Daring spun and weaved agilely through the air, being mindful to avoid the towering tree trunks of the jungle. The air was moist, dense and hot, assaulting her senses, making it a harder task to spot any peculiar singularities in the ground below. She spotted a clearing nearby upon which ran a stream of crystal clear water.
After a moment of hesitation, Daring changed her course and landed heavily near the stream. With a heavy sigh, she removed her pith helmet and waved it like a makeshift fan, revelling in the feel of the slightly less hot air. She dug into her saddlebags and extracted a canteen, greedily drinking the somewhat musty water within. Small trickles flowed from her mouth, dripping into her fur and the ground but she paid it no mind.
Now having satisfied her thirst, she dunked the canteen in the water, allowing the natural flow of the stream to fill it up. She set it down on the earthy ground and dug into her saddlebags once more, now producing a small pouch in which there lay a quantity of dried herbs. Carefully, she placed a measured amount into the canteen. She put away the pouch and closed shut the canteen, vigorously shaking it and hearing the water slosh, spreading the herbs around, allowing them to do their job of purifying its contents.
With that done, she put put the canteen away and in its place, she took a map and a pencil along with a hoofful of dried dates which she popped in her mouth, chewing noisily and without sparing a measure of care towards manners or etiquette one would expect of a cultured mare. She unfurled the map and examined its contents.
It detailed the outer ring of the Waliopotea jungle, a place that no one in history, be they horses, zebras or jackals had been able to fully map. The jungle itself spread across a vast stretch of land and was so dense and rumored to house such outlandish dangers, that only its outer perimeter had been explored and any who ventured upon its deeper recesses was not to be seen again.
Skillfully manipulating the pencil with her mouth, Daring made a note to mark the stream and crossed off a section of the territory she had just explored. For the past year, she had trekked the expanses of the large continent of Zulu where well known nations such as Pundamilia(the zebra capitol) and Saddle Arabia lay, searching for the four lost pieces of armor belonging to the legendary zebra king Pondanolos, buried in four secret crypts across Zulu.
It had been a grueling expedition, but Daring had managed to locate three of the pieces, which were now well hidden on three separate cubby holes within Saddle Arabia, were they would be retrieved and taken to the Fillydelphia Museum of the World, proudly displayed for all to see. Her search for the final piece- a ceremonial war helmet, had led her to the thick of the Walipotea jungle, where she had been searching for the ancient crypt that housed her treasure.
It was a daunting task to be sure. The crypt had been constructed centuries ago and was no doubt hidden by the dense vegetation of the forest, making any clues or markers that pointed to its destination all the harder to see. Daring sighed in exasperation at yet another fruitless attempt, tossing a rock at a stone protrusion that jutted from the ground.
What she did not expect was for the rock to make a hollow rattling noise as it impacted with its target. Daring cocked an eyebrow in curiosity and moved closer for examination. It was a mite taller than her. She brushed her hoof along the stone's surface to scrape away at the covering moss and, now that she looked closely at it, she could see a number of grooves and indentations carved in the surface of the jutting stone.
It was an encouraging find. Very encouraging, as the marks upon the stone were not the effects of the wear of time nor that of erosion. Though they were faint, they were also meticulous in nature and possessed lines, curves and zig-zags that could only be done with the use of tools.
She tapped her hoof against it twice and sure enough, a hollow sound came from within. With a growing sense of excitement, Daring worked feverishly to remove the remainder of the moss. She stood back to admire her hoofwork and was pleased to see a cavity near the stone's base.
In a moment of jubilation, Daring took to the air, whooping in joy and performing a victorious loop-de-loop. Finally, after weeks of searching, weeks of sleeping in dirt, caves and itchy vegetation, she now had a solid lead to her prize. But her jaunty flight was cut short as, in the heat of the moment, she flew straight into a buzzing swarm of flies. So happy and ecstatic she had been that she did not immediately register the cloud of bugs, many of which she accidentally swallowed and more of which splattered against her face.
Daring gave an undignified squeal of surprise and revulsion. She lost her balance and her flightpath careened just so, that she crashed headlong into a tangle of vines. The pegasus yelped in alarm as she fought to disentangle herself while at the same time spitting and coughing in an effort to rid herself of the foul taste.
After several moments of pulling, twisting, flailing and biting, Daring finally managed to extricate herself and immediately made a beeline back to the stream. She landed next to her saddlebags and, with frantic movements, rummaged for her canteen. She took a swig of water and sloshed it around her mouth, forcefully spitting it out, along with half-chewed bugs and their almost crustacean-like taste.
"Gross," she shuddered.
She was thankful at being in the middle of nowhere as there would be no witnesses to her clumsy antics. Deciding to get back to the matter at hoof, Daring put away the rest of her items and examined the waystone more closely. She had encountered more of these specimens during her search for the armor of Pondanolos. They served as markers and tributes for any highly dedicated pilgrims who wished to pay tribute to the long departed king.
The waystones were hollowed out near the bottom and a small crevice carved upon which offerings would be placed to pray to the spirits of the wild for safe passage. It was waystones like this that pointed her to the right direction in finding the other secret crypts and Daring was hopeful it would be the same this time around.
With a flap of her wings she took to the air once more and circled an area within range of the waystone, gradually expanding her search and keeping a lookout in the ground. It was a distance away that she spotted another moss covered stone that jutted from the earth. She dove down and, after confirming it was another waystone, renewed her search in earnest. It was tricky to spot the rest of the markers in the foliage, but as she found more and more, Daring was able to make out a pattern that enabled her to find the next waystone with greater ease.
She followed the markers deeper into the jungle and came upon a dark crevice that was dug deep into a rock wall. What little she could see of the entrance was carved with runes and glyphs and Daring was positive she had just found the last crypt in her quest for the zebra king's armor. She kept a cool exterior while her inner self was prancing and dancing in a jaunty fashion, eager to retrieve the war helmet and return to civilization for a hot bath and a soft bed.
She carefully stepped into the dark recesses of the tomb, digging into her vest pocket and producing a small, clear crystal. She lightly rapped it against the floor and slowly, the crystal began to glow a soft light. She held it high in her hoof and pointed it at the darkened walls on either side of her, searching for something. A bit deeper in and she found what she was looking for. Studded against the stone wall was another crystal, but unlike hers it was bigger in size and darker in color.
She held her own crystal to the one on the wall and gave it a quick tap. A few moments later and a small, faint blue glow emanated from the mounted crystal. Following soon, many more lights, just like the one that activated, now dotted the dark hallway Daring stood in. Slowly but surely, the faint light within the crystals grew in size and luminosity and the pitch black crypt was now bathed in a warm blue glow.
Satisfied, Daring pocketed the crystal and inspected her surroundings. The stretching hallway was wide enough for four ponies to walk comfortably side by side and just as tall. She forged ahead with caution as the previous three crypts had been safeguarded by a number of booby traps and she had every reason to think it would be the same this time around.
She had found it curious that, despite the myriad of different species and races that populated the world, most of them possessed a penchant for building hidden tombs and chambers laced with 'protections' to keep out outsiders. Granted, most of these protections were more or less the same, but she occasionally stumbled across a nasty surprise and would have to think on her hooves to come out unscathed.
The crypt she now searched, however, fell into the mundane category. Trip wires, pressure plates, pit falls riddled with sharp spikes and dart-spewing walls were the norm for her at this point and she breezed through them with contemptuous ease. It was one of the perks of being a pegasus.
There were no indigenous flying species in Zulu(no sapient flying species, a least), so the majority of the traps hidden in the temples, catacombs and crypts that dotted the nation were not designed with fliers in mind. Even having grown used to the cookie-cutter traps, Daring would still activate them on purpose, if only to amuse herself and sharpen her reflexes and skills. That was not the case today; she had grown weary of the jungle and wanted nothing more than to get her latest prize and hightail it out of the inhospitable environment.
She fluttered over the traps, but not too fast, for she preferred to keep an eye out for anything unexpected. Eventually, after dead ends, twists and turns and barren rooms later, she found the main chamber; a cavernous room and in the middle was a pedestal upon which lay the helmet she had slaved over the past few weeks over.
Though she was eager to get out, Daring knew this was a part of the journey which she could not rush. The final step of treasure hunting normally housed tricks that required a keen eye to point out. Daring swept the chamber, from the walls and ceiling to the floor and the pedestal. She did not detect any traps and her gut told her it was safe to proceed. She casually fluttered up to the pedestal and swiped the helmet from its resting place, tucking it away in the crook of her leg.
"Heh, heh. Payday," she said smugly.
Getting out was a simple affair. She doubled back and soon enough reached the entrance, strutting out the place, head held high and chest puffed out and with the helmet now resting atop her head, having switched it with her traditional pith helmet. She had to admit, it looked pretty rad on her. But her victory was short lived, for still riding the high of a successful hunt, she did not pay much mind to her surroundings.
A rustling of the bushes was the only indication that she was not alone, but it went unheeded and, swift as lightning, two jackals sprung frm the undergrowth, tackling a startled Daring to the ground.
"Agh! What the buck!?" she yelled and felt an agonizing pain on her left wing.
Her reflexes kicking into gear, Daring squirmed with all her might and despite the jackals' best efforts, she managed to free a hoof and struck one of her assailants in the eye. The jackal howled in pain and backed away, clutching at the spot. Daring capitalized on this and propelled to her hooves, bucking the other jackal as hard as she could and striking a direct hit on his chest.
"Yeah! How you like me now, doggy!?" Daring taunted as the jackal dropped unceremoniously.
She then set her sights on the remaining canine, who had mostly recovered from her sucker punch. Standing in two legs, it towered two heads above Daring, but the smaller pegasus was quite adept in the martial arts and had faced much worse than some flea bitten mongrel. Both combatants circled one another and the jackal retracted one of his paws to produce a nasty looking bat covered in barbed wire, the weapon itself was discolored with dried blood and Daring grit her teeth, mind already playing out various scenarios of how she would take down her enemy.
Any further thoughts on the matter were washed away, however, as she suddenly felt a piercing, stinging pain in her rump. Not having expected it, Daring yelped and jumped in surprise, wings flared and legs kicking at the air. The jackal saw his opportunity and barreled into Daring just as she came down, mercifully not using that dreaded weapon of his, but choosing instead to subdue her.
Daring tried to fight, but almost immediately felt her vision blur and her body grow stiff and unresponsive. Now certain his prey couldn't move the jackal backed away and Daring could just barely turn her head to make out three darts lodged in her flank.
"Ahh... foal of a... nag," were her last slurred words before unconsciousness took over.
If there was one thing Daring Do would pride herself in, it would be an almost intuitive ability to anticipate when she was walking into a trap. It was an attribute she had developed and honed after years and years of being on the job.
Always curious and adventurous since her filly years, as she grew up, Daring had gained a love for exploration and travel and during those times, she also came to have a fascination with objects pertaining to the past.
The sole daughter of wealthy Fillydelphia ponies, Daring had grown up in relative comfort, using the vast expanse of her parents' estate to play and pretend her foalhood fantasies; outrageous tales of piracy, heroism, adventure and glory.
She was considered creative and intelligent, if somewhat disinterested in scholarly pursuits, a fact often bemoaned by her parents, who wished for her to someday take over their thriving import/export business.
As Daring grew, so too did her interests. She collected ancient artifacts and memorabilia from Equestria and several other lands. She went on treks and expeditions to the wilder, more inhospitable locations such as Everfree forest, the Badlands and the ice caverns to the north, further fueling a growing sense of wanderlust that would not abate.
Tenacious, intelligent, and a quick learner, she soon learned to fend for herself in the wilderness, meaning she could head out alone and with no help whatsoever. She thrived on exploration and adventure and along her travels, she stumbled upon a curious find; an ancient, forgotten crypt, located in the southernmost tip of Equestria, where she unearthed a multitude of artifacts and relics of a time long since past.
It was an exciting time for her. She spent the next several weeks coming and going as she pleased, exploring the underground crypt which was surprisingly large, stretching hundreds of feet beneath the surface. This find had given new life to her passions.
As time passed, she found it was no longer enough to confine herself to Equestria, as it had grown to be too safe and familiar a place for her liking. She ceased to find that edge, that sense of anticipation, trepidation and excitement that normally accompanied her during her travels.
She had then decided that, if Equestria no longer had anything to offer, she would make her fortunes by visiting foreign lands, exploring them to her heart's content and searching by way of history, myths and legends whatever treasures these lands would yield. It was not an easy road to take and she made a number of very bad choices during her first few year, but coming off stronger and wiser all for it.
Daring herself would eventually come to gain a reputation as a savvy treasure hunter, constantly coming up at the top and unearthing finds considered to be long since lost or the stuff of fantasies and fairy tales. Tales of her finds and exploits would spread and with them, came trouble in the form of rival hunters and competitors, leading to numerous confrontations.
Over the course of time, Daring was caught, she was imprisoned, she was held hostage, she was beaten, stranded, and found herself in all sorts of predicaments but, be it by sheer dumb luck, her own forceful personality or the intervention of a higher power, Daring would live to see another day- hurt and defeated, but coming off all the stronger and wiser for it.
It was during these trying times that she would develop her now legendary skills, particularly an almost intuitive knowledge to predict when she would be trotting into a trap or an ambush.
But the excitement of the moment, coupled with a growing frustration with her search, had left her distracted and blind to the fact she was being followed. Weeks before, she had infiltrated the territory of the jackal king and stolen the greaves of the armor right from under his nose. Furious, the king had placed a large bounty on her head and it was to this that a small group of well trained mercenaries tracked her to the jungle.
No sooner had she come out of the crypt, triumphantly bearing her prize that two jackals ambushed and attempted to incapacitate her. However, she did not count on there being a hidden assailant who fired poisoned darts at her rump and knocked her unconscious, trowing her into a large iron cage studded with metal bars, being pulled by two brawny, but no less menacing zebras.
It was some time later that she awoke angry and frustrated, partly to her captors but mostly to herself for not seeing them coming. She had been to brash, too hurried that she had foregone the proper precautions and allowed herself to be caught.
Daring had tried to make small talk with the jackals and zebras, if only to pass the time and maybe learn a bit about them. One never knew what little tidbit of information would be useful. But her attempts had been met with stony silence or a string of rude gestures and insults. Her captors, it seemed, were not much for small talk.
It was an inordinate amount of time later that they found a poorly maintained trail and came upon a strange find. There, sitting against a tree, eyes closed and unmoving save for the subtle breathing movements of the chest was... she didn't know what it was. The mercenaries had, after drawing their weapons and shouting obscenities at it, decided to throw it in the cage with her; what they would do with it, Daring did not know. It never woke up, despite all the commotion.
It was a strange creature whose body was nearly all covered in clothing. Only from the neck up and its forelimbs were exposed. She had found it peculiar that, save for a tuft of black hair on its head, what parts were exposed were all but devoid of fur of any kind; only with smooth looking tanned skin in its place.
Finding nothing else to compare it with, Daring had, for the moment, been tempted to label it as some sort of ape, given that its body structure reminded her of them the most. Even so, it was like no ape she had seen before. During her worldly travels, Daring had encountered orangutans, yetis, chimpanzees and gorillas; all of them as smart as the average pony and with vast, sprawling cities and communities within their respective territories, but this creature resembled them only in the vaguest sense.
Its lack of fur, the smooth skin, the bodily proportions; it was all off, it was all wrong. Then there were its clothes. They were too nice, too detailed and of seemingly high quality. Not the type of garments common to this side of the world. Had this creature been wandering all by its lonesome in one of the nearest towns or cities, it would almost certainly have been accosted by the locals and robbed of its belongings.
Daring found herself staring at it, studying it, more than once. Everything about it was an anomaly; something that, for some indiscernible reason, didn't fit in with the picture at large, and it was most certainly out of place.
She pondered on this for several minutes, but eventually, her interest waned and returned her focus to the more pressing matter at hand. Namely, finding a way out of her confines. The cage itself had no visible hinges or weaknesses she could exploit. Her right wing had been damaged during the ambush and would not fly anytime soon. She had been stripped of her trademark vest and pith helmet, in which were cleverly concealed a number of tools that could have aided in any future escapes.
It was a worrying situation she was in, but certainly not the worst and Daring was confident that, in time, she could find a means to escape and retrieve her stolen prize. All she had to do was wait for the opportunity to present itself.
She was broken out of her reverie by a number of groans emanating from the other side of the cage. The ape-like creature was finally coming to. Its face contorted into a grimace and slowly moved its head side to side in discomfort, bringing up a forelimb to shield its face against the sun.
Daring stood, quietly moving to the opposite side of the cage and sat on her haunches, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. The creature was a complete unknown to her. It was most likely a sentient and intelligent being, but Daring had no clue as to its disposition. Perhaps it was violent and aggressive by nature and maybe it was not; even so, she learned from experience it was better to err on the side of caution.
Slowly, it moved its body into a sitting position, letting out soft grunts and groans at the movement. Its face grimaced and squinted at the sun's harsh glare, gradually opening its green eyes, little by little as they adjusted to the light. The creature's breathing was rapid and heavy as it registered its surroundings, looking around in incredulousness and disbelief. It looked to the wooden floor of the cage, to the iron bars and to the jungle around until finally, it caught sight of Daring, causing the pegasus to slightly tense her muscles.
Daring watched her unwitting fellow prisoner carefully, looking for any signs it was going to attack, but it merely blinked several times and its face scrunched in confusion as it took in her appearance.
"Huh. Hey, little guy," it... he said in a youthful, masculine voice.
For her part, a corner of Daring's lips curled into a half sneer. "I'm a mare, you dolt," she said in a flat tone.
Her fellow prisoner reacted in a strange way. His eyes shot open and his mouth slackened, closing and opening as he did a passable impression of a dying fish. "Y-you," he swallowed. "You c-can... talk?" he said softly, then looked to her sides. "And you got wings," he added almost as an afterthought.
Daring smirked. "Aren't you a perceptive one? Yeah, I can talk, and yes these puppies here are most definitely wings," she emphasized this by spreading her one good wing for him to see. "What's with the face? You act like you've never seen a pegasus before."
The creature blinked and licked his lips, looking around. With no warning, he rose to his full height and slammed himself against the iron bars of the cage, grasping at them with his paws. "Hey, hey you!" he shouted to the jackal. "Let me out of here!" he emphasized this by straining against the cage, as if determined to break it open.
"What are you doing, moron!? Be quiet!" Daring whispered harshly.
The larger jackal bared his teeth, not impressed and replied in a reedy voice. "Shaddup, thing!"
"Hey, anybody out there! Help! Get me out of here!" he strained harder and stomped on the wooden floor of the cage, making a racket.
"Will you shut that thing up!?" yelled one of the zebras.
The ape being was so riled up, he did not notice the jackal approach the cage and forcefully drive a club into his midsection. He fell over with a pained gasp, coughing and sputtering as the wind was knocked out of him.
"Like that, pup? Jest keep on yammering and I'll cut out your tongue!" snarled the jackal.
He regained his breath and slowly crawled to as sitting position, unmoving and not saying anything.
The group of mercenaries trudged through the jungle's undergrowth and came to the very same clearing on which Daring had encountered the first waystone. The zebras trotted to the opposite edge and removed themselves from the cage, sighing in content at being relieved of their burden.
The larger of the two turned to the prisoners, talking in a smooth, jovial tone. "Alright, folks. Here's how it's gonna go. We are going to plop down here for the night and the two of you are to sit tight and not make trouble for yourselves. That means no hoofticuufs, no yelling, no making a racket of any sort and following our directions to the letter."
"If we say jump, you jump and then say how high. If we say kill each other, you say messy or clean. You keep your heads down and keep quiet, you'll get food and drink. You do otherwise and you don't. Depending on our mood, we may or may not beat your faces in or cut off non-essential parts of youse. Understood?" he looked from a scowling Daring to the subdued ape being and turned, not waiting for an answer. "Alright then, you guys sleep tight and keep out of trouble. Or don't... either way works for us."
He threw his head back and laughed loudly, trotting away to join his companions. Daring's fur bristled as she watched him go. "Prick," she muttered venomously.
She turned back to her cellmate, who seemed to be in shock. With deliberate movements, he looked to his forelimbs and, using his right paw, gave his left forelimb an experimental squeeze. His brow furrowed and he squeezed harder. What he was expecting or looking for, Daring did not know and she chose to keep her silence and further study him.
He seemed confused, disoriented, and out of his depth, but that came as no surprise. He did not appear to be threatening or volatile, but it was too soon to make such a decision. Daring had plenty of experience in pointing out unpleasant characters, but this creature did not come off as one.
Then all of a sudden, to Daring's moderate surprise, the ape being brought both of his paws to slap himself fully in the face. Daring started in shock while her cellmate hissed and grunted in pain, now massaging the sting out. Out of nowhere, he slapped himself again and again, leaving her bewildered and slightly unnerved at his strange behavior.
"Gah! Son of a... that hurts!" he exclaimed in a muffled voice as his paws were now covering his face and was doubled over on his knees, quietly rocking himself back and forth. His voice was faint, but Daring could just barely make out a string of incomprehensible mutterings. "Come on, come on, man. Just get up... just wake UP already. Wake, wake, wake, wake, wake the freak up!"
Daring stared at the groveling creature in sympathy. Whatever his life may have been, he was obviously trying to convince himself this was all part of a dream. She had seen it before. Grasping at straws was often a much preferable option to dealing with the harsh reality.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, pal, but this here is very much real," she said in a soft but clear voice.
He stopped rocking and slowly rose to his knees, staring at Daring with trepidation. "You're... real?"
She nodded. "Afraid so."
"This is... not a dream, or hallucination?"
"Nope."
He stared off into the distance, looking thoughtful. "How would I know?"
"Know what?"
"If this was real and not... unreal."
Daring shrugged. "Beats me. I think I heard somewhere that you can't die or feel pain in dreams, so there's that. You may not wanna test that idea."
He chuckled humorlessly. "No, I guess not."
He was silent for a while, looking but not looking at the jungle beyond. "What's you name?" he asked, looking back at the pegasus.
"Daring. Daring Do."
The ape-creature arched an eyebrow. "Daring... Do? Seriously?"
Daring narrowed her eyes, slightly bristling at his tone. "Yes, Daring Do. Got a problem with that?"
He did not seem abashed or apologetic in the least, merely staring at her in a questioning manner. "Guess not," he muttered before looking away.
He got quiet and still after that and merely stared with unfocused eyes into space. Daring waited for him to make the next move, but as that would not happen anytime soon, she took it upon herself. "Hey, buddy, you gonna introduce yourself or what?"
"Huh?" he stated dumbly.
Daring's eye twitched repeatedly. "Your name, I assume you have one, right? Well, what is it!?" she was quickly growing frustrated with her unresponsive cellmate.
"My... my name? Name... name. Um, Solomon," he said, shaking his head.
"Solomon, huh? What brings a creature like you all the way out here?" said Daring, now relaxing her posture. She was certain Solomon would not attack her.
"Human," he muttered.
Daring cocked her head. "Human? What's that?"
Solomon looked her in the eye. "Me. I'm not a creature, I'm human."
Daring was tempted to tell him that technically, a human would be a type of creature like ponies and zebras. "Okay, you're a human. What were you doing in the jungle?"
A thoughtful expression crossed his face and for the first time, he lost that confused, disoriented look as he recalled the last several hours. "I was hiking with a group. We hired a tour guide to show us around the Amazon and- I dunno. I got separated from the group, got lost and... panicked. They told us if any of us got lost to just stay where we were and not move. That it would make it easier to find us... and I did."
"I stayed there for a while, but nobody came, so I panicked and- and I just started wandering around, yelling for anybody and stupidly trying to find my way back home." He licked his lips. "Then... I started feeling really sick like, with a fever and all. My whole body felt heavy and I stopped by a tree. Was just gonna close my eyes for a bit, but I guess I fell asleep or passed out and now..." he gave a manic, mirthless laugh. "Now I'm here," he paused. "I don't get it."
A frown creased Daring's muzzle. "You were taking a tour through the Waliopotea jungle!? You do realize it has a reputation for swallowing up all but the most prepared of travelers in its depths, and even then, there's no guarantee that you'll make it out in one piece. And what, you were taking a tour!? As in sightseeing!? Do you have any idea how idiotic that is?"
Solomon shrugged and looked away. "Seemed like a good idea at the time," he said quietly.
Daring barely resisted the urge to facehoof. "So, are you at all curious why you are currently held prisoner in a cage, heading to what is probably a none too pleasant fate?"
"It... crossed my mind, yeah. That and a lot of other things," he scratched his chin. "So why am I being held prisoner in a cage?"
Daring shrugged. "Beats me. I was just wondering if you were wondering. I can't say for sure, but given these mercenary types," she motioned with a hoof to the jackals and zebras who were starting to set up camp. "And given what part of the world we're in, my best guess would be that they plan to sell you to a slaver or maybe they have some ulterior motive for keeping you. They obviously think they can get something out of you, or else you'd be dead already. But that's just my opinion."
Solomon stared in horror at her, eyes wide and face pallid. He let out another mirthless laugh. "Y-yeah, figured i-it was something like that." he ducked his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, emitting a series of strangled grunts before looking back up at Daring. "So why are you here?
"Some hardass put a bounty on my head. I got careless and cocky; let these bozos get the jump on me," she motioned to the two jackals, then looked back to him. "You wouldn't happen to have a way out of this sticky situation, would you?"
He shook his head. "No."
Daring grunted. "Thought so." she then laid down on her belly, using her one good wing to clumsily fan herself. "Well, nothing to do now but pass the time. I'll start; where are you from?"
Solomon blinked. "Montana."
"Montana, huh? Never heard of it." Daring remarked. "And where is this Montana?"
A slight frown creased Solomon's face. He looked upwards in concentration, thinking how to best phrase his answer. "I'm not really sure. It's far, very far from here, probably."
Daring arched an eyebrow. "You don't know where your home is? How are you gonna get back, then, assuming we get out of this?"
Solomon slumped. "I don't know," he said defeatedly.
"You can't be serious. I mean, you obviously came here from somewhere- to take a tour, of all things," she said derisively. "Unless you didn't plan on coming here, there should be no reason you don't have a general idea where your homeland is. Heck, just something in general would be good. When you came here did you go north, east, west or south?"
The human made a frustrated sound, using one of his paws to scratch at the base of his skull. "South, okay. We traveled way down south, but, but... that doesn't do me much good here!"
"Why not?" Daring pressed.
"Because! Because..." he thrust both arms at her. "You're here! You're a pegasus or something or other and- you're real and you're talking and you're here! And then there's those talking zebras and those dog things and... ugh!" he cried out in frustration, once again burying his face with his paws. "This... all of this. It can't be happening. It can't! Can't be real. It can't."
He withdrew into himself. Daring needed to coax him out. She could understand and sympathize with his state of mind, but there were more pressing matters at hoof. They needed to escape their captors, but for that, she would need Solomon's help, but he wouldn't be much good unless he had a clear head. She rose to her hooves and moved to sit down beside him, putting a hoof on his shoulder.
"Look, pal, I don't believe in pandering, so I'm gonna give it to you straight. I'm in a bad situation. You are in a bad situation. Now, I don't know where this Montana is, but I do know that unless we get out of here and soon, you'll never see your home again, hear? I can figure out a way out of here, but I need your help for that. I can get you out of this hole and take you to Saddle Arabia. I got a few contacts there that can help you out, but right now, I need you here with me. I need you to calm yourself and focus on the current situation. Can you do that?"
Solomon huffed and sunk even further. Daring could feel his body tense and tremble. She waited patiently and allowed him to get the turbulent myriad of emotions within him under control. Eventually, he grew still and relaxed, leaning his head back against the bars of the cage and let out a long, shuddering breath. "Okay, okay. I'm calm, I'm... focused."
He looked back to her and Daring was pleased to see a hint of resolve in his eyes. "What now?"