Daring Do -in- Rain or Shine

Part 1: Play of Colour

Chapter 1: New Horizon, New Castle.

She couldn't believe that she'd never been there before. It was an unfamiliar city on the Western Plains; an area she had rarely visited in the past. Whoever she asked, she was regaled with stories about The Great City of Hoofcastle. Everyone had told her about how huge the city was, how fabulous the festivities were, the might of its military and the leadership of its monarchy. It truly seemed like a wonderful place to visit, and with so much history, it promised to be full of secrets and archaeological delights.

Finally free to travel, after fighting to retrieve a precious gemstone from a black market trader in a nearby town, she decided to visit Hoofcastle as a tourist. She planned to send the hoof-sized opal back to its rightful owner via the postal service, then spend some time exploring the surrounding area; rather than carry it all the way back herself. To her, it was the perfect plan. Even someone as hard-working as her needed time off once in a while.

The high-walled fortress city loomed on the horizon as she flew clear of the trees of the Rosettian Forest; giving way to a rich, grassy meadow, stretching out as far as the eye could see. It was a delightfully warm day, and with all of the open air now that she was free of the densely wooded area, the pegasus decided to enjoy it. She flew in to the nearest thermal she could find and soared higher and higher. It was liberating! The thermal carried her ever further in to the sky until it eventually reached its peak. With a few more wing-beats, she tumbled over backwards and out of the rising column of air. With her eyes closed and a grin on her face, she plummeted back down towards the hard ground. Fast and faster she fell, managing to turn out of the drop at the last moment. The eddies and vortices blew a cloud of pollen and flower petals right off of their stems; an exploding rainbow of colours.

To any other flyer, such a dive would be daring; perhaps too daring, but not too daring for Daring Do!

She eventually made it to the town on the outskirts of Hoofcastle; a bustling place called Saddleton.

Saddleton was actually so close to the castle walls of the gigantic fortress city that it all might as well have been one giant city all together. It had become a suburb, rather than a separate town. The settlement seemed pleasant enough, with nothing more than a wooden palisade at its borders. Even in an area reportedly as dangerous as the western plains, it seemed quite inviting. She set down by the front gate, stepping up to two guard-ponies standing watch. The gate was open, so Daring assumed that the way was clear. "Good afternoon." She nodded her head on the way past. The guards didn't even bat an eyelid in response. Must have been part of their training. Ignoring them, she made her in to the town. The skyline was partly blocked by the massive grey brick structure that stretched several hundred, maybe even over a thousand hands high. A descending whistle left her lips as she scoped the size of the building. "Nice place!" Laughing, she continued on towards the town centre.

When Daring was finally there, she spent a moment taking in all the sounds, sights and smells. There was a whole variety of things to see and do, and she wanted to explore all of it. Her first thought was to look for the nearest post office, but her rumbling stomach was telling her to reorder her priorities. The post office wasn't going anywhere, after all. "Hm, I guess I should go and get something to eat."

She trotted across the cobblestones towards a large, ornate fountain in the town square. From there, she could get a good view of the many colourful and varied stalls that lined the streets. There were arts and crafts, groceries, tools, clothes and book stalls; as well as a good few open-air grills and cafés. The delicious scent of roasted red bell-peppers and caramelised onions practically lifted and carried her over to a small queue of other ponies waiting to get their share. A burgundy-coloured earth pony with a dark grey mane and tail was artfully tossing the sizzling mixture in a large skillet, with oily orange and purple flames leaping from the shallow pan. An enthusiastic yellow unicorn was serving customers at the stall, handing over neatly wrapped wheat tortillas filled with the aromatic treat. "Howay, get 'em while they're hot!" the young mare shouted over the crowd. "Two bits each, five bits fre three!" She picked up a few more of the generously-sized bundles and passed them out to a paying customer and his two foals.

Simple street fayre; sometimes there was just nothing like it! Fried foods were common all over the world, sold in various guises as patties, nuggets, kebabs, skewers, stir-fry, pastries; you name it, it's been fried and it's been loved by thousands.

The quick service ensured that the lines thinned out pretty fast, soon putting Daring at the front. "What'll it be, fearless adventurer?" It was obvious that the seller was making fun of her hat and jacket, but something about it was oddly flattering. Daring laughed it off, taking it as a compliment. If only she knew! "One te gan?"

From 'te gan', Daring guessed that she meant 'to go'. "Yes please!" Daring reached for her coin purse and produced two bits. The unicorn handed over the goods, receiving the two golden coins for her troubles. "Thank you." Always charming and polite, Daring nodded her head with a smile and backed away to let the next eager customer through.

"Pleasure te serve yee , ma'am. We's next?" Her attention was quickly drawn away to the next hungry pony.

Daring found a sunny spot by the fountain in the town square, sitting down on the smooth stones and enjoying the sun's rays. Occasionally some cool droplets of water splashed over her neck. She was thankful for it on such a hot day, finding it refreshing. It was the perfect accompaniment to the warm, mildly spicy meal she was about to get stuck in to.

Peeling a layer of grease-paper off of the soft tortilla, Daring licked her lips eagerly. This was going to be so worth it after several days with just dried rations. Stale bread really hit the spot, but only when it was absolutely needed.

Shutting her eyes and opening her jaws wide to take a bite, she found herself clapping her teeth together around thin air. "Ow!" she yelled, feeling the impact resonate through her skull. Quickly opening her eyes and peering around, she noticed a young colt disappearing towards a large crowd. He was carrying her lunch, and he was getting away! "Hey!" Daring leapt to her hooves, giving chase. The little brat was not going to get away with that! "Come back!" she shouted, muscling past the slow-moving lines of ponies as she tried to keep up with the galloping youngster. "That's mine!"

She soon lost him, only managing to catch a glimpse of his blue tail disappearing around a dark corner. She skidded to a halt and looked in to the shadows of the alleyway. "I know you're in there!" Daring was angry; not to mention extremely hungry. The combination made her desperate to get the tempting meal back, even if it took all day. She was going to find that thief and show him what for! Stepping in to the darkness, Daring kicked over an empty barrel, letting it echo through the narrow passageway. She was hoping that the loud noise would scare the colt in to revealing himself. "Give my food back, you thief!" She ventured in further, concentrating hard in case she missed something. It was dark, and there were stacks of barrels and crates everywhere. "I paid for that!"

A thought in the back of her head gave her the impression that this was a trap. She kept her wits about her as she approached a particularly large stack of boxes at the far end of the alleyway. "Come out here and face me!" she bellowed, trying to sound tough. When there was no reply, Daring marched forwards to where she thought he was hiding.

There! A blue tuft of hair. "I've got you now you little-" She stopped short of shouting an insult when she noticed who was there. Sure, she had found the colt and her lunch, but she never intended to find his even younger siblings. "...you...little..." she trailed off. The colt and his two sisters were cowering with fear as she loomed over them with a hoof raised, ready to snatch the food away. The snarl that had formed on her lips slowly relaxed, becoming a look of uncertainty. The three young ponies were famished; skinny and weak. The youngest filly was maybe no more than two years old. Daring thought for a moment, sighing.

"Please don't hurt us, Miss!" The colt begged, making himself look as small as possible. "We're so hungry! I'm sorry for taking your food away, but we've got nothing left!" he snivelled, lying on the ground and wrapping his forelegs around one of Daring's own.

"No, don't apologise. I'm sorry; I didn't know you were so down on your luck." She softly nudged the top of the young earth pony's head to reassure him. His mane was greasy and unkempt, but she had smelled far worse in her adventures.

"We really need it, ma'am. My sisters cry all day but nobody will listen to us." The colt was on the verge of tears himself.

"I understand; don't worry." She pondered on what to do next. The food the colt had stolen was probably not going to be enough for three, even if they were children. She fished around for her coin purse again, checking to see how much was left. She had only brought a few bits with her, used to getting by on the bare minimum, and not wanting to risk losing too much by getting mugged.

She took a quick count of her spending money.

Only four bits.

Really? That little? She could have sworn she had more.

She felt unprepared, making a mental note to carry more loose change in future. "Uhm, maybe I could buy you some more, but I'm hungry too." With that declaration, the colt produced a single bit from a small bag behind his sisters.

"This is all we've got. We've been saving up to buy food, but all the food costs too much."

"Please, Miss; we're so hungry." the older sister pleaded. The youngest coughed. She sounded ill. It was more than enough to convince Daring that this was the right thing to do.

"Okay, little ones. Come with me." She took the bit and trotted back towards the main street. The three foals followed.

She held the bit between her teeth, since it was a short walk back to the stall. She felt happy that she was helping out the tiny ponies in their time of need. "Okay, so we'll get three more of those meals for five bits. That should be-" she turned to look behind her and saw that all three youngsters were nowhere to be found.

Realisation dawned on her.

She checked for her coin purse.

It was missing.

She threw the grubby gold coin to the floor in anger and disgust. She'd been used. "Oh buck it!" Daring screamed. Before she had chance to react, the last bit was snatched up by the same young colt, seemingly coming out of nowhere. He vanished once more in to the crowd before she could spot where he was heading.

Outsmarted by three foals.

How humiliating.

Daring fell to the ground and covered her face with her forelegs, groaning in frustration. They had her food; now they had all of her money.

New plan: trust nopony.

Saddleton was starting to seem much less friendly than she had anticipated. Now all she had left was a half-eaten, week-old loaf of bread. It was growing mould on the crust.

"Now what do I do?" She stood up again, gritting her teeth. That was definitely the last time she would be taken for a ride.

The crowd around the grill stall had thinned out somewhat. Now there were only a few more ponies looking to buy. Daring thought that perhaps the majority of ponies were now on their way back to work or about their daily business. The yellow unicorn, who was still serving, called out to her. "How, Miss!" Daring looked up. "Aye!" The clerk waved a hoof, motioning for her to approach. "Ahm sorry aboot tha nuisance; he preys on newcomers an tourists aal the time. Hes a clever little leach." Her dialect was unfamiliar; unusually heavy compared to the others she had heard around this area. The general accent was quite rounded and friendly, with a lot of the vowels sharing roughly the same 'eu' sound. The way the unicorn spoke was about the same, but several times more exaggerated.

"So you saw him take my food, then?" Daring asked, stepping up to the stall.

"Of course Ah did, pet. Ah wez gunna warn yee , but the crowd wez see busy Ah just couldn't git te y'in time, like. Sorry pet." The vendor was sympathetic, feeling guilty for not having been able to warn her of the dangers.

"It's okay." Daring sighed, more hungry than ever and now poor. She started to walk away, wondering how best to remove the mould from the bread in her pack, but the unicorn stopped her.

"Wait, weor are yee gannin?" she asked. She sounded genuinely concerned. "Wi still hev lashins iv scran left, pet." Daring stopped to look up at her again.

Scran?

Lashins iv?

Just what was this polite, if confusing pony saying? "I beg your pardon; I'm not really from the Western Plains, so I don't really-"

"Scran, pet! Scran! Yee knaa; scran te eat!" she repeated; finding it hard to put it in to more general terms. Daring supposed old habits died hard, so breaking a heavy dialect or accent you've grown up with could be difficult.

"Scran... to eat? Food?" She smiled brightly. "You'd give me some more food?" Daring was hopeful, genuinely astounded by the mare's generosity after such a despicable display from the three youngsters. Everyone was different, no matter where they were from.

"Aye, of course! It'll anny gan te waste otherwise." She quickly served another happy customer before turning to Daring once more. She stepped away from the stall and used her magic to float over one of the wrapped tortillas that she had prepared during the busy lunchtime rush. It was still slightly warm, though not as hot and delicious as the original serving would have been. It was, however, free. Beggars can't be choosers.

"Thank you so much!" Daring gratefully accepted the gift with a bow of her head.

"Oh, divvint worry aboot it, pet." The unicorn flopped a hoof dismissively. "Bee the way, me name's Joy Hawk'n." Daring assumed that she actually meant 'Joy Hawking' from the sudden glottal stop.

"Daring Do. It's a pleasure to meet you, Joy!" She was famished, so she started to eat without hesitation. The first mouthful was particularly large; perhaps too much so. She struggled to chew for just a moment. Joy smiled and waited for the pegasus' verdict.

"See, canny good?" she asked. Daring just continued to chew with a questioning look on her face.

Canny? See what?

Joy rolled her eyes and tried to force a more neutral accent. "Like it?"

Daring's eyes widened. "Oh yes, it's great! Sorry, I'm just not used to the accent... No offence."

"Neen tek'n." Joy rolled her eyes again and laughed. She was indeed used to it; especially with outsiders. The locals just grew up with it, though the dialect itself was on its way out, what with the influx of immigrants coming to live and work in Saddleton and Hoofcastle. The Draughtie dialect was unfortunately becoming extinct.

"So, uh, you sell things on the street then, hm?" Daring caught a glimpse of the mare's cutie mark; two golden coins on her flank.

"Wey aye, tha's reet, pet. Ha gan yee tell?"

"Well, I just... well you sell stuff... you sold stuff to me. Sorry didn't mean to-" Daring took her reply as sarcastic and started to ramble.

"Ahm anny messin' wi' yee, hin!" Joy started to laugh out loud, lightly punching Daring's shoulder with a front hoof. "Aye, me job is te sell whativvor Ah gan! At lunch-time it's scran, cus me sweetheart is a cook. Otherwise Ah run a pawn shop doon the street, like." Daring still didn't quite catch it all, but she recognised a few words and phrases.

"Oh you run a pawn shop? What sort of things do you pawn?" Daring wondered if she could make a bit of money back after having been robbed. She took another large bite out of the tortilla.

"Oh, y'knaa; nick knacks an' bits an' bobs an' aal tha'. Owt deed. Why; are yee lookin' te sell somethin'?"

Owt deed?

This accent was truly hard to follow, and Daring thought she had heard all that the world had to offer.

"Oh, I might have a few little things. I really should get going, though. The post office will be closed soon, and I have to go and get something mailed out. I'll be sure to drop by when I'm done there though!" Her expression went from jovial to panicked as she thought of something else.

The opal!

That young colt could have taken that too!

She gasped and dropped her pack, turning to rummage through it. The final third of her meal dropped to the floor as a more important issue took over. "No no no no no! Please let it be in... here..." She slowed as she produced it from underneath a blanket. "Oh! Thank goodness!" She was relieved; though her heart was beating fast from the sudden rush of fear.

"Oh wa! What is that bonny thin'?" Joy's eyes lit up, as if willing the gem in to her possession. "Tha's gotta be worth a fortune!" She leaned in closer, seeing her face reflected in the highly polished, dark stone; a veritable rainbow of fire glistening at its heart.

"I'm not sure what it is; but it definitely belongs in a museum. I'm staying in Saddleton and Hoofcastle for a little while to explore, so I'm sending it home." Daring explained the situation, rubbing a little dust off of the convex face with her foreleg. As she slid it back in to the saddlebag, Joy looked slightly disappointed.

"Oh, Ah guess that is the reet thin te dee." She looked a bit uneasy, shifting on the spot. "See, uhm, wheor did yee git that from?"

"Oh, I... uh; liberated it from a travelling merchant. Turns out he was actually selling stolen goods, so I'm sending it back to the collection it belongs to." Daring closed the clasp on the bag. "Anyway, I should really get going. I'll come and visit your shop later!" She grinned and nodded her head.

"Reet yas! It wes geet canny te meet yee, Miss Do." Joy nodded back.

"It was...gate cannery to meet you too, Miss Hawking!" Daring laughed nervously as she tried to emulate the peculiar dialect. Joy stared ahead with an eyebrow raised, but still with a smile on her lips.

"Ah'll see yee latah, pet." Joy ushered her on, not wanting her to miss the last post.

"Right... right! Okay, see you soon!" Daring turned to start on her way towards the post office. She bid her goodbye with a quick wave over her shoulder.

It wasn't long before Daring found her way to the main branch post office. It was quite hard to miss; ornately decorated with gold leaf and a giant wooden statue of a flying pegasus over the door. It was quite possibly the most intricate post office she had ever seen. Considering the distance from any other major towns, and the far-flung villages out in the plains and towards the forest, it was no wonder that the ponies of Hoofcastle and Saddleton held the mail service in such high regard. Delivery ponies skittered around from all over, bringing in bags of post and parcels taken from the mail-boxes dotted around the town. There looked to be a bit of a rush going on, like the last outgoing mail was about to leave.

"Hurry up there! We've gotta get all this sorted within the hour!" an elderly unicorn with grey hair called down from a balcony in a courtyard to the side of the establishment. Daring watched curiously, finding it interesting to see how the service worked behind the scenes. She could see a sorting office through one of the glass windows under the canopy. The sorting jobs were particularly well-suited to the unicorns, who could easily sort large bundles of letters in to pigeon-holes with their levitation magic. Flickers of colourful light through the dusty panes were constant, showing just how busy the sorters actually were. After a brief moment, she made her way inside.

A bell rang by the door as she pushed it open. There was a small line of ponies still waiting to pay for their parcels to be sent out. Daring used the mail system regularly, so she always carried a book of pre-paid stamps. Since she was absolutely lacking any form of money, she hoped that the stamps would be enough to mail the heavy opal back to the museum.

The whole building had the smell of paper and envelope glue lingering on the air. It was musty, but quite pleasant, reminding her of home. "Next please!" called a young earth pony from behind the counter. He had a tan coat and a red and white mane. A blue cap sat on his head and square-framed, black glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. His accent was considerably clearer than most she had heard already, lacking the rounded pronunciation. In fact, his accent was closer to Daring's own. Maybe he wasn't from the Western Plains?

The line dissipated faster than she imagined it would. The mail clerk was obviously very good at his job. "Next customer please!" He called, motioning for Daring to join him. She stepped up to the counter. "How can I help you, ma'am?"

"I'd like to post an ornament, if that's okay." She started rummaging through her saddlebags for the precious gem.

"Certainly; is it wrapped?" he asked with a smile.

"It's not wrapped, sorry. It might also be kind of fragile. I hope that's not a problem!" She produced the shimmering gem and carefully placed it, with one hoof, on to the wooden worktop in front of him. His response was delayed while he tried to process the sheer value of such a flawless gemstone.

"Uhm, uh yes that's fine. I just need to uh, weigh it up." He balanced on his back legs as he hefted the stone up on to the scales; using two hooves and his nose to keep it safe. When it landed on the scale pan, the pan dropped significantly. Daring heard the springs squeak and the needle on the dial hit the end with a click. He waited for the scales to settle before taking a moment to calculate the cost. Clacking a few beads around on an abacus, he deliberated before delivering the bad news. "Hmm. It looks like this parcel will cost thirty-five bits, ma'am." He smiled nervously and waited for her reaction.

"Thirty-five bits!?" Daring was outraged. She had never had to spend so much on postage before. It wasn't that heavy! "Are you serious?" she barked, scowling at the mail clerk. "It's not even hoof-sized!"

"I'm sorry, ma'am! I don't make the rules. This is a heavy gemstone, and very valuable! The pegasus tasked with carrying it will have to take extra care not to lose it or damage it in any way." The clerk slid his glasses up his nose. "Also, the weight of it will offset the amount of lighter packages and letters that they will be able to carry. I hope you understand." He sounded sorry for her, but he was only doing his job. Daring tutted and groaned. If she couldn't send it back by post, she was going to have to take it herself. That meant no vacation!

"Is there no way you can do it for any less?" she asked, determined to make time for herself to have some fun in this bustling metropolis.

"I'm sorry ma'am, it's the best price we can afford. One of our reserve pegasi are going to have to work overtime to pick up the letters our usual employee would carry. It's only fair on the workforce, ma'am." He looked to be sweating. This pony was nervous. She didn't want to give the poor clerk a panic-attack, so she lowered her voice.

"Okay, okay. I understand." Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she retrieved the stamp-book from her saddlebags and placed it on the counter. "I think I have thirty-five bits worth of stamps in here." She opened it up and flicked through the few pages of perforated stamps she had left.

...thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four...

Thirty-four.

Thirty-four?!

She threw her head back and yelled with frustration. The clerk leapt away with fright, startled.

"Thirty-four. That's all I've got. Are you absolutely sure you can't do it for thirty-four?" She was desperate by this point. The clerk gulped.

"W-well, you see, ma'am, I've already c-cut the price down as much as I can. Trust me; if my colleague was on-duty right now, the charge would be closer to forty bits."

"Forty bits?!" she yelled.

"Forty! Thirty-five is a good deal, really!" The clerk reiterated, shaking on the spot.

"I can't afford it! I was robbed by some young colt and his sisters! Please, I need to get this mailed out."

"I'm sorry ma'am but I could lose my job. I already cut prices back on big deliveries as much as I can!" He was genuinely disappointed that the situation was turning out this way. He never liked to turn a customer away.

"I need to get just one more bit!" She looked around to see if anyone else was left. Everyone was gone; she was the last customer. "I... I know where I can get more money. I'll be as fast as I can, okay?"

"You'll have to be quick! We close in fifteen minutes. Please hurry." The clerk did want her to succeed; it ruined his entire evening if he ever let a customer down.

"I'll be back in ten!"

Daring snatched the gem from the scales and stuffed it in to the bag, slinging it over her shoulder. She stormed out, frustrated and angry; especially after being robbed. This had screwed everything up! She gritted her teeth and growled with frustration, stomping off towards the market yet again. She was going to have to pawn something at Joy's shop, and quickly.

She had forgotten something. The stamp-book was still on the mail counter. The clerk looked up at the gilded motto embossed on the wall.

Come Rain Or Come Shine, The Mail Will Always Get There On Time.

He sighed. He was going to have to do some running.

"Wait, ma'am!" he called after her. He grabbed the stamp-book in his teeth and cantered as fast as he could towards the door, running out in to the street.

Author's Note

So I finally took the plunge in to the MLP fandom. Here I am!

This was kind of a strange turn for me, to be honest. I never really thought I'd end up watching the show, let alone write a story based on it.

So many ideas for this, by the way! I pretty much laid down the basic skeleton in thirty minutes on a lunch-break. It still needs some thinking through, but I hope I'll be able to focus enough to finish this!

I have written a fairly long story (over on Fanfiction.net) about Regular Show (also a great cartoon, if you've not seen it), which, at time of writing, is about 70,000 words (and unfinished!). It drags a little, so I'm going to try my hardest to keep this story a little more concise.

Congrats if you read this far; I'm happy you made it through.

My name's Sy, by the way; it's a pleasure to meet you.

If you're unsure on Joy's accent, I've basically appropriated the Geordie accent of north-east England. I imagine her to sound kind of like stand-up comedian Sarah Millican; I urge you to look her up for an example of what she sounds like! She's also very funny, so that's a bonus.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! Make sure to leave a review to let me know what you thought about it, and what you think I might be able to improve on! Criticism is always welcome, as long as it's constructive.

-Sy