"Oh, I see how it is. You were just waiting until I was in the bathroom, weren't you?" Merriweather's voice interrupted us.
"Wh-what?" I was still holding Dusky close to me, overwhelmed by seeing her awake. I slowly let go and pulled away, looking into an empty corner. "N-no, it was just... w-we were, um..."
"Really? That's the first thing you say?" Dusky's voice still sounded hoarse as it carried her disbelief.
"Aw, geez, c'mon, it was just a joke. In case you didn't know, things have been kind of tense lately." Merri moved in closer to look over Dusky's injuries. "Wow, you're looking pretty good for what you've been through. That Twilight's a real wizard. Maybe even better than Sis'~."
I let my gaze fall back upon Dusky, really looking her over for the first time since she'd woken up. Her mane was unkempt, lacking the elastic that usually pulled it back into a ponytail. Now it simply hung loose and unbrushed. Her coat was worse, bald spots revealing scars that had so recently been deep cuts.
But the most important thing was in her eyes. When I peered into them, I saw the same beautiful fire behind them, driving her. That was all I needed to tell me she'd be alright.
Dusky and Merri had been talking, but I'd done little more than stare, lost in my thoughts.
I couldn't help but smile as I dropped my gaze. "I, um, th-think you l-look good... um, t-too."
"Thanks." She glanced at me with a strange look, almost as if she were relieved. "So where are we, anyway?"
Merri flashed a grin, waving a hoof as if to present the room for the first time. "Myrtail Beach. Nice, huh?"
Her expression wasn't exactly harsh as she narrowed her eyes, but her tone was cautious. This wasn't a vacation, and she knew it. "Why?"
My eyes fell to one of the scars beneath her neck. "B-because you were... h-hurt and we needed s-someplace safe."
She gently placed a hoof on my shoulder, a smile upon her face. "Right and I’m glad you thought of that, but... well, a resort doesn't strike me as a first choice for lying low."
I nearly cringed, finding myself falling under the weight of that hoof despite the warmth. "U-um, well... th-that's..."
Merri picked up for me. "It was his dad's plan. Something about choosing somewhere unofficial so the info wouldn't leak out through the Guard."
Dusky tilted her head. "That doesn't make the vacation destination any less odd, but I suppose that may be why he went with it in the first place."
I nodded slowly. I briefly wondered why, exactly, my dad had sent us here. It had all made sense at the time, or so I'd thought. Now I questioned my choice.
Dusky looked over her coat in the hotel light. "How long was I out? A week?"
I pulled out of my reverie. "Um, two days? Maybe three?" I looked towards Merriweather for confirmation, the time had blended together for me into one long, strange, journey.
She only shrugged. "Something like that."
"That's not very long." Dusky glanced between us with a faint smile. "Everyone must have been on the ball."
"Sure were!" Merri grinned wide and gave me a wink. "You should've seen Night, being all organized and leaderly."
"Really?" She turned to me and flashed a smile. "Well, thank you, Night Light."
What I'd done wasn't much, no more than anypony else would have done. The attention felt undeserved, as I blushed a little and looked away. "I-I just wanted you to be s-safe."
Her words hit me like lightning. My eyes went wide, ears shifting forward. Night Light. She was smiling at me. "W-wait, you, um... h-heard me talking?"
"Sometimes. I don't know how much of it was a dream or not," Her words were somehow both terrifying and calming. "But that particular statement stuck with me."
Again my name echoed through my mind in her voice. Night Light. I should have been ashamed that I'd even told her that name. It'd felt right then, and somehow it felt right now.
I was shaken out of my thoughts once again by Dusky's voice. "Okay. I know this may be hard, but can you gather everyone? I need to know everything that's happened while I was out."
"E-everything?" The details weren't pretty, though I suppose Dusky knew that better than anypony.
She nodded with a heavy expression. "I know I'm asking a lot, but if we want to get through this, I need to sit down and piece this together."
"Okay then." Merriweather pointed a hoof to the door. "Go on, Night."
I paused. "M-Merri?"
She nodded with a grin. "Go get everyone."
"Wh-what?" I glanced at Dusky, who was just watching curiously, then turned back to Merri. "What about you?"
She rolled her eyes. "I'm standing guard, silly." She pointed her hoof back to the door, more forcefully this time. "Now, go on. It's rude to keep a mare waiting and you've got two of us sitting here~."
"U-um, right," I jumped up, scrambling towards the door. "I'll b-be back."
Dusky called after with a simple thank you, but then a second voice joined her: a loud gurgling rumble that somehow filled the hotel room.
I stopped and looked back, staring at Dusky to be sure she was okay.
She shrank down in the bed. "Um, think you could get something for me while you're out?"
I relaxed and smiled back. "Right. I'll get something for all of us."
---
With everypony gathered in Dusky's room, we ate the room service meals in awkward silence. The food was good, though I found that I lacked much of an appetite, knowing what we were about to discuss.
Dusky, understandably, was not shy about her own hunger. After two days without food she was already looking and sounding better as she ate through the oats and grass I'd picked out.
The six of us sat in the hotel room, eyeing one another uncomfortably in the silence, no one quite sure who should begin. Mahogany had apparently not stopped drinking upon arrival at the hotel. Terrabona looked almost sick, and I realized I'd barely seen her in the room since we'd first arrived. Merri and Starshadow were both looking at one another, then at Dusky, as if they were communicating with one another without ever opening their mouths.
I was trying to decide how to start the story when at last Starshadow turned to Dusky. "Very well, I shall tell you what I know on one condition."
Dusky eyed her skeptically. "A condition? Why? This is serious."
"I know." Starshadow looked to Merri for confirmation. "That is why you have to tell us your side too."
Dusky's eyes flitted from Terra to Mahogany and then stopped on me for just a moment. "All right. But it's not pretty. Are you really sure you want to know?"
Terra made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a choke. "Do you think our imagination would be much better?"
"No, you're right." Dusky gave Terra an apologetic look. "It all started with a member of the Guard named Light Horn."
Mahogany reacted instantly, snorting in disgust.
Dusky's gaze dropped. "It's not your fault, Mahogany. I didn't really pick up on him, either. He had us both fooled."
Starshadow coughed. "If I may interject, neither of you can reasonably be blamed. The enchantment was tailored to fool even experienced unicorns."
Dusky's eyes went wide and her pose stiffened. "Enchantment?"
"Indeed. But I shall speak on that more when it is my turn."
Dusky nodded and took a deep breath. "Light Horn claimed he was an Equestrian National Investigator, and that he was researching what I'd discovered in Hoofington. I'd hoped to be able to get him somewhere familiar, but he insisted on interviewing me in private."
Mahogany let out an expletive as he stared at a single point on the floor.
Her ears dropped in sympathy to Mahogany. "I went along with him on my own, but the further we went, the more I felt that something was wrong. Soon, it became obvious that we were being tailed. I was being set up."
"I wanted to trust the Guard, but I was so sure something was off. That there was some kind of enchantment makes too much sense."
I shuddered. Once again, the idea of something so insidious as to manipulate how a pony thought was nearly paralyzing. There were times I wished I was somepony different, but having that forced upon me was horrifying. I was thankful I hadn't had much of an appetite earlier.
"I led them into some old warehouses, and tried to escape, but there were just too many of them. I had to fight them off as best I could until I could make my escape." She glanced at us once again, and I followed her eyes.
Terra's face was pale, Mahogany was scowling grimly, and I was sure I wasn't looking much better. It was certain that Dusky was leaving out the worst elements of the fight, but we'd seen how it ended, and the scars still visible on her body spoke volumes.
"I was fading fast, desperately trying to get somewhere safe before I passed out. One of them followed me, we clashed, and then it went black." Dusky concluded her explanation quietly. "I remember seeing Night Flurry, hearing you all, and then... well, I guess it's your turn."
We fell quiet, back into awkwardness. Suddenly, Terra stood. Making a straight line to Dusky, the unicorn marched forward.
Dusky pulled back, looking a little unnerved. "Um, Terra?"
"Dusky." Terra stopped in front of her and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Terra?"
"Dusky. You're alive." Terra teared up, not letting go as she repeated it like a mantra. "You're alive."
Dusky lifted her hooves to hug her back until Terra’s chant faded. “I’m sorry.”
Starshadow coughed politely, clearly feeling the tone of the room. "If this is too uncomfortable, Merriweather and I can take it from here while the others wait in another room."
She needed to know everything. Everything. I looked up. "N-no. I'll d-do it."
"Are you certain?" Starshadow watched me carefully.
I straightened up, but I felt far less confident than I hoped I sounded. "We have to f-face this if we w-want to help."
As the others resumed their positions, I began to tell Dusky what had happened from our discovery at the bar, onward to our arrival here in Myrtail, the others adding in their own details as we went.
---
Mahogany led the way across the hall to our room. The food had been eaten, our stories told, and now we all just needed to wait.
I glanced back at the door, feeling strange to be leaving her behind now, after all that had happened. I was exhausted and scared, and with only a few hours of sleep on the train, could use a long nap.
I turned my head back, and suddenly found myself face to face with Mahogany.
He scowled deep at me, the faint smell of whiskey still on his breath. He stared me down. "Night. We gotta talk."
"R-right." I glanced up and down the halls, then pointed towards our room.
I slipped in first once Mahogany opened the door. Inside, the room was much the same as Dusky's, save that Mahogany had thrown our luggage into the corner of the room rather haphazardly. The table was already starting to collect a mass of bottles.
Mahogany backed into the room, carefully closing the door and waiting in a fashion similar to how Dusky had listened at the back door of the Lusty Seapony for eavesdroppers, though more clumsily than she'd have done it.
"Um... Mahogany?"
He locked the door, pulled the chain lock closed and dead-bolted it. He breathed out a sigh and turned to me. "Okay. We gotta figure this out. What are we going to do?"
The question caught me off guard. "D-do? Um... I think we just have to wait."
Mahogany glared at me, then came in close again. "Just wait? Just wait for what, Night?" He raised a hoof to his head as if trying to hold back a terrible headache.
The pieces had fallen into place. Having heard from Dusky about exactly what'd happened, the source of his fears was obvious. I decided that maybe I could give him some room to vent. "Are... you alright? Is this about what happened with um... with that Guard?"
"No!" He nearly shouted, then suddenly backed down. "Yes. Maybe. It's about you, and me, and Dusky, and all of this!"
"You heard Starshadow, and Dusky too... it... it wasn't your fault." The thought of the enchanted helmet once again sent a shiver through my spine. "That kind of magic isn't right..."
He nearly spat. "Dusky shook it off. But good ol' Mahogany? Nope! Face it, I'm the reason she was hurt. The weak link! If she'd died, it'd all be on my back."
I found myself shaking.
"N-no, Mahogany. It's on them... a-and Dusky isn't dead." My voice lost its strength. "Dusky is fine..."
Mahogany gave a grim laugh. "For now."
"F-for now. And if something else happens... we'll stand with her."
He raised an eyebrow at me and, surprisingly, flinched away. "Yeah? Maybe. And what happens if they come for us first? What if they come after you?"
I flexed my hoof slightly, feeling foolish even as I did it. "I... I've been training. I... I can fight."
"You can? Maybe. Dusky and Merri and Star, sure. But what if they go after somepony like me?" His tone was deadly serious. "What if they go after somepony like Terra?"
It was my turn to shrink away. "I... don't know."
He sighed, like he'd just given up. "Yeah, thought not."
I stared down at the unfamiliar floor in silence. Mahogany let it linger too as he walked further into the room, digging out a bottle from the room cooler.
He moved towards the table and took a seat, dropping down with a glass and the bottle. He poured the whiskey and took the shot, then stared down at the empty glass. "And what about you, eh?"
"Me?" I tilted my head up towards him. "What do you mean?"
"You. And her." He waved a hoof at the door. "I thought you two were just friends?"
The past few days were such a blur, but that answer was obvious, perhaps more so than it had ever been before. "Well, yeah... Of course we're friends."
He glared over his bottle. "Yeah, but not just friends, eh?"
I twitched. "Wh-what? What do you mean? That... she... we're not. She's made it clear, we're friends."
He poured another glass with a snort. "You've said that so many times I think you believe it. Most friends don't sit with their friends for days on end, Night. Not the way you did."
"It... I..." My ears dropped. "Most friends don't n-nearly die on you like that... m-most friends don't need you to sit up with them until you're sure they're okay..."
"Yeah, maybe not." He poured again, but this time raised up the glass of golden liquid to stare into it. "I don't know, Night. Just don't get all creepy stalkery again, y'know?"
I sat at the table across from Mahogany and nodded. He had a point. I'd overstepped my boundaries with Dusky too many times. I'd sat with her, talked to her, and hugged her so tight when she'd woken up. She called me Night Light.
"I... y-yeah. It... it's all so confusing, Mahogany. I want... I... I don't know what I want. I guess... this. What we have right now... and... I don't know..."
The shot glass balanced on his hoof, he spun the liquid slowly. "This is why love sucks, Flurry. No pony knows what they really want, and then both ponies try to force the other into doing what they want, and then everypony walks away unhappy."
I tapped a hoof on the table. "I don't want that to happen to either of us."
He raised his head to look at me. "Okay, then the real question is, Flurry, what do you want?"
"I... I just want her to be okay. That's enough."
"Heh. Enough for any of us, considerin' the circumstances." He reached out for another glass and slid it towards me, empty. "Now c'mon. Clinkies." He raised his glass.
"Um… clinkies?" I lifted the empty glass hesitantly.
"Yeah. I told ya I'm gonna share all my bad habits. Now, clinkies." He raised his glass and tapped it to mine. "To friendship and being okay."
I couldn't help but smile. "R-right. Friendship. And... being okay."
---
I don't know how long I slept once we’d finally gone to bed. It was apparently long enough that light was peeking through the closed curtains of the hotel window. Mahogany was gone, his bed unmade. That just left me, alone in the room with my thoughts.
Everything here was so different, and I was entirely unsure what to do. I'd taken my father's advice, led all of my friends here, and for what? Safety seemed like an illusion. Dusky was awake, but now my feelings about her were more confused than ever.
I'd thought I'd finally gotten past it, past whatever my own problems had been to keep her away. I didn't even know what I'd wanted from her before. She'd persevered and helped me make a friend when all I'd deserved was to be rejected. I wouldn't let my old habits push her away.
Mahogany had been right. I needed to talk to her. I needed to know.
I poked my head into the hallway of the hotel room and looked back and forth out of simple precaution. Nopony else was out there, and Dusky's door sat closed.
For just a simple hotel door, it was surprisingly intimidating. I took a deep breath, and ever so slowly knocked my hoof against the wood.
At first, there was no sound. I started to wonder if anypony was inside the room at all, when the door cracked.
Starshadow stood in the door and nodded with approval before stepping aside to let me in. "Hello, Night Flurry."
I blinked, somehow expecting it would be Dusky, despite knowing the two sisters were still guarding her. "Oh. Um..." I spied Dusky moving from the beds with a smile. "Star? Could um... you just... s-step outside a moment?"
Starshadow raised an eyebrow at me, then leaned back to make room for Dusky to see me.
She stopped just behind Star, tilting her head. "Hi, Night. Everything okay?"
"Nothing important, really... I just needed... c-can we talk?" I gave Starshadow an apologetic look. "Alone?"
With an appraising glance at Dusky, Starshadow pursed her lips. "Are you feeling up to it?"
She gave the unicorn a bit of a smirk. "I think I can manage."
Starshadow turned her head back and examined me a little uncomfortably, then nodded. "I shall be just outside."
She bowed politely and stepped past me, closing the door behind her. I bowed back as best I could before I walked in, stopping as I met face to face with Dusky.
She was still obviously injured, the small bald patches across her body were still visible. Unlike before, her mane was tied back into her trademark ponytail, and although her scarf was still missing, it didn't detract from her beauty at all.
I shook that thought from my head and forced out a smile. "Dusky... hi."
She smiled back. "Hi. So, nothing important. No word from your father?”
I shrank slightly and shook my head. There’d been no word from Dad… nor was I entirely sure how he’d send word, or what he’d even say. The uncertainty was strong, but at the moment my thoughts for Dusky weighted stronger.
“Then what's on your mind?"
I took a deep breath. "Just... I... I've been thinking. About... me... a-and you."
Her smile faded for just a moment, a flash of concern across her face before her more stoic expression took over. "And? What did you need to say to me alone?"
"J-just that... well..." I needed to breath more. Why had this been so much easier to say when she'd been sleeping? The words were all the same. "We're friends..."
She leaned her head forward. "Are you sure you're alright?"
I nodded quickly, biting my tongue. I tried to organize my thoughts, everything I wanted to say and everything I needed to say getting jumbled in my mind. "I... just couldn't... I... I need to know the truth. "
She pursed her lips carefully, though her voice was still calm. "The truth is what I told you. There isn't much more to say, unless you mean something else?"
I cringed, not knowing what she was thinking now. The truth could mean a lot of things to a pony with so much darkness in her past. "N-no. I mean... about me. I... I need to know... we're friends, right?"
The cautious look disappeared into a smile. "Of course."
"Th-then... th-that's what I need to know... I don't want to..." The words were all like molasses on my tongue. "If... if I ever step over a line, if I ever get too... Aggggghh!"
I closed my eyes. Everything I wanted to say just sounded so wrong. I didn't want to lose the friendship we'd built. I opened my eyes.
She was leaning forward, concerned.
I stared straight into her eyes and my mouth moved before my brain could stop it. "Dusky... I love you."
The silence was deafening. I wanted to scream, I wanted to run. Her gaze held me in place. Starshadow was just outside the door. At the very least, when they killed me, I would finally stop embarrassing myself in front of Dusky like a damned foal.
She blinked slowly, gaping at me. Then, she gathered herself together and closed her eyes.
"Oh, Night... don't you think 'love' is a little strong?" Her mouth turned into a small smile. "I mean, we haven't even had a first date."
My heart sank. At least that was the answer. The truth, as she said. I stopped. My brain began to catch up to the words she had said.
"I... w-wait..." I couldn't hold back the smile that rose up from my heart. "Does... does that mean we'll have to change that?"
"Maybe. If we're in agreement, I don’t see any harm in trying."
I stammered, head soaring, face burning red. "I... absolutely!"
Her smile grew to mirror my own. "Although, that'll have to wait for another day.” She tapped a hoof on the hotel carpet. ”I don’t quite trust this place enough for something like this on such short notice."
I nodded, "I... guess it’s good to b-be safe, y-you know, even after your um... well... yeah." I stepped back to the door, my hoof reaching to pull it open. "I... I'll figure something out soon, then, okay?"
She waved a hoof. "Sounds like a plan."
I felt giddy, about to step out of the room when I stopped myself. I looked over my shoulder at Dusky and lowered my hoof from the door. I turned around to face her, elated and terrified, and with a few steps, gently hugged her. "Um... Have a good afternoon... Dusky."
She hugged back, pressing her muzzle against my neck. "You too, Night Light."