It was June 2nd 2020 and school was officially over for the summer. The students at Princess Luna’s School For Gifted Students were very excited to return to their families. Silverstream, a hippogriff filly who had recently been freed from slavery following the conclusion of the Equestrian Civil War, was walking with her friends, Ocellus, Yona, Smolder, Sandbar, and Gallus to the door of the school.
“You excited for the summer, Silverstream?” Gallus asked her, “Finally, you can get out of this place and see Hawk again.”
Silverstream nodded, keeping silent. Ocellus noticed this and gently prompted her, “What are you going to do for the summer, Silverstream?”
“I don’t know yet…” Silverstream replied, her voice barely audible.
Ocellus looked concerned, “Silverstream…can you at least try to talk to us? I know you still have scars from the past and all, but Principal Moonbeam…has expressed concern even though she knows about your plight. Silver, just try?”
Silverstream looked at Ocellus blankly. She knew Ocellus meant well, but she didn’t understand how much she (Silverstream) had been through.
“Forget it,” Smolder said, “Slavery was too much for her.”
“Silverstream, I order you to talk to us.” Ocellus said, hating to do this to her friend. This got Silverstream’s attention and she hurriedly apologized profusely.
“I hate doing this to her…” Ocellus whispered.
“W-what do you w-want to talk about?” Silverstream asked, fearful for her life now, “I’ll talk about anything, just please don’t hurt me……”
Ocellus sighed, “You know what? Forget it. I don’t want to force you. I know you’re going through a lot.” She faced the others, “I’m going to walk her home. You guys can catch the school bus, I’ll just take the train.”
Gallus nodded, “Alright.”
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The two friends walked off the school campus in silence for several minutes. Ocellus could see the other students talking to each other, yapping on and on about typical teenager stuff. Ocellus wished she could talk with Silverstream about that stuff, but she couldn’t. Silverstream wouldn’t know what that stuff was because she didn’t have a normal upbringing.
Silver grew up as a slave to the evil Solar Empire and its leader, Empress Celestia. She was accidentally liberated during a battle in which the peaceful New Lunar Republic took her as leverage against the Empire. Silverstream was cared for by General Hawk of the Lunar Republican Army before she was sent to the school due to a minor run-in with law enforcement [She was trying to protect a pony from being tortured by the officers].
Ocellus remembered how they met. She practically cared for Silverstream all throughout the semester and was there with her when she was recaptured by the Empire. She and Silver got along great, but there were things Ocellus couldn’t do around her friend that she normally could around others. For one thing, she couldn’t visibly show when she was frustrated with something. The one time she did that, Silverstream broke down in tears, thinking she was yelling at her. Silverstream wasn’t your typical 13-year old. She was perpetually mentally scarred by her traumatic upbringing. Ocellus silently cursed Celestia for what she did.
“I’m sorry,” Silverstream said, interrupting Ocellus’s thoughts.
“For what?” Ocellus asked.
“For making you exasperated,” Silverstream replied, “You were frustrated that I wasn’t talking to you guys.”
“Silverstream,” Ocellus told her, “It’s fine. I shouldn’t have ordered you to talk to us. I was only trying to speak to you in a language you understand, but…I have to remember that freaks you out.”
Silverstream nodded, but Ocellus didn’t think she completely understood because she still looked worried.
If only Celestia never kidnapped Silverstream. She would grow up normally and not have been involved in the war in the first place.
“[D Word You] Celestia!!” Ocellus suddenly yelled, hating Celestia more and more for what she did to Silverstream. All the pain, the neglect, the abuse…Silverstream didn’t deserve that. She-
Ocellus heard a whimper and turned around. Silverstream looked terrified, her eyes wide with fear and body trembling.
“Silverstream, I’m so sorry,” Ocellus apologized. Silverstream flinched as Ocellus came near and begged her not to hit her.
“Silver-“ Ocellus began, but she could see that she had scared Silverstream a lot with her outburst.
The two didn’t say anything on the train headed to Ponyville.
When they got to Hawk’s cottage, Ocellus knocked on the door and a tall grey batpony opened the door. Hawk was in his purple guard uniform. Naturally, he had a lot of questions seeing Silverstream in a frightened state. Ocellus explained everything and Hawk nodded in understanding.
“You have to be careful,” Hawk told her, “Silverstream’s practically scared of her own shadow so I’ve seen. Anything can frighten her. Silver, come inside.”
Silverstream obeyed immediately, coming inside and waiting for further orders.
“I don’t like using an authoritative voice with her,” Ocellus told Hawk, “It frightens her.”
‘’So I’ve seen,” Hawk replied, ‘’And I try not to use it either. I try to ask nicely and gently for Silver to do something, but it’s like she doesn’t understand it. Whenever I try it, she stares at me blankly. Has that happened to you?”
Ocellus nodded.
“Well,” Hawk said, “Thanks for walking her home. You better catch the train back to the Changeling Kingdom before 5:34 PM. That’s when they stop.”
Ocellus nodded again. Silverstream said goodbye, Ocellus reciprocated, and closed the door.
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“So, how’s it feel being the mom?” Cornicle, Ocellus’s older brother asked her teasingly.
Ocellus was at home, at the Changeling Kingdom, eating dinner with her family at their house.
“I’m not ‘being the mom’, I-“ Ocellus began, but her father cut her off.
“Why sure you are, hun,” said her father, “You practically raise that hippogriff when she’s with you. And we’re very proud of you for doing so. It’s a noble act, going out of your way to care for someone in need.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Ocellus thanked him, “But to be honest, I’m very worried about her. She’s afraid of almost everything and everyone. That’s not good.”
“Thankfully, she’s got you,” her mother said, “and that batpony general, I keep forgetting his name. Crow?”
“Hawk,” Ocellus politely corrected her mother, “He’s the one who raises her, not me.” But she was wrong about that and she knew it. It wasn’t just Hawk who raised Silverstream. When Silver was at the boarding school, Ocellus was practically a mother to her. She helped her, comforted her when she cried, encouraged her, and was a good friend to her. If Hawk was Silverstream’s father, then Ocellus was her teen mom.
Ocellus spent the night thinking about that fact. She remembered the first time she comforted Silverstream and how she first demonstrated motherly affection for her friend.
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It was back at the School for Gifted Students, in math class, where the teacher, Mrs. Sapphire, asked the class to talk with each other in groups on how to solve an exponential function problem.
Ocellus was already cruising by as she was a genius in math and her tablemates were getting by pretty easy, but she saw that Silverstream in the group across to her couldn’t figure it out.
Silverstream was struggling with the problem, Ocellus noticed, because she looked discouraged and none of her tablemates were lifting a hoof to help her.
“Time’s up!” announced Mrs. Sapphire, “Silverstream, can you tell us how to solve this exponential function? Hint: a table is needed.”
Ocellus was worried. She knew slaves in the Solar Empire grew up illiterate and therefore Silver couldn’t figure out the problem. The most she could do was offer encouragement. Silverstream saw her encouraging look and then spoke: “So…you do this table and…” she hesitated and thought about it, then eventually, she said she couldn’t figure it out. Tears filled her eyes.
Mrs. Sapphire looked surprised, “Silverstream…you were paying attention, right?”
Everyone in the class burst into laughter. Ocellus was shocked at them. It wasn’t Silverstream’s fault she didn’t have a normal education!
As everyone continued to laugh at her, tears were streaking down Silverstream’s face and Mrs. Sapphire wasn’t doing anything to stop them.
Ocellus couldn’t bear to see her friend suffering like that. She flew up from her seat and shouted: “How dare you!! All of you!!”
Everyone stopped laughing and looked at her.
“You all should be ashamed!” Ocellus yelled, “You were all imperial citizens once before Princess Luna split up and formed this Republic! Any one of you could’ve been slaves! You guys think you have it all good and you take for granted the fact you could’ve been suffering under Celestia right now like she did!!” She pointed at Silverstream, who was wiping her tears, “And Mrs. Sapphire, I expected YOU to emphasize the most with her, but you did nothing to stop their laughing! How can you expect to be the First Senator one day if you can’t even practice empathy?!”
Ocellus thought she said enough, so she went down and comforted the crying Silverstream, letting her cry into her hooves.
Just then, Principal Moonbeam barged into the classroom. “What is going on here?!”
“Ocellus here caused a disruption during class,” Mrs. Sapphire said, “To think, I could be teaching flow charts now and running for election.”
Principal Moonbeam nodded in understanding, “Mm. Disruptions. That is not too good. Ocellus, come to my office now.”
Ocellus didn’t move. She knew that was open defiance against the principal, but she could get expelled for all she cared. Her friend mattered more. She just sat there, holding Silverstream in her hooves. Principal Moonbeam stood there, glaring. She said, “Ocellus, I said ‘come to my office now’.”
Ocellus still didn’t move. Finally, Silverstream wiped her tears and got to her claws, “Thanks for comforting me. Hardly anycreatute has done that for me ever.”
“You’re welcome,” Ocellus replied, feeling happy now that her friend felt better, “Now you go back to your seat. I expect that Principal Moonbeam has something important she needs to hear. Alright?”
Silverstream nodded and went back to her group-desk.
Ocellus then got to her hooves and followed Principal Moonbeam to the principal’s office where she told her what really happened.
A while later, Principal Moonbeam brought Ocellus back to the classroom and said to the class: “You all ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”
The other students looked at each other, confused.
“I’m sure Ocellus has told you all,” Principal Moonbeam said, “That your classmate Silverstream comes from a terrible upbringing. She has spent 8 years as a slave to the Solar Empire. Just think, that could’ve happened to any of you if Princess Luna hadn’t saved us from Celestia’s wrath by seceding. You all take freedom for granted, when you are all very lucky to have it. As I said, you all ought to be ashamed of yourselves. If you are not, well then you can just leave the Republic and experience Silverstream’s plight for yourselves.”
Ocellus noticed that the other students now looked very regretful and ashamed. Principal Moonbeam went up to Mrs. Sapphire and said, “Something like this must never happen again. I expect you to discipline them next time, got it?”
Mrs. Sapphire nodded. Finally, Principal Moonbeam went over to Ocellus and said, “You did the right thing by telling me. Now aren’t you glad you went with me to my office?” When Ocellus nodded in agreement, Principal Moonbeam left the room, saying: “Ciao.”
The classroom door closed behind her.
Ocellus quickly developed a big reputation after that. Gallus and Smolder, who formerly picked on her, approached her later that day.
“I take back everything I said about you,” Smolder told her, “I had no idea you had the guts to stand up to a whole classroom, even the principal, for your friend. That was cool!”
“You’re totally on the team now,” Gallus added, “You know, if you and Silverstream want to hang out with us sometime.”
Ocellus came up with a witty response that shocked both creatures, “Maybe. We’ll see.”
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Ocellus smiled, thinking of that day. The conditions she gave Gallus and Smolder was that they had to stop bullying her and not ditch class like they had been doing.
It worked until after the war, when Gallus and Smolder became troublemakers again. Smolder’s reasoning for that was that she was “restoring things back to normal.”
But nothing would be normal. For Cozy Glow, a vengeful filly at the school, viewed Silverstream’s new life of freedom with disdain. And she was going to take it away. The conspiracy would only start though as soon as Hawk won the presidency of the Republic.