Chapter 12 - Heroic Sacrifice
Daring woke up to a terrified pair of aqua eyes staring at her tearfully. She smiled cockily. "Well there's a sight for sore eyes. And ribs. And legs. And wings." She groaned, flipping into a standing position as she looked around the basement. Fluttershy, her friends, the author, and some grey pegasus mare with oddly rolling yellow eyes. Looked like everyone was here. Fluttershy wrapped Daring into a panicked embrace, kissing her desperately, which the adventurer returned happily. Everyone decided to try and not stare. Derpy spoke up. "Wait, since when does Fluttershy like mares?"
Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Since, like, ever! I mean come on."
Daring chuckled, as the kiss was finally broken off. "So, we won?"
Twilight nodded. "Aside from one loose end, yeah. The tor is still here. We're not sure what to do about it."
"That's easy. I take it, get back into the story, and you burn the manuscript."
The party stared in horror at the adventurer, who shrugged in response. "I don't like it, but that's the most sensible way to get rid of it forever."
Fluttershy whimpered, her eyes huge and tearing up once more. "B-but..."
Daring gave her a kiss with a sad smile. "Do you really think I want that bastard coming back to hurt you again? Besides, I'm not 'real'. I'm kind of surprised I didn't just fade away when that Ursa did."
"Ursa?" Twilight blinked.
"Edward left a surprisingly large guard for the typewriter. No surprise there."
"Minor?"
"Major." Twilight's look of surprise edged back towards horror. Daring waved dismissively. "He changed the basement into an Ursa cave, I should've recognized it sooner. And the fact that he could do that emphasizes the point that we don't want this repeating."
The party exchanged looks, looking back at the adventurer. "I don't think we need to go to that extent."
"Twilight, you said the tor is an energy siphon. If all he needs it to get enough energy to try again, it would be incredibly unwise to just let it happen."
Fluttershy was trying not to cry as she stared at Daring. Daring was trying desperately not to look at her, finally turning to her author. "And it's not like you're going to stop writing about me, right? It'll just be one of those incomplete memories. Something that got erased."
"Aside from the fact that you'd be dead." Daring the author glared at her creation. "What was it you said? Everything that went wrong in your life was my fault? You have your own taste of reality now. Why are you running away?"
"Because I can't let something harm those I love if I can stop it." The author and the creation gave each other a worried smile.
Pinkie Pie addressed the elephant in the room. "And Fluttershy? How's she going to feel if you just run off and kill yourself."
Daring stared at the shy mare, quietly sobbing to herself as rivers of tears travelled from her eyes. Her pink mane hung limply as she forced out a squeaking "whyyyyyyyyy?"
Her heart ached as she stared at the most beautiful mare in her moment of pain. "Because I need to protect you."
Twilight considered. "Let's try this diplomatically, we'll put it to a vote-"
"Twilight, safety isn't something that is decided democratically. The tor needs to go, someone would get sacrificed one way or another, it might as well be the action hero. The one who isn't really real." The creation shook her head. "That... that's the answer."
~*~
Daring gave Fluttershy a final desperate hug, tears streaming down her own face. "I love you."
"Please, please don't do this." Fluttershy was barely able to whisper, her body still racked with sobs.
Daring gave her a squeeze. "I love you. That's why it needs to be done." A final kiss as they split didn't serve to settle either mare's nerves.
The adventurer nodded to the other members of the party, walking over to where the tor and typewriter had been placed on a bed of wood, and picked up the tor, vanishing in a flash of light and a shimmer of air.
Dash grumbled. "There's no way that's it. This is like the worst cop out ever. She was so awesome! She was as awesome as you!" She pointed at the real Daring. "She was you! Just different!"
Daring grumbled. "And annoyingly, she's right. She was just a story creation, dragged out. The easiest way to destroy the tor seems to be to destroy the story it's in."
"But didn't Edward claim he'd done this multiple times before?" Rarity shook her head. "There must be some way for him to move it around over time."
"One way or another, the point isn't debatable any longer. Daring exited the story at Edward's convenience. If she can't move anymore, like the story seemed to freeze when the tor was removed again..." Twilight trailed off.
"She wouldn't be able to leave anyway..." Fluttershy sobbed and broke into a distraught wail.
Click
The party perked up at the typewriter. Which even now, beaten, battered, and covered in some window glass, had decided to type. They rushed forward to see what was slowly coming into being.
~*~
Daring sobbed as she returned to the ruins that her adventure had started in. They were empty now, the guards having been drawn out with Edward. Some kind of cheaper minion since they were already written? Daring shook her head, throwing the tor at the wall in uncontrolled anger, sinking to the ground, and letting herself cry. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to leave. She wished she could just be greedy and stay with Fluttershy. Just stay out there and not have to worry about things.
But she had to be a hero. She had to be a stupid hero who always had to do the right thing. She wiped at her eyes, smiling wanly. Would she even know when the document burned? Would there be any sensation at all? Had it already happened? Was this what the rest of her life would be? A frozen moment that she could never escape? How much time had she already spent just crying? Should she be feeling hungry? Thirsty? Tired? Would she ever?
Her eyes were drawn to a yellow pegasus with a pink mane who had appeared in a sunbeam in front of her. Daring looked up into familiar aqua eyes, and a sad shy smile. The adventurer sobbed, tears running down her face. "I guess- I guess you're the angel to take me away, huh?"
"In a way." Fluttershy walked forward, gently bumping her forehead against Daring's forehead. "It's okay to cry."
The adventurer snarled in defiance, but was unable to choke back another sob. "Adventurers don't cry. They just sort of leak." She laughed hollowly at the statement, not even able to believe it herself. The angel of kindness nodded slowly, laying down beside the adventurer and simply letting her cry.
As the sobbing fell back into a more manageable amount, the angel's wings wrapped themselves around Daring's shoulders."Are you ready to go?"
"Is anyone?" Daring scrubbed at her eyes, and sighed. "Let's get it over with."
Fluttershy nodded, and the pair vanished in a flash of light, and a shimmer of air.
They reappeared outside the Golden Oaks library, to the amused grins of the rest of the party. Twilight took the tor from Fluttershy with a vague smile as Daring gaped. "Wha.. bu-"
Fluttershy giggled. "You were wrong."
Twilight nodded to the typewriter. "You're real enough that you were writing out your thoughts. I think.. I think we're willing to take the risk. And with an extra pair of hooves, especially those of an action hero... I think we'll be okay."
Pinkie squee'd. "And guess who's going to have the best 'Congratulations, you're really real' party ever!"
Daring blinked, but her confusion gave way to gentle happiness as she felt Fluttershy's lips against her own, and she pressed back into the loving warmth of the other pegasus. She broke the kiss, looking at Fluttershy in confusion. "But how-"
"When you lost your grip on the tor, I wrote that the artifact auto activated. That's one of the spells in it, which is probably how Edward moved it between written world and real world. And then Fluttershy..." Twilight gestured to Fluttershy, who gave a blushing ponysquee smile. "Well, nobody was going to stop her in the first place."
Daring smiled warmly at Fluttershy wrapping the... no, her angel of kindness in a warm embrace, tears streaming down her face.
~Epilogue~
Fluttershy and Daring both squirmed a bit on Fluttershy's couch. They really weren't sure how they got talked into this. They turned to one another, cheeks burning as they hesitantly leaned in. Fluttershy's lips barely brushed against Daring's before the adventurer jerked away as though electrified. Fluttershy squeaked as she jerked back as well. Daring brought her face forward tentatively, reaching out with one hoof to gently pull Fluttershy closer. The two mare's lips met again.
Daring the Creation walked in the front door and examined the tableau before her. She nodded to Twilight, sitting beside the door. "Okay, fine, it's even weird when I walk in on myself making out with Fluttershy."
Twilight giggled, writing notes happily. "Science!"
"Now if you'll pardon me, I have a lot of making out with my marefriend to catch up on." Daring replaced Daring on the couch, much to the author's blushing joy, and Fluttershy enthusiastically leaned into adventurer's contact. They kissed, forgetting about the world around them for a few endless eternities.
Daring the author coughed. "You know, Ahuizotl made a move for the Rosetta Rock. I think I could use a spare set of hooves to speed up the investigation."
The creation grinned at the author. "When would I ever say no to an adventure?" She hugged Fluttershy close with a happy sigh. "You'll wait for me?"
"Of course." Fluttershy nuzzled into the warm adventurer. They split, and Fluttershy waved as the author and the creation took off at a gallop for the train station.
Twilight shook her head. "Aren't you worried about them?"
"Don't be silly Twilight. Action heroes never die."
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3746443 To be fair, from other characterizations I've seen, I may write him too far into the 'Friendly' end of the spectrum. I think Discord is one of those hard to pin down characters simply because what little we see of the interactions tend to be Fluttershy putting her hoof down and Discord enjoying chaos (Or grudgingly undoing it).
In short,
when you write the Discord, the Discord writes about you.
...
No, wait, I screwed that quote up.
3746522
Actually, was referring to the chaos part, where things just happen all silly like. The personality is dependent upon headcanon, but the thing that really makes Discord Discord is the zany stuff that always happens in his presence.
And I have a lot of trouble with that.
Anyway, I finally finished this (in the midst of my busy work schedule
). All in all, it was a pretty great read. You definitely get points for originality in the form of Edward, and the final solution was anything but expected. I have a few nitpicks and more than one red flag, but compared to most of the stories I end up reading on this site this story gets high marks.
In comparison to my own, it was a longer road and turned in an entirely different direction. This one felt like an action adventure, while mine was a bit slower. Not to mention yours had a happy ending and mine was...bittersweet. But this is all good news! Our stories don't mirror one another, so it gives the voters more to think on for each of us. And that includes you: don't forget to vote!
I think I'll put this in my favorites list. I never add to that thing.
3750213
I... thank you!
As far as Discord, well, I think a steady diet of Looney Tunes when I was a child was a contributing factor.
I hope Edward's pun didn't cause too much agony.
As far as the nitpicks and red flags, please send me them in PM if you don't want to dump them publicly! The only way I'll improve is by patching my leaks.
(Do you think I should add 'Adventure' back to the categories? I took it out because it was only over the course of a few days. Hardly a grand adventure)
And yes, I was... surprised by how bittersweet the emotions seemed to be for this contest. I'm a hopeless romantic. I like happy endings and sweetness. Of course, that doesn't mean the journey doesn't hurt, but I think I have a harder time staying 'dark' or sad.
3778400 Hey, I appreciate the fact that you give me a reason for the thumbs down. Thanks!
OK... well, a definite thumbs up from me. Since you won the contest, I get the privilege of reviewing your story, so you'll be able to read it in a week or so.
3814518 I already quake in fear.
I appreciate your thumbs up, but your fellow reviewer seems like he may not enjoy this type of story too much.
Ah well, I should really focus on this month's story entry.
Yeah. Focus. How's that work again? 
4875760 Thanks for the feedback. The more I look at it the more blatant it becomes that I was trying to write an action movie with a soft chewy romance center.
At least it gives me a decent set-up for a sequel.
4983524
Ah, no, you fool, what are you doing?! My stories stink! Go read something a bit better written and more entertaining!
Good crack pairing. Definitely not one I would have thought of and the action/weird magic stuff managed to make it more interesting than it would have been if it was just romance, I think.
I found this looking for crack Fluttershy pairings but I got a decent action/adventure tale as well. Now if only I could find Fluttershy/Nightmare Moon. Don't judge me...I was mostly inspired by a couple fics where Fluttershy basically lectures Nightmare Moon into giving up on eternal night. (mostly No Need for Rainbows, A Minor Variation, and the second half of Random Elements, the sequel Coincidences Can Happen). Sadly, no such crack fics seem to exist.
4987966 I am pleasantly surprised I didn't horrify you or destroy your faith in your fellow author. I didn't... try to make it a crack ship, but I guess it is somewhat forced, isn't it? Ah well, random romance is random... I really need to get back into contributing to the contests.
I'm glad you (seem to have) enjoyed it!
...Nightmare moon and Fluttershy, huh? ....Depends on if Nightmare Moon is the 'nightmare possessing Luna' or the 'evil Luna' I suppose. Hm. I shall ponder this.
...Probably after at least ONE of these Trixie fics I'm trying to write.
4989034
I'd call this... Good but not great. There's nothing really wrong with it, despite what you might say, it just doesn't have that spark that would make it a stand out piece. You do a good Discord, you sold the fairly random pairing enough that it didn't feel random, just slightly rushed, you had an interesting villain and magic puzzle set-up. It's a thumbs up but not favorite piece, I think.
Wow, if you do take me up on my off-hand comment that would be a pleasant surprise on my part. (I suspect evil Luna would be easier but that's just a suspicion, whatever works).
4989705 I appreciate the honesty. And.. well, this was as you say, not something I'd consider too standout. It was.. good, but I feel like it could be better. Much bettter. Then again, if I didn't feel that way, writing would be so much easier.
You can has review!
6810033 No! NOOOOOOOOO!
Good to see you again, although I am sad the group is defunct. Then again, my writing speed at the moment is 'glacial' so...
If you find it within yourself to write a sequel, then "double dare" or "double Daring" needs to make its way in. Possibly as a chapter title.
I did kind of wonder why the author didn't decide to go by whatever A.K. stands for. But I guess the narration of that last experiment wouldn't have worked.
Speaking of, if Daring was composed of everything Yearling wrote about her, I have to wonder: did fanfiction have any effect? And can Yearling keep affecting her? The latter, at least, can be tested: she just has to write that Daring gets a strange taste in her mouth for a moment.
One more thing: I think you may have missed an opportunity for Rarity to say, "Daring, darling!" (I'm pretty sure she hasn't said it in the show either.)
yay