//------------------------------// // 33. Daytime With Luna // Story: Good Things Come // by Sweet Tale //------------------------------// The tweeting of birds. The gleam of sunlight. The sound of morning. Yep, it was that time. The time most people hate - time to get out of bed. I opened my eyes and saw...nothing. The bed was empty, save for me. I sat up and looked around - Luna's regalia was gone and her side of the bed was made. "Luna?" I called out. "In here!" her voice responded. It came from the bathroom. "I'll be out in a moment." I got out of the bed and set my feet on the floor, feeling the warm plushness of the rug. Stretching, I stood up and looked out upon the shining city below. Another beautiful morning, just as it should be. Getting my clothes on, I heard the bathroom door open and looked to see Luna walking out with a smile on her face. Walking over, I leant down and kissed her. "Well, good morning to you." I caught a whiff of something sweet. "Mmm...you smell wonderful." Luna giggled and shook her mane slightly. "Why thank you. It's a new shampoo that I tried - five different fruits!" "It suits you." My eyes glanced at the ring that was resting on the base of her horn. "As does that." I cupped my hand on her cheek. "We're gonna get married...I never thought I'd see the day..." "That day will come soon my love." She kissed my cheek. "And when it does, we are going to be happier than we have ever been. Now come along, we have the day to ourselves. We should make the most of it." She began to walk out of the room. "Actually Luna, there is something I want to ask." She stopped and turned her head. "It's something I was thinking about last night and I think it'll be a great idea...but it'll limit what we can do today." "By how much?" she replied. "Quite a bit." Luna hummed to herself before nodding at me. "OK, here's what I propose." I told her my idea and how we should do it. "What do you think?" Luna walked up to me and draped a wing over my shoulder. "To be that considerate of others...that's what I love about you. I think it's a wonderful idea." We began to walk down the stairs, her wing still over my shoulder. "Hold on." She stopped for a second and her horn glowed. A second later, the ring on her horn disappeared. "I think we should keep this quiet for know, best to wait until the right moment." "Good point. Morning gentlemen." We came across the throne room doors and greeted the guards. We followed the red rug towards the throne and addressed the pony sitting upon it. "Good morning Celestia." I said. "A fair morning to you both and may I be the first to say." Celestia got up and walked over to us, leaning her head down close to ours. "Congratulations on your engagement." she whispered. Luna gasped. "How did you know?" Celestia laughed and looked at me. "Thank Owen for that. I heard his shout all the way from my chambers." I sniggered slightly and held my hand over my mouth. "You have a very loud voice when you want it to be." "You can blame stress related evenings back home for that." We all shared a laugh at that. "Celestia, there is something me and Luna want to propose to you." Luna stepped forward. "Indeed sister. Owen informed me of an idea which can be performed today which would benefit you." Celestia raised her eyebrow at me. I held my hands up to her. "Nothing bad, don't worry. It's just that you have covered for Luna so many times so that she and I could spend time together. I've lost count how many times it has been. So I wo...no, WE would like to offer to take charge for the day and give you a day off." "That is very kind of you to offer but I simply cannot accept. There is too much for me to do." Celestia explained. Luna stomped her hoof. "Exactly! All of this work for you to do constantly cannot be good for your mind. Please sister, please take some leave. Owen and I truly know you deserve it." "Besides. You know it's true anyway." I added with a smirk and a wink. Celestia shared her gaze between the both of us, eyeing us both up. After a while, she laughed softly. "Very well. I accept." Luna stepped forward and nuzzled her sister before walking past her and sitting upon the throne. "Owen, join me up here please." I followed her order and stood beside the throne. Luna stared at Celestia. "As I am running the day, I order you, sister, to take the day off and to not return to the throne until tomorrow morning." she said with a smile. Celestia laughed heartily before nodding. "As you wish sister. Enjoy your day...if you can" she said, smirking. Celestia turned and walked out of the throne room; the guards shutting the doors behind her. "What do you think she meant by that?" I asked. "I...don't know." Luna replies, putting a hoof to her chin. "Huh...what was that order for anyway? She already said yes." "As I am in control of the day, I give the orders and my subjects must follow them. Giving the order to Celestia, she HAD to follow it." I nod my head in understanding. "Ah I get it...clever. Very clever." A flash of light behind me reveals a large chair that has been summoned. Luna nods at me and then at the chair. "Thanks." I sit down and..."Ohhh...this is plush. So, what's on the agenda? I don't think I've seen how the day court operates before." "It's pretty much the same as the night court, only more busy." Luna summoned a scroll and began reading through it, muttering to herself. "9AM - Morning court...12PM - Meeting with bla-bla-bla....*GASP*" "What? What is it?" I asked with worry. She pointed to a section of the scroll. "What are you trying to...ohhh...that." I looked back up at Luna who was rubbing her eyes with her hooves. "Come on, it can't be too bad. I've done taxes before when I worked for the construction company back home." "Did your taxes include taxes for the entire country?" she asked in deadpan. I opened my mouth to answer but closed it as I realised how much work this is. "Damn...wait...remember what Celestia said?" "Enjoy your day...if you...CAN! That sneaky..." Luna's lower lip was trembling, either with rage or fear, I don't know. "I knew there was a reason she looked smug." I rested my hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, it'll be fine. If it's OK, I'll lend a hand. I know the basics of taxes so I might be able to understand it." "That's so generous." Luna replies, nuzzling my cheek. "But I am afraid that only myself of Celestia can do it. It is a rather confidential task." "OK, no problem. So, first up is morning court right? For three hours?" Luna nods. "Right then, shall we begin?" Luna went to call for the guards but I beat her to it. "One more thing. Um, just wondering, do I have to input on any of the issues that are put towards you or am I not allowed to?" Luna thought about it for a second. "To be perfectly honest, I really don't know. But." She turned her head to face me. "You have done before in the night court. If you do have any advice or opinions then please voice them but only if they are necessary." I nodded. "Very well. Guards, please let it in the first visitor." *11PM* I sat there, listening to the visiting pony's issue. Turns out it was something I had experience in. I raised my hand before Luna started speaking. "May I? Please?" Luna nodded with a smile. "Thank you. Miss Ruby, I understand your problems as I myself have been in a similar situation before. Please tell me, what does your neighbour exactly do to disturb you?" The fire-red maned pegasus huffed. "Where do I begin. He attempts to sing every evening as he said he's trying to get into a music group. This goes on for at least a couple of hours and believe me, his singing voice is NOT good at all. He likes to throw parties in his house that go on until the early hours. It's all noise related problems really and it's affecting mine, and everypony elses, sleeping pattern." "Wow...party animal. Have you tried communicating with him to inform him of how he's affecting you?" I ask. The pegasus shot me a glare. "I've tried that, many times! He ignores anypony who addresses him about his noise." I held a hand up to my chin in thought. "OK, so you've attempted to talk to him and he's completely ignored you. And there's no sign of him changing his ways?" The pony shook her head. "Right. Well, I can only advise you on the next step. If the offender is not making any effort to change after repeated requests, then may I recommend...hold on." I leant up to Luna's ear and whispered a question to which she positively answered. I turned back to the pegasus. "Sorry. I recommend legal action. I am aware there are various places in Canterlot you can go to, to help with this kind of situation. This can lead to official warnings to the offender, then fines and then eventually, if nothing changes, eviction." "Eviction?! To be free of that noise-polluting idiot?" Opal Ruby questions with glee. "Please remember that eviction is the last resort. Hopefully after a warning, he will tone it down a bit." I offer with a smile. "Of course. Thank you both." Ruby responds, bowing and then leaving the throne room. "You handled that really well. Is it true that you had a similar problem?" Luna asks. "Oh yes." I said, chuckling at the memory. "Some thirtysomething guy in the flat below me like to bellow out heavy metal music every day. He got evicted in the end. Turned out it was heard from six floors down." The doors opened to reveal the next visitor walking up slowly to us. "Ready for the next one?" "Mmmhmm." The visitor was a pegasus - olive green in colour. A cloak covered most of his body, only his head and wings were visible. "Greetings fellow subject." The pegasus bowed before her and the raised. His facial expression was one of happiness. "Greetings your Highness. This err...turned out better than I expected." I recognised the voice. Looking closer, I saw who it was. "Jewels! Good to see you." The pegasus smiled greatly at me as I approached him and gave him a hoof bump. "How've you been? What's with the cloak?" "You do realise it's cold out?" he replied with a laugh. "And as for me? Ehh...could be better I suppose. But I'm not here to talk about me. I heard a rather loud shout last night and thought I'd come and see it for myself." I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly and motioned for him to follow me. We stood close to Luna so no-one could hear us. "Luna...this is the pony I got the ring from. Can you please show it to him?" I asked. Luna's horn glowed slightly and the golden ring became visible for a few seconds before disappearing again. "We're keeping it quiet at the moment. Can I ask you to do the same?" Jewels nudged me in the side. "Of course. Congratulations to you both." he replied in hushed tones. "I must be off now. I hope to see you both again soon." With that, he exited the throne room. "What a guy. Salt of the earth he is." Luna gave me an confused look. "It means he's trustworthy, reliable and friendly." "I see. He is a charming individual. So he was the pony that you..." Luan stopped talking and stared at the throne room doors intently. Her eyebrows narrowed as she stared. "What? What is it?" I ask with worry. "Something...magical. Something with a strong level of magic is approaching." "It could just be Celestia." I offer. Luna shook her head. "No. I know my sister's magic level - what I'm sensing is much lower but it is still high. It's...familiar..." Before we both could talk further, the doors opened to show the guards bowing at the visitor. Looking, I saw the visitor approach. "Is this who you could--" "Cadence!" Luna rushed over to the pony and nuzzled her, with Cadence doing the same. "It's been too long. How have you been?" "I am well, dear Aunt." I stayed silent as the two conversed. It gave me time to examine the pony. Bright pink in colour with a long, three-tone mane of white, purple and pink. A set of wings with purple tips...and a horn? Another alicorn? Her cutie mark was one of a blue shining heart. "Owen? Are you there?" "Hm?" I broke out of my stare to see Luna and Cadence both looking at me as if they were waiting for a response. "Sorry, I didn't meant to drift off." They both laughed at my daydreaming before Luna spoke. "Owen, I would like to introduce you to Princess Cadence. Cadence, this is Owen, my Royal Courter." Not wanting to seem disrespectful, I raise from my chair and give a bow to the pink princess. "A pleasure to meet you your highness." The sound of giggling made me look up. "What's funny?" Cadence walked forward and rested a hoof on my shoulder. "They said you were polite but I didn't imagine this much! Please rise and we'll try again." Confused at her words, I stood up straight. I saw that Cadence was about the same height as Luna so I was a little taller than her. "Let me show you how I greet everypony where I come from." She quickly threw her front legs around my neck and embraced me in a hug. I glanced over at Luna who nodded with a smile so I returned the gesture and hugged her back. "It's wonderful to meet you at last." Cadence said before breaking the hug and setting back down on all fours. "I err...I would like say the same but this is the first time I've ever heard about you, or seen you for that matter." I explained. "I suppose it never came up, what with everything that happened since you arrived here." Luna said to me. Cadence gave a look to Luna. "I'll explain later." Cadence gave a nod. "You said that it was good to meet Owen 'at last'. I haven't seen you for so long, I was wondering if you even knew about him." "Of course I did!" she responded, smiling. "Words travel fast. News of a new creature, never before seen in Equestria, was startling to hear at first but was surprised me more is when I heard that he had become your Royal Courter! How did it come to that?" she asked. I looked at Luna. "Is it my turn to tell the story? I've lost count." Luna playfully nudged my arm with her hoof. "Well Cadence, it started when I first came to Canterlot..." *15 Minutes Later "...and since then we've been dating. And I tell ya something, it just keeps getting better and better." I finish with a wink at Luna. Cadence stepped forward and stared into my eyes intently. I backed away slightly due to the fact it was creeping me out a little. "I can see more. I can feel it too." Cadence says quietly. "I-I'm sorry?" How could she know?! "Love. There's more love between you two." she replies, looking at between me and Luna. "Wait, you can feel love? How?" I ask with interest and confusion. "Remember what I told you about Celestia and I?" Luna said. I turned my head to face her. "Celestia is the princess of the sun, I am the princess of the moon. Cadence here is the princess of love. It is her special talent as she spreads love wherever she goes." "Really?!" Luna nods. "Wow." I turn back to Cadence who is smiling greatly. "So...what can you feel from us?" "The connection between you two is extremely strong. You radiate love and I can feel all of it...although, I feel there is something that you are hiding..." she says skeptically. I scratch the back of my neck. "Oh um...there's nothing really. We're just--" I was stopped by a hoof over my mouth - Luna's to be exact. "We can't hide this from her Owen. She can feel the extra love between us." Luna leant her head down in which Cadence and I followed suit. "Promise to keep this to yourself?" Luna asks Cadence - she nods. Luna's horn glowed slightly to reveal the ring. Cadence's eyes lit up as she realised what this mean. She quickly put a hoof around each of our necks and pulled us close. "I knew it...congratulations to you both. Although, this proves a problem." "How come?" I whisper. Cadence's horn glows slighty to uncover-- "You as well?!" I shout in whisper (if that's even possible). Both of them shush me and cloak their rings once again. "A month ago. He proposed to me under the night sky on the hills outside of the city." "Well congrats to you as well. Who is the lucky stallion?" I ask. "He should be along any minute now. I believe he's meeting with Celestia at midday." Cadence said. "That'll be me now. We offered her the day off so we're covering for her." Luna answered. "What did he want to discuss? "It's regarding the wedding. We have an idea of when to set it." The throne room doors opened again to reveal a white unicorn making his way down the path towards us. "Shining!" Cadence called out. The unicorn reached us. I remember seeing him a couple of times before but I never got his name as he was always on duty. He had a two toned blue mane and he was wearing his uniform. Seriously, it looked awesome. Then again, it needed to if you were the Captain of the Royal Guard. Cadence nuzzled her fiance affectionately before looking back at me. "I don't believe you two have met. Shining, this is--" "Owen, Princess Luna's Royal Courter. I am Shining Armor." he answered. He approached me and bowed his head before looking back at me. "Please forgive me for not introducing myself sooner." I chuckled at his formality. "Oh please, don't worry about it. I know how busy you are and I could have introduced myself to you at any time so it's my fault as well." I held out my fist which he bumped with his hoof, smiling whilst doing it. "Nice to meet you." "Likewise. Good afternoon Your Highness." he said, bowing to Luna. "Please rise Captain. I am aware that you need to speak to me regarding your wed..." Luna sighed and cast a spell quickly. "Owen, can you do something for me?" "Sure, what?" "I want you to call for those guards as loudly as you can." I tilted my head. "Go on. Shout for the guards." "Err...OK." I cleared my throat. "GUARDS! GUARDS!" They didn't move a bit. Not even a flinch. "What did you...soundproofing spell right?" I ask with a smile. Luna nodded and chuckled. "Clever. Now we can speak normally." "Indeed. Now, about the wedding, we may have hit a stump." Cadence said to Shining who looked confused. "I was right about Owen and Luna." "Oh...OHH! You two are engaged?!" We both nodded. "Brilliant! I've seen you two together for months now and you really suit each other! But..." He turned to Cadence. "What do you mean by a stump?" "We wanted to plan our wedding, right?" Shining nodded. "Well now, there are two weddings. And err...I know that bits are tight at the moment..." "Hmm...that is true." Luna replied. "When were you planning on having your wedding day?" "Near Hearth's Warming or early 2014." Shining replied. "It's the next time we are both free to do so." Cadence shuffled her hooves. "But if you two have a wedding also, then I guess we can move it further back..." "No." I said. All three of them looked at me. "That's not fair at all. You guys got engaged first so you two should be married first." I looked up at Luna with a smile. "We can wait, can't we?" I ask. Luna smiled and leant forward to kiss me. "We've got all the time in the world." She looked over to Cadence and Shining. "I agree with Owen. You should focus on your wedding only, not ours." Cadence walked forward and nuzzled Luna before doing the same to me. "Thank you both. We appreciate this, really." Shining added. "I just hope Twily doesn't find out about this." "Who?" I ask. "Twilight. You know how she is - she'll try and organise everything for us and run herself ragged doing it." "Twilight? As in Twilight Sparkle, perhaps?" I question. Shining nods. "How do you know her?" Shining laughed loudly before slapping his forehead with his hoof. "I'm sorry, I suppose I never said. Twilight's my younger sister." "You're her brother?!" He nods whilst laughing, as do Luna and Cadence. "What a family. A unicorn who is the student of the Princess, her brother who is the captain of the Royal Guard. And a Princess is being married into the family. I bet your parents are really proud of you two." "I'm sure they are. I heard you lived with Twily for a while, how was it?" Shining asks. "It was brilliant. She taught me so much about Equestria, she taught me about magic, she gave me a place to live and food to eat. And most importantly, she's my best friend...even though her study antics drive me insane sometimes. I can hardly think how Spike deals with it 24/7." Cadence laughed at my observation. "She's always been like that. Even when I was foal-sitting her, she always had her--" "Wait, you know her as well?!" I shook my head in disbelief. "That's bizarre, why would she never mention either of you two? I mean I can understand not mentioning sitter but I find it surprising she didn't mention you Shining." "Well, you know how Twily is. She's always too busy to mention social matters." I sigh. "Yeah I suppose. Anyway, I won't mention anything to her." Luna taps me on the shoulder. "Speaking of Twilight, didn't you mention yesterday that you were meeting her today?" My eyes widen at what Luna said - she's right. I put my hands over my face and sigh angrily. "Oh sugar honey iced-tea. I completely forgot! I was too pre-occupied with last night!" I start pacing up and down the marble tiles. "The train...no, I won't get there on time...what about...oh no, she'll me angry that I'm late and she'll lecture me and--" My sentence was cut off short as I was levitated in the air. Not by Luna, but by Shining. He set me down on the floor, which I sat down on, before he came over and sat down with me. "What are you worrying about? Twily wouldn't berate you for being late. She knows you spend a lot of time with the Princess." "Yeah I know but she does like to lecture. I'm sure she's lectured you in the past." I said, smirking. "Oh don't get me started. When I was training for the guards, she--" "Shining honey, I think Owen needs to leave." Cadence offers. "Yes you do." I look up at Luna. "I can arrange for a chariot to take you back to Ponyville." "No, I can't. I want to stay here with you. Besides, it was my idea to give Celestia the day off. I can't have you doing it all by yourself." Luna stretched her wing out and rested it on my shoulder. "I will be fine. If you stay, you become bored within the hour, I'm certain of it. I'm sure you will have a better time back home with Twilight and your friends." I stroked her wing with my hand. "Only if you're sure." She nodded. "Alright. I'll stop an angry Twilight from happening." "I will arrange for a chariot to take you back immediately." She pulled me close and kissed my cheek. "I will see you soon, yes?" I returned the kiss, this time on the lips. "Of course." I began to walk away before thinking of something. "Here." I passed her my iPod. "For when you're doing the taxes. I'm sure some music will help." "Thank you. Have a safe journey!" Luna replied. I walked out of the throne room and out into the castle courtyards, where a chariot was waiting for me. "Good afternoon. We are ready to depart." a pegasus guard says to me. "Thanks." I climb in and shut the door behind me. "OK, ready to go!" I call to the pilots. They immediately begin to run down the courtyard and take off into the sky. My stomach instantly learnt acrobatics. "Still hate this..." "Come on, come on, come on..." I could see Ponyville in the distance and we were approaching at a steady speed. I didn't know what time it was as I used my iPod for time. Judging by the sun in the sky, it must be near 3PM. I just hope I'm not late. Touching down outside the library, I quickly disembarked the chariot, thanked the guards and entered the library. "Twilight?" I called out. "You missed her dude." I looked up to see Spike standing on a ladder, dusting a bookshelf. "She left about thirty minutes ago." "Oh man...what's the time?" I look at the clock. "3:15! Damn, I'm late. See ya Spike!" I exited the library and began sprinting towards my home. It was at least a mile to my home so I slowed it down into a jog. Ten minutes later, I reached my home. Out of breath, I reached into my pocket for my keys...only to find..."Come on, where are ya?" I started rummaging through every pocket, still not finding them. "Damn it! Where are my keys?!" "You mean these ones?" a voice eminated. The door opened and Twilight stood there, levitating my keys. "You left them in your door." I sheepishly took them and walked inside, closing the door. "Oops, my bad." "Yes, your bad! Do you not realise what could have happened? You could have been robbed!" Twilight barked at me. "I know, I know, I'm an idiot. It was just I was in a hurry and I must have forgotten them." I explained. Twilight huffed and sat herself down on the sofa. "And you're late. You know I like to keep to a schedule." she said annoyingly. I was starting to get a little miffed at her. "Look, I'm sorry OK? Something came up yesterday and..." "And what?" I sighed heavily. I couldn't lie to her. "I kind of forgot about today." Twilight's eyes narrowed. "I'm sorry, I really am. As soon as I remembered, I rushed back here. It's just something important came up." "You forgot?" She looked angry now. "How could you forget? What was so important that you forgot about this?!" she exclaimed "Oh I don't know, maybe it was me proposing to Lu--" I covered my mouth quickly and cursed myself mentally for what I just said. Hopefully she wouldn't pick up on-- "What did you say?" She looked fully intrigued. Her shocked mouth turned into a small smile. Bugger. "Did you...propose to Luna?" I tried to think of something to say. There was nothing. I slowly removed my hands from my mouth and nodded slowly. Twilight's smile increased. "And? What did she say?" I closed my eyes and breathed heavily. "Yes." Opening my eyes, Twilight looked like she was ready to burst. I quickly darted towards her and put my hand over her mouth. "Twilight! Please don't--" *POP* I fell forwards as Twilight teleported out of my grasp. I looked up to see she was jumping for joy. "This is so exciting! I can't believe that..." She gasped loudly. "Wait right there." She opened the door and ran out. "TWILIGHT, WAIT!"