Dusk

8:02. Why isn’t she here?

Dusk fidgeted in his chair. What if she didn’t show up? What if she got lost? What if…something terrible happened to her!

The door to the bar opened, and a mare walked in. All the tension left Dusk’s body as she sat down at the other side of the table.

“Nice to see you again,” she said, sitting down.

Now that the bar wasn’t overcrowded, Dusk could look at Soprano better. Her pale pink coat reminded him vaguely of Massasoit. A small tuft of her deep blue mane hung in front of her face, covering a tiny portion of her left eye. Tiny glints of light came from a chain around her neck that disappeared into her shirt.

A waiter walked up to the table, levitating a pencil and a small piece of paper. “What will it be tonight?”

“Let’s get the hay salad,” Soprano interjected before Dusk could speak up. “I know one of the ponies that’s a chef here. He can make a pretty nice salad.”

Dusk blinked quickly, realizing she was talking to him. “Wow, you look…Astonishing.”

She smiled. “Thanks. You too.”

He looked down at his clothes. They were just simple clothes he’d wear when he’d leave the barracks.

“Eh. They’re just normal clothes I wear when I go into town.”

“You say that like you don’t go out much.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m just a soldier, so I live in the barracks outside town.”

“A soldier!” she exclaimed in shock. “I’ve never met a military stallion before.”

Dusk blushed. “It’s not that great. I mean, not when compared to somepony like you! Being a musician must be really fun.”

“Yeah, sort of,” she said, shrugging. “I mean, it’s fun to play around town, but it’s not exactly the glamorous lifestyle of a big-time musician. I’m just a small-town filly, living with her parents and playing whatever comes her way.”

“Now, don’t think like that,” Dusk pleaded. “If you want to become a somepony in the big city, save up your money up and go! When I got up and left for a new city, I ended up here. I have a job, a bed, and free meals, albeit the latter ones are pretty bad. And that was with no money or plans for the future! Just think of what’s possible with musical talent, some money, and an idea of what you want to do!”

She smiled and blushed. “You really think so?”

“Of course!” he yelled, banging his hooves on the table. “Tell me. What’s your dream?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s…silly.”

He smiled back at her. “No dream is silly. Come on, tell me.”

“I want to join the Royal Unicorn Philharmonic Orchestra,” she admitted, sighing. “One day, when I was a little filly, the king visited, and the Orchestra always follows his visits. I heard them playing, and they were beautiful. They inspired me to play music, and then this showed up.” She grabbed her necklace, took it off, and placed it on the table.

Dusk examined the tiny silver charm on the chain. “What is it?” he asked, tracing his hoof over its eloquent loops.

“It’s my Cutie Mark. An Alto Clef.”

“It’s beautiful,” he replied, sliding the necklace back to her.

A waiter walked up and placed a large bowl of hay onto the table. “Enjoy, you two.”

***

“Dusk, that was amazing!” Soprano proclaimed as they walked out of The Walking Frog.

“I’m glad you liked it,” he responded. “So, can I walk you home? You know, the gentlecoltly thing to do.”

She smiled again.Boy, she sure smiles a lot, he thought.

“Take a left up here,” she said, pointing at the fork in the cobblestone road up ahead. “So…you seeing anypony?”

Dusk wasn’t sure whether to be insulted or jump on the opportunity. “Well…I thought I was seeing you?”

He immediately regret his previous sentence. Whoops…

Soprano's eyes opened widely. “Oh. Do you…feel that way about me?”

“Ponyfeathers,” he muttered under his breath. “Well, sort of.”

Putting her hoof up, she stopped him. “This is my house,” she said nervously.

“Listen,” he spoke up. “I’ve got the day off tomorrow. Would you…like to do something?”

She smiled. “Amo te,” she replied, drawing a curious look from Dusk.

“Huh?”

“Dress fancy.” She kissed him on the cheek and ran inside her house.

“That…was weird.” Shrugging, Dusk walked back towards the barracks.

***

Dusk sighed and stared at the door to Soprano’s house.

Amo te? What’s that mean? And why did she say “dress fancy”?

Indeed, he had dressed fancy. Well, as fancy as possible. The formal clothes he wore to charity balls were fancy, right?

Sucking up his fears, Dusk walked to the door and banged on it. What if this is the wrong house? What if she told me to buzz off last night, and I just couldn’t realize it? What if…

Too late. The door opened, and a stallion stood in the door.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

Shoot, wrong house. Wait, she said she lived with her parents, maybe…

Before he could finish his thought, Soprano appeared behind the stallion.

“Daddy, this is my new friend, Dusk,” she said, pointing at Dusk. “I see you two have already met.”

As she hopped outside, the door closed.

She looks even better than last night, he thought. She was wearing a frilly, light pink, lace dress. Her mane was clean and braided, and the small wisp over her eye was gone. The silver necklace still hung from her neck.

“Can I ask you something about last night?” He was trying to get the burning question off his chest.

“Sure,” she answered, nervously. “What’s on your mind?”

“Well, last night, you said ‘Amo te’ to me. What’s it mean?”

“Oh,” she started blushing. “It…it means ‘I love you’ in Latin.”

He tried to fight off the urge to smile broadly. She loves me back! AND she can speak two languages! Can she get any better?

“Latin? What’s that?” Somehow, those were the only words he could bring himself to say.

“It was the language of S.M.Q.R; Senatus Manulique Romanus. The Roman Senate and Ponies. It’s used in a lot of songs, books, and poems even nowadays. I sometimes write my own songs, so I learned some from some of the musicians in town.”

“Write…songs? So, you can sing and compose, too?” He was stunned at all the things he was finding she was capable of.

She shrugged, almost as if it was no big deal. “Sort of. I don’t sing a lot, just sometimes. I mostly just play the violin.”

“So, you do play the violin?” He found this amusing.

“Yeah,” she replied, giggling. “I was just playing viola at The Walking Frog because they needed one.”

“Play anything else?”

“Not much. I sing, play the violin and viola, and occasionally I play the flute.”

Is there anything this mare CAN’T do?!

“We’re here,” she said, stopping. They were standing in front of a large building with windows all around. “How good are you at dancing?”

“I’ll admit, I’ve never really tried.” Does this mean she can dance, too?

She grabbed his hoof. “Let’s go.”

As she opened the door, a small group of mares stood right inside, obviously waiting for them.

“Soprano,” one of the mares spoke, “Is this the new boyfriend you were talking about yesterday?”

Dusk’s face suddenly became flushed. Boyfriend? She had to have been talking to them even before their date. Was her love for him so sudden that she felt it even yesterday?

Soprano was turning a nice shade of red herself. “Yeah, he is.”

Boyfriend. That has a nice ring to it.

The mare grinned deviously, seeing her friend’s discomfort in the situation. “You must be Dusk, correct?” she asked, turning to Dusk.

He nodded, still too embarrassed to speak.

“I’m Cantabile. Nice to meet you.”

Another mare stepped up. “I’m Glissando.”

“And I’m Fermata,” the third mare said.

“Nice to meet all of you,” he replied, still somewhat embarrassed.

“What number is this one?” Cantabile asked. “Seven?”

Soprano was becoming more uncomfortable. “Eight…” she whispered.

Seven ponies prior to me? Yikes.

“Come on,” he said, trying to bail his girlfriend out of the situation. “Looks like they’re about to start a new song.”

She sighed heavily and let all her tension out. “Thanks for that. They’re good friends, but sometimes they like to tease.”

The musicians started playing, and ponies in the ballroom began dancing.

“Just follow my lead,” she instructed him.

Her orders were easier said than done. Soprano was practically dragging Dusk across the floor. Dancing was tough.

“Come on,” she pleaded. “It’s simple. ONE two three FOUR five six. The conductor’s only showing the one and four, and there are three beats between each beat he conducts. You can look at him if you want; I won’t get jealous of him.”

“Wait, so…” he was trying to comprehend what she was saying. “Why is he only conducting two of the six beats?”

She smiled and pulled him off to the side, seeing that dancing would be hopeless. “Complex duple time signature. Musical jargon, really.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

“So…Did you mean it when you said you loved me?” he asked.

She fiddled with her necklace. “Well, yeah. Do you love me back?”

He smiled. “Of course. I don’t have a ton in this world, so being with somepony is one of the best things I could ask for.”

Seizing his opportunity, Dusk grabbed her shoulders and grew her close, kissing her strongly on the lips. The whole situation seemed familiar, though he felt like he should be on the receiving end of the kiss.

“Wow.” She was shocked. “That was…pretty nice.”

Pretty nice? He was going for amazing, breathtaking, anything of that magnitude, really.

“Oh, you didn’t like it.” He looked away in shame. “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s just…I don’t know what to say. Nopony’s ever put that much…emotion into something like that. Most of the stallions I see are just self-centered, arrogant jerks. But I can tell that you’re different.”

“You really think so?”

She drew him back in close. “I know so.”