From Dusk to Night

by KuroiTsubasaTenshi

32 - Delving Deeper

Night stood over Riot’s corpse, fixing a hollow stare upon the pooling blood. I knew the feeling too well. My eyes flitted over to Blaze; I’d also seen the effect too many times. That stallion with the killer instinct was gone, now, leaving a slumped one in his place. The whole thing still worried me. While it’s true that people can find more ferocity in the heat of battle, it had all been too refined, too deliberate, for the gap to be explained by adrenaline. What’s more, he was mumbling to himself.

“Sh-shut up. Just… shut up.” The words were barely audible, but there was a certain barb to them, like he was actually arguing with someone. My blood ran cold as, for a second, I saw Twilight instead of Night. But it couldn’t be—she and her friends had destroyed the Nameless; Princess Celestia had even had a stained-glass window made about the whole thing. Of course, I couldn’t deny the possibility that there were more of… whatever it was; I thought I felt the chill creeping into my bones. The best I could come up with, to convince myself to put off questioning until we were safe, was that it might ‘just’ be stress-induced hallucinations.

“Is… is it over?” Mahogany’s voice pierced the silence. He teetered a bit and had more than his fair share of superficial wounds, but I think he was the only one who could stand up relatively straight. Besides me, anyway, and I didn’t count, since I had unwanted help. When we got back to Ponyville, I’d have to check into the clinic at some point. I had no idea how I was going to explain away the Ghost Petal in my system, though.

“Yes. Yes, he’s dead. Damn you, Riot. Damn you for all of this.” Noble Light stood more to the side, a hard look on his face. Unlike Night, it was the troubled look of a veteran, realizing that this fight had much deeper implications.

Even just knowing that this Riot guy, if that was his real name, was supposed to be a Guard agent—Noble Light’s agent, at that—the last few months became so much clearer. Ever since I’d been discovered in Fetlock, the Cartel seemed to be one step ahead of me and I could never really figure out why. I almost wanted to laugh at myself. Despite all my efforts to avoid the corruption within the Guard, I chose the one direction that would have fed information to the King of All Moles. I made a mental note to press Noble Light for more information; both my friends’ and my safety depended on knowing just how bad the damage was.

“How… how can anypony have that much blood?” Blaze asked, her voice distant and exhausted. While she had fewer visible wounds, I knew she’d also taken at least one good spill during the fight. My gaze followed hers, back to the mess that was Riot’s corpse. Even though we’d seen more than a few things together, knowing her, she was struggling to not freak out.

I allowed everyone a few more seconds, but the reality of the situation was that we were all in serious danger. Whatever composure everyone could muster would have to do: we had to get out. Trotting up beside Night, I opened my mouth, and the floor shook. I stumbled back, holding a wing up against the falling dust as a thunderous boom echoed through the entire room.

“Whoa!” Blaze looked at Noble Light. “Uh, was that it?”

“Was that what?” I asked. Of course, there was no question that it was a distraction, but given the aftermath, I was afraid of just how far they’d gone.

“That is our distraction. We need to move,” was all Noble Light said. As useless as his answer was, clarification would have to wait. For now, being more or less on the same page would have to be enough.

Night finally noticed me. “Dusky? Are… are you okay?”

I should be asking you the same. But urgency stayed my hoof. “Night Light… yeah, I… I’m fine, thank you.”

He took a few steps forward, stopping short as he became aware that he was covered in blood. “We… we should go.”

“They’re going to be panicked now, right? We can head up and strike before they know what’s coming.” Blaze stomped her hoof dramatically.

“You can’t be serious, Blaze.” I knew she wasn’t, that it was all bravado, but it had to be said, before anyone else decided it might be a good idea.

“No. We’re in no condition to deal with the numbers they have, especially not now,” Noble Light said.

“I... I just want to get you out of here, Dusky,” Night added. At this point, the lost look in his eyes had faded, replaced by fear. I leaned in, nudging at his chin. We couldn’t let it get to him, not here. He pressed his muzzle against my cheek; the motion almost mechanical, but if it helped him focus, that was good enough. “Thank Luna you're safe.”

I glanced at Noble Light. “What’s the plan?”

“Mint is already down on the stairs waiting, and when the explosives went off, she should have ensured we wouldn't have any more company. If everything went right, Merriweather and Starshadow are gone, and Mint will join us.” He pointed at the far stairwell, the one I’d been seeking all this time. “We head down, avoid any fires, hopefully avoid any guards, and try to escape in the panic. They'll have plenty more to worry about soon enough.”

Explosives?! I felt my throat dry up. There had to be something more to it than that, there just had to be. Otherwise, even if we got out, this could only escalate in a way that would never end. I took a deep breath, pushing the thoughts away. I turned back to Night. “Sounds simple enough. But first, we need to cover you up.”

“Me?” He followed my gazed down to his blood-soaked coat. “Oh… right.”

I dashed over to the nearest set of crates—or what was left of them, retrieving one of the tarps and laying it at Night’s hooves. “Wipe off your hooves on this.”

While he complied, I dug through my flight satchels. Fortunately, my cloak was still there. I threw it over Night’s back. While it wouldn’t cover the spatters on his face, they were small enough that it wasn’t worth drawing the hood.

“There. You won’t draw nearly as much attention on the way out.”

He cracked just the barest of smiles. “Thanks, Dusky.”

Noble Light trotted over to the stairs. “Alright, good. Dusky, stick close to Night. He knows where to meet up if we get separated. Mahogany, you and Blaze are in the best shape, so you'll head down first.”

Mahogany gave him a funny look. “Sure, right. I feel like a million bits.”

“No hassle. Just as long as he can keep up with me.” Blaze smiled, heading off further complaint in her own way.

“Hey, I pulled the cart that got you here. I mean, I literally carried you this far.”

Noble Light sighed. “Go now. Chat later.”

With that, Mahogany and Blaze pushed into the stairwell. Going in waves made sense, especially since, despite the distraction, people would be on alert. However, I wondered just how long we could really afford to wait. I watched closely as Noble Light mouthed his way to ten. As soon as he finished, he waved us through.

I could already smell the smoke, faint as it was, as we rushed down the stairs. My ears twitched as the distinct crackling of fire echoed up to us. I felt the hair on my back rise; there were few things I wanted less than to be cooked alive in a Cartel hideout.

Mint Creme was waiting two floors down, an unconscious unicorn at her hooves. Her eyes briefly flitted back to us, but otherwise she kept watch on the second floor proper. “It's getting hot down there, so just get down to the first floor and go straight out the side. Once you're on the street, get as far as you can before heading to the rendezvous.”

Night stopped to nod at her. “R-right. See you soon, Sis’.”

“Go!” Mint Creme shouted.

With a start, he scrambled down the stairs. The further we went, the more visible the smoke. We couldn’t see the fire, but from the sound of it, it was very near. I cringed a little. If it got out of control, it could spread to the street and nearby buildings. That put not only us in danger, but every bystander as well. I hoped they were smart enough to stay clear.

As we hit the bottom, the path split. Night turned one way, but the only thing at the end of that hall was a shut door, barely holding back thick, black plumes. I glanced behind us and immediately caught the glow of an exit sign. The door beneath was already ajar.

I prodded at Night’s side. “That way.”

As we burst into the alley, I found myself squinting, my eyes no longer used to the full light of the sun. I was just barely able to get a hoof on Night in time, before he got off the ground. We couldn’t fly here, especially not the way he looked.

“Not yet.” I motioned for him to follow as I moved toward the mouth of the alley. “Stay low, stick to the alleys. Do you know which way to go to get back to your rendezvous?”

Night spun a few times, as though he wasn’t quite sure. “It's... that way.”

“Then lead the way.”

Time seemed to grind to a halt, my senses going into overdrive. Every sound, every movement, every scent—none escaped me. My entire body was tense, like an overwound winch, just waiting to snap. As we fled the paper plant, I kept wondering when, from its dozens of windows, someone was going to spot us. Any moment now, some sort of air force would swoop down and assail us.

But once we were over a block away, ducking into another alley, I allowed myself to indulge the thought that maybe, just maybe, the distraction was enough to let us make a clean getaway. While I wouldn’t be able to fully relax until we were out of the city, this was definitely a good start. At least I wouldn’t implode under my own anxiety.

The tension faded with each successive alley, until we were too far away for anything other than active pursuit to find us. As we entered somewhere around our fourth or fifth, a sharp whistle cut through the shadows. It didn’t take long to find the source: Merriweather was barely trying to hide. She and Star were already hitched up to what looked like an EPS wagon. Blaze stood in the back, while Mahogany hovered beside her. I had to wonder if they’d actually had a plan or if the whole explosives thing was an improvisation.

“Dusky!” Merriweather flashed me a wide grin. “The only thing that could make this better was if you'd gotten to see how cool I was.”

I got the sinking feeling that she’d been the one handling the explosives. Improvisation was looking more and more likely.

Star rolled her eyes, although it wasn’t enough to dislodge her own smile. “You can tell her all about it once we're out of the city.”

“Agreed,” Noble Light said as he trotted in behind us; Mint Creme was just a few paces behind him. “Night, Dusky, get in and lay low. Mint, Mahogany, and I will be flying out while Starshadow and Merriweather pull.”

“We're not going to fly out?” Night asked.

“It's too risky this close. You and Dusky are bit too... suspicious looking.”

Night looked down at his coat. Even with my cloak, someone discerning could easily figure out what the stains were. “Ah, um... right.”

I sat on all fours, trying to keep my profile as small as possible. It was a bit difficult with three of us inside, two of whom had to more or less sprawl out.

Night sighed as he finally settled in beside me. “Soon, we'll get as far from this damned city as we can get.”

His voice had that whole bitter tone, the kind that showed the situation was getting to him again. Leaning in, I pressed up against his neck. “Thank you, Night Light. I'm sorry.”

“What? Why? Why are you sorry?”

“For worrying you. For making you come all the way out here.” I glanced up at him. “For making you... kill.”

“I... I did worry, of course I did. But, that's because I love you. As for the rest, coming out here was nothing... a-and... I hope I never have to kill again.”

I nodded, even though I knew that so long as he was with me, that was little more than wishful thinking. “I always hope the same thing. But... stuff like this just keeps happening.”

Night looked down. “I guess that just means I need to try harder, so that there won't be a next time. And when there is, I... I just want to do what I can to protect my friends.”

---

We sat in silence until we were out of the city and even some distance beyond that. Fatigue aside, I think we were all too busy keeping an eye out. Filly was still Cartel territory and we were more or less hiding in plain sight.

The meeting point was just off one of the back roads, hidden behind a thick grove of trees. We beat Mahogany, Noble Light and Mint Creme by more than a couple minutes. Such are the pains of making a discreet aerial approach.

Noble Light glanced at each of us. “Good, everypony is accounted for.”

“In that case,” I said, “we need to find a place to bathe. Preferably somewhere that doesn’t involve more flying.”

“W-we do?” Night blushed as he stared at me.

Wasting no time, Merriweather added, “Oh, my~.”

With a sigh, I shook my head. “Not the time.”

“Don’t worry,” Mint Creme grinned. “I gotcha covered. Already scouted out something nice and secluded.”

Night’s face went redder. “S-sis’?”

“Look, in Filly, we had the benefit of the confusion and the city’s oversaturation of scents. We stay like this—” I pointed a forehoof at a particularly large splotch on Night’s foreleg, “—for long and it’s going to stink. Sooner or later, it’s going to attract uncomfortable questions. Or predators. Maybe even both.”

“Oh. Um, that makes sense.” The colour faded from Night’s face, though the rest of the embarrassment remained.

“Well? What are you waiting for? It’s not like that water’s going to come to you,” Mint Creme said, motioning deeper into the trees.

After about a minute, we came to a small, oblong lake. Greenery lined each side of the water, but the area around the spot she’d chosen was especially thick. It was dense enough to act as a shield for anyone who was in the water, and a couple sentries around the remaining shore would surely be able to detect any unwanted guests.

The water proper was a bit muddy, but almost any scent other than blood would be preferable. In fact, it would probably give us more credibility as a random group of travelers. In any event, my coat was already starting to feel a bit crusty, so I wasn’t about to get picky.

Shrugging my flight satchels off, I trotted up to the very edge of the water. “We should do this as quickly as possible. Even this far out, we can’t let our guard down. Keep an eye on the tree lines.”

“Oh! Um, okay!” Night said, quickly turning away from me.

“Not you, Night. You need to bathe too.”

“R-right. You can, um, go first. You need your p-privacy.”

I sighed. Even without seeing his face, I could tell he was blushing. But I was too tired to argue the point and odds are, in the time it would take to convince him to come in with me, I could have already gotten the blood out of my own coat and had him on his way.

The water felt odd. It was cold, but in a dull sort of way, like my body didn’t really care. As I gave my coat a few minutes to soak, I wondered just how much Ghost Petal I’d ingested. If it had been successfully concealed in a few meals, it probably wasn’t a dangerous amount. Still, I both dreaded and couldn’t wait for the effects to wear off. With all the pain blunted, it was impossible to tell just how much of a beating I’d taken.

It didn’t take long to get rid of the blood. Aside from a bit of scratching here and there, it mostly just fell away. I supposed it was still relatively fresh. And if there were any lingering bits, they were probably ejected when I shook my coat out.

I decided to get some distance from the bathing spot. If Night couldn’t be in the same lake with me, I doubted he’d be any more comfortable if I stuck around.

Noble Light was sitting by the cart, staring off into the woods. At first, I thought he might have noticed something, but as I strained my eyes and ears, nothing stood out to me. As I approached, he looked my way.

“Has Night finished?” he asked.

“No, he just started.”

Noble Light nodded.

We sat in silence for a few moments, but I had too many questions bouncing around my head for it to last. “You mind if I ask you something?”

“Depends on the question.” His reply was tired. He had a contemplative slump going on that reminded me of a certain other stallion.

“It’s about that Riot guy. He seemed to know you. What was his deal?”

“White Riot.” Noble Light sighed. “He was supposed to be my pony on the inside. We worked years to get him up through the ranks. He was good. He immediately hit it off with one of their leaders.”

“Autumn Leaf.”

“Yeah. She took a shine to him for some reason, so he was our eye on the inner circle.” The lines on his face deepened, somehow making him look even more tired. “Their leaders have always been elusive. Everypony knows what they’re doing, but nopony ever steps up.”

It’s no wonder. It was all I could do to keep the quip to myself.

He continued, “We needed to know when they’d slipped up, something decisive that didn’t require outside testimony. But something went wrong.”

“He fell in love.”

“So it seems.” Noble Light closed his eyes and slowly exhaled. When he opened them again, he looked straight at me. “I’m sorry, I should have seen it coming.”

“How?” I arched a brow.

“His reports were getting sparser, vaguer. Of course, that’s not enough by itself, but the most damning thing of all, well… Do you remember, years ago, when you helped us?”

For just a second, I could smell the smoke again, see the flash of metal as it streaked toward me. “How could I forget?”

“That assault, the one where you killed Autumn Leaf; we didn’t know until it was practically upon us. He came with them. One of our agents found him lingering at the edge of the base. He claimed the Cartel was on high alert, that he was barely able to get the message out. We bought it back then, but now… I think he couldn’t make up his mind.”

“Until she died.” I looked down. “Then he chose no one.”

Noble Light nodded.

There’s a saying that the best lies are those woven with some measure of truth. The more I thought about what Noble Light had said, the more I saw it in White Riot’s Diligent Duster. When he’d said he’d been imprisoned for a long time, he wasn’t referring to our physical situation. No, his was a cell without bars. To the Cartel, he was the buffoon who came back instead of Autumn Leaf. Among his Guard peers, the mare he loved was a menace who got what she deserved. Was he really so desperate to convince someone of her worth that he came to one of his nemeses? Perhaps he was just trying to get into my head, but I couldn’t say for certain—it’s not like I knew Autumn Leaf either. Our only encounter had been when she was enraged, trying to shove a knife down my throat. It was silly, but part me wanted to believe that had her circumstances been different, maybe she could have really been whatever he saw in her. I mean, it’s not like she had a cutie mark for murder.

Comments

[A Joe in the Bush]

6937152
Alright, I can like Riot/Duster again. This is good.

Riot Duster. Hm. I almost want to use that as a name now.

[Shachza]

I mean, it’s not like she had a cutie mark for murder.

You'd be amazed at how many benign professions you can make a living at while having a cutie mark of a pony silhouette slitting the throat of a terrified pony.

[Yami Vizzini]

Well, at least they seem to have gotten away clean. So to speak.

Though even if Summer Leaf wasn't the main architect of the vendetta against Dusky, I don't imagine she'll be too keen on letting this pass....

[Meta Four]

Mahogany gave him a funny look. “Sure, right. I feel like a million bits.”
“No hassle. Just as long as he can keep up with me.” Blaze smiled, heading off further complaint in her own way.
“Hey, I pulled the cart that got you here. I mean, I literally carried you this far.”

Careful, Mahogany. This is how it starts...

[AppleTank]

You know, you could do with more Earth ponies.

[KuroiTsubasaTenshi]

7551209
Yeah, I've always been a bit conscious of that issue. Due to extenuating circumstances, cuts needed to a significant portion of our original draft. She ended up lopping off a couple of important earth ponies, leaving it up to Aster and Stalwart Stone to carry the flag for them here.