Darling Do and a Daring Dash

The air was sweet and cool from last night's rain. Yearling's mustard-colored hooves trotted daintily around puddles of mud as she made her way to the publishing company. Canterlot was swarming with early morning life as cafes and coffee houses opened. Ponies trotted around with their muzzles turned up to the sky as they sipped coffees and mingled around the fountains that were scattered around the cobblestone streets. The sky was still turning from gray to pale blue as Celestia rose the sun from her post on the top of Canterlot castle. If I squinted, I could see Celestia's regal mane flowing about her as she raised her head to greet the day she was bringing. Yearling sighed and trotted on, holding her head up the same way all of Canterlot did. She trotted along the cobbled streets, ignoring the haunting voice in the back of her head telling her to sprint and let the wind pick her up into the sky. Then, she saw them.

Walking towards her, on the other side of a murky puddle, came two familiar pegasi. One was confident and bolt blue with a mane of rainbow that lay carelessly over her shoulder and piercing magenta eyes that squinted in a smile. The other was a timid butter yellow mare with flashy teal eyes that hid behind her swirled pale pink mane. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. When Rainbow's eyes fell on me, they squinted and scowled. Fluttershy whispered something to her and pulled her around the puddle towards the stunned author.

"Hello, A.K. Yearling," Fluttershy said squeakily, a little smile darting across her face as Rainbow Dash stepped closer to her.

"Pleasent to see you both," she said with a simple nod.

"We heard that graduation is in a few days. Are you excited?" Fluttershy asked as she prodded Rainbow's side as if to encourage her to speak.

"Yes. I'm quite enthusiastic about the whole ordeal," she said. Allowing a little bit of excitement to twinge the corners of her voice.

"How pleasant." rainbow quipped. She practically spat the word into the puddle at their feet.

"Rainbow no need to get tense," Fluttershy said in a calming voice. Rainbow scowled but loosened up a bit. Then, Fluttershy's teal eyes darted towards Daring's book. "Is that your book?" She nodded. "Can we-"

But before the weak mare could finish, Rainbow Dash swooped in and grabbed the book from her.

"Excus-" The outraged author began.

"Darling Diamonds and Silver Stitches. A story of love and tea. By A.K. Yearling, in other words, Darling Do." Rainbow proclaimed as she read the title page. She scoffed. "Darling Do?!" She exclaimed.

"Please Rainbow Dash." The two other pegasi began as Rainbow flipped to the last page to read a summary. She cleared her throat.

"Darling Diamonds and Silver Stitches. Diamond Jewel is the grown daughter of Iron Gem, the ruler of Wing-Guard hall, a strictly unicorn household on the outskirts of an elegant town on a plantation land of 100 acres of gardens. Swift Stitch is her seamstress. When Iron Gem announces that she will be housing the most dapper and well-known stallion in all of Equestria at the manor for tea, Diamond and Swift long to meet him. But when they do, who will win the stallion's heart without breaking the other's. Or spilling their tea along the way."

"Dashie come on." Fluttershy pleaded. Daring just looked on with a lost look in her eyes as though she was considering what to do. She thought too late.

"What happened to Daring Do? The one who went on adventures and kicked the noodles out of mythical beasts." Rainbow begged. daring jumped forward to grab her book, but Rainbow had already dropped it.

For a split second, it seemed as though everything was going in slow motion. Daring, or Darling, was lunging forward across the puddle to save her book from its muddy fate. Her lips parted in a cry of anger, her eyes on her book, and her hooves on the cobblestones as to not get dirty. Fluttershy's face contorted in a mixture of anguish and confusion as she looked on helplessly. Rainbow Dash's eyes brimming with tears as she tried to twist her mouth into a scowl. Then, it all fell apart. Time resumed normal pace, and the pages of her book lay soaking in the mud. Daring cried out as Rainbow Dash rushed off in tears. Fluttershy squeaked an apology and raced off after Rainbow Dash.

Daring sniffed heavily as she made her way through Canterlot. Her soggy mess of a book in her briefcase and her eyes full of tears. She stuck to the sides of roads and little back alleys until she reached golden gates. She sobbed and tilted her head up to see the open gates of Canterlot castle. Choking a bit as she went along, she followed a path into the royal garden and around to a door. A royal guard stood waiting. She walked past him to a little clipboard and wrote her mane on a slip of paper. Darling- no Daring- no Yearling. She sobbed and settled on A.K. Darling Darer. She showed the soggy contents of her bag to a royal guard, for security measures, and wandered to the throne room.

Why was she here? Why did she think that the very pony that frequented her nightmares could help her find herself? She choked as slipped inside. The room was streaming with multi-colored light from stained glass windows, and it reflected off of Celestia's mane as it glittered on her head from her golden throne.

"Princess." She bowed and wiped tears from her gray eyes. She looked up to see Celestia smiling.

"Why are you here?" The princess asked politely.

Then, it all came out. She sobbed and moaned and fell on the floor as she recited the past two months for the princess. When she was done, she looked up to see her expression placid and calm. Like a pool of crystal clear water just waiting to be swung into.

"Well. If high society isn't you Miss. A.K. Darling Darer, why didn't you quit?" Daring gulped. Her throat dried up and she couldn't find words. Celestia raised a regal eyebrow. Daring spoke.

"When I was younger, I had a friend. She was an amazing storyteller. Anything she said sounded just so amazing. She took you away in her stories and made you feel like you were the hero. Living in whatever world you lived in, doing what she said you did. Anything she said, I believed. One day, on Nightmare Night, she told me the story of how you banished Luna to the moon using the Elements Of Harmony. The way she told it made you sound like a hero and I worshipped you for thirty seconds. Until she told me another legend. She told me a story about how once, there had been a family that couldn't make it by. There was a village of very poor ponies out in the secluded hills. They tried their best, but they were starving. So, they made their way to Canterlot to find you. But when they brought you back to their village, you were almost killed. You thought it was a trap to kill you so you lashed out and destroyed everything around that village. You spared no one. I was so scared of you ever since. I thought- I thought if I didn't obey your word, I would end up like the village ponies. I-" She found that she couldn't continue. She looked up at the princess and found her smiling a bit.

"Come Daring, let me show you something."