I slunk back to my house, my actual house. We weren't supposed to go there. I had a new home so long as I was pretending to be Ocellus.

She spotted me instantly. She was sitting there at the counter, chatting with Twilight, as I came walking in. "Hi, Ocellus," she called with my voice. "So nice of you to stop by."

Talking to a copy of me was a curious experience. "Sorry. I couldn't leave my keyboard here."

Twilight perked. "Oh, yes. Silly me." She hopped to her hooves and hurried into my room, emerging with the keyboard. "I trust you have the school one with you already?"

Ocellus inclined her head. "Shouldn't I be using those? I can't learn what it's like to be David if I don't do what he does."

Twilight clopped a hoof to her head. "Those are not cheap, hm..." She shoved the keyboard against me. "And we only have those right now... I'll explain this to Fluttershy."

Rather than listen to how it played out, I walked out of that tense situation.

A pity Spike blocked the way. "We have so much to talk about."

I squeaked in surprise. "Spike! Hi... Um. Look, I'm pretending to be Ocellus right now, so unless you want to chat with a friendly shapeshifting bug, you're talking to the wrong creature."

Spike blinked with surprise. "Really?" He leaned to look at Ocellus, trying her best to have an intellectual conversation in a poor stereotype of a stiff conversation. "Wow... How long does this last?"

"A week." I trotted around him, making for the exit. "Just a week."

I sighed, ears drooping slightly under the keyboard's awkward bulk. "Yeah, a full week walking a mile in somepony else's shoes for class. Fluttershy's idea to build empathy."

I managed a self-conscious half grin Spike's way. "So I gotta pretend being a cute bug and Ocellus is working on being a kirin klutz for the next few days."

Spike crossed his arms, tilting his head. "Weird school assignment, but okay. Sure you aren't just bailin' to avoid talking things over?" He raised a skeptical brow.

My cheeks heated slightly scuffing a hoof. "No, nuh uh, not avoiding anything! Just you know, awkward with Twilight ogling my lookalike trying to chat intelligently and all." I cleared my throat. "I'll swing back after the keyboard exchange, promise!"

I rushed back to the dormitory and set the keyboard down.

"Funny, Ocellus doesn't have one of those." Smolder was smirking viciously.

I turned to the bipedal dragon. "Hey, Smolder. Who did you get?"

Smolder shrugged softly. "Gallus. We thought we were signing up for something cool."

Gallus snorted, laying on Smolder's bed, back down. "Being a dragon's easy. If anycreature bothers me, I'll set them on fire."

"That doesn't sound very nice." I rubbed behind my head awkwardly.

Smolder hiked a brow. "Wow, nice Ocellus." She barked in laughter. "You're into this." She punched me in the shoulder. "So, you get to sleep here, with us. Lucky you, hm?"

I imagined fluttering wings, but I had none of those. I was a kirin, even if pretending. "Yeah. I'm interested, and nervous... Does Ocellus, me, do I do anything after class?"

Gallus rolled a hand in the air. "More often than not, she writes."

"Home," added Smolder. "She loves updating her family on how it's going."

I imagined that cheerful little lovebug, literally, penning her family. "Aw... I'm not sure if they want a letter from some random alien pony though..."

Smolder shrugged. "That's the assignment, dude. Get to writing."

I sighed softly, eyeing the blank page set aside for some cheerfully perfect letter home as "Ocellus". Conveying her bright personality sounded tricky for one more used to just candidly portraying flawed folks.

But assignments were to get us growing surer even stumbling. How much more mingling a little magic and sincerity however clumsy the start? I set my jaw determinedly, snorting gently.

Thus did "Ocellus" proceed with pen freshly dipped. I also learned that writing with a quill was far trickier than I imagined. Thankfully, Ocellus had telekinesis, so I didn't have to double-practice it in hand instead.

Hello,

This is not Ocellus. This is David, a kirin pony that is a friend and classmate of Ocellus, but I am pretending to be her. Shh. She's doing well, and I'm doing alright pretending to be her. Hm, not sure what to write here, as I dont' know any of you. I'll be pretending to be her for a week, so if you write back before then, I'll reply. It only feels right.

Sincerely,
David "Ocellus" Silver

I nodded at my words with satisfaction. "This'll do. How do I actually get this to them?"

Gallus sighed softly. "I send a few letters, but I'm Smolder right now."

Smolder rolled her eyes. "Get off it. Show David how to send that letter."

"Fine fine." Gallus sprang to his feet. "Don't tell the teacher, okay?"

"I'm not a narc." She stuck out her tongue as he led the way outside.

Gallus led the way downstairs shrugging casually along the wending halls. "Sending letters here's easy peasy - just gotta know how to catch a breeze."

Noticing my puzzled stare he grinned waving towards the vivid equine flier busy sorting scattered envelopes outside the administrative office. "Muffins there's the mail mare moving stuff quick as lightnin' all over Equestria daily. Slip her the envelope, she zips off, ka-bang got yourself postal service!"

I examined the boldly emblazoned grey Pegasus with a grunt. Of course it'd be her. She spun airborne orbits gathering additional letters from animated students. "Derpy, in the flesh..."

Gallus smirked back mild pride straightening his griffon frame. "Muffins, but nice insult there. I didn't expect you to have teeth like that. Not very Ocellus like if you ask me."

With conspiratorial wink he approached the wall-eyed pegasus diplomatically. "New student has a letter for you."

Muffins darted up to me with a curious smile. "Do you?! Where?"

I floated the letter into her eager grasp. "To the changeling hive, Ocellus' family?"

"Oh! I know them." Derpy twirled with a giggle. "They are so nice. I'll be sure they get this." She lifted several inches into the air with a flap. "Nice to meet you, but I should get delivering!" And off she went in a puff of dust, managing to avoid crashing into anything.

I blinked as the wall-eyed messenger zipped erratically off, twin trails of dust pluming. Somehow she dodged every obstacle almost unconsciously. This mailmare paired passion and calamity with practiced ease navigating breakneck speeds.

Gallus followed my stunned stare chuckling. "Yeah, Derpy's a trip but super reliable!" He flashed a casual wave her way. "Mail's in good hooves so don't sweat it."

I lingered thoughtfully as her form vanished over the horizon.

But Gallus clearly cared more for immediate gossip than pondering postal workers' problems. With a dismissive claw he pivoted back towards the dorms. "C'mon, time's a wastin'!"

I laughed and followed his impatient stride. "Wonder if they'll actually reply."

"Like clockwork." He didn't hold the door on the way inside, to my brief annoyance. "They write back as soon as they see her letter. It's a ritual with only a day or two between letters. Good on you for keeping it up."

I stepped back onto Ocellus' bed and turned about. "Hello, my name is Ocellus."

Smolder snorted. "Yea, that voice is not cutting it."

Yona stomped in. "Yeah, you should just relax."

I flopped to my belly, staring at her. "Who are you?"

Yona inclined her large head. "Sandbar. Silly, we've met before." She waved that off, speaking like Sandbar fairly well despite her usual simplistic speech. "Did you remember your homework."

"Later," called Gallus, laying down on his back. "If ever."

Yona rolled her eyes. "That didn't change." She turned to me. "Welcome. As a pony, I want you to feel welcomed and to be my friend."

I smiled at that, hearing Yona's awkward words mixing in with the ones she was trying so hard to imitate. "You know me. I'm Ocellus." I pawed at her. "One of my best friends."

Yona gasped with obvious shock. "How silly of me. I didn't recognize you." Still, that put aside, she hugged me fiercely. "I am always happy to see you, Ocellus."

I wheezed under Yona's fierce yak hug, wondering if genuinely befriending living tanks ever left bruises.

Disengaging slightly, I managed a lopsided grin her way. "No worries, that's what this mixup's all about yeah? Broadening appreciation?" I patted her sturdy shoulder.

Eyeing snoozing Smolder I added slyly "And some of those lessons stand nearer than we think if you keep it light." My tossed pillow elicited muffled protest.

I winked playfully Yona's way eliciting girlish giggles nearly harmonizing with my own high pitched snickers.

Though awkward, I resolved to have a good time with that assignment.

A letter arrived the very next day. I unfolded it. "Not many other people are David 'Ocellus' Silver..." That left no doubt who it was intended for.

Hello, infiltrator!

This is so exciting! A changeling, infiltrated? I didn't even know that was possible, but there you are, doing it. You're putting up quite a disguise. If you hadn't told me, I would never have guessed this in a million moons. But you did tell me, which makes you kinda bad at this. That's alright. Nice to meet you! David's a curious name. What does it mean?

I paused reading to smile at that thought. So many humans didn't know what their names really meant, but I did! I had a perfectly fine pony name. I paused with thought. Did it still apply in the pony world?

I grabbed a new paper in my magic and got to writing, even if I hadn't finished reading.

Hey there,

Nice to hear from you. This one is typed. I realized after the last one there was nothing stopping me from typing it, so here I am. My name means Beloved.

I paused. God was a big concept to drop on people.

Destiny. My full name means Beloved, like Destiny, but who's perfect? That or I work with silver, which I do not, so I stick with but who's perfect? That always fit me better. Even the name's imperfect.

I turned my eyes to the other paper to finish reading.

I so rarely get to talk to Ocellus' friends, or write them. What's your favorite color? What's your favorite sport? You meet a lot of other changelings?

This and many other questions dotted the paper. It took quite a while to dig through them, one by one by one. But I did pick through them, typing busily with my hooves pressed in their proper spots. "There." I folded the paper shut in my magic and delivered it to the waiting mail pony. It wasn't Derpy that time, but they spirited it off just as quickly.

That left me with checking on Earth. I groaned softly, my spirit on touching that world diminished. Still, abandoning it, and my brother, felt bad. I checked email, communicated the situation in more detail to the mortgage company, and sent a payment, a month late. It was all the money I had ready at that point. Mother surely wasn't contributing.

I pulled my hooves away with a sigh. "Words written, games run, letters written..." I looked over at my temporary roomies. "What does Ocellus do just for fun?"

Smolder just grunted, lost in some comic. But Yona stomped over eagerly attempting another awkward Sandbar smile. "Wanna go for a nice evening walk under the pretty stars until our hearts feel like talking?"

I smiled back, touched by the gentle thoughtfulness. "Sure, okay." It was, perhaps, refreshing to have someone care, but not about that.

With returned nod I gestured her out the door into spring constellations' tranquility. Students still milled about laughing nearby at day's satisfied conclusion. It was a fine evening for a hike, and I did just that. "There are so many friends out there."

Author's Note

Schooooool! A whole chapter of just teens being teens with no drama really. Felt nice.

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