It was, by my guess, a little bit over 10 minutes before all that sudden fatigue let me breathe normally again. And even then, I was still a bit wobbly when it came to standing on my own. That drain of Chrysalis' meant business, to say the least. I had known what I'd been getting myself into when I did what I did, but damn if I couldn't use a break afterwards.

Even when I had been able to stand myself back up and tell everyone that I was okay, Nightmare Moon had, without a word, enveloped me in her magic. She lifted me from the ground, which I helplessly flailed and spoke against, before she then moved me over to the couch and sat me next to Chrysalis. With a notable distance between the two of us, of course.

Chrysalis, naturally, didnt seem to be too particularly pleased by my sitting next to her, but she didn't really complain too much.

Halfy, in the meantime, had made her way back upstairs after some urging by Nightmare Moon and I to get the sleep she needed. Then, not long after the sound of Halfy's bedroom door closing reached the three of us, Nightmare Moon spoke up out of the blue. She had said that 'she was going to get some air'. All things considered, that didnt seem to strange. A lot had happened, after all. What was really strange was how she said it. I couldnt put my finger on it at the time, but something about it just seemed off.

I decided against asking her about it though. Instead I just asked that she be careful. She sent a curt nod in my direction in response before, with a breath, she made her way outside.

As the door closed behind her, I gave out a sigh.

I had just been left alone in the same room with someone who both loathed me and that I had just kissed. There's a terrible joke there about unhappy marriages, but frankly I think its a bit tasteless.

"..."

"..."

"... So-"

"We aren't talking about it."

"Okay, thank god!" Not much of a talk, I know, but it was better than nothing. Besides, the less that she and I mentioned that kiss until her next 'feeding' the better. Unfortunately though, that only brought a very good question to my mind.

"... Actually, as much as I would like to leave the whole thing behind, I still have to ask. How long until we need to do... that, again?" I glanced over to her with what I could only assume was a shade of red on my face. She, in return, looked to me with a face that absolutely screamed 'really?' Nonetheless, she let out a short, almost reluctant, sigh.

"The love that I drained from you should be able to last me for some time. A few days, at the most." I breathed another sigh of relief. "... though..." Only to quickly suck it back in and hold it at gunpoint.

I turned to face her directly, bracing myself for the worst as I wondered what else she might have to add on to the conversation. Rather than her talking, however, I was faced with her giving me a concerning smirk.

Her horn began to glow it's eerie green aura. Along with that, I heard a familiar sound come from above me. The same that I often heard whenever Nightmare Moon would cast a certain spell.

I knew what was coming well in advance.

With a grunt, I loathingly accepted my fate. The sound of Chryalis' vengeful and smug chuckling was drowned out - quite literally - by the sound of splashing water. It took all of a millisecond before my body reacted to the sound and feeling. An involuntary gasp escaped me as I was suddenly soaked to the skin. My clothing and the bandages over my torso were suddenly heavy with freezing cold water. I could faintly hear the sound of a glass cup falling and bouncing off the floor in the background, but it was of little importance to me at the time.

"Since I still have so much to get back at you and Nightmare Moon for, I may need to be fed even sooner than that. If I want to keep my magic going, that is." She finally added onto her previously hanging sentence. I flicked off whatever water hung along both my hair and face before wringing out my jacket.

"... Great." I paused to clear some of the stray water our of my eyes. "Anything else you'd like to try the- Jesus!"

The close up view of a Timber Wolf that met me caught me by more than a little surprise. I scrambled back on the couch, tumbling off of it with a flail. Had I been a spectator of the whole thing, I admit it probably would have at least looked a bit funny. As the participant though? Nah, not so much.

What with my face now firmly planted on the ground, I could only give out a groan as I was able to easily hear the boisterous laughter of Chrysalis. It wasn't hard to guess what had just happened. Sure enough, as I picked myself up from the ground and looked to the couch, I caught sight of a chortling 'Timber Wolf'.

"Was that both necessary?" I asked. The wooden canine, in turn, quieted its laughter, turning to me and showing an expression of 'innocence'.

"Oh, I don't know, why don't you tell me." It was a little odd to see the wolf talking, let alone with Chrysalis' voice. Small detail, I know, but its not everyday that you would have seen a talking animal.

... Actually in hindsight, I should have been a lot more used to that concept.

I rose my brow at her, completely clueless as to what she was getting at. She seemed to notice this - easily, might I add - likely due to the fact that she was able to read emotions again. Her eyes took a serious turn as she now, in her transformed state, began to give me a glare.

I crossed my arms as I hazarded a guess.

"... Riding on your back?" She shook her head, her glare still unwavering. "Having Nightmare Moon threaten you with glasses of water?" She paused for a moment, seeming to consider it, but shook her head again. "When I pushed you off of the couch while you were unconscious?" She blinked at that one.

"When you wha-"

"Nothing!" Yeah, really didnt want to give her more to be angry about. "Alright, I give up. What?"

Her canine eyes showed no give as she continued to glare at me before she stood herself up on the couch. Her feet tamped almost menacingly beneath her as she closed the distance between us.

"Lets see... Oh! Maybe, it had to do with how you treated me last night!" She was just barely able to stop herself from shouting at the end. I can only guess that she kept her voice low enough because she remembered that Halfy was still sleeping just upstairs, but that just a guess. As for me? I didn't say anything. I just stared at her blankly. She took exception to that.

"Oh don't pretend you don't remember! '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!' Those were your exact words!" Her voice shined for a moment as she said this. Rather than her voice coming out of the body of a Timber Wolf, I instead heard a perfect mimicry of my own as she quoted me. It was a bit exaggerated in some parts, but still pretty spot on.

"Ah. That." I replied simply.

There was a moment of silence. Of pure, unmotivated, tense silence. I could hear Chrysalis let out a snort as she continued to glare at me.

"... Well?" This time it was my turn to glare.

"No." It was just a moment, but I was sure of it. I could a face of pure shock and absolute surprise that she had never had before. One that I could only describe as so flummoxed, it was as if I had told her that I had secretly been a sentient bush from the mystical land of Druidia.

"Pardon-"

"I am not going to apologize for that." It was apparently my turn to stand at this point. Looking back, I don't even remember when I did stand up, I just... did.

I looked her eye to eye, her Timber Wolf form standing on the couch just about at the same height as me while I stood on the floor.

"I've apologized to you for a lot of things. And I'll probably apologize for a lot more in the future. That's just who I am, sorry to say. Hell, I'm even willing to apologize for how I had to talk to you yesterday. But I will not apologize for saying it at all." I took a step closer to her and leaned down ever so slightly. My throat felt like something was clawing at it, but I knew I had to get this out. "Do you know what I felt when I saw that crack on your exoskeleton? Hm? Up until that moment, a part of me was always aware you were starving. It was always there gnawing at the back of my mind. Like a feeling that just wouldn't go away. But it wasn't until I saw that crack that I really realized it."

"Realized what?"

"That you were dying. That one of the only people I had to talk to, that understood what I felt being alone, that I actually gave a shit about beyond just a passing glance and a friendly nod was dying."

"I am not a foal. I am a-"

"A queen. I get it!" My hands flew up above me in frustration. " But guess what, in the same way that I don't care about what the princesses are, I don't care about what you are. I only see you as one thing god damn it, and I wasnt about to let you die because you were so prideful."

"And what," she growled, her head butting against mine and the teeth made of splinters and thorn she held bared themselves, "is it that you are so keen to see me as?!"

I couldn't help but to roll my eyes. I just couldn't understand how it wasn't obvious at this point.

I took in a lungful of air through my nose and laid it out as clearly as I could.

"My friend."

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

... There was nothing but sincerity.

That was all Chrysalis could see as she silently watched Jeremy stand up against her. A solid, pure, near impenetrable aura of truth. Something that, to Chrysalis, seemed almost difficult, to comprehend.

She was mad at him, of course... but... In the back of her mind, she knew it. He did help her. And everything he had done up until now had been exclusively for that. 'Maybe she was getting soft', she wondered. 'Maybe feeding off of love after so long had made her feel more vulnerable'. She made so many thoughts that all bounced around her head as she heard that word again and again and again.

'Friend'. Spoken with true sincerity. Stated so simply and clearly, as though it had been obvious. He had said that word to describe them before. A part of it could somewhat remember that. Yet, she never recalled it being stated so directly to her.

Were it not for the fact that it would show weakness, she would have looked away from him at this moment.

"... You're lucky..." She finally said, breaking the momentary silence. She stepped backwards away from him and into the sofa, allowing her currently lupine form to sit once more.

"In any other regard, I would likely hold a grudge. Considering the fact that you did play a part in returning my powers to me though. I suppose I'll forgive you." It wasn't hard for Chrysalis to spot Jeremy as scoffed at this, but he held a smirk nonetheless.

"... Right. Sure, however you want to phrase it I guess."

"You know, this actually is one of the few times that I'm not thinking of claiming my recompense from you. You should be pleased." She narrowed her eyes for a moment again. "Nightmare Moon is free game, however."

A chortle came from Chrysalis' side, as well as the sensation of the sofa shifting underneath the weight of someone else.

"Noted. Though, if you're going to do that, you may want to start by changing yourself out of that form before Nightmare Moon comes back. Otherwise, you're gonna end up being firewood." What slightly surprised Jeremy then was that, for what seemed like the first time, she outright laughed at his joke. Not a withheld chuckle, or a sarcastic chortle, but an actual laugh.

One that, in the end, he ended up joining her in.

Next Chapter: Chapter 18: A Friend's Troubles [Here Again] Estimated time remaining: 10 Hours, 45 Minutes