Ocellus looked around the dorm-room. It was only by random chance that they had all decided to convene in Sandbar and Gallus’ dorm for the evening now that classes were finished. They could have just as easily decided to hang out in her and Smolder’s dorm or Yona and Silverstream’s, depending on how exactly they wanted to spend the day together.
Alas, Sandbar had a HayStation and Gallus wanted a rematch against Smolder in Mortal Trotters.
“C’mon! C’mon! Yes!!” Gallus pumped a claw in victory having secured a clutch win against Smolder by the skin of his teeth, his fighter giving an unsportsmanlike shot to the groin of Smolder’s character.
“A’ight, not bad.” Smolder conceded. “I think that puts the score at ten to three.” She said, her smirk making it clear which of them was in the majority.
“Yeah, yeah, still gonna savor the win. Now then…” Gallus allowed a wicked grin to spread across his beak as he looked over the move-list for his fighter, taking a few seconds to memorize the button inputs for the ridiculously over-the-top, gory finishing move that would serve as the capstone to their match.
Backing out of the move-list and back into the game, Gallus’ talons clicked and clacked across the gamepad, his character moving in an intricate dance leading up to the kill and…
Gallus misclicked a button, making his character give an anti-climactic low kick to his opponent’s shin. Smolder’s fighter slumped to the ground, dead.
“Gah! Dang it!”
Ocellus giggled, momentarily looking up from her book to observe their game at the sound of trash-talking. Parallel play having become the normal weekday routine with their group whenever they escaped the confines of academia.
Looking around, the rest of her friends were similarly engaged in their own activities, occasionally giving audience to the virtual bloodsport on the tiny television on Sandbar’s desk.
Silverstream kept her claws busy with her latest craft project, having recently taken up whittling, never truly being satisfied with only one medium to express her creativity.
Her current skill-level was at a comfortable mid-point between novice and adept, with her wooden figurines more often than not having a passing resemblance to her intentional design. The current piece in her claws made Ocellus’ blush a bit as it was clearly modeled after the group’s resident Changeling herself. Course, knowing Silverstream, it was more than likely she was planning to make one for each of her friends, but Ocellus was still flattered that she chose to make her first.
This week was one of the rare few when Swift Foot, sometimes fugitive Princess of Thrace, could abscond from her family and their island for a time without them noticing, one of the rare advantages to having a neglectful family.
As such, she had nestled into her comfortable spot in-between Sandbar and Yona, the three of them having officially formed their ‘throuple’ a few months back and were now just enjoying their, however unorthodox, relationship.
Yona was in the midst of braiding Swift Foot’s mane, which must have felt therapeutic to the young mare as she serenely leaned her head on Sandbar’s shoulder, Sandbar, in-turn, leaned against her while their hooves were entwined.
Everyone seemed perfectly comfortable being in each other’s presence on this perfectly comfortable day in.
‘Well, this is as good a time as any.’ Ocellus thought to herself.
She cleared her throat, wanting to make this announcement before Gallus and Smolder started their next match so as not to interrupt them.
“Hey, guys? Can I say something real quick?”
“What’s up, Cell?” Gallus said, admittedly not looking back at her as he was contemplating his next fighter.
“It’s another one of our… Rainbow Talks.” Ocellus said, her smile dropping but not entirely leaving her face.
Gallus and Smolder exchanged a look before they both put down their controllers, scooching on their hindquarters until they faced Ocellus directly.
Silverstream stopped whittling and calmly put her figurine and tool on the ground next to her, giving Ocellus a gentle smile and her undivided attention.
While Swift noticeably winced when Sandbar pulled away from her and Yona stopped braiding her mane, she still made sure to give Ocellus her undue attention, as did her partners.
‘Rainbow Talks’ had become shorthand for their group whenever any of them made a… significant discovery about themselves. The coin was first termed by Gallus the first time Ocellus told them that she was attracted to girls. He used the term again for when he admitted to the group, and more-so to himself, that he fancied both boys and girls.
Silverstream used the term when she revealed that gender played no role whatsoever in what she found attractive, she was simply attracted to whoever and whatever caught her fancy. Sandbar and Yona used the term when they revealed to their friends that they were both dating Swift Foot and that she would be joining them as a third part to their romantic relationship.
And now, Ocellus had another likewise announcement to make.
“Got something you want to tell us, Cell?” Gallus asked, his smile telling her the accusational tone was all in good fun. Everycreature in that room knew there would be absolutely no judgment to anything Ocellus had to say.
Maybe some confusion and some potentially embarrassing questions, but all in the name of better understanding. Ocellus knew that for a fact.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while…” Ocellus began, taking a breath to expel the last few remnants of trepidation that never really go away, no matter how much support one may have. “And I’m pretty sure I’m non-binary.”
The response was to be expected, mostly just understanding smiles with a few confused looks here and there.
“That’s awesome, Ocellus! Congratulations!” Silverstream said, clasping her claws together near her face as she gushed.
“So, non-binary. That’s a trans thing, right?” Gallus asked, trying to recall his Gender Studies classes.
An understandable question, all considered, and one Ocellus was happy to answer. “Sort of. It is a form of gender dysphoria, but whereas transgender individuals identify as the opposite gender from what they were assigned at birth, non-binary means you don’t identify as male or female.” She explained in her best teacher voice.
Pretty much everycreature in that room knew Ocellus was going right back into the school after graduating, only to occupy the opposite side of the teacher’s desk.
“So what do you identify as?” Swift Foot asked.
“Non-binary.” Ocellus said simply. No curtness or annoyance in her tone, there was simply no better word.
Swift Foot shrugged, accepting that it probably was the best word on hand, and acknowledging that it made perfect sense when she broadened the perspective. If non-binary do not identify as male or female, then what’s left?
“So, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m genuinely curious…” Smolder began, wanting to cover her bases lest she say something out of line.
Ocellus merely kept her patient smile and motioned for her to continue. So long as Smolder’s intentions were to better her own understanding, Ocellus didn’t think Smolder could offend her if she tried.
“This whole ‘non-binary’ thing? Is it more of a ‘Changeling’ thing or more of a ‘You’ thing?”
Ocellus genuinely pondered the question and realized it really was a rather interesting one. “Huh, I guess in a way, Changelings do have a unique perspective on the nature of gender identity. After all, the entire premise that sex and gender are two separate things becomes much more complicated when you factor in the ability to make your physical sex whatever you want.”
“I guess, in the simplest terms that I can manage, is that individual Changelings are just as liable as other races to prefer expressing their gender identities in a myriad different ways. We just have an, admittedly, unfair advantage when it comes to physically expressing that identity.”
“So, do you want us to refer to you as They/Them from now on?” Sandbar asked. He always was the one among them to have a bit more of a hoof on the pulse for the, call it what it is, socially correct vernacular for these sorts of subjects.
Ocellus ‘hmm’ed to herself as she thought it over. “I’ll be honest, I’m still figuring that part out. I never really had an issue expressing myself with feminine terms before, even if I don’t identify as female.”
“So, how are you okay with using feminine terms, but you’re not a female?” Gallus asked, leaning back against his elbows.
“Just like how there’s a difference between sex and gender, there’s a difference between gender identity and gender expression.” Ocellus explained. “It’s the difference between a trans woman and a drag queen. Both express themselves outwardly as feminine, but whereas a trans woman inwardly identifies as a woman, a drag queen still identifies as a man. Just… a man that likes to be pretty every now and then.”
Gallus nodded. He definitely had personal context from all the times he and Smolder would doll themselves up for her tea parties.
Ocellus turned back to Sandbar, who was already starting to ease back into his snuggle-huddle with Yona and Swift Foot. “Anyway, to answer your question Sandbar, let’s go with She/They for now. I would like to experiment with They/Them pronouns, but I won’t mind at all if you keep calling me ‘she’ or ‘her’.”
Silverstream cocked her head in thought, placing her chin in the palm of her claw while tapping a talon against her cheek. “So… Does that mean you’re still my ‘girlfriend’ or do I call you something else now?”
Ocellus blushed a bit. Everycreature knew she and Silverstream were dating, but it was still a little embarrassing to just have it be said out loud. “Um… Girlfriend is fine, also. But, uh, you could also use gender-neutral terms like partner or-or date-mate…”
Silverstream smiled, her eyes lidded. “Then I have one last question.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Can I give my date-mate a kiss? It looks like they could really use one.”
Ocellus gulped as her blush deepened, but nonetheless nodded as Silver was already leaping off the ground, gliding directly towards Ocellus as she wrapped her arms around their neck, gently caressing their lips with her beak.
Gallus snickered at the blushing mess that was currently engulfed in a sea of very affectionate pink feathers. Turning on his butt back towards the TV, Gallus gave a wave behind him. “Well, congrats, Cell. I’m very happy for you.”
Sandbar nodded while Swift Foot and Yona were already going back to their braiding. “Yeah, we’re all proud of you, Ocellus!”
Ocellus and Silverstream broke away from each other long enough for Ocellus to give a very dazed “T-Thanks, guys…”
Silverstream merely smiled warmly at her girlfriend, her date-mate, her partner, before nuzzling into Ocellus’ side, having apparently forgotten all about her whittling project and now merely wanted to snuggle against her little love-bug.
“Okay, back to our game, Smolder.” Gallus challenged. “Let’s keep my winning streak going.”
“You can’t have a streak of one, Gallus.”
Sandbar and Yona need to talk…
Author's Note
This takes place before the first chapter…
Sandbar and Yona need to talk…
“…Sandbar?” Yona said, jostling the light weight leaning against her.
“Mm! I’m awake, I’m awake!” Came a reply as Yona saw her boyfriend jolt up in her peripheral, shaking off whatever vestiges of sleep that were still on him. He took a few frantic looks around to confirm that he was still, indeed, in their treehouse in the Everfree, with Yona being his only current companion. The two absconded to the treehouse after classes ended for the day in order to have some time alone with each other. The light outside told Sandbar that he hadn’t been dozing for very long.
Yona couldn’t help but giggle. “Yona make for comfy bed, Sandbar?”
Sandbar looked down, giving a sheepish, apologetic smile. “Sorry, babe. Late study-sesh last night. Though part of me thinks you don’t really mind all that much…” he said, raising an eyebrow at her.
Yona merely nodded. “Yona likes that Sandbar feel safe around Yona. Plus, Yona really likes pony-cuddles.”
Sandbar smiled and nestled himself back into Yona’s side, nuzzling his head against hers. “Preach. So, what’s up?”
Yona blushed a bit as she looked away, embarrassed. “Ah… Remember when Sandbar told Yona about how boyfriend was… Poly…? Poly…?”
Sandbar gave her a look, unsure of where this was going. “Polyamorous?”
Yona nodded, glad that Sandbar remembered for her. “Yes! That! How Sandbar felt he could be in love with… more than one creature.”
Sandbar suddenly felt apprehensive, wondering why Yona brought this up so suddenly. He rolled over to his back and scooched himself so that his face was directly below Yona’s, looking up at her. “Yeah, I also remember saying that I was perfectly fine being exclusive with you. I know polyamory isn’t for everycreature. I’m not about to do anything to make you uncomfortable.”
Yona’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “No! No! Nothing like that! Yona just wondering…?”
Sandbar raised an eyebrow. “Wondering what?”
Yona didn’t meet his eyes, and he could tell from this close up that she was blushing under her caramel brown fur. “How… How would polyamorous relationship work? What… What do creatures do when…?”
Sandbar was still confused, but saw nothing wrong with giving Yona an honest answer. “Well, it depends on the polycule.”
Yona looked down. “Polycule?”
Sandbar nodded. “Just a word for a group of creatures who are part of a polyamorous relationship. Sometimes, polycules are closed off, meaning it’s just those creatures and no one else. Sometimes, it’s an open relationship, meaning everycreature is free to date whoever they want. Sometimes, everycreature in a polycule is dating everycreature else, equally. Sometimes, one creature might be dating one creature in the polycule and no one else.”
“It’s like any other relationship. You do what feels comfortable and you be open and honest with what you want and what you’re expecting.” Sandbar finished explaining, though still giving Yona a not-too-accusatory look. “Why do you ask?” Sandbar asked, now really interested in getting to the meat of things.
Yona still kept her eyes off of him, clearly debating something with herself if her scrunched muzzle was any indication. (Sandbar had to fight off an urge to lean up and kiss it)
“Yona… Yona might be having feelings. Romantic feelings… For somecreature other than Sandbar…”
The treehouse was so silent, all that could be heard were the birds chirping outside.
“Oh.” Was all that Sandbar said.
Whatever Yona heard in that simple ‘Oh’ started to make her panic, as she looked down at Sandbar with manic concern. “Not that Yona doesn’t want to date Sandbar anymore! Yona does! Yona wants to keep going on dates and cuddling and kissing, Yona really likes the kissing part!”
Despite his girlfriend obviously going through a bit of a panic, Sandbar couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yeah, I like the kissing part, too.”
“But, Yona has been thinking… about doing those things… with somecreature else.” Yona said, becoming slightly more comfortable as she started to realize that Sandbar didn’t look upset at all. In fact, he had a slight smile on his face as he absorbed everything.
“That so? Anyone I know?” Sandbar asked, genuinely curious.
Yona grumbled, glad that Sandbar was being so accepting but also embarrassed at letting out so much at once. “Swf Ft…” Yona mumbled under breath.
“Who?”
Yona inhaled, held the breath for a second, then exhaled as she looked down at Sandbar’s kind, patient eyes. “…Swift Foot.”
Sandbar cocked his head, surprised. “Really? Huh, didn’t think you were even into girls?”
Yona glanced to the side, giving an annoyed huff. “Neither did Yona, until recently.”
Sandbar couldn’t help but muse at the irony of the whole situation. It was no secret to any of their friends that Sandbar held quite the candle for Swift Foot when they first met her, awestruck by her beauty and grace.
Course, that was all before he and Yona started dating. Swift Foot’s sudden disappearance after the Feats of Friendship more or less sputtered that crush to the ground. Even after they and their friends reunited with Swift Foot (and subsequently learned about her extremely complicatedfamily situation), Sandbar was with Yona by that point and didn’t see much reason to reopen old feelings. And if Swift had ever noticed his massive crush on her, she clearly never made mention of it.
Still, Sandbar couldn’t deny that Swift Foot was still just as gorgeous as ever.
And, apparently, Yona agreed.
“What do you like about her?” Sandbar asked.
“Huh?” Yona turned back to look at him, definitely not expecting that particular question. For a split second, Yona was worried that Sandbar was upset or jealous (especially considering his past affections for Swift Foot), but he seemed genuinely interested.
“Uh… Yona likes how sharp Swift Foot is. She’s smart, wily. Yona likes how she lets no one tell her what to do.”
As Yona went on, she found it became easier and easier to gush about her crush with her boyfriend, regardless of how strange that sentence sounded in her head.
“And… And Yona just so proud of how strong she is! So much strength to stand up to family and to do right thing, even if…” Yona faltered a bit. “Even if doing right thing hurts her. And Yona hates seeing Swift Foot hurting. Yona just wants to scoop Swift Foot into big hug and tell her that Yona sees all the effort she makes. Tell her how amazing she is.”
Sandbar couldn’t keep the wide grin off of his face as Yona put to words nearly the exact same thoughts he had.
“And… recently… Yona been imagining herself doing more than hugging. Yona imagining herself… kissing Swift Foot. Holding Swift Foot close.”
A lot of the same thoughts, apparently.
Sandbar suddenly wiggled himself back onto his hooves, reluctantly pulling himself away from Yona as he stood up.
At first, Yona was worried that she might have said something wrong until Sandbar stepped in front of her, laying down so that he was facing her before putting his hooves on her’s.
“So…” Sandbar began, giving an understanding smile towards his girlfriend. “Just so I understand the situation correctly, you have a crush on Swift Foot?”
Yona nodded, looking away in shame even though she knew that Sandbar didn’t judge her at all.
“And you’re still in love with me?”
Another nod.
“And you would like to date both of us? At the same time?”
Yona allowed herself a quick glance towards him, tears threatening to form at the corners of her eyes. “Is… Is that okay?”
Sandbar gave a light laugh as he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “It’s more than okay, Yona, it’s wonderful. The heart wants what it wants, and you have such a massive heart. It’s no surprise to me that you have more than enough love for both me and Swift.”
Yona couldn’t help but chuckle, wiping away the not-quite-tears. “Yona does have massive chest. Makes sense heart would be too.”
The two shared a laugh, but that quickly died down as the gravity of what exactly they were discussing was beginning to weigh down.
“So, to put this in very clinical, but still necessary terms, you want to try a polycule with you, me and Swift Foot?” Sandbar offered.
Yona nodded. “If Swift Foot is okay with it. If she doesn’t want to date Yona and Sandbar, we… we accept that. And she will still be our friend.” Yona said, adamantly.
“Obviously. That was never in doubt.” Sandbar said, before an apprehensive look passed over his face. One Yona immediately caught on to. “Are you… Are you okay with me dating Swift Foot, too?”
Yona nodded vigorously, wanting to leave nothing to doubt. “Yes, Yona already thought about that for long time. Yona wants to do this with Sandbar. Yona wants to share love with both Sandbar and Swift Foot. All three of us, together.”
“All three of us…” Sandbar pondered, his mind imagining all the things he and Yona did together as a couple, only now adding Swift Foot into that mix.
He had to admit, it was a wonderful image… If they could pull it off.
Sandbar sighed, running a hoof down the back of his mane. “You know this is a massive long shot as is, right? We don’t even know how Swift feels about polyamorous relationships in general, much less how she’d feel about being in a polyamorous relationship with us.”
—-
“I’M SUCH A TERRIBLE PONY!!” Swift Foot yelled, crying her eyes out on Ocellus’ desk. The Changeling doing her best to console the despondent Thracian pony making a puddle on her desk with gentle pats on the back.
“There, there.” Ocellus said, deadpan. Under normal circumstances, she would be much more invested in helping a friend through a moment of turmoil, but the specific circumstances made Ocellus just a tad bit annoyed at the sheer irony of it all.
“As if I wasn’t selfish enough thinking I could just waltz back into your lives like nothing happened and Sandbar would just go back to being that love-struck, puppy-eyed, sweetheart! No! Not good enough for selfish Swift Foot to steal Yona’s love from her, I have to go and fall for her, too!!”
Swift Foot looked up at Ocellus, tears and just a little bit of snot dribbling down her otherwise gorgeous face. “Can you blame me?! That Olympian ideal of perfection?! That Amazonian power gifted with the beauty of Aphrodite and the warmth and loving kindness of Hestia! What mere mortal mare could ever hope to not fall in love with her?! Sappho wishes she could make a poem over the feelings I have for that mountain of woman!”
“Mmhmm.” Ocellus hummed, checking the clock on the wall. This little meltdown was verging on almost a half hour now.
“And Sandbar! Sweet, loyal, Sandbar! I toyed with him, Ocellus! Toyed with his affections and used him as a tool! I strung him along like the wicked succubus I was, and he forgave me! Always, he forgave me for every single sleight against you all.”
“And I have the audacity, the gall, to hold a candle for them both?! Am I so selfish and so ungrateful for everything they have done for me that I still wish to steal them from each other?! I’ve learned nothing! I’m still such a terrible pony!”
Ocellus sighed again as Swift Foot slammed her face back into the desk for another round of self-loathing. To Swift’s credit, Ocellus admitted to herself, she’s recently been getting a lot better over not blaming herself for her family’s many, many issues… But there was still the occasional relapse.
Made all the more annoying to Ocellus because, given her very nature as a Changeling, she knew for a fact that Sandbar and Yona would both be over the moon to hear Swift Foot’s words. She momentarily considered just flat out telling Swift Foot that both Sandbar and Yona had a crush on her and just let the three have at it.
Still, she bit her tongue. Changeling empathy was often considered a cheat for these sorts of matters. Often, it was a better idea to just let these emotions play out naturally… Regardless of how long it seemed to drag out for.
Ocellus could only hope Sandbar and Yona would hurry it up and ask Swift Foot out already before she took a literal page from Sappho’s book and put her sorrows into poetry.
She just knew that Swift Foot would end up making Ocellus proofread it.
