This story is a sequel to: “Midnight Rendezvous” by RainbowDoubleDash (https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450191/midnight-rendezvous), itself a sequel to “We Finally Did It” by Rated Ponystar (https://www.fimfiction.net/story/450156/we-finally-did-it).
“So, think you’re ready to tell them?”
Despite her light tone, Smolder’s simple question, was enough to send a shiver through Ocellus’ carapace. “I—I think so?”
The young dragon sighed, patting Ocellus’ head fondly. “This isn’t a test, you know. If you don’t want to—”
“I do! It’s just…” Ocellus nestled up next to Smolder, resting her head against her side and enjoying the warmth of her scales. “How will they react after … you know, yesterday with Sandbar and Yona?”
Smolder didn’t answer right away, instead drumming her claws her claws gently along Ocellus’ elytra. Just yesterday, Sandbar had made waves in their small group after announcing that he and Yona had done it. There was amazement, shock, embarrassment, concern and no little confusion. Especially for Sandbar, who couldn’t understand why his proud announcement that the two had finally mastered their dance routine had somehow been taken the wrong way.
But it had gotten Ocellus thinking so that night, she and Smolder had decided to do the form of it that didn’t involve dance routines. “Okay, so maybe it’ll be a bit weird. But you aren’t great with handling secrets and the longer this gets stretched out, the weirder it’ll be. Besides, once it’s out there, it’s done. We don’t have to tell anycreature else, and if Gallus gives us any lip I can always set his tail on fire.”
Ocellus gasped. “Smolder! That’s not—oh, wait, you’re joking, aren’t you?” She giggled, untensing. Smolder opened her mouth to correct her, then thought better of it. Ocellus nuzzled her. “Thank you, I needed that. So, um, how do we…?”
“Bring it up?” Smolder shrugged again. “Eh, let’s just see how the conversation goes. We don’t have to go in making some big announcement of it. If not now, we can always mention it later, after the study session.” She poked Ocellus’ school bag. “Especially if you want to show off that new book of yours…”
As she expected, talking about Ocellus’ new prize was enough to get her eyes to light up with glee. “Come on, let’s go show them!” Ocellus opened the doors and flew into the library, Smolder following right behind.
The hallowed halls of the School of Friendship library were considered sacred grounds—at least, to its headmare and possibly Ocellus. To the students using it for study hall, it was the ideal place for group study sessions which were often the key to their ability to pass. Or, as the case may be, the ideal place for them to gripe and grouse about the workload: a venting strategy that was arguably no less the key to their ability to pass; or at least their ability to stay sane.
Ocellus and Smolder found the rest of their friends at a table that was already laden with textbooks, notebooks, quills and paper strewn about in a semi-chaotic manner. There was even a portable chalkboard on wheels covered with diagrams pulled up alongside it. “Hey guys!” Smolder waved, drawing their attention as she and Ocellus landed.
Gallus rubbed his eyes. “Well, look who finally made it. Glad you decided to join us. What, did you sleep in today?”
That simple teasing was close enough to the mark to make both of them blush. “I, we—I got in late after a walk and woke Smolder up and—”
Smolder stepped in front of her. “Ocellus got a new book this morning and wanted to pick that up first, then we got to talking. So yeah, we’re late. Sue us.” She crossed her arms and snorted.
Before Gallus could say anything else, Silverstream was already hovering over them with her usual look of gleeful excitement. “A new book? You gotta show us! What’s it about?”
Ocellus’ discomfort was washed away now that she could gush about her other great love. Snatching the book from her bag, she held it aloft with the kind of pride Smolder showed for only the greatest treasures in her hoard. “It’s the new version of the professors’ old Friendship Journal, now updated and turned into a textbook!” She buzzed her wings and chirped happily, rubbing her cheek against the spine. “Nine glorious chapters and two hundred-twenty two lessons, plus several special entries and there’s even talk of a supplementary tenth chapter coming out separately!” She hugged it tightly to her chest. “It’s the perfect book for class!”
“Whoa, that sounds so cool!” Sandbar’s eyes lit up.
“Such a bookworm,” Gallus chuckled, his tail swishing lazily. “You and Smolder have been rubbing off on each other. I swear, any moment she’s going to start nibbling at it like a dragon with a ruby.”
Ocellus pouted and let out an audible hmmph. “I would never damage my book,” she mumbled sulkily, soothing herself by stroking the spine.
Smolder cracked a knuckle in what passed for a subtle warning—for a dragon. “Okay, come on. Let’s get this study session on the road.”
“Speak for yourself. We’ve already been here for half an hour.” Gallus looked at his own book and glowered at it. “I give up. I swear, I’ve read this section five times already!”
Sandbar leaned over to look at what he was reading. “Oh, you’re doing a report on Professor Fluttershy’s lessons? Nah, they’re totally different! See, that one is about her learning to stand up for herself, even against her friends, when it came to the vampire fruit bats at Sweet Apple Acres. This one is about her learning to stand up for herself, even against her friends, when it came to building Sweet Feather Sanctuary. And this one…”
Gallus rolled his eyes, resting his head in his claws. “Oh yeah, those are totally different.”
Sandbar beamed. “Glad to be of help!” He patted his friend on the shoulder before turning back to his own book, completely missing the look Gallus and half the table was throwing his way.
“They are tossing a lot of assignments at us lately,” Smolder noted with a sigh as she sat down. “Most of them aren’t too long or anything it’s … ugh. It’s like being nibbled to death by—by—what were those animals Professor Fluttershy brought in last week? The ones with feathers, long bills, webbed feet, went ‘quack’?”
“Cats!” Silverstream excitedly tossed out before any othercreature could. “It’s cats!”
“Right, cats,” Smolder nodded. “Thanks. It’s like being nibbled to death by cats.”
Ocellus looked up from her studies and was about to correct her when Gallus groaned and went completely limp, planting his face firmly into his book. “If any of you have any mercy at all, you’ll slam the book closed with my head still in it.”
“Oooh, are you trying to learn by osmosis? That’s so neat!” Silverstream chirruped. “I didn’t know griffons could do that!”
“They can’t,” Smolder smirked as she prodded him with an outstretched claw. “Though it would explain why his head gets so fat sometimes.”
“Ha ha, funny dragon.” Gallus raised his claw and made a gesture that went completely over the heads of anycreature with hooves instead of digits.
Smolder just chuckled, earning herself a playful elbowing from Ocellus. “Play nice, you two.” That just earned her a counter-elbowing, which went back and forth a few times before the two just collapsed into giggles. Feeling the gaze of the others on them, Ocellus blushed and hastily picked up her book to resume reading. “Anyway, you shouldn’t use a book that way, Gallus. Headmare Twilight wouldn’t like it.”
“Yona seen Headmare Twilight sleep on big pile of books.” Yona thoughtfully tapped her hoof on the table, not noticing the way Gallus’ head bounced up and down as a result. “Maybe Headmare not mind?”
“She would if he started drooling in it,” Smolder pointed out with a chuckle.
Gallus sat up with a mild headache and a glare. “Or if it got burned somehow.” He crossed his arms. “Do you have any idea how obsessed Headmare Twilight is with books?”
The reply from the rest of the table was immediate and unanimous. “Yes.”
“Right, stupid question.” Gallus shook his head. “She really reamed me out when Smolder burned my book, seeing as I was the one who checked it out. I tried telling her that Griffonstone didn’t really have a library but that just made it worse.”
Ocellus set down her book, tilting her head. “I thought Professors Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie visited Griffonstone and saw what mess its library was.”
“They did, they were just smart enough to not tell Headmare Twilight about it. So I ended up with a week’s detention from her for letting a book I checked out get ruined and another week from both professors for blabbing to Twilight about it.”
“That would explain why the teacher’s lounge was so loud last week,” Silverstream mused, tapping a pencil against her beak. “I thought Headmare Twilight was just practicing her Royal Canterlot Voice.”
“Apparently she was being efficient and getting two things done at once.” Sandbar tilted his head in thought. “Wait—is that why she called an emergency summit of world leaders to meet at the school today?”
Gallus thought about it. “Given that they’re supposed to meet in the library in a bit—yeah, that sounds about right.”
Yona blinked. “Headmare Twilight have book issues.”
“I thought newspapers had issues.” Silverstream looked confused. “Books have chapters … right? Have I been studying from the wrong thing this whole time?!”
“No no, you’re fine,” Ocellus assured her. “Speaking of studying, we should probably get back to that before they come to clear us out.” She consulted her planner, but everycreature present knew she didn’t actually need to. “Professor Rainbow Dash is having us split up for team-building exercises, so I guess we should figure out who is partnering with whom.”
Gallus snickered. “Well, Yona and Sandbar are a given, seeing how joined at the hip they are these days.”
Sandbar rolled his eyes but Silverstream gasped. “They can’t be joined at the hip! Yona’s hips are so much bigger that Sandbar’s hooves won’t reach the floor!”
“Yaks have BEST hips!” Yona proclaimed, prompting Gallus and Smolder to fall over laughing.
“Real mature you two.” Sandbar frowned and prodded them with a hoof.
“What?” Gallus chuckled. “Don’t you think Yona’s hips are the best?”
Sandbar colored and fidgeted. “Well, o-of course I do, it’s just…”
“Then why don’t you come out and say it?” Smolder teased.
Yona pouted. “Yona’s hips are best … aren’t they?” She tried to turn her head as much as her form would allow to look for herself, but accomplished very little.
“Y-yeah they are!” Sandbar blurted out. “They’re great! I love your hips and—if you two don’t stop laughing I swear to Celestia—!”
Ocellus giggled and poked Smolder. “Okay, that’s enough. Be nice.”
Smolder fought down her chuckles and sat back up. “Okay, okay, if you say so. Rein it in, Gallus.”
Gallus stretched and stood back up as well. “I actually had a bit more left, but fine. So, heh, yeah if you two are paired up then I guess maybe me and Smolder could be another team? Or are you two lovebugs—lovewyrms, whatever, gonna do your own thing?”
Smolder hugged Ocellus possessively and stuck her lengthy tongue out at the griffon. “You’re just jealous that I got the best one.”
“Gonna have to argue with you on that, but it’s nothing personal.” Sandbar chuckled. “I know we all said this a lot once you got back from Tiatarta, but congrats again on becoming a couple!”
Gallus chuckled. “Some of us were taking bets on how long it’d take.”
“Bah.” Smolder flicked a crumpled ball of paper at his head. “You know, with everycreature else all paired up, it’s just you and Silverstream now…”
Before Gallus could protest, Silverstream let out a squeal and fluttered around. “You mean Gallus is going to ask me out? I have to find something nice to wear!”
“That isn’t—I’m not, I mean … I hate you.” Gallus groused at the grinning dragon.
Smolder leaned forward to bust his chops some more, but a meaningful pat from Ocellus caused her to draw back. “Heh, okay okay…” She settled for leaning against Ocellus, letting her wing draw Ocellus closer to her.
“You two are being even more couple-y than usual today.” Sandbar observed blithely even as he entwined pasterns with Yona. “Anything up?”
Ocellus blushed. “Nope! Absolutely not, nothing at all!” Her giggles had a nervous edge to them, ignoring Smolder burying her face into a claw at Ocellus’ utter lack of guile. “B-but we should get back to studying. We’re going to be partners for Professor Dash’s project so Smolder can help me with Professor Dash’s more physical exercises. I bet Silverstream will be happy to work with you, Gallus.”
“I would, I totally would!” Silverstream squealed. “I mean, I would be happy to work with anycreature, but still!”
Gallus shrugged, not even batting an eye at Silverstream’s antics. “That’s cool. I guess our resident bookworm could probably use all the help she can get in that class. That is the one you’re struggling with the most, right?”
Ocellus pouted. “That’s not fair, there just isn’t as much reading to do for Professor Dash! She focuses more on practical exercises.” Smolder patted the changeling’s back and shot a slight frown at Gallus, a thin trickle of smoke accentuating her warning.
Gallus held up his claws in appeasement. “Okay, okay no need to bite my head off…”
“Friend Smolder said it too fat anyway,” Yona added.
“It’s okay, but thank you Smolder.” Ocellus shared a smile with Smolder before she remembered herself and ducked back into her planner. “So, um, has everyone picked out partners for Professor Fluttershy’s cross-creature study?”
Gallus groaned, but was surprised when Smolder didn’t join him. Usually they were the ones who enjoyed bellyaching about schoolwork the most. Instead, the young wyrm was smiling as Ocellus jotted down something in her planner. “What’s got you so happy about a study project?” Gallus asked.
“Nothing, just … doesn’t seem so bad.” Smolder shrugged. “So we pair off and study each other’s cultures. Not a big deal.”
“You’re just saying that because it gives you more of an excuse to spend time with Ocellus,” Gallus observed. “I’m sure you and Ocellus and Sandbar and Yona will be quite eager to ‘study’ each other…” a stray pencil bonked off his head. “Okay, I deserved that.”
Yona nodded firmly. “Friend Gallus certainly did! Especially after yesterday,” she huffed. “Thinking Yona and Sandbar had … had…”
“Smashed each other?” Gallus finished.
Yona stomped her hoof again, her face pink. “You think yaks barbarians?! Yaks not rush! And why Friend Smolder smiling?” She turned to the young wyrm, who was squirming in her seat and doing her best to hide a smile—her best clearly not being up to the task.
“Who, me? Nothing!” Smolder pressed her claws over her snout, failing to suppress a snicker.
Sandbar frowned. “That’s not cool. You shouldn’t make fun of us.”
“She isn’t—really she’s not.” Ocellus chimed in, her cheeks coloring slightly. “We—we’d never make fun of anycreature for being, um…” she tapped her hooves together. “Intimate. Or for not being intimate!”
“Even though one is definitely better than the other,” Smolder drawled. Ocellus blushed harder and swatted her with a wing, which did nothing except make the young dragon laugh.
Sandbar rubbed his forehead. “I swear you guys are all secret perverts to be thinking about that all the time.”
“You were the one who came in and announced that you and Yona had done ‘it’,” Silverstream pointed out. “Talking about how good it was and how fun and exhausted and sweaty you both were…”
“And your first thought was that I was talking about sex?” Sandbar shook his head. “That’s ridiculous, right Yona?” He looked for support from his girlfriend, only to be surprised by her red-face and uncomfortable squirming. “Yona?”
“When Friend Silverstream say it that way—way Sandbar said...” She idly tapped her front hooves together, her face glowing redder. “It does sound like … it.”
Sandbar groaned. “Not you too! Who hears ‘it’ and thinks of sex instead of dancing?!”
“Now there’s a pony perspective if I’ve ever heard one,” Smolder quipped.
Gallus began ticking off points with his talons. “Gonna say 99.9% of all sapient creatures, animals, plants and that one rock Professor Pinkie’s sister carries around. So basically everyone and everything besides you.”
“I give up.” Sandbar let his head flop forward on the table. Ocellus and Smolder gave each other a look and started giggling again. “Seriously, what’s got you two in such a good mood?”
“What, can’t I just be happy?” Smolder protested.
“Let me think.” Gallus stroked his chin with a claw. “Um, no. Not unless you just dug up some treasure to hoard and snack on.”
Ocellus stood up, drawing close to Smolder. “You’re stereotyping. Lots of things make Smolder happy besides things that make dragons happy in general.”
“I dunno, I did add something special to my hoard lately. A real treasure.” Smolder grinned at Ocellus’ increasingly flustered look.
Gallus shrugged shamelessly. “Eh, I’ll stick with bits. Not that treasure wouldn’t make me happy, mind you…” he tilted his head. “So, I’m going to go on a limb here and say you two are going to partner up for the creature-study?” The dragon and changeling looked at each other and nodded in synch. “You two have been doing everything together lately, haven’t you? Even Yona and Sandbar occasionally switch up partners.”
Ocellus squirmed when she saw the look on Smolder’s face as she was already preparing for a quip, no doubt about switching partners. She decided to preempt her. “Well, we’ve been working hard together to get Smolder’s grades up.”
“And it’s working!” Silverstream trilled. “I saw when we got our tests back from Professor Rarity that Smolder’s score was way better than it was on her last test!”
“Yona happy Friend Smolder doing good in class!” Yona clapped. “Smolder show us?”
Smolder grinned. “Why not? Hit me with whatever you got.”
“This oughta be good,” Gallus snickered as Ocellus picked up her new book.
“Shush. Okay Smolder, let’s see what you remember—” Ocellus looked through the pages. “Can you remember the lesson for chapter four, section twenty?”
That made Gallus sit up in his seat. “Seriously? You’re asking her to remember the specific lesson on top of the order they came in? Come on, you might as well ask her how Professor Pinkie Pie is able to pop-up at random, there’s no way—”
Smolder faked a yawn. “Yeah, that’s the one where Professor Applejack learned that you should be honest even if it doesn’t make other creatures happy.” She tilted her head. “Or that you should just never trust those two con-artist ponies. Ever.” Smolder smirked Gallus’ way. “You know, they kinda remind me of you sometimes…”
“They do have the best songs though!” Silverstream chimed in.
Gallus grumbled something best left unintelligible. “Lucky guess.”
“Is it?” Smolder quirked her brow. “Let’s see. Ocellus, give me another.”
“Hmm, chapter eight, section six?”
Smolder smirked. “It’s when the Cutie Mark Crusaders helped Terramar, Silverstream’s brother. They showed him that he didn’t have to choose between living with his dad as a hippogriff and his mom as a seapony.” She crossed her arms over her chest smugly at Gallus, who responded by rolling his eyes even as Ocellus rattled off several more. The others watched with growing astonishment as Smolder breezily answered them all.
“Chapter two, section twenty-two?”
“Even the smallest contribution can make a difference.”
“Chapter three, section three?”
“It’s okay that you can’t be everywhere or do everything with your friends. Also, making extras of Professor Pinkie Pie is just a bad idea.”
“Chapter four, section thirteen?”
“You shouldn’t change yourself because you think it’ll make other creatures like you better.”
“Chapter two, section eight?”
“Friends do hurtful things to each other without explaining why because they hope their friend will just understand.”
“What? That’s not it…” Ocellus frowned, consulting the chapter.
Smolder shrugged. “Well, that’s what I got out of that one.”
“Whoa, that’s really impressive!” Sandbar noted with a grin. “Congrats, Smolder! You guys must’ve been up late studying every night to get that good!”
“Well, we might stay up late a lot but I wouldn’t say we’re studying every night…” Smolder said coyly, earning her an embarrassed pout from Ocellus, so she let it rest there.
Gallus drummed his talons on the table. “Yeah yeah—unless of course you rehearsed that ahead of time just to mess with us.”
“But we didn’t!” Ocellus protested. “Smolder really has worked that hard! And I wouldn’t cheat by giving her easy questions or—” She fell into an embarrassed silence as Smolder casually dropped a claw on her shoulder. “Sorry, he was just joking, wasn’t he?” Smolder nodded. “Right, I knew that.” Ocellus sighed. “Sorry Gallus, it’s just … I don’t like minimizing her accomplishments like that.”
Smolder chuckled and draped her arm around Ocellus, hugging her close. “Heh, you really are a sappy bug.”
Silverstream d’awwed. “I love our friends!” She grabbed Gallus and hugged him tight, ignoring his wheezes and pained pleading for oxygen—something Silverstream always found overrated. “We’re so close and understanding and—eeeee!—friendship is the best BEST thing ever!”
“Yeah, I feel the same way.” Sandbar leaned against Yona. “I feel like I can tell you guys anything.”
“Really?” Smolder quirked a brow. “Even after yesterday?”
Sandbar blushed but nodded. “Well, yeah, okay maybe you guys have some funny ideas about—stuff, but I wouldn’t trade you all for anything or anycreature.”
“But, would you, um, feel comfortable talking about ‘stuff’ if you and Yona ever...?” Ocellus gestured vaguely.
“Yona honest with friends!” Yona declared, even though her cheeks were turning pink again. “Even if embarrassing, Yona trust friends.”
Sandbar gulped and nodded. “R-right, what she said. If we ever, t-take a step that big of course we’d let you know. I-I mean, that’s what friends are for, right? To be there when you need to say something or—you okay, Ocellus?”
The changeling in question had slowly been sinking down in her seat and turning red. She mumbled something completely inaudible and looked imploringly at Smolder, who sighed and extended a comforting wing around her. “Actually…” Smolder rubbed her neck before stopping to take a breath and slowly let it out. “Ocellus and I, well, we decided to take things to the next level.”
Silverstream gasped and gleefully leaned forward. “You guys finally committed to sleeping in a nest? I keep telling you all they are. The. BEST!”
“What? No!” Smolder shook her head. “I mean, we did sleep. That is, we slept. Slept together.” To her own annoyance she felt herself blushing too, though nowhere near as brightly as Ocellus.
Gallus shrugged and looked back to his book. “Meh, so what else is new?”
“Excuse you?!” Smolder’s reddened face was now bracketed by black smoke streaming out of the corners of her mouth.
His response was simply to turn another page, not even looking up at her. “So you slept together. Everycreature knows how cuddly you two get. It’s no different from Yona and Silverstream in their dorm.”
“It’s true!” Silverstream landed on Yona, circling around and settling in on her back. “It’s just so cozy I sometimes fall asleep up here!”
“Yeah, we’ve all slept together.” Sandbar scribbled a note down before looking back to the others. “Even me and Gallus.”
“Hey!” Gallus protested hotly as it was his own face growing red now.
Smolder and Ocellus blinked in unison, their brains careening against the sides of their skulls as their train of thought came to a crashing halt. “…what?”
“What, you were feeling really down after coming out about your past in Griffonstone.” Sandbar shrugged. “No shame in needing to be held at night.”
Gallus lashed his tail. “It was a one-time thing and I made you promise not to say anything!”
“Oh, yeah,” Sandbar winced. “Sorry about that. But it’s no big deal! I mean, sometimes my sister and I still take a nap with our parents.” Gallus looked at him strangely. “What? Besides you just said it’s no big deal with Smolder and Ocellus or Yona and Silverstream sleep together.”
“Yeah, but they’re girls! It’s okay for them to be all cuddly and touchy-feely!” Gallus threw up his talons. “Guys doing it is just weird and—” he looked around the table and began to notice the looks he was getting. “—I’m just digging myself in deeper here, aren’t I?”
Silverstream nodded with all the solemnity she possessed—admittedly, not a lot, but enough to get the point across. “Like a diamond dog.” Gallus slunk down in his seat.
“This is so going off the rails,” Smolder muttered, her claws rubbing at her temples. “What I meant was that Ocellus and I made love.” Ocellus meeped and blushed a little harder, looking more and more like a ladybug.
“Ocellus needed love snack because she’s changeling?” Yona nodded in understanding. “Ocellus so tiny, you must make love lots and lots so she grow as big and strong like yak!”
Smolder’s cheeks went scarlet and she fought a valiant, but losing struggle against her giggles. Ocellus’s blush had now consumed her entire head. Smolder looked down at her with a toothy grin. “What do you say, Ocellus? Want me to help you grow big and strong?”
“S-SMOLDER!” Ocellus’ blush deepened a shade as she feebly flailed her hooves against Smolder’s hide. Luckily her tough dragon-scales meant she barely felt a thing. “You … Y-YOU—!!!”
Sandbar scratched his head. “I feel like I’m missing something.”
“What, you?” Gallus chuckled dryly. “Never.”
Smolder narrowed her eyes, wondering if they were being messed with. Okay, it was almost a certainty that Sandbar, Yona and Silverstream were still in the dark but was Gallus trying to prolong this? “Look guys, this isn’t that complicated. We—” she coughed. “Uh, we mated. There, got that over with and—”
“Oh my gosh!” Silverstream’s wings flared out in shock. “You two got married? And you didn’t invite us?!” Her beak trembled in a pout as she looked on the verge of tears.
“Nah, I think it just means they got engaged.” Sandbar corrected, then blinked as it sunk in. “Wait, you guys are engaged?!”
“Eergh, flaming firescales,” Smolder cursed, pinching the bridge of her snout while Ocellus sank lower in her seat. “It’s like trying to explain dragon-stuff to Spike, I swear...”
Yona pouted. “So, friends not getting married? Yona was going to do traditional Yakyakistan bottle-stomping at wedding!”
“No, we’re not getting married!” Smolder exclaimed.
Gallus shrugged. “Guess you guys are just keeping this a casual thing. Don’t listen to these saps, that’s cool. No need to rush into things.”
“It’s not that casual.” Smolder groaned. “I mean, we’re not rushing to get engaged or married or anything—not that I’m saying it won’t ever—I mean, if Ocellus wants—but the point is that we’re not exactly casual—”
That’s when Ocellus, now bright red from head to hoof, finally exploded. “Sweet Tap-Dancing Thorax I can’t TAKE anymore of this!” She flew up onto the table, slamming her hooves down on the tabletop. “Listen up! Smolder. And I. Had. Sex. S-E-X! Do you get it?!”
She was shouting and didn’t even care. “Physical intimacy! Carnal relations! Consummated our relationship! Romantic action! Intercourse! Banging! SEX! I love her, she loves me, we had sex and it was FANTASTIC! Have you gotten that through your thick endoskeletons yet or do you need me to draw you a diagram?! Wait, don’t answer!” She flew over to the chalkboard and proceeded to do just that: drawing a disturbingly accurate picture of her and Smolder in bed together, complete with hearts surrounding them and beatific smiles on their chalk faces. “There, have you got it now?!”
She turned around to see all of her friends in various stages of stunned silence. Silverstream’s lower beak look like it had become detached from her jaw. Yona had leaned back so far the only reason she wasn’t falling over was because gravity was too scared to draw attention to itself. Sandbar’s eyes had bulged out, now occupying roughly half the space available on his head. Gallus wings were splayed out in shock, his tail literally twisted into a knot. All of them were blushing bright red, especially Smolder who was holding onto her own tail with both claws and fidgeting with embarrassment, her legs rubbing together.
For a moment there was no sound but that of Ocellus’ panting. Then she heard a book fall and was suddenly reminded of the presence of every other creature in the library.
Seated at the other tables were various groups of students, their studying abandoned as they turned to watch. There was Rainbow Dash, hovering at the top of one of the stacks with her mouth hanging open. Her body sagged with only the instinctive flapping of her wings being what kept her in the air. She was the one who had dropped the book, which landed right on Applejack’s head. Applejack barely even noticed the increased weight of her hat, blinking owlishly. They could almost see the gears in her mind that had ground to a halt. There was a brief gasp and a fwump that announced Rarity’s falling back on her fainting couch while Spike fanned at her with a feather duster. They spotted Fluttershy turn completely pink from head to hoof. However, a certain white rabbit, perched on her head, simply nodded his approval at them.
Their fellow students, the professors, Spike … every last one of them was staring. Right at her and Smolder. “Oh no…” Ocellus buried her face into her hooves and shifted herself into a rock, Smolder catching it right before she hit the ground. This had to be some sort of nightmare. Any second now she’d wake up. Any second now...
Just when the two thought it could get no worse, a strained but otherwise familiar voice cleared her throat behind them. “Can I have a word with you?”
Smolder turned around, the Ocellus-rock still clutched in her claws. That’s when they spotted Headmare Twilight standing in the doorway, her magic aura still surrounding the doors. And she wasn’t alone. “Oh First Hive, no…” Ocellus whimpered. Right there with Twilight were the other leaders who came for the summit, including the other princesses, Dragon Lord Ember, Hive Leader Thorax, as well as Pharynx, all of them frozen in stunned silence.
Princess Twilight Sparkle’s eye twitched. “…in private?”
Bonus Chapter: The Fall-Out
“Just what kind of a school are you running here?!” Pharynx barked at an increasingly frazzled-looking Twilight Sparkle. After the incident, she’d planned to quietly retire to her office so she could talk with Ocellus and Smolder in private. However, certain creatures had different ideas. “What are you teaching these kids?”
Starlight Glimmer teleported herself from Twilight’s side, interposing herself between them. Because walking around a desk wouldn’t have been nearly dramatic enough, Twilight supposed. “Pharynx, we understand that you’re upset, but it isn’t Twilight’s fault that this happened!”
“Are you blaming Ocellus?” Pharynx narrowed his eyes and loomed over her. “Because I still have my bag handy and it’s a size-you.”
“This isn’t about assigning blame.” Twilight stood up, casting a glance towards Smolder and Ocellus, who sat slouched down in chairs against the far wall, both looking absolutely miserable. She couldn’t blame them. Twilight turned to Pharynx while raising her voice enough to make sure the pair knew who she was actually addressing. “Or making them feel worse.”
The young couple looked a little buoyed by that, but unfortunately Pharynx’s frown only deepened. “Are you serious? Thorax can you believe this?”
“I certainly can’t.” Thorax nodded to his brother solemnly. “Our little Ocellus—has a steady girlfriend!” His eyes lit up with unabashed glee and he let out a loud squeal, his hooves dancing on the floor as he trotted in place. “I’m so excited!”
Pharynx face-hooved with a groan. “Thorax…”
But the changeling leader was already swooping down on Ocellus and hugging her tightly. “You’ve already made the Hive so proud by being the first changeling to go out and make friends with ponies and other creatures plus getting top marks in school and now—now you’re in a happy, healthy relationship with somecreature you love! I’m so happy for you and so will the rest of the Hive once I get back to tell them—”
“T-Thorax!” Ocellus whined in sheer mortification. “You can’t just—tell everychangeling that!”
Pharynx hmphed, crossing his front legs. “You mean like you just did in front of this entire ridiculous school with its ridiculous staff?”
“Hey!” Starlight protested. “Who are you calling ridiculous?”
“The barely reformed former villain without any training now dispensing ‘guidance’ to impressionable youth,” Pharynx replied archly.
“Pharynx, I appreciate that you’re upset,” Twilight interjected. “But perhaps it’d be best if you took a moment to pause and take a deep breath like Dragon Lord Ember has done, even though I’m sure she’s just as upset as you.”
Ember blinked. “I’m not upset. Should I be?”
“Wait, you’re not?” Relief and confusion warred for dominance on Twilight’s face. “I mean, that’s good, but why?”
The Dragon Lord shrugged. “Is this some big deal where we’re supposed to be mad? I guess that’s just some pony-thing. Or pony and changeling-thing, I guess.” She looked the two teens over. “I like Ocellus’ boldness. Reach out and take what you want is what I say, and she clearly knows what she wants.”
Ocellus let out an embarrassed meep from the depths of Thorax’s embrace and Smolder’s own cheeks flushed. “Ugh, seriously?”
“Don’t give me that, Smolder.” Ember crossed her arms. “You know she’s probably better than anything you’d get on your own.” Pharynx didn’t bother disguising his snort of amusement.
“Hey!” Smolder’s blush turned her cheeks purple enough to pass for Spike. “Come on!”
“That’s not what I--urgh, I’m no good at this.” Ember grimaced. “I wish I brought your brother with me so he could deal with this...”
Smolder’s eyes widened. “Uh-uh, no way, you can’t tell Gar-Gar!”
Ember wrinkled her nose in confusion. “Who?”
“Uh, nevermind…” Smolder slunk down, not even wanting to think about Garble finding out about this. Visions of a barbecue-roasted Ocellus floated through her mind.
Pharynx must’ve scented at least part of what she was feeling. He rolled his eyes and snorted. “Dragons...”
“What was that?” Ember narrowed her eyes and stomped towards him.
Thorax hastily set Ocellus down to interpose himself between the two of them. “Now now, t-there isn’t any cause to fight! We should be happy that a dragon and changeling have found out how happy the other makes them, right?” He squealed softly. “Just imagine it, the first dragon-changeling wedding ever!”
“Wedding?!” The young couple exclaimed, both turning cherry red.
“Oh, not right now of course.” Thorax waved a hoof. “But still, it’s never too early to start planning, is it? Especially since you two are already so close and so in love?” He squealed. “This could be the dawn of a new chapter of inter-creature relations--today could go down in history!”
“Sweet fire-diamonds, I hope not...” Smolder buried her bright red face in her claws while Ocellus sank further down in her seat.
Pharynx snorted. “You’re getting ahead of yourself … not unlike Ocellus.” At that the young changeling let out a squeak and sank down so low might have been trying to merge with her chair.
Ember boredly looked at her claws. “You’re both getting worked up over nothing.”
“That’s because we’re capable of more than two emotions,” Pharynx glowered at her, earning a snarl in reply. “There’s half of them now.”
Thorax jumped in between them again. “H-hey, maybe we should adjourn to the Feelings Forum—”
There were dual groans from Pharynx and Ember, who settled for crossing their arms and turning away in unison. “Ugh, fine.” Pharynx grumbled. “I swear everytime I try to stand up for the Hive...”
Ember was grumbling as well. “Still don’t see what you’re so grouchy about. Would you rather Smolder and Ocellus tip-toe around their feelings forever like Twilight and Trixie?”
“WHAT?!” Twilight and Starlight blurted out in unison.
“Or am I getting the two of you confused again?” Ember scratched her head as she regarded the pair.
“I don’t have feelings for Trixie!” Twilight exclaimed.
“You better not!” Starlight stomped her hoof. “I-I mean, you know, since Trixie is my best friend and all, and I want anypony who’d really care about her to be totally committed to her because we’re such good friends!”
Pharynx looked at her and then turned back to Ember. “Okay, yeah, point taken.”
Twilight lifted her coffee mug only to find it empty. She let out a martyred groan. “Let’s get back to the matter at hoof.” She looked to Ocellus and Smolder, who were sharing a grimace and clearly not happy that the focus was about to be on them again. “Now, I think we should have a serious discussion about your inappropriate behavior—” Twilight was cut off at the knees at the sound of somepony clearing her throat. She groaned when she saw who it was. “Cadance, maybe this could wait?”
The Princess of Love shook her head. “With all due respect Twilight, I think I have a little more experience dealing with young love than you. That isn’t a criticism!” she hastily added. “When you find somepony—or somecreature—right for you, it’ll be on your own time. Hopefully it’s before Flurry Heart starts dating though...”
Twilight rested her head on one hoof. “Really? We’re talking about my love life now?”
“You do like talking about theoretical issues,” Starlight chimed in, only to quail under the scorching glare she received.
“Sorry.” Cadance looked around the room, smiling gently at Ocellus and Smolder. “I just want to say that when you find the one creature you’re truly happy with, in love with, it’s the most wonderful experience there is.” She beamed as the young couple glanced at each other and then started blushing. “It’s only natural that you’d want to fully explore those feelings.” She chuckled. “I mean, it isn’t like Shining Armor and I waited for our wedding to—”
“CADANCE!” Twilight covered her ears. “Are you seriously talking about your love life with my brother?!”
Cadance scoffed. “Really, Twilight, this is why I wanted to help you handle this.”
“How, by driving me into therapy for the next five years?”
“It’s not like it couldn’t help, boss,” Starlight offered.
Pharynx snorted. “Look who’s talking.”
Ember leaned forward, squinting. “That’s Starlight, right? Or was that Twilight?”
“Hey, who wants refreshments?!” Thorax gave everycreature a too-wide grin that failed to reach his eyes.
“We’re married! You have a niece, for Auntie Celestia’s sake!” Cadance rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re still this prudish about the simple reality that your brother and I have sex.”
“There’s a big difference between knowing about it and having it get casually dropped into a conversation, Cadance!” Twilight stomped her hoof. “Especially when you’re telling me you didn’t even wait to get actually married?!”
Cadance gave her an incredulous look. “Even Applejack would call you old-fashioned.”
Twilight threw up her hooves. “That’s not the point! You’re telling my students its fine to go around having sex at the drop of a hat!”
“Is this some new pony custom?” Ember looked more lost than ever. “They have sex whenever someone drops a hat on the floor?”
“Wouldn’t be the silliest thing I’ve seen ponies do.” Pharynx rubbed his snout.
Thorax poked him in the chest. “You say that, but we both know you love singing carols as much as any other changeling.”
“That isn’t what I said at all.” Cadance huffed in annoyance at Twilight. “Honestly, you’re like this whenever the subject comes up; you just dig in your hooves and refuse to budge. It’s no wonder Auntie Celestia once said that the only way you’d ever end up with somepony would be through an arranged marriage alliance with one of our neighbors.”
Twilight’s eye twitched. “She said what?”
“Wait, marriages can be used to strengthen an alliance?” Pharynx pondered for a moment. “I have been wanting to bolster the Hive’s defenses with Equestrian magic. If it’ll make the Hive safer, I’ll agree to marry the Princess.”
“WHAT?!” Twilight exclaimed.
Smolder and Ocellus looked at the unfolding chaos, then back at each other in stunned confusion. “Let’s get out of here before things get even more chaotic,” Smolder whispered, hopping off her seat. Ocellus nodded and followed suit. They had just made it to the door, Smolder’s claw reaching for the doorknob, when it slammed open, drawing everycreature’s attention.
“What?” Discord asked as they all regarded him with confusion. “Can’t I use the door once in a while just to change things up?” Without a word being said, Twilight, Cadance and Starlight’s horns all began to glow in synch and they shut the door firmly in Discord’s face. “Well, that’s just rude.”
Twilight gave Ocellus and Smolder a look that sent them both scurrying back to their seats. Ocellus found the attention of every adult in the room on her was just too much and buried her face in Smolder’s side. The young dragon patted her head and sighed, wishing she could do the same. Cadance leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Just so you know? About ninety percent of true love is acute, ear-burning embarrassment.” She patted her shoulder comfortingly. “I’d say you’re in a good place.”
“If it’s so good, how about we trade places?” Smolder asked, only for Cadance to just smile and shake her head. “Yeah, that’s what I figured.”
Twilight cleared her throat. “Okay, I hope we can all reach an agreement on a few key points. First being that, while we might hold our own opinions on Smolder and Ocellus being intimate,” her eyes flicked towards Pharynx and then Cadance, “it is ultimately their decision. That being said, as School Headmare the safety and well-being of my students is my responsibility while they’re here. That means making sure they’re aware of all the risks and consequences that come from their decisions. What they do after that is their own personal, private affair.”
“So, uh,” Smolder winced. “What’s that mean for us?”
“It means that I’m going to add a mandatory class about sexual education.” Twilight pursed her lips. “You and your friends are going to be the first ones to receive it.”
Ocellus and Smolder blushed brilliantly. Pharynx rolled his eyes. “Really? You bring them in here to read them the riot act for having sex and your punishment is to have them take a class about sex? What’s the required reading list, PlayBug?”
“Pharynx!” Ocellus whined.
Starlight shook her head. “Twilight’s right. This isn’t about punishing them for being in love. It’s about making sure they’re aware of everything that comes with that and preparing them for life. Even if you think they made a mistake, well creatures make mistakes all the time, that’s just life.”
Pharynx snorted. “You do realize that isn’t the same as being given a license to make mistakes left and right, do you?”
Starlight frowned. “Recognizing a mistake and going forward from there is how we learn.”
“By that logic, you should be the smartest pony ever.”
“Maybe I am!” Starlight snapped back. “I mean, well, of course I’m obviously not the smartest pony in the world…”
“Or even in this room!” Ember added. Nocreature was sure if she was trying to be helpful or not.
Starlight exhaled, counting to ten and putting on her best ‘I will try not blast you through the wall’ face.
Twilight cleared her throat. “To be clear, they’re not being punished because they decided to be … intimate.” Her eyes flickered to Cadance. “When two creatures gets into a consenting, romantic relationship, it’s up to them to decide how far it should go and when. It’s not up to anycreature else to make those decisions for them, no matter how much they mean to help.” She gave her sister-in-law a knowing look before turning her attention to the others. “I know you’re all concerned about their well-being but outside of this, um, incident there’s been no sign of any problems. In fact, there’s been every indication that Smolder and Ocellus make each other happy and are good for each other.”
Smolder nodded vigorously, draping a wing over Ocellus’ back and casting a defiant look around the room. Pharynx scowled but Twilight was pretty sure that was just his default expression. Ocellus frowned back at him and made a point of resting her hoof on top of Smolder’s claw. Thorax let out a low squee and was tightly hugging his brother—or potentially preparing to hold him in place. Or both. Twilight tapped her hoof on her desk. “If you want to speak with your student privately to express your concerns, that is absolutely your right, but that isn’t a matter for me as Headmare and it isn’t the place of the school to punish them for their private lives. However, the fact that Ocellus caused a disruption is another matter. She’ll receive a weeks’ detention with me after school.” The studious changeling couldn’t quite repress a whimper, burying her face in her hooves as Smolder rubbed her back.
“So Ocellus gets in trouble but not the dragon?” Pharynx stomped a hoof. “Give me a break!”
“She has a name!” Ocellus objected.
Thorax’s grin started fraying at the edges. “Pharynx, remember we talked about this: take deep breaths and focus on the positive...”
“No, he’s right!” Smolder stood up on her chair. “It isn’t fair! I should get detention too! Ocellus only got upset because I messed up explaining things.” Ocellus looked up at her with wide eyes.
“I appreciate your loyalty Smolder, but…” Twilight fell short as Cadance rested a hoof on her shoulder. Seeing her eager nod, Twilight sighed. “Okay, what do you mean?”
Smolder rubbed the back of her neck. “See, it’s like this. We wanted to be honest with our friends about, y’know, us, only we were having trouble getting them to understand.” She briefly sketched out the conversation. “...so by the end Ocellus was just feeling really uncomfortable at having this all dragged out and frustrated that the others weren’t getting it and…”
“Hold up.” Pharynx held up a hoof. “Are you telling me that after all that they didn’t get the message?” After waiting for her nod, he looked back at Twilight. “To repeat my earlier question: what are you teaching these kids? Maybe sex-ed isn’t such a bad idea after all!”
“So glad you approve,” Twilight grumbled. She took a deep breath and started again. “Smolder, thank you for telling me. I’ll be sure to mention to Rainbow Dash how much her lessons have been sinking in.”
The young dragon stepped back and prodded Ocellus forward. “Thanks Headmare Twilight, but you should also be thanking Ocellus here. If it wasn’t for my friends, but especially her, I’d be drowning at school.”
“She’s not giving herself enough credit,” Ocellus disagreed. “But I am really sorry about making such a fuss. Really, really sorry.” She rubbed her reddened cheeks, the blush might well have been permanently burned in by this point. “I didn’t want to cause any trouble but—I really love Smolder and I’ll—I’ll take whatever punishment you want.”
For the first time since this mess began, Twilight smiled. “Thank you Ocellus. Both of you. When I started the School of Friendship, I didn’t imagine all the difficulties that would come with it—” both students looked sheepish, but she pressed forward “—or just how wonderful the results would be either. Instead of a weeks’ detention for Ocellus I’d like to see you both after classes for the next three days. That’s all.”
Starlight nodded. “My door is always open if you ever want to talk. Well, except not always since that did lead to a bit of a mess with Trixie and Silverstream and the Everfree, but you can always schedule an appointment and I’ll be all ears!” She let out a nervous laugh. “I mean, it’s not as if getting into an actual relationship is all that easy, so I’m sure it’d be helpful for some ponies to know how it happened for the two of you so I—er, will have that information available. In case any other pony or creature needs advice over how to confess her feelings for somepony who might or might not be her best friend.”
“She sounds way too invested in hearing them talk about their relationship,” Pharynx noted to Ember. “I can almost taste it.”
Even Thorax groaned. “She and Trixie really need to get it out into the open already.”
“I thought a couple getting it out into the open is why they’ve crammed us in here for the last half-hour,” Ember grumbled. “Is it over? I really need this to be over. You creatures make far too big a deal about all this. Seriously, survival and mating are the two most natural things creatures do. Watch.” She strode over and regarded her subject. “Smolder.”
“Uh, yeah?”
Ember looked down at her. “So, you and Ocellus are happy?”
“Ah huh.”
“Good.” Ember scratched her snout. “I can’t say I blame you. Changelings are pretty interesting. Well, some of them.” She let her gaze drift onto an increasingly flustered Thorax. “Let me know how it goes, ‘kay?”
Smolder’s face grew hot, even for a dragon. “Sure?”
“Cool.” Ember walked back to the others, her tail idly brushing Thorax’ side as she moved. The changeling leader jolted as if struck by lightning and turned bright red.
Pharynx covered his face with his hooves. “I did not just see that. I can’t take anymore of this...” He looked over at Smolder and groaned when he saw Ocellus shooting him her most shy, hopeful smile and pressing her hooves together imploringly. She must’ve been taking more lessons from Fluttershy than what was listed in the curriculum. “Ugh, fine,” Pharynx grumbled at Smolder. “I guess, if you make Ocellus happy it’s alright. But,” his voice deepened as he shifted into a bigger, more monstrous version of himself that loomed over a stunned-looking Smolder. “If you ever hurt her, I will pop off all of your scales one at a time, encase you in resin and turn you in an all-hive piñata.”
“Pharynx!” An appalled Thorax started tugging meaningfully on his brother’s antlers. “We talked about this!”
Twilight’s jaw dropped. “Did you just threaten one of my students? Right in front of me and the Dragon Lord?” Her eye twitched. The only thing keeping her from using her magic to bury him halfway through the wall was the gripping terror that it’d unleash a potential war if she did—possibly a second one, if Ember lost her cool.
Which looked a virtual certainty as Ember’s scales began to glow with a fiery heat. “Hey! Nocreature threatens one of my subjects but me!” She lashed her tail and flexed her claws. Pharynx snorted and stomped his hoof, Thorax still dangling from his antlers.
“W-wait!” Thorax cried out. “It-it isn’t what you think! It’s, um, traditional for the, ah, parental figure to threaten their offspring’s significant other? P-perfectly normal, aheh…” Thorax shot her his most pleading smile.
“I don’t think this is something we should be encouraging...” Starlight said worriedly, looking from Twilight to Cadance, hoping one of them would step in.
But Cadance merely tossed her head. “He isn’t exactly wrong. True, it’s a little passe and not the most healthy expression of feelings, but it isn’t something unique to Pharynx. You should’ve seen what Auntie Celestia and Auntie Luna did when Shining Armor started dating me.”
“Wait, what?!” Twilight yelped. “Are you telling me that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna threatened my own brother?”
Cadance waved her off. “You shouldn’t make such a fuss out of it, they actually went pretty easy on him, seeing as they actually liked him. He was fine and didn’t have to do anything other than change his armor since it wasn’t so shiny after Celestia was finished.” Twilight groaned and folded her wings over her face. Cadance did feel compelled to add, “Though maybe Luna went a little too far when she sent him those ‘warning’ dreams.”
“So that’s why Shining asked for his old night-light back,” Twilight mumbled.
Ember watched them, then turned back to Pharynx, nodding in understanding. “Oooh, this is what you’re supposed to do? Got it!” She stomped over to Ocellus, easily towering over the meek changeling. “Listen up, bug! You better be good to Smolder or else I’ll set you on fire! Then I’ll … jump up and down on you and set you on fire again!”
Ocellus turned completely white in a way that had nothing to do with her changeling abilities. Pharynx snarled at Ember, “Don’t you talk that way to Ocellus!”
“You talked like that to Smolder!” Ember snarled back.
“Because Ocellus is the soft one!” Pharynx groaned in exasperation. “You only threaten the tough one of the couple since they’re the one likely to hurt the other! Ocellus is the weaker one!”
“HEY!” Smolder drew their attention back to her as she flew up, poking Pharynx in the snout with an outstretched claw. “I might be tough, but Ocellus isn’t weak! You can threaten me all you want, but if you talk about her like that again I’m gonna turn you into a bug-kebob!”
Pharynx blinked in stunned surprise while Twilight started tugging at her own mane. Ocellus joined Smolder in confronting him as well. “And Smolder would never hurt me! If you threaten her like that again, I’ll—I’ll—” she changed into her beige dragon form, snorting smoke and flames. “—I’ll turn your carapace into our new study desk!” Then she looked over at Ember. “And I want you to know that I would never, ever hurt Smolder. But not because I’m scared of you or because of what you said, but because I love her and would rather anything happen to me than to her. S-So um, yeah. That’s … that’s what I wanted to say.”
Dead silence reigned as everycreature present regarded Ocellus with shock. It was finally broken by Ember applauding. “I knew I liked this one for a reason. Good pick, Smolder!”
Ocellus clasped her claws over her snout before turning back to her normal form and back away until she was pressed up against Smolder again. “Sorrysorrysorry!”
“Don’t be.” Everycreature’s focus was suddenly riveted on Pharynx. He rubbed at his eyes and let out an audible sniff. When he pulled his hoof away, there was moisture in his eyes that had nothing to do with the smoke. “Way to go, Ocellus! I’m so proud of you!” Then he hugged her.
Thorax’s jaw hung open. “A-are you hugging somebug?!”
Twilight threw up her hooves, still face down on her desk. “I am so lost.”
“Have you tried Mare Krishna?” Starlight feebly offered.
Pharynx snorted and released the very confused Ocellus. “I know how tough and possessive dragons are. I wanted to make sure Ocellus wouldn’t be too nervous to speak up for herself, especially when it meant standing up to somecreature she cared about.” He pointed at Smolder. “But if Ocellus can stand up to the Dragon Lord and me, then there’s no way she’d ever let herself get intimidated by small, pudgy and orange here.”
“Hey! Who’re you calling pudgy?!” Smolder exclaimed, smoke trickling from her nostrils.
Pharynx continued on as if she hadn’t said anything. “—and Smolder here,” he dipped his head, finally acknowledging her by name, “is clearly tough enough to take care of anything Ocellus can’t. So as long as they’re safe and happy, I’m fine with them being together. I just don’t particularly want to hear about the details.”
“Oh.” Smolder blinked, so confused by this turn that she forgot to be mad. “Uh, so cool? I think we’re just gonna go back to our room now. So … yeah. Bye.” She grabbed and Ocellus and the two made a swift beeline for the door and were out before anycreature had a chance to say anything else.
“Well,” Cadance clapped her hooves once they had gone. “On that note: I think we should all adjourn for the day. We can start the summit tomorrow.”
Twilight moaned. “Fiiine. Thank you all for coming. Please close the door behind you and turn off the lights. If anycreature needs me, I’ll be in here. Alone.”
“Suit yourself.” Ember began tugging on Thorax’s antler and leading him out the door. “Come on. We can go talk about dragon-changeling relations some more.”
Thorax let out a nervous sounding “Gurp!” that could’ve been agreement.
“I’m going to stop by Trixie.” Starlight shook her head. “I need to, well, we need to, uh … bye!” She teleported herself away quickly.
Cadance stopped by the door as Pharynx walked past her. “I would like to talk to you about this marriage-alliance idea.”
“Certainly, I just need one last moment with Twilight, please.” Cadance beamed, ignoring Twilight’s groan. Once Pharynx was gone, Cadance cleared her throat. “I thought it best that we start the summit tomorrow afternoon.”
“Why?” Twilight asked. “I still have a perfectly good day schedule that I don’t want to go to waste.”
“Well, it’s just that I thought you might need the morning to sleep in a little.”
Twilight sighed. “It is tempting to sleep in tomorrow … today has been a long day for me.”
Cadance fidgeted uncomfortably. “I’m afraid it’s not quite over yet. I have to go but I just thought somepony should remind you—” she took a deep breath, letting it all out in a rush “—thatsinceSpikeoverheardeverythingyoushouldreallygivehimTheTalknowsorrygottarun!” She quickly shut the door and made good her escape while Twilight look a moment to process what she just said. Cadance had just made it down the hall when she heard the rattling of windows and spotted smoke billowing out from underneath the door of Twilight’s office.
“WHAT?!”
Smolder and Ocellus strode in silence back to their room. Luckily the hallway was empty, everycreature else either in class or otherwise occupied. The quiet soon became too much and Ocellus spoke up. “Smolder?”
“Hmm?”
“Can I double-check something with you?”
“Go for it.”
“...the entire school heard me shout that the two of us have had sex.”
“Yep.”
“So did the leaders of Equestria and our own homes…”
“Bingo.”
“Then we just got pulled in for a talk with our leaders who almost started a major diplomatic incident over it...”
“I was there.”
“And now we’re going to have to take a sex-ed class with our friends and they’ll know it’s our fault.”
“You got it.”
“...today has been terrible, hasn’t it?”
“Oh yeah. Big time.” She stopped short when she heard Ocellus let out a whimper. “Hey, come on.” She offered Ocellus a hug, which she eagerly accepted. “Look, so today really sucked and was totally embarrassing. I wouldn’t change what happened last night for anything. The way I see it, we got plenty of other days to make really awesome.”
Ocellus sighed, nuzzling her. “You’re right. It’s just … won’t our friends be upset? I did yell at them and then everything else happened…”
“Our friends will be there for us no matter what.” Smolder asserted confidently. “Remember your book? Chapter … heck, that’s the lesson of almost every chapter and section, which just goes to show that I’m right, okay?”
“I-I guess.” Ocellus scuffed her hoof against the carpet. “But they’re still gonna make fun of us, forever won’t they? Chapter six, lesson seven.”
Smolder rolled her eyes and snorted. “Whatever. Look, unlike somecreatures, our friends aren’t buttheads. They know better than to pick at something that’s still raw. And if they don’t…” She gave Ocellus a hip-bump and a knowing grin.
“You can always set them on fire?”
“Exactly.”
As they passed one particular door Smolder stopped short with a sigh. “Hold on a second. I should probably tell Sandbar and Gallus what happened—especially since it means more classes.” Wanting to just get the conversation over with—and dragons not being the most observant followers of manners, Rarity’s classes notwithstanding—she just pushed open the door.
Less than five seconds later, she wished she hadn’t. So did Ocellus. But not nearly as much as Gallus … and Silverstream.
“Uh, whoops?”
“GET OUT!!!”
THE END
