Chapters The Amazing... Spider Dragon?
Today was a good day. The things going on around the group of six couldn’t compare to what had been going on with them. Even as the strange disappearances of some ponies failed to reach the knowledge of the most socially aware members of said group, they kept to themselves keenly; not a disturbance made on the perfectly balanced schedule they all kept. All except for one creature. “Where is she?” One creature, or pony, in particular whined, swatting his hooves across the table. Sandbar got countless weird looks from the rest of the party occupying the table.
“Seriously, Sandbar,” Gallus was now attempting to give his friend a harsh taste of reality, if not sense. “Smolder’s been avoiding all the shit we do for weeks. Stop acting like it’s anything new.”
“He’s right, Gallus.” Ocellus chimed in. Gallus looked over to her calmly, yet, defensively. “She hasn’t been here for a while. It’s like she’s been avoiding us this whole time.” She looked to Silverstream as if begging for support. Silverstream coughed in reply.
“Oh... right... um. Yeah, Gallus! Smolder hasn’t been hanging out with us and...” She paused. “Who am I kidding? Guys, Smolder’s Fine. It’s not like her to just up and leave her friends without giving a reason.” Everyone looked at her quizzically. She ended up openly questioning herself. “...Right?” Yona stepped in.
“Friends worry too much. Smolder good friend. Smolder not leave friends alone for no good reason!” She spoke, cheering the rest of the group up. “Oh, wait! There go dragon now!” She pointed in a direction to which all of them looked. There Smolder was, sitting in the library at an isolated table. The group themselves weren’t much for confrontation, except for maybe Gallus, but, at this point, they’ve been wanting answers for weeks. Gallus was the first to make his way up to her.
“Where the hell have you been all week?!” He snapped. “We’ve been worried sick!”
“Bullshit.” Smolder rolled her eyes. “I try and take a little freetime, and the first thing you do is attack me?!” She hissed. Ocellus started to speak, but decided against it. As weird as it sounded, Smolder began to sound... vulnerable. Like she didn’t know what to say. She was rarely ever caught by surprise by any creature. The way she spoke now compared to how she used to was completely different.
“Smolder, he’s right.” Ocellus stepped up from behind Gallus. Smolder’s eyes widened slightly, but then narrowed soon after.
“Oh, yeah, let’s just all attack Smolder.”
“We’re not attacking you.” She said. “We just want to know where you’ve been.”
“We can talk about it at the clubhouse.” She rushed.
“And, you’re sure you’ll explain everything?
“Promise.”
“You still haven’t explained to us this shit yet. Where the fuck did these ‘powers’ you’re talking about even come from?” Gallus inquired, hovering up to Smolder who was somehow sticking to the roof above them.
“You ask me like I know how this bullshit happened.” She rolled her eyes. “I was by myself one day, and next thing you know, my claws were all sticky.”
Storytime!
Smolder was relaxing on her floor, something in particular she found comforting compared to the rocks in the Dragon-lands. Between those and the soft, cushy mattresses, she favored the floor more than any of them.
“It was like any regular day. Y’know, just me, in my dorm, chillin’ it out.”
Smolder got up to look over her homework assignments for the evening. She walked over to her desk which had papers scattered all over it; a problem she thought she’d never be so nit picky about. Smolder picked up a sheet and skimmed through each and every paragraph doubtfully. She had no idea what was on that paper. Maybe Professor Fluttershy would take a late assignment. Or not. Smolder annoyedly shook the paper. It wasn’t moving. It was like the paper was superglued to her claw.
“I went to do my homework like a good, honest, moral straight A student would.” She chuckled coyly. The rest of the students rolled their eyes. “I picked up a piece of paper, and next thing you know, the little shit started to stick to my claw.”
Smolder was a little annoyed at first. She shook her claw rigorously in attempt to set the paper free. The sheet of paper, staying resilient, stayed stuck to her claw. Smolder growled contemptuously and snorted smoke. She could try setting it on fire, but that would mean risking setting the whole room on fire in the process. She could attempt to control her fire breathing, but, she had to face it; she was no good at controlling herself when she was this annoyed. She reached for some scissors on her desk and laughed to herself, seeing that she was about to win this battle.
“So what did dragon do?” Yona asked. Smolder unstuck herself from the ceiling and let herself fall to the ground. She landed in her feet, luckily, but her ankles nearly collapsed into themselves with a “crack!”
“What any normal creature would do.” She replied pretentiously. Her feet wobbled from the impact of the floor beneath her.
“And that is...?” Gallus waved his claw around in suspense while looking at her expectantly. She stood back on her feet proudly, but actually ended up falling onto her haunches.
“I grabbed my scissors and tried to cut it off. Or so I tried.”
Smolder attempted to cut the paper from her claw. She positioned the blades right between her scales and the assignment, ready to cut. When she squeezed the handles, the blades snapped through the paper and left it drifting onto the ground. She had succeeded, but at the expense of one more small, insignificant detail she hadn’t considered.
“The scissors started being bitches too.”
“‘Bitches’?” Gallus quoted, looking at Smolder confused.
“Hey, respect the plural nouns here.”
“Looks like someone pays attention in Twilight’s side-grammar lessons.” Ocellus replied with a coy smirk.
“Not you too, Ocellus. Don’t be a bitch.” Smolder glared at Ocellus, crossing her arms as she did. She only giggled back at her. “Anyway...”
Smolder growled in frustration. Her only way out actually ended up pushing her back in. Then, she figured it out. She’d ask her friends for help, that’s what she’d do. Smolder rushed toward the door as fast as she could. When she reached for the doorknob, she came to find out that, unsurprisingly, her claw stuck to it as well. Angered by this, she placed her feet onto the base of the door and launched herself backward. She pushed, and pushed as much as she could, the doorknob shaking and sticking as she did.
The door collapsed over her and she peddled herself backward. Good news; she was free. Bad news; she had taken the door off the hinges. It was as if the door were as light as a feather as she pushed herself. The disgruntled dragon stumbled with the door over her. She couldn’t focus, not like this. The door followed her every step she took.
The weight of the door shifted steadily and broke her concentration. The leverage she gained from being on top of her door was soon lost. She clamored toward her window and whipped around swiftly, the door following her arm as if it had been gripping it the whole time. It broke through the window pane, and glass flew from the empty space it left behind. The door, stuck in the pane, was being steadily pushed through by Smolder in a feeble attempt to free herself. The door collapsed under her. Then, she fell.
“Wait a minute. You fell out of a window?!” Ocellus exclaimed. “A-Are you okay?!”
“Ocellus.” Smolder answered. “It’s been a week.”
“Oh .” She grinned sheepishly. “Right.”
“Yak confused. Couldn’t dragon just fly?”
“Yeah, but then...”
This was fine. It was okay. All she had to do was extend her wings and fly, right? Right? She aimed to extend her wings and tossed as she fell. The wretched reptile flipped around frantically in a panic. Her wings in a frozen state. Was she scared? No. She couldn’t be. She wasn’t scared of anything, and—
‘ Crack!!!!!’ Smolder turned in the air and let out a cry of great pain. Her wings got hit on a ledge of some sort. Maybe the air pressure at such a high rate didn’t mix very well with chunks of land. Her body was still rotating with the consistent air pressure while she fell, and her wings flapped, fluttered, and twisted brokenly.
Now, the only thing stuck to her claw at this point was the doorknob. Upon instinct she held out her arm and tried to see if she could reach for a ledge on the building or something. That’s when she knew. She dug for copper, and struck gold. A mysterious web shot out from in between two of her fingers and latched onto the side of the school building. She instantly gained air as she grappled toward it. In a frenzied panic, she crashed. Right into the side of the building.
“And, now, I’m practically in control of these powers.” Smolder quipped. She extended her arm and let out a string of web that latched onto the crystal walls of the clubhouse. Catching air, she decided to try and do a backflip. When she was launched into the air, she shot another string out of her other claw to the opposite wall. When she let go of her previous string, she ended up flying straight into the other wall. She hit the ground. The other five laughed for a bit and attempted to help her up.
“Thought you said you had this in the bag.” Gallus deadpanned.
“I...I said practically. Asshole...” she groaned. Helping Smolder up, the group happily said their “good nights” and left for the School. Neither of them knew what would happen next, or where they’d go in the moment. All they knew was, it was a crazy story told that night, and little did they know, theirs was soon coming.
Iron Bug Caught In a Spider’s Web
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.
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.
“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.
B-But Gallus! I Don’t Want It!
Silverstream thrashed about in a childish manner. Gallus watched her with great disappointment as he looked down on one her.Silverstream, ” he pleaded. The hippogriff in question happened to be clad in armor from head to claw— or, hoof.
“B-But Gallus! I d-don’t want it!” The two were currently causing a scene in the library, yet the ponies who were present payed no mind. “This— this thing keeps coming back to me!” She whined.
A distant cry could be heard, followed by a loud thump into one of the bookshelves. Ponies ran away in panic from a large hammer that began to emit a blue glow. Silverstream grimaced. “Look, Silverstream—“
“Gallus! ” she exclaimed, grabbing the grumpy griffin and shaking him frantically. “This is a big deal! Why do I look like someone’s knight and shining armor?! If anything, you should be mine !” She continued. Gallus blushed at this.
“I—“ Silverstream continued to shake him rigorously.
“I mean, how am I supposed to explain this to the—“
“SILVERSTREAM!! ” Gallus shouted. Silverstream quieted down and plopped her rump down on the floor. ”Relax. We can talk about this. It’s fine.” He hovered in front of her, putting a claw on his beak. “Now, summarize what happened in a calm, organized matter.”
“Okay, So...”
Storytime!
Silverstream pranced into the library with Gallus following grumpily behind her. The two were only there for the moment; seeing as they had to quickly grab a book for that evening’s studies.
“So, we were walking into the library and split up to look for a book.” She explained. She paused to slowly ponder everything she’d say next.
Silverstream scanned the shelves in search of the book they were searching so long for. She prodded her claws on each book and read each of their names to herself. The book, after she read the title, stuck out like a sore thumb.
“I found the book eventually, and I went to find you as soon as I did. Couldn’t figure out where you were, though.” Gallus nodded intently as Silverstream continued on with her story. He pulled a chair out from under a table and invited Silverstream to sit. She happily obliged. Gallus sat in the chair next to her with his head resting in his claw. “Gallus, are you paying attention?”
“Of course. Go on.” Silverstream looked at him in a puzzled manner.
“You sure? You seemed kind of lost right there. Anything on your mind before I continue?”
“Um...” Gallus thought for a second as a deep shade of red showed up on his face. He tapped a claw on his cheek and felt the growing warmth. Even as griffins weren’t big fans about showing feelings, Gallus thought he at least shared a somewhat mutual bond with Silverstream.
In other words, he did have feelings for the hippogriff sitting in front of him. Even as she was the one clad in armor, he wished he could be her knight in shining armor. For her. From the laughter she shared to her never ending optimism, he had it bad for her. Really bad.
Even so, maybe the bond they already shared was enough. Maybe he could evolve it into something more without saying anything. In the end, it all depended on how Silverstream felt about him. He continued to ponder, still tapping a claw on his cheek.
“Great! Let’s continue,” She, quite literally, chirped.
Silverstream flew around the library in search for her griffin friend, book in claw. She circled around shelves, and gandered around bookcases, but no luck finding Gallus. It was only when she decided to finally take a seat at one of the nearby tables that she felt a heavy weight on her back.
“Then, I had this heavy weight on my back. It was weird. Kind of like a bunch of metal just piled on top of me. Which it did!!!!!” She shouted in Gallus’ face in reference to her massive, heavy iron plated armor.
“Okay, okay, I get it. Move on.”
“So, Yeah.”
Silverstream squawked in discomfort as she toppled over. The chair fell, and so did she. She rolled around on the ground a few times over before sitting up slowly. Groaning, she sat up and tried her best to clear her head and make sense of what was going on. Before she could regain her composure, however, she saw a heavy object flying toward her.
In an instant, she launched herself into the air with her wings and catapulted near the ceiling. The heavy object seemed to follow her, but she thought quickly. She dove from the ceiling and into a nearby bookshelf. The object followed, but she was still thinking ahead.
When her claws touched the mahogany wood of the shelf, she thrusted herself backward and into a backflip. The heavy object crashed into the bookcase where she once was. Ripped pages and chips of wood from the shelf floated daintily in the air after the impact.
“So, the stupid hammer thingy crashed into the bookshelf.”
“Alright. Go on.” Despite how far stretched the whole thing was, Gallus wanted to help his crush through this. Even if it took him until the end of time, he was going to help her figure this out. When she didn’t continue, he had to make it explicit that he wanted her to finish her story. After all, this was his chance to reveal his true feelings. “The... The hammer thingy...?” He waved his claw.
“Oh! Right! Okay, so the hammer was this really big hunk of metal, and...”
Silverstream started to inspect the object following her. It appeared to be a very solid metal hammer, except it was... oddly different. It had an unfamiliar pattern on it, and it emitted a blue hue from the patterns engraved. Gripping toughly on the handle, Silverstream attempted to yank it from the shelf. She positioned her hooves on the shelf where she stood at an angle and would use her hooves to force the hammer from it’s book-y prison.
With a grunt, she tugged on the handle as hard as she could. Her hooves pressed on the shelf and gave her just enough force to make the hammer budge just a little. When it made a large noise, she let go of it and pushed herself from the bookshelf and onto the floor at a distance. She was about three feet from the hammer when it glowed.
Before she could inspect it any further, the thing launched toward her in a menacing fashion. With quick action, she launched herself back into the air.
“...And then it started to follow me again.” She sighed. “Now, I...” She stopped. Silverstream outstretched her arm to catch the flying hammer by the handle, which would’ve been extremely heavy for anyone who wasn’t... her. Gallus’ jaw dropped. Either Silverstream was really strong, or the hammer just... chose her. “Now I have to deal with this thing.”
Gallus wondered for a second. Why did this mysterious object that came out of the blue just up and follow Silverstream everywhere? Surely, there had to be some kind of explanation. Perhaps it was an artifact? After all, the artifacts in Equestria all happened to glow... at... some point. “Hold on. Lemme see it real quick.”
“Oh. Okay, I guess. Be careful. That thing is way too clingy. ” Silverstream tried to hand Gallus the hammer as he reached across to grab it. He was unprepared, however, for the hammer to weigh him down almost as soon as he lay his claws on it.
“Woah- woah-oah!!!” He exclaimed. The hammer crashed in through the table and instantly snapped it in half. Gallus crashed through the wood along with it, and Silverstream burst into flight.
“Gallus!” She exclaimed. “Are you okay?!” She hovered down to him slowly.
“Wish I was .” He deadpanned. “This motherfucker weighs a ton ! Try... lifting it up.” Silverstream nodded, picking up the hammer with ease.
“I don’t see the problem,” She smiled, looking at Gallus. He blanched.
“B-But how— I don’t under— what?! !?”
Great. He thought. My crush is even stronger than me. I probably can’t confess either. One wrong word and she might suplex me.
Silverstream giggled pretentiously. “What’s wrong, Gally?” Gallus tensed up at the sound of his name. His face turned completely red as he turned away from her.
“N-Nothing! I just think... i-it’s kind of... weird, y’know?”
“Don’t worry!” She squealed, scooping up Gallus and embracing him in a bone crushing, lung collapsing hug. “You and me, Gally! I’ll protect you!” Silverstream continued her gallant remarks, ignoring the constant wheezing and constant pleas for release.
She paused for a second, then let him go and disregarded the fact that she was currently hovering, and so he fell. “So what am I supposed to do with all this armor?” Gallus was unresponsive, yet she didn’t question it. “Good idea, Gallus! I should wear it around the school and go test this hammer out!”
Gallus couldn’t protest. He had the wind knocked out of him, and so he couldn’t speak at the time.
Gallus Must Have An Arrow In His Ass
Gallus sat at the broken table, alone to think about what had just happened earlier. Silverstream was strong, like, really strong. if he was going to confess to her eventually, he’d have to choose his words carefully . If he ended up offending her, she’d probably whack him with that hammer.
He needed a strategy. Win her over, maybe? Somehow, he had to. There was absolutely no way he could lift that thing like Silverstream did. She wielded it like it was made of cardboard . Gallus stopped thinking for a second and fiddled with the loose splinters on the broken section of the table.
He could try besting her. It wasn’t really original, but it could work. If two of his friends were suddenly able to hold and do things they couldn’t before, then maybe it’d be his turn. Eventually, right? “C’mon, C’mon, C’mon... Powers...” Gallus strained. Maybe if he tried hard enough, he could get powers like Smolder and Silverstream.
He rubbed his temples and strained even more. His wings extended and he flapped them rigorously trying to formulate something within his system. Unfortunately, the only thing he formulated was sweat on his brow. “Dammit!!!” He exclaimed. Slamming his claws on the floor, he strained once more. His wings continued to fluctuate as he clenched his teeth. Blood vessels took form on his forehead, and more sweat began to bead on his temples.
“Agh!” He shouted. “Listen here, you motherfucker!!” Gallus was shouting at no creature in particular, other than that ‘otherworldly person’ he thought he was talking to. “You gave Smolder powers, you gave Silverstream powers, and now it’s my turn!!! S-So stop being such a bitch!!!!”
No one answered. A steady breeze carried through the empty library as he continuously shouted at the desolate air. He prepared to shout again until he heard slow, steady footsteps coming in at a distance. The familiar sound made Gallus jump under the table in attempt to hide himself.
“That was fun,” a voice giggled. “We should do that again sometime.”
“Yeah, when we don’t have classes. Jumping off a building isn’t worth making up all your homework.”
“Maybe it would be if you could fly.” The same voice purred.
“Whatever.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault you broke your wings swinging with those webs.”
“For the last time, that’s not how they broke.”
Smolder and Ocellus? Gallus thought. He peered our from under his hiding spot and watched the two stare at the broken table over him. Suddenly, they began to approach him. Well, more like the table . He gasped quietly and shrunk back swiftly.
“What the hell happened here?”
“Smolder? ” Ocellus replied knowingly. “Talk to CHAD .” Smolder groaned in reply. CHAD happened to be a sleek, modern box with a slot carved into the top. It’s main color was a light blue, similar to Ocellus’ coat, but carried dark blue carvings on the sides. The carvings also held the contraption’s name.
Cursewords, Hate, And Denotation. He thought to himself. Ocellus must’ve really liked acronyms. Aside from that, where would she have gotten the money to buy such a thing? Technology was big in Equestria, but he didn’t think Ocellus would even think about buying it, let alone saving the money for it. Maybe she— no. No, there was no way. Sure she was smart, but come on.
“You and your dumb acronyms.” She growled. Gallus peered our from under the table once more and watched his friend reluctantly drop a bit into Ocellus’ little contraption. “That doesn’t mean this damn rust bucket is gonna—“ she stopped herself quickly. Ocellus shook her head disapprovingly and pointed to CHAD.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Ocellus frowned. “You should really know better.
“Shut up.” Smolder snorted. “Remind me not to curse when we’re doing anything. We’ll probably be in immediate danger, and you’ll still be worried about me cursing.” She stopped talking just to narrow her eyes at the box. Smolder leaned down and stared at CHAD as if it had eyes. “...and this... CHAD. How close are you two...?” She looked up at Ocellus, smirking at her.
Ocellus giggled playfully. “There’s nothing between us, I swear.”
Gallus stuck his tongue out and let out a somehow inaudible groan of disgust.
And then there’s these two. Grover forbid me and Silverstream’ll be like that.
He tapped a claw on his chin. If I could stop being a pussy.
Smolder stood up straight and fixed her posture. She stared straight down at what might be her romantic partner, and her partner did the same. Ocellus buzzed her wings and lifted herself up into a hover. Now, she was about the height of Smolder. The scaly creature looked into her eyes nervously. Ocellus gently pressed her snout against Smolder’s.
Oh no. Gallus sighed in his mind. My two friends are literally about to kiss, and I’m just over here... being a creep.
Smolder chuckled nervously as her tail quivered. Ocellus proceeded to pucker her lips and smooch her snout. Smolder’s tail shook vigorously. She wanted to say something, but Ocellus had already launched herself into the air. Her wings buzzed as she soared out of the library. Smolder chuckled to herself. Her cheeks were burning uncontrollably.
Before this would make its way into something worse, Gallus thought he’d better show himself now. “So... you and Ocellus, huh?” Smolder gasped.
“G-Gallus! What the hell are you doing—!”
“Sorry. I was kind of studying here, and... you two startled me. S-So, I, uh... hid.”
“I see how that went.”
“Yep.” Silence fell. The two stood there awkwardly and just stared at each other. Neither of them knew what to say at the moment. Gallus just caught two of his friends in the most wholesome, purest moment he’d ever seen in his whole life of accidentally seeing couples... interact, and Smolder has just been caught being wholesome.
Gallus fiddled with his claws a bit, and so did Smolder. She scuffed her feet on the library floor while he went on thinking.
If Smolder got her powers, maybe she could show me how I could get mine! He lifted his head up so suddenly that Smolder raised a brow at his sudden ’eureka!’ moment. Gallus shrunk back, and Smolder was still looking at him. “Listen, I have a question.
“There’s something I wanna tell you. Before I tell you, though, you’ve gotta promise you won’t freak out, blurt our something before I finish, and, you’ve gotta be serious about this.”
Smolder nodded skeptically, and Gallus breathes in to explain. “I’ve got a crush... On Silverstream.” Gallus looked at her sternly, and he could see she was about to burst out laughing. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, he moved on. “And, apparently she has powers now. I think.
“If I admit that I have feelings for her, she might break my back. I don’t have any powers like you, and I wanna impress her before she decides to wrestle me.” He paused. “So... I want you to tell me something. How the hell did you get it to... formulate?!”
Smolder put a claw to her chin and thought for a moment. The first thing Gallus would need at the moment was support. After all, some things were best not to bring up in his face, so she started with something light.
Before she said anything, she shook her head. “First of all, CHAD would be disappointed in you.” She chuckled. “Second of all, I dunno. The powers just came to me. Next thing you know—“
A very large and abrupt thumping noise coming from the hallway near the library entrance interrupted Smolder’s soliloquy.
Both her and Gallus turned to the entrance when a steady buzzing noise was emitting from the hallways leading toward it. Careening through the library was Ocellus, and she had it out for Smolder at the moment. She launched herself toward the dragon headfirst into her torso.
“Oof! ” She exhaled. Ocellus had tackled Smolder into a kiss, and the two tumbled into a bookcase.
“Mwah!” Ocellus puckered her lips and smooched her lover on the lips. She was sitting right there, on Smolder’s stomach. Their muzzles were pressed together for a time, until Ocellus pulled back swiftly. Numerous books surrounded the two, and Smolder had the wind knocked out of her. “How was that? ” Ocellus breathed. At this point, she was very out of breath also. She was flying at such a speed that she wasn’t too much used to.
Smolder didn’t answer. Her face was a scorching red, and Ocellus giggled. Smolder, no matter how much Ocellus was laughing, was the most nervous she’d ever been, and she had never been nervous, or, she just never admitted when she was. The confused changeling soon emerged from her heavy means of elation. “What’s wrong?”
Smolder was still unresponsive. All she did was raise up her arm and shoot a web onto the ceiling, zipping out of her grasp. When Smolder clung to the ceiling so nervously, Ocellus looked around with perplexity. She whipped around and turned to see Gallus, who waved nervously.
She squealed loudly, turning into a book and dropping into the floor.
“Sorry, Sorry!” He frantically picked up Ocellus, who was now a book. “I swear, there’s a good explanation!”
“Uh-Huh...” Ocellus narrowed her eyes. “J-Just tell me how much you saw..”
“Um...” He opened his mouth to answer, but Smolder had already filled in for him. With a short sticking noise, she stuck her web into the ceiling and clung onto it. She descended slowly on the string upside down. Smolder was still hanging onto the string and dangled slowly in the air. When she faced Gallus, she kept a smug face and wore a smirk.
“A lot .” She said. “He saw a lot .” With a green flash, Ocellus changed back and stood next to Smolder. She was still hanging upside down, something Gallus would have to learn to take seriously. Trying explicitly not to smile, he looked at the two.
“Like I said, it was an accident.” He flashed back to the best poker face he could manage. Smolder looked at him in disdain, and Ocellus sighed. “I tried to take the opportunity to ask Smolder about her powers. Ocellus, you get what I mean, right?” He looked at Ocellus, who grimaced and shifted uncomfortably.
“Actually... A-ARI?”
“Right away Ocellus.” ARI answered. Gallus looked surprised as her iron suit enveloped around her. The mechanical material wrapped around her hooves, the last of her baby blue chitin showing being the chitin in her head. The only thing she was missing was her mask.
“We sort of forgot to tell you all that...” Smolder started, but soon trailed off.
“Dammit .” He muttered. Ocellus looked at Smolder, and then at Gallus with concern. She turned back to Smolder and gestured her hoof to Gallus. Smolder raised a brow.
“Oh, So he can curse, but I can’t?” Smolder narrowed her eyes, and Ocellus glared back at her defensively.
“We’re supposed to be helping Gallus. This isn’t the time for this, Smolder.” She replied, gesturing her hoof once more. Smolder rolled her eyes. Ocellus sighed in defeat.
“I just wish something would get me there. Like you guys—“ In the middle of his sentence, a very strong and sticky substance seemed to glue his beak in place. His mouth was stuck, and he couldn’t speak. He glanced at Smolder who had her arm extended with two fingers spread and suggesting that she was the culprit.
“Smolder!” Ocellus gasped. “Why would you do that?!”
“Because he’s being too bitchy about this. If you’ll stop bothering me about this, I’ll help him.” She replied. Ocellus’ mouth hung open to say something, but she couldn’t find the words. It was like the words she was looking for got caught in her throat, and were stuck there for majority of the time. Smolder walked past her and stood in front of Gallus. “Gallus, you’re being a bitch. If you want powers, you can’t beg for them.
“You’ve gotta challenge yourself, not be a baby. Enter me, for example.” She gallantly placed a claw on her chest and puffed it out with pride. Gallus rolled his eyes. “I was just about to start studying, and then the powers just came.”
“Mmph-Hmm-Phmm-hmm Hmmph Hmph mph Hm?” Gallus’ voice was muffled, and that was all Smolder and Ocellus could here. Smolder reached out her arm and practically tore the web off of Gallus’ beak. He made a short and quite adorable squealing noise when she pried the web off him. She and Ocellus both giggled quietly. Gallus groaned. “So your powers just came to you?”
“Exactly.” Smolder nodded. “The only thing you’ll have to do is wait for them, although you might not actually have any powers at all—“
“Smolder!” Ocellus hissed, forcing her hoof over Smolder’s muzzle. She turned to Gallus, who was hanging his head dejectedly, and smiled warmly. “What I believe she’s trying to say is, maybe it’ll come to you when you’re patient.” Ocellus turned back to Smolder and frowned. “I believe you owe CHAD a gem.”
“No. Way.”
“Hey, look at the box.” Ocellus held up CHAD and read it’s label smugly. “Cursewords, Hate, And Denotation. C.H.A.D.”
“I knew you two had something going on.” Smolder turned her back to Ocellus, who was currently panicking. She folded her arms to sell it a little further. Once she saw Ocellus begin to panic more, she kept her chin up and proceeded to milk it even more.
“Nononono! I-I swear! CH-CHAD is just... it’s a box I made s-so you wouldn’t—!” She stammered, at a loss for words. Ocellus plopped down on the floor downheartedly. “Y-You’re not breaking up with me are you...?” With these words, Smolder quickly turned around and clamped a claw on Ocellus’ mouth.
“N-Not in front of Gallus!” She whispered harshly.
The griffin in question let out a low chuckle, and Smolder peered at him. “Hey, you two are fine in my book.”
“We better be.” Smolder growled, pointing a claw at him.
“Smolder , that’s one category of CHAD.” Ocellus replied. “Give CHAD a gem.”
“Fuck CHAD. This time he’s only getting a bit.” She leaned down and looked straight into Ocellus’ big, buggy eyes. Ocellus’ eyes widened in return.
“A gem .” She replied. Smolder was trying her best at this point. If she was going to give in to her girlfriend, it was only going to be her way and her way only.
“A bit. If you’re going to force me to do this, I’m keeping My snacks.” She snorted some smoke CHAD’s way, and Ocellus gasped in offense.
“That’s rude! CHAD and I are severely disappointed in you, Smolder.” She turned her back on Smolder, who snorted again in reply.
“Then be disappointed. I guess CHAD will have to be broke , cause he’s not getting anymore currency than the amount you’ve forced out of me!”
Ocellus gasped once more and began to raise her voice. “I-I do not force anything out of you! You know that!!”
“Do I though?”
“Stop, you guys!!” Gallus shouted. “What the hell are you two even fighting for?! You’re supposed to be helping me !!!” Both Ocellus and Smolder looked at him with shocked looks on their faces. “Look,” he continued. “Why don’t you two just apologize... and be done...?”
“Fine. ” Smolder sighed. She turned to Ocellus, who looked up at her solemnly. “Look, I’m sorry I refuse to respect CHAD. From now on, he’s... okay... in my book.” Ocellus buzzed her wings excitedly at these words and hugged Smolder tightly.
“Thank you soooo much! I knew you two would get along!” She squealed. Smolder’s cheeks began to singe. She looked at Gallus(presumably for help), but he shrugged nonchalantly and motioned his claw. Smolder rolled her eyes, extended her arms, and wrapped them around Ocellus in return.
After being in her embrace for a time, she pushed Ocellus off of her. Ocellus, despite her deprivation of contact, still smiled at a Smolder and licked her lips. “Don’t act like that.”
Smolder looked at the loving bug confusedly, but mostly defensively as her cheeks continued to burn red. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
While the two proceeded to love each other, Gallus was still there, existing. After all, what else could he do with no powers? Sandbar and Yona would probably get their powers before he did. Could they, though? Gallus has to really think this through before he gave up hope. He could possibly pull a CMC and try out for what he’d do. Maybe, just maybe, if he tried hard enough— “Guys!!!” He chirped enthusiastically. “I... I have an idea!!!”
“...Bad idea.” Smolder muttered. The three of them were on the roof of a very tall building in Manehattan. Smolder was wearing her spandex suit, and Ocellus was wearing her robotic armor. Gallus, however, wore a leather vest with a zipper. The top was sectioned off and colored black, and so was the section near his lower torso. The mid-section, however, was a light maroon.
He had wristbands wrapping around his arms, and a few arrows in a quiver on his back.
Even in spite of the dragon’s rude remarks, he was at the end of his rope with options. He couldn’t bear the constant thirst for the power that his friends had. After all, he needed to be included. If he kicked out of the group, they probably wouldn’t even want to hang out with him anymore. If they didn’t want to hang out, then he probably couldn’t tell—
“Okay, so, remind me why we’re shooting arrows at buildings? Smolder? Isn’t this vandalism?”
“I don’t know, ask CHAD.” Smolder crossed her arms and smirked.
“I-I thought we were over this...” Ocellus whimpered, blushing lightly. Smolder chuckled.
“You guys,” Gallus barked, trying to refocus the trio on bigger matters. “Just watch my aim. Make sure I don’t miss.”
“What’s your target?” Smolder asked, and Gallus turned his head.
“Um... windows? I dunno. We might get arrested, but it’s worth a shot.”
“You mean you .” She joked in correction. “You’re getting arrested for this. Til’ then, I’m outta here.”
“Smolder ,” Ocellus scolded. Smolder crossed her arms once more and rolled her eyes as she did. Gallus looked doubtfully at her, and Ocellus with pleading eyes.
“Fine . But as soon as this gets heated, I’m getting you out of here.” Smolder looked to Ocellus, who smiled warmly and nodded in reply. “Gallus, it’s all up to you.”
“Right.” Gallus took aim with his bow and focused on his target. The arrow trembled in his grasp as he tugged harder and harder on the string. He felt oddly stronger. Like, stronger than the average griff. Maybe he wasn't any stronger than Silverstream, but, still.
The arrow continued to shake as if it were begging to be released. His eyes formed crosshairs in the exact direction he was aiming. The wind blew emptily across the feathers on his cheek. His eyes narrowed as he focused on his aim and became fully immersed.
Letting go of the arrow, it zipped from the bow and out of sight. “Oh. Oops.”
“It... counts for something.” Ocellus offered. Smolder snorted.
“The point is, you tried— what the—?!” She gasped. The three watched as glass shattered at a building from a large distance. They could see as the window cracked under the arrow’s pressure. “We’ve gotta go see that. ” she muttered in awe. Smolder ran up to the edge of the building and dove off like a lunatic, or, at least to Gallus.
“Wh-What did she—?!” Ocellus shushed him and tapped a hoof on his shoulder. He looked as she pointed to Smolder, who was swinging from building to building so fluently. “Oh.” He sighed in relief.
“Let’s go!” Ocellus fires up her thruster boots and took to the skies, following her lover. Gallus also took to the air, enjoying the nice, cool breeze waving under his feathers.
The three of them enjoyed the atmosphere together, Ocellus and Gallus flying at a certain height for Smolder’s swings since her wings weren’t working at the moment. Or any moment.
Gallus tilted his head and looked at her skeptically as he watched her easily walk on the glass vertically without any problems. “I thought only changelings could do that.” He turned to Ocellus.
“You and me both,” she giggled.
“Look here, you two.” Both Ocellus and Gallus turned to Smolder at her abrupt response. She pointed at the broken glass before smirking at Gallus. “Looks like we have a winner.”
“Woo-hoo!!!” The gracious griffin exclaimed, flipping in the air.
“Hold your horses. You’ve got a long way to go before a Silverstream jumps into your arms.” She deadpanned. Gallus blushed, and Ocellus looked at him confusedly.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Yona basked happily in the sun. Her fur made contact with the moist grass under her and tickled the skin underneath. “Ah. Yona like bright sun.” She sighed. Yona rolled around in the grass and turned over, looking around.
For a time, she wondered. Where Yona friends been whole time? Sitting up, she took in the sunny ambiance and looked up at the clear sky.
And so, Yona set off to find her friends in the school. The stone floors made the clopping sound of her hooves seem loud as she trailed around in the hallways.
Lots of ponies seemed to crowd around her when she entered the library. She looked around nervously and proceeded to search the library. The clopping of her hooves soon slowed, however, when the crowd of ponies continued to grow.
“E-Excuse Yona— O-Oh, P-Pardon Yona— um—“ She stammered, gingerly pushing her way through the crowded library. Eventually, she made it into a distant corner and stood there silently. Searching for her friends right now could be difficult.
“I see you’re having a bit of trouble,” Somecreature said. A familiar green colored pony approached Yona slowly. He smiled at her, and soon, she smiled back. “The library gets really crowded after Headmare Twilight’s classes.” He continued. Yona practically bounced happily up to him.
“Yona soooooo glad turtle pony here!” She exclaimed, wrapping him in a tight hug. Sandbar chuckled, and Yona let go eventually. “Yona was trying to find friends, but she got caught in... pony flood.”
Sandbar chuckled once more. “Once you’re in here, you’ll probably have trouble finding your way out.” He turned away from Yona and started to find a table. She followed closely behind in hopes to stay close to him so she wouldn’t get lost in the sea of ponies she described as a ‘pony flood’. “But as for our friends, I... I actually don’t know. It just... feels like the group’s been splitting lately. Might be a little tension.
“Smolder was the first to draw from the group, Ocellus started to slowly withdraw herself to be with her, Gallus started hanging out with them, and Silverstream’s the only one that’s really still with us. I think she’s still carrying around that giant hammer and claiming she has ‘powers’.”
He stopped trotting to make quotation-hooves as Yona looked on in confusion. Yona opened her mouth to possibly suggest a solution to their ongoing conundrum, but Sandbar just moved on.
“It’s kind of weird, though. After getting in trouble in class for smashing all those desks, Professor Rainbow Dash couldn’t pick the hammer up. Even though she’s an element of harmony, she’s saved the world so many times, she couldn’t even make it budge. It was really weird...”
“Uh, Sandbar—?” The yak asked, already getting an earful. Sandbar continued on trotting through the crowd of ponies, and Yona continued to follow reluctantly.
“...But at the same time, Silverstream started fashioning this weird iron-plated armor. I didn’t even know anything in the hall of armor stands came with a cape .”
“Sandbar.” Yona finally reiterated. The two took a seat when they finally made it to a table, and Sandbar looked up at her, blinking his eyes innocently.
“Yes, Yona?”
“Yona think Sandbar overanalyzing. Friends just taking time away from each other, and... Silverstream is Silverstream.” She continued. “Anyway, Yaks not really believe in power. Yaks believe in strength. Silverstream has strength. Yona and Sandbar have strength. Friends have strength.”
“Right! Of course. Exactly. Powers aren’t a thing. Maybe Smolder and Silverstream just used spells for whatever they were doing. Maybe this is just a huge prank. Like, if we were all getting powers, where are mine?” Yona looked at him quizzically, and then inhaled slowly.
“Friends probably just getting ahead of themselves.”
“R-Right. Exactly.” He agreed. Sandbar slowly tapped his hooves on the table and looked around nervously. It grew oddly silent in the library, which made it really awkward. “So... should we confront them about it?”
“Yona think we should let friends have fun. Pay no mind.”
“So... what if we’re left out?” He asked, rubbing the back of his neck with his hoof. Yona looked at him annoyedly and proceeded to explain her thoughts.
“Friends. Are. Friends. Friend Sandbar got hay in his ear again?” She questioned, irritated at Sandbar’s persistent and ongoing inquiries.
“Hey!” He replied with a stretched whine. “It was that once!”
“More like that twice ,” she repeated. Sandbar crossed his forelegs and pouted.
Yona trotted to her dorm, a little ticked off in the moment. How could Sandbar question her? And after all the time they’ve spent together, he acted so strange. Like he didn’t believe her. She continued to think about her endeavor with Sandbar as she unlocked the door to her dorm.
As she entered the room, she thought even more. Although it would’ve been reasonable to chew him out at the spot, it wouldn’t make any sense to yell at a friend, especially when you’re embarrassing yourself doing it.
Wait, what was she thinking? Sandbar was a good friend of hers, if not more. Yelling at him for such a silly prank her friends were pulling made no sense at all. Or did it? Yona made a grunt of frustration at her constant change of course.
“Agh! Yona should make up mind already!” She shouted, flopping onto her bed soon before shouting into the mattress. The covers quivered in distress at the sudden change of frequency of the sounds in the room. She flailed her hooves around in distress.
“Yona should... Yona should be mad at friends. Friends left Yona!” She exclaimed. At this point, even she wasn’t sure of herself this time. “Wait a second. F-Friends no leave Yona. Yona just overreacting.” She stood up and looked around, taking in a few deep breaths.
She was calm for a time, that was, until she arched a brow in even deeper thought. “Friend Sandbar been acting really weird. Maybe Yona give him piece of her mind!” Yona declared, stamping her hoof on the floor and causing it to shake. “Yak talk to all friends!”
She continued to stomp onward, knocking her own door down as she did. In the hallways, down the stairs, and through the base of the school, many other students watched in concern and fear at the sight of an angry yak stomping through the school.
For Yona, it would be a tad unorthodox to just up and attack her friends as angry as she was, but this? This was important. Important to her. If her friends were just going to practically abandon her— Wait, abandon her?
Yona quit walking and stopped to think clearly. Being moral in this situation was necessary, right?
Now Yona really losing it.
Now, it was almost like her anger was controlling her. It was like... like she couldn’t even think straight. Like something was beating against her from the inside. Like it was slowly chipping away at her subconscious and begging for release. She took in a few deep breaths.
“Woah. What happened to you ?” Yona jumped for a second, whipping around to see who was talking to her so suddenly.
“Oh. Dragon. It just you.” She let out a relieved sigh, happy to see Smolder accompanied by Ocellus. Two of her friends. Nothing could go wrong here, right?
“S-Sorry we haven’t been hanging out with you for a while.” Ocellus spoke. Yona quirked a brow before narrowing her eyes for a second, but her gaze softened as she found a way to calm down.
“Y-Yona... forgive friends. Where dragon and changeling been?”
Ocellus’ eyes widened. “W-Where we’ve been...? Um...” her cheeks singed with pink, and Smolder looked at her with a smirk. She smiled sheepishly and finally decided to fill in for her own answer. “W-We’ve been... around...” she giggled nervously. Smolder chuckled, looking back at Yona.
“What she’s trying to say is, we’ve been hanging out in the clubhouse. Extra study stuff, y’know?” She replied, nudging Ocellus softly. The bug retaliated by brushing her hoof on the ground, a new thing she’d do when she was nervous.
“Hm. Funny friends should say. Yona been alone for long time without friends to hang out with.”
Smolder and Ocellus glanced at each other, and then returned their gaze at the petulant poephagus. “Oh.” The discomfited dragon said. Yona glared at her before continuing on.
“Dragon friend have some nerve. Yona been alone for long time, you know.” She stepped toward the two. “Friend Ocellus probably forgot about Yona too, hanging out with Smolder .”
“Easy there, big girl.” She tried to persuade Yona a little; at this point, she was too close for comfort. Yona growled at Smolder addressing her.
“Y-Yona! We’re really sorry we didn’t... invite you to hang out with us.. it’s not anything personal, it’s just—“ Ocellus was trying to reason with her, but...
“Friends too important for Yona now?!” ...Yona has already blocked herself off from any reasoning. Her anger was still taking over her body, causing it to swell up. The little bit of moral left in her was withering away, keeping her from thinking straight.
“Seriously, when did we ever say th—“ Smolder stopped herself. “Y-Yona, you’re... you’re growing a little.”
“N-Now Yona...” Ocellus and Smolder continued to step farther away from her, to which she responded by stepping even closer. “W-We never meant to exclude you from anything...”
“Yona doesn’t feel that way...” She scowled. Yona grew bigger and bigger, the ponies in the vicinity watching in fear.
“Ocellus...” Smolder muttered, looking at her partner.
“S-Smolder...” Ocellus looked back, glancing at Yona each second. Every second she glanced at Smolder and back, Yona got bigger and bigger. The good news was; she stopped growing eventually. Bad news; she was angry. The nervous couple looked up at the gigantic yak.
She was enormous in size, and... green. Her mouth was close to foaming as she loomed over the two. Shaking in fear, Smolder spoke.
“Maybe we should ru—“
“Yona smash!!!” Smolder let out a cry of surprise as Yona swiped her hoof in her direction, knocking her into a bookcase.
“Smolder!” Ocellus shouted, reaching her hoof out.
“I’m okay!” She gave a thumbs up to Ocellus, who sighed and smiled thankfully.
“Friends left Yona!!!” The yak continued to storm, now knocking Ocellus in the opposing direction, eliciting a surprised scream from her as she made contact with the wall on the other side of the library. Ponies screamed and shouted, rushing out of the library. The crowded library soon dissipated, and was now empty.
Smolder stood up slowly. “Well, guess we’ve gotta do something about this.”
“Guess so.” Ocellus grunted, standing up also. “You’d better be glad I carry around your stuff.” She continued, tossing a box toward Smolder. Yona growled at the two conversing so calmly as she was clearly trying to make a point.
“Why friends so calm?! ” She shouted, slamming her hooves on the ground. She kicked at shelves, tossing various books that fell before her at Ocellus. The bug flew around the library trying to dodge all the books currently flying at her so fast.
“ARI!! We’ve got trouble!” Ocellus landed near another bookshelf.
“Currently equipping.” ARI said. “Ocellus, What’s going on?”
“Yona. I’ve gotta distract her.” She whispered, careful not to blow their strategy as her armor covered her chitinous body. “Smolder’s still putting her suit on. W-We don’t wanna risk our identities in school... a-and stuff.”
Yona now launched herself into the air and slammed herself on the ground in front of Ocellus. Books from the shelves behind her piled around. She took to the air, her mask finally covering her face. Yona looked at her with extreme rage and anguish and shouted in frustration.
“Exactly what I was thinking. Examining Yona for you now.”
“Thanks ARI. Remind me to tell you how great you are.” She breathed, watching Yona storm around the library.
“According to my analyzation, Yona is currently in a state of hyperactive anger stimulus. Her bigness appears to be induced by her emotions.”
“Right. Thanks AR-“
“Ocellus needs to pay attention!!!!!!” Yona butted her head into the shelf where Ocellus was hovering up against. She gasped before zipping over to the opposite end of the room once again.
“You’ve got some serious issues, yak .” Smolder interluded. Yona peered at her before roaring with rage. She was perched on top of a bookcase wearing her spandex Spider-Smolder(Or at least that’s what Ocellus calls it) suit, and her eyes narrowed.
The mesh always kept shape with Smolder’s eyes and allowed Yona to perfectly see that she was probably glaring at her. She launched herself at the Spider-Dragon and butted her horns into the shelf which she was on top of.
Smolder reached out her arm and shot a web with perfect precision onto one of the shelves on the opposite end out the library. Yona chased after her, thrashing and bumping around the objects in the large room as she swung onto various things.
“Ocellus! A little help here?! I’m running out of things to swing on!”
“J-Just hang in there!” She called back. Ocellus examined the rampaging Yona closely and tried to find a possible opening. The two couldn’t take action on their own, or at least not without the rest of the group. “S-Smolder! Try and hang in there a little longer!!”
The dragon mentioned was currently dodging all the yak’s attacks, springing from one object to another. “Yeah, I don’t think I can!!!!! ” she shouted in sarcasm.
“I’m going to try and get our friends to help!! Just... try and sustain her, alright?”
“I’ll try, I guess- Woah!!!” She dodged another close call from Yona.
“Smolder! need to! stay STILL!!!” Yona shouted. Smolder stuck to the ceiling whilst she tried to hold out the best she could.
“So, you’re saying Yona turned into a giant and is trying to kill both of you?!” Gallus asked frantically in between breaths. Both him and Ocellus were rushing through the hallways.
Gallus had his suit on with some arrows in the quiver he carried on his back.
“Yeah! Smolder’s in there dealing with her now and we sort of needed your help.” They both stopped running for a moment.
‘Thud, Thud, Thud!’ A loud, distant noise echoed from within the walls.
“I’m guessing that’s her?” Gallus sighed.
“You guessed right—“
‘BOOM!!!’ With a crash, the walls were burst through. Dust swarmed the area. When all the dust and debris dissipated, a heavily done in Smolder lay against the wall surrounded by chunks of wall. She coughed for a moment, then stood up.
Ocellus and Gallus looked at her in surprise. Smolder groaned, and then inhaled. “Sorry,” she wheezed. “I couldn’t really keep her at bay long enough.” Smolder smiled nervously through her mask. Luckily, nothing was torn(thanks to Ocellus), so her Spider-Suit was close to untouched.
It was slightly scuffed, however, and dust speckled off of it as she moved.
“That doesn’t matter, as long as you’re okay.” Ocellus sighed, trotting up to her and smiling softly.
“So... what do we do about the rampaging yak?” Gallus asked.
“Maybe go to the hospital. My wings are even more totaled than they already were, and— oh, wait...”
Ocellus turned to Gallus who wore a stern and serious expression. “We’ll try and stick together, and... and we’ll go to the hospital for you later. She looked back at Smolder and smiled once more. “For now though, you should probably take cover. We’ll try and take it from here.”
“You sure? I could always—“ Ocellus put a hoof to Smolder’s lips and stopped her from talking.
“I’m sure. Besides, we don’t want you to get anymore hurt than you already are.”
Smolder sighed. “Alright...” she gave in reluctantly. She looked to Gallus, and then Ocellus. “Just promise me this..” Smolder scooped up her bug-lover in a hug and squeezed her tightly.
“Woah!” She gasped, waving her hooves around frantically.
“Gallus, protect this lovebug for me.” Ocellus smiled a little, her cheeks blushing red, and Gallus let out a light chuckle while playfully saluting at her.
“Will do.”
“Also...” She continued. “Stay safe, okay?” Smolder embraced Ocellus in a kiss before letting her go. Gallus nodded, and both him and Ocellus jumped down the enormous hole in the wall to stop Yona.
Gallus and Ocellus flew around the halfway destroyed library in attempts to defeat the highly distressed Yona. “What are we gonna do about her?” Gallus asked.
“I don’t know! We can’t hurt her!” Ocellus replied, dodging a few swings from the yak.
Gallus flew above her and dove down, shooting a few arrows at Yona as fast as he could. The barrage of the sharpened arrows appeared dull and futile as they ricocheted off her back.
Ocellus tried to make up for the failed attack by firing a few weak beams at Yona. Despite her desperate attempts not to hurt her, she knew she had to do something about it. Yona reciprocated the action by swatting and batting her hoof at her.
Ocellus was rocketed into into a bookshelf and cried out in pain.
“Ocellus!!!” Gallus exclaimed. He flew over to his injured friend to help, but Yona had already had him by the tail.
“Yona SMASH!! ” She shouted. Wrapping her hoof tightly around his tail, Yona swung him around.
“Woah-oah-oah-oah-oah!!!” He was waving around in the air at high speeds. He was definitely going to feel that later. Screaming out in laughter in amusement, Yona began to smash. Literally.
She swung Gallus to and fro, whipping him on the ground in each and every direction. At that moment, he could’ve sworn some of his bones had cracked.
If he wasn’t as strong as he was now, all the bones in his body would’ve been broken. Yona continued to swing him about, smashing him right back into the floor.
Ocellus tried to stand up, but only ended up failing. What could she do right now? Yona was rampaging. She needed help. Urgently.
Smolder paced around the school and kicked up dust as she walked. “There’s no way I’m leaving those two alone. I’ve gotta help em’...” she whispered to herself. “I just don’t know how to go about it...” Smolder shot a web and latched onto the roof. Zipping into the air and landing on the roof of the school building, she pondered what she’d do next.
Her girlfriend and her best friend were both fighting a giant rampaging yak. She couldn’t beat her, but it made sense since she was alone that time. Hopefully those two were working together.
“Smolder?! But what are you doing on the roof?” A voice called. Smolder lost her balance and fell off the roof where she stood. Quickly shooting a web back onto the edge, she sighed in relief. Now she was just hanging there by a string. “That suit you’re wearing is really cool!!”
“Silverstream...?” She sighed. Silverstream beamed and giggled happily. She was clad in her usual armor, and her cape waved in the wind. “What do you want? I’m trying to figure out how to save Gallus and and Ocellus.”
The hyper hippogriff’s grin soon faded into a look of concern. “Save them? But from what?”
“Yona. Apparently she turned into giant green brute, and she’s trying to kill all of us. Also, why are you still wearing that? Have you been wearing that around the school?”
“Oh no! We’ve gotta get back in the school! What are you doing out here?”
Smolder rolled her eyes(invisible to Silverstream) when she answered her question with another question. Seeing that she probably could use the help, she decided to move past the subject.
“Ocellus said I should stay out here, but I can’t. Even if Yona fuckin’ butchered me, I can’t sit here and let those two get beaten. I’ve gotta go help them.”
“Exactly!!!” Squawked Silverstream, picking up Smolder and soaring from the roof and into the school. The dragon almost protested and insisted that she’d go in herself, but she decided against it. Silverstream soared through he hallways at high speed. “We’ve gotta go—“
“Agh!” A voice cried. The wall was knocked down, and debris filled the hall.
“Ocellus!” Smolder shouted. “Are you okay?! Where’s Gallus?”
Ocellus’ armored suit was scratched up and scuffed. Her mask had the worst of it, as it was slightly dented and some of the color had worn off.
“I-I was trying to keep her from him as long as I could...” she coughed. Her mask withdrew and showed Ocellus smiling timidly. “She’s really good at throwing creatures through walls, and— Wait, what are you doing back inside the school?”
“I—“ Smolder started, but Silverstream butted in.
“Because we’ve gotta save Gallus!!” She shouted, waving her arms around. Ocellus looked at Smolder with sad eyes.
“You trust me, don’t you?” She asked in a soft, disappointed whimper.
“Of course I do, but—“
“There’s no time! Negotiate later!!!” Silverstream rushed into the destroyed library, and the two looked at her in confusion and surprise. At this point, she wondered.
Where the heck are the teachers?!
Ocellus looked to Smolder, who smiled nervously and shrugged. “We’re talking about this later.” She spoke sternly. “ARI?”
“Right.”
Her mask came down and covered her face, and she zoomed off before Smolder could say anything else to her. Smolder sighed and shook her head and held out her arm. Swinging with her webs she followed Ocellus back into the empty library.
The gigantic, destroyed study was dusty and hazy. The tables were destroyed, and the bookshelves fragmented. Smolder and Silverstream looked around in bewilderment, and... fear.
Gallus hovered high in the air, and Yona stood growling at him from below. “We’ve tried everything!” He shouted. “She’s too stubborn!”
“No shit.” Smolder deadpanned. The griffin glared at her, and then continued.
“Why don’t you try something, smartass?”
“Yona have idea!!! Yak pummel both of you!!” Yona shouted, kicking and swinging her hooves at both Gallus and Smolder.
Smolder took action by shooting a web at one of her giant horns and grappling onto it. She clung onto the point of it while Yona thrashed around angrily. “Gallus! Just shoot her in the ass already and we can be done with this!!”
“No! Don’t hurt her!” Ocellus reprimanded, flying up to them while ducking and diving away from the yak’s flailing around.
“Yeah, we might have just worn her out.” Gallus replied, shooting a barrage of arrows at Yona as fast as he could. She roared in reply and flailed around some more.
“Well, until then, I’ve got to knock her out or something. After all, she’s still destroying the library.” Silverstream replied, flinging her hammer at Yona from all kinds of directions.
The hammer(tiny to her) hit Yona square in the nose. She sneezed, and stumbled around confusedly and in a daze.
“Exactly. Ocellus had already forced all of my gems out of me.” Smolder said, narrowing her eyes at Ocellus and letting go of Yona’s horns and letting herself drop. “Wouldn’t want to waste my only means of payment on trying to repair the school.” She continued in a deadpan tone as she landed.
“W-Well, I’m sorry you didn’t trust me enough to give them back.” Ocellus turned her back to Smolder, withdrawing her mask and making her sadness and disappointment quite clear.
“I keep telling you! I did trust you, I just—“
“What in Equestria is going on here?!” Sandbar asked, entering the library in a frenzy. “What did you all do?!”
“We can explain!” All except Yona exclaimed altogether.
“So, you’re saying Yona got really angry and wanted to kill you all?” He asked. The six were in their clubhouse with Yona lying peacefully on a mat in her regular state.
“And now she’s resting peacefully on that blanket.” Ocellus pointed out.
“So... it’s true. You all have powers now... all of you except me...”
“Sandbar.” Gallus voiced, catching Sandbar’s attention. “I used to feel the same way you did. Smolder and Ocellus helped me get my powers. Maybe Yona could help you get yours?”
“If she doesn’t crush me trying to do it.” He chuckled, looking at Yona sympathetically. Trotting over to her, he snuggled up to her and shut his eyes slowly.
“We’ll leave you two alone.” Smolder said, and with that, Her, Gallus, Silverstream, and Ocellus all exited the treehouse while saying their good nights and parting for the evening. Sandbar, however, stayed right beside Yona.
“You’re perfect.” He whispered. “If anyone can help me, it’s you.”
Yona seemed to hum in reply, snoring and turning over onto Sandbar. Enjoying the moment, the two cuddled together and hunkered down for the night, ready to catch some good, much needed rest.
Who Needs Wings Anyway? Right?
Smolder and Ocellus trailed through ponyville in search for the hospital. Ocellus was nonspeaking, and Smolder grew tired of it.
She just kept on walking. So dejectedly. So solemnly. “Look, what’s your problem?!” Smolder hissed, throwing her arms up. The two stopped in the middle of the empty evening street that was Ponyville. “I was just trying to help and—!!” She stopped in her tracks as Ocellus whirled around.
“M-My problem is that you don’t trust me!” She sobbed. Smolder looked at her with great concern and attempted to console her.
“O-Ocellus, I... I’m sorry. I said it before, I do trust you. I don’t know why you’d ever think otherwise. Tears streamed from Ocellus’ eyes as Smolder held her head up so their snouts were mere inches away from each other.
“B-But... the school... I-I told you to let me handle it, and...”
“And I went back into the school anyway. So what?” She rolled her eyes slightly, wiping the tears from her lovebug’s cheeks. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You helped me, I’d help you...”
Ocellus giggled in between sniffs. The moon adorned the night sky as the stars glistened around it. Tinges of white speckled across the delicate fabric of the black sky, shining and sparkling down on the two.
“I’m really sorry if I hurt you like that. I hope you know it wasn’t intentional.” She sang, kissing her changeling on the forehead.
“Of course.” Ocellus hummed back. Smolder leaned in slowly, and so did Ocellus.
The two’s muzzles were inches away from each other’s. Smolder leaned closer, and closer, and—
“You thought I’d let you kiss me right now?” Ocellus had pulled back, a small smile on her face and her hooves resting on Smolder’s chest. Smolder frowned in reply, but the corners of her mouth faltered slowly and turned into a smirk.
“You bitch.” She joked. Ocellus giggled.
“Don’t make me bring CHAD out.” She laughed. Smolder chortled along with her.
“So that’s what this is about.” Ocellus continued to fall about, and Smolder was in stitches as the two fell into each other.
They both continued laughing for a time, and then Ocellus had decided maybe they should hurry into the hospital before it closed.
The couple entered the building and walked around in confusion and misdirection. “So... you haven’t thought of getting your wings checked out beforehoof?”
“No. Not until Yona completely wore em’ out.” She grimaced at her nearly pulsing, damaged wings. The bones were close to shattered, and the veins sloshed and curled around them like they were still solid. “Now they're just... there. I tried wrapping them up, but... they’re too... gelatin-y.”
“Yuck.” Ocellus stuck her tongue out jokingly hoping that Smolder would find it adorable, and by the sweet taste of her admiration for her, she sure did.
When the two finally found their way into the Doctor’s office to see her, Smolder sat up on her examination table. The Doctor they were expecting for a time entered the room.
“Good evening, girls. You can call me Doctor Land Breeze.” She said, closing the door behind her. “Anything in particular going on with the patient?”
“Uh, Yeah, actually. My wings are kind of... broken. I wanted to find out if there was something you could potentially do about that.”
Land Breeze nodded, brushing a careful hoof on her patient’s wings. She winced as The Doctor fluctuated and pressed against her wings so firmly. Ocellus watched in concern at Land’s worried and occasionally confused expressions.
When she finally finished examining, she turned to Ocellus, looking quite dejected and worried. Smolder’s eyebrows furled, looking for an explanation as to why she looked so down.
“Oh,” Smolder sighed in reassurance, and so did Ocellus. The doctor raised a brow at this, and then continued to further her sadness. “As long as that’s all it was. So, you can fix them, right? My wings?”
“Well, actually, I...” Land Breeze paused to clear her throat; and then continued on. “I’m terribly sorry to inform you that your wings can no longer function.”
Ocellus gasped dramatically, and Smolder’s eyes widened. “W-What do you mean?!” Ocellus tried to negotiate the terms. “Surely there’s some sort of medical treatment that can—“
“I’m sorry, but... unfortunately we cannot preform any treatments to heal her broken wings. They are simply damaged beyond repair.”
Land Breeze’s words lingered in the air. The cold, empty thought of being deprived of something she could barely live without sunk in. Without her wings, was she even a dragon anymore? Without her wings, who was she?
Smolder hugged her legs to her chest and clenched her teeth. Tears quivered and begged for freedom as she shut her eyes closed tightly. She might have been fine when she wasn’t using them, but that made it all the more different.
Knowing she’d be able to take to the skies when she was done. Being sure she’d make it into that brisk, light, warm air. It just wasn’t the same. The wings she had gave her power, purpose, even. Maybe if she’d done something’s earlier, she could’ve saved them.
Maybe if she had, she could’ve saved herself. She ran the thoughts over and over in her mind again. An endless ring of the same occurrence happening over and over again.
Her worst fears that she dreaded most finally came true. The world had finally gotten her back for all the terrible things she’s said. The things she said about the world and what she thought if it.
This is what she got for sharing her opinion on every little thing that came up. All her friends had this curse, and she was the first one to start it. All because of her. This was all her fault.
If she hadn’t started this mess, Yona wouldn’t lose her mind and smash her into that wall. If she hadn’t started this mess, she wouldn’t have broken her wings at the beginning. What did she do to deserve this?
Her emotional thinking was cut off as a steady hoof gingerly tapped her arm.
“Smolder... a-are you...?” Ocellus tried to somehow summarize the situation without acting like they both weren’t there.
“Don’t. Fucking. Talk to me.” Smolder uttered sharply. Ocellus winced and took a few steps back.
“I-I get it... you need your space...”
“The worse news is, you’re going to need to get them amputated. The shattered bones in those wings could block up your blood flow. We don’t want that.”
These words cut through Smolder like a knife. As if she wasn’t already going through enough. The ongoing repetition of the same sentences over and over in Smolder’s mind twisted her nerves, causing her to snap.
She bolted out of the window, and he glass shattered as she made impact.
“Smolder, no!” Ocellus got up to chase after her, but she was already gone. She looked to Land Breeze, who lowered her head in defeat.
“Once again, I’m really Sorry. Words cannot describe how hard this must be to take in for her.”
“Yeah...” Ocellus replied distantly, staring out the window. After gazing for a while she turned to the doctor who appeared to be as sad and concerned as she was. “Oh. Thank you. She appreciates it. She really does. She just— thank you.” She continued, leaping out the window after her beloved.
Smolder sat on a tree branch and stared down at the ground below her. "Equestria fuckin' sucks." She muttered under her breath. "Maybe if you guys didn't waste all your magical resources on extra shit, you would've been able to..." She paused. The unforgiving wind brushed under her feet as she sighed wistfully. "It's not their fault. It's all mine. My fucking fault... Me and Ocellus wouldn't have argued if I had trusted her, something else I brought on myself."
Smolder rolled her eyes and sighed afresh. Tears welled up in her eyes while she looked up at the sky. She was pitiful. To be blaming her own problems on other creatures simply to gain hope in a situation was absolutely miserable .
Smolder stopped thinking when she heard a distant buzz, and then leaves ruffling from the tree she was sitting in. "What do you want?" She bit her tongue with regret as she let the words leave her mouth. Thinking of trying to correct what she said, she sighed. "I'm... I'm being a huge asshole right now, I know."
"No, It's... It's okay. I get it. I just wanna talk." Ocellus landed next to her and snuggled into her. Her hooves draped over Smolder’s legs, and her head rested upon her lower stomach. Smolder’s claw rested on Ocellus’ head. “How are you feeling?”
“Like a fucktard.” Smolder exhaled. “I keep blaming my own emotional shit on everything else, and I don’t even know what the fuck is wrong with me. I’m the only one who fucked up my own life.
“The only reason why my wings are broken is because I didn’t have any self control. Yona only smashed me through the wall because I thought it might’ve been a good idea to stick to one of her hooves.”
“Smolder, you’re not thinking straight.” Ocellus replied, having enough of Smolder putting herself down so harshly.
“Of course I’m not. This is the most fucked up situation I’ve ever been in, and— wait a second.” She groaned before placing her arms behind her head and leaning against the hard bark of the tree. “You meant something else, didn’t you?”
“I meant that you shouldn’t be so mad at yourself for something you can’t control. You can’t beat yourself up because something already happened.” Ocellus moved to kiss Smolder’s cheek. Her nostrils plumed smoke of frustration and fluster.
“But my wings... they’re special. A part of me...” Smolder meant that both literally and figuratively. Ocellus nodded as she noted this and listened on to what she had to say. “...If I don’t have those, then... what do I have?”
“Well, even if you don’t have your wings“- Ocellus paused to adjust her position so that she was whispering in Smolder’s ear. -“You always have me...” She whispered timidly. Her eyes were half lidded, and her face was touched with pink.
Smolder jolted and tensed up momentarily. After a while, she slumped back against the rough material of the tree in a relaxed manner. “Yeah.” She murmured. “You’re right.” She leaned over to gaze into Ocellus’ eyes, and Ocellus did the same. Smolder moved her claws to grab Ocellus’ hooves and squeeze them faintly.
Ocellus leaned in slowly, and Smolder followed suit. The space between them closed even more each second. Smolder was grasping her lover’s hooves, and Ocellus’ breathing was unsteady. With one more second spent, their lips touched.
Ocellus shut her eyes tightly as she shared love with her partner. Smolder quit squeezing her hooves and wrapped her arms around Ocellus’ waist. They started making out.
Smolder’s tongue slowly made it’s way in between Ocellus’ lips, and she shivered harshly in reply. After getting used to it, her tongue met Smolder’s, and they intertwined and wrestled as the two kissed.
Ocellus pulled back, looking up at her girlfriend longingly. “...And we have each other, no matter what happens.”
“Even if CHAD stole all my gems?” Smolder joked. Ocellus giggled.
“Even if CHAD stole everything. I’d never trade you for anything in all of Equestria.”
“Good,” Smolder sang. “Then maybe we could— Aaah!” She unintentionally slipped off the branch. Ocellus hovered in surprise and shock. Smolder waved her arms around frantically as she fell, but remembered her abilities.
Shooting a string of web that latched around the branch, she hung by the web and sighed in relief. Ocellus hovered down to her as she attempted to finish her sentence.
“I was going to say... maybe we could head back to the school and pick up where we left off...?”
“I-I guess so.. I-I mean, if you want to..”
“Great. Let’s go.”
Sandbar was questioning everything right now. How was each and every one of his friends just magically enhanced? It wasn’t really fair. Not to him. Turns out Silverstream wasn’t being a lunatic, and the whole hammer artifact thing was real. The suit of armor she was wearing literally all the time wasn’t... pointless. It probably just appeared out of nowhere without any context at all behind it.
That's exactly what happened to all his friends. The powers just appeared out of nowhere. With no context. How was he supposed to respond to that? The only really magical thing that happened to each of them was the Elements of Harmony. What was tethered to them before the tree of harmony even died. Once it did, the only thing they really had was that treehouse. Even if they've really only been there altogether once, they were still all happy the way they were.
Then, came these abilities that popped up out of the blue. Suddenly, Smolder could latch and stick onto stuff, Ocellus was a robot, Gallus turned into Robin-hoof, Silverstream was a hammer-wielding maniac clad in armor, and Yona could turn into a muscly freak. It was all so incredibly difficult to take in. If only... if only he had something he could contribute to the whole affair. If he could be chosen for the special abilities all his friends had.
Sandbar wasn't the type for jealousy, but still. Something had to be done about this mess. Not only are all his friends capable of doing otherworldly things beyond even his understanding, but they'd probably have to face some other terrible feats not meant to be faced without help. Without him. He wanted to be by his friends' sides all the time, but, how could he do that if- if he wasn't special?
He frowned. Special. That word clicked and echoed in his mind a couple thousand times. What wasn’t special about him? Sure, he might’ve been a pony, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t special. He was an awesome, top-notch, super-magical, kind of regular, ordinary, average earth pony.
At that point, he saw where he was going. “Damn, ” He muttered. “If only my friends could slow down a bit. They’re out of their minds,” he said. Pausing to think some more, he sighed. “I’m out of my mind.”
Sandbar was in the treehouse that morning, and Yona left after some much needed sleep. Sure, she had a few vessels showing up on her temples, but she insisted so very many times that she was fine.
“Sandbar no need to worry. Yak rested very well. Yona feel ready to apologize to friends today. ”
Now, today was the weekend, so there was no reason to worry about how early or late he was to his classes. There were no classes, mostly because of the destruction of the library, which Twilight said she supposedly had covered.
Hang on a minute, he had the day free, right? Maybe he could get his friends to train him. After all, that is how Gallus got his powers. Maybe... maybe he could try and get a superpower tutor .
This plan was perfect. The one thing he had to do was find the perfect candidate. The only problem was: Who?
Yona was resting on her bed peacefully, like she should have the morning before. Thanks to that pesky gemstone floor, she had a kink in her spine that she just couldn’t get rid of.
Yaks were big boned, and usually they weren’t capable of getting kinks in their bones or anything. Or, at least, it was really rare.
All of her friends did, what with her getting angry and all that. After she apologized, however, not all her friends forgave her. Or at least, one If them. Smolder. Even with her apology, Smolder persisted to stay distant and withdrawn as if she wasn’t listening at all.
Yona couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe the wounds she’d inflicted on Smolder couldn’t be healed. Maybe she cut too deep, both physically and emotionally. She sighed, getting up and trotting over to the mirror.
She gazed at her reflection and checked for anymore vessels that might have been bulging out of her head. “Yona don’t get it,” She said to herself. “Why Smolder so angry? All Yona’s other friends seem fi—“
‘knock, knock, knock ’
Somecreature rapped on her door three times over. She cantered over to the door to open it. On the other side stood a slightly disheveled Sandbar. “Woah. What got in friend Sandbar’s hair?”
“Hey Yona! Sorry to bother you this early—“
“It’s afternoon.”
“—this late in the afternoon.” He smiled as if he finished that sentence completely with absolutely no help whatsoever. “I was just wondering. How did you...?”
“Yona knows what Sandbar talking about. Yak has no idea how she grew. Just angry.”
“Oh,” Sandbar frowned and lowered his head dejectedly. After awhile, he sprung back up again. “Wait! Maybe you could help me out a little! Train me. I wanna be worthy, just like you are, Yona.”
Yona blushed, reconsidering her options. Giving Sandbar a few tips wouldn’t hurt, right? If anything, she’d be able to help him grow stronger, just like her.
“Yona change her mind,” She stated, wrapping her foreleg around Sandbar’s neck and squeezing tightly. Sandbar’s cheeks flushed red, and Yona continued to squeeze. “Yona and Sandbar good friends, and good friends help each other.”
She beamed, and so did Sandbar. Although she was smiling for a time, the grin soon faded into a frown of consideration. Sandbar’s smile soon faltered as well. Yona thought for a second. The moment she gained those powers, she ended up hurting most of her friends, especially Smolder.
The powers she gained was something she couldn’t control. If there were another unstable member of the group, then, who knows what would happen. She thought even more, as a small smile came back up.
Sandbar lit up at this, beaming from ear to ear.
There was about an eighty-five percent chance of everything going wrong, but, hey! Sandbar was somepony that could be trusted, and Yona trusted Sandbar.
“Alright! Yona’s up to the challenge! Sandbar will prepare himself, because yak about to change his pony mind!” She exclaimed, quivering with excitement as she grasped Sandbar’s face with her hooves. Sandbar blushed and grinned in reply, hooting and hollering in agreement.
“Yeah! We can do this!”
“Are you sure we can do this?” Sandbar stood in front of a huge tree that was bound by piles of overgrown flora. Yona nodded eagerly and proceeded to pick up Sandbar in her arms.
“Earth ponies already strong! Like yak!” When Sandbar gave her a skeptical look, she tried to explain her reasoning. “Yona read in history books.”
“Ooooh.” He replied, and Yona set him down on the dirt ground. “So, you’re saying you want me to lift this?” He lifted up his hoof and gestured toward the tree, but Yona only shook her head and smiled.
“No. Yona want pony to watch her lift this.” In time with her words, she looked at Sandbar with a warm smile. He smiled back, but frowned as Yona's happy, blissful, knowing expression turned into a stone-cold, serious, stern one. "Now make Yona angry."
"Um... excuse me?" The turtle boy backed up in confusion and smiled nervously. "The last time I recall you being angry, you almost killed all our friends."
"Yak going to kill Sandbar next if he doesn't hurry up." She threatened with a scowl. Sandbar had his rump pressed against a tree trunk.
"Uh.. o-okay." He replied with a nervous smile.
"Sandbar. answered. too. quickly!" She barked, swatting her hoof at Sandbar as she grew bigger. With a nervous shout, he was rocketed against a nearby tree. The bark sank into his pony hide like it was butter . He groaned in pain, watching Yona rampage around the vicinity.
"Yona... SMASH!!!! " She shouted, beating down on the fallen tree trunk. She crushed it like it was nothing. Pieces of bark flecked and scattered across the ground and adorned the dirt of the nature-made floor. Yona heaved and panted as she calmed herself down and shrunk back to the small(and less green) yak she used to be. "S-Sandbar.. s-saw that...?" She panted.
"U-Uh-huh..." He replied. "A-Actually, Yona, I-I don't think this training's work-"
"Yona didn't think so either." The bedeviled bovidae blanched. "Training might be too much for Sandbar. Maybe ask another friend for help?"
Sandbar groaned, hiding his face in his hooves. Who was he supposed to consult about the current situation at hoof? Yona was perfect.
He stopped in his tracks with a blush. The perfect candidate , he meant. To tutor him. Other than her, the second best creature he could potentially go to was Ocellus. She had all that knowledge of that science stuff she was always gushing about. Why not ask her?
Ocellus sat on the desk in the room her and Smolder shared. Ever since ARI, she wanted to tap into her scientific creativity, so, she started to build. Smolder lie on her bed snoring loudly, ignoring the heavy mechanical whirring that was emitting from her partner's "work area." Ocellus giggled at this to herself, and continued working.
It had been nagging her for a while to get to making something other than swear-jars and acronyms. This time, she was designing another suit of robotic armor, and she'd name it RAVEN. "Robotic Altered Variable Engineered Nanotech." She hummed to herself, tweaking the wires and code of the machinery in front of her.
The suit was light blue, like her, and it carried a cyan hue from the inside. While Ocellus was working on it, the suit was split in the middle and exposing all the electrical wires. They sparked and spritzed, the light sparks of electricity dancing around as Ocellus worked through it.
She was operating blowtorch with a protective metal mask on her face to shield her from all the electricity emitting from the wires.
'knock, knock, knock!' A loud knocking noise came from the other side of the room. Someone was a the door.
Ocellus stumbled a little and dropped the blowtorch. A firm "FWOOSH " was heard from the torch soon after. Ocellus looked around in panic to see that the tool she was using was still on. Luckily, she could encase it with her magical aura and put an end to the ongoing fuel usage.
She opened the door reluctantly and cast a frustrated and much more dissatisfied look at the pony on the other side. Sandbar grinned sheepishly with a small blush. "S-Sorry to disturb you, Ocellus, but I was kind of wondering if you could help me?"
"Hold on a second." Ocellus backed into the dorm and shut the door for a while. The pony on the other side, Sandbar, stood there confusedly and awaited Ocellus' return. Just when he was about to knock again, the door opened abruptly. The familiar changeling stood on the other side, a little less sour than when she first opened the door to him.
Her cheeks were charred slightly and almost overtaken by the blush on her face. Sandbar tilted his head.
"Are.... You okay?"
"Smolder and I were... doing something, and she accidentally blew smoke in my face- I-It doesn't matter. Let's go." She swatted the smoke off her cheeks and exited the dorm, shutting the door behind her. The two walked through the hallways while Sandbar talked.
Ocellus always nodded her head surely whilst he addressed his situation and traded back a few suggestions.
"I think I might know what you need." She turned to smile at him and sat down at one of the tables in the library. He sat across form her while she skimmed through her book. "It's called the Powerful Pony Potion." She hummed.
Sandbar jumped and scurried over to where she was sitting. Peering over her book, he started to scan for the information she was seeing. "What!?" He exclaimed in vigor. Ocellus smiled happily at the taste, but her muzzle scrunched up at the slightest hint of nervousness.
"It's supposed to enhance basic abilities. For you, that would mean increased strength, like Yona or Smolder, increased farming abilities, like I read in the books, and, you could probably run faster. Your durability would be increased also," She answered. Looking over to him with a stern look, she continued.
"....But?" Sandbar backed down from the table he currently had his forehooves planted on. His ears flopped, and he looked unsure.
"I'm... I'm just not sure about this. You sure this is something we can do?"
"Of course! The recipe is listed here. I could go back to my dorm to try and mix it up for you, but it'll take me a while. It's a long process, so you might wanna wait here."
Sandbar nodded quickly, his head bobbing up and down so rigorously. Ocellus beamed as her eyes sparkled. The two were now giggling happily in sync, and the student around them were wondering what was going on as they looked at them with sketch. They both stopped giggling once they noticed the looks they were given.
"S-So, I'll see you later!" Ocellus rushed, zipping off to her dorm with speed. Sandbar, in exchange, darted under the table in embarrassment.
Besides the evident looks of contempt and confusion, Sandbar knew: Today was going to be a good day.
“I’ve got it!” Ocellus shouted with excitement, bolting into the library and earning her fair share of looks from the students in there.
Sandbar was sitting at the same table they were sitting at earlier with his head on the hard wood. He perked up immediately, however, when the sudden burst of excitement from his changeling friend knocked him out of his daze.
“Really?!” He replied giddily with a grin.
“Really!” She squealed. The two danced and pranced on their hooves together in a frivolous manner. Sandbar hugged Ocellus tightly and she hugged him back. “Alright! Try it!”
He pulled back from the hug and took the potion from Ocellus. Before he gulped it down, he took the time to examine it for a while. It was a glass container that glowed royal blue.
The liquid inside sloshed around as he turned it observingly. Sandbar gave a puzzled and unsure look at Ocellus.
“It’s fine. I added a little flavor to it so it doesn’t taste too unpleasant. If I did it right, it should taste like blueberries.”
The puzzled and perplexed pony soon nodded, uncapping the vile and giving it a taste. He hummed in delight soon after. Casting another look at Ocellus, he downed the whole thing, gulp after gulp.
Ocellus grinned as he drank it, visibly eager to see the results. After a while, Sandbar dropped the vile. The changeling’s smile faded slowly as it appeared the potion didn’t effect him at all.
Sandbar quirked a brow and returned his much more unsure gaze to the confused bug in front of him. “It should’ve worked, right? D-Did you follow the right recipe?”
“Um... I dunno. I-It could’ve been the blueberry additive. I might need to make you another o—“
‘THUD! ’
Sandbar hit the floor. He seemed to be unconscious, and his breathing pattern was irregular.
“S-Sandbar!” Ocellus gasped, rushing to his side and shaking him roughly. “Are you okay?!”
Sandbar groaned and rolled over. His body bulked up slightly, and Ocellus jumped back in surprise. He snorted and coughed and spurted uncontrollably.
After a while, it was silent, and Ocellus almost thought about getting help. The serum was probably working, but if it was, it was definitely bad.
He finally opened his eyes after a long time of silence, and stood up slowly in from of Ocellus. His fore and hind legs were slightly bulky and toned, and by the looks of it, he was just as surprised as Ocellus was.
“I-I think it might have worked—“ he coughed. “—But that taste was not the best.”
Ocellus giggled and inspected his body some more. His legs were probably a little lighter in weight, and when he turned around to look at himself, he always stumbled and fell.
“Okay, Sandbar,” She added. “Maybe we should try and test out your new abilities. They should be slightly enhanced, now.” Ocellus was now holding a clipboard that she somehow pulled out of nowhere.
Sandbar nodded happily and smiled. With that, the two headed outside and partook in some field activities for the sake of experimental purposes.
First, Sandbar started with farming. “Okay, so,”-Ocellus levitated her clipboard and a pencil to document Sandbar’s progress. -“for this activity, you’re going to help Professor Applejack and her brother Big Mac with apples.”
The two stood in the fields of Sweet Apple Acres accompanied by Applejack, as mentioned, and her brother, Big Macintosh. They both smiled when addressed, and Applejack crossed her forelegs proudly when her name was mentioned.
“Right. So, what do we start with?” Sandbar asked. As soon as his question was posed, AJ walked up to him and proceeded to explain the assignment Ocellus set up.
“Right now, we’re gonna start with the apple-buckin’. Strength testin’ should be first in line, or so, Ocellus said.” She put a hoof to her chin, but continued on nonetheless. “Ah’ reckon’ after that, you should try plowin’ the fields. There’s a lot of strength used in doin’ that.”
Ocellus beamed, but Sandbar was still unsure. “Don’t worry, Sandbar,” she reassured. “I bet if I did the serum right, you should have about twice the strength of Big Mac.”
The pony in question replied with a firm “Eeyup.” But then bit his tongue in realization. “Wait, What?”
Ocellus pressed on. “So, all in all, you should have about half the strength of Yona when she gets angry, which should be twice the strength of a full grown yak.”
“You’re starting to confuse me with all this math,” said Sandbar, who was more unsure than he already was.
“Oh, it’ll be alright, Sandy. Besides, I think I followed the recipe correctly.”
“Well, if y’all would stop talkin’,” interjected Applejack. “Lets get this show on the road!”
With an excited whinny, Sandbar followed his professor into the forest of apple trees to buck.
Ocellus followed them to document his new attributes. Surely, Sandbar would understand the upcoming impact he’d have on Equestria. After all, they’d all save the world one day.
Fast forward to later on, and the two arrived back at the school after a long day. Sandbar was sweaty and dirty, whilst Ocellus remained pristine and untouched.
“Thanks, Ocellus!” He mused, hoof-bumping his friend as he smiled. “You’ve done so much for me today.”
“Aw, it’s no problem. Besides, you’re my friend. Friends help each other, right?”
Sandbar nodded. “Right. Anyway, I’ll see you later.” It was getting dark, and he decided maybe it was time they parted for the night. “It’s getting kinda late.”
Ocellus nodded as she opened the double doors to the school. Before she entered, though, she looked back at Sandbar. “Wait, aren’t you going to bed? I’m sure it’s been a long day for you.”
“Yeah, but...” Sandbar paused, looking off into the distance. “I’ve got someone I should see first.” He, of course, was referring to Yona, who was now spending most her nights at the treehouse.
She felt bad for hurting her friends, and especially Smolder. It was sad to see her so alone, and therefore, he wanted to go cheer her up. Now that he was stronger, he could possibly challenge her to some wrestling.
He began to walk to the crystal structure and thought about what he’d do next. Yona was probably sitting there, alone, isolated. It was time to see what had her down.
Whatever Happened To You And Yona?
Yona was curled up against the wall of the treehouse. The fact that she wasn’t able to teach Sandbar all that well had been eating at her the whole evening. She tried, and failed. What else? Was their relationship in jeopardy because she messed up? Again?
The fact that she almost destroyed majority of her friends was harsh enough, but the fact that she couldn’t at least help the other ten percent that was still happy with her? Please.
Her heart sank and the thoughts cut deeper. Sandbar probably didn’t even want to be around her now. Not after what she’d done. It would make a lot of sense if all her friends just left her in the first place. Save themselves so much time.
A brief slamming of the door to the treehouse elicited a jolt from Yona. “Wh-Who is it...?” She asked in nervousness.
Coming in from the dark was an expertly toned Sandbar, who smiled genuinely and waved at her with a gentle hoof. “It’s just me. I wanted to let you know about my progress.” He flexed his forelegs in attempt to cheer and woo the sad yak.
It worked a little, and the corners of Yona’s mouth turned up. “Sandbar looks nice.” She blushed, standing up and walking over to her friend. “How friend Sandbar get strong?”
“Oh, I had a little help from Ocellus. She gave me this magical serum thingy, and... are you okay?”
All this talk about how much of a help she wasn’t started to make her shiver in disappointment. Sandbar, of course, noticed this, and offered a hoof sympathetically.
“Yona’s fine, but...” She stopped to sink before her pony friend. Yona hit the floor with her forelegs covering her head. Sandbar put a hoof to his mouth in surprise and concern. “Who yak kidding...? Yona not fine...” she lamented.
Sandbar knelt down to her and proceeded run his hoof through her hair. “What’s wrong, Yona...?” He offered, still stroking her coat with a gentle hoof.
“Yona feels terrible about fighting friends. Smolder didn’t forgive Yona straight away, and...” she sighed. “Yona thinks she might not want her as friend anymore.”
Sandbar gasped. No wonder why Smolder was being so distant lately. Through Yona’s whole apology today, she was just so... over it. No wonder it had been eating at her the whole time.
Whatever was bugging Smolder so much, she’d better get it off her chest. It wasn’t like her to hold a grudge against one of her friends, not unless it was really serious, so, what was up?
“...But why, Yona?”
With that, Yona gave this explicitly detailed explanation about how she flung Smolder around the room. Even as she took it “easier” on Gallus and Ocellus, she knew Smolder’s wing was broken, and how she obviously took that to her advantage.
She explained how her draconic friend’s wings were patched up, so she couldn’t really see any other reason she could've been angry. She also took time to address how through her whole apology, Smolder kept snorting smoke and rolling her eyes, to which Ocellus had nudged her with a knowing look.
“Woah. So, you’re saying Smolder’s been being a douche to you this whole time because...?”
Yona lowered her head. “Y-Yona thinks it because she hurt her. Just like all friends.”
“—No, that’s not what I mean. I mean, sure, you smashed her around, but you did the exact same to Gallus and Ocellus. What right does she have to be anymore agitated than they were?”
“Yona doesn’t—“
“I’ve gotta talk to her. Cheer up soon, but... I’ve gotta go see her.”
Smolder was swinging from tree branch to tree branch, searching for an opening for her next attack. Gallus was a tricky one once he got ahold of his bow, and you could never throw him off his aim once his target was already locked on.
You would never catch his aim amiss, and even if you did, he’d probably up his game straight after; give you a taste of what was coming before. That’s what Smolder wanted to take advantage of.
Gallus’ hunger for perfect precision was going to be his undoing. Smolder would try to move in perfect sync with his arrows, so that he wouldn’t have the chance to get her in the red.
Ocellus sat up against a tree trunk at a distance and watched the two battle it out. It was more like she was just looking at Gallus, seen as her girlfriend was just swinging amongst the trees and keeping out of sight.
The two were battling in their costumes and used their battle instincts just incase something real came up. Even if nothing ever really happened, there was no way they were going to give up their identities, even as they were fighting in a forest of secure fortitude, so they remained out of sight.
Gallus was wearing his trademark vest with the color patterns being red and black. The wristbands clutched tightly around his feathers and prevented the adrenaline from rushing through his veins. Or, that was just his blood flow being tightened.
Smolder was in her Spider-Spandex, the color scheme being red and blue. The white mesh taking account for her eyes squinted and peered, giving some signal that she was looking around for another place to swing.
Even much to her dismay, Ocellus told her she should get more used to not having wings, seen as they were going to have to get removed eventually. The two creatures that knew about it were Gallus and Ocellus, the only creatures she allowed to even speak about her recent inconvenience without getting so much as a threat.
Ocellus would’ve partook in their wrestling activity, but she insisted she’d rather just watch, talking about how if she used her powers, she’d probably just accidentally vaporize them.
Humming to herself, she took note of Smolder’s currently invisible strategy. Gallus just hovered in the air above the patch of trees in the forest and kept a lookout, keeping tabs on how often the trees moved.
Meanwhile, Smolder latched onto another tree, and the leaves ruffled, much clearly sought to Gallus. Chuckling, he took aim with his bow and shot a clear shot toward the tree.
“Huh...?” Smolder muttered, squinting her eyes. A strange tingling was overwhelming her whole body, and the arrow she was unbeknownst of hadn’t even hit yet.
Upon instinct, she leaped from the cover of the thick patch of leaves and into the daylight. Just a millisecond after she leapt, the arrow pierced the harsh bark material of the tree branch. She let out a yelp of surprise as she dive-rolled into the open, and frankly vulnerable ground of the clearing.
Gallus laughed and shot a barrage of arrows, but Smolder dodged each and every one of them, as if she had some sixth sense. Despite his frustration, almost everything his dragon friend planned went way according to plan.
She moved in perfect sync with the arrows, and it was made even better with her new “instinct ”. When Gallus ran out of breath(and arrows ), Smolder chuckled in vigor. She leapt onto a branch, and then onto another, then another, until she was finally at a good enough height to tackle her prey.
“Ooof!!” Gallus wheezed. Smolder tackled the bewildered bird-cat into another tree, and the two wrestled for quite a while. Gallus kicked his hindlegs up into Smolder’s abdomen, and she grunted in response. Retaliating with light pain, she lunged fiercely at his throat.
Her claws dug into his clavicle as he cried out in surprise and discomfort. Tackling him out of the tree, she slammed him against the rough ground as she roared in dominance. Gallus had enough of this. He grasped Smolder’s arms with ferocity and growled. Smolder growled back, tightening her grip on his neck and collarbone.
With a mighty lion’s roar, Gallus flipped over, tossing his friend into a hard tree trunk. She grunted in reply, growling softly. Seeing this, Ocellus finally decided to cut in before they got a little too aggressive.
“Play nice, you two.”
“Aw, but predatory hunting is fun!” Gallus whined, turning a blind eye to his currently recovering friend who had the bark of he tree base scratching against her suit. Ocellus giggled, turning to her clipboard to take some notes.
Smolder stood up and rushed to Gallus on all fours, shooting a web at his face to cover his eyes. “Yeah, but not for YOU! ” she growled, tackling him once more and pinning him against another tree. Laughing with devilish bliss, she flipped him over and tossed him into the bush.
“Was that really necessary?” Ocellus smiled, gesturing over to the moving bush that held Gallus, who thrashed around violently.
“Of course it was! When two predators fight, it’s imperative that one slays the other.”
Ocellus’ eyes widened. “You’re not going to do that, are you?”
Smolder chuckled nervously. “Of course not. Just give me a second to—“
“Smolder, you have a lot to talk about.” A voice called. It was Sandbar, stomping over to the dragon in spandex. Smolder removed her mask and raised a brow.
“And you... have lots of explaining to do. Since when did you start hitting the gym?”
Sandbar’s cheeks flushed, and his mouth hung open. “W-Well, I-I, Uh... that’s not what I’m here to talk about!” He shouted, snorting in aggression. “You hurt Yona, and I’m here to figure out why!”
Ocellus stepped in. “What? What happened? Smolder? What’s he talking about?” She voiced, looking over to a frustrated Smolder.
“I have no idea...” She lied. Smoke started to fume from her nostrils, and Sandbar upped his confrontational voice.
“You have to! Yona told me that when she apologized to you, you were nothing but distant and cold. What’s wrong with you? After all that time, Yona’s been feeling like complete and utter garbage thanks to you!”
Smolder growled, and Gallus tore the web off his eyes, leaping out of the bush. “What’s going on?” He asked.
“I don’t wanna talk about it.” Smolder hissed, turning away from Sandbar and crossing her arms.
“Well, something’s got you worked up, and I’m not leaving until you fess up!” Turtle boy was shouting now, and Smolder began to raise her voice as well.
“B-But... didn’t you say everything was fine?” Ocellus voiced. “That you forgave her that day?”
Smolder’s eyes widened. “Of course I did. I’m just... kind of... I don’t know! Look, can we just close this case already? I can’t be here all day.”
“No!” Sandbar barked. “Not until you tell me what the hell is wrong with you!”
“I’m not telling you because it’s none of your business!!!!” She barked back. Ocellus sighed.
“Smolder, it’s about... it , isn’t it?” Smolder turned her head to Ocellus for a second, but then huffed and turned her head away again. “You know it’s not going to get better until you come out and address it!”
“Then I guess I just won’t address it, because it won’t get better. It never will. ”
Gallus was now speaking, putting a claw on Smolder’s shoulder. She tensed up quickly. “Not if you don’t tell anyone, come on. You’ve already seriously hurt Yona, and if you don’t fix this, she probably won’t ever cheer up.”
“Can someone just tell me what’s going on?!” Sandbar bellowed, causing a shock to all the creatures around him.
“I-It’s not my place to say, and it isn't Gallus’ either.” Ocellus turned to Smolder. “The only one who can say it is... you. ”
She only huffed.
“Please? Yona’s your friend, Smolder. You have to do something about this.”
“Fine!!!” Smolder shrieked, finally losing her cool. She stomped over to Sandbar and poked his chest, ready to give him a piece of her mind. “You wanna know why I’m being such an asshole?! FINE!!! I was gonna say it was none of your fucking business, but here we fuckin’ are!”
Sandbar started backing up, but she pressed forward. “My. Wings. Are. FINISHED! F-I-N-I-S-H-E-D!!! You wanna know why?! Because that fucking burly, green, muscly freak tipped them over the fuckin’ edge!!!” She continued.
“Smolder, you—“ Ocellus started, but Smolder kept on.
“And now, they’re going to have to be removed!! You heard me! I fuckin’ said it! Surgically REMOVED! ”
Sandbar stood there, wondering if he had heard the words in all the right places. No wonder Smolder was being so cold. Her wings became so damaged that they’d have to be removed.
removed, removed, removed, removed.
The words repeated over and over. Now Sandbar got it. His gaze softened. So did Smolder’s. The dragoness’ chest heaved heavily.
“Now you understand why. I didn’t want to tell anyone because it was too personal. I never wanted to bring it up. I feel terrible how I treated Yona, but... all she did was salt the wound. Literally.”
“Well, you could’ve talked to her. To all of us, actually.” Sandbar sighed, trotting over and resting a hoof on her shoulder. “...But now I see your side of the story, and... I’m so sorry. I didn’t know something that terrible came from yesterday’s... incident. I’ll bring her here, that way it’ll be easier for you two to talk.”
Smolder nodded briefly. Sandbar disappeared into the bushes in search for the clubhouse.
Battle For Equestria(Apparently)
Cozy Glow hovered adjacent to Chrysalis and Tirek. “So, you’re tellin’ me that some weird magic came out of nowhere, and since ‘Grogar’s’ big reveal, we’ve all gotten powers from that bell?”
“It seems that Discord was hiding some serious magic in there,” Chrysalis spoke, shooting a much more powerful green blast of energy at the wall in demonstration. “With my new magic, I’ll be able to overthrow Thorax a thousand times over!!” She cackled.
Tirek chuckled tauntingly. “You think that’s something? With this technology, I’ll be able to take out all of Equestria while feasting on their magic!” He shouted. Tirek was carrying whips around that had an electrical charge surrounding them.
He wore a largely-fitted battery that was strapped across his chest and back, and emitted a light of white energy. The light gave away this low-pitched hum that was probably produced by the energy hoarded inside it.
Cozy Glow was wearing a glass dome that encased her head, something Chrysalis and Tirek always gawked at. Around her hooves were golden shoes with metal pyramids that wrapped around her ‘wrists.’
Chrysalis wore a green suit with gold plated around her shoulders and forelegs. Her horn had gold twisted around it that formed much stronger, more powerful magic when she used it.
The three were trekking through the forest in search for their first move when they took over Equestria. They had it narrowed down to a plan. They’d take out creatures slowly and subtly, and when they had the chance, they’d get closer to their main enemies simultaneously.
The one thing they hadn’t accounted for was their sidekicks. Some of them got in the way, or influenced someone so that they could succeed. It was completely and utterly sickening.
Cozy Glow scrunched up her muzzle and stuck her tongue out at the thought. Chrysalis and Tirek were cringing and shuddering uncontrollably as they walked.
Sooner or later, they’d find someone they could pick off and slowly use them to their benefit. Maybe later.
They each stopped at the same time with equal confusion and- excitement . They spotted a green, and frankly buff earth pony stumble from the green leaves in the bushes.
Cozy Glow gasped in surprise, urging and rushing Chrysalis and Tirek behind a tree. The two blinked together at the same time in confusion.
“What are you doing? ” The bug queen hissed in a hushed tone. “That pony was going to be our number one target! I was going to shape shift and—“ Cozy Glow pressed a heavy hoof on her muzzle.
“Yeah, Yeah, Big exposition. I know this is all very sudden, I-I mean, Golly! This pony’s probably packed with friendship and magic and all that gunk, but remember, he’s one of the creatures at that dump who defeated me!”
Tirek let out a low chuckle. “I knew you had a thing for those kinds of stallions, but—“
“That’s not it! You know what I’m talking about! The six creatures!”
Tirek and Chrysalis both put a hoof/hand to their chins in thought. Chrysalis finally spoke. “Well, if we’re going to confront him, let’s be prompt. His friends might be on the other side, and—“
“Oh. My. Celestia— GUYS!! ” the pony was already yelping for his friends. Sandbar galloped through the bushes and to his awaiting friends on the other side.
The three looked at him in confusion and surprise. “What happened? Cobra bite your dick?” Smolder quipped. Gallus chuckled, but Ocellus was silent, eyes widened, and waiting for Sandbar’s response.
“I-It’s Cozy Glow! I-I saw her, Tirek, a-and Chrysalis! Th-They were talking about their plans for Equestria!!!”
The trio standing before him all gasped. “Bullshit.” Smolder uttered in disbelief.
“No!” Ocellus cried, but Sandbar planted his hoof over her muzzle.
“Listen, I know you guys are terrified, but... maybe this is what we’ve been preparing for. What our powers are for. What if... what if we could save Equestria together?”
“Look, Sandbar. I know this shit is important, but, really? I mean, this is some next level shit! This is something only the Headmare and her friends can solve! What are we, a group of teens who just barely scraped the surface of friendship? We’ve only saved Equestria once, and we barely even did that!” Gallus shouted.
“Okay, Gallus, sure. You might be right. We don’t know a crap-ton about friendship, but we know enough to protect Equestria with it! You’ve said it already, we’ve done it once. We could probably do it again.” He held out his hoof. “Is anyone with me?”
No one answered. Ocellus stood there, quaking with nervousness. Smolder had her arms crossed, still in disbelief and doubt, and Gallus wore a dubious look on his face. Sandbar sighed in defeat.
“Fine. But if it means going—“
“I’m in.” Smolder interrupted. “I’m not gonna let those three faggots take away everything. ” Sandbar smiled, but the smile turned into a grin once Ocellus put her hoof in.
“I-I’m in too. I can’t sit idly by while my girlfriend hogs all the fun.” She smiled softly at Smolder,
“We get it, you two are girlfriends.” Gallus put his claw above Ocellus’ hoof. “Count me in.”
Sandbar beamed with joy and determination. “Alright.” They parted, but continued to look at each other.
“So, what’s the plan?” Gallus asked. Sandbar has an idea the moment he said something.
“We’re going to gather our friends, first and foremost,” he started, turning away from he three and back to the forest where he last saw the evil trio. “Ocellus, what’s the quickest and most durable thing you can make for me?”
“Got it! If you could all hold off without me for a while, I should be able to get some help for your kind of equipment.” She replied, flying back to the school. “You might need a shield, or a weapon, since you’re the least durable out of all of us,” she muttered.
“Alright. Gallus, you go get Silver. Me and Smolder’ll see if we can get Yona some other way.”
“Right.” Gallus saluted, taking to the air swiftly.
“So, what’s the plan for us?” Smolder asked.
“You’ll have to cover me until Ocellus gets back with my armor, but if I can get a clear hit on Cozy Glow, you might be able to go for Chrysalis. I don’t know how we’d deal with Tirek, but we’ll make it work.”
“We’ll make it work? This isn’t some second-rate clown act we’re up against—“
“That’s right, Smolder. We’re the bad guys, right?” Said Cozy Glow with an evil grin, coming out of the bushes with Chrysalis and Tirek behind her.
“I could’ve sworn I heard that grub talking earlier.” Chrysalis scowled, stamping her hoof and looking around. “This is it? You two fools plan on trying to take us out? This’ll be easy.”
Before either of them could respond, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis leapt forward. Cozy swiped left and right at Smolder, but her sporadic sixth sense left her untouched. She backflipped a few feet away from Cozy Glow and drew her mask down.
“You dare to challenge me?!” She bellowed. Smolder drew back in anger and fear as everything disappeared around her. “I know everything you speak about, Smolder. Every single thing you think you know.”
Darkness began to spread. Where was Sandbar? Where was the ground, even? Everything seemed to disappear in the cold, empty air. Cozy Glow cackled. “You. are. NOTHING! Nothing but a tiny, minor, minuscule atom!” She added. Smolder gasped harshly at the sight of near a million Cozy Glows trekking around her.
The world began to shift onto its side, and the darkness started to take even harsher form. “Eventually the creatures you value will all turn against you, just like I turned my back on that school!” Images flashed before her eyes, and she suddenly appeared on the school campus.
Everyone seemed to be having fun, and her group of friends were all huddled together and exchanging hushed remarks. Smolder stepped toward them, but a single, familiar, dear member stepped out of the circle. “What are you doing here?”
“O-Ocellus...?” She stepped back, whole Ocellus stepped forward. Her whole group of friends began to laugh at her, and Ocellus laughed wickedly.
“Really, dragon? I’m surprised you even know my name. You deadbeat cretins would probably turn your back on anyone anyway.” Ocellus turned around, whipping her tail disrespectfully at Smolder and looking back at her with a sinister smile.
Smolder began to tear up. “C-Celly, wh—“
Sandbar stepped up to Smolder with a creepy grin. “Oh, and I bet you should know...” he wrapped a foreleg around Ocellus, to which she replied by giving him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m the only one who gets to call her that.”
The rest of the five looked over to Smolder with evil, sinister, smug grins as she backed up. “B-But... y-you’d never—“
“Too late, scale bag!” Ocellus sneered before giving her ex a right hook on her snout.
Smolder shot up in a cold sweat, but the space she was in was still dark. “Wh-What...? I-I don’t...”
“Bah-ha-haaaa! I bet you wouldn’t. To believe you’d let your beloved go, and to a pony? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think dragons didn’t do love! You’d probably take one look at her and swipe her up and place her on a pile of gems!” Cozy Glow laughed viciously once more.
Smolder moved to reply, but before she could, a ginormous amount of gems piled on top of her. “Go, ahead, dragon. Eat. ” she proceeded to cackle, and Smolder snarled.
“So, I-Illusions, Huh?! Where’d you get that idea? In a back ally with Trixie where you bought that ridiculous outfit?!”
Suddenly, Cozy Glow’s voice was dark. “You willing to take that chance and find out? I’ll have you taken out in seconds.” She was no longer laughing. Smolder began to sweat.
She looked around nervously and in a fighting stance, resisting the urge to break down right there. This isn’t real, this isn’t real, this isn’t real. she repeated over and over in her head.
Rubbing her temples, she lost herself in the overwhelming silence around her. Cozy Glow was gone. Her voice— no, that noise had finally given her rest.
POW! There was a heavy blow that hit Smolder in the head, and the pain throbbed like she had hit her repeatedly. The pain was real.
“Smolder!” Sandbar cried, rushing over to the weakened creature lying before him. The others weren’t back yet, and he was so busy trying to take on Chrysalis that he didn’t even notice Smolder disappearing. No matter how much he tried, the two creatures looming above him wouldn’t let him evade. It didn’t matter. He’d stick by his friend to the very end.
“S-Sandbar...” Smolder uttered, knocking Sandbar from his concentration. Tirek and Chrysalis showed no mercy, however, as they both conjured up energy blasting beams from their horns.
Sandbar picked up Smolder and laid her out on his back as he ran as fast as he could. The ground nearly tore away under him, he was so fast.
“Seize him!” Chrysalis ordered, rushing forward. Tirek followed her in rage.
“We’re not your servants, bug.” With those words, he pulled out his two whips and lashed them toward Sandbar, who jumped to dodge them. Unfortunately for his case; the whips cracked and wrapped straight around him. A shock rolled through his body, and Tirek whirled him around.
“Woah!!!” He cried out. Once he was whipped around about 12 times, the centaur let loose, the whips laying out and releasing Sandbar. He crashed into a tree, the bark sinking into his hide.
He tried to stand up, but Chrysalis retaliated by firing a beam at him. He jumped up(thankfully), and at such a great height. The beam just missed him and hit the tree, instantly obliterating it. Before he knew it, Sandbar landed on the ground, bruised and dusty.
“This colt is more powerful than I thought, I will admit,” she hissed. “But you will cower before me.” Sandbar gasped and stumbled onto the ground before Chrysalis. “Surrendering already, now?”
Sandbar winced at the changeling queen’s sudden venom in her voice. She stepped forward as Sandbar watched in horror at his friend Smolder being attacked. “Smolder! You’ve gotta run!”
“I-I... I...” She stammered. Cozy Glow had appeared to be using some sort of dark magic on the dragon to both physically and mentally attack her. The two shifted locations, and often disappeared. Alas, Sandbar wondered... what was going on between the two?
Smolder’s body crashed through the window, the dragon-blood stained glass pricking the material of her suit. “You’re worthless! You’ll never amount to anything! You act all tough, but inside, you’re just a great. Big. Phony!” Cozy Glow hissed. Smolder fell aimlessly in the air as everything vanished into darkness.
Reappearing was a giant version of Cozy Glow, who grabbed Smolder and thrashed her around, similar to the same way Yona did. Her body hit what she thought was the ground, over, and over, and over, until she couldn’t take it anymore. She screamed out a cry of pain, and finally, Cozy loosened her grip.
“You’d think a dragon would be tougher.” She rolled her eyes, and Smolder sputtered up drops of blood in her mask. The red liquid blotted all over her face, drying and marking around her scales. Her Spider-Suit was scratched up, and she could feel the empty air brushing on her free scales.
“I-I—“ she coughed. “I-I am... you’re just being a coward. Fight me like the strong cunt you pretend to be—“
She tried to finish her sentence, the flashing image of a train appeared right before her eyes. It wasn’t real, it wasn’t real, it wasn’t—
FWOOOOOOM!
The train hit.
We Literally Can’t Do This
Ocellus, Gallus, Yona, and Silverstream all were rushing as fast as they could toward the forest. Their friends were in danger, and it was more urgent than they initially thought if it took them this long to appear. Ocellus carried the suit she made for Sandbar, and Gallus carried a few more quivers for his arrows. Silverstream's chest plate was only made of one of the strongest, most durable metals in Equestria(thanks to Ocellus), and the fabric that covered the rest of her body was made of the same durable material that made the Spider-Suit. Ocellus was in her AARON armor, recolored black, and flew straight above Yona with Gallus and Silverstream.
The suit she made for Sandbar was made of extra durable fabric, and for the fibers, she took extra precaution by lining them with steel wool, which could take a little more damage than the fabric itself. The shield(which was carried in her mouth), she took the liberty to turn to some of the best authority figures she could find in the quickest manner possible.
Flash Magnus offered some great help in handing over his shield earlier, talking about how it was passed down to him, and how he'd be honored if he could return the favor to someone else who was willing to help Equestria. When Ocellus told him about the villains, however, he told her that he would run to get the pillars as fast as he could, as he couldn't take care of it on his own without anyone's help. Even as she insisted that he should go with her, he proceeded to remind her that the power of friendship is more powerful than that of a fully powered magic stealing centaur, and that he'd be back shortly.
As she ran through the woods and hid in the bushes while the other three went into battle, she decided to take some initiative and request her own help.
I know this might not explain much, but it's urgent, Thorax! my friends and I are currently in danger, and I might have enough time to explain a few things for you, but not a lot, so PAY ATTENTION, please!
Gallus, Sandbar, Silverstream, and Yona are all trying to cover for me while I write this, but Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek are here! We were trying to take them on head to head, but we can't without you! I know you're going to be angry at me after this, but I'll explain the rest later! My friends can't hold off much longer, and I'll need to go into battle soon.
Oh my goodness! Apparently Smolder is missing! I've gotta go out there soon, but--
Thorax! We need help! I'm okay right now, but I need you to gather the changeling hive, and--
The page was ripped off. Thorax dropped the paper. "Oh my gosh! Pharynx!" He rushed off the throne to go get his brother. The page of the letter she marked urgent was ripped off in the middle, and he was sure she was going to tell him where she was, and if the page was ripped before she could send it, that obviously meant she was in trouble.
Smolder lay on one of the seats of the dark, empty train. The repeated chugging sound was ringing in her ears as her eyes stretched open. The train was solemn, not a feeling in her numb body but the slow bump of the seat under her. Her vision was doubled, and her mind was derailed. How did she end up on the train? How would she get back? Would she ever get back? She had to be miles from the scene right about now. Probably at some of the most dangerous spots in Equestria.
Hugging her knees to her chest and leaning against the window, she allowed herself to slowly drift into unconsciousness. Hopefully, sometime before disaster began to reign, she'd be there, beside her friends. Hopefully...
Smolder's eyes shot open at the feeling of air brushing against the bloody scales of her cheeks. The cool wind attacked every inch of the scarlet liquid and dried it with ease. Nothing but the near flaring of feathered wings could be heard. The sound assaulted the air like Pinkie Pie's sour Yovidaphone. "Huh, thought it take forever for you to wake up." A similar voice called from above her. It was so surprisingly close, like, right above her. it sounded like-- like a familiar feathered friend.
"Gallus...?" She uttered in a half sigh of relief, but in slight agitation as well. "What're you doing over here? That train had me--"
"Halfway across Equestria? Nah. I was coasting in the sky looking for you and happened to find you on a bench at the train station. Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow are starting to get to the others. Ocellus tried to send a letter to the hive ruler, but she didn't exactly get to send the whole thing. Chrysalis was really eager to get her hooves on her. Reinforcements are on the way, but, we can't really hold off until then. We were really worried about you."
The dragoness coughed. "W-What about Yona?"
"We managed. Her and Silverstream are helping Ocellus and Sandbar with the baddies. What happened to you?"
Smolder wheezed once more. "That doesn't matter-" she struggled within Gallus' grasp, but he gripped tighter. "-is Ocellus okay?"
"Dude, seriously? Are you so fuckin in love with that bug that you don't even care about your own well being?" He chuckled. "That's a first. You've really got it bad."
"I didn't ask for your life story," she retorted, continuing to struggle within Gallus' grip. "I need to know if they're protecting her. It isn't just me, I swear! I-I mean, Chrysalis is a fuckin' slut for control of the hive, man! She'd kill her own offspring if she had to, including Ocellus."
"Whatever, just- promise me you'll be careful. I've gotta look over Silverstream, she needs me out there." He landed, laying Smolder in a bush a few feet from the action. "You've gotta take it easy right now. I don't think you can handle anymore stress."
"Are. you. fuckin'. kidding me!?" She stood up, wincing at the pain of her knees nearly buckling. "I'm not you guys' fuckin' toddler to look over! I can take care of myself, just let me help for once!" Smolder pointed an indignant claw at her feathery friend, who looked at her doubtfully, but with sympathy.
"Look, Smolder. Your knees are buckling, you've been walking in a limp, your face is bloody, and your suit is almost torn. Should I go on?" He stood in front of her, but she persisted with anger, pushing him aside and fiddling around her suit for her mask.
"Yeah, you should go on and fuck yourself, because I'm helping you guys." She pulled her mask down and swung through the bushes, and Gallus rolled his eyes before unfurling his wings and taking off after her.
Ocellus screeched out in pain, having hit the ground harshly as the dirt accumulated around her armor. Chrysalis had shot an energy beam at her, and was pinning her to the ground. She looked up in petrified fear at her former queen, who simply scowled down at her as she stamped her hoof. Ocellus winced and narrowed her eyes through her mask.
She hoped the previous ruler of the hive couldn't tell she was a changeling, or else she'd go harder on her than she would've before. Given that she used to be training to be a changeling drone, she hoped that she wasn't using any tactics she was taught, or else Chrysalis might've caught onto that. Before she knew it, Chrysalis flicked her tongue and tasted her emotions.
Firstly, changeling emotions were very different from any other creatures'. It always, no matter the flavor, had this strange tanginess to it. Be it sugary or spicy, -or everything nice-y- it always had a little tinge of flavor to it, to tell who was who. Though Chrysalis couldn't tell who she was assailing, she could definitely tell; it was in fact a changeling. Smiling, she continued to gloat and soak in her new coming victory.
"Look at what you've become. So weak. Has Thorax let down the hive so badly that would-be drone like you is so feeble?"
She cowered and whimpered under the taller bug, but Chrysalis only laughed. "Really? And of all the things you--"
The metal bug hovered in the air attempting to finish her off reluctantly. Raising her hooves, she let out a battle cry and fired the beams straight out of her armored hooves. Chrysalis could do little to stop it, but instead teleported out of the way. Ocellus looked around confusedly, but then screamed in surprise once she felt pressure and heat on her back. That dirty, dirty bug. She was the worst, and Ocellus had to face her.
Tirek and Yona butted heads while Sandbar was letting off at his back. When he had finally managed to get his armor on, things were becoming less and less painful by the second. The empty spaces where the whips hit him was starting to become numb, unless someone had touched or struck it. He wrapped his forelegs around the centaur's neck and tugged on it as hard as he could, but to no avail.
Tirek whirled around, and, before Yona could move, he struck with his hindlegs and straight in between her eyes. She shrieked in pain and tumbled over. "Yona!" Sandbar bellowed. "Woah!" Tirek had taken advantage of his enemy's recent startling to pull out his whips and lashed them around him. Sandbar shouted in pain as Tirek continued to swing him around, and right into Yona, sending them both into a tree.
Smolder stumbled from the bushes, her legs limp. The first thing she had to do was help some creature, especially Ocellus, that was, if she could find her. Still looking around, she came across Sandbar and Yona, who decided to seek another creature’s help.
Yona rammed straight into her, her fear evidently taking over her anger and leaving her un-transformed. When all three of them tumbled into the bushes, Smolder grumbled, and Sandbar shook.
“What the hell—?!” She spat, leaving the two on top of her stunned. Sandbar turned to her with a smile, and so did Yona.
“Smolder okay!” She gasped, hugging tightly to the dragon below her with Sandbar getting caught in her grasp, but he didn’t complain.
“Yeah! What happened to you? I was trying to get you to—“
“No time to explain, just- let me go!” She struggled under the heavy body weights of the pony and yak combined, and then limped from the leaves of the bushes. Dusting herself off, Smolder looked back at the two with a soft gaze. “Sorry. You two okay?”
They both nodded, but with reluctancy. Both Yona and Sandbar exchanged equally concerned looks and shifted their gaze back to Smolder. “Dragon feeling okay?” Yona asked, the first speak out of any of them since the long pause of silence.
“You’re kind of... limping.” Sandbar continued after Yona. Smolder looked around nervously, and then stomped her foot on the ground. She whimpered and growled even after that, but ignored it anyway.
“I’m. Fine. Just give me some space, okay? I need to go out there, and I can’t sit this one out. Not this time—! Argh!” Smolder was smitten by another load of body weight. The creature groaned in pain as they buried their face into her chest.
“Ocellus? ” Smolder looked down at the changeling, whose mask withdrew and revealed the familiar features it carried.
“Smolder?! She gasped. “Oh my gosh!” Ocellus cried, clinging tightly to her dragon mate. “You’re okay! ...Or I’m assuming you’re okay? Are you okay?”
“Uh—“ Smolder began to answer, but Ocellus was already giving her an unnecessary surprise checkup as a side-serve to her rambling.
“What happened to you?”
Smolder groaned at this question, because it was in fact the exact same question Sandbar asked her when they had first encountered.
“That’s the same thing I asked her before.” He droned, rolling his eyes. Yona looked at him with an arched brow, and Smolder glared at him defensively. “Sorry...”
Ocellus cupped her hooves around her lover’s face, bringing Smolder’s gaze to her. “You’re not answering my question.” Smolder looked at her in slight nervousness, but then sighed.
“Look-“ she brushed Ocellus’ hooves off her cheeks, standing up and pulling her mask down. “-If I told you, you’d probably just stick me to the side and refuse to let me help. That’s why I don’t tell you anything.” With that, she swung from the bushes, leaving Ocellus, Yona, and Sandbar still in the same bush.
Ocellus turned away from the foliage with a wince. She sighed soon after, and then looked up and Sandbar and Yona. “I have to go help. I don’t know about Smolder right now, but... I have to keep some sort of tabs on Gallus and Silver.” She turned back to leave, but Yona put a hoof on her shoulder, draining every bit of movement from her body.
“Bad idea,” Yona uttered, shaking her head solemnly. “If Ocellus go out there without plan, it might get dangerous.”
Sandbar nodded. “She’s right. We might have to retreat soon, wait for some help.”
Silverstream swung her hammer erratically at Cozy Glow, but she was disappearing every time she struck. Gallus was trying his best to steady his grip as he shot his arrows, which all ricocheted the moment they grazed by the flying filly. She cackled viciously. Gallus snarled and lunged at her with seething anger. His claws were at a strong blaze as he ripped at the string of his mighty bow. Each arrow struck hard on Cozy, but she seemed to take no effect.
Cozy grinned with pure evil, and then flashed her rather adorable, popping, bulging eyes at him. She raised both her forelegs and immediately responded.
"You think it's that simple, huh?" She giggled. Gallus cried out in fear as he was enveloped in a cloud of darkness. He flailed his limbs around as he tried to gain control of the things around him. Everything disappeared, and now he was just floating, right in time with the darkness. The frigid air of the space around him gently caressed his feathers. The wind felt like it was blowing, but he wasn't sure which direction. Whatever this is, it was torture.
The empty space that just sat there, left, right, and possibly inside him felt like an entire cloud of conflict. Cozy had some power, and whatever it was, he had to stop it. Flexing his wings, he attempted to fly around and gain knowledge of what surrounded him. He tried looking left and right, calling out a few names, but, nobody came.
He darted from place to place, only looking for one thing, or, possibly, one griff. Silverstream was gone, and so was Cozy. Nothing but melancholy around him. He was sure that he was flying in the right direction up until now, but there was one key thing he had to wonder. What did Cozy just do? She didn't lift a hoof and had already trapped him in some sort of sunken place. It grew difficult move his body, and the fear paralyzed him, like he could barely breathe.
He flared his wings faster though, in hope of getting some sight of the outside world. Silverstream was waiting for him. She needed him right now. Who knows what Cozy could be doing to her right this moment? Thoughts continued to clog his mind up, but they didn't matter. All that mattered was finding Silverstream, and--
"POW! "
Gallus hit a rough, solid substance. Bits of it got caught in his feathers, and even then, they started to drip blood. "Gallus!" A familiar voice gasped. It was close, and it sounded like a certain griff he knew. "Are you okay?! You rammed straight into a tree trunk, and I-- AAHH! ”
A strong breeze caught her off guard. Her and Gallus were being swept through the air somehow, but with all that weight, there was no way they could’ve carried them that far. That was probably why they collapsed a few seconds after.
“Geez, you guys are heavy,” groaned a strained voice. Gallus rubbed his badly bruised head, and then looked up. It was Smolder, who was standing there, looking down at them with a probable smile. “Sorry it took me so long. Sandbar, Ocellus, and Yona decided to lay low for a while before Equestria’s authorities get here.”
“Yeah, I could tell.” Gallus sputtered, Silverstream inspecting the scratches and bruises on his forehead. “I didn’t know all this stuff was going down so quickly. Cozy managed to show us when shit hit the fan.” When he finished, Silverstream stepped forward and began to speak.
“Right. We should probably lay low as well. Wouldn’t want to risk revealing ourselves.” She looked at Smolder, whose displeasure was quite clear. She huffed in protest, and Silverstream frowned as she started to sweat. Gallus’ pain turned to concern.
“No, ” She hissed, pushing her displeasure even further. Silverstream stepped back, and Gallus leveled with her, placing a claw on her shoulder.
If Smolder refused to retreat with them , who was going to protect her? It was much too dangerous, even for her level of determination and speed. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses, but she had to be the one who was the most handicapped out of all of them.
Her legs were close to a broken state, her wings were nearly battered, and there was so much blood on the interior of her mask that it began to stain the once white fabric mesh of her “eyes.” Even much to her dismay, Silverstream stayed silent, and so did Gallus, despite his ongoing thirst to voice his objection.
“Smolder, let’s go. ” He pressed firmly.
“I said, No! You guys’ve been pushing me to the side so many times, how the fuck am I supposed to help you?!”
“You don’t! ” Shouted Silverstream, who was nearly careful to keep her voice low. “We’re still waiting for the teachers to get here!”
“And how do we know it’ll be enough?!” Smolder argued, stepping forward. “Maybe since I’m the only one here that’s willing to stand up against those jerks, you should just let me fight with them!” Gallus face-clawed and stepped forward. Smolder was breathing heavily and harshly perspiring half the reason being because of the heat of the moment, or because of the sun beating down on them.
“Smolder, listen—“ Gallus tried to reason with her, but she wasn’t budging. In fact, she extended her arm and shot a web that latched around Gallus’ beak in a second. After this, she’d drive her point home the hardest she could. So hard in fact that she’d make everyone bite their tongue to brace her words.
“No! You listen!!” She barked, pointing a burning claw at Gallus and Silverstream. “You guys’ve been getting your asses kicked, and I didn’t get to lay a finger on anyone yet! You act like I can’t defend myself!”
That’s when Silverstream spoke up. “That’s why we’re hiding . We’re not meant to take on the enemy right now. That’s why Ocellus called for help.”
“So... you guys’re just leaving me out here? To fight alone?”
“That’s not what we said.” Explained Gallus, who had ripped the web off his beak.
Strange. Smolder’s webs were really strong. Gallus would have to have at least twice the strength of her to break through a fiber. Had Gallus somehow trained harder than her at some point, or did Smolder just shoot a weak web? Had she grown weaker? That couldn’t’ve been it, especially when she trained so hard to gain the physical advantages she had to maintain her powers. Was Gallus just stronger than her? Whichever it was, the very subject tore Smolder apart from the inside.
She shook her head in disbelief, the tears in her eyes beading in the corners and almost being visible. Shutting her eyes, she turned away in shame. How could she have let this happen? She was the first for this horrible turn of events to happen to, shouldn’t she have trained enough to be higher in terms of strength?
"Smolder," Gallus started. "Are you alright?" He stepped a little closer. Smolder needed help, he felt. She was trembling and hugging her knees to her chest. That talk did some damage to her ego, and it would probably do even less help if he were to salt the wound. Smolder, of everyone, suffered the most in this situation. Her wings were torn, her ego destroyed, her strength turned to weakness. Maybe if he could find a way to make her strong where she was weak. He lay a claw on her shoulder. The muscles in her arm tensed up, as if the slightest hint of movement could trigger her. "Smolder? "
“Heh.” She chuckled in reply. Gallus nearly jumped back, but he found something. Something resonating within Smolder. Like she found peace within herself. “I’ve been whining this entire time, haven’t I?”
“Whining’s an understatement.” He deadpanned. Smolder stood up.
“Shut the fuck up.” She joked, turning around and smirking at the both of them. “Fine. We’ll go hide out now, but once the teachers get here, I’m kicking each of their asses.” She turned to point to Chysalis, Cozy, and Tirek, who were currently wreaking havoc on the land around them.
“So, what’s the plan?” Ocellus asked, taking out a weirdly handy note pad and pencil. Sandbar and Yona looked at each other, and then back at Ocellus. Regardless, Yona decided to fill in her answer for her.
“Yona think we should stay here and wait for professors to come save us.”
“Diddo,” replied Sandbar, who placed his hoof on Yona’s out of nowhere. The yak’s face turned conspicuously red, and Sandbar’s as well. Ocellus smiled, returning to her note pad and clearing her throat.
“Right. So we have an agreement.”
“One question,” asked Sandbar, getting Ocellus’ attention almost immediately.
“Hm...?“
“What about birds and dragon?” Yona continued. Ocellus put a hoof to her chin.
“Oh, geez.”
"Okay, so, you guys're saying, if we use the power of friendship and rainbows, we can defeat Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow?" Ocellus asked, putting a hoof to her chin in thought. Sandbar and Yona nodded, with Sandbar leaning in slowly on Yona's shoulder, She flushed red at this, but decided to keep her stare straight and nodded. Ocellus shook her head, causing the both of them to look disappointed. "We can't do that. This is a serious matter, who knows who could get hurt out there because of it?"
Sandbar was determined. "And how do you know what's gonna happen," he said, pointing a sharp hoof at Ocellus. She stepped back a little, her tail brushing against the border of the leaves around her. Sandbar continued. "We weren't even out there for so long! Smolder, Gallus, and Silverstream are probably getting their butts kicked because of us-- oof!" He was smacked by a hoof.
“Don’t you dare say that!” Whimpered Ocellus, who had her mouth at the best snarl she could manage. “It’d be better if we just went out there and helped them instead of being so... so...”
“...You mean we’re being a bunch of pussies.” Called a voice, followed by a brief rustling of leaves. A smack was heard after that, and the voice exclaimed with sheer displeasure. “Ow!”
Ocellus, Yona, and Sandbar looked over to a Griffin; who was waving his claw around like it
Ocellus gasped, rushing up to hug Smolder first. “We knew I was alright,” she started. “So what’s the big deal?” At that, Ocellus pulled back and withdrew her suit.
“A-About what you said earlier. I-I’m sorry if I ever made you feel that way.” She sniffed.
“It’s alright. We’re alright. I’m sorry I always got so angry at you. Never knew what the hell I was doing,” Smolder chuckled. Ocellus chuckled back.
“We’re just glad you’re all okay,” commented Sandbar, walking over and hugging both Gallus and Silverstream; Smolder was occupied at the moment. “Can’t believe you lot thought you could fight all of them.” He continued, taking off his armor as well. Smolder quirked a brow, and the two birds behind her looked confused.
“Yona and friends come up with decision. We not fight villains, we plan to fight villains with teachers. They know how to help.” Yona said, Sandbar and Ocellus nodding in unison. Gallus just looked at Smolder, and the both of them exchanged unsure looks.
“You guys sure about this?” Asked Gallus. Smolder was right behind him, but Silverstream had already taken her armor off, too.
“Yeah. I mean, we have the opportunity to—“ she was shushed by a light blue, chi tiny hoof.
“—let the teachers handle it.” She smiled. Smolder rolled her eyes, but offered a small smile in response.
“Right, ” agreed Sandbar, Yona’s hoof in his. He looked over to Yona, who nodded as well.
“Right. ”
All four of them looked to Gallus and Silverstream, who both looked to each other and said:
“Right. ”
-To be continued
Author's Note
So, honestly, this story was suuuuper tiring, and, I didn’t want that nagging feeling that I’d have to get this done by x y z, or, finish a chapter so you can post it on X. That doesn’t mean this story is done, though. I’ve been in the mood to start something fresh, and, I think you’ll all like it. Toodles for now!
