//------------------------------//
// Nearly Gone 
// Story: Empty Darkness 
// by GigaBowser 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 4 - Nearly Gone

Luna awoke a few hours later, familiar darkness meeting her eyes. She shifted herself around, groaning. Sleeping dangled over a tree branch like this had not been kind to her, and she ached all over. She slowly stretched out of all her limbs and sighed in fatigue. Though she had successfully healed all of her injuries last night, she still felt incredibly awful this morning.

She blinked as she realized that 'last night' and 'this morning' didn't make any sense any more. It was almost as if time didn't exist here.

She turned her gaze forward and peered through the murky darkness, easily picking out the stark white form of her young companion sleeping on the branch. Luna was incredibly thankful that she had not fallen off of the branch while she had slept. She shuffled herself closer, a task that was not exactly painless.

"Sweetie?" she spoke gently as she extended her wing and gave the foal a light prod. The filly didn't move or make any sound; she simply continued to breathe softly. "Sweetie, wake up…" Luna said with a little more volume, prodding her again. Still, there was no reaction. An icy chill ran up Luna's spine as she noticed just how comatose Sweetie was. She almost looked…

"Sweetie??" Luna used her magic to levitate Sweetie Belle into the air. The sensation of being held aloft by magic was usually jarring enough to wake somepony up. Indeed, Sweetie soon let out a quiet groan and wrenched open her tired eyes. Luna gently set her back down on the branch.

The filly sat hunched upon her haunches, gazing out blankly through half-lidded eyes. A low, painful-sounding groan rose up from her throat. 

"Sweetie?" Luna said in concern, leaning in close to her companion, "Are you okay?"

She clenched her eyes shut, grimaced, and groaned again. "I don't feel well, Luna…"

"What's wrong? Tell me what hurts."

"Mnnn…" Sweetie whined, "My tummy hurts…Real bad…And I'm tired…"

Luna bit her lip and frowned. She knew immediately what was ailing her young friend.

"I feel kinda…dizzy…"

"Well, you just relax, okay? Try to stay awake," Luna spoke as she levitated Sweetie again, placing her securely on her back.

"Wher'we goin'…?" she mumbled.

Luna gracefully glided to the ground in a matter of seconds. "We need to find you food," she said simply, "and, more importantly, water." She felt Sweetie moan and slump limply against the back of her neck. She could feel Sweetie's little heart beating rapidly. "Don't worry," she said reassuringly, "We're bound to find something sooner or later. I won't rest until I find something."

The poor, malnourished filly could only groan in response.

As she galloped away through the darkness, Luna tried to put on a brave face. Inside, however, she was panicking. Sweetie's condition was alarmingly bad. Without the sun and moon, it was hard to tell just how long she had been without a single bite of food. Time was running out fast, and Luna knew she had to hurry.

There was precious little time left.

"Hang on Sweetie, okay?" Luna said, trying as hard as she could to keep her voice calm, "I'm going to run really fast."

"Luna…" she moaned, "I feel like I'm gon' throw up…"

"Just hang in there, Sweetie…"

"It hurts so bad…"

"I know, I know…" Luna was already in full gallop, running as fast as she could across the barren, deserted plains. There was nothing here. There wasn't even grass. A pessimistic thought in Luna's head told her that there would be no food anywhere in this damned place, and she found it hard to ignore.

"Just hang on…Please…" she murmured silently to herself.

Nothing passed by as she galloped. Tons and tons of nothing. Luna had to find food. She had to.

"Please…"



***



Luna continued to canter through the darkness, sweeping her gaze and her glowing horn to and fro in her desperate search for something to eat. She was utterly exhausted, but ignored the pain in her body and pressed on. She had been moving for a couple of hours, but the landscape around her remained the same as when she had left; barren rocky plains.

Sweetie Belle was slumped limply against her neck, breathing slowly and quietly. The filly felt like dead weight on her back, and to Luna it felt like the heavy weight of urgency. Dread was growing within her, and spurring her to move faster. Sweetie Belle would be dead soon. She could survive perhaps another 24, or maybe even 48 hours. Beyond that, however…

"Sweetie…" she said for the hundredth time, jostling the filly with her shoulder, "Wake up…!"

"Mnnughhhh…" Sweetie moaned.

The air was filled with the sound of Sweetie's stomach grumbling in protest, followed by her feeble, whimpering moan. Luna felt a pang in her heart.

"You're doing fine, Sweetie," she said reassuringly, though not halting her urgent search in the least, "You're going to be fine."

There wasn't an immediate response.

"Sweetie?"

"Urghh….Luna…"

"How are you holding up…?"

The filly shuffled on her back lethargically. Luna could feel her tenuous grip, and was constantly worried that she would slip off and topple from her back. "I…" she murmured, "I'm not good…Luna…"

"I'll keep looking, Sweetie. Don't worry."

"It huuurts…"

"I know, honey…I know…"

Luna gave a snort of anxious frustration and continued to canter forward as quickly as she could. As she moved, the light from her horn parted the churning darkness before her. However, it only managed to reveal more and more dry, cracked ground. There didn't seem to be a single, solitary occurrence of plant life anywhere. The barren deserts of Saddle Arabia had more plant life than this place.

"Luna…?" Sweetie's voice was a whisper.

"Yes, Sweetie?"

"'M…cold…"

Luna's heart hurt even more. She couldn't do much about that either. Her heating spells were ineffective, she had no blankets, and they couldn't stop to make a fire. "Then, imagine you're somewhere warm, okay?"

"Mnn…?"

"Have you ever been to Cantercún?"

"Umm…" Sweetie replied weakly, "Once…A long time ago…"

"Why don't you tell me about it?"

"'Kay…" There was a short pause, and then Sweetie began to speak once more. "We all went there…th'whole family. There were lots of beaches…The water was nice and warm…An' it was really hot, but it was nice under the umbrella…"

Luna took a quick glance back and saw that Sweetie was resting with her eyes closed against her back, but was also smiling.

"We went swimming…" she continued, "an' Rarity an' I built sand castles…We swam with some dolphins…"

"That sounds wonderful, Sweetie," Luna commented, "I've actually never been."

"The sun was soo nice…and the nights were warm too…Our hotel was really nice, and I had fun running around in the halls…Every night we ate a big huge dinner…and we bought fruit like watermelons on the beach. And…they had this thing…I dunno what it was, but it was super duper tasty!"

There was a noticeable moment of silence.

Sweetie groaned in misery. "I made myself even hungrier…"

Luna's stomach growled as well. "Just…try not to think about the food…"

"Th' food was a big part of the trip…"

"Well, perhaps somewhere else then? Where else have you gone on vacation?"

"We went to Zermane to go skiing once…"

"Ah! Well, perhaps you could think of when you were all done and you were sitting around the warm fire sipping cocoa?"

There was a pause, and then Sweetie gave a weak giggle. It was subtle and almost silent, but it warmed Luna's heart.

"Rarity didn't want the cocoa…" Sweetie said, "I dunno why, but she took one look at the marshmallows floating in it and said she thought it was weird."

Luna furrowed her brow as she considered the unusual mental image. "Now why would she…?"

"I dunno…Rarity's weird."

Luna chuckled. "Don't say that about your sister."

"Nah…" Sweetie stifled a groan. "She's weird an' I love her…"

Suddenly, Luna came to a complete halt and stopped moving. Sweetie made some confused sounds, but Luna quickly hushed her. She slowed her breathing and her eyes darted around in the darkness. Her ears were perked high, swiveling around and listening closely for any deviant sound.

Her heart felt like it was on ice as she stood her ground. She slowly rotated herself, staring into the darkness and trying to make out anything in the murky mess. 

Sweetie gave a weak, fearful cry and scrambled on her neck. "Luna…!" she cried, pointing her hoof out to Luna's left. She darted her head in that direction and finally laid eyes upon what she had heard out there. A single creature was stalking through the fog and approaching them. 

It stared at them with fangs bared, black fur and glowing eyes. It was a smaller one, looking almost like a wild coyote in shape. Drool dripped from its maw as it slowly padded towards them, a ravenous look in its eyes. It was the only creature in sight, but Luna knew there could be many more of them hiding in the dark.

The creature, like all the ones before it, leapt at the two ponies with its claws outstretched and ready to strike. Luna replied with a small kinetic blast to send it back down to the ground.

The coyote landed on its feet and didn't let the alicorn's attack slow it down in the least. It took another few bold steps towards its prey, ready to strike again. Luna took a step back and lit up her horn with a more powerful, focused blast. Before the creature had a chance to leap again, she let loose with her magic.

She was caught off guard, however, when the surprisingly nimble creature sidestepped the blast, dodging it entirely. Before she had entirely realized what had happened, it was leaping at her once again. She barely had time to swiftly step back and cast another spell at it.

She deftly held her ground against the violent creature, watching its every move. This one was definitely more agile than ones she had encountered previously. This could probably be attributed to its smaller size. Luna could hear Sweetie's weak but frightened breathing as the filly gripped onto her for dear life.

The creature leapt and she knocked it back. This was already going nowhere. She wasn't doing much more to the thing than shoving it to the ground. She needed to knock it out or escape from it, and she didn't have much time to waste. It leapt again, but she took a defensive step back and forced it to the ground as hard as she could. It shook off the blow as if it were nothing.

The coyote pulled a nimble move once more, darting back and forth and trying to catch the alicorn off guard. She answered with her own swift moves, keeping the creature in front of her at all times and finally knocking it back quite far with a spell.

"Luna…!" she heard Sweetie moan out in distress. 

She barely had time to react, however, as the beast was already upon her. She quickly sidestepped and thrust her head forward, delivering a powerful blast. It only managed to nick the coyote in its side.

Now knocked to the left, Luna was forced to swing her body in that direction in order to face it again. She glared at it, ready for its next strike.

"Luna!!" 

She heard the filly's cry of distress, and milliseconds later realized what was happening. Sweetie, weak from exhaustion, was losing her grip on Luna's neck and was beginning to slide off. She steadied her stance and looked back for only a brief moment. She quickly lit up her horn with telekinetic magic and replaced Sweetie into a secure position as quickly as she could. Not even a second had passed before her gaze was once again to the front.

Less than a second had been too long. Luna's eyes shot open and time seemed to slow to a crawl as the vicious creature sailed through the air, claws outstretched and aiming for her neck. It was mere inches away from her.

She was only given a fraction of a moment to react, which was not nearly enough time to ready even the weakest of kinetic spells. So, she did the only thing that she had enough time to do. Luna clenched her eyes shut, grit her teeth, and ducked.

Luna had expected one of two things to happen. Either the beast would still latch onto her and deliver her a world of pain, or she would sense it flying over her head and missing her entirely. What she had not expected, however, was for the air to be filled with a shrill cry and then for something soft but heavy to crumple onto her head.

She dared to open her eyes. She saw nothing but pitch blackness; her vision entirely obscured. Something lay collapsed atop her head, and this something was covered in thick, course fur. It was not moving, nor was it making a sound, and something warm was trickling down the side of her head.

Luna let out a shuddering sigh, realizing exactly what had happened. She carefully lowered her front end to the ground and deposited the coyote onto the dirt. She then carefully extracted her horn from where the creature had impaled itself on it.

She could hear Sweetie heaving shuddering breaths from atop her. She too felt a little uneasy as she stared down at the unmoving creature, blood pouring from its massive wound. The same blood that was also dripping off of her horn and getting all over her face.

"Well…" Luna said, "That was…close."

"Is it…Is it dead?" Sweetie asked breathlessly.

Luna didn't even chuckle at the childish question. "Yes, it's dead…" she replied, "It won't hurt us any longer."

She could feel the filly shuffling on her back, and guessed that she was looking away from the grisly scene before her. Luna, meanwhile, raised her hoof up to her face and tried to wipe away some of the blood. She grimaced as she felt the mess that was up there, staining her fur. She lowered her horn down and gave it a little shake, trying to dislodge the copious amounts that had accumulated there.

She reflected upon what had certainly been a stroke of luck. The creature had been aiming for her neck, but by instinctively ducking at the last moment, it had instead found her horn. She was thankful that its death had probably been quick. She shuddered at the thought of an agonizing death, even for a mindless, vicious creature such as this.

"Are you okay, Sweetie?" she spoke.

"I'm…fine…" Sweetie mumbled.

"I'm glad that you're safe," she said, glancing back. 

The filly was hunched over on her back, keeping her eyes away from the corpse. She had both of her forehooves clenched tightly over her stomach with a grimace on her face. Her eyes were half-lidded and glazed. She looked like she was barely able to stay awake.

"Sweetie?"

"I'm…I'm okay…" she slurred.

Luna's heart sank. "You're not okay…You need to eat something…" she said, mostly to herself, "We need to find you some food, but there's nothing out here…" Her gaze roamed around her surroundings, looking for some sort of impossible sign that would point her towards food. "We need to keep looking, but what are we even looking for? Anything would do at this point…You just need to eat something…"

Luna's voice trailed off. She was silent for a number of minutes, completely still.

"Luna…?" Sweetie spoke up, weakly rising her head.

The princess was staring, a calculating gaze in her eyes. Her lips were pursed, however, as if unsure.

"Luna? Shouldn't we…go?"

Luna breathed in through her nose a few times, a million conflicting thoughts running through her mind. "Sweetie…" she finally spoke, in an emotionless tone, "I do hope you understand just how dire this situation is…You need to eat something, and fast."

"Y-Yeah…I know…" she replied, wondering what the princess was getting at.

"And," she continued, "there is not much out here…We are, in a way, desperate."

There was a pause. "What're you talking about, Luna…?"

Luna turned back to gaze at her, a cold frown on her face. "Sweetie…" she spoke, "We have food right here. We have what we need."

Sweetie furrowed her brow and tilted her head. "Huh…? What do you mean?"

The alicorn simply wordlessly turned her head back to the front. Sweetie sat up and gazed over the princess' shoulders. "Luna…? What food?"

Suddenly, Sweetie paled and her eyes shot open wide in shock. "W-wait…" she stammered, following Luna's gaze, "Y…You don't…You can't mean…"

"Sweetie," Luna spoke evenly, "we find ourselves in a very desperate situation."

"B-but…But…" She could feel the filly quivering violently on her back, "I…I-I…I can't…"

"Sweetie…I-"

"I can't eat that thing!!"

Luna and Sweetie stared down at the dead creature on the ground before them in cold resignation and horrified shock, respectively. The filly's mouth was hanging open as her eyes darted between the corpse and Luna. 

"You…You can't be serious…!" Sweetie said in a trembling whisper.

Luna gently sat down on the hard ground and used her magic to gingerly pick Sweetie up off of her back. On the ground, the filly stared up at the much taller pony in abject disbelief.

"Sweetie Belle…" Luna spoke calmly in an understanding tone, "I know it might seem vile and disgusting. I know it might seem wrong, and I do understand what you're going through…" She shifted her gaze to the creature. "But…" she continued, "it is still food, Sweetie Belle. And it may be the only food we ever come across."

"N-no!" Sweetie exclaimed, "We can't! We can't eat…this!!"

"Many creatures eat meat, Sweetie Belle. We as ponies do not, and it is not part of our diet, but meat is still food and it is still nutritious."

Luna cast her gaze back at Sweetie. Her heart ached as she saw the filly trembling furiously as tears ran from her eyes. It hurt her tremendously to see her like this, but she steeled herself, knowing how important this was.

"But…It's…It was…" Sweetie was mumbling. She moaned lightly, and Luna wasn't sure if she was suffering from malnutrition, or if the mere thought was making her sick.

"I'm sorry Sweetie, truly I am. I am not comfortable with this either. If there were any other option, then I would take it in a heartbeat…but we have to make choices to…to stay alive."

Sweetie was whining, unable to tear her terrified gaze off of the dead body that lay before her. Her chest heaved with her heavy breaths, and her face was stained with tears. "I can't…" she murmured, "I can't do it…"

"Sweetie…"

"I can't do it, Luna!!" she suddenly exclaimed, turning to face the princess, "I just can't!!"

"Sweetie, you're going to pass out if you don't eat anything," Luna reasoned, "and after that, well…"

"I know…" she moaned, "But you can't…expect me to…" She looked at the motionless body again and shivered. "Ponies…don't eat meat…"

Luna sighed and frowned, feeling terrible about what she was doing. It hurt her even more because she knew she didn't have a choice.

"I don't even know how Fluttershy can handle it…" Sweetie muttered.

"Hm?" Luna perked up, "Fluttershy?"

Sweetie gazed up at her, her eyes filled with tears. She sniffled and said, "Fluttershy has to…she has to kill fish…so she can feed her otters and her bear…"

Luna chose to ignore her fascination at the very idea that one of her citizens owned a pet bear. 

"I…I can't do it, Luna…" She wrapped her hooves around herself in a tight hug, "It's not right…It's scary…I'm scared, Luna…It's gonna make me sick…"

"Sweetie…" Luna cooed, trotting closer to her and wrapping her up in a warm, comforting wing hug. Sweetie just continued to hug herself and cry as Luna tried to calm her.

They remained that way for a few minutes, the only sound being Sweetie's emotional cries. The darkness swirled around them and the chilly air bit into their skin. Many times, the sounds of their stomachs grumbling could be heard.

Luna got to her hooves and returned her wing to her side. Sweetie gazed up at her in worried confusion. 

"I'm going to get some now," she said, straight and to the point.

Sweetie panicked. "No!!" she cried, "Please don't!!"

Luna didn't reply until she felt tiny trembling hooves grab onto her hind leg. Another spike of pain shot through her heart.

"Please!" Sweetie cried.

"Sweetie, you'd…better turn away…"

The filly made a strange, almost gurgling sound. The hooves fell away from her leg, allowing her to approach the creature. She tried her best to shut out the terrified sobs from behind her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the bitter, icy air. It did little to calm her wild emotions.

With a stoic expression on her face, she lit up her horn with telekinesis. She was briefly intrigued when she found that she could actually grab the creature, now that it was no longer alive. Disgust filled her at the very thought of what she was about to do, but she quelled it. She had done far worse in her long life; she was used to overcoming her emotions.

She gave one final glance at Sweetie, seeing that she was turned away and hiding her face with her hooves. She could see how frail and weak the filly was, and it was enough to convince her to continue with her grisly course of action. She turned back to the corpse suspended before her with her magic, and formed a small but sharp magical blade.

Luna winced and Sweetie gave a startled cry as the vile sounds filled the air. Luna suppressed all of her emotions and focused entirely on completing what needed to be done. Her disgust, morals, and compassion meant nothing to her now. The two of them were starving, and Sweetie Belle was dying.

A few minutes passed, and Sweetie wept in utter turmoil. Luna tried to get her work done as quickly as possible. The blade moved swiftly and efficiently, serving her well. Before long, she was done.

Sweetie jumped when she heard the rest of the coyote fall to the ground. She heard Luna stepping softly towards her, but continued to hide her face.

"Here, Sweetie…"

The filly just whimpered and shivered.

"Sweetie…" Luna pressed gently, "Eat."

"No…"

Luna frowned and sighed, a heavy feeling in her heart. "Sweetie…"

"Get it away from me…!" Sweetie was heaving breaths, a panicked, almost unhinged whine in her voice.

"Sweetie, if you don't eat something then you're not going to make it…"

"I don't care!"

Luna was silent.

"I don't care, Luna! I won't eat it!!"

"Sweetie, please…" Luna pleaded, stepping closer.

"Don't let me see it!!" 

The foal's panicked words rang through Luna's mind like a painful shot, and her uncontrollable sobbing that followed was simply too much to bear. The hurt in her heart was just too much. She dropped what she was carrying and cantered over to the filly, sitting down next to her and hugging her close with one of her wings. 

At first Sweetie tried to shy away from the wing, but soon found herself clutching Luna's sides and wailing into her fur. Her little body shivered and so many tears streamed from her eyes. Luna simply stayed silent and held her close.

"I can't do it…" she managed to say between her heaving cries, "I can't do it…I can't do it…"

"Shhhh…" Luna soothed.

"I'm sorry, Luna!" she cried, "I'm…I'm sorry!"

"I know, Sweetie Belle…I know…"

The two sat still for a time. It took a while, but Sweetie's uncontrollable wailing eventually simmered down, though her emotions were still consuming her. Luna gazed down and saw Sweetie staring up at her with a quivering lip and a heartbreaking expression. It was an expression that said "I can't handle this. This is too much."

Luna simply reached down with her hooves and picked the foal up, bringing her into a soft, warm embrace. She nuzzled the filly gently, trying to soothe her mind and relax her. Sweetie rested her head over Luna's arm and wept softly.

"Luna…I-"

"It's okay, Sweetie…"

"I'm…I'm not gonna make it…"

"Shhh…Don't say that, Sweetie. It's not true."

"It's…It's right there, and….I can't…" Sweetie shivered and moaned lightly. "Wh…What would Rarity think of me? Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and Miss Cheerliee…"

"It's not easy Sweetie, I know. Normally I wouldn't even think of suggesting something like this."

"It's n't fair…" she muttered.

"Sweetie, I'm here for you, okay? I'm going to help you through it. You won't be alone…"

The filly whined and buried her face in Luna's fur.

"But…You have to eat."

Sweetie sobbed loudly.

Luna flattened her ears and glanced away. She wasn't sure if she was feeling sympathy or shame. "It's…not really all that bad, Sweetie. It tastes bad, but it's not the worst thing in the world. You just swallow it and you're done."

There was a long pause. "How…How do you…?" Sweetie murmured.

Luna gave a very heavy sigh. "Sweetie, my life has been far from perfect. You know this, do you not? I'm sure Miss Cheerliee has taught you all Equestrian history." She paused and closed her eyes, difficult memories entering her mind. "Times were difficult during turmoil and strife. When one's life is on the line, one learns how to make sacrifices to stay alive…"

Luna then glanced down at the shivering filly huddled in her hooves. "But…" she continued, "nopony this young should ever have to learn a lesson such as this…"

Sweetie hugged her tight and she returned the embrace. They sat there in relative silence for many minutes, the only sound being Sweetie's painful cries. A few stray tears rolled down Luna's face as well.

"Luna…" Sweetie moaned mournfully, "I…I'm gonna die…"

Though she desperately wanted to answer, to simply respond in some way, Luna found that she could not.



***



Luna cantered through the darkness, a grim expression on her face. Laying nearly motionless atop her back was a filly with fur that had once been pristine white. She was flopped over the alicorn's back like a ragdoll, hooves dangling and mouth just slightly open. One would have to get extremely close to be able to hear her breathing.

Sweetie Belle hadn't been able to eat the meat. Luna had brought the meal along with her just in case. She stored it within a small pocket dimension, an extremely complex spell that few in the world could perform. It would remain within her reach as long as she was able to cast magic.

A painful, dreading feeling was building in the pit of her stomach. Desperate, undesirable courses of action presented themselves to her, and she shuddered deeply at the mere thought of them. 

She would pour all of her effort into making sure that Sweetie Belle would live, but what would the cost be?

This damned wasteland of empty darkness was trying her in ways she had scarcely experienced before. She had nothing to show for all of her valiant efforts beyond their two still-beating hearts. She was no closer to finding a way home; not even the smallest of clues had presented itself to her. All she could do was wander the wasteland, completely lost.

She thought back to the ruined town that she had first awoken in. A horrible feeling shot through her as she wondered if the way home were back there. She found herself wondering if losing the village would cause them to be lost in here forever. She may never see that place again, and it had been the place she had awoken in. It seemed to have been her entrance into this world, and Sweetie's as well, so did that mean it was the exit?

Luna shook her head. She knew she needed to stop letting her anxiety get the better of her. She needed to focus on what was happening now and take things one step at a time. They needed to survive right now. Nothing else mattered.

Sweetie moaned slightly in her sleep, and Luna glanced back in worry. No little filly should have to go through this… she said to herself, She's far too young. She should be playing with her friends…laughing…enjoying life… Luna sighed heavily. And now she's dying and I have to force her to…

The filly mumbled and moaned again, a frown appearing on her face. Luna wondered what was going through her mind. Was she facing horrible demons and terrifying images in her dreams.

Her eyebrows shot up as the thought suddenly came to her. She had not attempted dream-walking while in this realm. Truthfully, she harboured doubt that it would even work. It wouldn't surprise her.

Luna had been walking for what seemed like hours now. Whether it had been two or 20, she had no idea. This was her last-ditch effort to find some food. She prayed to the heavens that luck would be on her side. Though the landscape was mostly barren, it did indeed change. She had seen plains, rocky hills, the forest, and even a deep canyon. There had to be something somewhere. A fertile valley or a river perhaps. 

An oasis that would save them both.

She felt Sweetie starting to slip off of her back, so she stopped and enveloped the filly lightly with a telekinetic grip. She shuddered as she felt the little unicorn's body, limp and almost lifeless. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to drive away the creeping feeling under her skin. She'll live… she tried to tell herself.

Princess Luna had seen some horrible things in her lifetime. Many such atrocities no longer phased her, many she had shrugged off in times of turmoil and battle. Some of which she had caused herself.

But some things were simply too much to bear.

Luna gave a heavy, hurtful sigh and stopped trotting. She had come far enough and had found nothing but more lifeless dirt. There was nothing out here to find, and so matters had to be taken into her own hoof. She gave a glance back at the filly, a heavy frown across her face. She merely closed her eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry…"

The area around her glowed as she lit up her horn, but then the aura suddenly died out. Luna's eyes were wide open and staring straight ahead. She furrowed her brow and took a few tentative steps forward. She glanced around for a moment, seeing nothing more than the darkness, and then continued forward at a brisk gallop.

She could smell something. It was something familiar. Something crisp and clear, and an absolute wonder to her senses. She trotted forward as fast as she could, sniffing the air and trying to hone in on her destination. She lost her way a couple of times, but she never gave up. It had to be nearby. It had to be somewhere!

Luna nearly slipped off the edge when she finally found it. She came to a halt and stared out at the sight before her, a huge smile quickly finding its way onto her relieved face. Her eyes danced as they beheld what she had finally found after all this time. It was almost enough to bring a tear to her eye.

Water. She stood on the banks of what seemed to be a large, slow-moving river. The water seemed murky from lack of light, but it was still unquestionably water. The absolute relief that Luna felt was unlike any other. After so many setbacks, she finally had something positive to regard.

She didn't waste any time. She reached out with some telekinetic magic and picked up some of the water, holding it before her in a floating sphere. She observed it, seeing how much clearer it looked when illuminated by her magic's aura. She checked it with a spell, and even sent a purification spell through just to be safe. 

She smiled, satisfied, and brought the sphere of water to her lips. She closed her eyes and let the wonderful relief wash over her as the cool, refreshing liquid trickled down her throat. It felt so wonderful and it tasted so amazing. Never before had mere water been so incredible to her. 

When she had made the sphere completely vanish, she gave a sigh of immense satisfaction. She stood still, waiting for a few minutes. Though she knew time was precious, she had to make sure not to be hasty. After a while, nothing seemed to be happening to her. The water was sitting fine in her stomach, and so it didn't seem to be contaminated or poisoned in any way. Her smile grew even bigger.

"Sweetie!" Luna said excitedly, picking up the foal with her magic and gently laying her upon the ground. The filly lay on her back with her mouth hanging open, breathing only just slightly. "Sweetie, wake up! Look!" The filly did not stir.

Luna frowned slightly and reached out to grab some more water. She formed a much smaller sphere, purified it, and brought it closer to the young unicorn. "Sweetie, look! I found water!" 

Still, however, Sweetie did not stir. Luna bit her lip, a bit of anxiety returning to her, as she brought the small sphere up to the filly's lips. She gently allowed the water to trickle into her mouth, taking care not to let her choke.

Once half of the sphere had disappeared down her throat, she closed her mouth and stirred, letting out a groan. She shifted on the ground, cracking open her eyes just slightly. "Mmmn…?"

"It's water, Sweetie!" Luna said, her excitement returning, "Here! Drink some more!"

Sweetie didn't reply, but she opened her mouth. Luna took the invitation and brought her some more water, letting it trickle into her mouth at a slow, controlled pace. As Sweetie swallowed more and more of the liquid, her eyes opened more and she seemed to wake up.

"Mmm…" she could be heard as she drank her third water sphere. When it was gone, she made a move to sit up straight. Luna allowed her to. Already, she could see life returning to the filly's features as Sweetie gazed up at her. 

"You okay, Sweetie?" she asked.

Sweetie still seemed a little out of it. "More…" she whispered.

Luna grinned, quite happy to oblige. She brought Sweetie more and more water, letting the little filly drink her fill. Sweetie closed her eyes in bliss as she drank down the revitalizing liquid. She drank more and more until she finally held up a hoof and had to stop. Her face was screwed up in discomfort for a moment.

And then she burped.

She quickly brought both of her hooves up to her mouth as her eyes shot open in shock. She gazed up at the princess, and Luna gazed back down at her, blank expressions on both of their faces. After a short, silent pause, they both smiled. Soon they were laughing aloud. For a short while, the air was filled with the joyful sound of laughter.

"Heehee…Sorry, Luna."

Luna gave one final chuckle and smiled down at her. "How are you feeling?"

Sweetie moved to sit up. "Mmm, a little better…"

The alicorn nodded, retrieving another ball of water from the river. She drank its entire contents eagerly.

Sweetie turned to look at the river. "Whoa…" she murmured, "A real river…"

"Mmm…" Luna murmured before she finished off her third drink, "I just happened upon it. Thank goodness I found it…"

Sweetie stared for a moment. "This place is so weird…" she muttered.

Luna let out a dry chuckle. "I believe that goes without saying…"

"Nothing makes sense…It's all dry, empty stuff, and then suddenly there's this river here." She blinked in surprise as she found another ball of water suddenly in front of her, courtesy of Luna. She smiled in gratification and drank the entire thing before continuing. "Maybe we've left the dry part behind?"

"Who knows…?"

Sweetie nodded, but then suddenly doubled over in pain. She let out a groan and held a hoof to her stomach.

Luna watched her and frowned in concern. The water had definitely revitalized her, but she was still suffering from malnutrition. Thankful though she was for the water, food was still an important necessity.

She began to move quickly once again. First, she gathered up a large amount of water with her magic and stored it in that same pocket dimension, just in case they lost the river and couldn't find another one. Then, she picked up Sweetie and gently placed her on her back.

Sweetie gripped onto her and said, "Where're we going now…?"

Luna began to trot along the banks of the river. "This is real water, Sweetie," she replied, keeping her gaze low and looking around, "It's not dirty, contaminated water. It's not mud or muck. It's real, clean water."

Sweetie nodded. "Yeah, I could taste it."

"There has to be some sort of plant life around here. There has to be. With water like this, there's bound to be something fertile."

The filly gasped. "Y-you mean…There might be…?"

"I hope so."

Sweetie said nothing more. She focused what little energy she had on joining Luna's search. She cast her gaze around in all directions, scanning the ground for anything that caught her eye. For a while, nothing but the all-too-familiar dry, brown ground was all they found. It was such an unusual sight to see such dry banks of the river.

As they continued forward, however, the landscape began to change. It was subtle at first, but Luna could see. The dry, cracked earth was turning into dirt. The banks were becoming softer and looked more moisturized. The very ground beneath her hooves felt softer, which was definitely a welcome relief. Luna's hopes continued to grow. The area was looking more and more like somewhere where something could grow. Though the darkness followed her constantly, the 'dry' feeling from previous lands was slowly fading away. She galloped forwards excitedly, the river constantly to her right.

And then, finally, she had to stop and stare at what lay before her. Sweetie gasped from atop her, and both of them gazed forward with huge smiles and sparkles in their eyes.

Grass!

The two stared in silence for a moment, not quite believing what they were seeing. Sweetie finally spoke up. "Is…Is that…?"

"Hang on, Sweetie. Don't get too excited," Luna replied, trying to curb her own enthusiasm as well, "I have to make sure it's…safe to eat."

"O…Okay…"

Luna slowly trotted forward and gingerly stepped onto the green ground, half-expecting it to simply disappear as a simple mirage. She felt its familiar texture beneath her hooves, and had to fight even harder to simply burst out in joy.

She reached down with her magic and gripped a few blades, ripping them from the ground and holding them before her. She examined them closely. The grass appeared green and fairly healthy, if not very moist. There didn't appear to be any tampering, and it wasn't suffering from any disease of malformation of any kind. It definitely looked like real, healthy grass.

Out the corner of her eye, she could see Sweetie hungrily eyeing the clump of grass she was holding. Deciding to speed this up and, if possible, allow the poor hungry foal to eat, she tossed the greens into her mouth, chewed and swallowed.

"Luna…?" Sweetie said, accompanied by an impatient growl of her stomach. Luna waited. She waited and carefully observed, running spells and analyses through her. For a couple of minutes, she didn't say a word.

Then, finally, she turned back to Sweetie Belle with the largest smile ever. "It's okay, Sweetie!" she proclaimed, "It's real grass!"

Sweetie's face lit up like a golden sunrise. "Really?!"

Luna wasted no more time with words. She picked up Sweetie with her magic and gently placed her sitting upon the grassy ground. She watched as the filly stared in relief and astonishment at the large assortment of green that surrounded her. Too weak to light up her horn, she pulled some grass out of the ground with her bare hooves and shoved it into her mouth.

And she ate. Sweetie Belle ate and ate and ate. Luna smiled, also munching on tufts of grass as she watched. Grass was certainly not at the highest point of pony taste. Truthfully it was quite bland and tasteless. However, it was a veritable feast for the two of them. They spoke no more words as they filled their eager bellies with as much of the nutritious snack as they could.

It was an absolute delight. The two ate until they could eat no more. Luna could feel strength returning to her with each passing moment, and she could easily see the energy retuning to her young companion. It wasn't much of a meal, to be sure, but it was the best thing they could've hoped to find. It was food.

Finally, an hour later, two ponies with slightly bloated bellies sat on their backs and stared up at the dark nothingness above. They sighed happily, revitalized and reenergized. 

"Best meal I've had in centuries…" Luna mused.

Sweetie giggled at this. "That was good. I used to hate grass…But that was the best thing ever!"

"Thank heavens we found this place…Oh, thank heavens…"

There was a moment of silence. "We, um…" Sweetie continued, "We were really close, weren't we?"

Luna softened up as an electric shiver ran down her spine. She turned to gaze at Sweetie with a heavy frown on her face. "Yes…We were…" she said quietly.

After another moment of silence, the filly shivered slightly.

"I'm glad you're okay."

Sweetie turned to gaze at Luna.

"I…I was really afraid today," the alicorn spoke softly, "I was afraid that I might lose you…I do not want that to happen, Sweetie Belle. I wish to do everything in my power to make sure that you remain safe…"

Sweetie smiled. "Thanks, Luna…" she murmured, "I dunno what I'd do if you weren't here with me…"

"I'm…just glad you're okay now. I couldn't stand not being able to help you." Luna smiled warmly.

Sweetie beamed back just as warmly.

"Perhaps now, we can truly focus on finding a way out of here…"

"Mhm…" Sweetie murmured, turning to look back up at the nonexistent sky.

Luna gave a heavy sigh. She couldn't get over the immense, overpowering relief that was flooding through her. She had nearly lost a friend today, this she knew. A dear companion, and one who had placed their trust in her. Death was nothing new to the immortal alicorn, but this was something more.

She closed her eyes and thanked the heavens once more. She knew they would not be able to rest for long, and relaxation was something impossible in these dangerous lands. However, for the moment, her tummy was full, her strength was back, and her friend was alive and well. The smile that graced her lips was genuine, and for a short while her worries seemed to simply disappear…