Equestria…
A magical world of ponies, dragons, griffons, hippogryphs, and other creatures, both ordinary and magical.
It was a bright & sunny day as the white clouds floated on lazily, the flowers bloomed in many numbers, and the birds sang their songs as they took flight in the air.
In the prosperous town of Ponyville, the residents were in a much more chipper mood than normal; stallions were browsing for jewels, flowers and chocolates, the mares were making themselves look best for their husbands and coltfriends, and fillies and foals were looking and signing special cards with a familiar symbol of something that was more than friendship.
Why would the ponies be looking for these things on an ordinary day? Because a special was coming, and they were preparing for it.
Hearts & Hooves Day!
Love was in the air in Equestria, and the ponies were taking the time to get into the holiday.
They were not the only ones, however…
Elsewhere…
Close to the School of Friendship and Princess Twilight's Castle, a certain group of young creatures were conversing with one another as they hung out in the Treehouse of Harmony. However, the boys and girls were in different rooms.
With the Boys…
"So, what exactly are you going to do for your special somepony?" Gallus asked Sandbar.
"Well, I'm actually going to keep mine a surprise for Yona. So, I don't want to spoil anything for her," Sandbar replied.
"Heh, you're gonna play that card, huh?"
"What about you? Do you have anything planned?"
Gallus' face froze. "Ehh… n-no…"
"Hm, well you better think of something fast. Turning up without a gift doesn't bode well for a mare."
"But what should I do? Love wasn't really something that suited me up until I met Silverstream," Gallus admitted shyly.
"Well, you should start by thinking about the basics; what does she like? What is her favorite food? Does she have a favorite hobby? Does she like listening to certain music? If you have answers to at least a couple of the basic questions, then you should come up with something that involves all of those things," Sandbar explained. "But, don't go overboard. You're just trying to impress her, not propose to her on the first day you meet her."
"Wow… I think I'm gonna need a lot of work."
"Don't be hard on yourself, you'll figure it out one day," Sandbar said reassuringly.
With the Girls…
"What will friend Silverstream do for Love Day?" Yona asked.
"I'm hoping to learn how to bake so that I can make Gallus' favorite food into muffins!" Replied the energetic hippogryph. "What about you?"
"Yona not sure yet," said the yak sadly.
"Aw, that's okay, I'm sure you'll come up with something," Silverstream said reassuringly. "What about you Smolder?"
"Eh, probably the same thing we dragons do every year," Smolder said casually.
"What's that?"
"Sit back, relax, enjoy a sapphire or two."
"Oh."
"Besides, do I really look like the romantic type to you?"
"Uh… No, I-I guess not," said Silverstream.
"So, what about you Ocellus?" Smolder asked the changeling.
However, Ocellus didn't seem to hear her as she was just staring at the window into the sky, her head resting on her legs as she did so.
This confused the other girls.
"Uh, Ocellus?" Smolder asked again.
There was still no reply from the changeling.
Now the girls were concerned.
Smolder took in a deep breath and approached the changeling.
"Sorry about this…"
"OCELLUS!!"
"AH!" The changeling fell over by surprise, a scared look on her face as she was now on the floor. "W-Why d-d-did you d-do that?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to, but I said your name twice and you didn't respond," Smolder explained more gently.
"Oh… S-Sorry," Ocellus said meekly as she got back up to her hooves.
"Is friend Ocellus okay?"
"Yeah, and you know, I think you may have been a little quieter than usual ever since we were told about Hearts & Hooves Day coming up," said Silverstream.
"Is there something going on we need to know about?" Smolder asked.
"No no, I'm fine, really. I didn't mean to worry you all. I was… just thinking," Ocellus replied nervously.
"About what?" Silverstream asked.
"Were you thinking about who to ask out on Hearts & Hooves Day?" Smolder asked.
"Did Ocellus find somepony?"
"No, but…"
Ocellus wasn't quite sure if she should go on with telling her friends about what she was thinking, but since it was logically related to the upcoming holiday of romance, and considering that her recent behavior has apparently quipped the interest of her friends, she conceded to their curiosity as she took in a deep breath and began her explanation.
"Well, you see, that's the thing…" Ocellus walked back over to the window and gazed out into the open again.
"I have met somepony- or someone rather- but they weren't from anywhere near here. I wasn't even sure where they came from or who they were at the time…"
"Wait, so are you saying that you just saw this stranger and suddenly had a crush on them?" Smolder asked, confused.
"No, we became friends and got to know each other, but… Well, let's just say that… he wasn't like anyone or anything I had ever seen…"
"Ooh! I think I see a love story coming!" Silverstream cooed.
7 Years Ago - Changeling Hive…
It was business as usual for the Changeling Hive; the workers were bringing in victims with love to feed on, the nursery was tending to the young and larvae, and the soldiers were training for combat should the need ever arise.
Ocellus was with the soldiers, training for the battles to come.
"It was just a regular day of training for me. I wasn't really doing much else, until I was called down by one of the commanders…"
"Ocellus!" The commander shouted.
Ocellus turned her attention to said commander and flew over to them, a hoof to her head as she saluted them.
"At ease."
"What orders from the Queen, sir?"
"Actually, I have orders for you; We seem to have found a rather interesting prisoner, and I want you to take them to the Queen," ordered the commander.
Ocellus was surprised by the order. "B-But, sir, I don't think it's a good idea for us to bring any prisoners directly to the Queen herself. What if it's a trick?"
"Don't be such a worrywart. The prisoner willingly surrendered themselves to us, and I don't think they're dumb enough to think that they can take all of us on. Besides, with the protection of our Queen's throne, there really shouldn't be any real trouble," the commander reassured Ocellus.
She was still skeptical of the idea, but Ocellus was given orders, and she didn't want to be branded as a rogue changeling for disobeying them.
"Yes, sir," she said.
"Good, see it done." With that, the commander left, leaving Ocellus to go down to the courtyard and escort this 'prisoner' to the Queen.
"I thought at first that I was supposed to escort one of the prisoners who were already in cocoons, but it wasn't either of them."
Once she reached the courtyard, she found that the other changelings had two ponies in cocoons.
"So you were sent to escort the prisoner?" One of the changelings asked.
"Yes, but how am I supposed to do that if one of these two are trapped in cocoons?" She asked in confusion.
"They were actually delivered to us by the prisoner," said another changeling as they pointed to said prisoner.
Ocellus looked over, and she was taken back by what she saw.
"That's when I met him…"
What she saw was somewhat a dragon, and yet, hardly a dragon at all. Much of him was covered in masses of flesh and bone, serrated bone plates, crude claws and feet talons, and his face was concealed under a non-equestrian skull, the only attribute unmasked being his lonely left eye of red peeping through the eyehole of the skull.
The deduction of his age must have been adolescent as he was a head taller than the changeling soldiers, but was two sizes smaller than the Queen herself.
Ocellus considered herself a strong warrior-in-training, but the appearance of the prisoner was, admittedly, a little unsettling.
"He wasn't like any other dragon I had ever seen before…"
"Wait wait wait! So, this dragon was covered in flesh and bones?" Smolder asked. "I know that even for dragons we may have strange habits, but that's just unnerving."
"(Gasp!) Did you secretly fall in love with the prisoner? Was he like the 'Hunchback of Notrot Dame? What was he like?" Silverstream asked excitedly.
"Guys, please don't interrupt me."
"Oh! Right, sorry."
"Alright, my lips are sealed now," said Smolder as she motioned a zipper to her lips.
"Yona say nothing."
Ocellus leaned over to a changeling.
"What is he?" She whispered.
"You mean other than a dragon mashed up in bones and bad meat? I have no idea."
"What exactly is he here for?"
"Well, so far he hasn't said a word to us, not even when he gave us those ponies to feed off of. My guess, probably some 'vow of silence'. Or he's just a mute."
"Oh."
"Either way, we assumed that it must be some kind of peace offering, and he just gave himself to us after giving us the ponies."
"Hm, I guess that's why the commander wants him to be taken to the Queen." Ocellus said to herself.
"Apparently. So, you better get to it, the Queen doesn't like late deliveries."
"Right… Uh, come on, creature," said Ocellus demandingly.
The creature simply followed as the two made their way to the top of the Hive.
"Looking back on that moment, I feel bad for calling him that…"
Later…
Not much was said during their way to the throne room. In fact, nothing was really said at all.
For Ocellus, most of the few prisoners they had ever taken to the Queen would talk about the same old things; who they were, who their Queen was, what they wanted from them, where they were taken, where they were being taken to, some of them even the audacity to say unwise things about them and their home.
This prisoner, for Ocellus in her case, was rather quiet, keeping to himself as he took in the surroundings, looking into some of the rooms they passed; the nursery, the dungeons, the combat training rooms.
Yet all the while, he never set his eye on her. As they passed through hallways, he was only focused on the path ahead, preparing himself for what was waiting for him at the end.
Then, they finally reached the throne room.
There were many guards inside, and others inside the many holes of the room. And the Queen herself, sitting regally upon her dark rock throne as she stared at the two that had entered.
Ocellus and the prisoner then approached the Queen.
Chrysalis only eyed the two as they came closer, a look of intrigue falling on the prisoner as she had heard of his 'gift' to them and willingly giving himself to them. She could not see any trace of resistance in his eyes, nor could she detect any ulterior motives. This was certainly something she had not seen before in a prisoner.
Once Ocellus and the prisoner were close enough, Chrysalis rose from her throne.
"Ocellus, you may leave us now."
"Yes, my Queen," said Ocellus before she turned and left.
"I was about to go back to my training, but something in me couldn't help but wonder what Chrysalis would think about him…"
Ocellus stopped just behind the doorway and listened closely to what Chrysalis was going to say.
"I find myself intrigued, creature," Chrysalis began. "But I am not easily sold with your 'peace offering'. What is the real reason you have come here?"
Ocellus listened as to what the creature was going to say…
However, she didn't hear a thing.
Ocellus peeked from behind and was confused to see that Chrysalis and the prisoner were just looking at each other, but Chrysalis had a face like she was simply having a casual conversation with the prisoner. Some facial gestures suggested that she was reacting to something that the prisoner was doing, but she was not angered or offended by him. She had the look of intrigue and curiosity.
Ocellus began to wonder if this creature was telepathic due to his apparent inability to speak.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Chrysalis spoke with her mouth.
"Take him to a cell until I am ready to see him again," she ordered.
"Yes, my Queen," two guards said as they came at the prisoner's sides.
Ocellus quickly made her way back to the combat room she was training in before the guards could catch her eavesdropping on the conversation.
Later…
"I wasn't sure what they were talking about, until a few months later…"
Ocellus fired a blast at a fellow changeling she was training with, sending them right into the wall with a loud thud. She huffed and composed herself as she came to them and offered a hoof.
"Sorry about that," she said casually.
"Hey, don't apologize for a direct hit. Every one counts against the enemy," said the changeling.
"Ocellus!" Shouted one of the commanders, standing in the doorway. "Front and center!"
Ocellus quickly bowed to her opponent before reporting the commander, saluting them.
"At ease."
"Any orders from the Queen?"
"Indeed, and it should be quite interesting."
"How so, sir?" Ocellus asked curiously.
"Because the Queen has assigned you with a training partner," replied the commander.
Ocellus was surprised, she never imagined having another changeling to train with before.
"Oh… Uh, okay. So, who's the rookie I'll be training with?"
"Well, you'll be surprised with your new partner as much as I was to find out who it was going to be…"
"And I certainly was…"
From the side came her new partner, and she was taken back in complete surprise and perplexion.
It was the flesh dragon-creature they had for a few months, who seemed just as surprised as she was to see who he would be training with.
"Uh… I-I'm sorry, I'm confused. What was he doing the whole time?" Ocellus asked in confusion.
"Well, the Queen and Fleshy here-"
"Fleshy?"
"F-Fleshy?" Smolder snickered.
"You said your lips were sealed," Ocellus remarked.
"I know, I know, sorry. Continue."
"Do not interrupt, soldier," said the commander sternly, making Ocellus lower her head nervously.
"Anyway, so the Queen and Fleshy here apparently made a deal that in exchange for him bringing those two ponies to us, she would have him as one of our workers. He was pretty good at some heavy-lifting, but recently, we found out something about him that may slightly put him above being a worker," the commander explained.
"What did they find out about him that qualifies for being a soldier?" Ocellus asked curiously.
"What do you think? I mean, there's more to these bones than we thought," the commander chuckled as he tapped one of Fleshy's bone plates.
Ocellus caught Fleshy's glance at the commander. It seemed that he didn't appreciate being touched like some object. Nevertheless, he kept his face straight as he continued listening to the conversation between the two.
"Anyway, the Queen believes that these attributes of his may be formidable in the field of battle, but we can't just send him out without training. So, by order of Queen Chrysalis herself, you; Ocellus, will be his combat partner. I will teach you some new sets for him to learn after he learns all he can from you for the time being," the commander instructed.
"Yes, sir."
"Good," said the commander as he turned to Fleshy. "As for you, you are to obey orders from nopony else but myself, Ocellus, but above all others, you are to obey the Queen's orders with immediate action. If your reply is delayed, there will be dire consequences. Is that understood?"
Fleshy gave a single nod.
"Good. Now, get started." With that, the commander left Fleshy and Ocellus with each other.
Fleshy entered the room and stood opposite of Ocellus.
"So, you lifted a few heavy things, huh?" Ocellus asked bluntly, as if expecting the creature to praise himself like a dragon.
However, Fleshy crossed his arms with an almost offended look.
Ocellus was caught off guard by this reaction. "Okay, so maybe you're not like other dragons, but that's not really important. I may still be in training, but I also know more than just a few basics. So, don't think that I'll go easy on you just because you're a rookie."
Fleshy gave a single nod and then made a stance which showed that he awaited orders.
Ocellus approached him and then stood in the center of the room.
"First, let's see if you know how to dodge…" Ocellus charged her horn and fired a blast.
Fleshy only stood there as the blast blew him back at the wall. He fell to the floor but caught himself with his hands.
"Did that hurt?"
Fleshy slowly got up and brushed the dust off of himself as he took another with a nonchalant expression, like he expected it to.
"Well, it did because you didn't dodge, and I can see that you need to know what that means…"
Ocellus grabbed a small rock from the ground and gave it to Fleshy.
"Switch me places."
Fleshy took the rock and walked over to where Ocellus stood before, the latter standing where he did.
"Now, try throwing it to me."
Fleshy threw the rock hard, and Ocellus swiftly moved to the side as the rock zipped by her and hit the wall instead.
Fleshy cocked his head in confusion.
"That's what dodging is, don't let yourself get hit by something that's coming at you," Ocellus explained.
Fleshy nodded as he felt that he understood now.
"Okay then, let's try again."
The two switched places, Ocellus charged her horn, fired the blast, and Fleshy quickly moved to the side this time, the blast hitting the wall again.
"Not bad. Again!" Ocellus fired two times, and Fleshy dodged the first, but his left arm got burned by the other as it hit the wall.
Fleshy looked to Ocellus in confusion again.
She could tell that he was thinking that he only had to dodge one. She shook her head with a sigh through her nostrils.
"There are going to be a lot of things coming at you on the battlefield, and I'm not just talking about magic blasts. I mean a lot of things, but no matter how many things come at you, you need to make sure to dodge the things that you can," Ocellus explained.
Fleshy nodded and got into position again.
Ocellus fired two blasts again, and this time Fleshy evaded them successfully.
"Good. Again!" Ocellus fired four blasts. Fleshy dodged the first three, but was skinned by the fourth.
"Close. Try again." Ocellus repeated the blasts, and Fleshy dodged them all.
"Again!" Six blasts, six successful dodges.
"Again!" Ten blasts, ten successful dodges.
"He became a fast learner…"
The process carried on further as many changelings shot blasts at him and either missed or were blocked every time, he even caught one of the blasts in his bare left hand and purposely threw it above their head.
He was almost untouchable.
"He was taught everything we knew about war and battle…"
On one of the squadron missions in Knight's Peak, Fleshy had taken out many minotaurs and a couple of their strongest. He had one minotaur pinned to the ground and fired a punch to the face, knocking them unconscious.
"He was made into a weapon for us…"
A military of ponies in the city of Seaddle stood ready as changelings approached their city, Fleshy was put up in front of them. As the ponies charged, Fleshy inhaled deeply and breathed a dark flame surrounded by an eerie black mist.
"He was changed into a different creature…"
Ocellus was walking down the halls as she heard loud punches and swipes, looking into a room to see Fleshy throwing combo attacks against a lot of changelings warriors in armor.
After training, Fleshy offered a claw to one of the changelings, who took it and was pulled to her hooves.
"Thanks, Morthis," said the changeling.
'Morthis' then turned and exited the room, watching for Ocellus in the process.
"And eventually, he earned our respect…"
As Morthis entered the Hive courtyard, many changelings saluted him and he in turn.
"He became one of our best soldiers, and I kind of envied him for that at the time…"
"Boy, that Morthis sure is something. Don't you think, Ocellus?" One of the changelings asked.
"Uh… Yeah, sure."
"Wow, he must've become a really popular guy amongst the changelings," Smolder complimented.
"Yeah, I'll bet he was embarrassed about some of that praise," said Silverstream.
"Well… One of the things I liked about him was that he didn't really care for it. Chrysalis was even insistent on him becoming a captain of his own squadron, but he eventually persuaded her to just let him be as he was."
There was a knock at the doorway, and the girls turned to see Sandbar and Gallus at the doorway.
"Uh, hey… Are we interrupting?" Sandbar asked.
"No, not all! Come on in!" Said Silverstream.
Gallus and Sandbar entered the room and took a seat by the others.
"We heard you girls talking from the other room, is everything alright?" Gallus asked.
"Yeah, we're fine. Ocellus was actually just telling us about an interesting story," Smolder replied.
"About what?" Sandbar asked.
"Her first special somepony!" Silverstream exclaimed.
"S-Silver…" Ocellus peeped as her face went tomato red.
"Oh, really? I-I don't mean that because you're changeling! I just didn't know that there was somepony you liked," said Sandbar curiously.
"Me neither. So, who was this guy?" Gallus asked.
"Uh… W-Well… I'm only halfway through the story…"
"It's okay, Ocellus," Sandbar said warmly.
As Ocellus was walking by the nursery, she stopped when she saw some of the changelings in bandages and casts.
"What happened to all of you?" She asked.
"Morthis happened," said one of the changelings.
Ocellus was shocked. "How?"
"We're not sure, but he's being a little rougher with us than usual," said another changeling.
Ocellus immediately left in search of Morthis.
When Ocellus looked into one the training rooms, she saw some of her fellow changelings, covered in some bruises and cuts attempting to swarm Morthis, but the creature simply swatted them away hard and sent them into the walls, grabbing one by the tail and slamming them into the ground before pounding them into the ground with a single punch.
The changeling was knocked out cold, and Morthis was breathing hard.
"Hey!" Ocellus shouted, grabbing Morthis' attention. "What are you doing?"
Morthis only snorted red smoke as he left the room and made his way back to his personal chamber.
Ocellus was left confused as she went over to check on her fellow changelings.
"I wasn't sure why, but Morthis started acting aggressive, which wasn't anything like him when I first met him."
The next day as Ocellus was eating in the military cafeteria, she saw Morthis walk in with a stoic look on his. She thought that was weird, but what was even weirder were some of the changelings that he walked by: They were scared of him, trying to scoot closer to the walls as he strolled on by.
After he grabbed his meal for the day, they scooted away from him again as he left the cafeteria.
"He also seemed more close off…"
The week after, Ocellus was walking down the hallways until she heard loud thumps from the room ahead on her left.
Carefully she snuck over and peeped her head.
Morthis was throwing punches and kicks into a punching bag so hard that it was also chained to the floor, and the punches were so loud from each booming punch that Ocellus covered her ears as she continued to watch him.
Morthis threw another punch that was too fast for her to see, and the punching bag was sent through the wall into the next room. He was breathing hard with red smoke fuming from his nostrils.
Ocellus saw in his single eye a livid anger and a sense of ferocity.
Morthis turned his head and caught Ocellus, who quickly pulled her head back and backed into the wall, her body quivering with an unknown fear.
As Ocellus heard heavy footsteps approaching, she started shaking even more and buried her head into her arms, fearing the worst as she knew Morthis was getting closer. Her body almost wanted to collapse to the floor as she felt Morthis' presence pass right by her, but thankfully she saw Morthis walking away with clenched fists.
She quietly exhaled a sigh of relief, she never thought that she would be scared of a creature that had once been innocent as a prisoner. Now he was like a beast that brought dread to all those around him.
"I wasn't sure what was going on with him… So I wanted to find out…"
A few weeks later, Ocellus was making her way to Morthis' chamber in hopes of asking him why he was acting the way he did for the past month. She thought it may have had to do something with the other changelings, or maybe it was because of a mission he may have failed.
She thought that she was going to have one of those moments where she would have to lecture him about keeping himself in control about those things, and lectures weren't really her favorite thing.
When she got there however, she saw something she hadn't seen before…
Morthis was holding a silver unicorn helmet in his hands, a stoic look in his eyes as he stared into the visor.
Ocellus thought there may have been something about the helmet that gave Morthis this new behavior. Or perhaps, it may have been whoever the pony was that wore it.
Morthis' grip tightened around the helmet, almost indenting it with his claws, his face slowly turning from expressionless to anger, a glint of hatred burning as he furrowed his eye deeply, his nostrils fuming, and his teeth clenching.
Then, with all his fury, Morthis threw the helmet at the wall with a low growl, a huge dent was left in the wall, his eye never leaving the object as it bounced off and hit the ground.
Ocellus, startled by Morthis throwing the helmet, slowly inched towards him.
Every step she took felt like a mistake, yet she couldn't stop herself from getting closer to the creature.
Now standing only a hoof away, Ocellus slowly raised her hoof in an attempt to get Morthis' attention, feeling unsettled of the reaction to come.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Morthis spun around and pinned Ocellus to the ground by her neck, letting out a snarl as he bared his right claws and was prepared to strike.
Ocellus was almost paralyzed, too shaken to do anything as she looked into Morthis' eye, feeling the anger that burned within his gaze, her breaths shaky and trembling as she started sweating, her eyes filled with fear as she closed them and looked away from the aggressive creature, fearing the worst to come…
But Morthis didn't attack her, he didn't even snort any smoke at her. She reluctantly opened her eyes slowly as to what Morthis was doing.
Looking into eye, Ocellus started to see something else: Pain.
Morthis' eye slowly glazed with tears as he released Ocellus, stepping back as he fell to his knees, his arms going limp as he started weeping.
Ocellus got up and started walking away, but something stopped her.
Looking back at Morthis, she saw other things; Anguish, sorrow, and confusion.
She couldn't understand what was going on, but for some inexplicable reason she felt… sorry for him.
She didn't know what to do at this point, he almost attacked her out of aggression and hatred, but now he was on knees crying tears as he was going through other heavy emotions. Should she leave him alone? Should she try to comfort him? She felt stuck.
However, she felt her hooves slowly coming towards him again, this time more cautiously as to not agitate him. She wasn't sure if what she was doing was a good- much less safe idea, but she didn't seem to stop herself.
Ocellus was now a hoof away yet again, Morthis within her legs' reach as she found herself on her haunches in front of him. Even at knee height, he was still an inch taller than her.
Then, out of nowhere, Ocellus leaned forward and hugged the creature caringly, like she was feeling instinctive or something. She didn't know how to feel about it, but she didn't stop herself as Morthis didn't seem to reject it.
Ocellus held her embrace on Morthis as he just sat there on his knees as he wept in anguish and sorrow.
"Luckily, it didn't last for too long. Many of the changelings got over it despite a few still feeling uncomfortable around him."
"Then a few months later on the day before our invasion of Canterlot, Morthis was given a different assignment…"
The entire Hive was gathered in one place of the whole kingdom, Queen Chrysalis was standing on a patio with many of her commanders and Morthis at her side.
"My subjects, heed me and listen to the voice of your queen!" Chrysalis shouted with an amplified voice. All the changelings immediately had their eyes on their queen.
"Today, we march into a new era of prosperity for our kin! Today, we march into a new world of fulfillment and sustenance! Tomorrow, we will have found enough love for us to feed on for generations to come, and Equestria shall at last be our new home!"
The changelings cheered.
"Now my soldiers, spread your wings and take flight!"
The changelings flared their wings and started flying into the air, zooming through holes as they exited their Hive into the outside world and made their way to Canterlot.
As the changeling commanders took to the air, Morthis began to walk towards the stairs of the patio to join the armies…
"Not you, Morthis," said Chrysalis.
Morthis turned his attention to her and cocked his head in confusion.
"Even with the soldiers I have remaining here, I do not believe that they may be enough to protect every section of the kingdom. So, as one of my most formidable warriors, I need you to remain here and protect the nursery while I am away. Can I entrust you with this crucial task?"
Morthis placed a fist over his chest and nodded.
"Excellent. Guard them well." With that, Chrysalis took to the air to lead her armies to Canterlot.
As the rest of the armies took off, Morthis looked to the side to see Ocellus approaching him, a somewhat concerned expression on her face. Morthis saluted her as a sign of good luck, Ocellus returning the salute in turn.
"Good luck," she said before she spread her wings and took to the air.
As she caught up with her fellow changelings, the concerned expression didn't leave her.
One of her fellow changelings caught this and put a hoof to her shoulder. "They'll be fine. If anything or anypony gets any stupid ideas about sneaking or tresspassing into our Hive, they'll be sorry that they ever crossed with Morthis."
Ocellus gave a nod with a forced smile.
"My worry back then was that Morthis wouldn't be able to protect my little brother and sister…"
It was a few weeks after the changelings' failure in Canterlot, some of the changelings rushed back to the Hive to check on their young.
Once Ocellus got into the Hive, she and the other changelings quickly rushed to the nursery, only to find that a group of greedy pony stallions were incapacited and knocked out cold on the ground. Morthis had one in his left claw, an empty look in his eye as he was horrifically close to snapping their neck.
As he turned his attention to the changelings, he threw the stallion right in front of them.
"Luckily, I was wrong to be worried… N-No offense, Sandbar."
"No, I get it. If I saw somepony trying to foalnap my little sister, I'd be angry too."
Then a couple years laters, as Ocellus and Morthis were training together with the latter getting the upper hand, a changeling rushed into the room.
"Ocellus, we need some help getting our new prisoners to the Queen's throne room."
Ocellus looked over to Morthis. "I'll be back. Don't go anywhere, okay?"
Morthis nodded, and she left to go help with the new prisoners they got.
Once she got to the courtyard however, they were most surprised at what they saw; Princess Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Spike, Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, a baby alicorn, Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia.
"Woah…" She said in awe.
"Yeah! The Queen decided that instead of attacking ordinary ponies, we should bring Equestria's most important ponies here instead," one of the changelings.
"Y-Yeah, but I mean, Princess Luna? Morthis is going to be really shocked," Ocellus said to herself.
"What?"
"Nothing," she lied. Luckily they bought it.
"What I didn't realize at that moment was that Morthis was watching…"
In one of the many holes of the Hive, a red eye watched from the darkness and saw whom the changelings had with them.
Princess Luna…
Morthis then retreated into the darkness.
Later…
Ocellus was rushing down the corridors until she saw Morthis peeking his head out from his chamber.
Ocellus stopped for a quick moment. "The Queen's chamber is breached! I need to go defend her, could you stay down here and keep an eye on the nursery?"
Morthis simply nodded.
"Thank you!" Then Ocellus rushed for the throne room. Unfortunately, she was oblivious to the melancholy expression he had in his eye before she rushed off.
"He didn't though…"
Later following the confrontation between Starlight Glimmer and Queen Chrysalis, Ocellus was a completely reformed changeling. She was so excited about her new look that she wanted to tell Morthis.
"When I got to his chamber…"
Once Ocellus reached Morthis' personal chamber…
"He was gone…"
"Huh?" Ocellus said in confusion, landing on the ground as she entered. "Morthis?"
As Ocellus approached Morthis' bed-rock, she saw a scroll that had her name on it.
"And that was the last time I ever saw him…"
Looking around in confusion, she picked it up with her magic and unfurled it, finding that it was written inside.
~~~~~
"Ocellus,
I am sorry that I did not stay long enough to tell you in person that I would be leaving this day, and I do not believe I will be coming back anytime soon. Seeing Princess Luna brought back too many memories for me to handle, and I did not want to trouble you or your fellow changelings about it. I know that it is more important for the changelings to feed on her love for her sister than it is for me to want to do… Well, a lot of things. So to avoid any complications between myself and the changelings, I had to make a choice between staying here thinking about Princess Luna remaining with the changelings for ages and me trying to contain myself from trying to prevent that in a way. I know that this note makes it sound like my choice was easy, but I also know that you may be confused as to why I suddenly decided to "vanish" today.
I hope you will know though, that I will never forget the things we have been through together: You helping me to cope with the changelings, teaching me how to defend myself in combat, and going out of your way to be there for me on that day. Whether the reason be that you did not want to be embarrassed standing there and watching me cry, having some form of pity, letting your instincts take over, or just so that you did not have to deal with my emotions (chuckle). Whatever the reason, I am very grateful that you chose to be there. So, thank you for that. You have become a memory in my life that I could never forget, a memory of somepony being there for someone who needed help.
That was actually the reason I came to the changelings; to find a place of safety, a place to call home, a place where creatures would take me under their wings, claws, or hooves. I find something much more than that, however: Friends, and not just that… a Family. All of you were like brothers and sisters to me, Chrysalis like a mother.
I wanted to ask you something in person before I left, but considering the explosion I heard up top, I felt that I was in a bit of a time-crunch. So, I hope that whatever happens to you and the changelings, that you will all find happiness in whatever lives you may lead, and who knows? Maybe there will come a day where we can see each other again. Whatever day that may be, I look forward to it.
With the respect of your fellow soldier, with the supportiveness of your fellow companion, and wishing you and the changelings a life of happiness and prosperity…
Morthis."
~~~~~
After reading the letter, Ocellus' face was ridden with sadness and confusion, wondering why after close to 3 years, Morthis had left her and the changelings, after him confessing of seeing them as a family that he never had before. There was also an aching in her heart, and she couldn't understand why, but it hurt very much.
She sniffled a couple of times before she took in a deep breath and exhaled shakily.
She then noticed something on the back of the paper and flipped it over. She saw that there was a drawing of three hearts with boxes next to them.
The first heart was colored pink with the words "Did you like me?" next to it, the second heart was colored pink on the left side, and deep blue on the other side with the words "Were you not sure about me?" next to it, and the third heart was all deep blue with icicles beneath with the words "Did you not like me at all?" next to it.
Three options, waiting for the one answer…
Present Day - Treehouse of Harmony…
Ocellus held the paper with her magic, looking at the answer that she wrote into it…
First Heart: "I did like you"
Ocellus sighed deeply as she looked back out the window.
The others all had different reactions to the story that she had told them.
"So… He just left you a note and never came back?" Smolder asked, a tinge of sympathy in her voice.
"Well, at least he wanted you to know that he had good intentions… right?" Silverstream asked.
"Yona sorry for Ocellus…"
"It's like, one minute he becomes a changeling legend. The next minute, he vanishes like a myth," said Gallus.
"I'm sorry that you didn't get to show him your new look," said Sandbar.
Ocellus looked to her friends and gave a warm smile to them all as her eyes were glazed. "Thanks guys."
They all hugged each other.
"Although…" Sandbar began. "I'm kind of curious. The description of the helmet you described that he was holding sounded way too familiar to me. Do you think he may have had some history with Nightmare Moon?"
"I assumed he might have…" Ocellus said as she looked back out the window. "I just hope that he's still okay…"
Somewhere in the Everfree forest with the Treehouse of Harmony in view, the shape of a creature stood with its eyes looking at it.
A single tear dropped to the ground, the creature leaving the treehouse behind to continue its long journey.
