> Daring do and the stalker at Twilight. > by Aiwhisper > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Pt1. Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Hiya Twilight whatcha doin?” “Oh nothing.” Twilight was in fact looking through a pair of binoculars at a particular author. “Neto. Can I join you?” She pulled out her own pair from her mane. “Sure Pinkie whatever you want.” Twilight nodded without paying much attention. Daring Do, ak A.k. Yearling, felt a chill down her spine. Ever since moving into the sleepy town of Ponyville, on the recommendation of her friend and fellow adventurer, Rainbow dash, she hadn’t felt quite comfortable. “Um miss, that’ll be five bits.” The stall owner held out a hoof impatiently. “Here keep the change.” She slammed six bits down on the counter and moved slunk around the corner towards her house with her purchase. “Likes asparagus and is a generous tipper.” Twilight wrote in her notebook. “Oh that was nice of her.” Pinkie began writing in her own notebook, she didn’t want to feel left out. “Woah! Sorry about that.” She helped the pony she had just ran into up. “Oh hey A.K. What’s?..” “Shh.” Daring Dew slammed her fried into the shadow she had been using to hide. “Somepony is following me.” Rainbow dash looked around, she spotted Twilight and Pinkie up to their usual antics but nopony suspicions. “Really where?” That still didn’t mean she didn’t take her friend seriously. “I don’t know.” Daring groaned. “I have felt like this for the past week. Eyes everywhere. I think Dr. C and his henchponies found me or one of my other enemies.” Rainbow’s eyes went wide and she started to panic. “Should I get the girls? They can help.” “No! I don’t want to put anypony else in danger.” Daring pulled her cloak tightly around herself. “Tell nopony.” Rainbow nodded and gave a salute. “Cares about her friend’s safety though is also willing to accept help.” Twilight made another note from her invisibility spell. “Excellent this was some great research today.” “Oh oh oh, Twilight do you want to compare notes?” Pinkie happy bounced up and down, somehow able to see through Twilight’s spell. “Sure Pinkie.” They traded notebooks. “Pinkie this is just a bunch of drawings of cake.” “Yummy looking right? I wonder which one Dewy would like.” Twilight facehoofed. “Oh Pinkie.” > Ch1. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Darring Do was on edge. Two weeks. For two weeks she had felt that familiar tingling up her spine that signaled an enemy was stalking her and yet there had been no attack. “They’re out there, I know they are.” She peeked through her blinds with a twitchy eye and messy mane. A passing pony gave her a wave. The pony shrugged when Darring Do Ducked Down. “They’re doing this on purpose to wear me down and get to my artifacts.” She opened a box on the fireplace mantle. “Do they wan my ring of Scorcho? No it’s useless now that the others were destroyed.” She tossed the box aside and rushed to open a fake book. “Maybe the Alicorn amulet of the sun. No that’s also broken.” She slammed the book shut. “Gah! Why won’t they just attack already. I hate waiting and it makes for awful inspiration.” Darring pulled on her mane and fluttered her disheveled wings before hiding under a blanket on her couch. “Appears to have writers block, has not left home in a number of days. Has asked Rainbow to do grocery shopping.” Twilight tapped her chin while resting on a cloud overlooking A.k.’s house.”hmm” “Hi Twilight, still stalking Darring Do.” Pinkie was riding her hoof powered whirly copter. “I’m not stalking I’m doing research for her biology I’m working on.” Twilight huffed. “Oh, okey-dokey Loki. I was just wondering if you wanted to try my new cupcakes.” She shoved one in Twilight’s mouth. “Mmm.” Twilight fluttered her wings happily. “That was great Pinkie thanks.” “Ohh should she have one of those?” Pinkie pointed towards Darring who was holding a cross bow. “It’s fine, she has a permit. I remember seeing the paperwork when I last organized town hall.” Twilight waved it off. “She is a professional after all.” Darring Do had loaded her crossbow before she left the house. Sure she was getting some odd looks from the townsfolk and excited looks from foals but that was fine. She was fine, now that she had her trusty sharp shooter. Darring Do nearly jumped into Twilight’s cloud when the bowstring broke and the arrow fell off poking her in the back. “An attack.” She took a karate stance and earned even more dirty looks once the towns ponies realized they were not in fact ‘under attack’ and it was just some apparently crazy mare crying wolf. “He he, sorry everypony.” Darring rushed back home, broken crossbow between her wings. “I knew I should have maintained this old thing better. I haven’t used it since my second book.” She cursed herself. “Hmm. I hope she doesn’t have a habit of screaming and scaring the town. We get enough of that with the monthly Tuesday monster attacks. Speaking of which we haven’t had one for a while.” Twilight wondered aloud. “Oh that’s because this Tuesday was a crazy antics day. There was this whole thing with Lyra and Derpy and a missing package from Big Mac to Sugar Bell.” Pinkie sat on the cloud next Two Twilight to regale her with the story. “Oh, well that makes sense then. I was worried our friendship students would have to take care of themselves again.” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Starlight was busy enough with her counselor duties. > Ch2. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “This is getting ridiculous. It’s just a door.” Darring held the knob with her hoof but couldn’t bring herself to turn it. The feeling had practically dubbed since the crossbow incident and it felt like there were more eyes on her than ever when she went into town. “Hey Twilight, hey Pinkie.” “Oh hey Lyra” they both replied. “What are you two doing?” “Just watching our friend A.K.” Pinkie replied happily she was having fun playing this new spy game with Twilight and Darring Do, who nopony knew was actually Darring Do but thought was an author who wrote books about Darring do. Pinkie had to rub her head to keep it from spinning. “Is that the strange new pony in town? The one that scared herself with that crossbow?” Lyra tuned her lyre and sat on the bench next to them. “Yeah. She hasn’t been settling into town life all that well I think. She used to live alone in the woods.” While Twilight wasn’t wrong any normal pony would have phrased it differently. “Like Zacora? Now it makes a bit more sense.” Lyra nodded knowingly. “Social anxiety.” “Possibly.” The princess of friendship made a note in her book. “Could you help keep an eye on her?” “Already on it. After she ‘cried wolf’ the town watch has kept an eye on her as a potential troublemaker but I’ll let them know she’s just anxious so we can still keep an eye on her, but different?” Lyra didn’t sound quite sure of herself. “We have a town watch?” Twilight didn’t know about that. “Well yeah ever since the Nightmare moon incident I figured Pinkie would have told you.” Lyra tilted her head. “I mean we did vote you the president.” “What?!?” Twilight looked at Pinkie confused. Pinkie just smiled. > Ch3. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “What do you mean I can’t buy a new one and you’re going to confiscate my current crossbow?” Daring do yelled at the sales pony. “I’m sorry Ms. Do buy your permit has expired by.” The shop owner looked at it again. “ Just a few days sadly. Get it fixed and I can give yours back but legally I have to hold it, you have a year before I can sell it off.” Daring Do did not have time for this. After finally working up the courage to leave her house again it now felt like the entire town was watching her every move. The only pony she could trust was Rainbow Dash but she hadn’t found anything unusual. “Hi Daring Do, I’m…” Twilight was cut off by a hoof to the face. “Oww!” Daring had immediate attacked the unknown purple pony poised precariously on her porch. “Who are you? Who do you work for? How do you know my real name?” “Um A.K. You’re attacking Twilight.” Rainbow dash cringed at what she had just witnessed. “Oh my gosh princess I am so sorry.” Darring helped her up and brushed her off. “I’ve just been so on edge lately. It feels like somepony has been following me.” “Really we’ve been keeping an eye on you for weeks but haven’t seen anything suspicious.” Pinkie popped in out of nowhere. Daring sighed. “It’s worse than I thought then. Maybe I should just move back to the woods…” it took a moment for her brain to catch up. “Wait what did you just say?” “Oh Pinkie was just talking about how we have been following you around. See I’m working on your autobiography.” Twilight rubbed her swelling cheek and tried to smile. “You’re the pony that’s been following me around?!” She flapped her wings. “Well yeah how else will I learn about you in a natural environment?” Twilight completely missed how this wasn’t normal. “I’m one of your biggest fans you know.” Daring Do’s brain shut down. Without a word she opened her door, walked inside, and slammed it shut. “What’s up with her?” Pinkie asked while Twilight and Rainbow shrugged. End?