Rainbow Dash was engaged in some overdue spring cleaning around her living room when there was a knock at the front door. Setting aside her broom and dustpan, she flew over to the door and opened it.
On the other side was a pegasus shrouded in dark purple wrappings, with a wide-brimmed straw hat tilted down over her face and a lightweight canvas saddlebag strapped to her flank.
"Uhh...can I help you?" Rainbow asked.
The other pegasus reached up and removed her hat, revealing a gold face and a striped greyscale mane. She took off a pair of oversized sunglasses, revealing eyes the same color as Rainbow's, and smiled. "Hello Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow gasped. "Daring Do!"
"I was in the neighborhood," Daring Do said. "I thought I'd drop off an advance copy of my new book."
Rainbow's eyes widened. "Oooooh my gosh!" She leapt out of the doorway, wings spread wide. "Come in, come in!"
Daring stepped in and looked around. "Nice place you have here," she said. "I wish I could set myself up in a place like this."
"What's stopping you?" Rainbow asked. "You're like, super-rich, right?"
Daring sighed. "You know I live out in the middle of nowhere because I have to keep the stuff I find safe. And, well...my secret."
"Oh. Yeah." Rainbow's wings sagged. "That totally sucks, though."
"Eh. I like my privacy when I'm not, y'know, out exploring ancient ruins or saving the world."
"Come sit down! I'll get us some snacks."
"Thanks." Daring trotted over to Rainbow's couch and sat down. As she did, she opened her saddlebag and pulled out a package wrapped in yellow paper, which she set on the end table.
Rainbow trotted back in with a big basket of tortilla chips, a bowl of salsa, and two sodas, which she sat on the coffee table. She eyed the package on the end table. "Is that the new book?"
"Sure is."
"Sweet!" Rainbow's eyes burned with longing, but she shook herself. "I'll read it in a little bit. I'd rather sit and chat with you first...heh."
Daring grinned and popped open the soda. "So, you've been busy lately," she said.
Rainbow shrugged. "I haven't really been up to anything much."
Daring raised an eyebrow. "I was just in Griffonstone last week," she said. "The new Griffon queen couldn't shut up about you and Pinkie Pie. And how the three of you almost recovered the Idol of Boreas."
Rainbow laughed. "Yeah, well—" She paused. "Wait. New Griffon queen?"
At that moment, there was another knock on the door. Rainbow motioned for Daring to sit still, then headed for the door and opened it a crack. "Yes?"
Derpy was on the other side. "Postcard for you!" she said cheerfully.
"Thanks, Derpy." Rainbow took the postcard and looked at it as she headed back to the living room. "Huh, it's from Gilda," she said. "'Dear Rainbow Dash, I have amazing news! Things have been changing so much here in Griffonstone lately, and they're making me queen so I can lead the griffons back to greatness! I'll write a longer letter later when I have the time. Stay cool! Your friend, Gilda.'" Rainbow's jaw dropped. "Whoa."
"Like I said," Daring said as she grabbed a hoofful of chips and munched them down. "I gotta say, I've been to a lot of places and done a lot of awesome things, but I've never changed an entire civilization the way you did."
Rainbow laughed. "Eh...it was actually mostly Pinkie Pie," she said, rubbing one hoof with the other. "I, uhh...I thought finding the Idol of Boreas was the way to fix the griffons. Pinkie was the one who saw what they really needed."
"I wish I'd been there," Daring said. "I'd have loved to see the Idol of Boreas with my own eyes."
Rainbow blew on her bangs. "If you'd been there, you probably would've been able to save it."
Daring shrugged. "I dunno, I took a look at the Abysmal Abyss while I was there. There's no way I'd be stupid enough to fly into a nightmare like that."
"Well, you can't really fly into it in the first place," Rainbow said. "Climbing down it is hard enough." She brightened. "You totally coulda done it, though! I mean, compared to what you went through to get the Sapphire Statue, the Abysmal Abyss would be a piece of cake!"
Daring laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck. "Heheh...yeah..."
"I mean, figuring out that floor puzzle and fighting off Ahuizotl and escaping a death trap all with a busted wing? That totally—"
"My wing wasn't broken," Daring blurted out.
Rainbow trailed off abruptly. "Huh?"
Daring sighed. "Listen, can...can you keep a secret?"
Rainbow nodded, eyes wide.
Daring looked down at her hoof. "Sometimes...I have to embellish a bit in the books."
Rainbow tilted her head. "What do you...mean?"
Daring sighed. "Okay, in all my books? The important stuff is always true. Where I went, who I fought, what I found. And...some of my adventures go exactly the way I write them. Like what the two of us went through together with Ahuizotl and the rings. I mean, that was one of my more fun adventures."
"Hay yeah it was! And it was even better because I got to have it with you!"
"My point," Daring said, "is that...sometimes I have to spice it up a bit, because it doesn't always go like that." She fluffed out her left wing. "The thing with the Sapphire Statue, for instance. It's, well..." She tilted her head up to look at the ceiling. "My wing wasn't broken. I found the temple from the air. I didn't even have to deal with the traps. I was in and out with the statue. My epic encounter with Ahuizotl? He showed up, I kicked him in the face and flew off." She looked at Rainbow. "Which is still pretty sweet, but...it doesn't exactly make for a thrilling tale of adventure, does it?"
Rainbow visibly deflated. "So...no traps, no tile floor puzzle, no deathtrap, no daring escape?"
"Oh, the temple had traps and a tile floor puzzle," Daring said. "I knew all about them going in, which is why I flew in. I don't go out looking for ways to die a horrible death." She shook her head. "It's just that, well...some of my adventures aren't quite as...adventurous as others."
"I...see," Rainbow said.
Daring sighed. "I guess...I just ruined your opinion of me, huh?"
Rainbow smiled and shook her head. "Nah, not really," she said. "I've seen you in action for real, and I know you're as awesome as you are in the books!" She shrugged. "I guess...well..." She ducked her head and blushed. "I get it, really. Sometimes, I...I go overboard and exaggerate when I brag about something cool I did to my friends. So I can kinda relate." She paused. "Besides, you're totally right. That first book woulda sucked if every word was true, and then I'd never have gotten into reading, I'd never have read every Daring Do book, and I'd never have become your biggest fan." She grinned. "And hey, when I read that for the first time, it was just a really cool story, and I didn't know the pony in it was real! So..." She shrugged. "Yeah, I'm okay with the books maybe not always being totally true."
Daring gave Rainbow a relieved smile. "I'm glad to hear that," she said. She finished her drink and stood up. "Well, I've gotta get moving."
"Aww, so soon?"
Daring nodded. "I've got three more stops to make before I head home, and..." She chuckled. "You know what a long flight that is."
"Heh...yeah..."
Daring put her glasses and hat back on. "Enjoy the new book!"
"I sure will! Take care, Daring Do!"
"Seeya!" Daring trotted outside, then launched herself into the sky over Ponyville. Rainbow watched her go for a minute, smiling, then headed back over to the couch. She picked up the new book and unwrapped it.
"I wonder what epic adventure Daring Do's gonna have this time," she mused to herself as she stripped off the paper wrapping. She held up the book and read the title aloud to herself.
"Rainbow Dash and the Lost Treasure of Griffonstone, by A.K. Yearling."
She paused.
"What the HUH?!"
Author's Note
Just a little idea I had while watching Read it and Weep.
