Mending Light

by Kiromancer

19 - Respite

I awoke to a hoof prodding into my side. I attempted to bat it away, yawning lazily as I stretched upon the odd surface beneath me. It wasn't my bed, and while that should have bothered me, my exhaustion clouded my mind beyond the point where it mattered.

"C'mon sleepyhead." A familiar voice made my ears twitch, and once again I felt the hoof prod at me.

My mind drifted a moment longer before it snapped back into focus, the events of the previous days quickly replayed through my mind. "T-Terra! Where's Dusky? Is um... everything okay?"

She smiled. "She's fine, right where she was before. Now come on. We're here."

"Here?" My ears twitched as I took notice of the lack of train noises. I looked across the aisle, finding Dusky still bundled up on top of the other bed. "Okay... good. Here."

I got myself out of bed, stretching out before I turned my attention to Dusky. She was still asleep of course, but with Terra's help, we managed to gently lift her up and settle her across my back.

Dusky's forelegs draped to my sides, hanging limply as she slept. I looked back to make sure she was secure and carefully brought my wings up to try and balance her out. As I gently nudged her, she let out a quiet exhale, a low "Mrph" of noise as her forehooves rose up and wrapped around my neck, giving the barest squeeze.

I felt myself blush at the gentle pressure. "D-Dusky?" I waited for a response.

No answer.

I sighed and turned back to Terra, ready to get off the train. "Alright... I um... I guess we gotta get the others and um... head to the hotel."

We made our way onto the platform, meeting up with everypony else. I could see the city of Myrtail just beyond the train station. It was something like Canterlot, though not nearly as fancy. Where in Canterlot, the eye was drawn up the mountain into the sky, in Myrtail they were drawn down to the horizon, to the endless blue-green expanse just beyond the city.

I gaped at it, the ocean. It stretched out as far as I could see, glittering as if it were filled with a million gems. I wanted to fly up and up and see just how far it went. Even the air smelled different here, a tangy scent carried by the wind.

Mahogany carried our luggage over; his own, mine, and the packs Twilight had prepared for Dusky. The bags made an intimidating stack, but he hefted them with ease in a display of his experience lifting packages for the EPS. "So uh... what did your dad want us to do now?"

I reined in my enthusiasm as the reality of the situation weighed upon me once more, quite literally as I remembered Dusky was on my back. "Oh, um... right. We need to check in at the Dunes Village Resort... I just don't know where that is."

Merri sauntered past. "Easy enough. We ask~." She moved toward one of the train station attendants. A moment later, she turned back to us with a wink and waved us on.

---

We rented a small cart to load our luggage into, and at Starshadow’s insistence as a way to get Dusky out of sight. I made sure she was as secure and comfortable as possible, though there wasn't nearly enough room to sit alongside her. Mahogany was quick to strap into the front of the cart, perhaps out of habit.

That surreal feeling creeped up on me again as we moved through the city, that feeling of suddenly finding myself here, now, when I should have been back in Ponyville asleep in my own bed.

The streets of Myrtail were wider than Canterlot, a line of palm trees separating the carriage-filled street from the sidewalk. Sellers were set up along the walkway, smiling at us from behind small carts and booths as they tried to sell all sorts of souvenirs and snacks. Beyond the first few blocks the road curved to run parallel with the beach, and the small shops and cozy-looking restaurants gave way to larger hotels and resorts.

Eventually, Merri stopped at an intersection, glanced back and forth and turned right. "Aha! There!"

I tilted my head to look up at the building, large golden letters mounted above the entrance read 'Dunes Village Resort.' It was big.

"How is... this place... I-it's so... big." Terrabona echoed my thoughts. "Really, really... big."

I just nodded dumbly. "Yeah..."

Mahogany shook his head at us, rolling his eyes. "Really, You two? Bah. Next thing you'll tell me you've never been to the beach, either."

I lowered my head self-consciously, glancing into the wagon at Dusky. "Err... n-not really, no."

"Hey, I've been to beaches!" Terra waved a hoof towards the building. "Just not ones with, like... all this."

Starshadow chuckled. "Ostfriesen does not have much in the way of tourism either."

"Coooome on!" Merri had rushed ahead and now rocked back and forth anxiously in front of the door. "I wanna see our room. Dibs on the fluffiest bed!"

I stepped back, sliding Dusky off from the tarp in the wagon, and working carefully to prop her on my back once again. "R-right... we need to um... get to our room. For her sake."

Merri waved us in as she held the door open with her magic.

The lobby was a fairly large oval room with the back wall practically all windows, presenting a beautiful view of the ocean. Several ponies lounged about on odd-looking reed furniture, reading through some brochures, or looking over a board with flyers posted to it.

Standing at a desk facing the entrance was a light orange unicorn who smiled wide as I approached. "Welcome to the Dunes Village Resort, can I help you?"

I glanced at the others and stepped closer, smiling awkwardly. "R-right. Um... we have a reservation. Should be under um... Light?"

She flipped open a large book, moving her hooves through the pages quickly until she stopped as if she’d known where to find it all along. "Here we are. Three rooms for six occupants. And we already received your payment, Mr. Light, so let me just get your keys."

I flinched at the name. "I'm not... that is... err... r-right."

She was already ducking below the desk, lifting her head back up with six keys in her muzzle. She set them down, sorting two for each room. "Here you are, Mr. Light. You all enjoy your stay!"

"T-thank you." I took the keys in a hoof, turning back to the others and holding them out. "So um... we have three rooms."

Merri grinned. "Me and Terra~! I call it."

Terra's eyes went wide. "Oh, no, no, no." She grabbed two keys with her magic. "Me and Dusky."

"You're no fun." Merri stuck out her tongue. "Fine, I guess Sis’ and I will share. As always."

I nodded to Mahogany. "And that leaves us, right? That should work."

Mahogany grinned. "Roomies! I like it! I can share all my bad habits with you."

"Right... um... so..." I glanced at the keys. "Fifth floor? We can't exactly fly up there... are there stairs?"

"They got elevators." Mahogany headed towards a door on the side wall, hitting a buzzer with his hoof. "Magic lifts. They're all over in the big buildings in the Whinney City."

The door opened, revealing an empty closet-like room. "S-seems cramped."

Mahogany waved a wing as he stepped inside. "Well, they don't really consider pegasi when they make them, since we don’t usually need ‘em. C'mon, they're fine."

Terra laughed nervously. "Right... well, no worse than the train, I guess."

We gathered into the elevator, Mahogany pressing another buzzer on the inside. The door to the lobby closed, sealing us in.

Starshadow was looking down at the floor curiously, her horn glowing faintly. "We are being lifted. Magic acting upon a counter weight of some kind in relation to the button pressed by Mahogany, which I assume was assigned a specific floor. Quite ingenious, for something so simple."

I nodded, not quite understanding it and feeling a bit uneasy in the close quarters. Dusky's hooves clung tighter around my neck, as if she were uneasy with the whole thing, as well. I wasn't usually the type of pegasus to get claustrophobic indoors, but in these circumstances, I could definitely feel an instinctual need to stretch my wings.

After what felt like far too long, the door opened, but not back into the lobby. Now it led into a long hallway lined with doors, much like the second story of the Lusty Seapony. We quickly left the magical elevator, heading down the hall to find our rooms.

"Five-oh-seven. Ooo, lucky number." Merri winked at us as she magically slipped in her key, swinging open her door with her hoof. "Not bad."

Mahogany walked past her, heading to the door next to the twins’ room. "So we're Five-oh-nine, eh Flurry?"

I nodded. "I um... yeah. I just... need to get Dusky settled." Five-oh-eight was across the hall, set opposite the wall between the other two doors.

Starshadow leaned in close to me. "Do not worry, Night Flurry. We will be watching over her as well." She smiled, then nodded to Merri.

Her sister nodded back with a serious expression that seemed so odd upon Merri's face, then she slipped into their room, while Star remained with us in the hall.

Terrabona's eyes were locked on Merri and Starshadow's room, watching as the door closed. She slowly turned towards the room she and Dusky would share. "Um..."

"Terra?" I tilted my head as she stared blankly at the door.

She blinked and pulled away from whatever thoughts she’d been exploring. "R-right."

Her key levitated up into the lock. She stood looking into the open door like it was the portal to Tartarus.

I waited a moment, but she didn't budge. Carefully, I slipped in front of her. "Um... Terra?"

She blinked again as if just now noticing me. "Huh?"

I pointed a hoof into the room. "H-help with D-Dusky?"

Her eyes traced back toward my back. "Huh? Oh! Yeah, I can help."

The room itself was impressive, though I’m not sure what I was expecting. It wasn't too big, not bigger than my house back in Ponyville, but certainly bigger than the rooms at the Seapony. A small counter split the room in half, the side nearest the door had a small closet and wash room to the side, opening into a small commons room, with seats and a table. From there, an opening in the counter led to two beds, and windows providing another view of the ocean.

With a nod to Terra, I headed in, moving through the room to come alongside the beds. I looked back at Terra, who still seemed a bit dazed. I glanced about the room carefully, hoping she hadn't detected something wrong

Mahogany followed in after with our luggage, depositing Dusky’s bags in the room before he gave out a low whistle. "Yeah, this is the life."

"S-says you." Terra's voice mixed fear and awe. "It's all just way too big... and enameled... and I dunno."

Starshadow entered, closing the door behind her. "It is adequate. Though somewhat more ornate than I expected."

"Pfff, yeah. 'S'like you ain't ever seen a full cooler before." Mahogany poked about the room, opening doors and cabinets.

"That's not what I was looking at and you know it!" Her voice dropped into an angry mutter. "Not like you've ever seen one either."

Mahogany waved a forehoof dismissively. "That's besides the point."

"No, it's the whole point." Terra glared, her tone growing heated.

I coughed loudly, hoping it would be enough to stop them from continuing. "Terra? Over h-here." I approached the beds.

The anger draining out of her voice. "Er, right. This is more important. Sorry, Flurry."

Mahogany had been defused as well. "Right. Yeah..."

I pushed my wings out and up to hold Dusky up. "Ready?"

She nodded, horn beginning to glow. Dusky lifted off my back, and I pulled back the bed sheets. I looked up at Dusky's face as she floated overhead. She still seemed so peaceful in that moment, it was hard to believe how close she'd come to death.

I watched her settle down onto the bed, hearing her give a soft sigh as she got comfortable, and then everything began to crash in on me. Since the moment we'd found her in the alley outside the bar, I'd struggled to stay calm, to talk things out, to lead the others, and do whatever we needed to do to keep Dusky safe. Now, we'd made it. We were safe. Safe...

I reached up to pull the sheets back over Dusky to tuck her in. "I guess we made it. Pretend vacation, right?" I forced out a laugh, feeling like the whole situation should somehow be funny.

"You m-missed the whole train ride. Although... I guess I sort of did too... I d-didn't get much chance to watch the scenery. I..." My heart sank in my chest.

"Y-you... you nearly died, Dusky. A-and I know... I know you're going to be okay, but..." The last ounce of the strength I'd been pretending to have finally fell apart, revealed for the sham it was.

I tried to continue, but my words became unintelligible. With that reservoir of strength gone, the weight of everything that had happened collapsed down on me. Here I was, sitting in an unfamiliar room hundreds of miles from home, looking at the face of a friend who I'd watched bleeding out upon the cold, lonely ground. A friend I was utterly terrified of losing.

"I... I just... I felt l-like, after everything... w-we were finally friends... real friends. N-not just something I kept saying, h-hoping it would happen."

I could hear Terra and Mahogany, but couldn't make out their words through the sound of my own sobs. My throat was choked with phlegm and eyes burning with tears. "I-I don't want to lose any of my friends... Dusky... I..."

As if in response, Dusky stretched out a hoof, awkwardly resting it upon my shoulder. As quickly as I'd broken, she was there to give me strength. I went still, my voice barely a whisper. "Dusky?"

I don’t know what I expected. The voice that responded wasn't hers. "Night?"

"T-Terra?" I turned towards her, careful not to disturb Dusky's hoof. I couldn't help but cough out a laugh amidst my sobs. "L-look at that... sh-she's telling me to stay strong."

Terra sighed. "Yeah... she does that sometimes. And you are strong. As long as you don't give up... that's what strength is, Flurry."

I nodded slowly. “I… I won’t. I c-can’t. Not anymore.”

Mahogany cleared his throat. “Yeah, c'mon buddy. Let’s let her get her rest, alright?”

Before I could respond, Terra was already talking, moving quickly to push Mahogany out the door. “Actually, I’m dying to see the beach, eh? Mahogany, let’s go.”

“Hey! Terra! Get—okay okay! Fine!” He looked over past the pushy unicorn. “You uh… sure you’re gonna be alright, Flurry?”

I closed my eyes, feeling Dusky’s hoof brush away as it fell from my shoulder. I carefully took hold, and slipped it back up onto the bed. “I… I think I will be, yeah.”

Terra’s voice whispered. “Yeah… I think so too. I think it’ll be okay.”

---

I didn't see or hear from anypony else the rest of the day. I sat by Dusky’s side, still talking when I could think of something to say. The low sound of the ocean was a strangely constant presence, like the train before. The sun set, and Luna’s moon rose over the ocean.

I watched it move across the sky and continued to talk, to Dusky, as well as to Princess Luna, as if either of them could hear me. To the Princess, I asked that she watch over Dusky’s dreams, and eventually the moon passed out of sight of the hotel window. I believe she heard me, as Dusky continued to sleep peacefully.

Night gave way into morning, and morning into afternoon. Starshadow had stood guard in the room all night, and although she'd made sure we were alright, she seemed content to let me be. Eventually she slipped out to be replaced by Merriweather.

In the afternoon, the sounds of the ocean were joined by ponies playing, going about their business. The sunlight peeked through the curtains, casting light across Dusky’s face.

I rose up to close the curtains, but looked back at her. “I… I wonder if you’d rather have these open for the sun, or um… closed for the dark?”

She made no response, and I sighed. “It’s so weird… the sunlight, and um… the b-beach. I don’t even know what to expect from the beach.”

I closed the curtains, leaving just a tiny fraction of it open before sitting back. “I imagine you've been to tons of beaches. This is probably nothing new to you.”

“I… I can’t believe how much I've seen, just recently. Places I’d never dreamed of going to just a few months ago.” My mind wandered as I thought back on the beauty of Fetlock Falls’ namesake, Canterlot in the moon light, even what I’d seen of the ocean so far had its own unique appeal.

A smile came to my lips, a strange thought coming into my mind. “It’s… it’s fun. Even when the circumstances aren't the best. It’s just taking the time to enjoy the little joys of someplace new and… and it’s the ponies who go with you that make the trip really special.”

I turned away from the window, about to return to her side, when I stopped. Her head was raised from the pillow, her eyes open as she blinked wearily at me.

I paused, my head knew that she was going to wake up, but my heart hadn't believed it until now. “Um… D-Dusky?!”

She struggled to push herself up, still clearly drained. Her eyes were just as bright as ever though, and she answered me with a smile and a tired voice. “Good morning, Night.”

I responded automatically, unable to keep the joy out of my voice. “Morning!”

There was so much I needed to say to her. There was so much I’d already said even though she couldn't hear me. I needed to explain what had happened and where we were. I wanted to know what had happened to her, and needed to be sure she was okay.

A hundred thousand things to say all crowded into my head, and I sat, trying to think, trying to know what to say.

I stopped thinking. I jumped forward, wings pushing me up. I couldn't help it, not after everything she’d been through. I grabbed her and pulled her tight against me into a hug. I hoped she could forgive me, but seeing her awake again was too much.

I was nearly in tears, holding her tight. She felt tense, unsure, and the old worries rose in the back of my mind. Then I felt her hooves rise up and hug back, and those dark voices went silent.

She lifted her head up, her nose gently pushing against the forelock of my mane.

I felt my cheeks go red, but I didn't care. I held her in the hug to welcome her back, and in that moment, nothing needed to be said at all.