//------------------------------//
// 70 - Hidden Treasures 
// Story: Mending Light 
// by Kiromancer 
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Leaving Las Pegasus was a bit of a relief for both of us. Though it had been particularly disorienting to me, even Dusky seemed to have been impacted by the city. Her sleep was more uneasy than ever, and I couldn’t help but notice how anxious it all seemed to be making her.

Crystalside was about a half day’s flight out, and I tried my best to keep Dusky’s mind on our trip, and not on the lingering reminders of the Cartel which had cropped up. It wasn't a stretch to realize that encounter more than anything was what was keeping her on edge. We flew on in near silence, and I simply kept my eye on her.

When we arrived at Crystalside, I was instantly reminded of Lunar Lake. Though, where that town had been trying almost too hard to maintain authenticity, Crystalside just was authentic. It might not have been terribly old, but the houses were all simple, small, and more than a bit beaten up by the weather.

By the time we arrived, it was already well past noon. Rather then stopping at one of the relatively small, clearly for tourist restaurants on the way through town, Dusky insisted we head to the town’s main attraction first. An archaeological dig site that purported to be ‘the greatest source of knowledge on the ancient Crystal Empire’. I raised an eyebrow at that claim.

"Last time I visited Crystalside, it was much busier." Dusky glanced around the dig site as we walked down the marked path, a meager group of ponies walking along with us. "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."

The tour walked us through the lower points of the valley in which this town had grown up, where a dedicated team of archaeologists were working. Set up like an outdoor museum, there was a hard-packed dirt path which wound through the dig, giving ponies a self-guided tour through the archaeologist's work sites. The archaeologists themselves were working very carefully to extract tiny shards of pottery and unearth stones without damaging them. It might have been a far cry from Daring Do, but it was just as fascinating in its own way.

"They called that gem the last and most beautiful reminder of the Crystal Empire." She giggled, "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."

I smiled as Dusky's voice grew nostalgic and stopped to examine one of the display cases set alongside the tour route. It was filled with old bowls and cups, all crafted out of dulled gemstone and crystal of some sort, mostly cracked. "And what about the Crystal Rainbow?"

She let out a bit of a sigh. "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."

Grinning, I stepped away from the case to steal a nuzzle against Dusky's neck. "Well, it's all pretty wonderful to me too."

She laughed again and nuzzled back. "And we haven't even gotten to the best part."

Leaning back to steal a kiss, I grinned wide. "Pretty sure the best part is right here."

She shook her head and smirked back at me. "Flatterer."

"Always." I motioned my head onward. "Well, then, lead the way."

She grinned and set off, walking us the rest of the way through the dig tour site, before opening her wings to take to the skies.

We pushed up above the treeline and Dusky slowed to a lazy glide after reaching the altitude she wanted. I came up alongside her, looking out over the valley with a grin. "You said you'd shared this place before? With your parents?"

Dusky shook her head. "No, with a very good friend. Her name is Ivory. She's..." She tilted her head towards me with a curious glance. "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."

"Easy enough. I'm honored to meet anypony you trust that much, Dusky. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine." That was certainly true, but Dusky’s evasiveness left me wondering about who, exactly, Ivory was. Back in Canterlot, Ruby Result certainly hadn’t been what I expected, but it was easy to see why they got along, and Dusky hadn’t exactly tried to keep any of it secret. So why was she so hesitant to talk about Ivory?

Dusky seemed relieved though, nodding. "I think she'll be happy to hear that too."

Soon, she tipped a wing to steer downward, leading me down to where the forest around the valley suddenly ended against the rising hillsides, and a basin opened up below us.

It was like a deep bowl of water, shimmering in the sunlight. A waterfall burst forth out of the hillside some many hundreds of feet above the pool, cascading down majestically into the basin. I gaped in awe as Dusky led me down to a little alcove, nestled above the pool opposite the waterfall.

"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..." She trailed off, settling down to just look up and stare.

I sat by her side, looking up at all the water cascading down. "It's like... Fetlock Falls..." That seemed so long ago now, my first taste of the world beyond just Ponyville, or even Cloudsdale. A train ride that would change my life in ways as numerous as the drops of water that cascaded over its edge, all leading me here. "It's beautiful..."

Dusky leaned against me, resting her head against my neck. "I love coming out here and just watching and listening. Everything is just so calm and serene."

I closed my eyes and steadied my breath, just listening, letting the sound of the waterfall wash over me. "I can see why... It's like sitting on a cloud, listening to rainfall."

She nodded, "It's all the better when it's shared with someone."

"It's everything I could hope for, and..." A sudden idea jumped into my mind, and I slowly stood up, lifting a hoof. "Actually, it could be more... just... stay here, Dusky. I'll be right back."

She tilted her head, but simply nodded as I grinned wide at her, kicking up into the air and flying back up out of the basin.

I flew up, and up, high over the valley as quickly as I could until I could start to feel the chill in the air through my coat. I spread my wings to glide, letting my feathers spread out slightly to collect moisture out of the air. In short order, I had gathered enough to put together a decent-sized cloud. It wasn't enough to hold any kind of sustained rainfall, but it would work perfectly for what I needed it for.

Back down into the basin, pushing the cloud in front of me. I slowed my descent as I reached the top of the waterfall, slowing to a gentle glide down. I glanced to the alcove to see Dusky watching me curiously, and shot her a grin, then set the cloud in place towards the center of basin, between where she sat, and the waterfall.

Grinning all the while, I set up behind the cloud, and with a nod to Dusky, I kicked it backwards smoothly, not enough to break it, but to propel it into the waterfall, then dashed forward to land back in the alcove and turn to watch.

The fluffy cloud practically melted away the moment it struck the falling water, disintegrating into a fine mist. The moment the cloud had exploded, the show began. Just like at Fetlock, the water and the mist caught the light, reflecting back across every tiny droplet and through the falling waterfall to create a kaleidoscope of rainbows that filled the basin.

Dusky's smiled widened. "That's quite a show."

"Just for you." I looked out from the alcove as the mist faded, and the rainbows slowly diminished. "It's no Lunar Lake, but... what could ever surpass that?"

She giggled, shaking her head. "I think something else might have biased you towards Lunar Lake."

“Maybe something incredible, yes."  Stealing a kiss from my fiancee, I grinned. "I want to do this with you forever."

"This? As in, travelling?"

I nodded. Dusky didn't know about the steps I'd taken at work, and I'd been at least a little reluctant to tell her until after I'd proposed, but now seemed perfect. "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."

She tilted her head. "What'd you do?"

"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.” Dusky raised an eyebrow at first, but then relaxed into a smirk. “You sure Lunar Lake was as spontaneous as you thought?”

I blushed. The truth was, it’d been planned for months. I’d been thinking of that moment since… since before we even left for Ostfriesen. Part of me wanted to say it’d known all along, but, that was before I’d truly gotten to know her, and to love her. “Um, well, I always planned to ask. I just didn’t know when.”

“I see.” She smiled and laughed softly, then rested her head against mine. "In any case, so long as you're not stuck working all the time, I'm sure we can figure something out."

My face was still warm as I let out a deep breath. "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."

Dusky grinned. "Anytime and always, Night Light."

We fell into silence as we kept watching the falls, drinking in the peace and majesty of that little alcove that for now at least was ours alone.