Author's Notes:

Once again, metordragon was a huge help in this chapter.

If any of you need help with ideas or suggestions, talk to this person. They are really good to come up with suggestions and advice related to a story's development. Their insights gave me so much more room to work. And also made me realize a path I had dismissed out of fear of being unable to write it down in the right way, however thanks to them reminding me of the potential the path had we're getting where the story currently is.

So yeah...this is my shout out for this chapter!

"So...how is this going to work?" The stallion said taking a seat at the table while Zecora sat down on the opposite side. "Once I wanted to be a healer myself. But due to a lot of twists and turns, I ended up as a library keeper..." Arden explained to the mare. "The point being I like to know about healing procedures."

"This one understands. I'll provide the potion, once you drink it you will enter a state of trance. While in that state. You may have a fever and other side effects. This mare will have to control those symptoms during the entirety of the trance, each session lasts for about five to six hours. And upon awakening, you will feel exhaustion, starvation, and pain. Therefore, this one shall conduct the sessions around 3:00 PM." The mare explained drinking some sort of tea she also offered him. As he heard the explanation he remembered all the procedures he read about and the risks and side effects they carried. 'Hey...rare disease equals drastic treatment. I'm just glad that there is a treatment.'

"What about the rest of the day?" Arden asked once he noticed she had finished her explanation and was focusing on her tea.

"For that...your mind must not be focused on the treatment until you're at the session. So we'll need to make you focus on something other than the illness." She said placing the cup on the table.

"Why don't you teach me how to identify medicinal herbs and hunt? That way I can help with the treatment." The Stallion suggested, he was very curious about what she knew after learning about she being a huntress and a healer. The zebra blushed as he said that. "Er...not a good idea?"

"Tracking and learning about my concoctions as well as the herbs required for the craft I can teach." She said as she looked down moving her gaze from the stallion to the ground. "To teach how to fight and kill beasts as well as ponies and other beings...in my culture, we can only teach our ways to...to our mate. The same goes for the males..." Arden nearly choked on the tea once he heard that part.

" *cough, cough* S-sorry! I-I didn't know it was that personal. I-I will settle for the tracking skills and the potions thing." He said trying to undo his screw up. "We barely know each other so please just forget I said anything in that regard." He continued to fidget until he slammed his head on the table. "Just forget everything I just said. I'll just..."

"What is the blue one waiting for?" He heard from the mare, looking up he noticed she was putting on some light leather armor over her usual clothes. "Morning hasn't begun and we must cover our ingredients before the appointed time. Since an acolyte of my craft, you became. More time I'll require to collect all of the herbs and teach you about their uses. As well as the tracking. Both require time, so lingering here won't help your lessons." She said giving him a smile and putting on her cloak.

"Oh...ok!" He said getting on his hooves he reached for his pockets as to put on his traveling gear. But the mare pulled him away from the pocket.

"If learning you desire, my ways are required." She said before heading to the room with the bed and returning with a pair of pants and a waist armor. "These are the clothes of an acolyte tracker and potion maker. Put these on. The search is on." She said tossing him the clothes and heading outside.

"What did I just get myself into?" He asked himself as he donned the clothes.

Meanwhile, in the princess' chambers, the sun princess was pondering over the contents of the letter she received in the previous night. 'What have I done?! Once again I focused on my own interests and caused one of my subjects pain. And once again I might have signed somepony else's death sentence.' She thought to herself as she gazed upon the moon, It was still 3:02 AM. She did not sleep on the previous night, she was sitting on her bed. Twilight was fast asleep on her lap as Celestia stroke her student's mane.

"And of all the ponies I could have hurt this time...it had to be the one that caught my eye. I guess...the title and the age do not always go hand-in-hand with wisdom." She muttered to herself as she continued to pet her student. "He wrote 'still your friend'...I guess it must've really hurt him." She sighed turning her gaze to the moon once more. "Luna, do you still consider yourself my friend?"

Looking through the window by her bed she could see right underneath the moon the Village to where she sent the newcomer. Then she thought to herself about what she should do, the stallion had a point. "Making him hide his talent...I should have tried to help him understand it...what should I do now?"

"*yawn* If...If keeping his talent hidden...*yawn*" Twilight said opening her eyes and slowly turning upwards to face Celestia. "...hidden is the problem, why not just tell everypony about it? Since he is the only one that has it, there would be no need to worry about it anymore." Celestia looked back at her student.

'What about the possible backlash? His talent could make a lot of ponies weary...no this is the line of thought that got us into this mess. Even if his talent can be seen as a problem by some ponies...this way he wouldn't have to hide it. He could simply live with ponies that like him or not. Like the rest of us, perhaps it could really be better this way?' The princess thought to herself as she looked back at one of the pieces of the puzzle to stopping Nightmare upon her return. 'It would be worse to leave thing as they are...nothing ventured nothing gained.'

"I'll give it a try Twilight." The Princess said smiling at her student. "Thank you, we'll both deal with whatever comes after that later."

"Princess?"

"Yes? My student."

"What is his talent?"

"His eyes change, and when they do he is allowed to see into the heart of the creature his gaze is placed upon. Seeing what the being keeps locked inside them, no lies, no illusions. Only the truth about somepony else's feelings." Looking back at her student she saw her eyes beaming and a huge smile on her face.

"He is like Candance!" Celestia nodded before she said more.

"But he not only can he hear the voice of another's heart. He can feel what the pony feels just as strongly." Celestia continued as her student sat back up and started to write down what she was saying. "From what I've seen, he also has the same potential for magic as you. But he is limited to creating a small shield that is more resilient than your brother's strongest shield." Twilight frowned at that. "I tested it myself. And another peculiar thing about him...he is as strong as an earth pony."

At this moment the Princess noticed that Twilight's brain seemed to come to a fritz. "I assure you, he did not use doping or anything of the sort. He has a power level of 1200." She then saw Twilight breaking her quill. "And...and...on top of being from another world...he...he was a human before he got here." At this moment Twilight's eyes rolled up and she fainted. "*sigh* I guess I should leave that last part out." The princess said lifting her student with her magic and placing her on the bed.

'But...did I push him far enough so that I couldn't reach him anymore as anything other than a friend?' She thought to herself as she laid down so she got close her eyes for at least a little while.

"Now, these tracks are old. So no worries are to be had from the wolves of timber." Zecora explained as the stallion closely analyzed the tracks she pointed to him. 'Very attentive he is. A diligent student he shall be.'

For the last seven years, when she decided to venture out on her own at the age of 17, she had been alone just for being a foreigner. So having somepony to talk and interact to was a much-welcomed change of pace. They passed the entire morning collecting the herbs, every time she talked she noticed him paying close attention to every single detail. Without looking away from her for even a moment he would keep close and pay heed to every single one of her warnings and directions. 'A truly diligent student indeed.'

When they returned it was about 12:28 PM, he carried all of the herbs giving her more mobility. Once they made their way back she pointed to him where he could place their harvest, while he took care of that she returned to her room and took off her cloak and her armor. 'One has to wonder what he can do. And his eyes are still as unique as his mark. Heterochromia is something quite rare in this place. One black as the deepest cave, the other blue as the brilliant sky.'

Once she returned to the main room she saw him looking out her window. "Something of the matter?"

"What? Oh, no, no." He answered looking back at her. "Just seeing if I can see any animals out there."

"The scent you caught here serves more than making a pleasant air. The beasts are kept away by it." She explained picking some edible plants from her storage along with some bread she made herself. "The morning was long but very productive. A good meal will do good for this ill." She said inviting him to sit with her on the table.

Together they ate, for the first time in seven years she shared a meal with another being. "So...does the unicorn have any questions so far? The teachings can be tough, but this one can aid with no delay." She then noticed the stallion was looking at her with his ears dropped. "Plagued by something your mind is?"

"I-I...It's just that..." The zebra began to wonder what was making the stallion act that way, perhaps he was homesick? "Listen, I feel bad for starting to live here and have you teach me about potion making and tracking." He said placing the food on the table. "On top of that, you are giving me food, treating my illness while the only thing I offer is somepony to talk to...I don't think it is enough."

"For one who had no companion for seven years, having a being who will listen to this one's teaching is quite the payment." Then she drifted her gaze through his body, the stallion didn't have a single mark on his body that pointed to him being a warrior, his build wasn't anything to notice...but something about him made her feel at ease. Then she remembered something she was yearning to see. "If payment is what you have mind. There is something if you wouldn't mind." She said getting up and gathering a bunch of herbs then mashing them together on a pestle. Once the mix was ready she made a tea she was taught how to brew. "A tea to ease the symptoms of the illness for a short while. Please drink it and show me your other eyes. More than enough that will be." The stallion took the cup, but before he drank it she warned. "Careful you should be. Very bitter this tea can be."

She watched the stallion look at the mix, then he drank the entire thing in one swing. After that, he started to cough before he took a deep breath and reached for the necklace. He took it off and placed on the table, then she watched as he remained with his eyes closed and said in a clear tone. "I want to understand."

Then he opened his eyes, Zecora opened her eyes even wider. She stared at the two different eyes that stood before her, one with a brilliant light emanating from it. The other red as blood at its sclera and iris blue as the brilliant flowers she prevented him to fall into. However she noticed that he did not dare to look at her, he kept his gaze in such a manner that she could see both eyes, but never gazing at her.

"Is something wrong?" She asked trying to get directly in front of his eyesight. Arden, however, kept looking away. "Why won't you look at me?"

"Because if I do...I'll hear your heart and feel what you're feeling." He answered turning away from her once again. "The first time this happened I ended up with a spear being pointed at me."

"There is no need to fear." She said placing her hand on his shoulder and using the other to make him look at her. "This one wishes to know what you'll hear."

The stallion finally had his gaze fall upon her, once he did a soft and gentle smile formed on his face. "I'm so glad...that I'm making you feel at ease...and I'm so glad that you are happy for the company. Please know that I am just as grateful for being here with you as you are." Zecora smiled back at him, he read perfectly. The stallion that met her for one day, had a sensibility that allowed him to understand how she felt about the entire situation. And his talent made him able to understand her even further by digging what she wanted to say from her chest.

From the moment she started to talk and invited him the previous day she wished to tell him how happy she was about the event. But she feared that would scare the only pony that dared to talk to her in so long, so she kept her words of gratitude to herself. Yet he exposed them with a simple look at her.

"A truly remarkable gift! Such a sight could bring so much into the light! The reasoning behind an act. The truth behind a war!" The zebra said as she watched the stallion close his eyes for ten seconds before putting the accessory back on. 'Both of them are truly a sight to be held!'

"Or how much I could manipulate somepony." He said opening his eyes once again and she saw them returning to normal. Then she saw him blushing, at this point she realized that she was just a few inches away from his face. She felt her temperature rise before backing out and getting back on her hooves. Then she went to get a vial with the concoction she prepared the previous day.

"T-to my room, we must go. There the session shall be held." She said without looking at back at Arden. After she took her place she saw him come in and sit down. "All of the vial's content you must drink. Then you the sickness you'll begin to treat." The stallion took the vial and without hesitation followed her directions before he laid down her bed.

"See ya on the other side." He said to her before closing his eyes again. Then she began to gather some basic healing potions and ointments to counter any side effects from the mix he just drank.

Arden felt his body become lighter as he laid down the huntress bed and closed his eyes after saying: "See ya on the other side."

After that, he opened his eyes again and saw a familiar form. In front of him, he saw his former human-self standing before him. Only without a face, Arden recognized his body due to the traits he was so familiarized with. "Let me guess, you re the version of me that wants to give up on everything and will try to make me give up as well."

"Not at all." The faceless human said, his voice was distorted into a very deep pitch. "I am your guide. The potion you friend gave you makes the mind generate a construct to guide the patient through his mind during the trance. A very difficult potion to brew, after all...it requires a bit of the brewer's blood to finish the preparation." Arden would have raised an eyebrow at that if he had one since he hadn't he just tilted his head. "I will show you the memories related to your complex. But it will be up to you to find the pieces of the puzzle in each of them, hidden at the weak points of your memories. Once you find all the pieces you'll be able to reach the core of the problem." The figure explained.

"And where is said problem?" Arden asked looking around and noticing he was back into being a foggy creature.

"You tend to be a bit straight to the point so..." The figure raised it's hand and pointed to a huge locked chest right behind him.

"Is it going to play the Legend of Zelda's chest opening theme when I do?" Arden asked looking at the ridiculously big chest that went all the way up to the half of his torso.

"Hahaha...No I don't think so..." The figure said walking all the way to his side. "Now for the very first one."

When it finished saying that Arden saw the empty background disappear and he saw for the turn into the first time he showed his empathy. During his grandfather's funeral at the age of six, Arden saw his child self and everyone in the event to be crying, while the little one just wandered around. Arden remembered that he felt sad, but not enough to cry. While it was true that he lost his grandfather, he still remembered him and he remembered how he was before passing away, so he thought that his relative being gone was better. Then Arden saw his own father, much like himself, his father wasn't crying.

However, as Arden approached him Arden felt his chest get tighter and he started to cry, and he cried more and more until he passed out. Only to wake up two days later in a hospital with both of his parents by his side, that's when he remembered himself telling his father to not be sad that Arden's grandfather died. Arden's father was taken by surprise by his words and asked him how he knew. The little one's answer was: "You were crying during the funeral." After that Arden undertook exams to see if there was anything that pointed out how he could have understood his father's feelings when every person in the funeral swore that the man looked like a stone statue.

That's when Arden realized: 'I remember...I was afraid of the doctor's tests, I knew that they saw me as something unusual. I felt that me being able to feel that was off based on their reaction.' Then the foggy creature saw something inside the chest of his child self. Reaching for it he pulled out what looked like a piece of a key. "Is this what I was looking for?" He asked the figure that turned to him.

"No, but is the first step towards the core you're searching for." The being said pointing at the child form of Arden, that was frozen in time. "Look at yourself and think: do you need to feel weird for being different? Maybe for being taller than other people? For being smaller? Perhaps paler?"

"No," Arden answered.

"What is the concept of normal? What justifies the act of rejecting what makes you yourself?"

"The..." Arden stopped and began to think, then he remembered about all of the quirks, his shenanigans, and other traits that made him who he was. 'They made meet good and bad people, people who liked me for who I was and people who didn't. But that never made me reject any of those traits. Why should I reject that empathy?' He thought to himself and then answered.

"There is no such thing as a fixed concept of normal. There is only one's perspective of normality. A concept that is built upon the person's life. The act of rejecting part of yourself means bringing the concept of normality from another being into yourself. It's okay to want to try an understand another's point of view of the world, but it isn't to abandon your own in the process. For it is your point of view that allows you to be who you really are. But one should be aware that this vision of the world is not immutable. It grows with the individual as they experience new things, as they live the life they chose for themselves."

As he finished his sentence the scenery before him undid itself and Arden found himself back in the room with the chest. The empty white background now had cracks beginning to appear along its surface. Looking at the key piece he saw that the part of it that should connect to the rest of the piece was glowing.

"Well, this is all for today. You already made the zebra worry enough for one day." The figure said as he started to fade. "Take care, partner."

"Aimée?" Arden asked before he felt his body being pulled back with extreme force. The form he had kept being stretched by the pull until he...

After the stallion passed out Zecora stood by his side, checking for his temperature, pulse, and breathing pattern. She also paid close attention to his facial expressions as to determine any signs of pain or discomfort. As the time passed she kept controlling his temperature that was shifting between high fever and hypothermia way too fast. 'His mind in disarray must be. Too great are the changes and too fast as well.' Then his body started to move as if he was having a convulsion.

Quickly reaching for one of the vials, Zecora opened it making the liquid evaporate once the lid was removed. Holding the vial near his nostril the fumes entered them and the spasms stopped. 'Quite the ordeal he must be going through, the mark for his return is in two more hours.' She calculated, an hour passed and no other symptoms manifested and all others changes subsided. Seeing this development Zecora placed a cup on top of his head. 'Now this one can go prepare something for both parts to eat if he moves the cup shall fall and I'll be warned.'

Then she headed to her cauldron and filled it with the water she had stored in a special vase made out of a material that sterilized the water stored within it. After that, she started the fire and began getting the ingredients and placing them in the cauldron. Another hour passed and no sound came from the stallion, the zebra finished the soup and filled two bowls before heading back to the room where he remained in trance.

She sat by his side and waited, and waited, and waited. Two hours passed since the time limit expired and the zebra found herself going from one book to another trying to find the recipe to the potion that countered the trance-inducing brew. Her eyes began to tear up. 'Ancients help this one! A cure was what I promised not a slumber!' She thought as she continued to rush through the contents of the book.

"WHOA!" That scream startled her enough for her to drop the book she was searching and fall on her behind. Realizing that the scream could only have been from the stallion she scrambled back to the room and found him sitting and breathing heavily as the tips of his fingers buried themselves on his chest.

"Okay you are!" Zecora cried as she moved closer to check his vitals. Once she finished she proceeded to hit the unicorn on top of his head. "This act do not repeat! Her ancestors this one will almost got to meet!" She said drying the tears in her eyes. The thought of being alone again after all that time scared her, especially since it would be her fault if he entered a coma. She tried to warn him about the risk on the first day they met, but the Stallion said he would do the treatment no matter what he had to do.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" The stallion said falling back into the bed. "Everything aches!" He said stooping all of his movements except for the ones related to breathing. "Ahhhh...way better." He said smiling, then his stomach made a growl. "How am I going to eat if breathing and talking are enough to make my body ache?"

"That is why this one is here." The zebra said making him sit up straight. "Though this was prepared with the intent of being served hot. The delay on the stallion's awakening gave it time to cool." She said reaching for a bowl, another growl came as she did it.

"I don't care," the stallion said, "I'm just glad you got me covered Zecora, thank you." He said before the Zebra began to tilt the bowl so the soup would flow into his mouth. He drank it all in one go. "Thanks, that was really good." He said before his eyelids began to slowly close on and he almost fell backward. She reached out to him dropping the bowl on the process and catching the stallion.

She then carefully placed him back on the bed, which was the only bed in her house she would also have to sleep there. But the bed had more than enough space so both could sleep. So she went to her ark that rested underneath the floor in a compartment that she build to store her clothes. From inside she picked up the clothes she usually slept in, older and more comfortable than her usual garments. After dressing up she also picked up another sheet she had and used to cover both her and him, but in order to do so, she had to stay close to him.

'If the session's aftermath has to be like this...this one won't mind one bit.' She thought to herself as she turned her back to the unconscious stallion and fell asleep.