A. K. Yearling sighed as she ripped up the sheet of paper she'd been writing on and tossed it to the side. No, that's not right. Ahuizotl's lines should feel more threatening. The reader should feel as if the heroine is in genuine danger, even though they know she'll make it out alive.
Daring Do shifted her wings. Time to fly again. She had been writing the entire day... Vague memories of "Curse you, Daring Do!" bounced around in her head.
She went outside, spread her wings, and took off as fast as possible. Not super fast, perhaps; she was no Wonderbolt. Even as a filly, she had always looked up to the writers whose works she read in school. Unicorns, mostly. But whoever said a pegasus couldn't write? Not all pegasi are athletic, after all. She winced as she remembered flight camp. Nopony expected anything out of the little filly who was scribbling away in a notebook all the time. They had been shocked at her agility, but her speed left something to be desired.
Daring shook her head to clear the scattered thoughts, and focused on finding a current, locking her wings into position, and gliding as far as she could.
A. K. Yearling's thoughts turned once again to Ahuizotl. She was fortunate in her choice of nemesis, really. No matter what she did to him, he would rise again, like a phoenix from the ashes. Not only that, but he always delivered the same line, time and time again: the perfect finishing line to the climax chapter, like the chorus of a well-known song. The moment all the readers have been waiting for.
"Curse you, Daring Do!"
Her ears pricked up. But no, it couldn't be. He was off somewhere, gathering resources and preparing once more for their dance.
And such a dangerous dance. How many times had she risked her life just for another artifact, another gem or ring or statue to place in a museum. How many traps had she narrowly dodged, ducked, or escaped with only seconds to spare? How many arrows had grazed past her fur? How many?
Yes, one could consult the books. The books were imperfect, the product of a faulty memory. She took notes as soon as she could after the events, but when you are running for your life to escape a collapsing ruin, how are you to remember the exact number of cries from those chasing you as the ruin claims them? In that moment, when all you feel is the adrenaline, when it is all so real, you can't remember a thing. How many of her chapters were made up, created from the basic outline of an event? How many?
And why bother? The question had come up many times. Did she write to preserve her memories of the crazy events that transpired? No, she wrote to write, to entertain, to inspire as those unicorn writers had inspired her so many years ago. Her cutie mark was for adventures, but adventuring just for the sake of fun was worth nothing. How quickly the adrenaline evaporated mere minutes afterwards!
A compass rose. She had a good sense of direction. Right now, she was facing northwest. If she turned just a little bit, she would be able to see the sun set. It had been a while since she'd seen that, it might be worth it. She settled onto a cloud and faced west.
But if being an adventurer had its dangers and difficulties, being an author was even harder. For she always tried to tell the truth - mostly. Convenient allies were written in as 'old friends,' artifacts were sent to 'the Museum' with no specifics, and the locations were mixed together so nopony would attempt exploring. Often she picked details from other adventures to weave into her tales. This wasn't a documentary, after all.
Still, Ahuizotl was always the villain, the hideous beast who laid out all the traps, only to be thwarted once again by the courageous heroine. And while Daring Do might wish for just a simple archaeology trip with no traps or puzzles, A. K. Yearling knew she needed conflict to keep the series going. In that way, Ahuizotl was perfect. He never left. He would be the villain for as long as she adventured.
How many times had he been at her feet, her hooves raised above his head, only for her to swiftly turn and flee? How many times had she been presented with the opportunity to make her life easier? Surely there were other villains. She could even make one up. And yet... he was familiar, the same performance every time. Dr. Caballeron, too, she must keep. It was for the readers. It was all for the readers.
How many times had she let them go, knowing full well that they would only come back to hurt her again, to threaten the world that she loved so much with another artifact? These were the moments she never included in the books. It would be so easy just to go and make sure that the ruins had completely claimed them. Why did she always wait for the last moments of "Curse you, Daring Do!" before finally taking her leave?
As an adventurer, she wanted safety. As a writer, she wanted drama. She knew that the only reason that she'd never gone to the police, or even Celestia, about the giant creature that hunted her whenever she went exploring for old artifacts was that she needed him. She needed him to rise again and threaten the heroine once more, only to be defeated. And again and again, over and over, like a dance that never ended. He would try to kill her, and in return she would spare him only to keep the dance going - one more song, one more chapter, one more book. She might be Daring Do, adventurer extraordinaire, but she was also A. K. Yearling the author, and authors loved their characters, all of them, even the dastardly villain. It was this love that drove her to write; she loved everything about adventuring and she shared that love in her books.
Daring Do smiled at the stars which she had been watching for several minutes now.
"And now that you've been captured, I shall take this gem and use it to end the world!" Ahuizotl proclaimed.
Daring Do smiled at him peacefully. "Oh, Ahuizotl. I love you, you know that?"
Author's Note
Stream-of-consciousness! I wrote this while sick, so if it seems a little disjointed, that's probably why.
Also, the title specifically refers to the fact that she needs Ahuizotl for writing but at the cost of him constantly threatening the world and nearly killing her, which was the original concept for the story. However, it ended up generally being about the weird situation she's in.
Tiny bits of headcanon are included. 