The bell sounding the day's end preceded the screams and shouts of over thirty fillies and colts as they bolted out the schoolhouse doors and into the afternoon sunlight. After a day spent sitting and toiling at their desks, with only a brief reprieve for recess, they were all too eager to let loose and burn off the excess of energy that had built up over the course of the day. Even more importantly, this was Friday, meaning that the foals had two whole days to spend frolicking and enjoying life free from school, which only served to compound their excitement. Most of them made a beeline for the park and its playgrounds, while others made their way to various stores for treats and toys. Only a few were immediately making their way home.
Three fillies in particular were making for the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres, where a certain clubhouse awaited, ready to plan their afternoon and evening activities as part of their ever ongoing crusade to get their cutie marks.
"So what's on the docket today?" asked the small, white unicorn with a lavender and magenta mane as they stepped into the clubhouse.
"Ah dunno," said the yellow earth pony filly, pausing to adjust her bow, "What's a docket anyway?"
Sweetie Belle paused and looked over at her friend. "Well...it's an agenda?"
"A what?" inquired the orange pegasus with a fuchsia mane.
"An agenda Scootaloo," groaned Sweetie Belle, smacking her face with a hoof, "You know, a list of stuff to do."
"Oooh!" exclaimed the other two fillies.
"Why didn't ya just say that in the first place?" asked Apple Bloom.
"Yeah," agreed Scootaloo, buzzing her wings, "What are you, a dictionary?"
"Do you know how old that joke is?” muttered Sweetie Belle.
"Geez, you sound like my aunt," added Scootaloo.
"SO ANYWAY!" shouted Sweetie Belle, the power of her voice momentarily knocking the other two fillies back as she tried to steer back to their original topic, "I meant, what are we going to do today to try and earn our cutie marks?"
"Aw, let's take it easy fer now," suggested Apple Bloom, "We've got all weekend to think of new ideas for crusadin'. Let's have some fun since it's Friday."
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo thought things over for a moment. Abruptly, the unicorn filly's eyes widened and she jumped up. "Ooh! I know! Let's have a sleepover! We can do all sorts of fun things and hang out together all night long."
Apple Bloom smiled widely at the idea. "That sounds like a plan. But who's house will we stay at? Mah sis has big plans for tomorrow and she don't want nothin' throwin' off her sleep."
Sweetie Belle frowned. "I know my parents won't have a problem with it, but we were over at my house last time. It'd be fun to have the sleepover somewhere else. I don't want to do it in the same place twice in a row."
The two of them turned to Scootaloo expectantly, suddenly noticing that the orange pegasus filly was looking rather down about something. "Scootaloo?" asked Apple Bloom, "You okay sugarcube?"
Suddenly noticing her friends' eyes on her, Scootaloo jolted out of her malaise. "Huh! Oh...Yeah! I'm fine. I was just...thinking about something."
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom exchanged uncertain looks before turning back to their friend. "Ya think Ditzy'll let us use yer house fer our sleepover."
Scootaloo rubbed her left foreleg with her right, looking away nervously. "I don't think so. We've got something important planned this weekend and...well...actually...I have to be there, so I can't go crusading with you girls tomorrow or the day after either."
"Aww," moaned Sweetie, "That's too bad."
"What's happenin' that ya have to give up yer whole weekend?" asked Apple Bloom.
Again, Scootaloo's eyes began roving over the interior of the clubhouse, finding anything and everything more interesting than her friends. "Uh...well...it's important...like really important. It's a huge deal for my family and I have to be there."
"Scootaloo?" said Apple Bloom, "What in tarnation is goin' on?"
Sweetie Belle quickly jumped in between them. "Let's just leave it," she pleaded, looking at Apple Bloom nervously, "She obviously doesn't want to talk about it, so we should leave it alone."
Apple Bloom leaned around and gave Scootaloo a concerned look. "Ah just want to make sure that it ain't nothing bad. Yer actin' mighty odd Scootaloo."
"It's nothing bad," replied Scootaloo, her wings buzzing nervously, "I'm actually really happy about it. It's just...kinda embarrassing."
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom exchanged dubious glances. "As embarrassin’ as ya get when yer gettin' all excited about Rainbow Dash?" asked the yellow filly.
"Hey!"
"Girls!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle, reinserting herself between them, "Let's drop it and just have some fun okay."
Settling back, Apple Bloom let out a defeated sigh. "Fine then."
Scootaloo looked away again. "I'm sorry. I'll tell you girls about it someday. But I'm just not ready yet."
"If you say so," said Sweetie Belle before stepping away from her other two friends, "Okay! Who wants to play hide and seek?"
After an afternoon of fun and play, it was safe to say that the three fillies making up the cutie mark crusaders had worn themselves out. At the same time, the rest of Ponyville heaved a collective sigh of relief at the rare opportunity to go without a Crusader-related disaster for at least one day.
Scootaloo lay panting on the soft grass outside the clubhouse. "Mare! I'm worn out. Where'd you learn to run so fast Sweetie Belle?"
From where she lay, Sweetie Belle raised her triumphant hoof. "My sister says that a lady must be strong and healthy to be at her best."
"Yeah right," scoffed Apple Bloom, who was leaning up against a nearby tree, "Yer sister ain't one fer workin' out. She might get dirty."
"Well, not outside," replied Sweetie Belle, "But she does go to the local gym three nights a week. She says that exercise is important for maintaining a good figure."
"Ha!" exclaimed Scootaloo, "Rainbow Dash doesn't need any fancy gym to stay in shape."
"That's 'cause she's a pegasus," Apple Bloom pointed out, "She's got the whole sky fer workin' out in!"
"Darn straight!"
A slight lull broke over the conversation and the three fillies sank into a companionable silence, basking in the warmth of the late afternoon. It was the kind of contentedness that could only come from a day well-spent. However, all three of them were lamenting that all too soon it would be time for them to part ways for the day.
"Scootaloo!" The orange filly lifted her head up at the sound of her name. Looking over, her eyes widened as she noticed an approaching filly.
The unicorn in question was two years younger than the Crusaders, with a grayish purple body and blonde mane that showed a distinct family resemblance to her mother. Her eyes were wide with excitement as she galloped closer, though her expression also betrayed a sense of urgency.
"Dinky?" asked Scootaloo, sitting up to face her young cousin.
"It's almost time for dinner!" Dinky shouted as she skidded to a halt before the three older fillies, "Mom doesn't want us to be late."
Scootaloo looked up at the angle of the sun and noticed how late it was. "Horseapples! We've gotta hurry! Thanks Dinky." She quickly jumped to her hooves and rushed over to where her scooter was parked, her previous fatigue forgotten.
Righting the scooter, Scootaloo strapped on her helmet and turned to Dinky. "Hop on Dinky. I'll get us there in ten seconds flat."
The little unicorn hopped up behind Scootaloo and wrapped her forelegs around Scootaloo's barrel, careful to keep clear of her wings as they started buzzing like a wasp's. The scooter immediately surged into motion, raising a cloud of dust and leaving the remaining two Crusaders coughing in its wake.
"What the hay was that all about?" asked Apple Bloom, staring off after Scootaloo and Dinky.
"I don't know, but it must really be important," said Sweetie Belle, "Scootaloo didn't even get upset that Dinky was here."
That gave the two fillies pause. Normally Scootaloo was quite adamant about not letting little Dinky hang out with them, thinking that she was generally "lame" and "uncool" in the typical manner of frustrated elder siblings with an image to maintain, no matter how often Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle commented that they found Dinky adorable and fun to be around. The two of them doted on her constantly when they had the chance (on second thought, it might have been jealousy).
After a moment, Apple Bloom's eyes began to narrow as she smiled slyly at Sweetie Belle. "Are ya thinkin' what Ah'm thinkin'?" she asked.
Sweetie tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I think so. But I thought we weren't allowed to go near beehives anymore."
Now it was Bloom's turn to smack her face. "No! Ah was thinkin' we should follow Scootaloo and find out just what in tarnation she's bein' so gosh darn secretive about."
"Are you crazy?" exclaimed Sweetie Belle, "We can't go spying on her like that!"
"But Ah'm worried," said Apple Bloom, "What if she's in some kinda trouble?"
"Didn't she just say she was embarrassed?" deadpanned Sweetie Belle.
"Ah think she's just tryin' to cover somethin' up," replied Apple Bloom.
"Of course she is!" snapped Sweetie with a despondent sigh, "She was trying to cover up something that embarrasses her."
"You know what Ah mean!" shouted Bloom, pointing an accusing hoof at her friend, "And ain't ya just the least bit curious about what Scoot might be hidin'."
Sweetie paused for a moment to think about it. "Well I am but..."
"Then ya agree!" exclaimed Bloom, cutting her off, "Come on Sweetie, let's go find out what it is that Scootaloo's so gosh darn nervous about!"
"Wait!" exclaimed Sweetie, but her friend was already galloping away towards Scootaloo's home. Sweetie Belle let out a defeated sigh and took off after her. Given who my sister is, shouldn't I be the gossipy one?
Scootaloo used her weight to send her scooter into a sideways skid, coming to a stop and throwing up another cloud of dust right outside the door to the house where she and Dinky lived. The two of them quickly hopped off and headed inside. Scootaloo sniffed the air, detecting a familiar scent, albeit one that only appeared in the house on special occasions. "Is that salmon?"
"Yep!" came a shout from the kitchen, "You Know Who is coming, so I thought I'd do her favorite dish. Come on in you two."
Dinky and Scootaloo filed in obediently where they saw the familiar gray and blonde figure of Ditzy Doo, who had reared up on the counter and was hard at work preparing a salad. As they did, Scootaloo sniffed the air again and felt her stomach grumble at the scent of salmon, mingled with the scents of mustard and dilll. This was one of her favorite dishes as well and even Dinky, having been raised in a pegasus household, was quite fond of it. They tended to save it for special occasions though, since salmon was expensive this far inland.
"When's she gonna get here?" asked Dinky, bouncing eagerly.
"Soon muffin," replied Ditzy, smiling over her shoulder at her young daughter, "Why don't you and 'Loo wash up so that we have everything ready when she comes in."
"Okay," agreed the two fillies as they made their way to the bathroom to clean their hooves and faces.
Ditzy turned back to her work with a happy hum. An almost tangible level of excitement filled the air as she continued her dinner preparations. Scootaloo was especially ecstatic. It wasn't every day that her mother came home for a visit after all.
With a low whistle, the train pulled into the station. The doors slid open, allowing countless ponies to disembark, making room for the nearly equal number that were waiting to get onto the train. Among those stepping off, a sandy-colored pegasus took a careful look around the crowd, her magenta eyes searching for any sign that somepony recognized her. Fortunately, she wasn't given so much as a second glance by anypony on the platform. The mare let out a relieved sigh and ran a hoof through her grayscale mane. She was grateful for the cream-colored suit she wore, which stretched far enough down her flank to obscure her cutie mark. The last thing she wanted to do was cause a sensation when she was just here to visit her family.
Making absolutely certain nopony was taking an interest in her, the mare spread her wings and took to the sky, making a beeline for a familiar household.
Dinky and Scootaloo were doing their homework in the living room when they heard the knock at the door.
"It's her!" exclaimed the orange filly, jumping upright almost immediately. She was off like a shot, her unicorn cousin following shortly behind. They arrived at the entryway, just as the gold-coated mare had closed the door and was in the process of removing her suit, exposing the compass rose cutie mark on her flank.
"MOM!" The mare barely had the chance to look up from what she was doing before she was tackled by the young filly, knocking her back on her haunches. With a laugh, the mare enfolded her daughter in a hug and tried her best to regain her balance. However, her efforts were thwarted by the second impact of the smaller gray unicorn who joined in the embrace, knocking the poor mare onto her back.
"Aunty Daring!" squealed Dinky eagerly as she snuggled into the mare's chest.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had arrived just in time to catch the sight of the gray-maned pegasus as she swooped in for a landing. Taking her in, both fillies could have sworn that there was something familiar about the mare, but couldn't place their hooves on it. They both heard the joyous squeals of Scootaloo and Dinky, accompanied by the thumps as their visitor was clearly knocked over by an enthusiastic welcome. However, they weren't able to make out any specific words that identified the strange mare, or gave a legitimate reason as to why she was there in the first place.
"Who do ya think she is?" asked Apple Bloom as she and Sweetie moved around the house, looking for a vantage point where they could spy on the family.
"No idea," replied Sweetie, "But Scootaloo and Dinky sounded happy to see her. Maybe she's family."
"Family?" Bloom tapped her chin.
"I know!" squealed Sweetie, "She must be someone really important maybe..." She gasped dramatically. "Maybe she's Scootaloo's mom."
"Ah don't know about that," said Bloom, "Ah mean, why in tarnation would Scootaloo not want us to meet her ma?"
"Well, she seemed embarrassed," said Sweetie, "Maybe her mom is pretty embarrassing in pony."
"Like she knows all kinds 'o silly stories about Scoots when she was just a baby," mused Bloom.
"Or maybe she just does a lot of weird stuff in public," suggested Sweetie Belle, "I know my sister finds it embarrassing when my parents do that kind of stuff."
The two of them shared a glance before mischievous grins burst across their faces. The thought of finding material to tease their fellow Crusader about was just too tempting to pass up. Even Sweetie Belle's previous caution was being overridden. They quickly moved on, seeking any kind of opportunity that would let them see what was going on in the house.
As it just so happened, they glanced in the kitchen windows to see Ditzy hard at work, preparing a meal and setting the table, just as the strange mare walked in. Trotting over, the mare walked up to Ditzy and gave her an affectionate nuzzle, the two of them smiling. They saw the mare say something to Ditzy in a voice too low to be carried outside, followed by Ditzy bursting into laughter.
The two fillies quickly dropped below the windowsill. "Ah don't know," said Bloom, "Maybe she's Ditzy's fillyfriend. They seem pretty close if ya ask me."
"Let's try and get a better look," suggested Sweetie Belle as the two of them reared up to peer in through the window again.
The strange mare was still in the kitchen, but was now moving to take a seat at the table while Ditzy continued to work on the last vestiges of dinner. As the mare moved past the counter, her full body came into view, giving the fillies and unobstructed view of her compass rose cutie mark. The two of them shared a poleaxed look as the familiar features clicked into place; a sandy coat, multi-toned grayscale mane, magenta eyes not all that different from Rainbow Dash...
"No way!" exclaimed Apple Bloom, briefly forgetting that the two of them were supposed to be spies.
"It can't be!" gasped Sweetie Belle, just as stunned as her friend.
In unison, they both gasped out the same name, the only possible answer to the strange, yet all too familiar mare in front of them. "Daring Do!"
The mare in question took her seat, back to the window, as she waited impatiently for dinner to be served. "You spoil me sis, putting out a spread like this whenever I come back."
"What can I say," replied Ditzy, grinning as she set down the last of the dishes, "It's a special occasion. Scootaloo hasn't seen you in four months. How long are you staying this time?"
"Actually, I got some vacation time," replied Daring, "There are no big digs coming up, so I filed for a couple months' worth of paid vacation. I figured I might borrow Scoots and take her somewhere fun."
Ditzy's ears fell flat. "You realize she has school you know. And I doubt that she'd just want to leave her friends behind for two whole months."
"I know, but you know how it is," groaned Daring, "I managed to slip in easily enough. But before long, somepony's gonna recognize me and, before you know it, our house is going to be swamped with rabid fans."
"I'm sorry," said Ditzy, her tone suggesting the response was almost reflexive.
Daring let out a sigh. "Let's not start arguing about this again, especially after I just got back. I don't want to ruin my first night home for 'Loo."
Ditzy nodded and put her happy face back on before she turned and called out. "'Loo, Muffin, it's time for dinner."
The two fillies raced in and eagerly took their seats at the dinner table, practically drooling as Ditzy pulled a long salmon fillet out of the oven, setting onto the center of the table. She quickly served portions to her sister and the fillies before putting a piece on her own plate.
"Alright!" exclaimed Daring, "Let's eat!"
"Yay!" shouted Dinky and Scootaloo in unison before digging in.
"Hey mom," said Scootaloo after swallowing a mouthful of the fishy goodness, "Where'd you end up going this time?"
"Would you believe I ended up excavating the Tomb of the Lost Kings in Saddle Arabia," said Daring, smiling, "I can't believe I finally got the chance to do that. I've been petitioning their government for access since I was a grad student."
"It's probably because the Princesses' diplomatic negotiation was so successful," commented Ditzy, "I still can't believe that they brought the Saddle Arabians to Ponyville."
"Oh yeah," said Daring, "Twilight Sparkle put on a magic show for them didn't she?"
"That's right!" said Scootaloo, "But that crazy Trixie nearly messed things up."
"How'd she get ahold of the Alicorn Amulet anyway?" mused Daring, "That thing belongs in a museum. I should know, since I put it in one."
Ditzy shrugged indifferently. "No idea. So what was the Tomb like?"
"It was amazing!" exclaimed Daring, "An architectural marvel! There must have been no less than two-hundred mummies there."
"Mummies?" asked Scootaloo.
Daring nodded. "It's how the early Saddle Arabians used to prepare their dead for the afterlife. It involved embalming, a special process of preparing the corpse so that it doesn't decay. First they-“
"Daaariiiing." Ditzy's voice was reproachful. "I hope you aren't going to start talking about dead bodies at the dinner table."
Daring's ears flattened and she grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."
"Aww," protested Scootaloo, sinking into her seat, "But that sounded pretty cool."
"I'll tell you all about it after dinner," said Daring, giving her daughter a reassuring grin. She turned back towards her food, only to see Ditzy, who was sitting across the table from her, staring at her. Daring was about to ask what Ditzy was staring at until she noticed that her sister's left eye was beginning to drift out of alignment.
"Diiiitzy," growled Daring. Now it was her turn to sound reproachful.
"What?" exclaimed the gray mare, quickly blinking, her left eye realigning. In spite of her best efforts to sound innocent, there was a certain degree of guilt in her voice.
"You've got that look again," replied Daring in a teasing voice, "You just came up with another idea didn't you."
"No I didn't!" protested Ditzy, her eyes flicking back and forth, "Honest."
Daring merely narrowed her eyes. However, she was thrown off any lines of further inquiry by a gasp from her daughter. Turning to look, she saw that Scootaloo was no longer paying any attention to her mostly-finished meal. Instead, the orange pegasus filly was staring at the window behind Daring, her eyes wide and her mouth agape.
"What's wrong?" asked Daring before she turned to look over her shoulder. What she saw did not bode well.
Two young fillies were sitting outside their kitchen window, their muzzles pressed up against it so that their breath fogged the glass. Their expressions were completely awestruck and it was perfectly clear that they recognized the mare in front of them. Daring turned away and slumped into her seat.
"Horseapples."
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom found the floor very interesting as they sat in the center of the living room, the entire Doo family gathered around them, their expressions ranging from angry to resigned.
"Alright young ladies," said Ditzy, her voice uncharacteristically stern as she stared down at the two guilty-looking fillies, "What do you have to say for yourselves?"
"Um..." Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were at a loss for words. They had been too concerned with the fact that a character from one of their favorite novel series was sitting in their best friend's living room.
"What the hay!" exclaimed Scootaloo, bounding out in front of her aunt, facing her friends, wings spread in agitation, "I said I didn't want to talk about it. What in Celestia's name made you think that was an invitation to spy on me?"
"We just wanted to make sure it weren't nothin' bad," replied Apple Boom, still shying away from Scootaloo's angry gaze.
"Besides, why would you want to keep this a secret?" asked Sweetie Belle, turning her head back up to face her friend head on, "Your mom is Daring Do! Isn't that like the most awesome thing ever!"
Daring sighed and dropped her face into her hooves. "It isn't when your sister's profession is making up stories about you."
"Stories?" Bloom's ears perked up at the word. She looked up and stared in stunned awe at Ditzy. "Does that mean yer...?"
The gray mailmare groaned. "I guess the cat's outta the bag now. Yep. I'm the author. A.K. Yearling is my pen name."
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged stunned looks. Scootaloo planted a hoof against her forehead. "I am so not going to hear the end of this," she grumbled.
"Wait a second!" shouted Sweetie Belle, "I don't get it. Scootaloo, your mom is Daring Do, but Daring Do is a character from a book series....a book series that Miss Ditzy writes?"
"Kinda," replied Scootaloo.
"I don't get it," said Sweetie, tilting her head to the side.
"Why don't we take it from the top and get this over with," interjected gray-maned pegasus, "I'm Daring Doo (with two ‘o’s), Professor of Archeology at the University of Canterlot. I travel around the world on various expeditions to analyze ancient sites and artifacts and, sometimes, teach about what I do at the university."
She glared sidelong at Ditzy. "And this is Ditzy Doo, my younger sister, who just so happens to be the author of the Daring Do (with one ‘o’) series of adventure novels, which are only loosely based on what I actually do, that she started writing without my permission or even bothering to come up with a different name for her character."
"Hey!" protested Ditzy, "I use a different name."
Daring planted a hoof against her face. "You changed one letter Ditzy, ONE LETTER. That does not qualify as a different name, to say nothing of the fact that you use my likeness on the cover of every. Single. Book, right down to the cutie mark."
Daring and Ditzy shared a strained look before sighing in unison, "I just don't know what went wrong."
"Wait a second," protested Bloom, "Miss Ditzy's the author? Ah thought she was the mailmare."
"Mama does that for fun," chirped Dinky, bouncing gleefully.
"Ya work as a mailmare fer fun?" asked Apple Bloom, looking askance at Ditzy.
"It's cool," she answered, "It's sorta like having a secret identity."
"She messes up my life with her books and she's the one with a secret identity," growled Daring petulantly.
"So, if Miss Ditzy is the author of the Daring Do series," mused Sweetie Belle, looking at her pegasus friend, "Doesn't that mean you're actually rich...I mean really rich?"
"I guess so," admitted Scootaloo, "But none of us like to show it off. I mean, I guess Aunt Ditzy is the rich one."
"Oh don't worry kiddo," commented Daring with a sardonic grin, ruffling her daughter's mane, "Given what she owes me in royalties, you're rich too."
"So does that mean you're richer than Diamond Tiara's dad?" asked Sweetie Belle hopefully.
"Probably not," said Ditzy, "I mean, we've never compared assets. Sure, my series sells really well, but Filthy Rich owns an Equestria-wide franchise. Besides, it wouldn't be right."
"Why not?" inquired Bloom.
"Because Filthy is the one who introduced me to my publisher. He really helped me break into the industry, so he's at least partially responsible for my success." She sighed happily. "He never even asked for a commission, such a nice stallion."
"If only his daughter weren't a total brat," grumbled Scootaloo.
“Scootaloo.”
The orange filly flinched at the sound of Ditzy’s “mom voice,” which she only ever used, along with Scootaloo’s full name, when Scootaloo was in trouble or really close to being in trouble.
“Anyway!” said Daring sharply, inserting herself into the conversation again, “Ditzy’s book series basically makes up a bunch of stuff about what I actually do…”
“It’s for entertainment value,” protested Ditzy, shifting her attention away from her niece, “I have to engage ponies in the story somehow.”
“Yeah, but would it hurt you to write some about what I actually do?” said Daring, “You know…real archeology. Do you have any idea how many of my students at the university come in expecting a course in dungeon looting and how many of them I lose when they realize that archeology isn’t remotely about stopping the plans of fictional god monsters and dodging ceiling crocodiles?”
“I didn’t make it out to be a biography,” said Ditzy, “It’s in the fiction section for a reason.”
“Uh…mom…Aunt Ditzy…” Scootaloo’s voice called the sisters out of their argument. The filly gestured at Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, both of whom were staring at Scootaloo’s mother and aunt.
Looking at each other, the mares let out a forlorn sigh. “I just don’t know what went wrong.”
Sweetie Belle couldn’t help it anymore. She began to break down into giggles. “I like your mom,” she said to Scootaloo, “She’s fun.”
"Yeah!" agreed Apple Bloom excitedly, "Ah bet she knows all kinds 'o great stories that Ditzy ain't written about yet."
Daring laughed. "You've got that right kid." She turned to look at her family. "I guess dinner's over. Why don't I share some stories with you girls."
"Really!" squealed Sweetie, both her and Bloom grinning eagerly at each other, "Stories from the real-life Daring Do! That's so...so..."
"Awesome," Scootaloo suggested lamely.
"Yeah!"
Daring laughed at Sweetie Belle's and Apple Bloom's enthusiasm while Ditzy went into the kitchen to clean up dinner, casting a knowing look over her shoulder at Daring, along with a sympathetic one to Dinky and Scootaloo, both of whom were clearly not as happy with the situation as their friends.
"Alright kids," said Daring, settling down onto the couch, "Why don't I tell you about what it was like excavating the Tomb of Lost Kings."
Both Scootaloo and Dinky perked up, eager to hear more about the mummies.
"So you see," Daring began, "At the start we..."
And so the foals listened, spellbound as Daring Doo related, in impressive detail, her work in excavating the tomb. She told them about the bureaucratic nightmares of getting across the border with her team and all of their equipment, the long hours spent navigating the deserts while they made painstaking surveys, looking carefully for the right location, finally locating the Tomb so they could begin the excavation, the care taken to preserve the architecture and artifacts, noting the designs and what ancient Saddle Arabian Dynasties different sections of the Tomb were constructed by, the painstaking process of documenting and cataloguing their finds, every detail related with exquisite exactness and fidelity to reality.
Through it all, Scootaloo and her friends listened in quiet fascination...
...
...If, by quiet fascination, one meant mind-numbing boredom.
"...and that about wraps it up," Daring finished nearly an hour later, her audience beginning to nod off, even though it wasn't exactly that late in the evening, "That's what a real archeological expedition is like. So which of my expeditions do you want to hear about next? Maybe you'd like to hear about what I did in the fabled catacombs of Prance or..."
"No offense Miss Doo," said Sweetie Belle, her tone sad, almost pleading, "But I think I like Miss Ditzy's stories better."
Daring's voice died and her jaw dropped and she stared at her daughter's two best friends as Apple Bloom nodded her agreement. Turning her plaintive gaze to her daughter and niece, who were sharing the couch with her, Daring was struck dumb twice in a row to see Scootaloo nodding along with her friends (Dinky being out cold by this point). "You too!"
Seeing the look of betrayal on her mother's face made Scootaloo's expression dissolve into a sheepish grin. "Um...yeah...sorry mom, but...I didn't even understand half of all that..." She waved her arms around as she fished for a word to use. "...stuff."
"What were you expecting Daring?" asked Ditzy, chuckling as she stepped into the room and lifted the sleeping Dinky into her arms, "This isn't one of your university classes. These are foals. Ponies like them and my other average readers can't keep up with the kind of details your work requires."
Daring sighed before turning to regard Scootaloo and her friends. She noticed Apple Bloom waving her hoof frantically. "What?"
"Ah was wonderin'," said Apple Bloom, "Where did that bad guy in yer stories-Ah mean Ditzy's stories! Where did that bad guy Ah-Ahu...Ahu...it...zot..."
"Ahuitzotl?" said Daring.
"Yeah, Ah...uh...him. Is he real or anythin'?"
Daring turned to glance at Ditzy, who smiled and nodded, encouraging her to explain. "Um...yes and no. I don't have an enemy like that. There's no Ahuitzotl in actual existence. It's actually a legendary creature I found depicted in an ancient Mezoequestrian temple during one of my expeditions. Apparently it belonged to the builders’ pantheon of gods. When I showed it to Ditzy, she absolutely loved it and decided to make it into a villain in her series."
"Ooh! What about that Dr. Caballeron guy?" asked Sweetie Belle, "Is he real?"
"Nope, completely made up," said Daring loftily, before directing a suspicious look at her sister, "Though I think he may be based on a certain sleazy guy who kept making advances on me at one of our Society dinners."
"Well..." said Ditzy bashfully.
From there, the foals asked a variety of questions, ranging from the various artifacts from the books, all of which happened to be based on items she’d excavated, how the locations in the books were based on the sites of her previous expeditions, and the various locales they were situated in. Surprisingly, Daring was enjoying herself. Her previous effort at explaining her work in exhausting detail had been…well…exhausting, particularly for her audience. But using the books her sister had written as context was serving as a useful tool for keeping the foals engaged as they peppered her with question after question and she shared the various aspects of her career with them.
Ditzy quietly faded into the background, heading into the kitchen and returning with plates of snacks for Scootaloo and her friends. Dinky had apparently had enough for the day and was quietly snoozing, tucked underneath her aunt’s wing as Daring lounged on the couch.
Time flew by and, before they’d realized it, the sun had set and the darkening skies betrayed the onset of night. Ditzy took a glance at the clock and gasped. “Oh dear! I think you girls should be heading home now.”
Sweetie and Bloom both looked up and froze when they saw what time it was.
“Oh ponyfeathers!” exclaimed Apple Bloom, “Applejack’s gonna tan mah hide fer bein out so late without tellin’ her.”
“And Rarity will be furious that I missed dinner!” added Sweetie Belle.
Ditzy and Daring exchanged a look before the elder sister smiled down at the two distressed fillies. “How about Scoots and I walk you home. I can explain to your families where you were.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged looks before grinning up at their savior. “That would be awesome!”
Ditzy could only chuckle as she watched Daring shepherd the three Crusaders out the door before turning to pick Dinky up off the couch and take her upstairs to get her ready for bed.
About an hour later, Daring and Scootaloo returned, having been quite entertained by both Rarity and Applejack’s reactions to who Scootaloo’s mother was. Scootaloo was still excited to be with her mother and was eager to spend as much time as possible with her. But her endurance was beginning to flag. Still, Daring simply let the orange filly curl up against her and wrapped a wing about Scootaloo, letting her doze softly against Daring’s side.
“Have fun?” asked Ditzy.
“Yeah, the kids weren’t too bad,” said Daring.
“I saw that you were enjoying yourself when you were explaining all the stuff that was in my stories,” noted Ditzy as she settled into a chair facing the couch.
“Yeah…well…” Daring grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. “I guess so. They were so fired up about your books and…”
“You know, if you’re worried about my readers not learning about real archeology, that might be a way to do it,” suggested Ditzy.
“What do you mean?” asked Daring.
“Why don’t you write a supplement to my books,” suggested Ditzy, “Explaining about different things that I’ve included in my stories, just like you were doing with Scootaloo and her friends. I bet my readers would love it and more of them would learn about real archeology.”
The more Daring thought about it, the more the idea began to appeal to her. “That actually doesn’t sound so bad,” she admitted.
“That’d be great,” said Ditzy, “My publishers would love for an excuse to reprint new editions of my novels and my readers would be over the moon at the thought of reading something by the real-life Daring Doo.”
“Yeah, it definitely might be worth a try,” said Daring before directing a glance at the filly slumbering beneath her wing, “But before that, I’ve got some lost time to make up with my little girl here.” She sighed. “I’ve missed so many days of her life. I’m amazed she doesn’t hate me.”
“Of course she doesn’t hate you,” scoffed Ditzy, “You should see her whenever one of your letters arrives. She won’t stop talking about you around the house.”
“But only around the house,” muttered Daring.
“That’s my fault,” said Ditzy, bobbing herself on the head and flashing a silly grin, “Remember?” The impact sent her eyes spinning on separate tracks.
Daring couldn’t help but snort. “That’s certainly true. But still…I have this time now and I should do what I can to take advantage of it. I wonder what we should do first…”
“She can take you out and introduce you to all her friends tomorrow,” said Ditzy, grinning, “She’ll probably want to take you to see Rainbow Dash first.”
“That would be pretty cool,” said Daring. She’d certainly heard enough about Rainbow Dash through Scootaloo’s letters and her occasional visits to Ponyville. This would be her first time meeting Rainbow in pony though. Daring looked forward to meeting the pony that Scootaloo considered to be an idol.
Besides, thought Daring, She sounds like one of those hardcore athlete types. There’s no way a jock like her has read Ditzy’s novels, so I won’t have to put up with any fangirl squealing while I’m talking with her.
Daring failed to notice the diabolical grin spreading across Ditzy’s face as the gray mare deciphered her elder sister’s thoughts. Tomorrow was going to be interesting indeed.