Author's Notes:

DOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!!

Here it is! I hope all you enjoy this.

Please let me know what you think of this chapter.

Chrysalis was wandering through the forest. In order for her experiment to work, she needed to fulfill certain conditions. Once Chrysalis distanced herself from the hut, she started to cast advanced spells. All of them required her to use a lot of energy, it took an hour and a half for her to reach the state she needed.

'Time to begin. Better finish this before sunrise. I don't want to risk being discovered by ponies, or changelings.'

Using even more spells, Chrysalis made sure her presence would go unnoticed by any predators that could be lurking there. The town of Ponyville was her destination, the ponies were her target. Spells to hide her scent and muffle her steps, all precautions as to ensure she would remain concealed in the shadows. The town finally appeared before her, only a few lights were still on, but targets weren't exactly scarce. Ignoring the houses with lights on, Chrysalis moved towards a dark house.

It was the mayor's house. The mayor was fast asleep on her bed, Chrysalis unlocked the front door by picking the lock with a lockpick she kept hidden in her mane. Moving through the place like a shadow, she silently reached her target's room. Using another spell, Chrysalis made the mayor remember of her family. Her fond memories of the villagers, when she was elected when they worked together for events, the support they gave her. All of those memories made the mayor generate love energy, Chrysalis devoured that.

'Too sweet.' she thought, stopping her feast once the mayor began to shift. Before the mayor woke up, Chrysalis had left the place and locked the front door.

She started to move to the next house, the local flower sellers. Chrysalis picked the lock without making a sound, checking the inside of the rooms before entering by peeking through the keyhole. Chrysalis made them remember about their gardening, their beautiful flowers, the smiles on their costumers' faces after each sell. More energy came from them.

'Too bitter, the other one too bland.' she thought, leaving the place.

Chrysalis then returned to a place she broke in the previous day. Carousel Boutique, the lock was still the same as the previous time. 'Sloppy, she can't expect to keep her place safe without changing the locks when somepony breaks in.' Chrysalis thought while moving to little filly's room. The little one was fast asleep, Chrysalis moved as if she was a monster preparing to devour her victim. This time Chrysalis stirred the memories of her big sister, their time together, the opening of the store. The times she helped her sister. More energy came forth.

'This one is too tender.'

The routine kept going, home after home she would find fault in each food she tasted. It didn't matter how many she tried, they all had some sort of fault.

'Too salty. Not enough salt. Tasteless. Taste is too strong. Too spicy. Nauseating. Long aftertaste. Aftertaste is too short. Too hot. Too cold. Disgusting. Simply don't like it.'

Chrysalis never did this, the taste of her food never mattered to her. It was all a matter of keeping herself alive. Right now, however, she could focus more on how it tasted. And for some reason, right now everything was wrong to her. Nothing made her want more. Nothing made her feel full. None of them satisfied. Her hunger never was satiated by any being. Or so she thought, the memories of her feeding off Arden's love returned. The mere thought of the energy made her mouth water up.

'I've become picky. Too picky. No, that's not it. I am addicted. It only took me two servings of his love energy to do it. That bastard, I probably won't be able to feel satisfied unless I feed off him. No! I refuse to feed off him again! I'll devour this entire town before resorting to him!'

Determined to do just that, Chrysalis started to move faster. More and more houses, instead of picking the locks manually, she used her magic. The hunger increased as the amount of love she got was way lower than what Chrysalis used to maintain her spells. Her form was returning to the state from a few days ago. But it didn't matter to her, as long as she managed to get rid of the addiction she would be satisfied.

The clock was ticking, dawn was closing in, but it didn't matter to Chrysalis. The idea of getting rid of her need was the only thing on her mind, she didn't care anymore about being discovered. She only wanted to get rid of Arden and move on. Chrysalis's hunt was interrupted by the sound of somepony unlocking their front door just as she was leaving the inside of a house. Chrysalis' senses returned to her making Chrysalis realize the risk she was taking.

'What?! That can't be right! It's still too early. Oh no!'

Chrysalis finally realized why they were waking up. The sun was up the stores were about to begin their work hours. Instinctively Chrysalis switched forms, having visited most of the houses, she knew what ponies were in town and those that weren't. Changing into the form of Bon-bon, local sweets seller, who had a lot of contraptions in her house. Chrysalis tried to leave town without anypony noticing.

"Bon-bon!" Chrysalis felt a chill run down her spine. Of all the ponies she could run into, it had to be THAT mare. "How was your visit to Canterlot? Did you have a good time with Lyra? How come you came back so early? Is Lyra coming for her birthday? Do you want to help me prepare the party when we're closer to it?"

"I-I'm okay Pinkie," Chrysalis responded, her eyes were darting around trying to find anything to distract the party pony.

"Really? You look a bit worried."

"I'm fine, promise."

"Come on then!" Pinkie said, pulling Chrysalis towards the bakery. "I got some new recipes I want you to check! Since you are so good with sweets, maybe they can give you some ideas!"

At this point, Chrysalis began to realize her condition. Her hunting made her weak, the disguise was starting to have some issues. Her eyesight was becoming more blurry. Chrysalis had to leave, or she would have a lot of ponies chasing her very soon.

'I need out! Please just give me an opening!'

She had forty-five minutes with her disguise, after that, Chrysalis would collapse. If she was lucky, the disguise wouldn't start to fade.

'HELP ME!'

The sound of hooves hitting the floor in a rhythm woke Arden up. He felt a bit drowsy, but after shaking his head for a few moments, Arden looked at the source of the sound. Zecora was pacing around in a circle. Arden got on his hooves and looked around. One of them was missing.

"Zecora," Arden said, his voice made the zebra stop her pacing around. "Where is Chrysalis?"

"She left last night," Arden felt his body tense up and a chill ran down his spine. "The Changeling said she would be back by morning. But she's yet to return. This one can't help but worry."

"You worry with good reason!" Arden exclaimed, he donned the armor and headed to the door. "Let's track her down."

"Just a moment," Zecora said, picking up her gear for hunting along with some herbs. Arden could swear he knew some of those herbs. "Ready!" With that, the two of them left the hut. Arden searched for tracks in one side while Zecora searched the other.

"Found anything yet?" Arden asked, without leaving his search. The side he was looking into wasn't helping him much. He did find some vines that he had seen in the book he had been reading. Vines that served to prevent hallucinations when prepared correctly. The book mentioned it had to be mashed, diluted, and then filtered to remove the remnants of the vine. If it was chewed down raw, they could be used to the same effect. However, the poison would stay and cause the patient to vomit violently, followed by motion sickness, then it would be followed by a loss of conscience and death after a few minutes.

'Better keep these ones stored just in case.' Arden thought, placing some of the vines into his pockets.

"This one has found tracks!" Zecora's voice made Arden leave his search, running as fast as he could. Arden went after Zecora who was already following the tracks.

The path Chrysalis had taken wasn't familiar to Arden. It led to a clearing, this place had a bunch of scorch marks, weirdly grown plants, and other things that looked out of place. 'Did she fight something? This stuff looks like it was created by magic.' Arden thought. The damage on the ground and the plants sprouting everywhere made searching more difficult.

Arden and Zecora split up again to search the clearing. Zecora tried to see any signs of Chrysalis being wounded. Meanwhile, Arden looked at the edges of the clearing in search for Chrysalis' trail. He was practically dragging himself on the dirt trying to find anything that resembled Chrysalis' hoove-marks. He had almost completed a full circle around the area when he found her tracks again.

"Zecora! This way!" Arden shouted following the tracks. It didn't take long for Zecora to catch up to him and take the lead.

He kept following both Zecora and the tracks until he saw the sound of voices made him freeze.

"Still no sign of that stallion?"

"Nope," That voice was familiar to Arden, it sounded like Applejack's brother.

Arden was near Ponyville, he remembered what Zecora told him about his sickness. His body moved on his own, slowly backing away Arden tripped on a tree root. He continued to scramble away until Arden heard Zecora's voice.

"Arden!" Zecora appeared in his field of vision. "What is happening?"

"Zecora," Arden started after shaking his head to clear the haze. "I don't think I can help in the search." Zecora seemed to realize what he meant because she bit her lip and looked back at the village.

"The cerulean will hallucinate if he comes any closer," She said, Arden nodded in agreement. "Very well, this one will see what she can do."

With that, Zecora headed off, Arden simply sat down by a tree, cursing his sickness. Cursing his inability of being useful, he kept taping his finger in a rhythm, begging for Zecora to come back with Chrysalis safe and sound. Time seemed to have stopped, he looked around. No sign of Zecora, no sign of Chrysalis.

'Ins't there anything I can do?! Why do I have to be so helpless?!' Arden thought, punching the ground. 'OUCH!'

Arden screamed in his mind, he landed on something that cut deep into his hand. Looking down, Arden saw a purple vine covered in thorns that were accompanying the tree's root. It looked familiar, Arden had seen it in the book he had been reading back at the hut. He couldn't remember its uses specifically, but he remembered that another specific herb grew next to that. A small yellow herb, Arden vaguely recalled something about them being used for another recipe.

'Why not take some? I can get some practice later on.' Arden picked them up and placed bat at his pocket. When he did he remembered about the other plant he had found back at the hut. Arden quickly pulled it out. 'Zecora might have an antidote for this,' Arden thought, picking the vine and cutting it he took off after Zecora. Moving quietly as he approached the village, Arden saw Zecora hiding behind some bushes.

"Pssst," Arden said catching her attention. More accurately she pulled her dagger to his neck. "Z, listen. Do you have the antidote for this?" Arden said pushing the dagger away. Zecora blushed a bit once she heard the 'Z' part, then she looked at the plant Arden presented to her.

"This one believes she has some," Zecora said, pulling some herbs out of her belt. "Why would you need these?" Zecora asked before her eyes widened. "No! This one will not allow you to do such a reckless move!"

"It's either this, or you will be pulling a solo rescue mission," Arden whispered. "This place freaked out at the mere sight of my eyes. If they see Chrysalis they might burn her at a pyre!" Arden watched Zecora try to come up with a retort, none came. "Good, so we're clear in that aspect. Z, did you see anything that may point out to Chrysalis location?" Arden asked while he removed the thorns by hand.

"Not yet."

"Okay, Down the hatch you go!" he said shoving the vine down his mouth and started to chew it. 'WOW! This shit is bitter. Don't throw up, you need this thing to take effect before you try anything.'

After a decent amount of chewing the vine, Arden swallowed it. He winced as the vine went down his throat.

A few seconds after, Arden looked at the village. An initial headache made him wince but it soon faded. Arden scanned the villagers, trying his best to find anything that pointed to Chrysalis being there. It was around that time, that Arden heard somepony leaving a store in a rush. It looked like the local sweet maker, Arden barely knew her. But something looked off, the very end of her tail had some green fur that resembled Chrysalis'.

Arden's eyes went wide open, realizing that there were some small areas shifting really fast between yellow and black. Arden also noticed she was limping, Chrysalis seemed to be in very bad shape.

"Found her," Arden said pointing towards his finding.

"How do we get her out? The disguise is fading!" Zecora pointed out. To Arden and Zecora it was evident, they were looking for the changes. To a passerby, it wouldn't be noticeable.

"We need a distraction, or to at least, we need to create a brief opening for her to leave," Arden said, noticing how Chrysalis seemed to be trying to reach the edge of town. Arden then remembered the day he met Zecora. "Zecora, can you go out there and make everypony head inside their houses?"

"What?"

"Remember the day we met? Everypony in town ran back to their houses and locked themselves in," Zecora looked back at Arden for a moment. "I know it's unfair. But if I go out there, they won't let me go without interrogating me and I don't have time to do it. Please?"

"Very well," Zecora responded with a small frown. "But you owe this one."

"Whatever it takes," Arden responded. "Thank you. Really." Arden continued, placing his hand over Zecora's shoulder.

Zecora was about to rush out when two familiar faces approached Chrysalis. Mind Walker and Walkirye Heart, they seemed concerned by Chrysalis posture. She looked like she was in pain.

"Zecora," Arden said holding her by the wrist. "Can you lure them away? Then lose them?"

"Who do you believe to be talking to?" Zecora responded with a smirk.

With that, she ran into the town. Screams and gasps filled the town, it didn't take long for only four 'ponies' to remain in the streets.

Zecora found herself with two confused guards looking at her. Chrysalis seemed somewhat relieved to see her. Zecora needed to lure the two soldiers away. Arden was in hiding, and couldn't come out without being recognized. The pegasus could catch up to her no problem, depending on her capabilities that is. The unicorn was a problem because of the spells. He had to be incapacitated and the pegasus had to be lured into a trap. One of her potions could knock the pegasus out, another one could create a smoke cloud, preventing the unicorn from targeting her.

The two guards were staring at Zecora, ignoring Chrysalis slowly moving away. Slowly moving her hands, Zecora reached for some bottles she had stored in her belt. On her left, the knockout concoction, on her right, a smoke cloud. Zecora moved very slowly towards them. First, she tossed the smoke cloud. The pegasus flew up to the air, Zecora began to run. Looking over her shoulder she saw that, unfortunately, the unicorn caught the vial with his magic.

Suddenly, she saw the vial crack and the content disperse itself. With fewer things to worry about, Zecora ran like there was no tomorrow towards some alleyways. The sharp turns forced the pegasus to reduce her speed, which gave Zecora enough time to toss the vial's contents on the walls. This potion produced fumes once exposed to the air, being exposed to it for a little while made the target confused. Prolonged exposure made the target fall unconscious, useful for capturing prey alive or losing a pursuer.

Taking her last turn, Zecora found herself back at the town square. She saw that the smoke screen had dispersed and Chrysalis was nowhere to be seen.

'Good! Time for this one to make herself scarce.'

A bright flash of light appeared by her side. Zecora looked to her left and saw a blue shield floating by her side. Behind the shield, she saw the unicorn guard unconscious on the ground. Before she could understand what was happening, she was surrounded by a blue aura and was pulled back towards the forest. Zecora went flying at high speed and stopped when she flew into Arden. The unicorn caught her, however, the momentum she built made him fall backward with a thud. Zecora landed on top of him, but she quickly got up to pull him up. They started running once Arden picked up chrysalis from the ground and started running carrying her in his arms.

"Note to self: Control the speed when you pull things towards you," the stallion mumbled.

The plan seemed to have worked. No signs of the guards following them, they were safe. They ran for a considerable time just to make sure that they could rest easy.

"This one believes we can stop now," Zecora said, she pulled out the herbs she had shown the stallion and gave him before he started to manifest the symptoms. "Now, chew these. Swallow the sap, but spit out the herbs once you're finished."

After he placed the changeling on the ground, the stallion picked up the herbs and followed her instructions. After finishing it, he went to Chrysalis. Zecora did the same.

"She's in bad shape," Zecora started, looking at the changeling's physical state. Chrysalis seemed somewhat conscious, but she didn't have enough to keep her disguise. "She needs to eat as soon as possible."

"N-no," The Changeling said. "I-I won't be fed by-?!" Zecora stopped her with a slap.

(Back at Ponyville, when Zecora appeared making everypony lock themselves in)

Chrysalis felt a mix of relief and fear at the sight of Zecora. The zebra could draw attention away from Chrysalis, but if she was here, Arden wouldn't be far behind. With any luck, Chrysalis could run away without assistance from the unicorn. Chrysalis saw her disguise begin to crumble piece by piece, luckily for her, the ponies were too scared of being cursed by Zecora to look outside. And the guards seemed genuinely confused about what they were looking at.

'Now, move slowly. Don't make a noise,' Chrysalis thought, she managed to take a few steps before falling. Chrysalis's legs had given in again, her disguise disappeared. Chrysalis gave up at this point, her cover was blown. The sound of glass breaking made her look back. Some sort of white smoke surrounded the guard. Chrysalis suddenly felt herself being lifted up. She looked up and saw something familiar, blue fur, scrawny body. 'NOT HIM!' Chrysalis tried to get rid of him, but she didn't have the strength to do so.

He rushed with her in her arms, Chrysalis found herself safe and sound hidden in the bushes. Arden placed her on the ground calmly and turned away from her.

'Now! I need to get away from him.'

Chrysalis tried to drag herself away silently. But the moment Chrysalis placed her weight on her arms, she fell. Arden heard her and turned around. "Don't move! You're in bad shape. The last thing you need is using more energy!" the unicorn said pushing her to the ground. Then he turned back to the town, Chrysalis saw him charge a spell. Looking back at the streets, Chrysalis saw Arden create a shield by the Zebra's left side. The shield bounced off a spell that hit the unicorn guard that fell unconscious on the ground. Then without dismissing the shield, Chrysalis watched him levitate Zecora and pull her towards them at high speed.

"Too fast!" Arden said before he grabbed Zecora's body and fell backward. "Note to self: Control the speed when you pull things towards you," he said after being pulled up by Zecora, picking Chrysalis up and starting to running.

Chrysalis was carried through a decent distance before they stopped. Zecora was on the lead since she was faster and had less weight on her.

"This one believes we can stop now," the zebra said pulling some herbs and giving them to Arden. Chrysalis' ears started ringing a bit. After the unicorn left her on the ground, she couldn't hear what they said. Chrysalis watched the stallion chew the herbs Zecora gave him, right before he spat them out. Then the unicorn came back to her side accompanied by the zebra. Zecora said something after examining her, around that time Chrysalis' ears stopped ringing.

"She needs to eat as soon as possible," Chrysalis' eyes went wide open.

"N-no," The Chrysalis started. "I-I won't be fed by-?!" A stinging pain took over her cheek. The zebra slapped her, Zecora actually slapped her. "Why did you do that?!"

The unicorn intervened. "WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?!" He sounded angry, and there was concern explicit in his voice.

"I don't need to answer that!" Chrysalis shot back, she wasn't about to get scolded again. "I can do whatever I want! I'm not-?!" Another slap, this time, however, it came from the stallion.

"ENOUGH!" Arden shouted. "I am sick of your stuck up attitude! You're fucking stuck in whatever happened between ponies and changelings in the past! I lost count of how many people back in my world ruined their lives and the lives of others because they can't let go of the FUCKING PAST! You're supposed to learn from to past and then let whatever is caused you pain go! Of course, it ain't easy! I'm still trying to get rid of it! But at the very fucking least I'm trying!"

Chrysalis looked away but he made her face him

"And another thing: You said you're the queen of changelings. But you're hiding as an exile. Which means your kind is in trouble. So as their ruler. YOU! CAN'T! BE! RECKLESS!" Arden continued. "As their ruler, you have to be there for them! And if you need help, ASK! I agreed to help a total stranger because that's what I think is right! I don't choose who I help based on race or appearance. But based on who I think is the right! I don't give a damn if you're covered in fur, scales, chitin, or if you're a damned ghost! So please, give me a chance to help! I'm not asking for you to forgive what was done to you. Nor I am asking you to like me, I just ask that you give me a chance to help with what I can!"

"You would willingly help a MONSTER!"

"YOU ARE NOT A MONSTER! YOU'RE A LIVING BEING! You have the right to be afraid, the right to ask for help! Your form isn't hideous! You and Zecora are the same! You just had a lot of unfair things happening to you!" Arden reached for his throat and started to cough a bit while he backed away, then he threw up a bit. Then more of it came out.

"What's going on?" Chrysalis asked in confusion. "Why is he throwing up?" Chrysalis saw Zecora trying to help him.

"How much of the vine did you eat?!" Zecora asked.

"I-" he was interrupted by another stream. "I ate a small chunk after you left. My head started to ache again, I didn't have a choice." Zecora pulled more herbs and waited until he stopped throwing up. Then he started to look dizzy, but the vomits stopped. Zecora shoved the herbs into his mouth, he did the same as before. Arden seemed to stabilize, but whatever happened to him, seemed to have knocked the wind out of him.

"What is happening?!" Chrysalis shouted.

"Near that blasted town he wasn't supposed to go," Zecora said looking over her shoulder to chrysalis. "The mere sight of the inhabitants made the stallion hallucinate before he met this one. Arden ate a poisonous vine to prevent hallucinations while we scanned the crowd looking for you."

"What?" Chrysalis shot, her eyes widened. "WHY?!"

"A-are you kidding me?" the stallion asked. "You saw what happened when they saw eyes that were different from what they considered normal. What do you think it would have happened when they got their hands on you?!"

"And would you-?!" Chrysalis was stopped mid-sentence yet again.

"Because you're our friend!" Arden shot back. "You might hate ponies, and you might be trying to pull strings everytime you can. But We are not about to let you kill yourself! Whatever the reason you have, with everything that seems to be at stake. You can't afford to die! You need and you can live!"

Those last words made Chrysalis remember something. Something her mother said to her long ago.

'You're not a queen. You are not a changeling. You're a thing that was born from my naivete. Ponies should not be trusted, but you're even worse than that. No being should ever trust you. If you weren't required to keep my kingdom, I would just let you die. Something like you should never have been born in the first place.'

Chrysalis eyes filled with tears.

'You can't afford to die! You need and you can live!'

After all this time, a blasted pony had to be the one to say those words. After all that time alone, the ones she grew to hate because of her misfortune were the ones to take her in. After all the schemes she tried to pull, they were the ones to forgive her and try to give her a chance. She still felt anger towards his kind, but he had a point. Her mother's mistakes came because she trusted another creature blindly, so she decided to make every changeling as she was after the event. The changelings couldn't trust their own mother.

Based on that, Chrysalis assumed that not trusting any being was the right choice. But that was the path her mother took. After realizing the original mistake Chrysalis swore to never be like her mother, yet she was taking the same path.

The sta-, no. Arden was right. If she didn't want to make the same mistakes from her predecessor, Chrysalis would need to give other creatures a chance, she didn't need to drop her guard. If she was to forgive them, however, was something that time would be the one to decide.

Chrysalis cried, tears of joy rolled out her eyes. Tears of sadness, of anger, and of relief as well. The joy of hearing she could live, the sadness of realizing that she was becoming what she swore to never be. The anger of not realizing the path she was taking, the relief of finally seeing clearly what she needed to do so she could grow. Then she felt her stomach growl.

'If I am going to start giving others a chance. Who better to start than these two?' Chrysalis thought, drying up her tears. She took a few moments to recompose herself. Once she was calm enough she spoke.

"Very well, peasant," she spoke with her old tone back, but this time there wasn't venom. She was just acting as a spoiled child for the sake of it. "Your queen requires her feast," Chrysalis started with a smirk. Arden and Zecora seemed to understand what she meant because they smiled.

"Good to know we are all on the same page," Arden said slowly getting on his hooves. Then he walked over to Chrysalis after helping Zecora up. Picking Chrysalis up, Arden turned to Zecora and said. "Let's head back home. I guess all of us could use something to eat."

"You should probably start eating now. Better safe than sorry."

And with that Chrysalis started to eat and regain her strength.

'This is the first step. I'll become greater than my mother ever was.'

"This one is going to call back her favor now," Zecora said, Arden turned his head towards her.

'Oh, boy. Here it comes.' Arden thought, he was halfway through his breakfast. The little incident with the vine made him lose his appetite. Nevertheless, Arden knew he had to eat and re-hydrate after that.

"What favor?" Chrysalis asked she was messing around with Arden's sword while he and Zecora were eating.

"A favor that I owe her because I asked Zecora to go into town to make the ponies run back inside their houses."

"Really?" Arden responded to that with a positive nod. "You need to stop owing every single creature you meet."

"Gotta add that to the bucket list," Arden said, then he ate more of his food before continuing. "What do you need Z?"

"Z?" Chrysalis asked with an eyebrow raised. "What happened while I was out?"

"Jealous?" Arden asked with a smirk. Chrysalis fell for it again, her cheeks got green and she huffed. "That's what I thought."

"This one hears the cerulean can perform a Harmonious Heart," Arden felt a bit less nervous. "This one would like to see one being performed."

"Sure thing," Arden responded turning to Chrysalis. "Two things though. First, Chrysalis would you be so kind as to use that headache spell?" Chrysalis' horn lit up and he felt the pain fade. Casting an improvised reflective shield combined with a levitation spell took its toll on Arden. "Thank you! Second, can you cast a spell to soundproof this place? Just so we don't risk disturbing nearby fauna." Chrysalis used her magic again.

"Thank you. Do you have a theme in mind?" Arden asked turning to Zecora.

"Theme?"

"For the song that I'll perform."

"Give this one a moment," Zecora said scratching her chin, after a few moments she spoke. "Learning from the both of us you are. Why not the theme of growing?"

"Very well!" Arden cleared his throat and then spoke. "Hope you enjoy the performance."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-udx1ojowws

The song performed just as Arden remembered it. He watched Zecora's eyes widen as she heard the song begin to play. Arden didn't stop, he followed the rhythm as he tried to give the best performance he could. Once he was finished Arden took a deep breath before asking. "What did you think?"

"Part of a story, that song seemed to be," Zecora said.

"It's part of a story about a boy stranded in the jungle that has to learn how to survive. Eventually becoming a man," Arden responded smiling. "But unlike him, I have teachers. To whom I'm grateful by the way."

"Thank you for granting this one's wish," Zecora said moving closer to Arden. "This one really liked it," Zecora said giving him a kiss on the cheek. Arden froze up, he looked straight at Zecora's eyes for two minutes straight, no blinking, and no shifting his gaze. There were no signs of her being under a spell. "What?" Zecora asked with a faint blush on her cheeks.

"J-just checking if Chrysalis wasn't messing around," Arden stuttered.

'Okay! Calm down! She just kissed you! No need to make a fuss! Get your act together. You like her. Based on what she just did, she MIGHT like you. Try to approach her tomorrow, her response will be your answer.'

Arden looked back at Chrysalis, she was pouting a bit. But the pout disappeared the moment she saw him looking at her. Arden shrugged. 'I better enjoy these moments. Very soon, comes the worst part of the day. I'm not looking forward to it this time. I think I'll have a bit of a conversation with her once I'm there.'

Arden turned to Chrysalis. She was still examining the sword. "Found anything about it?"

"Found out that this thing teleports to your hands," Chrysalis said without stopping what she was doing. Arden tilted his head.

"Really?" Chrysalis nodded positively. "How?"

"Still figuring that part out."

"Okay. That is awesome by the way."

"What?"

"That eye thing you're doing," Arden responded. "Is that a natural changeling trait? Or is it a spell?"

"It's changeling magic. Unless you find a way to change species, you won't be able to use some of the spells I have." Chrysalis started, then a smirk formed on her face. "Not that you have the capacity to use them, even if you became one." Arden crossed his arms and formed smirk as well.

"Challenge accepted," Arden said. "I will find a way to learn changeling magic. Then I'll do that spell of yours." Chrysalis ceased her task and laughed.

"If a pony actually learns how to do changeling magic, I'll find a being to marry," She said in between laughs.

"Is that a bet?" Arden asked smirking, Chrysalis looked back at him.

"Only if you bet something too."

"If I give up on this endeavor. I'll let you bypass my wards and puppeteer me around for a day," Zecora chocked when she heard that. "Deal?" Arden asked, offering his hand to Chrysalis.

"Deal!" Chrysalis responded, taking his hand and shaking it.

"Well, Z?" Arden asked, turning back to Zecora. "I guess we are all going to rest today? Plenty of excitement for a day, right?"

"This one agrees," Zecora responded after recomposing herself. "Let us enjoy some peace and quiet."

"Hello there," Arden said undoing the chains and freeing his visitor, again. "How are things today?"

"Better now that I am free," Nightmare responded, she got on her hooves and Arden could see her eyes again. They were back to normal. "Something is different about you today. You're not rushing outside."

"Yeah," Arden said sitting on the ground. "I kinda wish to pass some time before I go out there. Getting my ass handed to me kinda gets old. I may have managed to help somepony out today. But here? I don't have a clue about what to do."

"About that peasant," Nightmare said creating a chair and sitting on it, "what have you been fighting all this time?"

"Another version of myself," Arden responded, laying on the ground. "Basically, the core of my rejection is waiting for me to face them outside. But I can't do shit to him. I hit him with everything I have, but he blasts me away with mere words."

"I will not stand for this!" Nightmare exclaimed. "I will not allow the one who managed to evade my attacks to be so easily defeated! That stains my pride!" Nightmare Moon made another chair and gestured Arden to sit down. "Tell me what is happening!"

"Actually," Arden responded sitting down at the chair. As soon as he sat down, a table forme between them. "What's this?" Arden asked as Nightmare leaned on the table.

"Right now I am acting as your advisor. Not as your ruler. Be grateful, mortal." Nightmare said haughtily.

"Suuuuuuure," Arden said letting out a sigh. "The whole thing plays out like this: I get out, he is waiting. I fight, he speaks 'I can blah, blah, blah' and he erases my body piece by piece."

"I can?" Nightmare asked tilting her head and leaning backward. "He states that and blasts you to pieces?" Arden nodded positively. "That is truly odd. What power does the ability to do something hold, if the user does not have the will to do it?"

"I don't think I follow," Arden responded tilting his head. "Can you elaborate?" When he asked that, Arden saw Nightmare Moon bit her lip and look away. 'What's going on?'

"How can you have beaten me and not be able to understand that?" she finally spoke rolling her eyes. "You seem to be somewhat familiar with my story and Luna's. Even if you got some parts of it wrong." Arden leaned forward to listen, Nightmare was really going to tell him her story?

"Are you sure?" Arden asked. "You don't need to do that if you don't want to."

"It is easier to learn by example," Nightmare said looking down. "And our story holds an example for what you don't seem to understand. As you seem to be aware, there are creatures known as Baku. I was created by Luna's mother to prevent the Baku from ever taking her heart. Luna, however, was born with the inept ability to control the dreamscape. Regardless of the dream belonging to her or not."

That made sense, it would also explain why Nightmare could control dreams before the dreamer became lucid. "Once she learned how to control that ability, Luna decided that she would become a shield for her subjects. Fighting every single night, she went to the dreams of her subjects. She would manipulate the dream until the dreamer entered a state in which the Baku could no longer reach them." 'That seemed like a lot of work.' "However, Luna had to defend herself at the same time. So she would use a lot of her energy to keep doing that." 'That scenario seems even worse.' "But her conviction, her will to protect her subjects until all of them were safe kept her going. That was until..." Arden always hated when stories had an 'until'. That was an indicator something would turn the tide for better or for worst. Narrations seemed to have a liking for the second option.

"Until Luna became weary of her job. Two hundred years later the Baku was a very small threat to her subjects. But they kept coming after her every night. Back then she still had the will to fight. I wasn't required most of the time, so I kept her company." This was the longest conversation he had with her in a while. This was a side of her he hadn't seen before. "In the dream world, she always told me about how she wished for her subjects to love the nights she created. How she wanted to be loved like her sister. But Luna used a lot of her energy to fight off the Baku. When she woke up she would have less power to use in the real world. Which lead to her being less recognized for her efforts. Especially since the ponies didn't remember her actions in the dream world," Arden was sure Moon was getting to the turning point now.

"Then she started to meet ponies that saw her as something to be feared, 'She who brings the night where so many creatures can kill us. There is no possibility of her being on our side.' they said." Nightmare said, clenching her fists.

"I can relate to that last bit," Arden started. "One look at my eyes and the townsfolk called me a threat."

"Then you can guess what happened next," Arden tilted his head. "The initial shock made her want to prove that she was trustworthy. Luna did everything she could to show her subjects how much she cared for them. However, her efforts were in vain. As time passed, her will to do what her talent allowed her to do diminished. I had to step in, I had to help keep her safe!" Nightmare's tone changed and so did her posture. Nightmare looked completely different. "That decay continued until she could no longer fight. She lost all will to use her abilities."

"So you stepped in and took over," Arden said, earning a positive nod from Nightmare. "I think I get your question now. 'What's the point of having the I can, if you lack the I will?'" Arden mumbled. "That thing is what I can be. I reject my talent. I lack the will to use it. Therefore, all I can do, all I can be...it's all stationary. He can pull all the shit he said, but only if I have the will. He is subjected to what I say what I'll do. And now, I say he can't do any of those things. Because I'm the one who can do all those things!" Arden said getting up.

"Thank you, Your Highness! I have no words to express how much you helped me. I'll remember your story, always," Arden said going closer to Nightmare Moon, he kneeled down, his head held low. Nightmare recognized the gesture, she extended her hand. Arden reached for it and gave it a brief kiss. "Now, if you'll excuse me," Arden said getting up. "Time to beat that reflection into submission!" he exclaimed.

"Good luck! You stupid idiot." Arden heard from behind him as he headed to the door. It was about time he put an end to this. Arden took one step outside and was immobilized by magic, again.

'God! he is running out of ideas.' Arden thought, the unicorn manifested before him.

"You came," he said examining Arden top to bottom. "A little late, but you came."

"I thought you would miss me," Arden responded, "Although, I think I might be one who will be missing you." The figure started to laugh at the statement.

"You're still going on about it, aren't you?" the figure said in between laughs. "Too bad for you. I can forgive,"

Silence, Arden was still intact. The figure's eyes widened, Arden snapped his fingers while he was still enveloped by the magic. The aura disappeared and Arden was still floating, the unicorn tried to move. But this time he was the one enveloped in a black aura.

"You're right. I can forgive, and I will," the unicorn's eyes almost shot out their orbits. "What? I might be hopeless when I'm alone. But I got a lot of creatures who think I might be worth something. Maybe as a tool, maybe as a friend," Arden continued, floating around the unicorn.

"Just want you to know, that I'm grateful to you," the unicorn frowned. "You pointed out what was wrong all this time. I was just too dense to get it." Arden said, making his misshapen hand into a claw. A very sharp claw. "Good-bye."

Arden pierced the stallion's chest. The creature winced for a moment, its eyes changed from the talent for to their natural state, then he disappeared. Arden waited for a little while, he expected that the place would crumble and he would wake up, but nothing happened. Arden tried to go back into the safe zone, and couldn't.

Arden kept waiting, nothing happened. Time continued to pass by until he noticed he was returning. Just as he was about to return, however, the unicorn appeared before him. He had his arms raised, and was smiling.

"You're something else, you know that?" it asked, it's form starting to blur. "You figured out the last step. But you skipped the first. I thought you were coming after me because you had already figured everything out. Since I'm surprised you figured the hardest part, I'll tell you this: Unless you get rid of it, I'll keep coming back." With those words, Arden felt himself waking up.

"Thank you," Chrysalis said, those were the first words she said since the beginning of the session. "For the rescue. And for coming for me, even after all the stunts I pulled."

"The changeling's thanks should be directed to the stallion," Zecora answered. "He was the one that found your trail to the village. Also, he's probably the one who broke the bottle with the smokescreen."

"I'm going to try to make it up to him," Chrysalis said, that made Zecora raise an eyebrow.

"What do you plan to do?" Zecora asked trying to hide her concern.

"That sword of his," Chrysalis started, "I already figured out the incantation. That thing is connected to him. It grows as he does."

Zecora tilted her head. "Then, what do you intend to do?" Zecora asked, her eyes were locked on Chrysalis's eyes.

"I managed to make him learn magic by adding a rune to the blade. I'll see if I can discover more about his talent and his magical capabilities. Then I'll work from there to make it easier for him to use them. Until he is capable to wield them on his own."

"What does the changeling mean?" Zecora asked, checking Arden's condition again while doing so. 'This one better collect all the information she can.'

"He learned how to cast a spell on his first try. After I added the first rune, but he required my explanation to do so. Therefore, if I can imprint what I know about his kind's magic into the sword. He might be able to learn more quickly. But his capability to cast them will have to grow at its own pace."

"The cerulean would know how to cast spells but would need to become able to do them first. Is that what the changeling plans?"

"Basically, yes," Chrysalis replied. "After all, knowing how to cast a spell is one thing. Being able to cast it, on the other hand, is a completely different story."

Chrysalis bit her lip. "Would you please keep this between us? I don't want him to think I can turn into an almighty being by simply messing around with the blade. Gaining too much power in an accelerated rate can be problematic."

"Very well," Zecora said with a frown, " but at the first sign of changes to his behavior, this one shall intervene."

"Thank you," Chrysalis replied, "I really hope this helps out."

'Is that so?' Zecora thought, looking back at the stallion she noticed that he wasn't showing any signs of waking up. They were quickly approaching the five-hour mark, it had been a few days since he last reached that mark. 'Has something happened to him?'

"Is it normal to last this much?" Chrysalis asked, snapping Zecora out of her thoughts.

"The normal cycle is around five to six hours. But it has been awhile since the stallion last stayed in trance up to that hour." Zecora explained.

"I see. Is it me or are the days getting colder?"

"Winter is approaching, so it would make sense for the air to become colder."

'This one better get some winter garments ready for her guests.' Zecora thought.

Time continued to pass by, the minimum limit was reached. It took about five minutes for Arden to wake up. Unlike the previous nights, he woke up calmly.

"Hey there," Arden greeted. "I'm glad to report that I made some progress. But..."

"But?" Zecora inquired, Arden seemed somewhat disappointed.

"It seems I skipped a step. So, I'm gonna need to backtrack and figure out what I missed," Arden said placing his hand on the back of his neck.

"Are you in pain?" Zecora asked.

"A little," Arden replied. "It's weird how weak the pain is. Why is it weak?"

"Well," Zecora heard the Changeling's voice, her boasting tone was back. "Seeing as you have some issues with pain when you return. I cast a little spell on the potion you drank," Zecora's ears perked up, Chrysalis got up and went to the central room. "The spell I cast reduced the after-effects of the potion regarding your pain. Now, let's see if I can come up with something for you two to eat."

Zecora deadpanned at that. "What?"

"Consider it a treat for your help today," she responded browsing through Zecora's storage. "I may be a queen, but I can hold my own. You better be grateful you bag of bones." Chrysalis said pointing at Arden. "You better get some weight on you. Otherwise, your body won't take the training." She mocked.

"Thank you," he responded, "I guess all of us made some progress then. Except I took one step forward and two steps back."

"Progress is progress," Zecora said placing her hand on his head. "The stallion will have many opportunities to discover what he has missed." Arden looked back at her and smiled.

After that, Zecora watched the changeling use her magic to prepare some food. Chrysalis gave them the food after she was through, she even prepared some for her. Zecora tasted the food she gave them, it was good. Zecora knew some recipes with the herbs she had. But this was on a whole other level.

"Don't look so surprised," Chrysalis said to Zecora, making her snap back from her awe. "I had to learn how to live in a pony society. Cooking is a breeze compared to some of the things I learned."

"So it seems," Zecora replied. "Perhaps, could you teach this one what you know?"

"I don't see a reason not to do it," Chrysalis responded smiling to Zecora. "So, peasant? Peasant?"

Zecora looked back at Arden, the stallion fell asleep after the meal. Looking back at the Changeling, Zecora saw that her ears were down. Not to mention she looked a bit angry. 'She was expecting some praise. The changeling must really wish to make up to what happened today.'

"Time to sleep," Zecora said getting up to change.

"Actually," Chrysalis said reaching for Zecora. "Do you mind if I stay with you two?" Zecora tilted her head. "It's hard to keep warm on my own. So, can I?" The changeling asked, which Zecora look around. Keeping the fire lit would be a problem. After some thought, Zecora turned back to Chrysalis.

"Very well," she started. "As long as you don't try anything. We better get up before he wakes up."

"Our little secret?" Zecora let out a sigh and a small smile crossed her face.

"Our little secret."