The tan and blonde stallion looked confused at the statement he'd just heard. "Well, you just said it yourself didn't you? You saved me."
Chrysalis rubbed the back of her head, chuckling. "Oh, that's right. I did." Then something occurred to her. She had been asleep, and she was sure he had been asleep when she brought him inside the cave. If he'd woke up before she did then...
"Were you watching me sleep?"
The stallion stopped in his tracks. He looked at her. "Well, yes. I woke up an hour before you did. You were tossing and turning in your sleep, so..."
Chrysalis cocked an eyebrow. "So?"
"So I held your hoof to calm you down..."
Chrysalis looked at the stallion, then at her hooves. 'He...touched me? A pony...touched me?'
Chrysalis exploded in rage. "You filthy peasant! How dare you lay a hoof on me! Do you know who I am?"
The stallion flinched. This mare was scary. "N-no i don't. I don't know!"
Chrysalis backed away from the male, puffed out her chest, and placed a hoof to her heart, saying in a haughty tone, "I am Chrysalis. Queen of the changelings!"
The insect queen looked at the stallion, gauging his reaction. He had an eyebrow raised in confusion. "Queen of the what now?" He said to her, still looking confused.
Chrysalis was shocked. How had he not heard of her? She was a queen after all. "Changelings? A race of bug like ponies with wings and a horn?"
"Nope. Never heard of them." The blonde pony answered.
The changeling reared up at him. She was about to suck the love out of him right then and there when...
"Ow ow ow ow ow!" The blond pony dropped onto his belly in pain.
Once again, Chrysalis' motherly instincts kicked in involuntarily. She found herself deeply worried about the stallion's well-being. She didn't want to see him hurt like that. It made her heart hurt.
She looked him over, worry plastered on her face like a stamp.
When she saw what was hurting him, she came closer.
His leg was bruised and sprained.
"Oh no...your leg... It's injured..." She immediately started thinking of ways she could help him, while a voice in the back of her mind admonished her.
'Why am I helping this poor excuse for a stallion? It's not like I care whether he lives or dies. He is my food, nothing more.'
Yet, even as she thought that, there was another voice, encouraging her.
'You're helping him because he needs help. He's alone and in pain with no one to keep him company. No one to trust. You're the only one who can help him. You're a mother, Chrysalis. It's in your nature.'
As that internal conflict was going on, she was thinking of ways to help the poor pony before her. She could fashion a brace using twigs and some leaves or something, but this was a desert, not a forest, and there were no signs of civilization as far as the eye can see. She had no choice. she would have to ask him.
"Excuse me. Sorry I do not know your name. Is there anywhere here where I can get medical supplies?"
" My name's True Wind. Th-There's a camp a little ways away from here." The stallion said through pained sobs.
All of a sudden, Chrysalis understood why the stallion had popped up in front of her only a day before. He was a part of a group that was near where she had been. He must have gotten lost or something.
She knew what she had to do. She couldn't let him move from this spot. His leg may not be broken, but straining it may cause lasting injury of some kind of he's not careful, which she was going to make extra sure he was being.
She told him to stay put as she went. He protested quite a bit and she understood why, but she had to go. So she told him so.
After he relented, she made her way across the desert toward the camp, making sure to follow the way he told her to.
When she got there, which took her a day to do. she heard voices coming from the tents that made up the camp.
It was not a particularly militant looking place, so she thought if she just asked, they might give her some medicine or something to help the ailing pony that needed her help. That being said, she was the changeling queen, and that title made her presence both very hard to miss and very hard to get acquainted with. As in, everypony she went around thought she was evil.
she made her way to what looked to her like the leader's tent.
As she got up to the tent, she found herself once again doubting her resolve. Who was this pony to her, that she would be willing to do this for him? Did she think of him as a friend? Did she see him as a fellow wanderer? Honestly, she didn't know herself.
Why was she doing this?! She wanted the answer so bad it was frustrating. What had his simple presence done to her?
She was...not herself.
She is the Changeling Queen. She is a force of evil put on this earth to conquer the whole of Equestria. She is... She is... She didn't know what she was anymore.
How dare that stallion make her feel this way! Sure he was nice, and he seemed to be fine with hanging around her but...she didn't even know his name!
But that was not important. What was important, was that he needed her help, and she was going to give it to him.
She walked into the tent of the group's leader and said, "Hello? Is anyone there? My companion needs help and I was hoping I could find some supplies to help him get better?" As soon as she finished the sentence, she saw a single pony walk up to her. "Hello. My name is Blue Sundae and I am this group's leader. I thought I heard you say you wanted supplies?"
Chrysalis spoke up. "Yes. I require bandages and wood, I also may have need of other supplies due to the fact that my companion and I are traveling this desert together."
Blue smiled. "Tell me. what is your companion's name?"
"His name is True Wind"
Sundae's Eyes went wide at this. "Y-you mean..."
"Yes? Do you know him?" Chrysalis said with a look of confusion on her face.
"Know him? Know him? The group's been looking for him for days!"
Chrysalis was shocked at this. "Oh really? I-i'm sorry...I didn't kno-"
"Do you know where he is?" Blue cut her off.
"Well, I found him trotting across the desert. He looked weak and tired so I brought him to a cave. Shall I show you where?"
"Yes, please." Sundae asked.