Name: Crystal Beth

Sex: Female

Age: 22

Occupation: None

Appearance: Unkempt dark-grey coat, disheveled and long off-white mane, brown eyes, malnourished earth-pony build

Session Number: 1

“You’re a little late,” I greeted the shifty pony.

“S-sorry,” she stuttered.

“It’s fine,” I sighed as I motioned towards the sitting room, “come on in.”

“T-thanks,” she said as she trotted past me. When she did, I caught a whiff of something that I still can’t identify, but made me gag.

“Stop!” I exclaimed right as she was about to sit, “Don’t.”

“W-what’s wrong?”

“You smell terrible,” I said bluntly.

“Oh, s-sorry. I-I haven’t had a bath in a few days,” she explained with a small blush.

“…Well, I don’t want you stinking up the place so you’re coming with me.” Not waiting for her response, I held my breath and carried her to the bathroom.

“Y-you don’t have to-”

“Yes I do,” I interrupted as I waited for the shower to warm up. Once it was ready, I rolled up my sleeves and put her under, making her yelp in surprise. She quickly relaxed as I scrubbed the various substances from her coat and mane and repeatedly let out sighs of content.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying this,” I commented with a roll of my eyes.

“Your claws feel great,” she sighs again.

“They’re hands, but okay.”

“…W-why are you doing this?”

“Because you smelled terrible.”

“Y-yeah, I got that. T-thanks, but really.”

“Really, because you stank.”

“Never mind.”

“…You really want to know?” I asked as I turned off the shower.

“Y-yeah,” she replied as she looked at me expectantly.

“Well… I spent a lot of bits on that chaise longue and I didn’t want it getting dirty,” I answered as I dropped a towel on her head, “now, hurry up and dry off; your time’s almost up.” With that, I left the bathroom and waited for her in my usual seat. A few minutes later she came out looking a lot cleaner and sat down.

“So, what’s up?”

“I… I have a problem.”

“You don’t say? Tell me about it.”

“Well… it isn’t much of a secret, but… I’m addicted to Poison Joke.”

“Poison Joke?”

“Y-yeah. It’s a plant that’s harvested and made into a h-hallucinogen.”

“Hmm. And I assume it has negative effects?”

“Y-yeah.”

“But you think they’re worth it.”

“…I used to...”

“Then just stop taking it.”

“I-it’s not that easy… I’m addicted; i-if I don’t have any every few hours, I start to f-freak out and feel terrible.”

“…”

“I…I tried to quit before but… the mare I buy from said I’m a v-valuable customer and gave it to me for free for a while.”

“Do you have a job?”

“N-no. I lost it when they found out… I was going to be a teacher before-before all this happened. I just love foals, but I can’t go anywhere near them now. T-that’s why I live around here.”

“…What do you do for money th-?” she just flashed me a sad look that easily answered my question, “Oh.”

“…My dealer said if I report her, she’d know and have me ‘taken care of.’ I… I don’t want to die,” she whined as she started to cry, “not yet… What do I do?”

“…What?” I mumbled, my drawing hand poking a hole through my paper.

“What should I do? H-how do I get out of this?” she sobbed, “Everypony’s abandoned me; my family, my friends… I don’t have anypony to turn to.” Without any warning, I quickly sat next to her and pulled her into a hug. When I did, I froze for a moment with the obvious question running through my mind, but soon sighed before running a hand through her now fluffy mane.

“…It’s alright,” I comforted, but only made her cry harder as she buried her face in my chest. A few minutes went by as her crying slowly stopped and her hooves wrapped around my neck.

“You alright?” I asked, but was answered with a forceful kiss. I quickly pulled her back and looked at her with wide eye as she looked back with her own.

“I-I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to! I…I-”

“R-relax,” I stuttered before clearing my throat and regaining my usual calm face, “I get it. You haven’t had friends in a while and sex is what you’re familiar with.”

“Y-yeah,” she stuttered as her face turned bright red, “I… I just wouldn’t mind having a friend again.”

“Well, you’d be a lot better off picking someone else,” I said as I moved away from her.

“But… I can tell…”

“Tell what?”

“Y-you’re the same as me,” she answered, making me clench my hands, “y-you’re the only one of your kind here, right? So you don’t have any f-family, and I’m not sure if you have friends but… I get the feeling you don’t.”

“…You’re right; I don’t have any friends. I never had any friends, which is why you’d be better off keeping this relationship as it is: strictly business.”

“…I-I better go then,” she said as the sound of hoofsteps moved away from me, “t-thank you for seeing me.”

Observations: I… I don’t know what any of that was about. Is the loneliness finally starting to get to me? Am I starting to crack? I’ve never been affectionate before, so why did I hug her? Why wasn’t I as mad as I should have been when she kissed me? That was my first kiss so I should definitely be mad a talking horse took it... It’s fine; it was just a momentary lapse in judgment, that’s all. That’s definitely what it was... and it won’t happen again.

Author's Note

I don't know too much about hardcore drugs and the lifestyle that comes with them, but from what I hear, it sucks. I was thinking of having her make a return at some point, but I'm not too sure. Let me know what y'all think.