"Ugh... We still cannot believe that Chrysalis hath awoken us so soonly." Nightmare Moon conferred, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she spoke with the one eyed mare. "All to prove an invalid point, just as well. 'Tis utterly infuriating." Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes for a short moment, giving an exasperated sigh as she thought back to the changeling's behavior.

Halfy, during the irritated spiel of the alicorn, listened with care. She took in every word of the self-proclaimed, though not unwelcome, friend of hers. Tilting her head from where she sat on the couch, just next to Nightmare Moon, she risked a response as the dark moon princess finished with a humph.

"Well, princess, to be fair you did... provoke her." Her voice quieted as she said this, fading into silence. Having caught this, Nightmare Moon's ear twitched and her head turning towards Halfy with a jerk. Her brow rose with a glint of anger.

"Ye choose to follow her reasoning?!" She asked incredulously. A squeak of surprise and regret escaped Halfy as she lowered her head completely to the couch, her ears splaying themselves back against her head as she struggled for words.

"N-no, I- I mean- I- I just-... I'm sorry!" She finally managed to utter, hiding herself behind her hooves from Nightmare Moon's apparent aggression.

Seeing this, the shadow alicorn continued her glare for another moment or so before, eventually, she relented. She shook her head as she realized what she was doing. "... No, Halfy, ye hast nothing to seek forgiveness for." She said in a much softer, more apologetic, tone. Halfy partially removed herself from behind her makeshift cover as she heard this; An ear of her's rose along with her. "We... simply find issue with the changeling awaking Sir Jeremy over such a meaningless debacle... Though, we also suppose that we are partially at fault for this."

Having taken notice of Nightmare Moon calming down, Halfy sat herself up once more. Though, admittedly, now she did so with some tension as she looked to her friend.

"You... really care for him, don't you?" She asked. After all, throughout her spiel she had focused more on Jeremy's possible issues than her own.

Nightmare Moon nodded as she looked to her, a small smile gracing her features. "But of course. For he is our reasoning for being here. Our bringer of freedom, our knight of great honor! ... Our first true friend..." Nightmare Moon's smile grew even further at the thought as she looked blankly looked towards the floor below her in reminiscence. Even Halfy seemed to brighten up ever so slightly, if only because of the blissful expression of her guest and friend.

The two remained like this for a rare few minutes of calm. Not an awkward silence, but a calm. One that, with wide eyes and raised ears, was abruptly shattered.

A scream, almost bloodcurdling, pierced through the air as well as the timber that sculpted the house. It was shocking, to a point where the two were utterly stunned as their minds processed the sudden noise. Ultimately though, it was Halfy who began to recover the fastest, slowly speaking out as she realized an awful fact. She recognized the voice behind that scream.

"Th-... That was..." She choked out at an agonizingly slow pace, stuttering as she did so before trailing off. Fortunately, her current member of company had also retrieved her grip on reality, doing so at a much more accelerated rate.

"Sir Jeremy!?" She cried out, momentarily glancing to the ceiling above her before, without another word, she jolted off of the couch and sprinting to the stairway doors. It was the shaking furniture and echoing hoofsteps that she left that had fully removed Halfy from her own stupor as she, in similar though not nearly as powerful movement, began to make her way towards the stairway as well.

Nightmare Moon, ignored the stairs of the room, her wings extending themselves as she, for the first time in quite a while, flew herself upwards towards the bedroom entrance to shave off what precious few seconds she could.

The door to the room stood no chance as Nightmare Moon plowed her way inside, desperate to see what was ailing her companion.

The sight before her made her stomach drop and her blood run cold.

There, in what seemed like a shaking mess of panic and fear, was Jeremy. The blankets from the bed covered and coating him like a thick and homely shield, to the point where the only way she could really realize that it was Jeremy hidden underneath was the sound of whimpers that came from below them. Before she could soak in the shock and concern of seeing her noble knight like this though, she felt her blood go from cold to an outright boil as she brought her eyes to the changeling that stood before him.

Chrysalis was stood next to an open window, it's light shining into the room in thin rays. Her eyes were wide along with her maw as she held a raised hoof close to herself. She had been a state of shock of her own.

Nightmare Moon cared not for any of this, however. Her teeth clenched together and, barring even a single second of thought towards the matter, she lanced out a wave of magic towards the changeling.

Within an instant, Chrysalis found herself pinned against the wall by the window, her hooves just inches off the ground as she felt a powerful pressure pressing against her side. She barely recognized the loud slam that filled the room, the small tremors that came with it's force, and the sudden jolt of sharp indescribable pain that flew through her slightly concussed mind.

She released a grunt as she opened one of her two now shut eyes, quickly catching sight of her current aggressor as she struggled to pry a small part of her head from the wall. She was instantly met with the face of Nightmare Moon, her horn glowing brightly and her wings flared as an obvious expression of anger was etched across her face. Even her eyes held a dark and aggressive tone to them that had previously never been seen in such a way, seeming to glow and shift with dark swirling magic.

Within a hair's width of the changeling queen, Nightmare Moon forced Chrysalis' head back against the wall. Her anger-ridden breath blew harshly along the changeling's exoskeleton as the alicorn asked four simple, yet furious, words.

"What hast thou DONE?" She interogatted, her voice almost a whisper. With each word, the pressure that forced Chrysalis back increased.

"I... I didn't... Nngh... I... Don't... Urgh..." Truthfully, despite her now much more aware than ever mind, due to the situation she found herself in itself, she could not find the words on what to say. And that wasnt because she was busy grunting and groaning against the spell that held her in place. She was, in all earnest, just as answerless as Nightmare Moon in this regard. Jeremy's sudden scream and panic had left her in utter bewilderment, even now.

Nightmare Moon's eyes narrowed even further at the lack of an answer that she recieved, opening her mouth to repeat the question again.

"Jeremy?" The voice of Halfy rang through the room with a sharp clairvoyance, Nightmare Moon ear twitching as she glanced behind her. It was only now that she took note of the mare's presence in the room. It had seemed that, in her distraction, Nightmare Moon had completely tuned out her entrance. By now, Halfy had made her way over to Jeremy's side.

As she caught sight of Halfy, who was currently calling to Jeremy softly through his makeshift guard, her anger was quickly pushed away. What replaced it was concern towards her companion. With one last narrowed glance towards the changeling, Nightmare Moon made the note to deal with her later. Chrysalis was unceremoniously dropped from her magical pin, allowing her to fall to the ground with a thump as Nightmare Moon made her way next to Halfy. Chrysalis gave out another groan as she stood herself up, shaking off the pain she felt and looking towards the two ponies that surrounded Jeremy.

"Sir Jeremy?!" Nightmare Moon called to the shaking and hiding figure. Her voice was laced with heavy concern as she carefully held out a hoof towards him. "Are ye injured? Hath something occurred?"

Doing her best to lean herself over his hiding figure, in order to gain a better view of him, she gently took hold of one of the inner edges of the thick bed covering that enveloped him with her magic. She gave it a small tug until a small part of his arm was revealed.

An instant reaction was brought about by this though as cover was quickly yanked back over him. For the brief moment that his arm had been visible, his shaking had intensified severely. It was only then that he silently began to speak. "...C-close it..." He gave out in a low and stuttering voice.

"Pardon?" The alicorn asked, raising her brow in confusion.

"Close it..." He repeated, this time more audibly. Halfy was next to speak up.

"Close what? W-we don't know what you're-"

"Close it. Close it! CLOSE IT!" He repeated this again and again, each time becoming louder and firmer until he had practically begun to shout. Both Nightmare Moon and Halfy recoiled at this, glancing to one another before yet again turning to Jeremy in their flummoxed states.

"W-... We do not-" Before Nightmare Moon could go on any further, the light of the room was suddenly snuffed out, both the alicorn and mare giving out gasps of surprise as they heard the sound of the shutters to the window closing.

Turning their heads towards the now closed source of illumination, they took notice to the black and green aura that surrounded it. Chrysalis looked back at the two, the glow in her horn fading as she flinched from a particularly bad crick that had been created in her shoulder blade from the impact she had just dealt with.

Within an instant, as the room was plunged into it's previous darkness, Jeremy stopped shaking. Minutes passed, nobody daring to move, before what little sound that could be heard coming from him finally came to a calm.

The Nightmare Moon and Halfy turned their attention back to Jeremy as they took notice of this. Chrysalis, in the meanwhile, did the same from afar. Her eyes would narrow, however, whenever they wandered to the shadow alicorn that had just attacked her.

"Sir Jeremy?"

"Jeremy?"

"..."

Though he was calmer than he was before, Jeremy did not answer immediately. Rather, the coverings that surrounded him shifted and a moment of thoughtful silence overcame him.

"... All of you... Wait for me downstairs..." He uttered, his voice once again lowering. This time it seemed strained. This request came as a surprise to Nightmare Moon, Halfy, and Chrysalis alike.

"But... Sir Jeremy, we cannot simply leave-"

"GET OUT!" This time, all three of them, including Chrysalis, recoiled at this abrupt and uncharacteristic outburst of Jeremy. Chrysalis, from this outburst, could see an array of different negative emotions. Rage, grief, confusion, and most of all fear.

Not another word was spoken by the three, as, with a shared glance between Halfy and Nightmare Moon, and a silent sigh from Chrysalis, they all began to make their way out of the room. They all followed Jeremy's request - and order - without any more argument.

With Nightmare Moon ahead of the pack, Chrysalis in the back, and Halfy knowingly placing herself as a sort of wedge between the two, they left the room. As they went down the staircase however, Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis exchanged a deep glare with one another. Halfy, having noticed this, felt her head and ears lower as she trotted on. The heaviness in the air around them suddenly seemed unbearable.

She knew that this would not be a good sign. That this, as a matter of fact, could easily prove dangerous if taken out too far.

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

Heh. I... hated that day. I don't even think there's a single week I can go without thinking about it.

Obviously, things are a bit better now, but at the time?

Fuck, man, I-...

I was fine. Completely fine! Everything was actually starting to go right! Chrysalis had her powers back and was starting to actually open up! Nightmare Moon and I were getting along even better than ever! They hadn't even known about
me being so afriad, but we were okay!

But no! Some ungodly force up there decided that seeing me happy for once just wouldn't do! So, they decided that this would happen!

A FUCKING argument between Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon; That's all it took! No accidents! No slip-ups! No deductions!

NO! Instead, it was a MEANINGLESS ARGUMENT that did me in! Fucking DAMN IT, the both of them!

If they would have just STOPPED FIGHTING with one another for ONE SECOND, then maybe this wouldn't have happened! All they had to do, was NOT FIGHT! AND... And... Fuck...

Sorry...

Yeah, yeah, I'm better, thanks for asking.

No, its alright, I'll talk to them about it later. I can keep going.

I could feel a shuddering breath escape me as the last few trickles of pain, memory, and a little bit of sweat flowed away from my body and mind. I knew they weren't completely gone though. I knew they never would be. They were just... hiding.

I was blaming what was out of my, and likely anyone else's, fault. Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon had technically made the wager, but they didn't know I'd react like this. I didn't want them to know that I'd ever react like this.

So much for that, eh?

... I really didn't want to move. I wanted to focus on other things. So, for a minute or two, I let myself.

The floor to the second floor was uneven. Some of the planks had been installed at an angled because of the two trees that grew inwards around the house, so either whoever installed the planks had measured them poorly, or the trees were slowly compromising their integrity. It might be about a year, at most, before some of the planks would need to be replaced...

Stuff like that... it helped. And frankly, as much as I don't like whenever I start to ramble, I needed it.

I could hear the three while they walked down the stairs, their hooves muffled though still easy to hear along the floor of the wooden house. I could hear how they starting to whisper, though I couldn't make out any of the words. I could hear the anger in their tones. I could hear how it sounded more like muffled growls than whispers.

I wondered, 'Were they mad because of me? Because I'd been hiding this from them?'

... They were probably waiting for me... I was sure of it...

I wanted to ramble a bit more though. About the bed frame. About the wall. About anything. I just needed a minute.

I'm ashamed to say that the thoughts that went through my head weren't just me rambling though.

The word 'pathetic' in particular... I remember hearing it a lot.

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

"We have asked thee previous, and we shall ask thee once more... What didst thou do to him?!" Nightmare Moon growled, her voice nearly exiting the whispering tone that the three in the room had wordlessly chosen.

"..." Chrysalis, however, did not answer. Instead she chose to shoot daggers at the 'princess' from afar, unmoving and unrelenting in her own obvious show of aggression.

Halfy, unable to do or say anything to calm the situation sat in the sidelines, so to speak. A sense of fear and worry crept up on her as she watched the two square off in their motionless battle.

"..." As the changeling continued her silence, Nightmare Moon felt her anger once again flare, this time even being visible by Chrysalis. Evidently, the intensity of her emotions had even begun to break through the mental walls that Nightmare Moon had put up, like a blade through paper.

"What. Didst thou. Do to him?!" She repeated yet again, her slit eyes becoming nothing more than thin lines floating in raging and vibrant oceans of green. Her mane lost it's ethereal flow, instead gaining preference to that of a burning inferno, wild and deadly. Even her fur and feathers seemed to darken, becoming more akin to brimstone rather than that of a night sky.

Chrysalis was unfazed by this, her glare continuing in the same way it had before while her lips finally began to carve out the answer that Nightmare Moon had been asking for. "I. Don't. Know."

For a moment, Nightmare Moon's eyes widened. This was only for a short moment, however, before her overall demeanor returned to it's previous viciousness, if not even greater so.

"... What?" She began. " 'Thou dost not know?' Thou truly expects me to believe such a wretched and ill-conceived lie!? How dare thee? To harm Sir Jeremy in such a manner as to leave him as thou didst and blatantly speak nonsense of it! How dare thee-"

"I don't know!" She interrupted, her teeth grinding as she opened and closed her maw in what was now a shout, having quickly abandoned the idea of whispering as she felt her own eyes narrow and shrink. "Ugh, you really must be deaf! Though, I suppose that's not so hard to believe now! What with your head being so far up your flank, it's impossible for you not to be!" Halfy and Nightmare Moon watched on as Chrysalis put on this display, the two of them, Halfy especially, being in a state of shock as they saw her continue. "You think that everything I do is wrong, don't you! That at even the slightest provocation, I wouldn't hesitate to commit cruelty! As if you're a saint yourself! Or have you just conveniently forgotten your thousand of years of banishment?!"

"Thou hast no right to return this subject to matter, nor any reason!" Nightmare Moon yelled back. "Of course we would believe thee to be so uncivil and insufferable! 'Tis foolish to think any less, or any more, of one such as thee! Especially in comparison to a past such as ours!" Chrysalis promptly returned a yell of her own at this, standing herself onto all four hooves as her entire body seemed to gain it's own aggressive fury.

"Well, guess what, you malignant shadow of an alicorn! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO HIM!" She proclaimed, her voice getting even louder still as she shouted this towards her long loathed party member. "And for you to think that I would just shows that you don't have the right to even think of accusing me of doing so!"

"Accuse!?! No, 'tis not an accusation. 'Tis a statement of fact!" She rebutted, her hoof stomping against the ground with a loud thump. "Thou hast brought harm to Sir Jeremy in previous occasions, and we-"

"Those were different!" Chrysalis interrupted, much to the further anger that currently fueled Nightmare Moon. "On those occasions, he had always brought them about himself!"

"False!" Nightmare Moon exclaimed, though Chrysalis ignored her, continuing with her spiel.

"When I had hurt or insulted him, he had always taken it in good nature! One way or another! That damn moron! Whether he would find humor in it then or later, he would always brush it off as if it were NOTHING!" She went on, her magic momentarily spiking with her anger. Truth be told, she didn't know where most of this was coming from. "I demean him. I disagree with him. But I have never- I would never - purposely harm in a way that left him like... LIKE THAT!" She yelled, gesturing to the ceiling above them. The image of Jeremy's mentally shattered and shivering body as he hid beneath the covers was practically branded in their minds by now.

"Thou certainly hast a form to show such a thing! At every turn, thou hast not failed to ignore Sir Jeremy's previous kindnesses as if they were nothing! He freed us from our captivity, at sacrifice of his own! He kept whatever knowings he had of us hidden away, despite his constant torment from then on! Another sacrifice of his own! He had even allowed himself to besmirch his lips with thine own, in an attempt to save that which he refers to as a companion! How many sacrifices must he make before thou are satisfied? Oh woe is he, to believe thee as anything worth such actions!" Chrysalis practically snarled at this, her horn now positively glowing as its aura turned into a much more deep and intimidating green and her chitin seemed to thicken and shake.

"Oh, what's wrong!?" She began yelling sarcastically. "Are you sad that he was willing to do something like that to me, rather than yo-" Before Chrysalis could even finish this statement, Nightmare Moon let out a loud and menacing roar, stomping both her front hooves. Her horn gained its own glow as she used it to menace the changeling.

Chrysalis, in return, took her own aggressive stance. Her teeth bared as she and the alicorn threatened one another for what could easily be the last time. Halfy looked between the two with a trembling body, her legs unconsciously beginning to move her back from the sight as her inner fight or flight instincts attempted to get her as far away as possible.

Finally, as the two raised their heads, sparks beginning to fly from their horns as they prepared a myriad of spells and strength, a weak though still firm and clearly audible voice rang through the air.

"... Enough..." The three's eyes widened as, within an instant, the aggressive statures and powers of the alicorn and changeling monarch vanished. Their heads all turned to the source of the voice, quickly shifting them to silence as they all caught sight of the human who stood in the stairway's doorframe, his skin still slightly pale and clammy. He seemed weak, but more so mentally, than physically, as he silently closed the door behind him, it's squeaking and shutting adding sound to the suddenly muted room.

Somehow, they had not noticed him open the door and enter.

His head was pointed to the floor as he leaned himself against the now closed door. His arms crossed and a silent sigh escaped him as he allowed a moment to pass...

"Sir Jere-" He stopped her with a raised hand and nothing more, her ears moving back against her head as she quickly quieted herself.

"... I'm guessing... you're all wondering what happened a few moments ago... Right?" There was a moment of tense silence as the three all glanced amongst one another, then back to Jeremy. Almost simultaneously, they nodded. Jeremy could only chuckle.

"... Of course you are..." Chrysalis couldn't even tell what emotion she was sensing from him. It was like a jumble of emotions that were so muddled together, they somehow cancelled one another out to nothing at all. "... Look, you two know how things were... after you were gone." He began. "Back in the Canterlot dungeons, I mean."

Another silence passed, before, with a careful approach, Nightmare Moon answered. "Y-yes, Sir Jeremy. Ye have told us of this." She could also vividly remember the horrible state that he was in on that day. Her eyes fell to his still bandaged chest and relatively thin build without her noticing.

"... Right. Well... I didn't tell you about everything..." At this, both Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis rose an inquisitive brow. Halfy, in the meantime, elected to simply wait and listen, seeing as she was missing a notable amount of context.

"How do I put this...? You both remember the room we were in, right? How it was small, cramped, and practically pitch black?" They nodded promptly. "Well, think of if this way. I still see that room. Its not often, obviously, but its there. Just at the back of my mind, like an itch I cant scratch, or a monster just in the corner of your eyes." The three present grimaced at this, his explanation being rather... concerning already.

"But... thats not a bad thing. Heh. The room itself is actually completely comforting... But every time that damn door opened... Every time I could see those torches..." He trailed off, his voice straining and legs trembling before he took in a breath and steeled himself. The sight was ghastly to those who saw it.

"...That's what it was like for me. When I was in there I would be blind. I would be cramped. I would be hungry. I would be thirsty... I'd be safe. And whenever that light came in, I just... pain..." Nightmare Moon's heart broke as she listened to her friend recount his stay at the Canterlot prison, telling the three of things that even they had not known of. Halfy could not withhold a gasp, and Chrysalis... simply stared in shock.

"I... guess I started to associate one thing with another... And the next thing I know... I'm actually afraid of light." Looking up towards the three, he could now see bits of confusion in their eye. A weak, almost pitying, chuckle escaped him. "Ah. That's right. That's not something that exists here, is it?" He asked. Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon shook their heads, the concept seeming so brutally alien to them. They had heard of creatures that were sensitive to and avoided the light, yes. But 'afraid'?

"Of course not... Not when everyone in this sees that piece of shit's sun as a GODSEND!" He suddenly yelled, slamming his closed palm into the door behind him. The three flinched at this outburst while Jeremy just stood there, seething. He wasn't sure of where that anger had come from. Perhaps it was his growing hatred towards Celestia, who had likely overseen his mental punishment of sorts. Or maybe it was just because he was mad at himself for not being like the others that surrounded him. Either way, it made no difference. "Funny, isn't it? Most ponies are afraid of the dark when they're just foals. Its the same for humans. Hell, I was scared of the dark at some point. Now I, a grown man, can't even stand the sight of a goddamn flashlight if it comes too close!"

Chrysalis' eyes now widened in realization as she pieced together what he had said. All the previous occurrings had suddenly made sense. The day that they had first found Zecora, for instance. How he was clearly afraid of something, pure anxiety, up until they went indoors. It had been right in front of her and she had just later pushed it aside.

"... I had blatantly told you both, upfront, that I was deadweight. At the time, it had been because of the fact that I could barely move at all, and because I had pretty much been starving. Now, though, you can probably guess that those weren't the only reasons..." He glowered at the ground below him, taking in a deep breath. "Deadweight can at least have it's uses at times... Ballast, a makeshift distraction... Something. Me...? I'm so pathetic, I can't even be that during the day..." His head lowered even further at this, his eyes masking themselves. "... That's why I didn't want you two to know about this. Why I kept it hidden... I can't compete with an earth pony's strength, a unicorn's magic, a pegasi's flight... I was never gonna be anything impressive. The whole thing with light though. Forget it... I'm useless."

As he finished with an almost surrendering sigh, his entire body seemed to go limp against the door. He could barely keep himself upwards as he hid himself as best he could, the three looking at him with a wide collection of emotions. They didn't know what they should say – what they could say – in response to this. It was almost like watching someone... just fade away in front of them.

For a few scant seconds, it seemed to everyone that this would be the end of the conversation As if that was that and Jeremy would be left in his own musings...

This was a possibility that Chrysalis would not have.

Her teeth nearly ground against each other as she, to everyone's surprise, seemingly growled her words. "... Don't you ever say that..."

At this, everypony shifted their gazes towards her. Even Jeremy raised his head to better look at her, peeking just slightly towards her. "... Excuse me...?" He asked.

Again, Chrysalis' teeth bared and her horn gained it's previous glow. Jeremy suddenly felt his body become lose all of its weight at once, blinking at the sensation. He could barely react as he was practically flung by an invisible force, a breath forcibly escaping him as he all but crashed into the vacant couch in the room.

Neither Nightmare Moon nor Halfy felt they could react, the suddenness and intensity of the situation stunning them, as they then watched the Chrysalis make her way over to the human with a sharp glare.

By the time that he had sat himself up on the couch, giving out a pained groan and rubbing at a now sore part of his back as he did so, Chrysalis was already in his face. He leaned back somewhat as her eyes glowed with nothing else but anger.

Raising a forehoof, she began to jab Jeremy in the chest, pushing him back against the couch more and more as she began to give him an angered lecture of her own. "You have no right to call yourself that. No privilege of doing so, whatsoever!" She began angrily, Jeremy's eyes widening as she did so. "You want to know what useless is? I can tell you! Useless, is a family member that would willingly give up their own to save their own flanks! Useless, is somepony who allows for their cared one to be hurt without even putting up the slightest struggle! I know because I've seen this happen all before! Over and over!" She exclaimed, using her own past experiences as an avid example in her attempts to 'wake up' the human. "Breaking us out of the Canterlot dungeons was not useless! Helping us whenever we needed it, even though we never asked, wasn't useless! Tripping the Timber Wolves behind us so we could get away and watching over us while we rested wasn't useless! Having your friends help us wasn't useless! And if you think that keeping me alive was useless, than you clearly don't understand what that word really means!"

As she spoke, Halfy, Jeremy, and even Nightmare Moon could see that she was saying this all in earnest. What she had just been accused of ignoring no more than a matter of minutes ago she was using to show Jeremy that he was worth more than he let on.

"You are not, nor were you ever, useless! The only thing about you that's even remotely so, is the fact that you're calling yourself that! Don't. You. Forget. It!" She hooked a hoof around his head and pulled him towards her, narrowly avoiding her horn as she held him forehead to forehead, eyes centimeters from one another. "If I have to force that into your head, believe you me, I most certainly will! One way or another!" She released him from her grasp and shoved him back against the sofa to emphasize her point. With a satisfied grunt, Chrysalis backed away from Jeremy, continuing her glare as he looked at her, positively lost in his own thoughts.

Glancing downwards, then towards Nightmare Moon, he raised a brow. It was from this that the alicorn finally snapped out of her earlier daze, her head momentarily shaking as she made to speak.

" 'Tis a certain truth, Sir Jeremy! Ye have been by our side since your first encounter with us! As to your fear, 'tis not well founded! We did not suffer through what you did, and cannot possibly have reason to refer to you as weak, in any way. 'Tis the opposite, in fact! To push through your fear in order to keep us satisfied, despite not truly needing to do so. We know not of anypony stronger than such!" Nightmare Moon reassured, adding to Chrysalis' statements as best she could.

For another moment, Jeremy simply sat there, glancing to and from Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis again and again in silence. Finally though, he closed his eyes, putting his hands over them and leaning further against the sofa. For a moment, there was silence. Chrysalis was moments away from demonstrating her version of 'one way or another before', suddenly, there was a chuckle.

It was faint, but it was there.

As he removed his hands from his face, he opened his eyes and glanced to the house's front door, taking note in the fact that there wasn't any daylight flowing in through any of the cracks.

"... Alright..." Standing himself up with a silent grunt, her spun his arms on his shoulder, working out the soreness in his back as best he could. "I'm... gonna go get some air... Try to calm myself down a bit more." None of the three moved to stop him, knowing that this was a time that he likely needed to himself. As he walked to the door and opened, he paused. He turned his head over ever so slightly back to the mares behind him. The smallest of smiles could be seen on his lips.

"Oh, and girls...", he began, nodding his head towards them, "thanks." With that he closed the door, leaving the three to their own once again.

As they listened to the fading sound of crunching grass from beyond the door, Nightmare Moon found herself turning her gaze to Chrysalis. The changeling in question was looking towards the door, away from her. All sense of anger had been suppressed and rid of in her mind, leaving her only with a genuine sense of remorse and regret forming in her mind.

Chrysalis really didn't hurt or hate Jeremy, after all. And yet Nightmare Moon had openly accused her of doing so.

"... Chrysalis... We-" Before she could even continue, she herself was suddenly flung backwards, crashing into the nearby wall and ending in a similar position as she had placed Chrysalis. The changeling queen turned herself and walked up to the alicorn, her eyes narrowing yet again. They showed a contempt to them that held deep roots.

"Don't you ever say that I don't care about him... Ever." And just like that, her horn lost it's glow once again. Nightmare Moon was dropped carelessly to the ground, eliciting a grunt from her, as Chrysalis then returned to the couch in the center of the room. Ignoring the apparent gazes of Nightmare Moon and Halfy, she laid herself down on the cushion before closing her eyes and taking a deep, lethargic breath.

She was done for the day, even if it had barely begun...

"They'd better feel the same."

Next Chapter: Chapter 21: The First Step Is... [Here Again] Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 51 Minutes