"Are you sure this is a good idea, Nightmare Moon?" I asked, watching as both she and Halfy made their final preparations; Halfy placed a dirty plate into the kitchen sink while Nightmare Moon stretched one of her legs with a grunt.

"Verily, Sir Jeremy. Ye will not regret attending our return to Halfy's garden. We are certain that you will find great intrigue in such a sight." I wasn't really sure what she meant by that, but, hey, I guessed it wouldn't have be any harm for me to go along. Even if I was 'volunteered' rather than given the choice.

"Alright, if you say so." I said. I turned my head to Halfy as I heard the clang of plates against one another. "And you don't mind, Halfy?"

"Hmm hm mmpph." She mumbled through the plate in her mouth. Raising a brow, I felt a chuckle escape me as well as heard one escape Nightmare Moon.

"Care to try that one again?" With a small tinge of red, she placed the last of the plates down into the sink, exiting the kitchen before she made to answer.

"I-I said I don't mind. If anything, I like the company." Nodding, I bent myself over slightly and ruffled her mane playfully, drawing a laugh from her.

"Well, that's good to know, Halfy."

"Yes, 'tis welcome knowledge. We would not want you to feel pressed to accept our requests." Nightmare Moon added. "Now, shall we be going?" Glancing to the two, I was about to give them a nod before I was just as quickly reminded of something else that I had to check on. Or rather, someone else.

"Uh... you two wait outside for me. I'll be just a moment." Nightmare Moon raised a brow at this but didn't seem to question it, instead giving me an understanding nod as she and Halfy opened the front door of the house and started to make their way out.

"Very well then, Sir Jeremy. We will await for you outside." I gave her a thankful nod as the two escaped my sight, the wooden door closing softly behind them and beams of the night's light gently making their way through it's many cracks to providing a serene twilight upon the room.

I let out a short sigh as I made my way to the kitchen, gathering up whatever I thought necessary. A plate, a few berries, some greens, and a glass of water to the side.

I had a bit of trouble balancing the plate, since I was so preoccupied holding the glass in my other available grip, but I managed and eventually brought it to the living room. I placed the items down in the floor next to the couch. The same couch where Chrysalis was currently resting.

A mental groan escaped me as I recalled what was to come next before I then, as carefully as possible, reached for the changeling monarch and began to stir her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A shaking on my side awoke me, though I could not find the will, nor motivation, to open my eyes and respond to it. I chose instead to allow for whatever was causing it to pass in the hopes that I could get back to sleep. I had been having such a wonderful dream.

Princess Celestia, nor those bothersome mares from before, had been there to stop me from succeeding in my invasion of Canterlot. I had 'married' that stallion, Shining Armor, and was able to continue my feeding off of his love. Everything was perfect. Nopony suspected a thing as I gave my 'beloved' our ceremonial wedding kiss, managing to absorb even more love from him.

There would be no need for me to order my changelings to attack, risking themselves in the line of battle, for we had what we needed. I could feed my hive again, spreading the love that I gathered from my newly wed and rejuvenating my once starving children. We would grow in number, the ponies would not endanger us, and we would all 'have a happy ending'.

Well, aside from the real bride and the groom. But, sacrifices were to be made if my hive was to survive. Such a blissful and calming dream... And now, it was gone.

I felt a sense of irritation grow as one of my eyes cracked open, turning to see who would be fool enough to even think of disrupting my sleep.

"Chrysalis..." Of course it would be him. I let out a mental groan of annoyance as I quickly recognized the source of the sound to be the human, Jeremy. This would be the second time that he had woken me up within the past few hours and I did not appreciate that one bit.

"Chrysalis... Chrys- Look, would you just turn around already? I know you're awake." Whatever semblance of an attempted 'peaceful and quiet' wake up that he had been trying for quickly disappeared as his voice's volume raised, reminiscent to an annoying buzz in my ear as I let out a growl and reluctantly turned to him.

The squeaking of the couch felt deafening to my slightly spinning mind, my eyes barely open as I gave him what would equate to a glare.

He stood there with his arms crossed, looking to me with a deadpan.

'Who was he to give me orders?' I had wondered back then, as well as many other times prior.

If I had even the slightest amount of energy, I would've easily stood myself up and shown him just how much I outranked him. But, unfortunately, I likely wouldn't be able to do so without swaying in my step or even falling over.

"What?" I asked in a low, grating voice, attempting to keep my intimidating pursona. He wasn't bothered by this though, instead rolling his eyes as he listened to me.

"It's time to eat." He said, almost stated, as if he were my caretaker, or the like. The fact that he was currently speaking to me as his lesser annoyed me even more.

"I'm still not going to kiss you." I said matter-of-factly. I was not willing stoop myself so low as to kiss him.

As I said this, he swiftly slapped his palm against his face, a satisfying - or at least it was for me - noise echoed through the air from his self inflicted pain. I could tell, even without my ability to read one's emotion, that he was beginning to get annoyed. Something I found great satisfaction in.

"Th-that's not what I meant!" He stuttered, apparently flushed from my statement. He shook his head and let out a breath as he looked to me again, crouching over and grabbing something just out of my view before then quickly bringing it into my line of sight.

In his grasp he held a plate full of berries and vegetables. Meanwhile, in his other hand, he had a glass of water. He looked to me expectantly, simply drawing a further narrow of my already heavy eyes as I quickly realized what he was implying.

"I'm not hungry." I said, turning my head away from him and trying to lull myself back into sleep. Rather than leave me alone, he placed the plate of food by my hind legs on the couch before then reaching over me and, to my earnest surprise, grabbing hold of my chin. He very firmly turned me to face him.

While this was oddly aggressive of him, that didn't change the fact that I truly didn't feel any sort of hunger, despite my state. The reason I had eaten before wasn't because of his asking, or his 'kindness' in doing so. No, it was because of the shadow alicorn that was obsessed with taking sides against me. Even now, I was expecting him to ask me to 'please eat, or you may feel worse', or some other overly kindhearted plea of sorts.

"Look, Chrysalis, I don't care what you say, you're eating!" The 'request' I was instead given was rather shocking. My brows raised as his voice rose in volume, his eyes now in an angered glare as he looked down to me.

"... Well, taking the more forward approach, are we?" I mocked, removing myself from his grip with a push of my hooves, though a weak one. He ignored my comment, continuing to bear down upon me.

"Chrysalis, you heard what Zecora said. You're unstable as is and you need all the strength you can get, which means you can't afford to not eat, just like I won't let you."

It was interesting, to say the least. 'Gutsy', even, if I am using the term correctly. The fact that he was trying to intimidate me into eating. Me? Of all beings? It was almost enough to bring a laugh from me, and I use the term, 'almost', VERY lightly.

"And you should have heard what I said. I'm not hungr-"

"Chrysalis, so help me god, if that plate isn't empty by the time Nightmare Moon, Halfy, and I get back, I'll have Nightmare Moon shove it down your throat!" I opened my mouth to say something, ready to call him out on his little bluff, but something in his eyes just stopped me. For a moment, just a truly short yet fleeting moment, It seemed as though he was actually serious.

Had he been a changeling at the time, I might have found that attractive.

Listen to me and listen to me well. You will remove that from what you have written, or I will be forced to find a new way of rending the flesh from your bone. Understood? Good.

"... Fine." I surrendered, slowly sitting myself up on the couch and turning to the plate of food next to me. He continued to watch me, his arms crossed and eyes still narrowed, as I picked up a small, nonspecific berry. I toyed with it in my hooves before popping it into my mouth and starting to chew.

He seemed to ease at this, if only slightly, as he placed the glass of water that he had been holding between the cushions nearest to the plate of food.

"Good. Now, the three of us are going to be out for a while, so you'll be alone for a bit." I took the idea of time to myself as a beautiful one.

Jeremy turned away, making his way to the wooden door and placing his hand on the handle. Before he made his way out though, he gave me one last glare. "Remember what I said. That plate had better. be. empty."

And with that, he exited the house, myself rolling my eyes as I choked down the remainder of the berry.

I was barely able place it in my mouth without spitting it back out, let alone how hard it was to actually eat it. It truly did feel like I was forcing needles down my throat. It had been the same the prior night, every swallow bringing me unprecedented amounts of discomfort and pain as I ate. I wondered how could I possibly empty this entire plate before he got back.

Then, in a moment of clarity, my eyes wandered to the couch cushions in which the glass of water I was given was stood between.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I closed the door behind me, I let out a sigh. A sense of both relief and guilt washed over me like a bitter-sweet wave.

I didn't like to talk to Chrysalis like that, or anyone for that matter, but I felt like I had no choice. If I wanted her to take me seriously, that is. Like Zecora said, Chrysalis was already in horrible condition. And I just had to make sure that she would be okay. I just had to...

"Sir Jeremy?" I was quickly brought out of my funk as Nightmare Moon's voice of concern caused me to turn from the door to her. She and Halfy were looking to me curiously, yet with small hints of worry to them. The two of them sat just outside, where they told me they would wait, and I quickly cleared my throat in an attempt regain my composure.

"Oh, uh, sorry about that. I finished what I had to do." Were it not for the fact that Nightmare Moon already seemed suspicious enough, I would've kicked myself for a nervous chuckle that escaped me at the end of my sentence. Honestly though, why not just tell her what I did, if I'm going to act like that. In fact, why didn't I tell her to begin with?

I honestly don't know.

Thankfully though, neither she nor Halfy seemed to persist. Instead, they moved onto a different subject altogether.

"Um... well, should we get going then?" Halfy asked, glancing to both Nightmare Moon and I as she gave a small gesture of her hoof. I gave a quiet thanks to whatever divine force had decided to cut me a break and nodded to Halfy.

"Oh, yes. Let us make haste, shall we? While our night is still youthful!" Her obviously overly-excited state helped cheer me up at least a little as I walked away from the door and towards the two. The two halves of my jacket's zipper clinking into one another lightly the two began to trot towards a direction. I followed close behind.

As we entered the dense forest of the Everfree once again, I couldn't help but to glance back to Halfy's home. My mind was still focused on a certain ill being that currently was there.

All I could hope was that, for once, Chrysalis would realize that I earnestly did want what was best for her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The forestry and brush was broken of its peace as a series of rustles began to echo through the air. In an oasis of plant life, each crop was carefully grown with the love and gentleness of a unique earth mare. The calm and serene surroundings of the area were momentarily brought to an end as three of its inhabitants made their way into the view of the clearing's clear moonlight.

The night skies practically let out a sigh of happiness as they saw one of the halves of its creator, Nightmare Moon, come through ahead of the other two, a sense of eagerness practically shining in her eyes as she awaited for her other companions. Soon after, the maker of the wondrous garden, and the mare who was willing to give her own living space for those in need, Halfy, followed the alicorn through the brush. Finally, though hesitantly, the single human of Equestria, yet among the more friendly and caring members of the land, Jeremy, joined the two.

As he picked off a spare twig that had caught on his jacket, his eyes widened at the sight of what was before him.

"Wow." He found himself uttering, scouring the clearing's various bushes and stalks that made up it's bountiful harvest. "This is-... I honestly don't know what to say..." Turning his head to Halfy, he looked to the mare with a sense of true amazement, honestly surprised that a single pony could have managed this. Especially when he considered the relatively short amount of time she had been here. "You grew all of this?"

A sense of bashfulness overtook Halfy from the sudden attention, a small tint of red working its way to her face as she gave Jeremy a small nod. "W-well, not all of it. When I first found this clearing, there were already a few plants growing here, and I just worked from there." She said.

"You truly art of great modesty, Halfy." Nightmare Moon said with a chuckle, giving her friend a smile which was shyly returned to her. "What of your thoughts, Sir Jeremy? Is this not a magnificent sight?"

Jeremy nodded as a smile of his own graced him, almost at a loss of words for what to say. "Yeah, this is great. Not often that I see anything grow like this in the Everfree forest." He responded, passing the two as he began to walk through the various lines of crops that lined the opening in the forest.

"We are glad that ye find great interest in this, as we hoped you would. However, there remains another sight that we wish for you to see." Jeremy stopped where he was at this, turning his head to her and raising a brow in interest. Nightmare Moon looked to Halfy once again, hoping to inquire as to the possibility of showing Jeremy the rare sight that had previously allowed her to get along with the mare.

"Halfy," she began, "wouldst you mind if we showed Sir Jeremy to thine rarity of a bloom." Halfy quickly responded with a nod.

"Of course princess. J-just be careful though." A sense of giddiness surged through Nightmare Moon as she was once again referred to as 'princess' by Halfy, still slightly surprised at the fact that anypony would be willing to treat her as the royalty she was.

"We would not want to do so in any other form, friend." More than satisfied with her response, Halfy gave Nightmare Moon a nod, acknowledging her unspoken promise of care before she walked to the garden before them.

"You two go on ahead," she said, "I have to make sure the rest of these are watered before I check on the flowers." Jeremy and Nightmare Moon both called out their understanding, the two making their own individual ways around the various crops before meeting up along the far side of the clearing where Nightmare Moon took the lead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Nightmare Moon had first told Chrysalis and I about the flower that Halfy had been caring for, I admit that I was pretty interested in seeing it myself. Now, at least from what I've surmised, Nightmare Moon was granting me that silent wish of mine.

The two of us walked side by side, though she was slightly ahead, as we made our way down a path of bent branches and twisted trees. She had an excited look about her, one even more so than when Zecora had offered to make tea again, and it was actually pretty nice to see. It was like watching a kid make their way to a candy shop, a sort of innocence and pure giddiness behind it that you couldn't possibly imagine.

Nightmare Moon was the kind of woma-- Heh, sorry, I still slip up on that kind of thing every now and again. The kind of mare who enjoyed the little things. This flower, though, seemed like more than that and I could see why. It was an indirect remnant of her past, as Princess Luna. Back when she was treated like a princess rather than a villain. If I was in her position, I'd probably feel a similar kind of connection.

I mean, that sweater of mine was one of the last things I had from home, and I wasn't exactly eager to get rid of it, you know?

"Do you share a similar excitement as us?" Nightmare Moon suddenly asked, breaking me out from my thoughts.

"Huh? Oh! Oh, yeah. I am pretty glad to be seeing that flower that got you and Halfy to get along. Plus, it made you happy, right?" She nodded, a smile firmly on her face as she seemed to recall the experience.

"Oh, very much so, Sir Jeremy." It was at that moment that my brow rose again, this time out of thought.

There she went again with the whole 'Sir Jeremy' thing. I figured now was a good time as ever to ask.

"Say, Nightmare Moon?"

"Yes?"

"Out of curiosity, why exactly do you call me that?" She turned her head back to me as I asked this, though she continued to walk on.

"What is it that you mean?"

"You call me, 'Sir Jeremy'. I mean, I'm not offended by this or anything like that, but I would still like to know why you call me that as opposed to just 'Jeremy'." I explained, only seeming to draw a questioning look from Nightmare Moon in return.

"To what other title am I to refer to a knight?"

... Still surprises me, thinking back on it. At the mention of the word 'knight', I practically stopped in my tracks, looking to her with a near flabbergasted expression. She seemed to notice rather quickly, rolling her eyes with a smile.

"Of course, we are aware that ye are not truly of a knight's descent," she said, "but ye have shown many a number of qualities as shown by those knighted in olden times. Nobility, honor, loyalty, all that and much more. 'Tis the reason why we refer to you as 'Sir Jeremy'."

Look, I thought of myself as a relatively decent guy, sure, but enough to earn a 'knighthood'? Back home, you would have to do some pretty stupendous things to do that. All I did was open the door for them when it was time to escape.

"And the reason you call Zecora, 'Miss Zecora'?"

"Custom dictates that close associates of one of knighthood should be treated with respect as such." She quickly replied. That pretty much eased my concerns of her thinking were were married. "... There is no issue with this, is there?" She asked after a moment of silence, her face now one of concern.

I quickly shook my head at this, scrambling to keep her from getting the wrong idea. "No, no, no, its fine! I just wanted to know, is all. I have no problem with you calling me 'sir'. If anything, I'm actually kind of flattered that you think so highly of me." Her look of worry was quickly shifted to one of happiness, and relief. She gave a curt nod before she put her gaze forward once more.

After a moment I did the same, watching as the path became narrower and, eventually, brought us to a collection of branches and roots that formed into an impromptu dome. Nightmare Moon's smile grew as she quickly entered the small opening in the dome. As she disappeared behind the incubating plant life, I let out a breath, slowly and carefully following in after her.

The first sight I came upon was Nightmare Moon sitting off to the side, serenely looking downwards to the center of the ground. Following her gaze, I saw the object of her attention.

Like Nightmare Moon had said, the flower was positively beautiful. Hints of moonlight that shined through the dome of roots seemed almost purposely aimed to the flowers, emboldening their already pronounced aura of fragile wonder.

I could see why the flowers were so related to the night. Aside from the fact that it grew only in the moonlight, as Nightmare Moon had previously explained, the color and pattern of the flowers really made it clear. Its star shape, its celestial similarity to the night sky, and its deep midnight blue. The center of the flowers seemed like small, individual moons that shined upon their miniature nights while the petals provided the stars and constellations.

In its entirety, the flowers reminded me of Nightmare Moon. It's a bit obvious as to why, but I can't really help myself but to say it nonetheless.

I was tempted to say something, to comment on how Nightmare Moon wasn't kidding when she said that this was a wondrous sight. I couldn't though. All it took was one glance at her for me to shut myself up. She seemed to be enjoying her time here, her eyes shining with reminiscence and joy as she looked over one of the last objects that related to her past.

I couldn't just intrude on this obviously important moment of hers. So, instead, I sat myself off to the side with a smile, watching on in silence. Admittedly though, I didn't keep my gaze too focused on the flowers all that much.

-------------------------------------

It was some time later that Halfy arrived as well, giving the two of us a short greeting before she started to water the Lunar Blossoms like she had just done with the rest of her garden. She showed extreme care for the delicate flowers, which Nightmare Moon seemed to greatly appreciate. She only provided a few drops of water for the plants, wetting their petals with dew-like placement.

Once she had finished, giving a small nod of satisfaction as she did so, she looked to the two of us and asked if we were ready to go. The two of us responded that we were, standing from our seated positions and following Halfy as we began to make our way back. I barely noticed Nightmare Moon give one last smile as she glanced to the flowers behind us as we left.

The walk home was relatively silent, the three of us being sharing a sense on unsureness of what to say, or if we really had anything to say at all. After all, we were relatively satisfied with how the short trip to Halfy's garden had gone.

Halfy managed to give some more care to it, as she does every night. Nightmare Moon had once again seen the flowers that she was so fond of. And I had even been able to actually see the sight for the first time. All together, it was a nice time we had out from the house. The house that, at the moment, we were approaching.

Halfy, taking slight initiative, quickened her pace, beating us to the door and pushing it open for us to enter. Nightmare Moon and I gave our thanks as we entered the house. Alongside that, I took in a breath and silently pleaded that Chrysalis had listened to me after all.

As the door shut behind us, Nightmare Moon and Halfy quickly found their individual spots among the room, silently seating themselves as they let out content sighs. I did so too, but not exactly as I normally would. I took a bit of a detour as I made my way to my seat, glancing over the currently napping Chrysalis as I did so. Near her hind legs there was an empty plate and a similarly empty glass on the floor below.

I let out whatever breath I didn't know I was holding as I saw this.

Next Chapter: Chapter 16: Keeping Each Other Going [Here Again] Estimated time remaining: 11 Hours, 26 Minutes