Author's Notes:

Hey guys!

Just so you know in the next few three days I have my finals. So I'm gonna get even slower with the updates, however, once they are done I'm gonna be on vacation. And that means...

INSANITY DRIVE!

Thank you for your time, enjoy the reading!

Arden felt the scent of something fresh baking. 'This smells so good.' He thought to himself as he felt his mouth watering up, then he realized another scent. 'That soap Zecora made is good. I can still smell it.' He thought sitting up and stretching a bit before he opened his eyes and saw Zecora sitting by the fire. She had a little metal stand with a little oven made out of clay standing over the fire at the center of the room.

"Morning, *yawn*," He said getting on his hooves and walking over to her. "Need help with anything?"

"Nothing so far," The zebra answered while keeping her gaze at the oven. "Today physical conditioning we do." Arden raised an eyebrow at her schedule for today.

"Isn't that considered training of sorts?" The unicorn said sitting by her side and noticing some pieces of dough placed on a little board. She must have been plowing through her supplies for him to stay with her. "I guess we should search for more supplies soon shouldn't we?"

"For the second question, your answer is yes," Zecora said pulling the baked bread out of the oven and then placing another piece inside. "As for the first, this one cannot have a student with no stamina during her hunts. Therefore exercising is required both for the student as well as the master." She had a point, even if his stamina was greater then when he was a human Arden still had a bit of trouble with Zecora's rhythm. She easily navigated the terrain he had scan were to step.

"Very well then," Arden said looking at the fire that was dying. "I'll get more wood for the fire." He said getting up and heading outside where she kept her wood stored. When he found it he noticed more marks on the ground, these ones, however, had some weird pattern. Almost as if the pony's hooves were missing pieces, getting back inside he was greeted by a question.

"Curious this mare is," She said while keeping her eyes on the oven while Arden placed the pieces of firewood at the bonfire. "Runes engraved into your skin you have. An enchanted item you happen to acquire?"

"Oh, these..." Arden said placing the final piece of firewood into the bonfire and making the fire gain life again. "It's thanks to this thing here." The unicorn said going to where his pockets and belts were left after his first day. He pulled out the sword from inside it. "This little girl here was forced on me before I was sent here. When I touched the hilt for the first time it made these. Don't know what they do though." He said showing the blade out of its sheath.

"This mare shall check it once the pieces of bread are done." She said without taking her eyes from the oven. After she was done with the baked goods she took out the fire and turned to the sword. Taking it into her hands she started to swing it around. "Well, balanced it is. Sharper this one is yet to see." She said while analyzing the blade's edge. "Enchanted this blade is...but the enchantment's purpose...a changeling you would require. If discovering its true nature is what you desire."

"A what now?" Arden said tilting his head.

"Shapeshifters. Creatures that inhabit the badlands of Equestria." She explained returning the blade to him. "Specialist in breaking down other species magic and mimicking it. During one of her travels, this one met a changeling that analyzed one of my charms after he was healed by this mare. An outcast This one believes he was since changelings are not described to have the habit of covering their bodies with white tattoos. Love they feast upon."

"Oooooh," Arden's eyes were beaming. "That is awesome! Wait." He said remembering something. "I think there was one those stalking me during my stay in Ponyville."

"Signs of one hiding in the area I found." The zebra said getting up. "Finding the shapeshifter, however, a challenge it proved to be. Now, eat we shall then exercise." She said heading towards the storeroom.

"You're the boss," Arden said following her lead. Zecora then proceeded to put him through hell and back. Sit ups, push ups, pulling himself up on tree branches. Teaching him how to run through the forest with free running, breathing exercises so he could control his breathing as he moved around to reduce fatigue and so on. In case you're wondering, the duo's day began around 4:35 AM, after the breakfast, meaning they would have plenty of time to run through everything. Especially since Zecora seemed very eager to get the stallion to make him work up a sweat.

'I think I might pass out if...if I'm not careful...' Arden thought to himself as he continued through the exercises.

"That blasted idiot had to find another place to hide!" Chrysalis said kicking a rock into the water, then she picked up the necklace she took from him during the squirmish. She was trying to drag him away from the crowd when he was on the ground but the necklace gave in when she tried to sneak him away from the conflict. "Where did he get this damned stone?! It's my mother's hive all over again!"

Being alone since she managed to flee from the hive the future Changeling queen acquired a bad habit of talking to her own reflection when she was alone. The only moment when she didn't have to wear a disguise, the only moment when no being would look at her. No being except for the stallion that popped out of nowhere in front of her cave.

"It isn't like I want him to help me." She said while playing with the stone. "I just need my hostage to get Celestia to help me." She reassured herself while the stone danced between her fingers. The stallion was proving to be a more difficult prey than she anticipated. First, the simple trick that made her incapable of getting him right away. Then the wards, then the freak figures out a way to see through her disguise.

"That IDIOT!" She screamed tossing the stone upwards and catching it. "How? How did he find me out?! My transformations are flawless! Yet that stupid walking snack exposed me!" The royal said gritting her fangs with her eyes starting to glow. "He makes a fool of me and then goes into hiding with that zebra! The same one that has been tracking me for a while now. That blasted mare. Luckily I can change my tracks and lure her away." She said as she clenched her fists.

"But...he had another item with him...a ring." She muttered as she raised the necklace in front of her eyes. "I need to get that and figure out what that one does. This little nick-nack only nullifies the talent of its user." She said placing the necklace into her ragged clothes for safe keeping. "That seamstress had it during the gathering after he left. I just need to steal it." The mare said sitting by the water to look closer into her own eyes. "Why did that snack keep looking into my eyes?"

Back in Canterlot Twilight was out and about searching for a particular pony: Lyra Heartstrings. After learning from Princess Celestia how peculiar that stallion she met a few days ago was, she started to ponder about why his traits were all over the place. So she suggested to Celestia to have a brainstorming session with the mare that was known for being one of the most dedicated researchers on the subject. Twilight also suggested to offer the mare a copy of the data Arden brought with him and a copy of the data he shared through the letter, more particularly Twilight's own notes on the contents.

Twilight found her acquaintance back in the library with an old tome that she was carefully manipulating as to not damage the worn pages. "Lyra, Can you please come with me?" Twilight said in a very low voice by the unicorn's side as to not disturb the other readers.

"I'm in the middle of something Twilight," The mare said without taking her eyes off the book. 'Ancient myths of Equestria.' That was the book she had, Twilight recognized the volume anywhere. Her father brought it home when she was very young to restore it to prevent the history from being lost. It was also one of the first books she read with her father, Twilight would sit on her father's lap and hear him read the contents out loud as he used some spells and tools to rejuvenate the pages, figures, and writings. Because of those stories she began to love literature in general, let it be about myths, spells, science. You name it she would read about it.

"Princess Celestia asked me to call you," The lavender unicorn said keeping her voice low. "She asked your input on a subject and some theories we are currently discussing. Merely hypothetical material that made us think after we received a huge amount of data on humans we are going to share with you in exchange for your help." The mint mare ears perked up before she turned to Twilight with an eyebrow raised.

"What sort of material?" She asked crossing her arms as she turned to face her.

"This sort of material," Twilight said pulling out a page with a copy of Arden's research on human anatomy. The mint mare's eyes widened before she took the page and started to examine it.

"T-t-this..." She said with the piece of paper trembling on her hands. "...this is so much more advanced than any of the data I've ever seen in any books. How?"

"Do you know those rumors about a stallion appearing out of nowhere in the castle?"

"The ones were he was possessed but he disappeared soon after his arrest?"

"Yes," Twilight answered casting a spell to create a silent sphere so she could continue to lure the mare to come with her. "They were true, but this stallion came from another realm. A world where humans are the dominant species." Twilight continued her explanation. "So? Will you come?"

"Are you joking? If you have more of these count me in!" She said getting up and carefully closing the book. "Besides, it isn't every day that the princess asks for the input from a mare that isn't her star student. I'm feeling kinda of important!" She said smiling.

With that, they both left and headed towards a study where Celestia told Twilight she would be waiting for her. Getting through the door she saw the princess sitting by a small round table where they could discuss with ease. "Princess Celestia," Twilight greeted.

"Twilight Sparkle, Lyra Heartstrings. Welcome, and thank you for agreeing to aid us." The princess said offering them a place to sit. Both of them complied and sat down. "Now, the reason we need your input is due to a theory we brought up based on some of the data our acquaintance, Arden, brought with himself," Celestia said to the mare before she gestured Twilight to bring out the copies she had and the book on pony anatomy and physiology. "Based on a comparison with the data he had, what we had and the fact he came from another realm we theorized about what would happen with a human that turned to a pony after being transported to our realm." Twilight saw Lyra raise a brown and tilt her head.

"But...are you questioning this because you suspect that the stallion is a human transformed?" Lyra asked Twilight looked away before Lyra could notice that her eyes were twitching.

"No, we verified his memories upon arrival and there are no signs that he was human." Twilight sighed quietly while Lyra let out a loud sigh.

"Good," She said closing her eyes. "Based on what I've seen on them. Humans aren't exactly the most sociable species that appears in our myths. They are often portraited as being that sought to acquire our power or caused mayhem on multiple locations." She said scratching her chin. "Although there are very few depictions of them being benevolent and kind. But..." She said crossing her arms, closing her eyes, and tilting her head. "I believe there were only two myths with that. And one of them is a speculation about the author Jack Reacher being a human turned pony...though that was never confirmed."

"In any case, you can rest easy," Twilight reassured her. "Back to the question, what do you think it would happen to a human turned pony?"

"Well," The mint pony said as she scanned the records Twilight placed on the table. "It's hard to say...based on these I can see that their anatomy resembles ours quite a lot. But..."

"But?" Celestia asked leaning forward. While Twilight did the same.

"These notes show that humans lack our harmonic chain." She said pointing at the special tissue that allowed the energy of their world to flow through them and also allowed them to channel it through their species traits, this tissue accompanied the nervous system. "Meaning that their body would need first to develop a familiarity with the new component and then assimilate it."

"So...his form could be considered unstable as well as his traits." Twilight proposed while her brain ran through the options. "Like a unicorn unable to cast spells? Or maybe A earth-pony with unusual speed?"

"And if that were the case," Celestia continued her student's proposal. "Maybe as their form stabilizes he would lose the traits he appeared with?"

"Or he could end up developing both the traits of their species and the trait they appeared with?" The mint one shared. "Considering that this is all in the realm of theory..." She continued. "...let's say that the human came from a realm without magic. I believe that if this was the case they would end up as an earth-pony inevitably."

"What if they were transformed into a unicorn?" Twilight inquired.

"Maybe the horn would regress as he stabilized and he would lose any magical abilities?" She answered. "I doubt that in a world that completely lacks magic they would be able to even come here. But since this is just a theory...no problem in giving it a thought."

"I see..." The princess said while her student looked over the materials on the table. "...What about possible talents?"

"Well..." Lyra said scratching her chin as she looked at the ceiling. "...since we are talking about an unknown human world and them according to the myths are very versatile...there is no telling what talent the might manifest. There is even the possibility of them not developing any talent at all." Then Lyra seemed to stop and began to ponder about something.

"Something came to mind?" Twilight asked with her ears perked.

"I was thinking...our bodies are in harmony with the world around us. As well as our souls. Hence our abilities and magic being dubbed Harmonious magic..." She explained, Twilight picked up on her intent.

"There would be a possibility of them never actually developing any sort of magic since their souls are not in harmony with our world!" The mint mare agreed with a nod.

"So that would point to their existence here being merely temporary or that they would perish if stayed for too long?" Celestia seemed to bite her lip as she finished the thought.

"Well, let's say that any of this happened," Lyra started. "The entire scenario is already a drastic and improbable event. Therefore if it were to happen...maybe we could expect something impossible as well." She said in a dismissive tone. "Like the human actually embracing the harmony of our world and being able to stay here indefinitely as well as being able to use our magic."

"That would be an interesting outcome," Twilight stated when she heard that. "That would point out to a very interesting scenario...especially if you would consider the different studies we could make if that were to happen." She said smiling and remembering the blue unicorn. 'I bet I can get some interesting data from him if I were to run some tests with him.'

"Very well," Princess Celestia said snapping Twilight out of her little dream of having the stallion going through her machines to see what readings she could get from him. "Thank you Lyra, your input was extremely interesting. Twilight, please see that she receives a copy of every single document Arden shared with us."

"As you wish princess," Twilight said gathering all of the papers and getting up. "Come on Lyra, I'll use some spells and you'll be able to cover a lot of new branches for your thesis." The lavender said guiding her friend to the door. 'I really want to study that guy now.' She thought to herself as she walked down the hallways leaving princess Celestia in the study where she began to write down an announcement.

"And through door number three?" Arden said to the guide that showed him another memory.

This time it was about his time at college during the most recent years. As he began his road his road to becoming a doctor, during his first year one of his teachers recognized Arden's name due to an acquaintance back at the hospital where Arden was born. So he contacted Arden and asked him to take another test, one that the original doctors overlooked. Electroencephalogram, this test was not very common when Arden was six years old so that was probably the reason for the scientists' oversight. The exam verified a person's brain activity and produced an image of the active areas during the tests.

Arden agreed simply because the teacher asked for it, Arden was a freshman so he decided to try to get along with the teachers and his colleagues the best he could. The test showed a specific area of Arden's brain overloading before he started to show a change in his emotional state, like the episode with Arden's father. The entire exam stopped at that, his teacher couldn't find any other leads as to why Arden's brain would react to another person's feelings. The teacher was a good person so he agreed to keep the results to himself and not to mention this in front of other students.

Then came the most recent straws regarding his ability. During his first years, Arden had some classes that taught him how to conduct a consultation and do a proper anamnesis. The simulations involved patients that voluntarily chose to participate in the med school's space at the hospital. Arden's consultations always took linger then those of his colleagues and when his teacher came by to see how they would proceed with the patient based on the interview he would always find Arden with red eyes and signs of him having cried. The thing was every patient that had a consultation with Arden would ask about how he was doing and if they could have another consultation with him.

Eventually, the teacher must have thought that Arden was using something and that was the reason for his red eyes. Because one day he decided to stay inside the room where Arden was conducting a consultation. That's when he saw Arden beginning to cry after the patient began to explain his condition. For some unknown reason, Arden always ended up with patients that were in really bad shape. That day Arden's teacher told him to chose between three therapeutic projects for that patient. Arden chose the one based on the patient's description of their lives and what they did not want to do, however, the teacher had checked the patient's file and knew he was already on another treatment. That's when Arden's teacher began to try to burn into his mind that Arden could feel empathy for his patients but he should not let it cloud his judgment.

After a year, the same patient returned to the hospital and Arden saw that in his file, the doctor's therapy had changed based on the interview Arden conducted. And the patient's condition had improved considerably. However, due to the first teacher's influence, Arden had already begun to change his anamnesis. He had practically become a machine that was following the teacher's directions and was ignoring the voices by drifting from reality during the consultation and coming back as to ask them to repeat the last part. Due to that his anamnesis quality decreased considerably so did his grades, however, his therapeutic decisions were always exactly according to his teacher's decision. Decisions that were eventually changed by the doctors that continued to take care of the patient after the first consultation.

Seeing the difference between those interviews and the new ones. He began to question which ones were right.

"So, were your decisions clouded?"

"Based on the results...I can't possibly say that."

'I should have stuck to my original self...even if I received influence from emotions...they did not cloud my mind in the end because I knew where their emotions ended and mine began. My judgment was right. By listening to others I could understand them better. Since I could understand them better I could see what they needed. I could understand what they needed. And differentiate it from what they wanted. And since they could see that I understood them they were more open to my suggestions. I was on the right path...' Arden thought to himself as he saw the patient's chest glow. Reaching out to it he found another piece.

"The emotion's of another, your emotions. Your heart craves to understand those around you, it opens a link between you and them. And your mind translates the thing you see, while also allowing you to feel them. Something like that is rare, but is it bad?"

"No," Arden answered. "Their hearts, my heart. Because of my eyes, I can understand them, because of them I can help those beings." Arden answered, while his fists clenched and he blinked a few times. "And...n-now I-I can have some control over it." Arden felt himself tremble a bit as he said that. "N-now that I-I can...d-do more. T-there are many things I could do."

"Yes, you're right." The guide said before disappearing. Right then the key fragment reattached itself to the other pieces forming a complete key.

"H-hey, it's done!" Arden said holding the complete key in front of his face. Then he turned around and saw a familiar sight, Nightmare Moon was on the ground tied up even tighter than before. "Hello."

"M-mmhummm!" The black mare said.

"Listen, I'll take off the gag since I want to ask you something," Arden said kneeling down near her. "But you'll have to promise me that you won't try anything. Otherwise, I'm gonna make your situation a bit worse before tossing you through the door. Got it?" The mare's response was a positive nod. He removed the gag and asked. "This is the third time you come by and the second time in two nights. Even though you should be aware of the wards now. Why do you keep coming back?"

"Not like we chose to!" The black one shouted. "I've been trying to invade other ponies minds, not the freakshow's that beat me! And for the record, I only lost because I let you defeat me. Not like the ruler of the night would be defeated by a peasant!" She said struggling. "I definitely did NOT want to see you again!" The mare had some slight pink on her cheeks as she continued to struggle.

"Okay, whatever you say your obscurity," Arden said picking her up and taking her to the door once again while she once again tried to break free, only with a little less violence than last time. Then he placed on the ground and untied her before saying. "Got through the door now. I need to finish my therapy, otherwise, I might die so...off you go." The mare just blinked at him as she looked at her untied hands before she stood up and left.

With that out of the way, he went towards the giant chest. Placing the key on the padlock he unlocked it, much to his surprise, however, the entire thing exploded with a bright flash that blinded him for a few seconds. After he regained his sight he saw something he didn't expect. Before him, stood a version of his pony form with its eyes changed, Arden tried to come up with something to say but nothing came through. That's when the stallion before him spoke.

"I can save." The figure said, however the moment he said it Arden felt his chest tighten. Looking at his torso Arden saw his foggy body becoming unstable. Then as the creature before him began speaking again Arden completely dispersed. and the last thing he heard was "I can doom."

Zecora was once again by his side, he didn't have any symptoms this time either. She found herself gently passing her fingers over his face as she recalled all the effort he put into the exercises she put him through. She saw him work hard with her tasks. She saw him struggle with the free running to the point of having multiple bruises added to his arms and face because of mistakes he made, trusting the wrong place to place his hooves before a jump and so forth. She put him through a lot, but whenever she looked back at him she would see him smiling and giving his best.

'A dedicated student and a dedicated athlete. This one has to wonder if a dedicated warrior he would be.' She thought to herself as time continued to pass. Eventually, she noticed she was very close to his face her blood rushed to her head as she looked at the stallion's face. He looked so peaceful. She began to get even closer, however, her mind reminded her of how much time had passed so she retreated to make the soup so they could eat.

While she was preparing the soup her mind began to drift and she began to see the stallion exercising and his current state. She didn't even realize that she finished the soup and had it ready by his side when she woke up from her daydream. While she waited she noticed him beginning to shift and make expressions that resembled pain. 'Painful thoughts? Or a troubled memory?' Suddenly he woke up coughing really badly. However, as soon as he opened his eyes all he said was.

"I...can..."Then he passed out. In a panic, Zecora tried, again and again, to wake him up, but he wouldn't respond. He was breathing and his pulse was steady, however no answer at all.

"Oh, no..." She said covering her mouth. She reached for one of the vials she had prepared ahead of time. This potion would wake somepony up because of its strong smell as long as they weren't in a coma. Opening the vial and holding it near his nostrils The stallion woke up coughing again but passed out soon after. "G-good, alright he is," The zebra said grabbing her chest as she let out a sigh.

After that, she decided to stay awake and monitor him through the rest of the night. Just a precaution, after all, he was acting weirdly after a session. '*I can?* Could he have discovered something?' She thought to herself as she covered him and placed him in a more comfortable position on her lap. 'This way if he shifts or begins to have trouble. This one will know.' She concluded as she began her watchful night to keep her patient safe. 'Perhaps...perhaps teach him I could?' She thought to herself as she observed the stallion's face. 'Time will be the one to tell.'