Chapter One
A.K. Yearling and Groom Q.Q. Martingale sat beside each other at the most recent Daring Do convention. A stack of their new book was in front of them, untouched by any of the fans. There wasn't even a line at their table. Yearling and Martingale exchanged a glance and sighed. They knew who all of the fans were waiting to meet. They looked over to the next table over where Yearling's former arch enemy, Ahuizotl, sat. A long line of ponies was buying his latest adventure with a group of thieves who had tried to steal one of his most precious artifacts.
Yearling sighed. "Do you think we'll sell any books?"
Martingale looked at the ponies in the other line. "I hope so. I lost so much money ever since I gave those artifacts back to him!"
Yearling shot him a glare and Martingale gave in with a sigh. "Alright, alright." He lowered his voice. "I'm sorry, Daring Do. I know that we're supposed to be partners now, but... I just kinda miss everything. This mundane life is going to push me over the edge of insanity one day!"
"I know, Caballeron," Yearling said, sadly. "Adventuring was everything I am. I mean, it's what my cutie mark means. But... now there's no adventures to go on anymore and our books are starting to become stale. We might just have to end the series and find another career."
"But I like writing," Martingale said quietly, a mixture of sadness and embarrassment in his voice.
Yearling smirked at him for a moment before her face lit up. A young mare, barely into adulthood, was finally walking to the table.
"Hi there!" Yearling exclaimed.
"Hello," the mare said. "My name is Lavender Lilac. I was the biggest fan of Daring Do in my days as a filly! I can't believe the series has continued for such a long time."
"Well writing is what we love to do," Yearling said, winking at Martingale. Martingale gave her a scowl in response.
"What is your newest book called?" Lavender Lilac asked.
"Daring Do and the Scavenger's Sword," Yearling replied. "Take a look at the summary and see if you'd like to buy it. We're signing autographs for only a few extra bits."
Lavender Lilac looked at the back of the book and began to read the summary, "Now that Daring Do and Caballeron are a team, they must get through the challenges of helping Ahuizotl keep an artifact safe. To do this, they... send him a letter with instructions, eat dinner, and go through other mundane everyday tasks?"
Yearling turned to look at Martingale. "I leave you in charge of writing the summary and this is what you give me?"
"Well... that's what it's about!" Martingale snapped. "What else did you want me to do?!"
"I don't know," Yearling muttered. "Maybe make it sound more interesting?"
"Um... where's the adventure aspect of it?" Lavender Lilac wondered. "The action is my favorite part of Daring Do."
"We... thought a slice-of-life story would be a nice change," Yearling fibbed. "Uh... want to give it a shot?"
Lavender Lilac's face said it all. Her expression twisted into a confused, disappointed look. "Yeah... it's okay. Thank you though."
Lavender Lilac trotted over towards Ahuizotl's table.
Yearling spun to face Martingale. "What the hay?! Maybe I should handle writing the summary next time!"
"You said you wanted a quick summary, so I wrote one!" Martingale exclaimed. "Don't complain."
"Maybe I forgot to mention I wanted a good quick summary," Yearling said. She groaned and shook her head. "You know what? Never mind. Let's go."
"But... I wanted to see the new Caballeron merchandise!" Martingale protested. "I've become a more popular character now that I'm so much more humble, so can't we see it? Maybe buy some? I'd like one on display in my bedroom."
"Yes, way more humble," Yearling said. "Caballeron, come on. It's clear that we're not going to sell any of these, so we probably don't have enough money to buy anything. We should just clean this up and go home."
"What about that Rainbow Crash girl?" Martingale asked. "Isn't she always here?"
"Wrote to me and told me that she couldn't make it this year due to the Friendship Summit she's having with her friends in Canterlot today," Yearling replied. "Too bad though. I'm sure she would've bought the book."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Martingale said, flatly. "The book is awful and we both know it."
"It's not awful!" Yearling snapped. "We wrote it!"
Martingale put his hooves up in defense. "Hey, I'm not saying our writing is bad. I'm saying the plot is bad. The whole story is about our average days and even I know that's not why your fans read Daring Do."
Yearling sighed. "Caballeron, you're right. Maybe we should just end the series. Our adventures are over. The good old days are done."
"Well... I can't say that I can argue with you," Martingale said. "Maybe it's time to bring the series to a close."
"But we can't just end it with this horrible book," Yearling proclaimed. "We need to find a good ending."
"Let's make something up," Martingale suggested. "Most of your fans don't know that Daring Do is real."
"I can't make things up," Yearling said. "I wish I was that great of a writer, but I'm not. It was always a talent I had to develop. I can only write things that actually happened to me. My real talent is exploration, but now I feel like I can't do that anymore."
Martingale could've sworn he saw tears gathering in Yearling's eyes. He had never seen Yearling cry before since she always seemed so confident while they were still arch enemies, so he wasn't sure how to comfort her. "Um... don't worry. I'm sure there has to be more things for you to explore... elsewhere."
"I hope you're right," Yearling said. "I don't know what I'm going to do if it's all over!"
Martingale sighed. "My mother always told me that if I wanted adventure, I'd have to make it happen myself. That is why I always involved myself in Ahuizotl's affairs and because of your attempts to protect the artifacts, I got caught up in yours as well."
"How are we going to make adventure happen?" Yearling questioned. "I mean... we can't just bother Ahuizotl again."
"Well... let's find out," Martingale replied.
Yearling took a deep breath and nodded. She sadly pulled over one of the boxes on the ground next to her they had used to bring the books to the convention earlier. "Come on, let's get packed up."
Martingale didn't protest. He just nodded and silently assisted her in packing up their things.