//------------------------------// // Second Date // Story: To Call the Moon My Own // by That_Random_Pony //------------------------------// Luna,                   I just wanted to tell you that I'm okay, and so is Dan. We got out of the hospital but before I do anything else I need to know if it's okay for me to hunt in the Everfree or Whitetail Woods. I don't want to offend you by doing so without your permission. And I wanted to know if we could see each other again soon. Let me know if you can.                                                                                  --Tony                    A large smile came across Luna's face as she read. She very much enjoyed the last time she was with Tony, and it just so happens that Wednesday Celestia had a meeting with the council. Meeting equals no night court, meaning she could see Tony without bothering her sister. It was perfect!                    Hastily she summoned a piece of parchment and wrote a reply letter. She was just about to send it to him before she thought twice. It was night time, so he was probably asleep now. Giggling to herself she placed the scroll on one of her dressers. Now that she had something to look forward to, she could get started on the large stack of requests. And then night court.                                                                                                               Tony could barely contain his excitement. He was relieved that Luna gave him permission, it wouldn't be right if he hunted without it. But he was excited to hear that he would be seeing her, and even more so after last time. He could already imagine where he could take her this time. The movies? Maybe. They already went to the bowling alley, so no two in a rows. Applejack said something about an arcade, and Luna seemed to be very competitive. He chuckled as he recalled the banter he and the lunar princess exchanged.                   " What's so funny?", Applejack raised a brow. Tony turned to the orange mare as she struck the apple tree again.                    He shook his head and chuckled again. " Nothing", he smiled. " And I wanted to thank you for the bits you gave me".                   She stopped midstrike to smile at him. " Ah already said yer welcome", she chuckled. " Consider it yer pay, an' there'll be more tomorrow after sales".                   Tony nodded as he placed more baskets under the tree. " Well I really appreciated it", he continued. " And the pie Granny Smith gave me".                    Applejack collapsed to the floor laughing. " Well ya-ya don't jus' walk in an'-an' not know she'd lose it!", Applejack forced out. Tony rolled his eyes at the laughing mare, but even he had to admit it did taste pretty good.                    " Yeah yeah", he said. " We got work to do boss".                    She took on a more serious look. " Ah already told ya ah don't wanna hear ya callin' me boss", she sternly said. " Ah ain't more 'portant than you, we're all family here".                    Tony smiled and nodded. " 'Kay then, sis". Applejack grinned and rolled her eyes, giving Tony a light punch on his arm.                   With work done in the fields they moved on to the next chore on the farm. Hay baleing. Just like the last time they stacked pile upon pile of the barrels of hay. Fortunately, some of Tony's energy was back, meaning he had more strength to work with. And it was about time too, that fight took a lot out of him.                      " So Tony, ya never did tell me how yer date went", Applejack smirked. Tony grew a small blush, but he came up with a sentence.                     " It went uh...we had a good time", he stammered. Applejack's smirk was supported by a raised brow.                     " A good time huh?", she wiggled her eyebrows. Tony soon caught on, and his blush only spread.                     " No! Not like that! I meant, ugh, we had fun with the money you gave me", he calmed down.                     Teasing aside, Applejack still didn't know who this mare was. " And who was this mare o' yers?", Applejack asked.                     Tony knew he couldn't keep it a secret forever. Especially since lying wasn't an option to the Element of Honesty and his friend. He propped up the bale of hay he had and he sat down.                    " Okay, but you need to promise you won't tell anyone else", he said. " Promise me".                    " Cross mah heart hope t' fly, stick a cupcake in mah eye", she recited. Tony gave her a confused look.                    " Um, what was that?".                     " Ah jus' Pinkie Promised", she told him. " It's how we promise each other stuff. 'Cause no pony's crazy enough t' break a Pinkie Promise. Not after last time". She shuddered at the memory from her breaking the sacred oath.                    Tony was still a little curious, but he put that aside. " Alright. The mare I saw a week ago was...Luna".                    Applejack blank faced for a minute, before she broke into a small grin. " So, that's why ya met'er at night, right?". Tony nodded. " Well, ah never thought Luna was one t' do stuff with other ponies. Nightmare Night was fun an' all but she never spoke much".                     " I know, she told me about what happened", Tony sighed. " But she's really fun to be with, especially last time we saw each other".                     Applejack sat beside him on the hay. " Where'd ya take her?", she asked.                    " The bowling alley. Can you believe she didn't know how to bowl?", he chuckled. Applejack had the same reaction as he did when he found out.                    " So ya taught her I'm assumin'", Applejack smirked. " Who won?".                    " She did, by six points", he made a small gap with his thumb and index finger. " And I'm seeing her in a few nights".                   " Where ya takin' her this time?". Tony shrugged a little.                   " I was thinking about that before, I might take her to the arcade like you said", he smiled.                    " Well, hope ya have a good time with her", Applejack smiled back. " Ah won't tell no pony, but they might find out sooner 'r later".                    " We'll see", Tony sighed.  Wednesday                      The sun inching past the horizon lit up the sky with brilliant colors of reddish orange. With yesterdays pay, Tony had one thing in mind before Luna came. He got dressed and bolted to the market before the stands closed. He saw Big Mac on his way and they nodded as usual, then Tony ran to the one stall that he needed to get to.                  " Cutting it kinda' close eh Tony?", Mirror Crescent chuckled. Again, the unicorn bothered Tony deeply, but he ignored it.                   Tony surveyed the various gems, until he found the azure gem. " 2000 right?", Tony asked. Mirror nodded and Tony dropped the bag of bits.                    " Thank you, I'm sure somepony'll be happy". Tony didn't have time to look at the evil grin, since he was cutting it short with somepony else.                   He bolted back to the library and flew -now that his rites were coming back- into his room. The azure gem was wrapped in a spare blanket and hidden in the bottom drawer. Now all he needed was a chain and he could start making the gift for Luna. With her in mind, he leaped off the balcony, startled a few ponies, and ran to where he asked her to meet him.                    The moon replaced the sun at the peak of the horizon as he waited for the mare. He could barely contain his excitement, it was the same he felt their first time seeing each other. His gaze was fixed on the city atop the mountain side, the moon directly behind it. Soon enough he could see a dark spot growing in size. He was confused when the spot became much larger than a single pony.                    His answer came in the form of two bat winged pegasi pulling a chariot. Seated in said chariot, was the beautiful moon goddess. Even from there he could see her smile, which was reflected on him. The bat winged pegasi brought the chariot down to smooth stop on the stone street. Luna dismounted from the chariot as he walked to meet her.                    " You sure know how to make an entrance", he said as she hugged him. " What took you so long?".                   She giggled gently and pressed her lips against his. " Does that make up for it?", she grinned. Tony returned the act with a small smile.                   " Maybe", he chuckled. " Ready to go?".                   " Actually", Luna began. " I thought about our last time, and how such a good host you were". She planted another kiss on his cheek. " So I wanted to return the favor, and show you Canterlot".                    Tony understood why the chariot was here now, which he had begun to question. But a sudden realization came over him, specifically their means of transportation. The only way to get to Canterlot would be...to fly.                    " Um...I um...", he mumbled. Luna tilted her head to the side as she waited for an answer.                     " What is it?", she asked. Tony felt embarassed to tell her. It was something so small, so stupid, something he had overcome in times of hardship.                    But this wasn't one of those times. This was with a mare he cared much for, a peaceful time for him. Sure he'd done it thousands of times, even more with Nyla. Now though, he was fearful of her reaction to how stupid it was.                    With a defeated sigh, Tony looked into Luna's teal irises. " I'm...afraid of...heights", he finally uttered the words.                     Luna raised a brow. " Really?". It wasn't disappointment, rather, surprise. Tony nodded hesitantly. " But we've flown to the castle before".                    He grinned a bit. " Luna, I was beaten and tired", he chuckled hollowly. " I had no choice".                    This was a mere inconvenience for Luna, since she helped ponies of all kinds with their fear. " Its no trouble Tony", she smiled gently. " I'll help you".                    Now he was surprised. " How?". She nodded towards the chariot. " Are you sure? I'm...really uncomfortable with flying".                    " And you will be unless you face it", she softly spoke. " I will be right here with you Tony. I promise".                     Tony smiled and gave her another quick peck. " Thank you Luna. Come on, the sooner I do this, the sooner we can see Canterlot".                                                                                                                         " Why did I let you talk me into this again?", Tony asked through clenched eyes.                    Luna had her hoof in his hand as they flew. " It's not that bad Tony. Just open your eyes", she nuzzled him.                    It wasn't forceful or anything. Actually, it sounded like advice. With a deep breath he cracked his eyes open, giving him a view of Canterlot approaching. Suddenly his legs felt weaker than they should have. His arms joined in the mutiny as they shook slightly. Luna was by his side the whole time, even as he squeezed her hoof.                    " You're doing fine", she assured him. " Now look down". Not commanding, more like advice.                    " I thought that's what you're not supposed to do", he nervously chuckled. His grip tightened on her hoof as he chanced to look down.                     " That's it, we're fine", she soothed him. " See, there's nothing to worry about".                     Tony went the extra mile and decided to open his eyes fully. Though the wind blew in his face, he could see the ground miles below them, and in front was Canterlot. The small drop in altitude made his stomach lurch a bit, but otherwise he was fine. His nerves calmed, as did his hold on Luna's hoof. A hesitant chuckled escaped him.                    " What?", Luna giggled. Tony shook his head as he leaned his head against hers.                    " The only way I'd ever have come up here was for you", he chuckled. Luna blushed slightly, pressing her head against his. " And you're the only reason I can stand this".                    The chariot finally pulled into the mountain city and landed in front of the castle. Unlike the boarding, Tony calmly stepped off the chariot with Luna. With one last order to the Lunar Guards, the two were left to themselves with the entire city.                    " Where to?", Tony asked.                    " That depends. Are you hungry?". Tony's stomach answered the question, rumbling louder than he would have liked. " I'll take that as a yes".                   With a sheepish grin he followed his dream mare into Canterlot. This town wasn't like Ponyville at night, it looked more like Ponyville during the day. Dozens of well-dressed ponies went about their business, and again, Tony saw a few look in his direction and freeze up. As he followed his date he heard several whispers, thanks to his highly trained ears.                  "It's that animal Blueblood spoke of".                   " It's taller than I thought, and almost hairless".                  " What is it doing with the princess?"                  " Probably being taken to night court".                  " That can't be it, he said it had fangs and evil red eyes"                   At the mention of Blueblood, Tony's blood began to boil. He still didn't forget the words that left the poor stallion's mouth weeks ago. It wasn't enough to give It an opening, but it did leave a more blank expression on him.                    " What's the matter?", Luna grabbed his attention. He unclenched the fist he was curling and sighed.                   " Your nephew's been busy", he remarked. " Apparently I have fangs and 'evil red eyes'".                   Luna frowned and glanced at the whispering group, who turned when the princess glared at them. " Don't mind them, they believe anything Blueblood tells them", she shook her head.                    Soon Tony recognized a certain donut shop directly ahead of them. They stepped inside, the jingling of the door bell alerting the stallion behind the counter. His smile and wave faltered when he gazed at the Loki'irian.                    " Um, nice seein' ya Luna", Joe forcefully smiled. " Who's your friend?".                    Luna happily returned the smile. " Good evening Joe, this is Tony", she gestured a hoof to him.                   " Hi", Tony waved nervously. " I saw this place before we left a couple weeks ago".                   Joe relaxed when he was better acquainted with him. " So what'll it be your highness?", Joe asked.                    " Three full crescent moon's if you would", she smiled. Joe nodded, and in no time at all a platter with three donuts with, of course, a chocolate and vanilla frosting depicting a crescent moon.                   " How about you?". Tony looked at the donuts racked behind Joe.                   " I guess, two chocolate frosted?", it came out more like a question.                    Joe placed the desired pastries on a platter for Tony. With a thanks Tony practically swallowed them, while Luna barely finished her second one. She giggled at how fast he downed them, making him blush some.                    " So, how has Ponyille been for you and Dan?", Luna asked.                            " It's been very nice", he smiled. " Applejack gave me a job, Dan's working at Vinyl's club, and the ponies are real nice".                    " That's good to hear", she smiled. " I'm sure Lyra already met you?". Tony groaned and laughed afterwards.                    " Don't even get me started on that", he chuckled. She already knew Lyra would freak out from the sight of two humans.                    An embarassing gurgle made Luna blush. " Excuse me, I need to use the lavatory", she said as seriously as she could.                   Tony watched her leave to the bathroom's, her adorable blush still in his mind. " So, you're bedding the princess". There wasn't a single crumb left in Tony's mouth, which was followed by a dry cough. " Too forward?".                   " More...like...wrong", Tony coughed. The fit died down after Joe gave him a glass of milk. " Agh, crap. What're you talking about? I've known her for three weeks, and we've been seeing each other for one".                   " Ah, so you are dating Luna", Joe chuckled. " You know, I've never seen the princess this happy. She's always using the old Equestrian languages, it's a first to see her like this".                   " Well, I just want her to be happy", Tony sighed. " Not meet her then bed her". Joe chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck.                   " Right. Sorry about that", he grinned. The princess' hoofsteps warned them both to cease the conversation.                   Luna finished her donut, then she and Tony paid and left. " Now, ready to see Canterlot?".                    " Ready as I'll ever be", he smiled.                    The two of them ventured into the high end city. Even after her sentence Canterlot still had the many wonders she had seen long ago. There was the opera house, except now there was a movie theater next to it. Then there was the observatory near the edge of the city. Tony had been to some on Earth, and this one was almost the same except with more stars.                     Tony asked Luna to teleport the iPod to them, allowing him to savor these moments. Each new landmark or sight they saw, he took pictures with both of them in the photo. He had forgotten to tell her about the camera feature, but it wasn't important. Though, it was kind of funny how she tried to figure out how a camera fit into it. He wasn't keeping track of time, all he cared about was her smile, her laugh, and the beauty of it all.                     There was one spot Luna wanted Tony to see. Just a ways down from the castle itself was Neighton Park. It was made for more leisure experiences than for children, but that still didn't stop Tony and Luna from running around. It started when Tony snatched the iPod and refused to give it back after taking a picture of her yawning. She almost tackled him, but they ended up rolling in the grass, laughing the whole time. For some reason, Minira was in his favor and stopped them with her on top of him. Her mane was tickling his nose and covering his eyes.                   " Can't you control that thing?", he joked. Luna just giggled and pulled the iPod from out of his pocket.                    " You can't steal from a princess", she grinned. " It's not right".                   Tony smirked as rolled over and put Luna on her back. " And a princess shouldn't tackle someone else", he countered. He laid beside her as they stared at the night sky, Tony with his arm around Luna and she in return nuzzling against him.                    The silence between them was enough talk, as they just stared out in thought, the warmth of their bodies heating them. Luna thought about how perfect the night was going so far, and how silly he was. Tony on the other hand, had a more serious thought. Mainly because of what Joe said earlier.                   " Luna".                    " Mm?". She lifted her head up to see his hesitance.                   " Since we're seeing each other and all...does this mean we're...we're um-"                   " Courting?", she smiled. Tony nodded, and in response Luna sat up. " Only if you want to".                    Their faces were mere inches apart before they closed the gap. He could taste her, and hell did he savor it. Her soft lips mingled with his own as they shared the deep passionate kiss. Tony pulled her closer and stroked her free flowing mane. The lack of breath forced them to seperate again, each of them smiling.                   " There's nothing I'd want more, Luna", he whispered. She retook her place beside him on the grass, giving him something to think about.                   Happiness was too weak, joy was overplayed, he just felt so damn awesome words couldn't describe it. And it was all because of her, just the thought of her made him want to jump off the cliff and scale it again. Though it didn't only bring happiness, she filled him with a sense of completion.                   He had felt that something was missing in his life, he had been for a long time. With his past it wasn't hard to understand why, but that was on Earth and Loki'ir. Now, he was in Equestria, a resident of Ponyville, and -damn did it feel good to say it- boyfriend of the princess who raised and lowered the moon. He had all the friends he could ask for, his best friend was with him, and his new marefriend next to him. He understood now how easy it was to have that feeling of emptiness. And it was just as easy to fill that emptiness with the ones you care about.                   " Tony, it's getting late", Luna said to him.                   " Actually, I think it's getting early". She giggled alongside his chuckle.                    " You know what I meant", she laughed. " The guards are probably off to rest now, so I wanted to know if you could stay for the night".                   As if he needed a moment to think about it. " I'd be happy to", he smiled as he kissed her forehead. They stood back up and cleaned themselves off. " Lead the way".                    Neighton park was only a ways down from the great castle. The guards at the front allowed them both in, staring at the man with a bit of interest and amazement. He ignored their stares and followed his lady into the castle. Instead of turning to the west wing, Luna brought him towards the south end. His curiosity only grew when they reached a spiral staircase with two bat pegasi guarding it.                     " You're relieved for the night", Luna strongly spoke. To Tony, she sounded like one of the Loki'irian instructors, much power in her voice.                      " Yes your highness", they bowed before scurrying off. Tony was surprised at how quickly they left. Celestia's guards would have given him a twenty-take before leaving.                    As they climbed the stairs, Tony couldn't hold the question. " Luna, where does this lead to?", he asked.                     " My room of course", she turned to him. " Would you prefer the guest bed?".                               " No no, just asking", he smiled. She smiled back and continued the long climb up the tower. At last they reached the deep royal blue doors.                   Luna opened them with her magic to let them in. The walls were painted the same shade as the night sky, with twinkling stars around. The crescent moon of her cutie mark was sewn onto most of the drapes and covers for the bed. Luna climbed in like normally while Tony took off his shoes, which would dirty the soft rug from their earlier 'struggle'. He came in after Luna, who snuggled beside him under the covers.                     " Good night Tony", she pecked him on the cheek. He planted his own good night kiss on her snout.                    " Good night Luna", he whispered.  Best second date ever