//------------------------------// // Built By Fear... Deconstructed By Friends // Story: Daring Do and the Stigma of Fear // by Witchfinder General //------------------------------// Daring Do And The Stigma Of Fear Chapter 1: Built By Fear... Deconstructed By Friends Inside the Ponyville Library, two ponies laid around reading. One Pony had chosen a book representing her primary interests in the arcane magic field; the other had chosen a simple adventurous tale of grandeur. Each one was enjoying their selection on this gray day. The day typically used for lying around. Twilight Sparkle was, needless to say, glad to have her most athletic friend come by every so often to enjoy the one thing she used to hate: reading. Sure, she hasn't read anything other than the Daring Do series, but it was better than nothing. They enjoyed each other’s company, even though most of it was spent in silence. “All right. Done with this one.” “Is that right? Geez Rainbow, you're becoming a faster reader than I am.” “Just for that series. I don't think I could read as fast as you otherwise.” “Hmm, true.” Rainbow hit Twilight lightly on the shoulder at her own teasing arrogance, then went to grab yet another Daring Do book to read. A look of perplexity overran her face when she failed to find a title she was not already familiar with. “Hey, Twi? You got any more Daring Do around here? I think I read all these.” Twilight knew she didn't, and also knew it was likely the time she had feared finally arriving. “Which one was the last one you read?” “Daring Do and The Ring of the Marengeti .” Confirmed. “Sorry, Rainbow. That's the last book in the series.” Twilight hadn't seen her friend lose this much color since Discord was loose. “But- but that can't be the last one! You sure there aren't any more?” “Positive. There hasn't been a new book in years. She just... outright stopped writing them.” “Why?!” “Don't know; she disappeared from the public eye a while ago.” “Well, I gotta find her. Make her write more. I need more.” Taking matters into her own hands, Twilight thought. That's Rainbow Dash for you. “Rainbow, no one's seen her in three years.” “I'll find her, don't you worry.” “Do you even know who she is?” Rainbow opened her mouth, and let it hang for a second before shutting it. “...no.” Twilight smirked. “Pick out a book. Any Daring Do book. Read the inside flap at the end.” Rainbow did so, picking out her favorite Daring Do And The Fountain Of Lamneth, and flipped to the inside of the back cover. A small paragraph was present on the flap of the book cover. Daring Do is a renowned archaeologist with a degree from Hoofvard in zoology. She resides in Canterlot where she teaches History at Pranceton University-- “She's real?! And she lives in Canterlot?!” “Correct.” Twilight confirmed with smugness and amusement in her friend's expected reaction. “She might not be there anymore. I told you, she disappeared.” “...And you didn't tell me all this before, why?” “Well, I didn't want you to go all obsessive fangirl on her like you do with the Wonderbolts.” Rainbow blushed at this accusation. “I do not-- Okay maybe I do. But I have to meet her! At least to ask her to make more books!” “I seriously doubt she will, but I'm all for a trip to Canterlot.” “...And emergency contact is right here. We'll be staying with Princess Celestia, so just have Spike send the letters. We'll get them there. Got everything, Trixie?” “Yes, yes. Trixie is more than capable of watching a library for a week. You need not worry.” “Well, I'm worrying because last time I left it for longer than a day it almost burned down.” “Last time you left it under the care of a baby dragon that can breathe fire.” “Touché.” She agreed as she and her friend prepared to leave. “Speaking of whom, be sure to give him that note I wrote. Tell the others too. We'd say goodbye ourselves but we have to catch this train. Otherwise, we'll have to wait a whole day before the next one, and Rainbow gets kind of... testy when she has to wait for something.” The two mares moved to the door of the library. “Well, we're off. Remember to tell the others where we're going. And don't forget to water the plants!” “Everything will be fine. Off you go!” She shut the door in front of her and, once making sure the two mares were gone, yanked a book from the shelf. It was titled Painted Skies, a sappy and saucy romantic love tale, Trixie's guilty pleasure. She sat down on the couch and gazed at the cover. “Oh, Fabio Lanztallion... Trixie is only yours.” She kissed the cover, opened it and began reading. “Man, what a dump!” “I didn't even know there were slums like this in Canterlot.” Twilight stated, looking at the rundown apartment in the dirtiest part of Canterlot. She looked at the directions they were given at Pranceton University. The ponies asked were less than receiving upon hearing the name of the archaeologist, but gave them the directions of her last known place of residence. It was the only lead they had so far. If this turned out to be a dead end, there was nothing more they could do. Inside the apartment was no better, dust and mildew ran galore. Twilight felt a pang of relief when she realized Rarity had not accompanied them otherwise it'd be quite a bit before they could get her to leave. The two mares walked up to the desk-attendant, a stocky rough cut pony who seemed surprised by the two mare's presence. Likely due to their cleaner and out-of-place appearance. “How can I help you fine young mares?” He spoke with a slight Neigh Orleans accent. “We're looking for Ms. Daring Do. Does she live here?” “The shut-in? Geez, I didn't even know she had family.” Twilight caught the unusual description quicker than Rainbow. “We're not family, we're just-- Shut-in? I thought she went missing.” “Well, they ain't looking hard enough. She's been in her apartment. Ain't seen her leave once except to get the Meals On Wheels food outside her door.” “She's been in her apartment this whole time? For three years?” Rainbow exclaimed in disbelief. “Never left once. Her key's been sitting here collecting dust.” “May we use that key?” Twilight asked, putting on her most innocent voice. “Sorry, ma'am. I can only give it to a confirmed family member or friend. And I don't think she'll be coming out to confirm anytime soon. You're welcome to try talking to her, though. Apartment 323.” “Thank you.” Twilight said as they walked up the stairs. Rainbow followed. “Hello? Miss Daring Do?” She asked politely as she knocked at apartment 323, a splintered door in a dark and dreary hallway that made Twilight remember the apartment she pictured in her head while reading certain crime novels. Behind the door she heard a gasp, followed by a loud clatter of something being dropped. A scurry of footsteps ran around the room before they approached the door, become louder each step. “Who is it? What do you want?” A mare's voice said behind the still unopened door. She sounded incredibly nervous. “Uh... hello. Are you Daring Do?” “Yes. Why? Who wants to know?” Twilight swore she heard Rainbow squeal in a much-too-feminine-for-her voice . “Um...” Twilight fumbled with her words, feeling awkward talking to an unopened door instead of to an actual face. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. My friend Rainbow Dash and I are huge fans of your books.” The mare behind the door said nothing, prompting Twilight to finish. “We were hoping to meet you.” “Concerning what?” Twilight had not been expecting that particular question. “I don't know, just... meeting you. Maybe have a talk--” “I don't feel like talking. Go away.” Footsteps behind the door could be heard fading away. Twilight recoiled at the rude behavior, Dash only felt herself burn up. Hero or not, no-one talked that way to her friend while she was the Element of Loyalty, or any other time for that matter. Pushing past Twilight, she knocked on the door much harder and in more rapid succession than Twilight. Footsteps came back, louder this time. “What?!” The supposed Daring Do answered, this time sounding less nervous and more irritated. “Listen, lady: You don't talk to my friend that way!” “Oh, I'm sorry!” The sarcasm was painfully obvious in that sentence. “Go away, please! Is that better?” “Come on! We came here from Ponyville to see you!” “Why should I care?” Daring spit back. “Well, the least you do is be thankful. Do you have any idea how lucky you are to even have fans that would travel that far just to meet you?” Daring muttered something along the lines of “luck, my flank” and was silent. Finally, she sighed and spoke again. “If I give you an autograph or something, will you please go away?” The voice didn't sound hostile anymore. If anything it had a more begging tone to it. Rainbow Dash was about to respond, but had her mouth covered by Twilight before she could speak. “Yes, that will be fine.” She spoke calmly. Silence filled the area around them until the faint sounds of scribbling could be heard. A slip of paper slid out from below the door. It contained a rushed printing of what was assumed to be Daring Do's signature. “There, you have it.” The voice behind the door said. “Now please, please go away.” Footsteps faded off into the distance. The two ponies outside stared at the paper. “Now exactly what we hoped for, but it'll have to do. Come on, Dash, let's go. Looks like we're going home early.” It took only a few steps for Twilight to realize Dash wasn't following her. “Dash?” “I ain't leaving yet. I wanna talk to her. I gotta find out what her problem is.” “Dash, she obviously doesn't want to be bothered. Let's cut our losses and go.” The rainbow pony refused to budge, instead inspecting the door. She turned it to find it locked. Twilight could see it in her face that she wasn't about to give up easily, and that annoyed her to no end. “...And what do you think you're planning on doing? Don't tell me you think you're gonna break--” Rainbow yanked a bobby pin from Twilight’s neatly formed hair, causing it to level down into its natural straight form. “Hey!” “Quiet! I think I'm onto... something... YES!” She whispered excitedly as the door unlocked. She pushed the door open slowly, checking in. She gave Twilight her pin back. “The coast is clear. Follow me.” “I am not breaking into a pony's apartment.” Twilight rebutted, fixing her hair to her preferred form. “I refuse to stoop to your level.” “But Twilight?” Rainbow asked, before looking in the room. “Oh, my! It's messy in here! So unorganized and un... categorized! Someone should take to time to clean and organize it.” Her voice brimmed with mischievousness. The two ponies stared at each other. “Darn you, Rainbow Dash.” The athletic pony grinned at the bookworm as they entered silently into the apartment. They expected a lush and fancy apartment decorated with treasures and ancient relics typical of any collection owned by an archaeologist. What they got was a cramped apartment just barely in living condition. The smell of Celestia-knows-what filled the air, newspapers and drawings of arcane symbols lined a wall opposite the door and on a coffee table and a dim, flickering light covered the main room and it's faded brown peeling wallpaper. “Ugh, she lives here?” Dash whispered. “Guess so. You'd think someone in her line of work would make enough bits to own a decent apartment.” Twilight turned her attention to a board of ratty newspapers. Many of them were about Daring Do herself. Two in particular stuck out. Famed Archeologist Daring Do To Lead Excavation Team to Recently Discovered Ruins. The article featured a picture of Daring wearing the bold aura of confidence frequently seen on the cover of her books. Behind her were four other ponies she did not recognize. The next one followed the first one in terms of date, albeit a big gap between the two dates. Doomed Excavation Leaves Five Ponies Dead and Sole Survivor Charged With Murder The sole survivor was indeed Daring Do, pictured lying in a hospital bed with multiple bandages on her hooves, a cloth over her right eye and a chipped tooth. This is the most recent article on the board. “What 'cha looking at?” Twilight jumped at the sudden voice, hitting Dash on the shoulder in retaliation. She didn't seem to feel it. “Relax, Daring's asleep in her room. We're fine. What is all this?” “Look at this date. This is only a week after she published her last book.” “So?” “Remember what I said? She disappeared after she sent out her last book. I haven't heard anything about her since, but look at this.” She pointed at the most recent addition to the newspaper board, taking place a month after the article before. She read the passage aloud. “Famed archeologist and best-selling writer Daring Do has been charged with murder after the remains of her expedition team was found inside of the ruins near Canterlot. Reports say Daring Do was covered in the victims' blood and had the murder weapon (assumed to be a ritual knife of sorts) in her pocket when she was found unconscious outside the Canterlot gates. Do has refused to make any statement involving the murders.” A smaller shred of newspaper was lined just below the article just read. “The trial ended in a hung jury due to insufficient evidence.” The picture below that showed a deeply distraught Daring Do sitting at a table in court. “She's a... murderer?” Rainbow Dash squeaked out. “Well, it says they didn't have enough evidence to prove it. It sounds to me like--” Footsteps. Footsteps approaching slowly but surely. “Crap!” Dash whispered. “She's awake! What do we do?” “Hide!” Twilight pointed to an open closet, hoping it can be used to hide until Daring left the room. It was a tight fit, but they managed to squeeze in. No more than a second later, the archeologist entered the room with a curious gaze thinking she heard something. Dismissing it, she initially turned to go back to bed, but stopped and went to the newspaper covered coffee table instead. She did nothing but stare at the pictures, pictures of ruins in the middle of a lush jungle, in the middle a moderate-sized temple. The ruins her team was assigned to investigate. A sharp throb shot through her temple. She barely remembered any of the incident, but the image post-blackness was clear enough in her head. It started with her legs feeling like heavy bags of sand thanks to an agonizingly long walk from the ruins to Canterlot where she passed out upon reaching the gate. She remembered waking up with a blinding light in her face and being interrogated for over an hour, before even being told her colleagues and good friends were dead and she was soaked with their blood and holding the knife that murdered them, thus making her the prime (and really the only) suspect. In court, lawyers and the judge tore through her sorry defense like shark teeth through the chum-covered carcass of a whale. She felt relieved (and somewhat humiliated for a mysterious reason unknown to her) when she was dismissed by a hung jury and walked home to her apartment to never come out again. A constant throughout the memories was a blistering headache. Daring Do clenched her teeth. The worst part about all this was that she couldn't deny murdering them. The knife was in her pocket. She remembered the knife. One of the few shreds of memory she has of the temple was that it was a knife used on what appeared to be a sacrificial altar. She remembered the heavy feeling of death in the room, and the knife being pulled out of the skeletal remains of a pony by a rookie who had just recently come into the archaeological field. She wanted to give him a class five whipping for that stupid move by bringing up her history of encountering booby traps and how one always must be careful, but was more interested in the knife itself. Mysterious symbols, ones that as of now escape her, were numerous on the blade and handle. She went to get a book for reference. She can't remember if she ever found out what they were. The memory stops there. That was on the first day, they were eager to start examining the ruins so they started right away. Anything could've happened during that month. Anything. She could very well have murdered them the first day then decide to take a 50 mile stroll a week later. Perhaps there was grueling tension between them party members and Daring was the first to lose it. A thought came to her that perhaps it was built upon an unconscious want to murder her friends. The thought died as quickly as it came up. She wouldn't do that. They were her friends. Even if they weren't she didn't have the stomach to do such a horrible thing. Right? “I didn't do it. I'm a good pony.” She repeated this mad mantra a number of times as she organized the scraps of paper in front of her before it was interrupted by what sounded like a faint whisper. She looked to the source: her coat closet. I knew I heard something! Grabbing a statue on the table next to her couch, a bronze metal figure of Sleipnir given to her by a friend, she moved stealthily to the source of the sound: Her coat closet. She held the makeshift weapon high and ready and opened the door and found the faces of two ponies staring back at her. She raised the statue. “Wait!” Twilight yelled. “We're not here to hurt you.” “Yeah, right.” Daring scoffed out, still holding the statue high. She recognized their voices, the two annoying as all pony hell fans outside her door. “I'm serious! We just--” “We want to know what your problem is.” Rainbow bluntly clarified. Smooth, thought Twilight. “My problem?! You're the ones breaking into other ponies' apartments!” She lowered the statue and stepped aside. “Get out of there. Come on.” The two interlopers didn't move. “NOW!” That made them move, scuffling back into the living room. Daring slammed the closet and looked other the two ponies. The ponies themselves got a good look at Daring as well. She was not like they remembered her from the book covers. There was no aura of bold confidence mixed with careful wisdom. If anything, she looked dead on her feet. Her gray (now a little grayer likely due to excess stress) mane was disheveled and her baggy eyes had no life in them. She wore a bathrobe that matched her light brown coat. A scar rested over her right eye. She seemed... duller in color. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn't call the cops on you.” “Because you're not going to.” Twilight said, earning herself a shocked look from Dash and a vexed looked from Daring. “Excuse me?” Daring was biting her tongue to keep from exploding on the lavender unicorn. “You wanna test that theory?” “Go for it.” “Twilight...” Rainbow nervously whimpered out. “I will.” Daring walked up to the phone and picked up the receiver “I'll do it.” “Go ahead.” “Twilight, I really don't feel like getting arrested--” “You'll be sorry! You'll rot in prison for the rest of your miserable lives!” “I hope so. What are you waiting for?” “Twilight, stop!” “I'll do it!” Sweat rolled down the older mare's forehead. The receiver shook in the tan pony's hand. She could hear a tone play, telling her to hang up the receiver. “You'll pay. You'll bucking pay!” “I dare you.” She didn't. Daring Do stared wide-eyed at Twilight's smug look, then slumped in defeat and hung up the receiver. Dash gave Twilight a look that clearly said How'd you know? Twilight whispered back “Pony Psychology.” A loud sigh emitted from Daring. “How'd you call my bluff?” “It was one of two factors: 1. You haven't left your apartment or at least had any visitors in quite some time evident by the way it looks, by the way you look right now and how you treated us while we were outside. I figured the last thing you'd want is more ponies around. You don't even want us around. You're hiding from society. This theory was just a guess, however. The real thing that set it off for me was that, likely due to guilt or fear of finding new evidence or developing new theories, you wouldn't want the police wandering around here, considering--” “Don't you even think about bringing that up.” Daring growled, teeth clenched. She was beside herself with a mixture of volatile feelings, many based around anger and humiliation. “You break into my apartment and invade my privacy, you make a game out of my problems and play 'psychologist' on me! Who do you think you are? Who the buck do you think you are!?” “I'm sorry we broke into your home and for subjecting you to this. You have every right to be mad at us, but I'm glad we did. You need help. Locking yourself up and rotting in your apartment for three years to escape your past isn't the way to deal with it.” The sympathetic unicorn walked over to the archaeologist, placing her hoof on her shoulder. “Listen, we may not know each other too well, but my friend and I are always happy to help somepony. Let us help you get past this.” Twilight tried her best to use a calming tone. Daring refused to look Twilight in the eye and shrugged her off. “I don't need help.” She walked away, putting the statue back on the table. “And I sure as heck don't need help from a couple of fillies who don't know how to stop sticking their noses into other ponies' business.” “You don't have to be alone in this.” Twilight refused to be denied. “Maybe I deserve to be alone. Maybe this is my punishment for murdering those ponies.” “But you're Daring Do, the coolest pony in Equestria! A world respected archaeologist and hero to a whole bunch of ponies! ” Dash interjected. “I know that she would never murder anypony, even if she had good reason!” “That Daring Do is dead!” She yelled. “Dead and gone. She never even existed. She's just a character in a piece of fiction, which for that matter you shouldn't even be reading. It's for school-fillies!” “I don't care. It's still awesome.” The rainbow pony countered. “And I'm not the only one. How do you think the rest of your fans would react if they saw you like this?” “How could they possibly still be my fans after hearing what I did?! They're all gone. No one wants their kid's hero to be a murderer. I don't deserve fans. I don't deserve love.” Daring had stopped yelling by the last sentence which she instead whimpered out, tears forming. She bit her hoof. “Oh, why me? I'm a good pony. I'm a good pony. Bad things don't happen to good ponies. I didn't deserve this.” Twilight and Rainbow could not help but feel immense sympathy for her. Twilight attempted to move up to comfort her. “Daring--” “No!” Daring backed away, suddenly frantic. “Get away from me! Get out. Get out, please!” “We're not leaving. You need help. We can help you.” “I don't need help! I don't want help! I don't deserve help! The only thing I deserve is to burn in pony hell for what I did! Burn my soul until I scream for mercy, then burn it some more! I'm a murderer! All murderers go to pony hell!” Daring sounded hysterical by now as she backed against a nearby wall, sweating as if she was merely an inch away from the pony hell she spoke of and breathing as if someone was sitting on her chest. The two ponies in front of her were, needless to say, getting worried about the mare's already fragile psyche. “Daring, I think you're having a panic attack.” Twilight spoke slowly, hoping she was right about that diagnosis. “Please, just calm down--” “SHUT UP! Just shut up! Don't call me that! Daring Do is dead, she's never coming back! Dead! Dead! Dead... And... She's... I... I'm dead. I'm just... I... Oh, Celestia...” The panicking mare suddenly slumped to the side, caught at the last second by Rainbow. Twilight rushed up to her side, checking her heart rate and breathing pattern. Both were erratic. “Is she okay?” “She's fine, just a little shook up.” She told Rainbow, who started to stroke her mane the way a mother would a child. “It's all right, Da- Ms. Do. It's all right. Breathe. Breathe in, breathe out.” She instructed the hyperventilating mare. It took a good amount of time, as evidenced by the setting sun barely seen through her draped windows, but the archaeologist pony managed to calm herself. Her breaths came out in shudders, her cheeks were stained with wetness and she carried a glassed look in her eyes. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash sat over her, comforting her and never once leaving. After staying silent the whole time she laid there, the archaeologist finally uttered out something. “I'm a good pony, right?” She asked the mares in an empty tone. They reluctantly nodded. “I-- All my life I loved to explore. I got my cutie mark after digging out an old toy in the backyard of my house. Since then, I loved finding and discovering things. I was ecstatic when I got this job. Being paid to do what I love. It was the trill of a lifetime, too. Even still, I was never selfish with anything. I donated by findings to museums. I gave my writings and sketches to libraries or historical archives. When I took up writing as a pass time, I donated the bits I made to charity. I didn't have need for them, since my job was paying enough.” She paused. “I did all those, and yet... What did I do to deserve this?” She grabbed Twilight’s hoof. “Please, tell me what I did to deserve this.” Twilight decided not to answer that, for fear of further pressing the matter. Daring Do didn't even wait for a response. She closed her eyes and continued to lay there, enjoying the stroking of her mane done by Rainbow Dash. Eventually, she fell asleep in Rainbow's comforting hooves.