A Rimworld Away

The sun was almost completely under the horizon, and the sky was darkening with every minute that passed.

Starlight had been put to sleep by Luna, while Luna simply stared off into the dense forest, or examined the three unconscious figures sitting beside her. She had noticed that Rex only had a missing finger, and his eye was damaged beyond belief. She could also feel a certain pulse of energy come from him every so often, but it was so minuscule that it was no wonder Starlight nor Twilight ever felt it.

It wasn't normal energy. She tried to decipher what it might look like in magic markings, but the energy acted as if it was sentient, changing feels and forms every time she got anywhere with the markings. Almost as if there was something else alive in him, which Starlight had told her he believed there was. Considering the magic being put out from him, she was inclined to agree.

The thing that concerned her is that the only magic she had ever known to feel somewhat like this, was that of ancient demons that plagued Equestria. They weren't born from the world of Equestria, but found a way there and inhabited it. She was trained how to decipher it when she was extremely young, as although they were completely gone in Equestria, she needed to decipher demons from regular ponies.

After all, they were able to take the form of ponies easily. They were masters in deception, and were brutal with their ways. Most likely the most brutal species that had ever existed on Equus. They were bipeds, with horns and yellow evil eyes that would pierce through even the most pure pony.

Could this be a demon inhabiting his body?

She stared at him closer, examining his body. He was tall, and quite intimidating in his demeanor. Atleast, from the short moment she was able to see him. He seemed to be focused, confident, and a little crazy. He reminded her of a pony she once knew a long, long time ago, in all honesty. Even his voice matched.

She pressed her hoof to the side of his face, and closed her eyes, her horn lighting up.

It was time to see what he was dreaming about in his stasis.

Rex sat in an empty white void, with the only thing keeping him company being his red-replica.

They stared at eachother, Rex's legs crossed while the other's were splayed out. The replica smiled at him before giving a light laugh. "I don't know why, but you seem a little funny to me, Rex."

"Mhm? Why's that."

"You aren't like the others I knew. You're an anomaly. For the first time in a long, long time, I finally feel something different, than the normal status quo feeling. It's addicting, almost."

Rex shook his head, before laying on his back. "I really, really hope they pull me out of this stasis bullshit."

"I told you, it's going to take awhile."

"Yeah? Well, i'd rather them let me die than hear you drone on and on about random shit."

Hooves stepped beside Rex's head. "So this is what Starlight was talking about."

Rex sat up, his face a little confused as he looked up at the tall blue alicorn in front of him. He pointed at her. "Luna, right? Mph, I would ask how you got here, but all I'm happy about is that there's something else other than him. It seems like time moves so slow in here."

Luna stared at the replica, tilting her head, about to talk before it talked first.

"Hi, Luna."

"And what are you?" She asked, stepping closer to it. It stood up, giving a bright smile at her.

"Oh that's irrelevant information. The question is: how are you? I'm sure the little fights between you and your sister must have hit a nerve eventually. It certainly did for your sister. I'll say, you two are quite irresponsible for allowing your world to be run without atleast one of it's leaders."

Luna squinted her eyes at it. "And just how do you know all of this?"

It shrugged. "I don't know. How do I know~?" It asked teasingly. "Even if I were to tell you, it wouldn't matter much. All you need to know, is that I'm on your side. Which, honestly, is a good thing. Dear Rex here is a little upset about the arrangement here though."

"Yeah, get the fuck out of my head!"

"See?" It said with a smile to Luna. "Perhaps I'm a little too aloof for him. Either way, he doesn't have a choice in the matter. But, Luna, how have you been? I'm sure lately you haven't been as well as you usually were, but I'm sure that you've been doing better than way before, hm?"

She kept her eyes squinted, an angry scowl replacing her look of confusion. "Are you a demon?"

It stared at her, it's face going blank, before bursting into laughter.

"What is so funny?!" Luna asked angrily, a little ticked off that such a serious matter was being laughed at. Demons were nothing to be laughed at!

It then shook it's head, a smile still on its face. "No, i'm not a demon. Though, that is a popular term for me. I know why you might think such a thing, but I can assure you I'm not what you're thinking. After all, I'm quite higher than that on a scale."

"And what scale would that be?"

"One that you don't need to know~" It teased again. "If you keep asking, I might have to send you onto the moon. I'll call it a reunion. I didn't know you were such a big fan of rocks, Luna~ especially space rocks. Perhaps you're a geologist in hiding?"

Luna opened her mouth, ready to yell at it before Rex spoke. "Talking to it gets you nowhere, Luna. Don't bother."

"Oh come on Rex- I was having fun! Way to ruin it."

"Fuck off."

The Fumina Woods

"We should not even be here."

Three men walked in the dense woods, the tree's almost as tall as buildings. Each of them were decked out in home-made scrap-like armor, with home-made looking weapons. They slowly scanned the woods, their weapons pointed to the ground, as if they were on patrol.

"Oh yeah? Tell Anderson that. It's not as bad as you think- the stories are just that. Stories."

They rounded a tree and continued their walks. The woods were quiet, and their senses were heightened because of the dark night that consumed it. It only made their nerves worse, and despite previously being in the woods plenty of times, it still scared them.

"Fuck you Kilian. You're scared too, admit it! You've seen the same shit I have."

"Yeah? And I'm pretty sure that same day we had some smoke-leaf with some Go-juice. Bad combo, bad trip. If you don't forget about the bad trips, you'll never have a good one." Kilian said whilst shaking his head, "Stop letting shit get to you man. You'll look weak. You want that girl at the camp, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"And you really like her?"

"Yeah."

"Then stop being a fucking pussy, and pick up your feet a little bit instead of quaking in your boots."

A sigh came from the other man, shaking his head. "Fine- fine."

"I mean, it's bad enough that your name is Jake-"

"What?! How is that bad?"

Kilian laughed. "You're literally a stereotype. You think with your other head, you're all about sports, and despite being surrounded by the hottest girls in camp, you choose the one shy girl, who probably doesn't even like jocks. You're done for man."

Jake grumbled to myself, but kept quiet. Kilian smirked to himself as they continued to sweep the woods, while the third person in their little group stayed completely silent. He was the only one wearing a mask and a sturdy helmet, completely hiding his identity.

A twig snapped to the right of them, and they all jumped, raising their weapons towards the direction, their flashlights illuminating the area brightly.

"The fuck was that?" Jake asked.

"Probably a rabbit, or something. It's nothin-" Another twig snapped, this time behind them, and with the sound of something moving quickly with the cover of the night. They all turned towards the sound, this time sweeping the woods with their flashlights.

"I-I'm not liking this man. This shit is too much- what if it's a rogue megasloth or some shit?! Have you seen those things?" Jake said, almost on the verge of tears. It was clear he wasn't used to actual tense situations, and was really hiding behind a fake front.

"Yeah- and megasloth's don't stay in woods like this dipshit. It's something else- something fast."

"Fuck..." Jake said, still sweeping the woods with his flashlight. They really couldn't see anything, so whatever it was must've run off, or is good at hiding in plain sight. When a branch snapped above them, they all looked up to see a figure jumping from branch to branch, before taking flight.

"What the fuck...?" Jake said, watching it fly off into the distance.

"It was a big ass bird. Told you it wasn't anything to be scared about. Come on, let's get back to camp. I'm not patrolling with a fucking wuss like you. All those weights but you can't handle the weight of your own feelings. Fuckin' pathetic man."

"Hey!" Jake yelled, "Just because I like living doesn't mean i'm a wuss. I'm quite capable-"

"Just because you can use your dick well doesn't mean you can aim well. That's what the firing-range manager, and your ex said."

"Fuck you!"

Luna took flight from the area the three men were. They bantered with eachother, and seemed non-threatening, but getting spotted by anything right now of all circumstances was a threat no matter what. She was getting considerably tired, which felt odd for her. She was usually up in the middle of the night, as it was her version of day.

Yet, after stepping into the dreamscape with Rex, the incident that took a lot more out of her than she thought, she was ready to retire to a nice bed of grass and dirt. Her survival training had taught her this, incase she ever had to run from the castle as a refugee. It was coming in handy, despite not exactly thinking it was practical in all her life during the time in Equestria.

She landed with a thud next to a sleeping Starlight, Twilight, and Rex.

She took one more deep look at Rex, examining his features over again. A missing finger, an eye so badly wounded that it was unusable, and a lot more bruises and scars all over his body than one would consider normal. He definitely had suffered quite a lot here, and having him out of the fight put them at a severe disadvantage. If anyone knew about this place, it'd be him.

It's like going on a tour.

Except the driver is going to random places, and the tour guide is asleep. This was not at all what Luna expected. When she was told that they didn't expect what was going to be on the other side, she never really thought that something like this would come out of it. And, above all, her sister had officially crossed the line.

That wasn't her sister, was it?

Luna laid down on the floor, her mind still racing.

Her sister must have been manipulated. Brainwashed. Something! That was not her sister in the slightest, and she hadn't been her sister for a long time now. Everything that could've kicked her in the flank was. Her sister was now Daybreaker, something conjured up from a nightmare she once had. Twilight and Starlight have been scarred. Her own guards have betrayed her. Oh, and they are also sleeping on the floor in the middle of a forest, with potential dangers surrounding them.

Of all the possible vacations from being a Princess, this isn't what she expected.