//------------------------------//
// 57 - Mending Wounds 
// Story: Mending Light 
// by Kiromancer 
//------------------------------//

We sat and talked for only a little while longer. Speed, the youngest of the foals, was quickly bored of the novelty of 'Uncle Night', and he and his sister, Halo, started playing in the living room. Eventually, Sun put the two to work, picking up their toys before dinner.

Their sister, Gentle, had decided that for whatever reason, I was okay to be around. After everypony had released their hug, she climbed up beside me and curled up, nuzzling against my wing. She kept her head up, watching me. Her eyes were surprisingly deep for such a young filly. She didn't yet have a cutie mark, but if it ended up being for finding ways to comfort others, it wouldn't surprise me.

Of the foals, only Mint's son Custard had his cutie mark, a spiraling tornado on a shield, which bore an obvious resemblance to Mint and Dad's marks. Even at his young age, the colt likely knew exactly what he was going to be. I never had that sense of surety as a foal, even after I'd gotten my cutie mark.

Eventually, Custard managed to wiggle off his Mom's back and approach again, asking more questions about my 'adventures'. There was no way I could tell him about Ostfriesen or Fillydelphia. Rather than focus on the combat, I began to talk about the places I'd seen with Dusky, the positive experiences, rather than the things I'd done.

It seemed it didn't make much difference, as describing the Fetlock Falls ice sculptures or the Brushingboot Gate in Oasis, was enough to impress him. I continued to tell my nephew stories, and I had more than I would have thought. After so long spent doing nothing, I'd lived quite a lot in the past year.

Before too long, Mom returned to the room to summon us for dinner, and everypony moved into the dining room, seating ourselves around a long table. Mom had made quite an amazing spread. Dusky set a plate of battered sweet potatoes down amidst several other plates, then took a seat next to me as Mom brought out the final dish.

The smells of butter and heavy cream mingling together brought me back home more than anything else, as I nearly teared up at the scent of Mom's casserole. She had prepared an incredible amount of food, enough to feed everyone here and probably still have leftovers.

Mom took her seat, and all at once, we began to make our plates. It was a bit of a frenzy, each of us grabbing for the dish nearest and adding some to our plate, then passing it down. Mint helped Custard fill his plate, while Sun seemed to be stuck between helping Speed, and admonishing him for taking too much.

I waited. I was never one to jump in, my sisters had always been to fast and to eager for dinner. When dishes reached me, I took my portions of each then passed them on.

It was just like it had always been. Some things never changed. Or, perhaps they had, but not in the ways I’d feared. I’d changed, that much I knew. I didn’t want to be alone anymore. I wanted—

A warm presence brushed against me, pulling me back to reality. Dusky nuzzled, sitting back slowly as I looked at her. I couldn’t help but smile.

She smiled back. “Sorry if I interrupted your train of thought.”

I shook my head, glancing around the table, then back to her. “I was thinking about you and everypony, anyway.”

She smiled wider. “How sweet.”

This. I wanted this. Family. I had needed this, one way or another, and as I reached out take one of the dishes, I couldn’t stop smiling.

---

The eating slowed, with the appetites of eleven pegasi somehow sated. As Mom had prepared dinner, Dad stayed behind to do the dishes and clean the kitchen. Everypony else moved back to the living room to relax, the foals heading out into the back yard to play.

Mom took her seat and let out a long, satisfied sigh. "It really is wonderful to have all you kids back in the house. Such a shame Spring couldn't make it."

"You just got rid of her." Diamond laughed. "You eager to have her move back in already?"

She smiled softly. "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 stood at a back door, looking through a window into the back yard to watch the foals. "I couldn't keep Custard from visiting his favorite grandparents."

I glanced around at my sisters, that thought nagging at my mind. "Why is everypony here, anyway? Is there some special event I forgot?" I tried to remember if it was anypony's birthday.

Diamond laughed aloud again, and even Mint turned from the window to smirk at me. I looked at Sun, who had settled onto the couch with a glass of wine, and even she was smiling knowingly.

Mom chuckled. "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?" It all seemed so ridiculous, how could she have possibly known? Yet, almost everyone was here. The dinner preparations. Everything just seemed too convenient.

"Of course I didn't, Night Light." Mom closed her eyes. "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." She turned to Dusky with the briefest of looks.

Mint nodded. "You told me you wanted to come home. We all knew it was just a matter of time after that."

"Hell, you actually came to find me." Diamond grinned wide. "With the dopiest look on your face. I mean, how could I resist giving you a hard kick, for old times’ sake?"

Mom glared at her. "Diamond Wing, you didn't."

I actually managed to laugh, remembering Diamond's reaction. "Well, um, sure you kicked me, but, um, you were the one crying."

Sun giggled. "You made Diamond cry, Night? Tell me your secrets."

Diamond waved a hoof. "Pfft. He was crying too."

"Oh, I wouldn't have questioned that." Sun nodded. "It's very hard not to make him cry."

Mint glared at Diamond alongside Mom. "I thought you two made up? All I'm hearing is punching and crying."

I nodded slowly. "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."

Diamond met my eyes and smiled. She seemed about to say something, when instead she turned to look at Dusky. "And starting over also means you didn't come alone. Wasn't expecting that. So, Dusky, what does my brother think a date is?"

Dusky looked over at me and grinned. "Dinner and dancing. He's gotten very good at dancing."

I blushed at her words, turning to watch Dusky.

Suddenly perking up at the topic, Sun leaned forward from her seat. "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."

My face burned, but I managed to nod. "I, uh, didn't mean this to be about Dusky and I... I just wanted some... support."

Mint laughed, then winked at me. "Well, I'm sure Dusky is okay with a bit of interrogation. No knives, of course."

Mom frowned. "Knives? Which of you had the knife?" She stared between Mint and Dusky.

Dusky raised an eyebrow at my Mom, taken aback from the question.

I was simply boggling at the sudden implication of my sister and Dusky having a knife fight, wondering when I'd missed that happening.

"Well, uh. Certainly wasn't either me or Dusky..." Mint shrank back at Mom's gaze, eyes darting towards Dusky. She recovered by turning on Diamond and raising a hoof to her throat. "Still, don't push her too far, Di."

Diamond merely grinned wider. "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 started to stutter out a response, but Mint cut me off.

She fumed, anger obvious in her face. "Cut that out Diamond. You trying to set yourself up for another Compass Rose?"

I didn't recognize the name, but Diamond's reaction was immediate. The color drained from her face, and she pulled away.

Mint saw it too, and her ears immediately dropped. "Oh, hell. Sorry, Di. I didn't mean..."

Mom was already up, positioning herself between the two. "Mint Creme, that is enough! You should know better, Mint." She trotted over to Diamond and hugged her.

I watched Mint. She was crestfallen, the look on her face was heartbreaking, just like it had been in Myrtail when she'd first approached me.

Mom looked at Diamond before snapping 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."

Their feud. Those words struck me harder than Mom could have known. Diamond had always been a tormenter to me, and Mint a protector. It seemed that after I'd left, they'd both suffered scars I couldn't have anticipated. The fact that Mom was stepping between them to get them to stop because of me only seemed to confirm that the feud had been because of me.

Whatever the name 'Compass Rose' had meant to Diamond, it had hurt her a lot. Mint had said it specifically to hurt her. I'd never seen my sister lash out with such spite. I looked over at Dusky, who had turned towards me. Mint attacked Diamond in defense of me. I didn't have all the pieces to the story, except the inescapable feeling that this pain was because of me.

No, not because of me, but the pain caused by my absence. I'd always believed I'd made things better by leaving. It was clear that wasn't the case. Still, I was here now, and while it was still hard to step forward and say the things that were on my mind, it wasn't impossible. I looked at Dusky and motioned my head towards Mint and Diamond. Dusky smiled softly and nodded.

I stood up and moved between my sisters. "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."

Mint stared down at the floor, then raised her head towards Diamond and nodded. "Sorry, Sis’. I shouldn't have tried to hurt you like that."

Diamond let out a sigh and looked at Mint. "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." I was crying now as I looked at my family. "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."

Mom sighed, looking between each of us. "I love you all. But you need to put it behind you. Especially now." She looked at me last.

I was far from perfect, but it was difficult to realize that my family wasn't perfect either. I wanted to make this work as much as they did, but we would all make mistakes.

---

The rest of the evening went by fast. Dad came back from the kitchen, and the we all sat and talked about where life had taken us. I tried to tell everypony about my weather job and my time with Dusky, leaving out the more dangerous elements. In return, I learned more about Sun's kids, how Diamond had gotten an invitation to the Wonderbolt's Academy, and Mint's career.

The foals watched the sunset, and as the moon rose, Sun decided it was time for her to head home, taking her foals with her. Mint followed by taking Custard upstairs to a guest bedroom to get him tucked in as well. The house grew a lot quieter.

It felt like the time was right to bring up the issues we’d ostensibly come to address in the first place. "So, um, Dad. I suppose before it gets too late, I did have a few questions to ask you, if you don't mind."

He 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?"

Dusky leaned forward. “It would probably be best.”

Dad stood, and nodded towards the entrance hall. “This way, then.”

Dusky and I followed from the living room, out the entrance hall and into the room on the right. That had been Dad’s study for as long as I could remember. This was where he could be found, on those occasions where he was home from Canterlot. A large cloud desk was the focus of the room, though Dad had always kept it fairly clean. A couple metal cabinets, locked, I knew, were set on either end. It was neat, orderly, very clean. No clutter or loose files, Dad would never have stood for that.

He closed the door behind us and turned, bowing his head. “So, let’s hear it.”

“It’s about Mahogany. He’s having…” I paused. All things considered, this would sound the strangest coming from me. “... problems with his family.”

Dad considered. “Abuse, then?”

I blinked. Abuse was such a harsh word, but how else could I define how Mahogany’s dad treated him? Dad cut straight to the heart of it, before I could even properly vocalize it.

“Don’t look so surprised.” He trotted over towards his desk with a smile. “I know you wouldn’t come to me for something trivial and were it an emergency, we wouldn’t have had supper first.”

Dusky 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.” Dusky sighed. “We assumed this would severely limit his options, though none of us have the expertise to say for sure.”

Dad considered carefully, frowning deeply. “So you came to me. This will hinge on some other finer details. How long has it been since the incident?”

“About a month?” I looked over to Dusky to confirm. It’d all started before we’d even left for Ostfriesen, but that felt like forever ago.

Dusky’s stared past me as she thought back. “Yeah.”

He watched me a moment, following some train of thought going through that I couldn’t see. and then let out a sigh. “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?”

I frowned deeper and let out a sigh of my own. “Mahogany never said. 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,” Dusky said. “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. If anypony even saw him on the premises, we’d have a starting point. Anything else you can tell me?”

I thought back to when it had all started. Fillydelphia, and then Bellerophon, loomed so large in my memory. Birch had made quite an entrance though, when he’d stormed into the Seapony. “Oh, um, there’s also the bar.”

“The bar?” Dad’s expression turned quickly, the vague sadness washed away as he narrowed his eyes.

Dusky nodded. “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.” Dad stared at his desk.

We all grew silent. I tried to think of anything else that would help, anything that might give Dad an extra tool to use.

Dusky beat me to it, suddenly perking up. “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.” Dad spoke the final part cautiously, looking at Dusky as his ears dipped back.

I glanced at Dusky, knowing why Dad had asked that so carefully. Her last experience doing that had been against the Leaf Cartel, and had started all the trouble which had followed her. It wasn’t an easy thing to ask, when put into that perspective.

“Count me in.” Dusky smiled,  “And don’t worry about me. This is different from the last two times.”

I breathed out. “Of course, me as well.”

Dad nodded. “If we can successfully press charges, he’s looking at a fine, community service and a restraining order.”

Dusky shook her head. “My experience with him is limited, but I somehow doubt he’ll adhere to any of that.”

“Perhaps not.” Dad’s expression grew grim. “Should that happen, we have ways of dealing with it.”