Daybreak Tries to Ship

Daybreak hummed to herself as she stepped back into her office, unloading her bag full of stationary all over her desk. PVA glue, construction paper and glitter, with some pots of brightly coloured paint to top it all off. She cleared a pile of comparatively unimportant paperwork off of the desk to give herself space, before settling down to start work.

With a pencil, Daybreak sketched a fairly impressive likeness of herself and Meteor, painstakingly spacing them out so that they could be drawn blatantly holding hands. Daybreak let out a quiet little squee as she looked the picture over, beaming at her handiwork.

Oh, this is going to be great! she thought to herself, carefully going over her sketch with ink to create the line work.

She worked carefully, painting, gluing and painting as she stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth in concentration. With painstaking accuracy she actually painted over the lineart she’d produced, resulting in a rather well-coloured picture of the two of them walking down a sunny path hand-in-hand. Daybreak had, of course, made certain to include her sweet little muzzle stripe in the picture to prevent any misinterpretation, and added the words “I LOVE YOU! PLEASE BE MY SPECIAL SOMEPONY” as an afterthought, in big bold letters.

Daybreak knew Meteor pretty well by now. He’d taken her quite literally under his wing when she’d joined Seafire’s squad, and was a wonderful friend as well as a hard-headed tactician. The plans that he, Seafire and Daybreak had concocted between themselves had kept them alive in spite of their enemies’ best efforts, and Meteor had saved her life more times than she could readily count. On top of that, he had the kind of sculpted body that Daybreak adored, the big arms and soft touch that made it easy for him to pick her up bodily and hold her close to his chest for ages on end. Those abnormally large wings could wrap around her entire body, and she’d never had a better hug in her life. He really was a sweet stallion with a great heart.

But oh boy, was he stupid sometimes.

Finally, Daybreak finished up her little card, leaving it to dry on the desk as she leaned back in her chair. Now all she needed to do was slip it into his bunk in his quarters and wait for him to find it. Of course, she still had to write a stupidly soppy love note inside the carefully prepared card, but that could wait until all of the paint and glitter dried out.

Her ears perked up as someone knocked on her office door, and with a squeaky little yawn she got up and stretched before peeking out of the keyhole to see who was disturbing her. This was, after all, Daybreak time.

“Who is it?” she began, but she fell deathly silent as she heard a familiar masculine cough from the far side of the door.

Daybreak’s heart dropped into her stomach as she caught sight of an oversized light wing immediately outside the office. No one else had wings that size. No one.

Oh god no what do I do…

“Erm, Daybreak? Yeah, it’s me,” Meteor replied, his boots scuffing against the tile floor outside as he shifted restlessly from one foot to the other. “I was wondering if you had a moment to talk…”

“Er...what do you want?” she cried, looking around for a place to stash that card. There was nowhere inconspicuous to hide it, except possibly in the drawers of her desk, but that was where she was keeping her sugar cube stash. Surely she couldn’t fit the card and her many pilfered sugar cubes in there, could she?

“I was just gonna...look, is this a bad time? I can come back later…” Meteor asked, as Daybreak desperately tried to stuff the card into the drawer. There simply wasn’t room, so overloaded with sugary treats as it was. She had to make a choice, and fast…

“N...no!” Daybreak squeaked back. “Come in! Let’s talk! Feel free to come inside...I mean...come in…”

Meteor opened the door and froze as he caught sight of a frazzled Daybreak sitting behind her desk, clutching an oddly familiar jar.

“Is...is that the sugar cube supply from the canteen?” he asked.

Daybreak looked down at it blankly, before slowly setting it down on the floor next to her chair. Out of sight, out of mind.

“Never mind that now,” Daybreak said quickly, clasping her hands together on her desk and flashing him a wide, innocent grin. “Come on and sit down on my couch, okay? Go ahead and tell me what’s up.”

As Meteor sat down on the little leather therapy couch, Daybreak gave him a quick once-over. He really was gorgeous, with that perpetually worried look on his face, that longer-than-regulation hair, and those wings that extended and retracted a little whenever he shrugged. Best of all were his bright green eyes that Daybreak had serious trouble ripping her gaze off of. If he wasn’t such a dense moron, he’d be perfect.

One heavy moment of silence later, Meteor cleared his throat.

“Erm...Day?”

“Mhmm?”

“Are you okay? You’re staring, like, a lot…”

“Oh!” Daybreak squeaked, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes as she busied herself with pretending to organise that paperwork. “Er...sorry...you just...I just...so, what’s eating you?” she finished, somewhat pathetically.

Meteor gave her a long look, before dropping his own gaze down to his boots and chuckling nervously. “You’re really cute sometimes, Daybreak. You know that?”

He thinks I’m cute!

“Oh, stop!” Daybreak giggled, hiding behind a pile of forms to conceal her bright red cheeks. “Okay, seriously, keep going. You didn’t just come here to call me cute...did you?”

Meteor definitely suspected something. Even with her face concealed, Daybreak’s ears had gone bright pink, and they were poking out from behind the forms in full view of the enormous stallion. Meteor shook his head, laying down on the couch and waiting for Daybreak to re-emerge.

“Nah, my problem’s a bit more...girly…” he said, pulling his wings around him as he realised how that sounded. “I mean...er...not a girly problem…like, a problem with girls...not that I have a problem with girls...like, a problem talking to them…”

“You wanna start again?” Daybreak asked, peeking out from over her paperwork. “It’s just that you…”

“...kind of messed that up?” Meteor finished for her, holding his wing up a little higher over his face as he buried his muzzle in the feathers. “Er...yeah, lemme start again. Basically...I like a girl...a lot...and I...kinda need you…”

Daybreak froze, jaw hanging loose as she peeked out at him again. Those big green eyes of his were fixated on her with real worry. Was he seriously asking her…?

“I...you need me?” Daybreak asked, knuckles going white as she clung to the edge of a desk. “Like, you need me to help you...get a girlfriend? I mean, I know someone who might be just right for you…”

“Oh, no, I mean, I’ve had my eye on someone for a while,” Meteor scoffed, running his fingers up and down the leading edge of his wing as he looked away. “Er...I feel...really close to her, actually…”

Daybreak remained silent, shuffling closer. Wow, all of the work she’d gone to to make that card, and now he was going to confess that he was into her all this time? Well, hey, she was happy to take it! It was about time he told her how he really felt!

“I...think I’m in love,” Meteor finished. “And...I need you, Daybreak. There’s no one else in the world who’s as friendly, helpful and caring as you are...”

Daybreak sat on the edge of her seat, giving a little squee as she eagerly swung her legs back and forth.This was the best day ever! Boy, he’d taken his time and he was still too nervous to just straight-up tell her, but it was enough!

“So let me guess,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady, “You really like someone…” she winked, “...and you want some help from li’l old me to help you work up the courage to tell her how you really feel. Do I get to know who the lucky girl is?”

“Well...er...you probably already know…”

“Oh, I do, but come on, indulge me…” Daybreak said silkily, coming out from behind her desk and sitting down at the end of the couch. She ran her fingers up Meteor’s leg, shivering slightly out of pure excitement as she looked up at him. Her whole face felt so hot that she had to take a moment to make sure that steam wasn’t pouring out of her ears. This couldn’t be happening…

“Well...fine…” Meteor sighed, hiding behind his shivering wing. Now it was his turn to go bright red around the ear-tips. “She’s really close to me…”

Daybreak shuffled a little closer, nodding eagerly.

“And she’s got the most gorgeous golden eyes…” Meteor continued.

“Like mine?” Daybreak asked softly, batting her eyelashes.

“Yeah… exactly like yours, actually…”

“Oh my goodness…” Daybreak said in a very small voice indeed. “Go on, keep going. Tell me more…”

“Well, she’s super fluffy when she gets nervous, even though she won’t admit it…” Meteor chuckled, peeking out between his primary feathers at his soft, fuzzy counsellor. Daybreak pouted as she looked down at herself. Sure enough, it looked like she’d been playing with static electricity all morning.

“No she doesn’t,” Daybreak huffed, pouting and crossing her arms. “Get to the good stuff, buddy boy.”

“Right, well...she’s also super pretty and has the most gorgeous blonde hair,” Meteor continued, slowing down now as he seemed to realise just how deep into his little gushing speech he’d gotten.

Daybreak twirled a few locks of her own hair around an index finger, wiggling on her seat out of pure excitement.

“And...tell me, what would you do if she were here...right now...and had heard all of this?” Daybreak asked, practically whispering as she leaned in closer.

“I...well, I mean, I’d wanna tell her that I really like her...and...that I’d really like to kiss her…” Meteor whispered back, peeking out above his wing and smiling weakly.

Daybreak leaned right in, shuffling even closer so that their muzzles were inches apart. “Really? You wanna tell her exactly how you feel? It’s nice to show a little initiative. I mean, it’s a great way to woo someone…”

“It is?”

“Oh yeah…” Daybreak said with a grin. “It’d sure as hell work on me. Now, why don’t you just come out with it and let me know just how you feel, hmm?”

Neither of them spoke for a time, as each looked into the other’s eyes and contented themselves with merely attempting to control their breathing. Daybreak leaned a few inches closer, hoping that he’d just give up on playing coy and kiss her already. Watching him open and close his mouth and try to cope with the tension and nerves was just so adorable, and it helped Daybreak cope with her own tension. She was in danger of having her arm collapse underneath her, and if that happened...she might pitch forward and smooch him…

“Daybreak...”

“Meteor…”

“I think that I’m in love with your sister,” Meteor finished, his eyes lit up with relief as he finally got his confession out. He smiled proudly, clearly happy that he’d managed to get that out on the table, but it faded after a moment when he caught sight of Daybreak’s devastated face.

“Er...are you okay?”

“N...I mean, yeah, I’m fine…” Daybreak squeaked, visibly deflating as she sat back on the couch. “So...you like Seafire? I mean, that’s...everyone likes her, you know?”

“Yeah, I know, but...I figured that you could probably help me work out how best to ask her, you know?” Meteor said. “I mean, you may not know this about me, but I’m not exactly the most switched-on guy when it comes to girls…”

Daybreak looked back at him, blowing a strand of hair out of her face as two earnest green eyes peered worriedly back at her.

“And...you want me to help you...get together with her?” Daybreak croaked, forcing a smile.

“I mean, you don’t have to…”

“Would it make you happy?” Daybreak asked, cutting him off.

“I...yeah, it’d make me super happy…” Meteor trailed off, tilting his head as he watched Daybreak shiver and look away.

“Yeah, well, consider it done,” Daybreak said, standing up and returning to her desk to hide behind her paperwork again. “Look, I know a whole lot about Seafire, and she values honesty, so you might wanna just...work out what you’re gonna say, and tell her.”

“So...write it down?” Meteor asked, sitting up on the couch and pulling his knees up to his chest.

“Exactly,” Daybreak said, looking down at the woodwork of her desk and nodding vaguely. “If you really get nervous, you can always just...make a card and write down how you feel…”

“Yeah…” Meteor whispered, getting to his feet and beaming. “I can totally do that. Maybe I’ll make it super pretty and use paint and glitter or something. I dunno, do you think that she’d like it?”

“To...totally…” Daybreak sniffed, plastering a very odd smile across her face as she opened the drawer again. “I mean, it’s what I’d do if there was someone who I’d love to go out with…”

“Actually, I meant to ask you something about that…” Meteor commented, stepping around the desk and frowning as Daybreak hurriedly slammed the desk drawer. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you go out with anyone. Are you not the dating type, or…?”

“No, no...I mean...it’s not like that,” Daybreak snorted, deliberately avoiding his gaze and pretending to busy herself with her forms. “In fact, I’d love to go out with someone, especially if it was someone exactly like you. I’ve had my eye on a guy like that for a while, now...he just...doesn’t feel the same way…”

“Ouch. That’s...actually pretty rough,” Meteor whistled. “Did you try making him a card? Maybe he’d get it through his dense skull.”

“Well, I mean, I kind of just want him to be happy, and he’s told me that he likes someone else, so...yeah, I made him a card, but I don’t really see the point of giving it to him anymore…”

“Well, that sucks,” Meteor huffed, completely missing the look Daybreak gave him. “Don’t worry, Daybreak. Lots of guys are into...you know...your sort of body type. You’re bound to land someone sooner or later. I know you can do it!”

“Wow, you should be doing my job!” Daybreak said dully, wiping her eyes. “You’re so good at making me feel better…”

“Aw, thanks Daybreak,” Meteor snickered, giving her a grateful hug. Daybreak leaned into it, wrapping an arm around his midsection and closing her eyes as she struggled to keep her sobbing quiet.

“Er...Day?”

Damn…

“What?”

“You’re kind of really teary and sniffly and...your mascara’s kind of running.” Meteor said blankly, clearly unsure about how to proceed. “Are you...okay?”

Daybreak drew back, wiping her eyes and fixing a smile on her face again as she nodded.

“Yeah, I just have...allergies. To...shampoo…” Daybreak croaked. “You should probably get moving. I’m gonna be a puffy-eyed mess in a few minutes if you’re not careful.”

“Oh, gosh, sorry!” Meteor squeaked, taking a step back. “I mean, of course you’re allergic to shampoo. That explains why your hair looks like that…”

Daybreak froze, looking up at her mane.

“I...it’s not that bad, is it?” she asked. Her hair was a darker shade of blonde than Seafire’s, but still...

“Oh, no! I mean, it’s great! I just...I thought that that’d explain why your hair’s all...messy...and...stuff...and...I’m just gonna go now…” Meteor said, retreating towards the door.

Daybreak stared at her paperwork anew, but at the moment the big stallion laid his hand on the doorknob to leave, she tugged her desk drawer open.

“Meteor, wait!” she squeaked, absolutely in tears at this point.

“Is...everything okay?” Meteor asked, pausing and looking round at her.

Daybreak stared into those bright eyes of his for a time, her own mouth opening and closing wordlessly as tears ran down her cheeks. Her makeup ran pretty obtrusively, and she looked like a total wreck. She grabbed the card, making to pull it out from the drawer, but it was stuck in amongst the other clutter.

Damn it, the glue didn’t dry. Noooo why are you doing this to me…

As Daybreak gave it a frustrated tug, it tore in half in her hand, and in the end she only managed to produce the top half of the heartfelt little card. She stared at it for a time, gave a sigh, and sat back in her seat.

“Never mind,” she mumbled, shooing Meteor out the door with a wave of her hand. “Just...go…”

As Meteor’s footsteps in the hall outside faded to nothingness, Daybreak blew her nose and looked self-consciously down at her body, then up at her hair. Finally, with a certain resignation, she picked up the sugar cube jar and started stuffing her face.

After all, sugar cubes never called her fat or suggested that she had dirty hair or that she wasn’t the hot sister.

Besides, she’d need the quick energy, because this wasn’t over, not by a longshot.