Today’s story offers a sweet deal: a two-for-one sale on action and comedy, with free shipping (while supplies last).

Daring Do(esn’t Need A Special Somepony)
[Romance] [Comedy] [Adventure] • 9,340 words

Hearts and Hooves Day is a sorry excuse for a holiday. Maybe it’s the fact that most of her dates tend to get eaten by manticores, but Daring Do has long since given up on risen above any longing for romance.

But that doesn’t mean she’s not 100% okay with slinking into the Sugar Cloud Confectionery to hit up their sale on rainbow truffles. Hay no. This is her most important quest of the year.

Hopefully it doesn’t end up like last Hearts and Hooves Day.

Stupid Wonderbolt.

FROM THE CURATORS: “I’m not usually much for shipping stories,” Chris said with typical understatement in his nomination, “so when one catches my fancy my thoughts turn to the RCL.” As you might expect, a story good enough to win fans across genre lines sailed through to an easy feature, but we were all surprised at how many things this did right.

“This is basically the literary equivalent of a romance film that incorporates some action sub-plot to keep male audiences from dismissing it as a chick flick.  And by god, does it work.  I haven’t had this much fun reading a story in a while,” JohnPerry said.  Present Perfect, meanwhile, lauded the comedy.  “This was hilarious from the outset,” he said.  “The scene with Daring pulling a wagon and Fleetfoot chucking cushions at guardsponies perfectly sums up just what a ride this is.  It’s ridiculous how well this story works.”  And Chris found the emotions authentic: “What ultimately sold me on this story was the ending.  The way that infatuation, real life, and that ineffable combination of complacency, passivity, and fear-induced laziness combine in that exchange brought everything together for me.”

What it added up to was clear: a strong story from a multi-talented author.  “That Fahrenheit is as skilled with action as with comedy is not something you see every day,” Present Perfect said, while Horizon summed it up: “This story makes a lot of promises, and fulfills them all.  Great characters, some hearty laughs, an unexpected and unexpectedly touching moral … there’s something in this story for everyone.”

Read on for our author interview, in which Fahrenheit discusses meteorological heroes, defenestrated stereotypes, and midnight matchmaking.
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