From Dusk to Night

by KuroiTsubasaTenshi

65 - Diversions

The sky above the Lagoon was a sullen grey, the probability of rain bordering on certain. I sighed. Why did we even hire the hotel’s weather pegasi?

It was weird. I could have sworn the hotel was more accomodating and competent than this. I’d have to go talk to management about getting this resolved. Having the entire wedding get drenched would be simply unacceptable. But, first, I’d have to make sure things were moving forward while I was gone.

For that matter, everything was oddly quiet. I felt myself rolling my eyes as I moved up the stairs. They seemed unusually long, though that may have just been because the only sounds I could hear were the quickening tap, tap, tap of my own hooves. I knew the wedding was taxing, but the last thing we needed was for everyone to suddenly be slacking right before Terra’s and Stalwart’s big moment. By the time I cleared the top step, I’d already thought of some strong words to be had.

I blanched.

The whole area was trashed, with the decorations and seating we’d so painstakingly laid out torn from the walls and toppled, respectively. And amidst that mess lay the motionless bodies of both Terra’s and Stalwart’s parents. Standing over them were several large ponies, cloaks drawn over their faces.

At the end of the aisle, on the stage, huddled Terra, Aster and Stalwart. I followed their eyes up to the large green earth pony. While she wasn’t quite as big as White Riot, she still looked like she could toss around several average-sized ponies without breaking a sweat. Her muzzle was angled up, machete glinting as she held it high. I knew that blade. It’s what her smaller, more agile sister had come at me with so many years ago.

More reflex than thought, I reached down for my wingblade. My scarf wasn’t there. Of course it wasn’t—I couldn’t wear it with this dress.

Summer Leaf’s eyes met with mine and she grinned wickedly. I never knew, until then, that such a smug expression could carry such a burning hatred. But, as I felt her eyes and teeth cutting straight through my soul, I could only think one thing: Don’t do it.

And then, as if she could read mind my, she raised the blade a little higher. If it wasn’t poised before, it was now.

Don’t do it!

She shifted, such that the blade was centered over Aster.

Don’t do it!!!

The blade came down.

“Nooo!” I charged forward, even knowing I’d never make it. What else could I do?

My eyes snapped open. Everything was dark, even compared to the cloudy sky. I blinked, my foggy mind trying to find its way just as much as my eyes.

As I sat up, Night stirred from beneath me, mumbling out a, “Mmmm? Dusky?”

Suddenly, I remembered. The wedding was long over. We were in Canterlot, in a small hotel, snuggled together on the bed after a relaxing night of talking while staring off into the night sky. Then why did it seem so real?

I shook my head. “Sorry to wake you, Night. I just had a… dream.”

“Another nightmare?” he asked, trying to push away his own grogginess.

“Yeah.” Some part of me always felt embarrassed to mention it, if for no other reason than that I’d become so accustomed to such nightmares that they usually didn’t feel like a big deal. Usually. Tonight, though, something felt off. Typically, the panic dulled the moment I woke up, reality working to kill any fear. And yet, here I was, the rush still coursing through my veins. Fight or flight. Even as Lockbox’s information settled back into the forefront of my mind, dispersing those darker thoughts, they left an edge.

Night saw it—I don’t think there was any way he couldn’t have. Worry crossed his face. “What is it? Does it have to do with what you found out tonight?”

“Yeah, it’s… it’s weird.” I lowered my voice. “The Cartel is in shambles. Their boss was blown up, along with their headquarters. Bodies confirmed and all that. And yet… I can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t over. The dream was… they crashed Terra’s wedding. Subdued everyone and I didn’t even notice until it was too late. I want to believe it so badly, to say that maybe, just maybe, I’m finally safe. But, deep in my gut, I know I’m missing something. They’re missing something. Maybe it was a body double.”

He wrapped a wing around me, pulling me close, his warmth pressing up against my cheek. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“You don’t think I’m worrying over nothing?” I asked, eyes meeting his as I leaned against him.

“No, I don’t,’ he said. “I’m not really good with this stuff, but I trust your instincts. I’ll support you, no matter what you think.”

“Sweet talker.” I managed the barest of smirks.

“I mean it.” Night leaned in again. “You always help me. I want to help you, too.”

“I appreciate it. I really do. It’s just, I can’t ignore it because being blindsided would be catastrophic. And yet, heeding it, how long do I need to watch our back with extra care? Without any further information, I think we’re stuck. And unless I pay a fortune, I don’t think anyone will be scrutinizing every obscure detail. Even then, there’d be no guarantee anyone could get close enough to ground zero.”

“I… I’ll help. I can keep watch, too.” A bout of inspiration seemed to hit Night and he spoke as though he was working things out as he went, “You might need to tell me what to look for, but if I can lessen the load at all, I’ll do it.”

I pondered a moment, for the request was not as simple as it sounded. “Not everything can be taught. A lot of it is a sort of feel that needs to be adapted on the fly. The best I can do is lay some groundwork and you’ll have to figure out the rest.”

It was Night’s turn to be introspective. “Then I guess we’ll just have to do our best for each other. Besides, you, Star, Merri, you’ve already helped me with that groundwork.”

“For better or for worse.” I pressed my muzzle into his mane.

“I wouldn’t trade our time together for the world.”

“Sweet talker.”

---

I tried not to move too quickly through the purple-tinted marble halls of Canterlot University. While they had long lost much of their grandeur for me, I still recalled the awe I felt the first time. As such, I wanted to give Night some opportunity feel the same as he walked amongst the palatial columns. I stole a glance every now and then and couldn’t help but smile as he craned his neck this way or that.

Still, we couldn’t dawdle too much—I had agreed to meet Ruby in the stacks, after all. Fortunately, the shortest route only took us through three hallways, and we arrived with a couple minutes to spare.

As usual, Ruby was in her scholar’s robe and glasses, poring over one of her go-to alchemy manuals. She looked up and smiled as we entered. “Ah, good, there you are. Right on time, Dusky.”

I almost felt like the comment was being directed as much at Night as me. A little strange, but it hardly mattered. I returned the smile as I trotted up to her. “Ruby, good to see you again. This is Night Flurry, my coltfriend. Night, this is my good friend, Ruby Result.”

Night bowed his head a little. “Ruby Result, a, um, pleasure to meet you.”

“Coltfriend, eh?” Ruby walked up to Night, giving him a bit of an appraising look. “Well, he’s cute enough. Did you know your marefriend once fought off six Timberwolves all by herself?”

In that moment, I saw a side of Ruby I wasn’t quite used to: the salesmare. I found myself somewhere between flattered and exasperated. “Ruby, stop. I didn’t ‘take on’ so much as ‘ran away from at top speed’.”

“That’s not what the filly said.” She leaned in closer, half-whispering over her hoof in a way that Night would have to be deaf not to hear. “Now shush, I’m trying to help you.”

“As if Terra wasn’t bad enough, you too, Ruby? Besides, Night’s not shallow like that.” At this point, it was almost like a corny joke and, well, that was exactly her intent. This was the kind of thing that made her liked by her students, although, from the times I’d see her in action, this was pushing things a bit. Still, I decided to play along, letting out a giggle as I glanced at Night to make sure he wasn’t too uncomfortable. “She was four, and it was just a search and rescue. She might have exaggerated a bit after the fact.”

“True or not, I already know that Dusky is pretty incredible…” Night said. “I don’t really need more evidence of that.”

Ruby scrutinized him, her face dead serious for about two seconds before she broke out into a hearty chuckle. “Good. I like him, Dusky.”

Colour filled Night’s cheeks, a clear sign he was getting a little overwhelmed by Ruby’s teasing.

I supposed it was as good a time to move on as any. “Weren’t you going to give us a tour?”

“Of course I am.” The door drifted open under her magic as she trotted through, stopping to glance over her shoulder. “Well, coming?”

As we fell in line behind her, she started out by leading us along the auditorium hallways, giving cursory summaries here and there. I knew it wasn’t going to be entirely about the academics, but did have wonder if Night felt like she was trying to persuade him to enroll at first.

After a few mundane facts about the size and capacity of the auditoriums—none of which we could do more than peer through the window for, since classes appeared to be in session—we came to one of the larger back halls. It bore a lengthy wall that would otherwise be blank, or perhaps decorated with plaques, if not for the large painting that spanned it. It featured a big, round cloud table, the chairs of which were occupied by six ponies with fins and fish tails.

Night stared, which is about the same reaction I had the first time.

“This is perhaps the most controversial thing we have in the university—well, aside from from some students’ theses, anyway.” Ruby laughed as she motioned to the painting. “Donated to us by Fine Arts Alumni Caspian Coolbrush, when this painting arrived, many of the staff didn’t even know what to make of it. Half saw it as just plain ridiculous and wanted to just store it away in the university warehouse. The rest of us saw its beauty, that it represented student ponies through the seaponies, pushing for the nigh-impossible as they swim through the clouds that are their dreams, even if it could sometimes be seen as a significant gamble. Such was an inspiration that should be visible to uplift all of our students. With the whole council deadlocked, we had to ask Princess Celestia to step in. The rest is history.”

“Wow, I, um, didn’t think of it that way,” Night said, his eyes still fixed on the painting.

I giggled. “Neither did I.”

Ruby grinned. “Perhaps you two just take cloud walking too much for granted.”

“Could be.” I smirked back. “In any event, I think we might be ready to move on.”

“Right, this way, then. “ Ruby continued down the hall, motioning to a set of lab rooms. “Speaking of Princess Celestia, her School For Gifted Unicorns may steal our thunder when it comes to magic, but we still have world-class labs. For those who aren’t suited to her school’s particular regimen, or a more specialized interest in alchemy, we have facilities that can easily match theirs.”

After taking in the vast array of expensive instruments that could even be seen from the doorway, Night stole a glance at me. “Bit of an, um, sticking point?”

“You know people and rivalries. Right, Ruby?” I gave her another grin.

“It’s all in good fun,” Ruby replied. “We have a good working relationship with Celestia’s School. Can’t make a fine draught without a little pressure, right?”

And with that, we started moving again, this time headed back to the main hall, and undoubtedly in the direction of the grand library.

Sure enough, we crossed the large double doors, which were easily as tall as all three of us put together, onto a big overlook. Below was the main floor, sporting a sea of fully stocked shelves. On our left and right were stairs that led up to numerous sub-levels that held even more books and lounges with which to peruse them.

Standing right in the middle of the landing, Ruby grinned. “And this is where I first met your marefriend. One of the biggest libraries in Equestria and I found her looking for a Daring Do book.”

Night’s eyes flitted over to me. “Daring Do?”

“What? It’s a good series. Besides, Trials was almost impossible to find when it first came out, I couldn’t find a copy anywhere.”

“Come to glamorous Canterlot, and spend the week holed up in the hotel with a novel. With all the things you’ve seen and done, you’d think I could get you to read better books than Daring Do.” Ruby let out a laugh.

I stuck out my tongue. And that’s when it happened: Night fell into a fit of giggles and couldn’t get out. I raised an eyebrow. “Look what you did. You broke him.”

“Not my fault.” Ruby let out a giggle of her own. “It was just too easy.”

“B-broke? Nah, just… Sorry, Dusky, but there’s that image of you again.” Night was barely coherent between his fits of laughter.

“Image?” I arched my brow again.

“Just… you.” He stole a peck. “Reading Daring Do when you could have been out exploring. You were cute. You still are.”

I felt a bit of warmth sneaking into my cheeks. “Well, it was really popular, so they only let me check it out for a week. I had to buckle down and read it while I could. Besides, I still managed to explore Canterlot quite thoroughly, thank you very much.”

“She did. With a little bit of help.” Ruby winked. “And speaking of help, what’s next on your agenda? You’re so close to Canterlot most of the year, you don’t tend to put it on your trip itinerary.”

“I thought it’d be good to start easy this year, for a few reasons.” I smiled as I glanced at Night. “We’ll be staying in Canterlot another day or so, then flying out east to Lunar Lake.”

“Lunar Lake… I’ll have to make another trip of my own, before my old bones collapse on me.” Ruby closed her eyes a moment, recalling old memories, before turning to give me a hug.

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow. “Seems to me you’ve still got plenty of spunk.”

“Bah. So you say.” Ruby waved a hoof. “Come on, then—keep up.”

She started off at a quicker pace, leading the way down into the main alcove.

Night gave me a bit of a confused look. I simply smirked, motioning toward the alcove before following after Ruby.

Comments

[Meta Four]

Gotta admit this chapter got me good. When I first read the opening, I thought it really was the wedding, and wondered if the last chapter had been some kind of accident. It wasn’t until Cartel enforcers showed up that I suspected it was just a dream.

[Yami Vizzini]

Seems like six is a pretty important number in Equestria.

[Shachza]

Some part of me always felt embarrassed to mention it, if for no other reason than that I’d become so accustomed to such nightmares that they usually didn’t feel like a big deal.

Ooooooo, Dusky...

Come to glamorous Canterlot, and spend the week holed up in the hotel with a novel.

I may have done something similar once... Visited a couple internet friends in-person, but schedules and weather were disagreeable, and we were all awkward at the one little get-together we managed, so, yeah... The hotel room was my home for a couple days.