//------------------------------// // 23. Catching Up // Story: Good Things Come // by Sweet Tale //------------------------------// That voice had a sick sense of humour. Don't get me wrong, I cannot thank it enough for bringing me back to life and erasing all of Minute's disastrous actions. But seriously, I get brought back to life, I bump into the pony who caused all of this mess who has no recollection of said events, I rejoice with my friends AND...at the exact moment when I was surrounded by my friends, my stomach starts screaming 'Shit! Help, It's Trouble!' and yesterday's dinner wants to come out and meet the world. Really? Right then, at THAT moment? Whoever you are 'voice', I tip my imaginary hat to you. You may have saved mine and everybody else's life but you are a massive troll. Walking out of Luna's en-suite after losing my bowel weight, I set about making my way downstairs to where the girls were all waiting. To be quite honest, they didn't tell me where they were going to be so I tried to use my best judgement. Arriving at the bottom of the staircase, a duo of guards noticed my presence and turned to face me. They were guarding the throne room as instructed but I've never seen them turn their gaze when they are duty. I slowly walk up to them and stand in front of them. "Good evening Sir." greets one of the guards. 'Sir? Never been called that before.' "Good evening. Can I please enter the throne room?" I ask. "Of course Sir. Let me get the door for you." The guard's horn glowed and the throne room doors swung open. I thanked the guards and walked in. I looked around to see that the room was empty. A cough caught my attention and I turned my head in the direction of said noise. I walked over to the balcony and saw that Celestia was standing tall, looking over her kingdom in the dusk of the night. "Celestia?" "Ah Owen, there you are. Luna said you were in a spot of bother." she says, smirking slightly. "Err...yeah. I guess you could say that." I said sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head. "I have informed the royal chefs that we are to dine together. The Elements, Spike and Luna are waiting in the dining room if you would care to join them." I noticed Celestia's tone of voice was a lot lower than usual - like a kind of melancholy tone. I reach my hand and rest it upon her shoulder. "It's all over now. You know that right?" Celestia sighed and closed her eyes. She opened them slowly and turned to face me. "My actions caused that to have happened. If only I wasn't so stubborn, I could have seen that he was practically begging me to save his home." She tore her gaze away and looked over Canterlot once again. "Celestia, look at me." She closed her eyes and stayed firm. "Look at me." I said with a more forceful tone. She obeyed and gave me a teary stare. "There was no way you could have known this was going to happen. Please don't blame yourself." I rubbed the back of her neck in a comforting way. Celestia leant her head into my hand rubbing and smiled slightly. "I know. It'll take me a while to convince myself but I'll believe it for now. Thank you." I leant forward and hugged her tightly around her neck. She responded by draping a wing over me and holding me close. "I always said, I'll be here for you. Both you and Luna." I released the hug stared out over the balcony. "Wow...it really is beautiful." Celestia said nothing as we remained there, looking out over her dimly lit kingdom. The sun was nearing it's descent, turning the sky a wonderful burnt orange. The sun's rays shot through the gaps in the clouds, illuminating the sky in a most intricate pattern. Soon enough, it sunk below the horizon and disappeared. I heard a distinct twinkling from behind me. I turned to see Luna stood behind us, raising the moon with her magic. Looking at this awesome sight, I marvelled in the raw power of these creatures. I swear, this sort of display could earn a fortune back home...although astronomers would be baffled beyond belief. Once the Moon had been raised, Luna began lighting up certain stars in the sky. No distinct pattern but she did make the sky look beautiful. "Nice work Luna." I complimented. "Thank you." she said, walking up to my side and nuzzling my cheek. "The chefs have prepared our feast. Shall we join the others." "Lead on." I replied. I followed Luna out of the throne room and along a corridor, with Celestia following behind me. "Sorry about earlier Luna...I erm...I...thanks for the privacy." A couple of laughs from the sisters was what I got as a response. I couldn't have wanted anything better. We soon came across a large set of double doors. I remember this place. I stepped forward and lay my hand upon the doors. "Allow me ladies." I curtly said, pushing the doors open to reveal the six girls and Spike. They were all sat around a large table, eagerly waiting the succulent treats that the royal kitchen staff had prepared. I took a seat inbetween AJ and Fluttershy whilst Celesta and Luna sat at the head of the table. A door to the side of the room opened to reveal a unicorn mare, dressed in a maid's outfit. "Your Majesties. Are you ready for your meals?" "Yes my dear. Please bring it through." Celestia replied. No sooner than she did, the doors swung open to reveal carts upon carts of food making their way in. The unicorn waiters levitated the dishes onto the table and then left the room, leaving us to drool over what lay before us. "Oh my...this looks great!" I stated. "Can we start? Huh HUH?!" Pinkie cried out. "Yes of course you ca--" That's all I heard before Pinkie literally dived into the food and began shoving loads onto her plate. Rainbow soon followed suit along with Spike. "Hey! No fair!" I called out. Fat. That's how I felt. After eating nearly twice my body weight in food, I slumped back in the chair and patted my belly - a job well done. "Where did your chefs learn to cook? They should be knighted..." I asked with praise. The group of us laughed and Celestia cleared her throat. "They were taught by the chefs who worked before them. From your statement, I can tell that they were taught well, hmm?" "Mmmhmm. Indeed." I glanced over the rest of the group. They were all in the same position I was in - slumped back and too tired to move on account of how much food they had consumed. But hey, if you were surviving on nothing but scraps for six weeks, seeing this amount of food is a godsend. "Now, I have news for you all. Please join me in the throne room." Celestia said, raising from her chair. She and Luna walked out of the dining room and left us to it. I looked around and one particular pony had a dumbfounded expression. "She wants us to walk...after all of this food?! No way!" said a disgruntled cyan pegasus. I raised from my seat as did the rest of the group, minus Rainbow. I walked over to where Rainbow was sitting and placed my arms under her front legs and lifted her onto my back into a piggy back ride position. I placed my arms under her back legs to support her body. "What are you doing?" Rainbow asks in confusion. "You said you couldn't walk. So I'm taking initiative - you can ride on my back. Just hold on." I replied with a smile and a laugh. Rainbow wrapped her hooves around my neck and squeezed tight. "Don't you dare drop me." she said, icily. "As if a gentleman would." I replied with my best posh voice - it was crap but I didn't care. We began to walk out of the dining room with the rest of the group giggling at me carrying Rainbow. I felt her shuffling a few times before she rested her head on my left shoulder. It was only then that I realised my actions could have had unpredecented meanings. I just really hoped she thought this was a friendly gesture, nothing more. We came across the throne room and saw that the sisters had laid out many stylish cushions and chairs in a wide array of colours. I set Rainbow down carefully as we examined the room. "Wow Princess. What's all of this for?" Twilight asks. "You didn't think I'd make you all stand did you? Please come and sit down." Celestia instructed. We all took a seat on either a chair or a cushion as Celestia levitated a stack of papers into view. She set them on the floor and then cast a spell on the door. "I have just soundproofed the room and we are not to be disturbed. This...this is very important to us." "This stack of papers?" Rarity inquired. "When I returned to the throne room after Owen had re-appeared, I was met by one of my high-ranking guards. He handed me these papers saying that this is the report I asked for. This is a report of what each and every one of us has been doing for the past six weeks I have not read this report yet so you are the first to hear it." "But...that doesn't make sense. How would they know what we did? They don't remember what Minute did." Twilight asks. "That was my thought exactly. But I remembered what Owen told us about the voice. He said that nopony would remember as--" "Their lives would have been made up by the voice's power." I interrupted. "Exactly." "Ooh ooh! So we have two lives now?" Pinkie asked with a bounce. "No my dear Pinkie. Just the one. Remember, you cannot tell anypony about what Minute did. Do you understand?" Luna asks with concern. Pinkie motions a zipper over her mouth and nods. "Very well. Please continue sister." "Thank you Luna. An individual life has been made for all of us. I shall now read them out to you. To start with, this report states that the Elements of Harmony, Twilight's assistant Spike and Owen the Human were invited to our prescence. This meeting was to inform you of various trips that we were all going to take which meant we left Canterlot for six weeks. In that time, the High Council took control and did a very good job. Mine and Luna's job was too look after you on your journies." "Twilight. You and I travelled to the birthplace of Starswirl the Bearded in a small town just outside of Fillydelphia. There, we visited his home, which has been kept in one piece and in tip-top condition. In this house were some of Starswirl's original calculations for his time-related spells. You and I spent most of our time here, savouring the knowledge of one of the most influential ponies of our time." Twilight sighed and thought about what could have been. Celestia turned the page and handed the stack to Luna. "Spike. The report says that you inquired about other dragons of your age living in Equestria. I escorted you to a family of dragons who resided just east of the Badlands. The family consisted of a mother, a father and two children who were a similar age to you. Over the time you spent there, you learnt many things about how a dragon lives and learns. The family say they will one day see you again." "Awesome!" Spike cheered. Luna handed the report to Celestia. "Applejack. You and your family took a trip to Appleoosa to visit your relatives. Whilst there, you and your cousin, Braeburn, helped fix another crisis with the buffalo herd. Also, you family took part in an apple eating contest in which you came second place, behind your brother." Applejack just laughed at the revelation that her brother beat her in a contest. "I bet Big Mac is so proud to have won." "Rarity." Celestia began. "Your trip took you to Baltimare. There, you stayed with a retired world-famous fashion designer by the name of Cashmere. She showed you all of the old designs that she had designed in her youth and showed you how she made them. Cashmere also taught you how to do several tasks without the aid of magic. When you left, she gave you one of her first ever dresses as a thank-you present." Rarity fainted onto a convientently placed chaise-longue. We all chuckled at that. "Pinkie Pie." Luna started. "Your time was spent in Vanhoover, at the Annual Bake Off. You were invited because one of your friends submitted a recommendation. You were placed in the competetion with nineteen other citizens and your goal was to create something spectacular in taste and style. You came in third place, earning a tremendous amount of praise from the thousands of citizens who attended. You were also rewarded with a medal and a cookbook by a master chef." "That's super-ificly amazing! I wonder what I baked? Ooh! Maybe it was my famous cherrychanga, or maybe it was my chimicherry. Wait, maybe it was those cupcakes with the three hoof tall--" Pinkie rambled on, walking around in circles. Luna handed the report back, giggling at Pinkie's motormouth. "I'll just continue. Rainbow Dash. You were invited to travel with the Wonderbolts on their travelling show. According to this report, Spitfire asked you if you'd like to travel with them and you..." Celestia turned the page. "You fainted. When you came to, you were onboard a chariot along with the Wonderbolt team. During your time with them, you helped out on a few occasions with a few tricks and even got recognition from the team for your display. After you left, Spitfire said she would invite you to the next Wonderbolts trials." "So awesome! I can't believe it!" Rainbow exclaimed; her mouth now in the shape of a horseshoe smile. "Fluttershy." "Eep." "Do not worry my dear. Your trip was most enjoyable." Luna started. "You took a trip to Los Pegasus, where you visited the wild animal sanctuary." Fluttershy's ears pricked up at the mention of this. "This animal sanctuary holds at least one of every species known in Equestria. You were given some hoofs-on training on how to take care of the more exotic animals such as a baby hydra. It says here that you even helped cure illnesses on certain animals that were baffling the keepers there. It seems you had a very fun time!" "Oh...I...that sounds really great..." Fluttershy meekly said. "And last but not least, Owen." Celestia said. I turned my head to face her. "From this report it says..." 'Oh I wonder. Faraway places, meeting new creatures, learning new skills! It's gonna be awesome!' "Oh my." "What? What is it?" I asked. "It says here that you were in an accident and injured your head." Celestia looked up to me and looked worried. "It says that during a walk through Ponyville, you fell and hit your head on the edge of the statue, knocking you unconscious. You remained in Ponyville Hospital for five weeks before you were released. You then remained home to rest." "That's...um...that's a bit anti-climactic don't you think?" I said with confusion. Luna walked over to me and sat beside me, examining my head. "How do you feel?" "I feel fine. To be quite honest, there's no pain at all." I ran my hand over my head and tried to feel for any bumps or stitches. I managed to feel a small bump which ellicited a small bit of pain when I touched it. "OK, maybe there is. This is really confusing." "How so?" Twilight asked. "Think about it. The voice said that it would give us lives for the past six weeks to cover up for what Minute did. That report tells us what we did but did you listen to what it said? It said you learnt something on your trips - all of you did. Do you remember anything that it said you learnt?" I turned to face Fluttershy. "Do you remember taking care of a baby hydra and curing illnesses in Los Pegasus?" "Um...no." I turned to Rarity, who had now recovered from her faint. "Rarity, do you remember meeting Cashmere and learning new skills?" "I do not." "Then did it really happen?" I pondered. "There is only one way to find out." Celestia pointed to AJ. "Applejack. It said that your family went with you. If you try and ask them without raising suspicion, then maybe they will be able to confirm it. The same with you Rarity. When you get home, see if you can find the dress that Cashmere gave you." "I guess that'll work. I suppose I should go to the hospital and ask about my incident." I turned to Twilight. "I bet I know who treated me." I said with a snort. "Who?" Twilight thought about it for a second. "Ohhh...of course." "There is only one more thing I have to ask you to do." We all turned to face Celestia. "You must act as if nothing happened. Go along with the lives that have been supplied for you. And please, please do not tell your friends and family about what really happened." We all nodded in approval. But I had another question. "Does anyone know what the day or date is? I really don't know since I just stopped caring in the cell." "It's Saturday 15th December." Luna informed. "The 15th? Christmas is only around the corner..." I mumbled. "Um...what's Christmas?" asked Pinkie. 'You've got to be kidding. "You don't have Christmas here?" They all tilted their heads in confusion. "You know...national holiday on the 25th of December?" "Oh you mean Hearth's Warming." Rainbow called out. I shrugged my shoulders in response. "Ugh. OK, tell us what this 'Christmas' is." "Well the name 'Christmas' comes from a religious term - that religion being Christianity. I won't go into huge detail but there are thousands of people who believe that in the year 0, a child was born by the name of Jesus Christ. This child was the son of God. I really don't know the rest of his life as I never looked into it but the child was born on the 25th of December. From that, we got the term 'Christmas' and that day is known as Christmas Day. On this day, people exchange gifts with one another and spend the day together playing games, cooking a nice family meal..." There's that word again. Luna immediately noticed. "When was your last Christmas?" "About seven years ago." I replied without looking her way. I received a hug from Luna which did help me cheer up. "Hearth's Warming is similar to your Christmas." Celestia rose from her seated position and stood over us. "On the day before which is called Hearth's Warming Eve, Canterlot produces a play which depicts the history of ponykind and how Equestria was founded. Each year we put on this play and it receives thunderous reviews and is praised heavily. We do invite certain ponies to portray the characters each year. Which brings me to ask the Elements a question." The girls all focused their attention on Celestia. "Unfortunately, this year's parts have already been casted but I would like to invite you to take part in next year's production. Would you all like that?" A plethora of 'YES' and 'WOW' filled the room as Celestia was bombarded with confirmations from the girls. Even Fluttershy was screaming - it looked very strange. "Very well, it shall be so." Celestia cast her gaze to the glow of the moon in the night sky. "My goodness, the hour is late. I have prepared rooms for you all." The girls and Spike got up from their seats and greeted me and the princesses goodnight before leaving the throne room. Once they had left, Celestia opted to speak. "Owen. I trust you know where my sister's chambers are. Please make yourself comfortable. Luna, I leave the night to you." "Goodnight Sister." Luna reached over to me and embraced me in a hug. "Goodnight my love." I returned the hug which Luna released a while after. Celestia was on her way out of the room before a thought occured to me. "Actually, Celestia." She stopped and turned to face me. "As much as I'd like to rest right now, I'd like to spend my time with Luna. If that's OK." "It is fine Owen. I can manage by myself." Luna offered. I turned back to face her. "I know you can but..." I put my hand upon her shoulder. "Those weeks without you really made me feel how much I loved you and how much I need you. I...I want to spend more time with you, starting now." I finished with a kiss on her lips. "It is Luna's decision Owen." "Thank you." Celestia began to walk away again before another thought crept into my mind. "One more thing!" That emitted a groan from Celestia. "I'm sorry. I'll let you go soon but I have a question. When I spoke to the guards earlier, they addressed me as 'Sir'. They've never done that before, do you know why?" Celestia turned and smiled at me. "That...will wait till morning. I assure you that you will be pleased. Goodnight." Celestia finally managed to leave the throne room. I returned to stand next to Luna who had sat herself on the throne. "So. Tell me, what does the night shift consist of?" "Well, it mostly consists of night court which can be very quiet at times. I really must insist that you sleep. I guarantee that you will find this time with me most monotonous." I put my arm around her neck and leant into her. "No chance. I missed six weeks with you. Any time spent with you now is going to be amazing. I don't care if it's boring." Luna looked at me and smiled. Her horn glowed and a smaller, velveted chair appeared next to her throne. "Then please my dear, take a seat. Indulge in what the night court has to offer." I sat myself down and got myself comfy. "Indeed I shall." *A/N* - Hey guys. Bit of an informative chapter and leading the plot on further. The next chapter MIGHT not be out for another week as I'm taking a small break. Credit to Drefsab's story Sophistication and Betrayal for the use of Cashmere (I really couldn't think of a name but the one mentioned in his story came to me so I thought I'd use it. Please give this guy's story a read - it's amazing!)