Time had passed much quicker now, with Sapphire at his side and the cottage, more often than not, alive with conversation between the commander and his savior. Fluttershy still rarely initiated any conversation, but Imago’s sense for emotions told him the truth, that it was more due to her shyness than her fear anymore. The little cottage was becoming a comfortable home. And this was terrible. Imago knew this, knew that becoming to accustomed to this pony, to this comfortable life was not what he wanted. Imago needed to stay and be pleasant long enough to heal, then leave. Find and reclaim his place beside his queen. Even becoming her friend was not an attractive prospect. After all, once he healed, he’d not be returning to ponyvile for any good reason ever again. Still, as he looked over to the yellow pegasus, currently feeding and talking to her animals, he knew it was too late. He knew he’d miss her upon returning to the swarm. He shook his head. Here he was, a commander of the Changeling Swarm, befriending a pony. And one that had helped defeat his people, no less. He looked down, regarding the bandage on his leg that had been freshly changed by his own hoof. The break was growing smaller by the day. Soon enough, it’d be time for him to return home. Imago looked forward to that day, simultaneously eager and dreadful for his departure. He longed for his own people, for the Swarm, those whom he had grown from nymph-hood with. He wanted to be back at his queen’s side, beloved by many, feared by plenty, but respected by all. Yet, as he watched the mare, he knew he’d already sunk to far, and that he’d miss his friend once he left. He hated himself for letting himself get attached, but it had happened. Now he’d have to deal with the consequences. Feeling the kitten rub against his leg, he looked down to Sapphire, who was begging for attention. Of course, what would he do with her? No way would the little love-ball survive for a minute around the Swarm. She’d be a husk in seconds. Imago buried his head into the couch, where he was fairly sure he’d made an indent. Maybe all this lying around, being stationary, was getting to him. He needed something to happen, and soon.

As though Chrysalis heard his wish, and deigned to show him the folly of wishing, the door was cast open, wreathed in a bright purple magic, only to reveal a lavender unicorn standing in the doorframe, wearing the friendliest smile she could manage, her eyes closed. Fear ratcheted through Imago’s being, as he recognized the pale purple pony instantly as Twilight Sparkle, one of the leading causes of his predicament. Panic spread through his being just as Twilight began to speak.

“Good afternoon Fluttershy, I’m sorry for coming in unannounced, I just wanted to check on you. Rarity told me you hadn’t made it to the spa in a while, and we haven’t seen you around town.” The prized student of Celestia opened her eyes, looking to the butter-yellow pony before her. Odd, Fluttershy seemed really scared. Well, more so than normal. Fluttershy galloped over to her, seeming to purposefully take up her field of vision.

“Oh no, it’s no problem!” The mare said a little too quickly, her smile far too wide for her face. “But, um, as you can see I’m perfectly fine I just haven’t wanted to head to town so thanks for checking up on me haveanicedaybye!” Twilight looked at the shy pony, a single eyebrow raised. Idly, she wondered if she herself was as terrible a liar as her friends were.

“Um, Fluttershy? Please don’t take this the wrong way, but are you hiding something?” Judging by the way Fluttershy’s wings immediately flared in surprise, not to mention the clearly shocked look on her face, Twilight was pretty secure in the thought that her friend was trying to keep something from her.

“H-Hiding!? W-What would I want to hide?” A nervous laugh came from the worried pegasus. “T-That’s silly Twilight. I don’t have anything to hide. Nope, nothing here, just me and the animals.” Twilight sighed, attempting to push her way past as gently as possible, only to have her face jerked to the side, Fluttershy forcing her to look at a small family of mice.

“L-Look Twilight! Squeakson’s leg got all better! Remember? I had gotten him that tiny wheelchair?”

“Yes Fluttershy, that’s very nice, now if you’ll let me-“

“O-Oh! And the birds learned a new song! Here, let me show you!” Fluttershy nervously began to vocalize a familiar tune, before Twilight finally wrenched her head back from the panicking mare. Speaking in as soft and friendly a voice as she could, she tried to sooth the mare before looking about the house.

“Fluttershy, I’m your friend, and friends will always accept any problem you ha-“ Suddenly, Twilight stopped, her vision catching. “Fluttershy…” She spoke slowly. “Is that-“

“I’msorryTwilighthewashurtandhe’sreallynicepleasedon’tbemadhe-“ Fluttershy fell at her studious friends feet, hoping that the unicorn wouldn’t be to mad. Hundreds of possible situations ran through her head, all of them bad. She couldn’t imagine Twilight reacting well to her harboring a Changeling, not after what had happened to Shining Armor and Cadence. What if she told the princess? The Princess would surely be furious with her! Maybe even mad enough to-

“Is that Chrome Quill!?” Twilight’s voice contained not fear, or anger, or fury, or terror, or any of the other things that Fluttershy had expected, but instead, surprise and joy. Slowly looking up, peeking from her bangs, she saw a strange pegasus stallion sitting where Imago had been before. This stallion had nearly gleaming bright grey fur, and a long mane of black. He wore a friendly smile under his green eyes, seeming completely at home. His forelegs were tucked under his body, lying comfortably on the couch. Fluttershy looked at the strange intruder, her mind sluggishly processing the sudden change from fear and panic to confusion.

“U-uhm-“

“Yes, I am.” The male responded with a slight chuckle. “I have to admit, I wish I was greeted like that more often. “ His voice was more of a middle tone, for a male. Not quite high pitched, but not low enough to be called deep. He spoke with a slight rasp, as though recovering from some throat sickness.

“Oh my gosh! I’m such a fan! I can’t believe your books don’t get more recognition!” Chrome Quill blinked, looking a little confused.

“You really think that highly of them?” He asked the mare. “I mean, there are only three.”

“I know, I know, I own all of them, but I mean, The Chronicles of Dawn-Breaker was a great fantasy, but Mindful Musings and Curious Quandaries was such a thought-provoker. I really didn’t expect you to be able to do both fiction and deep, thoughtful writing. No offence.” Chrome Quill gave a sly grin, watching the mare closely.
“I thought you said all three. What about The Thief and The Sorcere-“
“I-I really liked that one to!” Twilight said quickly, a faint redness appearing on her cheeks, hinting at the nature of this book. “B-But that’s for another time.” She looked over to Fluttershy, seeming happy to change the topic. “S-So Fluttershy, wh-what’s Chrome Quill doing here?” Fluttershy blinked in slight surprise, not expecting the sudden shift of attention to her. The stallion spoke up, answering for the mare.

“It’s, um, not a story I plan on publishing,” the author chuckled at the joke, before continuing. “I...” The stallion sighed, as though embarrassed. “I crashed.” He finally admitted, seeming humiliated by this simple mistake. “Ended up in the river, and I broke my leg in the fall.” To emphasize, the stallion moved the offending foreleg, showing off the bandage without removing the limb from under himself. “To top it off, I seem to have had caught a cold.” He sighed, bringing his other foreleg out and rolling it in an annoyed fashion. “I know, I know, sounds like the most clichéd opening to any story, Daring Do did it first, I know.” He rolled his eyes. “Still, I made my way here, since it was the closest building, and Fluttershy here insisted on patching me up. I’m sorry to keep her, I told her she should go.”

“No, no, I understand. Fluttershy is Fluttershy after all. She lives to help out those in need.”

“I can tell.” Chrome nodded. “In any case, I should be gone soon, then I’m sure she’ll be around again.”

“I-I’m sorry to worry you.” Fluttershy mumbled, looking at the ground and kicking her hoof. Twilight smiled.

“Fluttershy, didn’t we go over this? You shouldn’t be afraid to tell your friends what’s going on.” Twilight turned, beginning to leave. “You know we’d understand.”

“I know.” Fluttershy meekly responded, but smiled.
“I’ll go tell the others. Have a good day Fluttershy, and nice to meet you Mr. Chrome Quill.” Twilight said, happily making her way away as the pair bid her farewell.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Chrome Quill was wreathed in green fire, stemming from the bandaged leg, and engulfing the rest of him, before returning his form to Imago. The changeling let out a long, relieved sigh as he sank down, grateful for that to be over.

“That was too close.” Was all he had to say.
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Twilight Sparkle returned home, her messages delivered to the others. To think, they’d been so worried about something being wrong with their friend, when all she was doing was taking care of somepony. And an author no less! Twilight allowed herself a happy sound, still glad that she got to meet the author in person. She would have to speak with him more before he left. As a matter of fact, she wanted to re-read some of his works now, just to brush up on topics to talk about. As she pulled a book from the shelf, using her magic to bring the book of theoretic debates and questions closer, she couldn’t help but wonder something that’d been plaguing her since she left Fluttershy’s cottage. When Chrome Quill had showed the bandage, why hadn’t he shown the whole leg? And, on what he did show, she could’ve sworn she’d seen black on the metallic colored pony’s leg. Black with…a hole…?