“You’re just a little coward!” A hoof came at my face, stopping short, but I still remember flinching away. “A scared, stupid little Night Light.”
I pushed her away, or tried to, but I was seven, just a little colt without a cutie mark, and she was much bigger, and older than I was. “I… I’ll tell!”
My sister, Diamond Light kicked a foreleg, throwing me aside into the clouds, but the fluffy cushion did little to help. She sneered. “No you won’t.”
“Diiiii!” Spring had pouted. “You’re ruining my game! Stop kicking Nighty!”
I rose up on trembling legs, tears running down my face as I tried to speak between sobs. “I… I’ll run away! I… I’ll change my name! I won’t be Night Light anymore! And… a-and!”
Diamond walked in close, lowering her head down to stare me in the eyes. “You’ll come running back to Mommy. Go on. Run. You won’t be missed.”
I should have said something. Done something. Thrown a hoof into her face. I wanted to be brave. I wanted to be strong. Instead, I ran.
Dashing out of the yard as fast as my little legs could take me, I pushed through the door and up the stairs to my room, slamming the door behind me. I started throwing a few loose belongings into my backpack. I could glide to Canterlot. I could go find Dad and live with him.
“Night Light? Are you okay?” Mom knocked at the door before she quietly opened it to look in on me.
“N-no!” My voice broke as I desperately tried to stay angry, trying to hold onto the idea that this was Diamond's fault, not mine. The voice in my head told me it was all because of me, though. “No! I’m not Night Light! I hate that name! I never wanted to have such a d-dumb name!”
Mom frowned, walking into the room to gently take a toy out of my grip before brushing the tears off my face with a wing. “Were Diamond and Spring making fun of you again?”
Diamond ruins everything! I wanted to scream it. Not that I’d even wanted to play Spring’s stupid game, but she’d forced me. I bit my tongue, slumping onto my flank. “N-no.”
She sighed and sat down next to me. “Night, your name is very special. You are a little flame in the dark, a Light to keep the Mare in the Moon company.”
I continued to sob, I’d heard it all before. “It’s dumb. I… I’m dumb.”
“No, Night. You’re my son.” She stroked a wing down my back and around to lift my head up to meet her gaze. “You’re not dumb, and never believe anypony who says that you are. Even your sisters.”
“I want to be a hero. L-like Dad.”
She smiled sadly and kissed my forehead. “Not every hero has to fight monsters. Sometimes, a real hero only has to be there for somepony else.”
Those old still memories hurt, but not like they'd used to. There were moments like that which stuck with me to this day, words that hadn't made sense when I was a foal, but which resonated now in moments of reflection. My mom couldn't have foreseen where life would take me, but sometimes it felt like she'd always known.
It had taken me a long time to find my path. To find myself, and finally see my own worth. I would not deviate now.
Especially now, when there was somepony who needed me to be there for her.
---
It had been a perfect day from the start, and the waterfall had only made it better. Beautiful sights, good food, the greatest of company. Dusky and I had rested against one another beneath the waterfall for what seemed like ages. It was everything I’d wanted in the world, and an old, familiar thought lingered behind. Another moment that I wished would never end.
It did end, and all too quickly we returned to town to check into our hotel. Though the day had been wonderful and the fresh air and exercise were tiring, sleep did not come so readily. As had been the case far to often this trip, it was the night which was proving to be difficult.
Dusky once more pressed against my side as she slowly drifted off to sleep, resting almost on top of me, a practice which had slowly become the norm, and which I was not opposed to letting continue at all. I could feel her heartbeat, her breathing, rhythmically in and out. It all seemed so beautiful, but I couldn’t help but feel like something was off.
It wasn’t the same as it had been in the hotel at Lunar Lake. It wasn’t some nagging thought or misplaced fear keeping me awake, at least, I don’t think it was. Instead, something felt off about her. Tonight, as Dusky’s eyes fell closed, I chose to wait and watch her. Something was wrong, and I'd come to realize that something had been wrong since we’d left for our trip. Since Canterlot, at least. I couldn’t tell what, only that… I knew.
She’d downplayed it at first. I’m sure she couldn’t put her own hoof on it either and didn't want to worry me. But it’d grown more and more noticeable with each passing day. She was just so tired. Despite getting a full night’s rest every night on this trip, it seemed like she was running herself ragged. When she was awake, she was herself. A little exhausted, but very obviously the mare I loved. At night, though, she could get no peace, and that I could not allow to continue.
Dreams.
They’re odd things, or so I’ve been told. In all my life, I’d never had a dream I could remember upon waking, nor even a recollection that I had been dreaming. I had aspirations, dreams of who I could be, but never when I slept. The Mare in the Moon, Princess Luna, had never visited me.
Nightmares are the other side of that coin, of course. Dreams that seem real, exhausting, and terrifying. The only nightmare I’d seen was Nightmare Moon, standing tall in the city hall and declaring her return. If the nightmares that visited ponies in their sleep were half as terrifying as that moment had been, I wouldn’t wish them on anypony.
Dusky, however, had been suffering from nightmares since I’d met her. From the train that carried us to Fetlock, to the longest day of my life in Myrtail Beach, and the nights we’d spent together after Fillydelphia, and then in Ostfriesen. And now, even now, when nothing else should be weighing upon her mind, she suffered in her sleep. Memories of the past, of the things she’d seen, and the things she’d done.
Dusky was haunted by her past, and it ate away at her every night. I wouldn’t allow it. Not while there was anything at all within my power to help her. I lay besides her now, her head still resting upon me, and I held her close. She was my fiancé, and that meant so much. She was my best friend, the pony who had helped me to become so much more than I ever believed I was capable of, she was the better half of me. Someday, in some distant half-formed idea, I hoped she would even be the mother for our foals, our family. But for now, she was Dusky Down, and I was going to be her Night Light. What else was the purpose behind my name, if not for this very reason?
Her breathing grew sharp, and her heartbeat accelerated. The pained expression on her face told me everything I needed to know. She was afraid, but she was fighting. I grit my teeth and shifted to wrap my hooves around her.
“Dusky, you’re not alone.” There was a brief moment there where my own voice took me by surprise, but my confidence grew with each word. “You’re not alone, I’m here. I’m here, and I will always be here, not just besides you, holding you close, but in your heart too.”
I sighed slightly, shaking my head as I kept careful watch over her expression. “I know, I know. It’s a bit sappy… I can’t help it. I can’t look at you without losing my breath. You are… everything to me. And I’ll be damned if I ever stop giving you flattery, because I’ll never stop loving you. Not like this.”
Her expression deepened intently, worry and fear flashing across her face, but I only tightened my hug. “Don’t give into it, Dusky. I… I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m here for you, and I’m going to help you, okay? I’m your Night Light, and I mean it.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at myself. “Night Light… when did that happen, hm? From the first moment you said that name, I knew it had always been meant for you.”
“So… here I am. Night Light, and… I’m yours. Your husband-to-be. I will do everything in my power to bring you peace, Dusky. I will fight by your side. And… if nightmares plague you, then I shall stay up, every night if need be, and I shall say whatever I can to bring you peace. You heard my voice in Myrtail Beach. Maybe that was because of Twilight’s magic… or maybe it was because of who we are. If you can hear me now, then know that I’m with you, and that you are never alone.”
I watched her, her expression still grim, and her face still filled with pain. I could talk to her every night, but if that didn’t help, then...
“Celestia… Luna…” Then I’d have to ask somepony else. “Princess Luna, help her.”
Almost as though I was dreaming, her eyes shot open, her heart still racing as she glanced about in panic, the terror only starting to fade away as she let her gaze settle on me.
I needed to make sure she was alright, that she knew she was safe, but first I needed to make sure she hadn’t been hurt by… whatever that was. “Dusky? Are you okay?”
“I… I think so.” She glanced at me nervously, then looked away and shuddered. “It felt real. Too real. They got you. They got everyone. And I couldn’t fight back. It was like striking air, yet… it could strike me.” Her wing unfolded to wrap around me gently.
“They didn’t get me.” Tightening my hug, I leaned my head closer to press against her, feeling a bit of that same fear, because part of me worried over just how close I’d been to losing her just now. I felt her heart rate slow just a bit. “I’m here.”
“I know. I know that now. But in the moment…” She’d gathered her wits, but still she sighed, looking more worn out than I’d ever seen her.
Before she could speak, I practically knew what she was about to say. Something was wrong. These weren’t just nightmares, they were something more, and we needed to get help.
“There’s something wrong. The nightmares were never this bad—this real—before. We need to leave. Tomorrow, I mean. We need to cut Crystalside short. I need to see someone who might be able to magically analyse this and the closest person is Ivory.”