Tirek, Chrysalis, and the creature with Cozy Glow softly and quietly breathing in his arms, were walking through the forest.

"So she doesn’t snore. Imagine that," Chrysalis said softly.

"You should both be relieved that she is alive, or Grogar would have ended you both for letting her die by my claw," The creature says.

"What, are you expecting a thank you?" Chrysalis asked in annoyance.

"No, just your relief."

"We are," Said Tirek.

"Yes, of course," Says Chrysalis.

The creature simply nodded and they continued walking. It was silent for a few minutes, then the creature started whistling a specific tune.

30 Minutes Later...

Once the creature was done whistling, the changeling and centaur could hear the pegasus filly softly weeping in her sleep as gentle streams of tears slid down her face.

"Is she... crying?" Chrysalis asked in disbelief.

"You would have if you were just as young as this pegasus is," The creature said to the changeling.

Chrysalis scoffed, "Why?"

"It is a lament that only orphaned creatures would understand through heart. I would expect you to know since you are alone now."

"What?" Chrysalis asked confusedly.

The creature simply levitated Cozy Glow to Tirek. "You can take yourself and the filly ahead. I believe the Queen and I may be having a discussion," He said to the centaur.

Tirek simply sighed, "Fine, but don't fall behind," He said as he started galloping ahead.

Chrysalis and the creature looked at each other. The creature's eyes looked dead and blank on the inside, but Chrysalis was otherwise suspicious. This creature seemed like he was trying to get into her head, and she would not have it.

Chrysalis walked in front of the creature, and he simply stopped before the ooze on his torso touched her hoof, which was safe for her. The changeling queen gave the creature a vexing glare.

"Alright, newt. I'm tired of you playing mind games on me, and I know what you're trying to do," Chrysalis irked the creature.

The creature didn't even arch an eyebrow. "Do you?"

"Cut the act, you're trying to get into my head and turn me soft, but it's not going to happen. I won't let anypony or anyone such as you, tell me what I don't know about friendship," Chrysalis irked again.

"Do you know?"

"Of course I do! The Magic of Friendship is like a disease, and it infects those around you. You're just as blind as my hive, and I will not let it get me. So don't even try to put on the act of trying to make me change," The queen hissed.

"I'm not talking to you," The creature simply said.

Chrysalis only arched an eyebrow. "You can see my heart, but you're not talking me directly?"

"No, I am talking to your spirit."

"How do you know what my spirit wants to hear?" Chrysalis tested.

All the creature did was slowly lift up his left lip corner, generating a smirk.

"You don't have emotions, what are trying to smirk about?" The changeling asked demandingly.

"Your spirit has blinded you," The creature responded.

Chrysalis looked at the creature in disbelief. "What are you saying?" Then the creature slowly lifted his right lip corner, generating a smile. Chrysalis thought this was going to be a load of insults to piss her off...

But the creature was right, he wasn't talking to her, and these words were not insults at all.

"Your corrupted spirit has stolen your home and your swarm. Starlight offered you friendship, but you feared that she would have tricked you and taken you down to the depths of Tartarus and locked you away. You have cried and wept as you have believed that you have been disgraced and unloved by your subjects. You act vile, cunning, and malicious, but you can never stop the thought of how you could've lead your swarm... no, raised your swarm when the unicorn offered her friendship to you, but you threw that chance away and fell under Grogar's hoof to be a slave..."

Chrysalis shot a death glare at the creature, but she thought him accursed as he was blind. "Stop..." She threatened with a hiss. The creature dispelled his smile.

"Why? To cease your spirit from listening to its pain? It is your spirit's lust for love-power that has separated you from your kingdom, and it was that which has turned the unicorn's offer away, not yourself. You could have reformed, but you thought that love only means to hug everypony, throw out flowers to them, and say very sappy words to your neighbors. Your corruption has blinded you to the bone, and it has unbalanced you from what you wanted your children and yourself to be..." The creature continued.

Chrysalis was just about ready to lash out at the creature, but at the same time, she felt as if this creature was actually talking to her spirit. The creature talking to her spirit was making her eyes water warm tears from fury and lynch, but sorrow, gloom, and grief.

"Stop lying to... me!" She barked through a gasp.

"It is not a lie, your spirit just refuses to accept it. You even thought of Celestia as a sister from a time, but the plant that has made you, has cursed you with its devious appetite for flesh and bone. You thought your swarm and yourself accursed for that. You thought Celestia would have been a wonderful and loving sister, but your spirit's greed and darkness took hold and made you think of her anything but. When you struck down Celestia at the wedding, you wanted to cry, but your spirit thought it was exhilarating, and you took pride in her downfall."

"When you assumed that Thorax 'betrayed' your Hive, you knew that you wanted to be happy for him and take the chance to learn the ways he learned about friendship, instead your spirit grew hateful and despised the very thought, and that made you hate the idea. When your changelings attacked the Crystal Empire when Flurry Heart was around, you wanted your feral children to not harm your only true son, but your spirit would have him killed instead of spared because of its greed and lust for love-power. When you, Tirek, and Cozy Glow finally managed to work together, you seemed like a sweet little family, you even felt that way yourself, but the darkness and greed only wanted the task to be done and never see them again- which I daresay that you know that you would have deeply regretted."

"Your spirit is corrupt because of the greed for love-power that it has become accustomed to... And you don't even even know it."

"STOP!! JUST S-STOP IT!! STOP T-TALKING... Sto-Stop it... s-s-stop..." Chrysalis was going to literally slaughter this creature, but this creature also seemed to… understand her... somehow. She would have torn the creature's brain out and shoved it down his esophagus, but it was useless as this creature could really get to her and really speak to her in a way that no one ever thought of before. She thought this creature resembled the Element of Kindness, but he spoke to her more directly, without hesitation, and he knew how to really speak to somepony or someone in pain. Chrysalis didn't even care to see herself sobbing and bawling into her holey legs, not even in front of a creature that was talking to her very soul.

"I am... not corrupt... I am not... corrupt," Chrysalis whimpered to herself.

"It is not you... You only think it is," The creature said, standing before the broken changeling queen.

Chrysalis shook her head, "N-No, I don't... I-I don't... I... d-don't..." Chrysalis could not see how to come back at the creature.

"You do... You just do not know it yet," The creature said as he knelt in front of the changeling, softly stroking her mane. Chrysalis gasped at the creature's touch.

"W-What are you- What are you doing?" She asked perplexed and shocked.

"Has there been nopony to stroke you when you weep for your crimes, reassuring you that you will still have a chance to repent for them and forgive yourself?" The creature asked.

If Chrysalis could read the creature, she would've made it out that he was trying to make the sentence sound polite, but sincere. Somehow she felt... pleased. For some reason she actually liked the creature stroking her mane, but of course she could not soak up his love because he had no emotions for anyone or anything, even if he was trying to show them.

"N-No..." Chrysalis admitted.

"I did not think you did," Then the creature got up and offered a claw. Chrysalis was as confused as she was still trying to pull herself together.

"W-What?" She asked.

"Just a simple hand to help you up," The creature answered.

Chrysalis hesitated as she looked at the claw and then back at the creature. She lifted her hoof and slowly moved it towards the creature's claw. However, the creature retracted it.

"Before you take the action you choose in your mind, test yourself on this: Is he offering a hand for redemption, or is he just going help me up and we can continue the rest of the way?" The creature said.

Chrysalis realized that the creature had a point. Starlight offered redemption, and she thought that Starlight was going to betray her and lock her away in the depths of Tartarus, but this creature was impossible to read. Chrysalis looked away and retracted her hoof a little.

"Just keep this in mind: Even of you don't accept my hand for help, I can always give you a little encouragement. A queen such as yourself... should not deserve to be alone without a comrade," The creature said.

Chrysalis looked at the creature in the eyes again, and then... she placed her hoof in his claw. The creature helped her up.

"I... I would if I could, kill you if you told anypony or anybody about this... But...

...

...

Thank you," Chrysalis said a little weakly with a tint of sincerity.

"Of course. No matter what queen you want to be... you can always at least try to hope for a helping hand from a true comrade."

The two simply stood in place, the hybrid staring at Chrysalis' heart, and Chrysalis looking away with a somewhat reminiscent manner, putting one leg in front of the other.

"(Ahem) You are... returning?"

"Oh! Yes, yes, of course." Chrysalis snapped out of her strange feelings about the subject and buzzed off to her comrades, the creature hovering in tow.

Next Chapter: A Tale from the Dead Estimated time remaining: 16 Minutes