Bark at the Moon

You carefully shove another book onto its shelf.

You're relieved that the bookshelf didn't break when you threw the self-proclaimed princess into it. The books themselves were mostly scuffed at worst, with only the one book-fatality; a book torn to shreds as it collided with the mare's sharpened horn during the melee. Hopefully placing it back on the shelf with the others will render it unnoticeable to all zero permanent inhabitants.

Several other books levitate into their own spaces, courtesy of the dark blue pony. "That should be all of them," she muses, "but I'm quite certain they aren't back in the original order."

"Eh, who's ever gonna know?" you shrug, picking up a nearby dishevelled book. You flip through it nonchalantly, leaning on a nearby table to compensate for your missing leg. Ugh, it seems to be in some foreign language. You pretend to read it regardless, in an attempt to feign savviness. "I, uh, never got your name, by the way."

The blue mare raises an eyebrow. "Well, there are only two princesses currently residing in Canterlot," she says. "It shouldn't be so hard to guess."

"Aah, of course!" you nod in false acknowledgement, trying with all your might to remember the names of the ponies' diarchy. Come on, one of them even made the front page of the local newspapers not too long ago! Yes! You think it's -

"Princess Cadance!" you cheerily exclaim, "I remember, the newspapers wouldn't shut up about your freakin' wedding! How's your husband, Shining Normon?"

You cut yourself off once you notice her expression.

"Truly amazing," she snarks. "I gave you a fifty-fifty chance between Celestia and Luna, and you missed both. That is some special kind of intelligence there."

Your paws grip the foreign book a little tighter. "Hey, just because I'm not up to date with who's who in Canterlot, Luna, doesn't make me an idiot. Do I look like the kind of dog who pays attention to that sort of thing? Heck, most ponies don't pay attention to me, so why should I bother returning the favor?"

Her head tilts a little, "You guessed my name right that time."

"Well, yeah. I know Luna means Moon, and you've got a picture of the moon on your bu- your cutie mark - so it wasn't hard after you gave me the hint. Like I said, I'm not that stupid."

"Hmm. No, I wager you aren't," she puts a hoof to her chin in thought. "Especially since it seems you can read Zebrican."

You look down at the unintelligible pages you're holding. A Zebrican book? Really?

"Er... yeah, a little." you improvise. "Of course, this is just a small bedtime storybook for young zebras, it's got a few of my favourite stories from over there, like... uh... The Zebra... and the..." you say the first word that pops into your head; "...Book."

"No doubt," Luna mutters. "The Zebra and the Book?"

"Yeah."

"And you enjoy reading those foreign stories?" she asks.

"Obviously," you nod.

"Is it easier to read when you're holding it upside down, or harder?"

"Huh?" You turn the book over in your paws and Gods damnit, it's just a plain Equestrian cook book! 101 Ways to Stew Hay! What in the Asscrack of Tartarus were you thinking?! Augh!!

As soon as you notice, you drop the book like it's made of termites.

*******

Five minutes later, and Luna's still chuckling to herself about the book mishap.

"You know, you weren't being this happy when you were having the snot beaten out of you earlier," you pout.

The princess scoffs with indignation, "Perhaps you need reminding who beat whom, canine. I didn't use magic. One could have easily melted you with a thought and a flick of my horn."

"Why didn't you?"

Those words hang in the air for a moment longer than you'd want them to.

"Why didn't I melt you?" Luna asks.

"Yeah. Not that I'd care," you elaborate, "it's just that with power like that, why bother fighting any other way?"

"B-because that would be a downright abuse of my power!" You notice this is the first and only time you've heard this mighty princess stutter. "Can you even imagine the horror if someone would use such power with no remorse?"

You sense you might have inadvertently touched a nerve. "Hey, I didn't mean it like that. I'm not asking you to do that sorta thing. Just..." you mentally grasp for the right way to say it, "if you had turned me into dog-soup in an instant, I probably wouldn't have put it past you."

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic," Luna waves away the notion with a hoof, "I may not be too aware of your circumstances, but I can tell you're rich by the Bits you've been leaving here every other night. Plus the fact that you can afford to live in Canterlot! Your life can't be so dreadful that you'd simply... well, shrug in the face of death."

"Ah yes, all this money!" you sarcastically grunt. Though because of your growling canine accent, she may have mistaken it for threatening. "With this, I can just buy my crushed leg back! And then buy myself happiness! I can just magically buy my way out of those weird looks I get from the other ponies out in the street! Heck, throw enough Bits into the sky and suddenly all the child-ponies... foals or whatever... will stop pointing and screaming at me like I'm some kinda monster!"

You stop ranting to catch your breath. At first, you were expecting Luna to have some kind of regal retort as she has done most of the night. This time, however, she is silent. Her mouth partially open, but no words coming forth.

"I mean, I don't think I'm a monster, it's just that other ponies-"

Luna's hoof, placed gently on your shoulder, cuts you off. She nods loosely in the direction of a nearby book-stand. One that you've seen quite a few times in your visits, though never really had an interest in.

"See that book over there?" she says, her voice unnaturally gentle for the princess you've known so far. "One of the chapters is called Mare in the Moon. Read it. I can wait."

Geez, what's gotten into her? You can't help but think she's trying to shove some kinda of pony-flavored lesson down your throat. What is Mare in the Moon anyway? Sounds like some sort of fable, like the Ugly Duckling or some trash.

Nevertheless, you hobble over to the book and skim over the pages. Once upon a time - wow, an enthralling start already - in the magical land of Equestria... two regal sisters who ruled together... Eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun... Younger brought out the moon... the Younger sister became resentful... shunned her and slept through her beautiful night...

"Oh no," you say assertively. "You're not seriously telling me that you're the Younger one here. I've heard of the whole Royal Longevity thing, but even that's kind of... heck. I get what you're saying," You tap the last sentence you read. "You were shunned too, once. All that money, all that royal prestige, and for what?"

Luna gently shakes her head, avoiding eye contact. "Keep reading."

And so you do. Right until the end.

Perhaps someone had left a window open - your spine felt a shiver just now.

You finally speak; "Nightmare Moon?"

"Once upon a time, indeed," Luna says. Her voice is as unmoving as it has always been. Stoic and factual.

"I, uh," your manners almost drift away in the river of questions flowing through your mind. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that you were this... Nightmare Moon thing."

"Oh, don't apologise for that," she smiles. "It's best thing you could have told me, truly!"

"Ehh?"

"Don't you see?" Luna asks. You detect an underlying cheer in her otherwise regal speech. "You're the first individual I've met - since my return, of course - who didn't know my past! Your first impression of me was genuinely unmarred by Nightmare Moon!"

"Yeah," you smirk, "and the first thing we did was get in a fight!"

Luna grins in response, seeing the funny side of such a first meeting. Then something clicks in her mind; her grin turns into a chuckle, before becoming a full-blown laugh. You have absolutely no idea how to deal with a millennia-old, almighty princesses having a laughing fit, but you must admit, her laughter is contagious. It's not long before you're sniggering along with her, regardless of what she could be laughing at. Eventually, even her regal legs cannot hold her - she falls over, kicking her legs in the air as if she was told a joke to transcend the cosmos. You decide that you're tired of leaning on your tin leg, and join her on the floor.

"We... we are so different, you and I," she manages as soon as she caught her breath. "Myself, one of the highest princesses in Equestria, one with the power to bring about night. And you, a canine from a whole other land underground. But look at us. We both go into that street, and children still turn on their hooves and flee. We're both monsters."

"Shucks, at least the adult ponies know to bow when they see you coming," you respond. "They usually cross the street when they see me."

Luna hums, maybe in agreement, maybe in deep thought. Her eyes flick between the library's ceiling and the books on each shelf.

"I don't believe I know your story," she says plainly. You turn to her, wondering if she meant what you thought she meant. "Tell me about yourself," she confirms.

Hell, where to begin...