Good Intentions

The relaxing sensation of warm water splashing onto the back of her head and trailing down the chitin of her neck finally broke through the cloudy mind space Ocellus had been lost in. Even as she shook herself and angled her body in such a fashion to wash away the sticky fluids coating her lower body the changeling began to reflect on the recent events. Her eyes clenched shut as repeating images of lewd actions played across them, her voice was quiet and hoarse as she spoke to herself.

"That isn't what I wanted... sure Gallus is flowing with joy and love, and made me happier than I--"

She angled her rump higher and squealed as the water cascaded across her sensitive folds, water dripping into her still stretched passage. It felt uncomfortable, it felt wrong, and yet her buglike wings were fluttering and splashing droplets of water across the insides of the shower. She shook her head and hissed.

"Focus! Silverstream is going to be furious, and I can't blame her. I never showed any interest in any of our friends like this and now..." Having content herself with being clean down there she returned her neck to the stream of water. "But its not like she is the only one allowed to have a crush on Gallus, right? If I explain to her that it was an accident and how happy he made me, maybe we'll find common ground."

She turned around in the shower, letting the torrent trickle down the whole length of her body once more and then grabbed the handle with her teeth and pulled it down, ending the peaceful sensation in an instance. With a heavy sigh she opened the glass door and stepped outside, snuggling up to the wall mounted towel to dry herself.

"I wish I could contact Thorax and ask for his advice, I am sure he would know a healthy way to express my feelings..."

Once she had dried her smooth body Ocellus stepped out of the bathroom and into the hall beyond. Glancing to her left across to the bed, she was unsurprised to witness the sleeping gryphon embracing a pillow, and felt her heart fill with warmth once more. That simple moment was enough for her senses to pick up the powerful emotions still emanating from his sleeping form, and tease her with desire to join.

"Sorry, but first I need to make sure that no one got hurt by this, then I'll be back and join you." She favored him with a smirk and turned away from the love-struck sight, unlocking the door of his room and slipping into the large hallway beyond.

Her mind was spinning with conflicting desires and plans and she needed an outside opinion. Ocellus would have preferred to ask Thorax, or one of the other experienced changelings back home, but with her options being as they were, she knew a trustworthy alternative.

"Come on in, door is open."

As soon as Ocellus had knocked on the door and the voice invited her inside any second thoughts she may have had fell from her mind. Doing as was requested she quickly pushed open the door with a hoof and slid into the room. Curiously she glanced around the room, taking note of the minor but noticeable changes that had occurred since her last visit. This room was in constant flux, its owner never quite content with the status quo, and yet it spoke for a pony who had found her place and calling, happy but not stagnant. Decorated with kites, pictures and mementos from halfway across the known lands, and at the center of it behind a large desk sat her soon to be confidant.

Their eyes met and she smiled warmly at Starlight Glimmer, filled with confidence as the many pieces of history around the room spoke for a pony not only well traveled, but also open minded. Of course Ocellus reminded herself, this was also the councilor of the School of Friendship, if anypony could be trusted to handle something with tact and grace it would be her. They eyes stayed locked in awkward silence as all this and more shot through the changelings mind, and finally it was Starlight who spoke first.

"It is nice to see you Ocellus. However, I assume you here because there is something I can help you with? Feel free to take a seat on the couch and fill me in." The mare rested her forehooves on the table and smiled warmly, wordlessly reassuring her that there was no rush. Ocellus took a seat on the couch before her and let the relaxing embrace calm her mind as she let silence linger once more and formulated her problems into a concise explanation.

"I have a crush on Gallus and need your advice on relationships." She blurted out the words and noted the surprised expression on the pony across the table, despite the fact that Starlight quickly returned to her stoic and warm smile a fraction of a second later. Nervously Ocellus reached out with her senses, wishing to know more about the nature of that momentary breach in facade, and felt her heart beat return to normal as the only thing that came back was a feeling of curiosity and compassion. Encouraged she continued. "But I know that he and Silverstream have feelings for each other. I don't know how I should tell them."

Ocellus fidgeted with her hooves, she was going to tackle this one step at a time. Starlight's warm smile shifted into a compassionate nod and within moments she had formulated her response "I want to assure you that affection for your friends is never something to be ashamed of. I understand that ponies in this school might have given you an impression that it is wrong to feel that way for someone already in a relationship, but that is simply a side effect of our monogamist society. We are well aware that many other cultures have different approaches, and Thorax explained to me before that changelings treat polygamy as a norm."

Ocellus nodded, it was of course normal for her kind to feel little inhibition about sharing mates, till recent it was borderline a necessity. Though, the topic had never come up between her friends and she had not realized that it was of a taboo nature outside her lands, curiosity got the better of her and the next question formulated itself.

"What about, Griffons? Do they mind having more then one..." her voice trailed off as she thought once more about last night, and this morning, about the possible new implications her actions might entail. Her mental image was gladly cut short by Starlight's responds.

"Griffons are a bit of a unique case, from what we gathered many of them don't take mates for life in the first place. Most value their freedom too greatly to be tied to any one place or person for long. However," there was a pause and Ocellus felt like Starlight was trying to place extra care into her next words, mulling on them and meeting her eyes. "It is my understanding that Gallus and Silverstream seem to have taken a more Hippogryph approach to this. Though, we staff attempt not to pry or take rumors too heart."

Ocellus nodded slowly, unsure if she should mention the recent fight she had witnessed. Even if the two had agreed on some longterm thing, maybe that had been a mistake and Gallus wasn't happy being hogged by one creature.

The changeling shook and blinked twice, quickly giving herself a mental slap. How could she think something so mean, and about one of her best friends? Silverstream had made him happy, but it had been Ocellus who had made him even happier, and did not demand such selfish limitations.

"Are you alright?" Her thoughts were broken through by the counselor, who had stepped up from her seat and approached the changeling, placing a hoof on her shoulder and radiating with concern. "I know this can be very stressful, and hippogryphs are very similar to ponies in their views. They value friendships with many creatures but see stable long-term romance as an ideal to search for. This expectation is increasingly so on ponies and hippogryphs from powerful families, but everycreature is unique and Silverstream has already pleasantly surprised many here with her willingness to commit herself to Gallus the way she has."

Ocellus stared into the eyes of her advisor, tilted her head, and gritted her teeth silently. She wasn't sure why, but "Silverstream this" and "Silverstream that" was starting to aggravate her. Still, she kept quiet and was wiling to let Starlight finish, soothed by the genuine glow of compassion coming from her.

"If you talk to them honestly and openly, I am sure they would understand your feelings and find a healthy compromise. They are two of our most mature students, all six of you are, and I trust that they will give real consideration to your feelings. If Gallus feels similar he will voice it, and with a mate as loving and kind as Silverstream I can assure you that she will look out for everycreature's best interest."

Their eyes stayed locked for awhile, the warm smile and positive emotions emanating from the pony giving Ocellus enough optimism to stop being so tense, and finally the changeling permitted herself a response.

"I... I think I understand, it's not like they'll be mad at me for just asking, right? If I talk to Silverstream and tell her that I would like to spend more time with Gallus, and Gallus wanted the same, she would be happy to oblige." There were gears turning in her mind, gears that were visible only to her and things began to seem much clearer. Forming her own smile she perked up and continued. "I will go talk to Silverstream right away, Gallus is going to be ecstatic." She practically leapt from the seat, giving Glimmer barely enough time to give a questioning eyebrow as the changeling darted to the door. "Thank you counselor Starlight."