True Colors

by Closer-To-The-Sun

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sad, Young Six, Ocellus, Comedy, Smolder, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5164

Ocellus' friends are quite shocked to learn that she has checked herself into a mental hospital.

"If this world makes you crazy,/And you've taken all you can bear,/You call me up,/Because you know I'll be there./And I'll see your true colors,/Shining through./I see your true colors,/And that's why I love you." -Cyndi Lauper, 'True Colors'

Ocellus has checked herself in to a mental hospital and, to the confusion of the entire staff, she seems perfectly fine. They invite the rest of the Student Six over to see if they can help figure out exactly what is going on with their changeling friend.

Credit to DeadParrot222 for helping pitch this idea.

Published 2020-04-23 20:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-04-23 20:50:01 UTC

True Colors

It was the weekend in Ponyville and every creature at the School of Friendship was making the most of their free time. However, there were five creatures that were heading off toward the town: a griffon, a dragon, an earth pony, a yak, and a hippogriff.

“Can some creature remind me why we’re out here again?” the griffon asked with a hint of annoyance.

“Don’t you remember, Gallus?” Sandbar answered, “Headmare Starlight asked us to meet up with her at the Ponyville hospital.”

“Cut him some slack, it’s the weekend and he only has three braincells working as it is,” Smolder joked.

“Yona don’t understand why though,” Yona thought aloud.

Silverstream chimed in, “Ooo! Maybe we’re going to visit some of the kids to cheer them up!”

“Hmm, that does sound like something that Starlight would have us do,” Gallus admitted, “Wait a minute, we’re short one creature.”

Smolder looked around, “Yeah, Ocellus isn’t here. Yona, do you think she got up early and went ahead?”

The yak shrugged, “Yona not know. Friend Ocellus didn’t return to dorm last night.”

This revelation caught the entire group off guard.

“Whoa, really? That’s so unlike her,” Sandbar said. “She might burn the midnight oil in the library once or twice and fall asleep there, but she would be back by now.”

Gallus agreed, “Yeah, she’s usually the first one to remind us not to break curfew.”

“You think she has a secret group of friends she spends time with? Like one is a unicorn, and one is a timberwolf,” Silverstream started listing what was on her mind before she gasped and continued, “and maybe one of them is a kirin! Do you think the kirin would be my friend if I asked?”

The rest of the group did not take Silverstream’s ramblings seriously. “Silverstream, I can think of at least three things wrong with everything you just said,” Sandbar pointed out.

“Let’s ask Headmare Starlight when we get there. Maybe she might know something?” Smolder suggested.

“Heh, you actually are worried?” Gallus couldn’t help but smirk and nudge the dragon with his talon.

Smolder gave a soft glare, “Of course I care, she’s my friend!”

As they drew closer to the hospital, the group saw two ponies waiting outside. One was a tan unicorn stallion with a chocolate-colored mane and tail. He was dressed in a white labcoat and had a pair of glasses resting on his face. The other pony was Headmare Starlight Glimmer, who was anxiously pacing in front of the entrance to the building.

“Thank Celestia and Luna you all are here,” Starlight said with relief as they entered earshot.

“Hi Headmare Starlight!” Silverstream waved enthusiastically.

“Y-Yes, hi Silverstream, I see you.”

Sandbar spoke up, “Headmare Starlight, what’s going on? You look like there’s something troubling you.”

“Actually, there is,” Starlight admitted, she then turned to the unicorn next to her, “Doctor Stable, do you mind filling them in?”

The stallion nodded as he cleared his throat, “There is no easy way to simply say this, so I will just state the facts: yesterday evening, your friend Ocellus admitted herself to our mental health ward.”

A chorus of gasping and shock echoed amongst the students.

“Wait, what?”

“You’re kidding!”

“Is Ocellus okay?”

“Your friend is fine. In fact, she seems to have been in very good spirits ever since she checked herself in.”

“Why Ocellus do that? Friend Ocellus not crazy!,” Yona said.

“Seriously, if any of us belong in there, it's Silverstream, not her!"” Gallus added.

Silverstream quickly chimed in, “Yeah!”

“Calm down, students,” Starlight insisted, “I know it’s not something you want to hear, but it’s okay. Ocellus is okay, but there is more to the reason why we brought you all here.”

The doctor nodded, “Yes, please follow me.” The students followed the stallion and the mare through the hallways of the hospital to a special wing of the building. After a few more turns down seemingly endless hallways, the group arrived at a door. “Here we are,” Doctor Stable said as he used his magic to turn the doorknob and open the door. Inside was a small room that seemed to be designed to house only a few occupants at the table on the far side. The room was filled with books and machines that one could guess were used to monitor something. The table had a few things on it, such as buttons, switches, and microphones, while papers were placed around it. At the far side of the room, the table looked at a large window that peered into a white, padded room as well as a smaller room that had a seat.

“Where are we?” Smolder asked.

“This is the monitoring room. It is here where we present stimuli to our patients and assess their reactions. It is then we record them so we can-”

“Oh look, it’s Ocellus!” Silverstream pointed through the window. On the other side, their friend Ocellus was sitting on the floor. Wrapped around the changeling was a white straitjacket that bound together her front limbs. Despite the jacket constricting her and being in a bright and padded room, her demeanor seemed very happy. A smile was on Ocellus’ face as she looked down at a newspaper that she turned with one of her hind limbs. The hippogriff waved, “Hi Ocellus!”

Starlight pointed out, “She can’t hear you.”

“HI OCELLUS!” Silverstream shouted with her talons up by her beak.

“I think they’re trying to say that she can’t hear you since the room is soundproof and they’re using a one-way mirror,” Sandbar said as he rubbed his ear.

The doctor nodded, “That’s correct. Right now, she doesn’t know we asked for your assistance.”

“What do you mean assistance?” Gallus asked.

Starlight spoke up, “Yesterday when Ocellus was admitted, she claimed that she was on the verge of having negative emotions. What puzzles the doctors here is that she has been nothing but a model patient since her arrival. Her mood has been nothing but calm and content. When they asked about why she’s even here, she insists so she never lets the ‘bad feelings’ get to her, whatever that might be.” The Headmare gave air-quotes for a couple of the words. “She seems to be avoiding any of these emotions.”

“What we need is for you, her friends, is to get her to express some sort of feelings other than her current disposition. We suspect that she might be suppressing something and we want to try instigating an emotional shock to see if we can get her to open up about whatever might be troubling her,” Doctor Stable stated.

“So….you want us to make Ocellus mad?” Smolder asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Not just mad, any other emotion, really. But in the simplest terms, yes,” the doctor clarified.

Sandbar seemed reluctant as he looked in on the changeling, “I don’t know about this.”

“This seem wrong,” Yona stated, “Friend Ocellus can’t be happy in there.”

Doctor Stable spoke up, “Quite surprisingly, she seems very content in there.”

The entire monitoring room had a voice coming in from the speakers. It was Ocellus and she was singing from inside the padded room, “Sun is shining in the sky,/There ain’t a cloud in sight,/It stopped raining, everypony’s in the play,/And don’t you know, it’s a beautiful new day~.”

“Is….Is she singing?” Gallus asked.

The doctor spoke again, “Yes, and it’s not the first time. Last night, she sang through all of Sapphire Shore’s discography. It was a bit surprising, really. Some of our staff say that she has a lovely singing voice.”

Yona peered back at the changeling through the window, “What is friend Ocellus wearing?”

“Just a normal straitjacket,” the doctor answered.

“She keeps referring to it as her ‘bug-hug jacket’,” Starlight commented.

“Really? Ocellus said I wasn’t allowed to call her that.” Silverstream said. “Ooo! Can I get one?” the hippogriff asked the doctor excitedly.

Instead of replying, Doctor Stable took a seat at the table and positioned the papers around. “We will send you each in, one at a time, and present a stimulus to Ocellus, after which we will address how she responds and hopefully find the underlying cause.” The doctor then leaned in toward the microphone and pressed a button before speaking into it: “Good morning, Ocellus. You have a visitor today. Please have a seat in the chair next to the observation window.”

“A visitor? Oh, that’s so great to hear!” Ocellus’ words were picked up by the microphone, allowing every creature in the observation room to hear. She took a seat and looked at the blank wall before her. Her face had a pleasant smile on it.

Starlight took the seat next to the doctor and took an index card off of the table. She gave it to the green earth pony, “Okay, Sandbar, we will have you go in first. Read what is on the card when the window opens and, hopefully, we will get some sort of response from her.”

Sandbar looked down at the index card before looking back at the Headmare, “Are you sure about this? I’m concerned for Ocellus too, but I don’t think this is the way to go about it.”

“This is a perfectly normal and routine practice,” Doctor Stable insisted, “If something happens, we will be right here, ready to assist.”

The earth pony still wasn’t entirely convinced but nevertheless agreed. He entered the small side room and sat down on the chair in front of the wall, with Ocellus on the other side.

“Proceed with opening the window,” the doctor instructed. Starlight pressed a button, causing a window to slide open, allowing Sandbar and Ocellus to see one another face-to-face.

“Why, hello there, Sandbar! Wasn’t expecting you to be my visitor, but I sure welcome it!” Ocellus brightly smiled as she saw her friend.

Sandbar had a nervous look on his face as he looked at Ocellus. He then looked down the index card and read off of it with a flat tone to his voice: “Ocellus, I feel that the interests that you have are both pointless and silly.”

“How are the rest of our friends? What did you have for breakfast this morning?” Ocellus was completely unfazed by what Sandbar had read to him.

On the other side of the mirror, Doctor Stable was unsatisfied with Ocellus’ response. He pressed the window button between Starlight and himself.

As the window slid back to it’s closed position, Ocellus took note of this and bid her friend farewell as it closed, moving her head along the remaining open part until it closed., “Oh, thanks for dropping in to say hi!”

"So that's how this is supposed to go?" Gallus thought aloud.

"I have my doubts about this," Smolder commented.

Doctor Stable took another index card and passed it to Silverstream, “Proceed to stage two. Please switch places with Sandbar and read this when the window opens.”

Silverstream took the card and saluted, “Yes, sir!”

As Stilverstream exited the room, Doctor Stable leaned toward the Headmare and quietly whispered, “That one can read, correct?"

"Of course, she can!" Starlight responded, slightly insulted. After a moment, her ears dropped a little as she added, "I mean….I think….”

The hippogriff entered the same room as Sandbar, telling him to return to the observation room. She took the seat and waited.

“Opening the window, proceeding with stage two,” the doctor stated for the record as Starlight hit the switch for the window to slide open.

The window opened, revealing Silverstream for Ocellus.

“Oh, Silverstream, good morning! At least I think it’s morning. Do you happen to have the time?” the changeling said with a smile.

“Hi, Ocellus!” Silverstream waved, “I was told to read this for you,” the hippogriff cleared her throat as she spoke carefully and with an excited and happy tone: “I mock your value system. You also appear foolish to the eyes of others.”

Ocellus chuckled a little, “That’s okay, because when we all put our heads together, it all works out for the better as we learn from each other! That’s just one of the many lessons we’ve learned at the School of Friendship, right?” The window began to close and, again, Ocellus moved her head to speak quickly, “Oh, thanks for stopping by!”

Back in the observation room, Gallus was the first to speak again after the window closed, “All of us know that Silverstream would never say anything like that. Seriously, who wrote these things?”

“This isn’t working, Doctor,” Starlight said, “We might have to go even further with this.”

“I believe you’re right,” the doctor stated as he grabbed the next index card and passed it along to Yona. “You are next, please switch places with Silverstream.”

Taking the card, Yona looked down and was both confused and weirded out, “Doctor really want Yona to say this?”

“Remember, this is to help Ocellus,” Starlight insisted.

The yak sighed as she entered the room to swap places with Silverstream. She took the seat and waited for the window to open.

“Proceeding with stage three, opening the window,” the doctor spoke as Starlight pressed the button to open the window.

The window opened, revealing Yona to Ocellus, “Oh, hello Yona! It seems I’m treated to having all of my friends visit me today!”

Yona sat on edge as she looked at her card and carefully read what was written: “Yona engaged in intimate relations with Ocellus spouse or significant other.” The second she finished reading off of the index card, she turned toward the mirror and shouted in a sad plea, “Yona would never do such thing to friend or any creature!”

The changeling seemed to find the statement humorous, “Haha, that’s a good one, Yona!” The window started to slide close again and Ocellus followed the closing opening to bid farewell, “Oh, thanks for the chuckle and dropping by!”

The doctor had another index card ready and passed it to Gallus, “We’re running out of options here. Ocellus seems unaffected by everything.”

“We have two more options to use here, though I rather not have us use one,” Starlight Glimmer stated as she motioned for Gallus to swap places with Yona.

Gallus took his card and briefly looked at it before looking back at Doctor Stable and Starlight, “You have got to be kidding. This is ridiculous.”

Starlight continued to motion for him to go in, “Come on, Gallus, this is to help Ocellus.”

With a sour look, Gallus entered the room to trade spots with Yona.

The yak returned from the other room, “Why doctor make Yona say such cruel thing to Ocellus! Yona would never do anything of that sort!”

Smolder quickly jumped in, “And on top of that, Ocellus isn’t even seeing any creature! Did you do any research about her before writing these?”

The doctor ignored them as he spoke for the record, “Proceeding to stage four, opening the window.” Starlight pressed the button, opening the sliding window.

Gallus came into Ocellus’ view, causing her to speak with a smile, “Oh, hello Gallus! I guess everyone has stopped by to say hello! How are you today?”

Against every fiber of his being, Gallus read from the card in a deadpan voice: “I believe the changeling species are outlandish in appearance and have a culture with a very foolish set of customs.” Gallus turned to growl toward the observation room, “Oh, come on! No creature ever talks like that, and I’m sure you know that!”

“Oh, but I’m sure you’ll come to understand us if you listen to our storied history! It’s quite a fascinating tale of how our species first survived in the early days of Equestria. And, after all of that, if you still feel that way, then that’s okay because I still consider you my friend!” Ocellus spoke as she beamed with both happiness and pride. Once again, the window began to close and Ocellus followed it to bid farewell, “Oh, thanks for dropping by, Gallus!”

In the monitoring room, the doctor sighed, “It looks like we have no choice; on to the final stage of stimuli.”

“Understood,” Starlight nodded as she gave the final index card to Smolder.

The dragon looked down at the card and her face grew pale.

“Are you able to do this, Smolder?” Starlight asked with concern.

Smolder simply nodded, “It’s for Ocellus.”

Doctor Stable spoke up, “Very good. Then please proceed in and trade places with Gallus.”

Opening the door, the emotionless Smolder entered the smaller side room. As she did, Gallus returned to the monitoring room.

“Why are you making us say these things to our friend? This can’t be good for Ocellus!” the griffon said as soon as he returned inside.

“I know, right?” Sandbar agreed, “I’m worried about her emotional well-being as well, but saying these things right to her face can’t be healthy.”

“It not healthy for Yona.”

“Hey, check out my new jacket!” Silverstream appeared out of seemingly nowhere, wearing an unfastened straitjacket, “it has really long sleeves!”

Sandbar looked at the hippogriff with both confusion and concern, "Where did you get that?"

Starlight turned to the chatting students and shushed them.

“Proceeding to stage five, opening the window,” the doctor spoke as Starlight pressed the button to open the sliding window. The window slid open, putting Smolder face-to-face with Ocellus in her straitjacket.

“Oh, hello Smolder! Thanks for dropping by! I just wanted to say that now just in case the window starts to close before I get a chance to say it!” Ocellus smiled warmly at her friend, “It’s so great that you all came to visit me today.”

The dragon looked down at the index card. She knew she was supposed to say what written down for her. However, she lost the nerve and tossed the card behind her and looked directly at her friend, “Ocellus, what’s going on? Why are you in this place?”

The changeling’s face still smiled, “It’s nothing to worry about really! I just came by to rest and get a check up is all.”

“This isn’t a routine check up and you know it! You’re wearing a straitjacket and locked up in a padded room! That’s gotta get under your skin that they treat you like this!”

“It’s so soft and cushy,” Ocellus insisted, “and the nurses bring me plenty of reading material to keep me occupied.”

Inside the monitoring room, there was confusion. “What is she doing? That wasn’t written on the card,” Starlight Glimmer said as she reached for the button, “I’m closing the window.”

However, she was stopped by a hoof covering the button. “Not so fast. Let’s see how this goes,” Doctor Stable stated.

“But what about all of us coming in and saying all these awful things to you?” Smolder continued.

“It’s so great to see you all! It’s so kind of you to do so!” the changeling smiled.

The smile on Ocellus’ face started to bother Smolder. It didn’t look right and, in the pit of her stomach, the dragon knew it mustn’t feel right for her friend.

Smolder thought for a moment before continuing, “What about P.E. and cheerleading practice? The way Professor Rainbow Dash really punishes and drills us to the point of exhaustion? Doesn’t that just make you angry?”

The words seemed to have no negative affect on Ocellus, “That’s because she knows we can do better, and after each practice, it’s true! Our pyramid form is looking much better.”

“Grrr….okay, I’ll give you that,” Smolder conceded, “our form is better.”

In the monitoring room, Yona added a comment, “Friend Ocellus is right, pyramid form look better now.”

Gallus added, “That doesn’t change the fact that Professor Rainbow Dash is nothing short of a drill sergeant.”

In the main room, Smolder continued trying, “What about….what about if I punched you square in the face?” She raised up her claw, which was rolled into a fist.

“Well, that would be quite mean of you,” Ocellus commented.

“Right.”

“It would hurt quite considerably.”

“Yes.”

“And it might cause me to bleed.”

“And?”

“It would mean that I can have a chat with the other patients when I visit the rest of the hospital to get patched up! I might be able to raise their spirits while I’m at it!” Ocellus mused.

“No! Dang it!”

“This is getting us nowhere,” Doctor Stable commented from the other room.

A loud “ssshh!” came from behind him, from the hippogriff as she intently watched her friends on the other side of the glass.

Back in the main room, Smolder continued, “What about the food in the mess hall? It’s absolutely tasteless and often times inedible! I think I even chipped a fang on a bread roll last night.”

Ocellus spoke, unfazed, “Oh, it’s not that bad. If you get to the cafeteria early enough, you can get the fruit that hasn’t fully spoiled yet. And the casseroles that are usually for dinner are good if you just eat around the burnt and frozen parts.”

Smolder threw her claws up in the air, “Oh come on! It’s horrible and you know it!”

Doctor Stable spoke, “She’s really going off script now, maybe we should close the window.”

“I agree, but let’s see where she’s going with th-,” Starlight started but paused and asked in a confused manner, “Wait, what’s wrong with the cafeteria food?”

Sandbar quickly answered, “It’s disgusting and somehow defies both science and logic.”

“We couldn’t even burn the food!” Silverstream said.

“Friend Silverstream is right: the fire didn’t want it.”

“And the sweet potatoes are never sweet. How is it possible to take the sweet out of the potatoes? I find it more scientifically fascinating more than anything.” Gallus lamented.

Smolder seemed to be getting more frustrated as her attempts were being thwarted, “Come on, there’s gotta be something, anything that makes you feel angry, right?”

The smile that seemed like a permanent fixture on Ocellus’ face disappeared and was replaced by a crestfallen expression, “Do you really think that, that I don’t feel sad or angry? I have those feelings in me….but I’m just….scared of them….”

“A breakthrough!” the doctor cheered from the monitor room, “Just how was she able to get Ocellus to react with negative emotions?”

“I don’t think she’s just now reacting,” Sandbar pointed out.

Gallus spoke up too, “Just because she’s not reacting with negative emotions doesn’t mean she isn’t feeling them.”

In the main room, Ocellus continued, putting a smile back on her face, “But it’s okay though! I have a smile, right? That should be enough for every creature.”

“It ain’t enough for me,” Smolder said, “I can tell that smile isn’t reaching your eyes.”

Again, the smile disappeared. Ocellus tried to look elsewhere, but Smolder’s stare wouldn’t let her. She was silent.

“Ocellus, please talk to me. We want to help you.”

“But none of you would understand,” her words were meek and frightful.

“I might not, but I’d be more than willing to listen,” Smolder had a small, heartfelt smile appear on her face.

“I’m….” Ocellus started speaking but quickly stopped herself. Every creature in the monitoring room as well as Smolder who was right across from her leaned in as they waited for her to speak again. “I’m afraid if….that if I were to let my negative emotions take over….I will….I will turn back into an evil changeling….”

A deathly hush fell on every creature. Surprise was on the face of every single creature as they heard Ocellus.

Smolder quickly pulled herself back and replied, “So that’s what’s been eating at you all this time.”

Ocellus nodded, “I don’t want to be like that again. I only remember so much of being that sort of changeling, brief fragments. I can only imagine what I may have done.”

“It’s okay, Ocellus….” Smolder started to speak but she was quickly cut off.

“That’s why I have to do what I’ve done since I could ever remember: take all of my bad feelings and just push them down,” Ocellus forced another smile, “all the way down, past my knees until it seems I’m just trotting on them. If I don’t….I don’t know what else I would do about them….” Ocellus trailed off.

Smolder spoke up again, “Ocellus, you’re being much too hard on yourself. You can only force yourself to smile like that for so long until just teeth remain.”

“But what if I turn about into….that sort of changeling again? I can barely remember what my life was like as one of Chrysalis' drones, and if I turn….I couldn’t imagine doing anything to hurt any of you!” the changeling’s words were frantic.

“Ocellus, I-”

Again, the changeling cut off the dragon, her words becoming more panicked, “And if I change back….I could lose everything that makes me who I am!”

Smolder again tried to interject, but Ocellus kept going.

“That’s why I mustn’t think bad thoughts, or I might turn and start hurting all sorts of creatures,” Ocellus’ words were speeding up and becoming more distressed. “And then….and then….!”

“Ocellus, just shut up for a second!”

The dragon’s loud shout both stopped Ocellus’ ramblings and caused every eye to fall upon her.

“Sorry,” Smolder apologized before resuming, “but all these ‘what if’s aren’t going to help you out. Yes, you were a drone for Queen Crazy back in the day.”

“Queen Chrysalis,” Ocellus quickly corrected.

“I know what I said,” Smolder replied flippantly, “The point is, you can’t just ignore what happened to you back then and how you feel about it! Not only is it incredibly dumb to so, but it’s totally unhealthy!”

Ocellus tried to speak up, “But….I was a changeling drone for Que-”

“And I’m a dragon who was known for hoarding all sorts of junk and being super aggro!” the dragon quickly interrupted, “I admit that I’ve made a number of stupid mistakes. Do I regret them, of course I do! But I don’t ignore them; I accept them, deal with how I feel about all of them, and use them to be a better dragon.”

Sitting across from her, Ocellus was quiet. Her mind was processing all of what Smolder had told her.

Smolder continued, “Those thoughts are in there, right? Hate? Sorrow? Fear? Guilt? It’s something that all creatures have.”

“But I’m a changeling….if I let them take over….”

“It’s not letting them take over, it’s letting them out.”

“But hate makes war!”

“It’s okay to hate things! I mean, I hate Gallus’ rank BO, but that doesn’t mean I hate him!” Smolder said in a joking manner.

A small smile briefly appeared on Ocellus’ face. Smolder was able to get a glimpse of it before it faded, but she could tell it was different than the previous ones. It was a genuine smile.

“It’s working, Ocellus is making progress!” Starlight exclaimed happily from the other side of the glass.

Doctor Stable was quickly and furiously writing upon his notes, trying to keep up with all of what was transpiring. “This is astounding! Smolder is tapping into the root cause!”

“Wait, what did Smolder just say about me?” Gallus asked, “You all heard that too, right?”

Yona placed a hoof on him and lightly patted him with a comforting smile, “Gallus need not worry about that.”

“But what if I let the emotions get the best of me and….and I change?” Ocellus asked with worry.

Smolder was quick to reply, “Then we’ll be here to help you through it. That’s what friends are for, right? You are your own changeling, not Chrysalis or any other creature. You are you.” The dragon looked at her friend who seemed to not change at her statement, “I don’t have any magic words to solve your problem, but I want to help if you’d let me. And if you don’t, then I’ll root for you on the sidelines. We all will.”

Ocellus looked as if she was trying to fight back tears, “But….I don’t know what to do about these feelings….”

“If you’re sad, tell me you’re sad! If you’re in pain, tell me you’re hurting! If you’re angry, then tell me you’re pissed!” Smolder quickly explained.

“And then what?”

“I-I don’t know! Go have a cry until your tear ducts are dry. Swear about the pain that eats at you. Punch Gallus in his smug face until your rage is gone! Just do something! Bottling up all of these feelings that eat at you isn’t going to help! It’s okay to be scared, to be mad, to cry.”

The dam broke and tears began to fall down on Ocellus’ face. The sobbing was soft and almost hushed as she cried. Seeing the changeling cry, Smolder got up from her seat and climbed through the open window between the two of them to stand next to her seated, sobbing friend. She wrapped her arms around Ocellus and hugged her tightly.

Ocellus sounded as if she was trying to speak a coherent sentence, however her crying made the words sound like a mess.

“It’s okay, Ocellus,” Smolder softly spoke, holding her friend, “take all the time you need. Just know you don’t have to do this alone.”

The rest of their friends opened the door to the small side-room and worked their way to reuniting with Ocellus and Smolder. Gallus and Silverstream also followed through the window and joined in with a group hug with Smolder and Ocellus. This action didn’t help the already flowing tears that Ocellus had.

Through the tears, Ocellus couldn’t help but chuckle while looking at her hippogriff friend wearing the unfastened straitjacket, “Silverstream, why are you wearing that?”

“Look, we’re twinsies!” Silverstream raised her limbs up, causing the long sleeves to flap around a little.

“She kept insisting that it was just her size,” Gallus joked.

He then pointed through to the window for Ocellus to see Sandbar and Yona through the window, both who waved back to her with warm and loving smiles.

“Thank you, all of you, thank you,” was all that Ocellus could manage to say to all of her friends as she became more choked up.

Meanwhile, in the smaller side room, something caught Sandbar’s eyes on the floor. He picked it up to examine.

“What Sandbar find?” Yona asked quietly.

“It’s Smolder’s card, the one she was supposed to read,” Sandbar answered in a hushed tone.

“What it say?”

Both of them looked at the index card, which simply read: ‘I never valued you as a friend’.

The earth pony was shaken, “Goodness, this wouldn’t have gotten a negative emotion out of Ocellus, it would have absolutely destroyed her.”

Yona smiled as she looked to her dragon friend who was still tightly hugging Ocellus, “Smolder not say that because Smolder know how much friends mean to Ocellus. That because Smolder a good friend.”

END