Author and Adventurer

“And we’re finally back.”

Daring smiled at her tired counterpart. In all honesty, despite the hard week of travel, and how she had expected Yearling to handle it, she had performed admirably. Step after step, mile after mile, with little complaint or issue. It was… nice.

It had also been pretty quiet though, as both were more used to being by themselves, and when it came to conversation, it could be hard with one who shared all your memories. You couldn’t just bring up old stories or ask questions without possibly sounding stupid yourself, something that Daring wanted to be the last thing she did.

It didn’t help that she knew where she stood between the two. Sure, she was the adventurer, and she could sleep anywhere, walk for days, etc., but when you kept screwing up with facts, or complained about your wings, only to be corrected, it made you feel… less. She glanced over at Yearling and frowned. She still didn’t know what to say, even after a week, about her counterpart’s new species.

Yearling started to walk forward, entering the small, quiet yard that led up to her house. In all honesty, she had liked the fact that Daring was so stumped on the matter. It made her feel more normal not to be coddled for how she was weaker, or disabled for a former pegasus. She was simply the travelling partner for this ride.

Besides, if Yearling acted like the wings didn’t hurt, even though feeling their ghost still was agony, it would make what was about to happen all the easier.

After a moment of the two checking who had the keys, with it being found in one of Daring’s pockets, they walked into the small house. When it was first made, Daring Do had asked for nothing but a cabin, but Celestia wouldn’t have it. With how hard the job was, and being the head for trying to hint to other adventurous ponies that the Royal Adventurers existed, she was forced to have the two story place she did.

Not that she complained about that nowadays. It was bad to look a gifthorse in the mouth, especially as one used their house to heal more often. Or, now that they had a possibly permanent guest.

Yearling smiled at that, thinking about how the guest room might finally find some use now, and turned to Daring. “Do you mind putting on the kettle and making some tea? I want to grab the typewriter and get to work.”

Daring nodded, internally smiling at the implication. Daring Do had never bought a second typewriter, instead preferring to just buy a new one when the old one broke, so whoever used it was the only one that would be able to write. It made sense of course, though she suspected that Yearling thought she might fight her.

As she prepared some green tea, she knew she wouldn’t. She wasn’t of the right mindset anymore to write. Sure, she could try, and maybe make something half decent, but that’s what anypony could do. It was those with experience, a passion, and just overall skill with wordsmithing who could craft something truly enjoyable. That was why she used to be paid the big bucks for her writing.

She brought the tea out for Yearling, but from how the keys clicked and clacked, she knew it would probably go largely ignored. The mare was in the zone, focused only on her creation as she worked. She’d be lucky to remember about dinner like this.

Then again, Daring could always do it, like a good friend, or a caring… She bit into her lip, remembering all of her snuck glances. All those times when she let her wandering eyes see what she was never supposed to. And, worst of all, all the times she let those images fill her mind at night, all while her hoof drifted and found a way to comfort herself.

Truth be told, she’d been all too happy to let Yearling keep the tent to herself if it meant her own privacy for the trip. Now she would have her own room though, with thick walls keeping them apart, and making sure none of her noises reached the intelligent mare.

Daring looked down, feeling ashamed for her thoughts, but also trying to focus on them. They were a lot less terrifying than what she was actually thinking, and of what her dreams really were. No, those couldn’t be thought of. They weren’t for a lone wolf like her.

After hours of walking around the house, filling her time with practice, other hobbies, and even beginning to read one of her own books, for once being proud of what she had written instead of thinking it could be better, she only then realized how late it was. It wasn’t the fading light that told her though, as it was pitch black when she noticed, and she’d been reading by lamplight.

No, it was because the clicking and clacking had stopped.

Daring stepped into the writing room, and smiled as she saw Yearling still bent over her typewriter. Coming closer let her hear the other mare’s soft, even breathing. She was sound asleep, probably after having told herself over and over that she would go to bed after this page. Daring let her hoof run through the mare’s mane with a smile, before nodding to herself and knowing what she would do.

It was good that it was this way, rather than the other way around, as Yearling was only a slight burden to Daring as she carefully slipped the mare onto her back. She then trotted upstairs, always mindful of how Yearling was on her. It made her cheeks flare up with heat, but she didn’t dare let that make her drop the mare she… “Careful Daring, you almost thought it.”

With the absolute utmost care, she slid Yearling onto her bed, and then simply stood there. She knew that she should go and sleep in another room. She had a guest room just for that. But… She shivered for a moment, before her whole body straightened, and she couldn’t stop a wide grin from coming to her face.

She slowly trotted over to the other side of the bed, muttering to herself, “I can’t let her get sick because it’s a cold night tonight, now can I?” She then carefully got onto the bed herself, and, with trembling hooves, pulled Yearling into her barrel.

Yearling, for her part, finally woke up for a moment then. When she noticed where she was, in the embrace of the pony who somehow made her feel higher than her wings had ever taken her, she smiled to herself. It was a nice dream, so she played along and snuggled into Daring’s chest, enjoying the soft, fluffy hair there before she fell asleep with her own hooves now around Daring.

And both slept, finally indulging a little of what neither could admit. Not yet.