Into the Dragon's Lair

by Trinary

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Ocellus, Comedy, Romance, Smolder, Slice of Life, Young Six
Length: 5458

The winter's cold has triggered Smolder's hoarding instincts. It's up to Ocellus alone to enter Smolder's makeshift lair to see if she can get past her instincts to connect to the dragon beneath.

Instincts are a powerful thing. For dragons, they're even stronger than most. Ocellus knows this. But when Smolder's instincts drive her into a hoarding frenzy, she's the one who must find a way to reach past those instincts and get through to Smolder herself, as well as discover a few things about herself along the way. Even if everyone knows the one thing you should never do is go into a dragon's lair.

Even if it's made of pillows.

An entry in the The Discovery - A Young Six Writing Contest!

[Note: Placed in Top Ten for the contest!]

Cover art commissioned from DVixie.

Comments welcomed and appreciated!

Published 2020-01-31 11:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-01-31 11:10:01 UTC

Into the Dragon's Lair

Ocellus sat alone in her dorm room, a quill furiously scribbling across her scroll. A snowflake idly wafted past her window but she paid it no heed. It was Friday afternoon, and she was so close to finishing her essay. Once she was done, she’d have the entire weekend free from homework. There was an extra credit assignment or two that’d piqued her interest, but she knew she needed to make time for her friends as well. Still, first things first. When she got in the homework zone, she tended to shut out all other distractions. It took a lot to gain her attention.

“Ocellus! We have a situation!” Gallus shouting and bursting into her room seemed to do the trick.

She nearly fell out of her chair as she whirled around. “G-Gallus!” She held a hoof up to her chest. “Don’t sneak up on me!”

“Remind me to point out the irony of a changeling saying that later—right now we need you.” He gripped her by the shoulders, his feathers well and truly ruffled. “It’s Smolder. She’s gone nuts!”

Ocellus sighed and rolled her eyes, which took a bit more effort with compound eyes. It’s amazing what you can learn to do when properly motivated. “I’m not going to save you from whatever prank retaliation she’s getting you back with.”

“That’s not it.” Gallus groaned before taking a look around their room. “Notice anything missing?”

Her school supplies were all there, thank the Hive, and so were her pictures from home, her pretty lamp, her recreational books and her be—

She blinked. Her bed was there, but all her pillows were gone. She had requested extra pillows when she came to the School. It had been weird sleeping in a pony-style bed, so she’d taken to cocooning herself in pillows to mimic being home. Sandbar had once quipped that she was snug as a bug in a rug, then gotten all crestfallen when nocreature laughed. Pony humor was weird. Ocellus shook the thought aside to focus on the matter at hoof. “Where’d my pillows go?”

“I knew it. Come on…” Gallus sighed and headed out, Ocellus soon following him. She wracked her brain, trying to guess what could be going on. But none of her speculations prepared her for when they entered into the common area and spotted Silverstream, Yona and Sandbar gathered around a—she didn’t know what it was.

It looked as though every pillow in the entire School had been gathered together into an enormous pile. It reached nearly to the ceiling and spread out across half the floor. Ocellus blinked. “Smolder did that?”

“Looks that way,” Silverstream answered with a nod. “I asked around. There isn’t a pillow left anywhere.”

“Not just pillows.” Yona stomped her hoof. “Smolder take Yona’s blanket! Grandma Yak make that special for Yona! Not for dragon!”

“Yeah.” Sandbar looked mournfully at the mound of pillows. “She also took my baby blanket and my Smarty Pants doll.”

Gallus rolled his eyes. “She took your blankets? Please. She took my entire desk!” He lashed his tail while he groused. “I don’t even know how she managed that, it weighs a ton and I doubt it would even fit through the door! I keep my stuff in there. Private stuff.”

“She even took Shelly and Sheldon!” Silverstream gasped, holding her claws up to her beak. Everycreature stopped to regard her curiously. Even Gallus’ annoyance had been thoroughly derailed by befuddlement, with his talons and tail paused in mid-gesture.

“Um, who are they? New students?” Sandbar asked.

“No no, don’t be silly.” Silverstream waved her claw dismissively. “They’re my cousin Skystar’s favorite seashells.”

Ocellus shared a baffled look with the rest of her friends. “She … named her seashells?”

“It’s hard looking someone in the eye and not knowing their name,” Silverstream explained. “She had to call them something.”

“That makes sense, I think,” Ocellus said slowly. “So, um, have you tried talking to Smolder?” She paced around the perimeter of the pillow mound, trying to peek in through a small gap.

“Duh, of course we did.” Gallus snorted. “But all she did was growl at us. And when we tried to take any of the pillows back, well, we started smelling smoke and didn’t want to risk it.”

Sandbar looked to Ocellus. “Do you have any idea why she’s doing this? We figured—”

“—by which he means, I figured—” Gallus interrupted.

“—that you might have some ideas about why she’s behaving like this,” Sandbar finished as if Gallus hadn’t spoken. “You do like reading up on, well, everything.”

Ocellus thought it over as she paced around, trying to get the measure of the fluffy mountain. “She seemed perfectly normal earlier. At least, I didn’t notice anything. She settled in for a nap and I started doing my homework—”

“Which means you wouldn’t have noticed if she suddenly turned blue, grew an extra head and started flopping around like a fish,” Gallus dryly noted.

It wasn’t her fault that she took her homework seriously, unlike some creatures, Ocellus pouted silently. Didn’t they just ask her because she took her reading seriously? “Anyway, I didn’t see anything. But looking at this—” She gestured to the mound of pillows, “—it seems like something triggered her hoarding instincts.” Her eyes flickered to the snowy windows and that sparked a memory. “Dragons don’t hibernate for winter, but they do tend to stock up their hoards when it starts to get colder out since they know other creatures won’t be out as much. Dragons don’t like the cold much themselves.” She licked her lips. “I think Smolder’s instinctively reacting to the cold weather by trying to build up her hoard. And this is her lair.”

Ocellus suddenly tasted a shared tension that filled the room. Even though they were all Smolder’s friends, it was hard to ignore years of stories and warnings from their elders about never, ever disturbing a dragon in their lair, even if it was just a pillow fort. It was understandable, Ocellus admitted to herself. Even changelings in the Bad Old Days of Queen Chrysalis gave dragons a wide berth. They were just too big, too dangerous, and not ‘loving enough,’ as Chrysalis put it, to make tangling with them worthwhile.

It had been quite a shock when the room assignments were first announced at the beginning of school and Ocellus found out she’d be sharing a room with Smolder. But spending the last few months living with her had convinced her that the old stories about dragons really weren’t true. For the most part, anyway.

Gallus groaned. “Her lair. Great, do you know what this means?”

“It means we should enter the next Ponyville Pillow Fort Competition hosted by Quills and Sofas?” Sandbar offered. Everycreature regarded him with canted brows. “What? It’s actually really good pillow fort craftsmareship, especially for somecreature who grew up without pillows or sofa cushions.”

Gallus pinched his beak. “Sandbar, could you go grab my book from our room?”

Sandbar smiled and nodded. As soon as he left, Gallus turned to the others. “Sorry, I just needed a half-minute break.” The others all nodded in understanding. Even Yona. “So, what’re we actually going to do about this? I don’t know about you, but I want my stuff back.”

“We could get a teacher,” Silverstream offered. “But I don’t want to get Smolder in trouble.”

“Old yak expression says: don’t bother sleeping dragon.” Yona frowned. “But dragon have Yona’s blanket. Yona can’t sleep without that!”

Sandbar returned, trotting back in with a book and gave it to Gallus. “You wanted this?”

“I did.” Gallus whapped him over the head with it. “Thanks.”

Frowning, Sandbar rubbed his head. “So not cool.”

Ocellus tried to ignore the byplay, focusing instead on the pillow-lair. She licked her lips and opened her mouth, trying to sense Smolder’s emotions. She detected greed, moreso than usual even for a dragon, as well as defensiveness. And she thought she detected wisps of … something else she couldn’t parse. Turning around, she found all of her friends were staring at her. She shrank down. “Um, w-what is it?”

Gallus crossed his arms. “Why don’t you go in and check it out?”

“W-what?” Ocellus squeaked, giving a little jolt. “You just said she didn’t want to be bothered!”

“No, I said she growled at any of us when we got too close,” he corrected her. “Something tells me you’ll have better luck.”

“Why me?”

For some reason, Gallus buried his face in his claws. “I don’t believe this—guys, would you mind spelling it out for her? I need a second to remind myself that she’s the smartest student at School.”

“Be nice.” Silverstream poked him in the shoulder. “But he does have a point, Ocellus. You do share a room with Smolder. She’s used to you being close to her.” That seemed reasonable, but Ocellus couldn’t help but wonder why Silverstream waggled her brow when she said that.

“And you love reading so much you might have found something helpful!” Sandbar chimed in. “I mean, this is just like the Professors’ lessons about when that dragon started taking a nap in the mountains and his smoke started covering Ponyville, so the professors—”

“Yona not think problem be solved by getting Professor Fluttershy to make Smolder cry.” Yona frowned. “Yona not want to make friend cry, even if she took Yona’s blanket. Yona think Ocellus best at talking to Smolder. Besides, Smolder least likely to set Ocellus on fire.”

Ocellus rubbed her legs together. “Oh, well, that’s very nice of you to say.” Except maybe for that last part. “I guess I could try talking to her?”

“Good bug.” Gallus placed his talons on Ocellus’ elytra and gave her a little nudge forward. “Go on and see what’s up with our lounging lizard. Just remember: while you’re in there with a cranky hoarding dragon, we’ll be out here thinking what a sucker you are.”

Sandbar nudged him aside. “He’s kidding, I think. Please try to figure out what’s going on with Smolder? If she’s in trouble, we want to help.”

“Right!” Ocellus swallowed and took a step towards the mound. “Smolder? It’s me, Ocellus. You, um, probably could figure that out from my voice.” She laughed awkwardly. “Can I come in? You have us all worried about you: me, Yona, Silverstream, Sandbar, Gallus...”

“I’m not worried!”

Ocellus’ ears flicked at his commentary. “Sorry, I meant especially Gallus.” She raised her voice. “He’s being extra-sarcastic because he doesn’t want you to know how much he cares because he’s such a big softy.”

“That sound like Gallus,” Yona agreed.

“Hey!”

That prompted a bit more of a back and forth that Ocellus tuned out. She hadn’t heard anything yet from Smolder. “I’m coming in,” she announced, flying towards the pillow mountain. “I’ll be right with you!” She slowly started to settle herself down so she could squeeze into the pillow-sized gap that served as the entrance. To her surprise, the pillow structure seemed rather sturdy.

She was about halfway through when she felt herself get stuck, her hips and elytra not quite able to fit in. She had to squirm and wiggle herself about to inch her way through, her cheeks heating as she thought about the view this presented her friends. Once she was inside, Gallus called out. “You know you could’ve just changed shapes, right?” There were sounds of barely muted giggles. Ocellus grumbled, grateful she was already inside. Before she could even think of a response, a pillow landed behind her, neatly sealing up the hole and cutting off her only exit.

“Smolder?” She looked around. Losing the opening had rendered the inside even darker than before, but changeling eyes didn’t need much light. The interior was larger than she would have guessed. Sandbar was right—this was impressively built.

She didn’t see Smolder yet, but strewn haphazardly across the floor were gems, some bits, school books and other supplies, her tea set, and a dress Smolder would never want anycreature besides Ocellus to see. She also saw Yona and Sandbar’s blankets, Silverstream’s shells, Sandbar’s doll, and Gallus’ desk, which was twice as large as Ocellus herself. How had Smolder brought that in?

“Smolder? Can we talk, please?” Despite knowing that she had nothing to fear, this whole lair setup and the unnatural quiet was beginning to unsettle Ocellus. She was half-afraid that she would end up molting if Smolder so much as leapt out and said ‘Boo’.

She nearly did anyway when something began to stir. From the other side of the table a figure stood, looming over it. It was Smolder, but not as Ocellus remembered her from earlier that morning. She was bigger now, taller by about a head. At least now she could figure out how Smolder had managed to carry the desk in.

That wasn’t a good sign. Greed-Induced-Bigness, or Greed Growth, was a well-enough known phenomenon among dragons. Ocellus supposed that Smolder’s hoarding binge had been enough to induce the condition and fuel her growth. She counted herself lucky that Smolder only seemed slightly larger. At least, she hoped Smolder wasn’t about to grow any bigger and begin snarling, ‘Smolder WANT!’ She had heard about the lesson where Spike had undergone his own Greed Growth. Ocellus had a sudden mental image of her clutched in the claws of a truly gigantic-sized Smolder while she climbed to the top of the School, claws batting away Wonderbolts with ease.

Ocellus took a steadying breath. “Hi, Smolder. This, um, is a very nice pillow cave you have here.” She made a show of looking around. “It’s like how I use my pillows to cocoon myself, which I guess is where you got the idea?” She chuckled weakly. “Is everything okay?”

Smoke wisped from Smolder’s nostrils as she stalked over, eyeing Ocellus closely. She was so close that Ocellus could see her nictitating membranes flickering open and closed. She still hadn’t said a word, which was worrying. Ocellus steeled herself, not wanting to make any sudden movements. “Smolder, can you hear me? I-I know dragon instincts are really, really strong, but you’re okay. The School is going to stay nice and warm all winter. It’s going to be full of ponies and us—your friends. You don’t have to worry about going hungry or stocking up your hoard. Okay?”

A low grumble emerged from Smolder’s throat, but there was no other sign that she heard her. Her instincts must’ve been so strong that she was almost feral, Ocellus realized. She frantically tried thinking of everything she’d read, but there wasn’t anything her books said about dealing with feral dragons aside from one word: don’t.

Ocellus steeled herself and slowly reached out a hoof. Seeing that Smolder didn’t growl or make any other objection, she took a step forward. Then another. Her hoof made contact with the scales of Smolder’s forearm and began moving in small, circular motions. “There, you see?” Ocellus breathed. “I’m here to h-help!” Without warning Smolder picked her straight up off the ground and held her closely. Ocellus squeaked as she was pulled into Smolder’s lap.

“Ocellus?” She heard Sandbar’s muffled voice from the other side of the pillows. “Everything okay in there?”

“Y-yeah!” she called back, casting a nervous glance at Smolder. “Smolder’s experiencing some mild Greed Growth.” She fidgeted while Smolder rested her head atop of Ocellus’ own. “She’s calm though. I think we just need to talk her through it.”

“Friends come in to help?” Yona asked.

Smolder growled and wrapped her arms tighter around Ocellus, almost completely enfolding her. Ocellus squirmed, her head just barely peeking out over Smolder’s limbs. “I-I think she’s more comfortable with it just being me with her!”

“Gee, can’t imagine why that is…” she heard Gallus say sotto voce. It was soon followed by the others shushing him. She had no idea what that was all about and was a bit too busy to worry about it right now.

Smolder stood up, practically tucking Ocellus under her arm and hauling her towards the middle of the lair. She reached out and began gathering her gems and bits together into a small pile, placing them on top of the hoarded desk. Once that was done, she gently deposited Ocellus on top of it.

“Oh, um, is this supposed to be my seat?” Ocellus wriggled about, wincing as all she got for her troubles was the pointy end of a diamond poking her posterior. “That’s very nice of you, but I think this would work better if I was a dragon. Good thought though!”

The one benefit was that being on the desk put Ocellus closer to Smolder’s height, though she still looked down on her. Ocellus tentatively stood, but Smolder started to frown. The oversized dragon reached out with a single claw and gently pressed down on Ocellus’ tail, pinning her in place. “I guess you don’t want me leaving, huh?” Ocellus sighed. “At least you’re not sitting right on me like I’ve read about dragons doing with their hoards.” She did not want to have her friends find her trapped underneath Smolder’s oversized butt. She’d never live it down.

Plastering the biggest smile she could muster, Ocellus tried to engage her again. “So, can you sit down and join me, please?” Smolder reared up. “No no, sit! I said sit!” Ocellus pointed a hoof. “Down, sit down and—I’m talking to my best friend like she’s a stubborn puppy.” She facehooved. She wished there was something she could have read to prepare her for this. Unfortunately, there really weren’t any books on how to train dragons.

Well, there was that one really old pony series written back in the day when they still thought dragons were bestial, barely intelligent creatures. It was horribly inaccurate and insulting. Naturally, Smolder had found it hilarious when she read it, laughing herself silly.

After another pause failed to garner a response, Ocellus felt herself growing upset. “Can you even hear me?” All she received in reply was a slow blink. She sighed. “I—I don’t like seeing you like this, overpowered by instincts. You’re always so tough, so strong ... it makes me wonder—if your instincts can do this to you, what about my instincts as a changeling? To hide and deceive, to steal love…”

She looked down, idly rubbing her legs together. “What if I get really, really hungry someday and don’t think I can find enough love? Would I—would I be desperate enough to steal again in order to survive?” There was a snort, and she suddenly felt a blast of warm air wash over her. “This isn’t really helping, is it? Sorry, Smolder.”

She didn’t even know if she understood her.

Perhaps this was all any of them were, Ocellus mused. Just instincts honed over thousands of years that could rear up and wipe away whoever they were as individuals. If you scared Sandbar enough (which wasn’t all that hard a task, really) he’d rear up and whinny as his fight-or-flight response kicked in. If you poked Silverstream in a sensitive spot—again, not a hard task—she’d squeal and curl up giggling. Well, more so than usual.

Maybe you couldn’t fight instincts. Ocellus bit her lip. Then she spotted a half-buried teapot amid the pile of bits and was reminded of her and Smolder’s shared moment underneath the School. “Or maybe…” She looked up at Smolder, suddenly beaming. “Want to have a tea party?” This time she didn’t let the grunting bother her. “Look, see?” Ocellus slowly moved the pile to the side of the desk and grabbed Yona’s blanket. She unfurled it across the desk, smoothing it out. “Now we have a tablecloth!” She tied Sandbar’s baby blanket around her neck. “And a napkin! And these…” She set Silverstream’s weird seashells and Sandbar’s doll on either side of her. “These can be our guests!”

She paused in thought. Hadn’t their professors once mentioned something about a tea party with inanimate objects? Ocellus squirmed. If she started giving voices to seashells or dolls, she’d check herself in for an appointment with Counselor Starlight. Moving past that thought, she placed teacups in front of her and Smolder. “Now, sit down please.”

Smolder shifted her head, regarding her curiously. Ocellus narrowed her eyes. Okay, time to get serious. “Smolder the Dragon.” She raised her voice. “You sit your scaly bottom down or I swear I will fill your pillow with resin every night for the rest of the semester!” Blinking in surprise at having her hoard talk back to her, Smolder sat down with a thump. “That’s better!” Ocellus nodded, all smiles again. Grasping the teapot and swishing it around, she was relieved to find that it was mostly full and still warm. Perhaps Smolder had been planning a tea party for later when she went on her hoard binge?

Ocellus poured out two cups of tea. “If this doesn’t help bring you back, I don’t know what will.” She buzzed her wings, gently wafting the smell of jasmine over to Smolder. “It’s your favorite…”

Smolder’s nostrils flared, breathing in the scent. Ocellus felt her heart race when Smolder tilted her head and reached out for her own cup. She was too big to even squeeze a single claw through the handle, so Ocellus settled for placing the whole cup in her palm.

“It’s tea! Remember?” Ocellus took a long demonstrative sip herself. “Hmm, see? It’s delicious!” She forced herself to keep that smile even as Smolder’s tongue dipped down into the cup and lapped it up that way. “That’s … really not proper etiquette but I’ll take what I can get.” She set down her teacup, but saw Smolder frown. “What?”

Smolder jutted a claw at the teapot and growled.

“Oh, you want me to have more? Alright…” Ocellus refilled her cup and took another sip. But as soon as she set the half-empty cup down, Smolder started to growl again. “It’s nice of you, but I think I’m good for now…” Ocellus winced, seeing Smolder’s expression. She sighed and drank again. This really wasn’t going the way she had hoped. “Any chance you’re going to let me stop? I’m smaller than you, I can’t drink as much!”

No such luck. Ocellus groaned and settled in to get comfortable. “Friendship sure isn’t easy sometimes.” She slowly nursed her tea. “Can I tell you something? Well, of course I can—I mean, it’s nice to ask permission first though.” She waited but predictably didn’t get a reply. “You know how different changelings and dragons are? Sorry, that’s a rhetorical question. I come from a big, busy Hive full of hundreds of changelings. Before coming to the School, I had never been apart from it, or from any other changelings. It was really scary for me.” She rubbed her shoulder. “Dragons, you’re so big and strong but you mostly prefer to be on your own. I don’t think you liked the idea of being so close to so many creatures. It must’ve been as weird and upsetting for you as it was for me to be away from other changelings. To tell you the truth I...”

She wilted. “I never told you, but when they first said we’d be sharing a room? I-I thought about asking to switch, to be with Yona or even Silverstream.” She shrank down. “You were just so intimidating, and I didn’t know how I could manage. I’d be the only changeling for hundreds of miles and alone with a dragon. Just like I am now.”

She heard another snort, and then felt a claw running over her carapace. Ocellus looked up to see Smolder stroking her back. She felt her wings buzz with joy; maybe she had finally gotten through to her! “But I didn’t and I’m glad I didn’t. I grew so much thanks to you and our friends.” She leaned into Smolder’s touch. “They’re waiting outside for you, you know—our friends.” She slowly reached up to rub the soft scales of Smolder’s underjaw. “They’re worried about you too, but I promise they won’t come in until you tell them to. For now, it’s just you and me, alright?”

Smolder snorted and seemed to settle in.

Taking that as a good sign, Ocellus mustered herself. “I guess it’s a little flattering that you trust me this much, I mean.” Smolder huffed. “Changelings aren’t used to being trusted and it means, well, it means a lot that you do. Trust me, that is. Especially you.” Smolder tilted her head. “I mean, dragons aren’t usually the most trusting of creatures, like changelings haven’t been the most trustworthy. But we’ve been sharing a room for months without any problems, so that really counts for a lot I think!”

She giggled. “Well, maybe not totally without problems. Remember when we first started out?” Smolder made a noise Ocellus decided sounded like agreement. “You kept thinking that because it was your room, you could help yourself to all of my stuff whenever you wanted, you big bully.”

She poked Smolder, keeping her voice light. The oversized dragon shifted about, abashed. Ocellus reached up to pat her cheek. “Aww, don’t be like that. You came from a different culture and it was a learning experience for both of us.” Ocellus felt her cheeks grow warm. “Like me with showers?” She started to laugh and was relieved to hear a deep chuckle rumbling in Smolder’s throat. “I still don’t think it’s fair of you to tease me about that—changelings don’t have a sense of smell the same way dragons do! Plus it’s not exactly like the Hive came with showers.” She deliberately overplayed her pouting expression and, as expected, it provoked outright laughter from Smolder. “Fine, fine, laugh it up.” She poked her again, still grinning herself. “Just remember, none of our friends think either of us smell all that great when we molt—though we still look better than Gallus while doing it.” Smolder nodded, a toothy grin splitting her face.

Ocellus waited, but Smolder apparently still wasn’t able or willing to talk yet. She looked around at Smolder’s pillow lair. “So, this sure is cozy. It’s a shame you didn’t bring a quill in with you—you could’ve gotten started on your homework without any interruptions!” She was rewarded for her insight with a grunt and an elegant eye roll from Smolder. She pouted but to her annoyance that just prompted Smolder to chuckle and gently stroke her head. “Can we talk about what’s bothering you?” she asked quietly, her ears lowering. “Is it just the cold that started this? Or are you feeling homesick and lonely? If you are, I should’ve realized sooner.” She reached out and slowly stroked Smolder’s spines. “I’m sorry.”

Smolder stubbornly set her jaw and shook her head, her eyes flickering to the tea party. Ocellus followed her gaze and began revisiting things. Smolder had been concerned about the cold and hunkering down in a nice cave somewhere with her hoard to wait it out. But she made sure to bring with her something that would remind her of each of her friends. She’d truly let friendship into her heart, to the point where she couldn’t bear to be apart from them, even while her instincts were no doubt screaming at her to do just that.

“Oh, Smolder.” Ocellus threw her hooves around her neck and hugged her friend tightly, even though she was left dangling like a necklace. “I should’ve known: you’re so much more than your instincts. You’re your own dragon. The real you’s been here all along, you big sappy dragon.”

“Watch that sappy talk,” Smolder grunted.

Ocellus beamed and looked up with a delighted gasp. “You talked!”

“I’ve been known to do that sometimes.” Smolder booped her. “But yeah, I, uh, kinda lost myself for a bit. I could hear you, but it all felt a little hazy.” She shuffled her feet. “Remember when Sandbar shared some of his Aunt Tree Hugger’s brownies with us? That’s kind of where my head was for a bit. Sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I’m just glad you’re alright.” Ocellus looked her up and down. “Your head is still a little big. Even for you, I mean,” she added with a giggle.

Smolder rolled her eyes. “Very funny. It should wear off in a few hours. Just remember, being even bigger and stronger than usual makes it even easier for me to do—this!” She grabbed Ocellus and proceeded to noogie her fiercely.

“Gyaah, Smoooolder! No fair!” She squealed when she felt claws poking her carapace in her sensitive spots. “EEP! We talked about this! No tickling after tea parties, no tickling after tea parties!” Smolder stopped, allowing a panting Ocellus to try to recover the shattered remnants of her dignity. She unleashed her most withering stare only for Smolder to snicker.

Just like always. She really was back to normal.

“Hey, guys!” Sandbar called from outside. “We thought we heard something. Everything okay in there?”

“It’s alright!” Ocellus replied once she caught her breath. “Smolder’s feeling much better!”

Smolder patted Ocellus’ head and spoke up herself. “Hey guys, what’s up?”

“‘What’s up?’ she asks,” Gallus’ indignant voice piped in. “She’s sitting inside a mountain of pillows on a pile of our stuff and she asks what’s up? I guess her brain is still in hibernation…”

“She wasn’t hibernating, dude…” Sandbar whispered.

“Ugh, it’s called a joke.”

“Gallus says he glad friend Smolder is okay!” Yona shouted, apparently now fluent in Griffon too. “Yona blanket help?”

Smolder looked over at the crazy tea-party set up and nodded. “Yeah, I guess you could say it did. Thanks.”

“Smolder welcome! Yak blanket is best blanket!”

“What about Shelly and Sheldon?” Silverstream nervously cut in. “Are they okay? Skystar is never going to forgive me if anything happened to them!”

Smolder looked back at Ocellus, silently mouthing, "Who?" Ocellus pointed at the seashells with googly eyes. “Uh, they’re fine?” Smolder scratched her head. “They made for real good … company?”

“Can we come in?” There was the sound of hooves on pillows, and Sandbar’s voice grew a little louder. “This place looks great!”

Ocellus and Smolder traded a glance and looked at the tea party they had going on. Smolder squirmed, so Ocellus decided to step in for her. “Actually, I think Smolder just needs a little more time to herself. I’m going to stay with her for a bit longer. To make sure everything’s fine.” Smolder squeezed her shoulder gratefully. “You can head back to your rooms. We’ll make sure everything gets returned soon.” The others grew very quiet and Ocellus was concerned she’d upset them somehow. “Is that okay?”

“That’s just fine, right everybody?” Silverstream asked, to quick and widespread consent from the others. “We certainly won’t intrude. You two have fun—together!”

Even without seeing her friends or needing to sense their emotions, Ocellus could practically hear them all smiling. She wasn’t sure why at first, then it hit her: Smolder had taken something from each of her friends, but beyond her pillows nothing in particular from her. Smolder didn’t want something as a stand-in for her, but Ocellus herself. She let Ocellus in because she wanted her here. Smolder had added her to the hoard. That meant…

Ocellus was just grateful the entrance to the pillow cave had been sealed because she was fairly sure her friends would be able to see her blush all the way from here. “Not. A. Word.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Gallus fairly purred. “Come on, gang, let’s leave the two of them be. Alone. Together. Alone.”

Ocellus flushed even more and thought she saw Smolder’s cheeks tinted red as well. She heard a door open as her friends exited the common area and then close again.

Smolder shook her head after they left. “Joke’s on them,” she murmured to Ocellus, pouring them both some more tea. “We’re in the most exclusive, awesome party ever and they aren’t.” Her face revealed a toothy smile. “Plus, we’re armed with every pillow in school. Once we’re done, we’re going to hit them with the most one-sided pillow fight in history. More like a pillow slaughter, really.”

“Sounds good to me.” Ocellus sat back down opposite her and picked up her cup. “Here’s to us. And knowing however strong our instincts might be, our friendship is stronger.” Her voice wavered slightly and she added, “Our friendship and … anything else.”

Smolder smiled and gently clinked their cups together. “To us.”

Author's Note

This story obviously draws inspiration for events and concepts with these two from RainbowDoubleDash's "Trouble in Tiatarta," with his permission.