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// Chapter 8: Osmond Has A Few Thoughts About This 
// Story: Classroom Changeling 
// by Someguy458 
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I stood there, frozen in shock for what felt like hours. My best friend Osmond just transformed into a bat-pony hybrid right in front of my eyes.

And apparently, he was a girl now.

Despite everything, some tiny part of my mind found this darkly absurd.

Os, meanwhile, was thoroughly shaken. The distant, glazed look in his (or is that 'her' now?) eyes told me he was lost deep in thought.

Then he screamed. "NO!!"

I jumped at his sudden increase in volume. Some of the nearby students who hadn't taken notice now had, and were staring as Os began to freak out.

He pushed himself up from his position on the floor, sitting on his haunches and subconsciously moving his tail into a position to obscure any compromising features. He sat there for a while, wide eyes looking down at his shaking hooves.

"Os?" I asked cautiously (eliciting a few gasps from the onlookers as they realized his identity). "Are you okay?"

He shook his head, not once taking his eyes off of himself. "I... This can't be..."

That settled it; I decided to do something. I turned towards the crowd and stated rather than asked, "Alright, people, don't you have classes to get to?"

Some students mumbled something, and a few actually began to leave, but the majority were still fixated on my friend.

Still, I stood my ground. "That was a hint, y'know. You're not making him feel any better by staring!"

That got the students to become self-conscious of what they were doing. Most of them shuffled off with apologetic looks; the ones who didn't went back to what they were doing beforehand.

I turned back to Os. "Is that better?"

He half-heartedly nodded, managing to look at me and give me a weak, fanged smile.

Then his eyes drifted downwards again. "Why...? Why'd this happen?"

I shook my head, "I don't —"

"I wasn't ready yet."

What?

I stared at him for a moment, brain reeling at what he'd just said. "Ready for what?"

He flinched, unable to look me in the eyes for a moment. Then, in a soft whisper, he mused, "I always was more comfortable around girls..."

My brain misfired, then crashed entirely. "O-Os...?" I stuttered with a great effort. "Are you...?"

A bright blush played across her face as she nodded. "I didn't want to come out with it yet, but yeah."

I sat there, shocked to my very core. The friend I'd known since elementary school... wanted to be a she?

Don't get me wrong: I'm perfectly fine with that kind of thing. It's your preference, and I have no say in it. But in this case, I'd known Os for so long that a secret of this magnitude collided with my perception of her like a bicycle into a freight train.

"I, uh..." I muttered, barely cognizant. "I didn't r-realize..."

She looked up at me with distressed eyes. "I'm sorry... I'll just leave now, if you—"

"Now hold on a second!" I snapped, coming somewhat back to my senses. "What makes you think I'd want that?"

She paused. "Y-you're obviously upset, a-and mad, and you probably hate me for keeping this to myself, a-and..."

I shook my head. "Os, I don't hate you! Sure, this is a lot to take in at once, but I wouldn't stop being friends with you!"

Os, for once, was speechless. She looked at me, as if searching for any sort of deception, and I knew I had to do something.

So, stowing my mental breakdown for later, I lunged forward and hugged her.

She was understandably surprised. "R-Rove...?"

I smiled, "I don't care if you're a boy, a girl, or even a cheese sandwich; I'm here for you no matter what."

After another moment of hesitation, Os returned the hug. We sat there for a while, no doubt eliciting some stares from passerby, but I didn't particularly care.





Eventually, though, we parted the hug. As I let go, I got a good look at her aura. A large part of it was baby blue, with additional wisps of indigo and orange, and—

Wait a second, what's with the trace amounts of pink?

Before I could pursue that thought any further, the bell rang, reminding me that we were still in school. "Looks like class is about to start," I pointed out.

Os deflated slightly, the indigo replacing the baby blue as the dominant color. "Right, I almost completely forgot about that."

"Honestly, so did I."

She chuckled dryly, then stood up and steeled herself. "Well, here goes nothing..."

With that, she unsteadily began to walk down the hallway, leaving me behind.

I took a quick moment to ponder the situation. Osmond turned into a thestral? That much I can handle. Os identifies as a girl? It'll take some getting used to, but I'm certainly not opposed to it.

But why did her aura have pink in it?