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// Moonstone (Luna X Limestone Pie) 
// Story: Paul's Friendship Collection 
// by PaulAsaran 
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Princess Luna cocked her head at the pony standing before her throne. "You want... what?"

Miss Pie's stare was borderline defiant, as if she fully expected to be given what she wanted regardless of how she asked for it, or from whom. "A moonstone." A beat. "Your Highness." Her muzzle wrinkled. "P-please."

Was that stutter a mere crack in the pony's brave facade, or rather a matter of using the dreaded 'p'-word? Luna gathered it could go either way. Her night guards at the doors shifted aggressively. "And why would you want a moonstone, may We inquire?"

The little pony spoke as if her time were being wasted by the question. "They're magical, right?" When this goaded no reaction, she growled. Twitch went the guards. "Do I really need to tell you about this? Isn't it ancient history?"

Luna dryly commented, "Permit Us to remind Our loyal subject that We have been absent from the world for the last thousand years. It is entirely possible We missed this 'ancient history' you speak of."

The pony had the audacity to roll her eyes. "Fine. Look, I'm a rock farmer. For generations in my family, it's been said that moonstones grant good luck and great bounty to the land. On the Pie farm, there's even a legend that our farm is as fertile for rock production as it is because a moonstone landed there in ancient times."

Ah, Luna was beginning to see. "And you want this kind of bounty? To ease your workload?"

"Hey, my family works their collective tails off, and don't you dare say otherwise!"

Twitch-twitch went the guards. Luna raised her hoof, and they calmed. "If what you say it true, then why do you need a moonstone?"

"We don't, I just—" Miss Pie caught herself. She closed her eyes, heaved a sigh, and finally turned her face away. "Ma and Pa just announced I'm inheriting the farm. Soon. They're letting me take over. And I..." She tapped the tip of her hoof to the floor a few times, cheeks turning pink.

Luna thought she had seen before, but now she truly understood. She glanced out the great window of the throne room, where her moon gazed back. She wondered when the last time was that a piece of it had found its way to Equestria. "Very well, Miss Pie. Return to your farm, and you shall find a moonstone nearby. I cannot say precisely where; this kind of thing is hardly a precise science."

The earth pony's ears perked. "Really?" At Luna's look, her face scrunched up like she'd eaten a sour grape. "I mean, th-thank you, Your Highness. I, uh, know I'm not going about this like most ponies."

The Princess of the Night grinned. "Miss Pie, you are the most entertaining petitioner I've had since my return from exile. Do you know how hard it is to find a pony who will be so forward with me? A moonstone is the least I can offer."