Chapter 2: Through the Mirror, Darkly
"Be careful what you pick up."
The darkness remains.
Ocellus feels cold marble beneath her body. She is laying down, although she does not remember collapsing. The air is achingly cold, and the polished stone floor is colder still, reminding her of Hearth's Warming Eve tales of the windigos. She shifts, getting her hooves beneath her, and pushes herself upright. She cannot see her hooves beneath her. The lack of light is absolute.
The darkness feels neither oppressive nor smothering, nor filled with unseen lurkers. Instead, it feels cavernous, ancient and lonely. There is no wind. There are no smells. This is no cave, nor is it her hive. She tastes the air and finds nothing. A complete absence of love.
Ocellus turns, looking all around her, straining to see anything at all. Her hooves echo.
Far in the distance, high above, she sees a single source of light. The illumination is dim, coming from a perfect rectangle that cuts the dark horizontally, itself bisected multiple times. A window? In the ceiling? A skylight? Yes, a skylight. At night, or possibly underground. She would have to get closer to tell.
A notion washes over her that she is in the School of Friendship, but it has been long abandoned and an even longer winter has come.
The young changeling shivers, shaking off the feeling like a pony shaking off the rain. Where are her friends? What happened to Yona? Did Sandbar or Silverstream or Gallus escape and manage to rescue her? Ocellus feels a pang of guilt as she realizes she never even saw what was happening to Smolder. She only heard the dragon's fire breath.
The nymph closes her eyes. Whatever happened, wherever they are, they are not here. That suggests what has happened to her is unique. Still, her first instinct is to call out for them.
"Smolder!?" she shouts. The name echoes back to her over and over in the darkness.
"Gallus!? Silverstream?!" She cups her hooves to her muzzle, trying to be her own blowhorn. "Yona!! Sandbar!! Anybody!??"
She gets only echoes in return. Followed by silence.
She is alone.
After a few minutes of trying, she stops.
Ocellus takes stock of herself. She feels uninjured. There is no pain. She is, to her relief, neither thirsty nor hungry. If she did lose consciousness, it was not for long. Having no other plan, and seeing no alternate plan but to stay put and die, Ocellus begins to walk in the direction of the dim rectangle of light.
The floor under her hooves is cold, even and smooth. The cold is unpleasant, but in the darkness it is an anchor to reality and direction. Despite the uncomfortable cold pressing against the bottoms of her hooves, Ocellus chooses not to fly and lose all sense of distance from anything solid. She regrets not acquiring a form with bioluminescence. Maybe one of those fish with a light on its head? On second thought, the lack of water would be a problem.
There is no sense of time, but Ocellus knows she has not been walking long, having traveled no more than the length of the school gymnasium, when blue fire erupts from sconces to either side of her, gently pushing back the darkness to reveal walls that look a dusky cornflower in the light. More sconces of blue flame alight ahead of her, pair-by-pair, revealing a hallway. The walls bear a march of white crescents that slowly grow to become a circle, then the procession reverses -- the phases of the moon.
She steps closer to the wall, observing the sconces, ascertaining that they reacted to her approach. They are made of a shiny metal -- one that, thanks to Professor Rarity's class, she can identify as moonsilver. Ocellus spots a vine creeping out of a hole in the wall and up into the base of the sconce. It is barely visible. Looking closer, the vine has fine purple leaves and lesions in its bark that glow almost imperceptibly with a lavender light.
Ahead, the skylight rests in the ceiling held within a framework that extends from columns of cobalt stone above an intersection with a hallway running perpendicular to her own. That one is adorned with a purple carpet with darker purple emblems she believes she has seen in Canterlot decor. Old shapes historically associated with royalty, or at least the uppermost of society. (She is thankful she paid so much attention in Professor Rarity's class as she recognizes among them the fleur de lis.) This is a castle or palace... or perhaps a Canterlot school?
As she approaches, she looks up through the skylight at the night above. A chill passes through her that is not from the cold of the building. There is no moon to be seen, but that does not surprise her. The moon is not visible from every window during the night. No, what strikes her is how black and dead the space is between the stars. Luna's nights are always beautiful, even romantic. But this night sky is soulless and empty. Even the stars seem cold, like the light of ghosts.
Out of the corner of her eye, something moves in the darkness of the intersecting hallway.
"Hello?" Ocellus calls out, feeling a knot tie in her chest. Silence answers.
The changeling nymph buzzes her wings, building up courage. She was a student of the School of Friendship. If her lessons have taught her anything, the best way to tackle a foreign and scary situation is to make a friend.
"Hello?" she tries again, darting in the direction of the movement.
As she passes a darkened doorway, she hears something shift inside. She draws up short, hovering over the purple carpet, then turns back. She peeks around the doorway, looking into the darkness. "H-hello? Is there any creature in here?"
Ocellus's mind flashes back to being trapped in the caves beneath the school, being tested by the Tree of Harmony. She feels what Yona must have felt. A blanket of unease has settled over her; a frightening sense that she is surrounded by beings she cannot see.
Maybe they are like the spiders. Are they more frightened of her than she is of them? Or, drawing from personal experience, perhaps they are just shy?
"Hello?" she calls out for the fourth time, landing cautiously and stepping into the shadow-swallowed room. She can barely make out the forms of chairs surrounding one end of a long table. Table settings. Goblets and plates. A candelabra with tall candles. "My name is Ocellus. I don't mean you any harm. I'm just lost."
Ocellus jumps as one of the candles falls from the candelabra with a soft thump.
With a soft rasping sound, the fallen candle rolls across the table. Ocellus watches, transfixed, as the barely-visible shape reaches the edge and falls off. Thump.
Ocellus feels her eyes widen. Her wings tremble beneath her elytra. A Smolder-like voice in her head whispers nope!
Ocellus spreads her wings and back-swoops out of the room. The changeling nymph spins about and shoots back towards the intersection beneath the skylight.
Ocellus flies slowly, her hooves just above the carpet, traveling in the opposite direction of the creepy room. She sees something ahead, crouched against a wall, and she stops.
"Hello?" she tries one more time, walking forward. As she nears, she glimpses a single, slitted, blue eye staring at her. "My name is Ocellus. I'm from the School of Friendship..."
With a flumph, the sconce on the wall opposite the crouched figure erupts in blue flame.
Ocellus' heart skips a beat, her muscles tightening under her chitin.
The revealed form isn't a creature. It is a cabinet.
Ocellus relaxes, blushing at herself. Lit by blue flame, the changeling nymph approaches the hall sideboard and examines it. The sideboard's rich, dark wood is carved with gothic engravings of bats. Set in the center above its cabinet doors is a large blue chrysoberyl that reminds Ocellus uncomfortably of one of Smolder's eyes.
The changeling nymph inspects the cat's eye stone, almost expecting its gaze to follow her. Professor Rarity once told them that you could tell a lot about a host by their furniture, but that you must understand the furniture before drawing conclusions. That lesson had culminated with a trip to Zecora's hut in the Everfree Forest.
Ocellus has no idea what to make of the cabinet. If this was on a test, she has the sinking notion she would fail.
Her ease is shattered by a skittering from above her. The sound pricks at her ears and all her tension snaps back into place. Ocellus steps back, looking upwards, trying to spot the source in the vaulted gloom of the hallway's ceiling.
Shadows stare back from the ribbing that splays out from the capital of every column, intersecting in a spider web pattern across the vaulting.
Ocellus slowly turns back to the sideboard, only to shoot another look at the ceiling, expecting those shadows to try to move the moment she takes her eyes off them.
The shadows insist there is nothing above her but the ceiling.
Ocellus lets out a shaky breath. Her eyes return to the gothic, bat-themed sideboard once more, falling on the cabinet doors.
She normally wouldn't even think of rummaging through some other creature's things. But she is lost, and any clue the cabinet might provide would be a welcome one. She tries to open the doors. The sideboard is locked.
A gut feeling pushes Ocellus to reach a hoof for the cat's eye gemstone. She touches it gently, feeling the cold, polished surface. Then presses.
The changeling nymph is rewarded with a satisfying click. The cabinet doors pop open.
She stops, turning to shoot another look at the vaulted ceiling. Still nothing. Then she opens the doors of the cabinet and looks inside.
The small lantern looks back at Ocellus like a long lost friend. The cabinet is empty save for the little hooded lantern made of black metal. It has a handle, a little swinging door, and a half-circle button on the base.
Ocellus reaches in, grabbing the handle in her mouth, and pulls out the lantern, setting it on top of the sideboard. She presses the button.
The lantern ignites with blue flame.
Ocellus walks towards the creepy room, the lantern's handle carried in her mouth. The blue flame casts light into the shadows where the light from the wall sconces do not reach... or the sconces fail to light. Its defiant heat struggles to keep the cold at bay.
With each step, the dark doorway draws closer. Ocellus' heart is a kettle drum. Little slivers of ice are pricking her flesh beneath the chitin.
The changeling nymph reaches the doorway and steps inside, holding the little lantern high.
She finds herself in a dining room with a long table and tall chairs, the one at the far end positively throne-like. The table is still set with empty plates, plus silverware and goblets made of moonsilver. Three candelabras march down the center of the table, their candles tilting in rebellion. A few wax soldiers have fallen to the tablecloth. One lays on the floor.
There are doorways on all four walls. The largest is framed in fluted pillars. The doorway opposite is the only one with a pair of doors. Swirling moonsilver latticework, reminiscent of the vines that crawl over the walls of the old castle, hold translucent panes of crystal in various shades of blue. Cerulean gemstones embedded in the latticework catch the light of the lantern, seeming to glow.
Something moves out of the corner of her eye again. She spins, illuminating a statue of a bat-winged pony, the lantern's light casting a shadow on the wall behind. She hears something shift somewhere. Breathing more quickly, she backs up, bumping into the table.
In a flash of green, one of the goblets transforms. Ocellus spins, gasping, the lantern falling from her lips as she sees the black, hole-pocked carapace of a love-starved changeling. Numbness creeps up Ocellus' limbs. A great hollow opens in her chest and she feels like she is falling into an internal abyss.
The drone glares down at her from atop the table, eyes narrowed and tongue snapping out in a hateful hiss.
Why do you look like that?! The memory from the caves beneath the school stabs her mind.
Another eruption of green fire engulfs the fallen candle, revealing another hostile drone. Several more flashes reflect in the moonsilver table settings.
Ocellus runs!
Galloping out one of the other doorways, she opens her elytra and spreads her wings. Her heart is in her throat, threatening to choke her. The pricks of ice beneath her chitin have become a frigid waterfall. The abyss within her grows.
Ocellus is paying no attention to where she is going. Only what she is trying to get away from.
From behind, the buzz of drone wings violates the silence. Ahead, meager blue flames erupt sporadically in hallways of darkness, giving her just enough light to keep from slamming into a wall as she races down the hallways, chased by the love-starved changelings.
Ocellus dodges around a corner and throws herself against the wall, pressing into the crevice between the stonework and a pillar. She wants to change into a rock, but she is afraid the energy flash of her transformation will reveal her hiding spot.
She hears the buzz of the patrol grow closer. Louder. Closer still.
Then they pass. Ocellus' breath stops as her ears catch the soft change in the buzzing. One drone stops to peer through the opening. She can feel it searching for her, its gaze probing the room.
Then it is gone, flying off to join the rest of the patrol.
Ocellus releases the air in her lungs, her body sliding down the wall. Her hooves touch the floor, sinking slightly into the cold carpet, her legs trembling beneath her. The changeling nymph takes one shuddering breath after another. Every nerve in her body feels frayed, like she tussled with a swarm of twittermites.
She focuses, trying to steady her breathing. She wants to sit and meditate until her body and mind can find their way back to some semblance of normal. She doesn't dare stay in one place that long.
Everything is wrong. Horribly wrong. But she knows what she just fled from. No changeling from her hive will ever forget.
Click.
Ocellus jerks about, her eyes locking on the door at the back of the room she is hiding in, beyond gothic loveseats and couches. The door is swinging open.
For a moment, a hope dances in her head. Could it be one of her friends, lost and wandering as she was? She longs to see Smolder coming through the door, her fiery orange in contrast to the oppressive blues...
Hope crashes against cold reality as a drone steps through, a saddlepack strapped across its back beneath its wings. He stops, eyes widening as he spots her. The air between them seems to grow colder and thinner.
Ocellus spins and flees back the way she came. As she circles around the pillar, she sees the drone leap over a lounge sofa and chase after her.
Ocellus' wing-muscles burn. Her heart is pounding so fast she fears it will burst. The danger of running back into the patrol slaps her across the face, the burst of fear nearly crippling her. She can't just keep running.
Ocellus dives into the next room with an open door. She spares only a second to look around, then grabs a vase from a chiffonier, huddling just inside the entry frame. She listens to the growing sound of the drone's wings. He isn't far behind.
Ocellus smashes the vase across the face of the pursuing changeling as it enters.
The blow knocks the drone to the ground. He sprawls across the marble floor, the fall snapping his saddlepack open. Two orbs -- each the size of an orange and made of a softly glowing greenish substance -- roll out of the love-starved changeling's pack. The drone's eyes widen and he leaps into the air, forgetting Ocellus completely and evacuating the area as fast as his wings allow.
Ocellus takes the hint and hides behind the chiffonier. Even at a glance, she knew exactly what those orbs are made of.
One of the orbs stops in the middle of the hallway. The other keeps rolling until it hits the sharp-edged base of a pillar.
SPLORCK!
The room is lit by a grotesque splatter of glowing green syrup. Clumps of it stick to the tall buffet opposite her, dripping from the trim, rapidly hardening.
Ocellus stares at the green, the fleeing changeling momentarily forgotten.
Yep. Exactly what she knew it was.
The adrenaline pumping through her body is holding her terror at bay enough to keep her wits together. She knows she will have a proper, Headmare-worthy freak-out soon. But for now, her mind thinks back to the last moments of her love-starved hive.
Starlight Glimmer peeks out from behind her rock, her gaze searching for any avenue of escape. Any shred of hope. She sees her friend, Thorax, captured and bound to the floor by the Queen's royal resin. Something catches her eye. His wings...
"What if you didn't have to?"
Ocellus puts a hoof over her heart, feeling it pound through the chitin over her breast. She lowers the hoof and slowly pushes herself back off the floor.
One of the many abilities possessed by a changeling queen is the ability to vomit up a viscous green jelly that quickly hardens into a magically resistant preserving resin. Great in large doses for cocooning her prey... or in small batches for sticking a disguised draconequus to the cavern floor.
Normal drones couldn't create it. And that meant there was a queen here. And not Chrysalis. She's still trapped in stone with Tirek and Cozy Glow. Not only that, but in all her time, Chrysalis never thought to weaponize that jelly, much less entrust it to her drones. Those orbs: that green glow was the magic of a changeling queen holding a great amount of the goo in a fresh and highly condensed package. One that was under pressure and clearly unstable.
Ocellus steps out from behind the chiffonier and carefully flies over the hardening puddles, dodging green goop as it drips from the ceiling, hardening into stalactites. She picks up the orb sitting innocently on a bare patch of floor, surrounded by the gore of its sister. Then pulls a bag out of her saddlebags. A turquoise velvet bag with a golden drawstring.
"Sorry, Sandbar," Ocellus whispers before she dumps the dice out of the dice bag Sandbar gave her last Hearth's Warming Eve and gently rolls the glowing orb of changeling queen jelly into it.
Even with her head spinning in confusion and her heart seizing in fear, her intellect has not abandoned her. The changeling nymph cannot help but reason that something like this could come in really useful.
She scoops up the dice and tosses them randomly into her saddlebags. Except for the brown and green four-sided one. Because it hates her and deserves to be left in a creepy palace in the middle of who-knows-where for betraying her last Sunday.
Ocellus sticks her tongue out at the abandoned dice. The adrenaline was wearing off, and being silly made her feel better.
She is trembling.
No no no no no no no. This can't be happening!
Ocellus huddles in a dark corner between the chiffonier and the wall. The adrenaline is gone. And with it, the barrier between herself and the full horror of what is happening. She clutches her saddlebags to her breast, trying to make her breathing as quiet as possible.
I just fought a changeling! I think it wanted to kill me!
Her heart thuds loudly inside her chest like a war drum beating out a warning of doom. Telling her she is alive. Ocellus squeezes her eyes closed, wishing for everything to go away. Praying to open them to her dorm room. Or maybe the catacombs. But they open to see the dark, alien room. Ocellus bites back a squeak of despair.
She's trapped. There are "evil" changelings everywhere. A whole love-starved hive with their own queen.
She keeps looking at her forearms, checking for holes, making sure her hooves are still her color. The last time she saw love-starved changelings, it was in the catacombs under the school. They weren't real; the Tree of Harmony was testing her. It turned her into Chrysalis!
Ocellus checks, looking at her forearms. Color is hard to tell in the dark, but they don't look black. And there are no holes. She... she is not Chrysalis again.
The changeling nymph pushes herself to think. Okay, that makes sense: the love-starved ones weren't subservient. They were aggressive. Extremely aggressive. The drones didn't treat her like their queen, but like an intruder in their hive.
Ocellus feels weak -- simultaneously frail and heavy -- almost paralyzed. But she cannot stay here. If she is in another changeling queen's hive, then her most pressing priority was to get out.
Ocellus forces herself to her hooves. Her legs are weak. She is still trembling.
I need to get out!
She puts her saddlebags back on.
Get out!
Anything could be a changeling. She hasn't seen one take the form of another creature, but these drones are particularly keen on disguising themselves as objects and furniture...
Ocellus gives the chiffonier a nervous look. But she's been here long enough that it is either safe or as scared of her as she is of this place. She squeezes her eyes closed, summoning up her courage... or at least channeling her fear to be proactive rather than paralyzing.
Ocellus opens her eyes and runs!
GET OUT!
Ocellus crouches, peeking into the dining room where she had dropped her lantern. She feels both relieved and disheartened to have effectively retraced her flight, undoing any random progress towards an exit achieved in her panic.
Ocellus isn't sure she came back the same way she fled. She has spent the last hour sticking to the shadows, moving quietly. And, finally, heading towards the first source of light that wasn't from a wall sconce. That light just happened to be her abandoned lantern. There it sits among overturned chairs and disorder, its little blue light flickering like it was forgiving her for leaving it behind.
No, this is good. A dining room.
Changelings are infesting this place; this building wasn't built to be a hive. And unlike the "dungeons" in Ogres & Oubliettes, Ocellus knows real buildings aren't mazes. They have a sensical layout, a structure designed to facilitate the building's purpose. At least, unless its purpose is to be a maze -- like a hall of mirrors.
A dining room means a kitchen nearby. A kitchen probably means a door out.
Ocellus lowers herself to the floor and sneaks forward. Half the table settings are gone. What remain are scattered across the table in the wake of the changeling who ran across it. Goblets are overturned. There is silverware on the floor. The shattered pieces of a fallen plate.
Ocellus tries to look everywhere as she crawls towards the lantern, the blue light illuminating her, making her an easy target. She believes the entire patrol chased her, but she knows they might have left a drone behind. Still hidden, on guard.
She opens her mouth and gingerly takes the lantern's handle into it. Her gaze shifts from one shadow to another.
She closes her mouth, biting down on the handle, and opens her elytra, spreading her wings and zipping out of the room before anyling could transform and pounce.
There is no ambush. No movement from the room she exited. No sound.
No changelings.
Safe.
Ocellus stares at the huge, thick magical chains that converge on a glowing lock. She bites back a very un-Ocellus-like curse. The sort she would never say in the presence of company.
The changeling nymph had re-entered the dining room, searching for the kitchen it promised. It wasn't hard to find. The fancy doors lead to a small separating room filled with moonsilver serving carts and lined with spired wall cabinets. Beyond was the kitchen, the doors broken from their hinges. Ocellus' hopes fell at what she saw through them.
Now Ocellus turns in a slow circle, taking in everything around her, making sure she hasn't missed anything.
The kitchen is bathed in sickly green illumination. There are changeling pods everywhere. Covering the floors, the countertops, the cast-iron stove. Green, egg-shaped pods large enough to hold trapped ponies hang from the ceiling and crawl up the doorway back into the separating room. All of them filled with nothing but the queen's royal jelly.
To one side, a pantry is filled with even more pods, and entrapped within are jars containing samples of preserved plants with glowing blue fruits. The vine-like plants invoked a sense of deja vu when Ocellus first spotted them. Now she realizes why. The moonsilver lattices on the doors, inset with blue gemstones, are fashioned in the plants' likeness.
She hasn't found anything that resembles actual food, except for possibly those alien preserves.
Continuing to turn, Ocellus notices a set of three onyx pedestals set between the counters in a prominent position within the kitchen workspace. Next to them, a book lies on the counter, propped open to display a couple pages. She suspects it is a cookbook, but she cannot be sure. The book is written in Old Ponish.
Ocellus finishes her circle and once again faces the massive, narrow door. The door is engraved in complex patterns formed of batwings and eyes. If her hunch and her understanding of architecture is correct, the door should lead outside.
But it is covered in shimmering blue magical seal, complete with chains and a lock. She has seen this magic before. The sight reminds her of the seal conjured by Chancellor Neighsay to lock down the School of Friendship. There is a similarly familiar magical padlock, but instead of a keyhole it has an indentation shaped like a disk surrounded in spikes. Clearly, opening the lock requires a very special key.
Abandoning that exit, and hoping all others aren't similarly barred, Ocellus goes back out through the dining room and starts down the hallway opposite the one she entered.
Ocellus' ears twitch at the hint of a sound. Her breath catches softly. That may have just been the massive structure settling, assuming she wasn't just imagining sounds and scaring herself. But it could have been the sound of a changeling thumping softly to the floor after changing into some inanimate object. Like an innocuous goblet, or candle, or...
Stop. Stop or I am going to be hearing things. If I'm not already.
Ocellus slips into the cover of one of the hallway's dark-stoned, fluted pillars. Beneath the torus, the base is bell-shaped, widening enough for her to hide behind. She takes a moment to notice the celestial patterns carved into the base, heavy on moon iconography. This is far from the first moon imagery she has seen.
Ocellus' memory flashes back to the Treehouse. Luna was trying to open a mirror portal for their field trip. Is this the place the former Princess of the Night was hoping to take them? Did she somehow end up where they were meant to be, but alone? Did this mean Luna knows where she is?
Is there a rescue coming?
Ocellus' heart fills with hope. But the rational part of her mind warns her not to make assumptions. Even if Luna knows where she is, there has been no rescue yet, so it might not come until it is too late. She cannot just hide and wait. Not without food and water. Not within a hostile hive.
As she hides, waiting for the specter of a threat to pass, Ocellus' thoughts turn again to the changelings of this hive. How she has yet to see them take the form of another creature. That isn't unusual. Both Queen Chrysalis's drones and King Thorax's changelings spend almost all of their time in their natural bodies. Especially within the familiarity and safety of the hive.
Changing forms was an ability originally developed for hunting, hiding or feeding. They are far more liberal with its usage now, but Ocellus feels she is probably more so than most. Maybe far too much. As she once worried to then-Counselor Starlight, if she is waking up in different forms, does this mean her "natural" form is losing its naturalness?
She thinks back to this afternoon. How bad is it if she's started unconsciously shifting while awake? How often has she shifted form like that without realizing it? Her friends would have noticed and told her, right? Except Smolder didn't mention it. The way the dragon was feeling, she probably assumed Ocellus did it on purpose. Who would assume a changeling's changing wasn't under her control?
These changelings, however, clearly did favor taking the forms of seemingly random items in their environment. Ocellus finds that odd. Sure, she once added a rock to her change repertoire -- a choice, admittedly, inspired by her admiration of King Thorax. But virtually all of her forms were creatures. And she couldn't think of any changelings from her hive that were different.
Her first thought is that perhaps the environment doesn't offer many creatures to mimic? Is this a desert? Or, considering the cold, somewhere in the frozen north where creatures are very rare? Maybe near Yakyakistan or the Crystal Empire?
The changelings' behavior is also odd, she thinks, for another reason. Why are they doing it at all? There was no need to change within their own hive... unless they were expecting intruders.
Ocellus freezes.
They were expecting intruders!
What happened at the Treehouse... her being here... it wasn't an accident!
The changelings are expecting intruders. In Ocellus' mind, that means the changeling queen is behind what happened to the mirror portal. But was that meant to bring some creature (or creatures!) through by force? Or was it meant to prevent Luna's field trip, and it didn't work? Or, at least, didn't work completely?
The last seems more likely. The changelings are hidden and on guard. If the queen wanted her here, why would Ocellus have woken up alone? Nor should they be on guard against her.
Unless... maybe the hive's queen wanted to bring her through, but something went wrong? Is there a nice cell or pod somewhere in this place conspicuously absent one love-sharing changeling?
Ocellus stops. There are too many questions. Until she learns more, she can think about this forever without finding firm answers.
How long has she been sitting behind this pillar thinking about this? Assuming the sound... if there was a sound... was from a threat, either it has passed or it isn't going to.
Ocellus gets up and slowly edges around the pillar, looking both ways.
Hallway. Sconces. Pillars. Carpet. Along one side she sees tall, arched windows, all of ornate stained glass and offering no view outside. Well, at least she knows that side is an exterior wall. She spots a few pieces of furniture...
Ocellus' heart leaps as she recognizes a hall stand. The changeling finds herself exceptionally thankful for Rarity's series of lessons on the styles of the upper class and royals, including fancy décor. (And here Gallus thought they would never come in useful!) Hall stands have mirrors, storage compartments, and pegs for hanging your hats, cloaks or scarves. And, more importantly to Ocellus, they are almost always placed close to a door outside.
Ocellus feels herself smirking with intellectual satisfaction as she steps around the column and takes flight in the direction of the welcome piece of gothic furniture.
Her smile falters as she nears the hall stand and she feels a familiar fear grip her heart. She slows, tucking in her wings and landing gently on the carpet. By the time she reaches the hall tree, she has forgotten the promise of an exit. The only thing she wants is the mirror. She needs to see.
Ocellus sets down her lantern. The blue flame seems to flicker warningly.
The oval mirror is high-set in the hall stand, surrounded by rich engravings of alicorns. Ocellus has a fleeting impression that they are circling like on the Equestrian flag, but she really is not paying any attention to the elaborate woodwork. She has to climb partially onto the hall stand to reach the mirror. The hallway reflected in the mirror is dark, even darker than the one she stands in. And it grows darker still as she rises up to meet it.
Ocellus lifts her head and stares into the mirror, wanting... needing to see. Expecting to find the face of Chrysalis staring back at her -- tall, black carapace, stringy hair, and green, slitted eyes filled with hatred. The tall, dark figure staring back at her with slitted eyes is not her own. Ocellus screams, jolting away from the mirror and tumbling off the hall stand. Her back hits the carpet as the face in the mirror calls to her.
"Ocellus?" Luna asks.
Absolute horror washes away as she recognizes the sound of Luna's voice. The blinders of fear and anxiety fall away, allowing the figure in the mirror to snap into focus. Ocellus gasps, feeling her heart pounding more frantically than ever in her chest. She manages only a squeak in response. She's having a heart attack, isn't she?
No... no... she's okay. She... she's just...
"L-Luna?"
Seeing a familiar face would absolutely fill her heart with joy if it wasn't trying to escape her breast and catch the next train to Mount Aris. She sucks in one deep breath of frigid air after another.
From behind the glass of the mirror, the night alicorn responds. "Thank goodness you are all right. And that I found..."
The image of Luna fades from the mirror, leaving only a sea of shadow. New alarm shoots through Ocellus, followed by the notion that Luna was never there at all. She's imagining things again. Hallucinations now! Before the thoughts can snowball into an avalanche of self-inflicted terror, Luna reappears.
"Ocellus, listen! My connection to this mirror is..."
And she is gone again. Ironically, Ocellus feels her disappearance conveys the rest of her sentence more succinctly and with more emphasis than words could. Her breathing begins to return to normal as she lays on the carpet, hoping Luna will reappear. She feels a spike of relief and elation as the dark-coated alicorn appears a third time.
"...mirror in the Throne Room is much stronger. Hurry there!" Luna demands, her own eyes wide and a note of panic in her voice that annihilates any comfort Ocellus was feeling. "You will be safe inside. There are wards against enemies..."
And again, the former Princess of the Night is gone. This time, she does not return. Instead, the dark sea fades, the mirror gradually reflecting the hallway in its shadowed, sconce-flame-lit splendor.
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woo. well this is getting a bit spooky.
At first we thought it was a Thestral's mansion, with tribute to Luna. Now however...
Keep going! ;)
I kind of like to imagine that she rescued that die after all. I mean, surely it doesn't deserve that; how badly can it have betrayed her? The chapter doesn't seem to contradict that imagining, happily. :)
"The shattered pieces of a fallen plate."
...Weren't the plates all metal, though? Hm.
Oh, huh. No ambush from it, after all.
I'm enjoying this story. :)
10142126 Thanks for the catch. Made a quick fix.
I'm still busy playing Prey and I hace no idea where I am but I'm just doing side quests and searching for crew members and I'm indicted to neuromods. I'm a machine.
Damn that was spooky, I know this is based on the prey games (kinda) but I was getting a lot of Amnesia vibs with all the running and hiding.
But good on Celly for smashing that changeling with a vase, shows her fighting spirit is still in there despite the fear. And also having a dice betray you while deep in a D&D session, I know the feeling and it was a very nice moment to break the endlessly tension
1. Lamp added
2. Changeling Queen Slime Orb
xD
Was half expecting it to be "gamestyle" at the end of each chapter.
10142145
Oh, you're welcome. :D
(I did think it might have been an error, but I wasn't sure it wasn't a disguised changeling. :D)
Well, the gothic architecture, bats and spiders and moon silver and so on definitely suggests some kind of connection to Luna, who “Luna Eclipsed” showed pretty firmly is a bit of a goth. I wonder what’s going on exactly...
God you’re really going heavy on the Prey vibes. I was 100% waiting for a Typhon Cacoplasmus to skitter across Ocellus’ vision.
I wonder what a Changeling Typhon would be called? Typhon Empathophantasmus/Empathoplasmus is the only thing I can think of lol.
The story being told here is heavy to the extreme right from the get go. I doubt the stuff talked about in the first couple of chapters - Ocellus’ worries, fears, nightmares, and other problems - will become a Chekhov’s Gun, especially with the mention in this chapter. It makes me wonder about their relevance, however.
On other notes, what is this place? Obviously Luna knows about it, but does that mean it’s analogous to maybe the Castle of the Two Sisters? Or somewhere else entirely? What caused the portal to go haywire? Is this real or simply a test? So many questions, so little answers.
It’s a good story so far, KKAT, and I certainly can’t wait to see the answers.
The most interesting horrors are the ones you're never quite sure are there. Poor Ocellus...
The Throne Room is where a better portal connection may be found, but it's probably a likely place for a changeling queen to stay, too.
Moon and bat motifs, and Luna seems to be familiar with the layout and contents of the building. I'm curious to find out where exactly Ocellus is trapped.
Well, Through no fault of her own, Best Princess kind of sort of get the Young Six sucked through a dark, tenticular portal. Those are never good. BUT, as has been established, this is not Luna's fault, this is all on Starswirl! Now, what will Ocelllus find, how will she cope, and how many of her own internal challenges will she overcome to save everycreature?
Well, that's pretty self explanatory. They went through a pretty dark mirror. But I know you can't be that straightforward with these titles story, so yeah, also going to get a look at Equestria through a dark mirror? Or is this more personal, and just the Changelings through a dark mirror of what would happen if they didn't embrace the rainbow?
Ohhhh, very nice opening. Given this is present tense purely from Ocellus' perspective, anytime there is text she has to be conscious to be sensing whatever is being conveyed, and in just three words the story manages to tell us that she has regained consciousness yet is unable to see anything, either due to it being pitch black around her, something obstructing her vision, a total loss of vision (highly unlikely at the start of the story), or.... if this was a more comedic work, she forgot to open her eyes.
What about grues? You can never be sure if there is a grue out there or not. Still, very nice descriptions of the feel of the darkness.
Can she not shift into a form better able to deal with darkness? Ohhh Batpony Ocellus!
Huh, that kind of comes out of nowhere. Mind will pull out random things when deprived of sensations though. Also, who knows how right she might be,
Yes... though I'm pretty sure they are around somewhere. Either captured in their own right, or dove in trying to rescue you.
Totally understandable.
Huh, so.. this makes sense. They have acquire the form to use it, they can't just morph into something that comes into their head. Though what does acquiring a new form entail? Observing the original one? Learning about it? Is there a limit to how many forms she can know? Can they vary the detail on the form? Is it just a case of her being young still, and the ability to change on the fly can develop more as they get better at it?
Well, this isn't creepy at all either, nope not at all
Well, dark, spooky, moon symbols all around. Gee, whoever could this place have been built for?
Given the focus on 'old' the darkness, where they were.... This 'verse' version of the Castle of the Two Sisters? Though I guess in Canterlot Castle itself works too.
Ohhh, damn..... this is some... incredible work. A touch most won't think of, but does make sense. And is also really hard to convey in any other form, so good job using the medium well for it's strengths. So then, going with the odds going up for "The Changelings won and now the world is an empty wasteland because they ate everything."
Well........ it's not a bad idea, buuuut.. maybe teach them some actual survival skill too?
Smart move. "Make a friend" is less useful in survival horror situations. Best advice in those.... RUN AWAY!
So, what WAS in the room? The story description gives a pretty good idea, and it fits what we've seen, but not discounting there could be other surprises waiting around.
At least it wasn't a cat scare. Now, Ocellus, be sure to check every container you find for useful things. Notes, helpful herbs, oddly shaped themed keys, ammo, typewriter ribbon... and yes I know that's the wrong franchise but I don't know anything about Prey.
Hmmm, you know, with the focus on moon themes and darkness.... this could also be a "Nightmare Moon Wins" situation that also left every creature dead and the 'lings the last, starving survivors.
See if you can pry it lose, those things always have some other use. Wait, how much inventory space do you have?
Ohhh, nice lesson there. Though, a bit circular, you can't really understand the furnishing and what they mean about the host till you understand why the host choose them and what they mean to the host. It works both ways there. So judging a host by their decor alone requires them to be similar enough to you in the first place for the decor to mean the same stuff.
Okay, if not lose, pushing, twisting, and in any other way trying to manipulate gems you find is also a good idea. She's learning fast.
Now lift it over your head and chant 'Do-do-do-DO!'
Lantern acquired! Good news for her. Lets hope it doesn't run out of fuel at just the wrong moment.
Not doing much to counter my previous theories about this place...
Yup... not surprised there, other then that they waited for her right there. Was it a trap, or just dumb luck?
Yeah, given her past, and even current issues... this is going to trigger her so much. And damn that description...
Yes, yes it is. Well, that is certainly something that would freak her out, now how long will it take her to puzzle out what is going on, or will she be given time to do so? Still, for what was set up already, yeah this is really not a situation she is ready to deal with at all.
There are two words that really do not seem like they should go together.
Yeah, given how often Smolder is your first thought, seems like Smolder isn't the only one who might have some unnoticed feelings.
Well, it's not quite dropping a boxcar on an alicorn, but given what she had to work with, still a good effort there.
Current head-mare, or previous one? That does matter when classifying the level of freakout you are going to have. Even if it is fully warrented given the circumstances.
So, resin balls.... transporting them to build somewhere? Traps to lay? What?
This is a change from normal fics, usually it's a baseline changeling ability.
Okay, so throwing weapon to help trap intruders? Though if so, why didn't the drone use one or have one ready for Ocellus? Also, I can buy Chryssi not considering this, given while competent, her plans tend to be very narrow minded and she doesn't really 'think outside the box' much.
Still, neat idea for a capture weapon.
SACRILAGE!! Ocellus... you just doomed yourself to roll nothing but nat 1's on all your saving throws......
But, on the other hoof, smart thinking, always good to see even scared out of their mind, a character think things through and plan out ways to help themselves.
Also good to see she isn't passing up potential loot in general.
I can see she truly has become a D&D player. Disloyal dice must be punished to show the rest what happens to those who fail their roller.
That said.... given your situation..... eh it's changelings, doubt tossing a few D4 caltrops on the ground will really do much to slow them down.
Yup, and then the come down from the rush when you realize the full extent of how fucked you are.
Hello paranoia fuel!
And really, this is her smartest move. She has no idea where she is, what is going on, but she knows there is a threat here, one she can't really deal with on her own, so best bet is to get away from here and then figure out where she is and how to get back once she's a bit safer.
Yes, getting the light back is also rather important.
D'awwwwwwwwwww we need to give that good boi a name!
Well, other then the ones built by Minotaurs.
Of course getting out can't be that easy.....
Smolder is rubbing off on her I see.
Damnit changelings, get it straight, the kitchen is where the food is cooked, food storage is supposed to go in the pantry!
Oh, you already filled that. Do you have like, a root cellar you could move them too?
Okay... so what is going on with those vines and fruits? And why just store the jelly itself? Or, do they not have an actual Queen, and are trying to make do and save what they have left from her to try and hold out?
Damnit story, you went too fast, I didn't get a chance to make a "To Serve Ponies" joke. Still, an Old Ponish book next to some out of place pedestals... not thinking cook book, and if Ocellus can't ready Old Ponish, doubt any of the other Young Six can. But yeah, there is something up with this set up.
So not likely any other doors not covered by it. But that skylight you saw wasn't blocked, how hard would prying it open be?
And why would the lock be on the inside?
Just always turn to the right at every chance!
So I've noticed.
Unlikely.
Possibly, either that, or you are the rescue.
So she does need regular food too?
Interesting thoughts, and ones that there really isn't an answer to, as it's a very philosophical question about just what makes a form mean something.
It's useful, who would expect a rock? Also, makes a good attack if used right, just look at Kirby.
Yeah, still have theories on that to wait for more information on. But, if nothing else, there is the question of how the hell you got from wherever the mirror spit you out, to the place you woke up.
All good ideas so far that could fit, but still not quite enough to know exactly what is going on. The drones' actions are odd. Hiding, but attacking her, and why fly away when the one dropped the orbs? There is definitely something odd going on around here.
And yes, I'm still blaming Starswirl for this!
I like her! Good thinking.
You can't try breaking one of them? Also, this is going to turn everything into one giant 'spot the differences' puzzles.... I am so bad at that. What one thing has changed from the last time you saw this room?
Huh... boarded up? Just that dark out there? Something else?
I'm conflicted on who to side with here. As a knowledge sponge, I just soak up everything, but as a smartass, I feel obliged to side with the griffon and make sure it is never found out this sort of thing came in handy.
Yeah....... this is going to be eating at her the whole time....
Well..... though the 'slitted eyes' thing..... I'm not sure this is the real Luna yet.
*retired....... damnit...
Okay, the fact she knows who Ocellus is... and isn't talking clearly trying to tell her to do something to help that is likely to backfire and free an entrapped local version of NMM is making it more likely this is Luna. But still 'slitted eyes' does not bode well either so... not fully giving up on this being some kind of trick.
Then again........ Yeah, I'm not buying it'll be that easy, how would Luna know about that if this is another world? But, on the other side, if this isn't Luna, how does she know Ocellus' name? So, I'm going to reserve judgment on what is going on till we know more.
And we are into the story proper. Blame Sprockett on this taking so long, had to spend time getting the new Hooves of Fate chapter ready. Now all... wait.. new chapter..... damnit not all caught up.
But, things are getting going, so far, very oppressive, good feeling of isolation, liking how clearly terrified ocellus is, but still acting rationally, and how well the story is playing on her existing fears being amplified by this situation. And yeah, not buying that's the real Luna yet.
10147835 Damn, I wish more readers gave comments like you do. You're the best, Seraphem!
Chapter 4 will post tomorrow morning.
Why not use past tense? Eh it's ok if you don't I'm just not used to it.
Also it's kinda weird that a trip is decided to go to another world. You'd think they'd have to know or their parents or guardians.
Still the aura of mystery and paranoia is spot on.
Bravo my friend.
hi hi
The first time Ocellus saw something out of the corner of her eye, at the intersection of the hallway, I literally got chills. And I'm wearing a warm, fuzzy sweater and I've got a cat on my lap. Bravo!
I love that Ocellus is keeping the dice. Although, I would have kept the 4 sided one, even if they are hateful... No, especially if they are hateful, they would make excellent caltrops.
Speaking of terrifying kitchens...
The previous kitchen I worked in was not set up so sensibly. The way out would have been through the storage room, and just like in this story, there was a padlock on the exit. (If there had been a fire, I would have had an easier time breaking through the window to the dining room) But thinking about things catching on fire, it's a good thing all the lamps and lanterns seem to have a cool blue flame. Because if a fire started and Ocellus has no way to escape outside... putting the fire out would be life or death for sure. (I wonder if those candles on the table would produce blue flame too.)
Note to self: disguise a changeling as a hall stand. Seriously though, Luna was always a favorite of mine, so I'm going to need to try not to let my preconception of her color the narrative too much. That being said, being able to find Ocellus and throw her a much needed lifeline is a pretty excellent move, so I'm kinda relieved that she gets at least a few moments to shine.
This is a very 'gameplay experience' chapter which I normally am not a fan of when other authors try to do this. FoE's the exception, and so is this story (for now). I like the sort of ASMR feeling I get when I read the prose of this chapter.
The chapter mostly spends time establishing the 'world' Ocellus is in now, what she's up against, give her the lamp (which I assume will be her 'Little Macintosh' for the rest of the story, if the cover art says something), and after evading some love-starved 'lings, finally gets in contact with Luna and given a goal that I assume the next chapter will be focused on. Not a lot for me to comment on, but I'm still enjoying Prey so far.
Oh yeah, hope this isn't annoying, but I found this goof while reading:
From this day forward I will always refer to Silverstream as 'Silverstream of Gallus', and there's nothing anyone can do to stop me.
Recently started playing Prey so I could be ready to catch the references!
So far the first couple chapters feel a bit like Prey’s opening sequence, in a sense. Only a really general sense.
Changelings are obviously mimics and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the main inspiration for this story :PPPP.
Luna feels like January’s character.
Also, gotta appreciate the constant descriptions of the surroundings. Reminds me of carefully checking every little thing in the room for mimics :3.
And that be all the immediate references I noticed up to now.
Ocellus needs a wrench.
(I hope to see a 451 combination joke somewhere in here :PPPPPP)
Just caught on to the fact this chapter’s title is a reference to the Prey main mission title: “Through the glass darkly”
BTW I was relieved when I read this passage. I couldn't think of why else the Changelings would have started off looking like furniture, and was worried that their behavior was altered just for the sake of aping the scenes from Prey.
New Objective: Locate the Throne Room
This was a super atmospheric chapter! I really felt Ocellus' fear and panic, and for a decent chunk of text with next to no dialogue, it was paced really well. The creepy stuff was appropriately creepy, and her rising anxiety felt real. But I also liked the little moments you put in here that reminded us that she has a life beyond the terrible circumstances of the present:
I adored this example.
It just felt so on point in terms of character and setting and the moment. Sterling work, this. Looking forward to more.
Wow, a new story from Kkat, inspired by a game I'm actually familiar with this time? I was already interested from the start, and that interest has definitely been kept.
The third person, present tense narration was a little weird to get used to, but it works. The voices of the Young Six are captured well, especially Ocellus herself. She feels notably alien and separate compared to her friends, and not just because she's a changeling. Her worries and insecurities about her true self and identity tie in well to the events of the game.
Of course Rarity, with a field trip to who knows where and a mysterious test afterward, why on earth wouldn't she think everything is going to be ok?
Just whack suspicious objects with a wrench to look for disguised changelings, it's that easy.
It's no wonder Ocellus had such strong reactions and looked at the mirror to see herself; this place started reminding me of her nightmares pretty quickly. This whole scenario does not feel right at all. The surprise field trip, the cryptic notes supposedly written by Discord or Rarity, Luna of all ponies showing up to activate the mirror portal, the starless night outside, the way that drone just flew off after dropping those useful orbs, the whole thing is a little unsettling.
10261211
Check the wrench first.
Holy macro this chapter was crazy poor Ocellus She really is the only one there with those crazy changeling I hope luna will found a way to get her out
10261908
Yeah, if she didn't took a wrench for this trip, its identity would be suspicious.
Throw dices at it? :P
But I'm suspicious of those dices
Just a hunch, is the title for this chapter named after a song in risk of rain 2? as the first song on the soundtrack is Through a cloud, Darkly, I would like to know if thats the case.
10896718 "Through a glass darkly" is originally a phrase from a KJV Bible verse. The phrase has been used or played on in countless media -- everything from a speech by Obama to a Star Trek episode to a novel about the author of "Alice in Wonderland" to the soundtrack you mentioned.
I chose it because not only is it perfectly fitting for the chapter, but because of its similarity to "Through the Looking Glass".
Wow the writing here is fantastic. Some of these parts had me genuinely spooked haha
Amazing work as always. Excited to see Ocellus level up and become a master survivor.
Well, this is shaping up to be an interesting read. I have no familiarity with Prey whatsoever, but the writing so far gives me confidence that that won't be an issue.
I like that Ocellus is perceptive and clever enough to figure out that she was brought here intentionally, even if everything else is still a mystery.