Ocellus hummed as her siblings argued beside her on their way home. she rolled her eyes and smiled as she overheard them. “Ivy, I doubt that even General Pharynx would be able to take on one of the pony princesses! Besides, why would they fight anyway? We’re allies!“

“For the last time Rosebud, its a hypothetical! I’m not sayin’ they ever would or should, but if they did, my money is on the General.” Ivy stuck her nose in the air and smiled, sure of her choice.         Ocellus shook her head and smiled to herself at her sister’s antics. Then, gasps could be heard from other changelings around them as a large shadow flew over the Hive. As it landed, everyone realized who it was: Dragon Lord Ember, ruler of the Dragon Lands and one of King Thorax’s oldest allies. “Holy cow!” Ivy yelled, “Come on, we gotta check this out!”, running towards the commotion. Rosebud followed behind his sister, “Don’t leave me behind, Ive!“

Ocellus sighed and ran after her younger siblings. I hope nothing bad happened, she thought. Dragon Lord Ember isn’t known for visiting us out of the blue like this.

    —————————————————————-        Ember shuffled her wings and lowered herself closer to the ground. “We’re here.” She felt her passenger slide and jump off of her back, landing on the ground below. A small crowd of changelings were already starting to gather around the pair, staring curiously from a distance. A few chattered excitedly to the person next to them.

    Ember stretched her wings out once more. “Now, I don’t want to make a big fuss about this, so I suggest you go find Thorax. He’s the tall one with the antlers, pretty hard to miss. Tell him I said hi.” “Wait, but-” Coxal tried to ask, but was cut off. She stepped back as Ember flapped her wings, and took off back to the Dragon Lands, leaving her in a strange place. The circle of people around her got tighter when Ember left, everyone trying to get a closer look.

    Coxal looked around at the creatures around her, and felt her spine arching. They were all pastel and sparkly, with large pupil-less eyes and shells on their backs. Oh good lord. What did she get me into? One of the taller creatures came towards her, two shorter and younger-looking ones following behind.

—————————————————————-    Ocellus took a deep breath as she approached the newcomer. “Hey there! We uh, all saw you get dropped off by Dragon Lord Ember back there. Who might you be?“

The dragon-looking creature tensed, and snapped, “Why do you need to know?” Her tail lashing behind her. Ocellus took a step back, but stood her ground, staring Coxal in the eyes and her expression hardening. She replied, “My name is Ocellus. I’m the Royal Advisor to the King and an Ambassador for the Hive and its allies. Is there a reason why you came here?“    Coxal was a bit surprised at the change in tone, and shifted awkwardly for a moment. Her eyes fell to the ground. “The Dragon Lord sent me here. She think I’m part uh, changeling?” Is that how you say it? “Name’s Coxal.” Ocellus blinked, and opened her mouth to ask something before she actually looked down and saw Coxal’s back legs. Looked like their visitor wasn’t all dragon; she definitely had changeling genes.

    “Oh! Well then, welcome to our Hive, Coxal! Follow me, I can take you to see King Thorax. He’ll help you with any questions you may have.” Ocellus started walking to the throne, Coxal in tow. “Ivy, Rosebud, would you mind telling Lily that I’ll be late to lunch?“

The two sulked, a little disappointed that they couldn’t follow Ocellus. “Okay”, “Will do!” they replied. Their sister sighed a little in relief as she watched them trot home.

    “Don’t mind them. They’re just really curious is all. Now, if you’ll follow me.”

Coxal watched as the two teens ran off and the crowd around her started to disperse. She could already hear several pairs of changelings whispering to themselves.

What have I gotten myself into?