Ocellus jolts at the feeling of being shaken. The mirror hall crumbles around her, the other versions of her dropping out of the frames, then the frames themselves slip sideways out of reality, leaving holes to a white nothing that begins to eat at the black.

The mirror in front of her is the last to go, standing stalwart against the apocalypse eating the world. Resolutely showing her absolute lack of reflection. Nothing but a void.

And just for a moment, she feels something staring back at her from deep within it...

Reality crashes into place around Ocellus, the familiar claw on her shoulder continuing to shake her. Her heart is beating quickly. She is in bed. Waking up from yet another night of troubled sleep. There is light filtering through her closed eyelids, and the warmth of her blankets wraps her in a comforting cocoon as the night terror melts away.

"Ocellus! Wake up. You're having a nightmare."

Ocellus recognizes the voice of her dragon friend. More, she recognizes the taste of her -- a cinnamon sharpness mixed with other flavors -- but they all feel muddy and wrong. She frowns and rolls over, burying her face in her pillow to keep Smolder from seeing the expression she is making. Ocellus doesn't want Smolder to think she is making a face because she is tasting the dragon's love.

Ocellus is making a face because she is tasting the dragon's love, but it's not like that. And she doesn't want Smolder to get the wrong impression. She woke up with her receptors open, something common for changelings, especially those in a love-filled environment. But the sense of "taste" she gets from them is muddled after the night's sleep. On mornings like this, tasting Smolder's love the moment she wakes up is like drinking a glass of orange juice while you still have pasty morning-mouth. Ocellus shuts her receptors and the taste passes.

Ocellus murphles into her pillow that she's awake, and the warm claw leaves her shoulder. She takes a moment to process what she remembers of the night terror and convince herself fully that it is passed. This is the... fifth? Sixth?... night in a row that her dreams have tormented her. She feels barely rested, like her mind is full of cotton.

She sits up and sees Smolder staring at her with concern. She slowly opens her receptors again, her senses overcoming their post-sleep fog. Cinnamon with notes of granite and a sweetness that reminds her of fancy toast. Smolder's worry is born of caring. That caring is laced with love. And changelings feed on love. Ocellus cannot taste the worry or the caring directly -- changelings aren't fully empathic, as she's had to explain to classmates and teachers more than once -- but even though it is but a small part of what Smolder is feeling, the love component in those emotions is filling the air between the orange dragon and her bunk.

"Are you okay?" Smolder asks, her eyes looking up and down the nymph with mild yet undisguised alarm.

Ocellus sighs. "Bad dreams. Again."

Smolder's face clouds. Ocellus knows the dragon is biting her tongue. Her night terrors have been more and more frequent. She's had them for well over a year, but only sporadically. Maybe twice a month, and normally before events anyone would be stressed about: a big test, a big buckball game. Smolder and her friends even made a real, live appearance in one of her earliest ones, courtesy of King Sombra's destruction of the Tree of Harmony.

But now? Almost every night for the last week.

Smolder snorts. "You really should talk to someone about them..." she urges.

The young changeling frowns. And from the look Smolder gives her, she can tell the dragon is reading that she is not going to follow her friend's advice. The last time Ocellus sought adult council, Headmare Starlight was still the School Counselor. That hadn't been as helpful as she had hoped. And that was quite a while ago. Trixie is the counselor now, and as much as the unicorn cares about the students, Ocellus cannot imagine her being able to help.

"Why not have a Feelings Forum about it?" Smolder suggests, half teasing.

Cultural acceptance was a fundamental, not only of the School of Friendship, but the friendship she and Smolder shared with each other and their close circle of friends. But that didn't mean the extremely un-dragon practice of communal gatherings to talk about feelings was off-limits for some good-natured jabs.

Ocellus casually replies, "I don't think they could help. Counselor Trixie either. Dreams are really more Princess Luna's forte." Well, ex-Princess, but that felt so odd and vaguely disrespectful to say. "If I write a scroll asking her about it, could you send it to her for me?"

Smolder responds with a gentle slap of her wing across the back of Ocellus' head. The dragon flies up to her bunk to start making her bed.

Translation: I can't do that. Dragons don't do that. I don't know how Spike does it. Stop teasing.

Ocellus gives the bunk above a smirk.

Translation: I know that. And I will. Eventually. Maybe.

The orange-scaled dragon girl finishes what could pass for having at least looked at her sheets, then hops down. Ocellus watches Smolder grab her towel and head to the shower. She is still getting used to having the Dragon as a roommate this year. It is different than sharing a room with Yona. But as Yona's relationship with Sandbar grew, the yak had wanted to swap to Silverstream's room which was right across the hall from her boyfriend's.

Ocellus remembers the very brief argument she and Smolder had at the beginning of the year over who got the top bunk, which they had both enjoyed in their previous living assignments. Smolder won with "If I'm on top, then if I snore in my sleep -- which I never do -- I won't set your bunk on fire." After that, there was nothing to do but concede gracefully with, "Good point. And if I'm on the bottom, if I turn into a bugbear in my sleep -- which I never do -- I won't flatten you."

Smolder's wide-eyed look had made losing the top bunk worth it.

Smolder has stopped at the door and is looking back at her. "You coming?"

Ocellus flushes, realizing she hasn't even gotten out of her bed yet, much less made it. She'll do the chore when she comes back for her saddlebags. She wants to double-check all her packing anyway. The mystery field trip is supposed to last three days.

The changeling nymph quickly disentangles herself from her sheets and hops out of bed, grabbing her towel. "Y-yeah."

"You all packed?" Sandbar is asking as Smolder and Ocellus walk into the Atrium.

Gallus flips his yellow crest feathers. "Yeah, as best as I can be. I've even packed homework. I feel like Ocellus." That gets a few laughs from their friends. "Seriously, I've got the design done for my project in Professor Pinkie's class, but I have no idea how I'm going to build it."

Ocellus feels her ears twitch. And her curiosity awaken, asking what Professor Pie has the boys up to. She's not in that class, just Sandbar and Gallus.

Sandbar nods. "You mean, without it looking like our first attempt at the treehouse?"

"Yeah," Gallus bemoans. "Like that."

"Hey, it wasn't that bad!" Silverstream pipes up. It had lots of glue.

"Yona packed!" Sandbar's girlfriend agrees with self confidence. "Yona pack different outfits for snow or sun or rain!" The set of suitcases strapped to the young yak's back testifies to her thoroughness. Ocellus suspects Professor Rarity helped supplement Yona's wardrobe. Yona's genuine interest in clothing had her designing a line of yak summer wear with the professor as an extracurricular project.

"It would be easier to pack if we knew where we were going," Gallus grumps.

"I love that it's a surprise! Oooh, what if it's Cloudsdale?" Silverstream suggests enthusiastically. "Or Silver Shoals? We could visit the former princesses!"

"Anyplace is good so long as Yona have her friends!"

"You said it!" Smolder shouts out as she and Ocellus approach from across the lawn. Their friends turn and wave in greeting, then one-by-one, their expressions turn to concern. Ocellus can see it. Taste it, too. Multiple subcurrents of love, a bunch of flavors melting together mixing pleasantly, none of them strong enough to stand out.

Ocellus is experienced enough to know that worry always has a little love in it when that worry concerns some creature you care about. But it is such a small facet of the dominant emotion that it often tastes weak and washed out. As it does with other emotions with a love ingredient. It is almost like drinking watered down mixed-berries punch and trying to identify the berries.

"Uh, Ocellus? You don't look so good."

Ocellus sighs. "I haven't been sleeping well."

Sandbar asks, "Are you going to be okay for the field trip?"

"Maybe bugfriend should stay?" Yona suggests, wearing her concern like a blanket. "Ocellus no want to get sick."

Ocellus shakes her head. "I'll be fine. I'm just... not fully awake yet."

Beside her, she hears Smolder snort. The dragon looks at her, then turns to her friends.

"Ocellus has been having nightmares," Smolder volunteers. "But she doesn't want to talk about them." The dragon's voice is firm. Smolder doesn't want the others to push her or to make a big deal out of this.

Ocellus smiles a small, grateful smile. If Smolder was a changeling, the dragon would be tasting her love right now. Her dreams are... private. She doesn't want to share them with her friends. (Or with strangers. Or any creature.) And the last few have been particularly creepy -- the sort her friends might read too much into. She doesn't want to worry her friends unnecessarily.

"Maybe it's stress?" Silverstream offers. "Sometimes I get totally stressed out when I'm going to visit my family." The pale pink hippogriff pantomimes a freakout, adding, "Ocellus was there last time. I was going nuts!"

"How could you tell?" Smolder snarks to Ocellus.

Gallus waves his talons dismissively. "Well gee, what's there to be stressed about? Surely not this mysterious multi-day field trip we're about to go on that Headmare Starlight won't tell us anything about. Or maybe it's the mysterious test we have in Rarity's class when we get back... that she won't tell us anything about. How can I study if I don't know what I'm supposed to be studying?"

Crap! Ocellus feels her ears flatten. She'd totally forgot about that test! Not that she could have been studying for it, since Rarity didn't say what the test was about. Unless she's supposed to be studying everything! Oh no! She doesn't even know how far back she should re-read. Just this semester's lessons? Or maybe the whole year!...

Gallus' eyes widen and he cringes apologetically "That's... not helping, is it?" With a swallow, he adds, "Sorry about that. My beak is stupid sometimes."

Ocellus looks up at Gallus, feeling weak and panicked and really silly about both. She sees her friends crowding in around her. Their worry is etched in their expressions, in the way they stand, in the slight droop of Silverstream's body. The taste of their love strengthens, like punch that is no longer watered down.

"Hey..." Gallus says. Then, to Ocellus' surprise, the griffon steps close and wraps his wings about her, initiating a hug.

She feels Smolder's strong, scaly arm wrap about her waist as the dragon pulls close. Sandbar moves in, one foreleg outstretched and trying awkwardly to find a way to hug her around Gallus' wings. The blue griffon lifts a wing and instantly Sandbar is pressing close.

Yona and Silverstream join in, the latter hugging Ocellus from above. She is virtually blanketed in friends. Their warmth fills her body. The taste of their love explodes in her receptors. Strawberries and cheese and tar and hot paper lanterns and a dozen other notes that shouldn't work together but blend perfectly. Each distinct yet a harmonious whole that fills her completely.

The changeling nymph shivers in their hold. But she resists; she does not feed. No, this is worth saving.

Ocellus feels her fears and anxieties soften. They do not melt away entirely, but with her friends surrounding her, they seem trivial. Nothing she can't handle.

"Thank you." Ocellus closes her eyes, basking in the warmth of her five dear friends. "I love you too."

As the six students make their way to the front door of the School of Friendship laden with full packs and saddlebags, they pass Professor Rarity in the hall. Ocellus cannot pass up the chance. If she doesn't ask about the upcoming test, the anxiety is going to eat at her for the entire trip.

She turns to tell the others to hold up a moment only to see them already stopping as Yona gallops up to the teacher. Ocellus follows.

"Well if it isn't my two favorite students!" Rarity greets with a smile. Ocellus is sure she calls all her students her favorites. But she also suspects she and Yona do have a special place in the generosity teacher's heart. "How can I help you? All packed?"

Yona nods. "Yona thank Professor Rarity!" The yak smiles brightly at their teacher. "And look forward to working on shawls when Yona get back."

Ocellus nods as well, feeling anxiety knot within her. "Um... I was hoping you could tell me where to focus my studies for the test when we get back?"

Her thoughts flash to the beginning of the school year and standing up for Professor Rarity to Headmare Starlight. The new Headmare, clearly anxious about running the school, had questioned if wine tasting was an appropriate subject for a lesson, especially for young students.

But Ocellus had told Starlight how the lesson personally helped her. For the longest time, she couldn't express to her friends how love tastes, especially when it comes to recognizing flavors she has no experience with. She's never eaten tar or gemstones, for example. But when Rarity taught her friends about wine notes, they finally had a common reference to draw on.

Rarity had been ever so pleased with her.

The changeling nymph really hopes she isn't coming across as asking for special favors. She just wants enough to channel her worry productively.

With a pretty laugh, Rarity waves a hoof at Ocellus. "Oh, no no no. This isn't the sort of test you can study for. The worst thing you can do is overthink it. But don't worry, Ocellus. Just answer from your heart. You'll do just fine."

Ocellus feels relieved that the professor didn't see her question in a bad light. But she isn't sure that the answer makes her feel any better about the test.

The generosity professor beams and waves to them. "Starlight and Trixie are waiting for you out front. Do have a wonderful time!" She pauses tactfully then adds, "Oh, and Yona, when you get back, I've ordered a new swath of electric cerulean. I think it will be big this year, and I'm eager to hear your thoughts on pairing it with the blooming dahlia."

Once Yona is done expressing anticipation for the new fabric, the two friends rejoin the others.

They meet Headmare Starlight and Councilor Trixie outside. Starlight has lunch packs lined up on the grass, each with a colorful silhouette on the side identifying which student each is for.

"Okay students," Starlight announces. "Trixie will be walking with you to the Treehouse in the Everfree Forest. Once you get there, you will have the rest of the day to relax and have fun. I've packed meals for all of you. I really hope I got everything right. Please check to be sure; I can make last minute replacements if needed."

Ocellus and each of her friends move to their lunch packs, examining the content. Ocellus sees two thermoses, a pack of cupcakes from Sugarcube Corner, and a number of sandwiches. The changeling nymph shakes her head, giggling a little, as she sees all her sandwiches have been cut into heart shapes.

It so does not work that way, but she adores the headmare for trying.

Starlight concludes by telling them, "The actual field trip will start from the Treehouse at dusk."

"Huh?" Sandbar asks, looking up.

"Oh..." Silverstream says, blinking. "That's..." She stops, then looks to Gallus. "That's weird, right? Is that weird?"

The blue griffon nods. "Yeah." He turns to Starlight. "Not that I'm complaining about getting to spend a school day at the Treehouse," he says in the most Gallus of tones, "But why? Why so early? And why the escort?"

"It has to start from the Treehouse, and after dark," their headmare insists. "I can't say why without spoiling the surprise, so I won't. As for leaving now, I know that all of you have made many trips to and from the Treehouse on your own, but it would be irresponsible of me to let students take a multi-hour walk through the Everfree Forest without a member of faculty present..."

"And the Great and Powerful Trixie does not want to risk walking back in the dark," Counselor Trixie interjects. "It... did not go so well last time."

Silverstream oohs. "ooooh yeah. I remember!"

Ocellus isn't immediately sure what Silverstream is remembering, but the nods and sounds of agreement from a couple of her other friends assure her that makes sense.

"Okay, now I want everyone to go through their packs one last time," Headmare Starlight instructs, "And make sure you haven't forgotten anything." After a pause, she adds, "You too, Trixie."

"I'm just walking to the Treehouse and back," Trixie replies. "What could I... oh, wait! More smoke bombs!" The counselor gallops back into the school, Starlight rolling her eyes in the wake of the cerulean unicorn's parting.

Her ears shoot up at an exaggerated pop from behind her.

"Well, well, well!" Discord drolls, the draconequus suddenly among them. "I'd say you've forgotten something! You've all forgotten to say goodbye to me!"

Headmare Starlight's eyes narrow with suspicion. But the spirit of chaos is all grins and good cheer, poofing between Silverstream and Gallus, wrapping his arms about them and pulling them into an awkward, crushing hug.

"I'm sure it was an oversight," Discord bubbles. "I really have been hard to reach. The mail pony keeps getting lost in my welcome mat maze."

Ocellus decides not to think about that too much. Or at all.

Yona's eyes go wide as Discord poofs over to her and hugs the yak hard enough to lift two of her hooves from the ground, saying, "But no matter! I'm here now. You all have a safe trip!"

"Uh... thank you?" Yona says, stumbling a little as the draconequus poofs away in a shower of plastic utensils.

Ocellus hears a tinkling of Hearth's Warming bells behind her and feels herself pulled into the draconequus grasp, Discord's right paw rubbing across her saddlebags as he tickles the top of her head with his tail. "Do be sure to write!"

Smolder tries to escape. It's no use. The scrambling orange dragon finds herself trapped in a soap bubble, floating serenely upwards. Discord pops it with a talon and catches her in an embrace. Smolder's expression is not filled with joy.

"Okay, I'm hugged," Smolder grumps. "Let go."

Smolder eeps as she is suddenly dropped, Discord teleporting away in a burst of rose petals to hug Sandbar next.

"Discord..." Starlight begins.

Discord lets go, pulling a handkerchief out of Sandbar's left ear and blowing his nose nastily before waving it, flinging snot. "Goodbye! Au revoir! Arrivederci! Buen Viaje!" He calls out, even though none of them are going anywhere. "Have fun storming the palace!"

The spirit of chaos poofs away with fanfare. Leaving behind one eye that winks at Ocellus before poofing also.

Ocellus blinks, staring at where the eye vanished. Well, that's certainly not going to add to her stress.

Trixie comes galloping back. "Okay, I'm really ready now," the unicorn insists, panting. She pauses, taking in the wide-eyed expressions and disheveled looks of several of the students. Smolder is picking herself up off the ground.

"Did I miss anything?"

The afternoon sun filters through the Everfree canopy, dappling the undergrowth and the path that winds through it. A soft breeze rustles the leaves above and gently brushes at the feathers and manes of the traveling group.

Counselor Trixie walks ahead with confidence, humming a little tune. The Everfree Forest doesn't worry her... in the daylight, at least. Occasionally, Ocellus hears her break into a line or two of song before returning to her humming.

"...see me dominate! Cuz I'm powerful and greaa-aaa-at!"

Behind Trixie, Ocellus and her friends chatter amiably about everything and nothing. It is a good day, and spirits are high. Spending a school day at the Treehouse sounds marvelous, even to Ocellus. She's too weary from her lack of sleep to focus properly on new lessons, so she sees this as good fortune.

Her weariness has not soured her mood, but it has left her quiet. She hasn't really joined into the conversations, falling to the back of the group. But she is enjoying the forest, and the company of her friends.

A few minutes ago, the talking ahead of her turned to the topic of her visit to Seaquestria with Silverstream. The hippogriff was still gushing about it. Right now, she was excitedly telling Sandbar and Gallus about their race through the corals. By far not for the first time, but it was fun to listen to. Silverstream couldn't tell the story without using swoops and swirls and rambunctious pantomimes as punctuation. And every time she told the story, her embellishments were different enough to keep it fresh.

"That sounds so cool!" Sandbar says appreciatively.

Gallus nods in agreement. "I can't believe you wanted to go with that donkey instead of us!"

Silverstream's face falls. The hippogriff sputters, looking heartbroken. "Bwuh... but... no! I didn't! I... it..."

Gallus was joking, of course. But Silverstream clearly hasn't caught on to that yet, and her distress is painful. Ocellus breaks her quiet, jumping in to bail the hippogriff out. "It was a friendship quest, Gallus. No tag-alongs allowed."

Ocellus tastes a brief essence of blueberries and tapioca. Nice. She smiles back at Silverstream.

The map had called Silverstream because she knew the seas surrounding Seaquestria, and it called Cranky Doodle because he was old friends with Steven Magnet, who had moved to the outskirts of Seaquestria to be with his new boyfriend. Unfortunately, they were having serious trouble with their neighbor, a giant squid. Ocellus' ability to sense love within the squid's jealousy revealed how to fix the problem. But not before Ocellus had made an even worse mess of it. Encouraging the three to share their love had been the solution. Turning into another giant squid definitely had not.

Ocellus had been feeling pretty bad about that when they first returned to the School of Friendship. But from what Headmare Starlight told them afterwards, making things worse before fixing them was par for the course in friendship quests.

"Next time I go home, you are all invited!" Sliverstream announces, flying above them with her arms spread wide.

Most of her friends embrace the idea happily. Sandbar particularly, saying something about a family home on the beach. Yona looks considerably less excited but unwilling to voice anything beyond agreement. Ocellus doesn't blame her. Yona can't swim, and she hasn't had the best experiences with water on field trips. But Silverstream is now insisting she will get transformation necklaces for all of them...

"Pass," Smolder states flatly.

"Aww," Silverstream pouts with exaggeration. "Why not? Don't you want to see my home?"

"Your magic pearl and dragons don't mix."

The pink hippogriff swoops up to pinch Smolder's left cheek. "Aw, but you'd make such a cute pufferfish!"

Smolder shoos the offending claw away. "Tell me, are feathers flammable?"

Trixie stops to look at her, but everyone else knows Smolder would never intentionally injure a friend like that. And since they did all know that, the retort was fair game.

And because she knows it is a joke, Silverstream runs with it. "Oooh! I'd be like a phoenix!" She swoops into the air, somersaulting. Then freezes as the dour look that falls over Smolder tells the hippogriff she ran with it in the wrong direction.

"Silverstream, I can't believe you said the F-word!" Sandbar chides.

Ocellus opens her muzzle to correct him, then lets it drop as she hears Gallus snerk. That was probably a joke, meant to lighten the mood. And even if it wasn't, there was nothing to be gained continuing this conversation. Smolder didn't seem any more interested in talking about phoenixes than Ocellus felt about discussing her night terrors. And friends didn't push.

Silverstream lands next to Smolder. "Sorry. Forget I said that."

Smolder smiles. "No problem." To Ocellus, the smile seems a little forced.

For the rest of the walk through the Everfree, Ocellus has the dragon's quiet company.

Golden sunlight filters through the arched windows of the Treehouse, snaring on floating motes of dust and crystal pollen, filling the air with dancing stars.

Ocellus lays upon a cluster of pillows on the faceted lavender floor of the second floor common room. She flips the page of her textbook. Then flips it back. The first line on the new page made no sense, giving her the impression that she skipped a page. Or that she lost the author's train of reasoning somewhere in the previous paragraph.

The words sit on the page, lazy and persistent in their inscrutability.

Ocellus stares at the page, not truly reading. Just willing comprehension. She's not sure she has absorbed anything. She closes her eyes. She's weary. And a little hungry. But mostly, she just feels out of it. Like her mind is in a slight fog and her thoughts are muddy.

She tried taking a nap shortly after they reached the Treehouse and Trixie started back. But while the walk through the Everfree Forest failed to invigorate, it did make her less tired. She was unable to fall asleep and ended up laying there pointlessly. Eventually, she grabbed a book.

Ocellus closes the book, momentarily unsure what she was reading. She sighs again and decides to leave it closed. Staring at the cover would be more productive right now.

She hears a soft clack from the crystalwood table behind her.

Sandbar and Yona are off being Sandbar and Yona. Gallus is down by the stream hunting fish. ("Lunches at the School of Friendship are delicious but they lack protein," insisted the predator clearly eager to get his hunt on), and Silverstream is... probably in her room? Somewhere. Not here. It's too quiet for her to be here. Unless she's asleep. And maybe not even then.

Smolder is the only other one nearby. The lunches that Starlight packed for Ocellus' roommate included a small bag of gemstones for dessert. So to the surprise of no creature, Smolder gleefully devoured them first. After picking out all the chrysoprase. Ocellus had questioned if they were inedible, and the orange dragon shrugged them off as "the lima beans of gemstones".

Another clack. She glances back to see Smolder stacking the chrysoprase into a tower.

Ocellus looks back to her book, her tail swaying. The girl stifles a giggle at the thought that Smolder was literally playing with her food. Unlike changelings, dragons could get away with that. At least when the food was gemstones.

The taste of cherrywood and hot spices drifts from Smolder as the dragon looks over at her. Ocellus absently nibbles it. Cherrywood, ghost pepper... and...

Ocellus is shocked out of her mildly fugue-like state by two nearly-simultaneous realizations. First, because Smolder's love has an undercurrent of attraction beneath the normal friendship and caring, and the more recently-common concern. Second, because the moment she realizes the first, she also realizes she is her dragon form.

Ocellus immediately transforms back while spurting out apologies, her mind a jumble. She changed? Without intending to? Without even realizing it? How is that possible?!

The tower of chrysoprase clatters to the table as Smolder sits up suddenly, then takes to the air, flying over to her roommate. "Hey, I don't mind! Really. You can be a dragon around me whenever you want."

Ocellus shuts down her receptors in a panic, a host of new worries piling on top of the mountain already crushing her:

Smolder lands in front of Ocellus. "Seriously, I'm cool with it..." Her voice trails off as the dragon drinks in Ocellus' expression. "You're shaking," the orange dragon observes.

The one thing Ocellus is sure about is that Smolder doesn't realize how she was feeling. Otherwise, she is sure Smolder would be reacting differently... embarrassed or upset or something, rather than just concerned.

"Okay, 'Celly, what the heck is up with you?"

Ocellus stares at the floor, unable to meet the wide cerulean eyes that are staring at her with a fierceness that burns away the scaffolding of her facade. Her gaze shifts left and right as she feels trapped in that gaze. There is a fire there that draws her, like a moth to a candle. She cannot flee. If she touches it, she will burn.

She is absolutely not ready to deal with any of the questions that came with what she just sensed. She can't see a way to talk to Smolder about it without forcing the dragon to confront what she was feeling. And if Smolder has no idea, then she's not ready. Doing that could cause damage. Possibly even kill newborn feelings. Ocellus doesn't dare.

Another option penetrates the buzz of her mind and she latches onto it as if she had been drowning. Admit something else she hasn't been dealing with. A substitute. A sacrifice. There is something she hasn't wanted to share with the others, but... but Smolder won't judge. They share other secrets. Smolder is safe.

"I... I've been struggling with my sense of self," she says slowly. The words feel heavy, like she is having to pull them out of a pit to give them voice. "I feel like I don't know who I really am sometimes. There are days I wake up, and for a moment I've forgotten. I'll even wake up in other forms..."

Ocellus looks up at Smolder. The dragon is still, quiet. Listening. She knows Smolder has noticed the last part. It is very rare, but Smolder couldn't help but notice the one time Ocellus woke her up by transforming into a bugbear in her sleep. The dragon ribbed her quite a bit in the week that followed, particularly considering their argument over who should get the top bunk.

"And even when I'm awake, sometimes I have to stop and think: what would Ocellus do? Like... I'm not me." The changeling nymph blinks back unexpected tears. "Maybe I have too many forms, and I'm forgetting which is the real me. I don't know. But it's... terrifying when it happens."

Smolder's eyes narrow. "That bugbear thing where the school had to give us new bunk beds was months ago. How long have you been dealing with this? Without telling any of your friends? Without telling me?"

Ocellus almost flinches. Smolder has the right to be upset. They tell each other everything... or at least they are supposed to. They have secret tea parties that none of their friends are supposed to even know about. Smolder has definitely confided in her things that make her feel deeply vulnerable. Things that she can't bring herself to bare to anyone else.

A tiny voice in the back of her mind whispers: there is one thing she hasn't.

Ocellus stands up, shaking her head. "It's not that easy. If a dragon says she isn't feeling like herself, everyone at least pretends to get it. Or they ignore it. When a changeling says they don't feel like themselves, it weirds creatures out. They start projecting all sorts of crazy fears they have about us from back when we were... evil." Her voice trails off with the last word.

Smolder's expression immediately softens. "You still should let us try to help. That's not something you should have to deal with alone."

Ocellus sighs. "It's not like I never tried. I even went to Counselor Starlight about it once, back when this started. But that wasn't helpful. And then so much happened. And, well, I didn't want to burden anyone else with it."

Smolder gives her a long look before giving Ocellus a soft, thin smile. "Okay. I get it. I'm not exactly a counselor, or the leader of your hive's Feelings Forum. As much as I want to help, I don't know how." She steps closer. "I mean, I'd offer a tea party, but maybe dressing up isn't the best attack plan for this."

Ocellus smiles back, stepping forward and wrapping the dragon in a gentle embrace. Unlike with Discord, Smolder gives no resistance. "Just having someone to talk to about it is already making me feel better."

No sooner has Ocellus begun to get her head back in order when Smolder asks "Hey, what's that?" and points to her saddlepack.

There is a slip of paper tucked into a strap that has started to fall out. Ocellus blinks twice, staring at the foreign object. "I... don't know. I never put it there." Honestly, she'd be more careful to secure anything she wrote or needed to read. It is a small miracle it didn't fall out somewhere in the Everfree Forest.

Her first guess is that one of their other friends wedged the note in her strap while they were walking. Probably Gallus. It really seems like something he would do. She must have been really half-asleep to have not noticed that.

She pulls it out and unfolds it, beginning to read.

It's a series of questions. Her eyes widen as she recognizes Professor Rarity's writing. The first one asks:

Ocellus immediately knows the answer is yes. They've all risked their lives to save one of their friends. And even if it was a sure sacrifice, she knows she would do that. For any of them, although the one coming to her thoughts most immediately is Smolder considering they were just holding each other.

That question is not as immediate in her heart, but she feels the answer is still yes. But it is the third question that stops her dead, making her heart feel cold:

Her eyes locked. Ocellus barely sees the next question before Smolder looks over her shoulder, gasps, and asks, "Is that a copy of Professor Rarity's test?!"

Ocellus hurls the paper away as if it's on fire, the icy paralysis breaking at the thought she may have just cheated on a test by getting the questions early!

Smolder is very quick to suss things out. "Discord! He slipped that in your saddlepack when he hugged you. He must have!"

"What?" Ocellus squeaks.

Smolder backs up, nodding. The young dragon snorts a bit of smoke, balling her claws into fists as she surmises, "Discord has been spying on everyone. Again. He must have seen you talking to Professor Rarity about the test, seen how stressed you've been. And decided to "help"."

"BY MAKING ME CHEAT!??"

Smolder crosses her arms over her breast. "Yeah, he has a funny way of helping." The dragon snorts a bit of flame this time, her eyes narrowed. Then she turns to Ocellus, seeing the nymph frozen and trembling. Smolder puts on a bright smile for her friend.

"Don't worry! Professor Rarity will understand," Smolder assures her. "She's dealt with Discord."

Ocellus feels a small flare of thankfulness that the dragon doesn't even try to suggest being dishonest about having seen it. The changeling nymph is already making telling Rarity the first priority when they get back. Part of her wants to fly back right now and tell her.

The dragon ambles over and picks up the test off the floor, holding it between the claws of her thumb and forefinger like it is Discord's used handkerchief. She holds it away from herself.

"And you barely read any of it, right?" Smolder mitigates with an assurance bordering on smugness. "The moment we realized what it was, we destroyed it so neither of us or any of our friends would see any more."

Ocellus' panicked expression collapses into a confused one... until Smolder turns to the test and breathes fire, reducing it to ash.

The smells of evening permeate the air as the sky is slowly painted with shades of magenta and violet, darkening to a rich eggplant where the first stars are visible. Having put the sun to bed, somewhere in Canterlot, Princess Twilight Sparkle is raising the moon to its rightful place in the night sky.

Ocellus steps out onto the cool grass. The changeling nymph closes her eyes, feeling the breeze on her face. Enjoying how it tickles the membranes of her mane and tail.

Ironically, she feels more awake now than she has all day. Ocellus muses that irony has not been her friend for much of the day. Maybe now it is trying to make amends?

She hears the voices of her friends. They are gathered near a chunk of the old wall from the Castle of the Two Sisters. From the melody delighting Ocellus' ears, Gallus' hunt was a good one. The griffon sounds like he is in particularly high spirits.

Ocellus opens her elytra and spreads her wings. With a few dozen beats, she lifts into the air and begins to glide over to her friends, keeping her eyes closed and allowing the noise to guide her.

"So, where have you been off to?" Gallus's cheery voice carries. "We haven't seen you for hours!"

Ocellus opens her eyes, her answer on her lips, assuming Gallus is addressing her. But it is Silverstream who has the griffon's attention. And the bubbly hippogriff's answer causes Ocellus to break her wing-rhythm, nearly dropping to the ground.

"I was getting stoned!" the hippogriff announces enthusiastically. "You should try it. It's really fun!"

Gallus stares at Silverstream, his beak agape. Finally, he manages a nearly deadpan, "Whut?"

"Next time we come to the Treehouse, I'll introduce you to Edith!" Silverstream promises. "She's the best!"

Ocellus has never seen the griffon look so completely at a loss for words. Smolder is not, commenting dryly, "Well, this explains a lot."

Silverstream just beams happily.

Ocellus decides not to question any of that. Or think about it. Either this will explain itself in time or it won't. Instead, she turns and looks back towards the Treehouse, enjoying the way the crystal glimmers in the light of the rising moon.

A dark spot appears on the moon. And grows.

Ocellus squints. No, she is wrong. There is something in the sky between them and the moon. And it isn't growing larger; it is coming closer.

"Uh..." Ocellus points upwards. "Everyone? Look!"

The voices of her friends quiet. Then begin to murmur with building anticipation, the consensus being that this is their promised field trip.

Yona is the first to identify the approaching shadow. "Luna!" The yak calls out, waving. "Yona think friend Silverstream right!"

"We are going to Silver Shoals!" Silverstream squees. The idea is met with applause and woops!

Ocellus squints again, feeling slightly frustrated that she cannot make the dark blob in the sky look like Luna. But as the shadow draws closer, it becomes clear to her why.

"What's with the chariot?" Gallus asks.

"Not all of us can fly, remember?" Sandbar retorts.

"I meant to ask: what do you think that is in the back of it?" Gallus counter-retorts.

Luna's silhouette is being obfuscated by the long, bat-winged chariot she is pulling. A chariot laden with a tall package covered in a tarp. One corner of the tarp has come loose and is flapping in the wind. Ocellus can hear the snapping of the canvas.

Ocellus joins her friends in rushing to greet the former princess as Luna lands, coming to a gentle stop with the chariot, letting the chains harnessing her to it fall slack.

"Good evening, students," Luna says, smiling as her horn glows with cobalt light and the harness is removed from her body with a flash. Ocellus briefly wonders what the trip must have been like for Luna, pulling a chariot she once rode in while it was pulled by her royal guards.

"Oh wow! I never imagined you would be guiding our field trip!" Silverstream gasps, leaving Ocellus to wonder if it has slipped her friend's mind that the school's first headmare was a princess. The excited hippogriff immediately asks, "Are we going to Silver Shoals?"

The night alicorn's eyebrows raise. "No," Luna answers. "We are going much farther than that." Ocellus catches a small, knowing smile.

"So, what's under the blanket?" Smolder asks, looking at the object standing in the chariot, wrapped in canvas and bound in chains.

Luna chuckles as the barrage of questions continue. They come faster than she can answer, so she just stands there and waits for the group of friends to find their patience.

When the questions fall silent, Luna's horn glows once again. The chains about the object vanish and the tarp slides free.

Ocellus stares at her reflection, and those of her friends, in the mirror.

The mirrored surface does not seem to be glass but liquid mercury held magically to form within a stretched horseshoe-shaped frame made of, at Ocellus' best guess, limestone. There are black opals set within the frame, and ornate trellises of silvery metal swirling around the outer edge. The mirror rises from a multi-stepped base and is crowned with a large circle made of pearl held above the frame by crepuscular rays.

"This," Luna informs them, "is a mirror portal. There are only a few in the world. They are capable of opening passages far beyond any creature's ability to teleport, allowing travel to the farthest parts of our world, to distant realms... even to other worlds."

Luna seems pleased by the collective "WHOA!"

"It previously required the Elements of Harmony to send someone the distance we are going to travel tonight," Luna announces, "But worry not. Starswirl has assured me this mirror is up to the task."

Ocellus feels Luna's eyes on her as the night alicorn looks at each of the students in turn.

"Especially as we are on the grounds where the Tree of Harmony once stood, the six of you had a special connection to it." Luna turns her gaze to the Treehouse. "...and clearly it has not entirely left this place."

Ocellus looks at her friends, all of whom are looking at each other with a mixture of expressions.

"Now, gather your things as I work the magic to open the portal," Luna instructs. "I am sure you are all eager to see where you are going."

The race to grab their things is so fast that they leave colored blurs in their wake. Considering her poor sleep the night before, Ocellus is unsurprised to find herself the last to get back, her saddlebags strapped to her body once again. The others are gathered around Luna. The night alicorn's head is lowered, her horn pointing at the top of the mirror. A beam of cobalt light shines out of it, lighting up the pearl disk above the mirror's frame.

As Ocellus joins the rest of them, the disk begins to glow with a soft, ethereal white light. The light slides down along the crepuscular rays and over the silver trellises. The mercury surface of the mirror ripples, then begins to glow, turning a bright white.

Luna smiles, maintaining the beam of her magic. "I will be the last through..."

The disk above the mirror flares black, looking suddenly like a moon eclipsed. Black energy oozes down the crepuscular rays like spilled ink. The trellises turn ebony. The black energy infects the stream of magic pouring out of Luna's horn. The night alicorn cries out.

The white light shining from the mirror collapses, the mirror becoming a black hole. A necrotic horror washes over Ocellus as she is suddenly reminded of the mirror in her dream, reflecting nothing.

Ocellus feels something in the void of the mirror staring back at her.

Luna grunts, twisting her head, clearly trying to break the connection. Her horn is surrounded in black energy. What was a beam of light has become a snare of shadow.

"Luna in trouble!" Yona cries out. The yak charges at the mirror, head lowered, horns aimed.

Black tentacles come out of the mirror, enveloping the charging yak. More slither out, moving with shocking alacrity -- writhing snakes of grease and black smoke. Ocellus flies backwards, but they are too fast. One ensnares her, its touch making her body feel numb. It begins to wrap around her like a snake about to constrict.

To one side, she sees Sandbar turn and buck the tentacle reaching for him. To the other, she sees Silverstream somersault, attempting to avoid a tentacle's grasp, only for it to snare her wing. With a swirling flash of yellow and dusty rose, Silverstream transforms into a seapony, slipping from the tentacle's grasp. She hears a shout from Gallus. A crackle of fire.

The tentacle encircling Ocellus wraps around her head, covering her eyes. Everything turns black as the changeling nymph feels her brain go numb.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Through the Mirror, Darkly Estimated time remaining: 7 Hours, 3 Minutes