I dreamt that I was no longer on the Rimworld.

I was working the bar as usual. The trade ship was bustling with people, which meant that I was going to get plenty of tips that shift. I was wearing my usual work attire, a white shirt with a waistcoat and vest, along with black gloves. I was considered the best bartender the place had to offer, and, in my own humble opinion, rightfully so. I came up with plenty of strange mixes for drinks which proved to taste good and sell well.

The best part about working on a trade ship was the fact that there were always new, strange drinks that arrived. Drinks I've never seen before, that had strange names. I tried each and every one of the new drinks that always came onboard, and tried to incorporate them into mixes. Sometimes it'd work, sometimes it didn't. Still, it was one of the reasons I was so good at my job. Most of the other bartenders were too afraid to try out the alien drinks, afraid it might do something. I took it as an opportunity to get more money.

I had just finished pouring a drink for a customer when the other bartender tapped me on the shoulder. It was a blonde girl named Melissa. She was the one that accompanied most of the time on all my shifts. She was a little wild, though that made her all the more fun to be around. I loved hanging out with her and having conversations during our shifts. She was my best friend, and she definitely earned that spot in my life. Honestly, if it weren't for all of this happening, I would've asked her out.

"What's up?" I asked, to which she gave me a little smile.

"Shift's almost up, and we got a new case of drinks. Want to come try them out with me?" She had a slightly flirty tone. I nodded my head with my own smile, before tilting my head slightly in question.

"Who's going to be in the next shift?"

"Gary and Lucia. Gary said he wanted to help train the new girl, so Jake let him."

"Ah." I said, nodding my head. "I hope the old man doesn't try making a fool of himself trying to flirt with her."

"He's already a fool Rex." Melissa said with a giggle as she led me out. We passed by Gary and Lucia on the way. Gary was an older gentlemen, being in his 60's. He had short black hair and a mean looking face, though he was one of the nicest people on the ship. He ruined that rep easily though by flirting with young women constantly. Lucia was a new arrival on the ship. She was looking for work, and she found it. She had really long vibrant green hair, and dark skin with what looked like white tribal markings all over her body. She was definitely different than the others around here, but I think that made her all the more appealing.

Melissa and I both made it to drink storage, where the new cases of alien-drinks were being kept. As Bartenders, we had the keys to this storage room.

Melissa sat down on the steel floor, and I did the same across from her. She pulled out a rack of green glowing drinks, pulling two bottles out and handing one to me. I grabbed it and examined it up close. It was strange looking. It looked like a drinkable version of those lava-lamps you can buy for your room. I pulled my bottle opener from my pocket out and popped the top, seeing green mist come from the bottle. I smirked at Melissa and held my bottle towards her. She clinked mine, and we both took a sip.

It tasted strange, but not bad. It tasted like how a lava-lamp looks. I know that doesn't give much to go off of, but I really couldn't explain it with words. I looked at the bottle, and then to Melissa. She shook her head at me.

"Eh, I don't think it'll have any use. What could we even mix it with?"

I shrugged. "Maybe.. that gold shit we got a little while back? What was it called.. Auriferous? Who even gave it that name?"

"You're asking the wrong person." Melissa said with a smirk before examining her own bottle. "You know the rule. We opened it, now we gotta' finish it. Wanna' see who can drink it the fastest?" She said, her eyes narrowing at me playfully. I smirked back at her, and nodded.

"Loser has to polish the bar next shift."

"You're on."

We both began to drink.

My eyes slowly opened as I felt something shift at my feet. Lifting myself up a little bit, I could see that it was Twilight sitting on her own bed. I gave a loud sigh and let my head fall back onto the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. Twilight heard my sigh and gave a soft giggle. "You're awake."

"Yep.. I am."

"How was your sleep?"

"It was actually decent."

"I'm glad." She said before hopping off the bed and slowly walking up to my side. She gave me a warm smile before poking my side gently with a hoof. "You should get up and start moving around. Staying in bed like that will not make the soreness go away."

"Fine, fine.." I said, sitting up and letting my feet dangle from the side of the bed for a second before standing. I stood there in place for a second, feeling all of my muscles ache at the same time. "Why does everything hurt..? I understand I got punched in the face and all that other stuff, but.. even my legs hurt."

"It's the spell. It focuses on all parts of the body instead of just one, incase there is anything else that's wrong that couldn't be found. It's nothing to worry about. It's worked wonders, actually. Your face is back to normal, not all swollen like it was a week ago."

I felt my face with my hand, feeling a scar that was on my cheek.

Twilight frowned. "Yeah.. The punch must've cut your face or something. It's not permanent from the looks of it, but even if it was, it doesn't look bad."

"Where'd you put him?" I asked, ignoring what Twilight had said. She looked stunned for a second before giving me a slightly saddened look.

"Buried him with the other graves. And.. put the other graves back into shape. All of them had holes in them."

I shook my head in anger. That psycho dug each one of those bodies out to fuck with them, I'm sure of it. I wanted Twilight to see the graves, but not the corpses that lay underneath. I felt a little sad, knowing how she might've felt. She seems to have kept the place going since I've been out, despite only being out for a week. Still, a week can change everything here.

"You've done great around here, Twilight." I said, trying to switch the subject off the current topic.

Twilight smiled at the compliment. "Thanks! It's been a little lonely, but it was okay for the most part. Nothing exciting happened, just me researching and coming out to check up on you every once in awhile. Oh, and I kept the little rose alive."

I looked to the end-table and smiled, seeing the little rose in the pot. It had grown a little since I last saw it. For some reason, seeing the little plant still alive and well made my heart ache a little. I can't put a finger on exactly why, but I didn't care. The feeling made me happy, that was for sure.

"Well, I'm glad the little guy is alive." I said, turning to her. She nodded with a smile. She then looked over at the storage door, then back to me.

"Well, I better get back to working. I'm almost done with the prototype plans for the geothermal generator. I dunno' if we're going to be able to even make it, but it'd be in our best interest if we can."

I nodded. "Get to it then."

With that, Twilight walked into storage. I could hear her a second later knocking something over and cursing lightly. She must've tripped over something. If only I could've seen! The question now was to think about what I needed to do. If I was out for that long, that means Twilight was the one cooking for herself, or perhaps she was just eating the potatoes that grew from the ground? Who knows.

I went to check food-storage, seeing that we definitely had quite a bit of food. I was relieved, knowing that food wasn't going to be an issue for the rest of spring and summer. All I really needed to do now, was to focus on building up the rest of the house plans. I popped into storage for a quick second, grabbing the tools I needed to do the job and headed outside, continuing where I had left off a week or so ago.

I placed my hand on the wall, leaning on it before I saw it.

I forgot that my pinkie finger on my left hand was missing. I mean, there was still a little bit of meat there, but it was gone for the most part. I wiggled it in front of my face. I was actually quite glad, because if it had been any other finger I would've been pissed off. My pinkie finger was the least useful finger out of all my fingers, so I suppose I got lucky with it. Though, I would rather have none of my fingers be chopped off. Yeah, that'd be great.

Can't have shit on the Rim, I guess.

The wind slowly picked up as the sun fell on the horizon. I had gotten quite a bit of work done, and, hopefully within two or so more weeks, it'll be finished. Atleast the extension, that is. The other stuff will take months to build most likely. I looked down at my hands, seeing all the tiny little cuts that I had received throughout the day. They stung a little, but it was a good price to pay if it was required to get this built.

With my tools in hand, I made my way back inside the house. Not even a second after walking inside, Twilight ran from storage and stopped right in front of me, a wide smile on her face. "Rex-Rex guess what!"

"What?"

"I finished it!"

"What?" I asked, a little shocked.

"Yep!" She said, nodding. "I did it! I figured out what was confusing me, and just.. pieced it together. All we have to do now is build it!"

"That won't be happening for a little while. I want to get the extension to the house built first, okay?"

Twilight nodded. "Of course, but think about all the good this will do! We won't even have to worry about power!"

"That does sound nice." I said, walking over to my bed and taking a seat on it. I was quite tired from the little construction project. I was about to lay my head down before a loud crashing sound came from storage. Twilight ran to my side, and I reached for my rifle that laid against the end-table. I can never get a break, can I?

I aimed my rifle towards the door, ready to shoot anything that came out. I wasn't going to let my guard down even for a second and receive another ass-kicking. I slowly stepped forward towards the door, peering inside with my rifle pointed forward. I could see an outline of something, but it was under some of our stuff.

I flicked on the flashlight attached to my rifle and almost squeezed the trigger, before I lowered my rifle completely.

It was another one.

Another pony.

It struggled to get the equipment it had crashed into off of itself, and when it did it saw me standing in the doorway. It froze immediately once it saw me, it's eyes going wide. I glanced behind me to see Twilight, who didn't have view into the room. "Twilight, look."

I stepped out of the way.

Twilight's POV

Standing in our storage room, stood Starlight. I froze when I saw her. Her eyes landed on me eventually, and her mouth hung open slightly.

"Starlight..?" I asked hesitantly.

"Twilight!" Starlight yelled as she ran towards me, wrapping a hoof around my neck and pulling me in. I could hear her sob quietly. "W-We've been looking for days for you.."

Days?

I stood back from her, my brain still not fully processing that she was actually here. As sad as it sounds, I sort of forgot what she had looked like. My mind was constantly thinking of other things, and didn't focus on what I was missing back home. I could still think of what they looked like, but instead of remembering even the littlest details, I only remember a general idea.

I glanced to where Rex stood, but he wasn't there. I didn't question it, and instead turned my focus back to my old friend. "H-How'd you get here?"

"You wrote down a long-distance teleportation spell on a little piece of paper, and I found it. I translated the markings and.. well, now i'm here."

I felt a shiver go down my back. "Y-You didn't tell anypony else?"

"N-No.. I came as fast as I could, fearing that you might be in danger.." I felt my heart squeeze once I fully processed the situation that was playing right in front of me.

She was stuck here, just like me.

"C-Come, Starlight. We've.. got to talk."

I was sitting on my bed when both Twilight and the new pony walked from storage into the main room. The new pony seemed to be looking all around herself, taking in the place around her. Her eyes eventually landed on me, but instead of fear, she had a curious look on her face now.

"Starlight, this is Rex. Rex, this is Starlight." Twilight said. Starlight smiled at me, to which I gave a small smile back and waved towards her. I don't think she really understood what that meant, but she seemed to understand it was a greeting of some sort. "Starlight, can you sit on the bed right there?" Twilight asked, pointing towards her own bed. Starlight gave her a slightly confused look before obeying.

"I don't remember houses in Griffonstone looking like this." Starlight said, still admiring the place. "It looks.. interesting though."

Twilight visibly cringed, and looked at me with worry in her eyes. I could tell that she was going to have trouble explaining what was going on, so I cleared my throat. "That's because this isn't griffonstone."

"Really..?" She asked, turning to Twilight. "But the paper said griffonstone was the location. Did you write it wrong?"

I shook my head. "Just.. Listen, Starlight. Don't talk until we're done, okay?" I asked as politely as I could. Starlight gave me a strange look before turning her gaze back to Twilight, waiting for her to begin talking. Twilight was already pacing around the room, shaking her head.

"So, you didn't tell nopony about the spell?" Twilight asked.

"No.. I thought that you might've been in trouble, so I cast the spell as fast as I could."

Twilight nodded her head. "How long have I been missing?"

Starlight tilted her head in slight confusion, before opening her mouth. "A little less than a week."

Twilight froze at her words, and I looked at Starlight a little confused. Twilight had been here for over two months at this point, and she has only been missing in their world for.. a couple days at most? How did that even make sense? Well, I can't really be asking that, I'm talking to a couple of ponies, but still. It didn't add up. "Sweet Celestia.." Twilight said, shaking her head.

"Why..?" Starlight asked.

"She's been here for more than two months." I stated, looking at Twilight. Starlight stared at me, before turning to Twilight with a confused face.

"I don't understand.. That doesn't make sense."

"The teleportation spell was stronger than I thought. Instead of just being long-distance across Equus, it teleported me here. Time must work differently here compared to back home, since it's definitely been longer than a couple days." Twilight said, not looking at Starlight and still pacing around the room.

"W-What are you talking about? Are you implying that we aren't on Eq-"

"Yes." Twilight said, stopping and looking at her. "This isn't Equus."

Silence filled the room as the two of them stared at eachother. I simply watched, a little curious as to what Starlight's reaction might be, and a little saddened as well. Not only was Twilight stuck here, but now so was one of her friends. And, that isn't a fate anybody would wish on even their worst enemy.

Twilight gave a loud sigh. "Rex here took me in on my first day, and ever since then we've been living together. A lot of spells don't work, but some specific ones do. I've already tried teleporting back, but it seems something here is stopping me from doing so. I was hoping that somepony back home would come get me, but.." Twilight shook her head. "I suppose that was an unfulfilled dream."

"W-We can get back, I know we can, w-we just have to-"

"Starlight!" Twilight yelled, approaching Starlight. "I've thought of every possibility already! I've tried all sorts of different combinations, I've tried to think of something that could try to signal you all back home, and none of it would ever work! I was hoping that somepony would find that piece of paper and tell the others, to make some sort of group to come get me, but it seems the one pony that found it decided that wasn't necessary."

"T-Twili-"

"I've been stuck here for over two months! Do you think I want to be here?! You have no clue what it's like to live here, what it's like to survive here. Even though I gave up on finding a way back home, I still had a tiny bit of hope in my heart, and look where it ended up. Now you're stuck here too." Twilight turned her head away from her, looking to the front door.

Starlight shook her head. "C-Come on.. There has to be.. has to be some way that we-"

Twilight turned back to her with an even angrier expression. "If there was even a slight chance, don't you think I would've fucking tried it?"

It seems it was true that I was rubbing off on Twilight. At first, she didn't like me cursing all the time, but with time I heard her curse more and more, and now it seems it's fully into her vocabulary. I've only ever heard her curse when something goes wrong, or when she's confused on something. Never in a full sentence. Starlight simply stared back at her, her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide, a tear falling from her left eye.

"Y-You've changed.." Starlight said quietly.

"I've barely changed, Starlight. I just accept the facts when they're in front of me." Twilight said, her tone still angry.

I raised my hand towards Twilight. "Twilight, you might be acting a little too harsh."

Twilight chuckled. "Oh, I'm acting too harsh? Really? She acted like an idiot for not telling anypon-"

I stood up and cut her off. "And you're acting like an idiot by yelling at your friend that is just as scared as you were when you first got here. Come on, Twilight. I helped you get through your time here, now we need to help her. Isn't that what friends are for?"

Twilight stared at me, her eyes wide like she just realized something. The air around us was so stiff that it could be considered a solid object. I could feel my skin stand up the longer the silence went on, before it was broken with a sigh from Twilight. "Y-You're right.." Twilight turned her gaze to Starlight and shook her head. "I-I'm sorry, Starlight.. There isn't a way back home. Atleast not one that I've found myself.."

She then put on a small smile. "B-But.. I'll keep searching for a way.. A-And I'd like you to help me."

Starlight stared at her, tears falling from her face before she sniffled, wiping her tears away with her hoof. She shook her head. "I-I still can't.. believe this is all happening. I don't.. I don't get it.." Twilight hopped up onto the bed next to her and snuggled beside her, whispering in her ear.

I needed to leave the room for a little bit, to get a tiny bit of fresh air from the tense feeling of the room, so I left out the front door with my rifle. I felt the cool wind push against my face as I stepped outside. There was an orange glow across the sky as the sun disappeared below the horizon. If only I had a camera to take a picture of it.

I shook my head. I needed to think about the current situation.

There was a new person joining our little group. Twilight's friend, Starlight. With an extra body around the base, we can do more and more things faster. She could help Twilight do researching, or perhaps tend to the crops while we do other things. Perhaps she could help me even construct the extension to the house. However, this also gave us a new problem. Food. With her now being with us, this meant that we would need to worry about food consumption. Me and Twilight were doing really well with our supply, but that might change with another person joining us.

Plus, Twilight was now a die hard fan of meat, but she explained that her people hated meat because of it being taboo. If Starlight didn't like meat, or wasn't able to consume the meat, she would have to rely on the crops we grew. That would mean we would need a stable supply of vegetables and other plants to ensure that we have enough stored for the next winter.

Actually, scratch that. We have hydroponics. All we need is to construct a room for it, and we'll have crops growing during the winter. Therefore we wouldn't need to worry about running out of food during the winter. It was a good thing that Twilight was able to figure out how the hell to make one of those things.

I yawned and stretched, giving a big sigh afterwards. I was still definitely tired, and I needed my sleep. I could care less if those two needed space, because I needed my sleep. I opened the front door to see them both in the same position I saw when I left, though Starlight was no longer crying, and looked less afraid. They were still whispering to eachother. I went straight to my bed and laid down, setting my rifle against the end-table.

"Hey, I don't mind if you two talk or whatever, just don't wake me up. I'm tired." I said, not bothering to give them time to say anything as I buried my head into my pillow. I didn't even care about taking off my shoes, I just wanted to sleep. I could hear their whispers grow quieter and quieter as I delved deeper and deeper into a dream-state.

I smashed the bottle down onto the steel floor. "Hah, I finished first."

Melissa gave me a smirk. "Well, can't say I didn't try." She said, swishing the drink in her bottle. There was only a tiny bit left that she hadn't drank. I shook my head with a smile and chuckled lightly.

"Nah, don't worry about polishing the bar. We'll do it together."

"Oh, feel bad for the girl that lost to a fair bet? I don't need you pitying me, thank you very much." Melissa said playfully as put the rack of drinks back and standing up. I followed her actions, standing up myself and motioning her to come along with me. We both headed from drink-storage to living quarters.

I stopped in front my door. "Are you sure you don't want to come in? I rented that weird new pirate movie. I heard it's got a hot and steamy scene in it."

Melissa shook her head with a smile. "Nah, I'm good. If I wanted to watch porn, I would do it on my own time. Besides, I need to sleep. I think I'm coming down with something, and it's making me feel like shit. I'm planning to head over to the clinician to see if it's anything I should be taking meds for."

I nodded my head with a smile, a little saddened that she couldn't come and hang-out. "Ah, well, I hope it's nothing serious. You let me know if you need help with anything, or if you just want some company, okay?"

She giggled. "Okay Rex, I'll be sure to give you a bootycall when I'm in the mood."

"Hey-" I said, bringing my hands up in defense. "I'm not against it-"

"Oh hush you." Melissa said before she walked off, leaving me alone in front of my door. I shook my head, watching her walk down the hallway before taking a turn left and disappearing out of sight. I gave a light sigh, shaking my head. I pulled out my keycard and put it in front of the door-scanner. A second later, the door slid open with ease. I took a step inside my room, before sighing.

"Maybe she'd like that horror movie instead?"

Author's Note

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and if so, be sure to let me know in the comments. If you also have criticism to give, be sure to give it down in the comments as well! I respond to some comments, but not all. Worry not though, as I always read them, and usually give them a thumbs-up!

And to anyone who needs it,

They might like you, or they might not like you. Until you make a move and ask them out, you'll never know. Don't be the person kicking yourself five years down the road, wishing that you had the courage to go and do something. Instead, be the person thanking yourself five years ago for making that move and finding someone you might really love.