At Least They Have Each Other

Later that evening, having successfully snuck past the front desk and the manager, the two sat up in their room and prepared for the talent show.  Shocker practiced his singing and Grazia practiced her jokes.  They tried to separate from each other so that there would be no distractions, but it was difficult because of living in such a tiny room with such thin walls.  Not only that, they would have to keep quiet because of a knocking coming from either of the neighboring rooms lest they risk the manager being called up and discovering that they were there.  Not only that, but they also couldn’t help but overhear the other practicing.  Shocker would chuckle at Grazia’s jokes, and Grazia would inadvertently begin to sing along with him as she wrote new material.

All of this went well on into the night until they eventually tired themselves on and decided that they had practiced enough. They fixed some sandwiches and Grazia boiled some noodles for them, and then they sat down to eat.  It was a quiet dinner for the most part, but they eventually did begin to talk about the show and what the future might hold for them.  They talked first about the bad side of things, such as what they would do should they lose.  “I suppose I can start doing triple shifts…” Grazia said and started to tap the side of her cup of water.

Shocker hummed abruptly and then said, “I guess I’ll take up two full time jobs,” he swished the water in his cup around and then downed the last of it.

After that rough patch though, the conversation began to lighten up.  They talked about what it would be like if they actually won the show, the money, and then went on to get the house afterwards.  Shocker said that he would probably collapse from excitement, but when he awoke he would jump for joy and kiss her like he had never kissed her before.  Grazia said that she too would be on the verge of fainting and, should she be able to keep herself from doing so, would probably shed tears of joy and then kiss her stallionfriend like he had never been kissed as well.  She leaned across the table and kissed him.  When she backed away, he leaned across and kissed her back.

Shortly after, they went over to the bed and laid down.  They had a big day ahead of them tomorrow, and they knew that the more sleep they got the better they were likely to do, and thus, their confidence wouldn’t founder at all.  For days, they had discussed what they key as to winning the competition and decided that confidence and skill would do it for them.  Just those two little things had been hard for them, even.  Confidence was zapped by a lack of rest because of their work schedules, and skill was zapped too by a lack of rest and also by a hectic work schedule.

Shocker flipped out the light and then the two of them cuddled in the darkness.  They knew that they should try to get to sleep as soon as they could, but out of both nervousness and excitement, they found themselves unable to fall asleep.  Suddenly though, Grazia burst out into laughter.  Shocker cocked his eye and asked, “What’s so funny?”

Through her laughter, Grazia answered, “We’re horrible, aren’t we?”  She stopped laughing for a few seconds, but unable to hold herself back anymore, lapsed back into it.

Thinking about how he had laughed at her jokes and had missed a few notes as a result, and how she had begun to sing along and retold the same jokes, he too started to laugh.  “Yeah,” he said through his laughter, “We suck.”  They laughed for a time and then when they eventually settled down, the room was silent once more.  “You suck,” Shocker said and then nudged her.

Grazia looked up at him, smiled, and then replied, “You suck,” she nudged him back.

He replied in kind and then she did the same as well.  They kept it up until eventually Shocker changed his tactic and then said, “You suck harder,” and then nudged her just a little harder.

“Yeah?” Grazia asked, “Well you suck the most!”  Using both her physical strength and magic, she shoved him completely out of bed and couldn’t help but break out into muffled laughter when she heard him land on the ground.

“Hey,” he said playfully and then she felt his hoof come up onto the bed, “you know that wasn’t cool.”  Still holding back laughter, and as comeuppance for her dastardly act, she allowed him more space in the bed and eventually settled back in close beside him when he climbed back into the bed.

“Yeah,” she replied as the last of her giggling came out, “I know.  As a great pony once told me though, ‘What’s life without a little risk.’”  She glanced smartly up at him.

“Real smooth hot stuff,” he told her, “But what kind of risk could there possibly have been?”

“Hey,” she shrugged, “The dust bunnies could have dragged you under the bed and, I dunno, had like some kind of sacrificial ritual with you or something.”

“Oooooooooh,” Shocker moaned like a ghost, “That’s scary.  I hope you have a pony to hold you.”  He smiled and then leaned over on her and began to kiss her.

She kissed him back and laid her head back down on the pillow, “I do, and I love him very much.”

“Aw Grazia,” Shocker replied, “I love you too.” He kissed her just one more time and then he too put his head down on the pillow.  Once more, all became silent after that.  Before long though, Shocker spoke up, this time in an eerie whisper.  “Hey… Grazia…”

She looked over at him and asked, “Yes?”

He leaned over to her ear and continued to eerily whisper, “I see dust bunnies…”  In a flash, he gently bit her ear.

“Ow!” she exclaimed playfully, in between her laugh of course, and then reached over and hit him right in the face with her pillow.  “Ghoul!” she smiled at him and then flipped over, her back towards her.

“Aw, now, Grazia,” he said, “This is a serious problem.”

Still smiling, she turned her head towards him, sighed, and then said, “Good night Shocker,” with a playfully exasperated tone.

“Good night Grazia,” Shocker replied and then leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.  He knew that they had been up for long enough and it could be at the cost of their performance tomorrow.  Regardless though, he had every shred of hope inside of himself that they would win; it was all he could do to keep his confidence up.  That, and well, Grazia too.  She meant the world to him, and he was ready to give it all he had just to give her what she wanted and what she needed.  He knew that it was for the both of them really, because he needed it just as much as she did, but he felt like she deserved it more than he ever would.  She was a great mare.

Little did he know, Grazia, while on the verge of sleep, was having the same thoughts as he was.  However, her version was a little different.  She was determined to do her best tomorrow for him.  She was determined to do as best she could so that she could give him the house and the life he wanted and that she needed.  She knew that she needed, and certainly wanted it, as much as he did, but she felt like he deserved it more than she did.  He was a great stallion.

Eventually, they were able to fall asleep.  For what seemed like forever, they lay awake and worried about tomorrow, doted over how the other would feel at the outcome, good or bad, and wondered what their future would hold for them in general.  They knew there were going to be good times and bad times in the future, possibly the very, very near future even, but they both found solace in knowing that whatever may happen, at least they would have each other.