Guiding Light and I continued to work on the dishes, concentrating a bit harder now that we had her test out of the way. The longer we went, the more I realized I had a bit of a chance to turn the tables. The question, then, was whether or not I should go for it. It wasn’t until that idle period, when everything was just reaching the final stretch of its cooking period, that I made my decision.
“So, what do you do for a living, anyway?”
“Me? I’m retired.” Guiding Light smiled broadly, as though she’d just been waiting for me to ask. “But I used to work for the Four-Oh-Four.”
“Search and rescue?” I creased my brow, yet the more I thought about it, the less surprised I was. With the way she carried herself and questioned me, it only made sense—not to mention that was she unusually fit for someone who was retired.
“That’s the one. It’s how I met Noble.”
“You saved him?” As unromantic as that situation actually would have been, I couldn’t help but indulge my imagination, if only a little.
She laughed. “No. Not that time, anyway. He was still a sergeant back then. He and his squad were the first on the scene to a routine storm gone bad. Several of the workers were scattered and lost in the heavy rain. When my team arrived shortly after, we had to make a concerted effort if we hoped to be fast enough. It was a difficult job, but with a little determination, we were able to get everypony out.”
I couldn’t help but think back to my own attempts at search and rescue—the Ponyville blizzard, as well as a few other shaky one-off volunteer jobs—even though it was hardly fair to compare myself to a professional.
Shaking off the feeling, I mustered a smirk. “Sounds like a bit of a novel.”
“If you’re expecting me to say that, with the weather pegasi all saved, the two of us, tired and exhausted, yet high on adrenaline, shared a passionate kiss over a job well done, then retired to a hotel room, then yes, you are correct.” She met my smirk, adding a raised eyebrow.
“And that’s how Sun Smile was conceived, so you married and bought a house, living happily together as you expanded your family?” I tried to keep my expression from going even less straight.
“Yes.” Finally, Guiding Light broke into a laugh. “Reciting Gabby Grain aside, I do have to say that there was a definite attraction. Perhaps not head-over-hooves swooning, but it was powerful enough to bring us together all the same. And we actually got to know each other before we tied the knot!”
I giggled. “Always a good thing, if you ask me. Did you keep working together?”
“For a while. We were in the same small town, after all. But, careers like ours, they have a tendency of going different directions. I thought we might have to break it off, but even though he was in Canterlot, he kept finding time to come back and see me.”
I smiled warmly. “Aw. I guess now I know where Night gets that from.”
With a nod, Guiding Light flipped the oven open, casually checking the casserole. “They’re more alike than most ponies would guess.”
“Seems like. I know I wouldn’t have been quite on the mark with that.” Thinking a little more about it, maybe Night subconsciously saw that and that was why he thought he had to follow in his father’s hoofsteps. “What happened next?”
“At first I was uncertain. Long-distance relationships have their reputation for a reason. All I knew is I couldn’t let him keep overexerting himself like that. I wanted to be closer to him, for both of our sakes. I requested a transfer to Canterlot.”
“But it didn’t work out?” I asked.
She nodded. “Canterlot is the big, glamourous city. Big pay, big comfort and in the centre of Equestria. Everypony wanted the job. Given the Princess and general safer environment, openings were even more limited than usual.”
“Yet you made it work.”
“We did.” Guiding Light let out a sigh, her eyes remembering what wasn’t the happiest of times. However, a smile began to grow again as she continued. “It was a long and hard process, but I eventually got on the waiting list for Cloudsdale. The travel distance was still more than we’d like, but it was still miles closer than Narwhal Cove. It was enough for us to start our home here.”
I smiled. “And that’s how it’s been ever since?”
“Aside from my retirement, yes.”
“Did something happen?” I was almost afraid to ask.
“Just age. As rewarding as it is, it takes a certain toll, even more than a regular military career.” She laughed. “Besides, if us vets just keep going until we keel over, all the new blood who take our place will be useless.”
“So, you retired from active duty to show them the ropes, is that it?”
“Exactly. Sometimes I even pop down to the barracks to make sure they aren’t slacking. Can’t hold the lives of others in their hooves if they won’t even take care of their own.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You know, I swear you and my mom must get together and share trade secrets.”
“Oh, we do. Just this last Tuesday, in fact.”
Ding.
Before I could reply, Guiding Light turned back to the oven, saying, “And there’s the timer. We’d better get this stuff out there. I’m sure everypony is getting hungry.”
She slipped out of the room, though I could still quite clearly hear her calling the others to assemble for dinner. Once she returned, we carefully carried each dish out to the dining room. The long cloud table had already been set with conspicuous spaces left empty for each dish.
Everyone had just finishing filing in when we arrived, with only the foals lagging in finding their seats. However, once they smelled the food, they settled down. Among them were a couple fillies who I didn’t recognize. Both were a light violet—twins perhaps. One had a look of simultaneous boredom and curiosity, as though she might poke a beehive just to see what would happen. The other bore the gentlest of stares, watching Night with a sort of melancholy that told me she could see at least some part of his pain. Perhaps she didn’t completely understand, but compassion doesn’t necessarily require that. I made a mental note to ask a bit more about them once the chaos died down.
It never did.
If anything, the room only got crazier, with each sister passing the dishes around in a nonlinear fashion, further complicated by the foals. Speed tried to take a portion about a quarter the size of the casserole dish, stopped only by Sun Smile. Custard seemed to be having some trouble with the utensils, which required Mint to step in. Finally, while the two fillies, who seemed to be the eldest of the foals, didn’t require help at all, they were easily distracted by everyone else, letting the dishes sit in front of them for much longer than necessary.
After a bit, there was one thing that really stood out to me: whatever the barely coherent pattern of crisscrossing dishes, Night was at the fringe of it, neither actively passing nor holding out his hooves for a dish. Instead, he waited until someone noticed a dish hadn’t come his way and sent it in that direction.
It hit me that, with some outlying exception, this was probably how life with his sisters always was. Everyone was busy doing their own thing, too busy to coordinate—and Night was kind of just there. That a young foal might feel lost and lonely seemed, not only likely, but like the natural course of events.
I leaned over and snuck a quick nuzzle. Night startled a little, some thoughts still lingering in his eyes. A warm smile spread across his lips, though his expression was still a little quizzical.
Smiling back, I said, “Sorry if I interrupted your train of thought.”
Night shook his head. “I was thinking about you and everypony, anyway.”
I let my grin grow, deciding not to press him any further. “How sweet.”
---
The chaos continued unabated until everyone’s appetite finally slowed. From there, Noble and Guiding Light traded places, Guiding Light leading us back to the living room while Noble tended to the mess in the kitchen.
We weren’t in the room for two minutes before the foals became restless, begging Sun Smile and Mint for permission to go outside. Neither seemed too inclined to say ‘no’, with the only condition being the usual promise to be careful.
As Guiding Light settled into one of the chairs, she smiled, surveying the room as she let out a satisfied sigh. “It really is wonderful to have all you kids back in the house. Such a shame Spring couldn’t make it.”
Diamond Wing chuckled. “You just got rid of her. You eager to have her move back in already?”
A look crossed Guiding Light’s face that I recognized from my own mother’s: that conflict of sadness, yet knowing that her children will never fly if they don’t leave the nest. “Maybe not, but when your father is off on duty, it can get a bit lonely here, now that everypony has moved on.”
“Well, not like we don't visit all the time,” Mint said from the back door. Despite the foals’ promises, she’d stationed herself there, stealing glances out the window every now and then. “I couldn’t keep Custard from visiting his favourite grandparents.”
“Why is everypony here, anyway?” Night looked at each of his sisters. “Is there some special event I forgot?”
Diamond Wing laughed, the biggest tell. His other sisters merely smiled, though there was even a hint of knowing there.
Guiding Light let out a chuckle of her own. “Mint comes home a lot, and Diamond usually stays in her old room when she's back from her tours with the Wonderbolts. I asked Sun to come with her family too, of course. It just seemed like a good day for a big meal.”
“Did... you know I was coming home?” Night fidgeted.
“Of course I didn't, Night Light.” Guiding Light closed her eyes. I didn’t think she was lying—not in the context of today, but I suspected she’d always been ready. The only question had been when. “But your father has told me everything that's happened between you since you met him in Canterlot. He told me about Fillydelphia, and thank Celestia that you're okay after everything that happened.”
When she opened her eyes, her gaze flitted over me.
“You told me you wanted to come home,” Mint said. “We all knew it was just a matter of time after that.”
“Hell, you actually came to find me.” A mischievous grin formed on Diamond Wing’s lips. “With the dopiest look on your face. I mean, how could I resist giving you a hard kick, for old times' sake?”
Guiding Light’s motherly stare turned upon her daughter. “Diamond Wing, you didn’t.”
Night laughed as he stared off into space. “Well, um, sure you kicked me, but, um, you were the one crying.”
“You made Diamond cry, Night? Tell me your secrets.” Sun Smile smirked from behind her wine glass.
“Pfft. He was crying too.” Diamond Wing waved as hoof as she rolled her eyes.
“Oh, I wouldn't have questioned that.” Sun Smile shrugged. “It's very hard not to make him cry.”
Mint was suddenly on edge, staring down at Diamond Wing. “I thought you two made up? All I'm hearing is punching and crying.”
Night nodded and Mint seemed to relax. “Well, there was punching, and then a lot of crying. But I think we came to an understanding. We, uh, both agreed to, um, start over.”
Leaning back in her seat, Diamond Wing grinned widely at Night. “And starting over also means you didn't come alone. Wasn't expecting that. So, Dusky, what does my brother think a date is?”
I shot Night a grin of my own. “Dinner and dancing. He's gotten very good at dancing.”
Sun Smile’s wine was forgotten as she leaned forward. “Dancing? Honestly, I'm shocked he can even hold your hoof without exploding. So how hard did you have to pull his tail to get him out from under the table?”
“Honestly, he was the one who approached me. Though we didn't start dating right away. Only after we'd gotten to know one another.” I met her gaze with a smile.
“I, uh, didn't mean this to be about Dusky and I…” Colour filled Night’s cheeks. “I just wanted some... support.”
Mint laughed. “Well, I'm sure Dusky is okay with a bit of interrogation. No knives, of course.”
I was almost embarrassed, though Guiding Light’s deep frown quickly escalated it into a bit of alarm. “Knives? Which of you had the knife?”
After a moment, it occurred to me that, given what Noble had likely told her, she might just take such jokes more seriously than we’d expect. And, well, there was the complication that it had actually happened—even if it wasn’t quite as she assumed.
“Well, uh. Certainly wasn't either me or Dusky…” Mint shrank back a little, quickly turning back to Diamond Wing. “Still, don't push her too far, Di.”
Diamond Wing, in turn, only seemed encouraged, giving me a grin that almost felt a little flirty. “Honestly? Hot mare with a knife? Sounds like a hell of night. Well, Dusky, if my brother finally manages to screw up this whole relationship, you wanna look me up?”
I blinked. Part of me had to admit that her toned physique was quite pleasing to the eye, but that’s where the attraction stopped. Night’s feelings and all the other complications implied by Diamond Wing’s scenario aside, I couldn’t see myself in a relationship with someone with that kind of attitude.
Night was practically choking on his tongue as he tried to find his words. But he had little chance, as it was Mint, her face contorted with anger, who said, “Cut that out Diamond. You trying to set yourself up for another Compass Rose?”
Diamond Wing looked like Mint had just picked her up and slammed her into the wall. I glanced over at Night, who seemed just as confused as I. Regardless, whoever this mare was, she meant a lot in a bad way. Perhaps she was an old flame or even a first crush.
Barely a beat passed before Mint’s ears fell. “Oh, hell. Sorry, Di. I didn't mean…”
At the same time, Guiding Light was out of her seat, crossing the room. “Mint Creme, that is enough! You should know better, Mint.”
This time Mint looked like she’d struck herself, her face filled with the kind of regret that weighed heavily on the inside.
Guiding Light took a moment to hold Diamond Wing tight before glancing back at Mint. “I know you two are like oil and water sometimes, but there was no excuse for that. Diamond, you know we love you because of who you are, not in spite of it. Your brother is back, and the least you two can do is stop your feud.”
I looked at Night again. Guilt filled his face, almost as though he was the one who’d said what Mint had. I had no doubt that he considered the whole feud his fault. He motioned toward his sisters and I nodded.
Night stood, moving to the middle of his family. “Diamond... Di. Mint. Sun. I... I screwed up. When I left, it was because I felt like a burden. I broke promises and was in the way. I felt like the little brother that no one wanted. It wasn't fair to me, but it wasn't fair to any of you either.”
An uneasy silence filled the room. Mint’s eyes were on the floor. Finally, she looked up, her gaze slowly drifting over to Diamond Wing. “Sorry, Sis’. I shouldn't have tried to hurt you like that.”
Diamond Wing let out a sigh. “I guess I can forgive you. I forget I can push too far sometimes, too.”
“I never wanted anypony getting hurt because of me. I left for a lot of reasons, but no one was at fault.” Tears streamed down Night’s cheeks. “I didn't come home because... I needed to realize I was worth being loved before I could come home. I had to be okay with who I was, and... I am now.”
Guiding Light looked between each of her foals. “I love you all. But you need to put it behind you. Especially now.”
As much as I wanted to hug Night right now, I didn’t want to ruin the moment. So, for the moment, I settled for a smile.
---
The rest of the evening was much less dramatic, even though we spent some time sharing our travel stories. It probably helped that we tried to filter out the more distressing details. In turn, Night’s sisters shared some details of their lives, including each of the foals, Diamond Wing’s training for the Wonderbolts and Mint’s career.
As the night went on, Sun Smile departed, taking her foals with her. Likewise, Mint needed to attend to Custard, though they only had to head upstairs to the guest room. This left us with Guiding Light, Noble and Diamond Wing.
At this point, Night turned to Noble. “So, um, Dad. I suppose before it gets too late, I did have a few questions to ask you, if you don't mind.”
Noble chuckled. “Not at all, Night. in fact, I was about to ask you what had brought you here. Do you want to talk in my study?”
“It would probably be best,” I said.
“This way, then.”
He led us back through the entrance hall and into the room on the right. The study was pretty typical, for a Cloudsdale office, anyway. A wide cloud desk sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by a series of metal filing cabinets. On the flanks of the cabinets were a pair of cloud bookcases, though each shelf was fairly sparsely populated. I supposed someone like Noble would need to have most of his files secured.
As he slid the door closed, he turned to us. “So, let’s hear it.”
“It’s about Mahogany. He’s having...” Night almost looked pained as he pushed the words out, “... problems with his family.”
Noble thought for a moment. “Abuse, then?”
Night looked up at his father, mouth partially open, though the words had already been snatched from his tongue.
“Don’t look so surprised.” Noble’s smile was more than a little fatherly. “I know you wouldn’t come to me for something trivial and were it an emergency, we wouldn’t have had supper first.”
I nodded. “His father has been actively interfering in his life, including breaking into his home.”
“Hmmm. That sounds pretty cut and dry. What’s the complication?”
“He didn’t report it to the Guard.” I gave him an apologetic look. “We assumed this would severely limit his options, though none of us have the expertise to say for sure.”
“So you came to me.” Noble frowned deeply. “This will hinge on some other finer details. How long has it been since the incident?”
“About a month?” Night looked at me.
I had to think about it for a moment. So much had happened in Ostfriesen that it felt like we’d been gone for years. But, when I did the mental math, it checked out. “Yeah.”
There was a look of disappointment in Noble’s eye, though his expression hardly changed. I had to suspect that this wasn’t the first—nor the hundredth time—he’d been told this about a case. “That is a problem. Since it’s his home, it’s quite likely he’s inadvertently destroyed or tampered with the majority of what we could use. Were there any witnesses?”
“Mahogany never said.” A sigh escaped Night’s lips. “But, I don’t think he even asked anypony.”
“He said Birch only stole gifts the family had sent over for birthdays and other events,” I added. “It’s also likely that he had a key, so I don’t think it would have been particularly conspicuous.”
“It’s still worth pursuing.” Noble looked between the two of us. “If anypony even saw him on the premises, we’d have a starting point. Anything else you can tell me?”
Night seemed lost in himself for a second, but quickly perked up. “Oh, um, there’s also the bar.”
“The bar?” Noble’s expression was almost that of a blood hound. He could smell the witnesses—quite literally, if he ended up interviewing them.
The details came back rather easily as I elaborated. “They had a bit of a shouting match and Birch tried to drag Mahogany out of the bar when he refused to leave of his own volition. Mahogany hit him trying to break free, but the fight didn’t go any further than that. I think Birch decided to retreat because, by then, the whole room was watching.”
“If we can find somepony who was sober enough to corroborate your story, that should be an easy assault charge. That would also give us probable cause for the break and enter.” Noble stared at his desk, his eyes reading something only visible to him. More than likely he was already five steps ahead of us by this point.
I tried to think of who, outside of our circle, had been at the bar that night. While I suspected the sheer number of our group could largely dodge any accusations of bias, it never hurt to have a third party. Then it hit me and I wanted to facehoof at forgetting such an obvious choice. “You could talk to Barkeep. He’s got a really good view of the main room and while he sometimes knocks back a shot or two, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it so much as faze him.”
“Good. I think this case is coming together quite nicely. I may need your testimony when we officially begin.” His eyes flitted over to me, sporting a careful, apologetic look that told me, ‘Only if you’re comfortable.’
I smiled appreciatively. “Count me in. And don’t worry about me. This is different from the last two times.”
“Of course, me as well.” Night agreed.
Noble nodded. “If we can successfully press charges, he’s looking at a fine, community service and a restraining order.”
I shook my head. “My experience with him is limited, but I somehow doubt he’ll adhere to any of that.”
“Perhaps not. Should that happen, we have ways of dealing with it.”