Mending Light

by Kiromancer

7 - Journey

In my years living in Ponyville, I'd never been to the train station. Somehow, I thought it’d be busier this late in the day, but I found it mostly empty as I hobbled onto the platform. One pony’s presence stood out, though. Dusky was waiting for me, her eyes shifting from the few ponies walking through the station until they stopped on me.

She smiled, and I waved a hoof as I headed up to the ticket booth. She’d wanted to fly, but my stupidity had ensured that flying was still out of the question. My wing was bandaged up; orders from the Doctor were to stay out of the air for another week.

So now, I was walking everywhere. In some ways, it was nice. I'd rarely looked at the winter weather from the ground, always loving the beauty of the snow from above. Now I could appreciate it from a whole new level, a new view that left me just as breathless.

The downside was how sore I felt, both from all the walking, and the bruising on the side that had borne the brunt of Merri’s explosion.

I forced a nervous smile at the yellow mare inside the ticket booth. "T-two for F-Fetlock, please."

"Sure thing." She dug through some paperwork behind the counter, and I shuffled my hooves as I waited. She didn't say anything about my wing, but surely she thought it strange that a pegasus was taking a train.

The mare slid two tickets over the counter towards me. "There we go, that'll be ten bits."

I dug through my flight satchel and paid her. Tickets in hoof, I turned back towards the train and nervously smiled at Dusky.

She nodded, waving me over as the train pulled up to the platform. It didn't take too long to disembark its passengers, and soon we presented our tickets and began to board.

My legs shook as I stepped into the train. I glanced about dumbly, unsure where I was supposed to go, but Dusky already had a plan. She headed towards the rear of the train, leading me from car to car until we reached the coach. There, she took her seat, one of the rearmost, and I paused. A deep breath. We're just friends.

I moved to settle into the seat facing hers. I folded my back legs to my side, and my forelegs extended out in front of me, mirroring Dusky's pose. The seat was cushioned, although not as soft as cloud, or even as soft as the bed in the hospital. It all just felt... off. I didn't think I was doing anything unusual, but I just couldn't seem to get comfortable.

I pulled back on the seat, craning my head to take everything in. "You know... I've actually never taken a train before... I umm... I guess that's not too surprising for a pegasus, though…"

The truth was less about being able to fly, and more a side effect of never leaving town.

Dusky smiled at me and nodded her head. “Yeah, I only take it when flight conditions are especially poor.”

I tilted my head, recalling what Dusky had said about being a traveler. “In far off places?”

“Uh, sometimes? I was actually talking about Canterlot.” She studied me, her lips pursing slightly. "Sometimes they get carried away with 'artsy' to the point that it becomes unsafe."

I cringed, sinking down in the seat. I'd been assuming she'd visited all sorts of foreign places on the outskirts of Equestria, places I'd never imagined. But when it came right down to it, I'd barely left home. "O-oh, haha... well, um, I-I've never been to Canterlot, so its k-kind of far off for me?"

Dusky continued to watch me, but her tone was more curious than put-off. "Really? It's a beautiful city. You should really go there sometime."

"Y-yeah... Maybe one day..." The seat beneath me was suddenly fascinating, the weight of what I was doing starting to crash in on me. Here I was, on a train, heading out of town to someplace I didn't even know for Luna only knows what reason. A misplaced hope that somehow I could get Dusky to like me.

"Night Flurry." Her voice pulled me back. I raised my head back to look into her eyes.

"Try to relax a bit. If you're this tense the whole way there, you'll be too exhausted to enjoy the festival."

I took a long breath, not wanting to seem as frightened by all of this as I was. "Y-yeah... just you know, um... the train. Yeah, never been on a train... t-that's all."

Somepony shouted outside, and I barely stopped myself from jumping in my seat. "Passengers for Fetlock! Last call!"

Dusky smiled, continuing to talk down my nerves. "It's not much different from riding in a cart. You'll see soon enough."

"R-right... Okay, I'll just um... think of it as that." I tried to smile back, but I lacked experience with wagons as well.

It wasn't much longer when the train began to move, and I dug into the seat with my hooves. The motion wasn't too bad, it was like flying, only there wasn't any wind. I waited, breathing deep as I expected the whole train to shudder and toss me about. But that never happened, and although I felt the need to keep digging in to find safe purchase, I started to relax.

Dusky was watching me, and at last I pulled my head up towards her. She'd been to so many places, and now that we were on our way, I wanted to know more. "Oh! Um... you said you went to Canterlot... So, um... where else have you gone?"

She took a moment to consider before she answered. "Most of Equestria's major cities, plus all the smaller towns in between. There's more than that, but I can't name them all off the top of my head."

I turned my head, looking past her as I recalled my own experiences, or lack thereof. "I lived in Cloudsdale nearly my whole life. N-never got to travel much. I came to Ponyville for the job... I-I wish I could travel more."

Part of me believed that once I'd left home, the world would open up to me. That I'd be free, and could let the wind take me wherever I wished. Instead, I'd settled in Ponyville, and let my fears root me. I dug my hooves into the seat some more, trying to find solid ground, even as the train rolled onward.

"It's not too late." Her voice was full of well-traveled confidence. "The trick is to start small and nearby, such as Canterlot, then work your way up from there."

The trick? Small, nearby places. Like Canterlot, or... like Fetlock Falls? It was someplace new, someplace away from home. I fell into a train of well-worn thoughts as I listened to the click-clack of wheels.

Dusky started to yawn, breaking me out of my musing. I saw her closing her mouth, lowering her head onto her hooves while she tried to stifle the yawn.

I self-consciously twitched my wings, the bandages restraining the injured one. That was all my fault. Overtired from working the night shift, my night shift, Dusky was off of whatever sleep schedule she surely kept in preference to the long nights. I lowered my ears sheepishly. "S-sorry."

Her voice carried a hint of understanding. "I know. What's done is done. Look toward doing better in the future."

In the future. I considered that, scuffing at the seat again. "M-maybe I could k-keep an eye out while you nap? M-make sure we don't miss the stop and all?"

"I wouldn't mind resting my eyes for a bit." She sounded tired, and I thought if she could get just a little extra sleep, maybe she might have more fun once we arrived at the festival. "Just don't fall asleep yourself and... wake me if anything out of the ordinary happens."

I smiled at her, giving her the most reassuring smile I could manage. "O-okay. Yes, I can d-do that!"

"All right, thanks." She settled down into the seat, resting her head on her forehooves and closing her eyes.

I watched her a moment as she drifted to sleep, feeling my smile creep upwards. She really was beautiful. In the little time we'd spent together, it was sometimes difficult to appreciate that. My own fears, along with my string of poor decisions and bad timing, all had contributed to making me feel like a complete foal around her. But seeing her like that brought back the breathless memories of the first time I'd seen her in the crowded Town Hall not so long ago.

My eyes drifted to the train window, and I sat and watched the snow-covered scenery pass by. Time passed, and the rhythm of the train along with the peaceful landscapes calmed my mind. The conductor trotted through the train car, offering drink service, and I smiled when he offered tea. A warm drink to warm the soul. I sipped at it quietly as Dusky slept.

A slight sigh caused my ears to twitch, as Dusky murmured out some faint call. I glanced over, watching her to see if she was waking. Her eyes were still closed, only now they were clenched tight, her face held a look of anguish.

My heart wrenched. Probably just a bad dream. Nothing to do about that. She was so tired... but still. I raised myself up from the seat and moved closer. My ears pivoted towards her as I watched her tense in her sleep. She was clearly having a nightmare. A bad one.

Words came unbidden to my mind, old words I thought I'd left behind long ago. A light to keep the monsters away. I quietly called out. "H-hey Dusky? Dusky... um... you okay? Um... w-wake up?"

She didn't stir.

Worried, I raised the volume of my voice.

"D-Dusky? Um... Hey, it's a little early, but we're... um... ugh, I don't know... um, some great scenery out there... ha ha ha..." I forced out a laugh like I was making a joke, but even in my own head I sounded like an idiot.

Her eyes shot open, darting towards the train car in search of something, but as she blinked to awareness, they settled on me, and her expression slipped into a weak smile. "What's up?"

I stammered out an explanation, my own fears had gotten the best of me, waking her was such a mistake. "Oh, um... ha ha... n-nothing, really... you just... um, it looked like you were having a bad dream and... um, I-I was a little concerned... Sorry..."

Dusky was silent, staring past me as she surely contemplated my disturbance.

I dropped my gaze, cursing myself. "S-so stupid... I-I knew I sh-should have let you sleep. I'm so s-sorry!"

"No, no, I'm grateful." She shook her head, then sat up from her seat and smiled at me. "Thank you, Night Flurry. I... Nevermind, I'm fine now."

"Oh, um, okay... Y-you need anything?" I glanced back at the now empty paper cup that had contained my tea. "I can go f-find that conductor for another drink if you w-want one."

"No, thanks. I'm not thirsty."

I matched her smile with one of my own, still feeling like a foal. A mistake or not, she seemed to be alright now that she was awake. "Oh... good, good... Okay, well... I-I think we'll be there fairly soon."

Dusky nodded, and then seemed to come fully awake. Her ears perked up, and her eyes grew wide as she looked out the window, enraptured by the view.

I smiled, and turned to see. Outside, the landscape had changed dramatically. The simple snow-covered hills and plains had given way to a swift running river carrying little islands of ice downstream. The sounds of the river's flow grew, drowning out the now-familiar noise of the train.

The train turned a bend, and I was lost to the world. Before us, the water's roar reached a crescendo as the majesty of the waterfall appeared above the mists. I drew in a sharp breath as I tried to take it all in at once, my senses drowning. The unending white sheet crashed down in unison, creating a ripple through the air as the water caught the light of sun and cast it back, splitting it into a million specks of color.

I stammered, trying to say something that could capture what I was seeing in words. "I... I... ... beautiful..."

---

After the waterfall, it would be hard for anything to top that level of sheer beauty. The train station certainly tried, if just by the volume. It was covered in all sorts of flags, banners and decorations of all sorts.

Ponyville threw its own various festivals, but I didn't usually attend those. In fact, I usually volunteered for holiday weather shifts just to get out of them. But this was a tier above anything Ponyville did.

It was... hard to describe. I felt nearly overwhelmed by it all. I turned to Dusky, but she was looking back at one of the buildings on the other side of the train platform. I was just about to call to her when another voice rose above the general murmur of the train station crowd.

"Dusky! Flurry!" I glanced back towards the path into town as Blizzard Breeze set down. "Glad you could make it!"

I smiled, waving a hoof as she trotted over. "Oh, um, hello, Blizzard!"

"Hi, Blizzard." Dusky turned back, coming alongside me. "You weren't waiting for us, were you?"

She grinned wide. "Oh, no. Well, yes, but it's also part of my job to oversee things. I just happened to check the station when the Ponyville trains came in."

Dusky giggled. "So I guess no guided tour for us, huh?"

Blizzard shrugged, offering her apology. "Sorry. I can walk you to the gate, though."

"Sounds good." Dusky looked back, and a flash of concern went across her face. It was gone a moment later, but I frowned.

I was just about to ask her if something was wrong when Blizzard came to my side, lowering her head to examine the bandages. "Whoa, what happened to your wing?"

"I, u-um... uh..." I cringed, pulling back, not wanting to talk about that anymore.

Dusky stepped closer, saving me. "There was an accident involving alcohol and unicorn magic; he got caught in the blast."

"That's terrible." Blizzard eyed the bandages judgmentally. "It's not permanent, is it?"

I continued to pull away, just wanting to retreat from this conversation. "N-no, um, just can't fly... c-can't w-work..."

Blizzard scowled in a dark look that took me by surprise. "I hope that idiot paid."

My surprise was coupled with concern as Dusky agreed with her. "Me too."

I stayed silent, not wanting to add my voice to the accusations. Merriweather had apologized, after all.

But I didn't have to worry too much, as the darkness passed from Blizzard's face. "But hey, you're here, right? Don't let it ruin your trip." She raised a hoof to my shoulder.

I breathed out a sigh in relief and nodded. "R-right. I-I'll try."

Blizzard waved us on, and Dusky and I fell into line as we headed out. Her voice was full of pride. "So, what did you think of the falls?"

Dusky responded with a grin. "Awe-inspiring. It's definitely among the biggest I've seen."

My pace slowed as I thought back to falls, its flowing cascade like an endless, torrential rainstorm. "They were... breathtaking."

As we came up to the main street into town, Blizzard turned back to wink at me. "Most beautiful thing you've seen all day?"

Dusky was already looking down the street, taking in the flag-covered thoroughfare. "Hmmm, probably. I mean, the plains were pretty nice too, but the falls just give more of a sense of life."

I glanced between them, words on the tip of my tongue, but I was drawn to Dusky's eyes. Only the second most beautiful. I started as I realized they were staring at me. "Er, y-yeah... something like that."

"Cool." Blizzard smiled, and turned to lead us back down the street, guiding us to a large festival arch. "So, the festival's all around the town square. You can't really miss it. The knitting expo's in the town hall. Anyway, I gotta get back to work. I'll try to catch you on my next break."

And with a sweep of her wings she was off, gliding back to the train station as she left Dusky and I on our own.

I glanced up at the arch. A banner proclaiming 'Fetlock Falls Winter Festival' was stretched between two ornate ice-columns. Signs shaped like snowflakes were arrayed beyond the arch, directing festival goers to events all over town.

Dusky pointed a hoof forward and nodded to me, smiling. "Well, no use standing around out here. Let's go."

I stumbled after, trying to keep my eyes on her dark blue mane as we weaved through the crowd. Ponies cried out invitations to games and activities, food and drinks, all from somewhat gaudy red-and-white striped tents.

The options of what to do were laid out before us and I hadn't a clue on where to start. Not wanting to delay too long, I dipped my head and deferred to Dusky. "So, um... where to first?"

Dusky motioned her head towards a booth. "How about that one?"

As she trotted forward, I held back to take the booth in. A simple game of stacked milk bottles, and a row of carefully packed snowballs set upon the booth. Two foals were playing, throwing the snowballs clumsily as they bantered at one another.

"Step right up!" The stallion behind the counter, who was dressed in red and white winter attire, called out. He waved a hoof about his booth, directing our attention to the row of plush toys standing in rows on a shelf beneath the table. "Knock over the bottles and win your very own Wonderbolt!"

I gave the plushies a look and nodded. "O-oh, those are nice. I, um, g-guess I'll try it." I dug into my flight satchels, and set my bits onto the counter. The carnival stallion swept them out of view with a flourish and set three snow balls down in front of me.

I felt like I was sweating as I lined up my kick. I wanted to make it look good, I knew how to handle a snowball after all. I pulled back my leg and let it go, snapping the kick into the snowball.

The top bottle fell, and the carnival stallion cried out. "Oh! That's too bad! Good thing you've got two more shots!" He moved quickly to replace the top bottle, then moved aside and gestured with a hoof back towards the target.

I focused now, lining up again. The first shot had been too high, and too hard, but plenty of practice kicking clouds guided my aim now. I kicked, the snowball flying into the bottles, but it didn't have the power I needed. The bottles wobbled, but the snowball bounced aside to the ground.

"Almost! You've totally got this! If not, you can always buy more balls!"

Almost indeed. Now I had it. I narrowed my eyes and struck the final snowball perfectly, and sure enough, the bottles clattered noisily to the ground.

I rose back up from my kicking position, blinking towards the downed bottles. "I-I won?"

I never won at anything.

Dusky beamed at me. "Looks like."

The carnival stallion pulled me over the counter to shake my hoof. "Well, how about that? Did I tell ya or did I tell ya?" He pushed one of the plush Spitfires towards me, then leaned in and grinned wide. "Care to have another go? Build yourself a Wonderbolt armada?"

"U-um..." I paused. It had felt good, winning the prize. But now it was like there was a spotlight on me, and I just wanted to withdraw.

Dusky stepped forward, interceding between the carny and I. "While that sounds nice, we've still a whole festival left to see."

I breathed out, grateful for the intervention. I flashed Dusky a smile and nodded. "O-oh, right. Um... y-yeah, maybe we could come back after."

"Maybe." She turned and smiled at the other stallion. "Besides, I'm sure all your friends will get our bits one way or another."

He called after as we started to move back into the flow of the crowd. "Hey, just so long as you're having fun, right?"

We walked through the mass of ponies side by side. I kept looking for something else that might be fun for the two of us, or something that I was sure she'd enjoy, but it felt like there was just too much to take in. Everywhere I looked I saw more signs and banners, each trying to outdo the other for my attention.

I turned to Dusky, who seemed to be taking the entire festival in stride. She met my eyes, and I lamely stammered at her. "It's, um, a lot... b-bigger than I was expecting..."

She simply nodded and looked out at the crowd with a smile. "I have to admit, at least for a town this small, that it's surprised me too."

My words caught in my throat, and I turned away, once again reminded of just how much more experience she had over me. She'd been to bigger towns and more festivals than I could imagine. I started to let out another sigh when one of the tents caught my eye.

Memories of a street fair held in Cloudsdale came to the fore, my Dad spending the day with me. For a moment, everypony else was forgotten in a cry of joy.

"Skee Ball!" I grinned and waved Dusky along, weaving through the crowd to the booth.

Another carny stood nearby with a mound of snowballs and a shelf of more plush toys, statues, and other prizes. He could barely even start his pitch before I'd placed the bits in his hoof. I moved over to one of the wooden ramps and set myself up in preparation. At the top, circular rings blocked off the scoring zones, requiring a precise roll up the ramp to land in the center.

I kicked at the first ball with a bit of reckless glee, and watched it land in the second ring from the center. I grinned, already getting the feel for the game. The next snowball was right on target.

I tilted my bed back towards Dusky and gave her a smile. "I haven't played this since I was a colt."

"Looks like you haven't lost your touch."

"Yeah!" I grinned wider, hefting up the next snowball, and kicking it down into the center hole. The rest went in like I'd never stopped playing. I could easily have gotten a perfect score if I played again.

The carnival stallion congratulated me, pulling a little blue figurine of some sort from his prize wall. Still excited from the game, I practically giggled as I slipped it into my flight satchel alongside the little Spitfire plush, heady with the rush of winning.

I prepared to dig out a few more bits, ready to go another round, but stopped and smirked. "Dusky, you should try! It's fun!"

"Guess it's about as good a game as any." She paid the carny, and set the snowballs upon the track. Her first kick struck faster than I expected, but the speed caused it to overshoot the center, bouncing it off into the third ring.

I cheered her on, grinning. "Good shot! Just don't put so much force behind it, it's all about control."

Her next ball went in perfectly, but strayed off the center ring, bouncing off the shield and into the gutter along the side.

I nearly let out a snort, frowning at the cheap bounce. "Aw, you were robbed. That should have gone in."

As she gained her poise, my smile crept back on as Dusky's next shot neared the middle ring, and her last two went in. The carny congratulated her, passing her a prize, a cutie mark sticker, obviously meant for foals.

She looked away to slide the sticker into her flight satchel, the turned back to me and smiled. "You're right, that was fun. So what now?"

I started to look for another booth, but was interrupted by a harsh rumble. "Um, I... I'm g-getting a bit hungry."

She nodded, looking me over. "Light breakfast?"

I kicked at the ground slowly. "B-breakfast? I, um, d-didn't have one."

"That's not good." She shook her head, giving a sigh as she started to look about the various carnival stands. "Let's go find a food stand."

She sniffed at the air a moment, then picked a direction. We moved through the crowd, Dusky pulling ahead as I struggled to push my way through.

"S-sorry, I'm not u-used to daytime routine." I trailed off and continued to follow her as she led us away from the festivities, through the thinning crowd.

It wasn't too long before she came to a stop. I looked ahead to see where Dusky had led us, and found a pair of small diners, a sandwich shop set beside a pasta diner. I blinked, mind going back to what Mahogany had said to me in the clinic. Pasta. Everypony likes pasta.

While my own tastes would have preferred something a little simpler, Dusky was traveled; I was sure she’d prefer the pasta over a simple sandwich.

Dusky turned her head towards me, about to say something, when her eyes narrowed. Her focus went to something behind me, and before I could react she was moving.

A tall silhouette of a pony was rearing up behind me, and Dusky was suddenly calling out. "Look ou—oof!" I staggered away as Dusky collided with the figure's side, and with a cry of its own, the figure staggered back, one hoof dropping to the ground. The dark cloak around her body was torn off, and beneath, a large, armored unicorn had settled upon her knees. A wide smile split her face as she watched us.

Dusky stared back at the figure. "What the... Merriweather?!"