This story is a sequel to The Many Lives of a Dead Moth

In this fiction, the changeling royal "Cryptic" (or Pupa Shard, his original name) meets a jeweler named Gemmery who saves his life after he has been defeated by Starlight Glimmer and Twilight Sparkle. This is a redemption story, but the path there is rocky. Everything comes with a cost and the trip back to the Zarcian Tundra won't be nearly as easy as they think...