We Remember Everything

by Thunderscourge

It Only Hurts Just Once

Small beams of light poked through the boulders that had crumbled from the Ursa cave ceiling. Across from the rockslide rested the body of the Ursa Major, which had lifeless eyes glaring forward from its final resting place. In the now crowded cave’s center lay the body of the Ursa Minor, which lay unmoving under the boulders that had collapsed on top of it.

Nearby it, in a small clearing where no rocks had fallen, were two similarly unmoving bodies of ponies. The larger one had taken the smaller one over to the space after escaping the earth that had fallen on them both, having shielded her apprentice’s body with her own at the very last moment.

While successful in preventing Trixie from being crushed to a pulp underneath the stones, Luna was not able to do so without a cost. Her spine was bruised from where she took the brunt of the falling debris, making every movement below the shoulder tinge with abhorrent pain. However, what made Luna collapse beside Trixie’s unmoving body was the other wounds she had incurred.

Similar to Trixie, Luna now bore deep gashes across one side that bled profusely. Unable to cast magic, Luna had no way of stemming the tide of crimson blood from her partially exposed skin where her fur had been ripped off.

It had been trying to shrug off the boulder that had threatened to crush her and her student, thus leaving Luna in no position to do much of anything after freeing them both. She had picked Trixie up by the scruff of her neck and weakly dragged the still pony to where the trace amounts of light were shining in.

Flopping on her own side, Luna could tell instantly through a sharp jolt of new pain that her wing was as cut up as her side. Feathers weakly held on to where a gash cut across her most fragile of limbs. Luna powered through the pain as best as she could, knowing that she had to stay strong.

Luna twisted her head as she coughed up blood, not wanting to spit it on Trixie. Trixie had not moved since collapsing from her life threatening level of strain and wounds incurred from the Ursas, but Luna was not about to throw up blood on her, especially if she was just taking a much needed rest.

Now laying beside Trixie, Luna brought a hoof out to touch Trixie’s chest. She needed to know if she was already too late.

Luna ignored the wetness of Trixie’s blood soaked fur as she waited for a heartbeat.

“Please…”

Luna did not intend to convince anyone, but the small beat of Trixie’s heart showed that she indeed had. Trixie had not departed their world just yet, though she remained unconscious and at death’s door.

Before collapsing herself, Luna weakly pulled herself around her student’s body. She needed to rest just like Trixie, but she would be damned if she would not continue protecting her from the collapsing ceiling even in sleep.

Being crushed by the falling stones would hurt less than losing somepony she cared for.

More light peaking into the collapsed cave managed to wake one of the ponies within. The increase was minimal, but it was enough.

Through a bruised eye that had dried blood dripped across the lid, Trixie tried to look towards the source of the light. When she had collapsed it had been nighttime, and she had fully not expected to wake.

Her half open eye had blurry vision as it tried to focus on what was in front of Trixie. As she attempted this Trixie attempted to move a hoof, only to find that she was too weak to do even that. Every inch of her being felt pain, though Trixie could hardly complain. She had not expected at all to survive, so pain was more of a relief than an issue at that very moment.

As Trixie’s vision finished adjusting, the almost dead mare could make out the source of the light. It was shining in through a crevice in the pile of boulders that were in the way of the light. The reason for the recent crevice was standing beside the stone wall, and that was the black coated mare who had taken Trixie under her wing.

Luna was working at the wall, removing what rocks she could and kicking at others. Without her full powers and with her wounds, Luna could not put as much of a dent into them as she normally would be able to. But if Luna was as she normally was there would be no issue, given that she could just teleport Trixie and herself out.

Trixie took to watching Luna throw herself at the cave in, stunned at the ferocity Luna was displaying despite her visible wounds. The normally majestic Nightmare Moon had rugged, bloodied fur on top where purple bruising was showing beneath where some fur had been scraped off.

This was compounded by the gashes going diagonally from her shoulder down to her hip on one side. Fully torn, showing that the claws had time to sink in when they struck. Trixie winced at the thought, glad that her own lack of constitution caused her own self to be knocked back whenever she was hit.

Trixie was grateful that her pain sensors were overloading in a way, since she could not tell just how bad off she was. She couldn’t move to look at herself, and her position only afforded her a view of the ground before her.

Still, the dark staining pool on the ground was not comforting to Trixie. Either it was her own blood, which meant that she really was done for, while if it was Luna’s that meant that Trixie’s teacher was as gravely wounded as she appeared.

Trixie tried to find her voice, but only managed to cough pathetically as more blood escaped her lips. This noise was enough to catch Luna’s attention, who stopped kicking back at the rocks so that she could rush over to Trixie’s side. Like the adrenaline had kept Trixie moving the night before, Luna’s own helped her forget the pain she was suffering from.

Luna bent down to Trixie’s level and put her head up against her student’s, nuzzling her face against Trixie’s own, “Don’t say anything, just rest.”

Ignoring Luna’s warning, Trixie found a small piece of her voice in order to whisper, “I’m sorry.”

Trixie knew that this was all her own fault. She didn’t have to overreact and be so reckless, but her bruised ego had suffered too much for her to do anything else. Despite it being one of many reactions possible, it was the one that Trixie had to pursue. Still, Trixie found herself crying out of the one eye she could feel and move despite her own hubris.

Still nuzzling against Trixie, Luna could feel the tears dripping down the otherwise blood covered face. Luna could sympathize with having ego cloud judgment, and she wasn’t about to have Trixie blame just herself. Trixie made the decision to come, but it was the fault of all those who led her to make that decision as well.

“Hey, hey, don’t cry,” Luna crooned as she brought her hooves forward to embrace her wounded apprentice.

Trixie would require a miracle to live, and every moment she drew breath was a smaller one. Luna was not going to have her die with regrets or apologizing.

Try as she might, Trixie was unable to stem the tears that were dripping down now. Seeing her mentor so hurt up close was shredding the last pieces of self-worth Trixie had, as trampled as they had already been, “You’re hurt. Why…”

Luna glanced back to her wounded side before shaking her head. She knew Trixie would insist if she kept quiet, so after a moment of hesitation Luna turned towards the Ursa Minor’s still body, “The cave collapsing did not stop the Ursa Minor from striking one last time.”

She had managed to put herself in-between not only Trixie and the falling debris, but also between her and the charging Ursa. And, unlike Trixie’s wounds, they were much more than skin deep.

“Can’t…” Trixie coughed again, but swallowed the blood she was tasting in her mouth, “Heal…”

Luna lowered her head in defeat. Another thing lost with her temporary power loss that could last up to an entire month, “My magic is sealed still.”

Trixie’s eye closed and Luna felt her own heart skip a beat. Trixie needed to rest if she was going to survive, but the thought that she might not wake up haunted Luna.

“Trixie, you are by far the most worthy student I could hope for.”

Despite her broken sense of pride, Trixie had one thing she could be proud of. Against all odds, she had done what she had come to do. The murderous Ursas were put down, and no other ponies would have to suffer because of them. She had proven herself.

“I did it…”

Luna smiled as she lowered her mouth to Trixie’s battered ear, “You can brag all you want about having slain an Ursa now. Two at once even, once we get out of here.”

“Are we t—trapped?” Trixie coughed.

Luna debated lying to her, but given that Trixie herself had seen the rocks she knew it would be quite futile, “For now. Somepony will come along and find us though. Don’t worry.”

The princess only hoped that what she said was not actually a lie.

Still confined to his room in Asgard, Loki was biting his lip in frustration. Luna was not often late, and yet she had not appeared at all despite how over half the day had passed by.

Irritated by this tardiness, and worried about what might be the cause, Loki got up from his bed and approached his door. Once there he opened it, casting an illusion while teleporting behind the guards posted outside who quickly turned to face the now fake-Loki.

The fake-Loki spoke to the two men stationed to keep Loki inside, “Send for my mother. I care to speak with her.”

“And leave you unguarded, traitor prince?” one of the guards, a man with a thick mustache and a bald head, scoffed.

Loki could not believe how difficult some people could be, “To be honest I am being polite. If I wanted to I could leave on my own, I am merely choosing not to in some foolhardy attempt to earn my family’s trust back.”

The man snorted at Loki, “I would like to see you try to escape.”

He had said this just as the real Loki unraveled the man’s pants so that they fell to the floor around his feet. The man, in surprise, stumbled and crashed over onto the floor as the real Loki uncloaked himself and stepped on top of the fool’s back.

“I daresay I already have succeeded.”

Loki turned to the other guard with a yawn, “Go fetch my mother while this clown tries to fix his clothes.”

Luna probably was just bothering his mother about something or another. Loki could only dread whatever they were planning for him, but he supposed whatever it was it would kill the boredom he was suffering from.

After Trixie drifted off into sleep, Luna had gone about forcing a way through the rocks that kept them from the outside world. As she pounded away at them again and again Luna idly thought about how convenient it would be for Heimdall to see her predicament and send her the help she needed.

No help came though. She continued her efforts, careful to not upset the rock pile in a way that would worsen the situation. Still, fighting against the rubble proved to be a two steps forward, one step back situation as each rock pounded to dust shifted others so that it was an ever changing puzzle.

Luna growled as she was forced to change her approach yet again as the boulders shifted and threatened to fall in a destructive way. She was not quite sure she had it in her to lift one of them off of her body again, and causing them all to tumble the wrong way could bring harm to Trixie as well.

Her mentor’s growl woke Trixie up, who was beginning to regain some of her strength as her wounds began to fix themselves ever so slowly. While believing that she should have died already, Trixie was not about to question it. Not yet at least.

“Why?”

Luna was once again distracted from her work when she realized Trixie had spoken, “Huh?”

Trixie managed to prop herself up with her less wounded front hoof, but it only brought her up a small degree given how being less wounded was not saying much, “Why did you do this for me? Now you’re going to die with me.”

Deciding that a break was in order given the recent setback, Luna moved to once again be beside Trixie. She took care not to aggravate Trixie’s, or her own, wounds as she lifted Trixie’s chin up to look her in the eye.

“For the same reason you were hurt by my stupid words at the trials.”

Trixie’s one open eye winced at the mention of what Luna said then, for Trixie was almost quite sure it had been more harming than everything said up to that point given the dismissal it had contained, “Princess…”

As Trixie’s voice trailed off, Luna picked up the verbal slack. Luna pulled Trixie into a hug while again avoiding her more wounded parts, “I would do anything for you.”

The embrace and the statement that accompanied it made Trixie forget about the pain for a moment. She had earned the approval she had so desperately craved from Luna, whom had done so much for her.

This was, what Trixie imagined, what it felt like to have a loving embrace.

“I—”

Her voice stopped as her inner fears rushed to the surface. She felt like she had to get this off her chest, even if it could embarrass her later. After all, she might not get the chance to say it later.

Trixie brought her head into Luna’s crest, “I think of you as a mother, Princess. You have taken care of me all these months even though I was nothing more than a street rat. I know so little about who you really are, but you mean everything to me.”

Luna could not hide her gasp as her brain processed what her ears just heard. She had not actually thought of things in that way before, but in some way it did not feel all that off to her, “A mother? You do?”

Trixie could not even tell if she was blushing, but she knew she normally would be given how embarrassed she was revealing this, “I know I’m an adult, but—”

She took a deep breath in before continuing, needing to gather her nerve together, “You gave me a place to live. You make sure I’m doing well, both eating and sleeping. And you care how I am feeling, and treat me well when so many other ponies see me as a laughingstock.”

With a wistful sigh, Luna looked down to the surrogate daughter she was grateful to still have alive, “What an honor.”

The way Trixie viewed her, as good as it made Luna feel, also made her feel more self-conscious than ever. She was not exactly a role model, and with the dark influence of her Nightmare Moon side Luna knew she was not exactly even up to her normal low standards. The way she had treated Trixie at the end of the competition was proof enough that she was not truly worthy of the honor bestowed upon her.

Luna was not known for being a welcoming and loving pony. She was a practitioner of tough love and had low tolerance for everything not within her own goals. She was not her sister, and that was coming to mind more than ever.

“Trixie, I am—I am not my sister. Celestia’s always been the warm, compassionate one who just knows what to say and do. I’m not sure I’m ready to be a real mother. But…”

As Luna trailed off she tried to think of what to say. Despite her self doubt, she did not want to come off as rejecting Trixie’s admiration for Luna truly did enjoy knowing that somepony other than her sister or Loki loved her that much. She just felt guilty about her own failings.

“Still, you’ve done nothing but prove my hopes right. I took you in so that you may become my heir, my second like Celestia has Twilight. You’re the most dedicated, faithful student I could hope for. I never thought though that you would, on a personal level, be more than that…”

Luna lowered her lips to Trixie’s forehead and gave her a light kiss, “I’m happy for once that I was wrong. I love you.”

Trixie made no response other than shifting in Luna’s chest, the apprentice’s breathing showing that she was close to being asleep again.

Luna kissed Trixie again while stroking her apprentice’s ruined coat through the shreds of Trixie’s destroyed cape, “Trixie, stay strong, okay? I promise you I will get us both out of here even if I have to knock down the whole cave by myself.”

Loki had taken to reading while waiting for his mother to arrive, though he found himself partially startled when her figure appeared in the room without entering through the door.

A projected illusion she could communicate through. He had dealt with them before, not that he was fond of doing so when he could just as easily talk to the real thing.

“You sent for me, Loki?”

He closed the tome before him and placed it on his desk while turning his chair to face the apparition, “Can we not do this in person?”

Frigga shook her head, “I figured this would be a quicker method of communication. Is it something important?”

“No, not really. I was just wondering if Luna was with you. She said she would visit the day after her student’s trial, which would have been yesterday.”

Loki’s mother smiled at him knowingly, “Oh, you mean Trixie’s entry to the Equestria Games.”

Loki hated that she knew that. His mother knowing things like that meant she was talking to Luna a lot behind his back, and that could only lead to terrible conclusions.

“Yes, that. So is Luna with you or is she just late?”

Frigga winked at him coyly, “I’m quite sure she is late.”

Loki ignored her so he could go back to reading, “Very well then. May you let me know when she does arrive?”

“Of course. Though I must ask, how are you doing Loki?”

Realizing that his mother would not just leave without a sufficient response, Loki relented, “Wasting away from boredom. The visits from you, Thor and Luna are what are keeping me sane.”

“I apologize Loki. I have been trying to convince your father to lift your punishment, especially in lieu of what we have learned since the incident on Midgard.”

He let out a long breath as he thought to his own true crimes, “I still am guilty of my crimes preceding it.”

“We were all to blame for what happened then.”

Not desiring to go over this again, Loki conjured up a new topic to discuss, “How goes Thor’s quest to liberate the Nine Realms now that we have access to the Bifrost?”

Frigga smiled even though he was dodging the topic. He would not say it to anyone, but his choice in topic showed that he still cared for his brother despite all that had transpired, “He and Lady Sif’s troupe have managed to quell some of the uprisings and raider attacks that have come about after our absence. There is still much work to be done.”

“I am sure they could use another hand.”

Frigga shook her head no, thinking that Loki was implying he could help them out, “They will have to manage as they are for now I am afraid.”

Her response only made Loki laugh, “You thought I was referring to myself?”

Realizing now what he meant, Frigga firmly responded to his actual intent, “I am not sure involving Luna would be wise.”

Loki could not see what the issue could be with Luna helping out a little, “She could rival Thor in combat I am quite sure, meaning that any work they do would be that much quicker. That is not to mention how having a magic user who can heal might be useful. Think of all the lives that can be saved.”

Again, Frigga rebuffed his offer of Luna’s services, “Loki, given the basis of your activities with her I advise against it.”

Loki suddenly felt sick to his stomach. His mother was implying and prying both at the same time, and it made him quite uncomfortable. Still, he knew he had to say something to that or make her think the worst.

“She’s not with child, mother. We would know if she was.”

Frigga pointed her finger at him sharply, “Maybe not now, but I would prefer caution to be excised. I will only put in my support for her assisting them if your visits are do not remain confined to your bed.”

True to form, Loki scoffed and rolled his eyes while speaking in a mocking tone, “It’s not as if that could continue anyways. She’s sure to bring her apprentice along now that she has me teaching her magic, and any previously private activities would be quite awkward with a visitor.”

His mother always had enjoyed his snarkiness in her own way, being quite sharp tongued herself, “You are right though. If she assists Thor we can help unite the Nine Realms again at a faster rate, saving lives.”

“Well, eight of nine realms is good enough,” Loki corrected, knowing that they did not truly look over one of the realms that belonged to their nine. It just was one in name only given their inability to actually look over it in any shape or form.

Frigga nodded in agreement, knowing what he was referring to instantly, “Niflheim is and will remain out of our reach. The mists and dangers there prevent our influence, not that there is any indication that we have anything there to protect.”

“Even Heimdall cannot peer into it. A useful trick for masking your presence from him is to mimic the mists there.”

“Another thing you get from me. Did you by chance see who wrote those books on the mists?” Frigga quipped.

Loki only shrugged, not having ever realized he was reading her texts when trying to find ways of breaking the law, “I generally skip the title pages and the fanfare that follows.”

Frigga smiled fondly as she thought to how the dedicated gatekeeper of Asgard had two blights on his perfect record, only one of which he even acknowledged, “The guardian to our realm would never admit to being unable to track his very Queen, especially not when her talents in magic are largely unknown.”

Frigga opened her mouth to continue, but her conjured form turned to its side. Given that it was mimicking her own actions, Loki assumed that she had turned to someone speaking to her. After a moment of silence she resumed her previous position, speaking to Loki.

“Word is that your brother has returned from another battle along with the Warriors Three. I will let you know when Luna arrives, and contact Heimdall if she remains missing.”

“Thank you.”

The third time Luna was interrupted it was not by Trixie. As Luna worked on finishing a passageway out for herself and Trixie, a mighty bellow echoed across the cavern.

The Ursa Minor had not died, and it was not happy.

The beast had taken the majority of the falling debris by Luna and Trixie, and the wounds it now sported were a testament to how it too was not doing well.

“It’s still alive? Oh you have to be kidding me!” Luna screamed as she noticed that they had not finished the job. Given how wounded they were and how they were only ninety percent done with forcing their way out, being trapped in an enclosed space with an Ursa was not a good thing.

A few feet away from her, Trixie was struggling to rise to her feet. As the only one capable of casting magic at the moment and the one directly responsible for the situation, Trixie felt as if she had to.

“Trixie, not in your condition—”

Trixie’s horn lit up as she found her footing, the Ursa beginning to rise from underneath the rubble that had lodged itself on the bear. The light on Trixie’s horn was brighter than Luna ever had seen it, and the Princess found herself recoiling from the powerful aura emanating from it.

Every last piece of magical power Trixie could harness was being put into this, and Luna felt her stomach flip at how it might drain what little fuel Trixie was living off of.

“I won’t let it harm you or anypony else!” Trixie shouted as she unleashed a torrent of power forward at the Ursa, her aim being at its mouth just as it prepared to roar again.

The beam caught the back of the beast’s throat, with the constant stream continuing into the open maw as the Ursa struggled to clamp it’s mouth on the pure energy pouring into its throat.

Trixie, meanwhile, was fighting to not collapse and scream in agony as her wounds tore open as her body tensed and strained under the agony presented by the magic she was using.

Continuing to prove her determination and will, Trixie managed to keep herself running long enough for the Ursa to crash into the ground with a recently made hole in its head. It had not been able to rise quickly enough from the rubble to stop her, and her wounds were not enough to kill her before she had accomplished the deed.

Before Trixie could fall over and expire for good, Luna leapt over to her and caught her on her back. Lifting Trixie up so that she straddled her back, Luna carried her wordlessly over to the rock structure. The Minor may have been slain, but doing so just pushed Trixie even closer to the brink of death. It was now or never for escaping.

The Ursa’s brief attempt at rising and the resulting crash into the ground had shifted the landscape once again, although this time it was favorable to Luna. With a few well placed kicks she shattered a rock, bringing forth a bright ray of light as the Everfree Forest was revealed from the now vacant place where pebbles remained.

Luna darted through the opening, not caring for the possibility that something else might shift. Once outside of the rockslide, she let out of breath of relief, making sure to shift Trixie on her back to keep the younger mare mounted there, “Okay, we’re out. Just hang in there a little more, okay?”

“Sure…”

Luna moved as fast as her tired and aching legs could towards the exit. Freedom was granted to her, and she would not let Trixie die after everything they had been through.

The orange coated and red maned beast at the edge of the cave had a different plan though.

Luna stopped in her tracks as she observed the last piece in a slew of bad luck, “No.”

It made sense, which is what made Luna even more angry. The stench of blood stained the cave, and any predator worth its weight could be drawn to such a bloodbath. This beast was only here to pick up the scraps, of which there were plenty.

The Manticore eyed Luna over warily, seeming to recognize her as a powerful being but also taking note of her wounds. Noticing its attention to her, Luna lowered Trixie to the ground and helped her to her feet with the use of her own teeth.

“Trixie, get to the edge of the cave. Use your fireworks and draw as much attention as you can to here.”

Trixie almost fell over as she tried to just stay conscious, not having almost any energy at all left in her being, “But what about you?”

“I got more meat on me. I’ll keep it busy,” Trixie did not move, causing Luna to growl, “What are you waiting for? Go now!”

She complied reluctantly, limping towards the exit while angling to go around the Manticore. It turned to face Trixie, not about to let its prey escape, but the beast’s attention was torn back to the giant mare charging straight at it.

Luna snorted as she checked her shoulder into the chimera’s face, knocking it back with the sudden blow. She was not going to let it hurt Trixie. She was not going to let this monster be the end of either of them. It was just one more thing in her way that they would have to get through, odds be damned.

In response to her strike, the Manticore took a swipe with its large lion paw at her. Luna was sluggish in dodging it and the swipe connected with her already wounded wing and side, winding her instantly given her prior wounds.

With Luna kneeling over in pain, the monster turned its attention to Trixie. The apprentice had hobbled over to the edge of the cave and was about to shoot off her fireworks, but her exhaustion made her pause briefly before continuing.

Before the Manticore could even think about taking advantage of this momentary pause Luna pulled herself up and headbutted the Manticore horn first. The growing rage and pain in her had sparked something familiar, and Luna found a sudden burst of energy stemming from an all too recognizable source.

As Luna drove her now glowing horn straight into the Manticore’s throat she yelled at the top of her lungs, “Damn you beast, I am getting us out of here!”

While Trixie shot off a volley of her light tricks, Luna was beginning to cast magic of her own. Her powers were flooding back to her as her rage and desire to protect her student triumphed over the magical block that was only supposed to last a month at longest. Something about the dire situation lit the fuse needed to kick it back into gear, and Luna was about to make an example of something that sought to harm somepony she loved.

Luna pushed forward and forced her foe to start stumbling back as she advanced on it. The Manticore struggled only briefly before the glow from Luna’s horn became an actual beam of magic that coursed straight through the monster’s entire body. First exiting the entire other end of the Manticore as a thin beam, the size quickly began to increase to match Luna’s pouring of power. Within moments the beam enveloped the entirety of the Manticore in a beam of black, green, purple and blue light.

Not a single trace of the Manticore remained as Luna’s beam faded after half a minute, while similarly the nearby landscape directly behind the Manticore was left smoldering from the magical energy that had swathed through it like hot butter.

From her position at the edge of the cave, Trixie called out to Luna as her teacher collapsed suddenly, “Princess!”

Luna’s powers had returned, but that did not solve her physical wounds or energy level.

Trixie tried to move towards Luna, but her own physical state caused her to trip and collapse. Exhausted, Trixie drifted into unconsciousness almost instantly after hitting the ground.

The light show put on by the two of them had done its part however. Having only collapsed physically and not mentally, Luna grew a small smile as a flash of rainbow streaked through the sky.

They had really done it.

“Woah, you two need help?” came the familiar voice of Rainbow Dash, who landed by the cave’s mouth with a shocked expression.

Luna nodded over to Trixie from her own position on the ground, “Get her to the hospital, I will be right behind you. I just need a moment.”

Rainbow rushed to Trixie’s side, her loyalty to her princess overriding any questions she may have had about the situation, “Got it!”

Not ten minutes later, Luna stumbled into the Ponyville hospital where she was sure Rainbow Dash had taken Trixie given the geographic proximity and Rainbow’s residence in the town.

Rainbow was arguing with a pony at the front desk about how she had just shoved a patient on a stretcher when Luna arrived. Every medical practitioner in the nearby area instantly rushed to her side in a frenzy to assist the princess, completely dropping whatever they had been tending to before.

“Princess, let me look at your wounds—” one doctor started before Luna snappd at them all.

She jabbed a hoof at the unconscious Trixie, “Do not touch me. I am fine. Help her now.”

The doctor who had tried speaking bowed his head, “Of course.”

While all the medical professionals there rushed to Trixie aid, Luna grabbed the talking doctor before he too could go to her, “Call in whatever specialists and doctors you need to.”

“If I may ask, what happened?

Luna’s head sunk as she thought back to how useless she had been, “Trixie just slew an Ursa Major and an Ursa Minor by herself, sustaining wounds from the former. My own are from the latter, having been unable to use my magic to fight it off. Trixie defeated them though.”

The doctor observed the fresh and still bleeding cuts on Luna with interest, “Are those Manticore wounds?”

“One happened to come by to scavenge what was left.”

Luna looked across the room to where the other doctors were wheeling away Trixie to be treated. The sight of her student in such a bad state made her tear up despite her hardest efforts not to. She was too exhausted to do any further magic, including healing Trixie. Luna would have to wait for that, and time was something that Trixie might not have.

“Please…”

“We will do what we can,” the doctor promised to the worried princess.

Luna nodded absently as she felt everything from the past day catch up with her, both emotional and physical.

She felt sick to her stomach from it all.