• Published 15th Mar 2020
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Daybreak - Leafdoggy



Twilight and Chrysalis decide to have a child

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Chapter 25

Daybreak broke into a full-speed sprint as soon as she made it inside the castle. She ran up and down halls, zipping around surprised guards and various other ponies. Once she was at the throne room, she burst through the doors with a mighty crash, gaining her the attention of everyone in the room, including her parents, sitting up on their thrones.

“Well, someone’s excited,” Twilight chuckled. “I take it you found something?”

“Uh-huh!” Daybreak grinned and pranced up to the platform that held the thrones. “She’s gonna love it.”

“Well, what is it?” Chrysalis asked.

“That’s a secret,” Daybreak told her. “Ask Angel if you really wanna know.”

“I’m not sure that’s how it works,” Chrysalis said. “I’ll go with it, though.”

“So, are you ready? Can we go?” Daybreak jumped in place excitedly as she looked back and forth between her parents. “Please?”

“I suppose,” Twilight said teasingly. “Chrissy? What do you think, are we ready?”

“I don’t know,” Chrysalis said, “I may still need a nap.”

Daybreak groaned. “C’mon, I wanna get there before it’s super crowded!”

“Okay, okay,” Twilight said, getting up from her seat. “Let’s go, then.” She walked up beside Chrysalis and waved Daybreak over. Once they were all together, she nodded and lit up her horn, making the three of them vanish in a flash of light.

When they reappeared, Daybreak lit up and started to look around, but her expression quickly dimmed. “Why are we here?

All around them were crowds of strangers heading off to start their days. Some were heading out of the large, spacious building, but most were making their way towards the back, and into the train that sat waiting for its passengers.

“I thought we could take the train,” Twilight said. “It seemed pleasant.”

“But we can teleport,” Daybreak said.

“Yes, but I think it’s important that you take things slowly sometimes. You’ve got to learn to be patient,” Twilight told her.

“That’s dumb,” Daybreak said. “I’m patient.”

“Well, then prove it,” Twilight replied. “Be patient and enjoy the train ride.”

“Ugh.” Daybreak gave up. She knew she wasn’t going to win, so she went with it as they led her into the train and through the cars until they found an open seat.

Shortly after they sat down, there was a lurch as the train started to move. Slowly, the station started sliding away past the window.

“How long’s this gonna take?” Daybreak asked.

“Not too long,” Twilight told her. “The Rockville stop is on the way to the main stop. Try to enjoy it.”

“Mm.” Daybreak grumbled and turned towards the window. She stared out as the walls of the station gave way to the scenic mountainside, steep rock faces leading down to fields of waving grass, which themselves were eventually overtaken by Equestria’s dense forests. The sky was bright and blue, nearly cloudless and dotted with pegasi enjoying the freedom of flight.

None of it moved Daybreak much. She was too focused on pouting to really pay attention to the world outside.

As the train slowly sped up and descended the mountain, Twilight and Chrysalis started to talk idly. “So,” Chrysalis spoke up, “how crowded is this party going to be, exactly?”

“Quite a bit, sorry,” Twilight said. “I think the entire family is planning on being there.”

All of them?” Chrysalis winced. “Even the spouses?”

“Presumably.”

“At this rate, they’re going to outpace the Apples.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” Twilight said. “A dozen or so ponies on that whole farm isn’t a big deal.”

Daybreak looked up away from the window, her interest piqued. “Farm?”

“Yes, sweetie, the rock farm,” Twilight said. “We must’ve taken you there once or twice, I’m sure.”

“Not that I can remember,” Daybreak replied. “What’s a rock farm?”

“It’s the Pies’ family business,” Chrysalis explained. “They provide stone to a fairly large amount of Equestria. You’d better behave yourself while we’re there, otherwise Limestone is liable to put you to work.”

“Yeah, right,” Daybreak said. “You’re just trying to scare me.”

“Feel free to believe that.”

“I’m gonna.”

“Do you remember Pinkie’s sisters?” Twilight asked.

“I didn’t even know she had sisters,” Daybreak said.

Twilight laughed. “Oh, does she ever. They’re quite the family.”

“Including Pinkie, there are five sisters in total,” Chrysalis said. “You’ll probably like Maud, she’s quite a bit like Angel. Then there’s Marble, who’s my favorite, and—”

Chrysalis was cut off by a loud screech that shot through the train. With it came another lurch as the train started the arduous process of slowing down.

Daybreak gasped and stood up in her seat excitedly. “We’re here! We’re here!” She hopped up and down as she chanted.

Twilight caught Daybreak and pulled her into her lap. “You’re gonna hurt yourself if you jump around like that.”

“No, I’m not!” Daybreak looked up at her mother and gave her an exaggerated frown.

“Well, I still worry, so too bad.” Twilight squeezed Daybreak and kissed her on the forehead.

Daybreak blushed and huffed. “Mom, we’re in public! You’re embarrassing me!”

“And?” Twilight nuzzled her lovingly. “It’s my job to embarrass you.”

As Twilight doted on Daybreak, the train slowly rolled to a stop at the edge of a rickety wooden platform. As soon as it stopped moving, Daybreak squirmed out of Twilight’s grasp and stepped into the aisle. “C’mon, let’s go before the train starts up again.”

Twilight laughed as she got up and followed Daybreak, with Chrysalis shortly behind. Daybreak didn’t bother to wait for them, though, instead choosing to dash through the train and out onto the platform.

What she stepped out into shocked her enough to stop her in her tracks. Rockville was like nothing she’d ever seen before. She’d been to Ponyville, and to Trotsylvania. She knew small towns, but she didn’t know this. She would’ve hesitated to even call the little cluster of ten or so buildings a town if not for the fact that it had a name.

She gave her parents a confused look as they stepped off the train. “Are you sure this is the right place? They live here?

“Yup,” Twilight said. “Well, kinda. They don’t actually live in town. There’s a bit of a walk we’ve got to take first.”

Daybreak frowned. “Are you gonna make us actually walk there?”

Twilight chuckled and hopped off the platform. “What do you think?”

With a sigh, Daybreak resigned herself to her fate and started following Twilight. She tried to watch the scenery as they traveled, but she couldn’t actually find anything to watch. The landscape was barren, no grass, no trees, no foliage of any kind. Every so often she’d see a bird fly overhead, but aside from that, all there was to look at was… Rocks.

Thankfully, the walk was short, and a few minutes later they started to see the first signs of a party. As they rose up over the top of a hill, balloons and streamers rose to meet them, and with them came the sounds of music and laughter. There were banners, flashing lights, even a massive inflatable castle, although it stood empty. In the middle of it all was a tiny, well cared for home painted a soft shade of grayish pink that almost blended into the ground around it.

In front of the house, the yard was filled with all sorts of partying necessities, with empty picnic tables and a buffet of food, plus a long table that was already stuffed with presents despite the fact that it looked like almost none of the guests had arrived. Aside from Pinkie and Fluttershy, there were two ponies there that Daybreak didn’t recognize. It was a far cry from the crowds Twilight had been expecting.

A minute later, Pinkie noticed them approaching and gasped excitedly enough to guarantee that the other ponies all looked up to see what she’d seen. “Hey, guys!” She shouted over the music. “C’mon, get over here! Hurry up!”

The group picked up their pace a bit, and soon they were in the party. Twilight and Chrysalis walked up and joined the table of ponies while Daybreak glanced around, searching for Angel, but Angel seemed to be nowhere in sight. Eventually, she gave up and went to sit between her parents at the table.

“See, Limestone?” Pinkie was talking to one of the ponies Daybreak didn’t know. “I told you there was a pre-party.”

“And I told you I didn’t care,” Limestone replied. “I could be getting work done right now!”

As they bickered, Fluttershy looked past Twilight with a kind smile and got Daybreak’s attention. “Hey, Daybreak,” she whispered. “Glad you made it.”

“Hi, Fluttershy!” Daybreak replied. “Where’s Angel?”

“Oh, she’s around,” Fluttershy said. “She should be—Oh! There she is.” Fluttershy waved to someone behind Daybreak, and Daybreak wheeled around to see Angel standing there with an unenthusiastic look on her face.

“Hey,” Angel said.

Daybreak grinned wide. “Hey! Happy birthday!”

“Thanks. C’mon, let’s go hang out.”

“Yeah, sure!” Daybreak started to get up, but before she could Twilight wrapped a leg around her to stop her.

“Wait up a second,” Twilight said. “I wanna introduce you!”

“Can’t it wait?” Daybreak asked.

“It won’t take long,” Twilight said. She pointed across the table at the ponies Daybreak didn’t know. “So, that’s Limestone. She’s Pinkie’s big sister.”

“Yo,” Limestone said with a nod. “Watch yourself around the farm. Angel knows the rules.”

The pony beside Limestone smiled brightly and waved. “And I’m her wife! My name’s Coco Pommel, but you can just call me Coco if you want!”

“Um… It’s nice to meet you both,” Daybreak said awkwardly.

“Yeah, sure,” Limestone said. “C’mon, Twilight, let the kid run off. She doesn’t wanna listen to our bull—” She was cut off by a prod and an angry look from Coco.

“Yeah, okay, you can go, Daybreak,” Twilight said. “Have fun, you two! And come back around when the rest of the guests are here!”

“Uh-huh,” Daybreak said. “See you lat—” There was a rush of wind, and a wave of darkness poured over Daybreak, stealing her from the world around her. When the darkness cleared, she was somewhere else, somewhere dark and musty that would’ve been entirely uninviting if not for the party supplies set up haphazardly around the room, including a little table that was the perfect height for them to sit around. “—er. Geez, Angel, don’t you think you’re being kinda impatient?”

“Whatever,” Angel said. She went and sat at the table, and Daybreak sat across from her. “I wanna see what you got me.”

“Seriously? We’ve barely even said hi!”

“Yeah, okay, hi,” Angel said. “Look, sorry, it’s just been bugging me. I stopped being able to see you for a bit earlier, and I don’t like not knowing stuff.”

Daybreak raised an eyebrow. “You were watching me look for presents?”

“I watch everything,” Angel said. “Or, at least, I thought so. Quit stalling.” She tapped hard on the table. “Cough it up.”

Chill, dude,” Daybreak told her as she took off her saddlebags and dropped them on the table. “I was gonna give it to you early anyway.” She opened up the clasp on the bag and started digging around until she found the vial and pulled it out. Then, grinning proudly, she pulled it out and presented it to Angel.

Angel grabbed it and peered at it curiously for a long moment. Finally, she looked at Daybreak and tilted her head. “What is it?”

“It’s magic!” Daybreak clapped her hooves together excitedly. “I got it from Discord. He said it’s chaos magic, like he uses.”

Angel’s eyes went wide. “Seriously? How’d you get him to give you that?

“He just kinda did,” Daybreak told her. “He said he thought you’d be good at it or something.”

Angel laughed. “Idiot. You can’t just give this stuff away.”

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is he must think I’m stupid,” Angel said. “I’ve heard enough stories from my mom to know what this stuff can do. Here, look.”

Angel grabbed the cork keeping the vial shut in her teeth and yanked it out. Then, she upturned the liquid onto the table, spilling out almost all of it. As soon as it hit the table it started to react. Strange, plastic roots started to spread out from the legs of the table and into the ground. They snaked their way across the room in all directions, filling the floor with a spiderweb of roots. Then, a few feet away from them, some of the roots started to rise up. They grew together, wound around themselves, and grew into an exact copy of the table they were sitting at. Then a third table sprouted up, and a fourth, wherever there seemed to be room.

Eventually, the roots ran out of space to grow, but they weren’t done. All around the edges of the room, they broke out past the walls and into the outside world, off to spread wherever they could.

“Woah…” Daybreak’s jaw fell open. “What the…”

Angel stuck the cork back in and lowered the vial. “Well, that’s gonna be a problem later. Whatever, though, that wasn’t the point. Check it out.”

With the cork firmly in place, Angel grabbed the nearly-empty bottle firmly and started to shake it as hard as she could. The liquid inside started to churn and bubble, swirling around in a torrent of magic, and when she finally stopped shaking it, the vial was once again full.

“What?” Daybreak stared at the vial. “How the heck did you do that?”

“It’s chaos magic,” Angel said. “What’s more chaotic than endless chaos magic?