Emotional Support Changeling

by Twinkletail


A Revelation

Ocellus had no idea how many creatures there were at the School of Friendship who had trouble admitting their feelings to their crushes.

Granted, she probably could have known earlier if she wanted to. Changelings were quite good at sniffing out these kinds of things when they tried. “When they tried” was the key phrase there. Ocellus had a few hangups about that kind of thing. There were creatures out there that would have considered that kind of thing a breach of privacy, after all, and Ocellus wasn’t looking to offend anycreature. So she simply chose not to pry, and that was that.

With Sandbar and Yona, she didn’t need to pry. It was terribly obvious to everycreature except Yona. Ocellus had pretty much expected to just take care of that pair, and maybe one or two others. It was for this reason that the number of signups had taken her by surprise.

November Rain had been the next to come in after Sandbar. He had apparently been pining after Peppermint for a bit, and Ocellus was more than happy to help. He had been so sweet and kind with his planned advances, and Ocellus quickly found herself rooting for him and his efforts, certain that the two would make a cute pair. Shimmy Shake was in next, and Ocellus found herself only about half-surprised to hear of her feelings for Lighthoof. She had kind of figured there was something between the two. Lighthoof was quite fun to play, and she even got to practice a few dance steps with Shimmy.

As happy as Ocellus was to help those ponies, though, she couldn’t help but notice a strange feeling, one she couldn’t quite place. It was great knowing she helped them, but the love she tasted from them was missing a little something. What it was or why it was missing, Ocellus had no clue. She just knew that something was missing and the love wasn’t tasting quite as good as she had expected.

Not that this was important. The most important part of the assignment was making sure that she was helping her friends. Her little snack was just an added bonus.

Whatever the problem was, Ocellus had no time to dwell on it, because somecreature else was knocking at her door. She slid off the bed and opened the door, her smile growing as she saw who was there.

“Silverstream!” Ocellus said, stepping aside to let her friend in. “Hey!”

“Hi Ocellus!” Silverstream responded, grabbing her friend in one of her patented hugs. Ocellus giggled and hugged her excitable friend back.

“What brings you here?” Ocellus asked as she was let down.

“I’m here for your help!” Silverstream responded, smiling brightly.

“You...you are?” Ocellus asked, scratching her head. “I mean...I’m sorry if I come off so surprised, but you’re so outgoing. I didn’t expect you to have trouble saying anything to anycreature.”

“Aww, thanks!” Silverstream said. “I really appreciate that! Buuuut...well, some things are harder to talk about than others. And this one’s a doozy! Like...what do I do if he says he’s not interested?”

Ocellus could feel the anxiety starting to build up in her friend. She was quick to try and assuage her worries, patting Silverstream on the back.

“Are you kidding?” Ocellus asked. “Whoever it is, I’m sure he’d be so happy to hear that you’re interested in him.”

“You really think so?” Silverstream asked.

“Uh, of course!” Ocellus insisted. “You’re so nice and friendly, and you’re a lot of fun to be around. He’d have to be nuts to turn you down! Uh, whoever he is. Because you still haven’t told me.” Ocellus quickly found herself swept up in another hug, and rolled her eyes playfully as she hugged back.

“I really needed to hear that,” Silverstream said. “And I promise I wasn’t just fishing for compliments!” She paused, then snickered. “Get it? Fishing? Because-“

“I get it,” Ocellus assured her friend as she was released from the hug. “So who’s the lucky guy?”

“Oh, it’s Gallus,” Silverstream replied, giving an embarrassed little smile as she heard Ocellus squeal.

“That’s great!” Ocellus said, clapping her hooves together. “Oh, I’m so happy for you two! Or, rather, I will be when you ask him out and he totally says yes!” The changeling engulfed herself in green flame once more, transforming into a perfect recreation of Gallus. She gave a sly grin, fluffing up the feathers on her head with a talon. “How’s this for you?”

“Oh my gosh!” Silverstream bubbled, doing a little flip in the air. “It’s like he’s really here!”

“Such is the power of a changeling,” Ocellus said proudly. “Now, do you need me to set the scene?”

“Hmm...” Silverstream pondered, tapping a talon to her chin. “Well...I kinda wanted to invite him to lunch, and then I figured I’d tell him how I felt there. So maybe we can frame it that way?”

“Sounds good!” Ocellus agreed. She pulled a spare blanket from the nearby dresser, setting it on the floor. “Maybe a picnic?”

“That’s great!” Silverstream cheered. The hippogriff sat down on the blanket, quickly joined by the disguised Ocellus.

“Ahh...” Ocellus said, doing her best Gallus impression. “Now that was a good lunch. Don’t think I could eat another bite.”

“For sure!” Silverstream quickly agreed.

A moment of silence passed. Ocellus looked pointedly at Silverstream. This was probably the first time she had ever seen Silverstream unable to speak openly.

“Sooo...” Ocellus began. “How about those classes, huh? I sure hate studying.”

The words practically burned her throat.

“It’s not all that bad!” Silverstream said. “But...uh...I kinda had something else on my mind.”

“Oh yeah?” Ocellus asked. “What’s that?”

“Well...” Silverstream began.

Suddenly, Ocellus felt her talon in Silverstream’s clutches. She blinked in surprise, not having expected her to make contact.

“I need to be honest with you,” Silverstream said, staring into the disguised Ocellus’s eyes. Her usual silly nature seemed to have nearly fallen to the wayside with that sentence alone. “There’s a reason I’m always so happy when we get paired up in class, and why I like to tease you all the time, and why I brought you on this picnic. It’s just...I mean, you’re so brave and cool, and I really admire that. I really admire you. And as goofy as that sounds, I really, really mean it.”

Silverstream’s words continued to pour out, to the point where one might have assumed that she had rehearsed this speech before. As Ocellus listened to them, she felt the love seeping from every one, there for her to feast on. But just like the love she’d felt from Sandbar and November Rain and Shimmy Shake before her, the love from Silverstream tasted...off. Unlike with the previous creatures, though, this time Ocellus was able to pinpoint a reason for that. As she listened to the heartfelt soliloquy from the hippogriff, she could acknowledge that she meant every word she said.

The problem lie in the fact that she meant them for Gallus. Not for Ocellus. And while Ocellus looked like Gallus at the moment, she wasn’t Gallus.

Why couldn’t somecreature have those kinds of words to say for her?

Ocellus would have pondered that thought longer, but there were more pressing matters at hand. Namely, the hippogriff that had apparently gotten lost in the roleplay and suddenly decided to close the distance for a kiss.

“S-Silverstream!”

Ocellus quickly held a talon out, placing it on a Silverstream’s chest to keep the distance before she did something she didn’t intend. Silverstream’s eyes opened, and a deep blush covered her cheeks as Ocellus changed back to her normal form.

“Oh my gosh! Ocellus, I’m so sorry!” Silverstream blurted out. “I just got really wrapped up in the whole thing, and that was the point where I would have...oh geez, I’m really really sorry!”

“It’s okay!” Ocellus insisted, her heart racing as she sat back. “I mean...that’s the sign of a good act, right? No harm, no foul.”

“Right...” Silverstream said, cheeks still burning brightly. “I really am sorry though.”

“It’s okay, really,” Ocellus told her. She had mostly calmed down from the situation at hoof, but her mind was still racing with the thoughts from just before. Silverstream didn’t need to be bothered with that, though. “And I think you might be all set to tell Gallus!”

“You really think so?” Silverstream asked.

“Oh yes!” Ocellus replied. “I’d just...well, you might not want to jump straight to the kiss like that...unless he seems like he’d want to kiss? He might! But don’t come on too strong.”

“Do you think he’ll want to go out with me?” Silverstream asked. Her eyes sparkled with hope, and for a moment Ocellus found herself lost in them, thinking about how much she wished she had somecreature who hoped that badly for her attention.

“I can’t speak for him,” Ocellus admitted. “But there’s no way to know until you ask! If I had to guess, though, I’d think you had a good shot.”

“Thank you!” Silverstream exclaimed, once again wrapping her friend in a hug. Ocellus found herself melting into the hug, but said nothing, simply returning the gesture. “And...I’m really sorry again for that.”

“It’s fine, I promise,” Ocellus told her, reveling in the warmth of the affection for a long moment before slipping free. “You go ahead and get ready to ask him, okay? Who knows, you two could be the next hot couple on campus!”

“I sure hope so!” Silverstream cheered, heading for the door. “Thanks, Ocellus! You’re the best! See you around!”

Ocellus waved to the hippogriff as she departed, smiling brightly. Once the door closed, however, her smile faded. The changeling headed back to her bed and flopped down onto the mattress, letting out a deep sigh.

She didn’t have those kinds of feelings for Silverstream. She loved her as a friend, but not in a romantic sense. Seeing how wrapped up she got in her feelings for Gallus...how much Sandbar glowed when he spoke of Yona...it just reminded her of how much she wished somecreature would glow like that when talking about her.

This was going to be a long assignment.