//------------------------------// // 54 - Terrafying Decisions // Story: From Dusk to Night // by KuroiTsubasaTenshi //------------------------------// The sun was just starting to come down, casting its trademark orange-purple hue through Terra’s living room window. Even though I’d been here a few times since Terra had cleaned up, I wasn’t quite used to it. Just the light alone made it seem like an entirely different place, never mind the rearranged boxes—most of them had been shipped out to her store, and the rest were neatly stacked in the corner—or the complete absence of empty whiskey bottles. In their place was a new, albeit healthier, addiction: wedding magazines. The two of us sat on her couch, poring over them. As I flipped through the last page of my current issue, my eyes drifted to the long stretch of parchment on which I’d been making notes. I eyed the list before me up and down, then double-checked the count. Thirty-six entries. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have expected such a thing from Twilight, but instead, this was a product of Terra, me, four hours and two-dozen bridal magazines. To be frank, I’d been afraid we’d have the opposite problem, with Terra’s fear of extravagance paralysing her and giving us nothing to work with. While this still wasn’t a great situation, it was at least some relief to see that in the battle of Terras, Terra the Romantic was still Queen. “Terra, the point of this is to narrow things down, not catalog every magazine you own,” I said, smirking. “I know! I know!” she replied. “It’s just… all these gowns are so good!” “Okay, well… how about the bridesmaid dresses as a tiebreaker? Surely, some combination of the two will rise above the rest for you. Or maybe even a top ten instead of a top thirty-six?” I held out the list, poking it for emphasis. “I don’t know…” Terra shook her head. “Those are all so good, too. But it’s better than nothing. Let’s try it.” We traced our way back through each page reference, meticulously reviewing each picture. Admittedly, I was less help than I could have been, as I probably voted to keep about as many as I said to drop. Though I tend toward, simpler, yet pretty, designs, I must admit that I have a weakness for long sashes and large bows. Something about them trailing out behind me in the wind just feels right. Still, I tried to rein it in a little, in an effort to place Terra’s tastes first. As we finished this go around, I eyed the modified list. “Well, this eliminates… one… two… three. Leaving us with thirty-three entries.” Terra let out a half-hyperbolic sigh. “Oh, Dusky, you need to stop looking good in every dress.” “Hey!” I laughed. “I told you, a lot of those dresses would suit me much worse than the page.” With a deep frown, Terra stared me down for but a second before she broke out into her own giggle fit. “Yeah, well, you don’t count. You’re always too harsh on yourself and you know it.” I shook my head. “If you say so. Maybe my tastes are just too simple.” “Maybe.” Terra faked a frown again. “That just means I’ll need to bring ten times as many magazines when we start planning your wedding.” “I think you’re getting way ahead of yourself there, Terra.” “Aaaaaam I?” She leaned forward. Rolling my eyes, I stuck out my tongue. “Geez, Terra, only you would matchmake while choosing your own wedding dress.” “Yes, well, I’m very dedicated to my craft.” Her grin just about swallowed her muzzle. “More like you’re very dedicated to sidetracking us. Now, c’mon, unless you plan to be constantly changing outfits, theatre style, you really have to choose something.” Before Terra could answer, the creak of Terra’s door opening echoed down the hall, followed by Aster’s voice. “Terra?” “In the living room!” Terra called back. As Aster rounded the corner, disappointment washed over her face. “You’re not done?” “Sorry, Aster.” Terra’s eyes flitted to the window, her smile growing sheepish as she suddenly realized the state of the sun. “There’s way more good choices than we thought.” “Oh.” Aster fidgeted. The way she eyed the magazines, I’d almost swear she thought they were her rivals. “Hey, I’ve got an idea,” I said, breaking the silence. “Why don’t you help us pick a dress?” “But, I don’t know anything about dresses.” Aster shuffled back a little. “You don’t have to. It’s not like math or science or anything like gardening where a wrong choice will kill a plant,” Terra said, beckoning her over. “Yeah, it’s all a matter of taste,” I added. “What do you think looks pretty? That’s all that’s important.” “If you say so.” Aster walked over beside Terra, taking a seat on the opposite side of her. Grabbing one of the topmost magazines, she started absently flipping through the pages. “Can we really afford all this?” Aster asked, prodding at one of the grander, more floral dresses. Terra and I exchanged looks before she gave Aster a sad smile. “Oh, Aster, honey. You’re too young to have to ask questions like that. We’ve got more than enough. Besides, you’re talking to the two thriftiest mares around. And if that isn’t enough, Dusky will be with me. She’s the best planner in Ponyville, so you can bet her budget will be airtight.” I smirked. “Now you’re just overselling me.” “See? There. Too harsh.” It was Terra’s turn to stick out her tongue. “Uh… okay.” Aster looked at us both like we were crazy before returning to her half-hearted browsing. With such clear enthusiasm, I wondered just how well she’d take to whatever dress she ended up wearing. That’s when the idea hit me. “In fact… Hey, Terra. I think I know the problem. There clearly aren’t enough variables in our judging criteria. Can the list survive round three: flower girl dresses?” Terra laughed. “Of course! How could I forget about that?” Aster’s eyes slowly, deliberately turned my way, a message written all over them: ‘Really?’ However, that expression was quickly lost as Terra grabbed her and started walking through the first of the magazines. After a couple minutes, Aster seemed to relax. “Oh, that reminds me of our lilies,” Aster said, this time tracing her hoof over a flowing, pure white dress that caught the light in just the right way to trail a pleasing yellow down its flanks. Terra smiled. “That’s no coincidence. It’s from Hyacinth Blossom’s main line.” “Is there more? What about this red one?” --- The sun was long gone by the time we got Aster back to her cottage. Even under the dim light of the half-moon, I could tell that Aster’s flowers were flourishing. While many were bowed and closed, the natural, graceful curve of their stems made it clear that they were merely hunkering down for the night. “Hey, Dad, I’m home!” Aster called as she stopped just shy of throwing the door wide open. Terra and I trotted in behind her. Unlike the yard, the inside of the cottage had hardly changed. In fact, the only thing that stood out was the stallion seated across the table from Stalwart Stone. The newcomer was an earth pony, sporting a white coat with just enough of a grey tinge that it sparkled a little under the candlelight. A thick, chestnut mane tumbled down his head while what appeared to be a blueprint adorned his flank. Between the two stallions was a small mess of papers, with a single magazine flipped halfway open. “Sorry we’re late.” Terra snuck a quick nuzzle with Stalwart Stone. “We had a lot of decisions to make.” “I guessed as much. Don’t worry about it,” Stalwart Stone smiled. “We’re not doing much better, anyway.” The other stallion shrugged. “Give this guy a ten-foot list of building material requirements and he’ll have them all picked out in an hour. Three pictures of tuxedos? Gonna take all night.” I slipped up beside Terra and smiled. “I’m afraid we’ve got you beat. Six dresses and that’s after three rounds of culling.” The stallion laughed. “Not like it’s a fair contest. Tuxes are a tad boring compared to all your fancy dresses. Say, don’t think we’ve met. The name’s Tower Tracer. I get to play Best Stallion for this joker here.” He reached out a hoof, which I met with a firm shake. “Dusky Down. I’m your counterpart on Terra’s side of things.” “Well, then, looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of each other while these two lovebirds get their rears in gear.” I smirked. “Seems so.” Terra narrowed her eyes in faux indignation. “You make fun of us now, but just you wait. Your weddings will be exactly the same, then it’ll be me and Stalwart poking fun at you.” “Oh, please.” Tower Tracer waved a hoof. “Everyone knows I’m married to the office. I don’t need a special somepony. Ain’t got the time or energy. Right, Stalwart?” An amused smile spread across Stalwart Stone’s face. “It’s true. Tower’s the most dedicated worker I’ve met, bar none. His cutie mark should be a clock since he always seems to be pulling extra time out of his flank. Don’t know how he’d get twice as much work done as the rest of us, otherwise. He even found time to help get me up to speed after the incident.” “Hey, c’mon,” Tower Tracer grinned. “What was a friend to do? Leave you hanging? Besides, you’re a fast learner. I hardly had to do anything.” Although a slight smile flitted over Terra’s lips, she was still focusing rather intently on Tower Tracer. “That sounds like a challenge. Dusky said she didn’t need anypony either and I got her a stallion. Just you wait, I’ll find you a mare yet.” “Terra.” I sighed. “You’re oversimplifying again.” Tower Tracer just laughed. “Be my guest. Bring all the mares in the world and you won’t find one I’ll marry.” Stalwart Stone placed a hoof on Terra’s. “Miss Down is right, dear. You’re getting carried away.” “Fine,” Terra grumbled, though her expression softened when she met Stalwart Stone’s eyes. Tower Tracer nudged me. “Uh, oh, mushiness alert. Might be our cue to get out of here.” “‘Our’, meaning you me, and Aster?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. At that point, I realized Aster hadn’t said a word the entire time, which, even though she tended to be quieter during these kinds of conversations, was still unusual. She sat on her haunches, staring up at her parents with a look in her eyes that I was used to seeing on a certain mare. Oh, Celestia, it’s contagious, isn’t it? “Shoot, you’re right.” Tower Tracer stood and trotted over to Aster. “Say, Aster, want to go down to Sugarcube Corner for some ice cream? Give your parents some time to themselves?” Aster nodded vigorously, though I wasn’t quite sure which question she was more enthused about. “At this hour?” Terra frowned a little. It was clear she wanted to protest further, but was also keenly aware Tower Tracer was doing them a favour. After exchanging looks with Stalwart, they both nodded. “Just don’t be more than an hour,” Stalwart Stone said. “You still have school in the morning.” “Yay!” Aster grinned. I had to stifle a giggle. “Right. Well, I guess we’d better get out of here, then.” “Wait, Dusky. Can I have a minute?” Terra asked. “Uh, sure.” “C’mon, kiddo.” Tower Tracer patted Aster on the shoulder. “Let’s get out of their hair. You can tell me about your plants while we wait.” “While you wait?” I raised an eyebrow. “What, you’re not coming for ice cream?” Tower Tracer asked. I pondered a second. While I did have errands to run tomorrow, I did have the day off. With a smile and a shrug, I replied, “Sure, why not?” Once the door had shut behind Tower Tracer and Aster, Terra and Stalwart Stone turned to me. “I’d been meaning to mention this before, but we weren’t sure how public we wanted to be about this,” Terra said. “Is it about Aster?” Thinking back to Ivory and the backlash she’d received when her budding powers didn’t work the way anyone expected, I nodded. “It’s always best to err on the side of caution with those kinds of things. Wait, something didn’t happen, did it?” Stalwart Stone shook his head. “No, no, everything is fine, Miss Down. There were some odd readings, but nothing like what Miss Sparkle told us to watch out for. Right, dear?” Rubbing the back of her mane a little, Terra’s smile was a little sheepish. “As far as I could tell. I’m not all that good with some of these science-y gizmos.” “You did just fine, dear.” Stalwart Stone smiled a big, reassuring smile up at her. “Miss Sparkle even said so.” “Hahaha…” Terra shrunk a little. “Yeah, I guess she did.” “Well, I’m glad everything’s turned out all right.” I made a mental note to talk to Twilight about getting a copy of Aster’s data. It couldn’t hurt to get a couple second opinions from Ruby and Ivory if I was already going to be out there, anyway. Stalwart Stone nodded. “Ever since we finished this, it seems like a burden has been lifted from Aster’s shoulders. I am ashamed to say I didn’t realize how heavily her secret had weighed on her. So, on behalf of myself and my daughter, thank you, Miss Down.” Pulling herself straight again, Terra smiled. “Yeah, thanks, Dusky.” “Hey, what are friends for? I’m sure Mahogany or Tower Tracer would have done the same.” I grinned. “Anyway, though, I think I should get going. I’ve already cut enough into your hour.” With a wink, I spun around and strode out the door.