//------------------------------//
// 5 - Ripples 
// Story: From Dusk to Night 
// by KuroiTsubasaTenshi 
//------------------------------//

“C’mon, Terra, stop dragging your hooves.” I glanced behind me. Terra was a full five gallops behind, despite keeping pace with me just a block earlier. But now, just a few feet from the Seapony’s door, she was shuffling forward, like a foal dreading homework.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” she mumbled, staring past me—and the door.

I peered at Terra, trying to decide if she was attempting to hide some kind of injury or illness. But, at least at first glance, nothing seemed particularly off. “You going to be okay?”

Giving me a half-smile, Terra broke into something resembling a trot. “Yep. I’ve just had a long day. I’ll be fine after a few drinks.”

“So right away.” I grinned and stuck out my tongue.

“Ha. Ha.” Terra could barely hold her attempt at an unimpressed glare before cracking into a broad smile. “Yeah, okay, probably.”

The night was young and the bar had only begun to fill up. A thin layer of chatter hung in the air, though our table was clearly the noisiest, courtesy of Merriweather.

"Come on!" Merriweather teased, seeming not to care that Starshadow was only a half foot away from her. Two glasses levitated free of the army of Buzzards and whiskies that occupied the table. "Mahogany here has shown me the finest of Equestrian tastes!"

Mahogany grinned at Merriweather and raised his glass. He turned to his right and ribbed Night Flurry, who jumped, just about spilling the table's lone tea cup. "Hear that, Flurry? My drink's popular with them classy ponies too!"

"That fact that you recommend it does not help its case." Starshadow frowned.

I plopped down beside Mahogany. Terra didn't even bother before she was muzzle-deep in one of the unclaimed whiskies.

"Hey, Terra! Dusky! You're just in time!" Mahogany clapped a forehoof across my shoulder. "Her Highness Merriweather is buyin' again!"

"Yeah, that's... uh, great." I subtly shuffled a few of the untouched glasses away from Terra.

"The greatest!" Terra burbled into her drink.

Night Flurry fidgeted with his tea cup. While he threw a glance our way every so often, his
gaze was firmly fixed upon Merriweather and Starshadow.

"Geez, lighten up, Sis'. This is a bar~."

"I am aware." Starshadow rolled her eyes. "Just as I am aware such things will not help you regain your honour."

"Hey, gotta build a fanbase before the heroic deeds mean anything." Merriweather waved her hoof.

Terra started laughing in a strange combination of amusement and derision.

Merriweather leaned over. “You’re supposed to wait until I tell a joke.”

"A thief talking about honour! That’s funny!" Terra brought her forehooves up on the table, rattling her empty glasses. For a second, I thought she might even climb over it to leap at Starshadow. A fire burned in her eyes, but it wasn't the hazy kind drunkards displayed before swinging a chair around. No, while the film of alcohol was beginning to form, it was more akin to that steely glare she'd given that poor filly the other day.

Starshadow glared back. "You would dare call me a thief?"

"Yeah! You... you sexy-stealing thief!" Terra slammed her hooves on the table.

I blinked. Everyone else at the table stopped dead.

"Siiiiis', you lied to me." Merriweather giggled. "You should've told me she was your type. I could've hooked you up with a nice mare back in Manehattan~."

"Terra." I sighed. "You can't just go around accusing people of 'stealing your sexiness'. It doesn't even qualify as a proper pick-up line."

"Technically, I just suppressed it." Starshadow glared at Merriweather in that sisterly way that said 'You're an idiot.'

Terra flailed at me, a proud grin painted across her face. "Told ya!"

"Wait, what?" I glanced from Terra to Starshadow and back. "That's a thing?'

"Yes. I made it for a certain somepony who lets her loins run off with her," Starshadow said in a complete deadpan. I stared at her for a few more seconds, but no laugh was forthcoming.

"Oh, is that all that does?" Merriweather tilted her head.

"What do you mean, 'is that all'? I shut down your libido."

Merriweather shrugged. "I just dispel it, anyway. But, geez Sis', I expected something more creative, like making beds turn my hair into tarantulas or making me speak alternating Griffon or even suddenly sprouting a—"

"Oooookay, I think we're getting a bit off topic," I cut in. This was already a headache without Merriweather wasting time on total absurdity. Not to mention that alarms were going off in my mind. They certainly didn't seem as knightly as Starshadow wanted us to believe. "Can somepony please fix this?"

Mahogany laughed as he turned to Terra. "Whatcha even need it for? You just try to make other ponies get busy."

"Oh, that's easy. I got it." Merriweather's horn lit up, as did Terra. The light grew more intense with each moment, rippling with power in a way that I'd only seen from Twilight.

"Whoa, hold on." I took a few steps backward. "Maybe we should do this outside."

"Nah, I got it. Just relax and it'll be over soon~."

The frequency of the distortions increased and Terra grimaced as her body appeared to displace around itself. The others began to back away as well.

"Stop! You're hurting her!" I yelled. But it was too late: the magic collapsed, which meant only one thing. "Every pony get down!"

Instinct took over and I dove under the nearest table, covering my head with my forehooves.

In the calm before the storm, I thought I heard Night Flurry’s voice, followed by a set of blue hooves appearing in front of the table. "Look out, Dusky!"

The ensuing 'pop' was blessedly underwhelming, though the table told a different story as it creaked and groaned under the pressure of the release.

But the worst were the cries of pain—Night Flurry's cries of pain—as he was forced back toward me, crashing into the table before crumpling to the ground. I couldn't help but stare, my body torn between anger and concern.

What was he thinking?!

I inched forward, a third contender, the dread of uncertainty, rising above the rest. Thankfully, its reign was short-lived, giving way to relief when I noticed Night Flurry’s chest was still rising and falling.

Poking my head out, I hoped to Celestia that I wouldn’t find a whole room full of downed ponies. The result was even more surreal.

Terra, Merriweather and Starshadow all still stood at the table, bearing expressions of confusion, contemplation and annoyance, respectively. None of them had any discernable injury. In fact, were it not for the frazzled manes and… what looked like an amalgamation of all the melted glasses clinging to the table, I might have thought the whole situation a hallucination.

Mahogany stood just a little forward from the other patrons, a ruffled coat the worst of his worries. And like the other patrons, his mouth was agape, forehooves rubbing at his eyes. I would have shouted ‘No, it’s not the alcohol!’ at them, but I had other concerns.

There was a thin smear of blood on the floor, leading up to Night Flurry, where he lay sprawled on his side. His topmost wing was spread, a couple of his primaries scraping across the stain.

“Night Flurry?” I whispered. When he didn’t respond, I nosed at his temple.

“Ugh…” he groaned.

“How do you feel? Can you move?”

“I… um…” He struggled to open his eyes, seeming to give up once they were half-open. “Fine, just fine.”

As he finished lying through his teeth, he pushed himself up, clenching them around a whimper. His wing curled, loosely clutching itself to his side.

“You are not fine.” I narrowed my eyes, intent on cutting through whatever twisted sense of pride would let him lie about his injury. “Let me see your wing.”

With a reluctant nod, he held his wing up. Small splatters of blood caked the feathers around several large, still-glowing splinters of wood, in a mess that sent a chill across my own wings. The damage seemed to end there, with the rest of his body free of marring. However, this did little to ease my wariness—I’d once been hit by magic that nearly killed me, with little more than a few singed feathers to show for it.

“We need to get you to a doctor.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but upon following my gaze to his wing, promptly clamped it shut.

Starshadow trotted over, her eyes tracing over Night Flurry. “I apologize for my sister’s rashness. May I?”

With a nod, Night Flurry extended his wing. It took all of ten seconds and a flash of magic before Starshadow turned her attention back to Night Flurry himself.

“I agree with Dusky Down’s assessment. You should see a physician immediately.”

“Wait,” Terra stumbled over, giving Starshadow an expectant look. “Can’t you use your knight powers to heal him or something?”

“Sure—” Merriweather began, her horn lighting up.

“No,” Starshadow said firmly. Her own magic leapt into being and Merriweather’s head flicked back, as though something had hit her in the forehead.

“What, why? It’s an easy spell.” Merriweather frowned.

“Do you not see it? His wounds are already saturated with magic. We do not want to risk repeating what injured him in the first place.”

Night Flurry slumped noiselessly to the floor, pulling my attention away from the Ostfriesens. His breathing had become uneven and his eyes barely more than slits.

“Look, can we argue later?” I let a bit of irateness leak into my voice. “He’s getting worse.”

Mahogany dashed for the door, calling over his shoulder, “I’ll get my cart!” 

---

It’s not often that I can say laziness and alcoholism helped save the day, but this was one of those times. Mahogany’s impatience had led to him flying directly to the Seapony after work and leaving the company cart behind it.

While a cargo cart wasn’t exactly the most ideal way to transport a hurt pony, the trip to the clinic was short enough that we made do.

The rest of the night was a blur, fragmented memories floating around my mind like scattered photographs. I remembered racing down the streets alongside Mahogany, keeping a close eye on Night Flurry as the others fell farther and farther behind. Then I was slamming through the clinic doors, yelling for help.

At some point, they’d stabilized him. I don’t even know what I was doing, but before they took him away for observation, he called to me. Then everything was overshadowed by anger, an urge to rant, held back only by my reasoning that he was delirious.

“Worth it,” was all he’d said. When all he’d done was throw himself in harm’s way. When all he’d accomplished was scaring us.

I didn’t know what to make of Merriweather or Starshadow anymore. I remember wanting to tell them to get away. But I didn’t have the energy; all I could do was give them a tired glare. Perhaps the awkward silence was enough. Starshadow eventually excused herself to go see Barkeep.

We were still wordless as the clinic staff kicked us out. Terra walked on the far opposite side from Merriweather. I couldn’t blame her.

There was a dawning realization, as the cold swept over me: snow was scheduled that night. 

Then I was in the weather office, hoping that somepony was on back-up. There wasn’t. Not a soul was around and I’d only even gotten in because I’d pilfered Night Flurry’s keys from his flight satchel. I don’t even remember who grabbed it, just that I’d counted myself lucky to have found the A-shaped bag pitched into the back of Mahogany’s cart.

With the storm already twenty minutes overdue, I was left with a choice: fly out to Rainbow Dash’s house and annoy her with extra admin work or get an early start on the work I knew she’d ask me to do, anyway.

While I’d worked through the night several times before, it’d always been for Winter Wrap Up and at the tail end of a planned team effort. This was my second full shift of the day, with just a short break that involved nearly getting blown up. Certainly not the worst I’d had, but by the last hour, it was really starting to wear on me.

Thankfully, the Everfree had been kind—a pretty surreal thought all on its own. What wild weather I remembered fighting had been token at worst.

I remember stumbling into my apartment, barely able to lock the door and shuffle over to my bed before crashing face first into it.

It was well after noon by the time I’d risen, which would have been an hour into my next shift. I probably would have bolted out of there too, if I hadn’t noticed the leaflet on the floor. My own flight satchel lay across the wooden boards, half-spilling out its contents, where I must have shrugged if off the night before.

Rainbow Dash’s mouth-writing was hastily scrawled all over the leaflet—a scheduling template—where my name was marked for the next five evenings.

After nibbling on some daisies and ensuring that I didn’t look like someone who’d just crawled out from under a train wreck, I decided I needed to work on my night weather efficiency. I certainly couldn’t count on the Everfree being merciful again for five nights in a row.

While I planned on interrogating Night Flurry, I had no idea how coherent he would be. So I decided a quick side trip to the library, to see if I could find any books, was in order.

There was just one flaw in my plan: getting into a conversation about magic with Twilight Sparkle does not ever result in a quick trip. Which isn’t to say I wasn’t grateful—she was one of the few ponies with the right talent to have a strong understanding of other tribes’ magic. It’s just that my mind was still a wee bit tired for a surprise lecture.

Nevertheless, by the end of it all, I was almost confident I knew enough to get by without even opening the book she’d given me. Still, it couldn’t hurt to ask Night Flurry for some less formal tips.

Once that was all settled, I could finally give him a piece of my mind.

The clinic was deathly quiet, a sure sign that Nurse Redheart was on duty. Even my light hoof steps seemed deafening against the polished floor. And here I’d thought the bright green walls were loud.

Murmurs touched my ears as I approached the door to Night Flurry’s room. I could pick out Terra and Mahogany, as well as bits of what sounded like Night Flurry. Rounding the corner, I hoped that they were the only ones there; I simply wasn’t ready to deal with the knights just yet.

The door was wide open, but I gave it a few taps to be polite. The room was a pretty standard clinic layout, with just a curtain, a night stand and a lamp to keep the bed company. Terra and Mahogany looked up from the foot of Night Flurry’s bed, while he tried to peek around them.

I put on a smile. “Hello, everypony.”

“E-evening, Dusky…” Night Flurry stammered, shrinking down behind Mahogany.

“Hey,” Terra and Mahogany both said in stereo.

“We were, uh, just talking about weather,” Terra continued.

“Right.” I was too tired to ask, so I simply nodded. “If it’s about the night shift, I’ve got it covered.”

“Oh. Th-thanks…” Night Flurry said. While he was still mostly hidden behind Mahogany, it wasn’t hard to picture him wilting. I almost didn’t feel bad. Almost.

I trotted over to the side of the bed, where I could see him. “Anything special you do compared to the day shift?”

His face scrunched up. “Um… I guess ponies don’t care about gathering clouds early. Maybe they just don’t see. B-but, it’s good when I have to spend a lot of time with the Everfree.”

“Anything else?”

He scrunched his face again. “I-I don’t think so.”

Great, guess I’d better hope Twilight’s techniques pan out. I nodded. “In any event, I’m glad to see you’re awake.”

“Umm... yeah.... I slept p-pretty much all day. Nurse said I was out for about fifteen hours... but... um... I can't sleep at all during the night…” He pawed at his blanket, as though contemplating trying to hide beneath it.

I nodded. "I'd be surprised if you could fall asleep again right after sleeping for fifteen hours."

“I’ve got a little something that can fix that.” Mahogany held out something that glinted in the light. It only took me a moment to realize it was his flask. Even Terra stared.

“Mahogany…” Rolling my eyes, I gave him a look.

“No?” He pointed it at Night Flurry, who just pulled away. “All right, your loss.”

And with that, he uncapped it and took a big swig.

“I.. um... Dusky?” Night Flurry continued to play with his sheets.

“Yes?” Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Terra taking the flask from Mahogany.

“I... I... wanted to thank you for everything you did. Nurse Redheart says you brought me in and made sure I was okay... and I just... um... thanks…” By this point, he’d practically tied his forehooves together.

A small smirk involuntarily formed on my lips. "What else was I going to do? Leave you at the bar?"

Night Flurry shrunk down, a bit of colour playing across his cheeks. “I... I guess not…”

“You really need to take better care of yourself so you don't end up in here again.”

“W-what do you mean... I thought I took care of myself just fine.” Night Flurry’s eyes shifted side-to-side.

The annoyance was back in force. With a sigh, I let my eyes narrow. “You jumped in front of an exploding wall of magic.”

“But... I... um... I did it to… I did it to protect you!” Night Flurry leaned forward with such suddenness that he almost fell off the bed. A forehoof each from Mahogany and I saved him from face-planting.

“Real smooth, Flurry,” Mahogany shook his head.

“Look, I know your heart was in the right place, but if you were really paying attention, you’d have noticed I was already under a table. Throwing yourself into the open like that was nothing short of foalish.” I tried to make my frown as obvious as possible so that he might finally get the message.

Frustratingly, Night Flurry smiled, looking past me, rather than at me. “It's.... it's who I am. I don't even know... I just... acted on instinct."

I should have guessed from the beginning, really. If that really was his first instinct, I had little doubt that he’d tried to join the guard, not to become a guard, but because he wanted to be a hero. By Celestia, what is it about me that attracts these kinds of ponies?

Not that that was any reason to write him off in my books. Though we had to go our separate ways, one of my friends, Blaze, had started out much like Night Flurry. But for all her recklessness, she was a mare with a strong sense of justice, the kind I could trust to always have my back. Had I not given her a chance, I would most definitely have been losing out.

And to be fair, perhaps it was my own past that made me see those traits as readily as I did. To say that I’d idolized Daring Do ever since I was a filly bordered on understatement.

I shook my head. “You can't rely entirely on instinct in dangerous situations. If you don’t learn when to let logic intervene, you'll end up putting yourself in unnecessary danger.”

“I... maybe you're right... but…” Night Flurry stared at the tiles beneath my forehooves. “It didn't feel unnecessary to me... I just... I couldn't bear the thought of you getting hurt... um... s-sorry…”

He still wasn’t getting it, but he’d left me an opening; I just had to choose my next words carefully. “I can see what you’re getting at, but think of it in reverse. You have friends and they don’t want to see you get hurt, either. So next time, put a little thought into your actions.”

Night Flurry’s eyes went wide and his jaw began to move on its own, slowly, wordlessly chewing away at his smile. “I... oh... you're right... it was pretty stupid of me… A-and about the shifts… I… I never wanted you to get stuck with them. S-sorry...”

Now I just had to point him in the right direction. I placed a hoof on his shoulder and gave him the teeniest, tiniest of smiles. “So long as you learn from your mistakes. We all make them, after all. As for the shifts, well, I’m used to getting shuffled around a lot, even if the night shift is out of the ordinary for me. Just promise me this kind of thing won’t happen again.”

“It... it's a boring shift... unless they planned some snow or something…” He was mid-nod when his eyes went wide and he started fidgeting with the sheets so intensely that I thought they were going to tear. “Oh, Luna… that was last night, wasn’t it?”

I nodded. “It was still manageable. More or less.”

Night Flurry slumped, his hooves completely still as his gaze drifted, trying to escape to somewhere, anywhere—and pulling mine along with it. They stopped on Terra.

Her lips were puckered, with eyes flitting expectantly between Night Flurry and I, as she anxiously tapped her forehooves together. She mumbled something just barely audible; were we not in the clinic, I doubt I would have even heard it. “Now, kisssss~.”

Just to the side, Mahogany was staring at her, his expression stuck in a weird place between, ‘Should do something to stop her or just break out laughing?’

I raised an eyebrow.

Night Flurry turned beet red. “Oh... um... you know what, I think, um... I think those injuries did more to me than I thought... I'm suddenly really tired, yep... definitely need to get some more rest..."

“Oh, come on!” Terra threw her hooves into the air.

“Yeah, this is over. I need to get to work soon, anyway. Seeya, Night Flurry. Let’s go, Terra,” I huffed and grabbed her tail between my teeth. Her meddling had crossed well into the realm of tasteless and it was time for a little chat.

“Hey! Don’t—” Terra protested as I dragged her toward the door.

Mahogany followed closely behind. “Get well, Flurry! I’ll bring some more ‘medicine’ tomorrow.”

Once we were all in the hall, I closed the door as quickly as I could without making a racket.

“Unbelievable. Are you trying to make everything as awkward as possible?” I glared at Terra.

“Uh... no?” She smiled back sheepishly.

“Then stop pushing us together like that. We’re just friends, stop trying to lead him on by proxy.”

Mahogany was rolling on the ground, snickering as he gasped for air. “Hahaha… What was that even? ‘Now kiss’? Pffffft!”

I sighed. “What am I going to do with you two?”

“Is this a bad time?” The voice of Pinkie Pie made us all jump.

I whirled to face Pinkie, who was standing just a few feet down the hall. She wore a lopsided blue party hat and was pushing a commandeered crash cart with a tray of cupcakes set on top. I couldn’t help but smile. Some people found Pinkie’s boundless energy overbearing, but it always calmed me. For all her wackiness, what was at her core was a whole lot of caring. And sometimes, just a little dose of that was all that I needed.

“Hi, Pinkie. What are you up to?”

“I’m trying out my new ‘Get Well Sooner’ Cupcakes program!” Pinkie Pie flourished. “I used to just wait outside to invite ponies to an ‘I Got Better’ party, but then I thought why wait when I can bring the cheer to everyone while they’re still sick?”

“Well, that’s quite nice of you.” I glanced down the hall, fairly certain I knew what Pinkie was about to say, but I liked to give her the benefit of the doubt. “I’m surprised Nurse Redheart let you do this, though,”

“Oh, she doesn’t know, but I’m sure she won’t mind.”

Since I was prepared, my smile barely dropped. “Er, right.”

“Anyway, was nice talking to you all, but these cupcakes won’t deliver themselves! Bye, Dusky! Bye, Terrabona! Bye, Mahogany!” She trotted toward Night Flurry’s door.

Terra and Mahogany gave each other dubious looks.

“Wait, Pinkie.” I tried to keep my voice low. Wouldn’t want to get her kicked out before she'd made her rounds. “I don’t think he’s ready for another visitor just yet. Maybe you should see all the other ponies first and check back with him later.”

“Okay dokey lokey! Bye-bye!” Pinkie didn’t even miss a step as she bounced toward the next room, humming a vaguely familiar tune.

I felt my lips creeps upward again as my mind sung along. Come on, everypony, smile, smile, smile...