//------------------------------// // A Proposition // Story: Becoming Daring Do // by ThunderChaserCreate //------------------------------// "Daring struggled against the bonds, the rope slicing her skin, which was still raw from the sunburn. She winced in pain, taking in a sharp breath. Immediately, she choked on the salty water, which was lapping around her lips. "'Ugh. I must be crazy,' sighed William, who afterward jumped into the water, paddling out to Daring." I licked my lips, my mouth losing moisture from the speed I was reading. Pinkie rocked excitedly, her eyes wide and unblinking. "William grabbed the rope, pulling it out of the water and gnawing at it until it snapped. Daring rocketed into the sky, carrying a screaming William with her. She was just about to breach the canopy of leaves, when a soft cackle echoed from below. She stopped on a dime, whirling to face her pursuer. "'Ahuizotl.'" "Ah! Don't stop there, Rainbow" Pinkie squealed, kicking her back hooves. I closed the book, running a hoof over the cover before sticking it back on the shelf, "Sorry. I said one more chapter, and it's time for me to hit the hay. Plus, Twilight's spell is about to wear off. you gotta get home before I'm rushing at the ground to save you from certain doom." "Just like Daring did for her pal, Small Fry, in Daring Do and the Mare in Amber!" "Yeah. Except much scarier," I said, patting Pinkie on the head. She grinned, giggling a bit, "Yeah. Prob'ly." I lifted Pinkie by her underarms, carefully carrying her out the front door of my house and lowering her to the ground. She bounced a few times, making sure she was on solid ground, before she said, "Y' know, Rainbow, I've been thinking. You look a lot like Daring Do. Your mane looks the same as her's does on the cover, except her's is grey. And you're both pegasi, and you both have the color eyes! Isn't that neat?" "Hm. I never thought about it before. Yeah, I guess I do look at least a bit like her," I grinned, subconsciously puffing my chest and smiling a bit wider. "Wouldn't it be cool if you were her?" Pinkie suggested, looking up at me in admiration. I thought about that for a moment. I imagined myself in the place of Daring; saving lives, stealing great treasures for the good of ponykind, and being just plain awesome. "Yeah... that'd be pretty awesome..." I murmured, rather wistfully. Pinkie bounded away, hopped over firm earth as though it were marshmallow. I chuckled to myself, flying back up to my house and throwing myself across the bed. I looked up to my small bookshelf, looking at the dozens of Daring Do books I'd read. I had read nearly every book, from the first (and, in my opinion, one of the best), Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone, to the most terrifying book, Daring Do #42: The Sea of Fire, through the romantic climax, Daring Do #138: The Night of the Black Wing. All, of course, were wonderful, but these had stood out to me. I guess it was because these were instances where Daring was forced to show her true colors. In each (as well as several others), Daring had sacrificed herself to save a friend. I guess that was what got me, that she was pretty dang loyal herself. That was what made my friends compare the two of us, I suppose. I rolled over, quite satisfied with myself, when I heard a soft landing just outside. "Who's there?" I called, running through a list in my head of meetings I had made. Whoever it was, they weren't supposed to be here. Especially since Pinkie had pushed me into reading until ten thirty at night. "Uh... somepony you probably weren't expecting..." a not particularly bight-sounding voice yelled back. "Well, what's your name?" I shouted, still not bothering to get up. I even pulled down the next Daring Do book, preparing to read. "Uh... Soarin? Co-captain of the Wonderbolts?" I dropped the book, running to the door. There he was. Without his uniform, he was barely recognizable, but the scraggly blue mane and tail were unmistakable. "You're kidding me," I said simply. "Uhh... nope. Spitfire sent me to all the cadet's houses... there's an emergency meeting on the fifth for the academy members... and... yup. So... bye." "Hey! Wait!" I snatched his tail in my mouth. "U-um, yes?" He mumbled, landing quietly again and looking about nervously. You could tell he wasn't good with mares. At all. "Don't you wanna... hang out a bit or something? I mean, you took the time to come out here, you may as well stick around," I suggested, kicking my hoof at the cloud. "N-no, not really. Thanks anyway." "Oh, come on. I've been wanting to get to know you since we met at the gala," I put my hoof around him, trying to usher him inside. He sighed, "Fine, I guess. I really shouldn't be doing this, though." "Yeah, yeah, you can make up for it by kissing Spitfire's plot tomorrow. Come on, I've got some video games we can play or something." Soarin walked in nervously, sitting on the bed rather awkwardly and stiffly. "Relax, bud," I told him, going over to my game cabinet to look for something suitable. "I've just.. never been over a mare's house. Let alone one I don't know at all." I put down the games, "Good point." Soarin caught a glimpse of the Daring Do books on the small shelf above him, "You read Daring Do?" "Oh... yeah," My cheeks grew hot. I wasn't exactly proud of my obsession with the series, let alone the eggheadedness. "That's cool." "Really?" I walked over, sitting next to Soarin. "Yeah. I like Daring. She's not just a show-pony, like me, she uses her skills to do something worthwhile. I think that's pretty cool," he pulled a book off the shelf, skimming it's contents. "Which book are you on?" I asked him, attempting to start a conversation that would last more than a couple seconds. "I, uh, just finished this one," he told me, gesturing to the last one on my shelf, "I probably shelled out, like, two thousand bits to get all those books," he chuckled, "But I don't have the money to buy the next one, yet." "I take mine out from the library. Doesn't cost me a cent," I laughed a bit, looking over at the book he was holding. "This one's my favorite. Daring Do and the Ice in the Door. It's the first one with William. He's my favorite." "Yeah... I have a filly friend who reminds me of Small Fry. Her name's Scootaloo-- cutest thing you'll ever see. She reads these, too. Actually, I read her the first ten out loud. Oh... she cried so much when they had to wipe Small Fry's memory..." I giggled, remembering Scootaloo becoming a blubbering mess: a sight only I was allowed to see. "Mm-hm... I cried, too. But-- subdued, coltly tears," he laughed, flinging himself back onto the bed. "That's why I try to read them alone. Still, there are parts I can't get through without sobbing, or even having to put the book down and finish it later. I've had to do that several times. I just couldn't take it when Will and Daring finally admitted to eachother how they felt, and then they got separated." "You know... you kinda remind me of her." "Who?" "Daring. You look like her, just with different colors," He said, scrutinizing me. "That's funny, you're the second pony to tell me that today," I said, leaning back. I sighed, pretty content that I was hanging out with a Wonderbolt, for real, "Tell me.. if you had to describe Daring in one word, what would you say?" "Gosh.. I don't know. There are so many things about her that just... wow," he imitated an explosion, trying to describe to me the difficulty he was having. "Okay... three words. I'll give you three words, but that's all." "Alright... awesome," we both laughed, "Outgoing... and... devoted. Really... like, trustworthy." "Loyal?" I suggested. "Yeah, that's it. Loyal." Hm... awesome, outgoing, and loyal. Unless I am mistaken, those three words seem to describe me rather exactly. "You know what I'd like to do?" Soarin asked. "What?" "Just for a day... I'd like to be able to be with them, you know? For one day, I'd like to take the place of William, and go on an adventure with Daring Do." I chuckled, "Hey, don't leave me out. I'd like to be Daring. That'd be really cool..." "Okay. And your pal Scootaloo could be Small Fry. And we could all go fight Ahuizotl and steal his treasure." I smiled at the thought of dressing as Daring next Nightmare Night. "I just realized something." "What?" "I'm in your house, laying in your bed, and I'm not even sure I know your name. What was it... Rainbow... Blitz?": "Dash. It's Rainbow Dash," I corrected him. "Well, it sure is nice to meet you, Rainbow Dash," he extended a hoof to be bumped. "Same to you, Soarin," I obliged and bumped it. Soarin caught a glimpse of the clock on my wall. He looked panicked, then jumped off the bed, "Oh, Celestia! I have, like, six more houses to visit! Uhhh..." he racked his brain, trying to get the words out, "I'll, uh, see ya tomorrow? Say, eight?" "Yeah! Sure!" "Cool. Meet me at the Nimbus Mezza," he galloped to the door, making a swift takeoff, "See ya tomorrow!" he shouted over his shoulder. "Okay! Bye!" I called to him, though I was pretty sure he couldn't hear me. Wait a minute... I thought to myself, Is this a... date?