Whether We Like It or Not

"Do thine eyes lack function? Sir Jeremy is in too poor a condition to travel!"

"Oh please! He seems just fine to me!"

So many alarm clocks I'd dealt with throughout my life, yet somehow I didn't think there was a snooze button that could ever allow me to tune those two out when they argued like this.

Course, it probably didn't help that most of that wake up came from the flash of memories that all but sprinted across my mind; the portal, the cave...

Before I knew it, I was practically sat up in place. And, of course, that was a bad idea. You ever stand up from bed just a tiny bit too fast and get a disproportionately large sense of vertigo?

Well, multiply that by whatever else malnutrition, head injuries, and lots of bruises adds onto the equation and you might be able to piece together why I was barely able to keep myself from screaming out in pain as my body caught up with my brain. Instead, a series of less than pleasant sounding grunts escaped me, my eyes watering as I barely held a rather colorful point of language in my mouth.

The other two inhabitants of the cave were rather quick to notice my abrupt wake up, as well as the noises and expressions that came from it.

Nightmare Moon looked me over for all of a second before looking back to Chrysalis with a raised brow.

"Prithee, dost thou think of him to be fair of health now?" Chrysalis didn't answer. Instead she just rolled her eyes and gave out an exaggerated sigh while Nightmare Moon walked the short distance there was between her and I. Her hooves trotted lightly on the stone floor below, echoing quite clearly in the otherwise muted cave.

Once she was no more than a few feet from me, she stopped and gave a very purposeful bow of her head.

"Good morrow, Sir Jeremy."

I tried to reply, but found myself rather lacking in my ability to. I gave myself a moment to take a deep breath, putting all of my ducks into a row. Among those ducks was one that involved having to chew out Chrysalis later for throwing me into a swirling vortex of unstable magic, head first.

"Uh.. Yeah, yeah, morning. I think?" There wasn't really a clock on the inside of the cave to confirm with.

Plus, the idea of it being morning was already starting to raise a few red flags for me, what with my newly acquired 'issue' involving light.

A hiss escaped me as I, evidently, moved just a bit too far for my body to agree with. Before I knew it, both Nightmare Moon, as well Chrysalis, were by either side of me. Nightmare Moon had an expression of earnest concern while Chrysalis... I don't know if I would also call it concern, but there at the very least was some semblance of earnestness in her expression.

The two practically shoved me back down onto the floor, though thankfully whatever I had been laying on had made it so that it wasn't an entirely unpleasant process for me.

"Ye have suffered greatly by the looks of it. For a goodly amount of time, no less." Nightmare Moon practically whispered, as if she believed her very words could hurt me if she wasn't careful enough. From where I laid, I watched as Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and began to breathe slowly and purposefully. Her horn started to glow and, shortly after, I felt an odd warmth surround me. I could faintly see a dark blue aura at the edges of my eyes as well as hear a silent hum seem to chirp at the back of my ears.

As this was going on, Chrysalis was also busying herself. She laid her two forehooves on me--one on my forehead, the other on the center of my chest--before narrowing her eyes as she looked me up and down. This was uh... awkward, to say the least.

"What exactly did they do to you while you were down there?" Chrysalis silently mused as both she and Nightmare Moon continued their actions. I didn't really want to talk about it, if I'm being honest. In fact, I kind of wanted to move on from those less pleasant memories as quickly as possible.

"And don't even think about lying, because from what that one guard captain told me while I was in disguise, I would hardly believe that they treated you kindly."

So, yeah, as per usual, my plans had fallen apart quickly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, remember how the food was basically the worst thing you could ever eat... ever." I returned a half-hearted shrug as my former cellmate began to explain. Truthfully, the food wasn't that bad. Granted, it wasn't nearly as delicious as the sweet and tender taste of love, but still. "As it turns out, quantity is better than quality." I looked to him questioningly as I felt a small hint of self-amusement pass through him, followed shortly after by a rather intense wave of silent indignation. "Seriously though, they practically starved me down there. Over a month of eating what felt like leftovers wasn't fun, but I guess it was bearable."

I scoffed.

I went almost an entire year without feeding on love, not including the time before I had been captured, and he was complaining. Perhaps what I said next wasn't exactly becoming behavior, but I wasn't really in the best mood at the time. I rarely was, back then.

"Is that all?" I asked sarcastically. Another small twinge of something more flash through his emotions. However, I elected to ignore it. "If hunger is what you're going to whine about, then I suppose you owe me a few apologies for all of those arguments we held regarding the lack of love I was fed in confinement."

Again, there was that flash. This time though, I was able to pinpoint what it was. It was something intense. Something I hadn't seen in quite some time. So you can probably imagine my surprise when I realized just how much of this... fury seemed to provide an edge to his next words.

"Hunger doesn't leave bruises, Chrysalis." He said simply, almost blankly. There was so much whipping around in his mind and body. Sadness, hopelessness, a feeling of dread and emptiness. I had evidently struck a particular nerve quite cleanly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aside from the shock that she felt from Jeremy's statements, Nightmare Moon was even more shocked to see that bruises were actually the last of his worries. Cracked ribs, malnutrition, dehydration, and some thankfully minor cases of internal bleeding could be seen clearly as she used her magic to look over his body. Chrysalis focused on his mental facilities while she was focused on his physical.

"What dost thou see from thine own observations?" Nightmare Moon asked Chrysalis. Though rather than use her voice, she projected this thought directly into the mind of the changeling. She was making use of a mental link she had established between the two of them some time after she had been able to reclaim a physical form.

It wasn't a particularly difficult thing for her to do. Since her creation, Nightmare Moon had been exceptionally adept at influencing and communicating with the minds of others. How else would she have been able to communicate when she did not have a body prior?

"From what I can see, he obviously took some hard hits to his inner will, but his mental strength still seems stable. Certainly not healthy, but stable."

Nightmare Moon barely withheld a flinch. To be harmed so gravely--mentally and physically--Nightmare Moon could only wonder as to what the guards had put him through after she and the changeling had escaped.

Opening her eyes as she gathered all the information she needed from her magic, Nightmare Moon held a serious expression as she looked down to the human.

"Pray tell, what say ye to their reasoning for treating you in a manner such as this?" Curiosity and concern were quite evident in her voice. Jeremy wasn't able to respond, barely opening his mouth before a certain blank faced changeling tuned in first.

"I wouldn't suppose the phrase 'I told you and the others before, I don't know where they went, and even if I did, I sure as hell wouldn't tell you' had anything to do with it, would it?"

Jeremy deadpanned, pursing his lips and clicking his tongue as he looked directly up to the cave ceiling above.

"Yeah, that would just about be the long and short of it."

Chrysalis smirked in smug satisfaction, though Nightmare Moon didn't seem to notice as she replayed the statement over and over in her head.

He had gone through all the unnecessary trouble of protecting the two of them, even after they had left him. He had endured what she could only assume to have been almost two months of torture and hunger, purely because he wouldn't say where the two had gone. Of course, he hadn't really known where they had gone, per se, but it was still the principle of the matter.

Besides, he was the reason they had escaped in the first place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was really starting to dislike laying on the floor at that poiny.

Aside from that moment between Chrysalis and I where I could practically feel my blood boiling as she scoffed at how I was treated, the two were acting as if they were supposed to care for me. Like I was a sick puppy, or something. Also, I'm not sure what they saw in their examinations, but judging by the looks on their faces, I could at least tell I didn't want to know. Still, I figured it actually wasn't that bad.

"Perhaps... you do need some time after all." Chrysalis begrudgingly conceded.

Hearing her give up an argument that easily made me think I had terminal cancer, that's how serious I suddenly knew it was.

"...Very well then, we shall stay here for another day or so. After that, we have to move on." Chrysalis lifted her hooves from atop of me and turned her head into a direction further into the cave. She clearly had something on her.

Nightmare Moon seemed almost insulted. She looked between Chrysalis and I with barely choked annoyance. "A day!?! A single night will do naught for his wounds, if not less than slight!"

I'll be honest, I probably remember that wrong. Even if I didn't, I can absolutely confirm that I still had no idea what that second part of what she said meant. Chrysalis seemed to understand perfectly though, judging from the blank expression on her face. One of her ears twitched ever so slightly as she addressed Nightmare Moon in return.

"Be that as it may, tell me, which sounds more appealing? Would you prefer he be fully healed and in the castle dungeons again, along with the two of us? Or would you prefer he deals with whatever pain he feels for now so we can continue to avoid the entirety of Equestria which is very likely actively hunting us down?" Her words were pointed, precise, and certain. Nightmare Moon didn't answer immediately, looking down to the floor in annoyance and letting out a sigh before she returned her gaze to Chrysalis.

"... The following moon then. 'Tis safer to go during the night, when the darkness shroudeth us from our foes." No complaints would be heard from me there. "What say ye, Sir Jeremy?"

"Fine by me." I commented with a grunt and a shrug. "If you two don't mind though, I have some questions to ask you both."

I had a lot of blanks that needed filling in.

The two of them were actually pretty responsive and patient with me. I asked plenty of questions, like how they had found this place, or what my 'bed' was made of; straw covered by some cloth that they had managed to scrounge up. Don't ask me where they got it, though. I had more important things to worry about.

Like, say, the fact that one of them suddenly had a body.

"Nightmare Moon," I asked, "how exactly did you get your body again? At least, I'm guessing that's your body?" Don't ask what I was thinking, even I don't know. "I thought you were stuck as a shadow."

In response, Nightmare Moon just pointed in one of the directions of the cave with a smile, which I assume lead outside.

"'Tis simple, Sir Jeremy. Just as my former sister, Celestia, gaineth power from the day, I so too do we gain strength from the night. 'Twas such a reason that we were kept hidden from our guiding moon."

In other words, she was basically reverse solar powered. Uh, lunar powered. I wasn't really familiar with an alicorn's anatomy, obviously, so I hadn't really known that they got their strength from the sky. Still, it was interesting to find out at the very least.

"... Alright. One more question then. Chrysalis, didn't you say that you couldn't use any of your magic without love?"

Chrysalis gave me a deadpan.

"Yes."

I deadpanned back at her.

"Then how were you able to turn into that guard?"

A ghost of a smile passed over her features as she seemed to reminisce over something.

"Oh, I may have seen a little foal 'lose' her precious stuffed animal and absorbed the love from it until it disintegrated into little more than soot. " She gave a cold chuckle as she as thought it were a pleasant memory from her childhood.

The pro there was that she hadn't hurt the foal and she had ended up using that love to help me. As for the con? I mean, c'mon, that's some comic book evil villain stuff she pulled right there, and laughing about it didn't help.

"I'm... just gonna let that slide for now." I replied, earning an amused smile from Chrysalis and a mirthful snicker from Nightmare Moon.

I couldn't help but to smile a bit too.

I... really had missed them both.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mayhaps now thou canst see why we worry so." I questioned my 'cellmate', as she had so adequately called it at the time.

We had left Sir Jeremy not long ago, seeking food and water. From his appearance, he was in desperate need of it.

As we went on, however, I could see that Chrysalis had accompanied me with a less than positive mood, if the silent complaints that she provided were anything to go by.

"... 'Tis disheartening to see that thou wouldst show such resentment for something we commit for our companion." I spoke.

She scoffed.

"I can complain as much as I like. Don't forget, the only reason I helped you free him, and continue to help you now is because I don't like to leave my debts unpaid."

I intended to show as little reaction to her words as I could, but I have doubts that she was not able to see at least some semblance of anger peer through.

"And now, here we are, looking for food and water for him when we should already be on our way out of Equestria. He held out for about a month and some, he could go another day at least."

For a time, I bit my tongue, withholding the comments that whirled in my mind. What she muttered under her own breath next, however, I could not abide.

"He wasn't joking when he said he would be dead weight, it would seem."

I cleared my throat as I addressed the changeling monarch beside me with carefully. Truthfully, I would be lying if I said I was not tempted to call her every insult in my repertoire. Instead, I settled on a more calculated approach.

"Pray tell, for what length of time dost thou think he, as 'dead weight', went without a proper meal?"

"Aren't you the one that's good at keeping track of days?" She replied, certainly without any lack of annoyance. I gave a sideways glance to her in return.

"As they say, 'humor me'."

She narrowed her eyes towards me, looking me over back and front as though actively seeking out some sort of trap or trick I might have been playing. When she could find nothing apparent, or at the very least understand what it may have been, she once again spoke.

"42 days. The same amount of time its been since we had escaped." I very pointedly rose a brow at her, drawing a look of confusion.

"Thou misunderstands. We meant previous to the days of our escape." Her brows furrowed while I took the opportunity provided to explain. "Hast thou verily accustomed thyself to the belief that the guards would occasionally show thee respect? Perchance, thou hadst not realized that there was greater reason for thine rations during our time in imprisonment."

"... What do you mean?" I did not respond to her question. I simply continued my explanation.

"Was it not odd to thee that during the time that Sir Jeremy would go hungry, thou wouldst be full and content? At least, as much as thou can be without thine precious love." Suddenly she had frozen in her trot, realization likely having finally grasped her just as I had hoped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chrysalis' eyes widened, her walk brought to a pause as she slowly began to absorb what she had just been told. Nightmare Moon stopped as well, a smirk of satisfaction on her face as she looked towards the changeling. Chrysalis took a moment to stare back at the mare, an indecipherable expression on her face.

"... This isn't some old timey quip you're making, is it?"

Nightmare Moon shook her head in response, her expression never changing the entire time. For some reason, this irritated Chrysalis.

"'Tis not a ruse of any sort, changeling. Throughout thine incarceration, Sir Jeremy willingly donated his food to thee, sacrificing his own health in the hopes of keeping thee from growing weaker."

Chrysalis' expression did not show signs of an epiphany, nor remorse, or any real form of gratitude as Nightmare Moon may have wished. Instead, there was indignation.

"What? No. If that were true, he would have held that over my head the entire time." Nightmare Moon felt her smile diminish at the insult towards Jeremy's character.

"He did so because he knew of the importance thou hast in thy pride. When he learned of this, he made it a matter of significant reason that he would not tell thee. I had to break my very word not to inform thee of this! Wherefore? For no other reason than the fact that thou seemst to trot so heavily on his kindness!" I found my voice growing fiercer and fiercer as I spoke, like an avalanche of fury escaping from within me. I was only able to keep myself under control due to my knowledge that the royal Canterlot voice would likely only attract attention. "Thou showest not even the care to remember his name! Sir Jeremy is a kind and noble soul, and he deserveth better accompaniment than the likes of thee!"

Nightmare Moon awaited a rebuttal, her throat tight as she finished speaking. An insult, a snide remark, anything. To her surprise though, nothing came. Chrysalis simply took in a breath, looked ahead, and walked.

"The sooner we get this over with, the better."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn't long before the two of them came back, and with them a literal bucket full of water as well quite a few bushels of odd berries. No idea where they had gotten the bucket from, but I suspect it wasn't exactly legally purchased.

And as much as I wanted to basically just dive in and eat everything I could get my hands on as soon as I could--goodness knows my stomach was begging me to--a logical part of my brain stopped me.

It screamed at me, telling me that I had to pace myself. I had to pace myself. That if I ate too fast my body would reject the sudden increase in food and go nuts. I had seen some survival shows when I was growing up and knew enough about basic biology and health to know that. Still, that didn't make it any easier when I had something in front of me that wasnt indistinguishable slop for the first time in literal months.

Other than that though, the rest of the night went by pretty well.

Soon though, much to my chagrin, the sun began to rise. I could tell because, just around the corner of the cavern, I could see a few rays beginning to brighten the area.

We were too far deep for it to really reach us, thankfully.

It wasn't long after that the three of us decided to get some rest. I was practically shoved into the makeshift bed again, Nightmare Moon's magic proving to have both a gentle and not so gentle approach to things as it surrounded me. The other two took their places nearby, sprawled upon the ground of the cave in their own respective sleeping positions.

"Good night... er, day, you two." I yawned, moreso out of habit than anything else. Chrysalis grumbled silently, curling up into her usual lump, while Nightmare Moon returned the gesture with a 'Sleep well, Sir Jeremy'.

Yeah, it was definitely good to have company again.