Cosmos had a cast layed upon her leg by a doctor who, unsurprisingly, was scared to death. He had heard rumors about the nightmare returning, but he just brushed them off as rumors. Even when she layed there smiling, he couldn't help but feel some sort of malice in that being, and it wasn't a nice thing to feel. The two were in Bon-Bon and Lyra's house, in Cosmos' room to be specific.

"S-so. I believe that she should rest a bit. Her leg was in an...awful state. How did she get it like that?" the Doctor turned to Twilight.

"I...I don't know. She was just walking around and then she yelled. Her leg was suddenly broken."

The Doctor rubbed his chin and looked at the slumbering horror. His thoughts were now clouded.

"Hmmm. I wonder...May I speak with you outside? She might be faking her slumber to get some answers."

Both Twilight and the doctor immediately tilted to look at the comfettor going up and down by the sound of gentle breathing. There was nothing to note here. The conversation could be taken outside without danger. Twiilght's magic had actually managed to sow Cosmos Lune's leg back to its original state, but she couldn't heal the tinier hair-line cracks. Those were going to require a cast and some careful movement. But, thanks to this, Layda could talk with her friend once more, her naive thought pattern sticking to the real Cosmos like gum to a shoe.

Back into her mind, Layda was given a sight to behold. The true Cosmos wasn't expecting her to arrive during the day, so she could not hide the moon tree. The only thing that gave Hitcher's arrival away were the sounds of dead leaves crackling underneath her feet. The alicorn bounced up and slowly turned to see her host's eyes looking at this strange, lonely tree with aww.

"L-Layda? What are you doing here already? This early too."

"I broke my leg, so I was given some medicine. I think I passed out or fell asleep or something."

"Yes. 'Broke'. That is unfortunate." Cosmos turned to look back at her tree glowing steadily. It still only had a few leaves, but it was getting more powerful as time went by.

"So what's that?"

"It's a recipient for the lunar energy that you have been absorbing. I took into account the loss of its energy every day, so, instead, I have created this tree in your inner world that will take in the energy and reproduce it through its leaves."

"Tea?"

"...Yes."

"Could I try it afterwards, when it's ready?"

Cosmos shrugged. At this point, it would be best to act friendly and lull Layda into a false sense of friendship.

"I believe I can do that. Don't forget that this is for me and my recovery, however."

"Yes. I know."

There was a long, awkward silence. The two looked at eachother for a long time. There really wasn't much to say so far. Just a few aerial tricks that Cosmos was already aware of, and the spells back-firing more than once, but that was also already available to the alicorn spirit. Suddenly, Layda remembered:

"Oh yeah! Are you able to heal the fractures in my leg?"

"I...I believe so. It will take a few hours in the moonlight to do it correctly. You WILL most certainly hear snapping and popping, but that is simply because I will be stretching the cells of your bones."

"Wonderful! Can you still teach me about magic?"

"I told you that I can't. You need Twilight Sparkle for that."

"I know...especially after that scorpion incident."

"You think? I didn't have a clue as to why I told you to rely on a physically present creature for lessons. Hmmm..."Cosmos' sarcasm ran across her eyes which were forced into two different directions.

"Hey! Don't mock me. It's your fault that I didn't know the dangers. I only assumed a small, harmless explosion would have happened."

"I...True, but you should have still kept your concentration."

"Can you teach me to FEEL the magic and not make spells?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't feel your magic correctly because, obviously, it's yours, not mine. It would be a great help if you could just, you know, let me get that feeling that you had talked about before."

"Wha- didn't you get it when you accidentally summoned those creatures?" Cosmos was baffled.

"N-no. I actually felt something surging up...like vomit."

"Ew. That is disgusting."

"Not my fault."

"Hardly. Fine. Sit down. We'll try meditation."

"How about we sit near your tree? It's full of lunar energies, and I've seen some cultures who meditate near trees as a way to take in the energies of nature. Maybe that'll work here too?"

"I...I...Fine. Go to the tree and get into whatever meditative position your species goes into for...meditation."

Layda hurried along the leaf-ridden ground to swing herself at the base of the tree. She placed herself directly against its trunk and closed her eyes as she sat down and crossed her legs, letting her hands rest on her lap. A few calm inhales, and she was ready.

"Right. Lunar Magic is much different from any other magic. It's only cousin, Solar Magic, uses similar properties of control and functioning. Lunar Magic requires you to keep a stem of it around all of your joints."

"Why?"

"Ever heard of werewolves?"

"Yeah?"

"What changes first? The skin or their bones?"

"...Ah."

"Exactly. Now reach deep into your soul. We are in your inner-world, so it should be easier for you. Reach deep, then grab that orb and split it amongst your joints. Every movement afterwards will allow perfected reaction times and, later on, many other good things that would be spoiled if I told them to you now." Cosmos' face glared with an evil grin.

Layda continued to concentrate, and, somehow, it was working. The Moon Tree and even the autumn trees around all began to glow; their lights flickering on and off. It was quick, but a small moon appeared above the tree to symbolize the synching that Hitcher finally managed with her newfound magic.

"Did I do it? I feel something flowing through my body. It's cold."

"Yes. Quite nicely t-OW! What the?"

"OW! Ohahow. What was that?"

"Ya! Something poked me in the AIE!"

"Why are we both getting hurt? OW!"

"WAKE UP YOU IDIOT!"

The true Cosmos' voice faded into nothing as Layda plummetted into darkness. She moped around in her bed the yiped in pain. She stood up immediately to see that Lyra was on the other side of the door poking her with a very long stick.

"What are you doing? Seriously."

"I...uh..." the turquoise unicorn dropped the stick and looked around nervously."You weren't breathing. I thought you were dead."

"Uh-huuuuuh. Maybe you should get Bon-Bon. I need to see Twilight."

"Okay."

The mare raced down the stairs, or rather, she tripped and rolled down like a slinky, the last flop finishing with a groan of pain.

"Everyone knows a slinky. Everyone loves a slinky. Eheheheh." Layda laughed to herself. This was going to be a good day.

Author's Notes:

Yes. I started it again. The fact that I didn't finish it pained me. If anyone cares again, I'll be finishing this, but not with that godawful chapter that a few of you saw before I BALEETED it.