The next week was a blur. True to her word, Starshadow continued to meet with me out in the Whitetail Woods, and I trained to be ready for anything. Those sessions were cut short, however, as my workload began to increase.
Twilight Sparkle maintained a very strict timetable, and wanted to be sure that nothing was left to chance. She said it was a lot of work upfront, but when the day of Winter Wrap Up came, everything would fall into place.
She mentioned the incident a few years back, when a surprise snowstorm out of the Everfree Forest had struck the town. It had grounded the weather team, and several ponies had gone missing in the whiteout, with nothing for us to do but wait for the storm to pass. "With proper precautions, even the most unexpected incident can be dealt with."
I didn't want to let her down when the day arrived. Not her, or Blizzard Breeze, or anypony else for that matter. So I moved through the pre-preparation checklist as efficiently as possible. The day before Winter Wrap Up, I moved on to the preparation checklist.
Ice scoring blades were sharpened and the sets sorted by hoof size, weather team assignments were given out, the cloud clearing routes were optimized to best prepare against random nimbus generation from the Everfree Forest, tasks were prioritized to provide the most assistance to the plant and animal teams, and more. Twilight was nothing if not thorough.
Winter ended, as it does every year. On the day of the Wrap Up, I helped clear the snow with a heavy heart. It couldn't be eternal, but I was always sad when the season passed into spring.
Still, despite my feelings, everything ran smoothly, and the first day of spring arrived without a hitch. I felt an unfamiliar sense of pride growing for what I'd help do. My weather work, my training, and my friends. How things had changed over the winter months.
All for the better, somehow. I slipped into bed that night feeling more accomplished than I had in all my years. A fresh new season lay ahead, and it really felt like nothing could go wrong.
---
I landed on the porch of the bar the next night. With the season shift settled at the office, I had a few days off to look forward to. I hadn't made any real plans, but to start, I simply wanted to spend a night with my friends, so the Lusty Seapony was the obvious destination.
The sound of laughter was heavy inside the bar, a sharp contrast to the relative peace of my last few visits. I could hear Mahogany loud and clear, and I already felt a grin spreading across my face as I pushed open the door, unaware I was opening it to face a nightmare.
She was a snow white pegasus, or perhaps cloud white would better describe her. Her brown mane was streaked with a light stripe, with a short forelock poking out from the tiered mass. She had a wide, mirthful smile, but I could see the glint of chaos behind it. The second I opened the door her eyes locked with mine and I knew there'd be no escape.
I stammered out a cry. "Y-you!" This wasn't like Dad. I didn't want to face her again. I couldn't.
I spun back towards the door, only to collide with the wood as a red aura held it closed. I fell onto my back, her laughter filling my ears.
Terrabona stepped over from the table, appearing above me with a grin. Her horn was still glowing, indicting her as the culprit who’d cut off my escape. "Oh, ho, Flurry! You can't leave just yet."
I looked up at her, pleading. "P-please, tell me this is a dream. P-please tell me sh-she's not here! Just... anything!"
Mahogany's voice rose above the crowd with a laugh. "Nope! Sorry, Night! She's been tellin' us all sorts of stories."
Rolling over to push myself up on my hooves, I glanced nervously towards Mahogany, sighing out in defeat. "R-right... Wh-what has she been telling you all?"
The white mare responded in a sing-songy voice. "Eeeeeevvvvverrrrything~"
I tried to look across the table, to meet her eyes, but couldn't quite do it. "H-hey... um... Sis'."
"C'mon Nighty! Take a seat! We were just talking about you!" called Spring Showers, my youngest sister, though still older than me. Her name belied her nature, she was far from a gentle rain. Being around her was always like being caught up in a storm, and in the past, I'd always been the one to get hurt.
"She was in here looking for you, 'Nighty'." Mahogany laughed.
My cheeks burned hot. "N-nighty? I... w-what”
Spring giggled. "Oh, his face is going all red. Priceless! Okay, now watch this.” She cleared her throat. “So, Nighty. Tell me more about Dusky~"
I felt my face grow even hotter. "D-Dusky? I... Wh-what have they been telling you, Spring?"
"Oh, just eeeeeevvvvverrrrything~" The giggle turned into a full laugh as she wiped a tear from her face.
I plodded forward, keeping my eyes off of her as I did my best to settle in at the table. Merri sat to one side with her usual grin. Starshadow had a book in front of her, though she was keeping watch on my sister with a cautious eye, glancing between Spring and Merri with a disturbing frequency.
Mahogany had a not-quite-full Buzzard, though from the lack of empty glasses, he'd apparently been far too distracted by our guest to drink too much. At least that meant maybe I wouldn't have to carry him home tonight, even if I’d never hear the end of him learning my sister called me ‘Nighty’.
Terrabona took a seat beside me, chuckling quietly to herself. "...I'm really sorry, Flurry. I swear, this was a lot funnier when you weren't here."
My ears fell flat, and I just nodded. "W-well... I can't blame you, I guess. She is my sister..."
Terrabona shifted in her seat a moment and downed her drink. "Honestly, I didn't even know you had a sister, Flurry."
Across the table, Spring sighed dramatically and pouted. "You didn't even tell your friends about us, Nighty? Like, not even the time we tried to mail you to Canterlot?"
Mahogany snorted into his glass. "You mailed him? Like standard shipping, or overnight? I'm pretty sure that violates a few regulations either way. No shipping live animals."
This was already going exactly as I was expecting. I dropped my head to the table, quietly mumbling. "I was... six? I don't remember..."
"Yeah! I think so!" Spring raised a hoof and counted off. "Which means I was nine? That sounds right! That was Diamond's idea, anyway." She spun back towards Mahogany and nodded knowingly. "He was always threatening to run away to Canterlot, so she just convinced him it'd be a faster trip!"
"D-Diamond... right..." I panned my eyes around to look at everypony.
Mahogany smirked at me. "You were six? How do you even run away to Canterlot when you can't fly yet?"
Spring giggled again, waving her hooves to draw attention back to herself. "He totally couldn't fly yet. He never really thought that stuff through. He just wanted to go to Canterlot and see Daddy. Di actually convinced him the mail pony would carry him there." She stuck out her tongue at me.
"Well... I was six... and... well... nevermind." I closed my eyes, just wanting the night to end. I couldn't leave. I'd just wait until she was gone. Once Spring had her fun, she'd go, and hopefully leave me alone again.
"We wrapped him up like a vase and packed him tight, then we just left him in the backyard for like... two hours." Spring laughed, dropping a hoof to the table. "Mom ended up making us cut him free. We got in so much trouble for that one."
I sighed. "D-didn't stop you, though..." Diamond and Spring had always been looking for ways to get rid me, one way or another.
"Eh! Flurry! That's it!" Terrabona prodded me with a hoof. "We've been hearing Spring tell stories about you all night. You've got to have embarrassing stories about her, right?”
Mahogany joined in with a cheer. "Yeah! Turnabout's fair play Right, Terra?"
I felt Terrabona's hoof continue to poke. "Dang straight. Now, c'mon, Flurry. Spill it." I turned to find her grinning entirely too wide.
Spring was just laughing now, nodding her head at me rapidly. "Do it, Nighty! Do it!"
I swallowed nervously as everypony's attention had turned to me. "Um... w-well I don't really have anything... not really."
Merri snorted, her horn glowing as she threw a peanut at Starshadow. "What kind of sibling doesn't have some kind of blackmail on their sister?"
As the peanut bounced off her head, Starshadow gave a subdued smile back. "Perhaps the kind of sibling which Night Flurry is. It seems unlikely that he would have stories about, for example, his sister running about pretending she was a dragon."
Merri smirked. "Hey, I only did that once. And I said I was sorry! And they fixed the chandelier!"
"Err... actually..." I glanced at Spring.
She had an eyebrow raised towards Merri, but she looked back at me with an odd grin and continued to nod.
"W-well, I just mean... she used to make me play damsel and knight..." I swallowed a bit, not really sure what I was trying to say. "And you tried to be the dragon once... err..."
Spring shrugged, throwing me a wink. "Hey, being the damsel all the time is boring. Sometimes you gotta be the dragon!"
Starshadow's simple smile stayed on her face. "Spring Showers, I believe that you would be nearly as inadequate as a dragon as my sister."
"Yeah!" Merri blinked. "Hey!"
The table was still laughing. I remained low, watching my sister.
Her eyes were locked on me, but I could only stare back silently. I'd known her too long to try to figure her out, but still, this whole thing was odd. Of all the places in Equestria, how had she found me here? Why? Hadn't things been better after I'd left?
We stared as if trapped, the awkward moment hanging in the air. I didn't know what to say to her, and apparently, she didn't know what to say to me, either. As we both sat silently, her smile started to slip.
Something about that smile punched me. I sighed. "S-Spring... w-why are you here?"
"Sheesh, Nighty." Her smile faded completely, her face scrunching up slightly as if she'd just swallowed something foul. "I'm your sister. And how long has it been since you've come to see me? To see anypony else in the family? Eh? Not seen you since your graduation! Not even for holidays!"
I didn't want to listen. Spring was always over the top, ever since she was a foal. I used to fall for her act, I used to think the world of her when I was a colt, but I’d only grown to become a burden for her, to the family.
Spring broke back into my thoughts. "I mean... it's been five years."
"Wow." It wasn't Spring who spoke up next, however. Mahogany leaned over his drink to look me over. "That's cold, Flurry. I hate my family and even I go back for Hearth's Warming."
I sighed. "I... um... w-well..." I slumped in my seat. "Not like anything's changed..."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Spring frowned, her ears dropping back. "You don't... still hate us do you?"
"H-hate?" I flinched. "I don't... I—" My words were cut off by the sound of a loud crash against the side wall of the bar. It was a heavy thwack, all at once, like a big crate had fallen from a pegasus cart. Something big had hit the side of the building, and the sound had definitely come from above ground level. "Um… wh-what was that?"
The sound echoed through the room, and the others grew quiet as we all stared at the wall. The silence lingered a moment longer before everypony else resumed their conversations.
I sat, head craned to glance at the wall. A weight had settled on me, but I couldn't place it. I let out a breath and turned back to the table.
Spring pushed herself up and looked around at us. "Well? Aren't we gonna go check it out?"
"Probably just some pegasus who can't hold their booze." Mahogany downed the remains of his buzzard. "Lightweights."
"So you're just gonna sit there?" Spring leaned her head down, giving Mahogany a glare that reminded me of Mom. "What if they need help? C'mon!"
I remembered, growing up, how Spring had never been able to leave anything to harm. Stray birds weren't anything unusual in Cloudsdale, and Spring had practically kept a clinic for them. Her 'broken birds', Mom used to call them. There were times I'd contemplated just how much better she'd treated those birds than her own brother, but I shook that thought away.
I glanced at the others and gave a sheepish grin. I rose, knowing nothing would discourage her from heading out now. I may as well join her to be sure nothing happened, either to Spring, or because of her. "Y-yeah. You're right, Spring. Let's go."
She pumped a hoof and gave a cheer. "That's the spirit! Nighty and Spring, together again! We fly!"
And with that, she practically skipped to the door.
Starshadow raised an eyebrow, watching Spring dart out the door. "She certainly seems excitable."
"She... yeah. I guess... she's not that bad..." I smiled sheepishly and turned to follow my sister. I heard the chairs behind me scrape across the floor as the others moved to join us.
It was growing dark outside, the sun had just set as Luna's moon began its rise into the sky. The noise of the bar faded into the background as I turned to search for Spring. I just hoped she hadn't run too far ahead.
She hadn't. Spring was always the first one in, ready to do… whatever it is she usually did. Now, for all her energy and enthusiasm, she stood at the corner of the bar, looking into the alley with eyes wide, her face frozen in shock.
I stepped forward cautiously, keeping my voice low. "S-Spring?"
Her movement was stilted, unnaturally forced, as she shakily turned her head towards me. Her eyes were full of tears as she choked out the words. "N-night? I think... I think they're dead..."
I came alongside her to get a look around the corner. There was a pegasus, apparently the source of the noise, laying crumpled against the wall. He was a Guard, from the looks of his armor. I felt my stomach churn. His coat was covered in deep cuts and blood, some caked, most fresh.
My knees went weak as I spotted the deep cut stretched across his throat. He wouldn't be waking up. He was, without a doubt, dead.
Dead. I turned to the second figure, the image of the first refusing to leave my mind, until a far worse vision replaced it. She was stretched across the ground, her dark coat wet with blood. I prayed it wasn't her own.
"D-Dusky!" In that moment, all else was forgotten. I rushed to her side, the terrible feeling in my stomach had crystallized into a heavy dread. I looked her over for any sign of life, fearing I’d find the same deep cut along her throat. Dead. "Please, no, please don't be d-dead..."
Other voices filtered in. Merri's echoed through the emptiness. "Dusky? Whoa... uh, Sis’?"
"Yes." Starshadow answered. I heard them drawing their weapons. "If there is one, there could be others. Terrabona, Mahogany, see to her. Merriweather and I shall create a perimeter." There was a noise like wind, and the two sisters were off.
"See to her? R-right... err..." Terrabona came up behind me, a whisper escaping her lips. "Oh, Celestia... Dusky..."
Mahogany cursed to himself. "I knew I shouldn't have let him take you off alone..."
I blinked, looking back to Mahogany. “Let… him? What?”
"Some guard was looking for Dusky earlier." He narrowed his eyes at the corpse. “Something’s been bugging me ‘bout this… I don’t know why I trusted him...”
I gaped at him. It was just like Dusky had said on the train, like the last time she'd gone to the guard. Somehow, she’d been betrayed. That had to be it. The dead guard was a traitor, he just had to be. I needed to know more. I was about to ask Mahogany for the whole story when Dusky stirred, immediately calling my attention back to her.
She woke with a groan, her legs shuddering violently as she tried to move. The progress she made was swiftly defeated as she fell back to the ground with a cry.
"D-Dusky, no! If you're hurt, just stay still!" I turned to the others. "Mahogany, get your cart. Terra... help me keep her steady."
"Gotcha!" Mahogany galloped past us to get his work cart, the wooden wagon he used to transport packages out of town. This was the second time it would be used for an emergency. The first, when my wing had been critically injured.
Since then, he’d claimed it was both more efficient, and critical for our safety. “That cart saved your life!” He’d told me, prodding at my wing. Now, I sent a quiet thanks to Luna for that. I would have to give Mahogany an apology for whatever doubts I’d had about it.
Terrabona inched forward, reaching the opposite side of me "Goddesses, Dusky... What happened?"
Dusky forced her eyes open, grimacing at the effort, her muscles straining as if trying to lift a great weight. She must have recognized me, or been too tired to continue, as her attempts to struggle soon stopped. She coughed, trying to say something, the first words came out. "Too many..."
The rest was garbled as her voice failed her.
Mahogany turned the corner, harnessed to his cargo cart. It wasn't the best way to get Dusky to the clinic, but we didn't exactly have many options. All we had to do was get Dusky in as gently as possible, and then we could get her to safety.
I glanced across at Terrabona. She was breathing quickly, staring down at Dusky. She seemed to have locked up, the shock of violence done to her friend was still too much for her, but I needed her help now. "T-Terra... please... can you get her into there? Y-you know... um... magic?"
"Yeah... yeah, Night." She nodded almost mechanically and her horn beginning to glow. I helped her guide Dusky into the cart as carefully as I could, not knowing just how hurt she was, and doing my best to keep her from being hurt any further.
As we settled her down, I came alongside her. "Y-you'll be fine Dusky, we'll get you to the clinic, and everything will be fine..."
Terrabona's magic faded, and she silently climbed up into the wagon after me, settling on Dusky's other side.
Dusky murmured out something as she tried to rise again, but Terrabona and I quickly held her, her meager resistance fading. "Clinic? No... they'll... they'll find..." Her words failed her again as she collapsed back.
Mahogany turned his head back in confusion. "Did she say no clinic? What the hay even happened here?"
Terrabona blinked. "Err... No clinic? Then... where?"
I frowned. A guard traitor. Can't trust the clinic. We didn't know anypony else with medical expertise. Dusky's back was bleeding badly, and her shoulder had suffered a deep gouge. "I... I don't know..."
"Well, if not there..." Mahogany paused a moment, tapping a hoof to his chin. "Twilight Sparkle maybe? Or that zebra in the Everfree."
Terrabona shook her head. "Oh, no, no, no. Not the Everfree. It's way too late to even think about risking that."
Dusky didn't have much time. "Well... Twilight it is, then. Let's go Mahogany!"
"Right! I'm going to fly low, just in case she gets too restless. Keep her still."
Before we could move, Spring called out. "Wait! Wh-what the hell, Nighty! What the hell is happening?! Th-that is a dead Guard!"
I'd nearly forgotten about her in the rush of activity. She still stood at the corner of the building, looking like she'd been struck by lightning. Her eyes were red with tears, and I recognized the same fear in them that I knew that she could see in me.
I looked to Terra and nodded, though I'm not sure she noticed. I flew to my sister. "Spring? Spring, listen to me, alright? I need you to fly to Canterlot as fast as you can and get Dad."
She shook her head, closing her eyes. "What? I... I c-can't! I mean... ah, Celestia, Night! He's dead! She's dea—"
"She's not dead!" I snapped out, and Spring’s eyes went wide. I sighed, trying to keep calm. I couldn't afford to panic, not now, and I couldn't let her panic either. "Spring... Spring please... Go find Dad. Tell him to meet us here in Ponyville at the Library tree near the center of town. Don't tell anypony else. Just... please... we can talk later, I promise. We'll talk later and we'll figure things out between us, but none of that is important right now."
She was quiet, tears still streaming down her face as she stared back at me. At last, her resolve came together, and she nodded. "R-right. Get Dad. G-get Dad... Ponyville Library. Nighty?"
I looked at my sister. She wasn't the same as I remembered her, either. She was older, and her face filled with experiences I couldn't imagine. I wondered just what I must look like to her right now. "Yeah, Spring?"
"Just... be careful, Night." She spread her wings. "I don't wanna lose you again."
I blinked at her words, but had no time to process them. "I... I'll be careful."
Spring nodded, and with a rush of air, she was off in the sky. I watched her go for just a moment before I hovered up and returned to the cart.
Mahogany cleared his throat. "Okay, you ready to go now?"
I turned my head back to watch Dusky. She was barely breathing now, we had to get her to somepony soon. "Yeah, we're ready. Go."
Dusky's face was pale. I settled down and placed a hoof upon her to keep her steady in the cart. Terrabona's face looked almost as pale as Dusky's, and she was holding Dusky's hoof tight between her own. Her voice was barely audible, but I could hear her speaking under her breath. "Dusky... no, no, no..."
I closed my eyes and sighed, needing to keep calm, and needing Terrabona calm as well. I raised my voice a bit. "You're safe, Dusky... w-we're getting you help."
Terrabona lowered her head as I spoke, and closed her eyes. She trembled, but grew silent.
Mahogany broke in a gallop, lifting the cart up into the air behind him as he flew as fast as he dared through the town.
---
We made it to Twilight’s Library in good order, though every second we were in the air felt like an eternity. Dusky faded in and out of consciousness, her breathing remained shallow as she fought to stay awake.
“We… we made it, Dusky. We’ll get Twilight, and she can help... “ I glanced up at Terrabona, as if for confirmation.
Terrabona stared back at me as if trying to ascertain the same. All I could do was nod awkwardly.
“We’re here.” Mahogany announced as he began to unharness himself from the wagon. “Get her down, I’ll get the door.”
We lifted Dusky out as carefully as possible, Terrabona levitating her while I guided her outward. I kept a hoof against her unconscious form and Terrabona strained to keep her in the air. Mahogany rushed ahead to knock on the door.
It wasn't terribly late in the evening yet, and the lights were still burning inside. There were times working the night shift when I'd seen the library lit all night long, the pony within was true to her name when it came to the hours she kept. Now, her late hours meant she would be awake and ready to help, or so I hoped.
She opened the door promptly and tilted her head, blinking at Mahogany “Um, hello?”
“We have an emergency.” He stepped aside to give Twilight a view of us, Terra still keeping Dusky cradled in her magic.
She didn't hesitate one moment, her horn glowed bright and she gently took Dusky’s limp form from Terra’s grip. “Dusky… What in Equestria happened to her?”
I followed as she carried Dusky inside. “W-we, um… we don’t know… she… she didn't want to go to the clinic, though… W-we brought her here… you were the only one we could think of, Twilight…”
Twilight, still holding Dusky aloft, levitated some blankets into the room and carefully spread them across the floor. She lowered Dusky onto the blankets, doing what she could to make her comfortable. She raised a hoof to her head in thought.
“Do you need anything for her?” Mahogany stepped towards Twilight. “I can run to the clinic and get it for ya, just give me the word.”
Twilight shook her head. “No… I have a spell that should do the trick.”
I found myself still at Dusky’s side, standing over her as she lay upon the blankets. She looked helpless, and I felt just as helpless. All I could do was talk. “Hear that D-Dusky? Twilight’s spell will work, a-and you’ll be fine…”
Mahogany sighed behind me. “Yeah… just fine.”
Twilight stepped to the other side of her, and looked me over. Her gaze traced the room. “I’ll need you to step back. I need to focus.”
I blinked, not really hearing what Twilight had said. Her horn began to glow bright.
“Night Flurry?”
I glanced up at her, and she smiled, nodding her head to the side. “Please, step back.”
“R-right… right.” I retreated slowly, wary of the amount of magic suddenly building around Twilight’s horn. It glowed purple at first, then grew brighter and brighter, the white light filling the room. The only time I’d ever been so close to so much magical power was when Merri had tried to cast a spell on Terra, the one which had backfired and injured my wing.
I looked down at Dusky again, lying on the blanketed floor. Was this what she’d felt that night? The weight in my stomach felt like I’d been swallowing stones, and all I could do to help was stand aside and wish things were better. Had she felt as helpless as I did?
That magic built up, layer after layer of brilliant white light. It was getting hard to look away from, until at last, the light peaked in a flash, and quickly faded. All that remained were the spots in my eyes, and the faint dusting of magenta light that surrounded Dusky’s body.
Twilight let out a long breath. “Phew, okay… that should do it. She’s going to be asleep for a long time now. But when she wakes up, she’ll be as good as new.”
I heard Terrabona sigh in relief. “Thank Celestia…”
“I’m going to move her into a bed.” Twilight’s magic once again folded around Dusky. She suddenly looked far more exhausted; the spell had apparently drained her quite a bit.
I froze as she went, not wanting to leave Dusky’s side. Part of me knew there was nothing else to worry about, she’d be safe here with Twilight for now, but I had to stay by her side.
A hoof rested on my shoulder from behind and I turned to see Terrabona. “C’mon… sh-she’s fine. We should go…”
I shook my head. “I… I can’t.” I wouldn't leave her. “B-besides… I sent Spring to get Dad… h-he’s coming here… I need to be here so we know what to do…”
“We don’t even know what happened, Night.” Mahogany grimaced. “Some guard was after her in town, and then we find her like this with… you know. That other guard.”
“M-my Dad... he’ll know what to do… and… I won’t leave her alone like this.”
Terrabona’s eyes were damp, lines down her muzzle from the tears she’d apparently been holding back until now. “Flurry I-I… I’m n-not cut out f-f-for th-this… We just saw a pony killed! And Dusky was nearly… and… oh… Aster...” She seemed suddenly terrified, looking towards the door.
My mind was made up, one way or another. “I… I can’t leave her. You two… should go… get somewhere safe.” I glanced at Terra. “Make sure everypony else is safe.”
She frowned. “I… I don’t want to leave her either… No pony should be alone for something like this….”
Mahogany nodded, standing besides Terrabona. “Besides, if it’s my fault she’s in here, I gotta do something for her, right?”
I smiled at them. “Well… I guess we’ll wait and see what my Dad has to say… Thanks… both of you.”
Twilight returned from the side room, and looked about at the three of us. “She’s comfortable. Whatever did that was vicious, but I’ve checked to be sure the wounds are healing up now. She’ll be asleep for a few days, though.”
I stood, and headed back towards the room where Twilight had placed her. “I’ll be with her.”
She blinked as I passed. “Well, really, it’d be best to let her res—”
“He’ll be fine, Twilight.” Mahogany stepped up. “We’ll uh, try to fill you in while we wait for Flurry’s Dad to show up. He’s a Guard, I guess?”
“Y-yeah… r-right. Some kinda Guard…” Terrabona stammered out a nervous laugh.
Twilight conceded, though she still sounded unsure. “Well… I guess it can’t hurt her if he’s back there.”
They talked quietly as Terrabona and Mahogany caught Twilight up with the night’s events. We’d wait for my father to arrive, and we’d figure things out from there. For now, I just needed to be sure Dusky was going to be alright.
She was curled up on the bed, now beneath the blankets Twilight had supplied. Her face that had only been filled with pain all night was finally at rest, her breathing seemed normal.
I finally broke, then. I lowered my head and started to cry. “I’m here, Dusky. Just… D-damn it all, Dusky… just… be alright.”