//------------------------------// // Reality // Story: A Figment of Her Imagination // by PaulAsaran //------------------------------// Daring Do darted from tree to tree, head swiveling about constantly for threats. She had to be extremely cautious; a single mistake was all it would take for her to be caught. She couldn’t let that happen, no matter what. The danger was just too great, even for the seasoned explorer. So she kept to the shadows, made not a sound, and hoped she wasn’t being followed. At last she found her destination. It had taken her a while, for she wasn’t used to the region. Getting to it would be a trick, as she had a large space to clear with no good hiding places. But if she could cross the bridge and get to the entrance without being spotted, she’d be in the clear! At least, she hoped so… She paused beneath some bushes, eyes roaming the scene. There were no ponies that she could see, but that didn’t mean anything. Her eyes scanned the skies, which had turned red with the dusk. She cursed; there were lots of clouds. Any pegasus could be hiding behind them. Dare she risk it? Who was she kidding? She was Daring Do. Of course she was going to! She adjusted her helmet and readied herself. Her mind was focused on the task ahead, ignoring the sick feeling in her gut. A moment to plan her route, a quick count to three, and she was off, running as fast as her legs could carry her! Down the road, over the bridge, through the yard! Daring slid to a stop at the door and banged as hard as she could. She spun about, eyes scanning the area for dangers and hooves dancing wildly. Nopony yet, but at any moment… Come on, come on… The door opened, and Daring dove into the cottage, slamming the door behind her and leaning against it with a long sigh. Fluttershy was standing perfectly still, hoof raised where it had been upon opening the door. She stared at Daring with wide, confused eyes, their muzzles mere inches from one another. At last Fluttershy blinked and took a step back, emitting a quiet “Oh.” Daring, her back pressed against the door and hat hanging precariously off one ear, gave Fluttershy a hopeful look. “Have you read my books?” Fluttershy blinked, not seeming to understand. But then she blushed and, hiding behind her long pink mane, shook her head. “Umm… Sorry?” “Thank the Goddess!” Daring cried, dropping to her knees and pressing her hooves against Fluttershy’s legs in an imploring gesture. “Can I please crash here for a while? If I have to spend one more minute with another adoring fan, I might go insane!” “Oh!” Fluttershy tilted her head. “Umm… But what about Rainbow Dash? You stayed with her the past two nights, didn’t you?” Daring’s head dropped, face smacking against the floor as she let out a groan. “She’s the worst of them all! I’m sick and tired of her fawning over me like I’m some kind of icon. She knows more about me than I do, and that’s just creepy.” She raised her head up to gaze with big eyes. “Please, I just want one peaceful night without being bombarded with questions! I’d rather face Ahuizotl again than deal with this.” Fluttershy studied her for a long moment, then sighed with a soft smile. “Oh, alright.” “Thank you!” Daring’s chin dropped to the floor, and she finally let herself relax. “You have no idea what I’ve had to put up with in the past few days…” Fluttershy giggled. “I don’t know about that. I bet it’s not much different from how I felt back when I was a model.” Daring’s ears perked up, and she cast a roving eye upon her savior. “You’re a model?” Fluttershy blushed and turned away, heading for her kitchen. “I used to be, and I’d rather not be again. It was terrible.” Daring watched her go, paying close attention to Fluttershy’s body. Yes, she could definitely see her as model material. Just one look at that flank was enough to— She took off her helmet and whacked herself on the head; what was she doing, ogling Fluttershy like that? This pony was veritably rescuing her from a clear and present danger, and she was being rude! She climbed wearily to a sitting position, rubbing her mane into place before putting her helmet back on. What she needed was some proper rest. “Sorry about that,” Fluttershy said from inside the kitchen. “Now come on, lay back down so I can see.” Daring blinked and looked up, but Fluttershy was beyond her vision. Was somepony else here? “I know it hurts, but I did warn you not to go eating too many of those sugarcap berries, didn’t I?” It sounded as if she were having a conversation with an imaginary friend. Daring’s curiosity told her to take a look, but the thought frightened her. After all, what if it was another one of those nutso fans? “I promise, it’ll be over quick. Just a little dab and we’ll be done.” Daring couldn’t take it anymore. She approached the kitchen, which had no doorway, for it was really an extension of the dining room. That meant Daring had to stay close to the wall if she was to keep hidden. “That’s right, nice and easy. Oh, be careful of the tea set! Let me get that out of the way.” Daring was at the corner. Ready to fly off in an instant, she peered into the kitchen. What she saw made her gasp: a bear – a live bear! – was reclining on Fluttershy’s kitchen table! She jumped out into the open and grabbed her whip instinctively. “Why is there a bear in your house?!” Fluttershy, hovering by a tall cabinet with a tea kettle in her hooves, turned about. “What? Why wouldn’t there be?” The bear, now lying on its back properly, shifted its head to cast a quizzical glance at Daring. Daring couldn’t believe her ears! She unrolled her whip and cracked it. “Out, you brute! Don’t make me use this, ‘cause I will!” She expected the bear to attack, or roar, or any of a hundred things. Instead it jumped back off the table and tried to hide behind a chair woefully undersized for such a purpose. “What are you doing?!” Fluttershy dropped down to hover between Daring and the beast. “Leave Bearrington alone!” Daring paused, confused by the behavior of both the animal and her host. “Bearrington?” Fluttershy flew back to the bear and held him by the shoulder, unpleasant eyes locked on Daring. “Why would you want to hurt him? He didn’t do anything to you!” The bear actually looked frightened, staring at its attacker from between Fluttershy’s legs with wide eyes. Daring’s legs and shoulders went limp. She looked at the bear, then Fluttershy, then her whip. “I… I thought he was gonna attack or…or something…” “Attack?” Fluttershy floated back to rub the big animal under the chin. It grinned and rolled its eyes back at her touch. “He wouldn’t hurt a fly, would you, Bearrington?” she cooed. “No, you wouldn’t.” Daring dropped to her haunches, mouth wide open and whip forgotten on the floor. It took her a few seconds to recover, shaking herself and biting her leg, just in case this was some crazy dream. It hurt, and she was still there. So it had to be real, right? Blushing, she rolled her whip up. “I… I’m sorry. All the bears I ever met were…well…bears.” How else was she supposed to put it? But Fluttershy was giving her a questioning look, so she added, “Dangerous. Aggressive.” Her host nodded, though she didn’t look pleased. “I guess A.K. Yearling wouldn’t have a proper adventure if she didn’t misrepresent my poor animal friends. Just because bears are mean in your books doesn’t mean they are here.” She turned and gestured to the animal, which slowly stood up. It was still eyeing Daring, though. “It’s okay,” Fluttershy told him, rubbing his shoulder with a sunny smile. “Daring was just surprised, that’s all. She won’t hurt you.” She cast a raised eyebrow at her guest. “Will she?” She was making Daring promise not to attack? The experienced adventurer felt as though her world was turning upside down! But she nodded anyway. “Uh… Yeah. Promise?” Fluttershy beamed and turned back to Bearrington. “See? Now come on, on the table.” The bear sagged and rubbed its jaw, prompting Fluttershy to whack its paw. “No, you shouldn’t rub it!” Daring could only gape as the bear lowered its paws with a jerk, a long frown on its face as if it were a child being chastised by its mother. It carefully climbed back on top of the kitchen table, lying on its back. It’s lips were trembling, and…was that moisture in its eyes?! Fluttershy had turned to one of her cabinets again, and a moment later was hovering beside the bear’s face with a large blue jar in one hoof. “Okay, now open wide,” she ordered with an encouraging smile. The bear whimpered but did as it was told, opening its mouth to reveal dangerous-looking fangs. Daring was itching to grab her whip, but resisted the temptation and instead watched in rapt amazement as her host spread a thin layer of some green paste on the animal’s unusually red gums. Bearrington winced and let out a pained sound, but didn’t close his mouth. Daring couldn’t believe what she was seeing; if she’d ever come that close to a bear’s mouth in her own encounters, she’d have lost a leg! “W-what are you doing…?” “Sssh, it’s okay,” Fluttershy whispered to the bear, moving to the upper jaw. “Bearrington ate too many sugary berries, and now his teeth are suffering. This is one of Zecora’s remedies. It should have him feeling okay soon, provided he controls himself next time.” Bearrington only whimpered. Zecora? Probably a healer. Daring had more immediate things to hold her attention. She cast her eyes about the room, and suddenly was very aware of cages, holes in the walls and other signs of animal habitation. “Umm… Are there any other...potentially dangerous creatures living here?” Fluttershy giggled even as the poor bear – did Daring really just think of that bear as poor? – squirmed. “Some ponies would say Angel’s pretty dangerous. Other than that? No.” Daring tilted her head. “Angel?” Something tapped her leg, and when she looked down she found a small white bunny standing before her. It puffed out its chest and posed with a grin. Daring raised an eyebrow and looked back up at Fluttershy. “You’re kidding, right? Ow!” She jerked her hoof back from where the bunny had kicked her. The little twerp could pack a wallop! “Why you little—!” Too late; it had scampered off to disappear through a door. Fluttershy called after him, “Angel, behave yourself!” She began screwing the cap onto the jar, her attention already back on her patient. “Now you just wait for a little longer, Bearrington, and I promise it’ll be over soon.” The tear-struck bear – gums fully lathered with green gunk – looked up at her with mouth wide open and made a whimpering sound. Fluttershy set the jar aside, leaned over the bear and rubbed its massive head. “I know it hurts, and I’m sorry. If you don’t want to go through this, you should be more careful about how much you eat.” Still nursing her bruised leg, Daring gave her host a thoughtful look. “So you’re…a vet?” Fluttershy nodded with a beaming smile, the kind that Daring suspected made a lot of stallions melt. “I look after all the animals around Ponyville! It’s my special gift.” “Huh.” Daring eyed the bear on the table. “And you can understand what he’s saying?” Fluttershy nodded again. “Wow, what I wouldn’t give to have an ability like that! Do you know how much easier traipsing through a jungle would be if I could actually talk to the animals, rather than nearly getting eaten?” Fluttershy giggled, automatically reaching back to knock away one of the bear’s paws before it could rub its teeth. “I guess it wouldn’t make for an exciting book, though, would it?” Daring chuckled with a blush. “Naw, I guess not.” Deep down, she had to admit she was impressed. Here was a pony who didn’t look at all suited to danger, and she was lecturing a bear six times her size. And putting her hoof in its mouth, for Zeus’ sake! She couldn’t help feeling…humbled. She’d not felt that in a long time. It had been five days since Daring Do had been conjured up in Ponyville. Five days she’d remained in town, appeasing fans she never knew she had. Those fans had finally calmed down to such a degree that she could safely walk about the place without fear of an ambush, though there were still eyes on her no matter where she went. At least she’d been able to stay at Fluttershy’s place the last three nights, which was far more tolerable than Rainbow’s cloud house. She was the first to acknowledge that she and Rainbow shared some things in common, but that only frustrated the adventurer more! On the other hoof, Fluttershy was calm, patient and above all else, quiet. Daring had nothing against Rainbow Dash per se, but if given the choice of who she’d rather stay with there was no uncertainty in her mind. She tried to make up for it by spending a little time with her “biggest fan”, though it was hard to do; everypony had been competing for her attention! That got very old very quickly. Now Daring had just one thing on her mind: wanderlust. She couldn’t stand that she’d been stuck in one place for so long! There was only one thing to do, and that was leave. She was an explorer, after all. She’d mentioned this to Fluttershy, who she’d really come to open up to, and her host had suggested she visit Twilight Sparkle. So there she was, standing in the snow before the Golden Oaks Library. She’d already decided that she didn’t like the Princess, if only because of how her life had taken such an insane turn. Even so, Twilight was purported to be a pony of great knowledge, and she may be able to point out a direction for Daring. Sucking in a deep breath and wiping the sneer from her face, Daring knocked. She shivered in the snow, taking a moment to tighten the thick coat she was wearing, a gift from one of her more practically-minded fans. She was waiting for a while, so she knocked again with more force. “Come in!” Doing her best to force a smile to her lips, Daring entered. She paused at the doorway, staring as books of all sorts floated about in neat lines and circles. Twilight, horn glowing, was standing in the center of the main room and scanning books that passed her by on their way to the shelves. Daring watched for several seconds before blurting out, “What the hay are you doing?” “Oh.” Twilight caught sight of her, a brief glance before her eyes went back to the books. “Hey, Daring! Just sorting my books. They tend to get misplaced after a while.” “I see.” Daring closed the door, watching for a few seconds as the thousands of tomes darted about in a curiously organized manner. How was she keeping up with all of it? “Umm… I guess I should leave you to it. But do you have a world map, or something?” “Yep.” Twilight gestured to some shelves, eyes still locked on her work. “Second drawer from left, bottom. Lots of maps in there, should be one for the known world.” Aha, the known world! That was exactly what Daring wanted to hear, ‘cause it meant there were unknown parts to be explored. She made her way to the shelves and began her search. It hadn’t taken her long to accept that the world she’d come from – that she remembered so well – was a fake. She didn’t know why it was so easy to accept, but it was. But now that all her old responsibilities were moot, she needed some new ones. She figured a good start was to do what she was good at. “So what do you need the map, for?” Twilight asked in an absent-minded manner. “Gotcha.” Daring pulled out a large, rolled up map with the label ‘World Atlas’ scrawled on its band, and eagerly brought it to a nearby desk. “I’m going to go exploring. I can’t stay in Ponyville forever.” “You’re going to what?!” Daring let out a shout as all the books that had been flying about suddenly dropped, covering her in a mountain of pages. She struggled for a few seconds in darkness before managing to shove her head out from beneath the pile. A moment later, Twilight’s head burst up in a similar fashion, and Daring wasted no time shooting her an annoyed grimace. “What did you go and do that for?” Twilight tapped her forehooves together as she hesitated. “I really don’t think you should go. You need to make as much use of the little time you have left.” Daring rolled her eyes. “I thought you said you were a fan. If you’ve really read my books, then you’d know that I’m an adventurer! I need to—” She came to an abrupt pause. “What do you mean, ‘what little time I have left?’” Twilight began to pull herself out of the pile of books as she replied, “The spell only lasts about three weeks.” Daring was able to pull her forelegs out of the books. “What spell?” Twilight half-attentively gestured to her again. Daring considered this response, resting her cheek in a hoof as she leaned over the books. “You mean…my spell? The one that brought me here?” “That’s the one,” Twilight acknowledged. She brushed her mane back into place, finally free of the veritable mountain of books. Daring thought on this news for a moment, trying to understand the significance. She’d been summoned, right? Did those spells really have time limits? And if so, what did it matter? She wasn’t a unicorn, she didn’t know a thing about magic. “So what happens when the spell wears off?” Twilight studied Daring with eyelids lowered. “Well… You’ll disappear.” The pegasus paused, letting those words sink in. “W-what do you mean, disappear?” She gestured to a random book with a nervous smile. “You mean I’ll go back to my book world?” “The book world doesn’t exist,” Twilight declared in a lecturing tone, but caught herself and hesitated once more. She studied Daring, and her expression was sympathetic. “Daring, you’re just a character from a book. You’re not real.” She didn’t know why, but Daring felt a touch of anger filling her at that statement. She pounded a hoof against the books she was still pinned under and glared. “Whaddaya mean, I’m not real? I’m here aren’t I? A living, breathing pony!” Twilight shifted, averting her eyes once more. “Technically speaking you’re…umm…not a living pony.” This was supposed to be the smartest pony in Ponyville? Daring sneered and jerked herself up from the book pile so that she could stand hoof-to-hoof with the Princess. “Not living? Look at me! I talk, I think! I got memories, just like you!” Twilight shook her head. “Your memories were put in your head by the spell. It’s all fake, Daring.” Now Daring really was mad. “Where do you get off, huh? Who are you to tell me I’m not real?! I breathe, I feel pain! I’ve got a heart, just like you!” Twilight raised a skeptical eyebrow, and her horn began to glow. With a poof of violet clouds, a stethoscope appeared in the air between them. Twilight promptly put it on and pressed the cold device to Daring’s chest. Mildly surprised, Daring could only stare at her. A tense moment passed, then another. “Actually,” Twilight said, voice apologetic, “you don’t have a heart.” “What? Let me see that!” Daring snatched the stethoscope from her and took a listen herself, pressing the device where her heart should be and trying to breathe normally. Nothing. She blinked and shifted the device a little. Silence met her ears. A horrible thought hit her, but she shoved it down with a snarl and threw the stethoscope away. “Bah, this thing’s just busted! Some mage you are.” As if this were a direct attack, Twilight’s anxious manner disappeared, replaced with a pursed-lipped glower. The Princess promptly grabbed one of Daring’s forehooves, raised it to eye level, and set a hoof just above the lowest knuckle. Another long pause. “No pulse, either.” “Oh, come on!” Daring shoved her away and touched her hoof to her wrist. “Amateur. You just don’t know how to check for…a…pulse…” She stared at her leg where she was pressing. She released herself, tried again, pressed a little harder. She took a few quick breaths, trying to speed up her heart rate. Horror slowly began to build in her mind. “I don’t have a pulse.” She looked up at Twilight, eyes wide and jaw loose. “I… I don’t have a pulse. Why don’t I have a pulse?!” “Because you’re not a real pony,” Twilight explained, her lecturing tone coming back. “You’re more like a…” She paused to think. “Like a very realistic mannequin.” Daring stared at the Princess for several seconds, trying to process this. She wasn’t real? What did that even mean? She looked down at her hoof, still feeling for a pulse that, by now, she knew didn’t exist. She released her leg and realized her hooves were shaking. “But… B-but… I have thoughts. I feel pain. I have emotions, opinions!” She grabbed Twilight by the shoulders and shook her violently. “Isn’t that enough? Doesn’t that mean I’m real? You can’t just deny my existence like that!” “Daring, calm down!” The horrified pony thrust Twilight away with a shout. “No, I will not calm down! You just told me I’m going to die!” Twilight shot Daring a frustrated look. “You’re not going to die. You—” “I will cease to exist!” Daring threw up her hooves. “What else would you call it?! I don’t wanna die, I only just got here! How can you write me off like I’m nothing? I am not just a character in a book!” The two stared at one another, the world encased in silence. Daring was huffing, anger and fear mixing within her like chemicals about to detonate. She glared, waiting for the Princess to acknowledge her existence, each second making her more and more frustrated. Twilight, on the other hoof, appeared to be piecing together some sort of puzzle in her head. She seemed upset, but also very confused. She rubbed her chin, looked down at the floor. “This isn’t right. Something’s wrong.” Daring scowled. “You’re telling me?” “You’re not supposed to be like this,” Twilight noted. “You were supposed to be…well…” “Happy to go?” Daring growled. Twilight shook her head. At this point her anger was gone, entirely replaced by confusion. “No… You’re just…not supposed to care.” Daring threw up her hooves once more. “Why wouldn’t I care? We’re talking about my life!” “But that’s not how the spell was meant to work,” Twilight said, now looking genuinely worried. “Your mind’s supposed to be bound to the book character. You’re not supposed to be thinking dynamically!” Daring took a step back. “So I’m supposed to be what? A doll for everypony to play with, then jump back into the book with a smile on my face?” Twilight drooped and averted her eyes. “When you put it like that—” “It sounds wrong, don’t it?” “But it doesn’t make any sense,” Twilight said. “You’re not supposed to have intelligence, and we’ve established that you’re not technically ‘alive’. How could the spell have possibly done something so impressive? Sentience is not something so simple as—” Daring let out a frustrated shout and shoved Twilight so hard she fell. “You’re still thinking about the spell?! Buck the magic, what are ya gonna do about me? How are ya gonna keep me around?!” Twilight didn’t bother getting up. She looked up at Daring with ears low. “I… I don’t know if I can. Or should. It’s not that simple, Daring.” “Not that simple? I wanna live, it doesn’t get simpler than–” Daring snarled and turned for the door. “Ya know what? Buck this, and buck you!” “Daring, wait!” She was already out the door.