From Dusk to Night

by KuroiTsubasaTenshi

15 - Motives

I could already feel the tension creeping back into the tips of my hooves. A sigh tried to escape, but I held my lips fast. Turning to Noble Light’s voice, I met his gaze; it was as impassive as ever.

“What is it?” I asked, trying to keep my face just as neutral.

As he motioned back toward the room, I couldn’t help but wonder why he’d waited. Whatever it was, I doubted it was anything that had been simply forgotten—he didn’t strike me as the type to let that kind of thing slip his mind.

My best guess was now that Night Flurry was gone, Noble Light wanted to talk to me about the complicated stuff. The question then, was whether he didn’t want Night Flurry interfering or wanted to spare him from getting caught up in some really ugly stuff.

With the room secured once more, I gave Noble Light an expectant look.

“Night Flurry. How is he?” he asked, the words stretching out just a little longer than they could have. I thought I even caught a hint of uncertainty in his eye.

The question stretched even more as it entered my mind and I searched for a hidden meaning. “He’s… good?”

He studied me for a moment. Whatever he was looking for, it wasn’t there and especially not in my answer. He bowed his head.

“Perhaps I should clarify: I am not looking to start a fight. I… We have been apart a long time, my son and I. I wish to reconnect with him.”

I nodded. So my gut instinct had been correct—at least partially. Whatever feud I’d imagined between the two seemed to be imaginary. But something didn’t quite sit right with me. “Then why did you pull me aside?”

Noble Light coughed, a hint of embarrassment passing across his face. “I am… uncertain of his circumstances. Both then and now. If he is not ready to see me, I fear it may do more harm than good.”

It was my turn to study him. The embarrassment was long gone by this point, his face returned to neutral. And yet, I couldn’t help but feel he was genuine. It was something about the way he’d asked. It was almost… pleading without pleading, if I were to try to put it into words. It was then that I realized his face didn’t quite have that usual stoniness. More than anything, he looked tired.

As I finally decided on giving Noble Light a bit of help, it occurred to me that I wasn’t quite sure what to say. I’d never been asked so directly to profile someone, nevermind a friend.

I chose my words very carefully, not wanting to misrepresent Night Flurry, but also to give the bare minimum. While I did believe Noble Light, I also believed that whatever he was looking for, it could only be found by talking to Night Flurry, himself.

“He’s naive, I guess would be the best way to put it. As in, he has a sort of idealized view of knights and heroes. But he has a kind heart, the sort that wants to help his friends however he can. He has a weather job, one that he puts his all into. I suppose you could say he’s normal enough.”

Noble Light looked relieved—almost happy.

“Thank you, Miss Mist. I will have to write him more.”

“Write?” I let a smirk creep up my lips. “What if I told you he was still here?”

“Is he now?” This time, the surprise filled his face, and while his voice sounded absent, I swore he was still looking right at me.

I arched an eyebrow. “Is something wrong?”

Noble Light shook his head, although it was more like he was clearing something from his mind than giving me an answer. “Don’t mind me, I think I’m just getting old.”

“Um… what?”

A bit of embarrassment returned to his face, scrunching his muzzle, before he relented. “It’s just that smirk... An old student of mine used to give me that look.”

I blinked, as a ripple of thought coursed through my mind, becoming a tidal wave. An old student… Oh, Celestia, he’s ‘Nobes’!

It was all so clear that I was ashamed of my obliviousness. While my mother had never called him anything but ‘Nobes’, it wasn’t all that far off from Noble Light. So this was the stallion she respected as a fighting peer.

A sense of budding familiarity spread over my mind, though it didn’t get far before I caught myself. Just because he might have been my mother’s mentor, didn’t mean I shouldn’t be cautious. While I allowed myself to feel more secure in trusting him with the Cartel information, I decided I should confirm with my mother first before getting all chummy with him.

“Um, okay…” I forced my face to remain neutral. “Anyway, he’s off seeing the city.”

Noble Light bowed his head again. I could almost see the plan formulating in his mind.

“That is all I need to know. Thank you, Miss Mist.” He turned to the door. “If there is ever anything you need, you know how to contact me.”

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

---

The flight home was liberating. I felt like I’d left all the weight of my circumstance behind me in Canterlot. While, in actuality, much of the burden lingered, the difference was still big enough to make me indulge in a few unnecessary maneuvers.

Despite that, I practically sailed across the downdrafts, and Ponyville was in sight a whole ten minutes earlier than expected. As I blew back into town, I flared out my wings, slowing myself just enough to drift lazily above the rooftops.

Deciding I wasn’t quite ready to land yet, I eyed the ponies below. The market was winding down with the sun; a small wave of shoppers trotted across the beaten snow, their saddlebags stuffed to the brim. Some of the stall owners even looked to be closing up early.

That’s when I spotted Terra, striding across the snow, glancing to her side every so often to make sure the pale purple filly was still there.

I squinted. Is that… Aster? Oh, Terra… So much for not cramping her style, huh?

Any prospect of enjoying a quiet back half of the day evaporated as curiosity took hold, dragging me down to the ground.

“Hey, Terra!” I called as I landed. “What’s going on?”

“Oh, hi, Dusky,” she replied, merely glancing at me before fixing her eyes back on Aster.

Aster looked up at the same time, giving me an expression that clearly said, ‘Save me.’

“I’m just taking this filly back to her father,” Terra continued. “She was playing hooky, saying she’s got some kind of gardening job. In the winter. Can you believe her?”

“But I do!” Aster protested.

My mind drifted back to Aster’s lonely sunflower. Is she seriously still on about that?

“Really?” I asked.

She nodded emphatically.

“Then what’s your boss’s name?”

“Mister Green Hoof!” Aster blurted out, though the look on her face told me she had second thoughts about giving up that information. Regardless, it surprised me. I’d thought she’d be unable to come up with a serious answer.

“Young filly, don’t lie.”

“But I’m not—”

“Green Hoof is a professional, which means he doesn’t need help to do his job. But even if he did need help, he’s not the boss,” Terra said, her voice firmer than usual. “There is no reason for him to ‘hire’ you.”

Sheesh, no wonder Mahogany called her a ‘matron’.

“Um, Terra, don’t you think you’re overstepping a bit here?”

“Hardly. School is one of the most important things in a filly’s life. Wouldn’t you agree?”

I thought back to my parents, and how they’d gone through pains to ensure I had a stable school life here in Ponyville—even though their jobs demanded they be on the road. So, while true, Terra had also completely missed my point. I tried to think of a way of getting the hint across without cluing Aster into Terra’s issues.

“Well, yes, but that’s not what I meant. Like, don’t you think you’re… ‘cramping her style’ a bit?”

Aster stared up at me, like she couldn’t believe I’d just said that. To be fair, I couldn’t believe I’d just said that.

Freezing mid-step, Terra’s eyes glazed over for a split second. But when they snapped to, they were hard and determined. She let out a cough. “Perhaps, but some things just have to be done. Now, enough talk. Stalwart will be home soon and we have much to discuss about a certain filly’s punishment.”

I sighed. It was clear that I had about as much chance of stopping her quest for mothering as I did her matchmaking. “Right. Let me know how that turns out for you.”

---

Because I clearly hadn’t done enough sleuthing in the last couple weeks, I checked in with Green Hoof. After a bit of prodding, he admitted he felt sorry enough for Aster to slip her a few bits. Turns out she took this as an indication of employment.

I relayed the information to Terra, who was less-than-amused. She seemed to be getting deeper and deeper into this crusade and it was really starting to worry me. Perhaps there was even more to this spell than what I’d concluded at her house.

After a couple days of fruitless research through arcane tomes that I only half-understood, I decided it was time to go back to the source. I would find Starshadow and make her explain the spell to me, line-by-line, then I would cross-check it with Twilight Sparkle. With any luck, the whole thing would be dealt with by the end of the week.

The sun had barely set when I nosed my way into the bar. I wanted to make sure Terra was mostly sober, just in case I had to get her involved.

The bar was quiet, with only the most hardcore of drinkers at their seats. Oddly enough, this didn’t include Mahogany or Terra. Or even Merriweather—in a technical sense. That our table was completely devoid of glasses bordered on eerie.

Instead, she and Night Flurry stood beside the table, chatting about something I wasn’t quite sure about.

As I approached the table, I allowed myself a frown, disappointed that Starshadow was not with her sister.

“W-wait, there was a payroll?” Night Flurry shrunk down.

“Of course! All the—oh, hi, Dusky~!” Merriweather spun to face me.

“Hi, Merriweather, Night Flurry.” I quirked an eyebrow. “What’s this about payrolls?”

“W-well…” Night Flurry began.

“Oh, just the Knighthood that Sis’ is dismissing Night from.” Merriweather waved her hoof.

“I… what? Knighthood?” I peered over at Night Flurry. He looked like he was about to burrow into the floor.

“What?” Merriweather looked between us. “Was that supposed to be a secret or something~?”

I glanced at Night Flurry. “I don’t know. Was it?”

After seeing him with his father, I had a pretty good idea what this whole thing was all about. It was for that same reason that I couldn’t be particularly annoyed. If anything, I just felt sorry for him.

“I… I-I…” Night Flurry looked at the door.

Slipping over to him before he did anything stupid, I placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Hey. Whatever it is, if you want to talk about it, I’ll listen.”

“O-okay. I, um, w-well…” He looked around self-consciously.

I gave him a quick nudge and motioned to the back rooms. Without a word, he started down the hall. I turned to Merriweather, raising an eyebrow.

“Nah, go on without me. I’ma see how Sis’ is doing with the paperwork.” She grinned widely, as she headed for the stairs. “You two have fun~.”

“Uh, huh.” I rolled my eyes.

As we settled into one of the booths, I couldn’t help but note that even though the Cartel stuff was out of my hooves, I had still found my way into yet another secret conversation in a private room.

Night Flurry was looking everywhere, except for me.

“So…” I tilted my head.

Night Flurry snapped to, looking at me for a split second before his eyes fell onto the table. “S-sorry... I, um... asked Merri to train me a-and... well, one thing led to another and suddenly... I was a kn-knight under S-Starshadow.”

I blinked. “That’s… quite the leap. But since it’s Merriweather, I can’t say I’m surprised.”

With a cringe, he dug into his flight satchel. He came up with a gold hoof bracer, which he gingerly set upon the table. I’d seen the things around every so often. Anypony wearing it could channel a bit of their innate magic to activate it and summon a blade. They weren’t particularly popular because the style required to use it is difficult for many ponies to learn, nevermind master. It was ornately engraved, no doubt with some sort of traditional Ostfriesen carving. However, the most interesting part was just how old the thing looked. That gold had clearly seen better days.

I gave him an expectant look.

“Merri gave it to me,” Night Flurry said. “I... I thought m-maybe if I learned how to use it, I c-could stop being s-such a burden. I just w-want to protect my friends. B-but it was all too much... I.. I'm no knight...”

He was trying, that much was certain. I knew, as much as anyone else, that everyone always wished they could do more.

Putting on my best reassuring smile, I waited for him to look up again before saying, “I understand.”

“Y-you do?” He perked up ever-so-slightly.

“When I asked you to make that promise, I wasn’t asking you to foreswear fighting. I just didn’t want to you to do anything overly risky. But if you just want to be prepared, I have no objections.”

Night Flurry paused, chewing on invisible hay for the next few seconds. At last, he gave me his own sheepish smile.

“Th-thanks, D-Dusky.”

I nodded. “Just don’t get carried away. Preparation doesn’t mean much if you hurt yourself doing it.”

His eyes fell back on the bracer. I think he mouthed something at it, but I didn’t catch what. Regardless, when his gaze returned to mine, he looked like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders.

“R-right. I… I’m going to keep trying. But… I won’t lose myself to it. P-promise.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” I smirked. “Shall we head back? Maybe we can catch Mahogany and Terra before they’re completely plastered.”

He smiled as he nodded. “Y-yeah, let’s hope so.”

Comments

[Meta Four]

Theory time: Stalwart is a single dad. Terra is embracing her matronly instincts so that, when she finally does get her sexy back, she can put the moves on Stalwart.