A Different Kind of Love: The Untold Chapters

-------- Life of an Addict: Maggie – Part 3 --------

“Benjamin.” Maggie said, taking his hand with a soft smile. David grinned between the both of them as the hesitant introduction was shared. “Well, come on in. David tells me you’re our new cutthroat victim.”

“Hey,” The big man said with a teasing grin. “No ganging up on me, now. You two need to play nice.” They all shared a laugh as they walked down the hall, headed for the living room with their well-used pool table. Benjamin was a nice enough gentleman. He was taller than David, and a little bit more thick. She wouldn’t call him muscular, though he undoubtedly had a fair bit of strength. David and Benjamin allegedly worked together at the same mechanic store. Where David sported long, straight brown hair, Benjamin wore his close-cropped and straight. His was a lighter sort of blonde, and it highlighted his hazel eyes well. Maggie could make out the variances between brown and green even from a slight distance.

“No promises, man. Maggie’s a real shark.” David got a teasing glare as she led them into the living room, making a beeline straight for the billiard table. The soft green velvet slid under her fingers, making her smile as she felt the soft fabric glide under her touch.

“Been a while since I’ve played some cutthroat.” She said softly, pulling the triangle from it’s place on the nearby wall. She started racking as Benjamin and David began choosing their cues. “Who goes first?”

“Guest rules.” David said, nodding to Benjamin. “You break first.”

“Aah, shit. Alright, then.” Benjamin chuckled and rubbed some chalk on the joint between his thumb and index finger. He rubbed the cue along the white powder, making his draw much more smoother than if it was the lacquered wood on flesh. Maggie watched him place the ball in a straight line with the leading solid and the back of the table, line up his break, and strike the ball…

“Well shit.” She groaned, watching two balls immediately drop into the corner pockets. He had hit in the seven and the fourteen.

“I guess I’m lows.” He chuckled at them. Maggie got the feeling they were dealing with a man who very well knew how to play pool. Sure enough, Benjamin wasn’t done until he had hit in the ten and the fifteen as well. There were five lows on the table, and only three each of the mids and the highs.

“You or me?” She asked David.

“You go.” He said. Maggie chuckled. Chivalrous. “And no magic.” Damn.

“Wait.” Benjamin said, looking between the two of them. “This is… THE Maggie? Okay, dude… When you said you were dating a magi named Maggie, I seriously doubted you were dating the princess’ own student!” His eyes were wide as he looked between Maggie and David. “How the hell did you manage that?!”

“Oh, you know me…” David said with a teasing smile and a wink towards Maggie. “I have a way with words.” He really did… David could make her heart melt with a single sentence, so much so she wondered why they hadn’t made love yet… Well, David certainly was the one to take things slow… Traditional. She liked it. It made her smile. Even small kisses were a big deal with him…

“Huh. I never did understand any of that…” Benjamin said, watching as Maggie lined up a shot on one of his lows. Smooth and easy, she knocked it in, looking for her next target…

“Hmm… Mids.” She said. Two of her remaining balls were close to the rails, making them tricky shots. She missed a close shot, giving David the next turn. Sadly, the game didn’t last long. David, in a true display of masterful talent, sunk every single ball, one after the other, without so much as a second glance. He never missed. His shots lined him up for the next one, and one after the other, he delivered the strikes to both Maggie’s remaining numbers, and all of Benjamin’s as well. The three balls remaining, the eleven, twelve, and thirteen were all David’s.

“I thought I said no ganging up…” Benjamin said, still shocked at the masterful display of talent David had just gone through.

“He took me out first.” Maggie said quietly. And he had. Her ten and six were against the rail, and he smoothly hit them in with two brilliant shots, one after the other… Unless she was mistaken, he had even put spin on the ball… She was shocked. The whole ordeal took maybe five minutes.

“Again?”

“No!” Maggie and Benjamin both answered at the same time, laughing as they put their cues up. David pouted playfully as he replaced his cue after them, all of them taking a seat in the living room couch.

“So, what’s it like, being Celestia’s student?” Benjamin asked once they were all seated. Maggie sighed and kicked her feet up onto the couch, using David’s lap as a foot warmer. He didn’t complain. He never did. She thought over the question for a few long moments before answering.

“You know in school when the teacher gives you an assignment… He gives you the pages in the textbook you can find the answers, and tells you the book you need to find those pages… Celestia doesn’t do any of that. She asks a question, then expects me to answer it. She doesn’t teach out of a book. Or any book, for that fact… Why, just the other day, she asked me to find the best way to determine the sub miodal interface calculation on a firestorm spell.”

“You use the miodal formula for that, right?” David asked. He was talented, for an average magi… Maggie had been helping him in his studies as well. The benefits of living in the same house as Celestia’s pupil, she guessed. She shook her head, though.

“You’d think so, but no… The sub miodal interface calculation is an entirely different formula. They don’t teach it in any schools, and the damn thing was buried in the archives. Took me a week to find it. So when I found it, I showed it to her. She just said ‘Yes, that’s the correct calculation. Now show me the best way to calculate it.’ I had almost completely forgotten what she said. ‘Find the best way to determine the sub miodal interface calculation…’ Not just find it.” She sighed.

“Sounds tough.” Benjamin said softly.

“Are you a magi?” Maggie asked, arching an eyebrow at him. Benjamin chuckled and shook his head.

“Nope. Just really good with my hands. For those little jobs, they usually call in David here. I handle a lot of the bigger engines out there. Body work and major frame issues, crap like that. Is it okay if I smoke in here?” He asked, smoothly pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Maggie arched an eyebrow.

“Uuh…”

“I can go outside if it’s an issue…”

“No, I just realized.” She chuckled. “I haven’t had anyone ask. I don’t see any issues with it. David?” Her boyfriend just shrugged. With a flick of her wrist, Maggie opened a nearby window. A soft breeze fluttered past them, making the flame at the end of Benjamin’s recently-struck match gutter slightly. He inhaled the fire through the stick in his mouth, lighting a burning ember at the end of his cigarette. Maggie was no stranger to them… Her father smoked habitually. Their house reeked of it whenever he was around. If he was around. Now, as the thin white clouds of cigarette smoke filled the air, she inhaled. It was a slightly comforting scent, she would admit… Acrid, stinging… It reminded her of home.

“Anyways, what else?” Benjamin asked, waving his hand.

“What else what?” Maggie asked, rolling her head to look at the bigger man.

“Any other stories? I mean, I don’t know the first thing about sub miodal… Whatever… But I like magic. I think it’s cool. Tell me some more.” Maggie chuckled, even as David set in on giving her feet a gentle massage. He was good at this.

“Well… Okay, here’s one… Like I said, Celestia asks a question or gives me a task, and she expects me to do it. She won’t hold my hand, or even give me any help. She said something once about how it’s that much more rewarding when I accomplish the task on my own, without her help… I gotta say, it really is… For instance, she wanted me to create a gatestone. If you didn’t know, a gatestone is a magical sort of portal. When two of them are linked together, you can move from one to another just by touching it. Human, avian, magi, doesn’t matter.”

“So, wait…” Benjamin cut her off. “These things happen instantly? You can just touch it, and bam?”

“More or less, yeah…” Maggie said with a shrug.

“So why do we still have trains and cars? Can’t we just, like… Link every major city together?” Maggie smiled at him.

“That’s a good idea, and I’d love to try someday. But gatestones typically cause a LOT of nausea. Some people vomit, others pass out, and others still… Well, they don’t live…” She said softly. There was a moment’s pause. “So when she asked me to make one, all I’ve ever heard was stories. I’ve never used one, never even seen one for myself. She gave me two weeks, and what’s more, it was for the captain of the guard. I would be getting paid for it. It had to be perfect.” Maggie sat up, pushing a pillow up against her back so she could sit up without interrupting David’s work. He was really skilled with his hands…

“I started researching immediately…” She continued, relaxing now. “Celestia didn’t say ‘here, check this book.’ She didn’t tell me ‘you’ll find work about gatestones in the old archives.’ Or anything like that. Every little bit of information I now know about gatestones, I had to find out on my own. Well, as it turns out, there were some flaws in modern gatestones. The reason for all the nausea was actually really difficult to find. But when I started studying the diagrams and incantations, I found many of the invocations had been put in the wrong place, or had left a lot of them open… So I started building a new formula.”

“How long have gatestones been around?” Benjamin asked. He had procured a leftover water cup that he was using as an impromptu ashtray. She watched as he flicked ash from the end off into the water, making it hiss a little.

“Well… The first one was developed by Starswirl the Bearded’s apprentice, who was using his formula and research… Close to… I wanna say about fifteen hundred years.”

“So you changed a formula that’s been around for centuries.” It wasn’t much of a question, more of a statement of disbelief.

“If you knew enough about spells and saw the forms they were using, you’d see how wrong they were. I changed a few small things, and freed up a lot of space to make the whole thing more stable, and a lot more safe. In fact, I was able to add a spell that made whoever used the stone happier. Stronger. So when they used it, they would not only be perfectly healthy, but stronger and refreshed.” She adjusted a little, giving David a good angle to work at her sore ankles. “In that way, I’m given a goal, and if I meet it, I pass. But I also can exceed it… See, if Celestia had just pointed me to the book, I’d probably have just followed the directions she gave me and not questioned it. Instead, this way, I was able to study where the spell came from. How it worked. All of the little bits and pieces that made it up. It was a much more fulfilling experience, and led to a really important discovery.” She sighed softly and relaxed against the pillow behind her. David, the entire time, had just rubbed her feet, content to help her in some way. She smiled at him, thankful she had just a nice guy to take care of the little parts of her…

“Wow.” Benjamin said softly, looking at her. He idly spun the cigarette around in his fingers before lifting it to his mouth and taking another long drag. “So, what’s that going to change?” He was really inquisitive… Maggie smiled at him before sitting up a little again.

“The captain of the guard wanted this particular stone so we could send troops between here and Eyriewatch. He was worried, though, about the effects it would have. With my stone, though, his troops will arrive without issue, and without fatigue… I dare say they’ll be ready to fight.” She said with a smile.

“And… Are you going to make any more gatestones?” Benjamin asked. He REALLY had a lot of questions. Maggie had to shrug at the most recent one.

“If I must. The theory is new, and Princess Celestia has yet to approve it… I mean, it’s sound… I did the research and checked, double-checked, even triple-checked it all. Still. It’s human lives at risk. I wouldn’t want to use anything that I knew wasn’t safe, so why should we ask the Guard to do the same? Celestia will check it, make sure it’s all okay, then probably tell me the outcome.” Maggie winced as David loosed one particularly nasty knot in her calf, low, close to her ankle.

“Huh… That’s really cool. And you got this whole place to yourself? I saw the yard. Musta been some crazy shit that caused that.” Maggie and David both chuckled.

“That’s another story for another time, Benjamin.”

“Ben.”

“What?” Maggie arched an eyebrow at him. Benjamin just smiled and dropped his cigarette into the water, extinguishing it with a hiss.

“Just Ben. I like my friends to call me Ben.” He stood and walked forward, offering a hand to Maggie. She took it, marveling at how his big, callused hand wrapped almost completely around hers. He may not seem that big, but compared to her, he was actually rather large… She smiled at the tenderness, though. He was very gentle with her, not too rough, but firm… Enough to be felt. It was odd. For such a large man who worked with vehicles, he was kind. And gentle. Not unlike David.

“Well kiddos.” He said, stretching with a groan. “I suppose I’ll see myself off?” To her surprise, Maggie saw it was actually getting late in the evening… The sun was slowly going down, painting the sky a brilliant golden, slowly fading off to a dark, muted crimson and off even more into a beautiful, dark purple… Maggie always loved sunset… Reluctantly, she pulled away from David’s expert touch, standing to bid farewell to Benjamin.

“Was good having you around, man.” David said with a smile as the two of them shared a handshake. Unlike the one he gave Maggie, theirs was crushing, rough, and very manly, she thought. Benjamin grinned and ruffled David’s hair, getting a playful punch on the arm in return. Benjamin left her house, waving as he lit another cigarette, this one apparently for the drive home. He climbed into a worn-looking truck, not unlike David’s own, and rumbled off into the growing night.

“Nice guy.” Maggie said softly, watching the red tail lights shrink off into the distance. She smiled when David bumped her hip, urging the door to close against the encroaching cold.

“Come on,” He said. “I’ll cook dinner.”

“Ooh, I’m starving…”

Benjamin became a somewhat regular visitor after that. Maggie still had her lessons, though the two-week break came with some wonderful shopping, and one rather heated makeout session with David… That had been a good night. The first night she’d actually had to resort to touching herself to relieve stress in a long while. She wasn’t entirely positive David wasn’t doing the same… Still, they blew off steam by working on some of David’s telekinesis problems the next day, the whole thing almost forgotten. That, and David managed to draft three other people for a large, six-person cutthroat game. David and Maggie teamed up against Benjamin and his girlfriend, a nice-looking avian who made deliveries to their mechanical shop. Them and two other guys played a large game, though David and Maggie won most of them. Afterwards, they all shared dinner together, talking and laughing. It was unique… Maggie had never had many friends. One or two through school, and David throughout all of high school… But never a good, big gathering of them…

She was happy.

“So, you two.” Benjamin said with a smile, sitting back in his chair as he lit up another cigarette. David and Maggie looked up at him, arching their eyebrows. “How long have you been together?” They had to share a look at that.

“Uum…”

“Hell, I dunno…”

“Three months? Two?”

“That many? I thought we were under two…”

“Look, question is,” Benjamin cut them off as they scrambled to think of the proper number. “Have you done it yet?” Maggie blushed as she looked at him incredulously. David was suddenly very quiet. The rest of their guests, though, burst out laughing and thumping the table. Just from their looks. Maggie suddenly felt very out-of-place and awkward. Apparently, she and David were the only two virgins there. Benjamin’s girlfriend, the avian, leaned in, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Have you ever done it?” Maggie could only manage a small shake of her head, feeling embarrassed. David, it would appear, was in the same boat as her… Still, she found her hand idly searching for his under the table.

“Hell,” Benjamin said, laughing with bright, flushed cheeks. “I bet they haven’t even kissed.”

“Have too.” Maggie spat in a mock attempt at childishness.

“I won’t believe it ‘til I see it.” One of the others, a guy simply named ‘Joe’ grumbled at them. David squeezed her hand reassuringly, giving her a brief, quick smile. At the insistence of everyone else, they slowly, gingerly leaned in. It was quick. Just a peck. Benjamin groaned and rolled his eyes.

“Oh come on. If that’s what you two call a kiss, you ain’t kissed yet.” David glowered at him, but Maggie squeezed his hand again. They shared a look. An entire conversation could have taken place in that one look.

You sure?

Yeah.

Okay. Not too long… Not too short…

Just enough.

Just like last week.

Exactly… Just-

David’s lips were suddenly against hers. Maggie whimpered as she felt them press against her, flatten her lips… It wasn’t quick. It wasn’t even soft. But it was very passionate, and very… VERY hot… Maggie felt her breath catch in her throat, her chest rising suddenly. They were at an awkward angle, but she leaned forward, slowly pushing herself closer. Like she hadn’t really meant to, but she wanted it… That much was apparent. She whimpered into his lips, eager for more. The rest of the dining room faded away completely. As far as she was concerned, it was just the two of them, kissing in the middle of the dining room.

His tongue brushed her lips. Asking… No, begging for permission. Maggie just HAD to grant it. She met him in the middle, exhaling a shaky, hot breath as his tongue met hers. Thankfully, the others were silent. Maggie was able to focus on him, on all that was happening, every soft, gentle undulation of his slippery, hot tongue…

And then it was over. She sagged visibly as he pulled away, her eyes fluttering as she fought to control her reeling head…

“Oh shit.” Benjamin said softly. “So I guess you two HAVE kissed before…” Maggie absently wiped a bit of saliva from her lips as everyone at the table broke out into knowing grins. David was blushing furiously. “Well… Made me eat my words. Before long, you two’ll be fuckin’ every night.” Maggie blushed deeper at his words, looking down at the table. She’d hate to admit it, but she DID want it… David was remarkably attractive, and she thought about him daily. She wanted him badly… They held hands again, squeezing gently. David spoke through that embrace…

He’s right

I know…

So…

Soon. I promise.

Maggie squeezed harder, shooting him a quick glance… Tonight?

… Maybe.

“All right, you two… No more lovey-dovey shit ‘til we’re gone.” Benjamin draped his arm over his girlfriend’s shoulders, grinning as his other hand dug into his pocket. Maggie watched as he pulled a small plastic bag out, filled to the brim with…

“Is that… No way…”

“What? Pot?” Benjamin popped the seal open. Even from across the table, Maggie could smell it. “You don’t smoke?” He asked, plopping it on the table. Maggie stared at it. She had never seen it before… She’d heard of it, watched other high school students talk about it, or get in trouble for it. While it wasn’t illegal to smoke, grow, or distribute marijuana in Equestria, it was for minors. Just like alcohol or cigarettes. Now that she was older than eighteen, though, Maggie could do all of that, smoke, drink, whatever she pleased… She just hadn’t. She’d been busy with work, studies, and keeping food in her stomach. She swallowed and shook her head at Benjamin’s question.

“Not yet, no…”

“Wanna try?” Benjamin’s tone was low, he delivered it with a smile. Maggie and David shared a look. One that said ‘Sure, why not?’ Benjamin pulled a pipe from his pocket, an odd-looking thing made of colored glass, charred in areas with evidence of it’s use. Maggie watched as he started fishing bits of the green herb from the bag and stuffing them into the blackened portion of the pipe. It wasn’t like a tobacco pipe, the kind she’d seen Canterlot nobles smoke now and then, but was straighter, more full, with a smaller bowl.

“I know David’s smoked before, so he can show you how to run this.” Benjamin nodded to David, who took the pipe from him with a smile.

“Have you really?” Maggie asked as David adjusted their chairs, so they were facing one another.

“A few times. It’s fun, Maggie. You’ll laugh at everything, get REALLY hungry, and your mind will go a million miles an hour. Okay, here,” He rose the pipe inbetween both of them, one hand holding the glass device, and the other holding a lighter. “You put your mouth on this hole. Since it’s your first time, I’ll handle the light and the carburetor for you. You’re gonna let all the air out of your lungs, then you’re going to inhale. When I move my thumb, it’ll hit you. It’s hard, and you’re gonna cough.” She listened intently, nodding now and then. She felt anxious. She was going to smoke pot for the first time! Maggie smiled and nodded at him at the last bit.

“I can handle it.”

“We’ll see about that. Try and hold it in as long as you can. Ready?” She nodded one last time as David pushed the pipe forward. She pursed her lips, blowing all the air out of her lungs as she pressed them against the pipe. David struck the lighter and lowered the flame to the herbs. “Go.” She started inhaling. The first tinge of taste brushed past her tongue as she inhaled, the force of it pulling the flame down into the drug inside the bowl. The tiny, dried leaves caught and began to glow with the fire. David moved his thumb…

It was like getting punched in the chest. Maggie inhaled maybe the first little bit before she had to cough, white smoke billowing from her mouth as she fought to get rid of all of it. The taste was so invasive, covering her tongue and not letting go. Every burst out laughing as she coughed and sputtered, going so far as to gag, even… David laughed along with them as her eyes began to water. She drew in ragged breaths, choking and coughing still.

“Oh fuck!” Benjamin roared. He had actually fallen over in his chair, and was now rolling on the floor in laughter. The acrid, burning smoke stayed with her, made her lungs felt like they were half as big as they actually were. It coated her tongue, though she had to admit, the smell and the taste weren’t entirely un-agreeable… Just the force of the smoke in her lungs. Still coughing, she stood and struggled to the sink, gulping water down. It helped allay the feeling in her lungs, but the invasive taste remained. She started laughing with the rest of them now, still coughing intermittently.

“Fuck.” She managed to gasp, chuckling as she wiped tears from her eyes. “Ow… C’mon, let’s try again.” Already, she was starting to feel giddy. David laughed and held the pipe for her, though he let her work that little hole on the side. She waited until the fire had turned the leaves into red embers before letting go. Now that she was in control, it wasn’t as unexpected. She was able to hold it in for a few seconds before blowing it out, coughing with the exhalation. The smoke washed across the table, engulfing everyone in a cloud of cannabis smoke. David took a drag from the pipe, and then passed it along.

They spent the rest of the night talking, laughing, and eating. Maggie felt ravenous. What’s more, the drug made her feel like she was much smarter. In her head, she started calculating advanced trajectories of planar essences on a substandard arch of the gatestone spell, cranking them out in her head. Soon, though, she’d grow bored with it and move on to something else… Like how she could get this chocolate bar inbetween two slices of cake.

Eventually, Maggie went to sleep… She wasn’t sure where, or when, but she was warm and happy. Something or someone was next to her, and she curled closer to them. Absently, an arm wrapped around her shoulders, waking her out of the long sleep. Her mouth felt musty, the aftertaste of the cannabis still prevalent on her palette. “Mornin’.” The voice said softly. Maggie lifted her head, feeling fuzzy and groggy as she looked up at David, smiling down at her.

“Ugh.” She groaned. “Did we?”

“No.” He said with a soft chuckle. “Ben sure wanted us to, though… They left around one.” He smiled and kissed her forehead. It felt nice. Unlike her mouth. She was torn. She didn’t want to leave, but she didn’t want to go without brushing her teeth… Or showering, for that matter.

“How bad was I?” She muttered, burying closer to him for a few more moments.

“You did fine. Hell, it was hilarious watching you try to teleport from the kitchen to the bathroom. You kept hitting the wall.” His chest jumped as he laughed, making her head jiggle a little. She smiled and nuzzled into the crook of his arm, curling tighter. “You okay?” He asked gently.

“I have a headache and a mean need to brush my teeth and take a shower.” She muttered softly, pressing closer still. Her hair was most likely a mess, and her clothes reeked of pot. That is, if she was wearing any… Maggie suddenly realized she was clothed in just her panties… No shirt, no bra, just her undies… She blushed and buried closer, thankful the blankets were covering her. “Uum…”

“Yeah…”

“Could you…?”

“Yeah, here.” David muttered softly, rolling onto his side. Maggie blushed deeply as she quickly slid away, one arm covering her breasts as she quickly slipped into the bathroom. They were in her bedroom, the master, so she didn’t have to risk the hall to get to the bathroom. She slipped in and closed the door, taking a sneak peek back into the room. David was watching her, if surreptitiously. Maggie found herself smiling as she started brushing her teeth, going once, twice… She had to use mouthwash to get the last bit of the taste out of her mouth, but when she was done, she felt clean, if slightly dirty. Then a thought struck her…

“David?” She said softly, peeking her head out of the bathroom. David sat up on her bed, the covers concealing the lower half of his body. The top half was bare, not unlike her own… She spied his shirt laying forgotten on the ground. And his jeans. David was either nude, or close to it… Apprehension and anxiety welled up within her as she asked the all-important question… The one that would probably change her life for good.

“Wanna… Help me out?”