Trixie woke up with a loud cry, one hoof immediately clutching the shoulder Clyde had stabbed. Her panic subsided a little as she confirmed the knife wasn't there anymore.
I'm going to have that nightmare a few more times.
After calming down a little, Trixie remembered the living nightmare she was already in. A quick look at Equuis orbiting some hundreds of thousands of miles away confirmed that she was still in a very precarious situation.
Still,- Trixie mused, looking her shoulder over, and not seeing a single scar or mark from the knife left. Trixie expected some kind of permanent memory from that, was it Luna that-
Trixie's thoughts froze as she looked around for her unstable new friend. She let out a sharp squeak when she turned her head to find Luna curled up against her, head resting on Trixie's chest. Well, resting may not have been the correct term. Her head was against Trixie's chest, one of her ears pressed against Trixie's stomach. Luna's eyes were wide open and staring back at Trixie, or more likely staring through her, with a glazed look.
Trixie laid perfectly still for a moment, watching and working to calm her own heart. Luna's head moved up and down with Trixie's breathing, her eyes never moving from Trixie's face. Never blinking. Another minute of this creepy behavior went by before Trixie had had enough.
With a sudden jerk, Trixie stood up, causing Luna to give out a startled squawk as her head hit the ground. Trixie hadn't made it even a dozen hoof falls away before she felt herself being wrapped in magic and dragged back to Luna's waiting, clingy hooves. After a minute in which Luna made herself comfortably curled around Trixie, Trixie felt the magic let her go again.
"Good wakings upon thou, Trixie. Was thou sleep a restful one?"
Trixie squirmed a little, but in all honesty she already knew it was useless. Despite being stronger than Luna, Trixie knew that any real attempt to get away right now would just involve being dragged back with magic again. "Considering the last few days, it was probably as good as Trixie could have hoped it could be."
Luna gave Trixie's body a squeeze. "Ah, thy movements seemed to indicate some sort of painful memory or dream occurring. We apologize, but we did not wish to intrude without thy permission. We were also...distracted."
Trixie raised an eyebrow and gave Luna a mild glare. She placed a hoof against Luna's neck and pushed. "Trixie noticed. That creepy, vacant look you were giving her didn't make waking up to this-" Trixie gestured around the bleak landscape "-any better you know."
Luna let go reluctantly, letting Trixie untangle from her and sit down nearby. After a few seconds however, Luna scooted over a bit, not quite touching Trixie, but close. "We apologize. But, thy movement while asleep were..." Luna paused for a second, giving an earnest smile. "-incredibly pleasant for us."
"Umm...why?"
Luna glanced down for a moment, apparently watching Trixie breathing again. "Let us just say that several times in the past our bed mates either disappeared, or, well, were less pony than we thought the minute we took our eyes off of them."
Trixie gave out a short huff. "Do you need Trixie to hit you again?"
"Perhaps. But thou could try something a bit less...jarring first, if thou wishes."
With a brief pause, Trixie put a hoof to Luna's cheek and gave it a lingering pinch. Trixie pulled Luna's muzzle around in a small circle, directing her with pressure and pain before finally letting go. Luna's little smile throughout the entire thing was disturbing. As well as the lick she gave Trixie's hoof right as she was pulling away.
She's a glutton for pain apparently. Better her than Trixie though.
"We thank thee. Is thou feeling well? We worked to heal the rest of thine injuries while thou slept."
A brief glance over herself and a few deep breaths confirmed Luna's words to be true. Trixie no longer felt any aches or soreness. Even a few scars from her childhood seemed to be gone.
"Y-yes, is that an Alicorn thing? Healing magic is supposed to be pretty taxing, isn't it?"
"W-well, yes." Luna answered, refusing to look Trixie in the face. "We suppose it tis. We are just...really happy thou isn't a rock. Or a corpse. Twas...worth the effort."
Trixie gave the first genuine grin she had had since this whole mess began at Luna's apparent embarrassment.
"Perhaps we should start again, with less...issues on both sides? I am the Great and Powerful Trixie, show mare extraordinaire, and you?" Trixie held out a hoof.
Luna looked at Trixie's hoof for a few seconds, thinking. Trixie did her best to be understanding of her companion's poor social skills. Finally, Luna held out her own hoof and placed it against Trixie's.
"We are Luna, princess of the night, and keeper of dreams."
"Charmed. So, should Trixie call you Princess Luna?"
Luna shook her head. "The title is ill fitting for the moment, we think. What of thy title of Great and Powerful?"
Trixie mulled that over for a moment. "Trixie supposes it wouldn't be fair, so no, though do remember to use it if we ever get back to Equestria. Trixie has a reputation."
"Agreed." Luna began running her hoof along Trixie's, causing Trixie to give a brief blush before pulling her hoof away.
"S-so, how did you get here?"
Luna felt it was best to keep her answers simple on this matter, for now.
"Exile, what of thou?"
"Sacrifice to Nightmare Moon."
"We are sorry to hear that."
Trixie shrugged, trying to be a lot more casual about it than she actually felt. "It's not your fault, I'm just glad it didn't work. Trixie didn't even know ponies still did that. Though...it is a little odd finding out she doesn't exist."
Luna gave Trixie a curious look. "Thou means Nightmare Moon? She exists."
Trixie sputtered for a minute and quickly looked around. "W-wait, she does? B-but she isn't here, r-right? Whatever they did was supposed to, I guess, bring Trixie to her."
Luna brought a hoof up and twisted it back in forth in the air. "She is here, yet she isn't. She is asleep, and has not woken up in, well, centuries, we imagine. She is sealed on the moon."
"Wait, she's sealed here, and you were exiled here?" Trixie eyed Luna warily. "What did you do to deserve that?"
With a wince, Luna shuffled a hoof through the dirt nervously. "We...believed her words, and were banished along with her. Though while she has rest, we are here, toiling upon the surface."
"O-oh." Trixie lightly rubbed Luna's arm. "Sorry, it sounds like you got the worse end of that deal. Trixie never heard anything of somepony being banished with Nightmare Moon when she was at the orphanage."
Luna gave out a slightly annoyed huff. "Has thou really never heard of Luna? Ruler of the night? The protector over sleeping ponies? Does no trace of us still exist?"
Trixie shook her head. "Sorry, Trixie knows of Nightmare Moon, ruler of the night. But, she's never heard of you."
"...O-oh..." Luna seemed to visibly wilt. Trixie gave her a pat on the head, which Luna quickly took advantage of to press against Trixie. Trixie would have pushed her off immediately, but Luna didn't press roughly, or desperately, it was soft, like a foal seeking comforting.
The two sat there for several minutes before Luna spoke up again.
"If, if it is okay with thou, would thou let us observe thee the next time thee sleeps?"
Trixie contemplated that. So, she's asking permission now to watch me sleep? How would Trixie stop her anyways? It's not like Trixie would be awake to see it.
Though, it was also nice to see Luna asking before doing something creepy again. At least it was a step in the right direction for them to get along. And it wasn't like the option of falling asleep against a bunch of hard, cold rocks was very appealing in comparison to Luna's soft, warm coat.
"Trixie doesn't see the harm in it."