The Two Sides of Daring Do
Chapter 1
A Modern Galatea

Manehatten Mall was a bustling hive of activity, as it always was. AK Yearling's feelings about this kind of thing were decidedly mixed. She lived in an isolated area of Equestria because she didn't like crowds. She liked solitude. She had...trust issues (Rainbow Dash and her friends were the first ones she had let in a long time, the only one who knew her secret was her publisher, and Twilight Velvet hadn't even told her daughter). But on the other hoof...she admitted she liked seeing how ponies reacted to reading about her adventures. Even if they weren't 100 percent correct. The reactions. The feeling of knowing they were appreciating her risking her neck to keep some villain from taking over the world, all the while hiding in the shadows. And you couldn't do that just sitting in your cabin in the woods.

She put her signature on a copy of the latest book (“Daring Do and the Chisel of Pygmalion”) for a young purple filly with a pink mane named Ember. “There you go...”

“Thank you! I love Daring Do so much! She's my hero!” the filly announced gleefully, hugging the book to her chest like it was a precious teddy bear.

Yearling gave a small nod, keeping her expressions subdued out of habit. It paid to keep your true emotions close to your chest when you were sometimes attacked. “I'm glad you like it.”

The energetic filly gave a wistful sigh. “I wish I could be like her! A big cool adventurer! Not a boring little filly!”

“Maybe some day you can grow up to be like her, dear. You still have the world ahead of you,” her babysitter said, a white pegasus with a rose colored mane, heart cutie mark.

“...But I want to be like her now, Heart Throb...”

Yearling watched as little Ember trotted off with the older mare. Truthfully, part of the reason Yearling wrote her books was because she liked being able to write the things she wished she could have done. Even if she was the real Daring Do, she was only a pony. In the middle of a battle trying to think on her hooves, she didn't always have time to do the things she thought of later or come out as witty and awesome as her novel self.

The mare then cracked her neck, writing with a quill in your mouth wasn't the easiest thing in the world. She stole a look over to a nearby display case where the REAL Chisel of Pygmalion sat comfortably on a red velvet cushion. Legend had it the Chisel could bring any artist's work to living breathing life, and its namesake used it on one of his statues he fell in love with and desired to be real. Of course, not all legends were true and this was an example of one that wasn't. The Chisel was exactly what it looked like; a fancy chisel. When old Ahuizotl had tried to use it to bring a statue of Nightmare Moon to life as his servant it'd done nothing but chip off some stone and made him one unhappy monster.

A gray colored stallion wearing a black suit and red tie stepped up to the stand, glasses over his eyes and a black painter's cap on his head. “Great book, almost makes up for 'Ring of Destiny' forcing the bearers of the Elements of Harmony into the plot.”

Yearling gave a flat look. “Was it as bad as the Con Mane crossover radio drama?”

“...No, that was horrible...”

“Was this book better?”

“Yes.”

“Then stop complaining. And there are ponies who like 'Ring of Destiny.'”

Even Yearling admitted that atrocity of radio drama was a mistake to ever get involved in. Part of it was she decidedly didn't get along with the actual super-spy she'd ended up saddled with for that, so writing him was one heck of a choir. And then the Con-Mane writers had sent Velvet a letter wanting to turn it into a crossover radio drama by making it their creation instead of a 'generic spy.' Even that crazy adventure fighting Neo Hooviets for the Crystal Skulls wasn't as irritating.

“There you go, Critic,” she said, hoofing it back to the stallion. That wasn't a wise crack, he was literally named Critic.

“I wish Daring Do was real!” announced one of two identical light purple fillies with pink manes and bells for Cutie Marks.

“So do I, Jing-A-Ling!” her twin chimed in.

Yearling gave a subdued smile, not noticing the Chisel beginning to pulse with a blue light. She could tell by some chuckles and nods from the line more than one pony agreed. The author secretly wondered just how they would react to discovering not only was Daring Do real, but sitting right in front of them.

The signing continued as scheduled, culminating with Yearling being brought over to the chisel display with a copy of the book in her hooves for some pictures. Typical way it went whenever the actual artifact she had recovered was able to be displayed. What wasn't typical was the artifact pulsing with blue more and more rapidly as Yearling got closer to it, glowing when she was within a foot of it.

As the photographer prepared, Yearling noticed the book sitting in her hooves beginning to glow with a bright blue light.

“What the...” she muttered, looking back as the chisel floated into the air in a blue light. The book suddenly forced itself open, flipping through the pages rapidly before a massive fountain of magic erupted out. “That cannot be good...”

The magic twisted and turned into a new shape. First it formed into an orb of light, before assuming the shadowy, translucent outline of a blank yellow pegasus. It solidified, then a black, gray, and light gray mane and tail manifested over her from lines of blue energy, as if they were being sketched into existence. A compass formed on her flank as if an artist's brush was painting it in. A familiar green adventurer's shirt and pith helmet were the last to form in the same fashion.

Red eyes opened as the picture perfect copy of Daring Do landed next to Yearling, who's natural reaction was to stare wide eyed and slack jawed. Nothing this odd had happened to her since she'd gotten turned into a filly.

The photographer, likewise staring in wide eyed shock, numbly took the picture.

Daring Do blinked, looking around her, almost like she was coming out of a daze. “Um...hello...”

Little Ember trotted up to the clone, cocking her head. “Daring Do?”

The newly created pony seemed to get her bearings and gave a cocky grin, tipping her pith helmet. “Yeah, the one and only.”

“You're real!” the little filly yelled, looking

“Wow! The real Daring Do!” announced Jing-A-Ling.

“Awesome!” her twin called, the crowd circling around her.

“Is this for real?” another fan asked.

“Eh, probably a publicity stunt,” answered another.

“No way, did you see that flash?! It was magic!”

“Uh, unicorns are a thing, remember?”

“Yeah but I've never seen something like that before!”

An actual unicorn in the crowd was staring in blind shock at the sight.

“Eh, special effects looked kinda fake...” complained the Critic.

“It's the real Daring Do!” exclaimed a young stallion wearing an 'I Heart Daring Do' shirt.

Yearling took a step back as her new clone was praised as the real Daring Do.

Suddenly, an alarm rang out. The crowd turned to see a robber in a ski mask running out of a jewel store with large sack of jewels over his shoulder, evidently deciding to use the signing as a distraction for a robbery.

“Stop! Thief!” yelled the store owner.

“Don't worry, I've got this!” yelled Daring Do, pulling out her whip and using it to grab a hold of a chandelier. She leapt up and swung over the crowd. Letting go, the adventurer did a flying kick to the thief's back, knocking him to the ground. The pilfered jewels flew into the air from the back, but Daring caught them with ease in her hat before putting them back in the bag and giving a cocky smirk. “Looks like crime doesn't pay, huh?”

Yearling stared in surprise as the crowd broke out in cheering. Daring Do had reacted so quickly that the author hadn't even been able to blink. She didn't hesitate at all.

“Good thing the real Daring Do was here, huh?” one of the ponies asked Yearling.

Yearling's ears drooped a little. “Yeah...I guess it was...”

“Ow! Watch it!” Daring Do yelled as Yearling looked her over back at Yearling's cabin.

It had not been easy to get her here after what had just happened at the mall. In fact, Yearling was pretty sure the mall security beginning to question the clone was the only reason she'd agreed to go with her.

The author put a hoof to her doppelganger's foreleg. She had a pulse. Yearling gave a sigh. “...I guess you aren't just a mana construct...”

Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Why did she expect it to be?

“Of course I'm not,” Daring Do pulled her hoof away from Yearling. “Who are you anyway?”

The author sighed, taking off her disguise to reveal the adventurer she hid from the public.

The adventurer raised an eyebrow. “Are you some kind of fan?”

“You and I both know that you don't have legions of fans. You're known, yes...much better than I am, but not famous in THAT sense. You're a famous archaeologist, not a rock star.”

Daring Do rubbed her chin in a thoughtful manner. She then checked Yearling's pulse. “You're alive...So...alternate universe? Like that time I found that magic gate in the cat kingdom? Somehow I ended up in your world?” she stated confidently. “And maybe since we're alternate versions of the same pony, we have the same adventures? Except I don't disguise myself as an old granny most of the time?”

“...Good enough guess...But I don't look like a granny!” Yearling admitted, not entirely certain how the clone came to be herself. She was a bit annoyed by just how fast the clone managed to figure that out. She took some notes out of a book and laid them out, showing the Chisel. “The Chisel of Pygmalion somehow brought you here from one of my books...I don't know how, it failed when Ahuizotl tried it...”

Daring Do rubbed her chin thoughtfully, looking at the books. “The legend says it was used by Pygmalion to bring one of his creations to life after he fell in love with it and wanted to be real...So maybe,” the double said, giving a smirk. “Well you 'write' these books, so that makes you the creator, and those ponies at the mall seemed to love me pretty well. Did they seem to want me to be 'real'?”

Yearling put a hoof to her chin. “...Yeah, they did...of course they didn't know the real Daring do was right in front of them...”

“Then there you go, old three arms only had the last one,” the adventurer explained, leaning on the wall and crossing her forelegs confidently. “Maybe since we're the same pony, you were channeling my world, so that means that the only way it could 'bring me to life' is by bringing me here. Right?”

Yearling found herself growling. While she was still getting out the books to do research, Daring had already formed a plausible theory. The other world stuff was conjecture...but...when Ahuizotl tried to use the Chisel, he was neither the creator nor did he love the statue he wanted to bring to life. An entire room full of Daring Do fans loving her and wanting to bring her to life with the creator in the same room was a completely different story. “That makes sense. I guess I should be happy that nopony had their slash fiction there, especially that one with me and Ahuizotl...I'll have to call the museum and tell them to keep it in the 'dangerous artifacts' vault...”

Dangerous artifacts...

Yearling looked to the clock.

“Horseapples!”

“What?”

The author quickly grabbed some airship tickets off a table. “I have an airship to catch.”

Daring Do stood between Yearling and the closet where her supplies were kept. “Why?” she asked, suddenly seeming eager to get out of the small room as soon as possible.

Yearling considered just fighting her way past Daring...but of course Daring Do was herself, so that would be unwise and far more trouble than it's worth. “I discovered the most likely location of the Belt of Atlas.”

“Uh...” Daring Do raised an eyebrow. “I think our timelines are a bit off, I haven't heard of that.”

Yearling sighed. “...The Belt was said belong to an ancient pony named Atlas whose great strength moved the sun and moon until the Princesses came to power, liberating him from his burden. It is said whoever possesses the Belt will have unrivaled strength. Looking through ancient myths and maps, I discovered it's located deep underground in Roam. The problem is Dr. Caballeron was sighted in Roam yesterday. I'm afraid he might have located it to. I was supposed to get ready and head to the airport as soon as the signing was over, but thanks to you showing up, I'm going to be lucky to make the first flight.”

“Alright, let's go then, that sell out is probably going to give it to Ahuizotl...Is it weird he was the one who was willing to sell out Ahuizotl for bits and not the other way around? Guess his pockets are deeper than his loyalties.”

“Hey, Daring Do works alone!...Most of the time...” Yearling replied, giving a distrusting look at her doppelganger. She didn't know WHAT this clone really was, if she was actually herself from another dimension or what. That didn't give her much reason to trust it blindly .

“I thought we got over that after we met Rainbow Dash,” the adventure quipped, rolling her eyes. “...If you really ARE another me, what do you think will happen if you just leave me here?” the adventurer asked, giving a smirk that reminded Yearling of the ones she gave Ahuizotl when she turned the tables on him.

The author opened herself to speak, then gave a defeated sigh. “...You'd just follow me anyway, because we both make a living escaping death traps, so a locked door isn't going to do any good...We're both going to need disguis-”

“Way ahead of you,” Daring answered, already switching into a costume of a tourist.

Once they were on the airship at port, Yearling began putting what luggage was too important to be in the hull in the space above their heads (which was a lot more than most ponies would think). She liked to include this part in her novels when something exciting had happened on an airship during that particular adventure (otherwise a boring flight simply wasn't worth the reader's time). In part because it made for a good suspenseful 'hero is being watched by the bad guys going to ambush them' scene. Even if she rarely knew how long her enemies had been spying on her in real life. Sometimes she wondered what her enemies thought about how she portrayed them.

“Need a hoof?”

Yearling looked over her shoulder to see Daring Do with her normal cocky swagger (Yearling couldn't complain, she had the same attitude when on an adventure), her own bags (thankfully Yearling had stockpiles ready in case she needed to go at moment's notice) already put away fully before the author had managed to finish with half of hers “...No thanks, just sit down while I finish...”

Yearling read through archeology books, their airship moving swiftly along towards its destination. Just because she knew a good bit about the Belt of Atlas didn't mean she didn't want to make absolute sure she knew everything there was to know.

Meanwhile, Daring Do fidgeted in her seat next to her, looking around. Not quite paranoid, but almost like a foal looking for something to do.

Nothing happened. Just two mares sitting on an airship.

“...Isn't it about now that ninjas or something attack us?” the adventurer whispered.

“Sometimes. Not always...”

“Not always? Seems to happen to me every time I'm on an airship...”

The two Daring Do's trotted through the mountains of Roam late at night, now no longer disguised and fully geared. Yearling had noticed that Daring Do had emerged from the book fully equipped thankfully, so she hadn't had to waste time digging up more spare equipment. So there was that.

“Ugh...I don't remember airship rides being that long...” Daring Do complained, cracking a kink in her neck. “I think I normally just sleep through them or something.”

Yearling shrugged. “Didn't notice.”

She noticed that Daring Do seemed to be holding back so as not to overtake Yearling and leave her in the dust.

The author had noticed that a lot. Everything Yearling had done, it seemed her clone had done in half the time. Switching into disguises, packing bags, finding a ride from the air port. It seemed Daring Do was just...everything Yearling was times two.

“Alright, we're getting close, we'd best keep an-”

“Shush!”

Yearling blinked as Daring Do shushed her and trotted forwards, looking at the ground. “Look here, hoof prints.”

Yearling trotted over and looked down at several sets of upside down u-shaped steps on the ground. “You're right...”

“Looks like Dr. Caballeron's fancy high class horseshoes. Guy loves to show off.”

The author blinked, looking closer, having not noticed that. The horseshoes weren't the typical ones one would wear while hiking. They looked more at home at a high class party than in the middle of the mountains, lacking the proper support. “...Yeah...you're right...He's about the only egomaniac who'd wear status symbol horseshoes in the middle of nowhere.”

She honestly wondered why Dr. Caballeron still went searching for money, given he'd wanted to retire in the lap of luxury. He'd gotten off with the money she'd given him for the last of the Rings of Scorcherro without any real consequences. Then again, maybe he just wanted to prove himself her better, something he'd yet to ever accomplish. 'Ugh, save the internal monologs for the book...'

Daring Do looked over prints. “There are three other separate sets of hoofprints, so that can only mean we're dealing with Caballeron and four of his mooks.”

Yearling looked closer. “...Sounds about right...”

“Come on, these prints are fresh, we can't be far behind the gold digger,” the adventurer announced, spreading her wings and flying forwards.

“Wait for me!” Yearling called, feeling like she was being left in the dust.

And she was. Daring Do was so much faster than she was. She could barely keep up...

By the time she'd caught up, Daring Do had already left one of Caballeron's mooks out cold on the ground. It looked like they had made camp for the night. If Yearling had seen this she'd simply have planned an ambush or worked her way around them. Not just ambushed the whole camp...that was what she did in the books when the real way she did it would've been too boring...

“Well well, Daring Do, long time no see...” Dr. Caballeron replied with his typical ego. “Here to try to take the Belt of Atlas for yourself?”

“Here to sell out to Ahuizotl like you always do, Cabby?” the adventurer replied, giving a glare. “You don't deserve to call yourself an archeologist.”

The fame seeking scientist just shrugged. “But Ahuizotl pays so handsomely. And it's not like you will be in any position to stop me. There's still four of us and only one of you after all. Get her henchponies!”

One of the stallions charged Daring Do, but she ducked under his punch and gave him a good uppercut before giving him a spin kick to the head that knocked him out.

Another jumped on her from behind, but she retaliated with a buck, catching him between the hind legs while he was in midair and leaving him curled up on the ground in a ball.

The last one made an attempt to grab her in a sleeper hold from behind, but she slammed her head back, smacking him in the nose with her pith helmet to stun him before grabbing him by the head and throwing him over her shoulder into the second mook.

“Huh...I thought you guys were a lot harder last time. Guess they don't make good henchponies like they used to.”

Yearling AND Caballeron's jaws dropped. '...Of course...I always make things more epic in the books...I made both me and Caballeron's mooks much tougher than we were in real life...She's still as tough in the book but Caballeron's henchponies aren't...'

Caballeron took a few steps back. “Well...um...I think I have a deal to go make, bye!”

The stallion ran away as fast as his legs could carry him...but didn't get too far before a rope landed around his barrel and pulled him back hard into being tied up with ease by the adventurer. “Guess pay day is canceled, huh, doc?”

Yearling walked numbly into the clearing, looking around at the defeated minions and one of her archenemies. Who'd been taken out in short order. The same ones that had left her with a limp and walked out with their artifact in hoof when she'd fought them before. They hadn't even left a scratch on her clone.

'...What am even I doing here?' she found herself asking in her head. 'I haven't done anything but put us on this adventure...she's doing everything before I can even breathe...'

“Hey, other me!” called Daring Do, snapping Yearling back to reality as all of the bad doctor's mooks were tied up. “Come on, we need to move out! You heard Caballeron! Ahuizotl is after the Belt too!”

“Y-Yeah...C-Coming...” Yearling stuttered, shaking off her daze and continuing on their path...but not entirely sure if she was even needed...

To be Continued...