Love in Sickness and in Health. (Original with Comments)
Cold.
Very cold.
That is all what my body can feel at this time. I've been bedridden ever since I caught the raging flu after I trudged through the raging rain, and boy did I paid the price for not carrying an umbrella with me.
My bed is a mess, with some tissues lying next to my pillow along with an almost empty box of tissue that only have 3 pulls left. To my right side are two empty boxes of tissues that I used up for the past three days.
I got up slowly despite the doctor's advice to stay in bed and rest up as I needed to cook once again, with a hot bowl of soup in mind and a glass of milk.
I took my violet robe covered in teacups and stars, wore it around my cold body as I went over to the small kitchen in my dorm, taking out a box of Pinkie's Corn Soup mix from the food crate.
I peeked at the window to look at the weather and surely enough, it is still raining like crazy. The pegasi must have had a crazy delay to schedule a rain like this.
Just as I was about to turn on the stove, I heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" I asked.
"Smolder, it's me, Ocellus! Can I come in?" Ocellus asked from the other side of the door.
"Yeah, one second." I replied before letting out a bad cough.
I walked over to open the door and I am greeted with a lovely sight. Ocellus is wearing a drenched raincoat and boots, sporting that cute smile of hers. On her back is a blue colored saddle, most likely carrying her notes and pencils.
"Sorry if i'm not exactly dry, I ran here in a hurry just to see you." Ocellus said.
"It's alright, come in Ocellus. Just leave your wet boots on the rug and put your coat on the coat hanger to the right." I then walked to the closet to look for a spare towel as she closed the door behind her, as she took off her coat afterwards.
With her in the picture, I took out a towel and handed it over to her so she can wipe the rainwater away, going back to the stove after.
I went back to the stove and grabbed the box to open it, taking out the pack of delicious corn soup. One of my favorite foodstuffs.
Before I could turn on the stove, Ocellus asked, "smolder, you should be in bed and not cooking soup, right?"
"Eh, I can deal with it. Besides, I'm hungry and soup is the only thing I can eat thanks to this raging flu."
She then hung the towel on the hanger and said, "Oh no no no, Smolder. You need to rest. Here, let me do it for you while you lie back down and snuggle on your warm blanket."
I could protest against her, but I gave up the idea for a good reason and let her do the cooking for me.
I quickly went back to my bed and took the crudely drawn picture of me and Ocellus with a heart surrounding us that is attached to the wall on my right, hiding it under my pillow before she could notice.
The sounds of heavy rain and the simmering sound of soup from the pot that Ocellus used to cook me the corn soup made it feel like a home of a married couple.
As much as she looks adorable in every way, even in cooking, I did my best on not showing the soft and wishy washy side of me right in front of her.
My heart beats at a fast pace knowing that my secret crush is here, visiting and cooking me some corn soup during my time of sickness.
I feel so loved at the fact that she's doing this for me, though I should do my best not to show traces of my cute side despite her knowing I like cute stuff during the test we had that ended in me drinking at a tea party.
Not long after, Ocellus have finished cooking the corn soup as she levitated out two bowls before pouring a good amount of soup on both. We'll be eating together. That thought alone is enough to pull my heart with strings.
She then levitated the small coffee table in front of my bed, putting the two soup bowls with two spoons on it before she sat down next to me.
"Uh, thanks Ocellus." I sheepishly said.
"Anything for you, Smoldy." She said before giving me a warm smile.
Did she just called me Smoldy!? The one nickname that Gallus used to tease me with!? Is she using it to tease me romantically, and if so, does she know that I have a crush on her!?
I shyly looked away to hide the blush that is forming on my cheeks, before taking the bowl and spoon and started to eat the soup.
"Mmmm. This is delicious."
"Aww, thanks Smolder. I cooked it with Love."
I blushed furiously at her comment, not wanting to reply as I continued to eat the soup. For the time being, I imagined spending time with Ocellus like this. Eating soup, talking about various topics, or even holding a secret tea party that only the two of us can enjoy.
Before I can finish the wild imaginations running on my mind, I snapped back to reality, facing my almost empty bowl of soup as Ocellus asked me, "Are you okay, Smoldy?"
My blush never left my cheeks, it grew even bigger when she said the nickname! "Y-yeah! Definitely!" I replied.
With that said, I ate the last contents of the soup before putting it down on the coffee table, with Ocellus taking the bowl and levitating both mine and hers to the sink, before she gave me a warm embrace.
Thankfully she wasn't looking at my face to see my already out of control blushing.
"I'm here to give you some comfort as well, i'll be your personal caretaker until you get well." She said with a cheerful tone.
"That's great and all Ocellus, but I'm fine. Really. I can handle my own without trouble." I responded with a weary voice, before letting out a cough.
"You've been visiting me for 3 days now, don't you need rest for yourself as well?"
"A friend's recovery is to be prioritized at all times, Smoldy." She replied
"But-"
"No buts Smoldy, now lie down as I prepare a wet cloth to place on your forehead." She then let go of me and got up to head for the bathroom, levitating the dry cloth that was hanging on the end of the bed.
I lay back down thinking if I should fess up and tell Ocellus that I see her more than just a friend, and that I have been crushing on her ever since we held our first secret tea party.
I fondly cherish those moments. From polite discussions to dressing up in formal dresses with Ocellus, all the while drinking hot tea. I love and cherish every single moment of the occasion.
Not too long, Ocellus came back out from the bathroom levitating a wet folded cloth and laid it down on my forehead, as she patted my head.
"With me by your side, you'll get better soon!" Ocellus said with enthusiasm
"T-thanks, Ocellus. I appreciate it." I responded sheepishly.
She then takes a seat by the desk, turning the chair to face me as she takes out a book to read, called One Pot Cooking: Revised Edition. Weird, I never saw her cook before she visited and prepared me and herself a bowl of corn soup.
As I continued to watch her read, I imagined what could happen in two ways.
One, I could completely ignore my feelings and continue to hide the fact that I've been crushing on her.
Two, I could tell her right here, right now about my feelings for her and express my desire to take her out on a date.
"Smoldy, you can tell me how you're feeling. I can sense love within you."
Darn it, I forgot that changedlings can sense love from any creature that they come across! Okay Smolder, calm down. You got this. You can still avoid confessing.
"W-w-what do you mean, O-ocellus?"
"I can sense that kind of love within you Smoldy. You can tell me without worry."
"I-it's nothing, Ocellus! Really! It's just me desiring for a tea party right now!"
"Smoldy, I promise I won't get angry." She then lowered her book and gave me a warm smile.
Darn it. The jig is up.
Time to face this, mano-a-mano.
Breathe in, breathe out.
Sigh.
"Okay, you got me Ocellus." I told her, giving the jig up. I then sat up to face her and took the wet cloth off from my forehead, gently laying it down on the desk to my left.
"Go ahead, let it all out." Ocellus said, before she got up and sat on my bed.
"You see, Ocellus, I uh…. how do I say it? Ever since that first tea party that we had, I saw you more than just a f-f-friend." I then subconsciously started to fidget my fingers as the blush returned.
"J-just that the way you talk to me, the way y-you show your appreciation to me, everything that you did for me ever since then tugged my heart and I started to develop a c-crush on y-you…"
"Wait, does that mean-"
"I love you, Ocellus!" I yelled, interrupting her before covering my face with the pillow to cover the steaming red blush on my cheeks.
Silence followed after the moment I finally confessed my feelings for her. I am worried as to how she might handle my confession of love for her.
She then lowered the pillow to give me a silent look
"I'm sorry if you won't accept my feelings for you, I can- woah!"
She pulled me next to her and gave me a warm embrace, as she patted my back for a while before she spoke up.
"I'm so glad to hear that, Smolder. I came here to confess my feelings for you as well." She whispered to me.
I then held her back with my claws as the embrace warmed me up and looked at her face to face, her cheeks sporting a tint of red. "Sooo… does that mean we can…?"
Ocellus nodded, "yes, I want you to take me on a date smoldy. I want to have a romantic date with you, and I wouldn't care if it's not fancy."
I nodded back in a shy manner, before taking the piece of drawing from where my pillow used to be. I showed it to Ocellus while looking away to my right as my blush grew at a fast rate.
Ocellus giggled, "you're shy, you know that Smoldy?"
A somewhat adorable giggle escaped from my mouth.
"Call me Celly from now on, Smoldy, and remind me to bring some gems for tomorrow."
"Okay, C-celly…" that cute giggle again escaping my mouth.
"Oh you cute shy dragon, Smoldy."
We then lay down back to my bed as we cuddled each other, giving each other a kiss on the cheek and slowly drifted to sleep.
For the first time in my life, I can now stop being shy about my feelings and face them confidently thanks to Ocellus.
Perhaps this is the start of a beautiful relationship between the two of us.
As Ocellus said, I guess I am shy. Perhaps with my confession and hers, things will change this time. I am glad to know that it ended on a positive note. With that said, I now owe Ocellus a date.
Author's Note
This is my first one shot shipfic of Smolder and Ocellus, and depending on the feedback, I may or may not make a 3 chapter story about the aftermath of their little heart to heart confession.
With that said, I hope you enoyed this one shot shipfic of mine! Do leave a feedback if you got time :)
Author's Note
I got bored and decide to rewrite Love and Sickness with a bit of difference from the original one shot chapter I wrote back in September.
I hope you enjoy reading this somewhat of a remake chapter, and leave some feedback if you have the time to do so! 
... and in health
It's snowing.
Snow signals the start of Heartshwarming season, the time where creatures celebrate everyday with joy and laughter. The same can be said for a particular group of students playing a game of snowball fort wars at the snow covered running field of the school.
Gallus throws a snowball at Smolder right in the face, "Gotcha!" He chuckled after.
Ocellus retaliated by throwing two calculated snowballs at Gallus, both of which hitting him directly in the face. "Awesome! My calculations are correct!" Ocellus then scribbled down her results in her small notepad.
Fort Smolcellus consists of nothing but simple sandbag like snow structures, with a bucket of snow prepared in any case an enemy gets too close at their fort.
"I'll get you for that! Show em, Silverstream!" She jumped out from behind, dumping out a large portion of snow from her bucket down on Smolder. Ocellus tried to run away, only to be met with a hail of snow balls from the ambush Yona and Sandbar have prepared.
"Hah! Yona makes best snowballs!"
Sandbar chuckled as he kept throwing snowballs at Ocellus, at this point the changedling is practically a snowpony as she is covered in dripping snow as a result from the ambush. She falls to the ground on her flank, giggling.
"Alright, guys! You got me! Ocellus exclaimed.
Smolder emerged from the heaping pile of snow dumped onto her, shivering a bit and sneezing. "Ah-ah-AAACHOO!" Smolder sneezed.
Ocellus quickly got up and went to Smolder's side. "Oh dear, are you alright Smolder?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm- Ah-ACHOO!" She sneezed again.
"Yona thinks Smolder is sick."
"Oh no, I knew dumping a big bucket of snow down on you was a bad idea!" She gave Gallus a glare, before putting a claw on Smolder's forehead. "Oh dear, you're heating up, Smolder! I'm so sorry!"
"I'll go on ahead and call Professor Fluttershy!" Sandbar said as he left the field to get Fluttershy.
"G-guys, I'm fine don't worry. I- ACHOO! ACHOO!"
Ocellus shook her head, "Smolder, it's obvious you're not well. Here, wrap yourself with this." Ocellus took out a blanket from her saddlebag and draped it around Smolder's back, to which Smolder smiled at the gesture and wrapped it around her body.
Not too long, Fluttershy and Sandbar arrived along with her medical bag for checkups. She then placed a hoof on her forehead, and the neck after a few moments.
"Hmm, it seems that you just got the common cold, Smolder. Nothing too serious." Fluttershy said.
"But?" Smolder asked.
"But you're gonna have to stay in bed, stay warm and cozy. You're lucky you didn't get frostbite or hypothermia from that huge pile of snow." Fluttershy said with concern. "Next time, don't do that okay, Silverstream?"
"Of course, Professor Fluttershy! I'm really sorry, I didn't know that could happen!" She said, feeling guilty.
"But I don't want to rest! I want to go out and have fun with my friends- AH, AH, ACHOO!" She sneezed once more.
Fluttershy shook her head. "Absolutely not, Smolder. You need to stay warm and rest. Don't worry, I'll task Ocellus on keeping an eye on you."
Smolder's cheeks warmed red at the mention that Ocellus will be watching her.
"As for the rest of you, make sure to never do that again to any creature. Understand?" Fluttershy asked.
"We promise, Professor." The students said in unison.
"Good. Now Ocellus, take Smolder back to her dorm and keep her rested. As much as I'd love to stay, Headmare Twilight needs us for an important meeting. Can you do that for me, Ocellus?"
Ocellus smiled, and nodded eagerly. "Will do, Professor!"
It's been a week since Smolder was confined to her bed. A week of dull, empty and boring things occupied her brain.
She didn't think that she'd get sick in a time like this. She can't blame Silverstream though, the Hippogriff was having fun as much as she and the others are to think about dropping a big bucket of snow on somecreature.
Smolder sat by her bed, reading the Fantastic Adventures of Mare-Do-Well comic, Issue #5, all the while wearing her purple colored coat. As much as Smolder didn't liked reading books, she has a special affinity for action and drama comics. Secretly speaking, she also has the habit of reading romance comics when alone, often fantasizing about a lovely relationship.
As much as dragons seems tough on the outside, Smolder knew that she and her compatriots have a softer and gentle side.
Taking a sip from her cup of water, she got up and trudged to the kitchen to begin cooking some soup, until...
Knock, Knock. "Smolder, it's me, Ocellus. Can I come in?"
"Yeah. One sec, Ocellus!" She put down the box of soup and opened the door for her.
The Changedling is wearing her usual snow coat and hat, with a bit of snow covering her back. She gently took off her coat and hanged them dry by the rack.
"How's my little Smolder doing?" She teasingly asked.
"I-i'm not small! And I'm fine, thanks for asking! Hmph!" She crossed her arms, before going back to the stove.
Ocellus chuckled, before looking at her. "Smolder, you should be resting instead of cooking."
"Eh. I got nothing better to do besides read comics and cook soup."
Ocellus shook her head and took over, "No, no, no. That is not what you should be doing right now. Don't worry, I'll cook the soup for you instead. You just sit down and wait."
"But-"
"I insist." Ocellus smiled.
Smolder reluctantly agreed and sat back down, realizing that she needs to hide her romance comics underneath her pillow. Doing so after, she quickly sits by her pillow and began to read Issue #6, her newest addition to her comic collection.
The smell of corn soup invaded the young dragon's nostrils, taking it in and sighing contently. As much as she disliked Ocellus watching her, secretly, she loves the idea that Ocellus is taking care of her, even if it's at the request of Professor Fluttershy.
After a few quiet moments, Ocellus then handed over Smolder a bowl of corn soup, of which she accepted. "Thanks."
"No problem! I love helping!" The Changedling happily exclaimed.
The two creatures then ate quietly, with Smolder looking at Ocellus reading her journal. The way she smiles, the way she eagerly studies new things. Those eyes of hers and her pink fin like mane, everything about the young Changedling tugged Smolder's heart.
"Uh, Smolder? Are you alright?"
Her question snapped Smolder back to reality, realizing she had been staring at Ocellus for quite a while now. "Y-Yeah! I was just thinking about something is all."
She continued to eat her soup, before drinking down her cup of water. Ocellus then asked Smolder a question.
"Smolder, do you like reading romance comics?"
The young dragon blushed a bit, clearing her throat before answering Ocellus's question. "Not really, no. Why'd you ask?"
"Because I saw The Love Thief Issue #34 by your pillow."
Smolder froze at the words. She looked back and indeed saw the comic lying right next to her pillow. Her heart sank and her cheeks blushed. Ocellus chirped happily.
"I didn't know you read romance comics! Oh, oh! What's your favorite?" The Changedling asked..
Smolder gulped and smiled nervously. "T-The Prince and Princess, and the c-comic you just mentioned."
Ocellus clapped her hooves and smiled, "Same here! I actually have some of them in my saddlebag! Wanna read it with me?"
Smolder thought about it. If she does this, she'll be exposing her softer side and make her look like a complete softie. On the other hand, she could really use a friend that shares the same interests.
She made up her mind. "S-sure, Ocellus. Let's take a read."
Ocellus clapped her hooves again and took out the comics from her saddlebag.
Colorful, chic and bright comics adorned the table as Smolder grabbed the comic titled "You and Me" Volume 1.
The two young creatures read quietly, before Smolder started to share her love for comics and other things she normally doesn't reveal to any creature, to which Ocellus promised not to tell any creature without Smolder's permission.
Getting tired of waiting, Ocellus asked Smolder the question she wanted to ask for quite some time now.
"Do you have a crush on me, Smolder?"
This caught the dragon by surprise, as her cheeks blushed madly. "Of course not!"
"Really? Because you're giving off some strong love there, and it's usually a sign that a creature has a crush on someone else."
Busted.
Without any excuse and with Ocellus taking a hint thanks to her love sensing abilities, Smolder sighed and looked Ocellus in the eyes.
"I'll be honest. Yes, I do have a crush on you." Ocellus gasped. "It's just that, being a dragon means to be tough and I was afraid that by telling you my feelings and all would jeopardize me and the dragonalnd's reputation for being hard, and tough as nails."
Smolder then fidgeted with her fingers, blushing even more madly. "Since when, Smolder?"
"Ever since after our first Hearth's Warming Eve. It was after our friends played a joke on us by putting a mistletoe above us while we were chatting and I had to kiss you on the cheek."
Ocellus blushed at the mention of the mistletoe joke Gallus and her friends pulled off. She genuinely liked the peck on the cheek, but brushed it off as it might have been just that. A simple joke orchestrated by Gallus.
That is, until now.
"So yeah, that. I just hope that you'll accept my feelings for me and keep this a secret from our friends. If that's okay with you, since I'd like to break this news to the others when I feel ready enough to face the tunes."
Silence took over for a while, with both creatures looking at each other's eyes. It wasn't until Ocellus pulled Smolder in for a kiss on the lips did she broke the ice, and they stayed that way for a few seconds as they both take in the wonderful moment.
As they pulled apart from the kiss, Smolder smiled and looked at Ocellus.
"I accept your feelings for me, Smolder."
The young dragon smiled even more, and embraced Ocellus. She gave her a kiss in the lips this time for a short while, before embracing her again.
"Thank you, Ocellus. I... I love you..." Smolder said, looking at her eyes.
Ocellus smiled and gave Smolder a peck on the cheek. "I love you too, Smolder.
And so, Smolder felt relieved to have let out her feelings for Ocellus. She can now accept that love will be a part of her personality, and she has Ocellus as proof that dragons are capable of intimate love.
The End.
