The Revolutionary Six

Ocellus made it up to her dorm safely after the six departed for the night. Smolder’s story sure was crazy. Crazy enough for her to think about it consistently throughout the night as she continued with her homework. The dragon’s level of maturity that night might not have been high, but it was certainly higher than other times.
If she could figure things out a bit further with her friend, then maybe she could open up a little more.

Sure, she invited Ocellus to her weekly tea parties, but that wasn’t exactly the point. Maybe Smolder let her in on one or two sentimental things on one or two occasions, but to Ocellus, that wasn’t enough. Smolder was being partially honest, but not open enough.

Perhaps if she could try getting Smolder to open up about the feelings deep within her, Ocellus could help her out with some of the things she’s going through. Earlier at the library, she displayed some serious anger toward her friends, and she happened to be avoiding them a lot lately.

With all that time alone, Smolder had to be hiding something, right? It might not have been entirely Ocellus’ business, but it still mattered either way. For Smolder to be so absent in the group’s shenanigans, and to be so withdrawn that she didn’t even make time for her friends anymore?

Silverstream was right about one thing today. It’s not like Smolder to just up and leave her friends for no reason. That meant: something had to have been going on. Having her mind made up, Ocellus thought for a minute.

If Smolder’s going through this on her own... she thought, taking a seat at her desk. I should probably support her in the best way I can. Help her get better.

Hours later, she crept out of the school and tip-hoofed to the only pony she knew could help her with this. Three knocks on her door, and she was already there. Ocellus stood in front of Rarity, who was disheveled and yawning repeatedly. “Darling,” She groaned. “If you were going to knock on my door this late, then—“ Rarity stopped herself in realization of who was standing in front of her. “Why, Ocellus, dear! Whatever brings you by the boutique...? And... and so late?”

“Oh!” Ocellus pondered for a second. Was she really doing this? She was knocking on her professor’s door this late. She looked as if she was half asleep. Or dead. Before she could cower from her post, she shook her head.

Come on, Ocellus. You can do this. For Smolder.

“I-I was wondering if you could help me make something. For Smolder.” She rubbed her foreleg nervously. The poor bug felt oddly compelled to explain why she was asking for what she was asking for.

“Why, then, come in! Anything for some much needed beauty sleep.” She started back into her shop and flicked the lights on. Ocellus followed her, still feeling obligated to tell her why she needed some help. Even as she felt as she didn’t have a reason, she knew she probably did. Smolder was special to her. Rarity looked back at Ocellus as if she were concerned about her silence.

“O-Oh! I... I’m sure it’s working very well. The beauty sleep.” She offered, aiming to break the silence. Ocellus furled her eyebrows slightly as soon as her professor looked away. She was trying to stay affixed on what she was just thinking about. Why was she so focused on Smolder? And willing to get up so late? It’s not that she wouldn’t do that for any of her other friends; or just Smolder in general. It was just weird. Her feelings were just so enhanced whenever Smolder came around. Ever since she came out about her new powers, it was almost like she matured, and Ocellus valued that about her, like a lot.

Its almost like Smolder had became a little awkward in a sense, too. It was funny; it wasn’t like she changed drastically. It was more like, the more intense traits inside her were dampened. modified. Looking back, she noticed. When Smolder told her story, she wasn’t afraid to admit she failed. Wasn’t afraid to tell of her triumphs and tribulations. She was willing to admit to those things. Like she was a lot more open than she was before. Or was it just Ocellus?

Rarity sat down at her sewing machine and looked at Ocellus expectingly. “P-Professor Rarity?”

“Yes, darling? What is it you want me to make?”

“I want you to make a flexible spandex suit. Really durable fabric.”

“Okay. What color?”

“M...Maybe red and blue? Those colors work together. Smolder doesn’t care too much about coordination, but...” Ocellus trailed off, her cheeks turning pink. “But I want this to be the perfect gift for her.” Rarity chuckled.

“Oh, I see.”

“Oh, um... I have a question.” She paused. “Would you mind sewing a spider symbol in the middle?”

“Okay...?” Rarity looked at Ocellus perplexed. “Anything else? This does seem a little horrend—“ she stopped herself and put a hoof to her mouth. Ocellus squeaked. “Nonono, darling! If you think it’s a good gift, I do too!”

“I-I understand, I just... do you think she’ll like it?” She prodded her hoof on the floor.

“Of course, darling. I’ll see what I can do.” She waved Ocellus off. The bug decided to sit down and read a magazine for the wait. She turned a page and skimmed through the paragraphs with boredom piled on top of nervousness. What if Smolder didn’t like the gift she was given? What if she hated it? These thoughts clogged Ocellus’ mind and flooded it with ease. Her subconscious fears cascaded through her mind continuously over the hours.

Suddenly, she felt a heavy pressure on her chest. She coughed and sputtered. Her vision was blurred. Ocellus tossed and thrashed around with a lump forming in her throat. Rarity briskly turned off her machine and rushed to help Ocellus, who was still choking. “Darling, are you alright?!” Ocellus was suffocating. She couldn’t breathe.

She continued to cough and choke, and Rarity certainly wasn’t helping. She kept coughing and choking while thrashing around. Her wings buzzed every cough, and each gasp of air made her cough even more than she already was.

She heaved slowly. Her chest moved slower and slower and her coughing stopped momentarily.
She looked around her. Everything was a blur. Her chest was burning up, and the only clear thing she could possibly figure out was Rarity’s blurred figure.

“Ocellus!” she called. Ocellus’ breathing was slow, but steady. Rarity sighed in relief. “Are you alright, darling?”

“I...I’m fine, but my chest hurts.” She said. Ocellus clenched her chest with her hoof, breathing steadily. Rarity stayed beside her and comforted her as her chest pain shrunk overtime.

After a while, she stood on her four hooves. Rarity still stood beside her. Ocellus cleared her throat before coughing one more time.

“S-Sorry, Rarity. Something must’ve got caught in my throat.”

“Something, Alright!” She giggled in relief. She quickly stopped when she saw something. Ocellus looked off in one particular area. “Ocellus,” she started. “Your chest is glowing.”

“H-huh?!” She patted her chest down and felt a weird warmness there. When she looked down and saw a blue light being emitted from her chest, she gasped. “I-I am glowing!” She exclaimed.

“Well, darling, that’s what I just said— Wah-ha-hah!” Rarity jumped back in surprise. Ocellus tilted her head and displayed sheer confusion. “D-Darling... y-you’re a robot.”

Ocellus looked around her. It seemed as if her surroundings were digitally enhanced, and had a blue hue to it. She looked at Rarity. “Wh-What’s going on...?”

“I-I have no idea...”

“R-Rarity—“ Ocellus choked. She tried to utter a few more nervous words, but an unfamiliar voice cut in before her.

“Rarity, Race: Unicorn. Age: Thirty-Four. Owns various shops in Equestria. The Canterlot Boutique, and Rarity For You are both well known and popular amongst ponies.” It said. Ocellus and Rarity both screamed in unison.

“Wh-Who are you...?”

“I am Mark 7. Is there anything you would like to call me?” Ocellus chuckled nervously, and Rarity stepped back even farther

“H-How about Alien Robot Inquiry? A-ARI.” She felt strangely at home coming up with such a stable acronym, as if she became smarter just by creating it. ARI made a short, satisfied noise before continuing.

“That’s a nice name. My name is... ARI.”

“Oh. I actually might use acronyms more often.” She smiled. ARI, for an A.I, was surprisingly nice. Technology wasn’t this popular in the Badlands, and especially not near the changeling hive. Equestria had developed all kinds of tech; Magic Tech, Farm Tech, and Robotic Tech included, yet, this kind of technology seemed strangely off putting. Ocellus shrugged it off.

“Your name is...?” ARI Asked, and Ocellus jumped.

“O-Ocellus.” She stuttered. “Call me Ocellus.”

“Ocellus. You now have access to ARI.” Ocellus smiled again nervously.

“R-Rarity...?” She asked. Rarity nodded even more nervously than Ocellus was at the moment. ARI cut in.

“Rarity, Race—“

“S-Sorry, ARI. I was talking to the Rarity.”

“Oh.” ARI replied.

“Y-Yes darling?” Ocellus stepped closer, the mechanical whirring in the machinery being quite clear to her.

“I-I need a mirror. What do I look like?” On cue with these words, Rarity levitated a mirror toward Ocellus, who gasped. Her suit was a metallic gold around the face, and carried maroon and gold patterns all over. Her eye section was glowing, and in her chest area was a small metal magnet. “Oh my Thorax...” she breathed. “What am I?!”

“I don’t know, but... if I know anything, it’s that you can make anything fabulous.” She replied, earning a blush from Ocellus, though she couldn’t see it.

“W-Well, I... um.. how about that suit?”

“Right! On it, darling!”

“O-Oh, uh, ARI?”

“Yes, Ocellus?”

“What am I in?” She asked. The screen on the interior of her mask started to glow blue, and that’s what set her off the most.

“The suit covering you is a technological iron armored exoskeleton. You can preform all kinds of services in this suit, including flight, laser beam ammunition, and voice commands.”

Ocellus let out a short, quiet whistle of fascination. “That sounds amazing, ARI.”

“Only the best for you, Ocellus.” ARI complimented. Ocellus blushed, rubbing her hoof on her foreleg. Despite how much she was clad in iron, she still managed to keep on those cute habits she always carried. The exterior made a brief, ear-catching scraping noise, and Ocellus winced.

“I probably shouldn’t do that when I have the suit on...” she giggled nervously.

“I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“B-By the way, um... h-how can I disarm the suit?”

“Right away, Ocellus.” And with that, the suit folded into itself. It whirred as it withdrew from Ocellus’ body, leaving her in a shock. She reassumed her original tone in means to not sound nervous anymore. Ocellus was protected, now. She could do things probably no other ‘ling could do themselves. She was safe. “T-Thanks, ARI.”

“Anytime, Ocellus.”

Smolder now spent her free time alone trying to get better at her swings, because if the world depended on her right now, it would probably explode, or burst into flames, or- whatever. She grappled herself onto a tree branch and sat on it for a while. “Operation Manehattan is a go.” Now, she was more focused on challenging herself to new lengths that she completely forgot about her weekly hangouts with her friends. She outstretched her arm and shot a web string from her claw with perfect precision. It was time to take off.

“Smolder!” A familiar voice called, distracting Smolder and causing her to loose her balance. She slipped off the branch and swooped down. Her broken wings took most of the damage; she was flung through a tree, hitting herself on all the branches one by one.

There was the first, then the second, then the third, and then the fourth. Smolder continued on falling until she finally came in for a hard, rough impact on the ground. “Oh! S-Sorry, Smolder...” Ocellus apologized upon seeing Smolder so vulnerable right now. “Y-Your wings— are they—“

“W-What are you doing here?!” She fumbled a little, but managed to stand. Her legs were wobbling as she struggled to stand straight. Ocellus looked at her with complete concern. She leaned over to the right so she could get a closer look at Smolder’s wings.

“B-But are your wings okay? M-Maybe you should see a—“

“A doctor, I know. They’ll be fine eventually.”

“N-Not if you keep swinging like that...”

“Oh, believe me, it wasn’t the swinging.” She glared. Ocellus grew a sheepish smile and looked nervously up at the dragon. “Hey, what’s that?”

“What’s what—? Oh. You mean this.” Ocellus lifted up her hind leg slightly as she looked back at baby blue box she was carrying on her back labeled “For Smolder” with a heart marked in purple.

“I-I brought you a gift, y-you know, for your new abilities and all that...” Smolder looked down at her.

“B-But you— you didn’t have to...” She trailed off, looking away momentarily.

Ocellus smiled. She opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could say another word, Smolder snatched the box and swooped into the air with the help of her strings. Ocellus’ smile faded slowly.

She stared off into the distance where Smolder disappeared, hoof on her chest. Her eyes were moist. She waited, and waited, but Smolder never came back. Maybe she caught on to what Ocellus was feeling? To what she was trying to do? She barely could even get ahold of her own feelings, so how could she try and figure out someone else’s?

Ocellus started through the woods under the trees where her dragon friend was practicing. Her eyes glistened with tears of frustration. Her hooves touched the dewy grass one by one, and the thought of a Smolder seeing the pathetic gift pricked her mind like a thorn.

If Smolder even shared the simplest amount of sincerity toward something, of course it wouldn’t be Ocellus. As if. The changeling’s one true goal was to get the dragon to open up about her feelings, and she sure didn’t do a good job here. She must’ve given her a terrible gift. A gift she probably hated.

She trailed under the trees and pondered about her feelings. What was she feeling? A compulsive need to gain a better understanding of her best friend’s feelings? A yearning for the dragon herself? Ocellus liked to spend time with all of her friends regardless, Smolder included.

It was like she never wanted to get in the way of the dragon and her strange ambitions. Like it was clear to her where she belonged, and she belonged out of Smolder’s life. Love life included. Too bad it was to her dismay that the only thing she wanted in her love life was Smolder. Or so she thought.

To try and get a better understanding of the world was nymph’s play, or at least, that’s how it was when Chrysalis was the ruler of the Hive. Their main goal was to feed on love. Not to try and determine it’s meaning.

Ocellus stopped walking. She heard a distant ruffling in the nearby trees, almost close to the one she was standing under.

Probably the wind, She thought, and kept going.

Before she could get half another hoofstep, the same dragon appeared in front of her, but upside down. She was hanging off of the tree she was standing under with her webs, and she was wearing the gift Ocellus gave her. Worn on her body was a spandex suit with red and blue patterns on them, and a mask with white mesh on around her eyes so she could see. A black spider was depicted in the middle of her chest area, and her horns were poking out of the holes that were placed just right so that they emerged out of the head of the suit.

“It’s perfect,” she hummed. Ocellus blushed. “Wait, why are you glowing?” She let go of the string and fell to the ground, taking her mask off.

“O-Oh. Something happened at the boutique. Nothing big, really.” The bug turned away, and Smolder crossed her arms.

“Celly,” She replied with a knowing look.

“Okay, okay, Fine.” Ocellus sighed. “Professor Rarity was making your gift, a-and I started choking for no reason. Now, I have some sort of metal in my chest or something. Like I said, no big deal— wo-oah-oah!” Smolder scooped her love bug up and held her close to her chest, swinging from tree to tree back to the school. Ocellus’ face turned completely red at her chivalrous action. She hugged into the Spider-Dragon’s shoulder and enjoyed the moment while it lasted. The wind blew through her sparkly mane and brushed across her cheeks.

This is perfect. She thought.

“It is a big deal, Celly. I’m taking you back to the school.” Smolder said, swinging steadily amongst the trees.

“W-What?! But... won’t I look weird?” Asked Ocellus. She blinked a few times at the wind gusting directly into her compound eyes. The two were swinging around the tall buildings of Ponyville. Some ponies gasped in awe, and others in perplexity.

“You’re overreacting.” Smolder rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t matter if you’ve got this iron thingy in your chest for some reason. The only thing that matters is how we’re gonna figure out why. To do that, we need help from our friends.” With another swing, and another, and another, She looked down at Ocellus, and smiled. “But first, do you trust me?” Ocellus looked up at her and beamed.

“Of course!”

“Then take my claw and don’t fly away!” Ocellus heeded these words. She took Smolder’s claw and Smolder gripped it tightly in return. The two nodded at each other. On cue with the nod, she shot a string of web from her claw and onto the tallest building. She spun around and gripped Ocellus’ hoof in her claw as she did. Ocellus? She was perfect. The way she laughed, the way she smiled. This changeling somehow found her way into her heart to quickly. She just couldn’t figure out how. Smolder was snapped out of her daze as she heard Ocellus giggle quietly.

“You’re thinking too emotionally,” she laughed. “But I appreciate your feelings for me.” Smolder drew her claw in and embraced Ocellus in a one-armed hug.

“O-Oh... I didn’t think I was...” she trailed off. Smolder immediately noticed; she was being too vulnerable. She shook her head roughly. Ocellus giggled once more. Smolder’s face was completely red. With nothing but a few more swings left until Canterlot, Smolder spoke. “I changed my mind.” She said. “I’m not taking you back to the school, not yet.” Ocellus looked up at her.

“Oh, really? Where are we going now?” She purred and snuggled into Smolder’s chest, setting her on edge.

“I’m thinking we should see the sights in Canterlot, first. If not Manehattan.” Ocellus nodded.

“Of course.” She glanced at Smolder, who’s face was blank. “What’s wrong?”

“You're hot.”

Ocellus blanched at this, almost turning completely red. “W-What?!”

“N-no! Nononono! You’re not hot— but I mean I’m not saying you’re not— b-but... Y-You’re... You’re literally burning up!” She flushed out. Ocellus was still red all over. So was she. The only thing keeping her in the air right now was her web swinging upon instinct.

“W-What do you mean...?”

“The level you’re burning at is like... lava.” Upon hearing this, the changeling gasped.

“Hold on, we’ll figure this out once I figure out where to land.” Said Smolder, who was scanning the buildings of Canterlot for a potential landing space. She swung a couple more times before landing on a resident building in Restaurant Row.

The two sat on the roof next to each other and took in the view of the afternoon sky. The sun was at it’s peak in the sky, and the city was at its busiest. Smolder looked to Ocellus, and Ocellus looked back at her. “So what were you talking about?”

“You were, like, burning up for some reason. I think if you would’ve touched some other creature, they would’ve gotten burnt.”

“That’s... weird.” Ocellus shifted closer to Smolder, taking in the moment.

“It is,” She replied.

“You think we should get back to the school? Our afternoon break periods don’t last too long.” Ocellus scooted even closer to Smolder, resting her head on her shoulder and causing her to tense up.

“Yeah... yeah, we probably should.” None of them took into account that neither of them were actually planning to go back to the school anytime soon. Not with a moment like this.

“I forgot to elaborate some more about what happened.”

“Huh?” Smolder turned to Ocellus and looked at her perplexed.

“ARI?”

“Right away, Ocellus.” ARI replied. Smolder watched in awe as with a few minutes and some mechanical whirring, Ocellus was covered in robotic parts, from head to hoof.

“Woah... Celly, What—“

“Don’t freak out.” She interrupted. “B-But I think this is what the metal in my chest might be for.” Ocellus paused. Smolder tilted her head. “ARI, mask.”

“Yes, Ocellus.” When ARI said these words, the metallic mask covering Ocellus’ face had folded into itself and disappeared, revealing the precious facial features that Smolder adored so.

“And now... I have this suit.”

“Woah.” Smolder gasped. “That’s really cool!”

“T-Thanks...” She blushed.

“You know what would be even cooler?” Smolder asked.

“What?”

“If you can catch up! Let’s see what you’ve got in that thing!” Smolder jumped of the building and caught air. Ocellus stumbled over to the edge and looked on at her friend as she descended. Smolder looked back up at her and saluted her claw playfully before extending her arm.

She formulated a substance between fingers and shot out a web that latched onto one building, and another, and then another. Ocellus continued to look on. She gulped as she looked at the extreme height that she was at.

She could follow suit, take a leap of faith, and have fun in the moment, or, she could just fly away and never do this again. Ocellus stepped forward. She could back out now, or take some liberation and some much needed action. The Iron Bug gulped. Taking one more look over the edge, she let herself fall into the thick, noisy Manehattan atmosphere. As she fell through the skies, she decided to take some brave initiative before she flew on her own.

“ARI—! ARI... You said I could fly in this suit, r-right?”

“Yes Ocellus. There are energy-blasting thrusters at the bottom of each of your hooves. To activate them, push hard on the interior of your boots.”

“O-Okay! Th-Thanks, ARI!!!”

“Anytime, Ocellus. It is suggested that you utilize them now. The rate you are decreasing in altitude has increased by roughly ten percent.”

Ocellus flipped around in attempt to use her thrusters the way ARI said she should. Once she pressed on the insides of her boots, the bottoms of them let out a huge hiss and puffed smoke. Blue fire erupted from the exterior of her thruster-boots as she was launched back into the air. Ponies gasped in awe as they watched her wave around in the sky like a lunatic.

Almost in an instant, she caught up to Smolder who looked back at her in amazement. “Am I Cooler now?” She looked at Smolder and smiled, and she smirked back at her.

“Not cool,” She replied. Ocellus looked at her confusedly. “Perfect.”

Ocellus smiled and caught even more air than she had before. Smolder quickly followed suit and pulled her mask back down swiftly. Latching her web onto a building, Smolder flipped in the air and tackled Ocellus.

The bug stumbled a little at the impact, but them spun into a playful flip to throw the dragon off.

“Woah!” She exclaimed. Giggling almost as much as Ocellus was, she shot out a string of web and latched onto another building. The two continued to play and wrestle in the air, having more fun together than both of them originally planned. Both Ocellus and Smolder played in the sky until night fell. Both of them now had powers, but soon will come the responsibility.