Princess Luna was in the Canterlot library, sorting through scrolls in the Starswirl The Bearded Wing. To others, this would be a boring, demeaning task, but Luna found she quite liked it. It pleased her to know that at least this hadn't changed while she was gone, and it was nice to give herself some silence to think.
She knew that sometimes ponies would come in and get a scroll, or just admire the statue. But what she wasn't expecting one of The Princess Of Friendships closest friends to be there.
Luna wasn't really sure how she managed to get in without an access card, but as her friends said, Pinkie is is so random. "So, Luna, what are you doing here?" Pinkie Pie asked, from where she stood on a tall stack of books.
Luna put more scrolls back into their proper shelves. "I am simply sorting away these scrolls, Miss Pie" she responded politely, trying to dissuade the pink earth pony from staring a conversation.
Sadly, Pinkie Pie didn't seem to take the hint. "That sounds like fun!" She cheered, leaping to her back hooves, causing the pile of books to fall, right on top of Luna.
Luna sighed and put on her 'calm face.' She usually liked all her subjects, but it was because of Pinkie Pie that she had felt worthless on Nightmare Night. Luna had thought that she had forgiven Pinkie, but now it seemed like she hadn't. She just found her so annoying at times. "Ooopsy" Pinkie said, now standing on a table. "So, I was reading up about Nightmare Moon, and is it true that you attempted to
bite your sisters throat out?" Luna's eye twitches slightly as she rose to her hooves. "But I found that strange, I mean, you were already a strong alicorn, so I think the story about you using the moon to crush your sister, but again, kind of unlikely."Luna relaxed slightly. At least this pony had some reason in her head. " Did you really bathe in your sisters blood?"
That's it! "ENOUGH!" Luna rose to her full height, and even puled out her famous Canterlot voice. If it had been any other pony, the offender would of have been cowering at her hooves, begging and groveling. But this was Pinkie Pie, who just looked curious.
"How dare you talk to a princess like that! Nightmare Moon and I are not the same! If ANY of those stories are true, it wasn't me that did it, it was HER! Even then, I doubt those are much more than rumors!"
"I know that, silly filly" Pinkie giggled slightly. "But I wanted to ask to make sure, after all, me and you aren't that different at all, so if she DID do those things, then odds are, so would I."
"Aren't that- AREN'T THAT DIFFERENT AT ALL!" Luna exclaimed. "We are nothing alike! I am sick and tired of ponies saying that they feel my pain, my sorrow, when they don't! They don't know what it's like to know that you let your darker side out, to look back on it with terror, horror, shame and, worst of all-"
"Pleasure." Luna started, and stared at Pinkie Pie, who held her gaze evenly. "The pleasure of knowing that whatever trouble you were in, is on somepony else's shoulders, as least for the time being." Luna flinched, while the poofy maned mare began to pick her way around the books to face the Princess Of The Night. "And once you regain control, the horror and humiliation begins to flood you."
"Ho- How do you know that?" Luna whispered.
Pinkie smiled a sad smile, so unlike her. "I just told you. We aren't so different at all" she repeated. "Both of us have let our 'other side' take over."
"What are you talking about?" Luna asked, curious as to why this pink earth pony she had found annoying was able to say exactly how she felt.
Pinkie sat down, and after a moments hesitation, Luna followed. "I'm pretty sure you already noticed that I'm really close to Twilight and the others." Luna nodded. "Well, one day, they all started ignoring me and saying mean things behind my back. I was so upset, that I let my Nightmare Moon, Pinkamena out."
"How did you gain control?" Luna questioned, slightly puzzled why Twilight would do such a thing.
Pinkie laughed, which had a touch of bitterness. "Turns out they were planning my birthday party, and they wanted to to be a surprise. And I had thought they were avoiding me because they didn't like my parties and didn't want to be my friends anymore." She shook her head, disgusted at herself. "Pinkamena was so shocked that I managed to wrestle control back. Pinkamena hates others being happy, so I do the exact opposite.Plus if it helps others stop channeling their Nightmare Moon, or Pinkamena, then I'm all for it."
Luna was shocked. Ever since the whole Nightmare Moon thing, ponies had kept going on about how they 'felt her pain' and 'knew how that must of have felt', and the entire time Luna wanted to scream at them "really? You became so bitter that you tried to kill your own flesh and blood, really?!" And yet here was a pony who not only knew what pain she felt everyday, but felt it herself.
It was strange, the change really. Luna no longer saw Pinkie as strange or annoying. She made jokes and took no things seriously because she had to, not only was it her destiny and made her happy, it stopped them from becoming their own Nightmare Moon. And that, in itself is amazing.
But while they were alike, there was one major difference between them. While Luna wallowed in her mistake, Pinkie accepted what she had done, and tried to fix things in the only way she could.
It was then that Luna realized that Pinkie was right, maybe they weren't so different at all. In fact, they were kindred spirits.
"So Pinkie" Luna hadn't even realized that she stopped calling her Miss Pie, until said pony brightened. "What do you think I should do?"
Pinkie, who was heading towards the exit, stopped. "Well, what's the one thing Nightmare Moon hated more than anything?" She asked of the alicorn.
Luna thought for a moment. "My sister" she said, ashamed.
"Well then, all you have to do is love your sister.Easy enough" And with that, Pinkie Pie left.
"Pinkie! Wait!" Luna scrambled to her hooves, and raced to the exit. Pinkie Pie was gone.
* * * * *
"So sister, what did you do today?" Celestia asked, as her younger sister tackled her into a hug.
"I made a new friend" Luna said, disengaging from the hug and beaming up at Celestia proudly.
"Really? Who?" The white alicorn asked, interested.
"Pinkie Pie."
"Pinkie Pie? But I thought you said you found her slightly annoying and loud-"
"The very thought! Pinkie is one of my closest friends, and I would never speak about her in such a way!"
"You said this less than an hour ago!"
"Well clearly you misunderstood, because me and Pinkie are kindred spirits."
Celestia took a minute to process that. "What? How are you two kindred spirits? Your nothing alike!"
Luna smiled and headed into her room, calling over her shoulder, "Actually I think you'll find that we're not so different at all."
