Daring Do stepped down the driveway towards the large cottage with an awkward, hesitant gait. The sun was still high overhead, the afternoon light playing across the trees and grassy lawn in front of the cottage, highlighting a sparrow as it flitted from one perch to another, chirping its happy song.
The young yellow pegasus minced back and force slightly as she tried to gain the composure to walk up and knock on the closed cottage door. It had been almost a year since she had been here; a year spent out travelling Equestria and beyond, digging up treasures and archaeological wonders the likes of which the world had never seen.
From the largest sapphire in the world, to the Rosetta Stone, Daring Do had seen it and done it all. But there was still a twinge of fear and hesitancy as she stared at the door to the cottage. She could dodge wild animals, swing from ropes, raid trap-filled ancient temples, and fight twisted, evil opponents. But she was still scared of what her family would say.
After all; she hadn’t exactly left them on the best of terms.
Her mother had never really had the disposition to be a treasure hunter. One look at her, and it was obvious that she wasn’t going to be a fierce warrior or a fearless adventure. She was a wonderful housewife, and before their father had passed away, she had been the perfect wife. She had raised her kids in a loving environment, given them everything they could ever want, and while her youngest had taken after their mother, her eldest daughter, Daring, had gone a completely different route.
But she had never been able to understand Daring’s love for adventure and treasure. Of course, she was well-known for all her different jobs. She had done it all; from a baker, to a botanist. A carpenter, to a milkmare. Daring was certain that she would have gone through another several different types of jobs while she was away. But that was the problem; Daring Do hadn’t exactly left with permission.
Daring was old enough to leave the house and strike out on her own, but she felt a tug at her heart to stay with her mother. A lot of people felt a certain endearance to her mother, who, despite her faults, was most definitely a very likable mare. And her mother had wanted her to stay home and help her build a business, a bakery, she had said.
Daring had wanted to help, oh how she had wanted. But if she was railroaded into a career as a baker, then her treasure-hunting days would be over before they even began! And so, one night, Daring Do had slipped out the window and headed off to start her adventures.
So long had passed since then, that she was sure her mother would forgive her. But...it was still scary. There was no way to predict how the happy-go-lucky mare would react to having her runaway child return.
Taking a deep breath, Daring do strode up to the door of the cottage, and then lifted a hoof to knock on it; voices echoed from inside, making her pause.
“A spoonful of the special syrup, and we can put them in the oven!” her mother was saying enthusiastically, giggling.
“Momma, can we put in two whole spoonfuls?!” came the squeak from Daring’s younger sister, whom had been but a foal when she’d left.
Daring Do swallowed hard past the sudden lump in her throat, and leaned sideways to look at her reflection in the dusty window beside the door, straightening her jacket up and then removing her safari hat, placing it on the ground next to the door as she began to adjust her mane.
The blurry figures inside shifted slightly, and she heard her mother say, “Wait a second honey, there’s someone at the door.”
Realising that she had been spotted, Daring resisted the urge to leap behind the bushes out front and hide, and swallowed hard to compose herself, straightening up and standing there nervously as footsteps approached the door.
The door swung open, and a grey head inquisitively poked out, yellow eyes widening as they caught sight of Daring.
“H-hi mom...” Daring Do said uncertainly, giving a strained smile.
Ditzy Do stared for the longest time, jaw dropped, her eyes looking in two different directions as they often did. Daring Do was just starting to get uncomfortable when Ditzy basically pounced on her, wrapping her hooves around the yellow mare and squeezing her so tight that she began to cough faintly.
“Mom, mom! You’re strangling me!” Daring protested, pushing half-heartedly at her mother with her hooves.
Ditzy loosened her hold and drew back from the other mare, her eyes tearing slightly as she whispered, “You came back...”
“Of course I came back, mom,” Daring soothed, lifting a hoof to gently touch the side of her mother's neck in a show of affection.
“Momma, who’s this?” asked the young unicorn filly from somewhere around her mothers hindlegs.
“This is your big sister!” Ditzy said with a broad smile, pointing at Daring. “Say hi, Dinky.”
“Hi big sister!” the filly chirped, waving a hoof enthusiastically. “Are you going to help us bake muffins?”
“I-I’d love to,” Daring said with a nod, looking to her mother for guidance. Ditzy nodded once, jerking her head towards the kitchen.
Awkwardly, Daring stepped inside and closed the door behind her, ruffling her wings and then folding them tight to her sides, looking about. Everything was exactly the way it had been when she left, save the pictures on the mantle. The pictures had changed. when she had left, they were pictures dominated by a broad-chested earth pony; Ditzy’s husband, and pictures of the the entire family together. Now, there was a single picture of the earth pony, old and faded, while the rest were pictures of a younger Daring Do and a baby Dinky Do.
“So what have you been doing with yourself, Daring?” Ditzy asked as she wandered back into the kitchen, with Dinky bounding along behind her eagerly.
“I’ve been...you know, chasing treasure,” she replied lamely, scratching at the side of her head with a hoof.
“Have you found any?” her mother asked, raising a brow back at her as she showed Dinky how to put the muffins in the oven safely. Daring had a flashback to when Ditzy had showed her the exact same thing.
“Y-yeah mom, I did,” Daring managed to reply past the lump in her throat.
Ditzy lifted a hoof to rest on Daring’s foreleg, and stared into her daughter’s eyes with a soul-piercing look. Even her off-centre eyes weren’t enough to lessen the effect. “Are you happy?”
“Yeah mom, I’m really, really happy,” Daring assured, lifting one of her own hooves to rest over her mothers.
“Good enough for me!” Ditzy declared with a grin, turning and closing the oven. She then turned and began to head for the lounge room, motioning for Daring to follow. “Now come, sit. Tell me of your adventures. I feel like you’ve got a lot to tell me.”
Daring Do looked back over her shoulder at her waving and smiling mother and sister, lifting her own hoof to wave in farewell.
Daring was off in search of her next treasure, with a pouch full of muffins and a smile on her face.
Ditzy was erratic, clumsy, and often crazy. She was the exact opposite of everything that Daring was.
But she was her mother, and Daring loved her.