Mending Light

by Kiromancer

61 - Arrangements

"You sure this is how you want to spend your day?" Terrabona tilted her head at me as we trotted down Ponyville's main street. "I don't think shopping for flowers is something most stallions want to do."

We were heading into the market square with a list of tasks arranged by Dusky for Terra's wedding. Floral arrangements and other decor were the goals for the day. Honestly, browsing through flowers didn't seem all that bad a task, especially having seen how much Dusky was tackling with Stalwart's best stallion, Tower Tracer.

Aster tagged along too, carrying an empty basket atop her back. "If you'd let me, I could grow really pretty flowers."

"I know you can, dear, but we're going to need a lot of flowers, and I don't want you working that hard for the wedding." When Aster's face began to fall, Terra quickly added. "Besides, you're going to be the Flower Foal. You'll be plenty involved."

Aster may have been Stalwart's daughter, but it was pretty clear she already looked up to Terra like a mom. As Terra ruffled the filly's mane, Aster's expression reverted back to a more neutral expression. She clearly enjoyed the attention, even if she wasn't one to show it.

As we reached the first rows of storefronts, I grinned. "Terra's right. Flower Foal is an important role. As for me, well, I'm just happy to help. I don't know how much I can do but, um, I'll do my best."

In truth, Dusky had given me instructions on just how to handle things. I might not have much of an eye for flowers, but my job wasn't to pick out anything. My job was to ensure Terra picked something out and stuck with it.

'Don't let her hum and haw over one thing for two hours.' Dusky had said. 'She'll probably pick out one thing right away, then talk herself out of it. Just keep reinforcing her gut, and keep her moving down the list.'

At the moment, however, all of Terra's attention was on Aster. As much as Aster fussed when Terra magically pulled some dirt and grit from her tail, the foal was clearly in awe of the unicorn. She called her 'Miss Terra' still, but I wondered if, and when, that would change to 'Mom'. There was that pang again, watching them.

Roseluck had her booth set up in the market square, where she, Daisy, and Lily Valley did their day-to-day business, but that wasn't our destination today. For decorating larger events, the trio had a more robust garden with a much wider variety than the cut flower arrangements they brought for sale each day. It was all housed in a greenhouse just beyond the market, and it didn’t take us too long to walk through the square to arrive there.

As soon as we walked inside, Aster's whole demeanor changed. Her faux-sullen expression gave way to legitimate delight. She pointed down one of the long rows, almost bouncing in place. "Miss Terra! Can I go look? Pleeeeeease?"

Terra grinned. "Yes you can, as long as you're careful. Don't touch anything, and keep in sight of me."

With a roll of her eyes, Aster nodded. "I know! I'm just going down there." Without another word, the foal bolted down the aisle.

I chuckled. "Well, she's found some energy."

"She's really good at hiding how she feels, until she gets excited." Terra watched the filly run, until she stopped at some grouping of flowers or another and began to examine them. "She's being a lot more open now. It's refreshing to see."

Nodding, I watched Aster. "She's something, alright. I remember her planting sunflowers in the park months ago, not admitting to anypony that she might need help. You've been such an amazing influence, Terra, I wouldn't even be able to recognize she's the same foal."

Terra blushed, something that caught me off guard. "Oh, ah, well, I just gave her some structure, I guess. A bit of room to grow and be herself."

I laughed. "She loves you, you know. You can tell it just by watching you two."

She beamed, eyes never leaving the filly. "I know. None of this would have happened without Aster."

"How did it happen?" I swallowed, thoughts of my own plans coming to fore. "The, uh, the proposal I mean."

"It happened not at all how I expected." Terra shook her head. "I guess I'd been thinking about it."

I recalled her asking me about it before. She'd been thinking about it since before we'd left for Ostfriesen. "So you asked him, then, right? I remember you asking if I'd think it was weird if Dusky asked me."

She laughed. "Only sort of. I thought about proposing to Stalwart, and really just couldn't stop thinking about it, and then Aster started asking me questions about it. She asked if I liked her Dad, and started telling me how much he liked having me around. We talked about it, and I made sure it was okay with her. I didn't want her to feel like I was trying to butt in."

"I can imagine that being tricky." I frowned. "For both of you."

Terra nodded. "Harder for me than for her, I think. I was a bit of wreck. She told me it'd be okay, and that she'd like for me to be around more too. Hah. The little sneak."

I blinked. "Sneak? You can't tell me she's not happier with you around."

"Oh, she is. But I'll tell you one thing, Flurry. Foals are way smarter than you think. They're devious little things. I found out later that all the time she was telling me that, she was telling Stalwart that I was talking about him, and telling him how much she wanted me to stay around."

A grin slowly spread over my face. "This is sounding awfully familiar."

"Well, I told Aster I was going to propose, and she suggested I take Stalwart out to dinner. She suggested Stalwart propose at that dinner too. So, next thing you know, there's the two of us stumbling over each other to propose. All because the little sneak egged us both on."

I couldn't help but laugh. "So, at last, you, um, met your match, eh? No wonder you got so attached to Aster."

Terra rolled her eyes. "Hey now, I'm not going behind ponies’ backs arranging marriages."

Still smiling, I raised an eyebrow. "You're not? Are you sure?"

She shot me a dark look, but finally broke into laughter. "Maybe. Haven't arranged yours yet, now have I?"

This time, the heat was in my face. She certainly hadn't, but I was already in motion to do so, and I didn't doubt for a moment that Terra would take the credit. "I suppose you haven't. Unless you've been talking to Dusky about me behind my back."

"Who, me? Oh, I'm not, no." Terra grinned wickedly. "But Dusky certainly talks about you. I think she really likes you, Flurry. She seems to think you're something special."

"And now you're just trying your foal’s tactics." I paused, unable to keep the smirk off my face. "But, when you see Dusky next, um, make sure you tell her I think the same of her."

Terra giggled. "Well, Aster got such good success with this method. I guess for us, she just decided to push us together faster than we would have on our own."

I continued to laugh. Terra was still Terra, that much was sure. "I appreciate the effort. I, um, thankfully don't think it's necessary. You can focus your attention on somepony else."

"You think I haven't? I have my hooves in many schemes, Flurry. Mahogany, Starshadow, Spring, they're all free. Single. I can fix that for them!"

"What about Merriw—" I blinked. "W-wait? Spring?"

She laughed ominously. "You should know, Flurry, nopony is safe. I have several candidates around town already picked out. Once I'm back from my honeymoon, at least."

"I don't know if I should feel sorry for her, or you. Um, good luck, I suppose." I sighed, feeling an odd mix of emotion over that thought. On one side, she was my sister. On the other side... she was my sister. It was a bit hard to explain. "Just... don't push her."

Terra feigned a look of shock. "I am all about finding ponies their one true soul mate, Flurry. You and Dusky aren't my first, nor last, success."

I couldn't help the smile that crossed my face. "Mmhmm. Well, um, I'm not sure you—"

A sudden loud throat-clearing turned our attention to our side, where Aster stood, a bundle of white flowers in the basket she'd been carrying. She glanced between us in disapproval, like a teacher catching her students passing notes, then nodded to the flowers. "These ones."

Terra's smile immediately shifted from her matching making one to one of genuine joy. She levitated the flowers from Aster and examined them closer. They were a beautiful white, bell-shaped flower with a yellow core, bundled together into a neat bouquet. "Oh, honey, these are really pretty, but we haven't even looked at everything yet. I'll put them in the maybe list while we look."

Aster narrowed her eyes and jut out her lip into a pout. "No. Your wedding needs the best flowers. Those are the best flowers. I checked."

The filly's mind was apparently set, but it'd be worth finding out what exactly was going through her head. "Well, Aster, um, why is that the best choice?"

She pointed her hoof at the bundle. "They're Calla lilies. They smell really nice, look pretty, and last a very long time out of soil. The petals won't fall off under stress, so you can have them shipped without worrying about them arriving all bad, and if we transplant them, they should survive fairly easily in any soil."

Neither Terra or I spoke for a moment, both of us just collectively trying to process everything that Aster had just said. The Calla lilies certainly looked nice, at least.

I glanced at Terra, managing to get my jaw back into place. “I, um, think somepony knows their flowers.”

Terra slowly began to nod, her shock giving way to what appeared to be pride. “She sure does. I don’t think I can argue with that logic. Alright, honey. Calla lilies it is.”

Aster beamed in triumph, then scampered back the way she came. “They’re over here! Come on!”

Following the excited filly, I chuckled. “I didn’t even need to keep you on task, Terra. We’re done way earlier than expected.”

She scoffed. “Keep me on task? Is that why Dusky sent you? My own Maid of Honor can’t even trust me to pick out something as easy as the floral arrangement.”

It was hard not to smirk. “Dusky said you’ve been a bit indecisive, but I’m starting to think we should just let Aster pick out the rest. She seems to know what she wants best for the wedding, considering it was all her plan anyways.”

Terra laughed, “Oh, no, no we’re not letting her make all the decisions. It is my wedding, Flurry. Some day, you’ll see. Dusky is going to go through just as much trouble picking out what color tablecloth she needs for her big day.”

That same familiar heat rose in my cheeks thinking on that. “I think you’re wrong on that front, Terra. I think Dusky will have it all planned out. And what she hasn’t planned, she’ll figure out pretty fast. She’s… decisive.”

“Hmm, you might be right. Only one way to find out, though~.”

I glanced away to try and hide the blush, but that only made Terra’s grin grow larger.

“Oh, yeah, you’ll definitely find out soon. I can sense it. Aster may be good, but I’m the best.”

I bit my tongue as I thought of just how right she was. Or at least, how right I hoped she would be. “We, uh, should get those flowers before Aster decides you need to add more colors to the arrangements. Besides, we’ve still got a few more stops on Dusky’s list for the rest of the decor.”

Terra pondered for a fraction of a second before her pace picked up in pursuit of Aster. “Alright, let’s go get those lilies, and then we’re off to pick out place settings. Sound good?”

With a chuckle, I nodded. “It’s your wedding, Terra. You’re the boss.”

Comments

[Yami Vizzini]

What a scamp.

[Kiromancer]

8527245
Who, Aster... or Terra?