//------------------------------// // Chapter 30 // Story: Daybreak // by Leafdoggy //------------------------------// The sun was setting over Equestria. The dark of night was rolling in, and all across the land creatures were laying their heads down to sleep. Canterlot shone in the golden glow of dusk. Behind the grand city, the mountainside glittered with reflected light, illuminating forests, cliffsides, and, if you looked closely enough, a little train that rattled as it fought its way up the mountain. Closer still, and you would see Twilight Sparkle, leaning against a window with a wistful look on her face. She watched the sun slowly vanish as she idly pet her daughter, who was asleep on her lap, and she let out a long-held sigh. In the seat opposite her, Chrysalis looked up. “Is everything alright?” “Yeah,” Twilight said. “I think so.” “What’s on your mind?” Twilight thought for a moment. “Do you ever get jealous?” “Of what?” “Of other parents. How they…” Twilight paused, then shook her head. “I just feel sometimes like I’m the only one who doesn’t know what she’s doing.” “That’s not true,” Chrysalis said. “You’re not the only one. You’ll always have me.” “That’s not exactly better.” “Twilight, you can’t compare yourself to Fluttershy. She’s practically spent her entire life learning how to be a parent.” “It’s not just Fluttershy. It’s… It’s just everything.” “Has you been dwelling on this all day?” “Kinda.” Twilight frowned. “What she said really got to me. Why did we put ourselves on the line like that?” “You know why.” “I do.” Twilight yawned and leaned back with her eyes shut. “Maybe our priorities are wrong, though.” “Equestria needs protectors.” “Equestria has protectors. You saw how easily Discord dealt with the moon. We’re all good at different things. I feel like, at this point, we ought to have enough that there will always be someone who can take care of things that easily.” The train passed into a tunnel, and there was a lull in the conversation as their eyes adjusted to the dark. The sounds of the wheels pushing against the tracks and shaking violently echoed around them. Daybreak stirred for a moment but quickly fell back into a deep sleep. “I just feel like I mess up so much,” Twilight said. “Have you ever not felt that way?” Chrysalis asked. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” “No, really,” Chrysalis said. “You’re always worried about making mistakes, but how often are those worries actually justified?” “I don’t know.” “It’s not very often,” Chrysalis said, “and I know that I believe in you, even if you don’t. I wouldn’t have agreed to have a child in the first place if I didn’t believe you’d be an excellent mother, and in my eyes, you’ve done a splendid job.” “I… Thank you,” Twilight replied. “I love you, Chrysalis.” “I love you too, Twilight.” “I do think we should look into some sort of system to make situations like that safer,” Twilight said. “A tracking system would work best, but that feels invasive… Maybe we could—” A piercing screech flooded the train, and time slowed to a crawl as Twilight was launched forward out of her seat.  She acted fast, pulling Daybreak close and wrapping her wings around her before spinning around so that Twilight landed first and took the brunt of the impact.  There was a loud thud when she hit the ground, and one of her wings went limp, losing its grip on Daybreak and sprawling out on the floor beside them. As the train slowed, Chrysalis jumped from her seat and crouched down beside Twilight. “Are you okay?” “Mm…” Twilight took a deep breath, then nodded. “Mm-hm.” Daybreak stirred uncomfortably in Twilight’s grip, woozy and confused by her sudden awakening. “Mom?” She asked as her vision adjusted to the darkness of the tunnel enough to see Twilight. “What’s going on?” Chrysalis took Daybreak so that Twilight could sit up, and then set Daybreak on the floor when she started to squirm. “I’m not sure, sweetie,” Twilight said weakly. “The train stopped.” “Is your wing alright?” Chrysalis asked. “I think—” Twilight started, but she winced when she tried to fold it against her side. “Maybe not.” “Okay, just wait here, then,” Chrysalis said. “I’ll go see what’s going on.” Twilight nodded, and Chrysalis teleported away. Twilight reached over and awkwardly rubbed her injured wing. “Ow…” She groaned as she flexed and prodded to see just how hurt she was. Daybreak walked up with a worried look and sat on the floor of the train near Twilight. “Are you okay?” “I will be,” Twilight said. “I don’t think I’m hurt too badly. Thank you for your concern, though.” Twilight gave Daybreak a weak smile and ran a hoof through her mane. “What about you? Are you hurt at all?” Daybreak shook her head. “I’m fine.” “I’m glad,” Twilight told her. She would’ve said more, but Chrysalis chose that moment to reappear. “It looks like there’s been a cave-in,” she said. Twilight gasped. “Oh, no! Is anypony hurt?” “Not that I saw,” Chrysalis replied, “but… I’m worried. Something seems off.” “Off?” Daybreak asked. “What, like someone caused the cave-in?” “That’s my fear.” Chrysalis paused and thought. “I’m thinking I should go look into it.” “Really?” A hint of frustration found its way into Daybreak’s voice. “Why you? Why can’t somepony else go do it?” “We don’t know what we’re looking at here,” Chrysalis said. “I wouldn’t know who to get.” “Anyone.” Daybreak stood up and glared at her mother. “Any of Equestria’s million heroes could deal with it.” “I’m supposed to be one of those heroes,” Chrysalis said. “I have a responsibility to—” “You’re supposed to be my mom,” Daybreak interrupted. Her voice cracked. “I know, Daybreak,” Chrysalis said. “What if I promise that I’ll go get someone else if I run into any trouble? Would that make you feel better?” “Mm…” Daybreak grumbled, then pouted and sat down. “Fine.” “Alright,” Chrysalis said. “I’ll be back soon.” Then, once more, she vanished. Twilight pushed herself to her hooves with a groan so she could go and sit next to Daybreak. She stretched out her good wing and wrapped it snugly around Daybreak. “She just wants Equestria to be a safe place for you to grow up in, you know.” “I’d rather be in danger than lose my mom,” Daybreak mumbled. “I know,” Twilight said, “but we just… We can’t let you be in danger like that. I know we have to work on how we go about protecting you, but we can’t just stop.” “Whatever,” Daybreak grumbled. She turned away and laid her head down, and Twilight squeezed her close.  The next thing Daybreak knew, she was being jolted awake by the train starting to move. “Huh?” She snapped her head up and looked around. “What’s going on?” “I’m not sure,” Twilight said uneasily. “I guess they must’ve cleared the tunnel.” Daybreak pushed herself out from under Twilight’s wing and looked around. “But… But she’s not back yet!” “She’s probably still looking into what caused it,” Twilight said. “I’m sure she’ll show back up by the time we reach Canterlot.” “But what if she’s in trouble?” “Your mother is very capable,” Twilight said. “Plus, she said she’d go get help.” “What if she didn’t, though?” “We just have to trust her. That’s all we can do.” “No, it’s not,” Daybreak said. “I’m not hurt. I can go find her.” “No,” Twilight said sternly. “It’s far too dangerous for you to go off on your own.” “That never stops you,” Daybreak replied. “I said we’d work on it,” Twilight said. “Will you? Or are you just gonna keep ‘promising’ that you’ll get help when you go?” Daybreak huffed. “Maybe you’d quit if you knew how I felt.” “Daybreak, please, just—” Twilight was cut off by a flash of magic as Daybreak vanished. “Daybreak!” Twilight instantly lit up her horn and chased after her. When Daybreak reappeared in the tunnel, it was easy to see why Chrysalis was suspicious. The cave-in hadn’t come from the ceiling. The rubble was from a huge hole that had been blasted in the wall, revealing a much smaller, far more crudely dug tunnel. Now the stones were all piled up beside the opening, a pile that looked just big enough to have caused serious trouble if the train had hit it. There was a flash, and Twilight appeared in the tunnel a few feet away. She started moving as quickly as she could towards Daybreak while clutching her injured wing, trying to keep it still, although she was still clearly in pain from the effort. Unable to think of any other course of action, Daybreak flicked out her wings and flew into the makeshift tunnel. Outside, Twilight slowed to a stop and sat helplessly on the tunnel floor, knowing she couldn’t hope to keep up. The tunnel really was tiny, enough so that even Daybreak, as small as she was, started to feel hemmed in. She couldn’t keep flying in the cramped space, and even running proved difficult with how jagged and uneven the floor was. Soon, her pace was reduced to little more than a quick trot.  The tunnel was long, massively so. She walked for what felt like miles down the straight, narrow path. There were no turns, no forks or branches, just a single, endless corridor. After seemingly unending ages of walking, a noise echoed through the tunnel. It was quiet, distant, but still unsettling. It sounded like the brutal smashing of stone, and the clatter of rubble falling into the passageway. Most disturbing, though, was that she was sure the noise had come from behind her. At first, she thought it was a cave-in, but she wasn’t sure. It was too quick, too explosive, and the sight of the hole blasted out of the wall in the train tunnel was still fresh in her mind. Whatever it was, it had her trapped. She sped up, trying as hard as she could not to trip and fall on the rough terrain, hoping beyond hope that she’d find an exit before whatever was behind her caught up.  She could only run so fast, though. It wasn’t long before she could hear the telltale sound of a torrent of water speeding towards her.  She ran faster and faster, desperate to escape the flood, and for a moment it seemed to be working. The sound started to fall away behind her. Then she tripped. She tried to pick herself back up as quickly as she could, but it was too late. She just barely managed to take a deep breath before the wall of water slammed into her and sent her rocketing down the tunnel. She tried opening her eyes, but the blur of sharp stones speeding past her made her regret it. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if she hit a wall. All she could do was shut her eyes tight and hope, pray that she’d make it to the other end safely. Then, the water disappeared. Suddenly, she felt open air rushing around her. She opened her eyes to see that the tunnel had ended and spat her out into a massive cavern filled with water. It was too huge to see across to the other side, but the wall she’d been shot from was littered with caves just like the one she’d just been in, some pouring jets of water into the pool below.  Before she could get her bearings, she splashed into the water. Luckily, she knew how to swim, and was able to quickly pop back above the surface and take a deep breath, but she still wasn’t in a good situation. She was surrounded by darkness on all sides and a bottomless trench below. She’d already lost track of which hole in the wall she popped out of, and there was no telling if any of the others would ever reach the surface. Even if she could figure that out, she couldn’t take to the air from the water. She was completely lost. “Mom?” Unsure of what else to do, she called out blindly into the cave. “Mom, are you here?” “Daybreak?” Chrysalis’ voice came from the distance. A fluttering noise filled the air as she started to buzz around in search of her daughter. “Daybreak, what are you doing here? It’s dangerous!” “What are you doing here?” Daybreak shot back. “You promised you’d get help!” “I was going to,” Chrysalis said, “I just had to figure out what this thing is first.” Chrysalis emerged from the darkness, and her eyes locked onto Daybreak. “There you are! Come on, let’s—” Just as Chrysalis started flying towards Daybreak, a massive tendril of water shot up from the pool and took a swipe at her. Chrysalis dodged out of the way and fired a bolt of magic at it, but the attack passed through the water harmlessly. “Mom!” Daybreak started taking awkward, splashing strides through the water towards her mother, but a second later the water rose up in a wall before her. The wall stretched up and around her until it made a dome, through which she could still see wavy, distorted glimpses of her mother fighting off the water. The water in front of Daybreak started to churn and bubble. She backed away as a pair of glistening, watery ears popped up from the waves, followed by a mane, eyes, an entire equine head. Daybreak bumped into the wall of water behind her and was stopped completely by it. She started to shiver as the eerie, multicolored eyes of the creature watched her emotionlessly. “W-What do you want?” The creature didn’t respond. Instead, it reached a hoof up, then another, and set them firmly on the surface of the water. Then, it climbed up and out of the pool. Standing on the water’s surface, the creature was a bizarre sight. Other than the water that made it up, it looked like an average pony, just a bit taller than Daybreak was. Its mane was short and straight and dripped constantly, and its eyes were a bright, glassy blue with streaks of shimmering color running through them. The creature slowly covered the few steps over to where Daybreak was cowering. It leaned down so that its face was uncomfortably close to Daybreak’s, and tilted its head as it examined her. Then, the creature spoke. “You… Are Daybreak, correct?” Its voice was light and wavy and seemed to flow through the air like a song. At the same time, it sounded muffled and distant, like it was being heard from underwater. “H-How do you know me?” “You do not recognize me?” “I, um… Should I?” “Ah, wait, I think I understand.” The creature gestured to the side, and a lithe, catlike creature crawled out of the water. “I… Gooey?” The cat turned back into water and splashed into the pool, and the creature nodded. “Yes.” “You’re… You’re a pony? You can talk?” “Only recently,” Gooey said, “and only here.” They laid down on the surface of the pool, their face still only centimeters away from Daybreak’s. “I have not tried to go outside with more than the piece you captured.” Daybreak looked around Gooey, at the battle still raging outside. “Why are you attacking my mom?” “I wanted to talk to you,” Gooey said, “and she would have taken you away.” “Well, stop it!” Daybreak frowned. “You’re gonna hurt her!” Gooey tilted their head. Outside, the tendril broke apart and splashed back down into the water. “Do you not want to talk to me?” “What?” Daybreak gave them a confused look. “No, I do, but you were gonna hurt my mom!” Once she realized the tendril wasn’t coming back, Chrysalis rushed over to the dome of water, but as she did it seemed to get more solid, and when she reached it Daybreak couldn’t even hear her voice through the wall. “I think I do not understand something,” Gooey said. “Was she not hurting me, as well?” “Her magic goes right through you! Do you even feel it?” “I…” Gooey looked down and examined one of their hooves. “I think I do.” “Well, do you feel pain?” “Pain?” “Yeah, like… It’s like getting hit, and still feeling it for a long time after, and it really sucks.” “I do not think I feel that,” Gooey said. “Well, it’s really, really bad,” Daybreak said, “and hurting someone means making them feel pain. Or even worse! Someone could die!” “Die?” “Augh.” Daybreak shook her head. “I’ll explain it later. Just… Don’t hurt anyone, okay?” “I will try.” “Thanks. Now, can you take down this bubble so my mom will stop freaking out?” “Okay.” Gooey nodded, and the bubble popped. A second later, Daybreak was in Chrysalis’ grasp and flying through the air. “Finally,” Chrysalis said. “Daybreak, I’m so sorry I didn’t save you sooner, I—” “Put me down!” Daybreak huffed and tried to push Chrysalis away. “You didn’t save anything.” Chrysalis stopped flying and looked at Daybreak. “What?” “It’s just Gooey,” Daybreak said. “They weren’t gonna hurt me. Let me go so I can talk to them!” “I…” Chrysalis paused for a moment, then loosened her grip and let Daybreak fly back to Gooey. “Sorry about that,” Daybreak said as she made it back. “Um… Hey, do you think you could make it so I can sit on the water, too?” “Okay,” Gooey said. Daybreak grinned, and when she tested the water with a hoof, she found that it was completely solid. So, she laid down and looked up at Gooey. “Thanks.” Chrysalis flew over and hovered above them. “So, you’re Gooey?” She asked. “Yes.” “What are you doing down here?” “Getting water.” “Okay, but… Why?” “I wanted water.” Daybreak chuckled. “Gooey, you can’t just build up a massive pool without asking!” “Why not?” Gooey asked. “Because it’s bad,” Chrysalis said. Daybreak rolled her eyes. “It’s because other creatures might have a reason you shouldn’t,” she said. “I mean, one of your tunnels almost made our train crash!” “And that would have hurt you?” Gooey asked. “Yeah,” Daybreak said, “and a lot of other creatures, too.” “Okay,” Gooey said. “Who do I ask?” “It depends on what you’re doing,” Daybreak said. “For now, you should probably just, um… Try and clean up all this water.” “Okay.” Gooey dipped a hoof down into the pool, and suddenly the water started to rapidly lower. As it did, their body got more vivid and colorful, eventually becoming an almost blinding liquid rainbow when they had absorbed the entire pool and they landed on solid rock. “It that good?” “Uh, yeah, that’s great,” Daybreak said. I expected that to take longer, really. Uhh, I guess now we can start talking about who you need to talk to about stuff if you want.”  Chrysalis sighed. “Daybreak, we don’t have the time to sit here in a wet cave and teach your cat about ethics. Where is Twilight? She must be worried sick.” “Well, you can go back to her,” Daybreak said. “It’s not like you’ve ever been against leaving me alone before.” “Daybreak, please.” Chrysalis landed on the floor and rubbed her forehead. “We need to get home if we’re going to have a serious talk about all of that.” “We were going home,” Daybreak said, “until you left again. The train started to leave without you!” “I didn’t want to be gone so long,” Chrysalis said.  “Yeah, right!” Daybreak stood up and glared at Chrysalis. “If that was true, you would’ve gone to get someone else to check the tunnel!” She scoffed and took a step back. “Whatever. I’m sick of being lied to. Angel, get us out of here.” “Angel, please do not—” Chrysalis’ voice was cut off was shadows swirled up around Daybreak and Gooey and whisked them away.