Society as We Know It

by Comma Typer

A.K. Yearling's Move

In the dark jungle, the leaves willowed from their branches. The many leaves blocked out much of the sky, letting in only several prominent rays of sunlight. The grass was thick, uneven, but still green. The fresh smell of the tall trees and their leaves gave the air a soft fragrance all around. Various stones were around. There were stones that were flat and smooth and spaced out rather orderly from each other.

The rock path led to the door of a small, solitary house. Thatched with wood and timber, roofed with copious amounts of hay, the house was the only thing unnatural in this natural forestry.

A wooden wagon covered with a large white fabric was just outside the door. On it were stacks of books and a green-yellow typewriter. There were bags of different colors and materials inside the wagon.

A.K. Yearling, in her shawl, her hat, and wearing her glasses, held another bag with her mouth. She turned her head to a few directions. Then, she looked around the house. She dropped the bag onto the wagon.

She held a hoof to her raised ear.

There was a sound. A rapid sound of buzzes.

"Changeling?" she whispered.

Yearling narrowed her eyes and focused on one spot behind the trees.

A shadow appeared, extending itself to the wagon.

The shadowed figure floated in the air with its twinkling wings. It flew closer to the mare.

Yearling took a few steps back, eyeing the creature.

"Hey, it's me!"

The mare grumbled. "I don't recognize your voice. I may be a writer, but I'm not weak!"

The creature flew much closer to her.

It was a green, smiling changeling. He was waving a hoof. "Hi! I'm not sure if you've met me, but I'm Humerus and—"

Yearling slammed a hoof onto his mouth. "Since when does anypony sneak up on me just to introduce themselves?" She sighed. "Are you this desperate for a book signing that you're willing to travel mountains and jungles and great distances?"

Humerus nodded. He brought out a book from his side bag. "If you don't have something to write with, I have some feathers with ink bottles!"

Yearling sighed. She grabbed a ballpoint pen from the wagon and held it with her hoof. "Just make this quick, OK, Humerus?"

Humerus smiled even wider. "Anything to make Blue Alarm happy!"

Yearling stared at the changeling. "You know Blue Alarm? Your friend, I guess."

Humerus nodded again. "He likes your books and is already on the eighth book!"

She stopped a chuckle from her mouth. "The changeling's a fast reader, isn't he? Last time I saw him, he just had the first book." She looked behind her back. "OK, I'll sign the book and please leave."

Humerus nodded again.

Yearling opened the book and signed the first page. She closed the book.

"What's with the wagon?" Humerus asked, pointing at it.

"Oh, it's not much," Yearling said. "Just normal cleaning of the house—"

"Are you moving?"

The mare sighed. "Yes, I'm moving."

Humerus gasped and placed his hooves on his cheeks as he gasped. "Why are you moving?! Where are you moving?!"

She walked towards the wagon. "When you're a famous writer, there are some ponies who are desperate to get you, to hire you to write books that you don't want to write." She turned her head around. "Some ponies get so desperate, they're willing to send out henchponies to try to force you to write for them. And then, you have the crazy fans who are so dedicated and committed to the Daring Do series that when they meet me, they'll annoy me to no end about this detail or that word or this scenario or that character." She smirked at the changeling hovering above the ground. "Does that answer your question?"

"What about the where?" Humerus asked. "We must know where so Blue Alarm can cannoy you to no end about this detail or that word or this scenario or that character!"

Yearling sighed again. "Because you just said those words, I'm not telling you where I'm going."

Humerus laughed. "Honesty is my best policy!"

She glared at the changeling. "Now, can you just go? I need to get moving. If I don't move now, the sun will go down and I'll have a hard time trying to protect myself from the elements at night."

"Well, do you also wear Daring Do's clothes?"

She rumbled a gruff. "What makes you think that?"

"I see some clothes that look exactly like Daring Do's." He gasped again. "Are you Daring Do?"

She brought a hoof to her chin. "Nope. It's just something that I ordered from somepony just in case I have to hide myself from crazed, over-enthusiastic fans." She threw her hat to the wagon and took the pith helmet. She placed it on her head. "I look more like Daring Do, don't I?"

"Because you are Daring Do?!" he screamed.

Yearling giggled. "No." She gazed at her books. "If I were to be honest with you, I actually based Daring Do on myself. Coat color's the same, hair color's the same—" A sigh escaped her "—if I only had pegasus wings, because I'm just an earth pony." She turned her head down, facing the green grass and its ground. "With pegasus wings, I could then be able to do all those fantastic adventures."

Humerus wiped away a tear. Then, he pointed at Yearling and shouted, "Unless you're lying! You must be Daring Do!" He jumped up and down. "I'm talking to Daring Do!"

Yearling slapped Humerus with a hoof. "That's what all those over-thinking ponies think! The closest thing I am to Daring Do is that Daring Do is a character that has some of my characteristics and personality. It's that simple!" She threw her hoof to the ground. "Now, will you annoy me further or will you just leave me be and let me have a nice trip?"

"You still didn't explain the Daring Do clothes." He grinned.

She groaned. "You really don't get it?"

Humerus shook his head.

"If I wear those clothes, ponies will think that I'm just a good Daring Do impersonator, a good cosplayer." She glowered at the changeling. "Now, are you happy?"

Humerus nodded again, having a great smile on his face.

"Then, go!" She gestured a hoof to a direction. "Just, go anywhere! Go home or go somewhere else! Just not with me since I guess you're going to irritate me and ask me about my secrets and what not!"

Humerus sniffed as he balked from the pony. "Uh, I...I just wanted to...meet you..." He sniffed again and wiped another tear. He forced a smile. "But...I met you..." He sniffed. "And...that's a good thing...right?"

Yearling sighed. "If you think it's a good thing, it's a good thing. Now, go." She waved her hoof at him. Then, she brought a rope to her back legs and walked, the wagon slowly wheeling away from the house that now had a closed door.

Humerus fluttered away from the pony. He stopped and took one more look at her.

She was walking, pulling her wagon with her things inside. She watched her surroundings while she went on.

He flew.

---

Yearling held a hoof to her raised ear again. She exhaled and closed her eyes. "I cannot believe that tactic worked. Getting him as close as possible to the secret without actually revealing it." She looked behind her. She saw her wagon and a dirt path with the thick jungle grass on its sides. "I hope that will pay off."

Daring Do then pulled the wagon on, walking in the jungle.

Comments

[KingJoltik]

Why is half of this chapter in italics?