Ocellus’s eyes were closed. Those giant red multifaceted orbs that I knew for so long were replaced with the cyan folds of her eyelids. She looked so different. Her whole body was tense. So was mine for that matter. I tried to look anywhere else but her lips.
They were a slightly darker blue than the rest of her body. Moist from the weird pony drink she had me try. They reached out for mine. They quivered in the air waiting for my lips to return the favor.
It was a stupid tradition. Hearth’s Warming was barely tolerable as it was. Gift-giving, warm fires, sitting to do with a tree, I didn’t understand it at all. Dragons don’t care about this stuff. It was mushy pony stuff. And we certainly didn’t kiss. I doubt I ever tried. I didn’t even know if I could press my lips out like Ocellus.
I mean I understood the assignment. Go with a friend and learn about their Hearth’s Warming traditions. Gallus was studying Silver Stream’s. Sandbar was in Yakyakistan learning about Smarglefest or whatever it was. Every creature got to be with their little crushes. Not that I would admit that to any creature. Ever.
Ocellus looked so… I hated to use the word beautiful because it’s just so lame. But I don’t know what other word I would use. The way the glowing lights lit up her face. The cute little cheeks she had. That innocent stretch as she tried to meet my lips. Who wouldn’t want to kiss that?
But this was just another tradition of Ocellus’s people. Some sort of plant named missile-toe. There were no toes on it and you didn’t even throw it. Just some weird ball of leaves and vines that hung above us.
Since when did plants choose who had to kiss or not? Was this just a pony tradition that she was misinterpreting again? Maybe we were just supposed to hug or shake… hooves. Why did it have to be a kiss?
The changelings had a habit of not understanding these pony traditions. They had a full tree hanging over a wooden fire. It growled at me when I got close. Ocellus said they magically enchanted it because she learned it was supposed to be a “roaring fire.” How could I believe this is a tradition if she got that wrong?
Then there was that silly gift exchange. They passed around a bunch of boxes wrapped in paper. I don’t think there was anything inside. The idea of gift giving is so foreign anyway. You shouldn’t be giving them. You should be taking them! If some weak creature had a bunch of things you want you should just take them. That made sense.
The carol singing I kind of got. Maybe some different words would have been nice. It sounded more like the cheers Ocellus got from her book. Not what I heard in Equestria at all.
I didn’t understand the “sleeping in the same bed huddled for warmth” tradition. I didn’t remember that from the pony Hearth’s Warming we attended. But Ocellus assured me that this was what they did. It was nice though. I never felt warmth like that though. The changeling’s little hooves wrapped around me like I was going to run out of there when she fell asleep.
She giggled in her sleep. I never knew that. It was so soft and quiet I never noticed it before. I knew her for a long time and still there are so many things about her I didn’t know. Of course I was reminded of my secrets that I held from her. She didn’t know how I liked her. She didn’t know I felt that way. Would she see me differently? Would she like me in the same way I liked her?
This was more awkward than the “cuddle on the couch tradition”. Ocellus said it was customary to snuggle with each other by the fire. I didn’t see any of the other creatures doing it. But that pleading look she had on her face melted me. It was like she knew how I really felt. I sighed and placed my arm around her. That cheered her up a lot. So much so I didn’t voice any of my doubts about its validity.
So it seemed a natural progression of these traditions to eventually make out under some tree moss. Yet I couldn’t help but see how few others were practicing them. No changelings cuddling. No kissing under weeds. What was the deal?
Still I couldn’t ignore those cerulean lips in front of me. I couldn’t just not do it. I mean how embarrassing would it be for her? If I just stood there or walked away while she tried to kiss me. I would feel awful.
There was no other way around it. I had to kiss her. It was some sort of tradition. I closed my eyes too and reached my lips out towards hers. At first I felt nothing. I thought for a minute that she was pranking me. There was nothing to kiss and she and her family were going to laugh at me. I felt my face redden at that thought. I even tasted smoke.
Then I connected. The world spun. Those soft lips were so moist and felt so amazing. I didn’t know where I was, only that I wanted more of it. I wasn’t sure if this was supposed to be a light kiss, a full kiss or one of those that involved the tongue. But I know what kiss I used.
Our lips collided and the heat from them melted my inhibition. I kissed her. I kissed her hard. Before I could stop myself my arms wrapped around her neck. The world on the other side of my eyelids turned red. Ocellus must have opened her eyes. I thought it would be best to stop but I found her hooves around my neck instead holding me close. The world went dark again.
“Umm..”
What was that? How could Ocellus make any noise when her lips were right here? I cracked my eye open and saw Ocellus’s face much closer than I have ever seen it. Her eyes were closed and as I thought her lips were occupied with mine.
A cough sound turned my eyes off her and saw her family staring at us. I begrudgingly broke contact. Ocellus immediately looked at me confused and hurt. Then followed the direction I gazed in.
“Oh,” she said to the cave full of spectators. Her face became burgundy and almost out shone her eyes. “I kind of got carried away…”
“We noticed,” said… uhh someone. They looked a lot alike and I met them all at once. My mind was whirling. It was hard to focus.
“I think you should talk to your friend,” said another one. It might help you two sort things out.”
“Yeah I guess I should...” the changeling rubbed the back of her head absent-mindedly. Its ruby orbs turned towards me. “Want to come outside with me?”
“Yeah…” I felt winded. How could something like a kiss cause me to inhale so heavily? It’s not like it took a lot of effort. But I felt my chest heaving all the same. My face was burning. My mouth was dry.
I followed Ocellus, trying to put together what I wanted to say. I didn’t want to have to say this to her. But I knew she had to know.
The cold wind slapped me in the face. It grounded my thoughts instantly and made me wish we could have talked inside. I’m not used to this kind of environment. This was nothing like the lava lakes and dry arid heat of my home. Snow covered the nearby trees and grass. A cold gust of wind blew through all the clothing I had, which was just a scarf and a pair of earmuffs.
“So huh...” I began, my eyes staring down onto the ground for answers.
“That was amazing,” cried Ocellus in delight. She had no sense of awkwardness about it at all. “I had to fight to keep my tongue out of your mouth. I kind of thought that’s where it was going.”
“Really? I mean, is that part of the tradition?” I hoped it wasn’t. If this was just some stupid changeling tradition after all, I’m going to warm up my body by lighting something on fire. Not Ocellus but you know. Something.
“No, the tradition is supposed to be a light kiss, heh, I guess I kind of forgot to tell you that. But I’m really glad I did.”
“So huh, what do we do now?” I had no idea what to do. I wondered if this kiss was really just part of her tradition or not.
“Well… I uhh... don’t really know. I mean I never read what happens when the pony you like likes you back.”
“You like me?” My mouth went dry. My heart raced like I just flew through a storm. It was what I was hoping for, come true. I didn’t know what to do next.
“Well, yeah. I thought I made that kind of obvious. I figured when you kissed me like that you figured out what I was doing.” Ocellus looked at me, searching for the reassurance I couldn’t give her. I thought about what we did throughout the day. If it was obvious, I should have noticed. The only thing we did was based on her traditions. But that was part of Hearth’s Warming, wasn’t it?
“Your traditions…” I found myself pondering out loud.
My friend nodded. “I did some of our new ones that Princess Twilight told me about. But some I, kind of made up, to get you to notice me.”
I stood there looking at her. Probably like an idiot. I wanted to tell her how I felt. I wanted to say all the things I rehearsed in my room. Some were just dumb, like, “Hey I kind of like you,” while others were way too fluffy.
“‘Best friend snuggle time’ wasn’t a real tradition,” Ocellus confessed. Her ear antenna dropped and she looked rather sheepish. “And not normally only couples kiss under the mistletoe, not friends.”
My mind was having a hard time functioning. Why couldn’t I respond? This was all I had been dreaming of but I just stood staring at her like hatching too afraid to fly.
“Smolder?” I heard the uncertainty in her voice.
I stared. I couldn’t move. It was like the world stopped and all I could do was breath.
“Smolder?” There was panic in her voice. A desperate plea.
I moved. I finally moved. I couldn’t let her think she was wrong. I couldn’t take that sadness. I grabbed her close and kissed her again. It was instinct. It felt so right and natural. My tongue found hers and those multifaceted orbs closed again.
When we finally broke I was panting again. She wasn’t in any better shape than me. “Ok, ok, I think I get it.” She wheezed, her face was flushed. “But I think we should slow things down a bit. You know. Maybe some dates and just cuddling. You know, that stuff.”
“Right..” I huffed. “I guess I have been holding back my feelings for a long time now. It’s just a little overwhelming.”
“You have?”
“Yeah.” It was time to come clean. I needed her to understand. “I’ve been in love with you for, like, a year.”
“A year… and I thought holding back for a few months was being too timid. I didn’t think you of all creatures would hold something inside like that.”
“I just.. I didn’t want to be rejected. It could ruin our friendship. I thought that was more important than a crush,” I told her. The fear of that had kept me silent for so long.
“Yeah.. I thought the same thing. But Professor Applejack said it was important to be honest, especially with your friends. I mean obviously I wouldn’t have rejected you but even if I did, we could have worked through it somehow.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t see a way something like that could be worked though. But I didn’t have to worry about it. She liked me too. I didn’t think of this Hearth’s Warming thing as magical as ponies and changelings do but at that moment, I think I understand its magic.
