Author's Notes:

Well, here goes another one!

Fair warning though, there is a lot of suggestive material throughout the chapter. Be mindful of that. You can thank my editor and brainstormer for those (Lies cause I, technically, am also to blame).

This one is extra long so I hope you all enjoy. Please let me know what you thought of the chapter.

Also, someone asked me why my stories don't have covers if I like to draw. Well, liking to draw and being good at it are two different things. I love to draw but I suck at it, therefore, anything I came up with didn't exactly represent the story I'm telling.

Then someone might say, 'Well if you can't make it. Ask someone to make it for you.'

That is also I problem, I don't have any money to pay for an artist to make a cover for me for this story or any of the others. And making drawings takes time and resources, therefore I won't ask for someone to do this when all I can offer is placing the name of the artist on the story's description. Therefore, I apologize for not making covers.

Well, this is all thank you for your time. Once again please let me know what you thought of it! Have a great new year!

(Three years, one hundred and sixty days until Nightmare returns)

“MHMMMM!” That was the first thing Arden heard when he entered the session. Looking around, he saw Nightmare suspended, tightly wrapped in chains as she slowly spun around. Her scowl was locked on him.

“Well...those chains kinda upped their game,” Arden muttered to himself as he walked up to Nightmare. “Just so you know I don’t have any control over them except when it comes to releasing you.”

“MMMMMHUHMMMM!!!” Nightmare replied shaking herself around, the chains reacted and became tighter, causing Nightmare to make some weird muffled sounds that Arden recognized after his… “intercourse” with Zecora. If he had blood coursing through him, most of it would have gone to his head.

“J-just stand still. I’ll get you out of there,” Arden stuttered as he inspected the chains while Nightmare continued to make noises. Her breathing had accelerated, her eyes were closed, and her cheeks were bright red.

At the point where all the chains holding her arms, legs, wings, and tail converged, there was a lock with one button on it. Arden slowly reached out to it with a hint of hesitation since it could actually be a trap to make the situation worst. Meanwhile, Nightmare’s moans grew louder. Building up his courage, Arden pressed the button, which caused the chains to loosen up and Nightmare to make another weird sound.

Nightmare landed on the ground with a thud, Arden kneeled down to check her. As she opened her eyes, Arden saw the same look that Zecora had. That entrancing gaze, this time colored like aquamarines, was locked on him. Arden removed the gag and he saw a faint bright blue covering Nightmare’s lips.

Nightmare was breathing through her mouth loudly as if she had been in a fight or she had done some major physical effort. She slowly reached out with her left hand to touch Arden’s head. Her lips moved as if she was begging him to come closer to them. Arden didn’t even notice, but he had started to move closer to her. However, something within Arden made him snap back and shake his head.

“A-are you okay?” Arden asked as he realized how close he was to Nightmare.

“H-huh?” Nightmare replied before blinking a few times, the look she had disappeared. Her face lit up like smoldering metal before she pushed Arden away with everything she had. “Y-YEAH! Okay! L-let’s go to the next challenge! I-I want to see what’s beyond that old looking door!”

“Sure,” Arden said in a low tone.

‘What the fuck was that?! I almost...it’s not like she isn’t attractive. But...AAAAAAARGH! I don’t even know if this can be considered cheating in this world! Okay, pull yourself together! You are with Zecora, Nightmare was in a strange situation and you almost did something stupid. Focus on the task ahead and pretend that this never happened!’

After that, it only took a short walk before Arden and Nightmare went to the door to the next challenge. During their walk, Arden didn’t speak a word and Nightmare didn’t even look back on him. However, Arden did notice that Nightmare’s wings were wide open and stiff the entire time.

When they were in front of the door, Arden finally got to see what her face looked like. Nightmare was still bright red on her cheeks, however, her expression wasn’t the expression of somepony who was flustered. But of somepony who looked worried.

‘Should I ask her about it? ...No, I think it would be better if I just stay quiet for a while,’ As he reached for the door’s handle and twisted it. The door opened as a lighting strike tore the sky, Arden heard the rain falling on stone as he stepped through the door.

Looking around, Arden shivered at the sight. He had seen that place before, a castle. A castle filled to the brim with undead creatures, traps, and rooms littered with treasures and paths. He saw the decaying steps before him, as the rain on the outside got worse. He searched for Nightmare, she wasn’t anywhere near him.

‘Of all the creatures I could have come to face. It had to be this one. Last time I was so glad I just had to face some basic boss. But this...’ As Arden stepped forward he saw the clock tower that stood at the same height he was in. He let out a sigh before looking back to the path. ‘At least...it’s this fight. When I fight him, at least I’ll get a sure shot at beating him.’

He then ran up the stairs, passed through a bunch of empty rooms, and actually bumped into one of the candelabras, breaking it into pieces as it hit the ground. After some time running, Arden reached a room where an extremely tall figure sat on a throne just as big.

His skin was pale as the moon, long white hair fell on top of its shoulders. Its eyes were red as blood, pointy ears. A ghastly, yet composed figure his clothes carefully crafted and were extremely well kept. Every detail about him seemed to reinforce the aristocratic air that came from him.

Arden made his left hand shift into a sword and readied himself.

“A mortal seeks to challenge me?” the figure spoke as it waved a glass of what looked like wine in his hands. “Yet it was by the hands of Man that I was given flesh once again. Humans who called upon me to give me tribute.”

“Tribute?” Arden asked trying his best to sound confident in his speech. “You steal man’s souls and turn them into slaves!”

“Perhaps, the same could be said of all religions...”

“Your words are empty as your soul! Mankind ills needs a savior such as you!” Arden rebutted. the figure’s calm and collected expression shifted into a horrid portrait of rage and scorn. He violently threw the glass at Arden as he stood up saying these words.

“What is a man? But a miserable little pile of secrets! But enough talk...have at you!” The count who ruled the castle screamed as a blinding flash made Arden look away.

‘Okay, now I am screwed. If this was 2D plane then I could predict where he would appear, however, he can now appear anywhere.’ Arden looked around bracing himself to dodge the attacks.

There weren’t any words, sounds or anything giving away where Dracula would reappear. Arden simply heard the sound of the storm outside the window. A bright flash caused Arden to see two shadows, quickly turning around to charge at the count, Arden was caught by a blast caused by a fireball that made a direct hit on his torso.

Arden flew away and barely missed the window, the impact made it difficult for him to breathe. When he managed to get back on his hooves, Dracula stroke Arden with the back of his hand. Causing Arden to once again be sent flying, Arden rolled down the stairs until reaching its bottom.

Arden got back up as fast as he could, there was another flash behind him. This time Arden swung his blade vertically towards the sky as he turned around. He then found himself in a blade lock with Dracula.

‘This is different! What the hell?!’ Arden tried to push the monster away. The count laughed at Arden’s effort and using his free hand, stroke Arden on the torso tossing him up the stairs again.

‘I...I took too much damage already,’ Arden thought as he got up, Dracula was slowly climbing up the stairs. ‘This is supposed to be when that woman appears to make me invincible,’ Arden thought before limping away.

When he turned his back to the count, Arden saw Nightmare standing on the opposite side of the room. She had the woman’s clothes on. Arden limped as fast as he could towards her, however, something appeared immediately in front of Arden, Dracula. Arden was grabbed by the neck and then there was a surge of pain taking over his body, and then...nothing.

Arden then woke up outside the tower with Nightmare standing by his side looking at the door.

“Why didn’t you help me?!” Arden asked realizing that he had lost.

“Was I supposed to?” Nightmare asked with an annoyed tone. Arden glared at her. “Fine, fine. I’ll step in this time.”

“Good!” Arden exclaimed as he got up, however, he winced at a pain that took over where his ribs were supposed to be.

‘What the...?’ Arden thought as he grabbed hold of his ribs. ‘This didn’t happen before. What the fuck head? Alright, I better suck it up and go again. My mind isn’t getting any better.’

Arden grunted as he took a deep breath, he then opened up the door and went at it again. The room was the same, however, as he was making his way back to the throne room, Arden heard the sound of explosions in the distance.

‘Did Richter appear? I’m pretty sure that...oh, shit!’ Arden darted as fast as his condition allowed when he climbed high enough to see the throne room, Arden saw Nightmare engaged in combat with the count.

She seemed to be faring better than him, however, Arden saw the count pull another move that wasn’t natural to him. Walls of fire emerged from the ground completely surrounding Nightmare, Arden saw the count raise his hand with his hand positioned as if he was going to slash something with a sword.

A strange feeling took hold of Arden as he saw Nightmare about to be wounded, moving faster than before, Arden rushed the count and slashed his arm. The blade didn’t even scratch the skin, Dracula laughed at the attempt. The tower of flames dissolved as Arden felt his torso being cut deeply by Dracula’s free hand.

Arden fell down to his knees, the count looked down on him and laughed once again.

“Pathetic! Is this the champion that the mortals have sent to face me?” His tone was defiant. “Your skill, as well as your strength, are nothing before my might. And in facing me in such a way, you have insulted me. And for that, you shall pay!” Dracula prepared to strike Nightmare, who was simply looking at the scene with a strange look in her eyes.

As the noble swung his arm down again, Arden had another surge and he managed to tackle Nightmare using his own body as a shield. The second attack cut even deeper, causing Arden to collapse once more.

Arden woke up again, he was standing by the entrance with Nightmare by his side. This time, however, accompanying his pain on the ribs, Arden felt lightheaded. He felt cold, his heart seemed to be beating at an accelerated rate.

‘Blood...loss? These are symptoms of severe blood loss. What...the hell...’ Arden thought right before blacking out.

(The following night)

Nightmare found herself once again tied up in chains and suspended in the air. Only this time, there were more. Tied around her chest, around her hips. Nightmare opened her eyes to see that she would be at the mercy of whoever walked up to her while she was like that.

That feeling was somewhat exciting. As much as she hated it, Nightmare couldn’t help but feel that way. Maybe she had been subjected to it so many times that she ended up enjoying it. Nightmare tried to move her head, however, like in the previous night, the chains tightened throughout her body, squeezing her chest, legs and caressing her tighs as they moved around, almost as if snakes were slithering over her body. Slowly forcing her arms behind her back, spreading her legs, stretching out her wings, her neck being pulled back as if somepony was behind her holding her.

Nightmare found herself picturing the scene, somepony she couldn’t see without making some effort was behind her. Holding her neck and arms behind her back, the feeling of that being slowly breathing down her neck. Nightmare simply waited for them to say whatever they had to say, the words she wanted to hear.

“I’m yours...just as you are mine,” a familiar voice whispered. Nightmare felt her fur stand up straight, shivers ran down her spine as she realized who that voice belonged to.

Looking behind her with the back of her eye, Nightmare saw who she was picturing to be with her at that moment. A grin formed on her face as she realized who it was, she was...happy? Nightmare couldn’t believe that in such a shameful scenario, in this perverted fantasy, being like that with him, the one who tied her up every night, could make her happy? Or maybe...was it the words that made her happy?

Nightmare couldn’t tell what made her feel like that, but somehow the sensation of being tied up was getting stronger. Stimulating her more and more as the grip the figure had tightened, Nightmare simply gave in to the bliss that she was feeling in those moments.

However, at a certain point, she heard something in the back of her mind. Not a voice, but a thought. A series of thoughts that caused her to turn that feeling of satisfaction of having somepony say those words just for her in a moment that was theirs and theirs alone into a painful moment that every fiber of her being begged to escape from.

‘He doesn’t love you. He will never love you. He can’t be trusted. As soon as he has what he wants, he will leave you to rot and will flock to Celestia. Just like everypony before him. If you have doubts about his loyalty, why don’t you test it? See how far he needs to go. Then you’ll have your answer.’

Suddenly the chains that bound her loosened up and she fell to the ground. Nightmare removed the gag as fast as she could before she scrambled away from the spot where she was.

“Are you okay?” A familiar voice spoke, Nightmare saw Wolf standing up with his eyes wide open. The thoughts that made her desperate to escape those chains echoed in her mind as she looked at him.

‘That’s right. I have to make sure I can trust him.’

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she shot back with a scowl.

“Because you were moving like crazy when I tried to free you,” Wolf replied walking up to her and offering his hand to help her up. Nightmare slapped his hand away and got up on her own. “Okay, sorry. Well, I’m better today. So, before we go back to that room I need to blah, blah, blah...”

Nightmare simply ignored all that Wolf said, she was worried about other things. ‘How can I test him? Attack him and ask for forgiveness? No...too shallow of a test. His life...that’s it! If he can toss himself in a life-threatening situation just to keep me safe, he might be trustworthy.’

And with that idea in mind, Nightmare went forward with her plan. Time and time again, she placed herself in dangerous situations forcing Wolf to protect her. Impalement, sliced in half, beheaded, burned alive, drained of life, crushed, cursed, ripped to shreds. Nightmare just watched as the nights proceeded and Wolf stood fast fighting again and again as he tried to keep her safe.

His opponent grew stronger and faster with each fight, summoning monsters that ended up overpowering Wolf as he tried to keep Nightmare from harm. Nightmare felt pain and guilt as she watched Wolf put himself in harm’s way time and time again as she simply watched him fail and painfully die before her eyes. But the thoughts, the cursed thoughts only grew louder, crueler, more painful each time they came forth. Nightmare couldn’t bear the idea of being tossed aside.

She had to be sure, no matter what, that Wolf wouldn’t turn his back on her. That he wouldn’t leave her. And with that routined established, Nightmare spent about two months forcing herself to watch those deaths. The guilt and insecurity eating away at her mind and heart with each attempt.

What unsettled Nightmare the most, was the fact that Luna kept quiet the entire time. No word, no comment. It was almost as if she didn’t care about what was happening.

(Three years and ninety-nine days until Nightmare Moon returns)

Arden opened his eyes and saw the usual room. The furniture was in place, the décor was the same, however, there was something missing.

“Nightmare? Nightmare!” Arden shouted out as he looked around, no response came.

‘This is odd. Although she has been off for some time now. I’ve been barely scraping by the last few levels. Fights that were supposed to be two on one, or two on two ends up with me in a disadvantage. It’s almost as if she’s just watching the fight.’

Arden shrugged and walked towards the tower, half-expecting to see Nightmare in chains along the way, which didn’t happen. Nothing was out of the ordinary within the rooms, yet something made Arden feel uneasy. Almost as if the simple absence of Nightmare and the peaceful rooms were some sort of a bad omen.

When Arden finally reached the tower room, a piece of paper immediately was tossed against his face. There was a weird laugh followed by silence.

‘Okay...that never happened before,’ he thought as he got the piece of paper off his face. There was something written in it.

Salutations my friend!

I’ve been very bored because of how little progress you were having. How can you get beaten up so many times by a vampire? I know he is called the prince of darkness and he has Death as his lackey, but that’s not an excuse to get beaten up by him so many times.

With that in mind, I thought of a way to motivate you! Am I not the most helpful god? Remember those friends of yours? Well, I placed her as a hostage in the next level of the tower. And I’ve changed who is inside. Instead of being one on one...now it is going to be one against eight!

Want to know the best part? If you fail to save her she is going to die!

And consider this little thing here as a bonus: Your lover is here. And she is in the same situation.

Have fun! And if you happen to find some cheese don’t hesitate to share!

Sheogorath.

Arden stood there for a few seconds after reading the letter, his eyes were wide open and his hands were trembling as they gripped the piece of paper harder and harder.

‘That bastard...’

“I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!” Arden screamed at the top of his lungs as he tore the letter to pieces and darted off to the point where he had been stuck for some time.

His original adversary was Dracula, from Castlevania Symphony of the Night. A game Arden had never beaten. He was aware of who the boss was as well as his attacks but that still wasn’t enough to beat him. Arden lacked the skill to defeat the Count, and now he had to face a not one, but eight opponents at once?

Arden finally reached the point where he was stuck for a fairly long time. The door was originally a very decorated door fitting for a European castle during the middle ages, now it was an ancient door that looked like it belonged in some sort of temple in Japan or close to it. Arden’s mind was in lost in a storm of rage.

Without even flinching, Arden bashed open the door. The path led to a giant stairwell that headed to the top of a mountain where a ring of black smoke circled around.

‘Time to make some heads roll,’ Arden thought as he dashed up the stairs.

After some time running, Arden had managed to calm himself ever so slightly. Not enough to be in complete control, but enough to think a bit more than act. That was when a barrier of flames surrounded him and creatures using masks with different letters jumped out of the red and purple flames.

“I don’t have time for you!” Arden roared as he morphed into his wolf form and started to tackle, bite, claw, spin, tear and toss the creatures without mercy or even giving it a second thought.

The monsters screamed and shrieked as Arden tore them to pieces, each one exploding into a burst of petals and flowers, grass sprouting off the ground. One of the monsters came close to landing an attack on Arden. It screamed in frustration as Arden dodged its blow by reverting to his anthropomorphic shape.

One by one the monsters were bested and the last one standing was Arden who stood upon a small field filled with beautiful flowers and green grass. Not giving himself a chance to rest, he simply took a deep breath and continued to dash upward with all he had.

‘I’m coming for you, Orochi!’

(Meanwhile)

“Nightmare!” Luna shouted making Nightmare wake up.

“What?!” she replied in annoyance as she got up on her hooves, noticing she wasn’t tied up. ‘What the-?!’

“Have we been here before?” Nightmare heard before she looked around.

It didn’t look like any place she had ever been to, a rusty black bell was hanging in some sort of old shrine. A blue blade with a golden moon as its guard was left on the ground, there was some sort of pot with strange drawings covering its front. Nightmare then tried to leave the small circular area where the bell was. However, an invisible barrier shocked her the moment she touched it.

“OUCH!” She shouted backing away from the edge of the area. It was then that Nightmare noticed she had some weird clothes on. Some sort of white dress that wasn’t closed and seemed to be kept together like a robe by some cloth that had a string tied around it.

“What is going on here? Did Wolf do this?”

“Really? Wolf trapping us here?” Luna asked.

“He is a stranger we met that keeps us tied up everytime we enter his dreams,” Nightmare said with disdain.

“Alright, I’ve been coping with your attitude these past months but I’m done now! What is wrong with you?!”

“What do you mean? I’m just keeping us safe, or could it be that don’t you trust me?”

“Nightmare, do you even hear yourself? It’s me. Of course, I trust you. However, you’ve gone from worrying about how you would look in front of him to just watching him being beaten up!”

“I was simply testing him.”

“What?”

“I wanted to see how far he would go to keep us safe. To see if he was trustworthy.”

“Are you insane?!” Luna shouted in Nightmare’s mind, “Because you were standing out in the open, he used his own body more than once to keep us from harm. How much proof do you need?!”

“Enough to satisfy me,” Nightmare replied as she walked around the bell. “Can’t be too careful when choosing allies. I won’t let you get in harm’s way.”

“Nightmare. I understand that you worry about me, and I am grateful for everything you’ve done. But you can’t keep acting like this! I don’t know if you noticed, but Wolf got slower each time he died. He did recover in the following night. But still...I think the failures are somehow affecting him.”

Nightmare bit her lip as she heard that. ‘Did I miss that? I didn’t notice any changes...am I...am I being a burden? Maybe I should help. Wolf has put his life on the line more than once trying to keep us safe.’

‘You can’t trust him. Wolf is just another Daywalker. It won’t be long until he is groveling at the hooves of your sister. After all, who would choose the mare that tainted by darkness and was branded as a monster, when they have the white pure mare that is known as the keeper of harmony? You are and always will be an afterthought. But if it is true that he would put his life on the line for you...why not test it? Why not make sure that he won’t regret placing himself at danger.’

Those thoughts appeared in Nightmare’s mind almost as if they were being shoved into her brain. They clouded her previous line of thought and made her worry about Wolf even more. The idea of being tossed aside for Luna’s sister made her heartache. Nightmare might have acted tough and confident but she was no different from the others around her.

‘That’s right. I need to be careful. I can’t ever let my guard down. I had free reign over Luna’s body, I finally had the chance to interact with others, only to have myself be banished to the moon. Then I got branded as a monster...and all of Luna’s subjects flocked to Celestia once more. I don’t want to open myself more to him only for him to turn his back on me.’

“NIGHTMARE! CAN’T YOU HEAR ME?!”

“Huh?! Oh, sorry.” Nightmare shook her head. “What were we talking about?”

“Look in front of you!”

“What?”

Nightmare saw not one, but eight dragon heads. All staring straight at her, each one had a different hat on its heads. Each hat had a different shape and a symbol engraved on its front, the necks of each head kept moving like a bunch of stings dancing around. Nightmare couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy and slightly lightheaded, almost as if the air around her was filled with something.

“After a hundred years,” one of the heads spoke in a loud voice that Nightmare could feel reverberating within her. “A tainted creature is offered as our sacrifice? PATHETIC! Our order was that a pure maiden should be offered at our altar!” The heads roared in unison, the screams hurt Nightmare’s ears, forcing her to cover them and back away.

“OROCHIIIIIIIIIIIII!”

That scream echoed through the area Nightmare was. The eight heads moved around and went to the opposite side. She tried to walk, however, Nightmare’s legs suddenly gave in.

‘W-what is going...on?’

“NIGHTMARE? NIGHTMARE!” Those were the last words she heard before everything went black.

However, at the moment everything was darkened, Nightmare felt something grabbing hold of her and some sort of wind as she felt as if she was floating. A few seconds after that sensation took hold, Nightmare’s senses returned all at once. Her eyes shot wide open, she was resting in some sort of platform. In front of her, Wolf was standing with the sword in one hand and the bottle in the other.

‘What is happening here?!’

“So, a mortal dares to oppose us,” the eight-headed snake spoke as Arden held the blade pointing at it, “you withstood our miasma. Nicely done. You may not be a descendant of the great warrior Nagi. But you may be acceptable.”

“Keep your babbling to yourself, you overgrown worm!” The heads swarmed and hissed at the insult. “Done with your rant? You were going to suggest that I made a blood-oath, right? Well, I have an oath for you!”

“You dare to mock us mortal!”

“Fine, fine!” Arden said, lowering the blade and placing the bottle on the ground beside him, “I shall chant my blood oath in the fashion of an undead legion.” Arden looked to the floor, closing his left hand as if he was holding a dagger, with his right hand he raised the blade pointing it to the mythical serpent, he also made some weird movements with his hooves making the bottle roll down and fall from the platform.

“This is the Farron’s undead Legion etiquette. They kept watching over the creatures of the abyss, swearing an oath to keep them at bay and destroy all that crept out of the darkness. I am not some noble knight that went through their probations. I can’t hope to hold a candle to any hero that I ever saw. But here is my promise, to all of those I care about.” Arden took a deep breath and stared at the head that was closest to him, wearing the helmet that symbolized fire. It looked like that with each word the other heads grew more and more agitated.

“All of those who dare to threaten who I love, hear my cry and tremble in fear. For I will not fall until I claim victory. Even if it is at the cost of my own life I shall bring you down. I am done with half measures.”

Just as he finished saying those words, the fire head roared. The black mist that was covering all of its body dispersed and a golden light came from it. The upper parts of its neck enveloped in golden scales as the lower halves were red as blood. Arden knew what that glow was, the barrier that turned the damned beast into a practically invulnerable monster.

Then the one using the fire helmet lunged forward, Arden thrust the sword towards the head. The tip of the blade hit something hard before sparks flew around. The serpent’s head continued to force its way, confident that it wouldn’t be affected by it.

However, while the clash continued Arden slightly bent his arm and then thrust the blade forth once again. The blade cut through the barrier and pierced the surface of the serpent’s head. The monster hissed and wriggled away before letting out a roar.

“Tsukuyomi,” Arden said making the blade rest on his shoulder. “If I’m not mistaken, this is the sword Nagi used to defeat you. Isn’t that right?” Arden continued as he stepped closer to the edge. “However, there was a second element to that defeat. And you didn’t even notice me setting it up.”

The serpent looked down to the base of its altar. “The Eight Purification Sake!” it screamed as it saw the golden light coming from a liquid that filled eight small puddles.

“Well, now is the time for you to pay for threatening her life,” Arden said before he leaped out of the platform.

Just as he leaped out of the platform, the sound of drums started to echo through the cavern.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzsU858ESn0

The battle almost looked like it had been rehearsed beforehand, Arden ducked, dodged, and rolled out of the path of the lunges and bites. The elemental attacks that were much faster than the physical ones made him shift into his wolf form.

As he continued to evade them, the heads growled and roared at him. Arden simply kept his focus on dodging their attacks, the monster’s stamina seemed endless as his assault didn’t falter. One of the heads tried to flank him after the poisonous head failed in its attempt to swallow him whole. Arden morphed into his anthropomorphic form and used Tsukuyomi’s blunt side to bash the cunning head against the ground.

The head stayed on the ground twitching as the remaining heads roared in anger. Seeing that they could be knocked unconscious way easier than in the game, Arden bolted towards the wind head and repeated the process. After knocking it out, Arden was forced to use the sword to guard against an attack that was made from the thunder head’s neck. Swinging itself like a whip, the head stroke Arden while he was in the air.

The blow threw Arden against a wall. The same head that placed him in that position lunged at him, its mouth wide open and ready to devour him. Arden used the sword to get the mouth stuck, the Thunder tried to shake the blade off. However, in its attempt to devour Arden it had attempted to bite him too hard. The blade sunk into its flesh and was stuck there.

Arden, who was holding firmly to the sword, grabbed the upper part of the serpent’s muzzle and pulled it down. Forcing it to close on the sword. Arden was now on top of the infuriated head, its helmet started to glow as the sound of thunder reverberated through the cavern.

Arden knew what came next, jumping off the head at the last second. He landed on the neck and ran up towards the shrine’s bell, the lighting had caused the other heads to be in disarray. Shifting his hand into a blade once more he slashed the rusted iron with his left hand while his right hand delivered blunt blows to it.

The heads managed to recompose themselves, with the help of its companions the thunder-head removed the sword and tossed it out. The blade landed near the entrance, and Arden had managed to shatter the bell. The heads roared and skirmished in pain as Arden shifted into a wolf before sprinting at full speed towards the fallen blade.

Picking the sword up with his mouth, Arden tossed the blade skyward before letting out a loud howl. The pitch black sky above them cleared, a golden crescent moon filled the sky. Arden shifted back into his bipedal form and grabbed the sword, pointing the blade skyward, the once blue blade shone with a pale golden aura.

“The moon’s light shall end you. No more seals, no more talismans. Only death’s embrace awaits you for what you were going to do,” Arden spoke before preparing the blade.

“You foolish mortal! You are the one who shall face death!” They screamed as they all rushed towards him.

Arden saw their movements, he remembered how fast Zecora moved before she started to properly train him. She was just as fast as those heads, Arden knew he couldn’t match it, so he would need to be reckless.

“I’m done with half measures,” Arden muttered before rushing in. His guard was down, he simply rushed forward as the heads tried to hit him.

By throwing his caution aside, Arden somehow managed to move faster. As if he had tossed away a huge weight that had been holding him back.

‘I’ll cut them down, I can cut them down,’ Arden thought as the heads failed to reach him.

Swinging the sword with confidence he never had before, the heads fell one by one as their blood stained the floor and the blue metal of the sword. When there was only one head left, the mighty serpent backed away from Arden. Making a violent swing Arden cleaned the blade.

“You can’t run. And you’re finished.”

“You cannot believe that this will end in your victory! You know not what awaits you!” The head laughed before Arden rushed it and separated it from its body.

“I may not know, but I know that I can’t lose. And that’s more than enough for me.”

(In the real world)

‘This is getting out of hand,’ Chrysalis thought as she helped Zecora keep Arden under control, for he was convulsing once more. ‘Zecora will wear herself out at this rate.’

These situations had become part of the routine during each session, although, they had become worse during the last three. When Arden started convulsing, he would start to bleed from his mouth and nose, his mouth would even start to foam during the last session.

Chrysalis was worried for Zecora, although she was expecting to be kicked out by them once the treatment was over, Chrysalis couldn’t help but worry seeing what this development was doing to Zecora. The zebra was barely sleeping the past few nights, she would stay up watching Arden just in case he had any problems. When she wasn’t training by herself, Zecora would be reading the books she had relentlessly searching for anything that could help prevent the convulsions.

‘And him...this idiot isn’t getting any better! In fact, he spends most of the day like a vegetable now. I can’t undo this level of mental damage. If he doesn’t get better soon...I don’t know what will happen to him. But I do know that Zecora will have a lot of heartaches if he ends up like I think he will.’

Chrysalis had been in charge of watching over Arden these past few days, while Zecora made her research to help him out. More than once Chrysalis had the chance of breaking through the mental wards, however, whenever she would try, a crushing sensation would appear on her chest. Any courage she had to pull it off would disappear and Chrysalis would simply found herself watching a stallion that was staring blankly at the ground.

Chrysalis had analyzed Arden’s eyes, they were the eyes of a dead stallion. There wasn’t any sign of light or that he was even aware of what was happening around him. The few moments that he would wake up happened at random and would have his necklace shinning like a disco ball. Not to mention that his eyes would keep shifting into that weird color that matched his mark.

‘There must be something I can do. If only we could...wait. That’s it!’

“Zecora,” Chrysalis said after Arden had stabilized once more, “are you absolutely sure he can’t take a break between sessions?”

“...” Zecora simply stood there staring at Arden, Chrysalis saw tears forming in her eyes. “This one thinks he should stop the treatment altogether. This one isn’t a healer...what kind of healer causes more damage than good to their patients?”

“You’re doing everything you can. In fact, you’re doing more than any doctor I’ve ever seen. And we can’t stop it completely,” When Chrysalis said those words, she saw Zecora’s ears perk up and the tears that were being held back started to pour out of her eyes.

“The cerulean is getting worse faster, isn’t it?”

“You noticed...”

“Of course this one noticed...she just did not want to accept it,” Zecora said with her voice starting to crack. “And this one was so happy to be with him...now, he is slipping away between this one’s fingers,” she continued as her hands stroke his mane.

“Have you checked every possibility?” Chrysalis asked. She had no intention of using that plan unless it was the only option.

“Do you believe that this one would even suggest stopping the treatment if she wasn’t so sure that there wasn’t any other way?” Zecora replied. Chrysalis felt the hostility in her answer, it was almost as if Zecora had pointed a spear at Chrysalis’ throat.

“Did you check the local library?”

“How can this one do it?” Zecora answered with venom. “This one can’t even set a hoof into town without every single pony in it locking themselves in the nearest building! Besides, the book containing the treatment was written by a pony that was back in this one’s land. Books from this one’s country are rare in this kingdom.” The anger in her voice died down and was replaced with sadness.

‘She is desperate...it won’t be long until she gives up...’ Chrysalis thought as she watched Zecora mope over Arden’s unconscious body. ‘Alright, that does it!’

Gritting her teeth and getting up, Chrysalis walked up to Zecora and slapped her on the face. The zebra looked at Chrysalis with a pitiful expression. Chrysalis slapped her again.

“LISTEN UP! STOP MOPPING RIGHT NOW!” Chrysalis ordered with conviction. “How can a warrior with such a strong body and that much knowledge of healing be acting like a little bitch, huh? Oo, me. I’m suffering so much. I’m going to lose my happiness again. Come on in death, just waltz in and take him away. Because I’m too busy being a whinny bitch to do anything.” Chrysalis mocked, mimicking Zecora’s voice perfectly.

Zecora’s pitiful expression twisted into a furious scowl as she got up on her hooves and got on eye-level with Chrysalis. “This one is not about to let him get away. She won’t be weak like when she was with Gamba. This one has endured too much to lose again!”

“Then pull your head out of your fucking ass and start thinking! There must be something you missed!” Chrysalis replied with just as much energy.

“This one has researched everything! There are no documented methods to help with this situation!”

“Then stop relying on books! How do you think that the methods that were registered there came to be, huh? Somepony thought of a different way out, and tried it! So think! You’re a healer, then just ask yourself: what’s the patient’s problem?”

“His mind is deteriorating too quickly,” Zecora replied before her eyes widened and she started to scratch her chin. “Therefore, what we require is a way to either slow it down or, in a best-case scenario, completely halt the decaying. For that to happen...there are herbs that can cause lethargy. However, prolonged use of them would cause him to be addicted and we would need to adjust the dosage, meaning that we could reach a point where he could end up dying due to poisoning.”

Chrysalis stopped Zecora’s speech by placing her finger in front of Zecora’s lips. “In other words, we would need something that can keep him in a coma state but isn’t addicting or irreversible. That’s the same thing I thought. And I might have a way to help.”

(Back in the dream realm)

Nightmare couldn’t believe what she had just seen, Wolf had never been able to move like that before. He had improved with each night, but none of them were anywhere near what he just pulled off. And he did it all claiming that it was because of the threat towards her.

‘Now, this is more like it,’ Nightmare smirked as she watched the cavern revert into a room. ‘That is the level of dedication I deserve.’

Nightmare walked up to Wolf, however, just as she was about to reach him, Wolf turned around grabbed her wrist and started to run towards the door that would allow them to proceed.

“Stop! I said STOP!” Nightmare ordered before breaking free of Wolf’s grip.

“What?!” Wolf asked with anger. “We don’t have time for a break, there is somepony else stuck here. And I won’t let her be hurt!”

“Her?” Nightmare asked with a bit of poison in her voice.

“Yeah! Her, the mare I love. Also, she is the mare that is helping me heal my fucking mind. So if you don’t mind, I have to save her! I can’t stand still knowing she is in danger!” Wolf grabbed hold of Nightmare’s wrist again. However, Nightmare didn’t let herself be led this time. Her gaze was locked into his eyes, and only one thing was in her head.

‘The mare...he loves? Does that mean he already made his choice? Could it be that...that...’

‘He never wanted anything with you. You can’t trust daywalkers. All you can do is break him. And have him as your loyal puppet. That is the only way you’ll have him all for yourself. Break his mind, break his heart, tear him to pieces and build the doll that will serve you and only you.’

‘All I can do... is break...’

“Listen! Nightmare!” The voice snapped her back into reality. Wolf was still holding her grip, he was on his knees. “Please...don’t let her suffer just for trying to help me. Please...I beg of you! Help me save her. Please. Help her! I need to help her!”

“No. I will keep walking, but you can’t forget about any help from this point on.”

There was no response. She simply watched Wolf look at her with his eyes wide open. Nightmare then saw tears form up in his eyes before Wolf turned his back on her and ran up the stairs.

Nightmare felt a strong chain tightened itself around her heart. “I should have never have opened myself to him. Luna...you’re the only one I have. But first, I have to do something about him.”

‘Why should you dirty your hands? He isn’t worth the effort. He knows about them. Send them in.’

‘I still want him...I don’t want him to die...’

‘Who said that he has to die? Have them break him, then you piece him back together however you want. He will be yours and yours only. And the best part, you can blame them for it. All you need to do is...’

“Open the door,” Nightmare whispered to herself as she finally began to ascend the stairs.

After some time, Nightmare saw Wolf furiously trying to open the door to the next level of the tower. Only when she set one of her hooves on the same level as Wolf the door opened, Wolf rushed inside while Nightmare waited for a second. Nightmare lit up her horn and created a path in the air.

The Baku she fought so many times came to her, one of them took the form of a monstrous Celestia and tried to attack Nightmare with its claws. Using her magic, Nightmare restrained the creature. The two remaining Baku stayed back, shapeless purple masses with red eyes simply waiting to see her next move.

“I shall give you dreams to devour, however, you must obey my every command. Disobey and...” Nightmare crush the fake Celestia turning her into a pile of sparkling silver dust. “...die. I am Nightmare, Queen of the Night. And the ruler of dreams.”

The amorphous beings looked at each other before taking the shape of dogs. They lowered their heads before her, Nightmare didn’t laugh, she didn’t smirk, she didn’t find joy or anything remotely close to happiness in all of that.

‘Time to get this over with, he will be mine. No other being, male or female, shall ever look at him. He is my possession, my toy. He will be whatever I want him to be. Food, friend, lover, slave, object, carcass. Building him up and tearing him to pieces until he is exactly the way I want him to be.’

“Listen up, you mongrels,” Nightmare said as she entered the door to the next level of the tower, “you shall attack the target I give you and only them. Don’t bark, don’t breathe, don’t make a single noise until I say so. When the time is right, you will have your feast. And I will have my prize.”

Arden kept running and running, the door had opened to a stairwell that seemed endless. After a good amount of time running Arden saw a light as he was reaching the outside of the tower. Once he gained the outside, Arden saw a familiar sight. The ruins where he had been training with Zecora. Still gasping for air, Arden wandered through the remnants of the palace searching for any sign of Zecora.

When Arden finally reached the courtyard where he and Zecora sparred, Arden saw something that made his blood run cold while rage built up inside him. Before him suspended in the air by invisible restraints, Zecora laid unconscious. Arden took one step towards her, and that’s when it happened.

Zecora’s eyes shot wide open, a golden glow came from them. The restraints must have disappeared since Zecora simply began to fall towards the ground. Darting as fast as he could Arden jumped in the air and grabbed Zecora’s body. Her eyes were glowing with a golden aura, she didn’t seem to be conscious.

Arden carried her over to the edge of the courtyard and placed her near a wall.

“Rest, I’ll get us out. I’m sorry for dragging you into this,” Arden said getting up and walking away.

‘Who the hell am I supposed to clobber?’ Arden thought as he looked around for any trace of the opponent.

A few seconds after, an image flashed in his mind. Arden had seen those eyes before, a twisted and cruel attempt to stop the main character in a game. Arden looked over his shoulder, only to see Zecora back on her hooves and spear in hand. Arden turned around, Zecora spun the spear in her hands and assumed a stance.

“Zecora...are you still there?” Arden asked before he felt her hoof on his stomach.

The hoof had enough force to toss him back, Arden rolled on the dirt. Before he could get up, another hoof connected. More and more kicks against his torso while he was on the ground. Each one with enough force to break bones. Suddenly, Arden felt something sharp on his back, kick after kick the assault continued.

“Are you just going to lay down and die?” Zecora asked as she flipped Arden over to face her. “This one expected more from you! Come on! Stand up and fight!”

Arden just stared at her in silence as she continued to stab, clobber, and kick him. Her stamina seemed to be endless as her assault continued. Insults, attacks, Zecora didn’t hold back on the physical or mental abuse. The smile she bore on her face as each attack mauled Arden’s body.

It was weird, Arden couldn’t place his finger on it, but somehow all of that didn’t matter. It didn’t matter how much pain she inflicted, it didn’t matter how deeply the wounds were, this time, he wasn’t fading. This time, he wasn’t leaving. But he also couldn’t fight back, he couldn’t offer resistance, all he could do was stare at the golden eyes.

“Pathetic, how could this one even consider this thing a partner? You aren’t worth the air you breathe,” Zecora voice was venomous. “Fine! Stay there and rot. A weakling like you can’t withstand pain. Go ahead and be the helpless thing you are.”

Arden watched as Zecora turned her back on him, she walked away spear in hand. As she distanced herself from him, Arden saw Nightmare standing at the edge of the courtyard.

“You want to know something funny?” Arden said without stuttering before he started to laugh. “All the blows you just threw at me...they didn’t hurt. I don’t care how many bones you broke or how much damage I just took. That is nothing...”

Saying those words, Arden got back on his hooves. Slowly changing his hand into a blade, Arden faced Zecora who was looking at him over her shoulder. She smirked before spinning the spear once more and turning around to face Arden. The world around him looked to slow down, he remembered something Zecora told him.

“You are still a novice. Your weapon is your greatest ally in a battle. However, it can also be a restraint. When you are used to fighting with it, you rely on it and see it as an advantage. And it is an advantage, therefore you are afraid to lose it. That leads to you acting with caution, and if your opponent is as skilled with his weapon you won’t stand a chance. Because he will use your caution against you because it makes you predictable."

“That’s why, whenever you fight somepony you know from the get-go that they are stronger than you, or you come to realize that during your fight. You will need to learn to toss it aside. Without your weapon, you’ll be in disadvantage, meaning you’ll need to be tricky. You’ll become reckless and unpredictable like a cornered beast, that will be your trump card. Don’t be afraid, you are becoming stronger. In the end, victory will rely on how far are you willing to go.”

As that memory played in his mind, Arden’s sword turned back into its hand shape. Arden saw the golden-eyed Zecora charge towards him.

‘Horizontal slash once she is within range,’ Arden thought as he saw Zecora moving her body. ‘Lunge forward before she can swing. The polearm of the spear will connect. But the damage will be reduced.’

Arden rushed Zecora, the spear’s pole struck his torso. Zecora was thrown out of balance and Arden took that opportunity to punch her straight in the muzzle. The attack connected and Zecora was forced to back away, she swiped off the blood from her mouth and smiled.

“The stick monster can actually throw a punch,” she said slowly strafing around Arden who did the same, “but it won’t make a difference, You already took too much damage.”

“This?” Arden asked with a calm tone. “This is nothing compared to the pain I’m about to feel.”

“You already know that this one will beat you then?” Zecora mocked.

“You think that you’re the one hurting me? That’s cute. No, I’m the one hurting myself right now.”

“Oh, yeah? And what are you doing to hurt yourself?”

“You’re about to see it,” Arden said before rushing towards Zecora.

The huntress reacted by trying to pierce Arden with a thrust from her weapon, Arden moved his body slightly out of the attack’s path getting away from it with nothing more than a scratch. Using her free hand, Zecora threw a punch towards his head. Arden took it, his body swayed left following the fist’s path. He then spun his body left and retaliated with another strike straight to her muzzle.

However, this time he didn’t give Zecora time to retreat. This time he was the one launching a flurry of blows straight at her face and body. The assault knocked Zecora out of balance and caused her to fall down. With each connected blow, Arden felt as if his body was the one suffering those attacks. His body seemed to be about to crumble.

With his opponent on the ground, Arden jumped on top of Zecora. He locked her arms in place and kept attacking until she let go of the spear. She wasn’t in condition to continue fighting, Arden got up and picked up the spear. With weapon in hand, he stepped on Zecora’s chest and pointed the end of the spear to her throat.

“W-won’t you finish this one?” Zecora asked looking straight at Arden.

“I don’t have to. I defeated you. You are in a position to receive a fatal blow, that means, by our rules, that you lost.” Arden replied as tears formed in his eyes.

“A mistake only the weak make, don’t ever hurt a warrior’s pride,” Zecora replied with a grin that sent a chill down Arden’s spine before grabbing the spear and thrusting it into her own chest.

Arden pulled the spear out and tossed to the side, he then kneeled down as fast as he could. Grabbing Zecora’s head, he saw the golden glow disappear as the blood kept coming out of the wound. Arden applied pressure as he watched Zecora’s defiant gaze turned into one of confusion and fear while she chocked on the blood.

“No! NO! Zecora, please! Hang on!” Arden cried as he turned around and looked at Nightmare.

‘You can forget about any help from this point on,’ Those words echoed in his mind as he saw Nightmare standing there watching him struggle.

“H-h-help...” Arden heard from beneath him in between coughs. “Ar...den...” Zecora said reaching out for his head. Arden used one of his hands to grab hold of her hand.

“It’s okay! I’ll save you! I promise it will all be alright!” Arden desperately reassured Zecora as he tightened his grip on her hand and she replied tried to do the same.

“I...lo...ve...you...”

Just as Zecora managed to mutter those words, her grip disappeared. Her coughing stopped, her eyes slowly closed as if she had gone to sleep. Arden felt the tears roll down his eyes, he tried to call out to her, but nothing came out. He couldn’t speak he couldn’t breathe.

Then the message that had brought him there popped in Arden’s mind. He remembered who did this, he remembered who made him fight Zecora. Arden hugged the corpse with all he had as rage and hatred filled his mind and heart. Tears streamed down his face as he began to scream in pain.

“SHEOGORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATH! I WILL KILL YOU!”

(Back in the real world)

“Are you sure you are okay with this?” Zecora heard as Chrysalis prepared herself. “You won’t hold it against me?”

“You are going to save him. This one can’t possibly be mad at that. Jealous? Maybe,” Zecora looked at Arden. “This one wishes she was able to help him the way you can help.”

“You’ve been helping him way more than I have, that’s for sure,” Chrysalis said. Zecora looked up to her and saw that the changeling looked worried. “Just so we are clear, I will kiss him. And that will give me a way to bypass the mental wards he has in place. With those out of the way, I’ll be able to put him in a stasis of sorts. That will slow down his decay by a considerable amount. His mind will be working really slowly, which means that his sessions will last way longer since his mind will be processing the potion way slower.”

“If you are worried this one will take this as an attempt to steal the cerulean, don’t worry. This one also comes from a culture that allows relationships with multiple partners. The greater the number, the greater the warrior.”

“I AM NOT ENTERING A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM!” the changeling screamed with her cheeks blushing like crazy. “I-I’m just saving your coltfriend.”

Zecora chuckled at Chrysalis’ reaction. “Understood. But this one has to ask, why can a changeling inject nutrients into his blood using their fangs?”

“It is a way to preserve captured prey. Our bodies don’t use nutrients ingested through a regular diet. They only use the energy that comes from love. Regular food is broken down into nutrients and stored into a poison sack of sorts placed at the base of our jaw. If we were to capture a being to extract its love while keeping them captive, we can simply put a sleep spell on them and then inject the nutrients directly into the veins.”

“Could that be considered reverse vampirism?” Zecora asked, scratching her chin. “Or would it be more along the lines of a snake injecting poison?”

“Go with the snake one. That one is less...strange.” Chrysalis looked at Zecora with an annoyed expression. “The only issue with this is the fact that I have to drain it if I ingest too much. I’ll also send in the potion through this method.”

“So, is the changeling going to do it, or will the changeling simply keep fidgeting there?” Zecora asked with a smirk while Chrysalis glared daggers at her.

“FINE! Just don’t be jealous if wakes up during it and he likes mine better than yours!”

As soon as Chrysalis said those words, something clicked inside Zecora’s mind.

‘Wakes up...He should be up already! Something is wrong!’

“Chrysalis, wait!” Zecora said coming closer to Arden so, she could check his pulse. Just as she was about to reach it, Arden started to convulse again.

His body was twisting and turning violently, foam mixed with blood was coming from his mouth, his eyes shot wide open as they kept shifting between their activated state and dormant, his necklace created a light show that made the room look like a disco. Blood came out of his nostrils, his torso was retracting and relaxing without a pattern.

“Oh, no...” Zecora muttered as she watched the scene unfold. Zecora then remembered about a sedative Arden and she had mixed a few days ago. Before he stayed unconscious for most of the day. “Restrain him Chrysalis!”

Zecora then got up and ran to the shelf where the potions were stored. She frantically searched until she found the one she was looking for. Picking up the vial containing the sedative, Zecora rushed back to Chrysalis and gave her the vial.

“Can you get this sedative in his bloodstream immediately?”

Without even giving an answer, Chrysalis took the vial and drank the entire thing. Zecora then watched as the changeling opened up her mouth hissing, her fangs grew longer as she did it. And then, Chrysalis sunk her fangs into Arden’s neck directly above one of his blood vessels. A small amount of blood came out of the wound.

In a matter of seconds, Arden stopped convulsing. Zecora checked his vitals and confirmed that the sedative had been effective.

‘If this one had remembered about this earlier...maybe we could have avoided those violent episodes. Although, this could have backfired badly. We were lucky that this worked.’

Zecora then looked at Chrysalis, she had a small amount of blood around her lips. There was something off in the way she was looking at Arden now, her eyes were only half open and her mouth was slightly open. It was almost as if she was gasping a bit for air. Zecora extended her hand and waved in front of Chrysalis’ eyes, the changeling blinked a few times before shaking her head.

“W-what, did it work?” she asked with a drowsy voice. She was still staring at the point where her fangs had sunken in.

“Yes, he is stable now,” Zecora replied grabbing hold of Chrysalis’ muzzle and making her look at her. “Is the changeling okay?”

“Huh? Yeah! I’m okay. Injecting something this way actually leaves the changeling a bit light headed.”

“Is the changeling sure that is all? The look you had was...almost as if you had been hypnotized,” Chrysalis’ response to that remark was a sudden blush followed by her looking away.

“Like I said. Lightheaded because of the process. That is all. Now if you excuse me, I have to bypass his wards.”

After saying that, Zecora saw Chrysalis lean over Arden. She secured her mane behind her ears, Chrysalis then picked up Arden’s head and cleaned the traces of the convulsion. Once he was completely clean, Chrysalis cleaned her mouth from his blood and then she just stood there.

‘Is she afraid of doing it?’

Zecora then saw the changeling close her eyes and frown deeply before taking a deep breath. Suddenly, Chrysalis pushed her lips against Arden’s lips. Her horn was enveloped by a green aura as she moved her head and continued to press her mouth against his.

Chrysalis’ eyes shot open allowing Zecora to see them, they were glowing, Chrysalis’ pupils shrunk to the point she could only see a thin vertical line at the center of the eye. Chrysalis’ breathing started to pick up, she climbed up on top of Arden and kept on moving her head as she continued to kiss him. Zecora heard some very low moaning coming from Chrysalis as her horn started to glow even brighter.

Zecora felt blood rush to her head as she watched all of that. A small hint of envy started to appear as the scene continued to unfold.

‘Is she just breaking through the wards...or is the changeling enjoying it?’

Chrysalis’ eyes glowed even brighter as the sounds she was making became louder. Her horn was practically a torch at that point. And that was when Chrysalis’ horn touched Arden’s, the aura around her horn flowed directly into Arden’s horn. Chrysalis’s eyes started to dart really fast.

‘It looks like REM...is the changeling in a trance? While doing...whatever it is she is doing.’

Zecora then saw Chrysalis sat down on top of him, Chrysalis grabbed his head and started to caress his cheeks as the kiss continued. That was when the entirety of the aura that had been building up on Chrysalis’ horn passed on to Arden’s horn. Chrysalis closed her eyes and backed away gasping for air, her cheeks were bright green, her eyes opened half way and she stood there, sitting on top of him with that strange look in her eyes.

“T-that...was harder...t-then I expected...” Chrysalis said with a low voice in between gasps.

“Are you sure that you were only bypassing the wards on the cerulean?” Chrysalis lazily turned her head to face Zecora. “Because you seemed to be about to do something else to him.”

“H-huh?” Chrysalis asked, she still looked like she was in a haze of sorts. “Wha...what are you talking about?”

Just as she said those words, Chrysalis’ eyes returned to normal and she looked down on herself. Zecora watched the changeling get on her hooves as fast as she could and walk towards the door. Before she left though, Chrysalis looked over her shoulder.

“D-d-don’t mention this to anypony,” She said with a scowl on her face, “I...I need some air,” Chrysalis slammed the door shut.

“Sure,” Zecora replied after the changeling was gone.

Zecora then looked at Arden, who was sleeping soundly. She saw his mouth slightly open.

‘This should be okay, he is with this one after all...’ Zecora thought before climbing up on him and making his head face towards her. ‘Just...one...kiss...’

Zecora gently placed her lips against his, the image of how Chrysalis did it played in her head as Zecora kissed him. She began imitating Chrysalis movements without even realizing. And then she backed away and laid by Arden’s side.

“Sweet dreams…”

(Dream realm)

‘That should’ve been mine, tears of sadness, tears destined to me and only me,’ Nightmare thought as she continued to watch Wolf sobbing and mopping over the corpse. A strong pain building up inside her with every passing second. ‘I am better than that mare. I am more beautiful. I am more powerful. I am a goddess. She is nothing but a mere mortal.’

‘He won’t ever-’

“SHEOGORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATH! I WILL KILL YOU!”

That scream made Nightmare cover her ears and close her eyes in pain. After that scream, Nightmare could still hear a roar happening. Opening up her eyes, Nightmare saw something she hadn’t seen before. Wolf’s body was shifting and changing like the fog was actually about to explode and disperse in every direction.

The body in his arms shattered, and then Nightmare saw the room change, not like it usually did. The ruins around them shattered and collapsed like breaking glass. The shards of the room slowly returning to their spots while Wolf started to pour out some sort of energy.

The room that was usually a black and white reformed itself in a bright blue. That was when Nightmare felt a second presence in there. Something was forcing its way into Wolf’s mind, now that they were in that room, Nightmare couldn’t hide the Baku. Casting a quick spell, Nightmare forced the Baku to retreat. She then shapeshifted to hide among the objects that decorated the room.

Seconds after hiding, Nightmare saw a silhouette enter the room through a tear that appeared out of nowhere.

‘Who is that? How did they get in here? Is it a Baku? No, it has a shape. It isn’t that god from before either.’

As those thoughts popped in her mind Nightmare watched the figure place its hand on Wolf’s shoulder, only now nightmare realized that Wolf wasn’t conscious anymore. The way he was acting, was that of a dreamless sleeper.

‘A body in the dream realm that doesn’t react usually means a drug or a powerful spell to sedate the dreamer. Wolf’s been drugged or something close to it.’

Nightmare then saw a green glow envelope the newcomer, the glow flowed from it directly into Wolf. The violent energy building up inside him started to fade, and after a few moments, Wolf was back to normal. Nightmare then saw the figure draw something on Wolf’s torso, then it opened up another tear and left.

The scenario around them started to dissolve, Nightmare prepared herself to wake up. However, nothing happened. The world disappeared completely and Nightmare could still see Wolf on his knees looking down.

‘What is happening here? Did I get trapped?’ Nightmare thought before trying a spell that allowed her to quickly exit the dream of any dreamer she visited. The spell worked out without a problem. ‘This means that the one stuck is him. Which means that I can return whenever I want to finish him off. Then he will be mine.’

Smiling at the new opportunity she had just received, Nightmare walked towards Wolf until she was very close to him. He still looked to be unaware of his surroundings. Nightmare leaned closer to the side of Wolf’s head and whispered.

“Enjoy the dreams you still have. Pretty soon, all you’ll have will be a Nightmare.”

As she finished those words, Nightmare cast the spell once more and left the mind behind to return to her prison.

‘Soon, he will be all yours.’

‘And I’ll do as I please with him.’

‘That wasn’t supposed to happen! I should have waited longer before bypassing the wards. Using my fangs always does that to me. UUUUUURGH! Why did I have to wake up like that? Why did it have to be so hard to get past them? Never mind! As shameful as that scene was, I still got what I wanted. Now I can puppeteer him around once he is back on his hooves. I just need to focus.’

Chrysalis kept passing around outside of the hut, as she did it, the memories of what happened during her attempt to bypass the wards were slowly returning to her. The feeling of her lips against his, she even managed to get some love energy during that moment. She remembered the feeling of her body being so close to his as she kissed him.

‘NOOOOOOOO! NONONONONONNONONONONONONO! I am not falling for that! Wake up! I got in, now I just need to wait. Don’t mess it up! Chrysalis stay focused!’ Chrysalis slapped her cheeks, then a thought occurred to her.

‘Although...now I can check all of his memories. And verify everything he told us. Check every compliment, every nice thing, and attitude. I can see if he really is what he claims to be! I...I can even check what he sees in each of us...Yes. I will investigate a bit. And see what is it that he thought of us every time he saw us.’

Chrysalis smiled discreetly as she started to think of what she could verify and what she could use against Arden now that he was under her control. After so long trying to get into his head, Arden was finally under her control. She thought of what she could make him do, however, something else came to her mind.

‘Zecora trusted me to help him. If I...if I hurt him or manipulate him...she might notice. She may not trust me. Zecora might turn her back on me if I betray her trust...AAAARGH! What is happening to me?! Why do I care so much for her?! Why do I care?! I’m so close to getting the army on my side. And now this?! What happened to me? What changed me?!’