Ocellus usually smiled at the birds chirping as she woke to their song, but not today. Opening her eyes at all burned her eyelids. She tried rubbing the problem away, but to no avail. She sniffled, closed her eyes, pulled up her blanket and curled up again.
Her hooves brushed against something solid. She lifted her covers and looked inside. It was, “Good Night, Little Rabbit.”
Yesterday came back to her in a flash: reading to Silverstream, taking the book back to her room, reading it until late at night, and all of the crying. She sighed, “I hope I got all of that out of my system. I need to return this before something else happens.”
She set the book on her nightstand, slid the covers off, and flew to the bathroom. As she had expected, her eyes were baggy and her cheeks had tear streaks running down them. “A quick wash will get rid of these,” she told herself.
A hard wash and a scrub with a towel later, the streaks were gone, but her eyes were still baggy. “Maybe Rarity will know how to get rid of these bags.” She looked outside: still early for a Saturday, the dawn glow blocked by a layer of fog. “Hopefully I can avoid everyone else.”
She left the bathroom and picked up the book. “I’ll return this as well. No use keeping it anymore.” She walked over to her door. Before she opened it, she looked at the book once more, and felt a smile tugging away at her face. “At least now I know that it’s here at the school. I can check it out whenever I’m feeling sad...”
She shook her head clear of her thoughts and opened the door.
“Good moooorning, Ocellus!”
“Aah!” Ocellus jumped into the air, the book flying from her grasp. “What? What’s going on?”
From above her door frame, she saw Silverstream poke her head into her room. “I said good moooorning, silly!”
Seeing her friend, she took a deep, calming breath. “Good morning, Silverstream. You’re in a… cheerful mood today.”
“Of course! It’s Saturday!” She flew through the room to the window. “And it’s a beautiful day!”
The little light from the outside still caused Ocellus to wince. “Yyyyeah, it’s nice outside, alright. Even with all of that fog.”
Silverstream looked back with a large smile, but that immediately disappeared when she looked at her. “Ocellus, what happened to you? Your face is all puffy, and your eyes are darker than usual.”
Ocellus reflexively wiped her eyes. “Yeah. I’m going to see if Rarity can help me with that.”
“But what happened?”
“Oh, I dunno.” She began walking out, only to feel that something was missing. “Wait, what else was I going to do?”
“Ooh, ooh, ooh!” Silverstream pointed to the floor. “Did it have something to do with this?”
She looked at where Silver was pointing, and saw the book opened page-downward. “Oh, yeah, that.”
Silver reached down to pick it up. As she did, she studied the cover. “Hey, isn’t this the book we read yesterday?”
Ocellus crossed a leg in front of the other one. “Yeah. I, um, wanted to read it again.”
“Well, that’s not surprising, since it was sooo enjoyable.” Silverstream flipped through the pages quickly, settling on the last one. “A book like this was sure to help you sleep—wait a minute.” She looked closer. “Did you get water on the pages?”
“No—I mean—”
“Are these… teardrops?”
Her heart began to beat more quickly. “Um, maybe?”
Silver looked back at her, and realization clicked. “Ocellus, were you crying last night?”
“What? I…” Ocellus sighed. “Yes.”
Silverstream flew over to her and embraced her. “What happened?”
“Nothing ‘happened’ yesterday.” She looked at the book in Silver’s claws. “I just… reading that book brought back some memories.”
“Some bad memories?”
“No.” She took the book from her claws. “At least, not with this book.”
Silver reached over and tilted the book so the cover was facing her. “But what made you cry, then?”
“Well, when I first read it, I—” She felt a sob well up in her throat. “I’m sorry, Silver, but I don’t want to talk about it right now. Maybe later.”
“But why don’t you want to talk about it?”
“Because I just don’t!” Ocellus turned around sharply, but once she saw the hurt in Silver’s eyes, she instantly softened. “I’m sorry, Silver, but I really don’t want to talk about it.” She turned away. “I’m sorry.”
A few silent seconds passed, and then she found a claw on her back. “Hey,” the hippogriff began quietly. “It’s okay. Sometimes, I don’t like talking about the Storm King with other creatures. I get it. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
Ocellus smiled. “Thanks, Silverstream. Now I’m going to return this book.”
But Silverstream took it from her grasp. “Actually, do you mind if I take it with me? I actually wouldn’t mind reading it on my own.”
“Of course!” Ocellus looked back at the window, and the grey-blue of the fog was beginning to glow across Ponyville now, signalling the approaching dawn. “I should probably get to Professor Rarity’s now.”
“Okay!” Silverstream walked out of the room. “I’m sure we’re all going to play somewhere today. We’ll come find you once you’re done.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Okay!” With that, Silverstream took her leave down the hall, book in claw.
Meanwhile, Ocellus shook her head at the level of energy in her friend this early and began walking down the hall at a much slower pace. But she didn’t get far before somepony came up behind her.
“Hey, Ocellus!”
She turned around to see who it was walking towards her. “Hey, Sandbar.”
“Good morning.” Sandbar took a spot right next to her. “Did you just wake up?”
“No, not really.” She noted that she hadn’t been up for all of ten minutes before all of this happened to her. “What are you doing up?”
“Meh.” Sandbar shrugged. “I heard you and Silverstream talking to one another, and thought I’d come out and meet you guys.”
“Well, you just missed Silver.” She pointed down the hall. “She flew off in a hurry.”
“Darn.” Sandbar turned back to her, and a look of concern came across him. “Hey, what’s up with your face?”
She looked away from him. “I’m going to Rarity’s to see if she can help me with it.”
“But what happened?”
Darnit. If he asks Silverstream, she’ll tell him the truth. Might as well. “I was crying last night.”
“What?” Sandbar drew himself closer to her. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” she said with a bit of worry. “I just had a bad memory last night.”
“Like a nightmare?”
“Not really.” They turned to proceed down another hallway, one that would lead them to the main hallway. “It was more like reliving a memory.”
“Oh.” Sandbar drew even closer to her. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
“No.”
Unlike Silverstream, Sandbar looked less willing to accept that answer. “Okay, then… So, I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah… see you later.” And with that, they parted ways.
Ocellus sighed as she made her way to the front door. “Why can’t they just leave me alone?” But then she chastised herself. “They care about me, that’s why. I shouldn’t think like that. What’s wrong with me?” She reached the front door without encountering anypony else—no doubt most of the students would be asleep—and pushed it open. The air was chilly. “I should’ve brought a scarf, but I won’t go back. I don’t want anyone else to see me like this.”
Thus braving the cold, she took flight to Ponyville. But the moving air from her flight burned her eyelids enough that she returned to the ground before even reaching the town’s edge. The ground was cool under her hooves. She shivered but continued on down the dirt path.
Ponyville was not as quiet as the School, though it was far less bustling than she had ever seen it before. Ponies must also like to sleep in. I bet Professor Applejack’s up by now. I should go to Sweet Apple Acres after this for my homework. The ponies that were out were milling about on gentle walks, going on a trot, or setting up stalls. The birds were still singing, so that was something to keep her attention on.
She saw Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle walking side by side down the path. They passed the Ponyville Town Fountain and each tossed a bit into the water. Big Mac waved at her, and she waved back. Ocellus smiled and felt a pang in her chest. The early, misty morning, the lovers walking by a fountain… It brought her back.
“Let us consider our hive fortunate that you didn’t blow our cover.”
Ocellus had sat in front of Protonum and Elytra, head cast down in obedience. The two spies had glared down at her with more shock than anger, though both were plentifully present. The book was out of her grasp and in Protonum’s.
“Do you have any idea how risky it was, going in there by yourself? Without proper training, or without one of us near you?” Elytra paced back and forth, her eyes never leaving the whelp.
“I just wanted to help,” Ocellus had said without looking up.
“You cannot just barge out on your own like that!” Protonum had said. “What if you were caught?”
“But I wasn’t—”
“That’s not the point!” He had hissed at her. “You are not to go out again until your training is complete, do you understand?”
Ocellus had nodded.
“Now,” Elytra had continued, changing to her pony disguise. “We are going to return this to the library. And then we are going to continue as normal. Is that clear?”
Ocellus’s eyes had dared to look up. “Could we at least read it first?”
Protonum had shook his head and changed into his own pony form. “Only changelings in larger cities need to know how to read. We get along fine without it. It’s a waste of time. Now go join the other whelps and continue your training. We don’t need another changeling like Thorax.”
Ocellus hadn’t said anything more after that, and they left to do their work.
That had been a few days ago, and now Ocellus was staring out at the direction of Mint Meadow. Even the pathway that would begin her journey was greener than the foot of the cave where she and the other changelings in their unit lived. No doubt the other whelps were battling with one another, working up their fierceness and combat skills.
“What are you doing?” Cornicle asked from behind her. “You should be with the other whelps!”
Ocellus hissed at him as convincingly as she could. Cornicle shook his head and flew back in. Once she was sure he was gone, she sighed at her failure and returned her attention to the world beyond the cave.
“What’s wrong with me?” Ocellus pawed at the line where the hard rock turned to soft dirt. “Why can’t I be like the other changelings? And why do I keep thinking about Little Rabbit?”
She thought about going back inside, to perhaps listen to another tale of deception and conquest from one of the older changelings. But then her thoughts drifted back to Little Rabbit. A simple tale, but one that just wouldn’t leave her head.
She pulled up a bit of moss and pulled her library card from underneath it. She recalled the snap of the camera as it took her picture, the whir of the machine as it dispensed her card, and Bookmark’s smile as she handed it to her. And Sweet Scroll…
“Goodbye! We can’t wait to see you again.”
She imagined Sweet Scroll’s face as she didn’t show up, and something stirred inside of her. The morning was young, the sun not even having risen, but she stuck the card behind her ear and set out on the path. The air felt cold, but she didn’t return. She wouldn’t return until she had seen Sweet Scroll, and make sure that she could leave the library, and Mint Meadow, in peace. She wouldn’t know how Protonum and Elytra had dealt with her, but she needed to make sure that she had a good name with her, even if she couldn’t return.
She flew for a lot longer than she remembered from her first time. “I must’ve been spaced out last time,” she muttered to herself as she neared a copse of willows that she had remembered. “I’m getting close.” She dove into the trees and transformed into her pony form. “There. Can’t panic again.”
After a quick drink of water from the river, she walked the rest of the way to Mint Meadow. There was a layer of mist below the rooftops, obscuring the citizens of the city from her. As she approached, she noted that everything was silent. There weren’t even any birds around making a noise. Only when she could make out details in the outlying buildings’ windows could she begin making out the sounds of hoofsteps along the cobblestone streets.
The town didn’t have a lot of ponies roaming about this early. Ocellus felt safe wandering around, as nopony bothered her. But soon after wandering deeper into the main part of town, she realized something that gave her pause, and soon caused her to worry.
“I don’t remember where the library is!” She looked around for some sign of it, for something that would remind her of what it even looked like, but there was nothing. She had ran into town in a blind panic last time, and Sweet Scroll had been the one to escort her there. She hadn’t been paying attention to where they had gone, but rather on the ponies who were staring at her, no doubt judging her. She probably couldn’t even remember where the alleyway was if she tried.
She slunk down as an older, gamboling couple enjoying the early-morning crispness slowed down to look at her. At first she thought of flying up to find it, but after trying to do so, she remembered that she didn’t have wings. So she began walking deeper into the town, trying to avoid attention and keeping an eye out for Sweet Scroll. She was so focused on just moving forward, that she didn’t notice the couple approaching her.
“Excuse me, young filly.”
Ocellus jumped. “Aah!” She tried galloping away, and ran headfirst into a fountain. When she popped out of the water, she found the stallion holding a hoof out towards her.
“Are you alright?” he asked with a soft voice.
She sniffled and nodded.
“Is she okay, Basil Sprig?” the mare asked.
“She’ll be fine, Paprika. C’mere, my dear.” He took her hoof and pulled her out of the fountain.
She shivered as the cold air got to her fur. “Thank you.”
“Of course.”
The mare of the pair trotted over and draped a shawl over her. “Poor dear! We didn’t mean to spook you like that.”
“I’m sorry.”
Paprika patted her on the head. “It’s quite alright. You’re up quite early, you know? I don’t think any colts or fillies are out playing at this time.”
“I know,” she answered, not knowing at all, of course. “I was looking for the library.”
“Were you?” Basil chuckled. “It’s in that direction. Do you have your library card on you?”
Ocellus gasped. “My library card?!” She reached into her mane and pulled it out. It was dripping wet. “Is it ruined?”
“Give it here.” Basil took it and looked it over. “It looks fine to me.”
Ocellus took it back and looked at it. Besides the water droplets, everything looked fine. “Oh, good. I’m sorry.”
The couple laughed, and Paprika placed a hoof on Ocellus’s withers. “It’s quite alright, sweetie. Are you okay?”
“I think so.” She shivered again. “Um, which way is the library?”
“We’re about to walk past it. Come along with us. We’ll show you where it is.”
She followed them along on their walk. They didn’t pay her much mind, so she was able to walk behind them without compromising her identity. They passed a building with a few vases in its window, walked along a pathway with tulips, trotted over a bridge over the river, and took a left down a wide path. And then, around the corner of the next building, Ocellus could see the library.
“There it is,” Basil said, turning and smiling at her.
Ocellus smiled and trotted towards it. “Now I can see her again!” she muttered as she ran.
“Wait!”
She halted. “What?
The couple looked at each other, and then back at her. “Why don’t we get you dried off first? You’ll catch a cold if you don’t warm yourself up.”
“I will?”
“Yes.” They pushed her by the withers. “Come with us.”
She suddenly remembered about the dangers of contact between changelings and ponies. I should run away. I should tell them no. I should just be on my way. I should get to the library as fast as I can.
“Besides,” Basil added, pointing up to the sky. “Celestia hasn’t even raised the Sun yet. The library won’t be open for a while.”
...Or maybe not. Should I go with them? Maybe I should try and find that alley again and hide there. But looking at the pair of them smiling down on her, and so warmly, too, set her mind at ease. Well, how bad can it be? I already know one pony in town, and she said that nopony would hurt me. I think… I think I can trust her. “Okay. Sorry—I mean, thank you.”
“Of course!” Paprika beamed at her. “It’s been so long since we’ve had foals at our home, and we would love the company.”
Ocellus gulped, but nodded and kept close. The cold air bit at her, and she tightened the shawl around her. It would at least be nice to be dry and warm again.
I hope Rarity’s as okay with me coming to her this early in the morning as they were.
She had seen Carousel Boutique a few times before, but had never been inside. She saw something white move across the window, so she knew somepony was awake. “Hopefully I can just get some help and leave,” Ocellus mumbled. “I know I wouldn’t want to be disturbed from a nice weekend with something serious.”
She got to the front door and knocked. No answer. She knocked again.
“Just a mi-nuuute!” Rarity singsonged from within. She debated on changing to her pony form, but decided against it. Rarity won’t mind if I come in, right? The door opened, and Ocellus knew she had made a mistake. The mare’s sleeping mask over her forehead, and her mane done up in curlers, and the hoof rubbing at her face all showed her she had made a mistake. When Rarity laid her eyes on Ocellus, her slightly grumpy expression turned to one of surprise. “Ocellus? What in Equestria are you doing here? And this early, too?”
Ocellus crossed a leg in front of her. “Sorry, I thought I saw you moving inside, and I thought you were awake, and—
Suddenly, a cat appeared from in between Rarity’s legs. It hissed at her, and Ocellus backed away. “This,” Rarity said curtly, “is Opalescence. You probably saw her moving around. She’s usually awake earlier than I am.”
She looked at the ground. “I’m sorry. I should’ve realized that, I didn’t mean to wake you up. I can come back later.”
“Oh, nonono, darling,” Rarity said as sweetly as a groggily-voiced mare could. “Come in, come in, and I’ll put on some coffee. Do you drink coffee?”
“No, thank you.” Ocellus stepped inside and looked around. As expected, dresses were on display all around. These dresses, however, were a lot more stylized than what she was shown in class. Each one had a particular color as its theme, a different pattern on the breast, and a different fabric and style on the backside. On top of that—or rather, on the bottom of that—each one had a different pair of shoes at the hooves of them.
“Wow!”
“Sh!” Rarity trotted in front of her. “Sorry, but Sweetie Belle’s asleep upstairs, and I don’t want her to wake—”
“Rarity?”
“...Up.” Rarity sighed. “Go back to sleep, Sweetie! We just have a guest.”
But from up the stairs, Ocellus could see the filly poke her head out of the room. Her mane was also in curlers, but she was without a face mask. Her eyes fluttered as she tried to wake up. Ocellus offered an awkward grin and a wave.
“Oh, you’re from the School of Friendship!” Sweetie didn’t go back to bed, but rather came down to them. “You’re… Ocellus, right?”
Ocellus nodded.
“What’re you doing here?” Sweetie asked with a yawn. “It’s so early!”
“I know,” Ocellus said. She turned to Rarity. “And I’m sorry, but I need some help.”
Rarity lightly sighed. “If this is about schoolwork, then couldn’t it wait until later?”
“It’s not schoolwork. I was actually hoping you could do something about my face.”
“Your face?” Rarity leaned towards her. “What’s wrong with… oh, it’s a bit puffy. Allergies?”
“No.” Ocellus looked at the ground. “No, I had a… bad dream.”
“Oh!” Rarity pulled her in. “Don’t worry. Whenever I cry, I know just what to do to deal with baggy eyes. Follow me!”
She accompanied Rarity into the kitchen right next to the display room. As she had expected from a pony as immaculate as Rarity, the kitchen was spotless. Rarity started up a coffeepot for herself, and soon the smell of mocha filled the area, helping Ocellus’s mood a little. “Would you like some, Sweetie Belle?”
“Yes, please.” Sweetie took a seat at the table.
Ocellus looked back at Rarity, who was at her vegetable bowl. “A few slices of cucumber over your eyes should do the trick. They’re very useful with swelling. Did you know that Sweetie Belle here also likes to read?”
Ocellus turned to look at Sweetie, who was looking away with a bashful smile. “No, I didn’t. What do you like to read?”
“Oh, you know,” Sweetie said uncomfortably. “Romance, comedy, fairy tales…”
“Ooh!” Rarity chirped as she chopped some cucumber slices. “Tell her about your love for—”
“Rarity!” Sweetie whined.
“Sorry, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said with a sigh. “I know how much you love it, and I thought it would be nice to share with one of our students.”
Sweetie thought for a moment, but it didn’t look like she would say anything. Ocellus offered her a smile. “It’s okay. We all have our niche interests, right? Mine’s flowers and nectar. I love everything about it.”
Sweetie smiled. “Flowers are pretty cool…”
Ocellus’s curiosity piqued. “Hey, have you ever read ‘Good Night, Little Rabbit’?”
“Um, yeah, when I was really young.”
She couldn’t help but grin. “I read it again last night. It’s a really good story.”
Sweetie smiled. “Yeah, I suppose so. Um… I like reading d…”
“I’m sorry?”
“I like reading dicti…”
“What?”
Sweetie groaned softly. “I like reading dictionaries.”
Ocellus gasped.
Sweetie blanched. “What?”
She couldn’t move.
“Ocellus? Are you alright, darling?”
“You can’t just jump into a dictionary, silly filly.”
“Ocellus?”
She could only take control over her jaw. “Oh, that’s… that’s cool! I tried doing that once, but I was just a tiny whelp back then.” She laughed, which felt like a bunch of pins being jabbed into her body. “What dictionary do you own?”
“Just a Foals’ Dictionary. Nothing fancy.”
“That sounds like a good read!”
Sweetie beamed. “Yeah. I’m trying to work my way up to the Standard Equestrian Ponish Dictionary, ‘cause there are a bunch of cool words in there—”
“May I have those cucumbers now, please?”
“Hm?” Rarity had been sipping her coffee when Ocellus had made the request. “Oh, yes, of course.” She floated two slices over.
“Is your face hurting?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Yyyeah,” she replied, taking the two slices into her hooves. “Thank you.” She placed them over her eyes. “Than—this feels weird.”
Sweetie Belle chuckled. “You’re supposed to close your eyes before putting them on.”
The cucumbers were magically lifted off of her face. Ocellus saw Rarity smirk awkwardly. “Yes, you’re supposed to close your eyes before that. Sorry.”
“Oh.” She blushed. “Oops.” She closed her eyes and felt the cucumbers rest on her lids.
“There!” Ocellus felt Rarity sit next to her. “Let them sit there for a few minutes, and they should help. Now, would you like some breakfast?”
“Oh? Uh, yes please.” Ocellus took a deep breath and let the cucumbers work their magic. She heard clanks and sizzling around her.“What about the dictionary interests you?”
“There are so many words!” She could hear Sweetie bouncing in her seat. “You could pick a random page and learn something new every time! And there’s a sort of… melody, you know?”
“Yeah,” Ocellus said with a shaky voice. “I know what you mean.”
She had waited with the couple for at least an hour before the library opened. After they showed her the building, they had taken her to their home so she could dry off. They had asked her a few questions about herself, but she had wisely clammed up, and they had thankfully dropped the subject. She had to admit, though, that their home was warm, and their couch—which they had allowed her to lie on—was comfortable, especially their pillows.
They had even fed her. They had made some scrambled eggs and baked some bread, and had invited her to eat with them. It wasn’t love, but Ocellus devoured it like a normal filly would. They had even served her seconds, adding some strawberries and orange juice for her. She imagined that this was close to what honeysuckle nectar tasted like.
Then they all continued to sit at the table, and she listened while the old couple talked. She didn’t learn much about them, other than that they loved to garden. Her gaze had wandered, and they eventually fell onto a shelf with, among other knickknacks, a few well-kept—
“Books!” Ocellus pointed at them.
Paprika smiled at her. “Yes, can you read?”
She shook her head.
“Oh.” Paprika raised a brow. “Then why are you going to the library?”
Ocellus began to sweat. “I, um… wanted to know how to read?”
Basil nodded. “See, there’s a good filly. Finding the joy of books, and wanting to teach herself.”
“I also want to see Sweet Scroll again.”
“Oh, the librarian?” Paprika smiled. “Yes, Honey Scroll’s a lovely mare.”
“Honey Scroll?”
“Yes, that’s her real name. It’s a funny story: everypony that met her at the library thought that having honey on a scroll was, well… messy!” Basil laughed. “But the thought of a scroll having sweet thoughts on them was better-received, and ‘Sweet’ was one of her nicknames, so she’s now more known as Sweet Scroll.”
Suddenly, a bell began to sound. Ocellus dove underneath the table. “What is that?”
“Don’t worry, honey,” Basil said, lowering his head with a smile. “It’s just our clock. By the sound of it, the library is now open.”
“It is?” Ocellus shot up, only to bash her head against the table. “Oow!”
Paprika pulled her out of the table. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head clear and then nodded. “Yes, sorry.”
“Darlin’,” Basil said, taking her by the withers. “You shouldn’t apologize so much.” He straightened her up and waited for her to smile before continuing. “Now, why don’t you run along? We’ll clean up while you head to the library.”
“Okay.” Ocellus hurried to the door. “Thank you.”
“You’re sure you’ll be able to find your way?”
“Uhhh, uh-huh!” She felt the pangs of uncertainty rising in her carapace, but she was too excited to care. “Goodbye!” She heard them cry out a “Goodbye!” as she left and made her way to the Mint Meadow Library.
The sunlight shone down on her mildly, and the town was properly bustling as ponies walked to and fro. Ocellus did her best to avoid them, and thankful that nopony else stopped her along the way. She had to backtrack once or twice, but she was able to make her way around a lot more confidently. There were even a few foals running around playing that didn’t pay her any mind, and she was also thankful for that.
After about ten minutes of wandering, and even a correction from an elderly mare, she finally saw the modest entranceway of the library. Her heart pounded, and she couldn’t tell whether it was from excitement or anxiety. Either way, she approached slowly, making sure she didn’t appear too eager.
And yet she pushed the door open hastily and cantered inside. A few early-bird ponies watched her, and for a split second she froze, unsure of what to do. But they turned their heads and went back to reading.
She had made it inside safely. The library was hers.
So Ocellus walked around the shelves looking for Honey Scroll.. Yet as she made her way past some very old-looking shelves, with a lot of muted-colored covers, she came across what was undoubtedly the largest book she’d seen in the library. It was massive, many many times larger than “Good Night, Little Rabbit.” It was elevated on a wooden pedestal, and she would have to stand on her hindlegs to see what was on the pages. Another pony was looking through it, going down the page quickly.
“Excuse me?” Ocellus poked at his leg.
He looked down wordlessly.
“What is that?”
The stallion looked back at the book. “It’s a dictionary.”
“It’s huge!”
“Well, of course it is. It has every word in Equestria in it.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really?”
He groaned. “Yes, really.” He walked away without another word. Ocellus immediately hopped up on her forelegs and looked at the page he had been on.
He had not been lying. There were many, many different words. The writing was small, and as she turned the pages, there were just words upon words upon even more words, a compendium of everything in Equestria! She smiled. “If I learn how to read this,” she said quietly, “then I’ll be able to understand “Good Night, Little Rabbit!”
She reached up and began to lift it. But, as young whelps are prone to do, she overestimated her strength. Her legs shook as she lifted it up. Alas, as she took a step backwards, the large book twisted in her hooves, and fell to the ground with a hard thud.
The noise was enough to make her leap into the air. Once her hooves touched the carpet again, she was petrified. And then a voice came to her.
“What’s going on?”
She gasped and turned her head. Standing around the corner of the shelf, staring at her with narrow eyes, was Sweet Scroll. She looked different. It too a second for Ocellus to figure out what it was: she was wearing clothing, a white button-up blouse and a black skirt. Once Sweet Scroll saw her, her eyes widened.
“Ladybug?” She walked towards her. “What are you doing?”
Ocellus looked down at the book, and then back at her. “I’m sorry!” she moaned. “I just wanted to learn how to read.”
“By reading the dictionary?” Sweet Scroll shook her head and picked the book up. “What were you thinking?”
Ocellus began to whimper. “Someling—I mean somepony told me that every word was in that book, and so I thought that if I could read that, then I could read ‘Good Night, Little Rabbit’ again!” She began backing away.
“Ladybug, wait.” Sweet Scroll trotted up towards her. “Look, honey, you can’t just start off by reading an entire dictionary.”
“Why not?”
For the first time since entering that day, she saw Sweet Scroll smile. “Because you don’t know the basics of reading yet.”
She nodded.
“But you can learn, of course!” Sweet Scroll rubbed her mane. “A little filly like yourself should be reading books for little foals.”
“Like, ‘Good Night, Little Rabbit’?”
“Simpler.” Sweet Scroll gently pushed her along with her forehead. “Come. We’ll find something for you to read.”
Ocellus kept behind her, a few steps away from Sweet Scroll. I messed up. I made her angry because I tried picking up that stupid book! Maybe Protonum was right. Maybe I shouldn’t have come back. She probably wants to get rid of me by now. I’m terrible at deception
“Ladybug?”
She looked back up to see Sweet Scroll waiting for her. “Sorry!” She hurried to her side.
“Now,” Sweet Scroll said, looking into the shelves. “Let’s see. You know, when Pocketwatch and Hourglass brought the book back without you, I was a little sad.”
“You were?”
“Yes. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
Ocellus’s brow furrowed.
“You see—Ah! Here we are!” She pulled out a book with a red cover and something Ocellus had seen inside the couple’s house. “You see, Ladybug, it’s not often that I get to read to a foal. Even more rare is when a foal wants to get a library card afterwards. Reading to you was a nice change of pace.”
“Oh.” Ocellus kicked the ground. “Thanks.”
Sweet Scroll beckoned to her. “Follow me. We’ll sit at the table and read.”
They sat down at a table with sit chairs. Ocellus didn’t like this chair as much as the couches she had sat on, but she wouldn’t dare tell Sweet Scroll. She looked at the book, which had some writing on the bottom, and one large letter in the middle: ‘A’.
“Ladybug?” Sweet Scroll pointed to the object on the page. “Do you know what that is?”
She shook her head.
“You don’t?” Sweet Scroll asked in surprise. “That’s an apple.”
“What’s an apple?”
“You’ve never had an apple before?”
She shook her head.
“We’ll have to ask Pocketwatch and Hourglass to get you one.”
Ocellus shook her head.
“You don’t want one?”
“Oh, no, it’s not that.” She clammed up. Protonum and Elytra have more important things to do than find an apple for me.
Then Sweet Scroll pointed to the letter. “This is an ‘A’. It makes an ‘æ’ sound. Æ, æ, æ. Can you make that sound?”
Ocellus did so. “Æ, æ, æ.”
“Great!” Sweet Scroll patted her on the head. “You’ve just learned how to read your first letter.”
Ocellus’s heart beat more quickly. “I did?” A small smile pulled at her face.
“Now, let’s read a few words.” Sweet Scroll opened the book and stopped on a page with something Ocellus had seen before.
“That’s an ant,” Ocellsu said.
“That’s correct.” Sweet Scroll pointed to the writing above the ant. “See this? ‘Ant.’ Æ, n, n, n, t, t, t. Ant.”
“Ant,” Ocellus repeated.
“Right.” A hoof on the ‘A’. “What sound does this letter make?”
“Æ.”
A hoof on the ‘n.’ “And this one?”
She stammered. “Um, uh… I don’t know?”
“That makes an ‘n’ sound.”
“Oh.” Ocellus looked away. “I’m sorry.”
“Why?”
She looked at Sweet Scroll with confusion. “I failed. I should’ve remembered the first time. I’m sorry.” If the other changelings could see me now, they’d all laugh at me. She closed her eyes and began to sniffle.
“Ladybug, it’s okay to mess up.”
As suddenly as she began to cry, her eyes shot wide open. “What? It is?”
“Yes.” Sweet Scroll draped a foreleg over her back. “It’s okay, Ladybug. You just need a bit of patience. And I’ll be here to help you.”
Ocellus scrutinized her, but found no signs of disingenuousness. “You promise?”
“I promise. I’ll be here to help you, Ladybug.”
She gulped and nodded. “Okay.”
“Now let’s try again.” Sweet Scroll pointed to the ‘n’ again. “What noise does this make?”
‘Nnn.”
“See, there we go!” A hoof on the ‘t.’ “And this one?”
Can I trust her? I… I need to check. “I don’t remember.”
“T,” Sweet Scroll said. “Now you do it.”
“T, t, t, t, t.”
“See? Ænnnt-t-t. Ant.”
“Aaannnt-t.”
“Good job!” Sweet Scroll held up her foreleg. “Hoofbump!”
“What?”
Sweet Scroll smiled, lifted Ocellus’s leg and bumped her hoof into her’s. “Hoofbump.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Wanna keep going?”
Ocellus looked down at the word “Ant.” again. I did it. I read a word. Ant. I can do this. With Sweet Scroll, I can do this. “Yes, please.”
“Wonderful.” The page turned, and there was an apple on the new page. “Let’s read this.”
“Okay.” Ocellus looked at the writing.
“Just take your time, dear. No one’s rushing you.”
She took a breath and looked at the letters. “Æ—App—p-p-p…”
“There we go. You’re getting it.”
“I am!”
“Yes, you are.” Sweet Scroll grinned at her. “Keep at it.”
But at that moment, she couldn’t keep at it. She felt overwhelmed with happiness, and she couldn’t contain herself. She threw herself at Sweet Scroll and hugged her tightly.
“Whoa!” Sweet Scroll steadied herself, and then embraced Ocellus. “There there, Ladybug. It’s okay.”
She couldn’t speak. She just felt so happy, she didn’t want to let go.
“It’s okay, Ladybug,” Sweet Scroll’s soft voice continued to say. “It’s okay.”
“Ocellus, darling, it’s okay.”
She was back in the present. It took her a bit to realize what was going on: she had her legs wrapped around something soft, her eyes were covered with cucumber slices, and she was sniffling again. She let go too quickly, preparing an apology, and nearly fell off of the seat, dislodging the slices from her eyes, but she felt a magical aura catch her. Once she steadied herself and blinked a few times, she sighed.
“I’m sorry,” she whimpered. “I don’t know what’s coming over me. I should leave”
“No, it’s fine!” Sweetie took Ocellus’s hooves into her own. “You just needed to release some stress. We get it.”
“You do?” Ocellus wiped her eyes.
“Yeah. Sometimes we cry when we’re stressed. Right, Rarity?”
“Er, yes.” Rarity patted Ocellus’s head. “You were definitely lost in thought, so we left you alone while we finished the breakfast. Perhaps a good helping of eggs benedict, some toast and orange slices will help you calm down.”
Ocellus looked down at the table. Sure enough, a plate of eggs, toast, oranges and a cup of water had been laid out for her without her noticing. She sighed deeply. “Thank you.”
“No trouble at all!” Rarity picked up her plate and mug and began carrying them to the sink. “Sweetie Belle, make sure to wash your dishes when you’re done, okay?”
“Yes, Rarity.”
“Huh?” Ocellus looked over, and saw that Sweetie’s plate had almost been finished. “How long was I thinking?”
“For a while.” Sweetie nibbled on the last of her toast. “We tried talking to you, but you were out of it.”
“Oh.” Ocellus looked down at her food, already showing signs of becoming cold. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, it’s okay! Really!” Sweetie patted her on the back.
It’s okay, Ladybug. You just need a bit of patience. And I’ll be here to help you.
Ocellus smiled at her. “Thank you.”
“Sure.” Sweetie downed the last of her juice, and then took the dishes with her. “What were you thinking about, anyway?”
She blushed. “I was just thinking about my first time with a dictionary.”
Sweetie turned and looked at her skeptically. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Ocellus blushed. “It was when I was much younger. It was the Unabridged Equestrian Ponish Dictionary.”
Sweetie’s eyes bugged. “Really? I really want that one!”
“Yeah.” Ocellus laughed. “I remember seeing the same one in the School of Friendship. I wanted to learn how to read, so I had thought, what better place to learn than the book that had all of the words, right?”
Sweetie couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, that makes sense.”
“I thought so, too. But the town’s librarian helped me pick out some simpler books to read.”
“Oh?” Sweetie washed dishes as she talked. “That’s pretty neat.”
“Yeah,” Ocellus said, her voice trailing off. “It was.” She began eating her food.
“You let us know if you need anything, okay?” Sweetie had finished washing her dishes, and was walking out of the kitchen. “We’ll be here.”
“Okay.”
I’ll be here to help you, Ladybug.
Ocellus ate slowly, chewing for a long while before swallowing. The food had grown cold, but she didn’t mind it. Rarity had cooked it deliciously, and Ocellus was grateful.
Just take your time, dear. No one’s rushing you.
Ponyville was bustling by the time she finished. She took her plate and cup to the sink and was about to begin washing them, but they flew out of her hooves and floated into the sink by magic.
“Don’t worry about that, Ocellus darling.” Rarity stepped past her. “I can take care of it.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Did it help?”
“What? Oh, yes, it did.” She kicked the ground. “It was good. Thank you.”
Rarity looked back at her. “Oh my, something must really be bothering you.”
She looked at the ground. It shouldn’t. That happened so long ago. “I’m sorry.” When she looked back up, she found a bag of cucumber slices floating in front of her.
“Here,” Rarity said as she put the cleaned dishes away. “You can take care of your face while you deal with this. And I must say, the cucumbers have already helped you!”
“They have?” A mirror was flown over to her. Ocellus looked in and saw that her face and eyes looked less baggy. “Wow! Thank you, Rarity.”
“Of course!” Rarity trotted back out of the kitchen. “Now, if you need anything like this, come back here. But, please try and wait for the sunrise before knocking on my door.”
“Right,” Ocellus said, looking away awkwardly. “I’m sorry.”
“Not a problem, but just for future’s sake.” Rarity walked to her front door. “And now if you’ll excuse me, I have a pet day to attend to. Sweetie Belle?”
The filly arrived from upstairs, a pillow on her back carrying a white cat. “Coming! Opalescence is ready to go.” The cat on her back saw Ocellus and hissed, causing the changeling to back away.
“Um, I should really get going as well.”
“Yes, of course.” Rarity opened the door. “I’m terribly sorry. Opal has a bit of an… an attitude, if you will.”
Ocellus merely offered a smile. “Thank you guys for everything. It’s helped out a lot.”
“Of course!” Sweetie floated the cat and pillow onto Rarity’s back and cantered past them. “See you later!”
“Goodbye, Sweetie Belle!” Rarity turned to her. “Have a good day, Ocellus.”
“You too.” And with that, she walked past them and flew on her way back to the school. “I hope they’re not mad at me for missing so much.”
Remember, Ladybug, nopony’s going to hurt you.
She stifled a sob. “I really need to stop thinking about it. It can’t be fixed.” The school, and her friends, came into view after a while, and she smiled. That, at least, would give her a chance to forget.