Author's Notes:

I kinda forgot something,

This was really hard to write. I hope it is to your guys' liking. Please enjoy your reading and let me know your opinion on it.

See ya soon!

(EDIT: I forgot a little detail that worked as inconsistency in here, therefore I had to correct it)

"SPIKE! SPIIIKE!" Twilight called out. Searching around her personal library that Celestia modified to serve as her room. Hers, and also the room of the little guy hiding behind some curtains. Twilight crept up on him and lifted the purple kid, earning a gasp and some giggles from him. "Found you!"

Twilight had been taking care of the rascal for ten years. Since she took the entrance exam at the age ten, this said exam required her to use a spell causing an egg to hatch. Being afflicted by a kind of stage fright at the time of the exam, Twilight almost flunked. If an exploding rainbow hadn't happened at that precise time scaring her out of her wits she probably wouldn't be there today. Leaving the reminiscence aside, the most interesting thing about her companion, was the fact he was a dragon.

That's right, the star student of Celestia was also the legal guardian of a fire-breathing dragon. She cared deeply for the kid, Twilight shared a lot of adventures with the little guy. Most of them being mishaps with some experiments that went south, Celestia took about three weeks to get rid of the blue potion staining her coat. Another incident occurred when it found itself in the clothes of some nobles, Celestia confiscated them right before this incident happened. They never found the pony responsible for it.

"Anything you want to read today Spike?" Twilight asked the little guy she was carrying on her shoulders.

"Is there a new volume of the Power Ponies out?" Spike asked.

Besides the regular books, Twilight had him read for his education she knew Spike loved comic books about heroes and such. He would play 'hero' from time to time. Whenever he did that, Spike almost didn't look like he was just a little drake. He acted like he was the most gigantic dragon in the world.

"Yes, but did you finish the chapters I prepared for you?" Twilight asked putting him down on the table where they usually read. "You know the rule."

"Yes, ma'am!" Spike responded by saluting her like a soldier. A little habit he got from playing with Shining Armor from time to time. Twilight watched Spike pick up the notebook where she prepared lessons in form of little chapters. "Here!" he said pointing to the filled in blanks, small equations, history questions. Twilight prepared each chapter questions for each subject, according to Spike's age.

"Very well," Twilight said picking the notebook. "I'm going to check the answers, ok?"

The second stage of each of these chapters was correcting them, the wrong answers he would need to redo. But the second time around was with Twilight's help. If Spike scored less than 40%, he would need to redo everything. However, Spike was really smart, therefore, he still hadn't been through that. "You only missed..." Twilight raised her eyes to Spike, who had a confused look on his face. "Nothing! Good job!"

"YES!" Spike celebrated making his chair spin around.

"Here it is," Twilight said, pulling out the comic book she bought for him from her bag. The princess gave Twilight an allowance to spend on research materials and entertainment. Not to mention that, since Twilight's mom was the royal seamstress, Twilight had clothes specially tailored for her and for Spike. "Enjoy your reading," Twilight said placing the comic in front of him and patting Spike on the head.

"Thanks, Twi!" Spike exclaimed, then he took the comic and ran to a little chair by the window. He always went there when he wanted to read something that wasn't related to his studies.

*KNOCK, KNOCK*

"Coming!" Twilight said, heading to the front door. She wasn't the most sociable of ponies, but a lot of her colleagues came by to ask for help or to borrow books. Opening the front door, she was greeted by a mint colored unicorn. "Lyra! Hello there. How you've been doing?"

"Great!" Lyra said, giving a hug to Twilight that she wasn't expecting. "You have no idea how much those notes helped in my thesis," she said breaking the gesture. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind going over some materials with me?"

"Why not?" Twilight answered moving out of the way. "Come on in!"

"Hey, Lyra!" Spike said waving at them. "Nice to see you!"

"Nice to see you too Spike," Lyra answered, most of Twilight's colleagues knew about Spike. Even though most ponies were afraid of dragons, Twilight only had problems with some of them, the nobles. Nobility was a pain in her flank ever since she was taken in as the Princess's protégé. "Say, Twi. Have you tried to enroll Spike in any of the schools around here? You're his legal guardian, you should be able to do that. Not to mention the little guy is really smart."

"I can manage on my own," Twilight replied. As a matter of fact, she did try to enroll him. However, the nobles opposed, arguing that dangerous creature like dragons should be kept on a leash. "Thanks for the concern. What do you need?"

"I just wanted to take a look at the original materials," Twilight raised an eyebrow at that. "Something has been bugging me."

"What is it?" Twilight asked offering Lyra a place to sit. "Everything should be there."

"It's just," Lyra bit her lip. "I think it's strange that there are no comparisons between our anatomy and the human's anatomy on the research you gave me. It's completely focused on them," Twilight started to get a bit nervous. "I began to wonder, are there no notes regarding the similarities between them and us?"

"I-I'll check if there are. There was so much material. Maybe I let one slip by," Twilight left the room as calmly as she could. Reaching the area where her bed and Spike's bed were, Twilight took the notes she made comparing the two species. Using an advanced spell, Twilight made the notes look like they belonged to the original ones. 'Lyra may not have the same level of expertise as me when it comes to casting. But thanks to that friend Bon-bon, she's got a real knack for getting suspicious over small details. She defends the idea of keeping humans into their realms. If she figures Arden was a human, she might try to send him back before I can run experiments on him! I want that data!'

Once she had finish producing the counterfeits, Twilight returned to the room where Lyra was reading some of Twilight's books. Before Lyra could notice Twilight was back, Twilight tried to calm herself as to not raise any suspicion.

"Here Lyra," Twilight said, showing the counterfeits. "It seems I left them inside one of my notebooks. I was checking them the day we talked to you. That's probably why they weren't with the ones I gave you."

Lyra took the notes and started to analyze them. Twilight crossed her fingers behind her back, begging that Lyra bought the lie. 'Come on! Just tell me everything is in order!'

"Thank you, Twilight!" Lyra exclaimed, which lead to Twilight let out a sigh of relief. "I was bit curious why his study was so focused on them. I guess he just wanted to get as much data on the other species first."

"Y-yeah, that must be it," Twilight said sitting down. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, this was pretty much it," Lyra said heading to the front door. "Are you sure you don't want help with the school thing?"

"Thanks, but I'm good," Twilight said forcing a smile. She had managed so far. 'Why start to rely on a school now? This way I can keep watch over him. Spike is my responsibility, I'll make sure he becomes the most knowledgeable dragon ever!'

With that, Lyra left the library. Twilight felt the tension go away the moment Lyra closed the front door. 'I don't need this kind of stuff happening at the beginning of my day!' Twilight got on her hooves and went to get a book, something to distract herself with. She settled for one of the Daring Do novels. Then she went to a big puff cushion she had near a big window where she usually watched the night sky. After half an hour of reading, Twilight felt something by her side. Looking away from her book, Twilight saw Spike laying by her side half-asleep.

'Lets' get you to bed. You spent the last night reading those comics, didn't you?' Twilight thought, getting back on her hooves and lifting him with her magic. Then she placed him on her arms and carried the sleeping dragon to their room. 'Rest now. I'm going to prepare some lessons for you later.' She thought, carefully placing the dragon on his bed and covering him with a blanket.

"Time for some study sessions!" Twilight exclaimed in a low tone, then she pranced away to her books.

(Everfree, during these events)

"Zecora, wake up, zebra!" She called out, shaking Zecora.

Chrysalis had woken up a few minutes ago, but she had been in a panic since she opened her eyes. Based on the light outside she and Zecora had overslept, and on top of that, Arden was nowhere to be seen. Chrysalis searched around the hut, there was no sign of him. She did find some tracks leading away from the hut, that's why she was trying to wake Zecora up.

"What is it Chrysalis?" Zecora asked, her eyes still opening and her voice drowsy. Chrysalis used a little spell to shock the Zebra forcing her to wake up faster. "Why did you do that?!"

"Arden is missing!" The zebra got dressed in a matter of seconds. Chrysalis got on her hooves and headed to the door. "I saw some tracks outside." All Chrysalis saw after that was a black and white blur darting around. Suddenly, the blur started to run deeper into the forest, Chrysalis stretched her wings and gave chase to Zecora.

'She wasn't this fast the past few days, or when she hunted me. Was she holding back?' Chrysalis thought, making her wing move even faster. The scenery started to change, Chrysalis recognized their path, it led to the ruins they were using. Since she was distracted by the realization, Chrysalis didn't notice that Zecora had stopped running. Which led to Chrysalis crashing into Zecora and both of them rolling for a bit.

"Don't stop out of nowhere!" Chrysalis said rubbing her head. "If I was going faster I could have hurt you!"

"An accident this was! No intention of getting hurt this one has," Zecora replied getting on her hooves before helping Chrysalis up. "Split up we must. No stone shall be left unturned."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Chrysalis replied brushing off the dust. "Which way are you going?"

"I'll check the library," Zecora replied.

"I guess I'll do some air reconnaissance," Chrysalis said, stretching her wings she took to the sky.

Looking down from the sky, Chrysalis now had a decent notion about the size of the original castle. 'If it were to be completely restored, I bet this could be a basis for a small nation,' she thought, her attention was then diverted to some of the crumbling towers. Most of the tower's walls were destroyed, but there were some that still stood with some of its original might. Inside one of them, Chrysalis saw somepony sitting by the window. Legs dangling by the edge, Chrysalis flew up to the figure. It was Arden, he was covered in sweat and stared at the horizon.

Up from that tower, it really was a sight to behold. Looking at the horizon, the foot of the mountain created the illusion of the sun slowly rising and peeking from the sides of the mountain. Looking up, the sight of the royal palace reflecting the sunbeams. 'Yeah, with some work. This place could be a home to my kind. Even if we feed off love, we still require water. Something scarce in the desert. Around here, however, we could have a decent supply. The proximity to cities could be of great use to our feedings.'

"So, this is where you went to hide," Chrysalis said creeping up on Arden. "The zebra almost had a heart attack."

"I guarantee that it was nowhere close as to what I felt when I woke up," he answered getting on his hooves. 'Damn it, I was hoping he was too drowsy to notice us.' Chrysalis thought, biting her lip she started to think up an excuse. "I won't say it was unpleasant to feel Zecora snuggling, or you. But it was unexpected." Chrysalis felt her blood rush to her head. She remembered falling asleep, not snuggling with him.

"W-winter is coming around," Chrysalis started, she was going to lie her way out of this without batting an eye, "And there is only one bed. Therefore, Zecora and I agreed that it would be best to sleep together to keep our temperature. And since you were occupying the only bed we had no choice but to lay there with you." Chrysalis earned a pat on her shoulder as Arden walked by her. "I assure you. If it wasn't for the cold, I wouldn't be in the same room as you while I sleep."

"That's not what your smile pointed out," Chrysalis tried her best to come up with a reply to that, none came. "Not to mention I had to free my arm from your grip."

"I-I-I forbid you of speaking of this to anypony!" Chrysalis stuttered, trying her best to sound imposing.

"Don't worry your majesty. I don't even know what we were talking about in the first place." Arden replied, raising his arms,

"What's with the attitude?" Chrysalis asked. He was a pest most of the time, but this was on a new level.

"I'm just tired," he said leaving the room, Chrysalis followed. "I'm up since before the sun came out. And I've been working here since. I guess this is my grumpy side."

"I see," Chrysalis replied. The stallion led her through a maze of corridors and hallways. It took them a few minutes to be outside again, it didn't take more than a mere instant for Arden to be tackled down by Zecora.

Chrysalis smirked. "You see what I mean now?"

"Don't you dare disappear again!" Zecora exclaimed shaking Arden up and down. "Keep scaring this one like this is unacceptable!" she scolded with a scowl. "Why must you keep doing this?!" Zecora's voice started to crack at this point. "The cerulean was the first being to talk to this one in years. You accepted this one's help without hesitation. You didn't judge this one based on her species!"

"Sorry for worrying you," Arden replied, looking down at the ground. 'His tone changed, strange.'

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" Zecora shot back, Chrysalis saw the zebra angry before, but this was different, "You almost get killed by wolves! Then you forgive this one for giving up on you when she thought you were dead! Not to mention all the scares you gave this one during your sessions! Then there is the poison vine from yesterday! And now this? The stallion could have fallen prey to Timberwolves, manticores, or even a basilisk! What then?!"

"I'm sorry," he said again, his attitude took a complete one-eighty.

"This one is not satisfied with 'sorry'!" Zecora cried. "T-this one refuses to let the one she grew to care about being in harm's way! T-this one can't bear the thought of the stallion leaving her alone again!" Chrysalis saw Arden's ears perk up. "The unicorn has to promise to stop doing this!"

"Very well," Arden responded, Chrysalis saw a smile form on his face. "I promise not to be reckless and head into situations I know I cannot handle," Chrysalis saw Zecora's expression soften hearing those words. Suddenly, the stallion pulled Zecora into an embrace, that's when Chrysalis heard him say. "I promise that you'll never be alone again. And that I'll never leave you."

'That project of a male actually came forth, kinda.' Chrysalis thought, looking at the two she saw Zecora's eyes widen. Then they filled up with tears, she returned the embrace. Chrysalis then saw the love energy emitting from Arden, it was huge. 'Might as well...' Opening her mouth, Chrysalis took a bit of the energy. 'It changed again! It's...sweet, with a very small touch of salt. It wasn't like this yesterday. Did It change when he got closer to Zecora? It's certainly stronger than before. If that's the case, I wonder how strong would his energy get if got him closer to other beings.'

Chrysalis got back from her thoughts, the two lovebirds were still hugging each other. Chrysalis felt a stinging sensation on her chest. 'What is this? Did I hurt myself? It has been a while since I used my wings to fly that high, or that fast for that matter. Maybe my heart wasn't ready for that much exercise.' she thought, then she decided to do something about the couple.

"Gee, If you two don't have any sort of decency you can do it here," Chrysalis said with a smirk. "But I'm pretty sure there are some rooms here where you could get some privacy. Not that you would know how to court a lady, commoner."

Zecora got on her hooves like a flash, her face red as a tomato. Chrysalis held back her laugh, then she saw Arden. The stallion was slowly getting on his hooves, he had a small smile on his face. After he was up, he turned to Chrysalis. 'What's with that look?'

"Zecora," He started. "I think she also needs a hug!" Arden continued, his smile grew. Looking back at Zecora, Chrysalis also saw her smiling.

"N-no I don't!" Chrysalis replied slowly backing away. Suddenly, she felt her body lift off the ground, the unicorn's horn was lit up. "Don't you dare!" Chrysalis saw the two of them look at each other, a mischievous smile on both their faces. "Stop at this moment!"

They got closer. "I'm warning you!"

They hugged her, Chrysalis thought of getting away from their grip. That thought, however, faded after a few seconds. That was the first time she shared that gesture with another being while in her true form. The first time she had such close contact with other beings. And they weren't scared, they did it on their own.

'This...this is nice. And warm. I could get used to this.' Chrysalis thought, closing her eyes she just let herself enjoy that moment.

"Told you she needed a hug as well," Chrysalis's eyes shot open, her blood rushed to her head once again. Her horn began to build up magic. 'I'm going to teach this idiot a lesson he won't forget!'

"Z, RUN!" the unicorn exclaimed darting away. Zecora did the same, Chrysalis' wings started to move. She took off giving the two creatures chase.

"I AM GOING TO TEACH YOU NOT TO MESS WITH A QUEEN!" Chrysalis exclaimed. It took a few minutes, but she actually started to enjoy their little game of tag. 'I haven't felt this much thrill since I ran away from the hive! Let's take this up a notch!'

(Meanwhile, Canterlot, royal guard's barracks)

"Have you noticed that the Princess been very upbeat these past two days?" one of the guards asked Shining Armor. " One of the guards stationed by the gardens swears she saw the princess prancing around yesterday!"

Murmurs about the princess had been going around ever since she released the supposed 'sexual offender'. And since Shining Armor was the one in charge, and the one closest to Celestia because of it. He had been asked about the princess time and time again.

"I'm pretty sure she's just having a nice day private," Shining replied. "She may be a princess and possesses godly power, but she still a subject to emotions. Therefore, we will see her be sad, happy, maybe even prancing around. And considering the fact she's been keeping a facade of 'I'm perfect' for as long as I've been alive. I'll just say that I'm happy that she is acting more openly."

"With all due respect sir," the lieutenant said in response. "Aren't you at least bit curious as to who that stallion was? Or why the princess was so happy? There is even talk of a possible relationship between her and the stallion." Shining let out a sigh when he heard that.

"I think that we should mind our own business," Shining replied. He had heard these rumors before, and every time he would remember the look on Celestia's face when Candance explained what the unicorn could do. It was a look of hope and realization, not love. 'It was the same feeling I got from Twilight every time she learned a new spell back when she was preparing o her entrance exam. I highly doubt she would fall for a guy that came out of nowhere when she passed all these years on her own.' "If the princess found somepony, we should just leave her be. She is free to be with whoever she wants to be."

"Aren't you even a tiny bit curious?" That private was his protégé, but sometimes she got on Shining's nerves. "I mean, even Spitfire was spreading some rumors about a wedding. Are you really going to say that this gossip doesn't affect you?"

Shining was surprised to hear the wedding bit. 'Okay, that's gotta be the greatest stretch these ponies made so far. I really hope this dies down, otherwise, the nobles might get the wrong idea. I would hate to be in Arden's hooves if the nobles caught wind of this rumor.'

"No, Private Storm Chaser," he replied to the young pegasus, she really needed some discipline. But she showed promise as an aerial soldier, not fast enough to be a Wonder Bolt, but she had more than enough to be a high ranking officer once she had proper training. The pegasus was a junior soldier, she would become part of the official army once she became of age. "I am not affected by this gossip. Neither should you, considering I just disarmed you without you even noticing." Shining showed the pegasus her sword.

"And as for the wedding, I bet that just rumors and misunderstood facts. I mean, as far as I know, Princess Celestia only showed interest in one stallion in these past forty years. The earth pony that scored the 3500 points. And if I remember correctly, he stated that she reached out to him as a sparring partner." That was the biggest gossip around town when Shining Armor was just a colt. He remembered getting angry at some guards for being so engrossed in the gossip instead of paying attention to their jobs.

"I guess it makes sense, the princess never struck me as the romantic type," Storm replied, taking her sword and reattaching to her hip.

"Good that you're back to your senses," Shining Armor said with a smirk. "And as a little punishment for letting your guard down. You'll be polishing helmets until 12:00 PM." The pegasus ears and wings dropped. "Now go on, soldier. You have your orders."

"Yes, sir..." Storm replied walking away. Shining let out a sigh. 'She is just like Twilight when it comes to being scolded. Let's motivate her a bit.'

"Do your job well and you'll get some combat practice later today!" Shining saw the pegasus' ears perk up. Storm turned around and gave a lively salute before zooming away. "And the excitement is evenly matched," he mumbled to himself. Those features were probably the reason he took Storm as his protégé. Twilight wasn't meant to be a soldier, but Storm was. Shining saw a lot of his sister and himself on that trouble-maker, and he was determined to make her the best soldier he could.

'Who knows? I might be looking at the next captain of the royal guard. And I wouldn't hold it against her if she were to take my place one day. I would be very proud of her actually.'

And with that Shining took off to see how the security teams were doing. 'They better not be fooling around with this gossip as well. If they are, I'll have them be in charge of accompanying Blueblood for a month. That ought to teach them to not mess around while on the job!'

(Everfree, at noon)

'Okay, I think I lost her.' Arden thought. Since there was nopony to help him when he woke up, Arden went to the ruins and did some basic exercises until he reached his limit. After that, Arden went to explore the castle. That place was filled with secret passageways and trapdoors. Arden learned a few of those locations and was trying to use them to lose Chrysalis. She started to use barriers to try to back Arden into a corner, luckily he had been able to evade her.

One thing he found odd while escaping Chrysalis, who seemed to be having fun with the chase, was the fact that Zecora was nowhere to be seen. Anyway, the unicorn seemed to have caught a break. He sat down by a wall to rest, he had been on the run for quite a while.

'I wonder where Z is. Maybe Chrysalis caught her?' Arden thought, messing around with the pendant of his necklace he waited for a few minutes. 'I better get moving before she finds me again. Chrysalis was enjoying herself, let's see how long I can keep this going.'

Carefully walking through the tunnel he had snuck into, Arden found an exit. It led to what seemed to be the old main hall of the castle, ruined tapestries hanged on the walls. Paintings ruined by time and the elements were knocked down, old statues covered in moss, fungus, and vegetation crawling up the walls. Creating a beautiful painting of a world forgotten, of a time that became folklore.

Arden began to imagine the princesses' subjects filling these halls. Ponies gathering to see the sunrise, to see the night coming. Soldiers standing guard by the halls, politic figures coming forth to seek an audience with the rulers of the sun and moon. He walked up the steps that led to a small platform that gave vision to the entire room. There were marks of a strong impact there, shards of glass scattered around the floor. Whatever happened there required a big impact to have caused that much damage.

The sound of rocks moving, pebbles hitting the ground. The sound of something sharp scratching the stone walls echoed through the empty halls. 'Am I facing the predator? Or the alien?' Arden thought, searching as fast as he could for a place to hide. Just as he went through a door, his right leg got caught in a trap. Arden was lifted from the ground and hung upside down.

"Really?!" Arden heard from behind him. "You caught him before me?!" That was Chrysalis' voice.

"This one told the Changeling traps would work better than a direct approach," Arden heard, emerging from the shadows a smirking Zecora came out. She looked very pleased with the results of her trap. "A wise hunter prepares and then waits for its prey to appear. Wandering aimlessly, unnecessary noise generates." she continued, getting closer to her prey.

"I know, I know," Chrysalis replied dismissingly, "I should have tried to use my magic to set traps instead of crawling around."

"Well," Arden finally said, he was still spinning around. "I'm glad to see that I managed to settle who has the best strategy for hunting ponies. Since when did you two start working together to catch me?"

"Since I hit Zecora with a paralyzing spell and proposed a bet," Chrysalis explained, "you look ridiculous right now, did you know that?" Chrysalis asked, smiling.

"Pardon my curiosity, but what did you two bet? Actually, before you tell me that. Could you please let me down?" Arden asked with his arms hanging. Arden saw Zecora and Chrysalis trade glances, they nodded to each other. 'What are these two planning?'

"Sorry, but this is between the Changeling and this one," Zecora replied. "Chrysalis could you please cut him loose?"

"You know you could mess around with him while he is like this, right?" Chrysalis asked. That remark earned a frown from Zecora. "Alright," the Changeling continued letting out a sigh. Her horn lit up, Arden looked up at the rope and saw a glowing green blade float above him and cut down the rope. Arden expected to land face first into the ground, however, much to his surprise, Chrysalis kept him from face-planting and placed him on his hooves.

"Thank you," Arden said brushing off the dust from his pants.

"Let's just head back to the hut," Chrysalis said turning her back to them. "I think we had plenty of fun today, right?"

"I guess so," Arden mumbled scratching the back of his head. 'What did they bet? Should I be worried?'

"Learning how to evade pursuers you practiced today. Bad at fighting you may be, but at hiding, you excel." Zecora said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"I-I was caught nevertheless," Arden replied, trying to keep his composure.

"And teaches you that one can't stay in the defensive for too long. Outsmarted you may be," Zecora said winking once at him. "The hunter may become the prey if they linger in a comfortable position for too long."

'Another day, another lesson learned I guess.' Arden thought, following the two mares that left him behind. 'One day I'm going to best those two, you can bet on that.'

The rest of his way wasn't any problem, nothing particularly interesting happened during lunch either. Arden did notice that both Chrysalis and Zecora were whispering and that Chrysalis had a dissatisfied look on her face through most of her path. Arden also noticed that during lunch, Chrysalis had her horn lit up most of the time, but nothing was happening to him, Zecora, or to any object around him.

'Just what did they bet?'

(While Arden was completely oblivious to their discussion)

"Do I really need to do this?" Chrysalis whispered to Zecora, Chrysalis was trying her best to make the zebra drop the bet.

"Yes, you do," Zecora replied, earning an annoyed groan from the Queen. "You should have thought of that before bringing up the idea."

"Can't you let it slide?" Chrysalis begged. "Knowing his attitude I'll never hear the end of it. Please! Or at least make me do something else."

Chrysalis was not happy in the slightest. She was sure that she would win the bet and make Zecora all flustered for nothing. The idea was to get a laugh at the zebra's expense, not to be the joke.

"You knew the risks when you bet changing into this one's form and flirting around with the stallion if you won," Zecora responded with a coy tone. "Now, you'll have to pay the price of your loss."

'How did I lose?! Damn it! I don't want to do this!' Chrysalis thought.

The group reached the hut, Chrysalis looked over her shoulder and saw that Arden had his eyes locked on them. But based on his expression, he had no clue about what they were talking. Heading inside, Chrysalis used her horn and used a similar spell from when she met Arden. That spell allowed her to communicate with one being of her choice. If the creature in question didn't have any sort of wards protecting its mind, Chrysalis could force the connection. But if it did, she would need the creature's consent to do so.

'Please, I'll grovel just to avoid doing this.'

'No, you will do this. This one can't wait to see your face and his as well.'

'You're evil. Do you know that?'

'Just as bad as this one needs to be.'

The conversation between the two continued. From what Chrysalis gathered, Zecora was having the time of her life. But she wasn't going to give in, Chrysalis continued even when they were eating. However, as soon as they finished eating their regular meal, Chrysalis finally accepted she had to do it. Erasing Zecora's memory of the bet wouldn't work since Arden knew about the fact. If he was to ask again what they put on the line, Arden would know something was off the moment Zecora's answer was out.

"This one shall prepare some extra potions before the session," Zecora started, getting on her hooves she headed to the cauldron. "Pass your time as you will."

'Subtle as an elephant.' Chrysalis thought. It was time to pay the stupid bill she set up. Chrysalis got up and walked to Arden's side, the unicorn was too distracted making a cup spin around in the air to notice her. She sat down by his side and tapped his shoulder, Arden jumped a little and dropped the empty cup on the table.

"Um, do you need something?" Arden asked. He looked surprised and a bit concerned with how close Chrysalis was.

"I..." Chrysalis was swallowing her pride to pay that bet, she gave her word. And unless Zecora said she didn't have to do it, she would see it through. "Arden, could you please feed me?" Chrysalis saw Arden tilt his head when she mentioned his name.

"S-sure," he seemed to be thrown off by her being so polite, "go ahead." Hearing those words chrysalis leaned on him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Um, w-what are you doing?"

"I'm a bit dizzy. Do you mind if I lean?" Chrysalis asked in a soft and gentle tone.

"N-no problem..."

"Could you be so kind as to sing one song while I eat?" Chrysalis felt him shifting a bit, then she heard him whisper.

"You're paying the bet, aren't you?" Chrysalis nodded very slowly. "Very well, I'll play along." Arden pushed her to the side for a moment and changed his position. Sitting further away, Arden then rested Chrysalis' on his leg in a manner that she would be looking at the ceiling. "If you're dizzy, you should lay down for a while. This should do the trick."

Chrysalis could see the smoke produced by Zecora's potion brewing. She could also see the stallion with his eyes closed as he was trying to think. Chrysalis opened her mouth and started to feed off of him.

"I remembered a song. I hope it's to your liking." Arden said opening his eyes and looking at her.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX44CAz-JhU

The moment the song started playing, Chrysalis noticed something unusual. Arden's blue iris was flashing, Chrysalis closed her mouth for a second. The flashing disappeared, opening it again the flashes reappeared. When Arden's mouth began moving, Chrysalis saw another unusual thing. The pink energy from him moved on its own, it took shape, her shape. The world around her became slightly dark, the walls changed. Chrysalis recognized this place, it was the hive.

Then Chrysalis saw the pink energy look around, it looked scared. Chrysalis remembered this, the smoke from the potion brewing started to move. It took the shape of her mother's drones, Chrysalis saw the pink form run away. The smoke gave chase, the music kept going as the chase progressed. Suddenly Chrysalis saw the pink energy make its way out of the hive and into the open, it continued to run. But one of the grey smoke creatures caught her, Chrysalis saw the number those creatures increase.

At this point, it was obvious what was going to happen. She was going to be caught. 'Is this what will happen to me?' Chrysalis started to close her eyes and paid attention to the lyrics.

"(I'm) out of my head
Of my heart, and my mind
'Cause you can run
But you can't hide
I'm gonna make you mine

Out of my head
Of my heart, and my mind
'Cause I can feel how your flesh
Now is crying out for more"

Those words sent a shiver down her spine. When the feeling settled down she heard a growl, it sounded like a wolf. Paying more attention to her surroundings, Chrysalis saw the pink energy being dragged away by a wolf-like creature made out of a black fog. This creature had Arden's eyes when he was using his talent, the creature with white pawns left the pink figure against some rocks and snarled at it. Almost as if it was ordering it to stay put, then the wolf turned to the smoke creatures. They got closer, but the black wolf grew. It slowly marched towards the smoke, its shape shifted into a familiar form.

The wolf shifted into Arden's form, but something was different. His teeth were sharp, his gaze was that of a wild animal protecting its food. He lunged at the creatures. After four or five of the smoke creatures were killed by the frenzied stallion, they started to retreat, hissing and cursing they ran away. Around that moment, the words that made the wolf appear in the first place started to repeat in a loop.

That's when Chrysalis saw it, the stallion turned around to face the pink figure. His eyes were scaring her, Arden's eyes were locked on the figure, he slowly made his way towards her. What once were two rocks standing behind the figure, now were walls that prevented her from running away from Arden. He didn't pick up the pace, Arden just moved towards her with those crazy eyes.

Then just as the song finished repeating the verses 'Cause I can feel how your flesh, Now is crying out for more.' Chrysalis witnessed the stallion lunge at the figure. The most unsettling about it, though, was the fact that at that moment. Her point of view was replaced by the pink figure's. The last thing she saw was the stallion lunging at her with those eyes filled with a predator's desire.

Chrysalis got up in half a second gasping for air. She checked her throat, her torso, her face. Chrysalis looked for any signs of being hurt.

'W-what was that? I-is that another aspect of his talent?'

"Are you okay?" Chrysalis heard from behind her. Turning around she saw Arden, who was closer to her with a concerned look on his face. The sight of his eyes made her flashback to the moment in the vision where Arden lunged at her. But instead of fear, Chrysalis felt her heart race, blood rush to her head, and her breathing accelerate. Her initial impulse was to go forward, however, Chrysalis backed away nodding positively. "Are you sure?" She repeated the gesture. "Okay then..."

'Just what was that?! And why aren't I afraid of that sight? He killed those changelings. Then he looked at me like I was food! Why am I not afraid?! What did he do?' Chrysalis rushed back to her side of the table.

As she sat down, Chrysalis saw the sword resting there. She looked into the hilt, there was a single rune struggling to be written. This rune appeared to be only a fragment of the whole thing, therefore, there wasn't a way to tell what it did. What was curious about it was the fact that the rune appeared to move forward, but something erased any progress made by it.

'Whatever it was, it won't progress until he gets over that issue of his.'

Arden was humming as he untied Nightmare from her binds, again. The room was still there, the door outside as well. As far as he knew, nothing changed since his last visit there. Which was a huge letdown, and made him want to punch one of the walls. That pony form told him to get rid of something, but what? There wasn't anything there, the only thing that could be removed from there was Nightmare.

"I see that this room hasn't changed much," Nightmare said, rubbing her wrists she got back on her hooves. "Nothing except for that," she continued pointing at a wall.

Arden turned around to see what she was talking about, there was a piece of paper almost the same color as the wall. No surprise that he didn't notice it there at first.

"How did you see that?" Arden asked heading to the note.

"Well, foolish mortal. I cannot comprehend how you could not see a bright blue paper in a black and white wall!" Arden tilted his head at that statement.

"I'm sorry, did you just say that this place is black and white?" Arden asked looking around, from day one that the room appeared the place was bright blue. Not black and white.

"Have you become deaf?"

"No, it's just..." Arden said looking around him. "This place looks bright blue to me," He said before looking at the note in his hands.

"What does it say?"

"Since you're never going to figure this out on your own, I decided to leave a note. That friend of yours might be able to notice something out of place here, find it and you'll find a hidden door. Go through it, each door will have a little challenge for you to overcome. Clear them and you get closer to the room where I placed the answer. They were not part of the original puzzle, I added them so you could figure out the first step before coming after me. That way you won't waste your time trying to kill somepony who keeps coming back. Another thing you gain from this..." Arden stopped reading for a moment, he didn't want to read that part and upset Nightmare.

"What is it? Why did you stop?"

"Another thing you gain from this is some time to bond with that mare that you're so fond of. The one with black coat and mane made out of stars. The one that spent most of your last session giving a pep-talk." Arden finished reading the front page of the letter. Flipping the note he saw a bunch of topics.

"Here are some rules you'll need pay heed. All rooms have the required gear for you to overcome the trial, the gear will be yours once you're through with the trial. Do not dismiss any gear, for items like swords or other things will not reappear in other rooms, living beings that aid you in the trial disappear after you're done with the room. Second, your friend needs to be with you every single room. Third, do not linger in the same room for too long, you will know that you overstayed your welcome if you hear a very distinct noise."—That part sounded familiar.—"This is everything so far, if need be I'll send more of these your way. Have a nice time with your..."

"Your?" Nightmare asked. Arden didn't look back at her while he read all that. But he was sure she was furious.

"He called you my...er..." Arden kept trying to find the courage to say what he wrote. "You don't want to know," Arden concluded tearing up the paper.

"Was it really that bad?" Arden turned back to look at her, she was right behind him. Her cheeks were blushing a bit, that slight blue color taking over. She was fidgeting a little and wouldn't look him in the eye. "Well, peasant?"

"Considerably," Arden replied looking around. "Your Highness, can you see anything off about this place?"

"What do you mean?"

"Anything that seems out of place, like the note I just tore apart."

"Let me look around," Nightmare said turning away quickly. She wandered around the room, examining the walls, floor, and ceiling. It took a few moments but she finally stopped in front of a wall. Nightmare pushed the wall, then the sound of metal an gears spinning started to echo around the room. "I think I solved your puzzle."

"I believe you did," Arden replied looking around, the sound was louder right behind where he was. Looking at the sound's origin Arden saw a door being formed. "And you found our way to proceed."

The door led to a giant cave filled with sand. The only source of light was the sun rays coming from a huge circular hole in the cave's ceiling. Arden looked around searching for anything that would give him a hint about the place. That's when he saw it, at the very center of the room there were four things: A black horse equipped with a saddle, a sheeted blade, a weirdly colored bow, and a quiver filled with arrows.

'Please don't tell me I am where I think I am.' Arden thought. Cautiously moving through the place, he headed towards the gear. Nightmare was right behind him, Arden reached for the sword. 'Please don do what I think you do.' Arden unsheeted the blade, the dark sword reflected the light coming from the ceiling. Then Arden held it up, the sunbeams reflected the light creating a huge circle.

"Moon," Arden said as quietly as he could turning towards Nightmare. "Get on the horse's back."

He earned a slap on the face for that. "I don't know who do you think you're speaking to, but I AM NOT that kind of mare!" Nightmare shouted, her voice echoed around the cavern. Arden gestured her to tone it down and pushed the bow into her. "No! I will not lower my tone! I am the mistress of the night! True ruler of Equestria! I will not ride any stallion just because a lowly mortal told me to!"

"First of all, this is a female," Arden said getting up on the mare's back after securing the sword on his hip. "Secondly, if you don't get on her back you're going to die. Unless you can outrun a giant sand-monster." Arden saw Nightmare's eye twitch at the sight of him on the mare's back.

"T-that is even worse! What do you think you're doing on her back?! That indecent! Get off her now this instant!" At this moment Arden saw the sand moving. Completely ignoring Nightmare's rant, Arden spurred the horse to move. Reaching out he picked up Nightmare and placed her behind him. In the middle of her panic, she grabbed hold of Arden dropping the bow in the sand. "W-what do you think you're doing?! Stop this now!"

"Look behind you mistress! I'm pretty sure that thing doesn't want to chat!" Arden exclaimed looking behind them. A pair of giant red eyes were giving chase to them, around the eyes, structures that looked like they were made of stone. "Where is the bow? Shoot it in the eyes!"

"I dropped the bow when you pulled me here!"

"You got to be kidding me!" Arden said steering the horse around a stalagmite, giving him some room between them and the monster. "Use your wings! Get to the bow and the arrows then come back here!"

"Why?!"

"Just trust me on this one! I know what I'm doing!" Arden screamed, then he heard the sound of wings flapping. He was on his own again. "Okay! Now fucking focus on steering her! Steering a walking horse on a ranch during a school trip is way easier than this! C'mon Agro, help me out here girl!" Arden said to the horse, trying his best to keep his balance and the distance between himself and a giant sand monster. "Did it have to be Dirge? I would rather take on Phalanx!"

The giant started to close in on them, Arden tried to outmaneuver the creature. But his lack of experience made it rather difficult. Dirge kept closing in fast, Arden was ready to be knocked off Agro's back when something flew by his head and Dirge started to make some weird noises.

"Missed me?" Arden heard as something landed on Agro's back.

"You have no clue!"

"What now?"

"I'm going to lead it towards one of the walls. You shoot the eyes when I give you the signal."

"But I already took one of its eyes out!"

"It's already back! That creature has magical powers, unless I strike the sigils on its body with the sword I have it won't die!"

"Very well!"

Arden steered Agro around as precisely as he could, then he gave out the loudest whistle he could. Dirge turned around and gave chase once again, this time it was moving way faster. The extra weight on Agro slowed her down, the sand snake made its head peeking out of the dunes as he was getting closer.

"Come on girl! Just a bit faster!" Arden mumbled, he was heading straight to a wall. Dirge wasn't far behind. "Moon get ready!" Arden heard the bowstring stretching behind him. "NOW!" Arden heard the arrow being fired, then the same sound from before came from Dirge. The snake kept moving forward while Arden led Agro to the side, the sound of a huge impact made him jump off the horse's back.

Running as fast as he could Arden headed towards the monster. 'First the tail, then the head. MOVE IT ARDEN!' Arden leaped on the giant's tail, the sword on his hip started to resonate and a sigil appeared on the colossus' body. Arden pulled the sword and stabbed multiple times, black blood spilled out of the wounds until the sigil was gone. Leaping off the creature's body, Arden landed poorly rolling like a ragdoll he quickly got back on his hooves and yelled.

"AGRO!" He started running, suddenly he saw Agro running by his side. Arden reached for Nightmare's hand and was pulled on to Agro's back. "One more time, Moon!"

The process repeated itself, Dirge tried to close in on them. Nightmare prepared another shot. This time, however, she missed due to the creature moving sideways. Dirge got to them, Arden was launched off Agro's back and hit the ground hard. Getting up as fast as he could, Arden saw that Nightmare dropped the bow again during the attack. Agro was near Nightmare and the serpent was heading towards them, Picking up the bow he whistled again. Dirge changed its target and headed towards Arden.

Picking up the three arrows that fell off the quiver, Arden held one in his left hand. The other two he buried their heads on the sand making them stand up straight. Then he tried to prepare one shot, he fired it without need and it was a miserable attempt. Pulling the second arrow he did the same thing, but he held the bow horizontally so that the arrow wouldn't move. 'Whatever star has been watching over me up to this point, please help me fire this thing.' Ardent thought, that was his first time wielding a bow.

Dirge showed his face, Arden pulled the arrow and aimed. Once he believed he had his target, Arden let the arrow loose. The projectile flew through the air, Arden picked the next arrow hoping that if the first shot missed he would have another chance. He didn't need to, whatever lucky star he had, it was still watching over him. The arrow hit its target, and as soon as it did Arden was lifted off the ground. Looking up he saw Nightmare steering Agro while they barely dodged Dirge's attack.

Arden jumped off Agro again and ran towards the creature's head. He struck the creature three times before the sigil disappeared. The creature howled in pain as it shook its body, that made Arden lose his footing and fall off head first into the sand. That was when he blacked out.

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" He heard as his consciousness returned. What he saw was Nightmare desperately shaking him, the sand arena was gone. They were in a room that resembled the safe zone Arden would always start at the beginning of his sessions. The only difference being that it was smaller. "Don't you dare scare your queen like that! You idiotic peasant!"

"S-sorry," Arden stuttered, he got on his hooves and looked around. "Where are we?"

"After you killed that sand creature, Agro, and the entire room changed into this."

"What about the bow and the sword?"

"They..." Nightmare bit her lip, she looked concerned. "They fused into your arms and then disappeared." Arden looked at his upper limbs, they were exactly as before. Arden moved his hand imagining the sword, then his hand took the shape of a blade. Arden lost his concentration and the blade disappeared, he imagined the bow. The weapon appeared.

"This is crazy," Arden said looking at the transformed limb.

"That was a good shot, for a novice."

"That was a lucky shot," Arden replied, the world around him started to fade. "See you tomorrow?"

"Why would you see me?"

"Because I can't move forward without you," Arden saw Nightmare's cheek blush and her wings shot open. "Bye!"

"This one apologizes for pushing you to do that," Zecora said bowing, she had been concerned with the Changeling since Chrysalis got up from Arden's singing in a panic. Zecora wanted to prank her, not put her in that state.

"No need," Chrysalis replied. "I think I saw one of the things he might be able to do once he gets over this issue."

Zecora's ears perked up at that statement. "What did you see?"

"Some sort of vision of him fighting off multiple Changelings before he attacked me like he was some kind of wild wolf."

"What do you believe that means?"

"I'm not sure," Chrysalis continued. "I guess I won't know until we actually get him to be completely healed."

"Really?" Zecora asked turning her attention to the stallion. 'Now this one is getting more curious. What else can those eyes do? This one will see them again. And when she does, it will be when Arden has been completely healed!'

"Were you happy with that little talk back at the ruins?" Chrysalis asked.

"You have no idea. This one couldn't keep her joy when he said he would never leave me."

"Based on the energy he gave out," Chrysalis said, Zecora noticed something off about her voice. "He probably meant it."

'Her attitude changed, did something happen? Was it the sight?'

"Chrysalis," Zecora started with a soft tone. "Has something happened? The changeling seems down."

"It's nothing," Chrysalis responded. Zecora saw the changeling rub her chest like she was in pain. "Just some issues due to the lack of exercise to my wings. These things make my heart go really fast once they start to work."

"An issue with the heart?" Zecora murmured, she looked at Chrysalis more attentively. There were no signs of physical injuries, but she did look tired. Both physically and mentally based on her expression. "Maybe this one can prepare something to soothe the pain."

"I would appreciate that," Chrysalis said smiling. She was a bit rough with Arden, but when she was alone with Zecora she was really kind. "Thanks."

"No need for thanks. This one is pleased to help with whatever her guests need."

"Do you think you could find some way to make thermal insulation here?" Chrysalis asked.

"What do you mean?" Zecora asked tilting her head.

"Make so that the temperature doesn't drop inside here?" Zecora looked at the Changeling. She reached out and touched Chrysalis's arm, it was cold, REALLY cold. "I used spells to keep myself warm back at the cave. Here there is no need, because of the fire. But the temperature drops really quickly after it dies out, and using spells to keep my temperature was a hassle. They made me drowsy."

"This one will see what she can do."

After that, Arden woke up. He seemed more tired than usual, so he ate and went to sleep. After he fell asleep, Zecora and Chrysalis went to sleep with him.

'Maybe some sort of resin? This one could pass it on the walls to keep the warmth inside. Or maybe we could work on some parts of the castle that have fireplaces and use them during winter?'