Me, Myself and I

by Cynical Page

11 - Lunar Revelations

Author's Note:

Life got busy! Updates will still come, thanks for your patience!

"So wait, let me get this straight - you were overshadowed by your sister, got jealous, then turned into some sort of evil version of yourself?" Joey asked, trying to recap the tale in his head. It was easy enough to understand, but the concept of physically and mentally transforming into someone completely different through raw emotion was... unsettling.

Luna nodded. "My sister mentioned that we might be alike in many ways."

"I don't really have a redemption story." Joey pointed out. "You do. Even if it seemed like a coincidence or an accident it still helped you."

"Perhaps your redemption story hasn't happened yet." Luna said calmly. "Your friends back in Ponyville - minus the one girl - would probably be a humongous help to you -"

"They aren't my friends!" Joey snapped, causing Luna to jump. "I could have died when I got here. Remember the explosion? Not a single one paid me a visit to make sure I was okay. When I'd shut myself in to avoid people? Not one of them came knocking. Even if I didn't want them to, it proved that I'm just some sort of side character to anything and everything that's ever happened!"

Luna sighed. "I confess I do not know as much about your predicament as my sister does. Would you mind telling me more about what has happened between you and your fellow humans?"

"What, so you can tell me to go be best friends with them?" Joey scoffed. He almost didn't care about how he addressed her at this point, he was furiously expecting her to try and tell him off like Celestia had done by letter.

Luna shook her head. "Friendships can't be forced, so I wouldn't dare to suggest that. I apologize if my comments have seemed ignorant; that was not my intent. I simply do not know where you're coming from."

Joey forced himself to take a deep breath. "So... what do you know?"

Luna recounted the short list of things she had been aware of, right up to Clara's admittance to knowing about Katy's death.

"That is about what I am completely sure of." Luna finished, looking down at him intently.

"I'm guessing she didn't tell you the whole truth about my sister's death, then?" Joey asked with a defeated sigh.

"Er - no, I was unaware that there was more to this part of the story." Luna admitted, now looking concerned.

Joey sighed. "Katy - my sister - was only one of the people in that accident. The other two who were there were my mother," he held up his pointer finger, "and my younger brother Caleb. My mother died almost instantly along with my sister, and I watched little Caleb die in front of me hours later in the emergency room."

Luna opened her mouth, then closed it. She stood there stiff as a board, absolutely lost for words. Finally after what felt like an age she stammered, "S-So your father is also dead too, w-which means...?"

"Bingo. No family." Joey responded with a strangled tone. "You see - at the end of the day, you had Celestia there for you when Nightmare Moon was defeated. The other humans have countless friends back in Ponyville. If we were able to go back to our world, they would have their families there. And what do I -? Never mind." He stopped himself before going even further on his emotional tangent.

Luna walked a bit closer and spread her wings slowly as if to offer him a hug. Joey hesitated heavily, so she took the initiative and very gently wrapped him up in a tight embrace. As awkward as it was, it felt... nice.

"I'm not going to try to understand your pain, Joey." she said softly. "You and I seem to be more alike than I would have imagined. My sister was right." She pulled away from the hug and chuckled. "It's a little funny - I confess I don't know you much at all, but after hearing you say that I can't help but feel that we have an understanding."

Joey gave her a scrutinizing look. The lunar princess looked... relieved, almost. Happy wasn't quite the word for it. Did they really have an understanding?

"I can't imagine how it feels to spend a thousand years on the moon by yourself, to be fair." Joey finally replied with a slight smirk. "So now I guess we really are even, aren't we?"

Luna laughed at this. It wasn't the tinkling, polite laugh he would have expected from a princess. It was from the gut, a genuine laugh. For some reason this small detail made Joey relax.

"We shall become great friends!!" Luna declared with a huge grin, once again raising her hoof.

"Friends? With me?" Joey asked in mild surprise. "I appreciate that a lot, but... you have princess stuff. I'm not going to let myself get in the way, sorry."

"You are being ridiculous." Luna scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Yes, I do have princess duties, but that is the silliest reason to avoid having friends that I have ever heard. We have a bond here that most ponies do not. Or humans, for that matter."

That last comment made Joey pause. "You... don't think they feel the same as I do?"

Luna shook her head. "While I'm sure that they are all going to be upset about not having the chance to see their friends and family back in the human realm, they are surrounded by ponies who see them and love them. A good thing too." She added quickly. "However, I think I am able to string together the pieces and guess that you are where you are simply because nopony sees you, or perhaps even cares."

Joey couldn't deny that. Actually, she was pretty much right on the money with that. He elected not to say anything, but Luna was still able to confirm her guess off of that.

"Do not worry, Joey." Luna continued with a gentle smile. "I see you where others do not. Trust that my sister does as well. If she did anything to offend you, please understand that she was doing it with your best interests at heart."

"I - thanks." Joey replied quietly.

"Please, make one promise for me." Luna said, walking up to him once again. She wrapped him up in another hug, and this time Joey didn't feel the need to resist. "Do not keep this to yourself. I cannot be here with you every single night, but I will when I can! If you go through this alone, you will only destroy yourself."

Joey looked up at her anxious stare and sighed. "I promise."

---

When Joey had awaken the next morning, he felt surprisingly lighthearted for once. Of course he wasn't going to give up. He would have to figure something out if he wanted to secure a job in the film industry, and with the camera skills he had developed in school he was more than confident about his ability. Especially if the whole concept of movies were relatively new, perhaps he might be able to do something big if he played his cards right.

How would he even start, though? He needed connections, or a job opening... something. For now he would just build some savings. If he tried doing something risky too soon... he didn't want to think about it.

A week passed, and nothing new happened. The only thing Joey did to break the monotony was attend a few different movies at a theater just down the street from his apartment building. They were interesting enough, but none of them were very memorable.

Another week passed. He had now seen every movie currently in theaters (which added up to a total of seven, so not very many) and still none of them stuck out to him. Five of them were sappy romances. They weren't made poorly per se, but the way they portrayed emotions left way too much to the imagination. They didn't make him feel anything. There was a desire to make them good, he could tell, but there were too many artistic aspects missing from them to really have a story that sold him.

It had now been two weeks since his dream-talk with Luna. Life had now slowed to a crawl for him as all he pretty much did was work and sleep. To be honest, it felt like he gave out his trust a little too freely nowadays. Still, he trusted Celestia. He unsurprisingly related to Luna WAY more than he did Celestia. Now that he thought about it as he walked to work, Luna didn't really bullshit anything to him, nor did she seem overly sympathetic.

The more he thought about their talk, the more it made sense to trust her. She didn't even seem upset about not knowing his physical whereabouts, just as long as he proved that he was okay.

"Joey! Hiya!" called out a familiar female voice. Joey snapped out of his trip to lala-land and noticed Minty standing there with a huge grin. Her mat was rolled up tightly and slung over her back with her satchel.

"Mornin' Minty." he replied in a friendly tone. He had only seen the mare one other time since their first encounter, which had also been a casually pleasant experience. "How goes the show biz? Any more luck?"

"No..." Minty sighed, looking down at the ground. "Everypony here either doesn't care or just teases me."

"Who are you trying to captivate in terms of audience?" Joey asked curiously.

Minty looked up at him blankly. "Huh?"

"Who would be your usual audience?" Joey elaborated. "That might have something to do with it."

"Umm... I dunno. Anypony who passes by, I guess." Minty replied. "I never gave it much thought."

"If others think this is childish, maybe it's because it is." Joey suggested.

He then realized he should have worded that differently, because Minty immediately looked a bit offended. "What did you say??"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Joey hastily amended. "What I was trying to say was that maybe you'd have more success performing where more children are! You know, like for fillies and stuff?" He winced at the last part, it sounded dumb coming out of his mouth.

Minty instantly seemed to calm down as she stared into empty space, thinking. "Well... you might actually have a point."

"I was not insulting you at all, I'm just saying that children appreciate some of the seemingly simpler things." Joey assured her. "That skill you have is one of the coolest things I've seen done so far with pony magic. When I say you make those dolls come to life, I mean it! They literally look like they've become living things when you do it!!"

"Oh stop..." Minty said, looking embarrassed but pleased. "It isn't that special."

"How would you know? You've been selling to the wrong audience this whole time." Joey jokingly scolded.

Minty rolled her eyes but gave him a quick side hug, which caught him off guard. "Whatever. I think you're on to something though, so I'm going to try it!"

"I'll see you around Minty. Lemme know how it goes!" Joey chuckled, waving to her as he continued on his way. Nice pony. Personally, he wasn't sure how successful she would be anywhere with that street show. As amazing as it was (in his eyes) there was just this aspect of street performers that seemed... insubstantial? Risky for income?

Still, he hoped she would at least find some measure of success.

---

"Oi! Joey!" Marble called from the register. "Do we have any more of those name key chains in the back?"

Joey, who had taken a small pause to drink his third cup of coffee for the day, placed it back down on the break room table with a sigh. "Which ones? The heart shaped ones or the rhombus looking ones?"

"They're diamond shaped!" Marble called back. "And yeah, those!"

"Pretty sure these are rhombuses."

"Whatever! The rack is empty and I need it refilled."

Joey sighed and walked over to the store inventory. This job wasn't hard by any means, but life was really starting to get monotonous. Wake up, go to work, go home, read (maybe eat), sleep, repeat. Finding the box he was looking for, he lifted it with a grunt and began making his way back up to the front.

Marble was currently tending to a decently long line, which was to be expected. Christmas - or Hearth's Warming as he would be calling it from now on - was approaching fast. Joey remained vaguely aware of the holiday looming over them, but he tried his best to ignore it. He was no Ebeneezer Scrooge, but he didn't have any reason to be happy about the day either.

He silently worked on his task as Marble slowly began to dwindle down the ranks of tourists and shoppers. Joey had just finished setting up all the named key chains in alphabetical order (some of which looked really silly to his human mind) and began to make his way into the back.

"Hey Joey, can I see you in my office?" Marble called to him just as Joey began to break down the box in the back.

Joey froze. Huh? What for?

He entered Marble's office warily. His boss stared intently at the computer in front of him wearing reading glasses. After couple moments the stallion looked up and grinned. "There he is! Don't look so tense, this is good news."

"Good... news?" Joey blinked.

"Sure!" Marble hummed, ruffling through a drawer. He then pulled out a flyer and laid it out for Joey to see.

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT NEEDED
APPLY AT PALOMINO STUDIOS @ 1212 CANTER STREET

Want to start a career in Equestria's newest, most exciting new industry? Want a chance to write yourself a place in history? Come apply to be the newest member of our production assistant team!

Proof of citizenship required.

"Is this...?" Joey asked, hesitating.

"Listen - I've heard enough of your mumbling and muttering during work to know about your fascination with movies." he said with a shrewd grin. "I figured this might interest you. Well, I also know about your interest because Mrs. Berrytwist told me. Point is, this could be your big shot."

"Doesn't it seem a bit... I dunno, sketchy?" Joey asked, ignoring the boss's comments about his muttering (which were in fact true). "Look at it, it doesn't have any information about the job besides 'Production Assistant'. That could mean a number of things."

"You're a sharp one." Marble laughed. "While I do agree with you - are you sure you want to pass this up? Who knows... this could be your chance!"

"I guess... even if I'm running coffee errands, I gotta start somewhere." Joey hummed in agreement. "I... I don't know. It seems like a big risk to take... what if it doesn't work? I wouldn't have any means to earn money."

Marble rolled his eyes. "Kid, I never said I was gonna fire you. Relax. Don't overthink it! You've managed to help me reorganize the back-of-house inventory in a better way than I could have imagined!" He let out a hearty laugh. "If things go bad, you have a place here. I'd actually love it if you stayed here, but if I'm being honest..."

Marble got to his hooves and looked Joey dead in the eye. "This store is no place for as bright a pon- er, human as you. It might just be a hunch, but if you could get into the movie scene with that head of yours... the sky is the limit. Think it over. Store's closing early today, so that's all I'm gonna say for now."

He patted Joey on the shoulder and walked out of the office. Joey looked down, realizing that the flyer had somehow been placed in his hand without him noticing. He just stared at the paper as he slowly grabbed his coat and walked towards the door. His boss's words echoed in his head on repeat.

As he left the store, he stowed the flyer into his pocket with a renewed sense of determination.

"Y'know, fuck it. Let's do this."

Comments

[AgentKorpsman]

"Y'know, fuck it. Let's do this."

Fuck it we film

[Prince Jules Moonshade]

Understandable life gets busy. Just feed us gremlins these glorious If short chapters and just make em when possible. I for one am still fully on board with this story and eager for more.

[TheAbsoluteRadiance]

Let's hope it's good. Who knows. Maybe this can be his break.

[Captain Marvelous]

11805780
Same here

[Skrepka]

Thanks for the chapter!

[MaverickTSU]

I really love how the story is going on!! And of course I'm not asking for more chapters more often. Write at your own pace, but I want to see more!! Wish you success.

[AgentKorpsman]

11805780

11805812
Same here

[Fantasyfan101]

getting REAL deja-vu with the ending

[Diamondized]

Proof of citizenship required, huh. Do the humans even have citizenship? I can't remember.

[Cynical Page]

11806169
Yep, Celestia gave them all citizenship documents (including Joey)

[ponyreaper1]

Huzzah

[Rayout]

So now that Luna knows about Joey's family will she accidently let the cat out of the bag to everyone else? I'm curious to see how everyone in ponyville is taking things after Joey just up and left with no explanation. Hopefully Luna won't be the third Princess to break Joey's trust and goodwill.