New Era

by Atlantean

Chapter One

Ocellus followed close behind her mentor, her saddlebags filled with books, quills, ink, and paper. She couldn’t help but smile, A few years ago she would never have dreamed that one day she would be the personal student of Princess Twilight Sparkle.

"So what can you tell me of the lords of Aquinas?" Twilight asked as they strolled down the hall.

"Um... The royal family claims to decide from a pony named Lux, who holds divine status. From what I read about King Highever, he is an honorable stallion, as is Duke Dawn. Baroness Terra and Duke Umbrawing are both said to be cunning and shouldn't be trusted," Ocellus recalled, knowing that her mentor knew all this already. "There are more, but those are the ones of note."

"Correct, and which of the lords will be in Canterlot next week?" Twilight questioned as they turned a corner.

The thought of next week filled Ocellus with unease, as she knew she was to join Twilight in meeting with those lords. "King Highever and his third son, Aqua Dawn, as her grandfather dislikes ships and Duke Umbreawing." At least if I recall correctly. Then again, it could have been the baroness, as the king and Umbrawing are said not to get along.

"Good. Oh, have you finished reading Clover the Clever's book on glamor spells?" Twilight smiled as they entered the castle library. Spike was flying around reordering the books after Starlight's search for a tome on the Crystal Empire. The scrolls and tomes still needing organization were piled on two tables, along with a few odd scrolls that didn’t fit into any of the categories.

Spike didn't notice them at first as he was double-checking if the last book he placed was in the correct spot.

"Ah, Spike, could you get me a copy of Customs of the West? I need to brush up on them before next week." Twilight's voice made Spike nearly drop the books he was holding.

Spike glanced around for a moment till he spotted them. "I’ll get on it right away once I finish up here." Spike then returned to his task at hoof.

"Thank you!" Twilight turned back to Ocellus. "So, where were we?"

"On Clover the Clever's book on glamor spells," Ocellus answered, pulling to mind what she had read so far. "He placed high importance on rubies as they can be used to bend the light around them. He wrote of using smaller ones to keep things hidden in plain sight, along with the use of larger ones."

"And what are some of the sign that something under a glamor spell?" Twilight questioned as they took a seat at one of the tables by the window.

Ocellus took a seat opposite her mentor. This one I learned for Queen Chrysalis, though Clever did write well of it. "If used to conceal items, look for something ordinary that you wouldn't spare a second glance. If used on a pony there will be small things, such as mane and tail changing colors, a haze about them and they may seem teller or shorted at times."

Twilight nodded as a letter appeared in a puff of smoke. She read it and sighed. "Seems I'll have to reschedule our lesson for the day. Thank a certain Draconequus."

Ocellus nodded in understanding. Discord was something that nopony could plan for. "Would it be okay if I spent the day with my friends then?"

Twilight smiled. "That would be an excellent idea. Wait, they're all in town?" she asked, before standing.

Ocellus nodded. "Yes, Silverstream, Gallus, and Yona arrived yesterday. We planned to spend time at Friendship Clubhouse after my classes of the day."

"Well, seems you can go earlier then." Twilight turned to leave. "Oh, and be sure to tell them hello for me."

A few years ago it would have taken a few hours to reach the clubhouse. The Everfree was large, dark, and forboding. Even with the new path to the old castle, it was rare that anypony used it. With all the times that Ocellus had gone to the clubhouse, she had only seen a hooffull of ponies. Most had been tourists from one of the major cities. A few had wandered off the road, luckily they had all been found. Even a fool mare from Los Pegasus who thought she knew a shortcut.

Ocellus had looked forward to spending time with all her friends. She hadn't seen Gallus for some time, as he had joined the Griffin Army. Silverstream would drop in every so often, as would Yona. Smolder had moved to Ponyville after finding she was fond of it. Sandbar lived in Ponyville too, so he was always nearby. It was rare they could all get together.

I wonder what everyone’s been up too? Ocellus thought as the Castle walls came into sight, with the clubhouse just beyond. She started to walk a bit faster, eager to see her friends. Just outside the clubhouse, Gallus, Silverstream, and Smolder raced about, as Yona and Sandbar watched from the ground cheering them all on.

"Hey Ocellus, you’re just in time to see the end of the race!" Sandbar called upon noticing her.

"Oh, who’s winning?" Ocellus asked, sitting down next to Yona and Sandbar.

"Silverstream is just enjoying flying around, so it’s between Gallus and Smolder," Sandbar said.

"Griffin friend is in the lead," Yona added.

They flew along the edge of the ruined castle, over the canyon and the clubhouse three more times before they landed. Gallus landed first, followed by Smolder, and lastly Silverstream. Gallus was in far better shape then the last time Ocellus had seen him, and his wing alone had well-defined muscles. Silverstream was still as jolly as ever.

Silverstream was the first to hug-tackle Ocellus. Gallus laughed at the sight.

“Saw that coming,” stated Smolder.

The group of friends entered the clubhouse and sat at a round table with six chairs. The sun's rays filled the room through vaulted windows, and there seemed to be a cool breeze that filled the whole room. Gallus was the first to speak of life and what he’d been up to.

"Well, before I left Grandpa Gruff picked a fight with a griff who was fifty years younger. I'm not sure if it was pity or the poor griff was too confused to react to the angry old griff. Other than that, the master-at-claw kept us running drills and repairing Griffinstone."

"Oh, did they fix building I unintentionally knocked a cart into?" Silverstream asked with a sly smile.

Gallus looked flatly at her. "Three weeks. It took three weeks to repair that building."

"I said I was sorry. And who put a support beam in the middle of the road, anyway?" she replied.

"It’s fine, just be a little more careful." Gallus turned to face Sandbar. "So what’ve you been up to Sandbar?"

"Oh, same old same old. Helping out around town and the school and the like. What about you, Silverstream?"

"Well, let’s see here. I spent time in Seaquestria with my mom, followed by doing more studies on cockatrices. Then I went to visit Griffinstone, where I spent some time messing with Gallus. Then, do you know Mount Aris after the Storm King attack needed less repair then Griffinstone?" Silverstream asked. "There're a few more things, but you'll have to wait for me to tell you later." She seemed overly happy with that last part. Gallus rubbed the back of his head and seemed to want to add something to it.

"So what about you, Ocellus?"

Ocellus thought a moment. "Well, a lot of studying and learning for Twilight. She’s having me attend a meeting with dignitaries with her next week. They’re from Aquinas, so there’s a lot to keep in mind when speaking with them. How you say words, even how you smile can mean many different things," Ocellus said, knowing she could go on forever, but she doubted her friends would want to hear of the proper way to bow. Or how nervous I am about the whole thing. I mean, what if I mess up?

"Oh, they are rather high and mighty, aren't they? My aunt once visited their homeland and was told how to dress and the like," Silverstream seemed to recall. "Aunt Novo did say they do know to throw a feast."

"Twilight is having Applejack and Pinkie deal with the welcome feast. Something about how Applejack knows how to feed a large crowd," Ocellus replied. "What about you, Smolder?"

Smolder tapped a claw to her chin. "Other than going back and forth to the dragons now and then, nothing much. What about you, Yona, any world-saving adventures?"

"Not so much. Had to help Prince Rutherford clear out snow, and grandma yak had to go on a journey to the Crystal Empire so I went along. Now, what should we do?" Yona asked.

"Well, how about a game of buckball?" Sandbar suggested.

---

Ocellus legs ached as she clawed into bed. She had enjoyed the time with her friends but she should have sat out that last round of buckball. At least her bed in the castle was soft and in the morning she could have a warm bath. That night she dreamt she was with Twilight at the meeting with Aquinains.

She was amid all the proud and mighty lords, each one with judging eyes waiting for her to stumble. Waiting for the changeling to humiliate herself and her mentor. The worst was the king and his son, both of whom stood taller then Celestia. Once she tripped they were the loudest to laugh.

"Is this a pony worthy of being a student to a ruler?" one of them said as she tried to get back to her hooves.

Ocellus could see the shame on Twilight’s face as the king laughed, and the prince made jokes about how the changelings should have picked somepony better. She ran from the hall in tears, but no matter how far she ran she couldn’t get away from the laughter or the jokes.

Ocellus awoke with a start and glanced out the window. It was only a dream. That won't happen... I can't make a fool of myself. I wonder if Twilight would understand if I didn't want to go. No, I have to, not for me but Twilight, Thorax, and my hive," Ocellus reasoned with herself.

The next morning Ocellus soaked in a tub. She couldn't stop thinking about the nightmare she had, how it could happen. It’s not like that will happen, but what if it does? What if I unintentional insult one of them? The thought filled her mind with increasingly worse outcomes. She knew it was only a foolish fear, but it still caused a pit to form in her stomach.

After her bath, she went to join her mentor for breakfast. Spike had cooked pancakes and muffins, served with tea and apples. Spike had no trouble eating, but Ocellus poked at her meal.

"Something wrong?" Twilight asked.

"No..." Ocellus replied, not wanting to say what was on her mind.

"Is it the meeting with the dignitaries?" Twilight asked.

Ocellus glanced at her. "Yes. I mean, what if I make a fool of myself?"

Twilight laughed a bit. "Should have seen me when Celestia had me join her for the first time. If I recall, they made me a verb for my freakouts. So you're already doing better than me, by this point my mane would be a mess-"

"Don't forget the mile-long list, trying to use magic to turn back time, oh, and then there was that time you cast the want it-" Spike started to add but was cut off by Twilight shoving a pancake in his mouth.

Twilight chuckled and rubbed the back of her head with a light blush. "Yeah, so just take a few deep breaths if you get nervous, and if that doesn't work I’ll show you something that Princess Cadence taught me."

"I'll try." Ocellus felt a bit better, as she knew Twilight had been known to freakout from time to time. She smiled a bit. "Also, what was that about a ‘want it’ spell?" She just had to ask.

"Oh, she cast a want it, need it spell on one of her old toys... long story short, the whole town got in a fight over it. I think Big Mac still has the smarty pants doll," Spike spoke up again, which made Twilight turn a deeper shade of red. "And I think it was all over a late letter to Princess Celestia."

"It wasn't that bad." Twilight crossed her hooves.

"Princess Celestia had to appear and save the day, not to mention that healing spell she cast on everypony," Spike added in.

Ocellus had to laugh a bit at the thought of her mentor being the one to cause the problem, instead of fixing it. "Well, at least it didn't lead to the end of Equestria."