It had all started with an innocent question, a request really. It was something Twilight brought up indirectly in passing to Rainbow Dash. The problem was she refused to let it go. "You know, you and Daring Do are a lot alike, Rainbow Dash. And I'm not just saying that in terms of personality."
"And your point is?" Rainbow had replied, not anticipating where this conversation would end up going.
But Twilight being Twilight, she just had to ask the question even if no one else seemed interested in it. "Well, are you sure you're not related to her somehow? The physical resemblances are rather uncanny if I do say so myself."
The brash speedster initially brushed it off without concern. "You're overthinking it, Twilight. I have a feeling I would know if Daring Do was related to me somehow. Heck, she'd probably tell me herself if what you said was true. So if she hasn't said anything then that means we're not related."
"Well, Pinkie Pie and Applejack are technically fourth cousins twice removed," Twilight argued in response. "Or at least, I'm pretty sure they are. Applejack said it was impossible to prove for sure because the records were all smudged."
"That's different." Rainbow had countered.
Twilight wasn't so sure. "I don't think it is. And the only way to know if there is a connection or not is to do some genealogical research. You know, take another look at your family tree. I'm sure I could pull up the necessary records without too much trouble."
"No way, Twilight! I'm not into that kind of egghead stuff like you are, no offense." The then off-duty Wonderbolt had protested.
The young princess just shrugged her hooves as she replied. "None taken." Yet she had kept on asking the same question over and over again whenever the chance came, to the point where it seemed like it was all she would ever talk about in Rainbow's exclusive company.
Finally, the pegasus mare with a coat the same light blue as the sky caved in under the pressure. "If it'll get you off my back, fine, I'll do this whole... whatever you said it was. I have some time off from the Wonderbolts now that spring training's over, so aside from my occasional weather duties I've got nothing better to do."
A giddy Twilight beamed from ear to ear upon getting the answer she wanted! "Great! Knew you'd see it my way, Rainbow Dash! I'll have everything all set up this weekend! Come bright and early, we're gonna do some hardcore research! Who knows what we'll find?"
"Just hope I'm not related to a bunch of stuffy nobles or something." The young pegasus replied while rolling her eyes. But in the back of her mind she started thinking. "Imagine if I ended up being related to Commander Hurricane or General Firefly though, that would be super awesome! Might even make someponies treat me with just a little bit more respect."
The weekend soon came, and Rainbow almost forgot about what she'd agreed to even as she woke up and reluctantly dragged herself out of bed. It wasn't long after arriving at Twilight's castle before she was finding herself nose deep in books and scrolls, many of them full of fancy words she didn't much care for.
"Seems like your family's history is a bit more 'messy' than I expected," Twilight admitted with a blush as books and scrolls were strewn about the floor without much fanfare. "It seems that your ancestors and relatives weren't much for keeping and maintaining family records. Your parents seem to be the only exceptions."
"That's because they wanted to document everything about my life," Rainbow groaned. "Every milestone of my life, no matter how insignificant, was too small for them to ignore."
Twilight nodded. "Maybe, but it also seems that they kept at least somewhat efficient records of who was related to them. And in good quality hoofwriting to boot."
Rainbow Dash became excited upon hearing this! "Great! Let me at the records then! And when I prove to you once and for all that there's no connection between me and Daring Do, I'm outta here! You're gonna owe me for this."
The young princess spoke not a word as she levitated over a scroll and let her pegasus friend unfold it and examine it.
Reading through the scroll at lightning speed, Rainbow's moderate violet eyes scanned from left to right. Everything seemed to be in place, just as it should be. No connections to Daring Do or anyone of similar build on her father's side of the family, though strangely enough a couple of unicorns and earth ponies from long since passed great aunts and uncles. Her mother's side of the family seemed to be entirely pegasi.
But suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow spotted something! It had to be a mistake, a misprint of some kind! No way could it be true! Yet as she read it over again quietly she knew in her heart that it was there and it was in fact true. Next to her mom's name was listed a sister, and that sister's name was none other than Daring Do Whistles.
The pegasus mare with a pale, light grayish blue coat blinked in disbelief, her mouth hung open in shock. "I... don't believe it."
"What? What did you find out?" Twilight questioned even though she already suspected the answer.
Rainbow Dash found the words slow to leave her lips. "You were right, Twilight. Daring Do and I are related," She held up the scroll. "It says here that she's my mom's younger sister. She's my Aunt Daring Do, Auntie Daring! It was there all along, and I never knew."
The alicorn couldn't help letting out a smirk at her friend's discovery, ribbing her slightly with a hoof. "And you thought genealogy wasn't interesting or awesome."
Rainbow just groaned and growled slightly under her breath. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, you can rub it in all you want later, Twilight. You were right and I was wrong. But right now there's only one thing I feel like doing, and that's getting some answers from a certain somepony."
"Who, your parents? I'm sure they had a very good reason for keeping you in the dark about your... Aunt Daring Do," Twilight blinked slowly in reply. "Wow, it feels so weird to see that."
But Rainbow protested. "I'm not talking about my mom and dad, Twilight. I'm talking about Daring Do herself. I think I have a right to know why she's been completely absent from my life and never bothered to tell me this face to face."
Twilight fought back a gulp. "Just don't let your anger get the best of you, okay? You have a right to be upset, but at least let your newly discovered aunt make her case."
The rainbow maned pegasus only frowned in reply as she scooped up the scroll. "Well, I'm just gonna make sure she can't try to get out of it or deny it. Don't come after me, this is a family matter now." And she flew off in a huff without bothering to wait for a reply.
Luck was on Rainbow Dash's side. Her first instinct had been to fly all the way out to that little cottage in the middle of nowhere that Daring Do usually called home. And that was where the adventurer who lived a double life as a reclusive author currently was. She seemed to be resting, still in her A. K. Yearling disguise that involved the glasses and the robe.
But Rainbow was in no mood to wait around for Daring to drop the disguise or even see if she might be interested in visitors. Rainbow instead stormed on in without even bothering to knock on the door to announce her presence.
Naturally, her door being forced open unannounced was quite a surprise to Daring Do! She woke with a start, quickly removing her fake glasses and ditching the robe as she donned her pith helmet she never liked to be without.
"Hey, Daring, it's me!" Rainbow Dash called out in protest. Much as she might enjoy a good fight she didn't want this to be the first thing to do with her newly discovered aunt.
Daring ceased her attack, blushing upon seeing her fellow pegasus. "Oh," She quickly recovered. "Well don't sneak up on me like that next time! You know what kind of dangers I face on a regular basis."
The rainbow maned pegasus nodded while gritting her teeth. "Yeah, bet that was always more important than telling your niece you existed."
The comment did not go unnoticed by Daring, she swung round quite suddenly. "Wait, you know? Who told you?" Too late she realized her mistake in confessing instead of trying to ignore or tiptoe around the subject.
"Found out for myself thanks to Twilight insisting I do some genealogical research on my family tree," Rainbow explained. "Do you have any idea how mad I am that I didn't see the obvious connection for myself? I thought it was just a crazy coincidence, like how Quibble Pants looked like you if you were a stallion. But at least I know he's not related to you, or is he?"
"What?! No, no no, don't be silly!" Daring protested with a shake of her head. "Quibble isn't related to me at all. I've never been married and never had foals."
"Okay, so we've got that cleared up," Rainbow frowned as she looked into Daring's moderate rose eyes that now looked so similar to her own moderate violet ones. "Still doesn't explain why you've been lying to me for all these years."
The adventurer snapped back. "Hey, I didn't lie to you. I never denied a connection. You never asked about it."
The brash speedster only argued. "Because I didn't know. You had to have seen the similarities when you first laid eyes on me. You could've told me. And don't tell me you forgot."
Reluctantly, Daring conceded the point. "You're right, I didn't. I hadn't exactly been keeping in touch with my sister, but I knew she'd had a foal. And I knew the second I got a good look at you that you had to be Windy's daughter, though it seems you got Bow's mane."
"Yeah, funny how that worked out. But that aside, how come you never thought to disclose the secret?" Rainbow Dash inquired as she pressed her snout further towards Daring Do's. "Were you just gonna go on leaving me in the dark forever? And for that record, how come I don't remember you ever showing up at any point in my life? Was your life as an adventurer really so important that it meant giving up everything else, even your own family?"
"It's not like I didn't want to tell you," Daring confessed with a sigh. "But it's the same reason why I told you I work alone. I was used to dealing with problems in life my own way, I didn't think I needed anypony else to slow me down. And afterward, I convinced myself that if I told you you'd start wanting to tag along."
Rainbow shook her head. "Your adventures are amazing, but I've had plenty of my own to keep me interested. And besides all of that I've already found my calling as a Wonderbolt, something I'm sure my mom would've told you about."
"Like I said, I wasn't exactly keeping in touch with her," Daring replied. "I'm... kind of ashamed of the reason why. It's not something I like to talk about."
"Really?" The brash speedster rolled her eyes at the suggestion. "Try me, Daring! I've maintained a delicate relationship with my parents, and I've dealt with Fluttershy's brother always hitting on me."
The adventurer just sighed, stretching slightly. "Well, why don't I fix us some tea or something really quick and we'll talk about it? It'll help if we had some time to cool off before somepony says something they'll regret."
Reluctantly, Rainbow relented. "Okay, I guess maybe some tea won't hurt. Just a quick cup though, and nothing fancy."
Daring laughed. "You really take after me. Little time to bother with the fancy things in life." And she left to put the kettle on.
When the tea had been brewed a short time later, the two pegasi sat at a small kitchen table and sipped from their cups in relative silence for a moment. It didn't last long though. "Just needed to take some time to figure out how best to explain what I'm about to tell you." Daring spoke slowly to her niece.
"Whatever it is, I can take it," Rainbow proudly declared despite adding under her breath. "I think."
"I wouldn't say I hated your mother or her choice of a partner," Daring began to explain. "But I found Bow Hothoof to be a bit too... outgoing for my tastes. I was never a big fan of sports, books were some of my best friends growing up."
Rainbow seemed to deduce the conversation's conclusion pretty quickly. "And you and my mom drifted apart because Bow appealed to her more."
"Something like that," Daring Do nodded. "She was already way more into sports than I was, but it seemed like it was all she'd talk about once Bow came on the scene. She'd go to every game he was in and cheer him on, while I'd rather stay home and read my books. It's how I got the idea to become an author."
"I thought it was so that there'd be a written record of your adventures in case anything ever happened to you." Rainbow Dash replied in confusion.
The adventurer nodded again. "That was part of the reason. I had to change it to fiction because my publisher told me everything Daring Do did was 'unrealistic' and 'nopony would ever believe it if it were non-fiction'. A. K. Yearling was so my enemies wouldn't get suspicious, and so I could pretend to be somepony else if I needed a quick disguise. Never imagined it would become so effective though, now I practically draw a crowd if I go anywhere in my A. K. Yearling attire, but if I'm just myself everypony thinks it's a cosplay."
The rainbow maned pegasus quickly found herself stumped. "I don't get it. It sounds as if you're on nice enough terms with my mom, and you knew I was her daughter. But somehow you didn't trust me enough to tell me that I was your niece the first time we met, or anytime after it. If not for this scroll I might never have found out for myself."
At that Daring seemed to shrink ever so slightly from Rainbow's gaze. "It's not like I didn't ever think about telling you, because I did. I just... well..."
"What? Thought I wouldn't understand or that I'd be upset with you for not telling me sooner? Because it all happened anyway," The off-duty Wonderbolt pointed out. "I should be quite happy to know I have Daring Do for an aunt. But how can I be if you never trusted me with the truth?"
Daring had to force back a gulp. "We can just keep pretending we don't know if that'll make you feel better."
"No, that's not going to solve anything!" Rainbow protested anew. "You're my aunt now. Even if you're still going to go rushing off to adventure at the drop of a pith helmet, I at least want some acknowledgement that you exist. I want you to have a chance to see my life, and a chance for my mom and dad to see you again."
Daring Do protested back. "I'm... not sure if I can do that. My life's work keeps me very busy," However, upon seeing the glare from her fellow pegasus, her niece, she relented. She'd been running from this problem for long enough, it was time she confronted it and owned up to the mistake she'd been making. "But I suppose things in the Tenochtitlan Basin have been rather quiet lately. I guess maybe I could see about a visit to Ponyville or even Cloudsdale, with a bit of heads up of course."
The brash speedster seemed to smile upon hearing that declaration. "Okay then, but I'm holding you to it, Auntie Daring."
"'Auntie Daring'," Daring Do seemed to blush. "That's gonna take some getting used to. I feel old."
Rainbow teased. "Oh come on, you're not that old."