Daring Do and the Sticky Situation

Josh’s alarm incessantly buzzed on his nightstand. With a grunt, he rolled over and reached for it, trying to silence the infernal sound. His hand brushed against the hard, metal surface and knocked it onto the floor. Somehow, the ringing grew louder and more insufferable. He sat up, pushing the sheets off of him as he stretched. Licking his dry lips, he couldn’t help but let out a rather large yawn. “Stupid thing...” he muttered as he used his feet to pull the alarm clock closer. Josh picked it up, then hit the top of the damned device as hard as he could. Near absolute silence met his ears. With a sigh of relief, he relaxed, falling back onto his bed as he tossed the damned machine back onto his nightstand. He slid back under the sheets and closed his eyes, hoping to get a few more minutes of sleep.

Ever since coming to Equestria for his petroleum company, he learned that his new job required him to wake up at an ungodly hour, something he had not expected when he accepted the position. The money wasn’t bad, but part of him always wondered if it was worth it, to leave his family and friends behind for his six month rotation on this planet. The ponies were friendly enough, but since he wasn’t one of them, he always felt ostracized.

When he read about the position months ago back on Earth, he never expected that he’d be picked to go to a new world, let alone one filled with magical and flying ponies. It had been quite the shock when he had seen a pair of unicorns lifting a half-ton piece of machinery that his company had sent through with him upon his arrival. He was the second man sent to oversee the operation, and even though he felt that he was under-qualified for this position, his boss thought otherwise.

While his heart yearned to stay in bed for another few hours, he knew that he couldn’t keep his fellow co-workers and ponies waiting. He was the top dog in this operation, which meant that he usually had to be one of the first ones up every single morning.

While getting up early wasn’t anything new to him, the long hours and lack of romantic contact had been rather draining these past couple of months. He’d been dating in the year before his trip to Equestria, but both of his budding relationships, for some reason or another, had petered out. Whilst that was disappointing, the girls had claimed that he couldn’t give them enough time, and he knew his job was the culprit. One day a week wasn’t enough for them, and while he would have loved to have kept dating, he loved his job even more, and it was most likely the reason why he had been sent here in the first place.

With four months to go left in his rotation, he wondered how life would be like back on Earth after spending so much time in the land of magical talking ponies. He rolled over, fluffed his pillow, and right as he was about to lay his head back down, he heard somepony knock on his bedroom door.

“Josh, you up yet?” Daring Do’s soft voice came from behind the door.

“Ugh... yeah, I am,” Josh said, pushing the sheets off just in time. Daring pushed the door open right as he stood up. Faking a yawn, he grinned as he saw Daring yawn a moment later. Works every time... he thought with a smirk. “You get enough sleep last night, ma’am?”

“Sure did, though having a cloud bed sure does help! And I told you to not call me that; it makes me feel old. Two months is long enough to call us friends, right?” Daring Do trotted forward and flopped down onto his bed, prodding the mattress with a hoof as she stretched out. “I don’t know how you humans can sleep on such... archaic spring mattresses. Once you’ve experienced the wonders of sleeping on a cloud, it sure can’t be beat!”

“Oh yeah? How come us humans didn’t get such nice beds?”

“Well... cloud beds are kinda tricky to transport. When I heard this new gig was going to be a year long, I had some movers transport my bed to my new quarters. It was... pretty expensive,” Daring said with a giggle. “Cost about a fifth of what I paid for the bed, but it was well worth it.”

Josh sat down on the bed next to her as she rolled over onto her stomach. “Any chance you’d show me before I leave?” he asked, throwing on a confident grin. He held Daring’s gaze for a few moments before he blushed, glancing away when he realized what she might have thought he meant. “N-Nevermind, forget I said that.” He pushed himself off of the bed and walked over to the closet and pulled out his outfit for the day: his favorite pair of blue jeans and a dark grey T-shirt.

“It’s okay...” Daring’s ears flicked back as she watched him pull his shirt off, trying her hardest not to blush at the idea of luring him into her bed for a romp under the sheets. It’d been much too long since she’d had any sort of romantic feelings for anyone, and Josh had treated her with more respect and kindness than any of the other humans and ponies she’d worked with. By her standards, he was pretty handsome, and the way his muscled upper body glowed in the morning sun’s light made her tail swish back and forth behind her. When she felt a sole butterfly flit about in her stomach, appearing out of nowhere, she glanced away, shoving her feelings down with a bit of sadness.

She knew that she couldn’t let her feelings for somepony get in the way of her job, especially when it was so dangerous.

But then again, nopony had shown her any affection lately.

After they had spent the last couple of months building a new pumping station, today was the day that she was taking Josh further west to where the the infamous black lakes lay for a bit of scouting. She had always avoided them like the plague, mostly due to their strong stench, though she’d heard tales of ponies drowning in them, unable to escape from its thick, oily grasp. When the humans came and learned about the black lakes, they had struck a deal with the princesses to let them harvest the liquid and transport it back to their world. Celestia was especially happy to make such a deal, for it would allow ponies to settle the land in the future and make new towns, allowing for the population of Equestria to grow without the worries and burdens of overpopulation.

“You gonna take a shower before we go? We’re probably still gonna get dirty,” Daring said with a shrug, slipping from his bed.

“Might be a good idea, yeah. I was so tired yesterday that after dinner, I pretty much passed out on my bed! You know what I mean?” Josh asked as tossed his outfit over his shoulder with a fresh towel.

“Definitely. So do you want me to wait outside, or...” Daring pawed at the ground with a hoof. “Would you rather have me wait in here? Maybe we could get breakfast together?” she asked. “Celestia knows I hate eating alone...” she muttered under her breath.

“Yeah, you can chill here. I won’t take long. Besides, it’s pretty hot outside; might as well stay inside for as long as we can, right?” Josh pushed the door open to his bathroom with a foot, then closed the door behind him.

When Daring heard the sound of running water come from the other side of the door, she hopped up onto his bed again and stretched herself out, laying her head in between her forelegs. She closed her eyes for a moment as she breathed in through her nose, getting a thick whiff of Josh’s scent. Daring felt a shiver run down her back, her thighs tingling as thoughts of him holding her down and having his way with her danced through her mind.

She imagined the feel of Josh’s weight pinning her to the sheets and the tug of his hand grabbing her mane. She felt a single droplet of arousal slip from her folds. Her eyes went wide as she felt it trickle down her leg, tickling her as it finally fell to his sheets. She fanned her scent away with her tail, flicking it back and forth. When she could no longer smell it, she let a soft smile slide on her face as she let her fantasy come back to the front of her mind. Could I really be attracted to... another species? she thought, feeling her cheeks warm up in a soft blush. When Josh opened the bathroom door, her thighs clamped together. She glanced up at him with a nervous smile, doing her best to not act like he’d just caught her doing something naughty.

Wrapping a towel around his waist, Josh opened his bathroom door, noticing a distinct blush on Daring Do’s cheeks. “Uh...” He stopped drying his hair with another towel for a moment as he stood in the open doorway, wondering what she had just been doing. “I’ll be ready to go in a couple of minutes, okay?”

“O-Okay!” Daring blurted out as her eyes drifted down to his toned chest. Where most of the other men from Earth had let themselves go a little, Josh was the complete opposite. He made it a point to work out nearly every day, and his body showed it. His chest was firm, still wet from his shower. Daring had to stop herself from drooling at the sight.

When Josh closed the bathroom door to change into his new clothes, she lifted her left hind leg and peered beneath it, spotting a small stain of her juices on his sheets. “Great...” Knowing that she saw him doing laundry yesterday, she flipped the sheet over on itself and prayed that he wouldn’t notice.

When the bathroom door opened again, Daring watched Josh step out fully clothed, her tail swishing back and forth again. Stop that! Daring thought as she bit down on her cheek, making her tail grow still. “So, uh... good to go?” she asked, pushing herself up as she pinned her tail between her hind legs. She flapped her wings, flying to his bedroom door as she hoped he’d just follow her out to give her stain time to dry.

“Yeah, just gotta make the bed real quick!” Josh ran a hand through his wet hair, pushing it back as he stepped up to his bed. “I always liked coming home to a tidy room after a long day of work.”

Uh oh... “Yeah, I know what you mean. So... wanna meet outside? I’ll be at the bottom of the stairs,” Daring said, her eyes darting between Josh and the stain on the bed.

“Sounds good to me!”

Great... now he’s gonna think I was masturbating on his bed... This is gonna be super awkward... Daring thought as she nudged his bedroom door open. She trotted down the short hallway and turned left, standing at the top of the stairs leading to the ground floor. The door leading outside was propped open, so she opened her wings wide and hopped into the air, timing her flapping just right so that her wings wouldn’t clip the door frame. “Heh, knew I’d make it...” she said, folding her wings as she wiped her brow with a hoof. She sat down and glanced around, taking in the sights of all the drilling equipment. The humans had brought through many vehicles, and were still in the process of building large tanks to hold the oil they were going to drill for. Lengths of steel pipe lay stacked on each other, taking up most of the storage space next to the dorms.

Workers, both ponies and humans, were just starting to wake up as the sun’s light barely broke over the top of the horizon. Daring felt a shiver run down her back as a breeze ran by, making her ruffle her wings. “I wonder what’s on the menu for breakfast today...” she murmured to herself as she heard Josh’s footsteps echo behind her.

“Hey, you...” Josh stepped out of the dorm and closed the door behind him. “Ready to get some breakfast?” he asked with a soft smile.

“Sure!” Daring started trotting away, making Josh jog just to keep up with her. “Oh, sorry,” she said with a sheepish smile. “I keep forgetting that you humans walk a lot slower than us.”

“It’s cool. Any idea what’s on the menu for breakfast?” Josh asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Um... it’s Friday, so that means us ponies get oatmeal, and if I remember correctly, you guys get scrambled eggs and toast.” Daring spotted the mess hall as they walked around the corner of the dorm. “I can’t wait to get some coffee, by the way. If I don’t drink at least a cup or two, I’m a zombie until the afternoon.”

“Heh, really? I’m the same way!” As he stood in front of the mess hall, Josh paused as his favorite smell in the world hit his nose. “Woah, when did we get bacon?” he asked, looking through the doors. “I’ve only heard rumors that we might get some, but looks like they were true!”

“I still don’t get why you humans like to eat meat,” Daring said with a smirk as she playfully nudged his leg with a wing. “You don’t need meat to live, ya know.” The scent of what she assumed was bacon teased her nose, making it scrunch up in distaste.

“Oh, I know, it’s just that it’s so tasty.” Josh licked his lips as a wide grin slid on his face. “So... wanna meet back here in a few minutes? Kinda weird how we have separate mess halls for humans and ponies...”

“Can you meet me in the ponies’ mess hall?” Daring asked, fluffing her wings as the hair on the back of her neck started to rise. “I don’t really like that smell,” she murmured.

“Oh, uh... that’s fine with me.”

“Thanks,” Daring said, shooting him a thankful smile. She opened her wings to fly a little bit down the road, but stopped right before she flapped them. “Oh, and Josh?” she asked, her right hoof raised as her tail swished about. “Could you, uh... get me a coffee from your mess hall? The coffee they give us in our mess hall isn’t... well... it sucks; it tastes like they water it down so they have enough for everypony.” When Josh nodded, she shot him another grin and flew away.

“Yeah, I’ll get you some, cutie!” Josh said, turning to walk into the mess hall.

Did he just call me cutie? Daring thought as her eyebrows furrowed, hovering in midair thirty feet or so above the ground. She shot a glance over her shoulder, but Josh was already inside the mess hall. Was it just the wind, or am I imagining things? With a quick shrug, she made quick time to the other mess hall, and once she cleared a few trees, she groaned as she spotted a line already as long as the human dorms were spilling out the front door. “Come on...” she muttered under her breath. “I can’t be that late, can I?”

Once she landed, she trotted up to the mare at the back of the line. “Hey, why’s the line so long?” she asked, throwing on a friendly smile.

The mare sighed. “Some newbie cook accidentally spilled all of the oatmeal, so they are all cleaning it up so they can make some more.... and I’m already pretty hungry...”

“Yeah, same...” Daring heard her stomach grumble. “What about coffee? There any of that?”

“Probably,” the mare said with a huff, making it clear that she didn’t want to talk. “Though by the time we get up there, it’ll be all gone; it’s like the entire camp is here!”

“...Great...” Daring Do said as she sat down. Many minutes passed in silence, the line not budging an inch. Just when she was starting to get fed up, Daring felt someone nudge her shoulder, making her look up. “Oh, Josh! Please tell me one of those is for me...” she stood up, her tail wagging back and forth like a dog’s as she spotted two cups of coffee in his hands.

“Of course! I said I’d get you one, didn’t I?” He glanced around, spotting a table in the eating area on the side of the building. “Wanna go eat over there?” he asked, pointing it out.

“Well, I don’t know if you can see, but we have an issue with breakfast on our end of things. It should get straightened up pretty soon, and I should have my food in say... twenty minutes if the line starts moving?” Daring’s shoulders slumped as she glanced back over her shoulder. “Scratch that, looks like it’s gonna be a lot longer.”

Josh took a few steps and managed to get a glimpse of a few ponies in the mess hall running back and forth. “Yeah, sure looks like it... Good thing I grabbed some extra food, huh? Being the boss here has its perks.”

Daring’s head whipped up as her eyes went wide. “Please tell me you’re not joking.”

Josh laughed as he patted his bag. “Nah, I’m not! Come on, let’s go get a table.”

Daring couldn’t help but sneak a sniff at his bag as they walked towards the eating area, though she couldn’t really pick up any scents aside from its leathery smell. She sat down on the cushion that the mess hall workers set out each morning for ponies, then glanced up at Josh. “Uh... wait, there’s nothing for you to sit on...” And I don’t wanna go sit in the human’s area... That smell... A shiver ran down her back as smelled a little bit of it on him. Heh, if we’re gonna spend the next couple of days out in the wilderness, he’s gonna need another shower! she thought as she tried to hold back a smirk.

“No worries! I’ll just take a cushion. The table’s low enough for me to use sitting down anyways, so I’ll be fine.” He lifted the bag’s strap from his shoulder with a couple of fingers and set it down on the table, then placed Daring’s cup of coffee in front of her. “Cream and two sugars, right?” he asked, sitting down on the cushion next to her.

“How’d you know?” Daring asked, cocking her head to the side as she pulled the mug in front of her.

Josh shrugged and grinned. “Lucky guess?”

Daring shot him a playful inquisitive look, then relented as she wrapped her cold hooves around her mug. She smiled, the wondrous scent of coffee filling her nose. She took a small sip to see if it was too hot, and when she realized that it wasn’t, she took a large gulp. “Ah... that hits the spot...” she murmured. “Thanks a lot, really.”

“It’s no problem. If you want, I can get you a cup of coffee from the human’s mess hall each morning since we’re gonna be working together.”

“That sounds awesome. Sooo... you said something about food?” she asked, her ears flicked up, the beginnings of another smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

“Sure did!” Josh reached into his bag and pulled out an apple and an orange. “Which would you like? Whatever you pick, I’ll have the other.”

“Nah, you choose! It’s your food, after all,” Daring said, her eyes lingering on the juicy red apple. She flicked her eyes up to meet his, then back down to the apple, then back at his eyes.

Josh got the hint and tossed her the apple with a knowing grin. “You ponies and your apples...” he said, peeling away the orange’s thick skin with his nail. “So, uh... do ponies here like getting ear scritches? We have ponies back on Earth, but they can’t talk, fly, or do anything magical like the ponies here can do, but they sure do love getting ear scritches!”

“Ear scritches? I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Daring Do said in between bites.

“Can I show you? If you don’t like it, you can just let me know and I’ll stop.”

Daring paused as she looked up at him with a curious gaze. “Uh... sure.”

“Okay, so first we need to take off your hat...” Josh said softly, carefully lifting her hat from her head. He placed it on the table, then brushed her mane aside, his fingers scratching the base of her left ear.

Daring’s eyes drifted shut as her left ear flicked of its own accord. She leaned into his fingers as a new feeling graced her ear, fine but not tickling, soothing but not tiring. Like a cool summer breeze it fanned out until her whole form was set at ease. After a few moments of silence, her eyes went wide as she felt her cheeks warm up as she blushed. She cleared her throat, then slammed her hat back on her head as she stood up. “I, uh... I think I left my trail mix back in my dorm. I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?” she asked, not waiting for an answer and risking Josh seeing her blush.

“Uh, alright,” Josh said, letting his hand fall back into his lap. She loved them. he thought with a smirk.

Most of their journey into the forest was spent in silence as Daring Do worried if he’d found the wet spot on his bed. As the sun slowly crept up into the sky, she started feeling more and more confident that he hadn’t found it. This was a welcome assurance, since it would have been otherwise too easy to give into the desire to fly over the whole forest rather than hike through it. It would have been rude to leave Josh by himself.

Besides, he was a good travelling companion, and an even better listener. “So, the black lakes are just through these trees. I’ve been to them a few times, and they’re pretty huge! Kinda cool to see if you’ve never seen them before, but you have to be extremely careful. If you’re travelling alone and get trapped in it, it’s like quicksand, but worse. Lots of animals, and even a few ponies, have died in places like this, so just be careful where you step.” She paused for a moment and sat down, stretching her wings.

“Hey, so about earlier...” Josh said, leaning against a nearby tree.

Oh, sweet Celestia, he’s gonna bring up the wet spot on his bed... Daring thought as her heart skipped a beat. “Uh, yeah? What about?”

“Well... what’d you think about the ear scritches? You seemed like you were getting into them.”

“W-What? No I wasn’t!” Daring backpedaled, looking for an escape route.

“Oh, come on, you were loving them!” Josh sat down and crossed his legs, his back pressed firmly against the tree. “You were even leaning into it just like the ponies back on Earth would do!” he said, a cheeky grin on his face.

Daring held his gaze for a few moments then relented. She crossed the short distance between them and sat down in front of him, her tail swishing back and forth in the dirt. “...Fine, yeah, I liked them,” she admitted with a blush. Daring avoided Josh’s gaze until she heard him clear his throat. With a bit of hesitation, she slowly looked up at him. “What?”

“You want some more?” he asked with a gentle smile.

“Uh...” She dug into the dirt with her left hoof as she thought about it.

“It’s totally fine if you don’t want to,” Josh said, reaching into his bag. “Besides, you’re probably pretty stinky from two hours of walking through this horrible heat.”

“What?! I am not stinky!” Daring exclaimed with a huff and a pout, her wings flaring out. “Mares don’t get stinky; that’s common knowledge in Equestria. If anybody is stinky, it’s definitely you!” she said, gesturing at him with her right wing.

“Perhaps, and that might very well be true, but has anybody told you how cute you look when you pout?” Josh asked with a laugh. “Here, I have another apple if you want it. I figured that since we’re already resting, we might as well break out the snacks.”

Daring’s mouth started to salivate at the thought of munching down on another apple, especially since the ones the humans brought from Earth were especially juicy. She let her gaze drift down to the apple in his hand. She normally would have shot back for being patronized, but wasn’t about to pass up good food offered so easily. “Fine. I accept your apology,” she said, snatching the apple from his hand. She scooted over, laying on her side as she propped her back up against his legs. She tossed her hat in front of her, then took a big bite of the apple.

“So... ear scritches?” Josh asked with another laugh, wondering if that was why she scooted within ear scritching range.

Daring shot a curious look up at him, then shrugged. “If you want to, sure,” she said, secretly loving the idea.

“Awesome!” Josh said, scootching closer to her. He wiggled his fingers, cupped the back of her head, then used his thumb to scratch her left ear while his other fingers scratched her right ear.

“Mmm...” Daring couldn’t help but let her right hind leg thump against the ground, though she forced it to lay still with no small amount of effort. Can’t let him see that I’m enjoying this... she thought as she instinctively pushed her head into his hand. “Don’t think you can just give me an apple so I’ll let you give me ear scritches,” she said, finishing off the apple with a few more big bites. “And don’t tell anyone else that I let you do this, by the way. I have a reputation to uphold!”

“Hey now, liking ear scritches is nothing to be ashamed about,” Josh said as he let his hand slip down the back of her neck, the tips of his fingers running through her soft mane. “What about wings?” he asked. “Don’t ponies like getting their wings preened or something? I see a couple of feathers that are out of—”

“No!” Daring nearly yelled, her eyes going wide as she pushed herself up. “My wings are off limits! They’re really, and I mean, really, sensitive.”

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t know,” Josh said, a worried look upon his face.

“It’s fine... you didn’t know.” Daring tightened her saddlebag, then glanced around. “Speaking of wings, you don’t mind if I fly around a bit, do you? Kinda tired of walking, after all,” she said with a sheepish smile.

“Nah, not at all!” Josh said. “Need a boost?”

“What, like throwing me into the air?” Daring smirked. “I’m good.” With that being said, she looked around, and when she spotted an opening in the canopy to her left, she shot through it, finding an updraft to glide on. Her hooves barely grazed the tips of the trees as she flew, weaving back and forth as she dodged little branches that poked out from the canopy. She flapped her wings, going faster and faster as the wind teased the tips of her feathers. Closing her eyes, she flew a couple of feet higher and opened her eyes, the sun’s overwhelmingly bright light reflecting off of the tar pits that suddenly came into view. She flared her wings to slow down as she clenched her eyes shut, only to run right into a thick branch. Her left wing erupted in pain and collapsed upon itself. Daring’s eyes went wide as she struggled to stay aloft, but it was a losing battle.

The muscles in her good wing started to hurt from the extra flapping as her head whipped around, trying to find something to grab onto. Alas, there was nothing that would hold her weight, and she felt gravity push her back down to the ground in a tight circle. She fell through the canopy, her eyes going wide when the small of her back slammed against a thick branch, making her wince as the breath was knocked from her lungs. She twisted in the air, reaching out for anything to halt her descent, but her hooves found nothing but empty air and the occasional leaf. Daring forced her eyes open, only to see the ground rushing up at her, and a moment later, she slammed onto the unusually soft ground with a plop, her vision fading away into darkness.

She woke up in a daze, her legs, her belly, and wings feeling strangely warm. “Ugh... what’s going on?” she asked, the tip of her hat resting against her muzzle. She tried to lift a hoof to push it back to see where she was, but before she could do so, an all too familiar smell hit her nostrils. Her eyes going wide, she jerked her head back, knocking her hat off to find herself slowly sinking into a tar pit. “Oh no... no no no!” Daring pushed her wings open with all of her strength, pushing aside the pain in her left wing as she flapped with all of her might, only to get them trapped in the pit’s oily grasp. Feeling her rump sink deeper and deeper in the muck, she looked around, trying to stay calm. There! she thought, spotting the shore a few feet out of reach. She stretched as far as she could, though the weight of the sticky muck kept her forelegs within its grasp. Her heart racing a million miles a minute, she realized that there was only one thing she could do. “Josh! Help!” she screamed as loud and long as she could.