Biomom

by MythrilMoth

Chapter One

Rainbow Dash sat on the ground, rubbing her head with a hoof. "Uhh...Twilight? I must have sunstroke or something, because I coulda sworn you just said—"

"Daring Do is your mother," Twilight Sparkle repeated.

"—that. Yeah. Umm. WHAT?" Rainbow shot to her hooves and got in Twilight's face.

"I went to Cloudsdale this morning," Twilight said. "I talked to your dad. I got him to tell me the truth."

"You got my Dad to tell you that Daring Do is my biomom?!"

"Yep!"

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA," Rainbow said, pacing around Twilight. "That...that's insane!"

"Actually, it makes perfect sense to me," Twilight said. "I mean, if you think about it...she's got the same build as you, the same eyes, the same attitude...even her mane is like a grey version of yours!"

Rainbow plopped down. "But...but then why didn't she say anything?" she asked in a small voice.

Twilight laid a hoof on her shoulder. "That's a good question. And one we'll ask her together."

Rainbow looked up at Twilight. "Together? You mean...actually go to her place and...and ask her...?"

"Uh-huh."

"But..."

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight said. "Don't you want to know? Don't you have questions you want to ask? You're twenty-one years old. It's time you found out the truth. All of it. Even if it means..." She sighed. "Even if it means you find out your idol isn't all she's cracked up to be."

"Are you kidding? Having Daring Do be my biomom would be AWESOME!" Rainbow declared, shooting into the air. Then she stopped. "Oh. But...then there's findin' out why she took off on me an' Dad..." She landed again, wings falling limp at her sides. "And that'd kinda suck."

"Yes, it would. But...I think this is something you need to do." Twilight smiled. "And you won't be doing it alone. I'll be right there with you."

Rainbow took a deep breath. "Okay. Yeah. No problem. Let's...let's go. First thing tomorrow morning."

* * * * *

When Twilight returned to the castle for the night, Twilight Velvet was pacing in the vast entrance hall, swearing up a storm.

Twilight's ears wilted. "Umm...Mom? Rainbow Dash and I are going out to Daring Do's cottage tomorrow to sort this whole thing out." She fluffed her wings. "I know you said you'd be spending a week here in Ponyville with me, and I'm sorry to just run off on you like this, but—"

"Oh, I'm coming with you," Velvet said firmly. "I need to have a little talk with my oldest and dearest friend."

"Umm..." Twilight spread her wings. "Actually...Rainbow Dash and I are gonna, well...fly there," she said. "And, well..."

Velvet slumped. "Oh," she said.

"Besides, I was kind of hoping you'd house-sit...err, castle-sit," Twilight said. "I'll be back soon enough, and...and we can have some mother-daughter quality time!"

Velvet smiled. "Alright," she said. "But if you manage to bring Daring Do back to Ponyville with you, I owe her a chewing-out." She frowned. "That's assuming she's home. I know she's been researching her next book, but she has a habit of leaving on an adventure without bothering to send me a postcard."

"Hmm...that could be a problem," Twilight said. "I just hope we don't walk in on the kind of mess we found last time..."

* * * * *

While Twilight Sparkle was nowhere near as fast or experienced a flier as Rainbow Dash, her moons of practice—along with lingering aftereffects of her temporary empowerment with the magic of the other princesses—allowed the pair of ponies to keep a swift pace, easily crossing the vast distance between Ponyville and Daring Do's remote home in a surprisingly short time. They stopped to rest twice along the way, then finished the last leg of the journey on hoof because Twilight's wings were getting tired. It was just past noon when they reached their destination.

"I hate distance flying," Twilight complained as she shook a loose feather from her cramped left wing.

"Eh, you'll get used to it," Rainbow said. "Then again, you'll probably figure out how to teleport from one end of Equestria to the other soon enough."

"Not with just my own magic I won't," Twilight muttered. "Ponyville to Canterlot's about my range limit on a good day. Probably for the best, too. Spike's been getting after me about my weight lately."

"Yeah, I wasn't gonna say anything, but your rump is gettin' kinda plump," Rainbow said. "Don't sweat it, I can help you work out an exercise schedule."

"Thanks," Twilight said sourly. "There it is. Daring Do's cabin."

"Oh man, I'm...I'm more nervous now than I was the last time I was here," Rainbow said.

"Are you ready?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow steeled herself. "Y-yeah," she said. "Let's...let's do this."

The two ponies trotted up to the door; Twilight knocked.

They waited.

They waited some more.

Twilight knocked again.

Rainbow frowned. "She's as social as ever, huh?"

Twilight's brow furrowed. "I'll check inside," she said before disappearing in a flash.

A few minutes later, the front door opened and Twilight stuck her head out. "She's not home," she said.

Rainbow's face fell. "You mean we flew all this way for nothing?"

"It looks like we just missed her," Twilight said sadly. "Guess she's already gone off on her next adventure."

"Heh, she's probably off doin' something totally awesome!" Rainbow rose into the air, her voice cracking. "I wonder what dangerously devious dastardly ne'er-do-well she's thwarting this time! What amazing, wonderous mystical artifact she's searching the deepest, darkest wilds for! What terrifying beasts she—"

"She's looking for the Tomb of the Unknown Prince," Twilight said from inside the house.

Rainbow trailed off. "Say what now?"

Twilight walked out, three books floating in her aura. She frowned as she studied them. "The Tomb of the Unknown Prince," she repeated. "I've never even heard of this legend...it says here that before the founding of Equestria, there was...there was an alicorn who distanced himself from ponykind. He saw the lack of harmony between the three tribes and felt he couldn't possibly connect with or help ponies that couldn't even get along with each other. He lived apart from pony civilization, in a remote..." She trailed off, then flipped through the book. "There are pages missing here. Dozens of them." She sighed. "This book's pretty old. It looks like it's been...well..."

Rainbow studied the ancient book. "Rotting?"

Even as she said that, the book's bindings disintegrated, loose pages drifting to the floor of the cottage. "Gah!" Twilight cried, staring with horror at the scattering pages.

"Oh man," Rainbow moaned. "Daring Do's gonna kill us for that, I just know it!"

"It was an old book, Rainbow," Twilight said with a sigh. "Hmm...the Unknown Prince...an alicorn..." She frowned, stroking her muzzle with a hoof. "If this is an ancient alicorn legend, then Princess Celestia might know something about it."

"Then what're we waitin' around here for?" Rainbow asked excitedly. "Let's get our butts to Canterlot!"

"Or we could just wait for Daring Do to come back—"

"Nope. Canterlot!" Rainbow took off like a shot.

"RAINBOW DASH! WAIT UP!" With an aggravated groan, Twilight spread her wings and launched herself into the sky.

* * * * *

It was almost sunset by the time the two very tired ponies arrived in Canterlot. Even Rainbow Dash could barely flap her wings anymore; Twilight Sparkle had given up flying altogether, choosing to teleport half a mile at a time until they entered the city.

Their approach was noticed by a pair of pegasus guards, who quickly swooped in to intercept them. "Your Highness! What happened? You look exhausted!"

"Just...been flying...all day," Twilight panted.

The guards looked at one another, nodded, and helped Twilight and Rainbow the rest of the way to the city. Once their hooves touched the paved streets, Twilight put her head between her front legs and took several deep, gasping breaths.

"We'll summon a chariot at once to escort you to the castle," one of the guards said. The second guard ran off. "Is there some emergency in Ponyville? Should we alert Princess Celestia?"

"No, it's...it's nothing like that," Twilight said. "There's...there's no crisis, no catastrophe...we've just had a really long flight."

The guard frowned. "From Ponyville?"

"From halfway across Equestria," Twilight clarified. "It's...personal business."

"Oh. Forgive me then, Your Highness."

"No, it's okay," Twilight said with a wave of her hoof.

A chariot coasted up, pulled by the other guard. Twilight and Rainbow gratefully piled into it and allowed the guards to carry them to the castle. As they approached, they could see Celestia and Luna standing on the balconies of their respective towers. The sun gently dipped below the horizon; as the sky darkened, the moon slowly rose into the sky.

"You know, they really need to make dusk last longer now," Rainbow said. "You know...since there's a Princess Twilight and all..."

Twilight blushed. "I...don't think I'd be comfortable with that..."

By the time the chariot reached the castle, night had set in fully, and the dark sky was sprinkled with stars. A slightly recovered Rainbow and Twilight disembarked from the chariot and followed the guards through the massive doors. A unicorn guard at the gate studied them curiously; at a nod from one of the pegasus guards, he galloped off in the direction of Celestia's tower.

"We'll meet with Princess Celestia in her private study," Twilight called to the departing unicorn. He turned, blinked, nodded once, and continued on his way. Rainbow and Twilight followed after him at a slower pace.

By the time they arrived, the unicorn was waiting outside. His horn glowed and the doors opened for them. Celestia stood inside, her mane billowing behind her. She smiled at them. "Good evening, Twilight Sparkle! Rainbow Dash! It's such an unexpected yet lovely surprise to see you this evening!"

"Good evening, Your Highness," Twilight said, bowing. Rainbow Dash bowed as well.

Celestia rolled her eyes. "Twilight. When are you going to stop that?"

"Sorry. Force of habit." Twilight stood, a sheepish grin on her face.

"Quite alright, my little pony. So, what brings you to Canterlot?" She nodded to the guard outside, who closed the door. A moment later, Luna appeared in a silver-blue flash.

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Princess Twilight," Luna said. "And you as well, Rainbow Dash."

"Hello Luna," Twilight said. She levitated four large, plush cushions from a pile in the corner, arranging them neatly in the center of the room. Once each pony had taken a seat, she began, "I know this is going to sound strange, but...have you heard of the Tomb of the Unknown Prince?"

Celestia's eyes widened. Her body stiffened. She exchanged an uneasy glance with Luna, who was noticeably pale.

"Yep, they've heard of it," Rainbow muttered.

"How...how exactly did you come to hear about...about that?" Celestia asked.

Twilight and Rainbow exchanged a glance. Rainbow shrugged. Twilight looked back at the princesses. "We were paying a visit to...to A.K. Yearling," she said.

"The author of the Daring Do books," Luna said. "They are most enjoyable."

"Well...she wasn't home, but she's...it seems like she was researching the Tomb of the Unknown Prince. We found an ancient book in her house related to that legend. I've never even heard of it." Twilight frowned. "Most of the book's pages were missing. It was so old it...sort of fell apart while we were reading it."

"Yes, anything pertaining to that would be immeasurably ancient," Luna said with a frown. "What interest would Dr. Yearling have in the Tomb?"

"Research for a new Daring Do novel, I'm sure," Celestia said. She frowned. "She must be an incredibly resourceful pony to have even found books about that."

"You have no idea," Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "So...what can you tell us about this Unknown Prince?"

Celestia and Luna traded a glance. Celestia frowned. "Very little," Celestia said. "Only that he lived...before our time. Before Equestria. Even before the three pony races."

"And he died, obviously," Luna said.

Twilight frowned. "That's...not much to go on."

"He is called the Unknown Prince for a reason, Twilight Sparkle."

Celestia sighed. "In any case, Dr. Yearling is chasing a legend so old it's unlikely she'll learn much about it. And even if she does, well...it would hardly make for a very exciting book."

"Aww," Rainbow moaned. "I was hoping maybe this old tomb had some, I dunno, super awesome treasure of legend in it that Daring Do could bring back."

"Well, Dr. Yearling is more than welcome to invent whatever fiction about the tomb she pleases," Luna said. "It is not as if any living pony knows anything about it."

"Except you two," Twilight pointed out. She sighed. "You...don't even know where this tomb might be located?"

Celestia's brow furrowed. "Well...yes," she admitted. "But...why?"

Twilight and Rainbow looked at one another. Twilight's ears drooped. "We're pretty sure Dr. Yearling is trying to find the tomb."

Luna let out a bark of laughter. "Ha! Twilight Sparkle, surely you jest! Dr. Yearling is a writer of fiction, not some...some adventuring archaeologist!"

"Umm...actually..." Rainbow said.

Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously?" Luna asked, blinking.

Twilight gave a heavy sigh. "The Daring Do books...are based on Dr. Yearling's real-life adventures," she said. "A.K. Yearling is Daring Do."

"Oh my," Celestia said, lip twitching.

"That seems...extraordinarily unlikely," Luna said in a flat, disbelieving tone.

Twilight shrugged. "It's true. So...we're trying to find her, and if she's figured out where this tomb is..."

Celestia bowed her head. "I'll draw a map." She studied Twilight intently. "Be careful, Twilight. This...this will not be an easy journey."

"Rest here in the castle tonight," Luna said. "You will need your strength come morning."

Comments

[VunderGuy]

This story NEEDS to be featured.

[Spiritus Arcane]

I find it disconcerting that even Celestia didn't know about Daring Do being real...meaning she's been unaware of all the threars Daring has stopped too.

[Rainbow Prime]

6256918
And she has been shown to be watching every move her little ponies make, so she should know that Daring Do is real. She should also know about the Missing Alicorn, A.K.A. Derpy, from how she doesn't age. At all, even though her daughter does. So, she's probably watching Twilight for more nefarious reasons than it appears...

[Koipondponies]

Wait... so they know Twilight is their mom?

[LightningChaser1]

6874277

[Fervidor]

"She's looking for the Tomb of the Unknown Prince,"

For some reason that made me think of the Distant Prince from Welcome to Night Vale.

[King_crozillan2021]

6874277
Wait say what now??????