One day, in the magical world of Equestria, a train made its stop in Ponyville. Among the passengers was the Changeling Kingdom’s Princess of Friendship, Ocellus, who was sent to Ponyville by King Thorax to serve as the kingdom’s ambassador of friendship to Ponyville. Although she was excited to finally see Ponyville up close, she was nervous about serving in this new role.
Upon getting off the train, Ocellus took a deep breath and reassured herself. “Okay, Ocellus. You can do this. Don’t mess up.”
As she walked through town central, she accidentally bumped into a citizen, a teenage colt with pale green fur and a cyan male and tail that both looked shaggy-looking.
“Oops, sorry about that! I should look where I’m going.” the pony said.
“Oh, it’s okay. I just arrived in Ponyville so I don’t exactly know my way around.” Ocellus explained.
“Well, in that case, welcome to Ponyville! I’m Sandbar. I’m out running errands to get ready for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow night. You should go. It’s really fun!”
“The whaaaaaaaaat?”
“The Summer Sun Celebration. It’s a day to celebrate the thousand year anniversary of the defeat of Nightmare Moon. We even get to see Celestia raise the sun.”
“Well, that does sound interesting. Okay, I’ll think about it. But that isn’t a guarantee. I’m the Ambassador of Friendship from the Changeling Kingdom. I’ll have a lot on my plate.”
“Okay, I understand. Have a great day!” Sandbar said as he walked away.
“You too!” Ocellus called.
As she continued walking, she saw a young, blue griffon decorating the Ponyville Town Hall for the Summer Sun Celebration.
“Aaaaaaaaaand done! The Summer Sun Celebration’s gonna be great!” the griffon exclaimed as he finished decorating.
However, his tail accidentally hit a bucket of paint, causing the paint to fall onto the ground, right where Ocellus was standing. Letting out a gasp, the griffon raced to the ground.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! I guess my tail hit the bucket and you almost got paint all over you!” the griffon exclaimed apologetically.
“It’s okay. We all make mistakes.” Ocellus replied.
“Phew, that’s good to hear! Say, are you thinking of going to the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow night? It’s fuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!”
“I’ve heard about that. I’m new to Ponyville so I don’t exactly know what goes on here. I’d like to go, but I don’t really know if I can. You see, I moved here from the Changeling Kingdom to serve as Friendship Ambassador.”
“Does that mean you’ll be too busy to come? I’m sure your leader will make some sort of exception.”
“I hope so. I really like what you’ve done with the place. It looks beautiful!”
“Why thank you! The mayor wanted extra help, so I thought I’d give her a couple extra talons.”
“Oh, well, that’s nice of you.”
“Heh heh, well, that’s me. Name’s Gallus by the way.”
“I’m Ocellus.”
“So, should I call you ‘your majesty’ or is just Ocellus okay?”
“Just Ocellus is fine. There’s no need for such formalities. So, do you like decorating?”
“It’s okay, but what really has me sign up is the food they have at the celebration. It’s so good! Whatever’s edible, they have!”
The thought of the food served at the celebration suddenly made Gallus’s stomach rumble.
“It sounds like all that decorating made you hungry.”
“Yeah, it was a lot of hard work! Hard work makes ya hungry, y’know.”
“Yeah. Come on, I’ll go get you a snack.”
“Okay. There’s a little bakery I like to go to that’s just down the street from here. I’ll lead the way.” Gallus said as Ocellus followed him to Sugarcube Corner.
When they arrived, they saw a pink hippogriff with a bluish mane and tail walking out of the establishment.
“Thank you!” she called out.
Suddenly, the hippogriff noticed Ocellus.
“Hey, aren’t you the princess of friendship from the Changeling Kingdom?” she asked.
“Yes I am. My name is Ocellus. How did you know I was the changeling princess of friendship?” Ocellus asked.
“My aunt is Queen Novo of Seaquestria. I’m her niece, Silverstream. Because I come from a royal family, I pretty much know most of the world’s leaders.” Silverstream replied.
“Wow. That’s interesting.”
“So, what brings you to Ponyville?”
“I was sent here by King Thorax to serve as the Friendship Ambassador to Ponyville. Right now, I’m taking a little self-guided tour of Ponyville and getting some food in this griffon’s belly. He’s been hard at work decorating for the Summer Sun Celebration.”
“Hey! That’s tomorrow night! Are you gonna go?”
“I’m not too sure. Now that I’m Friendship Ambassador, my schedule’s gonna be packed!”
“I don’t think your schedule would be too busy around the Summer Solstice. Usually, leaders give those working in their governments a break so they could go. Anyways, I gotta go check on the celebration. I hope to see you soon.” Silverstream said as she walked away.
A short time later, Gallus and Ocellus were seated at a table inside Sugarcube Corner, having finished their lunch.
“Thanks for the recommendation, Gallus. This place is great.” Ocellus said.
“Glad you liked it. Here, a ticket to the celebration on me.” Gallus smiled as he gave the ticket to Ocellus.
“Thank you, Gallus. That’s very sweet!” Ocellus replied.
“Now, I’d love to talk, but I gotta get going. I need to get back to town hall and check it out. Hope I see you tomorrow night!” Gallus said as he left Sugarcube Corner.
“Okay! See you later!” Ocellus called out before glancing at the ticket Gallus gave her.
“Such a sweet, little griffon. I better get going too.” Ocellus said as she put away the ticket and walked out of Sugarcube Corner.
As she got back outside, she saw a brown yak appearing to run through several brick walls. As the yak ran through the walls, they all crumbled.
“Excuse me!” Ocellus called out to get the yak’s attention.
“What are you doing with those bricks?” she asked.
“Yona practice smashing walls. Yona perform in Summer Sun Celebration this year.” Yona replied.
“Well, that’s interesting. So, I take it your name is Yona?”
“Yes.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Yona. My name is Ocellus.” Ocellus said as she extended a hoof with the intent of shaking hooves with Yona. However, Yona licked Ocellus’s hoof.
“Ooooooooooooookay?” Ocellus awkwardly exclaimed.
“That yak way of meeting outsider.”
“Well, that’s…interesting. I’d love to talk, but I need to get going. It was nice talking to you, Yona!” Ocellus said as she walked away from Yona.
The next morning, the creatures Ocellus met gathered at town hall to conduct final preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. As Ocellus was walking through town central, she noticed the crowd.
“What’s going on here?” Ocellus asked.
“We’re making final preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. I’m glad you could join us. We’re just about ready fo-“ Gallus started, but was interrupted by something flying above them.
“What was that?” Gallus panicked.
“Gallus, relax. It was probably just a bird. Now, carry on.” Ocellus assured.
“Okay, so we’re close to ready fo-“ Gallus was interrupted again by the same flying object.
“There it is again. It’s a dragon and I think it wants to cook us! Everycreature, ruuuuuuuuuun!” Gallus said as he and the others, with the exception of Ocellus, ran and hid from the orange and purple dragon.
Ocellus stayed where she was, just curious of why the dragon was flying above of them.
Suddenly, the dragon landed on the ground. “What’s up with them?” she asked Ocellus.
“Beats me. I think they haven’t seen a dragon before. I haven’t.” Ocellus replied.
“Relax. I’m not gonna hurt you guys. I was just doing a lap around town.” Smolder assured.
“Okay guys. You can get out of your hiding spaces now!” Ocellus called out as the rest of the group went to meet the dragon.
“A-are you gonna hurt us?” Sandbar asked.
“You’re not gonna turn me into fried chicken, are you?” Gallus asked.
“I know I’m a sea creature, but I taste terrible!” Silverstream added.
“Yona too big to be eaten!” Yona added.
“Relax, I mean no harm. I was only taking a lap for exercise. My name’s Smolder. What are your names?” Smolder assured before the others introduced themselves.
“See, we’re all friends here, right?” Smolder asked.
“Well, I’m new here. I barely know any of you.” Ocellus chimed in.
“Hey, Smolder. Would you like to join us tonight for the Summer Sun Celebration? I have an extra ticket.” Gallus offered.
“Eh, sure. I’ll go.” Smolder said as she collected the ticket.
“Great! We’re just about done with preparations, right guys?” Gallus asked, everyone else agreeing.
“Okay. I’m gonna go home and get ready. See you guys tonight!” Sandbar announced as he went back home, the others following suit.
That night, the Ponyville Town Hall was packed with creatures of all kinds, gathered together for the Summer Sun Celebration. Everybody was enjoying themselves, playing party games, eating food, and dancing all night. A few hours later, it was time to watch Princess Celestia raise the sun. Mayor Mare promptly stepped onstage to introduce Celestia.
“Fillies and gentlecolts” she started. “As mayor of Ponyville, it is my honor to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration.”
Mayor Mare’s announcements prompted cheers from the crowd.
“In a quick moment, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, prompting the beginning of the longest day of the year. Without further ado, allow me to introduce, Princess Celestia!” Mayor Mare announced.
However, Celestia was nowhere to be seen. Audible gasps were heard from the crowd. Suddenly, a dark blue, foggy aura appears on the stage, revealing to be Nightmare Moon. The crowd gasped again.
“Nightmare Moon…” Sandbar whispered in surprise.
“Citizens of Ponyville, it’s been a while since I’ve seen your sun-loving faces. Mwahahahahahaha!” Nightmare Moon introduced.
“Alright, spill it! Who are you and what have you done to Princess Celestia?” Smolder asked.
“I am Nightmare Moon and from this moment on, the night will last forever!” Nightmare Moon’s announcement prompted yet another gasp from the crowd.
“F-forever?” Silverstream added.
“We have to stop her! Only she knows where the princess is! Come on!” Ocellus said as she led the others away from town hall.
However, Gallus returned for a brief moment to help himself to some of the remaining food before quickly rejoining the others.
At the Golden Oak Library, Ocellus and her friends think about Nightmare Moon’s plans and how to stop her.
“Nighttime forever? How Yona practice smashing moves? Yaks always practice!” Yona chimed in.
“Calm down, everycreature! I know there’s a way we can defeat Nightmare Moon. Thorax sent me here for a reason after all. Now, if I can recall what he said before I left…something about Elements of Harmony…” Ocellus replied.
“The Elements of Harmony? I remember learning about those in school. There are six elements, but only five are known: Trust, Purity, Courage, Humility, and Bravery. The sixth is a complete mystery.” Sandbar explained.
“That’s it! The Elements of Harmony can help us defeat Nightmare Moon! But only five are known?” Ocellus added.
“Yep. The sixth one is…” Sandbar began as he checked his notes. “…somewhere in the Everfree Forest.”
“Wait, you mean the Everfree Forest? The scary one?” Gallus asked.
“What other Everfree Forest is there, birdbrain? Of course I mean ‘the scary one’!” Sandbar replied sarcastically.
“W-we don’t have to g-go there, d-do we?” Gallus asked, shaking like a leaf.
“We have no other choice. We have to find the other element before Nightmare Moon does!” Ocellus replied, prompting Gallus to moan.
“Don’t worry, Gallus. We’ll be together the whole time. We’ll make sure nothing ever happens to you. Now let’s go!” Ocellus assured before the six left for the Everfree Forest.
While walking through the Everfree Forest, Gallus was still unsure about the unsettling environment.
“This place is giving me the creeps! I wanna go home!” Gallus cried.
Gallus, everything will be okay. Nothing has happened to us yet. Remain calm.” Ocellus assured.
“I’ll try, but I’ve never been through the Everfree Forest, and frankly, that makes me even more n- OCELLUS, WATCH OUT FOR THAT CLIFF!” Gallus screamed.
Suddenly, Ocellus slid to the edge of a cliff, now hanging on for dear life. She was crying for help, now as scared as Gallus.
“Ocellus, is that you?” Sandbar called out, rushing to her.
“Sandbar! Help me!” Ocellus cried.
“Here, grab my hoof and I’ll pull you up.” Sandbar instructed as he extended his hoof.
As Ocellus grabbed onto Sandbar’s hoof, the pale green pony began to lose his grip and could not help Ocellus up.
“Ocellus!” Sandbar cried.
“Someone catch her!” Smolder added.
“Gallus, do you think you can fly down and save Ocellus?” Silverstream asked Gallus.
“Me? Are you crazy? That looks like a very steep cliff!” Gallus complained.
“Well, someone’s gotta save her! We can’t leave her to die!” Smolder retorted.
Gallus sighed. “Alright, but if I don’t make it, tell Gabby…I’m forever grateful.” He said before he dived down the cliff.
Gallus made sure to fly fast enough so that he could be behind Ocellus to catch her.
“Gotcha!” Gallus exclaimed as Ocellus was caught in his arms. The two safely made it back to the others.
“Wow, Gallus! I didn’t think you could do it! I’m so grateful and proud of your courage!” Ocellus praised as she hugged Gallus.
“Courage?” Gallus asked.
“That’s right. Flying down to rescue Ocellus was a very courageous act. We’re very proud of you, buddy!” Sandbar praised.
“So, do you think you’re still scared of the Everfree Forest?” Ocellus asked.
“Not at all! Everfree Forest, I’m not scared of you! Show me what you got!” Gallus announced, prompting everyone else to laugh.
“Well, let’s go!” Ocellus led the others further into the forest.
As they went deeper into the forest, they approached a dark, spooky cave.
“That’s a very dark cave!” Sandbar commented.
“Well, it looks like we have to go through to proceed.” Gallus added.
“Are you crazy? Who knows what’s in this cave! It could be dangerous!” Silverstream responded.
“Gallus is right. We probably need to go through to proceed. I’ll lead the way. I’ve been through caves like this all the time. It’s no biggie.” Smolder explained as she led the others inside the cave.
“Smolder, do you know where you’re going?” Ocellus asked.
“Of course! Dragons have excellent eyesight, even in the dark. I’ll tell you if there are any obstacles in our path, like that river over there.” Smolder replied.
“What river? Yona see no river.” Yona said as she walked towards the river and placed her hoof in the water.
“Oh yeah! Yona now see ri-veeeeeeeeeeer!” Yona screamed as she floated away from the group.
“YONA!” the group called out.
“Don’t worry, guys! I got this!” Gallus said as he flew towards Yona to try and pick her up, which proved to be unsuccessful. Yona was too heavy for Gallus to pick up.
“Don’t worry, Gallus and Yona! We’ll help you!” Silverstream called out as she and Smolder came to help.
Together, Gallus, Silverstream, and Smolder successfully picked up Yona and brought her to safety.
“Wow! Yona know yak strong, but teamwork stronger! Thank you!” Yona cheered as she hugged her winged heroes.
“No problem, Yona!” Gallus said as he was suffocating due to how strong Yona was hugging him and the others.
“Yeah, it’s nothing!” Smolder added, also suffocating.
“But, how will changeling and pony cross river?” Yona asked.
“I got this. Okay, Ocellus. Follow my lead. First, get into the river.” Sandbar instructed.
“What? Are you crazy? As we just saw, Yona got whisked away! I might get whisked away too!” Ocellus retorted.
“Don’t worry. That won’t happen. Trust me. Now, get into the river.” Sandbar assured as they both got into the river.
Ocellus was surprised that she and Sandbar stay put. “Wow, it’s working!” she said.
“Now, very slowly, climb onto the bank. One hoof at a time.” Sandbar continued.
Ocellus nervously heeded Sandbar’s instructions and as soon as knew it, they were both out of the river onto the other side.
“Wow! Thanks, Sandbar!” Ocellus cheered.
“See? Wasn’t so bad!” Sandbar replied.
“Alright, now let’s get out of this cave!” Smolder said as she led the others out of the cave.
Once they got out of the cave, they still had to go through one more obstacle before getting to the castle. They had to cross a broken bridge.
“What do we do now? The bridge is broken!” Sandbar explained.
“Well, I could fly everyone over one-by-one like I’ve done during these two past challenges.” Gallus suggested.
“I appreciate you trying to help us out, Gallus, but don’t overdo it. You were getting fatigued just by trying to help Yona.” Ocellus replied.
“Yeah, maybe I should give my wings a rest. But how else can we cross this bridge?” Gallus replied.
“Well, this may sound silly, but what if we all used our bodies to fill the gap in the bridge while the non-flyers walk over us?” Smolder suggested.
“What? Are you insane, Smolder? That’s dangerous!” Gallus retorted.
“You know, that could actually work. Flyers, take your positions!” Ocellus said.
“You’re kidding, right?” Gallus asked.
“Well, it’s worth a shot.” Ocellus replied as Gallus took his position.
“Ready, guys? Because Yona’s first!” Ocellus called out.
“Did she seriously just say Yona’s first? Yona? The big, heavy yak?” Gallus complained.
“That’s what I heard.” Smolder replied, prompting a moan from Gallus as Yona crossed over the bridge.
When Ocellus, Yona, and Sandbar all crossed the bridge, it was safe for the flyers to join them. However, as Gallus tried to fly up from the bridge, his wings finally gave out from exhaustion and he started to fall. Luckily, Smolder flew down to the rescue and flew them both back with the others.
“Woah! That was close! Thankyou, Smolder!” Gallus said as he hugged his new dragon friend.
“Hey, remember. We won’t let anything bad happen to you.” Smolder assured.
“Yeah, try saying that to anyone who dares to enter this crazy place!” Gallus replied.
“Hey, guys! Come on! We made it!” Ocellus called out as she and the others went inside the castle, which contained five stone orbs…the first five Elements of Harmony. This gave Ocellus hope that they are one step closer to defeating Nightmare Moon.
However, Nightmare Moon appeared and shattered the stone orbs.
“Noooooo!” Ocellus cried.
“I’m impressed. You all managed to survive the Everfree Forest. But, you were unsuccessful in discovering the Elements of Harmony. Now, no longer will you see your princess or your sunlight as the night shall last forever!” Nightmare Moon explained.
“Oh yeah? You mean these Elements of Harmony?” Ocellus retorted as she pointed at her friends.
“What?” Nightmare Moon retorted.
“With the help of these five creatures, we were lucky to escape the Everfree Forest and reach the castle. That was when I knew that the Elements of Harmony have been with me this whole time. Gallus showed courage by rescuing me when I fell down that cliff, Smolder showed bravery when she led us through that dark cave without fear, Sandbar showed that I could trust him when he instructed me on how to get out of the river, Yona showed humility by realizing that individuals are stronger when they work together, and Silverstream showed purity by maintaining an optimistic attitude during this whole ordeal.”
“B-but…the sixth element…you didn’t find it.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Nightmare Moon. You see, when I saw my friends work together to escape the Everfree Forest, I saw how strong the bond between them has grown in such a small amount of time. This ignited a spark inside my heart, a spark that is formed with the five elements my friends bear. To me, this forms the sixth Element of Harmony: the Element of Unity.”
The magic of the elements came together to weaken Nightmare Moon and bring the sunlight back to the land. Suddenly, Princess Celestia and Thorax walked towards the group of six.
“Princess Celestia! Thorax!” Ocellus called out as she ran over to hug the two rulers.
“You did it, Ocellus! You and your new friends brought sunlight back to our land!” Celestia praised.
“We’re so proud of you, Ocellus!” Thorax added.
“Thank you. Thank you all! I wouldn’t have been successful if it weren’t for all of you!” Ocellus replied.
Celestia walked over to the now-weakened Nightmare Moon. “Princess Luna, my sister, it has been a thousand years since I have seen you in this state. Please realize the errors of your ways and come back so we can rule together.”
“Celestia, older sister, I am so sorry. I was just jealous.” Luna cried.
“I understand, sister. I miss you.” Celestia replied.
“They were sisters?” a shocked Smolder asked.
“Now, Ocellus. Now that you have completed your first lesson in friendship, are you ready to officially begin your duties as Friendship Ambassador?” Thorax asked.
“Now that I’m with a great group of friends, I’m ready for anything, Thorax!” Ocellus cheered.
Author's Note
And so, this begins Changeling Friendship Ambassador Ocellus's mission in Ponyville.
