Whether We Like It or Not

I could swear that the forest wasn't that threatening. I mean, its always changing--trees and plants growing and all that--but I really did feel like the paths and vines of the forest were constantly taking new places. It was like a weird plant-based exchange program.

Now, you might be wondering where I'm going with this. Why I find it so important to bring up how I felt about such an, to be honest, unnecessary detail. The reason is my mind was getting more and more out of control. I was starting to have difficulty telling apart the ramblings of my mind from any actual conversation that I may have been having. Anxiety was pretty much causing me to crack.

And why was I so anxious? According to Nightmare Moon, we had three hours until daybreak. Three hours. Soon the sun would rise, bringing about the oh so bright and phenomenal light of day with it. And frankly I don't think the Everfree Forest sounded like a very good place to have a panic attack.

Maybe I was overreacting. Three hours was still a pretty decent amount of time for us to find another place to rest, especially considering the progress that I had hoped we had made in the past nine hours of walking. Nonetheless, I couldn't help but find myself counting the seconds. Any time I was sure that neither Nightmare Moon nor Chrysalis were looking, I would glance up to the sky. The moon was getting dimmer, the stars lost their clarity little by little, and the sky felt like it was changing color.

Except none of this was real. I know I was imagining it. The sun and moon work differently here than they did back home, remember? There wasn't much of a shift between day and night, it was just a 'two ponies use magic and it's done' kind of deal.

I know that. I knew that. But I just...

After a while, I was pretty certain that Chrysalis could tell something was off. She could see emotions, after all, and I probably looked like a mess. Nightmare Moon was probably starting to suspect something as well. She would glance back at me every so often, never really long enough for me to see much from her, but just long enough for me to notice.

I remember so vividly asking myself 'has it been another minute yet'?

And that's what it was like for the next two hours. Eventually, I was actually hoping that the sun would come up already. The stress that I felt, the paranoia, it was killing me. I just wanted to get it over with already rather than continue to feel like this. All I could do was mentally shout at myself.

'Calm down Jeremy. You're overreacting. Your absolute craziness has probably reached an all time high by now, and Chrysalis is probably ready to kick you of off her back and question your behavior. You need to be calm. Just... let your mind drift... and take a deep breath...

In...

Out...

In...

Out...

... It's not FUCKING working! I-'

"Sir Jeremy?" I flinched as Nightmare Moon's voice interrupted my thought. I paused for a moment, forcing myself to speak. I just had to answer. Simple enough.

"Oh. Um, yeah?" Mediocre job, but it would do. Looking to Nightmare Moon, I noticed the look of concern that she had been giving me.

"Are ye feeling well?" I felt a small part of my mind buckle at the question. I ignored it and moved on as best as I could.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

As if I didn't already know.

"Your skin seems pale and sickly." Human anatomy is such a wonderful thing, isn't it?

"Oh. Umm. I'm just... a little sick?" That came out more like a question than a statement. If I could go back in time, I'd slap myself. Thankfully, and much to my surprise, Chrysalis butted in before I could dig that hole any deeper.

"I'm not particularly sure about whatever logic he may be trying to put together here, but I think that we should just indulge him and get it over with." How so very kind by her standards... "Nightmare Moon, go find him something to drink. We'll stay here until you return." Chrysalis came to a stop as she spoke, not so much as glancing back to me.

Nightmare Moon wavered for a moment. She glanced at me for another minute or so before, ultimately, she gave nod and heading off into the brush without us in an effort to find water. A few second passed, just enough that neither Chrysalis nor I were able to hear the sound of rustling plants as Nightmare Moon escaped earshot, before she finally turned her turned her head to face me with a decidedly nonplussed look. Like I had said, I was pretty certain she had noticed.

"I'm going to be honest with you, so listen carefully since I'm liable not to do that too often." She quietly hissed, poking my forehead with one of her fore-hooves. I mentally took note of how surprisingly flexible she was to be able to do that while I was on her back, despite the fact that she had an exoskeleton, and rubbed the place that she had so 'gently' poked. "For the past few hours, you've been panicking for whatever reason, and I want to know why."

"... I have no idea what your talking abou-"

"Don't forget which one of us can sense lies and emotions. Now then, start explaining."

I spared a passing glance to the sky again. That cursory glance, I found, was clearly a mistake as I looked back to Chrysalis and noticed the expression on her face shift. She had probably felt the spike of emotion in me when I had looked, since she was now searching the skies for whatever I had 'seen'.

"... What are you hiding?" She asked suspiciously, slowly bringing her gaze back down to me. As I opened my mouth to spout another lie out of almost reflex, though it was obvious to both her and I that it wouldn't work, fate had decided that it had seen enough of this train wreck.

~~"~~Took it long enough~~.", I thought.~~

Under consideration of the fact that fate could really screw me over if it wanted, lets just pretend I never said that. God knows I've jinxed myself plenty of times by now.

"Sir Jeremy, Chrysalis, come hither, swiftly!" I flinched at the mental calls of Nightmare Moon, once again being scared by her sudden intrusion into my mind. I found myself wondering how she was doing this from so far away, when she had started being able to do this, but more importantly how I could minimize how scared I would get from it in the future. This wasn't good for my blood pressure.

"What is it?" I heard Chrysalis return to Nightmare Moon through the mental link. I hadn't realized that this was a three-way conversation. So yeah, that was brilliant. Because I definitely wanted the changeling who had just been questioning me to be inside my head now.

"We have discovered something that may prove to be of great interest. Both of your presences are asked for, immediately!" I wouldn't really say that she was asking, per se, more demanding, but I thought nothing of it. Besides, there was always the chance that it was good news. It was already good in that it took Chrysalis' attention off of me, if even for a moment, so hey I'd take it.

"Alright , we're heading towards you now." I... 'thought' back? I had never really tried doing something like this before, so it was a bit of guess work.

And it had evidently been rather effective, seeing as the presence of Nightmare Moon quickly left my mind, along with that of Chrysalis. The two of us, as such, were left in a bit of an awkward situation as we stared at one another.

"... Don't think this conversation is over yet." I won't lie, I smirked. I considered the change of subject to be a victory.

As we then proceeded to follow in the direction that Nightmare Moon had taken off, the forest's canopy grew thicker, enveloping the two of us in an even greater darkness than we had been in before. Even the smaller portions of light from the sky had been drowned out, almost entirely.

Chrysalis stumbled for a moment, a confused look on her face as she glanced back to me.

If I had to guess, my sudden feelings of glee threw her off by just a bit.

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

Truly, I could only wonder as to the sudden change in condition as Sir Jeremy had shown. As I glanced around my left and right, I found myself continually recalling the paleness of his being. How every time I would look back to him, he would seem to be in worse condition than before.

How was I to respond to this? Had the smaller injuries that he had gotten in our trek allowed for some form of infection? Perhaps it was the water we had earlier given him? Or the berries? There simply had to be something that we had done wrong. Something that had risked the health of our savior, Jeremy.

Our friend, Jeremy.

... Apologies, but you must be aware of the significance of such a thing, at the time.

I would repeat that word over and over in my mind, never ceasing to find joy from the thought. To have found a friend in Sir Jeremy was to find a friend at all. Nopony had previously attempted to become my companion during my time as Princess Luna, least of all during my reign as Nightmare Moon, who had not simply wanted something in return. Yet he was willing to do so.

Even now, as I continued to numb his ever growing pain despite the distance that had grown between us two, I continued to sense an odd sensation of unwillingness. It was faint, but it was as though he was unknowingly telegraphing to me that he did not feel it correct to allow me to 'waste' my ever so limited amount of magic upon him. Perhaps all the time I had spent communicating with him through his mind in our incarceration had left a residual effect of sorts. It had certainly made it far easier to establish a connection to his mind as I had done with Chrysalis.

Nonetheless, I could not lose him, my one true companion, so soon after the several centuries of perpetual loneliness and misery that I had felt. I could feel my pace quicken, my resolve empowered as I sought out whatever I could to assist Sir Jeremy.

I would not lose a friend. No matter the cost.

However, I could not ignore the odd feeling that accompanied the thought of my companion. Alongside joy, I could also feel guilt, sadness, and for some reason an emotion that I could not identify so easily.

It was odd, but not unbearable.

I passed by yet another of the corrupted trees of the Everfree, yet I found myself given pause. For just a moment, there had been a break in the plants. This was not something that would naturally occur in this place, what with its chaotic nature, so suffice to say that I grew curious as to what I had seen.

Before I knew it, I found myself pushing aside the several layers of brush that limited my view through the opening. My eyes narrowed as I, finally, was able to see what lied beyond the plants. What I saw shocked me, for a lack of better words. However, parallel to this shock, I felt a slight sense of relief and excitement.

Before me was an oddly shaped and slightly wilted tree, its branches seemingly stretched and bent into elegant curves rather than the sharp angles of the many others that surrounded it. Its roots pronounced themselves from the ground, showing off its size and sturdiness even further still. It was a healthy brown, yet oddly dreary at the same time, with dark green leaves and a size that was nearly double that of the other forms of foliage surrounding it. What had made it especially interesting though were the holes that had been shaped into it, revealing a hollow inside to the great tree. Candles were visible through these openings, their short-reaching lights adding only slight visibility to the interior of the tree's hollow insides. Finally, a red oak door was seemingly built into the trunk of the tree and allowing for the entrance of ponies of all shapes and sizes.

To many other ponies, this would seem like the simple eccentric abode of somepony in the forest. To me though, I saw more than that. I saw a shelter for myself and my companions.

Swift as the stars, I quickly opened a mental link with the other two accompanying members of my party.

"Sir Jeremy, Chrysalis, come hither, swiftly!"

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

It took no more than a couple of minutes for us to reach the alicorn, and by then we could clearly see her 'hiding' behind a bush. She was glancing over the top of the plant every so often, apparently not having yet noticed us.

Oh, and by 'hiding', I had meant that she and her mane could easily have been seen behind the brush by anypony who might have happened to pass by. Not to mention her horn. It was more than a little infuriating. For such a powerful being, she certainly had the tendency of acting like a young foal.

"Nightmare Moon? What are you doing?" Jeremy asked. His voice cracked as he struggling to withhold a laugh at the sight that was before him. Nightmare Moon quickly shifted her gaze towards us, a smile on her face as she gestured for us to come lie by her. I rolled my eyes as I walked to her side. As I stood there, she continued to gesture at me to get down.

I was not going to lay on the ground next to her. At least, that was the plan until she put a hoof on my back, just behind where Jeremy sat, and forced me down. I let out a small grunt as my underside hit the floor. It certainly showed that she was one third earth pony, if her physical strength was anything to go by.

For a moment, I could swear I heard Jeremy laugh. But just as quickly, he grew silent as he looked towards the sight that Nightmare Moon had been oh so eager to show us.

"Is... Is that?"

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

When Nightmare Moon had told us to make our way over to her, I wasn't expecting to see a crouched and, rather poorly hidden, Nightmare Moon. I also hadn't expected her to force Chrysalis into a similar position to her side, the two now staring daggers at one another.

But, above all else, I certainly wasn't expecting to see the familiar carved out tree that sat directly in front of us all.

"Is... Is that?" I mumbled as I stepped off of Chrysalis' back. I hardly slowed down as I made my way past the small collection of bushes the other two had been hiding behind, looking over every detail that I could see of the small tree house while a small sense of hopefulness tingled at the back of my mind.

"Ha! What are the odds?" I silently exclaimed, my lips curving into a smile as I looked back to Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis. I was probably making an absolute fool of myself, if the expressions of confusion on the two's faces were anything to go by. I couldn't really care less at this point though.

"Is the shelter satisfactory, Sir Jeremy?" My smile wavered for a moment as Nightmare Moon sent over this thought to me. Once more, it took me by surprise.

"Nightmare Moon, you have no idea how great this is!" I returned to her happily, turning back to the hollow tree in front of me. "This isn't just any house that you found. This is an old friend's house!"

"And how does that make a difference?" Chrysalis chimed in, causing me to flinch at her sudden intrusion to the mental conversation. Honestly though, there had to be an easier way for me too figure out who was in our mental conversations and when.

"You'll see." I answered before mirthfully making my way to the front door of the house. "Both of you wait out here for now. I'll call you when you can come in."

"What!?!" That was the first time someone had yelled inside of my head. I was not inclined to congratulate Chrysalis for that fact though. "You expect us to wait out here for you? How can we be sure that you'll even call for us at all?"

Glancing back to her with a blank face, I gave her the one response that I could think of. One that I knew would both answer her question and annoy the hell out of her.

"You can't."

And with that, I knocked.

Seconds later, I could hear movement beyond the door, silently willing it to open as I once more realized just how short of a time there was before the sun finally rose. Fortunately, despite the twitching I was starting to feel as a result of my nerves, the door soon opened and graced me with a pleasant sight.

A small smile graced me as I saw my old friend, Zecora. Granted, she was currently rubbing the grogginess out of her eyes at the moment, but still.

"Do not take this as spite, but who has visited me this late at night?" She asked.

Ah yes, her rhyming. I forgot to mention that. Its a cultural thing, apparently, so don't be too surprised if she does that. A lot. I'm certainly used to it, but I can get how it might throw you off guard.

"Well, technically, it's day." Zecora's eyes shot open at the sound of my voice. She looked at me for a moment, her eyes wide and mouth agape, before her expression shortly thereafter took on a much more cheerful look.

"Ah, Jeremy, my old friend! It is good to see you to no end." The exhaustion that had positively dripped from her voice all but vanished at this point. The smile I could feel on my face almost hurt.

What? She was a really good friend, okay?

"It's good to see you too, Zecora." I returned. "Mind if I come in?" In my head, I was mumbling 'please say yes' over and over again. I didn't know how long I had before daylight at this point, but I at least knew it wasn't a lot.

"I think that I have showed, that you are always welcome in my abode." She replied before sidestepping to her left, gesturing for me to enter with a smile of her own. I walked in a bit faster than I would have liked, every fiber in my being screaming at me as though the sun was actively hunting me down.

As she closed the door behind me, I caught a glance of Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis. The two were still hiding in the bushes that I had left them in. They were both watching me, be it with annoyance or worry in their eyes. Just before the door closed though, I gave them a reassuring nod. Then, I turned my attention back to my host.

She made her way past me to one of the several rooms in the house. As for me, I simply glanced around the familiar tree that I had once roomed in. Its funny actually how some time ago, I would complain to Zecora that this place was way too dark for its own good, save for a few specific spots. Yet, here we are, that darkness, as well as the familiar structure of it, suddenly seeming like the most comforting piece of scenery I could think of.

"I am going to make some tea. Would you like to have some with me?" She asked from the other room.

"No thanks, I'm good." I replied, making my way to the center of the room where a simple mat had been laid. As had previously been custom some time ago, I sat myself down onto it. I had a little bit of a struggle, considering my injuries, but the pain was all but nonexistent thanks to Nightmare Moon's continued use of magic. Might I add, by the way, it was more than a little impressive how she was able to keep this going even now.

A minute or so of waiting later, Zecora made her way back into the room. A kettle of tea was held by its handle in the zebra's mouth while a couple of small carved wooden cups were balanced on a small platter on her back. How she and many other ponies could manage to carry so many things at once, despite not having hands, was beyond me. Hell, let's not even get started on how they sometimes managed to hold things with their forehooves. I could barely keep pencils on my desk back in my old office, yet these ponies could seemingly scale up 70 degree inclines with no issues.

Placing the objects that she had brought back onto the mat, she took a seat as well before carefully pouring the tea into one of the cups and placing the kettle back down. She slowly picked up the now filled cup in between both of her forehooves and deeply inhaled its aroma before taking a small sip.

Shortly after, she looked towards me rather intently, an eyebrow slightly raising as she did so.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

She took a moment or two to respond, savoring her tea before finally swallowing and answering. "Though it is good to see you after a time that only Celestia knows, I must still ask, what has happened to your clothes?"

I had somehow forgotten about that. A quick glance at myself had revealed that, yeah, most of what I was wearing was torn, tattered, filth ridden and barely doing anything whatsoever to cover me. Luckily, that was seemingly the only thing different about me that she noticed at the time.

Still, I had come here for a reason, right? So the first thing I would have to do, unfortunately, would be to explain to my previous caretaker as to what had happened within the last few months after I had left her home. Fun.

"Heh. Guess I've got a lot to explain, huh?" She nodded. "Well... You know how I told you that you wouldn't have to worry about me when I had moved to Canterlot?" She nodded again, beginning to take another sip of tea from her cup. "As it turns out. You should have worried more." She didnt react, lowering her cup and looking towards me with raised a brow. I'm guessing she saw the fact that something would go wrong coming. I didn't exactly have a great track record of avoiding getting into stupid situations while I stayed with her, so I guess that shouldn't surprise me either.

"You see, I was... I kinda..." I elected to just spit it out. "I got arrested." She elected to spit out her tea all over the floor and I. Now my clothes were torn, tattered, stained, and wet. I was suddenly grateful that she preferred her tea lukewarm.

I wiped off some of the liquid from my face and just took the moment to stare at the now wide-eyed Zecora. She and I stayed silent for a while, both having nothing, before finally, her agape mouth shifted back into a smile. Even more oddly, she began to laugh.

"My friend, that was a very good jest." She chuckled. "Truly one of your best."

Yeahhhhh, she thought I was joking. I mean, I get it. Even the stupid things I had gotten into hadn't been bad enough to lead to me being arrested as the next logical jumping point. Still, this wasnt exactly something I could humor, ironically enough. The direct approach was definitely something I'd have to keep up.

"Zecora, I'm serious. I actually got arrested. I've been in the Canterlot dungeons for the past few months." That didn't really dissuade her laughter, unfortunately.

"Forgive me for laughing, but I simply cannot see that happening. You always did enjoy the average hoax, so how am I to see this as anything but one of your jokes." To an extent she had a point, but damn it if I didn't need her to believe me. Luckily though, I had a sure fire way to convince her, and it was right outside.

So, it was time to pivot from 'direct' to 'ludicrously blunt'.

I sighed as I stood from the mat and made my way next to the window. I flinched slightly as I could see the moon disappearing over the horizon. Evidently, the princesses were now in the process of changing it to day. That had been far closer than I ever would have liked

"Alright. I was hoping to do this out of good will, but I guess I have to do it just to convince you now." A smile still on her face, she rose a brow at me and gulped another sip of tea that she had probably taken as I was standing.

"Girls, you can come in now!" I yelled out the window. Zecora's expression shifted to one of confusion. No more than a few seconds later, as I closed the window blinds and leaned against the nearby wall, there was a knock on the door. Zecora looked at said door in silence, not seeming to really process what was going on. I shrugged, went to the door, and promptly opened it up while leaving plenty of space for those beyond it to pass me.

Zecora's eyes widened once more as the sound of hoof steps filled the room as the rather large beings on the opposite side of the door from me made their way inside. I felt a shudder go throughout my whole body as I closed the door behind them. Just below the door, I could see small rays of light starting to peak in.

I tried to pass it off as me just wanting to join the group in the center of the room, but truthfully I just wanted to be as far away from any window or door as I could get.

"About time. I was beginning to think you were just going to leave us out there." Looking to Chrysalis, I noticed that she was glaring at me while Nightmare Moon was looking over the room with an almost childlike curiosity.

"Didn't I say that I'd call you?" I replied with a raised brow and a deadpan.

"Actually, I more vividly recall you saying 'you can't' when I asked you how we were supposed to trust that that you would call us at all."

"Yeah. Basically, I was telling you to trust me. Glad to see that went well." I could practically hear her teeth grinding by now. Yet, before she could retaliate, Nightmare Moon chimed in.

"Um, Sir Jeremy? Perhaps it would be best if we put our focus to the situation at hoof?" Nightmare Moon suggested, breaking Chrysalis and I from our nigh inevitable argument prematurely.

I remembered the rather obvious fact that Zecora had just seen these two enter her home with me, and was prepared to try to calm her down from any panic that she might have had. Panic which, as I looked over in her direction, I saw she was showing so signs of whatsoever. If anything, she looked downright indifferent.

"Wow. You're taking this better than I thought you would." I mused. Her emotionless expression remained as she shrugged before taking another sip of her tea.

"My emotions are simple to hide. Truthfully, I am screaming on the inside."

"Practically for her life, at that." Chrysalis added, earning another quick glare from me. The smirk she returned likely meant that she was happy that she had annoyed me then. I looked to my old friend and crossed my arms as I began to mentally look for the right way to explain this, obviously, concerning situation.

"Look, Zecora, a lot has happened in the past few months. And I do mean a lot, as you can probably see." I gestured to two next to me. "But I don't want you to be afraid. I give you my word, these two are not what you may think of them to be."

Zecora took another sip of her tea, finally emptying her cup before finally setting it back onto the platter. With an almost trained elegance, she stood on all four legs once again and looked straight at me. Just behind those eyes of hers, I could see slight glint of annoyance. I recognized that look. It was a look that meant you were about to be thoroughly chewed out.

"I think that is clear, but as for my fear, I would say that it has every right being here." She began, sounding quite serious beneath her 'emotionless' and rhyming tone. "For you to say to trust the changeling queen and mare on the moon, how am I to do this so soon?"

"Zecora, I-" She interrupted me before I could get a word in.

"To expect such an upheaval from their evil?" Zecora's voice was beginning to raise, anger becoming evident in her tone.

"Woah, Zecora, they're not-" Yet again she interrupted.

"To simply misrule those that have been cruel!?" Now I was getting annoyed, and by the looks of it Zecora wasn't trying to hold back her anger anymore.

"Would you just-"

"So I question your word, for this is just absurd!" It was one thing to interrupt me again and again, another to question my word, but as I glanced back to Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis, noticing hurt or angered expressions on their faces, it reinforced my thought that it was beyond anything for anypony to do than to so openly insult my friends. "Why should I trust her or she-"

"Because they're the ones that saved me!" I interrupted with a shout, completely throwing off and quieting Zecora before she could spew any further. I felt like it was poetic justice that my response ended up rhyming with her attempted statement.

A prolonged moment of silence passed between us all, not even the sound of the outside seeming to exist as we all just stood there, watching each other. Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis were now looking at me with an odd combination of confusion and thankfulness. Nightmare Moon likely from stopping Zecora's insults and Chrysalis from just shutting Zecora up.

I didn't really feel good about this though. Annoyed at her or not, I hated having arguments with my friends like this. Maybe it was just how I was raised, or maybe it was because of the fact that I had so few in this world, but it was almost impossible for me to stay angry at them for long. It emotionally exhausted me.

I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration.

"If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here right now." I finally said, breaking the silence. "Does that sound 'cruel' or 'evil' to you?" Looking back up to my old zebra companion, I noticed that her eyes closed in thought.

"... What crime did you commit, if to tell me you'll permit?" She finally asked, her voice coming out in a sigh.

"I wish I knew. All I remember is waking up in a small dark cell with Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis." Zecora opened her eyes looked up to me again, her gaze locked straight onto my eyes as she seemed to scan for any sign of my deception. After another moment of two of searching though, her eyes once again closing as she placed a forehoof over her face.

"I can see from your eyes that you tell no lies." She had a face of both exasperation and confusion as she looked between the three of us. "But why have you come if you are clearly on the run?" There was a slight slip in her rhyming there, but I decided not to point it out.

"We got here by accident, honestly. Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis got me out of the dungeons about two days ago and we started traveling again last night. Nightmare Moon found this place and, when she did, I figured that you would be able to help us." Zecora held another moment of silence, moving for her tea kettle and pouring more of her now cold, calming drink into her recently emptied cup before placing it down and looking towards us again.

"Since I am aware that you are going to persist, how would you expect me to assist?" By the sound of both the question and her voice, I could tell that she hadn't really leaned towards any particular decision.

"All we need is a place to rest until nightfall again." I told her. She raised a brow, grabbing the cup of tea with her forehooves once again as she took a seat.

"That is all? A decision to my call?"

"That's it, Zecora. I'm not going to ask you for anything extreme. Just a place to rest." She looked at me in silence for another moment or so before taking in a sip of her newly poured tea, her eyes once again closed in thought as she savored her drink. Finally, she gulped.

"Of the decisions that I have weighed, I have decided that you may stay." I let out a silent sigh of relief, happy that I wouldn't have to go out into the sun for another day, as well as the fact the three of us would have a safe place to rest. "After all," she added, a smile gracing her once again. "I cannot simply abandon my old companion."

I found myself smiling as well.

"Thank you."