A Complication called Love
The walk back was silent as expected, but the silence only made me wander in my mind seeking possible answers to questions that would not be so easy to answer. On top of that the name Nelkanth was continuing to nag my mind. Something seemed so familiar about it, like I heard it or read it somewhere. I was so lost in my thoughts I almost didn’t notice I was about to bump into a building several times on my way back. I arrived at my mansion finally deciding to put all my questions aside for now. I opened the front doors, closed them behind me and went to my room and entered it. After a few minutes of messing with the armor I finally got it off and back into an energy sphere. I put the sphere on the end table and sat down on the floor. Time to make a call. I focused and pictured my uncle.
”Uncle Duewind.”
”Sarius. It’s been a long time since you and I talked. How are you?” Duewind spoke in his old grandpa like tone.
”I have quite a problem on my hands. Thanks for that by the way. I have a lot of questions that need answers and at this rate I’ll have all questions and no answers. I need my siblings.”[/i[
”I see. I’ll send them once their ready and have what they need. Now why don’t we talk, it’s been a while?”
”As much as I want to catch you up, I can’t. I have a conundrum to sort out. Just send my siblings and quickly please.”
”Alright, alright. I’ll take care of it. Just make sure you take care of yourself in the meantime.”
”I know.”
Afterwards I sat in silence for a while thinking of what I should do now. I just had to wait for my siblings to arrive before moving forward. I wanted a few of my questions answered at least. I did have the difficult task of choosing between Fluttershy and Luna, but I didn’t feel like dealing with it. Not right now at least. I needed to clear my head. I decided to take a walk, as I left my room and the mansion making sure I shut all the doors. I headed toward the forest that was just south of the mansion. I never noticed my home was close to the Everfree Forest. Instead of entering the forest this time I walked on the edge of it heading right and followed that path for a while.
I walked along the edge of the Forest for what seemed like half an hour. The entire time I felt some kind of presence in the forest, like it was watching me. I don’t know if the forest was magical, primal or connected to something that was magical or primal in nature. I was certain it wasn’t connected with nature or at the very least lost its connection to nature and taken by something else. Whatever the case was, it made sense the ponies and even the princesses were nervous of its existence.
I then noticed a shack that looked abandoned just a couple yards away from the edge of the forest. It was surrounded by trees, but the trees didn’t seem like they were attached to the same network the trees in the Everfree Forest were. These trees were beautiful in that they had bared flowers and fruits. As I got closer to the shack it was much easier to see how old it was.
The shack was small in size but big enough to house a small family of three to five. A fenced off area held a garden that seemed to be used for flowers. A much larger fenced off area looked to be a farm. But aside from that, the way the shack was covered in moss, vines and largely grown flora, this shack had been here for at least a century. Because of that it was hard to make out anything about the shack. The windows were broken, the front door was laying on the ground having fell off its hinges from rust, and the wood from which the shack was built off of was withered and rotten quite a bit.
The inside wasn’t any better, bits and pieces of trash littered the interior. Though the home was cleaned up quite a bit before being abandoned. The various furniture were ruined and destroyed by animals that tried to make their home here. The shack was a considerable size, having a rather large living room with two hallways leading to a bathroom, a couple bedrooms and the kitchen. But it was hard to tell what room was what, from the obvious overgrowth that had taken over the place.
I quickly realized the small amounts of trash I saw were recent. The smell indicated that someone was recently here. It smelled like an alleyway with a couple homeless individuals hanging around at. But there was a faint sweet scent of something in the air. I tried following the scent but realized it was everywhere and heavily covered in the other smell in the shack so it was hard to pinpoint where it was being emitted.
I accidentally stepped on something which resulted in a loud noise. Not two seconds afterwards I heard faint breathing in the corner of the living room. I looked over and saw what looked like a pony standing up but upon closer examination it was something else. It had an almost pitch black skin color with teal mane and tail, insect-like wings and large horn. What caught me by surprise was, it had holes in its legs, horn and wings. When the creature stood up fully, it nearly came to my head height. It certainly looked like a regular pony but it clearly wasn’t.
It’s fully green hued pony eyes scanned me. It then hissed revealing fangs and took a defensive posture. “Who are you and why would a dragon be here of all places?” The voice was feminine but had a distorted echo effect in her voice.
I stared at her trying to get a read on her. I couldn’t tell if she was good or bad, but she was certainly nervous and on edge. “Sarius Trusdale. That’s my full name. I’m also only half dragon. As for why I’m here, well believe it or not I just found this place by random chance.” I said trying to sound non-threatening.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “You expect me to believe a dragon would venture this far out by pure chance?” She started walking very slowly around me in a circle like a predator. I remained still just keeping my eyes on her. I was confident I could stop her if she tried to jump me in a blind spot. “Don’t think I’m an idiot.”
“I’m not even thinking that and I told you already, I’m half dragon. I don’t associate myself with the dragons of Equestria. In fact, I haven’t seen a single dragon at all expect the young hatchling that lives nearby.”
“Young hatchling?” She repeated questionably, thinking it seemed familiar.
“Look, I promise you I won’t hurt you. I know a homeless creature when I see one.”
“Creature?!” She repeated angrily. “I’m not a creature. I am a changeling.”
“Alright, sorry. I’m just not familiar with the inhabitants of Equestria. Could you please tell me your name?”
She went around in a whole circle before stopping in front of me again. She looked at me as if deciding if she would answer me. “I am Queen Chrysalis. Or at least I was a queen.”
“What happened?”
She narrowed her eyes at me again. “You don’t need to know. Why should I tell you anything about me?”
I looked at the floor. “Maybe because I want to understand how a queen ended up losing her title and be by herself in the middle of nowhere without any subjects around.”
She just stared at me for a couple minutes. “Why would you care?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s in my nature, I guess. I always try to help others. It’s just the way I am.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Really? A dragon with a caring nature? That sounds ridiculous.”
I chuckled. “I guess it does. But it’s true.”
She just looked at me completely perplexed. Her nostrils twitched like she was smelling the air. She must have smelled something good or bad to her since her eyes slitted and her tongue was sticking out like a snakes and hissed. This put me on guard, I was unsure of what was going on. I didn’t get much time to think much less ask her if she’s okay, as she lunged at me fangs fully bared. Thankfully my constant training of trying to make my body act on instinct has given me some good merits. My tail moved so fast making a whooshing sound, positioning to the left of Chrysalis then swung and connected with the right side of her neck and body. It wasn’t a hard hit, just enough to send her crashing into a wall. Silence filled the shack for a minute then the sound of debris being moved was heard. Chrysalis stood up dazed but relatively unharmed. Her hide must be quite tough to withstand that kind of blow.
“Ughh. What happened?” She asked confused. She looked at the ground and the wall noticed the damage and debris then at me. “Did you hit me into the wall?”
I was still in a defensive posture from her lunging at me. “Yes, but you attacked me. I had to defend myself.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh no.” She said. “It happened again…”
I rose an eyebrow. “What happened again?” I asked concerned.
She sighed. “I lost control. I caught of whiff of love and happiness from you and my primal instincts just kicked in.”
I was now concerned for her. “Lost control? Wait-” My face showed a look of interest. “You smelled love and happiness from me?” She nodded. I tilted my in confusion. “Huh. Wonder what that smells like…” I shook my head. “Questions for later. You said you lost control and your primal instincts kicked in?”
“Yes. I am sorry for attacking you.” She said with sincerity.
“It’s fine. No need to apologize. Just tell me what could cause that to happen without warning.” I asked.
“Hunger.” She said plainly.
“Hunger?” I repeated raising an eyebrow in confusion.
She nodded. “While changelings can consume, digest and process most normal food. It only persists for a short time before we get hungry again. But sucking love, happiness or any positive emotions from others helps better sustain us and recover. And you seemed to be enveloped by love and happiness. So much so that I lost control and wanted to devour it because I was hungry.”
I looked at her with curiosity. “So you want to feed off my love and happiness?” She nodded a little too enthusiastically. “Okay, but wouldn’t it be better and more efficient if I let you willingly instead of taking it by force? Perhaps with a special method.”
She stood there for a minute thinking about it. It seemed like this wasn’t something she thought of before. “It might. Neither me or my hive ever tried to my knowledge. So I’m willing to give it a try at least. I’m not sure how though.”
“Maybe you have a spell or ability specifically for changelings that allow other creatures affected by the spell or ability to manifest their positive emotions of their own accord.” I suggested.
Chrysalis then looked like a lightbulb went off in her head. “There actually is. I almost forgotten about that spell. I don’t know about my hive but I never understood when and why I would use it, but now I finally understand.” She walked forward a couple steps and her horn lit up with a light green glow. “Alright. This is the first time I’m using it, so I’m not entirely sure if it’ll work or not, or properly for that matter. I also suspect that since you’re a dragon it won’t be able to affect you so easily. Magic resistance and all.”
“Well, fortunately I’m able to drop the magic resistance very easily to allow magic to affect me. So you’ll have no problems there.” I assured her.
“Greaat. That’s one less thing for me to worry about I guess.” She said unenthusiastically, still unsure about this. She then looked me in the eyes. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yeah. I’m sure. You stated you’re hungry and I can clearly see you’re not doing well at all. If this will greatly help you, then I’m all for it.” I said certainty in my voice.
She took a deep breath. “Alright then. Here goes nothing.”
Her horn started glowing a bit brighter as her magical aura engulfed me. My magic defense was down like I said it would, so I was feeling something. It didn’t feel like a bad feeling, but it wasn’t comforting either. After a while the aura around me disappeared and her horn stopped glowing.
“Okay, that should do it. I’m not sure you would be able to manifest anything, so give it a go.” She said.
We stood there in silence as I tried to come up with ways to do it. After a minute passed I decided to try releasing my emotions the same way I released my energy. I focused but not on my energy but my love and happiness. The deep well of love I had for Kalia that I was all to willing to share. Not too long afterwards, an orb of love manifested out of my chest I assumed. This got a surprised reaction from Chrysalis.
“By the sisters, it worked. It actually worked.” She began examining the orb very closely and sniffed it. “There’s no mistaking it. That is a pure manifestation of love given willingly.” She stepped back hesitantly noticing how large it was. “But are you sure you’re willing to give me this much? Whoever this love is for, must really mean something to you.”
I nodded. “Again, I’m sure about this. The individual is very important to me, but I’m confident this love for her will always replenish itself entirely. We have a deep connection after all. Nothing could take this love I have for her.”
Chrysalis started shafting her gaze between me and the orb, trying to consider if she really wants to go through with it. She chose to accept my offering knowing full well she couldn’t ignore her hunger. She opened her mouth and slowly starting sucking in the orb. Her eyes widen meaning it must have tasted good to her and sucked harder. As this was going on I was barely able to notice something was happening with her body. The holes that covered various parts of her body seemed like they were getting smaller. It was very hard to notice at all, considering how smoothly the holes shrunk. After a few seconds the last bits of the orb were absorbed into Chrysalis. She licked her lips and had a satisfying look on her face.
I felt a small amount of strain and a bit drained, but was overall normal. Despite trying my hardest not to show it, Chrysalis still noticed. “Are you alright? I told you it was a lot.” She asked concerned.
I waved my claw and smiled. “I’m fine, just didn’t expect to feel like this after the fact. The real question is are you feeling better now?”
She looked over herself as best as she could. I did wonder if she seemed a bit taller, but maybe I was imagining it. Her wings did show a slightly more noticeable change than the rest of her. Her wings were originally holed up and clear, but the holes were smaller and the wings had a bit more color to them. “I never felt better honestly. Your love feels quite sustaining. I never expected any creature much less a dragon to have so much love for another. I might get addicted if I’m not careful.” She said slightly seductively.
I gave a deadpan look. ”How many females are going to hit on me before this is over?” I thought to myself stupidly. ”It’s not like I asked to be so attractive to the opposite sex.” Which was true. I seemed to have an almost unnatural amount of luck finding females who become interested in me.
She tilted her head in confusion. “What’s that look for? Was it something I said?” She asked obviously oblivious to my situation. Then again she didn’t really know.
I narrowed my eyes for a second before returning to a normal face. “Sort of. There is quite a bit I’ll have to explain to you. So what will you do now?” I asked curious to know.
She tapped her lower jaw with her hoof thinking. “Well, I can’t return to my hive as I will no longer be a queen to them. I certainly can’t be seen around ponies because of the trouble I caused in Canterlot. I also can’t stay here since I’ll eventually starve if I do. I don’t really know.”
“What kind of trouble did you cause in Canterlot and how bad was it?” I asked.
She looked at me again wondering if she should answer the question. It seemed like I crossed the line until she answered. “I know you’re a dragon, but have you heard there was a royal wedding at Canterlot not too long ago?”
I thought about it, searching my brain for something. I got something but it wasn’t a complete picture. Canterlot Royal Wedding is the only clear thing I got. “Vaguely.” I answered honestly.
Chrysalis sighed. This seemed like a sensitive topic for her. “Basically I invaded the wedding, posed as the Princess Cadance who was getting married, in order to feed my hive with the love and happiness of the wedding. But I wasn’t…. Myself. I believe I was under the influence of my primal instinct as a changeling. I had absolutely no control of my actions.”
I felt bad for her. Being half dragon I know what it’s like to have a primal side of you just waiting to let itself loose. That and I dealt with quite a few dragons who went primal. “At least you’re not dead. Dragons have that problem too and every time one went primal, they get killed.”
Chrysalis looked at me slightly shocked. “I guess so. But personally I would prefer being killed instead of living and having to remember that I nearly succeeded while primal.”
I stepped towards her and placed a claw on her shoulder. “Try not to think like that. Instead of feeling bad for yourself for losing control, try harder to be better. Trust me when I say, I made mistakes as well, some of which I could never forget or forgive myself for. But I don’t dwell on it and instead better myself so it doesn’t ever happen again.” I smiled trying to cheer her up, which unfortunately didn’t work.
Her face showed confusion with a hint of sadness, like she’s on the verge of crying. “We don’t even know each other and yet you’re trying to help me. Why?”
“It’s true we don’t know each other at all, but I can tell we have something in common. We’ve both done things we regret and will for the rest of our lives. But seeing you suffer from this and thinking such things, makes me want to save you from them. Because I’ve been there.” I said with reassurance.
Chrysalis was at a loss for words but a select few. “You really would go this far for someone like me?” I nodded. Her eyes started watering up as tears began falling from them. “But what if I’m never forgiven for what I’ve done?”
I looked deep into her eyes to search her soul for the answer I know was there somewhere. She was good I could just tell. I smiled. “If I’m right about you, you’ll be forgiven. After all, what you did was not as bad as what I did. I promise.”
Very quickly the tears became slow waterfalls as she instinctively hugged me. I hugged her back and let her drain the tears from herself, tears I’m certain were long overdue. I let her cry for as long she needed. After a few minutes she stopped crying, and took a deep breath. She pulled away from me and wiped her eyes of the tears that didn’t fall.
“I never met a kind and pure soul like you aside from my little sister.” She noticed we were rather close and she took her hooves off me and blushed a bit. “Sorry for hugging you like that.”
I shook my head. “Don’t be. Everyone needs a hug when their in a down mood.”
“So, I guess you can leave.” She said not really knowing what to do now.
I stood up on all fours. “Why don’t we both leave together?”
She shook her head. “I can’t. I’m a fugitive and easily recognizable.”
“But if you’re a changeling can’t you just change your appearance?”
“I can but I don’t know what to change to.”
I thought about it for a minute. “Well I had a mansion built for me not too far from here and currently I’m the only one living there. Why don’t you move in with me and disguise yourself as a maid or caretaker mare?” I asked hopeful.
She looked at me for a few seconds with curious eyes. She tapped her chin with her hoof thinking. “That could work. I mean I wouldn’t mind helping by cleaning and be a caretaker if you want me to. It would be my way of repaying you.” She then gave me a look of concern. “But are you sure you’re okay with this and the potential punishment if I’m caught under your care?”
“I am. I even think that by staying with me, you’ll get the chance to redeem yourself when the time comes. In fact I’m certain of it. Besides, like I said, I am the only one living there right now. So we can keep each other company. And if you do get caught under my care, I’ll stand up for you and protect you no matter what.” I extended my claw for her to take.
She took my claw and I helped her to stand up. “I don’t know how to even thank you.”
“You just did.” I laughed. “Now pick your disguise.”
“How’s this?” She asked losing her echo and having a higher pitch to her voice.
I gave a thumbs up. “Great. So what’s your cover name?”
“Dusty Homage, but I would prefer you to call me Keyleen.” She said with a smile.
“Alright Keyleen. Now that this is all settled, shall we proceed home?” I asked.
“Yeah. Lead the way.”
I walked out the abandoned shack with Chrysalis, now under the guise of Keyleen or Dusty Homage following me back to my mansion.
The walk back took several minutes, so I decided to tell Chrysalis some of the things I’ve already told others but not all of it. “Are you serious or this some crazy story you came up with?” She asked bewildered.
I chuckled, fully expecting her not to take it seriously. “I am serious. It’s all true, whether or not you want to believe. I don’t blame you for not believing me though. It is a really crazy, far fetched story.”
“No I believe you, it’s just hard to wrap my brain around.” She replied shaking one of her hooves.
I cocked my eyebrow. “Oh, and why do you believe me? I find it a bit hard to believe, you believe the story of someone you just met only a few minutes ago.” I asked in a slight mocking manner.
She looked at me as I gave her a sheepish smile. She rolled her eyes and gave a small smile. “When I drained your love I got some knowledge about you. Changelings have that ability to gain knowledge of the ones we drain love from. It’s to better understand them and those they hold close to their heart. It’s to help with reconnaissance and spying. Basically I know you’re an honest and trustworthy dragon.”
“Oh I see. That makes sense. There’s the mansion.” I said just as I saw it in the distance.
After getting closer Chrysalis stopped in her tracks. I stopped and turned to her, to see her wide-eyed with fear. I looked back to where she was looking and noticed Fluttershy was waiting outside the double doors. I was slightly surprised to see Fluttershy just outside my mansion, but more concerned why Chrysalis was seemingly frozen with fear.
“You recognize Fluttershy?” I asked her.
She nodded. “She’s one of the six mares that stopped me, along with the princesses Cadence and Celestia.”
“Well remember your disguised, so it’s not like she’ll recognize you. Besides Fluttershy is sweet and kind, she may very well be your ticket to prove your redemption. You befriend her and let her see and know the real you she’ll vouch for you as well.”
Chrysalis looked at me with hopeful eyes. The fear was still there, but it was starting to fade. “Alright. I’ll try.” She said drooping her head.
I used my tail to lift her chin up, getting her to keep looking at me. This caused her to gasp. “You won’t be alone in this endeavour, I promise. I’ll make sure Fluttershy gets to know the real you.”
I walked toward the mansion with Chrysalis following with hesitation. Fluttershy must not have been listening since she didn’t hear my footsteps. I tapped her on her shoulder which caused her to yelp and jump in surprise. She jumped a couple feet away from me and relaxed when she realized it was me.
She was breathing slightly fast. “Goodness Sarius. You scared the daylights out of me.”
I gave her an innocent smile. “Sorry, I didn’t see any way to let you know I’m here that didn’t scare you.”
She started pawing the ground with a hoof, which looked cute. “Well, I am easily scared. So I can’t blame you.” She looked me in the eyes and smiled. “You are a very kind dragon.”
Chrysalis poked her head out from behind me, trying to hide herself. I rolled my eyes and stepped to the side and used my tail to push her next to me. I had to wrap my tail around her flank to properly push her over which caused her to squee. Fluttershy looked at her and got a little nervous, with Chrysalis trying not to make eye contact.
“Fluttershy, this is Dusty Homage. I found her in an abandoned shack not far from here on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. So I decided to bring her here to stay in my mansion till she can get back on her hooves.” I announced hoping Chrysalis or Fluttershy will say something.
To my surprise, Fluttershy spoke up. “Oh, that sounds awful. How long were you alone out there for?” She asked concerned.
Chrysalis looked at her with shock, apparently not expecting the same kindness I gave her from another. She eyed me as if she wanted a sign. I nodded towards Fluttershy hoping she understood it’s okay to talk to her. Chrysalis gulped. “I… Don’t really know. I at least know it’s been a while. I barely managed to get by. But Sarius found me, helped me and offered me a place to stay till I get back on my hooves, like he said.” She gave a weak smile.
Fluttershy held her hooves against her mouth while gasping. Seemingly out of instinct and surprising both me and Chrysalis, Fluttershy charged forward and hugged Chrysalis tightly. “OH! It must have been scary and lonely out there, all by yourself. You’re very fortunate and lucky Sarius found you.”
Chrysalis looked at me utterly confused and potentially internally screaming. I was trying my best to hold back a laugh at her dispense. After a minute Fluttershy broke the hug, while Chrysalis was at a loss for words again. “I-I-I-I-I-I appreciate the kindness, but isn’t it a little too much to show to a complete stranger?” She asked stuttering and trying to keep a leveled head.
“I don’t think so. I do represent the Element of Kindness, so I guess it’s only natural for me to do these things.” Fluttershy smiled happily and giggling.
Chrysalis was clearly nervous and was trying to find a way out of this situation. So I decided to lessen the attention on her as I cleared my throat to get Fluttershy’s attention. Which worked as she looked at me with curious eyes. “So Fluttershy, may I ask what brings you to my mansion at this time alone?” I asked truly curious.
Fluttershy’s eyes lit up like she remembered something. “Oh. I was coming to see you actually. I was thinking that…. If you’re not busy we could…….hang out. if you’re okay with that.” She said getting steadily nervous and lowering her voice.
“Sure. I don’t mind. I mean I got nothing better to do right now anyway, aside from getting Dusty settled in. Just give me a few minutes alright.” I said with clear intent to hang out.
Fluttershy started blushing a bit. “Okay. I can wait. Please take your time.” She replied clearly happy. I then looked at Chrysalis and nodded towards the doors saying, come on. The two of us walked in while Fluttershy waited outside.
Once I closed the doors, Chrysalis let out a long sigh. “Oh goodness, that was a rush for me.”
“Huh, and here I thought your kind loves to get the attention. More to feed off of in all.” I joked.
Chrysalis gave me pouty face. “Yeah we do. But even us changelings have a limit on how much love and emotions we take before it starts overflowing and becomes hard to contain.” Her face then returned to normal. “I mean, I already drained a lot of pure freely given love from you. I’m certain I’m close to my limit today.”
I gave a small smile. “Yeah sorry for that. I didn’t realize that was a lot for a changeling.”
Chrysalis shook her head. “It’s fine. I definitely needed it. I was on the verge of starving after all.” She then looked outside at Fluttershy. “Though, I will admit while draining your love, I sensed you had love or strong positive feelings for others.” She then looked at me. “Is she one of them?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I have… feelings or an affection for her and another.” I hesitated before saying feelings, since I wasn’t sure what I felt for them. All I knew was that I found them both attractive. “The other happens to be Princess Luna.” I stated not wanting to try and hide it.
Chrysalis wasn’t surprised but was a bit anxious that I mentioned the Lunar Goddess by name. “I see. I do hope you intend to deal with this soon. It’s a bad idea to let this kind of thing drag on for too long.” She said. Not one second later her eyes bugged out realizing she made a dragon pun. She looked at me, as I stared at her with narrowed eyes. “Sorry. It just slipped out.”
“Hmm hmm. To put your worries to rest, I am about to deal with this. Right now in fact.” I returned my eyes to normal. “After I show you around the mansion and you decide on a room for yourself.”
The next few minutes were spent doing just what I said, showing her around. She decided to stay in one of the rooms near the front doors, which was still empty. “Why are most of the rooms empty?” She asked dumbfounded by the idea of an empty mansion.
I shrugged, not really understanding what Celestia told me fully myself. “Well Celestia just said she and the worker ponies only had enough time to build the mansion and make sure the systems work. Yet there was enough time to fully furnish my room and fill the shelves of the library full of books for some reason.”
Chrysalis cringed at the mention of Celestia’s name. “Well how long do you think it’ll take?”
“I dunno. But if you want, you can stay with me in my room until your room is furnished. We can discuss things later. I think I kept Fluttershy waiting long enough. In the meantime your free to do what you want while I’m gone. I don’t expect you to cause trouble.” I smiled at her, showing her I have full trust in her.
She smiled back. “Enjoy your time with her Sarius.”
“I will.” I said as I walked out the doors and straight to Fluttershy. “Shall we?” I asked.
Fluttershy got up and smiled. We then started walking toward her cottage as Chrysalis closed the doors.
Fluttershy asked my about the escort trip, to which I told her everything. She got seemingly jealous at me mentioning Luna’s approaches during the trip, though it was hard to tell if she was jealous since she was hiding it so well with her natural personality. She was obviously shocked at the mention of assaissation of the two princesses, I mean who wouldn’t. By the time I finished telling the story we arrived at her cottage.
“So you have anything in mind for our hang out?” I asked Fluttershy clearly curious to know.
“Oh… I just thought we could… just sit and talk a while. Maybe even help me tend to the animals.” She said unsure of herself.
I smiled. “That’s fine with me.”
She opened the door to her cottage and I followed her in. The animals of her cottage were hiding until they caught sight or scent of Fluttershy. Most hesitated when they saw or smelled me, but they quickly eased up when they recognized me. Most came to Fluttershy and some to me. The two of us greeted the animals with kindness and love. Once the animals calmed down, Fluttershy and I sat on the couch.
“So Sarius, what can you tell me of yourself, that hasn’t been said yet?” Fluttershy asked.
“Hmm. Well my favorite food is pizza, I tend to try lone wolfing a lot which makes me push people away for fear of hurting them.” As I said that last part I remembered I hurt Fluttershy not too long ago. “Sorry for hurting you by the way.”
She shook her head. “It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. I could tell from your eyes. I should have listened to you and left.” She said with a hint of guilt in her voice.
I shook my head this time. “No, I think it was meant to happen. After all, because of you I fled and found a place far from anything where the battle could take place without fear of others getting hurt. Anyway, I don’t really know what else I could say about myself that hasn’t been said already.” I chuckled. “A simple matter to talk about one’s self but not very lengthy is it? Considering you wonder what would actually count and matter.”
She giggled. “I suppose so. But knowing somepony’s favorite things helps for when your thinking of gifts and ways to thank them.”
“You have a point.”
One of the animals came up to Fluttershy and starting speaking. Fluttershy and I could understand it. It was basically time for lunch. “Well it’s time to feed them. Sarius mind giving me a hoof?” She asked.
“Nah, I don’t mind.”
Fluttershy and I got up and started feeding the many various animals she has. She gave me instructions for each animal that I followed to the letter. After half an hour all the animals got their food and were eating it, while Fluttershy and I worked on our lunch. Fluttershy was being real chipper the entire time. I guess she was enjoying the time we were spending together. I was too, it had been a long while since I spent time cooking with someone. The last time was with Kalia which caused me to shed a tear.
Fluttershy noticed and felt concerned. “Are you alright Sarius?”
I wiped the tear and nodded. “I am. Cooking with you just reminded me of the last time I was with Kalia.”
Fluttershy’s smile was slowly turning into a frown. “Oh, I’m sorry. If you want, you can-”
I pressed my claw against her mouth, shaking my head. “I’m not leaving, Fluttershy. This kind of thing is going to happen, no matter how hard I try. Don’t think of me as being sad, instead think of me being happy. I want to be able to remember the good times in my life. I really can’t stop myself from shedding a tear from happiness. No one can really.” I smiled while giving her a look of hope and light.
Her frown transition stopped and the smile returned. “Oh okay. I was worried I was making you sad.”
“Well, I personally try not to be sad or cry in front of others. I want to be a strong figure everyone can look to for comfort and strength. Though even a tough dragon hybrid like me has to let the tears loose every once in a while. Tears can make you stronger.” I said trying to sound like I knew what I was talking about.
“Well if you say so, Sarius.” We continued with the lunch making, finished it and returned to the living room to enjoy our lunch together.
She made herself a sandwich with a small bowl of salad on the side while I cooked myself 2 grilled cheese sandwiches. We ate in silence but a happy atmosphere was still present in the cottage, indicting Fluttershy and I were enjoying our time together. After we finished eating, we cleaned the plates, bowl and silverware and put them in the dishwasher. Then we returned to the living room once again.
I knew I needed to mention Chrysalis to Fluttershy. Somepony had to know so they could help her with redeeming herself. I simply thought Fluttershy would be the best choice. This was a long shot but I went for it anyway. “Hey Fluttershy, there’s something I have to tell you.” Trying to sound serious.
“Really? Okay.” Fluttershy was obviously nervous when I started sounding serious.
“The mare I brought back with me, Dusty Homage. Well, before I say anything, I want you to promise me you’ll hear me out and not freak out.” I said while keeping my eyes fixed on her. “Not too much anyway.” I added knowing full well she was gonna freak out.
“I-” She paused hesitating. She took a deep breath. “I promise.” She swore.
I sighed. “Dusty is actually…. Queen Chrysalis.” I said still keeping my eyes on her. Once she heard that name she immediately started breathing hard, eyes wide eyed with fear.
“C-C-C-C-C-Ch-Chrysalis?!” She stuttered obviously freaking out despite me asking her not to.
“Calm down Fluttershy! I promise you she’s not as bad as everypony says. You promised to hear me out remember!” I say reaching the line of shouting and talking loudly in hopes I can calm her down. It worked a bit, she was still freaking out but was willing to hear me out. “Now, I know about the whole Royal Wedding and Chrysalis crashing the party to drain love and happiness from it for her hive. But, that wasn’t her at all.”
Fluttershy tilted her head at me in confusion while still freaking out a bit. “What do you mean by ‘It wasn’t her’? I saw the attack first hoof, I was part of the whole thing actually.”
I shook my head. “It seems like dragons, changelings have a primal side to them. Chrysalis was only surveying the event to see if she could use it to feed herself and mostly her hive without causing problems for the changelings and ponies present. She didn’t expect the event to produce so much love and positive emotions. And when she realized it, it was too late as her Primal instincts took over causing her to become the Chrysalis you all saw.”
Fluttershy calmed down but was still skeptical. “Well think about this for a minute. I told you Dusty is Chrysalis and you personally met and interacted with Dusty. At that point did she seem threatening or scary?”
Fluttershy shook her head. “No, if anything she was the one scared and nervous.”
I nodded. “Exactly. She was scared and nervous mostly because of what she did at Canterlot and you being one of the ponies present during it. She was also so close to Ponyville where there was plenty of love and positive emotions going around for her to feed off of. Yet she chose to seclude herself in that shack all this time, only feeding off on the natural food of the earth.”
Fluttershy was silent for a good couple of minutes, thinking about what I said. “Do you believe she isn’t evil? Is everything you told me really the truth?” Fluttershy asked serious.
I nodded. “Yes. I do believe she isn’t evil and I would never lie to you or someone I care about. I understand it’s your decision to believe me, but know I’m sticking with what I said and I’ll be trying to help her redeem herself.”
Silence filled the cottage for a good long while. Too long to be honest and with the animals in the cottage also being silent, made me nervous honestly. Just when the atmosphere was getting tense, it faded rather quickly when Fluttershy smiled. “Okay, I’ll help with redeeming her. You made good points that are hard to argue against. Besides I am the Element of Kindness, it would go against my element if I didn’t treat her with kindness and give her a chance.”
I smiled in response. “Thanks Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy and I spent the rest of the day talking about things, mostly Fluttershy telling me what happened in Ponyville in the last year. Since I only recently arrived in Equestria and slowly getting information about this world and the events that transpired in the past, having someone tell me stuff tends to help fill in a few gaps. So far my knowledge only consists of majorly known events, like the Canterlot Wedding Crash, The Banishment of Nightmare Moon and the Disappearance of the Crystal Empire. Even then I only had bits and pieces of those events which were the important parts. I was starting to get knowledge about Discord’s Return but thankfully Fluttershy told me everything that happened since she was a part of it. Though she had a lot of guilt and shame about it, being turned into a mean version of herself by Discord.
I was also told Discord is a draconequus with chaos magic and reality warping powers. Supposedly Discord is known to be a very powerful being, rivaling even the Celestial Sisters. Fluttershy also asked me if draconequui are related to dragons, to which I replied sort of. It’s true some draconequui had dragon like features and power compared to dragons but like drakes and wyverns are to dragons, draconequui were cousins or just simply a separate species of dragons all originating from the Father of all Dragons, Durlex my DNA related father. But they could just simply be mythical creatures who had draco in their name. Either way it was impossible to tell, since the term draconequus only exists in the dimension of Equestria and the only creature that had a close resemblance to a draconequus was the Chimera, a creature that consists and is made up of various parts from other animals.
Our talk lasted till dusk when the moon was starting to come up. “I guess we’re out of time for today huh Fluttershy?” I asked.
“I suppose so. Mind if I walk back with you?” She asked hopeful.
I smiled. “Sure, I don’t mind.” Fluttershy gave a full happy expression, closed eyes, beaming smile and radiating with happiness.
We walked out the cottage and I waited for Fluttershy to lock up. When she did, she and I made our five to ten minute walk back to my mansion. I was actually wondering what Chrysalis did all day, though Fluttershy told me something that happened very recently that I needed more clarification for.
“So, when you said Pinkie Pie cloned herself with this ‘Mirror Pool’, was there literally hundreds of Pinkie Pies running around?” I asked somewhat skeptical.
“Yes and I think it was more like fifty. The creepiest thing was, the clones were all shouting “Fun” over and over again. I was with my animals when they came flooding the town and the clones scared and creeped us out. I’m just glad it was all sorted out and we still have the real Pinkie Pie.” Fluttershy said shivering from the memory.
“Huh. No wonder Pinkie mentioned giving the Mirror Pool a review on Yelp. Though I’m still wondering if Equestria has Yelp or not.” I looked at Fluttershy hoping she had an answer, but I wasn’t expecting one.
She shrugged. “It’s certainly not something I heard of before. Then again I don’t get out much anyway, so asking me might be pointless.” She giggled.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I chuckled to myself.
We were almost to my mansion when the moon was fully in view and then I suddenly felt foreboding. I looked to Canterlot Castle and was able to make out Luna’s figure. She was flying to my mansion but somehow noticed me with Fluttershy and a feeling of dread washed over me. Fluttershy must of felt it too as she tried cowering behind me which didn’t help.
Luna landed in front of me with a serious expression. “Evening, Sarius.” She said with withdrawn distaste. “May I ask why you are with the Element of Kindness on this night?”
I gulped, knowing her not calling me by Sir Sarius was a bad sign. “Well, she asked me to hang out with her today. But not as a potential lover, but as a friend.” I said trying to sound sure of myself.
Luna just narrowed her eyes at me, as if she’s waiting for me to show a sign of lying. “The one known as Fluttershy, does he speaketh the truth?” She asked subconsciously returning to her old ponish talk.
Fluttershy was obviously shaking but she managed to peak her head from behind me. ”Y-yes your h-highness. W-w-we were j-just hanging out as f-f-friends.” Fluttershy said in a literal hush tone, stuttering on almost every word.
Unfortunately, Luna still wasn’t buying it. “Really?” She asked barely holding back the distaste now. “Then why are you so frightened? I had thought you learned not to fear me.”
I decided I should chime in for Fluttershy. “Well, in her defense. It’s kind of hard to not be scared of you when you’re like this.” I said trying to tell Luna how she’s presenting herself.
Luna’s blue eyes came right back to my eyes and I felt a sudden chill go down my body. “Are you trying to insinuate I’m imposing and frightening, Sarius?” She asked. The tone of her question hinted that I should choose my words carefully.
I was beginning to feel backed into a corner. “Well, uh-”
Before I could say anything, Fluttershy stepped out from behind me. “I am!” She shouted. Luna and I both looked at her with surprise on our faces. “You might be scaring Sarius, but you’re certainly scaring me.”
Luna looked at her slightly puzzled. “Here I thought you were the shy one. Where did this courage come from?” She asked completely bewildered.
“Took the words right out of my mouth.” The words literally came right out of my mouth on instinct.
Fluttershy was still shaking but you wouldn’t be able to tell so easily by how she’s standing tall and almost unwavering. “You’re threatening Sarius, unless I misheard you or misreading the tone you said it in.” She answered.
Luna was completely shocked. “What? Are you accusing me of threatening Sarius, an individual I have feelings for?” This question made Fluttershy’s eyes widen in shock. “I would never harm him or threaten him.” Luna said indicting she felt a small amount of spite from Fluttershy’s accusation.
“Wait, you also have feelings for him, your highness?” Fluttershy asked which in turn caused Luna to go wide eyed this time.
The atmosphere turned so tense suddenly that it could be cut with a dull knife. My eyes were slowly becoming dots as I realized the scenario that both Kasulis and Chrysalis warned me about was now playing out right in front of me.
“I-impossible.” Luna said flatly. “If that is true, I refuse to let you have him.” She said losing the shock and replacing it with anger.
“Well, I could say the same to you. Don’t think you’ll get off easily because you’re a princess and an alicorn.” Fluttershy challenged.
The two then began staring daggers at each other with such intensity, it could start a large fire around us. I had to do something.
“He’s mine you weak, lowly pegasus!” Luna shouted venomously.
“Not on your immortal life, self loathing, emogorgon!” Fluttershy spat out with just as much venom.
They gritted their teeth and stared at the other with an intense anger. This was about to turn into a fight to the death. The thought of these two sweet ponies going at each other over me was angering me. That anger boiled to it’s breaking point.
I lifted my front claws, inhaled a deep breath, stamp my claws in the ground so hard it created a small hole and roared at the top of my dragonic lungs;
ENOUGH!!!
My voice echoed off the mountains in the distance and likely waking up and scaring almost every pony in Ponyville and Canterlot. The roar caused some of the grass and dirt several feet in front of me to be pulled out and thrown forward a couple more feet. The two mares had their ears folded from my roar naturally. They both looked at me shocked and quiet, all the anger they had moments ago was almost gone. Almost.
I stared at them both with a small amount of anger but mostly disappointment. “Now listen. I Refuse to let two of the sweetest and most caring ponies I know, fight each other like this. Especially over me.” I said, letting that sink in for a minute.
I sighed. “Neither of you can choose to have me without my consent. This is a matter that needs to be decided unanimously. And I’m sorry but that won’t happen if the two of you are at each other’s throats.”
I started to turn away from them. “So until you two chill out and agree to a unanimous decision, I will not spend any time with either of you or make a decision.” I looked at the ground, now feeling guilty and sad I’m doing this. “I’m going now. Let me know when you two are ready to work this out properly.” I didn’t wait for their answer as I unfolded my wings and with one mighty flap took off the ground and headed slightly southwestward creating a strong wind gust.
I flew for a couple minutes and found a tree-house that was decorated. I laid in a tree nearby and tried to make myself comfortable. I coiled my tail around the large branch I laid on and closed my eyes, hoping to get some rest. I must have been mentally tired since my brain went blank. I just listened to the combined peaceful sounds of nature and night time critters.
Before I knew it, several hours passed when I was roused by the sound of rustling grass. I saw three little filles walking into the tree-house. I recognized the three fillies as the CMC which meant this treehouse was their clubhouse. My ears were able to pick up the conversation going on inside.
“Are you sure about this, Applebloom?” A sweet and squeaky sounded. Sweetie Belle.
“Ah’m sure, Sweetie. Ah know the path to Zecora’s just fine.” Applebloom said confidently.
“Come on Sweetie Belle. Where’s your sense of adventure?” A lightly husky voice sounded. Scootaloo.
“It’s fine where it is. It’s being pushed aside by my common sense. I don’t think this is a good idea, girls.” Sweetie said obviously concerned.
“Ah promise ah know the way. Trust me.” Applebloom said trying to convince Sweetie Belle.
I heard Sweetie Belle sigh in defeat. “Fine. But only because it’s two against one here. Just let it be noted I tried to be the voice of reason.”
“Duly noted. Now let’s go, Applebloom. To Zecora.” Scootaloo said sounding pumped.
The sound of a door opening and closing was heard and the three filles trotted their way east, with Sweetie Belle lagging behind obviously. I didn’t know where this Zecora lived, but I knew what was in the direction these fillies were heading to. I jumped off my tree branch and took note of how it seemed to be close to dawn, with the sun just peeking over the hill. I followed the filles as close as I could without giving away my presence. As I feared they were headed straight into the Everfree Forest without stopping. I stood at the entrance to the forest, wondering what was waiting for me and the fillies inside.
With a deep breath I followed the fillies inside, determined to protect them from whatever was in there. No matter the cost.