Kestria

Dambro was flying aimlessly, in the middle of nowhere. His island had been destroyed just hours ago, and he had been flying since. He'd thought about little else except that place. The good times, his friends.

He was a Toa, an elemental of sorts. He had control over Fire and Water, giving him the name Dambro, Toa of Steam. He was also a maroon Pegasus, with a dark blue mane and tail.

He spotted an island, and flew closer. It looked more like a large continent, stretching across the horizon.

Upon reaching it, he landed in a forest. He walked for a bit, and saw ponies falling from the sky.

Dambro knew he couldn't save them all, but he could try, as demoralized as he was from his defeat hours ago. So, he took to the sky. The ponies proved to be a lot heavier, so he only was able to save one.

Descending, he laid the pony that, upon further examination, wasn't a normal pony. There were holes in it's feet, it's wings were paper thin, and also had holes in it's horn.

'Is this a dead alicorn?!' Dambro thought. He hadn't seen or heard about too many alicorns in his lifetime, but maybe they decayed rapidly after death.

His thoughts were pushed aside as the alicorn began to stir.

"Ugh..." She, yes, she said.

"Are you okay? You just fell from the sky." Dambro said.

The alicorn just stared at him, looking him over. 'A pony... Helping me?' She thought. 'How... Intriguing.' "I'm fine. Who are you?" She asked. Dambro saw her try to get up, but fell on her leg. So he went to help her.

"I'm Dambro, Toa of Steam. Your leg's probably broken... Who are you?" Dambro said, lifting her foreleg around his neck.

"I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings. Except... Well, I shouldn't be too open to a kind stranger, should I?" She said. Dambro nodded.

"Do you know a doctor nearby? I'm no expert, but I could put your arm in some kind of cast if you need it." Dambro offered.

'No doctor would want to help me. And I'm lost... That invasion was a bad idea.' Chrysalis thought. "You do it." She said. Dambro looked around. He could try wrapping several leaves around her foreleg.

"Lay here. I'll go get some leaves to wrap around your leg." Dambro said, and took off to the sky, to find larger leaves.

Chrysalis thought about what was going on. 'Dambro seems nice, but too nice... He's not from here, is he? Or heard about that attack. Maybe I can use that to my advantage... Or, I could try turning over a new 'leaf'. Live in solitude and leave the world behind... Sounds boring.' Chrysalis thought. 'Maybe though, with someone by my side, it would be better.' She said, looking at Dambro as he appeared from the brush, holding several leaves in his mouth, galloping toward her.

"Hrr r eh lffs." Dambro said, and laid them down in front of Chrysalis. She looked at him quizzically "Er, here are the leaves. I'll clean them and make the cast." Dambro said, noticing her confusion, and shut his eyes, concentrating on the leaves before him. Dirt arose from the leaves as he channeled his water control, and Dambro began tying them together on Chrysalis' leg.

"Is that too tight, Queen Chrysalis?" Dambro asked, stepping away.

"For all your trouble, you can just call me Chrysalis. It's fine, thanks." She said.

"Is there a village nearby I can fly you to?" Dambro offered.

"I don't know. We should probably find shelter. It'd be a while before we find anything nearby." Chrysalis answered as truthfully as possible. "Although, there might be a cave nearby we can spend the night in." She said.

"...Okay." Dambro said, looking around for a cave.

"How did you do that back there with the leaves? Usually Pegasi here can't use magic." Chrysalis asked.

"I'm a Toa. We can use only certain spells if we aren't unicorns. Just elemental things. You don't have any Toa here, do you?" Dambro asked, helping her through the woods.

"No. Since you're so kind as to help me, I guess I could tell you what I am. I'm a Changeling, who can turn into other ponies at will." She said. Dambro thought about that for a second.

"Can you turn into me?" Dambro asked. Chrysalis did so, and Dambro stared.

"Okay, now my mind has been blown. You can stop if you want." Dambro said, looking at himself, which had a twist. Green eyes replaced his orange hues.

"Yeah, it's usually a lot to take in." Chrysalis said. 'Maybe he'll get used to it' She thought. It was wonderful, the thought of acceptance.

"This cave over here seems alright, Chrysalis." Dambro said, and their rather short walk came to an end.

Dambro let Chrysalis lie down on the cave floor. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but Dambro would see about doing his best to help her.

Little did Chrysalis know, she had helped push the thought of his home far from his mind. Chrysalis thought once more as Dambro left. Suddenly, a tree fell, not too far off from the cave's entrance.

"Dambro!" She called out. The pegasus poked his head out from the side.

"Yeah?" He called back. "Just making sure nopony can get in here, but we'll be able to leave just fine. I'm gonna make a cushion of some sort with these leaves." He said.

'Maybe he already enjoys my company?' Chrysalis thought. 'That will make it easier to get him to not care about the other ponies... Maybe we could raise a family, too. Live in isolation...' Chrysalis wandered in her thoughts, thinking about the advantages of never seeing ponies again, other than Dambro. Then, she thought of something.

What if he didn't love her back? Then, she wouldn't be able to live, since Changelings fed off of love. She pushed the thought aside as Dambro once again did his magic on the leaves, cleaning them, and laying them in a pile the size of Chrysalis. Then, he helped her over to the pile. It wasn't very comfortable either, but it was better than the cold hard floor of the cave.

Outside, darkness fell. Dambro stared out, looking for any trouble that would dare surface.

"How did you get up there in the first place?" Dambro asked.

"Long story, but I guess we have time." Chrysalis said. Dambro nodded for her to continue. "I was trying to help my people, by impersonating a princess, who was going to be married. It would have gone without a hitch, but the sister of the groom found out. But, everyone was still convinced I was the real deal. So, she was ignored. When nopony was looking, I teleported her to the caves beneath the city, with the real princess. The two escaped and made it just before I was going to be 'married'. So then I attacked the city, but the real bride and groom did this true love bullshit. Then you saved me." Chrysalis explained. Dambro looked at her.

"How is it helping your people to hurt others?" Dambro asked.

"I was willing to do anything for them, you must realize they were starving. Us Changelings... We need love to survive. The emotion." Chrysalis explained.

"I don't know... What are you going to do now?" Dambro asked.

"I want to live away from ponies. In solitude." Chrysalis said.

"But you'll die." Dambro said in a concerned tone.

"That's why I... I... I think I want you by my side. Although, I don't think you love me." Chrysalis said. She lay and wait for a response for several moments.