It was a dark and stormy knight that stared down at the Ponyville Daily, although the hue only seemed dark in the flickering candlelight, and she was technically only a knight within the northern Griffon Territories and the southeastern pygmy pony tribelands. Her countenance however was unquestionably stormy.
“A draconequus... no, the draconequus of chaos is broken free - by students from the local school no less - and the first I learn of it is when Twilight and those blasted Elements of Harmony save the day again!?”
The pegasus growled angrily at the newsprint, and raised a forehoof to slam against the table.
“How were you to know, dear? Would you rather have been fighting against this...” Gallant, ever the attentive stallion, peered over his wife’s shoulder “...Discord than coming with me to the clinic? Little Bulwark here was coughing something awful.” A contented, sleepy gurgle drifted from the baby monitor, no hint of the unpleasant hacking sounds remaining after the doctor’s attentions.
“Well, no, but...” indecision hung in her tone “but it’s my job, my talent even! Why else would I have gone to all that trouble amassing artifacts from those ridiculous tombs if not to...” Gallant’s hooves rested gently on her shoulders, and the tension and worry dissipated out through the warm weight. “...I, I just want to have a purpose.” She sighed heavily.
“I have you, I have Bulwark, I have everything I could have wanted, but since this blasted Twilight came across from Canterlot every invasion by magical beasts or armed incursion has been dealt with before I’ve had a chance to do anything!”
Spent with her ranting, the pegasus felt her mind being dragged back to her first encounter with the lavender unicorn...
Hooves pounded against ancient, cracked stone; light chainmail taken from the dark jungles of the eastern continent hummed with magical power; the taste of cold steel filled her mouth, the mouth-grip of one of three unspeakable artifacts of the lost Seapony tribes locked firmly between the wielder’s jaws.
Eternal darkness had returned to Equestria, and the alignment of stars combined with Celestia’s disappearance could only mean one thing: The return of Nightmare Moon.
Woken from her sleep by screams of distress from the townsfolk, she’d quickly realised the danger and having equipped herself with the scattered arms and armour kept in the house she called home, she’d rushed into the Everfree Forest and the fell castle lying at its heart.
The top of the staircase in sight, a final burst of speed brought her sailing out into a giant hallway, wings spread wide as she soared through the... sunshine? Why was the sun up!?
“Hey, you know what this calls for?”
The pegasus faltered, drifting to the ground with a clatter of hooves and metal.
“Waffs... waff’s woing...” she spat out the magical blade. “What’s going on?”
Celestia wasn’t imprisoned but instead free, Nightmare Moon was nowhere to be seen unless the quivering black Alicorn standing beside the princess was the fearsome monster, and there were five ponyville citizens along with some unicorn she’d never seen before.
“A party! Maybe. Possibly?”
The pony that’d first spoken, Pinkie Pie if she’d got the name right, had started talking again and passed the confused pegasus a party hat and a slice of cake that’d appeared from nowhere..
“I... what?”
“...and then to make matters worse, after everything had been straightened Fluttershy apologised and offered some of her hens’ eggs! Like I need a consolation prize...”
“You know that wasn’t the spirit in which it was meant dear.” Gallant rubbed his hooves back and forth, easing out more tension, “and you have to admit, those eggs made some nice omelettes, and that tortilla de patatas you made...” the stallion sighed happily to himself, lost in the memory. “It was well worth skipping out on that travelling magician when ingredient hunting. Do you think I should pick up more of those eg-”
“Oh, yes, the magician. How could I forget. That was another time that dratted unicorn saved the day...”
Gallent, still behind his wife, rolled his eyes as he felt the muscles he was massaging tauten up again.
Warm water lapped gently against smooth, clean porcelain; a gramophone taken from the living room crooned something soothing and forgettable; the fragrance of luxurious candles filled her nostrils, the heady smells of one of three ineffable scents from the Lotus’ Spa caressing her senses with near infinite pleasure.
Then came the earth shattering roar, the microquake and the scream of ponies in distress.
In the blink of an eye she was hurtling down the stairs with a bath towel thrown hastily around her midsection and a weapon between her teeth. She charged out the doorway, prepared to face whatever evil had come to take its long-delayed revenge upon her and the town she’d chosen to call home.
Instead, there was just that stupid, everpresent, show-stealing unicorn hovering an Ursa Minor of all things, and at the same time seemed to be using wind-based magic to create a soothing song from nearby reeds and hovering across the town’s water tower.
The brandished loofah fell ineffectually from her lips as the pegasus’ jaw dropped open at the sheer scale of the magical maelstrom and the finesse with which it was being handled.
...and then the same wind tugged off the bathtowel...
“...but we don’t normally wear clothes.”
“I know, but it’s the principle of the thing that gets me!”
“...and with all the magic business going on, I doubt Ms Sparkle was even aware of your presence!” Gallant quickly realised his mistake. “Err, I mean, I don’t think she meant to snatch away the towel.”
His wife sighed heavily. Again. “I know, it’s not her fault that she seems so much better than me at saving the day...”
“Now don’t say that!” She felt Gallant’s hooves leave her shoulders, and moments later the chair spun around so they were eye to eye, “it took six of them to defeat Nightmare Moon and Discord, and Twilight only took care of an Ursa Minor! You defeated the arch praetor of the black temple on your own, and found all the pieces of the hidden tetrox, also on your own and still had time to learn how to make guacamole before the sunset! Heck, even when I joined your side at most I only got in your way.”
“I was always having to save you, wasn’t I.” She smiled then, although the corners of her eyes were a little damp. “If she’s going to be saving the town all the time... then what should I do with my life? I can’t travel, not if I want to be with Bulwark, and I’m not going to drag him with me to some distant temple just to dodge pitfalls and...”
“Why not share your knowledge then? Write a book about what you’ve done?”
“A book? Really? Why would-”
Gallant cut her off, gesturing at the compass on her flank. “Perhaps your talent isn’t just finding things or exploring, but perhaps leading otherponies to follow in your hoof-steps. Surely half the point of exploring is showing people where to go.”
“I...” she hesitated, “I need some time. I’ll think about it.”
Weeks passed, and the pegasus found herself in an empty house, peace and quiet reigning as Gallant pushed the pram around town in the hopes Bulwark would get some sleep. Her right wing was giving her gyp, something it was want to do more than often in the past few years, and so she she’d sat down in front of a desk with blank parchment and quill.
“How would I even start this... I mean, I should probably use my full name before marrying Gallant. Maybe. I don’t know...”
She twiddled the pen back and forth, juggling it absentmindedly between hooves and wings while waiting for inspiration.
“Huh, I wonder...”
There was a scribbling of ink on parchment.
As Daring Do trekked through the tropical jungle the wet heat sapped her energy and slowed her every step. If only she could escape this oppressive atmosphere and fly up into the cool, blue sky...
