A Rimworld Away

Rex stared into the nothingness, thinking of nothing in particular, his face blank. His companion in the white void had finally gone quiet, but that didn't help Rex in the slightest. The constant talking of the insane phantom had put him in a sense of calm almost, although annoying. Without it, everything felt so empty and, well, scary.

He smirked.

After all this time and after everything that's happened... After being shot, stabbed, starved, abused, tortured, and everything else, he thought he would've been battle-hardened to an extent. Something that he had seen from all of the movies and shows he used to watch back on his tradeship. Yet, the opposite happened. Sure, he was much less afraid of certain situations, and learned a lot because of them, but he was constantly in fear of being put in those situations again.

His tough exterior was cracking.

He wondered when he would finally cry, like one of those scenes where the character has a moment of weakness and balls their eyes out. He wondered if it would be in the next couple of minutes, hours, days, or even years. Or, if it would never come.

In fact, if he cried in this white void would it even count? His real body was in a stasis of sorts, not waking up. What if he passed away while in this void? Would it fade out into darkness- everything he worked up to being pulled away from him so easily? Without even getting to say...

Goodbye..?

With a sigh, he knew that he had to accept that it was a possibility. It was the most grave of circumstances, between life and death. And he wasn't blessed with being normal. No, he was cursed with the strange phantom that lived within him. Yet, in recent times, he was more accepting of the strange being.

Companionship was something he felt like he didn't need, but he knew deep down inside he really did.

"What's going to happen to me?" Rex blurted out, turning to the phantom.

"What do you mean?"

"Am I going to die? Or get through this? Or will they never wake me up?"

The phantom shrugged. "I don't know. It's a mystery."

"Well what do you think?"

The phantom cocked its head, staring off into the void, allowing a hand to come up and stroke its head. "I think that with how much Twilight cares for you, and how much her friend cares for Twilight, you will make it out. You've been the only friend to Twilight, and you make up half of the only friends Starlight had here. You've certainly proven yourself to them as someone to risk themselves for, and I think that the purple on would be willing to do almost anything for you."

"How do I know you're not just saying that to make me feel better?" Rex asked, a little suspicious.

"You asked what I think. If I wanted to tell you what you wanted to hear, I'd tell you a lot more than just 'oh, they'll pull your ass out.' I don't do things for people's feelings. You, of all people, should know that."

"Well... What do you think they're doing?"

The phantom sighed. "I don't know. Maybe they're battling off more foes, dragging your body to safety as we speak. Or perhaps they made their own little house, and are healing you up nice and good. Or maybe they're dead, and some cannibal is hauling you off to get boiled for human stew."

Rex chuckled. "That'd suck, wouldn't it?"

"Sure would. But hey, at least you wouldn't feel it."

"I suppose so."

They were quiet for a second, when the Phantom spoke up. "Why did you start talking to me like a normal person?"

"Hm? Oh, I... Don't really know. Boredom, I think, for one. And two, I realized that... Well, why would I want to spend these possible last moments with someone in my head that I don't like? If I was going to die, I want to be at least with one friend. Even if they're not normal in the slightest."

"You seem like you're really set on thinking you're going to die."

Rex shrugged. "Can you blame me? There's not a single sign pointing to me surviving. Sure, it's pretty much because there's no sign of the outside world at all right now. It's more than that though. Twilight and Starlight are great- and I'm so happy that they came into my life. But perhaps they found something better, or someone better."

"You also seem set on playing yourself down. Why is that?"

"It's just the truth."

The phantom shook it's head. "No, it's not. You don't understand how much they care for you, do you? Starlight is still a little off about you, but deep down she does care for you. Partly because you mean so much to Twilight."

"Attachment. I was the only one there for her when she needed someone, so she clung right onto me. That doesn't mean she wouldn't leave if she had better options."

"That 'aint right." The phantom said, scooching over to Rex. "She really does care for you. I can see it in her eyes and the way she talks to you. Hell, her mood changes almost instantly whenever you were talking to her or when you were even in the room."

"Believe me- if she-"

"If she what, Rex?" The phantom interrupted. Rex looked at it with confusion in his eyes. It was being authoritative. "You don't understand what I'm spelling out, do you? She loves you, Rex. Seriously- all the signs are there."

"W-What?! Bullshit!"

"Nope."

"That doesn't make sense. I've never noticed any of the signs you're saying she put out- and as far as I know, she never really thought of me like that. If anything I was a teacher, or maybe even a parental guardian considering I had to teach her how to do shit- but not like that!"

The phantom chuckled. "Oh you poor, poor bastard."

"What?!" Rex questioned angrily.

"Who else do you know of would break someone out of a heavily guarded base, going against a fully trained kill agent, a man with psychic powers who is also a sadistic fuck, the rest of the military there, just to save someone. Tell me that they aren't either that person's parents, sibling, or lover."

"I can't be her lover if I don't love her back!"

"And do you?"

"..."

Rex shook his head after a few seconds. "No- no of course I don't! M-Maybe in a friendly, sort of 'oh hey roomie, I love you' type shit but not that! T-There ain't a damn bone in my body that says I love her."

"That's bullshit and you know it. I know it. I've seen your memories- I know exactly what you were thinking in those moments you idiot! You can't lie to me when I've literally seen it play out in my own fucking head!"

"YOU'VE SEEN MY MEMORIES!?"

"YES YOU FUCKING MORON!"

"..."

The phantom sighed, shaking it's head. "Yeah, I've seen your memories. The good ones, the bad ones, the feelings, the sadness and the anger. I was there when it happened- and I have the exact replica of your memories in my own head. I can play it back like a VHS tape. You're lying and you know it and you know that I know it too."

"B-But that shits weird! Perhaps, somewhere, there's a feeling- but isn't that weird? Isn't it-"

"Isn't it fucking weird to live on the fucking Rim? Have you questioned that? A planet where nothing makes sense- everything is trying to kill you- and where people are literally worshiping a tree. Would loving a gal like Twilight really be that strange?"

"YES!"

"How?"

Rex threw his hands up. "I-I don't fucking know- let's see- let's start with the fact that she's not human?! The fact that she has four legs and I have two? The fact that she's literally PURPLE!"

"Ah, so you're a racist."

"What?! NO!"

The phantom shrugged. "I dunno' man. Seems like you're biased to me. I could start listing off everything that is good if you'd like to hear that. I could start with her ta-"

"PLEASE, STOP."

"Alright, alright."

Rex sighed, laying his back onto the white void. "I just... the last thing I need right now is a love interest, you know? I'm literally dying right now, I'm dealing with a psychotic man with mind powers and a pony that breathes fire, and I'm worrying about this? It just isn't priority."

"Alright- alright, I get what you're saying. But when it's not priority, you'll promise to do something?"

"Hell no!"

"Why not?" The phantom asked, cocking its head. "Hell you might say something sooner. We'll see how long it takes for that feeling to well up so strong inside you that it'll burst like a chest-burster from that alien movie. I've seen this happen all too many times- and you're no different from the rest. If there's one thing I'll never understand, it's why is it so hard for mortals to understand love?"

"Mortals? Doesn't that make you a god?"

"I told you already, I'm not a god." The phantom said with a sigh, also laying it's back onto the white void. "Do you have short term memory loss or something? I swore I told you that before. Maybe I'm the one that's going insane- maybe you're in MY head."

"Oh? So now I'm the annoying one? Gee- what should I talk about now?"

It sighed. "You've made your point clear. I'll shut up again."

"No no no- it was just getting fun!"

Twilight stared at Rex's still body, wondering what he was thinking about.

If he was thinking at all, that is. He might just be completely unconscious. She didn't know which one she preferred- on one hand he might be able to hear what she was telling him earlier. Or, perhaps on the flip side of it, he couldn't be able to hear her and was in some sort of pain, forcing to be conscious yet not awake.

She sighed. She couldn't wait for him to wake back up. Whenever that would be, that is. She was trying to stay focused on him actually surviving his circumstances instead of allowing her fears to get ahold of her. It was working.

Somewhat.

"We're going to do so much stuff when you're awake. You've missed out on a lot. Sure, I missed out on a lot too- me being in a coma and all too but hey, we'll be able to do something better than constantly running. We'll deal with Celestia, Tarbo, and anyone that comes in our way."

"A-and then, you'll be able to see my home. It's a big crystal castle- you'll be completely amazed. I could bring you to class and show you around, introduce you to the students-- they'd love to meet you, I already know. You can spend your time doing whatever it is you like doing without constantly worrying about getting killed! Y-You'll be able to be home. My home. With me."

"S-So you've gotta' wake up... We can't do any of that stuff if you don't wake up... I-I know you're under stasis right now, b-but if you could wake up and just... be okay- something at all, better than this that'd be amazing... You've still got so much to see and so much to do- you can't die now!"

"You can't! You've got to keep going! You've got to- how am I going to introduce you to my friends?! Y-You'll love them so much, they'd love you back, it'd be the eight of us! Nine including spike- oh you could meet Spike! He would be in total awe from you and your stories- our stories- and it'd just be like one big family... Y-You could even meet my mom and my dad, and my brother and h-his... his wife..."

"B-But you've..."

"You've got to wake up..."