The Time Of Fate

If you take no risks, you will suffer no defeats. But if you take no risks, you win no victories.

-Richard M. Nixon.

The trek forward to Daring's little camp was certainly filled with. . .a longing, yet demanding awkwardness after the whole Hydra incident. Namely, her discomfort at me restraining her for her own safety, but even with all our combined efforts, Daring would have done something to get herself or one of us killed. It was a spur of the moment choice that, if given the chance to go back, I would do the exact same thing. As we walked on the ground, still wet from the rain, the faint smell of it raining afterwards made me cringe as me, Daring, Rin, Ai, Yuu, Snow and Rin's Fairies, Hanabi, Takiko and Ko climbed up a hill, observing a row of trees with auburn leaves lined up on either side of us.

''So how much longer do we have before we get there?'' I asked, picking a few loose strands of my black faux-hawk out, curious.

Daring looked at me, frowning, but still spoke as I waited.

''We're almost there, it's just past this row of trees,'' Daring huffed, adjusting her hat. ''Now, when we get there, let me do the talking. I don't need you guys scaring off my crew anymore than you and Rin did me when we first met.''

''Noted,'' Rin nodded. ''We're sorry about that.''

''Hmmm.'' Daring hummed back. ''Just. . .do me a favor and don't tell them I. . .kinda. . .um-''

''Got scared like a little girl at finding out we're related to Chimpanzees and that I am ten times stronger than 10 of them, and I could break every bone in your body like, literally, a twig?'' Rin flashed a toothy grin.

''. . .Um. . .Y-Yea,'' Daring blushed, pulling her hat over her head. ''And I said sorry. . .''

''So, where exactly are we?'' Takiko asked, laying on top of Rin's head.

''In the Avernus Jungle.'' Daring said, not looking back at us. ''One of the deadliest jungles in Equestria.''

''Oh, a jungle; how interesting. Nothing like a good dose of danger to get the veins of battle flowing,'' Hanabi commented, punching the air. ''Perhaps Challenger and myself may commence sparring once we settle into our base of operations.''

''Ko~!'' Ko mewed, licking my forehead along with Snow.

Laughing as I sighed a breath, I eyed our surroundings, attempting to get a visual feel of the land since we could very well be here for who knows how long, and I would hate to make our situation any worse based on the simple thing to do such as forgetting to remember possible landmarks.

Because getting lost is like a disease; nobody wants that.

The sun slowly came back into our lives, providing our wet clothes and bodies with warmth. The clouds lingered in some parts of the sky, providing shadows underneath. The air was warm and inviting, and the leaves rustled as they fell to the ground, engulfing us in a sense of peace.

Looking ahead, we slowly came into a small dip in the ground, leading to a covering that resembled the trees of the jungle, but made of cloth. Walking through, a feeling of a million little needles prodding me assaulted every part of my body, causing me and Rin to almost keel over and barf.

''W-What the h-hell?~" I asked, my brain buzzing. ''What th-''

''Oh, yea. Sorry, I forgot to mention that. It's a protection spell we set up for any intruders. That tingly feeling'll go away after a few minutes,'' Daring shook her head, fighting off a sense of dizziness.

''W-Well, that h-helps,~'' Rin groaned.

Proceeding through, we came upon a wooden bridge that connected in the distance to a few trees as wild vines with massive thorns chocked them. Going further in, we were suspended in the air by rope bridges as a mist flowed in the air, obstructing some of my vision. We must have been pretty far up since we steadily proceeded on an incline, then gradually rose up. Passing through one more dip, we came across. . .nothing.

''This is your camp?'' I asked, scratching my head. ''It. . .certainly brings the whole place together,'' I pursed my lips. ''The whole room.''

''That's just an illusion for any animal that wanders a little too far,'' Daring uncovered a green gem, roughly the size of a baseball and spit on it, causing the gem to hiss and crackle, creating a thin mist that somewhat blinded us as shapes in the background began to form until everything settled and the mist rose into the air, revealing something that was not already there. It was a village, like Daring said, but it was. . .different.

''Whoa.'' I said, awestruck. ''This is. . .amazing!''

''I agree,'' Hanabi looked around, ''It seems these guests of our companion certainly have a flare for 'sprucing up the place', as you say, Jamir.''

''Come on, this way,'' Daring instructed us as we moved forward, moving up to one the houses from a ramp, hearing the small chirps of birds and slow rushing of water from a waterfall. In the distance, I could have sworn I saw a freaking boat held up by a blimp balloon by rope. It was mostly brown, with traces of deep red around the edges. Beautiful craftsmanship was around the ship, though a few noticeable dents and scratches were present. The size was immense, easily being that of a building on its side. The balloon was dark blue, with the symbol of a a golden spyglass.

Rin reached into one of her cargo pockets, pulling out a mushed granola bar, unwrapping it and taking a bite. ''So who exactly are your friends?''

''My medic, Grass Song, my assistant navigator, Blank and her little sister and my signalpony, Echo Signal,'' Daring said as we stood right outside the entrance to a house particularly larger than the rest.

''This is the so-called commons for our base of operations, so just wait out here for a second while I break the news to them.''

''Ai! How long will that take?'' Ai asked, swinging from a loose vine like a swing, Yuu, Snow and Ko doing the same as her.

''A few minutes, I mean; you try explaining to your friends that you just came upon some type of new species that is not only intelligent, but looks completely different than what we're normally used to in the ways of calling anything normal. How do you think that'll work the first time around?" I raised a eyebrow, but soon realized what she attempted to get at.

''Okay, okay. You've made you point,'' Rin waved her hands, carefully stretching lest she would have risked tearing open another wound courtesy of Crazy Bitch and the Hydra. ''You have 5 minutes to let them know what's up before we, and by that, I mean Jamir just comes in and introduces himself.'' Rin said as Daring proceeded inside.

''Wait, what?'' I asked, looking dumbstruck. ''Why me?''

''Because. . .'' Rin looked away from me, frowning. ''You know I. . .hate meeting new people.'' Rin forced each word out, gripping her arm gently. ''You're better at talking, anyways. All I really do is punch and kick stuff,'' Rin argued.

''Lie.'' I plainly said, shocking Rin. ''You've been know to step up to the talking plate when it counts the most; like the time you convinced one of our old school teachers that we weren't the ones who pulled the fire alarm when it looked like it was me and you doing it, of which I still to this day cannot figure out how you did that. Anyways, my is point is this; you are a speaker, Rin. You just have a harder time. . .expressing your intentions without your social anxiety kicking in and causing you to freeze up. Don't worry, you'll be fine when you go in and talk first.''

''What?!~''

5 Minutes later...

''Ok, you can come in now, but just. . .be mindful that Echo Signal seems to be a bit scared of you and Rin,'' Daring told us. ''So I told them you wouldn't make any sudden movements and not intimidate them, okay?'' Daring asked us, then remembered something. ''I've done my best to describe. . .you and Jamir to the guys, and it seems like Blank actually wants. . .to meet you. Just. . .take it at their own pace, okay?''

''Gotcha.'' I said, uncovering my Life Drive, looking at Ai, Yuu and Snow. ''Guys, I feel you should. . .hang back for now. If what Daring says is true, then it would be wise to not have you all at out once.''

''Ai, Master!'' Ai saluted. ''We understand, and will do our best!'' Ai went back in the Life Drive, Yuu and Snow following.

''You guy should go in too,'' Rin followed my example, her Life Drive out.

''Very well, it would not be wise to scare off potential allies. A small waiting period seems the best course of action. Until next time, Challenger,'' Hanabi said, smirking to me as her body dissolved into particles.

''Same here. I'll see you later, Jamir,'' Takiko said, fading out of sight and into the Life Drive.

''Ko!~" Ko mewed, giving my cheek an extra long lick, her tongue slowly disappearing as the feeling receded.

''Okay,'' Daring spoke quietly as the bridges creaked behind us. ''We're going in, don't make a fool of yourself, and by that; I mean me.''

Pushing open the door, the smell of lavender was in the air as we viewed crude furniture, mostly made of wood; consisting of a large couch that looked to be made of trees, vines and sap. A large table with four chairs were in the next room. The walls were painted a dark green and the floor. Following Daring through a few rooms with miscellaneous items, we came upon a room with no door. But after looking around, the door was on the ceiling. Seeing Daring fly up to reach for the handle, she stopped and looked to us.

''This is it,'' Daring said simply, pointing a hoof to me and Rin. ''You guys ready?''

''If we can handle meeting you, I'm pretty sure that meeting three more of you horses, then we can-''

''Equines.'' Daring interrupted Rin. ''We're Equines.''

''Okay.'' I said as Rin looked at me. ''Just roll with it.''

''Let's go,'' Daring said, pulling back the door, revealing a small ramp clanking as it unsheathed. Going up first, the feeling of meeting somebody new began to show in my body language as I darted my eyes back and forth, taking quick breaths and thinking about who I was getting ready to meet would look. I mean, they're Equines, that much I get. But, it's always a bit weird for me to meet new people, human, alien, or otherwise. When I got to the top, I was met with three faces, all of which had surprise showing.

What I did not expect was one of them to 'walk' up to me and act like I was one of their own.

Or to crash into me.

''Ooof!'' I wheezed, being thrown off my feet. ''What the-''

''Hi, there! I'm Grass Song, a Unicorn. But, you probably wouldn't know that from just looking at me. By the way, my favorite color is green, as you can see, my hobbies are healing, reading and being the happiest pony ever!'' Grass Song squealed, right in my face, grinning from ear to ear. ''What about you?''

. . .Huh? Is this girl. . .sane? Oh, why me?~ Tackling is not a good way to make friends!

''Whoa there, Grass Song; I know you're happy to meet our new. . .acquaintances, but you can't keep rushing ponies like that.'' Daring scolded, making Grass Song pout.

''Ugh!~ But why? It's more fun this way, especially with a friend!'' Grass Song rubbed her face up against mine. Her surprisingly soft. . .face. Never mind that, focus. ''Are we friends?''

''Hey, get off of him like that!'' Rin said, yanking Grass off of me. ''He probably wouldn't want that after what you just did!''

''Anyways,-'' Daring took off her hat and set it on a table. ''-Grass Song here is a little. . .over-friendly in terms of certain ponies, or in your case. . .-''

''People.'' I filled in the blank.

''And she is one of the most happy-go lucky ponies who has been known time and time again to keep all our spirits up, no matter what. Besides me, Blank and Echo, she's never shown this amount of affection to nopony else. So you should be counting yourself lucky,'' Daring laughed at my misfortune, clicking her tongue when I glared at her, which I interpreted as form of payback.

How should I be lucky? I have a Equine who just tackled me out of nowhere, proclaiming that I'm a friend of hers when I only just learned her name. Again, why? I cannot catch a break, if only one. Fuck it, I might as entertain her idea of instant friendship. If only it'll make her stop grinning at me like that. . .it's creepy.

''S-Sure.'' I said, nodding. ''We're friends, I mean, if you want to be,'' I got up, dusting my cargo pants off.

''Awesome!'' Grass Song cheered, hopping up and down, the other two Equines, Blank and Echo looked on curiously. ''So what's your name?'' Grass Song smiled at me.

''Jamir.'' I plainly said, gesturing to Rin afterwards. ''And this is my friend, Rin.''

''Hi! Nice to meet both of you!'' Grass Song chuckled, making a small smile come onto to my face at how much she reminded me of Ai's silliness.

''Well, now that we've established it's possible for Grass Song to make another friend besides us,-'' Daring feigned the most dramatic voice ever. ''-we can introduce you next, Blank,'' Daring gestured to the Equine in dark blue and gray armor with the symbol of an eye for the chestplate. She was about the same height as Daring, coming right up to my kneecaps of my 5'12 frame, with a light gray coat and a dark blue mane and tail that resembled the Equine equivalency of a punk. Her build was slightly athletic, yet her most interesting feature had to be her yellow cateyes, boring a hole into my chest as she advanced towards me slowly. I was worried that, with the sudden death glare, she might attack out of the blue. Out of habit, I clutched my left hand into a fist tightly. It happens as a result of me feeling threatened.

What I did not expect was a hoof to be held out and a smile, showing her enlarged f-fangs? Ooooh, that's. . .definitely not what I expected to see.

''Hey there, first name's Blank. Blank Signal. Nice to meet you, . . .um. . .what was your name, again? I forgot,'' Blank whispered to me in a tomboyish voice.

Huh, who would have thought; so far, there's a Unicorn who instantly befriended me and a. . .bat Equine who has trouble remembering names. This is not what I expected at all. At all.

''Jamir,'' I whispered back as I shook her hoof. ''And you are?''

''Oh! I'm a Batpony,'' Blank said to me, puffing her chest out in pride. ''Pretty sweet, huh? Check these out.'' Blank unfurled her black wings, styled after a bat's; thin, ribbed and leathery as they flapped without a care in the world. ''So, even though Daring told all she could about you, what mysterious creature are you?'' Blank poked my leg, eyeing Grass Song and Rin talking on the bridge a few feet away from us, laughing about who knows what.

''Human.''

Blank looked on until she held her chin in contemplation. ''E-Eh. . .what?''

Sigh. Only me, huh? What can't Rin do all the talking for once? It's hard being the sole spokesperson for yourself, a second opinion would help.

''Think Chimpanzees, but more intelligence , not as strong, with next to no hair.'' I said, making Blank have a miniature realization.

''Okay, I think I got it now,'' Blank took a moment to contemplate my words. ''So, how'd you get here?''

''Believe me,'' I sniffed the the air, the faint smell of rainwater, the earthy smell making me cringe. ''You would not understand the basics even if I told you.''

''You wanna bet?'' Blank asked.

''Maybe later, Blank,'' Daring interrupted. ''You could do all the bonding and stuff we want later, we kinda have move things along here. And this here-'' Daring gestured to the other Batpony who was smaller than Blank, void of armour with a lighter coat of gray, darker blue wings, pale orange cateyes and a simple mane and tail who cowered behind a chair. ''is Echo Signal.''

''Eeeeep!'' Echo Signal disappeared behind the chair, Daring groaning as she walked over, frowning.

''C-Come on, E-Echo!~'' Daring struggled to push the Batpony out of her hiding place. ''I-I know. . .you're s-scared of meeting new ponies, b-but these guys. . .may b-be the key t-to helping us. . .get into The Black. . .Sun Temple!'' Daring bellowed, pushing Echo out of her spot and right in front of my feet.

''R-Really?. . .'' Echo stared up at me, her eyes filled with fear and tears as her lips quivered and her body shook uncontrollably. ''T-T-They c-can...-''

''Help us.'' Daring cooed, rubbing Echo's back. She looked sick with herself for forcing Echo out of her hiding place. ''I'm sorry for forcing you into new situations that I know that you don't like, but please. . .be strong for me, okay? They could be just what we need to finally be able to leave out of here and get Graceful Wind back the Alicorn Amulet. You're the strongest mare I know, and meeting a few new ponies is nothing that can't keep you down. So will you please help us?''

''B-But!~'' Echo cried, burying her head in her hooves. ''T-They look weird!'' Echo blubbered. ''I-I-''

''Sis, please?'' Blank asked, bending down to Echo's level. ''I almost never ask you for anything, but this one time; will be you be strong for me? For yourself? For Daring and Grass Song? For us?''

Echo sat there crying, but slowly began to die down as she brought her head up, masked with tears and snot. I felt sorry for her, and did what I thought was right, be it that if I was in her situation.

''Hey there, it's okay,'' I wiped away her tears with the sleeve of my hoodie, Echo shivering at my touch. ''I know what it's like to be put in a situation where you have to do things you don't like, but that's what friends are for.'' Echo looked at me surprisingly.

''R-Really?''

''Yep.'' I said. ''And from I see, you have friends that genuinely care for you and want nothing more from you than for you to do your best and be strong. I'm sorry that we have to meet like this, but we don't have to be friends right away if you don't want to,'' I backed away, hoping I didn't make the situation worse.

''N-No.'' Echo said, getting up. ''I-I c-can b-be friends w-with you, it's just. . .how Daring described you r-reminded me of Ahuizotl. . .''

''And who is that?'' Rin asked, petting Grass Song's head. ''A friend of yours?''

''An abomination that wants nothing than to see me die and The Avernus Jungle under his command. He oozes bad news, which is why I didn't want to talk about him,'' Daring gritted her teeth. ''He's nothing more than a bad egg.''

''But why? What could he want here?'' I asked.

''The secrets of the Kwail-Lu. You see, based on what I've seen in the ancient text of the Kwail-Lu, it talked about a mysterious, abandoned orphan being welcomed into their fold, so different from them in every way. It took a few tries to figure out, but it was Ahuizotl. He was the abandoned orphan that the tribe's leader adopted him as his son, though it was out of pity. It told of how peaceful it was back then, until he was exiled for using dark magic in the hope that Ahuizotl could make his adoptive father proud after hearing false promises of inheriting the throne, but ending having his name spread throughout the entire jungle as everypony knew him as a traitor. My best guess would be that he wants to reclaim his 'throne' and hold an iron rule.''

''Damn. . .being exiled, I kinda get, but; being adopted out of pity is too low, even for me.'' I leaned against the railing, folding my arms in disbelief.

''But, there is another reason why we're trying to get the Alicorn Amulet back to Graceful Wind; if Ahuizotol gets the Alicorn Amulet. . .well, I don't want to imagine that possibility,'' Daring shook her head a number of times, going into a chest nearby and unlocking it with a key. Having that stuck to the back of my mind, I refocused on Echo.

''Echo.'' I grabbed her attention. ''There's no rush to be friends. I'm sorry if we intimidated you off the bat, but there is something more important happening here. But first, I want you to take this at your pace. We don't have to be friends if you don't want to, at least not right away; so don't feel pressured to make it happen out of the blue okay?''

''O-Okay,'' Echo looked down to the floor, circling the wood with a hoof.

''And don't you worry, me and Jamir are the nicest and probably the only 'people' you'll meet, so when the time comes, we'll all be great friends,'' Rin rubbed Echo's mane, making her sigh a bit. ''I just hope that it's not too much to ask you to do your best.''

''O-Okay.'' Echo stood to her full height, staring up at me and Rin with a small smile. ''I-I think. . .I can d-do that.''

''Well, now that we've all met for the time being, it's about time we get down to actual business,'' Daring looked to us. ''Getting you home is not going to be no easy feat, and like I told you before, Jamir; the Alicorn Amulet is not the way to make that happen. Maybe after we find the Amulet, we can head to some places like Canterlot, the Crystal Empire, or Jaypan and ask around for anyways or anypony who can help you guys out. So whadda say, you two feel like joining me and my crew on a treasure hunt?''

''I guess we could find some time in our schedule, seeing we're going to be here for a while, we might as well.'' I shook Daring's hoof, smirking.

''Same here.'' Rin said. ''Plus I kinda want to see what else this 'Equestria' has to offer.''

''Ok then,'' Daring unlocked the chest, taking something out of it and placing it on the circular table beside us. ''It's time for an adventure!''