//------------------------------//
// Chapter Seventeen: The 'Honeymoon' 
// Story: A Red and Green brush 
// by Netherweaver 
//------------------------------//

Chapter Seventeen...

Luna and I were struggling to decide where to go on honeymoon. It wasn't that there was nowhere to go, it was that we didn't want to go to anywhere that still had vacancies. Luna was tearing her mane out with frustration.
"ARGH! Why is there nowhere that sounds nice to go!" She said, pounding her hoof on the coffee table. I put my arm around her, pulling her close.
"It's okay, we'll find something eventually." I said, looking into her eyes.
"I know, I know." She said, leaning into my embrace. I leaned back onto the settee and we stayed like that for half on hour, until Skye jumped onto us and made it known she was hungry. I let go of Luna and picked Skye up.
"Come on, lets get you fed." I said, carrying her into the kitchen. Skye still couldn't walk very far without getting tired, and getting up onto the settee had almost completely drained her. I sat her on the counter as I took a carrot and a tomato out of the fridge and put them on the cutting board. I took a knife out of the block, its blood crystal blade glinting in the light. The actual metal blade had snapped a few days ago when Luna was being annoyed by a door-to-door salespony and threw it at him. He had knocked at the front door, but Luna had ignored him; so he went around to the back of the house where Luna had the kitchen window open. He had stuck his head through the window, and ignored Luna when she told him to get lost. He was lucky she didn't hit him. I had just got back with Skye at that point, and hearing the salespony scream I walked to around to the back of the house to find the knife blade lodged in a small boulder that we had put in our garden for Skye to climb on, and the handle on the floor below it. The salespony galloped away as fast as he could, and he never bothered anyone again. I had picked up the knife handle, but the blade refused to come out of the rock. Luna had to melt the metal into the crack it had caused so that it wasn't sharp. I had spent the next two days crafting the new blade, and had finished it without using more than a small drop of blood. I sliced the tomato and the carrot up small enough for Skye to eat, and put them on a plate. I tidied everything away, then I picked her up and carried her back into the living room with the plate in my hand. I put Skye on the settee next to Luna and sat down next to her. I put the plate down on the coffee table and pulled it over. As Skye started munching on her food, I leaned over to look at what Luna was doing. She was flicking through a catalogue of some sort. "Still trying to find somewhere to go for our Honeymoon?" I asked.
"No, I think I'd rather spend it at home now anyway. I'm just looking for something to spend our budget on." She said. I smiled at the thought of spending a week or two with Luna, who was off on official business quite often. Skye also seemed to know what she meant and hugged Luna. "It's settled. Two weeks at home with no interruptions." She said, hugging Skye back. "Skye, you still haven't finished your lunch." She said, releasing our daughter with a huge smile on her face. Skye went back to munching on her carrots and tomatoes. Luna went back to looking through her catalogue and I went outside to practice with my sword. 
"Never know when I might need to use it." I said to myself, justifying the decision. I retrieved the scabbard from the safe in the small cupboard under the stairs. I drew it as I stepped outside, and I felt a surge of power as I started to go through my drills. "This thing must draw power from the land by itself." I muttered, as last time I had used it, I had completely drained the power it had become charged with on Nightmare Night. I practised until I had drawn every drop of power out of it. I went back inside, almost glowing with the amount of power I held within myself.

It was the next day, and Luna had sent a letter to Canterlot saying that she wanted two weeks with no duties. The palace's organisation team sent one back almost immediately:

Princess Luna,
In regards to your letter asking for two weeks free from duties we regret to inform you that we cannot cancel any appointments already made, and the next two weeks are completely booked by Blueblood for debate about the 'Rarity' issue. We apologise for not being able to make a gap in your schedule, but we simply cannot cancel any more appointments for you than we already have.
With our sincerest apologies,
The Canterlot Palace organisational Staff.

Luna just looked at the letter with disbelief in her eyes.
"If that petty little idiot wasn't related to me, he wouldn't be around for much longer." She growled. A few seconds later another letter arrived.

Lulu,
I apologise for my staff's lack of respect, and I have cleared up the next four weeks of your schedule so you can enjoy your time with Max and Skye. Next time you need something, just send the letter straight to me as the staff will never go against my word.
All my love,
Tia.
P.S. I've made sure that Blueblood won't try to book meetings with you again.

Luna smiled, thanking her big sister for her timely intervention.
"Why don't the staff respect you, Lu?" I asked.
"They don't realise that even though I'm younger than Tia, I'm just as capable of handling myself." She explained, obviously cursing everypony on the Palace staff to hell. Skye had started crying in the other room, so I climbed out of bed and went to investigate. As I leaned over her cot, I saw that she had accidentally split her teddy bear with one of her talons. I lifted her out of her cot, and once I had hold of her securely with one arm, I reached down and picked her teddy up, being careful so none of the stuffing fell out. I walked back into the master bedroom.
"Lu, Skye's teddy bear needs repairing." I said, handing the stuffed toy to Luna.
"I'll get this to Rarity as fast as I can, you stay here with Skye." She replied, holding the toy with her magic as she trotted outside. I looked down into Skye's deep blue eyes, and for the first time saw tears. I brushed them away gently, and started bouncing Skye on my knee, making comforting noises. She had finally cheered up by the time that Luna got back. Luna handed Skye her teddy, and leaned over to kiss me. "I love you." She said, climbing up onto the bed next to me. I fell backwards onto the bed when Skye suddenly jumped up onto my chest. I grinned and tickled her in revenge. She giggled happily, but then things started going against me when Luna joined in.
"No fair! Two on one!" I said through choking fits of laughter. When we had all finished tickling each other we went downstairs to the living room where we started playing with Skye. We spent the entire day sat on the floor messing around, and that day was honestly the best waste of time in my life.