//------------------------------// // 70 - Valleys // Story: From Dusk to Night // by KuroiTsubasaTenshi //------------------------------// My sleep had grown more and more restless of late. The nightmares were coming in greater force, though with what we’d seen on the road, that was almost to be expected. The Cartel haunted me like a ghost that just wouldn’t move on—the prospect of its power vacuum sucking me right back in a very real threat. I was quite relieved to leave Las Pegasus. I’d hoped  the chaos and the noise would at least help distract me, but alas, no dice. In fact, I found myself constantly scanning the crowds, looking for suspicious characters who might be shadowing us. Best I could tell, there were none, but it didn’t help me feel any less on edge. Even out in the skies, I couldn’t quite relax until about halfway to Crystalside. While our previous discovery had been decidedly unique, I wasn’t able to shake the nagging feeling we might find something else. Thankfully, that was not the case and we arrived without incident. The town was sleepier than I remembered—not that it wasn’t sleepy before, since real archaeologists need to move at a precise pace just about anyone else would refer to as “plodding”—but I suppose that’s what happens when what was originally relatively mild tourism is on the decline. The housing we passed was entirely practical, with the straight, wooden shells painted more for weather protection than style. The general store, as well as a couple eateries, though constructed in much the same fashion, tried harder to play to the tourism angle. Colourful signs that almost felt like they’d been lifted from Las Pegasus beckoned us towards the likes of Timber’s Odds ‘n’ Sods and Short Order’s Snack Shack. We ignored the calls for now, headed down to the dig site. The tour had once been popular enough to be guided by one of the archaeologists at scheduled intervals, but the maybe half-dozen other tourists milling around the first area were proof that such measures were now completely unnecessary. Instead, a series of heavy wooden signs created a trail of bread crumbs along the hardened dirt path. As Night looked up from the closest one, I trotted over to him. “Last time I visited Crystalside, it was much busier. The dig site had unearthed a fabulous treasure, the Crystal Rainbow—which was a sculpture cut and fused in a way no one thought possible. People were coming from all across Equestria to see it.” We followed the signs, which took us to a rather unique view. It was something of an enclosed balcony, fenced off so no one got any funny ideas. However, it overlooked—albeit from a good twenty or so feet—one of the active dig sites. For anyone excited by expert chisel and toothbrush work, this was the place to be. For other Daring Do fans who hadn’t done their research, this was likely the site of disappointment. “They called that gem the last and most beautiful reminder of the Crystal Empire.” I couldn’t help but giggle. “Of course, when the Empire itself returned, tourism all shifted there, but I‘d already grown to love this place. It’s beautiful in its own right, and I have a lot of good memories I’ve shared here.” Turning away from the dig site, Night fixed his eyes on a sturdy metal display case, which was largely populated by fragments of crystalline dishes. “And what about the Crystal Rainbow?” I let out a sigh, remembering when the Crystal Rainbow had been in a somewhat fancier case like this, set front and center in the first room. Ivory and I had had to wait a good fifteen minutes before we could get to the front and see it. “It was as beautiful as they said. But they returned it to the Crystal Empire about a year ago. A lot of the original findings we saw were moved to Canterlot for study.” Night stepped back to lean against me. “Well, it’s all pretty wonderful to me too.” “And we haven't even gotten to the best part.” I met his nuzzle with my own. Grinning wide, he planted a kiss on my cheek. “Pretty sure the best part is right here.” “Flatterer.” “Always.” Night turned back to the tunnel. “Well, then, lead the way.” While the best part of Crystalside wasn’t part of the dig site, we continued along the trail, retracing in minutes what had taken months for the archaeologists to explore. There were a few exhibits detailing the tools used to extract some of these items, but otherwise, the tour was stuck showing off the few shiny bits of crystal pottery that hadn’t gotten whisked off to Canterlot or the Empire. Once we were done, I took to the air, leading Night a ways out of town. I figured I’d let him see what I had in store and decide if he was up for a picnic. For the moment, though, we would just glide above the valley, side by side. “You said you’d shared this place before? With your parents?” Night asked. “No, with a very good friend. Her name is Ivory. She’s..." I’d given serious thought to how I’d tell Night about Ivory’s abilities, but I’d yet to come up with something that didn’t just sound off. In the end, I’d come to the conclusion that it’d probably be best if he met her and saw how great of a person she is before getting into any details. "She’s someone very important to me. We fought together, and... well, it’s harder to explain than you’d think. You’ll just have to trust me.” Night smiled, undaunted by my hesitance. “Easy enough. I’m honored to meet anypony you trust that much, Dusky. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine.” “I think she’ll be happy to hear that too.” The trees parted as we reached the side of the valley, which was the cue for our descent. Below us was a wide, sparkling basin, fed by a waterfall that cut through the valley’s left wall approximately two-thirds of the way up. I banked to the right, leading us down to a grassy alcove that sat opposite the waterfall. I would have liked to have brought him up the rear trail on hoof, but that would have necessitated doing the entire journey on hoof, since flying any meaningful and practical distance would have easily given the waterfall away. Given our trip plan, spending an entire day trekking through the forest just wasn’t in the cards. “This is my favorite part of this whole valley. I found it when I was exploring. The history and the dig site and the town are all fine, but, finding things like this…” As we settled down, I motioned with a hoof, letting the scenery speak for itself. “It’s like... Fetlock Falls…” Night stared for a good minute or so. “It’s beautiful…” I pressed up against him. “I love coming out here and just watching and listening. Everything is just so calm and serene.” Night closed his eyes, ears twitching in rhythm to the falling water. A smile spread across his lips. “I can see why... It’s like sitting on a cloud, listening to rainfall.” “It’s all the better when shared with someone.” I nuzzled into his mane. “It’s everything I could hope for, and…” Night suddenly sat upright, his eyes flitting up to the sky. “Actually, it could be more... just... stay here, Dusky. I’ll be right back.” I tilted my head at him, though he gave me that big, sappy grin, so I simply nodded and waited to see what he’d do. Night took off, flying high into the sky—then even higher. He wasn’t quite a speck, but as I craned my neck, it was difficult to tell what he was doing. There was lots of circling and spinning involved, so I guessed he was manually creating a cloud. I just hoped he wouldn’t give himself hypothermia, though I supposed that really shouldn’t happen after just one. As I recall, the technique largely fell into disuse because the temperatures required often ended in lots of sick pegasi. Towns and cities used to have really complicated rotating work schedules to avert such issues, though those were completely obsoleted by the advent of weather factories. Sure enough, Night came back down with a cloud in hoof, guiding it to just in front of the waterfall. With a grin and a nod, he turned and gave it a firm shove. Slowly, lazily, it drifted toward the waterfall, giving Night just enough time to fly back and sit beside me. When water met cloud, the cloud melted like cotton candy—if cotton candy could turn into mist, anyway. For just a few moments, the droplets caught the light in a way that spawned a plethora of tiny rainbows. I smiled at Night. “That’s quite the show.” “Just for you.” He glanced back at the waterfall, where the very last remnants of the mist were fading away. “It’s no Lunar Lake, but... what could ever surpass that?” It was a sensible assessment, but that didn’t mean I didn’t appreciate his effort. “I think something else might have biased you towards Lunar Lake.” “Maybe something incredible, yes.” He stole a peck on my cheek. “I want to do this with you forever.” “This?” I raised an eyebrow. “As in, traveling?” With a nod, he launched into an explanation. “I don’t think I could do this every year with you. My vacation time wasn’t going to last forever... so, I made a change.” “What’d you do?” He looked a little sheepish. “I took a new job before we left. I’ll be a Coordinator with Weather Bureau Regulations and Standards. Less weatherwork and more deskwork, but... it requires travel every year. So, I thought... maybe we could plan out a few stops for my job along the way, and then the rest is up to you.” “That’s an impressive amount of planning.” I smirked. “You sure Lunar Lake was as spontaneous as you thought?” Colour filled Night’s cheeks. “Um, well, I always planned to ask. I just didn’t know when.” “I see.” With a giggle, I rested my head against his. “In any case, so long as you’re not stuck working all the time, I’m sure we can figure something out.” He let out a relieved sigh. “Thanks, Dusky. I’ve seen how much this trip means to you. I want to be there with you, somepony to share it all with, always.” “Anytime and always, Night Light.”