Soon the trio was full of laughs, and the creature made them feel much better with the blue and gold liquid he showed to Cozy earlier.

"I had no idea you turned Shining Armor into a mindless zombie!" Cozy Glow laughed.

"Of course! But who would've thought that banishing Starlight without magic to Tartarus would've been as glorious as just ending her?" Chrysalis guffawed.

"And to think that Discord would have been a match against all of us, even without your throne of ancient darkstone!" Tirek chortled. Cozy and Chrysalis laughed along with him.

The creature simply stared at the trio's hearts on the ground, laughing away at their own villainous jokes. Then, he exposed his left palm and made a ruby-red ring with very demonic and dark-souled runes appear in front of the trio, and he started to turn it clockwise.

The trio suddenly started to go into a fast forward trance, and then they stopped when the creature saw them stop laughing and wiping their tears of joy from their eyes. Then they returned to their normal speed.

"I think we've had enough jokes for now. Let's address the elephant in the room," Chrysalis said as she referred to the creature.

Cozy quickly looked around. "An elephant!? Where!?"

Chrysalis sighed, "There isn't a literal elephant here, and this is a forest."

Cozy Looked at Chrysalis confused. "Huh?" Chrysalis grew annoyed, but then the creature raised his palm and advised her to not speak out of turn.

"It is the expression in which a couple or many associates talk about a subject that is important at hoof or hand," The creature explained.

"Thank you," Said Chrysalis.

"Oh... Okay, so let's hear about you," Cozy said to the creature.

The creature was silent for a moment. "Before we move onto me, let us discuss... personal affairs."

"Personal affairs?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Villainy often originates from pain or an embodiment created out of evil," The creature explained.

"Oh, like that's going to be pleasant," Chrysalis scoffed as she rolled her eyes.

"Excellent, Ms. Chrysalis. Would you care to begin?"

Chrysalis' eyes widened a little. "Me?" But to her chagrin, the creature simply nodded. That just made her more annoyed. "I will do no such thing!" She said as she crossed her forelegs and looked away. Then the creature presented a vial of this pink liquid that gave off a bright pink mist. Chrysalis looked at it and found it curious. "What is that?"

"The love from your meal, I siphoned out the rest before I devoured it," The creature responded.

Chrysalis was astonished and was about to grab the vial, but the creature pulled it back. She was annoyed as she was irritated with what he was trying to do. "For someone who has no emotions, you certainly show your levels of cruelty."

"One cannot be cruel without a motive," The creature vexed.

Chrysalis simply groaned and took the vial with her magic, opened it, and drank a small portion. She suddenly felt very empowered and... satisfied. "My goodness! This vial of love is even stronger then just taking it from that creature. Did you add it with other creatures?"

"I have my ways with different species," The creature responded. "Now... your story?"

Chrysalis sighed, "Right, right. Where to begin... Of course. I was created by a carnivorous plant that fed on literally nothing but bugs and bones."

"Wow, rough start, huh?" Cozy said.

Chrysalis chuckled, "It wasn't all that bad, I was a sinister foe to all of ponykind before I invaded Canterlot, and together we brought cities to their knees. But then one day, that sunny sun-raiser princess defeated me and my subjects after blasting holes in our legs!" She hexed as she showed her forelegs to the group.

"So... You weren't always born with those?" Asked Tirek.

"Of course not! I use to be whole."

"A grand motivation for villainy. Tirek, what pain motivates your villainy?" The creature asked.

"Well, my father, King Vorak, always thought very little of me. He would never let me outside of the castle, and never let me think of magic or ponies. And he always liked Scorpan best, who is my gargoyle brother," Tirek humphed.

"Daddy issues, I get you," Cozy Glow said understandingly.

"And what of your motivation of pain, Cozy Glow?" The creature said as he turned to the pegasus filly.

Cozy looked away with an immediate somber glance. "I..."

"Oh, don't tell me, 'My parents left me at the orphanage, and I cry myself to sleep at night thinking that they never wanted me in the first place," Tirek mocked in the filly's voice.

"Shut up!" Cozy yelled irritably, "And I do not cry myself to sleep!"

"Of course you do. We can hear you crying about the subject in your sleep. The least you could do is suck it up and just accept that your parents did abandon you," Chrysalis said.

"I don't accept it, and I won't accept it," Cozy said, "But if you guys were left alone your whole lives, I'm pretty sure you would wail yourselves to sleep with your little stuffed animals," Cozy said with a taunting smirk.

"Only if they live a lie with themselves," The creature says to the filly.

Cozy looked at the creature confused. "What are you talking about?" A sparkle of malevolence and cruelty secretly flashed in the creature's grim, dead eyes.

"You believe that you do not show empathy or remorse for your crimes, you believe that friendship is power, and that you could have it at your mercy. But in truth, your actions, personality, and intentions are a lie. You do not snore, but you do weep and cuddle with your closest possession, trying in desperation to fight against the pain your heart suffers, yet... you discover that nothing can help your pain if you do not repent for your sins. You believe that you would never show remorse or guilt for the crimes you commit, but you do indeed mourn for your actions, trying ever so desperately to hide all of your shame inside the soggy and anxious coating of your heart..."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about..." Cozy says in a faltering defense.

"And there are your deceptions. Without magic or any other unique attributes, you use your wits and cunning to achieve victory over those you want to conquer, your cutie mark is the symbol of deception and devious strategy in word play, and the power of mind to play others into your hoof like the pawns of chess. But you could never fool those who see your devious symbolism the way I do. You think yourself a mastermind over all who would take your 'sweet and innocent personality' as a sincere fact, but you could not fool those who have watched you grow and submit to the arts of evil. But you grieve so truly, it hurts you so much to weep into your hooves as you rethink your actions, and you truly want to run to the Princess of Friendship and plead for her mercy, forgiveness, and her compassion. Yet you fear that she will never see you the same way she used to ever again."

Cozy Glow didn't understand what was going, especially inside her. On one hoof, this creature sounded like he was trying to get to her through his own arts of deception. But on the other hoof, it actually seemed like this creature was actually understanding her, as if he knew where all of this pain inside of her was coming from.

But she didn't want to feel the other hoof. Being remorseful and true was just a trick to throw her off guard.

"Okay, you need to stop, I see what's going on here. You think you know me because you think you went through the same thing. I'm done with ponies and centaurs and dragons trying to trick me with their own words and actions," Cozy hissed.

"I do not speak to you in general, I speak to your heart," The creature explained.

"You have a talent for seeing deceptions by others done to you before they reveal them, just like when you could see when the Cutie Mark Crusaders tried to distract you from what is important to you. But your heart knew they were trying to protect their friends and family from harm, and your heart admired them for that. But your outer greed blinded you from seeing what their intentions for others were. Deep down, you know what I am saying is true, but your outer thinking says otherwise."

"I said stop," Cozy ordered irritably.

"You are in no position to demand anypony of your goals, and it is a shame that you do not listen to your spiritual heart that pleads for you to stop everything."

"You simply try to command others because of what those houseparents always did to you those nights, didn't they?"

Cozy froze in place once the creature said that specific sentence. The creature simply blinked.

"Ahhh... so it is true..."

"You were broken those nights the houseparents took command of you. You became enraged and unstably dangerous to the other orphans, and you wished that you did not become a threat to the other orphans. I can understand trying to control your rage and instability. You have always questioned whether you were good enough for your parents, if they ever loved you, or if they loved something even more than they could ever want to love you. You even wonder if you had parents at all, and that is why you tell yourself that you did have parents, yet you fear that you were created out of nothingness. You cry in the night when you dream of parents that abandoned you for something of far less value. You draw pictures of what you would want your parents to be like or who you think they should be, depending on who you think would be qualified to have mother and fatherly traits and attributes of love and nourishment. You always cuddle with your favorite millipede you found during your stay in Grogar's homebase as you try hopelessly to think of proud and loving parents. You say you are 'cute and lovable', but those houseparents took the real you... from you, and you thought you could never have those personalities again."

"All your life after that orphanage, you've been furious, hurt, and strategically deceptive... because of your own lies," The creature finished.

Cozy was as embarrassed as she was furiously, yet depressingly confused. How in Celestia's name could this creature know her origin, yet feel exactly where she's coming from? This creature couldn't possibly know everything about her past life, yet everything that he said was true, and he... understood her. But how could he understand her? They don't even know each other! Yet this creature spoke to her very troubled and aching spiritual heart, and somehow, this creature talking to "her" was... pleasing. Her density was softening, but she was still a little stubborn.

"N-No, no. I don't care how much you know about me. Y-You don't know what I'm going through," She says with a little uncertainty.

The creature simply blinked. Suddenly after a few moments, a swirling mist of dark red and black appeared in front of the three. Then, the scenes with Cozy Glow and Everhoof's snow came on.

Cozy flew over Rusty Bucket with a devious smile, but then the wind picked up and blew her into a snow pile. Next, she tried climbing up on the edge of the mountain, but the snow collapsed and she fell in. Then when Rusty Bucket's staff hit the snow above his doorway, the snow above Cozy glow fell on her, and she opened her eyes in bewilderment.

Once seen, Chrysalis and Tirek laughed. Cozy shot them a dreadful glare. "Stop laughing! It's not funny!" She yelled.

The hybrid taps a toe on the ground. Then the scenes of Cozy and the snow replayed. Chrysalis and Tirek laughed harder.

"Stop laughing! Stop it!" Cozy shouted louder.

Then the scene of a giant boulder of snow came rolling down the mountain, and then took Cozy Glow with it as she screamed her way down the mountain.

Chrysalis and Tirek laughed hysterically.

"STOP LAUGHING AT MEEEE!!!!" Cozy screamed. Then, a large blanket of snow fell on her from the tree and covered her whole. Cozy shot up with a furious glare, but then a couple chunks of mushy snow fell on her head with a soggy 'sploosh'. Cozy gave a very sad and hurt look as she felt embarrassed and humiliated.

Chrysalis and Tirek simply laughed at her humiliation, and the filly was on the verge of tears. The hybrid however, rose up from his haunches and walked up to Cozy, clearing the mushy snow off of her head and pulling her out of the snow.

"H-How do you know... (Sniffle)... What I've been going through? You... You don't even know me..." Cozy thinks in her head for the creature to answer.

"Perhaps you will not believe me, but try to when I say, that I too have been orphaned at a tender age of depression and despair. And I may not know you very well, but I can only imagine what it took for you to earn the respect you deserve," The hybrid says to the filly in her head.

Chrysalis and Tirek stopped laughing as they saw the creature pull Cozy out of the snow.

"Wait, you feel... sorry for her?" Chrysalis asked in disbelief.

"If you three are to work together, not in the way Grogar asked of you, then you are to show sympathy to those who hide their pain," The creature responded as he stroked the little filly’s mane.

Cozy Glow simply closed her eyes and sighed happily, taking a liking to the creature’s soft touch. This creature seemed to spy on her deceptions from a mile away, but he seemed to understand her, regardless.

Chrysalis gagged, "Showing sympathy is like showing care for another."

"And you should know. You showed love and empathy to your swarm, and I would expect you to do the same for your fellow allies," The creature vexed.

Chrysalis scoffed, "They were my children, until Starlight corrupted them!"

"Until your quest for love-power corrupted your spirit."

"I-!" Chrysalis was about to rage out, but then she was confused by what the creature meant. "What?"

"Unfortunately, you misunderstood how love can power you. The way you acquire love is by stealing it from others, but it only satisfies you for two days time, and it can only empower you so far. However, to share love, which you have despised your whole life, could empower you much more and sustain you for all eternity, even if your spirit passes on to the next life," The creature explained.

Chrysalis scoffed, "Love hasn't corrupted me. It is the only thing that satisfies me."

"Shortly, but not forever,"

"Exactly, my hunger can never be satisfied!"

"Because you misunderstood how it works,"

"I have not!"

"I would like you to test that theory."

Chrysalis shot the creature a death glare. "What?"

"I do not challenge you to a battle to prove me wrong, I challenge you to test your own theory of love-power to prove me wrong. When you find the next victim, you can feed your spirit with their love, your way. If your spirit hungers after days with nothing for your spirit to feed on, then you will know that I am right." Then the creature set Cozy by the stump as he somehow put the little filly to sleep. "You two should also sleep, you all have a mountain to scale tomorrow,"

"I'm not sure if you've ever heard of this saying, but evil never sleeps," Tirek stated.

"No, but even evil needs time to replenish." Then the creature curled around Cozy like the lion and the lamb and lied around her. "If you do feel the urge to want my assistance, you need only ask."

"Noted," Says Tirek, lying in his chair with his arms behind his head.

Chrysalis was about to say something as she turned to the creature, but she decided against. She sighed and then decided to lie down.

"What did he mean by love-power corrupting my spirit? Is that really why I've been starving for all these years...? No! That cannot be true! He's trying to poison me with those words! (Sigh) I just need to get some sleep," Chrysalis thought in her head as she prepared for a slumber.

"So, y-you really understand what I've been through, and it's not because you can read my thoughts?" Cozy asked the creature in her head.

"Of course not, Cozy. When the time comes, I shall tell you all my lament," The hybrid replies in Cozy's head.

"I... I always thought nopony ever cared about orphans in this world."

"I care only for the ones who are in the deepest pain. The life you've lived as a foal is a tragic one, and at last, I see your pain of being an orphan."

"I... I did so many bad things to ponies... But... Why are you being nice to me? I trick ponies into being my friends, I sent Twilight and the others to Tartarus, and I almost drained all the magic in Equestria... Even...

...

...

Even yours."

"My powers cannot be drained because they work differently. And I do not care for a princess who abuses her own sibling, let alone a baby dragon, not even her friends will be passed by their past sins. I will punish everything and everyone who did wrong to the good of heart and the fallens of sympathy."

"Even... Even me?" Cozy asked with a strange feeling inside of her.

"Of course. Every villain, big or small, cruel or hurt, intent or misunderstood... they all should be given compassion by villains who understand them."

"I... I..." Sleeping Cozy's eyes welled up with tears and she sniffled a little, cuddling closer to the creature. The hybrid put an arm over her sides, being careful with his claws. "Thank you..." She said sincerely and more happily through her mind.

"Of course... C... G..."

Next Chapter: Aid from Ailment Estimated time remaining: 31 Minutes