Ocellus' Magical Mystery Cure

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 1

Ocellus walked miserably back towards the School of Friendship with a piece of paper in her magical grip. She sighed as she recalled how happy she was earlier that very day. She then took a look at the page in her grip, one of six to be precise. It was to be the greatest research paper she had ever written. It was all about the Pillars of Equestria and how their qualities related to the Elements of Harmony. It was sure to have gotten an A+, but it wasn't to be apparently.

Ocellus looked up at the sky as she went over the morning's events in her mind. She felt like an idiot for not using a paperclip on the six pages, and for not watching where she was going. Her heart had sunk into the deepest of depths as she looked up from where she fell after tripping, only to see an errant breeze carry off all six pages of her research paper into the distance, and in different direction.

She had ignored the cries of her friends as she got back up onto her hooves and ran off after one of the pages. Her panic was so intense that she had forgotten she could fly or even use magic for a few minutes. She did catch up to the page eventually, but by then, the other fives pages were nowhere to be found.

And so, Ocellus was walking with her head down low back towards the school. She was weighed down by the knowledge that two weeks worth of work, which included staying up into the later hours of Princess Luna's night three separate times, was all for nothing.

And on top of all of that, the school bell had rung a while ago, meaning she was seriously late for class. Something she never was until today.

All in all, Ocellus wanted to cry.

"Hey, Ocellus!" cried out the cheery voice of Silverstream.

Ocellus looked up to see all of her friends gathered together outside of the school. They were all smiling at her for some reason.

"Why the long face?" Gallus added in a cocky tone.

The sight of seeing anycreature happy while she was so miserable only fueled her unhappiness further. Her face set into a tight frown, Ocellus replied bitterly, "Oh, I don't know, maybe it's because the research paper I worked on for two weeks just blew away!"

Yona chuckled softly, much to Ocellus' surprise. Before she could confront her friends on their strange behavior, Ocellus received an incredible shock when each of them held up a page of the paper she had worked so hard on.

Ocellus gasped, and she said breathlessly, "You found the pages?"

"All of 'em!" Sandbar said with a grin, and he walked over and handed Ocellus the page he had found.

Ocellus took the page with her magic and said, "Oh wow, you guys. . ."

"Yeah, yeah, we're awesome. We know," Gallus said as he flew over and handed off another page to Ocellus.

Ocellus smiled warmly and said, "Thank you! Thank you all so much!"

Silverstream handed off another page to Ocellus and said, "You can count on us!"

Ocellus took the page with a smile, but then she gained a worried look and said, "Wait. . . Oh no! I've made you all late for class, haven't I? Sorry. . ."

Smolder shrugged as she came over and handed another page off to Ocellus. "Eh, don't sweat it. You needed help didn't you? Besides, you'd do the same, right?" Smolder said.

Ocellus nodded and said, "Yes. I'd help you guys any time."

"Yona don't mind being late!" Yona said happily as she walked over to Ocellus, "Yona happy she helped friend!"

Gallus nodded and winked. "Same here," he said.

"We all know how hard you worked on it," Sandbar said, "How couldn't we help you?"

Ocellus took the last page from Yona and absentmindedly straightened up the papers as she gazed at her friends. The emotional low point she had been in a moment ago combined with the act of uplifting kindness her friends had given her made her very loved at that moment.

"I . . . I don't know what to say. . ." Ocellus said, smiling a sweet smile, blissfully unaware of a strange event that was happening within her body. A spot on her chest, right where her heart was, was beginning to glow with light blue magic.

This glowing became a slight cause for concern for the five friends, and they all stared at Ocellus nervously.

"Uh. . . Ocellus?" Sandbar asked tentatively.

"Ocellus really shiny. . ." Yona said nervously while squinting at the Changeling.

Ocellus had her eyes closed at this point, so she was completely unaware of the odd looks she was getting from the rest of the group. She also didn't seem to hear their nervous remarks.

"My friends. . ." she said softly and with a smile as the light coming from her chest slowly grew brighter and brighter.

The five creatures were forced to look away and shut their eyes as the light became nearly as bright as Celestia's Sun. There was then a mighty flash, accompanied by the cracking and whooshing sound of something magically being brought into being. After this, the light quickly faded away, allowing the five friends to open up their eyes and see that where Ocellus once stood, there was now a crystal-blue cocoon about one and a half times the young Changeling's size. Lying on the ground in front of it in a nice neat stack were the six pages of Ocellus's report.

". . . .Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. . ." Gallus drawled out while everycreature else stared at the cocoon with slack jawed expressions.

Smolder slowly suggested, "Maybe Changelings. . . molt?"

Then Gallus suddenly smacked himself up the side of his own head and shouted, "Grr! Darn it, Gallus! Get your head in the game!"

Gallus then quickly took the air, hovering above the cocoon, and gave orders to the group. "Alright! All of you! Make a ring around . . . this thing. . . and make sure no creature touches it, breaths on it, or even gets within spitting distance of it! None of you guys touch it either! And if any creature even tries to get too close, you know what to do, Yona! Silverstream, you got claws, so you grab Ocellus's report and make sure nothing happens to it! I mean, if it's the cause of all this then it better get handed in on time and graded for all the trouble it caused. Yes, Smolder, I know you got claws too, but we aren't risking you sneezing it to ashes. Right. While you're all doing that, I'm gonna go get Princess Twilight. We good? Good!"

Gallus then flew off into the school in search of the pony he hoped would have the answers to this strange problem.

And all the while, the five friends all had the same thought: "What happened to Ocellus?"

Chapter 2

The five friends, plus Twilight Sparkle and Spike, were still gathered around the blue cocoon. Surrounded by various books, Twilight stood a yard away from the cocoon, still on a continuous notetaking spree. Twilight filled page after page with drawing, diagrams, and detailed descriptions. Spike handed her blank pages with one claw, and collected filled up page after filled up page with the other. Soon he had a pretty haft stack of papers in his right claw, struggling to keep the stack balanced as he kept his wings flapping to keep hovering at eye level with Twilight.

"I understand you all are worried about Ocellus," Twilight said to the group while still taking notes, "So I'll still allow you all to stay. But I don't think it would do any harm for you all to go to class."

"We're not leaving Ocellus," Sandbar said with uncharacteristic defiance.

Gallus nodded determinedly and said, "You got that right. You'd really think we'd risk sitting in a classroom when Ocellus finally busts out of that thing?"

"Yeah! We are not gonna miss seeing that!" Smolder said with a slight touch of eagerness.

Silverstream was more nervous that she'd ever been in her life. "I just hope she's okay in there," she squeaked out.

Yona tapped Spike on the tail and said, "Changeling King come soon, right?"

Spike shrugged awkwardly, as he was still holding the stack of notes, and he said, "I sent Thorax the letter, and he sent a letter right back, although it wasn't as much as a letter as a short note. 'Don't worry. Leave her be. I'll be there soon.' That's all he wrote."

Yona still frowned nervously for a moment, then she gasped and said with a smile, "It's soon!"

"Huh?" Spike asked.

"Thorax say he be here soon! It's soon!" Yona cheered, and she pointed up at the sky.

Everycreature looked up and saw the King of the Changelings buzzing through the sky straight towards them. Thorax landed a few feet away, and his attention was immediately captured by the cocoon.

"Thorax! You got here so quickly!" Twilight said in relief, and she used her magic to grab the stack of pages from Spike. She held them up in front of Thorax and said ,"I gathered as much information as I could. We should be able to figure this out soon."

Thorax didn't respond to Twilight, and he looked right over the stack of papers. He nudged the stack out of the way as he walked right up to the cocoon. He sighed and looked upon it with a mixture of nostalgia and pride.

"I didn't think it would happen so quickly," Thorax mused, then he turned to Twilight and said, "Your School of Friendship works, Twilight. Don't let anycreature tell you otherwise."

Twilight blinked, and she said, "Oh, well, thanks. . .but-."

Throax then looked at Ocellus' friends and said, "You all were amazing too. You were just the friends she needed."

Smolder huffed and said, "Okay, no disrespect mister Changeling King, but seriously, what are you talking about? What happened to Ocellus!"

Thorax nodded understandingly and said, "Yeah, I get that this all seems very strange."

"No kidding," Gallus remarked with a roll of his eyes.

"I got a bit of the story in the letter Twilight wrote," Thorax said, "But I think I should get it directly from you."

Sandbar was the first to step up and speak. "Ocellus had been working really hard on this research paper, but the wind blew the pages away, so we all split up and grabbed them."

Silverstream then jumped in, "So we gave her the pages back, and she got so happy, and then her heart starting glowing, and then there was a flash, and she was that cocoon thingy!"

Thorax nodded slowly and said, "Okay. Did she say anything in particular?"

Smolder answered, "Right before she went into that thing, she was like 'my friends', and that was it."

Thorax then turned to cocoon, stepped a little closer, and gently rested his right forehoof against it. He stood there with his eyes closed for a moment, then he opened his eyes and took his hoof away. "Did any of you touch it?" he asked the five young creatures, and they all replied with no. Thorax then backed away from the cocoon and said, "Okay then. Any of you, go ahead and touch the cocoon."

No one moved at first, they mostly just looked at each other nervously. Eventually, Sandbar nodded to himself, and he boldly walked over to the cocoon and gently put his right forehoof on it.

Everycreature watched with baited breath, waiting to see what would happen.

After nearly a moment of silence, Sandbar looked nervously at the cocoon and said, "Is something supposed to happen?"

"Hmm," was all Thorax said.

This only made Sandbar more nervous, and he gazed longingly at the cocoon and said, "Is something wrong? Will Ocellus ever-?"

Sandbar was suddenly cut off when a light shined from within the cocoon. It startled him so much that he took his hoof away, and the light promptly went out.

"What?" Sandbar gasped.

Looking excited, Thorax eagerly asked the Earth Pony, "What were you thinking about?"

Confused, Sandbar replied, "I was just thinking that. . . I wanted my friend back."

Thorax smiled as he had a moment of realization. "Of course! It was obvious! All of you, gather around the cocoon and touch it. And while you do, keep thinking about Ocellus. Think of all the times you had together, and the times you will have together after this."

Silverstream quickly stood beside Sandbar and placed her right talon onto the cocoon. "That's easy! I'd do anything to help a friend of mine!"

The cocoon began to glow with blue light once again, and as the rest of the creatures came in close and touched it, the light grew even brighter.

Sandbar stood watching the light, dazzled by it's color and brightness.

"Ahem!" Gallus said loudly, looking at Sandbar in annoyance.

"What?" Sandbar asked, only to realize in the very next second that he had taken his hoof away. Sandbar smiled sheepishly and said, "Oh. . . right."

Sandbar touched his hoof to the surface of the cocoon, and the light reached maximum power, forcing everyone to close their eyes and look away once again. There was the sound of something cracking, and then the sound of something shattering, and then the light was gone.

When everyone opened their eyes and looked, everyone but Thorax was utterly shocked by what they saw. Where the cocoon once was, there stood a Changeling an inch or two taller than she was before she had entered the cocoon. Her once arctic blue body was now light turquoise in color, and her horn was twice as long. The color of her wings had remained the same, but what really grabbed everyone's attention was her beautiful sky-blue mane and tail. Then she opened her eyes, and everyone marveled at the blue-green pupils she now possessed. In a way, she was reminiscent of a small, gentle, and beautiful version of Chrysalis.

"Wha-?" she breathed out, her voice still the same as always. Her eyes darted around at her friends who were still gathered in a circle around her. Then she noticed Thorax standing nearby and said, "King Thorax? What's going on? What's happening to. . . me. . ." Her voice trailed off as she felt her new mane brush against her shoulders. She lifted a hoof to touch it, and her pupils shrank in shock as she moved the long hair so she could see it. "Why do I have hair?!" she gasped.

Thorax approached her, and the other five stepped away to give the tow Changelings some room. "Ocellus," Thorax said gently, "You were always the most intelligent Changeling, always ready to learn, and wanting to learn. And believe it or not, you had a lot of magic within you as well. I could just feel it. I honestly didn't know what to do next, until Twilight told me about her Friendship School. It was all so clear. Friendship is the most powerful source of magic in existence, and you were well equipped to learn about it. I noticed how shy you were, but that only made me even more sure that you needed to come here."

Thorax cracked a smile and continued, "And when you pretty much defied literally everyone so you could stay with your new friends, that settled it. The friendship you shared with them truly was the key to unlocking your potential. . ."

Thorax then bowed low and declared, ". . . as the very first Changeling Princess."

Author's Note

I predict there being three more chapters after this. . .

Chapter 3

For the six students, it was one of those times when the entire world seems to be moving at lightspeed. Everything around them was happening so fast, and they were being left in the dust, all left reeling with their minds blown.

Thorax had said that there was so much that needed to be done and discussed. The new Princess' four close broodmates needed to brought over as well. Not wanting to either worry them or get their hopes up, Thorax hadn't told them about Ocellus' cocooning yet; but now that the ascension was complete, showing them what Ocellus had become was top priority.

In addition, Thorax wanted Twilight's help in giving the very first Changeling Princess an through examination. The biology of the Changeling race had already changed dramatically when it rather abruptly transitioned from selfishly stealing love to freely sharing it. There were still some question on why Thorax had become a much larger Changeling King, not to mention what made a Changeling King biologically different from the other Changelings. Naturally, there were just as many questions about Ocellus' new form. There was some question on the toughness of her chitin and carapace, her Wing Power levels, the significance of her hair in relation to Chrysalis' hair, and of course her magical power and capacity for love.

Therefore, Twilight instructed the other five students to go catch up on all the classes they missed via Starlight. The five of them were either dazed and confused in Sandbar, Yona, and Silverstream's case; or frowning in silent contemplation in Gallus and Smolder's case. Regardless, they were all led off by Spike under Twilight's instruction, leaving Ocellus looking like she lost a staring contest with a cockatrice.

The sense of the world moving far too fast to keep up with caused the make-up lessons and reviews to go by in a moment, even though it ended up being late evening by the time it was all done. The time they had spent huddled around the cocoon turned out to be longer than they had realized. They hadn't even noticed that they had skipped lunch, and for Yona, that was really saying something.

So, the five of them soon found themselves gathered in the cafeteria to eat a late dinner.

Everycreature was oddly quiet.

". . . So!" Silverstream said a bit loudly, "Ocellus is a Princess now. . ."

All she got in response were nods, which were either silent or delivered with a grunt. Sandbar and Yona had move from dazed to unsure, while Gallus and Smolder were still frowning.

Silverstream smiled nervously, her eyes betraying her trepidation, and said, "I mean, that's a good thing, right?"

Sandbar sat up a bit straighter and said quickly, "Oh yeah, sure! It is good! We should all be happy for her."

"Whatever," Smolder said with a shrug of her shoulders, "No big deal, right?" She then effortlessly tossed a ruby into her mouth and chewed it slowly.

Yona gazed at Smolder in shock. "No big deal?" she echoed as she slammed her forehooves on the table, causing some of the stew she was eating to splash up out of its bowl, "Very BIG deal! Ocellus is royal now! Ocellus is very important to Changelings!"

Gallus dropped the nut bread he was pecking at with a huff and said, "Yeah, no kidding. Ocellus is gonna be living the high life now. All the Changelings are gonna be looking up to her and stuff-."

Sandbar interrupted the griffon quickly, saying, "But she's still the same old Ocellus."

Yona frowned, "Ocellus doesn't look like same old Ocellus."

"Umm," Sandbar said nervously.

Smolder came to his rescue and said, "Changelings change they way they look all the time. So what?"

"Not like that," Gallus remarked as he folded his arms.

Silverstream couldn't keep her smile up any longer, and she said nervously, "I suppose this is a pretty big deal. . ."

"Aren't you royalty?" Sandbar asked the hippogriff.

Silverstream absentmindedly fiddled with her claws as she replied, "I'm just Queen Novo's niece. I don't have any royal powers or anything. But Ocellus. . . she's an actual Changeling Princess."

Sandbar looked down at his half eaten plate of alfalfa fritters and sighed. "Well, look. There's one thing we can agree on: things have changed."

And on that note, the five friends were silent again, stared at their food for a moment; with the exception of Smolder who just finished eating quickly; and got up to head to their rooms, where they each found themselves slipping into an uneasy and slightly uncomfortable slumber.

Yona eagerly walked with a spring in her step as she approached the entrance to the Changeling Kingdom. She was excited to meet up with her friend, who was now a Princess.

When she got to the entrance, two Changeling guards on either side stepped in her way, standing firm and barring her from entering.

"Who are you and-?" the one on the left said.

"-why are you here?" the one on the right concluded.

With a smile, Yona replied, "Yona is here to see friend Ocellus!"

The guards scowled contemptuously at Yona.

"Somecreature like you-."

"-could never see the Princess!"

Shocked by this, Yona asked, "Why can Yona not see friend Ocellus?"

The guards frowned with disgust and pointed right at Yona.

"The Changeling Princess is perfect and-."

"-everything about you is wrong!"

"A perfect Princess can't be around-."

"-somecreature that is all wrong!"

"How is Yona wrong?!" Yona asked desperately, almost sounding like she was pleading.

The Changeling guards both smirked at the poor yak.

"The Princess is pretty and shiny and smooth, and you-."

"-are too big and hairy and fat!"

"The Princess is gentle and soft, and you-."

"-are big and loud and smash stuff!"

"The Princess has good manners and speaks well, and you-."

"-talk all wrong!"

Then, both Changelings turned into duplicates of Yona and began talking loudly in crude imitations of her voice.

"Yona big and like smash! Yona smash! Yona smash!"

"Yona big and hair and eat everything!"

Overcome by all of this, and struck by the fear that maybe she really didn't belong in the company of a Princess, Yona fell to the ground and tried to cover her ears. When it didn't stop her from hearing the Changelings, she shouted out loud, "No! Stop! Yona just wants to see friend Ocellus!"

"Yona no talk like other creatures!"

"Yona says names over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and. . ."

Silverstream climbed up a very tall staircase with a spring in her step. She was excited not just because of the stairs, but because of what lay at the top of them. She was so excited that it never even occurred o her to look down.

Soon enough, she had reached the top, and was standing before a massive silver door. On the door was a sign that said "ROYALTY ONLY". Silverstream knocked on the door, and it was answered by none other than Princess Ocellus herself.

Silverstream smiled eagerly as she looked inside. She could see Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, as well as Queen Novo and Princess Skystar. She even saw King Thorax and Lord Ember, who was romantically feeding the Changeling King some grapes.

"Silverstream, what are you doing here?" Princess Ocellus asked in a surprised tone of voice.

Silverstream was caught of guard by the question, and she answered, "I just wanted to visit you, so I-."

"Oh, I'm really, really sorry, Silverstream," Princess Ocellus said, the sorrow apparent in her voice, "But this room is for royalty only."

"But I'm related to Queen Novo!" Silverstream pleaded, her eyes big and shiny.

Princess Ocellus just hung her head and sighed, "Again, I am so sorry, Silverstream. But you need to be actual royalty, like a princess or a queen. I guess we can't hang out with each other anymore."

Silverstream's eyes widened with horror at the very notion. "WHAT! NO! But we're-."

Suddenly, Princess Ocellus transformed into the Storm King, who laughed manically as he shoved Silverstream backwards.

Silverstream stumbled back onto the staircase, which suddenly collapsed into a long steep ramp that sent her sliding down, causing her to scream as she slid towards her doom faster and faster and faster and faster and faster and. . .

Gallus stood in a massive crowd of Changelings, and before the crowd was a large stage occupied by only one figure: Princess Ocellus.

As the Changeling Princess waved to the crowd, everyone cheered as loud as they could in response, screaming their adoration for their new princess.

Gallus waved his talons in the air in an attempt to get the Princess' attention, but she never seemed to look his way. He tried shouting out loud, screeching, even roaring; but he found that he couldn't make a sound. It wasn't just that the crowd was so loud that it drowned his voice it; it was as if he literally could not make a sound.

Finally losing his patience, Gallus decided to fly up out of the crowd and go talk to his friend directly. However, right when he was about a yard away from her, Gallus was suddenly seized by a magical grip and pulled off to the side. He soon found himself face to face with King Thorax, who looked very stern at the moment.

"What do you think you're doing?" Thorax asked in a rather dark tone of voice.

Indignant about being grabbed in the midst of flight, Gallus replied, "I was trying to go talk to a friend of mine. Is that too much to ask?"

Thorax didn't seem to hear what Gallus had said, either that or he just didn't care. The Changeling King pointed back at the crowd and said, "Don't you see how important the Princess is? How adored she is? How lifted up she is? Do you really think someone as high and mighty as Princess Ocellus should be seen with a lonely orphan that has nothing to contribute and is a complete nobody in Griffonstone?"

Gallus' beak hung open, and he found himself unable to come up with a flippant response. All he could say was, "I. . . I am."

Thorax nodded gravely and said, "Yes. Yes you are."

Thorax then used his magic to toss Gallus off the stage and onto the ground. When Gallus raised his head, he could only watch in horror as the endless crowd of Changeling charged into to trample him down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down. . .

Smolder strode into Ocellus' room, where the ordinary looking Changeling was busy studying.

"Hey, Ocellus! I heard that Sugarcube Corner has some sapphire cupcakes! Pretty good excuse for all of us to head over there for some treats, am I right?" Smolder said with a smile.

Ocellus looked up from the book she was reading and smiled back. She nodded and said, "Okay. Lead the way, Smolder."

Smolder turned around towards the door, which had somehow closed behind her, not that Smolder noticed or cared. Anyway, she walked over and opened the door, only to find that instead of the hallway, she was staring into a duplicate of Ocellus' room. However, there were a few key differences in this second room. Firstly, Princess Ocellus was there. Secondly, nearly the entire room was filled with piles of scrolls and stacks of paper.

Smolder blinked her eyes, confused by what she was seeing, and she asked, "Ocellus?"

The Changeling Princess didn't look up from what she was doing. She merely kept speaking to herself in a tense sounding mantra as she levitated scrolls and pages around her, occasionally stopping to stamp something or sign something with a quill, "Gotta approve this. Gotta sign that. Gotta check this. Gotta send that. Gotta take a letter. . ."

"Ocellus?" Smolder repeated a little louder as she stepped a little closer.

"Meeting with Ember in Dragonlands. Meeting with Rutherford in Yakyakistan. Meeting with Novo in Mount Aris. . ."

"Ocellus?"

"Crystal Berries from the Crystal Empire. Gems from the Dragonlands. Apples from Equestria. What do we trade? What do we trade!?"

"OCELLUS!" Smolder cried out, now standing face to face with the Princess.

While still levitating the papers and scrolls around her, Princess Ocellus reached out and grabbed Smolder's shoulder with her forehooves. She pulled the dragon in close and shouted in her face, "THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS TO TAKE AWAY, AND THINGS TO BRING BACK! SO MANY DECISIONS TO MAKE! SO MANY DECREES TO DECREE! SO MANY ROYAL THINGS LEFT TO DO!"

Then, the entire room went dark, and the sound of a creaking door could be heard right behind Smolder. Already creeped out by Princess Ocellus' behavior, Smolder turned around fast to see King Thorax and Princess Twilight standing in the hallway.

The two of them spoke as one, and said, "You have so much to do. You have so many responsibilities. You don't have time for fun."

Smolder was paralyzed as she watched Princess Ocellus walk out the door, which slammed shut behind her. At that point, she could move again, and she raced towards the door and tried to open it, but it was locked tight. She tried clawing through it, but it felt like it was made of iron. So, all Smolder could do was grab the doorknob and pull and pull and pull and pull and pull and pull and pull and pull and pull. . .

Sandbar and Princess Ocellus were laughing together as they relaxed on the banks of the lake.

Sandbar turned to look at the Princess, and he said, "Things may change, but you will always be you, Ocellus."

The Changeling Princess blushed a bit and smiled.

Sandbar then nodded with determination and said, "That's why, I've gotta tell you something, Ocellus." He took a deep breath, then said, "Ocellus, I kinda. . . I really. . . I honestly feel that I-."

"My Princess!" an elegant voice cried out from above.

Sandbar looked up to see a Changeling with a color scheme similar to his own fly down and land right next to Princess Ocellus.

The Princess smiled warmly at the newcomer, then she turned to Sandbar and said, "Sandbar, I'd like you to meet my Royal Consort."

Then the two Changelings kissed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sandbar shouted as he awoke and sat up in bed.

He sat there, breathing heavily as his heart pounded as the cracks in it quickly healed at the realization that it was just a dream. However, the fear in Sandbar's heart and mind was very real. So, he made up his mind and jumped out of bed. He quickly opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, and was surprised to see that four other creatures had the same idea.

The five friends stood halfway in their rooms and halfway out into the hall, staring at each other with a mixture of surprise and worry.

"Well," Gallus said, finally breaking the silence, "I think we all know what the problem is."

Yona had tears in her eyes as she whimpered out, "If Ocellus is Princess, then friends never see her again!"

Smolder scowled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah. She'll be too busy doing Princess stuff."

Gallus stared at the ground and said, "Busy or not, we're just not the right crowd for a Princess."

Silverstream's tears were flowing freely as she wailed, "We'll never measure up!"

"I'm just a commoner," Sandbar muttered under his breath. Then he held his head up high and said, "Alright! We're not loosing our friend without a fight! There's gotta be something we can do to save our friendship with Ocellus!"

Smolder smacked her right fist into her left palm and said, "I say we put our foot. . . hoof. . . claw. . . paw. . . whatever! I say we put it down and tell Thorax and Twilight. . . something!"

Silverstream sniffed as she got her sobs under control, and she said, "But Ocellus is already a Princess. Even if we could take it way form her, how could we take it away from her? It's an incredible gift."

Smolder threw her arms up into the air and said, "I don't know! Look, maybe if we tell them what the problem is now, maybe they can work something out. Find someway for us all to keep in touch with her, or something."

"Oh gosh, I just thought of something," Gallus said as his eyes widened slightly.

"What?" Yona asked nervously, "Tell Yona!"

"Ocellus becoming the first Changeling Princess is such a big deal, she might have to go back to the Changeling Kingdom tomorrow, or maybe even tonight," Gallus said slowly.

"So soon!?" Silverstream whimpered.

Sandbar suddenly took off at full speed, calling back behind him, "Then we've got to talk to them now, even if it's just to say goodbye! Come on!"

And so, the five friends raced to Princess Twilight's office, where they hopped Twilight, Thorax, the Changeling Princess' four broodmates, and the new Princess herself would still be.

Author's Note

Can you find the Phantom Tollbooth reference?

Chapter 4

Inside Princess Twilight's office, the new Changeling Princess sat nervously with her four broodmates nearby. It had been a whirlwind of activity all day for Ocellus, with medical examinations, Wing Power measurements, and various magic tests. Add in all of the questions Twilight and Thorax were asking her, and it was most certainly the most hectic day she had ever experienced. Luckily, her immediate family was there to support her, so it wasn't at all a torturous experience, albeit a bit stressful.

Twilight neatened up the stack of papers she had accumulated throughout the whole event, and she said with a smile, "Well, it took nearly a whole day's work, but we did it. Now we know as much about Changeling Princesses as we do about Alicorn Princesses!"

"Which really isn't all that much," Spike remarked with a shrug of his shoulders.

Twilight shot Spike a glare, but quickly smiled at Princess Ocellus and said, "Well, I know from experience that you'll adapt to this change in no time. It'll probably be even easier for you, because you already had a horn and wings before."

One of Ocellus' younger siblings; a small, pink little nymph, giggled while batting playfully at her long sky-blue hair. The other one, who was a light shade of green, just stared with a smile, and quietly remarked, "I want hair like that someday. . ."

Thorax smiled at this adorable display, and he said, "This is a certainly a great day for all Changelings, Princess Ocellus. Your destiny has definitely been fulfilled."

Ocellus blinked her eyes, and she stammered out nervously, "I. . .I. . ."

Ocellus' father put a comforting hoof on her shoulder and said, "We know it's a lot to take in, but just think about it. You're a Princess! Enjoy it, Ocellus! Enjoy the feeling of having come so far and given such a wondrous opportunity to so much for our people!"

Ocellus gazed at her father for a moment, and then looked between Thorax and Twilight and said, "But. . . but. . . destiny? Does that mean I was going to become a Princess no matter what or-?"

Twilight smiled and shook her head, "No, no. It was more like. . . you had it within you all along. Like how an acorn can grow into an oak tree if its planted in good soil and given enough water and sunlight. Your potential just needed a little something, and a little time, to come out."

Throax nodded, "Twilight's right, Ocellus. And now, you have an important role to fulfill."

Ocellus' eyes widened at this, and she soon found herself closely surrounded by her broodmates. One of them said lovingly, "We're all so very proud of you-."

"I CAN'T DO THIS!" Ocellus shouted frantically, her wings buzzing wildly as she slipped out of the group hug her family had tried to give her.

Everyone stared for a moment, and then Spike broke the tension with a single, "Woah."

Ocellus clamed her wings down, and she sighed and hung her head. "I'm so sorry," she said softly, "I just . . . this whole responsibility. . . this just isn't something I can do!"

Thorax stepped forward and said soothingly, "Ocellus, listen-."

"I'm not the kind of Changeling to rule over anycreature else or manage things or make tough decisions!" Ocellus said in a panicky tone, then she partially hid her face behind her hair and said, "Besides, that would take me away from my friends. . ." Ocellus shut her eyes tightly and said, "I'd rather be with them than be a Princess."

BANG!

The doors were thrown open hard, revealing all five of Ocellus' friends.

Gallus, the one who had thrown open the doors, led the group as they entered the room. The griffon marched over to the Changeling Princess and said, "Ocellus, are you crazy!? We're not worth it!" Then he blinked and said to himself, "I can't believe I said that. That's the exact opposite of the reason we came here."

Silverstream quickly ran up to the griffon's side and said, "What Gallus means is, you shouldn't give up being a Princess just for us."

"We all care about you, Ocellus," Sandbar said determinedly, yet with a caring expression on his face, "We all want you to be something amazing, and we wouldn't want you to miss out on anything on our account."

Yona nodded frantically and said, "Ocellus deserves to be Princess! Yona no take that away from friend!"

Ocellus looked at the four speakers with a saddened expression, and she said, "But I could never enjoy being a Princess without you guys."

Smolder had been waiting silently in the doorway during all this, but after Ocellus' remark, the dragon hovered over the group and said to Ocellus, "Then fix it so that you aren't always a Princess! Don't let all that Princess stuff swallow you whole! Make time to just be our good friend Ocellus instead of The Royal Changeling Princess Ocellus! Work something out! That's what. . ."

Smolder realized she was shouting, and looked apologetically at Thorax, Twilight, Spike, and Ocellus' four immediate family members. She made a soft landing in front of the group of concerned students, and resumed speaking to Ocellus. "That's what we were all worrying about; that this. . .change would take you away from us. But it doesn't have to," Smolder said strongly.

"That's right," Silverstream added, feeling confidence build up within her as she became more certain of her feelings about the whole matter, "We want you to be a Princess. But we don't want our friendship to change."

A spark seemed to ignite in Sandbar's eyes, and he gasped and said, "Guys. . . I don't think it has. . . or it will!" He then pointed at Ocellus and said, "Ocellus was willing to give up being a Princess for us. But. . . Ocellus, listen. I don't think you have to do that. I don't think you, or the rest of us, would ever let anything split us up."

The look in Ocellus' eyes told Sandbar that she understood what he was saying, and that gave him the courage to step up closer to her and say, "So. . . you go ahead and be a Princess, Ocellus. I'm positive that you'll be the best Princess that ever was."

Sandbar then realized the company he was currently with, and his eyes widened slightly. "Uh. . ." he said nervously, and he looked over at Twilight. The Alicorn gave him a proud smile, much to his surprise. Then, much to all the surprise of all six young creatures, Twilight started laughing merrily.

"Okay. . ." Gallus said slowly with one eyebrow raised, "What was the joke, again?"

Twilight shook off her bout of laughter, and she smiled broadly at the six friends and said, "Oh dear, I'm surprise you all haven't figured it out yet! Don't you see? Ocellus is the Changeling Princess of Friendship."

Chapter 5

Princess Ocellus and her five friends all stared at Princess Twilight in surprise.

"Princess of Friendship?" Ocellus echoed, "But, you're the Princess of Friendship."

Twilight just smiled and said, "Friendship is hardly something restricted to one race, nor should it ever be. All creatures can experience friendship among their own kind and with other kinds. Look what it has done for the Changelings, and Griffonstone is getting a little better day by day. Plus, Yaktakistan, the Dragon Lands, and the Hippogriffs have been interacting peacefully with the rest of the world more than ever! Everyone deserves friendship, so it stands to reason to other lands, all lands, should have their own special champions of friendship to make sure it spreads. Friendship can and will change the world, and I truly believe that you, Ocellus, will be one of the creatures to ensure that happens."

Ocellus was awestruck by this, and she nervously ran a forehoof through her long mane and said, "Wow. . . I had no idea. I mean. . ." A smile slowly spread across her face, and she said, ". . . It's almost like being a Princess of Friendship is something that I've always wanted. . . but never thought of!"

Twilight nodded in understanding, "Believe me. I know how it feels."

Smolder suddenly stepped forward and said, "So, wait a minute. What exactly is Ocellus gonna be doing now as the Changeling Princess of Friendship? I mean, you always seem really busy Princess Twilight, so. . ."

"It's simple, actually," Twilight replied confidently, "The thing about being a Princess of Friendship is that you never stop learning-."

"Wait, NEVER!?" Silverstream exclaimed in shock.

"I don't mean just in a classroom," Twilight clarified quickly, "Sure, Ocellus will continue to attend classes with the rest of you for the full extent of your time here. But after that, she will still be learning through experiences. Friendship is a part of life, it needs to be experienced by going through the joys, trials, adventures, problems, and emotions that come with having friends."

Spike flew over to the group of young creatures and said with a cheeky smile, "Translation: Ocellus being a Princess won't split you up! It'll make your friendship stronger!"

For the first time since she broke out of the cocoon, Ocellus finally looked truly excited about being a Princess. "Yes!" she said happily, "It makes sense! I mean, what's a Princess of Friendship without her friends, right?"

"Exactly," Twilight said, "After all, it was all the care and concern your friends showed you that triggered your transformation. Remember?"

The six were all awestruck when the realization hit them.

Princess Ocellus nodded, "You're right. I certainly am lucky to have such great friends in my life."

Yona nervously stepped forward and asked, "Yona is good enough friend for Friendship Princess Ocellus?"

Princess Ocellus stepped over to Yona and put a foreleg around her, appreciating the fact that her increased height allowed her to give her yak friend a proper hug.

"Of course, Yona. I couldn't be happier to have you as a friend," Princess Ocellus said kindly, then she turned to look at her other friends and added, "And the same goes to all of you."

Gallus cracked a mile and said, "Heh. I guess when you're best friends, it doesn't really matter where you've come from. Right?"

Silverstream grabbed Gallus by the talon and pulled him over into Yona and the Princess' hug, laughing all the way. "Well, yeah! It was silly to think that this would split us up," Silverstream said gleefully.

Sandbar shyly slipped in close to the Changeling Princess and said, "I'm just glad I- we all still get to spend time with you."

Smolder just shrugged and said, "Eh, I knew there was nothing to worry about here."

As Smolder stood with her arms folded, the other five merely stared at her with a look of impatience. Eventually, she smiled warmly and said, "Aw, what the hey. Make room for me."

As the six friends all shared the group hug initated by the new Princess, Twilight and Thorax shared a nod. Then, Thorax said, "I think it goes without saying that you five would definitely be the guests of honor at Princess Ocellus' coronation."

Sandbar answered for the group, "We wouldn't miss it for anything."

The entire Changeling kingdom was gathered within the hive's throne room. It was an amazing spectacle of color all around. King Thorax sat on his throne, looking prouder than ever. To the left of the Changeling King stood the new Princess' four broodmates and Equestria's Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, dressed for the ocassion. To his right were the five guests of honor, also appropraitely dressed, compliments of Rarity.

Stomping applause rang out as Princess Ocellus walked into down the room, honorably flanked by General Pharynx on one side and a recently appointed Colonel.

Changelings played flutes and lyres in a melodious song of triumphant honor. No words were needed to express the joy and excitement within every Changeling's heart, brought on by the hope for the many great things the new Princess would bring to their homeland.

Before long, Princess Ocellus had made it up to where King Thorax sat. He gave her a brief nod, and she turned around to face the large crowd of Changeling gathered before her.

"Just like we practiced," Thorax whispered encouragingly, his lips scarcely moving, and his voice just barely audible to Ocellus with the ambient music reaching its end.

Then there was silence, and the Changeling Princess of Friendship cleared her throat.

She then took one sweeping glance over the crowd before her, and smiled as she spoke confidentially to them all, "Not to long ago, I would've said that me, standing her, before all of you, to speak. . . would be impossible. And it would not be just because I wasn't a Princess, but because of my own shyness and meekness. I felt that I simply did not have the courage to make a difference in the world, or to let others know me too closely. But that all changed when King Thorax chose me to come to Princess Twilight's School of Friendship."

Princess Ocellus turned to her friends and said with all the care and love she could muster, "The five true, true friends I have made. . . Yona, Gallus, Sandbar, Silverstream, and Smolder. . . they not only helped me grow in self-confidence and courage, they also provided me with on of the purest, most innocent, sweetest love there is. The love of friendship."

The five of them were all pleased and touched by the words. Yona was a tremble with glee, while Gallus gave a quick wink and grin. Smolder just smiled proudly as Sandbar blushed bashfully and Silverstream was nodding so much it seemed like her head would fly off.

Princess Ocellus looked back out at the crowd and said, "Over time, as we supported each other, built each other up, fought and made up, solved problems, went through tough times, faced our fears, and overcame obstacles; that love got stronger as we gave it, received it, gave it back, and received even more. Eventually, it got so strong that it caused me to ascend to the form you see before you now. And it is my belief that it is the ability to appreciate the aspects I have listed, and to understand their value, no matter how small the gesture may seem to be on the surface, that it is key to truly becoming a Princess of Friendship."

The entire crowd stomped out their applause, much to the new Princess' delight. When it finally died down, Princess Twilight stepped forward, and Ocellus turned to face her.

"As the first Princess of Friendship," Twilight began, "I ask of you, Ocellus: Will you uphold the six Elements of Harmony; honesty, loyalty, kindness, generosity, laughter, and magic?"

"I will," Ocellus replied with certainty.

"And will you uphold the six virtues connected with them; strength, bravery, healing, beauty, hope, and sorcery?"

"I will."

"And will you always spread the magic of Friendship wherever you go and to all creatures; from the lands you call your home to the ends of the world?"

"I will."

Twilight smiled broadly, and gave Thorax a nod.

Thorax levitated a golden crown that could be described as a golden combination of Queen Chrysalis' crown and the crown Twilight wore after the Element of Magic had been returned to the Tree of Harmony. He placed the crown gently on Ocellus' head and declared, "I present to you. . . Princess Ocellus!"

The crowd went absolutely wild, the two younger broodmates were jumping up and down and cheering, the two older ones had tears of joy in their eyes, and Twilight gestured for the five young creatures to join their friend.

Princess Ocellus did not mind the roaring crowd before her at all, a feat that she would not have believe possible for herself at one time. But right now, as she stood with her very best friends around her, all she could do was smile and say, "Yes. . . everything is gonna be just fine!"

The End