[Ocellus' Perspective]
Gallus was flying frantically to reach the gates. Ocellus, on the other hand, had a plan. She looked him in the eyes, wanting to comfort him. She smiled, although the sadness she felt from seeing her friend so scared dragged it down a bit. It couldn't have been more than a smirk, but she still held it, hoping it would give her friend some amount of comfort.
She knew her plan would work. It had to. She allowed the familiar changeling magic she'd harnessed her whole life to envelope her and change her shape.
[Gallus' Perspective]
Gallus watched, slack-jawed, as his shy little changeling friend suddenly transformed into a mighty bird of prey that could easily eat a dragon in one bite. She'd transformed into a roc!
He found himself staring as the gigantic bird gripped each of the doors in one of its powerful talons and, with a powerful push, wrenched them back open. The doors then started slowly sliding back towards their closed position. The bird then seemed to tense, obviously trying to hold the doors in place, despite their screeching rebellion.
Gallus shuddered when the blazing glare of the roc met his gaze. He got the message through the strained expression on her face. This wouldn't hold forever.
He had to work quickly.
He rocketed back the way he had come, keeping a fast pace despite his exhaustion from what was basically the equivalent of aerial sprinting. He reached the cells Ocellus had pointed out to him and frantically started searching for anything that might be the mysterious object they'd come to collect. That's when he heard the pained screech from his friend. As he looked out towards the roc, he could see that its legs were starting to bow under the pressure the doors were putting on them. He saw the changeling magic envelop her again, this time leaving a different monster in the roc's place. He didn't know what this monster was called, but Ocellus had shown him this new form once before. Said something about it being "Pharynx' go-to transformation," whatever that means. He began searching again once he saw the monster catch the doors and keep it from closing, seemingly using its tough carapace as some kind of shield.
He finally found the object they sought sitting a couple feet outside the cage. He picked it up, wondering why Cozy had wanted this back so badly.
"Question for another time," he said under his breath as he flew back towards the doors, prize in tow.
His wings were exhausted from the constant back-and-forth, so the return to the gateway took longer than either Gallus or Ocellus would've liked. By the time he had gotten back through the doors, it was being held open by a bugbear with a familiar color palette because the space between the doors had become too tight a squeeze for Pharynx' monster.
As soon as he was through the doors, Ocellus transformed back to her normal form and jumped back throught he opening. The gates closed with a mighty CRASH! behind them.
[Ocellus' Perspective]
Ocellus gasped for breath as she tried her best not to move her ridiculously overexerted limbs.
"Well, that was climactic," Gallus said jokingly.
She glanced curiously at the object clutched in his talons.
"You think that's it?" she said, hoping she already knew the answer.
"It was the only thing I could find in her cell," he responded. "This has to be it."
"Good."
As the two rested their weary limbs outside of Tartarus' gates, Ocellus found herself staring at the fractured remains of not one, but two, magical keys scattered across the ground. She wasn't sure why she wanted them yet, but she decided to collect the shards and put them in her currently empty bag before they left. An idea was forming in her mind, and she didn't want to come all the way back here for the shards once the idea was fully formed.
The two weary adventurers left the gates behind them and slowly made their way back to Ponyville.
[Cozy's Perspective]
Another panic attack earlier today had prompted Cozy to decide that searching for the book that was stolen from her would be worth the risk of getting caught. She couldn't handle how frequent these attacks were becoming, and they were quickly becoming a burden on those around her as well. She would just have to go out there and find out who stole the book. She had to get it back. She had to find a way into Tartarus. She had to get back her...
Her thoughts were cut short when she threw open the front door and saw something sitting on the front step. The same something she'd needed to retrieve from Tartarus. There was a note sitting next to the object that had caused her so much grief in recent days. She gently picked it up and read it:
I'm sorry I didn't trust you.
Your friend,
Ocellus
Cozy set the note down on the table next to the door and reached down to retrieve what was rightfully hers. She shuddered in relief as she lifted her gift high into the air and slowly lowered her homemade Empress of Friendship crown onto its rightful place atop her head.