was already painful enough.

"Come on." Whooves wrapped one of Daring's arms around his shoulder and lifted her to her feet. "Let's get out of here."

Whooves dragged her along as the jungle opened up. Daring struggled to keep up with his pace as her vision continued to fade.

Daring looked up to Whooves. He had a determined look on his face. "I thought I told you... to not come back for me..." Daring said. Her voice returned to her slowly, albeit strained and raspy.

Whooves looked down to her with a smile. "And I thought you said you would catch up to me." The Doctor rolled his eyes. "What would you do without me."

Daring's wisecrack caught in her sore throat. She resigned to just limping to wherever Whooves was taking her.

___________________________________________________________

The sound of rushing water was the first thing Daring noticed when her senses came back to her. She opened her eyes to see a small pool at the base of a waterfall leading through the trees. Night was creeping up behind them as the last glimpses of the sun faded at the horizon. The Doctor led her through a small path at the side of the waterfall, then through it to a cave behind it.

Whooves let Daring down to lay down against the wall. With the fading day, the inside of the cave was almost completely dark. Daring could barely see the contours of The Doctor's face, but trained her eyes on him anyway.

"Are you going to be alright?" Whooves said.

"I'm alive aren't I?" Daring stretched out and let her bag slide off of her shoulders. A couple of her movements caused twinges of pain she showed through a grimace. Whooves knelt down to her to try and help, but Daring brushed him off. With him that close, she could see the concern etched into his features He could still hear the occasional rasp and see the bruises start to form on her throat.

"Barely. How many times were you within inches of your life?" Whooves asked with a raised eyebrow.

Daring mentally went over her fresh wounds. "Uh, two?" Whooves looked pointedly to the cut on Daring's neck. Daring huffed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, three."

"Exactly. I don't think any of your books have you getting this roughed up in such a short amount of time."

Daring averted her attention to her bag, then started digging through it. "I always play down the more drastic details. Most of them need to be somewhat kid friendly."

Whooves sighed. "I realize that, but... I just don't want to have to carry your carcass back to Canterlot."

"What, am I too heavy for you?" Daring said without looking up from her bag.

"You know that isn't what I mean."

Daring stopped and looked over to Whooves. "Look, I know you're concerned, but there's no need to be. I get all kinds of cuts and scrapes on every expedition. I'll be alright."

Whooves looked her over, his eyes lingering on the blood running down her neck and staining her shirt. "Just... It's not too late to turn back and go home if it gets to be too much."

Daring's gaze sharpened, as if he had just questioned her resolve. "What?"

Whooves eased back when he felt Daring's intensity. "I'm not saying you can't take it, no way." He gave her a few strained laughs and rubbed the back of his neck. "Just that... what if it is just some legend? You'll have almost died for nothing." Whooves looked off to the side. "God knows what Gilda might do if she actually got to you. I just don't want to see you die over some fairy tale."

Daring didn't back down. Her voice edged on anger when she spoke. "I don't need you to babysit me, you know. I'd be perfectly fine out here on my own. I don't need you out here weighing me down, and I definitely don't need you questioning my abilities and telling me to give up." Daring crossed her arms defiantly and looked off to the side. "I haven't even needed you to translate for me once."

"Well, I did save your life twice today. That's got to count for something."

Daring eased her expression. He was right; if it wasn't for him she would have died, or worse. Her lone wolf tendencies weren't always the best solution, but just like Whooves, she didn't want to see him die following her.

Daring sighed and uncrossed her arms. "You're right. I'm sorry. Thank you for that. Letting you come along was a good decision." Whooves beamed at her finally admitting it. "Just don't make me regret it."

Whooves nodded. "I'll do my best." Whooves leaned forward and put a reassuring hand on Daring's thigh.

With the mood lightened, Daring stretched out and went back to searching through her bag. "Well, if you're going to baby me, you might as well go get some firewood; I can hardly see my hands in front of my face."

Whooves only smiled. Daring raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you waiting for, a kiss? I don't have all night, Romeo."

Whooves rolled his eyes and stood back up. "If you insist, your highness. I'll be back momentarily."

"Whatever, Turner." Whooves shot a glare back at the use of his first name, and Daring blew a raspberry at him.

Whooves rolled his eyes again and waved her off, moving back over to the waterfall. The Doctor left back into the stream, so that the only sound remaining was the rushing water.

The cave had gotten even darker since they'd first entered. If they didn't get a fire going soon, they might have to go blind for the night. Even with the jungle's high humidity, she felt herself start to get cold as well.

Daring finally fished the package of antiseptic out of her bag and bit it open. She made sure to wipe down every wound she could find. While the graze on her back and the cuts on her thighs from running through the jungle only gave her minor stings, once she got to her neck, she had to bite her lip just to keep from whimpering. By the time she was done, the antiseptic pads were almost completely covered in blood, and the stinging as it cleaned the wounds out lingered for much longer than she would have liked.

Once she was done, she laid back against the rock, the bloody cloth in her hand. She stared down at it, and the feeling returned again; it was the same feeling she had once she felt her own blood in her fingers. A lump formed in her stomach and her heartbeat increased. She started to wonder if she really was alright. The voice in the back of her mind that told her leaving was an option became louder with each passing second.

She dropped the pad beside her and took a few deep breaths to try to push the feeling away. A dull pain still lingered in her throat, reminding her of what was causing all this in the first place. Thinking about Gilda and what she did and would do to her brought that feeling back. It put her on the edge. She was wary at the mere thought of her. Then it hit her: she was afraid.

That lump in her throat when she looked at the blood from her neck was fear. It ate at her every time she thought about it. No one else had tried to kill her so quickly, and left such a harsh impression. As much as Daring hated to admit it, she was afraid of Gilda.

Daring resolved not to let it get the best of her. As terrifying as the prospects of being alone with her might be, she couldn't let it stop her from finding out what lied ahead. She had to find out what the Nabinazzi were, and why the empire wanted to find them so badly.

Daring sighed and tried to let go of her worries for the time being. After some sleep, she knew she would be better equipped to deal with these things in the morning.

She pulled a lighter and her knife out of her belt and set them at either side of her. She fidgeted around the rough rock at her back to get as comfortable as possible to at least try to get some sleep.

Daring closed her eyes and felt herself drift off. She couldn't tell for how long, but any sleep was good enough for her.

A footstep shook her out of her sleep. She could feel the presence of another person in the cave. She immediately reached for the knife, but realized it was probably only Whooves with the firewood. Daring reached for the lighter instead and brought it up to bear.

"Whooves? Is that you?" Daring flicked the lighter a couple of times before it finally came to life.

When the light illuminated the cave, the woman who stood in front of her was far from her companion. She wore a hood over her head and had tribal markings etched across her entire body. Her eyes looked down at Daring with an eerie glare.

Daring reached for the knife at her side and attempted to get to her feet for a fight. Before she could even gain forward momentum, the woman calmly blew a strange green powder into her face. Her vision immediately went dark, and she could feel the strength draining out of her. Daring crawled for a moment until the substance finally took hold, and she collapsed to the cold, rocky floor.

Act II: Chosen Plight

Daring's eyes fluttered open to see the same dark surroundings when they were closed. Not even the floor beneath her bare knees was visible, but she could feel the unsanded wood scrape at them. Once her senses returned to her, the cool air brushing up against her naked body became more apparent. She also noticed her arms pulled tight above her head, a length of rope around her wrists keeping her in place.

Daring looked up towards her arms to see if she could do something, but the lack of light barely let her see past her nose. She yanked on the rope and tried to twist out of it. She desperately searched for any advantage to get her out of this situation, but nothing would help her out of the compromising position. Daring gripped onto the rope and tried to pull herself to a standing position, but a warm hand slid between her shoulder and her neck. Against her best efforts, she was forced back down into a kneeling position. She was surprised by how easily she was forced back down; either she was incredibly weak, or whoever was holding her had immense strength.

Daring breathing quickened as the feeling of helplessness overtook her. She looked behind her to see who her captor was, but the darkness didn't allow it.

Daring had to take a deep breath to keep herself from yelling. "Who are you? What do you want?"

No answer came. A finger traced it's way across her bare shoulders, pulling her hair up and then letting it fall across her bare back once the hand moved away. The feeling sent chills across her body as her hair settled against her.

Daring bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly. That familiar lump started to form in her throat and her heart pounded in her chest. She thought back to the cave. She remembered seeing Whooves leave for firewood, then falling asleep, but everything after that was just a blank.

She felt herself get restless at the prospect of being at the mercy of this stranger. What if Gilda had found her and was circling her right now?

Daring thrashed against her bonds again. "Let me go!"

The rope showed no signs of giving in, so Daring fell limp against them, panting from the exertion. She hung her head, ready to get whatever they wanted to do to her over with.

A single finger pressed to the underside of her chin, then coerced her head forward. The finger slid up the side of her cheek until the hand was holding her face by her chin. She was pulled in either direction, as if her captor was looking her over. Daring gazed into the darkness ahead of her, but no face materialized. Daring grit her teeth and gave the dark an indignant expression.

"What are you doing here?" A voice asked. She couldn't make out the gender from the dull, distant whisper. It sounded like it was from across the room, but right inside her ear at the same time.

"Why should I tell you? Do you work for Gilda?" Daring glared into the dark to find eyes to stare into, to try to pressure it into an answer. She could never find any.

Another hand found it's way between her legs, brushing up against her folds then down her thigh. Daring's breath caught in her throat as she jumped away from the contact. She was no stranger to her enemies trying to get a piece of her, but never in a position where she hardly had a chance.

The hand holding her face pulled her closer. "Why are you here?" Fear started to grip at her as the whisper became more intense. She could feel an occasional cool wind that might have been warm breath to a normal human.

"I-I'm here to protect Equestria."

There was a pause, then the hand left her chin. "Your heart betrays you."

Daring mouthed the questioningly words 'my heart' with a confused expression. Before she could ask, a pair of hands pulled her by her hips backwards, making her let out a tiny yelp. A cock pressed up against her slit, making her heart pound even louder in her ears. The dick primed itself at her entrance, but didn't go any further.

This was leagues different than any other man she had been with. The cock waiting to enter her pulsated and moved with some kind of warm energy, but didn't feel like it had any mass behind it; almost as if it was just a pocket of air that wouldn't yield to her flesh.

Daring tried to pull away, but the hands on her hips held her securely in place. Daring tried to look back to see her captor, but a hand pulled her face forward again. Now she knew she was outnumbered. She closed her eyes and attempted to ease her breathing.

"Why do you risk your life to come here? Why not let your people deal with their own problems?" The voice whispered to her.

"B-Because I... they... I don't want something to happen that I can prevent." Daring was finding it harder to concentrate with the dick ready to thrust inside of her.

"No." Daring's eyes darted around the darkness incredulously. What do you mean no?! she wanted to shout. "Look inside your heart. Why is it that you've come here? Why must you constantly put yourself in danger?"

"What? I do it because I n--Ah!" Before she could get another word out, whoever was behind her pushed his hips forward, filling her with his cock. He pushed it in slowly until he reached her cervix.

Daring let out a slow, even whine as she was penetrated. She could hardly think straight as a dark blush crossed her face and her expression softened at the feeling. The cock pulsated and flowed with some strange power, vibrating against her insides. She couldn't help but let out a soft moan as he pulled out and slowly started pumping into her.

Daring could feel herself grow wet to help her captor along. The gentle heat of the dick and the steady pace turned her mind blank with pleasure. She tried to resist, pull against the bonds or pull out of the hands on her hips, but the more his cock thrusted into her, the more she felt like butter in his hands.

The hand pulled her head up by her chin again. "Answer us," the whisper demanded.

She bounced with every stroke, and couldn't think enough for a proper answer. "Ah... What do you want to--mmm--hear?" Daring tried to let out between moans. She didn't know what to say to get them to stop. Now she didn't know if she wanted them to.

"The truth."

Daring bit her lip and tried to stifle her moans. She tried everything she could to bring up an answer, but her mind was clouded with pleasure. Only the most basic thoughts crossed her mind, along with the growing instinct to push her hips backwards. She struggled to blurt out an answer, but all that escaped her lips was a strained moan.

The hands on her hips moved up to explore her. She felt a forearm wrap around her and bring her closer to her captor. The other hand traced it's way around her chest, casually caressing her along any sensitive areas it could find. The heat between her legs made her squirm under the touch. She could feel her own fluids start to drip down her thighs.

Daring felt herself come closer to the edge with every thrust. She no longer had any control over the pleasured moans coming out of her mouth. Right before she could climax, the body behind her disappeared without even a whisper.

Daring slumped against the rope. She panted and grimaced at the storm of feelings moving through her body. She could feel sweat clinging to her hair and rolling down her bare skin. Frustration built up inside of her at the feeling of being deprived, but she took a few deep breaths to quell the feeling; she had more important things to do.

"Do you have an answer?"

The respite allowed her to think clearly again once her own body calmed down. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to think of what they might want her to say. Nothing came to her. It looked like she was going to tough it out and find something to capitalize on.

"I'm here to make sure everyone is safe from people like you," she said indignantly. She expected some angered response or some kind of abuse. What she received was the harsh feeling of loneliness inside an empty room.

A long moment passed of nothing but a cool breeze brushing across Daring's bare skin. The feeling on her heated body made her uncomfortable and sent a wave of chills down her spine again. The silence gnawed at her. She almost wanted something to happen, just to break the uncomfortable stillness around her.

The rope above her head pulled upwards, slowly coaxing her into a standing position. It stopped only when her toes could barely make contact with the floor.

The voice whispered in her mind again. "Tell us. What do you get from being here?"

Daring frowned and tried to pull away from the heat in front of her. Whatever answer she could give them wasn't going to be something they wanted to hear. She resigned to silence.

A pair of hands grabbed her by her hips once again. This time they pulled her backwards until she couldn't touch the ground. The same cock slid it's way across her slit, soaking up her excitement for another ride. He easily slipped back inside of her, making her gasp at the feeling. He started off slowly, making her feel every inch as it pushed it's way inside of her. Every bump or pulse of the dick inside of her sent a shock of pleasure through her hips, causing her to close her eyes and open her mouth for the beginning of a moan.

As she opened her mouth, something else made it's way inside. Another cock of the same pulsating warmth slipped by her lips and placed itself in her mouth. Daring opened her eyes to try to see what was happening in front of her, but even at this close distance, nothing materialized. She started to think that this wasn't as much about seeing them as it was about the feelings they were forcing on her.

A hand traced it's way across her cheek and placed itself on the back of Daring's head. The cock in her mouth drove forward and gently poked at the back of her throat before pulling back to do it again. There was no taste as the cock thrusted into her mouth, but the warmth and texture of skin were still apparent.

The hands on her hips drifted along her sides in different directions. One hand placed itself between her legs, idly rubbing her clit as he continued to drive into her. The other moved to grope her; it kneaded her breast and played with her nipple and piled on the pleasure she was feeling.

Daring's eyes rolled back. She moaned and hummed her pleasure around the dick in her mouth, filling the room with her muffled noises.

She writhed as she felt herself close to cumming again. She swung back and forth with every thrust of the dick inside her, pushing her deeper onto the one in her mouth. Daring pulled her legs back to try to get a hold on legs behind her, but they only swatted at thin air.

The cock pumping into her picked up it's pace and the hand between her legs followed. The cock in her mouth pulled out, letting her sing her pleasure into the darkness. Every quick thrust inside of her pushed out all of her thoughts; nothing but pleasure crossed through her mind. The pressure inside of her built up until it threatened to burst. Finally, Daring let out a strained moan and curled her toes as her inner walls convulsed around the cock inside her. She strained against her bonds as her muscles tightened and waves of her orgasm washed across her body.

Something warm washed through her inner walls and multiplied the pleasure exponentially, almost to the point of being unbearable.

Unlike most orgasms, this one didn't stop. Her body didn't relax and flow into any afterglow; the pleasure assaulted her until her excited moans turned pained. No matter how she squirmed or lashed out, her folds sent out shockwaves of pleasure to her entire body, paralyzing her from doing anything but endure.

She fought against the rope and whimpered as if she was being shocked. Only the most primal urges came to mind; the base of all her desires were pulled front and center.

"Why?" the voice whispered to her.

"Ahh! The thrill!" she yelled without thinking.

At once, the cock pulled out of her and the hands fell away. The rope holding her up went slack and she fell back to her hands and knees as her binds draped across her back and fell to the floor. She panted and felt sweat fall freely from her body. Her muscles ached terribly, but she was relieved to finally be free.

"I... I do it for the adrenaline fix... Because being in danger is the only way I feel alive..."

Only silence met her admission. "The fear... It's what drives me..."

A few still moments passed before she heard anything. "That's all we wanted to hear," the voice said to her.

The fatigue in her body finally caught up to her. Daring slumped to the floor and lost consciousness.

Daring's vision returned to her through an unfocused haze. A headache pulsated in her brain, and she struggled to regain her senses. She groaned and tried to sit up, but a weight on top of her kept her in place.

The feeling of unsanded wood underneath her bare body was the first thing that her senses filled in. Once her sight cleared, the picture of a marked woman tracing her hands across her body came into view.

Daring looked down to her torso. Without the strength to react, she could only watch as the woman drew strange symbols across her body. A dull gray painted lines across her entire body from her fingertips to her navel where the woman was drawing them with her fingers now. The slow, deliberate designs painted on her were contrasted by the sharp, jagged ones etched into the dark-skinned woman sitting atop her.

A strange, green glow emanated from her eyes and hands as they moved across her body. Finally her fingertips connected below Daring's sternum, sending a shock of strange energy throughout her body. Daring jolted upright, feeling all of her senses and strength completely returning to her. She crawled out from under the woman until her back hit a wall.

She was ready to take a defensive stance, but the woman merely stayed in place on her knees where Daring once lied. "Wh-what the hell are you doing?"

She didn't say anything. The green light faded from her eyes, and she could see her looking her form over. Daring looked down and turned her hands over to look at the markings she had put on her. All the way down her thighs they connected; but as soon as she took them all in, the markings started to fade until nothing but her tanned skin remained.

"What did you see?" She let out in an indigenous accent.

Daring looked her over incredulously. She could barely see her face from under her hood, but it was serious nonetheless.

"What are you talking about?"

The woman stood up, and Daring got a better look at her face. She started to remember what happened in the cave before she had woken up. "While you slept. Surely there is some memory that you kept?"

Daring looked up at her, confused. She couldn't pin down any dream, but feelings started to rush back to her. Loneliness, fear, confusion, pleasure, frustration, and finally realization all passed over her in waves, but she couldn't pin down any events in her mind to pair them with. She knew something had happened, but she had no recollection of what.

"I... uh..." Daring searched her mind; the event was at the tip of her tongue, but every attempt to materialize the events turned into nothing but the feelings again.

"Do not worry if you cannot yet make these ties. They have spoken to you, I can see it in your eyes."

How did she know? Daring pondered. Before the question could linger any longer, the woman took a step towards her. Daring jumped up into a defensive stance, ready for a fight. The woman simply looked over her nude figure and laughed. She turned around and started to dig in an open chest.

Daring didn't drop her guard, but felt a bit embarrassed at any rate. She could feel a tiny blush cross her face as she spared a quick glance down at herself. That certainly would have been the first time she'd ever have to fight naked.

The woman turned around and threw Daring her clothes and boots. She snatched her shirt and shorts out of the air and let her boots land with a thud on the floorboards in front of her. She gave the woman another incredulous look.

"What were you doing to me?" Daring asked as she stepped into her pants. Even as she looked across her skin again, every trace of the paint that once covered her was gone.

"I'm not here to make you my prey. I'm only here to send you on your way."

"What is that supposed to--Why are you rhyming?" The confusion only grew on Daring's face. The woman in front of her seemed almost cheery as she chuckled at Daring's question. Whatever horrible things Daring imagined her doing to her unconscious body didn't seem to be much of a threat with her as her captor. Daring moved to start buttoning up her shirt, but never took her eyes off the strange woman.

"Please, one question at a time, if you may. My name is Zecora, by the way."

Daring shook her head. "Alright, what were you doing with me?"

Zecora took a deep breath. "I saw you come into the forest near me, bringing quite a hostile following you see. I followed you, wary of what your arrival might mean. I apologize if our introduction was unforeseen."

Daring leaned down to lace up her boots, but kept a watchful eye trained on Zecora as she spoke.

"But you must understand, not much good comes from visitors from outside this land. I had to bring you in asleep, so that I might search your soul without so much as a peep." Daring found her voice very engaging for some reason, enough to keep paying attention for more than her own protection. "What I found amazed me so. Tell me, do you know what it means when these marks glow?" Zecora asked, tracing a finger across her own bare abdomen where white streaks were, and motioning to Daring as well.

Daring pulled the strings on her boots tight, completing her outfit, so she stood up to come to eye level with her. "No, I'm not very familiar with the culture around here."

"It means you've been touched by the ancients long passed. Many of my people mark themselves in hopes of being part of this caste. The spirits have seen something in you they've deemed worth their appearance. Personally, I don't believe this is just happenstance."

Daring didn't believe in spirits or prophecies, but all this about 'her people' made her sure that Zecora was the one that could help. She put on an interested facade and went along with it. "What do you mean? What do they want from me?"

"That, I do not know. That is something the ancients themselves must show. I am only the messenger here, the one to show you where you must peer."

"So where is it that I have to go to ask these spirits what they want?" Now she was getting somewhere. This was turning out to be much easier than she had thought.

"Follow the river as far as you can north. There, if you are truly worthy, my people will come forth."

Daring nodded and glanced towards the door. Zecora took notice and walked towards the door and opened it for her. "I will not hinder you on your path. You have more important things to worry about than my wrath. Just know that many travelers have been down this same road. Death is all that awaits you if all you desire is gold."

"I can assure you my desires aren't so selfish," Daring said, moving towards the door. She kept her distance from Zecora, just in case.

"If you say so. I do have one last bit of advice before you go."

Daring raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

"To please those who appear, you must show them what you truly hold dear."

"Got it. Thank you for your help, Zecora," Daring said as she stepped out of her doorway out into the humid jungle once again. Zecora spoke up one last time.

"Do not thank me yet. Your worst enemy, you haven't even met." With that, Zecora shut the door to her hut behind Daring, leaving her to wonder what she meant.

Daring looked back to Zecora's hut with a puzzled expression. The oddly decorated, hollowed-out tree was strange enough, but trying to put together what she really wanted with her is what was strange.

Daring stopped to try to make sense of what she'd just heard. She rolled her eyes and shrugged it off. Ancients? Spirits? Next thing you know they're going to make me their god... Or sacrifice me. Daring laughed to herself and walked into jungle, eager to get Whooves and go on their way.

She just had to find out where she was first.

________________________________________________________________

After a couple of hours, Daring finally found the stream that led to the waterfall they'd found yesterday. Daring followed it downstream until it dropped off into the waterfall. The length that Zecora dragged her through the woods was impressive. She didn't seem to be all that strong, but Daring knew looks could be deceiving.

The sound of rushing water and the distant caws of various birds was almost relaxing. If it wasn't for the near-unbearable humidity of the jungle, Daring might actually enjoy the long hikes to her destinations. Now more than ever it gave her time to think. Despite all that Zecora said, Daring was hung up the most on the feeling of realization from her dream, or whatever Zecora put her into. The message was at the tip of her tongue, but Daring couldn't understand what it meant. She knew it was important; the feeling made her feel ashamed of herself, like she was more selfish than she wanted to believe. Daring resigned to push the feeling out of her mind.

Daring knelt down and jumped off the mossy stone of the small cliff next to the waterfall. She landed with a soft thud in the brush below, and quickly brushed herself off. She took a deep breath and hoped for the best; even though everything seemed peaceful, she had been gone all night. There was no telling what might have happened to Whooves in her absence, especially if Gilda didn't give up.

She passed under the stone path into the waterfall, drenching her hair and making it stick to her face and shirt. Daring brushed the wet hair out of her eyes and looked around the dark cave. Nothing. Even in the small light flowing through the waterfall, the cave was completely empty. Daring sighed and took a step to turn around.

A forearm wrapped around her neck and yanked her backwards. Before Daring could retaliate a knife positioned itself next to her throat. Her knife. Daring looked at it quizzically. Who would have—

Daring noticed the hand didn't have a good grasp on it before she finished the thought. Whoever was holding it just ran into the wrong girl.

"Don't move a mu--Woah!" Daring darted her hands forward and snapped the knife out of the man's hand. With the knife no longer a factor, she reached behind her and grabbed her assailants arm and threw him over her back. The man landed onto the ground with a pathetic wheeze, clutching his back and groaning in pain. Once Daring got a look at his face, she let go of his arm and laughed.

"You never were much of a fighter, Turner," Daring said with a chuckle.

Whooves turned over and let out a feeble groan. Daring could tell she'd knocked the air out of him. "Did you really have to throw me so hard?"

"In my defense, you did look like you were about to kill me."

Daring looked over to the corner of the cave and found what Zecora didn't drag with her: her pith helmet, backpack, and lighter. She slipped her pack back on and positioned the rest of her gear into her belt and onto her head. She felt much less naked once her hat was in its proper place.

Whooves pulled himself up to his knees and let out a few coughs as he tried to catch his breath.

"You alright?" Daring said. She put a hand out to help him up. He took it and promptly leaned against the rock wall to keep himself upright.

"Ugh... Where were you all night, Daring?"

Daring shrugged. "Oh, you know. Got kidnapped by the local witch-doctor and did some fingerpainting. The usual stuff."

Whooves gave her a frustrated glare. "What? Your night not as exciting?" Daring asked.

"With the panic attack I had when I came back to find you gone? Having to stay up all night listening to soldiers shouting and walking by? Worrying that I might die at any second?! Oh no, it was plenty exciting," Whooves said, anger building up in his tone.

"Easy, killer. I found the lady the girl in the bar was talking about. I know where to find our next stop." Daring gave Whooves a reassuring smile and a pat on the shoulder. "You're still alive, right?"

Whooves sighed and put one hand on his face and the other on his hip. "This is just a bit more stress than I'm used to. Getting killed isn't usually something I have to deal with."

"Look at it this way: We've only got one ancient temple to find and we're pretty much done. Then we can have you back in Canterlot sipping expensive tea," Daring said, making a mocking gesture of drinking from a teacup.

Whooves rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Let's just get this over with. If only to be through with your childish teasing."

Daring smiled. She turned towards the waterfall and waved for him to follow. "Try and keep up."

Daring noticed Whooves' lethargic movements quickly. She had to slow down just to keep a steady pace with him. She didn't mind the slower speed much; they weren't in any immediate danger, so taking their time was probably for the best.

Sunlight peaked through open sections in the tall canopy over the river, illuminating their path. The riverbank was a nice break from the dense brush of the jungle. Daring could only hope the rest of the journey was this easy.

Daring looked over at Whooves and gave him a light push. "Hey, you gonna make it?" He was slumped over and didn't seem very interested in the path in front of him.

"Some coffee would be nice." Whooves sighed. "But I'm sure getting shot at will have the same effect."

Daring gave him a chuckle and looked back towards the path. "I think I'd rather deal with you being grumpy." Daring cast a glance around the quiet jungle; this was almost too easy. "So, where did Gilda head off to last night? Did you hear which direction?"

"As far as I could tell, they headed upriver. Though they passed by the waterfall at least three times."

Daring lost her playful demeanor at the thought of running into Gilda again. Instead of thinking of escape routes, her mind began to conjure up all the ways she might be able to take her down. Just the thought made her heart-rate jump. "Hopefully she's given up by now."

"Hopefully," Whooves said, "So what did that woman tell you anyway? I find it hard to believe she kidnapped you just to help you on your way."

"Me too. She said something about ancient spirits wanting to talk to me."

Whooves let out a laugh. "What, are you going to be their next queen and rule the land under their mystical army?"

"You never know. They may just offer me up as a sacrifice." Whooves gave her a smirk, but quickly focused his attention back onto the bank. Silence hung in the air for a moment before Whooves broke it.

"Do you really think these spirits are more than just their deities?"

"I..." Daring thought back to the markings on her body, and the green glow in Zecora's eyes. It could have just been a byproduct of whatever she'd blown in her face, but the feelings that gripped her once she'd woken up seemed like much more than a dream. "...I don't know."

Whooves didn't respond. The feelings started to eat at Daring again once she had time to dwell on them. Realization was again the worst of them; it nipped at her confidence and made her feel like she wasn't the noble hero that her books made her out to be. As much as it bothered her, she had no idea why. No explanation she could think of made any sense, but that didn't stop her from feeling insecure about the ordeal.

"Whooves, am I... selfish for doing this?"

Whooves looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. "We're risking our lives on the chance that Equestria might be in danger and the only ones getting any credit are the characters in your book. I'm not sure selfish fits in there anywhere."

"Y-yeah, you're right."

"Are you okay, Daring?"

Daring let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She shook her head and tried to forget about all of her self-questioning. It wasn't going to help her anyway. "I'm fine." Daring adjusted her backpack and picked up

Whooves groaned "Is taking it easy for once too much to ask?"

"Yes!" Daring yelled back, already a couple yards ahead of him.

Whooves grumbled a few aggravated comments, but sped up to meet Daring anyway.

The pair spent the next few hours sticking close to the bank. The sun made it's way across the sky, dimming their path as the evening progressed. Whooves became even more aggravated once the mosquitoes started coming out. A couple of complaints and a rant about the uselessness of the species later, Daring wasn't feeling very energetic either.

As the night threatened to overtake them, Daring began to look around for a place to make shelter for the night across the darkening jungle, but stopped when a noise emanated through the leaves. Daring held a hand out in front of Whooves. He stopped when he bumped into her elbow and looked at her quizzically.

"What are yo--"

Daring held a finger to her lips to silence him. She looked into the woods with intense focus. Whooves followed her eyes and listened in. At first there was nothing but the distant calls of a few birds and the wind brushing along the treetops. After a few moments, the distant sounds of voices yelling back and forth to each other came closer, as well as the sound of brush being cut and moved.

"Shit..." Daring stared into the woods towards them, perplexed. She twisted her head around the riverbank frantically, looking for anything that might help them escape or hide.

The leaves on either side of the river weren't dense enough to cover them for very long. Daring grabbed Whooves by the wrist and jerked him towards the river. "Come on! We gotta get outa here!"

Whooves looked back nervously a couple of times before they both were chest deep in water. Daring pushed through the torrent as fast as she could. The voices behind her ran her heartrate up exponentially. She knew Gilda was with them, and she knew that she was going to be pissed.

They waded through to the other side of the river and ran as fast as they could into the jungle ahead of them. Daring knew they'd probably heard them from all that, but they were so close they had no other choice. Daring ducked and dodged around branches and brush, looking back to make sure Whooves was always close. She desperately searched around the trees for something they could do; hide in a hole, climb up a tree, anything. The trees were much too tall to climb, and the roots didn't let any of the soil around them cave.

Daring thought they'd simply have to keep running all night; she doubted another cave would come along to save the day. Just out of the corner of her eye she spotted a tree that opened up near the ground, giving a small space before the roots entered the dirt. She took a sharp turn to the left, making sure to drag Whooves by the arm with her. She slid into the trunk with her remaining momentum, letting go of Whooves for a moment so he could get in without hurting himself.

Whooves stumbled in after her, mumbling obscenities as he moved branches out of the way and tried to squeeze in the hole. Whooves pushed up against Daring to try to get as much of him out of the open as possible.

"Did we really have to sprint in here?" Whooves whispered.

Daring brought a finger up to her mouth and shushed him. She gave him a stern look then averted her eyes back out into the jungle. She pushed the pain of a few fresh scrapes on her legs and the claustrophobic feeling of being forced into an awkward position out of her mind to focus completely on watching the woods.

Sure enough, a wave of a dozen or so soldiers jogged through the brush, occasionally raising their guns to scan across the foliage before moving on. Gilda followed close behind, her gun out and ready. Daring could see her grit her teeth and give every inch of the forest a furious glare.

"Keep looking! It had to be her. No one else would ever come out this far."

Whooves looked over to Daring and leaned in closer. "What does she mean?" he asked quietly.

Daring turned her head to him and gave him an exasperated look. "Whooves!" she whispered harshly.

"Right, sorry."

Daring kept her eyes trained on Gilda. She moved much slower than the soldiers around her, and surveyed as much as she could. Daring's heart skipped a beat when she saw Gilda's eyes pass over her, but with the evening approaching, they must've been far enough in the dark to not be noticeable from that distance.

Daring's heart raced and she had to force herself to keep her breathing rate down as she watched Gilda. Half her face was covered with blood from the bar she hadn't bothered to wipe off, and the crazed look in her eye promised the most wicked torture imaginable if she got her hands on Daring again.

Daring could feel herself tremble with anticipation. Gilda must've looked her way at least three times. Each step she took brought her closer to her and Whooves.

"...Daring?" Whooves whispered again. Daring almost slapped a hand over his mouth to get him to stop, but when she looked over at him, his eyes were affixed to the treetops above the soldiers.

She followed his eyes into the massive limbs that held up the jungle canopy. All of the frustration towards Whooves drained out of her when she saw a streak of red move through the leaves, then another, then even more until she could count almost a dozen of whatever it was moving around up there. They were completely silent; not even letting a leave fall as they skirted around. One by one, they started coming to a stop. They almost looked like cloth as it all fell into place. Daring focused as much as the evening would allow. She could barely make out the shape of a girl wrapped up in the red fabric.

Daring squinted and leaned in closer. "What the..."

Before Daring could get a good look, one of them shot a line of the red fabric down to the forest. The string moved in the blink of an eye, grabbing one of the soldiers by the neck and jerking them upwards. He let a couple of shots out of his rifle as he ascended, desperately grabbing at his neck with one hand and flailing around his rifle with the other. The other soldiers spun around to see what was going on, and just barely caught a glimpse of their friend before he disappeared into the trees.

The soldiers all stood in place with their rifles ready, swiveling around and searching for the threat. Their barrels swept across the canopy, but nothing but the occasional falling leaf moved. Gilda herself kept her eyes glued to the treetops, but steadily backed towards where Daring and Whooves were hiding.

Another flash of red shot down from the trees, grabbing another soldier by the neck and pulling him quickly into the trees. His scream was followed by a cacophony of gunshots as the other soldiers started firing into the trees. The forest lit up with dozens of orange flashes as they tore holes into the canopy.

"Stay together! Keep firing!" Gilda shouted to them as she ran forward, firing her pistol into the treetops as well.

From the shadows one of the girls snatched another soldier in a flash of red fabric. Causing the others to turn and divert some of their fire into the trunks of the trees around them. One by one, the strange women would pounce on the soldiers, but didn't seem to take any losses. A quick flash of red and there was one less gun firing each time.

Daring snapped out of her astounded stupor. "They're distracted, let's go!"

Daring shot out of the roots and ran back into the brush, leaving Whooves in the dust. "Is it too much to ask for a little more warning?" She could hear him grumble as he struggled to stand out of the awkward position.

Daring slowed down, but kept her head low and her eyes trained on the firefight in the other direction. "Just come on!" Daring whispered harshly. She was running out of patience with Gilda being so close.

Whooves finally got to his feet and kept close to her as he could. Daring shot back out into the woods, occasionally looking back to make sure she didn't lose Whooves. They both ran until they reached the bank of the river again, then kept running down the bank until Whooves decided to speak up.

"Daring... I think we're... far enough..." Whooves let out a heavy sigh, then leaned over onto his knees. Daring turned around to chastise him, but realized her body was begging for breath as well. She didn't know how long they ended up running, but the night was starting to creep up on them. Seeing down the stream was much more difficult than when Gilda was on their heels.

Daring took a couple of deep breaths and tried to calm herself. Her heartbeat was pounding in her chest from more than just the run.

"Yeah, you're right... I think we're okay now." Daring swallowed, then tried looked around the darkening jungle. "We're going to need to find some shelter soon, though."

"You don't think we're getting close?" Whooves asked.

"I have no idea. All I know is I don't want to get caught out here again." Unless Daring wanted to climb a tree for the night, she was running out of options.

"Well whatever was attacking those soldiers must've had something to do with the legends, right? If we're that far into the forest we have to be getting close to some kind of settlement."

Daring turned to face upstream, away from Whooves. "You may be right, but I don't think we're going to be an exception to their 'attack outsiders' policy. Barging right into their ancient temple isn't going to be the best idea."

Whooves leaned up, finally able to catch his breath. "So what's the plan then?"

Daring sighed and propped herself up on a nearby tree. Her wet clothes and the dirt clinging to her side was starting to irritate her. She closed her eyes and tried to think of the best course of action. Part of her urged her to get all this over with as fast as possible. "I don't kn--"

A hand shot out of the vines and jerked Daring's hand around to her back. She was spun around, then forced to her knees with a harsh thud. The only thing that stopped her from falling over was the familiar edge of a knife at her throat. Daring grimaced. There was only one person in this jungle fast enough to bring her down like that.

"Gah! How do you keep doing that?!" Daring said through gritted teeth.

The gunfire had stopped quite a while ago. Daring thought for sure Gilda wasn't winning that one, but here she was.

Gilda tightened her grip on Daring, making the knife cut into her neck. Daring tried to stifle a whimper, but she was sure it was audible. Daring closed her eyes tightly and hoped Whooves had some way out of this, because with that knife at her throat, she wasn't going anywhere.

"Shut it, bitch," Gilda said in her usual gravelly voice. "I lost a lot of men trying to get to you, and now you get to pay for it."

Whooves looked between Daring and Gilda, ready for action, but having no idea what to do. Daring knew he wasn't carrying any weapons. There weren't any bottles to save her this time.

"Here's how it's going to happen: You're going to run as far as you can away from here. If you're lucky, I might just let you live," Gilda said, pointing her free hand towards Whooves. She kept the blade tight against Daring's neck to make sure she didn't move.

"And I'm going to have fun with you, Daring Do." Daring looked desperately up to Whooves, but she knew there was nothing she could do this time. "Well? What are you waiting for? Get out of here!" Whooves jumped at her yell, but didn't yield. In a different situation, Daring would have been proud of him.

"Don't think I won't just slit her throat and tear yours out next."

A feeling of defeat washed over Daring, if one of them had to die, she didn't want it to be Whooves. "Turner... just go."

Daring could see the disbelief in his eyes as he saw the resignation in hers. "No... Daring..."

Gilda was losing her patience. Daring could feel her fury grow with every passing second Whooves just stood there. The knife started to cut it's way across her throat, deep enough to kill her.

Her body shook with terror and her life flashed before her eyes. With one final desperate cry, Daring yelled. "AAAHH! GO!"

Whooves turned tail and ran as fast as he could. He tripped from the sudden speed but got up as fast as his legs would allow. Daring could only listen as his footsteps grew further and further away.

Thankfully, Gilda took her knife off of Daring's throat. Being that close to death had shaken her to her core. Her breathing was erratic, and every part of her trembled in fear. Daring closed her eyes and just wished it would end already. Gilda shoved her face-first into the dirt with a heavy thud, and started to tie Daring's hands together.

She was too weak to protest. Her body had all but given up after coming that close to the end. Daring could feel a steady stream of blood flow out of her neck, but not enough to make her pass out.

In the distance she could hear the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the dirt, but paid it no mind. Gilda had finished tying the knot, and her low, evil laugh resonated through the quiet jungle. Gilda started to tug on her arm and bring her to a standing position.

"Get up. We're--" The creak of a branch was followed by the air rushing out of Gilda's lungs on impact. The pressure of her hand left her arm, and she fell back into the dirt. She looked to her right and saw Gilda's motionless form slump against a nearby tree.

Before she could move or question the situation, a soft hand grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her onto her back.

In front of her was one of the girls in the trees from earlier, pulling a red cloth back to her wrist with some unseen magic. Even in the dark, Daring was stunned by how beautiful she was. Her long, flowing hair shined what little moonlight there was, and her gentle eyes encapsulated Daring. Transparent red cloth was wrapped around her, showing off more than it covered up.

She unclasped the red veil over her mouth and leaned closer to Daring. Before she could say anything, the girl met lips with her. Daring melted into the kiss almost immediately. The feeling of her soft lips against hers made all her pain melt away into that heavenly feeling. Daring could feel herself slowly slipping away into her embrace as the girl wrapped her arms around her.

After another moment in the kiss, Daring fell asleep entirely.

_________________________________________________________

The soft flicker of candlelight brushed against Daring's face, making her stir from her sleep. She mumbled something incoherent and tried to roll over into the soft, fur blanket underneath her. She felt someone else stirring somewhere on the blanket, but she was too comfortable to care. She groaned as all her aches and pains came back to her: scrapes down her right leg, aching feet, generally worn out muscles, and the ache of a fresh cut on her...

Daring shot up and looked around frantically after she realized what she'd just gone through. She brought one hand to her neck and gripped the fur tightly with the other. The sticky feeling of fresh blood was surprisingly absent when she traced her hand across her skin. The cut was sealed with a smooth layer of something. When she brought her hand away to look at it, it was completely clean. The next thing she noticed was how amazingly soft the blanket in her hand was.

Before she could think about it, two arms wrapped around Daring's neck and hugged her tightly. Daring tensed at the contact.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay, Daring," Whooves said as he settled into the embrace. Daring relaxed once she heard his voice. She wrapped a hand around his forearm and smiled at the feeling. She felt... safe. The moment quickly wore off once she felt the warmth of his bare skin rubbing up against her near-naked body.

"Uh, Whooves, where are our clothes?" Whooves let her go and she looked down at herself. She was down to just her bra and panties, and a quick glance at him showed he was in his underwear as well. She raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

Whooves put his hands up in defense. "Hey, don't look at me like that. I just woke up here."

Daring took her eyes off of him and looked to the room around them. "And where exactly is here?" The room was completely stone except for the floor, which was filled by a some sort of plush red fur which felt like it had some padding underneath. Bands of decorative carvings filled all the way up to the wall, interrupted by candles in holders on each wall. The ceiling had a painting of a crude night sky, but was soothing all the same.

The wall in front of her opened up to what looked like a large cave outside of it, but the flickering of firelight drew her to see what waited outside. Daring got to her feet and walked over to the doorway. Whooves followed her close behind.

"Daring, do you really think we shou-- Woah..."

Whooves stood motionless behind Daring as they took in the sight before them. A massive cave held hundreds of decorated stone buildings and temples, each with a unique, intricate design etched onto them and alluring blue lights hovering above them. In the center was a massive stone pyramid that fell under soft skylight of a hole in the ceiling, with vines hanging down from it. It was an entire underground city. Men and women clothed in that familiar red cloth walked the stone streets, bringing life to this strange civilization.

"Woah is right," Daring said.

Whooves looked down to the long series of stairs that led down to the street below. "What should we do?"

Daring opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by one of the denizens landing at the doorway. Daring reeled back and put an arm in front of Whooves, keeping him behind her. The girl in front of them stood up from her hunched-over landing position and took the red veil over her mouth off. Daring didn't recognize her as the girl from last night, but she looked just as beautiful. She opened her mouth and spoke, but Daring didn't understand a word of it.

Daring eased out of her fighting stance and nudged Whooves. "Well, this is what I brought you for." She looked over at him and couldn't help but giggle at the blush across his face as his eyes were transfixed on the girl. "Get after it, Romeo."

"My, th-that dialect is ancient."

"Well?" Daring asked expectantly.

"I think she said she's not here to fight." Whooves cleared his throat and spoke back to her in the same strange tongue. They exchanged a few words before he looked back to Daring.

"She wants us to come with her." Whooves looked back to Daring with an unsure look.

"It looks like we don't have much of a choice. Let's go." Daring stepped forward, and the girl turned and started down the steps. The three of them made their way down to the street below. Whooves and Daring both gawked at the awe-inspiring architecture around them. The city showed no signs of wear, even though they both knew it was thousands of years old.

Daring opened her mouth first, but kept her eyes glued to the world around here. "Looks like we found our long, lost temple."

"I certainly wasn't expecting this..."

"You can say that again."

Daring moved her eyes down to the street level. The people gave them passing glances, but didn't seem too concerned with their presence. People all around them were talking and going about their day just as any society would. Some of them were also getting quite intimate with each other. Daring blushed as she saw the naked body of a girl grinding on a man on a nearby bench. His cock was visibly deep inside of her, and her soft hums of pleasure were out there for the world to hear. Daring looked over to Whooves, who had the same perplexed look. His eyes were glued onto a girl sucking the dick of a man leaning up against a rail.

"Uh..." Daring struggled to say something as similar scenes showed up all over the street. There were just as many people having sex as simply conversing.

"They're quite... shameless," Whooves let out.

Daring gulped and tried to shake her embarrassment off. "A-ask her where we're going."

"S-sure." Whooves walked closer to the girl leading them and said a few strange words to her. She raised an eyebrow, then he stammered and tried to correct himself. She shrugged him off and gave him a quick answer.

"I believe she said we'll be there soon."

That didn't console her much. Daring sighed and resigned to try to mentally prepare for whatever was lying around the next corner, even if the scenery was quite distracting.

They finally reached the massive temple in the center of the cave, and made their way up the long staircase to the first platform. When Daring grew tired of the stone steps under her feet--and Whooves clearly out of breath from the climb--she noticed the girl leading her had barely changed her pace. Her smooth body must've had quite the endurance, Daring thought.

With one last step, they walked onto the main platform on the side of the pyramid. A large door carved deep into the structure loomed before them. The temple itself still had a couple hundred feet before its apex, where sunlight poured into the cave.

The girl leading them continued her path and stopped to complete the half-circle of other warriors between Daring and the door. They all looked Daring over expectantly; all the eyes on her body almost made her uncomfortable.

Daring swallowed and looked over to Whooves, who was gawking, wide-eyed at the fine group of girls ahead of them. Daring would have laughed if she wasn't so nervous all of the sudden.

She jabbed an elbow into his side. "Well? Ask them what we're supposed to do."

Whooves jumped when her contact broke him out of his stupor. "Oh! Uh..." He cleared his throat and stammered out more of their language. If Daring could tell one thing by the girls glances towards each other and raised eyebrows, it wasn't very successful. One of them stepped forward and replied anyway.

Whooves watched her mouth intently, trying to understand every syllable. "She says you are to pass through the doors and face the, um, trials. Then they will decide if you're worthy."

"And if I refuse?" Daring asked Whooves without taking her eyes off of the girls in front of her.

Whooves asked, then received a short answer. "She said you won't."

Daring was surprised at that. It wasn't the usual "we'll kill you", but they definitely knew what she was here for. "I guess she's right. No point in putting it off, then."

She stepped forward, eyes on the temple door, but one of the girls held a hand out to stop her. She looked across her body and said something, then motioned to her bra and panties. Daring looked back to Whooves with a raised eyebrow.

"She said you cannot enter the temple with anything from the outside world..." Whooves stammered when he realized what she meant, a blush crossing his face. "I-I won't look."

Daring took a deep breath. "Of course..." Out of her comfort-zone wasn't doing this feeling justice. She stepped out of her panties and unclasped her bra and left them both on the stone floor. She cast one last glance back at Whooves, whose eyes were most definitely glued to her now-naked body. She shot him a glare and he instantly looked away.

Daring sighed. This wasn't any time for embarrassment. She started past the warriors and towards the door. The massive stone gateway groaned and pushed open on it's own with a light green glow, letting Daring into a long corridor lit by flickering torches on either wall.

She faintly heard Whooves stammering something nervously to the girls before the thunderous groan of the stone doors returned, shutting her into the temple alone. The only thing to do now was find out what waited for her at the end of the hall.

The bustling sound of the city streets and the sound of distant voices was now gone. The only thing that filled the empty corridor was the occasional crack of the torches on the wall. Daring started down the hallway, careful not to let her guard down. The hall was short enough to see it dive down into a stairwell, but long enough to keep Daring on edge. The walls were banded with unique hieroglyphics, each telling a unique story. Daring didn't know how to read them, but they were enough to make her inner archaeologist intensely fascinated for a second. She caught herself stop, then shook her head and went back on her path.

Once she reached the stairs, Daring heard faint ringing coming from the bottom. The light shining at the bottom of the stairwell was a soft green, and it was moving. Daring tensed, preparing herself for anything.

The roof leveled out ahead of her, letting Daring see the room she was stepping into. Before her was another large door with carved designs, but this one looked to be made of gold. The entire thing was enveloped in the same soft green light. A dark-skinned woman with jagged white etchings all over her body stood in front, holding her glowing hands out. She also wore nothing, letting her markings shine over her naked form.

Daring thought she recognized her. "Zecora?"

Zecora turned her head to look back. Once she caught sight of her, she let her hands down and turned to face her. The green glow soon faded from her hands and eyes when she smiled to meet Daring. "Ah, my adventurous friend. The journey for what you seek is nearly at its end."

Daring walked up to meet her, but felt a twinge of embarrassment; this was the first time she'd had a casual conversation naked. Daring coughed and met eyes with Zecora. "That's good to hear. What are you doing down here?" Daring's eye twitched when she realized she was rhyming too.

Zecora laughed. "It's good to see I'm rubbing off on you. Friends I make from the outside are very few."

Daring let out a strained chuckle and rubbed the back of her neck. Zecora continued, "I am down here to ready your way. This door will only yield to a mage's sway."

Daring let her eyes wander up to the door. The green magic swirled around the intricate designs. She could hear faint clicks coming from inside of it when some of the light would disappear.

"Beyond this door lies your final test. I hope you have prepared better than the rest." Zecora looked back towards the door and raised an arm towards it. The green glow returned to her hand, and the door swung open to nothing but darkness. "Remember, to please those who appear, you must first show them what you hold dear."

The pitch-black ahead of her sent a chill down her nude form. Her stomach tightened at the sight of the abyss. "G-Got it."

"I will remain here to relay your fate. I hope you return in the same state."

Daring began to walk towards the doorway. Every step made the uncertainty inside of her grow. "Me too."

"Good luck, Daring Do. If anyone is capable, it's you," Zecora said from behind her. Daring was already a few steps inside the darkness. Before she had the chance to look back, Zecora shut the door.

The small comfort of being in Zecora's presence immediately vanished. No sound or light came to Daring's senses for a few minutes, leaving her to wander the room. She inched along slowly, careful not to trip over anything. She could barely see an inch in front of her face; that coupled with loneliness made the feeling eerily familiar to her. She couldn't shake the feeling that someone in there was watching her. Whatever was toying with her let the fear and apprehension grow until she wanted to scream.

Her foot brushed against something that wasn't stone. She looked down, hoping it wasn't what it felt like.

Fire bloomed behind her and spread across a line all the way around the room above the door. Daring looked up to see the orange flickering roll around the dome-shaped space above her and meet on the other side near another gold door. The walls were much brightly colored than outside, with much more detailed carvings spread across the circular walls.

Daring brought her eyes to the floor to confirm her suspicion.

Bones. Lots of bones.

There had to be at least fifty different skeletons scattered around the room. Daring gulped. This can't be good...

A soft wind blew through the room from behind her. It ran all across Daring's body, making her shiver. The wind carried black dust up from the floor. The dust started to form and swirl in the wind in front of her, making up what looked like a human form. Daring blinked a few times, but her eyes didn't deceive her. The dust was made to look like two men, more than seven feet tall, and all facing her.

The transparent figures stood still except for the constant swirling of the dust that made them. Daring looked for some indication for what to do, but nothing came. Daring hoped this didn't end in a fight, because she didn't know if she could win that one.

Two hands pressed against her shoulders and forced her to her knees. She immediately recognized the feeling: A warm energy that might come from human contact, but with no texture to it, as if it was a wall of air pressing against her.

With that contact, the entirety of a memory returned to her. Being tied up in a dark room and a whisper in her head. The questioning and feeling of their pulsating cocks inside of her. The realization of her true motives.

A pit grew in her stomach as she remembered the last moments. I-Is that all I'm out here for? A cheap thrill? The scene in front of her flowed into the background as she dwelled on her own motivations. She tried to deny it to hold onto her self-respect, but part of her knew it was the truth.

"Desires aren't meant to be shamed," A voice said inside her mind. This time it was a deep, commanding tone that demanded her attention. She looked up to the figure who she assumed the voice was coming from. There was no debate, these had to be the same figures from that dream. That meant that Zecora wasn't lying to her.

"What you seek is power. Unless you are true to yourself, our blessing is worthless to you." The figure's mouth moved along with the words. Daring blinked a couple of times to make sure she wasn't just hallucinating.

"Who... Who are you?"

"We are the guardians, the spirits of our people. We protect the power to control the mind and body. Our task is to make sure only the worthy may hold such a power."

I guess I found what I was looking for. Daring shot a glance to the piles of bones around her. She definitely wasn't the first one to make it this far. She hoped she had the strength to not end up with the rest of the bones.

"They could not find themselves, so they paid the price for greed." Daring looked back to the spirits. What ever their test was, she had to be the first one to pass it. If not, she took solace in the fact that Gilda might not either.

"If you have your doubts, it is not too late to go back," the spirit in front of her said, motioning to the door.

Daring took a deep breath and closed her eyes, remembering when Whooves gave her the same out. She looked up and faced the three of them with a new resolve. "No. I'm ready to take your test."

"If you insist." The spirit talking to her knelt down in front of her. He was close enough to make out the features in his face from the swirling dust.

He put his hands on Daring's shoulders again and gently leaned her back. He set her down face up on the stone floor. Even though there wasn't much force behind his push, Daring could feel the immense power in his form. Her legs spread apart and settled on either side of his hips.

She stared up at the ceiling as he caressed her sides and felt across her thighs. Her heartbeat and breathing rate started racing when she realized what he was going to do. She squirmed under his touch, feeling restless at the thought of going through that again. She was sure they noticed her nervousness, but none of them showed it. Luckily only one of them was sizing her up, but she doubted that would last long.

The guardian leaned forward and placed his hands on her wrists, pinning her to the stone floor. She was helpless to do anything but persevere. She could feel his pulsating dick being placed on her groin. She looked up into his stoic face with a nervous blush. She remembered the orgasm they'd given her before, and how painful it ended up being. She could still see the bones out of the corner of her vision, and put two and two together.

Daring tensed her arms and readied herself. This was going to be a test of her willpower. It wasn't a dream now; this test could actually kill her.

The spirit moved his hips and Daring's breath caught in her throat. His length slid down her folds, giving her an idea of how big he actually was. She didn't think he was going to be able to fit, but he started forward anyway. He pushed past her entrance without much effort. Daring questioned how--she wasn't even wet yet--but her thoughts were soon pushed back by the feeling.

She let out a long sigh as he drove most of his length into her. It filled her more than she'd ever felt in her life, radiating the same warm energy through her hips and around the rest of her body. He pulled himself out of her before pumping his hips. Daring couldn’t help but let out a stream of quiet coos each time his cock filled her again.

He gazed into her eyes with the same stoic impression, even as her blush deepened and her resolve started to fade. He stared sharply, right into Daring's soul. She cringed at the barrage of feelings and tried to squirm to a more comfortable position, but his hands locked her wrists down like iron cuffs. Any way she could move only pushed her deeper onto his dick, and making her pleasure grow.

Daring could feel herself grow wet at the continuing assault. With every thrust she could feel her mind slipping away, but she held strong. She grit her teeth and looked into the eyes of the spirit, showing him she wouldn't be beaten so easily. She didn't know how long she could keep this up, though; the longer it went on, the louder her moans became and her control over her body began to falter.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see the other two make their way around to her. They didn't join in yet, but waited on either side of her to do so. Daring could feel her excitement start to spread around her thighs, making them slick and helping the cock inside of her along. The spirit inside of her took a moment to look down; his pace slowed and each stroke wasn't as deep as it had been.

Daring smiled when she realized she was winning. Her endurance had held out so far, and his was starting to wane. She knew they weren't going to make it this easy, but the small victory gave her a cocky grin through her blush.

The spirit released his grip on her wrists and moved his hands to her hips. He leaned back and pulled her up with him, putting Daring on top of him with her legs on either side of his hips again. Daring took the lead and started grinding her hips into his, pushing his cock deep inside of her so he wouldn't get another break. She bucked her hips and struggled to maintain her mindset through her own pleasure. She could hear her own moans start to echo throughout the room, but she grit her teeth between each one to try to keep her resolve.

Before she could feel like she was finally gaining the upper hand, a set of hands laid down on either side of her hips, locking her in place. She could feel the warm presence of another cock brush against her ass. She gasped and bit her lip, waiting for the pain of taking something so big this fast, but her body yielded to him just the same as the first. He pushed inside of her slowly, making sure she felt every inch he had. She let her head droop and let out a long moan. The guardian underneath her began to thrust inside of her as well. The one behind her finally pushed his entire length inside of her, making Daring's eyes open wide at the feeling.

She panted and let out a series of strained moans when they both pumped into her at the same time. Each time they bottomed out inside of her, all Daring could do was whimper and try to fight her imminent orgasm. Her entire lower body succumbed to the warm pleasure they were giving her. She could hardly move her legs; Daring felt herself growing weak and slowly descending into the chest of the guardian under her.

Before her arms gave up on her, another hand brushed through her hair and past her cheek, then lifting her head up from under her chin. She looked up to see the last spirit in front of her, his cock posed at her lips. She could do nothing to protest as he placed a hand on the back of her head and slid his dick past her tongue. All three of them thrusted into her, and the spirit under her placed his hands on her breasts, gently massaging them.

Her muffled moans started to grow distant and her vision began to fade. Her entire world became nothing but pleasure and the feeling of their cocks brushing along her insides. If they weren't holding her up, Daring would have slumped to the floor and become a shivering, moaning mess. She could feel herself coming closer and closer to the edge, her world turning to darkness. Part of her wanted nothing more than to let them fuck her to climax. All her worldly plights were forgotten to the steady pump of the cocks inside of her. She closed her eyes and left her thoughts until she finally went over the edge.

Daring clenched her fists and her eyes shot open. No! Not here! she thought. She could hardly move with all the bodies around her, but she could lift her arms. The only way she could think to beat this challenge was to make them cum before she did. For how far she let herself fall into the mindlessness of pleasure, she didn't have long before her body overpowered her will.

She put a hand underneath her chin to massage the balls of the spirit in her mouth. She pushed deeper until his head bumped against the back of her throat and pulled back to start again. She accentuated every motion with another hand wrapped around his shaft. She felt tears form at the edge of her vision every time she gagged, but pushed on to wear him down. Daring gazed up at him; the normally stoic visage they all shared faltered the longer she went. She let out a few quiet moans around his cock as the two behind her kept their pace.

Finally, the dick in her mouth was pulled out by its owner. Daring didn't let him have a break, though; she ran her hand across his entire length as fast as she could. Both hands worked tirelessly to wear him down. The wet feeling of her saliva across his length helped her to finally bring him to climax. Daring felt him convulse lightly in her hands, and a dark liquid shot out across her face. She closed her eyes and let it drip across her cheeks, but the warm feeling of his essence soon evaporated into a fine smoke before disappearing entirely.

She opened her eyes to see the guardian in front of her fall to nothing but ashes and smoke on the stone floors. One down...

The spirit between her legs disappeared. Daring could only assume he was catching his breath, since she could still feel his presence in the room. With much more freedom to move around now, the one in her ass pounded into her with much more power. Every stroke pushed it's way deeper inside of her, making her feel weak from the pleasure.

Her arms gave out and she slumped to the floor, feeling her vision blur again. He pulled her hips into him each time, putting more power than she could handle on each thrust. She reached a hand between her legs to caress his balls in a desperate attempt to get the upper hand. She pushed her hips back to help him along, but it only made things worse on her.

The longer it went on, the more he wore Daring down. She couldn't contain her moans any longer; she closed her eyes and moaned freely into the room. He gave no indication of slowing; each thrust was just as powerful as the last. If the other spirit decided to join in now, she'd be done for.

By some stroke of luck, the guardian stopped his pumping. Daring could feel his dick twitch inside of her, and the same hot energy that was spilled on her face was poured into her. Her eyes rolled back and she let out a long moan at the feeling as it burned away inside of her.

She dropped to the cold, stone floor and squirmed. She let soft hums of pleasure at the afterglow of being fucked so hard. Her body desperately wanted to be satisfied, signified by the excess of wetness around her groin and things. Part of her missed the thrill of the pleasure with the promise of death, but she caught her breath and remembered what she was fighting for.

Daring opened her eyes and turned herself over. The last guardian stood waiting to take the final turn ahead of her. She laughed and gave a "come and get me" grin. He obliged her by leaning down and grabbing both of her legs. He spread them apart and dragged her across the floor towards them. She inhaled sharply at being manhandled so easily. The spirit easily lifted her hips of the ground with one hand, leaving her shoulders and head on the floor.

He didn't waste any time. He pushed his massive cock into her as far as it would go and rubbed her clit with his other hand. Daring let out a sharp cry at the sudden pleasure. She tossed her head back and grit her teeth. He wasn't messing around this time. Every subtle movement made Daring edge closer to orgasm. With the position he had her in, there was nothing she could do to force him to cum faster. She could only rely on her waning willpower to overcome the last spirit.

She clenched her fists as he drove into her faster, making her tits bounce. Her eyes rolled back and she let her moans echo through the chamber again. Daring felt her climax come closer and closer with each thrust; she didn't know how much longer she could hold out.

Every wet smack of his hips against hers was torture. It was all she could do to keep from falling back into that pleasure-filled trance. As much as she tried, she couldn't keep her orgasm away for any longer.

Daring opened one eye to look down her body. The beginning of her orgasm was seconds away. Her heart skipped a beat when the spirit pulled out of her and slid his shaft across her folds, letting his essence fly out onto her navel.

Daring arched her back and had the most intense orgasm of her life as the spirit faded. She put both hands over her shuddering slit and closed her legs tightly as she fell back to the floor and convulsed. Her strained moans still had the cry of fear behind them as she shut her eyes tightly. The orgasm went on as the same explosion of electric pleasure for a few seconds, but soon dissipated just as the spirits did.

When Daring finally realized she wasn't dying, she went limp onto the floor and panted, her eyes hazy and senses fading. Sweat poured down across her skin, matting her hair to her face and shoulders. She closed her eyes and smiled. She made it.

"You have proven yourself worthy, traveler," the commanding voice stated, "We grant you the power of an entire civilization. Use it wisely."

Daring lethargically turned herself over. The golden doors ahead of her began to open up to the main chamber.

Daring pushed herself off of the ground up to her knees. The grinding of the gold on the stone floor resounded through the room, and a wave of dust fell through the opening doors. A light shined down through the center of the dust, illuminating a decorative staircase leading to the middle of the main chamber.

Daring brought herself to her feet and was entranced by the powerful golden glow at the top of the staircase; it overpowered even the sun that poured its light from the top of the temple.

She made her way to the staircase, slowly ascending, taking the marvelous sight of the room and it's centerpiece in. Water poured in from statues on the wall, and a large pillar held up the source of power. The stone was gilded with beautiful patterns and the sunshine bolded all of its features.

As Daring made her way up, she had to hold a hand in front of her face at the brightness of the glow. Whatever their source of legendary power was, Daring could feel the untold might through that golden glow. Daring made it to the top and the light subsided. She let her hand fall to finally bask in the sight of the nabinazzi's greatest weapon.

"A dildo?" Daring said in disbelief.

In front of her sat a bright, golden phallus, laid on a slab to show off its full length. Along its smooth length was the occasional bump of a jewel, and at the base were masterfully cut diamonds that served as a hilt.

"Really?" Daring wondered if this was just some big cosmic joke. "I almost get killed four times for some glorified sex toy?!"

Daring blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't making this up. Every time the image of the golden dick stayed the same. Daring sighed, defeated. She didn't come all this way to throw a hissy fit over an ancient cultures choice in power embodiment. She grabbed the jeweled cock and turned to leave.

Before she could make it down the first step, she was frozen in place. It was almost like a shock spreading up from her hand. A golden glow traveled up the markings Zecora had made and left a warm, energized feeling in its wake. She could feel the power coursing through her veins and glowing out of every inch of her body that zecora had marked. Her muscles twitched and her eyes widened. She felt alive. She felt invincible.

The power finished overtaking her body, but the golden glow of her markings remained. Daring looked down to her hand in amazement.

"Woah..." She could feel the forces pumping out of the dildo and into her. It felt alive in her hand. She shook herself out of her stupor and headed back for the door.

She pushed open the door back to the hallway out, where Zecora was meditating in the center. Zecora opened her eyes and smiled.

"Ah, at last you have returned." Zecora's eyes drifted towards Daring's hand. "And what else have you earned?"

"It feels... amazing."

Zecora rose to her feet. "I'm surprised you still stand. Not many can handle such power in their hand."

Daring didn't take her eyes off of her prize. "Why is it...?"

"A phallus? Surely you aren't so callous." Zecora laughed and came closer to Daring. "My people live to fulfill their baser desires. I'm sure you've noticed our traditions, and lack of attire."

Daring thought back to the casual sex in the streets. Now it made more sense. "A society built on sex... Well, it could be worse." At least I'm not being sacrificed... again.

"Indeed. To my people, sex is an everyday need." Zecora put her hands on her hips. "But I'm sure you don't wish to just sit and talk. I have your things outside; let's take a walk."

Zecora motioned towards the stairs, then the pair made their way back down the hallway to the main platform.

Daring pushed open the entrance and scanned the area for Whooves or any would-be attackers. What she saw made her stop in place. She shook her head and laughed to herself.

A dazed Whooves leaned up against one of the pillars at each corner, a girl at each side. His underwear were very hastily put back on, and Daring could definitely see a few... wet spots on each one of them.

Zecora laughed to herself as one of the warriors handed her a cloak. She said something in their tongue and one of the girls leapt off the stairs.

"Having fun, Turner?" Daring asked, a knowing smile on her face.

"I've changed my mind. We can most definitely stay here," he said with a content look.

"As much fun as that sounds, we need to get out of here as soon as possible." The girl Zecora sent off returned with two bags, and set both of them by Daring. They were the ones they had taken in with them, and were packed with their clothes. Daring quickly grabbed her underwear and attire, not wanting to be exposed for any longer.

Whooves looked down to see Daring getting dressed, then reluctantly rose from between the girls. "Oh, you're never any fun." Whooves looked through his own bag to get his pants out as well.

Daring buttoned her last button, laced up her bootstraps, and put her knife back in her boot. She picked her hat out of the pile and placed it, finishing her look. She let out a breath of relief, without her things, she felt and was quite literally naked.

Whooves began to button up his own shirt with the sharp glow of Daring's marks caught his eye. "It sure looks like you found..." his eyes wandered down her arm until he saw the dildo in her hand. "...something. Is that...?"

"Yes. It's a dildo," Daring stated plainly. "Their ultimate secret weapon is a sex toy."

Whooves looked back to the city, then over to one of the girls that was at his side. She gave him a wink and made her way down the stairs. "Well, it certainly makes sense when you think about it. A lot of the buildings are certainly... phallic, in nature." Whooves' eyes settled on a pair of mushroom-like towers.

"Heh." Daring flicked the dildo across Whooves' arm to catch his attention. "At least it's not--"

Whooves eyes grew wide and both his hands instantly to his groin as he hissed in pain. He leaned over and Daring put her empty hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?!"

"Agh..." Whooves looked up at her through a cringe. "Maybe after a cold shower," he strained to say.

"What are you talking about?"

Whooves slowly stood up, presenting himself at full-mast. Daring blushed. "Oh."

"You've certainly found something powerful, alright," Whooves said, keeping a constant wince. He didn't look like he was in pain, just severely uncomfortable with his intense arousement. Daring would have chuckled if she could fully wrap her head around the situation.

Daring cleared her throat and turned towards Zecora, leaving Whooves to his new problem. "Zecora. Thank you for your help so far. I wouldn't have been able to do this without you."

Zecora waved her off. "Say no more, Daring Do. To help the guardians find the worthy is what I do."

Daring opened her mouth to respond, but another thought interrupted her. "How do you know my name." Daring never remembered telling her, or many other people around her for that matter.

Zecora laughed and gave her a warm smile. "Oh, I'm sure you've never said, but many of your books I've definitely read. I'm not so secluded as the rest of my race. Your fame is something most of the educated world can embrace."

Daring shrugged. She was bound to run into someone who knew eventually. "Well anyway, we need a way out. I don't think either of us were paying much attention on the way in, so we could use some help."

Zecora nodded. She raised her hand to the road at the end of the staircase. "At the end of this street, you will find the place where the--"

A thunderous explosion sent debris and dust all across the end of the road Zecora was pointing to. The large, stone gate at the end was blown to pieces and sitting in chunks on the street. From out of the dust poured dozens of soldiers in black uniforms. They raised their rifles up every few steps and shot at anything that moved.

The dust began to settle, and Daring spotted her favorite white-haired devil. Gilda walked into the ancient city and looked straight at the temple, and right at Daring.

Daring grit her teeth once she caught sight of her. She could almost see the bloodlust in her eyes from there. She took a step towards Whooves and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him towards her.

"Next time, let me kill her." She pushed Whooves away and started down the steps, the artifact gripped tight in her hand.

"Wha-- Daring! What are you doing?" Whooves started down the stairs after her.

"Saving an empire!" Daring said as she jumped off the stairs and onto a nearby flat, stone roof.

Whooves grunted in frustration and ran down the stairs after her. He stuck to the ground level while Daring began jumping across the rooftops.

Gunfire and shouting echoed throughout the large cavern. The corner where the gate had once been was set alight with the constant flicker of muzzle flashes. Daring could make out several flashes of red ribbon from what she could see of the street. The warriors were fighting back and even taking down some of the soldiers, but were taking loses left and right. They were outmatched for open combat, and the blood spilling out into the street was showing it.

Daring swallowed a pang of guilt as she jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Every shot meant another life might be gone in search of her. She jumped and ran across the stone roofs as fast as she could. Her body surged with energy and a bright golden glow across her marks, keeping the fatigue out of her muscles. She didn't know how to fight with her newfound power, but if it was strong enough to create a legend around, she would soon find out.

Daring skidded to a stop on the top of a house near the gate. She knelt down against the ledge and looked out into the road. Gilda had lost sight of her soon after she left the staircase, and was now pushing her way down the street. The soldiers were making steady forward progress, but the warriors were fast. They leapt out from the shadows and struck at their prey if they got too close to the alleyways, and the ones out in the open were fast enough to leap out of the aim just long enough to take a shot.

Bodies still piled up on both sides. Soldiers stepped over the bloody warriors and trained their rifles on new targets. Gilda shouted orders from the center of the rush of troops, occasionally taking shots with her pistol. Her aim was dead accurate, and fast enough to keep any attacker yards away before she dropped them.

Daring scanned the streets and wracked her brain for the best course of attack. A ladder leaned up on the wall behind her started to shake. She turned around and held the dildo out, ready for a fight.

Whooves crawled over the ledge and onto the roof. He gasped for breath as he rolled over onto the stone. He tried to say something, but ended up just waving instead.

Daring shook her head and looked back to street. Any way she could come at them would be a death-wish, even if she did know how to utilize the power in her hand. If she was going to have any hope in bringing Gilda down, she was going to have to get them off the streets. She looked to the other gate on the opposite side of the cavern. A plan formed inside her head. She crawled over to Whooves and looked down at his panting figure.

"Turner, get to the gate on the other side of town. I'll take care of them, you just get out of here."

"D... Daring," Whooves tried to say through his panting.

"No arguing. Just go. I'll meet you outside when they're taken care of." Daring didn't give him time to respond. She jumped onto the next roof to catch up with Gilda.

The soldiers were starting to group together and firing into the darkness. They weren't taking as many losses, but they were moving slower to scan every side. The warriors had retreated to the shadows to wait for an opening, but each burst of gunfire kept them pinned.

Daring stood to her full height overlooking Gilda. She stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled as loud as she could.

"Hey featherbrain! Looking for this?" She waved the golden dildo in the air with her best "come and get me" grin. Her heart was racing being this close to her again, but the thrill of the chase called out to her.

Gilda snapped her sight towards Daring and seethed with rage. Dried blood and the start of some fierce bruises only made her look more menacing, Gilda tensed and brought her pistol up and let a shot off. Daring ducked down just fast enough to hear it pass over her head. She took off down the row of roofs yet again. Daring let out her best condescending laugh. "You're gonna have to catch me first!"

"After her!" Gilda yelled. "Aim for the legs! I want her alive!"

Daring could hear them start to scramble up the side of the buildings. She looked back to make sure she had a couple more seconds. She got a headstart of almost fifty yards before the first soldier stood up and took aim at her. Before he could get a shot off, Daring jumped through the gaps in the buildings and landed with a roll onto the stone alleyways below.

She ran to her left and cut back through the next alley. A sharp crack of a body hitting the ground and the rolling up of fabric resounded between some of the buildings ahead of her. Gilda's reckless bloodlust was putting her troops at a disadvantage.

The power glowed through her markings as two soldiers rounded a corner in front of her. They raised their weapons towards her and she raised her hand in front of her out of instinct. With no other place to go, Daring closed her eyes and hoped they missed.

Agonized groans emanated from the road ahead of her. Daring opened her eyes to see the two soldiers on the ground moaning in pain and the dildo in her hand glowing brightly. Daring straightened up her posture and smiled at her hand. She tossed it in the air a couple of times, thinking over her new power.

"Don't let her get away!" Gilda yelled from behind her. Daring snapped back to attention and jumped into a gap between the buildings to get out of the volley they'd just fired into the walls around her. Out in front of her was another main street, but it was the only other way to go. She ran as fast as she could towards it, the frantic sound of her boots on the stone the only thing that interrupted the gunfire and shouts coming from between the buildings behind her. From the sound of it, the gunfire was dwindling down to a few men, and the slams and whips of fabric were becoming more apparent.

She shot out from in between the buildings and skidded to a stop to take cover behind the walls next to the alleyway. The footsteps grew closer by the second as she tensed her hand around her weapon, waiting to strike. She counted out at least a dozen sets of boots stomping across the stone floors.

The first few soldiers rounded the corner and fanned out to see where she'd gone. One of them caught her gaze for just long enough to see her raise her arm. A golden flash illuminated the street and all the soldiers in front of Daring dropped their weapons and crumbled to the ground. Daring thought back to when she'd touched Whooves with it, and how all of the soldiers were desperately clutching at their crotches. She'd have laughed if her life wasn't in danger.

Gilda rounded the corner last. She looked around her fallen comrades perplexed. She spun around to face Daring long enough to get a glimpse of the golden glow herself. Daring tensed and let the flash overtake her. She let a smug smirk cross her face as her vision started to return. It quickly fell off once she saw what she'd done.

Nothing. Gilda was still standing in front of her, completely unharmed. Daring's eyes widened when she realized it didn't work. Gilda brought her pistol up and Daring ducked down. A shot whizzed over her head as she put her off-hand on her boot, and slung the knife out of it as quickly as her reflexes allowed.

Gilda brought her gun down for another shot. Daring's knife caught her across her shoulder. Gilda let out a yelp of pain and the recoil from her gun jolted it out of her hand and out of reach as her shoulder dropped. The bullet cut through Daring's arm, making her fall to the ground and drop the dildo in front of her.

Both the girls grabbed at their wounds. They looked to each other then down at the artifact sliding to a stop between them. They looked back to each other again before they both jumped for it, arms outstretched.

Daring had no idea what happened next. The same golden flash of light illuminated her entire vision, but this time she felt herself being pushed away instead of the power rushing into her. The explosion of ancient power enveloped all of her senses for a few seconds. She was thrown back in an instant, and rolled to a stop several yards away onto her back.

Daring groaned and tried to blink the haze out of her eyes. She leaned up on her elbow and looked over herself. Her entire body ached, but every inch of her marked skin was set ablaze with a golden glow. A shimmer caught her eye, so she gazed out into the street ahead of her.

Gilda's skin was lit up brightly with the same golden lines.

"W-What the..." Daring snapped back to reality when she realized what bounced to a stop between them. As soon as Gilda could look up, her eyes shot to the same thing. Daring used all of her remaining strength to jolt forward and scramble for the artifact. Out of the corner of her vision, she could see Gilda do the same.

A fist caught Daring right in the cheek, throwing her backwards onto the road once again. Gilda didn't seem interested in a struggle over the golden dildo. She stood up to her full height and looked down at Daring with that familiar sadistic grin.

Daring could feel blood pour into her mouth from the blow. Her vision was hazed over as her senses tried to return to her. She could vaguely hear Gilda's soft laughter, and see her reach behind her back. Gilda yanked out a combat knife from its sheath, then took a hard step towards Daring.

Daring barely had time to bring her hands up once Gilda brought the knife down on her. It bounced off of her collarbone before she could push back against it, leaving a deep, bleeding gash. Daring put both hands on Gilda's wrist and pushed with all she could muster. Even with her best attempt, Gilda was still making a steady downward progress towards her. With all of her weight behind her, Gilda was much stronger than she was.

"Just give up. This can be as quick as you want it to be," Gilda said with a happy, condescending tone.

Daring grunted and tried to throw her off in response, but to no avail. It only served to wear her out quicker. She could feel her muscles start to give out. The point grazed against her ribs before it slipped between them. Daring let out a scream and a sudden burst of adrenaline helped her to slow the knife's descent, but the wound it carved only got deeper by the second.

Daring looked up into Gilda's bright golden eyes, looking for some sign of mercy. A light green aura surrounded her for a moment. Her eyes faded from yellow to green, then her expression softened as she slumped onto Daring. The sudden shift of weight forced the knife to the side, tearing a bigger gash as it shifted out of her. Daring grit her teeth and shoved Gilda off of her. She grabbed at her chest, trying to stop the flow of blood, but the gash was too deep. Blood stained all across her chest and flowed through her shirt as the wound bled.

She shut her eyes tightly to try to deal with the pain. She didn't think her lung had been punctured, but couldn't completely tell in her present state.

A set of footsteps rushed past her, then back over to her. She opened one eye to see Zecora, hunched over her, looking across her body with a worried expression.

"Daring, we must hurry. Through this place soldiers still scurry."

Daring only let out a pained grunt in response. She tried to put as much pressure on her wound as possible, but blood still pulsed through her fingers. Daring didn't know how far she'd get like this.

Zecora took matters into her own hands and grabbed Daring's arm. She pulled her up to her feet and put Daring's right arm over her shoulder and walked towards the exit. Daring yelped when she jerked her up, then grit her teeth to try to bring herself back to her senses.

Daring spared a glance behind her, where Gilda still laid limp. "Where's the--"

"It is with me. Let us find safety and you will see."

Every step was a sore limp for Daring. Getting thrown around and nearly stabbed to death had taken the energy out of her. Her joints ached with every step and she fought to stay awake. In the distance she could still hear gunshots and shouting. The number increased suddenly. Daring could only guess Gilda had back-up waiting to come through.

Zecora, nearly dragging her, finally reached the gate. Two of the Nabinazzi warriors held the giant stone doors open for them, then quickly shut it behind them once they came through.

The cave was dark ahead of them. Only the faint glimmer of water flowing around the walls caught Daring's vision. She felt Zecora's support leave her for a moment. She blinked a few times and held her hand tightly to her chest. The stabbing pain that covered her shirt in blood still demanded most of her attention, but she felt she could stand.

The strike of a torch coming to life sounded behind her, and the cave lit up with it's orange glow.

She saw Whooves' face light up at the sight of her. He took a step towards her, but stopped when he saw the grimace on Daring's face.

"Daring, are you a--" he stopped when his eyes trailed down the bloodstains marking her shirt. He quickly leaned down in front of her to look her over. "W-what happened?"

Daring opened her eyes and looked at him, then into the cave behind him. "I'll be fine. We need to hurry," she said with pained gasps.

Daring looked back to Zecora. She got the message and responded with a quick nod. She said something in her tongue to the warriors behind her, then the three of them started forward.

Trying to mask her pain, Daring took a couple of steps into the cavern as well. Whooves' face was plastered with concern. He put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Daring, you aren't going to make it like this. We need to--"

Daring jerked out of his grasp, but in the process brought herself down to one knee. "There's no..." Daring sighed and unsteadily brought herself back up to her feet. "There's no time. We need to get out of here."

Whooves shook his head. Zecora and the other girls had stopped a few steps ahead of them and looked back on the scene. By their expressions, they agreed with Whooves; but he knew Daring wouldn't cave so easily.

Whooves forced himself under Daring's arm and supported her. Daring let out a quiet grunt of pain, but didn't put up any resistance. "Fine, but at least let me help you."

With Whooves' help, they all moved deeper into the cave, a lone torch lighting the high ceilings on their way.

"You can be so frustrating sometimes, you know that?" Whooves said.

Daring let out a smile in response, but didn't say anything. She wanted to go on about how important this was, and how they couldn't afford to stop now, but she didn't feel like trying to talk anymore. She resigned to focus solely on walking, and get everything else taken care of once they were out of this cave, or at least a good distance away from Gilda.

It didn't seem to matter how hard she held her hand against the wound; more blood seemed to flow around her fingers by the minute. It was my fault for getting so cocky. I should've just ran, she thought.

The sound of falling water and the howl of wind through the caved entered Daring's ears as they stepped into a bigger chamber of the cave. A hole fifty feet above them let light into the cavern, and made Daring snap back to attention.

She didn't have time to be taking anymore chances. She had to plan ahead now. "Zecora," she called out weakly.

Zecora stopped and looked back. "Yes?"

"The artifact... give it to him..." Daring said, motioning her head towards Whooves.

Whooves jerked back, surprised. "What? Daring, I--"

Zecora interrupted. "You should respect the decisions of your friend. The dangers following us are not pretend."

Whooves stammered. "But I can't--"

"As long as you're not in direct contact, you will be fine. In your hands, it will be much harder to find."

Whooves looked down at Daring. She looked back up towards him, giving him a stern nod. Whooves knew better than to refuse. Daring had made up her mind, and this is what she thought was best. Whooves pulled Daring up on his shoulder, then let Zecora place the dildo in his bag. Once she had zipped it back up, she continued on the path out of the cave.

"Come, we are not far from the exit," Zecora said.

Whooves kept giving Daring worried glances on the way, but didn't say anything. She wanted to make a joke and try to lighten the mood, but every time she tried to speak, her vision would fade. Daring didn't know if she was going to make it all the way back to town, but she had made it this far, and was determined to at least see her spoils out of this country.

Finally, sunlight poured through a hole ahead of them, and Daring took a couple of deep breaths to try to come back into focus. They all walked out into the sparse sunlight of the jungle, then stopped. She could feel Whooves turn around, then looked up to see Zecora and the warriors standing in front of the cave, facing them.

"We shall remain here to cover your escape. You should hurry, Daring looks to be in quite poor shape," Zecora said.

"I'll hurry back to town as quickly as I can. With all of them down there, we should be able to get out of here without too much trouble. Thank you, Zecora, for all your help," Whooves said, turning back towards the south. Daring wanted to thank Zecora herself, but they were already too far away. She felt a twinge of guilt when she thought of how much trouble she had put Zecora and her people through, but it was quickly pushed down by the lingering pain.

Daring was sure she had passed out once or twice. Each time, Whooves had shaken her when he had realized it. Daring felt she was fading fast, and now seriously questioned how far she was actually going to get.

Whooves must've realized it too. He let Daring down to her knees and held her up. "Now, I'm going to try and wrap that up. Stay awake, and no complaining."

Daring tried to say something, but it just came out as a low moan. She took a deep breath and tried again. "Just go..."

Whooves ignored her and unbuttoned her shirt. He gently moved her hand and pulled her shirt off of her, then took his canteen out to pour water over the wound. Daring yelped and shut her eyes tightly at the feeling. "Shhh. You're alright," Whooves whispered to her. He took his backpack off and pulled out some bandages. He placed gauze on the wound and wrapped them around her chest a few times. Once he was done, he put his canteen to her lips and made her drink the rest of it.

"There. We'll see you home yet," he said.

Daring could still feel herself drifting away, but now the pain wasn't as bad. She took another deep breath and struggled to look up at Whooves. "More important..."

Whooves rolled his eyes. "Oh, hush. Now let's get you up."

Whooves started to put his arm around Daring again. A gunshot rang out through the forest and Whooves jerked away from her. Daring fell forward and held herself up with a hand on her knee. The shot woke her up enough to look up to Whooves and see if he had been hurt. Instead, he looked towards Daring with a terrified expression.

"No..." he said quietly, looking at Daring's abdomen. Something warm flowed across her pants and around her hand. She looked down to see a gaping red wound right next to her bellybutton.

Daring looked Whooves right in the eye. Everything she could have said to convince him fell into one word: "Run."

Whooves hesitated, but another gunshot whizzed past him. He jerked down, then reluctantly turned and sprinted off into the woods.

Everything felt heavy to Daring. She could hardly hold her self up anymore. The whole world hazed over, until she felt a boot on her chest forcing her into the ground onto her back.

"What, no witty comment? No climactic escape?" Daring's vision focused in enough to see that familiar white hair, and that malicious smile. "I'm going to have fun with you," Gilda said.

Gilda lifted her boot off of Daring's chest, then buried the sole right into her temple, turning Daring's world to darkness.

Act III: Fighting Fear

The first thing Daring noticed was the dull ache that resonated throughout her entire upper-body. The pain demanded her attention, but wasn't enough to quell the sting of rope-burns on her arms or the choking feeling around her throat. Her vision was still a mess of dark blurs, no matter how hard she tried to focus. She could almost make out voices talking in the background, but everything seemed watered down and incomprehensible. Finally, a few words came through she could understand.

"Hit her again."

A shower of stinging, ice-cold water splashed over her, snapping her back to reality in an instant. Once all her senses returned to her, she tried to let out a scream. The feeling of the water on her semi-fresh wounds nearly blinding her with searing pain. Duct-tape kept her voice in her throat. Daring jerked, but only succeeded in swinging herself; she looked down herself to see her feet tied to the ceiling with a line of thick chains on a hook. She went limp, looking down to the swaying floor. She was already spent just from having to deal with the pain. Her heart pounded in her chest and her lungs burned for oxygen.

"That one did it. Have a nice nap?" asked that familiar, rough voice. Daring shut her eyes tightly and could feel herself start to panic. There was no escaping this time.

"Oh yeah, you know where you are." Gilda grabbed Daring's head and forced her to look up at her. "I went through a lot of trouble to get you. You almost died on us twice. We had to give you a blood transfusion and resuscitate you." Gilda leaned in closer to her, a cocky smile on her face. "Why, you ask? Well that's because you don't die until I'm done with you. And we're going to have lots of fun now, Daring Do."

Gilda forcefully pushed Daring away, causing her to swing against the chains again. Daring could feel the air move past her bare skin. They had stripped her down to her underwear and whatever bandages they or Whooves had put on her. Daring let out a low whine when she thought about all the sick things Gilda thought was "fun"; but she took solace in the fact that Whooves and the artifact were probably long gone by now.

Gilda grabbed Daring by the throat to stop her from swinging, then sat down in a chair in front of her. Daring looked across her. Her uniform was stained with blood of varying age. Daring could smell the stench of death and caked blood from there.

Gilda noticed her eyes looking over her. "Oh, this old thing?" she said, looking down at her red-stained, black uniform. She looked up to Daring with an almost happy smile on her face. "I like to wear this for special occasions. Gets the creative juices flowing. It reminds me of all the fun I've had here over the past couple of months."

Gilda got up and knelt down closer to Daring. Daring gagged as the smell came closer to her. "You wanna hear about it?" Gilda asked, seemingly excited. Gilda pointed to a mark on her thigh first. "This one was from one of the locals. She thought that she and a few of her friends could talk us out of leaving their little village. I killed all her friends in front of her and force-fed the bitch her own eyes." Gilda laughed, like she was reminiscing a fond memory; it made Daring sick, even more so than the stench coming off her uniform. "She threw them back up in between crying in agony. For that I cut off all her limbs and stuck a grenade down her throat."

"Oh! And this one..." Gilda pointed to a more fresh spot on her chest. "Some Equestrian tourist thought I was 'being too rough on the locals'. Can you imagine? The nerve of some people. I smashed every bone in his arms and hands with a hammer, then cut his throat with one of his own shards of bone." Gilda gave a content sigh, looking up to the ceiling with a smile. Daring tried to lean as far away from her as possible.

"I could do this all day." Gilda snapped her attention back to Daring. "But we're here to make new ones, aren't we?" Gilda caressed Daring's cheek, but Daring jerked away from her. Gilda grabbed Daring by the throat and squeezed as hard as she could in response. She came within inches of Daring's face, a crazed, excited look in her eye. "Oh what to do with little miss adventurer? I could go for the old favorite of cutting you up and feeding you bit by bit to the dogs in front of you. How does that sound, Daring?!"

Gilda forced her away again, then turned to the other person in the room. It was one of those heavily armored soldiers she had fought in town before. He must've been the one that drenched her.

"What's in the cart you wheeled in outside?" Gilda asked, returning to her professional demeanor.

"The clips, prongs and car battery, just as you asked, ma'am," responded the soldier.

Gilda brought a hand to her chin in contemplation. "Hmmm, no. I've changed my mind. I'm going to need something sharp." Gilda looked over at Daring, tracing her eyes up and down Daring's bare skin, a smile growing on her face. "I want to skin our children's-book-hero here alive. Then I'm going to mount her head in my office. I might just practice my taxidermy on the spot. They start by replacing the eyes, right?" She looked over to her guard; he shrugged. Gilda went back to her thoughts.

Daring couldn't help but let out a whimper at the thought of Gilda doing that to her. She immediately regretted letting out that noise. Gilda locked in on her, happy to see the fear leak out of her. A devious smile crossed her face again. She marched right back to Daring and came close to her face again.

"What? Did that not sound good to you, princess?" Gilda pulled the knife from it's holster behind her back. She dragged it across the cuts on her throat. "I’m sorry if I'm scaring you, Daring. I can only be me. Tell you what, I'm feeling generous." Gilda took a long moment to look into Daring's eyes with her deranged expression. She dropped the knife off of her throat. Daring couldn't get far enough away from her tormentor. She looked to the side and leaned her head away from her. "Look at me, bitch." Gilda grabbed her by the chin and forced her to face her. Her expression hardened enough to strike fear in Daring's helpless form. "You look me in the eye when I'm being generous, or I might retract my offer."

Gilda's expression eased when Daring opened an eye to look up at her. Her devious smile returned and she let Daring go. "Now, as I was saying: if you beg me real nice, I might just make your death quick."

Gilda stood up, and Daring felt like she could barely breath. Her heart thumped inside her chest as Gilda began to peel the tape off of her. She ripped it off fast enough to leave a sharp stinging across her mouth. Daring couldn't control her frustration once her mouth was free.

"Let me go, you crazy bitch! I'll-- Agh!" Daring shouted in pain as a searing agony spread from the wound on her stomach.

Gilda stuck her knife into the wound and was gently twisting it, looking down at Daring with a satisfied smile. Daring strained to try to keep her screams down. She knew it would only push Gilda to hurt her even more. Gilda slowed down twisting the knife, letting Daring catch her breath. She still let out a low whimper with every ragged breath.

Gilda averted her attention to Daring's shuddering abdomen as blood trailed down it. She wiped some of it off with her fingers and tasted it. "Whimper for me, Daring. I want to hear you suffer."

Daring resisted the urge to give her what she wanted. She closed her mouth and breathed hard through her nose. Gilda kept her smile as she put the tape back over her mouth. She leaned down again to get eye-to-eye with Daring. She traced her knife along Daring's cheek, just enough to draw blood.

Daring winced and let out a tiny whine of pain. "Slow and horrible it is. Don't say I didn't give you a chance. Oh well." Gilda stood back up and turned around to face her guard. "You, go get some of those adrenaline needles from the infirmary. I don't want our friend leaving before I'm done with her." She looked back and gave Daring a promising grin.

"And your other tools, Ma'am?" asked the soldier.

"Oh, I think I'll pick them out myself. I don't think the girl of the hour is going anywhere anytime soon."

The soldier nodded and opened the large metal door to go out into the hallway. Gilda followed close behind. She looked back for a moment towards Daring before she shut the door. "Don't run off. I've got big plans for you..." Gilda said with her devilish grin. She slammed the massive, metal door behind her, leaving Daring to think things over.

She strained her hands against the ropes and looked up at the chains keeping her chained to the ceiling. All of her effort wasn't enough to make her bonds even budge. She slumped back down and screamed into the tape out of frustration. She could feel panic building up inside her, and she wanted to just break down and cry. She knew she wasn't going to get out of this, and that it was going to end in a horribly painful death. She couldn't help but let out a few whimpers as tears formed at the edge of her vision.

She tried to take a few deep breaths to quell the panic building up inside of her. If she was going to die, she was at least going to go out with some of her dignity left. The thought of Gilda taking her "tools" to her lingered in the back of her mind, frightening her to her core. She tried to take solace in the fact that Whooves was probably far away from this dreadful place, and the artifact with him, securing Equestria's safety.

No matter how much she tried to assure herself that things would be alright, she couldn't help but come back to the same thought: she didn't want to die. As much as she hated to admit it, the thrill of danger did drive her, but this was something different. Death was looming over her, mere moments away. There was no thrill. All that filled her was sorrow that she finally lost to the white-haired lunatic plotting her torture.

The door creaked open on rusty hinges again. Daring closed her eyes tightly and hoped she could endure until Gilda finally let her die. She waited for a punch, or a knife to her bare skin, but nothing came. It seemed like Gilda didn't even announce her presence when she returned.

"Daring," a voice whispered. Daring opened her eyes to see Whooves, crouched over and covered in dirt and cuts.

Whooves reached for the tape over Daring's mouth and pulled it off quickly.

Daring started in a harsh whisper: "Whooves, what the hell are you doing here?! I told you to get out and get the artifact to safety! Do you know how many lives you're risking by--"

Whooves reeled back at the sudden onslaught, then put the tape back over Daring's mouth. He gave her a sheepish smile when she started letting out angry grumbles around the tape. "Heh, sorry about that; but there's no time to argue. I'm already here, so just let me rescue you," he said quickly as he reached behind her to undo the rope. "Don't worry, I don't have the... thing, on me." Daring flipped around and gave him a questioning grunt. Whooves rolled his eyes and pulled her back around to get to the rope. "Would you hold still?"

He finally freed her hands, and the first thing she went for was the tape over her mouth. She looked around at Whooves with a glare that might've killed lesser men. "Do you have any idea what you're doing? If the empire got their hands on that kind of power, who knows what-- what are you doing?" Daring asked as Whooves put his hands on her back and lifted her up.

"How about you get yourself off of that hook, and you can yell at me later, hmm?"

Daring paused for a moment. "Oh, right." With the quiet rattling of metal, Daring leaned up and let herself off the hook. Whooves let her down to the concrete as gently as he could manage, but Daring could tell how worn out he was from the unsteady movement of his muscles.

She managed to unwrap the chains from herself, then rubbed the fresh bruises on her hands and feet.

Whooves leaned down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder and looking down to the bleeding wound on her stomach. "Are you going to be alright?"

She didn't have time to say no. As much as she just wanted to collapse right there, she had to get Whooves and herself out of there. The thought of Gilda coming back and having her "fun" with the both of them was enough to make her shut out the pain and rise to her shaky feet. Whooves grabbed her arm to help her up, but Daring pushed him away when he tried to support her. "I'll be fine... we just need to get out of here.”

Daring tripped herself up as soon as she tried to take a step. She fell to one knee and had to prop herself up to keep from falling completely. Whooves shot over to help her up. This time, she didn’t resist as he put her arm around his shoulders.

“Do you have a plan?” Daring asked.

Whooves smiled at the question. “A couple friends of ours wanted some payback. They’re waiting outside.”

In her hazed state, Daring didn’t comprehend what Whooves was trying to say, but she went along anyway. He opened the large metal door into the better-lit hallway, then looked down each side to see if it was clear. “The guards at the main entrance have already been taken care of, we just need to hurry.”

Daring bumped her hips against Whooves. “Well what are you waiting on, hero? Get us out of here.”

Whooves gave her a nod and snuck into the hallway. With all the skill his untrained feet could muster, he quietly traversed the hallways. Daring wondered why there weren’t more guards around; there were lines of metal doors that must’ve held prisoners, but hardly anyone to watch them stood outside.

Whooves rounded a corner then immediately pushed back to lean up against the wall. Daring let out a pained groan, but Whooves slapped a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. He leaned over towards Daring and mouthed the name “Gilda” to her, quelling her complaints immediately.

Once they were both silent, Daring could hear Gilda sharpening something and giggling quietly to herself. Daring’s heart began thumping in her ears yet again. She was in no condition for a fight, and Whooves wouldn’t last long against her either. If they couldn’t find a way past her, they were both going to die for nothing.

Gilda muttered something to herself, then the sound of something heavy clanging on a metal table made Daring jump. Rolling wheels emanated through the hallway, and Daring’s eyes opened wide in fear. She looked over to Whooves, who was desperately looking for a way out. He settled on the metal door across from them and shot into it.

They both settled into the wall on the other side of the door in the dark cell. The putrid stench of death entered Daring’s nose immediately, making her gag. She looked to the other end of the room to see three bodies, mangled and misshapen, laying on the opposite wall. She averted her eyes, not wanting to take in Gilda’s handy work, or think about a fate that just as easily could be hers. Daring shut her eyes tightly, trying to push down the panic and fear building up inside of her. She mentally berated herself for letting this get to her. I’m supposed to be fearless... I can’t let this get to me. No matter how hard she reassured herself, the grip of fear still held strong.

Whooves watched intently through the small gap in the open door. The sound of the table rolling finally passed them, and Whooves stood up and jerked Daring back out into the hallway. Daring caught a glimpse of Gilda mere yards away from them and her heart jumped into her throat. The twisted metal instruments she could make out from her quick view of the table in her grasp made her blood run cold. Luckily, Whooves traded stealth for speed in his steps, and quickly ran towards the open door at the end of the hallway.

With no more obstacles in their way, Whooves shot out of the door and back into the jungle. Daring caught a glimpse of two unconscious guards at either side of the door, but didn’t get a chance to think about it as Whooves ran both of them down a hill and into the woods.

The sound of an enraged scream echoed out of the building behind them, and Daring winced as soon as it met her ears. She knew exactly who it belonged to, and was glad she was a good distance away. Whooves kept running into the woods, a clear direction in mind. Daring didn’t bother to ask as any direction away was good enough for her.

After a few more minutes of limping against Whooves at a slow jog, they came to stop in a break in the brush. Ahead of them was the small village they’d first arrived in. Whooves let Daring off his shoulder and sat her in the dirt.

Daring gasped for breath. In her weakened state, the small run drained her of energy much faster than it normally would’ve. Though she hated to admit it, part of her heart thumping in her chest was the fear of what might be following her. Whooves’ breathing was slightly heavier than normal, but he looked no worse for wear.

Whooves looked down at her, a playful smile on his face. “Look who’s out of shape now, miss athletic adventurer.”

Daring rolled her eyes and attempted to control her breathing. “Don’t let it get to your head.” She looked towards the town then back up to Whooves. “So what’s the big plan?”

“Oh, I’m glad you asked.” Whooves stood up tall with a proud expression. Daring shook her head. “I’ve already called for our plane, it’s at a dock in the woods across town. We just need to get over there and we’re home free.”

Daring raised an eyebrow. “What about the army patrolling the streets? I doubt we can just stroll past them after our first visit.”

The smile never left Whooves’ face. “I think you’ll like this part.” Whooves looked up to the trees and paused for a moment. “She said she’d be here as soon as we got out...”

Daring followed his eyes to the trees, expecting something. Nothing but the breeze brushing through the leaves lay in the foliage above them.

“So what exactly are you—”

The sound of a branch whipping back cut Daring off. A thump echoed up from the dirt in front of her, followed by two others. Daring looked ahead to see Zecora and two Nabinazzi warriors rising from the dirt.

“Ah, there they are,” Whooves said.

Zecora nodded to him. She looked down to the see the pitiful state Daring was in, a hint of worry crossing her face, then looked back over to Whooves.

“Yes. We have arrived. And I see our friend Daring has survived.”

“Just barely. If I had been five minutes later she might not have,” Whooves said, casting a thankful smile down at Daring.

“It is good that Daring has not met her end. She is very important to our plan, as well as an invaluable friend.”

Daring tried to stand up with the rest of them, but only succeeded in falling back to her knees. Whooves shot down to try and help her, but she brushed him away. She settled for just looking up at them from her position in the dirt. “So what exactly is this plan of yours?”

Zecora’s expression turned solemn, angered almost. “The invasion of our homeland and destruction of our city we will not forgive. No matter the enemy, my people will outlive.”

Zecora reached behind her back and pulled out the golden artifact. “Today we will strike back, and since you have been chosen, you will lead our attack.”

“Zecora, I can barely stand, I’m in no shape to—”

Zecora stepped forward and touched the artifact to Daring’s shoulder. The lines along her body lit up in a bright gold, casting light across everyone around her. Daring felt a surge of energy rush through every part of her body and invigorate all of her muscles. She could feel the weakness begin to leave her body, and the feeling of being invincible enveloped her again. An excited smile crossed Daring’s face; she was ready for anything now.

Daring stood back up to her feet instantly, flexing her arms and legs and letting the power course through her. She grabbed the artifact out of Zecora’s hand to keep the feeling going.

“Alright, how are we going to do this?” Daring said with an excited grin. Zecora gave her a low chuckle.

“I’m glad to see your energy has returned. I’m sure you’ll agree that their hold must be burned.”

Daring took a deep breath, feeling the power flow through her in greater surges with every passing second. Before she had the dildo in her hand, Daring would have opted to just make a break for the plane, but now she felt like leading an army. “I do.”

“To kill a snake, you must cut off its head. For our plan to succeed, we need Gilda dead.”

Daring looked down to her hand and felt the weight of the artifact. She imagined all the ways she could make sure Gilda never hurt anyone again. The thought gave her a rush of adrenaline. She looked back up to Zecora, determined. “I can do that.”

Whooves looked over at Daring, wanting to say something. Daring knew exactly what he was going to tell her, and she didn’t care. She was going to put Gilda down one way or another. She had to.

“Good, then our attack can commence. We shall get into position, and put them in the defense. When it starts, go for her first. With any luck, her rule might be reversed.”

Daring nodded. “I’ll take care of her. Let’s get this started,” she said intensely.

Zecora gave her a curt nod then turned around. The two warriors beside her shot their red ribbon into the trees and pulled themselves up into the branches. Zecora sprinted towards one of the trunks, then jumped between two trees until she had joined them. Daring watched them go, then turned back to look towards the town. Soldiers and townsfolk alike went on with their daily lives, completely unaware of what was about to happen.

Whooves stepped beside Daring, a worried look on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but Daring cut him off, her look intense and unyielding.

“No. I’m not going to let her live. You’ve seen what she’s done; we can’t just let her go.”

Whooves opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. He sighed and looked off towards the town with Daring. The two of them sat in tense silence for a few seconds before Whooves looked over to her again.

“Why do you really want to kill her?”

The question caught Daring off guard. She looked over to Whooves, confusion plain on her face. What does he mean? I just said why...

“I know she needs to be stopped, but you aren’t a killer, Daring,” Whooves said, looking into her eyes. His expression was one of concern, like he knew Daring was doing something wrong.

“What are you talking about? I’ve had... to before.” Daring looked down to the dirt in front of her, trying to decipher what he meant, and why she felt like he suddenly had a point.

“Had to. I’ve never seen you... want to kill someone like this.”

Daring bit her lip. She knew what he was talking about. In the past every life she’s taken has been out of self-defense. She’d never sought out to kill someone like she was about to do now. Her mind went back and forth over it. On the one hand, Gilda needed to be put down for the good of this whole jungle, but on the other, she knew she agreed for some more selfish reason. The same rush she got from putting her own life at risk pulsed through her at the thought of getting back at her insane tormentor. Before she could find a reason to talk herself out of it, she pushed the thought to the back of her mind and focused back on the town.

“Just stay out of my way, Whooves.” Daring felt like she said that with more venom than was necessary, but didn’t look over to see his reaction. She had a town to save, and she didn’t need him talking her out of it.

“Spread out! Search every alley for that bitch! I want her alive,” a voice that could only belong to Gilda yelled. Dozens of soldiers rushed down the hill from where the prison must’ve been. The air was heavy with the mid-afternoon heat and the sound of footsteps filled the air. Daring knelt down and put a hand on Whooves’ shoulder to bring him down as well. Her heart began beating in her chest again at the sight of Gilda. Adrenaline made her vision sharp and her muscles tense; she was ready for a fight.

Daring grabbed Whooves’ shoulder and looked him dead in the eye. “Listen to me. Once I go out there, I want you to go around the main road while they’re distracted. Get back to the plane and tell the pilot to get it started. I’ll be there.”

“Daring—”

Daring brought him closer and kept her serious demeanor. “I’ll be there. Just go.”

Reluctantly, Whooves nodded to her. She let him go then turned her eyes back to Gilda, who was making her way into the center of town. Daring couldn’t see her face, but she knew the rage that must have been on it. Gilda’s posture was tense and it seemed she was ready to pounce with every step.

On the rooftops, Daring spotted several dozen moving bodies, all dressed in thin red fabric. They watched the soldiers fan out through the town, ready to strike at any moment. Daring knew the time was coming. She waved Whooves off and stepped out of the foliage and into the dirt road ahead of her. All Gilda had to do was turn around and she’d see her. The rush came back, and Daring stood up and sprinted to the nearest building to hide behind.

In any other situation she might’ve laughed at herself for taking on an entire army in her underwear with nothing but a dildo.

The sound of fabric snapping forward signaled the beginning. Gun shots rang out and all the people in the street ran for cover. A couple of villagers ran past Daring into the woods. Her eyes followed them to see Whooves sneaking around the coast towards the plane. With him out of the way, she didn’t have to worry about babysitting.

Daring whipped around the corner to face the battle. An explosion forced her hand up to cover her face. Gilda wasn’t pulling any punches this time. Her soldiers were tossing grenades and shooting anything that wasn’t wearing a uniform. Bodies already littered the streets from both sides, and dust and fire were already being kicked up.

Daring ran to the other side of the street to get a better look. Two soldiers brought their rifles up to face her, and she raised the artifact. A bright flash from her hand and the marks covering her body rendered the two soldiers immobile and moaning in agony. Their guns clattered to the ground as they held themselves.

Daring took cover behind a small wooden building. She peaked out to look for Gilda, but so much dust had been kicked up she could hardly see a few feet into the road. She lunged around the outside of the shack and ran towards the center of town, careful to steer clear of any figures in the dust before they could spot her.

Daring could make out dark silhouettes exchanging blows and debris from nearby buildings flying about. Every thunderous boom blew out more dust and made making out any one person impossible. She cut through sections of clear air where no dirt had been kicked up, but never spotted her target. Thinking she wasn’t going to be getting anywhere just circling the outskirts, Daring darted into the middle of the fray.

She ran past a few soldiers trying to shoot Nabinazzi warriors that dared get too close. With a quick flash of light and a few dull thumps, she ended that fight to let the girls advance deeper into the dust.

Daring bumped into another soldier’s back as she blindly ran. He spun around and attempted to bring up his rifle, but Daring jerked forward and grabbed the barrel with one hand. He let off a few shots into the dirt, making Daring cringe at the sudden heat of the gun in her hand. She yanked him forward and planted her fist right into his nose with the artifact. Energy coursed through her and blasted out around her fingers, making him crumple beneath her.

She shook her hand a couple of times, trying to wave off the burn. Her attention snapped back towards the center of the street when she heard her voice.

“Keep firing! I want every last one of them dead!” Gilda shouted. Daring’s heart started beating faster when she realized it was her. The time had finally come. She had to end this.

Gilda was firing her pistol into the dust behind her, with her two heavy guards at her back. Daring sprinted towards them, ducking low to make sure they couldn’t register her until the last second.

The one on the left saw her once she was a yard in front of him, and fired towards her. She rolled out of the way and pounced at him. The artifact in her hand shined brightly, but only manage to stagger him at a distance. She landed with all four limbs on him, plunging the golden treasure as hard into his face-mask as she could manage. When she felt him begin to drop, she pushed off of him and onto the back of the other one.

Daring clamped around his neck tightly with both arms as he thrashed about. He fired his gun wildly, hitting everything in front of him indiscriminately. Daring tried to force her hand up to his face, but couldn’t get the chance with him trying to throw her off. Gilda took notice of the scene behind her. She spotted Daring’s black hair flying around her guard and the rage on her face intensified tenfold.

The look in Gilda’s eyes made Daring’s blood run cold again. Fear gripped her heart and she held on to the soldier’s neck as hard as she could and pulled him backwards. Once her feet touched the dirt again, Daring crouched as much as she could behind the heavily armored guard. Gilda recklessly fired the entire magazine into Daring’s captive. She could feel the bullets intense impact through him. Even with the armor, she dreaded to think what that must’ve felt like. The large soldier went limp in her grasp. Daring couldn’t hold him up by his neck, so she slumped over to the ground with him.

Daring looked up to see Gilda reaching to her pocket for another magazine, but grabbing at nothing. Empty pistol magazines and bullet casings littered the ground around her. Daring smiled and let go of the guard, rising back up to her full height.

“It ends now, Gilda,” Daring said, sizing her up for her first strike.

Gilda looked down at her pistol with frustration. The rage built up on her face until it finally snapped and turned into a look of insane delight. She reached behind her back and pulled out her combat knife with a quick metallic scrape.

“Oh, you’re right, Daring. This is the end. I’m going to skin you alive, just like I promised.” Gilda took a menacing step towards Daring, making her confidence begin to crumble. Daring took a step back unintentionally. “And for making me work so hard for it, I’m going to make it as horrible and messy as possible.”

Daring gulped. She had no protection on. Any connection with that knife would mean a deep cut. Gilda continued on her path towards her, and Daring forced herself to stand strong, even though every fiber of her being told her to turn tail and run.

Gilda let out a yell that would’ve put a lion to shame as she charged Daring. Daring dropped into a fighting stance and caught Gilda’s hand as she came down for a stab. She moved to break the knife out of her hand, but Gilda’s speed won out. She retracted her hand and made another swipe towards Daring. Daring jerked back, feeling the edge barely graze her neck. With trained precision, Gilda swiped and thrust towards Daring, leaving her little room to counterattack between dodging. With every strike, Gilda came closer to hitting her mark as she began anticipating Daring’s movements.

Daring knew she was no match like this. She had to fight back before Gilda could land a killing blow. She could still smell the stench of old blood on her tattered uniform. Determined not to be added to her collection, Daring grabbed Gilda’s hand out of a thrust, and pulled her in for a punch with the artifact in her hand.

Daring underestimated how fast she actually could be. With her other hand, Gilda snagged the knife and stabbed towards Daring’s midsection. The punch connected before she could thrust it between her ribs. The blow forced Gilda to a knee, and made her hand stab downwards instead. The sick sound of metal cutting through flesh rang out through Daring’s body. In a rush of adrenaline, she kneed Gilda in the face, then spun around to throw her body as far as she could manage.

Once the rush of the fight began to wear off, the searing pain in her side became more apparent. Daring looked down to see the knife deep in her hip. Blood was already starting to pour down her leg. She wrapped a hand around it and grimaced. Even with the rush of energy from the artifact, the pain was still debilitating. Daring bent over and let out a whimper as she wrapped her other hand around as much as she could.

With a sickening squish, Daring yanked the knife out of her side. She cried out as the agonizing flame of pain shot through her entire body. Blood poured out of her freely now. Daring gritted her teeth and winced as she rose back up. Daring gritted her teeth and winced as she rose back up. Any bit of weight she put on that leg sent searing pain through her entire body.

The dust around them began to settle. The gunshots slowed down to nothing but the occasional crack as the warriors continued to cut the soldiers down. Even though she was injured, Daring knew the fight would soon be over.

She looked back up to Gilda to see her beginning to recover from the throw. Blood poured from Gilda's mouth and into the dirt below her. Gilda looked up from under her white hair at Daring. Her golden eyes pierced right through her. The glint of insanity Daring could see in her left her frightened yet again. The bloody smile Gilda gave her as she got up made her look like the demon she truly was.

Gilda ripped off her tattered shirt and sprinted towards Daring. Daring's eyes went wide as she drew closer. She knew she couldn't put up as much of a fight now. Gilda threw a punch at her, and Daring side-stepped. Daring thrust the knife at Gilda, but she still retained her quickness. She grabbed Daring's wrist and broke the knife out of it. Gilda used her free arm to elbow Daring across the jaw, making her drop the artifact and stumble to her knees. Blood started to fill her mouth and stars swam in her vision. For her size, Gilda hit like a freight-train. Gilda leaned down, threw the knife out of the way, then picked up the golden piece from the dirt. Daring reached a hand out to stop her, but a boot connected with her cheek, sending her back into the dirt. Gilda walked over to her, a sick smile on her face. Gilda leaned over and grabbed Daring by the throat. The pressure of her grip made Daring gasp immediately, but Gilda didn't let any air flow through.

She hoisted Daring back to her feet, making sure she had no way to breath. Daring wrapped both hands around Gilda's wrist, but she could feel her energy quickly fading.

"I've got a better idea," Gilda said. "I'll kill you with the very treasure you worked so hard to keep from me."

Gilda teased the tip of the artifact between her legs, moving Daring's underwear out of the way. "You're not getting out of it this time," Gilda said, her voice turning low and dark. She forced the object deep into Daring's passage, making her cry out in pain.

The sensation was familiar. The same intense feeling she felt from the dream. The unending grasp of a fatal surge of energy erupted from between her legs. Her vision went completely white and her voice twisted with energy as the power inside her began to tear her apart. The intense heat from her marks began to sear into her flesh, and any chance she had at escaping was dashed once all of her muscles became paralyzed with pain. All of her thoughts descended into inescapable agony as her body tore itself apart from the inside.

A distant echo ended Daring's pain and she could feel her body being tossed aside. Her vision went black and the surge of energy flowing through her ended.

When her eyes finally focused in, all she could see was dirt and fire. Her ears rang sharply, and tiny pinpricks of pain covered her body. What felt like bee-stings littered her legs and some of her back. Droplets of blood trickled down around them. All Daring wanted to do was just fall asleep. Everything around her had calmed; there were no longer any gunshots filling the air, and the intense glare of the sun had been blotted out by the clouds overhead. The dust began to settle as the fighting ended, revealing the broken and destroyed village around her.

Daring tried to pick herself up out of the dirt, but her arms gave out on her. She landed with a small thud back into the ground and her vision began to fade again. Breathing took more energy out of her than it ever had before. Daring had to fight with herself just to keep her eyes open. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the glitter of gold. With her last bit of energy, she reached over for it. The cool feeling of metal on her fingers made Daring's eyes shoot open again. Energy rushed into her and breathed life into her battered body. While still shaky, she managed to bring herself to her feet yet again.

Gilda stood in an unsteady stance at the other end of the street. Fire danced in the path behind her. Gilda looked like she was ready to fall over as well. Little red dots were scattered across her body, from an apparent explosion that must've thrown both of them into the dirt. Daring looked around her, seeing the victorious warriors standing over the bodies of their defeated enemy. Instead of jumping in to finish Gilda, they simply stared towards her and Daring. Daring looked up across the rooftops to see more of the girls watching the scene, including Zecora, who had her arms crossed and gazed into the street with a somber expression.

Daring looked across each one of them in confusion. "What are you all--"

Gilda's laugh cut her off. Her ragged voice let out the sound of legitimate amusement at the situation. Daring averted her attention back to her. Gilda was hunched over, one hand clutching her ribs. A cut above her eye bathed half of her face in blood, but her smile remained.

"They can't touch me," Gilda said, limping towards Daring. "Their stupid gods chose me as worthy, and now they can't so much as lay a finger on me."

Daring looked at her incredulously. "B-But Zecora--"

"Put me to sleep. She would've gone against everything she believed in if she had killed me, no matter how much she wanted to."

Gilda let out a laugh again. She reached down to pick her knife up out of the dirt. Daring's blood still stained the tip. Daring looked up to Zecora again, but she only gave her the same somber expression.

"And how convenient she managed to convince you to do it for her. Her little civilization has been avoiding me for years. Now that they finally convinced someone to do their dirty work, they have the balls to take me on."

"Dirty work?" Daring's eyebrow twitched. She didn't like being used like that, but she knew that Gilda had to be taken care of one way or another. "It doesn't matter who does it, Gilda. You need to die."

Gilda let out a lower, more vicious laugh. "Yes, Daring. And you get to be the one who does it. Doesn't it feel good? Knowing you're about to murder someone? It's a rush like no other."

Daring wasn't about to let Gilda get in her head, but the familiar rush came back to her as her muscles tensed for another fight.

"Well do it, Daring! I haven't got all day. If you're going to pussy out I can still skin you alive."

Why do you want to kill her? Whooves' words resounded in her head. Rage built up inside of her. Now was not the time to have a moral crisis. "Shut up!" Daring yelled, more to herself than to Gilda.

Daring ran towards Gilda as fast as her tired feet could. Gilda's bloody smile only made her muscles flare with energy. Despite being beaten and blown up, Gilda still kept her speed. She sliced the knife towards Daring's throat, missing by mere inches. Daring moved her head and ducked under her next swipe. She shouldered Gilda right in the sternum, forcing the air out of her lungs and throwing her to the ground. Gilda still managed to stick the knife into Daring's shoulder blade, but Daring paid it no mind as it fell to the ground behind her.

Gilda struggled to catch her breath as she laid out on the ground. She was done, and both Gilda and Daring knew it. Through a bloody cough, Gilda kept laughing. Daring knelt down beside her, dildo in her right hand, ready for the killing blow. "Enjoy it while it lasts, bitch." Gilda spat blood onto Daring's face. Daring's blood boiled over and her heart raced at the chance to finally put her tormentor down. Daring pulled Gilda's tattered pants around her thighs, and wrapped her free hand around Gilda's throat. Gilda wrapped her hand around Daring's wrist, but the pathetic amount of strength she had left made no difference.

Gilda looked right into Daring's eye, and Daring back into hers. With gritted teeth and malice in her heart, Daring forced the artifact deep inside of Gilda. The effect was almost instantaneous; Gilda threw her head back and let out a cry of horrible agony. Her eyes and mouth lit up with bright energy, enveloping her face with golden light. The same lines that covered Daring lit up on Gilda, lighting her up in a road-map of seared flesh. Smoke began to rise from Gilda's skin as she thrashed underneath Daring, trying to escape.

Adrenaline filled Daring's body. Gilda was right, watching someone die was a rush like no other. Feeling Gilda's life pass out of her body right underneath her filled her with a sadistic glee that she didn't want to end. Then Daring realized what thoughts were passing through her mind, and pulled her hand back, sliding the dildo out of Gilda.

Daring stood up, looking between her hands and Gilda as she backed away. What did she just do?

Gilda coughed up blood and moaned in agony. Her body smoked and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. Gilda looked up to Daring, hate in her eyes. "What are you--" she coughed up blood again, letting it spill down her chin. "--doing. F... finish it."

Why do you really want to kill her? her thoughts asked. "I..." Daring felt ashamed of herself. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself this was for the greater good, she couldn't help but come back to the truth: she was doing this for herself.

Daring wanted to kill Gilda out of fear. The fear that she might come back and kill her, the fear that she might haunt her for the rest of her days, just knowing that she was somewhere in the world, the fear that she felt when her golden eyes even cast a glance at her.

The same rush Daring got from putting her life in danger, she got again at the thought of finally killing Gilda. She was doing this for herself; she was doing this because she was afraid. Daring almost let her fear get the best of her. The selfish, sadistic part of her almost took control. If she had given into her desires, she would've been no better than the insane, dying girl laying in the dirt below her.

Daring looked Gilda right in the eye and said: "No."

Daring turned around and walked away, leaving Gilda yelling behind her. "W-what?!" Another wet cough. "Get... Get back here!"

She simply marched on, putting Gilda out of her mind. The blue-haired girl she had met when she first arrived looked past her and towards Gilda. Anger was plain on her face as she looked at what Daring could only guess was Gilda. She grabbed a bottle out of the dirt and smashed the end of it on a wall. The girl walked out into the street, and passed Daring. Other villagers began emerging from the alleyways and broken buildings. Some of them held pieces of iron or broken limbs; all of them were headed in the same direction, looks of anger and hatred pointed at the end of the street.

"DARING!" Gilda yelled out one last time. Daring pushed it out of her mind. With what little energy she had left, she walked towards the end of the village, where Whooves had pointed out the dock.

Daring didn't even bother to look back at Gilda, Zecora, or anything. She walked to the end of the road, then crossed over into the woods.

The old plane sat at the edge of the bank, engine roaring to life and ready to fly. Whooves stood nervously next to it, fiddling with the ends of his shirt as he scanned the woods. When he saw Daring, his eyes lit up brightly, and he ran over to her with a smile on his face.

"Daring!" Whooves said, wrapping his arms around her. "You're alive!"

Daring groaned in pain. There were still wounds all over her that were bleeding, and the pressure from Whooves' embrace wasn't helping. "Ergh. Not if you keep hugging me."

Whooves backed off, a sheepish smile on his face. "Heh, sorry." He spared a glance back to the plane, then motioned for Daring to come with him as he walked over to it. "Come on, I've got the pilot ready to go and everything. Let's get out of this dreadful jungle."

Daring limped along behind him. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, and all the aches and sharp pains began flooding back to her, making her grimace. "You don't have to tell me twice."

Whooves happily stepped into the water and crawled into the plane. The sound of the engine was intense and made Daring's already sensitive ears ache, but she stepped into the water to follow suit. Whooves saw her struggling to climb in, so he grabbed her to help. Daring finally just gave in and let him pull her in and set her on the seat. She was too tired now to try to do things for herself.

Whooves gave a thumbs-up to the pilot, and he started moving forward out onto the lake. Before long, they were in the air, and headed home. Daring looked back down to the village. In the midst of the fire and destruction, the villagers all gathered in a circle in one spot, and the warriors who once stood in the streets and on the roofs began to retreat back into the woods. Daring looked to the golden artifact in her hand. She'd done it. Equestria was safe and no one had to worry about this little legend anymore. Daring winced and let out a yelp as she felt something sting against her side.

"Ouch! What are you doing!" She yelled over at Whooves over the sound of the engine. He was bent over and pouring disinfectant on her hip out of the first-aid kit in his lap.

"Oh, stop your complaining." Whooves put a piece of gauze over the cut and then wrapped her midsection in a bandage. Daring just laid back and let it happen; she was too tired to tell him off.

A few moments passed, and Whooves let out a laugh she could barely hear over the engine. Daring looked over to him to see a proud smile on his face. "Really, Daring. What would you have done if I'd stayed on the plane?"

Daring punched him right across the face. Whooves looked over at her, hurt. "What was that--"

Daring interrupted him by grabbing his cheeks and pulling him into a deep kiss. Whooves' eyes went wide, but he soon melted into her embrace. Daring broke the kiss and hugged him tightly. "I probably would've died.... Thank you."

Whooves returned the embrace. Knowing that nothing more needed to be said, he just let Daring enjoy the moment for a little longer. Once she grew tired of the mushy nonsense, she returned to the spot on the seat beside him.

A couple more moments passed, and Daring's eyes started to grow heavy. Whooves wrapped an arm around her shoulder and brought her close to him, then took his hand off of her. "You can go to sleep, Daring. You know you need it."

She couldn't help but agree. While the lone-wolf side of her wanted to push him away and fall asleep next to the window, he was quite warm and comfortable. With a yawn, Daring slumped into Whooves' side and began to drift off.

"So, how about a cup of coffee when we get back?" Whooves asked innocently.

Daring didn't even bother to look at him. "Don't push your luck, Casanova."

She could hear him let out a tiny laugh, then he rested his arm around her shoulder. Finally safe, Daring closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

__________________________________________________________

The smell of freshly waxed floors and old paper was thick in the air of the World History Museum in Canterlot. It had already been a month since she'd gotten back from her latest adventure, but she was still completely worn out from the whole ordeal. She struggled to maintain her posture in heels with her hip still sore, and the black dress that clung to her body made some of the more lasting injuries ache. Daring still hadn't gotten used to the idea of having to put makeup on her neck, but she'd rather do that than let her scars show to the world. She couldn't have people asking questions after all.

The opening of the brand-new Nabinazzi exhibit had finally ended. Daring attended as a very interested archaeologist, but really wanted to see what people thought of all her hard work. The day was coming to a close, and Daring was the only one left in the small room filled with artifacts and pieces of the lost civilizations discovered history.

The quiet halls gave her an odd sense of satisfaction as she stared up to the golden dildo sitting in a stand behind a thick pane of glass.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Whooves said beside her.

"Gah!" Daring yelped at his sudden appearance. She don't know where he learned to sneak up on people like that, but she didn't like it. "Sweet Celestia, Turner. Don't do that."

"Heh, sorry, Daring. Or, Miss Yearling."

Daring composed herself and stood up straight next to him again. "It's fine."

She sighed, marveling at how much she had to go through just to have people gawk at a shiny sex-toy. "It's just odd to think about how much trouble we went through; how many new scars I have over that."

"It was quite an adventure. Still can't believe you almost had it without me. What were you thinking, trying to leave such importance behind?"

Daring raised an eyebrow and looked over at him. "Would you like another punch?"

Whooves laughed and took a step away from Daring. "No thank you, Miss Yearling. I'm still recovering from your last one."

Daring smiled and turned around, letting her heels clack against the tiles as she made her way towards the exit. "Let's go home. I'd rather be asleep than have to stare at that dildo any longer."

Whooves followed next to her, silently surveying the exhibits on the way out with a silly grin on his face.

"What are you so happy about?" Daring asked playfully.

Whooves looked over to her and let out a chuckle. "I know one thing for sure."

Daring couldn't help but adopt his stupid smile. "And what's that?"

"I can't wait to read the book about this one."