The only thing she could think about was how tired she was.
As she finally made it past the borderline of the forest, the archaeologist could do nothing but collapse, her body meeting the ground with a heavy thud. She simply lay there for a few minutes, her abdomen rising up and down as she panted, her energy having been long spent. It was heavenly to feel the cool air around her, compared to the tropical heat of the forest. Sweat patches felt sticky on her fur as she was reminded of the intensity, slowly becoming milder as the breeze washed over her.
After a while, Daring Do finally looked up from her fore-hooves. It was creeping towards evening, she realised. The sun was now at its lowest point, sitting on the brim of the horizon like a swan on water, casting an orange and pink haze across the clouds. Daring was sure it had been much higher before she'd entered the forest. She half smiled. Had the day really gone that fast?
Still, as she looked at her saddlebag, feeling the weight of the precious artefact she had stuffed into it only minutes previously, she was at least glad the day had been a success. It had not been without its troubles, of course; a familiar pain began to throb in her head, prompting Daring to slip a hoof under her pith hat, feeling a bump that had formed on her skin. As she retracted her hoof, she saw a blotch of blood clearly imprinted on her fur. She'd obviously hit her head while climbing harder than she first thought.
Sighing, she looked ahead, noticing how far the land seemed to stretch beyond. It was going to be a long journey to get back to civilization and have her injuries looked at, not forgetting the treasure she had to put safely in the museum archives. As she lay there, weak from her hard work, it seemed impossible to travel that far in her current state.
No. She would stay here for a while and get some rest. She could make the journey when she was ready.
Licking her lips, she felt how dry her mouth was, and quickly rummaged in her bag to pull out a full bottle of water. All her cravings came back to her like lightning, and she downed half the water in several gulps.
She let out a satisfied breath. It had surely been a day since she'd last had a drink. Clearly her focus on the expedition had made her forget things like hunger and thirst.
It was like that most of the time: when she was concentrated on something so important, it was difficult for the pegasus to divert her mind to anything else. It would have been considered unhealthy by some, but she would pay no mind. This was the life she had chosen for herself, and she would devote all her time to it, no matter what it took.
Some life, an unwanted voice whispered in her head. You'd sacrifice anything to go on these missions; heck, you've nearly sacrificed your own life more than once! Is this it for you? Is this really what you want?
Daring tried to push the irritating thoughts out of her mind. I do this because nopony else will, she countered mentally. If I wasn't here to stop Ahuizotl, who knows what would happen? What would he be able to accomplish?
The thought made a sickly shudder run down her spine. She dreaded the mere idea of it.
She took a moment to look back at the rainforest. She could still hear the familiar sounds of exotic birds singing their songs into the air, as well as the other unusual and almost alien calls that rang out constantly. Apart from these sounds, all was quiet and still – peacefully still. An hour previously, it had been totally different. She'd lost count of the number of times that monster had wreaked havoc on innocent places just for the sake of a single artefact, and of course the promise of world domination. It had been yet another one of those times, and Daring thought, as she stared at the now calm atmosphere before her, that without her, the place might have looked a lot worse. It was humbling to know that her actions had prevented total disaster and kept a land in harmony.
And as she considered this, it was then she realised: this was why she did what she did. The thrills and the adventure were a bonus, but the reward of knowing the world was safe at the end of it all was the ultimate motive.
For once, she felt at peace with herself as she gently dabbed cream onto her injured head. As soon as she had her energy back, it would be even more gratifying once she got to her hooves and returned to civilization, the treasured stone in her grasp. All she could do now was rest quietly, listening to the same sounds echoing from the trees and calming her spirits.
Wait. What was that sound?
Daring looked around, her ears pricked up in confusion as she placed her hat back on her head. It was unlike the sounds she was used to; it had been high-pitched and reminded her of a child-like whine. Most importantly, it seemed like it had been very close to her.
Then she heard it again, only this time, even closer. And before she could take more time to realise what it was, something small and soft brushed against her torso. The mare yelped in shock, looking beside her to find the source of all the strange racket: a cat – snowy white in colour, miniature in size, bearing a pair of enormous green eyes that stared right up at her.
To any ordinary pony, this animal would have been labelled cute and cuddly, melting the hearts of anyone who looked at it. But Daring Do wasn't ordinary, and she recognized this cat as something that did NOT make it cute and cuddly.
Instead of cooing, she stared at the small creature with malice, her face wrinkled into a revolted grimace. “Get away from me,” she snarled, shoving it aside with the strong movement of her back leg.
The cat wobbled in surprise, eyeing her further with its large round pupils. Despite the pony's attitude, it wasn't deterred. It approached again, much to Daring's annoyance, and simply stood there, watching her; ogling curiously with its bright eyes.
The more it watched, the more Daring's anger rose. This was the cat that had famously outwitted her several times in the past, all in aid of its owner: Ahuizotl himself.
Thus, to have it pestering her was the last thing she wanted. Where had had it even come from anyway? Why wasn't it by Ahuizotl's side where it belonged? Surely it would keep away from her after all that had just happened? And yet here it was, trying to get her attention.
“Meow.”
Daring snorted in disgust, not fazed by the cat's characteristic, loud sound. Despite any begging, she wouldn't be giving it her attention for anything.
She turned her head away, trying to focus on the approaching sunset. If only she had the energy, she would have got up and flown away, but unfortunately her exhaustion was still too much, leaving her unable to do as she wished.
As she kept her back turned, she could feel the cat's unmoving presence beside her, its breath tickling her shoulder. Then a thought suddenly dropped on her like a bucket of cold water, making her jolt in horror. Her hooves shot to her saddlebag, pressing the flap down as firmly as possible and making sure she could still feel the rough outline of the stone under the fabric. The archaeologist glared daggers at the cat, watching for any sudden movements. If she knew Ahuizotl, she wouldn't be surprised to find that he had trained his precious pet to do his dirty work. Stealing treasure could easily be one of those clever tricks.
“I know what you're thinking,” she spat aggressively. “But guess what? I'm always one step ahead. You should know that by now. So why don't you shove off back to Ahuizotl and tell him the bad news? And do it before I kick you over there myself.”
The white cat was neither threatened nor frightened by the mare's words, but instead rather confused. Its head cocked as it stared at her, as if it was trying to figure her out, wondering why the pony was behaving like this. Daring took note of the way the light of the dying sun danced on its tiny whiskers.
She grunted in annoyance. Why wouldn't it just leave her alone?!
“Seriously,” she began, her voice heated with irritation, “if you don't get lost right now, I swear to Celestia I'll--”
She was interrupted mid-sentence as the cat unexpectedly walked right up to her, coming so close that its nose briefly touched her shoulder. With a hint of shyness, it rubbed against the softness of her torso, and before long, burrowed itself into the crook of her shoulder, curling into a comfortable ball on the ground.
Through all its fumbling, Daring found herself unable to react. She didn't push it away, neither did she express any repulsion. The mare simply stared, her mouth open in astonishment at the sudden proximity she shared with an animal she thought she despised. As she stared at it more, seeing how relaxed it seemed in her presence – looking as serene as the forest she had just been admiring – she found no feeling of hatred inside her. It just seemed to have melted away.
Regardless, she wasn't used to being in close contact with anyone, even an animal, so she looked upon the cat with uncertainty as it nestled its face between its paws, purring softly, taking in the warmth of the pony's body. Making sure she kept her saddlebag safely pressed against her side (just to be cautious), Daring bit down on her lip, trying to think of something to say or do that would break her stupor of silence. With awkwardness, she reached her hoof towards the cat's furry back, afraid of how it would react to her sudden touch.
Her hoof had barely met its body before it suddenly lurched, letting out a small cry that almost certainly sounded like it was in pain. Daring retracted in shock, concern beginning to build inside her.
“What? What did I do?”
She mentally berated herself for asking questions like that: it wasn't exactly going to answer them, was it? But it was instantly made clear what she had done. The cat rolled onto its side, revealing the place that she had briefly touched with her hoof, and it made her jaw fall open to see what was there.
A large, bloody patch was visible through its white fur, spreading out like a virus along its spinal area. Daring was unsure what could have caused such an injury, but she guessed from her experience in the wild that it had caught itself on something sharp while running through thick foliage, most likely a branch or a rock. At any rate, it didn't seem to bear any teeth marks that would suggest a living thing had caused its injury.
“Right...” she murmured half to herself, reaching into her saddlebag to find her medical equipment. She tried not to pay attention to the cat as it writhed beside her, clearly in a lot of pain after such a sensitive cut being irritated. It didn't take the archaeologist long to locate her roll of bandages; she yanked it from the bottom of her bag and tore off a strip with her teeth.
Daring was tentative as she went to touch the cat again, but she ignored her caution when remembering how urgently the wound needed to be covered. After about a minute of work, with occasional whining from her new patient, the bandage was wrapped neatly around its body, hiding the large red mark from sight.
She was relieved to see that the cat had stopped wriggling in pain, and now lay quite still as its breathing slowed to a regular pace. Its eyes raised to meet hers again, and Daring felt somewhat pressured to respond.
“Well?” she asked, her tone impatient. “You happy now?”
In reply, the cat rose quickly to its feet, appearing to smile as its eyes squinted at hers, and resumed its delicate purring, rubbing its cheek affectionately across her neck. There was no doubt about it, even for Daring Do: it was thanking her.
She cursed herself for it, but its acts of affection and the sound of its purring made her feel a sense of total calmness, something that she rarely ever felt. And it was then she realised: this wasn't an animal that had been hell-bent on delivering her to Ahuizotl, or causing her any harm at all in fact. This was just another innocent creature; one that expressed as much gentility as the others she had seen throughout Equestria. It didn't know any better than she did. And for that, she found herself feeling respect rather than hate.
After all the hardship of the day, she was cracking a smile, watching the small creature curl up beside her again. It looked like it was going to fall asleep. Tentatively, she reached her hoof to its fur again, making gentle contact and caressing it as carefully as possible. “So what now?” she asked. “You and I are just going to lie here for the rest of the day? Because, you know... I'm kind of a busy pony, and there's stuff I need to do. Like, really soon.”
The cat showed no acknowledgement of her words, rummaging its face happily into her grey bangs that hung beside her shoulder. Daring sighed, seemingly defeated. “I guess I'm not going anywhere for a while then,” she said with a roll of her eyes. The cat mewed quietly in reply, which sounded oddly like a 'yes'.
Daring bit her lip, stared at herself, and fully noticing the uncharacteristic position she was now in. From a ruthless explorer to a soft little mare cuddling with animals. she thought. Still full of surprises every day, Daring.
Chuckling in spite of herself, Daring cast one more glance to the horizon ahead, watching as the sun sank even further below the horizon. She was blissfully unaware of how the rays reflected her magenta eyes and made them twinkle like jewels. Breathing out through her nose, she let herself relax, feeling her energy begin restore itself. What an odd way to end such a rough day. Then again, most of Daring Do's days ended in less than usual circumstances.
But this was good: to relax and feel at ease for once. It made a nice change. And as her eyes slowly fluttered closed, lulling her into sleep (with her hoof draped protectively over her bag), the brave adventurer was left with one last thought. Be this pony, Daring. Look after yourself, and look after the world. That's what this life's for. Don't go forgetting that.
Author's Note
I'd like to dedicate this story to DiveBomb, author of the Riflepony series. His stories really inspired me to write about Daring Do, and I hope 'Colt of the West' will be updated soon.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I really enjoyed writing this, since Daring is a great character to study.
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