The Friend They Lost

"Alright, so you're sure you understand it?" Luna asked the butterflies.

They flew around her head giving her small butterfly kisses. Laughing and falling down, she nodded and climbed up onto them.

Smiling evilly, she pointed up and slowly hovered above the highest branches.

"Perfect.." she said happily.

"THIRTY!" Celestia yelled, taking her hooves away from her eyes and standing up. "Come out, come out wherever you are~" She called through the woods leading to the jungle. She never liked the place, but it did have a wonderful view.

The sunny filly ran through the bushes and vines, trotting around anywhere that wasn't covered in prickly thorns. Pushing branches away with her magic and hooves, she couldn't see any sign of Luna.

Puffing her cheeks out , thinking it would have been easy to find the blue princess, she sucked on her cheek in contemplation. "You won't get away from me, Luna. I'll find you!" Stomping her hoof she trotted away down a small trail.

Holding her hooves over her mouth, and giggling furiously under them, Luna floated above her older sister and waited for her to leave completely before bursting out and rolling along her butterfly hovercraft.

"I'm closer than you think, sister~" She said maniacally while the blue filly floated around in the air, inspecting all her new friends. Not a single one was alike. They were all so pretty and colorful, it was like a mixed rainbow. Clopping her hooves together in delight, the night princess raised a hoof and exclaimed, "Onward! Helpers of Luna, the best princess ever!"

The mass began to fly toward Celestia and once above her, Luna peaked over and watched her older and "Therefore greater" sister as Tia liked to put it, search for her in a mess of tangled vines and large trees.

"UGH." She kicked the ground in annoyance. "I WILL find you, Lulu." She stated.

Everywhere the future ruler of the sun would look, her smaller and lunar counterpart would follow, laughing to herself. Celestia looked thorough the great trees where she thought she saw Luna standing, but it turned out to just be butterflies in a swarm the same shape...

Although she didn't find her, the butterflies must have seen her. Even when she watched Luna hop into a tree, when she followed, Luna disappeared before she could call out that she'd found her.

This was starting to infuriated the future ruler. If Celestia didn't find her soon, she'd scream!

Laying out on her fluttery hovercraft, Luna sighed and looked up at the sky; clear and blue, clouds idly drifting from the jungle. "Hmm, I wonder if mother will allow FOUR lunar bars..." humming to herself, Luna couldn't see her sister stomping and flaring her wings, ready to take off.

"THAT'S IT!" Celestia screeched, springing off the ground and flying into the air just gliding above the trees, "If I can't see her from down there, I'll get an aerial view!"

Not even noticing the other sibling in the air, Luna hummed and played with her hooves, pretending to mush the clouds; until, a large butterfly flew around her face erratically, causing her to look.

"OH NO!" She yelled, " DOWN, DOWN, DOWN!" She commanded her minions of kindness.

But they shot down too fast and she launched through the branches, fallen trees and many bushes.

Screaming and flailing her hooves, she was trapped under a log and her wings were sore from twigs and leaves being pulled through.

"H-help!!" She grunted and fell down, the log too much for her to push off. "T-Tia! I'm... I'm s-stuck!" Feeling tired and sore, she was pinned and couldn't do anything. "M-mommy..." She whimpered devastated.

"Does that hurt..?" An unknown voice shot into her ears.

"Hello? P-please, help me-e-e!" She began to tear up.

"I'm really sorry to ask, but if I do will you promise not to yell..?" The stranger asked.

"W-why would I-I yell?" Luna asked, sniffling.

"Everyone seems to..." the voice stated in a sad tone.

"I p-promise, just please help!!" She pleaded.

The tree beside her rustled and a small colt-like creature stepped off a branch, sliding down the tree.

Very slowly he took a step and knelt down. "Are you okay if I... Lift the log off you? I don't want you hurt more." Luna looked up at him with teary eyes and nodded quickly.

The young boy crouched slightly and began to lift the small fallen pine, easing the petite princess so she could breathe fully. But then he stopped.

"What are you doing? I'm a-almost free!" She asked in terror.

"I'm sorry... it's just, I can't lift the rest." Luna was perplexed. If he could't, then how would she ever get free? "Plus." He added, "There's a white unicorn looking at me really angrily."

At this, Luna's eyes shot open and she was filled with joy, "Tia, I'm right here! Help!"

Celestia saw Luna underneath a strange creature on two legs and ran to her side, standing at him defensively.

"How dare you do this to my little sister! I'll make you pay." The defensive sister barked, glaring.

"B-but I didn't do this... I saw your sister and tried to help." The boy was stilled hunched over and just stared at Celestia.

"Then why are you about to try and hurt her!!" She looked him up and down noticing something. "Why aren't you moving? Admitting you tried to hurt a princess? Not to mention MY younger sister!"

"I really didn't mean anything by it..." The boy looked down and saw Luna with a smile. "In case you were wondering, it's because if I move, this innocent sister of yours gets stuck again. Maybe if you pushed on that side we could get her out"

Celestia blinked and gasped, "Oh jeez, Luna! Don't worry, we'll get you out! Don't move." She ran to the log and bent down, lifting her back and pushing it up.

At the same time, the boy grunted and shoved his shoulder against it as hard as he could.

"Just a little... More." He got his footing and pushed with Celestia; the log being tossed back and freeing the tiny princess.

*cough* *cough* "Luna, are you okay?" Celestia asked thorough the dust.

As the little cloud of dirt settled, Luna stood up and coughed, letting her wings hang loose. "Y-yeah... I guess, I am.

Celestia sighed in happiness, "Oh thank you, thank you!" She told the empty sky, draping a wing over Luna's side.

The boy simply sat there, arms extended on the ground. He began getting up when Luna moved her face from her sisters chest and looked up to him quizzically.

Smiling to him again, she walked up and hugged his stomach. The boy went wide eyed and looked down to the insanely happy Luna.

"You keep smiling at me." He said in a flat voice.

"Yeah? So what? You didn't let me get crushed by the log again... other ponies would have been scared of Tia, but not you!" She hugged him tightly again and let go.

While Luna was thanking him, Celestia was getting a good look at him. He wore cloth that seemed to cover a few inches above his knees to his waist and the other covered part of his abdomen to his shoulders. He had a patch of hair on his head like a mane, but was about half it's length. The biggest thing she noticed though was his fairly small stomach. He must have not eaten anything in days!

Blinking, crossing her legs and rubbing her hooves together, she smiled warmly, "Are you hungry?"

The sudden question rocked the boy from his own thoughts and he nodded slowly.

"Then come back with us. We have plenty of food just over the meadow." Luna looked up to her and nodded erratically, to which Celestia placed her hoof on her mane, smiling.

They turned to walk, but he interrupted by asking, "is it okay if I bring someone else too? I'm sure she's just as hungry."