A Lesson in Laughter

".. a cupcake in my eye," Luna said carefully, slowly repeating the steps Pinkie had been teaching her. She felt a strange sense of competition overcome her thoughts, and she wished to learn this gesture just as fast as her new acquaintance had learned to bow.

"That was amazing!" Pinkie said, quite possibly a bit louder than was necessary. She looked positively astounded, Luna noted, and was staring at Luna with what looked like an expression of awe.

Luna had expected the gesture to take a few tries, but she hadn't thought it to be something of incredible difficulty. "Um," she began, trying to pick the best words for her inquiry, "not to be rude, but might I know why such an accomplishment is something that amazes you? Surely you have seen it done many times before."

"Yes, but usually ponies give up halfway through or look at me like I'm crazy," came the reply, as honest as it could be. Then there came a giggle and the giddy mare added, "The first time Twilight tried it, she forgot to close her eye! It was okay though - her hooves were clean!"

Luna continued to stare at Pinkie Pie, but now with an expression of sorrow, rather than one of confusion. "I do not think you are crazy, Pinkie Pie," she said comfortingly, feeling compelled to dwell upon that small bit of information. She thought Pinkie was rather kind - she couldn't imagine why any pony would mistake such enthusiasm as the rantings of a crazed mare.

"Oh, I don't think they mean it. Not really, anyway," Pinkie said, waving a hoof nonchalantly. "I'm sure they were just having a bad day, or maybe they ate something sour! Like this one time, Applejack - she's the orange pony with the really nice hat - she was.."

As Pinkie went into a long and what seemed to be very exciting tale of - quite literally - apples and oranges, Luna pondered upon something that had dawned on her only moments prior. Pinkie had not seemed at all sad; in fact, she seemed to take such negativity in stride. This was something she only wished she could do.

Perhaps there was more that this mare could teach her, after all. This was, however, only a slumber party. In the morning, the two would part ways and most likely draw apart naturally. They might write letters to one another, depending on how things went, but Luna couldn't quite imagine things becoming quite solid.

For now, however, she let out a small sigh and pushed such thoughts to the back of her mind. She could, at the very least, enjoy Pinkie's presence and revel in the joys she naturally brought with her.

As Luna's attention was brought back to focus, it seemed that she was catching only the very end of the story. She regretted going into such deep thought when Pinkie was speaking - a feeling of guilt briefly washed over her as she tried to recollect what she was speaking of.

".. and that's why Applejack isn't allowed back in their orange orchards. I've never seen a pony turn red before! Well, besides Big Macintosh, but he's always red," Pinkie finished, wiping a tear of laughter from her eye. Luna did her best to put on a happy smile, and only hoped Pinkie would not question her or test her listening skills, for surely she would fail.

The test never came, fortunately, and the conversation only hung in silence for a brief moment before Pinkie let out a rather loud gasp. Luna jumped at the sound and was about to ask if the mare was alright, but her worries were put to rest as she noticed Pinkie's focus having turned towards the balcony.

"Twilight's gonna bring the moon up soon! Let's go see it!" she said, leaning towards Luna excitedly before jumping up and bolting towards the open double-doors onto Luna's favorite spot.

The princess gathered her wits after having such a mix of emotions overcome her, then stood up and moved calmly over to the balcony. She had to admit she was rather anxious to see what Twilight Sparkle was capable of, She was also, however, slightly worried.

It seemed that the rumors about Pinkie being rather intuitive about the emotions of others was true, as she almost immediately picked up on Luna's worry. What made it all the more confusing was that Pinkie hadn't even seen Luna's expression to know that she was worried - she seemed to have sensed it.

As she did, the mare turned around on the spot with a concerned expression on her face and said, "What's wrong?" Luna was a little impressed at how quickly she had been found out, and was quick to offer and explanation.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm simply wondering about something," she said reassuringly, tossing a distant glance at the sky above. The light was beginning to give way to the dark and it had become what most called twilight - a befitting time for such an individual to practice. She then looked back to a now-determined-looking Pinkie Pie.

"It's okay, Luna! I'm sure Twilight's got it all sorted out! She's really smart!" Pinkie said, her grin lighting up her face even through the darkness.

To this, Luna gave a calm chuckle and a sagely nod, "Yes, I know. I have all the confidence invested within Twilight Sparkle. It is simply.. A personal worry." She saw the other mare give her an expression that matched one of Celestia's perfectly. It let her know that she was listening earnestly, and it gave Luna enough comfort to continue.

"The night sky is my own," she began, looking up with a warm smile. "I have spent centuries shaping its many constellations,  and molding it to a certain image. Perhaps it is a little selfish of me, but when I think of another pony - besides Celestia - tampering with my creation.. It simply worries me."

She jumped slightly, having felt the lightest of touches bump against her. She jumped slightly at the sensation, but felt relieved when she realized it was simply Pinkie's forehoof wrapped around her own back. She gave her comforter a warm smile, then let out a nervous chuckle.

"I probably sound rather silly, worrying over such things. Twilight Sparkle is a very capable unicorn, and I am sure that, with Celestia's help, she cannot fail," Luna said, more to reassure herself than to comfort Pinkie Pie.

"No, it's okay. The sky is like your baby! In a way. Not like, an actual baby or anything. Or.. More like a really nice painting! Yes, that's it! It's like a huge painting you made yourself, and you should take pride in the things you make, because no matter what it's going to be nice!" Pinkie said, not one stopping to take a breath or consider her words. While one might think this might mean an overactive mind, Luna chose to believe it was her way of speaking from the heart.

"Thank you, Pinkie Pie," Luna said, finally returning the comforting gesture by laying a forehoof of her own around Pinkie Pie, pulling her into a gentle hug. To luna, it felt.. Incredible was a word for it. Warm was another. The ache in her chest, she noticed, felt as if it had melted away to release a new, soft feeling. And she liked it.

All too soon, however, the lovely gesture was broken as the final shreds of light died out in the sky, not to return until morning. It was then that silence hung in the air like tapestry. Were one to reach out with a knife, they might cut the tension. They waited for what seemed like an eternity for any signs of movement and then..

"Look!" Pinkie said, raising a hoof excitedly to point out what they had both been anticipating excitedly. Even Luna was leaning forward now, anxiously awaiting either success or failure. It felt as if everything rode on this one event - all or nothing. But then she saw it.

There, on the horizon, Luna's own orb of light came rising calmly into the sky. It was slow, painfully slow, but it was rising nonetheless. Whether or not Celestia played a role in the rising of the moon, Luna would not know until later. But for now, she was glad it went off without a hitch. Mostly.

What was missing tonight was one of Luna's most delicate features - her stars. She was a bit glad to not be seeing them, admittedly; it meant nothing was tampered with. She only hoped they had not disappeared permanently. Trying not to dwell on the possibility, she opted instead to turn to Pinkie Pie to see her reaction.

To her surprise, Pinkie had done the same to her. She was staring up at Luna with an expression of pure.. It looked like adoration. She could only imagine why, but Luna's attention was being pulled in an entirely different direction. The moonlight was casting an impressive glow - specifically, it was lighting up Pinkie Pie. She looked.. Different.

She looked amazing, actually. There wasn't anything rather specific about her that looked nice, but rather everything looked spectacular. There was a subtle glow to her that made Luna stumble over her own thoughts. She didn't quite understand it, nor did she know how to react to it.

The moment passed soon enough when Pinkie spoke in a very uncharacteristically quiet voice. "You wanna play some games now?" she muttered, her mouth hanging open ever-so-slightly.

"U-uh, sure," Luna said, not quite sure why she was stuttering. As the pink mare hopped to her feet with a smile Luna did not quite recognize, she felt flooded with the same warm feeling once again. As she stared after Pinkie as she reentered the room from the balcony, Luna was left with only one question.

What was that?