Daybreak

by Leafdoggy

Chapter 14

As the shadows faded away, Daybreak fell out of the air and landed with a squelch on the damp, soft earth of Hayseed Swamp. Royal Gala stretched her wings out and glided gently down beside her, and Angel flanked her on the other side.

Before them stretched a winding maze of piers and houses. Hayseed Swamp was a town on stilts, with old wooden walkways built up in a sprawling, winding fashion that had no rhyme or reason to it. Below the walkways was shallow, murky water that no doubt held all manner of dangerous creatures, but the paths were wide enough, and the town quiet enough, that there was little, if any, fear of falling in.

Angel had set them down on one of the few patches of relatively dry land that were scattered about town. They were at the outskirts, or at least what could be called outskirts for such a tiny little village, and Daybreak wasted no time before hopping up onto one of the bridges and making her way deeper in.

“Ugh,” Daybreak spoke up as they walked, “why’s it so hot?”

“It’s a swamp,” Angel said. “It’s not as hot as it feels.”

“How does anypony handle living here?” Daybreak asked.

“It’s just what they’re used to,” Royal Gala told her. “Same as how the Crystal Kingdom ponies are used to the cold.”

“Yeah, and I don’t get them either,” Daybreak said. “Why not just live somewhere nicer? Canterlot’s got plenty of space.”

“I think it’s nice here,” Angel said. “Canterlot is too noisy.”

“I don’t get it.”

The town had grown a fair amount since Meadowbrook’s return, but it was still tiny by any standards. There were a couple of dozen buildings at most, and a fair number of those were used for services, a general store, a library, a boutique, and other such things. Some of those doubled as houses for the pony who ran them, but just as many didn’t, and so they made the town look a fair bit more populated than it actually was.

Despite the size, though, the streets were far from empty. There was always a pony in sight somewhere, if not nearby then on a distant walkway, and it would no doubt get busier as the morning wore on.

As the trio of fillies made their way through the town, passing ponies smiled and waved to them, and they smiled and waved back. The adults were all busy with their routines, though, and none stopped them to question why they were there or what they were doing.

When they turned a corner and caught sight of the front of the massive tree that served as Meadowbrook’s home, Daybreak let out an exaggerated, relieved sigh. “Finally,” she groaned. “I really hope it’s better inside.”

The door into the hollowed-out tree was propped open by a heavy rock, so they just walked right in. It was a humble little place, all one room with one side devoted to living space and the other to Meadowbrook’s pharmacy. She lived a surprisingly open life, apparently having no qualms about letting others walk in and see her bed, her bookshelves, and her years of personal mementos that decorated the walls.

Meadowbrook herself was crouched down in front of a low shelf filled with vials of strange liquids and powders, searching through it. She was humming a tune to herself and didn’t notice them come in.

“Hello?” Daybreak asked.

“Oh!” Meadowbrook stood up too fast and smacked her head against the shelf above her. She winced and rubbed her head as she stood up, but when she caught their eyes she still had a friendly smile on her face.

It took her a moment to recognize the trio, but then her smile grew even wider.

“Oh, Angel! I haven’t seen you in ages! You really must tell your mother to come to visit, it’s been so long since we caught up.” She skipped over to them and sat on the floor so she wasn’t towering over them. “And you two must be the little Princesses. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, it truly is.”

“Hello, Miss Meadowbrook,” Angel said. She suddenly sounded far more polite than she normally did. “I’m sorry for showing up without notice.”

“Oh, no, no, I’m delighted to have you! Ooh, would you three like some tea? I could make tea.”

“Uhh…” Daybreak glanced between Meadowbrook and Angel curiously. “No thanks. We’re kinda here for something important.”

“Oh? Already saving the world, are you?” Meadowbrook chuckled softly. “Well, please, how can I help?”

“We need to find Starswirl,” Daybreak said.

“Oh, you too? How curious,” Meadowbrook said. “Just last night I had a sweet little magician ask me the same thing. I told her that Starswirl didn’t hold much esteem for the art, but she was adamant about it! Ah, the confidence of today’s youth is truly inspiring. It reminds me of my own younger years, when I thought I could do anything at all. What a time that was, with—”

Meadowbrook noticed a droop in Daybreak’s expression and covered her mouth with a blush and a tiny gasp. “Oh, I was rambling, wasn’t I? I’m terribly sorry.”

“It’s fine, Miss Meadowbrook,” Angel told her. “Do you know where Starswirl is, though?”

“Alas, I’m afraid I cannot help you,” Meadowbrook said. “Starswirl has sworn me to secrecy! No clue as to his whereabouts shall part these lips, I’m afraid.”

Daybreak frowned. Angel nodded solemnly. “I understand,” she said. “Thank you anyway.”

“Of course, dearies. Is there any other way I can help? What exactly do you need Starswirl for?”

“Uhh,” Daybreak mumbled nervously, “that’s kind of—”

Angel cut her off. “We broke one of the Elements of Harmony.”

“Angel!” Daybreak hissed at her. Angel just shrugged back.

Meadowbrook gasped. “Oh, my, that is dire! If only I could help… I’m afraid I cannot break my vow, though, even for that. Perhaps try our other compatriots?”

“That’s the plan,” Royal Gala said. “Thanks for hearin us out.”

“Oh, not a problem,” Meadowbrook said, “and here, before you go…” She hopped up and walked over to her shelves of medicine. She started to search through them, pushing things around haphazardly. Eventually, she found a small jar full of powder and held it up triumphantly. “Here it is!” She carried it back over and gave it to Daybreak, since she was the only one who’d brought a saddlebag. “Hopefully this can help you.”

“What is it?” Daybreak asked. She tilted the jar back and forth to watch the little particles tumble and mix. The powder was a rainbow of tiny grains of sand, all mixed together so finely that it seemed to change its hue with every twist and turn.

“Oh, I’ve got no idea,” Meadowbrook said cheerily. “I picked this up at a curious little inlet off of Loch Neighss. Almost all rocks, but there was a tiny stretch of beach with the most stunningly luminescent sand I’ve ever laid eyes on. Now, so far all of my tests on it have come up with nothing, but my gut tells me that there’s something special about this sand, and my gut’s never wrong. Perhaps you can have better luck with it than I have, hm?”

“Well, thank you,” Daybreak said as she stowed the jar away. “Is there anything else? I kinda wanna get to the desert before it gets too hot.”

“Oh, are you going to see Somnambula? Tell her I said hi!” Meadowbrook grinned, gave Angel a kiss on the forehead and trotted back over to her shelves. “Have a lovely day!”

The three fillies nodded and said their goodbyes as shadows encircled them.

Once they were gone, Meadowbrook chuckled to herself. “Ah, youth.”

The town of Somnambula was a hot, dry, happy place. A bit bigger than Ponyville by size, but a fair amount smaller by population, it was filled with wide-open spaces like marketplaces and plazas. The town was laid out in a wide grid of these places, separated by thin rows of houses and connected only by alleyways without a single proper street to be seen.

Even with its scarce population, Somnambula was a bustling place. It thrived off of tourism, and the plazas were always filled to bursting with ponies of all shapes and sizes. This held true as the fillies wandered through the town’s main plaza, having to weave their way through a forest of legs as adults went about their days around them.

“Angel, any idea where she is in all this?” Daybreak asked as they broke out of a crowd and found themselves in an alleyway.

Angel shrugged. “I’ve never met her. I don’t know what she looks like.”

“She’s kinda pink-ish,” Royal Gala said, “and real small.”

“Yeah, no, that tells me nothing,” Angel told her.

“Well, I tried,” Royal Gala said.

In the next plaza, they decided to stick close to the buildings rather than brave the turmoil of the crowds. “Let’s ask somepony,” Daybreak said.

She stopped them at the first place she noticed, a little stall where a light blue stallion was selling colorful pottery. He perked up noticeably when they stopped walking. “Oh, good morning! How may I assist you?”

“Uh, hey,” Daybreak said. “We’re, uh, looking for Somnambula?”

“Well, you’ve found it!” The stallion grinned. “Lovely little town, isn’t it?”

“No, I mean the pony,” Daybreak said.

“Oh.” The stallion frowned for just a second before forcing his smile back up. “Yeah, she’s in the next square up north of here. Good luck, though, the line’s probably hours long at this point.”

“Line?” Daybreak raised an eyebrow. “There’s a line to see Somnambula?”

“Oh, for sure,” he said. “Everypony wants advice from her. I mean, she’s Somnambula.”

Daybreak sighed. “Alright, well… Thanks.” Before he could say anything back, she turned and trudged in the direction he’d pointed them.

Sure enough, when they got to the next plaza they saw that he’d been right. It was a smaller space, and the only thing that seemed to take it up was a tiny tent set up right in the middle, but it was still utterly packed. The line of ponies spiraled around the tent over and over so many times that the final row just about reached the edge of the plaza itself.

Daybreak groaned. “Great. There’s no way I’m waiting in this line.”

“Should we find a different pillar?” Angel asked.

“Ugh. We’re already here, though. I don’t wanna have to come back. Nah, we’re getting in there.”

“And how exactly are you figurin you’ll do that?” Royal Gala asked.

“Oh, I’ll find a way,” Daybreak said. A mischievous grin grew across her face. “I’ll definitely find a way.”

Comments

[Cross Lament]

Definitely some trolling going on here.

[RandomGuy101]

“Oh, I’ll find a way,” Daybreak said. A mischievous grin grew across her face. “I’ll definitely find a way.”

MWAHAHAHAHA!

[Razzy]

Well, that was helpful. :V