Story of Diane Pie: Strange Things

by Middle Ground

Chapter 6 - Study, Study, Study....

I have been gone for a very long time and there is a good reason for this. 1,000 years of banishment was brought upon myself because of my jealousy, my anger, and my feelings of neglect and betrayal. I have been filled with darkness and lost my way. But now, I have returned to the ponies I am duty-bound to protect and guide and to my the sister I am ashamed to have doubt all those years ago. And it was thanks to her student and her five friends that I can stand by my sister's side again. My name is Luna, I am the Princess of the Night and Walker of Dreams. It was a beautiful Sunday morning when I have finished raising the moon after my dream walking and I was just enjoying my breakfast. I sat in my room eating my freshly made toast until the door to my room opened with my sister, Celestia, walking inside with a smile on her face.

"Good morning, sister. Did you have a good night? Seen anything special last night?" Celestia sat down next to me to enjoy the morning.

"Sister, you know very well that the dreams of other ponies are to be private. I only travel into dreams when there is a nightmare involved." Ever since I came back to Equestria, my sister has been very clingy lately. Honestly, I cannot blame her. Even as Nightmare Moon, I must confess, I missed her as well.

"I know, Luna. I'm just curious. I've never seen the inside of another pony's dream before. You can tell me. I will never tell." Celestia chuckled, almost like she was teasing me.

I sighed, "Sister, I am not fond of childish gossip. Now if you will excuse me." I finished my toast and made my way out of my room.

"Where are you going, Luna? You've been a little distant lately. I'm concerned about you." She followed me out of my room. I cannot deny that I have been distancing myself from my sister lately.

"Sister, I told you before there is nothing wrong. I am merely going to the library. I have much history to read up on." Being gone for so long has not been kind to me. We entered the castle library where I have been spending most of my time studying on the 1,000 years worth of history that I have missed. I must familiarize myself on not just the past, but the present as well.

"Now if you will excuse me, sister, I must return to my studies. I still have much history to read and I must not be disturbed." I began to read another history book. Unfortunately for me, there are still many more to read.

"Alright Luna, I will leave you to it. If you need anything, please let me know." My sister then left the library to begin her day of royal duties. I was alone in the royal library and my studies continued. I have been studying on the history of Equestria ever since I returned and I have only scratched the surface. I have read four history books from cover to cover and in only seven hours. Not to sound arrogant, but I have always been a quick reader. But despite that, there was still so much history to read and retain. Many famous ponies throughout history have changed Equestria's way of living by leaps and bounds and I am very late. I then finally stopped my studies at 2:23 pm because I was very hungry. I made my way to the kitchen to find something to eat and I see a few of the castle servants working.

"Excuse me, is there something to eat here? I merely nee-" I was then interrupted when the servants stopped everything and quickly bowed to me.

"Greetings, my lady...! You wish for something to eat?! Please, wait right there!" All the servants then started running around the kitchen gathering all kinds of food such as pastries, vegetables, fruits, and even deserts.

"Please, my lady...! Enjoy to your heart's content!" Despite their intentions, I could feel the fear coming from them. I have grown used to this daily. This did not trouble me because I do know there are some ponies that have come to trust. I then levitated an red apple, a banana, and a loaf of bread to eat.

"This will be all. Return to what you were doing." I then left the kitchen to return to my daily studies after I finished my meal. As I read through the many books, I then came across a very old book written by Star Swirl the Bearded. It must have been mixed up with the history books by mistake. This caught my attention as it was a book titled, 'The Mirror Pool'. I was then reminded of Diane, the pony I have befriended some time ago and met near the Everfree Forest. I do remember that the Mirror Pool was located in the Everfree Forest, so I decided to take a look at what was written in the book. The letters were very old and a bit of it was faded by age, but it was still readable. Celestia and I knew Star Swirl long ago and he guided us to become great rulers. As I read this book he wrote, I couldn't help but wonder what he thinks of me after what I have done. He must be ashamed of me and my foolishness.... The book described the Mirror Pool to be a creation of the Everfree Forest. Not even Star Swirl knew the reason why. But he did discover that the pool can create copies of a single pony. Strangely enough, the copies do not have the same sentience as the real pony. While the copies can speak and act much like the real pony, they do not have the 'ability to act like a real pony' as written in the book. This confused me because Diane is beyond the kind of copy the book described, so I continued to read. Eventually, I found something very intriguing: There is a very small chance that one copy can obtain the same degree of sentience the real pony has. This single copy can think, talk, act, and even become their very own pony. I couldn't tell you how happy I was to find this piece of information. I read further and discovered that this special copy in question is comparable to a 'separate personality'. A 'sentient personality' given physical form and it's own being. My joy then became confusion as two questions came flooding my mind. Diane is a personality? How is Diane different from Pinkie Pie? I then remembered my first encounter of Diane in her dream and my later interactions with her. Diane came off as more negative and easily frightened at first, but then she became more positive and talkative, but not nearly as much as Pinkie Pie. They both look very similar in physical appearance, yet their personalities are quite different. Diane also came off as a more serious individual who has more focus on certain things while Pinkie Pie...not so much.

"LUNA!!!" The sound of my name rang loud in my ears and to my sudden surprise, I accidently shot a hole in the castle roof with my magic. It was my sister trying to get my attention because I was too caught up in my research. After we looked at the hole in the roof, I gave my sister an annoyed look.

"Sister, do you need something...? You know I do not like being snuck up like that." I took my attention away from the book to answer my sister's call for attention.

"I am so sorry for scaring you, Luna. But I was wondering if you would like to spend a little time with me. There is still time before you need to lower the moon and I am done with today's royal duties, so I figured you would like to spend some time out of this dusty old library." Celestia has been wanting to spend more time with me lately, but I haven't the luxury to do so.

"I do appreciate that, sister, but I mu-" I was then interrupted when she then looped her left wing over my shoulder and began pulling me away from my studies.

"Please, I insist...!" I was pulled out of the library despite my objections and then into Canterlot a few hours before my nightly duties. I feel like I was being kidnapped...by my own sister.