I felt bad that I was so quiet on our flight into Cloudsdale. I should have spent the time talking to Dusky, but even her presence wasn't enough to distract me. All I could think of was how things would go wrong, and how big a mistake this was. Old thoughts and voices that crept into my mind, telling me I was wrong to do this. That I wasn't wanted.
I shook my head to clear out those thoughts, with only partial success. Those dark ideas had been gathering for years upon years, and only recently started to dissipate.
Still, even though I hadn't been there in years, I still remembered the way. The house was one of many within a row of homes in Cloudsdale. It looked much like those others, the light turquoise walls set amidst the sculpted cloud. The door was painted violet, with a small sign hanging from it bearing images of my parent's cutie marks, my dad's shield and my mom's star. I hesitated as I looked at that star, with its spotlight beaming downward.
I glanced back at Dusky, my heart going heavy in my chest. "Y-you don't have to go through with this if you don't want to. I'm asking too much of you."
She moved closer and nudged my chin up with her muzzle. "You're not. We're not taking on a bunch of Everfree monsters, it's your family."
The door was there, same as it had ever been. I could still remember pushing it open as a colt as I came home, but it was different. "I don't know... it... it looks like home, but it just... it doesn't feel like it anymore. She doesn't want to see me again, not after I ran like I did."
Dusky nudged my chin once more. "You'll be fine, Night. Just relax. Remember how happy Mint and your dad were? This will be the same."
I took one deep breath, then another, then knocked my hoof on the door. My hoof only landed once before the door opened. My mom stood there, waiting, eyes filled with tears.
"I... M-Mom..."
She stepped forward and wrapped her wings around me. "Shhh, it's alright, Night Light."
I pulled forward to hug her tight, everything spilling out. "I... I missed you so much."
She nodded. "I know. I missed you too. You were so close in Ponyville, yet so far away. But it's okay now. You're back."
I sniffed. "You... you knew I was in Ponyville?"
Mom squeezed and then released me, framing my face with her wings. "Of course I knew. You were lost. But I knew you didn't want to be found. It hurt my heart, but I knew it'd only force you further away if we reached out. You had to come home on your own."
I tried to shake my head, but her wings held firm. "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry."
"Shh, it's alright. Come inside and let's catch up." She lowered her wings and nodded her head past me at Dusky. "And of course you're welcome too, Ms. Down. I'm Guiding Light. I'd been hoping I'd get a chance to meet you."
Dusky bowed her head. "I'm glad to finally meet you as well."
Mom turned and stepped back into the house, leaving me speechless at the door.
Dusky stepped up to my side and planted a light peck on my cheek. "I told you it'd be fine."
I nodded slowly, then smiled at her as I recovered. "You did. Thank you."
We stepped through the door, though I hesitated, not quite sure what to expect. I felt lighter, just having walked back inside. Had Dusky not been standing besides me, I'd have felt like I was a colt again.
Dad came out from the kitchen, grinning wide. "Night, Dusky. I'm happy to see you both again, and in much more pleasant circumstances. I have to assume this isn't just a social call?"
I fidgeted a bit. It was true, I wasn't here just to drop in for a visit, but I still wanted to make it known I was here to stay, in a way. "Well, not exactly... I mean, I agreed to ask your advice on something for a friend, and I also want your help on something else, if you can. Beyond that... I just, I wanted to come home."
Dad chuckled. "I think I understand, Night. We can get to business, but I hope you'll stay for dinner first. We have a nearly full house tonight, but always room for two more."
My ears perked up. "Mom's been cooking?"
Dusky giggled besides me. "That sounds like a yes to me."
I could hardly contain my excitement and shot Dusky a grin. "Oh, um, well, yes, then!"
"Of course you will. I should get things ready." Mom leaned up to kiss my forehead, then walked past Dad into the kitchen.
With that, Dad grinned wide. "Excellent. Then let's go relax for a moment, shall we?" He glanced at Dusky. "Guiding has asked me to stay out of the kitchen today. She may have her hooves full, but she says in the kitchen I do more harm than good. Besides, somepony has to keep an eye on all you kids."
He led the way down the hall into the living room. It was mostly unchanged as well, though some of the furniture was different, and they were positioned differently than I remembered. A shaped cloud couch, similar to my own, sat in the center of the room, with a few fabric chairs facing it in a semi-circle. There was a lot of clutter on the ground, small toys and messes spread out over the living room, with the stairs up to the bedrooms right where I remembered them.
Along the walls were framed pictures, newspaper clippings and various awards from Dad's career. Beyond that were a montage of images of the rest of the family. Sun, Mint, Diamond, and Spring all had photos of important moments in their lives. Dusky stopped to look at the wall, lingering on photos of me. I knew there were picture of the day I got my cutie mark. I hoped there weren't any images of my days training with the guard.
A hoof lazily waved from the couch and Diamond's voice rose from amidst the cushions. "The prodigal son returns. And here I thought we'd finally scared him off for good."
Sun stepped carefully through the living room, her burnt-red mane pulled away from her eyes with a red bandana. She chuckled as she picked up some of the toys off the floor. "Well, no thanks to you, Di."
"Hush, girls. Be nice to your brother." Mom stepped in from behind the stairs, where the living room connected to the kitchen. She cradled a bowl in one wing, a spoon in the other, mixing as she stepped into the room. "He's been through a lot and the last thing any of us want is for him to leave again."
"You two have no idea how much he's been through." Mint chimed in as she descended the stairs. She first gave me a hug, then Dusky. "So good to see you both."
Dusky grinned as she hugged Mint back. "And to see you too."
I perked up, looking around the room at my sisters. "Oh, um, introductions! Dusky, the um, one on the couch is Diamond Wing. And she's Sun Smile. Diamond, Sun, this is Dusky. They're, um... maybe not quite monsters, but..."
"Monsters?" Diamond sprang up from her position on the couch, hovering in the living room. "Monsters! I'm insulted, Nighty! Come here, I'll show you a monster!"
She dived forward, grabbing me in a tight hug and almost crushing me. I tried to pull back, but she had already moved aside, pushing me forward with one hoof behind my neck. "Monster hug, now come on. Sit. Talk. Tell us all your embarrassing secrets, and we'll probably tell you all of Spring's."
I rolled my eyes as I took a seat. "Spring has no embarrassing secrets, they're all very public. Just the other day she was telling me about challenging stallions to a 'bubble off'."
Dusky tilted her head slightly, then laughed. "Well, they seem pretty friendly for monsters, Night."
I smirked at her, a lot of the nerves draining out of me as I motioned her over to sit down. "Yeah, on the surface, Dusky. Don't let your guard down."
Before she could make her way over, new voices came from upstairs. "That's it? Lame."
"Lame?! Nah, see, that's why he's so cool. You don't even know what he's capable of."
"Capable of being totally lame."
Mint shot me a wink, then whistled. "Private, front and center."
One of the voices stopped, and a small green blur shot down the stairs, ending his march directly in front of Mint with a frighteningly precise salute. "Yes, sir, Mom."
"Mom?" I raised an eyebrow at my sister, hearing Diamond snicker nearby.
Mint pointed a wing towards me. "That is your Uncle Night. Keep your wings to your sides. Half speed. Go."
The colt turned back and before I could ask, he collided with me, half speed still enough to take me by surprise as he hugged tight. "Oh, uh, hey there. You're... Mint's... son?" I glanced at Mint, who watched with a huge grin.
"Yessir. Private Custard." He released my leg, backing up and letting his wings flit in the air excitedly. "You're really Uncle Night? I knew it. You're awesome."
"I'm... awesome?"
One of the other voices followed from upstairs. "I bet he's not really a spy. You made that up Custard. It's total horse flop."
Sun hissed. "Language, Speed! Where did you learn that?"
Speed, a light red colt, shrugged as he kicked one of the loose toys on the ground. "Aunt Spring."
"Of course." Sun let out a curse under her breath that was worse than what Speed had said.
Shaking his head, Custard looked at me with an overly serious expression. "My mom says Aunt Spring is a bad influence, and I shouldn't say any of the words she teaches me."
I couldn't help but smile, and Diamond was back on the couch, laughing hard. "Your mom's pretty smart."
I could hear our Mom counting to herself in the hallway. "Nine, ten, eleven. Eleven ponies. Hmph. I should head back to the kitchen. There's an awful lot that still needs to get ready."
Dusky glanced at me as I sat with Custard, then looked back to Mom. "I can help out. Give Night some time to catch up with his siblings and nephews."
"Oh, I wouldn't want to impose, but if you don't mind, an extra set of hooves can work miracles in the kitchen." Mom walked back down the hallway, and Dusky waved towards me as she followed.
I waved back, then looked down at the colt who had apparently decided to lean against me. "So... Custard? And, Speed?"
Speed tilted his head, appraising me. “Yeah. So did you really fight a dragon?”
The color drained out of my face. How could he know that, I’d barely told anypony about what had happened in Ostfriesen, and I doubted Dusky would have been relating that story either. “N-not exactly. Um… Mint, what have you been telling them?”
“I haven’t been telling them anything. But you, ‘Uncle Night’, are a bit of a legend.” She stepped up to the couch and rustled a wing through Custard’s mane. “This one thinks you’re a secret agent of some sort, despite my evidence to the contrary.”
Custard nodded enthusiastically. “Why else would he have been gone so long without us ever seeing him? Why else would Mom cry like that unless he was in a lot of danger.”
It was Mint’s turn to go pale. She picked up Custard and set him on her back, and sheepishly grinned. “I uh… I never thought he heard any of that.”
Sun moved to the stairs and called out. “You might as well come down too, girls.”
Two more foals descended, the first coming down the stairs nearly stomping, the second following after slowly, stopping at the end as she watched everypony carefully. They were both a soft violet color, both a bit taller than the two colts, and there was little to tell them apart save for their mane styling.
Sun walked over behind the two and carefully brushed them forward with her wings. “Do you remember the twins, Night?”
I barely nodded. Sun’s twins were born while I’d been studying weather, and I never made the time to see them. “Only a little… Halo and Gentle, right?”
The filly in the front nodded, almost looking bored. Her sister, the shy one, just stared at me, trying to hide herself further under her mom’s wing.
Sun smiled sadly. “Honestly, Night, we didn’t know what to say about you.”
I looked at the four foals, each watching me carefully in their own way. I sighed. “The truth is… I ran. I… I have a lot of doubts, and a lot of pain, and sometimes, I can’t help it. And I was afraid I didn’t have anypony to talk to about it… and, in fact, I was afraid I’d only hurt or annoy you all with my problems. I didn’t think I was welcome here. Just… just a waste.”
Mint frowned. “Nighty…”
I saw Diamond sit up on the couch as well, looking at me with a frown.
“It’s fine. I… I found some ponies who accept me. And… who love me. And I’ve been reminded that my family always loved me as well. I just… never believed it. Or at least, never believed I deserved it.”
The foal hiding under Sun’s wing leaned towards her Mom’s ear and whispered something, and Sun nodded. “Go ahead, Gentle.”
She tentatively stepped out from her cover and came forward, moving past her brother to give me a hug. “It’s okay Uncle Night.”
I teared up as I hugged my niece back. “Yeah… it’s okay.”
Dad motioned everypony in and they joined in the group hug. “Welcome home, Night.”