//------------------------------// // II // Story: Ennui // by semillon //------------------------------// Her dreams that night were undeniably pleasant, vague and amorphous. They looked like Sugarcube Corner, cups of hot tea and warm blankets being pulled off the line. They smelled like smoke and honey with just a tinge of brine and sulfur. They felt like scales—ones that were hot to the touch at first but easy to acclimate to once they were wrapped around her neck. Ocellus woke early in the morning, twelve minutes before her alarm clock, and she felt like she had slept the perfect amount. It was as if her mind had gotten a breath of fresh air after being stuck in a basement for hours on end. She had no trouble paying attention to her classes, which was strange. Sure, she never had as much trouble with listening to lectures as some of her other friends did, but there were virtually no problems at all with her focus up until the end of the day. Cheer practice. She walked into the locker room, Yona at her side, and only then did she remember what had transpired the night before. Yona looked back to her as she stopped walking. “Friend okay?” “I...” Ocellus squinted, confusion crawling on her back. How did the previous night slip her mind like that? “Feeling sick?” “Sick is the wrong word,” she said, blinking. “It’s—it’s okay.” “Gallus’s bird flu?” Yona suggested. She did suddenly feel nauseous. “No. I think I need to talk to Smolder.” “Talk to me about what?” asked a voice from behind her. Ocellus whirled around, stumbling into Yona’s side with a yelp. “Didn’t you promise not to scare me like that anymore?” “I honestly thought you knew I was here,” said Smolder, an eyebrow raised. “Do you remember last night?” “Of course I do! Best weird thing to happen to me in Equestria so far.” “How could you let me forget?” Ocellus asked. “We should have gone to a teacher or something first thing!” “I thought you remembered, but didn’t care,” Smolder explained. “What’s the big deal? We can tell Coach Dash now.” “Thank y—” “After we surprise the rest of the team.” “Are you serious?” “It’ll be fun!” “Yona like surprises,” Yona said, gingerly stepping between them. “What this one about?” Smolder grinned. “Don’t go yet, but it’s just past the showers. We should wait for Shimmy and—Yona!” Yona was there one second, and then she was gone. The only hint of her that Smolder and Ocellus saw was her wagging tail disappearing around the corner, towards the row of showers. The duo shared a look before following their friend to find— Yona stood in front of the janitor’s closet, tilting her head. She looked back at Smolder and Ocellus. “Surprise where?” Smolder’s eyes went wide. She took to the air and flew above Yona, barely able to believe what she was seeing. The door was gone. “Hey, guys, what are we looking at?” Shimmy Shake said from behind. Smolder shook her head. “Uh, nothing.” “You sure about that?” Lighthoof asked. “Because it seems like you’re all looking at something. Did somepony throw up in the showers again?” “Smolder promised a surprise,” Yona said. “Surprise?” Lighthoof’s tone brightened considerably. “Is it cake?” “It’s not cake,” said Ocellus, sounding as much in a daze as Smolder was. “I don’t think it was cake, at least.” “Aw. I was craving some cake.” “It’s gone?” Smolder choked out. Lighthoof tilted he head. “The cake?” Shimmy giggled. “She already said there was no cake, Lighty.” “So what was it, then?” Lighthoof asked. “I don’t know,” said Smolder. “That’s so weird. I have no idea.” Smolder looked to Ocellus, who looked just as confused, but nothing came to her mind. “What were we gonna—” Ocellus stopped. “Do you remember what we were gonna show them?” Smolder looked at her, beginning to answer, but the sound of a sharp whistle came flying in from the gymnasium. “Practice is starting, girls,” said Shimmy Shake. “Let’s go?” Yona moved past Smolder and Ocellus to join the ponies, who were looking at the dragon and changeling worriedly. “Guys?” Lighthoof asked. “Right. Practice.” Smolder walked over to join them. Ocellus took another second or two to stare at the empty space on the wall next to the janitor’s closet, and sighed. She followed after the group as they went to start practice, feeling a fuzzy texture fold over her mind the entire time. It didn’t leave as she showered. Hot, nearly scalding water cascaded over Ocellus’s chitin in a strong, steady stream, and she had barely moved an inch in the last fifteen minutes. She could only really listen to the idle conversation of her teammates. “So are we gonna expand the team sometime?” asked Shimmy Shake. “More team, more fun,” said Yona. “Who, though?” “It’s too bad Silverstream didn’t want to join,” said Lighthoof. “It wasn’t that,” Shimmy Shake refuted. “If that girl wasn’t so busy with a million other clubs and teams then you know she’d be down for it.” “Maybe Spike?” Lighthoof suggested. “That sounds fun, but isn’t Spike technically on the faculty?” “I have no idea.” “Yona?” “Yak don’t know.” “Hmm...Smolder?” “Whuh? Yeah?” “Is Spike on the faculty?” “Uh, no. I don’t know,” Smolder slurred. “Probably.” “By the way, why was your fire blue today? Because it looked really cool and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you breathe blue fire before.” “Yona also don’t remember.” “Oh, it just kinda gets like that sometimes,” Smolder muttered. “Can’t really control it. I dunno.” Ocellus’s right leg was suddenly really itchy. She scuffed at a spot above her hoof, looking down as she did so.  “Hey,” Lighthoof chimed in. “What’d you guys get on the last History of Friendship test? Cause—” It was only later, as the talk went on, and then ended, and Lighthoof, Shimmy Shake and Yona all left the showers, and after Ocellus turned her shower off and went to dry on the bench with her towel spread on top, that she answered Shimmy’s question. As Smolder lay her own towel in front of Ocellus and stepped onto the bench to sit cross legged in front of her, Ocellus looked at her and said, “You’re sad. That’s why your fire was blue today.” Smolder nodded. “Why?” Ocellus asked. “I don’t know. I don’t know,” Smolder said. “Do you—do you remember what we did last night?” “I remember Connect Four,” said Ocellus. “But I can’t...it’s like I can’t think past that.” “I know,” Smolder whispered, her posture deflating. “Geez, I feel like I’ve spent the last two hours in a dream.” “Agreed.” Ocellus tore her gaze away from the dragon. Things grew quiet for a moment. Ocellus wasn’t sure what to do, or to say. Whereas she had always looked forward to her talks with Smolder after practice, now it just felt like sitting in detention. Something had been taken from her. That’s what it felt like, the feeling that had wrapped itself around her and Smolder like a cloak fastened way too tight. There was something missing about everything that had happened since the beginning of practice, and it bothered Ocellus in the way that a tick would, only she could check herself for ticks and she had no idea what to look for or even think about with—with whatever was happening right then. One half of her wanted to scream. Another quarter was paralyzed with uncertainty. And the last bits of her mind… Ocellus snorted. She had an idea. “You still remember playing Connect Four with me?” she asked Smolder, smiling when the dragon nodded. “Well, maybe we can play again.” “I don’t know, Celly, I’m kinda feeling—” “It’ll make you feel better,” Ocellus said, talking in the same way she’d talk to a dog with a treat in her hoof. Smolder sighed. “Fine.” *** “It’s November Rain,” said Smolder. “No way.” “Then who?” “Gallus, obviously.” “Gallus does not have the cutest boy butt,” Smolder laughed. “You’re kidding, right?” Ocellus slotted in another disc onto the board, getting a row of three. “November Rain’s a good choice. I see why you went for him. But I feel like if you took out a roll of measuring tape and compared them side by side, you’d see Gallus winning.” “Pbbtfffft,” Smolder stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry in the changeling’s direction. She made her move—blocking Ocellus from getting yet another row of four. “Judging other creatures’ appearances has nothing to do with math.” “You’re supposed to be trying to win, by the way,” Ocellus said quietly. “What?” “You’re supposed to try and get four. Not just block me from getting four the entire game,” she said, a smile growing on her features. Smolder looked at her, shock in her eyes for a long, glorious moment. Competitive spirit flared up in her not long after that. Her eyes became cold and hard. Her teeth grit together as they prepared for the slaughter she was intending to bring to her opponent. “Oh, you’re on, bug girl.” “Am I?” Ocellus asked innocently before she slotted another disc in, completing both a diagonal row of four as well as a vertical one. Like she were travelling back in time, Smolder reverted to the pure surprise that graced her face not moments ago. Ocellus held her hoof out, shaking slightly. She wasn’t sure if the taunting was the right move, but it was fun to be equally matched against Smolder in something. It wasn’t like the wins she was racking up were easy to get. To her relief, Smolder begrudgingly took her hoof and shook it, squeezing gently for a second before pulling back. “Best five out of nine?” she asked. Ocellus smiled and nodded. They reset the board in no time. Smolder had first turn, and chose to put her first piece straight in the middle. "You know what's wild?" she asked. Ocellus wished she had a water bottle. She had forgotten to bring some out with her before practice started. "What?" "So many ponies. So many cutie marks. But none of the ponies in our school have any cheerleading cutie marks." "That's not very surprising to me, actually," said Ocellus. "I mean, there are more than a million things in this universe that a pony could find their special talent in, right? It's actually crazier that we have ponies at this school that share talents, or even just have similar ones. Like Shimmy and Lighthoof." "Those two are gonna be dancing for the rest of their lives, huh?" Smolder put a knee up to her chest. "That must be weird, too. Knowing how the rest of your life's gonna play out." "Well, they won't know everything that's going to happen, but they'll know what makes them happy." "And as long as they're doing what makes them happy, they'll be fine." Smolder's voice had turned...damp, somehow. Damp, and stiff. Ocellus tasted bay leaves—salty ones. Whatever feeling it was (she couldn't identify), it wasn't very good. “Any more dragon stories for me?” Ocellus asked. Smolder smiled, showing a couple of her finely polished teeth. “I was thinking that it could be fun if you told me a changeling one, actually.” “Really?” Ocellus said. “You want to hear from me?” “Is that a surprise?” “I just,” Ocellus laughed. “I didn’t think they’d be very interesting to you.” “Well, maybe you can prove me wrong.” Smolder's smile turned wittier. “As far as I know, you guys have turned into a bunch of peace-loving, pacifist do-gooders, but I think I remember hearing from Ember that there’s a little more to you than the soft stuff. How about you tell me something you think I’ll enjoy? I’m kinda getting tired of throwing up old stories I’ve heard from old drakes in dusty old caves anyway.” “Regurgitating,” Ocellus corrected. She put a disc into the board, right beside Smolder’s, and looked at her friend with determination. “I think I have a few that you’ll like, but the first one you should hear is how the changeling hive became a hive, and started feeding on ponies.” “Sounds fun,” Smolder chirped. She laid her chin on the palm of her claw and looked at Ocellus attentively. “Tell it to me.” Ocellus waited, making sure that the request was genuine. It was, so she cleared her throat and spoke. “Princess Chitin and Princess Carapace were the second-most powerful changelings in the royal caste under their queen and mother, and they hated each other’s guts. Carapace was bigger, louder and arrogant. Chitin was smart and deceitful. This was back when the changeling hive was still settling on the continent of Equus, and the future of our race was regularly put into danger. “The queen died one day: poison, though noling tried to find out exactly what happened because the queen was old and cruel and rough. The other changelings had been hoping for a change in leadership for a few months now, and this was the perfect chance for the princesses to rise to power. “Carapace proposed a battle to the death. Chitin accepted. “Through sheer shapeshifting prowess, Carapace was able to outdo whatever form Chitin took, eventually turning into an elephant and ending up crushing Chitin’s chest. “But as Carapace left her sister wheezing and bleeding slowly to death in the wastes of the Badlands, she made the fatal mistake of not watching the life leave Chitin’s eyes. Because Chitin didn’t die. “She spent weeks stranded in the same place. The fight took a lot out of her, but the story says that she still had just enough love left in her system to survive for that long without feeding. Through sheer willpower and luck, she was able to rest long enough for her exoskeleton to repair itself, and soon she was able to move again. “She couldn’t go back to her old hive yet, because there was nothing for her there. Just disgrace. So she ventured out into the wilderness and came across a pony settlement. Even back before Harmony and all of that, ponies were beacons of love and positive emotion. “Changelings still fed on monsters and animals, and they cocooned ponies when they could, but there were no infiltrators yet. But as I said before, Chitin was smart: she studied the group of earth ponies for months on end—how they spoke, and walked, and what they liked. In the meantime, she was living on the love she could gather from pets and livestock, and, months later, she grew confident enough to turn into a pony. “I don’t really want to talk about the graphic parts, because she does some really bad things, but she ended up replacing a farmer’s wife and the love that she drained from the farmer was unlike any other creature’s. She lived for years, draining him dry, bearing his children and then leaving an entire generation’s worth of ponies these sad, emotionless husks. “And the things that their love did to her body! She grew taller, looked more beautiful than any existing changeling before then, and she was bursting with enough power to rival Headmare Twilight on her best day. “That was the time for her to go home. So she gets to the hive, dethrones her sister, and then she eats everyling except for three male drones and three female drones.” “Eats them,” Smolder repeated. “Like, chompy-chomp, grinding them into pulp, swallow—eats them.” “Yeah,” Ocellus chirruped. “She eats them and then she moves far away, closer to the ponies, starts a new colony, and that colony becomes a bunch of different systems that work in conjunction, and then that becomes a hive. Chitin retreated, learned from her mistakes and she studied and grew until she could come back and dismantled the organization that oppressed her and she forged a new identity and then became one of the greatest changelings alive!” She finished her story out of breath. Her emotions were running wild. How could Smolder tell stories so much? It was like running a mile without actually running a mile. Smolder grinned at her and held out her claws, and then she clapped, and each one felt like spearmint ointment being applied to Ocellus’s chest while she was getting a soft, tender backrub. She smiled in response and bowed her head playfully. I guess that’s how, she thought to herself. “You know, I was fully prepared to be completely bored by the first minute,” Smolder said. “But that was really good.” “I’m glad it surpassed your expectations,” Ocellus snorted. “Hey, don’t be like that! You know how you can get sometimes when you try and lecture us during our midnight study sessions.” That was a fair point. Ocellus snorted again. “Yeah…” “Anyway,” Smolder said. “Did—” Something cracked from around the corner. Something big. ‘Cracked’ is what it sounded like, anyway. It was like the walls were suddenly struck by Professor Applejack, or there was a giant potato chip that someone had split in half. “...Hello?” Smolder called. Ocellus shrunk into herself. “Who’s there?” The only answer they received was the silence. Smolder and Ocellus exchanged glances, not speaking a word. I’m going over there, said Smolder, gesturing to the corner with her eyes. Don’t, Ocellus stared back, her eyes wide. I’m going. You coming? Smolder got up. Feeling like someone had chained her to a plough, Ocellus got up as well. They made no ceremony about approaching the corner, walking to it at a reasonably normal pace until they turned it and— The door. The one beside the janitor’s closet. The gold one. The one that they had entered the night before, where they found Smolder’s mother’s old cave and the place she grew up in, and left, and found gone the next day. Memories slotted back into Ocellus’s mind like a disc into a Connect Four board. She couldn’t believe what was happening. She looked to Smolder, knowing that the dragon was experiencing the same amount of discomfort and confusion as her. Smolder stared at the door, her eyes threatening to bulge out of their sockets. Then she turned back to Ocellus. “The cave!” “Yeah,” Ocellus murmured. “The cave.” The door seemed to sigh as it opened for them. On its own. From Smolder came a squeal of excitement that died as soon as she realized she was alone in her joy. She looked to Ocellus. “Why aren’t you excited?” “Do you not feel something wrong here?” Ocellus asked. Her perception of things felt strange again. She felt like she was wearing a heavy hat, though nothing was on her head. Smolder shook her head. “Come on, let’s check it out! Maybe you can tell me about some of the other stuff I was stockpiling.” Ocellus attempted to protest again, but she caught a whiff of Smolder’s excitement. She tried not to shiver under its raw intensity. Who was she to deny her friend another visit to her past? They wouldn’t have to stay for long, and they could tell their teachers immediately afterwards. It couldn’t hurt. She nodded, and Smolder cheered. The dragon took her hoof, and with a hop, skip and a jump, they entered the cave. Gold and jewels and weapons lay out in front of them like a coral reef in Seaquestria. Ocellus’s legs felt weak in the presence of their majesty. “Ohhohohhhh wow I can’t believe I forgot we were here!” Smolder giggled. She dove into a nearby pile of gold and rolled around, coins and trinkets spilling around her body like liquid. “I love this place…” “I know, Smolder,” Ocellus said, sitting down. She looked around, scanning the gray walls as they bled into wet, dank darkness. She studied the ceiling as well, and a thought hit her like a dull tap on her head from a professor’s hoof. She couldn’t see any rock. “You know once, me and Garble were hanging out here when we were little and he goes, ‘Hey, do you think we’ll ever find somewhere better than this?’ and I told him no. Which really sucked because I think we both knew that we wouldn’t be seeing each other for a while, cause he was getting stonescales and stuff and his first molt was coming up, and I just told him that no other cave that he could find was gonna be as good as this. But I was right. There’s nowhere like it.” “...Why did they move?” Ocellus asked. Fatigue was weighing down on her shoulders. Despite herself, she got up and walked to where Smolder was before she flopped down on the ground, which really was quite comfy once you got used to how rigid the rock felt. It wasn’t all that different from the volcanic rock at the hive. “The cave collapsed,” Smolder said. Ocellus shifted so she was lying on her side. Something scraped in the distance. A sound, like rock against rock. “What do you mean?” “Like the entire cave collapsed. All of this was gone. I almost died but Mom shielded me from most of the rocks and we got out of there fine. The treasure got all busted, though.” “Oh,” she said. It was getting difficult to keep her eyes open. “You know, this place is kind of weird, then.” “You’re telling me!” chuckled Smolder. “But I’m glad it’s back. I’m glad you’re here with me too. You’re a good friend.” “Thanks, Smolder,” she whispered. “You know, I think…” She slammed into the ground. Her legs had given out underneath her. Instead of pain, though, she felt numbness. She could scarcely feel anything at all. Her eyes closed. That was the end of it. Something tugged hard on her leg, and Ocellus opened her eyes. She looked down to find nothing. Nothing but the cave and the gold and the walls. “I’m not leaving you,” Smolder said. Ocellus looked up to see the dragon on her knees, stroking the ground as if it were a dog. “I won’t ever leave you again,” she said quietly. “Smolder?” Ocellus called. The dragon’s head snapped toward her so fast she flinched, hugging her forelegs to her chest. “Hey,” Smolder spoke monotonously. Ocellus coughed once, then was set into a fit. There was something scratchy in her lungs and she couldn’t get rid of it. “It wants to know why you’re so tenacious,” Smolder said. She looked at her friend incredulously. “What?” “I don’t know,” Smolder giggled, going back to looking down at the floor as if it were a pretty mirror. “Sweet nothings, I guess. I’m feeling so relaxed right now. I just wanna lay here forever. Take another nap, maybe.” “We…” Ocellus began, “should really get out of here.” “Why?” asked Smolder. “Nothing’s wrong. Tomorrow’s the weekend, right?” “No,” she said, raising a brow. “It’s a normal school day.” “Same thing.” Smolder waved a claw dismissively. “Look, you can go, but the cave wants me to stay here, so I’m gonna do that?” “Stay—what do you mean ‘wants you to stay’ when it can’t talk? Or have feelings?’” Smolder gasped, genuinely offended. “Celly! Don’t be rude! It’s lonely, and I should stay with it. I had to leave it behind before, but I’m not doing that now. You can’t be serious, right? You should understand.” “Smolder.” Ocellus stood up. “Something’s wrong with you.” “Oh, yeah?” asked Smolder. “Why don’t you prove it?” The cave had gotten smaller. Ocellus could feel it. Somehow it was smaller. The long stretch of rock and treasure had lessened down into a place that Ocellus knew she could easily walk the length of twice over. The walls were closing in, and whatever force was enchanting Smolder had a firm grip on her mind. “Please?” Ocellus begged. “Can we please find the door and leave? Right now? I’m scared.” Smolder stayed quiet, but her eyes became less wary and alert. Ocellus stepped forward, heart beating in time with her hooves on the ground, until she was close enough to Smolder to grab her claw and pull her out of—of whatever this was. She reached out, and was thrown backwards by something invisible. Something hard hit her side as she hit a pile of treasure. There was a sharp, loud crrRck, followed by shooting pain. Ocellus turned to see that she had hit an ornate golden chest. There was a sizable crack just underneath her shoulder joint. She sobbed as the pain stabbed into her. “Smolder please there’s something wrong can we please get out of here!” Her friend stayed emotionless. Blank in the eyes. Then she blinked, like she had heard something beautiful. “What was that?” “I said—” “Not you,” Smolder interrupted. She looked far off into the distance. Ocellus wasn’t sure exactly where. She couldn’t hear anything either, as Smolder seemed to listen to nothing as if it could speak words. “She could stay?” the dragon asked the air. “She really could?” “You’re scaring me,” said Ocellus, tears pooling in her eyes. “Celly, it says you can stay!” “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ocellus said weakly. “Well it wants me to stay, right? It wants me to take care of it—I have to take care of it. But it says I don’t have to do it alone!” Smolder came closer. Her face was flushed and her breath came in long, hot puffs. “Ocellus, hey, we can do this together. If you can’t stay, well, it’s kinda making me choose.” “Then choose!” Ocellus yelled, wincing at her injury. A force like a million bales of hay pressed down on her, and she felt something grip at her head. Something much bigger than her. “No! No no no!” she cried. “Smolder! Tell it to stop!” “You’ll be fine without me,” breathed Smolder, her voice dreamy and distant. “Me and this cave have so much history.” “And you and I don’t?” Ocellus sobbed. Something was starting to squeeze her head, she was sure that, whatever it was, it could easily flatten her head and spill her brains out on the cave floor. “Wha—what, you don’t want to make more memories? With me?” Smolder shook her head. “There’s nothing for me in the future, Celly. This is the best thing that can happen to me.” “Y-You can’t believe that!” “I do.” Smolder crouched down to look her in the eye. “Think about it. What happens when we all graduate? I end up back here. Back at the Dragonlands. Back as a dragon.” Ocellus laughed manically. “You’re beautiful, Smolder, and you’re fit and healthy and a lot more insightful than you think, but you can be so dumb sometimes. I’ll forgive you on account of the evil thing that’s got ahold of you right now, though.” “Something’s—” Smolder stopped and put a claw to her temple in confusion. “I don’t feel so good.” “Of course you don’t,” said Ocellus. “There’s nothing in the future for you? Really? What about your friends?” “I already said that you’d all be fine without me,” Smolder groaned in pain. “My head…” The cave began to rumble. The air began to feel thicker. Harder to breathe. “I wouldn’t be fine,” Ocellus confessed. To that, Smolder stopped paying attention to herself and looked at the changeling curiously. “Why not?” “You’re kidding me.” “What?” “Because I—I want to go shopping with you! See the sights in Manehatten. Visit the dragonlands and have you show me around,” Ocellus shut her eyes hard. “I want to keep you company and play games and talk and eat and I want to protect you from predators when you molt. Smolder, are you really going to make me say this out loud? The dragon didn’t know what to say. Or think. She began to say something but— “Nope! Nevermind. Taking too long. I’m in love with you, you stupid lizard,” Ocellus gushed. She opened her glistening eyes to look into Smolder’s. “I want to take you out on dates and kiss and don’t get weirded out but I’d really like to be married to you and start a family and I only thought about it once I swear but I think it’—hgh—it’s possible! We could happen! But you have to let all of this go, Smolder. It’s not gonna disappear from your memories or anything like that unless you let it.” “Oh.” Smolder blinked. “Oh.” The pressure lifted from Ocellus. She immediately tried to get up, but collapsed as the pain in her side flared up. Smolder caught her, eyes wide. “You’re serious?” “Very serious. You couldn’t tell?” Ocellus said as she was hauled onto Smolder’s back. “You’re really bad at Connect Four. Thanks for snapping out of it, by the way.” “Hush. Let’s get out of here.” “Where’s the door?” A large chunk of rock came down from the ceiling of the cave, crashing in front of them and toppling several piles of gold as it fell to its side. “The cave collapsed.” “It did,” said Ocellus. “It’s collapsing again.” “Very astute.” “What do we do?” “The door,” Ocellus said, squeezing Smolder. “I’m here with you.” “Back to the door,” Smolder said. “Okay. Hold on tight. I’m gonna get into the air and—” A purple flash and a sparkle rung through both their ears. Princess Twilight Sparkle appeared in front of them, anxiousness scrawled into every inch of her face. “Smolder? Ocellus? Thank goodness! Let’s get you out of here.” Magic surrounded them. They warped out of existence as the cave began to fully collapse. Then they were back in the locker room with their Headmare. Smolder and Ocellus each sighed in relief as she was laid out onto a bench, hitting her head on it as she was. Twilight paced around them the entire time. “Are you girls okay? Are you hurt? Ocellus looks hurt. Let me see? Oh, no...we should get you to the medical wing straight away. But I need you to answer some questions first. Wait, what about you, Smolder? Nothing as far as I can see. Okay, where have you two been? What was that place?” “My old cave,” Smolder said. “It shouldn’t exist anymore. It put a spell on us, or something. I don’t know why it was here, but there was a door leading to it right beside the janitor’s closet.” “Oh.” Twilight stopped in her tracks. Her flared wings drooped down. “Was the door golden?” “Yes,” said Ocellus. “And what did you eat during your stay?” “We didn’t really need to eat,” said Smolder, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, right, that was an old dragon cave, right? You probably ate gems and showed Ocellus enough affection for her to feed on.” Pure confusion washed out of Twilight like a wave. Ocellus perked her head up, ignoring the pain that she was feeling. “How long were we missing?” “A couple of weeks,” Twilight said. “Weeks?” Ocellus cried. “How did you know the door was gold?” Smolder asked. “I suspected that, well...because this whole thing might have been my fault.” Twilight chuckled sheepishly. “I’ve been getting really into dragon history lately, and Dragon Lord Ember sent us an ancient dragon amulet the other week. There’s folklore around how it might be cursed, but I genuinely thought it was relatively powerless until now.” Smolder crossed her arms. “Wow. That’s—that’s really dangerous, in hindsight. Kind of awesome, too.” “You’re telling me!” Twilight said. “Spike and Rarity were taken to a pocket dimension, and when I was getting them out I found traces of your magical essences inside of it.” “Can we please go to the medical wing now?” Ocellus said, wincing at her side. “Oh! Right. Right,” Twilight said. “You know, I should probably stop storing artifacts on school grounds as well.” “Maybe, yeah.” Ocellus’s vision and attention span grew weary and blurred through the whirlwind of friends coming to visit her, Gallus hugging her and Smolder way too tight and refusing to let go, Silverstream doing the same, and Sandbar, and Yona, and honestly she may have suffocated a little because of all the hugging, but after the hugging had stopped, the medical checkups began, and through the identically exhausting haze of questioning and tests she fell asleep at some point, and no one bothered to wake her. When she opened her eyes again, she had no idea what day it was. For a second, she wasn’t sure what she was doing in a medical bed at all. Twilight (the time of day, not the teacher) floated in through the windows and settled on the clean white sheets that she was bundled up in. The air was warm and fresh and thick enough to feel like an extra blanket. She nearly fell asleep again until she noticed a spot of bright orange in her peripherals. Ocellus turned––Smolder looked at her hopefully, a familiar box clutched in her claws. *** “I still feel bad,” Smolder said as she entered a disc into the Connect Four board. “Don’t,” Ocellus said. Smolder rolled her eyes in response. “You weren’t yourself,” Ocellus said. “I wasn’t. It was like that time I drank Sandbar’s special tea by accident, when him and Gallus and Yona were on a field trip to the Crystal Empire? And none of us had any idea what was happening to me and I got all giggly and music sounded really good and then I ate like five cherry pies in a row?” Smolder made her turn, completing a row of three on the second to last row on the left. “I can still be sorry, though.” Ocellus blocked Smolder from connecting four, then placed a hoof on one the dragon’s claws, which was sitting off to the side and had been slowly inching towards her for the last hour. “I’m just glad I got you to snap out of it.” Smolder let out a sharp breath at the contact. “So, that was it? You were just—” Ocellus snuck her hoof underneath the claw and she squeezed firmly. “I meant every word.” Smolder stared at her with an acrid intensity that softened down to a moist, dewy gaze almost in seconds. “...Are you sure?” Ocellus took the sight in hungrily. It wasn’t every day that Smolder looked so vulnerable—she wore it well, like a nice dress. And then she nodded. She saw that was Smolder leaning in, so she closed her eyes as well, enjoying the pleasant feelings that came from her dragon until their lips were so, so close to each other. And then she heard the sound of a disc slotting into the board. Ocellus opened her eyes to see her first loss. “I am not bad at this,” Smolder said, a cheeky grin on her face and blush hiding underneath that. Cherry cobbler. Chili-chocolate lava cake. Saddle Arabian coffee. Perfect. Good. Smolder’s love flowed into Ocellus and she was nearly struck speechless as she tasted it for the first time. Nearly. Ocellus grinned back. “Best three out of five?”