//------------------------------//
// 38 - Dating, Dances and Diplomacy 
// Story: Mending Light 
// by Kiromancer 
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With everything in my life in motion, the moments I shared with Dusky were the parts I wished would slow down and linger. Once she had gotten her hooves settled back into a rhythm and felt as safe as she could feel, I started to plan dates for the two of us. While Ponyville didn't have the widest selection in activities, I did my best to find new things for us to do. One of the most exciting of these, to me anyways, was the May Flowers Celebration Dance.

I'd eagerly brought up the idea, and Dusky had eagerly agreed. The only obstacle after that was in learning to dance, and that became a matter of replacing my usual fighting training with some simple dance lessons. The end result was that, while I wouldn't be winning any competitions, at least I wouldn't be stepping on Dusky's hooves.

We'd arrived well before the music started. The party was a simple thing, a semi-formal affair held in Ponyville to celebrate the first flowers of the spring. One of the Apple Family fields had been decorated with floral-patterned banners and bouquets arranged by the town's resident florists. A small band was tuning up, preparing for the main dance. It wasn't quite a Canterlot garden party, but it was our small town's best imitation, and it certainly felt special to me.

When the time came, Dusky held my hoof in hers as we walked out onto the dance floor. She wore a simple, yet stunning, red outfit trimmed in gold, sleeves down the forehooves but an open strip along her barrel to leave room for her wings, ending in a sweeping skirt across her back and down her rear legs. To complete the ensemble she wore a white rose clasped upon the neckline, with a matching rose clipped in a barrette upon her mane.

The dress was wonderful, the overall effect made her even more enrapturing than usual, which, to my eyes, was no small feat. She was such a wonderful pony, smart and kind, I almost felt embarrassed to see her as beautiful as she was. 

As the band started the first strains of some Canterlot classical music, I smiled wide and gave a short bow to my special somepony. "May I, um... have this dance?"

"I would be delighted." Dusky grinned and dipped her head, then stepped up close as the music started. "I never knew you were a dancer." 

I took the lead, swaying slowly as we followed the beat. The song was nothing fancy, a simple waltz, but the feeling was wonderful. Almost like flying, if nothing at all like flying. "Me either. Just... something I've always wanted to learn." 

She closed her eyes, setting her head against my neck as she followed my movements. "Well, you're pretty good at it."

"A-and here I was worrying I'd just make a fool of myself." I was blushing, but couldn't be sure if that was from the thoughts of the potential embarrassment, or the feeling of her pressed against me.

She giggled. "Nah, I think you worry too much. You do just fine, Night Light."

"Maybe. I don't really worry so much anymore." I chuckled. That wasn't exactly the truth. "It, um... I guess it just seems a bit silly to worry about the things I used to worry about."

"It's not silly." She lifted her head to nuzzle against me. "Though I'm glad to hear you're not worrying about it as much."

Tilting my head, I pecked her cheek. "I have much better things to focus on instead of worrying."

We danced on as the music held us together. I wanted time to stretch on, but all too soon the moment ended, and our dance slowed to a halt. I stepped back and bowed my head once again, and Dusky beamed. As the band started their second set, I extended my hoof back towards her. "May I have the honor of another?"

Dusky set her hoof upon mine. "It would be my pleasure."

---

Twice more we stepped to the slow music before we fell prey to another Ponyville tradition, as the local party expert, Pinkie Pie, 'kicked it up a notch'. The slow dance music was replaced by a high-tempo, fast-paced tune that my careful dance steps could never hope to keep up with. 

Pinkie Pie sang some song to the crowd and those who knew the words, including Dusky, sang along. The upbeat baker's cheer was infectious, and an already wonderful night somehow only got better. Exhausted and danced out, we waved a farewell to the Flower Festival to head back into town and grab some food to end the night.

The sun was still an hour from setting, and as I'd picked the night's activity, Dusky picked dinner, settling on a sandwich cafe with some outdoor tables. The waiters were just setting out candles as we were seated with our menus.

"I'm starving. I didn't expect dancing to be so, um, exhausting."

Dusky gave a tired laugh. "I don't think that was the dancing so much as it was Pinkie Pie. She can have that effect on ponies."

I lifted the menu and smirked. "Maybe. I haven't spent much time around her. Not since I first moved into town."

"No? That's a shame. She's not always so silly and hyperactive." Dusky's eyes grew distant, a sad smile growing upon her face as she looked past me. "She can be a really great friend."

"Maybe I'll have to stop by Sugar Cube Corner more often." I watched her a moment more, her eyes still so far away, locked on some memory that I couldn't see. "Dusky? Are you alright?"

She blinked. "Oh. Err, yeah, sorry. I was just thinking back on a good memory of a rough time."

"Oh. S-sorry." She had far too many memories of bad times, and deserved every good memory she could get. I'd have to ask her sometime, but not tonight. 

With a smile, Dusky lifted her menu. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

I gave a sigh, but smiled anyways. "Doesn't mean I don't wish you had less of the bad, and more of the good." 

"There's been a lot of bad." She leaned in closer over the table, stretching a hoof forward. "But the good has all been wonderful."

I grasped her hoof in mine and held it, shifting towards her. "If it were up to me, it would all be wonderful for you."

She stared into my eyes, just letting her gaze linger, but her smile faded slightly. "That would be nice. But life simply isn't that easy."

"It... it's not that easy, no." I nodded, squeezing her hoof. "Doesn't mean it's not worth fighting for."

We ordered dinner, and as we enjoyed our meals, the sun dipped towards the horizon, approaching the time for Celestia to bring the day to an end. 

Finishing up her salad, Dusky suddenly tilted her head, looking down the road. "Is that Starshadow?"

I turned my head back, following her eyes to find our friend coming towards us at nearly a gallop. Looking back at Dusky, she had already tensed as Star slipped through the tables towards us.

"My apologies for interrupting but there is an issue." Star's face lacked its normal calm demeanor, it was the first time I could recall her looking actually worried. "Merriweather is missing, and all evidence points to a rather disturbing conclusion. I require your help."

"Missing? What's going on?"

Dusky glanced at me, then nodded to Star. "We should let the restaurant have their table back before we talk."

I nodded, reaching my muzzle into my bag to leave some bits on the table as we left.

Starshadow led the way, not towards the bar, but towards the outskirts of Ponyville. As the streets around us emptied, Star spoke her concerns. "I fear that my sister has left for home. She has has been quite concerned about recent events. I apologize, Night Flurry, but she blames herself for your current...condition."

I cringed. It wasn't Merri's fault that everything with Bellerophon had happened as it had. While she'd been the one to give me the bracer in the first place, she couldn't have known what was inside of it. "It's alright, Star. She shouldn't blame herself."

"Regardless, she does." She stopped her march to look back at us, crestfallen. "I felt the same about the incident with Terrabona. Sister and I don't belong here. I fear that our presence here in Equestria has done more harm than good."

Dusky stepped up, shaking her head. "Everyone makes mistakes, and you and Merriweather have both worked hard to make up for it. You're both our friends, and at the very least, I know I wouldn't be here if not for you two."

"I appreciate that a great deal, Dusky. I have felt something akin to 'belonging' here for the first time in years, ever since we departed from our Homeland." Star closed her eyes and nodded. "I have done my best not to dwell on my feelings, and friends such as you have been a welcome surprise here in my time in Equestria. However, now the circumstances of our departure are terribly relevant. For Merriweather, I fear fatally so."

She grew silent as we passed a small group walking down the main road into town. As we reached the edge of Whitetail Woods, Star took a deep breath and began to speak again. "My sister had long been something of an embarrassment to the Royal Court. Her behavior had been unbecoming for one of her ability. But, she was my sister, and I love her, so I found ways to temper her enthusiasm. The spell which I erringly cast upon Terrabona was one example. The incident which prompted her banishment was the last in a line of incidents which could not be ignored."

Dusky glanced at me as we followed her into the forest. "I don't think there's a need to go into detail of what she did."

Before long, we emerged into the clearing where Star had overseen my hoofblade training. There, she opened the satchel and lifted a large book, the most dominant feature of which was an intricate lock set upon the cover. "I quite agree, and I did not inquire too deeply into the nature of her activities. But I fear that her recent behavior has cast the exact circumstances of her relationship with Firetail into question."

I watched Star magic open the lock upon the book, and then flip through the pages as she settled the book down upon the ground. "Er... Firetail?"

"Firetail was a low-level delegate to the royal court. Not terribly important, in the grand scheme of things, but he was regarded as, hmm... handsome. And he had some affinity for my sister."

The heat in my cheeks rose. "I take it she returned that, um... affinity?"

Star nodded, her pace slowing as she skimmed through the book more carefully. "When their affair came into the public light, Firetail accused her of several terrible things, many of which I could not believe my sister would do, but Merri offered no defense. Queen Papaya couldn't look past it, despite my appeals. I had never received the whole story, until..." She stopped flipping through the pages and pointed a hoof at the page.

Dusky moved closer, glancing down to at the pages. "He was blackmailing her?"

"From what I read in her journal, it is now my belief that Firetail selected Merri specifically. She was a dupe he thought he could blackmail. Perhaps they did consummate, but regardless, his accusations were made knowing the court would not listen to Merri's protests. Instead, she remained silent and accepted the court's decision to banish her. I would not part with her, and so we left Ostfriesen. I assumed this was all there was to the story, and I did not wish to pry further into my sister's embarrassment."

Dusky looked up from the book. "But now you've broken into her diary. What changed?"

Starshadow almost looked ashamed, but kept her voice neutral. "Since we learned of Bellerophon, Merriweather has been quite insistent that she needed to return to Ostfriesen in search of answers. I did not understand why she was so adamant that we could find our solution back at home. In our talk with Bellerophon, it seemed to confirm whatever thought she had, and though I believed I had talked her out of this course, it seems I was wrong."

She was doing this all for my sake, all because she blamed herself for what had happened with Bellerophon. "Sh-she went back to Ostfriesen? B-but... if she's been banished... what will they do to her? What does she think she can find?"

Dusky frowned, still reviewing the journal. She pointed a hoof down at one of the passages. "I think I'm starting to see it. She says here that she stole Bellerophon's bracer from Firetail."

Starshadow nodded. "If she was simply trying to return home, there are things I could do to mitigate the damage if I could get there in time. Instead, it seems that Firetail was more than I assumed. Not a simple delegate or even a blackmailer. He is a member of the Descendants of the Justicar, and I fear she intends to seek them out."

Descendants of the Justicar? For the first time since our talk under the moonlight, Bellerophon's attention was suddenly focused. Impossible. What does she mean?

"Err..." I blinked, then turned to Star. "Bellerophon. He, um... he wants to know what Descendants of the Justicar means?"

She frowned. "I had hoped he could tell me. They were the ones in possession of his bracer. According to Sister's diary, before we departed, she went to confront Firetail one last time. I cannot say what her intention was, if she had real feelings, desired revenge, or had some other plan in mind, but regardless, it seems the encounter ended with her stealing the bracer. In her diary, Merriweather seems quite pleased with herself, believing he had stolen the bracer from the Royal Castle, and stealing it back seemed an appropriate farewell to a thief."

"But that's not the case, is it?" Dusky glanced at me, worry plain upon her face. "The bracer was theirs. They were planning to bring Bellerophon back."

Starshadow nodded gravely. "That has become my conclusion as well. Merriweather did not show the bracer to me until we had already passed beyond Ostfriesen's borders. She told me it had been a gift from a particularly generous lover, and she herself did not recognize the historical significance. I had my doubts that such a valuable relic would be a gift, but once again, I chose not to question my sister. Her behavior has always been unusual, but she has never wanted to hurt others. Firetail told her that the Descendants of the Justicar would have their revenge. And so would Broken Tooth."

The name hung in the air like a storm cloud, about to burst open. It was the name of the wizard whom Bellerophon had claimed granted him his immortality. He was now paying full attention, his voice filling my head. Broken Tooth still lives? None of this makes sense. In life, I was the Justicar, and I am uniquely aware that I have no descendants.

"Descendants of... err, Star? Bellerophon says he was the Justicar, but... they can't be his descendants."

"I know nothing more, sadly. Only what Bellerophon himself told us. But now you see the train of thought which has lead me to my conclusion." She motioned a hoof towards the journal. "Dusky, observe the next page."

Dusky flipped the page and her expression dropped. "There are pages missing."

"I suspect Merriweather ripped them out, so that I could not follow her." Star glanced at me. "It is why I need to ask your help. And his help. I need to know where these... 'Descendants of the Justicar' would be. And then I need to find them. And if this causes Merriweather any more pain," Her expression darkened. "I will see it returned tenfold."