//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Equestria - Ocellus and the Princess/The Magic of Friendship // Story: Star Wars: The Trials of the Force (Part One) // by Admiral Producer //------------------------------// The doors to the throne room slammed shut, leaving Twilight and Ocellus alone. Ocellus wasn’t sure what Twilight wanted, whether it was to question her or ask how she was doing. She figured it was most likely the former as there was a crisis going on involving magic and now any student was subject to suspicion, including her. Instead of outright questioning her, Twilight took a deep breath, stepping gently towards her like a mother comforting a distraught child. She looked Ocellus in the eyes, a look of sincere concern amidst the creases of stress on her face and spoke seven words that shocked Ocellus to her core, “I know what you’re going through, Ocellus.” “Wait, how did you know?” Ocellus asked, “I thought…time reset and…I was the only one left with my memories. Well besides Citrine Spark now, I guess.” “I know because I remember Silverstream as you do,” Twilight answered, “I saw gaps in my memories. I remembered Silverstream being a part of the student body and the moment I didn’t see her among you guys, I sensed something had happened. But I’m not sure what. What happened, Ocellus?” Ocellus felt like bursting into tears again and hugging Twilight right then and there, but she refrained, “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You remember too! That’s good! You can help me find her! It was my fault! I failed to save her from falling through one of those vortex holes! I watched her fall, possibly DIE, and then the day reset and no one remembered her! I was so scared! I felt like I was going insane, but I’m not!” Twilight put a hoof out to stop her rambling, “Ocellus, calm down. I remember her, but I’m afraid she is not a part of this world anymore, nor of this reality. We can’t find her.” Ocellus’s relief turned to dread in an instant, “Does that mean she really…” She couldn’t finish the sentence and was instantly relieved when Twilight shook her head. “No,” Twilight replied, “She is not dead. Somehow…I can feel in my gut that she isn’t. But she is not a part of this reality anymore. Whatever happened that day…she’s no longer anywhere in Equestria. Nor is she on this planet.” “Where did she go?” Ocellus asked her, “Will I…ever see her again?” “I don’t know,” Twilight admitted, “Frankly, space and time is still a concept to which even I know very little. The fact that she’s not here, but not dead…it raises a lot of questions. But until we can figure this out…I’m afraid you’re going to have to try and move on from her.” “Move on from…” Ocellus couldn’t believe what she was hearing, “No. You can’t be serious. She’s my best friend! She was such a huge part of our lives. She changed our lives. You can’t expect me to just…give her up…” “Ocellus,” Twilight told her, “Consider the situation. We are in the midst of a crisis that could destroy all magic. I wish I could help you, but I can’t. Even if we were to time travel using the map again, we wouldn’t know where to go nor how to find her. Not to mention, with magic disappearing, we have no way of using any form of time spell.” “But I…I let her…” Ocellus was cut off by a hoof on her shoulder. “You didn’t kill Silverstream,” Twilight assured her, “Whatever happened that first day…it wasn’t your fault. You have to stop blaming yourself for things that were outside of your control. From what I’ve seen the previous day, you couldn’t have saved her, even if you tried your very best, which I am sure you did.” “Why?!” Tears were leaking down Ocellus’s eyes. She didn’t stop them. She didn’t expect Twilight, the Princess of Friendship and ruler of Equestria, to tell her to move on from a friend, “Why can’t we find her?! Why can’t I just have her back with us?! That’s all I want! Why can’t I just have this one thing?! I’ve never wanted anything more…they’re my friends. They accepted and welcomed me when no one else would with me being a changeling. Silverstream never judged me. She never thought me weird. None of the others did…” “I know,” Twilight said sadly, “It’s a hard loss to bear. And frankly, if it was my choice, I’d help you. I really want to. If it were my choice, I’d search the ends of time and space to find Silverstream and bring her back. As your friend, I’d do it in a heartbeat. But as now the only ruler and sovereign of this nation, I have a duty to my subjects. I have to put Equestria first, as much as it pains me to do so. You know I can’t just leave and endlessly search the cosmos for a mere 1% chance we’d find her.” She sighed, “Being a Princess has always been hard. To step into the limelight and tell those ponies…that I’m resolute about a decision, to be that figure of authority that they need, when I second-guess myself all the time…But I never gave up because Celestia and Luna trusted me…You shouldn’t give up either. There are tons of other friends…waiting for you out there if you just give them a chance to know you. You know that’s what Silverstream would want.” Ocellus nodded slowly, choking on tears, “I’ve just been…too afraid to open myself up to other ponies…the only reason I sought out Citrine Spark was because of her connection to Silverstream. I didn’t even like her initially…my friends who I have now have always been my comfort zone…” “Now’s the time to change that,” Twilight encouraged her, “You have an opportunity now. Don’t waste it. Get out there and open yourself up to the world. If there’s any way you can convince your classmates that you are innocent of this whole mess is to try and be their friend. Make them see that you are more than just the stereotypes they want to paint you in. It’s time you take the lessons of friendship that you learned and apply them as you did when rallying your kingdom against Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow. You opened yourself up then. Do it now. But consistently.” Ocellus sniffled, wiping her tears away. She looked up at Twilight, “Thanks…I really appreciate you talking to me about this…I needed someone. Really.” “This is what friends do,” Twilight replied, smiling kindly, “Whenever you need any counseling, remember, Trixie is there for you at school. I’m here in Canterlot, and Starlight and Sunburst would be happy to talk to you as well. You know where to find me if you need any help. I’m always there. Now go. I have my friends and the Pillars coming in just 5 minutes.” “Thanks again, Twilight,” Ocellus thanked her, “I promise I won’t let you down.” “That’s a good girl,” Twilight said, “Go join the rest of your friends. They should be waiting for you by the station.” Ocellus nodded. With renewed purpose, she ran out of the doors of the throne room. Her outlook was different now. After being able to talk with Twilight about her feelings, she now had a determination to not let Twilight down. She would always miss Silverstream. But she knew that the hippogriff would’ve wanted her friend to make more friends. And she would do that. She would take the lessons she had learned and apply them at school, and in society. As Twilight watched one of her former students leave to take on the world, she felt tears of pride coming down her face, knowing that she had done something right. She had set Ocellus on the right path and this was something she did not regret, not even in the slightest. Celestia and Luna would be proud of her. ——————————————————————————————————————————————— Meanwhile, Starlight, Sunburst, and the students were waiting by the train station for the Friendship Express to pick them up. The train had been delayed 15 minutes for some mysterious reason and they had no idea why. Just as she was about to tell everyone to start walking back, Starlight saw something out of the corner of her eyes. It was Ocellus, running towards them. “Ocellus!” everyone exclaimed. Most of the students were relieved to see that she was okay, and some who were still paranoid grumbled about the fact that she was still alive. Her friends were the most excited to see her, and so was Starlight and Sunburst. “Are you okay?” Starlight asked, “You weren’t in trouble, weren’t you?” Ocellus shook her head, smiling, “Twilight helped me. She talked to me about what I was going through. I’m ready to move on now.” “Move on from what?” Sunburst inquired. “I’ll tell you about it on the train.” Ocellus replied. Right as she said that, the Friendship Express came into view, finally reaching Canterlot. Ocellus assumed that security must’ve been tight at the gate following the Mirror incident, but it didn’t matter. As everyone got on the train, Ocellus took one last look at Canterlot before going inside herself, silently thanking Twilight again. She didn’t know how the magic situation would be solved, but she had faith that Twilight and her friends would fix it and make things right. Right now, she had to concentrate on her own life and making friends. As the doors closed automatically, the train sped away from Canterlot, disappearing into the horizon as the Council of Friendship and the Pillars of Old Equestria arrived at the castle for the meeting.