Author's Notes:

Shout out to Kobolum and Disciple of history.

Their comments made me realize something I needed to address in this chapter. And also about things I needed to do.

Five days had passed after the entire 'Possessed' incident. Arden was back to health and he finally started to receive the letters from the princess' student. He was amazed at how many questions she could fit in one piece of paper, the first one had around sixty questions. All of them were simple to answer so covering the subject was just a matter of hours. Then he actually took the liberty to ask her for some notes about history and provided extra info on random subjects that came to his mind which included: literature, movies, technology and so on. 'I wish I could see her face when she receives all of this.' The unicorn thought to himself as he placed the answers on the inside of an envelope and sent it.

In the past few days, he also started his training. Walkyrie took it easy on him after she heard about what happened and Mind gave him some vials to help with the pain. So far the only thing he did was physical conditioning: running laps, sit-ups, push-ups and so on. Walkyrie said his actual training would begin after a week over the incident, that way the magic spells from Mind would have healed him completely.

During the third day of his recovery, he also received a visit from Celestia. But he wasn't in the best of moods to talk about what happened again so he decided to ask about something that was bothering him: the power measuring thing she used on his first day in Equestria. As it turns out the description of it as 'power level' was just a stupid a name that the creator of the measuring system came up with, based on the more detailed description from the princess Arden assumed that a better name would be 'mastery level' or 'power outlet'. Since it actually measured how well the pony could control their traits such as strength, speed, resilience, and stamina consumption.

Basically, the number was calculated based on the strongest strike because it was the easiest way to see how much force the subject could bring forth without any sort of backlash and the difference between species was their affinity to control their different traits. For example, Pegasus could control their overall speed and stamina consumption, while on earth ponies their affinities ruled over strength and resilience. The higher the number, the more control you had over your magic to use your body and achieve greater feats without the use of spells.

As for the other measuring that Celestia used, it was called 'magical potential', this one was more literal. According to her, the spell allowed to see the magical aura that surrounds the unicorn, determining their potential to control new spells. Unlike the 'power level', this trait was measured according to the size of the aura and it was immutable (she seemed to want to avoid this part of the explanation and kept fidgeting whenever he tried to press on the matter), while the 'power' could be changed until they got to the species cap.

Now, back as to how his situation was with the town. After he woke up in the following day of the incident, Arden decided to take a stroll through town. Since he could already walk, the only issue was the pain from the blows. Once outside, he noticed that the locals were avoiding him. He initially dismissed the behavior, he saw how scared they were during the event. Not to mention Celestia's intervention made things worse, after all, if he hadn't intervened she would have probably come up with some sort of punishment for the entire place given how she reacted.

However, as the behavior persisted despite his best attempts to approach them he started to get pissed off. And his employers weren't helping either. In his first day, they at least made small talk to him, it is a way for people to start to talk to each other when they don't know each other well enough to start something naturally. This world was no different, but after the incident, they would only talk to him to give him his tasks for the day. This was pushing him to the edge.

Back to present time, Arden found himself at the Apple's doorstep to begin his work. However, it didn't matter how many times he knocked on the door, there was no answer. "Grrrrr...YOU KNOW, IF YOU GUYS WANT ME OUT JUST SAY IT! I AM GETTING TIRED OF THIS SHIT!" He cried out before leaving the place.

'At least I can still try Rarity's place, there is always something to do there.'

"Was that Arden?" The cowgirl asked after hearing the cries from outside, her brother looked through the window. "Shoot! He had to be outside today? The day when she comes to town?" Then the mare facepalmed. "He wouldn't know about her because of our suspicions...that prevented us to talk to him. Though the fellow seems to have lost some screws...the guys been acting off after the incident. Allways gazing into space and not talking to anypony." She continued as she took off her hat and looked through the window.

"I guess that the last part is our fault...we should have at least given the guy a chance to get used to us. Even if we kept our guard up both parts would have at least a chance to find some common ground..." She said looking out the window. "As of right now...both he and our folk need to do something so both parties can have a second chance." She finished closing the window and heading back to her room.

Back in town, Arden was getting even more pissed. Now everypony in town was locked back in their houses. "DO ALL OF YOU GUYS JUST WANT ME GONE?!" The silence was the only thing that followed the echo of his voice throughout the empty streets.

*CRASH, THUD*

This sound made Arden look for its source, looking around he saw a cloaked figure trying to gather some fragments of a barrel and some pieces of broken glass. He silently rushed to behind the figure. "Hey, you okay there? " The figure winced and looked at him with the back of its eye before they ran off. "Wait up!" Arden said reaching out, he considered stopping there...what was the point of going after them? He would just scare them off even more, but as soon as he noticed to where the figure was heading he started to chase it.

"Don't go there! It's dangerous!" Arden's cries fell on deaf ears since the figure entered the Everfree. "Shit." Hesitating a bit Arden ran after them. Trying his best to catch up with them he continued to follow the cloak, however, he eventually lost sight of it. 'Crap! This is bad. I have to find that pony!'

The unicorn continued to run through the forest, eventually, he saw in the distance a clearing with something blue on the ground. As he got closer Arden managed to identify that he was looking at a vividly colored flower. 'That usually points to things being poisonous...or mimicking something poisonous...best to go around them.' He thought to himself turning around. As he did he bumped into something that almost made him fall into the flower-bed, his fall was stopped by something pulling his forearm.

"One should not allow the touch of the poison-joke. That is unless one wishes to become a joke." It was a female voice.

"So they are poisonous..." Arden muttered as he got his balance back with the help of the figure. "...I was planning on going around them." Arden explained before he remembered why he entered the forest and grabbed the figure's shoulders. "Never mind that! Are you okay?"

"This one has no injury." The figure answered.

"Thank, Celestia!" Arden said letting out a sigh. "Alright then, let's get you back in town. This place is dangerous." He said grabbing her hand and starting to lead the figure back.

"Dangerous this place is. Yet here you set hooves." The figure said breaking away from his grip. "Why?"

"Because you ran into this place after you saw me?" The Stallion said tilting his head, inside his mind he was celebrating the fact that this pony was actually talking to him. "If something happened to you it would have been my fault."

"In danger, you ventured, for the sake of one you do not know?" The figure said taking off her hood, revealing a zebra with green eyes. Arden didn't react to the revelation, he just kept looking at her. 'Her voice is...very nice. She talks funny...but I like it.' he thought to himself. "This one's appearance does not frighten you?"

"Uhhhh...what?" Arden answered tilting his head. "Should I be scared? You're a zebra, what's the big scary thing that should make me tremble in fear?" Arden said making a theatric gesture of being afraid, 'It feels good to be talking to somepony about something that isn't about work.' Then Arden noticed the zebra had her eyes wide open and had her jaw hanging. He reached for her jaw and using his index finger he forced her mouth to close.

"A local you are not. From where does the blue one come?" She said shaking her head a few times before she started talking.

"Somewhere pretty far away." He answered bluntly. "So...how about we get to somewhere safe so we can tlak more at ease?"

"A conversation you wish to hold? In that case to my hut, we should go." She said smiling and pulling him by the wrist. 'Hey! I found somepony who doesn't get suspicious right away! BEST DAY EVER!' The mare seemed as eager to talk as he was.

As she led him he eventually saw a hut with a mask hanging on the door. "Hey! I recognize this place!" He said making the mare stop to look back at him.

"You know of this place?" The Zebra asked tilting her head.

"When the princess sent me to the village a little mishap of the spell tossed me in the middle of the forest. So I ended up being chased by a local creature and ran past this hut." Arden explained scratching the back of his neck. "I didn't know there was somepony out here."

"There is, this one lives as one with the forest as her culture dictates. And as her choice." She said smilling. 'Somepony is really happy about this conversation...well she isn't the only one.'

"So...we're gonna go inside or...we're gonna sit by the door? I'm fine either way." Arden said playfully earning a chuckle from the mare. "After all, I've been waiting to have a normal conversation with somepony that wasn't the princess or my teachers...or about something that wasn't working." He said dropping his shoulders.

"This one can say that she's been waiting for a chance to talk as well." She said heading towards the door and opening it. "Come inside, since out here beasts tend to hide."

Arden took the invitation and got through the door. The inside looked like something out of a fairy tale book, a witch's house. Creepy masks on the wall, a big cauldron over a fire on the center of the room. Shelves filled with old-looking books, plants, and herbs hanging all over the place. A little side room with a small table with just two bowls and some spoons, another one with a bed made out of leaves and grass covered by an old sheet. A humble place but comfy, the entire place was warm and had a pleasant scent hanging in the air.

"Nice place," Arden said getting closer to a mask, this mask was round and red with something that looked like an evil grin. "I know these have some sort of meaning behind them. What does this one mean?"

"These do not scare you?" A voice came from behind, Arden just answered by moving his index finger sideways without turning around. "That one means 'welcome'."

"Neat, I bet a lot of ponies would assume that is some sort of cursing or chanting thing," Arden said turning around, "Nice clothes." He said noticing that she took off the cloak and revealing what she was wearing. It looked like a daishiki and a kitenge wrapped around her waist. The Daishiki was white on the upper part and orange for the lower part, while the Kitenge was a bright yellow with some blue shapes sown into it. "Is that A Daishiki and a Kitenge?" Arden researched a lot of different myths and stories when he could and as a result, he ended up learning a bit about different cultures. While researching somethings about African myths he ended up stumbling into some of the names of some of the traditional clothing of the continent.

"Quite knowledgeable you are. Usual garments of my land indeed they are." She said opening her arms and spinning around to show him the clothes. "What does the cerulean stallion think?"

"They look nice." He answered, then he remembered something. "Where are my manners? My name is Arden Sila. It means 'strong bond'. And you are?"

"Zecora is my name. Healing the mind and body is my craft." She answered making a reverence.

"A healer that isn't a unicorn! That is amazing!" Arden exclaimed.

"One does not wish to pry...but as far as this one knows..." The zebra started biting her lip every time she stopped. "...those marks represents one's talent. What is yours?"

"Oh...that..." Arden looked at the ground when he tried to answer. "...it has to do with my magic. Why do you ask?"

"A unique and beautiful eye it is. For that, this one's attention it's caught." She answered fidgeting a bit. The answer made Arden smile. 'Now that's a first.' Seeing his smile the mare asked another question. "If it isn't a monumental task, could please allow me to see?"

"Er...are you sure?" Arden asked staring at her, she nodded. "Really sure? The last time somepony saw it I ended up being attacked by an entire village." He started looking around and seeing some weapons that were placed near her, namely a short sword that looked like it was made out of brass, a spear, and some daggers. Then he returned his attention to the mare that came closer and nodded positively once again. "*sigh* Okay...just...promise to not hurt me, please?" The stallion said reaching for the lock on the necklace and taking it off.

"That stone comes from my land." The zebra said once she saw the stone in the necklace. "A stone that suppresses a pony's talent. But if enchanted can be some much more than one bargained. Magical flames, elemental domain, sealing of a soul. Such a versatile yet devious stone." Arden's eyes widened at her revelation, but he didn't keep his surprise for long since the headaches started again.

"Does your mind ache whenever the suppressant is not in place?" Arden nodded positively. "It would seem that the blue one does not appreciate what makes him unique."

"What?"

"The stallion is just a new form of a traveler's soul is it not?" The mare asked making the Stallion put back the necklace so he could pay attention. "Would you perhaps a human be?" Arden's eye twitched at her statement.

"H-how?" The mare gave him a smile and came to his side and guided him to the room with the table and gestured for him to sit before she continued.

"Familiar with the author Jack Reacher you are?" Arden answered with a positive nod. "Jack Reacher is but an alias to a human turned into a stallion known whose actual name was Artur." She said leaning to the side and getting a hand-mirror that was resting on the table. "The traveler first appeared on our homeland. There he learned about his talent of transferring the of the living souls into objects so they could live on as long as the object resisted." Arden was paying close attention to her every word, his gaze fixed on her eyes as she spoke. "He believed that his talent allowed others to be with their beloveds for more time. Much to his despair, he discovered that his magic had the side effect of torturing the trapped soul inside the object. By the time he discovered his nature he had already used his spell again and again without failing once and had already traveled throughout our world. As well as written his book about creatures of myth."

"But this is not the lesson he passed on through his life." She said getting up and reaching for a book on a shelf. "The discovery of his talent's true nature made him reject his very existence. The symptoms he felt after were registered in another book he this time wrote under his real name." She explained placing the book on the table and sitting once again 'The affliction of a mind broken by the truth.' Arden read to himself. "His initial signs were headaches, later evolving to multiple diseases, madness and so forth. Only in his death-bed, in one of his few lucid moments, did he accept what his talent could do and the symptoms that plagued him subsided giving him two more years of life before his body died of old age and he died with 70 years of experiences."

'So I'm not the first one here...but the last one seems to have been sent to the past while I was sent to more recent years...that's how he knew about the title of a fairly recent movie.' Arden thought to himself as he studied the book.

"Wait," Arden then said looking back at the mare. "So what you're saying is that my headache is because of me rejecting my talent?"

"For what this one has seen..." She started. "...your progression towards the other symptoms came with without delay. But you are young so there is time for the damage to be undone." Arden started to think about what she had just said.

"You don't mean that I..."

"Mad as a hatter, this one would not lie on this matter. The stallion wanders the streets with empty eyes. Paying no heed to those who attempt to approach." Arden started to question his current state and everything that he saw during the past few days. "One has described an attack in the past. A healer's guess is that the event triggered a quick decay in your condition making your mind deteriorate."

Suddenly in Arden's mind, he remembered the hearts of the citizens. 'A monster! He's gonna kill us! He is lost! Somepony please saves us from it!' Then he remembered his own words: 'It's these damned eyes fault!'. Going further into his memories he remembered his theatrics back at the throne room...'I wasn't afraid of what they would do...I was afraid of what I could do with this.'. Arden's mind began to burst with anger towards himself and the villagers, as well as Celestia.

'I put myself in this condition because I listened to my teachers and rejected my empathy, the source of my talent...and the village made it worse with their rushed judgment about me. Celestia also made it worse by telling me to hide this! To suppress it! God damn it! Everypony is to blame! Me above all else! I etched their teachings into my head! I listened to her advice! But they are no innocents either! They could have given me a chance to explain! She could have tried to help me understand my talent before sending me off! But nooo, she had to make me suppress it!' He was lost in these thoughts, he didn't even notice himself gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

"Are you okay?" The mare asked making him snap back into reality. He then noticed that he was practically tearing through his skin with his nails. Suddenly he felt his eyes start to water, all the anger...all the fear he felt during these past few days and that he kept locked up finally came to light as he realized what he was doing to himself. Then he thought 'Wait...is...is this enough?'

He reached for his necklace once again. Once he removed it, however, the pain came even worse than before. The world was beginning to twist and warp before his very eyes. The masks began to move and talk, Arden quickly replaced the necklace on its original place as he breathed desperately.

"H-how does one treat this affliction?" The unicorn asked drying his tears.

"One would require a healer trained to deal with this affliction. But the treatment has to be followed down to the letter. Otherwise the ill will be nothing but a soul." She explained. "This mare is trained in such a craft. You, however, would need to stay here for the treatment to take have its effect." She continued. "The treatment will use potions that will cause you to enter a state of trance for several hours. In that state, the core of your rejection you will need to uncover and overcome."

"For how long would I need to do this?" He asked with his gaze fixed on hers.

"Up to your mind that would be." The zebra said crossing her arms. "From days to months, years are not out of the realm of probability." She continued getting up. "But there is no guarantee that you-"

"I'll do it." He answered with certainty. "Please help me. I don't know how I could pay for the treatment. But I'll do whatever it takes!"

"In that case, to my home, you must return by tomorrow so you can begin. As for the payment, a pony to talk will be more than enough. The solitude does not feel good after a long while." Arden agreed with a nod as he got up.

Then the mare guided him back to the forest. Along the way, she explained that the necklace was keeping the symptoms in check to a certain extent, but since the ponies in town triggered his decay, the mere sight of them was causing him to hallucinate to a certain degree. Hence why he was having hallucinations of himself attempting to interact with other ponies without realizing, the greater distortions were being kept in check by the suppressant. She also instructed that he would need to cease all contact with the ponies that could be related to the problem during the treatment since they could worsen his state. Therefore his ring would need to be left behind.

During his way back he also learned that Zecora was also a huntress, some of her potions required parts and fluids from creatures like timberwolves and manticores. So basically she would be placing herself at risk to get the ingredients for the potions required for the treatment. Once back in town it was 6:37 PM, everypony was still locked down so he rushed back to the library after saying goodbye to him. Getting a quill he wrote down three letters, two letters identicals and one that he sent away using his ring. By the time he finished them it was around 9:42 PM. Arden kept trying to come up with the right words. With the other letters ready he placed his ring in one of the envelops, he had two copies of the keys to the library so he placed one copy in each envelope. With these items ready and his things packed up he prepared to head out first thing in the morning.

At 2:00 AM he left the library and made two stops before heading into the Everfree.

In the previous night Princess Celestia was going through the answers that Arden sent with Twilight when she received another letter from the stallion.

'Celestia

It would appear that my headaches are actually symptoms of a sickness that affects those who reject their talents, that sickness will develop and eventually kill me if not treated. However, I met a pony who can treat this affliction. But...I won't sugarcoat this. You, the ponies of Ponyville, and myself played a part in making my state decay, your desire to keep it hidden, made me become even more fearful of my talent than I originally was (please be aware that I did not know about my fear consciously, I only came to realize this today once the origin of the headaches was explained to me).

In order to prevent my condition from decaying even further, I will need to cut all contact with everypony related to this development during all of the treatment. So I'll be forced to leave this ring with somepony for safe-keeping. I will overcome this and once this is over I'll need to actually sit down and talk to you about what happened.

Still your friend, Arden Sila.'

The Princess felt tears form in her eyes as she read the letter, once she finished she left the piece of paper fall. Her student picked it up and once she read it she did she went to her tutor's side and comforted her.

In the following morning, the seamstress woke up and as she went to unlock her front door and found a letter at her doorstep.

'Rarity,

I'm contacting you so that I can ask you a favor and ask for forgiveness, as much as I am angry right now with both you and all of the townsfolk I need to seek treatment to a condition that both the ponies of this town, the sun princess and I are responsible for. I am rejecting my talent and as a result, I was slowly decaying, the incident with you guys ended up triggering the disease to escalate way too quickly.

So I am currently leaving town to receive treatment from a healer that I met that has been trained to treat this. As part of the treatment, I'll need to cut connections throughout the entire course (that has no estimated time to finish). But I have one job to the library, so here I come to ask that you please open the library. I know nopony in town currently trusts me. Just like I didn't trust you with my story. But I plead with you to do this for me.

You have no idea how much resentment I kept locked up after that beatdown. But I am willing to try again once this ordeal has been seen through. This time maybe both sides can be more honest about their stories.

As for the apology... it is my understanding that I've been off these last couple of days. Whatever I did to you or anypony I was not aware. The sickness made me hallucinate, my mind made me see myself trying to interact with all of you.

Sincerely a possible friend, Arden Sila.

PS: I sent a similar letter to Applejack in case you do not wish to help me with the library. Inside the envelope, there is a copy of the library key and...my ring. Please take good care of it.

The seamstress covered her mouth as she read the words. When she finished she analyzed the ring he sent. Later that day she had Pinkie Pie gather everypony in town to explain the stallion's disappearance. With Applejack backing her up the townsfolk actually agreed that they would need to give him a chance once he returned. Applejack convinced them that he was willing to give them a chance, so they should do it as well. Not to mention that in her letter he stated that he would keep his guard up towards them, so he would be alright with them doing the same thing, in the end, both sides would need to find a way to try to make this work.

Arden stood at the doorstep of the huntress of the Everfree, he knocked and she answered immediately.

"Please come in." Accepting her invitation he stepped into the hut that would be his home for quite the while.