You’re confused.

It’s not even the “moderately confused” state you have been in since waking up a few days ago. You have finally entered the “advanced confused” state.

It’s about time.

Why is Daring trying to find a zeppelin? Isn’t that mode of transportation a little outdated? You know what a zeppelin is, and when that image happens to pop itself into your brain, images of events that happened 100 years ago accompany it.

May as well ask her.

“Daring?” you ask, getting her attention as you briskly walk through the crowded streets of the still unnamed city. She looks up at you with her red eyes as you continue to walk. “Why are we trying to find a zeppelin? Isn’t that a little… outdated? And dangerous?”

She quirks an eyebrow. “What are you talking about, dude? They were just invented a few years ago. They’re practically brand new! It’s state of the art technology. Quickest and safest way to travel without having to do it yourself.”

Well that doesn’t seem right.

“Are you sure?” you ask.

“Uh, yeah. Did you not hear me? It’s state of the art technology! And it sure as hell makes my job a lot easier. Can you imagine flying over 400 miles nonstop?”

“No. I can’t. I don’t have wings… Why nonstop?”

“‘Cause where we’re going next is across the sea, dummy. If I was gonna fly over that by myself, I’d be exhausted. And it’s not like I could land in the water and relax for a bit, due to the fact that ponies don’t float. Not like me flying was an option anyway, considering you can’t fly.” She continues walking and adds after a moment, “And there’s no way I can carry your fat ass.”

Classic Daring.

“Why don’t we go in a plane?” Planes are easily faster than zeppelins, and it would put your mind at ease knowing you’re in a plane rather than a zeppelin. Despite your terrible memory, the thought of zeppelins is associated with fire and screaming.

Daring looks at you, confusion evident in her face. “What’s a plane?”

“What’s a plane?” you repeat, half-wondering the same thing. “It’s a… you know… it’s a plane! It flies and has wings… you know what? Forget I said anything.”

“Don’t worry,” she assures. “I forget most of the crap you say, anyway.”

You roll your eyes as the both of you continue to venture through the growing crowds in this unnamed city.

==========

It has gotten a lot warmer.

Hotter.

It’s only a matter of time before you break into a sweat. Again.

Fuck this city and the sun!

The both of you have been walking for quite some time, much to your legs’ dismay. Over the past few days, you have done more walking than you think you ever have.

And that very well may be true. It’s not everyday that one walks across an entire city then back again.

“Where are we going?” you ask, out of breath. You didn’t realize how tired you sounded until right now.

“Airport,” Daring replies simply, not looking at you.

You nod and look back into the street.

“Where is the airport?” you ask, wanting to know when your torment will be one step closer to finally being over.

“Where we are going.”

You came so close to face-palming right there. You should’ve expected an answer like that from Daring.

“No shit. I asked ‘Where is the airport?’ not ‘What is the airport?’”

“How should I know? Does it look like I live here?” she asks, looking angrily back up at you.

Something you probably have to consider is that it is very hot and dry where you are right now, and if you’re tired, Daring most likely is as well. It would be for the best if the both of you would just stop arguing for a bit. Or just stop talking in general.

But in your deteriorating mental state, that is not an option.

“Yeah, actually,” you respond. “You knew about the hotel we stayed in, the motel, and the owner of the motel. You may not live here, but you know the area pretty damn well.”

Jesus, Daring, it’s a simple question! Why do you have to make the smallest things so difficult for me?!

“Doesn’t mean I’ve ever been the damn airport!” she growls at you. “Moron.”

You restrain yourself from using profanity. Daring is your friend, and it is best to stay that way. The past few days have been incredibly exhausting and stressful. Surely, once you buy your plane - no, wait, ‘zeppelin’ ticket, then you can just sit and relax all day.

Just the thought of sitting down and doing nothing for an entire day is nearly orgasmic. You don’t think you have been on the inside of a zeppelin before, but you hope it’s nice.

Also, with all that money you… ‘acquired,’ from that douche a couple days ago, you should easily be able to get first class tickets.

Ooh, maybe they have food on the zeppelin that isn’t accompanied with awkward interruptions from a senile camel! How lovely!

It’s also a nice day to go flying. You can just look out the windows, sip some wine like the classy gentleman you are, and relax. It’d be cool seeing the city from the air. And the ocean too, as Daring said you will be flying over it.

However, knowing you and your luck, there will be an assassin on the zeppelin disguised as a ceiling fan or some shit and he will try to kill you.

He will come fairly close but ultimately fail before being thrown out of the zeppelin from an incredible height, where he will fall hundreds of feet to his dramatic demise.

Or something like that. Something weird is bound to happen in the next few hours. God knows something will.

God is probably getting a big kick out of your life right now. It’s like a god damn movie or a book, and he can’t wait for the next chapter! But who could! It’s just too good!

All of these sudden thoughts are beginning to turn morbid. What if the assassin doesn’t use a clever disguise, but instead is just flying the blimp? He could take you anywhere he wants. Including straight into the ground… or ocean.

Can you swim? You can’t remember. Maybe. Probably. You think you can swim. Of course, you won’t know until you try, but if you try, you wouldn’t mind it being in a nice, refreshing, clean swimming pool at some high-rated hotel.

But what if the staff of that hotel is in on the plot to kill you?

Why is there a plot to kill you? Or why does there seem to be? Sure, you’re taller than everyone else, but do that many animals really have an inferiority complex?

Probably not, but it’s a possibility. Considering that you cannot remember who you are, you obviously don’t know why talking animals want to harm you.

Who is running this plot to kill you? Someone out there and his buddies are trying to get rid of you, but who?

Is Daring in on this plot?

Sure, she’s helped you thus far, but is that just an attempt to gain your trust until she turns on you?

Oh God, you’re so confused and paranoid. And hot. And thirsty!

“Hey!” Daring shouts at you, startling and causing you to jump a little.

Eyes wide and just now becoming aware that you are sweating, you quickly scan around you until you see the familiar pegasus floating at eye-level next to you. She reaches out a hoof and places it on your shoulder.

“W-What?” you stutter, heart beating fast.

“Are you alright?” she asks, her face rather too close to yours for a moment before she backs up, removing her leg from your shoulder. “I was talking but you didn’t respond and I looked over and you were all… I don’t know, like nervous.”

“Nervous?”

“Yeah. You’re sweating and breathing real heavy. Are you OK? Need to sit down?”

One part of you wonders why Daring offered to stop for a bit. This is the first time she has done such a thing, which is odd, but you’re not gonna question it right now.

A second part of you wants to sit down, but thinks it’s just so Daring can make fun of you. If you stop, she will surely use whatever insult she can against you in her ill attempts at being funny.

Which she is not, and never will be.

And a third part of you just wants to keep going. The sooner you get there the better. But there is no telling where the airport even is!

…

Yeah, you’re gonna sit down.

“Yeah, can we stop for a minute?” you ask.

Daring lands, all four hooves make a ‘clop’-ing sound when they hit the pavement. She looks up to you and smiles. “No problem!”

‘No problem?’ Really? Doesn’t sound like something Daring would say about stopping in the middle of an ‘adventure.’

“There’s a cafe in there,” she says, gesturing to one of the buildings. “Let’s get some water.”

Water sounds lovely right now, and the both of you move off the street and enter one of the many shops along the road.

==========

It’s a pretty small cafe, and not very crowded at this time. There is a counter at the far end where you can order drinks and sandwiches and there are various tables for you to sit at. It’s pretty nice, and definitely cooler in here than outside.

“I’ll get us something,” Daring says, trotting to the other end of the restaurant. “Just pick a table.”

It’s easy to find one as almost all of them are open, and you simply take a seat and look out the window into the dwindling morning traffic.

Some ponies and griffons and zebras and whatever else that may be out there glance over at you but most just continue on their way.

You remember Daring told you that she has enemies. A lot of enemies, actually. Could the ones that attacked you instead be after her? And you’re just caught in the crossfire?

Maybe. But unlikely. You got your back ripped open by some zebra but Daring never actually met the guy, before. So you don’t think they’re after her. If they were then they probably would’ve done some weird shit to her instead of you.

But then that means they’re solely after you.

For what?!

You place your head in your hands.

You probably shouldn’t trust anyone for a while. Not that you have been, but you do listen to Daring.

Why is she helping you? Have you ever found a solid answer to that question? Does she want something from you?

You’re giving yourself a headache.

“Hey,” a familiar voice cuts in, followed by a familiar hoof to the shoulder, effectively interrupting your thoughts. You look to your side and see Daring next to you. “You sure you’re alright?”

You nod and pick up a bottle of water from the table. You take a few gulps before putting it back down and clearing your throat. “Yeah.”

Daring rolls her eyes and sits across from you. She obviously thinks something is wrong but she she isn’t asking you about it. Not yet.

Daring takes a sip of water. “We’re no more than an hour or two from the airport. Once we get there we can just hop on, sit down, and relax.”

That sounds very good right about now. After the past few days you could really use some time to just sit and think about nothing.

“You sure you’re good?” she asks.

“Fine!” you snap, startling her. Realizing how loud you were, you shrink in your seat a bit before muttering, “I’m fine.”

Daring doesn’t say anything to you after that. She definitely thinks something is wrong with you and she clearly wants to know what. Unfortunately, she is part of the problem, but you can’t tell her that. That conversation probably wouldn’t be a good one.

You feel bad for snapping like you did, especially in public, but it happened. You’ll apologize later, of course, but there’s just too much going on in your mind right now for that.

“We should go,” Daring says in a quieter tone than usual. “The zeppelin will leave with or without us. Best make sure we’re on it when they take off.”

You nod and exit the cafe. It was nice to have that little break as you feel slightly refreshed, which is better than nothing.

The both of you venture back outside into the heat and slightly less crowded streets, continuing on your journey.

==========

You left the motel a couple of hours ago, and as the day has progressed, the streets have become slightly less and less crowded.

It’s easier to see where you’re going and much easier to walk around when you don’t have to constantly worry about running someone over.

“Look up there,” Daring commands. You look down at her and see she is looking up into the sky. There is hardly a reason to look up into the sky unless one wishes to see the clouds or go blind, but you look up anyway.

“That’s a zeppelin,” you observe out loud, seeing the giant blimp-like structure drift lazily through the sky.

“No shit.”

“Where did it take off from?”

“The airport. It’s just a dozen or so blocks from here, so we should get there pretty soon.”

Well it’s about time. The sooner you get there the sooner you can get out of this heat. And this entire damn country! Why is it so hot here?!

Who the hell built a city right on the equator?! You want to find whoever thought this was a good idea and punch them in the mouth.

However, you probably will never get the chance as that individual is probably dead. Which is the only fate that cruel individual deserves. It’s just a shame you were unable to assist in his death in some way.

Oh well. Surely there will plenty of creatures that you will feel the need to attack before this journey has reached an end.

Most of the journey is made in silence

==========

“Ugh-ugh-ugh!” Daring coughs loudly and violently. It’s one of those kind of coughs where you can hear the air expelling deep from their chest. “Ugh-ugh-ugh!”

“You alright?” you ask, a little concerned.

“Ahem! Yeah, yeah. Just got something caught in my throat.”

“Need some water?” you ask, offering her your bottle.

She clears her throat again. “No, I’m fine.”

Alright then.

==========

Well, you’re here… You think.

You can see the airport. You certainly thinks it’s an airport, at least. There is a giant building a few hundred yards in front of you with dozens of aircraft sitting around it.

Only thing that stands between you and such aircraft is a fence.

And that’s it.

There is no guard patrolling. There is no emergency system. There is just a fence and a couple signs, like that will be enough to keep you two from entering.

“Here we are,” Daring says, smiling.

“Here we are.”

“This is called an ‘airport.’ It’s where-”

“I know what it is,” you interject, cutting her off before she gets a good chance to make fun of you.

“Yeah, you know everything, don’t you?”

She smiles at you. It’s one of those ‘Ha! I’m better than you so do something about it!’ smiles she is constantly wearing. She jumps into the air and spreads her wings.

The act looks very… nice. Nice is a good word. She looks good when she is flying like she is. Majestic, really, if such a word could possibly be used to describe someone such as Daring.

You like it when she spreads her wings out. You don’t want to say ‘pretty,’ but that really is the best word for it. She looks… pretty… when she’s flying, of course. And only then.

You would never tell Daring that she was ‘pretty,’ though. She’d probably kick you in the nuts.

Wait, what is she doing?

You shake your head rapidly to clear those thoughts away and get back into reality.

“What are you doing?” you ask, looking up at Daring.

“What do you mean, ‘What am I doing?’ What does it look like? I’m hopping the fence to the airport.”

“But you can’t do that?”

“Why not?”

You point to a sign. “It says ‘Do Not Enter.’”

You look at her, and she looks hard back at you. Neither of you look away. You’re in a standoff with this pony and you’re prepared to walk away the victor…

After only a few short moments the both of you start to laugh.

“Oh! That was a good one,” Daring laughs, flying back down. “You’re funny. Alright now, come on. Let’s stop wasting time and get over this thing.”

One thing you have noticed is that there are no guards here. Literally, not a single guard or airport employee has been posted anywhere near this fence.

The only thing left guarding this area is a sign. A sign that you easily have the ability to ignore.

Daring easily has the ability to levitate over the fence, but you don’t. Looks like you’re gonna have to climb.

You don’t remember climbing anything in your life, but surely you have. How hard could it be? It mustn’t be all that difficult, now.

Before you can even make an attempt to grab onto the fence, you feel a pair of legs wrap under your armpits and tightly around your chest.

And then you’re flying.

You know what’s happening, of course. How else could you be flying? But the action in itself is still startling as Daring’s spontaneous personality takes over and thus not giving you a proper warning.

You kick your legs out in a moment of panic. “What are you doing?” you ask rather loudly.

“Damn you’re heavy,” is her simple reply. It doesn’t answer the question exactly, but alright. You’ll take what you can get.

You instinctively kick your feet towards the fence as you get higher and higher, wanting to be attached the something solid and safely implanted into the ground.

“Stop moving, you dolt! I’m going to drop you!”

Just as the top of the fence comes up to your waist, you are finally able to swing your legs over and get your feet on top of it.

You almost feel relieved, but you’re still rather high in the air.

You feel Daring fly forward a little, pushing you over. And that’s when your feet disconnect.

And the ground gets really close really fast. Inevitably, you hit the Earth rather hard, but not as hard as you anticipated.

“Ow,” you say the word, showing that you’re kind of hurt but still fine enough to complain. “What the hell, Daring?” You begin to rise to your feet.

“What the hell were you thinking?” she asks, sounding angry, before flying down next to you.

“Me? What the hell were you thinking?! You can’t just pick someone up like that! I’m afraid of heights!”

Which is something you just now learned about yourself.

“Are you kidding me?” she deadpans. “I only went up like 15 feet, at most. That’s not high at all! How are you supposed to get on a zeppelin if you can’t even climb a fence?!”

"Simple. I expect the zeppelin to carry me smoothly to our destination, and not just grab me and go, only to drop me a few moments later."

You really hope your zeppelin ride turns out better than that.

“You’re welcome, by the way,” she snorts, sticking her nose in the air and turning her back to you.

“I don’t recall thanking you,” you respond, dusting yourself off.

“I noticed, you ungrateful moron.”

Isn’t bickering with Daring fun? It’s like the only thing the both of you have in common is that you constantly disagree with each other.

Good times.

The both of you begin to move across a rather large, open field, fraught with zeppelins and balloons and all kinds of weird flying machines.

“Shouldn’t we be sneaking?” you ask, looking around nervously for any guards.

“Hmm? Oh, no. We’re good. I’ve done this hundreds of times.”

“Hundreds?”

“Yep! I’ve never payed for a zeppelin ticket in my whole life! Yet, I still manage to consistently travel the world on ‘em!”

That’s… pretty impressive, actually.

“How do you know which one we’re supposed to get on?” you ask, noticing the large amount of zeppelins there actually are. All across the massive field, there are probably a total of ten, any of them could be going anywhere.

“According to the flight schedules, the one we need to get on will be leaving at 2:15 p.m. from gate E.” She looks around right quick before her ears perk up and she smiles as though she just made an important discovery. “A-ha! There it is!”

She points a yellow-ish hoof towards a zeppelin slightly to your left and hundreds of meters away.

“How are we supposed to get over there?”

Daring looks at you and shrugs. “Walking? How else would you get anywhere?”

Smartass.

“Shit!” she exclaims. “They’re already boarding! C’mon, let’s go!”

She grips your arm with both of her forelegs and flaps her wings, propelling the both of you in the direction of your ride.

This isn’t going to end well.

Author's Notes:

Yes it has been a while, stop yelling at me!
Hope y'all enjoyed it.
I got the next 2 chapters for this story already planned out, so they should go well. And they will definitely be more exciting than this one.

FOR THOSE WAITING FOR TMM!
I expect to have the next chapter of that up by Thanksgiving. That's what I'm aiming for!