//-------------------------------------------------------//
              Daring Do, A Hero's Beginnings               
                       -by TheOneAJ-                       
//-------------------------------------------------------//
//-------------------------------------------------------//
                          Prelude                          
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Prelude
Trottingham, 20-30 years prior to the events of Daring Don't.
As the undead moved in on Indy, he began to realize that he might not get out of the jungle alive. Wing broken, idols wearying him down, no hope, and yet he continued on. He knew that if he lost the sacred jewels, the world as he knew it would come to an end.
As he ran, he came to a 200 foot drop cliff, with no where to go but down, or face the undead hord.
As the dead approached, Indy pulled out his knife, teeth gritting, ready to face the horde. As the first zombies approached he...
*****************
"Hey, give it back!" Somepony in the real world shouted as a young light tan pegasus filly was forced to put her book down.
"And I was just getting to the good part." She grumbled as she looked over towards the swing set to see what had distracted her.
Over yonder, a group of bullies known throughout the school as the royal guard were playing keep away with a young oranges unicorns safari hat as the young filly was pleading to get it back.
Daring hatted the royal guard so much. Just because they had cutie marks of things like royal guard top hats, sword, crowns and so on, it didn't give them the right to be so mean.
On more then one occasion, they had stolen some of her own books to hide them across the school. Although after a while they had given up on her because it turned out that she was very good at finding things. She might have even have gotten her cutie mark in finding things, if they were actually good at hiding things to begin with.
Normally she would have just gone right back into her book. It was safe, and didn't get her into any trouble. At times her mother would worry about her living in the, real world, but it beat her mother being angry at her when she got into fights.
She was actually just about to go back to her book when she noticed who they were picking on.
It was a new student, or at least it had to be since she hasn't seem any light orange unicorns around her ago in her class before. Not that she ever paid that much attention, but she still knew a new student when she saw one.
He was a scrawny looking unicorn, whoever he was. While he looked the same age as herself, he was a tad smaller and his horn was barley 3 inches long. He also didn't have cutie mark, which was ideal pray for the royal guard.
"Give me my hat back!" He cried as he tried to get his hat back.
"Sure," their leader, a red earth pony with a with a pair of spears making a X as a cutie mark named Red Coat laughed.
He tossed the unicorn back his hat. "Besides, we've already hidden that little compass of yours anyway. Good luck finding it."
The unicorn looked distressed. "No, that was my fathers, I was going to show it off for show and tell, give it back!" He began to cry.
That did it for Daring, she just wouldn't sit by. If there was one quality of her's that got her into the most trouble, it was being a good hearted pony.
Unable to sit idly by as this new filly got picked on Daring placed her book down and trooped over to the laughing bully's as she gave one a hard shove to get their attention. As he fell to the ground, everyone stared at her.
"Now that I have your attention," she announced as all heads turned her way. "Why don't you give this fine fellow his compass back before you retreat it." She said as if was an order instead of a question.
The Royal Guard stared at her, mouths hanging open, until Red Coat shoot her an evil smirk.
"Alright Daring Don't," he smudged at her popular nickname, "you find his compass before class, and I'll eat my own saddlebag."
"Then you better start seasoning it, come on," she then grabbed the orange unicorn as she jester for him to gallop off the the school house with her.
"Can you really find it?" He asked trying not to sound too teary eyeied in front of girl.
"They never outsmarted me yet, and I don't plan to look stupid today."
As she began to check their usual hiding places, she decided to start up a conversation with her... She was about to think friend, but brushed it out her mind.
She didn't do friends, friends didn't work out for her. She could never get along with them, and they just cut into the time she could have spent reading anyways.
Still, she noticed how nervous the poor colt was, so she thought a light conversation would lighten him up as she searched.
"So, you new around here? I haven't seen you around before."
"Yes" he answered quietly kicking his hooves, "just got transferred." He stayed quiet for a moment as he just fallowed Daring around.
"The names Wilhelm, but, you can just call me Will."
She shoot him a gentle grin as she said. "Daring Do, but you can call me Daring. And," she looked at him sternly, "you even think about calling me Do, or make a Do Do joke," she shook her head. "Then I wouldn't want to be you."
"Message received." He said cringing as Daring lightened up with a laugh and pat on the back.
"Hey, relax old sport, we'll get your compass back. Although how'd you end up getting on the royal guards bad side anyways?" She already knew, but she figured she ask anyways
"I didn't do anything!" He complained.   "I was just sitting on the swings when they came up to me and took my hat and compass."
Daring chuckled. "Sounds like them alright. Don't let them get to you, they get their cutie marks in anything that has to so with being a guard, and they think they can be bullies. Just keep your stuff at home for a few days and they'll move on."
"Ok," he nodded with a weak smile. "Thanks."
As they walked into a classroom, he asked a question Daring felt was coming on.
"So um, are we, friends now?" He finally asked.
Daring tensed at the question, but she still had her question, but knew her answer.
"Look," she sighed, "it's nothing against you, but, I don't do friends."
"But," Will protested, "friends are really important, so I've heard."
Daring chuckled. "Who told you that, your mommy?"
She stopped dead as she heard him crying, and quickly realized her mistake.
"Oh Elizabeth, your parents arn't dead or anything?"
Will didn't care how he looked, he simply let it all out. He was going to loss his only keepsake of his father's, he wasn't liked by the only pony who was willing to help him was making fun of him being an orphan.
"Yeah, and, and, that compass, is all I, I have left of them."
"Oh Will, I am really sorry." Daring pled."I promise, we'll find that compass, I promise." As he continued to cry, Daring could help but feel angry. not at him, but the mean pony's who would dare pick on an innocent colt who didn't even have parents to comfort him. She decided that it was time to take some more  drastic measures.
*************
"Oh yeah," Red Coat boasted to his buddies, "I mean, I bet that baby... OOF!"
"Coat!" One his buddies cried out as a pair of legs bucked him out of the way.
Before anypony could stop her, she was on top of Rem Coat.
"Where is the Compass?" She demanded as she pressed on him harder as be tried to fight. "Answer me!"
Dispute this, he still chuckled. "Oh look, the bookworm can fight." She pressed harder.
"I could care less if you make my life a living Tartarus, but you'll tell me where that compass is!"
"Fine," he gasped as Daring pressed harder, "under my desk, but don't think I'm going to forget this, Do Do."
"Ahh!" Another one of the royal guard said as he lunged into Daring as she began to buck him up as the others took it as a sign to join in.
As they began to attack, Daring felt somepony against he back, and recognized a familiar orange coat.
"Will, get out of here, your compass is under his desk."
"Thanks for that, but I'm not going to leave a friend behind."
As he said that another pair of bullies rushed in, and Will and Daring gave their battle cries!
**************
"It was nice of Ms. Pudding to at least let me show off my compass." Will said as he and Daring sat in front of the principles office. Daring to await her mother most likely, and Will to wait for Ms. Ruler, head of his orphanage to pick them up.
"Thanks again for getting this back for me." He said for the twelfth time as he held on tightly to his compass.
"Well, I guess we're even now that you got in trouble for having my back back there."
"Hey, that's just what friends do." There was then an awkward silence for a moment between the two. Daring processing the though deeply, did this mean she and Will were now friends?
"Daring."
"Will."
They both spoke in unison as they both chuckled.
"This mean we're actually friends?" Will asked nervously tipping his hat.
"You know what," Daring sighed," "I think I could give it a try, but you'll have to catch up on the adventure series I've been reading."
"Deal!" He smiled as he sainted his face as be tried to use magic. He was able to levitate his safari hat off his head and place it on Darings.
"Oh no, I couldn't." She protested.
"Oh it's fine, never looked good on me, and it suites you, makes you look like an action hero."
She made her way to a mirror to admire herself. "You know what, I dose." She grinned as she began to turn around to admire her hat.
As her rear faced the mirror, both filled began to notice the glow, and the next moment, a cutie mark resembling the inside part of Will's compass appeared on her flank.
"Oh my..."
"Daring Do!" Her mother, Direction, a brown pegasus with a red arrow cutie mark, stormed in not to pleased.
"Hey, mommy," Daring weakly chuckled, " I made a new friend, and I got my cutie mark." She said showing  it off. While her mother was defiantly  pleased, it wouldn't get her that easily off the hook.