It was the Grand Galloping Gala again, and Pinkie Pie was not a happy pony. Through much coaxing from Twilight and Rarity, Pinkie had been persuaded to attend, though a strict ban on the Pony Pokey and any and all polkas had been enforced on her. Thus, Pinkie Pie sat by the buffet, pouting and generally not having fun.
“You are the pony that was a chicken, are you not?” came an imperious voice, and Pinkie looked up to see Princess Luna standing in front of her.
“Umm,” said Pinkie.
“Nightmare Night, in Ponyville,” elaborated Luna, “you were the one who kept screaming and running away. In a chicken costume.”
“Oh!” said Pinkie, “Yes, that was me. I’m Pinkie Pie. Um, your highness.”
“Princess Luna will suffice,” said Luna, “regardless, we, I, have something to say.”
Pinkie Pie braced herself for the onset of volume.
“We – I am sorry. I was unaccustomed to the holiday, and discovering that it revolved around my darkest days was merely the tipping point. We-I acted in haste much that night,” said Luna, tipping her horn in a sign of respect. Pinkie blinked as she realised that her eardrums weren’t ringing.
“Oh!” said Pinkie, “It’s okay. Apology accepted. I guess that I wasn’t acting my best that night either. I do that sometimes, because sometimes I speak before I can think, and then my mouth just keeps going and I can’t always stop it and I know I can be sort of kinda annoying sometimes and I sometimes say all the wrong things but...”
Luna pressed a single metal-shod hoof against Pinkie’s mouth, which Pinkie realised from the taste, was not silver, but rather polished steel.
“We understand, Pinkie Pie. We know now that your intentions came from the best of places. However, we also have you to thank.”
“Thank me?” asked Pinkie, once the hoof had been removed.
“Yes. Were it not for thy overexuberance, many of the foals and ponies of Ponyville would still be terrified of us. Of me,” said Luna, glancing to the side, where Pinkie noticed that many of the noble ponies of Canterlot were giving a wider than usual berth to Princess Luna. “Instead, you have ensured that they do not think of me as entirely terrifying. We would like to get to know thee.”
“Princess?”
Luna seemed to swallow, and locked eyes with Pinkie Pie.
“We are asking you, Pinkie Pie, if you would consent to have a dinner with us. Celestia seems to think highly of you, and I have also yet to thank you for the part you played in my...purging. I also wish to know more of you.”
“Well, sure!” said Pinkie Pie, “on one condition.”
“What is it?” asked Luna.
“Can we please not eat here when they serve dinner? It’s totally not a fun dinner here, and I can’t remember the order of the forks.”
Luna smiled, for the first time in the entire evening.
“It can be arranged, and I too, find the company here dreadfully boring. Did you have a specific place in mind?”
Pinkie’s grin threatened to split her face in two. Even one of the Princesses found the Gala boring! She liked Luna already.