Scribble Snug… liked her job.
No, really. Being the CEO’s assistant in a large, international insurance firm was an occupation she thoroughly enjoyed, even if it was far from easy sometimes. There were indeed days where she could barely even stand on her own legs when she came home from work in the evening, so exhausted from a stressful day at work that even walking was a challenge.
But regardless, she couldn’t be happier with her job.
Most of the time, that is.
Of course, most people would no doubt envy her for her occupation at first glance. She was working as a high-ranking assistant in one of Equestria’s largest and most successful firms, got a fairly decent paycheck, and best of all: she got to work together with one of her best friends! So it was a great deal overall. No drawbacks in sight, right?
Wrong.
Yes, she did like her job; loved it even. However, there were nights like today where she seriously found herself regretting ever having started working at this particular insurance firm in the first place.
It was a Tuesday - late at night, cold, windy, and heavily raining. Scribble Snug had just made herself comfortable after a long, exhausting day at work, putting on her favorite wool-socks and comfy sweater and sitting down with a hot cocoa and her trusty knitting needles, ready to put a calm, relaxed and pleasant ending to this rather stressful day that lay behind her.
Then her phone had rang.
This… normally wouldn’t have been too much of a problem for the mare. While she wasn’t the most outgoing of ponies, she would gladly answer any calls, no matter at what time - after all, if somepony made the effort to dial her number, the least she could do was pick up the phone and hear what they had to say, right?
However, the gray mare had known that today would be one of those nights when she had recognized the ringtone. Contrary to her landline’s ringtone -which was a pleasant melody of softly chiming bells- this phone had rung with the unmistakably shrill sound of a school bell, tearing the mare out of her calm but steady knitting-session and leading her to jump up off her armchair, almost spilling over her cocoa in the process.
She normally wasn’t one to cause such a whirlwind, but she knew that this particular ringtone belonged to her ‘work’-cellphone - a new smartphone model -far newer than anything she would ever treat herself to- handed to Scribble by her friend and boss, Golden Key Lime.
Upon inquiring about it with her boss, Scribble had learned that Lime intended for this thing to be an emergency phone of sorts - a hotline that would link the two ponies, and was to be used only in extreme situations, may it be for Lime or -as both parties knew would probably never happen- for Scribble.
And really, Lime calling her on this phone could only mean one thing: she needed Scribble’s help, and she needed it now. So she’d better hurry!
A few moments of frantically searching through her handbag and neatly folded and hanged working clothes later, and a rushed and thoroughly un-relaxed Scribble raised the still ringing phone to her ears, and answered with a worried, breathless, “H-hello? Miss Lime?”
Truth be told, up until then Scribble had been legitimately worried that something might have happened to her boss and friend - she might have been in a car crash; had fallen into a gully or suffered a spontaneous heart attack!
However, her worries had been quick to die down as she had heard a mare give a brief laugh from the other end of the line, followed by a long, drawn-out and utterly cheerful “Eeeeey Scribs! How ya doing?”
Scribble Snug had given a sigh of relief at first - given her relaxed tone and carefree inflection, it didn’t seem like Lime wasn’t in any immediate need of medical attention, and Scribble’s most pressing worries were off the table for now.
However, at the same time, she had felt a frown of frustration flash over her face, the distant feeling of doubt that had formed in and nibbled at the back of her mind now growing into an all the more frustrating clarity as she realized what was going on: Golden Key Lime was drunk again.
And looking at how past phone calls of this nature had gone -because really, this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened- Scribble already had a suspicion as to how this was going to end.
“Look, this… bartender-asshole is being a total bitch right now and won’t let me back inside, soo…” Scribble closed her eyes, already knowing what was to come next as Lime made a pause, rain pouring at the other end of the line, “I’m uh… I’m gonna need you to pick me up, kay?”
Scribble frowned for a moment, sighing softly.
She liked Lime; she really, really did.
But boy, sometimes the mare didn’t make it easy.
To be fair, Scribble could have seen it coming when Lime had announced that she was going to ‘take it easy’ after having a minor breakdown thinking about her big sister Sunny Lane earlier this day. Normally, the businessmare would stick to her word and really slacken off, but sometimes (on days like this one, for instance)... well…
Surely, Lime would try to slacken off and get her thoughts off work and family to enjoy her well-deserved free time, Scribble didn’t doubt that, but… well. Sometimes, despite her best attempts, Lime would end up in some classy bar in the city, drowning her sorrows in a glass of the most expensive whisky until she had either grown numb to the pain and called a limousine-service to drive her back home, or gotten so shitfaced she was no longer welcome in the bar.
And as it seemed… today the latter option had come to be.
Sighing a second time, pressing her lips together, Scribble perked her ears up again, focusing on the telephone in her hand where her boss was still busy angrily rambling away at her. Something about the aforementioned bartender shoving something sharp and spiky in places where sharp and spiky things had no right to be.
However, deciding that getting upset or worried wasn’t worth the nerves (really, Lime was a nice mare when she wanted to be) Scribble had merely given another soft sigh, and had assured her friend that she would be there to pick her up shortly, cutting the connection while Lime was still happily chattering away.
A few minutes later, her glasses coated with a thin but noticeable layer of rainwater from the brief sprint to her car, a slightly disgruntled-looking Scribble Snug was sitting behind the steering wheel of her car, driving through the deserted nightly streets to the bar where she expected her boss to be. Heavy rain was pattering against the windshield, the wipers silently sliding back and forth in a calm, almost soothing fashion; the radio had been turned off as a precaution.
While still a bit peeved about her relaxing knitting-session finding such an untimely end, Scribble tried to find solace in the thought that she was helping somepony she cared about, even if Lime had gotten into this unfortunate situation all by herself.
The mare frowned lightly, biting her lip.
Really, if Lime had just listened to Scribble and stayed at home, both of them could be enjoying a pleasant, relaxed evening right now, and she wouldn’t have to drive around town and-
But Scribble cut herself off before her frown could become too deep.
No, Lime needed help, Scribble was there to help her. That was all there was to it.
The blinked a couple of times, shoving these thoughts aside. Her eyes drifted upward again, scanning the nightly street ahead of her and reading road signs as she drove by. Although… really, she already knew where she was headed.
Complex a mare Lime was, the number of places where she ‘enjoyed’ being enough to go there to get drunk was fairly limited, so Scribble could simply drive past the two or three fancy bars on that list and could be sure to find her boss somewhere there.
The location she was headed to right now was an upscale bar in the city’s uptown - Lime’s favorite and go-to spot whenever she was feeling down… which, more often than not was somehow linked to her sister, as Scribble couldn’t help but notice.
But the short mare shook her head. While she was no doubt a bit worried about her friend, Lime had clarified more than often that family affairs were none of her business, and who was she to get involved in such private matters?
No, this… this wouldn’t end well. Scribble had made it clear several times that Lime could come and talk to her at any time about any topic, and as far as she was concerned, there was nothing else she could do without sounding pushy and jeopardizing their friendship. After all, her sister wasn’t necessarily a topic Lime enjoyed talking about too much, and Scribble wouldn’t be comfortable forcing a talk onto her if she didn’t feel like talking.
Scribble kept these thoughts in her head for a few moments longer, but then shoved them aside as she pulled into the street she knew her friend’s go-to bar for those evenings was located in.
It took less than a moment or two until she had spotted the mare in question - partly because the streets were mostly empty and Lime’s white blouse -apparently she had ditched her trademark vest before- made her stick out from the dark night, partly because she was standing right underneath a lantern, appearing to be in a heated discussion with a colorful LED-advertising panel. Her clothes were soaked, sticking to her body like a second skin and revealing the thick gold chains she was wearing around her neck. Her mane was hanging down the side of her head, indicating that she must have been standing out in the rain for a while now.
Frowning as she realized that it really was this bad about her friend, Scribble furrowed her brow and slowly, carefully slowed her car down by the curbside right next to her intoxicated friend, well-aware that the slender mare could freak and run onto the street in front of her car any second - not like it hadn’t happened before, really.
Gradually, Scribble stopped her car by the side of the road and unlocked the passenger door, hoping for a brief moment that Lime would get the hint and enter. But it seemed her boss hadn’t even noticed her, continuing her heated argument with the advertisement, getting increasingly worked up, throwing her arms up and down, stomping her foot and shouting loud enough for Scribble to hear in her car.
Sighing softly, the mare looked behind herself, then opened her car door and stepped out into the pouring rain, flinching as the cold water hit her head and body, dampening her fur and bright orange mane.
For a second, Scribble found herself wanting to change her form - or rather, drop her disguise. Indeed, Lime tended to react better to Scribble when she saw the changeling in her ‘natural’ form, as opposed to the disguise of a gray-coated unicorn mare Scribble wore during most of her work and free time to avoid confrontations and strange looks from coworkers and passersby.
However, it would be wrong to say that Scribble felt particularly… comfortable in her natural form, and particularly in this part of the city at that time, she might run into some not-so-pleasant ponies, who might not be so well-disposed towards a changeling.
Besides… really, she didn’t want to stand in the pouring rain for a second longer than necessary. Surely, Lime wouldn’t be too bothered about this one occurrence, right?
Curtly, the changeling in disguise shook her head, fighting down these doubts.“M-miss Lime!” she finally called out a bit timidly.
However, she soon realized that her boss hadn’t heard her, continuing her heated argument with the recorded message undeterred. “Miss Lime!” Scribble started another attempt, louder this time.
And indeed, the visibly disgruntled businessmare turned her head, her light red eyes drifting aimlessly through the rainy night for a few seconds before they came to rest on her assistant who was looking over to her with a somewhat lost glance.
However, to Scribble’s very disappointment, Lime still didn’t get the hint and mounted her car, but instead just raised her arms in an affectionate manner, revealing the half-empty bottle of expensive whisky she held in her hand, and a look of pleasant surprise spread over her face.
“Scribs, my mare!” the thoroughly drenched mare called out happily, a drowsy smile spreading over her face, her voice a deep slur, words muffled, “What brings you here!?”
Scribble frowned as she saw the bottle, worry forming on her face. Where… where had she gotten that whisky from? She… she hadn’t stolen it from the bar, had she? Not that she had malicious intentions, but alcohol had proven to blur Lime’s definition of what was hers and what wasn’t in the past. And boy, the mare could get quite toxic when somebody was trying to take something that she thought to be hers away from her. Maybe this was what had led to her being kicked out of the bar?
Scribble opened her mouth, but was cut short by Lime as her features hardened, her face turning into a grimace as she raised a hand, pointing behind herself. “Can you tell this fuckface that I’m not interested in his ‘vacation package’?” she snarled, her look darting back to the advertising screen where the recorded message of a well-dressed stallion promoting a luxury vacation to a sunny destination was playing on repeat.
The message had just reached its end, and the image flickered briefly, before the stallion spoke up again, a big fake smile plastered on his face as he once again introduced himself and asked any hypothetical customers if they were interested in experiencing ‘pure luxury’.
As if on cue, Lime’s glowing red eyes widened noticeably, her upper lip lifting and revealing her golden tooth as she span around on the spot, almost sending the bottle of booze in her hand flying over the sidewalk.
“Oh… oh my…” Scribble whispered softly as she came walking towards her friend with quick steps, water splashing up as she ran through the pooling water on the sidewalk, heavy rain pouring down on her.
“I don’t want your stupid vacations!” Lime snarled, taking a threatening step towards the screen, her hands forming fists. The fact that the stallion continued his advertisement undeterred only seemed to fuel her anger further.
“God, shut up!” the soaked mare screamed, furious now, and seconds later a muffled thud was heard as her expensive leather shoe collided with the base of the advertising screen as Lime gave the stallion a hard kick.
Little did Lime know, however, that the screen was set on a foundation of solid concrete, and that, even with her full power, Lime had nothing to counter the weight with - a fact that was now clearly reflected on her face contorting into a half-pained, half-furious grimace. “Ungh… Son of a…!” Lime growled, clenching her teeth as she raised her now aching foot, holding it in her hand.
However, given her thoroughly intoxicated state, it was little surprising that Lime couldn’t hold her balance on one leg forever. And as fate willed, the point of no return was there sooner than the green mare had anticipated, and before long she felt herself lose her balance, slowly tilting to the side and-
“Miss Lime, please!” Scribble shouted out, her voice pitching high as she dashed over to her friend, catching her just as she was about to fall over and wrapping her short arms around Lime’s body unceremoniously.
Granted, Scribble Snug wasn’t the strongest of ponies, but Lime wasn’t the heaviest of ponies either, permitting the shorter mare to hold her boss up with no problems, even with the several pounds’ worth of gold Lime was wearing on her body.
“Whoa there, Scribs!” Lime slurred happily, her anger forgotten abruptly, her body going limp as she let herself fall into her friend’s arms, dropping her head back and stretching out her arms through the pouring rain. “We gonna dance, huh?” Lime raised her leg like a ballerina in Scribble’s arms - much to the shorter mare’s dismay.
“Miss Lime, no!” Scribble begged with the intoxicated mare again, tightening her grip around her and struggling to straighten her up again. “Get in the car, you’re going to catch a cold!”
But Lime was having none of it. She might have been slim, but she could bring up an amazing amount of power when she wanted to. With ease, she resisted her friend’s firm grip, but didn’t slip out of it just yet, instead continuing to engage in whatever… dance she wanted to perform with her friend, throwing her head back again, raising her arms and wrapping them around Scribble’s neck as if the two were dancers in a breath-taking performance.
The telltale sound of a liquid pouring from a bottle and hitting the already thoroughly drenched ground was audible as the contents of the whisky-bottle in Lime’s hand were poured onto the sidewalk, and only with a quick turn of her hand did the heavily intoxicated Lime stop the downpour, apparently not wanting to waste a single drop.
But Scribble was all but fed up with her friend’s antics. She normally wasn’t the most… assertive of mares, but in cases like these, she would even manage to overcome her quiet, timid personality, and take action. Surely, Lime appeared to be having fun, but Scribble could and would not stand for her best friend and boss catching a cold in this lousy weather!
Thus, without thinking too much, noticing how her favorite sweater was starting to get more and more drenched, Scribble briefly, subconsciously decided to skip the thinking, and with Lime’s arms still around her neck, merely closed her left arm around Lime’s knees and briefly picked the slender mare up off the ground.
For a moment Scribble was worried Lime would begin to struggle and maybe cause the two to fall, but Lime reacted to the sudden sensation of being carried with nothing but a brief laugh and an excited “Wheeeeee!” as she stretched out her arms both ways like a child on a roller coaster.
Scribble gave a sigh of relief.
A few moments later, a still slightly frowning, sweater-clad changeling was back in her car, heating turned up to the max and feeling icy water slowly soak into her clothes, a thoroughly drenched Lime sitting in the passenger seat next to her.
Well… sitting might not be the right term.
Lime was essentially standing upright, only restrained by the seat belt Scribble had insisted on putting on, and had her head stuck out the window like a dog, sticking out her tongue, her eyes torn wide open as the airflow ruffled up her soaked mane.
“M-miss Lime…” Scribble spoke up meekly, frowning lightly as she tried to keep an eye out for her friend while also trying to not to get lost in the labyrinth that was the nightly city. “Please pull your head back in; you’re going to get sick!”
No reaction.
“Miss Lime please!”
For a moment it seemed the taller mare either hadn’t heard her or was simply ignoring her, but just as Scribble wanted to speak up a third time, she gave a brief sigh of relief as Lime finally pulled back, dropping herself back onto the passenger seat, and allowing Scribble to quickly roll the window back up, enabling the child safety lock before Lime could open it again.
“Aww, don’t be a killjoy Scribs!” Lime moaned a bit surly, leaning over, twisting backwards and bringing her head right next to that of Scribble with wide eyes and an even wider grin, “I’m jusssavin’ a bit of fuuuun!”
Scribble frowned at that, but decided to reply nothing for now, trying hard not to let herself get distracted by the fact that Lime’s face was mere inches away from hers, and her hot breath almost caused her glasses to fog up.
She was… glad that her friend was feeling good, but she couldn’t risk letting herself get distracted and maybe ending up lost in the dead of night. She didn’t know this part of the city too well, after all.
It wasn’t before long, however, that Lime’s attention was once again distracted as her eyes spotted something else, and she gave a sound of joy as her head turned and her hands stretched out, quickly reaching for the small lighter lying in the center console of Scribble’s car, which the mare had bought earlier this day, primarily to light up candles, but had apparently forgotten to take out. Much to Lime’s delight, it seemed.
Scribble Snug, who had been distracted by traffic for a moment -really, what was it with ponies driving like maniacs at this time of the day?- turned her head towards her friend a moment later, and felt her eyes widen as she saw her friend plug a cigarette in her mouth, fumbling with the lighter.
She pressed her lips together, her body tensing up with discomfort. “M-miss Lime, can you… can you please…”
“Chill, Scribs.” Lime replied bluntly, apparently back in serious-mode for the moment, as her hands wrapped around the lighter, finally managing to ignite a flame and holding it against the cigarette in her mouth. “I just need a smoke, alright?”
Scribble frowned. Even in her drunk state, Scribble was fairly sure Lime remembered Scribble politely asking her to not smoke in her car, but it didn’t seem like the drunk mare cared too much in this second.
And really, while she disliked the prospect of her car smelling like cigarette smoke with a passion, it would probably still be preferable to starting a fight with Lime while she was trying to drive.
To her very relief, however, the pack of cigarettes Lime was trying to light up had apparently been stored in one of the mare’s pockets, as it was just as drenched as the mare itself, and utterly impossible to ignite. A fact that was now reflected with a growing look of indignation spreading over Lime’s face as she lit up the lighter time and time again, giving a low growl as the cigarette refused to ignite.
A brief but futile struggle later, and the lighter was flung into the passenger footwell, the still unlit cigarette following shortly after, accompanied by a colorful curse coming from Lime as the mare crossed her arms with an angry huff.
Scribble gave a sigh of relief now that Lime had apparently had her fun and was hopefully going to settle down, looking forward to spending the remainder of the drive without distractions.
It wasn’t before long, however, that her gaze drifted back to the side to check on her friend, and her eyes widened.
While the changeling was no doubt relieved that Lime wasn’t distracting her quite as much anymore, she was also appalled when she saw that Lime had raised the bottle of booze to her mouth again and was happily chugging away from what little remained of the pricy-looking liquid inside.
“Miss Lime…” Scribble spoke up again, worry in her voice as her eyes darted back and forth between her intoxicated friend and the road ahead of them every other second or so, “I uh… I really don’t think you should…”
But she cut herself off again, biting her lip nervously.
As much as she liked Lime and didn’t want her to wake up with an even worse hangover the next morning, she didn’t want her friend to start a fight because Scribble had tried taking her booze away, so perhaps it was better to just let her indulge in peace. Lime had shown that she could take a fair bit of alcohol before, and going from the fact that she could still more or less communicate, it seemed she hadn’t reached a critical point just yet.
Besides, with Lime having poured away most of the bottle’s contents on the sidewalk earlier, there wasn’t too much left to get drunk with anyway.
Thus, before long, Lime slowly lowered the bottle again, the jar now completely devoid of its contents, and gave a heavy sigh instead, letting the hand holding the bottle sink.
Scribble turned her head towards her momentarily, wondering if that last bit of whisky had been enough to send Lime into the next stage of intoxication.
Speaking from experience, Scribble knew that her friend’s behavior while under the influence of alcohol could be divided into three stages, one more… intense than the other.
First came the wrath. Lime would become quite hostile and aggressive towards anyone and anything that dared look at her the wrong way. Granted, most of her time her actions were limited to verbal attacks -even a mare with a temper like her knew that assault was a serious charge- but if someone were to react to her attacks, tipsy Lime wouldn’t back down, even though things had fortunately never escalated this far.
Second came the laughter. While Lime was a serious and straightforward mare most of the time, she did know when she could allow herself a joke in her everyday life. When she had reached a certain stage of drunkenness, however, the serious businessmare that would crack a joke sometimes turned into the greatest jokester that had ever walked the surface of the earth. Anything and everything appeared to be funny in some way to the mare, and there was almost nothing that could break this stride of joy and happiness she was walking on.
However, if she would keep drinking at this stage…
Scribble furrowed her brow as the empty bottle of booze was tipped over, and the mare’s shoulders sank.
...surfacing next would be the emotional part of the normally so distant and cold-blooded businessmare.
“M-Miss Lime…” Scribble wanted to begin carefully, knowing from past experiences where Lime’s thoughts were going, and what -or better who- she was thinking about now.
The slender mare gave a heavy sigh as her body limply dropped back against her seat, her arms hanging idly from her body. “You know, Scribs…” Lime spoke softly, her voice still slurring, but now reduced to a low grumble, the mare closing her eyes for a bit longer than a standard blink, “I was… I was thinking earlier.”
Scribble swallowed uncomfortably, sensing the incoming storm. “Is… is it because-”
“She hates me.” Lime declared coldly, her voice dropping to a low whisper as her head sank, her eyes drifting shut. “She… hates me, Scribs.”
Scribble frowned, trying her best to not let herself get distracted from traffic too much. Taking in a soft breath, she bit her lip, asking a question, even if she already knew the answer. “Your… your sister?”
“She hates me, Scribs!” It suddenly burst out of Lime as her head spun to the side, her wide eyes moistening, “I was… I was just trying to help her! She… she had it all and just… just threw it away!”
“Lime…” Scribble said softly, dropping the professional attitude as her friend lowered her head, sobbing softly.
“Doesn’t she see it!?” Lime screamed in blind anger, tears running down her cheeks and mixing with the rainwater dripping from her soaked mane,“Doesn’t she know that I want her best!?” the mare asked the same question she would ask herself every time the subject of her big sister came up. “I… I never wanted things to go this way!” she affirmed, tears soaking her deep red face, “I just… I wanted to help her!”
“I… I know, Lime.” Scribble replied softly, feeling genuinely sorry for the poor mare, “I just want you to know-”
“Hold me Scribs!”
Scribble Snug barely held back a startled squeal as Lime had suddenly leaned over towards her, and locked her arms around the shorter mare, snuggling her face against her shoulder and almost making her lose control of the car.
“L-Lime please!” the shorter mare called out as Lime pressed herself against her, her body stiff with surprise. “I need to drive!”
“I don’t know what to do!” Lime called out, her voice whiny and nearing its breaking point, her warm tears mixing with the cold water still soaked into Scribble’s sweater. “Just… just hold me, okay?”
The mare gave an uncomfortable sigh. “S-sure… Lime.” she said softly, clearing her thoughts and blinking a few times to re-focus on traffic, before her right hand came up and slowly, insecurely, began caressing Lime’s back, the mare’s face still snuggled into Scribble’s sweater as Lime let out her emotions, not holding back.
Fortunately, though, the gentle stroking of her back seemed to show its effect on Lime, as her sobbing slowly but gradually died down, the mare still leaning over the middle console, head resting against Scribble’s chest, body trembling ever so slightly as she quietly sobbed away, alcohol and her friend’s gentle touch slowly calming her down.
Scribble sighed softly, her hand resting on Lime’s soaked blouse as her wary eyes drifted over the nightly streets, her tired mind struggling to figure out how to get from here to the upscale neighborhood where Lime had her home.
She thought long and hard for a moment, but then left out a soft sigh and shook her head. The day had left its mark on her mind and perception, and if she kept thinking like this, she might end up not paying enough attention to traffic, and maybe even causing a crash. What… what if she would drive against a tree? Or… or swerve into oncoming traffic!?
But the mare brushed that thought aside before her thoughts could become too dark. Noticing how Lime’s breathing became softer by the second as her head slowly drifted forward, hands still wrapped around Scribble’s shoulders, she drew a quick conclusion, and took a different turn at the next intersection, driving back the way she came, and heading back to her house instead.
Several minutes later, Scribble’s car came to a gentle halt in front of the mare’s house. Braking cautiously so as to not wake her friend up, then letting out a soft sigh of relief that she had made it back without any issues, Scribble let the engine idle for a few moments longer, before turning the key. The noise of the engine died down, and the only thing left to hear was Lime’s soft breathing as her head rested against Scribble’s chest.
She had made it… finally.
But what now?
The light gray mare sat in silence for a moment, weighing her options.
Surely, the… easiest way out would be to silently slip out of the car and leave her friend spend the night in here, saving her the hassle of having to wake up and walk all the way back to Scribble’s house in those poor weather conditions.
This… this was what a friend would do, right?
Scribble pressed her lips together, and softly tugged at Lime’s arms that were still wrapped around her neck. A brief tug, and the limbs slipped downward, leading Lime’s head to drop and land on Scribble’s thigh; the knocked-out businessmare replied with a brief snore, her nose wrinkling.
Gently, carefully, Scribble pulled on the door handle, opening the driver door, but only now noticed that it was still raining heavily outside, an icy wind blowing over the town.
Frowning, Scribble turned her head back again, her eyes resting on Lime still lying in a heap over the middle console, her body now illuminated by the dim interior lighting of her car. The normally so sober and hardass mare really looked… quite peaceful and vulnerable in this second.
And here Scribble had been about to let her overnight in a cold, uncomfortable car. What was she thinking!?
The changeling’s frown deepened, guilt overcoming her. Not only that she would have to deal with a hangover the next morning, Lime would probably also feel absolutely whacked from sleeping in her clothes, leaning over the gear lever and handbrake of Scribble’s car. Scribble… she couldn’t do this to her!
The mare lightly shook her head at her own shortsightedness, raising a hand and adjusting the glasses sitting atop her muzzle. Then she gave a soft sigh, and placed a hand on her friend’s soaking wet shoulder.
“Miss Lime…” she spoke up meekly, giving her friend a soft nudge with a hand in order to wake her up, “Lime, we’re there.”
But the intoxicated mare was having none of it. Sleeping peacefully with the occasional snore, she didn’t react in the slightest.
“Lime...” Scribble repeated herself, her voice a bit firmer, “Please wake up, we need to get you to bed.”
No reaction.
“Miss Lime!” Scribble started a third attempt, surprising herself at how firm her voice could sound. She shook her friend by the shoulder again, harder this time, but startled when she noticed Lime’s body suddenly give a jerk and begin to move, the slim mare rolling onto her back, but eyes remaining shut tightly.
Slightly frustrated, Scribble reached out her hand again, ready to give her friend another shake, but despite being thoroughly intoxicated and half-sleeping, it seemed Golden Key Lime still hadn’t lost her wits. As if she had anticipated the incoming attack, the mare reached out her now free arms, and firmly grabbed that of Scribble, pulling it close to herself, and holding it tightly against her chest, her lips curling into a pleased smile.
“M-miss Lime…” Scribble said a bit helplessly, ears folding back as she realized that this wasn’t going to be as easy as she had expected. There… there had to be another way to get her friend inside.
She closed her eyes for a moment, then gave a soft sigh as her mind came to the one and only conclusion that seemed viable in this moment.
Her lips narrowed, and she swallowed, lowering her head in defeat.
The things she did for her best friend.
Several minutes and a serious effort later, the door to Scribble Snug’s bedroom got pushed open by the mare’s foot.
Carrying the still soundly sleeping Lime in her arms like a groom his bride, Scribble gave a soft sigh as she stepped inside, taking a step to the side and flipping the light switch with her behind. A light bulb, concealed by a dome of cream-colored milk glass came to life, filling the cozily decorated bedroom with warm, gentle light.
Slowly, carefully, Scribble made her way over to the queen-size bed standing in the middle of the room, its cream-colored sheets and pillowcases looking so very inviting.
But Scribble restrained herself. Tired and sleepy as she was, she knew her friend could use the rest more. Scribble could sleep on her sofa just fine.
Taking a mental note to retrieve her old wool blanket from the attic, Scribble stopped in front of her bed, bending her knees and pressing them into her mattress as she lowered the passed-out mare onto it. Given the previous events, it seemed quite clear that Lime wasn’t going to wake up this easily, but still, Scribble wanted to be careful with her. Just… just in case.
Slowly, carefully, Lime was lowered onto the sheets, still tightly sleeping. Scribble slipped her hands out from underneath the sleeping mare, and straightened herself up. She was already about to turn around and leave the room, granting Lime her well-deserved rest, but stopped when she noticed the wetness around her fingers, and her body stiffened as she remembered that her friend’s clothes were still thoroughly soaked.
Scribble swallowed uncomfortably.
She uh…
She couldn’t leave Lime like this. She’d have a cold by tomorrow.
B-but… that meant…
“Miss Lime…” Scribble started another attempt to wake her friend up, although she wasn’t really expecting a response at this point - the mare seemed knocked out cold.
She frowned, feeling her heart pound in her chest. She… she couldn’t leave her friend in her soaked clothes; Lime would probably blame her if she were to catch a cold!
So…
What… what else could she do but to… but to...
Scribble swallowed.
There… there was no other way to handle this, was there?
Slowly, reluctantly, she reached out a shaking hand and hesitantly led it to the collar of Lime’s drenched blouse. A fierce blush was forming on her face, doubts overcoming her.
This… this felt so wrong. What if Lime would wake up now? What would she think!?
The mare pressed her lips together, the trembling in her hands growing stronger as she wrapped her fingers around the uppermost button of Lime’s blouse and began unbuttoning the fancy garment from top to bottom.
Gradually, the damp garment came undone, revealing the plain-colored bra Lime was wearing underneath that covered up her bony chest, and the thick, heavy gold chains hung around her neck, easily worth three or four monthly salaries for Scribble.
Scribble bit down on her lips, her body tensing up, hands shaking as they made her way down Lime’s slender upper body, the disguised mare having to contain herself to not stare at Lime’s clearly visible rib cage now appearing underneath the fabric.
One more button came undone, then another one. Scribble was almost done, approaching the lower end of Lime’s blouse, hoping to get this over with as quickly and non-awkwardly as possible as she-
Lime’s eyes shot open.
Scribble froze in her movement.
Time seemed to come to a standstill for a few moments, then…
“Eep!” Scribble squealed, flinching as her hand darted back, leaving Lime with a semi-exposed chest. An apology was on her lips, suspecting that Lime probably wouldn’t be too happy about being undressed like this.
To her surprise, however, Lime’s swimming eyes drifted aimlessly around the room for a few moments, the mare seeming to wonder where she was, before her head leaned forward, and she saw her exposed chest.
“S-Scribble!?” Going from experience, Scribble braced herself for another explosion, but found herself thoroughly surprised as, despite being thoroughly intoxicated, Lime seemed to come to conclusions rather quickly. Even though the substance of these conclusions could indeed be questioned.
Eyes going half-lidded, a shit-eating grin growing on her face, Lime looked back at Scribble, her tongue reaching out and drifting over her golden tooth.
“Oh you naughty naughty filly you.”
Scribble felt her face turn red, her mouth opening and spewing out apologies. But Lime’s grin merely widened in that strange, not to say lewd fashion.
“Miss Lime, please…” Scribble finally managed to bring out, her face a bright red as she did her best to snap her friend out of this conclusion, “I-it’s not what you think it is! I was trying to get you out of your wet clothes; I don’t want you to catch a cold!”
Then, as Lime only replied with muffled slurs, Scribble spoke up again, surprised at how assertive her voice sounded now that she had her friend’s attention. “Now please,” she said, “You can borrow a pyjama from me, but please get out of those clothes! You’re already beginning to shiver!”
Indeed, a light trembling could be noticed where the cold, soaked fabric was clinging to Lime’s body, indicating that the mare must indeed be cold.
However, the frown now forming on her face left little hope within Scribble that this was going to go smoothly.
Scribble shook her head; this wasn’t going anywhere. Her friend was beginning to shiver from the cold, soaked clothes still hugging her body tightly, and things would only get worse if Scribble would wait any longer. She had to act; she had to get her friend out of these clothes, or at least under a blanket, and she had to do it now.
“Come… come on, Miss Lime…” she spoke up a bit insecurely, but was hesitant to reach her hands out again, still feeling a bit insecure and awkward undressing her friend like this. “We need to get you to bed.”
“But I don’t wannaaaa!” The normally so cold and professional businessmare suddenly whined with the voice of a bratty teenager as she pinched her eyes shut, her hands formed fists, the shivering all over her body growing stronger as the soaked clothing seemed to leave her body severely undercooled.
But Scribble wasn’t about to take any backtalk anymore. She wasn’t an assertive mare, but seeing her friend put herself through this, knowing that she would get sick if Scribble wouldn’t step in, must have triggered something within her, overriding her normally so hesitant and insecure nature and leading her to reach out a hand to try and continue unbuttoning Lime’s blouse. She wasn’t about to undress her friend completely, but she was sure at least getting her out of the blouse and pants would make a difference already, and avert the worst consequences.
However, Lime was having none of it. Seeming to sense what Scribble was up to, she raised her hands, intending to push her friend away before she could start undressing her.
Unfortunately, with Lime’s alcohol-induced lack of coordination, the hands that were supposed to wrap around Scribble’s ankles shot right past the changeling’s outstretched hands, and instead landed square on Scribble’s chest, cupping what could only be-
“Ayeeeee!” it burst out of Scribble, her shy nature and instincts overpowering her common sense and calm nature as, out of pure instinct, her right hand came shooting forward, but missed Lime’s outstretched arms by a hair as the intoxicated mare had moved again, and instead shot further forward and hit Lime square against her head with the side of her hand.
Her face turning a deep red within split seconds, Scribble felt pain explode over the side of her hand for a brief moment, then her friend gave a soft groan, and her head dropped back against Scribble’s pillow as her body went limp, the mare cleanly knocked out.
The short mare stood stiff with shock for a few moments, her wide eyes looking unbelievingly at her now unconscious friend, before she swallowed, panic spreading over her face. This… this had been an accident! She… she didn’t mean to…! Oh… oh goodness, she hadn’t hurt Lime, had she?
Scribble looked down at her friend, watching her sleep peacefully again, an almost content expression on her face. She was looking… fine, really.
She gave a soft sigh, feeling… somewhat relieved that at least now Lime wouldn’t protest against Scribble taking care of her anymore, even though guilt for knocking her best friend out like this was still strong on her mind.
However, she did her best to keep her composure. Surely, Lime would understand if Scribble told her that it had been an accident… right? Provided that she would remember it at all, that is.
But she did her best to not let worry drive her insane, trying to make the best of the situation now that it had happened. Lime was still freezing, and Scribble still had to do something.
Not knowing how much she would remember, and not wanting Lime to draw the wrong conclusions when she would wake up, Scribble let off the unbuttoned blouse, and instead merely pulled the blanket from underneath the lightweight mare, pulling it over her sleeping friend and tugging her in tightly, while also taking a mental note to turn up the heating when she would leave the room.
Pulling the blanket tight against her friend, making sure Lime wouldn’t freeze, Scribble looked over her work again, then gave a confirming nod to herself, and let out a brief sigh of relief.
This… was not how she had expected her evening to go.
And nevertheless…
Scribble turned around, her gaze lingering on Lime for a few moments longer, before she headed back to the door.
Knowing that she could help her friend in need filled her with a warm, soothing feeling of pride like she hadn’t felt it in a while.
Closing her eyes for a second, looking forward to the hot shower she was about to take, the mare felt a smile form on her face as she flipped the light switch, already thinking about what she could serve for breakfast tomorrow to remedy her friend’s hangover.
Then, slowly, she stepped out and reached for the door handle, leaving Lime to her well-deserved rest.
“Good night… Lime.” she whispered softly, feeling her coy smile widen ever so slightly as she pulled the door shut behind herself, and was out the room.
Yes, Scribble liked her job.
But she loved being a good friend to those she truly cared about.
