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Geode's Surprise Gem 2
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Tags:
- gay
- male
- m/m
- cuntboy
- intersex
- male/cuntboy
- male/intersex
- pony
- stallion
- hippogryph
- drugging
- noncon
- no sex

The days after Geode's chance encounter with Grizz the Gryphon were brighter than the ones before. It turned out, suffering was better with a friend.

Soon, during one of their talks, a nurse came in, cheerful to share the news that Geode had been judged able to work and was ready to be released.

"Congratulations, kid," said Grizz, although his enthusiasm was muted by an undercurrent of lonliness. "I'd drink to that, but you know, they don't let us have alcohol!..." He stared down the nurse and raised his voice as he said that last part.

The nurse made a point of ignoring Grizz and instead helping Geode out of his cast. It took a while, but when it was done... his leg looked really weird. "Aww... My fur's gonna be all kinds of messed up for a while, isn't it?"

The nurse just shrugged and went out the door.

"Get a load of that guy," Grizz jested. "All function, no hospitality, am I right?" He chuckled, but it sounded forced.

Geode sighed. "I'm gonna miss you too Grizz." Were all stallions of Grizz's generation so afriad to just say what they were feeling? "I know it's going to suck without me, but hopefully whoever else you get stuck with is good company, but if they aren't..." He grabbed the pen off of his chart and found a piece of paper to write his address on. "Throw letters my way, or come hang out... you promised me a night of drinks, remember?" Geode wasn't really the drinking type, but for Grizz he'd make an exception. He tried to smile as he gave Grizz the paper. "I wish I could visit, but knowing my schedule..."

"I'll visit you as soon as I can," Grizz promised. "And you'll get to hear all about how much worse my new roommate was." The larger hippogryph grabbed his smaller pony friend and pulled him into a crushing bear hug. It stung Geode's still-bruised chest, and probably hurt Grizz just as much... but neither of them were eager to let go. "I'm so glad I met you. Really," Grizz softly spoke into his ear, and the fur on Geode's neck stood on end.

Underneath the diffuse scent of hospital antiseptic, Geode could smell Grizz. He committed that smell to memory.

He'd need it.

----

The next week and a half was a return to normality for Geode, and his chance meeting with Grizz started to feel like a dream. And then one day he was headed home from the mines, his clothes covered in dirt from hat to tail, sweat dripping down his face, and as he crested the hill he saw a familiar hippogryph waiting outside his door. As soon as Grizz spotted him, he smiled wider than Geode had thought possible to smile with a beak.

Geode broke into a sprint and wrapped Grizz in a hug even tighter than they one they'd shared in the hospital. Grizz hugged back, one claw stroking the back of Geode's mane, the other scratching his back. If he was bothered by Geode's greasy and gritty coat, he didn't show it. "It's so good to see you again," muttered the hippogryph beefcake, and Geode felt the same frission on his neck as their last hug.

"I was wondering when you'd get out, you big lug! How are things? You able to get off the ground?" He didn't know how sensitive a subject that would be, but it was one of the more pressing questions that had ended up in his head; he'd been thinking about Grizz a lot. But he didn't give Grizz a chance to answer. "Wait... Let's get inside, then you can complain as loud as you want without ponies overhearing."

He unlocked the door and swung it in to reveal a sparsely-decorate home. It hardly looked like a pony lived there, but then again, he hardly did. He closed the door behind him, then flopped into what appeared to be the second comfiest of the two chairs in the house, leaving the best one for his friend.

Grizz came in behind, ducking to avoid hitting his head on the top of the door frame. "I had this fear that you'd moved or something," he admitted. His speech was more fevered than it had been at the hospital: Grizz was giddy. As he flopped into the other chair, Geode noticed that his wing was bent at an impossible angle and chewed up at the edges. "You won't believe this, but my new roommate was one of my old flings. He was convinced we had a 'special connection' or something, and I had to pound his ass nightly to get him to shut up. But all I could think about was seeing you."

(Yeah, totally not a brag, thought Geode.)

The words tumbled out of his mouth faster than his brain could keep up, and it wasn't until after he said it all that he seemed to realize how sappy they sounded, because he blushed. "He wasn't even that good," he quickly added. "It was so forced it took effort to keep myself hard."

Geode had no clue how to respond to that. Still, he smiled as he sank into the chair he was in, glad to be off of his hooves. "Well, at least you got that sex you'd been so worried about."

The conversation hit an awkward pause. Both men sank into their chairs, and Grizz admired the window view of the sun just beginning to set over the mountain peaks. "I didn't really have a plan coming here," he admitted. "I just really wanted to see you and make sure that we weren't done."

Done? Them? "Of course not!" Geode declared. "In fact, if you let me hop in the shower, we can go do that 'get blind drunk' thing we'd been planning." Geode didn't particularly want to move, feeling far too tired for his own good, but for Grizz he'd make an exception.

Grizz had been gung-ho a moment before, but the comfort of sitting down changed him. "You sure? I'm happy to do something Geody-instead, like hanging out here in these amazingly comfortable chairs. Seriously, where did you get these?" Grizz sank into the blissful comfort of the chair and tried not to fall asleep. 

Geode knew the allure of these chairs all too well. If they didn't get up now, they wouldn't get up at all. "Nope, we're doing this," he announced, more to psyche himself up than to convince Grizz. "You just sit tight."

"On it..." Grizz mumbled, his eyes already closed.

Geode took a fast shower, his heart already racing. Afterward, he checked in on Grizz without bothering to get dressed; he didn't usually go around naked, but Grizz didn't count. 

As he walked into the living room, he saw Grizz passed out in the chair with a dopey smile and a sizable boner. He rolled his eyes and shook the gryph lightly to wake him. "Hey! Just because you're pent up doesn't mean I want you cumming on my favorite chair. So inconsiderate... Maybe we do need to find you somepony to bang."

Grizz stirred slowly, clearly coming out of a nice dream. He looked more relaxed than he ever had been at the hospital. Poor guy, Geode thought, better throw him a bone. He flicked his tail playfully at Grizz, giving him an eyefull of stallion pussy.

He was surprised by how easy it was to bear it all in front of Grizz, probably since the gryph already knew, and was gay to boot. But right now, he didn't feel threatened at all. "Just let me hide my shame and we can go," he promised.

One short costume change later, Geode was ready to roll: he'd gone with a shirt and some jeans. Nothing fancy, but enough to cover up without looking strange. But Grizz couldn't stop staring. "I look that bad, huh?" asked Geode.

"No! I'm more used to spiked collars and leather saddles, but you look... really good," Grizz admitted.

Geode had never cared what someone thought of his appearance before, but coming from Grizz, it meant something. He quickly recovered his composure though. He saw Grizz standing in his living room and, somehow... him being there looked right.

Look out world, they were about to have the best not-a-date ever!

---

Geode followed Grizz down the mountain, away from anything that he had considered to be "town." Up until now, his travels through town roughly traced a triangle between his home, the mines, and the market square. But it turned out there was a lot he hadn't seen, whole districts that had sprung up to support the various needs of the trapped populace. And further away from the busy heart of the settlement, a cozier leisure center had carved itself into the mountain walls, to relieve the workers of their stresses and coin.

It was never a road Geode would have chosen to walk, but in the moment he was happy for the fresh air, and the ground beneath his hooves and claws, and the fact that he had someone to share it with. He was thrilled to be able to walk again and go outside and see and smell anything. He'd be running right now if not for doctor's orders.

The scenery was beautiful once they got away from the buildings and industry. Shrubs and bushes greener than green, littered the dusty path on either side of them, the peaks around them casting long shadows amid the rosy sunset. The whole experience was... he tried to think of the right word, but all that came up was "romantic", but that just made it sound like this was a date again, which is wasn't. He was just taking a stroll through the sunset with a good friend, arm in arm... yeah, still sounded like a date. He took a deliberate step away from Grizz, just to make abundantly clear that they weren't walking [i]together[/i] together.

He smiled, enjoying the scenery... he didn't get to get out here much, and the sunlight looked amazing on Grizz's feathers. Much better than it had back in the hospital...

"So, you thinking there'll be a lot of 'action' to find out there?" He asked his feathery companion. "All kinds of stallions looking for what you're packing?" He felt envious of his friend. For Geode, a stallion looking for what he was packing usually meant bad news.

"Oh, don't worry. I almost never leave alone. They have a system that makes sure everyone leaves satisfied. You'll see..." He let Geode's curiosity pique.

There was a sudden dropoff ahead of them, with several buildings built into the cliffside. As they descended the ramp, Grizz pointed one building out: it had a wooden sculpture of a deer out front, with its rear turned somewhat provocatively to anyone approaching. It had no sign, but Geode recalled the name Grizz had told him earlier: The Golden Hind. Grizz wasted no time heading inside, and Geode was right behind him.

The interior had a homely pub aesthetic, with a bar along one wall but tables and booths on the other side. Once inside, Grizz flagged down a male gryphon in black-and-white uniform near the door, who immediately grinned, punched Grizz fondly on the shoulder, and said: "We missed you, man!"

"Hey Gwent, I was hoping to get a booth tonight for me and my friend." Grizz pointed back at Geode. "Someplace away from the crowd."

The gryphon host's eyes went wide with surprise and then nodded with understanding. "First timer, eh?" he asked, looking over Geode. He leaned into Grizz. "Your friend dresses funny, but we can work with it. You want candles?"

"The usual red for me. And a white one for my friend."

"Does your friend want lace?" asked the gryphon, without even looking at Geode. Geode was a bit miffed they were talking about him like he wasn't there... but he had no idea how to answer anyway.

Grizz just shook his head. "No lace. Just a normal white candle is fine."

Geode tried to divine meaning from the cryptic conversation that seemed to be about him, but playing out without his input. "... Something tells me I am missing out on a lot of context that you're about to explain to me, right?" Geode... could only guess what the candles meant, and he wasn't sure he liked the lace question, but everything seemed to be going smoothly, so he was rolling with it.

Grizz led Geode deeper into the pub and found them a seat at the booth in the far corner. The seats were worn and torn, gashes in the fabric exposing the rough cotton stuffing. It was a bit perturbing for Geode, but Grizz looked like he was back in his comfort zone. It was a dingy hole in the wall, but dammit, it was [i]his[/i] dingy hold in the wall.

Soon after they were seated, the gryphon from before reappeared with the two candles, one red, one white, both long and thin. Each one was in a separate tin holder which he placed directly in front of them. He snapped his claws together, creating sparks that lit the candles, each one giving off a flame the same color as the wax. The dual lights cast the table and its occupants in a soft warm glow.

"Before I explain what this is all for, do you want to take a guess?"

Looking around, Geode noticed that most of the ponies and gryphons there had candles too, mostly either red or green, but not exclusively. There were two stallions sharing a booth a few down from them, and their candles were both blue. Two mares sitting next to each other on the bar also had blue candles (and they were also the only mares in the building.) Only one other person had a white candle, an old gryphon drake at the edge of the bar, but his candle was wrapped in a mesh of black lace. A couple others had lace on their candles too, seemingly regardless of color, including one of the stallions with a blue candle.

Geode could tell there was some kind of code here. He'd never been great at solving puzzles, but he didn't want to look like a fool in front of Grizz, so he took a stab at it.

"I'm going to guess that white is because I'm a virgin or something? Or maybe it's something to do with whether or not you're looking? The blues are all in pairs, so maybe that's for couples? But then I'm not really sure what the green ones are for. And lace is based on... I dunno, what position you want to be in?" It was his best guess, and he hoped he didn't look too foolish.

He realized Grizz was smirking at him. Oh god, he was embarrassing himself, wasn't he? "In my defense, I was expecting a raucous party and bitter, burning drinks. A secret candle code wasn't really on my radar." He wanted to like this, he really did, but he wasn't sure what was being advertised, and until he did, he wasn't going to be fully comfortable.

"If you wanted a gay bar that's all loud music and drinks, we have those too. But those ones make me feel old when the dancing starts. Here... well, the whole feel is supposed to parody those fancy bars in places like Canterlot while keeping some of that hole-in-the-wall charm. It doesn't really work, but I still like the way it comes together." Grizz gestured at bar, where ponies and gryphons mingled beneath  wall-mounted torches and tasteful nude paintings. Geode had to admit that despite the venue's mystery, it was surprisingly relaxed.

"And you're close enough about the candles," explained Grizz. "They're for advertising. Red means you're down to fuck, no strings attached. Green means you're available but looking for something a little more serious. Blue means you're taken. And white means you're just here to make friends. The lace is for anyone who wants to advertise that they have a communicable disease. A lot of ponies come here looking for support for that. And for anyone wanting to get down, it's a reminder for them to wrap their candles, if you catch my drift."

Hearing Grizz explain the mechanisms of the club was strangely enthralling. It was fun to see the hippogryph in his element, and it gave Geode the impression of being inducted into a secret club. "Sounds like a good system. The bar gets bonus points for that. And location: the area around here is beautiful."

He saw the lack of lace on Grizz's candle and smirked. "This far along, all those males you've been with, and you're still laceless. Either you're lying to me about the numbers, or you must be incredibly good at being careful." 

"Or possibility three: I'm lying about being clean." Grizz shrugged, letting Geode believe what he wanted. "When I was younger, I wasn't careful at all. I didn't know any better; it's not like they taught you how to have gay sex in schools. And I got bit. I had to come out to my parents because I needed them to sign off on an operation to surgically remove warts from my rectum. I guarantee that there's not a single more embarrassing way for your parents to find out just what their son had been getting up to under the bleachers with Crowd Pleaser from homeroom."

Geode wasn't fully sure he'd needed to know about Grizz's ass warts... he could feel the second-hand embarrassment from the story, even though Grizz didn't seem bothered at all. At least this story was painting a fuller picture of Grizz as someone who learned to take these things more seriously. Plus, he'd just been in a hospital with routine blood tests. So he knew he was safe, and he'd have to hope they'd have told Grizz if he wasn't...

Not that it would ever directly effect Geode. Obviously! That'd be crazy! 

"Anyway, I got more careful after that. I stopped letting stallions rut me without a rubber. When I'm on top though, I only use protection if they ask me to. I know I should do it all the time, but... it's different without a condom. Not as raw." He put the emphasis on the last word, as if that on its own could communicate exactly why he preferred condomless sex.

Geode was conflicted: he was glad Grizz was sharing with him, but this was bordering on too much information. He needed to change the subject. "Uh... I'll take your word for it. So, do they have any specialty drinks I should be worried about? Is there some secret menu I should get you to order off of for me?"

Grizz crossed his front claws and couldn't hide his mirth; he shouldn't have found Geode's confusion and uncertainty as adorable as he did. "The secret menu is you tell them what you want and they make it. But you've never drank before, so I'll order for you, okay?"

"It's not that I haven't drank before," Geode clarified, irked by Grizz's infantilizing behavior. "It's that I completely dislike the process and have never gotten knockout drunk. Beer is disgusting... I don't understand how ponies drink it."

"That's because you drank beer, the drink for people who can't taste anything." Grizz hopped up from the booth. "I'd venture you want something sweeter. I'll get us some starters."

He went off toward the bar, leaving Geode alone. The walls of the bar, which had been quaint and cozy moments before, now loomed over him oppressively. He had been fine trying new things while Grizz was right beside him, but now that Grizz was in unfamiliar territory, and without his guide, he was vulnerable.

So Geode was already antsy when one of the other stallions came over to the table. He had a muddy brown coat and a shaggy caramel mane, and was carrying a red candle with lace. Geode recognized him as a member of Geode's old mining crew before the accident.

"Geode? Is that you man?" he asked, sitting in Grizz's old spot without any hesitation. He'd been very standoffish in their time working together, and he looked completely at ease here. "I thought you were dead! It was a shame, too many good ponies die too soon. But you're here, alive!"

Geode stared at the guy, struggling to remember his name. They hadn't been anywhere near friends, so he was surprised by his attitude. "Yeah, I survived, we're just not in the same shaft anymore."

I'll drink to that!" He picked up his shot glass and slammed it down his throat. He then coughed once to clear it. "Didn't think I'd ever see you here, man."

"Yeah, well, I'm not really the type to go out much. I was kind of dragged here by Grizz. Hang on, do you know Grizz?"

The stallion played his tongue against his teeth (a perfectly innocuous habit that nevertheless put Geode on edge) and drooped one front leg on the chair. "The Big Bear? I know him about as much as it's possible to know a guy. Just saw him and wanted to buy him a drink to celebrate not being stuck in that bleedin hospital no more. Didn't think he brought someone; that ain't like him. But I dunno, maybe he's on the prowl for a threesome tonight. Hope you got endurance." He snickered and leaned into the table, his eyes wandering over Geode's face and chest.

Geode already got his fair share of harassment from straight stallions, and he wasn't about to start taking it from gay stallions too. But he knew better than to cause a scene. "Oh, we're not..." Was everyone going to assume that he and Grizz were together? This wasn't a date, dammit. "I shared a hospital room with him for a while, and now we're celebrating by going out and getting drunk." He made a jazz hands motion with his hooves as if to say "Tada", before sitting nervously at the table again with his hooves cradling his very [i]white[/i] candle. That was supposed to be some obvious code, right? Did ponies not pay attention too the candles here? Or how drunk was this guy?

The stallion looked at Geode with pitying eyes. "Friends getting drinks? Is that what he told you? he asked softly. He let the ambiguity of his statement hang in the air for a few tense seconds before he continued. "I'm so sorry to be the one to break this to you, but Grizzly Peaks doesn't have friends."

Geode's nervousness surged, wrapping around his chest. He was cornered by this stallion who was effectively a stranger, and something unplaceable was wrong. "Well, he does now."

The stallion shook his head and [i]tsk-tsked[/i]. "No, Grizz has fuck buddies, and whether he told you or not, you're one of them. That candle?" The stallion pointed at Geode's closely cradled flame of sexual disinterest. "That's just so he doesn't have to worry about anyone else stealing his prize."

This stallion didn't know what he was talking about. Grizz wasn't like all the others. He was the only male who had learned about Geode's secret anatomy and hadn't tried to take advantage of him. But the spark of doubt simmered now in Geode's bosom. Was all this an elaborate way to get into his pants? But Grizz was gay. He'd made a big deal about only liking dicks. But he'd also gotten aroused back in the hospital, and had made it clear that he saw Geode as a stallion. Maybe Geode was just a new and exotic type of male to conquer.

Geode needed time to think about this, but the stallion wasn't slowing down. "Think about it. He probably told you he's a sex freak; you're probably a virgin, no offense; and you said yourself he's trying to get you drunk. If you think this is going to end without him trying to take advantage of you, you're a fool. He's playing you, friend. That's what he does."

Geode felt dizzy. This was too much, too soon. Maybe he had been wrong to want travel this far from home, into a den of lecherous stallions. He needed fresh air. He should leave.

And then he spotted Grizz at the bar, getting their drinks with a goofy smile, and the world came back into focus. The testosterone-filled miasma of the Golden Hind was pushed back, and the floor stopped moving under him. Of course he trusted Grizz, and realizing that was such a liberating feeling.

The stallion offered Geode a soft, sympathetic smile. And that [i]really[/i] ticked him off. Geode knew a lot of things, and one of the ones he knew was that this guy, right or wrong, was an asshole. "Look," he said, taking a deep breath. "I appreciate the concern, but I can kick Grizz's ass if I really want to. But I don't, because, and this might sound weird, I actually trust him. If I'm wrong, you can gloat all you want, but at the moment..."

Both stallions turned as Grizz returned to the table. He held two tall glasses in his talons, one a pale orange, and the other a dark brown and bubbling. "I wasn't sure which you would prefer, so I got a screwdriver and and a Jack and Coke. You can try them both and let me know what you think."

Geode knew nothing about either drink, so he nodded towards the Jack and Coke. "I'll take that one. Though there's this one drink... Amaretto Sour, or something like that. Way too sweet, probably, but I think that should be on the list tonight."

Grizz set down the drinks. "I'll check to see if they have it," he told Geode. He noticed the stallion and nodded at him, and the stallion grinned back. With their brief introduction over, Grizz headed back to the bar.

As soon as he was out of earshot, the stallion's expression soured and he leaned in close again. This guy just couldn't get a clue. "Maybe you can kick his ass sober. Why do you think he took you here instead of a long walk around the lake or something? How about I stay close by and keep an eye on him for you? If I'm wrong, you'll get the most heartfelt apology in the universe, and if I'm right, I can make sure you stay safe, okay?"

Geode rolled his eyes. This guy was quite overbearing... but he seemed to be coming from a place of caring. "Fine, if it'll make you feel better. But I'm really not worried about it. It's not like this is a date." (Was he protesting that too much?) "This is just a night out getting drunk and having fun. He even said we didn't have to come out here, but I wanted to make good on the promise. So here I am." He was a bit on the defensive, he knew it, but he didn't like anyone talking bad about Grizz... and he really didn't know why it bugged him so much.

Grizz returned with the almond-colored drink in a cocktail glass, which he placed in front of Geode. He scooted into the booth next to the stallion, taking the screwdriver for himself. "I see you two have met," he said.

The change in Geode's demeanor was immediate as soon as Grizz got back. "Yeah. I know him from the mines. He was working the day of the accident. Hardly believed I'd made it out." Geode grinned, taking a sip of the Jack and, grimacing at the flavor, went for the sour. It was... far better. Much more palatable. "I was surprised he recognized me. I hardly chat with ponies while I'm working."

"Well, you were kind of the center of attention that day," said the stallion, as he took the Jack and Coke for himself. "You were all anyone was talking about. A couple of the guys said they saw you push Ruby out of the way, so you might be a hero."

Despite receiving praise, Geode felt like the stallion was imposing on what was supposed to be [i]his[/i] night. But that was silly. He was supposed to be out picking up stallions with Grizz... or something. Was that not what they were doing right now? Something was eating at him, like a small ember smoldering in his belly. Maybe the alcohol would extinguish it, so once Geode finished his first drink, he acquiesced to another.

Geode did his best to carry on a casual conversation, even as he felt the buzz settle in. He learned that Grizz was completely flightless now and mostly likely done with airport work, but was sweet-talking the manager of the general store for a position. ("He says he's got an opening for me to fill," said Grizz, which made the stallion snort into his drink.)

Geode realized he was still referring to the stallion as "the stallion," but it was far too late into the conversation to admit that he didn't know his name. He decided to call him "Caramel", at least in his inner thoughts. 

Grizz seemed to be doing just fine, albeit falling into a stupor. He made no attempt to hide how he got more physical with the stallion as the night went on with them exchanging knowing glances and rubbing their sides up against each other while they talked.

Geode meanwhile slowly got more and more sullen, just as he'd expected from his previous attempts at drinking. He didn't like the atmosphere, the alcohol was nice, and his head was decently swimmy, and the company was fine...

But the company wasn't fine. He didn't care about anypony else in the bar, and the one he'd come here to have a good time with was rubbing his side against somepony else... It bugged him. It just dug right under his skin and stuck there like a bad itch, making him pout and place his chin on the table, connecting straws to get at his latest drink. He'd cycled through a couple others, including one of those fruity numbers, but amaretto seemed the go-to that came in a glass a stallion could be proud of. But as Grizz and the stallion got more and more chummy, Geode got quieter and poutier until he was hardly talking at all, just sipping at his drink and picking at the wax that had come off his candle.

Caramel kept stealing quick neck kisses from Grizz, and their hooves and claws were all over each other. Grizz froze as the stallion's hoof move down into his lap, brushing against his crotch. This sent Caramel into a fit of giggles. Grizz pulled away from their encounter long enough to notice Geode. "Are you alright?" he asked, trying to figure out why Geode wasn't enjoying himself. "Are we making you uncomfortable?" He paused and thought some more. "Do you want to join?"

Geode typically appreciated Grizz's forwardness, but not now. "Look... I'm fine, okay, I'm just..." The words came out at a delay, and Geode honestly wasn't sure how well he'd be able to walk... but that didn't matter. He pushed himself up, wobbling slightly at the table. "I'm gonna go home. I'm not feeling... any of this. You two have fun." He managed a whole three steps before his hoof wobbled under him, but he caught himself and continued his crooked path to the door. Almost everypony had someone hanging off of them at this point... but none of their kissing made him so angry...

Grizz watched Geode leave, a pang of guilt hitting him, and in his current inebriated state overwhelming him. He'd done something wrong, he knew it. He pulled away from the stallion. "I think I hurt his feelings," he told the stallion. "I should go talk to him."

The stallion frowned. "No you don't. He's fine." He pulled Grizz back into his embrace, and Grizz couldn't find the focus or the strength to protest. The stallion laid a series of rough kisses on the back of his neck. "You promised you'd have fun with me. What do you say we take this somewhere private." He could feel Grizz, squirming, trying to get out of his grip, but he held tight.

---

Geode exited the bar only to realize that he had no idea where to go from there. He stood on the steps, vacantly staring off the rocky cliffside and looking and feeling like an idiot.

Then he heard a voice calling after him.

"Excuse me, darling."

It was a seafoam blue mare with a flowing green dress coming up the steps after him. She stopped a few steps below him, trying to make out the extent of his hoof injury in the dark of night. "I was watching you, and I know what it's like to be a third wheel like that. It must have hurt, seeing him ignoring you for some other stallion. Are you okay to make it home on your own right now? Let me get you some water, please. You just get some fresh air."

Geode wanted to protest, but he really needed to sit down somewhere and just... not be in there. He sat with his hoof extended, the medical tape on it visible, but that was all that was left to tell of the horrible state it had been in before. "Water would be nice... and if I could sit here a bit... It'd be nice." He leaned back, closing his eyes... and felt the sting of tears there. He had no reason to be crying... Stallions don't cry. He collapsed on the steps, and soon the mare returned with a glass of water, which she passed into Geode's hooves.

"He wasn't ignoring me... well, he was, but that's fine." Even now, his first instinct was to defend the big oaf. "It was the whole purpose of coming out here... to pick up ponies. He was just way more successful. 

She stroked his mane while she spoke. "Did you want to pick up ponies?" she asked. "I saw your white candle, and so did everyone else. I assumed you were just coming to support your friend. But you still seemed upset when he found a stallion."

Geode was too overwhelmed, and the damn on his emotions broke. "I dunno... I was told we'd be going out, have fun, have some drinks... Then this whole candle thing got sprung on me, but white was right, I don't want to get into anything... But before I could even have 5 minutes with my friend, this other stallion muscles his way in and takes over the whole night, and they're kissing and chatting and..." He sighed. "I don't even like drinking! It just makes me mopey and unable to control myself... And then I'm there, trying to have fun with my friend, and we can't even hardly talk for the stallion rubbing up against him and groping for his junk..." Geoge growled to himself. "I mean... I get it, Grizz is, like, this [i]incredible[/i] horndog, but I thought he could take one night and just... hang out..." He sipped from the water slowly, getting rid of the cottonmouth feeling he was having. "I should've just stayed at home... Backed out of this whole thing."

The mare listened to his story and nodded sympathetically when he was done. "Sounds like a stressful night," she said. She lowered a hoof to stroke his back. "If this stallion is really that important to you, you can ask him to change. But you need to be prepared for him to say no. You could try to make him jealous too, but it sounds like he wouldn't have a problem with that. But there is one other thing you can do." She scooted closer to him, nuzzling her cheek against her neck. "If you like, you can come with me, and I'll help you forget all about this stallion who's only going to break your heart."

God damn it. God fucking damn it. Was every pony in this place just trying to get laid? Geode knew that he was particularly sensitive around sex, but surely he wasn't in the wrong for just wanting a good conversation? But instead everypony just wanted him like some piece of meat. Even the mares. What's the point of the damn candle if nobody played by its rules? He finished the water, then put it down next to him, pushing himself up. As he got a little way away, though, he turned back, yelling a little louder than he intended to. "And I'm not going to ask him to change if we aren't even dating! We're just friends!" He stumbled on one of the steps, but kept going. "If I even cared about him, which I don't, he wouldn't be interested in me for the same reason you won't! So everypony can just..." he was thinking about the words for a while, then tossed them aside, knowing the ones he wanted to use. "FUCK OFF, okay? I'm happy alone! I'll be fine at home. Alone!" There were tears in his eyes as he stumbled up the steps, but he really didn't care. He wanted to be anywhere but here.

The mare looked heartbroken. Good. He didn't need her. "Very well, darling. If you change your mind and want to talk to me..." she left it unfinished, instead retreating back into the bar.

But when she got to the threshold, she was pushed aside by Grizz, who meandered, unsteady on his hooves. His head rolled and his feet danced under him as he tried to maintain his coordination. "Geode?" he called out, his eyes scanning his surroundings, trying to find him.

Caramel was right behind him, quickly catching up to him.

Geode stopped at the top of the stairs. He wanted to ignore it, particularly since if he turned around, it would reveal that he was crying and didn't even know why, but he was far enough from the light that... maybe Grizz wouldn't notice. "What?" he shouted, turning in place (and nearly tripping). Don't you have some stallion to plow silly? You two have been giggling and rubbing up all night. And that's fine! This just isn't my scene! I'm gonna go home and sit in my room and collapse from exhaustion alone like I do every night." He was trying to be angry, but the world was a little too busy shaking. He just turned tail, trying his best to storm off onto more solid ground. He succeeded in getting a little away, but the ground was no more solid.

Caramel caught up to Geode and hooked an arm around the big hippogryph's shoulder. "You should do that," he told Geode, staring him down with extreme disapproval. "I have everything under control here. Just go home." He tried to pull Grizz away from Geode, but Grizz resisted, pulling back.

Grizz looked like shit, the formerly imposing hypogryph was now broken and cowering. His eyes were wet with tears and weren't focusing right, like a thick fog that had descended into his mind. "Geode... please," he said, like his mouth was numb and it was effort just to form the words.

The stallion yanked Grizz back. "Come on, Grizz," he said, impatience creeping into his voice. "He doesn't want to talk to you. Let's go."

Geode heard the words and stopped right where he was. The knot in his belly was back, and gnawing at him. He wanted... something, but he was done trying to figure out what it was. If Grizz was going to get blitzed out of his mind, Geode wasn't going to do the heavy mental lifting for both of them. "Grizz...  I'm glad we reconnected, but right now I don't know what you want. If you want to spend the night with me, spend the night with me, but I'm not going to sit there while you rub up against some other guy. So either tell me what you want, or I'm going." He was swaying from the drink, but he was still firm. He knew where he was headed... he thought. Now it was Grizz who had to figure things out.

Geode looked his friend in the eye, trying his hardest to be the bigger man and convey his seriousness... and he saw the thick fog that had descended over his mind. For a hippgryph who got shitfaced on the regular, he was surprisingly nonfunctional right now. Geode peered deeper, and he saw Grizz's weakness. His pain. 

Something was wrong.

Grizz could tell Geode was telling him something very important, and he tried to focus on the words through the haze. Why did he feel so completely smashed right now? He'd intentionally gone easy on the alcohol so he could keep Geode out of trouble. And yet the world spun around him, and he could barely keep track of what was happening.

He took an unsteady step toward Geode, but Caramel pulled him back. Grizz tried to articulate something, but all he was able to manage was a feeble groan.

"I guess he's not interested in you," said Caramel. "I'm not surprised, since he's known me for years and he just met you. Why would he give up on a free lay tonight?" He licked Grizz's ear and snaked his front leg down Grizz's belly, cupping his balls and shaft. Grizz moaned, unable to control his reaction and ashamed that he couldn't do anything to stop it.

Grizz was hurting, and Caramel didn't care, and that was enough to make Geode's anger at him dissolve... and his anger at Caramel to reach a fever pitch, and he reacted automatically. Before he even understood what he was doing, he leaped off the high ground, clear over Grizz's head, and landing on Caramel, hard, his weight driving them into the wooden boards of the path. "Get, your fucking hoof, off of him! What did you do to him, huh?" He had one hoof on the stallion's throat, the other wavering right in front of his smug fucking grin, which was quickly replaced by panic.

"Why do you care, you fucking lunatic?" he shouted, struggling against the heavy stallion on top of him. "He's a drunk and a sex fiend; it's not like he cares about you at all! So leave!" He punctuated his last sentence by kicking his leg up into Geode's crotch, hoping to cause as much pain as possible by crushing what he thought were Geode's testicles.

As soon as the stallion's leg connected with Geode's crotch, he sensed something was wrong. Geode wasn't incapacitated like he should have been. Sure, it hurt. It hurt like hell, but conveniently, that was one advantage he'd always had in fights. "You just made a big mistake!" said Geode, and he brought the hoof down as hard as he could. Caramel squealed as Geode broke his nose and chipped a tooth.

"You tried to take my fucking friend." Geode dropped one of his rear hooves, bringing that knee right into the very jewels the other had been aiming for on him, which made the stallion scream. "You act like sex is the only thing anypony wants. And you're such a smug asshole, I've been wanting to do this all night anyway!" He then brought back his head, smashing his skull right into the stallion's hard enough to sting... but not see stars. Caramel went limp.

Without Caramel to support him, Grizz had tumbled to the ground. Slowly, he managed to stan, but he was shaking, chilled by the stallion's wails and whimpers. "Geode?" he asked, his voice quivering. "Please, Geode, I need help..."

The target of Geode's fury was immediately forgotten as absconded to Grizz's side. "Climb on my back, and we'll get out of here. What do you need? Water? A doctor?"

They were beginning to attract a crowd. So far, everyone who was watching had decided not to get involved, but who knew how long that would last. Geode surveyed the assembling crowd from the top of the steps. "What?! You think I'd let some asshole roofie my friend and get away with it?"

Grizz fumbled around until he found Geode's back and managed to pull himself up. He was disoriented, his cheeks sticky with tears. "I'm sorry," he said, lowering his head and closing his eyes. "I... didn't mean..."

"It's not your fault; it's mine. I'm sorry I didn't realize what he was doing sooner..." He should have known something wasn't right, but instead he let Grizz get abused, because he was jealous.

And now Grizz was hurt. Again. All because of him. Geode fumed at himself. He had to make this right.

We'll just..." Geode then realized he had no clue what to do in a scenario like this. But first thing's first: get away from the crowd.

Geode had no clue where Grizz's house was, and he couldn't count on the big oaf to help him navigate. He did his best to picture the route they'd taken to get here and set off. It was going to be a long night.

As they hiked, Grizz drifted in and out of consciousness, letting the rhythm of Geode's hooves calm him. In a moment of lucidity, he muttered "Thank you..." He nuzzled Geode's neck with any strength he could find. Geode was his tether. Geode would keep him safe.

Grizz's world. Geode trudged on, in darkness and silence.

Grizz had proven to be a lot of trouble, once again.

Time would tell if he was worth it.
