Dragonpool: Friendship is Violence

"The numerator... improper..."

Smolder barely recognized what happened. Cold air surrounded her chest like ice freezing over water in a frigid tundra. She could feel barely anything. Her fingers, her palpitating heart, the regulation of her breathing...

All gone. Lost to the numbness.

"Smolder... you've become improper."

Her eyes popped open, nearly bulging out of the sockets. "What...?"

Her voice croaked with dryness, the emotion in her tone being replaced by a flat utter. She wanted to fix it, but the hard cold in her chest wouldn't allow her. It was like the ice of where her chest wound had been was freezing up her throat.

"You're unstable... you need to fix it..."

Smolder blinked, her eyes saying confusion, but her voice crying that she didn't care. "How?"

"You must... find out... yourself..."

The dragon reached out a numbed claw with all the power she could, and she could've sworn the blackness had latched onto her and tried to hold her back. Trying to tie her down.

"Wait... no! H-How do I... come back here, damn it!"

Slamming her fist down into the sloshing, pooling, black water, she screamed out in frustration. "GET BACK HERE!"

"...I need your help," she wept, struggling to sit up.

Still, the dark, sloshing liquid with the consistency of tar mixed with the black of ink latched onto her again, lashing around her body and drawing tightly down as it tightened onto her chest scales.

Smolder cried out violently, the shooting pain being an excruciating reminder of her chest wound.

The liquid tightened even harder, making Smolder wriggle her claws and body as she struggled to break free. It still tied itself around her legs, expanding and spreading like a spilled carton of milk.

It was cold. Freezing, even as it continued to spread, the almost angry sloshing feeling like pins and needles under her scales.

...

...She was alone.

Ocellus lay asleep on the no-longer comfy, small-sized futon they gave her next to her friend's hospital bed. Her ears twitched at the dragon's loud snoring, treating it like a gentle pitter-patter of rain against a glass window in the middle of a peaceful nap.

Smolder went quiet. Ocellus' ear twitched again, adjusting to the silence. Nothing sounded in the room but the small beeping of the heart rate monitor sitting next to her, in between both the futon and Smolder's hospital bed.

Ocellus' eyes flicked open, her ears twitching three or four more times. She then recognized the quiet. Jumping off the futon, she sped to Smolder's side.

Her heart monitor was still beeping, both audibly and visibly. She giggled at herself, then looked over at Smolder.

She had a frown on her face. The same fearing, terrified frown she had on her face when Ocellus recognized her about to-

The changeling's ears wilted, flopping back against her head. She wouldn't let herself think about that, or cloud her judgement of her closest friend. That wouldn't be fair.

Resting a hoof on Smolder's chest wound(lightly, so she wouldn't disturb her), she sighed, leaning her head toward Smolder's and nuzzling the dragon's neck.

Her scales were still warm. The comforting vibrations of her inner chords were lightly massaging the side of her face. Now that she thought about it, that sounded a little weird aloud.

Her wings buzzed as she felt a flash of warmth. Nuzzling deeper into her friend's neck, she let out a small purr of comfort and satisfaction.

"Smolder... you have to try... let her help you..."

Slimy strips of black, sloshy slime slicked itself from her claws, drawing itself back into the immense ocean of black it came from with a wet 'splat!'

Reaching out a claw, Smolder felt around herself. She could feel something, finally. She wasn't held back anymore.

...

For now.

Staring into huge, teal eyes. Huge, buggy, compound eyes. They were wide and staring.

Ocellus stumbled back, her hooves slipping as she fell backward onto her haunches. Smolder tried hard not to bellow with laughter lest her wound's stitches be torn. Instead, she'd ask a question. "What were you doing?"

Ocellus huffed. She would've appreciated an 'are you alright?' above all else. Still, she ignored her wellbeing getting ignored and just stood up, dusting herself off. "I-I was... checking on you. I was trying to see if you were still alive."

Smolder blinked at that. Looking around the room.

First, she saw her glasses from earlier sitting on the nightstand next to her bed. They were slightly crooked moreso than when she wore them before, but she didn't mind. She didn't really need perscription glasses, anyway.

Then, her gaze drifted upon the small futon not too far from her bed. "Why's that here?"

"I was the only one wanting to stay her overnight after... after today," the changeling beside her sighed, turning around and plopping down on the tile floor. "Everyone was worried, but... but they're scared. I'm scared."

Smolder huffed, refraining from just turning over on her stomach and hiding herself under the covers. The only thing she could earnestly hope at this point was that Ocellus didn't put two and two together. Sure, yes, the girl was smart, so she could probably expect that from her, but still...

"You were... holding a gun... you were about to kill that pony, weren't you?" The changeling's eyes shone, her visage of determination, but at the same time, fear grabbing a hold of Smolder.

The dragon huffed again, this time smoke coming from her nostrils and filling the air. "I didn't have a choice. They were going to hurt all of you."

"You were going to hurt them!" Ocellus lunged forward, pressing a jabbing hoof onto Smolder's stomach as she gained a better height over her.

Smolder's head dipped forward, the upper half of her face being shrouded in black shadow. Her eyes were near invisible under the thick, shadowy black covering them. She had a small frown on her face, the same emotionless frown from earlier.

Ocellus stepped down in order to be able to see her friend's eyes again.

Smolder was staring straight down, though she hadn't looked like she was staring at anything specifically. Like she was zoning out. Her eyes lost their shine, only the dim, aimless sea of turquoise that deteriorated anything daring a swim.

Ocellus sighed, standing up on her hooves. "Maybe I should-"

"I don't kill people for fun, you know that...?"

She turned her head, her gaze shifting back to the dragon's hospital bed. Her fists were clenched, her body trembling. "I didn't ask to do the things I do. I didn't want to be this way," she croaked, her voice beginning to shake.

Ocellus rushed to her side. "Smolder, please don't cry, I- I... I didn't say you wanted to, but..."

Smolder interrupted. "Then stop acting like this is something I want to do. Because it just i-isn't..."

The changeling had enough. Pressing her hoof down on Smolder's stomach, she proceeded to lift herself up onto the bed and sit there, staring at her. "I want you to stop thinking that. I don't think you'd be the type of person to kill someone for fun, Smolder. That's why it was just as surprising and shocking for me as it was for everyone else."

Smolder sniffed, looking down at her claws gripping the sheets. Ocellus put a hoof on her hands almost immediately. She looked back up.

A kindly smiling Ocellus looked back at her. "If you want me to leave, that's always okay," she said, nodding to herself. Smolder shook her head, resting her other claw on her bug friend's hoof. Ocellus flushed, continuing, "It's gotten a little uncomfortable on the futon, though."

Smolder chuckled, the small chortle followed with a short sniff. "If you wanna cuddle, just ask."

Ocellus giggled nervously, hopping off the bed as she watched Smolder pull over the covers so that she could lay down.

On top of her.

Ocellus shifted, her body heat getting washed over by the heat radiating from the dragon's scales. Smolder was alseep, snoring once more. Each breath gently caressed Ocellus' forehead with the warmth she never thought she'd feel before. It made her feel at peace again, even though she was held in the arms of a serial killer.

No, no, don't think like that.

Smolder wasn't aggressive or anything. At least not with Ocellus. She could tell how sensitive she was getting before with her. Before, she wasn't exactly as open to talk with anyone else when they were around the two; it made Ocellus a little on edge, like she was taking care of an aggressively protective puppy.

She shifted her hind hooves, getting more comfortable. Smolder only clutched her tighter, reaching her claw up and stroking Ocellus' gossamer pink mane. It made the changeling purr in satisfaction like when she was nuzzling the dragon earlier. She felt safe again, like her friend was... just her friend.

Then, what was she all that time before?

Nuzzling into her friend's neck and savoring the warmth in her chitin, she began to cherish and enjoy the moment even more than she was before. All her worries began to melt away.

Smolder seemed to let Ocellus in when her world was falling apart...

Maybe Ocellus could help her out of whatever mess she's in if she's willing to talk.