//------------------------------// // Epilogue: Morning // Story: Prey // by Kkat //------------------------------// "Good morning, Morgan. Today is Monday, March 15th, 2032." Ocellus woke up to the slightly muted, cottony taste of rubies, habanero and spiced cider. Her receptors were open, and her mushy morning senses were making Smolder's love taste funny. The nymph's first instinct was to roll over, burying her head in her pillow. She didn't want Smolder to see her making a face. Ocellus remembered her dream. All of it. Every conversation. Every pain. Every horror. She also remembered doing exactly what she was about to do. And why. The nymph forced herself to roll onto her back instead. She looked up to find an anxious Smolder watching over her fretfully in the dim light of the room.  I have a second chance! "Sorry if I made a face," Ocellus apologized groggily. "Sometimes things taste funny right when I wake up." Smolder blinked. The expression of worry eased a little, a smirk curling on her muzzle. "I get that," Smolder said. "Just be thankful you've never tasted how some flavors warp during a molt." "Instantly happy to be a changeling," Ocellus teased, raising a hoof.  Smolder stuck her tongue out at her.  A second chance to kiss her! Ocellus suppressed a gasp at her miraculous luck. No creature got a second chance at a proper first kiss... yet here she was granted one. And this time, I'll do it right! The nymph lay there, soaking in the familiar sights and smells and tastes of the dorm room and Smolder. Enjoying the warm comfort of her soft bed. She found herself comparing it to frigid marble floors and dunes of nasty regolith. She much prefered her bed. Not that she wanted to sleep again. Ever. A fear slid through her. She tried to ignore it. Ocellus wondered what became of Tantabus. After all the hatred and self-loathing was burned away by love, was there anything left to be saved? If there was, it hadn't been in the white with her. Neither had Luna.  Luna is mother. Ocellus felt sure that if there was anything to save, Luna took it with her.  Something thudded against the door. Ocellus' heart lurched, her mind immediately conjuring images of the Nightmare just outside their room. She sat up, looking around frantically. Smolder's mirth vanished, her anxiousness returning. Ocellus' eyes were drawn to the window. The room wasn't dim because the curtains were closed. They were open, allowing the gentle light of pre-dawn into the room.  The skies over Equestria were still a deep indigo, sprinkled with stars that twinkled like they ought to. Peaceful violets and pinks painted the eastern sky, with a band of apricot orange tracing the edges of the horizon. The dream had seemed so impossibly long. Yet it was early. Ocellus looked to Smolder, surprised the dragon was even awake. "Uh, we've got about twenty seconds before the rest of the gang bursts in here," Smolder told her. "Want me to hold them off?" "Hold them off?" Ocellus asked slowly, confused. Smolder nodded. "Right." The dragon girl turned and marched to the door, opening it a crack. Ocellus saw her strain to keep the door from swinging wide thanks to the weight pressed against it from the hall. The nymph could smell yak hair and a familiar flurry of less pungent scents. "She just woke up, guys," Smolder scolded through the door. "Give her a few moments, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, the orange-scaled dragon shoved the door shut with a grunt. Then locked it for good measure. "Wh-what's going on?" Ocellus asked, wondering if she escaped one nightmare to find herself in yet another. But even as she questioned her reality, she recognized deep down that she had awoken. Whatever this was, it was absolutely real. "We were all asleep about two minutes ago..." Smolder turned away from the door, looking at her with a level of worry that deeply troubled Ocellus. "When Luna yanked us all into Silverstream's dream and told us in no uncertain terms that you just fought the Tantabus and won." Ocellus' jaw dropped. She had wondered why Luna wasn't there in the white with her when the dream ended. Smolder let it out in a rush. "Luna wanted to make sure we all knew that what you went through during the night wasn't just a dream, and that what the Tantabus put you through was very bad, and you would need your friends when you woke up." The dragon stared at Ocellus, her blue eyes begging the nymph to be alright. Or, at least, not be so hurt that Smolder couldn't help. Ocellus stared at her closest friend mutely. After a moment, she simply nodded. Seconds ticked by. Ocellus opened herself up, allowing herself to recognize the fear she tried to ignore. Checking for what she was afraid of. Nothing. The only love she could sense was coming from Smolder. No matter how deeply she dug, there wasn't any more to be found. It was all gone. She gave Tantabus the love she had secretly stored away. The love she had hoarded for years. From her friends. Her teachers. Her family.  All of it. She didn't realize she was crying until she felt Smolder move onto her bed next to her. The dragon's claws gently brushed her shoulder. "O-Ocellus?" Ocellus wiped her ocelli with the edge of a blanket. This... this was something she could tell Smolder about. Not the others. But Smolder would understand. "I-I had to give up my h-hoard," she said. "It's gone. Years of love. Collected and kept. And..." She shuddered. "...I had to lose it all."  She turned, looking into Smolder's wide, glistening eyes. She knew the dragon could understand the weight of her sacrifice. "It was how I beat the Tantabus."  Smolder was silent a moment. Then the dragon gently tapped her elytra. "Open up," she said softly. Ocellus obeyed, making herself vulnerable to her dearest friend. The nymph shuddered as she felt Smolder's claws play over the muscles between her wings. They sat, letting a gentle blanket of quiet fall over them. Smolder stroked and tickled gently, soothing her. Feeding her a banquet of cinnamon and jalapeno and spiced cider, with just a hint of strawberries. Ocellus knew that the dragon was processing the news that her roommate hoarded too. But Smolder was being exceptionally graceful and understanding. She thanked her silently for that. "I'll help you build a new one," Smolder finally said. Ocellus gave an involuntary buzz of her wings. She lifted her head back and gave the dragon a heartfelt, teary smile. Eventually, she had to ask. "Smolder, we don't have any mysterious field trips coming up, do we?" She was sure the answer was no, but the shadows in the back of her mind were restless. "And we don't have a mysterious test in Professor Rarity's class that we can't study for because she won't tell us what it's about, right?" Ocellus could see the relief on Smolder's face. The dragon was likely trying to imagine how horrible her nightmares had been. And this put a face on them that the girl could handle.  Smolder shook her head to both, slipping a claw under her right wing to give the connecting muscle a playful tickle. "Nope. And nope. We're good." Ocellus shivered, her wings buzzing again.  She felt a little mean as she asked, "And what's outside, pushing on the door -- that's our friends, right? Sandbar, Silverstream, Yona and Gallus? Separately?" The dragon girl had started to nod again, but stopped as the last word hit her. Smolder's brow furrowed as she tried to parse Ocellus' meaning. The play of the dragon's claws between her wings slowed cautiously. "I mean, not all one creature?" Ocellus clarified, earning a wide-eyed look from her roommate. "Not a giant blob of changeling body parts with heads for teeth that hiss my name?" Smolder's irises shrank, her pupils becoming slits. Her claws froze. "Uhhh..." Ocellus looked down and smiled. Mostly with relief. Maybe a little tiny bit of wicked delight. "Okay. One more question. Then we can let them in."  She looked back to Smolder. "Secret tea party tonight?" I want to talk to you privately, just the two of us. Smolder's face brightened a little. She nodded: I want special time alone with you too, Ocellus. The dragon chuckled nervously. "You were just messing with me about that other thing, right?" Ocellus sighed and shook her head. "I didn't really think it was outside," she admitted as she pulled away from the dragon's touch, closing her elytra and arranging herself in bed to face the door. "But no, that was real. Really real. And much, much worse than what I said."  After what Luna did for her, she wasn't going to play this down. She was going to let herself get the help she needed. The dragon pulled her claws away, understanding. She slid off the bed, brushing Ocellus with her tail. Then walked to the door and unlocked it. "Go ahead, Smolder," Ocellus said once she was comfortable. She opened her receptors wide. I'm going to stop doing this so much, she told herself firmly. Starting tomorrow. She knew how much she sounded like an addict's cliche. But she hoped her resolution was stronger than what was usually behind assertions like that. Because right now, she needed this. "Let them in." Ocellus braced herself as Smolder flung the door open. Their friends were bunched up comically. The wave of flavors hit her almost as fast as the stream of concerned voices as her friends pushed past each other to tumble into her room. One voice rose above the others. "Yona's friend saved the world in her sleep! Yona have best friends!"  There was a moment of awkward, all of them talking and none of them knowing what to say. A flurry of are you all right's and how can we help's. Broken through by Gallus announcing, "Fuck it, I'm just going to hug you." Ocellus blinked. She knew it was coming, but... Gallus was the one who started it? Gallus. As the tidal wave of friends crashed down on her, the nymph opened to mouth to thank him. Instead, what came out was, "Gallus, you swore." The swirling orchestra of flavor enveloped Ocellus like a warm blanket just pulled from the dryer. Mixed berries and ghost pepper and cotton candy, tar and mackerel and fennel, creamed mushrooms and burning paper lanterns (Silverstream's love always had the most peculiar notes)...  Ocellus snatched choice bits, starting a new hoard. "It's... really weird," Ocellus told the friends circling her. "I remember all these conversations I've had with you guys that never actually happened." The conversation has turned to a mostly lighter discussion of the dream as her friends' concern slowly gave way to their curiosity.  "Also, I have a number of new forms." The nymph beamed at her friends. "Some of them are going to surprise you."  She was surprised to realize that the experience had been real enough that the new forms she changed into within it, such as the cockatrice, were now within her repertoire. Including all the forms she had taken of her friends. She reminded herself that she was not going to turn into Greed-enlarged Smolder without a lot of talking with her friend (soon, girlfriend?) first. Ocellus smiled at Gallus, pointing a hoof at the griffon. "Also, I promised dream-you that I'd learn to turn into your homework for Professor Pinkie's class. Just once. Are you still holding me to that?" It was the most ridiculous question. Gallus's eyes widened, and his grin followed. "Oh absolutely."  The group laughed, the merriment in her friends' voices filling the room with a sound sweeter than honey and warmer than golden sunlight. Silverstream fluttered her wings. "I wish I had been there for you too." Ocellus could hear the remorse in the hippogriff's voice. She reached out, putting a hoof on Silverstream's nearest talon, smiling at her, trying to let her know it was okay without actually voicing how silly that guilt was. "Yeah, same here," Sandbar said. Something in his tone made Ocellus suspect he was wondering why he didn't rate, but he was too considerate a friend to ask.  Ocellus frowned. She didn't want that eating at either of them. "I was alone at first. I think Tantabus tried to keep any of you from being in it. But our friendship is so strong that it couldn't stop me from adding you to the dream..." She was pulling the idea out of thin air, but it felt plausible. "...And so it instead prevented any it couldn't figure out how to use." She looked to Smolder, Yona and Gallus. "Not that making nightmare versions of any of you worked out for it." "Nightmare version of Yona?" her friend asked, worried.  Ocellus nodded. "But that didn't last long before you -- dream-you, I mean -- turned into the friend I knew." "Wow. I know it was horrible, but I kinda wish I could have seen it," Silverstream blurted out. "The moon sounds like a blast." Gallus stared at her. "Were you even listening?" Ocellus felt a wave of relief as she was saved from having to figure out a non-awkward way to admit dream-Gallus was never a nightmare-Gallus. "I think you can." "Whut," Gallus asked. The others looked at her in a mixture of blank shock and surprise. And, from Silverstream, barely-restrained excitement. The clocks tried to warn me...  Even in her sleep, Nightmare Moon created things of dream magic that were beyond the very real Tantabus' control. A thousand years of Luna empowering the place through dreams created a dreamscape that persists without a dreamer.  Even though the dream ended and Tantabus is gone, Ocellus thought, the palace should still be there. For very unusual definitions of there and be. "We could write Luna and ask if she could give us a shared dream that allows me to give you a tour," Ocellus suggested. "Now that it is unoccupied and relatively safe." Her friends had predictably mixed reactions to the idea. Yona narrowed her eyes."What friend mean relatively?"  "The dreamscape is deteriorating, and I have no idea how having stuff that came from me woven into it will affect its integrity," Ocellus carefully admitted. "But this time, we can ask Luna to see if it is safe before we go there."  Maybe Luna could even come with them. Ocellus suspected the night alicorn might benefit from the company. "That... may have to wait a bit." Sandbar's tone was cautionary. Ocellus looked at him questioningly. "Yeeeeah, I got the feeling Luna might not be available right away," Gallus jumped in, backing Sandbar up. "Luna pulled us all into Silverstream's dream, told us it was an emergency, and then said she needed our permission to do what she kinda already did." Silverstream nodded. "It was weird, even for a shared dream with Princess Luna." Ocellus felt a jolt of worry. She wasn't sure just what to be worried about, but the tone of her friends warned her something was wrong. She looked to each of them for help understanding. "Luna might be in a bit of trouble," Sandbar explained when none of the others could offer insight. "What kind of trouble?" Ocellus needed to know. "I overheard my parents talking about it last summer," Sandbar told her. "A council of ponies pushed for Luna to need consent to enter dreams. Not everypony is comfortable with the idea that somepony is spying into their heads while they sleep." I must seek them out in the physical world and ask their permission," Luna had told her, although fragments of her words were lost. "Procuring creatures' consent is but one of many concessions I have had to acclimate to in retirement." "One of their arguments was that her knowledge of ponies' dreams and nightmares put those ponies and even the security of Equestria at risk." Sandbar quickly waved a hoof. "Not that anypony thought Luna would ever misuse that knowledge. But they were worried about it falling into the wrong hooves."  Sandbar sounded like he felt guilty just saying this. "She has been captured before."  Including twice by Chrysalis, Ocellus couldn't keep herself from realizing. Being trapped by Queen Elytra and having her memories drained... that had been a personal nightmare of Luna's. One the Tantabus tapped into. Ocellus closed her eyes, thinking just how much Luna suffered last night too. Her heart reached out, wanting to be there for the night alicorn as much as her friends were here for her.  "Mom and Dad kinda had an argument about it," Sandbar admitted. Ocellus' heart hurt as she understood that for Luna the nightmare wasn't quite over. It wasn't entirely over for her either, was it? She was awake now, but there was a long road of rebuilding ahead of her. And not just her hoard. That brought her to the big admission. Ocellus held up her hooves, quieting her friends. One by one, they all looked at her. Concern and worry began to creep back into their faces. "I have something I have to confess," she told them, her tone somber and serious. "I've been losing my sense of identity," she admitted, speaking slowly, choosing each word. "This isn't something from the dream. It has been going on since before I joined Cheer Squad. And it's been getting worse and worse."  The words felt heavy, just like they did in the dream. "I haven't felt like I know who I really am. There have been days when I wake up and I have to fight to remember I'm me." Ocellus heard gasps from several of her friends. "And you kept this quiet because?" Smolder asked, her voice scolding. So much like the dream. "Because I have been selfish and stupid," Ocellus stated, staring at the carpet. "I felt it was personal and my own problem. And I was worried you wouldn't understand, or think it was silly..." "Uh, Ocellus," Sandbar interrupted. "Finding who you really are is such a big thing for ponies that we get a magic mark on our flanks when we do. It is not silly," he insisted. "No creature is going to think that." Ocellus winced inside. She should have realized that and opened up so many months ago. "I didn't let my friends help me when I should have. And I let it get so bad that I gave Tantabus a whole arsenal of horrors to throw at me last night." Ocellus looked up. "But last night made me face what is wrong with me. And... I'm going to be working some things out over the next several months. I might even change." "Ocellus? Change?" Gallus couldn't help but snark. Humor was how he dealt with heavy. Even in the dream.  Ocellus' friends glared at him, but she gave him an understanding smile. There was an irony there, and she could appreciate it. "But even if I change," Ocellus insisted, "My friendship with all of you never will." Classes made everything feel more grounded. Ocellus was relieved when none of her teachers acted weird (although there were looks of concern when she did). None of the other students approached her to ask about her experience.  Ocellus had begun to hope that no creatures other than Luna and her friends even knew what happened. She needed normal right now.  Everything that happened kept tumbling through her head, threatening to derail her. Fears clung to her like her shadow, forgotten but not gone, finding moments when her guard was down to jump at her. As Counselor Trixie led her down the hall towards the Headmare's office, Ocellus found herself eyeing the cup sitting on the hall table next to the bowl of wax fruit.  It's not a drone in disguise! How long was she going to have to keep reminding herself of that? She got the strangest looks in Professor Pie's class when she freaked out at the jack-in-a-box. And she knew that was coming. "I can't believe you went to class today," Trixie told her, shattering that hope. Ocellus understood it had been an unrealistic one. "I would have taken a great and powerful break from everything if I just saved the world."  Ocellus knew she meant well. "But I want to go to class," she protested. Not getting to would feel like punishment. "You are a very strange girl," Trixie stated in a good-natured tone bereft of offence as they reached the door to the Headmare's office. The School Counselor knocked, then pushed the door open without waiting for a response from inside. Headmare Starlight Glimmer was waiting. Ocellus noted the lavender unicorn was standing in front of her desk to look casual rather than sitting behind it. The smile the unicorn wore was clearly meant to put her at ease. Ocellus had not suspected she was in trouble. She was pretty sure she knew what this was about. The gift box on the desk made her question her assumption. "Ocellus," the Headmare greeted her as Trixie led her into the room. The office was much like it had been when Twilight was Headmare. Except for the kite on the wall. And a few pictures of Starlight's friends. And Phyllis. "Please, come in. Make yourself comfortable." Ocellus walked in and simply stood there. She looked at Starlight expectantly.  The nymph was annoyed as her thoughts flickered back to the first time she saw the unicorn. Invading Chrysalis' hive. Ocellus had hissed at her. It was not a good memory. There were many better ones. "Ocellus," the bored and clearly distracted Counselor Starlight said with a wave of her hooves, "It's perfectly normal for a changeling to struggle with identity issues, but..." That wasn't one of them. Ocellus frowned, hoping all the darkness dredged up by the nightmare wasn't poisoning her. She needed to get this under control. Starlight blinked at the change in the nymph's demeanor. She walked to her desk and picked up the present. It was wrapped in dark blue paper with a silver ribbon. There was a note attached. "Princess Luna teleported this to me an hour ago," Starlight told her. "I waited until you were done with class. I hope that's okay." Ocellus took the box, looking at the note. "It arrived with a few letters to myself and members of the staff," the Headmare continued. Ocellus' heart sank. "I haven't passed those letters on yet. I wanted to make sure you knew first."  Ocellus looked up at Starlight, a hopeful question on her tongue. But the Headmare clearly anticipated it. "This isn't something you will be able to hide from them for long. I've already had a few of your professors come to me concerned. And Luna herself will be coming sometime next week to ask you and your friends for formal permission to help."  Starlight Glimmer paused, a familiar look of concern etching into her features. Ocellus was growing tired of that look. "Apparently, Luna thinks what happened to you two is beyond my ability to help with," Trixie stated bluntly. Ocellus looked at the School Counselor. Beneath the touch of wounded pride was actual concern. But more than that, Ocellus felt a swell of gratitude toward the mare for not framing what happened as if she was the victim. For those words you two.  "Y-yeah, it kinda is," Ocellus agreed. "No offense." Trixie waved a hoof. "None taken. Dream therapy is a little outside even my skills."  Ocellus giggled just a little as Starlight rolled her eyes. The nymph returned to the note, this time reading it. Dear Ocellus, I regret that I am required to be in Canterlot through the weekend. But after things are settled here, I will be with you every night that you have need of me until all the damage that Tantabus inflicted has healed. In the meantime, I have crafted this nightlight with my magic. Keep it lit by your bed as you sleep, and it will always be there to guide you out of your nightmares. With love, ~Luna Ocellus stared at the note. Then, on a whim, she opened her receptors. The nymph's ocelli widened, her wings buzzing beneath her elytra as she tasted lingering notes of honeydew and crude oil.  Luna actually did her best to infuse the gift with love. Ocellus paused, re-reading, feeling a niggling worry return. "Luna's required to be in Canterlot?" Headmare Starlight nodded, assuring her, "Nothing that can't be smoothed over." "You have to admit," Trixie added unhelpfully, "In a way, Tantabus kinda made the council's point." Headmare Starlight shot the other unicorn a look. "What?" Trixie asked obliviously. Ocellus put aside the note and began to open the package. "What is it?" Trixie prompted before the wrapping was even off. Ocellus gave her an intentionally enigmatic, "My own version of Luna's clocks." She smirked a little at the Counselor's confused look. It wasn't exactly true, but Ocellus expected it wasn't exactly wrong either. Granted, the clocks were in Nightmare Moon's Palace, entirely the stuff of dreams. For her, Luna evidently tied the magic to a physical object -- but then, Luna couldn't have left the spell in the realm of dreams since Ocellus didn't have access to a persistent dreamscape. Ocellus lifted the top of the box and let out a gleeful squeal, clapping her forehooves in delight at the sight of her little friend.  Ocellus skipped down the hall heading back to her dorm room, humming a happy tune, feeling the swing of the lantern below her chin. She gave the hall table with its bowl of wax fruit and its misplaced cup a passing glance, utterly unconcerned. The cup opened its eyes and winked at her. Ocellus froze. The cup rattled, then lifted into the air. The swirl of magic as it transformed was not lime green. "Well, good to see you back in the land of the awake," Discord drolled, sitting on the fake fruit.  Ocellus stared at him. "Honestly, I wish I could have done more. But dreams are so not my forté," the draconequus claimed, and for once, Ocellus didn't doubt his words.  "So tell me..." The draconequus gave her a big grin, leaning forward enough to precariously tip the table, his paw and claw under his chin. "What did I end up giving you?" Ocellus blinked. She carefully set down her little friend to ask, "What?" "Oh come on! I know I gave you something," Discord insisted. "The magic I sent into that dream would have manifested in some form or another. I'm sure of it. So what was it? Was it helpful?" He doesn't know. He legitimately doesn't know. "How did you even know something was happening?" she asked. Discord gave her a condescending stare. "Really? I'm the Lord of Chaos." Ocellus raised an eyebrow. She wasn't going to just swallow that as an answer. "Luna's pet monster would have turned the world into a living nightmare. A sort of chaos I can't control. You don't think I'd sense that coming?" Discord points at her lantern. "Luna isn't the only one who can make things like that, you know." He has his own version of the clocks. Ocellus wondered if Discord created his... whatever his variation of the clocks was after the first time the Tantabus threatened reality. The draconequus crossed his arms a dozen times. "Now I've answered your question, but you still haven't answered mine." Ocellus gazed at the draconequus, understanding the strange creature's eagerness. Discord used his magic to intervene, but he had no way of knowing how its effect would play out in the dream. No way to observe it. There was something perfectly chaotic in that complete lack of control.  Of course he needs to know. Ocellus found herself smiling. "You made me cheat on a test by giving me the questions ahead of time," she told him. "And all the questions were keys to understanding what was happening to me." Discord's grin widened as he leaned closer. Unbalanced, the end table toppled, spilling wax fruit that rolled across the floor, leaving the draconequus floating in the air. "Do go on!" Smolder sipped at her tea, her smallest claw held out in a dainty fashion. Ocellus watched her, marveling at how the teal dress made her orange scales seem more vibrant and brought out the shine in her eyes. Professor Rarity was right. Ocellus felt thankful for the professor's help. She wanted this to be perfect. Especially considering the unspoken weight hanging over them. Setting the pink ceramic tea cup back on its saucer, the dragon looked at her between the burning candles. "A new dress? Tea by candlelight? Okay, what gives?" Smolder asked her pointedly. "Because it's either really good or really bad." Ocellus remembered back near the beginning of the nightmare. In the dream, her thoughts had turned to these tea parties. How they were times when she and Smolder shared deeply secret things with each other. Things that made them vulnerable. Like Smolder's story about Dragon Lord Torch. There is one thing she hasn't. Ocellus took a deep breath. She had been thinking about how to word this all day. Or, at least, nearly every moment after Headmare Starlight helped her send a message. "I have something very important I have to take care of," she began. "Something I haven't been strong enough to do on my own. I want your help." Smolder frowned slightly. This wasn't going where she hoped, but she was clearly already in.  "But first... I need to ask you something," Ocellus said as the dragon opened her mouth to respond. "And I don't know if I should be asking, but I would really appreciate the most honest answer you can give me." Smolder tensed a little. "Lay it on me." No secrets here.  Ocellus didn't want her to be tense. The nymph quickly rearranged what she needed to say, taking a different approach. "In the dream, there was a moment when you froze up..." Smolder visibly relaxed. "Okay, you know it's not fair to put me on the hook for something I did in your dream, right?" She smirked, pointing a claw. "That wasn't actually me." The dragon took another sip of tea. Ocellus nodded, sipping her own tea, then offering to refill Smolder's cup. It was Yak Tea, as she called it. Yona's secret blend. A rich black tea with spice and subtle herbal notes. Yaks really did make the best teas.  "I know. But it does mean that I have been worried about something, and only you can put my mind at ease. Or, if it is bad, let me in to help." Her words were deliberate, invoking Smolder's earlier scolding about not being open with her identity issues. "Tell me about you and phoenixes." Smolder froze. But only a moment. Then she sighed, slumping a little. "I was wondering when you would ask about that." Ocellus' eyebrows lifted. "Really?" "Yeah. I mean, it's not something I want to talk about. But I know I haven't been subtle," her friend admitted. "I figured you were giving me my space about it, and I've been thankful for that. But I also know you care, and you weren't going to just let it go forever." Smolder sighed. "Plus, Yona kinda demanded to know what made you cry. I didn't know when she asked, but it didn't take long to put that puzzle together. It had, like, two pieces." Ocellus smiled at the metaphor, knowing Smolder was using it for her benefit. "I secretly like cute things. You know that." Smolder slumped back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling. "We'd just migrated to the new Dragon Lands and I was exploring the border of our new home. I think I told you about the redcaps once, right?" Ocellus cocked her head, her ears shooting up. She had totally forgotten about that! Consciously, at least. From the dream, part of her sure hadn't. Smolder leaned forward again. "Well, turns out..." She lifted one claw, "Baby phoenixes are super cute." She lifted a second claw. "And mommy phoenixes really don't like dragons crawling up to their nests to get a closer look at their babies." Ocellus couldn't help but enjoy the image of a younger Smolder on a limb, poking her snout into a nest of baby phoenixes, eyes wide. But she suspected that did not end well. "I might be fireproof, but adult phoenixes are scary." Smolder let Ocellus fill in the gaps.  "I couldn't exactly tell my brother I was trying to get to the nest because I thought they were cute." The dragon's voice held a note of bitterness. "Dragons don't like cute. Hell, I couldn't even tell myself why I did it. I was in full denial back then." Ocellus' eyes widened as the picture painted itself. Smolder finally returned to her tea, sipping it. Her eyes stared at the table.  "One month after the School of Friendship re-opened, Headmare Twilight pulled me into her office. I thought I was in trouble," Smolder confided. "But I was totally blindsided when she asked me if she should pull one of the upcoming lessons because it put dragons in a bad light." The dragon stared into Ocellus' eyes, her expression earnest and pained, needing her friend to believe her. "I swear I had no idea what Garble had started doing until Twilight told me." Ocellus swallowed. This wasn't what she expected. None of her fears or guesses had looked like this. The nymph slid out of her seat, walking around the table to put a hoof on her friend. "It wasn't your fault." "It kinda was," Smolder replied painfully. "If I hug you, will it mess up your dress?" Better than asking her directly if she wanted one. Ocellus was giving Smolder an out while letting the dragon accept a hug without looking like a dragon who is desperate for one. "If it will make you feel better..." Ocellus wrapped her friend in her forelegs, holding her tight. Letting her love flow to Smolder, even though she knew the dragon couldn't taste it. Trying to bathe her in it. Smolder closed her eyes and let Ocellus hug her. For about two minutes. Then the dragon's eyes opened. "Uh, Ocellus...?"  "Y-yes?" The nymph broke the hug, stepping back and wiping a tear. "You're glowing." Ocellus blinked. Then looked down. Smolder was right. It wasn't a bright glow. Definitely not a love beam. But there was a slight shine penetrating her saffron dress right over her heart.  "Heh. Y-yeah." Ocellus smiled bashfully, rubbing the back of her head. "I'll tell you about that..." "No time like the present," Smolder said, waving a claw at the tea party. Ocellus had to give her that. Still, there was something else that needed to come first. "I will, but first, I really do have something I need to face, and I want you with me when I do so." Smolder had her full attention.  "Come with me to Canterlot this weekend..." Memories flooded over her -- old ones she had buried but that the dream had dredged back up. She remembered attacking Canterlot. Surrounding herself with her collision barrier as drones rained down on the vulnerable city like a lime green meteor shower. Shooting down a hundred feet at an olive mare with frilly, butter-colored hair. Slamming into her at full speed. Feeding.  "...There is a pony there who I hurt really badly. I-I need to find her if I can." Ocellus' voice trembled slightly. "A-and apologize." Smolder slipped out of her chair, seeing the pain in Ocellus' face. "You can tell me about it on the trip." Gratitude swelled in Ocellus' breast. She felt tears in her eyes, but not ones of sadness. "Afterwards, I really need to visit Luna," she added. "She will be at the castle. Headmare Starlight wrote ahead to make sure it was okay. And to ask a little favor. If you're feeling brave."  Smolder rolled her eyes at the obvious manipulation. "You don't need to play me. I'm already there. What favor?" Smolder raised an eyebrow. "Celestia will be there too. And she'll be bringing Philomena. I think it would do you some good to talk to her." Smolder took a sharp step back. Her eyes narrowed, but a smile broke across her muzzle. "Why you little schemer. Are you sure you're not a dragon?" Not today. There will be no being a dragon today. Ocellus stepped forward, closing the distance again, looking into Smolder's eyes. A step closer. Smolder's smirk faded, her eyes widening. "Ocellus?" The dragon braced for another hug. Ocellus leaned closer, their noses almost touching. She felt the heat of Smolder's breath tickle her muzzle. The glow from her breast was lighting up Smolder's face from beneath. "Uh... Oc-" Ocellus kissed her.