Pinkie Pie cried tears of happiness as Princess Cadence and Shining Armor danced happily together, looking so serene, so peaceful. She turned to her friends, who all wore similar expressions. Her gaze stopped at Twilight, whose tears were coming out at a noticeably faster rate.
Pinkie’s normally cheerful expression diminished somewhat. A smile was still there, but it was accompanied by sad eyes. She remembered the pain, the heartbreak on Twilight’s face as those that were dear to her walked out on her, leaving her alone. It pained her just to think about it even now, after the unicorn had assured them that everything had been forgiven.
Twilight smiled and nodded to her, prompting the pink earth pony to dash over to the turntables, and pull Vinyl Scratch from where she had just finished plugging in the last wire in.
“Let’s get this party started!”
With that, she threw the microphone to Twilight, who caught it with her magic and began singing. Soon, the entire garden was dancing, lost in the music, as if the day’s events had been perfectly peaceful.
As soon as Twilight was finished singing, she offered it to Pinkie, who took it with gusto and sang a rendition of “Equestria Girls”. She then passed the microphone back to Twilight, and then trotted out onto the dance floor. Over the next song she danced happily, and then once Octavia took the stage she happily bounced off to the buffet table.
She took a plate of cake and ate a piece in three whole bites. Not the best etiquette by any means, but eating neatly was difficult for any pony who wasn’t a unicorn, so it went unnoticed.
By her fifteenth slice she was laying on the ground, shoveling the sweets into her mouth while a crowd gathered around her, each making bets on how many slices she could eat. Not the most high-class activity to be sure, but the happy couple had already instructed most formalities to be dispersed with.
Luna watched the scene with some amusement before walking over and magically lifting her into the air. “Dear Pinkie, might I have a word with you?”
“Sure thing, Princess,” she answered, though it came out muffled due to the last mouthful of cake. She swallowed as the Princess of the Night brought her to the side, setting her down in front of her.
“I could not help but notice you were enjoying those delicacies at an alarming rate,” the Princess began.
“Well of course, silly! I always love sweets!”
Luna nodded. “So I’ve heard. Twilight Sparkle has spoken of your desire for sugary confections. She, however, has never mentioned a time when you laid on the floor, stuffing them into your mouth at a rate swine would fine disgusting. Tell me...”
However, at that point Pinkie felt an itch in her left front hoof. “I’m sorry to interrupt, your highness, but could you excuse me for just one moment?”
“Very well,” Luna sighed.
With that, Pinkie jumped into a nearby bush. She traveled through the branches until they became a rack of high class engagement clothes. She then popped out of a wardrobe in a suite in the castle, right in front of three Cutie Mark Crusaders making a Pinkie Promise to a certain purple dragon.
“Never!” she yelled dramatically. Then she slowly backed into the wardrobe, leaving behind four very confused youths.
The clothes became branches again, and Pinkie jumped out in front of Luna, who was just as confused as the children had been. “You were saying?”
“Um...” Luna said in surprise before regaining her composure. “Your over-consumption of fair Applejack’s cooking wouldn’t have anything to do with your feelings of guilt, would it?”
Pinkie’s eyes went wide at the question. She then gave the biggest smile she could muster. “Guilty? Why would I feel that?”
The alicorn gave her a stern look. “I flew by Twilight Sparkle’s suite on my early evening patrol. I overheard you apologizing to her for dismissing her earlier.”
“So why would I still feel guilty? She forgave us, so there’s no more need to feel bad.”
Luna tilted her head in a way that made it clear she wasn’t fooled. “Perhaps there is no more need for guilt, but that was not my question. Are you still feeling guilty?”
Pinkie’s smile faded, and then she looked at the ground. “Maybe a little...”
Luna actually smiled. “Excellent, we are making progress. I have kept an eye on Twilight Sparkle’s friendship reports. They speak of a time where you thought your friends had abandoned you, and you ended up hosting a party with a pile of rocks and a ball of lint among the guests.”
Pinkie blushed, a rarity for her. “Yes, I learned not to assume the worst of my friends.”
“And that is indeed a good lesson to learn, dear Pinkie. I’m just not sure that was the best lesson you could have learned.”
“What do you mean?”
Luna sighed. “Pinkie, what do you do when you feel sad and depressed?
Pinkie just grinned. “I smile, I laugh, and soon I feel better.”
“I see. And do you ever discuss the things that depress you with the other Bearers?”
“Of course not,” the earth pony answered, as if it was incredibly obvious. “I’m all about making ponies smile. I don’t talk about sad stuff.
The alicorn sighed. “Then...we have a problem.”
Pinkie was stunned. “What do you mean?”
“Dear Pinkie,” she began, trying to think of how her sister would phrase her intended message. “You cannot simply deny the things that depress you. Doing such things isn’t healthy.”
“But...I’m happy this way! Aren’t you supposed to look on the bright side of life?”
“That is indeed a good philosophy,” Luna stated plainly. “But I have learned from my own experiences that denying the existence of negative feelings can be just as harmful as focusing on them exclusively.”
“How?”
Luna sighed. “Long ago, when I first began to feel jealousy over the love ponies gave to my sister, I tried to deny these feelings. I told myself that I cared not who loved my night; that I simply enjoyed it, and that was enough.”
“Well that sounds like a pretty good attitude,” Pinkie said.
“I haven't finished,” Luna said sternly, prompting Pinkie to fearfully silence herself.
“You were correct, that was a wise philosophy, but that did not rid me of my negative feelings. I tried burying them deep within me, denying their existence. As a result, they grew. For decades I deluded myself into believing I wasn’t feeling jealousy for my sister, and all it accomplished was allowing those feelings to grow unchecked. Eventually, I couldn’t simply lie to myself any longer, so I perused some...outer help.”
Pinkie tilted her head quizzically. Hearing the unspoken question, Luna sighed, looking away from her subject. “The reason alcohol was banned in Equestria for five hundred years was because on my hundredth birthday party, I lost control...”
Contrary to popular belief, Pinkie had willpower, and she was currently exercising every bit of it to stop from giggling.
Such effort became moot moments later when a pastry fight broke out at the buffet table. As the guards rushed to stop it, Pinkie just laughed, while her superior grinned in amusement, especially after seeing Vinyl and Octavia running past them, pursued by two pegasi guards.
The Princess of the Night gave a brief chuckle. Then her expression returned to a stern one as she remembered what she had been doing. She turned back to Pinkie and continued. “When I finally started to be honest of my feelings, I was too far gone. Celestia merely told me everything was okay, that I shouldn’t worry. Had I heard those reassurances early on, they might have helped soothe me, but they did no such good now. I opened my heart to my rage and jealousy, allowing Nightmare Moon to taint it.”
Luna kept her composure, but her grief over the incident was still apparent in her voice. Pinkie saw this and trotted over to her, nuzzling her on the chest. The Princess accepted this gesture, though she ended it quickly. They were in a public setting, after all.
“The point I am trying to make is this, dear Pinkie: you are making the same mistake I made. You cannot simply deny your negative feelings. Already it has taken its toll on you.”
“What do you mean?” Pinkie asked, confused.
“I refer you to the earlier incident involving a party with your imaginary friends. You became so distressed that your mind went immediately into a deluded state. That is not the sign of a healthy pony.”
Pinkie just looked at the ground. “I thought my friends didn’t like me anymore...”
“And while that would devastate anypony, that is not the normal response,” Luna said sternly. “You’ve been repressing your negative feelings far too long. Now, I may be the wrong pony to press you like this, but I must ask: how do you usually handle sadness? Do you ever discuss such feelings with your friends?”
Pinkie shook her head. “No, never. Anything that bothers me is temporary. I just remember that I have plenty to be happy about, and it cheers me right up.”
The Princess nodded in understanding. “And I assume you are happy with your life right now?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? I have five super-awesome friends, and Mr. and Mrs. Cake have been like parents to me, and I just got two baby siblings to boot.”
“I see. Tell me, your battle with Discord, have you discussed it with the others?”
“I had to. Princess Celestia made us all go see this fancy doctor after that. He told us to talk about it with each other. And since the Princess told us to listen to him, I did it.”
Luna knew Pinkie was telling the truth. She, like the other Bearers, had proven time and again their loyalty to her sister. “Well then, I must leave you with a final thought. I am worried about you, dear Pinkie. I fear you might have had a painful experience in your life; something you haven’t discussed with your comrades. It is not my place to find out. However, I would recommend talking with the other Bearers about it.”
Luna achieved what many ponies thought was impossible: rendering Pinkie Pie completely silent. She nervously ground her hoof into the ground while looking away from the princess. Luna, feeling her message got across, began to turn away, but at that moment her subject spoke to her in a low voice. “...I have been keeping something from the others…I’ve even been keeping it from Mr. and Mrs. Cake.”
“Have you now?”
Pinkie was quiet for a moment. “When I left my home on the rock farm, where I grew up...my family was really mad at me. I left...in a way that made them mad...I’m not sorry I left, but...”
Luna held up her hoof to stop her. “Worry not about sharing it with me if it bothers you. My goal here was to get you to let your feelings be known. I know I am not the best at comforting others, but I saw your plight, and knew you needed help. If I have convinced you to discuss it with the other Bearers, then I have done well.”
“I will Princess, I Pinkie Promise.”
Luna arched an eyebrow, looking puzzled. “Pinkie Promise?”
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” the earth pony went through the ritual. It was juvenile, but the Princess smiled at it anyway.
“Then I must ask you to make another Pinkie Promise.”
Pinkie brought a hoof up to her brow and saluted. “Yes, your highness!”
“You must talk with Twilight Sparkle come tomorrow and ensure she does not feel angry towards you.”
Pinkie blinked in confusion. “She isn’t, silly! We already talked to her, and she says she forgives us. She understands we had every reason not to believe her…”
“Just as you understand there’s little point in dwelling on a mistake she’s forgiven you for?”
The pink pony’s eyes went wide as the validity of the statement washed over her. “But…Twilight said she wasn’t mad.”
“You said you weren’t feeling guilt. Logic and emotions are rarely bedfellows. Twilight Sparkle likely feels anger at you and the others at the moment, and she likely feels anger towards herself for feeling that way. You cannot allow this. Tomorrow, tell the others what I have told you, and talk with her. Don’t let her damage herself with such thoughts.”
“I won’t, your highness, I promise.”
“Pinkie Promise?”
The pink earth pony went through the appropriate motions. “Pinkie Promise.”
“Most excellent. Well, now that we’ve concluded our exchange, I must be off. I must find where our entertainment has run off to.”
With that, Luna took off for the sky, leaving Pinkie alone, thinking about what Luna had said.
Narnia-space travel?! Suddenly it all makes sense.
HOLD IT!
An error for fixing.
Luna sighed. “Long ago, when I first began to feel jealousy over the love ponies gave to my sister, I tried to deny these feelings. I told myself that I didn’t cared not who loved my night, that I simply enjoyed it, and that was enough.
This is a double negative. I think what you want was "...I cared not who loved my night..."
Simple mistake, that we've all done at some point or another.
Luna strikes again; awesomeness ensues!
It seems... shorter than usual...
EDIT: Oh hey, Feature box!
707368
Didn't you know, Luna is part hick when she becomes sad
Never? Isn't it forever?
707429
OBJECTION!
Ah, so what she's saying is she told herself she did care who loved her night?
TAKE THAT!
Because that's what it sounds like to me~
I wonder what Luna will think when she finds the "entertainment"
I want to hear about Luna's hundredth birthday party.
Dam poor vinyl and octavia are gonna get caugth.Wonder if lunas gonna troll them
"Pinkie blushed, a rarity for her"
img.ponibooru.org/_images/8e8b56f873526fdf52b3976ac029e139/47824%20-%20Ditzy_Doo%20caption%20derpy%20derpy_hooves%20ditzy%20i_see_what_u_did_there%20i_see_what_you_did_there%20macro%20reaction_face%20reaction_image.jpg
FOREVER!
Mane 6 and sun goddess down, Spike left. Set um up, partner.
707464
I concede the point
Because Luna is awesome.
Also, that Narnia bit? WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT ABOUT?!
707354 Wait where did THAT come from?
707566 And Cadence and Shinning Armor, and maybe Luna, though that would take a hint of creative license.
707514 I smell a sidestory.
707461 Distracted Pinkie Pie is distracted, and Faust's MANE can that mare move. I bet she ran in the running of the leaves, came in first, then bribed the guards to give Twilight the gold medal as a "Fifth Place Award" because she chose to run instead of giving it to Pinkie Pie herself.
Lastly... I am severely bothered by this. Why is Pinkie Pie's quest in life the same very, very similar to my own? I'm more like Twilight Sparkle, but now I find this out. Dang it FAUST! You designed the CHARACTERS TO WELL!
707573
Simple. She sensed her presence was needed for effect during a Pinkie Promise.
People never think about what Pinkie might be doing right before she does that.
Also, we'd better find out what Scootaloo's problem is.
I like how you tied-in the Pinkie picture.
707354 So much sense it's scary!
Nice thing with Pinkie. I always like it when writers show that the laugher hides a darker, somber side of her.
also
“Never!” she yelled dramatically. Then she slowly backed into the wardrobe, leaving behind four very confused youths.
It think you mean Forever!
Great work!
707504
Fetch three items: Popcorn. Cushion. Shower head.
I was kinda hoping Luna would have pushed too far and encountered Pinkamina instead of Pinkie. After all Luna showed Pinkie her darkside in the pilot, why not have Pinkie show Luna hers?
707734 Those 3 weren't really involved with Twilight emotional breakdown/shunning, Shining was mind controlled after all. So I'm not sure they're getting chapters, especially since Luna keeps being the voice of reason in everyone else's part.
707971 True, but they have issues of their own that need some resolving. Cadence and Shinning are both likely to be traumatized, and Luna is probably guilty herself for not doing ANYTHING to stop the changeling horde.
Vynil and Octavia are gonna get caught red-hoofed by Luna non the least and I suppose that we will find what was that problem that had Spike and the CMC that was enought to force Pinkie's menacing appearance to them
707987 Don't think Luna was really in a position at any point to stop it, she seems rather level headed on the matter. Yea Cadence probably is, who knows what Shinning remembers from being under the mind control.
707368, 707429, 707464, 708011
That was an honest mistake. Fixed.
707461, 707795
No. I know what was said in the show, but I meant never here.
707734, 707971,
I already posted the remaining chapter titles in a blog post here. We have Spike, Shining Armour, and Twilight II to go.
I can't help but feel Luna was being kind of nosy here. What gives her the right to poke at topics that are obviously very sensitive for Pinkie Pie?
708071 I am glad for this. How did I miss it?!
708077
She doesn't neccessarly, but she could tell Pinkie had a problem and wanted to help her. And since she went through the same thing, she might have figured she could help her. She acknowledges she might have been overstepping her bounds, and did back off once she got Pinkie to admit she had a problem. Remember, Luna has poor social skills, but she means well. Is she being nosy? Yeah, and she might be wrong to do so, but she's really doing what she thinks is best.
708011
Ah ah ah... *wags finger*
She's using -current- language, which means she's confirming to -current- grammar. Which makes your point invalid. Nice try, though.
708071
Glad to see it's fixed.
Pinkie just laughed, while her superior grinned in amusement, especially after seeing Vinyl and Octavia running passed them
*past
Good otherwise, as far as I can tell.
708139
Got it, thanks.
708071 Insightful.
707734
Pinkie dives into foliage and ends up in a wardrobe! Celestia is Aslan, callin' it now
"She nervously grinded her hoof into the ground"
ground 2 (ground)
v.
Past tense and past participle of grind.
"She nervously ground her hoof into the ground"
Not grinded.
Can I suggest
"She nervously ground her hoof into the earth/dirt"?
Other than that (which really bugs me for some reason) this is another fantastic chapter.
That, sir, is the best possible way I've ever seen anyone handle Pinkie Pie's ability to move through space-time in apparent violation of causality and conservation of mass and conservation of energy. Bravo.
I guess Spike will be next. That's good to know.
I look forward to the rest of this series.
This is actually a very good deconstruction of Season 2 as a whole. And parts of Season 1 to boot. Well done.
My only complaint is this:
“You know, a millennia ago we beheaded ponies who interrupted royalty,”
Great line. Unfortunately, "millennia" is the plural of "millennium." You don't say "a millennia" any more than you'd say "a ponies."
Aside from that? Loving the story.
Whelp, I got nothing.
Cheers.
-Delta-
Pinkie Pie, always good for a simple laugh.
Still pissed about SoarinDash, but the story is recovering.
That was just a simple Pinkie moment. It wouldn't be very Pinkie if one could understand it.
735227
I take it you don't like SoarinDash.
Seriously though, I'm fine with you not liking it, but can you please not bring it up in every post? It gets kind of tiring.
I'm glad you are liking the rest of it, however.
741327, 710191
I just started thinking about how Pinkie does her Offscreen Teleportation and I came up with this joke. I'm glad people liked it.
708289
I meant no Fluttershy/Iron Will. Yeah, Vinyl and Tavi are in for a long night...
709568, 713363
Thanks for catching those.
742400
I only keep bringing it up because it keeps coming up and I really do hate it. As long as it doesn't show up again I'll be fine.
I'm sorry. I cannot say, read, or think the words "Most Excellent" without slipping into a Bill and Ted voice.
709527
Boy, that certainly puts a lot of...interesting scenarios out there for dealing with Chrysalis.
Darn it I wanted to find out what it was that was eating at Pinkie Pie, I know now that she ran away from home and that her birth family was mad at her but seriously what did she do, did she throw one too many partys or something?
707554 I see your Derpy and raise you a Luna
i.neoseeker.com/mgv/574321-Liege/321/46/mlfw2604luna_saw_what_you_did_there_display.jpg
Just a small mistake
Errrr...is it wrong if I want to know about Luna's 100th birthday?. Anyway, great chapter! I really liked the portrayal of Pinkie (I can totally see her eating to death because of guilt), and as for Luna, even better. I wasn't expecting any of this...at all...and that's just great. Thus I'll see you on the next one!
The scene with a bush... space folding ablilty... no, she can't be.... related to Discord?
707554
OH SWEET CELESTIA!!!!! That just may be the best pony pic EVAR