//------------------------------// // 62 - Bonds // Story: From Dusk to Night // by KuroiTsubasaTenshi //------------------------------// “Hey, Terra!” I knocked on the door to her makeshift dressing room. Bay Breeze had been kind enough to provide a few side rooms at a hefty discount for those of us in the wedding party to use as necessary. “I have to go get ready soon, but your parents said they’ll be here in a few minutes.” No answer. “Terra?” I eased the door open, poking my muzzle in just enough to get a good look. At the far end of the room, Terra sat on her haunches, staring across a fold-up table, lost in the portable make-up mirror. She was only half-dressed, which was perhaps a good thing—the shimmering white fabric, with its breezy blue tinge, flowed out over the floor. I cringed a little. Sure, the staff had cleaned quite thoroughly before giving us the room, but we’d been in and out all morning and part of the evening. The chances of her dress having swept up a noticeable amount of dust and dirt approached one-hundred percent. I pushed my way in slowly, quietly closing the door behind me. I spoke as softly as I could while still being audible, “Terra? You okay?” She whirled, eyes wide as she stared right through me. “Did we get the decorations right? Are the flowers still fresh? Did we remember the cake? Are we sure we’re sure we’re sure the officiant confirmed?! Oh, Celestia, Dusky! Is this what it’s like to be you?!” Giving her as sympathetic a smile as I could, I trotted over and wrapped a wing around her. “A bit less frantic.” “How do you do it?” Terra shook her head. “Practice, I guess.” In hiding it. If I had been perfectly honest, the past few days hadn’t left me much less frazzled. With every hiccup in each major detail, I fretted that I would be giving Terra the biggest let-down of her life. At the end of each day, when I had just a moment to breathe, it was especially funny to think about, really. I’d been in so many life and death situations, and yet this had left me feeling nearly as frantic. Which isn’t to say that the wedding wasn’t important, but… well, it’s pretty hard for anything else to compare to being nearly disintegrated by an angry ancient dragon. I tried to smile wider. “Prioritizing what’s worth second guessing, that kind of thing. I’m not going to tell you not to worry, because I know you will. But, Tower Tracer and I have got everything lined up. And we’re going to keep doing everything in our power to make sure this day is as perfect as possible. Trust us.” “Of course I trust you.” Terra sighed. “I’m just so… nervous.” “Anyone would be. It’s some of your biggest decisions ever and there are no do-overs. Even a second ceremony wouldn’t be the same.” I pulled her into a tight hug. “But, if you stay so high strung, you’ll pass out before you see just how well it’s going to go, so, Terra, trust us—and more importantly, trust yourself.” Terra took a deep breath. “Right. Hey, Dusky?” “Hmmm?” “You ever thought about psychology?” “Well, I’ve been called crazy, but I didn’t think it was that bad.” I grinned. She met me with a mock frown. “That’s not what I mean.” “I know. I never gave it much thought, but I don’t think I could do it. Giving strangers advice is a whole different game from helping my friends.” I stepped back. “Speaking of which, shall we get you into your dress?” “I thought you had to go?” Terra tilted her head. “It’s your wedding. I don’t think anyone would object to pushing things a couple minutes because I was helping you.” “Well, in that case…” --- The wedding itself was something of a breather—at face value, perhaps one of the strangest statements I’ve ever made. However, it made sense. We’d poured so much time and effort into planning, and now that things were in motion, that part of my brain was left idling. Unless something went seriously wrong, I had a chance to relax. Of course, the longer things went perfectly, the more I pondered when and where things might deviate. Perhaps the worst was waiting at the bottom of the Lagoon’s stairs, as it was impossible to see much of anything from down there. Right from the moment the officiant, a pale grey unicorn named Aspen Scroll, went up, I expected her to come scurrying back down, proclaiming some crisis or another. I found myself sweating a bit as the grandparents proceeded. There are few people from who it would be worse to be informed that the ceremony just ended up in the toilet. Fortunately, I would be going up before them, so at least I’d be able to do some damage control. Here, I was still at the mercy of my nerves. The situation with the wedding party was a tad odd. With Night and Mahogany having given up the opportunity to be bridestallions, that left Terra with only Star and Merri. On the other side of things, Stalwart Stone had brought three of his construction buddies: Jack Post, Even Caulking and Airy Plenum. Since Terra wanted to pair us all off, this presented a bit of an issue. However, it was resolved with astonishing speed as while the rest of us had been busy trying to brainstorm solutions, Merri had simply grinned and said, “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll take Caulking and Plenum. I can handle two at once~.” Even though Star, Terra and I rolled our eyes at her, while the stallions stood dumbstruck, it did allow for a neat-and-tidy two-three-two formation. Ultimately, Terra decided to go with it. As Star and Jack Post prepared to head up, Star glanced back at Merri. “Remember, this is an Equestrian wedding. Try to keep ahold of yourself.” “You already told me that at rehearsal, Sis’,” Merri said, sticking out her tongue. “Exactly,” Star replied. And with that, she started up the stairs. “Hey!” Merri’s face formed into an exaggerated pout, but received no acknowledgement from neither the swaying aquamarine dress, nor coattail-wreathed burgundy butt. One of those had Merri’s eye up until its disappearance. I shook my head. “Just listen to your sister.” “Hey, it’s not like our weddings get that crazy anymore. We’ll be fiiiiiine~.” Merri grinned widely. “Now, come on, you big lugs. Let’s go look all regal and sexy-like~.” Even Caulking and Airy Plenum glanced at me, but I waved them forward. “Just go, before Merri gets any funny ideas.” In truth, I did trust Merri to have restraint—or at least more than ancient Ostfriesens. My mind drifted back to post-rehearsal. “Ostfriesen weddings have a reputation for rowdiness, almost to the point of bad luck,” Star had said. I’d raised an eyebrow, even though I figured the former might have been a given for a warrior culture. “Dare I ask?” “It is… well, tradition carried forward from the olden days. Back then, the conditions had everypony rather tightly wound, so when they had a chance to indulge, there could be…” Star bit her lip. “...rather messy incidents. These days, the bad luck is little more than an irrelevant remnant. Back then, it was a living reminder, cautioning against overindulgence.” If nothing else, the atmosphere and people were probably too different for Merri to cause trouble, but this was something I really didn’t want to be thinking about at the moment. “Well?” Tower Tracer’s voice brought me back to reality. “I think it’s about our time.” I pushed any lingering thoughts aside and smiled. “Yeah. I guess it wouldn’t do for me to berate Merri, then be the one to hold up the wedding, huh?” Tower Tracer turned to Aster and the gembearer, a little sky blue pegasus named Tailskid, and grinned. “See you up top, kiddos.” Aster gave him a level smile, but Tailskid was practically bouncing. He was even younger than Aster—young enough that I don’t think he understood the importance of his uncle’s wedding so much as he was just excited to be doing something important. As we ascended the stairs, I could really feel the weight of the dress tugging on my flanks. Which isn’t to say that it was particularly encumbering—this was the most expensive dress I’d ever owned by a wide margin and as such, each of its silky, aquamarine layers was perfectly tailored to my form. No, it was more that I just wasn’t used to something so full. Everything else I owned was lighter, better for movement. Here, I was reasonably sure the sash alone used about as much cloth as half of any other dress. At the top, a gentle breeze washed over me, taking any worry with it. The decorations were just as we left it. The band was present on the left of the stage and playing their low, yet upbeat, tune. Among the rows and rows of chairs were each of Terra’s and Stalwart Stone’s family and friends, with smiles all around. Among them, I caught a glimpse of Night and Mahogany—the former giving me his trademark dopey look and the latter with a smile bigger than any I’d seen since before his dad showed up in Ponyville. Glancing into the hall as we passed, I could see the dressing curtain we’d set up in front of the kitchenette was still intact, shadows moving around behind it. The curtain was one of the first things Tower Tracer and I considered after we sat down to plan the ceremony. Given the condition of Stalwart Stone’s back, there was little sense in making him climb the stairs more times than necessary. With Tower Tracer and I taking our positions at the head of our sides of the wedding party, I turned my eyes to the hall. The biggest problem with multiple starting points was that someone was liable to miss a cue. After about ten seconds, I glanced at Tower Tracer. Should we send someone to check? My thoughts were cut short by the steady clomp of dress shoes on wood. Stalwart Stone emerged, head held high, the dark tan of his coat standing out firmly against the black of his tuxedo. I can’t say I’ve ever really been a fan of suits or tuxedos—their differences are often subtle to the point of barely existing. I’ve always felt that if someone is already going to be wearing something that greatly restricts movement, they might as well cut loose. Still, Stalwart Stone did manage to make his tux look pretty good, despite the back brace. He was flanked by an elderly yellow stallion, who looked to be on the verge of tears, and a bright orange mare, who was more concerned about how Stalwart Stone was walking than where they were going. I regretted not having more time to chat with his parents, but we’d just barely gotten everything together as it was. The going was slow, but Stalwart Stone eventually found himself at the side of the officiant, while his parents broke off to take their seats. Next, Tailskid crested the stairs, having upgraded from practically bouncing to actually bouncing. I cringed a little, just picturing the cushion on his back—pendants and all—flying off over the railing. That’s just what we needed: the wedding party digging around through the sand in their dresses and suits, trying to find a couple needles in a haystack. Thankfully, he seemed to remember the rehearsal about halfway down the aisle and downgraded his skipping to a canter. Granted, I do suspect that the stern look of his mother peeking over top of the crowd had something to do with it. Aster looked very uncomfortable in her dress, an unfortunate fact that we just didn’t have enough rehearsals to help her overcome. Given her position on everything regarding money, I couldn’t really blame her. Still, she tried to compensate by throwing her petals with extra enthusiasm—perhaps a bit too much enthusiasm, if the closer guests had anything to say about it. Once the two foals were in place, I turned and waved at the band. As the music changed, all eyes were on the stairs. The gap had me tense. I knew I’d left Terra okay, but that was so long ago. I had to tell myself that her parents were with her—she didn’t need me to babysit her. I lost my sense of time. I thought we were approaching the boundary of what could be called reasonable, but I couldn’t be certain. Terra appeared and my train of thought abruptly hit a wall. My best friend, at her finest and most radiant, walked the aisle at the rehearsed speed, yet her posture made it clear that it was not nearly fast enough for her. As she advanced, shimmering blue flowed down her dress where the sun met the folds in the fabric. I felt the sappiness welling up in my eyes, but fought them back, merely leaving my eyes a bit watery—this was Terra’s wedding, so she had dibs. She was guided by her father, a cerulean unicorn with a poker face to rival my own and her mother, a somewhat larger, deep red unicorn. As with Stalwart Stone, they parted ways at the stairs, leaving the remainder of the distance to Terra alone. She and I exchanged a brief smile, but there was only one person who really had her attention. Terra and Stalwart Stone shared dovey eyes as the music died away. In that silence, we were frozen in time. There was no words, no movement. And yet, this was the real moment where I felt I could relax. Everything had gone well and from here on, we had some time where the plan would be locked in. The officiant began, her words some of the sweetest I’d heard all day, “Dearly beloved…”