An Added Bonus
In Ponyville, the weather was rather cloudy and sad, the sky saturated with tears of frustration and months of what Daring Do thought were lies. She spoke to Rainbow Dash all morning, and with every word Rainbow Dash felt more sympathy for her friend, and her despise of Dr. Caballeron grew more intense. Rainbow Dash wished she had done something, like pulled Daring Do out of there the second she realized he was seducing her, but Daring Do passed this notion off, even she was sucked into his pull.
Rainbow Dash took Daring Do to the only place she thought the pegasus would feel safe: sweet apple acres. Everypony felt comfortable there, and after some convincing Rainbow Dash was able to pry Daring Do away from her home, and deliver her to somewhere else. Not that she didn't want to spend time with her friend but because sweet apple acres was a sort of vacation getaway, especially for Daring Do, who would like the time somewhere nice.
"I'm not sure about this Rainbow Dash, I don't want to intrude on anypony. Maybe there's a place I could stay, like an inn, I've got a little bit of money on me."
"No way! Daring Do staying at an inn? You're my friend, and Applejack will be more than happy to give you a room. There she is!"
Rainbow Dash continued over to Applejack, who was bucking apples not too far out on the orchard. The two pegasus approached, one slightly more cautious than the other.
"Well how ya'do Rainbow, and who's your friend?"
"Applejack, you've meet Daring Do before."
"Well I'll be darned, I do remember you! Nice to see ya again Daring, on better terms too I'd reckon."
"Not exactly Applejack, my ponyfriend... I don't want to go into it, but he and I got into a big fight and I can't go back, I needed a place to stay, and..."
"Applejack, can you give a room to Daring in your house? She can do any work around the orchard, just ask her, right Daring?"
Daring Do agreed, she wouldn't take a room for free. Applejack was more than willing to give Daring a room, and after bucking a few more trees, Applejack introduced Daring Do to Granny Smith, and to Big Mac.
After several days of feeling physically uncomfortable as she did work on the orchard. Applejack had started to notice that her friendly houseguest was weak and slow moving, and only when she collapsed in the orchard was action taken.
"Daring, sugar are you alright? What happened, you just... fell down!"
"I... I feel so dizzy and sick."
"We need to get you inside."
Applejack helped Daring Do up, walking with her back to the house. Once inside, Granny Smith lifted her head to see what was happening. Applejack quickly filled her in that Daring Do had collapsed in the fields, and was likely dehydrated.
Daring Do was given a glass of water, but she couldn't keep it down. Standing up from her seat, she rushed to an open window and tossed her lunch. She frowned and hung her head in embarrassment, wiping her lips and apologizing to the apple family.
"I know what she's got going."
"What?"
Both Applejack and Daring Do were curious to know what could possibly be affecting her in this way. That sat and waited for Granny Smith to say what she knew that they didn't, and when she did speak Daring Do's jaw dropped to the floor.
"You're pregnant, aren't you? Ya cute lil mare, who's the luckily stallion?"
Applejack squeaked with excitement, giving Daring Do a big hug and bouncing around. Daring Do just stood stone still, shaking her head from side to side in dismissal,wanting to curl up and cry somewhere.
"No, no this can't be happening to me. Big Mac, do you think I'm..."
"Yup."
He'd also come in to investigate, and if Granny Smith thought that Daring Do was pregnant, than she probably was. Daring insisted someone else check to be sure, so Apple Bloom went running for Twilight Sparkle. She arrived at the orchard, and confirmed that Daring Do was indeed pregnant.
"So Daring, who's the luckily stallion? It's not your ponyfriend, the one you had a fight with right?"
"It is, he's the only stallion I've ever been with and now... we're not even together anymore, oh, what am I going to do Applejack?"
"Well, I'm a traditional kinda mare, so I'd say you need to make it right with that doctor friend of yours, since you two are gonna have a family."
"He... I don't know if that's possible Applejack."
Daring Do hung her head in ashamed defeat, knowing that her lover wouldn't return for her, and even if he did she had no idea what he'd say. Daring Do knew in the back of her mind that Ali could say anything, anything at all, give her any excuse and she'd take him back because she loved him. Even though he had apparently lied to her about his life and who he had been with, he was with her, and from that Daring knew he had been honest when he said he loved her, too.
Far away in the high up mountains, northwest of Ponyville, Dr. Caballeron was waking up after a hard night of sleeping on the gravel that made up his driveway. Before him, sat the charred skeleton of his castle, the interior completely destroyed, leaving only the stone framework. He sighed, standing up and walking over to the still smoking mess. There were no doors to open, so he simply walked in.
The floor was warm, and the floors were covered in soot and pieces of framework and charred bits of wood. He walked down the hallway, to find nothing recognizable. The stairs were badly damaged, and he didn't trust them enough to venture to the second floor.
Dr. Caballeron went to where he hid things of his, a safe that was lying on it's back, under the floor in the kitchen. He had to lift some refuse out of the way, soiling his coat and his short with the black soot. He undid the slightly deformed lock, opening the door and revealing what was inside.
He'd even gotten rid of the treasure he had kept there, the things Daring hadn't even seen or known about, because he had promised her and wanting to provide the most open environment for her as possible. Inside he had one thing that would hold him over for a while. He had some money that was his, and had been for a very long time. The gems were a little dusty, but they'd help him do whatever he had to.
Dr. Caballeron left his home, turning back to look at the formerly beautiful, vine covered façade that he'd walked past for years and never thought too much of. Now, his castle was gone, and the money needed to repair it was also gone. Just as he had stepped from his stoop back onto the gravel, the doctor tripped and fell on his face. He crunched up his nose and rubbed his chin with his hoof, feeling the sharp sting of small rocks pressing against his body. Dr. Caballeron stood to discover her tripped over a filly. She was small, her body a pastel green with a forest green mane, short and poorly kept. Her eyes were orange, and rather sad and worn down looking.
"You're the little monster that came into my house and said you was my daughter! Who paid you?"
When she didn't answer, Dr. Caballeron simply altered his mood from frustrated to severely upset. He was scolding the little filly with an intensity enough to break the sun in two, yelling et her and demanding to know why she had done what she had done.
"Tell me! Why won't you answer me you little... you little idiot?!"
After a few seconds of silence from the filly, Dr. Caballeron rolled his eyes. Her lip started to tremble, and soon enough she was crying, bawling her eyes out right in front of the doctor as he just stood there and didn't know what to do. He sighed, knowing her have to make her feel better, even though she ruined his life.
"Now now, there's no need to cry, at least you've still got a home to go back to, a family..."
"No I don't."
"Who was that, the mare who said she was my wife? Your mother?"
"I don't know, her and some colt asked me to play pretend, they said I could have some food... after we left they bailed on me."
"So you don't have a house either?"
"No."
Dr. Caballeron sat down, sighing and crossing his hooves.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you, I don't actually think you're an idiot."
"Thanks, I'm sorry they burned your house down."
"Me too kid, me too. Do you remember the mare who ran away? Yellow, grey mane."
The filly nodded her head, and Dr. Caballeron had an idea in his head.
"Do you think you could tell her the truth if I brought you to her? Could you tell her what really happened?"
"I guess so."
Th filly herself had an idea, that maybe on the way to wherever she was going, she'd get to be adopted by the pony in front of her, and maybe he'd take her in with his mare, and they could be a happy family together. It was a long shot, but a filly can dream.
"My names Dr. Caballeron, but my mare calls me Ali."
"Your a doctor? Like a booboo fixer?"
Dr. Caballeron shook his head from side to side, smiling as they started away from his castle and down the mountainside.
"No, I'm an archeologist."
The filly gave him a look that practically shouted her ignorance, for the second time Dr. Caballeron was upset, but this time he didn't feel angry. He'd had a professor when he went to school, and he saw himself as teaching her what he knew. It was a nice thing to be able to share, he'd shared with Daring, but it was different with a filly who was so young and sweet.
"An archeologist is like... he digs up rocks and treasure."
The filly nodded, excepting the bigger colt's explanation, as it was at a level that she could understand. They made their way down the mountain by nightfall booking a room with two beds at the only inn. The town at the mountain's base was inquisitive as to why the castle on the side of the mountain had burned down, and if anyone were hurt. Dr. Caballeron said everyone was alright. When he got to the room with the filly, he discovered that there was only one bed.
"You can take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor."
"Ali, I'm hungry, do we..."
"I'll go get something soon, will you be alright if I leave you here, alone?"
The filly nodded, and just as Dr. Caballeron went to leave the room, he realized he'd never asked the green filly for her name.
"My name's Olive."
Dr. Caballeron nodded his head, leaving the room and going to pick up some apple and carrots, as well as a lot of water. He returned to the room, knocking of the door so Olive could open it herself. When she didn't answer, he announced that it was him. She didn't answer again. Dr. Caballeron grew worried she'd run away or was taken, so he dropped his groceries and opened the door with his key. Inside, he found that Olive hadn't left, but simply had fallen asleep on top of the bed sheets, curled up in a happy ball beside the pillows.
Dr. Caballeron set the groceries down on the table in the room, going over to the bed and pulling the sheets back. Olive rolled over onto he other side, and he covers her with the sheets, tucking in each side individually. She was resting on the left side of the bed, so he took one of the free pillows and the blanket at the foot of the bed. He made a nest for himself on the floor, curling up and going to sleep. He had Daring on the mind, this was the second night he'd spent without her, and that meant it was the second night she'd fallen asleep angry with him and not knowing of the truth of the matter.
That night passed peaceably with the doctor and his new friend, but in Ponyville, things were going differently. Daring Do had woken up on several occasions because she was feeling sick, and she couldn't help but cry to herself as she laid there in bed. There were so many happy couples of colts and mares, but her special somepony had, as she should had expected, lied to her and destroyed everything they had worked up to in the process.
Applejack tossed awake in the night, going down the hall to the formerly empty room where Daring Do was staying. Once she had knocked and took a few steps in, the mare in bed tried to clean herself up and look more presentable, as if she hadn't been crying.
"Hey Applejack, I'm sorry if I woke you up."
"It's not me you should be worryin' about Daring, why don't you tell me what's going on in that head of yours, it's alright to be upset, but telling someone can really take a load off."
Applejack sat down on the corner of Daring's bed, and she sat up herself so that they could make better eye contact.
"I just can't believe I fell for a bad guy. Applejack, I knew he was a liar, I knew he was and always had been a bad guy who stole, but I wanted to trust him so bad. He promised to go straight for me, and he did! But then, everything fell apart because he had a... second special somepony."
"No way! Golly, that's a big leap in the wrong direction."
"And a daughter."
"Wow."
"He promised he didn't know them but... I didn't believe him. Applejack, you don't have a special somepony right?"
"No, never have... yet."
"Well, I gave him everything, and I mean everything, look at me now, I'm a single mare and I'm... pregnant. Applejack, if you learn anything from my mistakes, I hope you don't do what I did."
"I hope he'll come around, maybe you're just not seeing everything straight, that's a long shot, I know, but just maybe."
Applejack shrugged to herself, hoping that the stallion that had gotten Daring Do pregnant was actually a good pony, but only time would tell that.
"Sleep tight Daring, I'll let you sleep in, have Granny Smith keep your breakfast warm, too."
"Thanks Applejack, have a good nights sleep."
From there they departed each other, and Daring Do could sleep a little hit better knowing that she had a friend out there, one she could tell her secrets to and know they she wouldn't be judged.
The next morning, Dr. Caballeron had breakfast with Olive, and they departed for where he thought she might be. After half a days walk, the doctor and his new companion arrived at the former home of Daring Do. It was run down as it always was, and from the moment he walked through the door, Dr. Caballeron knew that she hadn't been there since he'd taken her to his castle.
"She isn't here."
Dr. Caballeron hung his head, Daring Do was a pegasus, she could go anywhere she wanted to, and no matter what the situation was, she'd be able to get there really fast.
"Does she have any friends daddy?"
"I don't know, I mean... what did you call me?"
"Oh, I said... Ali."
"No, you said daddy."
The filly looked down at her hooves, shuffling them around and giggling to herself nervously under her breath.
"I'm sorry, I won't do it again, I promise."
Dr. Caballeron sighed, reaching out with his hoof and hugging her against his side.
"It's alright Olive, you're all I've got now."
After a few minutes of silent thought and a soft lingering hug, the conversation resumed as to where Daring Do would have gone after leaving the castle.
"Are you sure she doesn't have any friends?"
"Rainbow Dash, you won't know her, and I don't know where she lives."
"THE RAINBOW DASH?! I know her! She lives in Ponyville!"
"What? How so you know her?"
"Well, I don't actually know her, I had a friend who was a pegasus, and Rainbow Dash is pretty popular in that group... she's a really good flyer I guess."
"Oh Olive, darling, you're a genius! Thank you sweetie, now we know where to go! She must have gone there to be with her friends!"
Dr. Caballeron picked her up and spun her around, giving the small green filly a big kiss on the top of his head as he danced around like a mad pony in Daring's old living room. With that, the two left to go to Ponyville.
It would be a few days for them to walk, as Olive's legs weren't too long and she tired easily, also because Dr. Caballeron didn't want to spend all his money on train tickets. As they went, Olive would sing traveling sounds that she'd learned throughout her life. She also adopted calling Dr. Caballeron daddy, and he let her do it.
"Hey Olive, when do you think you're going to get your cutie mark? What makes you special sweetie?"
Olive shrugged. She told him she didn't know what she liked to do yet, thus why she didn't have a cutie mark.
"Mine's a skull made of gold with gems, see? Daring's is a compass rose. We both like adventure and the hunt for treasure and all sorts of cool stuff, maybe you'll get one like ours."
"Really?"
Olive's eyes lit up at the idea of having curie mark to match Daring and Dr. Caballeron, she love nothing more to be just like them.
"Maybe sweetie, maybe."
After three days of slow paced walking through the forests of Equestria, through rain and wind, dirt and mud, Dr. Caballeron and Olive arrive just outside of Ponyville. He took a big gulp in, afraid as to what he might find there. Olive could sense his muscles growing tense, and she could practically hear his heart pleating out of his chest and out his mouth.
"Don't worry daddy, she's sure to listen to you, I'll help just like I said!"
"Thanks Olive, I hope she'll listen to me, I have no idea what I'm going to say to her."
"Whatever you do, don't lie."
Dr. Caballeron chucked nervously, rubbing the backside of his neck. Both he and Olive arrived at Ponyville that same morning, walking into the town center, amongst the many ponies.
"So, what are we doing now daddy?"
"We need to find Rainbow Dash."
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