//------------------------------// // 10. Can't Seem to Get my Mind off of You // Story: Trouble in Tiatarta // by RainbowDoubleDash //------------------------------// Ocellus had made to go after Nonchalant, but Smolder flew up and grabbed Ocellus by her hind leg before she could get too far, stronger wings easily stopping the changeling’s forward momentum. “I think she wants some alone-time,” Smolder said. Ocellus turned to put Smolder in her field of vision, though also kept herself angled so that her compound eyes could see Nonchalant as she flew off. Smolder was a dragon, so she didn’t really understand how impossible what she’d just said was. “Th-there’s no such thing as a changeling who wants to be alone,” Ocellus insisted. “Changelings don’t do well on our own.” “Well, Nonchalant wants it,,” Smolder said. She let go of Ocellus and flew up alongside her, crossing her arms. “Trust me. You follow her and she’ll breathe fire at you...or bite you or whatever.” She pointed a thumb at her chest. “Dragon. I can just tell. Heck, I think she almost did bite you.” The last note turned into a low growl, and a brief flash of anger came off of her. Ocellus got the impression that the only reason Nonchalant wasn’t on fire right now was because she herself had been in the way. Ocellus rubbed her forelegs together, hoof over hoof as she watched Nonchalant angle herself down towards Tiatarta, disappearing behind the buildings of the town. There’d be no finding her now unless she wanted to be found. Ocellus let out a long sigh. “O...okay.” She dropped from the air, landing back down on the beach. Smolder followed her down. “But...I can’t believe you’re just letting her leave like that! And just letting the poisoning continue!” Smolder shrugged. “Dunno if you noticed or not, but what you said really got into her and messed Nonchalant up. Last thing we want is to go running around without our heads in the game.” Ocellus dug her hooves into the sand. Of course she’d noticed that; Nonchalant’s emotional barriers had slipped again. Robust though they were, Ocellus’ stark framing of her predicament had been like the claws of a maulworf. And above and beyond anything else, Nonchalant was lonely. Ocellus dug her hooves further into the moist beach beneath her. “But...” “Look, it’s that,” Smolder said, holding out one claw, then raising a second, “or I just start burning the town down. That’s how dragons normally deal with attacks, just immolate everything within a mile of whatever’s bothering us. But this place is actually kinda’ nice so I don’t want to do that.” Ocellus shook her head. Right - there was more going on then just Nonchalant, even though the older changeling couldn’t help but loom large in Ocellus’ mind. But without Nonchalant, how were the two of them supposed to find out what Catrina was up to? “Unless...” Ocellus intoned, looking up to Smolder so the dragon could occupy as many of her eye segments as possible, “we...we could at least do the first part of what I was suggesting. Learn what we can about Catrina. Then when Nonchalant gets back, we can tell her everything we know.” Smolder decided to meet that with her hands on her hips rather than verbally, letting her pose - and the emotions that Ocellus could no doubt smell - speak for themselves. The silent stare eventually caused Ocellus to shift from one hoof to another. ”Wh-what?” she asked. ”You're making me be the responsible one,” Smolder said. She smelled of annoyance. Ocellus winced. She could tell that Smolder just wanted to go back to the Nook and wait. Maybe that was draconic patience, or maybe simple practicality, but in either case it wasn’t what was needed right now. Ocellus was sure of it, the Nook needed to be helped, and that meant investigating Catrina, trying to figure out what she was up to. Smolder wouldn't listen to reason on this, though, not with her desire to protect Ocellus, seeing her as part of her hoard to be squirreled away to some cave somewhere. But that didn't mean that there weren't options. Ocellus turned her head from Smolder, like she was glancing away submissively, rubbing one leg against the other again because she knew that it was an action that Smolder found cute. “I know...” Ocellus said. She turned her head further, then sank to her barrel, laying her head down on the sand, the image of dejection and defeat. She closed her eyes, taking in a breath and letting the emotions she scented guide her actions as she did what she could to try and elicit some guilt from Smolder. ”I'm sorry...” She scented the guilt she had been seeking coming off of Smolder now. She counted to five, then opened her eyes once more, looking up at Smolder even as she tried to emphasize how sad and small she was. Normally not a great plan with a dragon, but given the affection that Smolder felt for her, it was something she could play on. “It's just,” Ocellus said quietly, “we're here to solve this problem, remember? How are we going to do that if we're avoiding it?” The scent of guilt grew...and of annoyance. It was a delicate game that Ocellus was playing right now with Smolder's emotions, but Ocellus swallowed a little and fell back on what she remembered of her infiltration training from Ecdysis. How to say just the right things, move in just the right way and give off just the right signals. The Nook needed her. Smolder grunted, exhaling smoke. The annoyance and guilt mixed together with the affection she generally felt for Ocellus, then a powerful aroma of determination filled the air as she tapped a thumb against her sternum. “I’m supposed to be keeping you safe, that’s what Twilight had to promise Thorax and Pharynx to even get you here. Looking for trouble with Catrina, or looking for whatever trouble Catrina is causing, or whatever, isn’t doing that.” Ocellus rose to her hooves, coming forward and getting up to Smolder. As she approached, smell of affection grew. “Dragon Lord Ember told you that you can knock as many heads together as it takes to solve the problem, though,” she said. She decided to play her last card, reaching out and taking one of Smolder's hands into both her forehooves. A burst of surprise and affection reached her scent receptors. “Please,” Ocellus begged. “I...I can’t just wait, not while the Nook is in danger. The Nook, changelings as a whole...they’re like my hoard. I have to protect them.” Smolder was still, though she held tightly onto one of Ocellus’ hooves. Her thumb, probably without Smolder realizing it, rubbed back and forth over Ocellus’ fuzz. Her face was some strange combination of longing and annoyance, and the emotional scents coming off of her were just as confused. She knew Ocellus was trying to get to her emotionally, but the thing about emotions was that while they could be controlled, they could not be stopped or ignored. They were like fire, they burned and spread, and while dragonhide was thick, it wasn't proof against this sort of fire. ”Okay, look,” Smolder said, flexing her wings a few times as determination won out...though with no little bit of resentment lingering in the air. “How about this: we don't try and follow Catrina. Let's...go to the places where love-drunk changelings have been found, see if any creature there remembers seeing Catrina or anything else suspicious. There's no way she's been able to poison so many changelings without leaving some kind of clue.” Ocellus knew that this was the best she was going to get out of Smolder. She nodded, and started to smile, but Smolder finally pulled her hand away from Ocellus hooves and jabbed a claw against Ocellus’ snout. “If we actually see Catrina,” she said, “I’m grabbing you and flying away. Got it?” The resentment had risen to an almost unbearable stench all of a sudden. Ocellus nodded quickly, if for no other reason to get the odor out of her scent receptors. “O-of course,” she promised. Smolder drew back, crossing her arms and turning away, setting off across the beach. Ocellus followed, unable to avoid inhaling annoyance, anger, resentment, and... ...and nothing else, actually. Smolder’s emotional aura was devoid of any positive emotions. Even the perpetual affection was gone - not just the love, since that was something that was only possible to scent when Smolder’s guard was down anyway. But the friendly love that Smolder felt for all her friends, the desire to be with Ocellus, the cameraderie... Ocellus blinked. She knew, intellectually, that it was only temporary. Smolder might resent her emotional manipulation, but it was something she’d get over. Surely she would, a small argument wasn’t enough to hurt a friendship meaningfully, and Ocellus had good intentions. Smolder understood that, didn’t she? So that excused Ocellus exploiting Smolder’s feelings - which was what Ecdysis would have told her a few years ago while she was being taught and trained on how to infiltrate. What Chrysalis would have told her. What Nonchalant probably thought now. Ocellus shut her eyes tightly at that thought, but all that happened was she found herself looking at a black, holed, unreformed changeling drone that shared her proportions, looking back at her. And she saw Chrysalis herself standing next to the drone, reaching out and putting a hoof on the tiny drone’s back and telling her how good a job she’d done...Ocellus opened her eyes back up, not wanting to see that, but the sight of Smolder walking forward, arms hugging her torso, wings wrapped around her shoulders like a cloak to ward off everyone else, smelling of low anger and vexation, was almost worse. The two teenagers walked in silence into the town, Ocellus feeling like all the progress she’d made with Smolder over the past day had gone up in flames, burned in the fires of Smolder’s resentment. It didn’t matter if Smolder would get over it, that didn’t excuse what she’d done. And yet Ocellus couldn't apologize for it, because if she did then Smolder might say they should go back to the Nook, but this was important... Ocellus’ reverie was finally broken when Smolder stopped in front of a long wooden pier that jutted our into the bay - though at the end of the pier wasn’t a boat, but rather a twenty-foot staircase that went up so as to allow creatures that climbed it to board the airship that hovered above the water. The airship’s balloon had the words Cloud Spirit’s Sky Diving emblazoned on it. The dragon looked back to the changeling. “I figure we can’t go back to that fish shop,” she said, pointing a thumb down the pier, “so this is the next-most-recent place we figure Catrina’s been, right?” Ocellus nodded slowly, keeping her mouth closed as much as possible, trying to breath through the sides and not smell Smolder’s emotions. It kind of worked. She examined the balloon, where Smolder had needed to tear it open when climbing aboard, and saw that new patches of fabric had been stitched into place. Ocellus swallowed and tried to seize on that as a distraction. “It’s been repaired already - ” “Yeah, and the next cruise leaves, like, now,” Smolder said as she jabbed a finger at a sign showing launch hours, heading down the pier and to the boarding tower. Indeed, they only had a few minutes to go. “C’mon, lets get a move on.” Ocellus hesitated a moment at her friend's brusqueness, but quickly followed Smolder as she took flight and landed most of the way up the boarding tower, just behind an earth pony and pegasus couple. She shuffled on her hooves as she landed behind Smolder. The dragon still wasn't looking at her...but this was for the Nook...but her anger... “W...we should go,” Ocellus whispered. Smolder didn't react, so Ocellus cleared her throat and tried again. “We should - ” The line moved forward, and Smolder moved with it, right up to a blue earth pony wearing aviator goggles. He looked the two of them up and down. “Hey, I know you,” he said as his eyes widened. “You're the two who saved my airship, aren't you? I'm Cloud Spirit! I was hoping I'd run into you - I was stuck ashore during everything yesterday of course, but I need to thank you! Without you I'd be right up a certain creek right now - ” “Yeah,” Smolder said, stretching her wings out. Ocellus was still behind her, but the dragon stepped to the side so that she'd be in full view of Cloud Spirit. “Look, not to seem ungrateful or whatever, but I'll let Ocellus do the talking here. It's important, isn't it, Ocellus?” Ocellus flinched, hunkering down on herself, and moreso when Cloud Spirit turned to look at her. She fought off the desire to turn into something small and scurry away, instead forcing one leaden hoof to move forward, then another. “W...w-we were just, um, wondering...did, um...d-did...” Did any Abyssinians give away a glowing vial of poison to a changeling yesterday that you saw? Did you maybe overhear an Abyssinain talking about a desire to poison changelings? Did any creature leave behind a vial of something labeled "poison for changelings as part of my evil scheme"? Ocellus was staring, mouth working a little but with no sound coming out. This was stupid. Nonchalant had been right, this was a stupid plan, what kind of questions could she ask Cloud Spirit that would actually get any useful information? How would she have asked the same questions of Catrina? Did she expect to just go up to her and have her start explaining everything in detail like it was one of Headmare Twilight's friendship lessons? Was this really what she had just manipulated her supposed friend's emotions for? She saw Smolder staring at her. Glaring at her. Resenting her and what she'd done, for being here, for putting herself in danger with no plan, for forcing Smolder to go along with it... Ocellus took in a deep breath. “N-nothing,” she said. “Never mind, it...i-it doesn’t matter, we should go - ” She made to turn around, but Cloud Spirit reached out to put a hoof on her withers. She flinched and gasped at the unexpected touch, and a powerful blast of anger reached her from Smolder as the dragon hissed and came forward, her own claws glinting. “Let go,” Smolder rumbled, snorting flames. Cloud Spirit did so, of course, stepping back and holding up a hoof. “Sorry!” He apologized. Smolder stood between Ocellus and the pony. “I didn’t mean anything! It’s just, before you go...I wanted to thank you for yesterday. Maybe I can offer a free cruise? You, uh...” he leaned over so he could look at Ocellus, hunkered down, and Smolder, flexing and unflexing her claws and wings with her tail snapping quickly back and forth behind her. “You look like you could use a break.” Ocellus' wings buzzed beneath her elytra at that, and she put a hoof to her chest. She almost made to refuse the earth pony, but remembered what she had done to her friend. She shook her head, trying to adopt as neutral a posture and appearance as possible as she looked to Smolder. ”Wh-what do you want to do?” she asked. Smolder looked down at Ocellus. With effort, she folded her wings back up, stood up straighter and crossed her arms. She actually looked like she was reeling her inner wyrm back into herself and trying to push the person back to the front. She glanced up at the airship's balloon, then back to Cloud Spirit. ”Sky diving isn't that big a deal when you've got wings,” she said. It sounded dismissive, and it was, but it was still a lot more personable than how she'd just acted. After a moment she did add a ”no offense,” at least. Cloud Spirit, however, smiled. ”Oh, not sky diving like that! We never actually get too high. No, I offer diving tours of the sea floor out in Luna Bay. Today we'll even be heading to the wreck of the HMS Pinion Fore. We have scuba gear, though I'm guessing your friend won't need it and you'll just want a mask.” Ocellus blinked, the earth pony's words getting through her malaise. She tentatively stepped forward, up alongside Smolder. ”Water diving?” She asked. ”But...why an airship?” Cloud Spirit smiled a little. ”I get seasick. But not airsick! So what do you say? Free tour?” Ocellus thought of the Nook, of Ecdysis lying in a drunk tank, of Catrina poisoning her fellow changelings for who-knew-what reason, of Nonchalant sitting somewhere alone and stewing in her own thoughts as her worldview fell apart around her...and she thought about how she'd put all of that before Smolder, her friend. A dragon who loved her, even if she was too stubborn to admit it or realize it or understand it. And who Ocellus... The changeling's wings buzzed again as she looked up to Smolder, reaching out a hoof and placing it on Smolder's crossed arm, careful to avoid where Smolder had pulled loose her damaged scales. ”If you want to,” Ocellus said. ”It's...what I wanted to do...isn't important.” Smolder looked at her, considering a few moments, before shrugging. ”I mean, it kind of is,” she said, and looked to Cloud Spirit, ”but this diving thing sounds kind of fun too.” She considered a moment more, then looked to Cloud Spirit. ”Hey, any Abyssinians go on your tour and talk to any changelings yesterday? Maybe give them a glowing vial of poison and talk about their evil plans?” Ocellus tried to both gasp and let out a surprise shout at the same time, and the result was stopping breathing for a moment as she put both forehooves to her mouth. Cloud Spirit for his part just looked confused. ”No?” He asked. ”Cool.” Smolder looked to Ocellus. ”There, we did something you wanted to do, so now we can do something I want to. Which, yeah, diving sounds fun. Let's check it out.” Smolder boarded the airship, hands behind her head as she walked. Ocellus took to the air so that she could fly after her and leave her forelegs free to smack at the dragon, but unfortunately Smolder's scales and Ocellus' weak natural form meant that the blows didn't amount to much. ”S-Smolder!” Ocellus exclaimed as Smolder sat down on an available chair, and Ocellus continued trying to get her to at least flinch. ”Th...that was mean!” Smolder caught an incoming smack and pulled Ocellus down into her own seat. Their actions had attracted stares from the other cruise-goers. ”Yeah, dragons are pretty good at that.” ”I mean...I deserved it...b-but I meant well...but that doesn't excuse what I did...but...” Smolder had her arms up and over the seat's backs; one of them reached around and pulled Ocellus into a side-hug, extending one wing over Ocellus' back for extra coverage. ”You're even doing my side of the argument! No wonder you're best in Professor Rarity's generosity classes.” Smolder's words just riled up Ocellus more, and the fact that Smolder now smelled of bemusement didn't help matters, even if Ocellus could also smell that the affection was back, the feeling settling into Ocellus' heart and reminding her to never let it go anywhere ever again. The amusement at the antics of the two teenagers also permeated the air around the other creatures on the cruise, which really only got under Ocellus' carapace even more. She glared at Smolder, even as at the other end of her vision she saw Cloud Spirit as the earth pony walked over to the steering wheel of the airship. ”How long until we dive?” Ocellus asked. ”About twenty minutes,” Cloud Spirit answered. Ocellus nodded while trying to dig a hoof into the soft scales of Smolder's belly. ”I'm going to get you for that once we're in the water.” Smolder just grabbed Ocellus' hoof to stop her, easily pushing it back. ”Love to see you try.” ”Oh, you will.” Smolder chuckled. Ocellus shifted, getting comfortable and succeeding after a moment. It took until the cruise was underway for Ocellus to realize that Smolder's arm was still draped over her withers, and her wing still curled around her back, and her hoof in Smolder's hand, the scent of greed-love filling Ocellus' mouth. It took Smolder that long to realize her position as well. The faintest aura of shame began to flare up when she did, but Ocellus acted quickly, grabbing Smolder's hand with her hoof before she could withdraw it. ”Lo...greed smells nice,” she told Smolder. ”But it's me wanting to own you - ” ”It's fine,” Ocellus insisted. She took in a deep breath, letting her eyes drift close as she did. ”It's fine, Smolder. I'm not worried.” She shifted a little, leaning more into the hug, the warmth of her friend. ”And I'm comfy. You're like a heated pillow.” Smolder sputtered a little at that, though her reaction was the squeeze Ocellus tighter. ”I'm not a pillow! I'm a dragon! My scales are like a hurricane! Or...wait that's my wings, my scales are...darn it how's it go...” Ocellus only giggled, not feeling guilty about this particular bit of emotional manipulation, this push to keep her friend from feeling bad about her instincts, about her love, or greed, or whatever she wanted to call it. And she was comfy... And Ocellus... Twenty minutes of cruising had been enough to carry the airship north along the peninsula's coast and then east and out into the bay. The entire Luna Bay was more like a large depression in the land rather than a drop in the continental shelf. Its deepest point was just shy of a thousand feet, and they were well clear of that with only a few dozen feet of water beneath them by the time the airship came to a stop and hovered about ten feet above the placid sea, dropping anchors to hold it in place. The water below them was crystal clear, allowing the cruise-goers to see straight down to white sand, coral reefs, colorful fish, and the sunken hulk of a tri-masted galleon overgrown with polyps and seaweed. There was even a small shark in sight, about as big as Ocellus, though Cloud Spirit assured every creature that Bruce was docile and actually loved a good snout-rub. Aside from Ocellus and Smolder, every other creature was a pony, so they were given air tanks, masks, and flippers. Smolder only accepted a pair of goggles designed for a draconic head while flexing and unflexing her wings and stretching her tail, getting them ready for the swim, while Ocellus simply reminded herself that when she was done she should exhale first before transforming back into a changeling, lest she want lungs full of water. ”Okay,” Cloud Spirit informed his customers as he extended a plank for ponies who wanted to walk it, while also dropping a rope ladder for ponies who preferred a less sudden entrance and so that the fliers in the group wouldn't need to carry every creature else back up, "there's yellow flags in the sea floor that mark the limit of the diving area, every creature please stay inside of them, Cloud Spirit's Sky Diving is not responsible for what happens to you outside of the designated area. You can feel free to explore on your own, but if you want to follow me I can show you some of the highlights of the area, including a tour of the Pinion Fore. And...dive on in!” No creature took the ladder. The earth ponies and unicorns and even one of the pegasi all hurried off of the plank with laughter, pausing only long enough to make sure that the last pony got out of the way. The remaining pegasi simply leapt off of the edge of the airship and dove straight down. Smolder smiled at Ocellus as she climbed up onto the railing of the airship, spreading her wings wide as she sat down on it and looked at the water. ”So...something about getting me back?” she asked, putting her goggles on, ”you know I'm almost as fast as Silverstream in a straight line, right?” Ocellus returned the grin, stepping out onto the plank. ”So slower than me.” ”I've seen you swim, Ocellus, you just kinda' float there. And your seapony form isn't as fast as I am.” Ocellus' grin widened. She stooped down on the plank, readying herself...then turned quickly and dived at Smolder even as she flashed blue. A beige dragon collided with the orange one, wrapped her arms around Smolder so that she couldn't spread her wings, and then dragged both of them from the airship and down into the water. Smolder let out a sound that was half-laugh and half-roar as Ocellus used her own, free wings to flip around, making sure that Smolder hit the water first in a back-flop. The sea was warm, though not as warm as Smolder, or Ocellus herself for that matter as the internal fires of a dragon heated up inside of her. Smolder squirmed out of Ocellus' grip - as a true dragon she was stronger than Ocellus could be as a copy - and kicked away, wings pumping and tail beating side-to-side, easily gaining her distance. Ocellus used the last of the air in her body to fuel a burst of exhaled fire at Smolder, though in the water it instead transformed into a boiling cloud of reddish steam. Then Ocellus flashed blue and took on her seapony form, and sucked in some water, enjoying the sensation of it gliding over her gills ”Gotcha,” Ocellus said, and winked. Smolder couldn't speak effectively when underwater, but she could let out a growl tinged with excitement, diving forward. Ocellus giggled and beat her tail, diving away from Smolder and down. Just like in the air, Smolder was faster than her, but Ocellus was more nimble, able to change directions quicker and easier as Smolder gave chase. Schools of brightly-colored fish scattered before the two teenagers as Smolder raced after Ocellus. Ocellus tried to lose Smolder in the coral reef, diving beneath a pillar of coral, around a bend, and then through a crevice, careful to avoid the stinging anemones as she went. But Smolder knew she wasn't as nimble as Ocellus - and also knew the changeling didn't have compound eyes at the moment - and so when she had dove in among the coral hadn't even bothered to give chase, instead swimming up and over the reef. As such, when Ocellus finally slowed to suck in some deep gulps of water, she fell victim to a surprise attack from Smolder from above. Just as planned. Smolder's claws grabbed Ocellus' forelegs, while her knees grabbed tightly onto Ocellus' tail. The intent was to immobilize her while she went in for a halfhearted nip at the neck, a 'win'. But that didn't happen because Ocellus' form flashed blue once again. One tentacle wrapped around Smolder's mouth, clamping it shut. Two more were wrapped around Smolder's arms, and another two her legs, one more her tail, and two wrapped around her wings. Ocellus the octopus couldn't grin, but she did tap the tip of the tentacle against Smolder's snout before trying to move her towards her beak to get a winning bite of her own. But Smolder was having none of it. In spite of the tentacles being pure muscle, they still weren't up to the task of restraining her mighty draconic thews, adapted to propel Smolder through liquid far denser than water and let her do battle in that liquid if need be. Smolder was barely prevented from beating her wings and pulling herself away from Ocellus' beak. Her tentacled arm was hardly hindered in reaching over to the other one and grabbing the tentacle there, taking it into her hand and pulling it loose from around her with some effort, but much less than any actually aquatic creature would have needed. With the methodical patience of a creature that would see centuries go by in her lifetime, Smolder gradually unwound the tentacles from around herself and gathered them into her hands, holding Ocellus by the tips. Of course, then she faced a predicament of what even constituted a winning bite on a creature with no neck. Before she decided to drag Ocellus above the water until lack of that water forced Ocellus to turn into something with lungs again, Ocellus transformed into her seapony form. It certainly wasn't as strong as an octopus, but it did mean that Smolder's one hand wasn't enough to hold all of Ocellus' limbs, freeing her tail and one finned foreleg - and she used the fin to tickle the end of Smolder's snout. She got the effect she wanted - Smolder's face screwed up before she could bat the limb away, then Ocellus had to duck as Smolder sneezed, exhaling a cloud of magenta steam directly over her. Ocellus felt Smolder's grip loosen and she beat her tail, pulling away from Smolder and trying to escape - but the loosened grip had been a feint. Smolder's other hand reached out and grabbed Ocellus around her waist as she tried to flee, arms and legs both wrapping around her, holding on tightly and pinning Ocellus' forelegs to her chest. Before Ocellus could grow too large or too small or too slippery and get away, Smolder had her jaws grabbing the back of her seapony neck, a sensation that made Ocellus reflexively stiffen and freeze. Heat that was almost hot enough to sting pricked at the back of Ocellus' neck alongside teeth that were sturdy enough to chew apart diamonds and yet would never be allowed to pierce Ocellus' skin. Smolder leaned back after a moment, and after a moment more let go of Ocellus and gently pushed her way forward to look Ocellus in the eye. She'd used up all her air in the sneeze and so settled on grinning in triumph as she floated slightly above Ocellus' eye level. Ocellus giggled, kicking her tail and heading towards the surface a few dozen feet above them. Smolder followed, and broke the waterline first, laughing as soon as she could pull fresh air into her body. ”Aw, yeah,” Smolder chuckled while floating in place. ”Dragon-1, Changeling-0!” Ocellus made sure to expel all the water from her gills, then took in a breath of air with her seapony lungs. ”I think my surprise attack at the beginning counts for something,” she insisted. ”I mean, it was cool, I guess,” Smolder allowed, waving one hand in a so-so motion, then splashing some water at Ocellus. ”But that's not how you win. You gotta bite a vulnerable spot.” Ocellus grinned. ”Okay,” she said, letting her changeling magic wash over her again - but this time she went small instead of big, turning into a small winged bite-acuda and lunging forward before Smolder could react. Her jaws clamped onto Smolder's neck. ”One!” she exclaimed. Smolder let out a cry, grabbing Ocellus and throwing her away, but Ocellus beat her wings and plunged down after Smolder when she dove back underwater, catching up to the dragon quickly and chomping down on the tip of her tail. ”Two!” she laughed. Smolder spun around in the water and reached for Ocellus, grabbing her and glaring at her. Ocellus matched the stare, not dropping her grin as she glowed and went big again - huge, even. Something she'd seen in a book on ancient animals called a megalodon. Smolder's eyes grew wide and mouth dropped open as Ocellus opened up and chomped down around the dragon, completely enveloping her for a few seconds before spitting her out and resuming her seapony form. She was gasping, or whatever the underwater equivalent of that was - she couldn't maintain such a huge size for long. But it was worth it. She crossed her forelegs and smiled at Smolder. ”Th-three,” she said. Smolder fumed. Actually boiled might have been a better term, as the water around her started to bubble slightly. She spread her wings wide and shoved herself forward. Ocellus dove away from her and giggled again, flicking Smolder's soft underbelly with her tail as she did. ”Dragon-1, Changeling-3!” Ocellus had an early edge thanks to her shapeshifting, but changing forms took up magic/love and was also physically exhausting. She faded in a stretch as hunger and tiredness got to her, and their impromptu game was called when the score was Dragon-10, Changeling-6. Physical hunger started to set in as well, but Ocellus satisfied that with some kelp and other pellagic plants while in seapony form - some of the fish looked tasty too, but they were part of the tour so it would probably be rude to eat them. Smolder elected to wait for the Nook so that she could chow on some ”real” food plus her supply of gemstones. The two also caught up to Cloud Spirit and the less rambunctious divers, and were lead through the wreck of the HMS Pinion Fore, which had regularly spaced and cleaned plaques throughout explaining various facts about it and the events that had seen it sunk. Getting back onto the airship almost presented a problem; Ocellus' true form was soaked, inclduing her gossamer wings, which would have made it nearly impossible to fly even if she hadn't been exhausted, while the ladder looked daunting for a tired, hooved creature. She almost transformed despite her state - she wasn't that far gone, she simply wasn't looking forward to the effort - but Smolder scooped up the tiny changelings in her arms and pushed them both out of the water with a few powerful leg kicks and tail strokes, at least high enough for her wings to clear the sea and catch air instead. ”Th-thanks,” Ocellus said as the two flopped down onto the deck of the airship. ”Don't mention it,” Smolder responded easily. Cloud Spirit was already aboard and hoofing out towels for every creature; Smolder used one to supplement her body heat, while Ocellus got to work on her own carapace, though her wings were too delicate for proper toweling and would have to be air-dried. Smolder pointed casually at Ocellus. ”Did the professors ever land on if shapeshifting in gym class was cheating? Because if we just built up your stamina you'd win, like, all the time.” Ocellus grinned a little despite her exhaustion. Ugh, she was going to be feeling this tomorrow morning. ”Th-the rule is I can pick one form at the s-start of any game and stick to it. But...win or lose, I'd rather do it as me.” She shifted a little as she finished drying as much of herself as she could, then opened her elytra and spread her wings wide. She also put a hoof to her chest. Her heart ached - not as bad as last night when she was recovering from Nonchalant's feeding on her, but it was still more of an emptiness than she was used to. Smolder noticed the motion. She came over, drawing Ocellus into a hug. ”C'mon, it's not love but it's close enough.” Ocellus resisted the urge to chuckle to herself at Smolder's words. The affection of friendship was and always had been nourishing even if most creatures didn't really think of it as love in a true sense. Changelings knew better. But even beyond that, with Smolder making sure that she was thinking only positive thoughts - and with her knowing that her greed tasted good to Ocellus - she wasn't letting her shame get through, meaning that Ocellus could lap at that instead. The spicy cinnamon of draconic greed-love slid easily into Ocellus' heart, its burn warming her just as much as Smolder's own inner fires warmed the dragon. And Ocellus... The airship made it back to Tiatarta as the Sun started dipping down towards the horizon; the two teenagers were going to cut their eight o'clock curview close at this rate. In spite of that, though, Ocellus couldn't bring herself to hurry as the two made their way into Tiatarta. Part of that was because her wings still needed to dry out and so she wasn't flying, instead forcing her tired hooves to trot along beside Smolder. But if Ocellus was being honest with herself, part of that was because she was trotting alongside Smolder. The dragon was filled with contentment and happiness like Ocellus hadn't smelled coming off of her for weeks. Despite the rocky start to it, today had been a good day...because Ocellus knew how Smolder felt about her, or how Smolder thought she felt about her, and so even though she still felt shame over her greed she no longer felt like she was suffering it alone, like she was truly terrible because of it - because Ocellus had told her that she wasn't. Had told her she liked it. Because she did. Even before Ocellus had managed to parse the love that was entwined with the greed, she'd still enjoyed its taste and aroma. For the aroma alone, though? For the taste and texture? Did she like it and want it for that shallow a reason? Or...did she want it...because she felt it too...? Such was the depths of Ocellus' musings that despite her compound eyes, she only barely noticed it when Smolder stopped and let out an annoyed ”Oh, come on.” Shaking her head a little, Ocellus saw that Smolder had stopped becasue a certain gray-coated unicorn was was trotting towards them in the street. Any creature in Nonchalant's way earned a glare that convinced them to move out of the disguised changeling's way. It may have been growing later, but in a resort town like Tiatarta that only meant the streets were more crowded, not less, as the night life began to wake up and invite customers in. Smolder crossed her arms as she glared at Nonchalant's approach through the crowd of ponies and other creatures. ”I thought you said the Nook could survive another day without you,” she said when Nonchalant was close enough. Nonchalant flicked her mane over to the other side of her head. ”Yes, well...I reconsidered,” she said. She waved a hoof. ”Catrina must be dealt with...” She kept talking, but Ocellus didn't hear it as her infiltration training, dusted off and put to use so much recently, suddenly started screaming at her. She managed to force herself to keep her reaction as subdued as possible, just a flicker of her ear-fins, and was grateful for being in her true form with its compound eyes that were nearly impossible to read. She's talking about Catrina openly. We're surrounded by creatures who could listen in. Nonchalant wouldn't make a mistake like that. ”It'll have to wait, Nonny,” Smolder said in response to whatever Nonchalant had finished saying, pointing up at the sky and the fact that it was a bit more orange than blue at this point. ”We're gonna have to hurry back to the Nook. Curfew, remember?” Nonchalant grumbled, and Ocellus could smell the impatient annoyance drifting off of her. ”Of course. It will give us time to plan anyway. I've been...constructive with my time.” She grinned. ”Very constructive.” ”G-good,” Ocellus said, wishing she could cast a glance at Smolder in this form. The two teenagers started walking again, Nonchalant falling in beside them - beside them. Nonchalant would never walk beside a creature who knew what she truly was, it wasn't in the infiltrator's nature. She all but thought of herself as Queen Chrysalis, she'd want to lead. Ocellus took in a sharp but quiet breath, trying to parse Nonchalant's emotions closer. But she only tasted annoyance and a smug sense of superioty, the same kind she tasted from Nonchalant all the time. Yet something was still off...Ocellus didn't like the idea of trekking back to the Nook with her, her and Smolder and Nonchalant alone on the road to the forest, or even in the air. She thought quickly, taking in her surroundings and spotting a conveninece store. ”H-hang on,” Ocellus said, stopping outside of it. ”Smolder and me have been swimming all day in salty water...I'm kind of thirsty. It should be safe to drink bottled water, right? There's no way that Catrina could know which bottles to love poison.” Nonchalant turned her glare on her. It certainly looked like the kind of glare that the expert infiltrator would give...but Ocellus was also scenting the air, still parsing Nonchalant's emotions. And they didn't change - there was no emotional reacton whatever, not even the slightest flutter to Ocellus wanting to change Nonchalant's plan, or to her openly talking about Catrina. ”Fine, let's get you something to drink,” the unicorn said. The unicorn...or something...that wasn't Nonchalant. Ocellus ducked into the store, Smolder following her as she quickly hurried to the back, which fortunately was where the coolers were. She turned to look at Smolder quickly, but Smolder spoke up first. ”I don't think that's Nonchalant,” the dragon said in a low voice. Ocellus blinked a few times, then slapped a hoof to her forehead. ”You called her 'Nonny' and she didn't react,” she realized. ”That plus she just seems...off. And I don't think she's forget that we have a curfew.” ”She talked about Catrina even though we were surrounded,” Ocellus added. ”And her emotions, it's like...like they're a projection. She's feeling the same thing no matter what. I don't know any creature that can do that, just not react...” She shiverred, suddenly feeling her aches, her tiredness, even more acutely. She was glad that Smolder had fed her, at least, so that her magic was fully available. ”Wh...what do we...” She paused, as she saw at her vision's edge that Nonchalant - or the thing that looked like Nonchalant - had come into the store. Only she looked slightly different...Ocellus was surprised that it took her several seconds to realize how: Nonchalant's ears had changed, growing longer and taller, like a rabbit's. They would have almost been comical to look at, if not for the fact that both were pointed straight up and forward at the two teenagers, matching the gaze that was locked onto them. She'd heard everything. Ocellus swallowed, mouth going dry - she really could use that water now. Both teenagers turned to regard the faux unicorn, who looked back at them for another moment before turning around to the store's door - and locking it. ”Uh, hey,” the earth pony at the counter said. He'd been reading a magazine, but came out from behind it at Nonchalant's action. ”Lady, you can't just do that - ” Nonchalant's ears glowed with pink flames, shifting back into a more equine shape, while a similar magic wrapped around her mouth and throat and barrel. There was no outward change, but Ocellus still tried to let out a shout of warning to the convenience store clerk. But she was too late - Nonchalant heaved, then spat, black-green ooze shooting from her mouth and hitting the clerk in the face, hitting his eyes, his muzzle, his mouth. With a muffled scream, he fell to the floor, clawing at his head in panic as the ooze expanded and solidified around his head. Provided that was changeling ooze, then he wouldn't suffocate since it was porous and would allow airflow. Given that Nonchalant spat a second glob that pinned the pony to the floor, that probably confirmed that the clerk hadn’t been neutralized. Somehow the fact that Nonchalant hadn't tried to kill the clerk didn't make Ocellus feel better. ”Uh...” Smolder said, glancing to Ocellus. ”Run?” - ” ”Run,” Ocellus agreed. They were near a door marked "employees only" and bolted for it. Nonchalant let out a sound that was somewhere between a hiss and screech - and decidedly familiar to Ocellus - and charged at them. The two managed to run through the door and found that it did in fact lead to a back area and not a broom closet. They'd just reached the employee exit in the back when a globule of ooze narrowly missed hitting either of them - but did collide with the door's handle, glueing the thing shut. The two teenagers turned quickly, Smolder snorting smoke laced with flames. Ocellus elected to turn into a dragon as well, wanting the armored scales, the claws, the fire. ”Okay, fine," Smolder growled at Nonchalant at where she stood, maybe twenty feet away. ”I'm still a dragon! Ocellus is too! We can melt through your ooze, you get close and we can bite your head off, and you turn into a dragon too and all we'll do is set fire to this whole place and get the police and the fire deparment here, which I'll bet you don't want!” Nonchalant smiled. ”Why not?” That seemed to take Smolder aback, but to Ocellus it was an admission that was as plain as day. ”She controls them,” Ocellus said. ”Or...or Catrina does.” ”Not all of them,” Nonchalant corrected. ”You never need everything. Just the right things.” She smiled. ”The right ingredients in the proper proportions at the correct time. The right pieces in the right places playing the right parts. The right words in the right ear accompanied by the right gifts - ” ”She's stalling,” Ocellus interrupted when she realized. ”Th...there’s backup, there must be backup coming!” Nonchalant's eyes widened at being found out, then she started heaving again. Smolder ducked the glob of ooze that was spat at her, while Ocellus gathered her courage and charged forward screaming, exhaling rust-red flames at Nonchalant as she did. Nonchalant let out a hiss of her own and leapt to the side, turning her focus on Ocellus, heaving, and spitting ooze that hit Ocellus's hand, knocking it back and pinning it to the wall. But Smolder was on Nonchalant then, literally, leaping onto her back and wrapping her arms around her neck. Nonchalant flailed, bucking like a bronco to try and get Smolder off, succeeding when her back glowed pink and she suddenly possessed a pair of pegasus wings that flared up and out, pushing Smolder off and onto the ground. She stomped a hoof down on Smolder's chest, eliciting a pained shout. Ocellus managed to free herself - she'd used her fire to burn off the ooze on her hand, and leapt at Nonchalant, grabbing her mane and pulling her back before she could spit ooze on Smolder. Nonchalant hissed and swiped out a hoof, slamming Ocellus in the stomach, and the young changeling let out a surprised cry of her own, unused to the feeling of pain as she fell to her knees, gripping her stomach. But striking her had been a mistake. Smolder roared - exhaling fire - and shot to her feet, bringing her fist up as she did. The magenta flames blinded and distracted Nonchalant, and Smolder's blow landed squarely on Nonchalant's jaw. Before she could get away, Smolder spun and whipped her with wing and tail, sending her spinning, then brought both fists clenched together onto the back of Nonchalant's head. She let out a weak hiss, before pink fire consumed her and she fell to the ground. Ocellus sucked in a breath - dragons didn't need to breathe but she was just reflexively used to it - and assumed her own true form, clutching at her stomach. Smolder was already beside her, hands on her withers, posiviely reeking of panic and concern. ”Are you okay?” She asked. Ocellus nodded, hugging herself as she turned a little to put Nonchalant in her field of vision...and froze as she did. Smolder looked at the felled creature, and sucked in a breath of her own. It had carapace, covered in dark blue fuzz...but its legs had holes throughout them. Its back had elytra, but the wings beneath were similarly holed. Rather than a spine or frills, a mane of dark purple hair covered its head and ran down the back of its neck, as well as sprouted from the small tail at its dock. Its mouth, hanging open, had fangs, but they were relatively small, and most of its teeth were flat. Atop its head was a horn, short and slightly curved like a changeling's but also spiraled like a unicorn's. The thing was smaller than a typical pony but bigger than a changeling drone. Its eyes fluttered a few times before it slipped fully into unconsciousness, but they were open just long enough for the teenagers to see that while the eyes shined like a changelings, they also had distinct pupils and irises and scelera like a pony or dragon. The holes in its legs and wings meant it wasn't a Reformed changeling. But the elytra, fuzz, and color meant that it wasn't an unreformed one, either. And the mane and tail and spiral in its horn meant that it couldn't possibly be a changeling at all - no changeling had hair except Queen Chrysalis, but this was definitely not her. ”What...” Smolder tried. ”What...is that?”