//------------------------------// // Ocellus gets stranded // Story: Ocellus gets stranded // by Alank2 //------------------------------// Ocellus shuddered, looking at the ship that would take her on a long, long journey west. It was a pony-designed vessel, with a name “Ocean Lily” visible on her sides, relatively new but with an experienced crew. It was also big, the biggest ship she saw – granted, she didn’t have that much knowledge about shipbuilding, but it looked much more impressive in person then in her books. While changelings did have ships, they were far behind in shipbuilding technique compared to Equestria, despite hard work of Hivesadmiral Lysander. Ships were just not the highest priority of the new changeling nation. The ship was now in Neverwarm Point, in a port furthest west in Changeling Lands. As fitting for its name, it was cold there today, especially in the early hours of morning. Changelings were quite resistant to low temperatures – in fact, a lot of their territory was covered in snow for most of the year. And it was summer. But it was still cold enough to be uncomfortable. Of course, that was not the reason why she was shaking a little. When she came home for the summer break, the last thing she expected was to be approached by King Thorax himself and invited to what could be the most important moment in recent Changeling history. There were always rumors about shapeshifting creatures on Gryphus, and even on Zebrica. Most believed them to be servants of one of their gods, others thought them to be just another less-known race of magical beings. Some, more superstitious or faithful, whispered that there creatures were demons, agents of Maar created to sow war, dissent and death upon the world. However, recently, there was a new rumor. A nation of Greneclyf, an extremely isolationist island that was closed to almost all outsiders for as long as anycreature could remember, was opening up. The island sent its representatives to neighboring nations, asking for trade and treaties. And unlike all the previous rumors, these were strangely accurate in depictions of those representatives. They were, without a doubt, changelings – or the person spreading the rumors had a very in-depth and accurate knowledge of their race, knowledge impossible to find on Gryphus. This raised many questions. There were no reports, nor memories of any Changelings outside of Thorax and his Hive. How did they come to live on a small island in the eastern Gryphus? How did they managed to survive for so long, living on an isolated island? And why are they opening up now? There were too many questions, and the matter too important to just let it be. Thorax, with the help of Equestria, decided to fund an expedition to Greneclyf. Going all the way north and east, around Gryphus, would take very long time, and the waters around Dread Peninsula were notorious for ships disappearing. No local navy was present there to even investigate, let alone protect them. And the way south would take way too long, and require stopping and buying supplies all the away – not counting possible pirate encounters around Macawia. With this knowledge, Thorax decided on a simpler route – west. The world was round, as was known for thousands of years, and if they just sailed westward, they would reach Gryphus soon enough. The only problem? The Panthalassic Ocean was never crossed before. It wasn’t even that big – while bigger then Celestial Sea in its widest spot, it should still be easier to reach Greneclyf that way, then going on a much longer journey around Gryphus. It's just that no one ever managed it before, not that many tried. To make sure they would reach their goal, the expedition’s ship was carefully selected. Extremely sturdy, it was originally created for sailing through the White Gulf, north from Pingland Republic, in the treacherous, ice-filled waters, and it passed through there many times without incident. It survived scary storms and dangerous weather without any issues. Getting through the ocean should be of no problem for it. Especially with the changeling ability to shapeshift. Flying scouts would notice any dangerous weather long before it reached them, and in case of sails being damaged, they could even pull the ship for a long time. Thorax asked Pharynx to delegate the strongest changelings, with greatest ability in changing into fastest flying and biggest swimming forms. As a result, there was no situation that any of the sailors on board could imagine that would stop the ship from safely reaching its destination. Worst case scenario, if the ship somehow fell apart for no reason, there were enough changelings on board to carry the pony sailors to the closest continent. And Ocellus knew all of that. And being a changeling, she was at even smaller risk then the sailors. But she was still scared a little. There could be some reason that nocreature knew why no ship ever made it through. What if there was some kind of mythical, powerful creature there? Like evil Discord? Or underwater Sombra? And of course, there was also a matter of what awaited her when they arrive. These Greneclyf changelings were not transformed – they were still in their old, love-addicted forms. They will need to learn the new way, and Ocellus herself knew how big of a change that would be. A totally new society would soon arise, much different then before. And that’s assuming they are friendly, and won’t react with suspicion and hostility. Because of they do, despite all the big and important changelings on board, Ocellus had a very good grasp of the fact that she was, somehow, the most experienced person on board when it came to diplomacy. And would be inevitably the most important person in the first contact. Her! She wasn’t even a full adult! Suddenly, a strong – very strong – pat on the back broke her train of thought. “You’re going to worry yourself to death, kid. Stop that.” It was Pharynx, of course. He was the only changeling who would put so much force into a pat on the back, she almost lost balance and fell on the cold ground. The defender of the hive continued, “You are worse than Thorax sometimes, I swear. I thought you defeated some powerful monster in that school of yours, but you’re still as nervous as when you were a grub.” “Pharynx!” Ocellus went almost entirely red. “I was just a little grub back then!” “And you got scared by feeding. You are lucky you didn’t grow up in the old Hive.” He said almost-menacingly, although with an amused smile that took the edge off these words. “Pharynx! Stop scaring Ocellus.” Thorax sighed. Being a King was a big responsibility, one he took with pride. But sometimes, it was just separating two changelings acting like kids. “Don’t worry, the ship is fully supplied, and I made sure the changelings on board can deal with any emergency.” He told Ocellus, trying to calm her down. “And by that you mean, you dropped into my room, said ‘find me some good flyers and some big swimmers’, and left without explanation.” Pharynx commented dryly. “Good leader needs to know how to delegate. That’s why I asked Hivesadmiral Lysander to take care of procuring the ship from Equestria, I asked you for the security, and I asked Ocellus to help with the first contact. See, everything is planned!” Thorax beamed with pride. “Yes, yes, keep telling yourself that. Did you do anything yourself in this expedition, or you just stood there, looking shiny and all?” Thorax deflated and Pharynx smiled widely. “And speaking of Lysander…” “No, I will not change my mind. I only let him have the Hivesadmiral title because it existed before. I will not give you the title of Panzergeneral, and you still haven’t told me where did you even find that title!" “In a book.” Pharynx answered smugly. “What book?” “Very good one.” Seeing the two brothers bicker friendly, Ocellus felt herself relax a little. It was something she knew and was familiar with, and made her realize how much work everyone put into making sure the ship – and her – would reach the Greneclyf safe. She smiled, and looked at the vessel in a new light. It may actually be alright. Some part of her was really happy to meet those changelings, and make new friends! Who knows what they can learn from each other. She got lost in happy thoughts, thinking about all the nice things that may happen for a change. “Listen, kid.” Pharynx said from behind her; she didn’t even notice when two brothers stopped fighting. “Probably nothing bad will happen, and you will come back here with a new, happy Hive, reformed, sparkly and all. But in case something does, and one of the changelings on board comes back here saying you need help, you will get it.” He looked at her with all the seriousness of the hive protector. “You will need to be brave, and make me proud. And know that I will come and save you, if you need me. You are just as important to me as anyone else, even if you waste all your time in that pony school.” “Pharynx…” Thorax groaned. “What? It’s true, she needs to learn how to be a proper changeling, not a pony. Or some other creature. Gah, why am I wasting my breath. Go, Ocellus, and make Panzergeneral Pharynx proud!” He patted her on the back again, and this time she was ready. Of course, he knew it, so the ‘pat’ was so strong she barely managed to stood up anyway. “That is not a real title, you don’t read books, stop hitting Ocellus and why did I make you my closest advisor again?” “How do ponies say that, ah yes, she needs to grow a spine!” “We have exoskeletons Pharynx…” “A true changeling can grow whatever they need!” Ocellus stood on board, surrounded by endless water. As predicted, the flying changelings above helped them avoid any bad weather, and the journey was absolutely easy and calm. No accidents, no sea monsters, nothing but blue sky and equally blue ocean. She sighed with content, breathing in the calming smells of the ocean, water, salt, and light breeze. It was so nice and relaxing. She found it surprisingly easy to relax, either in her cabin, or here, on board, hearing the waves and slight wind. She, of course, spent her time productively. If Greneclyf was indeed a changeling nation opening up, she had to know their neighbors, as well, in case they have questions. It was the best way to avoid paranoia that usually comes with a shapechanging race, answering all questions and assuring everycreature of their good intentions, and then proving said intentions. And that area proved to be quite fascinating, if a little scary. Ocellus took some books with her on board, with some weak charms protecting them from ever-present humidity, and was reading them carefully in preparation for her role in the upcoming days. Speaking of which, she headed down, and grabbed her notes from her cabin. She decided to do a quick review of local political situation before reaching Gryphus. Closest to Greneclyf were the Hillponies, an alliance of Farbrook, Fritree Villages and Watertown. Small enclaves of ponies, surrounded by griffons and diamond dogs, they were almost as reclusive as Greneclyf used to be. There was very little about them in books, but Ocellus was hopeful – after all, they were ponies, and she had a lot of experience with ponies. North from them, a grim Acrturian Order was keeping watch over Dread Peninsula. Ocellus really hoped that the tales of horrible monsters on the Peninsula weren’t true, but if her studies of ancient history proved anything, it was unlikely. She just hoped she will never have to encounter any. Aside from that, knights were also isolationist and reclusive… she was starting to have a feeling that this was a theme in this area. South from Greneclyf was the River Federation. A peaceful federation, they were probably the best neighbor to have, not expansionist and open to trade. She had high hopes for them accepting the reformed Hive and becoming a strong ally. If the ocean proves to be easy to cross, maybe even Changeling Lands could trade with them! It’s always good to have more allies. As is sensing her hopes, the world decided to interrupt her reading with a commotion above her, on deck. She put her notes down – not that she truly needed them, she already memorized everything in there some time ago – and went back up, only to see confusion and worry spreading among everycreature there. Sailors were looking down at the ocean, some changelings were circling above them in the air in various forms, and others were getting ready to jump into the water. She realized moments later that something was wrong. It took her a moment longer to realize what. The air suddenly grew… silent. She shivered, a feeling of oppressive silence descending on her. There was no bird visible above them, no fish as far as she could see… only the ocean that suddenly felt cold and alien. She felt like she was looking at her own grave, Come on, Ocellus, put yourself together! What’s wrong with you, she thought, but then she noticed something. Everyone was spooked. From the strongest changeling to the smallest pony mare on board, they were all scared. “I tell you, it was something in the water, and then this… this!” One of pony sailors gestured widely. “We need to turn back, there is nothing good here!” The changeling she spoke to tried to answer, but whatever he would say was impossible to hear in the sudden sound of wood tearing. The ship shuddered, everyone trying to grab what they could, railings, mast, each other. And then… Ocellus would never forget what she saw in that moment. Something slowly crawled out of the water, trying to grab everyone who was still on board. When asked later, she would never be able to describe it. It was like some kind of tentacles, but… wrong. Her head hurt from looking at them. It felt like there was an illusion cast upon them, hiding their true form; but the longer she looked, the more… alluring, and scary it would become. She was paralyzed with fear and fascination. What kind of creature could it be? Just looking at her, it was also… strangely calming. It felt like her thoughts drifted away, and she surrendered to the cool, inevitable felling of… The screams managed to get her out of her stupor. She now felt the full brunt of the unnatural, clearly magical fear, choking her, making it impossible to think. And the horrible screams around her! She couldn’t look, she didn’t want to listen, she just wanted it to stop! She subconsciously turned into a rock, and dropped on board, not seeing, hearing or feeling anything. She took this shape on reflex, but it saved her life. A small, blind and deaf stone was not visible in the slowly drowning wreckage of the once proud ship. As other changelings try to fly or swim away, fight back or escape, the sky and sea changed into a hellish nightmare. But Ocellus was safe, in her fear almost unconscious, her thoughts too weak to be felt by the ancient evil around her. Ocellus had no idea how long she spent there, in the water, as a stone. Hours? Days? All she knew was that when the unnatural fear passed, and she could think again, she was at the bottom of the ocean. There was no sign of the ship, or anyone else. Fish slowly came back, carefully and skittishly, as if knowing that something unnatural happened here. It was like the ship never existed. Almost nothing remained. Ocellus instinctively changed into a fish and looked around, finding only the smallest pieces of wood, and nothing else. She was truly alone. She wanted to cry. She was now by herself, in the ocean haunted by things she couldn’t even imagine. Was that how her professors felt when they faced all those ancient evils? If so, she didn’t want that! She wanted to go home, to Thorax, to Pharynx! Away from all this. ‘Hey, Ocellus, come on.’ She suddenly heard in her mind and she looked around, like she expected to see Gallus standing next to her, or knowing him, lying on the sand lazily. ‘You’re not going to just give up and leave their changelings to their fate, are you?’ No, she couldn’t. But it was so, so scary… what was it professors told her about fear? The worst thing is not what caused it – it is fear itself. If you let go of it, you will find that things are not as scary as you think. But, she was alone now! At the bottom of some kind of, of cursed magical ocean with monsters in it! How could she do anything now? She wished she was as brave as some of her friends. She was very smart, and she knew her friends were really impressed by it many times, but she was never as brave as they were. How could she do this? ‘Hey, I learned to do homework, even the boring one! You can be brave too, you know.’ ‘You still procrastinate until the last moment, Gallus.’ ‘Yona agrees with Gallus! Ocellus really strong inside, like professor Fluttershy! Best bug friend brave, she helped fight evil pony!’ ‘If Gallus can procrastinate but still do his homework, you don’t need to be perfectly brave. Just be yourself! And trust me, you will be. Like professor Fluttershy is!’ ‘Why is everyone so obsessed with my procrastination?!’ Ocellus felt herself smile a little. That’s right. She was never truly alone. Her friends were far away, but they were still inside her. She could feel their love, their warmth, remember their conversations. And their courage, when facing certain death at the hands of Cozy Glow and her crazy plan. Their will to not give up, to fight, for all of them. She was not going to disappoint her friends! If she never comes back, and they never learn what happened to her, it would break their hearts. She must be strong, she must go on! Alright, now. Where do I go, what do I do, far away from home? She was closer to Gryphus, much, much closer – in fact, they were supposed to see Greneclyf soon. She had to go there, definitely faster and less risk of being noticed by… those things… then coming all the way back to Equestria. She was lost, but there were many species possessing amazing sense of direction. She could find her way east. And once on Gryphus, she could help the changelings, and then send a message home. Even if it has to go through entire continent, it will reach Eqeustria eventually. And she can be rescued! Ocellus steeled herself. Thank you, my friends, she thought, as she changed her form and traveled east. I will be brave, like you are, and come back home, I promise! Ocellus fell flat on the sand, exhausted beyond imagination. She made it! She found the big island, Greneclyf, and managed to reach it. The monsters from before did not appear, apparently not noticing her. She was truly thankful for that. But now, she was just exhausted. She crawled a little higher, to make sure the waves won’t reach her, and fell asleep. Her dreams were full of darkness. A horrible, cold laughter of the Voice sounded in them, as she stood in the dark halls made of black, polished stone. Monsters roamed the land, the sea and the sky. Worse even were those who hid. She could see her friends, family, everyone she knew; but they were not them, their eyes were red and black, and they laughed like the Voice did. Ocellus cried, and tried to run away, but there was no escape. In her desperation, somehow aware it was a dream, she called weakly. “Luna… Luna!” The Voice only laughed harder, as the darkness grew thicker. “Luna! Please, I need you!” “… Ocellus?” Her voice was weak, like a whisper from far away, but it instantly weakened the darkness. “Yes, it’s me! I need your help…” “Ocellus… why are you there?” She sounded tired, and… scared? “Why?” “What? Thorax, he sent me here to find other changelings! Luna, it was horrible, monsters attacked, and I am the only one left!” “Ocellus, listen to me.” Her voice was now tense, and even more tired. “We cannot talk for long. There is darkness in here that I cannot hold for long. Guard your dreams, and to not believe anything you hear in them. I will do what I can, but for now, go and remember. Your dreams are no longer safe.” “Princess Luna? What do you mean? Princess?!” Ocellus fell back into the darkness, but fortunately, this time it was just darkness. The Voice was silent. A smallest of blessing Luna could give her without gaining attention of… things hiding in there. The Princess of the Night braced herself, and tried to find the dream of Thorax. She needed to bring the news, again. She was wondering for a moment how many other students will use her as emergency postal service this summer. She pulled herself into his dream, the remains of it changing rapidly. She ignored what it was moment ago – she saw it before, and it was not her policy to intrude upon others personal dreams. Thorax, quite confused, looked around, now realizing full he was dreaming, a useful effect of her intervention. “King Thorax.” “Queen, I mean Princess Luna. Excuse me, this is just… confusing.” He shook his head. “I take it you have some urgent news? Is it about Ocellus? She should have reached Greneclyf already.” “Yes, I bring a message from her. But first, Thorax, know that she is not alone there.” Luna stopped taking for a moment, trying to find a way to explain it. “There is… darkness there. It has many names, and many faces, but it is powerful. Too powerful for me to fight it so far away from Equestria. I cannot reach her dreams from here.” “Darkness? But, Celestia haven’t told me anything about it when I asked about Gryphus!” He protested. “And one of Princess Twilight’s student is from Gryphus, isn’t he? Why didn’t she warn Gallus?” Thorax was confused, and now growing worried. “The matters of the dream world are not something the other Princesses are concerned with, or able to offer much help with, as long as it does not spill into the waking world. And this creature, of sorts, is trapped within the dream world. Its influence in the waking world is severely limited.” She hesitated for a moment. “Frankly, I do not know why Ocellus has its attention, but she does. Her ship was lost, and while she made it, she is now alone.” “Are you telling me that this, whatever this creature is, is now threatening Ocellus?” Thorax did not sound pleased. “You should have told us, the Princesses and me at least, about this danger. I understand you did not think it was important, but now Ocellus is in danger, and others are dead!” It was rare for Thorax to raise his voice, or get angry. Turns out learning that dozens of your changelings died just because Princess Luna did not think to share something like that was actually enough to rile him up. “I agree that my actions were mistakenly taken, and if I remained in Equestria I would have realized the danger and warned you. Alas, I cannot do anything but offer my apologies.” Luna did indeed apologize. She never thought it may happen; barely any of her little ponies ventured to Gryphus, and none of them ever had that taint, that darkness on them upon returning. It seems that this darkness was satisfied just existing on Gryphus, and never paid attention to visitors. “I understand that you feel sorry, but you must understand that I do feel anger, too. Both changelings and ponies died.” This was the first time Thorax’s decision directly led to deaths of anyone. He found out he really disliked it. Hated it, in fact. What kind of leaders is he, if his first big intercontinental diplomatic mission ends like this? “Yes. And it will be another mistake on my conscience, that will last for a long time.” “What can we do, then? We must save Ocellus!” Thorax started thinking. They needed more ships, and this time, they need to be ready. Whatever monsters attacked Ocellus, if they saw a fully armed Changeling convoy, they should hesitate. “I do not believe we should do that.” Luna said, hesitantly. “Please understand, I am always ready to fight any darkness, but what I found there… it was beyond my expectations. If you are going to face it, you may find it stronger then you expect.” “I thought you said it is contained in the dream world?” He responded with a question, even more worried about Ocellus. “He is, but his influence warps whatever he touches. I fear these monsters may be just that; a product of dark, dream magic, infesting the waters. It is immensely dangerous.” There was a long moment of silence. Or at least Thorax thought it was long; time was not flowing normally in the dream world. Finally, he asked: “Princess, if I understand correctly, you are now in the heart of darkness, are you not? Fighting ancient cults, powerful rituals and dark sorcerers, and remnants of your own corrupted power, far from Equestria?” “That is correct.” “And you do it to save you children, who strayed from you for a thousand years?” “Of course. How could I not? It was me who led them to this dark place, even if indirectly.” “So, if you ordered your thestrals to go on a dangerous mission unknowingly, and it was in your power to save them… you would? No matter how far, and how dangerous it was?” This time, it was Luna’s turn for a moment of silence. “You are much stronger ruler then when we first met, King Thorax.” “You can count on that, Princess Luna. I had good neighbors to show what being a ruler means. And among those traits a ruler should possess, Loyalty is the one I shall invoke now. No matter what stands on my way, Ocellus will be saved.” He answered with more conviction then he felt. He woke up, and found himself shaken. He knew every single one of those changelings; some were even with him, on that day, in the throne room, where all changed. And now… they’re gone. Because of him. But Ocellus won’t be, he swore to himself. And he knew just how to achieve it. He took a deep breath. “Pharynx!”