Chapter 3: Not Quite There

A surprised shock spread across the face of Twilight as she stared into the regal face of the Lunar Princess. Here she stood at the unicorn's window, after promptly removing the wall of cloth hiding her face. The student couldn't help but feel her heart skip a partial beat, and she wanted to smile at those teal eyes.

The princess didn't notice as she looked back out of the window down to the waiting guardsmen. She grabbed the gushing mare and began the small glide to the ground, much to Twilight's fear. Since she didn't have any warning and had never been levitated, it lent to a slightly amusing sight for the guards. Seeing a grown mare cowering on the soft dew lined grass. Twilight suddenly looked up at the other black toned ponies present, and grinned sheepishly, hiding partially behind an unresponsive Luna.

Noticing this she said waving a hoof in her face"Princess? Hello? Anypony in there!?"

"I'm not lost, Twilight. I was determining our route. You'll have to ride on sergeant NightSear's back. Seeing as you don't have wings." She said as she adjusted her saddlebags, making sure that everything was in order.

The mentioned stallion walked up and offered his back, kneeling down to account for her slightly smaller stature. And as Twilight walked up she could tell the distinct differences between Celestia's guards and Luna's branch of the military. Her mentor's soldiers were the everyday caste that were around for keeping the peace, and a few elite for her and that was the end of it. Twilight had only read about the NightWatch. They never kept their real names, and they dedicated themselves to work behind the scenes. Along with the coloration of their eyes, it lent a vestige of mystery to them, which was red. A stark contrast from the royal black and blues that they wore.

She accepted and looked over at the other pegasus in their company of four. "What's your name?" She asked in a friendly manner.

"Crimson, m'lady." Came the simple reply. He looked back towards Luna who had taken to the sky, and he along with NightSear began the ascent.

The courtesy had not been expected from Twilight, or at least she had never been reffered to as a lady. It brought an air of confidence to her, even as she looked back and saw the library shrinking into the landscape. The air had a brisk bite, but nothing too serious. In the distance Twilight could make out Fluttershy's cottage as they passed by. There were two ponies walking back to said home, the familiar yellow, and a blue unicorn?

Was that Trixie? She mused to herself silently.

It wasn't long before she began thinking about Rainbow Dash, and what she said.

I had to, there's no going back now. She thought, then started thinking about the second letter. No, there's no time to brood.

She still couldn't stop thinking about it though, no matter how many times she looked at the night sky. No matter times she tried to converse with the seemingly mute guards. Conversation was limited with the wisps of wind grasping her ears, ripping sound away. The small nip in the wind had become her worst enemy as they headed southeast. The expanse of the Everfree melted into the plains and valleys that made up this portion of Equestria. Rolling hills were masked in an evermore state of brilliant emerald green. Which dropped into roiling streams of water that bursted with white rapids and waterfalls tapering off into mist.

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There was no sound, natural or otherwise as they descended. The four had decided to break at the very edge of the border of Equestria. From the sky, they could see the fires burning for the outpost that was stationed here. The reason they halted was because NightSear had voiced his concern for Twilight, as she had no armor or cloak to combat the wind. And they had been flying steadily for four hours now. It was just on the hem of four in the morning. Twilight was shaking as though there was no warmth for miles around. They glided into a clearing only a couple hundred meters from the campsite, which was hidden by the foliage.

Luna walked up to the shivering mare and draped her own cloak on Twilight. There was gratitude in her voice as she thanked her. But it was cut off by Crimson. He put a hoof to his mouth, signaling to be quiet. He had heard something in the distance. He pointed for NightSear to go right while he entered the thicket from the left, heading towards the campsite.

"What are they doing?" Twilight inquired in a whisper. She huddled closer into the warmth that had already come off of Luna's cloak. Expecting not to receive an answer.

"Making sure that the camp is safe, there have been sightings of Romanian raider parties. We can't risk strolling right into the midst of a trap." Luna said as she let a smile cross her lips "Don't worry, I can promise nothing will happen to you. Not if I'm still breathing."

Luna had said and meant the statement, but had said it more out of her sense of loyalty to her subjects. Nevertheless a heavy dusting left Twilight's cheeks. Making her feel a fondness for the alicorn, one she hadn't felt since Celestia. She was even prepared to say something akin to thank you, when the two soldiers emerged from the brush in a calm trot.

"All's well, we scouted the area, then made ourselves known. They are preparing accomodations, and appropriate staff are ready to speak with you." Said NightSear.

The Lunar princess nodded her head and they began the trek to the encampment. At first Twilight wasn't very impressed. A few military barracks on the western edge of camp, along with the central headquarters located in the center of a training field that extended all around it. Towards the east was a mess hall, along with the latrines. But what caught her was the sheer amount of ponies out and about. There had to be at least two hundred in this outpost alone, and it was four in the morning. Meaning more were sleeping to take their shifts later on. There was a simple granite wall seperating the untamed forest from the civilized areas.

Passing through, they were greeted with a hearty salute by those in attendence. Mostly aimed at Luna, but she could see a few of the stares were leveled at her as well. Magical spheres of light were maintained along the only road in the compound that headed towards the headquarters.

When they passed the guards that had been like statues in their passing, Twilight whispered "Why were some of them saluting me?"

Luna almost laughed at the unicorn. "Well, some recognize you as Celestia's prized pupil, I'd imagine. You've never thought about yourself as important?"

"Well, I mean...No. I'm not used to any attention. Except for my friends." She answered honestly, nopony ever really noticed her.

Luna noticed the melancholy in her voice, and used a wing to bring her close. "I know something's wrong, you're an open book. I want to talk about it, but we'll have to wait until later, okay?" Was all that was whispered before Luna broke the partial embrace to greet the captain who looked at Twilight then at Luna, with an odd expression over his face.

And upon reaching a conclusion in his head he said "Welcome Princess, soldiers, miss...?"

"Twilight Sparkle."

"Miss Sparkle, I am here to tell you princess that while you're here you won't have to worry about being in any danger. The last report of any activity was from the south, and that was days ago. Miles away from here." He said without skipping a beat, leading them to the mess hall. "I'm assuming that you'll be wanting to gather foodstuffs and fill your stomachs, and then you'll want to hit the hay."

The soldiers caught themselves nodding and Luna didn't show a flinch or twitch. She had become the royalty everypony expected her to be. Twilight was amazed at the stallions ability survive the cold indifference that Luna was dripping with. Now she knew why some called her the princess of ice.

Not in front of her face of course. Twilight thought.

He then led them all to the personal quarters that was hidden by the headquarters building when they had come in. It seemed a simple piece, two stories tall, same grey stone as the wall was made of. As they arrived Twilight looked a bit more closely at the stone and found it was a form of granite. Non-conductive, to any magic type.

"And this is where our visiting staff and important personnel are housed. You boys can sleep in the barracks, seein' as there are a few open bunks in the south wing." He took another one of those demeaning looks at Twilight and said. "I'm assuming you two will be bunking together?"

The smack echoed out across the field, causing the ponies that were sparring to halt and look over at the cowering captain. Even the NightWatch were in awe of what they had just witnessed. The outstretched hoof was still in the air, and the pony behind it held a scowl that could boil water. Princess put her hoof down, and flicked back her mane to get a better look at the captain.

"If you ever, EVER, say something that disrespectful and out-of-line again. To me or my friend Twilight. I swear that I will have you castrated publicly...Do you understand me?!" She yelled and threw her head back holding a haughty composure.

"I-I'm s-sorry, ma'am, I mean Princess, it w-won't happen again." He said while picking himself up rubbing his jaw. "What are you looking at?!?! GET BACK TO TRAINING!!!" He directed at the spectators in the distance.

Twilight looked back at Luna, who had defended her honor and said "Publicly castrated?"

"It was the first thing that came to mind..." She replied dropping her princess composure.

Twilight couldn't help but giggle over the princesses behavior, but part of her knew that her reacting in the way she had would definitely put rumors around. And quite frankly she wouldn't mind. Luna went about dismissing the soldiers, telling them that they would be off towards the evening, considering traveling by nightfall gave them less chance of being spotted entering Romanea.

They went inside and found six rooms on the first floor, and there were two rooms on the top. The top ones were meant for Luna, but after consenting to talk, they both headed up and chose a room with one of the comfy beds with a poster board, linen sheets, and more furniture than Twilight expected. Which was a vanity, dresser, closet, and a couch coupled with two chairs. In the corner. The bed was placed on the back wall away from the door, and Luna quickly teleported to its soft surface.

"Not as comfortable as my bed at home, but it'll do." She said as she took off her crown, shaking her head allowed the hair to fall in a natural fashion around her shoulders. "So what was wrong earlier? You mentioned your friends, then seemed distant." The princess said as she took off the neck garment, and gestured for Twilight to come take a seat by her on the bed.

Twilight was in the middle of the hardest blush she had ever experienced, she had no clue why it was. But the fact that the princess was so close to her that she would take off her indicators of authority, along with the fact that she was an incredibly sexy mare, made Twilight have trouble finding the right words.

"Uh, I was...remembering. Well, more thinking about, uhm, something you're sister sent me. It was a...letter about the forces of Romanea, and the risk of letting more than one, uhh, element bearer to leave. Or something. Is it hot in here?" She said as she realized how nervous she was.

Luna however held interest in her eyes, then said "Hot? I don't feel too warm. Are you not feeling well?"

This is my chance to get away. Twilight thought on the fly.

"Uhm, yeah that's it, not feeling well. Should probably go lie down in my bed, you know, in the next room." She lied, and began to back away.

"Oh, I'm sorry are you sure you don't want me to check you out? I know a plethora of healing spells..."

"NO! I mean, uh, no I just need to get some water. I'm thirsty is all." She said as she bolted out of the door into the bathroom at the end of the hall. Flicking on the light, she locked the door behind herself.

She looked in the mirror, thinking What is wrong with you? Why do I feel so nervous around her? Dear Celestia, what am I gonna do?!

'Oh hey I'm Twilight and I have a crush on one of the most powerful mares in Equestria.' She mocked a conversation to the mare in the mirror.

Twilight ran some water and splashed it across her face, then began to dry it with a nearby towel. Despite her nervousness, the water definitely held a rejuvenating quality. She opened the door, and began heading back to Luna's room. She peeked around a crack in the door to find Luna's head buried in a pillow. She appeared to be extremely lonely and old in that moment. Her features washed out by the waning moonlight, her hair billowing lightly in an imaginary breeze.

"Hey Luna, what's wrong?" Now it was Twilight's turn to be concerned.

"It's nothing, Twilight. I'm just incredibly tired is all." She said in a shy voice that didn't fit her at all.

"Do you need any help getting to sleep?" Twilight offered with hope in her heart.

"Well.....no...at least not normally. But...." At the last statement she blushed as she remembered something from long ago.

"But?"

"It sounds silly..." The princess admitted.

"And? Tell me." Twilight said as she approached the bed and lay atop it in front of the sister.

"When I was younger, my sister, your mentor, used to....." The last part trailed out, and Twilight, even in her close vicinity was forced to inch closer to the sister.

"One more time? Please?" Twilight said as she felt the ethereal hair around Luna, along with it's pristine scent. It almost looked as though they were going to share a hug.

"She used to massage my back, until I fell asleep. I told you it was silly, but it's one of the things that I missed that she did. She would humm, rub my back, and no matter how long I prolonged it she would always keep going. Up until I became a teenager, then it just kindof stopped." She said as a sheepish smile came to her face, it was an obviously a secret she had kept for many years.

"Really? Celestia?" Twilight said, not being able to imagine her sister taking the time to do all of that. She was always busy, always in the middle of something. That didn't mean she didn't care or anything, but it just seemed unreal.

"I told you, it was a silly thing to say. I just miss it is all." Luna had halfway expected the unicorn to laugh at her.

Instead, she felt the unicorn stand and move behind the regal princess. Taking a seat to where they were back to front, with Luna sitting facing the door with Twilight resting on a pillow behind her. Twilight had never giving a massage before, but she had seen Aloe and Lotus give the treatment to some of the ponies in their care. So it couldn't be that hard right?

She slowly worked her hooves on Luna's neck, moving the hair and leaning in close. She could feel the resistence and pressure on the muscle attached to her shoulder blades. So the unicorn began to use an old heat spell, ensuring that the heat was only a gentle pulse. It began to ease the princess into an even more relaxed posture. Her wings shot outwards when Twilight had moved down to the actual shoulder blades, causing her to be pushed backward by the force of the swift movement.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" She gushed.

"Yeah, you're fine, princess." Twilight said as she regained her composure.

"You don't have to call me 'princess', Twilight. Call me Luna" She said, mocking her voice much the same as Twilight had the night she corrected the sister on using Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight smiled and said "Alright...Luna"

She returned to her task, making sure to maintain her pace and allowed more magic to engulf her horn in a light pink glow. She began to use not only heat, but waves of soft pressure vibrating back and forth across her body. Coupled with the heat and her circular hoof motions, Twilight heard Luna begin cooing with pleasure. Slowly the regal princess sank further and further into the sheets, until she was lying in bliss. Twilight shifted and sat atop Luna's back to get a better vantage, and kept the process going. She began to throw a third spell into the mixture and started lacing small amounts of a sleep magic into the fur. The cumulative effect rendered Luna a heap of blue feathers and fur.

Twilight beamed at her work, knowing that the princess had been thoroughly satisfied with the treatment, and she had avoided making a foal of herself in front of royalty. She had gotten off of Luna's back and was about to head to the door, when a hoof stopped her.

"Where are you going?" Said a barely conscious Luna. "Stay here, with me, Twilight..." She said as a yawn escaped her mouth.

Already the sun had begun to break over the day, and it had to be at least six in the morning now. Celestia was at the castle raising the sun, in all it's glory. Twilight gave up any idea of leaving once she looked into those teal eyes, so she walked over and drew up the thick black curtains to block the sun. Casting the room in darkness, she could still feel Luna watching her. So she walked up and lay down, giving the princess a fair amount of room. But soon Luna readjusted to lay right next to Twilight, pulling the single cover over herself and the purple mare. Luna lay her head on the pillow facing Twilight, and she could feel the princesses breath on her muzzle.

Twilight could hardly think, hardly breath, nor could she still her heavy and fast heartbeat. Her eyes had adjusted slightly and now she could see Luna's face inching closer and closer. She closed her eyes trying to still her now quivering body. And then their lips connected. It was brief, and it was caring. But to Twilight it felt as thought time had decided to take a hiatus for an hour. Her lips were incredibly soft, almost as though she were kissing a cloud. And it was the best feeling Twilight had ever experienced thus far. More rewarding than passing a test, or aceing and exam. It was on a whole new plane.

As Luna disconnected the kiss she expected some form of shock, reproach, or otherwise. But all she got was an incredibly red Twilight, who seemed as though she were having trouble comprehending what had just occured. She couldn't help but smile at the purple mare, and brought Twilight in for a light kiss on the forehead. Then snuggled in close to her, allowing Twilight's head to rest on her chest. Soon after, the princess left for the realm of the dreamer, leaving a dumbstruck Twilight behind pondering if all of this had really happened.

Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!!! By dear sweet Celestia, Luna....Ohmyfuckinggosh! Her mind raced onward in a similar manner until Luna's heartbeat finally lulled her into a state of dreamless peace. Considering that that had been her first ever kiss, she wondered why the hell she had not done it sooner. She even thought on other questionable choices she may have made, like not dating when she was a filly. Or spending all her time reading books, but in the end, she decided, it was all worth it....

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Twilight awoke to a noise out in the hallway, so she peeked out of one of her eyelids. Luna was gone, and the space she had taken up in the medium sized bed atoned for the sound she heard earlier. The sleepy unicorn let out a lazy yawn, letting a light hint of a smile cross her face.

She could hear the water running in the bathroom and decided to allow herself to take a glance outside. The weather was fair, and nopony seemed to hold any grudges against it's cool feel. The warriors continued to spar in the same uniformed manner as they had the previous night. Twilight lost herself in the neatness of how they fought, the whirl of levitated swords for the unicorns, along with the wing and hoof blades fastened to the pegasi, the only difference in the earth pony attire was the lack of said wing blades.

A particular stallion seemed to be a whirling tornado of flashy armor and clanging swords, already he had bested several ponies while she had been watching. The sun glinted off of his armor as he made a feign for a jab, quickly reverting it into a backwards slash. Using his wings to propel himself forwards, the pony he was sparring with, a unicorn, barely had the time to block before the blade of the attacker slammed itself into his chestplate. The blade seemed to bounce of harmlessly, but the weight of the impact made itself known. He collapsed with an 'I'm finished' expression plastered on his face, evident even from this distance.

The stallion turned around and it was the face of Crimson. He had apparently been enjoying his time schooling the peace-weakened soldiers. Twilight shook her head to herself and turned to find Luna watching her intently. The mare had apparantly taken a bath, and was now noticing what had drawn her attention.

"Is he always...?" She didn't know how to end her sentence, but Luna understood.

"The NightWatch are dedicated to their jobs, not only because of loyalty, but because of the fact that they are selected specifically for their skill. And even then, they aren't gauranteed a spot, considering the rigorous training and background checks. You could say that out of the thirty that they recruit each year, only about two or three succeed." Luna replied, allowing a hint of pride in her voice.

Two or three? That's.... unheard of. I'm glad they're on our side at least.

Twilight could feel a question forming on her tongue, so she asked "What are we going to do when we get there? To Romanea, I mean." The purple mare asked casting a slight glance to her right, confirming that the princess was deep in thought.

"We have to bring it's government down... It's a corrupt and twisted system, as I have seen for myself in the past few days. I took matters into my own hooves after seeing the pain that they are causing to their own subjects...." She said allowing her lips to trail off into silence, her teal eyes glinting at the images in her mind.

"What do you mean?"

"Here in Equestria, ponies don't have to worry over their hardships. Nor do they fret over the thought of war, or if they are even in mortal danger. The last time Equestria has seen even a murder has been in decades, now. There... raiders roam free, the taxes levied against the commonpony are extravagantly high, with which the penalty for not paying is normally death. And even the soldiers that they turn to are as crooked as the bandits, taking bribes and other forms of corruption in stride. The king of Romanea has sat idly by and allowed all of this to happen, with no worries as he lives in lavishness, while the ponies right outside his palace starve in the streets." Luna spat the words out of her mouth as though a bitter taste resided there. She looked directly into Twilight's eyes, searching into the deepest aspects of her being to convey the importance of their task.

"I.....understand....that's...just horrible." The unicorn said as she felt her throat tighten. "But why do you need me?" She said in barely a whisper.

But Luna understood the hidden question there, the implications. But Luna let it hang in the air between them before replying "You are the element of magic, protegee to my sister... and one of the few ponies that I can trust...." She said in earnest truth.

The look the two shared became tense as Twilight leaned forward with her eyes closed, towards the determined princess. As their muzzles inched closer, a sharp rap on the door ruptured their composure. Forcing Luna to stop the moment and answer. As the door creaked open, NightSear was standing in relaxed attention, making it clear he did not want to upset the princess after last night's display.

"We need to discuss packing arrangements and flight routes, m'lady. Along with," he flicked his eyes towards me briefly,"testing Miss Sparkle's combat readiness."

She didn't say anything for a moment then said "That's fine, I'll discuss the plans with Crimson. You do the test." Her head turned back to Twilight as though to add something, but shook her head and walked past the stallion.

As soon as Luna rounded the corner, he noticeably sighed with relief. The two were then dropped into silence as they stared at each other. He had no idea how to address her, and she had no clue how to start conversation.

That being the case, the red eyed soldier eventually asked "Do you know any combat spells?" He didn't say it in an uncaring tone, nor was it overly tense. His smooth voice reminded her of Spike's 'manly' impression when she had once given him a moustache. But not quite as forced, it sounded...friendly? Was that a way to describe somepony's manner of speaking?

"A few, I guess. I've read lots on the arcane theories of kinetic displacement, and am familiar with the transfer of high quantities of concentrated magic. As for actual spells made for specifically for harming another....not quite." She said somehow being embarrased by her lack of knowledge of that specific category of spell.

"Hmmm, then you'll need to learn. Any skill with weaponry?" He said not expecting any relavent answer. Which was well founded.

"...No."

"Hoof to hoof combat?"

"No."

"Self Defense?"

"No."

"Good Reflexes?!" He said getting exasperated.

"N-I mean...Maybe?"

He shook his head and took off his helmet, letting a hearwarming smile through. His coat was grey like Crimson's but his mane was a light blond. A strange contrast in color, when taking in his striking eyes.

"Then we have alot to learn, right? We might as well get started." He said as he led her down to the sparring grounds, his helmet in the crook of his chest while he walked on three hooves.

Not far from the edge of the grassy expanse that was sectioned off from the rest of the compound with a low lying stone wall, Crimson was discussing something with the Captain. He was obviously being conveyed a message, one that was making him increasingly uncomfortable. Crimson looked at our approach and ended any further discussion with a hoof held up. Crimson walked up to the two of us, looking at NightSear urgently.

"One of the raider parties from Romanea has found it's way close to this encampment. The princess had ordered that we intercept immeadiately." He informed in a rushed fashion of speech, his gruff voice proving him the elder out of the two ponies.

"Right now? And just the two of us?" NightSear replied.

"No, all of us." He said pointedly dragging Twilight into the conversation.

"Are you sure that that's the most wise thing to do?" NightSear intervened. "She is in no way combat prepared."

"I'm going by her orders. She's already left to split them up, make them disoriented." Came the retort.

"How many?" Twilight was the one to ask this question, shuffling and feeling an odd feeling in her stomach. As though it were going to reject any food that was present, considering she hadn't eaten in two days now, it was unlikely.

"Somewhere in the realm of thirty or more." Was all Crimson said. "You're to help protect us from unicorns that might try using their magic against us."

Without any further ado, NightSear offered his back to Twilight. She reluctantly got on, and soon they were once again amongst the clouds. But it was immeadiately apparent by the fierce blades attached to their hooves and wings, along with the high speed they maintained that this would be fundamentally different. After a couple minutes Crimson pointed to something in the distance, causing NightSear and himself to bank sharply breaking through cloud cover to assess the situation.

As Twilight stared at the ground, hundreds of meters down, she almost couldn't believe what she was seeing. The once lush green forest looked as though now it were nothing more than kindling for a massive blaze spreading past the undergrowth. Blowing through the forest as though it were a pile of feathers. As they came closer to the ground, the building smoke clouded their vision, limiting them to seeing each other, and no farther than six or seven feet out.

There were the flickers of movement in her peripheral as she scanned her surroundings. The two pegasi landed and seperated on either side of the purple mare. Twilight readied a shield spell, allowing her magic to gather on her horn, emitting a pink glow along it's length. And at first, nothing happened.

Then out of the smoke burst forth a screaming stallion, his skin being seared by the flame sprouting from his clothing. Crimson wasted no time dispatching the poor bastard. And to Twilight the sight was slightly surreal. The way his head contorted in pain as his neck was slashed by a hoof blade. The way the substance splattered across her face, along with the metallic taste of it. The way his body tumbled to the ground in front of her still alive. Quickly finished of by NightSear's own blade.

She saw a unicorn step from the folds of the blackness in her vision, and even comprehended it on some level. But her body wouldn't react, her eyes wouldn't obey. Words failed. And the bolt of lightning struck her. The arcing path ran from her chest across her body, making her teeth clench from the power. Her muscles began spasming, her mind blanking out and coming back just as fast.

Am....I....gonna........die?

Then darkness descended upon the weakened mare. And out of it a memory emerged, one of her mind's fragments at this state. Snippets of Celestia's second message flickering across her eyelids.

I'm sorry.......regret to say.....may not make it.......Friends......danger....better off......Luna........so sorry.......forgive...........
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Twilight's heart was racing. She had woken up an hour ago. But she still couldn't get the nightmare to leave. The thoughts of her death imminent. She was afraid to open them. And the decision seemed out of her control anyways, she had concluded. If there was a reason to open them it would be somepony else's choice to make. So she lay there. Resigned, but aware. This was interrupted by a voice to her side.

It said "Twilight.....?"

It was soft, almost a whisper. Female for sure, maybe someone she knew. Though how many people did she really know? All their secrets, everything? It didn't matter. The voice was back.

"If you can hear me...I'm sorry..." It was on the verge of tears.

Why would they care so much? Over her? She was too scared to open her eyes. What if she was in heaven? Or maybe this was her hell. Not being able to control herself and hearing the worry of another. There was only way to find out. She squinted at the light as it assaulted her features, washing out all of the color with it's pure blinding whiteness.

As her eyes adjusted she was left in a rather bare and clean room, devoid of anything other than sparse furnishing. As she roamed the room, she landed on the other pony present. princess Luna.

"Good morning, Twilight." She said, the red in her face showed that she would rather avoid talking about what the purple mare had just heard.

"W-where am I?" Twilight replied, breaking any pretenses after remembering the fight the day before. Or was it days? She couldn't know.

"....."

The princess didn't immediately answer, this must mean that something was indeed wrong. Her highly alert mind was instantly thrown into an abysmal reaction. Making the response even more hasty.

"Am I dead?!" The unicorn asked in complete and utter seriousness, but the thought that the place felt real enough did little to assure her. This conclusion left the lunar princess, to say the least, confused.

"No....you're not dead. This is the camp, we're back in one of the spare rooms." Luna said, and thought about elaborating further. But at some decision in her mind, she withheld the information. "You need you're rest, little one." Her voice had a soothing quality...almost too soothing. Twilight could feel the laced magic in it. But right now she didn't care, the folds of sleep embraced her heartily.

In her dreams however, her mind was surprisingly lucid. It was as though she were still wide awake. Just without any of her senses, this left her in a bereft state of contentment.

Was Luna crying? Over me? What happened, I wonder. I didn't feel any pain when I woke up... Was I on anesthetic? It would make sense....... I wonder how my friends are doing. I miss them so much, their smiling faces. Just one of them to bring some familiarity to me.

The image of a pony having his throat slashed predominated in her mind, but instead of it being just a thought , it was a vivid memory. Playing out around her with crystal clarity, the chaos of it. All until that unicorn rendered her unconscious....

Anypony.... Anyone.... Anything........................

These were her last thoughts before she fell away into the blackness. A blank and dreamless rest.

Author's Note

Does this even work?

A/N Thanks to Jarlax, Ultra, and PocoRitardo, for verbally assaulting me relentlessly. Have a hoof, guys /]

A little reminiscence and adding a bit of character depth perhaps? Had to take into account that TS has no combat experience, and the fact that she would be missing her friends at this point.

Oh, guys I am probably gonna throw in another tag, Rainbow. Because, lets face it. I wanna bring her in.
We'll also just assume that Monday will be my semi-official release day. Perhaps.
(As for the message, I bet some of you expected some vulgar action. But not yet! Have patience.)
-ClopTrap