Pythonby buttersChaptersBooting UpDebuggingFirewallHorizonBooting UpSmolder’s breath was bated as she made her way through the temple. The pitter patter of her feet echoed through the darkness farther than she could ever imagine- you could hear a pin drop when you were way out here. And this place? Well, she’d been dreaming of entering the Python Plane since her first year at the Academy. And now that she had finally reached it...to establish even a few lines of her greatest programs within the Plane would be her greatest dream, finally fulfilled. Hope shone like the sun’s rays in her fiery heart, sending an electrifying sensation through her body that made her tail curl against itself in temptation. The darkness peeled away, and Smolder felt her entire body being swallowed by heat. Her beak curled into a large grin as she reached her hand forward, blocking the light from shining into her eyes as she crept closer. Right there, in her grasp… She was one keyboard away from salvation. “Uhm...S-Smolder?” Upon hearing the confused, and frankly, nasally voice of her roommate, Smolder’s eyes fluttered open while she let out a dejected groan. “I was this close, Ocellus! This close! I-” The dragon stared blankly at her changeling friend, seeing her index finger wedged loosely in Ocellus’ right nostril. Her face scrunched up in disgust, and out came a prompt “Ugh!” as she snatched her hand back. ‘Pop!’ And out came her finger. She swished it violently back and forth, shaking it clear of any changeling mucus that may have stuck onto her scales. Ocellus blushed as she held her snout. Plopping back onto her haunches, she snorted, “What were you so close to?” she pondered aloud, giving her friend a quizzical look. “...besides piercing my septum…” Smolder’s face scrunched up even more, swiping her finger over the covers. “I… just meant that I had some kinda dream. That I was finally qualified enough to try the Python Plane…” “Listen, I know you’re really bitter that Headmare Twilight thought my program was better-” “Don’t lie to yourself, Ocellus. You didn’t reach it either.” The changeling sighed, averting her gaze as her ears flattened against the sides of her head. “I can’t believe we’ll be the last creatures in the school to reach the Plane…” Smolder replied with the eccentric rolling of her eyes. “Let’s be real. We’re only the last ones because we’re different.” “B-But…but the Headmare-” “-is a liar, Ocellus.” Smolder flopped out of bed chin first, not even bothering to stand. “She lies and says she cares about the wellbeing of other creatures, but she lied.” “What about Sandbar?” Ocellus offered. She felt it was the right thing to do in the Headmare’s defense- it wouldn’t be fair to accuse her of such ignorance when she isn’t as ignorant as Smolder said. However, the dragon still huffed. “Letting him of all ponies reach the plane? When he hangs with us? As overcultured as Headmare Twilight may seem, she isn’t that overcultured. Come on, Cel, she’s obviously some kind of species-ist…” “That isn’t true, Smolder...I know it. She wouldn’t go through everything she did to build a school for all creatures to attend equally if she didn’t plan to implement equality.” “Whatever.” Ocellus sighed, pulling her draconic friend off the floor. “Let’s go, Smolder...we’ll be late for class…” The dragon scraped herself from the carpet and reached over to the coat rack with a sharp reluctance in her demeanor. Ocellus could just see Smolder’s fire filled aura poking holes in the ozone layer from here. And when she snatched her hoodie from one of the wooden chestnut knobs, the bug’s concern began to peak. “Still thinking about that dream…?” “Of course I am…” she worked the hoodie over her head, letting it slip onto her body with ease. It was her absolute favorite- beige with brown accents at her shoulders which oddly gave her the taste for coffee whenever she wore it. It was the first thing she bought when Dragon Lord Ember enrolled her in this Academy in the first place. She slid her square frame glasses on, sighing and exhaling the excess morning anguish from her body. The morning breath she had marinating in her dry throat only made things worse, but she always got dressed before brushing her teeth anyways. Ocellus, already well and dressed in her developer’s vest plopped down in front of the door. Books floated with ease into her saddle bags, wrapped delicately in her trademark pink aura. “Who do you think’ll be next?” “Sebastian,” Smolder grumbled, her voice muffled by the foam oozing from her mouth and into the sink. The bristles of the toothbrush scraped against her teeth in an effort to whiten them more aggressively. “That punk...he’s always there. Always stealing every answer, every opportunity with his sneaky little hooves…” “...I feel like you’re upset because he was the first one to raise his hoof. Next to me, of course.” “Ptoo!” The sound of water rushing in the sink sounded slightly, soothing Ocellus from her morning craze. However, it was short lived, leaving Smolder to exit the bathroom with her fists clenched on command. “Let’s face it, Ocellus; you suck with the command line…” The changeling let out an offended gasp, scoffing with annoyance and glaring at Smolder offendedly. The dragon just brushed past her with her satchel strapped over her shoulder. Ocellus scrambled in front of her, pedaling backwards as she looked up at the dragon. Smolder just kept her stare straight, focused on the distant coffee machine at the end of the corridor. “I-I’ll have you know that if it were worth my time, I’d partake in the activities!” Smolder pushed back her glasses by the thin, white tape on the bridge, “It’s not that you don’t care, you’re just bad at it.” “B-B-But-!” She stopped walking, stepping to the side to let Smolder pass through. Although she continued walking behind her, she couldn’t help but feel slightly left behind. “I study it! I study it so hard, and I never quit!” Smolder chuckled dryly, not even bothering to look back as she snagged up a branded cup and strode on over to the coffee maker. “Really? I thought it wasn’t worth your time.” “Q-Quit doing that!” she hissed, brushing beside Smolder and pressing up against her as if she were trying to shove her out of the way with her feeble body. “Doing what?” “M-Making me feel small…” “That’s just ‘cause you are.” Ocellus found her face growing hot as her wings buzzed with dismay. “N-No!” “Sup dorks.” Gallus was leaning up against the wall next to the stairwell, watching the rest of the students pass by him. “You studied the syllabus? Headmare’s switching up the schej’ on us. Again.” “Didn’t notice.” Smolder took a sip of the freshly brewed black coffee, taking relish in the bitter flavor as she felt the liquid flow through her veins. “I never really check. Whatever class I find myself in, I work in.” “Figures...now I never have to wonder how you completed half the crash course in just the span of a week.” “Bah. All it takes is a bit of dedication.” she snickered to herself, glancing down at her shorter, insectuous friend. “You should take notes, ‘Cellus.” With a harrumph, Smolder received a whip to the rear. “Ow!” Ocellus grinned with the satisfied swish of her tail. “No one likes a smart flank.” “You little-” Gallus butted in, shoving past Smolder to collect his cup of coffee. “I’d get to class if I were you. Doesn’t it start in like, five minutes?” “Doesn’t yours?” Smolder asked, shoving back. “What was that for?” Gallus snapped, pushing back in front of the coffee machine. His cup began to fill even more, the dark brown liquid rising slowly to the brim. Smolder shoulder checked him back to the side, causing his claw to bounce slightly. Coffee splashed onto the floor, and before the two knew it, they were knee deep in a shoulder clash. “Why are we pushing each other?!” Smolder growled, knocked back by Gallus’ powerful push. “I don’t know!” One push too far, and that’s when the two fell on top of the coffee machine. Cups fell onto the floor, rolling around in the spilt coffee as the dragon and griffon themselves were drenched head to toe. Ocellus sighed, levitating Smolder’s (totally unironically) mocha colored satchel and draped it over her back. “...at least you’ve gotten your fill…” she sighed, looking around at the very clearly upset students grunting and gasping angrily at their favorite piece of technology in the school being destroyed. “...can’t say the same for everyone else…” “Eheheh...heheh…” the two chuckled nervously. DebuggingAnd so, Smolder found herself late to the first class that morning. Although it couldn’t have been more ironic getting coffee stains on her favorite coffee colored hoodie, it still rubbed her the wrong way. What the buck was Gallus about to get out of shoving her? The dragon awkwardly pursed her lips as the tips of her claws drummed idly on the desk, one by one and creating this oddly tempoed pattern. It rang through the rough fluff just below her horns and made her brain twinge in just the right way, such that she could lock her eyes with those emerald green, staring right back at her from the front of the classroom. “Tall orange,” she seemed to reiterate, causing Smolder to prop up and square her shoulders broad. Applejack smirked, her plump, freckled cheeks making way for the grin split on her lips. Smolder felt her blood warm and pulsing through her veiny wings. The small twinges in her stomach told her to stop staring, and yet, she couldn’t pull away from that siren stare. “Uh...huh?” All of a sudden, she was brought back to reality. Everyone was staring at the dragon from their desks; Smolder just gripped nervously at her coffee-stained sleeve. The patches of dried brown were what she felt moistening up again at her scorching touch. “What do you think when you hear the word, ‘variable’?” “Well…” her gaze averted for a split second, but she found herself grinning dumbly as she eyed her professor, once again. And again, those inviting pools of green, pulling Smolder in to the point where she couldn’t escape. “Go on, take yer’ time.” “Um...a variable is...is, um…” “-Something that can vary,” a soft voice chimed in from somewhere behind her. Smolder whipped around in her seat to see Ocellus, hoof raised with a fiery twinge in her big bug eyes; Smolder felt a small twinge beneath her scales when she realized this. A spark shot through her like no other- fiercellus was something she’d never seen before until now. “Come to think of it,” the changedling continued, the friction in her gaze burning brighter, “Isn’t that why the ‘if’ and ‘else’ commands exist? Because a variable can vary?” Applejack’s small smile turned into a wider grin. “Fantastic description. Class, Ocellus has brought something wonderful to my attention.” she pepped in her southern drawl, skipping around her desk toward the charcoal black chalkboard. Smolder clenched her wrist even harder, so much so that she could feel her own scales peeling apart and letting blood seep through. It would’ve evaporated as soon as it came with her smoldering touch- when she averted her gaze from the pleased professor, and over to Ocellus, she found their eyes locking in place. Ocellus squinted a bit as her muzzle scrunched in dismay. Smolder peered with anger; never in her entire life of hoarding so far, had she felt so robbed. Smolder spent all day through her classes gazing down at her keyboard, the jumbled alphabet providing more comfort than moving on ever would at this point. It was seldom that she ever felt so violated over something so small- however, with the gravity of the situation, how could she not? She saw Gallus just barely glance at her from abreast; at the time she was already frustrated, so there was no point in asking his opinion. He’d just open that overcritical beak of his and say something that would immediately get on her nerves. “So, are we gonna talk about what happened back there?” “Dammit, Gallus.” Smolder lashed her tail like a cracking whip, turning her head so furiously that she could’ve snapped her own neck if she wasn’t careful. “Listen here, you pompous prick.” Smolder already had her index finger extended in Gallus’ direction, specifically geared up just for these kinds of quarrels. A smirk came to the griffon’s beak as he chuckled with a low purr. “What’s there to even listen to? Those eyes said it all.” At this point, the dragon was overcome with the blood rushing straight to her face, making her turn bright red. “A-Are you- you can’t be- no!” “You’re totally into Professor Applejack, dude.” Gallus stopped and propped up on his hindlegs in the middle of the corridor, to lean against the wall with his arms fully crossed against his work sweater. Smolder’s fists clenched in a trice; this was a matter of self-esteem suicide. “No I’m not!” “C’mon!” Gallus chirped with a sinnocent grin. “You were eyeing her that entire time!” “No, I wasn’t!” “You were all over her with your eyes.” Smolder peered with eyes narrow, her scales so hot that she could’ve burnt through her own jacket. “Laptops! School laptops! Free for now, then it’s fifty bits a month!” the two glanced over to a teenaged mare’s propup shop, stacks upon stacks of carefully placed school laptops. Two were open in the very front with the pristine, slate black screens reflecting the ceiling lights. “Tread lightly if you’re drowning in debt! No one likes bankruptcy!” Smolder snorted; this school was way corrupt- however, one look at Hazelnut’s propup shop made her realize that this specific teenaged mare did a really good job at masking it. As her eyes glossed elsewhere, she locked her gaze on her other close friend, Sandbar, who trotted up to the computer stand. “Hon…” Hazel narrowed her brown eyes with slight sympathy as she pursed her lips. “...that’s the third computer you broke this year…” “I-It just keeps going to a weird screen!” the sea-foam green colt lamented with the wilt of his ears. “Sandbar, how many times do I have to tell you that The Matrix doesn’t have you?” “I...um…” Finally giving up on her current client, Hazelnut focused her gaze on the rest of the corridor. “Don’t forget! The Python Plane Progress report has been updated! Make sure to check the roster one more time in the auditorium for further details!” And that was when Smolder grunted, pairing her own noise of current dismay with an elegant roll of her eyes. “...this is how the Headmare tells us she’s racist, without being racist.” “This again?” Gallus affixed his gaze back on the dragon with a small scowl on his face. It was an occasional thing for them, as predators. Snarling used to be seen as impolite, which is exactly why they’d do it at each other-it signaled some kind of “brother”hood; even if they weren’t related. Smolder turned a blind eye with a similar show of her fangs. “It’s true. Every brainwashed twat on that roster’s bound to be a pony. It’s how it works around here, whether we try to change it or not.” “That’s not true!” Sandbar butted in with the passionate jerk of his head. Smolder almost colored herself amused at the colt’s sudden spur of bravery. “I’m sure you’ll be the first dragon on that roster!” Smolder’s tail curled with a small spike of adrenaline. Sandbar was, of course, her cheerleader best friend. Silverstream was almost the same, however she’d taken way too many coding workshops- only for the hell of it, anyways. That girl could run herself ragged and still be giggling about it. Unlike Sandbar, who took the more common classes and was just fine. Smolder watched with a groan as Sandbar rocked awkwardly back and forth on his crookedly posed hooves. And when he launched himself in front of her, she found that he smelled of sweat and old paperbacks. Then again, he’d been around the library a lot lately. And then he opened that mouth of his- then again he wasn’t much worse than Sil’. “Don’t worry, Smolds,” he chimed, that big goofy grin on his muzzle. “You’re the most passionate creature in this school. Especially about the P.P.” “Mother of Torch, not this again.” The dragon’s blood pressure began to rise in her body, coursing through her veins and rising right in her face once again. “Sandbar,” Gallus purred with a smug undertone, “Who taught you such language?” “What language?” “Are any of you about to buy a computer or not?” the brown eyed mare sitting at the pink clothed software store realized the group of creatures just lingering in the halls. The lawful loitering by her table made her nerves twist in angst. Though, she never let it show through those passionate eyes. Even then, Smolder could just sense the tension linger in the hall. Running her claw against the smooth paint job on the wall, she beckoned her colt companion with just her steadfast gaze. “See you next period,” Gallus sprung from the wall with the slight waver of his wings and was headed off. Smolder didn’t bother replying. She was dead set on getting through the day. “In this lesson, you will learn how to properly dress a website, such that you will make a splendid show of your web programming skills. The internet is a wonderful thing, my darlings.” The slew of words strung together with such thoughtfulness; how could Smolder forget? Well, simple: she didn’t have to listen at all. The sheer simplicity that was HTML, would bore her to sleep. Such that, she almost let herself drift into a false state of unconsciousness. Every word coming out of Professor Rarity’s mouth almost made her drool out of pure boredom. It was intoxicating. Every single command, every piece of syntax was something Smolder was convinced had been sewn together in a cloth of creative lies. Ponies, albeit overcultured, were also one of the most overcritical, stereotyping kinds of fiends out there. Well, she ended up contradicting her own self there- not every horse in Equestria was awful; Sandbar was a lovable idiot, and Hazelnut was pretty cool, for a background character, statistically. After all, Smolder didn’t think of this all the time. It’s just the way society made it seem to her. Her claws clutched tightly to the tough flesh in her palm; just the sound of the bell ringing knocked her out of her thought-filled stupor. Those thoughts that she had stopped racing and crashed into each other in some kind of mental collision. To a screeching halt, came her psyche. Sandbar looked over with some calm gaze in his forest green eyes- similar to Applejack’s, but like two calming pools of malachite. “You weren’t paying attention in class,” he smirked. Immediately as he spoke, Smolder felt the warmth of a thousand beaches- the golden sand being engulfed with the rushing sea-foam. Well, this was the vibe Sandbar always gave off when he spoke. Smolder could almost see him surfing a gargantuan tidal wave, swirling with deep, ocean blue. Yeah, he’d smell of sea-salt so often in the day that she could swear she’d crave sushi around him. “I just…” she gripped her hoodie sleeve. The scent of coffee cake filled her nostrils- she was apparently very good at smelling the scenery. Watching as a torrent of pony students fled the classroom with glee, she turned her gaze back to Sandbar with a grunt and frown. “...it’s pointless, isn’t it?” “What?!” Sandbar pipped forward for the thousandth time that day. “What do you mean-?” Plap! Smolder clapped her claws over Sandbar’s mouth before jumping right out of her chair with that fierce glare in her eyes. When she tore her claws away, she ended up digging them straight into her satchel strap. “I mean, it’s just a feeble attempt at getting other creatures to flake out on any real career path they have coming their way...it’s just a matter of weeding out the crooked ones. And they think it’ll be the non-horses…” “Now hold on just a minute…” Sandbar chimed in once again. “...no career path actually defines good or bad, unless you’re, y’know, selling drugs.” Poor Sandbar. Always blurting things out. Always an oversharer. She watched him closely as he hurled his bag over his back with a passion in his swift motion. “Besides, it isn’t the career that’s inherently good or bad. It’s the creature that makes it known. They say one bad apple, spoils the whole bunch, right?” He turned to smile at his draconic friend. Smolder almost let a smile bring curvature to her sharp beak. ...for once, Sandbar was actually right. “One bad apple, spoils the whole bunch...one bad apple, spoils the whole bunch…” a whisper chanted to itself, roaming the halls somewhat thoughtfully. Smolder was headed back to the dormitory just before curfew to work on her programming. Coincidentally, she ended up passing by the computer lab- the largest room in the school. When she stopped in front of it, she felt her heart quiver with excitement and angst. This room in particular, had belonged to the most elite members of the entire student body. It contained the most poignant aspects of what she’d never see herself reaching, not in a million years. Androids, all four legged, tall and bold, were standing right in front of the large glass, metallic chests puffed out in pride. Developed by the most powerful programmers that went to this specific center in particular. By Torch, it made Smolder’s scales want to scurry right off her body. Disgusting how they stood there, so patriotic and proud. It should’ve been one of hers. “...jealousy gets me nowhere,” she gruffed, gripping her arm with disdain. The blackened screens they had for eyes, Smolder could almost feel glare right at her as she walked by. Pompous; proud. Something she would never reach, not in her entire life. By the time she made it back to the dorm, her roommate was nowhere to be found. Though it wasn’t as late in the evening, it wasn’t very like Ocellus to be what went by her own definition as “late”. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen the bug all day. “Huh...Ocellus?” she called into the room, tail twisting with hope for the avoided. With a frustrated sigh, she plopped down on the bottom bunk and threw open her laptop from the satchel that had been tossed across the room prior. Even then, she didn’t get far. “Ocellus...Ocellus...Ocellus…” Error after error after error. And every time she tried debugging, well... there was already one kind of “debug” that she wasn’t very fond of at the moment. “Ocellus!” Smolder ran herself silly through the hallways, claws pounding erratically against the velveted floor with the blackened fear overcoming her body. The pain rose up in her legs so hard that she almost felt herself genuflect; her ankles almost bent completely every shaky step she took. Digging her lower claws into the carpeting, she found herself screeching by the giant door to the courtyard. The way she burst through it, swinging her body as if to mangle it, overcame her with nausea. “Help me!!” Time seemed to slow down, the dirt path elongating at such a quick pace. Smolder shook her head with her laptop in hand. A cry for help, her cry for help rang sharp through her brain like a shockwave of dread. Just as she felt her knees almost buckle, her wings spread like a flash of lightning and flapped so violently with intent to barrel. “That was Ocellus...Ocellus is in danger, she’s under attack…” Silver pearls of sweat traced down Smolder’s damp brow with slow motion as she reached what she could’ve sworn was the edge of time. That metallic body, towering over the helpless blue changeling, eyes glowing red with intent to kill. It was locked on the target, laying against the tree and crying bloody murder; the blood slightly spilt from the edge of her lips said it all. Smolder didn’t even need to think- launching off her front claw, fist clenched, she rocketed it square into its big, bulky metallic head. Crrrrrk! She could feel some of the console break apart within the machinery. The way her coffee stained hoodie flowed off her back as she rose just inches from the ground made the sweat on her scales begin to condense. “Don’t touch her!” she bellowed, landing with her feet clenching the soil. Thrwap! Just as she got ready to strike again, the android caught her hoof with one brisk wave. “W-What the…?” Brap! She felt the orange scales chip away with a sanguine taint, her scalp fragmenting with the wounded flesh on the side of her head. She felt her brain touch the top of her skull for just a second when her body gave out. Thud! And she hit the ground. “Leave her alone!” Ocellus sputtered, the glitter of her horn popping with a vivid pink. That hunk of metal didn’t even get a chance to react before it was hit with a powerful blast. Every piece of hardware on that thing began chipping away; the ears made of carbon breaking off and showing the multicolored wires, zapping violently and dispersing blue sparks. Even then, two of its legs broke off instead. Still, it locked right on the changeling. If it had to hobble, it would- “Yah!!!” Smolder held her open laptop, which bent backwards at the impact against the robot’s head. It spluttered and spurted bits of hardware and hard acquired oil spurting right onto Smolder’s jacket. At this point, she didn’t care about the soiled laptop. Grabbing the robot by the muzzle, she hauled it right into the dirt, bringing it against the wall. Thwap! Brcck! Bwap! Her mangled claws bled scarlet into the black oil of the carbon beast’s broken body. Suddenly, her world shifted back into motion when she found solace. “Smolder,” Ocellus called from behind. Smolder jolted in surprise as she found the changeling nuzzling into her hoodie. Leaning into her, she watched as Ocellus jutted her head up, lifting the dragon onto her feet by the arm. “...are you okay?” “Don’t worry about me,” the dragon grunted, letting Ocellus lead her back into the building. “You’re bleeding from the mouth...it could be internal…” “Mmmngh...oh no, I’m okay. Bleeding from the lip, is all.” The two looked around. It was completely pitch black in the halls, not one individual to be seen. “We should tell someone about this,” Smolder gruffed with the slight flick of her tail in Ocellus’ direction. The purple fin at the very edge brushed up against Ocellus’ abdomen. “R-Right...um…” They looked around in the pitch blackness. It didn’t take much to adjust- both dragon and changeling eyes were perfect for this sort of thing. However, they happened to be two bleeding students, standing like pawns in the middle of the hall. Who was to say that they weren’t fighting or something? “On second thought…” “Hm?” Smolder gruffed once again, clenching her arm. “We should just head back to the dorms. There’s no point in squealing, it’s not like anyone’s gonna believe us anyways...we should just...ehm…” Ocellus turned her head slightly to face the courtyard, eventually pivoting her entire body so that she sat in front of the door. They couldn’t just brush something like this off. Every inch of Ocellus wanted to squeal. So, so very badly. Author's Note debugging /ˌdēˈbəɡiNG/ noun the process of identifying and removing errors from computer hardware or software. "software debugging" FirewallOcellus could feel the building pressure in her receptors, most probably coming from the disgruntled dragon beside her. Smolder’s demeanor had taken a rough course ever since yesterday evening; her claws were digging like Tatarus into the leather of her satchel strap, and the reddened scabs on her knuckles had been like that since last night’s incident. The changeling’s ears flicked clockwise at every single stomp the dragon gave down the corridor, each matching in time with her rapidly increasing heartbeat. And it didn’t take long for Ocellus to be fed up. “Would you please!-” All movement ceased, except for Ocellus’ wings buzzing with angst. Smolder’s crystal blue eyes locked squarely on the smaller creature with a fixed gaze. “...please, just…” Ocellus averted her stare, perfectly affixing on the computer room. A prickling sensation dug furiously into her chitin in a trice. Seeing the four legged androids in perfectly linear rows upon the stands in their own robotic regalia, made her sick to her stomach. And as Smolder followed her gaze, she realized her lament. The two watched as some of the staff swept up the noticeably shattered glass outside the computer room, surrounding an obviously fractured area of the displaying window. It was something that Smolder didn’t recall being there before; however, there was more than just one android missing. And there obviously weren’t two attacks that night, but… Smolder was dead set on her silence. Although her brows curled with obvious remorse, she bit down on her tongue like her life depended on it. Ocellus felt the almost deafening ringing in her ears. The kind that couldn’t be distinguished as real or fake, or the kind that was probably just there to fill the quiet void. She bit down on her bottom lip, a tooth brushing against the bruise she had been given the night before. “...it couldn’t have been an accident,” Smolder rasped, being the first creature out of the two to tear her eyes away from the computer room. Ocellus bit down harder. “It could’ve just been a bug. I don’t think I know anyone at this school who’d try and program such a thing…” breaking into a slight panicked hover, she pulled Smolder into their assigned classroom. However, as Smolder took her seat and opened up her laptop, she realized the broken keys and screen. ...and the dripping oil. The stench filled the room quicker than a ray of light, promptly punching Smolder square in the nostrils with how pungent it was. An unprompted coughing fit from another early bird student didn’t ease her nerves much quicker. She turned her head to glance worriedly back at Ocellus, who shockingly met her stare with the same worried expression. Of course she remembered it. How couldn’t Smolder? “Mornin’ class…” Professor Apple strode in, but with a more concerned and pensive glance. Her eyes met with Smolder’s as soon as she entered the classroom. It promptly sent a surge of unease through the dragon’s body and nearly reduced her bones to jelly. She sank back into her seat with a nervous slump. “...bad news. Someone in this school broke into the computer room and destroyed an android.” “My android!” a unicorn colt pipped up. He sat in the middle row, and had a white pelt with hibiscus red eyes. His mane was white and red in a Colgate kind of pattern, but it was tied back in a ponytail, unironically. Smolder narrowed her eyes. “Sebastian…” He was a flamboyant boy, no matter the innocent persona he put forth. And Smolder hated the perfect prettyboy treatment he got all the time. It was ridiculous. Of course it was his android that attacked Ocellus, who else would it be? The boy had his eyes set on Ocellus since her first year. Because why wouldn’t a pony predator like him be preying on such small game? Definitely not to promote diversity. A low snarl emitted from the depths of her throat. And the hard rumbling coursed through her body rougher than the rockiest of rock surfing tournaments. Blood dripped soundlessly from the bed of her hands as her claws dug fiercely down into her scales. She was livid. “Tall orange?” She blinked and turned toward the source of the southern belle’s call. And right there, were those passionate, emerald green eyes. “Oh no, professor Applejack…” “D’you happen to know anythin’ about last night’s attack?” “Of course she would,” chortled a certain smug stallion, flipping his toothpaste-patterned mane and shooting an abashed gaze Smolder’s way. “...isn’t it dreadfully obvious?” he continued, striding up toward her desk and laying a hoof on it- hell, even his hoof laying was smug. Smolder couldn’t help but scoff. “Sebastian-” “No, professor A. Let him speak his piece.” Smolder folded her arms, a palm wiping gently across her sleeve, causing the scarlet liquid to smudge into the fabric. Sebastian chuckled softly and ambled around the desk with his chin up. Smolder inched her head around every step he took. And when he was standing tall in front of her, his brows arched like the devil he was. “...my piece is saying you broke the peace by breaking every piece of my android!” he whined, stamping his hoof on the floor. Ocellus made a show of kicking her chair out from under her, stomping up to put a hoof on her dragon friend’s shoulder in defense. Sebastian gave another devilish grin. “...and you. Whatever happened to your cold-blooded puppy, hm?” he pursed his lips with a deafening hiss, perhaps great enough to beat Ocellus’ on a bad day. “She is not a pet. And she is not cold blooded. Well, metaphorically no, but-” “I can almost see it through her eyes. When this rapscallion attacked my robot!” “Sebastian, that is enough.” Applejack nudged him with her shoulder and presented a scorching glare. Sebastian harrumphed and turned to look back at Smolder. Her shoulders were sunken, her hands were soaked in blood, and her eyes were cold and filled with unbridled rage. Sebastian let out another chuckling scoff. “See? You can’t even see anything but- oof!” Smolder gave a rushed shove as she bolted for the door, jamming herself through it and skidding onto the floor. Her tail curled sharply from the impact, however her claws dug into the cold marble. “Smolder, wait!” Ocellus flittered out through the Smolder-shaped hole in the door, landing safely on the floor. But to her surprise, her friend had already sped into the left corridor. There were the long scratch marks to prove it. “Drake on the loose!” a loud, crackling squawk came from around the corner. “That sounds like Gallus,” Ocellus screeched, lifting off and flying after her. Smolder gasped as she fell into the computer room. She kept her open palms in front of her as she collided with the glass, falling right onto the floor. She weakly reared her head with a bloodstained grunt. And as she stifled a cough, she watched the scarlet liquid onto the pearly white carpet. “Ohh...aw, shit…” she grunted once again as her gaze darted erratically across the room. There were androids everywhere. And every time she took her gaze off one, the closer another would get. She felt like she was in some kind of cage. Like they recognized her. “Smolder!!” Ocellus had finally skid into view, gazing tearfully at her friend. Smolder tore her stare away from the androids towering over her, eyes widening as she and Ocellus locked eyes. And those tears fell. “...Ocellus?” The changeling felt her heart shatter into a million pieces as she watched the rapid beeping of each and every android in the room. Like it was a warning. A siren’s call. Something pulling her in, but pushing her out. Like the one thing pushing her away was Smolder’s deadlocked gaze. Boom! The wave of force that was rocketed at her at a rate she couldn’t even comprehend was something entirely else. It brought down every single wall around the computer room, formed divots in the halls and filled them with nothing but fire. Ocellus cried out as she slid rapidly against the floor and fell against the wall. “...no...I....Smolder….” It was a gaze of question. Of curiosity, of worry. And that was the first time she’d ever seen Smolder genuinely worried, since… ...since the last time she was hurt. “Ocellus!” Gallus flew up, carrying Sandbar close. But as they landed, they looked just as devastated as she was. “...Ocellus, wha...what…?” They all watched as the crumbled ruins became void of orange flame; no sound except for the slow falling of rubble under the growing smoke. Glass cracking, metal melting and welding slowly together. Ocellus was breathing heavily, both in weariness and devastation. Smolder was gone. Author's Note Firewall - a part of a computer system or network which is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting outward communication. HorizonEver since that morning, school had been a blur. What had once been clearly black and white was now a sloshing, gray mess in the eyes of Ocellus especially, who trudged onto her dorm, now heavily charred. There were tiny streaks of sickly tears running down her pale face. If it had been another circumstance, surely she would collapse on her bed and begin crying, but as of right now she had no more tears to shed. One step into reminiscence meant another thrust back into reality. *** “Leave her alone!” Bzzzt! Thud! *** She strode past the slew of organized books on the shelf by the windowsill. Her head hung low, and yet another object caught her eye. A book, about two inches thick. HTML’s For Dummies: 7th Edition. *** It struck Ocellus oddly that their rather eloquently spoken professor would assign something rather contrary to her choice of dialect. However it was unlike her to turn down an opportunity to learn because of something so trivial. “Who the hell does she think I am?” A voice boomed. Ocellus’ ears adjusted attentively to the source of the noise, but promptly furled her brow when she realized it was just another one of her dorm mate’s complaints. “When are you going to accept that HTML is a part of the curriculum?” “When Gallus breathes fire,” the dragon, pointedly, huffed a cloud of smoke. “I’m tired of them thinking I’m just gonna take the easy route.” “HTML is nothing to sneeze at.” “Neither are we.” Ocellus’ gaze followed Smolder’s angry, odd rhythmed gait as she clutched her book and started out of the room. “You might look at these technicolor horses with rose tinted glasses, but it won’t take you long to figure it out. They don’t want creatures like you and me on their level.” The changeling began to fume. “Yeah, well- well how would you know? You won’t ever get to their level if you don’t follow the curriculum!” she retorted, with an agitated hoof stamp. Smolder’s turquoise eyes went wide, and her frown rose into a scowl. “Then follow your stupid curriculum!” Thud! HTML’s For Dummies: 7th Edition “See where that gets you!” *** Ocellus wiped her cheek with a soft smile as fresh tears began to rise at the corners of her eyes. The tip of her hoof touched the spine of Smolder’s old book. Her frowning lips turned up into a small, sad smile. “HTML’s For Dummies...Oh, Smolder…” Everything was where Smolder had it last. The anger and frustration still bounced vividly off each and every object with a passion, and Ocellus tasted all of it. The flavor was so pungent that it sent her straight to tears once again. Thud! She had fallen to the floor in devastation. “Smolder...please come back…” *** “Please…” In a sea of darkness, one tall, lanky figure awoke. “Gallus? Sandbar?” … “Ocellus?” She gripped her tail nervously. Smolder shrugged the prickling chills from her shoulders and took one step forward on the cover of what looked like...ink? A thick, loathsome trail of black ooze trickled from the soles of her claws. “Ew....where in the hell am I?” she murmured, planting her foot down firmly. As she clenched her toes, she watched in relief as the ooze fell thinner and thinner, eventually sinking back into the stillness. “I...guess that solves it.” She lurched onward, gazing unsettled at the unmoving, black abyss that surrounded her. If this is what dying was like, she’d congratulate Torch for surviving this long. “Wait a second...am I dead?” Those last three words echoed throughout her head, seeming to send shockwaves through even her skull as it rang out into the ether. “I don’t get it…” Smolder recoiled in shock. Someone else was speaking, but she couldn’t quite figure out who. The void she was in began to gain a sort of color to it, developing some kind of scene. The dragon felt as if she was on stage under a spotlight of some sort, some kind of overbearing weight on her shoulders as she took another cautious step forward. The darkness melted and fell away as she continued on her stride, shoulders broadened and posture straightened. Familiarity rose within her mind. She recognized this place; it was the dorm she had been sharing with Ocellus for the school year. “Ocellus,” she frowned, sighing internally. Everything that happened within the last few hours was a blur, and even then, she couldn’t help but feel a rising dread within her stomach. Within her heart. The unbearable feeling that she’d let Ocellus down, that she had given up after how long they’d known each other, made her feel like she’d jumped into a pool of lava after ripping all her scales off. Somehow she wished fate would allow her an easier death. That she could skip these feelings and walk free in the fields of Elysium or whatever it was. Because when she saw Ocellus weeping quietly, her heart sank into her stomach. “...Ocellus…?” She stepped over, carefully fixing her charred hoodie. “I don’t get it, I don’t…” the changeling cried, staring up at the ceiling. Her legs wobbled senselessly while her tears pooled over onto the book she was crying into. “Why…? Why Smolder…?” Smolder knelt down to examine the book- Ocellus’ tears were spilling so incessantly that the label had melted off the cover. Her tail curled in on itself as she reached a claw out to comfort her friend, but it only phased right through her. She bit down on her tongue with regret. “Smolder, I…I’m so sorry,” the changeling choked. The lump in her throat prevented her from getting a clear word out, but Smolder heard loud and clear, sitting down beside her friend. Although she couldn’t be a shoulder to cry on, Smolder would feel unworthy of death if she didn’t at least listen to what Ocellus had to say. “I could’ve saved you, but I didn’t…I didn’t do anything except sit there and watch, like I always do…like I always did.” The dragon tilted her head in curiosity, hands clutched around her feet in anticipation. Ocellus’ saddened grimace turned into a small, sad smile as tears continued to run down her rose-tinted cheeks. “I couldn’t ever do anything but sit idly by as you explored, as you…innovated. Despite you always holding a grudge against Professor Twilight for rejecting your inventions, I couldn’t see the point in it because…I always saw the worth in you… “...I was just overwhelmed by the fact that you could never see it- even worse that I could never show it.” she giggled somberly. “You’d never admit it, but you really were a people pleaser…” Smolder couldn’t help but blush as her own frown curved up into a nervous grimace. She turned her attention back onto Ocellus, leaning over in curiosity. “...but it hurts to think that I could never say how much I loved that about you, among other things....” Everything inside of Smolder wanted to scream, she wanted to bellow that she was right there, that Ocellus could tell her whatever she wanted- whatever she needed. The weight her emotions bore as she fought desperately to push them back had weighed heavily down on her mind, and soon enough, tears pooled in the corners of her eyes and threatened to fall. “Ocellus-” she reached out, fruitlessly, to try and grab her shoulders. “Ocellus, I’m right here! Talk to me, tell me! Tell me everything you want me to know and I’ll listen!” Ocellus didn’t respond with anything more than choked sobs as she fell back onto the floor. Smolder growled and roared in anguish, able to do nothing than collapse beside her best friend. She dreaded every second of this. She dreaded being lost in a world where the one she most cared about couldn’t even hear her cries of frustration. Smolder’s friends hadn’t only lost her, but it seemed like she lost them, too. And it absolutely broke her inside. She whispered, “I just want you to hear me…I want you to hear that I hear you…” she curled into herself, locking her arms around her knees as she hugged them to her upper body. She realized her tattered closed and chuckled dryly with a half-cracked smile. “Look at me, I’m a mess…” Ocellus just kept crying. Smolder inched herself closer with a sigh as she continued, “It’s funny, how this is working out…you and I talking, it’s like our friendship is in reverse. I talk, you barely hear me out, and then you just keep feeling what you wanna feel. Maybe this is karma, y’know? Heh…” “I just wish you were still here with me,” said Ocellus, standing up with a wobble and that adorable lilt in her voice. It was clear that Smolder enjoyed every bit of her, and yet this part, the part where she was vulnerable, was her favorite. Urging her to go on, Smolder rested her head by her best friend’s leg. “I wish that I could tell you how I felt when you begged for Professor Applejack’s attention like a lost puppy…how I felt when you put yourself down in front of me, how you completely ripped apart your own capabilities in favor of believing that you would never be good enough… “I was always extremely angry at you for being such a damn idiot.” “That’s a bit harsh,” Smolder muttered to herself, sitting up and fixing her jacket. She’d heard enough at this point; any longer in this place and she would collapse into herself like Celestia’s sun would in a few billion moons. “I can’t believe I just worked that into a metaphor.” With a shudder, she shrugged her feelings off her shoulders. She felt free to spread her wings as she neared the door, reaching a claw out to the doorknob and twisting it with a sigh. “It’s been a good run, I guess.” Smolder said, trying her best to ignore the fact that Ocellus had been pacing in circles so much that she was burning scorch marks into the carpet. Everything she was saying rushed in circles in Smolder’s mind so incessantly that she had it in her head to tune it all out. “I should probably leave you alone to grieve, but…I’ll always miss-” “I always had it in my mind that you had issues with gaining validation, but what I’ve been meaning to say was that you didn’t need it! Not if you had me!” The door was swung ajar, and Smolder stared into the bright white light, but then did an instant double take and locked eyes with Ocellus. Although the latter was unaware, Smolder’s eyes were focused on her at that moment. The spotlight was shining on her, the stage was hers to take, and the scene had been perfectly set for these exact words: “I feel like you wouldn’t lash out so much if you had someone to love you- if you had me to love you! Because I loved you!” Smolder instantly went redder than a tomato, watching in bewilderment as Ocellus sank to the ground and began to bawl loudly once again. “I’ve always loved you…” The dragon’s mind went entirely blank, especially when the white light disappeared. The room started to spiral in disarray and pictures flew off the wall. Books were tugged off the shelves with what appeared to be a large, powerful gust of wind. Multiple gusts of wind. The air picked up Smolder’s hoodie, and her along with it, tugging her into what appeared to be a large ergosphere of darkness. “What the hell?!” Smolder grabbed onto the carpet as the darkness chipped away at every bit of it, her bottom half being pulled up in the torrent of force that tossed her to and fro. Thud! With a heavy slam, she finally hit the wall, crying out in pain. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins as she rubbed the back of her neck, heart thumping rapidly. “For a ghost, I’m suddenly feeling really fragile right now!” She shouted angrily, not even batting an eye at the book that was flung at her from the ether. Plack! She grunted and groaned, falling back against the wall and holding her swollen, purple eye. “These past three days have been absolute Tartar-ahhhh!” Her untouched eye widened and bulged in horror as she realized that most of the room had been eaten up. Not even a split second after, she turned to see an awestruck Ocellus, pinned up against the wall with her chest rising and falling with frantic breaths. “Ocellus! You’re seeing this shit too?!” The changeling seemed to register the familiar voice, immediately looking over. Smolder’s terrified, jaw-clenched frown turned into an elated grin. “You can hear me!” She cried, leaping for joy. As she freed herself from her excited trance, she realized her dilemma. “...oh. W’ahhhhhhh!!!” Her voice raised in terror as she too was thrown around the room, grabbing onto a sturdy shelf and looking back toward the gaping black hole that was swallowing up the plane. “Yes, as much as I’m very elated to see you again, it seems there are much more urgent matters to attend to!” Cried Ocellus, gasping as Smolder was ripped from her place on the shelf and tugged into the event horizon. “Smolder!” Leaping from her place against the wall, she was also sucked into the ergosphere. And everything went dark.
Booting UpSmolder’s breath was bated as she made her way through the temple. The pitter patter of her feet echoed through the darkness farther than she could ever imagine- you could hear a pin drop when you were way out here. And this place? Well, she’d been dreaming of entering the Python Plane since her first year at the Academy. And now that she had finally reached it...to establish even a few lines of her greatest programs within the Plane would be her greatest dream, finally fulfilled. Hope shone like the sun’s rays in her fiery heart, sending an electrifying sensation through her body that made her tail curl against itself in temptation. The darkness peeled away, and Smolder felt her entire body being swallowed by heat. Her beak curled into a large grin as she reached her hand forward, blocking the light from shining into her eyes as she crept closer. Right there, in her grasp… She was one keyboard away from salvation. “Uhm...S-Smolder?” Upon hearing the confused, and frankly, nasally voice of her roommate, Smolder’s eyes fluttered open while she let out a dejected groan. “I was this close, Ocellus! This close! I-” The dragon stared blankly at her changeling friend, seeing her index finger wedged loosely in Ocellus’ right nostril. Her face scrunched up in disgust, and out came a prompt “Ugh!” as she snatched her hand back. ‘Pop!’ And out came her finger. She swished it violently back and forth, shaking it clear of any changeling mucus that may have stuck onto her scales. Ocellus blushed as she held her snout. Plopping back onto her haunches, she snorted, “What were you so close to?” she pondered aloud, giving her friend a quizzical look. “...besides piercing my septum…” Smolder’s face scrunched up even more, swiping her finger over the covers. “I… just meant that I had some kinda dream. That I was finally qualified enough to try the Python Plane…” “Listen, I know you’re really bitter that Headmare Twilight thought my program was better-” “Don’t lie to yourself, Ocellus. You didn’t reach it either.” The changeling sighed, averting her gaze as her ears flattened against the sides of her head. “I can’t believe we’ll be the last creatures in the school to reach the Plane…” Smolder replied with the eccentric rolling of her eyes. “Let’s be real. We’re only the last ones because we’re different.” “B-But…but the Headmare-” “-is a liar, Ocellus.” Smolder flopped out of bed chin first, not even bothering to stand. “She lies and says she cares about the wellbeing of other creatures, but she lied.” “What about Sandbar?” Ocellus offered. She felt it was the right thing to do in the Headmare’s defense- it wouldn’t be fair to accuse her of such ignorance when she isn’t as ignorant as Smolder said. However, the dragon still huffed. “Letting him of all ponies reach the plane? When he hangs with us? As overcultured as Headmare Twilight may seem, she isn’t that overcultured. Come on, Cel, she’s obviously some kind of species-ist…” “That isn’t true, Smolder...I know it. She wouldn’t go through everything she did to build a school for all creatures to attend equally if she didn’t plan to implement equality.” “Whatever.” Ocellus sighed, pulling her draconic friend off the floor. “Let’s go, Smolder...we’ll be late for class…” The dragon scraped herself from the carpet and reached over to the coat rack with a sharp reluctance in her demeanor. Ocellus could just see Smolder’s fire filled aura poking holes in the ozone layer from here. And when she snatched her hoodie from one of the wooden chestnut knobs, the bug’s concern began to peak. “Still thinking about that dream…?” “Of course I am…” she worked the hoodie over her head, letting it slip onto her body with ease. It was her absolute favorite- beige with brown accents at her shoulders which oddly gave her the taste for coffee whenever she wore it. It was the first thing she bought when Dragon Lord Ember enrolled her in this Academy in the first place. She slid her square frame glasses on, sighing and exhaling the excess morning anguish from her body. The morning breath she had marinating in her dry throat only made things worse, but she always got dressed before brushing her teeth anyways. Ocellus, already well and dressed in her developer’s vest plopped down in front of the door. Books floated with ease into her saddle bags, wrapped delicately in her trademark pink aura. “Who do you think’ll be next?” “Sebastian,” Smolder grumbled, her voice muffled by the foam oozing from her mouth and into the sink. The bristles of the toothbrush scraped against her teeth in an effort to whiten them more aggressively. “That punk...he’s always there. Always stealing every answer, every opportunity with his sneaky little hooves…” “...I feel like you’re upset because he was the first one to raise his hoof. Next to me, of course.” “Ptoo!” The sound of water rushing in the sink sounded slightly, soothing Ocellus from her morning craze. However, it was short lived, leaving Smolder to exit the bathroom with her fists clenched on command. “Let’s face it, Ocellus; you suck with the command line…” The changeling let out an offended gasp, scoffing with annoyance and glaring at Smolder offendedly. The dragon just brushed past her with her satchel strapped over her shoulder. Ocellus scrambled in front of her, pedaling backwards as she looked up at the dragon. Smolder just kept her stare straight, focused on the distant coffee machine at the end of the corridor. “I-I’ll have you know that if it were worth my time, I’d partake in the activities!” Smolder pushed back her glasses by the thin, white tape on the bridge, “It’s not that you don’t care, you’re just bad at it.” “B-B-But-!” She stopped walking, stepping to the side to let Smolder pass through. Although she continued walking behind her, she couldn’t help but feel slightly left behind. “I study it! I study it so hard, and I never quit!” Smolder chuckled dryly, not even bothering to look back as she snagged up a branded cup and strode on over to the coffee maker. “Really? I thought it wasn’t worth your time.” “Q-Quit doing that!” she hissed, brushing beside Smolder and pressing up against her as if she were trying to shove her out of the way with her feeble body. “Doing what?” “M-Making me feel small…” “That’s just ‘cause you are.” Ocellus found her face growing hot as her wings buzzed with dismay. “N-No!” “Sup dorks.” Gallus was leaning up against the wall next to the stairwell, watching the rest of the students pass by him. “You studied the syllabus? Headmare’s switching up the schej’ on us. Again.” “Didn’t notice.” Smolder took a sip of the freshly brewed black coffee, taking relish in the bitter flavor as she felt the liquid flow through her veins. “I never really check. Whatever class I find myself in, I work in.” “Figures...now I never have to wonder how you completed half the crash course in just the span of a week.” “Bah. All it takes is a bit of dedication.” she snickered to herself, glancing down at her shorter, insectuous friend. “You should take notes, ‘Cellus.” With a harrumph, Smolder received a whip to the rear. “Ow!” Ocellus grinned with the satisfied swish of her tail. “No one likes a smart flank.” “You little-” Gallus butted in, shoving past Smolder to collect his cup of coffee. “I’d get to class if I were you. Doesn’t it start in like, five minutes?” “Doesn’t yours?” Smolder asked, shoving back. “What was that for?” Gallus snapped, pushing back in front of the coffee machine. His cup began to fill even more, the dark brown liquid rising slowly to the brim. Smolder shoulder checked him back to the side, causing his claw to bounce slightly. Coffee splashed onto the floor, and before the two knew it, they were knee deep in a shoulder clash. “Why are we pushing each other?!” Smolder growled, knocked back by Gallus’ powerful push. “I don’t know!” One push too far, and that’s when the two fell on top of the coffee machine. Cups fell onto the floor, rolling around in the spilt coffee as the dragon and griffon themselves were drenched head to toe. Ocellus sighed, levitating Smolder’s (totally unironically) mocha colored satchel and draped it over her back. “...at least you’ve gotten your fill…” she sighed, looking around at the very clearly upset students grunting and gasping angrily at their favorite piece of technology in the school being destroyed. “...can’t say the same for everyone else…” “Eheheh...heheh…” the two chuckled nervously.
DebuggingAnd so, Smolder found herself late to the first class that morning. Although it couldn’t have been more ironic getting coffee stains on her favorite coffee colored hoodie, it still rubbed her the wrong way. What the buck was Gallus about to get out of shoving her? The dragon awkwardly pursed her lips as the tips of her claws drummed idly on the desk, one by one and creating this oddly tempoed pattern. It rang through the rough fluff just below her horns and made her brain twinge in just the right way, such that she could lock her eyes with those emerald green, staring right back at her from the front of the classroom. “Tall orange,” she seemed to reiterate, causing Smolder to prop up and square her shoulders broad. Applejack smirked, her plump, freckled cheeks making way for the grin split on her lips. Smolder felt her blood warm and pulsing through her veiny wings. The small twinges in her stomach told her to stop staring, and yet, she couldn’t pull away from that siren stare. “Uh...huh?” All of a sudden, she was brought back to reality. Everyone was staring at the dragon from their desks; Smolder just gripped nervously at her coffee-stained sleeve. The patches of dried brown were what she felt moistening up again at her scorching touch. “What do you think when you hear the word, ‘variable’?” “Well…” her gaze averted for a split second, but she found herself grinning dumbly as she eyed her professor, once again. And again, those inviting pools of green, pulling Smolder in to the point where she couldn’t escape. “Go on, take yer’ time.” “Um...a variable is...is, um…” “-Something that can vary,” a soft voice chimed in from somewhere behind her. Smolder whipped around in her seat to see Ocellus, hoof raised with a fiery twinge in her big bug eyes; Smolder felt a small twinge beneath her scales when she realized this. A spark shot through her like no other- fiercellus was something she’d never seen before until now. “Come to think of it,” the changedling continued, the friction in her gaze burning brighter, “Isn’t that why the ‘if’ and ‘else’ commands exist? Because a variable can vary?” Applejack’s small smile turned into a wider grin. “Fantastic description. Class, Ocellus has brought something wonderful to my attention.” she pepped in her southern drawl, skipping around her desk toward the charcoal black chalkboard. Smolder clenched her wrist even harder, so much so that she could feel her own scales peeling apart and letting blood seep through. It would’ve evaporated as soon as it came with her smoldering touch- when she averted her gaze from the pleased professor, and over to Ocellus, she found their eyes locking in place. Ocellus squinted a bit as her muzzle scrunched in dismay. Smolder peered with anger; never in her entire life of hoarding so far, had she felt so robbed. Smolder spent all day through her classes gazing down at her keyboard, the jumbled alphabet providing more comfort than moving on ever would at this point. It was seldom that she ever felt so violated over something so small- however, with the gravity of the situation, how could she not? She saw Gallus just barely glance at her from abreast; at the time she was already frustrated, so there was no point in asking his opinion. He’d just open that overcritical beak of his and say something that would immediately get on her nerves. “So, are we gonna talk about what happened back there?” “Dammit, Gallus.” Smolder lashed her tail like a cracking whip, turning her head so furiously that she could’ve snapped her own neck if she wasn’t careful. “Listen here, you pompous prick.” Smolder already had her index finger extended in Gallus’ direction, specifically geared up just for these kinds of quarrels. A smirk came to the griffon’s beak as he chuckled with a low purr. “What’s there to even listen to? Those eyes said it all.” At this point, the dragon was overcome with the blood rushing straight to her face, making her turn bright red. “A-Are you- you can’t be- no!” “You’re totally into Professor Applejack, dude.” Gallus stopped and propped up on his hindlegs in the middle of the corridor, to lean against the wall with his arms fully crossed against his work sweater. Smolder’s fists clenched in a trice; this was a matter of self-esteem suicide. “No I’m not!” “C’mon!” Gallus chirped with a sinnocent grin. “You were eyeing her that entire time!” “No, I wasn’t!” “You were all over her with your eyes.” Smolder peered with eyes narrow, her scales so hot that she could’ve burnt through her own jacket. “Laptops! School laptops! Free for now, then it’s fifty bits a month!” the two glanced over to a teenaged mare’s propup shop, stacks upon stacks of carefully placed school laptops. Two were open in the very front with the pristine, slate black screens reflecting the ceiling lights. “Tread lightly if you’re drowning in debt! No one likes bankruptcy!” Smolder snorted; this school was way corrupt- however, one look at Hazelnut’s propup shop made her realize that this specific teenaged mare did a really good job at masking it. As her eyes glossed elsewhere, she locked her gaze on her other close friend, Sandbar, who trotted up to the computer stand. “Hon…” Hazel narrowed her brown eyes with slight sympathy as she pursed her lips. “...that’s the third computer you broke this year…” “I-It just keeps going to a weird screen!” the sea-foam green colt lamented with the wilt of his ears. “Sandbar, how many times do I have to tell you that The Matrix doesn’t have you?” “I...um…” Finally giving up on her current client, Hazelnut focused her gaze on the rest of the corridor. “Don’t forget! The Python Plane Progress report has been updated! Make sure to check the roster one more time in the auditorium for further details!” And that was when Smolder grunted, pairing her own noise of current dismay with an elegant roll of her eyes. “...this is how the Headmare tells us she’s racist, without being racist.” “This again?” Gallus affixed his gaze back on the dragon with a small scowl on his face. It was an occasional thing for them, as predators. Snarling used to be seen as impolite, which is exactly why they’d do it at each other-it signaled some kind of “brother”hood; even if they weren’t related. Smolder turned a blind eye with a similar show of her fangs. “It’s true. Every brainwashed twat on that roster’s bound to be a pony. It’s how it works around here, whether we try to change it or not.” “That’s not true!” Sandbar butted in with the passionate jerk of his head. Smolder almost colored herself amused at the colt’s sudden spur of bravery. “I’m sure you’ll be the first dragon on that roster!” Smolder’s tail curled with a small spike of adrenaline. Sandbar was, of course, her cheerleader best friend. Silverstream was almost the same, however she’d taken way too many coding workshops- only for the hell of it, anyways. That girl could run herself ragged and still be giggling about it. Unlike Sandbar, who took the more common classes and was just fine. Smolder watched with a groan as Sandbar rocked awkwardly back and forth on his crookedly posed hooves. And when he launched himself in front of her, she found that he smelled of sweat and old paperbacks. Then again, he’d been around the library a lot lately. And then he opened that mouth of his- then again he wasn’t much worse than Sil’. “Don’t worry, Smolds,” he chimed, that big goofy grin on his muzzle. “You’re the most passionate creature in this school. Especially about the P.P.” “Mother of Torch, not this again.” The dragon’s blood pressure began to rise in her body, coursing through her veins and rising right in her face once again. “Sandbar,” Gallus purred with a smug undertone, “Who taught you such language?” “What language?” “Are any of you about to buy a computer or not?” the brown eyed mare sitting at the pink clothed software store realized the group of creatures just lingering in the halls. The lawful loitering by her table made her nerves twist in angst. Though, she never let it show through those passionate eyes. Even then, Smolder could just sense the tension linger in the hall. Running her claw against the smooth paint job on the wall, she beckoned her colt companion with just her steadfast gaze. “See you next period,” Gallus sprung from the wall with the slight waver of his wings and was headed off. Smolder didn’t bother replying. She was dead set on getting through the day. “In this lesson, you will learn how to properly dress a website, such that you will make a splendid show of your web programming skills. The internet is a wonderful thing, my darlings.” The slew of words strung together with such thoughtfulness; how could Smolder forget? Well, simple: she didn’t have to listen at all. The sheer simplicity that was HTML, would bore her to sleep. Such that, she almost let herself drift into a false state of unconsciousness. Every word coming out of Professor Rarity’s mouth almost made her drool out of pure boredom. It was intoxicating. Every single command, every piece of syntax was something Smolder was convinced had been sewn together in a cloth of creative lies. Ponies, albeit overcultured, were also one of the most overcritical, stereotyping kinds of fiends out there. Well, she ended up contradicting her own self there- not every horse in Equestria was awful; Sandbar was a lovable idiot, and Hazelnut was pretty cool, for a background character, statistically. After all, Smolder didn’t think of this all the time. It’s just the way society made it seem to her. Her claws clutched tightly to the tough flesh in her palm; just the sound of the bell ringing knocked her out of her thought-filled stupor. Those thoughts that she had stopped racing and crashed into each other in some kind of mental collision. To a screeching halt, came her psyche. Sandbar looked over with some calm gaze in his forest green eyes- similar to Applejack’s, but like two calming pools of malachite. “You weren’t paying attention in class,” he smirked. Immediately as he spoke, Smolder felt the warmth of a thousand beaches- the golden sand being engulfed with the rushing sea-foam. Well, this was the vibe Sandbar always gave off when he spoke. Smolder could almost see him surfing a gargantuan tidal wave, swirling with deep, ocean blue. Yeah, he’d smell of sea-salt so often in the day that she could swear she’d crave sushi around him. “I just…” she gripped her hoodie sleeve. The scent of coffee cake filled her nostrils- she was apparently very good at smelling the scenery. Watching as a torrent of pony students fled the classroom with glee, she turned her gaze back to Sandbar with a grunt and frown. “...it’s pointless, isn’t it?” “What?!” Sandbar pipped forward for the thousandth time that day. “What do you mean-?” Plap! Smolder clapped her claws over Sandbar’s mouth before jumping right out of her chair with that fierce glare in her eyes. When she tore her claws away, she ended up digging them straight into her satchel strap. “I mean, it’s just a feeble attempt at getting other creatures to flake out on any real career path they have coming their way...it’s just a matter of weeding out the crooked ones. And they think it’ll be the non-horses…” “Now hold on just a minute…” Sandbar chimed in once again. “...no career path actually defines good or bad, unless you’re, y’know, selling drugs.” Poor Sandbar. Always blurting things out. Always an oversharer. She watched him closely as he hurled his bag over his back with a passion in his swift motion. “Besides, it isn’t the career that’s inherently good or bad. It’s the creature that makes it known. They say one bad apple, spoils the whole bunch, right?” He turned to smile at his draconic friend. Smolder almost let a smile bring curvature to her sharp beak. ...for once, Sandbar was actually right. “One bad apple, spoils the whole bunch...one bad apple, spoils the whole bunch…” a whisper chanted to itself, roaming the halls somewhat thoughtfully. Smolder was headed back to the dormitory just before curfew to work on her programming. Coincidentally, she ended up passing by the computer lab- the largest room in the school. When she stopped in front of it, she felt her heart quiver with excitement and angst. This room in particular, had belonged to the most elite members of the entire student body. It contained the most poignant aspects of what she’d never see herself reaching, not in a million years. Androids, all four legged, tall and bold, were standing right in front of the large glass, metallic chests puffed out in pride. Developed by the most powerful programmers that went to this specific center in particular. By Torch, it made Smolder’s scales want to scurry right off her body. Disgusting how they stood there, so patriotic and proud. It should’ve been one of hers. “...jealousy gets me nowhere,” she gruffed, gripping her arm with disdain. The blackened screens they had for eyes, Smolder could almost feel glare right at her as she walked by. Pompous; proud. Something she would never reach, not in her entire life. By the time she made it back to the dorm, her roommate was nowhere to be found. Though it wasn’t as late in the evening, it wasn’t very like Ocellus to be what went by her own definition as “late”. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen the bug all day. “Huh...Ocellus?” she called into the room, tail twisting with hope for the avoided. With a frustrated sigh, she plopped down on the bottom bunk and threw open her laptop from the satchel that had been tossed across the room prior. Even then, she didn’t get far. “Ocellus...Ocellus...Ocellus…” Error after error after error. And every time she tried debugging, well... there was already one kind of “debug” that she wasn’t very fond of at the moment. “Ocellus!” Smolder ran herself silly through the hallways, claws pounding erratically against the velveted floor with the blackened fear overcoming her body. The pain rose up in her legs so hard that she almost felt herself genuflect; her ankles almost bent completely every shaky step she took. Digging her lower claws into the carpeting, she found herself screeching by the giant door to the courtyard. The way she burst through it, swinging her body as if to mangle it, overcame her with nausea. “Help me!!” Time seemed to slow down, the dirt path elongating at such a quick pace. Smolder shook her head with her laptop in hand. A cry for help, her cry for help rang sharp through her brain like a shockwave of dread. Just as she felt her knees almost buckle, her wings spread like a flash of lightning and flapped so violently with intent to barrel. “That was Ocellus...Ocellus is in danger, she’s under attack…” Silver pearls of sweat traced down Smolder’s damp brow with slow motion as she reached what she could’ve sworn was the edge of time. That metallic body, towering over the helpless blue changeling, eyes glowing red with intent to kill. It was locked on the target, laying against the tree and crying bloody murder; the blood slightly spilt from the edge of her lips said it all. Smolder didn’t even need to think- launching off her front claw, fist clenched, she rocketed it square into its big, bulky metallic head. Crrrrrk! She could feel some of the console break apart within the machinery. The way her coffee stained hoodie flowed off her back as she rose just inches from the ground made the sweat on her scales begin to condense. “Don’t touch her!” she bellowed, landing with her feet clenching the soil. Thrwap! Just as she got ready to strike again, the android caught her hoof with one brisk wave. “W-What the…?” Brap! She felt the orange scales chip away with a sanguine taint, her scalp fragmenting with the wounded flesh on the side of her head. She felt her brain touch the top of her skull for just a second when her body gave out. Thud! And she hit the ground. “Leave her alone!” Ocellus sputtered, the glitter of her horn popping with a vivid pink. That hunk of metal didn’t even get a chance to react before it was hit with a powerful blast. Every piece of hardware on that thing began chipping away; the ears made of carbon breaking off and showing the multicolored wires, zapping violently and dispersing blue sparks. Even then, two of its legs broke off instead. Still, it locked right on the changeling. If it had to hobble, it would- “Yah!!!” Smolder held her open laptop, which bent backwards at the impact against the robot’s head. It spluttered and spurted bits of hardware and hard acquired oil spurting right onto Smolder’s jacket. At this point, she didn’t care about the soiled laptop. Grabbing the robot by the muzzle, she hauled it right into the dirt, bringing it against the wall. Thwap! Brcck! Bwap! Her mangled claws bled scarlet into the black oil of the carbon beast’s broken body. Suddenly, her world shifted back into motion when she found solace. “Smolder,” Ocellus called from behind. Smolder jolted in surprise as she found the changeling nuzzling into her hoodie. Leaning into her, she watched as Ocellus jutted her head up, lifting the dragon onto her feet by the arm. “...are you okay?” “Don’t worry about me,” the dragon grunted, letting Ocellus lead her back into the building. “You’re bleeding from the mouth...it could be internal…” “Mmmngh...oh no, I’m okay. Bleeding from the lip, is all.” The two looked around. It was completely pitch black in the halls, not one individual to be seen. “We should tell someone about this,” Smolder gruffed with the slight flick of her tail in Ocellus’ direction. The purple fin at the very edge brushed up against Ocellus’ abdomen. “R-Right...um…” They looked around in the pitch blackness. It didn’t take much to adjust- both dragon and changeling eyes were perfect for this sort of thing. However, they happened to be two bleeding students, standing like pawns in the middle of the hall. Who was to say that they weren’t fighting or something? “On second thought…” “Hm?” Smolder gruffed once again, clenching her arm. “We should just head back to the dorms. There’s no point in squealing, it’s not like anyone’s gonna believe us anyways...we should just...ehm…” Ocellus turned her head slightly to face the courtyard, eventually pivoting her entire body so that she sat in front of the door. They couldn’t just brush something like this off. Every inch of Ocellus wanted to squeal. So, so very badly. Author's Note debugging /ˌdēˈbəɡiNG/ noun the process of identifying and removing errors from computer hardware or software. "software debugging"
FirewallOcellus could feel the building pressure in her receptors, most probably coming from the disgruntled dragon beside her. Smolder’s demeanor had taken a rough course ever since yesterday evening; her claws were digging like Tatarus into the leather of her satchel strap, and the reddened scabs on her knuckles had been like that since last night’s incident. The changeling’s ears flicked clockwise at every single stomp the dragon gave down the corridor, each matching in time with her rapidly increasing heartbeat. And it didn’t take long for Ocellus to be fed up. “Would you please!-” All movement ceased, except for Ocellus’ wings buzzing with angst. Smolder’s crystal blue eyes locked squarely on the smaller creature with a fixed gaze. “...please, just…” Ocellus averted her stare, perfectly affixing on the computer room. A prickling sensation dug furiously into her chitin in a trice. Seeing the four legged androids in perfectly linear rows upon the stands in their own robotic regalia, made her sick to her stomach. And as Smolder followed her gaze, she realized her lament. The two watched as some of the staff swept up the noticeably shattered glass outside the computer room, surrounding an obviously fractured area of the displaying window. It was something that Smolder didn’t recall being there before; however, there was more than just one android missing. And there obviously weren’t two attacks that night, but… Smolder was dead set on her silence. Although her brows curled with obvious remorse, she bit down on her tongue like her life depended on it. Ocellus felt the almost deafening ringing in her ears. The kind that couldn’t be distinguished as real or fake, or the kind that was probably just there to fill the quiet void. She bit down on her bottom lip, a tooth brushing against the bruise she had been given the night before. “...it couldn’t have been an accident,” Smolder rasped, being the first creature out of the two to tear her eyes away from the computer room. Ocellus bit down harder. “It could’ve just been a bug. I don’t think I know anyone at this school who’d try and program such a thing…” breaking into a slight panicked hover, she pulled Smolder into their assigned classroom. However, as Smolder took her seat and opened up her laptop, she realized the broken keys and screen. ...and the dripping oil. The stench filled the room quicker than a ray of light, promptly punching Smolder square in the nostrils with how pungent it was. An unprompted coughing fit from another early bird student didn’t ease her nerves much quicker. She turned her head to glance worriedly back at Ocellus, who shockingly met her stare with the same worried expression. Of course she remembered it. How couldn’t Smolder? “Mornin’ class…” Professor Apple strode in, but with a more concerned and pensive glance. Her eyes met with Smolder’s as soon as she entered the classroom. It promptly sent a surge of unease through the dragon’s body and nearly reduced her bones to jelly. She sank back into her seat with a nervous slump. “...bad news. Someone in this school broke into the computer room and destroyed an android.” “My android!” a unicorn colt pipped up. He sat in the middle row, and had a white pelt with hibiscus red eyes. His mane was white and red in a Colgate kind of pattern, but it was tied back in a ponytail, unironically. Smolder narrowed her eyes. “Sebastian…” He was a flamboyant boy, no matter the innocent persona he put forth. And Smolder hated the perfect prettyboy treatment he got all the time. It was ridiculous. Of course it was his android that attacked Ocellus, who else would it be? The boy had his eyes set on Ocellus since her first year. Because why wouldn’t a pony predator like him be preying on such small game? Definitely not to promote diversity. A low snarl emitted from the depths of her throat. And the hard rumbling coursed through her body rougher than the rockiest of rock surfing tournaments. Blood dripped soundlessly from the bed of her hands as her claws dug fiercely down into her scales. She was livid. “Tall orange?” She blinked and turned toward the source of the southern belle’s call. And right there, were those passionate, emerald green eyes. “Oh no, professor Applejack…” “D’you happen to know anythin’ about last night’s attack?” “Of course she would,” chortled a certain smug stallion, flipping his toothpaste-patterned mane and shooting an abashed gaze Smolder’s way. “...isn’t it dreadfully obvious?” he continued, striding up toward her desk and laying a hoof on it- hell, even his hoof laying was smug. Smolder couldn’t help but scoff. “Sebastian-” “No, professor A. Let him speak his piece.” Smolder folded her arms, a palm wiping gently across her sleeve, causing the scarlet liquid to smudge into the fabric. Sebastian chuckled softly and ambled around the desk with his chin up. Smolder inched her head around every step he took. And when he was standing tall in front of her, his brows arched like the devil he was. “...my piece is saying you broke the peace by breaking every piece of my android!” he whined, stamping his hoof on the floor. Ocellus made a show of kicking her chair out from under her, stomping up to put a hoof on her dragon friend’s shoulder in defense. Sebastian gave another devilish grin. “...and you. Whatever happened to your cold-blooded puppy, hm?” he pursed his lips with a deafening hiss, perhaps great enough to beat Ocellus’ on a bad day. “She is not a pet. And she is not cold blooded. Well, metaphorically no, but-” “I can almost see it through her eyes. When this rapscallion attacked my robot!” “Sebastian, that is enough.” Applejack nudged him with her shoulder and presented a scorching glare. Sebastian harrumphed and turned to look back at Smolder. Her shoulders were sunken, her hands were soaked in blood, and her eyes were cold and filled with unbridled rage. Sebastian let out another chuckling scoff. “See? You can’t even see anything but- oof!” Smolder gave a rushed shove as she bolted for the door, jamming herself through it and skidding onto the floor. Her tail curled sharply from the impact, however her claws dug into the cold marble. “Smolder, wait!” Ocellus flittered out through the Smolder-shaped hole in the door, landing safely on the floor. But to her surprise, her friend had already sped into the left corridor. There were the long scratch marks to prove it. “Drake on the loose!” a loud, crackling squawk came from around the corner. “That sounds like Gallus,” Ocellus screeched, lifting off and flying after her. Smolder gasped as she fell into the computer room. She kept her open palms in front of her as she collided with the glass, falling right onto the floor. She weakly reared her head with a bloodstained grunt. And as she stifled a cough, she watched the scarlet liquid onto the pearly white carpet. “Ohh...aw, shit…” she grunted once again as her gaze darted erratically across the room. There were androids everywhere. And every time she took her gaze off one, the closer another would get. She felt like she was in some kind of cage. Like they recognized her. “Smolder!!” Ocellus had finally skid into view, gazing tearfully at her friend. Smolder tore her stare away from the androids towering over her, eyes widening as she and Ocellus locked eyes. And those tears fell. “...Ocellus?” The changeling felt her heart shatter into a million pieces as she watched the rapid beeping of each and every android in the room. Like it was a warning. A siren’s call. Something pulling her in, but pushing her out. Like the one thing pushing her away was Smolder’s deadlocked gaze. Boom! The wave of force that was rocketed at her at a rate she couldn’t even comprehend was something entirely else. It brought down every single wall around the computer room, formed divots in the halls and filled them with nothing but fire. Ocellus cried out as she slid rapidly against the floor and fell against the wall. “...no...I....Smolder….” It was a gaze of question. Of curiosity, of worry. And that was the first time she’d ever seen Smolder genuinely worried, since… ...since the last time she was hurt. “Ocellus!” Gallus flew up, carrying Sandbar close. But as they landed, they looked just as devastated as she was. “...Ocellus, wha...what…?” They all watched as the crumbled ruins became void of orange flame; no sound except for the slow falling of rubble under the growing smoke. Glass cracking, metal melting and welding slowly together. Ocellus was breathing heavily, both in weariness and devastation. Smolder was gone. Author's Note Firewall - a part of a computer system or network which is designed to block unauthorized access while permitting outward communication.
HorizonEver since that morning, school had been a blur. What had once been clearly black and white was now a sloshing, gray mess in the eyes of Ocellus especially, who trudged onto her dorm, now heavily charred. There were tiny streaks of sickly tears running down her pale face. If it had been another circumstance, surely she would collapse on her bed and begin crying, but as of right now she had no more tears to shed. One step into reminiscence meant another thrust back into reality. *** “Leave her alone!” Bzzzt! Thud! *** She strode past the slew of organized books on the shelf by the windowsill. Her head hung low, and yet another object caught her eye. A book, about two inches thick. HTML’s For Dummies: 7th Edition. *** It struck Ocellus oddly that their rather eloquently spoken professor would assign something rather contrary to her choice of dialect. However it was unlike her to turn down an opportunity to learn because of something so trivial. “Who the hell does she think I am?” A voice boomed. Ocellus’ ears adjusted attentively to the source of the noise, but promptly furled her brow when she realized it was just another one of her dorm mate’s complaints. “When are you going to accept that HTML is a part of the curriculum?” “When Gallus breathes fire,” the dragon, pointedly, huffed a cloud of smoke. “I’m tired of them thinking I’m just gonna take the easy route.” “HTML is nothing to sneeze at.” “Neither are we.” Ocellus’ gaze followed Smolder’s angry, odd rhythmed gait as she clutched her book and started out of the room. “You might look at these technicolor horses with rose tinted glasses, but it won’t take you long to figure it out. They don’t want creatures like you and me on their level.” The changeling began to fume. “Yeah, well- well how would you know? You won’t ever get to their level if you don’t follow the curriculum!” she retorted, with an agitated hoof stamp. Smolder’s turquoise eyes went wide, and her frown rose into a scowl. “Then follow your stupid curriculum!” Thud! HTML’s For Dummies: 7th Edition “See where that gets you!” *** Ocellus wiped her cheek with a soft smile as fresh tears began to rise at the corners of her eyes. The tip of her hoof touched the spine of Smolder’s old book. Her frowning lips turned up into a small, sad smile. “HTML’s For Dummies...Oh, Smolder…” Everything was where Smolder had it last. The anger and frustration still bounced vividly off each and every object with a passion, and Ocellus tasted all of it. The flavor was so pungent that it sent her straight to tears once again. Thud! She had fallen to the floor in devastation. “Smolder...please come back…” *** “Please…” In a sea of darkness, one tall, lanky figure awoke. “Gallus? Sandbar?” … “Ocellus?” She gripped her tail nervously. Smolder shrugged the prickling chills from her shoulders and took one step forward on the cover of what looked like...ink? A thick, loathsome trail of black ooze trickled from the soles of her claws. “Ew....where in the hell am I?” she murmured, planting her foot down firmly. As she clenched her toes, she watched in relief as the ooze fell thinner and thinner, eventually sinking back into the stillness. “I...guess that solves it.” She lurched onward, gazing unsettled at the unmoving, black abyss that surrounded her. If this is what dying was like, she’d congratulate Torch for surviving this long. “Wait a second...am I dead?” Those last three words echoed throughout her head, seeming to send shockwaves through even her skull as it rang out into the ether. “I don’t get it…” Smolder recoiled in shock. Someone else was speaking, but she couldn’t quite figure out who. The void she was in began to gain a sort of color to it, developing some kind of scene. The dragon felt as if she was on stage under a spotlight of some sort, some kind of overbearing weight on her shoulders as she took another cautious step forward. The darkness melted and fell away as she continued on her stride, shoulders broadened and posture straightened. Familiarity rose within her mind. She recognized this place; it was the dorm she had been sharing with Ocellus for the school year. “Ocellus,” she frowned, sighing internally. Everything that happened within the last few hours was a blur, and even then, she couldn’t help but feel a rising dread within her stomach. Within her heart. The unbearable feeling that she’d let Ocellus down, that she had given up after how long they’d known each other, made her feel like she’d jumped into a pool of lava after ripping all her scales off. Somehow she wished fate would allow her an easier death. That she could skip these feelings and walk free in the fields of Elysium or whatever it was. Because when she saw Ocellus weeping quietly, her heart sank into her stomach. “...Ocellus…?” She stepped over, carefully fixing her charred hoodie. “I don’t get it, I don’t…” the changeling cried, staring up at the ceiling. Her legs wobbled senselessly while her tears pooled over onto the book she was crying into. “Why…? Why Smolder…?” Smolder knelt down to examine the book- Ocellus’ tears were spilling so incessantly that the label had melted off the cover. Her tail curled in on itself as she reached a claw out to comfort her friend, but it only phased right through her. She bit down on her tongue with regret. “Smolder, I…I’m so sorry,” the changeling choked. The lump in her throat prevented her from getting a clear word out, but Smolder heard loud and clear, sitting down beside her friend. Although she couldn’t be a shoulder to cry on, Smolder would feel unworthy of death if she didn’t at least listen to what Ocellus had to say. “I could’ve saved you, but I didn’t…I didn’t do anything except sit there and watch, like I always do…like I always did.” The dragon tilted her head in curiosity, hands clutched around her feet in anticipation. Ocellus’ saddened grimace turned into a small, sad smile as tears continued to run down her rose-tinted cheeks. “I couldn’t ever do anything but sit idly by as you explored, as you…innovated. Despite you always holding a grudge against Professor Twilight for rejecting your inventions, I couldn’t see the point in it because…I always saw the worth in you… “...I was just overwhelmed by the fact that you could never see it- even worse that I could never show it.” she giggled somberly. “You’d never admit it, but you really were a people pleaser…” Smolder couldn’t help but blush as her own frown curved up into a nervous grimace. She turned her attention back onto Ocellus, leaning over in curiosity. “...but it hurts to think that I could never say how much I loved that about you, among other things....” Everything inside of Smolder wanted to scream, she wanted to bellow that she was right there, that Ocellus could tell her whatever she wanted- whatever she needed. The weight her emotions bore as she fought desperately to push them back had weighed heavily down on her mind, and soon enough, tears pooled in the corners of her eyes and threatened to fall. “Ocellus-” she reached out, fruitlessly, to try and grab her shoulders. “Ocellus, I’m right here! Talk to me, tell me! Tell me everything you want me to know and I’ll listen!” Ocellus didn’t respond with anything more than choked sobs as she fell back onto the floor. Smolder growled and roared in anguish, able to do nothing than collapse beside her best friend. She dreaded every second of this. She dreaded being lost in a world where the one she most cared about couldn’t even hear her cries of frustration. Smolder’s friends hadn’t only lost her, but it seemed like she lost them, too. And it absolutely broke her inside. She whispered, “I just want you to hear me…I want you to hear that I hear you…” she curled into herself, locking her arms around her knees as she hugged them to her upper body. She realized her tattered closed and chuckled dryly with a half-cracked smile. “Look at me, I’m a mess…” Ocellus just kept crying. Smolder inched herself closer with a sigh as she continued, “It’s funny, how this is working out…you and I talking, it’s like our friendship is in reverse. I talk, you barely hear me out, and then you just keep feeling what you wanna feel. Maybe this is karma, y’know? Heh…” “I just wish you were still here with me,” said Ocellus, standing up with a wobble and that adorable lilt in her voice. It was clear that Smolder enjoyed every bit of her, and yet this part, the part where she was vulnerable, was her favorite. Urging her to go on, Smolder rested her head by her best friend’s leg. “I wish that I could tell you how I felt when you begged for Professor Applejack’s attention like a lost puppy…how I felt when you put yourself down in front of me, how you completely ripped apart your own capabilities in favor of believing that you would never be good enough… “I was always extremely angry at you for being such a damn idiot.” “That’s a bit harsh,” Smolder muttered to herself, sitting up and fixing her jacket. She’d heard enough at this point; any longer in this place and she would collapse into herself like Celestia’s sun would in a few billion moons. “I can’t believe I just worked that into a metaphor.” With a shudder, she shrugged her feelings off her shoulders. She felt free to spread her wings as she neared the door, reaching a claw out to the doorknob and twisting it with a sigh. “It’s been a good run, I guess.” Smolder said, trying her best to ignore the fact that Ocellus had been pacing in circles so much that she was burning scorch marks into the carpet. Everything she was saying rushed in circles in Smolder’s mind so incessantly that she had it in her head to tune it all out. “I should probably leave you alone to grieve, but…I’ll always miss-” “I always had it in my mind that you had issues with gaining validation, but what I’ve been meaning to say was that you didn’t need it! Not if you had me!” The door was swung ajar, and Smolder stared into the bright white light, but then did an instant double take and locked eyes with Ocellus. Although the latter was unaware, Smolder’s eyes were focused on her at that moment. The spotlight was shining on her, the stage was hers to take, and the scene had been perfectly set for these exact words: “I feel like you wouldn’t lash out so much if you had someone to love you- if you had me to love you! Because I loved you!” Smolder instantly went redder than a tomato, watching in bewilderment as Ocellus sank to the ground and began to bawl loudly once again. “I’ve always loved you…” The dragon’s mind went entirely blank, especially when the white light disappeared. The room started to spiral in disarray and pictures flew off the wall. Books were tugged off the shelves with what appeared to be a large, powerful gust of wind. Multiple gusts of wind. The air picked up Smolder’s hoodie, and her along with it, tugging her into what appeared to be a large ergosphere of darkness. “What the hell?!” Smolder grabbed onto the carpet as the darkness chipped away at every bit of it, her bottom half being pulled up in the torrent of force that tossed her to and fro. Thud! With a heavy slam, she finally hit the wall, crying out in pain. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins as she rubbed the back of her neck, heart thumping rapidly. “For a ghost, I’m suddenly feeling really fragile right now!” She shouted angrily, not even batting an eye at the book that was flung at her from the ether. Plack! She grunted and groaned, falling back against the wall and holding her swollen, purple eye. “These past three days have been absolute Tartar-ahhhh!” Her untouched eye widened and bulged in horror as she realized that most of the room had been eaten up. Not even a split second after, she turned to see an awestruck Ocellus, pinned up against the wall with her chest rising and falling with frantic breaths. “Ocellus! You’re seeing this shit too?!” The changeling seemed to register the familiar voice, immediately looking over. Smolder’s terrified, jaw-clenched frown turned into an elated grin. “You can hear me!” She cried, leaping for joy. As she freed herself from her excited trance, she realized her dilemma. “...oh. W’ahhhhhhh!!!” Her voice raised in terror as she too was thrown around the room, grabbing onto a sturdy shelf and looking back toward the gaping black hole that was swallowing up the plane. “Yes, as much as I’m very elated to see you again, it seems there are much more urgent matters to attend to!” Cried Ocellus, gasping as Smolder was ripped from her place on the shelf and tugged into the event horizon. “Smolder!” Leaping from her place against the wall, she was also sucked into the ergosphere. And everything went dark.
