//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Daybreak // by Leafdoggy //------------------------------// Fluttershy whistled a sweet little tune as she flitted around her cottage cleaning up. Her home wasn’t messy, per se, but it was undoubtedly a bit cluttered. Books left on tables had to be returned to shelves, mail left unread had to be sorted, and then there were the bits of confetti or half-deflated balloons she’d find from time to time.  Fluttershy did like to live in a clean home, and she even enjoyed cleaning, but she was a very distractable pony, and living with Pinkie had done nothing to help that. She had time scheduled every weekend dedicated to cleaning up, and for the most part that worked, but it didn’t stop the clutter of the week from piling up until then. Daybreak sat in her crib and watched Fluttershy idly. She’d never been in Fluttershy’s cabin before, and only a few minutes before then she’d been in the comfort of her own room, so she was a bit shellshocked at everything going on. It was all she could do just to stare out and take in her new surroundings. Fluttershy’s cabin was a cozy, picturesque little place. Most of it was taken up by a single room, one side of which had been turned into a kitchen separated from the rest by a low counter. Opposite the kitchen was a little reading area, with bookshelves in the corner and sofas arranged to make it feel more like it wasn’t just part of everything else. Near there was the front door, and on the opposite side of the door was the old, too-steep staircase that led up to the second floor, the entirety of which made up their bedroom. The most prominent thing in the home, nestled in between the reading nook and the kitchen, was a large, round fire pit. It was recessed into the floor, with an intermediate ledge around the edge covered in cushions for ponies to relax on, and above it was a heavy stone chimney to collect the smoke. The fire pit itself hadn’t seen much use, as Trotsylvania didn’t get nearly cold enough for it, but the circle of cushions was their go-to whenever they had company over. After she finished picking up everything obvious, Fluttershy briefly considered delving into a deeper cleaning, mopping the floors and dusting the shelves and so on, but decided against it. Daybreak seemed to have cooled down, and there was much to do. She glided over to the crib, which she’d nestled down near the bottom of the stairs, and leaned down to talk to Daybreak. “Alright, sweetie, how are you feeling?” Daybreak tilted her head, still out of sorts from the sudden shift in environment. “Hmm… Well, I suppose that’s better than being fussy.” Gently, she reached into the crib and plucked out Daybreak, holding her close but giving her enough freedom to move around and look at everything. “So, welcome to my home. Do you remember my name?” Daybreak looked up at her and thought. “Mmn…” Finally, she shook her head. Fluttershy laughed softly. “That’s okay. I’m Fluttershy, okay? Flu-tter-shy,” she said, sounding out each syllable slowly. “Can you say that?” “Fly!” “Not quite,” Fluttershy said with a grin. “You’re close, though. You’ll get there.” She floated over to one of the sofas and sat down with a contented sigh. “So, what are we going to do with you?” Daybreak looked up at Fluttershy with pleading eyes. “Eat?” Fluttershy sighed and shook her head. She lifted Daybreak up so they were face to face and looked into her eyes. “Sweetie, when you do that you hurt other ponies. Don’t you remember what happened with Flurry Heart?” Daybreak didn’t understand the connection, and her confused expression made that clear. “No, I suppose you’re too young to figure that out from just one scary encounter,” Fluttershy said. “So, what? It’s not like we can just let you loose on somepony.” Fluttershy thought for a moment, then suddenly got up from the sofa and pulled Daybreak back against her chest. “No use dwelling on it. Would you like to see the town?” Daybreak didn’t quite give her an actual answer, but she decided to take it as a yes. She nabbed a floppy sunhat from a hatrack on her way out, and slipped it on as she stepped out the door. It was a foggy day, but not terribly so. They could see a good amount of the massive, labyrinthine castle that towered nearby, and the gate leading into town was perfectly visible. The fog made the air feel thick, though, and just stepping outside made them feel sweaty despite the slight chill in the air. Fluttershy squeezed Daybreak and made her way into town. Trotsylvania had a bit of a strange layout compared to most towns. It was, for the most part, a single street, only a few miles in length. It was lined with businesses and services, shops and blacksmiths and guilds, while the majority of the town’s actual homes were nestled behind them, away from the street. The tightly packed houses made a maze of alleyways that was sure to confound any newcomers. Surrounding it all was a tall cobblestone wall, and though they knew it would do little to deter any serious aggressors, it gave the townsfolk some peace of mind by letting the average explorer know that this place wanted to be left alone. The gate by the cabin let out onto the only other street in town. It ran perpendicular to the main road, a short, straight shot from the castle grounds to the gate leading into the bog outside. The street itself was rarely used, but the intersection was often bustling, having been made into somewhat of a town square. Most of the crowd was gathered around a stage set right in the middle, from which the town’s crier relayed the news of the day. Fluttershy settled down for a moment at the edge of the crowd, not wanting to delve too deep more for her own sake than the baby’s, and listened in. The crier, a tall stallion with tan fur, was bouncing around the stage energetically as newspapers floated through the air around him. “Let’s move back to the top, shall we?” It was a sentence Fluttershy heard from him a lot when she showed up, and while she felt bad about his spiel being reset just for her sake, she couldn’t deny that it was nice to not have to wait for the main news of the day. “You may have already heard,” he was saying, “I do know how gossip spreads in this town, but we had a celebrity here last week! That’s right, our humble little town was graced by Rarity herself, and curious ears have told me they heard talk of a new boutique. Could it be? Is she—” Fluttershy chuckled and turned to leave, gently floating along with Daybreak held in her legs. “Don’t let him fool you,” she told Daybreak, “that’s the third Rarity headline this year. She talks about opening a boutique every time she visits.” “Eat?” “No, no,” Fluttershy said, “bou-tique. It’s like a clothes store. I can’t imagine you’d have to worry about one, Rarity must make you clothes all the time, but—” As she talked, Daybreak started to get restless and squirmed in Fluttershy’s grip. “Down!” “You wanna walk?” Fluttershy landed and set Daybreak gently down on the ground. “Alright, but don’t run off, okay?” Daybreak nodded and started to walk down the street with Fluttershy at her heels. She moved slowly, gazing around in wonder at all the strange and new things she was passing by.  Trotsylvania was a refuge, a place of safety for all sorts of creatures, and as such it wasn’t like any other town in Equestria. Most notably, there were very few actual ponies in the town. There were more than any one other type of creature, sure, but that didn’t amount to much, and even the ponies that were there were largely divided. Most were vampires, but they also had the undead, the cursed, and a few ponies who were simply outcasts. Even with such vast differences, though, Trotsylvania was as busy, and as friendly, as any other town its size. Every griffon, changeling or sphinx they passed by smiled and waved to the two of them, and several creatures even stopped to say hello to Daybreak, curious about the strange little thing. The attention thrilled Daybreak. She got a pep in her step as she trotted along, scurrying around so excitedly that she almost tripped over herself several times. Fluttershy followed behind with a smile, content to let Daybreak explore however she pleased. Eventually, she was so emboldened by it all that she decided to run up to the next creature she saw herself, rather than wait for them to come to her.  She hopped up in front of them and stopped them in their tracks. “B—” She stopped herself, looked down in thought for a moment, then sprang back up. “Hi!” “Well, howdy!” It was a kirin, bright and bubble with dark teal fur and a leafy green mane. She crouched down and gave Daybreak a toothy grin. “Well, aren’t you the cutest little thing? What’s your name?” “Mmm… Fly!” Giggling, Fluttershy walked up beside Daybreak and nodded to the kirin. “Hi, Bon. This is Daybreak Nymph. I’m babysitting her for a few days.” Daybreak nodded. “Fly!” “Lucky! I’d love to be able to look after such an adorable little munchkin.” Bon bopped Daybreak on the nose and ruffled her mane. “What is she?” “I think they’re calling her a pixie,” Fluttershy said. “She’s half pony and half changeling.” “Woah, how does that work?” Bon raised her eyebrows in shock. “Where’d she come from?” “She’s Princess Twilight’s daughter,” Fluttershy said. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard of her.” Bon shrugged. “I guess the news hasn’t reached us.” “Strange,” Fluttershy said. “Well, what are you up to? I don’t see you out much.” “I’m gonna meet my sister for a day off,” Bon said. “We both really need one. I’m just exhausted, and she, well—” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Don’t tell her I said this, but she’s kinda lost her creative spark.” “Oh, well that sounds lovely,” Fluttershy said. “I hope you have fun.” Bon nodded. “Oh, we will! Ooh, hey, do you think the little tyke here would wanna meet Fire?” “I—” Fluttershy froze. “That would be a bad idea.” Fluttershy suddenly felt incredibly foolish. Somehow, she’d forgotten all about Bon and Fire. Bon wasn’t a problem, she was cheerier than even Pinkie a lot of the time, but Fire… Bon and Fire weren’t actually sisters. They said they were for convenience’s sake, and because that was the kind of relationship they had, but the truth was that, a long time ago, there’d just been one kirin named Bonfire. Fluttershy didn’t know the whole story, but— “Oh, hey Fire!” Bon suddenly perked up and waved to someone behind Fluttershy. Anxiously, Fluttershy turned around. Standing there, grinning through green flames, was Fire. The nirik looked down at Daybreak curiously. “What the heck is that?” Daybreak looked up at her with wide eyes. “Eat?”