Gabriela, the Batpony

by Betty_Starlight

Chapter 1: Meet Gabriela!

Gabriela sat in her hammock on her back with a book perched on her hind legs and a little cup of coffee on the stand table she kept nearby to her right. She felt the breeze from her open window on the left as she suddenly had to hold down the right page with her forehoof to keep it from blowing over. She smiled and said to herself, “This is perfect!”

Gabriela was not like other batponies. Her coat was light gray and where most batponies had wings, she had a horn. The magic was nice, but she always wanted to go for a fly with her batpony friends. She knew she couldn’t though, and she also knew she’d only slow them down. She eventually learned to accept this and felt that she’d always be by herself on the ground. Most batponies didn’t hang out down there after all and normal ponies usually didn’t associate with her. Or at least, she didn’t think they did?

She turned the page with her forehoof, when suddenly, there’s a knock on the door. Who in Equestria could that be? Gabriela thought to herself as her blue slitted eyes darted to the right towards her front door. “Hang on! I’ll be right there!” She yelled in her squeaky voice as she magically floated the light blue leatherbound book to the table and sat up. She sighed and looked to her right at the table before sipping some of her coffee with the distinct bluish glow of her magic. They’re on her time after all!

She got to her hooves on the floor and shook her long bluish gray wavy mane to adjust it before trotting over to the door. She always did that! To get ready! She trots to the door and makes the doorknob glow blue and swing inward towards her to her left and she sees two batponies there! She sees the punk rock batpony on the left named Dusk Shine with her light blue coat and pink spiked mane that jutted about 6 inches from the center of her head in every direction and a short neatly cropped tail of a matching pink color and greenish yellow slitted eyes. She also witnessed a slightly taller and lankier goth batpony named Nightshade with her darker blue coat and long bluish black straight mane that seemed to flow from the back of her head in an odd, yet stylish mane-cut with her matching tail. She looked to Gabriela with her bluish green eyes. Dusk Shine wore a black spiky anklet on each forehoof and a studded leather harness with well-hidden button-up pockets. Nightshade on the other hand, wore a long cloak, currently with the hood down and an understated harness, with four button-up pockets on it.

Gabriela narrows her eyes, “Um, yes?”

Dusk Shine smiles at Gabriela from underneath the long pink spikes and looks up to chirp, “Hiya Gabriela! We were just trotting through and wanted to know if you wanted to go do something with us?”

Nightshade grunts and Dusk Shine hits her right forehoof with her left while continuing to smile at Gabriela. Nightshade starts and looks to Gabriela as well.

Gabriela frowns, “You haven’t been here in awhile…”

Dusk Shine says, “Yeah, I know! It’s been about two weeks now, but we never know when to come by?”

“Seventeen nights Dusk Shine. It’s been seventeen nights since your last visit!”

“Well, yeah!” Dusk Shine exclaims as she scratches the back of her neck with her right forehoof and looks down, “So uh, hey! Are you hungry? We were gonna head over to the secret orchard on the West side of the Everfree! The mangos are great this year!” Dusk Shine says before nervously lowering her forehoof to the ground and awkwardly smiling at the unicorn batpony.

Gabriela sighs and says, “Okay uh, hang on! I gotta go deal with my asshole cat and make sure he’s fed! Then I’ll get my saddlebags and we can skate!” before magically shutting the door quickly.

She trots to the back of her house to the kitchen and looks at Pete’s bowls there, right in front of the backdoor. “Okay, he’s got food and water!” Gabriela mutters to herself before trotting over to her closet. She smiles and magically opens the door and looks above her to float her dark brown buttoned saddlebags to her back. She then frowns and says, “Well, just in case!” before floating over her stash box and magically opening it to fetch her metal smokeless pipe and red disposable lighter and then moving that into her right saddlebag and shutting it with a snap.

She smiled and rolled her eyes as she trotted back. She thought to herself, Fine! I’ll humor them for about an hour or so and then I can get back to my book and coffee! Uh, wait! Before looking over to her right saddlebag and snapping it open to float out her metal smokeless pipe and lighter. She floats the lighter at a downward angle towards the pipe and ignites it over the pipe and inhales to take a hit. The flame goes from the top of the lighter into the little smokeless port on top of the pipe, so she inhales the devil weed. She mentally counts to 7 before exhaling. She stands silently for a moment before taking a breath into her nose and breathing it out of her mouth. She then takes another hit and counts to 7 in her mind before exhaling, She mutters to herself, “All better! I hate people!”

Then she puts the pipe and lighter back in her right saddlebag before trotting to the door and magically opening it again and then smiling and chittering to her two cohorts, “Ready to go!”

The ponies trot North beyond the edge of town. Gabriela’s cottage is on the way, right at the edge towards the forest itself. They see the tree line and Gabriela says, “Well, it’s right past there. So uh, you two wanted to hang out?”

Dusk Shine looks to Gabriela trotting on her left and says, “Yeah well, we work together, but you never stop by or say hi or anything and I was wondering how you were doing?”

Gabriela looks to the batpony trotting on her right, “How I was doing? Gosh! Why would you ever worry about me?”

“Well, we never see you around town! I only see you at work and sometimes when you’re out there collecting more fruit. Sometimes, I wonder if we’re even friends anymore?”

Gabriela frowns as it suddenly occurred to her that it has been awhile since she’s had any sort of company. Usually, it’s just her and her cat Pete! She looks at Dusk Shine and says, “Well, I’m here now?”

“Yup!” Dusk Shine says before smiling at Gabriela while Nightshade groans and rolls her eyes.

As they trot through the forest, Gabriela sees a pair of dark batponies flying North, towards the mango fields and she looks to Dusk Shine and says, “Don’t you find it annoying that you can’t fly when I’m around? That’s why I don’t usually hang out with other batponies!”

Dusk Shine replies, “Yeah, but you don’t hang out with anypony else either!”

“So?”

Nightshade finally says from the back, “She read that “Friendship Journal” thing Princess Twilight wrote earlier and now she’s been going on and on about being a good friend!”

Dusk Shine looks back to her left at Nightshade and snaps, “So? And what’s wrong with that?”

Nightshade smirks, “I just think it’s cute!”

Dusk Shine glances back over to Gabriela and rolls her eyes, “Sometimes, I wonder why I bother?”

Nightshade says, “Because I’m your best friend and you love me!”

Dusk Shine smiles, “Yeah, I guess that’s true?”

Gabriela frowns, “You two have a love/hate thing going, don’t you?”

Dusk Shine glances to her bottom right, “Well, it’s all love!” She looks to Gabriela, “It’s all in jest! Come on! You were with us earlier! You know how this goes!”

“I guess I just forgot?”

“Exactly Gabriela! You never leave your house!”

“So?” Gabriela says before looking down and then back up at Dusk Shine, “I just like to be by myself!”

“All the time though? I mean, you’re my friend Gabriela and I at least wanna make sure you’re okay!”

“Friendship!” Chirps Nightshade from the back.

Dusk Shine sighs while Gabriela’s eyes brighten slightly, “Well uh, you know what Dusk Shine? That’s actually kinda sweet of you!”

Dusk Shine smiles brightly and closes her eyes, “Isn’t it though?”

Nightshade chirps, “Yay!” from the back.

Dusk Shine looks back to Nightshade and says, “Bitch!” before looking back to a giggling Gabriela.

Nightshade chirps back, “Skank!”

Dusk Shine looks back to her left in front of Gabriela, “I’m gonna buck you up one of these days Nightshade!”

“Oh, just try it bitch!”

“Nightshade, you and I both know that I can kick your ass! So, knock it off!” Dusk Shine screams back before she notices a chuckling unicorn of the night standing right next to her. She looks to Gabriela, “What’s so funny?”

“Just the way you two banter! It’s funny!”

Dusk Shine smiles and says, “Right! So, I’d um, like to be your friend!”

“Uh, aren’t we already friends?”

“Well, I know that, but um…” Dusk Shine says before glancing away for a moment before returning her gaze, “I’d just like to be closer…” and then lowering her gaze.

Gabriela says, “But why me though?”

Nightshade chirps from the back, “Easy target!”

Dusk Shine whispers back, “Not helping!” and then moves her eyes back to Gabriela, “Well, you’re always by yourself and I thought, um…”

Gabriela stops trotting shortly before everypony else, turns to face the batpony next to her, and frowns, “You think I’m lonely, don’t you?”

Dusk Shine says while facing Gabriela, “Well, aren’t you? Hey, I get kinda lonely too! Nightshade isn’t always around and sometimes I need a change of pace from the same old people. I think we would be good friends!” and then smiling nervously.

Gabriela narrows her eyes, “But, why me specifically?”

“Well, I think you’re sweet and fun to talk to!”

Nightshade chimes in from behind, “And she wants to buck you!”

Dusk Shine closes her eyes at this point and can only softly giggle at herself while Gabriela looks at this awkward punker batpony with her spiky hair and leather vest, trying to pour her heart out to her.

“Sex, Dusk Shine?”

Dusk Shine opens her eyes, “No! Well, not unless you want to. Honestly, I just wanted a friend! I swear! Uh…” and then darts them every which way to look around nervously.

Gabriela frowns, “Not unless I want to?”

“Uh…” Dusk Shine nervously scratches the back of her neck with her right forehoof once more and brings her mouth to the right side, “Well, you are kinda cute and I wouldn’t immediately dismiss it?”

“Of course!” Gabriela says before beginning to trot South towards her house passing Nightshade on her left, “I know nopony would ever want to actually get to know me!”

“Gabriela!” Dusk Shine calls back at the unicorn, angrily galloping back to her home in a huff.

Gabriela sat on her haunches on her chair. She looks down at and opens her small wooden stash box on the right side of the table with a blue glow and floats out a pack of black label rolling papers* and a spare joint tip. She takes out a single paper and floats it down in her blue glow and sets the tip on the right side of the paper, down the trench, after verifying the sticky side is facing her and on the top. She then floats out a hunk of devil weed from the baggy inside the box and proceeds to evenly lay it into the trench of the paper while adding just a little bit onto the tip so that it seals. She then closes the paper and rolls the weed down to the bottom before rolling up her joint and licking the sticky portion with her forked tongue to seal it before closing it up completely. She floats it in front of her and twists the joint a little to tighten the inside, twists the end of the joint to seal that, and then licks it again to seal certain areas of the joint.

She gazes at her creation floating before her in blue magic and smiles before moving the tipped end into her mouth and looking to her stash box to float out her yellow disposable lighter. She lowers her head with the joint in her mouth before sparking it to create a flame and igniting the end of the joint in her mouth. The capped off end burns away as she inhales the sweet smoke before narrowing her eyes.

Suddenly, there’s a knock on her cottage door about 15 feet to the left of where Gabriela is sitting and she hears Nightshade’s somber voice coming from the other side, “Gabriela! Are you here? We need to talk!”

“Oh pony-feathers!” Gabriela curses to herself under her breath before looking to the door and yelling back, “I might be!” and then turning her head back to the right to her floating joint and putting her lips on the end to inhale once more.

Nightshade yells back as Gabriela takes in the smoke, “Hey, look! Dusk Shine really likes you and wants to be your friend… Well, just your friend for right now! I know she gets freaky sometimes, but we’re not talking about that, okay?”

Gabriela smiles and exhales. She takes a breath before taking another mighty puff from her joint and mentally counts to 5 before she exhales once more. She then looks back to her door and screams, “Well, that’s cool!” and then turns her head back to her joint to inhale once more.**

“Hey Gabriela! Uh, can I come in?”

Gabriela stays silent as she mentally counts to 7 before exhaling once more and then turns back to her left to calmly yell back, “Yeah sure! Uh, just a minute!” Gabriela says before looking over to her joint once more and moving her head forward to get her lips on the tip, sealing that, and inhaling. She mentally counts to 5 before exhaling the smoke out the right side of her mouth and then putting her mouth to the joint to inhale once more. She counts to 5 again before exhaling, floating the joint down to the ashtray, and rubbing the burning end back and forth into the ashtray so that it goes out and magically setting it aside to the right of the tray. She gets to her hooves in front of her chair and trots over to the door and opens it with her distinct blue glow before smiling and saying, “Hiya Nightshade!”

“Uh, hi…” Nightshade says before looking down. “I feel like what went wrong today is at least partially my fault. Um, can I come in?”

“Sure Nightshade!” Gabriela says before backing away to her right to make room for the other batpony.

Nightshade solemnly trots into the room to the left of Gabriela. She raises her head and sniffs the air before saying, “Gabriela! Have you been smoking devil weed in here?”

Gabriela starts, “No! Maybe! Shut up!” She straightens herself and looks to the winged pony, “Look! You’re in my house! What did you want?”

“I wanted to make things right! Um… “Nightshade looks down and grumbles slightly under her breath, “I want you two to be friends…”

Gabriela frowns, “You really care about Dusk Shine, don’t you?”

Nightshade looks back up at Gabriela and says solemnly, “With my life!” without hesitation.

Gabriela narrows her eyes, “So, what do you want from me?”

“Okay, Dusk Shine is a zero bullshit kinda pony Gabriela. In order to make this right, you and I will need to travel to our cottage on the other end of town and speak with her directly…” Nightshade says to Gabriela with a serious look in her eyes.

“Um, okay! That makes sense… But before we head out, I’m finishing my joint! You want some?”

Nightshade trots to the right of the night unicorn on their way East towards their cottage. The dark desolate roads on the North end of Ponyville always seemed foreboding, even to a batpony like Gabriela. But thanks to her night vision, she knew exactly where to trot anyway. She looks to Nightshade, “So, what should I say anyway?”

Nightshade looks at her, “Don’t say anything at first! Let me do the talking! It was my fuck up after all…”

“Um, I’m just gonna let her make the first move… You know, I’m starting to think a single joint wasn’t enough for this? I’m really nervous and I’m not even sure why?”

“Could it be, because you care about Dusk Shine?” Nightshade says sweetly while smiling.

Gabriela starts and looks to Nightshade, “Well, I do! I really do! But uh…”

Nightshade frowns, “But what?”

“But I’m not used to dealing with other ponies!”

Nightshade smiles, “Yeah! Other ponies suck! It’s why I spend most of my time by myself.”

“Right? So uh, I’m not sure about this whole “friendship” business honestly? I mean, I’m always on my own with just me and my cat and we do okay!”

“Well, right! But after reading that book, Dusk Shine has it in her head that she could be doing more… And that includes you!”

“Assuming she’s not pissed at me?”

Nightshade frowns, “Why would she be pissed at you? You ran away from her distraught remember?”

“Okay! Um…” Gabriela looks down and then back up at the other batpony, “So she won’t be mad at me then?”

Nightshade widens her eyes, “You really don’t have much social experience, do you?”

“Well, I got enough! Um, I think?” Gabriela says while scrunching her mouth and squinting her right eye as she looks up.

“Rrrrrriiiiigggghhhhtttt… Well, we’re here now Gabriela!” Dusk shine says as they arrive at a small light yellow two-bedroom cottage with a dark wooden ornate door there and one white painted window on either side of it.

Gabriela stops trotting, looks at the door in the darkness before Nightshade, “So, what do I do?”

Nightshade smiles, “Just stand out here for now! I’ll let you know when you can come in!”

Gabriela nods and says, “Okay Nightshade!”

Nightshade trots to the front door and attempts to open it with her right forehoof only to find it locked! “Dammit Dusk Shine! We’re here to help you!” she says before using her mouth to fetch the key from her top right pocket in her harness. She operates it in the knob with her lips before opening it and pushing it forward with her left forehoof so that it opens up to the right. She trots in, collects the key with her mouth, and shuts the door behind her…

Gabriela waits in silence for a moment before she hears an angry chirp coming from the back of the house. She also hears Nightshade chittering back. She then hears a loud crash before quiet hoofsteps towards her and the door. The door opens to reveal a smiling batpony with a long pink spiky mane. Dusk Shine says, “Hiya Gabriela! Hey, look! I’m uh, sorry about what I said earlier… I’m uh, new to this…”

Gabriela giggles before saying, “That makes two of us! Hey, maybe we should start over? Hi! I’m Gabriela!” and then extends her right forehoof to shake.

“Oh, stop it, Gabriela! We know who you are!” Dusk Shine says with a light giggle of her own. “Hey! You wanna come in? Uh, we never made it to the mango fields, but there’s still plenty of apples in the back?”

Gabriela smiles, “Okay Dusk Shine! Let’s hang out! You and me, okay uh, friend?”

Dusk Shine smiles, “Sounds good to me!”

(To be continued…)

Author's Note:

*I know I can’t say the name of my rolling papers and while they’re made in Spain, I don’t know what the Equestrian equivalent would be either? But my label color is black…

**This is called “chiefing” among stoners…

Comments

[cheerilee-party-hard]

I like it! This is sweet so far!

[Mike the Red]

I can feel something heavy in the air which must not be named...LOL