Not a mimic!
Gallus is waiting.
Dragon-Ocellus swings the blue slate door open, rather proud of her first lockpicking success. A column of turquoise fire flashes around her as she becomes Ocellus-Ocellus again. He'll react better if I look like me. Her receptors are open and she can taste the love in his thankfulness.
She samples a little. Gallus won't mind. The flavor of mackerel with hints of tomato soup and spiced chocolate fill her, warming her entire body. The gloom of the palace seems to ebb in the wake of it.
If that is what actual mackerel tastes like, she thinks with a smile, I have to find a form for going fishing with Gallus.
"You look like the griffon who caught the canary," Gallus says.
Ocellus starts, looking down at herself. The memory of having unintentionally taken dragon form around Smolder flashes through her mind. She lets out a caught breath as she sees she is still nymph-her.
"I didn't mean literally."
Ocellus chuckles nervously, running a hoof over the back of her head. She notices that Gallus has his saddlepack now. He had abandoned it in a corner of the Envy Room to crawl through the duct.
Ocellus moves to pick up her lantern. Gallus snatches it up.
"I've got that," he tells her. "We can't talk if you're carrying it in your mouth." Their conversations thus far had involved a lot of stopping to put down the lantern.
The pair of friends begin retracing Ocellus' path back to the Throne Room.
I've never just been a dragon around Gallus, the nymph realizes. There were times she would transform around him as part of a joke or fun activity, or because another form was needed to accomplish a task. But she didn't just casually hang out with Gallus... or any of her friends, really... in a form other than her natural one. Except Smolder.
That's because Smolder doesn't care.
She shakes her head. No, that's not right. But what is right is hard to put into words.
Ocellus stops abruptly as they turn the corner into a familiar hallway. Gallus continues walking until she steps (gently) on his tail. The griffon chokes back a squawk of alarm.
"What?" he hisses in a whisper.
Ocellus' eyes narrow, glaring forward. "That credenza had three goblets on it when we came through before."
There are four goblets.
Gallus raises an eyebrow. "Really?"
Ocellus nods.
The nymph's thoughts churn. What now? She knows one of those goblets is a changeling, but she doesn't know which one. And what do they do with it? She is not transforming into Chrysalis again. If she and Gallus keep fighting drones, some creature is going to end up seriously injured. She can't keep knocking them unconscious. Eventually, she'll kill one that way.
Ocellus gasps as Gallus throws her lantern at the goblets. By the time she registers the desire to catch it, protecting the little lantern from harm, it is already knocking through the quartet of cups. A flash of green bursts over the credenza.
The changeling drone glares at Gallus, hissing. Then turns and shoots off down the hall.
"Wait!" Ocellus cries out, taking to the air! "You don't have to starve anymore!"
The drone reaches the end of the hall, diving through the open stained-glass doors. The doors swing shut in the wind of its passing.
"Listen to me!" Ocellus calls out. Then sighs, landing. "They won't listen."
Gallus blinks twice. "Should we chase it?" he asks belatedly.
And do what? "It's gone."
Ocellus scrambles after her poor lantern. "No throwing my lantern. Treat her nice."
Gallus lifts a talon and opens his beak, but the nymph's glare shuts him up.
Teenk. Tunk.
As Gallus pulls open the stained-glass double doors to the drawing room, Ocellus cautiously steps through.
"I get not wanting to hurt them, Ocellus. But if they attack us..." Gallus frowns. "Hurt is an outcome of fighting."
"I am not going to become Chrysalis again!" Ocellus hisses.
Teenk. Tunk.
"I am so not suggesting that!" Gallus says defensively. "But if we're going to be fighting changelings... those kinds of changelings... we need a better way to do so."
Ocellus scowls at him. But she cannot blame him for the awkwardness he must be feeling. How do you talk to a changeling about love-starved changelings?
Teenk. Tunk.
Ocellus' ears perk. She looks around the drawing room.
The cloudy-white wallpaper makes the room much lighter and more inviting than any other part of Nightmare Moon's Palace so far. But the wallpaper is peeling, and there are several odd stains. One whole section near the gothic stone fireplace is rotting.
Chairs, couches, low-sitting tables. Ornate lamps of moonsilver and polished adventurine tipped with figurines of Nightmare Moon. And the most unusual feature...
Teenk. Tunk.
"Okay, I might not be up on goblet counting," Gallus says flatly, "But I know that grandmare clock wasn't ticking when we came through last time."
Teenk. Tunk.
Ocellus had noticed the tall, gaunt gothic clock their first time through. Carved onyx with moonsilver weights and pendulum, arched bat wings rising up behind its face, the face itself softly glowing moon devoid of numbers, the time noted by moonsilver forks.
"Do you think it's a changeling?" Gallus asks, his ears dipping back and his tail curling with anxiety. "Or did our fleeing friend just decide to wind up the clock on its way out."
Teenk. Tunk.
"Her way out," Ocellus corrects. She pauses, and feels gratitude when Gallus does not ask how she can tell. "And I don't think so."
The changeling nymph feels a chill. Another idea occurs to her. "Maybe it started when we took Envy?"
Teenk. Tunk.
"Points for ominous." Gallus shies away, moving towards the opposite set of stained-glass doors.
Ocellus finds herself drawn to one of the walls, observing the odd stains. In some places, it almost looks like the clouds in the design had rained, ruining the paper.
"Hey, Ocellus?"
The changeling nymph turns away from her wallpaper inspection, catching a somber note in Gallus' voice.
Teenk. Tunk.
Gallus is looking back at her with a sadness in his eyes that she can't quite define. She tastes the love from him, muted heavily by a dominant emotion she cannot taste. The tomato soup is gone, replaced with a cool mint.
"I know a bit about facing personal nightmares here. What you did back there, changing into her..." Gallus says carefully. "That was the bravest thing I've ever seen you do. And I'm guessing the hardest."
Ocellus doesn't know what to say. For a moment, it appears Gallus does not either.
Teenk. Tunk.
"Look, I'm not Smolder, but... if you need to talk. Or hug. Or something."
Ocellus feels a moment of almost bitter confusion. Why would it matter that you aren't Smolder? You're my friend too! The thought is almost immediately followed by an uncomfortable acknowledgement that she would prefer to have Smolder with her. This is the sort of deeply private thing she only shares with her roommate, and only during their secret tea parties.
"I-I..." Ocellus' wings buzz under her elytra. "Thank you."
Teenk. Tunk.
Gallus winces. "Let's get out of this room before that clock drives me crazy." He sets down the lantern and grabs the double doors by both handles.
Ocellus' eyes widen as the light from the lantern shines through the stained glass. She can see the shattered remains of two more stained glass doors laying in the next room. Her ocelli flick upwards along the doorframe, taking note of the splintering. "Gallus...!"
The stained-glass doors Gallus is holding erupt in green transformation magic. A pair of changelings pin Gallus to the ground.
Gallus squawks in fright, too surprised to be terrified. He struggles, but together the two drones are stronger.
One opens her mouth, siphoning smoky wisps of love from his chest. The other helps hold him down, hissing at Ocellus.
Gallus grunts. "N-n-no!"
Teenk. Tunk.
Something bright snaps through Ocellus at seeing Gallus' love violated. As the smoke curls up towards the drone's open jaw, a brilliant turquoise light cascades in front of Ocellus.
Whoosh-WHAM!
Ocellus flashes across the room in an instant -- a blazing turquoise comet that tears through the intervening furniture -- slamming into the two drones and smashing them into the far wall of the next room.
Ocellus steps back wobbly, shaking her head to clear the ringing in her ears. The two drones lay limply at her hooves.
She is checking their breathing when Gallus swoops up to her.
"Thanks for the save," he says. It is unnecessary. She can taste how grateful he is. "But if you don't mind my asking, what kind of magic was that? I didn't know changelings could do more things than change shape."
Ocellus closes her eyes. Forbidden memories resurface. Memories of attacking Canterlot. Shattering that pink shield surrounding the city. Surrounding herself with her collision barrier as the drones around her did the same. Bombarding the city like a green star shower. Shooting down a hundred feet and slamming into a mare at full speed. Recovering. Feeding.
Ocellus sighs heavily, shaking off the foul memory. "Something I haven't used in a long time."
She was lucky she didn't kill that mare. But then, she hadn't wanted to kill her. You can't feed from a corpse.
Ocellus turns and walks away, pushing ahead as she falls into deep quiet.
"I'm just saying," Gallus bites, "If we find Smolder in here, and she's in a dress, I called it."
Ocellus stops, the griffon's words finally cutting through the melancholy. She feels a warm flutter inside at the thought. "Do you think so? That more of our friends are here?"
Gallus looks relieved to hear his changeling friend talking again. "Maybe. It's possible. If you are right about the evil queen dragging us here to get the anti-Elements for her, then... how many of them are there again?"
"Four," Ocellus answers quickly. So if she was right, that meant two of her four other friends were in this place as well. Assuming they didn't all escape. "Did any of the others get away?"
The words taste sour. She hasn't told Gallus yet what is happening to Luna. Or that any of their friends who aren't here are probably also being drained of their memories.
"Last I saw before the tentacle wrapped around my face was Yona breaking free," Gallus says, offering hope. "Apparently, yaks are best at not being paralyzed."
A fond smile slips into the nymph's expression. Go Yona!
As he passes and turns the corner, Gallus adds glumly, "I didn't see what happened to the others... whoah."
Ocellus flies around the griffon to see the hallway before them. She mentally echoes his whoah. They have made it back to where he fell out of the ceiling.
Scorch marks cover much of the walls and floor. The changeling queen goop has fully solidified into a luminescent green resin, looking like a dozen twisted and malformed changeling pods. Resin hangs from the ceiling and dangling vines in warped stalactites and splatters the walls like unholy eczema. Between the fire damage and the weight of the resin, several more ceiling tiles have collapsed. More vines hang limply from the enlarged opening.
Ocellus lands, folding her wings in tight under her elytra. There is no danger to stepping on the resin smattered over the floor, but she doesn't want to risk snaring one of her delicate wings on the hardened, knife-like strands that hang like luminescent green icicles. Behind her, Gallus follows suit.
"This is safe, right?"
Ocellus nods. "I grew up around this stuff." She eyes a twisted clump rising from the ground like a half-melted changeling. "Although I've never seen it this creepy before."
Gallus stares about. "So, there is a changeling queen making... what, grenades of her throw-up?"
Ocellus makes a face. Then stops as she spots two of her dice that had fallen from her saddlebags. She writes off the ten-sided that is fully encased in green resin. But one of her twenty-sided dice sits in a rough circle of clean between mounds of glowing resin.
It made its saving throw, she thinks, giggling inwardly as she lowers her saddlebag to scoop it up.
She recognizes her mistake in the flash of green transformation magic.
The changeling drone kicks her hard, sending her flying back across knife-edged grotesqueries of resin. Lime blades slash across her, scraping her elytra harmlessly but cutting deep into the softer chitin of her legs and the back of her neck.
Ocellus crumples into a bleeding heap, crying out from the pain shooting through her limbs. She squeezes her eyes tight, tears seeping between her eyelids. Through closed eyes, she can see the flash of her own transformation magic.
Bunny-Ocellus rolls onto her bleeding feet and scampers as fast as she can, dodging and jumping the hardened resin splatters, fighting through the pain that lances up her with every leap. The only thing on her mind is getting free of the hallway. Hopefully drawing the drone. She does not want to fight in the hall of resin knives.
She hears Gallus shout just as she clears the last of the bioluminescent lime aftermath. She curses inwardly, realizing the drone went for her other target. Bunny-Ocellus spins around, expecting to see Gallus being drained. Not registering the tone of the griffon's shout.
Gallus wasn't afraid; he was annoyed.
Bunny-Ocellus stares as Gallus tussles with Gallus. The two Galluses somersault over each other, rolling across bladed resin. Both are bleeding. The griffon's saddlepack has been severed from his back, laying on the floor near a hall bench.
With a flurry of wings, the fight goes airborne, one Gallus slamming the other back against the charred remains of an oil painting. With a grunt, the other Gallus pushes back against the wall, his strong lion hindlegs propelling them both into a bundle of vines.
Ocellus tries to taste which of the two is the real Gallus, but she's getting nothing from either of them. Anxiety, fear, determination... even primal survival rage are often experienced by a creature during a fight. Love almost never is. It's why this tactic caused so much confusion in Canterlot: not even the changelings could tell each other apart from their prey.
Ocellus opens her muzzle only to shut it again. This isn't like the hole in the ceiling. Asking Gallus to feel love in the middle of a struggle for his survival will not work. As fast as she can, Ocellus mentally sorts through her repertoire in the hopes of finding a form that will help.
Gallus stares at Ocellus. "I cannot believe you changed into Cozy Glow!"
The nymph shrugs with a smile as she wraps her bleeding left foreleg in bandages raided from Gallus' saddlepack.
"It was the only form I could think of that I knew you would react to and he - she wouldn't!"
Ocellus looks over at the changeling drone hogtied in torn vines. She knows that isn't going to hold her. Ocellus knows she would just change into a bunny to get out. This drone would probably turn into a cup. They seemed to have an odd affinity for goblets. She wonders idly if that is the first form they are taught to mimic.
Either way, once Ocellus had choked the girl out, it seemed cathartic for her friend to tie up the Gallus-impersonator, so she said nothing.
Ocellus is distracted from her thoughts by Gallus's cheery voice. "Hey, Ocellus. I found your real twenty-sider."
Ocellus looks over at where Gallus has stopped, his head bent and eyes on the ground.
"Oh great! Thank you." She pauses. "...Assuming it's not another love-starved drone."
Ocellus gasps as Gallus casually picks it up and rolls it. The dice doesn't turn into a changeling. It rolls like a dice, stopping with a "20" on its uppermost face.
"We're keeping it," Gallus announces.
Ocellus cautions, "That doesn't mean it's not..."
"We're. Keeping. It."
Ocellus nods, flying over and pulling off her saddlebags. The nymph deposits the rescued die in her bags as Gallus walks back to examine his own saddlepack. She sees him pick it up, eyeing the slashed straps. The griffon begins tying them together as best he can.
Her friend's expression brightens. The griffon looks over at her, a smile spreading across his beak. "Oh! Ocellus?"
"No," Ocellus says flatly.
His smile falters. "I just..."
"Nope."
"But..."
Ocellus puts her hoof down. "I am not going to add dice to my change repertoire so you can cheat at Ogres & Oubliettes. Don't ask again."
Gallus turns back to his saddlepack, frumping, "Technically, I haven't asked the first time."
He pulls his pack onto his back. It looks tight and uncomfortable. His bandages are turning crimson. So are hers. The cuts on the back of her neck sting most.
The two move on, soon reaching the pillars where the void barrier had stood. The broom is still sticking out of the column, its handle buried deep in the hole. The broken bust of Nightmare Moon lays on the floor.
Gallus nudges her and points. "Okay, now they're not even trying."
Ocellus blushes. "Actually, those are from me." At his look, she adds, "I'll explain later."
Oh!
Ocellus rushes ahead. Gallus squawks and takes off after her, catching up as she reaches the wall mirror and the open closet.
The three adolescent drones are gone. Ocellus isn't certain if she should be happy or worried.
"Okay, what gives?" Gallus grumps as Ocellus turns to the mirror and starts clopping at it. Blood has soaked through the wrapping on her right hoof, leaving dark red smears on the glass.
"Luna? Luna!" The changeling nymph receives no answer. The mirror continues to reflect the open closet: shelves with odd supplies. A wall with a stain.
The stain grows.
Gallus freezes, turning and staring into the closet.
The stain eats into the back wall. Festering. The surface bubbles, decaying, collapsing inward like layers of skin being eaten by acid.
The bubbles pop. Blue smoke pours out.
Gallus backs up, crashing into Ocellus.
A pair of slitted eyes appear in the smoke. The smoke forms into the semblance of a batwinged pony, but doesn't solidify.
"...whattheheck..." Gallus squeaks, his body pinning hers beneath.
A voice emanates from the foggy apparition, the voice stilted and emotionless, the sound echoing within itself. The voice reminds Ocellus starkly of the voice of the Tree of Harmony pretending to be Twilight Sparkle. But it is not Twilight's voice. Nor is the voice dark and ominous, as Ocellus would expect, but overly cheerful. Like Professor Pie might have sounded as a little filly. Roiling blue and black mist imitate a moving mouth, but the movements bear no connection to the words.
"You. Are. Injured. Allow. Me. To. Assist. You."
The eyes of the apparition glow brightly, bathing them with light. Ocellus feels her cuts stop itching. The bruises beneath her chitin fade.
The specter's eyes stop glowing, dissolving into the smog. Then the entire pony-like thing loses coherency, collapsing back into the stain.
Ocellus feels herself locked in place. Her mind has seized. She is too freaked out to move.
"The creepy just keeps coming." Gallus.
Her friend finally moves off of her. Gallus helps her up, closing the closet door with his tail. As Ocellus gets her hooves under herself again, the griffon begins peeling off blood-soaked bandages. The wounds beneath are closed.
Giving the door a wide berth, he decides to go back for the broom, telling her there are too many things in this place he doesn't want to touch without a long stick. "Seriously, this place should be an attraction. We should sell tickets."
More changeling drones patrol the Grand Stair.
Ocellus counts five, but she cannot be certain. They keep switching places. At the moment, two are on the stairs and one is standing in the arch of the bathroom. Two are flying. One of the fliers lands at the base of the Grand Stair while the drone at the bathroom turns and walks into the ebony-bricked room. The one who landed starts up the steps as the drone on the left wing of the stairs takes to flight.
She looks to Gallus as they crouch behind a dark-stoned pillar. The griffon nods, holding the handle of the one true broom in one talon.
Fighting one or two drones at a time has been rough. She's not sure they can survive being attacked by a full patrol. Stealth is their best option.
Unfortunately, while she can turn into a tiny little bat and keep out of sight, Gallus...
...is not next to her anymore!
His saddlepack is at her hooves. Ocellus looks around frantically. Where did he go? She was just looking at him! "Gallus?" she whispers, trying not to be heard.
She looks up. Above her, she sees the shadow of her friend crouched against the glass of the balcony, barely visible in the shadow. Then he is gone, slipping silently to the next shadow, getting closer to the stairs.
"If it's all the same to you guys," Gallus said, stepping out onto the Treehouse balcony and stretching his wings. "I'm going fishing. Lunches at the School of Friendship are delicious but they lack protein."
Ocellus smiled at the predator clearly eager to get his hunt on. Beside her, Smolder gave a thumbs up.
They watched their blue-feathered friend launch himself into the air, swooping high before diving towards the river.
Ocellus feels bad for forgetting: Gallus is a predator. Gallus hunts.
She turns, looking for where the griffon has disappeared to. She searches the balcony. Her ocelli turn upwards. The vaulted ceiling is consumed in shadows. He could be anywhere up there.
Ocellus looks back at the Grand Stair. She gasps as she sees one of the patrol drones laying limply on the steps.
Unfortunately, another drone sees the unconscious form too. With a loud hiss of alarm, he darts towards the fallen guardian. He makes it halfway when Gallus slips out from behind a tapestry, wrapping the broom handle around the changeling's neck.
The two fall onto the stairwell, the caught drone swinging a foreleg to pummel Gallus' face as the griffon grunts, having to exert himself to choke through the softer chitin surrounding the drone's throat.
The slaps to Gallus' face become slower and weaker until the arm falls limp. The griffon starts to worm his way out from under the unconscious drone.
Ocellus turns at a shout. The drone who went into the bathroom shoots out, flying towards Gallus. But instead of tackling the griffon, the drone pulls up short. Ocellus' pulse quickens as she sees the tank on the changeling's back. "Gallus! Look out!"
Gallus thrusts the unconscious drone off himself, taking to the air as a stream of royal jelly sprays between them, coating several steps.
With a flash, Bugbear-Ocellus is in the air, climbing up behind the drone. He turns, swinging the nozzle around.
Ocellus thrusts her hindquarters at him. The bugbear's stinger pierces chitin.
The drone screams!
Ocellus sees a familiar instinct kick in: change to a form immune to poison. With a flash of green, the drone becomes a goblet, falling to the floor. The royal jelly sprayer drops to the marble, bouncing with a clank.
Ocellus feels a hard pang of guilt. She hated doing that. The sting wouldn't kill him, but it was going to cause him a lot of pain when he finally dealt with it. She doesn't want to hurt any of these poor, love-starved changelings. She really, really doesn't. It is not their fault they are living like this.
It shouldn't have to be this way. They don't have to be this way!
"Two more!" Gallus reminds her, flying up into the gloom above. She looks up, but the shadows have swallowed the griffon. She briefly sees his silhouette cut across the stars beneath the skylight. Then nothing.
Ocellus turns, trying to spot the two remaining drones. They are flying straight for her across the open space of the Grand Hall. She has a moment to wonder if two drones are really going to try to fight a bugbear.
As they flash with green, a jolt of fear shoots through the nymph. Not counting the swarm abomination, the only creature she has seen a member of this hive turn into is the one that drone was fighting. If her form causes two bugbears...
The thought cuts dead as she finds herself facing two Nightmare Moons.
Her eyes drink in with horror the pair of black alicorns swooping towards her -- not realistic forms, but rather grotesque effigies of Nightmare Moon based on statues and stained glass windows. Their manes don't flow but crease and crinkle like glass under pressure; the dragon-like irises glaring at her are stained glass.
They lower their horns as they fly to meet her, apparently intent on skewering.
Gallus drops from above, slamming into the back of a Nightmare Moon, driving her to the marble below.
Ocellus claws at the other, only to swipe at cold air as the black alicorn suddenly dives. Ocellus spins about, trying to reorient. She sees the Nightmare Moon beneath her, flying upside down, grinning at her as her horn glows.
What!?
The Grand Hall lights up in dazzling white and stark shadow as the black alicorn unleashes a blast of lightning. Bugbear-Ocellus screams, her nerves burning. She collapses to the marble next to Gallus and his opponent, reverting to her changeling form as smoke curls from her back.
The Nightmare Moon underneath Gallus rolls, pinning him beneath her. She opens her mouth, showing rows of stained-glass teeth.
Gallus' eyes widen in horror as those teeth begin to shift, sawing back and forth as she tries to bite him. He thrusts the broom handle into her mouth holding her back. The teeth begin to saw through the wood.
"Oh come on!" Gallus protests, indignation mixing with panic. "That's not how teeth work! Changelings have teeth. You know that!"
Ocellus pushes herself up, her muscles twitching hard but obeying, and throws herself at the Nightmare Moon on Gallus. The alicorn bats her away with a wing.
"They're not playing by the rules!" Ocellus grunts as she lands, her own head spinning. Alicorns are powerful, and maybe some of their magic is innate rather than learned spells, but this is insane!
The other Nightmare Moon cackles as she circles overhead. The sound is like a shattering mirror. Her horn glows, lightning flashing from its tip.
Ocellus turns her head. The royal jelly sprayer is just within one foreleg's reach.
The changeling nymph rolls, avoiding a blast of lightning that scorches the marble, and snatches up the sprayer. She doesn't have time to figure out how to use it. But the transparent tank is made of something hard enough that it shrugs off puckwudgie needles.
Ocellus flies towards Gallus and swings the tank as hard as she can against the back of his Nightmare Moon's head.
THUNK!
The Nightmare Moon goes down, sprawling. Groaning. Not even unconscious.
Gallus sweeps Ocellus up in both arms, clutching the nymph to his breast feathers, flogging the air with his wings. The griffon shoots straight up as lightning tears through the air where she had been.
The words of Luna come back to her: You will be safe inside. There are wards against enemies...
"Throne Room!" Ocellus gasps.
Gallus nods, not letting go, carrying his friend with him as he pumps his wings for all the mighty eagle's speed they will give him.
Behind, the first Nightmare Moon helps the second to her feet. They give chase, their horns beginning to glow as Gallus swoops up the Grand Stair and into the hall above.
The opulent doors to the Throne Room are open before them. Ocellus clings tightly to her friend as Gallus pushes for a last burst of speed.
Bolts of lightning rip across the hallway as Gallus and Ocellus fly between the Throne Room doors. The bolts strike the open air of the doorway like they are hitting water, dispersing in harsh brilliance.
The Nightmare Moons pulls back, stopping before they hit the threshold. They revert to drones, hissing angrily. Impotently.
Gallus drops to the floor, his grip on Ocellus turning to jelly. Ocellus collapses to the ground, her muscles feeling weak, her heartbeat rapid, her breath coming in gasps. An odd thunk reminds her that she is still holding the royal jelly sprayer. She discards it.
Gallus collapses against her on the floor, panting hard. The air is filled with the cursing chittering and hisses of the drones on the other side of the open door.
The analytical part of her mind wants to ask why she can enter this room when they can't. But right now she is too exhausted to be anything but thankful.
Ocellus and Gallus stare back as the two enemy changelings pace in frustration, shooting them hateful looks.
Still gasping for air, she asks Gallus, "Do you... have the urge... to nyah nyah?"
Panting hard, the griffon nods.
Neither of them do.
Gallus stares out the huge window at the bleakness of the outside world. "Wow. So that's... really the moon."
Ocellus knows exactly what he must be feeling. At least he isn't looking at it being a permanent home. "We'll get back," she lies, putting a hoof on his arm.
"And what's to stop the changelings -- the evil ones -- from just following us through?"
The two drones have left, reporting back to their queen. The hallway outside is silent again.
Ocellus really wishes her friend wasn't so perceptive. She looks away, her ocelli turning to the far end of the room, beyond the throne. But Luna is absent from the mirror. The surface shows only the nearly empty room, the two of them, and the moonscape beyond the window.
"I'm working on that," she finally says as she feels Gallus' gaze burrow into her. She cannot look at him when she says it. So instead, she gets up and walks towards the trio of onyx pillars.
"You're hiding something," Gallus observes, making her wince. Then, to make it worse, he asks, "Would you tell me if I were Smolder?" Gallus rubs his arm where she had been touching him.
Ocellus stops. Sits. Lays down.
Buries her face in her arms.
As thankful as she is for Gallus, she can't tell him. It is terrible and wrong and ugly, but she cannot burden him with that. And his words only remind her of how lonely she is going to be. And while her thoughts focus on Smolder, her heart remembers how much she misses all of the others.
She hears Gallus get up, his talons clacking on ther floor as he approaches her. He stops a wing's reach away. The silence feels stilted, awkward and full of bad secrets. It presses against her like a ratty blanket that might carry disease.
"My words are stupid," Gallus says. "Sorry. I miss them too."
Ocellus doesn't get up, but she slides herself to lie beside her friend. His tail curls around her.
The palace is cold. He is warm. More than physically in both cases.
Elsewhere, the clock continues to tick.
Gallus knows your crush Ocellus, tee hee. Another great chapter, keep them coming
Changelings are notoriously poor melee fighters. A healthy griffon ought to have little problem handling even a several at a time if he's willing to get his claws dirty. But since we're doing this with certain handicaps, it'll be a bit more complicated than that.
Now there's an old classic, always remember, mimics aren't restricted to chests...
Now there's a way to harvest love...
Yer back half's got claws too mate...
I like remembering that Gallus is a predator, although by nature Ocellus is too - albeit a different sort of predator, not the fighty kind. Also you gotta figure that growing up on the streets have him a basic education in fighting.
What I’m wondering right now is why these changelings don’t just swarm Ocellus and Gallus.
This story is SO damn good!
I really can't wait for more (?) of the gang to show up.
Probably for the best--it'd only rile up their attackers more.
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I've been wondering that too. My working theories are that they either don't have the numbers for it, most of the moonlings are needed elsewhere for something else (pertaining to the portal perhaps?), or some mixture of both. I suppose the castle being so large and not seeming to have a clear idea of where to find them at a given time might be a possibility, and they've kept to splitting up into search parties so to increase their odds of finding them in a timely manner or something like that.
I'd suggest the possibility of the moonlings trying to play with their prey for whatever reason, but I don't see what it'd gain them, especially as it doesn't seem to be working. I suppose they could be not trying to win the fight at all, and are only giving the illusion of it so to string Ocellus and Gallus along for some sort of trap further down the line, but...
Whatever their tactics, the fight at the grand stair suggests they've learned its time to change their approach, and seem to be getting increasingly more alert and more in number. Gallus is right, they need to be thinking ahead about how they need to be addressing that problem, because they're clearly going to have to fight their way out of this in the end. It's a foregone conclusion at this point, no matter how this goes down.
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do you suggest
i.imgur.com/KoY92AF.jpg
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Yeah, that was about what I was thinking of.
So, some more new mysteries here... including the possibility that the palace may be waking up.
I continue to remain interested in seeing where this goes! :D
Interesting, did the suppression of the anti element cause that? And is it a good thing?
Three Brooms for the dragon lords where lava likes to pool
Seven for the griffon kings atop their lofty tree
Nine for little ponies soon to play the fool
One for the Dark Queen looming ominously
On the face of the moon where the shadows pool
One Broom to rule them all, One Broom to sweep them
One Broom to move them all and in the darkness keep them
On the face of the moon where the shadows pool
Is that a Jojo reference?
One thing I've noticed is how freely the changelings, Ocellus included, shapeshift. So, I'm curious as to why Ocellus doesn't bother morphing into an enemy changeling. Gallus could stay in the throne room where it's safe while Ocellus freely waltzes around the castle disguised as the enemy. The changelings have only been shown to react to trespassers, not their own kind.
Okay, one Plot Coupon down, three to go. One party member acquired, four to go (Assuming there are no hidden party members or DLC party members to add in) Now, back to tell Best Princess and go get the next one, and see who is waiting there. All while trying to not to go nuts from paranoia or al the internal issues all of you are dealing with. Simple.
Well, Ocellus is really, really trying buuuut, how long can that last as the Moonlings ramp up their attacks? Though, if the Quuen wants that portal formed, why would a Drone interfere with Ocellus getting the Totem? Unless it was trapped behind the barrier before the Ocellus plan was put into action and didn't know what was going on I guess.
Still, so, this the point where Ocellus fails her pacifist run?
Said every D&D party ever, right before the one thing in the room they failed to poke hard enough with their stick starts trying to eat them.
And Masaka is waking.
50 shmeckels to whoever gets that reference without googling it.
Couldn't Bugbear Ocellus have just bashed it down?
Well.... okay then. The fish part makes sense.... does he just really also like tomato soup?
Wait, wha.. so, ti's just what she thinks it tastes like?
Battered, bruised, half covered in bandages and/or casts from all the failed attempts and about to get knocked out cold by the dog standing behind them?
Yay inventory upgrade!
Eh, ponies seem to do that just fine.
Doubt the others would either.
By the time she gets back she will be a world grandmaster at those 'spot the difference' puzzles.
Gallus.... Yona is supposed to be the one Leeroying stuff up. I would have snuck up, opened one of the drawers while watching the cups, ready to smack it if it changes, then just shove them all into the drawer.
Yes! You be good to Lampy!
Gallus is NOT going for a pacifist run. How much control does Ocellus have over her party AI?
1. Moonlings, works and automatically leaves out Ocellus.
2. Hes got a point.
Creepy, and, best bet. Can't really be a moonling because.. where'd the original clock go then? Can they do that kind of complex machinery in the first place? But.... check the clock, is it ticking normally, or counting down?
D'awwwwwwwwwww
Hmmmm, so even the other can see there is something going on between them?
Or at least Gallus, the other three, yeah could see them not picking up on anything for various reasons.
Also yes, Birb hug her NOW!
To quote my Pathfinder party's Fighter "Fucking mimics!"
Huh, they can do it like that while he's not exactly in much of a loving mood?
Oh shit......Ocellus bought to lay down a flank whoppin'
The kind normally used to make a dynamic entrance in front of your fleeing prey.
Good old practicality. Why kill someone when you can use them better alive?
So they told each other about what they dealt with and..... yeah I'm moving further away from this being a test, just due to (well aside from how utterly dickish that would be) Gallus calling it out so clearly.
Why, kind of important to tell him about mission control in case you get separated.
Of course yaks best at that!
Effective, and disgusting. binds the target, plus makes them make a Fort save versus getting nauseated.
Come on, you can't at least call it as having landed on 20?
Oh.... no.. it was a Nat 1 for her perception check.....
So not animorph rules, that makes more sense. She was just too into not caring about Chryssi getting hurt to think about afterwards.
Griffons go around armed the whole time. Really, out of the group, barring shapeshifting you really are the only one who would have issues taking a drone one on one.
So they've learned to take other creatures' forms.... did Ocellus teach them how to do that?
Also time for call and response passwords to get set up.
Nani!?
Huh.... that does make sense. Good quick thinking.
Birb boy knows you must do all you can to appease the Random Number Gods.
So if Ocellus is the kobold dice hoarder (Math rocks make the click-clack sounds, need more!) I'm guessing Gallus is the one who pre-rolls the ones out of his most important dice?
Yeah, he's into the game for sure.
Pffffft, some moonling just got really bored.
So, can they do wall stains, or is this more traps in the castle being triggered? Or just something causing part of it to break down?
You mean Sparkle Twilight?
Huh, so the place has auto medics? That's helpful. Also very polite.
It's not quite a collapsible ten foot pole, but it's the best they got. Remember to poke the ceiling!
He's not wrong......
One broom to rule them all
One broom to find them
One broom to sweep them all
And in the dust pile bind them
Also, stealth mission time? Sneak past the guards while taking them out one at a time?
Oh crap.....
Bright blue, the best camouflage for a hunter.
So Gallus is the party rogue then, lockpicking, sneaking, has the broom of trap detection. Yona is the front line fighter/barbarian, Ocellus is the closest they have to a mage, but one almost entirely focus on transmutation school. Silverstream is the bard.
Also, I'd say he learned more stealth from trying to get around Griffonstone without issues and sneak a few bites to eat away from other Griffons.
And he does good sneak attack damage too. Yup, he's a rogue.
Gallus, you need to hide the bodies, this isn't Skyrim where the NPC's will forget you just put an arrow in their head if you hide for long enough.
Ohhh, or set a trap, very Batman.
Oh...fuck.....
Okay, exploiting survival instincts, to take them out with killing them, quick thinking Ocellus.
Ehhhh, you are assuming they are just like your hive was. Understandable but, you can't be sure these ones don't have more trust in their Queen then you all ended up having in Chryssi.
Ohhh, good point, the more you use a form, the more likely they are to learn that form......
Scary, but you already established while you may get some supernatural effects a creature has, you don't gain their spellcasting levels, so, not that big a deal.
Unless these ones are different, or they know how to do lightning casting as is.
Things just keep on getting creepier and creepier.
NOOO not the One True Broom!
So is he also the table rules lawyer?
Any insufficiently understood weapon is indistinguishable from a giant club.
SAFE! Now, just don't stop to taunt them about it......
but do wonder why the hive wouldn't have like, the entire hive sitting outside the door waiting for you.
Luna did say that you'd need something like a weapon for enough power to make the Seal.......
Good, that never goes well.
And the whistling of that dropping bit starts to grow.
Okay, story, time to be honest, I'm conflicted on this. Yes, I get that it is more accurate then 'eyes' but, the shear amount that word is used..... It does do a good job of keeping in mind what she is, but at the same time, it's just, so odd and sounds like a case of 'call a rabbit a smeerp' at times, even if it is a legit and accurate word. I do fully get why you use the term, but it's also a bit distracting that it's used so much for something that feels like it should just be 'eyes'. Might even work better if it wasn't her name as well, just adding to the word standing out.
It works, but at the same time, feels like it's just a tiny bit too much. Not a major issue, but is a minor nitpick so far. I get the reason, but not 100% sure it works.
And awkward sounding. Just, that does not sound natural at all.
But this is sweet.
And this is ominous, Luna, what did you 'forget' this time?
So, we learned a bit more about how this place works, but are still left with questions. Also possibly a time limit now, and Ocellus, they are going to figure it out. But still, so far the interactions are just, so well done.
So put down the cello and grab the bass.
That's adorable.
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cause we're swingin' here tonight, this ain't no fancy music place.
Are you serious Gallus that's what your idea especially what just happen lol oh boy
I'm sure she's try not to tell him in order way To make sure they don't go through the portal is to destroy the other side And leaving one behind
hi hi
with regards to treating the lantern nice:
I would be a humorous surprise twist if it turned out that the lantern was a changeling all along, but was just too shy to reveal themselves.
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With regards to That Mare:
Maybe it's the former game-master in me talking, but I wonder if we'll ever learn more about the mare that Ocellus didn't kill back then. Did they ever encounter each other afterwards? Not exactly sure what steps Equestria might have taken to promote reconciliation between the prior victims and repentant former foes.
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With regards to dice:
It is definitely considered cheating to use changelings disguised as dice to influence the outcome of dice games. Though it would be funny if, in that same potential surprise twist, if a lot of the loot that they picked up during their adventure turned out to be changelings that wanted to escape with them.
Also, I see Gallus' Ogres and Oubliettes experience is filtering through. The ten foot pole is a staple of adventurers the world over.
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The differences in mentality between a predator and prey can be pretty interesting (especially here given the name of this story). I half expect Gallus to see a spooky, narrow hallway or something and be thrilled about finding the best spot around.
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Last but not least, the scene at the end of Gallus and Ocellus sticking together at the end, I thought was really well done. It felt very real, the way they're not hiding their frustration and pain but still managing to draw strength from each other.
I know, been awhile since I've I've been back here. Life's taken a monkey wrench to my plums for some time, but I'm back in the saddle as it were! Aren't you thrilled?
Shouldn't that be Abyssinian?
He's a guy. I know that probably doesn't register for a shape shifter, but it does play into things.
How? Chrysalis band of dopes got curb stomped by a librarian, a seamstress, a mare whose 50% sugar by body weight, and thrice bloody Fluttershy, and this lot are even weaker.
Hast thou hefted brother?
Play Masquerade and watch those concerns melt away as you get 8 successes and barely put a hair out of place on the Methusalah whose stepped down to drop kick your mortal ass across Creation
Which Fluttershy once had no problem with but then did. Apparently offering a snake, an obligate carnivore, a vegan substitute is okay to the mare whose lifes mission is the well being and care of animals
Again... male. Which part of this do people not get