The first thing that registered to Trixie when she woke up was the smooth, warm feeling stroking along her neck. While it wasn't exactly an unpleasant sensation, it wasn't welcome either.

What else is Trixie going to be subjected to? At least she's still alive.

The last two times she had woken up had ended badly for her. Or perhaps the second time had just been a bad dream of her suffocating? A quick reminder came to her as Trixie's entire body began to register a dull painful ache, like she had run a marathon with her wagon attached. Even her insides were hurting.

That part was real then...

Surprisingly, her shoulder didn't feel like a dagger was attached to it anymore. Yet another small miracle. Had somepony healed her?

As much as Trixie would have liked to continue staying still, the complete silence was starting to creep her out, along with the rapid movements of that warm sensation running over her coat.

With a small whine, Trixie squirmed a few inches away from whatever was touching her, only to feel it shuffle closer and start grooming her shoulder.

Please, Trixie silently begged. Don't be something else trying to kill me. Let me just wake up from too many drinks and an awkward one night stand.

Crunch!

Trixie silently screamed and opened both eyes as she felt something bite into her shoulder. What she saw left her paralyzed in shock.

A mare, easily a head taller than her in size, was removing her mouth from Trixie's bitten shoulder. Her slate blue hair reached down to her navy blue shoulders. Turquoise eyes met Trixie's own lavender ones in curiosity while the unknown mare licked her lips over thoughtfully. A brief fluttering from the mare's sides confirmed her to be a pegasus, and the horn confirmed her to be a unicorn.

Trixie's brain took a few seconds to process that.

T-that's an alicorn...but it's not Nightmare Moon...where in the world did that stupid Thestral send me!?

The strange mare briefly returned Trixie's stare before slowly edging her head back towards Trixie's shoulder, tongue slipping out between her teeth as she got closer to it.

Trixie shuffled back a few inches, only to doggedly be chased by the strange mare shuffling closer again. This continued for a brief few seconds before Trixie 's mind started trying to take in more of her situation, causing her to go into yet another quiet moment of panic. To be exact, her eyes were just starting to take in the barren landscape and the near utter blackness past it.

Her breathing stopped as she took it in. Grey rocks, white dust, bleak hills and nothing else. Not a speck of life could be seen for miles.

I don't feel drugged...Oh Celestia let me just be drugged...

Her eyes looked further out, spotting the large green and blue planet she was sure she was supposed to be on right now.

No, no no no no no! Where am I!?

Trixie began to hyperventilate and clutched at her head, trying to make sense of what she was seeing, but she couldn't. She probably would have passed out, but the feeling of a tongue on her side broke her out of it and caused her to yelp.

"Stop that! What the hell is..."

Why can't I hear my own voice?

Trixie looked back at the strange pony and tried to speak again, but nothing was coming out. With a sheepish expression, the other pony's horn began emitting a soft blue light. Seconds later, Trixie could hear the stranger give out a few coughs while licking their lips.

"S-sorry about that." The strange mare croaked out. "We forgot, rare is it that we find the need to speak, or hear anything out here. We are Luna, by the way."

"O-out here?" Trixie questioned, eyes wide in denial. Luna continued to work some moisture into her throat before trying to speak again.

"O-oh, u-uhm...w-well..." Luna wracked her brain for a smart reply, but could find no gentle way of saying it. "We welcome thou to the moon?"

Trixie's eyes grew a bit wider as Luna gave her an awkward smile.

For the next few moments, Trixie tried to take in that statement. She didn't notice Luna curl up tightly against her, nor her humming almost contentedly.

"We are finally with somepony real again." Luna softly muttered out. "Tis strange for a unicorn to be banished to the moon though..."

Her question was met with silence. Luna lightly caressed Trixie's star covered cloak as she began growing nervous.

"W-why are thou here, anyways? As we think on this more, it doesn't make sense. It's... impossible."

Trixie barely registered Luna's words. After a few more moments of silence though, Trixie finally worked her way out of her paralysis.

"S-sorry, I-it's been a...bad day...you said your name was Luna?"

When no reply was forthcoming, she turned to cautiously gaze at her strange companion.

The mare's eyes were glazed over and had a far away look to them. Trixie waved a hoof in front of Luna's face only for it to suddenly be snatched by the other mare in a death grip and clutched to Luna's chest.

"Thou...are real, yes?" Luna asked in a almost detached voice.

Nervously, Trixie tugged at her hoof in vain. "U-umm...l-last Trixie checked...?"

The mare's glazed expression turned clear and angry. "Thee hesitated..."

The grip grew painful.

"Oww! Yes, Trixie is real! Now let her go!"

"We are not sure we believe thee. Thou talks as if thee is broken."

The grip grew unbearable.

"We are not sure of our own sanity, so to talk in such a-"

Unicorns were never known for their strength. But hauling a cart half across Equestria for years on end would toughen up any pony. And despite her alicornhood, Luna hadn't had much of a work out in the last few hundred years. Both factors came into play as Trixie gripped Luna's ear with her remaining hoof and pulled down as hard as she could on it.

Luna let out a ragged scream at the sudden pain, letting go of Trixie's hoof almost immediately as the other mare neatly pressed Luna's head into the ground with how hard she was pulling.

"Release us at once! How dare thou-ooowwwohstarsstop!!!"

"Am I real enough for you now!?" Trixie growled out, twisting Luna's ear slightly.

"Yes! Yes! We believe thou! Let go!" Luna cried out.

"hmph." Trixie snorted before letting Luna go and shaking the pain out of her own mishandled limb. She turned away from Luna and decided to walk a little bit to get feeling back into her leg. It was probably safer to put some distance between her and this crazy mare anyways.

Trixie's walk came to a quick end as she found herself picked up by Luna's aura and flung into yet another death grip as Luna gave her a full body hug. Trixie's own hooves pushed on the mares sides, trying to pull away to no avail.

"What do you think you are-"

"Thou art real." Luna loudly whispered, clinging Trixie tightly to herself as she began slowly rocking back and forth. "Thou is really real. We're not crazy."

Trixie groaned, squirming in Luna's grip. "Yes, Trixie has already been over this with you! She is real." Trixie decided to keep her thoughts on Luna's sanity to herself, lest she upset the mare any further.

After another moment of this, a few wet drops hit Trixie's shoulder, causing her to stiffen and stop trying to wriggle free. From there, she noticed the shuddering from Luna, even as she continued to rock herself back and forth, desperately clinging to Trixie.

"We're not crazy."

Awkwardly, Trixie gave Luna a soft pat on the back. Staring out into the blackness, and thinking of what her own reality had become overnight, caused Trixie to begin shivering as well. "No, no you're not."

It was only a few minutes later before the first tear drops began to pelt Luna's own shoulder.