Daybreak

by Leafdoggy

Chapter 6

A few days had passed since the incident with Applebloom, and things had been peaceful. Daybreak had been calm and reserved, and Twilight and Chrysalis were enjoying the brief reprieve from the chaos.

When Twilight went into the nursery to pick Daybreak up one morning, though, she was met with an empty crib.

Twilight was long past the point of panic at that sight. Daybreak just liked to play hide and seek. Twilight quickly scanned all the toys and such that were scattered about the crib, looking for what was out of place.

She didn’t see anything. “Daybreak?” She called out and glanced around. Just to double-check, she went through the entire crib, examining every stuffed animal and toy one by one, but Daybreak definitely wasn’t there.

Then she remembered that Daybreak had figured out how to fly.

With a chuckle, she turned and started to scan the room. “I know you haven’t figured out how to open doors,” she said. “You’re here somewhere.”

She started to stalk around the room, looking under bottles and behind pictures and making a show of the search. “Where could she be,” she wondered aloud. “On the dresser? No, not there. The changing table? That’s empty. Hmm…”

She put a hoof to her chin and glanced around. Then she lit up with an idea, wildly exaggerating her expressions, and skipped across the room.

There was a little bookshelf in one corner, filled with picture books and puzzles. Twilight hadn’t quite memorized what should be on the bookshelf, but she was reasonably confident there’d only be one of each book, and sure enough, there was one that she saw two copies of.

She couldn’t help but be impressed, and a little proud, that Daybreak had had the foresight not to hide right next to the book she was copying.

Daybreak popped out of her disguise with a giggle as soon as Twilight pulled her out. Twilight laughed with her and pulled her into a hug. “You silly thing,” she said. “It’s gonna be a nightmare when you figure out how to open doors.”

From there, she got Daybreak ready for the day and took her out into the throne room. Chrysalis was already there, sitting lazily in her throne as some wealthy stallion droned on about something she clearly had no interest in.

“Oh, Twilight!” Chrysalis relaxed visibly as Twilight took her own seat, Daybreak nestled in her lap. “Perhaps you have some insight for this pony’s dilemma?”

Twilight laughed. “I can try. What’s the issue?”

The stallion cleared his throat and turned to Twilight. “Good morning, Princess,” he said. “I am—”

“Gah!” Daybreak cut him off with a loud, squealing noise.

“Daybreak, please don’t interrupt others,” Twilight said quietly. “I’m sorry,” she told the stallion, “what was that?”

“I…” He nodded and cleared his throat again. “As I was saying, my name is Star Thistle. I own the Canterlot Botanical Gardens, and I was hoping that—”

“Bah!” Daybreak cut in again. She giggled and clapped her hooves together at the stallion’s startled reaction. “Gah!”

“Daybreak,” Twilight said sternly. “That’s very rude of you!” She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Sorry, sorry, um… Star Thistle. The gardens?”

“Yes,” the stallion said slowly, having been thrown off of his rhythm. “Well, attendance has been down, and I wanted to host a—”

“Mmm… Bah!” That was the loudest one yet, and the stallion jumped in shock. Thrilled with herself, Daybreak stood up in Twilight’s lap and started to hop excitedly. “Bah! Bah! Bah!”

Twilight shook her head. “Chrysalis, could you please take her into the other room?”

“Of course,” Chrysalis said, happy for the excuse to leave. She stood up from her throne, but as soon as she did Daybreak jumped out of Twilight’s lap and dashed across the throne room to hide behind the stallion.

Twilight groaned. “I am so sorry about this. She’s never like this.”

“It’s… It’s quite alright,” the stallion said, eyeing Daybreak apprehensively. “She’s just a child, I understand that she—”

“Bah!”

The stallion huffed. “Does she not like it when I talk? I can’t fathom how I could’ve offended her enough to prompt such distaste.”

“Bah!” Daybreak laughed and hopped in place, even as Chrysalis approached her. “Bah! Bah!”

Then she lit up her horn.

Twilight scrambled to get up, but Chrysalis was already there, and by the time Twilight got to her hooves Chrysalis had scooped her up and teleported away. Twilight was left standing there, exasperation clear on her face as she tried to figure out what to do.

Twilight wrapped up the meeting as quickly as she could, which more or less meant giving the stallion everything he wanted, and hurried to the nursery to meet up with Chrysalis.

In the room, Chrysalis was sitting on the floor quietly reading a book. Daybreak was in her crib, glowering at anything that moved.

“Um…”

“She’s in time out,” Chrysalis explained.

“Ah.” With a sigh, Twilight went and sat beside Chrysalis. “She’s getting worse.”

“Mm-hm,” Chrysalis hummed. “I’m starting to question if she’ll grow out of it.”

“After Flurry Heart, I feel like she’d stop if we actually let her do it and she figured out that it always hurts, but… You’re right, without being able to go that far, she might need something more.”

Daybreak pounded on the floor of her crib. “Bah! Eat!”

“We should get some help,” Chrysalis said, ignoring Daybreak. “Call someone in.”

Twilight nodded. “Thorax?”

Chrysalis shook her head. “I don’t think metamorphosed changelings have the… hunger. Thorax probably wouldn’t have any idea what to do.”

“Hmm… Do you think it’s bad enough to justify pulling Fluttershy away from her work?”

“That is what I’ve been thinking,” Chrysalis said. “It’s not like there are any scholars on half-pony-half-changelings. The only ponies I know with the talent for the unknown are her and Meadowbrook.”

“We could call in Meadowbrook.”

“Do you know where she is?”

Twilight sighed. “No… Okay. We’ll call—”

There was a soft knock on the door. It was so quiet they could hardly tell it was actually on the door into the nursery.

Twilight got up to answer it. When she opened it, her eyes went wide. “Well, that was fast.”

On the other side of the door stood Fluttershy, wearing a meek, sheepish smile. “Um… Hi, Twilight. Did you need something?”

“Yeah, uh… Come on in.” She stepped aside, and Fluttershy walked in past her. “Do you just listen in on conversations sometimes?”

Fluttershy gasped. “No, of course not! I just… Well, I can’t really help but pay attention when I hear my name.”

Twilight laughed and shook her head. “I’ll never get used to you being so… Weird.”

Weird was, by all accounts, a massive understatement. Fluttershy had moved away some years ago to Trotsylvania, a secretive little town hidden away in a bog. It was a strange town, full of magic, mystery and monsters, and her time there had not been subtle in the ways it had changed her.

The physical changes were the most obvious. It was impossible to ignore how the color had drained from the tips of her mane and tail, leaving only an inky blackness, or how that same darkness now shone through cracks that scarred her milky-white eyes. She was a bizarre creature to behold, but she had embraced it, made it her own, and now it was as much a part of her as the pink of her mane or the yellow of her coat.

The more profound changes were invisible and abstract. She’d tapped into unknown depths, and those depths had taken the chance to seep into her. Now, she and they were one and the same, a connection that came with terrors and strengths that Fluttershy had never found the end to.

So, suffice it to say, she was weird.

Fluttershy was standing by the bars of the crib, looking into Daybreak’s grumpy face. “Hey, baby,” she said softly. “Have you been a bad girl?”

Daybreak frowned. “Eat!”

“You’re welcome to try,” Fluttershy said as she turned away. “Good morning, Chrysalis. I hope you’ve been well.”

“For the most part,” Chrysalis said. “I must admit, though, I’m not happy about this.”

“We all have to ask for help sometimes,” Fluttershy told her. “There’s no shame in that.”

“And we do need help,” Twilight added as she walked over. “We don’t know what to do, Fluttershy. We thought she’d stop after getting so upset over hurting Flurry Heart, but now she’s riling ponies up just to try and feed off of them. That’s just… Well, it’s not good, Fluttershy.”

“Of course,” Fluttershy said. “I’d be happy to help. There is one thing, though.”

Twilight frowned. “What?”

“It’s not likely to be quick and easy,” Fluttershy said, “and I can’t be away from my town for that long.”

Twilight sighed in profound disappointment. “Of course. Right. I’m sorry, Fluttershy, I didn’t mean to impose on you like that.”

“No, no, I want to help!” Fluttershy told her quickly. “I just can’t do it here. Could she visit me for a few days?”

“Oh.” Twilight looked up at Fluttershy. “Oh! Yeah, of course! Um, just let us say goodbye really quickly.”

“Of course,” Fluttershy said.

Twilight scurried over to the crib and leaned down so she could be at eye level with Daybreak. Chrysalis got up slowly and walked over to join her, although she didn’t bother to lean down.

“Okay, sweetie, you’re gonna go stay with Fluttershy for a bit, okay?” Twilight said. “This isn’t because we’re mad at you, though. We both still love you, okay?”

Daybreak, still grumpy, just pouted at her.

“Daybreak, you’re going to be upset if you don’t properly say goodbye,” Chrysalis said.

“Humph,” Daybreak grumbled.

Chrysalis sighed and lifted Daybreak up out of the crib to give her a hug. “Fine, but we do love you. We’ll see you soon.”

Twilight took Daybreak, gave her a long hug and several kisses, and then passed her over to Fluttershy. “Thank you so much for this.”

“It’s nothing,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “We’ll love having her there.”

Twilight nodded, and then they all fell silent. For a moment, they just looked awkwardly at each other.

Fluttershy cleared her throat after a bit. “Could you, um… Turn the lights out?”

“Oh, right.” Twilight flicked the switch, and the room was cast into darkness.

A second later, when the lights flicked back on, Fluttershy was gone, along with Daybreak.

Also gone was the crib, the dresser, the bookshelf, and everything else that had been in the room just a moment before.

“Thorough,” Chrysalis said.

Twilight shook her head with a smile. “I still think it’s weird.”

Author's Note:

Sorry about the infodump in the middle there. I know it's kinda a lot, and it's very "tell" and not "show," but I wanna be able to use Fluttershy as she is in this au, and doing so needs at least some context to make sense.

If you're interested in reading about wtf happened to Fluttershy, you can check out that story here. Just be mindful of the content tags.

Comments

[Myrkin]

“It’s gonna be a nightmare when you figure out how to open doors.”

Just like the velociraptors were. :P

[Leafdoggy]

10142506
You've solved my puzzle. She was never a pony or a changeling. She was a dinosaur the whole time.

[RandomGuy101]

10142554
WHAT?! Are you making a joke, or are you serious? I can't tell.

[Leafdoggy]

10142568
I am extremely joking :P

[RandomGuy101]

10142589
Ok, phew. Changeling/pony creature thing, got it.

[Razzy]

Fluttershy has become the ultimate lvl 5 goth!