Author's Notes:

WARNING! WARNING!

This chapter contains suggestive material. Please consider this before reading. Also please beware that this was my first time writing this way.

On another note, from here on out I intend to make shorter chapters, and the sessions will have their own short chapters, hence its absence in this one. Just so, things come around faster. Also guaranteeing that I can keep the uploads steady without delay once I go back to med school in two weeks.

Thank you for your time, and please let me know what your thoughts about it. Your feedback is appreciated.

(Five days after the last chapter)

"Minuette! How have you been?" She asked hugging the blue mare.

"Doing good! From what I hear, your thesis seems to be coming along nicely," Minuette replied hugging back. Lyra met the blue unicorn by chance at the library, Lyra was looking for more tomes containing anything at all about humans.

"You bet! The data I got from the outsider's notes helped a ton!" Lyra said, breaking the hug and starting to walk. "It's getting colder, isn't it?"

"Well, winter is right around the corner," Minuette said walking by her. "I believe the weather report says next week we will have snow."

"Good thing we have our magic," Lyra commented. "But changing subject. How is the research on new procedures going?" Minuette was studying medicine. And last Lyra heard she was helping her teacher research medical procedures. More specifically, Minuette was researching treatment for illnesses that weren't affected by their regular spells. Spells could be to counter illnesses caused by external sources, such as virus, bacteria, and fungus easily developed once the pathogen was known.

"In that regard, I guess that we can thank your source as well," Minuette said with a big smile. Lyra tilted her head at that. "The princess sent us materials found in his possession regarding multiple diseases. Clinical trials on specific drugs, studies on animals regarding the course of certain illnesses. I don't know how many books that stallion had on him, but he was a gold mine with all the data." Lyra saw Minuette's eyes practically sparkling as she described that.

"Research on animals?"

"Based on what I've seen, the tests were performed by the humans on animals. The research suggests that animals there lack the ability to speak. And apparently, there were some rules to perform those experiments. As gruesome as those experiments were, without them we wouldn't have this." She seemed a bit down because of that detail.

"Don't worry. At least what they went through won't be in vain," Lyra said placing her arm over Minuette. "Make sure all of it goes to good use."

"Don't you know who you're talking to?" Minuette replied, her smile was back. "Get ready to my name in a lot of papers very soon!"

"That's the spirit!" Lyra replied, then she remembered something. "Minuette, tell me something. Did you get anything regarding the stallion in the materials you got?"

"You mean Arden?" The blue unicorn asked raising an eyebrow. "No there wasn't anything regarding him there. There was an exam called electroencephalogram with his name on it. It appeared to check brain activity. And his had a specific area lighting up like a Christmas tree, the one related to emotions."

"Makes sense. Given his talent, it would be a surprise if that area was dead," Lyra replied opening the door to a dinner. "Let's eat something."

"Sure," Minuette said getting inside and hanging her coat.

They got a table, it didn't take long for a waiter to come by and take their orders. While they were waiting, two stallions entered the place. Dressed in some fancy winter garments they held their muzzles high. Looking down on the other customers, they found themselves a table. Much to Lyra's disliking, the two nobles sat near them.

"Did you hear that Fancy Pants appears to have settled for that model, J'adore?"

"Really? I have to know how he manages to get the attention of so many. It's infuriating! We stand above him in status. Yet we don't get that much attention!" The other one replied in annoyance. "There is only one thing that I find more irritating."

"That rumor about the princess?" Lyra's ear perked up, she discreetly started to pay more attention. "I doubt that is true. With nobles like us around, why bother with what was described by that letter? That description and corpses are the same things."

"It gets worse," The other one complained. "Apparently, the princess is arranging some reward for all the data he provided. Nothing short of a fortune!" The stallion said dramatically. "The scientists are still processing the information, but they are already calling it ground-breaking. How can they be sure? It could all be fake! Why waste our money on that stallion?"

"I don't know," His companion said shrugging. "But if the rumors that the guards are discussing are true. That bastard won't be needing that money. He will have access to all the royal treasury." Lyra raised an eyebrow at the statement. "All that treasure and that beautiful trophy going to waste in some a simpleton. That's outrageous!"

"You better watch your tone," The other one said gesturing him to lower his tone. "If that captain of the guard or his protégé catches wind of this you will get in trouble."

"Oh, spare me the lecture. I snap my fingers and he loses his job," He stated proudly. "And that project of his, I bet he is just trying to get some nice little pet to do anything he so desires." The unicorn continued, the waiter came by and took their order. "That unicorn may have ascended to the rank of captain with that good-guy act, but I bet he just wanted to get closer to the princess."

"Wanna hear something interesting about that stallion?" The other said lowering his tone, his friend leaned forward. "One of my pals in the guard overheard a little thing about him."

"The ones that..." The other unicorn replied in a low tone, he didn't finish his sentence. He just seemed to make some weird gesture.

"Yeah, those guys," The friend replied. "Anyway, that simpleton was sent to a town called Ponyville."

"No way, that dump?" Lyra wanted to punch those two in the face.

'They might be stallions. But being nobles means they can't defend themselves even if it meant saving their lives. They would probably just run and whine to some friend of theirs, or worse.'

"Yeah. There are also some rumors of some families paying a decent amount for info on the outsider. Any dirt at all will do."

"Do you know if those families are involved?" Lyra was really engrossed in listening to that conversation, almost enough to ignore their proximity to her and Minuette.

"You're kidding, right? If the princess is involved, those weirdos aren't that far behind. They are the reason I don't try my hand with the princess. Don't want to deal with them. I rather deal with our usual 'doorknobs'."

"Here are your orders ma'ams." The waiter's voice made Lyra jump a little.

At this point ignored the conversation. Lyra knew that slang 'doorknob', it was a term used by males and females alike to describe ponies who were fairly easy to 'use'. Just like doorknobs, they were touched, used, and then left behind for the next one that wanted to have their turn. If you were outside Canterlot you would barely hear that term, but the nobles used it fairly often when there were no guards within earshot or they weren't around the princess.

Lyra and Minuette finished the meals and headed out, however, Lyra was bothered about the nobles offering a reward for information on that Arden guy. That could lure the wrong kind of ponies there, and that thought made her worry for her friend Bon-Bon.

"Minuette, mind if we pass by the post office for a moment? I remembered that I need to send a letter," Lyra asked while they walked down the streets. "If you can't, I can go on my own."

"The doctor is taking the day off, and I don't have the authorization to use the equipment without a supervisor. I'll tag along," The blue unicorn replied placing her hands in her pockets. Lyra nodded and they headed towards the postal office.

Once inside, Lyra went to a desk and wrote down the following letter:

'Bon, it's me Lyra.

Just a quick heads up. Warn everypony in town to beware of strangers coming into town asking about the stallion mentioned in the princess's letter. It appears some nobles over here placed some sort of prize for any dirt on him. I didn't get the reasoning behind this, but it seemed to have something to do with whatever reason that made Princess Celestia send him there.

Be safe, your friend Lyra.'

Lyra went to the front and asked to have the letter delivered as soon as possible. Express mail required some paperwork, Lyra started filling the information required. Adress, kind of urgency, the pony to who the letter was being sent to. While she did that she overheard some of the mail-mares talking.

"Remember those letters from the Princess?"

"The ones sent all over the country?"

"Yup. I've been making some deliveries to other towns, and guess what?"

"How can I guess if spend every single day behind these walls?"

"There are ponies calling the stallion in those letters a spy for the princess. Because of what he does, there are some ponies who believe the talent described and others that are saying it's just a farce."

"Don't they have better things to do? I'm more interested in the devices that stallion had with him."

"What devices?"

"The ones that contained all the data that was sent to the scientists. One of the unicorns analyzing it came by the other day and tried to hit on me using his position in the lab. He took me out for dinner, who's gonna refuse free food? During our dinner, he ended up mentioning some of their progress in analyzing those things."

"He was drunk, wasn't he?"

"Of course he was! Those lab coats neer let anything like that slip under normal circumstances. From what I gathered, they seem to be working on some new methods of communications. Since they can't replicate the devices they are trying to figure out how they worked and produce something with the same effect."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure, it sounded like some sort of long-range thing that didn't require all this paper."

"I think that guy you dated was way too drunk."

"Maybe."

Lyra finished the papers and left the place accompanied by Minuette. 'That stallion seems to be causing quite the ruckus. Wonder if he knows all the things he is influencing.'

(Meanwhile, Everfree)

'RUN! RUN! RUN!' Arden screamed in his head, a giant creature right behind him. 'Lure the manticore to the trap they said! It will be easy they said!'

With the temperature dropping, Zecora spent the last few days trying to figure out a way to keep the temperature inside the hut to stay fixed. The result of those attempts was a ton of resin discarded due to some fault in the mix. However, being the experienced hunter she was, Zecora also had Arden prepare some basic things for a hunt. Earlier that day, Arden helped both Zecora and Chrysalis to set up traps with a bunch of poisonous darts, net traps, as well as some pits.

Once the preparations were done, they took Chrysalis back to the hut. The temperature drop was affecting her the most, even Zecora's winter clothes weren't enough to help the changeling to keep herself warm. Chrysalis needed something with a thicker hide. The only prey that met those requirements was a manticore. Arden and Zecora managed to track one down, and then Zecora asked Arden to lure the creature to the traps. First, the poison darts, then any of the others would do their jobs just fine.

Zecora placed the second stage traps in couples. The pits would be accompanied by the net traps. If one failed, the second one could be easily triggered, once the prey was trapped it was only a matter of waiting for the poison to do its job.

Everything went according to the plan, except for the fact that the manticore kept forcing Arden to change directions, leading to him being led away from the original path for the traps. Wich resulted in Arden needing to run for his life while trying his best to avoid the eventual attacks from the manticore.

Using the little practice he had with Zecora, Arden tried to outmaneuver the manticore. However, one misstep and Arden tripped on some roots giving the creature time to get closer and attack. Rolling to the side at the last second Arden managed to escape with only some light cuts on his back. Before the manticore could attack again, Arden kicked it on the muzzle. It backed away snarling at Arden, he took that opportunity to run as fast as he could.

'BAD KITTY! BAD KITTY! BAD KITTYYYYYY!'

He ran like a maniac through the forest. That's when he saw a marking Zecora left so he could know when he was headed towards a trapped area. All he had to do now was find the marked spot and get the manticore stuck in a pit or trapped in a net. Seeing his handiwork, a bunch o dried branches and other things in the shape of a circle on the ground, Arden ran towards it and leaped across the trap, clumsily landing on the opposite side he rolled on the dirt and hit a tree.

Looking back at the creature Arden saw it try to attack him, but it landed on top of the trap, the poor cover caved in and the Manticore fell into a pit. The unicorn got up and went to check on the creature, it was stuck without any means of escaping. Arden let out a sigh of relief falling into his flank, breathing heavily and sweating bullets he watched Zecora climb down from a tree. She was panting as well, her mane looked covered in sweat. Her eyes seemed to shine as the light that got through the trees reached her face.

"O-okay you are?" Zecora asked, her breathing slowly coming back to normal. Arden was still trying to get his breathing back to normal. "A fine job the stallion did. This one hopes that you are not hurt?"

"I-I-I'm good," Arden said getting on his hooves and walking around the trap. Looking back to Zecora he saw her running towards him. "Shit."

The trap was triggered and Arden found himself in a situation that some might considerate unfortunate. While others might see it as fortunate. The net got him and Zecora trapped together. Arden was stuck with his back to the net, while Zecora was right in front of him, keeping herself from laying on him by using her arms.

"S-sorry! I-I completely forgot the other trap," Arden stuttered, he tried to shift so he wouldn't be so close to her. Which only worsened the situation, as he felt his body rub against hers with every movement. Then Arden noticed it, a scent. The smell of roses mixed with the smell of grass and wood. A pleasant and calming scent under normal situation, however, this time it was a taunt. A straight provocation to Arden's senses that only got worse as he only now realized something else. Zecora's soft fur that tickled his sides, her coat was usually short was replaced by a thicker and longer coat, a winter coat. Silky and soft, and pleasant to the touch.

"Stop moving you must, this one is trying to cut the net. And no need to worry about the trap. The stallion was still in panic after evading the manticore for so long." Zecora said, moving herself to cut the net. Each movement shaking the entirety of it. She continued before the precarious situation made her drop her dagger.

"Were you close by?" Arden asked, moving around to reach for the dagger. As he stretched to get it his hand and arm passed close enough for him to feel Zecora's leg. Strong and carefully worked legs covered in a soft and silky coat. The result of her life out in the wild.

Arden imagination started to wander off. The image of the how the rest of Zecora's body formed in his mind. The image he saw back at the river was back, but this time it was a provocation. The memory of her body soaked in water, her silhouette and it's reflection on the water, it all came back in a different light. Arden's entire body was reacting on instinct, while his mind tried to suppress the impulses.

Arden managed to get the dagger and handed it back, but not before he realized he got closer to Zecora and her smell, her eyes, her fur. Everything about her was so taunting, her voice, her smile, her physique, her knowledge, her kindness, her devotion, her soft touch.

With every second passed, Arden felt a mix of fear and desire towards her. He had a good relationship with her, the last thing he wanted was to ruin everything over impulses. Yet he felt the need to be with her, to share that moment with her.

"This one wouldn't take the risk of the stallion getting hurt," Zecora replied after getting the dagger back. She didn't seem to notice he was reacting to her, which was good. But her attempts to cut the net made their bodies share more contact making Arden react even more to her. He had to distract himself somehow.

"You know, I never once imagined that I would actually be in any situation even remotely close to all the stuff that has happened to me these past weeks," Arden said while Zecora continued to try and cut the net. After a little while, she let out a sigh and stopped. "Won't cut through?"

"A bit tired this one is," Zecora replied placing the dagger back on its sheet and looking down on him. That's when he noticed, her eyes were fixed on his. Zecora's cheeks had a strong blush. "The cerulean doesn't mind if she rests for a little bit, does he?" she asked resting her head on his chest, now he felt the entirety of his body against hers. Her beating heart. The pleasant scent of roses from her mane that tickled his nostrils. The gentle caress against his chest that Zecora made with her hand as she accommodated her head against his torso like it was a pillow letting out a pleased sigh. The situation wasn't improving for him, in fact, everything so far seemed to be pushing the two of them even closer.

Arden didn't respond, Zecora's voice and proximity added to the sound of the trapped creature made him remember. He remembered the close shaves and dangerous situations he placed himself in ever since he first appeared in this world. He was close to her, he liked her. Why not tell her? Why not share what he felt? He was there, she was by his side. Everything she did point to her liking him just as much.

"Z-Zecora," He stuttered, Zecora raised her head and looked straight at him. "I..." His mind kept forming words, but his mouth wouldn't move. Breathing became harder, Zecora's curious gaze made him terrified. Arden didn't remember ever being this scared, the fear he felt during the manticore chase was nothing compared to this. "I..."

Zecora tilted her head and stared at him, her cheeks still red. Her green eyes locked on his. "Is the stallion unwell?"

Arden couldn't look away from her eyes, her gentle voice, her beautiful lips. 'They're...they aren't helping me at all!' Cold sweat rolled through his face, his breathing became out of rhythm.

"You look ill."

Arden's logic kept screaming that he should be cautious, being too forward could make her hate him. His heart, on the other hand, yelled that he should be honest with her. The thoughts of her being angry plagued his mind. Images of her happiness soothed it. An avalanche of thoughts and images kept flooding his mind, there was no space for logic. His mind couldn't focus long enough for him to be logical, all he had left were impulses. Impulses that held him at a stalemate. A war of screams and emotions hurling around his heart and mind made Arden feel sick. He didn't know how much longer he could keep that bottled up.

The feeling of her body against his only made the confusion increase. Arden had never been this close to a woman, looking at a patient, a complete stranger was easy. This? This was different. He knew her, cared for her, he wanted to be more than just a patient or a friend to her. But he hadn't planned for any of this. This situation was a nightmare for Arden. One wrong word, a wrong move, and he could make Zecora hate him. That thought terrified him, but something else scared him more. The idea of dying and not telling her, the idea of keeping that to himself and not giving it a try. Zecora could say she didn't like him, but at the very least he would have taken that off his chest and could try to cope with that.

Zecora moved closer until they were on eye-level with each other. Her cheeks were red as roses, their bodies were aligned, those tantalizing eyes focused on his. Arden had never seen anything so beautiful, he had never felt so much desire towards anyone. The voices in his head started to get louder and louder. There wasn't anything else now, Arden couldn't see the net, the forest. All he could see was Zecora. That was all he could think, all he could hear, all he could feel.

'SCREW IT!' Arden shouted in his head before pulling Zecora and kissing her lips. Arden shut his eyes as hard as he could and waited for a punch or any sort of attack. None came, instead, he felt her hands touch his face gently and kindly holding his head. He felt Zecora moving again, his blood was rushing through his veins and boiling while it did. Opening his eyes Arden saw Zecora with her eyes closed, it took a few seconds before they separated. Once they did, Arden felt his heartbeat slowly going back to normal, he could breathe again normally. He looked at Zecora he could swear the world was changing color for a moment.

Then he felt her hands touch his face again, running through his muzzle, his cheeks his mane. Zecora reached for the back of his head and started to get closer again. Shutting her eyes once more.

That's when they both heard a cracking sound and suddenly fell down. Arden wrapped his arms around Zecora and he hit the ground hard with his back. The net opened and they were now free again. The shock from the sudden freedom and being back in the open made them look at each other.

Zecora's face had lost the slight blush and went to a full tomato face, he felt where she landed on. Arden felt his face getting warmer and warmer, suddenly, Zecora got back on her hooves and stepped away fidgeting. Arden got back on his hooves and he had one question stuck in his throat.

"W-we good?" He finally asked, the fact Zecora stepped away made him weary. Maybe her initial reaction to his gesture was positive, but the bottom line could be different now that the initial rush they felt died down. No response came from her. Arden began to curse himself for doing that. His logic and his heart began to shout again, multiple ways to fix the situation began to pop up. But he couldn't focus on a single one of them, the cacophony of the voices kept getting louder and louder. Just this once he wanted to hear his own raw feelings and ignore whatever processed thing he came up with.

Then one voice cut through that confusion of thoughts. "Y-yes. T-this one...this one e-enjoyed it." Those words made all the confusion and fear disappear, he looked back at her. The world once again seemed to be changing color, that's when he saw Zecora looking straight at him. Her eyes were darting from his face to his torso. "Y-your eyes..." she stuttered, Zecora's expression wasn't one of awe. She looked concerned. "Y-your inhibitor..."

Arden looked down at his pendant, the stone was shining brilliantly with multiple colors and cracks were starting to appear all over its surface. Suddenly the pendant stopped glowing and the color change around the world stopped. "What did you see in my eyes?"

"Changing they were. Or fighting to change to be more specific."

"Oookay, are they back to normal now?" Arden asked, earning a positive nod from her. "Is the manticore ready to be skinned?" Arden watched Zecora get closer to the edge and look down at the creature. She took a pebble from the ground and threw down the pit really fast. Arden actually heard the rock hitting something.

"The manticore is dead," Zecora said after a few seconds. Then she picked some ropes that were placed around the pit. "Could you help this one?" Zecora asked with a faint blush the moment she looked at him.

"Sure," Arden replied. Even if he was helping, Zecora was the one who pulled most of the weight. The prey appeared and they pulled it out. "You didn't need my help with this. But I'm glad that I ease the load."

Zecora gave a mild smile and started to remove the creature's skin. With precise cuts, the skin looked like could be just pulled. After a manner of minutes, she had the entire thing prepared. Picking one of her vials she dropped a silver-colored potion into the skin. The blood and remnants of the flesh evaporated, leaving only the thick skin of the creature. Then Zecora started to separate the body parts, even what looked like a poison sack. No part of the creature was wasted.

"Could the cerulean carry the loot?" Zecora asked, whenever she looked at the looked at him. She started to blush, Arden felt his face heat up as well.

"S-sure," Arden said going after the skin and the rest of the parts she left behind. It was heavy, really heavy. While Arden was trying to tie up the skin so that he could carry it, he saw a glowing green rock. 'What is this?' Arden thought, reaching for it, it was shaped like a seed, the glow came from within what looked like carvings. 'I'll ask Zecora later.' Arden placed the thing on his pockets.

And with that, they both headed back to the hut. Not sharing any sort of words, Arden saw Zecora sneak glances at him every once in a while. Arden found himself doing the same. 'I guess this is to be expected. We were very forward back there...'

The hut came into sight, Zecora started to move a bit faster. Arden was really slow due to the skin's weight. He saw Zecora head inside the hut and gesture him to wait.

He followed her instructions after he was by the hut's entrance. 'That felt very nice. But things might be...a bit awkward from now on.' Arden thought as he sat down by the entrance.

'CALM DOWN!' Zecora yelled at herself, closing the door behind her she fell on her flank. 'The stallion kissed this one. It was just a kiss. No need to get worked up. But...it felt so good.' The feeling of being so close to him, the idea of being that close again, of doing more than just kissing. All those thoughts kept blasting through her head. The image of his body, his eyes. Zecora reached for her lips and ran fingers through them, remembering the sensation of his lips against hers.

The thought of the event flooded her mind, the events still fresh in her memory. A vivid recreation of the moment started to take shape and cloud her mind.

'He is going to trigger the trap!' Zecora thought, rushing as fast as she could to prevent the stallion from springing the net, but it was to no avail. Zecora found herself trapped alongside stallion. Zecora was on top of him keeping herself from laying on his body, however, she was close, very close. And unlike the nights she spent with him while he rested from the treatment, this time he was wide awake.

She needed to keep herself calm and get them out of that situation. Zecora wanted to get closer to him, but not like that, not that it was uncomfortable. 'If this one could just...NO! This isn't how things are supposed to play.'

"S-sorry! I-I completely forgot the other trap," Zecora heard him say, then he started to shift. Arden looked like he was trying to give her space, what that did was make it harder for her to focus. His legs moving against hers, Zecora's arms felt the sides of his torso. Looking down she could see his chest, it was so close, the training was still in the earliest stages, there wouldn't be any changes yet. She felt the scent of grass and wood coming from him, a scent so familiar to her, usually ignored due to being everywhere, however, in this scenario the scent was provoking her.

Zecora had to leave soon, her body was starting to get warmer. If she wasn't out of that net soon she could ruin the progress she made with Arden so far. "Stop moving you must. This one is trying to cut the net," Zecora replied, moving herself to cut through. She tried to shift the entirety of her focus from him to the task at hand. "No need to worry about the trap. The stallion was still in panic after evading the manticore for so long." Zecora movements made her legs slide sideways, causing her body to come in contact with Arden's waist. Zecora felt something there, the thought of what she felt made her drop the dagger. She felt her face heat up, but she didn't show any other reaction.

"Were you close by?" Zecora heard him ask, then she felt him moving. Zecora felt his hands stretching to reach where the dagger, his hands passed by her legs. A gentle and unintentional caress, Zecora felt the fur in the back of her neck standing up. The entirety of her body was slowly tensing, the feeling of what she came in contact with made her remember how Arden mentioned not responding to the mere sight of her body.

But he was reacting now, and so was Zecora.

She tried to hide her reaction, but her mind was wandering more and more. Her heart was pounding, Zecora kept taking deep breaths in an attempt to keep herself calm.

The stallion gave her the knife back and his movements stopped, but it didn't stop her mind. "This one wouldn't take the risk of the stallion getting hurt," She replied with the coldest tone she could muster. Zecora went back to cutting the net, however, each movement made their bodies get closer and closer. Zecora was starting to break, she wanted to rest, she wanted, no, she needed to be with him.

"You know, I never once imagined that I would actually be any situation even remotely close to all the stuff that has happened to me these past weeks," Arden said.

Zecora was at her limit. If that contact continued she wouldn't be able to keep her act, she would risk the relationship she built over her desire. With that in mind, Zecora stopped cutting the net. "Won't cut through?"

Even with her attempt to keep that desire in check, it was too late. Giving in, she looked down at Arden. "A bit tired this one is. The cerulean doesn't mind if she rests for a little bit, does he?" Zecora asked unwillingly changing her tone. Then she placed her head on his chest and ran her fingers through his fur. Just like herself, the unicorn changed into his winter coating. The soft blue fur ran through her fingers as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of having her body against his there.

Zecora could hear his heartbeat, the accelerated rhythm made Zecora feel happy and uneasy. That could mean that he was afraid, or that he desired her just as much. The first time in several years she felt a desire like that and had somepony return the feeling. The rhythm of his breathing was off as well.

Zecora just stopped thinking and allowed herself to enjoy the moment.

"Z-Zecora," Arden's cracking voice called out to her. 'He has never been this close to a mare, has he? Well, this one never has been this close to a stallion.' Zecora thought, slowly raising her head to look at him. Her head slowly sliding through his chest. She locked her eyes with Arden's. "I..." He seemed to want to say something, but nothing more than that came out. 'This one has him without words, adorable that is. Delightful as well,' She looked closer, the stallion was sweating bullets. His breathing was getting way out of rhythm. "I..."

He was starting to panic. 'What places the stallion in such a panic? He looks more afraid now than when he ran away from the manticore.' Zecora got curious, she tilted her head and moved up to him. "Is the stallion unwell?" Once again, her tone changing without her notice, a soft and gentle voice came from her. But Zecora was too curious about his distress to notice her own voice. "You look ill."

For the first time since she met him that Zecora saw Arden like that when he was conscious. His eyes were wide open and locked on hers. The black eye and the blue one, she wanted to take a closer look. Zecora moved up so she would be face to face with Arden, her body sliding over his as she moved up. She saw something odd, the corner of his left eye was tinged with red that seemed to be fighting to proceed through the rest of the eye, all the while his iris seemed to be starting to shift into a bright blue. The right one, on the other hand, looked like a light bulb flickering like crazy.

She couldn't look away, Zecora was causing this. And Zecora knew that gently placing one of her hands in his chest she felt Arden's heart, it was rushing even faster than before, then she felt her own heart beating fast and strong. Zecora just kept looking into Arden's terrified and mesmerized eyes. The entire situation was thrilling. She watched Arden continue his attempts to speak. When Zecora was about to say something to see if Arden would say what he wanted to say, she felt a sudden pull. Before she could process what just happened, she felt her lips against his.

Zecora's heart jumped on her chest. Her mind went blank, she just closed her eyes and felt enjoyed the moment. Those few instants felt like ages.

Zecora backed away and opened her eyes, Arden was looking straight at her eyes. Even after everything he felt during those few moments, he was still locked in her eyes.

Zecora wanted more, she needed more. She held his face, Then ran her hands through Arden's mane until she reached the back of his head. Zecora slowly got closer and shut her eyes once more. Just when she was about to return the gesture, a cracking sound caught her attention. Zecora felt Arden's arms wrap around her, holding her body with everything he had. Suddenly she felt weightless, then a loud thud. The feeling and the sound shocked her, her mind resets and she was able to think somewhat clearly again, and that's when she realized what she landed on. Blood rushed to her head and, moving faster than she knew she could, she got back on her hooves.

"W-we good?" Arden ask.

'That is what he is worried about? Not the fact he just cushioned this one's fall?' Zecora tried to calm down before responding.

"Y-yes. T-this one...this one e-enjoyed it." That was the best she could come up with, she was fidgeting a lot. Everything else after that was a blur. She remembered his eyes, some light out of his chest. Some muffled sounds coming from him and from her. Then her body was moving around and she remembered blood, her silver potion. And before she knew it Zecora found herself leading Arden back to the hut. She kept sneaking glances over to him. Each one of them made her feel her face warm up, forcing her to look away.

'That was really daring, this one doesn't act like that!' Zecora thought, once she saw her hut Zecora picked up the pace and got inside after gesturing for Arden to wait outside.

All of these scenes played like a broken record. Each moment vividly etched into her brain, each feeling, each sensation. All of them bringing back the emotion and the desire she felt back then. The event was over, but the memories and repercussions of it remained. Repercussions in her heart, in her mind, and in her body.

Zecora started to feel her body warming up. The rush she hadn't felt in a very long time, something she hadn't felt since when she was back at her own land. 'I better use that.' Zecora thought, getting back on her hooves she rushed to her room. Moving her bed she lifted the lid of a compartment she prepared for keeping what she considered valuable. Zecora hadn't told anypony about that vault. Inside she saw the few things she kept to herself.

A lot of very small vials containing one kind of potion, two pairs of matching of golden earrings that had a special purpose in her culture, a bottle containing ink crafted back in her homeland, the tools used for making tattoos, and an old gift she got before leaving. An old talisman, but what she needed right now was the potion. That potion was a little creation of Zecora, picking one vial she drank the contents.

As soon as she drank the last drop, her mind settled down. The desire diminished and her thought process went back to normal. A potion to quell lust and desire, a combination of a flower known as heart's desire and another one called heaven's mirror. The discovery happened during an experiment and just one recipe produced all the vials she kept hidden there. Zecora rarely ever used them, that was actually the first time she had to use one since she left her home.

"What was that all about?" Zecora heard from behind her. Zecora's mind was so lost due to the impulses, that she completely forgot about the Changeling.

"P-please don't mention this to Arden," Zecora stuttered as she realized that the Changeling could see the contents of her 'vault'.

"What are these potions? And what was with you caressing your lips?" Zecora felt blood rush to her head. 'The changeling saw that as well?!'

"Uh..." Zecora began to think of any explanations she could give, Chrysalis wouldn't leave her alone if she learned about what had happened. "T-the p-potion h-helps to c-calm down the user."

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow at that statement but didn't push it. That's when she went to look at the rest of the vault. She picked up one of the matchings earrings. "These seem rather important. What are they for?" Zecora gulped at that question, it was a personal matter. But not answering it meant the risk of Chrysalis mentioning it to Arden.

"T-they symbolize a relationship between two individuals. This one received them from her parents when she left her home," Zecora replied taking them from Chrysalis. Once she had them in her hands, she began to imagine them being used. After being feared by others and being alone for so long, she began to think she would never use them. Zecora shook her head and placed the accessories back, that's when she realized Chrysalis had the talisman on her hands.

"What about this one?" That one particular she kept as a memento. "This was crafted by somepony who had feelings for you."

"A-a g-gift from an old friend of this one," Zecora said taking the talisman from Chrysalis's hands. "J-just an f-friend."

"Based on your anxiety and the little drops of energy on that, I would say that you two were somewhat close." 'Blasted eyesight!' Zecora was close to the male that gave her that. That male was the one that made her feel desire for somepony else in the past. What she felt back then and now, however, were very different feelings. In the past there was no emotion, just impulse. Now, there was something more. It was stronger, her potion quelled the body, but her heart was still in that same scene. In the past, that one potion was enough for her to keep her relationship with the male.

"Old coltfriend?"

"NEVER!" Zecora shouted, having realized her overreaction Zecora's ears dropped. "S-sorry."

"Touchy subject, I get it, I won't ask about it," Chrysalis said reaching for the bottle of ink and the tools." What about these?"

"The ink for marking the body, and the tools to do so," Zecora said calmly.

"You have tattoos?" Zecora showed her the marking on her flanks. "What does that mean?"

"The mark is made once one has decided their path in life. Shaman, potion crafting, spirit maiden, chief, farmer. Once the individual decides his role and starts to function in the role they chose, they receive a mark in a place of their choosing."

"Why your flanks?"

"The Wanderer," Zecora started. "A mark that is not well seen by most of this one's kind. Placing them on the flanks was safer for this one's travels," Zecora continued, remembering the insults made towards other bearers of the mark, while she evaded them by saying she was seeking plants and herbs for her village. "The Wanderers are seen as cowards that left their villages after all that the village did to raise them. Usually, their only safe place was their hometown."

"I see," Chrysalis said analyzing the bottle. "Why do you have it?"

"This one is not sure," Zecora said picking it up and placing all of them back. "Maybe a way back home."

"I just noticed, where is the project of stallion?" Chrysalis said looking around. "Don't tell me you left him to watch the manticore while you came back here."

"No, he is outside," Zecora said placing the lid back in its place, and covering it with the bed again. "You will not mention this to him, right?"

"Sure," Chrysalis replied shrugging. "Want me to call him in?"

Zecora looked at herself, she was a mess. Her armor and clothing were all over the place. "Can the Changeling talk to him a bit while this one recomposes herself?" Zecora asked, earning a positive nod from Chrysalis. Zecora then went to lose the armor and make sure she looked a little more presentable now. 'This one should keep herself groomed and presentable.'

As she tidied herself up, Zecora found herself remembering again the events from before. Her heart pounding with the images playing in her mind, the potion kept her impulses in check. But Zecora's emotions were another thing entirely, soon she found herself humming and smiling at nothing. This was probably the happiest she ever felt ever since he first talked to her.

'That Zebra is really happy. What happened to her?' Chrysalis thought, peeking through the front door she saw Zecora humming with a dumb smile on her face. 'No, they didn't.' Chrysalis saw that stupid smile a couple of times, it was stamped on the face of stallions and mares that were either 'in love' or got what they referred to as 'get lucky'. Chrysalis looked back at Arden. Arden had a very small smile, but his eyes had a concerned gaze. However, her attention shifted to something else once it was in her sights.

"What in Tartarus happened to your back?!" She shouted seeing wide wounds that were running through his back. Which, based on the size and on what they went hunting, where caused by the manticore.

"It's nothing," Arden said shrugging. "Shouldn't you be inside? You know, keeping your temperature up?" He sounded angry saying that part.

'The freak has a bunch of open wounds in his back and he scolding me? Not this time!'

"Now listen here, you apprentice magician. You don't get to scold me when you have wounds like those!"

"Is it that bad?" Arden asked. The unicorn tried to look around his back. "I just felt the wound, didn't actually check."

"Stand still, moron," Chrysalis said charging up her magic. The wounds were different from the Timberwolves, they were bigger and wider. She couldn't heal those completely, not with how her magic was now. The wounds closed, but they left scars. Pale skin and a darker shade of blue fur covered the wound. "There, the wound is closed. But..."

"But?"

Chrysalis was always boasting about her magic. But the truth was she was good with offensive, mind, and everyday spells. Healing she only used for small wounds she happened to be afflicted with. And given the fact that her chitin worked as a natural armor she barely used that sort of magic. Even if the healing spells of her kind were stronger, she had a hard time with them.

"I wasn't able to completely heal the wound," Chrysalis said looking away, she was ready to hear his mockery about her inability to cast what supposedly was the strong suit of her species.

"Scar?" He asked, a blank expression on his face. Chrysalis agreed with a nod. "Did you do your best?" Her gesture repeated. "Thank you."

'No snarky remark?' Chrysalis asked herself, she looked at Arden's eyes. They were still carrying the concerned gaze. "Okay, what did you do?" The unicorn winced and his ears perked up. "Don't even try to lie right now, you're being an open book. Out with it, idiot."

"I..." Chrysalis saw Arden scratch the back of his head frantically. "I k-kissed Zecora." Chrysalis felt the sting again as her body seemed to start shivering. Picking one of the little papers Zecora prepared for her, Chrysalis shoved the mix of powder and herbs into her mouth.

"I-Is t-that all?" Chrysalis asked, her body still shivering but the sting dying down. "S-she i-i-is h-humming t-t-to herself. W-with an s-stupid smile." Chrysalis saw Arden looking back at her.

"Give me a moment," The unicorn said reaching for the pack of tied up skin. Untying it and unfolding it, Arden got on his hooves and wrapped the soft skin around Chrysalis. "It isn't ready. But you can use it as a blanket for now."

"T-thank you," Chrysalis replied in a low tone. Then a mischievous thought made her smile. "I'm going to need this, but I bet that you and Zecora won't be needing anything to keep yourselves warm."

Chrysalis watched him tensing up and his face getting really red. For the first time, she managed to play with him easily. 'A weak spot. Oh, this will be so entertaining!'

"Y-you're evil," Arden stuttered.

"No, I am not. I just want to have some fun," Chrysalis said smirking. "After all, since you two seem to be having plenty of fun on your own I need to entertain myself with something, right?" Arden turned back to her, Chrysalis was confident that she had him cornered. He started to laugh. "What?"

"Nothing," Arden replied sitting on the grass. "We are a group of odd creatures, aren't we?" Chrysalis tilted her head in confusion.

"Where did that come from?"

"Just a random thought," Arden spoke, his tone less cheerful. He was really acting off, Zecora was happy beyond anything Chrysalis ever saw. Arden, on the other hand, seemed worried.

Chrysalis started talking before she noticed. "Listen, you don't have to worry about her being upset or rejecting your feelings. That mare likes you, your gesture only seemed to bring the two of you closer. Pull yourself together, be the snarky pest that won her over. If she comes out here and sees you like this after all the trouble she went through to get herself groomed and all. She will think you regret kissing her, then you will have to worry about losing her." Arden just looked at her with confusion stamped on his face.

Chrysalis was just dumbfounded as Arden. 'Why did I just say all that? Because he needed to hear that. Because if he gets closer to Zecora his energy might become stronger. Which leads to more power for me when I feed. Because...because of how he...distressed...look...sad...hurt...' Chrysalis mind slowly stopped forming sentences, she felt the sting persisting. Weaker than before, due to the medicine, but still there.

'It's...strange...it's...different.' Chrysalis began to lose focus and she drifted off.

"Thanks," A cheerful voice echoed and Chrysalis felt a shock. She was pulled back from her wandering. "I needed that. So, thank you, Chrysalis." Shaking her head Chrysalis felt like her old self again.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Chrysalis replied turning away. She headed back to the hut and looked through the window. Zecora seemed to be changing clothes, an evil grin formed on her muzzle. "Hey, Zecora is gesturing us to come inside."

"Ok," Arden said, picking up the rest of the things he had with him, Chrysalis watched eagerly Arden grab the doorknob and open it. "What are we-?!"

Chrysalis saw the unicorn freeze in place. Peeking through the window, she saw Zecora frozen in place as well. Arden slowly closed the door, his face red as a tomato. He turned slowly towards her, Arden tossed the things he had on his hands to the ground. He took off the weighted armor and stretched for a moment, once he was through he spoke.

"Chrysalis," Arden said cracking his neck. "You better start running, lose me, then rush back to the hut."

"I doubt you would be able to catch me, especially with so little training," Chrysalis said in a cocky tone.

"Chrysalis," he said again, his tone was serious. "Run."

"Very well," Chrysalis replied smirking. "Catch me if you can!" She yelled darting away.

"CHRYSALIIIS!" She heard from behind her.

'This will definitely be fun! All the mischief I can make, all these precious reactions. This is so delightful! Time to play!'