From Dusk to Night

by KuroiTsubasaTenshi

61 - Hooves Forward

The early morning train was one of two times that anything went out to Orlov. I guess that’s what happens when the destination is a relatively distant, small town—and even then, we probably only had more than one because of Canterlot’s proximity. Granted, the second wasn’t exactly a great option, since I wasn’t keen on taking an overnight train. It wasn’t even something I gave much consideration to with the big cities, never mind a fledgling route like this.

Without so much as a cloud in the sky, the sun beat down on me, baking my worries on the platform like an omelet. Turned out they wouldn’t spoil, though, as the trademark magenta engine of the Equestrian Rail rolled in, bringing a rainbow of cars in its wake. Finding Tower Tracer took some effort—a byproduct of my preference for the rear. By the time I found him halfway up the frontmost car, the train had already departed.

This brought me to the next potential problem: I still didn’t know Tower Tracer that well. Sure, we’d chatted plenty about the wedding, but that didn’t help too much with small talk. And it would be just the two of us, as things were coming down to the wire. As such, I’d convinced Terra that we needed to split up. Tower Tracer and I would check the hall and devise a floor plan, while Terra, Night and Aster would get the flower arrangements figured out. I felt a bit bad asking Night to be my proxy when he had little more than a short list to work from, but I couldn’t get anyone else on such short notice.

Once again, though, my worries proved to be ethereal. Even though Tower Tracer and I were both a bit unsure at the start, we soon found ourselves swapping stories.

“So the mare asked, ‘Are you sure you have one? Do you even know where it is?’ Not that I blame her.” I smirked a little as I leaned back in my seat. “Terra’s shop always looks about two steps removed from having been hit by a runaway tornado. Anyway, without skipping a beat, Terra trotted over to a bin full of old kite parts, shoving it aside with her magic. Underneath was a sturdy cardboard box, which she opened to reveal several smaller boxes. She grabbed the topmost one and sure enough, it had the exact gear for their stopwatch.”

Tower Tracer laughed. “Must have been quite the sight. The more I hear, the more I’m convinced that this is exactly what he needed.”

“Oh?” I tilted my head.

“Yep. I mean, he’s good at the office stuff, but I’ve always gotten the impression it’s never fully clicked with him. Sure, the place gets pretty busy and there’s all the uncertainty of dealing with the vendors and their delivery crews, but there’s a certain regimented feel that’s more my thing than his. It’s why I’ve always preferred architecting. Stalwart, he… well, I don’t know if he’s ever really realized it, but he’s always been about the hooves-on, organized chaos. Working on site, keeping track of several teams and what materials they’re using, getting in on the construction himself—there’s just this look he used to get, like a foal in a candy store, that I never see in the office. He and Skylight both, actually. I suppose that’s why they were always such a great pair.”

I almost skipped the question, given the subject matter, but if Stalwart Stone was getting remarried, I had to guess some discussion would be on the table. I had to chew on the words for a bit to get it to come out with satisfactory tact. “Skylight being his deceased wife?”

Tower Tracer nodded. “Skylight Shine was her name. Went to the same school and everything. And they almost missed each other.”

“Isn’t there better odds of that than not? Get a big enough school and most of the student body won’t even know each other—even within the same specialization.”

“True, but,” he said, holding up a hoof, “they happened to meet in the first week of the first year.”

“Studies too busy, then?”

“Yes and no. Things were pretty intense, yes, but not so much that there wasn’t any time for socializing. Well, for the average student, anyway. Y’see, Stalwart was a bit of an overachiever by necessity. His family wasn’t exactly poor, but going to school still cost most of their savings and more. He wasn’t about to let them down.”

I couldn’t help but smirk. “Well, now I think I know where a certain someone got that tendency from.”

“Hah, you don’t know the half of it. When Aster was even littler, before the accident, she was still so serious. We used to joke that sometimes she was more Stalwart than Stalwart.”

“Perhaps that was for the best. It seems to have at least helped her cope, even if it ends up feeding back into the situation a bit.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Tower Tracer gave a solemn nod. “Anyway, they clicked well, perhaps too well. Stalwart decided he needed to keep his distance. This only lasted a couple years, until the more advanced classes forced them together for group work. Slowly, but surely, he loosened up. The rest is history.”

“A bittersweet story in hindsight.”

“I’m just glad he’s been able to move on. When he first started out at the office, after work, he used to go out to the sites of the projects he was assigned and just stare for a while. I didn’t really know what to think of it and when I asked, he just said it was nothing.”

“I know how that can be.” I frowned a little. “Admittedly, I’ve been on both ends of that.”

“I think most of us have, it’s just…” He stared at the back of the seat in front of us. “With things like that, it gets so deep that you wonder if they’ll make it back on their own.”

Mahogany’s face flashed through my mind. “Yeah, it can get bad. But, sometimes a little faith and support goes a long way.”

---

Sapphire Lagoon’s hall reminded me of the kind of ritzy beach house a Canterlot noble might buy, but miniaturized. Even from the outside, I could tell that the space was going to be about as limited as we’d thought. On the other hoof, the balcony seemed quite a bit larger than the photos led me to believe. I wasn’t quite sure if that was because I was standing at the bottom of a story of stairs or the photos were oddly unflattering. There was only one way to find out.

I had to keep my eyes to the left, but there was clear thought in the placement of the stairs. While the very nature of the stairs meant that the view wasn’t the best, it was a dramatic build up, a teasing glimpse of what the ocean might be once we reach the top. And quite the impressive view it was, with the sun highlighting each and every wave in that vast blue expanse. Best I could tell, any place on the balcony could see it, though the amount of beach visible varied greatly.

Pausing for a good minute, I drank in the sight, trying to picture how it might look throughout the day—especially during the evening. “I don’t think this is going to need much selling. What do you think?”

“I’d like to see how this would look with an extra story or two beneath us,” Tower Tracer put a hoof to his chin. “But, I agree. This looks pretty nice as is.”

“I guess we should at least give the Reef a onceover, but unless we find a major deal breaker inside the Lagoon, this is going to be pretty hard to top.” I glanced back at the mock beach cabin. “How long until the appointment?”

He produced a pocketwatch from his saddlebags. “Two minutes.”

“Hmmm, just enough time for a little planning, then.” I trotted over to the corner furthest from both the stairs and the hall. “I think the stage should go here.”

“Ah, yes, I see. Anypony coming up the stairs or out of the hall will have a clear view of the current events. There will also be plenty of room off to the side of the stairs for ponies to loiter and watch without obstructing those newcomers.” Tower Tracer paced the deck, moving to each location in turn as he considered them.

“Right,” I said. “It’ll also let us utilize the view for both the visual and framing the stage without washing out all the photos.”

“I like how you think.” He shot me a grin.

“Well, now, are you sure you two even need a tour?” A voice pulled our eyes back to the stairs. A middle-aged, lemon-yellow earth pony was watching us, amusement playing over her blue eyes as she peered out from beneath her seaweed-green mane.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Tower Tracer said. “We can’t decide without having done our due diligence.”

I smiled. “But, you’ve definitely got our attention. Citrus Twist, right?”

The mare nodded, extending her hoof. “And you must be Dusky Down and Tower Tracer. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise.” I shook her hoof.

“So, shall we have a look inside, then?” Citrus Twist moreso stated than asked. She trotted over to the double doors and deftly unlocked them.

While the exterior was a sort of sky blue, the interior walls quite aggressively tried to live up to the hall’s name. The doors, trim and floor were such a pure white that I almost might have guessed that it was repainted yesterday. However, this was a party hall that saw frequent use. As I gave the floor another scan, I suspected that it was more likely that someone had paid for a very expensive enchantment. The pair of windows facing out onto the deck, with their equally white trim on both sides of the panes, only served to confirm my suspicions.

We already knew the layout from the photos, but just standing here made me realize how cramped this space was. At this point, I had to assume it was intentional, as the balcony would be completely wasted if everyone just stayed inside.

“As you can see, the hall is still rather sizable and can easily host a small party. For a wedding, you will almost certainly need to be outside, but with our weather guaranteed to suit your needs, you can rest assured that there will be no problems.”

“How many pegasi will be on staff with this rental?” Tower Tracer asked.

“Two. If you do not think that sufficient, for a fee, we can add more as needed.” Citrus Twisted leaned in. “But, just between you and me, in the last ten years of service, none of our halls have had a weather problem.”

I trotted to the back, where the bar-kitchenette sat. Another white door sat behind it—presumably staff access.

“Liquor and bartender are not included in the rental. However, if you cannot provide your own, we will be happy to provide the service for a fee.” She motioned broadly. “Of course, this is not the extent of our food services. Our catering will use our own, extensive kitchen, with our rear walkways allowing for quick delivery.”

Making a mental note to push Terra to make a decision on the liquor, I turned to Citrus Twist. “And what about Terra’s special request?”

“Ah, yes, the special carrot dish, right? Our chefs are among the best. This should be no issue for them. Please understand that this constitutes a custom order, however.”

I nodded. “I’ll make sure she’s aware, though I doubt it’ll be a problem.”

It wasn’t until now that I really noticed Tower Tracer circling the room. He rejoined as after he finished his current circuit. “The wall makes this a little strange, but between the windows and leaving the doors open, I think there shouldn’t be any issue having tables in here. We’ll have to have the plates brought out, which means there’s no chance of a buffet service, but I think we can gets all the tables at just the right angle so that nopony will miss anything.”

Stepping back a little, I squinted at the doors and windows. “Hmmm, I’m not sure I see it quite as readily as you, but I’m sure an hour with a floor plan should solve that.”

Tower Tracer laughed. “Well, then I guess we know what we’re doing once we’re done here.”

Citrus Twist tilted her head. “Then, is that a decision?”

“Not officially.” I shook my head. “But this has been informative enough that I think Terra and Stalwart Stone should have the paperwork out within a day of our return.”

“And since they’re kind of our bosses on this matter,” Tower Tracer said. “We’ll want to at least give the Reef a looksee.”

“Of course. Of course.” Citrus Twist smiled. “Right this way, then.”

Comments

[Yami Vizzini]

That really does sound like a great venue. And yay, backstory!