I stare at the fire for a bit before I spit at the ground. I know many escaped, but if I ever hear of any of them... not even Luna could stop me from hunting them down and tearing them apart. I turn around to see Luna trying to get up, only to fall back down.

"Here, let me heal you," I say as I kneel next to her and lay my hands on her.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she yells, making me fall back. I stare at her as she glares back at me. I know that look, that's the look Fidus gave me when we picked her up at the hospital...

"Luna... I need to heal you, but to do that I need to lay my hands on you. May I do that?" I ask as I get back up. She takes several deep breaths before she closes her eyes and nods. I flare my hands, but go straight to max again. "What the fuck?" I try to lower the power level, but can't seem to get the lines to drop. "Hmm... I can't seem to lower my power level... this may cause some discomfort, are you ready?"

"Y-yeah. Just... just do it quickly," she says as she holds her eyes shut. I kneel beside her as I flare my magic. I take a few breaths before I slowly lay my hands on her side, making her flinch from my touch. I start to send the healing energy into her, sending it in bursts. With each burst I watch the wounds on her body quickly recede. Once finished I drop my magic and back away from her.

"How’s that?"

"Much better... thank you. S-sorry I snapped at you..."

"It's alright. You've been through a lot. Let's just work on getting you home. Can you walk or should I carry you?" She tries to get up, but her legs shake too much and she falls back down.

"I-I may need help," she says as she starts to tear up.

"Hey, don't worry. I've got you. Now..." I kneel next to her and offer her a hand. She recoils a bit and stares at me, trembling. "Don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you. Take your time. We'll leave when you’re ready." She takes a few breaths before she looks back to me. She slowly reaches out and takes my hand. I hold her hoof for a while, rubbing it a bit before I start to pull her onto my back. She wraps her legs around my neck as I hold onto her from beneath. I stand up and begin to walk down the steep path.

"I... I'm sorry I..."

"No, I'm sorry," I say as a fire starts to spread rapidly to my right. All of the dry material easily catches fire and makes the flames grow higher and higher. I keep to the left of the path and hold tighter onto Luna.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I left you, ran away to hide. I should’ve stayed and been there for you, then none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry Luna..."

"Miles..."

"I promise you, I'll never make that mistake again, no matter what. I'll always be there for you." She tightens her hold on me as she lays her head over my left shoulder.

"Thank you Miles." The fire to my right has grown past me now, destroying everything on the right side of the path. I decide to trek through the left part of the path to escape the heat from the fire. We walk through some dead plants before we come across an open area. Straight ahead is a dark forest, rich in the colors of various plant life. I continue down towards the treeline, holding tightly onto Luna as she does the same to me.

"Heh, did I ever tell you about the time Dolum and I got lost in Topaz?" I ask to pass the time.

"... no... what happened?" she asks softly.

"Ah man, where do I start... well, I was nine at the time. We heard some older classmates talk about this amazing restaurant in the southern district, so we decided to go look for it, but we ended up getting lost..."

"How do you get lost in a city where everything is so... connected?" she asks as she perks up a bit.

"Heh, it's easier than you think - now I had no clue where we were, and Dolum refused to accept that we were lost, so we ended up spending two days walking around the southern district..."

"Two days... did you just not eat?"

"We ate. I… er... well, I learned how to be a really good pickpocket from my time in the orphanage..."

"Miles!"

"Hey, it was survival. But, apparently Dolum had the same idea as you. He told me that 'people want to give you what you want, you just need to show them'. He spent hours doing card tricks, coin tricks, basically a ton of parlor tricks to earn money for us to eat."

"Ho-how did you find your way home?"

"Well, we didn't... kind of. We actually found the restaurant and spent five silver credits on food. By luck, Captain Bellum showed up when we finished eating and took us back to the P.C.H... well, after eating that is."

"Do you miss them?" I pause for a second before I enter the treeline, taking in my surroundings.

"Yeah... but that's not the end of the story though. You see, every year we tried to go back to that restaurant, we could never find it. No matter how hard we looked, no matter how many floors we checked, we could never find it."

"Did it shut down?"

"No, we constantly heard people talking about eating there. Dolum said that the reason we could never find it, was because we lost the magic of the adventure."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think that he meant that, because we weren't looking for it without a greater purpose, we would fail to ever find it... I just always thought that we wandered around so much that it just lies in a different section of the town." As we continue through the forest I try to keep an eye out for any potential threats. Luna loosens her grip on me as she starts to take deeper breaths. "Everything alright?"

"Y-yeah... Miles, I'm... I'm still in estrus."

"Yeah, I know..."

"And you're completely naked."

"Yeah... I know..."

"Um... so..."

"I'm not going to do anything..."

"Is... is it because... of what Steelwing did..."

"No."

"But..."

"I don't want to because I'm still going to honor your wishes, not because I want to tear that slime ball apart."

"...so... you still want to be with me."

"More than ever. Would you take an idiot like me?" She tightens her hold on me as she rubs her face against the side of my head. I can feel tears coming down her cheeks as she starts to cry.

"Miles... I... I love you."

"Ego amare te magis."

"Ego amare te maxime," she says as she wipes her tears away.

"Why don't you go ahead and try to take a nap? I have a feeling this is going to take a while."

"OK... could... could you sing me a lullaby?"

"A lullaby... sorry... I don't know any." She gives a little sigh as she lays her head down. Damn... I guess I could try a song I know...

"I got dosed by you and

Closer than most to you and

What am I supposed to do.

Take it away, I never had it anyway,

Take it away and everything will be Okay."

She tightens her hold on me as I try my best to sing the song. The forest is starting to flatten out, so its getting easier to walk through.

"In you a star is born and

You cut a perfect form and

Someone forever warm

Lay on lay on lay on lay on

Way upon the mountain where she diiiiieeed

All I ever wanted was your life

Deep inside the canyon I can't hiiiiide

All I ever wanted was your life.”

She gives a soft sigh as her hold on me begins to soften, but I continue with the song.

"Show love with no remorse and

Climb on to your seahorse and

This ride is right on course

This is the way I wanted it to be with you

This is the way I knew it would be with you

Lay on lay on lay on lay on

Way upon the mountain where she diiiiieeed

All I ever wanted was your life

Deep inside the canyon I can't hiiiiide

All I ever wanted was your life."

I see our shadows begin to flicker and I glance back to see that the fire is starting to chase after us, so I quicken my pace. Luna tightens her hold on me, so I continue singing.

"I got dosed by you and

Closer than most to you and

What am I supposed to do.

Take it away, I never had it anyway,

Take it away and everything will be Okay.

Way upon the mountain where she diiiiieeed

All I ever wanted was your life

Deep inside the canyon I can't hiiiiide

All I ever wanted was your life."

I hear something moving behind me, so I turn around to see a line of water fall from the sky and wash out the fire. I can't really explain it more than that... so I continue to walk through the trees. Luna's fallen asleep now, so I try my best to keep quiet.

After a couple of hours of walking, I stop when a small lake gets in my way. The water is crystal clear, showing the murky bottom. I lick my lips as I stare at the water. We both need water, I think a break is in order. I walk up to the shore and slowly set Luna down. When she's down she sighs and curls onto herself. I'll wake her up in a bit, she needs the rest. I squat down beside the water to scoop up some water...

"You there." I spin around and stand up as I stare at... the thing behind me. It looks human, head, face, arms, legs... breasts. But it's made of wood. Its hair is made of vines that go down to her waist and have pink flowers. Her eyes are made of green energy, and I can see the same energy in the cracks of the mossy wood. "Who are you?" she asks in a voice that seems to echo slightly.

"I'm Miles Eremita... who are you?"

"I... am Delilah. You... you seem familiar. Do I know you?" she asks as she walks around.

"We've never met before. What are you?"

"I am a forest elemental. Why do you carry the blue one?" she asks as she starts to walk over towards Luna. I quickly get in between the two of them, making Delilah step back. "So that is why, interesting."

"What do you want?"

"My forest. I shall be leaving, Miles Eremita. Farewell," she says as she starts to walk off.

"Wait! Can you help me? I..."

"The only one that can help you is right behind you, but you have to help her first. Cleanse yourselves, then you will find that which you seek..."

"Where's the nearest city!? Is there a nearby path we can take..."

"You know what must be done," she says as she walks up to a tree and phases into it. I run up to the tree and try to grab her, but she's gone. I punch the tree a couple of times before I hear Luna start to wake up, so I run back to her.

"Miles... what's going on?" she asks as she looks around.

"There was this forest elemental that I..."

"A forest elemental? Then... we're a long way from home." She looks over to the water and licks her lips a couple of times before she tries to get up, but is still too weak to do it on her own.

"Here, let me help you..." I say as I kneel beside her. I offer her a hand and wait for her to take it.

"C-can you take me into the water... and wash me off?"

"Of course, just take my hand." She gives me a smile and takes my hand. Seeing her smile puts a smile on my face. I'm glad she's starting to cheer up... but I know it'll be a long time till she's back to normal... whatever that will be for her. I pick her up and walk into the water. Once the water gets halfway up to my shins I lay down in the water, laying Luna on top of me so we're face to face. "How's that?"

"G-good... uh... can you... help me wash?" I nod and start to scoop water onto her. I start with her back and wings, pouring water down and rubbing it in before pouring more water down. I start working my way to her neck, mane, and eventually her face. I bring up some water and try to clean her face, but she looks away from me.

"Luna..."

"Miles... I-I... he did things to me..."

"Who did?"

"St-steelwing."

"*inhale, exhale* Right."

"But he never took it. I'm still a virgin... he... just played with me... and touched me..." I grab a hold of her as she starts to tear up.

"It... it's going to be alright. I'm here for you now. He can't do those things anymore..."

"Miles... they did take something from me though... my greatest secret... he took it from me instead of my virginity..."

"What... Luna..."

"They made me tell them how I move the moon. My greatest secret ever, and those monsters know it. What will Celestia say? I… I can't face her... I can't even look at you right now... I feel so dirty... why did this happen Miles?" she asks before she breaks down and sobs into my chest. I hold onto her and stroke her mane as I try my best to comfort her. I lose track of how long we sit there for, I don't really care though.

"Hey... Celestia won't get mad at you..."

"But I..."

"She's going to get mad at those monsters for taking your secret. She will also be happy."

"H-happy?"

"Yeah. Happy to have her sister back. Happy that she wasn't killed. Happy that you're healthy. Celestia won't care that they forced your secret out, she'll just be happy that you're home."

"*sniffle* D-do you really think so?" she asks as she looks me in the eyes.

"I know so. Now let’s finish getting you cleaned up," I say as I scoop some water onto her cheek and start to wash the dried stain away. When I finish washing her face I can't help but stare into her eyes. She starts to look away but I push her chin up to have her look back to me.

"M-Miles... I... how can you still look at me..."

"Because I love you."

"But..."

"And no matter what happens, no matter what anyone does, I will always love you. You, are my cause." She smiles again before she leans in and gives me a quick kiss on the forehead.

"Thank you Miles. I'll always love you too."

"OK... I'm going to start washing lower, let me know if you feel uncomfortable, alright?"

"OK," she says as she lays her head against my chest. I move down to her lower back and begin to wash. When I start doing her stomach I actually get her to giggle a bit. I didn't know she's ticklish, that will come in handy later. I feel her tense up as I start washing the top of her hip, so I stop. "Miles..."

"If you don't feel comfortable, just say the word. I won't do anything you don't want me to do."

"I want you to clean me... please. I want to remember your touch, not his. Please." I nod to her and start to wash her backside. I didn't want to, but I start to really enjoy washing her ass. She tenses up at first, but as I go she slowly begins to relax. I finish washing, but can't help but continue to grab her. She's so soft, yet there's a firmness beneath. "Miles..."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, I just got carried away..."

"I want you to wash in the middle."

"Wh-what?"

"He... touched me there. Can you please wash his touch away? I won't try anything, I promise. But... I want to feel clean there." I gulp as my heart starts to race. I reach over and scoop some water up. I glance over to Luna, who nods to me, before I lay my hands down in between.

"Whoa..." I mutter as I hold my hand on soft folds. I slowly begin to rub it, trying my best to not go inside. I can feel myself get hard as Luna begins to take deeper breaths.

"Miles, don't stop. But there's something I need to tell you," she says as she lays her head on my shoulder.

"Right... don't stop..." I say as I scoop up some more water and continue to 'wash' her.

"I've... you know how I'm in estrus, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I... I've never been through estrus before."

"What? But you're over three thousand years old. How could you have never been through it before?"

"Celestia hasn't either. Alicorns don't go through it unless they meet... certain requirements. And when we do go through it, we only go through it for around forty years. After that, we can never go through it again."

"Luna..."

"I want to go through it with you. Only you. After you're gone... I'll do whatever I can to stay pure. I only want you, Miles." I look over to her and stare into her eyes in disbelief.

"Luna... will you marry me?"

The song sung was Dosed by Red Hot Chili Peppers, chosen by Tallestbrony. Sorry, but there are a few songs that I will choose to help convey a message. HI RICHARD, Brony on!