Author's Note

This chapter is entirely in third person.

Also: I voted today!

Chapter Twenty-Eight

A bright flash illuminated a distant forest, hundreds of miles from where Twilight had originally cast the spell.

A second later, Twilight collapsed onto the floor, her horn burning from the magical heat, her mane frizzled and her eyes shut. Rex was still on the floor, in a coma-like state like before. Luna and Starlight were the only ones that stood, simply surveying the two in front of them, and the area they found themselves in.

It was deep, lush forest, with gigantic tree's. It was almost too perfect in terms of hiding, as it was so dense. The worst part though, happened to be that a certain Alicorn was chasing them, with the ability to burn the entire forest to the ground within seconds. Still, no matter how safe it was later on, at the current moment they found themselves in, it would suffice.

Luna looked at Starlight, before closing her eyes, sighing, and opening them once again. "Twilight will not be with us for some time. The heat of the magic she used shows that she was in a panic state. Horns only burn like that when their magic is overtaken by emotion. Twilight isn't known for that." She said, sighing once again, before looking off into the distance. "We have time on our side, Starlight. However, once we are in the clear, you will undergo heavy questioning from myself. Is that understood?"

Starlight simply nodded, not entirely thinking clearly. Her main concern was Twilight, as her horn looked pretty beaten. A shine of red displayed all over it, and cracks lined it. It was certainly going to be painful for her when she awoke, if that happened anytime soon. It was a serious wound that could be healed, but not with the current things they had.

"I will survey the skies. You have taken survival training, correct?" Luna asked Starlight, to which she nodded slowly. It was a brief course, but she knew how to make small shelter with sticks, leaves, and logs. She also knew how to look for edible food such as berries, wild carrots, or other such things. However, with a new taste for meat, she would have an easier time finding food.

Hopefully Luna wouldn't be troubled so much by it.

Luna took to the skies easily with a single flap of her wings, though she was slow, and seemed to struggle to fly. Her wing was certainly burnt quite badly, but apparently not enough for her to be too concerned about it. Starlight looked around, grabbing as many sticks, leaves, and other things similar to them to start constructing a small shelter. She used a couple sticks to start digging the dirt underneath herself, before sticking a line of sticks that protruded from the ground at an angle into the floor.

She set two sticks on each side, stabilizing the small structure she'd made.

She lined the back up with leaves, small bush branches, and anything else that would keep the wind and rain at bay. Atleast, something that would do better than an open pile of sticks. Once she covered it quickly, she backed up a bit and looked at it. It was quite large, and was definitely able to fit all of them inside easily. Was it strong? Not really. Again, it was a temporary shelter.

"Nicely done, Starlight." Luna said behind her, causing Starlight to freakout a bit and turn around quickly. She realized it was Luna after seeing her smug grin, and she placed a hoof onto her own chest.

"Princess Luna- you can't... can't do that."

"Mmm? A little fun never hurt nopony. Especially in such a time as this. If all you think about is the serious parts of life, you will never love your life, hm? I'm sure after all this time of being stuck here, you and Twilight know that all too well. Either that, or you've simply been consumed by the chaotic lifestyle that this world forces?"

Starlight used her magic to place both Twilight and Rex underneath the shelter, before sitting down inside it, shaking her head. "No, we did have fun from time to time. Mainly Twilight and Rex, though. I had only really gotten to know him recently. I guess I was just... afraid? It was all very new."

Luna nodded, sitting beside her, staring off into the woods. "Just how long have you been here?"

"Not as long as Twilight, that's for sure..." Starlight said, glancing over to Twilight. "She's been here for months. She has repeatedly told me that if it weren't for Rex, she'd probably be dead. They're really, really close."

"Speaking of Rex," Luna started. "Just who is he? We've been to that small house of yours, or I presume is yours, and have seen many notes regarding him. Is he a good person? That 'Tarbo' seems to think otherwise. Give me reason to trust your word over his."

"H-He's been simply amazing!" Starlight stuttered. "He's done good things for us repeatedly! Right before we were captured by Tarbo and his goons, he built Twilight and I our own room, and one for himself! He's made it his mission to make sure that we were okay. He even tried convincing both me and Twilight to leave him behind, because he'd simply be dead weight."

"How would he be dead weight?"

Starlight looked down at Rex. "He's dying."

"Oh?"

"Tarbo forced him to take this... pill of some sort. He needs a dose each week, or he'll die painfully. He's extremely near that point, and Twilight said that she didn't have the expertise to help him. Y-You wouldn't, by chance, know how to do that?"

Luna shook her head, much to Starlight's disappointment. "I was trained in all sorts of magic, including forbidden magic. However, medical training was something I never really paid attention to. All I can do is set him in a medical coma. It'll freeze his body, stopping all processes, though not killing him. It'll stop whatever is hurting him from doing further damage."

"Thank you Luna..."

Luna nodded before looking down at Rex and casting a spell from her horn onto his body. "It's done."

"That quick? N-Nothing changed.."

Luna nodded. "It's a simple spell. It doesn't carry any of the spectacular displays that other spells might have. After all, this spell isn't designed to be spectacular. It's designed to be useful." Luna went back to staring off into the distance. "We are on our own for a little while, Starlight."

"Just how long? Twilight should wake up-"

Luna shook her head. "Twilight won't wake up for a considerable amount of time. From what I see on her horn, she's more than likely sustained brain damage of some sorts. It doesn't look to be anything serious on the outside, which is a good sign, but it will take atleast a week."

"A week all on our own?"

"A week, all on our own, Starlight."

Starlight shook her head, before chuckling nervously. "I guess I know how Twilight felt now."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Like I said, she was all alone for months before I came along. Just her and Rex, nobody else. She even said herself that the only other contact they had with intelligent things was when another human tried to kill and skin Rex, and also sell her."

Luna shook her head, closing her eyes.

"Yeah," Starlight continued. "I didn't really understand what being alone meant. The closest I got was when I was in that cave, running away from Twilight and her friends. Even when I used to... well, you've heard, I was still surrounded by a group of ponies. I've never felt alone until I came here. Even when I was surrounded by Rex and Twilight, it all felt so... empty."

Luna nodded. "I know that feeling all too well. The moon may not have been as violent, but it was just as dull, boring, and lonely. In fact, I mastered a spell that allowed me to project a copy of myself. It was quite strange though, because it never was me. It never acted like me, but it spoke like me, and looked like me, atleast as close as it could get. It was just a little outline."

Starlight stared at her. "What?"

Luna nodded. "I told Celestia about it, and she simply said it wasn't documented on what that particular spell did. It was in the forbidden section when I was young, and I read about it. It was really the only reason I stayed somewhat comprehensible and sane on the moon."

"W-What else about it?"

"I'm not sure. Those years on the moon really are a blur. It simply said something about not being Equestrian, but that's all I remember. I'm sure it was simply my mind faltering. After all, spending that long on the moon is bound to have its effects on the mind. What do you think?" Luna asked, turning her head only to see Starlight staring at her.

"What?" Luna asked.

"That's... That's almost exactly the description Rex gave us about the figure in his head."