Author's Notes:

Here is another one!

Hope you enjoy it! Please let me know your opinions on the chapter!

(In the previous day, morning, carrousel boutique)

Chrysalis had just sneaked into the boutique, carefully tiptoeing around the rooms, Chrysalis searched for the ring. She spent around ten minutes moving around trying to find any clue regarding the accessory.

After searching the entirety of the ground floor, Chrysalis moved up to the next floor. Her first stop was the seamstress' room. The floor was littered with pieces of cloth. On her desk, an open diary and the object Chrysalis was searching, the ring. It was placed on a hand display. The changeling was about to take the ring and leave when she saw the diary, in its pages, she saw multiple times where her snack's name was mentioned. Tales of him being a prince, of a relationship with the Sun Princess. The seamstress had pages and pages filled with romantic stories about the stallion. Inside the diary, she also found the letter Arden sent to her before leaving, it was carefully folded and placed in between the pages. It also seemed to have been opened multiple times.

'Another one, eh? I bet I can get some feeding spots here and there if I mess around with this.'

After finishing that thought, Chrysalis began to hatch a plot.

'There is no guarantee that he will keep his word. I better try to make some ponies desire him, I can use them as food once he is my possession. Keeping the mind spell and the sleeping one constantly will drain me like a leech. But if I can get as many feeding spots as possible, and disguise myself as the stallion, hello buffet!'

Right then and there she decided to try to get some mares to fall for the stallion. And Chrysalis already had two targets. The Sun Princess, which would aid in her reclaiming of her homeland. And the seamstress, who could find the disappearance of the ring odd. Picking up a piece of paper from Rarity's drawers she wrote down a letter mimicking the stallion's handwriting.

Dear Rarity,

Thank you, for taking such good care of this ring, which was a gift from my beloved Princess. I'm still undergoing the treatment, but my heart is begging me to reclaim this memento of her. And since I can't talk to you, I was forced to sneak in to take the ring. I am truly sorry about this.

I also see that you're still a bit hopeless about the cleaning. When I get back, I promise to help you out.

Another thing, your creations seem to be becoming more and more beautiful. Just as your name states.

Hopefully a friend, Arden Sila.

With that finished, Chrysalis folded the parchment and placed it in the seamstress' hands. For added effect, Chrysalis disguised herself as the stallion with the ring and stood by the window. She slowly opened the window and made just enough noise to wake the mare. Chrysalis pretended she didn't notice the seamstress waking up. Chrysalis heard a gasp, jumped out the window and began her escape.

'Now, the games have begun. The trap is set, time to head back to the hut. Time to see how those two are developing.'

(The same day, night time, Canterlot castle)

'W-what does he mean by 'what am I to you?' I-I, does this mean that he? I need to be careful with my answer, otherwise, I might make our current already frail relationship worse. This might be my chance! Just think this through Celestia!'

And so she did.

Again.

And again.

She wrote letter after letter, trying to convey what she thought of him, and what he was to her. She did not make a pile of paper. Celestia would burn each failed attempt in her fireplace as to not leave any trace of what she was doing. It took the entire night for her to come up with an answer. Once she was finished, Celestia looked at the time. 3:00 AM.

'I'll have to wait until tonight to send this.' Celestia thought, hiding the letter inside a secret compartment in her drawer.

Dear Arden,

You are probably the most kind pony I ever met. You gave me more hope than any other of my subjects and research on the possibility of saving my sister. And you didn't ask anything in return. You called me your friend even after I made you enter your current predicament.

As to what you are to me, I say that as of right now, you are my friend.

I hope that you can return my answers by telling me what I am to you. And what do you think of me?

Your friend, Princess Celestia.

These simple lines were hidden away in the drawer, she wanted to write more. But Celestia thought it would be wise to see how he would respond to that. 'Maybe I could start considering being more than friends. It will all be up to his response. I do hope he can see me being more than a friend.'

(back to present time, better stop with the time stuff before the timeline undoes itself)

"Arden! Wake up cerulean!" Arden heard this words and sat up keeping his eyes closed. The voice sounded like Zecora, but he needed to be careful. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to figure something out," Arden answered keeping his focus on his hearing.

"What?"

"Nope! I can't tell Zecora and Chrysalis apart based only on your voices," Arden said opening his eyes. He saw Zecora standing by his side alongside with Chrysalis, who had his sword on her back. "Okay, I'm dealing with tag team now. Why is Chrysalis wearing your clothes Zecora?"

"I guess we can say we found some common ground," Chrysalis said tapping her fingers and staring at Arden. "Now, how long are you planning on making us wait?"

"Sorry," Arden said getting on his hooves and stretching a bit. Then he was hit by the gear Zecora had him use two days ago. "These are heavier why?"

"It would not be much of a training if the cerulean didn't have obstacles," Arden raised an eyebrow at the remark. "This one had Chrysalis enchant the garments. That way, you'll never adapt to the weight. And keep strengthening your body."

"You two are working together even in that department now?" Arden asked, donning the armor. Once they were in place he felt them pulling his arms down and his shoulders as well. "This is way heavier! This won't help me improve at all! If it increases once I'm completely adapted to the weight is one thing. Like this, I'll only be worn out." Suddenly Arden felt the weight disappear. He looked at the two who were smiling at him.

"Punishment was required. For the stallion that made us wait for quite a while. The weights work exactly as you said." Chrysalis said imitating Zecora's voice. Zecora seemed to be quite amused by everything that was happening.

'These two actually hit it off! AWESOME! Though I think I might have a tag team from hell with these two as my teachers.'

"Okay, you two. We head out after eating?"

"Correct," Zecora said tossing Arden a piece of bread. After that, the two mares headed towards the front door

Arden just ate it while following them through the forest. As he walked he felt the weight of the armor, it was enough to slow him down.

After a decent walk, around half an hour, the group arrived at the ruins Zecora mentioned. According to the location, and what Arden read on the guide on the elements of harmony, that should be the castle of the two sisters. According to the guide, the place was abandoned after the banishment of Nightmare Moon.

"Very well cerulean," Zecora started, showing a huge clearing with a lot of rubble. "To start, your body must be strengthened. Once you are strong enough This mare shall teach you how to fight, lure beasts here for you to fight and so forth."

"So, off you go mister," Chrysalis continued gesturing Arden to start his job. "This rubble won't remove itself."

Arden stretched and said, "Let's get to work!"

Piece by piece, Arden cleared off what appeared to have been a courtyard. It would have been way faster if Chrysalis hadn't added something to Arden's task. As he was removing the rubble, he noticed that some pieces appeared to have paintings on them. Looking closely, it looked like some sort of crest, the more pieces he found, the clearer the picture was. It looked like a depiction of a battle with some weird creature made out of various animals.

The crest was actually a depiction of the two sisters with some gemstones firing a beam at the creature. Arden was contemplating his discovery when Chrysalis walked up on him. Seeing that he was restoring part of the castle, Chrysalis made him piece the entire thing first before he continuing to clear up the courtyard. Zecora found him piecing what later revealed to be a piece of a mural that seemed to be blasted away by magic.

"A place of history, of great significance for our world. Plenty of knowledge it should hold." Zecora said pointing to a huge arc. Since the door was knocked down, Arden saw that she was pointing to a library. "After the courtyard is cleared, The library's roof should be worked on. Arden, you shall move the rubble into place on the ground. So that the Changeling can make it float and secure it in its place."

"Why should we even bother with this? I just made him fix the mural for fun," Chrysalis said with a chuckle.

"A ruler you wish to be, learning from the mistakes of past rulers you should," Zecora answered, looking back at Chrysalis while Arden moved rubble around. "Arden would do well in learning about our world's past."

"Sure thing, I'll just add that to the huge list of things I need to learn," the unicorn answered while he headed back to the courtyard to search for more pieces of the mural.

Arden was stopped by a curious sight while on his way back. A weird structure that looked like a model for a stellar system. A total of six orbs suspended by supports, each orb with a gem symbol etched to it. The entirety of the room where this structure was placed was filled with debris. A big fight seemed to have taken place there, however, the area around this particular contraption was intact. Upon closer inspection, Arden noticed that the floor around it had a hidden compartment.

'Was this thing supposed to be underneath the floor?' the unicorn thought, turning his attention to the orbs he tried to touch one of them. 'The book mentioned that their last known location was the castle. Could this be it?'

The moment Arden's finger touched the sphere, however, he felt like his arm was being torn apart from within like there was some sort of energy trying to get out. The problem was that the pain irradiated through the entirety of his arm, almost reaching for Arden's torso. Quickly pulling his limb away from the sphere, and letting out a pained scream, he fell to the ground with a thud. Reaching for the aching arm, Arden noticed his right arm was hanging completely numb. After a few seconds, however, the arm went back to normal.

"What happened?!" Arden heard from behind him, looking back he saw Zecora appear followed by Chrysalis. "Are you okay?!"

"Now I am," He answered getting back on his hooves. "Let's get back to work!" Arden exclaimed, passing by the two mares.

'Okay! Mental notes: First, those might be the elements of harmony, DO NOT forget their location. Second, DO NOT touch those things unless it's absolutely necessary.'

Zecora watched closely as the stallion continued to lift boulder after boulder. He kept picking the pieces until Chrysalis had enough to reconstruct the mural. With that finished, Zecora accompanied Arden trying to finish removing the boulders from the courtyard. It took him around two and a half hours to finish cleaning up. Once that was finished the unicorn was focused on the library.

'The weight from the rubble should force him to work in his arms, legs, and back. He still gonna need to work the front.'

Zecora noticed that he was really working up a sweat after the two-hour mark. Once he hit the two and a half hour mark she noticed Arden's movements starting to slow down and that he was dragging his hooves. 'This must be his current limit.'

"Arden, give your body a rest you must," Zecora ordered when Arden placed the boulder he was carrying on the ground. "Chrysalis, on his magic can you work?" Zecora asked turning to the Changeling that was focused on Arden's blade.

She seemed too focused, her eyes seemed to be darting through the blade's surface. Chrysalis' hand moved as if she was writing on the metal. 'What is she doing?' Zecora thought, reaching for the changeling's shoulder.

"Chrysalis?" Zecora's voice and touch seemed to pull her back from whatever she was doing.

"Y-yes?"

"Can you work on the stallion's magic? After this one gives him something to eat and drink, that is."

"S-sure. Sorry about that. I was starting to get through the incantations."

"I see. This one apologizes," Zecora said. 'This seems off...'

Zecora turned back to Arden. He was sitting on top of a rock looking at the sky. His mane was soaked but overall he seemed okay. His shoulders were drooped a bit, on his face a smile. After a few moments of staring at the stallion, Zecora walked up to him. When she was about to talk to him, Arden lay on the rock with his hands on the back of his head.

"Pleased you look. A reason for it you have?"

"I guess it just feels good to rest after a bit of hard work," the stallion spoke without moving. "Especially when you end up restoring a bit of the world's history."

"True," Zecora responded taking a seat by his side. As soon as she did, Arden sat up straight. "What is it?"

"Nothing, just thought it's best to talk to somepony when you look the pony in the eye," the stallion responded, looking into her eyes. They were sitting very close, their faces were just a few inches from each other.

"JUST KISS ALREADY!" they heard from behind them. Arden turned back to the voice with a smirk on his face.

"JEALOUS?!" he shouted, also gesturing Zecora to look back. "Hehe! Take a look."

"Y-YOU WISH! Y-YOU WALKING SNACK!" Zecora looked back, what she saw was a pouting Chrysalis.

"You enjoy mocking that one," Zecora said chuckling.

"Just as I enjoy your company," Arden responded before covering his mouth. That earned a mild smile from Zecora that was accompanied by another giggle. "A-and this way she also gets to act like herself," Arden continued scratching the back of his head.

"Glad to see you enjoy this one's company. Now, eat and drink so that the unicorn can put his horn to use." Zecora said in a playful tone, gently pushing his horn with her index finger. Having realized what she had done, Zecora turned into a tomato. "S-sorry!" she stuttered.

Zecora just stood there, looking at a wide-eyed stallion. He didn't respond, his gaze was fixed on empty space. Arden stood like that for quite a while. 'What have I done?!'

Suddenly, the unicorn shook his head and looked back at Zecora.

"N-no worries. J-just don't do it again, please. It, it was weird." he shook his head. "Not painful weird like what Chrysalis said. Just weird," he said as if trying to reassure Zecora.

"Of course," Zecora answered. 'It's a great relief to see that he didn't hold it against me.' she thought, leaving a sigh of relief. Zecora then remembered about the food, she gave to him some bread and a handful of herbs. "Here, eat!"

"I also require some food," A third voice came forth. "All these spells are starting to make me..."

The changeling stopped her speech. Zecora paid close attention to her expression, she seemed to have realized something. Zecora also noticed that she was doing the same gesture from the previous day, Chrysalis's hand was over her stomach. She seemed really bothered about it. 'What is her problem? The changeling seems to want to talk, but she doesn't come forth.'

"N-never mind, I'm not hungry right now," Chrysalis said turning away.

"Hey," Zecora saw Arden getting up and walking up to the changeling. "I promised to serve as food. If you feel like eating just for the sake of eating, then go ahead! Or is something bothering you?"

The moment he asked that Zecora saw the changeling turn to him with a death glare.

"IF I NEED FOOD I'LL JUST TAKE IT! IF I NEED SOMEPONY TO TALK TO I'LL FIND A THERAPIST! JUST EAT YOUR STUPID FOOD AND THEN GO PRACTICE WITH YOUR SHIELD!" Chrysalis shouted pushing Arden back.

'She looked afraid of him. Why?' Zecora thought, watching the scene unfold before her. The Changeling told her about her past, but she didn't tell Zecora about anything more than that. If Chrysalis was having problems, Zecora wouldn't know. Arden, on the other hand, would. Especially if he used his eyes.

Zecora watched Arden return to his spot, once he sat down again, she went to the changeling. Zecora found her by the library, Chrysalis had Arden's sword enveloped on her magic. The blade was spinning around, Chrysalis seemed too focused on that to notice Zecora's approach. The zebra managed to look into her eyes, there was a single tear rolling out of them. Chrysalis had a deep frown on her face.

"It seems the stallion was correct," Zecora started. "Troubled you are. This one can't help but wonder why?"

"You know that idiot only acts the way he acts because he can literally read us, right?"

"You mean the stallion's talent?"

"Yes."

Zecora began to piece everything together. 'The changeling thinks he is manipulating us with his talent.'

"Sorry to inform you," Zecora started. "But as long as that necklace is around his neck. He cannot truly read us. Though he seems to be able to sense how we are feeling to some extent."

"It still means he could play us for fools," she responded making the blade spin faster. "And I refuse to be played like my mother."

"This one has only known him for a couple of days. But Arden does not seem to be that kind of pony."

"Exactly like my father, and look where that took me."

After she finished that sentence, they both stood there in silence. 'Better not to force it, Arden will have to earn her trust,' Zecora thought, then she placed her hand on the Changeling's shoulder and left. As she was leaving, Arden appeared in the doorway. He bore a forced smile on her face. When they passed by each other she heard him say something.

"I will never use them like that, I promise." his voice was stern and low, very different from the expression he bore. 'He overheard us, what will he do?'

Zecora stopped by the door, she watched closely the stallion and the changeling. They talked in a tone she couldn't hear. Soon after, she saw Arden begin to summon a shield. 'This is the part this mare cannot aid. This one looks forward to our sparring sessions!'

"How do we begin teacher?" Chrysalis heard from behind her after the zebra left.

"You begin by trying to figure out other ways to use your shield," she responded without turning to face the annoyance. "If that bean-sized brain of yours also capable of doing multiple spells. Try to keep small rocks afloat, while making as many shields as you can. The more you strain your mind, the quicker you grow."

"What about my physical fatigue?" the noisy stallion asked.

"Mental and physical fatigue are separate entities. No need to worry about it." Chrysalis responded, annoyance clear in her voice.

'Let's see if this thing works like I think it does,' she thought, looking back at the stallion with the corner of her eye.

Chrysalis noticed something during her time with the blade. Using her eyes, she noticed something that she missed in her previous survey. The blade was connected to Arden, it grew as he did. The progress was slow, and to the untrained eye, it would pass undetected. One side of it had small letters related to his physical condition, the other related to his magic. On the hilt, something else entirely, his talent. The blade showed how much he grew, and what he could do. One of the tricks placed on the enchantment was to hide these runes and make the weapon look plain.

Having realized what the stallion's talent did, Chrysalis grew weary of his every move. Every word, every gesture, every act. All of them could be a carefully calculated act to manipulate those around him. Changelings could tell when one being loved another because of the energy generated by the feeling. But this? This was another thing entirely, reading another with that level of accuracy could lead to perfect manipulation. It was the sort of thing that could lead to an army of brainwashed soldiers. He was like the crown her mother bore, but crueler. Her mother forced changeling kindred to give up their freedom, Arden? Arden could make them abdicate it freely.

'I am the one who will control him. Not the other way around!'

Paying close attention, Chrysalis saw Arden manipulate the shield with ease, making it appear on his arm, then moving it around his body, changing its size and so forth. After a decent amount of time, Chrysalis saw him generate another shield. Arden looked very surprised by his accomplishment, then he conjured up the armor, again. The result of that was the same as the previous day, a few seconds then disappeared.

"Conjure up two shields, then make that rock over there float!" Chrysalis ordered pointing at a rock that reached the stallion's knees.

"I only managed to lift a cup," Arden responded in a drowsy voice, his legs shaking a bit. "But, whatever you say, teach."

Chrysalis watched closely, the stallion's horn lit up, and he closed his eyes. Two perfectly round shields appeared on each of his arms. Chrysalis witnessed Arden stare at the rock and envelop it with a blue aura. The rock shook, eventually, it started to float off the ground. Unlike the cup from the previous day, the rock remained afloat for quite a while. Until the aura around the stallion's horn began to flicker, eventually dying out.

'It worked! Adding a rune to make him accept his harmonic chain worked! He is a literal blank page, the sword is a way for me to write in it. I might be able to get around his wards, but I need to be careful.' Chrysalis thought, a mischievous smile forming on her face.

"Congratulations! You evolved from complete failure to an embarrassment to your kind!" Chrysalis said clapping.

"I'll take that as a compliment!" she heard him respond falling on his ass, placing both of his hands on his head.

"Take it as you will," Chrysalis said charging up her magic. "Now stand still for a moment."

Chrysalis then used a spell to restore his mental condition, that way he could continue to practice. Firing up her magic, Chrysalis watched the stallion let out a sigh of relief. Using another spell, she verified how much longer he could keep going until he reached the limit. Headaches indicated too much stress, meaning his mind wasn't ready for the spell or ready to sustain that many spells. His limit was another thing entirely, reaching that limit would cause the caster to collapse.

'As much as I hat to admit it. This snack can keep going for quite a while. His mind is the issue here, it's weak. Probably due to the illness and remnants of his world's logic.'

"Since you only have been using that pathetic shield, let's give it a different shape. The most basic one is the bubble spell." Chrysalis started walking circles around Arden. "You probably can control the energy circling around your body easily. That's why your shield moves around with ease, as long as it's connected to your body."

Her eyes were darting around his body, looking for any changes, any movements, that could show that he was preparing to cast the spell.

"The key for casting spells that are not directly connected to your body is our horns. Our horns work as beating hearts," Chrysalis said, paying close attention to his ears, they were perked up and turned towards her. "The place where we want the spell to manifest-"

"Is like the organ," The unicorn interrupted her. "Therefore, the heart must keep a steady supply of blood to the said organ. Changing the supply according to the demand."

Chrysalis just stood there crossing her arms, her gaze fixed on Arden. 'He caught up really quickly. Now, let's see if he can keep it up.

"Correct. This shield is meant to protect the caster from all directions, as long as the attack doesn't surpass the shield's capabilities. For starters, the spell's target is the air around you. Make your magic flow from your horn and create a path for it to follow. The path you create will determine the shape of the shield, its area of effect, and the amount of magic you'll require to keep it active."

She waited, the unicorn had his eyes closed, but his ears were still turned towards Chrysalis.

"What are you waiting? Do it!"

When Chrysalis finished her order, she saw the stallion open his eyes. Arden's horn lit up and the requested spell manifested. A perfect sphere, made out of blue energy, big enough for him to extend his arms. A few seconds later, the sphere began to flicker. Until it burst with a pop.

"Quick on the uptake, but sloppy in execution. Not to mention the shameful amount of time you can last. That was such a terrible performance," Chrysalis said, face-palming at the stallion's 'failure'. That was the first time she saw a pony conjure up a perfect cover like that on their first go, but she wouldn't tell him that.

'A pony doesn't deserve praise. How much do I need to do, for you to show me your true colors? How much until you snap?'

"That's why we practice right?" Arden responded with a smile. Clearly a forced smile, he was in pain again.

"You are hopeless," Chrysalis said using her magic to revert him again. "Now, again!"

Chrysalis let Arden continue to practice conjuring up shields, while she sat down and studied the blade again. There were more runes on the blade's magic side. The unicorn was growing. The runes were slowly being carved on the surface of the blade. Until their movements completely ceased, that was when Chrysalis heard a thud behind her. Looking back at the stallion, she saw Arden collapsed on the floor.

Looking at the sky, she noticed that it must have been at least three hours since he started to practice.

'That worthless unicorn kept at it for three hours?! Wait, he had headaches from each spell he tried to cast. I was healing him then. But I stopped when I went to check the sword, did he ignore the headaches? That could mean he collapsed because of the pain, not due to his limit. A beginner keeping up for that long? What the hell is he?'

Chrysalis cast another spell to make him able to practice. Once the spell connected, Arden's eyes shot open. He hadn't reached his limit.

"You ignorant fool," Chrysalis said to Arden while he sat up. "If you collapse, you don't practice. If the headaches appear again, tell me so I can make them go away. I will not tolerate slacking off!"

"Aye aye, Captain!" He responded, getting on his hooves he smiled at her.

"What?" Chrysalis asked frowning at him.

"Thanks for this," Arden answered before wincing, apparently the headaches were still there. "Sorry, can you?"

"I can't believe you. How long have you been ignoring the pain?" Chrysalis asked casting another spell. "You're a nuisance. I think I prefer you unconscious.

"Sorry, you seemed so focused on the blade I figured it was better to stay out of your way," he responded, scratching the back of his head.

Suddenly Chrysalis's ears perked up a growl. It wasn't the unicorn that made that sound, it was her. Chrysalis didn't feel the need to eat for an entire day. Add that to the fact she was casting spells left and right, and you got yourself a very confused changeling.

'At the rate I was casting spells...I should have felt hunger sooner. And this isn't the same as before, this is weaker. What happened to me?'

"Hungry? Go ahead," Arden said to her sitting down on an old chair.

Chrysalis repeated the procedure from the previous day, the only difference was her intake, she took more. Considerably more, Chrysalis needed more.

She wanted more.

The energy had something different to it. It lacked taste, now it had a very bland one.

'Why is it different? This shouldn't change. Each being has a signature taste to their energy. His, however, is changing.'

"Are you done?" she heard him ask. "You looked concerned there and closed your mouth. Foul taste?"

"Just as foul as your humor."

"Wow! That's really bad. Maybe you're better off feeding on Zecora?" Chrysalis deadpanned at that.

"You're an idiot. As foul as it tastes I can take more from you than from that zebra. You're stuck with me," Chrysalis responded earning a frown from Arden. "What? Thought you would get rid of me that easily? Thought you get rid of the monster with that?"

"You know, you should stop making those comments about yourself. You know what? Never mind." the stallion said with a sigh, dropping his shoulders and turning his back to her.

'What just happened? Based on how he was acting so far, that's the part where he throws a compliment or talks back. So why did he just...forget it! The less I have to worry about, the better. If he drops the act with me, I can focus on making him my personal puppet.'

"Applejack! Applejack!" Rarity shouted. She had been trying to get in touch with Applejack since the previous day. The letter she found in her hands was further proof of her theories.

'And unless I misread the letter, he seemed to have an interest on me.'

Rarity ran to Applejack's side. she seemed in a hurry, and she looked worried as well.

"What is it Rarity?" Applejack said without stopping her walk.

"I need to show you this!" Rarity answered, pulling the letter from her pocket.

"Is it related to Arden?" Rarity's expression must have given away the answer because Applejack continued. "Can we talk at Pinkie's?"

"Sure!" Rarity responded, keeping up with the blonde.

The two of them quickly walked through the town, reaching Sugar Cube Corner they met with Fluttershy and Pinkie sitting by a table. Fluttershy had a courier's bag with her, while Pinkie had a letter in her hands. It had Princess Celestia's crest on the seal. Rarity heard Applejack gulping at the sight of it.

"What is happening, dear?" Rarity asked Applejack. "You look pale."

"Pinkie, what does that letter say?" Applejack seemed to be ignoring her. "WHAT DOES IT SAY?!"

"Calm down," Rarity said holding Applejack. "Pinkie, be a dear and tell her what it says."

"I-It's a description of Arden," Fluttershy answered, making Applejack fall on a nearby chair. "Princess Celestia wants them delivered to every town and friendly nation. I-I was entrusted with Ponyville. Rainbow Dash is helping Spitfire with Canterlot deliveries. And I was wondering if you girls could help me deliver them."

"SURE!" Pinkie said taking a lot of letters and bolting out the door. Just as quickly as she ran away, Pinkie returned. "I covered half the town! You girls can handle the rest right?"

"Sure thing sugar cube," Applejack responded, she seemed to back to her usual self. "Well, Rarity. What did you want to tell me?"

"Don't you remember what you promised?" Rarity asked, gesturing to Fluttershy and Pinkie. "We need to talk in private."

"Nope, Ah think we should tell them. Ah, think you were right about him." Rarity tilted her head at the statement. "That letter tells his talent is on par with that of the Princess of Love. It also has a complete description of it, as well as his strength test. The stallion is currently at 1200. He can see into the hearts of any being he lays those weird eyes of him. Meaning that he got sick because of our fear, not because of the attack."

Rarity was in meltdown at this point. 'A ROYAL! A ROYAL COMPLIMENTED MY WORKS! HE DONNED THEM! He...cleaned my floor. I bossed him around.'

"MY STARS! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" She shouted out of nowhere, making the three mares jump. "I ordered a royal around!"

"Pinkie, mind telling them about it?" Applejack asked looking at Pinkie. "Ah, won't say a word. It's up to you, partner."

"Okie Dokie! But you have to promise not to tell anypony!" All the mares, except for Applejack, made the gesture. "Princess Celestia is planning a BIG party for the Summer Sunset Celebration in four years! Like really big! Everypony in Ponyville was invited!"

"It's a wedding, she ordered a humongous cake and nothing short of a feast. Our princess has fallen for the guy we attacked. But based on these," Applejack stated pointing at the letters. "Ponyville is in the clear. She wouldn't have sent the letter if we weren't friends of Equestria."

If Rarity could see her own face, she would see a dumbfounded mare staring at nothing.

"U-um," Fluttershy stuttered. "Rarity, I think Celestia wants to have Arden look for other mares as well." Rarity perked up her ears and turned to Fluttershy. "A-a bird from the royal gardens told me Celestia was mumbling to herself about having him look for other candidates. T-the bird also mentioned that Celestia herself picked a candidate, and was thinking if she should be sent here in advance or in the previous day."

"G-girls," Rarity said, her hands were shaking. She pulled out the letter, and read it out loud. "Do you think that he might?"

"Lucky you, Rarity!" Pinkie said, hopping around. "You finally got your prince! Or at least are on your way to getting one!"

Applejack let out a low whistle and said, "We better be careful when he comes back. Better not get on the groom's bad side."

'We better not get on Celestia's bad side. He seemed willing to give us another chance, Celestia seemed set on punishing us until he intervened. So far Arden seems to be...how to put it? Reasonable? Down to earth? At any rate, we better show him how hospitable our town can be! He will see a different side of us. We better get the entire town on this. If everypony helps out we ought to get his favor. I better tread carefully as well, I better not get ahead of myself and misinterpret the letter.'

(Canterlot, during the conversation described above)

"You know the stallion from the letter?!" Spitfire asked in surprise. "You're not pulling my leg here, are you?'

"Nope. He bashed a shield against my face after I tried to attack him." Rainbow Dash responded she kept her composure on the outside. Inside, however...

'OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH! I am talking to THE Spitfire! The best of the current Wonder Bolts!' She was fangirling really hard.

"Why did you attack him?"

"We didn't know about his talent," Rainbow answered delivering another letter. The nobles were flocking to Spitfire which made delivering them way easier. "We assumed he was a possessed one. I also thought he was using dopping magic. After all, no unicorn should be able to run like he did."

"So he is fast on his hooves..." Rainbow noticed that the Wonder Bolt seemed to be cooking up something. "Wonder how fast."

"Based on what I've seen," Rainbow said delivering another one. "Right now, I would say he has twice the speed than your strongest unicorn." Spitfire seemed to smile at that.

"That's a lot, for a unicorn."

"You said it," Rainbow said knocking on a door. A familiar voice came from inside.

"Comming!" A grey-coated, amethyst-eyed, black-maned earth pony opened the door. She wore a black tuxedo with a pink bowtie. "Rainbow Dash?"

"Hello there Octavia!" Rainbow knew her, Vinyl Scratch's roommate. Rainbow heard that she had left to study music. "So this is where you went to! How are things?"

"Doing great! The other day, I received a request from the Princess to play during a party at the Summer Sunset Celebration in four years! She sent me a ton of songs. Apparently, the party has something to do with a 'special occasion'. The princess described as a very important event for 'somepony who is very dear to her'." Octavia said shrugging. "What interests me is the fact I get to play for the Princess! In an event that looks like a marriage!"

"My, my," Rainbow heard from behind her, it was Spitfire. "The princess going through all this to make sure he isn't attacked again. Then she has an event like that in the works. Our princess might have fallen in love. I really wanna meet the future king now. Wonder if he really is worthy of our princess." Rainbow's brain was in a fritz.

'What is going on?! The princess, and that guy?! How did that happen?! But it explains why Celestia was going so far for his sake!'

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire's call snapped Rainbow back. "I just finished my deliveries, how about yours?"

"I-I still need to deliver some of them," Rainbow said giving Octavia her letter. 'I need to finish this quickly and tell the girls, Rarity is going to snap!' Spitfire must have read Rainbow's thoughts because she made the following offer.

"Then let's make a deal. I finish the deliveries, you rush to wherever you need to go. But I want you to contact me as soon as you hear about this Arden's whereabouts. I'll leave word in the Wonder Bolt academy for them to send any letters from you to me. Deal?"

"Deal!" Rainbow shot tossing the bag to Spitfire and dashing away at incredible speed.

'I need to tell them this!' Rainbow thought, darting through the skies towards PonyVille. It was a matter of minutes before she reached the town. One of the first ponies she ran into was Octavia's roommate, Vinyl.

"Hey, Vinyl! Did you see Rarity? Or Pinkie? Or Applejack? Or maybe Fluttershy?"

"I think I saw Aj and Rarity going to Pinkie's place."

"Great! Thanks! Gotta fly!" Rainbow said, zooming towards the bakery. She bashed the door open and shouted as soon as she saw them. "GIRLS! ARDEN MIGHT BE MARRYING CELESTIA!"

"We just discussed that, silly!" Pinkie said bouncing around.

"WHAT?!" Rainbow asked, her shoulders dropped. "How?"

"I got a letter asking for food for a huge party! Rarity received a letter from Arden saying he needed to get his memento from Celestia back. And Fluttershy heard from a little bird, that Celestia might want him to look for other mares!" Rainbow froze in place when Pinkie finished speaking.

"And he might be an alicorn," Rarity completed.

"I rushed over for nothing," Rainbow said passing out on the floor. She had been delivering letters for two days, and she just rushed over from Canterlot.

'Our dear princess falling for a unicorn that came out of nowhere? That's unlikely. I did race her a few times at her request, she never stroke me as the kind who would fall like that out of nowhere. I better look into this.' Spitfire thought, finishing Rainbow's deliveries. There were only ten left, so it was easy getting that over with. 'Besides, if he actually caught the princess' attention he must be quite the catch. Wonder how fast he can get. I should also keep an eye out for that Rainbow Dash. She has a lot of stamina that's for sure. And that speed was amazing! If she were to grow up as a pony...I might get her into the academy.'

"One, two, three. Now you go free!" Arden sang freeing Nightmare, once again, from the chains. "Now, before you go on a rant about me tricking you. Please consider that I will die if I don't overcome what's been blasting me into oblivion every night."

"I understand, and I give you permission to continue your 'treatment'."

Confused by the change in behavior, Arden turned to face her. One of her eyes was different.

"What happened to your eye?"

"Luna wanted to see the one who tricked me twice." Arden tilted his head at the statement.

'What the fuck?'

"Er, why?"

"She considers me a friend. And is really infuriated at you for tricking me. Now you'll have to deal with two royals peasant!"

"And she's back. Send my regards to the princess, please? And thanks for the gift. It's very neat." Arden said showing the present he still had on his lapel. Nightmare Moon seemed to blush a little.

"Y-you did well to keep a gift from royalty! M-many ponies would kill to receive a gift from their queen!"

"Now it's a gift? Didn't you call it, 'getting rid of dead weight' last time?" Arden responded in a playful tone. Nightmare's wings shot open, and she scowled at him.

"Y-you insufferable, idiotic, shapeless fool!" She screamed at him. "Y-you better be alive when I return! Then I'm going to blast you to oblivion myself!"

"I'll be waiting, Your Obscurity. The whole reason I'm going through this ordeal is so I can meet you in four years." Arden responded while bowing to her. "Your make up keeps improving, as well as your mane. Keep it up, I bet the stallion you're aiming to hit will fall head over hills for you."

The answer he got was a bunch of incoherent noises and the sound of a door bashing. 'Messing around with her is easy. Her company is enjoyable as well.'

Getting back to his task, Arden darted to the door. After leaving the room, Arden was immediately placed in a hold by a spell. The same from the previous day, he was lifted and his body was forced to face the pony.

"Go ahead! Give your speech!"

"Not worth it. Just not worth my time. Just like you aren't worth the time of any of your friends." It said erasing everything bellow Arden's neck.

"Really? Not worth your time?" Arden said sprouting back his body and hitting the pony square in the jaw. The attack forced the pony to drop the spell. "How is that for not worth your time?!" Arden said jumping on top of the unicorn and grabbing its horn. "Let's see you cast now!" With his free hand, Arden attacked the unicorn with everything he had. "I'm more than you think! I will be more!"

"You won't!" The creature shot back. Sending Arden flying with his words. "You can't even understand what your talent can do!"

"I don't care about that! What matters is getting back and keeping my promise! I just need to see!"

"I can see!" The pony shot back, Arden had half of his body blasted away by the words. "But I can also turn a blind eye!"

Arden was completely defeated.

"Why don't you just kiss him while he is asleep? He wouldn't even know." Chrysalis said.

"Because that is wrong," Zecora responded. "Though, this one shall not deny she has entertained the idea,"

"Just do it already!" the changeling responded with an annoyed voice. "This pathetic snack may not be around forever."

"Are you saying he will die?"

"No, I'm talking about when his treatment is done," Chrysalis responded. "What do you expect him to stay here forever?"

"T-that is true," Zecora had forgotten about that, even if he was here, it was because of his treatment. "This one wonder what he will do once he is back to health."

"He'll probably go back to the town and find a mare," Chrysalis said with a smirk. "If you want him, you'll need to go a bit more aggressive. This failure here is way too shy to make the first move."

'Chrysalis's argument is valid. The stallion IS very shy. But this one should be careful if this one is too forceful, he might distance himself.'

It had been three hours since the session started. The stallion didn't manifest any symptoms, so Zecora had plenty of time to think and talk to Chrysalis while they waited for Arden's awakening. After the three hour mark, Arden suddenly got up. His face was terrifying, it wasn't madness like the previous times, it was anger. Zecora watched Arden clench his fists and grit his teeth.

"Don't! Pass! Out! I refuse! To! Pass! Out!" Arden hissed trying to keep himself from passing out.

"It's okay cerulean," Zecora said pulling Arden closer to her. "You're safe. We are here."

"No, it's not," Arden responded, looking at the ground. "Zecora, I..." He seemed to drift off for a second, then Zecora felt his weight falling on to her.

"And he passed out again," Chrysalis said leaving the room. "He needs to stop doing that."

"Chrysalis," Zecora called out. "Why so much animosity towards him? You seem to be aware of what he was, yet you seem to be extra aggressive towards him. Another thing, the excuse of his talent won't cut. He never brought it up, and this seems more personal. Almost as if you want him to act like other ponies. Do you want to push him away?"

Chrysalis didn't respond, Zecora watched the Changeling walk to the front door. Chrysalis didn't show her face, but her pacing seemed to show she didn't want to linger there any more than she needed.

"I'll return by the morning," Chrysalis said before shutting the door.

'The queen that heard her story. Seems to be afraid of time making history repeat itself. Time tells our tales as long as there is a being that remembers it. If the cycle will repeat, however, it completely up to the characters. This one hopes she will come to realize that before she repeats her mother mistakes, or makes worse ones.'

After a while, Zecora looked down at the stallion he fast asleep in her arms. Arden looked troubled, a frown was evident on his face. He was so close to her, Zecora held him tighter. A tear rolled down his face, but he seemed to smile for a moment. Zecora held his face closer to hers, Chrysalis suggestion ran through her mind. There wasn't anything wrong with that, was it? Would he even know? Should Zecora dare? He wouldn't be around forever, he could return to the town and never return.

Building up her courage, Zecora prepared to kiss him. She closed her eyes and got closer.

"...I'll...be worth...Zecora...I'll...be...better," Arden mumbled. These words made Zecora stop.

'This one shall approach him the right way, he deserves that much. He is worth that much to me.' Zecora thought, before preparing herself to sleep.

'DAMN IT! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?! It wasn't supposed to be this hard! I'm not supposed to be like her! Chrysalis, DO YOUR JOB! FREE YOUR KIND! Get rid of the stallion! Disguise yourself as him! Use that and everything will be in place! Let him rot in an unmarked grave! Forget that he ever existed! Ponies aren't worth it! No being is worth it! You are the monster! Your kind is the monster! Any being that tells you otherwise is just a puppeteer!'

Chrysalis sat by the river transformed into Arden, gazing at her disguise she remembered every single time she interacted with him. His expressions of joy when she got her form back. His apologetic look when they captured her. His desperation when he begged for her help. His determination to convince her that he would do anything to help her. His hopeful expression when he learned that he could learn magic. And finally, her memory drifted into when she fed off his love. That memory made her chest tighten, Chrysalis decided to verify something.

'Depending on the result of this experiment, I will decide what shall be done about him.'

As she was heading to her target, Chrysalis received the response from the previous day. Since she still needed the Princess's army, Chrysalis pulled the diary from her clothes.

Dear Celestia,

To me, there isn't any being in this world that could match your kindness. Nor your beauty, forgive me if this seems so bold. But this small stallion can't help but feel this way towards you. Even if I am not royalty I cannot lie about this.

Sorry if I this came so suddenly, but I cannot bear to keep this locked away any further. Being away from the mare that made me feel this way has made me realize how much I care for you.

Hopefully still a friend Arden.

Once she finished writing, Chrysalis sent the letter away. 'Time for my experiment.' she thought, heading towards Ponyville.

That same night, Twilight saw a very flustered and very crimson Celestia. Especially after she realized she read the letter out loud in the presence of her star student.