Gabriela stirs while snoozing in the fetal position in the hooves of the punker behind her… She also feels the soft comforting feeling of the toy she’s clutching to her chest with her forehooves…
She wrinkles her nose before a familiar squeaky batpony voice asks from behind, “Whatcha got there, Gabs?”
Gabriela starts as her slitted blue eyes open wide, “Nothing!”
“Uh, no Gabs! You’re obviously holding something in your hooves! What is it?” Dusk says as she attempts to climb over Gabriela behind her.
Gabriela then tightens her body around the pink plushie, “I don’t have anything… You should look behind you! There’s a distraction there!”
At that point, Dusk Shine giggles and curves her forehooves down to begin tickling Gabriela in her pits!
“He he he! Knock it off, jerk!” Gabriela giggles.
“Not until you surrender it! What do you have, Gabriela!” Dusk says at a louder volume while continuing to tickle Gabriela.
“Okay! Okay! It’s a plushie! It’s a plushie! Stop tickling me!” Gabriela says while continuing to snort and giggle.
Dusk removes her hooves from Gabriela’s pits and says, “See? Was that so hard? What kind of plushie do you got?”
“Um, it’s uh…” Gabriela trails off inaudibly.
“Uh, what Gabs? I didn’t catch that?” Gabriela hears from behind her as she feels gelled spikes touching her neck.
“It’s Pinkie Pie!” Gabriela finally blurts out before clutching the plushie tightly once more in the fetal position.
Dusk looks up over Gabriela’s shoulder to see her adorably snuggling a large Pinkie Pie plushie to her chest before saying, “Why would you be ashamed of that, Gabs?”
“Well um…” Gabriela trails off again in her speech.
“Gabs, speak so I can hear you please! We are friends here after all! Well, friends who buck, but whatever!”
“I like plush toys! I like to snuggle them, and I know they won’t judge me when I talk to them or use what I say against me later…”
“AWW! That’s cute Gabs!”
“Yeah, well…” Gabriela says before more tightly clutching the plushie to her chest, “I gotta go put this one up with the others, in the closet now…”
“How many plushies do you have, Gabs?”
“Uh, forty-two by my last count!”
Dusk moves her head back and Gabriela feels the mane gel stop touching the back of her neck, “Forty-two! That’s a lot!”
“Well um, I like them and they’re my little friends…”
Dusk smiles, “That’s okay too Gabriela! I have a little punk pony plushie with a mohawk that I sleep with!”
“Really?”
Dusk snickers, “No, not really! But I always wanted something cool like that! Uh, why Pinkie Pie?”
“Huh?”
“Well, there are lots of ponies in Equestria and many of them have plushies made after them. Why Pinkie Pie specifically?”
Gabriela giggles nervously, “Her fearless optimism and cheerful demeanor always helped me when I was feeling low…”
At that point, Gabriela gives a loud “EEP!” as she’s embraced tightly by the punker![1]
Gabriela can barely croak out, “Why are you hugging me?” to Dusk Shine as she’s held firmly.
Dusk says, “Because I know what that’s like!”
“Know what what’s like?” Gabriela barely manages to stammer out as she’s held firmly in the other batpony’s forehooves.
Dusk finally releases Gabriela, who then gasps for air while Dusk says, “I know what it’s like to need hope… A reason, you know?”
“Geez! Not everything is so dramatic, Dusk!” Gabriela says, while continuing to gasp for air.
Dusk replies lowly, [2] “Oh, I’m sorry… I get wrapped up in myself sometimes…”
Gabriela sighs, “No, you know what?” She looks up to once again feel Dusk’s mane-gel on the nape of her neck, “That’s okay too, Dusk! Because I’m glad that I can bring meaning to your life… Maybe this is what I needed?”
“Huh?”
“Well, yeah!” Gabriela looks down again, “I mean, I went to work, go home, got stoned, read, and took care of my kitty… But well, maybe there was more for me after all? I don’t know. There was always something missing, and I just couldn’t put my hoof on it! But at the same time, I really don’t think I wanted to admit it either?”
At that point, Dusk snickers and says in a squeaky cutesy voice, “You love me, Gabriela!”
“Um…” Gabriela starts with this realization in her bleary head as she just woke up, “Yeah Dusk! I guess I do, but uh…”
“But what Gabs?”
“I gotta pee!”
Dusk snickers and releases Gabriela from her forehooves, so she can slide off the bed to her hooves on the floor. She floats the big soft Pinkie Pie toy over to her closet door, which magically opens with a blue glow, so she can deposit the toy on her closet floor before softly shutting it with her telekinesis. She turns and trots to exit door before magically opening it while making the doorknob glow and trots down the hall.
<*****>
Gabriela trots into her kitchen and sees Dusk sitting there and smiling at her at the white table to the left and her fridge on the right with the coffee maker just beyond it on the counter with some black brew starting to percolate down into the pot. She looks over at Dusk, “You made coffee!”
“Yup! And don’t worry! I know my Gabber Buns and know she likes her coffee strong!”
A thought occurs to Gabriela at that point, but she shakes her head to ignore it as she trots into the room and beyond the table before turning her head to the right to see more coffee pouring into the karafe there. She looks up and forces the left cabinet door to open with a blue glow and floats out a white coffee mug to the green marble cabinet, just to the left of the maker. She then causes the pot to glow and move out from under the maker so that the sneak-a-cup engages, and it stops making coffee so she can pour coffee into her mug before floating the karafe back to the maker, where it soon starts to brew and pour coffee into the pot once more after the system re-engages.
She trots over to the table on the other side of the kitchen, with her coffee mug in her magical tow on the top left, before sitting down with her back to the wall and facing Dusk and gently floating her mug down in front of her.
“I thought you took it blond?” Dusk says with a curious look in her slitted eyes.
Gabriela starts and looks up with half-open blue eyes, “Yeah, but I usually drink it black when I wake up… Helps get me operational again!”
“Oh! Well, that makes sense!” Dusk says before grasping her coffee mug in her forehooves and tentatively chancing a sip. She smacks her lips before saying, “Yeah, still way too hot!”
Gabriela looks up at Dusk and softly giggles, “Well, it just came out of the pot!”
Dusk smiles, “Right! So uh, how did you sleep?”
“Oh, I slept well! Being in your hooves seems to calm me down and I can just relax!”
Dusk smiles, “And Pinkie Pie helped too, right?”
Gabriela’s cheeks redden slightly as she stares down, “Well um, yeah…”
Dusk observes the night unicorn carefully, “Why do you act so ashamed of it?”
Gabriela looks up again, “W-what?”
“Well first, you act as if you sleeping with a plushie is ‘bad’ or something and like you need to hide it…” She leans forward slightly, “And now, you’re acting embarrassed? It’s like you don’t want to admit that you need comfort. Everypony does Gabriela! Ain’t no shame in it!”
Gabriela chuckles as she magically floats her cup to her mouth for a timid sip before smacking her lips and saying, “Still too hot! Uh, well I guess that makes sense. So, me having a bunch of plush toys is fine?” before looking up to Dusk again as her glowing coffee mug floats back down to the table.
“Sure thing, Gabs! You need comfort and that’s where you get it!”
Gabriela smiles softly, “I guess it’s different when I have somepony here to tell me these things, right?”
Dusk smiles back, “Friendship!”
Gabriela widens her eyes and says at a slightly higher volume, “Right! My plushie addiction is fine!”
Dusk looks over with curiosity, “Addiction?”
Gabriela shakes her head, “Uh, nevermind!” She straightens it, “So, what do you wanna do before work, Dusk Shine?”
Dusk leans in again and smiles, “I was thinking, we both take a personal day and relax for another day…”
Gabriela frowns at Dusk, “You’re a bad influence on me!”
Dusk smiles wider, “But, your still gonna do it, aren’t you?”
Gabriela widens her eyes, “No! Maybe! Shut up!”
Dusk snickers, “Yeah, lemme get this coffee down and I’ll go fly out there! You have explosive diarrhea!”
Gabriela starts, “Why that?”
Dusk snickers, “Because it’s funny!”
Gabriela narrows her eyes, “Can’t we just say I got a bad cold or something?”
Dusk shakes her head, “Not as funny!”
Gabriela narrows her eyes, “Come on!”
Dusk busts out in laughter, “Fine! You have the flu now! Whatever!”
Gabriela frowns, “So uh, what should I do while you’re away?”
Dusk leans forward, “Well, why don’t you put a few stuffed friends in your bed and we’ll smoke up together and have a wonderful stoned snuggle session?”
“Huh?” Gabriela asks curiously with wide eyes.
Dusk smiles, “Well, you like snuggling, right?”
Gabriela frowns and normalizes her eyes, “Um, yeah…”
“And you like getting high with your best friend too, yes?”
Gabriela widens her eyes and scrunches her mouth, “Of course!”
Dusk rolls her eyes, “So, doing both together, should be fine!” She leans forward with a big grin on her fanged face, “Right?”
“Yes!” Gabriela says while blankly staring at the punker. “But I still think you’re a bad influence!”
Dusk smiles, “But, I’m a lot of fun!”
Gabriela chuckles softly, “Yeah…”
Dusk nods, “Great! I’ll drop by my guy’s place and get a dime for us to smoke on the way back! You just worry about coffee baby!”*
“Baby?” Gabriela stammers out while narrowing her blue slitted eyes.
“Well…” Dusk begins to say as she rolls her eyes again and tilts her head slightly to the right, “I can just go back to calling you ‘sweet cheeks’ if you like?”
Gabriela starts as her cheeks begin to redden slightly, “No no! Baby is fine!”
Dusk straightens her head, leans forward, and snickers, “There she is! So cute!”
Gabriela shakes her head as she decides to ignore this as well before looking down and magically floating her coffee to her mouth to take another cautious sip.
Dusk takes her coffee mug in her forehooves and sips again before setting it down and smiling at Gabriela.
Gabriela starts as she magically sets down her coffee mug, “What?”
“You’re so pretty!” Dusk says while continuing to smile.
Gabriela widens her eyes, “Hey, I just woke up! I don’t need this right now!”
Dusk tilts her head slightly to the left and frowns, “Don’t need what?”
“To be told uh, that!” Gabriela says before magically taking another sip of her coffee.
Dusk straightens her head and frowns, “That your pretty? Why would that ever be an issue?”
Gabriela shakes her head, “I just uh…”
Dusk giggles slightly and smiles, “Don’t believe it, right?”
Gabriela stares at the punk, “Uh…” she looks off to the bottom right side with her eyes, “No, not really…”
Dusk smiles wider, “’Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Gabs! You know, you’re always gonna be beautiful to somepony out there!”
Gabriela widens her eyes and scrunches her mouth again, “I guess that’s true?”
Dusk nods, “Damn right, it is! Besides, you also realize that you’re all you got! So, rock that shit! Whatever it is!”
Gabriela chuckles as she takes another sip of coffee. She feels that it’s cooler now and so, she begins to sip more aggressively as she continues to smile[3] at the obstinate nocturnal pony, who would dare live her life![4]
“And you’re beautiful to me Gabriela!”
Gabriela starts and chokes slightly on her black coffee as she sputters and a few drops spray from her mouth. She floats the cup back to the table as her face grimaces and she then causes the napkin on the upper right side of the table to glow blue and begin floating to her face to magically wipe it off. It floats back down to the table, and she looks at Dusk before saying, “Was not ready that time!”
Dusk smiles and tilts her head slightly to the left, “AWW! I’m sorry cutie pie! I’ll try to time my admiration for you better from here on out!”
Gabriela widens her eyes to this batpony, “D-do you actually think I’m pretty?”
“Oh geez, Gabs! Haven’t we already been over this twice already?” Dusk stammers out.
“Oh um,” Gabriela looks down, “I’m sorry…”
Dusk narrows her eyes, “Um, you know what? We can take as long as you need to, okay? I mean, I get wrapped up in my own shit and you got uh… that!”
Gabriela looks up and smiles, “Yeah, we’re all kinds of bucked up, aren’t we?”
Dusk grins and giggles, “Yeah, but we’re bucked up together!”
Gabriela joins her friend in giggling, “Yeah…”
Dusk grabs her cup in her forehooves and takes one final mighty swig! She sets it back down on the table and says, “For the road! I’ll be back in about 30 minutes to an hour, okay honey bunches?”
Gabriela frowns at Dusk, “What is it with you and pet names, anyway?”
“Well, I just like them! And it has nothing to do with testing the waters to see if I can make you blush, I assure you of that!”
Gabriela starts as she feels her cheeks begin to rise slightly.
Dusk grins wide, “I mean, I would never want my Gabber butt buns batpony booty queen to ever feel embarrassed and start to blush!”
Gabriela’s cheeks are red once more as she angrily says, “STOP IT!” to the other giggling batpony.
Dusk slides forward off her chair down to her hooves while in a fit of hysterical giggling and she trots around the right side of the table to Gabriela’s seat, and she leans into kiss Gabriela on the lips once more.
Gabriela’s eyes narrow as she feels the sensation of this other pony who loves her against her lips. She thinks about how she and Dusk first met at the plant and how she honestly never gave it much thought before now.
Dusk disengages and draws her head back to her body, “Love you honey bunches! Be back soon!” before trotting to the backdoor, opening it with her right forehoof, and trotting out and then shutting it behind her.
Gabriela soon hears the ‘WOOSH’ of Dusk taking off to fly West while she sighs and magically brings her coffee cup to her face for another swig.
<*****>
Dusk flaps her leathery wings to land in Gabriela’s darkened front yard. As Dusk walks to the front door, she can’t help but think that Gabriela would do better to plant grass in her yard, rather than use gravel like she was now. She opens the door with her mouth and trots in, past the door as it opens to her left. She walks into the living area and calls out, “Gabs! I got us some snacks from the store, papers, and some soda! Yeah, I know you like Blue Cola as I’ve seen you buying it from the machine at work!”
Dusk hears a soft voice in the other room, “I’m in here sweetie! Come on in and put your haul on the table! I got something for you!”
Dusk trots into the kitchen just beyond the first room while staring intently forward and she sees Gabriela sitting at the table on her right. There’s two glasses of a blond liquid on the tabletop and a small glass of ice next to them.
Dusk looks at Gabriela, “Uh, what is this?”
Gabriela smiles, “I made us each a double vanilla cappuccino and I thought that while you were away, they’d cool down. And so, that’s why I got us some ice! We can have yummy, iced cappuccinos together now!”
Dusk widens her eyes, “Wow! I didn’t know you could do this?”
Gabriela smiles her fanged grin, “Yeah! Come sit down with me and we’ll drink coffee!”
Dusk chuckles softly as she trots to her chair, with the door to her back, “Yeah, I got us another dime of that funky hydro stuff from Cloudsdayle! Uh, he’s not out yet!”
“Obviously!” Gabriela squeaks back before turning her head at the glass of ice and causing 2 cubes to glow blue and float from that glass into the other glass in front of Dusk. “Try it baby!”
“Baby?” Dusk says while lifting her right eyebrow and leaning forward to grasp her glass in her forehooves. She tilts the coffee back and leans her head to take a mighty swig! She then cautiously sets the glass down on the table and looks at Gabriela with a slight grimace as her eyes narrow, before stammering out, “Pretty stout! Yummy though!”
Gabriela smiles as her fangs widen and she squeaks, “Glad you like it darling!”
Dusk scrunches her mouth and narrows her eyes at the other batpony, “Okay, what is it with you and pet names all of a sudden?”
Gabriela looks at Dusk wide-eyed, “You were doing it earlier!”
Dusk smiles and giggles, “And I bet you think turnabout is fair play, isn’t that right?”
Gabriela looks up, “Well, not until I tickle you?” She looks back down at Dusk, “But we’re getting there!”
Dusk snickers, “You know, I’ll just retaliate, right?”
“Well, I’ll just have to hit you back harder then, won’t I?”
Dusk widens her eyes and guffaws as she says, “Dusky Gabs Tickle Wars! The final conflict!”
“Of course!” Gabriela says before floating the two remaining ice cubes to her glass and then levitating it to her mouth to take a drink.
Dusk leans forward and narrows her eyes to Gabriela, “Why are you in such a good mood? Did you take a few puffs without me?”
“Um, no not really?” Gabriela says before shaking her head, “I just like being with my good friend Dusk Shine!”
Dusk smiles, “You mean, good friend and buck buddy, right?”
Gabriela’s cheeks begin to turn slightly pink, “Uh, right!”
“Keep glowing, tasty cheeks!” Dusk says while giggling and grasping her glass in her forehooves again and taking a sip of her coffee.
Gabriela frowns, “So uh, I guess we’ll smoke here and use my glass ashtray?”
Dusk sets her coffee down, “Go right ahead!” before reaching into her right saddlebag with her mouth to pull out some gold labelled rolling papers and a small baggy with green herb in it. She uses her mouth to snap the bag shut before reaching over to her right bag with her mouth and taking out two 20 oz. bottles of a brown soda with blue labels and a bag of barbecue potato chips.
Gabriela floats the papers and weed to her side of the table before nonchalantly saying, “Barbecue! My favorite!”
“I know!”
Gabriela looks up at the smiling spiky maned batpony before back to the papers and says, “Well, it’s better than red label! Let’s see here!” before looking at the baggy of herb on her right and floating out a nug to the table, next to the papers. She opens the book of papers with her magic and pulls out a white paper and lays it flat in front of her on the table before hovering the nug over it and causing it to glow as the various buds of weed separate and lightly land onto the paper below. She looks at the paper and magically arranges the herb into a line on the paper, lengthwise, while leaving half an inch open on one side of the paper.
The paper soon glows blue and floats up to Gabriela as she looks at it with her slitted eyes as her curved horn also glows and it soon begins to roll up from the bottom. Gabriela licks it with her forked tongue and seals the joint before putting resting her tongue out the left side of her mouth, opposite her fangs while twisting the joint and saying, “I can feel with my magic that there’s still a little too much air in there! Gotta tighten this guy up before we can smoke it!”
Dusk smiles, “Oh cool! Well, let’s fire it up! Get this party started!”
(To be continued…)