Ocellus sat at the foot of Smolder’s bed, making some crafted “jewelry” to satisfy her greed.
“How many do you want?” She asked.

“As many as you feel like making, I guess.” She had scampered up on top of her junk pile, which was growing bigger and bigger each day.
Just as she was about to make a following statement, Ocellus had realized. The Third Stage happened to be in operation. Smolder, as she noticed, had both physical and mental inertia, putting her hoard first. She hadn’t seen her friends in days, besides Ocellus. It had been about three days since their rather embarrassing agreement, rendering Smolder completely isolated from the outside world. Aside from being with Ocellus, of course.

Now, Ocellus’ plan was a little haphazard, granted that she didn’t do any proper research on how to help Smolder, but, at this point, she felt that she couldn’t leave her alone. She felt like this was her only chance to help her. To be with her. She took note of this: If Smolder was still talking to her, still in tact with reality and what was and wasn’t real, she still had room for a little assistance while she could. Before it got full control of her.

“About 2 in 5 dragons lose themselves to the five stages,” She mumbled to herself, Smolder too focused on her hoard to pay attention to what she was saying. Ocellus has looked over her shoulder to Smolder, still making the little trinkets she had planned to gift to her.

Smolder was stroking some of the contents that lay on top of the giant heap, her eyes sparkling in admiration and awe. It was hers. Only hers.
Ocellus let out an exasperated sigh, going back to making her little necklaces and bracelets. Hate it or love it, She thought. Im going to help you.

She turned to look at Smolder once more, peering her tongue out slightly, and tasting Smolder’s intense love for her hoard. It drove her crazy, the sweet, the spice, the flavor- she couldn’t take it. If only Smolder would- If only she would love her like she loved that hoard. That intense heap of junk. She didn’t think herself to be one of the jealous type, but, when she saw Smolder and her love for that hoard, she just couldn’t help herself.

As she continued with her crafts, she wondered. What did Smolder see in that hoard? It couldn’t walk, it couldn’t talk, it couldn’t even feel. What did she see in that gigantic pile of junk?

It was hopeless, she felt, to try and confess to Smolder at that moment. Even if she felt the courage to, Smolder wouldn’t have payed her any attention. It was useless, she might as well have just waited. It didn’t matter how she felt towards her, or what she felt, she was going to help Smolder survive these awful stages. Eventually. Right now, she was going to finish making her little baubles, taking her time with each one so that Smolder might be satisfied with what she was gifted.

She knew she was a Dragon, and, Dragons would take anything they could get, like Dragons would. Ocellus didn’t see anything coming at this point. She always saw Smolder as rough around the edges, sometimes even distant, but she never thought that this would be her now. That she’d turn so distant and cold just to protect a pile of junk. To Smolder, of course, it wasn’t any regular old pile of junk. It was, frankly, a hoard.

Ocellus didn’t see it that way, though. She couldn’t bear to see Smolder like this. And for a junk pile. Just the sight of her caring so intently for that thing was unbearable. She would give anything to just get rid of it. She was teased by the constant sight of it everyday. Every time. For Smolder to just give up on everything for it. To give up on her.

She stopped abruptly to get up and make Smolder some tea. After all, she needed to calm down after all that thinking. Smolder had watched her stand up and walk into the kitchen, sitting up slightly. “Where are you going?” This question made Ocellus jump slightly.

“To make you some tea...?” She reluctantly turned around to Smolder, who had quickly curled up on top of her hoard. She blushed a little, shaken up that Smolder had been so quick to ask why she was getting up. Did she think of her as part of her hoard?

“Oh, okay...” Smolder mumbled, prompting Ocellus to continue on getting some refreshments. Her nostrils puffed some smoke, as they flared up, her face was grazed with a light shade of crimson. She didn’t think of one of her closest friends being owned by her, like they were one of her valuables, not like she didn’t treasure each and everyone of them, it’s just, she never thought of herself being so possessive of one of them, let alone Ocellus.

Hours ticked by as Smolder was still curled up on top of her pile, smoke puffing out of her nostrils as she drifted off to sleep. It was now about 7 o’clock, a suitable time for Ocellus to leave, or so she thought. She slowly creaked open the door to leave, looking back at Smolder while wishing she could stay a little longer.

As she was near leaving, the creak of the door woke Smolder up. Before Ocellus could fully exit the dormitory, Smolder had slowly opened her eyes, her nostrils now puffing out less smoke.
“Where are you going...?” She asked with a yawn, Ocellus stopping abruptly.

“I...I was going to leave... you know, since... you were going to sleep...” She turned back to Smolder.

“No. Stay. Now.” Smolder glared at Ocellus, her nostrils puffing more smoke.

“You sure? You kind of look like you’ll set me on fire if I do.” She giggled.

Smolder let herself giggle softly, before clearing her throat. “No, you’re fine. Just stay here.” She reassured, shutting her eyes again once Ocellus had shut the door.

“O-Oh... okay. If it’s alright with you.” Her face was stained with her trademark teal blush.

“You can... sleep in my bed if you want.” She said between puffs of smoke.

Ocellus blushed once more, now getting snug under the soft blanket on top of her specially plush mattress. “Goodnight, Smoldy~” she mumbled to herself, drifting off to sleep.

Ocellus galloped around the dark, desolate school building, looking for Smolder. She was tired, sweat beading from her forehead. She felt that she couldn’t go on any longer, but she had to. She had to go on. For Smolder. As she galloped faster and faster, she finally made it to the dorm. Smolder’s dorm. She briskly knocked on her door, getting no answer, but persisting as she knocked on it faster, putting twice as much force onto it. Just when she finally put it past herself, she knocked down the door.

BAM! She was in. “S-Smolder! Where are you?!”

“Leave me alone...” Someone coughed in reply. It sounded like- like Smolder.

The room was filled with so much smoke, Ocellus couldn’t see. She galloped quickly to where her voice was coming from, as time seemed to slow down quicker, and quicker. After what seemed to be an eternity of searching, she finally found her, her beloved. There she was, curled up on the floor in front of that dastardly junk pile.

“Smolder! Are you okay?!” She cried, as she lifted her up the best she could, shaking her violently.
She hadn’t eaten, slept, or drank anything ever since Ocellus left her alone about a week ago. This had been going on for weeks on end.
Even as Ocellus kept shaking her, trying her best to keep her alive, Smolder strayed further, and further away from consciousness, and driving Ocellus to tears. “No, No, No, No, No! Stay with me!” She cried, shaking her even more violently. Smolder was unresponsive. Ocellus couldn’t handle the truth, how she so desperately yearned to turn back time, but, it was over.

Smolder was dead.

Ocellus shot up, panting, and in a cold sweat. Smolder, surprisingly, was at her bedside, heavily concerned about the kind of dream Ocellus had.
Before she could speak, Ocellus tackled her in a warm embrace, crying into her shoulder.
“Woah. You alright?” She asked, despite her friend’s emotions clearly showing.

“I... I had a nightmare,” Ocellus sniffed, drying her eyes with her hoof.

“I see that. What happened?”

Ocellus blushed at this question, not wanting to reveal how much she cared about Smolder, being that she might have cared about her a little too much. “I-I’m Sorry!” She urged, hugging her a little tighter.

“What are you sorry about...?”

She immediately turned her head, still blushing as much as she already was. “I don’t wanna talk about it... you probably don’t want to hear it anyway.” She sniffed once more.

“If it’ll make you feel better, I guess.”

“S-So... I-I was running around the school trying to look for you... it was really dark, so I was wandering around the building for what seemed like hours on end—“ She paused. “—When I had finally gotten to your dorm, you told me to leave you alone. I tried looking for you, but by the time I found you, you were- y-you were...”

Ocellus began to shed tears, the lump in her throat growing bigger and bigger.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay... I’m right here...”

“Y-You hadn’t eaten in days- it was part of the Five Stages... if you don’t get better by the fifth stage, you’ll-“

“Five Stages...?” Smolder asked, causing Ocellus to look up at her with wide, teary eyes.

“Y-You mean you don’t even know what’s happening to you?!” She exclaimed, jumping from her embrace and onto her own hooves.

“What?! What’s happening to me..?!” Smolder stood up.

“Y-You’re changing, Smolder!”

“W-What do you mean?!”

“Y-You’re still busy guarding that big pile of junk!!!!” Ocellus snapped, pointing her hoof at the heap of the items Smolder had gathered over the days.

“What..?” Smolder folded her arms, tapping her foot and giving Ocellus a glare. “This is what this is about...?”

“Of course it is!!!! You don’t do anything else but sit on top of that thing and stare at it all day!” She shouted, more tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

“Fine! I like to guard this ‘pile of junk!’ So What?!”

“Because, Smolder! That thing isn’t real! It’s not going to talk to you, and it’s not going to love you!!” She hissed, slightly lunging her.

“Maybe you're just salty that I like to hang out with my hoard more than you!!” She shouted back, bringing Ocellus to tears.

“W-well... fine, then... I-I understand you wanna be alone... hopefully you’ll enjoy looking at your hoard... alone...” She said in between sobs, leaving the dorm and slamming the door behind her.