When Luna woke, she was seized by aches, undoubtedly caused by her recent experience as a floor mat. Luna was grateful though, while the aches persisted, much of her earlier pain had significantly subsided. She made a mental note that she owed Sami. Slowly shifting about, Luna looked around the room she was in. The walls had an orange tint, Luna guessed mud walls. A low light was thrown across the room by a collection of candles on a small wooden table, the glow made the whole room seem a bit more orange.

Sami entered the small room. He seemed worn and tired as he brushed his hands on the large apron he was wearing. Upon seeing Luna watching him, he smiled, his face appearing physically younger for a moment. He squatted to look her over, nodding in approval as he scanned her body.

“Well, you look a lot better” he said, still nodding.

“Thank you” Luna responded, “I am in your debt.”

Sami shook his head, “No need for that, we all help each other out here” he grinned at her, “so if I may, and I feel that I earned the right when I fixed you up, what is your name?”

Luna smiled back at him, “It’s Luna, and knowing that, I think I should know yours.” She paused a moment and a look of embarrassment crossed her face, “Oh yes, it’s Sami”. Luna looked at Sami apologetically.

Sami shrugged, giving Luna a rueful smile, “It doesn’t matter Luna, everyone forgets stuff.”

Luna suddenly sat straight up remembering a task she had indeed forgotten. “What time is it?” she asked Sami, looking very worried.

Sami shrugged again, “I was out a while ago, it should be around late afternoon now.”

Luna practically jumped off the bed she was on, wincing as she landed on her hooves. “I have to do something important” she spoke urgently. Luna trotted briskly down a small hallway to a doorway that led into the alley she recognized from before. Slowing down to observe her surroundings, she grimaced at the trail of blood she knew to be hers leading out of the alley.

Sami came over to where Luna was standing, “Hey Luna, I understand you have things to do, but be careful on that leg” he gestured to one of her legs.

“I’ll be fine” she said to him, not really paying much attention, “Sami, where can I find an open area?”

Sami stroked his chin, a motion that might have looked different had he had a beard. “I guess we could go to the plaza?” He looked at Luna.

:--:

On a normal excursion, a trip to the plaza for Sami would take 15 minutes. During his exercise, which is to say his attempts to keep up with Luna’s pace, it took only 7 minutes.

The plaza, one of many to be precise, was modeled upon the ideal plaza. It was rectangular, lined with shops, and had 3 entrances. Directly in the center of the plaza was a large patch of dirt. The small patch had long been a very curious centerpiece, flowers simply refused to grow in it. This proved to be an attraction in itself, many coming to see the patch, called the dead dirt by some.

In her rush, Luna noticed none of this. It had almost reached the point of a bad habit. She did calm down however, seeing the sun still in the sky, albeit slowly disappearing. Luna’s task of course, was raising the moon. Though Luna knew that her sister could easily handle this if so required, she figured that raising the moon herself would indicate to her sister that even though she was in an unknown place, she was unharmed and capable.

Sami of course knew none of this, thinking that perhaps Luna had a meeting with a contact or some other sort of occupation. A small possibility remained, one that he refused to acknowledge, that perhaps this trip was the result of a whimsical desire brought on by pregnancy. He hoped not. That thought resulted in a new one, unfortunately another question Sami could not ask under most circumstances, the subject of Luna’s age. He had no way of knowing the truth of her improbably large age, and her thus-far inconsistent actions proved nothing. He guessed 50.

There was no particular ceremony or preparation for raising the moon. Luna simply did it and nothing else. Luna watched the last vestiges of sunlight slowly fading as dusk fell, feeling vaguely apprehensive. The fact that she was still in a relatively unknown city, separated from her guards (whom she felt a mild responsibility for) and apparently unknown among the population was unsettling. She tried to regain her concentration by focusing on the ground. Contrary to previous knowledge, Luna did have a single preparation for raising the moon. A single deep breath. This being done, she looked directly at the sky and focused her magic.

And nothing happened.

A minor misstep was a forgivable mistake. Luna was annoyed for a moment, then tried again.

And nothing happened.

Luna was aghast. Second mistakes were at best millennial occurrences, which neither Luna, nor her sister ever admitted to happening. It would, should the fact be known, raise the theory that perhaps the sisters were in fact being affected by age, a theory Luna would detest. And so she tried again.

By the seventh failure, Luna finally admitted to herself that something could possibly be wrong. To say the least, she was confused. As she looked up, the moon rose into the sky of its own accord, which only served to make things worse. In desperation, Luna tried one last time to connect to the moon, to feel it, to do just about anything to it that she could.

This final failure resulted in several things. First, Luna knew for sure that she was not in Equestria. This moon was unfamiliar, it was unfriendly. As she stared at it, a sneering face manifested itself.

“I applaud your stupidity.” The moon’s voice dripped with condescension. Luna’s mouth moved, but no sound came out. It started again, “Though it was a commendable effort, you’re a fool if you think you can tell me what to do. I don’t believe in charity either.” At this, the moon’s face disappeared, leaving Luna staring at the distant surface.

:--:

Rumors are troublesome, a fact that is near universally known. As the hours dragged on, several choices made themselves available to Sami. His situation was interpretation. Standing in the plaza, he thought to himself how unfortunate it was. Luna had no ideas, in fact she had not much of anything. Sami was baffled that somehow in the space of minutes, Luna had become apparently catatonic. She stood stock still, staring into the sky, completely unresponsive to Sami’s repeated questions and eventually frantic arm waving. Sami wondered what would be concluded from the odd scene, then decided he didn't want to know. With considerable effort, he dragged Luna away.

Sami walked the cobbled streets lit by small, ornately carved lamps. He had found that carrying Luna was far easier than dragging her around, and he now had her slung over his shoulder in a manner similar to a sack. Reaching his destination, he carefully laid her down on a nearby table. Luna was limp, her eyes distant but almost amusingly crossed. Sami entered the building, returning minutes later with his package. Sitting down in front of Luna, who seemed pitifully small for no apparent reason, he looked her straight in her dull, unseeing eyes and held up a cone.

An ice cream cone.

An incredibly good deal, it was mango flavored in a large waffle cone. Small chocolate sprinkles dotted the top, an appealing aspect of a delicious treat. The sweetness was almost palpable, Sami would have eaten it himself. However, he continued to hold it in front of Luna.

And 10 minutes passed. Then 20. 30. 40. 50.

Exactly one hour later, or at least Sami would have liked to think so, Luna licked the ice cream once.

Sami smiled, “Hard part’s over.”

An hour later, she licked it twice. Another hour, three times. Luckily, the night was cool and the ice cream did not melt. Sami looked at a clock on the wall briefly. He looked back at Luna with grim determination. Sacrifices had to be made.

:--:

It was around 4:00 in the morning. Pedestrian traffic had slowed to nearly nonexistent. However, the souls who traversed the dark streets were infinitely more curious than in the day, and many cast a sideways look at the spectacle. Sami sat quietly, thinking to himself. The ice cream was half gone. As the clock struck 5:00 Luna licked the cone approximately nine times. Now that Sami had had time to consider this development, he found it incredibly strange, almost in an endearing way. The arrangement of sorts lasted until 2:00 in the afternoon. The entire cone had been painstakingly licked clean by Luna, who was still unresponsive. Sami considered it progress.

Sami carried Luna over his shoulder once again. Turning into an inconspicuous doorway, he rapped on the doorway several times.

“Hey, I need some help, open up.”

“You didn’t knock enough times” came an indignant reply from directly behind the door.

Sami sighed in frustration, “Forget the secret knock, you know it’s me.”

“Tradition precludes emergency.”

Sami sighed again, this time in an incredibly exaggerated manner. He knocked on the door once, paused, knocked 5 times, paused again, and kicked it. The door cracked slightly, a single brown eye peeking out.

“Hi Sami, do you need something?” came a bright and chipper voice.

“Do you have a moment?”

“I will in a minute, just let me get ready.” The door shut again. Sami waited, very much impatient until the door opened again. The girl who answered the door was young, only about 13. She presented quite the strange image, wearing comically large sunglasses that somehow complimented her short black hair. She wore a loose, red v-neck and lime green yoga pants, along with a formal looking white cape. Her name was Amber. Sami called her Vixen.

Author's Note

I feel better now
I think

It worked, did it not?