Chapter 15: "A Daring Escape II."

Daring awoke in a cell, high above the village, and saw that it was now late into the night and pouring down rain. She struggled to get to her feet as the toxin hadn't fully left her system yet. Once she was on four hooves again, she felt a tightness around her back and saw that her wings had been bound by ropes.

She cursed her luck, as even if she could get the ropes off, her wings were still useless and limp from the toxin. She couldn't fly out of this one. But that wouldn't stop her from getting out of here.

Daring had done it. She knew where Clover was being kept. And more importantly, she knew who was smart enough to get her out her crystalline prison. All she had to do now, was get out of here, find Meir, and come back and break Clover out of that thing. Seemed simple enough. Or at least as simple as Daring was used to.

Taking a look around, Daring saw that the cage wasn't very sturdy. Metal, but rusted due to possible decades of use. She could snap off one of the bars and use it to break the hinge that kept the cage attached to the large metal ballast it was hanging by.Then she wanted these ropes off her wings.

Spotting an already half bent bar in the cage, she got an idea how she could kill two birds with one stone. Going over and kicking the bar out of place even further, it broke from it's foundation, shearing the top of it and leaving it a jagged, sharp edge. She then got to work on the ropes, and a moment later her wings were free. She tried to flap one but it was no good. They fell numb at her side, unable to even flap a single time.

But she didn't have time to worry about that. Daring grabbed the bar and broke it from the cage completely. She then climbed to the top of the cage and jammed it into the hinge of the cage, where it broke almost without effort, sending the cage falling down into the village. Daring gripped the bars of the cage as tightly as possible as the impact smashed the cage apart, and she tumbled out into the wet grass. She lay there for a minute as the rain pelted her head, taking a minute to enjoy her new found freedom.

"It came from over there! Let's move!" A gruff voice shouted from the village. They had heard the cage fall, and were coming to investigate.

Daring sprang to her hooves and took off through the grass, rain and weeds belting her face as she leaped over the large wooden fence around the village and landed in the border to the Voiceless Jungle. They hadn't even seen her.

Now that she was free, she had to make her way back to the city, where Morning probably had the Equestrian Guard looking for her. But then she got a thought. "What am I saying? Morning is the smartest pony out there! She probably tracked me the whole way here and is waiting for me in the jungle somewhere."

Daring brushed the mud from her helmet, before putting it back on her head and smiling to herself with confidence. "Best not keep her waiting then." she said to herself, and trekked forward into the dark and foreboding jungle.

The Voiceless Jungle, 7:45 pm

Daring made her way through the tangled vines and thick trees as the storm had grown more fierce as she walked. Loud crashes of thunder and lightning were accompanied by what was now a torrential downpour of rain, that soaked Daring to the bone. But she had been through far worse, and didn't waver even an inch. She kept a map in her head that told her she was now a good 5 miles for the village. If she continued down the path she was on, she would arrive back in the city by morning.

It wouldn't be easy. But Daring never liked doing things the easy way. Where was the fun in that?

An hour later, Daring felt the path become soft, as she felt the wet sand bunch around her hooves with every step. Vines and big, flat leaves reached over the path and slapped against her legs as she trotted along. The rain had let up slightly, but the thunder had only gotten louder. As she rounded a group of palm trees, she felt a twinge in her wings. She looked back and tested them out. They flapped gracefully at her back before she tucked them to her side. Her wings were back!

With renewed vigor, Daring unfurled her wings and prepared to launch herself off the ground, when a strange sound caught her ear. A hollow, shrill, almost scream like thing that made both her ears twitch. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once, like it was inside her own head. A light suddenly swept over the tall weeds, strange ferns, tendrils of vines, all seemed to move in the darkness. The black-trunked trees appeared to lean toward her, reaching for her with their smooth limbs.

Daring ignored the trees, knowing that her eyes were just playing tricks on her and pressed her self low to the ground and listened. The shrill sound was....moving. It seemed to be following her, and was getting closer.

She kept low to the ground as she continued on her way, one ear up and listening for any sign that the sound was starting to follow her again.

Creeping through the mud and reeds, Daring peered through the thick vines and spotted a faint set of lights in the distance. A house? In the middle of the jungle? "Who would decide to live in the middle of the jungle?" Daring wondered.

The sound was louder now, and Daring could tell it was now following her at a much faster pace. It was almost giving chase. Wasting no more time, Daring unfurled her wings and took off from the ground, blazing past trees and under thick vines, speeding as fast as she could fly towards the lights.

As she flew, the sound began to grow faint, as Daring put more and more distance between her, and the form of a tree house loomed into view.

Mysterious Tree House, Late Night

Daring finally landed at the base of the dark tree house, and relaxed her wings, which she could feel were now sore from flapping so hard when they weren't fully recovered yet. Daring tucked them to her side and looked up. The lights in the windows clearly meant somepony had to be home. Daring was hoping she could convince whoever lived here if she could stay for the night. It was still quite a distance from Quaramonte City, and the storm was beginning to pick up again. Plus, her wings had retired for the night. She wasn't flying again anytime soon.

Daring cupped her hooves around her mouth and called up to the tree house. "Hello? Is anypony there? Sorry, for bothering you, but..." It was no use. The near hurricane level winds and thunder made it impossible for anypony to hear her in the storm. She had to find another way to get their attention.

Daring unfurled her wings, that screamed that they wanted the stay put. But Daring had no choice, as she flew up to the door and knocked as hard and loud as she could, nearly breaking it from it's hinges in her desperation.

A few seconds later the door swung open and a strange grey stallion with wild hair and a torn lab coat stuck his head out. "Whazzit?" he muttered, before looking up at Daring's muddy and scratched up face. " Oh, hey there! Your that whatsherface! Uh....Darming!"

Daring blinked. "Uh, it's Daring. Look, Sorry to bother you-

"What're ya doin outside ya ninny!? Get in here before you catch yer death!" The stallion grabbed Daring and pulled her into the tree house where a familiar face greeted her, sitting cozily by the fireplace. Morning Meir, sitting with a book and cup of tea, looked up from her studies to see her friend, covered in mud and looking just as happy and surprised to see her as she did.

The two mares ran from their spots and met in a tight hug, before each unloading an onslaught of conversation that filled the small room with chatter.

"Where were you!?" Morning asked happily.

"Where was I? Where were you? You just vanished from the police station, I couldn't find you anywhere!" Daring retorted.

"I was kidnapped! I got shot with another one of those darts and they dragged me to the jungle!"

"Kidnapped!? So was I! Well, I mean I was after I found Clover-

Morning grabbed Daring by the shoulders and pulled her close. "You found Clover!?" she exclaimed loudly, not even trying to contain herself.

"Yep! And you'll never guess where she's been all this-

The conversation was cut short by the old stallion shouting "Alright! Alright now. Clearly you two have A LOT of catching up to do, but....it's almost ten'o clock, ladies. We can all yell at one another tomorrow, after we get some sleep. How bout it?" He asked with a slight yawn.

The mares looked at one another and smiled. "He's probably right. I'm exhausted from having to fly all the way out here." Daring said, rubbing her wings tenderly.

Morning Meir nodded. "We can talk in the morning, then." She returned to her chair and wrapped herself back in her blanket. "Good night, Daring. Glad to have you back."

Daring nodded with a smile. "Glad to be back, trust me." she said to herself, before going over and collapsing on the couch, being far too tired to move anymore.

In a few moments, the tree house grew quiet, as Morning and the old stallion all fell asleep to the sound of the calm rain.

But as Daring closed her eyes, she could still hear it....

That sound, shrill and disturbingly pony-like. Like a scream in her head. She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried her hardest to block out that horrible wail.

It was only after the sound was drowned out by the thunder that she finally heard it no longer. And fell fast asleep.