The Bright Equestrian Moon

We arrive at a spacious patch of grass in the garden and Luna organises for some archery targets to be set up, as well as for a selection of bows to be brought to us. We sit down on a stone bench as we wait for it all to be set up for us, and Luna nuzzles me gently. “Would you consider yourself to be a good archer, Travis?”

I nuzzle her back. “I don’t know… As I said before, I didn’t get to do archery very often on Earth. When I did get the opportunity to practice archery though, I thought I was pretty decent at it. I think I might have a knack for it, but I haven’t done it enough to consider myself good. It’ll probably take me a little bit of time to warm up. How about you, Luna?”

She smiles and looks out to the field as it is nearly finished being set up. “I would like to think that I am quite a skilled archer, but it has been a while since I have had another to compare to. Celie is usually too busy with her royal duties during the day, and I do not spend time with anypony else on a regular day. I tend to do archery on my own.”

I give her a tender peck on the cheek. “I’m sure you’re amazing at it, especially compared to me, since you’ve had far more practice.”

Luna kisses my cheek in kind and gets up from the bench as the targets are all set up. “Thank you, now let us see for ourselves where we both stand in skill with archery.”

“Yeah, and just have fun in general.” I get up with her and approach a table that has a variety of bows, ranging from medieval longbows and short bows to modern day compound bows. It’s so awesome to see the more traditionally styled bows. “Woah, this is such an amazing selection of bows!”

“I make sure to have as many options available as possible in my collection.” Luna then proceeds to pick up a massive bow taller than me with her magic. “This one in particular was made just for me by a brilliant pony from an age long past. Nopony apart from me and Celestia have been able to use it.”

I look it up and down. It seems to be made of some kind of thick, dark wood with inscriptions of some kind along its arms, and the string seems to be thicker than normal bow strings. It looks so badass and incredibly powerful. “Can I have a try?”

Luna giggles and hovers the bow to me with a smirk. “You may try, although I doubt you could use it.”

“I know, I’m just curious.” I grab the bow. Shit… It’s really heavy… I rest the bottom of the lower arm on the ground to steady it. I take an arrow from a bucket and nock it to the string. I pull on the string, but it won’t budge. Damn, what’s the poundage on this thing? I try even harder until my fingers start to hurt, and it still won’t move, so I stop. “This bow must have some serious power… Now I really wanna see you use it.”

“Very well…” Luna nods and takes the bow back with her magic, before pulling the string back only a tiny fraction. She then lets it loose with a loud thwack, the arrow shooting forward insanely quick and passing through the target like it was nothing. There is then a loud sound of cracking as it sticks itself through a tree.

“Should we, uh, go get that arrow back?” I stare at the arrow stuck in the tree. “I wanna see just how deep it went into that tree.”

“Of course.” Luna smiles and we walk to the tree which is actually quite a fair way away. I walk to the back of the tree and see half of the arrow protruding from it. Fucking hell. That bow is a monster, and that seemed to only be a tiny amount of what it’s capable of.

“That is absolutely insane.” I laugh a bit. “Is there a safe way to see its full power?”

Luna pulls the arrow from the tree with her magic, then looks to me with a smirk. “Yes, there is. Let us go back to our starting positions while a target is set up that can stop the arrow safely.” As we walk back to the starting positions, Luna orders for something safe to shoot at. Soon there is a target that is layered with who knows how many shields. Luna levitates one of the shields to me to inspect. “This is what I will be shooting through.”

I just manage to lift it up to examine for myself. It’s so heavy, but not as much as Luna’s bow, and it’s fairly thick as well. I knock on the shield and it seems pretty hard. I also kick it with the sole of my foot to make sure. I’m guessing that it must be made for battle. “It seems pretty sturdy.”

“Yes, it is the highest quality shield available to the Equestrian military.” Luna levitates the shield all the way to the target to add to the already impressive number of shields. The target is set up at the very back of the field. It must be at least five hundred metres away. She then nocks a far bigger and different kind of arrow from last time. It’s almost the size of a spear. The design of it must be to deal with the crazy forces and velocity it’ll face. Next, she draws the string back as far as it can go; the bow giving a slight creak. “You may want to cover your ears.”

I follow her advice and immediately cover my ears. “I’m ready.” I hear a loud crack, even with my ears covered as she lets the arrow fly. The spear-like arrow quickly makes the distance and buries itself into the far away shields. Holy shit. There are no words for how awesome that was. That bow is like a very powerful siege weapon. I lower my hands from my ears and give Luna a big grin. “That’s so epic! I need to see the results up close!”

Luna laughs and puts the bow down. “I am glad that you are so impressed with it. Of course, you can go to inspect the damage.” We make our way over to the target with the shields; Luna trotting and me jogging. Up close, I can see that there are about twenty shields in a row, but the arrow made it through all of them. The tip is poking through the back of the target. I can hardly believe my eyes. That bow probably puts siege weapons to shame.

I shake my head and laugh. “That is just… I don’t even have the words to describe its power… I’m so happy that I got to see what your bow can do.” I tug on the end of the arrow with both hands out of curiosity and find that it is seriously stuck. Far out.

“It is quite something to behold, is it not?” Luna pulls the arrow out using her magic, with a bit of a screeching sound as the arrow grinds against the shields. “Now, shall we use some more modest bows and arrows to simply enjoy ourselves and relax?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” We head back to the selection of bows. Luna chooses a slightly smaller bow that is very much like an old English longbow, which is still about my height. I choose an even smaller, traditional looking reflex bow. We then take our positions to align ourselves with two different sets of targets varying in distance. These targets are at more reasonable distances with the closest at about ten metres, and the furthest at what I guess is maybe two hundred? Luna takes aim and lets her arrow loose to hit a target that must be fifty metres away, as it is at the quarter way point to the furthest target. It lands in the bullseye. She’s good.

I turn my attention to my own targets and nock an arrow. I may as well start with the closest target, since it’s been a while since I’ve last done archery. I draw the string back with some effort and do my best to aim, holding the bow slightly diagonal. The poundage on this bow feels a bit higher than what I’m used to, causing my arms to shake a little. I let my arrow fly and it skims the top of the target. I draw another arrow and try to aim a little lower. This time the arrow sticks into the bottom of the outside ring on the target when I let it go. Not exactly what I want, but it’s progress. I try again and hit the ring half way to the middle, but on the left side. Getting closer. On my next try I hit the circle just outside the bullseye, but to the right. So close. I try again, and miss the bullseye just slightly, this time a bit too high and to the left. My fingertips are starting to sting a little. Come on, I can do this. I have a short few seconds of rest, before I draw my next arrow. I take aim, let out a slow breath, and release my arrow. Yes! It sticks into the bullseye.

“Good shot, Travis!” Luna gives me a smile and steps over to give me a quick peck on the cheek.

“Thanks, Luna.” I kiss her back and then look at her targets. By this point it seems she’s hit a target roughly between half way and the back, so maybe a hundred and fifty metres away. “Although I can hardly compare to you. I’ve only just managed a bullseye after a few tries on the closest target. You were able to hit a bullseye five times as far on your first shot, and you’ve only hit targets further since then.”

Luna tenderly nuzzles me. “Practice makes all the difference, and I have had far more practice than you. You are doing great, considering that you have not practiced often nor for a while.”

I lovingly return the nuzzle. “Yeah, that’s true. I guess I can’t feel too bad about my archery, all things considered. I’ll do my best to catch up to you in skill with using a bow and arrows.”

Luna steps back to her position. “I am sure that you will become an amazing archer if we make this a regular activity.”

I smile and nod. “Thanks for the encouragement, and I’d love to make this a regular thing.” I reposition myself and resume firing arrows at the closest target. My fingertips sting more, and my arms begin to feel a little tired. We go to collect our arrows and then continue. My grouping of hits soon improves for a bit. It seems the wine from earlier isn’t affecting me too much. However, I soon start losing accuracy due to my tired arms and sore fingertips. I decide to put the reflex bow down on the table with the other bows and rest my arms for a bit; sitting down on a bench and watching Luna. She is now hitting the target at the two hundred metre mark and her grouping is almost perfect.

She soon turns to me with a soft smile. “Would you like to have a break for refreshments and snacks?”

“Yeah, that sounds good; I could definitely use a drink and some snacks right about now.”

“Of course.” Luna nods and reclaims our arrows with her magic from afar, placing them in their respective buckets. Then she orders us some drinks and snacks, before coming over to sit down on the bench with me and wrapping her wing around me to hold me close to her side. “This has been quite fun so far, have you been enjoying yourself?”

I put my arm around her and pull her to my side too. “Mhm, I’ve really missed archery and it’s awesome to be able to do it again. Although my fingertips and arms are getting a little sore now.” I kiss her cheek and the nuzzle her tenderly.

Luna kisses and nuzzles me back. “I am glad that you are having fun.” She then inspects my fingertips. “Archery must be very different for you, as you cannot use magic to control the bow.”

“Yeah, it is. I have to use my muscles to draw the string, and letting it go causes it to rapidly rub against my fingertips which stings with repeated use.” I look at my fingers and flex them slightly. “After a while, I’ll get calluses on my fingertips and it won’t sting as much. I also might have to do some muscle exercises so that I have the strength to draw bows with a higher poundage.”

“I see.” Luna kisses my hand and then looks into my eyes. “We should be sure then not to overdo it with archery today. Perhaps we may do a little more archery after our break… But please let me know if you start to hurt too much.”

I nod. “All right, I will.” I then stroke her starry mane and lean in to kiss her lips softly, which she returns. I close my eyes and lean closer to slip my tongue out to meet her lips, then into her mouth as she parts them for me. Her long equine tongue wraps around my shorter human one, then slides along it into my own mouth. We then slowly break the kiss with a little parting peck, both of us smiling. “I love you, Luna.”

“I love you too, Travis.” Luna then presses her forehead to mine, her horn resting against the top of my head. Soon a servant – Shuffle Step to be precise – brings a small table to the bench. Next, she places a tray of snacks and a pitcher of water, with a small plate and a glass for each of us, as well as napkins on the table. There are lamingtons, scones with jam and cream, choc chip cookies, and lemon slice on separate plates on the tray. Shuffle Step gives us a nod and smile, and Luna thanks her as she leaves.

My mouth waters at the selection of snacks available on the table. “This looks good; I’m gonna have to eat at least one of each.” I then place one of each of the snacks onto my plate; barely managing to fit them on it.

“Yes, they do look rather delightful.” Luna levitates a scone and a piece of lemon slice onto her plate and pours us both a glass of water.

“Thanks.” I take my glass and put it by my plate, before starting to eat the delicious snacks. Each of them tastes incredible in their own way. Just like all food I’ve had here so far, they’re the best ones I’ve ever had. I also periodically sip on my glass of water. “They’re all so good.”

Luna finishes a bite of lemon slice with a smile. “They are indeed quite delectable.”

“I’m constantly impressed with the chefs of this castle. They always make the best food I’ve ever tried.” I grab another cookie and rapidly finish it.

Luna nods and gets herself a lamington, eating it nowhere near as quick as me eating the cookie. “I must agree; they are incredibly skilled in their craft.”

I take another lamington as well. I’m absolutely loving these snacks. I begin to feel full after I eat a scone next. “I think I’ll have to wait until after court for dinner tonight. I haven’t eaten so many snacks in a long time… They were just too good.”

Luna giggles to herself. “Very well… Be careful or you might become as addicted to sweets and cakes as Celie.”

I laugh a little as well. “I never knew she was, but then again, I haven’t really ever eaten with Celestia before today.” I finish my water, then wipe my mouth and hands with a napkin. “Well, I’m feeling about ready to get back to archery now. How about you?”

Luna also finishes her water and uses a napkin. “Yes, I have had enough to eat and feel rested well enough for more archery.”

It isn’t long before Shuffle Step returns with a smile to take the table and everything on it. “Did you both enjoy the food?”

I nod and smile back. “Yeah, everything was absolutely delicious, thanks, Shuffle. Compliments to the chef or chefs.”

Luna nods in agreement. “Yes, Travis is quite right; the food was lovely, thank you.”

Shuffle Step blushes slightly. “You’re both welcome… By the way, you two are so cute together. Congratulations on making the announcement.”

Luna blushes too. “Oh, thank you. Your positivity is very welcome and will hopefully help us through court later when we have to deal with the less than pleased nobles.”

I smile and blush a little as well. “Yeah, it’s good to have some more support for us, thanks again. Those nobles will probably be a bit of a hassle.”

Shuffle waves a hoof. “Oh, it’s nothing, you’re very welcome… I should be going now, have a good rest of the day.”

“You too.” Both Luna and I say at the same time. We look at each other and laugh, before waving at Shuffle as she leaves with the table.

“She is a such a friendly mare.” Luna remarks with a smile.

I nod. “Yeah, she’s the only servant I know the name of at the moment.” I get up and hold my hand out to Luna. “Anyway, let’s continue with archery.” She takes my hand with her hoof and I help her up. We then go back to our positions with the bows. I grab the same bow from before, but Luna grabs a different bow instead. It’s an interesting one with straight arms. I focus on the target in front of me and continue from where I left off. Satisfied with my new consistent grouping, I begin aiming for the next target at twenty metres. I miss the first and third shots, but over time start to hit the target more reliably. After a while, my grouping still isn’t quite as good as before and I get sore again.

I place the bow back on the table. I guess I’ll have to keep working on hitting the target twenty metres away next time we do archery. “I think I’m done for today. My arms and fingertips are pretty sore now. Is that okay?”

Luna takes one last shot and hits the bullseye of the target at the far end. “Of course, that is okay, Travis.” She puts her bow down as well and organises for everything to be packed up. “Is there anything you would like to do now? We only have approximately twenty minutes until Celestia will meet with us again if she finishes at her usual time.”

I shrug. “I suppose we could just chill in our chambers while we wait, besides some more rest would probably be a good idea before I have to transform again.”

“A good idea indeed, and we should be easy to find if we are in our chambers.” Luna places her wing at my back. “Let us go now.”

“All right.” I put my arm around her in return as we head back inside.