Eraser

.

"I can't breathe..."

The pony wakes to stare towards the abyss, floating and drowning in its embrace as it gradually draws her deeper.

"I can't move..."

The pony strained and choked as she attempted to avoid plunging into the darkness.

.

"...."

But her heart beats.

It beats loud and pulses, sending waves of light.

She began to feel the rage and frustration welling up, until her will to fight came through.

She screamed and flailed until the feel of the grasp was gone.

She began swimming upwards away from the abyss.

And there from above she saw a small light slowly increasing in size as she swam closer and closer, until she hit a light membrane and broke through it.

POP!

She woke up from her dream feeling heavy and tired, and the culprit; was a body on top of her.

Shocked and confused. She tried to analyze what was on top of her.

It was soft, smelled of flowers, was red, and quite heavy. As her vision cleared up and her body fully awake, it was another pony.

She quickly shoved the pony out of her body and kicked her off, flinging the body off her bed and onto the floor.

Thud!
"Ouch!" A familiar voice was heard.

The red pony slowly stood up confused and half asleep.

" Wa you do da for!?" It was Bluebell.

Kesu glared at the mare as she felt violated.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't fillet you..."

Bluebell, in return, got angry. "You're the one I should barbeque here, waking up a pony by kicking her ofr bed! How rude!"

"Who wouldn't!? You were violating me and my space!"

Bluebell then quickly pointed at her, "Then what're YOU doin in my bed! Flirtin me'nd makinnmy hopesup."

".... THIS IS MY BED!"

"... Oh!... Sorry about that." She then waddled to her own bed and slept.

"...." Kesu couldn't believe what just happened and was boiling with rage that her once white pail coat turned red in anger.

She tried to calm down, but looking at her roommate makes her mad again, so she decided to get out of the room since she's already wide awake and the sun's already peeking.

But then she decided she wanted her revenge towards her, so she went back in, grabbed the covers of Bluebell's bed, and yanked it off, pushing her off her bed.

Thud! "Ouuuwwww... You meanie," Bluebell timidly complained.

This satisfied Kesu, making her smirk in victory.

As she got out of the room and in to the mezzanine, she saw the whole floor below her empty of customers. Perhaps it was still too early.

As she headed down, she sensed movement on one of the counters.

There, a mare popped out, with huge round glasses, wearing a black and white maid outfit with matching red ribbons on her twin-tailed mane.

She was a bit dusty as she coughed from it. The maid would eventually catch sight of her, making her aware that she wasn't alone.

"Oh, you're finally awake! Come! Come vagabond pony, as your work starts now!" She excitedly invited her.

Kesu gave her a look of confusion and wondered, Who might this imposing earth pony be? "And who're you?" She asked.

The earth pony pouted in shock. "Your landlord and employer," she replied coldly.

She blundered once more and gave her another bad impression once more.

"O-oh! I didn't notice you in that get-up, ma'am." She worriedly replied and apologized.

She was a bit miffed, but let it slide. "Just call me Comfy from now on, okay? Now have some breakfast before doing your chores, and... is that all your clothes, dear?" She asked as she looked at her from head to hoof.

A dirty old white sleeveless inner shirt and a messy navy shorts. "Is there a problem?" she asked.

"Yyyyeah, I got extra clothes, and YOU will wear them."

She then heads to the kitchen to make some meals for her; the clatter of kitchen wear can be heard as she prepares.

She sat down and waited, mulling over the things she needed to do and what to prioritize.

She'd end up not noticing the meal that was prepared for her was already done.

"Oh, that's quick. Thank you for the meal." She began praying before eating the meal prepared for her, which was oats and hay and some cooked vegetables on the side.

"Eat up, eat up! I need a strong and happy worker!"

And as soon as she finished eating, Comfy forced her to wear the same clothes as her. They both rushed to her room and began stripping Kesu.

"H-hey! Wha?" Her reaction was too slow. The mare was quick with her work, as she already forced her clothes on to her.

"Yey! Twinsies! I've always wanted a sister, hihi." She hugged and marveled at how perfectly the dress fitted Kesu, while she blushed and irked at what she wore.

"My pride in exchange for money...ekh"

Smack!

Comfy smacked Kesu's back. "Now get out there and clean my inn!" She then gave her a broom to use and some cleaning cloth for her to wipe the tables. "And don't forget to smile, Vagabond!"

https://www.deviantart.com/kujamih09/art/Kesu-the-maido-1127125894

"It's K-ahmm, Eraser; just call me Eraser already."

"Eraser?... Not a catchy name," she bluntly replied.

"Hey!... Tsk." Kesu thought it was cool though.

An hour would pass, and the inn would start to pick up customers. She'd continue her day by taking the customer's order.

Being a new face in the inn, she attracted the attention of the stallions, causing a crowd to build up at the inn, requesting for her to serve them.

She was quite embarrassed at the situation she's in, but she has to soldier on as the manager watches; she can't afford to slack off.

"Muhehehe... Jackpot." Comfy smiled with greed as she rakes in customers.

A whistle could be heard, grabbing Kesu's attention. "Hey there, sweet cheeks, when do I get to get my order from ya?" It was Kesu, heckling at her at one of the tables. This time she was wearing her matching blue cape and wizard hat, decorated with the constellations.

This infuriated Kesu, but she has a job to do.

She hesitantly approached her heckler and asked, "May I take your order, miss?" She grinned as she tried to hide her scowl.

"Ehk, what an ugly face. Pony these days would ride just about any pony now, huh?"

"Watch it, Wench, I might accidentally mop your face off; its hard to distinguish it from the gunks on the floor." She grinned. "And what rights do you have to say that you pervert?"

"Ah!" she gasped. "As if I'll let you lay a hoof on me. Oh, and last night, you moaned and cried like a filly, waaa. Sad. I had to tuck you in at night, and this is how you treat me, boohoo."

Snap.

The broom broke in two and caused the room to go silent.

"Im shoving this in your ass," she said with a grim face.

Bluebell wouldn't back down and shoved her face right in front of her. "Oh yeah? I wanna see you try!"

"You'd like that, huh, pervert?"

But before it all got worse, Comfy was able to intervene. She grabbed both mare's shoulders and forced them to sit down. "Hey, you ponys better have the money if ya plan on starting a brawl here, because whatever ya break here, you'll be payin. And as for the broom, Eraser."

"... Y-es ma'am, I'll be paying for it..." she sighed as her paycheck got cut.

"And as for you, Bluebell, stop causing trouble, ya freeloader."

"Hey! I have a very important role in this community! And its protecting the town from giant desert scorpions!"

"And you're not doing a good job at it as well. Last week a house and our storage room got destroyed before you could ward off the damn thing, and you weren't able to kill it off. Now its out there coming back every night causing trouble to either our cargo or our storage house. The damn thing gets smarter every day. Tsk."

"Hey, I risk my life out there for you ponies. Do you know how hard it is to fight that thing solo? Last I heard, it took 5 ponies, and not a single one of them laid a hoof on it. And all I ask is a roof and food to compensate for my troubles."

"Yes, your right, but you're starting to slack off. You promised us a week, and its been a month, Bluebell."

The two ended up quarreling some more, pointing out each others mistakes and excuses, but this gave Kesu an idea.

"Hey! What if I take it down for you?"

"HAH! YOU!? Please..." Bluebell scoffed.

Comfy agreed with Bluebell this time. "Desert scorpions are no laughing matter, Eraser; best be letting the experts handle this, which YOU SHOULD'VE TAKEN CARE OF BY NOW!" She yelled at Bluebell.

"Alright, alright. Sheesh mom," she coyishly replied.

"Watch it," she warned her.

Kesu didn't like that she was ignored and belittled by the rest, so she insisted on her plans. "I'm serious! Where's this vermin at? If I kill it, I get paid well, right?"

"As if you can kill the beast, that thing has armor made of steel. I had to bombard it with magic just for it to run away. And we're talking huge here, little pony, probably five times your size."

"No problem," she replied haughtily.

"Oh? Then this I got to see."

_________

Woosh

The scorching sun sends waves of heat towards the desert as it makes mirages. And there, two ponies are waiting under the sun.

Kesu has changed her clothes back into her sleeveless shirt and navy shorts, but this time with a white cloak to cover her. While Bluebell didn't change clothes as the heat didn't bother her.

"You sure the things out there? All I see is sand." She impatiently asked.

"Oh, it's there, alright," she lazily replied.

Kesu gave her a doubtful look, but just when she was about to call it a day, a shift in the sand was seen, and one of the cactus just sank in the desert.

"Great, it's under us."

Boom! The scorpion bursts out of the sand and is directly in front of her, towering the two ponies.

"Well, good luck, cry baby. Tell me if you need your big sister to drive the big meanie away, kay?"

"Hmp! Just watch."

She readied herself and unsheathed a dagger—a white, curved dagger.

"You're going to use that small thing? Are you crazy!?" Bluebell questioned, but Kesu has no time for her and bolted towards the scorpion.

She noticed her movements in the desert were different as the sand cushioned her steps, making it hard for her to release her full potential.

Slam!

The giant scorpion's claw aimed at Kesu, which luckily missed, but the blast of sand forced her to back away.

"Peh!" She spat some sand on her mouth. "Nimble for something as big as this."

"Hey, ya good out there?" Bluebell asked from a distance.

She continued to ignore her while she cleaned herself from the sand.

She once more charged at the scorpion with the sands effect on her in mind. This time her movements are more fluid.

Kesu aimed at its back as the scorpion twirled around trying to catch her.
This tired the scorpion, giving Kesu a chance to go near it.

As the scorpion's final attempt, it used its tail to slam her to the ground, not knowing the mistake it made.

Slam! Slice! The tail crashed to the ground, severed from its body. Shocking both the scorpion and Bluebell.

"Now that's just high-grade bullshit! How'd you be able to cut that!?" Bluebell complained.

"Skills," Kesu scoffed. But soon regrets as the scorpion did a follow-up. It swang its big pinser at the unsuspecting pony, flinging her through the air, knocking her out cold.

Thud!

"A shit, I spoke too soon." She face-hoofed herself, as she knows this was her fault too for distracting her. "I'ma comin!!"

Bluebell began casting an array of fireballs towards the scorpion, forcing it to dive back into the desert.

She then quickly grabbed Eraser and ran for her life back to town.

"AAAHAHAHAHA you crazy pony! Hey! You better not be dead, ya hear me!"